St. Mary's County
MDGenWeb
The interest in the land genealogy of St. Mary's County has encouraged us to
write a brief summary of the manorial system as practiced in the earliest years
of the Colony. We endeavored to describe the manor system, name and locate all
of the known manors, list the owners as recorded in the Archives of Maryland and
in the survey and patent records, and briefly relate what happened to each
manor.
For a complete description of the earliest land transactions,
refer to the Maryland State Archives and St. Mary's County Land
Genealogy. See also the map of the St. Mary's Manors.
There are three meanings of the word manor
After the Norman conquest at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William
the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy) became King William I of England and
introduced feudalism. From that time forward, the King alone owned all
the land except for that which he gave to Earls, Barons and others in
return for their support, especially in providing military resources.
The person holding land directly on behalf of the King was known as
a tenant-in-chief. To obtain knights for the King's service, the
tenants-in-chief "sub-infeuded" some of their land (that is, permitted
men to manage land on their behalf). The sub-infeuding process continued
downwards to a lord of a single manor.
The manor was the basic
unit of estate administration. Typically the manor contained a village
church, and agricultural land usually consisting of three large arable
fields in which the inhabitants (tenants) held scattered strips. Manor
houses were built on land near rivers or streams.
The ownership
of a lordship of a manor is treated in English law as being separate
from the actual lands of the manor. The correct form for any manorial
lord who uses a manorial style is "Lord of the Manor." For instance:
Correct ~ Nicholas Harvey, Lord of the Manor of Harvey
Custom &
practice ~ Lord Harvey, or Lord of Harvey
Manorial and parish
boundaries did not always coincide. One parish could be split between
several manors. Conversely, one manor could include land in several
parishes.
Manorial land was divided into two categories: The
lord's demesne, for the support of the lord's own household and tenanted
land (originally granted in return for services on the demesne land). By
the 15th century these services had mostly been commuted to a money
payment, known as a quit rent.
There were two main types of
manorial tenure: copyhold tenancy (the land being held by virtue of a
copy of the entry in the court rolls, recording the admission of the
tenant) whereby services or quit rent was paid to his lord and freehold
tenancy whereby the tenant paid rent to the lord of the manor but did
not owe services or quit rent.
The Lord of the Manor, or his
deputy (the steward), held a meeting of the manor court at least twice a
year. Every tenant had to attend, on penalty of a fine, unless he could
provide a valid reason for his absence. These excuses/fines were known
as Essoins. The purpose of the court was to administer the agriculture
of the manor, the Lord's and tenant's rights and duties, and to resolve
disputes between tenants. There were two types of manor court, with
different functions.
The court leet (granted by the monarch to
the manorial lord, who usually applied for it) dealt with the
appointment of manorial officials; heard those criminal offenses not
punishable by common law (usually referred to as the assizes); resolved
disputes involving money in excess of 40 shillings; and handled
non-estate matters such as affray, selling of merchandise, instruments
of punishment and general unsocial conduct.
The court baron dealt
with changes in manorial tenancy; heard cases of petty misdemeanors;
resolved money disputes involving less than 40 shillings and minor
infringements of property rights. It also legislated for the customs
applying to the land, its use and its family descent. Each court upheld
the rights of both its lord and its tenants. It was the lord's court and
was chaired normally by his official, the steward. For matters over and
beyond such agricultural concerns, the manor was represented at the
Hundred Court, an open-air forum.
From surviving material, it
appears there were only two manors in Maryland which are stated to have
had court leet and courts baron--St. Clement's (as some of those records
survived) and St. Gabriel's where it is stated that on March 7, 1656,
James Gaylard, the steward of Mrs. Mary Brent, 'the Lady' of the manor,
gave delivery by the rod according to the custome of the sayd Mannor of
a messuage and thirty-seven and a half acres of land to one Martin Kirke
(Arch. Md. xli, 94).
The court leet and court baron were usually
combined in one sitting. Manorial records included: Court rolls/books to
record manor court proceedings; a listing the tenants, with rents due;
and extents and surveys (statements of the extent and valuation of the
manorial lands and properties--usually made when the manor changed hands
and often accompanied by maps or plans of the estate). Names of tenants
were sometimes included.
Proprietary Manors in Maryland: Lord Baltimore received a
royal grant of that part of Virginia north and east of the Potomac
River between 38 degrees and 40 degrees north latitude. The
designated area included what is now Maryland, Delaware and the
southern part of Pennsylvania up to about present day Philadelphia.
The first Lord Baltimore died in 1632, but his son and heir,
Cecil Calvert sent his younger brother, Leonard, with "very near 20
gentleman of very good fashion and 300 laboring men" and two
Catholic fathers, Andrew White and John Altham to begin the Maryland
colonization. They arrived in Chesapeake waters in March, 1634,
coming to anchor near the mouth of the "Petomeack" - or, as they
renamed it, the "St Gregory" - at St. Clement's Island.
In
1633, before the first colonists departed England, Lord Baltimore
published a document, called Conditions of Plantation, which used a
system called head rights for the purposes of populating his colony.
For every five men transported, 1,000 acres was granted. Each 1,000
acres would form a manor. As a result, the province was divided into
proprietary manors. The Conditions of Plantation, and hence the acre
amounts, were revised many times throughout Maryland's infancy.
A warrant would be issued to the surveyor general to lay off the
required acres and then a deed or grant (called a patent) was issued
in the name of the proprietor to the 'freeholder.'
Patents
specified the conditions of holding the land. One of these
conditions was that the land (not the freeholder) pay an annual quit
rent based on its size or acres. Failure to pay the quit rent
usually resulted in the land being escheat back to 'his Lordship.'
Accounts were kept of which tracts were paying their quit rent by
use of unofficial 'Rent Rolls' which normally tabulated the tract
name, acres, survey/patent data, annual rent due, alienations and
current possessor. By 1683, the proprietor stopped granting land
based on the Conditions of Plantation but instead started charging a
fee (called caution money) for the patent of tracts in Maryland.
The lord proprietor also leased land to those who could not
afford to pay the cost of survey, patent and quit rent. In 1666, the
proprietor had large tracts of land called proprietary manors
surveyed whose ownership was to remain with his lordship and which
would not be granted for patents {PA:10:327,328,etc}. These lands
were divided up into tracts and assigned to 'leaseholders.' The
period of rent was usually for three lives (three people named and
as long as one still lived the lease was in effect) or some other
extended period of time. Ironically, the aforementioned rent rolls
did not include entries for this rented land! St Mary's County,
Maryland (as bounded today) contained six such proprietary manors.
About 1765 the then Lord Baltimore, Fredrick Calvert, being
desperate for funds, attempted to sell off all of the leased land on
his Maryland manors. This attempt prompted an assessment of all of
the tracts on these manors in 1767/68. Brumbaugh (1928) has provided
a compilation of these assessments. {GMB:II:002}. No lots were sold
in Beaverdam Manor and only about 30% of the available land of
Chaptico Manor was sold.
During the time of the Revolutionary
war, the Continental Congress urged the newfound states to
confiscate lands belonging to the British loyalists. By the 1780s,
Maryland found itself in possession of huge manors as the result of
an Act for the Confiscation of British Properties. The individual
tracts of the leaseholders were put up for auction by the state soon
after the war. These large-scale land sales produced surveys and
plats which may now be found at the Maryland State Archives in
Annapolis Md. These include survey/plats both before and after the
sales. There are sometimes differences in the two but most of these
may be considered minor. The intention here is to show the lots as
surveyed in the 1780/90s. The eventual possessors of the patented
land were sometimes different than those for whom the lots were
surveyed.
Almost all of the plats and assessments used some
sort of numbering system to identify the manor lots. These lot
numbers do not appear to remain in any sequence or order and may
have been assigned by the person doing the assessment/survey. The
lot numbers as given on the plats with the exception of Chaptico,
are numbered as found listed in Ben Tippett's Survey Journal
{BT:B:205}.
Basford Manor was
granted to Thomas Gerard in March 1650. It was located to the north
of St. Clement's Manor and was laid out for 1500 ac. but a resurvey
found that it contained a much larger area. The property was sold to
Governor Thomas Notley prior to Gerard's death in 1673. In 1678,
Notley laid off 300 acres of this property as "Bachelor's Hope" and
placed it in the possession of Benjamin Rozier. He sold the
remaining part to Lord Baltimore who conveyed part of it as
"Bachelor's Hope" to Joshua Doyne. The remainder of the manor was
subsequently divided up and sold as follows: James Mills, 100 ac.,
Notley Goldsmith, 100 ac., Michael Goldsmith, 100 ac., John Reeves,
100 ac., Nathaniel Truman Greenfield, 104 ac., Benjamin Moulton, 200
ac., Edward Turner, 200 ac., John Smith, 200 ac., Samuel Maddox, 69
ac., John Maddox, 150 ac., and John Eden, 277 ac.
Beaverdam
Manor was referenced as a proprietary manor in 1664 {PA:07:229}. An
undated survey was recorded in 1666 that contained 7,680 acres in
Calvert County {PA:10:329}. This manor was lying in the woods just
to the southwest of Resurrection Manor, Fenwick Manor and DeLaBrooke
Manor. The northeast boundary corresponds roughly to the present Md.
route 235. The assessment done in 1768 shows the manor contained 82
lots {GMB:II:063}. Two of these were patent lands, i.e. a 90-acre
portion of The Inclosure which was Surveyed for Henry Lowe on 16
August 1694, and a 500-acre tract named Rich Neck which was patented
to John Attaway on 10 December 1714 {PA:FF#7:223}.
Beaverdam
Manor was seized as British property by the State of Maryland in
1780. The sale of the property was to be used to pay those who had
loaned money for the war effort and to soldiers of the American
Revolution. (Archives of MD, Vol. 14, p. 189, 1765; Vol. 203, p.
275, 1780). In 1790 it was laid out into 49 lots by George Fenwick
{BT:A:153} and these lots were sold in the same year are tabulated
in table 7.
Chaptico Manor was a propriety manor established
in 1671, said to contain about 20,000 acres. It was seized as
British property by the State of Maryland in 1780, to be sold to pay
those who had loaned money for the war effort and to soldiers of the
Revolutionary War. (Archives of MD, Vol. 203, p. 275).
A
letter dated August 26, 1651, from Cecil(ius) Calvert, Lord
Baltimore, to the governor and inhabitants of our said Providence of
Maryland did hereby authorise and require a manor of about eight or
ten thousand acres be erected in the head of the Wicocomico River
called Choptico. The surveyor-general of the province, Robert
Clarke, was charged with laying out the tract which was to contain
1,000 acres of demesne land for the Calverts and the rest to be
granted as estates for one, two or three lives to any Indian or
Indians that shall desire the same. Cecil even proposed the name of
Calverton Manor for what appears to be Maryland's first Indian
reservation {AM:I:329}.
The civil war in England and the
resultant turmoil in the colony's government apparently resulted in
the first official survey of the manor being done some 20 years
later. On September 14, 1671, this survey of his lordships Mannor of
Chopticoe was done by Richard Edelen {PA:16:406}. No acres were
cited in the survey, but based on the bounds given, the manor
contained about 20,000 acres. During the 20-year hiatus between the
manor's authorization and its first survey, many
Indian-Colonist-Proprietor confrontations were experienced within
the area since the proprietor had also been granting patents to
colonists within the manor's bounds {AM:I:431, AM:LI:440}.
Before 1695, St Mary's County extended north to the fresh run
(Zachiah Swamp) of the Wicomico River and encompassed all of
Chaptico Manor. The realignment of Maryland's counties and the
removal of the capital to Annapolis circa 1695, resulted in moving
the county line just north of Budd's Creek and essentially divided
Chaptico Manor between St. Mary's County and Charles County.
The manor's 1768 assessment revealed 53 leasehold lots containing
6876.25 acres while 2,120 acres had been granted patents. An
additional 441 leasehold acres were sold during Fredrick's 1768-1771
manor sale {GAS:106}.
The post-revolutionary sale consisted
of 32 lots containing 5,375.125 acres, most of which were surveyed
by one John Fredrick Augustice Priggs in 1783/84. Mr. Priggs often
referred to a plat of the Chaptico Manor lots, which has not yet
been located.
Conception Manor: Surveyed for Ferdinand
Poulton, a Jesuit priest, in 1639 {01:039} who was never granted a
patent since the land was acquired from the Indians. Instead, "St.
George's Island", 1,000 ac. was surveyed for him on 11/9/1639 and on
7/28/1641, it was combined with St. Inigoes Manor and granted to
Thomas Copley (Chr. of SM).
Delabrooke Manor: 2,000 acres
granted to Robert Brooke in 1650 {AB&H:350}. By agreement with
Cecelius Calvert, Robert Brooke was to receive a manor of 2,000
acres for every 10 persons that he transported. When he arrived in
Maryland, he brought his wife, 10 children and 28 servants. The
lands granted to Robert Brooke were located on either side of the
Patuxent River. Although Delabrooke Manor was sometimes described as
being located in Calvert County, it was actually in St. Mary's
County. When Calvert County was created, the upper part of St.
Mary's County was made a part of the new county. Although there must
have been some reason for this decision, the rationing behind it
escapes me as the natural barrier between the counties was the
Patuxent River. This decision was reversed some 50 years later.
Brooke Place Manor, another major parcel, became a part of Calvert
County.
Eltonhead Manor: Granted to William Eltonhead in
1649. In 1648, William Eltonhead (brother of Jane Eltonhead who
married first, Robert Moryson of VA and secondly, Cuthbert Fenwick)
had been granted letters patent to the Manor of Little Eltonhead of
2,000 ac. described then as in Calvert Co. but later in St. Mary's
County. In 1652, his uncle, Edward Eltonhead, Esq. was granted Great
Eltonhead Manor, 5,000 acres in Calvert County proper and was also
given a warrant for another manorial grant of 10,000 ac. which he
requested that his nephew William to put through the proper
channels. The seizure of power by the Puritans and the employment of
the firing squad at the Battle of the Severn in 1655 in which
William Eltonhead with other conservatives was one of the first
victims, precluded the formal survey and patent. (Flowering of the
MD Palantine by Harry Wright Newman). Newman is INCORRECT. This
William Eltonhead was not the brother of Jane. Her brother, William
Eltonhead was living as late as 1656. He may be an uncle, rather
than a brother. NOTE: William Eltonhead was executed by the Puritans
on 3/25/1655.
Fenwick Manor was granted to Cuthbert Fenwick
in 1651. As soon as Cuthbert Fenwick completed his service under
Capt. Thomas Cornwalys, he assumed his place among the major gentry
of the Province and thereafter was given the title of Gentleman. In
1640 he transported six servants and the next year another five for
which he was granted baronial rights on a 2,000 ac. manor called
"Fenwick" but which he also referred to as "The Manor of St.
Cuthbert". (Flowering of the Maryland Palantine by Harry Wright
Newman).
Mill Manor: This Proprietary Manor included 1,924
acres in 1765 and was situated on the western side of the main and
northern branches of the St. George's River (now the St. Mary's
River). Two tracts in the area, The Mill and The Mill Dam, were laid
out in 1665 for Charles Calvert {PA:08:499}. A tract named St.
Leonard's containing 2400 acres was surveyed on 30 April 1675 for
his Lords.p, later assigned to his son Leonard and by 1707 was being
called Mill Manor {RR:7&8:20}. The first survey found of the manor's
bounds occurred in 1755 and claimed the manor contained 1,924 acres.
The lots were re-surveyed in 1768 by Benjamin Morgan {PA:UPC:307}.
An undated plat of the manor's bounds and its lots was done by Jesse
Locke circa 1788 {PR:4:040}. This plat also shows the location of
four millponds along the St Mary's river within the manor. The lots'
individual surveys all appear to be dated 12 August 1788
{BT:B:083,84,242,243. Lord Baltimore directed the property to be
sold in 1765. (Archives of MD, Vol. 14, p. 189).
Resurrection
Manor: contained 4,000 acres patented by Thomas Cornwallis on
3/24/1650. This property was in the possession of George Plowden by
1707. Cornwallis apparently disposed of this property prior to his
return to England in 1659. The ownership of all of the land after
that time is not clear.
John Bateman, a haberdasher from
London, immigrated to Maryland in 1659. He died in 1663. He patented
"The Farm", 500 ac. (Resurrection 100) before 1663 and his wife
patented the same, 8/28/1666. Richard Perry sold the property to
George and Thomas Plowden, 5/10/1684 (Fresco). He also patented
"Thorp", 400 ac. (Resurrection 100) 5/26/1663 which was poss. by
Captain Perry in England, 1707 (Chr. of SM). His ownership, of
course, only accounts for 900 of the 4000 acres.
St. Ann's
Manor: Granted to John Lewger in 1640 {01:108}. He gave it back
after the Indian raids of 1642.
St. Clement's Manor was
granted to Thomas Gerard on November 3, 1639. It originally lay on
the island of that name in St. Mary's County and contained 1,030
acres. It was resurveyed for Gerard in 1642. Additional land was
added which increased the size to 6,000 acres. In 1678 it was
resurveyed again for Justinian Gerard, who had inherited it from his
father, and again with additional acreage, it then contained 11,400
acres.
Marmaduke Snow, brother-in-law of Thomas Gerrard,
attempted to take St. Clement's Manor and did, in fact succeed in
Provincial Court in 1664. In 1666, however, the decision was
overturned by the General Assembly, but by this time Gerard had
moved to his property in Westmoreland Co., VA.
St.
Elizabeth's Manor: Granted to Thomas Cornwallis in 1639 {01:110}.
Next to Cornwallis Cross Manor (now known as Cross Manor). On 9 Aug
1661 Cornwallis sold Cross Manor and St. Elizabeth's Mannor to John
Nutthall of Virginia {AM:XLIX:003}. On 21 July 1669 both Cross
Manor, and St. Elizabeths Manor were sold by John Nutthall to Walter
Hall {AM:LVII:557}.
St. Gabriel's Manor: containing 900
acres, was granted on August 13, 1641 to Gov. Leonard Calvert
(1606-1647), the younger brother of Cecilius Calvert, the Lord
Proprietary. Mary Brent, the lady of the manor in 1656, was probably
a close relative of Leonard Calvert's wife, and may have been the
guardian of his two children, who were minors at that time.
(Archives of Maryland, Vol. 53, preface 61).
St. Gregory's
Manor: Surveyed for Ferdinand Pulton in 1639 {01:039}. Never
granted.
St. Inigoes Manor: Granted to Ferdinand Pulton in
1639 {01:040}. Repatented to include St. George's Island by Cuthbert
Fenwick in 1641 {01:115}. At this time Fenwick was an agent for the
Jesuits.
In 1662 and 1663 two prominent Catholics, Thomas
Mathews and Cuthbert Fenwick, conveyed separately three important
manors to Henry Warren of St. Inigoes, unquestionably for church
purposes and probably as Jesuit holdings, although no reference is
made to this in the deeds, which were not recorded until 1666. On
July 12, 1663, Fenwick conveyed to Warren the manor of St. Inigoes,
containing 2000 acres and St. George's Island, both lying in St.
Mary's County. The deeds were recorded March 22, 1666. (Proceedings
of the Provincial Court of Maryland 1666-1670, Volume LVII Preface
55).
St. Jerome's Freehold: Not a manor. Granted as a
freehold to William Hawley in 1653 {AB&H:346}.
St. Joseph's
Manor: was granted to Nicholas Harvey on 1/25/1642. He arrived on
the "Ark and Dove" and is noted as having been transported into the
Colony by Father Andrew White. In January, 1639, Governor Calvert
selected him as Captain of 12 men to wage a war against the
Mattapanient Indians (Archives of MD, III:87). He returned to
England where he married and had a daughter, Frances. On 9/1/1641
Cecelius Calvert (Second Lord Baltimore who was running the Colony
from England) wrote a letter to his brother, Leonard Calvert,
Governor of MD, requesting that Nicholas Harvey be given manorial
rights provided he transport himself, his wife, and five other
persons. In 1641 Harvey received 1,000 A. for transporting himself,
his wife (not named), three menservants--Robert Beard, Henry Spink,
and John Chair, a boy named Robert Ford, and his daughter Frances
Harvey. His patent was for "St. Joseph's Manor". It was formally
granted to him on 1/25/1642.
St. Leonard's Manor: Also
surveyed for Ferdinand Pulton in 1639 {01:039}. Never granted.
St. Michael's Manor: Granted to Leonard Calvert in 1641
{AB&H:098}. This manor, Trinity Manor and St Gabriel's Manor where
three tracts which were granted to Leonard Calvert, probably just
after the colonists arrival. Since there were no early written
records, the official granting of these manors doesn't appear until
1641.
Trinity, St Gabriel and St Michael Manors: These three
manors were "laid out" for Leonard Calvert on 13 August 1641
{PA:01:121,123}.
The overall bounds were given first: "...
bounding on the North with Trinity Bay, on the East with a right
line drawn from the head of a Creek in the said Bay called Norton's
Creek along by the heads of Cauthers Creek and James Creek and so
forward due South East until it fall upon a Creek running into
Chesapeake bay called the Deep Creek then with the Said Deep Creek
and Chesapeake Bay on the South and West with Patowmock River
Containing 3000 acres thereabouts."
The individual bounds
were then: "The Said parcell of Land ffurther Subdivided into 3
parcells for manors, the first parcell by the name of Trinity
Mannor, bounding on the North wth Trinity Bay, on the East with a
line drawn from Norton's Creek unto the head of James's branch, on
the South with the Said James's branch and broad creek and on the
West with Patowmock River containing 600 acres thereabouts.~ The
Second parcell of Land by the name of St. Gabriels Mannor, bounding
on North with aforesaid Trinity Mannor, on the east with a line
drawn from the head of James's branch unto the Deep Creek, and from
the head of that Creek, Southwesterly unto the head of a Creek in
the Patowmock River called the Oister Creek, on the South with the
Said Oister Creek and on the West ith Patowmock River Containing 900
acres or thereabout.~The parcell of Land by the name of St.
Michael's Mannor, bounding on the North with the Said St. Gabriel's
Mannor and including all the residue of Land between Patowmock River
on the West, Chesapeake Bay on the East and St. Michael's point on
the South, containing 1500 acres or thereabouts".
The
description of these tracts was relatively simple, cited
topographical landmarks (waterways) and one would think be easy to
locate. All one has to do is ascertain the locations of the various
waterways cited. Current maps list only Potomac River, Chesapeake
Bay, Deep Creek and a Harry James Creek. One Henry James was a
tenant on St. Gabriel's Manor in the early 1640s {AM:X:93} and this
creek most certainly has retained a modification of his name.
Trinity Bay {Many early waterways progressed from being called bays
and rivers to creeks.} can be proved to be the current Smith Creek
and Jutland Creek by analyzing land tracts patented in the 1700s,
which then bordered on Trinity Bay/Creek. These tracts include
Triple Defense, Smiths Rest, Jones Fortune and Hazard and all
contained metes and bounds which could be related to the shore line
of Trinity/Smiths/Jutland creeks {PA etc etc etc}.
The
location of Norton's Creek, the beginning of Trinity Manor, can be
ascertained from the patents of Osberton's Oak, 1658, {PA:Q:441},
Smiths Rest, 1694, { PA:C#03:031} and Triple Defense, 1734 {
PA:AM#1:211}. Today Norton's Creek is shown as Deep Cove on some
maps.
Trinity Manor: begins at the head of Norton's Creek.
The eastern bound can be interpreted two different ways depending on
which description is used- the overall or first parcel. The overall
cites a right {straight} line along the heads of Cauther's Creek and
James' Creek. The only creek that would intersect such a line is
today called Calvert's Creek and therefore Cauther's Creek is
identified. The survey for Trinity Manor just says a line drawn from
the head of Norton's Creek to the head of James's branch. This
branch would extend further inland than the head of its creek. This
line actually crosses over Cauther's Creek. Again adjacent tracts
patented in the 1700s, Triple Defense, 1734 {PA:AM#1:211} and
Pineland, 1728, { PA:EI#03:464} verify that the line did in fact
cross over Cauther's/Calvert's Creek and not go around it.
Since the manor was also bounded on the south by Broad Creek this
creek can now be identified as today's Rawley Bay.
Some
"mapologists" have identified today's Calvert Creek as Norton's
Creek. The above rationale should refute these claims. Another
reason is that if Trinity Manor did begin at today's Calvert Creek,
there would have been a large vacant and desirable tract between
Calvert and Trinity Creek. It most certainly would have been
surveyed and patented very early on. No records exist for such
transactions.
The location of "the head of James' branch" had
apparently mystified the local residents for some time. A special
Land Commision was convened in March 1806 at the petition of one
Mordecai Jones to "examine evidence and perpetuate the boundaries"
of St. Gabriel's Manor {LC:JH01:183}. Depositions of local
inhabitants were taken which revealed a similar commission had
previously convened "between 1780 and 1783" to "prove the beginning
of St. Gabriel's Manor and the ending of Trinity Manor". The
depositions of Robert Armstrong, Elwiley Smith, Absalom Tennison,
William Richardson and George Loker each verified "that at the place
where he now stands or thereabouts" to be the beginning of St.
Gabriel's Manor and ending of Trinity Manor. After two years and
eleven pages of testimony, nowhere in the proceedings does the
commission identify the actual place where the deponents stood!
Another Land Commission convened in 1817 for a division of Harry
James Neck contains a survey with metes and bounds which states
"...reputed to be the beginning of St. Gabriel's Manor and ending of
Trinity Manor." {LC:JH02:006}.
St. Gabriel's Manor begins at
the head of James' branch. The line then runs "due South East"
according to the overall description to Deep Creek. A line drawn SE
(South 45 degrees East) does not fall "unto" Deep Creek but it does
intersect what is now a branch of Long Neck Creek. From this point,
the line goes southwesterly unto the head of Oister [Oyster] Creek.
This "Southwesterly" line, no matter how sloppily drawn, will
intersect today's Potter's Creek, which identifies the Oister Creek
of the original survey. Just what part of this creek was considered
the "head" is conjecture.
On 3 October 1661 William Calvert,
Leonard's son, made an indenture with Thomas and Henry Potter to
"farme Letten" (rent) a tenement called Potter's Plantation
{AM:LVII:285}. This tenement was within St. Gabriel's Manor.
St. Michael's Manor was bounded on the North by St. Gabriel's Manor
and then Deep Creek . I feel that part of the northern boundary was
actually what is today called Long Neck Creek and not Deep Creek.
The following rationale supports this theory.
As stated
before, a line drawn from the head of James' branch, due Southwest
will not intersect Deep Creek but will intersect the main branch of
Long Neck Creek. Furthermore the entire western side of Deep Creek
was granted in 1658 to Thomas Keyting and called Bella Keyting
{PA:Q:444}. .
Likewise, on 2 November 1694, a 150-acre tract
named Bampfield Woods was surveyed for Thomas Grunwin and patented
on 5 October 1695 { PA:C#03:001} . This tract is between Deep Creek
and Long Neck Creek. Grunwin would never have been able to patent
this land if the area was part of St. Michael's Manor {Once land was
patented it could only be re-patented if it became escheat or the
re-patent corrected errors or included vacancies. Grunwin's land was
warranted under the Conditions of Plantation and not as escheat or
correction}.
St. Richard's Manor: Granted to Richard Gardiner
in 1640 for 1,000 acres. On September 23, 1662, Luke Gardiner and
his wife, Elizabeth gave a quit claim deed to Luke Barber and his
wife, Elizabeth for St. Richard's Manor, 1,000 acres. (Provincial
Court Proceedings, Archives of MD, Vol. 49, p. 33). Gardiner
abandoned the manor during the raids of 1642 and during Ingle's
Rebellion 1645-1646. The property was repatented to his son, Luke
Gardiner, in 1652. Luke Gardner (and wife Elizabeth) sold it to Luke
Barber on 23 Sep 1662 {AM:XLIX:033}. Luke Barber sold it to Richard
Cane on 27 Oct 1662 {AM:XLIX:127}. By 1707, St. Richard's Manor
belonged to the heirs of Andrew Abington.
Snow Hill Manor: On
29 February 1639/40, a patent was issued to London merchant Abel
Snow, brother of Susanna Snow (wife of Thomas Gerard) for 6000
acres. (PA:01:056}. A year later it was noted that this manor was
never seated and the tract was resurveyed but now contained only
1000 acres. On 12 February 1640/41 a patent was issued again to Abel
Snow {PA:01:109}. Abel probably never came to Maryland but his
brothers Justinian and Marmaduke had been here since 25 January
1637/38 {AM:I:002}. It appears Justinian was seated in the manor
when he died in the winter/spring of 1638/39 {AM:IV:079}. It is
thought Marmaduke later returned to England and the manor went
escheat based on an act relating to deserted plantations passed on
29 April 1650. On 24 December 1652, the manor was resurveyed for 900
acres and a patent was granted to James Lindsey and Richard Willan
{PA:AB&H:252}. Lindsey sold his half to Philip Calvert in 1663.
After the death of Abel Snow in 1666, Thomas Gerard claimed the land
in right of his wife but Marmaduke Snow, another of her brothers,
filed suit.
The rent rolls of 1705 reveal that all of Snow
Hill Manor was being leased by his Lordship with the exception of
200 acres in the possession of Richard Calvert. The assessment of
1768 reveals that the manor contained a total of 982.5 acres which
included the escheat freeholds of St. John's and St. Barbara's.
The land to the west of the manor were first granted to Thomas
Gerard and called Gerard's Freehold {PA:01:050}. These lands became
escheat and were then granted to Jerome White and called Pork Hall
{PA:05:421}. The land to the east of Snow Hill was granted to
Nathaniel Pope on 27 February 1639 and called Pope's Freehold
{PA:01:054}. This land eventually became part of St John's Freehold
and even later was included in Snow Hill Manor. On 13 May 1769, this
area was surveyed for Reverend Moses Tabbs and on 25 November 1769
was patented to him as Tabb's Purchase {PA:BC&GS40:237}.
The
resultant post revolution sale of the leaseholds and vacancies
resulted in eight lots (two of which were patented land) plotted by
Jesse Locke and shown in table 4 {PR:4:002}.
There appeared
to be some confusion as to the later bounds of Pork Hall. The
eastern bound was a creek called fresh creek and the western bound
was another creek called Gerard's Creek. These original bounds
approximate those of Lot VIII (The Vineyard). Later tracts of the
area place the western bound even further west at what was then
called Bluestone Run but is now called the Eastern Branch
{PA:AB&H:382 & LR:JH10:056}.
West St. Mary's Manor: On 9 May
1634, a patent for 4,000 acres was granted to Henry Fleete, a
Virginia trader, who acted as interpreter and guide for the Maryland
colonists when they first arrived in the Potomac River. This
property was upon the West Side of St George's [Mary's] River over
against St Maries' {PA:01:097}. No description of the bounds of this
early grant has been found. By 1638, Fleete appears to have become
disgruntled with the Calverts due to the trading restrictions they
imposed in the colony and he returned to Virginia {PA:02:085}. West
Saint Mary's went escheat to his Lordship.
On 26 September
1640, West St. Mary's manor was resurveyed for Thomas Cornwallis and
contained 2,000 acres {PA:01:096}. The patent was issued on 10
November 1640 and excluded five freeholds previously patented or
possessed within the manor's boundaries. By 1654, Cornwallis had
granted his attorney, Richard Hodgkeys, the power to sell all of his
Maryland holdings with the exception of 100 acres {PA:01:627}. West
St. Mary's Manor again went escheat to his Lordship.
In April
1660, Robert Clarke laid out for the proprietor, Cecil Calvert,
2,000 acres called West Saint Mary's {PA:04:543}. Since the
proprietor now re-owned the land, a patent was not needed. The rent
rolls of 1660 cited six freeholds within the manor's bounds
{RR:0:12,13} as shown in table 2. Interestingly, Philip West's
freehold, Frog Marsh, 200 acres {PA:01:074}, is stated as not being
part of the manor. It is well within the manor bounds and was one of
the five freeholds excluded in the 1640 patent.
An undated
survey recorded in 1666 defining West St Maries Proprietary Mannour
increased the manor's size to 2,300 acres {PA:10:328}. Since the
bounds essentially remained the same, this increase is not
considered due to an enlargement of the manor's size but to a
refined calculation of the manor's area.
On 12 May 1676, his
Lordship granted a 334-acre tract within the manor to Kenelm
Cheseldine, which he called Dryden, after his daughter. Dryden was
resurveyed for 483 acres in 1695 {PA:CC#4:149}. Another 75 acre
tract called The Inclosure was laid out on 5 May 1700 and granted to
John Lowe {PA:DD#5:006}.
The 1768 assessment showed the manor
to contain 3,091 acres (another refinement in the acre calculation)
of which leaseholds (16) and vacancies comprised 1,370.25 acres. The
majority of the tracts contained ... the soil stiff & poor ...
{GMB:II:xi}. Patented lands within the manor now comprised 8
freeholds totaling 1,720.75 acres. Most of these were owned by
Vernon Hebb {GMB:II:74}.
The resultant post revolution sale
of the leaseholds and vacancies resulted in eight lots as plotted by
Jesse Locke. Jesse was the first St Mary's County Surveyor under
statehood.
Westbury Manor: Granted to Thomas Weston in 1642
{AB&H:058}. This manor eventually was in possession of John Connant
by 1707. Connant had married the daughter of Thomas Weston, the
original patentee, and lived in new England. In 1737 John Connant
sold it to Josiah Connant. {RR:7&8:016}. By 1753 Westbury Manor was
in the possession of Abraham Barnes who had devised it to his son
Richard Barnes by 1793 By 1812 the land had passed to Richard Barnes
heirs ie John Mason. Mason divided and sold many lots off the manor
between ca 1820 and ca 1840.
Westwood Manor: 1600 acres
granted to Thomas Gerard in 1657 {AB&H:199} Patent not found. Now in
Charles County.
Wollaston Manor: 2000 acres granted to James
Neale in 1642 {01:113}. Now in Charles County.
Woolsey Manor:
This manor, often spelled Wolseley, Wolsey, Woosley, etc., was
situated on the eastern side of the main and northern branches of
the St. George's River and was part of the original 6,000 acres of
Snow Hill Manor in an area called Portoback's Quarter {PA:01:055}.
Woolsey Manor was first surveyed on 18 August 1664 for Phillip
Calvert for 1900 acres {PA:06:277}. A later survey done on 18 August
1764 (exactly 100 years later) increased the size to 2,950 acres
{PA:UC:513}. There are no records of any patented lots within this
manor prior to 1790. Another undated plat of this manor and its lots
was also done by Jesse Locke {PR:4:040}. The lots, whose individual
surveys were dated 24 June 1790 {BT:B:74,75,78,272}.
Some Observations (by Pete)
Miles of Mills: Four of the six
proprietary manors in St Mary's County were located on either side
of the St. George's River. By 1743, this river was also being called
the St. Mary's River {BT:B:226}. The headwaters or branches of this
river contained many milldams and lots. . It is quite conceivable
that there were additional mills further up the northern and western
branches. Ben Tippett says the northern mill (Watts' Mill) was
washed away ... by the memorable flood in August 1817. {BT:A:226}.
It is most probable that the mills further down river suffered
extensive damage as well. Tippett also provides a later history
(circa 1870) of the Indian Bridge Mill and the Middle Mill also
named Tarlton's, Clifton Factory and later Cecil's Mill {BT:B:298}.
The location of the Great Mill pond as shown by Locke appears to
cover today's downtown Great Mills. I can understand this as I once
had to row a Volkswagen through there. A review of a topographical
map done by Major James Kearney in 1823, shows the roads in this
area to be quite different than today. I've assumed the roads shown
on this 1823 map to have remained fairly stable in location for the
ensuing 30 years. The Great Mills beltway is quite obvious.
Regina Combs Hammett has written an excellent article on the mills
in this area entitled My Search for the Great Mill and the result is
presented in five succeeding issues of the Chronicles of St. Mary's
{CSM:20:11 to 21:4}. The article provides a definitive history of
the Great Mills area.
Vacancies and Resurveys: Many of the
early land surveys in the Maryland colony were done to satisfy the
acre requirements due the freeholder or leaseholder. As a result,
many early tracts were rectangular in dimension and usually oriented
on an existing body of water (rivers, bays, streams, etc.). Many of
these tracts excluded undesirable land such as swamps, large ravines
and areas inaccessible to navigable waters. These trends in laying
off the early tracts produced many vacancies, i.e. unclaimed or
unpatented land lying between existing tracts. The beginning of the
18th century saw many land entrepreneurs taking advantage of new
land laws to claim these vacancies and also abandoned or escheat
tracts. The resultant resurveys, which by now were also
incorporating improved survey procedures, produced many odd shaped
tracts of land. By the late 1700's some tracts were a combination of
many courses which sometimes defy the imagination. The Labyrinth in
Chaptico Manor, Jarboe's Ramble near Mill Manor and both Harm Watch
Harm Ketch and Abell's Inclosure to the south of Beaverdam Manor are
examples of some of the more bizarre tracts found. Roundabouts were
rampant and the Ramble did just that{CSM:47:01:356}.
Many works have been published which give the
history, development and the demise of Maryland's proprietary
manors. Some of the more excellent sources are:
Fenwick,
Laverne. (1957). The Confiscation of British Property in Maryland.
Chronicles of St. Mary's (July, 1957), Vol. 7, p. 68-81.
Stiverson, Gregory A. (1977). Poverty in a Land of Plenty: Tenancy
in Eighteen-Century Maryland. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press.
Extensive history of Maryland's Proprietary manors.
Includes political, economical, social factors. Charts, tables,
appendices and references galore.
Brumbaugh, Gauis M. (1928).
Maryland Records Colonial: Revolutionary, County and Church (Volume
II). Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc.
Original
assessment of Kent and West Saint Maries manors is photocopied in
frontispiece. Tabulated data for all of the 1767/1768 proprietary
manor assessments. Great genealogical source for late 1700s.
Land Ownership History from Chronicles of St. Mary's
Article
Volume Number Date
1705 Tract Map of SMC 21 5 5/1973
A Trip on
the Patuxent River 16 7 7/1968
A Trip on the Patuxent River 16 9
9/1968
A Trip on the Patuxent River 16 10 10/1968
America
Felix Secundus 46 3 Fall 1998
Cobb's Island 17 4 4/1969
Confiscation of British Property in Maryland 5 7 7/1957
Earliest
Proprietors of Capitol Hill 13 1 1/1965
Earliest Proprietors of
Capitol Hill 13 2 2/1965
General Index - Land Records, SMC
1827-1907 13 12 12/1965
Glossary for Colonial Cloth fabrics 29 12
12/1981
Keeping History Alive at Sotterly Plantation 46 4 Winter
1998
Leonardtown 11 8 8/1963
Leonardtown, Maryland 28 10
10/1980
Memories of St. George's Island 40 1 Spring 1992
Old
St. Mary's 15 7 7/1967
Papist Lands in St. Mary's County, 1760 49
1 Spring 2001
Piney Point, St. Mary's County 32 8 8/1984
Place
Names in SMC 27 1 1/1979
Reconstructing the shifting Boundaries
of St. John's with addition 37 3 Fall 1989
Resurrection Manor 46
1 Spring 1998
Scenes from St. George's Island 40 1 Spring 1992
Search for Radnor 45 3 Fall 1997
Settlement of Wickliff's Creek
31 9 9/1983
Short History of St. Clement's Island 6 11 11/1958
St. Clement's (Blackistone) Island 11 7 7/1963
St. Clement's
Island 18 3 3/1970
St. Clement's Island 9 9 9/1961
St.
Clements Island 12 8 8/1964
St. George's Island 13 11 11/1965
St. George's Island Memories 40 1 Spring 1992
St. George's Island
Revisited 46 4 Winter 1998
St. Mary's City Motel 32 10 10/1984
The St. Mary's - Charles County Border 34 2 2/1985
Tour of the
Wicomico River 16 11 11/1968
Vanishing Assets, The Land That Was
and Isn't (Scotland Beach) 34 9 9/1985
Vineyard of Beaverdam
Manor 39 2 Summer 1991
Manor History from Chronicles of St.
Mary's
Manor volume
Basford Manor Vol. 9, No. 11 November
1961; Vol. 9, No 12
Bushwood Manor Vol. 12, No. 12, December
1964; Vol. 7, No. 10, October 1959
Cross Manor Vol. 13, No. 7,
July 1965
Delabrooke Manor Vol. 1, No. 6, November 1953; Vol. 14,
No. 3, March 1966; Vol. 16, No. 10, October 1968
Fenwick Manor
Vol. 16, No. 10, October 1968
His Lordship's Manor Vol. 16, No.
7, July 1968
Newtown Manor Vol. 7, No. 10, October 1959
Resurrection Manor Vol. 16, No. 10, October 1968; Vol. 5, No. 8,
August 1957
St. Clements Manor Vol. 12, No. 4, April 1964; No. 5,
May 1964; Vol. 9, No. 11, November, 1961
St. Inigoes Manor Vol.
8, No. 3, March 1960
St. Joseph's Manor Vol. 16, No. 10, October
1968
St. Richard's Manor Vol. 9, No. 1 January 1961
West St.
Mary's Manor Vol. 36, No.4, Winter 1988
{Source: Liber: Folio} where:
Source is an abbreviation for
the documentation, records, index etc.
LR = Land Records, St. Mary's County Courthouse, Leonardtown, Md.
PA = Patent Records (index 55), Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, Md.
PR = Plat References (index 112), Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, Md.
RR = Rent Rolls (index 56), Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, Md. Copies available at St Mary's County Historical Society, Leonardtown, Md.
AM = Archives of Maryland, 72 volumes, William H. Browne etal, 1891, St. Mary's County Historical Society, Leonardtown, Md.
BT = Ben Tippett's Survey Journal Books A & B, St. Mary's County Courthouse, Leonardtown, Md.
GAS = Stiverson (as cited above), Historic St. Mary's City Interpreter's Library, St Mary's City, Md.
GMB = Brumbaugh (as cited above), St Mary's County Library, Leonardtown, Md.
CSM = Chronicles of St. Mary's (as cited above), Quarterly Magazine of the St. Mary's County Historical Society, Leonardtown, Md.
Liber is the Liber, Book, Volume,
etc.
Folio is the Folio, Page.
UC is an Unpatented
Certificate (survey)
All names of persons, places and things
are spelled as when found in the references.
Written and contributed Oct 2002 by Peter Himmelheber, Marcella Dawson, and Linda Reno
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