History of Western Maryland. J. Thomas Scharf
were the first judgments rendered: The State of Maryland against John Hoge Bayard, a fine of one shilling for assault and battery; Normand B. Magruder vs. Peter Devecmon, wherein the judgment of the latter obtained before John H. Bayard, justice of the peace, was reversed; The State of Maryland vs. John Glassiner, Jr., who was fined one shilling three pence " for refusing to desist from quarreling when commanded by the constable;" Same vs. George Dent, for striking George Mattingly, was fined one shilling three pence; Harmon Parsons vs. Osborn Sprigg, wherein the latter's judgment before Daniel Cresap, justice of the peace, was reversed; The State of Maryland vs. Thomas Mattingly, for going on the plantation of Thomas Beall, of Ninian, and beating him, fined one shilling three pence; Same vs. Jesse Chancy, wherein the jury found him not guilty of an assault, and the court decreed he recover from the State all the costs and charges of his defense; Same vs. Richard Glover, " for breaking the Sabbath,'' who was fined three shillings nine pence and costs, and admonished to observe in the future the Lord's day. In the first year of the organization of the Levy Court it offered rewards for wolves' scalps, as follows: one pound for that of a young wolf, and five pounds for that of an "old one. For several years preceding the completion of the court-house in 1799, the Circuit, Orphans', and Levy Courts and Tax Commissioners all met at Abraham Faw's tavern, on Green Street, west of Smallwood, on the site of the residence of the late William Landwehr, who yearly received £3 6s. 12d. for rent of his rooms for the public service, besides the perquisites of his bar and increased custom of his inn by having the courts at his hostelry.
The first six indentures, or deeds of conveyance, were recorded Jan. 1, 1791, by John Lynn, clerk of court. The first was from Jonathan Morris to John Lynn, dated Dec. 4, 1790, for lot No. 96 in Cumberland, consideration, £10; the next, from Thomas Beall, of Samuel, to Henry Kemp, dated Oct. 6, 1790, for lot No. 102 in Cumberland, consideration, £20; the third, from Edward Willson to Mark Brayfield, dated Oct. 7, 1790, for thirty-one acres (" Willson's Study"), consideration, £90; the fourth, from George Robinette to John Willison, dated Oct. 7, 1890, for twenty acres (" Addition to Two Springs"), consideration, £10; and the sixth, from Samuel Robinette and Mary Keve to Moses Robinette, dated Sept. 23, 1790, for one hundred acres (" Charles' Lot"), consideration, £90. At the April court of 1798 the grand jury were David Lynn (foreman), Peter Gephart, Samuel Poland, John C. Beatty, Josiah Beall, of Jonah, Frederick Sapp, John Brook Beall, John Brockenhart, Evan Gwynn, James King, John Graham, Benjamin Beckwith, John Matthew, Jr., Michael Collier, James Scott, William Hilleary, John H. Bayard, James Slicer, Jerard Dawson, Henry Mattingly, John Shroyer, William James, Edward Willson, Jr. At the same term the petit jury were William Shaw, Evan James, Elijah Robinson, Benjamin Morris, George Hoffman, Walter Selby, John Deakins, Jr., Conrad Creekbaum, Ralph Logsden, Aaron Duckworth, Thomas McEifish, Moses Robinette. At October court, 1798, the grand jury were William Shaw (foreman), Jacob Trullinger, John Seylar, William Davidson, Daniel Spencer, Griffith Johnson, Sr., James Wells, Godfrey Richards, Sr., Nathaniel B. Magruder, Obed McCrackin, Josiah W. Pigman, John Harness, George Rizer, John Wolf, Peter Lowdermilk, Thomas Dew, Michael Loyster, Nehemiah Barnett, John S. Hook. At same term the petit jury were Thomas Beall, of Samuel, John Bridenhart, Elijah Robinson, Andrew Harry, Robert Larrimore, Benjamin G. Vaughn, Dickinson Simpkins, Henry Winower, Jacob Neff, William Berton, Edward Ward, Daniel Lantz. At the April court, 1799, the grand jury were Thomas Blair, Benjamin Tomlinson, John B. Beall, James Slicer, John Tomlinson, Samuel Poland, Sr., Thomas Wilson, George Fouty, Ralph Logsden, David Lynn (foreman), Thomas McEifish, Robert Cresap, William Hilleary, Benjamin Coddington, Robert Tivis, Evan Gwynn, Henry Stitsman, George Hoffman, James Scott, George Hinkle, Sr., Samuel Selby. Sr. At the same term the petit jury were John Logsden, James Danison, Edward Ward, William Logsden, John Deakins, Sr., Conrad Creekbaum, Peter Gephard, Paul Purcy, George Fouck, James Bryan, J. H. Bard, E. Ward.
The members of the grand and petit juries received in those days a levy of ten shillings per day. The judges received £1 per day each for their services. James Prather, Daniel Cresap, Jr., and John H. Bayard were the judges of the Orphans' Court. They drew fifteen shillings per day. The levy of 1791 was " made by the justices of Allegany County, pursuant to the direction of the act of Assembly." The justices who signed the proceedings were Daniel Cresap, Jr., Thos. Beall, of Samuel, Samuel Barritt, James Prather, and John Bayard, who each served three days, and received therefor £1 10s. The total amount of the levy was £286 7s. 7d., there being a deficit to meet of £37 13s. 1d. The rate of taxation was fixed at 7s. 3d. on every £100 of property in the county.
The next session of the court was more lengthy, as it took the jury three days to get through their business. In April, 1792, the session was prolonged to four days, and thus the service increased and the levy ran up, as will be seen from the fact that in 1791 it was £317 3s. 9 ½ d.; and in 1793, £528 14s. Od. For 1792 and 1793 the tax was 10s. on the £100. In 1794 the court lasted five days; the levy was £705, and the tax was 12s. 6d. In 1795 the court lasted six days, and witnesses having increased and other expenses augmented, the levy was £910 7s. 8 ½ d., and the tax 15s. on the £100. In 1796 the levy was £1235 8s. 11d., and the tax £1 0s. 10d. In 1797 the April term lasted eight days; the levy was £1503 8s. 6d., and the tax £1 2s. lid. Eleven justices signed this return. In 1797, the levy ran down to £1183 15s. 7 ¾ d., and the tax to 16s. 8d. on the £100. In 1798 and 1799 the levy was only a few pounds more, and the tax the same. The tax of the April term, 1797, caused the yeomanry to complain, and hence the reduction for the August term, and in the years 1798 and 1799. In 1800 the levy was about the same as in the two preceding years, and the tax remained the same, being a good start for the new century. In 1801 the levy was £1469 18s. 8d.; the tax, 20s. 10d. In 1802 the levy was down a little again, being £1186 17s. 4d.; the tax, 16s. 8d. In 1803 the levy was £1410 5s. bid.; the tax, 20s. 10d. In 1804 the levy was £1617 5s. 3d.; the tax, 22s. 11d. The levy record of this year is signed by Justices William Shaw, Benjamin Tomlinson, Thomas Pratt, and U. Bruce. The levy of 1804 was the last in which the old English money designations, £ s. d., were used in the Levy Court of Allegany County. In 1805 the columns of the records are headed with " $" and " cents." From that date forward, so far as the books of the court show, the new order was followed. Jurymen drew $1.50 per day. The foreman of the grand jury for the term in 1805 was Thomas Stewart; the associate justices were Hanson Briscoe and Robert Armstrong. The justices who signed the levy were William Shaw, Benjamin Tomlinson, Asa Beall, Thomas Pratt, U. Bruce, John Reid, and John Burbridge. The levy footed up $4224.50; the tax being $1.12 ½ on every $100.
The Orphans' Court, composed of Justices James Prather, Daniel Cresap, and John Hodge Bayard, met April 4, 1791. Its first business was to approve of the bond of William McMahon, register of wills, and its second to order a seal for the court. The bondsmen of the register of wills were John H. Bayard and John Lynn, in two thousand pounds. It then adjourned till the second Monday of June, when Jean Flora, by her attorney, made a motion to establish the validity of a verbal will made in her favor by John Pursley, and which was disputed by Dennis Pursley. The court sustained the will. The next court assembled on the second Monday of August, but no business appearing, it adjourned to October 10th, at which date there being still no business it again adjourned to December. At this term Elizabeth, the orphan daughter of George Brent, deceased, chose Daniel Cresap, Jr., as her guardian, who gave bond, with John Lynn and John Johnson as sureties. At the next term, in August, 1792, no business was transacted. At the October court following, citations were issued against Barbara Snook, Joseph Warnock, and Samuel Elliott, executors of the estate of Matthias Snook, against Elizabeth Alexander, administratrix of Patrick Alexander, against Margaret Arnold, executrix of John Arnold, and Elizabeth Brandstratter and John Simkins, executors of Matthias Brandstratter, deceased. At the April term of 1794, James Price, aged eighteen years, was apprenticed to Thomas Foster until he arrived at the age of twenty-one, during which time his master agreed to find him sufficient diet, lodging, and apparel, to give him six months' schooling, and to teach him the trade of a blacksmith, and when free to furnish him with a suit of clothes of the value of six pounds current money.
At the same time Isaac Warren, aged fourteen, was bound out to Spencer Cooper, to learn the trade of a painter. Michael Kesner was apprenticed to Joseph Ridenour to become proficient in the art of a blacksmith, and Nancy Meekin was bound to John Lynn, and to have three pounds at her majority.
County Courts and Civil Officers. — The following is a list of officers who have served in the