History of Western Maryland. J. Thomas Scharf
a division ' of said counties, and for erecting a new one out of parts thereof; and whereas, it appears to this General Assembly that the erecting of a new county out of such parts of Baltimore and Frederick Counties will greatly conduce to the ease and convenience of the people thereof; therefore
Sec. I . lie it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That after the confirmation of this act such parts of the aforesaid counties of Baltimore and Frederick as are contained within the bounds and limits following, to wit: beginning at the Pennsylvania line where Rock Creek crosses said line, thence with the course of said creek until it merges in the Monocacy river, thence with the Monocacy to the point where Double Pipe Creek empties into Monocacy, thence with the course of Pipe Creek to the point of junction of Little Pipe Creek and Big Pipe Creek, thence with the course of Little Pipe Creek to the point where Sam's Creek empties into Little Pipe Creek, thence with Sam's Creek to Warfield's mill, thence with the road called the Buffalo road, and to a point called Parr's Spring, thence with the western branch of the Patapsco Falls to the point of its junction with the northern branch of the Patapsco Falls, thence with the northern branch of said falls to the bridge erected over said falls on the turnpike road leading from Reisterstown to Westminster, thence with a straight course to the Pennsylvania line, running north seventeen degrees east, thence with the Pennsylvania line to the place of beginning, shall be erected into a new county by the name of Carroll County, and that the seat of justice thereof be established at Westminster.
" Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That the inhabitants of Carroll County shall have, hold, and enjoy all the immunities, rights, and privileges enjoyed by the inhabitants of any other county in this State.
" Sec. 3. And be it enacted. That the taxes which shall be levied by the commissioners of Baltimore County, prior to the confirmation of this act, on such parts of Baltimore County as are to constitute a part of Carroll County shall be collected and paid to the treasurer of Baltimore County, and the same be applied precisely as if this act had not passed; and that the taxes which shall be levied by the justices of the Levy Court of Frederick County, prior to the confirmation of this act, on the parts of Frederick County as are to constitute Carroll County shall be applied precisely as if this act had not passed.
" Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That all causes, processes, and pleadings which shall be depending in Frederick County Court and Baltimore County Court when this act shall be confirmed shall and may be prosecuted as effectually in the courts where the same be depending as if this act bad not been made.
"Sec. 5. And be it enacted, that the county of Carroll shall be a part of the Third Judicial District of this State, and the justices of the said district for the time being shall be the judges of the County Court of Carroll County, and the said County Court shall be held as may be directed by law, and shall have and exercise the same powers and jurisdiction, both at law and in equity, as other County Courts of this State.
" Sec. 6. And be it enacted. That the election districts in Carroll County shall be nine in number, and their limits, as well as the limits of the election districts in Baltimore and Frederick Counties, shall be established after the confirmation of this act as shall be directed by law.
"Sec. 7. And be it enacted. That after the confirmation of this act by the next General .Assembly, a writ of election shall issue for holding an election in said county for four delegates to represent said county in the General Assembly which shall then be in session.
" Sec. 8. And be it enacted, That if this act shall be confirmed by the General Assembly, after the next election of delegates at the first session after such new election, according to the constitution and form of government, that in such case this alteration and amendment of the constitution and form of government shall constitute and be valid as part thereof, and everything therein contained repugnant to or inconsistent with this act be repealed and abolished."
The county was created, but much remained to be done. Carroll was in an embryotic condition. She was as helpless as a newly-born babe. Public buildings were to be erected, courts of justice established, officers chosen, and the county must be districted. Mr. Matthias, who had labored zealously for the creation of the new county, now applied himself to bringing order out of chaos. Bills were introduced into the Legislature for the working machinery and to set it in motion. At that time the register of wills was chosen by the Legislature. After a sharp contest between a number of candidates, John Baumgartner, of Taneytown District, was elected. Acts of Assembly were introduced and passed providing for the appointment of county commissioners, for the assessment of real and personal property, for the meeting of the County Court, for the establishment of the Orphans' Court, for the opening of public roads, for the purchase of sites and the erection of public buildings thereon, for the election of a sheriff and the appointment of subordinate officers, and for the election of four delegates to the General Assembly, and at the end of the session of 1837 Carroll County was fairly on its legs and provided with the necessary legislation for the career of prosperity and progress upon which it was about to enter.
The following-named gentlemen were appointed to lay off the election districts: Samuel Gait, James C. Atlee, Thomas Hook, Samuel W. Myers, Joshua Smith, Abraham Wampler, Daniel Stull, Mordecai G. Cockey, Stephen Gorsuch, Joseph Steele, George W. Warfield, Frederick Ritter, and William McIlvain. They divided the county into nine districts as follows: Taneytown, Uniontown, Myers', Woolery's, Freedom, Manchester, Westminster, and Franklin. Since then the districts of Middleburg, New Windsor, and Union Bridge have been added. The districts were marked out Feb. 15, 1837, and the report of the commission was filed with the county clerk June 20, 1837, but not recorded until May 18, 1846. In March, 1837, an election was held for sheriff, the first that had taken place in Carroll County, and as a matter of interest the judges and clerks of election are given:
District No. 1, John Clabaugh, Jacob Correll, John Thomson, Jacob Wickert, James McKellip.
District No. 2, Moses Shaw, Sr., Israel Norris, David Foutz, John Hyder, Wm. C. Wright.
District No. 3, Wm. Coghlan, Peter Bankard, David B. Earhart, John Erb, Jacob H. Kemp.
District No. 4, Wm. Jameson, Edward E. Hall, George Jacobs, Wm. Jordan, Wm. Stansberry.
District No. 5, Robert Hudson, Nicholas Dorsey, Benjamin Bennett, Wm. Whalen, Otto Shipley.
District No. 6, Henry N. Brinkman, Frederick Ritter, Jarrett Garner, John Kerlinger, Joseph M. Purine.
District No. 7, Joshua Smith, David Uhler, Lewis Wampler, .Jonathan Norris, Charles W. Webster.
District No. 8, Wm. McIlvaine, George Richards, John Lamotte, John Fowble, George Richards, .Jr.
District No. 9, James Douty, Thomas Barnes, Robert Bennett, Joshua C. Gist, Thomas E. D. Poole.
A number of candidates sought the suffrages of the citizens, and the contest between Nicholas Kelley, Isaac Dern, and Basil Root, the leading aspirants, was very close, resulting in the election of Nicholas Kelley as the first sheriff of the county. The inauguration of the county government took place the first Monday in April, 1837. On that day the Circuit Court, the Orphans' Court, and the county commissioners all met in Westminster.
The Circuit Court met in the dwelling of Dr. Willis, now owned by Mr. Boyle, Judges Dorsey and Kilgour on the bench. After an appropriate introductory address, Judge Dorsey announced the appointment of Dr. William Willis as county clerk, which was received with unqualified approval by those present. The court then appointed James Keiffer court crier, and accepted the bonds of the clerk and sheriff. William P. Maulsby, James Raymond, James M. Shellman, A. P. Shriver, and T. Parkin Scott were admitted as attorneys of the Carroll County bar. Mr. Maulsby was appointed and qualified as State's attorney for the county. The court then adjourned to meet in the old Union church, where its sessions were afterwards held until a court-house was built.
The Orphans' Court of Carroll County convened for the first time April 10, 1837, in the Wampler mansion, on the corner of Church Street, which building it occupied until the erection of a courthouse. The commissions of Judges Abraham Wampler, William Jameson, and Robert Hudson were received from