from Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1732:1753, Volume 28, Page 546
A society's legal system reveals much about it. A broad spectrum of behavior was considered criminal in Colonial Maryland and punishment was harsh.
Maryland was established with religious freedom for Catholics. The colonial economy was based on tobacco cultivated by Africans who had been enslaved.
On June 8, 1752 the Vestry of William and Mary Parish in Charles County met to assign seating in the church. The vestry included:
The Reverend
Vestrymen: Mr. Samuel Clagett, Mr Thomas Cottrell, Mr Richard Smith, Mr Edward Ford, Mr Nathan Harris, Mr Charles Bruce
Church warden: Mr John Marshall
To the honourable Richard Lee, Esquire 1
Mr Benjamin Fendall & his Son John 2
Mr Wm Courts, Elizabeth Courts & Wm Penn 3 Colonel George Dent and George Dent, Jr.
Richard Smith his Sons, and Thomas Cottrell 5
Barton Warren and Edward Ford 6
Charles Yates John Wilder & his Son John 7
The Ministers Family 8
James Latimore, Philip Jenkins, John Jenkins & Benjamin Douglass. 9
Atwick Fearson, Jno Farr, Geo. Scroggin & Benjn Thomas. 10
Notley Maddox, Sarah Maddox, Anne Smoot & Edward Smoot 14
Joseph Joy, Judith Penn, and Notley Dutton 15
Thomas Bates, John Douglass, John Hamil & Jane Penn 16
Francis Posey, Harrison Musgrove, Charles John & Benjamin Philpot. 18
Authur Lee, Rebecca Howard, Jno Marshall & Richard Marshall 23 Joseph Douglass, Nathan Harris, Mary Brandt 24
Joseph Gwynn and Benjamin 25
Mary Marshall, Henry Thompson, Posthumus Groves & Jas Plant. 26 William Dent & Walter Hanson [son of Samuel Hanson] for their Tenants 27
Moses Hubbart, John Cavin, Jno Wakefield & Saml Chunn 28
Robert Yates, Charles Bruce & Robert Yates junr 29
Barton Hungerford & his Sons 30
Robt Mastin, Tyre Thomas, Widow Thomas & Richard Ratcliff. 31
Thomas Hatton, William Cage Samuel Gody and John Chun 32
George Elgin Patience Posey, Jacob Andrew Minitree William Guy & Sarah Martin. 33
No 11, 12, 13, 19, 20, 21, 22 left in common for Tenants
Others not being Freeholders.
No 17 .....for such young Persons that may sing.
A freeholder is the owner of a freehold estate which is an interest in land that is not fixed by a specified period of time, but which may last during the lifetime of a person.
Mister ( Mr.) was derived from master and Mrs. and Miss were derived from mistress. They indicated people of superior social status in colonial America.
As of 1692,
Charles County, Maryland was divided into 4 parishes (7 hundreds): the
lower and upper part of William & Mary Parish hundreds,
the east and west side of Port Tobacco hundreds,
lower and upper part of Nanjemy (later Durham) Parish hundreds, and
the upper part of King & Queen Parish hundred.
