This volume includes three libers done under the supervision of William Ritchie, Clerk of Frederick County Court, and labeled WR11 through WR13, covering 1792 to 1795. There continues to be records of confiscated British property sales, including the Frederick Town lots and the ground rents sold. Other towns continued to be developed and lots sold, the newest, New Market, developed by Plummer and Hall. Also in this volume are the continuing sale of town lots, for Emmitsburg, Creagerstown, Middletown, Westminster, Liberty Town with new proprietor, Richard Coale, “Berlin” (today Brunswick), New Town (today Jefferson), and Woodsberry, in 1792, Joseph Wood sold the ground rents of this town to Adam Creager. Frederick Town had Additional Lots sold in adjoining Bentztown, and also look to Dulaney’s Lot and Tasker’s Chance for further developments in Frederick. Check the index under town names for churches and other places named within towns.
Although it is becoming increasingly easy to access these records online through the Maryland State Archives, the value that abstracts offer in locating records through their every-name indexing, cannot be matched with the indexes available online, which only list the principals in an indenture, and then often omit items not related to land deeds. The current indexes were prepared by the circuit clerks to identify property owners, and to assist the clerks in land title searches. Users of these volumes understand much more is involved in family research. Deeds can be particularly useful in identifying family relationships, and relationships to slave families.
Abstracts are best used as brief guides and indexes to original records, and to find people mentioned in deeds who would otherwise be lost in the records. This series of abstracts focuses on the names of parties in the deeds. This volume contains an Index to Acts mentioned, then an every-name index, note that in this volume witnesses to deeds, who were identified as the usual justices of the peace, required for deeds, were not usually named in the text. Bills of sale witnesses were usually included, as they were often neighbors or interested parties. Following the name indexes, is a section called “Negroes” which includes free and slave men and women, named in the indentures, most have no surnames, and are listed alphabetically by their first name, when a surname is present, they will also be in the regular name index. Then there are some special indexes, to various establishments and places mentioned, followed by an index to occupations represented, to town lots for various communities, and finally an index to the tracts mentioned in these deeds.
Patricia Abelard Andersen
2022, 8½x11, paper, index, 268 pp.
ISBN: 9780788426995
101-A2699
