| Vol. 1, No. 2 | History of Harford and Baltimore Counties | April 1991 |
Richard was in this country as an agent for Thomas Yoakley and Pettet a London merchant company. He was a delegate from Baltimore County to the General Assembly, held the rank of Major in the military and had real estate in Maryland totaling over 5000 Acres (over 1000 Acres in the Forest Hill area). His residence was at "Powell's Point" in Anne Arundel County.
Richard and Rebecca (Herbert) had 7 children; Prudence, Patience, Richard, Temperance, John, Thomas and Benjamin. Their births, marriages and descendants are fascinating since they concern some of the most influential people in Maryland.
"Colegate's Last Shift" was passed to Prudence through her father's will of 1721. Prudence married John Talbott in 1726. John and Prudence sold it to William Buckner in 1730. William willed it to his son Thomas who sold it to Thomas Bond in 1735. Bond sold it to George Elliott in 1736. George sold it in 1737 to Benjamin Wheeler (he owned quite a bit of property in Maryland including all of the area we now call Cooptown, but that's a future story) and he sold it in 1740 to Benjamin Colegate.
I know that buy/sell information is boring and for that I apologize, but I did it to show you that 14 years after "Colegate's Last Shift"was sold out of the Colegate family by Prudence and John it was brought back into the family by Benjamin (and at 2 1/2 times the cost).
Benjamin married Charity, daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth Wheeler. They had 6 children: Thomas, who married Elizabeth Partridge and 2nd Elizabeth Clark; Rebecca, who married Job Key; Elizabeth, who married William Downs; Mary who married Nathan Scott; Ann, who married William Thomas in 1770 and 2nd James Ward in 1782; Ruth, who married Edward Bussey.
"Colegate's Last Shift" became the property of Ann Colegate in 1758 through her father's will.
Ann's first husband, William Thomas had a 1772 patent for 8 Acres adjoining "Colegate's Last Shift" called "William's Triangle". At his marriage he built a home on it. It was here that Ann and William (and later James) lived and raised their children.
Most of the land in Maryland was "leased" from Lord Baltimore (at this time Henry Harford, the 6th Lord Baltimore) or his agents, very little was actually owned. It was during this time that British loyalists,including Henry Harford had their land confiscated and claimed by the State of Maryland. Loyal Americans then applied to the State for a patent to buy from the State the land they were living on as well as any adjoining land which was unpatented.
Since I could find no patent for "Colegate's Last Shift" during this time, it is safe to assume that this property was owned, not "leased".
In 1790, "Colegate's Last Shift" was held in the name of Ann Colegate and "William's Triangle" was held in the name of Ann Thomas. So in order to put the title in her new married name and add her husband to the deed she sold the property to Walter Billingsley Jr. and he sold it back to Ann and James Ward.
Three years later in 1793 James died and willed the property to Ann.
Ann died 9 years later in 1802 and left it to her daughter Ann. She died in 1806, unmarried, and the land was given in 1/3 shares to her three brothers Richard, James and William. Richard died in 1807 leaving the 171 Acres in the hands of James and William.
James and William sold it to John White in 1813 and moved to Pennsylvania and on to Ohio.
Five months after John bought the property (and almost 100 years after it was patented), it was divided for the first time. John cut it into three pieces. He sold the first piece (30 Acres) in 1813 to Richard Ashton; 109 Acres in 1817 to Joseph Harkins and the remainder to William Herod in 1817. Up to this time no dwelling house had ever built on "Colegate's Last Shift".
Some of the owners farmed it. Some held it as an investment. Some had it only because it was given to them. But nobody ever lived on it.
Today there are 11 houses on "Colegate's Last Shift". The majority of the property is currently owned by Colegate Investments, Inc.
2). "Looking for Historic Sketches of Harford County" by Samuel Mason.
Seeking information on Elizabeth Jane DAY born about 1805, married 1st Benj. BABBINGTON in 1829m widowed 1832, married 2nd James DAVIS in 1844. Had son Samuel Sidney DAY, born 1826, by Charles McCANN.
Need information on Alexander CARNS (Cairns/Cairnes) born Maryland 1728 died Virginia 1801 may have a brothers named Robert and David.
Need information on Andrew McGREW (Megrue) born 1760 married Hannah RUST about 1761. Children: William, Jonathan, Margaret, Charles, Paul, Ann, Joseph, Andrew and Isaac. Andrew and Hannah buried in Greenlawn cemetery, Milford, Ohio.
Step #2 is filling out the Family Group Sheets (called FGS's in "genealogicaleze"). They are very straight forward and easy to fill out and they combine the information from the individual 3x5 cards into family groups (hence the name).
Send these sheets to your relatives. Ask them to fill them out. Don't be discouraged if they are not returned or are returned with very little information. That's part of this game. You learn quickly that not everyone will help. There will be family members that have secrets that they are afraid you will uncover. Other's just don't care. Some don't know. Most will be very helpful.
Keep these sheets in three ring binders.
When you first start your research you won't have many FGS's so you can keep one binder with alphabetical tabs. File the sheets under the last name (surname) of the husband. As your project grows you will accumulate many group sheets. You may then find it advantageous to put a single surname in a binder. This works well if you start doing genealogical work for other people.
Remember to keep the sheets up to date with births and deaths, marriages and divorces.
One of the most important parts of these sheets is on the back. It's the area where you put the sources for the information on the front. Fill it out every time. Cite your sources.
I have added an FGS to this issue. It is copyrighted by The Everton Publishers Inc. (so I've been a bad boy). If you want more here is where you can buy them.
The Everton Publishers, Inc. P.O. Box 368 Logan, Utah 84321
Family Line Publications, Rear 63 E. Main Street, Westminster, MD 21157
The Dollarhide Systems, Inc. 203 W. Holly Street, Bellingham, WA 98225
(While you are at it ask them to send you a catalog of their books and supplies).
I use The Everton Publishers. Inc. Family Group Sheet for two reasons; 1). They have spaces for all the information I need and 2). They are the right size (I use 8 1/2" x 11").
Which brings up an interesting point. One of the biggest headaches in handling a genealogical project is the paper problem. Researchers have a tendency to take notes on anything that's handy; envelopes, matchbook covers, edges of newspapers, legal and/or standard size paper, the backs of business cards, shirt cuffs, etc.
Sooooo...as a beginner, here are a few simple rules (these come from experience).
1). Keep all paper (your notes and copies) the same size.
2). Put only one surname on a single sheet. A further refinement to this rule is to separate the surnames by geographical location. For instance, keep the Smith's from Maryland on a separate sheet from the Smith's from Ohio.
3). Number each sheet. Give every sheet it's own unique number, it helps when you try to reference your work.
4). Write your source of information on everything you do. It sounds like a lot of work and sometimes you don't feel like doing it, but I can guarantee that you will need it. Cite your sources.
The next step is a big one, "Where to do your research after you have drained all the information from the family".
I guess I am prejudice. This software package does everything that I need to be done. It does it fast. It's easy to learn and easy to use (my mother uses it). It runs on an IBM or compatible computer.
Many people are put off by the price, it's $35 from the Mormon Church. I figure that the Mormon Church want it's members to use "PAF" so they purposely kept the price low. As far as I can tell it does the same things that the more expensive ($200-$300) software packages do.
One thing I like about the software is third party support. All that means is that other companies write software which will add to or enhance it. For instance, Legacy Software in Las Vegas, Nevada has written a software package called "Dropline" that takes the data from "PAF" and converts it into "family tree" charts, big charts, that can be printed on most dot matrix printers.
There are users groups for PAF. Groups of people who use "PAF" that get together to exchange ideas, new uses, new findings, teach beginners, etc. They even put out a newsletter full of useful information. The closest group to this area is The Capital PAF Users Group which meets in Washington D.C. once a month.
Please don't be concerned when contacting the Mormon Church. The sale of this software package is strictly business.
Roots III will be the topic in the next issue. It also is an excellent software package.
Please don't forget Harford County's own Genealogical Society and Historical Society (they are separate groups). Both are open every Thursday and are located in the building on the corner of Bond and Courtland Street.
Everette Smith E.C. Smith, incorporated 3818 Belmont Drive Jarrettsville, MD 21084 (410)557-6473 (410)557-6475 (24 Hr. FAX)
