| Vol. 1, No. 4 | History of Harford and Baltimore Counties | August 1991 |
But first a few minor points to think about:
Up until 1776, all the land in Maryland belonged to the Proprietors of Maryland - the Lord's Baltimore. Pieces of property were leased or rented from them through their agents for specified periods of time (usually three generations or the lives of three named persons) for annual rents paid in either tobacco or silver.
The "leasee" would never really own the property even though he would build a house, barn and other structures, till the ground and plant crops, but he could "sell" or transfer his rights of use to someone else after getting authorization to do so and paying the small "alienation" fine.
So when you read in the next few paragraphs about "buying" and "selling" keep the above information in mind.
The plat on the last page shows the boundaries of "Good Will Purchased Again" surveyed March 27, 1725 for the Quaker, Thomas Bond, of Baltimore County, and his wife Ann (Robertson). Patented to Thomas in 1726. It contained 1580 Acres.
Thomas and Ann turned around and immediately sold the tract to Joseph Galloway of Anne Arundel County.
On the surface this seems all well and good and looks like a fast buck for the Bond family except - when we dig deeper we find that Joseph Galloway was already in possession of the land, he considered it his and was renting it out to tenant farmers. BUT, Joseph never applied for a patent and the land was legally patented out from under him.
There is unpatented land in Maryland, in fact right here in Harford County, and this practice still legally goes on today. We'll discuss it more thoroughly in the next issue.
At any rate, now the Gassaway's finally had legal possession and after the confiscation of British property in the late 1770's Joseph purchased title to the tract from the newly formed State of Maryland and moved to Philadelphia.
Joseph's daughter Ann, the wife of Joseph Pemberton of Philadelphia became the owner of the entire tract at the death of her father in 1779.
By 1783 the following people were living on and/or farming the land, paying taxes to the State and rent to the Pemberton's.
James Amos Jr. - taxed on 228 Acres
Capt. Charles Baker - 283.5 Acres
James Cherry - 174 Acres
William Ditto - 210.5 Acres
Josiah Hitchcock Sr. - 285.5 Acres
Moses Johnson - 180.5 Acres
John Rutledge - 213 Acres
Ann sold one piece before her death in 1798 consisting of 230 Acres to Elijah Bosley a wealthy Baltimore County resident and a neighbor along her southern property lines.
Ann's will of 1798 stipulated that her executors (son, Joseph and friends John Wilson and Edward Tilghman) sell the property.
So.... within the next 2 years they sold another 886 Acres to Elijah Bosley and 92 Acres to Jacob Rutledge.
12 years later in 1810 (and I can't figure what they were doing all this time) they sold the last parcel of "Good Will Purchased Again" (372 Acres) to Thomas Gassaway Howard, everything North and West of Hess Road and Southwest of Fallston Road (look at the plat).
The tales of ownership of the Howard's is long and involved. There were several Thomas Gassaway Howards' who could lay claim to the land plus one James Tolley Howard (a son of the last Thomas Gassaway Howard) who, at the insistence of his grandmother Martha Tolley, denounced the legacy of his father's family and changed his name to James Walter Tolley.
In 1811 he and his mother, Martha S. Howard as executors of the estate of Thomas Gassaway Howard sold 251 acres of this piece to Elijah Bosley.
So...by 1811 Elijah Bosley of Baltimore County, owned all but 213 Acres of the original 1580 Acre "Good Will Purchased Again".
Elijah was rich, he owned 22 lots in Old Town (Baltimore) and Fells Point and over 6000 acres on both sides of the Gunpowder River in Baltimore and Harford Counties and he called all of it "Bosley's Meadows".
He died in September 1841 at the age of 107.
He had two children, Nathaniel M. and Margaret (wife of Archibald Gittings). Judging from his will and Codicils there was trouble in the Bosley household. Nathaniel received a small inheritance (and refused to be the executor of his father's estate) and Margaret got nothing.
The children of his nephew, Daniel Bosley, got sizable bequests
During her lifetime Ann Emory sold away her inheritance in many small pieces creating most of the property lines you see today.
One remarkable fact about this tract is that up until the time that Ann started selling it off, no owner ever lived on it.
Today "Good Will Purchased Again" is the most developed of the land patents issued in the western part of Harford County (formerly Baltimore County). Within it's boundaries lies part of The Gunpowder State Park and the subdivisions of "Huntington", "Glen Elen", "Pleasant Prospect", "Harford Hunt Manor", "Hazelwood", "Foxwood", "Sylvan Hill" and "Woodsbrook".
In 1852 there were four owners of the 1580 Ac. tract:
Richard and Ann Emory - 1281 Ac.
Thomas G. Howard - 121 Ac.
John Rutledge - 94 Ac.
George England (my wife's ancestor) - 84 Ac.
Today there are 651 owners of what was once called "Good Will Purchased Again".
Two copies of the 1953 Harford County Directory. If you have a copy and want to sell it please contact this office with your asking price.
Need the marriage date and place for Robert FINLEY
and Mary CRAIG, ca. 1780.
Need information on James FINLEY married ca. 1729 to Sarah HARRISON. Also information on James FINLEY married Sarah Jane BARKLEY ca. 1759, Cecil or Baltimore Counties, MD.
Alexander CARNS (Cairns/Cairnes) born MD 1728 died VA 1801 may have brothers named Robert and David.
Charles FINK Jr. (1838-1915) m. Clemency ARTHUR (1846-1883) both of Cooptown, MD.
Andrew McGREW (Megrue) born 1760 MD 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.
Seeking any info on ELLIOTT families in Mine Run Hundred, My Lady's Manor area of Baltimore Co., MD before 1800.
Benjamin S. ANDERSON (1785-1855) and Hannah McCOMAS (1791-1836) his wife, buried Bethel Presbyterian Church Cemetery. Both born in Blackhorse, MD area.
John Thomas NORRIS and Joanna SMITH married in Whiteford, MD about 1876. Ch: Dora, Elizabeth, George, Martha, John and Benjamin.
Now you need to decide which part of the family to work on first (you know.....husband or wife's side, ancestors or decendants). You need to know who you want to search for and in what area of the country.
Whether you are searching for for relatives in other states, countries or times - or kin from right here in your own neighborhood - you can start in........
THE LIBRARY
That's right under most circumstances the main branch of your county
library has a lot of information, it is probably the most underused
genealogical resource.
The main Harford County Library in Bel Air has a card file in the back right corner of the magazine area. It is an index, by last name, of death notices from the Aegis newspaper which cover the years 1857 to 1986.
There are also rolls of microfilm of:
The Aegis 1857 to present
The Sunpaper - recent editions
The New York Times - recent editions
Census - 1790 to 1910
Mortality Census (1 Yr. before each census)
.....just ask at the research desk. They have a microfilm reader and a reader/printer (incase you find something interesting).
If the relatives you seek are out of state there is a book of all the Genealogical and Historical Societies in the USA. It's a reference book and has to be used in the library so.... make note of the appropriate names and addresses and write to them. It is a normal practice to send a self-addressed stamped envelope and a couple of dollars (to cover copying, etc.) along with your requests. While you are there, look in the history and the genealogy sections for books on the histories of Harford and Baltimore Counties. There are even books on individual families.
Browse for awhile but remember ECS's Rule #2 - When you go to a place to do research it is a good idea to have one objective and stick to it. If your original purpose was to look up information about Uncle Harry do that, and when you are done move on to something else.
The temptation becomes overwhelming to try and write down everything you find about everybody. I can guarantee (this is experience talking) that you will get very confused very fast, and your hand starts hurting too. You wind up with reams and reams of paper with notes about everybody covering every sheet - and how do you file that?
I know it's very hard to keep one single goal in mind with all that glorious information staring you in the face but you've got to try.
So visit the library, you'll be glad you did.
Next issue - ALL KINDS OF COURT RECORDS
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