Thursday, November 19, 2009

Maryland - Anne Arundel County Resources and Information

From: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mdannear/hist.htm


Year of First Settlement: Winter of 1649/1650 at Providence (across the Severn River from Annapolis)
by Puritans and Independents from Virginia who resisted Gov. Berkleys demands for them to attend services at the Church of England.

Formation of County: Summer of 1650, the third county formed in Maryland and was named in honor of Lady Anne Arundel, wife of Cecilus (Calvert), Lord Baltimore.

Subdivisions - Hundreds:  The concept of a hundred is old and dates to the Roman occupation of England. A Hundred was said to be an area that could raise a force of 100 soldiers However, Hundreds in Maryland seemed to primarily been used for tax collection and land rent purposes.

There were Five hundreds in Anne Arundel Co in 1707.
  • Herring Creek Hundred was the southern-most part of the County
  • West River Hundred lay to the the north Herring Creek Hundred, around the West River,
  • South River Hundred, was the area between West River Hundred and the South RIver.
  • Middle Neck Hundred took in the area between the South River and Severn River
  • Broad Neck and Town Hundred. was area east of the Severn River and included the original settlement of Providence.
The Hundreds of Anne Arundel County from the 1783 Tax Lists are the:
  • Annapolis Hundred
  • Broad Neck Hundred
  • Elkridge Hundred
  • Elkridge Landing Hundred
  • Herring Creek Hundred
  • Huntingdon Hundred
  • Lyons Creek Hundred
  • Magothy Hundred
  • Middle Neck Hundred
  • Patapsco Hundred
  • Patuxent Hundred
  • Road River Hundred
  • Severn Hundred
  • South River Hundred
  • Town Neck Hundred
  • Upper Fork and Bear Ground Hundred - (this is in Howard County today)
  • West River Hundred
Parishes
In 1692 the Maryland Assembly passed an act establishing the Church of England as basically the state church and setup the establishment of Parish boundaries and establish vestries to support the church. Fortunantely of use today, the parish was to keep a register of all the births, deaths, and marriages. These parish registers provide us today with a great deal of genealogical data available on late 17th and 18th century Anne Arundel County. It should also be noted that the Quakers also kept minutes of their meetings in which births, marriages and deaths were recorded. The Parishs for Anne Arundel County through the 18th Century were:
St James Parish (also called Herring Creek Parish) took in all of Herring Creek Hundred and part of the West River Hundred. It basically took in the southern part of Anne Arundel County below West River and Muddy Creek. St James Church today is located on Rt 2
All Hallows Parish (also called South River Parish) took in the area of South River Hundred and part of West River Hundred. It is basically the area south and west of South River, bounded to the south by St James Parish. All Hallows Church is located today near Davidsonville. The orginial church was apparently erected near Birdsville.
St Annes Parish. (also known as Middle Neck Parish) included the land between the South River and Severn River. The church is located today in the center of Church Circle in Annapolis.
St Margaret's, Westminister Parish (also called Broad Neck Parish) This parish took in Broad Neck and Town Hundreds and was the area east and north of Severn River extending up to the Baltimore County Line (St Paul's Parish).
Christ Church, Queen Caroline Parish, was formed in 1728 from the western portions of All Hallows, St Anne's and St Margaret's, Westminster Parishs. This parish included the area which is now Howard County and the western edge of Anne Arundel County. The chapel was built near Guilford.

LAND RECORD RESOURCES
 
WILLS
  • Maryland State Archives, Huntington Collection of Maryland State Archives Security Microfilm, Anne Arundel County (Wills), 1777-1820 (6 v.), series units 162 (1774-1797), 163 (1788-1820)
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