LOWER-DELMARVA-ROOTS-L Archives

From:
Subject: Re: [LDR] Md. boundary question
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2004 09:47:50 EDT

In a message dated 4/7/2004 7:31:31 AM Eastern Standard Time,
writes:
> I am wondering if there was a time when part of Northampton/Accomack
> County became Mattapony Hundred. I think I read this somewhere and
> cannot find the source. Thanks. Liz

There was early border confusion along the Maryland - Virginia line between
Maryland's now-Somerset and now-Worcester and Virginia's Accomack. This was
settled by 25 Jun 1668 Articles of Agreement between "Philip Calvert, Esq.,
Chancellor of the Province and Col. Edmund Scarborough, Surveyor General of
Virginia, upon laying out the bounds and running the Divisional line between
Maryland and Virginia from Watkins Point on the Eastern Shore of Chesapeake Bay to
the seaboard side", etc. [to honor patents awarded by the other before accurate
determination of the line].

Under the agreement, a number of VA surveys found to be in MD were accepted
by the Calverts between 1671 and 1675 for Maryland patents; also, a number of
surveys made by MD south of the present border were annotated in the MD Patents
(and in the Rent Rolls) as "fallen into the Divisional line"; i.e., now south
of the border.

Eleven VA surveys now in MD are in what was Mattapony (three were along the
Pocomoke River in Pocomoke Hundred), and almost all are on the shores of
Chincoteague Bay or its inlets (Parkers Bay and Johnsons Bay). They run from the
border almost exactly up to the latitude (on the coast) of Snow Hill.

By the way, the three in Pocomoke Hundred fall southeast of the Pocomoke
River. The maps most people are familiar with show this area as Mattapony, but it
was not. Pocomoke Hundred included the area identified, say, on the 1877
maps as Newtown Election District. Only east of this was Mattapony.

The list is:

Mattapony Hundred

BROTHERS LOVE Edward Small
THE CHANGE Daniel Selby
DURHAM HOUSE Henry Bishop, Sr.
MOUNT EPHRAIM Robert Richardson
PARRAMORES DOUBLE PURCHASE John Parramore
PHARSALIA Southy Littleton
PURGATORY Robert Johnson
PURNELLS LOT Thomas Purnell
ROBINSONS INHERITANCE Richard Robinson
SIMPLETON Thomas Selby
SMITHS FIRST CHOICE Edward Smith
unnamed Alexander Williams

Pocomoke Hundred

ADVENTURE Thomas Davis
ASSURANCE Robert Houston
WILLIAMS DESIRE John Williams

The MD patent descriptions repeat the survey descriptions provided by the
Virginia surveyor (six name the surveyor as John Wallop [familiar name?]), but
only sometimes give the date of the original VA survey, for which one would have
to go to VA sources.

John Lyon

This thread:

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