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Volume XVI consists of abstracts of the records for
the period 1721-24, as found in the remainder of Liber
25, Liber 26, and the first 140 pages of Liber 27. The
abstracts are arranged chronologically by court session.
For the most part, the transcriptions state the
names of the principals (testators, heirs, witnesses,
administrators, and so forth) as well as details of bequests,
names of slaves, appraisers, and more.
Abstracts of the Testamentary
Proceedings of the Prerogative Court of
Maryland—Volume XVII: 1724-1727—Libers:
27 (pp. 141-402), 28 (pp. 1-101)
By V. L. Skinner, Jr.; 2008;
5.5x8.5; 289 pp; softbound.
Order from the publisher
at: Clearfield Company, Inc.,
3600 Clipper Mill Road, Suite
260, Baltimore, MD 21211;
or www.genealogical.com;
CF9952; ISBN: 9780806353951;
$29.50 plus $4.00 p&h.
The Prerogative Court was
the focal point for probate in
colonial Maryland. All matters
of probate went directly
to the Prerogative Court, which was located in Annapolis,
Maryland’s colonial capital. The Prerogative
Court was also the colony’s court for equity cases—
resolution of disputes over the settlement and distribution
of an estate.
Following is a representative abstract from these
volumes:
Summons to Samuell Heigh & his wife executrix
of John Israell (BA) to show cause why
they don’t take LoA on his estate, or grant administration
to another on behalf of the children.
Date: 10 November 1724.
Volume XVII resumes with page 141 of Liber 27
and pp. 1-101 of Liber 28. The abstracts are arranged
chronologically by court session. For the most part,
the transcriptions state the names of the principals
(testators, heirs, witnesses, administrators, and so
forth) as well as details of bequests, names of slaves,
appraisers, and more.
Catholic Families of Southern Maryland—
Records of Catholic Residents of St.
Mary’s County in the Eighteenth Century
Compiled by Timothy J. O’Rourke; Originally
published in 1981; Reprinted 2008; 5.5x8.5; 153 pp;
softbound. Order from the
publisher at: Clearfield Company,
Inc., 3600 Clipper Mill
Road, Suite 260, Baltimore,
MD 21211; or www.genealogical.com;
CF4337; ISBN:
9780806311067; $21.00 plus
$4.00 p&h.
“St. Mary’s County is
where it all began,” writes
Thomas Spalding in the introduction
to this book. “There
was established the first
Catholic parish, the first Catholic school, the first
community of religious men in English-speaking
America.” Moreover, St. Mary’s residents played a
key role in the development of the Catholic Church
throughout the whole of America, providing the
spearhead of the westward expansion of Catholicism.
In 1785, for example, the first of many Catholic
families from St. Mary’s crossed the mountains
to find land in Kentucky, while a few years later,
driven by economic necessity, others migrated to
Georgia, Missouri, Louisiana, and Texas. So great
was the number of St. Mary’s Catholics who moved
to Kentucky, in fact, that a diocese was created for
them in 1808.
These early families left a mighty progeny, and
those of us today who seek ancestral connections
will welcome the appearance of this book, for here
are collected many of the earliest surviving records
of the Catholic families of St. Mary’s County,
Maryland. The most significant portion of the work
contains the marriages and baptisms from the Jesuit
parishes of St. Francis Xavier and St. Inigoes,
which, in the case of baptisms (1767-1794), give the
names of children, parents, and godparents, and
the date of baptism; and in the case of marriages
(1767-1784), the names of the married partners and
the date of marriage. Other records include congregation
lists (1768-1769), rent rolls (various dates),
births (various dates), subscribers to the Oath of Allegiance
(1778), militia lists (1794), and voters’ lists
(1789-1790). Taken together, these records comprise
an indispensable reference source and represent
the most complete collection of such materials in
print.
Maryland Genealogies—Two Volumes
From the Maryland Historical Magazine; Originally
published in 1980; Reprinted 2008; 5.5x8.5;
1097 pp; softbound. Order from the publisher
at: Clearfield Company, Inc., 3600 Clipper Mill
Road, Suite 260, Baltimore, MD 21211; or www.
136 © Ev e r t o n’s Ge n e a l o g i c a l He l p e r Ja n ua ry/Fe b r u a r y 2009