not be sufficient building upon any such land at the time of making a purchase thereof, for a dwelling house and necessary for the Master, and for keeping a school therein, and ground cleared sufficient for the use aforesaid, that then they shall, with all possible speed, agree with such workmen and laborers, in the best manner they can, that will undertake the necessary buildings and improvements upon such lands for the use aforementioned, and the visitors aforesaid are likewise hereby directed to take all proper methods for the encouraging good school masters, that shall be members of the Church of England, and of pious and exemplary lives and conversations and capable of teaching well the Grammar, good writing and the Mathematicks, if such can conveniently be got; and that they allow every such Master for his encouragement for the present (beside the benefit and use of his plantation) the sum of Twenty Pounds per annum, and to take such other measures or make such other agreements, from time to time, for the future, as the circumstances will admit of, as may give due encouragement to one or more Masters, and be necessary and useful for the improving and perpetuating such school. And further, the Visitors of every school, after it shall be erected are hereby required to meet there at least four times a year to inspect into and consider of, and direct the necessary affairs thereof. And be it further enacted, that every person by this Act appointed as a Visitor of the County schools, or that shall hereafter be nominated and appointed as such, pursuant to the directors hereof, that shall willfully refuse or delay to take upon him the said office, shall forfeit and pay for every such refusal or delay, the sum of Five Hundred Pounds of Tobacco, for the use of the School of that County where such offense shall be committed; to be recovered in his Lordship's name or at the Visitor's suit, before the Justices of the County Court, by Bill, Plaints or information, whereen no Essoyn, Protection, or Wager of Law shall be allowed." FIRST ADMIRAL OF THE MARYLAND PROVINCE Cecilius, Absolute Proprietary of the Province of Maryland and Avalon, Lord Baron of Baltimore &c. To our right Trusty and Well beloved Josias ffendall, Esq., our Lieutenant of our Province of Maryland and to the rest of our Councill and others our officers and people there (to) whome these presents may come, Greeting. Know yee that we doe hereby Constitute authorize and appoint our trusty and well beloved Samuel Tilghman of London, Mariner, to be our Admiral of our said Province of Maryland under us and our Lieutenant of our said Province for the time being and will and require that he use and Enjoy the powers dignities Privileges benefits and Immunityes of right due and belonging to him as Admirall of our said Province under us and our Lieutenant there for the time being. All which powers, benefits and Priviledges aforesaid Wee doe hereby declare shall be Enjoyed by the said Samuell Tilghman till wee or our heires shall Signifie under our hands and scales our or theire pleasure to the contrary. Given under our hand and greater Scale at Armes the 15 day of July in the 27 yeare of our Dominion over the said Province of Maryland in the yeare of our Lord 1658. This Admiral Samuel Tilghman, was commander of the ship Golden Fortune, in which he made several cruises between London, England, and Oxford, Maryland. He patented in January 1759 a tract of 1000 acres of land at the head of the Tredavon river, called Tilghman's Fortune. He never settled permanently in America. His first cousin Dr. Richard Tilghman came to Maryland from London with his ### in the ship Elizabeth and Mary in 1661. He patented in 1659 a tract on the Tredavon river of 1000 acres called Canterbury Manor. HOW ELECTIONS WERE CONDUCTED IN PROVINCIAL TIMES At a Court of the right Honorable CHARLES, absolute Lord and Proprietary of the Province of Maryland and Avalon Lord Baron of Baltimore, &C., held for Talbot county in the Court House near Pitts his Bridge in the County afd. the Twenty Seventh day of August, Anno Domini, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Twenty and Eight, by virtue of a Writ of the same Lord Proprietary to Nicholas Lowe, Esq.: High Sheriff of the County afd. to elect Four Delegates and Deputies to serve for ye said County in the General Assembly of this Province before the same Lord Proprietary his Justices of the Peace for the County afd. of whom were Present: Mr. Nicholas Goldsborough, Mr. Daniel Sherwood, The Worshipful: Mr. George Robins, and Mr. Risdon Bozman, Tench Francis, Clk: Thereupon the same Sheriff maketh publick Proclamation thereby giving notice to all freemen of the said County who have within the same County a freehold of fifty acres of land or who are residents and have a visible estate of Forty pounds sterling at the least thereby requiring them to appear at said County Court house the tenth day of September next ensuing to elect and choose four Deputies and Delegates to serve for the said County in the General Assembly of this Province. Whereupon the Court Adjourns to the same Tenth day of September At which said Tenth day of September, the Justices of Talbot County afd. to-wit: Robert Goldsborough, Esq., Mr. Daniel Sherwood, and Again here come and as a Court for the cause afd. Sit, and the Freeholders and residents of the said County do elect and choose: James Hollyday, Samuel Chamberlaine and John Edmondson of Talbot County, afd, Gentlemen, to serve as Deputies and Delegates for the County afd. in the said General Assembly according to the Act of Assembly in such case lately made and provided. LIS OF TALBOT BURGESSES IN THE PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY Talbot County was represented in the Provincial assembly by the following Burgesses: Lieut. Col. Richard Woolman, 1661-'69-'71-'74. William Coursey, 1666. William Hamilton, 1666. William Hambleton, 1669-'71-'74. Daniel Clark, 1669. Philemon Lloyd 1671-'74-'81-'82 (died 1685). Joseph Weeks, 1669-'71-'74. John Edmondson, 1681. John Rousby, 1682-85. George Robotham, 1685-86. Hon. Robert Smith, 1694, speaker, Col. Henry Coursey, 1694-'95 (died 1695). William Hemsley, 1695-'97. Nicholas Lowe, 1694-'95, 1707-'11. Major Thomas Smithson, 1694-1711. William Coursey, 1696. Edward Lloyd, 1698-1702 (when removed to council). Philemon Lloyd, Jr., 1700-'03. Henry Coursey, 1704-'06 (died 1706). Robert Goldsborough, 1704-1707. Richard Tilghman, 1698-'01, 1701-'02. Robert Ungle, 1708-1727 (speaker). Thomas Robins, 1708-'09-'12. Lieut. Col. Matthew Tilghman Ward, (speaker) 1712-'16. Thomas Emerson, 1717. Foster Turbutt, 1715-'16. Thomas Edmondson, 1718-'19 (died 1719). William Clayton, 1719-'20-21. Daniel Sherwood, 1722-'24. John Oldham, 1722-'24. Thomas Bozman, 1724 (Deputy Commissary, '25-'30). Benjamin Pemberton, 1725-27. Samuel Chamberlaine, 1728-'31. Col. James Hollyday, 1725-'31. Nicholas Goldsborough, 1732-50 (continuously). Edward Needles, 1732-'37. Perry Benson, 1732-'33. John Edmondson Jr., 1728-'37. Tench Francis, 1734-'37. Edward Lloyd, 1738-'41. Robert Lloyd, 1738-'50. William Thomas 1738-'48. Edward Oldham, 1749-'53-'57. John Goldsborough, 1742-70. Pollard Edmondson, 1751-'66. Matthew Tilghman, 1751-'57, 1767-'76. William Thomas, 1761-'63. James Edge, 1754-'56. Samuel Bowman, 1760. Woolman Gibson, 1758-'60. James Tilghman, 1761-'63. James Lloyd Chamberlaine, 1771-'76. Edward Lloyd, 1771-'76. The last session of the General Assembly under the Proprietary Government commenced 23rd March 1774, and ended 19th of April 1774. On June 2nd 1774 General Assembly prorogued to 24th October 1774, by Governor Eden, who continued to prorogue the Assembly, from month to month, till June 12th 1776, when Governor Eden issued his Proclamation dissolving the General Assembly. Writs of election were issued, returnable on the 25th of July 1776. The Provincial Convention of Freemen then in session in Annapolis Resolved, June 25th, 1776. That the said writs be not obeyed, and that no election be made in consequence thereof. Extract from minutes. So ended the Proprietary Government. Governor Eden took his departure in the ship Fowey, for England. The Convention of Freemen, presided over by "the Patriarch of the Colony," Matthew Tilghman, as the historian McMahon calls him, had virtually assumed the reins of Government in 1774. MAILS CARRIED BY THE COUNTY SHERIFFS IN EARLY DAYS The uncertainty of mail facilities in Talbot County more than half a century after this county was established is evidenced by the following act of the Provincial Assembly. At a session of Assembly begun and held at the City of Annapolis, in the County of Ann-Arundel, the twenty-seventh day of October, in the Eleventh year of the reign of our Sovereign Lady ANNE, Queen of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc. AnnoqDomini, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Thirteen; The Honourable Edward Lloyd, Esq., being President of her Majesty's Council of the Province aforesaid, were enacted the laws following, viz.: An Act for the more speedy conveying publick letters and pacquets of this Province, and defraying the charge thereof, and to prevent abuses of breaking open and concealing any letters whatsoever. For as much as several of the inhabitants of this Province have been formerly subject to great and manifest inconveniences; by pressing of horses (under pretext of carrying and conveying publick letters and pacquets). For prevention whereof, and that due care may be taken for the future, that all publick letters and pacquets, relating to her Majesty's or the publick service of this Province, be securely and expeditiously conveyed, according to the directions the Delegates of this present General Assembly do pray that it may be enacted. And be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of her Majesty's President, Council and Assembly of this Province and the authority of the same, That the sheriff of each respective county, is hereby enjoyned and commanded to take care of all publick letters and pacquets, and expeditiously convey them according to their respective directions to the next Sheriff or Under-Sheriff of the next adjacent County. And for the encouragement of the several and respective sheriffs and their diligence in conveying such publick letters and pacquets, |