Middletown transcript., 1868-04-11
EARLY History of the Eastern Shore.

EARLY History of the Eastern Shore.
The first settlement made on the shore
was on " Kent Island" known then as the
Isle of Kent" Its first white inhabi-
tants, it seems. were under Capt. Wm.
Chyborne. of the Virginia Colony, who
settled there prior to the arrival of Gov
crnor Leonard Calvert and his Colony, in
February, 1884. The said Clayborne set
tied himself on the Isle of Kent, which is
farther up the Bay than the settlement of
Governor Calvert's, (Which was in ST.
Mary's county, for the purpose of trading
with the Indians, and reflsed to submit to
the ant ority of Governor Calvert, who
was appointed Governor of MARYLAND by
Lord Baltimore when the expedition was
fitted out for Maryland Yet, it would
seem in the latter part of the, year 1857,
the isle of Kent was in some measure re-
duced to the obedience of Lord Baltimore
and steps seem now to have been taken
to put in force the civil authority of the
Lord Proprietor over the Island, rs part
of the province, and Capt. George Evlyn
was commissioned as commander by Gov
ernor Calvert.
Tn 1859 the isle of Kent was erected in
a Hundred and called Kent Hundred. =
which Hundred was considered as within
the county of st. Mary's (Which was then
the only county formed until another
county should be erected on the Eastern
Shore. The county of Kentwas therefore
established as the first county on the Eas-
tern Shore, in 1659-during the admins
tration of affairs by Governor William
Stone.
At the time Philip Calvert assumed the
Government of the colony, in 1860, its
population was about II, 900; and in five
years it increased to 10000; and by the
year 1871, to 20, ,000.-During his term
Talbot county was erected as the second
on the shore The third county on the
shore was Somerset, which was erected bv
order of the Governor (then Charles Cal
vert on the 22d of 1866. The fourth
county was Dorchester, which was erected
by the Legislature of 1869. The fifth was
Cecil, which was originally pait of Balt-
more county, but was formed as a seperate
county in 1914 by the proclamation of
Governor Charles Calvert.
The sixth was Queen Anne's, which
was erected as seperate county in 1905,
the seventh was Worcester, formed out
of part of Somerset, in the year 1912.
There was county by this name formed
as early as 1872, but the whole of its ter
ritory, lying within the present limits of
Delaware, it was lost by Maryland, when
the boundary of that province was adj
justcd.
The eighth, Caroline CO. was formed
under an Act of Assembly at the session
of 1173 by taking part of the counties
of Dorchester and Talbot. The ninth,
Wicomico county, was the last formed,
and was erected under provisions of the
Constitution of 1867 subject however to
the ratification of majority of voters
| within its limits. The southern boundry
of the Eastern Shore of Maryland has been
from the first formation of the Colony at
St. Mary's, and is still, in contention be-
tween Maryland and Virginia. The ex-
tent of Maryland was marked out on the
Charter" by five lines" beginning at Il
point on the Chesapeake Bay, called ''NNat-
kins' Point" near the river Wighco" and
running east 10 the Ocean, the controversy
that first arose with Virgins. was as to the
actual position of Watkins" Point" The
Colony of Virginia had denied from the first
the validity of the Charter of Maryland
claiming the whole territory of Maryland as
belonging to the Charter of Virginia, and
continued to do so until the treaty of 1858
previous to which time she (Virginia)
had formed settlements upon the tongue
of land now forming Accomac and North
ampton counties. But to secure the pro-
per footing of Maryland, Governor Cal
vert, in 1861, issued commissions to three
persons, to make settlements and grant
lands on the Eastern Shore in the name
of the Province of Maryland-which they
did, and in year the number of tithablcs
at Manokin and Anamcssex reched fifty
The Virginians, however, soon becoming
restless, demanded the new settlers should
submit to their authority. This created
disturbance and the negotiations which
followed terminated in the appointment of
Commissioner by each government to
ascertain the true position of " Watkins
Point" Philip Calvert was appointed on
the part of Maryland, and Edmund Scar
borough on the part of Virginia-who
finally adjusted the dispute.on the 25th of
June, 1868; and the line was distinctly
indicated, but owing to the washing of the
banks and the cutting of the trees on said
point, the commissioners appointed by the
Act of 1867, and who met at Crisfeld dur
ing the summer of said year, were unable
to agree upon any point. Eastern Shore
man.