The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1878-05-25
Historical Researches that Quilp Made
US Bohemian.
CHAPTER NNIV.

WAY AND UNRULT SERNANTS-PRlEST-
FoRD-THOMAs CREsAP-THE OLD CHAP
EL-THE UPPER FERRY-BoRDER FEUDs.
Having briefly sketched the early history
of some of the largest settlements in the
county, let us now turn our attention to
some other matters of interest connected
with its early history. The reader will
recollect that the first settlement in the
county was made on Palmer's Island, near
the mouth of the Susquehanna. From
information obtained since the writer com
menced these reseaI ches, he is of the opinion
that this settlement was made before the
settlement of Clayborne upon Kent Island.
The letter of John Pory, Secretary of the
Virginia Company, which are yet extant in
London, and which are dated anterior to
the settlement upon Kent Island, informs
the company of discovery made by him
and others into the great bay northward,
where they left settled very happily near an
hundred Englishmen with hope of a good
trade in furs."
The island was called Palmer's Island,
after Edward Palmer, nephew of the I'M
fortunate Sir Thomas Overbury, who was
poisoned by the.malicious Vaccinations of
the wanton wife of the Earl of Somerset,
sometime between the years 1912 and 1916.
Palmer was man of learning and culture,
and when the island was taken possession
of by Lord Baltimore's agents, in 1857,
four servants were found there and some
books, as follows-a statute book. five or
six little books, and one great book Mr..
Neil, the author of the Founders of Mary
land,' from which this extract is taken, re-
marks that the finding of these books at
trading post away in the wilderness indi-
Gates that Palmer resided there at one time,
for only gentleman and scholar would
have been likely to have had them. 1t is
probable that public ferry was established
at or near Palmers Island, very early in
the history of the colony. The great
| thoroughfare between the north and south,
then, as now, crossed the Susquehanna
river at that place. AS a ferry it was
| place of much Importance, as early as 1715.
SO great was the desire of many persons in
England and Ireland to emigrate to Mary
land that in the early days of the colony
many of them entered into contracts with
people in England, who owned plantations
in Maryland, to serve them, as servants or
laborers in the new country for term of
years, in consideration of their transporta-
ton and maintenance. Many of the early
| b0 off r6s hacama 1iStiD-
guished in the history of the State, reached
the colony in its early days in this manner.
Sometime later in the history of the colony
the captains of vessels, engaged in the
transportation of passengers, would effect
arrangements to transport them to America,
| for which service they would lend them
selves to serve any person who would pay
the captain the price of their passage, un-
| til such time as the debt was liquidated.
| This custom prevailed until the time of
the Revolutionary war. The emigrants
| imported in this way were called Redemp-
| TONERS" For sometime before this system
| of emigration was discontinued it was Gus
| tomary for the captains of the passenger
vessels to dispose of large lots of the Re
| demptioners to a class of persons called
"Soul drivers, ''who marched them through
the country and disposed of them to the
| farmers So late as 1895 this practice is
| said to have prevailed in Chester county,
and it no doubt prevailed in Cecil quite as
| long. An amusing story is recorded in the
history of Chester county of shrewd
Irishman, who by little good manage
ment, contrived to be the last of the gang.
! His master, the Soul-driver, and he stopped
| all night at tavern, and the next morning
| he arose early and sold his master to the
! landlord, pocketed the money and made
his escape, telling the landlord that though
clever in other respects he was rather saucy
and little given to lying. That he had
been prssumptuous enough at times to en-
deavor to pass for master and that he might
possibly represent himself as such to him.
Like most persons held in bondage, either
voluntary or enforced, these servants in
many cases gave their masters much trouble.
The minutes and records of the court
that are yet extant show that much of its
time was spent in hearing and settling dis
putes between master and servants. The
servants would run off, and give their
masters trouble in other ways; and the
| records of the court show that many of
them were not as virtuous as they should
have been, and that the morals of the
people of the county were by no means
well developed. Matthias Van Bibber, who
was at one time chief justice of the county,
! complained to the court, in 1924, of his
servant, Garrett Bonn, that he was unruly;
| that he set him at defiance, and would do
| nothing but what he pleased. 1t appeared
that Bonn came to the colony in 1929,
without being indentured, and the cause Of
the quarrel appeared to be in regard to
the time he should serve. The court sent
and ordered that he should serve his master
| five years from the time the ship which
brought him over landed in Virginia, and
that the Sheriff take him to the whipping
post and give him twenty-five lashes well
laid on, upon the bare back No doubt that
the stately old Judge had been much annoyed
by the conduct of the vicious and unruly
servant, and let us hope that the conduct of
the latter was improved by the severe
t1agellation the court ordered. In 1923,
Nathan Phillips presented an account and
petition to the court about his servant,
| George Williams, who had run away and
was absent four times. His master had
found him at Welsh Tract once, twice at
| New Castle, and once at Chester. He had
absented himself 90 days from his masters
service, and put him to an expense of 60
s. Sd. The court ordered Williams to serve
six months additional to reimburse his
master.
These servants were bought and sold
somewhat after the manner of slaves, as we
learn from the petition of Ephriam Thomp-
son, presented to the court as late as 1884.
| Ephriam had purchased one Timothy Rouck