The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1878-07-20
Historical Researches that QuiIp Made
as a Bohemian.
CHAPTER XNIV.
NORTH EAST.

GRANTs-FIRS MILLs-A coRDwAINER
ROADS TO CHURCH AND COURT-NORTH
EAST AND PRINCIPLE IRON WORKS
NORTH EAST IN 1744-NoRTH ELK PARISH
FIRST REGIsTER-FIRs RECTOR
CHAPEL NEAR PORT DEPOSIT CHURCH
AT NORTH EAsT-REv. MIR. WYE.
The village of North East is the oldest
one in the county, and the southern part
of it covers the site once occupied by an
Indian town. The Shawanese tribe of In
dians originally lived in the south, but be-
ing threatened with determination 10y the
surrounding tribes, they left their original
location, migrated northward, and appear
to have been finally absorbed by the more
powerful tribes, near which they settled.
Some of them stopped in Elk Neck, and
for long time after it was settled by the
Europeans that part of it along the North
East river was called "Shawnah." Many
of the tribe that settled here are said to
have been industrious basket makers and
successful fishermen. Their village was
ii
creek, which was the name once applied to
the run in the southern part of North East.
There is tradition of IA battle having
been fought between these Indians and
another tribe, probably the Susquehan-
nocks, short distance from the site of
their village, and there is reason to believe
that some of them remained here long after
the county was settled by the English
One of the earliest patents for land in the
county was for four hundred acres of land
on Anna Catherine Neck, which was grant
ed to William Carpenter in 1868. This is
the land that the ancestor of the Simcoe
family purchased of Carpenter Littington
in 1920. 1t is described as adjoining the
land laid out for Francis Clay, deceased.
There is no doubt that Francis Clay's land
was the historic tract, called Clayfall, that
was conveyed to Jacob Young, in 1857, by
George Talbot; and that Carpenters Point,
which was then called Anna Catherine
Neck, derived its name from being owned
by William Carpenter, and was, at first,
called Carpender's Point. The earliest
land holder in the immediate vicinity of
North East, of whom we have obtained
information from the records of the county,
was millwright, named Robert Jones, who
had twenty acres of land condemned for a
mill site at the junction of the east and
main branches of North East creek in I'LL.
This was probably the site of the Shannon
mill, but may have been further down the
stream, where the other iron works are
located.
The next mill at North East, of which we
find any record, was owned by Robt. Dut-
ton, who is believed to have been the person
referred to in the chapter upon Nottingham.
Some time previous to 1716 he had mill
upon or near the site of the iron works.
which he sold. together with fifty acres Of
land, upon part of which it stood, to Rich
ard Bennett, of Queen Anne's county, in
that year, for e100 silver money. This mill
was near the "bottom of the main falls of
North East" and there seems to have been
a forge or furnace upon it, for iron works
are among the many things mentioned as
being conveyed by the deed. 1t is very
probable that Dutton had the land upon
which this mill was built condemned by a
writ of I'D gu0d ddmnun1, as the legal pro-
cess was called, for the early legislators of
the colony were so sensible of the use of
mills that they very soon passed an act pro-
yiA for ha OF nd
of land for the use of those who were dis
posed to build them. This process was
much the same as that now in use for OBJ
tanning private property for public use.
The party obtaining the site for mill in
this manner had the use of it for the term
of eighty years at given annual rent.
Many of the mills in the county, in it's
early days, were built upon land obtained
in this way.
Among the petitions presented to the
court, which met at the new court house
on the 10th day of November, 1719, was
one from some of the citizens of Susque-
hanna Hundred, in which they state that
they had "settled in a remote part of this
county and were destitute of convenient
roads both to churcA and court and also for
rolling tobacco to any convenient landing"
they therefore prayed for road to be laid
out from the head of North East river to
the plantation of Roger Kirk. This plan
tation is supposed to have been in or near
Nottingham. The petition was signed by
Robert Dutton, the proprietor Of the mill,
and about twenty others.
In 1921, John Cousine, an orphan, thir-
teen years of age, was bound to John Pen
nngton, of North East. Mr.. P was a
cordwalner (Which was the name given to
shoe makers at that time), and he obi
gated himself to teach the orphan to read,
write and cast accounts and to get his cate
chism by heart, and to teach him the cord
wainer's trade, and to give him, at the ex
piration of his time of service, set of
shoe makers tools, two new suits of clothes
and young breeding mare.
In 1928 many of the Inhabitants of Mil
ford Hundred, which then embraced the
northeastern part of the county, petitioned
the court for road from the New Mum
ster road, at David Alexander's, across the
main fresh of Elk river at Stephen Hollings-
worth's mill (Which was the mill on Big
Elk, west of Cowantown) to the church at
North East A few months afterwards they
presented another petition, stating that this
"road was difficult, dangerous and trou-
blesome to maintain by reason of crossing
the east branch of North East twice, and
that it was only intended for a bride path,
aud that cart road was much needed and
might be made by much nearer route"
&C., &c. This petition was granted and
Stephen Hollingsworth was ordered to see
the road laid out, so that it would not dam
Nifty any of the inhabitants of said hun
dred.
In 1924 Daniel Davis presented petit
ton to the court, stating that he had set
tied on the main road, near the iron works
at North East, and was often oppressed
with strangers and travellers, and humby
prayed for license to keep public house