The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1878-09-21
New Castle in November, 1850, for the
purpose of carrying it into effect.


the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, to
which it was presented by the late w illiam
d. Gilpin, of Philadelphia, who found it
among some old papers at his paper mill.
From this diary we learn that the commits.
sion"rs had long controversy about the
manner in which the twelve. mile radius
should be measured. The commissioners of
Mary land contended that it should be meas
those from Pennsylvania that it should be
made hy horizontal measurement, and not
by following the inequalities of the earth's
surface. The latter method was the one
enforced by the court when the matter was
referred TO it. They also had trouble in
fixing the point from which to begin the
measurement of the radius, and Watson
states in his diary that lie noticed pune.
ture in the paper on W hich map in the
possession OF the Maryland commissioners
was made, which they stated was intended
to represent the beginning Of the radius at
New Castle. It's location, he afterwards
learned. had been determined in this wise:
" The commissioners of Maryland had CON
structed au exact plan of the town of New
Castle upon piece Of paper, and then
carefully pared away the edges of the
draught until no more than the draught
was left, when, sticking pin through it,
they suspended it thereby in different places
unit! they found place whereby it might
be suspended horizontally, which point or
place they accepted as the center of grav
ity," which they alleged was the center Of
the town, and maintained that that was
the right and proper place from which to
commence the measurement of the radius.
The missioners of Pennsylvania oh.
jjected to this curious method of determin
ing the center of the town; and the court,
when the matter was referred to it, decided
that the radius should be measured from
the Court House. The commissioners, af
ter spending some time in New Castle, ad-
journed to meet in the April following,
having first agreed that the surveyors
should meet on the Goth of December, at
Cape Henlopen, and proceed to run the
line across the peninsula.
Watson, whom We learn from his diary
was Quaker soon afterwards started for
Cape Henlopen on horse back. He had oc.
cason TO spend a night at an Lotel in st.
Georges, and notes in his diary that the
mill dam at that place was the resort of
large iiocks of water fowl. There seems
to have been no dispute at this time about
the location of Cape Henlopen, the contro-
versy about which was subsequently raised
by the Penns. when they ascert aimed that
If the east and west line across the PENN
sula started at the cape of that name, near
Lewes, they would be deprived of part Of
the land that they claimed. The contro.
versy about the location of Cape Henlopen
seems 10 have grown out of the different
ways of spelling that name. The early
Swedish settlers, it is stated by Proud in
his history of Pennsylvania, named he
present Cape Tlenlopen, Cape Inlopen, and
the cape at the eastern end of the peninsular
line afterwards being called Cape Hinlopen
changed the meaning of the word Inlopen
meaning the interior cape and Hinlopen
meaning the exterior one.
Watson gives an account of the difficult
ties and Inconvenience the surveyors ex.
perienced in the prosecution of their work,
from which WE learn that they were in i'm.
mineut danger of being drowned by the
tide Overlooking Phcnix Island upon one
occasion, when they were stopping upon it.
The cabin in which they were lodging, upon
another occasion, took fire and they had a
narrow escape from death, one of them
losing his shoes, which were burned to a
crisp, from which We infer that their loss
was more serious affair than it would be
at the present time. However after much
discussion and wrangling they commenced
the survey of the line, which they traced
for a few miles, and on the Sth of January,
1850, were obliged to quit ON account of
the swamps and low lands being covered
with ice, ich made it impracticable to
continue the work. Watson states that
their horses were continually getting mired
i'll the swamps, into which they sank up TO
the middle of their legs, and that it was in
his opinion only practicable to complete
the work i'll the Summer months when the
swamps were drier than at other times
The line across the peninsula was subse-
quently completed, and the commissioners
would probably have some time completed
the other portions or the work had their
labors not been suddenly brought to an end
by the death of Charles Calvert, the pro-
prietor of Maryland, between whom and
the heirs of Penn the agreement of 1882
had been made. Frederick Lord Baltr
more. the heir and successor of Charles, re
sisted the execution of the decree, and in
1914 the Penns took measures to revive the
chancery suit with a view of carrying out
and enforcing the original agreement
But probably owing to the proverbial delay
that always prevails in that court, the
judges of which study show not to do it,"
the parties, after waiting till 1850, entered
into another agreement, which so far rs il
related to the boundary lines, was a re-
it only differed by containing certain stipu-
lations in reference to the grants of land
already made by the proprietors of the two
provinces. This agreement provided for
the appointment of not less than three nor
more than seven commissioners by the re-
spective parties who were to carry its pro
visions into effect. These commissioners
met at New Castle on the 10Th OF Novem-
Der, 1860 and on the 10Th of the Decem-
Der following delivered their instructions to
the surveyors, Messls. John Frederick,
Augustus Briggs, Thomas Garnett. Arthur
Emory. John Watson, John Stapler and
William Shanklaud, who were employed
by them to locate and measure the radius
of the twelve mile circle and a due north
line from the middle point in the line across
the peninsula till it reached the outer end
of the radius. The commissioners seem
to have had some doubt of their ability to
run all the lines, for they only instructed