The Cecil Whig., 1878-06-22

I
after diligent and persevering inquiry thai
the writer succeeded in finding it's location
Sluyter and bankers, the pioneer LaDa
dists, mention in their journal that they
crossed the Sassafras river in 1879, at a
ferry where there was an ordinary, which
was also the court house This was proba
bly, the house of Matthias Matthiason, a.
which the court frequently met. The peo
pie in those days seem to have been fond o.
ALTERATION, and beside the namo of Mat
thias we find the names of York Yorkson
Hendrick Hendrickson, Ohio Othason anG
some others, the given names of whom
seem to have been derived from their sur
names. The method of dispensing justice
during this period, and till after the clost
of the Revolutionary war, was quite differ
ent from that which now prevails. The
court was composed of a number of gentle
men who were commissioned as justices o
the quorum, and were for that reason fire.
quently called commissioners. They were
generally persons of good sense and judg
ment, but not generally learned in the law
The number of justices varied, but it i.
believed not often to have exceeded min,
nor to have been less than five. They were
commissioned annually in the name Of the
Lord Proprietary, except the period from
1851 to TIA, during which time the Lord,
Baltimore were deprived of the right t.
govern the province. They took cogni
zance of the civil and criminal business
which is now transacted before the Circuit
Court for the county. In addition to thi.
they also transacted the business and per
formed the duties which now belong to the
Orphans Court and the County Commits
sioners; this latter feature of our present
government, it is believed, was derived
from this ancient tribunal, which was called
the justices court. Parties who thought
themselves aggrieved by the decisions o
the justices court had the right of appeal
to the provincial court, which was held at
the capital of the colony. One Thomas
Hitchcock, who was convicted of stealing a
sentenced to pay him fourfold and stand
two hours in the pillory, appealed to the
higher court, which affirmed the Judgment.
We find this order among the minutes OF
the court for the year 1859. "Ordered by
the court that all accounts arising upon
issue be henceforward in this court tried by
n,,l hot l,a ott Of -
are epioined to take notice thereof" This
is the first reference to trial by jury that
has been found in the records of the court
1t is probable that prior to that time all
causes were tried before the court. A few
of the old minutes of the court are yet
extant, and they contain much information
in reference to the doings Of the gentlemen
who composed the courts. In 1858, two of
the justices refused to sit with the others
unless they would send for Matthew Pope,
to answer the charge that James Wroth,
who was one Of the justices, had prepared
against him. This the justices refused to
do, and for want of quorum the court was
forced to adjourn.
The Wroths are one of the oldest fami-
lies in the county. They came to Mary
lard somewhere between 10000. They
were distinguished family in England,
John Wroth being High Sheriff of London
in 1851, and Lord Mayor OF that city in
1861. Sir Thomas Wroth, another one of
the same family, was "groome of the
stole " to Edward VI. Elizabeth Wroth
was a woman of martial spirit and attended
her husband in King Williams campaign.
She died in 171S. The Cecil branch of the
family intermarried with the Walmsleys,
Penniugtons, Rothwells and Morgans of
Sassafras Neck.
The legal machinery of the county ap-
pears to have been in bad condition in 1920,
for, in addition to the sheriff being guilty
of malfeasance, which has already been re-
ferred to, a majority of the justices re-
fused to hold court at all, as we learn from
the minute book for that year. On the
l4th of June, John Jawert and Col. John
Ward met at the court house, but there
not being a quorum present, they ordered
that Gavin Hutchison, one of the under
sheritfs, ego to the house of Matthias Van
derhuyden and desire him to give his at
tendance" The sheriff returned and stated
that Vanderhuyden would not come They
then sent Hugh Watson for Francis Maui
din, who returned and reported that Mr..
Mauldin was away from home. James
Wood, one of the constabes of the court,
was then sent for Matthias Van Bibber,
who was presiding justice of the court.
Wood returned and said Van Bibber
sides he was indisposed and could not come.
SO the two justices, after waiting till 10
o'clock at night, departed to their homes,
first causing this mournfully curious record
to be made: "That the said court with all
actions, pleas & causes depending in the
same was discontinued { dr0pt, and the
court .tayen."
Proceedings of this kind must nave been
very detrimental to the interests of the at
torneys who practiced, as we'll as to their
clients who had causes pending in the
courts. The lawyers were probably as
ignorant of the law and as unskillful in
the practice of it as the courts were in the
of justice. In 1717, the court
passed an order in reference to John Sloan,
who was one of the attorneys, in which it
is stated that he had misbehaved himself
in his office, and finding him altogether
in the law they discarded the
said John Sloan from ever practicing in
this court any more"
The reasons given by some Of the appli-
cants for admission to the bar are quaint
and curious. One of them states in his
petition to the court that ne had procured
several law books and spent much time
during the last year in studying them.
aspirant for admission to the bar
bases his claims upon the opportunities of
his friends, who had besought him to take
charge of their cases. And Able Van Bur
kaloo, who was ex-sheriff at the time,
bases his claim upon his inability to secure
be SeryiraS of compatapt att tn at