Year: 1877

they soon reached. and "speak Of it as being
the most fertile part of North America, -
and say 1T is to be also wished that it was
the most healthy" No doubt the fever
and ague prevailed in Cecil county at that
time, and that there was much of the coun-
try in a swampy condition and covered with
water. Augustine Herman's map, made a
few years previous to this time, has a
note upon it, stating that the solid land
between the head waters of Back creek
flow into the Delaware bay is but n few
miles wide. This accounts for the commits
sioners, WalGron and Herman, taking a
northwest course. from New Castle when
going to the Chesapeake bay some years
before. They undun 5tedly took this course
to avoid the swamps and Stagnant water
they would have had to cross if they had
gone directly from New Castle 70 the head
of Elk. bankers remarks that "there are
few Indians in comparison with the extent
of the country whom they say {" lived in
the uppermost part of Maryland that is,
as high up as it is yet inhabited by Chris
tianS.''


When they reached Augustine Herman S,
they presented to him the letter from his
much kindness. His plantation was 60
gine into decay as well as his body for want
of attention. There was not Christian
man, as they term it, to serve him; nobody
but negroes. All this was increased by a
mserably. doubly miserable, wife, but so
miserable that l will not relate it here
All his children have been compelled on
her account, to leave their fathers house"
We hope we shall give no offense to the
descendants of this illustrous man by pub
fishing this extract This woman was an
English woman and was his second wife,
and 50 far as we have yet been able to learn,
died without leaving any children. 1t was
no fault of the noble Bohemian that he
made an unfortunate connection of this
kind he is t, be pitied more than blamed.
We have had the pleasurc-if pleasure it
can be called-of reading several letters
written by him to the Council of Maryland
about this time, and which appear upon
the journal of the proceeding of that body,
in which he speaks of "being in poor
health, and having no overseer, and being
burdened by domestic af1liction;' and we
have no doubt that the writer of this Jour
II tn1 : i,a in ~
ter. bankers proceeds to relate that they
'were directed to place to sleep. but the
screeching of the wild geese and other
wild fowl in the creek (the Bohemia river
before the door prevented them from hav-
ing good sleep.


The next morning after Herman had
signed the passport which Mr.. Moll, Aldrix
and Ephraim Herman had given them, they
proceeded on down the peninsula and speak
of being at the plantation of Van Waert.
Proceeding on down the Peninsula, they
came, towards evening, to Swede's named
Mons, where they spent the night. The
next morning Mons put them upon the
road to go to Captain Fris5ys. Leaving
Mr.. Blackston's plantation on the right
hand of Fris5y's, zee came to tie court house
standing on tile Sassafras ricer, which is
also an ordinary. We requested to be taken
over the river, as there is ferry here,
which they did, and it cost us each an Eng
lish shilling" They were probably mis-
taken about the ordinary being also the
court house, though it is probable the court
met there some times.


The first court house was near the head
of Sassafras river, and was sold by order
of the court in 1719. 1t is probable
that it was not built at the time Say-
ter and bankers were there, for we
find, by referring to the minute book of
the court for the years 1690-92, that the
court was in the habit of meeting at pri-
vate houses and holding its sessions there
Some time in the year 1890 it met at the
house of Thomas Jones, and on the 12th of
April, 1862, it met at the house of Sydrack
Whitworth. At the next court, which was
held at Matthias Mathason's, this same
Shadrack prayed the court to be ad-
mitted an attorney to practice in the
court. His petition was granted and he
was admitted and took the oath. One Will
liam NOVEL; also prayed to be readmtted,
and promised to remove the causes that
had led to his suspension, which seemed to
be the fact that he had refused to take the
pf al oh
not mentioned as being. part of the oath
taken by the other attorneys. On the 10th
OF August, 1892, the court met at Matthias
Mathason's. At this court, this same Sy-
drack was sued by one Robert Davidson,
planter of Kent county. From the entries
made in the minute book for this session of
court, we learn that Sydrack was a chur-
geon. He was probably one of the first
surgeons that practiced his profession in
our county. What fine time the lawyers
of those times must have had, when the
judges had no court house and had to be
beholden to the citizens of the county and,
in some cases, to the members of the bar
for a house to hold court in.


The first Jail for the use of the county
was near the Sassafras river. 1t was log
building and stood upon an eminence called
Wards Hill, about two and a half miles
from the river. After its use as Jail was
discontinued, it was used for stable. 1t
seems to have been very durable and to
have lasted for a long time.


These disciples of Labade went on down
the peninsula and spent week in looking
for favorable location. They appear to
have intended to visit the eastern shore of
Virginia; but the settlers in the lower part
of Maryland advised them not to proceed
further in that direction, and told them
there were SO many creeks and marshes
there that they would find it difficult to
travel. On their way back bankers speaks
as follows of the mnltitudes of wild fowl
they found in creek which, as near as we
are able to judge, was a tributary of the
Sassafras: 81 have, no where, seen so many
ducks together as were seen in this creek