The dollar is our legal tender. That’s a fact.
The county seat for Cecil County is Elkton. That’s a fact.
Finally, when a parent or parents can no longer care for their child or children, the state or relatives usually provide the needed care until, and if, the parents are able. That too is a fact. But these “facts” weren’t always facts as Historical Society of Cecil County volunteer, Stephen Higham discovered while reviewing Cecil County court records.
These records, as Steve points out, go all the way back to 1700! That’s over three hundred years ago!!
Steve, retired from the Social Security Administration, has worked on two other projects for the society. He took this project on last year in the hopes of supplying an electronic transcription of the records for viewing on the society computers. However, it took a little longer than he thought because the old English is much harder to read than anticipated.
As for the books themselves, they were donated to the society over a decade ago and resided in the society vault until Steve started his work. The two volumes cover the years 1700 to 1730 and reflect the proceedings of the county commissioners or “justices,” as they are sometimes called. In June of last year, Steve got down to business and he says he learned some things.
As noted, the almighty dollar is our currency, but Steve found that, way back in 1700, when Maryland and Cecil County were both still part of the British Empire, tobacco was king. He says early on, he discovered how, in a number of cases, “men would appear before the court as a witness and they would be paid 30 pounds of tobacco.” Steve explains that fines too were paid with casts of the brown leafed plant. “Let’s say a ‘John Smith’ would be found guilty and ordered to pay 240 thousand pounds of tobacco. Tobacco was a big product in Maryland and Virginia and that’s how they determined what the compensation would be, in pounds of tobacco. That was the only thing they had as trade, as a monetary compensation.”
Back in 1700, Cecil County’s seat of government was not located in Elkton. It was down along the Sassafras River. Elkton, or “Head of Elk,” as it was called, “was not even mentioned in the court records,” Steve noted. Strangely, Steve says, the exact Sassafras River location is never mentioned either.
“I don’t know if it was in a public place, someone’s house, or what. It only says ‘at the court house along the Sassafras River.’ ”
Finally, today there is a legal process for caring for children whose parents are no longer able to do so. Steve says that back in the first quarter of the 18th century, many needy children were “bound over” to other individuals or families.
“That person had the responsibility for raising them: teaching them a trade, providing shelter, food, and clothing. And some of these children were only 2 years old!”
“Once they reached 21(for boys) or 18 (for girls), they were usually given something to possess, something like a horse or clothing, and of course the trade they had been taught. Until then, they were at the beck and call of the person who owned the indenture.”
Steve’s project began in the summer of 2014 and ended this past August. He completed verbatim transcripts of 80 pages of the court records. The other 320 pages will be left to the next volunteer who wishes to take up the cause as Steve has moved to Rehoboth, Delaware to enjoy his retirement.
If you are interested in reviewing Steve’s work, seeing the original volumes, or volunteering to continue the transcription work, contact the Historical Society of Cecil County via our web site at www.cecilhistory.org