Abstracts of the Testamentary Proceedings of the Prerogative Court of Maryland. Volume XXVIII: 1751-1752, 1755. Libers 35 (pp. 115-end), 36 (pp.1-207)

Description

The work at hand marks the twenty-eighth volume in this continuing series.

The Prerogative Court was the focal point for probate in colonial Maryland. All matters of probate went directly to the Prerogative Court, which was located in Maryland’s colonial capital, Annapolis. The Prerogative Court was also the colony’s court for equity cases–resolution of disputes over the settlement and distribution of an estate.

Volume XXVIII is derived from this important source for Maryland genealogists. In compiling the series, Mr. Skinner has worked primarily from microfilm copies of the Prerogative Court records; however, when necessary to resolve problems of paleography, he has consulted the original manuscripts, located at the Maryland State Archives in Annapolis.

The series is arranged, with a few exceptions, chronologically by court session. Volume XXVIII consists of testamentary abstracts for the balance of 1751-52 and part of 1755. (Researchers will find the years 1750-53 covered in Volumes XXVI and XXVII.) In all, this book refers to an additional 7,000 colonial inhabitants of the Province of Maryland. For the most part, the transcriptions state the names of the principals (testators, heirs, guardians, witnesses, administrators, and so forth), as well as details of bequests, names of slaves, appraisers, and more.