Settlers of Maryland, 1731-1750

Description

This volume contains an alphabetical listing of about 7,000 Maryland Land Grants issued between 1731 and 1750 and has been compiled on the same pattern as that of previous volumes in the series.

By the turn of the 18th century a grant of new land was available only by purchase; no allowances or concessions were made for introducing new settlers to the colony. New immigrants, if they were able to acquire lands, appear to have done so in much smaller proportions than before.

The impetus in this period to develop and extend the English imperial power in North America led the provincial government of Maryland to encourage settlement of borderlands and virgin forests.

More sophisticated real-estate practices were introduced so that undeveloped lands on the furthest fringes of the province or those bordering Indian territory were available at a fraction of the cost of farms in the snug interior. The continued growth in population and territorial development led to the formation of Worcester County in 1742 (out of Somerset Co.) and of Frederick County in 1748 (from Prince George’s Co.).