Early Landowners of Maryland, Volume 2

Mr. Hall has abstracted the earliest of the land records (the patents) and grouped this information by owners, identifying each tract by hundred. The level of detail clearly separates his work from abstracts of rent rolls and land records making it more useful for those without easy access to the Maryland State Archives. As he did so successfully in Early Landowners of Maryland, Volume One: Anne Arundel County, Hall has once again greatly enhanced the value of this work by identifying patentees and other persons named in the patent document and by defining the relationships or involvement of such persons. This includes relatives, former tract owners, persons transported, persons completing service, surveyors, public officials, contributors of rights to acreage, trades, and occasionally, employers. He also includes helpful information such as personal relationships, disputes, and even an occasional reference to a burial site. Hall has identified virtually all the Prince George’s County patentees along with others who owned the land or warrant or acted as owner. In addition, he includes references to tract location by river, creek or branch. In nearly all cases he identifies neighbors and their tracts and, using data gleaned from other records such as probate, judicial proceedings, church and marriage records, he has identified and included many grants not included in the rent rolls. Several maps showing hundreds and land tracts of Prince George’s County and a separate surname index and tract index add to the value of this work.