THE THOMASES OF INDIAN QUARTER AND PINEY POINT©

The Thomases of Dorchester County clustered in at least four major groups, perhaps not all descending from a common ancestor. There were, and are, the Thomases at Hunting Creek and Cabin Creek to the northeast, the Thomases at Fishing Creek and the Thomases of the Neck District. Both the Cabin Creek Thomases¹ and the Thomases of the Neck District were branches of families who first settled at Fishing Creek. Those of the Neck District, who are our direct ancestors, settled around the head of Hudson Creek (Little Choptank Hundred) and owned the plantation lands at Indian Quarter and Piney Point for a period of approximately 175 years -from 1708 until sometime after 1880.

The earliest American ancestor of the Fishing Creek and Neck District Thomases was William Thomas, who came to the Province of Maryland at least as early as 1655. On July 21, 1655, one Christopher Bowes demanded payment of two hundred acres of land for transporting himself,² his wife, his son and William Thomas into the province. William presumably paid for his transportation by indenturing himself to Christopher Bowes for a period of at least five years. A warrant was rendered to lay out two hundred acres of land "on Potomock River or in any other part of the province not formerly taken up."³

In December, 1662, William, presumably after serving his indenture⁴, was in possession of Spring Garden (100 acres)⁵ located on the north side of Fishing Creek, which was to be patented by Stephen Gary in the following year.⁶ In 1667, Gary conveyed his interest in Spring Garden to William Thomas and Jacob Waymacke, who were apparently working in partnership.⁷ Two years later, at a General Assembly meeting held May 6, 1669, Stephen Gary was selected to be among the first eight Commissioners of the newly formed Dorchester County, appointed in the name of Cecil Calvert, Lord Proprietary of the Colony of Maryland, Lord Baron of Baltimore.⁸ By 1671, William Thomas had patented a tract of land, William's Choice (50 acres),⁹ on the west side of Long Cove, also located on the north side of Fishing Creek. In 1675¹⁰ William Thomas was witness to the will of Stephen Gary, who died April 6, 1686.

When Jacob Waymacke died in 1673 he willed all of his interest in Spring Garden and "all the Cattell and Hoggs or all other Goods and Chattels or what other estate is properly mine" to William Thomas.¹¹ Spring Garden was subsequently expanded by the acquisition of Spring Garden Addition (123 acres) in 1682¹² and Thomas's Addition (47 acres), patented to William Thomas on November 12, 1686.¹³ William Thomas may have married a daughter of William Allen (died prior to 1702) and had three known sons, Joseph (1674?-1739), William (1676?-1715), and Allen (1683?-1740).¹⁴

William Thomas died in 1700. His Inventory, dated September 7, 1700,¹⁵ showed a personal estate of £15, 11 shillings and 9 pence. His will has not been located, but a conveyance in 1701 shows that a will existed and that according to its terms William's Choice was to be divided between two of his sons, Joseph Thomas and Allen Thomas.

Upon the death of his father, Joseph Thomas, already married to Jane Hubbard, left Fishing Creek and acquired land in the Little Choptank Hundred. He patented Joseph's Vintner (Venture) on September 15, 1700,¹⁶ many years later to be renamed by Samuel Hubbard, son of Humphrey Hubbard and brother of Jane, as Hubbard's Chance (1764).¹⁷

In 1701, Joseph Thomas and his wife Jane conveyed their one half interest in William's Choice¹⁸ on Fishing Creek to Alexander Kyll. The deed describes the property as having been given to Joseph by the last will and testament of William Thomas,¹⁹ according to which his property was to be divided between his two sons, Joseph and Allen. Four years later, in 1705, Joseph Thomas and Jane conveyed their one half interest in Spring Garden²⁰ and Spring Garden Addition (223 acres) to William Thomas , apparently Joseph's brother. The descendants of William Thomas and Allen Thomas were to become the Thomases of Fishing Creek and eventually the Thomases of Cabin Creek.

Among the early settlers of Dorchester County was Humphrey Hubbard, a cooper²¹ born in 1648. On January 2, 1669 Hubbard, then age 21, was certified as having been indentured to one Edmond Burton of Kent County for four years.²² A deed of 1674 shows Hubbard as having sold land in Kent County obtained as a result of his service.²³ Possibly, he was the son of a Samuel Hubbard, transported to Bermuda from London at the age of 16 in 1635.²⁴ Humphrey Hubbard and his wife Elizabeth had at least 4 sons; Humphrey, Jr., who died in 1744, Titus, Daniel (born c.a. 1687) and Samuel (born c.a. 1688). Humphrey, Sr. also had a daughter, Jane (born c.a. 1677)²⁵ who married Joseph Thomas. It is not clear how Joseph and Jane met because at the time of their marriage their fathers' lands were not proximate. However, the population of Dorchester County was still very small and perhaps William Thomas knew Humphrey Hubbard as a result of the cooperative activities necessary in planning a new settlement.

In 1705 Humphrey Hubbard was a Deputy Commissioner of Dorchester County, and part of his responsibility was to maintain documents relating to probate, including wills, inventories, estates and accounts. In 1705 he was transporting the originals of several of these documents by boat over the Chesapeake Bay to the Commissioner General's Office in St. Mary's and, en route, his boat and all his documents were destroyed by fire. Hubbard had copies of some or all of these papers, which he later affirmed as being true copies and produced these before the General Assembly of Maryland.²⁶

On June 12, 1669, Indian Quarter was patented to one Henry Aldred²⁷ and was surveyed for Humphrey Hubbard, who was in possession of the property. Humphrey Hubbard's daughter, Jane, had married Joseph Thomas c.a. 1696-97, an assumption based on the approximate ages of their children as indicated in depositions²⁸ taken years later. On November 14, 1708 Humphrey Hubbard leased to Joseph Thomas for five years at a yearly rental of "two good fat capons",²⁹ lands comprising the plantations of Brook's Outhold (100 acres),³⁰ Taylor's Happ (50 acres)³¹ and Indian Quarter (50 acres).³² Brook's Outhold was originally patented as 150 acres to John Brooke on March 30, 1670.³³ The lease to Joseph must have been changed to a land grant by the will (not located) of Humphrey Hubbard, Sr. who died in 1710.³⁴

The transfer of property between the Thomases and the Hubbards was to become a common occurrence. In March, 1725, Joseph Thomas and Jane conveyed a tract of land called Chance in Cason's Neck (100 acres)³⁵ to Daniel Hubbard for three thousand pounds of tobacco. In November of the following year, Joseph and Jane conveyed Joseph's Vintner (Venture), 50 acres,³⁶ Joseph's first acquired land in the little Choptank Hundred, to Samuel Hubbard, son of Humphrey Hubbard, Sr. The conveyance indicates that Joseph's Venture was adjacent to the land of Humphrey Hubbard, presumably Humphrey Hubbard, Jr.

The land called Trippe's Regulation³⁷ had been acquired by Joseph Thomas, Sr. from Henry Trippe sometime early in the 1700's. In a quitclaim deed in 1731, for a nominal consideration Henry Trippe conveyed to Joseph Thomas a tract designated as Trippe's Regulation, consisting of 100 acres.³⁸ Quitclaim deeds for a nominal consideration were commonly used to eliminate any future claim of ownership by the grantor or his heirs to the subject property.

Joseph Thomas, Sr. had 6 sons; John Thomas, who predeceased his father, Hezekiah Thomas, Thomas Thomas, William Thomas, Zachariah Thomas and Joseph Thomas, Jr. Joseph Sr.'s extensive property holdings afforded him the luxury of distributing his lands among his five surviving sons.

In 1732 Joseph Thomas, Sr. conveyed to his son, John, 80 acres³⁹ at the head of a land called Division Land where Samuel Hubbard, son of Humphrey Hubbard, Sr. then lived. Part of the land apparently bordered on Joseph's Venture, conveyed to Samuel Hubbard by Joseph and Jane in 1726. John's land included a part of Indian Quarter to an extent not clearly described in the deed. John Thomas died shortly after the conveyance; his Inventory being published July 25, 1733,⁴⁰ identifying his wife Clare and a personal property value of £ 30. Joseph Thomas, Sr. and Hezekiah Thomas were listed as creditors. Next of kin were not identified, suggesting that John and Clare had no children.

In 1737 Humphrey Hubbard, Jr. conveyed a tract of 77 acres called Busby's Dale⁴¹ (originally called Budsdill Deale and later called by various similar names) to Joseph Thomas, Jr. Joseph Thomas, Jr. was apparently still living on this property in 1768, as indicated in a deposition taken during that year.⁴² Also in 1737, Samuel Hubbard petitioned⁴³ to determine the boundaries of Brook's Outhold (50 acres) then in his possession as a result of a grant from Joseph Thomas and Jane on March 22, 1735.⁴⁴ A deposition of Daniel Hubbard, Samuel's brother, (aged about 50 at the time of the petition) stated that 30 years ago he and his three brothers were shown a red oak Bounder of Brook's Outhold by their father, Humphrey Hubbard. A deposition of Joseph Thomas, Sr., then aged about 63, stated that Humphrey Hubbard had told him 33 years ago that the red oak bounded his land called Brook's Outhold.

On April 14, 1738 Joseph Thomas, Sr. wrote a will⁴⁵ in which he divided his lands among his five surviving sons; Hezekiah, Thomas, Zachariah, William and Joseph, Jr. According to the will, Hezekiah was given the land and dwelling plantation of Joseph Thomas, Sr. called Taylor's Happ in part (20 acres) and a property of seven acres called Hubbard's Chooser (Closure).⁴⁶ Hezekiah was also given his father's mill, but the mill was to be made available to all of the sons when required. Joseph, Sr. granted to his son Thomas 50 acres of Brook's Outhold adjacent to Indian Quarter and all the remaining part of a tract of land called Indian Quarter "which I had chiefly given to my son John heretofore." Son Zachariah was given Regulation (Trippe's Regulation, 100 acres), but this land (Regulation) was to be divided between Zachariah and Hezekiah beginning at a division line at a small Branch near the upper end of a cleared ground where Joseph, Sr. then lived and known to his son, Joseph Jr. Zachariah's land was to include all land south and eastward of the line. Presumably each brother received about 50 acres. A not clearly identifiable property containing 50 acres and called "Thomas's Adventure" was granted to sons William and Hezekiah to be divided equally between them. Joseph, Jr. was to be given all that part of Taylor's Happ (30 acres) that lies on the south side of the head of Hudson's Creek. The sons were not to enjoy their grants until after the death of their father. The lands bequeathed by Joseph Thomas, Sr. to his sons in his will must have included about 300 acres or more.

On May 8, 1739, Joseph Thomas, Sr. conveyed to Joseph Thomas, Jr. the south part of Taylor's Happ, 30 acres,⁴⁸ on the east side of the head of Hudson Creek. Also, in a deed recorded on May 15, 1739,⁴⁹ Joseph Thomas conveyed to his son Thomas Thomas a half tract of 50 acres of Brook's Outhold and "all that part of a tract of land called Indian Quarter that lies between the division trees of the said land that was formerly made out to John Thomas (who had died in 1733) and the aforesaid tract of land called Taylor's Happ joining upon Brook's Outhold." Joseph Thomas, Sr. died sometime during 1739. On April 10, 1739 Henry Trippe executed a quitclaim deed⁵⁰ to Hezekiah and Zachariah Thomas of lands called Partnership and Trippe's Regulation.

In 1743 Henry Trippe, Hezekiah Thomas, Thomas Thomas and William Thomas conveyed 150 acres of land to Thomas Cook, the land including part of Indian Quarter, part of Taylor's Happ, part of Brook's Outhold and part of Trippe's Regulation.⁵¹ At the time of this deed approximately 50 acres of Brook's Outhold were already in the possession of Samuel Hubbard. The deed to Thomas Cook was made in consideration of a payment of £ 80, current money. A 50 acre tract of Brook's Outhold, one half of Trippe's Regulation (50 acres), a part of Taylor's Happ (20 acres) and Indian Quarter (perhaps up to 30 acres) would have sufficed to total the acreage conveyed in the 1743 deed. Henry Trippe apparently signed the 1743 deed as a quitclaim. It appears that Hezekiah Thomas and William Thomas gave up all of their interest in the lands identified in the deed, but Thomas Thomas must have retained about 50 acres of his inheritance, including a minimum of 10-20 acres of Indian Quarter.⁵² Curiously, part of Indian Quarter was conveyed by quitclaim⁵³ from Titus Hubbard to Samuel Hubbard and Thomas Cook on August 12, 1747, apparently to extinguish any residual claim through Humphrey Hubbard, Sr. The quitclaim of August 12, 1747 included Brook's Outhold (100 acres), Taylor's Happ (50 acres) and Indian Quarter (50 acres). The deed of 1743 to Thomas Cook refers to a line between the plantations where Thomas Thomas and John Thomas formerly lived,⁵⁴ and also to a division line between the lands of Hezekiah Thomas and Zachariah Thomas defined by Joseph, Sr.. The portion of Taylor's Happ conveyed to Thomas Cook included the dwelling place of Joseph, Sr.

Between 1747 and 1748 depositions were taken in response to a Herrington Petition⁵⁵ to define the boundaries of Ross's Range. From the depositions one can determine the approximate dates of birth of a number of people; Jane Thomas c.a. 1677, William Thomas, son of Jane c.a. 1698, Joseph Thomas, Jr., son of Jane, 1708 (suggested to be 1712 in another deposition), Samuel Hubbard c.a. 1788 and Mary Dawson Seward (great grandmother of the Mary Seward who married William Thomas of William in 1790) c.a. 1679.

Thomas Thomas of Joseph, Sr. died in 1752. His Inventory, published on July 10, 1752,⁵⁶ showed the nearest of kin as William and Henry⁵⁷ (sons, according to the laws of descent identifying nearest of kin) and a considerable wealth of personal property valued at £ 205,4.5.5. The will of Thomas Thomas was published for probate on February 7, 1753,⁵⁸ but apparently there is no extant copy of the will. The Account⁵⁹ for his estate was dated May 14, 1753.

Hezekiah Thomas also died in 1752. His Inventory, published 7 March 1752,⁶⁰ showed the nearest of kin as being his mother Jane Thomas and his uncle Titus Hubbard. The value of his estate was given at £ 6.18. The account of the estate of Hezekiah Thomas (£4.13), dated June 24, 1755⁶¹ shows William Thomas, presumably Hezekiah's brother William, as administrator.

In 1754 William Thomas (taylor), son of Thomas Thomas, was appointed guardian to John Seward, a minor, in respect of John Seward's land called Partnership.⁶² It was customary to appoint close relatives as guardians to minor children. William Thomas could have been first married to Sarah Seward (born 1738?), sister to John Seward, deceased.⁶³ The same William Thomas paid rent on Partnership (140 acres) for John Seward, and on Thomas's Chance for himself in 1756.⁶⁴ Payments on Thomas's Chance by the same William Thomas are shown in the years 1758, 1766, 1767 and 1770.⁶⁵

One mystery concerning this William Thomas is the persistent appearance of (taylor) after his name in various deeds. A parenthetical designation following a surname is conventionally a designation of a person's occupation, in this case "taylor" or tailor. The spelling of "taylor" for tailor was used in records throughout the 1600s and 1700s.⁶⁶ Apparently, William Thomas, was apprenticed in that trade during his minority and his during father's lifetime.

In 1755 William Thomas (taylor) conducted the first of three surveys, the second survey being in 1764 and the third survey being during 1772-4.⁶⁷ On June 17, 1755 Thomas's Chance⁶⁸ was resurveyed for William Thomas and Reuben Phillips, who died in 1771.⁶⁹ A patent on Thomas's Chance was issued in 1755 to William Thomas for 50 acres.⁷⁰ In 1764 the same William Thomas (taylor) petitioned to determine once again the boundaries of Thomas's Chance, formerly called Indian Quarter.⁷¹ In a deposition, John, the father of John Seward was said to have identified a pine as the first Bounder about 1747, and the spot was marked by the Commissioners of the 1764 survey by putting three notches in a pine. In a petition of October 30, 1772⁷² William Thomas (taylor) states that he was seized of a tract of land formerly called Indian Quarter, and now called Thomas's Chance, and referred to "boundaries being ancient and decayed." A Notice of Depositions was posted "by affixing a Note at the Church door of the parish". In a deposition on November 11, 1772, in response to the petition, Joseph Thomas, Jr., (then about 60 years of age) stated that about fifty years ago he accompanied Samuel Hubbard and his father Joseph Thomas, Sr. and his father showed Samuel Hubbard where Hubbard should build his house and pointed to a pine stump as the first Bounder of Indian Quarter. In a deposition, Thomas Cook, age 65, stated that 20 or more years ago John Seward's father showed him the Bounder. Samuel Hubbard, age 81, stated that his father, Humphrey Hubbard, 65 years ago had marked a pine tree showing the second Bounder of Indian Quarter. A cedar post was marked with 9 notches at the time of the 1772 survey to denote the second Bounder.

In 1756 William Thomas, son of Joseph (Sr.), was listed on the debt books with respect to Hubbard's Closure (Chooser), the debt being in arrears for 22 years.⁷³ Upon the death of William, Hubbard's Closure passed into the hands of Joseph Thomas, Jr.

A survey made in 1764 in response to a petition of Joseph Hubbard,⁷⁴ seized of Brook's Outhold "which depended on and related to a tract of land called Indian Quarter and also seized of Joseph's Venture", established the bounds of Indian Quarter and Joseph's Venture. Joseph Hubbard's father, Samuel Hubbard, on August 14, 1764, testified that his father (Humphrey Hubbard, Sr.) showed him a stump said to be the second Bounder of Indian Quarter and the first Bounder of Joseph's Venture, afterwards called Hubbard's Chance.

In 1768 William Thomas (taylor) said to be about 30 (but actually about 35 by reference to other documents, i.e. in 1754 he must have been over 21, having been appointed as guardian to John Seward, a minor, testified to a white ash as a Bounder of Ross's Range on Ross's Neck.⁷⁵

The will of Samuel Hubbard, son of Humphrey Hubbard, Sr. was published on December 28, 1774.⁷⁶ Daughter Jane Thomas possibly the second wife of William Thomas (taylor) ?) was given "one box iron and huters (heaters)" and "no more of my estate". The will was probated by Joseph Hubbard, the eldest son of Samuel, on October 16, 1775.

The earliest known report of Thomas activity in the American Revolution was a protest dated September 10, 1776 against repeated impositions by Captain Joseph Byus (Byers?), the protest being signed by John Thomas (M., i.e. minor) and William Thomas and attested by William Thomas (presumably Lieutenant William Thomas). The protest was on behalf of the Castle Haven Company, Dorchester County (19th Battalion).⁷⁷ In 1777 Lieutenant William Thomas (presumably William Thomas (taylor), there being no need to identify himself as (taylor))⁷⁸ was paid for services at Cook's Point⁷⁹ along with John Thomas of William Thomas (taylor),⁸⁰ who may have still been a minor at that time. As of December 16, 1779 William Thomas was shown as First Lieutenant of the Lower Battalion, Dorchester Militia.⁸¹

In 1780 Joseph Hubbard and John Cook clarified the line of their properties by mutual conveyances. Joseph Hubbard conveyed to John Cook all that part of Brook's Outhold that Samuel Hubbard (father of Joseph Hubbard) and Thomas Cook (father of John Cook) had divided between them.⁸² John Cook executed a similar deed to Joseph Hubbard.⁸³ Reference was made to part of Indian Quarter conveyed by Titus Hubbard to Samuel Hubbard and Thomas Cook in 1747, which was simply an acknowledgment of the quitclaim deed of August 12, 1747.

In 1790 William Thomas, son of William Thomas (taylor), married Mary Seward, a direct descendent of George Seward, who had come to Dorchester County in the late 17th century. In 1673 George Seward (who died prior to 1683) built a new house "for the keeping of the court there" on Harwood's Choice, a plantation on the most easterly branch of Fishing Creek.⁸⁴ George and his wife Mary gave birth to a son, William (born 1674), and a son, John (born c.a. 1680). In 1704 John, son of George, married Mary Dawson, daughter of Edward Dawson, whose will was proved June 15, 1704 and was lost in the fire on Humphrey Hubbard's boat in 1705. John and Mary had a son, John (born in 1710 and

died in 1748) who had inherited his father's property. This John married (c.a. 1732) Elizabeth Wheeler and had three sons including, John, who was born 1734 and died January 1, 1788 and a daughter Sarah, born c.a. 1738. John had 6 daughters including Mary Seward, born 1772,⁸⁵ who married William Thomas, Jr. of William on March 26, 1790.⁸⁶

William Thomas (taylor) presumably died in 1791 or early 1792. On March 21 and 25, 1792 there was an exchange of lands (in consideration of £ 10) to fix a boundary between Joseph Hubbard, son of Samuel Hubbard, and William Thomas, Jr., son of William Thomas (taylor), who had become owner of Thomas's Chance.⁸⁷ The boundary in question probably involved part of what had been formerly known as Indian Quarter. Also, on March 21, 1792,⁸⁸ John Cook had been granted by what seems to be a quitclaim deed (consideration £19, 12 shillings) for 39 1/2 acres of Indian Quarter bordering on Brook's Outhold from Joseph Thomas, son of James Thomas, Sr., son of Joseph Thomas, Jr., to extinguish any residual rights of the heirs of Joseph Thomas, Sr.

On January 14, 1794 William Thomas was born to William Thomas, Jr. and Mary Seward Thomas.⁸⁹ A daughter, Elizabeth, was born in 1796 and a second son, John was born on March 4. 1798.⁹⁰

In 1798 a part of Brook's Outhold (32 acres) was sold for £128 by James Hubbard, son of Joseph Hubbard, to William Thomas Jr., son of William Thomas (taylor).⁹¹ The deed included the dower rights of Biddy Hubbard, wife of James, and mentioned a tract identified by a marked pine and its relationship to a division line affixed by James's father, Joseph Jr., and the then present William Thomas of William. That portion of Brook's Outhold is described as being parallel to William's land called Thomas's Chance.

Mary Seward Thomas died young and, on August 28, 1817 her husband, William Jr., found a new bride, Keziah North.⁹² Keziah had been licensed to marry one Jacob Todd on June 10 of the same year but instead, married William.⁹³ The marriage was apparently disruptive to family harmony. Shortly before the marriage William and Michael Mitchell invested $800.00 in Ross's Range⁹⁴ which they sold less than two years later (together with Keziah) apparently at a substantial loss.⁹⁵ For whatever reason, on March 3, 1818, William deeded Thomas's Chance (191 acres)⁹⁶ to his second son, John in consideration of love and affection (and $30.00). William, the father of William and John, presumably died in 1822 or early 1823, the presumption being based on the fact that John's property right was to take effect "from and after the natural life of William Thomas." On May 24, 1823 John Thomas of William mortgaged Thomas's Chance⁹⁷ to Thomas Wrightson for $110.00, payment being due with interest before the last day of May 1833.

William Jr.'s first son, William was twenty-three at the time of his father's second marriage. He may have gone to live with one of his many cousins or hired himself out as a laborer to someone else. It is hard to imagine his working for his younger brother under the circumstances. Whether he had any association with his father is not known. He appears later as the owner of a 20 acre tract that was part of Piney Point.

Piney Point⁹⁸ on Phillips Creek, Bar Neck, was patented to Thomas Scott April 19, 1682. By 1761 it was owned by James Peterkin and his wife¹⁰⁰ and it was again identified in a deed of September 15, 1794 as the property of Joseph Cantwell, whose wife Mary received it from her former husband, James Sewers.¹⁰¹ The property changed hands several times around the turn of the century¹⁰² and was first acquired by a member of the Thomas family in 1827. The deed, dated February 13, 1827, shows that Thomas Thomas and his wife Sally (probably Sarah),¹⁰³ and Levin Wheeler and his wife Elizabeth, bought Piney Point (80 acres)¹⁰⁴ from Isaiah LeCompte. In 1829 Thomas Thomas, in consideration of a payment of fifty dollars, deeded his 1/4 share of Piney Point including "the building and appurtenances" to William Thomas,¹⁰⁵ son of William Jr., who in turn was the son of William Thomas (taylor). After acquiring the Piney Point property, on November 23, 1833 William Thomas married Sarah Warfield.¹⁰⁶

The original portion of the dwelling plantation at Piney Point was said by its present owner¹⁰⁷ to have been built in 1710 with an addition, more than doubling the size of the house, having been built about 1840. It was the 1840 dwelling house, perhaps enlarged from its original size by his father William, that Captain Wesley Thomas referred to as "The Old Homestead".¹⁰⁸

John Thomas of William died in 1836 at the age of 38 years. In his will, written in early 1836,¹⁰⁹ the property was devised equally to Mary Wrightson, widow of Thomas Wrightson, who held the mortgage on it and to Keziah Thomas, John's stepmother. John died in 1836 and in the following year Mary Wrightson sued Keziah North to have the property put up for public sale.¹¹⁰ Henry Page was appointed Trustee and the property was sold to John Muir on January 30, 1838.¹¹¹ As a result Thomas's Chance (or Indian Quarter) passed out of the hands of the Thomas family, who had owned at least a part of it for about 130 years.

In July 1849 Wesley Thomas and his twin brother Edward were born to William Thomas and Sarah Warfield Thomas. In 1862, at the age of 13, Wesley became a mariner, securing a position on a schooner, being made mate at 16 and 2 years later being promoted to Captain of the schooner John A. Stevens. During the Civil War the schooner on which Wesley was serving was taken into government service and was at Quarry Creek when Lee entered Maryland for the second time. After the war, Wesley became mate on the steamships Highland Light, Enoch Pratt, Kent and Joppa of the Maryland Steamboat Company. In 1882 he was made Captain of the Kent, and subsequently he became Captain of the Avalon and the Ida. He married Mary Elizabeth Roberts, who gave birth to 5 children; Howard, Grace, Harry, Bruce and Fletcher.¹¹³

In 1867 a number of Thomases conveyed their interest in Piney Point to Wesley and to James H. Thomas, Wesley's elder brother.¹¹⁴ On March 3, 1880 Wesley and his twin brother Edward conveyed Piney Point (then 26 acres and 6 perches) to James H. Thomas.¹¹⁵ James H. Thomas¹¹⁶ later deeded to Wesley 6 acres of the Piney Point land. Some years later Piney Point passed out of the hands of the Thomases.

The foregoing compilation of scattered information from deeds, wills, inventories, accounts and debt books is linked by two pieces of tangible evidence: the accurate biography of Wesley Thomas published by Chapman Publishing Company in 1897 during Wesley's lifetime and by the graveyard at Indian Quarter.¹¹⁷ Four monuments or stones are to be found at Indian Quarter: William Thomas, William Thomas, Jr., Mary and John of William. The Sr. William can be identified as William Thomas (taylor) of the surveys taken in 1755, 1764 and 1772. There was and is no monument for his wife, presumed to have been either Sarah Seward, daughter of John Seward, or Jane Hubbard, daughter of Samuel Hubbard (or possibly both). William Thomas, Jr. was the son of William Thomas (taylor) and was buried beside his first wife, Mary Seward Thomas. John of William, son of William Thomas (taylor), served with the Castle Haven Company, Dorchester Militia, at Cook's Point in 1777. He probably predeceased his father, as his stone appears to be the oldest at Indian Quarter. John of William Thomas, Jr. wrote a will shortly before his death in 1836 in which he excepted from the devise of the property "our 1/2 acre graveyard" and set aside "the expense of stones for four graves". John's will tells us that there were only four graves at Indian Quarter and, at the present time, only one of the footstones is missing.

Compiled by Anne Mary Kearns, supplemented by additional research by T. Alan Russell, Shirley A. Gabrielson, Susan E. Armstrong and James E. Armstrong, III and analyzed by James E. Armstrong, III, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandson of William Thomas, who was transported to Maryland in 1655 and who settled in Dorchester County at least as early as 1662.

1 William Thomas of William (of William or Allen) of Fishing Creek, married to Esther Cook, acquired Goodridge's Choice (50 acres) on Cabin Creek from John Richardson in 1720. DCLR 2 OLD 44

2 Transportation meant bringing anyone to the Province, including oneself. Thus, for transporting four persons, the land grant from the government was 50 acres per person; 200 acres in the present instance. William Thomas obviously lacked the money, otherwise he would have transported himself. A person who transported another acquired a "headright" in the person transported, which could be sold to another. In a land grant to Daniel Clocker in 1674 reference is made to a Thomas Courtney, the assignee of William Thomas (and other named persons) "for their service and respective times of servitude performed within our said Province as appears upon record..." This reference could be to the same William Thomas, for service performed between 1655-1660. (LL 251 1674)

3 AB&H F422 (1655)

4 Acts Limiting the Times of Servants, Assembly Proceedings, February - March 1638/9; Item 38, 1654, Archives of Maryland, Vol. I, p. 80, pp. 352-353

5 RR #10 F 345 (1662)

6 Land Records (patent) L5 F424 (1663)

7 Land Records (Talbot County) LA 1 F33 (1667)

8 Elias Jones, Revised History of Dorchester County (1925) p.31

9 Land Records (patent) L14 F231 (1671), RR#10 F369 (1670)

10 Will L4 F202 (1675) probated after 1681

11 Will L1 F533 (1670) probated 1673

12 RR #10 F424 (1682), (patent) LCB #3 F357 (1682)

13 Land Records (patent) NS #2 F568 (1686), RR#10 F430 (1686)

14 Communication from V.L. Skinner, September 15, 1996.

15 Inventory L11B F31 (1700) The first key to the Thomas puzzle, which serves to correlate the subsequent events of 1700, 1701 and 1705.

16 RR #10 F442 (1700)

17 RR #31 F100 (1764)

18 DCLR 5 OLD 187 (1701)

19 The will of William Thomas was apparently lost in 1705 in the fire on Humphrey Hubbards's boat. Dorchester County Genealogical Soc. Vol. 5, No. 5, pg. 5.

20 DCLR 6 OLD 82 (1705)

21 Calvin W. Mowbray, First Dorchester Families, pg. 75

22 Archives of Maryland, Vol. LIV, p. 266.

23 Archives of Maryland, Vol. LIV, p. 246.

24 Coldham, Immigrants to America, Vol. 1.

25 23 OLD 5 (1768) A deposition of Thomas Cook identifies the father of Jane Thomas as Humphrey Hubbard.

26 Dorchester County Genealogical Society, Vol. 5, No. 5, pg. 5

27 Land Records (patent) L12 F266 (1669)

28 Boundaries of land were surveyed by the County Commissioner in response to a Petition. Witnesses were assembled and asked to make formal statements or declarations (called a deposition) in the presence of the Commissioners.

29 DCLR 6 OLD 124 (1708)

30 RR#10 F367 (1670)

31 RR#10 F419 (1682)

32 RR#10 F361 (1669)

33 DCLR 3 OLD 181 (1670)

34 Inventory L31 F170 (1710) A will had to have existed in order to effect the transfer of the land, for which a written instrument was required by law. Statute of Frauds, 29 Charles II (1677).

35 DCLR 8 OLD 118 (1725)

36 DCLR 8 OLD 136 (1726)

37 RR #10 F364 Trippe's Regulation is identified in the Rent Rolls as being part of a larger tract of 250 acres called Conny Warren, surveyed for Henry Trippe, Sr. in 1669. A part of Conny Warren was resurveyed into Trippe's Regulation by Henry Trippe, Jr. The Rent Rolls do not show the conveyance to Joseph Thomas, Sr. or the division of Trippe's Regulation between Hezekiah and Zachariah in accordance with Joseph Thomas, Sr.'s will in 1738. There is no record of the acreage conveyed to Thomas Cook in the 1743 deed.

38 DCLR 8 OLD 450 (1731)

39 DCLR 9 OLD 53 (1732)

40 Inventory L58 F258 (1733)

41 DCLR 9 OLD 487 (1737), RR#10 F398 (1678)

42 DCLR 23 OLD 5 (1768)

43 DCLR 9 OLD 482 (1737)

44 DCLR 9 OLD 352 (1735)

45 DCLR 10 OLD 24 (1738)

46 RR#10 F398 (1678)

47 There is no reference in the Rent Rolls to "Thomas's Adventure".

48 DCLR 10 OLD 39 (1739)

49 DCLR 10 OLD 200 (1739)

50 DCLR 10 OLD 183 (1739)

51 DCLR 11 OLD 210 (1743). A clear understanding of this conveyance together with the 1752 Inventory of Thomas Thomas is the second key to the Thomas puzzle. Thomas, William and Hezekiah were parties to the deed, but Zachariah was not. Zachariah's share of Trippe's Regulation (50 acres) eventually went to Joseph Thomas, Jr., as shown by the debt books of 1767. Presumably the 150 acres granted to Thomas Cook included Brook's Outhold (50 acres) from Thomas, Taylor's Happ (20 acres) from Hezekiah, Trippe's Regulation (50 acres) from Hezekiah, and a part of Thomas's Adventure (30 acres ?) from William and Hezekiah (property formerly given to John?) which must have contained a portion of Indian Quarter (20-30 acres) [otherwise why would William (whose only inheritance of land from his father was a 1/2 share in Thomas's Adventure) have been a party to the deed?] A curious feature of the Rent Rolls is that only tracts or partial tracts clearly defined by their acreage were recorded. There is no recordation of the 1743 deed to Thomas Cook in the Rent Rolls for Indian Quarter, Brook's Outhold, Taylor's Happ or Trippe's Regulation. In contrast, the 1747 quitclaim of Titus Hubbard is recorded for Indian Quarter, Taylor's Happ and Brook's Outhold. The quitclaim of 1792 from Joseph Thomas to John Cook suggests that John Cook may have considered that his father Thomas Cook had obtained 39 1/2 acres of Indian Quarter in the 1743 land transfer, or perhaps John Cook simply made the property description in the deed broad enough to cover all possible contingencies.

52 Zachariah was not a party to the deed. Had Zachariah died before the execution of the 1743 deed? Eventually the lands of Zachariah and the remaining lands of Hezekiah passed into the hands of Joseph Thomas, Jr. .

53 DCLR 14 OLD 154 (1747). This quitclaim, when viewed in light of later boundary adjustments, indicates that there were three adjacent pieces of property containing parts of Brook's Outhold, Taylor's Happ and Indian Quarter: (1) Samuel Hubbard's land comprising Brook's Outhold (100 acres), Joseph's Venture (50 acres) and perhaps a part of Indian Quarter; (2) Thomas Cook's land comprising the 150 acres that he had acquired in the 1743 deed from Henry Trippe, Thomas Thomas, Hezekiah Thomas and William Thomas; and (3) that part of Indian Quarter and other lands remaining in the possession of Thomas Thomas, most probably the 50 acres renamed as Thomas's Chance by William Thomas (taylor) at the time of the 1755 survey. See RR #29 F237 (1755).

54 John Thomas was dead. Did Thomas Thomas continue to live at the same place on Indian Quarter at the time of and after the 1743 deed, or had he moved prior to the 1743 deed?

55 DCLR 14 OLD 658 (1747-48)

56 Inventory L50 F19 (1752) A most important part of the second key to the Thomas puzzle. This Inventory clearly establishes that William Thomas (taylor) was the son of Thomas Thomas. Even without the conclusive evidence of this Inventory, the relationship can be established by process of elimination. John, Hezekiah, William and Zachariah died without issue. There is ample documentation in the land records to identify the sons of Joseph, Jr. and there is no William Thomas included among them.