Useful odds and ends
Interesting Miscellany
Local pronunciations, old place names, research tips, historical terminology, land-record notes, and other small bits of information that can make Lower Eastern Shore genealogy a little easier.
This page gathers useful things that do not quite belong anywhere else. Some are local traditions or research clues rather than hard-and-fast rules, so use them as starting points and check the original record whenever possible.
On This Page
- Local PronunciationsFamily and place names that may not sound the way they look.
- Old and Changed Place NamesOlder names you may encounter in records.
- Old Somerset ParishesThe four Anglican parishes and their hundreds.
- Land and Probate Record NumberingWhy liber designations can look so odd.
- Naming CustomsPatterns that may provide clues, but never proof.
- Historical TermsWords whose older usage can mislead modern researchers.
- Surveyor’s TermsCommon words found in deeds and surveys.
- Surveyor’s MeasurementsChains, rods, perches, links, acres, and miles.
Local Pronunciations
Eastern Shore place names and surnames are not always pronounced the way an outsider might expect. Pronunciations can vary from family to family and community to community; these are the local forms I have heard most often.
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Beauchamp Surname: usually Beech’-um, not Bow’-shahmp.
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Bowden Surname: often Bow’-in or Bow’n, with the “ow” rhyming with “snow.” The “d” is often not pronounced. Bow’-din is also heard.
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Bozman Surname: Bahz’-man, not Boze’-man.
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Manokin Place name: Muh-no’-kin, not Man’-i-kin.
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Mattapony Place name: Mat-uh-puh-nye’, not Mat’-a-poh-nee.
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Monie Place name: Muh-nye’, not Moan’-ee.
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Sayers Surname: usually Seers or “Sears,” not Say’-ers.
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Wetipquin Place name: heard as Wee-tip’-kin or Wee-tip’-kwin, depending on the speaker.
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Wicomico Place name: Wye-cahm’-ih-co.
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Winder Surname: Winn’-der, not Wine’-der.
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Worcester Place name: Wooss’-ter, with the “oo” sounding more like “book” than “boot.”
Old and Changed Place Names
Older deeds, church records, newspapers, family papers, and maps may use community names that later changed or fell out of common use.
- Annemessex / Annemessex NeckCrisfield
- Barren Creek SpringsMardela
- Brewerton / BrewingtonAllen
- CapitolaClara
- Damned QuarterDame’s Quarter
- Derrickson’s CrossroadsPittsville
- Devil’s / De’il IslandDeal Island
- Disharoon’s CrossroadsFruitland
- ForktownFruitland
- HabnabVenton
- HancocksWillards
- Holly SwampWillards
- Hungary NeckMt. Vernon
- JamestownManokin
- Johnson’s ForksParsonsburg
- Potato NeckFairmount
- ReedvilleLibertytown
- Rockawalkin RiverWicomico River
- Rock CreekChance
- RussumMardela
- St. Peter’sOriole
- Sandy HillStockton
- Somers CoveCrisfield
- Twiford’s WharfSharptown
- Upper TrappeAllen
- WaltersvilleBivalve
- Windsor Cove LandingJesterville
Old Somerset County’s Parishes
Old Somerset County included present-day Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester Counties in Maryland, along with part of what later became Sussex County, Delaware. The established Anglican Church divided the county into four parishes, each associated with two hundreds.
For a map of the old hundreds, see Eastern Shore Maps and choose Somerset Hundreds.
- Somerset ParishManokin Hundred and Monie Hundred
- Coventry ParishPocomoke Hundred and Annemessex Hundred
- Stepney ParishWicomico Hundred and Nanticoke Hundred
- Snow Hill ParishBogettenorton Hundred and Mattapony Hundred
Land and Probate Record Numbering
Somerset and Wicomico land and probate books can have liber designations that look strange at first. Early land records include designations such as B No. 1, CD, IK, IKL, EI, L1, and L2.
Later books were often identified by the initials of the clerk in office when the record was entered. For example, a liber marked LW may indicate the term of clerk Levin Woolford. Probate books can use the same sort of clerk-initial system; EB, for example, is associated with Esme Bayley.
Do not assume the letters are an abbreviation for a record type. When in doubt, check the repository’s index or catalog for the full liber citation.
Naming Customs
Traditional naming patterns can provide useful clues, especially in families of Scottish or Scots-Irish background, but they were never universal rules. Treat them as hints to investigate rather than evidence of a relationship.
A commonly cited pattern is:
- Eldest son named for the paternal grandfather.
- Second son named for the maternal grandfather.
- Third son named for the father.
- Eldest daughter named for the maternal grandmother.
- Second daughter named for the paternal grandmother.
- Third daughter named for the mother.
Other versions add a fourth son named for the father’s eldest brother and a fourth daughter named for the mother’s eldest sister.
On the Lower Eastern Shore, another very common clue is the use of a mother’s maiden surname—or sometimes the surname of an admired relative, minister, public figure, or family friend—as a child’s first or middle name.
Historical Terms That Can Mislead Modern Researchers
Kinship words and social titles did not always carry exactly the same meaning they do today. Context matters. A single word in a will or deed should rarely be used by itself to prove a relationship.
- brother / sisterUsually a sibling, but some records use the terms more broadly for step-relationships, religious relationships, or close kin.
- brother-in-law / sister-in-lawHistorical usage could be broader than today’s usage. Read the surrounding family relationships before deciding exactly what was meant.
- cousinCould be used for a more distant relative than the modern first-cousin relationship.
- goodman / goodwife / “goody”Forms of social address, generally below the rank associated with “gentleman” or “gentlewoman.”
- indentured servantA person bound by contract to serve for a stated period, often in exchange for passage, training, support, or payment of a debt.
- Jr. / Sr.Did not necessarily prove a father-and-son relationship. The labels could simply distinguish two people of the same name living in the same community and could change over time.
- Mr. / Mrs. / MistressHistorically these could function as titles of social status as well as marital forms of address. Do not read modern assumptions into them automatically.
- mother / fatherMay occasionally refer to an in-law or step-relationship. Check the full family context.
- “my now wife” / “my present wife”Often legal wording identifying the spouse living at the time the document was written; it does not by itself prove that there was an earlier spouse.
- natural son / natural daughterMeaning varies by time and legal context. It can distinguish a biological child from another relationship, but in some records it can also refer to a child born outside marriage. Do not assume either meaning without supporting evidence.
- nephew / nieceUsually has the modern meaning, but occasional older usage can be broader. Verify the relationship from other records when possible.
- servantA broad term for someone who served another household or master; the person might be an indentured servant, hired worker, apprentice, or another kind of dependent.
Surveyor’s Terms
- Metes and boundsA way of describing property boundaries by courses, distances, landmarks, adjoining lands, and other calls.
- PatentA government document granting title to land.
- WarrantAuthorization connected with the survey and acquisition of land before a patent was issued.
- DeedA legal instrument transferring an interest in property from one party to another.
- GrantorThe person conveying or transferring the property.
- GranteeThe person receiving the property.
- CourseA survey line described by direction and distance.
- Course reversedFollowing a previously described survey line in the opposite direction, generally for the same distance.
- Home lineThe closing line of a survey that returns to the beginning point.
Surveyor’s Measurements
- 1 perch, pole, or rod16½ feet or 5½ yards
- 1 chain4 rods or 66 feet
- 80 chains1 mile
- 1 chain100 links; each link is 7.92 inches
- 16 square rods1 square chain
- 10 square chains1 acre
- 160 square rods1 acre
- 40 rods1 furlong, or 1/8 of a statute mile
- 640 acres1 square mile
- 1 square acreApproximately 208.7 feet by 208.7 feet