Harford County, Maryland was separated from Baltimore County by an act of the Maryland Assembly in the fall of 1773, but the county government was not in place until March 1774. In the first two hundred years from the time of its creation on the threshold of the American Revolution, Harford County was fortunate to have strong effective leadership. The goal of this book is to honor the memory of each of the individuals who have been included. Each has in some way made a contribution to the history of the county and attempted to be of service to their fellow citizens. The majority of those who are recognized in this work held some sort of either elected or appointed official office or offices. They served in different positions or roles for various periods of time, some for decades and others for a brief period. Others have been included because of their contributions to the good of the county in some non-official way. Attempts have also been made to recognize the contributions of women and black Harford Countians, two groups who until fairly recent times were to a large degree marginalized by those in positions of official authority, but still contributed significantly to the well-being of the county in many important ways.
Over 1,200 biographical sketches are contained in this book in an attempt to provide information regarding each individual’s profession, public service and family. It is supplemented with seventeen appendices listing public officials from 1774 to 2020, namely Justices of the Peace (Magistrates), Judges of the Orphans’ Court, County Commissioners and County Council Members, School Commissioners and Board of Education Members, County Sheriffs, State’s Attorneys, Registers of Wills, Clerks of the Circuit Court, County Surveyors, Members of the House of Delegates, Aberdeen Town Commissioners and Mayors, Havre de Grace Commissioners, Mayors and City Council Members, Bel Air Town Commissioners and Mayors, State Senators, Judges of the Circuit Court, Judges of the District Court, County Executives, Harford Community College Board of Trustees, U.S. Senators, and U.S. Congressmen.
History is a way to give our lives meaning by giving us some sense of continuity with the past. It also provides us with a record of the accomplishments of the many people who served Harford County in its first two hundred years by acknowledging that the contributions they made were important building blocks in our county’s history. Appendices and a surname index add to the value of this work.
Henry C. Peden, Jr and William O. Carr
2021, 8½x11, paper, index, 368 pp.
ISBN: 9781556133589
101-P9358
