Liber 32 (pp. 23-256), 1746-1749
The work at hand marks the fourth volume in this continuing series to be published in 2010 thus far, and the twenty-fifth in all.
The Prerogative Court was the focal point for probate in colonial Maryland. All matters of probate went directly to this Court, located in Maryland's colonial capital, first in St. Mary's City until 1694 and later in Annapolis. Eventually, administration of probate was delegated to the several county courts; however, many documents related to probate continued to be filed at the Prerogative Court and not in the corresponding county. The Prerogative Court was also the colony's court for equity cases (resolution of disputes over the settlement and distribution of an estate).
Volume XXV of Abstracts of the Testamentary Proceedings of the Prerogative Court of Maryland, compiled by Vernon Skinner, is derived from this important source for Maryland genealogists. In compiling the series, Mr. Skinner has worked primarily from microfilm copies of the Prerogative Court records; however, when necessary to resolve problems of paleography, he has consulted the original manuscripts, located at the Maryland State Archives in Annapolis.
The series is arranged, volume by volume, chronologically by court session. Volume XXV consists of abstracts for the period 1746-49, as found in the balance of Liber 32, pages 23-256. In all, the latest book in this distinguished series refers to an additional 7,000 colonial inhabitants of the Province of Maryland. For the most part, the transcriptions state the names of the principals (testators, heirs, guardians, witnesses, administrators, and so forth) as well as details of bequests, names of slaves, appraisers, and more.
Vernon L. Skinner, Jr.
2010, paper, 298 pp.
ISBN: 9780806354866
102-9501
