THIS TITLE IS IN SHORT SUPPLY
Listing Patents, Patentees, Acreage, Dates, Libers of Recorded Surveys and Patents, Certificate Numbers of Patented and Unpatented Certificates of the Surveyors at the Maryland State Archives
In colonial Maryland, a simple system was set up for obtaining land patents. The system was established to encourage the ownership of land in order to generate revenue for Lord Baltimore. A headright was established as the earliest requirement for obtaining the right to land. Under headright, the land was granted based on the number of immigrants that were transported by an individual. Later this requirement was changed to a payment of money, called "caution money". After establishing headright or paying caution money, a warrant was issued. This allowed the person to have a surveyor lay out a parcel of land. The surveyor returned a certificate which described the parcel and often included a sketch showing the lay of the land. This certificate allowed the person to proceed to the last step, obtaining a patent. The patent also described the tract. All patents were subjected to an annual quitrent.
Genealogical Society of Cecil County
(1986), 2005, 8.5" x 11", paper, index, 98 pp.
332-0090
