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From: "Bruce L. Nicholson" <>
Subject: Re: [LDR] Ports
Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2002 10:20:53 -0500


Sorry about the mess in my previous message. Forgot to turn off styles.

What about Centreville, Queen Anne's County as a port? I know they shipped
tobacco from there and, in the 1770s, the river was navigable up to the
head of
Corsica Creek.

My ggggg grandfather, William Hopper, was listed as the tobacco inspector
there. He died in 1772.

Bruce




At 07:14 AM 10/31/2002 -0500, craig o'donnell wrote:
>>I believe Annapolis was the first Port to be in Maryland (in the
>>1600's), followed by Oxford (in Talbot County on the Eastern Shore,
>>(establishd 1683). It's interesting that because of a change in the
>>King in England, they changed the name of Oxford to "Williamstadt"
>>in 1693 which stuck for a short while before eventually reverting
>>back to the name of "Oxford" which continues to be used to the
>>present day. Baltimore later became a port in Maryland, but I
>>believe I'm correct in that the first ports were Annapolis and
>>Oxford/Williamstadt.
>
>Random additional thoughts:
>
>There's not a great deal written about the Ports and the Customs but
>there is a book, somwhat scholarly, bearing a title like
>"Organization of the English Customs in Colonial America" or
>something. There were "Ports" which were organized in an effort to
>centralize shipping and receiving and thus collection of $$$ for the
>Baltimores and Crown. If you're interested in methodology, this is
>the book to read. The biblio also gives sources in the English Public
>Records Office, which is where the real stuff is.
>
>The actual Customs files for colonial America, he says, were almost
>all destroyed in a disastrous fire in the London Custom House about
>1815. Sigh.
>
>In it I do believe he gives the names of ports at various times.
>Chestertown was one in later years (1706 > later). In many cases Lord
>B attempted to set up towns where none existed in order to facilitate
>taxation, etc. Most of these failed. Doncaster in Talbot comes to
>mind, and also Newport on Newport Bay in Worcester. Shomette does a
>nice job of discussing these efforts and why they didn't work.
>
>I think I mentioned the two most obvious general references, "Lost
>Towns of Tidewater Maryland" by Shomette, and "Tobacco Coast" by
>Middleton.
>
>Snow Hill was indeed a port. By reading the Customs book I found out
>that ancestor Cap'n Wm Fassitt (d ca 1742) was the Customs agent for
>"Sea Side and Money" from about 1710 until 1725. Presumably this
>District included Snow Hill, Princess Anne, and Synapuxent. Monie Bay
>is pretty far off the modern beaten track, it's where the Nanticoke
>and the Wicomico meet.
>
>South Point/Synapuxent was also a port, although not a Port, and
>Kimber's tale of sailing from New York to Synapuxent ca 1750 is on my
>Fassitt Pages. As long as the inlet was open there was traffic. I'm
>trying to track down exactly when it shoaled in, in seems ca
>1818-1825 after a particularly bad hurricane.
>
>The open question is where the passengers were disembarked. Chances
>are it would have been in the more active commercial centers but then
>Kimber went to Synapuxent and continued overland.
>
>Joppa Town was a port before Balto was, but not of major importance.
>--
> Craig O'Donnell
> Sinepuxent Ancestors & Boats
> <http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~fassitt/>;
> The Proa FAQ <http://boat-links.com/proafaq.html>;
> The Cheap Pages <http://www2.friend.ly.net/~dadadata/>;
> Sailing Canoes, Polytarp Sails, Bamboo, Chinese Junks,
> American Proas, the Bolger Boat Honor Roll,
> Plywood Boats, Bamboo Rafts, &c.
> _________________________________
>
> -- Professor of Boatology -- Junkomologist
> -- Macintosh kinda guy
> Friend of Wanda the Wonder Cat, 1991-1997.
> _________________________________
>---
>[This E-mail scanned for viruses by friend.ly.net.]
>
>
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Bruce L. Nicholson, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Molecular Biology
University of Maine
Orono, Maine 04469
Tel: 207-581-2800
Fax: 207-581-2801
Email:
Personal Web Page: www.geocities.com/brucelnicholson


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