Monday, May 11, 2009

Cruising the Choptank River

I am completely amazed that it has been almost 3 weeks since I posted anything here. So much for that resolution about advancing my research every week. Ah, well....I did learn how to knit socks.

Anyway, when last I worked on the research, I was trying to find out where the early Dehorty lands were after attending a wonderful workshop in Maryland. One of the earliest land records that I have for this family is for a George Dehorty who had a survey in 1715 for 100 acres of land called Venture "beginning at a white oak standing in the woods on the North side of Ingrams Creek that (?) out of the south side of Great Choptanks River" (my translation of a Maryland land record, liber FF7, page 121). My thought was to try to figure out where this might be....not that I expect that old white oak to still be there. Googling "Ingram's Creek Choptank River" leads me to a wonderful site called the Choptank River Heritage Center. Here I find that I can take a virtual tour of the entire length of the river. Apparently, Ingram's Creek is now called the Chapel Branch, and there is a historic site called Melville's Warehouse which was an early county seat for Caroline County in the late 1700's. I know I've seen the name Melville somewhere, and checking my notes, I see that George Dehorty's daughter Herodias, mentioned in probate records in 1754 for her brother Absalom, was married to a Melvill. Could there be a connection? I'll certainly have to research this! It certainly looks like they were at least neighbors.
It's the side trips in genealogy that make research so much fun. They are also why it takes me so long to get anywhere....

6 comments:

  1. Mary
    Another place where our ancestors crossed paths.My Keys family(and those they married) lived near the Choptank and unsure if my Carrows were there at one point also.
    Kathleen Ingram

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mary
    Your ancestors and mine crossed paths often.My Keys family are on the Choptank by 1667.POssibly Carrows also
    Kathleen CArrow Ingram

    ReplyDelete
  3. Was your family the Ingram in Ingram's Creek? If not, that's quite a coincidence! I don't know of any Keys or Carrows connection yet, but I have a lot of research left to do ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mary
    My husband's Ingrams were from Scotland for 500-600 yrs., his parents came to US as adults but likely the Ingrams in MD are of the same clan distantly back(DNA indicates)
    My Keys family( Queen Anne MD) seems to have been on Choptank early as some still are. My Willliam Keys is in Kent County DE after Revolutionary War.His mother was a Sewell from Cecil.
    Carrows are here & there..Dorchester c. 1730 but Kent Island same time frame.So interesting.
    Kathleen

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Mary, I picked you for the "Friendly Bloggers Award" please stop by Ginislogy to pick it up!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mary
    Awesome and well deserved!
    Kathleen

    ReplyDelete