___________________
JONATHAN HAGAR,
THE FOUNDER OF HAGERSTOWN.
________
BY
BASIL SOLLERS.
_____________________________________________________
JONATHAN HAGAR,
THE FOUNDER OF HAGERSTOWN
-----
URING the first quarter of the eighteenth century, the Mo-
nocacy
river was the extreme boundary of civilization in
Maryland. Westward extended the original wilderness,
utilized only by the Indians and the white trappers and hunters.
When the first tracts of land in this region were patented, the
patentees were thought to have committed great folly, since the
land would not repay the purchase money and the quit rents for
many generations. In this the wiseacres were wrong, however,
since the population increased to such an extent in fifty years,
that in 1776 a new county was formed composed entirely of what
had been original wilderness in the first quarter of the century.
The following very liberal proposals by Charles, Lord Baltimore,
published March 2nd, 1732, probably set the current in motion.
"Wee, being desirous to increase the number of honest people
within our province of Maryland, and willing to give suitable
encouragement to such to come and reside therein, do offer the
following terms:
"1st. That any person having a family, who shall within
three years come and actually settle, with his or her family, on
any of the back lands on the northern or western boundarys of
our said province, not already taken up, between the rivers Poto-
mack and Susquehanna, where, we are informed, there are several
large bodies of fertile lands, fit for tillage, which may be seen
without any expence, two hundred acres of the said lands, in fee-
simple, without paying any part of the forty shillings sterling,
for every hundred acres, payable to us by the conditions of plan-
tations, and without paying any quit rents in three years after
the first settlement, and then paying four shillings sterling for
every hundred of acres, to us, or our heirs, for every year after
the expiration of the said three years.
— 18 —
"2nd. To allow to each single person, male or female, not
above the age of thirty, and not under fifteen, one hundred acres
of the said lands, upon the same terms as mentioned in the pre-
ceding article.
"3rd. That we will concur in any reasonable method that
shall be proposed for the ease of such new-comers, in the pay-
ment of their taxes for some years; and we doe assure all such
that they shall be as well secured in their liberty and property,
in Maryland, as any of his majesty's subjects in any part of the
British plantations, in America, without exception; and to the
end all persons desirous to come into and reside in Maryland,
may be assured that these terms will be justly and punctually
performed on our part. Wee have hereunto sett our hand and
seal at arms," etc.
"The richness of the soil, and salubrity of the air," says
Mr. Eddis, "operated, however, very powerfully to promote popu-
lation; but what chiefly tended to the advancement of settlements
in this remote district, was the arrival of many emigrants from the
Palatinate, and other Germanic States. These people, who from
their earliest days, had been disciplined in habits of industry,
sobriety, frugality, and patience, were peculiarly fitted for the la-
borious occupations of felling timber, clearing land, and forming
the first improvements; and the success which attended their
efforts, induced multitudes of their enterprising countrymen to
abandon their native homes, to enjoy the plenteous harvest which
appeared to await their labors in the wild, uncultivated wastes of
America."
Mr. Wm. Eddis, from whose "Letters from America," the
above extract is taken, came to the province of Maryland in 1769,
to fill an office in the gift of Governor Eden. By the law of the
province it was necessary that he reside here three years before
taking office. He spent a portion of these years in traveling in
various parts of the country. His letters written to friends in
England, and published in London, 1792, long after his return to
that country, give us a most interesting and authentic account of
the province at the period of his residence here from 1769 to 1776.
After describing Frederick as observed in his travels west, he
says, "About thirty miles west of Frederick-town, I passed
through a settlement which is making quick advances to perfec-
— 19 —
tion. A German adventurer, whose name is Hagar, purchased a
considerable tract of land in this neighborhood, and with much
discernment and foresight, determined to give encouragement to
traders and to erect proper habitations for the storage of goods,
for the supply of the adjacent country. His plan succeeded; he has
lived to behold a multitude of inhabitants on lands, which he
remembered unoccupied; and he has seen erected in places, appro-
priated by him for that purpose, more than an hundred comfort-
able edifices, to which the name of Hagar's Town is given, in
honor of the intelligent founder." This passage was my first in-
troduction to Mr. Hagar, which resulted in the publication of a
short article in "The Tutor" some years ago in which I brought
together a few facts relating to him. Doubtless it was owing to
this article that I was honored by a request to read a paper be-
fore you to-night. In doing so, I must beg you to remember that
the material at my command is necessarily scanty, in isolated and
widely scattered fragments, which can only be gathered by much
patient labor, and often only by accident. There was during Mr.
Hagar's life but one paper published in the province and that
was engaged in the dissemination of foreign news more than in
the recording of local affairs. Such facts as I have been able to
gather I shall now lay before you, dwelling more at length upon
those which appear to me to possess the most general interest, or
to need explanation.
Jonathan Hagar was born, if his age at the time of his de-
cease is correctly given, in the year 1714. He obtained a patent
for two hundred acres of land, Dec. 16th, 1739, which he named
"Hagar's Choice," in what is now Washington, then a part of
Prince George's, afterward a part of Frederick County. He prob-
ably resided there prior to that date, since "a bounded white-oak
standing on the side of a hill within fifty yards of said Hagar's
dwelling-house," is mentioned in his boundary lines.
In 1740, he married Elizabeth Kershner, or Grischner. April
21st, 1752, his daughter Rosina was born, and Dec. 13th, 1765,
his son Jonathan.
In 1753, he obtained a patent for 1780 acres of land, and
named it "Hagar's Delight," the difference in size making the
difference between his choice and his delight, I suppose. In 1762,
he obtained "Stony Batter," one hundred and eighteen acres, and
— 20 —
"Exchange," twenty-four acres; in 1763, "Brightwell's Choice,"
fifty acres, "Addition to Stony Batter," eighty acres, and "Found
it out," sixty-two acres; in 1765, "New Work," seven hundred
and fourteen acres. Thus he obtained by patent eight tracts of
land, aggregating two thousand four hundred and eighty-eight
acres.
February 11th, 1762, the following communication was sent
to the "Maryland Gazette," in which it was inserted:
"To the public.
"The opening of the river Patowmack and making it passable
for small craft, from Fort Cumberland at "Wills's Creek to the
Great Falls, will be of the greatest advantage to Virginia and
Maryland, by facilitating commerce with the back inhabitants,
who will not then have more than 20 miles land carriage to har-
bour, where ships of great burthen load annually, whereas at pres-
ent many have 150; and what will perhaps be considered of still
greater importance, is the easy communication it will afford with
the waters of the Ohio.
"The whole land carriage from Alexandria or George Town
will then he short of 90 miles; whereas the Pennsylvanians (who
at present monopolize the very lucrative skin and fur trades)
from their nearest sea port have at least 300: a circumstance
which must necessarily force that gainful trade into this channel,
should this very useful work be affected; and that it may, is the
unanimous opinion of the best judges, and at moderate expense
compared with the extraordinary convenience and advantages
which must result from it." The communication stated that
"it is proposed to solicit the public for their contributions by
way of subscription." Eleven managers were appointed for Vir-
ginia and the same number for Maryland. Two of the managers,
one from each colony, were to act as treasurers. "Some skillful
gentlemen" had "agreed to view" the Great Falls in the spring,
and if they should report the opening or passing of them practi-
cable (which is now generally believed) it is proposed that what-
ever balance remains in the Treasurers' hands after compleating
the first design, shall be appropriated to that purpose."
In the "Maryland Gazette," June 10th, 1762, "The mana-
gers have now the pleasure to inform the public, that sub-
scriptions are filling very fast, and that people in general, but
-- 21 --
more especially in the back countries, and those bordering upon
Patowmack, discover so much alacrity in promoting the affair,
that there is not the least doubt but a sum will be raised, suf-
ficient to carry on the work by the day appointed for the meeting,"
26th day of July next.
I mention this enterprise at length because Jonathan Hagar
was one of the managers for Maryland, and laid out in the same
year a town on land belonging to him, which he named Elizabeth
town, after his wife. Thomas Cresap, also one of the managers,
advertised lots at Old town, "one hundred lots or thereabout"
were to be laid out contiguous to Frederick Town, on land belong-
ing to Daniel Dulany, and lots were for sale at Fort Cumberland.
There was a general movement looking to the opening up of the
back country, the establishment of towns for commercial pur-
poses, and the opening of channels of communications which
should draw to these towns the lucrative trade in furs and skins
of the western wilderness. This movement was led by the great
landholders of that region, one of whom was Jonathan Hagar. It
was the beginning of the contest to secure the transportation of
western products to the seaboard; a contest which is still waged
with the greatest bitterness, and every movement in which is
watched with the most lively interest. Jonathan Hagar was not
the least successful among the many competitors for the stream
of emigration flowing into those parts, for his town, as we have
seen, consisted in 1770 of "more than an hundred comfortable
edifices."
In 1771, Mr. Hagar, or Capt. Hagar as he is sometimes called,
was elected a delegate to the General Assembly of the province.
He had been naturalized in 1747, and, as his legislative career
throws considerable light upon the status of a naturalized subject
in the first three quarters of the eighteenth century, I shall dis-
cuss it as fully as my information will allow.
In the Lower House of Assembly, convened by Robert Eden,
Esq., Governor, Oct. 2d, 1771, the committee on elections and
privileges reported, among other things, Oct. 5th., "That Messrs.
Jonathan Hagar, William Luckett, Charles Beatty, and Thomas
Sprigg Woottan, delegates for Frederick County, are duly re-
turned," and further, "Your committee beg leave to report to the
Honorable House, that they are informed and believe, that Mr.
-- 22 --
Jonathan Hagar, a member returned for Frederick County, is not
a natural born, subject, that he came into America, and was natu-
ralized some time before the said election." After the report of
the committee had been read a second time, it was resolved, "That
this House will, on Tuesday next, at the sitting of the House, take
into consideration that part of the said report relative to Mr.
Jonathan Hagar." On Tuesday, Oct. 8th, "The House proceeded
to take the same into consideration, and permitted Mr. Hagar, on
his prayer to be heard by counsel. The counsel appeared, and
being heard, he withdrew." On motions to that effect, the following
British Statutes, Provincial Act and Resolves were read, viz.: 12
and 13 W. III, c. 2; 1 Geo. I, c. 4; Act of Assembly of 1716,
Chap, XI; 13 Geo. II, c. 7; Resolves of the Lower House of As-
sembly of Oct. 18th, 1753, and 22 Geo. II, c. 45. "Then the
House took the several Statutes, the Act of Assembly and the Re-
solves above mentioned into consideration; and after some debate
thereon, Mr. Hagar withdrew, and Mr. Speaker, by the direction
of the House, put the following question: "That Jonathan Hagar,
returned as a representative for Frederick County, not being a
natural born subject, nor descended from a natural born subject,
but naturalized in the year 1747, since the Stat. of 13 Geo. II,
agreeable to said Stat., long before said election; hath been a re-
sident of this province ever since, and hath a freehold of fifty
acres of land, be eligible?" Resolved in the negative.
"In consequence of the aforegoing Resolution, Mr. Hagar was
called in, and Mr. Speaker, by the direction of the House, ac-
quaints him that he is discharged from any further attendance
on this House as a member thereof."
The vote stood twenty-four in the negative to twenty-three
in the affirmative in a House composed of fifty-eight members,
thirty from the Western and twenty-eight from the Eastern Shore.
Three members were absent or did not vote from the Western
Shore, and eight from the Eastern. The voting members of the
Western Shore where Mr. Hagar was best known, stood fifteen to
twelve in favor of his eligibility, and the voting members of the
Eastern Shore stood twelve to eight against it. On the affirma-
tive we find the names of Thomas Johnson who in 1775 nominated
George Washington as Commander-in-chief of the Continental
Army, and in 1777 became the first Governor of the State of
— 33 —
Maryland; of Wm. Paca, signer of the Declaration and third
Governor; and of Wm. Smallwood who distinguished himself as
a General in the Revolutionary war, and became fourth Governor
of the State. The
most distinguished name on the negative is
that of Samuel Chase, in after years judge of the Supreme Court
of the United States.
An examination of the law in the order in which it was read
before the House in their deliberation on Mr. Hagar's case, aside
from its bearing on the legal status of a naturalized subject in
1771, shows conclusively, that the contest was between the pro-
gressive spirits and the conservative; for the law was against Mr.
Hagar's eligibility.
The Statute of 12 and 13 W. III,
Cap. 2, entitled "An Act
for the further Limitation of the Crown, and better securing the
rights and liberties of the subject," provided in 1700 that "after
His Majesty, and the Princess Anne of Denmark, and in default
of issue of the said Princess Anne and His Majesty respectively,
the Most Excellent Princess Sophia, Electress and Duchess
Dowager of Hanover" be the next in succession to the Crown;
and among other things, "that after the said limitation shall
take effect as aforesaid, no person born out of the kingdoms of
England, Scotland or Ireland, or the dominions thereunto belong-
ing (although he be naturalized or made a denizen, except such
as born of English parents) shall be capable to be of the Privy
Council, or a member of either House of Parliament, or to enjoy
any office, or place of trust, either civil or military, or to have
any grant of lands, tenements, or hereditaments from the Crown,
to himself or to any other or others in trust for him." Stat. 1
Geo. I, Cap. 4, 1714, explains that the provisions of the above act
were not intended to apply to any person who was naturalized at or
before His Majesty's accession to the Crown, but "for the better
preserving the said recited clause entire and inviolable" directs
that in all future bills for naturalization the above shall be inserted.
The Act of the Maryland Assembly of 1716, Chap. XI, di-
recting the manner of electing delegates, &c., says in the pre-
amble, "the safest and best rule for this province to follow in
electing such delegates and representatives is the precedents of
the proceedings in Parliament in Great Britain, as near as the
constitution of this province will admit." After directing the
— 24 —
manner of electing delegates in Sec. 2, and compelling attendance
in Sec. 3, the act provides in Sec. 4, "That no ordinary keeper
within this province, during the time of his ordinary keeping, or
any other person disabled by any laws of England from sitting in
Parliament shall be elected, chosen or serve as a deputy or repre-
sentative in the said General Assembly, so to be hereafter called,
convened and appointed, as aforesaid." This was the law as it
stood in 1771.
Stat. 13 Geo. II, Cap. 7, 1740, was the law under which
Mr. Hagar was naturalized, and not as stated by Mr. Scharf
(Hist. Md., Vol. II, p. 156, note) by the General Assembly. The
preamble states that "many foreigners and strangers from the
lenity of our Government, the purity of our religion, the benefit
of our laws, the advantages of our trade, and the security of our
property, might be induced to come and settle in some of His
Majesty's colonies in America, if they were made partakers of the
advantages and privileges which the natural born subjects of this
realm do enjoy;" and it is enacted, "that from and after the first
day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred
and forty, all persons born out of the legiance of His Majesty,
his heirs or successors, who have inhabited and resided, or shall
inhabit or reside for the space of seven years or more, in any of
His Majesty's colonies in America, and shall not have been ab-
sent out of some of the said colonies for a longer space than two
months at any one time during the said seven years, and shall
take, make and subscribe" various oaths, declarations and pro-
fessions of faith established by law for the security of the throne
and the protestant religion, "before the chief judge or other
judge of the colony wherein such persons respectively have so in-
habited and resided, shall be deemed, adjudged and taken to be
His Majesty's natural born subjects of this kingdom, to all in-
tents, constructions and purposes, as if they and every of them
had been or were born within this kingdom." Every judge was
required upon the taking the oath, &c., "in open court between
the hours of nine and twelve in the forenoon" "to make a due
and proper entry thereof in a hook to be kept for that purpose in
the said court," and the secretary of the colony was directed to
make a similar entry in a book for the purpose in his office. A
certificate under the seal of the colony was then given to the per-
son naturalized, "which shall be deemed and taken to be a suf-
-- 25 --
ficient testimony and proof thereof, and of his being a natural
born subject of Great Britain, to all intents and purposes what-
ever, and as such shall be allowed in every court within the king-
doms of Great Britain and Ireland, and also in the said colonies
in America." The ample rights conferred by naturalization un-
der this act were however materially effected by two provisos,
first, that no person, except a Quaker or a Jew, should be natu-
ralized "unless such person shall have received the sacrament of
the Lord's supper in some protestant and reformed congregation,"
in Great Britain or the colonies, within three months next before
taking the required oaths, &c.; second, that no person so natu-
ralized shall be of the Privy Council, or a member of either House
of Parliament, &c.
A portion of the Resolves of the Lower House, Oct. 18th, 1753,
reads "Resolved also unanimously, That all the Statutes of Eng-
land, made for the security, confirmation or advancement of the
rights, liberties and privileges of the British subjects, for the pre-
vention or detection of bribery and corruption, and the main-
tenance and preservation of freedom in elections, the direction
and regulation of returning officers, except in such cases wherein
sufficient provision hath been or shall be established by Acts of
Assembly, have the force of laws within this province, and as
such ought uniformly and inviolably to be received and observed."
Stat. of 22 Geo. II., cap. 45, 1749, provided for the naturali-
zation of foreigners who should serve on board English vessels
engaged in the whale fisheries, and has for our purposes no inter-
est except the provision that such naturalized subjects shall not
be of the Privy Council, members of either House of Parlia-
ment, etc.
We have thus seen that laws of England passed in 1700 and
1714, before the election law of Maryland, as well as those passed
in 1740 and 1749, all declared the ineligibility of naturalized
subjects to seats in parliament; that the Maryland Act modeled
the House of Delegates of the colony on the House of Commons
of Great Britain, and made ineligible to it, all who were by Eng-
lish law ineligible to parliament; that the Resolves of 1753, de-
clared all these British Statutes to be in force in Maryland; and
yet Mr. Hagar lost his seat by a single vote.
But the House of Delegates did not let the matter rest here.
— 26 —
The law as it stood did not allow Mr. Hagar a seat, and the
House proceeded to change the operation of the English laws by
passing a provincial law covering the ground, and thereby super-
seding them so far as they affected the right of a naturalized citizen
to a seat in the House. This was done so expeditiously that it
not only prevented similar injustice to other naturalized subjects,
but enabled Mr. Hagar to take his seat before the close of the
session.
Mr. Hagar was rejected Oct. 8th. Oct. 9th an order was
passed for the issue of a new writ of election to the sheriff of
Frederick County "to elect a delegate to serve in this present
session of Assembly, in the stead of Mr. Jonathan Hagar, whose
seat is declared vacant." A committee was granted leave to
bring in a bill "for vesting in such foreign protestants as are now
naturalized or shall be hereafter naturalized in this province, all
the rights and privileges of natural born subjects." Mr. Hagar's
colleagues from Frederick Co., and two others of the minority,
with Mr. Chase of the majority in the vote of rejection, were placed
on the committee. The bill was brought in and read the first time
Oct. 11th, the second time Saturday, Oct. 12th, sent to the Upper
House Monday, Oct. 14th, and returned on the same day en-
dorsed, "Read the first and second time by a special order, and
will pass." Oct. 16th, "Mr. Speaker left the chair, and (with
the members of this House) went to the Upper House, and there
presented to his Excellency" the above bill and another for the
adjournment and continuance of the High Court of Appeals.
"Both which his Excellency passed into laws in the usual man-
ner" "by sealing it with the Right Honorable the Lord Proprie-
tary his Great Seal at Arms and subscribing it on behalf of the
Right Honorable the Lord Proprietary of this Province I will
this be a Law."
Thus in eight days from the declaration of his ineligibility
Mr. Hagar was rendered eligible, for the new act conferred all
the rights and privileges of natural born subjects without the ob-
noxious proviso of the English law.
Nov. 16th, Mr. Hagar, having been re-elected, qualified and
took his seat to serve in his own stead, in time to vote in favor of
that famous address to Governor Eden, protesting against his at-
tempt to fix the fees of officers by proclamation, a subject which
-- 27 --
agitated the minds of the good people of Maryland until the open-
ing scenes in the revolutionary drama distracted attention from
all minor matters.
The act which gave Mr. Hagar his seat reads: "Whereas
many foreign protestants have already settled in this province, and
others from the lenity of our government, the purity of our religion,
and the benefit of our laws, may be hereafter induced to settle there-
in, if they were made partakers of the advantages and privileges
which natural born subjects enjoy:
Be it therefore enacted by, etc., That all such foreign prot-
estants who have been already naturalized in this province pur-
suant to the directions of the Stat" 13 Geo. II., cap. 7 — before
quoted as that under which Mr. Hagar was naturalized — "and
all foreign protestants who shall be hereafter naturalized in this
province pursuant to the directions of the said statute, shall be
deemed, adjudged and taken, to be natural born subjects, to all
intents, constructions and purposes as if they, and every of
them, had been born within the kingdoms of Great Britain or
Ireland, or within any other of his majesty's dominions, any law
to the contrary in anywise notwithstanding."
Mr. Hagar was re-elected a
delegate to the Assembly of 1773.
The committee on elections and privileges again reported,
June 26th, that Jonathan Hagar was not a natural born subject,
"and is the same person who was returned a Delegate for Freder-
ick County to the late General Assembly, October Session, 1771,
and by the late lower House voted and declared to be ineligible
for that cause." Frederick, the last Lord Baltimore, died
Sept 14th, 1771, and as the legislature which passed the act of
1771 was called Oct. 2d, in his name and by his authority, doubts
were entertained as to the validity of the laws passed by it. In
case the laws were not valid, Mr. Hagar was still ineligible, until
they had been made valid by a new act confirming them. Here
was a new difficulty, but the House made quick work with it.
The report was read and they concurred therewith, except that
part relative to Mr. Jonathan Hagar.
"Ordered, That that part be referred for consideration on
the third day of the next session of Assembly. Ordered, That
the clerk of this House give Mr. Hagar notice thereof."
Mr. Hagar continued a member of the House to the end of
-- 28 --
the session, though, he had leave of absence from June 24th to
July 3d. His name is found with the majority in several di-
visions, and he was placed on several committees.
"Both the Jonathan Hagars," says Mr. Scharf, "father and
son, were very popular with the citizens of Hagerstown, and en-
joyed almost unbounded influence. The elder Hagar was acci-
dently killed on Nov. 6th, 1775, in his sixty-first year, at a saw-
mill near Hagar's mill by a large piece of timber rolling upon
and crushing him. The timber was being sawed for the Ger-
man Reformed Church, which Mr. Hagar was very active in
building." In "an act for the benefit of the vestry of the Ger-
man Evangelical Lutheran Congregation in and about Elizabeth
Town, at St. John's Church, in Washington County," we learn
that Jonathan Hagar conveyed three lots of ground, to wit: lots
number 131, 132 and 221, situated in said county, containing
half an acre each, to certain trustees in trust for the Lutheran
congregation of Elizabeth Town. These lots are not found on
the original plat, and must have been part of an addition to the
town made at a later date. Mr. Hagar's religious faith is best
shown by the quotation of a passage in his family Bible, the
translation of which from the German is found in a note,
page 1060, Scharf's "Western Maryland. Speaking of his wife,
he says: "We lived together until the 16th of April, 1765. Then
it pleased the Lord to call her, after severe suffering, out of this
world. 'What God does is well done.' Her funeral text is re-
corded in 2 Tim. i, 12. The hymn was sung, 'Lord Jesus Christ,
true man and God,' also the hymn, 'Think ye children of men,
on the last day of life.' O, my child, lay rightly to heart the
words of this hymn, and do right and fear God, and keep His
commandments. And if you have anything, do not forget the
poor, and do not exalt yourself in pride and haughtiness above
your fellow-men. For you are not better than the humblest be-
fore God's eyes, and perhaps not as good. And so, if you have
no fear of God within you, all is vain. My child, keep this in re-
membrance of your father, and live according to it, and it will go
well with you here while you live, and there eternally."
Mr. Hagar intended that the town he had founded should
bear the name of Elizabeth-Town, in honor of his beloved wife,
but by the operation of the law of the survival of the fittest, it
-- 29 --
was destined to commemorate its founder. The public were bet-
ter acquainted with Jonathan Hagar and his work, than with
Elizabeth, his wife. To many it was always Hagar's town. In-
deed before the town was in existence so well was Mr. Hagar
known that neighboring farms were located as "near Capt. Hagar's
in Frederick County." Others gave it its legal name. Even in
the laws it is mentioned indifferently as Elizabeth-Town and
Hagar's Town after 1802. This "struggle for esistance" between
two names has interested me much. In 1770, Eddis says the
name of Hagar's Town is given to it "in honour of the intelligent
founder." A letter from a school boy to his father, Capt. "Wm.
Heyser, at the American Camp, Philadelphia, is dated "Hagar's
Town, Oct. 12th, 1776," Hart and Rochester advertise "nails,
brads and sprigs of their own manufacturing in Hager's-Town,"
over date "Hager's-Town, August 20th, 1790." The "Washing-
ton Spy," of January 1st, 1790, is printed by Stewart Herbert
"Elizabeth (Hager's) Town,"— that is, Elizabeth-Town, or if you
like it better Hager's Town. In the laws we find "an act to es-
tablish a market-house in Elizabeth-Town," in 1783; Commis-
sioners of Elizabeth-Town were appointed and incorporated as
such in 1791. The laws further mention it as Elizabeth-Town
in 1792, 1793 and 1794. An issue of the "Herald and Advertiser"
is dated "Elizabeth (Hager's) Town (Maryland), Wednesday,
March 31st, 1802." Two laws mention Elizabeth-Town in 1802,
and in 1804 one mentions Hager's-Town, which is the first recog-
nition of this name in the laws. In 1807 it is twice called Eliza-
beth-Town and twice Hager's-Town, and the "Hager's-Town
Bank at Elizabeth-Town" is established. In the "Description of
the States of Maryland and Delaware, by Joseph Scott, Phila-
delphia, 1807," he says, "Elizabeth-town, commonly called Hagers-
town, a handsome and flourishing town, and the capitol of the
county. It is situated near Anti-Etam creek and 71 miles from
Baltimore, and contains about 300 houses, a court house, jail,
market house, school house, and four churches, viz.: one for
German Lutherans, one for German Calvinists, one for Episcopa-
lians, and one for Roman Catholics. The town has a great num-
ber of clock and watch makers, blacksmiths, coppersmiths, gun
and lock smiths, hatters, tanners, boot and shoemakers, saddlers,
weavers, dyers, potters, coachmakers, and taylors; also a rope
and nail manufactory."
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The laws mention in 1808 Elizabeth-Town twice, in 1810
Hager's-Town, in 1811 Elizabeth-Town, and Hager's-Town twice,
and in 1812 Hager's-town. In 1813, the name was changed from
Elizabeth-Town to Hager's-Town by act of the legislature, though
the first mention of the name in its present form, Hagerstown,
which I have been able to find in the laws, is in 1829.
Thus the justice of the people has proved in this case stronger
than the affectionate desire of the founder, and legislative enact-
ments. The fittest name has survived. Long may "Hagar's
Town" flourish in honour and prosperity, a living memorial of
"its intelligent founder."