report44Sollers716 .pdf

JONATHAN HAGAR,

THE FOUNDER OF HAGERSTOWN

BASIL SOLLERS

URING the first quarter of the eighteenth

century, the Monocacy 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 propos-

als 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:

"1 st. That any person having it fam-

ily, 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

Potomack 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

plantations, 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.

"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 preceding article.

"3rd. That we will concur in any reasonable

method that shall be proposed

for the ease of such new-comers,

in the payment 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 salubri-

ty of the air," says Mr. Eddis, "operated,

however, very powerfully to promote population

; 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 laborious

occupations of felling timber, clearing land,

and forming the first improvements ; and

the success which attended their efforts,

Reprint from Report 2_____________

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

in 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,

1 passed through a settlement which is making

quick advances to perfection. 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 sup-

ply 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, appropriated by him for that purpose,

more than an hundred comfortable

edifices, to which, the name of Hagar's

Town is given, in honor of the intelligent

founder." This passage was my first introduction

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 before 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 decease 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 probably resided there prior to

that date, since "a bounded white-oak stand-

ing 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

"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

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___________Sollers on Jonathan Hagar

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

harbour, where ships of great burthen

load annually, whereas at present

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 be 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 pub-

lic for their contributions by way of

subscription." Eleven managers

were appointed far Virginia 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, 0 and if they should

report the opening or passing of

them practicable (which is now gen-

erally believed) it is proposed that

whatever balance remains in the

Treasurers' bands after compleating

the first design, shall be appropriated

to that purpose."

In the "Maryland Gazette," June

10th, 1762, "The managers have

now the pleasure to inform the pub-

lic, that subscriptions are filling very

fast, and that people in general, but

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, sufficient 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 Oldtown, "one hundred

lots or thereabout " were to be laid out

contiguous to Frederick Town, on land

belonging to Daniel Dulany, and lots werefor

sale at Fort Cumberland. There was a

general movement looking to the opening

up of the back country, the establishment of

towns for commercial purposes, 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 or emigration flowing into those

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Reprint from Report 2_____________

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 discuss 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 returned," and

further, "Your committee beg leave to report

to the Honorable House, that they arc

informed and believe, that Mr. Jonathan

Hagar, a member returned for Frederick

County, is not a natural born subject, that he

came into America, and was naturalized

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 coun-

sel appeared, and being heard, he withdrew."

On motions to that effect, the follow-

ing British Statutes, Provincial Act and

Resolves were read, viz.: 12 and 13 W. III,

c. 2; 1 Geo. 1, c. 4; Act of Assembly of

1716, Chap. XI; 13 Geo. II, c. 7; Resolves of

the Lower House of Assembly of Oct. 18th,

1753, and 22 Geo. II, c. 45. "Then the

House took the several Statutes, the Act of

Assembly and the Resolves 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 resident 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, acquaints 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 affirmative

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 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

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___________Sollers on Jonathan Hagar

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 progressive

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 belonging

(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. I 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 directing the manner of

electing delegates, &c., says in the preamble

"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 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 representative 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 enact-

ed "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 colo-

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Reprint from Report 2_____________

nies in America, and shall not have been

absent 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 professions 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 inhabited

and resided, shall be deemed, adjudged and

taken to be His Majesty's natural born subjects

of this kingdom, to all intents, 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 book 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 person naturalized, "which

shall be deemed and taken to be a sufficient

testimony and proof thereof, and of his

being a natural born subject of Great

Britain, to all intents and purposes whatev-

er, and as such shall be allowed in every

court within the kingdoms of Great Britain

and Ireland, and also in the said colonies in

America." The ample rights conferred by

naturalization under this act were however

materially effected by two provisos, first,

that no person, except a Quaker or a Jew,

should be naturalized "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 naturalized 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

England, made for the security, confirmation

or advancement of the rights, liberties

and privileges of the British subjects, for the

prevention or detection of bribery and corruption,

and the maintenance 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 naturalization of foreigners

who should serve on board English vessels

engaged in the whale fisheries, and has for

our purposes no interest except the provision

that such naturalized subjects shall not

be of the Privy Council, members of either

House of Parliament, 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 English law ineligible to parliament;

that the Resolves of 1753, declared 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. The law as it stood did

not allow Mr. Hagar a seat, and the House

proceeded to change the operation of the

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___________Sollers on Jonathan Hagar

English laws by passing a provincial law

covering the ground, and thereby supersed-

ing 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

now 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 grant-

ed leave to bring in a bill "for vesting in

such foreign protestants as are now natural-

ized or shall be hereafter naturalized in this

province, all the rights and privileges of nat-

ural 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 endorsed, "Read the first and second

time by a special order, and will pass."

Oct. 16th, "Mr. Speaker left tile 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

manner" "by sealing it with the Right

Honorable the Lord Proprietary 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 tile obnoxious proviso of the English

law.

Nov. 16th, Mr. Hagar, having been reelected,

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 attempt to fix the fees of

officers by proclamation, a subject which

agitated the minds of the good people of

Maryland until the opening 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 protestants who have been

already naturalized in this province pursuant

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 or 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

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Reprint from Report 2_____________

born subject, "and is the same person who

was returned a Delegate. for Frederick

County to the late General Assembly, Octo-

ber 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 oil the third day of the next

session of Assembly. Ordered, That the

clerk or this House give Mr. Hagar notice

thereof."

Mr. Hagar continued a member of the

House to the end of the session, though he

had leave of absence from June 24th to July

3d. His name is found with the majority in

several divisions, 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 enjoyed

almost unbounded influence. The

elder Hagar was accidently killed on Nov.

6th, 1775, in his sixty-first year, at a sawmill

near Hagar's mill by a large piece of

timber rolling upon and crushing him. The

timber was being sawed for the German

Reformed Church, which Mr. Hagar was

very active in building." In "an act for the

benefit of the vestry of the German

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 all 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 recorded 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 forgot the poor, and do not exalt yourself

in pride and haughtiness above your fellowmen.

For you are not better than the humblest

before 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

remembrance 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 lie

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 was destined to

commemorate its founder. The public were

better acquainted with Jonathan Hagar and

his work, than with Elizabeth, his wife. To

many it was always Hagar's town. Indeed

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_______Sollers on Jonathan Hagar

before the town was in existance 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

existance" between two names has interest-

ed 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 "Washington 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

establish a market-house in Elizabeth-

Town," in 1783 ; Commissioners 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 recognition of this name in

the laws. In 1807 it is twice called

Elizabeth-Town and twice Hager's-Town,

and tile "Hager's-Town Bank at Elizabeth-

Town" is established. In the "Description of

the States of Maryland and Delaware, by

Joseph Scott, Philadelphia, 1807," he says,

"Elizabeth-town, commonly called Hagerstown,

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 Episcopalians and one

for Roman Catholics. The town has a great

number 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 manufacto-

ry."

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

enactments. The fittest name has survived.

Long may "Hagar's Town" flourish in honour

and prosperity, a living memorial of "its

intelligent founder."

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Editor's Note:

The article by Mr. Sollers has been reset in the current two-column format

but is otherwise reprinted verbatim as it first appeared in the Second Annual

Report of the Society for the History of the Germans in Maryland (1888),

pages 15-30. Mr. Sollers spoke at a meeting of the Society and, as is still the

custom today, his remarks were subsequently published in the Report of the

Society.

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