CHAPTER VII
 

iJl^ASHINGTON County is just two months
and two days younger than the State of
Maryland. By the Declaration of Inde¬
pendence, made in Philadelphia July
4th, 1776, the Province became a State. On
July 6, before the Maryland convention in
session at Annapolis had received the great
news from Philadelphia it passed resolutions
declaring the allegiance of Maryland to the mother
county was at an end. This had gathered as a
provincial assembly, but before its adjournment it
called the first State Convention which assembled
at Annapolis, August 14, 1776, two weeks after
the Colonial Convention had dissolved itself. No
executive and no legislative body was yet in ex¬
istence and the functions of government were ex¬
ercised by the committee of safety. The fourteenth
day of August, 1776 is therefore a memorable date
in the State's history. In the new convention each
County had four delegates except Frederick and to
it were appointed twelve, four from each of the
 

districts now composing Frederick and Montgom¬
ery Counties, and four from the territory west
of the South Mountain, a territory which the con¬
vention proceeded to erect into a County which
received the name of the great man who had taken
the office of commander-in-chief of the Patriot
Army, the immortal W^ashington. Four delegates
to this first State convention sent from this district,
were Samuel Beall, Samuel Hughes, John Stull
and Henry Schnebly. These delegates carried
with them petitions for the laying off the new
county. Up to July 1775, Fredericktown was the
voting place for all the territory now forming the
Sixth Congressional District. At that time Eliz¬
abethtown was designated by the Provincial con¬
vention as the voting place for all the State west
of South Mountain, now the three western coun¬
ties. On the 6th day of September, which is the
birthday of Washington County, the convention
passed the resolution setting off Washington and
Montgomery Counties.*
 

*The following is the resolution as far as It re¬
lates  to  Washington  County:

"Whereas, It appears to this convention that the
erecting two new counties out of Frederick County
will conduce greatly to the ease and convenience of
the jpeople thereof;

"Resolved, That after the first day of October
next such part of the said county of Frederick as
is contained within the bounds and limits following,
to-wit: Beginning at the place where the temporary
line crosses South Mountain, and running thence
by a line on the ridge of the said mountain to the
River Potowmack, »and thence with the lines of said
 

county so as to include all the lands westward of
the line running on the ridge of the South Mountain,
as aforesaid, to the beginning, shall be and is hereby
erected into a new county by the name of Washing¬
ton County.

"Resolved, That the inhabitants of said county
of Washington shall have, hold and enjoy all such
rights and privileges as are held and enjoyed by the
inhabitants of any county in this State.

"Resolved, That Messrs. Joseph Sprigg, Joseph
Smith, John Barnes, Andrew Rench, Daniel Hughes,
William Yates and Conrad Hogmire shall be and are