Place:Caroline, Maryland, United States

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source: Family History Library Catalog

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Caroline County is a rural county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,293. Its county seat is Denton.^[1]

Caroline County is bordered by Queen Anne's County to the north, Talbot County to the west, Dorchester County to the south, Kent County, Delaware, to the east, and Sussex County, Delaware, to the southeast.^[2]

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Caroline County was created via 1773 Maryland General Assembly legislation from parts of Dorchester and Queen Anne's counties. The county derives its name from Lady Caroline Eden, wife of Maryland's last colonial governor, Robert Eden.^[3] Seven commissioners were originally appointed: Charles Dickinson, Benson Stainton, Thomas White, William Haskins, Richard Mason, Joshua Clark, and Nathaniel Potter. These men bought of land at Pig Point (now Denton) on which to build a courthouse and jail.^[4]

Until the completion of these buildings, court was held at Melvill's Warehouse, approximately north of Pig Point. Elections and other business transactions were completed there. The first commissioner meeting was held on March 15, 1774, at Melvill's Warehouse. In 1777, court was moved to Bridgetown (now Greensboro), but in the interest of convenience, court was moved back to Melvill's.^[4]

Disagreements arose concerning the permanent location of the county seat. The General Assembly reached a compromise in 1785 and ordered that of land at Melvill's Landing should be purchased for a courthouse and jail. In 1790, the county court and its belongings moved to Pig Point. The Caroline County Courthouse was completed in 1797.^[4]

The county has a number of properties on the National Register of Historic Places. The National Park Service is developing a site in the southern half of Caroline County dedicated to interpreting the Underground Railroad as part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument.

Timeline

Population History

source: Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990

Research Tips

External links

• Outstanding guide to Caroline County family history and genealogy resources (FamilySearch Research Wiki). Birth, marriage, and death records, wills, deeds, county histories, cemeteries, churches, newspapers, libraries, and genealogical societies.
• www.caroline.md.org