By: Ruth T. Dryden, Pub. 1979, reprinted 2024, 96 pages, Index, soft cover, ISBN #978-1-63914-242-2. Somerset County became a county in 1666. It is located in the extreme southern section of the state bordering the Chesapeake Bay. Early English settlers began showing up here from the State of Virginia, partly due to Virginia's religious stance to Quakers fleeing the state. Later other settlers of Anglican faith from Accomack County Virginia followed. Early on, Somerset County had its issues with boundary disputes with Sussex County, Delaware and Accomack County, Virginia. Wills are a wonderful source for genealogists due to the variety of family members being mentioned with in. Sometimes one can discover an unknown marriage of a family member.

The southernmost county in Maryland, Somerset was established in 1666 by Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, and named in honor of his wife's sister, Lady Mary Somerset. The county originally included the area of what today is the adjacent counties of Worcester and Wicomico as well as a portion of southern Delaware. Throughout the years, some of its most prominent citizens, including Declaration of Independence signer Samuel Chase and Civil War-era Union supporters John Crisfield and Anna Ella Carroll, helped shape the nation. Somerset County includes photographs--some never before seen--that take readers from the expansion of the railroad in the 1800s, which led to a boom in the seafood and agricultural industries; to the early days of institutions, such as the University of Maryland Eastern Shore; to the founding of long-standing celebrations, including Olde Princess Anne Days, the Deal Island Skipjack Races, and the National Hard Crab Derby.

By: Ruth T. Dryden, Pub. 1978, reprinted 2024, 260 pages, Index, soft cover, ISBN #978-1-63914-245-3. Somerset County became a county in 1666. It is located in the extreme southern section of the state bordering the Chesapeake Bay. Early English settlers began showing up here from the State of Virginia, partly due to Virginia's religious stance to Quakers fleeing the state. Later other settlers of Anglican faith from Accomack County Virginia followed. Early on, Somerset County had its issues with boundary disputes with Sussex County, Delaware and Accomack County, Virginia. The contents of this book are about white residents only.