Augustine Herrman, Beginner of the Virginia Tobacco Trade, Merchant of New Amsterdam and First Lord of Bohemia Manor in Maryland/Chapter 6

by Leon Heck

Chapter VI

THE LORD OF BOHEMIA MANOR

When Augustine Herrman came to Maryland in the autumn of 1659 to treat with Lord Baltimore and Colonel Utie, he chanced to travel through the extreme northeastern part of the colony, then quite sparsely settled by white inhabitants. Through the pleasant rolling land flowed a wide river, gradually forming an estuary connecting with Chesapeake Bay. The Indians called this river the Oppoquimimi,^[1] which Herrman renamed the Bohemia after his native land. Traveling southward to St. Mary’s he became more and more impressed with the English province. As a Dutch diplomat he was successful in his mission; yet his attachment to New Amsterdam was diminishing and his interest in things Dutch, with the incessant arguments and bickerings, were becoming wearisome. He could not forget the rich fields along the River Oppoquimimi. By the beginning he had made up his mind to become a subject of the British Crown and had taken the initial steps toward that direction. The denization of Herrman, January 14, 1660, is an important document and we herewith quote it in its entirety:^[2]

 

“Caecilius absolute Lord and Proprietary of the Province of Maryland and Avalon Lord Baron of Baltimore etc. To all Persons to whom these presents may come greeting in our Lord God Everlasting. Whereas Augustine Herman late of Manhatans Marchant haveing of long tyme used the trade of this our Province hath besought us to grant unto him leave to transporte himself and family into this our Province here to inhabit. And for our satisfaction and benefit of trade hath drawne a Mapp of all the Rivers creeks and Harbours thereunto belonging know yee that wee willing to give due encouragement to men of his profession and to reward all such as have well deserved from us Doe hereby Declare him the said Augustine Herman to be a free denizen of this our Province of Maryland. And Doe further for us our heirs and Successors straightly enjoyne constitute ordaine and command that the said Augustine Herman be in all things held traeted reputed and esteemed as one of the faithful People of us our heirs and Successors borne within this our Province of Maryland And likewise any lands Tenements Revenues Services and other Hereditments whatsoever within our said Province of Maryland may inheritt or otherwise purchase receive take have hould buy and possess and them may occupy and enjoy give sell alien and bequeath as likewise all Liberties ffranchises and Priviledges of this our Province of Maryland freely quietly and peacefully have and possess occupy and enjoy as our faithfull People borne and to be borne within our said Province of Maryland without the lest molestation vexation trouble or Grieuvance of us our heires and Successors and custome to the Contrary hereof in any wise notwithstanding Given at Saint Marys under the greate seale of our said Province of Maryland the ffourteenth day of January in the nyne and twentieth yeare of our Dominion over the said Province of Mary-land Annoque Domini One thousand Six Hundred and Sixty. Witnes our Deare brother Philip Calvert Esqr our Lieutenant of our said Province of Maryland.

(Signed) Philip Calvert^[3]
1660”

 

In a memorandum or “Journall” of the development of Bohemia Manor composed in 1681, Herrman speaks of writing to Lord Baltimore as early as the summer of 1659, proposing to make a map of Maryland and on September 18th of that year he says that Baltimore accepted and recommended the granting of five thousand acres of land.^[4] Inasmuch as this date is before he left New Amsterdam and a month prior to his letter to Peter Stuyvesant recommending a map of the territory, it seems highly probable that Herrman may have confused the date and had reference to 1660 instead of 1659. On the other hand his coming to Maryland as an envoy of Stuyvesant in Oct. 1659 may have been a clever way of sidetracking the Dutch governor; a view that is not at all improbable in the light of the Rhode Island Affair. Herrman seems to have been of a too passionate nature to have overlooked the incident so passively. If indeed Herrman did take advantage of this trip to Maryland to retaliate against Peter Stuyvesant, it can certainly be said that he was successful. Yet if he was determined to go into the service of Lord Baltimore prior to his journey to Maryland, as his Memorandum would seem to imply, why did he uphold the cause of the Dutch so eloquently? On the other hand, inasmuch as Herrman had prepared a rough draft of a map of Maryland as early as January 14, 1660, it might be argued that he was holding out for the best terms from Stuyvesant or Baltimore. Then, too, is the question as to why Herrman should have applied to the Dutch governor for leave to make a map of an English province.^[5]

After having made up his mind to locate in Maryland it was Herrman’s deepest desire to establish a landed aristocracy like that in England and other continental countries. With this wish and purpose in mind he won the respect and sincere friendship of Lord Baltimore, who had worked with more or less success in establishing a system of landed properties. On more than one occasion Baltimore had observed with concern that his subjects did not appear to look upon with any great favor his scheme of establishing a baronial caste type of society. It was, therefore, refreshing for Baltimore to meet a man like Herrman who seemed eager to establish an aristocratic house. In conformity with a plan of the second Lord Baltimore, a resolution was adopted in 1636 which provided that everyone who was granted one thousand acres or more of land was to become automatically a court baron with privileges to hold court baron and court leet. The name of the manor was left to the discretion of the lord.^[6] Although there were in actual existence a number of such court barons in Maryland created by Baltimore, few if any ever quite attained the prestige and distinction held by Herrman. Baltimore, apparently desirous of placing Herrman in a class worthy of his ambition, conferred on him the special title “lord”, and so far as known is the only instance where a special title of nobility was conferred upon an American citizen, though of course then a British subject.^[7] To give extra weight to the title Herrman was awarded a special seal, which appears to have been authorized for use in certain official transactions. For instance, in protecting owners from runaway slaves and servants, Herrman’s seal was as authoritative as that of Lord Baltimore.^[8] Herrman was authorized to charge one shilling in each instance of offering such protection.

Baltimore’s patents to Herrman were particularly liberal. In addition to Bohemia Manor, “Little Bohemia Manor” was granted in 1671^[9] intended primarily for Herrman’s second son, Casperus. Soon afterwards St. Augustine Manor was added, to which, however, the family did not long hold title because of certain legal technicalities. For his daughters he was granted in 1682 “The Three Bohemia Sisters”.^[10] Altogether Herrman in the height of his prosperity must have been in possession of between twenty and twenty-five thousand acres of the most fertile land on the Atlantic coast, and was undoubtedly among the largest private landowners of America of the seventeenth century. As early as 1661 it was his intention to establish a system of land tenure whereby each tenant farmer should cultivate a small piece of land, each employing a few negroes. In a letter to Beeckman dated that year he tells of his troubles and difficulties in getting people to settle and that “the Indians are becoming a nuisance”^[11]

During the first two or three years of his residence at Bohemia Manor, Herrman appears to have continued to engage in business activities, no doubt doing a certain amount of shipping from New Amsterdam.^[12] But in 1662 he discontinued his career as a merchant and trader and began in earnest to live the life of a country gentleman on something of an exalted scale. In November of that year, among other guests at Bohemia Manor, we find Philip Calvert, brother of the proprietor of Maryland.^[13] In 1663 he petitioned the General Assembly for naturalization, and the same year the legislative body of Maryland ordered that an “Acte of Naturalization be prepared for Augustine Herrman and his children^[14] and his brother-in-law, George Hack, and his wife and children.”^[15] This act was confirmed in 1666 and again in 1669.^[16]

But Herrman was not long content with the easy and regular and no doubt to one of his active and energetic nature a monotonous life of a country gentleman. From an early age he had been accustomed to take part in the important affairs of the world and in organizing and directing some new enterprise molding the destinies of men and nations. In 1665 he was made a commissioner for Upper Baltimore County.^[17] As a special deputy of Lord Baltimore he was authorized to issue warrants for arrests. On May 8, 1669 the General Assembly authorized that a log prison be built on Herrman’s manor for the purpose of detaining runaway servants and criminals convicted of the more serious crimes.^[18] When he was successful in bringing back fugitive slaves and servants he had the right to detain them until their masters paid him a fee of four hundred pounds of tobacco.^[19] Notwithstanding this somewhat generous emolument, it appears that Herrman’s task in tracking down vagrants and fugitives gave him more trouble and expense than that amount of tobacco was worth; for in 1671 we find him complaining to the General Assembly for not receiving ample fees for his official duties. However, the Maryland General Assembly did not see fit to increase the amount of the fee and Herrman refused to act longer in that capacity.^[20]

Cecil County was set apart as a separate county from Baltimore prior to the publication of Herrman’s map, as it is so named thereon. As one of the leading citizens of that county he was a justice of the peace and when Cecil County came into being he assumed the same office.^[21] In 1674 he was one of the gentlemen Justices and later Gentleman of the Quorum.^[22] From 1678 to 1680 he was commissioner for the Peace in Cecil County.^[23]

As late as 1678 the Indians were quite numerous in Cecil County. Herrman, as one of the leading men, was looked upon by the people as their natural protector from the onslaughts of the savages. In that year he was empowered by the Provincial Council to treat with the Indians by whatever means he saw fit.^[24] What means he did use to keep them quiet and peaceful we do not know, but no further trouble arose from that source until 1683 when Herrman, growing too old, could no longer use his influence to keep them pacified. In the above year he wrote to the Council, complaining that the Indians were stealing horses and cows from the farmers and asked that vigorous measures be taken to put a stop to the menace.^[25]

Bohemia Manor included the land between the headwaters of Chesapeake Bay and between the Elk and Bohemia rivers eastward to about the present Delaware State line. The acreage has been estimated at from ten thousand to twenty-three thousand. About 1662 or 1663 Herrman began work on the great manor house which was completed in 1664. It stood about one hundred fifty feet west of the present home of Senator Thomas F. Bayard. Unfortunately no contemporary account of the first manor house exists, but from indirect references we would infer that it was rather magnificently planned and if it could have been preserved it would no doubt be regarded as among the finest of seventeenth century American mansions. It was built of brick, a few of which are preserved and these, together with the cellar are all that is left to indicate the site.^[26] The second manor house was built about a half mile to the south, close to the shore and the foundations are still extant. It appears to have been built of wood as there are no brick found in the vicinity of the ruins. It was destroyed by fire in 1816.

With the destruction of the second manor house there perished a priceless collection of paintings, many of which Herrman himself had collected. Among them were a full length portrait in oil of the first Lady Herrman and a likeness of Herrman himself with his famous and half legendary white horse, about which we shall have more to say later.^[27] Herrman appears to have had an eye for beauty as well as for utility. Around the manor house were planted formal gardens and toward the south can still be seen the remnants of an extensive deer park which he had built at the suggestion of one of the Baltimores. All around the manor house lay small farms with their tenants and servants. But farther back the land was left uncultivated with its native virgin timber. In 1681 Herrman wrote to Lord Baltimore complaining that one George Browning and George Holland had privately surveyed fourteen hundred acres of his “Middle Neck” land. The noble Bohemian did not hesitate to describe them in good plebeian terms as “a couple of damned rascals”. There was in fact much of the virgin forest left when Herrman took up his residence in Cecil County and he took much pride in his stately avenues of primeval trees.^[28]

As early as 1660 Herrman appreciated the advisability of connecting Chesapeake Bay with Delaware Bay by a canal and it is believed that the site of Bohemia Manor appealed to him because of the ease by which tobacco might be shipped from Maryland to New Amsterdam. Although it is most likely that Herrman was primarily interested in trade and commerce in 1660, his interest in this direction began to wane, and he never carried his scheme of a canal to perfection, a task left for a later generation. He did, however, construct a good wagon road from the Bohemia River to the Appoquinimunk Creek in New Castle County (Delaware), a thoroughfare that indeed served its purpose in connecting the headwaters of the two bays.^[29] From the Ordinance of the Government of Delaware promulgated by the Governor and Council at New York, June 14, 1761 we find, “About clearing the way between New Castle and Mr. Augustine Herman’s plantation, if those of Maryland are willing to do their part, the officers at New Castle are hereby empowered to enjoin the inhabitants at Delaware likewise to clear their proportion.”^[30] The thoroughfare was called “The Old Man’s Road.”

It is to be regretted that the contemporary data regarding the social life of Bohemia Manor during the seventeenth century is so scant; but we can assume with greater or less degree of certainty that the old manor house during its most brilliant career was among the most notable country places in the English colonies. It most certainly was the center of the social life of Cecil County and on many occasions did the presence of the lords of Baltimore grace its assemblies. Yet no doubt there was likely never a guest who could quite match the dominant personality of the distinguished though somewhat bizarre host.

 

1. Compare this name with “Appoquiminick”, the name of a stream which flows easterly into the Delaware Bay, a little below St. Augustine on the Delaware. The word “Appoquiminick” means in the Indian tongue “wounded duck” and was given by reason of the tortuous windings of the stream. Inasmuch as the characteristics of the Delaware stream and the Bohemia River are radically different it seems strange, perhaps, that the name of the one should be so similar to that of the other. It is possible, however, that though the names sound so much alike they may be derived from different roots. It would seem that the Indians who occupied the land surrounding both streams belonged to the same tribe. Johnston’s map in his History of Cecil County, Maryland calls the Bohemia River the “Oppoquermine”.
2. In many accounts Herrman is referred to as the first “Naturalized American”. As a matter of fact, however, his brother-in-law George Hack and his wife Anna with a few others were naturalized in Virginia in 1658 (Journal of House of Burgesses, 1619–59, p. 131). In this record George Hack is referred to as having a brother who was naturalized at the same time. This record undoubtedly refers to Sepharin Hack, later killed by the Indians, rather than to Herrman, as we can find no reference that Herrman was a citizen of Virginia.
3. Maryland Archives, Proc. of Council, Vol. III. p. 398.
4. Wilson, J. G. A Maryland Manor. Md. Hist. Doc. Fund. Pub. 30. ii, p. 29 (Appendix).
5. This journal has a number of apparent errors. For instance Herrman speaks of the name New York as of 1661.
6. Maryland Archives, Proc. of Council, Vol. III. p. 48.
7. Wilson, J. G. A Maryland Manor, p. 14. Md. Arch. Vol. XVII. p. 485.
8. Md. Arch. Proc. Gen. Assembly, Vol. II. p. 193.
9. Recorded August 14, 1682.
10. Wilson, J. G. A Maryland Manor, p. 14.
11. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. of N. Y., Vol. XII. p. 337.
12. Md. Arch. Proc. of Council, Vol. III. pp. 401–402. Proc. of Prov. Court, Vol. XLI. p. 344.
13. Doc. rel. Col. Hist. of N. Y., Vol. XII. p. 416.
14. Mrs. Herrman joined her husband in Maryland in 1661 but by the phrasing of the above entry it would appear that she died prior to 1663. Herrman remarried in 1666.
15. Md. Arch. Proc. and Acts of Gen. Assembly, Vol. I. p. 462.
16. George Hack died late in 1665 or early in 1666, before he became a naturalized citizen of Maryland. His wife and children became citizens of that colony, however. Herrman was naturalized in 1669.
17. Md. Arch. Proc. Acts of Gen. Assembly, Vol. III. p. 22.
18. Ibid. Vol. II. p. 224.
19. Ibid. p. 225.
20. Md. Arch. Proc. and Acts of Gen. Assem., Vol. II. p. 225.
21. Maryland Hist. Mag., Vol. I (1906). p. 45.
22. Md. Arch. Proc. of Council, Vol. XV. pp. 38–41.
23. Ibid.
24. Md. Arch. Proc. Council, Vol. XV. p. 175.
25. Ibid. Vol. XVII. p. 137.
26. Mallery, C. P. Ancient Families of Bohemia Manor, p. 14.
27. Copies of these portraits are preserved in the Maryland Hist. Soc., Baltimore.
28. Wilson, J. G. A Maryland Manor. p. 17.
29. Vincent, Francis. Hist. of Delaware, p. 373.
30. Yorke’s Book of Laws, pub. by Secretary of Council of Pa. Harrisburg, 1879, p. 449. See also following advertisement in
    PHILADELPHIA GAZETTE & UNIVERSAL DAILY ADVERTISER,
    Tuesday, 29th, April, 1794.
    Philadelphia & Baltimore Land & Water New Line
    PACKETS.*************** For transportation of GOODS, & etc. The subscribers have established good and stout vessels to pass from Philadelphia to Appoquinimink Landing, and from the tide water of Bohemia, to Baltimore, twice a week.
    The object of this Line being the transportation of heavy articles of Merchandize and produce, the proprietors have made choice the shortest portage and best roads between the two bays. Delay arising from the want of teams, & etc. so frequently attendant on more lengthy portages, are here obviated, both by the shortness of distance (which does not exceed seven miles) and situation of the country.
    The contiguous situation of the Landings, the safety of Navigation, the goodness of roads, render this conveyance safe and expeditious, and give the proprietors flattering hopes of becoming useful to Merchants and others in facilitating the communication between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Should the proprietors meet encouragement and support, they have in contemplation to obtain further improvements on the road, which will tend to lessen the price of carriage.
    The packets will start from Morris’ Wharf 2d above the drawbridge in Philadelphia, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and arrive in Baltimore at the county-wharf, on Tuesdays and Fridays, and from thence they will start for Philadelphia, on Thursdays and Sundays.
    Goods to be transported by this Line will be received in Philadelphia, at the stores of Messrs. MADDOCK, JACKSON & CO., on Morris’ Wharf, and by Mr. James Piper, on the County-wharf, Baltimore.

    PRICES.
    For heavy articles, from wharf to wharf, at the rate of 30s per ton,
    pipes & butts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		22s 6. each
    Hogsheads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		03s
    And for others in the same proportion.
    April 12, tu&F tf.	JAMES MOORE, FRISBY LLOYD, WILLIAM BRADY,