Legal Records, 1689-1926 and undated

Court dockets and proceedings, complaints, summonses, warrants, judgements, wills, affidavits, bonds, testimony, pardons, death and marriage certificates, powers of attorney, depositions, subpoenas, manumissions of enslaved people, true bills of charges, pleas, legal opinions, agreements and contracts, writs of habeas corpus, briefs, reports, petitions, coroners' inquests, writs of replevin, and eviction notices concerning a wide variety of Maryland... legal cases and actions, both civil and criminal. Topics represented among the legal documents include manumissions of enslaved people and identification and the commission of crimes by enslaved people; burial of paupers; ferry licensing and operation; legal expenses; administration of estates; business agreements; arrests of and charges brought against particular individuals; outstanding debts; appeals; claims; appearances of witnesses; levies to fund the University of Maryland; treason; and the examination of official records. Significant figures featured in the legal documents include Roger Brooke Taney, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Francis Scott Key, John Pendleton Kennedy, John Ross Key, Joshua Gist, Jonathan A. McCready, William Woolford, and Luther Martin.