The new Constitution then being put into operation required, Art. 56, "That there be a Court of Appeals, composed of persons of integrity and sound judgment in the law, whose judgment shall be final and conclusive in all cases of appeal from the General Court, Court of Chancery and Court of Admiralty.... That three persons of integrity and sound judgment in the law be appointed judges of the Court now called the Provincial Court, hereafter to be known as the General Court." Art. 48 gave authority to the Governor for the time being, with the advice and consent of the Council, to appoint the chancellor and all judges, justices, &c., but Art. 61 provided "that for filling in the first instance only all the offices in the disposition of the Governor, with the advice of the Council, the House of Delegates may also propose to the Senate a list of all officers in the appointment of the Governor, with the advice of the Council, and on the Senate concurring therein or on the recommendation of any of the persons therein mentioned, such persons so recommended shall be commissioned by the Governor." In case of a disagreement between the two houses a joint ballot was to settle the matter. April, 1777, the Legislature had named Chas. Carroll, Barrister, Benjamin Rumsey and Solomon Wright judges of the General Court, but none of these gentlemen accepted. The Governor and Council then made their appointment as above, all of whom declined. Finally on the 9th of March, 1778, William Paca, Nicholas Thomas and Alexander Contee Hanson were appointed judges of the General Court and severally qualified in presence

of the Governor and Council.

When the list of officers was made by the Legislature in April, 1777, the naming of judges of the Court of Appeals was passed over, and the reason given was the great importance of the choice of the very best qualified persons for this office. It was not until December 12, 1778, that the House of Delegates named Benjamin Rumsey, Benjamin Mackall the 4th, Thomas Jones, Solomon Wright and James Murray, Esquires, to be judges of the Court of Appeals, and the Senate promptly agreed to the appointment. Thomas Jones was succeeded in the office of Register of Wills by Wm. Buchanan,

The Court of Appeals was not exempt from criticism in the course of its proceedings. Judge Rumsey, writing to Judge Jones, November 27, 1800, begins: "Fool, knave, drunkard. May it please your honour to take your choice, the General (Mackall) may take the next election, and what you will leave will probably be intended to fit me."

Judge Jones remained on the bench of the Court of Appeals until 1805 when the judicial system of the state was reorganized. The General Court was abolished and the Court of Appeals was composed of the Chief Judges of each of the six districts into which the state was divided. When the courts were reorganized Judge Jones found himself at the age of three score and ten with his friend and associate Benjamin Rumsey upon the bench of the Sixth Judicial District consisting of Baltimore and Harford counties.

In 1810 an effort was made in the House of Delegates to remove Judge Jones from office on account of non-attendance at court. One of the resolutions reads: "Resolved that it is contrary to the genius and spirit of a republic to tolerate a sinecure and that therefore no citizen of this state should retain a judicial office, who does not give a faithful and due attendance on the courts of which he may be constituted a member, however distinguished his talents or however brilliant his services may have been."

The Committee of Grievances and Court of Justice reported for the consideration and adoption of the General Assembly, the following address.

"To the Governor of the State of Maryland.

"The General Assembly of Maryland conceive it to be their bounden duty as the Guardians of the public safety to call your attention to the official delinquency of one the members of the Judiciary. It appears to the General Assembly from the most satisfactory testimony that Thomas Jones, Esquire one of the Associate Judges of the Sixth Judicial District has neglected to give that attendance on the Courts which the nature of his appointment and the interests of the public absolutely require.

"You are therefore requested immediately on the receipt of this address to remove the said Thomas Jones, Esquire from his office of Associate Judge of the Sixth Judicial District."

Judge Jones writing to one of the members of the Assembly says: "It is not probable from the present state of my health and from what it has been for some time past that I shall be enabled to attend the legislature in person at the time fixed for the second reading of the report of the Committee of Grievances and I have not as yet made up my mind to avail myself of the indulgence offered to substitute Counsel." He recalls that it is now upwards of thirty years since he received his first appointment to public office from the representatives of the people-having declined an appointment by the governor and council, refers to the records of the Court of Appeals to prove his application to duty, adding in parenthesis: "I would wish them to inform themselves at the same time of the compensation made to the Judges of that particular tribunal for their service for many years." He concludes: "I now most solemnly aver that I am not conscious that in the whole of that period I have ever intentionally neglected to discharge the duties of the office so far as I was competent-one instance only excepted-unless I was disabled by bodily infirmity or inclemency of the weather." The result in the legislature was conveyed to him in the opening sentence of a letter dated Dec. 14, 1810, written by Walter Dorsey, who defended him before the bar of the house: "I have the pleasure of informing you that the resolution reported by the Committee of Grievances in relation to your official conduct has not succeeded."

Before leaving the official life of Judge Jones I have deemed it well to inform myself concerning the conpensation of a judge of the Court of Appeals in those times. I find the salary fixed in 1785 at £200 currency, and finally increased in 1799 to $1000. It is obvious that with such a salary the time and attention of a judge could not be exclusively devoted to the duties of his office unless he were a man of independent fortune. The fortune left Thomas Jones by his father was not large even for those times. His assessment for taxes in 1781 was something upwards of £6000. His property consisted of real estate lying principally in Patapsco Neck, near Soldiers Delight, and in Baltimore Town, and in the slaves and stock thereon. The most valuable property consisted of farms in Patapsco Neck. To obtain from these farms the

means of support for his family required constant personal attention, and so we find much of his attention giving to farming. His Journal, kept from 1779 to 1812, the year of his death, and until the last few months entirely in his own hand, preserves a most interesting record of farm life in his day. As the plan adopted in the beginning is followed throughout I shall endeavor to give some account of it in general.

On the first page he begins an inventory of the servants, slaves, stock, implements of industry, &c., &c. In this he gives the servant by name and age, the slaves by name and age, the horses by age and color, the cattle by age, the hogs by age, and the sheep as rams, weathers, lambs, &c. Then follow the household furniture, utensils, &c., even to the number of napkins, towels, &c., then the kitchen furniture and utensils, and last the plantation utensils, and implements of husbandry. Each month has two pages devoted to its record. One line across the two pages is ruled for each day. Vertical lines are ruled dividing the first page into seven columns; the first contains numbers indicating the day of the month the second letters to indicate the day of the week, the third records the direction of the wind, the fourth the weather, the fifth is headed stock, the sixth is subdivided for the number of horses, cows, hogs and sheep, the seventh is headed casualties (to the stock). The second page is divided into two columns headed respectively employment, and remarks, occurrences, contracts, &c. In the last column only is found the record of his personal goings and comings, opinions, &c. In 1780 he records one servant, 14 slaves, 20 horses (he was half owner of one horse), 37 cattle, 32 hogs, 75 sheep. The employments for January are getting wood, threshing, shoemaking, dressing flax, &c. In the last column he records "my rascel Richard (a white servant) ran away for the 14th time," and after seven days "my rascel Richard returned."

I have collected together upward of fifty deaths mentioned in these Journals, and the records of remarkable storms, tides, &c. as an appendix to this paper. A few remarks not easily classified I shall reproduce here. "N. B. Rec'd £5, 15s. of Mr.- for pas

turing his two horses last year instead of £9— pasture no horses for M' in future." "Settled with my scoundrel of an overseer and accepted 13 gals. of peach brandy in satisfaction of the damage he had done me to am! of £150 at least. N. B. He cheated me with apple brandy." "Sick, N. B. Time lost in farming is irrecoverable. Three weeks lost with sickness & wet weather has lost of the crop." "Feb. 11, 1789, Gen'l Washington's birth day, 1732." "Nov. 9, 1796. On Tuesday began the election of a successor to our most worthy president throughout the united States who had made known to the people his intention to retire from public business."

In addition to overseeing the work of his farms, traveling from one to the other, Thomas Jones began about 1786 to build the house which is still standing at Walnut Grove. The preparation for this included the making of brick, getting out of timber, &c., and much trouble with a variety of workmen. The house is situated at the junction of North Point creek and Welshman's creek, and commands a fine view of bay and river. From the year 1789 his journal contains the record by months of the vessels going up the river to Baltimore, classified as Ships, Snows and Briggs, Sloops and Schooners, and Bay Craft. The black-board still hangs in the hall upon which the daily entries were made, which were summed up at the end of the month and entered on the last page of the yearly journal.

Among the many friends of Thomas Jones, Richard Sprigg of Strawberry Hill, West River, occupied the first place. He is constantly mentioned in his journal until November 23, 1798. "On this evening--this melancholly evening, the firmest of friends, and in my estimate the best of men-did my valuable friend R Sprigg of West River make his last respiration—with one hand clenched in mine-and may the omnipotent of his infinite mercy receive him into the mansions of eternal bliss." Richard Sprigg was appointed Chancellor by the legislature in 1777 but resigned March 20, 1778. He owned the Sparrow's Point farm which adjoined a farm of Judge Jones.

The first wife of Thomas Jones was Elizabeth Baxter of Cecil County. She bore him four daughters, two of whom died in