Daniel Dulany

Our notable for this week may prove to be a bit more refreshing to read about. Daniel Dulany arrived at Port Tobacco in 1703 and did not conspire to murder or find himself enslaved. He did, however, find himself indentured to George Plater II for a period of 3 years. This was not unusual as many of those who immigrated were given passage in return for a finite period of servitude.

Apparently Plater saw potential in young Dulany and he served as a law clerk for Plater. At the conclusion of his indenture, Dulany studied law in London and returned to Maryland to become a prominent Annapolis lawyer and one of the state's first major land developers. At his death in 1753, he owned 47,000 acres of land and is credited with the founding of Frederick Town, named in honor of Lord Baltimore's son. He is buried in the family vault at St. Anne's Church in Annapolis.

It is interesting to note that Dulany arrived in 1703 so Port Tobacco was already established as a major port town by then. The Port Tobacco Archaeological Project team would be quite excited to find some of the 17th century components of the site.

Note from the Managing Director: While we have not yet completed the analysis of the fieldwork to date, it is clear that we found several ceramic sherds that date to the late 17th or very early 18th centuries. We are running a little bit behind, but should have the report ready early next week.