Hi All, Here is the article I promised to send containing the surnames of many early settlers from Md. To Mt. Morris. Taken from the book MOUNT MORRIS: PAST AND PRESENT. Later in the year 1837, in which the body of settlers already mentioned as the first Md. colony came to the township, there also came the Rev. Thomas S. HITT. Rev. HITT left Ohio in a carriage in the fall of 1837 to examine the new country of which his brother Samuel, had written such favorable accounts He was a Methodist minister and expected to continue his work in the new country. On arrival here in Sept. he occupied a house with Martin REYNOLDS, a brother- in-law, who was then completing on the site of what is familiarly known as the LOHAFER farm, west of town. this tract embraced 1000 acres, 100 of which was broken. Rev. HITT, however, soon moved to a claim which his brother, Samuel, had reserved for him. This claim consisted of what is now the Railroad Addition to the village and the land immediately northwest. Here Rev HITT lived until his death in 1852. In Sept, 1837 John FRIDLEY purchased the old FORD cabin and claim, where he continued to live until the time of his death, when it became the propery of his son's Andrew, David, John, Jacob, and Benjamin, whose descendants live in this vicinity. These settlers who arrived in 1837 were well pleased with the new country, and consequently in the following spring,1838, at the solicitation of Samuel HITT, and Nathaniel SWINGLEY, who had induced many of the settlers to come the previous year, a large number of families, known as the Maryland Colony proper, left their eastern homes in Md. and came to Mt. Morris. Many of them took up claims here, while others went to Carroll County and other places, among these families were the ILERS', the ETNYRES', the SPRECHERS' the ALLENS', and many others. In May, A. Quinby ALLEN arrived and taught the first school in Mt. Morris Twnshp. Others that came at that time were Phillip SPRECHER, John COFFMAN, John SMITH, Henry ARTZ, Michael BRATNER, Henry SHARER, Henry HIESTAND, and John WALLACE. These are all familiar name in Mt. Morris, and many of the descendants of these early settlers still live in this vicinity. Among others who came in the early forties, should be mentioned Jacob TURNEY, Michael SWINGLEY, David MUMMA, William PRINTZ, Jonas SHAFSTALL, Moses CROWELL, Jacob BUCK, Daniel WOLFE, Joseph ROWE, Jacob DETRICK, Samuel FOUTS, Benjamin MYERS, Silas SNYDER, Adam PATTERSON, Otho WALLACE, Solomon NALLY, Henry A. NEFF, Bartholomew and Benjamin McNUTT, Jacob HIESTAND,William WATTS, Daniel and Fredrick B. BRAYTON, Peter, Emanuel, Jonathon, Jacob, and Joseph KNODLE. Many of them with their families. Still later came Benjamin SWINGLEY, Frank Hamilton, Samuel NEWCOMER and son Charles, George AVEY, (father of Josiah AVEY), Emanuel, Henry, and Andrew NEWCOMER, Joseph and Frisby WATTS and scores of others. About this time they began to come so rapidly it would be useless to try to keep up with them. In fact, the Maryland people never ceased coming, and today the great majority of the residents of Mt. Morris Twnshp. are either natives of MD. or children of immigrants from that state It was a noticeable fact, and one often commented upon, that the obituaries of those dying in this community, as published in Mt. Morris papers, almost invariably contained the clause, "was born in Washington County, MD." Many of them came from Hagerstown in that county. I hope this may help someone, I do not have any other info on these names, only what I have already sent to the list. As I mentioned before I do have a couple of short bios. on a few of the people. I have sent most of them, but still have Thomas FORD, Phillip T. SPRECHER, and John F. FRIDLEY. I will be sending Samuel Knodle and Dr. Isaac RICE, later today. Good hunting to all, Ellen