Leases of Land for Railroad, 1840-1846

This collections contains the correspondence, receipted bills, land and estate papers of four generations of the Worthington family, who were residents of Baltimore County, Maryland. The correspondence deals with land and financial transactions, health and family news, slavery, and religious sentiments. The letters of Noah Worthington contain details of access to a private railway on his property. Receipted bills include furniture, household items, livestock, farm produce, labor, slaves, tobacco, timber, rents, and mortgages. The papers of Noah Worthington, Rezin Worthington, and Mary Worthington Fite contain inventories of slaves. A letter in Rezin Worthington's papers discusses the status of children of slaves and a letter in Noah Worthington's papers mentions compensation for slaves serving in the army during the Civil War. A large section of land papers contains the deeds, mortgages, and plats for property acquired in Baltimore County.

Of particular interest in the Thomas Worthington papers are a detailed account of the sale of his property (1821) and a memo book recording the details of his son Joshua's illness and death (1804). The memo book also contains a list of sermons heard from 1804-1805.

The miscellaneous correspondence includes information on land transactions, slaves, and the naturalization of Christian Mayer (1819). One letter gives a detailed description of Washington Place in New York City.