Joshua Townsend, 1778 March 1

This artificial collection contains Oaths of Fidelity and Oaths of Allegiance documents signed by the residents of the respective counties or copied and submitted by the magistrates who witnessed them. Contents are filed by county and then alphabetically by the magistrate who witnessed and recorded the oath. Folders contain the lists of individual names recorded by the specific magistrate. There are also copies of the lists of oaths which were submitted to the Governor and Council.

Some lists of those taking the oaths are the original handwritten returns of the individual magistrates; some lists are negative photostats of the originals, which are held in the Maryland State Archives; some lists are typed compilations gathered by historical organizations or individuals.

This collection does not contain magistrates' lists for Caroline, Charles, Kent, and Somerset counties.