Washington County, Maryland

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Washington County, as well as Allegany and Garrett counties, are in the Northern Appalachia Region.^[1]

Hagerstown is the county seat.^[2]

Hagerstown gained official recognition of that name in 1813 (actually, "Hager's-Town"). It was settled in 1739 by "Jonathan Hager, a German immigrant from Pennsylvania", who had "purchased 200 acres (81 ha) of land in the Great Appalachian Valley between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains in Maryland and called it Hager's Fancy. In 1762, Hager officially founded the town of Elizabethtown which he named after his wife, Elizabeth Kershner."^[3]

Timeline

1739: Hager's Fancy (later Hagerstown) settled.^[3]

1748, 10 December: Frederick County was formed from parts of Baltimore County and Prince George's County.^[4]

1762: Elizabethtown (later Hagerstown) founded.^[3]

1776: Washington County was created from Frederick County.^[5]

1789: Allegany County was created from western Washington County.^[5]

1872: Garrett County was created from western Allegany County.^[5]

Washington County lost some records in an 1871 courthouse fire.^[5]

Categories

Washington County (created in 1776)

• preceded by Frederick County
• followed by Allegany County (created in 1789), which was followed by
  • Garrett County (created in 1872 from Allegany County)

What this means for categorizing profiles of people connected to land that is today Washington County, Allegany County, or Garrett County...

• If they are post-1776, then
  • 1776-1789: Category: Washington County, Maryland
  • 1789-1872, depending on location, either
    Category: Washington County, Maryland or
    Category: Allegany County, Maryland
  • 1872-present, depending on location,
    Category: Washington County, Maryland or
    Category: Allegany County, Maryland or
    Category:Garrett County, Maryland

To aid with "depending on location", see the links at Maps (below).^[6]

• If they are pre-USA, they should not be in Category: Washington County, Maryland (which was created in 1776) but instead in Frederick County (from its creation 10 December 1748). Settlers prior to 1748 should probably be categorized by settlement rather than county. As noted by the leader of the Maryland Project, Jack Day, "the primary categorization concern pre 1748 would have been the new settlements of primarily German immigrants in Frederick town and the Monocacy Valley."

Stickers

... ... ... has Appalachian roots.

... ... ... has Appalachian roots, in Maryland.

{{Appalachian Roots}}

{{Appalachian Roots|state=Maryland}}

The state parameter is used to add text to the sticker, but it does not add a category (this sticker is for descendants of Appalachians; project categories are for Appalachians). See Template: Appalachian Roots for additional examples.

... ... ... was an Appalachian.

... ... ... was born in Appalachia, in Maryland.

{{Appalachia Sticker}}

{{Appalachia Sticker|born|state=Maryland}}

Appropriate for pre-USA and post-1776 people profiles. This sticker has born and lived/lives in options. The state parameter will add text to the sticker. It will also add the corresponding Appalachians category (there are 13 project categories for "people profiles" - see Category: Appalachians). You can add additional Appalachians categories manually (e.g., [[Category: Virginia Appalachians]]). The Appalachians categories are for people profiles only and should only be added to profiles for Appalachians who lived there when it was that state (in other words, do not add Category: West Virginia Appalachians to someone's profile if they died before 1 June 1863).

... ... ... was a Marylander.

{{Maryland Sticker}}

See Template: Maryland Sticker for details of parameters & use (it is used on both pre-USA and post-1776 profiles).

... ... ... was a Maryland colonist.

{{US Southern Colonist Sticker|Maryland}}

Appropriate for pre-USA people profiles. See Template: US Southern Colonist Sticker for details of parameters & use (it must include a colony parameter and is used only on pre-USA profiles - note that Washington County did not exist prior to 1776).

Geography

Maps

• Maryland Formation Maps
• Maps of Maryland
• Historical Atlases (Maryland)

Adjacent Maryland Counties

Northwest Pennsylvania		North Pennsylvania	Northeast Pennsylvania
West Allegany County		Washington County Maryland		East Frederick County
Southwest West Virginia		South West Virginia	Southeast West Virginia

Resources

Links from Category: Washington County, Maryland

• County website
• Wikipedia: Washington County
• wikidata

See also:

• County website: History of Washington County
• WikiTree's Maryland Project
• WikiTree's Appalachia Project
  • Space: Northern Appalachia Team (space page)
  • Category: Northern Appalachia Team
  • Category: Maryland Appalachians (landing level for people profiles)
• The MDGenWeb Project
  • Washington County

Footnotes

1. ↑ See the Appalachian Regional Commission's list of counties served by ARC (accessed 5 July 2022). See also the Appalachia Project's Northern Appalachia Team page, which includes a map of the five Regions of Appalachia.
2. ↑ Wikipedia: Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland (accessed 12 July 2022).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Wikipedia: Hagerstown (accessed 16 December 2022). See the Wikipedia article for its cited sources.
4. ↑ Maryland State Archives: Historical Chronology, Frederick County, Maryland (accessed 12 July 2022).
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} Maryland Formation Maps (accessed 5 July 2022)
6. ↑ Note: Maryland did not secede from the union, so no need to drop USA/United States from 1861 through reconstruction.