Today, Cecil County is divided into nine minor political subdivisions called election districts (ED). But in the earliest times, the equivalent intra-county areas were known as a hundred. Having its origin in Saxon history, the name derives from the concept of a territory capable of providing a hundred men to serve in the militia. In the colony, it served as an administrative area for local government, including the work of the tax assessor and the appointment of constables. In 1798, the General Assembly enacted a law requiring the division of Maryland’s then nineteen counties into EDs in place of the antiquated hundred system. Cecil County was divided into four EDs in 1800.
Several decades ago, Darlene McCall and Lorraine Alexander published a most helpful title, the “Genealogical Research Guide for Cecil County, Maryland.” It included a map showing the fully developed system of hundreds in Cecil County in the late 1700s. Darlene has given us permission to share the helpful depiction here, as we often get questions about the placement of those civil units. Thanks Darlene
The Hundreds of Cecil County. Source: Genealogical Research Guide for Cecil County, Maryland. A map drawn by Lorraine Alexander.