The Frederick County Maryland Attorney Papers Collection provides a fascinating and unique glimpse into the legal work and careers of attorneys in the mid-18th to mid-19th centuries, as well as the early careers and goings-ons of numerous significant figures of American history. Created as the earlier generations of the United States formed and shaped the country, the documents present in this collection give a glimpse into a legal system similarly growing and changing with the rest of the newly established and altered government systems. These papers span the beginning of the nation, shifting political ideologies, financial disputes, and government transition.

This collection specifically contains documents from Frederick County, created in 1748 from a combination of sections of Prince George’s County and Baltimore County and located in the top center of Maryland. While the origin of the county’s name is unknown, it is thought that it comes from Frederick Calvert, the sixth and final Lord Baltimore and Proprietor of Maryland from 1751 to 1771. The county was split into three parts following the United States’ independence in 1776, – the western area became Washington County, the south changed to Montgomery County, and the rest remained Frederick County. In 1837, the easternmost portion of Frederick County was combined with Baltimore County to become Carroll County, named after Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and appears in various papers within this collection.

Roger Brooke Taney was born on March 17, 1777 in Calvert County, Maryland to Michael Taney V and Monica Brooke Taney. The Taney family, owners of a tobacco plantation reliant on enslaved peoples’ labor, established themselves early on in the country’s history as prominent and influential members of society, specifically in the state of Maryland. His brother, Michael Taney VI, was expected to inherit the family’s plantation, allowing Roger to pursue law instead.

He attended Dickinson College until 1796, before going on to read law under Judge Jeremiah Townley Chase in Annapolis. He was then admitted to the Maryland bar in 1799. After serving a year in the Maryland House of Delegates, Taney settled in Frederick, Maryland to practice law for roughly 15 years, prior to returning to the House of Delegates and going onto the State Senate.

In January of 1806, he married Anne Phoebe Charlton Key, sister of Francis Scott Key, and they went on to have six daughters together. In 1823, he moved to Baltimore to continue practicing law for a few years until being appointed the Attorney General of Maryland in 1827. During this time, he established himself as a markedly effective and successful litigator.

After aligning himself with Andrew Jackson, Taney was appointed the United States Attorney General in 1831, while simultaneously continuing his private law practice. Throughout this period working in Jackson’s administration, Taney also involved himself and was an influential player in the Bank War, a political brawl over the constitutionality of a national bank, which eventually led to the replacement of the Second Bank of the United States with state banks. A brief, under a year-long stint as the recess-appointed Secretary of the Treasury before the Senate rejected his nomination led to a return to Baltimore to rebuild his law practice. He was the first cabinet nominee in U.S. history to be formally rejected by the Senate.

Shortly after, Jackson nominated him to the Supreme Court as an associate justice in July of 1835. Taney went on to become the fifth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1836 until his death in 1864 and to this day is widely known and remembered for his majority opinion in the Dred Scott decision of 1857.

The Schley family were prominent residents of Frederick County in the 19th century. A handful of the family became interested in and involved with law in the early to mid-1800s. John George Schley, born in 1767, was a judge of the Orphans Court from 1802 to 1813, after which he was elected to the House of Delegates in 1809 and 1810. From 1815 to 1835, as documented in this collection, he took on the job of Clerk of the County Court until he passed away.

His son, Henry Schley, born in 1793, served in the War of 1812 as an adjutant before returning to Frederick to found the “Warren Greens” Rifle Company. Following his father’s death in 1835, Henry became the Clerk of the County Court for ten years before working as a cashier for the Frederick County National Bank. Henry passed away in 1871.

William Ludwig Schley, born in 1799 was the brother of Henry and son of John George. William also had a legal career in Frederick County, but studied law and became an attorney rather than a clerk. He graduated with honors from Princeton University’s predecessor, Nassau Hall, then going on to pass the bar in 1824 after studying alongside Roger Brooke Taney. William practiced law in Frederick for roughly 12 years. After a brief term in the Maryland State Senate, he moved his legal practice to Baltimore and enjoyed a long career in the city before his death in 1888.

The final Schley present in this collection is Frederick Augustus Schley, the younger brother of John George. Born in 1789, he lived in Georgia with his family for some time before moving back to Frederick. Frederick studied for the bar under Taney and went on to build a practice and become a very successful attorney before his death in 1858.