WORCESTER COUNTY, situated on the southeast boundary of Maryland, with the Atlantic ocean on the east.  Area, 700 square miles.  Seat of justice, Snow Hill.  Pop. in 1810, 16,971; in 1820, 17,521; in 1830, 18,271; in 1840, 18,377; in 1850, 18,979.

By the war's end Welles had been primarily responsible for building a navy second only to that of Great Britain. He had also reorganized the department, improved significantly contract administration, and established an academy of science, the forerunner of all government-sponsored research agencies.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, situated on the north boundary of Maryland, with Potomac river on the southwest.  Area, 440 square miles.  Face of the country broken and mountainous; soil, where alluvial, fertile.  Seat of justice, Hagerstown.  Pop. in 1810, 18,730; in 1820, 23,075; in 1830, 25,268; in 1840, 28,850; in 1850, 30,848.

In 1825 [Gideon] Welles became acquainted with John M. Niles, editor and proprietor of the Hartford Times and Weekly Advertizer, who espoused Andrew Jackson as the coming political figure in the nation. His opinion on states' rights, banking corporations, free trade, and hard money appealed to Welles, who joined Niles's publishing venture and soon gained a reputation for his support of Jackson and his attacks on the John Quincy Adams administration…

TALBOT COUNTY, situated on the east shore of Maryland, on the east side of Chesapeake bay.  Area, 250 square miles.  Seat of justice, Easton.  Pop. in 1810, 14,210; in 1820, 14,389; in 1830, 12,947; in 1840, 12,090; in 1850, 13,811.