Mapping Early American Elections

Maryland House of Delegates, 1808

In 1808, Maryland elected eighty representatives to the state’s House of Delegates. At least thirty-nine of them were Federalists, and at least thirty-six of them were Democratic-Republicans.

Maryland had three legislative bodies: The House of Delegates, which was elected annually in October and had eighty members; a State Senate, comprised of fifteen members, chosen every five years in early September; and a Governor’s Council made up of five members chosen yearly by the Legislature.

Members of Maryland’s House of Delegates were chosen through popular elections. Each of Maryland’s nineteen counties elected four members using a county-level at-large method. Annapolis and the City of Baltimore each elected two members.

After losing control of the state legislature in the 1801 to the Democratic-Republicans, the Federalists recaptured the Maryland House of Delegates with the 1808 election. Maryland’s election for the Eleventh U.S. Congress was also held the same year, and shows similar party voting patterns. In both elections, Federalists received a majority of the vote in the southern and Potomac areas of the state, while the Democratic-Republicans received a greater majority of the vote in the upper Chesapeake and eastern shore. However, because Maryland used a district system for Congressional elections and a county-level at-large method for state legislative elections, the results of the two contests were dramatically different.

District Candidate Party Vote Percentage Elected
Allegany William MacMahon Democratic-Republican 596 16.4% ✓
Allegany Levi Hilleary Democratic-Republican 590 16.2% ✓
Allegany John Tomlinson Democratic-Republican 572 15.8% ✓
Allegany John Reid Democratic-Republican 571 15.7% ✓
Allegany Benjamin Tomlinson Democratic-Republican 342 9.4%
Allegany Thomas F. Brooke Democratic-Republican 324 8.9%
Allegany Hanson Briscoe Democratic-Republican 319 8.8%
Allegany George Rizer Federalist 317 8.7%
Annapolis City John Muir Democratic-Republican 163 39.6% ✓
Annapolis City James Boyle Democratic-Republican 139 33.7% ✓
Annapolis City Alexander C. Magruder Federalist 110 26.7%
Anne Arundel Charles D. Hodges Democratic-Republican 1,067 20.1% ✓
Anne Arundel John S. Belt Democratic-Republican 921 17.3% ✓
Anne Arundel Osborn William Democratic-Republican 895 16.8% ✓
Anne Arundel Richard Merriken Democratic-Republican 875 16.5% ✓
Anne Arundel Horatio Rideout Federalist 607 11.4%
Anne Arundel Richard Owings Federalist 497 9.4%
Anne Arundel Joseph Watkins Federalist 416 7.8%
Baltimore Tobias Stansbury Democratic-Republican 2,960 18.7% ✓
Baltimore George Harryman Democratic-Republican 2,935 18.6% ✓
Baltimore Beale Randall Democratic-Republican 2,892 18.3% ✓
Baltimore Moses Brown Democratic-Republican 2,870 18.2% ✓
Baltimore Nicholas Bosley Federalist 1,091 6.9%
Baltimore Samuel Owings Federalist 1,076 6.8%
Baltimore Vachel Worthington Federalist 1,000 6.3%
Baltimore Amos Ogden Federalist 932 5.9%
Baltimore City Robert Stewart Democratic-Republican 3,312 40.3% ✓
Baltimore City Theodorick Bland Democratic-Republican 3,284 40% ✓
Baltimore City Edward Aisquith Federalist 761 9.3%
Baltimore City Samuel Schaeffer Federalist 732 8.9%
Calvert Thomas Reynolds Federalist 409 13.1% ✓
Calvert Thomas Blake Federalist 405 13% ✓
Calvert Joseph Ireland Federalist 402 12.9% ✓
Calvert Richard Graham Federalist 395 12.7% ✓
Calvert Thomas H. Wilkinson Democratic-Republican 393 12.6%
Calvert Sutton J. Weems Democratic-Republican 383 12.3%
Calvert Richard Ireland Democratic-Republican 372 11.9%
Calvert William Holland Democratic-Republican 363 11.6%
Caroline Perrigine F. Bayard Democratic-Republican 546 25.2% ✓
Caroline Peter Willis Democratic-Republican 544 25.1% ✓
Caroline Richard Hughlett Federalist 542 25% ✓
Caroline John Young Federalist 538 24.8% ✓
Cecil George E. Mitchell Democratic-Republican 985 12.8% ✓
Cecil James L. Porter Democratic-Republican 973 12.7% ✓
Cecil Edward H. Veazey Democratic-Republican 972 12.7% ✓
Cecil Robert Hart Democratic-Republican 961 12.5% ✓
Cecil William Howell Federalist 955 12.5%
Cecil William H. Ward Federalist 947 12.4%
Cecil John Creswell Federalist 946 12.3%
Cecil John Gibbons Federalist 927 12.1%
Charles Philip Stewart Federalist 835 22.1% ✓
Charles Henry H. Chapman Federalist 777 20.6% ✓
Charles Clement Dorsey Federalist 760 20.1% ✓
Charles John Parnham Federalist 678 18% ✓
Charles Robert C. Stone Federalist 423 11.2%
Charles Thomas Rogerson Federalist 299 7.9%
Dorchester Joseph Ennalls Federalist 637 29.8% ✓
Dorchester Solomon Frazier Federalist 585 27.4% ✓
Dorchester Robert Dennis Federalist 461 21.6% ✓
Dorchester Edward Griffith Federalist 454 21.2% ✓
Frederick George Baer Federalist 2,734 13.6% ✓
Frederick John H. Thomas Federalist 2,702 13.4% ✓
Frederick John Thomas Federalist 2,697 13.4% ✓
Frederick Francis B. Sappington Federalist 2,692 13.4% ✓
Frederick Thomas Hawkins Democratic-Republican 2,363 11.7%
Frederick Benjamin Briggs Democratic-Republican 2,315 11.5%
Frederick James MacHaffie Democratic-Republican 2,309 11.5%
Frederick Henry Kuhn Democratic-Republican 2,307 11.5%
Harford John Forwood Democratic-Republican 1,044 14.9% ✓
Harford John Street Democratic-Republican 914 13% ✓
Harford Elijah Davis Democratic-Republican 885 12.6% ✓
Harford John Saunders 797 11.3% ✓
Harford John Guyton 777 11.1%
Harford N. D. MacComas Democratic-Republican 704 10%
Harford John Love 656 9.3%
Harford John C. Bond 643 9.1%
Harford Other candidates 608 8.6%
Kent Unit Angier Democratic-Republican 623 13.5% ✓
Kent William Moffit Democratic-Republican 602 13.1% ✓
Kent Richard Brice Democratic-Republican 586 12.7% ✓
Kent James Welch Democratic-Republican 583 12.7% ✓
Kent Richard Frisby Federalist 578 12.5%
Kent James Ringgold Jr. Federalist 558 12.1%
Kent Jarvis Spencer Federalist 541 11.7%
Kent John Latham Federalist 537 11.7%
Montgomery William Carroll Federalist 1,080 17.6% ✓
Montgomery Henry C. Gaither Federalist 1,048 17% ✓
Montgomery Samuel Thomas Federalist 1,036 16.8% ✓
Montgomery Hezekiah Veatch Federalist 1,002 16.3% ✓
Montgomery Howard Griffith Democratic-Republican 490 8%
Montgomery Richard West Democratic-Republican 463 7.5%
Montgomery Elijah Vears Democratic-Republican 451 7.3%
Montgomery Benjamin Higgins Democratic-Republican 413 6.7%
Prince George’s George Page Federalist 1,035 19.1% ✓
Prince George’s Charles J. Perry Federalist 789 14.6% ✓
Prince George’s John C. Herbert Federalist 767 14.2% ✓
Prince George’s Josiah F. Beale Federalist 759 14% ✓
Prince George’s Joseph Cross Democratic-Republican 721 13.3%
Prince George’s Joseph Kent Democratic-Republican 682 12.6%
Prince George’s Thomas Woodward Democratic-Republican 663 12.2%
Queen Anne’s Daniel C. Hopper 1,030 26.5% ✓
Queen Anne’s John E. Spencer 964 24.8% ✓
Queen Anne’s Thomas Wright 951 24.4% ✓
Queen Anne’s Solomon Scott 949 24.4% ✓
Saint Mary’s William Hebb Federalist 529 19.5% ✓
Saint Mary’s Henry Neale Federalist 524 19.4% ✓
Saint Mary’s Thomas Blackstone Federalist 512 18.9% ✓
Saint Mary’s James Hopewell Federalist 509 18.8% ✓
Saint Mary’s Thomas Barbour Federalist 205 7.6%
Saint Mary’s Philip Key Democratic-Republican 183 6.8%
Saint Mary’s William Mattingly Democratic-Republican 172 6.4%
Somerset Thomas Bayly Federalist 754 18.7% ✓
Somerset Leven Winder Federalist 732 18.2% ✓
Somerset John Cottman Federalist 729 18.1% ✓
Somerset John Gale Federalist 726 18% ✓
Somerset Adam Elzey Democratic-Republican 285 7.1%
Somerset Peter Dashiell Democratic-Republican 281 7%
Somerset Arthur Dashiell Democratic-Republican 274 6.8%
Somerset Martin L. Haynie Democratic-Republican 247 6.1%
Talbot Samuel Stevens Jr. Democratic-Republican 696 14.4% ✓
Talbot John Edmondson Federalist 692 14.3% ✓
Talbot David Kerr Jr. Democratic-Republican 678 14% ✓
Talbot William E. Seth Democratic-Republican 592 12.2% ✓
Talbot Obadiah Garey Democratic-Republican 570 11.8%
Talbot Philemon Sherwood Federalist 550 11.3%
Talbot Robert Banning Federalist 537 11.1%
Talbot William Meluy Federalist 535 11%
Washington Frisby Tilghman Democratic-Republican 1,579 15.5% ✓
Washington William Gabby Democratic-Republican 1,477 14.5% ✓
Washington William Downey Democratic-Republican 1,459 14.4% ✓
Washington John Bowles Democratic-Republican 1,452 14.3% ✓
Washington Matthew Van Lear Federalist 1,077 10.6%
Washington Lancelot Jacques Federalist 1,070 10.5%
Washington William Good Federalist 1,070 10.5%
Washington John Barr Federalist 980 9.6%
Worcester George Hayward Federalist 1,063 18.4% ✓
Worcester Ephraim K. Wilson Federalist 1,054 18.3% ✓
Worcester Thomas N. Williams Federalist 1,045 18.1% ✓
Worcester Jesse Bennett Federalist 876 15.2% ✓
Worcester Zadock Sturges Democratic-Republican 496 8.6%
Worcester Joshua Prideaux Democratic-Republican 495 8.6%
Worcester Isaac Franklin Democratic-Republican 464 8%

In most cases, only candidates who received more than 5 percent of the vote in a district are reported. Other candidates are reported as a group, but only if they in aggregate received more than 5 percent of the vote. In addition, percentages for each district may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding. The term Dissenting Republican includes various breakaway factions of the Democratic-Republican party.

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“Maryland House of Delegates, 1808,” Mapping Early American Elections, https://earlyamericanelections.org/maps/meae.staterepresentative.1808.md.county.html

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