Did My Ancestor Find Your Ancestor's Horses?

Maryland Journal (Baltimore, MD)--16 July 1782--page 6--located digitally on  on Genealogybank  . 

I've mentioned this little clipping before, but I thought I'd share it again as it's a nice little gem from 1781 and was located on Genealogybank.

James Rampley apparently found two stray horses in Harford County, Maryland, in 1783.

"Taken up as strays, by the Subscriber, living in Harford County, Maryland, two GELDINGS, the one a bright bay, about 15 hands high..."

If I had not known James was living in Harford County in 1783, this would have been fairly good proof that James was there on that date.

Of course this reference doesn't indicate whether he is a landowner or not.

There can easily be clues in the advertisements in newspapers--particularly older newspapers when fewer people are mentioned in general. This is one of the few newspaper references I've found for James.