The Hall of Records Commission met at the Archives on April 19. Judge Robert M. Bell called the meeting to order, and mentioned that Bill Kerbin, a guest at the November 22, 2004, meeting died last month. Kerbin had pursued a long-standing legal career as States Attorney in Worcester County and an attorney in private practice.

Dr. Glenn O. Phillips, a Commission member representing Dr. Earl S. Richardson, President of Morgan State University, discussed his recently published book, African American Leaders of Maryland: A Portrait Gallery (Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 2004), co-authored with Suzanne E. Chapelle. The book features portraits and biographies "of forty-five Marylanders of African American descent for young adult readers. Preceding these portraits of scholars, soldiers, writers, healers, musicians, sport figures, and political leaders is an introduction to help readers of all ages discover the depth and importance of African American history in Maryland." Dr. Phillips presented signed copies to Judge Bell and Dr. Papenfuse.

Ed noted the significance of April 19 as Civil War Rembrance Day, the date on which occurred in Baltimore the first bloody conflict of the war in the state. Ed also showed images and transcripts of letters written about that conflict by the British Consul in Baltimore, who served from 1861 to 1866. The collection of letters, housed at the Public Records Office, contains a wealth of material on the Consul's perspective about the war.

Several historically important collections have been added to Special Collections. The Lee Baylin and University of Maryland School of Law Collection contains research files and other materials pertaining to the mail fraud and racketeering charges brought Governor Marvin Mandel. Baylin, a Baltimore Sun reporter, collected the documents while covering the trial. The Judge James F. Schneider Collection involves materials relating to the history of the courts and the legal profession in Baltimore City and Maryland. 

The survey records of William R. Nuttle are being made available as images through plats.net. The surveys and plats encompass lands in Kent, Queen Anne's, Cecil, and Caroline counties. The Jean-Barry Molz Collection contains documents and drawings relating to the mapping of the Port Warden's line in the Baltimore harbor in 1874 and an 1802 survey that is tentatively identified as the Baltimore Iron Works.
 
 
 

The online availability of land record images in an electronic archives is becoming better known as evidenced by the increase in requests for access to mdlandrec.net. At the same time the accumulation of paper records continues to grow, especially with the transfer of land record volumes to the Archives. Recently the Archives completed the acquisition of its fourth warehouse, and is now preparing it for the receipt of record materials.

On June 27 the Hall of Records Building will be rededicated as the Edward C. Papenfuse Archives Building. Members of the Commission will be invited to the ceremonies.

Elaine Rice Bachmann displayed the updated and reprinted version of the poster of the Great Seal of Maryland, a cooperative project of the Secretary of State and the Archives. Each member of the Commission received a copy.

Another cooperative project involves the historical and current photographs of the Governor's photographer. Photographs from mdgovpics.net, the Governor's Office Photo Gallery, are available for viewing, downloading, and reproduction. The photographs put online are placed in archival storage. During the visit of Pope John II to Baltimore in 1995 the Governor's photographer took many pictures which became part of the historical collection transferred to the Archives. In light of recent events, requests for copies of these photographs developed and the Archives was able to locate the negatives.

Ed acknowledged the contributions of Nancy Bramucci as a systems designer for mdlandrec.net and plats.net and as an educator, teaching at UMBC and conducting seminars for teachers on teaching American History. This summer Ed will be participating in the same program on 

Elaine and Senator Mike Miller discussed the exhibit Four Centuries of Stories from the Collections of the Maryland State Archives in the Miller Senate Office Building. The brochure and the exhibit, including battle flags, resulted from a cooperative venture of the Senate and Archives.

Emily Oland Squires recognized the institutions providing support for the summer internship program - Morgan State University, Maryland Commission for Women, U.S. Department of Education, Baltimore Court Foundation, and S.J. Martenet. This year the Archives received sixty-three applications.

Christopher B. Nelson, President of St. John's College, brought in a newspaper that contains a printed version of a letter from George Washington concerning his two nephews who attended the school. The Archives agreed to scan the newspaper and produce facsimiles for the college. Mr. Nelson also mentioned another document held by the college - the will of Francis Scott Key who founded the college alumni association.

Chris Allan, former Deputy State Archivist and now President and Resident Agent of the Friends of the Archives, introduced David C. Troy, Director of the Friends of the Archives. David is a technology entrepreneur, founder of ToadNet, a prominent ISP (Internet Service Provider) in the mid-Atlantic region and currently president and CEO of Popvox, LLC, an IP-telephony consulting firm. As a student in one of Ed's classes, he produced a web presentation on the 15th Amendment Parade in Baltimore on May 19, 1870.

Vernon L. Skinner, Jr., Abstracts of the Testamentary Proceedings of the Prerogative Court of  Maryland, Volume I: 1658-1674, 2004, paper, 310 pp, ISBN: 0806352604 [0790CC] $29.50

For most of the colonial period Maryland's probate court was commonly referred to as the Prerogative Court. While not officially established until 1670, it shared the legacy of England's Prerogative Court, instituting many of the same terms and functions regarding estates. Among its various duties was the handling and recording of testamentary proceedings. Prior to 1657, these proceedings were lumped together with all other matters pertaining to the Provincial Court which held jurisdiction over probate matters until 1670. 1657 marked the first time testamentary proceedings were recorded as a separate series, with a separate volume for recording inventories and accounts following later in 1674. Thus, the period 1657-1674 marks the first attempt to codify Maryland's testamentary proceedings, which becomes the focus of Skinner's compendium. 

Skinner performs the tedious task of abstracting the testamentary proceedings. It is an invaluable secondary resource for both novice and more advanced researchers who are unable to visit the Maryland State Archives or who wish to avoid struggling with the difficulties of the original handwritten records. Arranged in chronological order by court session, Skinner's book gives the type of record for each entry listed in the original record and provides the names of testators, administrators, heirs, appraisers, witnesses, and others, comprising of over 6,000 names of 17^th-century Marylanders. 

In addition, the book offers a concise name index, but a rather vague one page introduction. The shortcomings of the 

The introduction informs the reader that "The following documents were filed in the Prerogative Court: administration bond, will, inventory, administration accounts, and final balances." It further states that "testamentary proceedings contain the administration bond and docket for the court," thus giving the impression that wills, inventories, and administration accounts are separate from the testamentary proceedings during this period, which is not the case. Moreover, some of the early entries, also include land records and cattle marks like those of earlier Proprietary records. 

Skinner seems to assume the reader is familiar with probate terminology, offering no explanation for common terms found throughout the text. Words such as administration bond, for example, are left undefined. This book could be improved by a glossary to further enhance the readers understanding of the records. This, combined with an expanded introduction, would allow the reader to better place the names, dates, and events of the Testamentary Proceedings in their proper context, providing a fuller background to probate records and the Prerogative Court. 

Overall, Abstracts of the Testamentary Proceedings is a worthwhile resource for genealogists and historians in presenting them with the raw data. However, its functionality is limited to the reader's own knowledge of the subject and ability to place this data in its proper context.

Regimental standard for "Cole's Cavalry," the First Regiment Potomac Home Brigade Cavalry Maryland Volunteers, 1864 from the Maryland Battle Flag Collection MSA SC 1560-22A