Record Series of the Week Ben Primer Bureau of Vital Statistics (Baptisms, Washington County) 1816-1940. M-413, M-541, M-542.
In putting away a roll of Miscellaneous microfilm this week I happened on an index and records prepared by WPA workers under Project 7114 during 1940-1942 which is described in the Annual Reports of the State Board of Health. The project was a trial index of baptismal records in Washington County for use in speeding applications for delayed births.
A camera operator was sent to Washington County to film church baptismal registers (M-413). The film includes various complete church registers for 15 of the older churches in the county (principally in Hagerstown) as well as an assortment of family Bibles, voter registration records and school records filmed as proof of age for selected individuals (Vital Statistics was also experimenting with film for supplying the types of records used to produce delayed birth certificates).
In any event, the registers were subsequently indexed into a Soundex card index and then filmed. We have F-650 (part of) through Z on M-541 and M-542; presumably the rest of the index has been lost although one might want to check with the public library in Hagerstown. The positive copies that we have are in reasonably good condition, but there is no master negative and presumably DHMH has long since lost its master film and tossed the card index so we probably need to do something about preservation of this and other M film for which there are no masters.
Needless to say this is an incredibly rich source of information on Washington County births and baptisms; note that the Catholic registers are not restricted. The churches [all are Hagerstown unless indicated] and years covered are as follows:
Asbury Methodist, 1883-1908
Christ Reformed, 1904-1919
Grace United Brethren, 1906-1916
Hagerstown Presbyterian, 1858-1925
St. John's Episcopal, 1816-1940
St. John's Lutheran, 1861-1916
St. John's Reformed [Clearspring], 1874-1910
St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran, 1890-1924
St. Mary's Catholic, 1871-1919
St. Paul's Evangelical, 1899-1913
St. Paul's Lutheran [Western Pike, Clearspring Parish], 1908-1919
[St. Paul's?] Methodist, 1879-1940
St. Peter's Lutheran [Clearspring], 1875-1915
Trinity Lutheran, 1870-1940
Zion Reformed, 1866-1940
Also on the same film are Walker, Barnes and Ditmer family Bibles and baptismal and school records for Roger Harlan Shoop.
Index of the Week Rick Blondo
Index 1 - (Probate Records-Index) 1635-1777
The indexes to probate records are divided into two categories, Prerogative
Court records and County records. Two sets of probate records were maintained
during the period preceding
the implementation of the first Maryland State Constitution, in 1777.
Until then, probate business was conducted at the capital by the central
agency which for most of the Colonial period was known as the Prerogative
Court.
The presiding officer of the Court was the Commissary General. A Deputy
Commissary
was appointed for each county. When any probate record was brought into
the office of a Deputy Commissary, he recorded the instrument in his own
books. Periodically he would send the papers filed in his office to the
Prerogative Court where the instruments were again recorded.
The records of Anne Arundel County were not kept separate from the records
of the Prerogative Court. Therefore, the records of the Prerogative Court
(excepting Anne Arundel County Probate Records and the Proceedings of the
Prerogative Court) were duplicated by the records of the Deputy Commissaries
in the counties. Instruments may sometimes be found in one set of records
which do not appear in the other. These omissions were caused by accident,
custodial neglect, or other causes.
The Prerogative Court was abolished in 1777. Since that time probate
matters have been handled at the county level by the Register of Wills
and Orphans' Court. No central probate recording office has functioned
since the adoption of the first State Constitution.
For additional information on the Prerogative Court and this index see
Gust Skordas, "Prerogative Court Records of Maryland" in Elizabeth Hartsook
and Gust Skordas, Land Office and Prerogative Court Records of Colonial
Maryland (1946).
The Indexes
Prerogative Court Probate Records exist for the sixteen counties formed
prior to 1777 in Maryland. These were:
Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester,
Frederick, Harford, Kent, Prince George's, Queen Anne's, St. Mary's, Somerset,
Talbot, Worcester
The other seven counties and Baltimore City were formed later from one
or more of the above-listed counties. Probate Records from these latter
jurisdictions are to be found only with the records from that jurisdiction.
The names indexed are those of decedents, except for Accounts, where
there are listings for the executors and administrators(designated by an
asterisk).
There are volume indexes to all of these records kept in the stacks
which may be consulted if a name does not appear in the card index, and
most individual volumes also have indexes within them.
Prerogative Court Probate Records in Index 1:
Wills (Recorded), 1635-1777
Wills (Original), 1666-1777
Inventories and Accounts (Liber Z), 1638-1642
Inventories and Accounts (in T.P.), 1657-1674
Inventories and Accounts, 1674-1718
Inventories, 1718-1777
Accounts, 1718-1777
Balance Books, 1751-1777
Testamentary Papers, 1659-1777
Testamentary Proceedings, 1657-1777
County Probate Records in Index 1:
[Note that many of these series continue on after 1777 in Index 3. For
information on Index 3 see BULLDOG, Vol. 2, No. 45.]
Baltimore County:
(Administration Accounts, Original) 1674-1777
(Inventories, Original) 1676-1777
(Wills, Original) 1664-1777
Caroline County:
(Administration Accounts, Original) 1695-1777
(Administration Bonds, Original) 1675-1777
(Inventories, Original) 1690-1777
(Wills, Original) 1688-1777
Cecil County:
(Administration Accounts, Original) 1678-1777
(Inventories, Original) 1675-1777
Charles County:
(Administration Accounts) 1673-1777
(Inventories) 1673-1877
(Testamentary Proceedings) 1716-1720, 1760-1767
(Wills) 1665-1777
Frederick County:
(Administration Accounts) 1750-1777
(Inventories, Original) 1748-1777
(Wills, Original) 1748-1777
Kent County:
(Administration Accounts, Original) 1673-1777
(Administration Bonds, Original) 1664-1777 (Inventories, Original) 1668-1777(Wills,
Original) 1676-1777
Prince Georges County:
(Administration Accounts, Original) 1723-1724, 1735-1740
(Administration Bonds, Original) 1696-1777
(Inventories, Original) 1696-1777
(Wills, Original) 1697-1777
Queen Anne's County:
(Administration Papers) 1707-1777
(Wills, Original) 1667-1777
Somerset County:
(Administration Accounts, Original) 1751-1777
(Wills, Original) 1664-1777
Talbot County:
(Wills) 1668-1716, 1726-1746
(Wills, Original) 1665-1777
Washington County:
(Wills) 1749-1777 (recorded from Frederick County)
Worcester County:
(Wills) 1742-1777
Note: Wills volume MH#3 (1666-1742) is not indexed in Index 1
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Record Series of the Week Pat Melville
(Executive Orders) 1963-1968
An executive order, issued by the Governor, is an announcement that
some action will be taken to contend with a certain situation. A proclamation,
by contrast, announces that a certain state of affairs exists, such as
Dairy Week or Boy Scouts Day. Examples of executive orders include creation
of commissions or task forces, calling out the National Guard to quell
a disturbance, measures to deal with an energy crisis, and promulgation
of a code of ethics for state employees.
Executive orders can be found in several sources. Orders issued from
1974 to the present are published in COMAR and the Maryland Register. Ones
currently in effect are published in the Annotated Code of Maryland. Orders
prior to 1974 are formed in records of the Secretary of State and Governor,
which do include the more recent documents. SECRETARY OF STATE (Executive
Orders), Transer 892, contains two sets of files. One box, located 3-67-13-31,
contains the original documents for 1969-1986; some of the early ones are
copies. This is the only extensive set of records containing originals.
The others described below are mostly copies which should be consulted
when a document is not found in the original file. A second box of orders
from the Secretary of State includes copies for 1969-1980. Both sets are
arranged chronologically by date of issuance. Beginning in 1976 the orders
are numbered sequentially, i.e. 1976.01, 1976.02, etc.
Within GOVERNOR (General File) Transer 849 are more copies of executive
orders. The orders in this series are not restricted because they were
notices available to the public. Some of the files contain background material
which are working papers and thus fall within the 30-year restriction.
Gov. Hughes' files for 1985-1986 contain three boxes of orders, located
0-17-4-37/39. Box 31 includes a file labeled Master List which contains
some copies of orders, 1963-1976, and alphabetical lists of orders, 1963-1986.
Another file labeled originals contains an incomplete set of originals
and copies for 1968-1976. In Boxes 32 and 33 are copies of orders for 1968-1986,
arranged alphabetically by subject. These files contain background materials
which should not circulate. Boxes 31 and 32 also contain copies of orders
of 1985-1986.
Gov. Schaefer's files contain copies of orders for 1969-1985 in Boxes
135-138, located 0-60-1-15/18. The files are arranged numerically by year
and include some working papers that are restricted. Boxes 38 and 64 contain
executive order files for 1987-1988, including some restricted materials.
Executive orders were not used prior to 1963. Instead the matters were
handled through executive letters, found in GOVERNOR (General File) Transer
849. To locate these one should consult the appropriate subject or agency
file.
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
LIBRARY ACCESSIONS Shashi Thapar
Bode, Carl Mencken 9-3-6
Mullaney, Marie Marmo Biographical Directory of the Governors of the
United Sttes 1983-1988 16-4-4
Stowe, Steven M. Intimacy and Power in the Old South: Ritual in the
Lives of the Planters 13-3-6
Hargrove, Hondon B. Black Union Soldiers in the Civil War 15-1-2
Anderson, William G. The Price of Liberty: The Public Debt of the American
Revolution 14-4-2
Smith, Paul H. Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774-1789 Volume 13:
June 1 - September 30, 1779 13-4-2
Neverdon-Morton, Cynthia Afro-American Women of the South and the Advancement
12-4-1
Baltimore County Genealogical Society Abstracts of the Baltimore Coutny
Land Commissions 1727-1762 3-1-1
Freeman, Roland L. The Arabbers of Baltimore 10-2-5
Mowbray, William W. The Eastern Shore Baseball League 9-2-1
Rollo, Vera Foster The Proprietorship of Maryland: A Documented Account
8-3-1
Davis, David Brian Slavery in the Colonial Chesapeake 8-4-3
Kaminski, John P. A Great and Good Man: George Washington in the Eyes
of His Contemporaries 9-4-4
Library of Congress Annual Report of the Librarian of Congress for the
Fiscal Year Ending Sept. 30, 1988 7-3-3
Stevens, Kristen L. An Investigation of the Archaeological Resources
Associated with the Brown's Wharf Site on... 8-2-4
Beach, John Glen Burnie Centennial - Year in Review 9-4-6
Watson, Alan D. The Constitution and North Carolina: Rebellion, Rights,
and Ratification, 1776-1789 16-3-2
Cavanagh, John C. Decision at Fayette Ratification Convention and General
Assembly of 1789 16-3-2
Goldenberg, Joseph A. Shipbuilding in Colonial America (Museum Publication
No. 33) 16-4-2
Breen, T. H. "Myne Owne Ground" Race and Freedom on Virginia's Eastern
Shore, 1640-1676 16-3-4
Tate, Thad W. The Negro in Eighteenth-Century Williamsburg 16-3-4
Bloom, Sol The Story of The Constitution 14-3-1
Mackinnon, Neil This Unfriendly Soil: The Loyalist Experience in Nova
Scotia 1783-1791 14-4-3
Skinner, V. L., Jr. Abstracts of the Inventories of the Prerogative
Court of Maryland 1774-1777 3-1-2
Lankford, Wilmer O. Genealogical Data from Somerset County, Maryland
Court Records 1675-1677 3-1-1
Boyce-Ballweber, Hettie The First People of Maryland 8-1-5
Byrne, John Edward The News from Harper's Ferry; The Press As Lens and
Prism for John Brown's Raid (Ph.D. Dissertation) 9-1-2
Jarobe, Betty M. Obituaries: A Guide to Sources, 2nd edition REF
Skelton, Dorothy G. Simmons The Squire Simmons Family 1746-1986 REF
Peach, John Harding The Peach Tree Handbook Volume II: Southern Maryland
Branch REF
Coone, Lucille Barco The Livingtons of Virginia Volume I REF
Hall, Margaret On Display: A Design Grammar for Museum Exhibitions Rick's
office
O'Connor, Diane Vogt Guide to Photographic Collections at the Smithsonian
Institution, Volume I: National Museum of Ameri Mame's office
Bridenbaugh, Carl Vexed and Troubled Englishmen 1590-1642: The Beginnings
of the American People Phoebe's office
Bridenbaugh, Carl Vexed and Troubled Englishmen 1590-1642: The Beginnings
of the American People Shashi's office
Reamy, Bill and Martha Records of St. Paul's Parish REF
Floyd, Bianca P. Records and Recollections: Early History In Prince
George's County, Maryland 12-4-3
Crew, Spencer R. Field to Factory: Afro-American Migration 1915-1940
12-4-2
Smith, James Wesley Sojourners in Search of Freedom: The Settlement
of Liberia by Black Americans 12-4-2
Colonial Records of Virginia (Senate Document - Extra) 7-1-2
Duff, Jeffrey Michael Guide to Kentucky Birth, Marriage, and Death Records
1852-1910, Revised Edition 6-3-2
Minnesota Hisotrical Society Annual Report to the Friends of the Minnesota
Historial Society 6-3-1
Hayward, Mary Ellen Baltimore's Westminster Cemetery and Westminster
Presbyterian Church: A Guide to the Markers and Bur 3-1-5
Harper, Irma Heirs and Legatees of Caroline County 3-1-1
Peden, Henry C. Heirs and Legatees of Harford County, Maryland 1774-1802
3-1-1
Stryker-Rodda, Harriet Understanding Colonial Handwriting 3-3-3
Kaminkow, Jack and Marion A List of Emigrants from England to America
1718-1759, New Edition 3-2-3
Lebsock, Suzanne Virginia Women, 1600-1945 "A Slave of Honour" 16-4-3
Dobyns, Henry F. Their Number Become Thinned: Native American Population
Dynamics in Eastern North America 15-4-5
Hoffman, Ronald The Economy of Early America: The Revolutionary Period
14-4-3
Cornish, Dudley Taylor The Sable Arm: Black Troops in the Union Army,
1861-1865 15-1-2
Diocese of Washington Directory of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington
and Journal of the 94th Annual Convention 12-3-2
The Baltimore Museum of Art Maryland Period Rooms 8-3-4
Brown, Jacob Brown's Miscellaneous Writings Upon a Great Variety of
Subjects 9-2-3
Dollarhide, William Managing a Genealogical Project 2-1-2
Wright, F. Edward Newspaper Abstracts of Cecil and Harford Counties
1822-1830 3-3-1
Hovermill, Harry A. Indices to Cecil County, Maryland Marriage Licenses
1865-1885 2-1-5
Carroll County Genealogical Society Carroll County Cemeteries, Volume
I: Southeast 3-1-6
McCahill, Michael W. Order and Equipoise: The Peerage and the House
of Lords 1783-1806 2-1-4
Lederer, Richard M., Jr. Colonial American English 1-1-4
Barnes, John C. Somerset County, Maryland 1870 Census 3-3-2
Wright, F. Edward Caroline County 1860 Census 3-3-2
Molisani, Jackie 1860 Census of Dorchester County, Maryland 3-3-2
Riley, Janet Wilson 1860 Census of Talbot County, Maryland 3-3-2
suddenly.
SERIES OF THE WEEK Pat Melville
SECRETARY OF STATE (Proclamations)
Stagser 92, 1904-1969
Transer 876, 1952-1961, 1964-1972
Transerm 118, 1900-1961
A proclamation, issued by the Governor, announces that a certain state
of affairs exists or will exist. Copies of the proclamations are filed
with the Secretary of State. Except for election results, the originals
are sent to the organization or individual who requested the proclamation.
The proclamations are arranged chronological by date of issuance. The
election results for 1904-1964 proclaimed by the Governor are filed separately
from the rest of the series and are found in Stagser 92. The rest of the
proclamations for 1900-1941 are found only on microfilm, for 1942-1969
both on film and paper, and 1970-1972 paper only. The paper files for 1951-1961
also contain some background materials.
The topics covered by proclamations include declaring election results,
convening of special legislative sessions, designating disaster areas,
declaring state holidays during times of energy shortages, and giving notice
of forfeiture of charters of delinquent corporations, those which failed
to pay taxes or file annual reports.
Other proclamations designate Arbor Day, Polish Constitution Day, Autumn
Glory Time in Western Maryland, Youth Traffic Safety Week, George Washington
Carver Day, National Beauty Salon Day, Horseradish Week, Egg Month, and
Better Sleep Month.
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
RESEARCH NOTES Pat Melville
In order to refine our already well-developed reference skills we must
continue to communicate information to each other so that the same facts
can be relayed to researchers as the need arises. Even as the archives
continues to develop finding aids, some research strategies come only from
the staff members who possess a greater knowledge of selected record series,
the collective but unwritten memories. The purpose of this column on research
notes is to disseminate this knowledge and information. As you encounter
interesting, unusual, and challenging research questions whether in the
search room or by letter or phone, I am asking that you share the queries
and the responses by writing a paragraph or two for inclusion in this column.
Remember that all of us regardless of experience encounter unique bits
of information.
One recent research project involves a study of survival rates of mothers
and infants and determining whether the presence of a physician at childbirth
made any difference in comparison to the presence of a midwife. The researcher
wanted to use birth and death records of the late 19th and early 20th centuries
for selected counties. After explaining the availability of records and
access to restricted records, the researcher was directed to use annual
reports of the Board of Health in order to determine if its statistics
would be useful and to ascertain which counties were complying with the
birth registration law and thus to select statistically valid jurisdictions.
The question of licensing of midwives was also raised. The archives possesses
several midwife registers in the county and BC circuit court records; others
remain in the clerks' offices.
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Index of the Week Pat Melville
Index 102 - Maryland Historical Magazine (Index - Author, Title and
Subject) 1906-1939
Index 103 - Maryland Historical Magazine
(Index - Author), 1906-1975
Index 104 - Maryland Historical Magazine
(Index - Title and Subject), 1906-1975
Index 105 - Maryland Historical Magazine
(Index - Author, Title and Subject), 1906-1960
The Archives has three sets of indexes to articles and book reviews
in the Maryland Historical Magazine. The history of how, why, and when
these indexes were created is vague, as is the means by which the indexes
came to be located here.
The checklist of indexes gives the dates 1906-1919 for Index 102. The
latter date is actually 1939. In addition, the index is incomplete as it
includes only A through S. It is believed that the indexing was done by
the Historical Records Survey. There are cards for authors, titles and
subjects; some give a synopsis of the article referenced. Users should
note that nor all articles are indexed by both author and title. As with
any subject index, sometimes one must be creative in determining how a
topic is indexed. References give volume number, year of publication and
page numbers.
Indexes 103 and 104 include the years 1906 to 1975, with the former
covering authors and the latter titles and subjects. The subject entries
are limited to the information derived from titles. Frank White, a former
staff member compiled the indexes from the mid - 1960's until 1975. Who
prepared the earlier entries and how the cards came to the archives is
unknown. References give volume number, year of publication and page number.
Index 105, located in the stacks, cover the year 1906 to 1960 and include
entries for authors, titles, and subjects. These cards probably came from
the Maryland Historical Society. This index has the most comprehensive
subject listings because the categories, including names, are derived from
the contents of the articles rather than just the tiles. For genealogists
this index provides the most references to names of individuals and families.
References give volume numbers and page numbers.
MARYLAND HISTORICAL MAGAZINE indexes after 1975 are found in the last
issue for each year. In addition, the Maryland Historical Society maintains
a cumulative card index that dates from 1976 and is based on the volume
indexes.
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
RESEARCH NOTES Pat Melville
This week a genealogist was here using Court of Appeals records. The
procedures for using these materials were described previously in the BULLDOG,
Vol. 1, Nos. 11, 13-14, and 28. The docket entry for the case being researched
was dated 1822 and contained a reference, "recorded TH No. 21." Since the
case was appealed from an orphans court, I assumed the record would be
found in (Decree Record, Western Shore) which I soon ascertained did not
begin until 1844. (Judgment Record, Western Shore) was then checked because
this is the only other Court of Appeals series containing recorded proceedings.
From this exercise we learn that all recorded Court of Appeals cases, regardless
of type, prior to 1844 are recorded in the judgment series.
Connie reports that another researcher wanted a disposition for a 1971
criminal charge. No references has been found in indexes for the District
Court, BC or BC Criminal Court. However, because the charge was a felony
something should have occurred at the circuit court level. A search of
grand jury dockets revealed that the grand jury did not indict the individual.
When this action is taken, the only record of it appears in grand jury
dockets. If a person is indicted, the criminal docket or case file of the
circuit court must be searched. Normally researchers discover that they
need these documents because a district court docket notes referral to
a grand jury. The archives has the following (Grand Jury Docket):
AA Circuit Court, 1948-1950, Transer 1157
BC Criminal Court, 1868-1973, Transer 494
SO Circuit Court, 1939-1967, Transer 778
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
NEW ACCESSIONS Pat Melville
BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS:
(Proceedings, Tape Recordings)
1988-1989 Stagser 45
GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
(Laws, Original)
1989 Stagser 966
(Joint Resolutions)
1989 Stagser 967
RACING COMMISSION:
(Race Track Audits)
1920-1953 Stagser 1270
BC HEALTH DEPARTMENT, BUREAU OF
VITAL STATISTICS:
(Death Record, Fetal)
1949-1969Coagser 2097
(Death Record, Fetal, Index)
1916-1934Coagser 2098
FR COURT:
(Plats)
1793Coagser 1793
PG CIRCUIT COURT:
(Equity Papers)
1883Coagser 2099
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, BUREAU OF
VITAL STATISTICS:
(Death Record, Fetal, Counties)
1922-1949 Stagser 1271
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, BUREAU OF
VITAL RECORDS AND STATISTICS:
(Death Record, Fetal, Counties)
1953-1969 Stagser 1272
DHMH, DIVISION OF VITAL RECORDS
(Death Record, Fetal, Counties)
1969 Stagser 1273
Index of the Week Jane McWilliams
ANNAPOLIS-MARYLAND GAZETTE (Annapolis Items-Index), 1745-1809
Want to know have how badly the 1772 earthquake affected Annapolis?
How about the "invisible lady" who was exhibiting at the house of William
Brewer in October 1804? Interested in the electrical experiment across
the creek in 1749? Or are you, like Alex Haley, trying to find the arrival
of the ship Lord Ligonier from Gambia in 1767?
The first place to look for all these interesting bits of history is
the Maryland Gazette, Annapolis' own guide to the colonial world. And to
help you or our patrons get to the Annapolis items in the Gazette, the
Archives has the one and only Index 106, "A guide to the Annapolis items
in the Maryland Gazette, 1745-roughly 1809."
The Maryland Gazette was established in 1727 by William Parks (who later
went to Williamsburg and started the Virginia Gazette). It was printed
sporadically during the late 1720s and early 30s, and was revived by Jonas
Green in 1745. The Green family continued to publish until 1839. Wroth
gives a good history of the colonial Gazette in his History of Printing
in Colonial Maryland (in Les's office). There is also a history by Helen
Van Walt on microfilm (M530) and another history of the paper after 1839
by me in the gift collection. (Mrs. Van Walt thinks the Capital is the
direct descendent of the Gazette; I don't.) We also have a topic file on
the Gazette, G1456-655, various individual issues in Speccol, and yet another
history in the library index. A pretty complete set of the original printers'
bound copies of the Parks and Green Gazette is owned by the State Law Library.
The Archives has the newspaper on microfilm (M1007, M1278-M1291).
Index 106 was an attempt by the newly-formed Historic Annapolis, Inc,
through the impetus and work of Phebe Jacobson, their only real researcher
at that time, to get a quick handle on Annapolis history. In 1958, Phebe
began to abstract the Annapolis references from the Gazette - anything
relating to Annapolis in the text or advertisements was pulled out. It
soon became obvious to her that the abstracted details had to be indexed
so people could get to them even more quickly. At that time there were
only a few secondary sources of information on Annapolis houses and people
- most of them unreliable. Historic Annapolis Chairwoman St. Clair Wright
prevailed on the Speer Foundation (Talbot T. Speer was the publisher of
the Evening Capital and the yet-again-revived Maryland Gazette) to fund
an indexing project that would make the Gazette's information on Annapolis
available to all.
Phebe began the work and trained others, including Sarah Jane Rose,
who was a summer intern on the project and later did abstracting when her
children were little. I began abstracting in 1965 and Phebe's daughter-in-law
did the cards. To date, newspapers are abstracted through 1820 and the
abstracts are indexed through 1809. A copy of some of the abstracts is
here in SPECCOL MdHR G 708.
Although all of us who worked on the project have argued for doing a
complete job, as was done with the Virginia Gazette, there was never enough
money. So, we have what is available. It is better than nothing.
Guidelines for use of this index:
1) If the index does not contain what you or a patron want or think
it should, do not assume it doesn't exist, it may be that someone missed
the item, the card is gone, whatever.
2) Remember, only items and people relating to Annapolis are indexed.
(A few other things squeaked through, but don't count on them.)
3) The purpose of the index was to help with identification of buildings
in town, therefore the thrust of the index is toward houses and people,
not philosophical or literary debates.
SERENDIPITOUS NEWS
Found in FR Court (Land Records) F, p. 84, is the following deposition
given by Hannah Cresap, wife of Thomas Cresap, recorded October 5, 1756.
"Sometime in the spring in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred
Fifty and Four, A gang of horses came up to the door of the Dwelling house
of the ofsd. Col. Thomas Cresap and that a certain Michael Cresap, son
of Daniel Cresap, aged four years or thereabout, going out of the house
of the afsd. Thomas in order to go into another house a small stallion
came in amongst the gang and got a fighting and the said stallion ran and
catched ahold of the lower part of the ear of the said Michael in his teeth
and bit it entirely off to the great damage and hurt of him the said Michael
and that she this deponent ran as fast as she could to save him thinking
he had been killed and found his ear bit off and also found the piece that
was bit off lying on the ground.
Does anyone know why it was deemed important to record this document?
Responses, if any, will be printed in the next BULLDOG. The correct answer
will also be given.
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
RESEARCH NOTES Pat Melville
A recent research question involved the establishment of election districts
in Anne Arundel County and the citations for specific laws. The researcher
was referred to Edward B. Mathews, The Counties of Maryland: Their Origin,
Boundaries, and Election Districts (Maryland Geological Survey Special
Publication, Vol. VI, Part V, 1907), rather than the index to laws. This
book is very useful for people wanting information about the establishment
and boundaries of both counties and election districts within each county.
In the introduction Mathews discusses the origin of county names and
the times and methods of erecting counties, election districts, and precincts.
Election districts were first authorized in 1798 by the General Assembly.
The law specified the number of districts for each county. A subsequent
law appointed commissioners to survey the district boundaries. (Some of
these surveys have been found in land records; others have never been located.)
Mathews summarizes the means of changes for later years. Usually the General
Assembly mandated increases in the number of districts or changes in boundaries.
A few counties received a general power to erect and change their own districts
or precincts.
The rest of book contains specific information about each county, arranged
alphabetically. Mathews discusses the erection of the county and its boundaries,
including subsequent changes. He then outlines chronologically the development
of election districts, polling places, and precincts by citing and summarizing
each law.
Numerous color plates showing the counties for blocks of time appear
throughout the book.
This publication should be used with great care because some pages are
loose and others are tearing.
SERENDIPITOUS NEWS
Ann Buckley determined the reason for recording a deposition about Michael
Cresap's ear being bit off by a horse. Justices in colonial Maryland could
order that people convicted of certain crimes have an ear cut off. Thus,
Hannah Cresap was trying to protect her grandson from being labeled a criminal
when he reached adulthood.
Found in Governor and Council (Commission Record), MdHR 4010, p. 272,
is the following entry for an office: "Special Commission. Ded: Pots and
General Gaol Delivery for FR." If anyone can decipher this notation, please
contact Lynne or Pat and the answer will appear in the BULLDOG. This is
a real question, not a test.
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
RESEARCH NOTES Pat Melville
Nancy notes the maps in Mathews, Counties of Maryland are reproduced
in The Hammond-Harwood Atlas of Historical Maps of Maryland, 1608-1908.
SERENDIPITOUS NEWS
Doug McElrath and Lois Carr supplied the answer to last week's query
about Ded. Pots. It is an abbreviation for Dedimus Potestatem, defined
in Black's Law Dictionary as follows: "In old English practice, a writ
or commission issuing out of chancery, empowering the persons named therein
to perform certain acts, as to administer oaths to defendants in chancery
and take their answers, to administer oaths of office to justices of the
peace, etc. 3 Bl.Comm. 447. It was anciently allowed for many purposes
not now in use, as to make an attorney, to take the acknowledgment of a
fine, etc.
In the United States, a commission to take testimony was sometimes termed
a "dedimus potestatem."
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
AGENCY TRANSFERS Pat Melville
SABEL, PG SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS:
(Campaign Papers) 1984 Transer 280
(Voter Registration Record) 1984-1988 Transer 281
SABEL, AA SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS:
(Voter Registration Record) 1983-1988 Transer 265
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, CERTIFICATION
AND ACCREDITION:
(Student Files, Nonpublic Schools) 1932-1979 Transer 1547
COURT OF APPEALS:
(Writs of Certiorari) 1988 Transer 1214
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS ACCESSIONS Susan Cummings
G 2177 Fox and Walsh "History of Maryland" Publication Collection 1982-1983
Correspondence 0 11 9 Staff use only
G 2178 Conservation and Preservation Photograph Collection 1982- Photographs
relating to conservation and preservation techniques 33
G 2179 Mylander Family Collection 1906 Bromley Atlas of Baltimore City
B5 Do not circulate
G 2180 Shirley S. Brannock Collection 1758-1762 Dorchester County Patents:
"Addition to Hills Range," Thomas Jones, 1762, "Jones's Draft," Thomas
Jones, 1761, "Hills Range," Thomas Jones, 1758 B5
G 2181 Stu Whelan, Photographer, Collection 1955-1970 c. Black and white
negatives. Whelan had a studio at 1 State Circle 33 Negatives are restricted.
See Photograph Guides.
G 2182 Maryland State House Old Senate Chamber Restoration Collection
1989 Presentation boards (2) of before and after photographs of restoration
0 11 8 Permission of MdCAP Curator or State Archivist
D 2183 Richard Krebs Collection of Papers 1931951 Personal papers of
Richard Krebs, German born Communist who fled to the U.S., cooperated with
Committee on Un-American Activities and author of "Out of the Night" 1
21 2 Restricted. See deposit agreement
G 2184 Stiverson Collection of Research Materials Related to Special
Projects for the Governor's Office 1985 to date Permission of GAS
G 2185 Robert L. Weinberg Collection 1931 16mm film of Miles River Regatta
taken aboard Gov. Ritchie's yacht. Collection includes 16mm film projector
given by ECP 33 Permission of State Archivist or Curator of Photographs
G 2186 Senator Mike Miller Exhibit Case Collection 1990 Glass and black
lacquer display case, 14'x14'x21', with removable black lacquer stand inside,
back lined with gold Japanese tea chest paper 0 55 4 For in-house use
G 2187 William Medders Store & Co. Collection 1894-1941 Correspondence,
receipts and invoices from Kent County General Store 0 8 10
G 2188 Annapolis Architecture Photograph Collection 1940's Photographs
of colonial homes and public buildings 33 Permission of Curator of Photographs
G 2189 Maryland Scenes Photograph Collection 1949 Photographs and 4x5"
negatives of sailing, Annapolis, Easton, Oxford, Wye Oak, Baltimore, Frederick
Permission of Curator of Photographs
G 2190 Francis W. Poirier Collection of Photographs 1939 c. United States
Naval Academy, Navy planes, Washington, D.C. Permission of Curator of Photographs
G 2191 Chesapeake Bay Skipjack Photograph Collection 1960 c. Photographs
taken by unknown photographer for the Department of Tourism 33 Permission
of Curator of Photographs
G 2192 Marion E. Warren Chrisfield Crab Derby Collection 1963 c. Derby
festivities, parade, beauty contest 33 Permission of Curator of Photographs
G 2193 Miriam Jones Collection of Annapolis Photographs 1915-1930 c.
Three albums of snapshots 33 Permission of Curator of Photographs
D 2194 Murray Collection 1676 Francis Lamb, "A Map of Maryland and Virginia"
B5 4 7 Must notify owner if used in publication
D 2195 St. Christopher by the Sea, Gibson Island, Church Record Collection
1963-1989 Church register 2 1 10
D 2196 Anderton Collection of Dorchester County Land Records 1670-1800
Patents and deeds from Dorchester County Do not circulate originals
G 2197 Mrs. Thomas Leitch Collection 1894 c. Two tin type photographs
of unidentified Civil War? black soldiers. Notice of non-payment to Sheridan
Post No. 12, Grand Army of the Republic for Horace Lucas Do not circulate
originals
G 2198 Carlos Harley Collection 1908-1950, 1990 Color prints of old
photographs of Butler, Proctor and Harley family. Family genealogy "The
Harley Family" 33
G 2199 Jean Lee Eareckson Collection of Dr. Upton Scott Letters 1741-1814
Transcription of letters of Dr. Upton Scott, prominent Annapolis physician
and Loyalist 0 11
D 2200 Senator Barbara Hoffman Collection 1897 Copies of poster-type
photograph of Baltimore Orioles baseball team members and the All American
baseball team 33
D 2201 Junior Gunpowder Agricultural Club Collection 2 1 10 Do not circulate
originals
G 2202 Daniel J. Dienes Collection 1981/8/7 Final issue of the Washington
Star newspaper 0 11 9
G 2203 Mrs. John L. Sanders Collection 1907 Letter, James Ryder Randall
to Maud Tanner Heath. Newspaper clipping with portrait of Randall. Horoscope-like
prediction for 15 year old Randall. Transcript of letter from Maud Heath
concerning Randall 0 11 9
G 2204 Elroy G. Boyer Collection 1841- Fourteen ledgers of drug store
accounts from estate of Alonzo Sterling. Includes records of his predecessor,
Dr. Bengie Simmons 0 8 10
G 2205 Eugene C. Harvey Collection 1927-1964 Publications on Frank Kelly,
prohibition, B & O Railroad, Baltimore water supply and Anne Arundel
County bond issues 0 11 9
D 2206 Tom Darden "Famous Leaders and Battle Scenes of the Civil War"
Collection 1896 Frank Leslie's Illustrated Famous Leaders and Battle Scenes
of the Civil War 0 11 9 Permission of State Archivist
G 2207 Washington Post Collection of State House Graphics 1990/1/5 Eight
35mm negatives and prints of Senate Chamber, Old Senate Chamber, Taney
statue 33 Permission of Artistic Property Curator
G 2208 Philadelphia Maritime Museum Library Collection 8 x 10' nitrate
negatives Permission of Curator of Photographs
D 2209 Frank B. Mayer Sketchbook Collection Three sketchbooks on deposit
for copying 0 11 9 Do not circulate originals
Index of the Week Pat Melville
Index 112 - (Plats, Index), var. d.
The plats index includes references to plats found in several record
series. In some respects this is an eclectic index because so many entries
were made whenever a staff member happened to find a plat and then prepare
an index card. The records where such indexing occurred include the following:
Maps; Special Collections; (Chancery Record); (Land Records) of AL, AA,
BA, CA, CE, CH, DO, FR, HA, KE, MO, PG, QA, TA, WA, and WO; (Guardian Accounts)
of AA; (Law Record) of the General Assembly; (Land Commissions) of CA,
CE, DO, KE, PG, QA, SM, SO, and WO; (Land Commission Papers) and (Court
Papers) of DO; (Estate Record) of MO; (Judgment Record) of QA and TA; (Judicial
Record) of SO; and (Wills) of WA.
Some of the entries in Index 112 were compiled more systematically by
examining all units within a series and then preparing index cards for
each plat. The series thus comprehensively indexed include (Caveat Papers)
and (Caveat Record) of the Land Office, (Division Plats), (Resurvey Plats),
and AA (Plats). The last three series are also indexed in Wordcruncher
under Plats.
Index 112 contains a set of index cards for each county and Baltimore
City and lists names of tracts, lots, and individuals. Most entries date
from the 19th century, with some from the 18th and 20th centuries. This
index should be used with an understanding of its incompleteness. There
are many other record series that contain plats, but are not included in
the index.
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
SPECIAL COLLECTION ACCESSIONS
D 2210 Reisterstown United Methodist Church Record Collection
D 2211 Ann R. Morcerf Collection 1861-1863 c. Letters from Leonard Scheel
in the Union Army in the Washington area to his mother in Long Island.
0 11 9 Do not circulate
D 2212 Jerome Allen Bible Collection Price Family Bible 0 11 9 Do not
circulate
G 2213 Richard A. Blondo Sheet Music Collection Copy of sheet music
"The Old Flag Never Touched the Ground," a piece of music dedicated to
Sergeant Carney, a Black Union soldier of the 54th Massachusetts regiment
(xerox) 0 11 9
G 2214 Maryland Presidents of the Senate Graphics Collection 4 x 5"
black and white negatives of images of Presidents of the Maryland Senate
33 Permission of Curator of Photographs or Artistic Property
G 2215 Postcards Of Maryland State House Grounds Collection 1900-1935
c. Copy 4 x 5" Black and white negatives and 35 mm color slides 33 1 3
Handle as other negatives
G 2216 Pauline Porter Watts Collection 1774 Maryland $1.00 currency
no. 6168 printed by A.C. and ? Green 0 11 9
G 2217 Gary Jestes Maryland Vietnam War Veterans Collection 1989? 1)List
of Sykesville area Vietnam War Veterans. 2)Computer printout of Vietnam
Veterans of America Chapters 172, 304, 245, 342, 230 (mostly Central through
Western Maryland) 0 11 9
G 2218 Maryland State Law Library Collection 1934, 1950-1956 1)"Photographic
Record of A Maryland Tercentenary Pilgrimage from Baltimore to St. Mary's
City via Steamboat "State of Virginia." 2)Collection of maps and descriptions
of materials as relates to the Mason-Dixon boundary resurvey 1950-1956
0 11 9
G 2219 Thurgood Marshall Research Collection 1989-1990 Research and
other materials collected for Black History Month exhibit 0 11 9 in house
use only
D 2220 International Longshoreman's Association Collection 1917-1950
Records of I.L.A. Local 858, a Black local. Minutes volumes 1938-1950,
1950-1956 and membership volumes 1917-1918, 1931-1940 RB Do not circulate
G 2221 Maryland State Archives Document Packets for Teachers Collection
1989-1990 Educational study packets on historical topics utilizing copies
of original documents Permission of State Archivist
D 2222 First Lutheran Church of Ellicott City Collection
RESEARCH NOTES
POINT LOOKOUT SKETCHBOOKS
By Rick Blondo
On 5 February 1990 I took a call from Frank Mowery, the Head Conservator
at the Folger Shakespeare Library, concerning a sketchbook he was conserving
for the University of Maryland College Park. He identified it as the Point
Lookout prison camp sketchbook done by a soldier named Omenhausser containing
62 watercolors. It was purchased at auction in 1989 by UMCP and Mowery
called us for information concerning the camp.
I told him about Point Lookout Prison Camp for Confederates by Edwin
Beitzell [Library 8-3-6], our topic file, and two letters I found in the
Maryland State Papers while I was doing my thesis research [MARYLAND STATE
PAPERS (Executive Papers) 6636-288; 1-8-1-39] one of which recounted an
incident about a slave who sought refuge in the camp, was sent out to help
chop wood, and was captured by his master. I finished by telling Mowery
that I would confer with my colleagues and would contact him later.
I wrote a memo about the call and then asked Phebe if she had heard
about the sketchbook. When she replied with exasperation "Oh, not another
one of those again!" I knew I was about to enjoy a learning experience.
She told me that there were a number of these sketchbooks around. To my
amazement I later learned from Ed that we had a Point Lookout sketchbook
here, a restricted deposit item in Special Collections. Susan gained permission
from Ross Kimmel to share with Mowery an article he wrote concerning the
Morris S. Bernheim Sketchbook which is on deposit here as D 1900. It appears
that Omenhausser, a confederate prisoner, was the artist who did an initial
sketchbook and then produced other sketchbooks for prisoners that he used
as barter material to exchange for money, crackers, tobacco, et cetera.
The Bernheim sketchbook we have here contains 23 sketches and Kimmel's
article lists two others, the John J. Omenhausser sketchbook at the Maryland
Historical Society containing 45 sketches (all reproduced in Beitzell's
book in black and white) and the John R. Connor sketchbook at Allegheny
College, Meadville, Pennsylvania. All three named individuals were known
prisoners at Point Lookout. Lois Carr informed me that there were articles
on the camp in the "Chronicles of St. Mary's" periodical.
On 27 February 1990, after my job interview at the National Archives,
I visited Frank and he was happy to show me the sketchbook. After viewing
the book I looked at color transparencies of the Bernheim book we have
here and the artist appears to be the same. We will be getting slides of
the UMCP book from Frank.
This was another example of how our pooled knowledge helped us to quickly
provide reference help to a patron.
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
RESEARCH NOTES Pat Melville
Occasionally we receive requests for information about trade names,
company names, corporate names, or names of businesses. Usually the person
is setting up a business and wants to know if a certain name is already
being used. There are two places to find this information for any one jurisdiction
- Dept. of Assessments and Taxation and the county and Baltimore City circuit
courts.
One source of information is the series of charter records for incorporated
institutions. For unincorporated institutions there is a series called
(Agency Record) which dates from 1922. A law passed then required business
agents or any person(s) doing business under any designation other than
ones own name(s) to file a certificate with the clerk of the circuit court
where the business was conducted and with what is now DAT. The certificate,
listing owner(s) and place and name of the business, was to be recorded
in (Agency Record).
Since researchers usually want current information, it is best to refer
them to DAT, Charter Division, or the appropriate circuit court.
LIBRARY ACCESSIONS Shashi Thapar
Beach, Mark and Ken Russon Papers for Printing: How to Choose the Right
Paper at the Right Price for Any Printing Job Rick's Office
Dunn, Richard S. Sugar and Slaves: The Rise of the Planter Class in
the English West Indies, 1624-1713 16-2-3
Schweitzer, Mary M. Custom and Contract: Household, Government, and
the Economy in Colonial Pennsylvania 16-3-2
Priest John Antietam: The Soldier's Battle 15-1-4
McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era 15-1-4
Bailyn, Bernard Voyagers to the West: A Passage in the Peopling of America
on the Eve of the Revolution 13-3-3
Bailyn, Bernard The Peopling of British North America: An Introduction
13-3-3
Smith, Jeffery A. Printers and Press Freedom: The Ideology of Early
American Journalism 9-1-2
Jaymes, Gerald David Branches Without Roots: Genesis of the Black Working
Class in the American South, 1862-1882 12-4-2
Guide to Federal, County, Municipal Archives in the City of New York
6-2-6
Gregory, James Managing Archives and Archival Institutions 3-2-3
Youghiogheny Glades Chapter, National Society of the DAR Maryland's
Garrett County Graves 3-1-6
Coldham, Peter Wilson American Wills and Administrations in the Prerogative
Court of Canterbury 1610-1857 3-1-5
Skinner, V. L., Jr. Somerset County Wills 1770-1777 and 1675-1710 Liber
EB5 3-1-1
Skinner, V. L., Jr. Somerset County Wills 1667-1748 Liber EB9 3-1-1
Skinner, V. L., Jr. Worcester County Wills Will Book MH3 1666-1742 3-1-1
Skinner, V. L., Jr. Worcester County Inventories and Accounts 1694-1742
Inventory Book JW15 3-1-1
Skinner, V. L., Jr. Other Wills in the Prerogative Court for Somerset
and Worcester Counties 1664-1775 3-1-1
Skinner, V. L., Jr. Abstracts of the Inventories of the Prerogative
Court of Maryland 1755-1760 Libers 61-69 3-1-5
Skinner, V. L., Jr. Abstracts of the Inventories of the Prerogative
Court of Maryland 1760-1763 Libers 70-80 3-1-5
Skinner, V. L., Jr. Abstracts of the Inventories of the Prerogative
Court of Maryland 1760-1763 Libers 81-90 3-1-5
Skinner, V. L., Jr. Abstracts of the Inventories of the Prerogative
Court of Maryland 1766-1769 vols. 91-100 3-1-5
Skinner, V. L., Jr. Abstracts of the Inventories of the Prerogative
Court of Maryland 1769-1772 vols. 101-109 3-1-5
Skinner, V. L., Jr. Abstracts of the Inventories of the Prerogative
Court of Maryland 1772-1774 vols. 110-118 3-1-5
Skinner, V. L., Jr. Abstracts of the Inventories of the Prerogative
Court of Maryland 1774-1777 vols. 119-126 3-1-5
Paris, Arthur E. Black Pentecostalism: Southern Religion in an Urban
World 12-4-2
Russo, Jean B. Free Workers in a Plantation Economy: Talbot County,
Maryland 1690-1759 (Thesis, Ph.D. JHU, 1983) 10-2-1
Day, Alan F. A Social Study of Lawyers in Maryland, 1660-1775 9-3-1
Littlefield, Douglas R. The Spirit of Enterprise: The History of Pacific
Enterprise from 1886-1989 16-3-2
Spalding, Thomas W. The Premier See: A History of the Archdiocese of
Baltimore, 1789-1989 12-2-4
Bonomi, Patricia U. Under the Cope of Heaven: Religion, Society and
Politics in Colonial America 12-4-5
Putney, Martha S. Black Sailors: Afro-American Merchant Seaman and Whalemen
Prior to the Civil War 12-4-2
SPECIAL COLLECTION ACCESSIONS
D 2223 Enoch Pratt Free Library Newspaper Collection 1782-1793 Maryland
Gazette: or the Baltimore Advertiser, and the Maryland Journal & Baltimore
Advertiser. RB Do not circulate
D 2224 "Baltimore News" Newspaper Collection 1892 Two issues of the
"Baltimore News" newspaper of Baltimore, 19 April 1892 and 15 August 1892.
3 43 10 Do not circulate originals
G 2225 Maryland Commission On Artistic Property FY 1990 Inventory 1989-1990
Maryland Commission On Artistic Property FY 1990 Inventory (slides). 33
Permission of Curator of Artistic Property
G 2226 Maryland State Flag Protocol Brochure 1990 Publication files
including art boards, color separations, and photographs used to produce
brochure stating history of the Maryland State Flag and detailing proper
and improper use of the flag. In house use only
D 2227 St. John's Church Broadcreek, Church Record Collection 1890-1937
Two church registers, 1890-1925 and 1925-1937. 0 8 11
D 2228 Asbury United Methodist Church, Broadneck, Collection 1838 Bible.
0 11 9 Do not circulate
G 2229 Chesapeake Bay Agreement Pen Collection 1987 Cross pen used by
Governor William Donald Schaefer to sign the 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
0 11 9 Permission of State Archivist
G 2230 Wild Rose Shores Community Association Collection 1927, 1950-1990
Administrative files, property records, minutes and correspondence of incorporated
residential community on the South River in Anne Arundel County. 0 11 9
G 2231 J. Richard Buckey Collection 1989- Genealogical information on
the "History of the Calverts who were Quakers." 0 11 9
G 2232 Maryland Genealogical Society Library Collection Genealogical
reference books placed in library.
G 2233 Virginia Kurtz Collection 1982 Edited manuscript of Harry Wright
Newman's unpublished book "The Bealls of Maryland With Sketches of the
Allied Families of Edmonston and Beddo." 0 11 9
D 2234 Samuel Banks Store Account Book Collection 1821-1839 Three volumes
of store accounts kept by Samuel Banks possibly from the Linthicum area
of Anne Arundel County. 0 11 9
G 2235 Margaret Neal School Book Collection 1869-1905 Books used by
Ethel Beulah Chaney as student at Anne Arundel Academy. 1)"The Grammar
School Spelling Book," 1869, 2)"Manners Culture and Dress of the Best American
Society," 1894, 3)"Seely's Question Book," 1905. 0 11 9
D 2236 University of Maryland Campus Disturbance Scrapbook Collection
1970 Two scrapbooks of correspondence, newspaper clippings and photographs
prepared by the Technical Services Division of the Maryland State Police
covering the 1970 University of Maryland disturbances. Permission of Registrar
G 2237 Ark and Dove Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the
American Colonists 1969-1990 History and accomplishments of the Chapter.
0 11 9
G 2238 Francis Engle Collection 1950-1960c. 2 1/4" x 2 1/2" black and
white negatives of Annapolis and surrounding area. 33 Follow standard guidelines
for negatives
D 2239 Ann of Arrundell Chapter, Colonial Dames XVII Century ? Pending.
Original membership applications, proofs and supplementals of Chapter members
(pending). Some labeled restricted, do not circulate
G 2240 Francis E. Rugemer, Jr. Collection 1872-1873, 1897 Harvard? Law
School notes of Charles Joseph Bonaparte, Baltimore lawyer, municipal and
civil service reformer, attorney general under Theodore Roosevelt and grand-nephew
of the Emperor Napolean. Given in 1897 to his law clerk, Francis N. Rugemer.
0 11 0
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
STAFF MINUTES
Ed announced several staff changes and anniversaries. Linwood will be
leaving; his superb cleaning efforts have spoiled all of us. Donna Cogswell
and Guy Butera have left for other jobs. Rick Blondo's last day is April
20. We will have a farewell lunch for him on April 18. New employees include
Tina Moreland who is helping Vicki Metzger with publications and Desi Coates
and Kim Holland in the photo lab. Donna Hill has worked at the Archives
for two years.
A written policy regarding volunteers has been developed and distributed.
On April 26 Lois Carr will give a speech in Annapolis as a part of the
Eye of the Beholder series.
The Annapolis Police Dept. has stepped up efforts to ticket speeders.
One staff member (who shall remain nameless) was caught this morning as
he hurried to the staff meeting.
Some of Jim Hefelfinger's photographs are featured in the First Annual
State Photographers Exhibit. It will open on April 12 at 1100 N. Eutaw
Street in Baltimore and then will travel throughout the state to other
state buildings.
Doug mentioned the third annual photo contest for state employees. See
Doug for guidelines and forms.
Doug announced the first softball practice taking place today. All staff
members were encouraged to support the team as players or fans.
A new refrigerator for the kitchen should be here soon because the fund
contains almost enough money.
The first volume of the second series of the Archives of Maryland will
soon be sent to the printers. The publication is a list and index of major
public officials to 1990 and contains about 9000 names and 31,000 citations.
The book will be useful for genealogy and understanding Maryland's government,
proprietary and state.
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
SPECIAL REPORT Rick Blondo
IN SEARCH OF SAMUEL GREEN: A Report on the research trip to Ontario
by Richard Blondo 31 March - 13 April 1990.
Supported by private grant money I was given the opportunity to travel
to Canada in an effort to find out whatever I could about the subject of
my masters thesis, Samuel Green.
BACKGROUND
Samuel Green was a black man born near East New Market, Dorchester County,
Maryland around 1802. Though born a slave he became free in 1832. His wife
Catherine (Kitty) and children Samuel, Junior (alias Wesley Kinnard) and
Sarah were all in Dorchester County until 1854 when Sam, Jr. was inspired
by Harriet Tubman to flee his enslaved condition and head for Canada. His
sister Sarah did not flee (they were both the property of Dr. James Muse
of Cambridge) and she was sold to Missouri in retaliation for her brother's
departure. Samuel Green visited his son in Canada in 1856/57 in preparation
for his removal there with Kitty as he was constantly suspected of aiding
slaves to escape and in imminent threat of arrest or death.
Green was arrested in 1857 upon his return to the Cambridge area for
having a copy of Uncle Tom's Cabin in his possession. He was sentenced
to 10 years imprisonment at the Maryland Penitentiary in Baltimore and
constant pardon petitions were rejected by Governor Thomas Holliday Hicks,
who knew Green personally. When Governor Augustus Bradford took office
in 1862 one his first actions was to pardon Green on the condition that
he leave Maryland within 60 days. It was understood that Green would go
to Canada. Upon his release he and Kitty headed north.
After I completed my thesis I came to the understanding that Sam and
Kitty returned to Maryland by 1870 (they are listed in the Dorchester section
of the census) and he may have returned as early as 1866. I had no further
information of the son. The intent of the research trip was to find out
any information available on Green senior and junior and family while in
Canada.
CANADIAN ODYSSEY
On 31 March 1990 I loaded our Honda Accord to the bursting point with
assorted luggage, munchies, and wife Janet, daughter Jennifer (who would
celebrate her 5th birthday in Canada) and one year old son Thomas.
The weather was bleak as we approached Canada. It had rained most of
the day during our trip and now we were faced with fog and the eerie sight
of mile upon mile of trees shrouded in mist. As dusk turned to dark my
mind wandered back to the time when blacks were drawn to Canada, many travelling
in conditions such as this, seeking freedom. As we neared the border I
was filled with anticipation and I thought of Samuel, Jr., perhaps feeling
the same sense of anticipation but tinged with fear wondering if any Maryland
white men were on his trail. One hundred and thirty six years later one
was, and I was struck by the irony of it all. I was hoping to find him
in Canada and I could almost see him in the woods to the side of the road,
furtively glancing over his shoulder, caught in the glare of my headlights
like a frantic deer seeking to outrun a hunter.
The next day we visited Niagara Falls and the Whirlpool. The Falls were
difficult to see during our time in the area. There was ice in the water
and a frigid wind. I took a photo of the railroad tracks running through
the heart of Niagara Falls and thought of Sam senior arriving here in 1856/57
and 1862. We visited nearby Chippawa where Sam junior worked in a saw mill
upon his arrival in 1854. The town hall was constructed in 1842 and it
and another building nearby fell prey to my camera.
After fruitless research at Brock University and St. Catherine's (where
Harriet Tubman made her home for several years) we went on to Toronto,
a city which lived up to what we had heard about it. It was clean, commodious,
and cold. The city of 2.7 million boasts electric trolley buses, light
rail, a subway, and the Delta Chelsea Inn, recommended by Dick Fuke, a
canadian scholar who frequently visits the Maryland State Archives. We
remained at the hotel four days while I visited the Archives of Ontario,
the Toronto City Archives, the Ontario Black History Society, the Multi-Cultural
Centre, the Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library (housed in the finest
library building I have ever seen), and the United Church Archives.
Nearly nine decades old, the Ontario Archives (the equivalent of a U.S.
state archives) is currently housed in an eleven story downtown building
which the provincial government leases for the archives use and other government
offices (the archives occupies floors 1-6). They are within the Ministry
of Culture and Communications and they believe they will soon be relocated
as a new Opera House nears completion and its staff will need administrative
space. The Archives is visited by 20,000 people yearly and they handle
some 10,000 mailed inquiries for which they charge no fee. They spend up
to four hours on each letter from Ontario citizens and government employees
and up to one hour on all other mailed inquiries. They usually are visited
by 60 to 80 patrons each day, each one asking 4 questions. The 2 reference
archivists are spelled during lunch by other archivists and service quality
suffered noticeable. There are one or two people at the circulation desk
and records retrievals are made every half hour. A cardboard "clock" is
posted telling a patron when the next records retrieval will be made.
Administratively, the archives is broken into four divisions: Finance
and Administration; Collections Management; Public Services; and Conservation
and Reproduction. There are a total of 76 employees.
The beginning salary for archivists is $32,000 - 34,000 yearly in canadian
dollars. The U.S. currency equivalent is about 15% less (Toronto seemed
more expensive than the D.C. area). Most of the archivists are processing
specialists working "behind the scenes." There are only 2 reference archivists
who work Monday through Friday from 8:15 to 4:30. The search room remains
open until 10:30 p.m. during which time most users refer to self-service
microfilm, but original records may still be used. They are secured in
lockers by patrons when they leave or when the archives closes with the
locker key remaining at the archives. One employee remains on duty during
the evening hours, an equivalent to our lobby front desk person, whom they
call a commissionaire. These people are usually retired military or law
enforcement officers.
The microfilm boxes are color coded using colored markers and they are
identified and filed by cabinet number and reel number. They use our Northwest
readers and ancient Recordaks. They have one reader/printer, a wondrous
machine which provide a dry process copy of superior quality from a scroungy
reel of film. It had a zoom lens which allows the user to enlarge his image
as much as possible limited to the paper size in the machine. It was a
Canon NP Printer 780.
From Toronto we went to Kitchener where we planned to visit Dick Fuke
on Saturday 7 April. I had a pleasant (light) lunch with Dick and a colleague,
Jim Walker of the University of Waterloo, who gave me some leads to further
my research. On Sunday 8 April we were off to London to visit the University
of Western Ontario and nearby Salford and the Oxford County Archives.
On Monday I visited the U. of Western Ontario. On Tuesday I visited
Salford and the Oxford County Archives in search of Sam junior. Joyce Pettigrew
told me of a Louisa Grey (Gray) who married a man named Green at the time
my man was there. Louisa was listed in the 1861 census as married, with
a three year old daughter Vesta, and an infant son. No mention of Sam.
From there I picked up the family and we were off to Chatham, the terminus
of the Underground Rail Road. That night I visited the Chatham library
which had many local newspaper indexes. On Wednesday 11 April I visited
the Raleigh Township Centennial Museum at North Buxton. They had a wonderful
index created by the late Arlie Robbins and her volunteers of every black
listed in the Canadian censuses. There was a Samuel Green listed in the
1871 census near Hamilton, Ontario (Wentworth County, Ancaster Township).
A look at the reference listed his wife Louisa, 13 year old daughter Vesta,
7 year old Oliver and James D. age 2. I had found Green junior who was
now a forty year old barber and who was listed as Anglican while the family
remained Methodist Episcopal.
From there I went to Amherstburg to visit the North American Black History
Museum which is not far from Detroit. On Thursday 12 April we began our
trip east towards Niagara Falls.
While Sam senior did not lie at the end of my rainbow I now believe
that he probably visited for just a short time and returned to the States
to wait out the war years. Phebe and I are favoring Philadelphia as a likely
exile while Ed favors New York. One day I hope to know.
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
RESEARCH NOTES
Instead of searching indexes for several series of probate records many
researchers will use estate or administration dockets in order to obtain
references or, if this is not available, at least the filing dates for
documents. Carson Gibb has discovered that this approach sometimes should
be supplemented by a search of will indexes, if the docket contains no
entries for the name being sought. In Baltimore County prior to 1851 the
deceased person's name does not appear in the docket if the will was the
only document filed. For Worcester County the estate docket does include
a will if that is the sole probate record. The status for other counties
is unknown at present.
Index of the Week Pat Melville
Index 113 - (Plats on Microfilm-Index to Tracts and Owners), 1697-1955
Chapter 1016, Acts of 1945, authorized the Commissioner of the Land
Office to "collect by photographic process, known as Microfilm" all plats
in the county clerks offices, that affected title to land. Personnel from
the Land Office visited each county courthouse, surveyed the records for
plats, and filmed the plats. The plats bound in plat books and filed loose
in drawers or on rods were the easiest to locate and film. The tasks of
locating and filming the plats interspersed in other series, such as land
records or equity records, was much more onerous. After a preliminary survey
in 1945-1946 the Land Office estimated that 9120 county record books would
need examination for plats, plus 700 in Baltimore City.
By 1956 the filming project was completed for the counties. It could
not be ascertained why the Baltimore City plats were never filmed. In addition
to plats, the land office also filmed plat indexes, if extant.
The card index was probably prepared contemporaneously with the filming
itself. There is a separate section for each county and sometimes more
than one section for each county. Specifically, the AA section contains
3 parts, BA 3 parts, CE 3 parts, HA 2 parts, QA 2 parts, SO 3 parts, TA
4 parts, and WO 3 parts. Although plats were filmed, indexes for CR, FR,
GA, and MO were never compiled. For CR and GA this was unnecessary because
the clerks' offices already possessed indexes which the Land Office filmed.
In the microform guides, see (Plats, Index).
Other records not included in Index 113 are (Plat Books) for several
counties - CE, DO, FR, GA, HA, PG, SO, and WO. In most cases indexing was
unnecessary because each book contains an index, except for GA and SO.
For the former there is a separate index called (Plat Book, Index). For
the latter, no indexes exist at the archives.
Index 113 includes tract names, lots, names of owners, and sometimes
names of litigants. Sometimes the card will contain the date of the record.
The references vary according to the type of record containing the plats.
Cards showing these references were usually filmed with the plat. Loose
plats are referenced by a number or set of numbers and plat books by volume
and plat number or number alone. The plats recorded in other records are
referenced by record title, which are sometimes different than our standardized
series titles, volume designation, and page number. To locate a specific
reference one should consult the appropriate county microfilm guide for
the series (Plat Book) and (Plats). (Plat Book) are large volumes where
original plats were bound together. (Plats) may consist of a loose plats
numbered sequentially or of plats found in other series.
Listed below are of the records filmed for each county. When the series
titles differ, ours is listed first and then the Land Office designation
in brackets.
AL, 1792-1954:
(Plat Book)
(Land Records) [deed]
(Judgment Record) [judg]
(Plats) [no title]
AA, 1839-1952:
(Equity Record) [Equity] & [CHRDS]
(Land Records) [Land Rds]
(Plats) [no title]
BA, 1835-1947
(Land Records) [Land Rds]
(Plat Book)
(Judicial Record) (Judicial Rds)
CV, 1883-1948
(Equity Record) [Ch Rds]
(Land Records)
(Plats) [AAH 1]
CA, 1774-1955
(Land Records) [Land Rds]
(Mortgage Records) [Mrtge Rds]
(Land Commissions) [Comm Rd]
(Tax Sale Record) (Tax Sale Rd]
(Equity Record) [Chry Rds]
CE, 1831-1945:
(Land Records) [Land Rds]
(Equity Record) [Equity Rds]
(Land Commissions) [Land Com Rds]
CH, 1697-1948
(Land Records)
(Plat Book)
(Land Commissions) [Land Commissioners Rds]
(Equity Record) [Ch Rds]
DO, 1717-1874
(Land Commissions) [Land Comm Rec]
HA, 1790-1951
(Land Records) [Land Rds]
(Equity Record) [Equity Rds]
HO, 1840-1949
(Plat Book) [no title]
(Land Records) [no title]
(Equity Record) [Ch Rds]
(Land Commissions) [no title]
KE, 1703-1946
(Land Records) [land record]
(Equity Record) [chancery]
PG, 1835-1942
(Equity Record) [Ch Rds]
QA, 1831-1950
(Land Records) [Land Rds]
(Equity Record) [Judgment in Extenso] & [Ch Rds]
SM, 1828-1948
(Land Records) [no title]
(Mortgage Records) [Mortgage Rds]
(Equity Record) [Decree Rds]
SO, 1722-1949
(Land Records) [Land Rec]
(Equity Record) [Chan Rec]
(Judicial Record) [Jud Rec]
(Insolvency Record) [no title]
TA, 1721-1955
(Plat Book) [no title] & [Land Rec]
[Land Rec]
(Land Records) [Land & Deed Rec]
(Land Commissions) [Land Comm Rec]
(Equity Record) [Chncry Rec]
WA, 1786-1948
(Plats) [no title]
(Land Records) [no title]
(Equity Record) [ch rds]
WI, 1867-1950
(Land Records) [Land Rds] & [Plat Bk]
(Judicial Record) [Judicial Rds]
(Equity Record) [Ch Rds]
WO, 1793-1951
(Land Records) [Land Rds]
(Plat Book) [Plat Bk]
(Equity Record) [Ch Rds]
(Proceedings) [Ct Proc]
Index 113 is difficult to use because even with everything outlined
above, one may find it difficult to match the references with the actual
records. Errors and discrepancies appear occasionally. No attempt is being
made to determine and describe the latter because the net result would
be more confusing than helpful. In addition, some indexing seems illogical;
for example, there are entries found under Plat and Plan, not first-choice
terms for most researchers.
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Index of the Week Arian Ravanbakhsh
Index 96 (Death Record, BC, Index) 1875-1877, 1943-1949
Over the past several months, the library assistants at the registration
desk have keyboarded and edited the entire BC Death Index for the year
1945. Now, thanks to computers, the card index in the basement is obsolete.
Under "BCDEATHS" on the searchroom computer that contains Maryland State
Papers, one will find the completed project. Each entry contains the person's
complete name, date of death, corresponding certificate number, and the
exact reel number of microfilm on which that certificate may be found.
Also, we have a 256 page hard copy of the database which lists all the
names in alphabetical order. This copy is available in state and local
records. The years 1946-1949 will eventually be added to complete the project.
LIBRARY NOTES Phebe Jacobsen
A small brown book in our library may be a gem for quick information
about government offices, tobacco warehouses and municipal incorporations.
This somewhat awkward index was compiled by Dr. Francis C. Sparks sometime
around 1904-1906 after the Report of the Maryland Public Records Commission
was completed. Titled simply Appendix, the book is found in the library
at 5/4/3 as 606.
Moved by a national trend to preserve public records, the Maryland General
Assembly in 1904 (chap. 282) created its own "preservation" commission.
This commission was chaired by Hester Dorsey Richardson and assisted by
volunteer committees from the counties and Baltimore City. It set out to
locate and assess the condition of the colonial, state, county, and municipal
records of Maryland. The final 2,000 page report was completed within two
years and submitted to the 1906 Assembly.
Despite limitations of time and money and lack of professional archivists
the Report of the Public Records Commission of Maryland for the Years 1904-1905
was a great accomplishment. (It was not the first such account of Maryland
records, however). All that now remains of the original 1904-1905 document
is a condensed 15 page version and the Appendix by Sparks.
Dr. Sparks organized his Appendix into five catagories each in rough
alphabetical order. The first category is awkwardly titled "Offices and
Dates of Establishment etc. to 1776." Section two involves offices etc.
established after 1776. Provincial, state, and county offices are included
in these sections. Sparks gives establishment and abolition dates and outlines
some duties and changes over time. For the most part Sparks uses the laws
as his point of reference.
Section three lists the establishment dates for tobacco warehouses.
Section four concerns municipalities. Included are dates when the towns
were first mentioned, dates of incorporation, name changes, and sites of
towns. "Towns Erected Without Any Name" completes the final and fifth category.
The last entry refers to "Capt. Robert Morrice's land in Tredavon Creek"
in 1668.
This Appendix is not complete. The Archives of Maryland indexes to laws,
and the Maryland Manual can provide more detailed information of the kind
found here, but the Appendix can provide quickie answers for a great many
trivial and/or important questions.
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
SPECIAL REPORT Jane McWilliams
"FROM PATHS TO PLATS: Annapolis before 1718"
A symposium on the early development of Annapolis took place in the
conference room on May 9, 1990, and featured research conducted at the
Archives over the last few years by Tony Lindauer, with comments by search
room regulars Rouse Todd and Pat Guida and representatives of the city
planning office, the Maryland Historical Trust, and Archaeology in Annapolis.
The meeting opened with remarks by Ed, whose research into the origins
of the city dates from the late 1960s. Greg chaired the day's discussion
with his usual friendly manner, Doug had a learning experience with the
video recorder, Ruth made sure there was coffee to start the day, and Vicki
Metzger handled everything from flower arranging to food service with grace
and aplomb. Mame kept everyone awake after lunch with slides of early Annapolis
photographs.
A total of 39 people attended, 30 of them outsiders of whom 6 were participants.
Nine staff members attended, 6 of them as participants or support personnel.
Those attending from outside the Archives, in addition to the participants
mentioned above, were representatives from the Annapolis Historic District
Commission, Historic Annapolis, Anne Arundel County's Department of Planning
and Zoning and Office of Law, and the Department of Anthropology at the
University of Maryland, as well as individuals interested in specific areas
of the city or the early history of the town in general.
Illustrating his presentation with slides of his maps and plats of the
17th century town, Tony proposed an approach to
the development of Annapolis which, while familiar in some respects
from the work of earlier researchers, is based on the enormous amount of
material he has amassed and goes beyond their conclusions to a perspective
of his own. His theory centers on the premise that the Richard Beard's
1684 plan of the town reflected the use of the land by settlers prior to
that point. Later plats, such as Nicholson's 1695 plan also platted by
Beard, a probable third Beard plat c. 1710 after the State House fire,
and the well-known, but now suspect, Stoddert survey of 1718 continued
to acknowledge the existing land use. Unfortunately, each plat appears
to have used a different system of numbering the lots. A special benefit
of Tony's work results from his ability to document the town from a spatial
perspective. His maps show geographical features that he has culled from
hundreds of snippets of information and relates those geographical features
to the use of the land and the lay-out of streets.
Rouse Todd showed us his computer-platted patents for the Annapolis
peninsula and argued in a friendly way with a few of Tony's conclusions.
Pat contributed to the discussion of Beard's 1684 survey with a plat of
her own.
The official comments indicated that various agencies will consider
Tony's perspective in their thinking about the early city. The audience
was supportive and generally seemed to enjoy themselves.
The proceedings were video-taped (yes, Doug's learning experience was
successful), so if anyone on the staff is interested in seeing the discussion,
or looking at the hand-outs, or whatever, please see me (at least until
the materials go into Special Collections, after which you can get them
yourselves).
RESEARCH NOTES Les White
I had a reference call this week from an officer with the Natural Resources
police. His patrol boat had discovered a grave stone in the Patuxent River
near Wayson's Corner. He had the name and dates of birth and death and
wanted information on where this person may have lived or been buried so
he could (as he said) "return it to its rightful owner."
The search for this information was not difficult or time consuming
but was interesting. I began with the county death records for November,
1970 and checked all the counties which the Patuxent flows through or near
and turned up nothing. Pat then suggested I try Baltimore City for the
remote possibility. Sure enough there was the death certificate for John
Thomas Holland. He had lived and died in the City but was buried in Churchton,
MD.
The research value that's worth noting here is the fact that the more
recent death certificates contain much more information than the older
ones - such things as name of the cemetery, its location, the name and
address of the funeral director, and (I guess) what you would call the
physical form of the remains (i.e. burial, cremation, removal).
Even though this record was restricted, I was able to extract enough
information to answer the reference call. And thanks to Shirley and Teresa
in the Photolab (who live in and near Churchton) I was able to narrow down
the location of the cemetery to make DNR's search even easier.
So thanks to four Archive's staff members, and a concerned corporal
from DNR, John Thomas Holland can now truly Rest in Peace.
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
SPECIAL COLLECTION ACCESSIONS
Susan Cummings
D 2241 Somerset Parish Protestant Episcopal Church Record Collection
1938-1979 11 volumes of parish registers and vestry minutes 0 none
G 2242 Governor's Mansion Fountain Collection 1989-1990 Press briefing
boards and newspaper clippings concerning installation of Victorian fountain
0 11 9 Boards- permission of State Archivist
G 2243 Elmer Jackson Collection of Maryland Newspapers 1755-1773 Nine
original Maryland Gazette's and one Maryland Journal 0 11 9 none
D 2244 Katherine Shenton Collection of Dorchester County Records 1800-1950c.
Original deeds, receipts 0 11 9 Permission of Registrar
G 2245 Heirs of Emory Taylor Welsh Collection 1900c. Photograph of Confederate
Veterans Reunion, Company A, 1st Maryland Calvary; Oakdale, Governor Warfield's
home. News American clipping re sale of Warfield home. Xerox copy of Confederate
Soldier's Home Souvenir Edition pages re Warfield room RB 1 2 none
G 2246 Jack Mellin Collection Views of State House interiors and Land
Office building on State House grounds. Copy negatives of stereographs
by W.M. Chase 33 Permission of Curator of Photographs
D 2247 St. Anne's Parish, Annapolis, Protestant Episcopal Church Record
Collection 1911-1947 Service record books for St. Anne's Church, St. Anne's
Chapel, St. Luke's, Eastport, St. John the Evangelist, West Annapolis 0
8 2 none
G 2248 Richard A. Blondo Research Collection 1987-1990 Research and
Master's Degree thesis on Samuel Green, a Dorchester County free black,
convicted and imprisoned for possessing a copy of "Uncle Tom's Cabin."
Copy of "The Independent," July 31, 1862 newspaper with Harriet Beecher
Stowe article 0 11 9 Permission of donor
G 2249 Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference 1987 Spring Meeting
Collection 1986-1987 Administrative files of local arrangements committee
of MARAC conference in Baltimore, Spring 1987 0 11 9 none
G 2250 Francis E. Bagrowski Collection 1915c. Souvenir book given to
new immigrant Caroline Woods Dubiel. Includes information and photographs
on Baltimore City and each county 0 11 0 Do Not circulate original. Use
xerox copy in ECP file D 1259-121-2234
G 2251 Baltimore Foundation For Architecture Collection of Jackson P.
Ketcham Architectural Drawings 1926-1975 Architectural drawings of Jackson
P. Ketcham, mostly in Baltimore B5 6 3 Permission of State Archivist
G 2252 Maryland State Archives Preservation Kit Collection 1990 Administrative
file for production of retail preservation kit. Includes photographs and
masters for brochure on basic conservation techniques Staff use only
G 2253 Connecticut State Library Collection 1723,1782 Calvert County
deed to James Frisbey for "Ariana" and Weekly Return of 1st Maryland of
Foot, Army of the U.S. RB none
G 2254 Baltimore Foundation for Architecture Collection of Millard Donaldson
Architectural Drawings 1922-1972 Architectural drawings of Millard Donaldson,
mostly Baltimore RB 6 3 Permission of State Archivist
G 2255 From Paths to Plats: Annapolis Before 1718 Symposium Collection
1990 Research notes, attendance, publicity, administrative notes, brochures
and video-tapes of informal symposium on early topography of Annapolis
See list
G 2256 Lewis and Kindred Family Land Records of Dorchester County Collection
1690-1800c. Patent and deeds from Lewis and Donoho family of Dorchester
County along the Nanticoke River. "Smithfield" 0 11 9 none
G 2257 Matilda Mylander Collection 1885(1880) Baltimore City Sanborn
Fire Insurance Maps, Volume 2 Do not circulate
G 2258 Julia Thomas Collection 1900-1960c. 20 copy negatives and contact
prints of Annapolis photographs 33 1 3 No copies without written permission
of donor
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS Susan Cummings
D 2259 Samuel A. Freas Collection. 1890 c. Diary of a young debutante
in Washington D.C. 0 11 9
D 2260 Enoch Pratt Free Library Vertical File Collection. 1940's, 1960
Miscellaneous items concerning World War II and the proposed Maryland Constitution
of 1967 Originals permission of Registrar
G 2261 E.F. Rivinus Collection. 1877, 1900 Four sketches of Tulip Hill,
Anne Arundel County. Two photographs of Mrs. Henry Flather (ne: Mary Mullin),
owner of Tulip Hill for 25 years 0 11 9
G 2262 Harry M. Hyatt Collection. 1600-1900 Baker family genealogy,
mostly Virginia and Kentucky 0 62 6
G 2263 Robert C. Reid Newspaper Collection. Bowie Blade 3 44 12 Permission
of Newspaper Project
G 2264 Anne Arundel County Historical Society Newspaper Collection.
Anne Arundel Star, Flag of Our Union- 18 March 1848, Advertiser-Republican-
23 November 1916, Anne Arundel Spokesman- 19, 25 August 1927 3 44 8 Permission
of Newspaper Project
G 2265 Maryland State Archives African American Genealogy Exhibit Collection.
1990 Photographs
G 2266 Eric Goldstein Collection of Morris Lieberman Photographs. 1950-1960
c. 2 x 2" black and white negatives of Jewish Community of Annapolis. Lieberman
was editor of Colonial Chronicle 33
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
SPECIAL REPORT Stephanie Thorson, Barbara Blummer, Jennifer Griffin,
Marsi Shapiro, Beth Clark, Aravinda Pillalamarri
To borrow words from (Miscellaneous Papers) of the Governor please forgive
us for this trespass on your time. It is a rare occasion we have to bring
to your kind attention some of our findings within the myriad boxes called
"The Governor's Papers." Buried under many civil lists, seals, and applications
for jobs such as inspector of anything from guano to foreign and distilled
liquors, we unearthed more intriguing documents. The collection includes
the census of 1880, which shows the population of each county in Maryland.
The total for the state came to 934,632. An 1892 map of the Southern U.S.
entitled "Boundary Line of the District Infected with Splenetic or Southern
Fever of Cattle" accompanies letters concerning a cattle quarantine. A
red boundary line extends from Maryland's Eastern Shore across the Oklahoma
Territory to Texas.
One recurrent theme, crime, never failed to excite us. We recorded the
requisitions, extraditions, and incarcerations of criminals with aliases
such as Frosty and White Smackum, including kidnappers, rapists, fornicators,
thieves, fugitive slaves, breakers of the Sabbath, and murderers.
In Columbia, PA, in 1852, Archibald G. Ridgely shot and killed William
Smith, a fugitive slave. Smith had escaped from George William Hall of
Harford County in 1850. Under the Fugitive Slave Act, Ridgely and Solomon
Snyder were attempting to bring this "fugitive from labour" back to his
master. The court papers, which include a water color sketch of the scene
of the crime, do not reveal the verdict. The testimony, however, makes
it seem probable that Ridgely was acquitted. Hall had empowered Ridgely
and Snyder to recover Smith. Snyder claimed that the shooting was an accident,
and that the bullet could as easily have struck him. Other witnesses testified
that Ridgely exclaimed, "My God, I have accidentally shot him!" William
Smith may even have provoked Ridgely by fleeing and biting his hand. Ridgely's
lawyer claimed that as his client reached for his mace, he accidentally
grabbed his pistol, which went off when he hit Smith. However, some witnesses
claimed that Ridgely showed no remorse, and even cursed at Smith when he
shot him. One wonders if the testimony of these witnesses, described as
"colored men," carried as much weight as that of the white witnesses.
Some striking incidents received very little attention in the records.
A single letter indicated that Francis J. Wilson of Caroline County was
found guilty of murdering Jenny, a female negro slave. With this letter
came two petitions to Enoch Lowe (that's Gov. to us) to "grant a Noli Prosequi
to avoid a criminal prosecution." Three letters of testimony document a
case of domestic violence in the Wright family. One neighbor testified
that he heard Mr. Wright abuse his wife, Jane, spoke to him about it, and
had Mrs. Wright come to his house bearing bruises. Another neighbor testified
that Jane Wright, had "very pretty landed property" when she married, but
her brother-in-law, James, collected the rent from the property, and gave
it to her husband, Sam. Sam, meanwhile, had "for several years, entirely
abandoned her without the least trifling means of support from any of her
property." In addition, his physician of 12 years testified that Sam Wright
had syphilis, which "he communicated to his wife". The documents do not
reveal the outcomes of these cases.
Crime occurred on a wholesale as well as a personal level. Eastern shore
watermen had distressing problems in the late 1840s and early 1850s. First,
the General Assembly caused trouble by passing a law prohibiting the use
of dredges in oystering. The oystermen then had to use tongs, which catch
fewer oysters than dredges do, and suffered a loss of income. Tongs also
tended to bury oysters, did not thin the beds, and did not work well in
deeper waters. The prohibition on dredging was only enforced by informers
entitled to half of the $500 fine imposed on the owner of the vessel in
question. Somerset County oystermen objected because they knew men who
"will swear false for a pint of whiskey," much less for $250. To add insult
to injury, MD's watermen were plagued by interlopers from out of state
who dredged illegally. In 1848, Capt. Henry Scott of the Pocomoke Rangers
wrote to the governor requested aid in driving "about 150" Philadelphians
out of the local sound and creeks. He specifically requested "about three
small cannon" as the Philadelphians were armed "with swivel and musketry,
and some with cannon on board." It seems that whatever help he received
was not enough. Three years later, a Mr. Billingsley wrote from Calvert
County to report two schooners from Philadelphia, dredging in the area,
and requested cannon and grapeshot to drive them from MD waters.
We often hear that crime doesn't pay, and at least some criminals received
their just rewards. The Governor's papers include information on the MD
State Penitentiary derived from correspondence and the reports of directors,
clerks, doctors, and wardens. The directors and clerks reported mainly
on financial matters. The clerks' accounts describe household and workshop
expenses, money on hand, and money made from the manufactures of the prison.
The warden and directors' documents show a profile of the inmates, such
as their occupations, places of birth, courts and counties from which the
prisoners were sent, previous convictions, youth attendance at Sunday school,
male/female ratio, black/white ratio, percent of orphans, age, education,
marriage, temperance, terms of sentence, releases, escapes, illnesses treated
in office or hospital, and deaths with dates, names, and causes. The warden
also wrote reports on such topics as provisions for the health of the prisoners,
comparisons with other institutions, the prison's near bankruptcy, and
problems with insane inmates. Many documents are requests from the warden
for legislative action or confirmation of acts passed by the Assembly.
Many documents we examined, including some of those mentioned above,
dealt with racial issues. References to the state's black population show
that MD was divided between abolitionists and slaveholders, especially
in the decade preceding the Civil War. In Governor Lowe's declination of
a request for financial compensation for agents involved in the abduction
of fugitive slaves, he admitted that he was "sympathetic to the matter,"
but maintained recovery of fugitives was a private action and state compensation
would "proclaim her insolvency, since half the tax list would not sustain
such a policy". Some were more open in their resentment towards blacks.
In 1851, the governor received a petition from a group of white laborers
in BC, who objected to the employment of black men in the tobacco warehouse.
Others held a more tolerant view. That same year, an attorney for Even,
a negro boy sentenced to "35 strikes on his bare back", successfully obtained
an review of the sentence, which he considered, "too severe." The owner
of a slave named Levi attempted to secure a nolle prosequi from the governor,
to avoid Levi being "sold out of state" as would be the case if a slave
were tried, although there is some doubt as to whether the owner's actions
were for the benefit of the slave or to insure his own property.
As we delve deeper and further into this fascinating and varied collection,
we are creating a folder level description database for this series, with
important items highlighted in subject fields. So soon you will all have
an index access to this wealth of information now known as the (Miscellaneous
Papers).
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
RESEARCH NOTES Pat Melville
The Immigration and Naturalization Service in Washington, DC has an
index to naturalizations from 1906 to the present, regardless of which
federal, state, or local court handled the process. This index is useful
for researchers who do not know where a person was naturalized. The index
will specify the place and court and then the research can contact that
institution or an archives if the records have been so transferred.
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
RESEARCH NOTES Kevin J. O'Leary
LAND OFFICE AND LAND PATENTS
When Cecilius Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, was granted the Charter
of Maryland, it proclaimed that he owned all of the land within the boundaries
of the colony. The land that he owned was of little value without someone
to live on it and work it. So as an incentive to settlement, he proclaimed
in 1633, even before the first vessel had left for Maryland, the first
of his several Conditions of Plantation. Under the terms of these Conditions,
he offered certain amounts of land to those who furnished their own transportation
or who provided for the passage of others to Maryland. Two thousand acres
were to be granted for every five men imported in 1633; one thousand acres
for every five men imported in 1634 or since; for lesser numbers one hundred
acres for each man or woman and fifty acres for each child.
For the first few years, the patenting of land was handled by the Governor
and Council along with all the other business of the Colony. However, in
1637, John Lewger, a member of the Council, was appointed Secretary of
the Province. His responsibility included the keeping and recording of
the acts and proceedings of the Lieutenant General, as the Governor was
then called, and his Council. This, of course, included proceedings relating
to the granting of land.
Charles, the third Lord Baltimore, is identified with the separate and
formal establishment of a Land Office when, in 1680, he for the first time
erected an office by that name and gave the charge of it to John Llewellen
with the denomination of Register. After the Revolution, there were two
Land Offices, a Land Office to be held for the Western Shore at Annapolis,
and for the Eastern Shore at the place of holding the general court, under
the direction of the registers. In 1841, the two offices were consolidated
into one office. The Land Office's location changed several times and eventually
resided at the Hall of Records Building in 1935. From there the Land Office
and its records were moved to the State Office Building in Annapolis. In
1966, the Land Office was abolished and its duties and records assigned
to the Archivist and Hall of Records Commission.
The first type of Maryland Land Office record to be found is the Record
of Entry. These include entry records of people who came to Maryland between
1634 and 1680. The second type of record is a demand for a Warrant of Survey
by grounds of Conditions of Plantation or a special Warrant of Survey granted
by Lord Baltimore under whatever terms he chose to impose. After 1776 the
populace applied to the Register. The third step is the Warrant itself;
it was to be issued by the Governor or the Secretary and later the Register
to the surveyor, directing him to lay out and survey the requisite amount
of land for the claimant and to return a certificate of his survey. The
Certificate of Survey is the fourth step. When the survey had been completed
it was returned to the Secretary's, and later the Register's office. When
all the previous records had been completed and if no objections were found,
the last step, the Patent itself, would be granted under the great seal,
and signed by the Governor.
THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
SPECCOL ACCESSIONS Nancy Bramucci
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS -- NEW ACQUISITIONS
MdHR G 2268 -- Steven Boone Collection. Commemorative pamphlets relating
to Trinity Methodist Church, Cumberland, Maryland.
MdHR G 2269 -- Charting the Chesapeake Bay Collection. Documentation
and graphics relating to exhibit and book Charting the Chesapeake by Russ
Morrison and Bob Hanson. RESTRICTED: Do not circulated without permission
of the State Archivist.
MdHR G 2270 -- Phebe R. Jacobsen Church History Collection. Newspaper
clippings, brochures, prepared histories of various churches in the state
of Maryland. RESTRICTED: Do not circulate until collection processing is
complete.
MdHR D 2271 -- Thomas R. Blain Collection. Plat of Aberdeen Proving
Grounds, Harford County, Maryland showing landowners and acreage. RESTRICTED:
Do not circulate blueline copy.
MdHR D 2273 -- Court of Special Appeals Seal Collection. RESTRICTED:
Do not circulate without permission of Greg Stiverson.
MdHR G 2274 -- Robert Hood Anne Arundel County Tract Map Collection.
Anne Arundel County tract map to be used as overlay on 1989 tax map #22
and #15, Glen Burnie area.
MdHR G 2275 -- Free Library of Philadelphia Map Collection. Maps of
Maryland and Delaware published by various state and federal agencies.
Information includes election districts, climate, geologic formations,
and railroad routes.
Vol. 4, No. 3
16 January 1990
Vol. 4, No. 5
29 January 1990
Vol. 4, No. 6
5 February 1990
Vol. 4, No. 7
12 January 1990
Vol. 4, No. 8
20 February 1990
Vol. 4, No. 9
26 February 1990
Vol. 4, No. 10
5 March 1990
Vol. 4, No. 11
12 March 1990
Vol. 4, No. 12
9 March 1990
Vol. 4, No. 13
26 March 1990
Vol. 4, No. 14
2 April 1990
Vol. 4, No. 15
9 April 1990
Vol. 4, No. 16
23 April 1990
Vol. 4, No. 17
30 April 1990
Vol. 4, No. 18
7 May 1990
Vol. 4, No. 19
14 May 1990
Vol. 4, No. 20
21 May 1990
Vol. 4, No. 21
4 June 1990
Vol. 4, No. 24
23 July 1990
Vol. 4, No. 25
30 July 1990
Vol. 4, No. 27
3 August 1990
Vol. 4, No. 28
August 20, 1990
Vol. 4, No. 29
August 27, 1990
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