FOREWORD

This is but the latest in an ongoing series of indexes and guides published by the
Archives Division of the Hall of Records Commission, Department of General Ser-
vices. The object here, as with previous finding aids, is to facilitate access to infor-
mation in the holdings of the Hall of Records. With 100,000 cubic feet of perma-
nently valuable records in its custody, the Hall of Records is a unique source of
information on the administrative, social, economic, and political history of the
State of Maryland. Locating materials that warrant preservation for posterity, and
transferring those records to an archives where they can be stored in a safe environ-
ment, is not sufficient. For an archives to perpetuate as well as to preserve the accu-
mulated knowledge of the state, finding aids such as this are an essential endeavor.

Publication of this volume required the cooperation and assistance of many
individuals, particularly since the records of the Constitutional Convention were dis-
persed and funding for the work was to come in large part from sources other than
the Hall of Records. J. Max Millstone, secretary of the Department of General Ser-
vices, and Robin J. Zee and Jack A. Kelly, respectively assistant secretary for opera-
tions and director of the Office of Central Services of the Department of General
Services, were supportive as always. State Treasurer William S. James, a member of
the Hall of Records Commission as well as second vice president of the Constitu-
tional Convention, provided assistance whenever necessary. Administration of the
funds for the index portion of the project and for printing the book devolved on
Sandra R. Koester, secretary of the Board of Public Works. Carl E. Eastwick of the
governor's staff first proposed that we explore the possibility of completing the
work begun by H. Vernon Eney, and Charles F. Berry and C. Gilbert Gross of the
Department of Budget and Fiscal Planning were instrumental in securing the neces-
sary interdepartmental approvals for financing the project. Nancy M. Looker, of
the Baltimore law firm of Venable, Baetjer and Howard, was most cooperative in
arranging the transfer to the archives of the office files of Mr. Eney so that the
Guide to the archives of the Constitutional Convention would be complete.

As Maryland approaches its 350th anniversary, the state's citizens will increas-
ingly have opportunities to reflect on the long and notable history of the state. The
Governor's Heritage Committee, chaired by the Honorable J. Dudley Digges, is
committed to celebrating the state's beginnings in a meaningful and lasting way.
One of the permanent contributions of the 350th anniversary will be a new Hall of
Records building, which will serve as the repository for the state's priceless record
heritage. The Hall of Records, in conjunction with the Maryland Historical Trust
and the Governor's Heritage Committee, is also planning celebrations for late 1983
and early 1984 that will mark two other historic events. The 200th anniversary of
George Washington's resignation as commander in chief of the American forces will
be celebrated on 23 December 1983, and three weeks later, on 14 January 1984, the
200th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which formally ended the
War of Independence, will be observed. Both events, the first of national signifi-
cance and the second of international importance, occurred in the Old Senate Cham-
ber in Maryland's State House.

With the emphasis during the next few years focused on Maryland's beginnings
and on the end of the War of Independence, guides such as this will serve an essen-
tial role. Maryland today is what it is because of what happened in the past. The