110 MARYLAND MANUAL

COMMISSIONER OF THE LAND OFFICE

J. Lee Ball, Commissioner, 1951
Arthur Trader, Administrative Assistant

Hall of Records, Annapolis Telephone: Annapolis 3451

The Commissioner of the Land Office is appointed by the Governor,
with the consent of the Senate, to hold office during the term of the
Governor (Const. 1867, Art. VII, sec. 14). The Land Office keeps rec-
ords pertaining to boundaries of land, including records of all war-
rants, certificates and patents for land from the settlement of the Prov-
ince of Maryland in 1634, records of deeds, or abstracts of same, from
1786 to the present time, and abstracts of mortgages and releases
from 1900 to the present time. Every clerk, after he records any deed,
mortgage, release of mortgage or lease of real estate must make or
have made a 85 mm. microfilm copy of every such record and transmit
it to the Commissioner of the Land Office at the end of each year
(Acts 1949, Ch. 504). The Commission hears and determines all dis-
putes which may arise concerning the validity of surveys. The Land
Office is now engaged in making, filing, and recording plats for sub-
divisions of land; copies of such plats are sent to the Supervisors of
Assessments upon request. All plats that have been filed with the
Clerks of Courts before June 1, 1946, are being microfilmed by the
Land Office (Code 1947 Supp., Art. 17, sees. 72C, 72D).

All land now included in the limits of the State of Maryland was
granted to Cecil, Lord Baltimore, in 1632. In 1680, there was estab-
lished a Land Office, and four years later "The Land Council". This
body was authorized to hear and determine all matters relating to
land. Four years later when Maryland became a crown colony, the
Land Office was closed. 'In 1715, after a long contest with the Gover-
nor and Council, the Secretary and the Assembly, the Lord Proprietor
emerged with his rights restored, and the Land Office was reopened.
After the Revolution, the State assumed the control of the Land
Office (Act of Assembly of April Sess. 1777). From 1781 until 1841,
there was a Land Office for the Western Shore and another for the
Eastern Shore. The Constitution of 1851 created the office of the
Commissioner of the Land Office.

Expenditures, 1949 .. ----...---'-$27,116.55
Appropriation, 1950 ............ 30,519.00

Staff: 7