ARCHIVIST OF THE HALL OF RECORDS 15

Perhaps the most time-consuming effort which we made during
the year was a complete rearrangement of our probate cards. Our
probate indexes began with an index to the materials of the Com-
missary General. In time, we added cards for the records of the Deputy
Commissaries of the various counties as they were brought to us; and,
finally, we also indexed the records of the Registers of Wills. We had
kept the cards for the county records separate from the cards for the
records of the Commissary General, whether they were creations of
the Deputy Commissary or the Register of Wills. This led to a good
deal of confusion because probate records of the same date were indexed
in two different series. We have now put in one series all indexes of
probate materials created before 1777 and in another all those created
after that date. We are hopeful that the investment in tedious work
will prove to have been justified.

A full list of aids to research added in the course of the year
follows:

Printed

Twelfth Annual Report of the Archivist of the Hall of Records
for the Fiscal Year July 1, 1946 through June 30, 1947. As a finding
aid the annual reports are especially useful for the sections devoted to
Accessions.

Calendar of Maryland State Papers, No. 3 The Brown Books.
This Calendar, with its all-name index should be extremely useful in
opening to students the fine collection of Revolutionary and Federal
papers in this collection of the Rainbow Series.

Maryland Manual 1948-49. The Manual is the official Maryland
directory and compilation of historical and other useful information
about Maryland. It is normally, published every biennium by the office
of the Secretary of State; it was thoroughly revised by the Hall of
Records at the request of the Governor and with the approval of the
Hall of Records Commission.

Original Manuscript
Index to Worcester County Deeds, 1742-1844 (two volumes).

Typewritten Cards

Commissary General, Index to Testamentary Papers, 1659-1777.
Baltimore County, Marriage Index, 1777-1851.