30 NINETEENTH ANNUAL REPORT

Many of the items received from private sources during the past year
are of extraordinary value. Two interesting documents, one signed by
Leonard Calvert in 1642 and the other by Giles Brent in 1643 (now the
oldest in our collection), were found among a group of papers donated to
the University of California Library. Through the courtesy of Mr. James
V. Mink, Assistant University Archivist, arrangements were made to trans-
fer them to the Hall of Records. They had escaped originally from the
Maryland Court of Appeals and now, after at least two trips across the con-
tinent, they have returned — and they are most welcome!

Over two-thirds of the 349 items contained in the manuscript collec-
tion deposited by Mr. Claude W. Dorsey relate to the personal affairs of
Joseph Dowson, a Maryland merchant, his wife, Elizabeth, and their son,
Alfred. The remaining papers are mainly concerned with Nicholas and other
members of the Dorsey family. Also of interest are a broadside, published
in Baltimore in 1797, proclaiming that Joseph Cooke, "Goldsmith, Jeweller,
&c." will be plying his trade in Baltimore; and a theatre bill dated 1798,
announcing the showing of three plays entitled "Grecian Daughter," "Drunk-
en Provencal" and "Who's the Dupe." There is also a letter of proposal of
marriage, truly a rara avis among colonial family papers.

The Waring Collection, comprising 673 items, was deposited by Mr.
and Mrs. James Waring and Mr. and Mrs. H. T. Waring of Chaptico in St.
Mary's County. It contains a number of original deeds for St. Mary's Coun-
ty, which are unusually important because the Land Record volumes in
which they were recorded were destroyed in the Courthouse fire of 1831.
Many invoices, accounts and letters illustrating the relationship between
Maryland tobacco planters and merchants in England are also included.
There is also a plat of Bladensburgh which gives the names of many of the
lot owners and crude sketches of several buildings. An unexpected prize is
a letter, written January 5, 1818, by the aged John Adams to William Wirt,
then United States Attorney General, commenting on the recently published
Life of Patrick Henry.

A number of unique deeds of St. Mary's County are also found in the
collection of manuscripts deposited by Mrs. Jessie W. Bennett. Similar deeds
were likewise included among the papers photocopied through the courtesy
of Mrs. Stephen Jones and Mr. Spencer Brookbank. The several collections
of family papers mentioned above are too large to list in this report, but
chronological lists have been made available for use in our Research Room.