32 TWENTIETH ANNUAL REPORT

rather than discarding their records or storing them in basements or attics,
which often means that the records are just a short step removed from des-
truction.

The problem of space and the fact that the original records were showing
signs of deterioration led the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Dorchester County
to send us his Land Records, dating from 1788 to 1875, and to accept in re-
turn microfilm copies which we provided. The earlier Land Records had been
replaced with photostatic copies some years ago, and they were not involved
in this transfer. Similar factors influenced the Clerk of Court of Anne
Arundel County in transferring to our custody his Land Records from 1788
to 1885. Our offer of microfilm copies was declined by the Clerk, who has
not deemed it worthwhile to purchase a microfilm reader when the records
arc available at the Hall of Records, only a block from the courthouse. It
was mainly the crowded condition of his record vault that caused the Clerk
of the Circuit Court of Washington County to offer us his early Judgment
Records. They date from 1782 to 1901 and are the finest set of county court
judgments we have for that period. Another welcome acquisition is the record
of marriage licenses issued in Washington County from 1799 to 1886.

We also acquired the Talbot County Marriage License Records for the
years 1794-1799, 1801-1839. In the same accession we received an interesting
volume containing a plat and certificate of survey of the bounds of the Town
of Easton as laid out in 1808 and a certificate of survey of the Town of St.
Michael's as laid out in 1806. The latter was not recorded until 1821. The
reverse of this volume was utilized for recording Criminal Judgments from
1842 to 1857.

During the course of a combined archival-records management visit to
the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Kent County, we not only
transferred certain records which were considered to have permanent value
to our stacks, but we also established retention schedules which made addi-
tional much-needed shelf space available. Among the records transferred
were the Marriage License Records, covering the years 1796-1802, 1815-1886.
Another such dual purpose visit to the office of the County Commissioners
of Dorchester County resulted in the transfer of the Commissioners' Pro-
ceedings from 1852 to 1913. Also included was a parchment plat of Cam-
bridge with a sketch of the Courthouse made in 1853. It seems likely that
this will be a typical pattern of operation in the future.

A request to the Comptroller of the Treasury by the Register of Wills of
Baltimore City for permission to spend nearly $8,000 for additional shelving
was referred to us for advice. A visit to the Register's office disclosed that the
shelving was to be used to house certain records, which had been stored in the
basement during the recent renovation of the Courthouse, but which the Regi-
ster now wished to return to his office. We proposed that he transfer to our