28 THIRTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT

ARCHIVAL ACCESSIONS

Although the past history, agreement of deposit and other
particulars relating to the recovery of certain fugitive Maryland
records which had somehow found their way into the Peter Force
Collection of the Library of Congress were described in our last
Annual Report, the actual transfer was not accomplished until
December 3, 1969.

Other records, acquired in less dramatic fashion, but cer-
tainly of equal importance, were the Engrossed Laws of the
General Assembly for the Regular and Special Sessions of 1969
and the several items pertaining to elections transferred from
the State Administrative Board of Election Laws.

In pursuing our policy of making microfilm security copies
of the more important records in the local courthouses of Mary-
land, we have now brought the filming of the Baltimore City
Land Records two years closer to completion. Only the volumes
for the period 1945-1949 remain to be done. We also supplement-
ed our collection of vital records by filming the Baltimore County
birth and marriage records and the Kent County marriage rec-
ords listed below. While our photographer was in Kent, he also
filmed the early records of incorporation.

The investigations of the scholars participating the Annap-
olis Project of the National Endowment for the Humanities
led to our acquiring on microfilm a number of items of Maryland
interest, which were found in the Library of Congress, the New
York Public Library and the Maryland Historical Society. Most
of these items are letter books and accounts of a colonial mer-
chant company known originally as Wallace, Davidson and John-
son, and by other names thereafter as the partners changed. The
several volumes thus acquired supplement the thirty odd volumes
that we already had. Apparently they came into possession of
the State as exhibits in an equity case tried before the old Chan-
cery Court, which was abolished under the Constitution of 1851.

Largely because of the persistent efforts of Mrs. Jacobsen,
who has been in charge of our church record program for several
years, over 180 volumes from about forty churches or other re-
ligious groups were acquired during the past year. In most in-
stances, the churches preferred to have the originals returned
after we had completed the microfilming, but a few decided to