The Hall of Records Commission met on June 6 at the Archives, with Chairman Robert M. Bell, Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, presiding. During the State Archivist's report, Dr. Papenfuse highlighted several activities of significance. On April 18, the Board of Public Works approved a grant of $150,000 from the Maryland Historical Trust to the State Archives for Phase I of a Historic Structure Report for the State House. The funds will be used to create an interactive web site that details all changes to the State House since its construction, including all documentary evidence relating to the building and its grounds, as well as images. The web site will be a working environment for the future phases of the project, incorporating materials prepared by the architects, engineers, historians, archaeologists, and other preservation disciplines involved in the preparation of the Historic Structure Report. This report will result in the creation of a master plan for the uses of the public spaces in the building and for their interpretation. It will also guide future maintenance and restoration work on the building. After the completion of the Historic Structure Report, the research and documentation on the State House will be available to the public as a public history web site. 

Dr. Papenfuse reported that the first meeting of the Commission to Coordinate the Study, Commemoration and Impact of Slavery's History and Legacy in Maryland was held on June 1. Commission members include Stefan C. Goodwin, Chair, Charles M. Christian, Clara L. Small, Iris C. Ford, Nikki DeJesus Smith, Ira Berlin, Agnes K. Callum, Nathaniel J. McFadden, Emmett C. Burns, Jr.,

Dr. Papenfuse recognized several staff members for their significant contributions and diligent efforts in making the plats project such a success. By acclamation, the Commission passed a resolution of thanks to Kim Moreno, Dave Shackelford, Dawn Steeley, Joyce Riddle, and Ray Connor.

Archives regarding the office's upcoming 150th Anniversary. The Comptroller's office requested assistance in planning the celebration of this anniversary. The target date is February 24, 2002, since the first Comptroller, Philip Francis Thomas, qualified for office on February 24, 1852. The first phase involves the development of a history of the office and biographies of the officeholders. With funding from the Comptroller's office, the Archives has hired interns to do the necessary research. 

A recent acquisition in Special Collections is the Hamilton Lee Horsey Collection [SC 5362], donated by his family. It contains seven original letters written by well known historical figures: two from George Washington in 1773 and 1781 and one each from Lafayette in 1781, John Marshall in 1820, Robert E. Lee in 1864, Jefferson Davis in 1866, and Dolly Madison, undated. Davis wrote his letter on July 4 while he was imprisoned in Monroe, VA, and unrepentedly stated, "On this day thirteen sovereign States announced to the world their creed, that government rests not on authority but on the consent of the governed; and thence deduced their right to sever the bonds which had bound them to the kingdom of Great Britain." Images of all seven letters appear on the Archives' web site. The Commission adopted a resolution of thanks to Mrs. Hamilton Lee Horsey and her son, Outerbridge Horsey, who were special guests at the meeting. 

Dr. Papenfuse outlined the many projects being pursued during the 2001 Summer Internship Program: biographies of Anne Arundel County Court Clerks and documentation of important court cases, history of the Comptroller's office and biographies of officeholders, processing of government publications and library books, records pertaining to slavery, Maryland Manual on-line, Registers of Wills historical records on-line, mapping of tracts in Somerset County audio/visual

Peta N. Richkus, Secretary of the Department of General Services, presented a status report on the 5-year survey of records held by government agencies. Fifteen agencies have responded with the on-line forms. Twelve others have sent paper copies. Several offices will be filing reports after the June 1 deadline. She noted that the contract to repair the roof and windows in the Archives building has been delayed until matching bricks can be located. 

The meeting ended with a demonstration of images of the Comptroller's annual reports, recently added to the Archives of Maryland on-line. 

Sewell, Jane Eliot. Medicine in Maryland: The Practice and Profession, 1799 - 1999 
Slattery, Richard G. and Douglas R. Woodward. Montgomery Focus: A Late Woodland Potomac River 
     Culture 
Smith, Dawn Beitler. Index to the Map of the City and County of Baltimore 1850: Original Surveys by J. 
     C. Sidney and P. J. Browne 
Stenley, Virginia D. Chancery Books of Carroll County, Maryland, Volumes 21 - 40, 1873 - 1889 
Thompson, Gilbert. Colonial Boundaries of Virginia and Maryland 
Weiser, Fredrick S. and John P. Dern. Maryland German Church Records, Vol. 12, Zion Evangelical 
     and Reformed Church, a Congregation of the United Church of Christ, Hagerstown, Washington 
     County, Maryland 1771 - 1849 
_____. Maryland German Church Records, Vol. 16, St. Peter's Lutheran Church... Glade Reformed 
     Church ... Mount Zion Lutheran and Reformed Church … [1767 - 1854] 

SC 5095:  Joshua Civin Research Collection, 1780-1843. Research materials relating to Baltimore and Liverpool. Collection includes Baltimore City Council Papers, RG 16 S2: proceedings, 1st Branch, 1800-1843, proceedings, 2nd branch 1800-1843; City Council Ordinances and Resolutions, 1797-. Microfilm. 

SC 5096:  Phrenology Collection, 1840 ca.-1885 ca. Books and Journals on Phrenology. 

SC 5099:  Francis Smith Collection. Materials relating to speeches given by Governor Harry Hughes. 

SC 5100:  Margaret Mercer Collection, 1848. Memoir, Margaret Mercer. Microfilm. 

SC 5102:  Civil War Soldiers System Indexing Collection. Civil War Soldiers System Name Indexing Project, Maryland. Collection includes copies of the general index cards found in the National Archives, indicating name, rank, unit, etc. of each soldier that served in the Union and Confederate Armies during the Civil War. Over 100 members of Maryland's genealogical community and the general public assisted with the input of the records represented in this collection into a database that will eventually be available at national Civil War sites, including Antietam National Cemetery, Antietam National Battlefield, and Monocacy National Battlefield. Although the focus of these materials is primarily Maryland soldiers, some members began work on Virginia soldiers and as a result some Virginia records are included. Restricted.

SC 5125:  Orme Collection, 1927. Photographs, Gibson Island, AA. 

SC 5143:  St. Mary's Square Museum Map Collection, 1755. Map, Robert de Vaugondy, Carte de la Virginie et du Maryland…. Restricted. 

SC 5147:  Radoff Fund Photograph Collection, 1934-1935. Photographs of Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis [WB&A] railroad rolling stock and stations. 

During research for his Somerset County tract mapping project, John Lyon discovered an interesting document in (Patent Record) 20, pp. 108-109, in series S11. On August 27, 1668 the surveyor laid out 1,000 acres for Paul Marsh of Somerset County. The land, located south of the Pocomoke River in what is now Worcester County, was named Mardike. No patent could be granted until Marsh paid for the rights to the land within twelve months. He failed to supply the funds and ten years later he "informed us that through poverty he is enforced to work in the ground, and not able to purchase rights for the said land, and humbly prayed our letters patent for the same." His petition succeeded since on the basis of unnamed services he was granted the patent on November 20, 1678.