CENSUS FILM - 1860 AND 1870

Last Friday, I put the new census film for 1860 and 1870 out in the circulating collection. All of us have wanted to have these films at the Archives for years, and are grateful indeed to Mrs. Slacum for her very generous donation. Both patrons and staff have been using it, and wondering how we ever survived without it. Many, many thanks to Mrs. Slacum!

In accessioning the film for the 1860 Census, I discovered several things which I thought I should share. This is the one with the newly published index in two volumes, one of which is labeled Baltimore City. Despite the title, Baltimore County is also included in this volume, and the entries are easy to differentiate. Baltimore City is divided into Wards, which are numbered. The County is divided into Districts (also numbered), but, because the index uses the names of the post offices rather than the district numbers, I have put both in the finding aid.

The patrons may also have problems with pagination, as we all do with some of the earlier censuses. However, in the finding aid, I used the pages numbers which are used in the index, so all other sets of page numbers should be ignored.

The last thing I noticed is a serious drawback to the index. Only the names of the heads of households and individuals in the household with different last names are listed - no spouses or children. Nevertheless, the index is a boon to humanity and we can only hope that something similar for 1870 is in the works.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 6

PUBLICATION NEWS Susan Cummings

Civil War Workshop

The First Annual Maryland State Archives Phebe R. Jacobsen Conference in Maryland History will be held on Saturday April 20th. As you know, the Archives' will sponsor a conference each year on one of Phebe's four major areas of interest: Church Records; African American History and Genealogy; Native Americans; and the Civil War. Greg wanted to be assured of immediate and overwhelming success and so we decided our first topic would be the War of Yankee Aggression.

We hope in this and all future conferences to emphasize the "young scholar," the type of researcher who has relied so heavily on Phebe in the past. The major address this year will be given by Kevin Ruffner, a Ph.D candidate at Georgetown University. Ruffner will speak on the Maryland junior officer corps of both the North and South. One of the discoveries he has made is that the Confederate officers really were "well born," from somewhat aristocratic backgrounds, while the Union officers often came from urban or labor backgrounds. (I suspect Phebe knew this all along.) We will have two other speakers in the morning, Daniel Carroll Toomey speaking on "The Maryland Volunteer, 1861-1865," and Ross Kimmel on Marylanders in the Confederacy. I have been warned that Ross intends to sound the rebel charge. In fact his paper is entitled "The Despot's Heel Is On Thy Shore."

There will be four afternoon sessions, two of which will focus on the black soldier. One speaker, Brian Pohanka, is the "White officer" of a reenactment group of Black soldiers. Ed will present his document packet "After Glory" which utilizes original records to teach about the Black soldier. This will be followed by a panel discussion of the records available for researching Marylanders in the Civil War. The panel includes Jimmy Walker on federal records, Agnes Callum on muster rolls of the 7th USCT, Pat Melville on enrollment books, Kay McElvey on local records, and Ben Primer(!) on service records. The final presenter of the conference will be William L. Brown who will speak about the use of artifacts to interpret the war, specifically the Gettysburg Battlefield Museum.

The conference will come to a grand and glorious conclusion with the evening reception in Phebe's honor from 5:00 to 7:00. The entertainment should be extraordinary, with a Civil War musical group, artifact displays, a continuous slide show featuring flags, documents, and artifacts from our collections, and an exhibit on the Black Maryland soldier. Vicki is working with the caterers, trying to follow through with Greg's suggestion of a North vs. South food theme. (Corn bread and baked beans?)

The conference will be held in the Joint Hearing Room of the Legislative Services Building. The registration fee is $25.00 with a student registration charge of $20.00. A box lunch will be provided. Registration is limited to 150.

As always we will be seeking volunteers from the staff to help, mostly with the reception. We fully expect everyone, participants and volunteers, to thoroughly enjoy the day.

PUBLICITY NEWS

The real estate section of the Baltimore Sun, February 17, 1991, contained an article about a stone boundary marker dated 1773. Builders found the marker while constructing houses in Columbia. Two people from the building company conducted research on the marker, including records at the Archives. The stone was engraved and put in place as a result of a boundary agreement among Michael Dorsey, Ely Dorsey, and Charles Carroll of Carrollton who owned respectively Pushpin, Girls Portion, and Doughoregan. [Such boundary agreements are often found in (Land Commissions) and (Land Commission Record)].

SERENDIPITOUS NEWS Pat Melville

The introduction to Archives of Maryland, Vol. LXI, Proceedings, and Acts of the General Assembly of Maryland 1766-1768, contains a section regarding the condition of public records, a transcript is produced below. The page numbers refer to the text in Vol. LXI where one can obtain more detail.

The bad condition of the public records of the Province was reported to the Assembly at the 1766 session and again in 1768. A committee of twelve of the Lower House, headed by Robert Tyler of Prince George's County, was appointed to inspect the papers and records in the public offices at the May, 1766, session, and handed in an exhaustive report upon the records in the Land Office, the Provincial Secretary's Office, and the Commissary's Office. No mention is made of the records of the Governor and Council nor of the record of the Chancery Court which were apparently considered as Proprietary papers and therefore not subject to Assembly scrutiny. It was reported that in the Land Office the original land certificates were in the greatest confusion, that many had not been copied into the record books, and that the alphabets (indices) were incomplete and defaced; the judgments of the Provincial Court since 1765 had in part not been recorded and were badly indexed. The recording of the session laws escaped criticism. Severe criticism was directed at the various testamentary records in the Commissary's Office. It was said that many of the original wills and other papers has not been copied in the record books, and that many omissions and mistakes had been found in the recording of several which had been examined; that the alphabets were in poor condition. There was a general criticism of all the public offices in that the records "for a Considerable Time Past Appear to be made up Generally be Persons who write incorrect and unsettled hands." with this report were filed lengthy lists of the libers in the Secretary's Office and the Commissary's Office. These lists are still of value and interest to those who work among the old provincial records (p. 18,33-46). On the closing day of the May session, the Lower House sent an address to the Governor, calling his attention to the condition of the public records and requesting him to use his influence with the "Gentlemen who Enjoy such Public Office", to secure from them "a more exact Discharge of Duty" (p. 62).

At the 1768 session, a committee, again headed by Tyler, was appointed to examine the public records and made another somewhat less detailed report. This examination disclosed that the records in the Land Office from 1745 to 1768 were not in good condition and had been well transcribed in the record books, but that before 1745 they were still in bad shape. In the Commissary's Office recent records had been well cared for but before the year 1764 mistakes in recording had not been corrected and many of these earlier records had not been copied at all. The committee also reported that the records in the Assembly Office, presumably the journals and the petitions, were also in the greatest confusion (pp. 355-357).

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 7
March 4, 1991

RESEARCH NOTES Pat Melville

Has anyone ever wondered what property was owned by William Kilty, the compiler of Kilty's Laws of Maryland? Probably not, but ponder no longer; the answer will be supplied. On December 26, 1821, John Brewer and John Randall appraised the personal estate of William Kilty, deceased. The inventory is recorded in AA REGISTER OF WILLS (Inventories) THH 2, pp. 97-106 [MSA C 88, MdHR 13,810-1, 1-3-12-40]. In his house on West St. in Annapolis Kilty had possessed property worth $3917.87 1/2. Some of it included a normal assortment of early 19th century household furnishings; other items were less usual. Among the latter were several book cases, a large sea chest, desks, a box of toys, chess set, piano, violins, and mandolin.

Not surprisingly most of the inventory consisted of the contents of Kilty's extensive library. Each title was itemized and appraised. Most titles of the law books and other publications are uninteresting to the average person even when average is defined as someone who works at the Archives. Some of the more noteworthy titles include the following:

History of the Devil

The Adventures of A Guinea

Encyclopedia of Wit

"Collection of the official details of the actions fought by sea and land during the late war"

The Vision of Don Roderick, 26 copies

Landholders Assistant, 100 copies

[written by William's brother John]

LIBRARY ACCESSIONS Shashi Thapar

Baxter, Lione Francis and John William Baxter Family from South Carolina, Scotch Irish Pioneers from Ulster REF C-4-4

Fradin, Dennis Brindell Maryland Colony 7-4-1

Carroll County Genealogical Society Carroll County Cemeteries, Vol. 2 : East - Central 3-1-6

Sherman, John H. Sherman Directory, 4 Vols. REF C-1-4

Association for Information and Image Management Use of Optical Disks for Public Records (Technical Report ALLM TR25) 3-3-5

Prince George's County Planning Department Historic Contexts in Prince George's County (Ten Short Papers on Settlement Patterns, Transportation and Cultural History) 10-3-5

Prince George's County Planning Department Illustrated Inventory of Historic Sites 10-3-5

Historical Society of Talbot County A Peaceable Haven 1684-1984 : Museum Catalog Commemorating the 300th Anniversary of Third Haven Meeting House in Easton, Maryland 10-2-1

Carroll County Public Library, Genealogy Department Volunteers Carroll County, Maryland 1860 Census Index 3-2-2

Illinois State Library Illinois Documents List #12, December 1990 6-2-1

McFeely, William S. Frederick Douglass 9-3-1

PUBLICITY NEWS

The February 22, 1991, issue of the Baltimore Sun contained an article about black genealogy. Appended to the article was a list of institutional resources, including the Archives. Mentioned specifically was Phebe's pamphlet on researching black families.

The Publik Enterprise, February (2nd Half) 1991, contains an article about the Carroll Exhibit in the State House. It also carrys a notice about the internship program at the Archives, entitled "MSA internes."

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 8
March 11, 1991

SPECIAL ACCESSIONS Nancy Bramucci

MSA SC 2312: Charles Carroll of Carrollton Brochure Graphics Collection. Graphics used in the production of Charles Carroll of Carrollton brochure. Individual restrictions apply.

MSA SC 2313: St. George's Episcopal Church Collection. Register and Vestry Minutes of St. George's Episcopal Church, William and Mary Parish, St. Mary's County. Do not circulate originals

MSA SC 2314: Westminster Consumer Co-op Collection. Fifty Year History of Westminster Consumer Co-op. No restrictions.

MSA SC 2315: Griffiths History of Maryland Collection. Thomas W. Griffith, Sketches of the Early History of Maryland. No restrictions.

MSA SC 2316: Tom Darden Slide Collection. 35mm slides of the 1989 World Whitewater Competition, Savage, Maryland. Do not circulate without the permission of the Registrar

MSA SC 2317: Maryland Ethnic Heritage Commission Collection. Poster of "We the People of Maryland, A Cultural Heritage Map." Shows settlement patterns of different ethnic groups. No restrictions

MSA SC 2319: Census '90 Collection. Materials relating to the promotion of the 1990 Federal Census in Maryland. No restrictions.

MSA SC 2320: Baltimore City Archives Voter Registration Books Collection. Voter registration books, BCA RG 11, S.4. Circulate microfilm only [CR 50,249-CR 50,255]

MSA SC 2321: Christ Church, Chaptico Church Records Collection. Vestry minutes, parish registers with baptisms, confirmations, marriages, burials of Christ Church, Chaptico. Includes historical notes. [To be microfilmed. Do not circulate originals]

MSA SC 2322: Kunta Kinte Festival Collection. Poster for Kunta Kinte Commemoration and Heritage Festival. No restrictions.

MSA SC 2323: Accokeek Foundation Collection of Prince George's and Charles County Inventories. [Do not circulate until processing is completed]

MSA SC 2324: Somerset Herald Newspaper Collection. Circulate microfilm only.

MSA SC 2325: Talbot County Circuit Court Scrapbook Collection. Scrapbook containing clippings from various newspapers relating to farming in Talbot County. No restrictions

MSA SC 2326: Paula Carpenter Collection of Falconer Genealogy. Material relating to the Falconer family of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. No restrictions.

MSA SC 2327: Charles Carroll of Carrollton Rare Book Collection. Facsimiles of bookplates from books from the library of Charles Carroll of Carrollton. No restrictions

MSA SC 2328: Hollyday Negative Collection. Copy negatives of images in "Maryland Time Exposures" exhibit from the Talbot County Historical Society. Do not circulate. Need permission of owner to be used.

MSA SC 2329: Peace Mission Movement Collection. "Shout the Victory": The History of Father Divine and the Peace Mission Movement. PhD Thesis by Jill Watts. No restrictions

MSA SC 2330: Historic Annapolis Foundation Catalog Collection. Pamphlets and catalogs from Hall Gas Company [marine engines], Western Auto Supply Company, George H. Rundell Company [medicine], A. I. Root [bee keeper's supplies], and the B & O Railroad. No restrictions

MSA SC 2332: Star-Spangled Banner Anniversary Slide Collection. 35mm slides taken by donor documenting ceremonies commemorating the 175th anniversary of the Star-Spangled Banner. Do not circulate without permission of Registrar

MSA SC 2333: Windmill Point Farm Land Records Collection. Deed and receipt between William Hebb and John Price, St. Mary's County, relating to St. George's Point, Inclosure, The Remainder, The Other Remainder, and Dryden. No restrictions

MSA SC 2334: National Guard Photographic Collection. Photographs of the Maryland National Guard showing Frank W. Coale and associates. Do not circulate original photographs

MSA SC 2335: Hynson Collection of the Winchester Virginian. Winchester Virginian, July 19, 1861, follows battle at Manassas Junction. No restrictions

MSA SC 2336: Miller Map Collection. Maps of Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Talbot County. No restrictions

MSA SC 2338: Friends of the Archives Collection. Book memorializing gift to and benefactors of the Maryland State Archives. No restrictions

MSA SC 2339: Louis Rudolph Fine Arts Collection. Portrait of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsberry. Do not circulate

MSA SC 2340: Miller State House Collection. Negatives of etching of the Maryland State House. Do not circulate negatives

MSA SC 2341: Griffith's Map of Maryland Collection. Griffith's Map of the State of Maryland. Do not circulate negatives. Negatives for security purposes only -- do not use without permission of owner

MSA SC 2342: St. Mary's Industrial School Photographic Collection. Black and white negatives of St. Mary's Industrial School, now Cardinal Gibbons High School. No restrictions

MSA SC 2342: Materials At Risk Collection. Materials At Risk: The Preservation Challenge. Slides, cassette and booklet

No restrictions

MSA SC 2344: Hance Family Bible Collection. Hance Family Bible. [Genealogical material to be photostated; do not circulate originals]

MSA SC 2345: Carroll Foundation Collection. Prototype, camera ready copy, and microfilm of the Carroll Foundation Facsimile Edition of the Carroll Papers (MHS). Do not circulate

MSA SC 2346: Heritage Baptist Church Collection. Records of College Avenue Baptist Church, Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, now Heritage Baptist Church. Collection contains originals and microfilm [M 1378] No restrictions

MSA SC 2347: Allen Memorial Baptist Church. Records of Allen Memorial Baptist Church. Collection contains microfilm only [M 913]. No restrictions

MSA SC 2348: Gunpowder Baptist Church. Records of Allen Memorial Baptist Church. Collection contains microfilm only [M 1102 - M 1103]. No restrictions

MSA SC 2349: Wrenn, Lewis and Jencks Architectural Collection. Architectural plans, correspondence and specifications from architectural firm of Wrenn, Lewis, and Jencks [Do not circulate until processing is completed]

MSA SC 2350: Constitutional Convention of 1967 Collection. Materials relating to the 1967 Constitutional Convention. [Do not circulate until processing is completed]

MSA SC 2351: Maryland and the Ratification of the U.S. Constitution Collection. Conference brochure and papers presented at conference. No restrictions

MSA SC 2352: Medlicott Collection. Materials from the Genealogist's Magazine containing abstracts of indentures for Maryland, Virginia, Barbados, and Jamaica found in the Middlesex Guildhall, Westminster. No restrictions

MSA SC 2353: Sause Portrait Reference Collection. Slides of portraits of Elizabeth Bordley by Charles Willson Peale. Bordley-Randall House is shown in background. No restrictions

MSA SC 2354: Geist Cemetery Records Collection. Cemetery lists for the Geist Reformed Mennonite Meeting House, Baltimore County (c. 1850-1984) and the Reisterstown United Methodist Church, Reisterstown (c. 1793-1970). No restrictions

MSA SC 2355: Carvel Hall Collection. Newspaper article from The Baltimore Sun concerning the Carvel Hall Hotel Fire and a photograph of the front of the hotel (Paca House) at the time of the fire. No restrictions

MSA SC 2356: S. Z. Ammen Scrapbook Collection. Copy of the S. Z. Ammen scrapbook, Maryland Troops in the Confederate Army from Original Sources, Vol. 1 and material relating to the life of S. Z. Ammen. No restrictions

MSA SC 2357: Hyde Collection of the Bordley Pedigree. Poster of the ancestry of the Bordley Family. No restrictions

MSA SC 2358: Quaker Baptist Church Collection. Bedford Genealogical Society meeting program, includes history of Quaker Baptist Church. See M823-M824, South River Monthly Meeting

No restrictions

.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 10
March 25, 1991

RESEARCH NOTES Connie Neale

As most of you know, who have seen me furiously typing for what seems like a great many months, the M film database is now almost finished and, thanks to Lynne, accessible through Word Cruncher.

"M" officially means "miscellaneous", although "mystery" might have been more appropriate. But from what I've seen, and I've looked at many of these reels, this collection contains a great deal of fascinating and very useful material, which we all could be using in the Search Room and recommending to patrons in our letters for Interlibrary Loan.

Instead of printing out all at once a very long list of my most important finds, I thought I'd describe a few at a time, beginning with a series I just used to answer a letter.

EARLY STATE RECORDS

In 1950, the Library of Congress, in association with the Univ. of North Carolina, issued a microfilm collection of EARLY STATE RECORDS. Since Maryland's records alone take up 63 reels, the material made available by the entire series must be truly vast.

The series is grouped by catagories:

Constitutional Records: (M 3145-3147). These contain a copy of the 1632 Charter and the Toleration Act of 1649, but then concentrate on documents from the Conventions of 1774-1776, 1850-1851, 1864, and 1867.

Codes and Compilations: (M 3148-3150). A collection of various printed and recorded laws 1640-1799 (including volumes 1 and 2 of Kilty).

Executive Records (M 3151-3169) begin with proclamations and orders, taken from the Calvert Papers 1658-1753, and then include GOVERNOR AND COUNCIL Pardon Books 1785-

1790 and Proceedings 1637-1838, GOVERNOR Proceedings 1838-1869, GOVERNOR AND COUNCIL Commission Records 1726-1798 and Letterbooks 1753-1823, and GOVERNOR Letterbooks 1839-1865.

Session Laws: (M 3176-3183). This series begins with GENERAL ASSEMBLY Law Records 1638-1731, but also includes manuscript laws from the Calvert Papers and published laws from many different collections. [Don't forget that laws are also printed in the ARCHIVES OF MARYLAND, which is also available on M film.]

Journals, Minutes and Proceedings (M 3184-3203) includes GENERAL ASSEMBLY, UPPER HOUSE Proceedings 1637-1698 and GENERAL ASSEMBLY, LOWER HOUSE Proceedings 1666-1702, 1704-1715 and 1714-1722 - but the bulk of the material is House and Senate Journals 1777-1836.

Miscellany (M 3204-3207) comes at the end and is basically just what it says. COUNCIL OF SAFETY Proceedings 1775-1777 and Letterbooks 1776-1777 are included, as are three other volumes of Proceedings, one for the CONVENTION OF MARYLAND for 1775 and two for the HOUSE OF DELEGATES, 1779-1780. M 3207 ends the collection with a truly miscellaneous collection of documents, 1649-1787.

This description obviously only hits the high spots. The Library of Congress provided an item inventory, which I have put in with the M film accession sheets, and Word Cruncher has considerably more detail.

All of those records which belong to us and are State Records are also going into SR microfilm guide, and I will give Shashi notes on those which should be included with State Pubs.

SERENDIPITOUS NEWS Pat Melville

PREROGATIVE COURT (Inventories) 32, pp. 18-21 [MSA S534-32, MdHR 1139, 1-11-5-21] contains an inventory of the estate of John Tharp of Kent County, 1745. In the list of livestock most of the horses were given names. Having never encountered such a document before, I felt it should be noted. Has anyone else has seen an inventory wherein individual animals are named? Incidently, the horses were named Prince, Gray, Rock, Ball, and Mountain.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG

NEW ACCESSIONS Tim Pyatt

CARROLL COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (Plats)

1880-1937 [C2106, B5/10/3] 54 CSE

COURT OF APPEALS (Miscellaneous Papers)

1984-1986 [S397, 1/67/14/57-71] 15 SCE

COURT OF APPEALS (Miscellaneous Papers, Miscellaneous Docket) 1984-1986 [S400, 1/67/14/72-75] 4 CSE

MARYLAND STATE ARCHIVES STATE

HISTORICAL RECORDS ADVISORY BOARD

(Assessment Project Files) 1984-1986 [S1287, 3/68/12/5-10] 6 CSE

TALBOT COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (Land

Records, Index) 1833-1873 [C2105-1/3, 0/63/7/4-6] 2 CSE

BOOK REVIEW Pat Melville

Elie Vallette, The Deputy Commissary's Guide (Annapolis, 1774)

Eli Vallette was Register of the Prerogative Court and perceived a need to prepare a guide for handling probate matters. He wrote the book for the purpose "of introducing a general uniformity in the proceedings of deputy commissaries, and of assisting executors and administrators in the performance of their duties." The Guide is an excellent source of information for legal requirements and procedures regarding estate and guardianship matters during the colonial period. Vallette used the word guide literally because the book is filled with detailed descriptions and instructions. It definitely does not fall within the realm of light reading. But the small volume is useful for answering legal questions about probate matters.

For the determination of who was entitled to be granted administration on the estate of an intestate, statues laid out a specific system based on kinship to the deceased. The Guide outlines the goods and chattels to be included in the inventory and specifies who should sign the document. The section on administration accounts defines four classifications of debts due by the decedent, the order in which they should be paid, and the means of proving the validity of each type. Instructions are given for calculating the commission allowed to the executor or administrator and for contructing the account in a proper format.

Vallette describes the various types of letters of administration, such as de bonis non administratis, granted when the former executor or administrator can no longer serve.

Vallette defines wills in general and notes two kinds of wills, written and nuncupative, or verbal. Other matters discussed include the manner of proving nuncupative wills and the procedure for probating a will. A widow had the right to renounce bequests and devises made by her husband in favor of her dower rights, or one third of the estate. But the renunciation had to be filed within forty days after the probate of the will. Certain people were legally unable to write wills. Minors under twenty-one could not devise land, but if they were fourteen or older could bequest chattels. Married women could write wills, but only with consent of their husbands.

The Guide defines a legacy as a bequest or gift of personal property by a will. However, legacies could be paid only after debts were satisfied. There is a lengthy discussion about how and under what restrictions legacies were to be paid. Many wills, for example, made bequests contingent upon something such as reaching a specific age or marrying with permission.

Vallette presents seven rules of descent for the distribution of real estate of a decedent. Preferences were given to male descendents, especially the oldest son, and to the lineal line of descent. A chart illustrating the lives of descent appears after p. 106.

Statues specified how the property of an intestate estate was to be distributed. One-third went to the widow and the rest to his children. If any of these parties were deceased or never existed, the rules of distribution became more complicated. Vallette describes several scenarios, such as a widow, mother, brother, and sisters as heirs, and specifies what should happen.

In the directions for guardians Vallette observes that "the guardian, considered in the relation of a temporary father, undertakes a trust, which, if his heart is not debased by the passions of avarice, and rapacity, and steeled against every impression of humanity, every touch of sensibility, will be performed not only with the most disinterested probity, but with an assiduous, generous, and affectionate attention..." Orphans aged fourteen and older could choose their own guardians; the county court selected guardians for younger children. Guardians entered into land in order to secure delivery of the estate when the orphans come of age, males at twenty-one and females at sixteen or day of marriage. In order to preserve the lands and improvements thereon guardians had them appraised. The resulting document, annual valuation, described the land, listed improvements and noted their physical condition, and estimated the yearly value of the estate. To further protect orphans' estates the guardians were required to file periodic accounts, and the county courts had the power to oversee and determine matters regarding guardianships.

The first part of the appendix contains forms that were used by the Prerogative Court, including a commission of rebellion. The second part of the appendix contains tables showing the conversion of sterling money into common money and an interest table.

When assisting researchers with questions regarding estates and money in the colonial period, we should try to remember to consult Vallette's Guide.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 12
April 15, 1991

SPECIAL REPORT Mame Warren

Visits to West Virginia and Kentucky State Archives

Henry and I went to Lexington, Kentucky last week to visit relatives and true to form, I turned the adventure into a busman's holiday by making stops in Charleston, West Virginia and Frankfort, Kentucky to explore the photographic collections in their state archives. I found the staff at both facilities to be friendly and informative (a common trait among archival staffs, I suppose).

At Charleston, I arrived at the archives about 9:30 in the morning and found to my surprise that the search room did not open until 11 a.m. All was not lost, however, since the archives is located in the large cultural center adjacent to the capitol building so there was plenty to see and do while we waited.

By luck, a wonderful photographic exhibition had just opened in the cultural center. The theme was life in Appalachia, and all the images were taken by one photographer from New York named Builder Levy. The photographs dated from the 1970s; it was a very impressive body of work. Levy's documentary style and sense of mission reminded us a lot of my father's obsession with the Chesapeake Bay Project.

There was also a library, a theater, a museum, and a large gift shop in the cultural center. I was interested to note that there was no security desk for the building, and the front desk was manned by a senior volunteer. The gift shop featured all kinds of West Virginia books, musical recordings, and crafts. It was located directly across from the search room.

When we finally got into the archives, I introduced myself and we were let in without signing in anywhere. I met with Fred Armstrong, the State Archivist, and Debra Basham, the archivist who takes care of the photographic collections. They are part of a staff of ten archivists who work Monday through Friday in two shifts so that they can have evening hours for the public. They work either from 8:30 to 4:30 or from 11:30 to 8:00 with a dinner break. The hours for the public are Monday-Thursday 11:00 to 8:00; Friday 11:00-5:00; Saturday 1:00-5:00. They have two people on duty on Saturdays; on a busy Saturday they see about thirty researchers.

There are forty-eight seats in the search room, four to a table. They have an extensive browsing library and microfilm is self-service (except for vital records for which their holdings are limited). There are twelve readers. I didn't notice any reader printers. Henry noticed that the only computer in sight was an original IBM PC with a hard disk added. It was in use at the registration desk.

Caring for photographs takes up about 50% of Debra's time. People are encouraged to call ahead to see pictures because there is absolutely no access to the collections save Debra's brain. There are no finding aids whatsoever. She showed me several publications produced by the archives that made use of their photographs and I noted that no accession numbers were included in the captions.

We asked whether they ever got in any Maryland images and they said yes, in fact they had some now and they didn't know what to do with them. I assured them that I did, and we arranged for us to stop on our way back to pick them up.

The package I picked up contained thirty-nine original negatives. They are all professional quality and some of them seem to be really terrific. They are definitely Time Exposures quality. Most came from the West Virginia Photo Company of Parsons, West Virginia. Fred Armstrong recently bought the entire collection (a pick-up truckful) and saved them from imminent destruction. All of the Maryland images are of Garrett County, some Deep Creek landscapes and some great shots of a roadside place in Red House. They were taken in the mid fifties, a period for which we have no other images in that area. Seven negatives originally came from the Wisconsin Historical Society. They are relatively modern scenes of Antietam battlefield.

We toured Frankfort, Kentucky two days later and ended up at the State Archives. I received a surprisingly enthusiastic welcome from Diane Matzke who cares for photographs there. It turns out that she is one of the many people around the country who have called about how we catalog photographs using dBASE. She says we talked at great length several years ago and when she heard I was there she was delighted.

When Diane took me upstairs to see the photo processing area she introduced me to her assistant who was at work on their largest project so far. Her assistant, a regular staff member, was sitting by a xerox machine making copies of all of their WPA photo collection, about 800 items. The staff member was writing out captions in longhand on every photocopy. I asked about whether they were using databases yet (and suggested that all that information could be keyboarded in the same amount of time).

There are no printed finding aids to photographs.

On further questioning, it came out that the Kentucky Archives photographic holdings are quite limited. They have no special collections per se--that sort of stuff is always directed to the Kentucky Historical Society, also in Frankfort. (The University of Louisville also has huge collections). Most of their photographic holdings are from state agencies and mostly modern. They have done a very good job of processing all of that and seem to have excellent control. Besides the WPAs (which were gorgeous), they have two other gems in their possession. Diane showed me two extraordinary photograph albums from the 1890s that were created by the State Board of Education. They contained diverse images of schools and school groups, both white and black, all over Kentucky.

Diane devotes about 60% of her time to photographs. She has one assistant and has had some student help that didn't work out well. Now she has a prisoner who works for her six days a week doing refiles. She says he's the best worker she has had. She works in the search room 1/2 day every other week in order to allow the regular search room staff to catch up on paperwork.

Diane then took me downstairs to the search room where I quizzed them on their procedures. Three people work their circulation desk, including a rotating volunteer from the local genealogical community. The two archivists on duty work only in the search room and answer correspondence. Their hours are 8:00-4:15 Tuesday through Saturday. Mondays are used by staff to do other projects.

There are six reader-printers available to the public and one behind circulation for staff to use in answering letters. The State Library is right next door in the same building, so overflow microfilm users can use readers there. A busy day is 20-30 researchers.

I was impressed by a volume that the archives had published in 1986 that was a guide to manuscript collections all over the state. It is currently being revised. This is being produced in house (much like our county microfilm guides).

To summarize, I found my experiences in Charleston and Frankfort to be both educational and informative. I gathered not only a few good ideas and some great photographs but also a renewed appreciation for our own work here in Annapolis. All three institutions have nice new buildings and good professional staffs, but we seem to be taking better advantage of our resources and producing more with our time and energy. Certainly all of our finding aids are head and shoulders above anything I saw. If what I saw in Kentucky and West Virginia are typical, I can understand why so many of our out-of-town researchers take the time to tell us how well organized we are and how easy it is to use our facility.

RESEARCH NOTES Pat Melville

While researching for my role in the Jacobsen Conference, I have found several interesting documents, one of which is abstracted below. On June 13, 1863, Lt. H. Thomas Burrows, 7th Regiment, Maryland Volunteer Infantry, Maryland Heights, MD, wrote a letter to Gov. A.W. Bradford. ADJUTANT GENERAL (Civil War

Papers) MSA S935-11, MdHR 50,037-3, 2-5-3-2.

I would most respectfully call your attention to a few questions which I have the honor to propound to your excellency.

I have frequently heard it asserted that your excellency is about to tender to the National Government, the services of several Regiments of coloured troops to be raised in this state. This rumor is quite prevalent here at present, and I would most respectfully request that you will be pleased to enlighten us as to the authenticity of it.

This rumor - no matter how groundess it may be-has had a good effect in removing from the minds of many of our good loyal citizen soldiers, a predjudice which has long existed against negroes being used by the Government in a military capacity, to assist in crushing this miserable Rebellion, - it has caused our men to look at the question in its proper light, and they have come to the conclusion that we must stand by the Government in all its lawful undertakings to mete out punishment to traitors and their sympathysers.

In case of it being the intention of your excellency to tender any portion of Maryland Quota of the 150,000 colored volunteers authorized by Congress last winter, to be raised at this time, several of our officers and enlisted men have determined to request of your excellency permission to raise a Regiment, which we have no doubt can be done in thirty days.

Should your excellency make up your mind to issue the proper authority for raising a Regiment of colored Volunteers, I will at once send you the names of the men desiring to take part in the matters, in order that they can be properly commissioned and enter at once upon their recruiting duties.

Hon. Francis Thomas has kindly undertaken to forward our request, and will no doubt lend us his assistance in raising the Regiment.

Believing that the exigencies of the times demand strenerous efforts to protect our state against invasion, and hoping for an early and favorable anwser to our proposal I am Your Excellency's Most Obt Serv't.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 13
April 22, 1991

PUBLICITY NEWS

The Sunday Capital, April 14, contained an article about the Jacobsen Conference. Most of the story summarizes the contents of our newest publication, "In Readiness To Do Every Duty Assigned:" The Frederick Militia and John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry, October 17-18, 1859. Reproduced in this booklet is Col. Edward Shriver's eyewitness account of Brown's raid at Harpers Ferry. The original had been found among the governor's records by Rick Blondo. The newspaper article was accompanied by photographs of civil war artifacts.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 14
April 29, 1991

PHEBE R. JACOBSEN CONFERENCE: MARYLAND

AND THE CIVIL WAR

On Saturday, April 20, 1991, the Jacobsen Conference was held in the Legislatives Services Bldg., followed by a reception at the Archives. In keeping with a military theme the editor of the BULLDOG asked for "volunteers" to prepare synopses of the presentations. Other staff members were "drafted." Contributors besides the editor include Madeleine Hughes, Joyce Munsey, Connie Neale, Rocky Rockefeller, and Mame Warren.

Was Maryland a Northern or a Southern State?

Dr. Ben Primer.

On the issue of Maryland's allegiance in the war, Ben pointed out that when the war erupted, most of those in state government had sympathies with the South. This was because apportionment favored the rural counties. Federal troops were brought in to assure "free" elections and the guns on Federal Hill that formerly faced the entrance to the harbor were turned toward the city itself. In 1861, Maryland had the largest population of free blacks of any state: 50% of all Negroes were free.

There has been a longstanding debate about the veracity of the information on a plaque in the State House that claims 63,000 native Marylanders fought for the Union and 20,000 for the Confederacy. The source for this claim was the roster of volunteers first published by the state in 1898. The WPA realized that these numbers were not accurate in the 1930s, but the plaque went up anyway circa 1964.

Ben says that both figures are probably way off. Current research indicates that 46,638 served for the Union, but they certainly were not all "native" Marylanders. He also points out that the intensity of their loyalty can be questioned since there were many who were drafted and still others who served because of pay incentives. On the Confederate side, Ben says there were probably about 12,000 Marylanders but it's hard to tell because so many left Maryland and joined up in various southern states.

In summary, Ben reported that Maryland offered the lowest percentage of its quota of any northern state. By 1860, he suggested, Maryland's economy, social diversity, and its large population of free blacks meant that it could not secede. Maryland was loyal to the Union even if its sympathies were with the South.

"The Faith and Pride of the State": Maryland's Junior Officer Corps in the Civil War.

Kevin C. Ruffner.

Kevin Ruffner's address summarized the conclusions of his research for his dissertation, written at George Washington University.

His topic is a socio-economic study of the 365 junior officers who were commissioned in the Confederate and Union armies. Comparing them by various standards, he noted that their ages at the time of their services were similar, but finds significant differences in other areas.

Geographical origins differed noticeably. Officers of the Maryland Line (Confederates) generally came from Baltimore City or the Southern counties, while those of the Maryland Brigade (Unionists) came from Baltimore and the Western counties.

Educational differences were noted. The Southern officers included no illiterates, many college graduates, and mostly professionals. Few Northern officers could boast of any college education (only two can be documented) and illiteracy was known as an occasional problem.

Economically, Maryland Line officers tended to be well-off, although rarely slave-holders. Maryland Brigade officers were farmers, clerks, small businessmen or skilled workers. Few professionals or landholders of importance were to be found in their ranks.

Motivation was also discussed. Confederate officers, he found, did not easily make their decision. All were anti-Lincoln, seeing the issue as one of liberty vs tyranny. Unionists, he stated, were generally not Abolitionists (in fact, racism was common and many hated the Negro as economic competitors) but restoration of the Union seemed to be the key.

In his conclusion, Ruffner did not precisely endorse the contemporary opinion that Northern officers were "draftees, Substitutes, and Dutchmen", but he did conclude that the Confederate officers, in significant numbers, came from the older families of Baltimore and Southern Maryland and reflected a more educated and landed background. Northern officers, on the other hand, tended to be newcomers (in some cases, quite recent immigrants) and from the working class. In short, the one group he found to be a product of the past, the other, more involved in and committed to Maryland's future.

The Maryland Volunteer, 1861-65. Daniel Carroll Toomey.

Toomey's talk covered in detail all the Maryland units raised for Federal duty during the Civil War. He described the delays requested by Governor Hicks. The Federal government in 1861 asked for 15,578 troops; Maryland actually came up with 9,355. Mr. Toomey estimated that a total of 47,000 Marylanders served in Union forces from 1861 to 1865. A list of sources, called "Researching Marylanders in Blue" was distributed. History and Roster of Maryland Volunteers 1861-1865 is #1 on the list.

"The Despot's Heel is on thy Shore": Marylanders in the Confederacy.

Ross Kimmel.

Kimmel began by saying "History is written by the victors."

There would not have been a war were it not for slavery, but soldiers did not go to war because of it. The lines of feeling about slave-holding were blurred: some Northerners were slave-holders, and some Southerners were against the institution of slavery.

Despotism and tyranny were the reasons for the war. The doctrine of states rights, which seems outmoded to us because the South lost the war, was a very real political theory before 1861. States' rights had been espoused, ironically, by various Northern groups in 1804, 1814, and again in 1844.

Mr. Kimmel showed slides of daguerriotypes of officers who rose to flag rank in the C.S.A. and of various enlisted men in the infantry, cavalry, and artillery, C.S.A.

"A Heritage of Valor": African-American Medal of Honor Recipients in the Civil War.

Brian Pohanka.

Pohanka regrets that the heroic achievements of black soldiers are so often overlooked. Even the movie "Glory" failed to recognize William Harvey Carney, a 54th Regiment Medal of Honor recipient for his gallantry at Fort Wagner, the scene of battle in the movie. All the characters in the film were fictitious, and needlessly so, because the heroic facts exceeded the film's fiction.

To redress the balance, Pohanka recited the names and stories of decorated black soldiers, many of whom were Maryland natives or residents. He recounted the terrible story of the siege of Petersburg, including the Battle of the Crater and the storming of New Market Heights. The latter action resulted in 13 Medal of Honor citations for blacks soldiers, mostly for carrying the colors either to the enemy ramparts or back to safety, or for taking command of their company after all the white officers (blacks could not be commissioned) were killed or wounded.

Using pension records, personal correspondence, and battle reports, Pohanka presented biographies for each of his heroes. The stories illustrate the high price these men paid for their valor: severe wounds, incapacitating diseases, and failure of their contemporaries to overcome racial bias against them. A telling sign of their times and troubles was one officer praising Alfred Hilton as "a man" in an attempt to emphasize to other whites that Hilton's heroism and human equality far outweighed his color.

After Glory: Teaching about the Black Soldier.

Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse.

Ed discussed a document packet developed for instruction in senior high schools. "In the Aftermath of 'Glory': Colored Troops from Annapolis, Maryland, 1863 - "is designed to examine what happens to black soldiers when they survive the Civil War and return to Annapolis by tracing their careers through public and private records. Ed described how teachers could incorporate this packet in the classroom. The governing principle is one of using state and local records to illustrate national history.

The document packet moves a student from the larger setting of black troops to specific soldiers whose lives afterwards can be traced. Ed then discussed John B. Anderson as an example. The records show that he served in Company D, 30th Regiment Infantry, U.S.C.T., during the Civil War, voted in Annapolis in 1871 and 1885, and in 1880 was 46 years old, worked as a laborer, and lived on Wagner St. in Annapolis with his wife and sister. Anderson recounted his family background and military career in an application to increase his federal pension in 1912. He was one of the plaintiffs who sued the city of Annapolis regarding the disenfranchisement of blacks.

The document packet also contains maps that show where Anderson lived in Annapolis and conclude with his certificate of death which occurred in 1918.

Documenting Marylanders in the Civil War.

Dr. Ben Primer, chair. Federal records, James D. Walker; U.S.C.T. muster rolls, Agnes K. Callum; Enrollment records, Pat Melville; Local records, Dr. Kay McElvey.

Dr. Kay McElvey discussed records she used in researching blacks in Dorchester County. She found, in the Dorchester County Courthouse, Slave Statistics, 1864-1868, which lists blacks, their owners, and other information. She used Chattel Records, 1861-1864, which contains bills of sale to supplement the information. These records were recently transferred to the Archives. Dr. McElvey said she used and found helpful the secondary lists prepared and listed in genealogical magazines.

James D. Walker discussed useful records in the National Archives relating to Marylanders in the Civil War. He distributed a handout which listed these resources. There are great numbers of records, including support service records. Also available are captured Confederate government records with conscription lists, names of blacks serving in their army, and prisoners' records. Mr. Walker pointed out that persons born in Maryland may have resided in other states and may be found in records of other states' military units.

Agnes K. Callum talked about the U.S.C.T. muster rolls, specifically those of the 7th Regiment, raised in Baltimore in 1863. The muster-in rolls list the recruit's name, where he was from, who recruited him, where he was recruited, remarks (often whether he was free or slave), and length of time he was to serve. Ms. Callum said the muster-out rolls are similar but yield even more information. She noted that the 7th Regiment served at Petersburg, New Market, Richmond, and Appomattox and then was sent on garrison duty to Texas. They were discharged in Baltimore at Federal Hill in 1866 in the middle of the night because of political unrest.

Pat Melville discussed the enrollment records created in response to the Federal government's demands in 1862 for more troops. A quota of 6,000 saw 3,586 actually furnished. Marylanders saw the enrollments as a draft and they resisted. County authorities found it difficult to get surgeons and enrollment agents. Ms. Melville quoted surgeons and agents who reported violence and threats to the their safety. Exemptions granted by the surgeons became controversial. For example, in Calvert County, 60% of the enrollees were exempted. In Frederick County, the surgeon was accused of selling exemptions. The Adjutant General's Civil War Papers contain many letters and other documents about the enrollment process.

Confederate Uniforms.

Ross Kimmel.

The scheduled speaker, William L. Brown III, was unable to attend and discuss Civil War artifacts.

Ross discussed and modeled a recreated Confederate uniform. He explained the various items of clothing, how they were made, and the variations available. The supplies and weapons a typical soldier would carry in the field were also discussed and illustrated in detail.

Reception

Approximately 300 people attended the reception to honor Phebe. More people were gathered around the exhibits than the food--a testament to the excellence of the displays since the food was fine. The battle flags and uniforms seemed to attract the largest crowds, though all the special items in the room were being scrutinized throughout the evening.

Things really got underway with the arrival of the Second Maryland CSA Fife and Drum Corps. They marched in from behind the circulation desk to a small stage that had been placed in front of the microfilm room. They played a number of classic Civil War tunes to the delight of all (except perhaps Phebe who probably thought the tone was too Southern).

After the performance, Ed welcomed the guests and thanked the staff who had made the day such a success. He introduced Greg who thanked some of the contributors and he, in turn, introduced Susan, Doug, and Vicki. Susan gave Phebe a new briefcase. Doug presented her with two microfilmed indexes from the National Archives: one was thirteen reels of service records for Union soldiers from Maryland; the other was two reels of Confederate service records for Marylanders. Vicki presented Phebe with her portrait (done by Rita's son, Jay Molter) nicely framed with a bronze medallion commemorating the Jacobsen Conference on Maryland History.

The highlight of the evening was a mesmerizing address by Alex Haley in which he told once again the story of how he first became enthralled with his family history, an obsession that eventually evolved into Roots. The best part was when he related his first meeting with Phebe. He described how she sized him up and down and, after deciding that he was serious about doing research, she took him in hand and showed him the wealth of information that was available about the period when Kunta Kinte came through Annapolis. That, he said, was the beginning of a fast friendship he treasures to this day.

Phebe had requested that she have the last word--and indeed she did. When all the ceremonies were over, Phebe got up and thanked everyone and graciously said that we had taught her so much. Then, with great enthusiasm and vigor, she declared: "Thank God the Union won!"

REMARKS ON CONFERENCE Greg Stiverson

Last Saturday's conference was a great tribute not only to Phebe, but also to the willingness of our staff to do whatever was necessary to ensure that conference registrants and reception attendees felt welcome.

So many of you volunteered to help that we will not thank people by name; rather, suffice it to say that we sincerely appreciate all that each of you did to make both the conference and the reception reflect well on the State Archives and on the contributions Phebe has made over the years.

Finally, think "Indians in '92," out theme for the Second Annual Phebe R. Jacobsen Conference on Maryland History, scheduled for Saturday, April 19, 1992.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 15
May 6, 1991

RESEARCH NOTES Pat Melville

Les White found two interesting affidavits in CH COURT (Land Records) IB 6, p. 453 [MSA C670-43, MdHR 40,333-6, 1-7-7-36]. On August 30, 1805, Mary Thomas certifies that she is a free born woman and has eight children, born between 1788 and 1804. The names of the children and the birth dates are included in the document. Thomas Jenkins similarly files an affidavit certifying these facts. He also states that Mary Thomas' daughter Letty Thomas gave birth to a daughter in 1804 and that Terry Thomas, a free born woman, has two sons born in 1793 and 1796. The relationship between the two Thomas families is not given.

Henry L. Rogers, a retired District Court judge, recently wrote an article for the Daily Record about the crime of adultery in Maryland. In 1715 the punishment for someone convicted of adultery was a fine of 3 pounda currency or 1200 lbs. of tobacco. If the fine could not be paid, the sentence was a whipping on the back till blood appeared, but not to exceed thirty-nine stripes. A 1749 law abolished the corporal punishment and "called for a fine of 30 shillings, admonishment by the local minister and the giving of security to keep the child, if any, from becoming a public change." By 1860 the penalty was set at $10.00. That remains the law today. And, because the law has not been changed since 1860, only a circuit court judge can try the case.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 16
May 13, 1991

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 17
May 20, 1991

RESEARCH NOTES

Pat Melville

In AA COURT (Land Records) IHTI 1, pp. 603-605 [MSA C97, MdHR 4782, 1/1/1/16] appears a lease from Ephraim Gover, planter, to Abraham Perkinson, cordwinder, dated 1733. The twenty year lease encompasses fifty-six acres of Bachelors Choice, a tract near Jug Bay. The document is unusual because of the rent payments and an unclear title to the land. For the annual rent Perkinson agreed to provide "Six pair of Mens Strong Shoes, six pair of Womens Strong [shoes], four pair of Negroes Strong falls." [If anyone knows what type a shoe a fall is, let me know. Don't ask Lois Car; she says this record simply confirms her theory that a fall is really a shoe.] Perkinson could substitute four pounds current money, if the shoes could not be furnished.

"Whereas there has heretofore been a Rumor of the title of the said Land and if it should so prove that the title Should be defective then... the said Pirkenson is to pay No more Rent... and if the said Pirkenson Should put any Extraordinary buildings thereon... then the said Gover... shall Reinburst him..." at the time and for many years thereafter the Vestry of St. James Parish had problems with the boundaries of its adjoining land, called Wrighton.

PUBLICITY NEWS

The spring/summer edition of Maryland Humanities, a publication of the Maryland Humanities Council, contains an article about The Annapolis I Remember project. It discusses the oral history interviews, stage performances, book, and exhibit.

The May 11 edition of the Capital contained a short article about the reception for Phebe. There were also four photographs featuring Phebe, staff members, and guests.

On May 12 the Maryland section of the Sun contained an article about the execution of John Berry at the site of the Soldiers Delight Nature Center near Reisterstown. The reporter does not mention the Archives, but several staff members helped him with the research. Berry and two women servants were accused and convicted of the ax murder of Sarah Clark and the wounding of her husband John Clark on November 20, 1751. The execution order from the governor specified that Berry be hanged in chains near the scene of the crime. This site then became known as Berry's Hill.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 19
June 3, 1991

RESEARCH NOTES Pat Melville

The Evening Sun, May 24, 1991, contained on article about a new biography of Billie Holiday. Much of the article concerns her place of birth. Robert O'Meally, the biographer, states that she was born in 1915, in Philadelphia, not Baltimore. He based his conclusion on records of the House of Good Shepherd, a Catholic home for black girls in Baltimore. A form filled out by Holiday's mother and a baptismal certificate list the place of birth as Philadelphia. Carl Schoettler, the reporter, tried another route to verify or refute the information by requesting a birth record search at the State ARchives. The state and local records staff found no record; nor, for that matter, did researchers in Pennsylvania.

SPECIAL REPORT Pat Melville

Patterson Points, Vol. 4, No. 4, 1991, a newsletter of the Jefferson Patterson Park, contains on article about Maryland's archaeology collection. In February over 2200 boxes of artifacts were moved from three locations into the old Hall of Records Building. The building is described as "the perfect location to serve as an interim archaeology curation facility" because of the climate controlled stacks area. The collection and subsequent acquisitions will remain in our former site until 1996 when everything will be moved to a new archaeological conservation center at Jefferson Patterson Park.

EXHIBIT NEWS Mimi Calver

The Charting the Chesapeake exhibit that Rob, with the help of Chris, Wilder and various others, has been installing downstairs is a real treasure that I hope everyone will get acquainted with. It is, in fact, not quite finished but all of the maps are up and, as you will see, our Huntingfield Collection forms the heart of the exhibit. The exhibit was designed and built by the Calvert Marine Museum where it has been on display since last August. Nancy spent much of last summer working with them on it.

This exhibit is an important part of the Archive's educational outreach program, and we will be encouraging schools to bring students through the exhibit. There are some hands-on activities that students can experience and soon all of the electronic equipment will be working to make the exhibit even more visual and exciting.

Over time, we plan to replace all of the materials that focus on the bay around Solomons with charts and maps of the Annapolis area. We will also be replacing some captions as well as writing a new brochure.

The exhibit includes historic and contemporary charts of the Chesapeake over a period of 400 years, many of them wonderful originals. It covers the development of knowledge about the bay from the just the fact that it existed to today's detailed and accurate charts used in navigation. It also describes the various techniques used in chart and map making over the centuries and focuses on some of the eminent cartographers.

The exhibit "A Priceless Legacy: Charles Carroll of Carrollton's Papers and the History of Maryland," after a spectacular opening in the State House on January 23 and a two-month week stay in the Rotunda, is now on the move.

In mid-April it was installed in the beautiful new Casey Academic Center at Washington College which turned out to be an ideal setting for it. Sally Mason and I went to the official opening of the center on April 27 and tours of the exhibit were part of the program for the day. Comptroller Goldstein spent a lot of time with us at the exhibit and is going to be talking about it in some of his radio broadcasts this summer.

The exhibit now goes into the Old State House in St. Mary's City (a tight squeeze!) where it will stay until the end of July. There are plans for it to come here for the month of August and then on to Salisbury State, Allegany Community College, UMBC, Charles County Community College and the Maryland Historical Society. After all that, it might spend the summer abroad, touring England and Ireland.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 20
June 10, 1991

RESEARCH NOTES Joyce Munsey

During the Civil War, Judge Richard Bennett Carmichael, presiding judge of the circuit court made up of Kent, Queen Anne, Caroline, and Talbot counties, was pistol whipped and dragged from the Talbot County Circuit Court bench by Federal officers. A letter describing this action is recorded at the end of the 1853-1868 minutes of the court. Scharf's History of Maryland discusses the events leading up to the judge's arrest. In the fall of 1861, Federal troops arrested Marylanders on the Eastern Shore without first getting lawful warrants. In the fall term of the Queen Anne's County Circuit Court, Judge Carmichael charged the grand jury to indict the troops who had made the arrests. The troops in question then left the state. In November the same thing happened in Talbot County.

Scharf goes on to relate that in May of 1862, "James L. McPhail, provost-marshal of Baltimore, received orders from Major General Dix, commanding in that city, to proceed to Easton and arrest Judge Carmichael and Isaac Powell, the prosecuting attorney." This was done, as described in the letter. Judge Carmichael was shipped around to various prisons and released after six weeks. He was never charged with any crime. He returned to the bench in the spring term of 1863 and again charged the grand jury to condemn the lawless acts of the military. The grand jury refused; the judge resigned.

After the war, in 1867, Carmichael was elected to the House of Delegates, where he had served in 1831 and 1841. He was chosen to preside over the Constitutional Convention of 1867. He died October 21, 1884. His will shows that he remained weathly, for he left several farms and possessions to two sons and five daughters.

The letter found in TALBOT COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (Minutes) [MSA C1892, MdHR 13,573, 1-43-4-6] was written on May 29, 1862, by Col. Samuel Hambleton and James Lloyd to James A. Pearce shortly after Carmichael's arrest. The letter remained in private hands until 1917 when Judge James Alfred Pearce, son of James A. Pearce, found it and filed it for recording in the clerk's office.

Hambleton and Martin gave a detailed account of what happened when a federal deputy marshall and four military officers arrested Judge Carmichael. The judge tried to prevent the officers from disrupting the trial and refused to be arrested peaceably.

This Officer with his revolver drawn pushed on Judge Carmichael and seized him by the breast of his coat. The other officer closed in also. I could not then see Judge Carmichael, but could see they were surging and pulling at him. I saw three pistols snapped at him in the scuffle. In dragging him from his seat the person of the Judge was again concealed from me for some short time. I saw however the officers in front of him striking at him with the barrels of the revolvers. In a short time the Judge covered with blood was dragged from his seat and platform. I soon after left courtroom. Several citizens meantime had been struck with the barrels of the revolvers by the deputies above named. I saw no citizen display a weapon of any sort or offer the least shadow of opposition or resistance. It was a very rainy day and very few people in attendance on court.

LIBRARY ACCESSIONS Shashi Thapar

Wilson, Woodrow T. Quindocoqua, Maryland - Indian Country REF B-3-3

Powell, Lorenzo Q., Jr. Abstracts of Coventry Parish Records of Somerset County, Maryland REF B-3-3

Powell, Lorenzo Q., Jr. St. Mark's Episcopal Church Cemetery Kingston, Maryland SEE Abstracts of Coventry Parish Records of Somerset County, Maryland REF B-3-3

Powell, Lorenzo Q., Jr. St. Stephen's Episcopal Church Cemetery Fairmount, Maryland SEE Abstracts of Coventry Parish Records of Somerset County, Maryland REF B-3-3

Powell, Lorenzo Q., Jr. St. Paul's Episcopal Church Cemetery Marion, Maryland SEE Abstracts of Coventry Parish Records of Somerset County, Maryland REF B-3-3

Powell, Lorenzo Q., Jr. Rehoboth Episcopal Church Cemetery Rehoboth, Maryland SEE Abstracts of Coventry Parish Records of Somerset County, Maryland REF B-3-3

Cox, Joseph Williams Robert Goodloe Harper: The Evaluation of a Southern Federalist Congressman ECP

1991 National Five Digit Zip Code and Post Office Directory, 2 vols. Barbara/Photo lab

Maryland State Department of Education Directory of Public Libraries in Maryland, 1990-1991 Shashi

Twigg Family Genealogy Committee Genealogy of the Twigg Family of Western Maryland, 1st ed. REF C-1-4

Shirley, John Beverly Family, Ancestors and Relatives REF C-1-3

Horney, Amos G. Project I-V The Progeny, Parentage and Kin of Ivy T. Horney and Viola L. (Keys) Horney REF C-2-3

Corson, Ginger-Linn Nieman Nieman-Lewis Descendants (since 1878) of Shady Side, Maryland REF C-2-5

Middleton, Robert Arthur Robert Middleton (1651-1708) of Maryland, Some of His Descendants and Related Families REF C-2-5

Parsons, William Crocker Descendants of John and Zachariah Bond of St. Mary's County, Maryland REF C-3-3

Barnes, Robert Miskimmins: The Descendants of David and Rachel Miskimmins of Washington County, Maryland REF C-2-4

Prall, Richard Dwight Prall Family, 1st ed. REF C-1-1

Pippenger, Wesley E. John Alexander: A Northern Neck Proprietor His Family, Friends and Kin REF C-3-2

Goodman, Claire Garber Copper Artifacts in Late Eastern Woodlands Prehistory 15-4-2

McDonald, Jerry N. Indiand Mounds of the Atlantic Coast: A Guide to Sites from Maine to Florida 15-4-2

Fogelman, Gary L. Projectile Point Typology for Pennsylvania and the Northeast 15-4-2

Drimmer, Frederick Captured by the Indians - 15 Firsthand Accounts 1750-1870 15-4-2

Folsom, Franklin and Mary America's ancient Treasures, 3rd rev. and enlarged ed. 15-4-2

Gramly, R. M. Guide to the Palaeo-Indian Artifacts of North America 15-4-2

Hothem, Lar Indian Axes and Related Stone Artifacts 15-4-2

The Artifact Society, Inc. Artifacts, vol. 16, issue 3/4 15-4-2

Russell, Virgil Y. Indians Artifacts, 8th printing 15-4-2

Lewis, Thomas M. N. Tribes that Slumber - Indians of the Tennessee region, 9th printing 15-4-2

Justice, Noel D. Stone Age Spear and Arrow Points of the Midcontinental and Eastern United States 15-4-2

Piet, Mary A. and Stanley G. Early Catholic Church Records in Baltimore, Maryland 1782-1800 REF B-1-3

Peden, Henry C. Early Anglican Church Records of Cecil County REF B-1-3

Reighter, Shirley L. Bible and Family records of Harford County, Maryland, Families, 2 vols. 2-1-5

Powell, John W. Anne Arundel County, Maryland Wills Index, 1777-1918 3-1-4

Clark, Murtie June Index to U.S. Invalid Pension Records 1801-1815 2-1-6

Wright, F. Edward Maryland Calendar of Wills 1748-1753, vol. 10 3-1-3

Wright, F. Edward Maryland Calendar of Wills 1744-1749, vol. 9 3-1-3

Long, Helen R. Index for the General History Section of Scharf's History of Western Maryland, vol. 1 8-4-2

Bicentennial Committee Bicentennial Cumberland Maryland - A City in Celebration 1787-1987 10-3-2

Musser, Frederick O. History of Goucher College 1930-1985 8-1-1

Duncan, Richard Ray Social and Economic Impact of the Civil War on Maryland (Ph.d. Dissertation Ohio State University 1963) 8-3-5

Filby, William P. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1991 supplement REF D-1-2

Farber, Daniel A. History of the American Constitution Greg

Todd Kenneth S., Jr. Ancestors and Descendants of Thomas Franklin Todd and Emily Virginia Elgin of Shelby County, Missouri REF C-1-4

Jenkins, Eugene Augustine, Jr. John Henry Tietjen from Wellen 1845 His American Family REF C-1-4

PUBLICITY NEWS

Annotation, Vol. 19, No. 1, April 1991, a newsleltter of the NHPRC, contains an article about the Carroll Papers Exhibit.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 21
June 17, 1991

SPECIAL REPORT Phebe Jacobsen

St. Mary's Chapel Committee Meeting

On the morning of May 31st about 30 or so enthusiastic professionals gathered in the lobby and conference room of the Maryland State Archives for a meeting of the St. Mary's Chapel Committee of Historic St. Mary's. The meeting concerned the three lead coffins found in a St. Mary's City graveyard by archaeologists of the St. Mary's City Commission. These were the oldest lead coffins yet discovered on the North American continent. The largest was thought to contain the body of Philip Calvert, half brother of Lord Baltimore, briefly Governor of Maryland and always a high official in the Proprietary Government, Philip died in 1682 in Maryland. He organized the Prerogative Court, acted as Principal Secretary, Chancellor and keeper of the seal, and was the only legitimate Calvert buried on Maryland soil during this part of the 17th Century.

The discovery of the lead caskets raised momentous questions and concerns in the scientific and academic world. Anthropologists, archaeologists, forensic experts, geologists, and atmospheric scientists, to say nothing of Maryland historians brought both knowledge and expertise to the meetings.

The committee itself was composed of national scholars, including Dr. Papenfuse, and scientists who were in touch with international experts. NASA's Langley Research Center sent three of its staff dealing with atmospheric science. It is important to open the caskets in such a way that even the 17th century air inside can be preserved, analyzed, and interpreted. The military and Smithsonian sent a radiobiologist, forensic anthropologists, and pathologists. There were many others present from the Maryland Historical Trust and St. Mary's City Commission, including Dr. Lois Green Carr, the historian in charge.

The session was chaired by Dr. Henry Miller, Director of the St. Mary's City Commission. The conferees were told that all interviews were to be coordinated through Koppel and Family Television Association. This meant the continued presence of at least two quiet young men armed with a long voice box they took care to aim in the face of each speaker. The camera ground away from its position near the door. No question it was a well documented meeting.

The whole morning was spent on discussing the means of recovering the three caskets and their contents. This in turn depended on the technical knowledge and engineering skills of experts present. The session was concluded by turning the recovery process over to about eight members of the committee as a whole. After lunch, this group went over their plans step by step. No one knows exactly how strong the caskets are since the over-burden (soil on top of the coffin) has been moved and replaced more than once. There appears to be a possible crack in the large casket and no one knows how much this has damaged the inside source (body and contents of coffin). A drill could be used to make holes outside of and near the head of the coffins to eliminate gas and check strength of the lead. Once all efforts to check the outside of the coffins are completed the drill holes will be used to get inside the coffins. A sealed bag containing argon gas would cover the area. Through drill holes one can x-ray and assess the density of the coffin, the profile, etc. before the coffins are opened.

A flow chart needs to be worked out and prepared for the whole procedure. It is hoped the two small lead coffins can be opened first, but the position of the large coffin might make that impossible. Much equipment will be needed and a building for working purposes can be erected near the graves. Temperature in it should be kept at 55 degrees and there should be running water in the building. An alternative to erecting a building on site involves moving the coffins to a laboratory.

Most committee members and spectators were concerned with the identification and analysis of the sources. Lois Carr was subjected to interrogation by two forensic experts. The whole group at her table kept a respectful and interested silence in her presence. When asked to speculate about who might be buried in the large coffin, she replied, "We think this is the body of Philip Calvert the half brother of Charles, 3rd Lord Baltimore who died in St. Mary's, 1682". When asked, "Are you certain this is Philip?", she stated "No, this is our best guess for no other Calvert died during this time except William and he was drowned. To our knowledge, his body was not found." Lois commented on his health by noting, "He lived to be in his early 50's. Two years before his death he married a 17 year old girl." She concluded by saying the commission needs answers from the experts.

Meanwhile, decision making continues and so does the serious business of funding this project. The only patient souls in all this are the sources.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 22
June 24, 1991

SPECIAL REPORT Les White

Notes from the NEDCC Preservation Microfilming Workshop

On June 5, 6 and 7 the Archives was host for a regional preservation microfilming workshop conducted by the Northeast Document Conservation Center. Only the fourth regional workshop NEDCC has held, it's a "mobile" version of their microfilm training workshop that the Center offers almost monthly at their Andover, Mass. office. Limited to 15, the workshop attracted several people from D.C. libraries including the Smithsonian, Library of Congress, and the National Library of Medicine. Maryland was well represented by staff from Morgan State, UMCP, Johns Hopkins, the Frederick Historical Society, and two members of our staff, Teresa and Skip. We even had a participant from the city government of Alexandria, VA making a total of 16. According to NEDCC staff, this was the first regional workshop in which all participants were actually local.

Preservation microfilming means filming according to strict standards and specifications set up by such organizations as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM). It also involves properly processing, inspecting, and storing the film. NEDCC, a leader in conservation and preservation holds these workshops to promote preservation through microfilming by offering hands-on training to participants.

This three day event began on Wednesday with opening remarks from Chris Allan, who has spent the better part of his career involved in some aspect of the microfilm operation at the Archives. Chris stressed organized management of a collection and detailed description as vital components of any filming project The user must be able to easily find what he or she is looking for so that film is a "friendly" alternative to using original records. He also pointed out the importance of proper storage of master negatives so that the information is around for future generations to study. His talk seemed to set a good tone for the conference, making the participants realize the importance of producing high quality microfilm.

Sessions during the workshop included discussions of planning for microfilm projects, budgeting, material preparation, and standards. Then on Thursday afternoon, the participants invaded the photolab to get actual hands-on camera training. The group was very impressed with the photolab operations and thought our facility was spectacular. Many expressed an interest in returning later for more detailed tours.

On Friday the workshop presented a panel of distinguished colleagues. The panel included Frank Carroll from the Library of Congress discussing collation and preparation, Paul Koda from the University of Maryland and Mary Elizabeth Ruwell from the Smithsonian and NEDCC discussing microfilming contracts and vendor relations, and Les White (who even put on a tie) talking about the management of the newspaper microfilm collection at the Archives.

But the highlight of the workshop had to be the final session on quality control. Participants were literally on the edge of their seats while Skip White performed a Methylene Blue Test on microfilm right before their eyes. The group watched, anticipating a tremendous color change in the solution but seemed mildly disappointed when the results were less than dramatic. Quick thinking Skip capped the solution and placed it in the meter that reads the results. Within seconds, pressure built up in the little veil and BOOM - off pops the cap about three inches into the air, saving the show.

Overall participants enjoyed themselves and took back a lot of useful information to their institutions. Les would like to thank Chris, Teresa, Skip, Tim, Doug, Andie, and Ruth for their help in coordinating the workshop.

PUBLICITY NEWS

"Time After Time", a newsletter pertaining to Harford and Baltimore counties, contains an article about old documents, books, and maps held by individuals. The auther, Everette C. Smith, stresses the importance of storing family papers and photographs appropriately. He also refers people to the Maryland State Archives for the paper preservation kit and as a potential depository for private papers either in the original or on microfilm.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 23
July 1, 1991

PUBLICITY NEWS

The Howard County Times, May 30, 1991, contained an article about Clover Hill, a farmhouse built about 1770 and located in the county's Rockburn Branch Park. Research on the house was done by students of the Ellicott Mills and Owen Brown middle schools. Some of the research was done at the State Archives. Howard County is considering whether and how the house can be restored.

RESEARCH NOTES Robert Oszakiewski

Recently, we received several requests to provide copies of Baltimore City bond resolutions. After failing to find them in the state laws, we assumed the resolutions were passed by the Baltimore City Council. As subsequent research revealed, this was on erroneous assumption.

Under the provisions of Article XI, Section 7 of the Constitution of 1867, no debt could be created by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, nor could Baltimore City's credit be loaned or granted to any individual, corporation, or association, nor could it be used to finance any internal improvements without the approval of the General Assembly as a whole and the subsequent approval of the legal voters of the City. There were certain exceptions to this. The Mayor and City Council could, on their own authority, borrow temporarily needed funds to cover deficiencies in the City Treasury, to provide for police and sanitation services, and other short term needs.

Baltimore City was not the only political subdivision that was placed under such a limitation. All of the counties of Maryland were required to submit any bond issues to the approval of the General Assembly.

Bond approval procedures were changed in 1984 after enactment of a constitutional amendment. Rather than being presented to the General Assembly as a whole, Baltimore City bond resolutions, after being passed by the Baltimore City Council, are presented to the Baltimore City Senators and Delegates for their approval. Once the majority of the respective delegations has been obtained, the resolutions are ordered journalized and then submitted to the Baltimore City voters for their approval.

Beginning with the 1984 session, Baltimore City bond resolutions are printed in Appendix II of the House and Senate Journals. They are entered as an exhibit in Appendix II and may be found in the index to the Journal under Bonds, Baltimore City. The entire text of the bond resolution and the signature of the Senate and House Delegations approving the bond will be found in the exhibit.

Prior to 1984, Baltimore City bond resolutions may be found in the recorded laws.

SPECIAL REPORT Pat Melville

Other State Archives

NAGARA Clearinghouse, Vol. 7, No. 2, Spring 1991, a newsletter of the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators, contains two articles of interest to the Maryland State Archives.

One article contains the 1990 statistical report which is a compilation of reports received from state archival and records management programs. The report contains statistics for microform services, preservation activities, staffing, records center holdings, record center activities, records disposition and appraisal, archival holdings, archival reference, archival accessioning, and public outreach. It is interesting to compare the figures for Maryland with those of other states. Our conservation lab deacidified 44,335 pages in FY 90, second only to North Carolina which handled 83,671 sheets. North Carolina did have a budget of over two million dollars which encompassed a joint program of archives and records management. In terms of total personnel, exclusive of records managements operations, Maryland also ranked at the top with a staff of forty. North Carolina had forty-three and South Carolina forty persons on their archival staffs. Record center holdings, 130,000 cu. ft., also ranked near the top, surpassed by only five other states. California showed the largest quantity of holdings, 534,645 cu. ft., in a center with a total capacity of 800,000 cu. ft.

The report lists only one state with archival holdings over 100,000. The Maryland State Archives held 115,000 cu. ft. of paper records in FY 90. Georgia showed the second largest figure, with holdings of 96,392 cu. ft. The same ranking occurs with archival storage capacity, Maryland with 160,000 and Georgia with 100,000 cu. ft. The report does not contain figures for number of microfilm rolls at MSA, but we certainly held substantially less than the 311,709 in Colorado. Maryland ranked fourth in the number of researchers. We served 13,517 patrons compared to 16,167 in Georgia, 16,686 in North Carolina, and 22,840 in Virginia. The reference chart contains no figures for phone or mail requests for MSA, the former because we do not keep such statistics and the latter for unknown reasons. North Carolina and Virginia handled the largest number of mail requests, 15,596 and 10,077 respectively.

The Clearinghouse usually contains a section of news from states and territories. This time the section is devoted to how budget crises are affecting archival and records management programs and how they are coping. The news is sobering and sometimes disheartening. California chose to concentrate dwindling resources on reference services and to deemphasize other activities, such as processing. Delaware cut microfilming services and can now process only 40% of government requests; a freeze on hiring has left four vacancies. Florida developed a fee schedule for the storage of magnetic tape and security microfilm in the record center. Georgia lost fourteen staff members, 17% of its personnel, when all vacant positions were abolished. The Archives also eliminated its mail reference service, but after heavy negative reaction decided to reinstate it and charge a research fee. Mississippi reassigned staff in order to continue to provide references services and record center activities and reduced weekend hours from eight to five hours. New Hampshire went from nine to three employees, required agencies to retrieve and refile their own records, and closed the research room daily at noon. Tennessee lost nine positions and eliminated weekend hours of operation.

Not all the news was gloom and doom. Many state archives are holding their own and in some cases expanding services. Virginia, for example, saw an increase in revenue because a new fee structure for the recording of deeds provided that $l of each fee go to the Virginia State Library and Archives. They actually added nine positions to the staff.

The Clearinghouse will be left at the circulation desk for anyone who wishes to read the full issue.

SPECIAL REPORT Greg Stiverson

Maryland Holidays

The impending observance of Independence Day, July 4, prompted a question about when Maryland began officially observing this and other holidays that have received official sanction by the General Assembly.

Maryland observes more official state holidays than any other state--14 in non-election years and 15 in election years. The General Assembly established the first four of these official state holidays in 1862. They were Christmas, New Year's Day, Washington's Birthday, and Independence Day. The Act also permitted the governor to proclaim holidays for "public thanksgiving, fasting, prayer, or other religious observances." This last provision is probably what prompted the General Assembly to consider the issue of officially recognizing holidays--the Civil War that was threatening the Union made days of thanksgiving for victories and days of fasting for defeats important. In addition to providing official sanction for such gubernatorially proclaimed days, the legislature recognized the other three holidays that were traditionally observed--Christmas, Washington's Birthday, and July 4.

No new holidays were added to the books until 1882, when the General Assembly recognized Good Friday and all general and congressional election days. This act was probably politically motivated--the Democratic machine that controlled Maryland politics would benefit by having election days declared holidays (especially for public employees, many of whom were beholden to the machine for their jobs), and the Good Friday religious holiday would help it solidify its support among Catholic immigrants.

Thanksgiving and Memorial Day were added to the list of official holidays in 1890. Columbus Day became a state holiday in 1908, and the same act gave holiday status to Defenders' Day, that unique Maryland celebration of the military activities on September 12, 1814, the day before the famed Battle of Fort McHenry. Maryland Day and Labor Day were approved by the General Assembly in 1916. This was a period of agitation by reform and labor groups, and both holidays may have been efforts to appease union members and other laborers, who were demanding totally unreasonable things like an end to sweatshops and adoption of the 60-hour work week. The final pre-WWII holiday approved by the General Assembly was Armistice Day in 1927 (became Veteran's Day in 1957), a day to celebrate the end of the "war to end all wars" and to remember those who died in that conflict.

Holidays given sanction in the post-WW II period are Lincoln's Birthday (1947) and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday (1974).

Incidentally, Congress voted to separate from Britain on July 2, 1776, not July 4. Two days after the vote for independence, Congress approved the statement explaining to the world why it had taken the drastic step of declaring independence. That statement, the Declaration of Independence, received Congressional approval on July 4, and for some reason that is the date that stuck in the public consciousness.

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THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 24
July 15, 1991

RESEARCH NOTES Connie Neale

Several weeks ago a patron found the following document in the Frederick County land records. Interesting things do turn up in those books, but this was something I had never seen before.

At the request of Isaac Stoner the following contract was recorded 19th November 1795. to wit

This Indenture made the 19th day of October anno Domini seventeen hundred and ninety five Between Isaac Stoner of the County of Frederick and State of Maryland of the one part Ann Stoner his wife and Henry Kinsey (Father of the said Ann) of the said County of the part Whereas some unhappy differences have lately arisen between the said Isaac Stoner and Ann his wife, and they have mutually agreed to live separate and apart from each other And whereas the said Isaac Stoner hath proposed and agreed to pay unto the said Ann his wife the sum of thirty pounds current money for her future support and Maintenance which the said Ann hath agreed to accept in full discharge and satisfaction for her support and Maintenance and all Alimony whatsoever during her Coverture. Now this Indenture witnesseth that the said Isaac Stoner in pursuance of his said proposal and agreement doth hereby promise and oblige himself his Heirs Executors and Administrators to pay unto this said Ann his wife her Executors Administrators or assigns the aforesaid sum of thirty pounds current money on demand, and doth also further promise covenant grant and agree to act with the said Ann his wife, and the said Henry Kinsey in manner and form following to wit that it shall and may be lawful for the said Ann his Wife, and that he the said Isaac Stoner shall and will permit her the said Ann from time to time and at all times henceforth during her natural Life to live separate and apart from him and to reside and be in such place and places and with such relations and Friends and to follow and carry on such trade and Business as she the said Ann from time to time at her will and pleasure shall think fit. And that he the said Isaac Stoner shall not nor will at any time or times hereafter sue her the said Ann in any court whatever for living separate and apart from him or any other person or persons for receiving harboring or entertaining her, nor shall or will at any time hereafter claim or demand any of the Monies or other property which she the said Ann now hath or which she may at any time hereafter acquire by purchase devise or otherwise, and she may enjoy and absolutely dispose of the same as if she were unmarried in consideration of which said sum of thirty pounds current money so made hereby payable to the said Ann on demand the said Henry Kinsey for himself his Heirs Executors and Administrators doth hereby covenant grant and agree to and with the said Isaac Stoner his Heirs Executors and Administrators in manner following that is to pay that in case the said Isaac Stoner his Heirs Executors or Administrators shall at any time hereafter be obliged to and actually pay any debt and debts which she the said Ann his wife shall hereafter contract with any person or persons that then and in such case the said Henry Kinsey his Heirs Executors and Administrators shall well and truly pay or cause to be paid unto the said Isaac Stoner his Heirs Executors Administrators or assigns all such sum and sums of money as he or they shall be obliged to and actually pay for or on account of any such debt and debts to be by her the said Ann at any time hereafter so contracted as aforesaid In Witness whereof the parties aforesaid hath hereto set their Hands and Seals the day and year aforesaid

[Signed by Isaac Stoner, Ann Stoner (her mark). Witnessed, etc.]

FREDERICK COUNTY COURT (Land Records) WR 13, pp. 647-648 [MSA C 814-43, 1/38/6/42]

Out of curiosity, I tried to follow up on the Stoners to see what happened to them, but with very little success. No private act of divorce is listed in Kilty, so presumably the separation agreement solved their problems. Wills are on record for individuals by those names, but the Ann Stoner who died in 1800 was really quite wealthy, leaving considerable amounts of money to eight children, and the Isaac who died in 1803 has different set of children and a different (or new?) wife. So the story has no tidy ending. Unfortunately.

REFERENCE REPORT Pat Melville

This new column will appear once a month and will note significant and unusual research topics being pursued through the search room, mail program, and phone calls.

In June several researchers were working on histories of towns or areas, specifically Highlandtown, Williamsport, Essex, Severna Park, Oxford, and Mayo. Other patrons are studying various aspects of Maryland history including 18th century economics, thirteenth amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Revolution, BA inventories for 1790 to 1840, integration of Annapolis schools, domestic service in antebellum urban upper south, gender relations in 18th century Annapolis, oyster wars, and civil rights movement. Archaeology related topics include shipwrecks in the Patuxent River and the Camden Yards area of BC. A staff person from the Historic American Building Survey was doing research for the Monocacy Battlefield project. Other topics include history of the Anne Arundel Medical Center, Eastern Shore railroad lines, history of Oblate Sisters, and drivers licenses in the early 1900's. A newspaper reporter called about the existence of American Redneck Day in Maryland. We do not know the answer because the caller was referred to the proclamation officer in the governor's office. In response to a letter Ellen and Pat compiled a list of Howard District judges and HO circuit court judges, 1840 to the present. A copy was placed in the topic file and biographical data was incorporated in the biographical files.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 25 July 22, 1991

RESEARCH NOTES Pat Melville

In the library will be found the following book by Samuel M. Andrusko - Maryland Biographical Sketch Index, Vol. I (1983). The book includes references to over 10,500 biographical sketches found in 33 state histories and biographical works and county histories. Most entries pertain to individuals; some refer to surnames when the family information in the publication was more prominent.

Andrusko's index should be consulted whenever anyone is trying to get biographical information about an individual because it provides a quick check of several publications some of which are poorly indexed anyway. A list of the works indexed appears at the front of the Index and each book is given a number. The index entries give these key numbers and a page number for the referenced book.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 26 July 29, 1991

NEW ACCESSIONS Tim Pyatt

The staff of the Archives has been a group of busy processors during the last few months. Ellen Alers has accessioned all of the previously unaccessioned search room indices under the agency name, MARYLAND INDEXES. Connie Neale accessioned two microfilm series and Stephanie Thorson accessioned several court series as part of the NHPRC project. The Conservation Lab staff also got into the spirit and accessioned two county agency series after they had been treated.

While much of the remaining Archives staff has not directly accessioned any new records, they have become acquainted with our processing system by assisting the Summer interns with the description of the GOVERNOR (Miscellaneous Papers).

Thank to the efforts of the entire Archives staff, processing statistics for FY91 have increased dramatically. During FY91 579 CSE were accessioned and 576 CSE were reprocessed for a total of 1,155 CSE processed.

BOARD FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

(Student Record), 1905-1981, SM 182

CHANCERY COURT

(Condemnation Record), 1737-1775, SM 181

COURT OF APPEALS

(BV Papers), 1970-1981, S 929

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

(Proceedings of House and Senate), 1817-1845, S 1392

GENERAL COURT OF THE EASTERN SHORE

(Miscellaneous Papers), 1791, 1792, 1796, S 1486

MARYLAND INDEXES

(Admiralty Papers), 1776-1787, S 1471

(Annapolis Records, Index), 1780-1869, S 1447

(Annapolis Records, Subject Index), 1780-1869, S 1448

(Assessment of 1783, Index), 1782-1783, S 1437

(Assessment of 1783, Tract Index), 1782-1783, S 1438

(Bible and Tombstone Records, Index), var.d., S 1406

(Birth Record, Index), 1649-1923, S 1403

(Black Records, DO, Index), 1806-1868, S 1409

(Black Records, DO, Owner Index), 1806-1868, S 1410

(Black Records, PG, Index), 1808-1869, S 1411

(Board of Public Works Records, Index), 1875-1981, S 1473

(Boundary Papers and Record, Index), 1720-1985, S 1474

(BULLDOG, Index), 1987-, S 1475

(Caveat Papers and Record, Index), 1739-1964, S 1467

(Census, Index), 1776-1778, S 1419

(Certificates of Freedom, AA, Free Blacks Index), 1805-1864, S 1407

(Certificates of Freedom, QA, Free Blacks Index), 1807-1864, S 1412

(Certificates of Freedom, QA, Owner Index), 1807-1864, S 1413

(Chancery Papers, Index), 1713-1851, S 1432

(Chancery Papers, Petition Index), 1713-1851, S 1434

(Chancery Papers, Tract Index), 1713-1851, S 1433

(Chancery Papers, Trustee Index), 1713-1851, S 1435

(Chancery Record, Index), 1668-1851, S 1431

(Chancery and Land Commission Papers, BA and BC, Index), 1785-1908, S 1472

(Church Records, Birth and Baptism Index), 1663-1967,

S 1401

(Church Records, Death and Burial Index), 1663-1967,

S 1402

(Church Records, Marriage Index), 1686-1958, S 1400

(Civil War Records, Index), 1861-1865, S 1470

(Convict Record, AA, Index), 1771-1774, S 1446

(Death Record, BC, Index), 1945-1948, S 1483

(Death Record, Index), 1655-1930, S 1404

(Debt Book, Index), 1733-1775, S 1430

(Equity Papers, SM, Index), 1815-1873, S 1481

(Federal Direct Tax, AA, Index), 1798, S 1440

(Freedom Records, AA, Owner Index), 1785-1867, S 1408

(Governors Records, Index), 1866-1982, S 1476

(Judgment Record, AA, Index), 1703-1792, S 1441

(Judgment Record, Provincial Court, Index), 1679-1717,

S 1465

(Land Records, AA, Index), 1653-1784, S 1443

(Land Records, AA, Subject Index), 1653-1784, S 1445

(Land Records, AA, Tract Index), 1653-1784, S 1444

(Land Records, Annapolis, Index), 1699-1817, S 1442

(Land Records, Provincial and State, Index), 1658-1790,

S 1466

(Library, Index), var.d., S 1452

(Maps, Index), var.d., S 1460

(Marriage Licenses and Record, Index), 1649-1886, S 1397

(Marriage Licenses, BA, Female Index), 1777-1851, S 1399

(Marriage Licenses, BA, Male Index), 1777-1851, S 1398

(Marriage References, Hodges Index), 1674-1851, S 1396

(Marriage References, Magruders Index), var.d., S 1487

(Maryland Gazette, Annapolis Items, Index), 1745-1820,

S 1456

(Maryland Historical Magazine, Author Index), 1906-1975,

S 1454

(Maryland Historical Magazine, Index), 1906-1960, S 1453

(Maryland Historical Magazine, Title and Subject Index), 1906-1975, S 1455

(Maryland State Papers, Index), 1775-1789, S 1484

(Militia Records, Index), 1794-1824, S 1424

(Miscellaneous Microfilm, Index), var.d., S 1458

(Miscellaneous Records, AA, Index), 1703-1867, S 1405

(Muster and Pay Rolls, Index), 1732-1772, S 1418

(Naturalizations, BA and BC, Index), 1796-1933, S 1416

(Naturalizations, BA, Index), 1852-1918, S 1417

(Naturalizations, Index), 1777-1917, S 1415

(Naturalizations, Provincial, Index), 1634-1776, S 1414

(Naturalizations, U.S., Index), 1797-1951, S 1463

(Oaths of Fidelity, Index), 1778, S 1420

(Orphans Court Proceedings, AA, Index), 1777-1816, S 1449

(Orphans Court Proceedings, FR, Index), 1777-1808, S 1450

(Orphans Court Proceedings, WA, Index), 1786-1805, S 1451

(Patents, Index), 1634-1985, S 1426

(Patents, Manor Index), var.d., S 1436

(Patents, Tract Index), 1634-1985, S 1427

(Pension Record, Revolutionary War, Index), var.d., S 1421

(Pension Record, War of 1812, Index), 1867-1889, S 1425

(Periodicals, Index), var.d., S 1479

(Photographs, Index), var.d., S 1477

(Plats on Microfilm, Index), var.d., S 1462

(Plats, Index), var.d., S 1461

(Probate Records, Colonial, Index), 1634-1777, S 1393

(Probate Records, Index), 1777-1854, S 1395

(Provincial Papers, Index), 1714-1775, S 1478

(Rent Rolls, AA, Tract Index), 1651-1776, S 1429

(Rent Rolls, Index), 1639-1776, S 1428

(Revolutionary War Papers, Index), 1775-1789, S 1422

(Revolutionary War Records, Index), 1775-1798, S 1423

(Scharf Collection, Index), 1640-1890, S 1485

(Series, Index), 1635-, S 1480

(Special Collections, Index), var.d., S 1457

(State Publications, Index), 1829-, S 1459

(Tax List, AA, Index), 1764-1766, S 1439

(Testamentary Proceedings, Index), 1657-1777, S 1394

(Topic File, Index), var.d., S 1482

MARYLAND STATE ARCHIVES

(Disposal Authorizations), S 1469

(Retention Schedules), S 1468

SOMERSET COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

(Assessment Ledger), 1841-1852, CM 1258

WASHINGTON COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

(Assessment Record), 1896-1910, C 2107

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 27 August 5, 1991

REFERENCE REPORT Pat Melville

Several research topics concern broad areas of Maryland history including the history of Annapolis, colonial trade and migration between New York and Virginia and Maryland, colonial judicial system, history of the Eastern Shore in the 18th century, and history of criminal law. Other more specialized areas of research include taxes on utilities, black women and quilts and needlework in 19th century Annapolis, packing houses in southern Maryland, War of 1812 gunboats, photographs of fisherman, Maryland's replica of the liberty bell, Scotish immigrants, censorship in Maryland, baseball in Baltimore, and changes in farm implements between 1785 and 1840. Two teachers groups were researching state and local history materials for use in history classes in secondary schools. Research into land titles and buildings involved Thomas Point in Anne Arundel Co., Patapsco Female Institute in Ellicott City, and Lawyers Hill in Elkridge. One person was seeking information on Frederick Douglass. The State Highway Administration is researching the Civil War battles at South Mountain and Antietam as part of the battlefield preservation project. Ellen searched for court files concerning the Gunpowder River for a talk on the history of the river area.

SERENDIPITOUS NEWS Dawn Almes

Interns' Believe it or Not:

A recommendation for F.C. Hyde as "Keeper of the Hill, etc.", dated February 1864, addressed to His Excellency Gov. Bradford, signed William W. Seabrook. The document was discovered in the Governor's papers alongside recommendations for other notable positions, i.e. inspector of lumber.

"Mr. F.C. Hyde informs me that he is about to make application for the position of Keeper of the Hill, etc., and having been informed that a change is to be made and the present incumbent removed, I beg to recommend Mr. Hyde as a worthy, industrious and courteous gentleman, and a good union man, and have no doubt his appointment would be acceptable to all our loyal citizens."

No other identifying information is on the document. Speculations welcome, scholarly, macabre, or crass.

EXHIBIT REVIEW

"Climbing Jacob's Ladder: The Rise of Black Churches in Eastern American Cities, 1740-1877," Baltimore City Life Museum, Court Yard Exhibition Center.

This is actually two exhibits in one. The main portion, "Climbing Jacob's Ladder," concentrates on the emergence of African-American Churches, first within the larger white dominated and controlled denominations, such as the Presbyterian, and then in African-American denominations, such as the Africaqn Methodist Episocapal, and their achievement of independence and growth in the 1860's and 1870's. This part of the exhibit uses panels that flow in a circular motion beginning in the Great Awakening of the 1740's, when black participation in white Christian churches began to be documented, until 1877, when Reconstruction came to an end.

Along the way, the exhibit examines the emergence of the African-American Church as a focal point for African-American community life. To a far greater extent than was the case in white communities, the black church served as the heart of the black community, both free and slave, providing a forum for community expression, a source of education and, in time, the spring board for black political activity.

The second part of the exhibit focuses on the black church in Baltimore. Drawing on the resources of a variety of Baltimore's religious archives, this exhibit documents the presence of African-Americans in the various mainline denominations that were in Baltimore. Aside from the Catholic, Methodist and Baptist churches, African-Americans were present in the Episcopal church, demonstrated by a statue of St. Katherine of Alexandria, after whom the Mt. Calvary Episcopal church named its mission to Baltimore's black community in the late 19th century. New denominations, such as the African-American Catholic Congregation of Bishop Stallings, are also referred to.

This exhibit reminds the visitor that for blacks in particular and other minorities in general, the records kept by civil agencies do not tell much of their history. Other records, such as church registers, help document the history of groups of people. The exhibit continues at the Baltimore City Life Museums through 27 August 1991. The exhibit catalog, "Climbing Jacob's Ladder in Baltimore," is well worth its 25 cent donation. A copy has been donated to the library.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 28 August 12, 1991

PROCESSING REPORT Amanda Steen, Larry Peskin, Kristen Orff and Dawn Almes

To the Governor of Maryland

Dear Sir... I will waylay and kill you... should it take me a year to do so. Killing tyrants and thieves is my profession, and when you fall the whole Maryland line will rejoice...

Passions in Maryland often run high, but they have never been higher than in the 1860s, when this letter was written to Governor Augustus Bradford by an anonymous Marylander who went south to fight for the Confederacy.

Four diligent, hardworking and modest interns -- Amanda, Dawn, Kristen, and Larry -- have spent the summer immersed in this passionate, violent and intriguing world while processing the Governor's Miscellaneous Papers -- SSF 1274. With the help of some (but alas not nearly all) of the full time staff they have keyboarded roughly forty clamshells of these papers and unfolded and numbered another forty or so boxes.

Operating under the sacred theory of INTELLECTUAL CONTROL, they are describing these documents at the folder level using a dBase program that will eventually be fed into Wordcruncher.

In the process they have learned that the drama and tension of the war was most palpable in border states such as Maryland; the Governors' papers provide a fascinating glimpse into that period. The violence began in Maryland with the April 19, 1861 Baltimore riot, when an angry mob attacked a Massachusetts regiment. References to that incident continue throughout the war as Maryland's Union government looked for ways to compensate the New Englanders. Other less famous incidents of mob violence also made their way into the Governor's papers, including threats of violence and military interference during the 1865 election. The fact that a new state constitution in 1864 had disenfranchised all "disloyal" men heightened tensions. So too did the appearance of heavily armed soldiers returning to the still-bitterly divided areas of the Eastern Shore and Southern Maryland to cast their Union tickets. One lone Confederate ticket surfaced in a folder crammed full of Union ballots cast by soldiers still in the field.

Another point of contention was the loyalty oath imposed on Marylanders by the new constitution. The governor was flooded with letters from office holders claiming they were too ill to take the oath. One can only wonder if this wasn't some sort of secessionist sickness.

Sectional strife within our state is also evident in the inability of Union recruiters to enlist enough men to fill their federal quotas. Eastern Shore recruiters swamped the governor with letters reporting that virtually no one was willing to fight for the Union. Even in more loyal Western Maryland, recruiting proved an uphill battle and the state continued to fall chronically short of its quotas.

Racial animosity is a consistent undercurrent in this collection. Several Freedman's Bureau reports show that free blacks in St. Mary's County and throughout Southern Maryland were mistreated. Several black men complained that secessionist whites had burned their businesses and destroyed their livelihood. Two white men bludgeoned and dragged a Kent County free black from a Unionist meeting. Plantation owners voiced fears that the Eastern Shore would become "another St. Domingo," the West Indies island where black slaves successfully revolted in a violent action against the ruling white minority.

Black people -- both freedmen and slaves -- also played a big part in the war effort. General Butler's Special Order allowing for the organization of colored troop regiments and the subsequent recruiting efforts are among the records. Slave owners profited by receiving bounties for their slaves who enlisted in the armed forces, and the Governor's papers show that many owners also tried to get credit for other peoples' slaves and for freedmen. One intrepid slave owner whose "boy" had been jailed pleaded with the governor to pardon the slave so he could enlist as a substitute for his (no doubt draft-age) owner. The slave's feelings, unfortunately, are not recorded.

The interns have found plenty of other "neat things," not so easily categorized -- including letters from Lincoln, Secretary of State Seward, Secretary of Treasury Hamilton Fish, E.M. Gallaudet; reports on conditions at the state's prison; copies of the 13th Amendment; and a letter from the Duke of Manchester inviting the governor to a celebration for the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth.

Staff members who have yet to participate in "fun and frolic at the folder level" are welcome to join the interns in the Rare Books Room.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 29 August 26, 1991

SPECIAL REPORT Rocky Rockfeller

Teachers' Institute: "Rhetoric and Reality: Individual Rights, States' Rights, and Civil Rights in Maryland, 1634-1992."

Between July 15 and August 2 of this summer, ten teachers from the Anne Arundel and Baltimore areas participated in an educational seminar for the improvement of secondary education. We focused on the use of local affairs and original records to illustrate national history. Constitutional history held a prominent place in deference to the Bicentennial of the Bill of Rights. Drs. Papenfuse, "Chip" Adomanis (AA Schools), M. Mercer Neale (Gilman School) and Whitman Ridgway (UMd.) made up the faculty.

The introduction of original documents into the classroom can be achieved by using the document packets designed by Drs. Papenfuse and Neale. All manner of materials, from newspapers and court cases, to census schedules and wills are duplicated and collected around a central theme. While the designers have their own historical analysis of the materials fully developed, the beauty of the packets is that teachers and students alike can work out their own interpretations. The careful and exact reproduction and layout of the images accounts for all our time using so many of the copiers.

This summer, the Institute examined six topics, each at a site related to the subject. We explored life in the seventeenth century through documents such as wills and inventories and a visit to Saint Mary's City. There we were able to meet with the

Director and other prominent historians and archaeologists. [Our special thanks to Dr. Lois Carr whose writings we incorporated in the documents.] Dr. Papenfuse introduced the whole program with a packet on Maryland's slow movement towards independence, mostly viewed through the pages of the Gazette. While meeting at the Paca and State Houses, the teachers examined Maryland's and America's experiments in constitution-writing. The experience of black Civil War veterans, as revealed in "The Aftermath of Glory" packet, relate to events in Annapolis, so we met here. The Murray case, which enforced the desegregation of the Maryland Law Schools, came to life in Baltimore in the very courtroom where the case was heard. The Dorchester County Historical Society hosted our discussion of H. Rap Brown's speech before the Cambridge riot of 1967. During the third week, Dr. Ridgway came to lecture on the national context of these local events, and on Constitutional history in general.

The teachers completed several lesson plans for their classroom use, based on our document packets and our instruction here, but tailored to their own schools' needs. The materials will soon be made available in a special collection (SC 2221) so that other teachers can access the documents in the packets, as well as the lesson plans derived from them. A system for ordering packets, wholly or in part, will be established.

PROCESSING REPORT Dean Yeats

While refoldering the many oversize boxes of the MARYLAND STATE PAPERS, I discovered that a box located in the vault was not indexed. Besides containing an abundance of references to revenue acts which assured Lord Baltimore an appropriate amount of the provincial monies, within the box are several folders of "historical notes." Les and Tim speculate that these narratives were written when many of the provincial documents were transcribed. Included are summaries of Claiborne's Rebellion, Ingle's usurpation, relations with Indians and preparations for defending Maryland from the French and their Indian allies.

While this space does not allow for a lengthy examination of these records, the notes pertaining to the Ingle usurpation provide a useful illustration. The chronology of that incident by the unnamed "historian" are as follows:

17 APR 1643 Leonard Calvert is out of the province; Giles Brent is left in charge.

20 JAN 1644/3 [the provincial government?] issues a "proclamation against" Richard Ingle for "High Treason."

18 SEP 1644 [at St Mary's?] Lord Calvert commissions Leonard Calvert to resume the government.

18 SEP 1644 kCapt. Clayborne it seems was at this time come into the province to stir up Rebellion. Clayborne[,] Ingle & many others promote an Insurrection ..."

30 SEP 1644 Governor Leonard Calvert commissions William Brainthwait to act as his lieutenant governor in his absence.

30 SEP 1646 Governor Leonard Calvert leaves Captain Edward Hill to govern while he goes to VA to raise a militia [to put down the rebellion].

DEC 1646 Calvert returns from VA with an "armed force" and the rebels submit.

It should be noted, however, that a search for references cited in the historical notes proved unsuccessful. While the credibility of this 18th century historian has not been established, his interpretations provide interesting insights and raise interesting questions. For instance, was Lord Baltimore in St. Mary's on 18 SEP 1644?

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 30 September 9, 1991

STATE AGENCY RECORDS PROJECT NOTES Stephany Thorson

The following are some examples of agency histories and series descriptions created by the NHPRC project this Summer.

SH 10 ADMIRALTY COURT 1691-1789

The colonial charter gave the Lord Proprietor the right to set up any courts for land or sea that he deemed necessary. However, no specific courts were established to hear cases in maritime law. The Provincial Court sat in admiralty to hear such cases, but at least one case, the forfeiture of the ship Liverpool Merchant, was heard by the Chancery Court in 1682. It was not until Maryland was a crown colony (1690-1715) that any serious effort was devoted to the establishment of an admiralty court. Governor Copely received a commission in 1691 that appointed him admiral, and between 1695 and 1696 there appear to have been admiralty courts on each shore. The Western Shore officers were recommissioned in 1696, and presumably served for the entire province since no further references to the Eastern Shore court exist. An act passed by the General Assembly in 1699 "for the Punishment of Privateers and Pirates" specifically defined the crimes within the jurisdiction of the court. These included "all Treasons, Felonies, Piracies, Robberies Murthers or Confederacies Committed... upon the Sea" or any other waterway under the Admiralty Court's jurisdiction.

The duration of the court established during the royal period is unknown, but a 1715 report of the provincial officers suggests that it had been defunct for some time when the report was written. It appears to have been reconstituted, as Daniel Dulany was commissioned as judge in 1734, and there are occasional references to fees of officers of the court. The appointment of a full complement of officers in 1754, recorded in the earliest surviving minutes of the court, indicates that it was being revived once again. The court's jurisdiction included contracts, accounts, wages, treason, piracy, felonies, fugitives, mayhem, and bottomry (cases in which a shipowner put the ship up as security for a loan.

The Constitution of 1776 established an Admiralty Court to try captures and seizures made and brought into Maryland ports. The court's three officers, judge, register, and marshal, tried about twelve cases a year during the revolutionary period. The annual caseload increased to roughly eighteen after the war, when the court assumed civil jurisdiction over seamen's wages and assaults. This civil jurisdiction appears to have been assumed on the basis of precedent rather than law, since the Constitution of 1776 did not specifically grant such jurisdiction to the Admiralty Court, and no statute granting it has been found. The Admiralty Court in Maryland endured until 1789, when the Federal Constitution assigned admiralty jurisdiction to the federal courts. However, Judge Benjamin Nicholson, who had served since 1776, argued that neither state nor federal law had abolished his office and that the federal government had no jurisdiction over intrastate admiralty matters. He remained in office until 1790, when he resigned to become Chief Judge of Baltimore Town. The state, however, refused to pay his salary as Judge of the Admiralty Court after 1789. The General Court found for his widow when she sued for the thirteen months unpaid salary, affirming his arguments, so it may be argued that the Admiralty Court existed, albeit without a judge, until the Constitution of 1851.

See Also: PROVINCIAL COURT, CHANCERY COURT

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

MSA S116 ADMIRALTY COURT (Court Papers) 1776-1812 4 CSE

Original documents arranged by case in chronological order. Four cases are dated after 1789, when the court was abolished by the adoption of the Federal Constitution. These four cases may be Baltimore County Court cases. The papers are indexed by the Admiralty Court Papers Index [MSA S 1471].

MSA S117 ADMIRALTY COURT (Minutes) 1754-1782 2 CSE

Original minutes, which are official records what was said and done at meetings of the court. Records exist in both original and photostatic form. The originals were formerly part of the Peter Force Collection.

Also available on microfilm for 1754-1775, MSA SM 106.

SH 7 CHANCERY COURT 1669-1854

In 1637, Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore, sent a commission to Maryland appointing the governor as Chancellor of the province and thus empowering him to preside over chancery cases in court. Chancery, or equity, cases are suits requiring an equitable solution which cannot be decided on the basis of common or statute law; for example, settlements of estates or divorces. Both law and chancery cases were first heard in the Provincial Court without a legal distinction. While the offices of Governor and Chancellor were held by the same person, he presided over hearings of the two types of cases. However, when Charles Calvert replaced Philip Calvert as governor in 1661, Philip retained the chancellorship, presiding at equity cases when the governor was not present and serving as keeper of the Great Seal of Maryland. By 1669, the number of chancery cases had increased enough to warrant a separate clerk for the Chancery Court. The clerkships of the Chancery and Provincial courts were sometimes held by the same person until 1694, although the two offices and their records were kept separate. While the Chancery and the Provincial Courts served as distinct bodies, they maintained close ties and met in joint session until 1675, when the Chancery Court began to hold separate meetings. The membership of both courts consisted of the Governor and Council until 1694, when the Governor and two non-Council members were commissioned as judges of the Chancery Court. The number of judges varied between three and seven until 1720, when it became a one-man court presided over by the Chancellor. Maryland was a crown colony between 1690 and 1715. During part of that period the Chancellor's office was not held by the Governor, though in 1699 the Governor resumed that office. The Chancellorship was relinquished by the Governor in 1719 and assumed again in 1725, after which the Governor reserved the office and its duties as keeper of the Great Seal and sole judge of the Chancery Court for himself. The offices of Governor and Chancellor were permanently separated by the Constitution of 1776, which provided that one person be appointed Chancellor by the Governor and Council. The term at first was indefinite, but a constitutional amendment in 1838 limited it to seven years. The court's jurisdiction in equity cases was largely unaffected by the constitutional changes although other responsibilities were assigned to the Chancellor occasionally, including a requirement that election returns be filed with him. An act of 1785 gave the court jurisdiction over the property and affairs of minors and mentally deficient persons. The act also gave the Chancellor authority to appoint an Auditor to state, audit, and settle accounts agreeable to his order.

The Court's caseload was reduced by an act in 1814, granting the county courts concurrent jurisdiction, though the Anne Arundel County Court heard no chancery cases since the Chancery Court sat in Annapolis. Despite the 1814 act, there were still some 2000 cases on the docket in 1851 when the new state constitution provided for the gradual dismantling of the court. The Chancellor was continued in office for another two years to dispose of the backlog, but no cases were allowed to originate. A number of "Keepers of the Records of the Court of Chancery" served between 1854 and 1862. In 1862 the records of the court became the responsibility of the Land

See Also: PROVINCIAL COURT

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

MSA S147 CHANCERY COURT (Trial Docket) 1807-1813 1 CSE

Docket entries for cases showing the surnames of the litigants and notations about each case. Two volumes.

MSA S512 CHANCERY COURT (Chancery Papers) var.d. 1564 CSE

Original documents filed in each case including bills of complaint, petitions, answers, testimony, trustees reports, exhibits, and plats. The files are arranged numerically. An

inventory of each case exists as a database which is

accessible by names of individuals, firms, institutions,

tracts, places, and topics. Many of the cases are recorded in

the Chancery Record series [MSA S 517]. Indexed by Chancery Papers, Index [MSA S1432].

MSA S513 CHANCERY COURT (Appeal Bonds) 1821-1841 1 CSE

Recorded copies of bonds filed to cover costs of appeals to Court of Appeals. Two volumes.

MSA S514 CHANCERY COURT (Bonds and Reports) 1792-1820 1 CSE

Recorded copies of bonds and reports filed by court appointed trustees.

MSA S515 CHANCERY COURT (Bonds, Releases, and Receipts) 1822-1853 1 CSE

Recorded copies of bonds filed by court appointed trustees and releases and receipts from beneficiaries of court administered trust funds.

MSA S516 CHANCERY COURT (Chancery Papers, Index) 1785-1851 1 CSE Index to cases in the Chancery Papers series [MSA S 512] by surname of plaintiff. For more complete access, see the automated version of the Chancery Papers, Index [MSA S1432].

MSA S517 CHANCERY COURT (Chancery Record) 1668-1852 162 CSE

Recorded copies of documents filed in each case, including bills of complaint, petitions, answers, testimony, trustees reports, exhibits, and plats. Early records also include indentures and marriage records. Some records are photocopies. The series consists of 180 libers bound in 207 volumes, and is indexed by the Chancery Record, Index series [MSA S 518].

Also available on microfilm for 1668-1800, MSA SM1.

MSA S518 CHANCERY COURT (Chancery Record, Index) 1668-1797 11 CSE Index by names of litigants to cases recorded in the Chancery Record series [MSA S 517]. The series consists of fourteen typescript volumes compiled in the early twentieth century.

MSA S519 CHANCERY COURT (Checkbook) 1821-1830 1 CSE

Records of checks drawn to individuals from accounts held by the court with amount and reason for payment noted.

MSA S520 CHANCERY COURT (Condemnation Record) 1737-1775 5 CSE

Docket entries, records of cases, and writs of ad quod damnum. A writ of ad quod damnum was a request from the Lord Proprietor to a county sheriff asking what damage a land grant to an individual, primarily for the construction of a mill, would cause. The series is bound with volumes in the Chancery

Record series [MSA S 517].

MSA S521 CHANCERY COURT (Insolvency Papers) 1787-1805 4 CSE

Original documents filed in bankruptcy cases of individuals, arranged alphabetically.

MSA S522 CHANCERY COURT (Insolvency Record) 1787-1818 3 CSE

Recorded copies of documents filed in bankruptcy cases of individuals.

MSA S523 CHANCERY COURT (Lunacy Docket) 1816-1850 1 CSE

Docket entries for insanity cases. They list the notes on court actions, the names of some of the individuals affected, and petitions.

MSA S524 CHANCERY COURT (Minutes) 1785-1824 1 CSE

Miscellaneous administrative court proceedings, including copies of writs issued, policy decisions, notes on cases, and signed oaths of attorneys and court officials.

MSA S525 CHANCERY COURT (Bank Book) 1828-1836 1 CSE

Bank passbook for accounts held at Farmer's Bank of Maryland for court appointed trustees.

MSA S526 CHANCERY COURT (Petition Docket) 1824-1852 1 CSE

Recorded entries of petitions showing the names of petitioners and notations of court actions.

MSA S527 CHANCERY COURT (Docket) 1784-1851 29 CSE

Docket entries showing the names of the litigants, their counties of residence, and some notes on the cases.

MSA S528 CHANCERY COURT (Chancery Papers, Exhibits) 1752-1856

208 CSE

Original documents presented as exhibits in hearings. These include accounts, checkbooks, ledgers, invoices, inventories, bills, letters, plats, and other financial paperwork. Stoddert's 1718 survey of the city of Annapolis is also included. The series consists of both volumes and loose documents.

Also available on microfilm for 1752-1766, MSA SM79.

.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 31 September 16, 1991

RESEARCH NOTES Pat Melville

Among the many documents processed this summer by the interns was a letter from a black woman in New Town, Worcester Co., MD, April 25, 1865, to President Johnson asking whether her former mistress could take her children.

"I want to know if my old mistees has enny right to take my children from me[.] she is going to send the sheriff I understand and take them[.] I have four children one son nineteen and one daughter fourteen whitch I have hired out by the year at good homes[.] my daughter is with Master John B. Melvin's wife[.] Master John and his son is in the army[.] I have one girl eleven and son nine at home with me[.] my husban workes with his old master at ten dollars a month and ... I do all the worke that I can and my husban and mee can support our children and them that is hired out can support themself[.] help me pleas ... I am [al]most crazy[.]"

To make the situation more heartbreaking, the letter was forwarded to Jefferson City, MO, by mistake and then to MD. The resolution of the matter is unknown.

REFERENCE REPORT Pat Melville

In August the vast majority of researchers were doing genealogy, and many others were continuing to pursue research projects mentioned in previous reports. New historical topics last month include work on the USS Maryland, oyster police and oyster industry, elections in 1950, state psychiatric institutions, and tobacco labels. More localized subjects include the status of blacks in Baltimore in 1840, 18th century

music in Annapolis, women's suffrage movement in Baltimore, and slavery in Charles County from 1760 to 1790.

SERENDIPITOUS NEWS Dean Yates

With apologies to Andy Rooney, "Did ya' ever wonder why so many volumes are covered with canvas?"

Well, the process was mandated on 16 June 1724 by the COMMISSIONERS TO INSPECT PUBLIC RECORDS (Minutes) [MSA S 994]. In one of its first actions, the Commission "Resolved that [all transcribed volumes] be Covered with false Covers of buckram Canvas or such like to preserve them from wearing ... and the Covering Renewed so often as it wears Through" (p.5).

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 32 September 23, 1991

RESEARCH NOTES Pat Melville

Recently a researcher hit the jackpot by finding a will that not only gave the date of death but also the cause of death. PREROGATIVE COURT (Wills) 28, p. 349 [MSA S538-41, 1/11/1/35] contains the nuncupative (oral) will of Cloudsberry Kirby, TA, probated June 1, 1752.

"Christopher Spry and James Kirby, witnesses to a nuncupative will made by Cloudsberry Kirby... Joyner... say that on the thirtieth day of last May being only two days ago they heard the said Cloudsberry Kirby say (who was then dangerously ill with a fall from a cherry tree) that in case he should die with that illness he would have all his estate go to his Mother Elizabeth Kirby... [H]e died the morning following which was the thirty-first day of... May."

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 33 September 30, 1991

LIBRARY ACCESSIONS Shashi Thapar

Beth, Mary and Vanessa Long Worcester County Marriage Licenses 1795-1865 REF B-3-4

Hollowak, Thomas L. Polish Heads of Household in Maryland: An Index to the 1910 Census 3-2-2

Harford County Genealogical Society Biographical Record of Harford and Cecil Counties Maryland with New Index 9-1-5

Warfield, J. D. Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland 10-4-2

Peden, Henry C., Jr. Revolutionary Patriots of Cecil County, Maryland 2-1-6

Powell, Jody Somerset County, Maryland 1739 Tax List 3-1-1

Whitney, Althea H. History of the Manokin Presbytarian Church, Princess Anne, Maryland 1672-1980 12-1-4

Miller, Rebecca Furniss Somerset County, Maryland Inventories 1791-1797, EB 19 3-1-1

Lankford, Wilmer O. Court Records of Somerset County, Maryland, Nov. 1675 - Sep. 1677 3-1-2

Weiser, Frederick S. Maryland German Church Records Vol. 5: Evangelical Reformed Church, Frederick, Frederick County 1746-1789 REF B-3-2

Jones, Thomas A. J. Wikes Booth 9-2-3

Beth, Mary and Vanessa Long Worcester County Marriage Licenses 1795-1865 2-1-5

Genealogical Society of Allegany County Allegany County, Maryland Rural Cemeteries 3-1-6

Wearmouth, Roberta J. Abstracts from the Port Tobacco Times and Charles County Advertiser, Vol. 1: 1844-1854 3-2-1

Hammett, Regina Combs History of St. Mary's County, Maryland 1634-1990 10-3-6

Forbes, Marie Speaking of Our Past: A Narrative History of Owings Mills, Maryland 1640-1988 10-4-3

Blakey, Arch Fredric General John H. Winder, C.S.A. 9-4-6 Callcott, Margaret Law Mistress of Riverside: The Plantation Letters of Rosalie Stier Calvert 1795-1821 9-2-5

Skinner, V. L., Jr. Abstracts of the Inventories of the Prerogative Court of Maryland, Libers 1-4, 1718-1720 3-1-5

Skinner, V. L., Jr. Abstracts of the Inventories of the Prerogative Court of Maryland, Libers 5-9, 1720-1724 3-1-5

Skinner, V. L., Jr. Abstracts of the Inventories of the Prerogative Court of Maryland, Libers 12-14, 1726-1729 3-1-5

Skinner, V. L., Jr. Abstracts of the Inventories of the Prerogative Court of Maryland, Libers 10-11, 1724-1727 3-1-5

Skinner, V. L., Jr. Abstracts of the Inventories of the Prerogative Court of Maryland, Libers 15-17, 1728-1734 3-1-5

Skinner, V. L., Jr. Abstracts of the Inventories of the Prerogative Court of Maryland, Libers 18-23, 1733-1738 3-1-5

Skinner, V. L., Jr. Abstracts of the Inventories of the Prerogative Court of Maryland, Libers 24-28, 1738-1744 3-1-5

Skinner, V. L., Jr. Abstracts of the Inventories of the Prerogative Court of Maryland, Libers 29-36, 1744-1748 3-1-5

Skinner, V. L., Jr. Abstracts of the Inventories of the Prerogative Court of Maryland, Libers 37-47, 1748-1751 3-1-5

Skinner, V. L., Jr. Abstracts of the Inventories of the Prerogative Court of Maryland, Libers 48-60, 1751-1756 3-1-5

RESEARCH NOTES Richard Richardson

THE HUNDREDS OF MARYLAND

The Hundreds of Maryland is a new weekly feature prompted by a patron's research request. In August we received a letter asking for a listing of the hundreds as they existed for the late colonial period for each county, the dates each hundred was created, and their location on a county map. I thought that this would be a good time to build upon the work of Ben Primer, Pat Melville, and others. I advised the patron that my research would be a work-in-progress rather than a definitive study of hundreds in Maryland.

In England, counties were divided into hundreds, perhaps based on the notion of a "hundred families" within a certain area. The hundred evolved into a convenient division for administrative and judicial purposes.

In Maryland too, the counties were divided into hundreds. The earliest hundreds were in St. Mary's County and cited in Rent Rolls 0, ca. 1639. Aubrey C. Land, Colonial Maryland: A History, writes that the settlers were "huddled about the original settlement at St. Mary's in civil subdivisions called hundreds after an ancient English jurisdiction."

The best description of what constitutes a hundred is given by Lois G. Carr in her dissertation, "County Government in Maryland, 1689 - 1709," pp. 14-15:

"The counties were divided into hundreds, the decisions as to the number and boundaries of hundreds being left to the county justices, but the hundreds had little significance. Sheriffs must have found them convenient guides in selecting juries from all areas of the county; otherwise the chief function of the hundred was to serve as a unit for the appointment of constables and pressmasters and the reporting of taxables. The population of hundreds could vary greatly, but in delivering warrants or drawing up tax lists the distance to be traveled affected efficiency as much as did the number of people to be reached or counted. Unless there was a military use of the hundred as a division that has escaped recording, there seems to have been no reason for establishing new hundreds as the population expanded except purely administrative convenience."

The hundreds proved to be useful civil subdivisions throughout the colonial period. In the late eighteenth century two or more hundreds were consolidated to form tax assessment districts (1785). A 1798 law (Chapter 115) divided the nineteen existing counties into election districts. The boundary lines of these newly created districts followed, in many instances, the lines of the recently consolidated hundreds.

The use of the hundred as a civil subdivision waned quickly with the advent of the election district. A 1824 law directed the justices of the levy court to appoint constables for the election districts instead of for the hundreds because "the boundaries of hundreds throughout this state, by vacating old roads, opening new ones, and other causes are, in a great measure obliterated and forgotten." Although the boundaries may have become obliterated over time, the names have survived into the twentieth century providing us with a reminder of our colonial heritage.

For quick reference in the searchroom and for letters, information on hundreds can be found in the "BULLDOGs," the Assessment of 1783, county assessment records for the 1790s, Federal Direct Tax of 1798, Archives of Maryland vol. 23, the Census of 1778, county court proceedings, county levy court proceedings, county levy lists, doctoral dissertations and published county histories.

Surprisingly, there is no topic file for hundreds. I have now created one and it will contain the research notes for each county.

The plan is to feature one county each week or two and find as much textual and mapping information as possible. The study will provide full references to the source of the information. Please feel free to provide me with constructive criticism and any information I may have overlooked.

ALLEGANY COUNTY (created (Laws) 1789, chapter 29)

"All that part of Washington County which lies westward of Sideling Hill Creek, shall be and is hereby erected into a new county by the name of Allegany County."

For the most part, the hundreds of Allegany County existed in Washington County. However, it appears that a few were created or renamed during the early 1790s. The hundreds underlined below do not appear in the extant lists of Washington County hundreds. I have also provided the district no. as it appears in the original document.

Sandy Creek Hundred (First District)

Glade Hundred (First District)

Upper Old Town Hundred (Second District)

Georges Creek Hundred (Second District)

Town of Cumberland Hundred (Third District)

Wills Hundred (Third District)

Cumberland Hundred (Fourth District)

Murley's Branch Hundred (Fourth District)

Skipton Hundred (Fifth District)

Fifteen Mile Creek Hundred (Fifth District)

Source: ALLEGANY COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF THE TAX (Assessment Record) 1793 [MSA C 0016, MdHR 1432, 1-1-1-1]

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 34 October 7, 1991

RESEARCH NOTES Richard Richardson

THE HUNDREDS OF MARYLAND

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY

Elkridge Hundred

Elkridge Landing Hundred

Upper Fork Hundred

Bear Ground Hundred

West River Hundred

Herring Creek Hundred

Upper Rhode [Road] River Hundred

Lower Rhode [Road] River Hundred

Patapsco Hundred

Magothy Hundred

South River Hundred

Annapolis Hundred

Middle Neck Hundred

Broad Neck Hundred

Town Neck Hundred

Patuxent Hundred

Huntington Hundred

Lyons Hundred

Severn River Hundred

Sources:GENERAL ASSEMBLY, HOUSE OF DELEGATES (Assessment Record) 1783 Anne Arundel County [MSA S 1161, MdHR S1161, 1-4-5-44/45]

MARYLAND STATE PAPERS (Federal Direct Tax) 1798 Anne Arundel County [MSA S 37, MdHR 16,653, 1-4-5-41/43]

REFERENCE REPORT Pat Melville

The diversity of research topics that we usually encounter was once again evident in September. Several students were beginning research for various types of history papers. The topics included secession in Maryland, Maryland labor and African-American history, Blacks in the War of 1812, Catholics in the colonial and early national periods, Civil War, analysis of the socio-economic background of persons involved in the Revolution of 1689, and Maryland women legislators. Several researchers were pursuing community studies including Bel Air, Fairmount Heights, Seat Pleasant, Oldtown, and early Annapolis. More specialized were the people searching for historical maps of Pasadena and Severna Park. Other geographically oriented topics involved the Patuxent River and Monie Bay. Some patrons were searching for information about the Peggy Stewart carriage house, Chesapeake schooners, Laurel Race Track, Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad Company, and financing of the Port of Baltimore. Two individuals are planning to compile an atlas of Maryland State Parks. One interesting inquiry concerned sources for the study of the sex lives of Indians. Phebe handled this question and did come up with a small list of secondary sources.

Normally this column does not mentioned specific families being researched. However, last month someone listed his or her research subject as "countless ancestors".

SERENDIPITOUS NEWS Susan Cummings

I received a reference call recently from Colorado. The caller's story went like this: "A guy passing through town last week sold me a bottle of whiskey..." The sealed, unopened bottle of Mt. Vernon Rye was distilled in 1917 and bottled in 1930 at warehouse number 27 in the Baltimore district. The patron had two questions: first, was the bottle worth anything? and secondly would the whiskey be any good? I immediately went to two "primary" sources, Doug and Kevin. Doug pointed out that this was during prohibition. He also commented that there never was any question of the potability of Maryland whiskey, especially rye. Kevin, being more open-minded, directed me to an article in the Winter 1990 Maryland Historical Magazine. This proved to be very helpful. The article discusses the retail wars of the 1880's and 1890's including Mount Vernon square bottle versus Mt. Vernon round bottle. I also learned that although Maryland ratified the Eighteenth Amendment it legislated no state enforcement. I referred the patron to the article as well as to other records we might have here such as incorporations and city directories.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 35 October 15, 1991

RESEARCH NOTES Pat Melville

Occasionally researchers use the House and Senate Journals, and the staff should know how to gain access to specific entries. The journals for each session are indexed, separately of course for the House and Senate. If a researcher is searching for a subject, person, or agency, the index entry does not give page number(s). Instead a cross reference to a number for a House Bill, House Joint Resolution, House Resolution, Senate Bill, Senate Joint Resolution, or Senate Resolution is given. This can be confusing because it is not readily obvious what the next step should be. One should look under H for the House documents and under S for the Senate documents. Under House and Senate respectively will appear the bills, joint resolutions, and resolutions in that order. The document numbers appear under each category in numerical order. These entries give the page number(s) for the journal entries.

If a research looked in the index of the 1985 House Journal for pharmacies the cross reference says See H.B. 1572. Under House Bills, 1572, is a brief statement giving the content of the bill and page numbers for the journal entries - 1193, 2137, 2270 (1050), 3015. The number in parenthesis refers to a roll call number on that page.

This type of indexing system was instituted in 1945 and continues to be used presently. The earlier journals contain index entries that give direct references to page numbers.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 36 October 21, 1991

RESEARCH NOTES Richard Richardson

THE HUNDREDS OF MARYLAND

BALTIMORE COUNTY

The number of hundreds in Baltimore County changed dramatically during the course of the eighteenth century. This was due in part to population increase and in part by the creation of Harford County in 1773. I have attempted to group them by time period and reference source:

1696/7

Speceutia

North Side of Patapsco

Gun Powder River

South Side of Gun Powder

South Side of Patapsco

Source: ARCHIVES OF MARYLAND, vol. 23, p. 24.

1737

Upper Spesutia Deer Creek

Lower Spesutia Middle River

Gunpowder Upper Back River Upper

Gunpowder Lower Back River Lower

Patapsco Upper Soldiers Delight

Patapsco Lower

Source: BALTIMORE COUNTY COURT (Levy List) 1737 [MSA C 362, MdHR 20,401, 2-59-10-1]

Map Source: William N. Wilkins, Early Parishes and Hundreds, Baltimore County (1954) [MSA L 1063, Library 10-4-3]

1772

Spesutia Upper Middlesex

Spesutia Lower Deptford

Gunpowder Upper Baltimore Town East

Gunpowder Lower Baltimore Town West

Patapsco Upper Westminster

Patapsco Lower Pipe Creek

Deer Creek Upper Delaware

Deer Creek Lower Bush River Upper

Middle River Upper Bush River Lower

Middle River Lower Mine Run

Back River Upper North

Back River Lower Susquehannah

Soldiers Delight

Source: BALTIMORE COUNTY COURT (Levy List) 1772 [MSA C 362, MdHR 16,903, 2-59-10-1]

1783

Gunpowder Upper Deptford

Middle River Upper Baltimore East

Middle River Lower Pipe Creek

Back River Upper Delaware Upper

Back River Lower Delaware Lower

Middlesex Mine Run

North

Source: GENERAL ASSEMBLY, HOUSE OF DELEGATES (Assessment Record) 1783 Baltimore County [MSA C 1161, MdHR 1661-2-2/14, 1-4-5-45]

Map Source: Neal A. Brooks and Eric G. Rockel, A History of Baltimore County (1979), pp. 22-24 [MSA L REF, SR]

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 37 October 28, 1991

RESEARCH NOTES Pat Melville

Adoption in Maryland

Adoption in Maryland as a court proceeding is a relatively recent development. The first law regarding adoption was enacted in 1892 (Ch. 244) and provided that adoption petitions be filed in the circuit courts and handled as equity procedures.

Prior to 1892 there were no formal adoption procedures in Maryland. Instead people used other methods to accomplish the same purpose and sometimes, but rarely, used the word adoption. Often relatives would simply assume care over children whose parent(s) had died. If the minors inherited real estate the orphans court usually appointed these same relatives as guardians.

Name change procedures were also used to formalize situations where relatives or others had custody of children and wanted their surnames to be the same and wanted to secure future inheritances to them. In fact, some adult name changes occurred because the individual was being designated as the principal heir of an estate on condition that he or she take the testator's surname. Sometimes names were altered to legitimate bastard child(ren) or to give child(ren) the same name as a stepfather.

At first a name change was handled by petition to the General Assembly which granted the request through passage of a law. Not until 1868 (Ch. 311) did the legislature make this matter a court proceeding. After that the circuit courts heard name change cases as an equity procedure. The records prior to 1868 are found in the laws of Maryland. The ones for 1634 to 1854 are abstracted in Divorces and Names Changed in Maryland by Act of the Legislature by Mary K. Meyer.

Among the name changes granted by law through 1867 only four use the word adoption. An 1816 law (Ch. 210) states that "Isaac O. Lea, of the city of Baltimore, having adopted Lewis Pinney, an orphan aged about three years, and intending to educate and support the said orphan as his own offspring, hath applied to this General Assembly to alter and change the name of the said Lewis Pinney into Lewis Lea ...". An 1820 law (Ch. 155) shows George Charles Townes petitioning for an act "to change his name to that of George Charles Thompson, to enable him to become the adopted child and heir at law of Thomas Thompson of the city of Baltimore, sea captain ...". An 1824 law (Ch. 150) states that "George Jacob, (silver smith and jeweller) and Louisa Decoutres, of the city of Baltimore, by their joint petition, have represented to this general assembly, that she the said Louisa desires ... to have her name altered to Louisa Jacob, and that said George Jacob wishes to adopt the said Louisa as his daughter ...". An 1847 law (Ch. 29) authorized James Cloudy and his wife Mahala of Washington County "to adopt the said Catharine Maker as their daughter and legal heir at law." The law also changed her name to Cloudy.

The significance of rarely finding the word adoption in records prior to 1868 is not readily apparent. I have not checked name change equity files for the later years.

Even after the adoption law was enacted in 1892 I suspect the procedure was not pursued too often until it became more legally and socially important to do so. Researchers wanting to search for adoptions records should be referred to county and Baltimore City equity dockets and then to case files if a docket entry is located. Most adoption files prior to 1947 are open and thus accessible to anyone. All files created after July 1, 1947 are sealed and can be opened only by court order. Some earlier files are also sealed because the law permitted parties involved in an proceeding to petition the court to close an individual file.

STAFF ACTIVITIES REPORT Mame Warren

While on my way to give a talk at the Oral History Association conference at Snowbird, Utah last week, I stopped by the famous (or is it infamous?) Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City. I was there for about an hour and a half, and given the vastness of the facility, this report is rather cursory.

First, the hours the library keeps are impressive: they open every day at 7:30 a.m. On Mondays they close at 6:00, Tuesdays through Fridays they close at 10:00 p.m., and on Saturday they close at 5:00 p.m. True to the Utah state symbol, the library was busy as a beehive. There were hundreds of people scurrying around everywhere I looked. After a while I got the impression that there were as many staff members as there were researchers. Upon inquiry I was told that there are 800-900 paid staff and 700-800 volunteer/missionaries. The color of the badge worn is the only way to tell who is paid and who is a volunteer.

In the orientation area there is an exhibit about the Mormon pioneers and a volunteer there to answer questions and hand-out a brochure entitled "Where Do I Start?" The brochure gives a very brief overview of what is available and room to make a few notes. It unfolds to reveal a blank pedigree chart that includes blanks for birth, marriage, and death dates, and places of birth, marriage, and death for four generations. This brochure is a single legal-sized piece of paper printed on both sides and folded into thirds.

There is another hand-out that includes information about hours and holidays this year, a brief explanation of the international scope of the collections, the various formats of records, library rules (including limits on time using copiers and the number of reels of microfilm that may be used at a time), and advice on how to set reasonable goals for beginning genealogists.

For 25 cents, there is a 17-page booklet that explains in more detail what records are available and how to use them. At the copy centers (xerox machines) available on each floor (the building goes two floors below ground and two above) there are free "Family Group Record" forms for each couple on the pedigree form where they and their children can be listed.

First-time visitors begin with a slide orientation program in one of several small theaters. The presentation begins with an explanation about why the Mormons are so interested in genealogy (so that families can stay together forever). It then follows one researcher as she explores the various record series and finding aids available, uses the copy centers, makes inquiries at the information desk, etc. The program lasted about ten minutes and was comprised of two carousel slide projectors, a dissolve unit, and a single narrator with musical background on a programmable tape deck. Compared to the rest of the facility, this was simple, rather old fashioned technology, but it did give a good basic introduction.

After the slide show, a volunteer explained where to locate the various finding aids. We were standing behind a glass wall that looked into the huge, crowded search room area. She pointed out an area where people were lined up near one bank of computers. These people had signed up for a specific amount of time to work on those computers. There were plenty of other computers elsewhere that had shorter time limits. There were many microfiche readers, too. Microfilm was in another area I never got to. She also told us that there was a snack room with vending machines. After this orientation and opportunity to ask questions, my group went into the search room to join the hordes.

I spent most of my time investigating a finding aid on numerous CD ROM disks. The program I used was much more sophisticated than Word Cruncher. After I typed in a name (or a combination of given and surname), the alphabetical list containing the name, birth date and place came on the screen. Using a mouse, you could then ask for the source of that information, carry the family line either forward or backward for up to four generations, see a list of the person's children, etc. If I asked for any of these, I was instructed to remove the CD I was using and replace it with another numbered CD that could be found on the shelf above the computer I was working on. There were disks for countries all over the world. This International Genealogical Index (IGI) lists births, marriages, and LDS temple ordinance dates for more than 147 million (deceased) people.

If I wanted to print anything from this index, the cost was five cents per page for a dot matrix printout, and ten cents per page for a laser printout. Blank sheets of paper were sold for two pages for one cent. Payment was made at the information desk, so it is really an honor system.

The computer on which I was working had a five minute time limit. Every few minutes I would step away and look around, but no one seemed to be waiting to use it, so I worked on it for about twenty minutes with only self-imposed interruptions. There were volunteers standing nearby to help, but no one questioned the length of time I used the machine. At the same time there were people standing in line waiting to use computers on the other side of the room. Perhaps there was juicier stuff on those machines that was worth waiting for. Preferring not to be sucked in any further into the black hole of genealogy, I made my escape without being at all sure which Joshua Warren was my Joshua Warren. May I never find out.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 38 November 4, 1991

RESEARCH NOTES Richard Richardson

THE HUNDREDS OF MARYLAND

CALVERT COUNTY

l696/97

Lyons Creeke Hunting Creek

Lower End of the Cliffs Leonards Creek

Upper End of the Cliffs Elton Head

Source: Archives of Maryland, vol. 23, p. 23

1732/33

Upper Cliffs St. Leonard's Creek

Lower Cliffs Hunting Creek

Eltonhead Lyons Creek

Source: Charles F. Stein, A History of Calvert County, pp. 375-381 [MdHR Library 1064, 10-4-4]

1782/83

Lyons Creek Upper Cliffs

Lower Marlboro Lower Cliffs

St. Leonard's Creek Eltonhead

Hunting Creek

Source: Stein, pp. 339-374

SERENDIPITOUS NEWS Pat Melville

CHAPTER 245, Acts of 1892

AN ACT to provide for the removal of the water closet from the State House and for the erection of the same in a building elsewhere, and for the ventilation of the State House, the cleaning of the basement, and the renovating of the furniture of the Executive Chamber, and to appropriate a sum of money therefor.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the Board of Public Works be and it is hereby authorized and directed to cause the water-closets to be removed from the State House and annexed thereto and to have erected a building near to and properly connected with the State House in which all water-closets for the use of the State House shall be connected.

SEC. 2. And be it enacted, That the said Board of Public Works is hereby authorized and directed to provide a proper and efficient system of ventilation of the State House.

SEC. 3. And be it enacted, That the said board of public works is hereby authorized and directed to have the basement of the State House and annex thoroughly cleaned, and all books and records therein of value to be stored in proper places of deposit; and such books and papers as said board, after due examination, shall not deem worthy of preservation it shall cause to be sold, and the proceeds of such sale shall be paid into the treasury of the State.

SEC. 4. And be it enacted, That the said board of public works is hereby authorized to have the furniture and hangings of the Executive Chamber repaired or replaced with new furniture and hangings in such manner as it may deem necessary for the comfort of the occupants thereof.

SEC. 5. And be it enacted, That the secretary of the State Board of Health be and he is hereby directed to act with the said Board of Public Works in all matters mentioned in the preceding section of this act which have reference to the ventilation and sanitary condition of the State House or any part thereof, and the building referred to and provided for in this act which is to contain said water-closets.

SEC. 6. And be it enacted, That fifteen thousand dollars or so much thereof as may be necessary be and it is hereby appropriated to carry out the provisions of this act.

.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG
Vol. 5, No. 39 November 12, 1991

REFERENCE REPORT Pat Melville

In October the reference staff assisted patrons with a wide variety of research topics. Biographies were especially popular; one person was researching Brig. Gen. John Dagworthy. Students from a history class at the University of Maryland were compiling lists of resources for doing biographies of specific individuals including William Paca, Thomas Johnson, Marvin Mandel, and John W. Garrett. Institutional histories being pursued included Nichols-Bethel United Methodist Church, St. Johns College, and Maryland Gazette. Another researcher was studying the Maryland Higher Education Commission. Other people were interested in local community issues such as the environmental assessment of a gas station, Anne Arundel County building codes in reference to a specific business structure, and land use near Baltimore reservoirs. Local history topics included paper mills in Georgetown and the War of 1812 and its effect in Georgetown, Fredericktown, and Havre de Grace. More general Maryland history studies consisted of slavery in the 17th century, anti-Catholic literature, and anti-federalism. Two students embarked upon a study of crib deaths on the Eastern Shore in the 1960's. Other patrons were searching for information about skipjacks, Pearl Harbor, and Roe vs. Wade and illustrations for a fourth grade Maryland history text.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG

SERIES NOTES Pat Melville

(Probate Proceedings)

The revolution that occurred in Maryland in 1689 against Lord Baltimore caused some disruptions in government functions. The Protestant English crown replaced the Catholic proprietor as the central government authority. During the interim period between 1689 and 1692 the provincial officials functioned erratically, but essential services continued to be provided at the county level. For example, the Prerogative Court ceased operation during this time. Its duties became the responsibility of the county courts. Some of these probate records have survived as a series called (Probate Proceedings). They contain wills, bonds, inventories, and accounts. The counties for which this series is extant include:

CECIL COUNTY COURT, 1690-1692, C 641

CHARLES COUNTY COURT, 1690-1692, C676 and CM 1237

DORCHESTER COUNTY COURT, 1690-1692, C 726 and CM 1231

SOMERSET COUNTY COURT, 1690-1691, C 1797

TALBOT COUNTY COURT, 1689-1692, C 1898.

Scattered records for Baltimore County appear in BALTIMORE COUNTY COURT (Proceedings) F1, C 400-2, for 1691-1692. None of the records mentioned above appear in Indices 1 or 2.

After the central probate office was reestablished in 1692 the court clerks were ordered to transcribe the probate documents they had recorded and sent them to the Prerogative Court. For reasons that cannot be determined transcribed records for only two counties, Anne Arundel and Calvert, appear in the Prerogative Court series:

(Wills) 2, pp. 202-234, S 538-2; AA, 1690-1692

(Inventories and Accounts) 11A, pp. 1-50, S536-15; AA, 1690-1692

(Testamentary Proceedings) 16, pp. 1-50, S529-29; CV,1692.

These records are included in Indices 1 and 2.

There are no extant probate records for Kent and St. Mary's counties for 1690-1692.

STAFF ACTIVITIES REPORT Doug McElrath

MARAC Fall Meeting "The Records of Business, Technology, and Labor"

Despite the threat of forest fire, approximately 200 regional archivists disregarded the smoke-filled skies and attended this meeting in the scenic Valley of Virginia. Among former MSA employees or interns in attendance were Rick Blondo, Maryann Coyle, Gregg Kimball (Program Chair), Susan King McElrath, Betsy Parkin Pittman, and Diana Shenk.

Sessions featuring Maryland repositories included a presentation by Nancy McCall from the Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives (Johns Hopkins) concerning the influence of the Report of the Joint Committee on the Archives of Science and Technology (JCAST) on development of an academic medical archival program. Some of the issues in repositories holding scientific research data include the demand that research results be retrievable and replicable. For government archives, the issue is whether scientific research data compiled under government contract has been adequately appraised for permanent retention. The JCAST Report offers guidelines for developing a documentation strategy approach for determining how archives should administer these types of records.

Diana Shenk from Penn State University presented a very interesting collection of photographs on labor union organizing efforts in Pennsylvania in a session on Photographic Sources on Industry and Labor. This session concluded with a very lively discussion on the use and misuse of photographs as historical evidence with some surprisingly vehement criticism of the recent Ken Burns Civil War television series. An important issue is the roll of the photographic curator in helping researchers avoid the pitfalls of misidentifying photographs in an archival collection.

A session on current conservation programs at the Virginia Historical Society and the Virginia State Library and Archives provided an illuminating contrast in approaches. Both institutions appear to be putting substantial resources into fully functioning labs.

One of the more enlightening sessions was on the use of labor records for documenting African-American history. In addition to the better known Record Groups at the National Archives such as the records of the Freedman's Bureau or the Bureau of Labor Statistics, records such as the case files of the FBI are considered a rich source of information on groups that may have been considered subversive at one time. The little-known story of the voluntary and involuntary participation of African-Americans in the Confederate war effort in the Civil War was the theme of a presentation by Ervin Jordan of the University of Virginia. He also made an eloquent plea for standards in citing records - it seems many repositories fail to provide guidelines on a preferred citation format that would allow subsequent researchers to find records used in published works.

Next spring on May 7 - 9, MARAC will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in its meeting in Pittsburgh. The theme will be, "Educating Archivists for the 21st Century."

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG

RESEARCH NOTES Richard Richardson

THE HUNDREDS OF MARYLAND

CAROLINE COUNTY

1774

Fork Bridgetown

Great Choptank Tuckahoe

Choptank

Source: CAROLINE COUNTY COURT (Land Records) A, pp. 140-141 Hundreds, November 1774 [MSA C 523, MdHR 10,099, 1-2-1-1]

Map Source: Laura C. Cochrane, et al., rev. History of Caroline County, pp. 18-20 [MdHR Library 1065.C6, 10-4-4]. Cochrane notes that "Owing to the indefinite boundaries of the Fork Hundred a change was found necessary as Cannon's Ferry [described in (Land Records) A, p. 141] proved to be in Delaware. This change made the Fork Hundred so small that the part remaining was in 1776 incorporated in Great Choptank Hundred."

1783

The (Assessment Record) 1783 lists three districts: River, Lower Choptank, and Upper Choptank. There is no mention of hundreds in the record.

Source: GENERAL ASSEMBLY, HOUSE OF DELEGATES (Assessment Record) 1783 Caroline County [MSA S 1161, MdHR 1661-3-4/6, 1-4-5-46].

SERENDIPITOUS NEWS Dean Yates

Apparently female patients at Spring Grove State Hospital were considered a fire threat. In 1941, the General Assembly appropriated money for the construction of a "specially-designed building to house 100 Chronically Disturbed Women." The building, declares the report, is "strictly fireproof... [with] walls that can be washed with a hose and hot water." Coincident to that report is a rule book distributed to hospital employees. Section 3, rule 3 reads in part: "Male patients may smoke in the day rooms and on the grounds. Female patients may smoke on the grounds only."

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG

FINDING AID NEWS Pat Melville

In order to find a court case file it is always helpful to know how the series is arranged. The more modern 20th century civil and criminal files are usually arranged numerically by case number with all papers for each case filed together. The earlier files are usually arranged chronologically by year or court term. Thus, the individual papers for each case may be found in several places. Sometimes they are filed together at the time a decision is reached by the court.

There can be no question that finding a court file by case number is infinitely easier than by date. Court clerks began to file case papers in equity proceedings much earlier than in other types of cases, usually by 1851. Baltimore City clerks, however, set up systems different from that of any other jurisdiction. The Superior Court files were arranged numerically by drawer number which consisted of the letter C, standing for chancery, and a number. All cases in one drawer received the same number. The system apparently was imposed after the fact since the lowest numbers appear on the latest cases.

The Baltimore City Circuit Court, established in 1853 as an equity court, used a completely different filing system until 1900. There were actually two systems, depending on whether the case was recorded or unrecorded. Unrecorded cases were filed alphabetically by the first letter of the surname of the plaintiff and then chronologically by the year of the bill of complaint or petition. If there was more than one plaintiff, the name of the first party listed in the docket was used to determine the placement of the file. Recorded cases were filed under the volume designation, such as JRB 60, then by page number. Over time the page number order has not been retained.

When a researcher requests a Baltimore City Circuit Court equity case prior to 1900, the reference staff must first try to determine whether the case was recorded or unrecorded by looking at the docket entry. The volume and page numbers for recorded files are noted in the docket. The lack of such information indicates that the case was not recorded. Of course, for recorded cases the researcher has the option of using either the equity record or the equity papers.

In 1900 the Baltimore City Circuit Court began to assign a unique number to each equity case file. Baltimore City Circuit Court No. 2, established in 1888, used a numerical filing system from the beginning.

THE ARCHIVISTS' BULLDOG

PUBLICITY NEWS Pat Melville

The Baltimore Sun, December 15, 1991, contained an article about Sulphur Springs which was a 19th century spa in what is now Arbutus. The land is now owned by UMBC which plans to build a research park. Charles A. Kucera has researched the site, using some sources here, and believes he has found the remains of the Sulphur Springs Hotel. He is "campaigning for an archaeological study of the area and for its preservation as a nature conservancy."

RESEARCH NOTES Richard Richardson

THE HUNDREDS OF MARYLAND

CARROLL COUNTY

Carroll County was created out of parts of Baltimore County and Frederick County in 1837.

CECIL COUNTY

1696

outh Sassafrax North Sassafrax

Source: ARCHIVES OF MARYLAND, vol. 23, p. 24

1770

North Sassafras North Susquehanna

West Sassafras South Susquehanna

Middle Neck Elk

Bohemia Manor Charlestown

Back Creek Octoraro

North Milford South Milford

Bohemia

Source: George Johnston. History of Cecil County, Maryland, pp. 241-242 [MdHR Library 1067, 10-4-4]

1783

Bohemia (First District)

West Sassafras (First District)

North Sassafras (First District)

Middle Neck (Second District)

Bohemia Manor (Second District)

Back Creek (Second District)

North Milford (Third District)

East Nottingham (Third District)

South Milford (Fourth District)

Elk (Fourth District)

West Nottingham (Fifth District)

South Susquehannah (Fifth District)

Charlestown (Fifth District)

North Susquehannah (Sixth District)

Octarara (Sixth District)

Source: GENERAL ASSEMBLY, HOUSE OF DELEGATES (Assessment Record) 1783 Cecil County [MSA S 1161, MdHR 1161-3-7/8; 4-1/5, 1-4-5-46/47].

Map Source: SPECIAL COLLECTIONS (Gillespie Collection) Hundreds of Cecil County [MSA SC 1794, 0-11-2-28].

SERENDIPITOUS NEWS Dean Yates

WANTED: Information relating to early flight in Maryland. According to an aviation historian friend of mine, a Peter Carnes flew in a balloon near Baltimore ca. 1770-1780. Well, actually he didn't fly in it, Carnes was too heavy. Not one to give up easily, he selected a youth from the crowd, an Edward Warren (any relation, Mame?), to fly in the balloon which may or may not have remained tethered. My friend has seen a photograph of a painting depicting the balloon flight, but has been unable to locate the painting, or any more details on the flight. So, if you know of any information or have any suggestions about where to look for primary or secondary sources which may shed more light on this event (possibly the first manned flight in Maryland), please let me know and I'll pass it along.