The Archivists' Bulldog

Vol. 11 No. 6, Newsletter of the Maryland State Archives, March 24, 1997


ARCHIVES TO TAKE PART IN GOING DIGITAL CONFERENCE

A conference called Going Digital: Research Resources and Trends sponsored by the National Archives and Records Administration, the University of Maryland and the Archives will take place on April 10 at the National Archives in College Park. The Conference, which is free to the public, will focus on using digital resoureces for research.

Ed will take part in a morning demonstration of digital resources at all three institutions and, in the afternoon, will take part in a panel discussion on What Do Researchers Expect in Digital Access? Also participating in the panel discussion will be Rick Blondo, former Archivist here and now an Archivist at NARA, and Betty Day and Marietta Plank of UMCP.

This conference will be an excellent opportunity for researchers, and other interested members of the public, to learn about what is happening in the digital world and how each of these three institutions is dealing with issues related to creating and using computer-based finding aids and the internet. There are still some places left which will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. To register, send name, address, institutional affiliation, e-mail and fax numbers to: Carolyn Bernaski, NARA, NWD, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-7010; fax: (301) 713 6915; e-mail: carolyn.bernaski@arch2.nara.gov

DISEASES

Researchers using old death certificates and sometimes other records may be confused by the terminology used to describe the cause of death. The following are some of the commonly found terms that may appear in 18th and 19th century records. The definitions are taken from: The Olive Tree Genealogy: Glossary of Diseases: http.www.rootsweb.com/~ote/disease.htm.

Ague: Malarial or intermittent fever characterized by shills, fever, and sweating at regular intervals. Also called fever andague, chill fever, the shakes, and swamp fever.
Apoplexy: Paralysis due to stroke.
Bad Blood
: Syphilis.
Cholera infantum
: A common, non-contagious diarrhea of young children. Death frequently occurred within three to five days.
Consumption
: A wasting away of the body, formerly applied to pulmonary tuberculosis.
Debility
: Abnormal bodily weakness or feebleness, decay of strength.
Dropsy (or Hydropsy):
The presence of abnormally large amounts of fluid. Another name for congestive heart failure.
Hectic fever
: A daily recurring fever with profound sweating, chills, and flushed appearance, often associated with pulmonary tuberculoses or septic poisoning.
Gravel:
Another term for kidney stone.
Hydrocephalus
: Dropsy.
Inflammation
: Redness, swelling, pain, tenderness, heat, and disturbed function of an area of the body. Often a cause of death was listed as inflammation of a body organ, such as brain or lung. This was purely a descriptive term that is not helpful in identifying the actual underlying disease.
Jail fever
: Typhus.
Lung fever
: Pneumonia.
Malignant fever
: Typhus.
Marasmus:
Malnutrition occurring in infants and young children, caused by an insufficient intake of calories or protein.
Milk sick
: Poisoning resulting from the drinking of milk that had been produced by a cow that had eaten a plant know as White Snake Root.
Mormal:
Gangrene.
Phthiis
: See consumption.
Putrid fever
: Typhus.
Scarlatina
: Scarlet fever; highly contagious.
Ship fever:
Typhus.
Summer complaint
: See cholera infantum.
Variola:
Smallpox.
Winter fever
: Pneumonia.

LIBRARY ACCESSIONS
by Shashi Thapar

Bentley, Elizabeth Petty, Genealogist's Address Book
Columbian Harmony Society, Records of Payne's Cemetery, Washington, D.C., Supplemental Volume
Columbian Harmony Society, Records of the Columbian Harmony Cemetery, Washington, D.C., vol. 7: 1931-1959
Commission on Preservation and Access, Annual Report 1995-1996
Cunningham, Isabel Shipley, Joyful in the Lord: A History of Wesley Grove Camp Meeting
Farrell, Michael R., The History of Baltimore's Streetcars, (Formerly published as Who Made All Our Streetcars Go?)
Fee, Elizabeth and others, The Baltimore Book: New Views of Local History
Gibb, James G., The Archaeology of Wealth: Consumer Behavior in English America
Hobbs, Susan A., The Art of Thomas Wilmer Dewing: Beauty Reconfigured
Hollis, Jeffrey R., East End, B & O's "Neck of the Bottle": Harpers Ferry to Cumberland
Jones, Carleton, Streetwise Baltimore: The Stories Behind Baltimore Street Names
McCurley, James B., Jr., Some American Ancestors of James Bernard McCurley, Jr. and Margaret Anne McCurley, vol.2:Additions and Corrections, revised
Moore, L. Tilden, Index to Administration Account Records of Frederick County, Maryland, 1750-1816
Norton, Mary Beth, Founding Mothers and Fathers: Gendered Power and the Forming of American Society
O'Neill, Francis P., Addendum to Index of Obituaries and Marriages in the [Baltimore] Sun, 1861-1865
O'Neill, Francis P., Index of Obituaries and Marriages in the [Baltimore] Sun, 1866-1870, vol. 1
O'Neill, Francis P., Index of Obituaries and Marriages in the [Baltimore] Sun, 1866-1870, vol. 2
Peden, Henry C., Jr., Revolutionary Patriots of Calvert and St. Mary's Counties, Maryland, 1775-1783
Peden, Henry C., Jr., Revolutionary Patriots of Montgomery County, Maryland, 1776-1783
Wallis, Guy, Ancestors of Ambrose Bodien Wallis
Weaver, Betsy, Hands, Horses and Engines: A Centennial History of the Baltimore County Fire Service


RECORD TRANSFERS

by Kevin Swanson

DISTRICT COURT 7, AA (Criminal Docket) 1991 [MSA T1080
DISTRICT COURT 7, AA (Civil Docket) 1983 [MSA T1171]
GOVERNOR'S COMMISSION TO STUDY STATE ASSUMPTION OF THE CIRCUIT COURT (General File) 1994 [MSA T2807]
SECRETARY OF STATE (Requisitions) 1995 [MSA T863]
SECRETARY OF STATE (Extraditions) 1993-1995 [MSA T864]
SECRETARY OF STATE (Disclosures) 1990-1995 [MSA T2806]
MONTGOMERY COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (Road Plats) 1996 [MSA T974]