The early petitions to the Baltimore County Orphans Court are found in Baltimore County Register of Wills (Petitions) 1780-1789 [MSA C399]. They can yield some fascinating insights into the daily lives and problems of Marylanders of the period. The petitions cover a variety of topics ranging from the binding out of apprentices to requests for government officials to respond to requests. In one petition Absolom Butler said he had waited for two days to find out why the judge had sent for him. As he was about to leave for Virginia, Butler wanted the judge to let him know why his presence was required.
The first folder in the series concerns the estate of George Patten. In his Last Will and Testament George Patten had made bequests to Thomas Patten, Moses Patten, Mrs. Agnew, David Stewart, Nathaniel Smith, and Mrs. Butts. Thomas Patten accused David Stewart and Nathaniel Smith of acting hastily in applying for letters of administration on the estate. Stewart and Smith, in their response filed 23 May 1780, stated that George Patten departed this life on or about 19 Feb 1778 at which time the libellant, Thomas Patten, was out of state. Stewart and Smith waited until May 1778 and then applied for letters of administration since no one else had done so.
The petitions are arranged chronologically, with the name of the deceased on the folder. An alphabetical list of decedents can be found at the front of each of the two boxes in the series.
The petition series continues under the Baltimore City Register of Wills, 1791-1950 [MSA T621].
ADDITIONS TO SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
by Nancy Bramucci
Ritchie Collection, [MSA SC4712]. Ritchie Family Papers. Original. Deposit, Historical Society of Frederick County.
Saylor Collection [MSA SC4713]. Saylor Family Papers. Original. Deposit, Historical Society of Frederick County.
Staley Collection [MSA SC4714]. Staley Family Papers. Original. Deposit, Historical Society of Frederick County.
Steiner Collection [MSA SC4715]. Steiner Family Papers. Original. Deposit, Historical Society of Frederick County.
Weinbrenner Collection [MSA SC4716]. Weinbrenner Family Papers. Original. Deposit, Historical Society of Frederick County.
Cook Collection, 1777 [1996] [MSA SC4718]. Eleanor M.V. Cook, "Index to 1777 Tax List and Court Records - Montgomery County, Maryland." Copy. Gift, Eleanor M.V. Cook.
First Baptist Church Collection, 1785-1901 [MSA SC4719]. Church records, First Baptist Church, Baltimore: cash book, 1894-1902; financial ledger, 1824-1836; minutes, Temporal Committee, 1839-1845; proceedings, 1844-1847, 1870-1903; minutes, 1785-1834. Deposit, First Baptist Church of Baltimore.
Burch Collection, n.d. [MSA SC4720]. Pedigree chart, Burch family. Copy. Gift, Mr. Whistler Burch.
Wiley Bates Collection, n.d. [MSA SC4722]. Copy negatives of a photograph of Wiley Bates.
USS Maryland Collection, var.d. [MSA SC4723]. Photographs, scrapbooks, and other memorabilia relating to the U.S.S. Maryland battleship. Photographs, original, copy. Gift, U.S.S. Maryland Veterans.
Claggett Collection, 1837 [MSA SC4724]. Map, I. Smith, Railroad Routes between New York and Washington. Original. Courtesy of Laurence Claggett.
Petrie Collection, 1878-1939 [MSA SC4725]. School certificate, Augusta Wilhelmina Gradetzki, Sep. 1878; marriage certificate, Augusta and Carl Bartell, 1889; baptism certificate, Emma Margaretha Bartell, born Feb. 1889; baptism certificate, Mary Jane Kahne, 1939. Original. Deposit, Mary Jane Petrie.
Kelbaugh Collection, 1864 [MSA SC4726]. Newspaper, Annapolis Gazette, 16 June 1864. Original. Gift, Jack Kelbaugh.
Labrot Holly Beach Farm Photograph Collection, 1930 ca.-1950 ca. [MSA SC4727]. Ten photographs of Holly Beach Farm, S.W. Labrot, and his racehorses, including Tred Avon and Sir Greysteel. Original. Photographs. Deposit, Mrs. Leonie Lebrot Gateley.
Annapolis High School Class of 1929 Collection [MSA SC4728]. Information relating to Annapolis High School class of 1929 reunions. Original. Gift, Ann Jenson.
Upperco Collection, var.d. [MSA SC4729]. Plats, deeds, and other land records relating to the Upperco family. Original. Gift, Mr. Leslie Upperco and the Baltimore County Genealogical Society.
Pride of Baltimore Collection, 1996 [MSA SC4730]. Final report, Pride of Baltimore, Inc., Calvert Memorial Project. Copy. Gift, Pride of Baltimore, Inc.
Baldwin Memorial Church Collection [MSA SC4733]. Letter found in time capsule and bible. Original. Deposit, Baldwin Memorial Church.
General Federation of Women's Clubs Collection, 1889-1895 [MSA SC4734]. Publications, The Cycle, The Woman's Cycle, The New Cycle. 2 vols., 1889-1893, 1894-1895. Original. Deposit, General Federation of Women's Clubs.
Goldman Newspaper Collection, 1814-1859 [MSA SC4735]. Newspapers, broadsides and broadsheets of the National Intelligencer (Washington, D.C.), 1814; Mississipian Extra (Jackson, MI), 14 Jan. 1846; Petersburg Intelligencer (Virginia), 21 Mar. 1859. Original. Gift, Dr. Stephen Goldman.
Packman Newspaper Collection, 1810-1881 [MSA SC4736]. Newspapers, National Intelligencer (Washington, D.C.), 1810-1814; Poulsons Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA), 1812-1813; New York Daily Herald 1867-1868, 1872; Forney's Sunday Chronicle (Washington, D.C.), 1881; Harpers Weekly, 1871; Grange Advance (Red Wing, MN), 1875; Denver Republican (Colorado), 1881; Desert News (Salt Lake City, UT), 1857-1859. Original. Gift, Dr. Harold Packman.
Spiro Agnew Jigsaw Puzzle Collection, 1970 [MSA SC4737]. A complete jigsaw puzzle depicting "Spiro Agnew: Friend of the Silent Majority." Original. Gift, David Chase.
Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland Collection, 1899 [MSA SC4738]. Statement of financial conditions, Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland, 30 Mar. 1899. Original. Gift, Plainfield Public Library.
Yuill Collection, 1650-1996 [1996] [MSA SC4739]. Nancy Yuill, "Cedar Hill Cemetery, Brooklyn, Anne Arundel County, MD and David Engel, Founder," 1996; Nancy Yuill, "The Sheriffs of Anne Arundel County, 1650-1996," 1996. Copy. Gift, Nancy Yuill.
Richard Richardson Collection of McKeldin-Jackson Civil Rights Oral History Project, n.d. [MSA SC4741]. Notes compiled by Richard R. Richardson, McKeldin-Jackson Oral History Project. Original, copies. Gift, Richard R. Richardson.
Padgett Collection, 1913 [MSA SC4743]. Letter, Blair Lee to August Thiel, concerning candidacy to U.S. Senate, support of President Woodrow Wilson, and importance of Prince George's and Montgomery counties, 31 October 1913. Original. Gift, Margot Padgett.
Historical Society of Talbot County Map Collection, 1858 [MSA SC4744]. Map, William Dilworth, Map of Talbot County with farm limits. Original. Gift, Historical Society of Talbot County.
Flowers Collection, 1884-1930 [MSA SC4745]. Frederick County Circuit Court records: (Docket) 1868-1899 [MSA T175], (Releases and Assignments) 1909-1913 [MSA T2201], (Licenses on Hand) 1909-1913 [MSA T2801], (Tax Collection Record) 1884-1898 [MSA T2802], (Grand Jury Witness Docket) 1909-1914 [MSA T2803], (Judgment Record) 1903-1930 [MSA T2804], and (Test Book, Index) 1880-1884 [MSA T2805]. Original. Gift, Susanne Flowers.
Middleton Collection, var.d. [MSA SC4746]. Research notes, Arthur Pierce Middleton, Tobacco Coast: A Maritime History of the Chesapeake Bay in the Colonial Era. First edition, The Mariners Museum, Newport News, VA, 1953. Second edition, The Johns Hopkins University Press and the Maryland State Archives, 1984. Original. Gift, Arthur Pierce Middleton.
Wing Collection, 1670-1676 [MSA SC4747]. Log-book of six voyages to and from Virginia, kept by Edward Rhodes. Microfilm. Gift, John Wing.
Gadd Collection, 1789-1842 [MSA SC4748]. Family bible, Gadd family. Pages with recorded family genealogy. Original. Deposit, John Gadd.
Edward C. Papenfuse, State Archivist
Patricia V. Melville, Editor
Mimi Calver, Assistant Editor
Lynne MacAdam,Production Editor
Rita Molter, Circulation
The Maryland State Archives is an independent agency in the Office of Governor Parris N. Glendening and is advised by the Hall of Records Commission. The Chairman of the Hall of Records Commission is the Honorable Louis L. Goldstein, Comptroller, and the Vice Chairman is the Honorable Robert M. Bell, Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals.
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