SCHOOL RECORDS FOR BALTIMORE COUNTY, 1849-1857
by Pat Melville
The Archives has very few county records pertaining to schools in Baltimore County. From the Baltimore County Board of School Commissioners are two series: (Receipt Book) 1849-1857 [MSA C407] and (Expense Accounts) 1852-1856 [MSA C329].
After the establishment of state mandated commissioners of the school fund in 1816, changes in the governing education bodies in Baltimore County began in 1826. A law passed in the 1825 session gave voters in Election District 1, the Catonsville area, the authority to annually elect five commissioners of public free schools. The commissioners could determine the number of schools needed, obtain school buildings and furniture, establish curriculum, and hire teachers. The county levy court was given the authority to impose and collect a school tax on the property and income of the residents of the district. All children and wards of white residents were permitted to attend the schools for free. The law went into effect only after being ratified by the voters of the election district in October 1826.
In 1829 the General Assembly transferred the responsibility for distribution of state school funds from the commissioners of the school fund to the county commissioners who were required to use population figures to determine the amount for each election district. Three trustees were appointed for each election district to receive and expend the moneys. The first trustees were named in the law, with vacancies to be filled by the county commissioners.
A law passed in 1848 moved Baltimore County towards a centralized system for the entire county. The county commissioners were given the power to levy school taxes and to appoint one person from each election district to a county board of school commissioners. This latter body could establish schools, purchase or lease lots, build or lease school houses, employ teachers and set their salaries, and prescribe courses of study and textbooks. Each student was required to pay $1.00 per quarter, unless exempted by the school commissioners. By amendments enacted in 1850 the board of school commissioners became an elected body with the voters in each election district annually selecting one commissioner for the board. In addition, the patrons of each school annually elected three directors who selected a teacher, inspected the school house, examined pupils, and reported to the school commissioners of their election district.
In 1853 the Baltimore County Board of School Commissioners was incorporated, making it possible for the board to receive and disburse school funds directly instead of working through the county commissioners as an intermediary. At the same time elections were changed to biennial events.
The two records cited above of the board of school commissioners concern financial activities. The (Receipt Book) series contains receipts for school funds received from the county treasurer. The (Expense Accounts) series lists chronologically expenditures for school and office purposes. Supplies included stamps, brooms, gold pens, hatchets, coal, stationary, spittoons, wash boards and pitchers, lamps, window glass, chairs, charcoal, sand, wood, soap holders, door mats, venetian blinds, water coolers, and forms for teachers' reports. Services involved freight charges for deliveries to schools, removal and installation of desks, ads for teachers, rent of office space specifically Rooms 2 and 9 in Franklin Hall, carpentry work, and audits. Some entries list the names of vendors and show receipts of payment.
REFERENCE REPORT
by Pat Melville
The world of historical research continues to find new avenues for exploration and rediscovery. Among the topics being studied during the last quarter of 1998 were several concerning military conflicts such as the American Revolution, Peggy Stewart incident, and the Confederacy in Maryland. Catastrophic events included the Baltimore fire of 1904 and civil rights riot in Cambridge in 1967. Depression era studies pertained to CCC Camps and bank failures. Maritime subjects concerned Chesapeake fisheries and shipwrecks in the Chesapeake.
Local history subjects involved the history of Annapolis, Arundel-on-the-Bay, Broadneck Peninsula in Anne Arundel County, Herald Harbor in Anne Arundel County, and Kent Island. Commercial topics included Rosebud Perfume Co. in Woodsboro, Leader Drugs in Annapolis, Talk of the Town tavern in Severna Park, ironworks, mills, silversmiths, and Knabe Piano Co. Other economic studies concerned slavery in Maryland from 1800 to 1860, Huguenots and slavery before 1740, and indentured servants in the 18th century. Miscellaneous areas of research pertained to causes of death in the 1930s, political party symbols used on ballots in Maryland, and one room school houses in Anne Arundel County.
ADDITIONS TO SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
by Nancy Bramucci
MSA SC5067: King Collection, n. d. Information on the Iglehart Home near Crownsville and other properties along General's Highway in Anne Arundel County.
MSA SC5068: Baltimore Conference, Methodist Episcopal Church Collection,
1935-1967. Programs: 151st session of the Baltimore Annual Conference,
June 4-10, 1935; 152nd session of the Baltimore Annual Conference, June
2-8, 1936; 40th Anniversary of the Betterton Methodist Church, October
9, 1955;
Centennial of the Memorial Methodist Church, 1967.
MSA SC5071: Mount Moriah AME Church Collection, n. d. Deed trace for the Mount Moriah AME Church on 86 Franklin Street in Annapolis.
MSA SC5072: Bishop Collection, 1970-1971. Notes on William Bishop.
MSA SC5073: St. John's College Library Collection, 1790-1798. Letter to John McDowell from Charles Goldsborough, November 22,1790; Memorial poems on the death of Eliza Goldsborough, 1798; Receipt from Benjamin Dockery for work for the college, April 12, 1796. Restricted.
MSA SC5077: Connor Photograph Collection, 1984-1989. Slides of State Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein at the 350th anniversary of Maryland Celebrations at Historic St. Mary's City for Maryland Day 1985, Charter Day 1985, and Maryland Day 1987; at the Hall of Records grand opening, 1986; at the Federalist celebrations in 1987 and 1988; and in the "Journey to the Presidency" in 1989.
MSA SC5078: Michael Mitchell Collection of Clarence and Juanita Jackson Mitchell Family Papers, 1935-1938. Family materials relating to Clarence and Juanita Jackson Mitchell. Collection includes the Afro-American, 10 Sep. 1938; photographs of the Street Meeting, Baltimore Membership Campaign for the NAACP, Sep. 1935, and Kieffer Mitchell's grandfather; and booklet for memorial service of Juanita Jackson Mitchell, 11 Jul. 1992. Restricted.
MSA SC5079: Tench Coxe Papers, 1785-1787. Tench Coxe Papers: correspondence and general papers, Sep. 1785 - Feb. 1787. Originals located at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Microfilm: M12036 - M12037.
MSA SC5081: Matthews Collection, 1998. Christopher Nelson Matthews, "Annapolis and the Making of the Modern Landscape: An Archaeology of History and Tradition," Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1998.
MSA SC5083: Maryland Historical Society Government House Photograph Collection, 1860 c. - 1950 [1998]. Photographs and slides of the old governor's mansion on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy and the present Government House on State Circle. Restricted.
MSA SC5084: Heddinger Collection, 1785-1825. Court papers from Baltimore County, including: papers related to the estate of Hermann Behrens; papers related to the estate of Michael Sanderson; paper related to the estate of Joshua Guttry; paper related to the estate of George Devilbliss; four warrents from the sheriff of Baltimore County.
MSA SC5085: Ellicott Family Collection, 1997. Pamphlet: "The Old Ellicott Family Burying Ground at Ellicott City, Maryland." Some historical notes including the history of the Association known as Ellicott Graveyard, Inc. which was established in 1925 for the care and maintenance of the graveyard.
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 Robert Mack Bell, Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals.
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