The Maryland State Archives serves both the government and the citizens of Maryland as the historical agency of the state, as well as the repository for government records of permanent value. Through the use of modern technology, the Archives preserves and makes available current and historical documents, images, and information about Maryland's government, history and cultural heritage. The Archives also engages in and promotes historical research in the belief that a critical understanding of the past improves a society's ability to confront the present and plan for the future.
The state of Maryland is blessed with one of the finest collections of historical records of any of the United States. It is a collection that offers a vivid and vital window on our past. Records in the custody of the Archives date from the founding of the colony in 1634 to the 1990's. They include colonial and state executive papers, legislative and judicial records; county probate, court and land records; business records; publications and reports of state, county and municipal governments; records of religious bodies; and special collections of maps, photographs, and private papers. It is a collection that grows and evolves with every passing year. As state government grows, so does the enormous volume of documents and other materials for which the Archives is responsible for preserving for future generations.
The basic mission of the Maryland State Archives is to preserve and protect these records and to make them accessible. The Archives performs five essential functions related to this mission: appraisal; information services; reference services; conservation and preservation; and resource development. Another important duty of the Archives is the care and control of the state-owned art collections, through the Commission on Artistic Property, which is a part of the Archives. In 1993, the State Archives, with the support of the Governor and the General Assembly, established the State Archives Fund which includes an endowment account. The Endowment supports biographical research, geographic studies, and development of educational materials for use in the schools.
By law, the Hall of Records Commission advises the State Archivist on policies concerning budgets, publications, and public access to records. The Commission is composed of eleven members, nine of whom serve ex officio. From 1972 until his retirement earlier this year, the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, Judge Robert C. Murphy, served as chair of the Hall of Records Commission and provided invaluable guidance and support.
Through the techniques of social history, multiple biography, traditional political and economic history, and an innovative HTML framework technologically enhanced by the digitalization of original source documents, the Maryland State Archives is creating a electronic profile of African American communities in the city of Baltimore which defines the family structure, living conditions, economic standing, religious, political and social organizations and activities of urban African Americans in an era of new freedoms and new constraints. In selecting Baltimore during the period 1850 to 1920, A New Body of Citizens examines the social dynamics of a city that has been called the "Nineteenth Century Black Capital." Through the juxtaposition of digital images of original sources with electronic biography, the project seeks to describe and interpret the participation of African Americans in the life of a major American city during a time of fundamental social changes brought on by urbanization and industrialization.
The Archives proposes the digitalization of a sample of this extensive biographical research collection -- African Americans veterans of the United States Colored Troops living in Baltimore, 1850 to 1920 (See Appendix A) -- for inclusion in the Library of Congress/Ameritech American Memory Project. The project represents a model for electronic research and digital scanning developed and implemented by the Maryland State Archives, the leading cultural institution in the state, and combines careful research, record stripping, relational databases, and electronic images to create a digital archives. This innovative approach permits easy access to original documents via the World Wide Web to historians, teachers, genealogists, and members of the general public interested in the preservation and dissemination of African American history and culture who might not be able to travel to the Maryland State Archives for research. Researchers accessing the individual soldier biographies will be able to move from the record abstracts to images of the original records.
The collection consists of original manuscripts and other primary sources selected from the public records and special collections of the Maryland State Archives, based on the extensive biographical research compiled by the Archives. Beginning during the Civil War, the offices of Maryland's Adjutant General and Comptroller of the Treasury began keeping systematic records documenting administrative and financial aspects of raising United States Colored Troops (USCT) regiments and recruiting sailors. Following Appomattox, Maryland officials consulted federal records to expand and correct the state's documentation of its citizens who served in the Union cause. This process culminated in 1898 when the state government sponsored the compilation of the two-volume History and Roster of Maryland Volunteers, War of 1861-1865, a publication that remains the most accessible record of war service available for Maryland. Building on these past efforts, the staff of the State Archives examined a variety of federal, state, and local government records, including census records, birth and death certificates, marriage records, pension files, muster rolls, land records, and court records. (See Appendix B).
In addition, the Archives proposes the digitalization of primary sources which are necessary to the documentation of family structure, living conditions, geographic mobility, and other aspects of social history. These documents include original census schedules, city directories, maps, photographs, church records, and newspapers as well as government records such as certificates of freedom, runaway dockets, and indentures which are of particular interest to researchers of African American history. (See Appendix C).
Since the documents proposed in Appendices B and C are unrestricted government records and special collections in the custody of the Maryland State Archives and other public archival repositories, image files digitalized as a result of a Library of Congress/Ameritech award can be distributed on the Internet without violating privacy, copyright, or other property restrictions.
In the years after the Civil War, the United States underwent significant social and economic changes. While western migration captures the modern imagination, urbanization and industrialization were critical features in the country's late nineteenth century development. These topics have been the subject of a great many studies, but few have linked them to the greatest social change of the time: the abolition of slavery and the addition of a "new body of citizens," as Frederick Douglass described African Americans. Former slaves joined already free blacks to take their place in American society, and establishing economic, political, social and family structures of their own.
Maryland is a particularly important state for studying the social history of African Americans between 1850 and 1920 because it occupies what many historians consider the "middle ground" between extremes in resolving political and social conflict. By bridging the gap between the Civil War and the rebirth of the civil rights movement in the twentieth century, this project offers Maryland as a case study in America's struggle to create a just society that included those newly admitted to the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
This ongoing research project seeks to add an understanding of African American urban communities to the numerous studies of Reconstruction and the age of Jim Crow in rural areas and to the focus on foreign immigrants in the cities. Through multiple biography as well as traditional political and economic history, this study is creating a profile of Baltimore's African American communities in a era of new freedoms and new constraints, of opportunity and disappointment for a significant minority.
A New Body of Citizens continues a long tradition of experience in biographical research at the Maryland State Archives. In the past, biographical projects at the Archives focused on the documentation of people in government. Products of this research include Frank W. White's Governors of Maryland 1777 - 1970 (1970) and the work of the Legislative History Project, a long-term research project partially funded by NEH that culminated in the publication of the two-volume Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635 - 1789 (1979, 1985), the Archives of Maryland, New Series, Volume I: An Historical List of Public Officials of Maryland (1990), and Marylanders Who Served the Nation: A Biographical Dictionary of Federal Officials (1992). Since the Legislative History Project, the Maryland State Archives has compiled biographical information on Marylanders who have served at all levels of government. Among the special collections of the State Archives are biographical files relating to Maryland's Legislature, its First Ladies, State Treasurers, Presidents of the Senate, chairs of legislative committees, and Marylanders who have held federal offices, representing a study of the political leadership of Maryland.
In contrast, A New Body of Citizens will look at history from the bottom up, focusing on a sample population -- USCT veterans in Baltimore -- which is remarkably well-documented in under-utilized national, state, and local records. A major inspiration for this approach has been the work of Lois Green Carr, one of the leading authorities on the social and economic history of early America. Dr. Carr has devoted a lifetime to research on the inhabitants of seventeenth-century St. Mary's County, Maryland, using records at the Maryland State Archives. Published results, such as Robert Cole's World: Agriculture and Society in Early Maryland (1991), demonstrate the skill of Dr. Carr and her collaborators in drawing significant conclusions from information assembled on thousands of obscure individuals.
The decision to apply biographical research methodology to the documentation of the African American experience in Maryland has it origins in discoveries by the State Archives staff concerning the wealth of original record material relating to the black population. Beginning in the 1960s with the work of staff archivist Phebe R. Jacobsen who assisted Alex Haley and countless others conducting research on African American families, the Archives has attempted to develop programs that enhance access to and awareness of the kinds of information available on Maryland's black inhabitants. Mrs. Jacobsen's emphasis on the importance of the Civil War records in her Researching Black Families at the Maryland Hall of Records (1984) led to research by State Archivist Edward C. Papenfuse (aided in the preliminary stages by then staff archivist Richard Blondo) on African American veterans in the Annapolis area. The product was a document packet for use in the schools entitled In the Aftermath of "Glory": Colored Troops from Annapolis, Maryland, 1863-1915, which aimed to assist teachers in utilizing Maryland State Archives' records and other public documents in the classroom. Developed as part of the "Documents for the Classroom" program at the Archives, In the Aftermath of Glory was unveiled to a general audience in 1991 at a major conference held in honor of Mrs. Jacobsen's retirement entitled "Maryland and the Civil War." The preparation that went into the In the Aftermath of Glory packet provided convincing evidence that a major biographical project on African American Civil War veterans in the state was both feasible and desirable from a scholarly and educational perspective.
A New Body of Citizens will enhance our understanding of the eras of Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, and Progressivism by adding the experience of African Americans in an urban setting. The Archives, through its summer internship program, is committed to continuing research into family life, economic endeavors, social structure and organizations, education, political activity, religion, and even the buildings associated with the black communities. The Archives will continue to serve as a repository for the research of historians, teachers, students, and other interested in African American history and genealogy with the intent of making these materials accessible to other researchers via the Internet. The collaboration of archives, genealogists, teachers, and students will share the humanistic experience of historical research far beyond the narrow bounds of traditional scholarship. Indeed, no single scholar could manage a research endeavor of this magnitude, nor could any other combination of institutions provide the necessary expertise and experience to conduct this invaluable research.
This study not only contributes to our understanding of history, but breaks new ground in research methods in the project's technological research system. The Maryland State Archives has considerable experience in both document preservation and information management. Since the mid-1980s, the State Archives has made major strides in using relational databases to bring intellectual control to the descriptive information in its collections. Currently, the State Archives' staff has described nearly 8,000 record series representing 135,000 cubic feet of record material in its computerized collection management system of databases. From this collected data, the staff has produced two finding aids to government records, A Guide to Government Records at the Maryland State Archive: A Comprehensive List by Agency and Record Series and A Guide to State Agency Records at the Maryland State Archives: State Agency Histories and Series Descriptions, which are derived from multiple relational databases. In 1996, the guides were made available via the World Wide Web and remain the foundation of the Archives' management of its government record series.
The project's pioneering use of computer technology revolutionizes historical method. The Archives created a computerized system of relational and linked data and text files, known as the Computer Historical Research System (CHRS). CHRS allows vast quantities of information to be recorded, retrieved, and annotated. Its programs allow for the extraction and recording of information from the sources as well as for interpretation. CHRS permits analysis of a large volume of specific facts whose connections may not be readily apparent in isolation.
Archivists, historians, educators, genealogists and others concerned with the preservation and use of historical source records are increasingly aware that their issues and interests are complementary. In an era of diminished funding for humanistic research, it is vital that these diverse constituencies collaborate to use historical records in ways that advance the needs of each group. The Maryland State Archives serves a diverse clientele of scholars, educators, and the general public and is committed to the goal of broadening the understanding of history. Through its Teachers' Institute and "Documents for the Classroom" program, the Archives has integrated educators into its biographical research projects to promote a familiarity with original records, particularly records that are suitable for inclusion in the classroom study of the experience of a local African American population before, during, and after the Civil War. Students have benefited by moving beyond the textbook and lectures to work directly with the primary documents that are the ultimate source of history. In an era when educators are under pressure to improve historical comprehension while teaching from a curriculum that reflects America's cultural and ethnic diversity, this collaboration has promoted a new appreciation for the resources available to teachers from archival repositories and local institutions of higher education.
The contributions of the genealogical community in promoting the importance of the archival record has often gone under-recognized. The Archives' research into the African American community would not have been possible without the pioneering work of genealogists who first discovered and publicized the value of public records relating to African American Civil War veterans in Maryland. Through its volunteer program, the State Archives has encouraged members of the public to become more closely involved in projects that both assist the Archives and enhance the volunteers' understanding of primary source material. Volunteers serve as search room reference assistants and are involved in the processing and description of records and photographs. A group organized by Agnes Callum, an African American genealogist with a personal interest in the 7th USCT regiment, worked with state bounty records that include claims of Civil War veterans. The products of this project will assist family historians seeking to trace their lineage and demonstrate that the black population in Maryland made a significant contribution to the history of the state both during and after the Civil War. Researchers wishing to trace individuals will be able to use the database files converted into HTML format for the World Wide Web that provide the basic structure for beginning research on African Americans in Baltimore. The Archives will continue to encourage genealogists to deposit copies of their research files at the Hall of Records to be included as a part of this project.
Central to the mission of the Archives is a commitment to improving access to historical information about Maryland and Marylanders. A basic tenet of the Archives' activities in the humanities is that historical research and education is a key component in the creation of responsible citizens. In an era of rapid change, it is vital that Americans have the skills to make informed decisions based on the critical and interpretive lessons one can derive from the study of history. A sense of local history can also generate a sense of community to which young people can positively respond. By increasing accessibility to its collections, the Maryland State Archives moves from being merely a "storehouse" of the past to being an institution better able to promote a deeper understanding of the history it protects and preserves.
In recent years, computer technology has become the tool that creates avenues of access to information collection by historical organizations such as archives. Increasingly sophisticated software programs that permit the linking of different types of information in a variety of formats means that historical data can now be shared with a much greater audience in ways that are more comprehensive and interpretative. The emergence of the World Wide Web with its capacity for linking images and text makes it possible to share the kind of data that this project will present. The phenomenal growth of the Internet is proof that both scholars and average citizens are eager to obtain access to electronic research files. Dissemination of the research and image files via the Archives' Web server promotes the creation of a "virtual archives," advancing the Archives' goal of reaching a broad audience including academic scholars, historic preservation organizations, and Maryland public school students who will reach the Archives via Maryland's SAILOR network.
A New Body of Citizens readily complements existing collections relating to African American history and genealogy in the American Memory Project. The Daniel A. P. Murray Pamphlet Collection, a collection of 351 pamphlets revolving around the themes of civil rights and equality, "improvement" of the black race, and the future of freed slaves. The Selected Civil War Photographs Collection of photographs made under the supervision of Mathew Brady including portraits of Confederate and Union offices and enlisted men as well as battle scenes and military life. The collection of daguerreotypes , 1842-1862, from the Prints & Photographs Division highlights portraits of African Americans from the American Colonization Society Records, 1792-1964 (Library of Congress). A New Body of Citizens also complements the Color Photographs from the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information, 1939-1945; the Life History Manuscripts from the Folklore Project, WPA FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT, 1936-1940, and The Carl Van Vechten Photographs Collection, 1932-1964, containing portraits of figures from the Harlem Renaissance.
Related collections currently accessible on the World Wide Web include the Library of Congress' electronic exhibition, The African-American Mosaic: A Library of Congress Resource Guide for the Study of Black History and Culture, highlighting the Library's African-American collections. Michael Plunkett's Afro-American Sources in Virginia: A Guide to Manuscripts is a comprehensive survey to the principal research collections at major Virginian repositories relating to the African American experience in Virginia from the seventeenth century to the present. David Troy's Celebrating Rights & Responsibilities: Baltimore & the Fifteenth Amendment, May 19, 1870 featuring the parade held in Baltimore in honor of the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, as well as the document packet drawn from the collections of the Maryland State Archives. "The Black Population in the United States: March 1994 and 1993" by Claudette E. Bennett, U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Bureau of the Census contains selected tables and graphs reflecting the latest available census data and information regarding the African-American population of the United States. The State Archives has also been asked to participate in the preparation of a web site for the National Monument for African Americans who served in the Civil War located in Washington, DC.
The Hall of Records, predecessor of the Maryland State Archives, was created as an independent agency in 1935, charged with the collection, custody, and preservation of the official records, documents, and publications of the state (Chapter 18, Acts of 1935). In 1984, it was renamed the State Archives and became an independent agency within the office of the Governor (Chapter 286, Acts of 1984).
The State Archives serves as the central depository for government records of permanent value. Its holdings date from Maryland's founding in 1634, and include colonial and state executive, legislative, and judicial records; county probate, land, and court records; church records; business records; state publications and reports; and special collections of private papers, maps, photographs, and newspapers. These records are kept in a humidity and temperature controlled environment and any necessary preservation measures are conducted in the Archives' conservation laboratory.
The materials proposed for digitalization are in good condition and pose no serious conservation problems. Single, flat documents such as newspapers and maps will be encapsulated in Mylar prior to scanning to safeguard their condition. Volumes will be filmed, if necessary, according to the standards for archival microfilming developed by the State Archives and the new microfilm will be used for scanning. Silver negative film created as a result of supplemental filming will be catalogued according to the Archives' collections management system and stored in a secured, environmentally controlled stack area designed for the maintenance of microfilm master negatives.
Understanding the fragile nature and special needs of electronic records, the Maryland State Archives is at the forefront in establishing rules and regulations for Maryland state agencies for the creation, use, maintenance, appraisal, preservation and storage of electronic media. These regulations have been codified as part of State Government Article, §§9-1007 and 10-632, Annotated Code of Maryland. The Archives is currently drafting similar rules and regulations governing the use of imaging systems for permanent record materials. These regulations will establish uniform methods for the installation and use of electronic imaging systems, including the conversion of the electronic data into and from microfilm. The standards in these regulations ensure the creation of legible electronic images that meet all legal and archival requirements for permanent record materials.
4B. Intellectual Access
The Archives' staff has had considerable experience with providing intellectual access to comparable materials. Work undertaken to stabilize a collection of plats deposited by the Allegany County Circuit Court is an example of how the Archives has sought to integrate appraisal, conservation, scanning, and photography to address a serious preservation task. The collection consisted of approximately 2,000 items, including filings from equity cases, railroad right of way surveys, mineral rights, road plans, and courthouse architectural drawings from 1894. The collection represented many mediums, including linen, blueprints, and paper whose dimensions range from letter size to 54" x 36". Stored in the courthouse basement, the plats were rolled or folded and stored in cabinets with steel drawers, 3" x 3" x 36" long. Many items were soiled, particularly with coal dust and about half the materials were so fragile that pieces detached when they were unrolled, requiring mending and Mylar encapsulation prior to scanning.
The goal of this project was to preserve the original documents and provide reproductions for use by the court. A summary entry, in what the Archives calls a series unit database, was created for each item noting the court's citation and a stack location before they are retrieved for treatment. The Archives' Conservation staff surface cleaned the plats and place those with sufficient integrity into folders. Others were mended and encapsulated. The dimensions, media, support, and treatment information for each item were entered in the series unit database. The series unit database was used to determine which plats exceeded 18" x 24", largest size that can be microfilmed effectively, and would require scanning. Since it is almost impossible to obtain acceptable photographic images of blueprints or negative materials in their original format, these items were scanned to make positive plotter prints to scale for filming. Oversize items were scanned and a summary plot was made of the whole item at 18" x 24". Additional plotter output of sections were provided at scale.
Once all conservation and scanning work was completed, the collection was microfilmed and aperture cards and a detailed finding aid were prepared for use by the court. Microfilm of those plats that did not require scanning before filming were sent to a vendor to produce scanned image files from the microfilm for the Archives.
The Allegany County plats project illustrates the wide range of skills, staff, and resources that the Archives seeks to provide. It also points to the problems many agencies face in preserving older records, particularly survey or engineering materials, whose size and composition present great difficulty in the modern office.
If it becomes necessary to use an outside vender, the Archives will comply with the State of Maryland's purchasing rules and regulations which require competitive bids from three vendors. These venders will be selected according to their ability to meet the Archives' standards for electronic media. These regulations have been codified as part of State Government Article, §§9-1007 and 10-632, Annotated Code of Maryland.
Since the research framework is database-driven, intellectual access is provided by converting the information into precoded HTML-formatted text. Prior to scanning, documents are logged into an image tracking system which automatically assigns consecutive image numbers to the digitalized files. These image numbers are then cross referenced to the appropriate research databases. Through a series of computer programs, the individual research database files are relationally linked and then converted to a HTML-coded ASCII text file with imbedded links to image files. Bibliographic references in the Archives' standard citation format will be embedded into the programing for the HTML framework so that researchers may further consult the original source if necessary. A sample of this HTML highlighting research compiled by the Archives on Baltimoreans who served in the USCT during the Civil War is included with this proposal (see Appendix A).
Some materials will be microfilmed prior to scanning and digitalized files will be produced from the microfilm. Prior to microfilming, image numbers will be assigned using the Archives' image tracking system which automatically assigns consecutive image numbers. The image numbers will be correlated with the series unit databases and targets will be generated from the databases indicating the series descriptions and image file numbers.
The resulting archival tif files (600 dpi) will be converted to 300 dpi gif files in preparation for assemblage in the HTML framework. The research databases will be converted to HTML-coded ASCII text file with imbedded links to image files linked to the Archives' home page, http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us. Once the files have been placed over the fire wall, the collection will be linked to the Library of Congress' American Memory Project. The Archives' staff will coordinate the delivery of the HTML with Library of Congress staff at the appropriate time and will work with Library staff to ensure that the files are compatible in the existing American Memory Project framework.
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© Copyright February 23, 2007Maryland State Archives