Reception Opening Important New Civil War Collection and Honoring the Donor, Dr. McCall, Takes Place June 2

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Lucius A. Gerry, 1st Lt., Battery B., 1st Maruland Light Artilery

The Society will host a reception on June 2 to honor Dr. Davy McCall, the generous donor of the Gerry Collection, an important new group of research materials pertaining to Cecil County.  The large collection, created between 1801 and 1931, contains original manuscripts related to the Civil War, Port Deposit, the Susquehanna, and the family during the time period.  The manuscripts include letters, journals, Civil War diaries and company record books, legal documents, African-American materials, and ephemera.

The reception formally opening this resource to the public takes place at the Historical Society at 135 E. Main Street., Elkton on June 2, 2012, at 2:00 p.m.  Light refreshments will be served.

A professional archivist, Jenifer Dolde, catalogued the collection and a 39 page, Google searchable, finding aid is available online.  Click here for an earlier blog post on the donation and click here to access the finding aid.

John Kilsavage, a rare book and manuscript dealer, in Havre de Grace said:  “Due to the large amount of information it [the collection] offers up from both ledgers and personal documents, researchers will be able to gain an amazing understanding of both personal life prior to the Civil War and after the war ends.  The consistency of the letters, being from one family and the vastness of the collection makes it one of a kind.”

The manuscripts specialist, talking specifically about the letters, added, “The content was amazing, both from personal observation to military logistics. Letters discussed the loss of life to infection and illness, discussions and mentioning of both Stonewall Jack and Robert E. Lee, and actions in the field and kindness and bravery of the men. The letters were extensive in their description and understanding of the complexity of war. ”

Please join the Society on June 2nd, as we honor the generous donor of this valuable records group and formally introduce the research materials to the public.

Volunteers Do It All At the Society

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The Society, an all-volunteer organization, advances its mission of being the keepers of Cecil’s heritage through the time and energy of many people.  These individuals keep the money coming in through fundraising, help patrons with research, arrange exhibits, produce newsletters, take care of administrative tasks and do much more.  A few days ago, one of our trustees, Gary Holmes, the membership coordinator, paused from his computer work to talk with local author Allen Fox.  We couldn’t exist without these dedicated individuals 

Got History Questions? We Have Answers

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On this fine Saturday in early May, twelve people with history questions packed the Society’s Eva. M. Muse Library.  The volunteers on duty, Darlene McCall and Beth Boulden Moore, busily fielded the queries, digging through old photos, maps, newspapers, and rare original documents from another era.

A range of subjects were tossed to our two  history detectives.  One Western Maryland patron poured over rare photos of 19th century banks while a New Jersey resident examined Revolutionary War-era documents, looking for that elusive ancestor.  Old house histories concerned two other groups as they eyed original maps and records from Cowentown and Chesapeake City.

Using our new media, visitors in the technology room worked at the computer and microfilm workstations.  One couple searched databases on the World Wide Web while the other person scanned papers from Perryville and Rising Sun.  As the day progressed, answers that weren’t available on the Web surfaced for these history detectives.  Also Allen Fox was here signing his new book on Perryville history.

Our exceptional volunteers enjoy the challenge of digging up these hard to find facts.  So when that Google search fails to yield answers to your local history question, stop by and check out our special collections library, the largest repository of Cecil County history materials in any institution.  We’re eager to help you dig through an enormous depth of material that you will find fascinating.

Oh, as Beth was getting ready to close, a couple from Vermont came in.  They lived in Elkton in the early 1950s and remember our headquarters when it was the home of Mayor Henry Mitchell.  All in all it was a productive day of helping look for the area’s heritage.  Darlene and Beth will be back next month on the first Saturday and we have other teams on Monday and Thursday.

 

Saying Goodbye to Two Valuable Team Members

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The Society said goodbye to two committed volunteers, Marilyn and Robin Wardle, this past week.  For almost a year, the two have been at the Society most Mondays and Thursdays, undertaking a number of important tasks.

Marilyn became our chief digital collections development champion.  When she first arrived, she looked around at all the worthwhile projects that are waiting for volunteers.  Some 4,000 slides from the Robinson and Booth collections caught her attention and soon, after also donating a special scanner for the task, she started creating e-holdings out of those little pieces of film.

Robin became our computer go to person.  Performing long neglected maintenance and responding to technical problems such as a lightning strike that knocked a desktop unit out of service, she mapped out our network and resolved hardware glitches.  When those complexities weren’t occupying her time, there were software problems, big and small, as the PhD in computer science patiently served as our own personal help desk.

They’ve both left a mark on the society and have helped many future patrons whom they’ll never meet as the two advanced the organizations capacity to serve as the keepers of Cecil County’s heritage.  Most days when you visited the Society, you’d find Marilyn quietly concentrating on the monumental task of scanning so many pieces of tiny film and entering the metadata.

Robin, on the other hand, would be chasing after some piece of network cable in an obscure corner of the facility or she’d be addressing the latest operational glitch with PastPerfect.  But just as frequently, you’d find her at the desk patiently helping another volunteer with some question about Excel or Microsoft Word.

As the two prepared to move out of the area, a small group of our volunteers gathered last Monday to chat one final time over sandwiches, dessert and drinks while saying goodbye to the two who became friends and valuable volunteers since they showed up to help in 2011.

On behalf of all the volunteers and board members, we say thank you for your commitment to the organization and our mission of making sure the past has a future in Cecil County.  Your task orientation, technical skills and professionalism will be missed, as will your overall camaraderie and support for the organization.

Marilyn working at the scanning workstation

Robin was often found at the library computer working on problems.

Volunteer Scans Thousands of Cecil County Slides, Creating a Digital Collection of Changing Times

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Marilyn examines some of the Booth slides as an image of a completed scan from the old school in Cherry Hill appears on computer screen

Thousands of color slides depicting Cecil County in the decades after World War II were donated to the Historical Society by the estates of Dorothy Robinson and Elizabeth Booth, a number of years ago.  These images, concentrating on the 1960s, ‘70s, and 80s, captured Cecil’s buildings, natural environment, organizations, people, events, and special celebrations in the last decades of the 20th century.

In the case of Mrs. Robinson, she and her husband, Argus, were always involved in activities promoting the area’s heritage and she served as the president of the society for many years.  The two always had Mr. Robinson’s camera at hand and over those many decades they snapped many shots focused on the groups they were involved with and the landscapes they encountered.  Mrs. Robinson used those captured moments in time for many of the local history talks she did.  Miss Booth, a long time librarian with the Cecil County Public Library, also had a strong appreciation for the county architecture and natural beauty.  She snapped many artistic pictures during her journeys around the area.  We were fortunate that the estates donated these large, valuable bodies of material as they greatly strengthen our holdings of images in the second half of the twentieth century, a time that is growing distant.

While the photos have been available to researchers since they were donated, we took a step forward in enhancing accessibility when a volunteer, Marilyn Wardle, took a strong interest in those slides that forever captured changing times at the top of the Chesapeake Bay.  Using a dedicated Nikon Coolscan slide scanner, which she donated, Marilyn worked a couple of days each week for nearly a year carefully creating digital images of about 4,000 slides and entering the metadata to provide supporting information for researchers.  Our digital content champion also squeezed in time to create some more e-content.  A few dozen images of schools from the 1950s and 1960s are now available electronically. 

The Society’s Eva M. Muse Library is the largest repository for research materials related to the area’s heritage in existence.  With over 20,000 local pictures in its holdings, this large body of material from two estates greatly strengthened our late 20th century resources.  All the images are housed on our server and researchers may stop by the Society to look over the material.

As the county’s heritage keepers, we’re working to make certain that the past has a future in Cecil as strong collections of local and family history material are preserved and available to members and patrons.  Thank you for completing this valuable project Marilyn.

One of the earliest slides from the Robinson collection shows a busy Main Street in Elkton around the time of World War II

The old People's Bank Building on North Street in Elkton in 1961, from the Robinson Collection.

 

 

Perryville author to sign, discuss book at Historical Society Open House

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If you are out and about Saturday, May 5, be sure to stop by the Historical Society’s monthly Open House to chat with Alan Fox, author of Perryville. This new collection of photographs offers an interesting look at the history of the riverfront town. Mr. Fox is a lifelong resident and will be at the Society from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. to talk about the town, some of his favorite images from the book, and the new things he learned about Perryville’s history. Please stop by to chat with him, browse our collection, and view some interesting local historical artifacts. Signed copies of Mr. Fox’s book will be available—what a perfect Mother’s Day or Father’s Day gift for the history buff in your life.

The Historical Society is located at 135 E. Main Street in Elkton across from the District Court.

Perryville by Alan Fox

From the early days—when Perryville was known as Lower Ferry and John Rodgers hosted George Washington and other Founding Fathers in his tavern on the bank of the Susquehanna River—to the present, Perryville has seen boom and bust, war and peace, and triumph and tragedy. The Susquehanna and the Chesapeake Bay have always shaped the growth of the town, providing jobs, transportation, food, and recreation. By the 1860s, the emergence of the railroads as a dominant commercial force ushered in an era of unprecedented prosperity for Perryville. A new commercial and industrial base emerged in the 19th century. Spurred by the proximity of the river and the railroads, this brought good jobs and decent wages to the town. Images of America: Perryville illustrates a century of progress through vintage images, documenting the citizens of Perryville and the town they lived in.

Author Bio: Author Alan Fox is a longtime resident of Perryville and local history enthusiast. This volume offers a unique glimpse at the changing face of a town that has been witness to a wealth of history. Using photographs from museums, archives, and local citizens, Fox brings a human face to the history of Perryville.

Two Thousand Verticle Files Help Patrons With Cecil County Genealogy & History Research

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The Society maintains about 2,000 vertical files, which contain a large range of local and family history topics.  The materials in these files, spanning the entire range of Cecil County history, are an important source of information. The files include, but are not limited to newspaper articles, magazine articles, promotional materials, pamphlets, maps, research reports and ephemera.  These files are an excellent place to start as you begin a genealogy or local history project.   

Vertical files are divided into the major following categories:

  • Business and Industry
  • Cecil County History
  • Churches
  • Family History & Genealogy
  • Military
  • Schools
  • Towns & Villages

Click here to go to the full index to the vertical files

 

Following history’s footsteps in Chesapeake City

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Tucked away at the very back of the historic Brady-Rees House in Chesapeake History is a secret and a bit of a mystery—a tiny staircase long-since covered over and forgotten, but rediscovered by new owners Bob and Carol Roethke.

Built in 1870 by a wealthy merchant, the Brady-Rees house today is home to the elegant Inn at the Canal bed and breakfast. The Roethkes have been innkeepers for about three years now, and have delved into the house’s past. Part of what they discovered was the staircase, most likely reserved for use by the African-American servant in the household.

“Just because there was an Emancipation Proclamation didn’t mean that people lived their lives that way,” Bob Roethke explained. “They probably clung to their traditions and weren’t about to change because of a document.”

The Roethkes shared their adventures in discovering and preserving their home’s past during a Wine and History Tour of historic Chesapeake City on Saturday, April 21. The tour was sponsored by the Historical Society of Cecil County and hosted by the Roethkes. Nearly 40 people came out to learn about the inn and town history.

“This town has come quite a long way,” said Mary Anna Taylor, a Chesapeake City-area native who led the tour. She shared photographs of the town’s streets and buildings from when it had gone into decline after being a thriving waterfront port town. “Can you even believe some of these are the same buildings?”

As part of the walking tour, participants learned that the current town hall used to be an Oldsmobile dealership and then a grocery story. Across Bohemia Avenue is the stately 1903 bank building built of Port Deposit granite. It now houses a stained-glass shop. Just down the street stands a Sear-Roebuck house, customized to a grander appearance.

Taylor pointed out that the town’s architecture and heritage represents its interesting past. Some town citizens became relatively wealthy thanks to trade on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and built fine homes that remain showplaces today. Other modest houses still stand from the 1840s and 1850s that were more practical houses for canal workers and tradesmen. Many of the floors and wood for framing came from barges that were broken up because they couldn’t pass through the canal lock at Chesapeake City. Practical townspeople put the wood to good use.

More such Wine and History talks are being planned by the Historical Society, as well as a two-hour boat tour down the canal to Turkey Point. Please watch our website for future announcements.

Please note that the Historical Society would like to give its sincere thanks to Bob and Carol Roethke for their generosity in opening their inn to us, and also to Mary Anna Taylor for donating her time and sharing her love of local history with us.

 

 

Talk Explores the Era When the Honeymoon Express Rolled Into Elkton, Bringing Cupid’s Wedding Business To Town

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Just in time for June, a busy month for weddings in Elkton, the colorful story of that era is being presented in a captivating talk. Hear about how the quick marriage business got started in Cecil County in 1913 and for several decades made the place hum as the marrying parsons worked overtime, cranking out some 12,000 marriages annually in the mid-1930s.

WHAT: Talk on Elkton’s Marriage History

WHERE: 135 E. Main St. Elkton

WHEN: May 25, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.

Free with light refreshments

Society Ready to Make 1940 Census Available to Patrons As Countdown for Release Begins

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The countdown for the release of the 1940 census is on as the federal government prepares to release the 1940 census on April 2.  Once that massive canvas by the Census Bureau moves into the public domain as the 72-year privacy mandate expires, researchers will have access to an enormous amount of details about the 132 million people who  made up the nation.  There are going to be, In these records penned so long ago, vital clues for genealogists and family historians.

As soon as they’re released, patrons visiting the Society’s Eva Muse Research Library will have access the digitized images of the registers.  The electronic indexes created by commercial data providers and nonprofits, which so many of us are accustomed to, won’t be immediately available for the 1940 census.  It’s going to take a little time for those companies to complete the task of extracting and indexing the data so the records are fully searchable.  That may take a few months, but as they roll out the searchable canvases, you will be able to use the Society’s computers for free to electronically dig through the registers.  And while you wait for the data mining aids, those images are going to be there for your viewing to yield vital family history clues.  You will simply have to know where your ancestors lived and manual scroll through the online images, in a way that was similar to how you scrolled through the microfilm.

So whether it’s help with navigating free providers or the commercial databases, stop by the Society.  Our experienced researchers will be glad to help you find the sites and mine the data beginning April 2 and continuing through the months ahead as the searchable databases are created.

Source: Census Bureau