Centreville

 Like one of my favorite Presidents of the United States, the under-sung James K. Polk, I pulled off quite a bit of work in just four expressions of the sun’s effect on the Earth. In four years Polk facilitated one of the grandest land grabs in American history by seizing swaths of Mexico and settling the Oregon question, and managed to satisfy northern and southern, slave and free, interests at the national level by lowering tariffs but re-establishing a national bank, balancing slave and free lands, and would have been a model for future presidents keeping the balance of power; in four days I co-presented a public program at the Centreville Public Library in Queen Anne’s County, joined my colleagues to visit the War of 1812 exhibit at the Maryland State House, and significantly re-wrote, re-researched, and substantiated my Robert Moody case study in preparation for another talk in Centreville next week.
 
Centreville

Eastbound

 

The audience mills about

Tanner and I took our show even further afield on February 20 when we crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and gave a similar presentation to a crowd of 19 during the lunch hour. Just like in Stevensville I felt a moment of ignorance when locals spoke of their surroundings, apparently expecting me to know what they were talking about. One man spoke of a yellow brick home that previously belonged to an Eastern Shore judge who resisted Union laws and was manhandled because of it. My ears perked when he said the judge’s name was Carmichael, the same surname of a lawyer common in my freedom petition project. Although names are oft repeated in this region, I knew the lawyer William Carmichael had a son Richard Bennett who served as a judge. I asked the librarian about this home in hopes she knew its famous former resident. She brightened and said it was “Adam’s home”; my confusion must have been obvious because she quickly explained that she meant Adam Goodheart, the contemporary author of the popular history book 1861. Upon returning to Annapolis I checked the Maryland State Archives biography of Richard Bennett Carmichael, which confirmed my suspicion.

R.B. Carmichael

It stated “In February 1861, he served as chair of the Resolutions Committee of the Southern Rights Convention held in Baltimore. Under his leadership, the delegates unanimously adopted resolutions recommending that "if a disruption could not be avoided, Maryland should cast her lot with Virginia and the South." He received national attention in 1862 when his outspoken pro-Southern sentiments led him to be charged with treason. In late May 1862, Secretary of State William H. Seward ordered General John A. Dix, in Baltimore, to send federal troops to Easton to arrest Carmichael. When Dix's men arrived at the Talbot County Courthouse in Easton, Carmichael refused to recognize their authority. The agents pistol-whipped him and forcibly dragged him from the bench in the middle of court proceedings, stirring indignation throughout the Eastern Shore and the South.”

Since his father was the lawyer for many of the slaves who are subject to my upcoming presentation, this will add some interesting local interest.


  War of 1812

Barney spots the fleet
with his "excellent glass"

Barney's appointment

In many ways the war of 1812 is Maryland’s war. Its most emotionally resonating events occurred in Maryland; the Star Spangled Banner was composed during the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore and the British soldiers fought in Maryland before reaching the capital, land formerly belonging to Maryland, and burned it. This month saw the debut of a Maryland State Archives exhibit in the State House. The Capital Gazette did brief but decent write-up about the exhibit. My favorite part of the exhibit as a whole is the astounding mural version of a painting by historical painter Richard Schlect, which depicts Major William Barney spotting the British fleet on their way to Baltimore. They easily could have chosen Annapolis instead and its people sighed in relief.

Robert Moody

I resumed working on case studies. After the thrill of the Negro Susan’s kidnapping from Virginia and the politics of Robert Moody and the Paca family, it was disappointing when my newest subject Negro Adam was so plain; the judge dismissed his petition, which seems based on flimsy probate rules and his mistress having left the state. In preparation for my return to Centreville, I finally decided to turn the single Robert Moody case study into four (see previous posts “Moody Moments” and “Perils of Leadership…”). Meaning rather than briefly describe the three petitions that Moody’s lawyer William Carmichael submitted into evidence in 1812, I chose to compose one for each petitioner. This also meant I needed to go back to supportive records like censuses, court records, and land records to flesh out details about these slaves and their owners.

 This occasioned a visit to the Prerogative Court records. From a record keeping standpoint the Prerogative Court was excellent; a centralized department of the provincial government that tracked wills, inventories, and other necessary things that are the life blood of historical scholarship and genealogy. Following its abolition in 1777 most records of this type were retained at the county level; this makes quite a headache if you are searching for a name but do not know the county. In this case I examined the 1760 will record of Philemon Lloyd Chew, the man whose free Indian servant caused so much fuss when her descendents sued their owners for freedom. The records do not circulate to the general public because of their age so PDFs of the deteriorated pages were microfilmed, scanned, and are accessible online. Unfortunately the book containing the will I needed was 1700 pages long and so was the PDF. Fortunately the page number of the book (473) was near the page number on PDF (474) however my computer struggled to load the complete image or even scroll. Instead I examined the original record.

 As I expected the record was, probably after scanning, sent to conservation for stabilization and re-binding. The original pages were encased in a non-reactive, mostly transparent white sheath that prevents harm from human debris but also allows rebinding without further damaging the original pages. Unfortunately the will of Philemon Lloyd Chew was less than a page and told me information I already knew or was not relevant to my research. Unfortunately again Chew did not have an estate inventory that may have spelled out the names servants or slaves. I checked various indices for other slave owners and slaves associated with the Moody case studies but I was flummoxed by Negro Tom Carver. I realized much to my embarrassment that Carver was not awarded a settlement in his 1794 petition and thus apparently did not win. It was not a horrible assumption because sixteen of his relatives went on to free themselves with at least one, his cousin (Moody), submitting Carver’s transcript into evidence.

I reexamined my notes at the beginning and end of Carver’s transcript in Moody’s petition’s judgments record. A newly remembered reference, which confused me when I first read it and hoped would make sense by the end, stated that both Carver’s attorney and his owner Samuel Lloyd Chew’s attorney consented to have the damning testimony of Elizabeth Chew submitted into evidence for the General Court of the Western Shore; she was the linchpin of Carver’s defense. She stated unequivocally that Carver was free because his mother Margaret was the granddaughter of a free Indian woman named Mary. Even more confusing, the transcript (which I corroborated with the General Court of the Western Shore’s docket and vide minutes) stated that Carver’s attorney asked the petition to be dismissed.

I brought this record to Owen Lourie who was similarly bemused. He stated the judicial system at the time was very cordial, with lawyers often making side deals as friends rather than as opponents. It was very possible that Carver’s attorney agreed to drop the petition, which was certain to succeed, if Chew manumitted him in a separate agreement. This would have insulated Carver’s freedom so not to cascade across most of his family tree and affect Chew’s family’s slave interests. This hypothesis is somewhat supported by William Carmichael’s statement upon entering Carver’s case, and thus Elizabeth Chew’s testimony, into evidence: The transcript was not intended to argue a relationship of Moody to Tom’s mother Margaret, and thus his connection to Indian Mary, but rather to establish a “pedigree.” Assuming Carver did settle out of court I suspect Carmichael would not need to be so timid.

Alex Champion--Maryland State Archives

Legacy of Slavery in Queen Anne's County, Maryland

My first public program with the Maryland State Archives (MSA) Legacy of Slavery in Maryland research project (LOSIM) went astoundingly well. Titled “Pistols and Petitions: Queen Anne’s Slave Self-Emancipation in the 19^th Century,” it explored two ways in which Eastern Shore slaves freed themselves by joining the Union forces or petitioning the courts. Although I represented LOSIM and the MSA at the Kunta Kinte Heritage Festival and the Four Rivers Heritage Area showcase late last year, this was the first time I could present original work to a public audience who attended just to see it. The program was initiated by my colleague Wesley Tanner Sparks who e-mailed many Eastern Shore county libraries in anticipation of interest during Black History Month. 

Like any celebration, secular or holy, Black History Month should not nor does it confine values or aspects of the past. Just as Easter is not the only time Christians comprehend the life and meaning of Christ, Black History Month serves as a reminder; the month accumulates efforts by historians, libraries, and non-profits, which serve as sign posts on a great American journey. It is easy to celebrate the well known or underknown persons—Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr. Charles Drew, etc, but LOSIM wonderfully uses state records to expose the hundreds of individuals who contributed to the cultural landscape in subtle, unknowable ways.

My portion of the presentation (excerpt below) concerned interesting Queen Anne’s County freedom petitions. I asked librarian Kristin Bombard, an archives specialist from Simmons College, if she planned to take pictures. Since I wanted photographs to document our presentation for this blog and LOSIM’s media file on the MSA server, and I anticipated she would take pictures as a matter of course, this question was merely a set up for a request that she share the said pictures afterwards. She looked surprised by my question. “Oh, we don’t need to take pictures if you don’t want them.” Silly me! My gentle approach made her infer the opposite intent. “No,” I assured her, “I would love it if you took pictures. You could take video for all I care.” I talked about the blog and the terms of my fellowship with The HistoryMakers; it can never hurt to have too much good evidence.

Typical for local interest presentations, there were several prominent figures of Queen Anne’s County history including Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin. I chatted and joked with them for a bit, apparently warmed them up, then we dropped some knowledge on them. Kristin stood in the back and held the camera aloft. I was too into a groove to suspect that her still camera was able to record five minute snippets of video.

The presentation frequently paused as patrons asked very good questions or provided local history that enriched it. Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin explained that petitioner Henny Hemsley’s deponent Greenberry Griffin was a prominent merchant seaman who owned packets travelling from Kent Island to Baltimore and that Robert Moody’s owner Richard J. Jones was actually Richard Ireland Jones, the licensed owner of the ferry between Kent Island and Annapolis. The four mile long Chesapeake Bay Bridge literally eclipsed Jones’ launch point at Broad Creek on Kent Island when it was built in the 1950s.

Next time I will better mind repeating myself and restrain my excitement; in the full video I come across a tad condescending. 

Alex Champion--Maryland State Archives

Ardra Whitney: Week 19 @ Avery Research Center

Monday, January 7^th:

In the morning I discussed the possibility of putting together a public program/exhibit for Women’s History Month with Processing Archivist, Georgette Mayo. In return she provided with information on books relating to African American women’s clubs in Charleston in order to develop a thesis and the names of some professors I could contact to recruit guest speakers. She also offered to be facilitator for the program. Additionally, I mentioned the possibility of curating a complementing exhibition, which incorporates archival collection materials relating to women’s clubs and women’s club participants. Ultimately, she would like me to establish a thesis that is unique and addresses an aspect of women’s clubs that hasn’t been discussed before. One of the books she shared with me during our conversation was one called What a Women Ought To Be and To Do by Stephanie J. Shaw, which tells the story of American black professional women’s struggle for empowerment during the Jim Crow era.

Later in day I participated in a meeting with Manager of Archival Services, Aaron Spelbring and Ms. Mayo to discuss various topics relating to the Avery Research Center Archives and its archives staff, e.g., creating EAD finding aids with Archivist Toolkit; processing work on the Phillip Simmons papers; grant funding and backlog; potential host sites and promotion strategies for the digital photo archive project; and Mr. Spelbring’s new position as Treasurer of the Charleston Archives, Libraries and Museums Council. I also shared at the meeting that I had initiated a new Twitter account for the Center and asked for input from the staff on people and organizations to follow as well as news, happenings and events to post the page. Ms. Mayo recommended linking the Twitter account to the Center’s Facebook page and Mr. Spelbring mentioned developing a list of hash tags for the Twitter page in order to generate trends and help get the word out about the Center’s programs, exhibits and archival collections.

Tuesday, January 8^th:

I assisted Curator, Curtis J. Franks with updating the exhibit checklist for Sweetgrass: A Living Legacy of Community & Family-- an exhibit at Avery, which he is de-installing. I also continued working on arrangement, description and finding aid preparation for the St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Records. I have completed a preliminary finding aid and will work on editing and encoding it in the coming weeks.

 Wednesday, January 9^th and Thursday, January 10^th

On Wednesday I began surveying the Virginia Geraty Papers. The collection is 9 linear feet; completely unprocessed and unsorted and appears to have no arrangement or order. Geraty (1915-2004) was a writer and outspoken defender of Gullah language. As a white woman, Geraty spent some of her childhood years on Yonges Island in South Carolina. She learned Gullah from a family servant named, “Maum Chrish,” and attributed her love of Gullah speech to those early interactions. Geraty worked for many years as a librarian in the Charleston County School System. Noticing that white teachers could not understand the speech of Gullah-speaking children, Geraty spoke out in favor of language training for teachers. However, for many years her views were regarded as eccentric. Although the Gullah people and their language are now a focus of pride for African Americans reigning from this region, in the past, speakers of Geechee or Gullah was ridiculed as “ignorant” and “backward.” Today the Gullah language is spoken by approximately 250,000 African Americans called Gullahs, who live in the coastal “Lowcountry” region of South Carolina and Georgia. Gullah is considered a Creole language that combines influences from African and English languages. Geraty came forward as a defender of Gullah in the 1950s when prejudice against the language was extremely strong. She authored poetry and books in Gullah and also produced popular recordings in the language. In addition, she was involved in theater and film productions that promoted popular understanding of the language.

On Thursday I completed evaluating a video oral history interview for EducationMaker and MusicMaker, Verna Holley. Holley is a retired choral music teacher from Detroit, Michigan and the pianist and music director of the Earl Nelson Singers. The Earl Nelson Singers was founded in 1963 by Earl Nelson, who was also a choral music teacher. The group is an integrated ensemble of singers from the Lansing, Michigan area that performs spirituals.

Friday, January 11^th:

Ms. Mayo asked me to perform reference services in the Phillis Wheatley Literary and Social Club Reading Room, which included labeling artifacts from Avery Research Center’s collections for an art history class assignment on African art. After lunch, I continued surveying the Virginia Geraty Papers. I really enjoyed the reading correspondence, poems and stories for young people from the collection that were all written in Gullah.

Ardra Whitney: Week 14 @ Avery Research Center

Q: Guess who’s going to see Nas perform at Radio City Music Hall on New Year’s Eve?

A: Me!!!! “Now I'm the one that’s reppin’ Queens way beyond your wildest dreams”. Woooooooo!!!!
 

Monday, December 3^rd:

With Manager of Archival Services, Aaron Spelbring’s instruction, I made my final edits to the finding aid for the Edwina Harleston Whitlock Papers. I also photocopied all news clippings from the collection and used paper clips to fasten together loose and/or related materials. Afterwards, I continued processing St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Records. Items surveyed included church programs dating from 1939-1990, vestry proceedings from the early part of the 20^th century, and souvenir journals from the church’s 125^th anniversary celebration in 1990.

Tuesday, December 4^th:

In the morning I followed up with Avery's Executive Director, Dr. Patricia Williams Lessane regarding the writing of a description for undergraduate internship opportunities at Avery, which she had mentioned at last Thursday’s staff meeting. She also asked me to connect with one of Avery’s current undergraduate interns to write a profile on them for the Avery Messenger. After work, I participated in the monthly IMLS Fellows’ conference call with The HistoryMakers. Fellows provided The HistoryMakers' Executive Director, Julieanna Richardson, Dan Johnson and Marta Grabowski with progress reports on their work at each of their respective host institutions and learned about new changes to The HistoryMakers’ interview evaluation process.

Wednesday, December 5^th and Thursday, December 6^th:

On Wednesday I e-mailed some public program ideas I had for the upcoming year to Dr. Lessane, Mr. Spelbring and Processing Archivist, Georgette Mayo. I also forwarded the message to Avery’s recently promoted Assistant Director, Deborah Wright. Congratulations Ms. Wright! On Thursday, I provided a brief coverage of the reading room for Mr. Spelbring and monitored patrons as they viewed and handled collection materials for their research.

Friday, December 7^th:

I answered a reference request regarding race, religion and the writings of James Baldwin via Facebook— the request was from a Ph.D. student all the way from India, so that was exciting. I also posted a flyer to Avery’s Facebook page regarding the ceremony honoring South Carolina freedom fighters— Mary Moultrie, Ken Riley, William Saunders, and the Martyrs of the Orangeburg Massacre— taking place that evening. The event kicked off the 9th Bi-Annual Southern Human Rights Organizers' Conference being held from December 7-9, 2012, at the International Longshoreman’s Association’s Local 1422 Headquarters. I concluded the day by working on the St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Records. During my processing, I came across some really interesting materials like a journal from the late 19^th century containing entries from parish leadership, a bible published in 1866, and an autograph from prominent Charleston architect, Louis J. Barbot, who designed St. Mark's church building.