There are quite a few new items to highlight since the last update.  Items are grouped by their respective research page on the website.  If you have comments, questions, or suggestions, please email me at webmaster@stmaryshistory.org.

• Newspapers and Magazine Research Page
  • Janet Reno articles from The County Times – From 2009 to 2018, Janet Reno wrote 487 weekly articles for The County Times called A Journey Through Time.  These articles touched on all manner of topics related to St. Mary’s County history, but most often related stories and family histories of St. Mary’s County residents. The County Times graciously gave us permission to post all of her articles online. All 487 articles are contained in a single PDF file. An index is at the front of the file, and The County Time’s obituary for Linda Reno at the back.  The entire PDF file is text-searchable using your browser.  This will become a very valuable resource for researching county residents and history.

   

• Genealogy Family Records Page
  • The Family Files are now complete!  Volunteer Joan Devlin has finished scanning over 1,100 family files in the library, and the scans are on the website for viewing.  The files represent 19 file cabinet drawers containing files on 1,135 families in St. Mary’s County.   You’ll find instructions on how to view the files on the Genealogy Family Records page.
   
  • Miscellaneous Person and Family Cards – Gathering dust in the library were several shelves with thousands of 3”x5” and 4”x6” cards with various family information. Many of them were used as intermediate records for research done by volunteers years ago.   Volunteers would often scour records, record info on cards, then alphabetize, and publish in a book.  We do not know exactly what many of these cards represent or who created them, but there is a significant amount of information on county individuals and families. You’ll find several PDF files of these cards.
   
• African-American Records Page. Links to two significant African-American articles were identified that relate to St. Mary’s County. These articles are on JSTOR, but you can register for a free account to view the articles.
  • Skilled Blacks in Antebellum St. Mary's County, Maryland - November 1987 article in The Journal of Southern History. 
  • The Maryland Slave Population, 1658 to 1730: A Demographic Profile of Blacks in Four Counties - January 1975 article in The William and Mary Quarterly.  The study is based on 1,618 slaves listed in inventories taken in Calvert, Charles, Prince George's and St. Mary's counties. 
    
    
• Maps Research Page
  • The entire page has been updated to provide more information on the maps relevant to St. Mary’s County.
  • We found a very interesting article published in the Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Magazine about Augustine Herman’s 1670 Map of Virginia and Maryland.  This very early map is only preceded by Captain John Smith's 1612 of the Chesapeake region he explored.  This map provides valuable information on the location of plantation houses on the water.  Our own Pete Himmelheber was one of the authors. The NNVHS graciously gave us permission to post the article on our website.  Links to an online copy of the map are there as well.
    
    
• Military Records Page
  • Several resources about the battle of St. George’s Island have been added.  This was the only revolutionary war battle fought in Maryland.
  • 1794 list of St. Mary’s County Men in the Maryland militia.
  • An article in the Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Magazine about Pt. Lookout – both Hammond Hospital and the Confederal POW camp are described in detail.
  • Edwin Beitzel's unpublished, handwritten manuscript containing the names of St. Mary's County men who served in the civil war.  Lists are divided into six folders (selectable using bookmarks in the document): 1) Unionists, 2) Notes, 3) Confederacy, 4) Federal Draft Enrollment Books, 5) US Service Black, and 6) US Service White.  Every entry is meticulously documented with references.  This is the only known comprehensive list of St. Mary's County Civil War soldiers.
    
    
• County Interactive History Map.  Our friend Eric Benson, the GIS manager for St. Mary’s County, has added several important maps from our holdings to his Interactive History Map on the county’s GIS website:
  • Tippet survey maps.  Benjamin Tippet was a surveyor in St. Mary’s County from 1842 to 1873.  His survey books have some superb, hand-drawn surveys of various land parcels.  There are about 15 of these very detailed maps now available for viewing on the history map website.
  • We came across a complete set of 1967 county tax maps on one of Pete Himmelheber's thumb drives.  We gave these to Eric, and he has added them to the interactive history map.  These maps identify boundaries and ownership of thousands of county land parcels as they existed in 1967.
  • Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Leonardtown.  These maps, from 1928, show every structure in Leonardtown, and include the owner and details about the building's construction.
  • MD State Highway Administration Plats.  These overlays show the location of SHA plats for highways in the county, and link to the original file.  These can provide valuable information about properties adjacent to the roads.