Category: Uncategorized

Cecil Maps, a Helpful, Interactive Product Will Support Local Old House, Property & Community Research

Cecil Dept. of Planning GIS Maps
Cecil Dept. of Planning GIS Maps

The Cecil County Department of Planning and Zoning has a helpful product for researchers, “Cecil Maps.”  This highly interactive geographic information system enables those searching for local  information to access an array of county maps via the Internet.

Users are able to view aerial and topographic maps, property ownership information, environmental features, the locations of various forms of infrastructure, and a wide variety of other data elements from county departments, including planning and zoning, water and wastewater, and emergency services.

A number of helpful measurement tools, data searches, and links to other information are also available.

Because of the wealth of interactive options on the web portal, it takes a little time to get oriented to the potential for this tool, but here are a few things to look for:

Serialized aerials and base maps, beginning in 2005, are available.  The products were updated in 2008, 2010, and 2013.  With these you are able to see property and building lines and measure distances and area.  In a dialogue box on the left side of the screen, the user is able to select many options.  The parcels and lots link in to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, where you are able to view the real property assessments.

This online information helps with a variety of investigations, including old house research and in locating historical properties as there are base and aerial products to work with.  I also find serialized maps helpful to observe the changes that are taking place on the land and in the communities.

When doing a historical investigation on a property, you always need the property and buildings lines, and those are presented in an attractive, easy to read format.  You are also able to measure distance to help with plotting out points for your maps.

Be sure to use the tool bar located on top of the screen to acquire information and measure distances. This map measures the distance between the old lockup and the police department.
Be sure to use the tool bar located on top of the screen to acquire information and measure distances. This map measures the distance between the old lockup and the police department.
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North East Map pointing to old Jail, which shows ownership information in a pop-up dialogue box and in the sidebar to the left.
Aerial Map from 2005 for Port Herman
Aerial Map from 2005 for Port Herman

close up 2005

The next time you need Cecil County maps check out this excellent product.

Delaware Bird’s Eye Views Available on the Web

A portion of the Milford, DE Map of 1885 published by O.H. Bailey & Co. Source: The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library
A portion of the Milford, DE Map of 1885 published by O.H. Bailey & Co. Source: The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library

Bird’s-Eye-Views, a popular cartographic form during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, were painstakingly drawn by sketch artists.  Although they were not drawn precisely to scale, they provided helpful snapshots of towns frozen in time.  Showing busy communities, the artistic renderings revealed streets filled with carriages, stores surrounded by activities, and trains approaching stations.  They also depicted major perspectives on the landscape, and offered several detailed vignettes of certain buildings, which had been included on the view.  Of course, the subscriber paid a fee to have his building included in the inset.

The Boston Public Library’s Norman B. Leventhal Map Center has a collection of these artistic Delaware works available on the Internet.  An 1885 cluster contains O. H. Bailey & Co. products for Clayton, Smyrna, Georgetown, Harrington, Middletown, Milford, and Dover.  In 1874, H. H. Bailey & Company sketched out Wilmington.

The Norman B. Leventhal Center at the Boston Public Library is dedicated to the creative educational use of its cartographic holdings, which extend from the 15th century to the present.  In pursuit of its mission, the Center collects and preserves maps and atlases, promotes research in the collection, and makes its resources available to the public through its website, exhibitions, publications, lectures, and other programs.

Be sure to check out this collection the time you need maps from these communities and also search for other Delaware items in the library.  Here is the link to the search engine.

 

The 1885 Bird's Eye View of Clayton, DE., published by O H. Bailey & Co. Source: The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library
The 1885 Bird’s Eye View of Clayton, DE., published by O H. Bailey & Co. Source: The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library

 

Delaware & Maryland Freedmen’s Bureau Field Office Records Now Available Online

A letter from Georgetown, DE, dated April 11, 1867, to Col. Rutherford of the Freedmen's Bureau
A letter from Georgetown, DE, dated April 11, 1867, to Col. Rutherford of the Freedmen’s Bureau

Juneteenth, dating back to June 19th, 1865, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States and many communities across the nation hold special celebrations.  In observance of this day, FamilySearch has announced the release of additional online Freedmen’s Bureau Records.  The new additions are currently viewable as digital images but the data will become searchable as volunteers create an index.

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (often called the Freedmen’s Bureau) was created in 1865 at the end of the American Civil War to supervise relief efforts including education, health care, food and clothing, refugee camps, legalization of marriages, employment, labor contracts, and securing back pay, bounty payments and pensions. These records include letters and endorsements sent and received, account books, applications for rations, applications for relief, court records, labor contracts, registers of bounty claimants, registers of complaints, registers of contracts, registers of disbursements, registers of freedmen issued rations, registers of patients, reports, rosters of officers and employees, special and general orders and circulars received, special orders and circulars issued, records relating to claims, court trials, property restoration, and homesteads.

Researchers examining this era or tracing family history back through time on the Delmarva Peninsula will find a lot of material to help them with their investigations.

I have only had a few minutes to examine this exciting primary source this morning, but here are the links to get you started.  The records have always been available, but a trip to the Archives was required to access them.  Be sure to read the full description of the records group, to get an idea of how to best approach this body of material.

Click here to view the records.

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Maryland and Delaware records.
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Wilmington, DE records for the Freedmen’s Bureau.

Revolutionary War Maps: The British Campaign of 1777 on the Upper Delmarva Peninsula

Progress of the army from their landing till taking possession of Philadelphia, 1777. Source: Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov/item/gm71000678/#about-this-item
German map showing the invasion of the upper Delmarva Peninsula., 1777. Source: Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at Boston Public Library. Link: http://maps.bpl.org/id/11091

 

The Library of Congress, the Boston Public Library, and other virtual repositories have a series of detailed maps showing British operations on the upper Delmarva Peninsula, during the summer of 1777.  Several of these detailed products show the camps, movement, and engagements, as well as the general topographic nature of the region at that point.  Here are some samples.  You may want to check these out if this subject is of interest to you.  It is fascinating to be able to examine the details of the movements and the area, from multiple sources.

 

The campaign of 1777, Published London, C 1780., Source: Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/item/gm71000989/
The campaign of 1777, Published London, C 1780., Source: Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/item/gm71000989/

 

This map from the Library of Congress show operations of the britihs army from the 25th of August to the 26th of Sept, 1777. Source Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/item/gm71000921/
This map from the Library of Congress show operations of the british army from the 25th of August to the 26th of Sept, 1777. Source Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/item/gm71000921/