Tuesday, July 19, 2016

A Tribute to a Vanquished Web Site: ecpclio.net

going going gone for blog

Going, Going, Gone!

This week the Maryland State Archives decided to eliminate from the airways a web site that I created as a portal for cooperative research and writing on topics relating to Maryland History. I explained the purpose of the site in the introduction which I have altered from the present to the past tense in light of its demise:

http://www.ecpclio.net was a multifaceted research and image depository site within the Archives of Maryland On Line. It encompassed research inquiries relating to the whole range of archival resources, public and private, available at the Maryland State Archives and elsewhere, including land records, maps, plats, rare manuscripts, and photographs...

Over the course of its nearly 20 year existence the web site spawned 276 research series that were intended to be available online for contributions by serious researchers, and linked where appropriate to the Guide to Government Records. At core was the research that went into a book about mapping Maryland, but it included several courses on the historical importance of preserving court records, which proved to be a major source for the study of African American History. The series were eclectic depositories of documents and notes. They encompassed a pioneering effort at managing a very large collection of privately owned survey records that in time would become the property of the Archives, and an approach to online editing and transcription that to date has no comparable peer. It also included an approach to salvaging a severely damaged collection of family papers that proved to be the best and most inexpensive way of preserving and accessing its contents. To be fair, the contents of the e-pubs created for transcribing and editing the collection are still available from the guide to the collection in Special Collections on line along with a number of others.

The series were managed by a simple password access system and online uploading environment that was cost effective and efficient, but more important was the fact that the documents in the series could be accessed, added to, and annotated remotely. As a service to those who might be interested in the topics covered a list of the series titles is provided here:

Series 1: Historical Maps - General Mapping of Maryland
Series 2: Coale, Joseph M. III, Map Collection
Series 3: Josh Civin request for maps of Baltimore City
Series 4: Historical Maps of Allegany County
Series 5: Historical Maps of Anne Arundel County
Series 6: Historical Maps of Baltimore County
Series 7: Historical Maps of Baltimore City
Series 8: Historical Maps of Calvert County
Series 9: Historical Maps of Caroline County
Series 10: Historical Maps of Carroll County
Series 11: Historical Maps of Cecil County
Series 12: Historical Maps of Charles County
Series 13: Historical Maps of Dorchester County
Series 14: Historical Maps of Frederick County
Series 15: Historical Maps of Garrett County
Series 16: Historical Maps of Harford County
Series 17: Historical Maps of Howard County
Series 18: Historical Maps of Kent County
Series 19: Historical Maps of Montgomery County
Series 20: Historical Maps of Prince George's County
Series 21: Historical Maps of Queen Anne's County
Series 22: Historical Maps of Somerset County
Series 23: Historical Maps of St. Mary's County
Series 24: Historical Maps of Talbot County
Series 25: Historical Maps of Washington County
Series 26: Historical Maps of Wicomico County
Series 27: Historical Maps of Worcester County
Series 28: Comptroller's Office: Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary,
MSA SC 5368-- Chronology
Series 29: Comptroller's Office: Public History Web Site
Series 30: What Is History? Supplementary Materials
Series 31: Searching for Ancestors Who Were Slaves
Series 32: Newspapers; sample reels
Series 33: Judicial Institute of Maryland-Maryland Legal History Series,
Part 1: The Colonial Period (1634-1765)
Series 34: Miscellaneous Research Topics
Series 35: Judicial Institute of Maryland-Maryland Legal History Series,
Part 2: The Revolutionary Period (1765-1820)
Series 36: Traditional Indexes to Plats
Series 37: MARYLAND INDEXES (Freedom Records)
Series 38: Privately owned images of Maryland related objects and artwork
Series 39: Comptroller's Office Web Site: Administrative Files
Series 40: Reference works
Series 41: Building Baltimore: bibliography, cases and notes for review, Part I
Series 42: Views of the Maryland State House
Series 43: Mandel Papers-Press Conference and Misc. audio tapes
Series 44: Aerial Photographs, Miscellaneous
Series 45: Slavery Commission: Secondary Sources and Documents
Series 46: Aaron Burr and his family
Series 47: Documents Relating to the Underground Railroad
Series 48: State House: A Chronological Overview, 1769-
Series 49: Bibliography -- Mapping of Maryland (County)
Series 50: Bibliography -- Mapping of Maryland (State)
Series 51: Bibliography -- Mapping of Maryland (Regional)
Series 52: Brigadier General Warner I. Sumpter Collection
Relating to the History of the Maryland Army National Guard
Series 53: Administrative Files and Notes: UGRR Project
Series 54: Staff Research Journals
Series 55: Olmsted Drawings from the
Friends of Maryland's Olmsted Parks and Landscapes
Series 56: Coleman Directories
Series 57: SPECIAL COLLECTIONS (Maryland Battle Flag Collection) MSA SC 1560
Series 58: Miscellaneous Imaging
Series 59: Anne Arundel County Court - Cases for Review
Series 60: Handouts for Lectures
Series 61: Attorney General's Office Research
Series 62: Court of Appeals: Records and Briefs
Series 63: Charting the Chesapeake
Series 64: Peabody and Annapolis Collections,
Maryland Commission on Artistic Property
Series 65: Admissions to the Bar in Maryland:
Court of Appeals, County and City Courts, Federal Courts
Series 66: Race and the Law: Student Papers
Series 67: Redistricting and Reapportionment, 1634-
Series 68: Wharton Trial
Series 69: Browning Biographical Research
Series 70: "Judge Lynch's Court":
Mob Justice in Maryland During the Age of Jim Crow, 1860s-1930s
Series 71: Atlas of Historical Maps of Maryland, Illustrations
Series 72: Origins of the Lieutenant Governor's Office and Christopher C. Cox:
Research Notes
Series 73: Hampton Slaves and Related Research
Series 74: Federal Court Records
Series 75: Department of Assessment and Taxation: Origins and Records
Series 76: Board of Law Examiners Records
Series 77: Warrant 96 Research
Series 78: Temporary Series for Creating Static HTMLs from ECPCLIO
Series 79: Bill of Rights and Ratification Research
Series 80: Rededication of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge
Series 81: Preserving Municipal History
Series 82: Maryland Placenames - Where is Watkin's Point?
Series 83: Papenfuse, UGRR related research files
Series 84: Slave Owners, Research File
Series 85: House Bill 1385 Research for Judge Wilner
Series 86: STATE ROADS COMMISSION (Minutes) SE3
Series 87: Baltimore City harbor research
Series 88: Issues along the Potomac River
Series 89: Constitutional amendments, 1776-1867
Series 90: Piper Rudnick PIA request re: Mettiki Coal, LLC
Series 91: Gibson/Papenfuse: Assignments for Race & the Law in Maryland
Series 92: MHT Historic Places Registration Forms
Series 93: Baltimore City Directories
Series 94: Fugitive Slave Laws, Slave Catchers, and Slave Traders
Series 95: Maryland Newspapers
Series 96: Deal Island
Series 97: Baltimore City Archives
Series 98: Lois Green Carr St. Mary's Career Files
Series 99: Founding of Maryland/MPT Project
Series 100: Terry, David Taft Research Notes
Series 101: Booker, Jamal Research Notes
Series 102: Echols Dana Sutton Research Notes
Series 103: Mugford Sarah Research Notes
Series 104: Hafner, Jennifer Research Notes
Series 105: Habeas Corpus: Merryman Case
Series 106: Habeas Corpus: Primary Sources
Series 107: Habeas Corpus: Secondary Sources
Series 108: Interactive Mapping
Series 109: Brig Enterprise
Series 110: General Assembly - Grand Inquest Powers
Series 111: Government House Foundation Speech notes
Series 112: AOMOL Research Topics
Series 113: Government Publications
Series 114: Library Electronic Publications
Series 115: State Symbols
Series 116: The Road to and from Brown v. BOE
Series 117: Attorney General, Maryland. Records.
Series 118: Baltimore Fire, February 1904
Series 119: Slot Machines, Lotteries, and Gaming in Maryland
Series 120: Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
Series 121: Leading Cases
Series 122: Martenet Quality Control
Series 123: Marshall, Thurgood: Early Career
Series 124: Art Inventory, Baltimore City Court
Series 125: Judicial Institute of Maryland-Maryland Legal History Series,
Part 4: Storm Clouds and Conflict (1851-1868)
Series 126: ECP Miscellaneous Administrative Files
Series 127: Maryland State Papers, calendars and indexes
Series 128: Judicial Institute of Maryland-Maryland Legal History Series,
Part 3: The Ascent of Democracy and Its Judicial Consequences (1820-1851)
Series 129: Governor's Photographs
Series 130: Yellow Ribbon
Series 131: Miscellaneous Research Projects
Series 132: Fugitive Court Records
Series 133: Printing and Printers in Colonial Maryland
Series 134: Art Inventory Baltimore City Courthouses (public demo)
Series 135: James Schneider Collection, MSA SC 5598
Series 136: Bell Cases
Series 137: Joseph N. Ulman cases and personal papers
Series 138: Recordings of MSA Meetings
Series 139: Nuttle Collection
Series 140: Dorchester County Appraisal/mdlandrec.net/plats.net
Series 141: History of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City/Baltimore Bar
Series 142: History of court reporters/stenographers/phonographic recorders
Series 143: Cases involving the Mayor & City Council of Baltimore, 1900-1950
Series 144: Misc. Baltimore City Cases
Series 145: Legacy of Slavery Staff Presentations
Series 146: Legacy of Slavery Staff Research Projects
Series 147: Judicial Institute of Maryland-Maryland Legal History Series,
Part 5: Industrialism, Depression, and War (1867-1945)
Series 148: Judicial Institute of Maryland-Maryland Legal History Series,
Part 6: A More Equitable Society? Maryland Legal History (1945-present)
Series 149: Declaration of Rights: research re: (Series 149)
Series 150: Ground Rents
Series 151: Prostitution and Bawdy Houses - "Sin and Sex in the City"
Series 152: Race and the Law: African-American Attorneys
Series 153: Marquardt vs. Papenfuse
Series 154: Black Schools in Baltimore
Series 155: Washington's Farewell Address
Series 156: Conventions in Baltimore
Series 157: Somerset County History including Princess Anne
Series 158: Representation in Maryland
Series 159: Special Sessions of the Maryland General Assembly
Series 160: Women in Law - Bibliography/Secondary Sources
Series 161: Basilica of the Assumption
Series 162: Constitutional Evolution of Elected Offices and Maryland Government
Series 163: Eminent Domain-Maryland
Series 164: Constitutional Issues
Series 165: Owen Lourie Research Notes
Series 166: Constitutional Conventions-records assessment
Series 167: Equal Rights/Suffrage
Series 168: Webster, John White-Trial
Series 169: Transer imaging
Series 170: History of Inaugurals
Series 171: Judge Alan M. Wilner
Series 172: Colonial Trade
Series 173: This Day in Maryland History
Series 174: Government Publications Authorities
Series 175: State House - Misc. research requests
Series 176: The Fight to End Jim Crow Laws and Discrimination in Maryland
Series 177: Court of Special Appeals cases
Series 178: Prison Records
Series 179: Lincoln Assassination Plot
Series 180: National Governors Association research
Series 181: Education in Maryland
Series 182: Kepone Task Force
Series 183: Queen Anne's County Estates/Court Cases
Series 184: Estate of John Eager Howard - Ground Rent Research
Series 185: Love Point/Queen Anne's County land research
Series 186: Taxable status of state and municipal bonds
Series 187: Annapolis charter research
Series 188: George Washington letters
Series 189: State of the State address and Executive Messages to the General Assembly
Series 190: Laurence Hall Fowler
Series 191: Annapolis Lincoln Bicentennial Commission
Series 192: Government Efficiency
Series 193: Lincoln's Walk: Archival resources
Series 194: Special Elections in Maryland
Series 195: Lee/Horsey Family
Series 196: Clarke, Joseph: Architect of the Dome of the Maryland State House
Series 197: State House Research - Summer 2008
Series 198: Poplar Grove Research - Summer 2008
Series 199: Rothwell, Jeremy - Poplar Grove, S1762-0176
Series 200: Schelberg, James - Poplar Grove, S1762-0178
Series 201: Wood, Olivia - Poplar Grove, S1762-0179
Series 202: Kowaleski, Albin - Poplar Grove, S1762-0180
Series 203: O'Friel, Laura - State House, S1762-0181
Series 204: Dyjack, Ashley - IT, S1762-0182
Series 205: Baig, Adam - State House, S1762-0183
Series 206: Kurth, Leif - State House, S1762-0184
Series 207: Chidambaram, Alemelu - IT, S1762-0187
Series 208: Rivera, Dorothy - State House, S1762-0189
Series 209: Court of Appeals Cases, Summer/Fall 2008
Series 210: Guide to the History of Slavery in Maryland
Series 211: Nat Turner - Newspaper Coverage
Series 212: Fells Point Recreation Pier Project (Series 212)
Series 213: Guide to Records: Series units on line
Series 214: Segregation Ordinances
Series 215: ECP Secondary Sources
Series 216: Warehouse Management (Series 216)
Series 217: Baltimore Ecosystem Study
Series 218: Register of Wills, Appraisal
Series 219: Baltimore Chapter of NAACP/Law School Spring 2009
Series 220: Annapolis, Congress, and Federal relations, 1774-1865 (Series 220)
Series 221: Thomas Holliday Hicks Exhibit
Series 222: Maryland State Song
Series 223: Wiretapping
Series 224: TESTING ONLY
Series 225: Substitute Motions in the Maryland General Assembly
Series 226: Navassa Island
Series 227: Jerningham Drury Court Cases
Series 228: Mount Auburn Cemetery
Series 229: George Swearingen
Series 230: Baltimore Environmental Cases, Fall 2009
Series 231: Hoffman Paper Mills
Series 232: Mental Health Records Appraisal
Series 233: Samuel Hanson, 1716-1794
Series 234: Ship Building in Baltimore, 1820s
Series 235: Student files: transfer series
Series 236: Land Patents and Islands
Series 237: Race & the Law, Spring 2010
Series 238: Peale Museum/Baltimore City Life Museum Reports and Finding Aids
Series 239: Gibson, Larry Bio
Series 240: Mitchell: Baltimore City Government Course
Series 241: Baltimore City Circuit Court, Civil and Equity Cases
Series 242: Material relating to Macedon, New York
Series 243: Treaty of Ghent Research
Series 244: Morgan: Permanent Sit-In Exhibit, Robert M. Bell Center
Series 245: Maryland Legislative Black Caucus - Member biographies and photographs
Series 246: Maryland Legislative Black Caucus - sources
Series 247: Building Baltimore: 2010
Series 248: Maryland Judicial Institute/Judge Clayton Greene
Series 249: War of 1812 Appraisal Work (Series 249)
Series 250: BCA drop box
Series 251: James Mark Baldwin
Series 252: Black Soldiers. Sailors, and Runaways, 1745-1864
Series 253: Race and the Law, 2011
Series 254: Land Office: Certificates of Reservation
Series 255: Mark Twain's visit to Annapolis, 1907
Series 256: Governors' Funerals
Series 257: Law Class, Fall 2011
Series 258: Audio Tapes: Jody Morrison interviews-msa_sc5954
Series 259: Warrant 100
Series 260: Legacy of Slavery Exhibit Files
Series 261: War of 1812 Exhibit
Series 262: Trade Missions
Series 263: Free Blacks/Slaves and the Law in Maryland, 1776-1831
Series 264: Race and the Law, Spring 2012
Series 265: Copyrighted Images
Series 266: Work Plans: E-Publications and Research (266)
Series 267: Brookeville 1814
Series 268: Maryland's War of 1812 Claims
Series 269: Early 19th century reported appellate cases
Series 270: Law Class, Fall 2012
Series 271: Defending Baltimore, 1812-1815
Series 272: Race and the Law: 2013
Series 273: USCT soldiers from Maryland's Eastern Shore
Series 274: Office of the Public Defender Appellate Division
Series 275: Admiralty Law and Baltimore Related Prize Cases, series 275
Series 276: Maryland 400 and the Maryland Line

Yesterday ecpclio.net disappeared from the web, some of it to be transferred like the lost ark into an inaccessible data archive from which it is likely never to emerge. The remainder, including a simple system of access, has been either wiped clean or hidden behind such high barriers of electronic security that its value is severely compromised, if not lost altogether.

Goodbye ecpclio.net at least for now. As I have copies of most of my own contributions to the website and as I own the domain name, I may revive portions of it at http://ecpclio.net if there proves to be any interest. If there is any interest in any of the topics addressed above, feel free to write me at edpapenfuse@gmail.com and I will see what I can do to resuscitate the series on my personal server or through sharing out through Google Drive.