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DELAWAREphp.delawareonline.com/news/assets/2014/04/WIL_0416_ARCHIVES.pdf · The Delaware Public...
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By Nancy E. Lynch Special to The News Journal ith great care in Vault 300, Thomas M. Summers opens a wide metal drawer deep within the Delaware Public Archives to reveal one of the state’s most treasured documents. Encased in archival plexiglass, in a fine, faint hand on parchment, is the original Royal Charter Document whereby King Charles II in 1682 transferred to his brother James, Duke of York, holdings that today define Delaware’s bound- aries. Still visible is the document’s crumbling red wax royal seal. “This is still a living, breathing document, used in court cases today,” says Summers, the Archives’ manager of outreach services and a 13th gen- eration Delawarean. The Delaware Public Archives, a state-of-the-art facility in Dover which celebrates its 110th anniversary next year, houses more than 10.4 million documents and 800,000 photographs that provide a perma- nent record of the legal, cultural and social history of the First State. “We are one of the oldest public archives in the nation,” director Stephen M. Marz says of its 1905 opening as the Public Archives Commission in the basement of the Old State House. Construction on the present Archives with its rotunda entrance began in the late 1990s and was dedicated on Delaware Day, Dec. 7, 2000. In 1997, the name was changed from Delaware State Archives to Delaware Public Archives. “My role is for people to understand what an archives is,” says Marz, an ardent supporter of the “public” in the title. More than 10,000 people accessed materials at the archives last year he adds. Summers opens the drawer below the Charter which holds the orig- inal Indenture, on scalloped or indented parchment, from the Duke of York to William Penn. Negotiations between the Duke and Penn concluded on Aug. 24, 1682 with the execution of four legal documents for what is now Delaware: A 10,000-year lease for New Castle and the land within the 12-mile circle around it; an absolute deed for that area; a 10,000-year lease for land along the Delaware Bay south to Cape Henlopen; and a deed for that area. The 12-mile circle, Summers points out, is the only round border in the world. In 1811, John Penn, William Penn’s direct descendant, turned over those four documents to his attorney, John R. Coates, to recover “some of the Penn Family Fortune from the States of Delaware and Pennsylvania.” Sarah Wistar Miller of Media, Pa., niece of Coates’s son-in-law, reportedly refused $50,000 for the documents and in 1909 presented them to Delaware Gov. Simeon S. Pennewill. The Archives safe- guards three of the four docu- ments. And in the drawer below those documents rests “proof we’re the First State,” Summers says. He’s referring to the barely legible U.S. Constitution ratification document, signed on Dec. 7, 1787, by 30 Delawareans, 10 from each county, whose signatures made Delaware the first state to ratify the Constitution. Among other original documents, the Archives preserves Delaware’s constitutions of 1792, 1831 and 1897. The latter is the one currently in use. The importance of these treasures of the Archives, irreplaceable documents that affirm Delaware’s very being, cannot be overstated. Summers is one of only a handful of the Archives’ 30 staffers with access to Vault 300. To reach the 20,000-cubic foot climate-controlled vault, he must pass through several security checkpoints. “This is a very, very secure building,” he says, “one of the most secure in the state.” Documenting DELAWARE With more than 10.4 million documents and 800,000 photographs, the Delaware Public Archives guards The First State’s legacy The rotunda entrance of the Delaware Public Archives in Dover. NEWS JOURNAL FILE PRESERVING THE PAST With more than 10.4 mil- lion documents and 800,000 photographs, the Delaware Public Archives preserves the past in three climate-controlled vaults totaling 95,000 cubic feet on three floors. All items are kept in acid- free archival materials – folders, boxes and plexi- glass – in dark storage where the temperature remains constant at 60 degrees with 35 percent humidity. Any writing on either folders or boxes is made in pencil. Ink makes a per- manent mark and can bleed through documents. Each box is barcoded for easy retrieval by Archives staff. A 45-minute behind-the- scenes tour highlights some of the Archives’ holdings and collections as well as conservation techniques. Tours should be reserved at least a week in advance by call- ing First State Heritage Park at (302) 739-9194 . Archives’ staff also pro- vides outreach services to organizations. Call (302) 744-5047. PUBLIC ACCESS Delaware Public Archives director Stephen M. Marz is passionate about visi- tors. “I want people to come here. Part of our role is to let people know what we have and make it easy to access,” he says. At no charge, patrons of the Archives can access Wi-Fi, documents, books, microfilm and digital sources in the spacious Mabel Lloyd Ridgely Research Center. Copy services are available for a nominal fee. “My philosophy is Archives is not a museum. We don’t interpret histo- ry, we provide the docu- mentation and materials that show it,” adds Marz. “My most treasured docu- ment? The person who comes in and does research and says, ‘I didn’t know you had this.’” IF YOU GO What: Delaware Public Archives Where: 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. North, Dover Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month. Closed Sunday. Or visit http://archives. delaware.gov W MOST REQUESTED Port Mahon Lighthouse, May 1938. The light- house was built in 1903 and destroyed by fire in 1984. This is the most frequently ordered photograph in the archives collection. FROM THE COLLECTION All photos are courtesy of the Delaware Public Archives. OLDEST DOCUMENT A 1653 financial account of Swedish settler Jon Nielson. Signed by Governor Johan Printz, this is oldest known document in the archives. MOST IMPORTANT DOCUMENT? DELAWARE’S 1682 ROYAL CHARTER In 1682, King Charles II granted the lands of Delaware to his brother, James, the Duke of York. In that same year, James, the future King James II, gave the land to William Penn to satisfy a debt owed to Penn’s father by the royal family. This document is one of the four royal grants for Delaware. In this charter, James is given the Town of New Castle and all land within a 12-mile circle of the town. TREASURES OF THE ARCHIVES The Royal Charter, possibly the most impor- tant item at the archives, the most request- ed photo and the oldest document are amongthe jewels you’ll find at DPA. ONLINE QUIZ AND INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC Test how much you’ve learned about the DELAWARE PUBLIC ARCHIVES at delawareonline.com /didyouknow COMING APRIL 30 The 100th Anniversary of World War I and Delaware’s role in “The Great War” DOVER AIR FIELD Pilots at what is now Dover Air Force Base during World War II. BRIDGE COLLAPSE The Indian River Inlet Bridge collapsed in 1948 due to ice and tides. CAESAR RODNEY Caesar Rodney’s signature from his will. DELAWARE DAY Gov. Richard C. McMullen joined students at the Mary C.I. Williams School in 1937. CELEBRITIES Charles Lindbergh greets Emily Bissell (originated Christmas Seals) on a 1927 visit to Delaware. UNION ARMY Officers of the 3rd Delaware Regiment, May 1862. THAT’S OLD This 1898 death register lists the age of death of Temperance Hollis (fifth from top) at 125. CRAB HAUL Horseshoe crabs collected at Bowers Beach in 1928. COLLEGIANS Two freshmen at the University of Delaware during 1951’s freshman week. WELCOME SIGN State billboard on U.S. 13 at the Maryland line. CONFEDERATE SYMPATHIES Lt. David Stewart Hessey, a Seaford man who fought for the South, was awarded a pair of binoculars (in photo) by Gen. Robert E. Lee. OFF TO WAR Draft inductees leaving Wilmington train station in November 1942. FREEDOM LETTER For slave Richard Brinkley by Ann Carty, Kent County, 1792. BIDEN POSTCARD Sent during his 1972 U.S. Senate race. Has a chicken recipe on back. COMPETITION Pie eating contest in Lewes on July 4, 1950. MOONSHINE BUST Confiscation of an alcohol still in Sussex County by the Delaware State Police. KLAN RALLY A Ku Klux Klan rally held in the Delmar area., circa 1920s. BAY MAP Cape Henlopen is listed as Cape James in this 1776 map of the Delaware Bay. NEW BRIDGE Gov. Walter W. Bacon and entourage cross the St. Georges Bridge in 1942 at its opening . IN THE CITY I-95 being built through Wilmington in 1965. TOPPLED IN 1926 Cape Henlopen Lighthouse, just months before it fell into the sea.
Transcript of DELAWAREphp.delawareonline.com/news/assets/2014/04/WIL_0416_ARCHIVES.pdf · The Delaware Public...
By Nancy E. LynchSpecial to The News Journal
ith great care in Vault 300, Thomas M. Summersopens a wide metal drawer deep within the DelawarePublic Archives to reveal one of the state’s mosttreasured documents.
Encased in archival plexiglass, in a fine, faint handon parchment, is the original Royal Charter
Document whereby King Charles II in 1682 transferred to his brotherJames, Duke of York, holdings that today define Delaware’s bound-aries.
Still visible is the document’s crumbling red wax royal seal. “This isstill a living, breathing document, used in court cases today,” saysSummers, the Archives’ manager of outreach services and a 13th gen-eration Delawarean.
The Delaware Public Archives, a state-of-the-art facility in Doverwhich celebrates its 110th anniversary next year, houses more than10.4 million documents and 800,000 photographs that provide a perma-nent record of the legal, cultural and social history of the First State.
“We are one of the oldest public archives in the nation,” directorStephen M. Marz says of its 1905 opening as the Public ArchivesCommission in the basement of the Old State House.
Construction on the present Archives with its rotunda entrancebegan in the late 1990s and was dedicated on Delaware Day, Dec. 7,2000. In 1997, the name was changed from Delaware State Archives toDelaware Public Archives.
“My role is for people to understand what an archives is,” saysMarz, an ardent supporter of the “public” in the title. More than 10,000people accessed materials at the archives last year he adds.
Summers opens the drawer below the Charter which holds the orig-inal Indenture, on scalloped or indented parchment, from the Duke ofYork to William Penn.
Negotiations between the Duke and Penn concluded on Aug. 24,1682 with the execution of four legal documents for what is now
Delaware: A 10,000-year lease for New Castle and the land within the12-mile circle around it; an absolute deed for that area; a 10,000-yearlease for land along the Delaware Bay south to Cape Henlopen; and adeed for that area. The 12-mile circle, Summers points out, is the onlyround border in the world.
In 1811, John Penn, William Penn’s direct descendant, turned overthose four documents to his attorney, John R. Coates, to recover “someof the Penn Family Fortune from the States of Delaware andPennsylvania.”
Sarah Wistar Miller of Media, Pa., niece of Coates’s son-in-law,reportedly refused $50,000 for thedocuments and in 1909 presentedthem to Delaware Gov. Simeon S.Pennewill. The Archives safe-guards three of the four docu-ments.
And in the drawer below thosedocuments rests “proof we’re theFirst State,” Summers says. He’sreferring to the barely legible U.S.Constitution ratification document,signed on Dec. 7, 1787, by 30Delawareans, 10 from each county,whose signatures made Delawarethe first state to ratify theConstitution.
Among other original documents,the Archives preserves Delaware’s constitutions of 1792, 1831 and1897. The latter is the one currently in use.
The importance of these treasures of the Archives, irreplaceabledocuments that affirm Delaware’s very being, cannot be overstated.Summers is one of only a handful of the Archives’ 30 staffers withaccess to Vault 300.
To reach the 20,000-cubic foot climate-controlled vault, he mustpass through several security checkpoints. “This is a very, very securebuilding,” he says, “one of the most secure in the state.”
DocumentingDELAWARE
With more than 10.4 million documents and 800,000 photographs, the Delaware Public Archives guards The First State’s legacy
The rotunda entrance of the DelawarePublic Archives in Dover. NEWS JOURNAL FILE
PRESERVINGTHE PASTWith more than 10.4 mil-lion documents and800,000 photographs, theDelaware Public Archivespreserves the past inthree climate-controlledvaults totaling 95,000cubic feet on three floors.All items are kept in acid-free archival materials –folders, boxes and plexi-glass – in dark storagewhere the temperatureremains constant at 60degrees with 35 percenthumidity. Any writing on eitherfolders or boxes is madein pencil. Ink makes a per-manent mark and canbleed through documents.Each box is barcoded foreasy retrieval by Archivesstaff.A 45-minute behind-the-scenes tour highlightssome of the Archives’holdings and collectionsas well as conservationtechniques. Tours shouldbe reserved at least aweek in advance by call-ing First State HeritagePark at (302) 739-9194 .Archives’ staff also pro-vides outreach services toorganizations. Call (302)744-5047.
PUBLIC ACCESSDelaware Public Archivesdirector Stephen M. Marzis passionate about visi-tors. “I want people tocome here. Part of ourrole is to let people knowwhat we have and makeit easy to access,” he says.At no charge, patrons ofthe Archives can accessWi-Fi, documents, books,microfilm and digitalsources in the spaciousMabel Lloyd RidgelyResearch Center. Copyservices are available for anominal fee.“My philosophy isArchives is not a museum.We don’t interpret histo-ry, we provide the docu-mentation and materialsthat show it,” adds Marz.“My most treasured docu-ment? The person whocomes in and doesresearch and says, ‘I didn’tknow you had this.’”
IF YOU GOWhat: Delaware PublicArchives
Where: 121 Martin LutherKing Jr. Blvd. North, Dover Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.to 4:15 p.m. on the secondSaturday of each month.Closed Sunday. Or visit http://archives.delaware.gov
W
MOST REQUESTEDPort Mahon Lighthouse, May 1938. The light-house was built in 1903 and destroyed by fire
in 1984. This is the most frequently orderedphotograph in the archives collection.
FROM THE COLLECTION All photos are courtesy of the Delaware Public Archives.
OLDEST DOCUMENTA 1653 financial account of Swedish settler JonNielson. Signed by Governor Johan Printz, this isoldest known document in the archives.
MOST IMPORTANT DOCUMENT? DELAWARE’S 1682 ROYAL CHARTER
In 1682, King Charles II granted the lands of Delawareto his brother, James, the Duke of York. In
that same year, James, thefuture King James II, gavethe land to William Penn tosatisfy a debt owed toPenn’s father by the royalfamily. This document is oneof the four royal grants forDelaware. In this charter,James is given the Town ofNew Castle and all land withina 12-mile circle of the town.
TREASURES OF THE ARCHIVES The Royal Charter, possibly the most impor-tant item at the archives, the most request-ed photo and the oldest document areamongthe jewels you’ll find at DPA.
ONLINE QUIZ AND INTERACTIVEGRAPHICTest how much you’velearned about theDELAWARE PUBLICARCHIVES at delawareonline.com/didyouknow
COMINGAPRIL 30The 100thAnniversary ofWorld War I andDelaware’s role in“The Great War”
DOVER AIR FIELD Pilots at what is now DoverAir Force Base during World War II.
BRIDGE COLLAPSE The Indian River Inlet Bridgecollapsed in 1948 due to ice and tides.
CAESAR RODNEY Caesar Rodney’s signaturefrom his will.
DELAWARE DAY Gov. Richard C. McMullen joinedstudents at the Mary C.I. Williams School in 1937.
CELEBRITIES Charles Lindbergh greets Emily Bissell(originated Christmas Seals) on a 1927 visit to Delaware.
UNION ARMY Officers of the 3rd DelawareRegiment, May 1862.
THAT’S OLD This 1898 death register lists the ageof death of Temperance Hollis (fifth from top) at 125.
CRAB HAUL Horseshoe crabs collected at BowersBeach in 1928.
COLLEGIANS Two freshmen at the University ofDelaware during 1951’s freshman week.
WELCOME SIGN State billboard on U.S. 13 atthe Maryland line.
CONFEDERATE SYMPATHIESLt. David Stewart Hessey, a Seaford man whofought for the South, was awarded a pair ofbinoculars (in photo) by Gen. Robert E. Lee.
OFF TO WAR Draft inductees leaving Wilmingtontrain station in November 1942.
FREEDOM LETTER For slave Richard Brinkley by Ann Carty, Kent County, 1792.
BIDEN POSTCARD Sent during his 1972 U.S.Senate race. Has a chicken recipe on back.
COMPETITION Pie eating contest in Lewes on July 4, 1950.
MOONSHINE BUST Confiscation of an alcoholstill in Sussex County by the Delaware State Police.
KLAN RALLY A Ku Klux Klan rally held in the Delmar area., circa 1920s.
BAY MAP Cape Henlopen is listed as CapeJames in this 1776 map of the Delaware Bay.
NEW BRIDGE Gov. Walter W. Bacon and entouragecross the St. Georges Bridge in 1942 at its opening .
IN THE CITY I-95 being built through Wilmingtonin 1965.
TOPPLED IN 1926 Cape Henlopen Lighthouse,just months before it fell into the sea.
