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If you are just getting started on  your family history research, Cecil College has a basic how-to course beginning on Nov. 3 at the Elkton Campus.  Get step-by-step instructions for a research project focused on your family history.  Essential research techniques are introduced, genealogical records are discussed, and research facilities are identified.  The goal of the course is to enable you to have a basic understanding of research concepts and methods so your may start digging up your family roots.

Click here for additional information

On this Wednesday evening, a crowd of over 50 people packed the Historical Society to hear Dr. Jim Gibb’s report about an archaeological investigation focused on discovering Fort Hollingsworth, a War of 1812 redoubt that protected Elkton against the British.  Over the summer, Dr. Gibb served as the lead investigator for a field-school that focused on this question.  The property is located at Elk Landing, at the top of the Elk River.

The meeting was hosted by the archaeological Society of the Northern Chesapeake.  Here is a link to Dr. Gibb’s report, which is posted on the Elk Landing website.

With the approach of cool autumn weather, it’s time to announce the return of the Society’s 2012-13 speakers’ series.  Beginning in the middle of fall and stretching all the way through the cold months of winter, the Society hosts a series of lively, engaging speakers on topics ranging from practical research methods to fresh lectures that have broad appeal.  The programs take place on the first Saturday of each month at 2:00 p.m. at the Society’s library at 135 E. Main Street in Elkton.

This year, we will finish off 2012 with two subjects, Tales the Tombstones Whisper and a living history presentation by Private James H. Elbert of the United States Colored Troops.

Tales the Tombstones Whisper, a lecture by Mike Dixon, takes place on Nov. 3 at 2:00 p.m.  It traces the evolution of graveyards, explores fascinating tales tombstones whisper, considers interesting epitaphs, and discusses changing practices and customs.  Throughout this lecture tips on how to use a visit to an old burial ground to understand and trace local and family history is considered.  Weather permitting the group will stroll over to a local cemetery after the talk for some outdoor, applied learning.

The living history presentation by Willis Phelps, Jr. portrays Private James H. Elbert of the United States Colored Troops (USCT).  It takes place on Dec. 2 at 2:00 p.m.  The Civil War soldier will share the story of African-Americans rallying to the colors as they fought for freedom.  It will all be told through the eyes of Private James H. Elbert, one of the soldiers, as we hear stories about the struggles.  If you haven’t seen the performance before, you won’t want to miss this lively program.  Willis does living history interpretations at Fort Delaware, for the Delaware Humanities Forum and he has lectured at local universities.

All talks are designed to be informative and enjoyable while concentrating on fresh, broadly engaging topics or subjects that help with their research.  Watch for upcoming announcements for the first part of 2013 associated with topics such as Vietnam Mailbag and more.

Today Fair Hill NRMA’s 5,600-plus acres of managed forests, farmland and riparian wetlands, are open for public use and enjoyment. You can hike it, bike it, ride it, fish it, hunt it and love it. Prior to 1973, it was William duPont’s private estate, used for fox hunting and cattle raising. But what came before? Who owned the almost 100 properties that duPont acquired parcel by parcel, starting in 1929? What sort of people leading what kinds of lives inhabited this corner of Maryland before its small communities vanished and the public roads and commercial establishments serving them disappeared?

Reminders of Fair Hill’s past are visible in the occupied buildings near the covered bridge. But, nature has obliterated most of the pre-du Pont properties. Still, traces of the forgotten home sites, farmyards and commercial enterprises are out there, recognizable if you know where and how to look for them.

Join Emily Kilby, park lover and amateur historian, on November 10 , 2012, at 7 p.m. at the Edward L. Walls Activity Hall for a preliminary presentation of her findings about the forgotten communities that once thrived within the park boundaries. old maps, local-history resources, land transactions, census data, William du Pont’s business papers and, especially, precious old photographs that all help bring Fair Hill’s nineteenth and early twentieth century worlds back to life.

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Date:        Nov. 10, 2012 at 7 p.m.

Where:   Edward l. Walls Activity Hall, Fair Hill NRMA Fairgrounds, 4680 Telegraph Road, Elkton, MD 21921

Reservations: 410-398-1246 to reserve your seat

This past June the Archaeological Society of Maryland and the Archaeological Society of the Northern Chesapeake spent a week investigating the matter of where Fort Hollingsworth was situated in the forks of the Elk creeks.  It was one of series of hastily arranged defense put up in the spring of 1813 to protect the upper reach of the Elk River.  Archival research and a few early digs yielded some preliminary data, but this was the most comprehensive study done thus far at Elk Landing, one that concentrated on the question of the precise placement of the redoubt.

Dr. Jim Gibb, the lead investigator, will present the results of the field-school in a presentation at the Historical Society, 135 E. Main Street, Elkton, on Oct. 10th 2012.  While we await the presentation, we’ll share some of the photos from the summer dig.  Thank you Archaeological Society of Maryland, the Maryland Historical Trust, and the Archaeological Society of the Northern Chesapeake for helping unearth Cecil’s past.

From The Storyteller — the Newsletter of the Archeological Society of the Northern Chesapeake

Monthly Meeting Date: Wednesday , October 10, 2012

Time: Refreshments 6:30 p.m., business meeting 7:00 and program at 7:30.

Location: Historical Society of Cecil County, 135 E. Main St. Elkton, MD

Program:  Results of the 2012 Investigations at Elk Landing. Dr. James Gibb

Abstract/Preview

Fort Hollingsworth, erected by the citizens of Cecil County, Maryland, in April 1813 to protect the area from British incursions, was one of a series of small breastworks that protected the upper reaches of the Chesapeake Bay and the ‘back door’ to Philadelphia during the War of 1812. Fort Hollingsworth saw brief action in 1814, and after the war was demolished, with the land returned to farming. Geophysical survey, exploratory soil borings, detailed topographic mapping, and focused excavation, have convincingly and economically identified the footprint of this long-lost fort. The work was undertaken by the Archeological Society of Maryland in 2011 and 2012.

Presentation to be repeated in Bel Air at the Harford County Historical Society, in February 2013.

Press Release – Eclipse Base Ball Club of Elkton

ELKTON, MD— It was a perfect afternoon at the Terrapin Station Winery for 19^th Century Base Ball and the 6^th Annual Maryland 19^th Century Base Ball State Championship Tournament.  The Elkton Eclipse reclaimed the state title for the 5^th time in 6 years with an 11-8 victory over in-county rival, the Cecil Club of Chesapeake City who were the defending champions.

In the first match of the day, the Cecils played the Talbot Fair Plays who had been finalists the first 5 years of the state tournament, but never took home the championship.  Chesapeake City, the number 3 seed, started the game looking like the defending champions and jumped on top with a 8-0 lead.  Talbot, from Easton, Maryland chipped away at the lead until it was 8-8.  It stayed that way until the 8^th inning when the Cecils scored 8 times en route to a 16-8 victory and take them to the second straight title game.

In the last semi-final, the Eclipse who were the number 1 seed as well as the Mid Atlantic Vintage Base Ball League’s current leader, took on the Chesapeake & Potomac squad from the Baltimore/Washington area.  The Chessies have never won a state playoff match and the streak continued in 2012 as the Elkton Nine scored early and often on its way to a 30-6 rout of the club from the southwest.

This set up an all Cecil County final.  The Cecils scored the first ace, but the Eclipse came back with 2 of their own in the first.  After Chesapeake City tied it up in the 2^nd, the Eclipse never looked back and scored 5 in the third inning.  In a close match the rest of the way, the Eclipse were up 9-7 going in to the 8^th.  The Cecils scored one and were threatening with much more, but the Eclipse shut them down and then tacked on 2 more in the bottom of the 8^th.  Cecil was determined not to give up though and rallied to have the bases loaded with one out in the 9^th.  A pop out and a ground out ended the Cecil’s run and the Eclipse once again had the pennant back in the County Seat.

The 19th Century Base Ball Clubs of the state of Maryland have announced the location and format of the State Championship Series Tournament that will take place on September 30, 2012. The formation of the Maryland State Championship Series is a joint venture between the Eclipse Base Ball Club of Elkton the Talbot Fair Play Base Ball Club of Easton, the Cecil Club of Chesapeake City, the Arundel Excelsiors and the Chesapeake & Potomac Base Ball Clubs of Baltimore/Washington.

By virtue of clinching the regular season championship, the Elkton Eclipse will host the tournament on September 30th at the Terrapin Station Winery which is located just north of Elkton on Route 213 right before Ricketts Mill Road. Elkton clinched the regular season title with two wins out of three against Chesapeake City and a split with Talbot. Elkton also won two matches over Chesapeake and one match over Arundel. Elkton won the Maryland State Championship the first four times from 2007 to 2010. In 2011, the Cecil Club of Chesapeake City won the title over Talbot who has been to the finals all 5 times.

All of the matches on September will feature games played by the rules and customs of 1864 including replica uniforms and equipment that would have been used by clubs in the 1860s. The first match will start at Noon and matches will go on every 2 hours until the championship match about 4pm. The schedule tentatively shapes up like the following: Noon– Talbot vs. Chesapeake City 2pm– Elkton vs. Chesapeake & Potomac 4pm-Championship and consolation matches.

19th Century Base Ball (or vintage base ball) is played by over 300 clubs in North America. All of the clubs belong to the Mid Atlantic Vintage Base Ball League which stretches from New York to northern Virginia. The largest organizing group is the Vintage Base Ball Association (VBBA) which all of the Maryland clubs are members of (www.vbba.org) All of the clubs use authentic rules, uniforms, equipment and customs to play base ball just as it was in the 19th century. The Maryland clubs regularly play other like clubs up and down the east coast from Washington to Boston as well as other clubs from the mid west. Clubs schedules usually have between 8 and 40 games per year playing from the beginning of April until the end of October.

Announcement From the Archaeological Society of the Northern Chesapeake

The Archaeological Society of the Northern Chesapeake (ASNC) will present the results of this summer’s field-school at Elk Landing, which focused on a search for Fort Hollingsworth, a War of 1812 redoubt.  The meeting takes places at the Historical Society of Cecil County, 135 E. Main Street, Elkton, MD., and starts at 7 p.m.  Light refreshments will be available at 6:30 p.m.

Dr. Jim Gibb, the lead investigator, will present the findings of the investigation following a brief business meeting of ASNC.  He recently gave this talk in Charles County and is repeating the presentation in Elkton.  It will also be given at the annual meeting of the Archaeological Society of Maryland in La Plata on October 20th and in Bel Air at the Historical Society of Harford County in February 2013.  The meeting is open to the public and the ASNC is serving light refreshments.  This is an ideal opportunity to mingle with this group that does important work on the northern Chesapeake and hear the results of this local investigation.  The fieldwork took place in June on a historic tract of property managed by the Historic Elk Landing Foundation.

Click here for additional information on the upcoming meeting.

Press Release – Cecil County Public Library

When the US Naval Training Center at Bainbridge opened its doors in 1942, thousands of troops and personnel flowed into Cecil County. Erika Quesenbery, author of “Images of America: United States Naval Training Center, Bainbridge” will explain how the government transformed the campus of a private boys school to a 1200 acre military base which trained 25,000 troops and employed 38,000 at its peak. She’ll discuss the impact this influx of people had on Cecil County as well as the effects when the site closed.

This program will be presented Wednesday, October 3 at 7pm at the Rising Sun Branch Library, 111 Colonial Way, Rising Sun. Call 410-658-4025 to register for this free library program.

ss Release — Cecil County Public Library