Edward C. Papenfuse (born October 15, 1943) is the retired Maryland State

Archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can cons ...

and Commissioner of

Land Patent A land patent is a form of letters patent assigning official ownership of a particular tract of land that has gone through various legally-prescribed processes like surveying and documentation, followed by the letter's signing, sealing, and publi ...

s. Papenfuse received his undergraduate degree from the

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

, an M.A. from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

, and a Ph.D. in history from The

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

. He holds an honorary doctorate of letters from

Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...

. His son

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...

is the former mayor of

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Biography

Papenfuse held the positions of Maryland State Archivist and Commissioner of Land Patents from 1975 until 2013. He succeeded Morris L. Radoff to the office and was succeeded himself by Timothy D. Baker. As director of the Maryland State Archives in

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

, Papenfuse was responsible for the Archives' collection of government and private materials which are described and inventoried in detail a
mdsa.net
''Guide to Government Records and the Guide Special Collections''. In 2003, he conceptualized and initiated the design o
mdlandrec.net
which contains over 200,000,000 indexed images of permanent archival records and has public usage statistics. In addition he has created an interactive editorial website for archival documents which currently accesses over 500,000 pages of original source material on the experimental web sites
Remembering Baltimoremdhistory.net
an
transcribedoc.net
''The Baltimore Sun'' chronicled the beginning and ending of Papenfuse's career in articles published on October 14, 1975, and November 4, 2013. From June 2010 until October 2013, he was also the acting City Archivist for the

Baltimore City Archives The Baltimore City Archives is the official municipal archive of Baltimore, Maryland. The archive is located on Mathews Street in the Waverly neighborhood of Baltimore. The Baltimore City Archives "is the central depository for government records ...

, becoming a catalyst for change in an archives in disrepair. Papenfuse played a major role in the design of the present Archives building which was completed in 1986 and bears his name, initiated the creation of the Maryland State Archives web site, writes extensively on Maryland history, and has taught history at the University of Maryland College Park, the University of Maryland Law School, and the Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of numerous articles and books, including ''In Pursuit of Profit: The Annapolis Merchants in the Era of the American Revolution'' (1975), with Joseph M. Coale, ''The Hammond-Harwood House Atlas of Historical Maps of Maryland, 1608–1908'' (1982) and ''The Maryland State Archives Atlas of Historical Maps of Maryland 1608–1908'' (2003). He has also developed an approach to providing reference services and teaching courses on the Internet. Th
Baltimore City Archives
website, for which he designed the organizational framework and wrote most of the introductory text, is devoted to preserving and accessing the public records of the

. Papenfuse has published numerous articles on archives and archival-related matters including a report on access to government records in the OAH ''Newsletter''. In April 2011, he was designated a digital pioneer and interviewed by the Library of Congress about his career. As Commissioner of Land Patents, Papenfuse presided as an administrative judge over questions relating to original title in Maryland, and was responsible for overseeing the granting of a number of land grants based upon thorough research and documentation. He explains the process at length in a published opinion that was decided in his favor and which incorporated his research of the process into the opinion. Papenfuse was behind Maryland's 2007 acquisition of the original final draft of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

's military resignation speech (given in December 1783 to the

Congress of the Confederation The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States from March 1, 1781, until March 3, 1789, during the Confederation ...

). After his speech, Washington folded the draft and gave it to a member of Congress, whose family had passed it down through future generations.

Works

* ''In Pursuit of Profit: The Annapolis Merchants in the Era of the American Revolution''. (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975). * ''Maryland: A New Guide to the Old Line State.'' (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976). With Gregory A. Stiverson, Susan A. Collins, Lois Green Carr. * ''Law, Society & Politics. The Proceedings of the First Conference on Maryland History.'' (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1977). With Aubrey C. Land and Lois Green Carr. * ''An Inventory of Maryland State Papers, Part I, The Revolutionary War Era, 1775–1789.'' (Annapolis: Maryland Hall of Records, 1977). With Gregory A. Stiverson and Mary D. Donaldson. * ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635–1789.'' (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979, 1985). With David Jordan, Alan Day, Gregory A. Stiverson. * ''A Guide to the Maryland Hall of Records: Local, Judicial, and Administrative Records on Microform.'' (Annapolis: Maryland Hall of Records, 1978). With Susan A. Collins and Christopher Allan. * ''The Maryland State Archives Atlas of Historical Maps of Maryland.'' (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003). With Joseph M. Coale III. * ''Magna Charta For America.'' (Philadelphia; The American Philosophical Society, 1986). With Jack P. Greene and Charles F. Mullett. * ''Outline
Notes and Documents Concerning Barron v Baltimore, 32 U.S. 243
' * ''Doing good to posterity : the move of the capital of Maryland from St. Mary's City to Ann Arundell Towne, now called Annapolis.''Maryland State Archives, 1995. * ''Lincoln in Annapolis, February 1865'' by Toews, Rockford E. (Introduction by Edward C. Papenfuse), nnapolisMaryland State Archives 2009 * ''Where Have All the Flowers Gone?'' in Isaac Shearn and Elgin Klugh, ''A Place for Memory, Baltimore's Historic Laurel Cemetery,'' 2023

Awards

* Elected fellow of the Society of American Archivists, 1978 * Marylander of the Year award of the Maryland Colonial Society, 1985 * Distinguished Service to State Government Award, The National Governor's Association, 1985 * Elected to membership in the American Antiquarian Society in 1987 * Awarded the Calvert Prize of the Maryland Historical Trust, 1988 * FGS Directors Award for distinguished public service in support of Genealogy, 1988 * Speakers Medallion awarded by the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

, 2014

Personal life

Papenfuse and his wife Sallie have two sons, a daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Papenfuse, Edward C. Living people 1943 births 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American antiquarians American archivists Maryland State Archives personnel American male non-fiction writers