Gittings photograph collection

Richard James Gittings (1830-1882) was a noted criminal attorney, an associate and legal advisor of Oden Bowie, first Governor of Maryland under the Constitution of 1867. He married Victoria Sellman Gittings (1837-1884), who was born on the Woodlawn plantation in Anne Arundel County, the granddaughter of Revolutionary War hero Gen. Jonathan Sellman. The couple lived in the Mount Vernon area of Baltimore and had six children, some of whom were still quite young at the time of their deaths. The care of the younger children fell to their brother, D. Sterrett Gittings (1861-1948), and the family lived on the family estate Roslyn (also spelled Roslin) in Baltimore County and at a townhouse on Park Avenue.

D. Sterrett Gittings, an 1883 graduate of Johns Hopkins University, entered the insurance business although his main interest was horses. He was widely known as a rider and national authority on thoroughbred horses and racing. He was the founder of the Maryland Jockey Club, and its director from 1918-1948; his experiences there are described in Victoria Gittings' memoir Riding Straight, which incorporates his writings and reminescences. His sister Victoria Gittings (1879-1965) was a writer, publishing the biography of her brother and contributing frequent letters to Baltimore newspapers on political subjects. She was an accomplished pianist and a member of the Maryland Historical Society. Another sister was Anna Sellman Gittings (1863-1943), also a member of the Maryland Historical Society and the creator of the photographs in this collection.