Volume 1, 1831 February - 1831 December

SERIES I. MINUTES, 1831-1902

Comprised of 6 volumes containing the records of the meetings of the Board of Managers and 2 volumes of the Proceedings of the Executive Committee.

The Records provide a full history of the administration of the Maryland State Colonization Society and are an excellent source of information on the colony in Liberia. Volume 1 contains the organization records of the Colonization Society and includes a report by Dr. Ayres, agent of the group, on his trip to the various counties of the state to form branch societies. Volume 2 has a copy of the Ordinance for the government of Maryland in Liberia, showing the administrative set-up there. There is also a copy of the deed for the land in Africa, giving the price paid in terms of muskets, kegs of powder, cloth, kettles, hats, beads, iron pots, looking glasses, knives, jugs, pitchers, bowls, fish hooks, scissors, etc. Volume 3 has the Third Annual Report of the Board of Managers, giving a detailed account of the first settlement at Cape Palmas. Volume 4 includes the Seventh Annual Report, which discusses the social and economic problems at Cape Palmas. Volume 5 has a vast amount of correspondence relating to colonial affairs, reports, and instructions that are not included in the regular letter books. There is also a copy of the articles of agreement between the Colonization Society and the people of Maryland in Liberia in 1854, when self-government became an actuality. Volume 6 covers the period after the active work of the Society ceased and shows the gradual decline of enthusiasm, the less frequent meetings, and the slow disintegration of the organization.

The Proceedings are very brief and supply only the barest outline of what was done. Volume 1 includes some financial accounts and Volume 2 duplicates the record during 1833.

SERIES II. CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED, 1827-1872

Includes 28 volumes of Letter Books; 8 volumes of Letter Books, Shipping; and 2 volumes of Letter Books, Foreign.

The Letter Books contain every letter received by the Colonization Society from home and abroad, filed in chronological order of writing. These letters deal with a vast array of subjects, and include countless communications from Liberia, official and personal. Every volume, except the first, is indexed either by date or by the name of the writer.

The Letter Books, Shipping are the only parts of the correspondence received which deal with a special subject and are set aside by themselves. The papers in them are shorter than those in the general letter files, they are all from American sources, and they deal entirely with business matters. The Bills of Lading show the quantities and prices of goods shipped to Africa.

The Foreign Letter Books contain copies of letters received from Liberia and consist primarily of official reports. They discuss all the problems of the colonial settlement and present this material in paragraphs headed by the subject titles of the matter related therein.

SERIES III. CORRESPONDENCE SENT, 1832-1869

Comprised of 4 volumes of Letter Press Books; 5 volumes of Letter Press Books-Shipping; 2 volumes of Corresponding Secretary's Books; 2 volumes of Latrobe Letter Books; 1 volume of State Manager's Book; and 3 volumes of Agents' Books.

The Letter Press Books are impressions of a large number of letters sent out by the Colonization Society, many of them written by Dr. James Hall. Each volume has nearly five hundred pages and are indexed under the names of the persons addressed.

Each volume of the Letter Press Books-Shipping contains nearly five hundred pages of correspondence dealing with goods sent to Africa and the actual lists with prices are included in some cases.

The Corresponding Secretary's Books consist of copies of all Letters addressed by the Corresponding Secretary to different persons on business of the Society. They include directions, suggestions, and reports on activities.

The Latrobe Letter Books contain the correspondence of John H. B. Latrobe, who served as the Colonization Society's first Corresponding Secretary and became President in March 1837. Volume 1 consists largely of letters to Dr. Hall while the latter was Governor of Maryland in Liberia.

The State Manager's Book has local correspondence, most of it written for the Board of Managers by Charles Howard, with the usual index. Included is a letter addressed in April 1832 to the President of Haiti.

The Agents' Books are copies of letters sent by the Reverend William McKenney, the Reverend Ira Easter, and Dr. James Hall while serving as agents of the Colonization Society. Included are the instructions to the captains of the ships taking the emigrants over the ocean and to the colonial officials in the settlement at Cape Palmas.

SERIES IV. MISCELLANEOUS LETTERS AND MINUTES, 1817-1838

Materials in this series include an 1817 letter written by Robert Goodloe Harper to Elias B. Caldwell, Secretary of the American Colonization Society, giving ideas on colonization in Africa before the movement gained headway; letters to the Board of Managers of the Maryland State Colonization Society; Proceedings of the Agent and Council in Cape Palmas; letters written by Reverend William McKenney; Constitution of the Baltimore Ladies for the Promotion of Education in Africa; rough draft of an “Address to the Baltimore Annual Conference of the Methodist E. Church”; and a letter to the Editor of the “Village Herald."

SERIES V. INVOICE BOOKS, 1833-1860

The 2 volumes of Invoice Books provide lists of all the goods sent to Liberia, with prices of the various articles and names of the vessels on which they were shipped. Among the items enumerated are: clothing; food; books; medicines; and household supplies and furnishings.

SERIES VI. FINANCIAL RECORDS, 1831-1876

The Day Books contain records of all financial transactions at the Colonization Office in Baltimore, Maryland with receipts and payments entered in the order of their occurrence. Marginal numbers refer to pages in the Journal where the various items may be found.

The Journal gives the accounts of the Colonization Society in less detail than the Day Books, but the sums are identical. Marginal numbers refer to the pages in the Ledger where the accounts are listed individually.

The Ledger contains individual accounts, with the credit and debit columns balanced. Included are the expenses of the different expeditions to Liberia; the accounts of agents; and special funds such as the public farm in the colony and the "Cape Palmas Packet" (a newspaper). Numbers refer to pages in the Journal whence the sums are extracted, and there is an index loose in the front.

The Balance Sheets are for the years 1831-1844 inclusive and they indicate total expenditures of $189,940.43 for those first fourteen years of the Society's existence.

The Bank Books contain information such as a record of deposits in and withdrawals from the Union Bank of Maryland, balanced at the bottom of each page; a list of subscribers to the "Maryland Colonization Journal" for 1843-1845; and the accounts of Dr. George Keyser, General Agent, for 1835.

Bills for debts owed by the Society include itemized lists of supplies of all kinds.

The Check Book has the stubs of 387 checks, with notations of the purposes for which drawn. Among the items listed are: office rent; salaries; travelling expenses; expeditions; medicines; and foodstuffs for voyages.

Cancelled checks cover, with one brief period omitted (1860-1871), the entire history of the Society and there are also three packages of canceled drafts.

The Managers' Accounts include material such as vouchers for expenditures by the State Managers; the accounts of the Reverend William McKenney with the State Managers; rough draft of the annual account of the Managers for the inspection of the Legislature; and receipts and canceled checks.

The Traveling Agents' Books were kept by the Reverend John Leys and the Reverend P. D. Lipscomb during their service as agents travelling through Maryland soliciting funds for the Society. Information given includes dates, names, residences, and the sums given or subscribed.

The Contribution Book lists contributors and subscribers by localities, with notations of the amounts given and paid. It includes subscriptions to the "Cape Palmas Packet" during 1838-1845.

Account Books include the account book of Agent Ira Easter; accounts of the Society with the State of Maryland; and a general account book giving receipts and expenditures.

SERIES VII. SPECIAL FUNDS, 1833-1894

Colonial Accounts include 34 semi-annual accounts of the colony in Liberia, sent to the Society by Governor John Brown Russwurm and other officials reporting detailed figures on the expenses involved in all phases of colonial activity; semi-annual reports of the colonial agency at Cape Palmas transmitted by Agent Dr. James Hall; semi-annual accounts of Agent Dr. Oliver Holmes regarding inventories of the supplies on hand; semi-annual accounts of Agent Dr. Samuel McGill; and accounts of Agent Joseph T. Gibson.

Stevens Correspondence contains copies of letters sent and received regarding the fund donated by John Stevens of Easton, Maryland, for building a vessel to carry emigrants to Liberia. Included are accounts of the ship `M. C. Stevens.'

The Hall School Fund consists of copies of letters sent concerning the use of the Society's funds left after the cessation of active work for the support of a school in Cape Palmas. The transcripts are prefaced by a statement of Dr. James Hall giving the history of the Society and of the School Fund.

Maryland Colonization Journal contains information such as the accounts of subscribers to the journal with alphabetical index giving places of residence and subscribers listed by localities.

SERIES VIII. COMMISSIONS AND REPORTS, 1832-1858

Materials in this series include commissions from the State of Maryland to the Board of Managers for the removal of free people of color to Africa; reports of the Board of Managers and Committees; reports of the Home Agent; and reports of the Travelling Agents.

SERIES IX. CENSUS RECORDS, 1832-1852

The Census of the Free Black Population in Maryland was compiled by the sheriffs of the various counties in compliance with the legislative Act of 1831, passed as a result of fears aroused by Nat Turner's insurrection in Virginia. There are the original records for Allegany, Anne Arundel, Calvert, Caroline, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Kent, Montgomery, Queen Anne’s, St. Mary's, Somerset, Talbot, and Washington Counties.

The Census Records of Maryland in Liberia include a book with lists dividing citizens according to sex and age and giving occupations; a register of births, deaths, and marriages in 1842; and census figures with statistics of acres cultivated.

SERIES X. MANUMISSIONS AND EMIGRANTS, 1831-1862

The 2 volumes of the Manumissions Books-Lists contains information regarding persons manumitted, including the name; age; by whom manumitted; how (deed, will, or sale); the date; the county; when freedom is to commence; and any remarks.

The Manumission Books-Copies are comprised of 3 volumes containing copies of the manumissions taken from the original documents sent in by the county officials and they are numbered to correspond with the names in the lists. Volume 1 contains at the end a list of 533 emigrants during 1832-1838 that gives age; by whom manumitted; county of record; occupation; destination; how sent; when sent; and the amounts paid.

Manumissions-Copies are the certified copies of deeds of manumission; wills; and bills of sale that were sent to the Society by county clerks and registers of wills. These papers are numbered to agree with the lists, but give much fuller information; they are the documents copied into the books just described above.

Record of Emigrants includes 1 volume containing a list of the people sent to Africa by the Society from 1831 to 1862. Lists ship; date; name; age; county of origin; and occasional remarks.

Ship Charters has the charters for vessels and provide full data about the ships and their use for colonization purposes.

SERIES XI. LIBERIAN COLONIZATION, 1834-1849

Land Deeds consists of a book containing copies of 11 deeds made by native chieftains, with confirmations by the headmen of the various districts concerned, and a package containing the original deeds, giving considerations paid for the land in the form of mutual defence; advantages from the trading posts; schools; general benefit; and presents or "dashes."

Travels includes a journal of sundry tours in Liberia from 1844-1845, with several entries made by Governor John Brown Russwurm; and the 1845 journal of Messrs. Stewart and Banks regarding their journey to the Pah Country and accompanied by a chart of the terrain traversed.

Miscellaneous Affairs contains materials such as documents relating to the trial of James Thomson, who was accused of adultery with local girls while connected with the Episcopal mission; correspondence between Governor John Brown Russwurm and Captain Ramsey of the U.S.S “Vandalia;" documents related to the case of the Reverend Griswold and robberies committed by the native population; Captain Hardie’s statement about emigrants and conditions in the colony; and Captain Hunt’s testimony about the effects of colonization on Cape Palmas; and paper currency for use in the Government store.

SERIES XII. NEWSPAPERS, 1835-1861

The Maryland Colonization Journal was published in Baltimore by the Maryland State Colonization Society and these copies are bound in books, with a number of duplicates.

The African Repository and Colonial Journal was issued by the American Colonization Society issued from its headquarters in Washington, DC. The change from semi-monthly to monthly status was made with the issue of March 1842.

The Colonization Herald and General Register was the official organ of the Pennsylvania Colonization Society and changed from a semi-monthly to a monthly in 1843.

The New-York Colonization Journal was edited by the Reverend J. B. Pinney edited this for the New York State Colonization Society and it appeared monthly throughout its existence.

The Liberia Herald was published in Monrovia by Hilary Teage, the editor and proprietor. Originally a monthly, it shifted to semi-monthly status in 1845. It provides an eyewitness report of events in Liberia during the 15 years preceding independence and serves as a reflection of colonial opinion on the happenings of that period.

SERIES XIII. COLONIZATION PAMPHLETS, 1846-1859

Comprised of a bound volume that contains 28 pamphlets dealing with Liberia and colonization affairs.

SERIES XIV. MISCELLANEOUS PAMPHLETS, 1828-1914

Loose pamphlets regarding a variety of different subjects related to colonization efforts.

SERIES XV. PAMPHLETS, 1818-1904

Pamphlets concerning the colonization efforts in Maryland that were physically and intellectually added to the Maryland State Colonization Society Records in circa 1970 that originate from the Maryland Historical Society's main pamphlet collection.

SERIES XVI. OVERSIZE, 1838, 1854

Items include a map of Cape Palmas in Liberia; a plan of the Township of Harper in Cape Palmas; and “The Declaration of Rights, and the Constitution of the State of Maryland in Liberia” with signatures.