J. Alexis Shriver papers

The J. Alexis Shriver collection contains varied material, as Shriver was a collector of papers as well as a writer and addressee. There is a body of documents, mostly official records, concerning the Baltimore Methodist-Episcopal Church. This material covers the years 1807 to 1846, although the bulk fits in between 1820 to 1830. It is a valuable source for understanding the working of the Baltimore Methodist-Episcopal Church Government and its activities in early 19th century. Lengthy lists of marriages and baptisms performed by M.E. ministers are included as well.

This collection also includes a group of apparently unrelated papers, ca. 1800 to 1880. Accounts, bills, receipts, letters, and legal papers are all evident. Lack of visible correlation between items hampers the research potential of this material. Smaller, more related groups of 19th century papers in this collection are the Israel papers (1840 to 1870). There are a number of accounts, bills and receipts belonging to Beale (1759-1830), Robert, and Fielder Israel, Baltimore conveyancers dealing with transfer of real estate. Another group are the Hollings-worth Papers (1809-1828). Relating to Thomas and Nathaniel Hollingsworth, this small body of material contains bills, receipts and some correspondence. There is a group of five letters connected with John, Thomas, and Andrew Shriver gathered together as the Shriver Family Papers (1775-1873). The content is mostly personal.

The papers relating to J. Alexis Shriver directly are quite numerous as well as rather unified. Included are correspondence and business records relating to his involvement with the Harford County Historical Society, of which Shriver was Secretary-Treasurer and prime mover for over 30 years. The years 1908 to 1914 are best represented in this case.

The most complete documentation in the collection is that to do with Shriver's extensive dealings with various public historical celebrations such as the Lafayette Sesqui-Centennial, the Ark and the Dove Day, the George Washington Bicentennial, and the Maryland Tercentennary. He actively corresponded with hundreds of persons in connection with these activities, and the letters that exist here are highly informative. They concern just about every element of the administration and programs of these events. Materials other than the correspondence in this area are less useful, as they seem incomplete. After Shriver's resignation in January of 1934 as General Director of the Maryland Tercentennary Commission, there is little material of any kind, presumable because the pace of his public life slackened after this point.

Shriver's involvement in other areas is documented to a lesser extent in this collection. His connections with the Baltimore and Bel Air Telephone Company, as well as the Baltimore and Bel Air Electric Company, are represented only marginally. His dealings with electric railroad companies (1910-1923) are covered in a separate collection (MS. 847) and partially explain the gap in documentation during this time period.

The remaining materials included in the collection deal with non-professional activities. Shriver's concern for upgrading Bel Air Road in the early 1900's is, for example, evident. Also obvious is his interest in local history, as witnessed by a number of tracts concerned with subjects of a historical nature. Included is the draft of his book, Lafayette in Harford County (1931).

Several small groupings of diverse items can be found in this collection. There is a note book of his filled with copies of correspondence of Otho Scott, a 19th Century Bel Air lawyer. Cornell alumni documents dating from the mid-1890's and items associated with the inventor-cleric William A. Crawford-Frost are also part of the J. Alexis Shriver papers. Items connected with the Harford County Boat Club (1904-1941) are present in greater quantity. These varied articles, although they shed light on some aspects of Shriver and his times, are limited in number and have but limited research value.

As mentioned earlier, the most informative element in the collection, overall, is the extensive correspondence of Shriver. Letters sent by Shriver are arranged chronologically by month; letters received are arranged alphabetically by the first letter of the sender's last name. Predictably, the period best represented is that from January 1931 to January 1934, the height of Shriver's celebrations involvement.