So many topics, so little time -- these are the main research ideas I'm considering:
- History of my little house in the 'Point -- supposed to date back to 1850 -- history of its occupants and their contributions (or not) to city history; or if I can't get sufficient material, perhaps history of my street or entire block or structures on the main cross streets.
- History of one or more of my 17th-18th Century Baltimore ancestors (only recently -- spring of 2009 -- have I learned of their existence at all): Chew, Cox, Slade.
- History of an in-law Baltimore (and possibly also a 'Pointer) ancestor, who was a 19th Century sea captain for McCormick spice trade, lost at sea.
And less personal but no less interesting to me:
- History of ancient up to First Encounter Native American presence in the Baltimore area; confirming the gap during Baltimore's 'modern' formative period; i.e., mid-1600's-WWII or however recently the gap ended [part of research]; history of modern to current presence of Native Americans in Baltimore.
- Some aspect of the Friends Society influence in Baltimore; the positive and negative; what lingers today.
- Some aspect of Methodism's place in Baltimore history; the positive and negative; what lingers today.
- History of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and 'whither it goest'.
- History of the Baltimore Opera Company and 'where it went'.
- History of pre-Soviet immigration through post-Cold War presence of Russians in Baltimore including "how did they get to acquire Sparrows Point?!"
- (And someday would like to do primarily a photo historical essay of Baltimore's beautiful steeples.)
I've picked one topic to begin in earnest discovering whether or not there might be sufficient material to support a paper, namely 'history of Native American influence' in Baltimore. I visited the Maryland Historical Society -- http://www.mdhs.org/ -- yesterday (library was closed on Mondays, as we've learned, but main building is open) and spoke with a docent/greeter at the front desk. He confirmed that Native Americans were not significant in numbers in/around Baltimore from the time of the Revolution but that the Society does have some material (so far I've gotten over 100 hits in the MdHS catalog). I bought the one piece (a small pamphlet--apparently not accessible online) readily available at the front desk, and would like to pursue the topic further before deciding one way or the other to choose it as my research blog subject.
Mostly, would like Dr. Singer's advice/direction, please, about this.
Oh, I also bought a student membership (not too steep at $40), with the thought that in these hard times, it's institutions exactly like the MdHS that needs our support. The "Maryland Historical Magazine" - take a look at the tables of contents of recent journals: http://www.mdhs.org/publications/TOC.html -- is a nice part of one's membership. Plus, see these nearby (Mt. V neighborhood) restaurants and shops offering discounts to MdHS members! http://www.mdhs.org/membership/discount.html
Finally -- "did you know" MdHS has a good parking lot right off of Monument Street just west of the main buildings -- and main entrance is on Park.
That's all for now...
