COURT HOUSE – On Jan. 16, County Clerk Rita Marie Fulginiti accepted delivery of five restored deed books in the Clerk’s continuing project to provide archival conservation treatments to the most compromised permanent volumes in the collection.
According to a release, the volumes received archival conservation treatments – were disbound, surface cleaned, deacidified; tapes, adhesives, and stains removed tears repaired. Prior to rebinding the volumes were scanned and microfilmed for preservation.
Included was Liber A of Deeds (1692-1725) which contains the earliest records held at the County Clerk’s Office, including the 1692 appointment of George Taylor as the county’s first Clerk, the earliest civil suit brought by Elizabeth Hand against Robert Prosly for a debt, and the earliest criminal court case against John Jarvis for “helping ye Indians to rum.”
The book also contains the first prenuptial agreement recorded at the County Clerk’s Office, between John Fish and Mary Curwishy (Curwishon) in 1693.
The iron gall ink used to record this information was the very thing threatening to destroy it through a slow burn process that eats away at the paper, leaving holes in the pages. Earlier conservation efforts that included a silk skin adhered to the pages did nothing to slow or stop the deterioration process.
In August 2018, the volume was sent to Kofile Technologies where each individual page was first placed in a warm bath of ethyl alcohol that allowed for the stripping away of the silk skin and then placed through a de-acidification process that stopped the slow burn caused by the ink.
The final part of the conservation process was to place each page in Mylar, ensuring their safety and continued accessibility for future generations.
“These records are among the historical treasures of our county and are important for land title research.” Fulginiti stated.
The public is welcome to visit the County Clerk’s Archives located at 7. N. Street or online at www.capemaycountyarchives.com.
