NEWS

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March 28, 2018

Missing a few leaves from your family tree? We can help!

Did you receive a DNA genealogy testing kit for the holidays? Now that you’ve spit into your tube, sent it away, and found out that you are a whole 4% Scandinavian, what next? Sure the results can help locate the places you came from, but they do not tell you a whole lot about those people responsible for getting you here. That’s where we come in! Our kinship Family Heritage Research Center provides a wide variety of services that can help connect you to your past, whether you’re an experienced researcher or just starting out. For those within visiting distance of the center, the library’s helpful staff can connect you to documents from published family histories to local city directories. From within the library, you can connect to services like Ancestry, Fold3, and digitized newspaper collections. Trained staff can also help you navigate local land record databases. For more information on our holdings, check out the kinship Page. If you can’t make it into kinship, consider using our Research Service! For a reasonable fee, one of our experienced genealogical researchers will work closely with you to uncover your family history! This option is perfect for those without the time or […]
March 13, 2018

Where is William?

Eagle-eyed visitors to the Miller House Museum will notice something missing from the front hallway: our iconic portrait of William Price! Created circa 1835 by noted Early American portrait artist John Beale Bordley, the portrait of the stately Price-Miller House builder greets all who enter through the doors of the museum. So where is William? He’s away on vacation, getting some much-needed TLC! The portrait of William Price and its traveling companion, the portrait of Major Peter Seibert, are currently resting in the conservation studio of Barry Bauman, in scenic River Forest, Illinois! Both portraits will receive cleaning and minor repairs, compliments of some grant funding from the Delaplaine Foundation of Frederick, Maryland. We’re extremely grateful to the foundation for helping to preserve these important pieces of Maryland artwork. William Price was a prominent Maryland attorney who was born and raised in Hagerstown. He moved his young family into the West Washington Street townhouse shortly after its construction in 1825. It served as the family home and his office. He would have been in his early 40s when this portrait was painted. William Price served as the United States District Attorney for the State of Maryland from 1862 to his […]