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Emerson C. Harrington collection

1 box, 1 oversize folder (80.5 linear feet)

(1839 – 2004)

Edward H. Nabb Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Salisbury, University, Salisbury, Maryland

Identifier 2017.017
Creator(s) Harrington, Emerson; State of Maryland
Acquisition

The Emerson C. Harrington collection was donated to the Nabb Research Center by Edward Nabb, Jr., March 2017.
Language(s) English
Use Records are open for research. Copyright, including literary rights, belongs to the author(s) or their legal heirs. Permission to publish or reproduce must be obtained from the Nabb Research Center which extends beyond "fair use."
Preferred Citation "Item, collection title and identifier, box # and folder # (if applicable), Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland."
Attribution Finding aid written by Leslie M. Van Veen McRoberts, January 2018.
Related Materials

Edward H. Nabb, Sr. papers (1944 – 2002)

Harrington and Mace records (1893 – 1908)
Separated Materials

Oversize materials have been housed in the Nabb Research Center’s flat file system.

The 1676 Map produced by Francis Lamb has been cataloged under 2017.017a.            

Photographic prints have been cataloged under the numbers 2017.017.001 - .012.
Abstract

The Emerson C. Harrington collection documents the prolific legal career of the former state of Maryland Governor and his son, attorney Emerson C. Harrington Jr. The bulk of the collection, direct from their law office, located in Cambridge, Dorchester County, Maryland, is comprised of law books that include the Laws of Maryland,1839-1939; The Maryland Reports, Vol. 1, 1851 – Vol. 380, 2004; and Decisions of the Court of Appeals of Maryland, Vol. 1-34, 1883. In addition to the legal volumes, the materials include a series of photographic prints of the city of Cambridge, and speeches presented at the Maryland Club during dinners and parties in the mid to late 1960s and early 1970s.

Biographical History

Emerson C. Harrington, (1864-1945) born to John E. and Annie E. Harrington in Dorchester County, Maryland; he received his education from St. John’s College in Annapolis and became a teacher and principal. He went on to study law and became an attorney in 1898. A Democrat, Harrington served as Dorchester County State’s Attorney from 1899-1903, and was appointed the State Insurance Commissioner in 1910, he was elected state comptroller in 1911. His political career was rapid, and in 1915, Harrington was elected Governor of the State of Maryland; he served one term 1915-1920. During his tenure, he supported Prohibition and voting rights for women. After his service to the state of Maryland, he returned to his law practice and became active in banking. Harrington married the former, Gertrude Johnson (1874-1948), in June 1893 at Grace United Methodist Church, Cambridge, Maryland. They had three children, Emerson C. Jr., (1894-1972), William, and Mary. Gertrude was a staunch supporter of the work of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), and commended the efforts of the organization to provide safe meeting places and recreation for women. During her time as First Lady of the State of Maryland, she used her position to aid American servicemen. She opened the Government House to soldiers and sailors for receptions, balls, and fundraisers, as well as hosted meetings for the War Work Campaign, and raised funds for various organizations.

Emerson C. Harrington Jr., was born in August of 1894, he just as his father before him, was educated at St. John’s College, Annapolis and received his legal education at the University of Maryland, College of Law. He enlisted in the United States Army as a Private, and was later appointed Second Lieutenant in Company C, 115th Regiment of the 29th Division. Harrington, Jr., was attached as an aide to the staff of General William Wilson of the 60th Pioneer Regiment. After being discharged for physical disability, which occurred in the line of duty, in November of 1918 he took the bar examination and was admitted to the Maryland State Bar. He worked for his father’s law firm, which operated under the name Harrington and Harrington. He married Winifred Emma Davis Harrington (1889-1954) in April of 1917, they had one daughter, Winifred Harrington Nabb (1920-1981), who became the wife of Edward H. Nabb (1916-2002), who was the last person in Maryland to read the law under the guidance and supervision of his mentor and father-in-law, Emerson C. Harrington, Jr.

Arrangement Statement

The Emerson C. Harrington collection has been arranged by material type and then chronologically; this includes photographic prints, correspondence, and published volumes created by the state of Maryland for use by an attorney, or in this case were used by the attorneys at the law firm of Harrington, Harrington, and Nabb, the firm founded by former Maryland Governor, Emerson C. Harrington, when creating an argument for a case to be heard before a judge. There is almost a contiguous run of the Maryland Reports, with few duplications, and one missing volume, no. 369, 2004. Additionally, there is a wide scope of the Laws of Maryland from 1839-1939.

Subject Terms

  • Topical Terms
    • Legal Records
  • Personal Names
    • Harrington, Emerson C. (1864-1945)

Inventory List

The inventory list for this item is hidden due to its length. Click the button below to view it.

Box 1

1.      Letter to the Editor, Emerson C. Harrington, Jr., 1938

2.      Correspondence, RE: Maryland Club Dinner, Charles Allen Herndon, Jr., 1966

3.      Speech, Maryland Club Dinner, Charles Allen Herndon, 1967-1969

4.      Speech, Maryland Club Party, Charles Allen Herndon, 1971

5.      Speech, Maryland Club, Charles Allen Herndon, 1972

6.      Photographs, Dorchester County Thoroughfares, circa 1930

7.      Photograph, High and Poplar Streets, Cambridge, Md., circa 1940

8.      Photograph, Horn’s Point, Dorchester County, circa 1950

9.      Photograph, Skipjack, circa 1960

10.  Photograph, Portraits of Governors, circa 1970

 

Oversize

1.      Photograph, GOV. EMERSON C. HARRINGTON passenger ferry, circa 1920

2.      Photograph, Cambridge, Md., Post Fire, 1931 July 10

3.      Photograph, Cambridge, Md., Post Fire, Zion United Methodist Church, 1931 July 10

4.      Photograph, Cambridge, Md., circa 1936

5.      Photograph, People’s Bank Board Members, 1963 March 5

6.      Photograph, Partner and Attorneys, Harrington, Harrington and Nabb, 1963 March 12

7.      Map, Photostatic copy, Virginia and Maryland, produced by Francis Lamb, 1676

8.      Broadside, World War I Service, 1st Maryland Infantry, Company I, 1917

9.      Watercolor with Poem, The Eastern Shore, F.A.L., 1934

10.  Newspaper, Cambridge Tribune, 1943 October 1

11.  Speech, Maryland Club Dinner, Charles Allen Hearndon, Jr., to Emerson Harrington, Jr., and Edward Nabb, 1970 January 31

Published Materials

1.      Reports of cases argued and adjudged in the High court of chancery of Maryland. [1811-1832] Annotated by William T. Brantly. Containing the first[-third] volume of Bland’s Reports, 1811-1854

2.      Reports of cases decided in the High Court of Chancery of Maryland, [by] Hon. John Johnson, chancellor, 1851-1854

3.      A Digest of the Maryland Statutes, 1875

4.      Porter & Coates’ interest tables of one-half, one, two, three, three-and-one-half, four, four-and-one-half, five, six, seven, eight and ten per cent. per annum. Showing the interest on any amount from 1.00 to 10,000. By John E. Coffin, S. B., 1884

5.      Supplement to the Maryland code of 1904 : containing the public general laws enacted at the General Assembly of 1906 : codified and arranged in appropriate articles and sections corresponding with the articles and sections of the code, with an appendix ... / by John Prentiss Poe, 1906

6.      Tax Laws of Maryland, 1929

7.      Code of the public local laws of Maryland / edited by Horace E. Flack, Department of Legislative Reference, containing all the public local laws of the state in force to and inclusive of the acts of the General Assembly of 1929, with citations to decisions of the Court of Appeals of Maryland in 69 Maryland to 156 Maryland, inclusive, 1930

8.      Journal of the proceedings of the Senate of Maryland, 1939

9.      An illustrated atlas of Talbot & Dorchester counties, Maryland / compiled, drawn and published from actual surveys by Lake, Griffing & Stevenson, 1877

 

Decisions of the Court of Appeals of Maryland

1.  Reports of Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Court of Appeals of Maryland, and in the High Court of Chancery of Maryland, from First Harris and McHenry’s Reports to First Maryland Reports, Annotated by William T. Brantly, Vols. 1 -34, 1883

 

Reports of Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Court of Appeals in Maryland

1-379.  Maryland Reports, Vol. 1, 1851 – Vol. 380, 2004

 

Laws of Maryland

1.      Laws of Maryland, 1839

2.      Laws of Maryland, 1841

3.      Laws of Maryland, 1842

4.      Laws of Maryland, 1861-1862

5.      Laws of Maryland 1872

6.      Digest of Maryland Statues, 1875

7.      Laws of Maryland, 1884

8.      Laws of Maryland, 1890

9.      Laws of Maryland, 1890

10.  Laws of Maryland, 1892

11.  Laws of Maryland, 1892

12.  Laws of Maryland, 1894

13.  Laws of Maryland, 1896

14.  Laws of Maryland, 1896

15.  Laws of Maryland, 1898

16.  Laws of Maryland, 1900

17.  Laws of Maryland, 1900

18.  Laws of Maryland, Extra Session, 1901

19.  Laws of Maryland, Extra Session, 1901

20.  Laws of Maryland, Including Extra Session, 1902

21.  Laws of Maryland, 1904

22.  Laws of Maryland, 1904

23.  Laws of Maryland, 1906

24.  Laws of Maryland, 1906

25.  Laws of Maryland, 1906

26.  Laws of Maryland, 1908

27.  Laws of Maryland, 1908

28.  Laws of Maryland, 1910

29.  Laws of Maryland, 1912

30.  Laws of Maryland, 1914

31.  Laws of Maryland, 1916

32.  Laws of Maryland, 1916

33.  Laws of Maryland, Extra Session, 1917

34.  Laws of Maryland, Extra Session, 1917

35.  Laws of Maryland, 1918

36.  Laws of Maryland, 1918

37.  Laws of Maryland, 1920

38.  Laws of Maryland, 1920

39.  Laws of Maryland, 1922

40.  Laws of Maryland, 1924

41.  Laws of Maryland, 1927

42.  Laws of Maryland, 1929

43.  Laws of Maryland, 1931

44.  Laws of Maryland, Special Session, 1933

45.  Laws of Maryland, Special Session, 1933

46.  Laws of Maryland, 1935

47.  Laws of Maryland, Special Session, 1936

48.  Laws of Maryland, Regular and Special Session, 1937

49.  Laws of Maryland, 1939

50.  Maryland State Journal, 1939

51.  Code of Public Laws of Maryland, 1930

52.  Maryland State Journal, 1939

Artifacts

See Nabb Center Staff

Attachments

None