The
The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and
Printed Ephemera
Henry Francis du Pont
5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur,
Delaware 19735
Telephone: 302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883
OVERVIEW OF
THE COLLECTION
Creator: McCleary family
Title: Architectural drawings and land indenture
Dates: 1820
Call No.: Col. 1000
Acc. No.: 2018x76
Quantity: 14 items
Location: 3 K 2
BIOGRAPHICAL
STATEMENT
Andrew McCleary (or McCleery as he spelled his name)
and Robert McCleary lived in Frederick, Maryland, with Andrew also owning land
in Allegany County, Maryland.
Living in Frederick, Maryland, was Andrew M.
McCleary (1777-1853) and his brother Robert (1788-1840), and it is possible
they are the people mentioned in the indenture. Their parents were Martha Ritchie and Henry
McCleary. The family of Martha Ritchie
included a Robert Ritchie, esq.
SCOPE AND
CONTENT
A collection of undated architectural drawings, plus
the draft of a land indenture dated 1820.
The architectural drawings depict a church, a center-hall house, and
house framing plans. Nothing
specifically ties the architectural drawings to the McCleary family, but the
items were donated together and are therefore kept together. The architectural drawings are possibly for
a church and a house in Frederick, Maryland, and were probably done by a
builder rather than an architect. The
church drawings include the façade, and details of windows, the gallery,
pilasters, cornices, and calculations of how many joists, tie beams, purlins,
and other such items would be needed. A
drawing of two facades may be alternates for the façade of the church. There is not a façade drawing for the house,
but two floors are present: principal and chamber floors. There is also a wood frame plan, with numbers
and sizes of joists, raising plates, wall pates, and such listed. Three other sketches of wood frame plans may
or may not be for this particular structure.
The land indenture mentions Andrew and Robert
McCleery [i.e. McCleary] of Frederick and Allegany County, Maryland. It gives numbers of seven lots in Allegany
County which are being sold, each lot being 50 acres. Part of the paper has been torn away, but it
was probably just a draft indenture.
Notes of various sorts, but mentioning materials needed for building a
house, are found on the back.
ORGANIZATION
Indenture; drawings for the church; drawings for
house; wood frame plans.
LANGUAGE OF
MATERIALS
The materials are in English.
RESTRICTIONS
ON ACCESS
Collection is open to the public. Copyright restrictions may apply.
PROVENANCE
Gift
of David Doret.
ACCESS POINTS
People:
McCleary,
Andrew M., 1777-1853.
McCleary,
Robert, 1788-1840.
Topics:
Architecture - Designs and plans - Maryland.
Architecture, Domestic - Maryland - Frederick.
Church buildings - Maryland - Frederick.
Framing (Building) - Designs and plans.
House construction - Maryland -
Frederick.
Real
property - Maryland - Allegany County.
Frederick (Md.)
- Buildings, structures, etc.
Drawings.
Indentures.
Builders.
DETAILED
DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION
Location: 3 K 2
All accession numbers begin with 2018x76
.1 one side; draft of a land indenture,
1820; between Andrew McCleery and Robert McCleery, both of Frederick, Maryland,
and Andrew McCleery of Allegany County, for lots 350, 914, 1012, 1082, 1355,
1430, and 1556, all in Allegany County, Maryland
Other side: various notes and
sketches, includes notes about joists for a cellar and for first and second
floors of a building; bricks, rods, the name Robert Ritchie, Esq., written
twice, and the phrase “Command you may your mind.”
.2 façade of a church, with window
details, a few measurements, and some other details, and a scale.
.3 one side: façade of the same church,
but this time with a belfry; this drawing includes more measurements than the
one above;
Other side: details of windows and
two details of gallery inside church, with a scale and some measurements.
.4 detail of upper level of church, with
rafters shown, but also placement of windows on front of church.
.5 details of part of the framing
structure, mentioning tie beams, rafters, braces, joists, purlins, and wall
plates; framing for the gallery is also mentioned (girder, joists, wall pates,
window sills); and amount of white pine needed and amount of wood for
scaffolding; the drawings show a window, the arrangement of columns, and
framing structure for roof and belfry.
.6 one side: details of interior of
church: pilasters, columns, height of pews, what appears to be a mantle but is
more likely a detail of decoration above the altar, the layout of the altar
area, and placement of the reading table;
Other
side: details of imposts, cornices, window sash, and gallery.
.7 outline
of part of decoration of church, possibly cornice
.8 two
façades of some sort of building, perhaps a church,
.9 floor plan of a house: center hall with
stairs, two rooms (probably front and back parlors) on one side, three rooms on
other, the front room of which has its own door to the outside; two further
rooms, both with stairs, are in ell (perhaps kitchen and dining room); room
measurements are given.
.10 another floor plan for the house in .9,
probably for the chamber floor.
.11 plan for wood frame, particularly for the
floor, for the house in .9 and .10; includes sizes and numbers needed of
joists, girders, raising plates, wall plates, rafters, collar beams, and
purlins, for both house and kitchen.
.12 plan for wooden frame of a floor, with
some measurements; part of drawing is missing; a scale is on the back.
.13 plan for wooden frames of a house,
showing raising floor, chamber story, attic, and principal story, giving length
and numbers of girders, joists, and rafters needed for each floor
.14 plan for wooden frame of the 3d floor of
a building, giving length and quantities of trimmers and common.