Family has 400 Years of Documents

"Md. plantation attic holds 400 years of documents"
Yahoo!News (June 22, 2008)

" CENTREVILLE, Md. - For four centuries, they were the ultimate pack rats. Now a Maryland family's massive collection of letters, maps and printed bills has surfaced in the attic of a former plantation, providing a firsthand account of life from the 1660s through World War II.

" 'Historians are used to dealing with political records and military documents,' said Adam Goodheart, a history professor at nearby Washington College. 'But what they aren't used to is political letters and military documents kept right alongside bills for laundry or directions for building a washing machine.'

"Goodheart is working with state archivists and a crew of four student interns to collect the documents, which were found stuffed into boxes, barrels and peach baskets...."

That's a rich find: generally, it's difficult-to-impossible to get that sort of information gathered and connected.