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2	NACRC Conference July 15, 2005 Honolulu, Hawaii THE HISTORY OF PUBLIC RECORDS: A Look See At the Past or Why We Do What We Do Darity Wesley, Chief Privacy Guru Privacy Solutions, Inc.
3	Agenda Before the Beginning…. How We Moved Along… Across the Pond…. Modernity Moves In… Where to from here? Questions and Answers
4	Definition: Public record is a document created or stored by a government in the course of its business Archivology is one of the oldest professions
5	Before the Beginning: Could it really be 5,000 Years?
6	MESOPOTAMIA Papyrus deeds for sales and gifts of valuable property existed in Egypt during the 3^rd Dynasty of the Pharaohs (3,000-4000 B.C.) In the late 2000s B.C., Sumeria and the Third Dynasty of Ur maintained records on papyrus but began preserving them in clay containers
7	And then the Next Beginning…
8	Biblical Imperative Thanks to John Lockwood of ACS for finding the Biblical Imperative for the work of Recorders: Jeremiah, Chapter 32 – That would be the Old Testament For seventeen shekels of silver, Jeremiah bought his uncle’s son’s field, mostly because the Lord told him to.(v. 9) When Jeremiah bought this land,, he says he “subscribed the evidence and sealed it and took witnesses and weighed him the money in the balances..” (v.10)
9	Biblical Imperative, contd. His writing goes on to describe: that he took the evidence of the purchase “both that which was sealed according to law and custom and that which was open (v. 11) He then gave evidence of the purchase “unto Baruch, the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah…” (v.12) (guess he must have been the local recorder, eh?) And so it was the property transferred…
10	CLASSICAL & IMPERIAL ROME Due to the movement of Rome and its armies, its records marched across the entire Middle East, North Africa and Europe Back and forth to Rome – recording revenues, acquisitions, and holdings… For the first time ever that appears to be known, a bound codex was used to fix the original order of relationships between records – in particular keeping track of the land acquisitions from their conquests
11	BRITANNIA- Doomsday Book Oldest public record? The Doomsday Book (dates from 1086) 913 pages, 2 million Latin words describe more than 13,000 places in England and Parts of Wales. Commissioned by “William the Conquer” or “King William I”
12	BRITANNIA- Doomsday Book Originally, not one book but two: Great and Little Rebound in 1984 to improve its preservation for another millennium..it now consists of 5 volumes Used for many centuries for administrative and legal purposes, it is the starting point for local historians researching the history of their area It still remains the basis for many legal documents in England today Is a legal document that is still valid as evidence of title to land…
13	BRITANNIA- Doomsday Book Compilation of the data only possible because England already had sophisticated administrative system built by the Anglo-Saxons, with shire counties Boundaries survived with little change until 1974 The questions asked by the Commissioners were quite encompassing
14	BRITTANIA, Contd. Landmark Document – The Magna Carta was issued by King John (1215) King John had been excommunicated in a dispute over the appointment of the Archbishop of Canterbury and he used this as an excuse to confiscate church property and sell it back to his bishops at a profit
15	BRITTANIA, Contd. Money was used to create first real British Navy Angered his barons who refused to support his exploits and they refused to fight The barons rebels declared against the king on May 3, 1215 In his efforts to hold the whole of his kingdom together he entered protracted negotiations
16	BRITTANIA, Contd. The conclusion was the Magna Carta which was to King John simply a stalling tactic, a bargaining chip nothing more became a first in the history of Britain The king was subject to a law of the land and established a council for governing the land Has been looked at as a basis for freedom for centuries
17	BRITTANIA, contd. In these times, the feudal times, (1066-1307) properties were transferred with a twig of a tree or a clod of dirt from the property – someone had to walk the boundary of the property, someone had to see them do it, and the seller had to make a formal statement of transfer and someone had to do something (like pound the tar out of the witness) so they wouldn’t forget… London Public Record Office – Houses “Pipe Rolls” – an unbroken run of almost seven centuries (1156-1833)
18	MEDIEVAL ENGLAND The English lords’ properties were generally the manors and outlying lands worked by their tenants Each manor maintained its own court for the adjudication of property disputes and had a Court Roll: an embryonic deed registry – at the local level Imagine….custom varied from manor to manor
19	16^TH CENTURY CHANGES Henry VIII 1535 – 2 Important Statutes Statute of Uses = required for a transfer of land to be valid there had to be actual possession and a written deed recorded in the proper Court roll Statute of Enrollments = required all transfers be written and recorded to be valid and ignored possession A public registry of deeds never established in England
20	THE NEW COLONIES Statute of Enrollments modified to fit new model of property ownership – personal ownership Establishment of a system of recording every transfer of title in a written record filed with the clerk of the county in which the property lies.
21	18^th CENTURY AMERICA… James Madison – a believer in open government and public records: “A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: and a people who mean to be their own Governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”
22	18^TH CENTURY AMERICA… In 1787 U.S. Government created Territory of Northwest – “Public Domain” was born “Public Domain” areas today consist of 30 states called “Public Land States” “State Land States” consist of the first 13 colonies and 5 states created from their boundaries and Texas and Hawaii Some of earliest land records? 1759
23	19^TH CENTURY AMERICA… Recording Acts were born – Notice; Race Notice and Race – fastest horse to the county seat wins…wheeha! By 1877 all recognized public records were in shambles. President Rutherford B. Hayes appoints Presidential Commission 1899 American Historical Assn. establishes Public Archives Commission Their first report: Public records were a mess and public officials did not much care
24	20^TH CENTURY AMERICA… Development of state archives and understanding of the importance of public records The 1930s, 40s and 50s expanded the network of regulation, laws and licensing The 1960s, 70s and 80s expanded mass escalation of public records collected
25	20^th to 21^ST CENTURY…. At the close of the 20^th century much of the information collected by the private sector comes from the public records As most in this room should know, information is the lifeblood of any successful business and of the American economy – Recorders, Clerks, Registrars have an important part to play as we go forward with technology Privacy, ethics and access are key components of the new standards as we move forward
26	Where Do We Go From Here?
27	Well, What’s the Bottom Line?
28	Important Details 100 years ago action was required and was taken to put public records in order… Now, again, action is required to understand our history and its importance in the scheme of the American Economy which will shift public records to the next level of incorporating new technologies and protecting both personal privacy and public access 100 years from now it will be something else…and we’ll be gone
29	Group Discussion Talk to me about access and your concerns, if any Talk to me about privacy of personally identifiable information (SSNs, credit card numbers, mother’s maiden name) under your stewardship Talk to me about how you perceive your responsibilities (Ministerial? Exercise of discretion?) in this particular arena Talk to me about how you feel about restricting access and/or redacting information from the public record
30	Contact Information: Darity Wesley – Chief Privacy Guru Privacy Solutions, Inc. San Diego, California Darity@privacygurus.com 619-670-9462 www.privacygurus.com ©2005 Privacy Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved