Building on a Strong Foundation

Earth Data continues to build its business not only on its field-oriented environmental consulting expertise but by giving back to the community. The most recent giving opportunity was providing pro-bono services in preparation for the launch of the Maryland Museum of Women's History at the historic Bloomfield Manor at Queen Anne's County's White Marsh Park in Centreville, Maryland.

Earth Data's team will evaluate and provide wastewater disposal options for the property, which because of the age of the home, has no plumbing or septic system. Recently, the team began the process of collecting preliminary field data by installing piezometers at select locations on the grounds. The work progressed with care and an acknowledgment of the importance of Bloomfield Manor to Queen Anne's County and the state of Maryland.

Bloomfield Manor was the home of Mary Edwardine Bourke Emory. The original house was built in 1760 and was the home of the Bourke family, eventually passing to Mary Edwardine Bourke, then to her husband, Blanchard Emory. In the mid to late 19th century, property owned by a woman passed to her husband at the time of the marriage. The historical record reinforces the transactional nature of the marriage. On the couple's wedding day, great attention was taken to deliver the deed to the property to her newlywed husband. The union caused Mary Edwardine's family considerable consternation. They were against the marriage and believed her future husband would be a poor farm manager and eventually lose the farm because of unwise decisions. Their concern was prophetic and mounting debt forced the sale of the property.

The loss of the family property was a grave matter for Mary Edwardine, but her subsequent actions proved to be a boon for historians specializing in the period in general, and Queen Anne's County, Maryland in particular.  Her response to the crushing loss was to write a history of the county. The book, she decided, would be sold to raise funds and buy back the property. It is a genealogy, but much more interesting and salient to historians, it is full of the gossip of the time—a stunning perspective of the Eastern Shore of Maryland during the Civil War era. Its pages record her feelings about her peers, the county, and the social issues then tearing apart the nation. She believed in slavery, and her views show how some people of her class felt about their slaves and the issues surrounding slavery.

Simply writing and publishing a book is a daunting task today. But for a woman in the 1890s, it was shocking. Yet, she was disciplined and determined. She found a willing publisher in Baltimore and priced copies at $2.50. The books sold briskly, and she bought back the property.

The story of the tenacious, persevering Mary Edwardine Bourke Emory is one that intersects another woman of perseverance and grit, the Queen Anne's County Historian and President of the Mary Edwardine Bourke Emory Foundation, Mary Margaret Revell Goodwin. Ms. Goodwin, known simply as Mary Margaret, leads the effort to preserve Bloomfield Manor and open the Maryland Museum of Women's History at the site. The project moved her to action because, as she said with graceful confidence, "The museum is telling a great story that needs to be told." When Mary Margaret reached out to Earth Data about assistance, President Mark Williams was intrigued. After hearing the vision for the museum, he dedicated Earth Data resources to help.

There is a similarity between the two champions of Bloomfield Manor and the same focused desire to accomplish their goal courses through them both.

Mary Margaret's easy, relaxed demeanor belies her reputation as one of the greatest open water swimmers of all time, setting eight world swimming records and a litany of firsts in the sport. In her 40s, she began long-distance running, not marathons of only 26 miles, but distances of hundreds of miles. Her runs took her across Japan, through the Himalayas, and large swaths of the American West. In the 1960s, when Mary Margaret was at the height of her swimming exploits, she bore the weight of the swim logistics, attracting sponsorships, and securing permits, as well as training for the physically draining and life-threatening swims. Like Mary Edwardine, she needed perseverance and tenacity.

It is appropriate that Mary Edwardine and Mary Margaret have become inextricably linked to Bloomfield Manor and the opening of the Maryland Museum of Women's History. The museum's opening is scheduled for August and will have a room dedicated to the memory of Mary Edwardine Bourke Emory and Queen Anne's County. In a stroke of poetic justice, it is the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, in which women were given the right to vote.

It is with pride that Earth Data is providing its services, years of experience, and experience as a donation to the Maryland Museum of Women's History. It is a vision we support and is one in which we are privileged to play a role.