James Whitlock Embrey
1944-2005

 

 

The Embrey Archaeology Fund is named for Jim Embrey, a man who made many significant contributions to archaeology, especially the archaeology at St. Mary’s City, Maryland. A Maryland native, Jim worked for the phone company until his retirement and then obtained a B.S. degree in Management Studies and Anthropology from the University of Maryland in 1991. Afterward, Jim began pursuing a subject that had long held his interest – archaeology. He enrolled in the 1992 Field School in Historical Archaeology at Historic St. Mary’s City (HSMC), following in the footsteps of his son William and daughter-in-law Victoria, who had taken the same class six years earlier. The 1992 excavations focused on sites in the Mill Field and Jim’s excitement in doing archaeology and his leadership skills were soon noticed. HSMC hired him the next summer to be a field assistant for the 1993 field school and later that year, Jim became field supervisor for an intensive archaeological reconnaissance project. This survey covered a key 25 acre portion of land near the center of the 17th-century capital and it resulted in the discovery of dozens of previously unknown sites. In 1995-96, Jim worked on the Chapel cemetery project, helping to carefully excavate the graves near the foundation of the 1667 Brick Chapel in preparation for its reconstruction.

 

Jim enrolled in the Master Program in Underwater Archaeology at East Carolina University in 1996. Fieldwork in that program brought him back to Maryland in 1997 and 1998 as part of the Barney Flotilla Project in the Patuxent River at St. Leonard’s Creek. For his Master’s Thesis, Jim proposed doing an underwater survey of the St. Mary’s City shoreline to learn where the shoreline had been in the 17th century and how it has changed. Employing a survey technique developed by the Navy SEALs for rapidly mapping shorelines, Jim applied this method to archaeology for the first time. It allowed him to quickly create a detailed map of the bottom topography from the beach outward 120 feet. There were many finds ranging from a possible 17th-century ship to the piers from a dock built by the St. Mary’s Railroad Company in the 1880s. Appropriately, this excellent thesis is the first offering of the Embrey Archaeology Fund.

 

One of the most significant discoveries during the survey was a cold spot in the river. Located 50 feet offshore, this spot is created by an underwater spring that continues gushing its cold freshwater into the river. Its antiquity is indicated by the presence of a submerged ravine running from the spring head toward the main channel of the St. Mary’s River. The find is significant because we knew that a “spring on the beach” served one of the principal corner markers for Smith’s Townland, a tract laid out in 1666 that helped define the town center of Maryland’s first capital. Survey work strongly implies that this spring is the same one referenced in 1666, but now inundated by three feet of sea level rise. Knowing its location helped us accurately relocate a crucial property in the town center and revealed that the shoreline had only eroded about 50 feet since 1666, not the hundreds of feet some feared. This is a notable example of how underwater archaeology can directly assist terrestrial archaeology.

 

In 2000, Jim’s valuable underwater experience again came to the aid of HSMC when the museum was required to do a beach and underwater survey of the entire St. Mary’s City shoreline. The survey was required in preparation for a beach stabilization project the museum was conducting to protect its archaeological sites from erosion. Jim led a small team of divers that completed the underwater component of this project on time and under budget. They made many find ranging from sunken ships to an elegant 1820s wine glass someone had tossed into the river.

 

In 2000, Jim was hired by John Milner and Associates, a large and well-respected archaeology company with a branch office in Alexandria, Virginia. He conducted a variety of survey and mitigation jobs for Milner, including a major excavation at the Raritan Landing site in New Jersey. But even having a new job in another state did not keep Jim away from St. Mary’s City. In 2002, Milner and Associates were hired by St. Mary’s College to conduct a testing project in the vicinity of the school’s Boat House and Jim was assigned to run the project. During these excavations, he found forgotten early 20th-century building foundations associated with the Female Seminary and uncovered traces of an elusive sand bar that had formed the original 17th-century entrance into St. John’s pond. The sand bar was not only an important element of the vanished 17th-century landscape but an important clue to the location of the main boat landing for the city.

 

Jim unexpectedly died in his sleep on 13 September 2005. He loved his family and he loved archaeology, taking great pleasure in the thrill of discovery. Jim always had a warm smile, a good story and was a true pleasure to work with. Few individuals have made as many important contributions to St. Mary’s City archaeology as Jim Embrey. His family generously donated Jim’s professional library to HSMC, a bequest that significantly expands the museum’s research library and will aid future scholarship. Professors and graduate students from East Carolina University suggested that HSMC establish a memorial fund for Jim, his family approved of this idea, and his friends and colleagues made generous contributions. The Embrey Archaeology Fund makes archaeological reports, theses and dissertations about St. Mary’s City available in an electronic format to a world wide audience. It is most fitting that the first report to be offered is Jim’s superb master’s thesis about the historic shoreline and underwater archaeology of Maryland’s first capital.

 

Bibliography of James W. Embrey

2006

Archaeological Survey and Testing for the 17th-Century“Mattapany Path” Road System, St. Mary’s City, Maryland, 18ST1. With Henry M. Miller, Ruth M. Mitchell, Timothy B. Riordan, Patricia Dance, Silas D. Hurry, Donald Winter, and Ilene J. Frank. Archaeological Report Number 160. Maryland Department of Transportation, State Highway Administration.

2004

Archaeology at Raritan Landing (28MI179, 203 and 204), New Jersey. Conducted for the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

2003

A Phase I and Phase II Archaeological Investigation of the Boathouse Area of St. Mary’s College of Maryland, St. Mary’s City, St. Mary’s County, Maryland. With Donna J. Seifert. Report Prepared for St. Mary’s College of Maryland. John Milner and Associates, Inc. Alexandria, Virginia.

2002

A Phase I Survey of State Route 1 Corridor Investigations, Smyrna, Delaware. For Delaware Department of Transportation.

2001

A Phase One Archaeological Survey of the Beach and Nearshore Areas at St.
Mary’s City, St. Mary’s County, Maryland. With Henry Miller and Ruth Mitchell. Report Prepared for the Maryland Historical Trust by Historic St. Mary’s City. On File, Department of Research, Historic St. Mary’s City, St. Mary’s City, Maryland.

1999

A Search to Identify the Seventeen-Century Shoreline of St. Mary’s City, Maryland.  Master’s Thesis, Department of History and Nautical Archaeology, East Carolina University.