Edward Schley Delaplaine
By John W. Ashbury
There are few Fredericktonians who have as great an impact as did Edward Schley Delaplaine. He practiced law, was elected to public office and served as a prominent judge. Today, however, he is best remembered as the leading historian in Frederick County over the last 100 years.
He was born in Frederick on Oct. 6, 1893, the son of William T. and Fannie Birely Delaplaine, the youngest of their children. When but 16 months old his father died of pneumonia contracted while directing a food drive for Frederick’s poor during the harsh winter of 1895.
Edward likely attended South Street School before graduating from Boys High School in 1910 at the top of his class. Washington and Lee College was the next stop on his educational journey. He once again graduated at the top of his class and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. During his senior year he cut a full minute from the school record in the annual 5-mile cross-country race.
He enrolled in Washington and Lee’s law school, but transferred to the one at the University of Maryland. He graduated in 1915 and was admitted to the Maryland bar. One month after his 22nd birthday he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates and served two terms.
His interest in Frederick’s history was likely sparked as a child, as his family dated back to John Thomas Schley, who built the first house in Frederick. His first published “history” piece was Taney The Lawyer for the Maryland Historical Magazine, which derived from his research for Dr. Bernard Steiner, then the librarian of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. Steiner is the author of Life of Roger Brooke Taney, published in 1922.
Historical research was a joy for Delaplaine and it continued throughout his life. In 1927 he wrote Life of Thomas Johnson, Maryland’s first governor, and followed 10 years later with a definitive biography of Francis Scott Key.
His law practice flourished and he was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1932. Six years later he was appointed by Gov. Harry Nice as the chief judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit and associate justice of the Maryland Court of Appeals. With a change in state law, he was elected to the Court of Appeals in 1942, serving until 1956.
He often repeated the facts of one decision, known today as “The Screwball Case.” The story is neighbors got into an argument and one called the other a “screwball.” A civil case ensued and a lower court awarded the plaintiff $3,000. It was appealed and Judge Delaplaine rendered the final decision, throwing out the award on the basis of Maryland law and the U.S. Constitution’s protection of free speech.
After he retired from the bench, he was able to devote most of his time to Frederick’s history. He often made presentations to local organizations, like The Lawrence Everhart Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (of which he was a charter member), the Daughters of the American Revolution and local civic groups like Rotary and Kiwanis.
He also had time to research and write countless articles for the newspaper his father founded in 1883. While dry and sometimes hard to follow, these pieces formed the bedrock of information for anyone interested in local history. However, he wasn’t the pompous, self-important, officious stuffed shirt many thought of him. He had a contagious and loud laugh and was an easy man to approach just for quiet conversation, particularly about Frederick’s illustrious history.
At age 80, he married Helen Michael Stickel, a local widow on July 20, 1973. She had assisted him over several years in collecting and filing his legal papers and historical research.
Judge Delaplaine died May 21, 1989, the day he was to receive an honorary degree from Mount St. Mary’s College. He was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, two stepchildren and four stepgrandchildren, a niece, Frances Delaplaine Randall, and a nephew, George B. Delaplaine Jr.