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Daguerreotype of John Brown (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]streets of any city - built in Springfield), John Brown's work desk (Yes, the "John Brown's body is a'moulderin' in his grave" fame), Indian Motocycles (built in Springfield) all over the place, the famed GB racing planes (replicas hang from the ceilings - built in Springfield), a one owner 1928 Rolls Royce that was donated to the museum by the man who drove it for nearly 75 years.
But the real treasures, in my opinion, are downstairs in the archives. There, you can find a collection of an estimated 2.5 million historical manuscripts, the Loiselle Index (French-Canadian marriages), 6,000 microfilm/fiche, 25,000 historic photos, diaries, deeds, account books, land transfers, hundreds of historical maps including the Sanborn Fire Insurance collection, yearbooks and selected school records from the Springfield Schools, annual voter lists by ward and precinct.... and the list goes on and on!
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English: First Church of Christ, Springfield Massachusetts, September 2009 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]The archives are a part of the Springfield museum complex in downtown Springfield. Springfield residents and members of the Museum's Association have free access otherwise there is a $9 admission fee for visits during their regular hours. There is no charge to attend the meeting.
So maybe some of you can make it!
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English: James MacNeil Whistler, a famous painter, grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. He was, however, born during his family's brief tenure in Lowell, Massachusetts. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]Related articles
They must have some amazing documents there. I have a lot of family on my mothers side that came from New Brunswick Canada. Thanks for info Dave.
ReplyDeleteDonald
Every time I go in there and start poking around, I'm in awe of what they've managed to collect. I've held documents, original documents, from the earliest days of Springfield, 1640's and up!
ReplyDeleteDonald, what part of New Brunswick did your mother's side come from?
ReplyDeleteGreat name by the way,
Donny
Hey Donald! I wanted to make sure that you saw the post from donnycr... He's asking which part of New Brunswick your Croteau line came from....
ReplyDeleteThey came from a few places in New Brunswick but most came from Caraquet, shippagan and Pokemouche. There is more places but I would have to look then all up
ReplyDeleteDonald
If you don't mind me making a comment on my own post, I want to thank everyone who came last night. We're definitely going to plan to go back! Nearly half of the attendees had never been to the archives and I can safely say that they were impressed if not overwhelmed! Not only are there several thousand, maybe several hundred thousand unpublished historical documents housed there, thousands of books of family histories, city and town records, voter lists are sitting on the shelves waiting for wide eyed researchers! The donations made of small and large collections has been surprising. For that reason, the staff will readily admit that as far as the latest additions, they have no idea what surprises lay in store for them as they begin to sort, classify, index and store it all. It's a work on progress. And, unfortunately, a well hidden secret in Springfield and all of Western Massachusetts.
ReplyDeleteDonald,
ReplyDeleteMost of my roots are in Northumberland County. Need to head up their one day. I am sure future generations spread throughout New Brunswick, but not sure where.
Donny
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