Wednesday Night at the Springfield Archives

It's unlikely that many of you live in or near Springfield, Massachusetts.  But I want to let everyone know that the Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society will be holding our January meeting Wednesday the 6th at 6:00 pm at the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History.  It's a hidden treasure of the history of Springfield and surrounding areas from it's founding in 1636 to today.  The groundfloor and second level displays are impressive enough: an original Duyrea is on display (the first motorized automobile to ride the

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="75"] 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!

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="75"] 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!

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="75"] 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]

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Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur, Jr - Father of General Douglas MacArthur

Every once in a while, I think about all the famous people who were born or at least had lived in or near Springfield, Massachusetts.  The list is long!  We live in Chicopee, Mass which is a city that until 1848 was part of Springfield.

Springfield is the home of many well known companies: Smith and Wesson, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance, the Springfield Armory (which is a National Historic site having been founded by George Washington in 1777 to provide arms for the Revolutionary War), Breck Shampoo, Merriam Webster Dictionary, Friendly Ice Cream Corporation, Indian Motocycle,  Milton Bradley Corp (Milton Bradley himself is buried in the Springfield Cemetery) and many others that most would recognize.  Even Rolls Royce was once manufactured here.  There are several excellent examples of the Rolls' that were built here in Springfield that are housed in the Museum of Springfield History.  Springfield is also the home of the Basketball Hall of Fame as this city is where the game was first played.

All the personalities are too numerous to mention but include Johnny "Appleseed", Samuel Bowles (one of the founders of the Republican Party), Theodor Geissel (Dr Seuss), Kurt Russell (actor), Taj Mahal (blues musician),  Timothy Leary (drug culture guru), James Naismith (inventor of basketball) and Tim Mayotte (professional tennis player).

But today, in response to a request from a fellow blogger, I'm mentioning Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur, Jr who was the father of his even more famous son, General Douglas MacArthur.  The elder McArthur was born in what is now Chicopee Falls, Mass when it was part of the larger Springfield, Mass.  I promised that the next time I drove past the memorial in the center of Chicopee Falls (and the weather was good!) that I would take a picture or two of "MacArthur's Ball" and post it here on my blog. So, here they are!

The biographies and careers of both MacArthur's are extensive which is why I've provided the links to their articles on WikiPedia.  And there is certainly plenty more than what can be found there!

The elder MacArthur was the Military Governor-General of the Philippines until he clashed with the civilian Governor, the future president, William Howard Taft.  (Taft, by the way is in my family tree somewhere but only very distantly related.) At the age of 17, he became a commissioned officer in 1862 and saw action in many battles of the Civil War for which he earned the Medal of Honor.  That was when he was 19 years old!  He became a brevetted colonel and became known nationwide as "The Boy Colonel".

After service in the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War, he returned to the United States as one of the last officers on active duty who had served in the Civil War.

He died in Milwaukee waiting to address a reunion of his Civil War unit.  He suffered a heart attack while on the dais.  Originally buried in Milwaukee, he is now interred at Arlington National Cemetery.  But his impressive memorial stands proudly right here in little old Chicopee, Massachusetts!