Greenwich in the NYS Library

Some of you may know that I am working on my Master's of Science in Information Science (MSIS, formerly MLS) at the University at Albany, SUNY. I have one semester left & hope to graduate just one month after my 10 year anniversary as your Town Historian!

Today I had an interview at the New York State Archives in Albany, & it got me wondering if there were any collections relating to Greenwich. Well, The NYS Archives only deals with governmental records. So, unless the town or village governments sent records to the Archives it's unlikely they have any relating to Greenwich.

But, what about the New York State Library? They have a "archives" as well called Manuscripts and Special Collections. Running down their list of finding aids (documents that contain descriptive information regarding records in a collection) I came across the following listing...

Stevens, Mary J.
Letter. (1852). 1 item.
Collection Call Number: 20420

Letter of Mary J. Stevens to her mother, describing her new life as a teacher in Greenwich, New York. She complains about Greenwich as a place populated by "Old Bachelors and Old Maids".  

I might have to request this item to take a look at what else Miss Stevens says about our fair town in 1852.

The NYS Library has some other interesting things. I recommend you take a look at their online finding aids. I found collections & records relating to suffragists Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Belva Lockwood, Amelia Bloomer, & an interesting collection of correspondence between one of my grandmother's favorite authors, Frances Parkinson Keyes & Eleanor Roosevelt.

I also found a collection of the New York State Association Opposed to Women Suffrage records. I will have to look at those & see if I can locate anything on Mary Arthur McElroy.   The NYS Archives finding aids can be searched by clicking here.  

& after my interview today, I took a look at the NYS Museum (in the same building). I highly recommend a new travelling exhibit from the Smithsonian being featured; 1934: A New Deal for Artists. Some of the paintings are of Upstate NY, & the labels are very descriptive.

Calling all Revolutionary War fans...

To commemorate their 75th Anniversary (2013), Saratoga Battlefield (AKA Saratoga National Historical Park) has put out a call for photographs of people working at &/or enjoying a visit to the park. You may have noticed this in the last couple of issues of the Greenwich Journal & Salem Press, but if not I'm here to let you know about it.

If you bring your photographs to the battlefield they will scan them & give you a copy of the CD. It is unclear in the article if the battlefield wants to keep the originals or they are simply keeping the scanned images. I have sent an e-mail to the battlefield about this & hope to hear back soon.



Park Ranger Tisha 1998



Many of you may not know that I worked at the battlefield. It was my 1st history related job right out of college in the summer of 1998. I was a seasonal Interpretive Park Ranger. I had the uniform & everything!

Tisha in colonial garb at the Schuyler House 1998

My mom made both of my colonial outfits. This is the fancy one.



Charles Martin painting the Schuyler House 1978



 After some analysis, it was discovered that the Schuyler House was yellow & green. Philip Schuyler rebuilt on the site of the brick house burnt by Burgoyne's retreating army in 1777. But in 1978 it was being painted white. Here my gramp, local painter & roofer Charles L. "Pepper" Martin, paints the house with some assistance from a four-year-old me & my three-year-old "little sistar" Heather.



Old Saratoga Historical Association 1969



 I love this shot. My grandma, Jacqueline A. Martin (nee Drew), is seated center. My mom, Tamaris A. Dolton (nee Martin), is standing 2nd from the right. My "big sistar", Emily Catherine Dolton, is the little girl on the left.

I highly encourage any of you to share images & stories of your visits to the battlefield. They will accept up to 20 images per family/individual.

Happy 75th Anniversary Saratoga National Historical Park!

Everlasting Lights 2012

OK, so I am blogging a little late tonight. (Or a little early this morning, a day late.) But I had e-mails to answer & my daughter was with me. (Sans math homework so it went better than last week, but I still wound up listening to One Direction, et al from her Ipod.)

Anyway, my daughter suggested I write about the Everlasting Lights. The trees looked so lovely in the dark tonight. We took a few pictures. The ceremony took place over the weekend with founder Elaine Kelly's brother, Larry Wilbur, reading the names of all the loved ones being remembered. Debi Craig played harp. Paula Sawyer, Brad Kelly & Marc Luther sang. Supervisor Idelman said a few words. Pastor McCaskill spoke. There are 45 trees this year. Take a stroll through The Commons and view them by day or night.

45 trees lit up in memoriam

slightly enhanced closeup of the 45 trees on display

Everlasting Lights 2012

& here is Sarah McLachlan singing "I'll Be Home For Christmas" (Lyrics by the late Kim Gannon, former Greenwich resident, but you know that already.) Happy Holidays!