Preserving the Past, Collecting the Present, For the Future

What is an archive? What is the purpose of an archive? What do you do all day in an archive?

I am asked these questions all the time and I love to share my passion for archives and tell others what archives are all about.

The #1 job of any archive is "Preserving the Past". The past can come in many different forms such as documents, photographs, artifacts and even oral histories. The goal is to collect items about the past and preserve them for future generations. We are working everyday to preserve the past for genealogists, historians, family researchers and others who have an interest in the past. Without archives, where would our collections of the past be?

Photo of Unknowns located in the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

An archive also engages in "Collecting the Present". You might ask, what does that mean? That means as an archive we collect items that are produced today that one day will be part of our past. As people live their lives and as counties, cities and states conduct their business and as numerous organizations hold events and celebrate milestones and as our country experiences disasters and celebrates accomplishments, archives try to collect documents, artifacts and memorabilia to record these events because one day they will be part of the past.

Houston County Leadership Visit February 18, 2016 located in the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

And finally, I am asked "Why do you do this?" and I answer "For the Future". Preserving the past, collecting the present, for the future! Our descendants and future citizens of our cities, counties, states and our country will never know about the past if it isn't preserved and made available to them.

When looking for an archive where your ancestors lived, remember that they may not be named "archive". The records of your ancestors could be housed in a county archive, at a historical society, at a genealogical society, at university special collections, at a library or at a courthouse. Historical and genealogical records can be stored in any of these places.

Houston County, Tennessee Archives Office Door Graphic

Remember: It's Not All Online! And this becomes very evident when you realize just how much of our documents and records are sitting in archives just waiting to be processed, indexed and digitized. That is why it is important for the genealogist to contact and visit local repositories in search of records.

So, while you are doing your family history research, please remember to check with local archives to see what they have been doing to "Preserving the Past, Collecting the Present, For the Future"!

Masonic Records in the Archives

One of the most interesting records collections and one that I get more requests in the Houston County, Tennessee Archives are Masonic Records. The Masonic Lodge has been a staple of a lot of local communities and a lot of genealogists seek out these types of records when they find out their ancestor was a member.

New Providence Lodge, No. 128 F.& A.M. Request for Widow's Aid, located at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

These types of records are normally donated by individuals and the collections can contain just about anything from documents, letters, photographs, meeting minutes, newspaper clippings and lodge publications. They are a great resource for the genealogist trying to find information about their ancestors that were part of these groups. They can shed light on activities that your ancestor was involved with in their community. 

Powder Spring Lodge, No. 579 F. & A.M. Building Fund Help Letter, located at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

These records could be held locally at a county archives, historical/genealogical society and libraries. Most of the time they are archived by the name of the lodge, for example New Port Lodge #208 Records Collection. They can also be held at the state level at a state archives or a state historical/genealogical societies. The Masonic organization themselves have websites and archives of their very own that could hold records for your ancestor.

Mineral Springs Lodge, No. 533, F. & A.M., Mortgage Aid Help Letter, located at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

Most of these records will be located in the Manuscript Collections of an archive. When you find a specific collection of interest to you, be sure and ask to see the Finding Aid. The Finding Aid will give you great information about what is in the collection at the folder level. Not every piece of paper will be cataloged but you should be able to get an idea of what is in the collection and then you can request to see the folders that are of interest to you.

New Portland Lodge No. 208, 100th Anniversary Pamphlet ca. 1951, located at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

If you have never searched for your ancestors Masonic Records, now might be a good time to seek them out!

Remember: It's Not All Online, Contact or Visit An Archives Today!!

Autograph Books: Facebook for Our Ancestors

Many of us enjoy Facebook everyday to keep up with our family members, connect with others researching the same surnames we are and to keep up with the latest news and events.

Autograph books at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

Our ancestors used different mediums to connect with friends and family. One of those mediums were autograph books. Many of our ancestors had these types of books and filled them with signatures of friends, family, schoolmates and other people they came in contact with on a daily basis. Sometimes there was just a signature and other times there was a short message if encouragement, a poem or just a pleasant greeting.

Inside of Autograph books at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

These autograph books come in all shapes and sizes. Some were leather bound and others had different colored pages. These books were a type of "social media" back in the day and were very popular.

Autograph book page for Ruth McAuley dated 1893 at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

These books were very popular with school children, especially graduating seniors to capture their final year of school and to record memories from their school friends.

Autograph book page for Shirley (Unknown) dated 1938 at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives 

Some of you may have an autograph book that belonged to your ancestor in your own personal genealogy collection. If you don't, it's possible there could be one located in a local archive collection, historical society or genealogical society collection.

Autograph book page for Ludelia Marable, Senior at Erin High School 1934-1935 at Houston County, Tennessee Archives

Autograph books will be located in the Manuscript Collection of a repository. They will probably be part of a larger collection of records. You will need to check the Finding Aid to the individual collection to see if an autograph book is listed as being in the collection.

Next time you are researching in an archives, ask if they have autograph books and maybe they will have one for your ancestor.

Remember: It's Not All Online, Contact or Visit An Archive Today!

School Records, Even if Your Ancestor Didn't Attend School

One of the more interesting sources of records available in a lot of archives are school records. Even if your ancestor didn't attend school as a child, you might be surprised by what can be found in the various types of school records.

School Enrollment from Camp Ground School in Houston County, TN., located at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

School transcripts or attendance and grade reports. These types of records were kept at the teacher level and by the school district. These records would record when the person attended school and what grades they made in each subject. Sometimes a copy of these records were kept by the teacher and these records will get donated to an archive when that teacher passes away.

Cave Orchard School Register ca. 1929, located in the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

School Board Minute Books are a very interesting and a useful record source for the genealogist. These books record the business of the local school board which could include anything. This particular type of record is where you might find your ancestor even if they didn't attend school. Maybe they hauled coal for the coal buring stoves in the schools and they were appointed by the school board for this job, their name would be listed in these minutes. Possibly your adult ancestor had a problem with a teacher and they brought their greivance to the school board, this could have played out in the minute books and your ancestor would be named. A lot of local residents were involved with the school system but never actually attended school.

Houston County High School Yearbooks, located at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

Yearbooks and school newspapers. Many of our archives, historical societies, genealogical societies and libraries have collections of yearbooks and school newspapers. Yearbooks not only have photos of students and information about school clubs but they also will have local business advertisments. These local business would have been solicited to pay a fee for the advertisement to help pay for the printing of the yearbook. Possibly your ancestor's business is in one of these yearbooks. School newspapers. Many of our schools published a school newspaper and the articles were written by students and a lot of times there are photographs from school events. Checking school newspapers for our ancestors and their school activities is something to put on your "To Do List".

Houston County High School Newspaper, ca. 1926, located at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

Photographs. When looking for your ancestor's photographs in an archives be sure to check any school photograph collections. They could include individual photographs as well as photographs of sports teams or clubs that your ancestor was involved with.


Erin High School Girls Basketball Team, ca. 1946, located at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

Unknown school photo, undated, located at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

 

Maybe your ancestor was one of the teachers of one of the schools. Some archives do have collections of teachers records such as teaching certificates, student registeries and grade books.

Teaching License for Gertha Brooks, ca. 1919, located at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

School records are a must when doing any genealogy research and even if your ancestor did not attend any organized schools, remember that they could still be named in some of the school records that exist. Don't overlook this very valuable resource!



*Remember: It's Not All Online, Contact or Visit An Archives Today!!

Unidentified Photographs In The Archives

You may already know that archives, historical societies, genealogical societies and libraries that have record collections could also have a nice photo collection. I have talked about photographs in the archives on this blog before, see my previous post:
http://agenealogistinthearchives.blogspot.com/2015/10/photographs-in-archives-are-you-looking.html

But did you know that within these photograph collections are most likely a collection of "Unidentified Photographs". The Houston County, Tennessee Archives has a collection of these types of photographs in our collection. We are always putting these photos on display and asking anyone that is interested to take a look at them and see if they recognize anyone in the photo or the places they were taken.

Unidentified photograph taken in Dawson Springs, Kentucky. Donated photograph located in the Houston County, Tennessee Archives.

These unidentified photographs could include photos of people and also places. The fact that they are unidentified can mean that the people who work in the archives don't know who or what is in the photograph and there is nothing written on the back of the photograph to help in the identification. They simple came to the archives unidentified.

When record collections are donated to the archives by patrons, they sometimes include photographs that not even the patron knows where they came from or who they depict. While it's not a high priority for the archivist to research the photographs and try to determine who or what is in them, we do love it when we have researchers come to our archives and want to look at them to try to find their ancestors or the places where their ancestors lived.

Unidentified photograph. Donated photograph located in the Houston County, Tennessee Archives.

I am always encouraging genealogists to visit the repository where your ancestors lived and look through their photograph collections, if they have them. You might just find a long lost photograph of your ancestor or a photograph of the school where they attended.

When you visit a repository, please take your own photographs with you of the ancestors from that area and even photographs of any buildings or anything from the area so that you can compare them to the "unidentified photographs" in the collections. You might just make a connection and be able to identify some of the photos that have been lying in collections for years.

Most photograph collections are processed in the Manuscript Collections section of the archives. Either the archives has put all their photographs in one big collection or most likely the photographs are included in the many separate records collections that the archives houses. The Finding Aid from the various Manuscript Collections would be helpful to you when researching in these repositories. Be prepared to be asked to put on gloves when you handle photographs. The oils and dirt on our hands can transfer to the photographs and cause damage over time.

Henry Marion Turner and wife Anna Elizabeth (West) Turner (second couple on the right in the back row), rest are unidentified. Located in the Houston County, Tennessee Archives.

Some archives have even digitized their photographs and put them online on their websites, so be sure to check out the website of the archives you are interested in researching. Also, before you travel to the archives, give them a phone call and ask them if they have photographs in their collections, this might save you some disappointment.

Most importantly, remember that archives and record repositories that do have photographs, ones that are clearly identified and ones that are not. It is always beneficial to the genealogists to check out these collections.



Remember: "It's Not All Online, Visit or Contact An Archives Today!!"

Christmas In The Archives!

Yes, you can find Christmas in the Archives!

Record collections in a lot of archives, historical/genealogical societies and libraries have records that celebrate Christmas and they could have your ancestors name on them.

Postcards: One of the most popular forms of Christmas records in the archives are postcards. There were various kinds of postcards that depicted Christmas that our ancestors used to send messages to other family members or friends.

Christmas postcard ca. 1930 from the Bateman Family Records Collection, located in the Manuscript Collection of the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

Christmas Cards: Every year we send out Christmas cards to our friends, family and neighbors to wish them a "Merry Christmas". Our ancestors did the same thing. Many of our archives have wonderful vintage Christmas cards in their collections.

Inside of a Christmas Card ca. 1941 from Nashville Pure Milk Company from the Bateman Family Records Collection located at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

Christmas Business Ad: If your ancestor owned a business, there is a possibility they could have put an ad in the local newspaper wishing the community and their patrons a "Merry Christmas". These types of records can be found in archived collections or in microfilmed newspapers.

Christmas business ad with recipes ca. 1991, located in the Vertical File Records Collection in the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

Letters to Santa: Children writing letters to Santa Claus was popular for our ancestors as well as today. Some newspapers would published these letters and maybe one of your ancestors or one of their children wrote a letter and it was published.


These are just a few of the Christmas records that can be found in an archive. You might have to do some research and dig a little bit but if these records exist you will find them.

These types of records will be found in Vertical File Collections sometimes called Subject File Collections. They can also be found in Manuscript Collections. When researching in Manuscript Collections be sure to read the Finding Aid to see what is specifically in the collection. They can also be found in microfilmed newspapers in various repositories.

I would encourage genealogists to read the month of December in local newspapers where their ancestors lived. There are a lot of advertisements, letters, Christmas greetings, baby's first Christmas photos and more that can be found.

So, YES, Christmas is in the Archives!


Remember: "It's Not All Online, Visit or Contact An Archive Today"

Are Family Histories in the Archives?   You Bet They Are!

As the archivist for the Houston County, Tennessee Archives, I am asked all the time if we have Family Histories or Family Genealogies in our collections.  I am always pleased to be able to say "YES".  While we may not have one for every surname known to have lived in Houston County, we do have many in our records collections.

Family histories that have been compiled by genealogy researchers are a great research tool for the genealogist.  While they may not be 100% correct, they can be used as a guide to help the researcher find more documents or give them an idea of where to look next for their ancestors.

Vertical File Drawer for the letter "C" containing Surname Files, located at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

Most family histories are donated as part of a larger collection of records that have been donated to the archives. Recently, the Houston County, Tennessee Archives received a records donation of someone's genealogy research that include several 3-ring binders full of information and compiled family histories. Some of these surnames are not native to Houston County but we will archive them anyway.  Once this collection is cataloged, it will be open to the public for research and in the Finding Aid it will indicated what family histories are included by surname.

There are times when family histories or family records are donated to an archives, historical society or library that are not native to the area where the facility is located. That is why it is very important for researchers to not give up looking for their ancestors records, you just don't know where you are going to find them!

Compiled genealogy research in 3-ring binders donated to the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

When you visit a repository, you will find these family histories in one of two places.  First, you can find them in the Vertical File Collection or sometimes they are called Subject File Collections.  Ask the archivist or clerk if they have an index to their Vertical File Collection. This index will have surnames listed and if you find a surname you are interested in, then ask for that file to be brought to you and hopefully there will be a family history in the file.

Second, the other place family histories could be found are in the Manuscript Collection. The manuscript collection contains the larger records collections that have been donated to the repository such as the collection mentioned above that the Houston County, Tennessee Archives just received.

Ask the archivist or clerk at the repository to see an index of their Manuscript Collection and if you find a collection that catches your attention, ask to see the Finding Aid for that collection.  Within the finding aid will be a folder by folder listing of what is contained in the entire collection and there should be listed "Family History" or "Family Genealogy". You can ask the archivist or clerk to pull that folder that contains these records for you to look through.

Unfortunately, most of these types of records are not online and will have be accessed by visiting an archives or contacting them by email, snail mail or phone call.

So, the next time you think to yourself, "Do archives have family histories?", you know the answer is YES!

Remember: "It's Not All Online, Visit Or Contact An Archives Today!