Springtime at the Archives!
A Peek in the Vault
Spring is a busy time at the Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives. Between helping researchers with genealogical and historical research I recently completed the Town of Napanee fonds with help from my colleague, Bonnie. The Town of Napanee fonds consists of 10,433 items which are now available to view on our Past Perfect Online Database.
The Town of Napanee fonds is a snapshot into the early life of the Village of Napanee to the mid-20th century and features financial records, records about the Market Square and Napanee Town Hall, pay vouchers, school records, information about local businesses, jury lists, correspondence and much more! Check out the item descriptions on Past Perfect Online.
Left: 1983.006.112 - Memorial of the Council of the Corporation of the Village of Napanee with the County of Lennox and Addington for the incorporation as a Town under the Municipal Act of Upper Canada, [186-], Town of Napanee fonds
Right: 1998.088.87 - By-Law Number 16 to raise a certain sum of loan upon debentures, to be issued for the purpose of building a market house and Town Hall in the incorporated Village of Napanee and for purchase of a fire engine for the use in the said Village, signed by J. Benson, Reeve, August 13th, 1855, Town of Napanee fonds
The Town of Napanee fonds covers life in the Napanee area from 1855 to the 1920’s and is searchable by person or place to help with genealogical and historical research. Contact the Archivist for help searching the collection!
2018.118.1231.2469 - Poll Book for elections in the Municipality of the Village of Napanee for the purposes of electing councilors, January 3rd, 1858, Town of Napanee Fonds
2018.118.1231.973 - Receipt - John Wagar from the Village of Napanee for work on plank walks, August 19th, 1858, Town of Napanee Fonds
2018.118.1633 - Correspondence from Cole Brothers, Steam Fire Engines, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to W.S. Williams, Napanee, stating price of their fire engines, includes envelope with postmark, October 22nd, 1869, Town of Napanee Fonds
Archivist tip:
When searching in databases use quotation marks (“”) to search for an exact phrase. For example, if you were looking for records related to Thomas Kirkpatrick you could try searching in the keyword search field “Thomas Kirkpatrick” for records only related to Thomas Kirkpatrick.
The Town of Napanee fonds was a yearlong project and while processing the records I came across other treasures in the Archives. Here are some of my new favourite records!
1983.039 - Family Photograph Album, [190-], Herrington Family Fonds
I have always been interested in early photography of ancient Roman ruins and when I came across Walter S. Herrington’s family photographs from Pompeii and Rome I immediately thought of my trip to Pompeii in 2016. It is interesting to see to see Pompeii through Herrington’s lens.
2011.040.14 – Postcard, Snapshots of Napanee, [190-], Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives
Postcard of people sitting in an 'Observation Automobile' with a pop out picture album containing the following pictures: Dundas St. looking West; Grand Trunk Railway Bridge; The Falls and Old Mill; Golf Links; John Street; Court House; Piety Hill; Western Methodist Church; Trinity Methodist Church; Residence of M.C. Bogart; Residence of H.B. Sherwood; Collegiate Institute; The Model School; Bridge Street; The Falls; Market Square; East Street; Post Office; St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church; St. Mary Magdalene's Church; The Collegiate Institute and the Big Mill.
The format of the postcard is very unique and provides a snapshot into the attractions of Napanee in the 20th century.
2017.039.16 – Letter from Alicia Cockburn, January 6th, 1815, Daverne Family Fonds
This letter came from the Daverne Family Fonds which is now available on our Past Perfect Online Database! The fonds consists mainly of Richard Daverne Junior's correspondence to political figures attempting to reinstate his brother (Daniel's) land, documents from Daniel Daverne during his time as superintendent at the Perth settlement, receipts, land records, personal and business correspondence of Richard Daverne Junior. Records range from 1815 – 1870. Please contact the Archivist to find out more!
Lennox and Addington Ledger, 1865, Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives
One of my favourite aspects of being an Archivist is digitization to help make records accessible! This newspaper is an example of a large scale digitization project and using Microsoft ICE technology to stitch the scanned image together to create a high quality scan for researchers to access.
1488 - Nominal Lists of Officers, [1825], Lennox and Addington Historical Society Early Collection Index
This record caught my eye for the letter ‘L’! Located on the back of a military record it appears that the author was practicing the letter ‘L’ to get their cursive just right!
I’m currently working on a large donation of family genealogy which included a wonderful collection of family photographs. Stay tuned for more information!
