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BEVERLY ARCHIVES PROJECT ASSISTS BEVERLY CITY HALL John Thomson, Beverly Archives Project. September 19, 2009
Among the findings in that survey was that, while records were safely stored in the basement, they were not easy to access due to lack of a finding aid or a systematized storage plan. Some records were in need of substantial preservation work due to water damage in years past.
Most Friday mornings, volunteers from BAP can be found at City Hall organizing, processing and cataloging the records stored in “Area K” – a walk-in safe housing the oldest of the city’s records. Aside from moving loose documents to acid-free folders, the processing of the archives includes the removal of dangerous materials, such as staples, rubber bands, paper clips and string, and most importantly the listing of every document or group of documents on a computer spreadsheet. This spreadsheet, updated weekly and furnished to the Clerk’s office, precisely locates each item on the shelves in the safe.
While the primary objective is to
preserve, label and organize, it is impossible to ignore the fascinating content
of many of the documents, some of which date back to the early 1700’s. Included
among these are lists of voters (or polls) with names and occupations, military
service lists and discharge papers, records of the town’s overseers of the poor,
town meeting warrants and meeting minutes, deeds, cemetery records, road
layouts, and servant indentures. One of the more remarkable documents that
recently came to light was a book of registered earmarks used by 18th
and 19th century residents to mark their livestock. Owners made the
prescribed cuts in one of the ears of each cow, sheep or pig in their possession
so that it could be identified when left in the Town’s common. Livestock left
on the Common overnight
without a registered earmark could by
Beverly Archives Project is an association of public, private and religious organizations whose goal is to preserve the rich history of Beverly through the preservation of organizational documents. BAP has provided over $300 of materials to the project, and volunteers have logged in over 150 hours, with many, many more hours ahead. Key volunteers to date have been Margaret Alfonso, Terri McFadden and John Thomson. BAP meets monthly from September to June. Meetings are open to the public and are generally held on the first Thursday of the month in the Beverly Library at 7:00 P.M. To learn more about the organization and its purpose, visit its web site http://www.beverlyarchivesproject.org.
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Site Updated Monday, March 01, 2010 09:00 PM |
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Site Updated Monday, March 01, 2010 09:00 PM |
everly
Archives Project (BAP) has undertaken a significant volunteer project to assist
in cataloguing the archival records of the Clerk’s Office in City Hall. The
initiative is a direct outgrowth of the survey of records stored in the basement
at City Hall conducted by professional archivist Kobi Kobialka in 2004, funded
by a grant awarded to BAP by the Massachusetts Historical Records Advisory
Board.
In
late 2008, BAP held advisory meetings with City Clerk Fran MacDonald and
Assistant Clerk Kathy Connolly to review the situation and suggest possible
approaches to preserving and cataloging the collection. In February 2009, work
began on indexing and preservation and.
law be taken by the Town and sold.