Archive Record
Metadata
Catalog Number |
ORG 1932.01 |
Title |
Winchester Historical and Genealogical Society Records |
Collection |
Organizations |
Object Name |
Records |
Date |
1874-1980 |
Scope & Content |
This collection includes records of the Winchester Historical & Genealogical Society, such as its constitution, minutes, lists of members, and collection records, plus handwritten historical notes or articles. Some are drafts of articles used in The Winchester Record. In addition, the collection contains the genealogies of 11 members. |
Admin/Biographical History |
Abijah Thompson initiated the Winchester Historical & Genealogical Society (WHGS) during the summer of 1884 when he approached George Cooke to prepare papers for the organization and regulations of such a society. Cooke produced a prospectus and draft constitution and bylaws. In November 1884, the WHGS was formed. "The objects of this society," states the constitution, "shall be to collect, preserve, and supply to inquirers the facts of the local history of Winchester, and such family genealogies as may be offered to its archives; and to prepare, or cause to be prepared, from time to time, such paper relative to these subjects as may be of public interest to our citizens." In addition to seven officers, 38 men and women signed the constitution and became members of the WHGS. Monthly meetings were held from September to May. Two customary pieces of business at all meetings were the announcement of donations and the reading of papers, many later published in The Winchester Record. After the construction of Town Hall in 1887, the WHGS used the room above the reading room in the Public Library, then located in one wing of the Town Hall. Furnishings included a handsome piece of furniture, known as the Converse Bookcase, made by Sylvanus Small and paid for by the Converse family. A door decorated with the family crest remains in the collections of the current Winchester Historical Society. As time passed, most of the original active members of the WHGS died. In 1898, the WHGS quietly expired after voting to turn over its property to the trustees of the public library for safe-keeping. After a new Historical Society was formed in 1972, the collections were turned over to its care. |
Copyrights |
Permission to publish material from this collection is subject to approval by the Town of Winchester. |
Finding Aids |
A finding aid with detailed information about the contents of the collection is available. Contact the Archives for a copy. |
Subjects |
Clubs Genealogy Historical societies |
Search Terms |
Winchester Historical and Genealogical Society |
People |
Ayer, Albert Ayer, Thomas Prentiss Bangs, Elizabeth Blanchard, David O. Bolles, Frank Briggs, L. Vernon Brown, George P. Clark, Oliver R. Clarke, Howard Converse, Edward Cooke, George Edward Corse, John M., General Cowley, Charles Cutter, Stephen Cutter, William R. Daley, P.J. Dodge, Charles Nelson Dunham, George Dupee, James A. Emerson, Thomas Endicott, Henry Foster, Joseph Francis, James B. Galvin, Ed Gannison, Caroline F. Gibbons, Edward Greene, Moses C. Harrison, Benjamin Johnson, Edward Johnson, James C. Littlefield, George S. Littlefield, George T. Manson, A.S. Mason, Caroline A. McKenzie, W.S. Mitchell, C.L. Parker, Harrison Parkhurst, Lewis Poole, Murray E. Prince, Frederick O. Rand, George Dutton Richardson, Luther Richardson, N.A. Richardson, Nathaniel Rolfe, Henry Russell, J. Sanderson, L.J. Sears, Walter Small, Sylvanus C. Storrow, Charles S. Suter, John W. Symmes, Chandler W. Symmes, Joseph Symmes, Luther Taintor, Charles M. Teele, Warren Thatcher, Susie E. Thompson, Abijah Thompson, David Thompson, Leander Titus, Anson Trowbridge, Joseph S. Tyler, Joseph H. Vinton, Alfred C. Wadleigh, Edwin A. Whitney, Arthur Eastman Whittemore, B.F. Wilson, Theo Price Youngman, David |
Containers |
Inventory, c. 1903 Winchester Historical Society Index and transmittal letter, 29 Aug. 1980 Constitution and By-Laws, handwritten Prospectus Constitution and By-Laws Board of Directors Minutes, 1884-1893 Proceedings of the WHGS, 1884-1898 Unbound minutes & clippings Membership Lists Historian's reports Librarian's reports Secretary's reports Correspondence - Administration Correspondence - General Correspondence - Gifts Winchester Record Drafts, handwritten Correspondence - Membership Correspondence - Papers and Talks Correspondence - Historical Information Correspondence - Winchester Record The Three Sagamores - a talk by J.C. Johnson Financial Records Genealogy Officers Converse Bookcase Blank Forms Collections and Donations of the WHGS in the Historical Room of the Winchester Town Library. WHGS presented by George T. Littlefield, 1885-1892. Catalogue of pamphlets Book of Cases Inventory of books, loose pages Winchester Record Drafts, handwritten (cont.?) Index to Winchester Record, Vo.l I Winchester 250th Anniversary drafts or notes, handwritten Historical gleanings, handwritten Historical information, handwritten Miscellaneous |