League of American Wheelmen collection comes to the Healey Library at UMass Boston

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John Allen, part of the Board of Directors for the Charles River Wheelmen, unloads one of 200 boxes donated to University Archives and Special Collections on Tuesday. Photo credit: Colleen Locke/UMass Boston

On Tuesday, September 22, University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston received a large donation of material (approximately 200 boxes) from the League of American Wheelmen.

The League of American Wheelmen (now called the League of American Bicyclists) is a national bicycling organization founded in 1880 that played and continues to play an important role around issues of bicycle safety, design standards, promoting bicycling and the rights of bicyclists, and (early in the organization’s existence) advocating for paved roads before the presence of automobiles.

A number of individuals and organizations were involved in the acquisition of the LAW records, including the Charles River Wheelmen (CRW) and member John Allen; Cycling Through History, the Massachusetts African American Heritage Bike Network; and Lorenz Finison, the author of Boston’s Cycling Craze, 1880-1900: A Story of Race, Sport, and Society, which was published in 2014 by the University of Massachusetts Press.

Prior to the donation to the Archives at UMass Boston, Tom Helm, a League member and former board member, stored the collection in his Pennsylvania home for many years, after the League moved to smaller offices and could no longer accommodate the large collection. The transfer of this collection from Helm’s home to UMass Boston has been a real labor of love for those involved, and the financial commitments made by some to secure the safe arrival of these materials at UMass Boston is worth noting. For example, Cycling Through History received a grant from the CRW earlier this year that funded the transportation of these materials to UMass Boston.

The Healey Library at UMass Boston is fast becoming a national resource on bicycling history. We’ve taken in a total of eleven collections over the past few years that tell the stories of bicycling in Boston and around the country. Materials related to the League can be found among the department’s existing collections, as well – notably in the papers of Ralph Galen and Phyllis Harmon. Read more about these collections here.

The extensive records of the League will make a great addition to these existing collections and plans for an exhibition are in progress. We’re currently working with an intern, Sara Davis, a graduate students from Simmons School of Library and Information Science. The exhibit will be on display in 2016.

Keep visiting this site to stay informed about our work with these collections.

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston collects materials related to the university’s history, as well as materials that reflect the institution’s urban mission and strong support of community service, notably in collections of records of urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, and local history related to neighboring communities.

University Archives & Special Collections welcomes inquiries from individuals, organizations, and businesses interested in donating materials of an archival nature that that fit within our collecting policy. These include manuscripts, documents, organizational archives, collections of photographs, unique publications, and audio and video media. For more information about donating to University Archives & Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.

Internet Scout and the Sumner Tunnel construction photographs in University Archives & Special Collections

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Shield_in_final_positionI’ve been following Internet Scout since 1994 and have long found the site to be a wonderful digital compendium of high quality science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and humanities resources on the Web, selected by a “team of librarians and subject matter experts who select, research, and annotate each resource.”

The other day I was browsing the site and was excited to find an entry for the Sumner Tunnel construction photographs that noted local historian Anthony Mitchell Sammarco purchased and donated to University Archives & Special Collections at UMass Boston several years ago. The experts at Internet Scout describe the collection as “a remarkable digital archive” and I couldn’t agree more.

Bracing_of_light_pole_in_North_SqThe photographs, taken from 1929 to 1933, document the construction of the first Boston Harbor tunnel, later called the Sumner Tunnel (after William H. Sumner) when it opened to travelers and commuters. The tunnel, which opened on June 30, 1934, was constructed to handle automobile traffic from the North End of Boston to East Boston. The Boston Globe reported, on July 1, 1934, that approximately 13,000 automobiles passed through the tunnel in the first 24 hours of operation.

View the finding aid for the Sumner Tunnel construction photographs here and view the digital collection here.

For questions about this collection or to schedule a research appointment, please contact library.archives@umb.edu or 617-287-5469.

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston collects materials related to the university’s history, as well as materials that reflect the institution’s urban mission and strong support of community service, notably in collections of records of urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, and local history related to neighboring communities.

University Archives & Special Collections welcomes inquiries from individuals, organizations, and businesses interested in donating materials of an archival nature that that fit within our collecting policy. These include manuscripts, documents, organizational archives, collections of photographs, unique publications, and audio and video media. For more information about donating to University Archives & Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.

UMass Boston archivist discusses Mass. Memories Road Show at Society of American Archivists annual meeting

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UMass Boston archivist Jessica Holden (center) with (from left to right) Caitlin Christian-Lamb, Anne Morgan, Kelsey Duinkerken, and Caitlin Brennecke.

UMass Boston archivist Jessica Holden (center) with (from left to right) Caitlin Christian-Lamb, Anne Morgan, Kelsey Duinkerken, and Caitlin Brennecke.

Last week, Jessica Holden, the reference archivist in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston, headed to Cleveland, Ohio, for the annual meeting of the Society of American Archivists (SAA). On Friday of this year’s conference, Jessica was a co-presenter in a session focused on nontraditional outreach methods used by archives and museums and “how archivists and museum curators can forge connections with a wide variety of communities and grow our profession via new and creative approaches to outreach programs.” See the full listing in the online conference schedule here.

In her presentation – titled “Forging Connections and Building Collections: The Mass. Memories Road Show at UMass Boston” – Jessica discussed the Healey Library’s successful statewide digital history project, the Mass. Memories Road Show, and described aspects of the project that are of unique interest to archivists and museum professionals. In particular, Jessica described how the project brings archival resources out into communities (rather than expecting communities to come to an archives) and how this outreach model helps us reach new audiences and establish richer partnerships within those communities.

In addition to Jessica, other presenters in this session were Caitlin Brennecke from Troy Historic Village, Caitlin Christian-Lamb from Davidson College, Kelsey Duinkerken from Thomas Jefferson University, and Anne Morgan from the Imperial Valley Desert Museum. The session was moderated by Michelle Ganz from Lincoln Memorial University.

View Jessica Holden’s presentation here.

The Mass. Memories Road Show is a statewide digital history project that documents people, places and events in Massachusetts history through family photographs and stories. In partnership with teams of local volunteers, we organize public events to scan family and community photographs and videotape “the stories behind the photos.” The images and videos are indexed and incorporated into an online educational database. Since its launch, the project has gathered more than 8,000 photographs and stories from across the state. It is supported in part by the Patricia C. Flaherty ’81 Endowed Fund at UMass Boston.  

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston was established in 1981 as a repository to collect archival material in subject areas of interest to the university, as well as the records of the university itself. The mission and history of UMass Boston guide the collection policies of University Archives & Special Collections, with the university’s urban mission and strong support of community service reflected in the records of and related to urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, war and social consequence, and local history related to neighboring communities. To learn more, visit blogs.umb.edu/archives.

You’re Invited! – Researching English Ancestors with the Essex Record Office (UK)

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ERO logo squareWhen: Friday, August 7, 2015 |
10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Location: Research Room, University Archives and Special Collections, 5th floor, Joseph P. Healey Library, University of Massachusetts Boston

Everyone interested in genealogy and family history is welcome to attend this free, public event, sponsored by University Archives & Special Collections, the Joseph P. Healey Library, and the Essex Record Office of the UK.

Light refreshments will be served. Space is limited, so please RSVP to library.archives@umb.edu.

Allyson Lewis, Archivist, and Neil Wiffen, Public Service Team Manager, will give a one-hour presentation about Essex Record Office and their collections, provide a display of original documents including parish registers and wills, and offer a help desk on researching English ancestors. Read more about the presenters below.

Essex is a county in Eastern England to the north east of London. It has the second longest coastline of any UK county. It has featured throughout English history as a hotbed of revolution and revolt. 6 barons from Essex were instrumental in forcing King John to agree to Magna Carta in 1215 and the Peasants’ Revolt against taxation began in Essex in 1381. During the 17th century it was a centre for developing non-conformist thought and had early congregations of Quakers and Independents both of whom soon made the voyage to the New World and settled in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

Essex Record Office is the storehouse of over one thousand years of the county’s history. Collections include maps, parish registers, wills, deeds, manorial records, Quarter Sessions records, charity, business and school records and records of local government. It is also home to the Essex Sound and Video Archive. With over 7 miles of shelving, our purpose built building is fully equipped to preserve these records for the future. Details of the collections are available on Seax our online catalogue. Images of parish registers and wills are available on our family history website, Essex Ancestors.

Parish registers were introduced in England and Wales in 1538 by Thomas Cromwell, adviser to Henry VIII. It was the first time that records were kept of those baptised, married and buried. Elizabeth I restated the need to keep parish registers in 1558 and 1597. These records are a treasure trove for the family historian as they are the main source of information available before the introduction of civil registration of births, marriages and deaths in July 1837.

Wills are a fascinating resource for family history and social history, giving information about family relationships, clothing, possessions, tools, landholdings, animals and religious ideas. Dating from 1400 to 1858, the wills held at Essex Record Office are available online as part of our Essex Ancestors service.

Light refreshments will be served. Space is limited, so please RSVP to library.archives@umb.edu.

Neil profile 1

Neil Wiffen, Public Service Team Manager of the Essex Record Office, was born in and educated in Chelmsford before undertaking his first degree at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. He started working at the ERO in 2000 when the new building was opened. At the University of Essex he completed an MA in Local and Regional History and has a strong interest in the history of the county of Essex sparked off mainly by his Dad telling him tales of watching American bombers taking off from the nearby Boreham Aerodrome. His Wiffen ancestors can be traced back to the Halstead area of Essex to at least 1800 but he is waiting to retire before undertaking his family history proper.

Allyson profileAllyson Lewis is an archivist with 30 years’ experience. She is a graduate of Balliol College, Oxford where she read Modern History. She then took a Masters in Archive Administration at University College London. She has worked at Essex Record Office for 12 years and has responsibility for providing Access Points around the county to bring the Record Office closer to the public. She has focussed on researching First World War ancestry as part of the commemorations of the First World War in 2014. Allyson was born in Liverpool but her family come from all parts of the UK and mainly lead back to the Shetland Islands.

Interested in the history of Columbia Point?

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See page 21 of the presentation by historian Nancy Seasholes and find out how the pictured configuration of land became the Columbia Point of today. (Image courtesy University Archives and Special Collections, UMass Boston)

See page 21 of the presentation by Nancy Seasholes and find out how this pictured configuration of land became the Columbia Point of today. (Image courtesy University Archives and Special Collections, UMass Boston)

Columbia Point has been the home of the University of Massachusetts Boston since 1974 (you can learn more about that move and about the site selection process in our archival collections), but this peninsula in Dorchester Bay has a documented history of use that goes back for centuries.

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston recently posted a presentation by historian Nancy S. Seasholes to our digital collections site about the history of Columbia Point. The presentation, which explains and shows Columbia Point in its many configurations over the years, is based on a lecture given at UMass Boston by Nancy Seasholes as part of Geography Awareness Week. The lecture was sponsored by the Earth and Geographic Sciences Club, which was advised by Professor Richard Gelpke. The lecture and presentation draw from Dr. Seasholes’s highly regarded book Gaining Ground: A History of Landmaking in Boston (MIT Press, 2003).

Click here to view the presentation and to learn about the surprisingly long and varied history of Columbia Point.

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston collects materials related to the university’s history, as well as materials that reflect the institution’s urban mission and strong support of community service, notably in collections of records of urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, and local history related to neighboring communities.

University Archives & Special Collections welcomes inquiries from individuals, organizations, and businesses interested in donating materials of an archival nature that that fit within our collecting policy. These include manuscripts, documents, organizational archives, collections of photographs, unique publications, and audio and video media. For more information about donating to University Archives & Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.