The library is currently open Monday through Friday from 10:00am-5:30pm and Saturday 9:30am-12:30pm. The Children's Room and Archives are open by appointment. Please call for details: 207-582-3312.

Community Archives Room

Family History – now’s the time!

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Thanksgiving Day is also National Family History Day.  It’s a natural pairing: that time of year when we gather together for family, food, and fun also marks the perfect opportunity to gather family information.

“Why didn’t I ask questions when I had the chance?”

That’s the #1 rhetorical question we get here in the Archives.  Whether trying to fill gaps in a family tree or hoping to recall or confirm stories from long ago, folks are always wishing they had taken the time to ask questions and record information once upon a time.

National Family History Day was actually declared by the Surgeon General after a Center for Disease Control and Prevention survey found that

  • over 96% of Americans considered knowledge of family history important to their personal health, but
  • less than 30% had ever actively collected family health information.

Wondering why the Surgeon General cares about genealogy?  Well, it’s simple – tracing family illnesses can help predict health risks and encourage preventative action to keep families healthy!  Of course, health questions may not be the easiest ones to address — nor do they necessarily make the best dinner conversation! — but, making an attempt to start talking about family history, asking questions, and recording information might help get the rolling on all fronts.

Here are some quick suggestions for easy ways to record your family history this weekend – or any time you gather together:

  • There’s an app for that!  Few people have tape recorders anymore, but your phone can do the trick instead!  Download a voice recording app such as StoryCorps (read about it in last week’s Wall Street Journal article) or Interviewy.   Have some questions ready (there are tips on the websites & in the article), but you can also just wing it & see where it goes!
  • Bring out old photos to get the conversation started — and while you’re at it, write the names on the back (in pencil or archival, photo-safe ink).
  • Create a Family Health Portrait with the helpful online tool from the Surgeon General’s Office.
  • Keep pencil and paper handy and just write it down!  Every little bit counts!

Need help pulling it together?  Stop by the Community Archives Room and we’ll give you a hand!

We hope you had a happy Thanksgiving – and that you build upon your family history on this weekend — and at every opportunity!

Do you recognize any of these faces?

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Woman, unknown year, Gardiner, Maine.
October is American Archives Month, so it couldn’t be more exciting or appropriate that we finally completed renovations of our Community Archives Room and moved back in last week!  We’re still shuffling some things around, settling into the space, and waiting for some furnishings – so, stay tuned for more!
In the meantime, some things never change.  As thorough as we try to be with documenting and recording information about historic items and photographs, mysteries will always exist. We have many unidentified portrait photographs in our collection and most offer very few clues as to who the subject is.
Children photographed by S.C. Stinson, a Gardiner Photographer who worked with the ambrotype process in the 1860s.
Most photographs, such as the cartes de visite and cabinet cards included here, include the name of the photographer and location of his or her studio.  These photographs were all taken (or reproduced) here in Gardiner, each by a different photographer. Although Gardiner had many photography studios over the years, we can identify a time frame in which images were produced by knowing when the photographers worked in town.  Newspapers and directory listings have helped us build such a timeline, but some photographers left and came back, others worked steadily for decades, and still more names keep coming out of the woodwork (like Hamlin, above).
Man, “Photographed by Clark,” 1860s.
Man, 1880; “Photographic Studio of Mrs. J.K. Barker.”
Fashions of clothing or hair, styles of furniture and set pieces, and also the format and design of the photograph itself provide additional clues.  Women’s hairstyles and men’s facial hair followed distinct trends through the years and clothing and props can indicate time frames, ethnicity, wealth, career, interests and more. 
 
Woman, early 1890s; J.S. Variel, photographer.
Child, early 1890s; A.W. Kimball, photographer.
Similarly, as photographic processing improved and changed, styles emerged to distinguish one print from another.  Colored borders became popular in the late 1880s and fancy edges emerged in the 1890s. Even the thickness of card stock can help determine the age of a photograph, as materials changed and advanced over the years. Coupling these details with our timeline of photographers working in Gardiner really helps in narrowing down years.  
 
Pup, 1890s; G.F. McIntosh, photographer.
 
Some photo albums or batches of images provide contextual clues, such as family resemblances or classmate connections. Unfortunately, without any contextual clues, we’re left only with facial recognition.  So, unless someone out there sees someone they “know” from the past, these folks and four-legged friends will remain mysteries for the ages.  
 
We hope you’ll tell us if you happen to recognize anyone above — and we have many more where these came from!  But the moral of the story is: be a part of history,
Label Your Photos (in pencil – NO pens, post-its, or adhesives) Today!  
Happy American Archives Month!

A Glimpse Into the Past

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Recently I had the opportunity to go play in the archives here at Gardiner Public Library.  And what a fabulous experience it was!

One day while I was working in the library, I delivered some books to Dawn, our wonderful Archives Librarian. I happened to mention a well-known house in East Pittston that used to be in our family.  It’s on the Historical Register, and I had some questions about it. We got to talking, and Dawn suggested I come spend some time in the archives on my day off.  I set up a day and time with Dawn, who thoughtfully pulled out several items related to East Pittston. I parked myself at the table and before I knew it, two whole hours had passed.
Not only did I find out lots of information regarding the house of my original inquiry, I caught a wonderful glimpse into the past! I found a picture of the general store my great grandfather used to own, a picture of the one room schoolhouse where my grandmother taught, and a picture of the contraption, known as an “auto-house”, that my great grandfather and great uncle drove across country in on their way to California.
I had a few fantastic finds regarding my grandmother. There was a picture of her with one of her classes, taken at the one room schoolhouse. Sitting in the front row was my aunt. There was also an article about the Tom Thumb weddings she used to hold: “East Pittston Pupils Perform Mock Wedding”. I can remember her telling me about this when I was little, and it was pretty interesting to see it in the newspaper! Another wonderful item was a letter written about my grandmother from one of her former students. It was so interesting getting a glimpse into what her school day was like.
My most treasured item I found was a newspaper article reporting about my grandmother’s bridal shower: “Popular ‘Bride to Be’ Honored by Friends at Surprise Shower”. How wonderful to get a glimpse of what that day was like for her!
So thank you Dawn, for allowing me the opportunity to see into my past.
P.S. I’m hooked on archives now!