Confession. After graduation, I applied and was turned down for not one but three Smithsonian Institution internships. Sometimes I still feel sad when I think about all the things that I could have learned there. But, now the Smithsonian has made it possible for me and for anyone to have an educational experience with their collections and to assist them in making those collections more accessible. Continue reading
Kingsport: Guest Blog
I have a guest post up on the Archives of the City of Kingsport blog. Please make a visit to their site at your convenience.
The Green Hickam House, in 1972 and 2015.
Kingsport: Drive-by History
I had an idea for an Archiventure. I must have made it sound pretty exciting because when I explained my idea to Brianne, the City Archivist, she gave me this look like “You had me at log cabin.” Here’s the idea. Take a chapter from Historic Sites of Sullivan County, find the corresponding original photographs from the Muriel C. Spoden Collection (KCMC 516), and go for a drive to see how many of the structures we can find and what condition they are in, today!
(© 1976, The Sullivan County Historical Commission and Associates)
Posted in Kingsport
Tagged Archiventure, archives, historic homes, Kingsport, photograph, Sullivan County
14 Comments
Genealogy: On Display
There is a set of tea towels in my possession. They were made for my mother by her grandmother, Elizabeth Ann Williams Mansfield (1867-1949). I wrote a little about my great-grandmother here. Continue reading
Kingsport: The Paste Princess
In 1926, the Kingsport Press produced an original musical as a fundraiser for its employee Mutual Benefit Association entitled “The Paste Princess, a Musical Comedy in Glue and Paste with More or Less Ink.” While diving into the Louise B. Palmer Collection, recently, I discovered the most wonderful souvenir scrapbook commemorating this dramatic undertaking and offered to digitize it for the Archives of the City of Kingsport.
Kingsport: Safely Gathered In
There’s a new archival exhibit at the Kingsport Public Library. From the Boat Yard era to Modern Kingsport, churches have played an important part of town history. Continue reading
Genealogy: Using the Local History Room
I was asked in a recent conversation I had with a new friend, “How do you find stories about your ancestors when you haven’t inherited any stories?” I’m afraid the answer is “You have to write them.” The best place to start is at the local history room in your public library. Continue reading
Kingsport: Gaines-Anderson Cabin Reconstruction
Back in April, 2014, I photographed the dismantling of the Ambrose Gaines/John Anderson cabin on Highway 11 W in Kingsport, Tennessee. The next month, I began photographing the reconstruction of the cabin at the Exchange Place in Kingsport. Continue reading
Posted in Kingsport
Tagged Gaines, historic sites, John Preston, Kingsport, museum, Pendleton Land Grant
8 Comments
Kingsport: Homefront
I have just installed a new archival exhibit at the Kingsport Public Library. It celebrates the men and women who served our country during the first and second world wars and honors the people who supported them while they strived to maintain home and community.
The left case features a wonderful panoramic photo of soldiers from the Great War in basic training and a pastel portrait of an American guard drawn by a German prisoner.
Posted in Kingsport
Tagged Elbridge Palmer, exhibit, Kingsport, military, scrapbooks, World War I, World War II
7 Comments
Genealogy: Reading between the bars
I have had access to the 1910 US Census record for my great grandfather for a long time. Five of John J. and Matilda Peterson Gillis’ then seven children were living at home. That was very helpful information to me. The 1910 census also documents a person’s place of birth, as well as the nativity of his or her parents, and the year of immigration, if applicable. The answers to these questions can help a genealogist know where to search for the preceding generation. Continue reading
