New York Times Makes Searchable Historic Newspaper Collection for Period 1851 - 1922 Available for Free

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

The New York Times historic newspaper collection has been available from a number of fee-based databases for years. Recently, paid subscribers to The New York Times have had access to "Times Select" as part of their paid subscription. The "Times Select" collection included the historic newspaper collection with an archives that covered the period from 1851 to 1980.

As of midnight last night, The New York Times has made virtually all of its "Times Select" Web site content available on its Web site without fee to the public. Among the free content is the full-text searchable historic newspaper collection covering the period from 1851 to 1922. Material from 1922 to 1980 remains available as part of the same collection on a fee basis given that the material has not entered the public domain.

To search The New York Times archive for the period from 1951 to 1980, go to: http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?srchst=p. There you may find it helpful to click on the "Advanced" search link so that you can search the text of the articles, headlines and by author names and can create a custom date range.

As one might expect, the collection offers a wealth of historic material relating to Pelham and Pelham and surrounding areas. For those interested in Pelham history, this is a free tool that cannot be ignored.

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

Using the Free "Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers" Database to Perform Local History Research

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

Last March the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities unveiled a beta version of the "Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers" database. Presently the database includes newspapers from 1900 to 1910 from the following states: New York, California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Kentucky, Utah and Virginia.

The beta site is actually a prototype of what is intended to be a massive digital collection of historically significant newspapers from all states and U.S. territories published between 1836 and 1922. The prototype site is part of the National Digital Newspaper Program, a partnership between the NEH and the Library of Congress.

There already is a wealth of information relating to the history of Pelham during the first decade of the 20th century in the collections. The search page for the site is located at: http://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/search_fulltext_advanced.html There visitors can select the state of NY and run a search for Pelham. The search returns 228 items, the vast majority of which are news stories about occurrences in Pelham.

This free resource is an important online research tool for local historians that likely will grow in importance as additional content is added.

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

Using the Westchester County Archives Web Site To Assist With Research Regarding the History of Pelham

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

The Westchester County Archives and Records Center is located at 2199 Saw Mill River Road, Elmsford, NY, 10523. It is the central repository for the county's historic public records dating from 1680 to the present. It is open to the public on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (except holidays). Also located in the same facility is the Westchester County Historical Society with its wonderful archives and research library.

Today's posting will address ways that local historians can use the Web site of the Westchester County Archives to assist them with local history research. The Web site is located at http://www.westchestergov.com/wcarchives/. The site makes quite clear that online resources are somewhat limited. It says "[a]lthough it is neither practical nor possible to digitize and make available online all of the records held by the Westchester County Archives, we do strive to make certain of our records, and/or information about them, available to our patrons via the 'information highway'."

On the home page of the site you will notice along the left side of the page a series of links including "General Information", "Guide To Collections", "Online Resources", "Exhibits", "Teachers' Resources", "Visit the Virtual Archives", "Frequently Asked Questions", "Site Map", "Search Our Site" and "Contact Us". For present purposes, two of the links are particularly important: "Online Resources" and "Visit the Virtual Archives".

Click on the Online Resources link first. There you will see links to the Archives' "Online Indexes", "Online Documents", "Guide to the Collections", "Resources for Genealogists", "County Government Desk Reference" and "Virtual Archives". You should explore each of these links carefully.

To illustrate the utility of the Web site, I will use the "Online Indexes" area as an example of how to do research on Pelham. If you click on that link, you will see a page that -- if you scroll down quite a bit -- you will see all sorts of online indices to material that might include references to Pelham and/or present or former residents of Pelham. Near the bottom of the page is a link entitled "School Reports, 1828-1968 (gaps)". If you click on that link you will see on the left side of the resulting screen a series of alphabetized choices including choices from "North Castle" to "Rye". By clicking on that link, you will see a page containing an index of school reports available from the Archives. Scroll down to that portion of the index relating to Pelham. It includes references to Pelham School Report records from 1828 through 1961. You will also note at the top of the same page that you can order a copy of any such records by following the instructions available via a link. I have ordered school records from the late 1820s and early 1830s and received them quite promptly by mail.

There are a host of helpful indices available in this area of the Web site. Quite a number of them include important references to records relating to Pelham's early history.

Before leaving the site, please be sure to click on the link to the "Virtual Archives". You will be taken to a Web site located at: http://westchesterarchives.com/home.html. The site is an eye-catching and wonderfully informative collection of data and images relating to the topics treated on the site. So far, only two topics are addressed: "The Civil War Era in Westchester" and the "Bronx River Parkway Reservation HAER". More material is in the works and it won't be long before the material is added to the site.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

Using the New York State and National Register of Historic Places Document Imaging Web Site To Research Pelham History

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

There is a Web site published by the New York State Historic Preservation Office dedicated to "New York's State and National Registers of Historic Places Document Imaging Project". The site allows visitors to search for properties in New York State that are listed in the Registers. Even more importantly, once a particular property in your area has been located, the Web site allows you to view and print the completed nomination form and photographs submitted at the time the property was added to the Registers. The nomination form, of course, typically includes a great deal of information regarding the history of the property and is an excellent secondary source for the local historian interested in learning more about local history.

The home page for the site is located at:

http://nysparks.state.ny.us/shpo/disclaimers/disclaimer_image.htm

(You will have to click through a couple of disclaimer pages to get to the important home page.) There is an excellent set of instructions for use of the database on the home page of the site. To get started, you will observe a series of green tabs across the top of the screen. To begin your search, you must select one of the first three tabs. I prefer using the first tab, labeled the "Basic Criteria" tab.

By clicking on the tab you will see a search form that allows you to search on the following criteria: Property Name, County, Location, Level of Significance, NY National Register Number, Material, Architect, Historic Function / Use, Criteria, Criteria Consideration, Theme, and Multiple Property Component. In our quest to learn how to use this database, go to the "County" box and select "Westchester" from the County pick list. In the "Location" box, type the word Pelham. Go to the last of the green tabs at the top of the screen -- the one marked "View Your Result Set" and click on it.

You will see a result set containing six items. If you look very closely, you will notice that there actually are only three properties listed with a "Text" file and a "Photos" file for each of the three properties. The three properties are "Bolton Priory"; "Edgewood House"; and "Pelhamdale". We are going to look at the Edgewood House materials as we learn to use the system.

In the far right "View" column on the search results page, click on the little icon to the right of the "Text" reference in the fourth row down (Edgewood House Pelham Manor Westchester 90NR02549 Text). You should see a Security Certificate prompting you to decide whether you wish to trust the content you are about to download from Daeja Image Systems Ltd. You should click Yes and may also want to select the check box marked "Always trust content from Daeja Image Systems Ltd".

You next will see a "floating window" containing the nomination form for one of the buildings that formed part of Mrs. Hazen's School for Girls (also known as Pelham Hall). The structure no longer exists. Although it is on the National and State Registers, it was torn down a few years ago. You can read about the history of the School and the structure and will see a brief bibliography at the end of the document that will help you do additional research.

If you return to your search results page, you may click on the little icon to the right of the "Photos" reference in the fourth row down. You will be able to review the photographs of Edgewood House included as part of the National and State Registers nomination process. An example of one such photograph appears below.

As with all online searches, you must be overbroad and quite creative. Think of important local structures in which you might be interested. Are they likely to be included in the database? Think of surrounding areas -- i.e., Bronx County where the Bartow-Pell Mansion is located. Are there nearby structures in Mount Vernon (e.g., St. Paul's Church National Historic Site) or in New Rochelle (e.g., Thomas Paine's Cottage) in which you might also be interested? You must structure your search queries broadly enough to encompass such structures.

The database is a wonderful source of information about our local history. Indeed, you might be surprised and find it quite enjoyable to mine its contents carefully!

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

Searching Historic Newspapers Online for Information About Pelham

Please visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com

For quite some time I have been using ProQuest® Historical Newspapers' New York Times Database to conduct full-text searches of the content of New York Times newspapers from 1851 to 2001 for information relating to Pelham History. I have accessed the database as part of my member package with The New York Genealogical & Biographical Society. Basic membership with the NYG&BS cost $60 per year at the time I joined.

Pelham resident and local historian Sil Spagnuolo has brought to my attention the fact that this important and wonderful database is accessible for free to those who have a free library card from a member library of the Westchester County Library System. Those in Pelham, for example, who have a library card issued by The Town of Pelham Public Library can access and search the database and download copies of the articles for personal, non-commercial use at no cost. For those who may be interested, access information follows.

Have your Town of Pelham Public Library card ready. While online, use your browser (e.g., Internet Explorer) to go to the following Web address: http://www.westchesterlibraries.org/databases/. On that page, scroll down to "Historical New York Times (in ProQuest)". To the right of that entry are two buttons. Click on the one on the far right that looks like a house. You will be prompted to type in your library card number. That number may be found on the front of your library card beneath the bar code. Once you type the number, click okay. You should see a little window that pops up and says something like "Valid barcode number" followed by the library card number that you typed into the previous screen. Click "OK" and you will have immediate access to the full-text searchable database. You will be able to search any aspect of Pelham history (or any other topic) you wish covering the period from 1851 to 2001.

Please visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com