We are happy to offer our first items of genealogy and local history from Chautauqua County, NY, and we plan to offer additional items of historical interest soon. |
Now Available for Download |
The Chautauqua County chapter in Mather & Brockett's Geographical History of the State of New York (1848). Brief, but still a vital part of the historical record, and actually comparatively lengthy compared with other upstate counties. It's interesting that Mather & Brockett spell the county name as "Chautauque". This may reflect an historical variant spelling, or may simply be a carryover from the days when spelling was pretty much a matter of individual preference. 6++ pages, in PDF format, download now for $3.00.
The Chautauqua County chapter
Charity in New York State in 1906:
Chautauqua
County.
We are in the process of
republishing sections of volume II of the Annual Report of the State
Board of Charities for the year 1906. The material will be of
interest to local historians who wish a better picture of charitable
institutions in their locale a century ago, to genealogists and family
historians interested in the people who administered charity back then
as well as how any unfortunates housed in these facilities may have
lived, and to those who have questions about the now-politicized "safety
net" for the unfortunates in our society back in those years. This
section addresses the public and private charities in Chautauqua County in
1906 that were registered with the State Board of Charities. 9++ pages, in PDF format,
download now for $2.00.
Fredonia Central School Hilltopper yearbook for 1961.
High school yearbooks generally are good mirrors of their towns at a
moment in time and this one, coming as it does during good economic
times after Korea and before Woodstock, is no exception. By the
time the youngest class pictured in this yearbook was graduating, change
would indeed be in the air. 90+ pages, in PDF format, download now
for $4.25.
Jamestown High School's Red and Green yearbook for 1964.
If 1961 represented good times in Fredonia (see above), this yearbook is
evidence that things were even better in Jamestown three years later.
This yearbook, more than 210 pages in length, with no advertising at all
to pay the cost, and with individual photos not just of seniors, but
also of juniors and sophomores, with abundant use of color throughout,
is memorable in itself. That the school that produced it offered
both Italian and Swedish, in addition to the more typical high school
language choices, and a dazzling array of choral groups and other
musical organizations, suggests that times were indeed good in Jamestown
in 1964. 216+ pages, in PDF format, download now for $5.50.
Pine Knot,
Yearbook of Pine Valley (NY) Central
School (1956). The choice
of the editors to use song titles for a theme is an interesting one and
one that anchors the book in a very specific point in time. Even when
the assignment of a particular song to a particular graduate or activity
is a little bit forced, the reader can see how the editors were thinking
when they made the assignment (or, as we suspect was the case with the
graduating seniors, the students chose the song that would accompany
them). Yet, even in this post-Korea, pre-Viet Nam era, there were hints
that things were not rosy in “upstate”. The full page advertisement by
the Jamestown Chamber of Commerce, telling graduates that “Your Future
Is In The Jamestown Area” speaks directly to a problem endemic in
Upstate as well as in rural areas nationally: the vast migration of
younger people to urban areas, leaving vast areas of the nation with an
ageing workforce (and volunteer agencies with a growing absence of able
bodied volunteers). That the local Chamber had recognized the problem
this early and begun to spend money addressing it suggests that either
depopulation had begun early in this area, that it had proceeded at a
more rapid rate than elsewhere, or that the Chamber was extraordinarily
perceptive. Yet they were spot on! 60+ pages, in PDF format
(landscape orientation).
Download now for $4.00.
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See also: Hotchkin's History of Western New York State, available on CD-ROM. |
Chautauqua County was separated from Genesee County in 1812. You may also want to consult our Genesee County page for locations that may have been affected by this transaction. |
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Between the Lakes Group is located at 372 Between the Lakes Road, in Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut. More specifically, we're in Taconic -- a hamlet in the Twin Lakes area of the Town of Salisbury. Questions about us or about our products? Go to our Frequently Asked Questions page. |