Geoffrey C. Ward (right) has authored numerous books and has written or co-written more than 20 documentary films including: The Civil War, Baseball,

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1 * $, 0 // ( 2 2 $% $ ( $ / 4, ( 1 / // 81 $+ + $ $ % ( % * + + % + 0, + /,, 1 Geoffrey C Ward (right has authored numerous books and has written or cowritten more than 20 documentary films including: The Civil War, Baseball, The West, Not for Ourselves Alone: the story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony, and Prohibition Ward is winner of six Emmy Awards and a Writers Guild Award for screenwriting and well known for his long term partnership with Ken Burns In 2010 Ward and Burns were both awarded the George Eastman Medal of Honor for their meritorious achievements in the film industry A Disposition to be Rich will be available at Sundance Books in Geneseo in June 2012 The images above and right were used with permission of Knopf publishing

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4 8 $$ 3 4 PROGRAM SUMMARY: 2011 marks my eighth year as full time County Historian and once again I am pleased to report projects and initiatives sponsored by this office, encompassing a wide range of topics and eras, were well received It is extremely encouraging to network with people in every town in Livingston County so actively engaged in preservation and interpretation of local history The level of enthusiasm and commitment of those I worked with this past year reinforces my view that overall this county understands the vital role history plays in daily life This was most apparent as I began coordination of events to commemorate the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War ( to raise awareness of the significance of the impact on the county as a whole With the assistance of a dedicated group of Town Historians and others, a list of goals and objectives of the 150 th anniversary of the Civil War were outlined; an official logo was created; and a survey of existing operable bells was collected to coordinate a countywide bell ringing event I also requested the Livingston County Board of Supervisors and town and village governments pass resolutions officially marking the 150th anniversary of the attack on Fort Sumter and the beginning of the Civil War By early spring of 2011, the County complied as did several town boards The opening event of the fouryear 150 th anniversary took place on April 12, 2012 with the bells ringing in all corners of the county for two minutes at 10 AM A moment of silence and solemn ceremonies followed in most places The gatherings brought together church groups, students, community leaders, and veterans to sing hymns, recite poetry, and give speeches The sights and sounds were photographed and recorded by the local press, TV and radio stations, the Associated press, and historians to save as a permanent record The intention of these brief but symbolic gestures was to honor the immeasurable sacrifices of those who helped to preserve our freedom, and acknowledge the burden of the family members who remained on home front Overall, I was deeply inspired by the response to this first commemorative event and appreciate the dedication of all those who took part 2011 was also significant because the County Historian s Office space expanded to include the entire building 5 on the Mt Morris Campus The reorganization of the first floor was underway all year and necessitated closing to the public for several weeks during the summer By year s end the result was added square footage as well as more efficient flow and use of space Staff and volunteers gained more room to work on projects, more archival storage space, and handicap accessibility In addition, the extra space on the first floor now allows the opportunity to host small meetings that were difficult, if not impossible, to do in the past The office staff underwent major change as well Sally Schmoldt, the clerk/typist of almost seven years retired as of June 3 rd Mary Beth Bimber, associated with the County Historian s Office since 1991, was hired to fill the position temporarily, then hired to a new part time position as typist in October Holly Watson was hired on November 1 st as Deputy Historian, a position not filled since 2004 Holly brings a fresh perspective and energy to the office and with just a few weeks remaining in 2011, she and Mary Beth took on the challenge of reorganization of collections while simultaneously responding to requests for information from the public I was so pleased with their willingness to tackle difficult tasks and appreciative of their dedicated support The ongoing volunteer work of Christine Thompson, Alberta Dunn, and the newest addition to the volunteer crew, Doreen DeCamp, must also be acknowledged To date Chris has indexed well over 100,000 New York State early census records and other records added to the County Historian s online records index Alberta has processed important individual collections and Doreen began the arduous task of indexing thousands of photographs In 2011, these three individuals donated in excess of 500 volunteer hours to the office providing essential services that would not otherwise be achieved With the changes in office staff and renovations to the building, several projects that I intended to complete in 2011 remain undone and are included in the 2012 summary below Another reason for delay was the unexpected acquisition of the largest and among the most historically significant donations to date Robert Hart of Dansville donated the entire corporate records (in excess of 70 cubic feet of the Dansville Mt Morris Railroad Company that he and his family operated for several decades Due to the size of this collection I approached Liz Argentieri, Special Collections Librarian at Milne Library, SUNY Geneseo to assist in inventorying and removal of the records from the Dansville Depot into temporary storage at SUNY Geneseo This task was a major undertaking that took place over several weeks in late spring and early summer

5 ( With the help of intern Kimberly Boland, a SUNY Geneseo Political Science major, Liz and I oversaw the processing of the Dansville Mt Morris Railroad Company records throughout the fall semester Plans for the next phase in this project were made to further arrange the collection during the college intersession in January of 2012 by record series and to create a finding guide An exhibit featuring the history of the short line and examples of the collection is planned for April 2012 at the Dansville Library The eventual goal is to make the collection available to researchers and to have a sampling of the records digitized The final project I wanted to mention in this summary is the Premier Exhibition of New York State Revolutionary War Sites: The Pastels of J Erwin Porter that took place in October at the SUNY Lockhart Gallery, Geneseo This took months of coordinating and in my view, was a great example of what can be done at the county level to bring regional and state organizations, agencies, and government departments together to expand awareness of local history and appreciation for art while placing both in a broader context This exhibit was achieved in part with a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Regrant Program administered by the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts Additional money was raised by the Empire State Society of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution to mount and frame this series produced c190 by J Erwin Porter ( Among this extraordinary series are the Groveland Ambuscade and the Torture Tree; two sites in Livingston County denoting the western limit of the Revolutionary War in New York State Upon Porter s death in 1981, his family donated the bulk of the artist s works to the New York State Museum The Revolutionary War series remained in storage since the initial donation Through intense lobbying efforts by me, his son attorney Jon Porter, and the Sons of the American Revolution, ten of the twentytwo pastels were matted and framed in 2011 so a traveling exhibit could be made possible No annual report would be complete without expressing my gratitude for the dedicated support of the Board of Supervisors, County Administrator Ian Coyle, and the County Department Heads I have worked with throughout the year In closing, this past year also marked another important occasion On February 23, 2011, Livingston County turned 190 years old and as the resolution approved by the Board of Supervisors on that date aptly states, the County of Livingston has maintained its agricultural roots, scenic beauty beyond compare, a reputation for historic preservation and excellence in education, a prosperous and thriving economic base, and an overall high quality of life for its citizens It is indeed a privilege to serve as County Historian in a place that takes pride in its cultural heritage and continues to build upon its history I Office Management, Collection Development 1 Preservation and expansion historical records collection: a The public research room contains approximately 300 subject binders accessible to researchers The binders are organized by general topics pertaining to Livingston County and also by subjects related specifically to individual towns b The online records index now has approximately 19,000 entries including: veterans, deaths and marked graves, naturalization records, poorhouse records, indexed newspapers, NYS census for Livingston County 1855 (complete to Nunda, 1915 and 1925 (both complete c Other indexing projects in progress (not yet online: photograph collection, church records, and 20 th century scrapbooks and business ledgers d Several hundred newspapers on microfilm sent to wwwfultonhistorycom for digitization e War of 1812 records were organized and transcribed including muster rolls and payroll records f Craig Colony records (7 cubic feet were inventoried, rehoused, and relabeled g The Nancy O Dea papers (2 cubic feet were arranged h Reorganization, labeling, and updating of map inventory commenced i Reorganization of audio/visual media and equipment collection j Reorganization of approximately 18 cubic feet of Poorhouse and Social Services records k Arranging and describing of the William Harman diary collection 49 diaries ( l Arranging and describing of S B Schull diary collection 0 diaries ( m Arranging and inventorying of Gen A J MacKay Civil War collection, approx cubic ft (1815 n Original documents (1,52 from family correspondence folders were indexed and cataloged o Among significant new donations include: Dansville and Mt Morris Railroad Company, approx 70 cubic feet (see summary section; Instructor Magazine collection, approx 2 cubic feet ( Continued on pages and 7

6 9 $$ ; < I Office Management, Collection Development (continued 2 Office staff (see summary narrative a Part time Clerk/typist Sally Schmoldt retired June 2011 b Mary Beth Bimber hired as part time typist October 2011 c Holly Watson hired as part time Deputy Historian November II Community Outreach and Advocacy 1 Town Historian s Quarterly meetings I coordinated the following luncheon meetings: April 13th G A R Memorial Hall, Hunt, town of Portage June 28th County Park, Mt Morris September 15 th Carter Memorial Hall, Nunda December 8th Yard of Ale, Piffard, town of York 2 Friends of Livingston County History myself, Anna Kowalchuk, Livingston County Historical Society Museum Administrator, and Joan Schumaker, President of the Western New York Association of Historical Agencies formed this organization The purpose is to establish a closer network with historical societies that operate museums and to provide assistance and training with biannual meetings a March 30 th organizational meeting at Livingston County Historical Society; b October 12 th Fall meeting at Nunda Historical Society The first collaborative project was a Livingston County Heritage Museum trail to be included in the 2012 Tourism Guide 3 School programs a Avon Central AP History Class January th Spent the full day assisting class with project to document Avon in 181after President Lincoln was inaugurated b BOCES Career Day March 15 th Spoke to students interested in the field of history Held at SUNY Geneseo c County School Superintendents luncheon March 31 st Presented the newly developed Sullivancampaignlivingstoncountycom interactive website and a brief history in of the campaign Held at Mt Morris Dam Visitor s Center and sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce 4 Special Projects a Commemoration of the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War beginning of 4year anniversary Countywide Bell Ringing Event, April 12 th (see summary narrative b The Premier Exhibit of J Erwin Porter s series of Revolutionary War paintings at SUNY Lockhart Gallery, Geneseo Community Arts Grant Award Preview Oct 2 th, opening Oct 28 th (see summary narrative 5 Public Speaking a Radio Interview WYSL January 28 th b Presented a new power point program entitled Livingston County AllAmerican Characters for the Mt Morris Dam Winter Lecture Series January 29 th c Interview with Livingston County News reporter for feature article on the County Historian s Office, Your History Preserved Here February 18 th d Interview with Channel 8 TV on revitalization of downtown Mt Morris March th e Presented a new power point program entitled Working with Municipal Historians at the 25 th WNY Landmark Society Conference held in Dansville April 30 th f Presented a new power point program entitled Livingston Landmarks for the Garden of Life at the Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation August 1 th g Speaker at the Leicester Civil War monument 100 th anniversary rededication Sept10 th h Presented a new power point program on the Francis Bellamy and the evolution of the Pledge of Allegiance for the Young at Heart meeting at the Methodist Church, Geneseo Sept 11 th i Presented Livingston County All American Characters power point program for the Conesus Historical Society at the Conesus Town Hall October 17 th j Speaker at the historic marker dedication denoting the history of East Avon October 28 th k Presented a new power point program Monumental Art: Livingston County Civil War Monuments for Dansville Historical Society annual meeting at the Masonic Lodge, Nov 5 th l Presented The Sullivan Campaign of the Revolutionary War: The Impact on Livingston County power point program at the SUNY Lockhart Gallery, Geneseo November 9 th Out of the Archives newsletter One edition (Summer 2011 was published and distributed to all county departments, Board of Supervisors and town historians All past issues available online at the Historian s web site

7 : $$ ; < II Community Outreach and Advocacy (continued 7 Research, programs attended, other a Conducted research: Syracuse University Library June 2 nd ; Uof R Rush Rhees Library June 7 th Aug 30 th b Attended several Board of Supervisors meetings to greet veterans invited to lead the Pledge Also created certificates of acknowledgement of their service c Attended County Department Head meetings February 24 th and December 1 st d Attended several Saturday lectures of Mt Morris Dam Winter Lecture Series Jan March e Met with Louis Freeman, Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension in re: photograph collection preservation issues March 9 th Followup meeting with employee scanning and archiving photos Oct th f Met with Lisa Burns, Tourism Director to discuss collaborative project ideas March 22 nd g Attended the ribbon cutting for the new Rushville Dental Center, Bldg 1, Murray Hill May 2 nd h Hosted the Livingston County Library Director s monthly meeting at the County Historian s Office July 7 th i Attended the centennial rededication of the John Hall Barron boulder Courthouse lawn July 27 th j Attended the West Sparta Historical Society Old Fashioned Days at West Sparta Town Hall grounds July 30 th k Participated in the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts Folk life Festival on Murray Hill September 10 th l Attended a lecture on the Victorian Era at GCC, Batavia September 13 th m Attended a workshop/seminar with Pratt Institute professor and graduate students on the renovations of Mt Morris and future of the downtown development October 21 st n Attended the Livingston county Tourism Harvest Luncheon at the Oak Valley Inn, Geneseo November 3 rd o Attended a lecture by SUNY History Professor Cathy Adams on African American women during the Revolutionary War era at the SUNY Lockhart Gallery, Geneseo November 1 th III Professional and Educational Development 1 Government Appointed Historians of Western New York a Founding member, membership coordinator Appointed treasurer ( , elected treasurer 2year term ( b Assisted in coordination of the Spring meeting in Batavia, Genesee County May 7 th c Attended Fall meeting at Chautauqua Institute September 24 th 2 Livingston County Historical Society Board of Council a Completed 3year term ( b In 2011 served on nominating committee and worked with a museum consultant to develop an interpretive plan to manage the museum collection and interpretive exhibit planning 3 Rochester Regional Library Council, Documentary Heritage Program (DHP a Regional Advisory committee member (since 2004 b Attended Appraisal, Selection and Acquisition of records for archives, presented by Dr Preston Pierce, DHP Regional Archivist at the Livingston County Historical Society June 21 c Planning committee for NYS Archives month event at the Kate Gleason Auditorium, Rochester Oct 19 th 4 Genesee Community College Lima Civil War 150 th Initiative advisory group meetings July 15 th, July 2th (GCC Dansville, Oct 24 th 5 Conference on New York State History Attended conference held at Cooperstown June 4 th New York State Archives a Attended Recovery of Fugitive Documents workshop at the Government Center March 23 rd b Attended How to manage effectively workshop at the Government Center July 13 th 7 Empire State College Completed 8 credit hours: Social Change: Paradoxes of Progress and Exploring Music IV 2012 PROGRAM SUMMARY 1 Installation of the County historical timeline permanent exhibit at the Government Center (Summer Complete reorganization and storage of archival collections (Summer th Civil War anniversary 2 nd annual event coordination of an exhibit of photographs and letters of Civil War veterans and lecture series in collaboration with the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts and the Town Historians (September Launch of Local History Out Loud initiative a collaborative project to record excerpts of from local histories to share with the public (Fall Completion of the History of Murray Hill publication (December 2012 Submitted by Amie Alden, Livingston County Historian March 12, 2012

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