Hope fading in search for 1639 deed tracking Milford's roots Boston Globe - United States ... It was the first of nine deeds and treaties struck between settlers in the New Haven area and the Paugussetts. The other eight documents all are accounted for. ... <http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/06/25/hope_fa ding_in_search_for_1639_deed_tracking_milfords_roots> This reminds me of something that happened to me in a past life when I served as Regional Archivist for the Southeastern NY area. A local historical society that owned several old houses had just been reorganized. Previously, the archival material had been under the care of one person who regarded it as his own private property. After his death, the new administration was planning to hire a "real" archivist. They invited me, as their regional advisor, and a local government advisor on archives, who had an interest in this particular society, to come and discuss their archives and its needs with them. The archives was then in the basement of an old stone church. We looked it over, poked into various boxes, etc., and made some suggestions. On a top shelf, we saw a box that I think was intended for storing things under a bed: flat, cardboard, with fake woodgrain on the outside, and asked what was in it. The person with us wasn't sure, so we took it down. In it was the original parchment 1694 (I think--or near that date) deed/patent that gave land there to the original settlers. They said, "Oh, we've been looking for that!" Before this discovery, we had been making suggestions, but saying that most things could wait until the archivist was hired. However, we told them to take this item and immediately put it in a safe and archivally correct place! They did hire an archivist (MLS with archival concentration) who has done an excellent job with the archival materials there. Christine Christine Crawford-Oppenheimer Information Services Librarian Conrad N. Hilton Library: http://www.ciachef.edu/admissions/about/library.asp The Culinary Institute of America 1946 Campus Drive Hyde Park, NY 12538 (845) 451-1322 fax (845) 451-1092 [log in to unmask] Learn more about The World's Premier Culinary College at www.ciachef.edu A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org. For the terms of participation, please refer to http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname *or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES To post a message, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>