Reports

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This is the thirty-sixth year of operation of the Danvers Archival Center, a department of the Peabody Institute Library of Danvers. The Archival Center was established in the fall of 1972 in temporary quarters within the basement of the Danvers Historical Society’s Memorial Hall at 11 Page Street. For nine years the Historical Society graciously allowed the town the use of this concrete and brick space at no charge. In 1981, with the completion of a renovated and expanded Peabody Institute Library, the Archival Center moved to new quarters specifically designed for its use, including a public research room, secure manuscript storage room and walk-in vault with a 6-hour fire rated door.

This past year I began revising and expanding our in-house Archival Center Manual which outlines our policies and procedures. The expanded collection policy statement explains our purpose and areas of collecting: “The Danvers Archival Center is a repository for information relating to the history and development of the geographical area encompassing Salem Village and Danvers, Massachusetts. The Archival Center performs its mission by gathering and collecting flat, informational materials through gifts and purchases and through permanent deposits in cases where the material is owned by functioning corporate organizations. Among items collected by the Archival Center are books, pamphlets, monographs, manuscripts, broadsides, periodicals including newspapers, maps, architectural drawings, photographs, prints, audio and video tape, films, CD’s and microfilms. Also among the Archival Center’s collecting area are occasional works-of-art in oil, chalk, watercolor, etc.; gravestone astrays; coffin plates; road signs, etc. All these materials are collected and catalogued in order to preserve the history and memory of the community and to make these materials available to the general public, municipal departments, and researchers of present and future generations.”

As a department of the Peabody Institute Library of Danvers, the Archival Center also collects in the name of the mother institution souvenir glassware, ceramics and other commemorative items relating specifically to the Peabody Institute Library and George Peabody. This past year our modest object collection was expanded with the acquisition of a George Peabody porcelain souvenir cup and a 20th century bronze medal honoring George Peabody added to the collection.

The combined collections of the Danvers Archival Center make up one of the largest and most important documentary resources of a community of its size in the entire United States. Besides retaining, preserving and eventually cataloguing all current and backlog records, the Archival Center is committed to continuously upgrading the collection through gifts, deposits and purchases. Our combined collections remain, even after over three-and-a-half decades in operation, a seldom-found mix of diverse municipal, corporate and private research materials gathered together through the cooperative pooling of many different organizations that are willing to give up physical custody of their papers for their being conserved, preserved, properly stored, catalogued and accessible.

This report will summarize the operations of the Danvers Archival Center during fiscal year 2008, being from July 2007 through June 2008.

As in past years, I want to extend my thanks to Library Director Douglas Rendell, Assistant Director Suzanne MacLeod and the nine-member Board of Library Trustees who continue to be encouraging and supportive to the goals and objectives of the Danvers Archival Center. My assistant Eva Veilleux is a skilled and careful worker who performs all manner of archival, secretarial, and reference services and is one of the few people who can read my handwriting. A most valuable colleague, Eva works in the Archives approximately seven hours per week and operates the Center when I am absent. As time allows she is also inputting our printed collection of witchcraft and history volumes into the Noble On-Line Catalogue, making our collections known to a much broader clientele.

Adams Street resident Thomas Marsella has been volunteering at the Archival Center since 2003, spending up to three hours each Wednesday morning sorting and cataloguing newly acquired manuscripts and photo materials, and assisting in the processing of the Putnam family collections. A careful researcher, Tom volunteered some 85 hours this past year.

During FY08 we obtained, accessioned, processed, and catalogued 105 books for inclusion within our Public Reading Room book collections. Fifty-eight of these volumes were obtained through purchase and 47 as gifts by the public.

Our signature book collection has as its subject matter the 1692 Salem Village witchcraft outbreak and trials. The collection is named for the late Danvers resident and noted collector and bibliophile Ellerton J. Brehaut of Locust Street, who in the 1960s donated to the Library his large and valuable collection of witchcraft volumes. Prior to its being established as an independent “District of Danvers” in 1752, Danvers was known as “Salem Village” and the location for the world-known 1692 “Witch Hunt.” Over the ensuing 36 years since the creation of the Danvers Archival Center, we have striven to make this collection the most complete library of printed works on the subject.

Among scholarly monographs and volumes added by gift to our “Ellerton J. Brehaut Witchcraft Collection” this year were: “Witchcraft and the Limits of Interpretation” by David Hall (1985); “Satan’s War Against the Covenant in Salem Village” by Ben Ray (2007); “Here Are No Newters” by Richard Latner (2006), and inscribed by him; The Bewitching of Anne Gunter by James Sharpe (2000); Dorcas Good: The Diary of a Salem Witch by Rose Earhart (2000); Arthur Miller: His Life and Work by Martin Gottfried (2003); and The Salem Witch Trials: A Reference Guide by K. David Goss (2008), for which all the illustrations in this work were used with permission from our Archive collections.

Witchcraft materials added to our collection this past year by purchase include: Mary Schweidler: The Amber Witch by Wilhelm Meinhold (1844); The Salem Witch Trials by Don Nardo (2007); the English illustrated edition of The Devil in Massachusetts by Marion Starkey (1950); American Criminal Trials by Peleg Chandler (1841); Witches of Plymouth County by Edward Lodi (2004); “Christian Lacy: A Tale of Salem Witchcraft” by G.P.R. James from “Graham’s Magazine”(1851); Salem Witchcraft Judge by Eve LaPlante (2007); Coton Mather the Puritan Priest by Barrett Wendell (1891); The Devil of Great Island by Emerson Baker (2007); Witch Hunts From Salem to Guantanamo Bay by Robert Rapley (2007); Cinema Salem by Peter Mac (2007), which includes work done by me on the PBS American Playhouse movie Three Sovereigns for Sarah; Witchcraft Myths in American Culture by Marion Gibson (2007); a two volume set Malleus Maleficarun by Christopher MacKay (2006); The Salem Witch Trials by Tamara Orr (2004); a four volume set titled Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Western Tradition edited by Richard Golden (2006); Damned Women by Elizabeth Reis (1997); Watching the Innocent by April Parker (2005); I Walked in Dread by Lisa Fraustino (2004); and Salem Witch by Patricia Hermes (2006).

Major acquisitions this year to our witchcraft book collection were three rare volumes. The Possibility and Reality of Magick, Sorcery and Witchcraft by Richard Boulton was published in London in 1722, and includes a chapter titled “Of the witchcraft at Salem, Boston and Andover.” At such a late date, this volume continued to advocate the existence of witchcraft. A second rare book acquired was Satan’s Invisible World Discovered, a rare 1830 Scottish chapbook reprint of extracts from the 17th century book of the same name by George Sinclair. The third and most interesting rare book we obtained is titled, A Treatise Proving Spirits, Witches and Supernatural Operations, By Pregnant Instances and Evidences. This 332 page book was authored by Meric Casaubon (1599-1671) and printed at the Three Pigeons in Cornhill in 1672. It featured various “true” accounts of witchcraft.

Our second major archival book collection centers around the non-witch related aspects of local history. This collection of books and pamphlets is about the Town of Danvers, Danvers families, or adjacent towns which reflect or influence our history. Included through purchase this past year within this category were: Peabody Firefighting by Ted Quinn (2007); George Peabody (1862); Diners of the North Shore by Gary Thomas (2002); Samuel McIntire: Carving an American Style by Dean Lahikainen (2007); Project 17 by Laurie Stolarz (2007), a young adult novel about the Danvers State Hospital; The Devonshire Ancestry of John Endecott by Roper Lethbridge (1914), inscribed to Mrs. Joseph (Endicott) Chamberlain and purchased through a bookdealer in Ireland; and The Journals of Ashley Bowen edited by Philip Smith (1973).

History books and pamphlets gifted to the Archives included: Heritage (1978), the Danvers High School yearbook; Far Above the Neighboring Hills: St John’s Preparatory School, 1907-2007 by Gary Larrabee (2007); Danvers Town Officers (1855); Singing For Freedom: The Hutchinson Family Singers by Scott Gac (2007); Street List of Persons in Danvers (2007); George Peabody, a Biography by Franklin Parker (1995), inscribed by the author; The Old Iron Road by David Bain (2004); The Fascination, a Novel by Jean Pedrick (1947); Franklin Porter, Silversmith by Helen Philbrick (1969); and Tapley Treats: A Book of Favorite Tested Recipes (c 1960). We also received as a gift from Mary Nickerson a group of 15 Danvers High School yearbooks to augment our second copy collection.

Our “Dr. Richard P. Zollo John Greenleaf Whittier Collection” continues to expand. The collection was named in honor of Dick’s multi-year gifts of the works of Danvers’s famed 19th century resident poet. Among gift books added this past year were: John Greenleaf Whittier’s Poetry by Robert Penn Warren (1971); and Greetings From Whittier (1907). From 3,000 miles away, Dick Zollo continues to be our most frequent donor of books and pamphlets. He constantly keeps his eyes open for books in California on Danvers related subjects and then purchases them and ships them to us at no charge. Nice deal for us!

A significant number of cards were typed and added to our catalogue this year, including 465 in the Danvers History catalogue and 372 new main entry, title and subject cards created and interfiled into our Witchcraft catalogue. The 13 volume, late 19th century historical and genealogical reference, The Essex Antiquarian, was gone through to glean within it articles on Danvers subjects, which information was then individually catalogued and the set itself accessioned and assigned a call number.

A group of 25 books were sent out for binding, the majority being new softbound volumes needing a secure case. Generally, books bound or rebound are done so using buckram and with the spines sewn. One of our fragile witchcraft rare books was carefully measured and a cloth-covered drop spine preservation storage box was made for it and shelved among our witchcraft rare book collection in the vault.

As our walk-in vault was becoming crowded, we made a shift in the location of some of the contents. The H-file envelopes containing Danvers history pamphlets and brochures were removed from the vault and re-shelved within the document storage room, allowing for a re-shelving and better placement of our Witchcraft Rare Book Collection within our optimally secure vault.

Our “Ephemera” collection also continually grows. These revealing point-in-time printed items generally do not warrant individual cataloguing within the archival collection, though singular items are collected in subject files and stored in vertical metal file cabinets. Among items acquired this past year were: Port reunion papers from Ed Kowalski; Family Festival papers from Larry Crowley; by-laws of the Firemen’s Relief Association (1927); Holy Trinity Church 50th anniversary history (2008); papers relating to the attempted saving of the Reed-Crowninshield-Porter House on Water Street (1965-1966); an invoice for carpentry done at 85 Water Street (1910); a brass stencil for W.E. Smart & Co.; a postal cover honoring Grenville M. Dodge cancelled in Danvers (2007); a Whittier Christmas postcard (c. 1900); a brochure about Cherry Hill Farm; a study on the location of the grave of Governor John Endecott; etc. etc. Also, numerous copies of the High School literary magazine “The Holten” and Street Poll List volumes for various years were donated by a number of people and shelved.

One group of papers donated this year related to the acquisition and development of Endicott Park (1968-1973). These were given to us by David Symmes shortly before his untimely death. David was a major volunteer for the Danvers Historical Society and the Calvary Episcopal Church, among other organizations, and his friendship, good nature and willingness to work hard for a cause will be sorely missed.

Following up last year’s donation, Alden Goodnow gave to the Archives a large collection of appraisal files, including maps and photographs for eleven properties in Danvers. These were sorted into files according to their street address and stored with our house files.

We sent out 47 gift acknowledgement forms to individuals and institutions, reflecting gifts to the archives of from one to dozens of items each, and acknowledging their donations to the Archives as unconditional gifts. Believing it appropriate to place items within the collections of institutions where they properly belong, we sent off one or more items as gifts to appropriate sister institutions, including the Lindberg Genealogy Room of the Lynnfield Public Library, the Phillips Library of the Peabody Essex Museum, the Peabody Institute Library in Peabody and the Peabody Historical Society. Six organizations requested to borrow original or copies of photographs and documents from within our collections for exhibition or research purposes.

In March I hosted a visit by the Archivist of the Peabody Institute Library of Peabody and Danvers resident Nancy Barthelemy. Then in May I visited her facility including the beautiful Sutton Room. These mutual visits afforded us an opportunity to become familiar with each organization’s manuscript and book holdings. Peabody was for over 100 years politically part of the Town of Danvers until 1855. We share a mutual history and heritage and look forward to future cooperative ventures. I also hosted a visit by the director, visiting scholar and chief volunteer of the George Peabody House, the municipal museum and research center for Peabody. Though I do not keep tabs on the town of origin of my visitors, unless they want to use the manuscript collection and then must fill out a detailed form, I do note that one of our most distant visitors this year came in May from the United Arab Emirates. Other nations represented in visits included England and Japan.

Pictorial materials including photographs, prints, films, videotapes, DVDs and CDs represent another major area of our collections. This past year we received a whopping 1057 items as gifts, while 129 items from the Danvers Historical Society were accessioned as new deposits and we purchased 42 items.

Two interesting images donated this past year were a 1/12th plate daguerreotype bust portrait of Jesse Tapley (picture at right) and a 1/6th plate bust portrait of Joshua Silvester, both prominent men whose images were captured on these silvered copper plates during the 1850s. Given the uniqueness and early date of these two photographic items, both were fully catalogued.

Other photographic materials donated included: a souvenir albumen photo of the Danversport school with an insert picture of student Beatrice Moser (1907); long roll photographs of the Holten High School class of 1932 and of the banquet honoring the ’32 undefeated football team (1932 & 1933); roll photographs of two Holten High School classes (1946 & 1950); albumen print of Sgt. Addison P. Fowler in uniform (c. 1864); 108 illustrations of witchcraft subjects used in producing the book Sorcery in Salem by John Wright; twenty-two color images of the Peabody Institute Library exterior (2004 & 2007) taken by Eva Veilleux; eleven color prints of 160 Locust Street taken by Alden Goodnow (1980s); cabinet photo of Charles Parson Trask (c1880); eight snapshot prints of the Reed-Crowninshield-Porter house (1950s); four images of Danvers Company K soldiers at camp in Framingham, Mass. (1898); over 400 35mm transparencies taken by me of Danvers sites, buildings and scenes (1965-2005); a snapshot photo of Woodvale under construction (1959); album of 31 albumen photos of Danvers places (1907); VHS video of the closing of the old Central Fire Station and opening of the new station on High Street (1995); and seven color slides of the Memorial Day Parade (1967).

Among purchased pictures and audio-visual items acquired and individually catalogued this year were: a John LeFavour stereo view of the Tapleyville Grammar School third and fourth grade classes with all the scholars identified on the back in handwriting (1880); a 35 minute 16mm color film “The Witches of Salem” (1972); a colored silhouette portrait of Joseph Porter (c. 1840); a multi-panel William Baxter Closson etching of “homes and haunts” of John G. Whittier (1886); a stereo view of Locust Street at Maple showing people, horses and wagons near the Nye & Beal building, now the Lyons Ambulance Service (1870s); a Patrick Karnaham paper giclee color print titled “500 miles to Promontory” (2006), relating to the building of the Transcontinental Railroad.

Other audio-visual purchases included: a stereo view of the warrant to hang Bridget Bishop for witchcraft (c. 1870); a carte-de-visite of John G. Whittier (c. 1890); stereo view of the statue of George Peabody in London (c. 1870); several different CDVs of George Peabody (1860s) from separate sources; post card image of Yoken’s Dining Room on Route One (c. 1960s); photo of Caskin & O’Connell store (c. 1890); three photos of the interior of Maple Street School and two of the First National Store showing lighting improvements with Sylvania lights (1950s); and a DVD titled The Golden Spike (2007), about construction of the Transcontinental Railroad.

Several years ago we began re-boxing our photograph collection in new Hollinger photo-neutral boxes and folders. The collection is generally divided into images of people by last names and images of buildings arranged by street address. Specialized collections include such categories as “Schools,” “Fire Department,” “Transportation,” “Military,” etc. The next step in our protecting the photographic images is to go through the files making sure all images have been accessioned and that the images themselves which need protection are placed in inert clear mylar envelopes. This is a time-consuming effort, but necessary for the care and long-term preservation of the photographs.

Whenever a particular file is requested to view, following its use we attempt to resort, accession and properly store images in mylar sleeves. Among photo collections we have so processed this past year are: Oak Knoll, The Village Training Field on Centre Street, McIntire Summer House, Reed-Crowninshield-Porter house, Jeremiah Page house, and Glen Magna and the Endicott Estate. This last group included several hundred items in which many were part of professional photographer sets done in 1892, 1917 and the 1920s. The sets were sorted, while individual images were placed in folders by subject. Print copies were also made with our Epsom copier of glass plate negative contact prints and then included in the Glen Magna and Endicott Estate collection.

Among newspapers purchased for our collections included an issue of Harper’s Weekly from December 1887, which portrays on the front cover a full page engraved bust photograph of John G. Whittier with a brief article concerning his birthday.

Manuscripts make up a large portion of our collections. Added to the “Manuscript” card catalogue were 255 cards. As time allows, we work on processing and cataloguing some of our large backlog of manuscript collections. The Putnam Family manuscript papers donated in 1993 to the Danvers Historical Society by the Emerson family and on permanent deposit here at the Archival Center has been a multi-year project. Volunteer Tom Marcella has devoted much of his time to sorting and researching this material for cataloguing.

Among the newly processed and catalogued manuscript Putnam family collections are the following: a teaching recommendation written by Rev. Benjamin Wadsworth for Allen Putnam (1820); a letter from Simeon Putnam to Daniel Putnam (1818); Henry Cabot Lodge letters to Wendell Phillips Hood (1884) and a letter from General Joseph Wheeler also to Hood (1899); Israel Putnam receipts for chaise tax (1798 and 1801); a letter from George Osgood to Emma P. Kettell introducing George Putnam (1850s?); Susannah Putnam lifetime membership certificate to the Massachusetts Home Missionary Society (1853); Susan Putnam essay papers submitted to the Essex County Teachers Association (1848); letter from Salem historian William P. Upham to William Richardson Putnam (1873); Mellen Chamberlain letter addressed to Susan Putnam concerning a Daniel Webster autograph (1866); Henry Wheatland letter to Rev. Allen Putnam (1842); Elliott Cresson letter of thanks to Rev. A. Putnam for support of Negro colonization in Africa (1829); Charles Northend letter to J. P. Proctor (ca 1841); Danvers Highway Department list of men who pulled up barberry bushes which encroached upon the public highways (1755); First Church, Congregational treasurer’s receipt titled “Danvers First Parish,” being a very early reference to “Danvers” from February 1752; a Samuel Putnam Trask penmanship exercise titled “Charity” (1817); a Samuel Preston letter and poem (1819); a letter from Abner C. Goodell, Jr. to Susan Putnam concerning the “Salem witch jail” (1867); and a Rev. Milton Braman letter concerning a church donation (1861).

Other permanent loan materials from the Danvers Historical Society manuscript collections that were catalogued this year included: a Wendell Phillips Hood autograph album (1858-1859); Holten High School Alumni Association Fiftieth Anniversary remarks by Alden P. White and others (1900); Holten High School Alumni Association reunion guest books (1900 & 1910); Walnut Grove Cemetery request for notice to establish a corporation (1843); probate papers of Ezra Prince (1771); President-elect James Abram Garfield correspondence regarding an invitation by Rev. A. P. Putnam (December 1880); and a very early Nathaniel Putnam deed to land (1695).

Manuscripts deposited this year on permanent loan from other institutions included: Unitarian Universalist Church record books (1945-1957); and Community Church account books (1924-1932, 1939-1950), from the Northshore Unitarian Universalist Church; Holten High School class and student record books (1850-1904); Holten High School Alumni Association record books (1860-1883); School Department list of persons entering Holten High School (1853-1913), from the Danvers School Department; Peabody Institute Library treasurers’ cash book (1976-1983), from the Library; and William Crowninshield Endicott, Jr. letters regarding donation of two Endecott Tercentenary Medals (1932), deposited from the Peabody Institute Library and Danvers Historical Society.

Town Clerk deposits catalogued include: a 19th century copy of the 1772 Neck of Land Act of Incorporation; and a valuable printed and signed Circular Letter regarding Timothy Pickering’s standing for election as County Register of Deeds (1774).

As was the case last year, we were able to catalogue a group of backlog 1970s donations to the Archives from Danvers attorney Stephen P. Weston. These papers, chiefly deeds, relate to Peabody and Endicott properties purchased in the 19th century including in and around what is today the Endicott Estate. Finishing up on this cataloguing project, we processed gifts of Ellen (Peabody) Endicott deeds and map relating to land adjacent to Route One (1905) and papers concerning the Endicott estate by William Crowninshield Endicott, Jr. (1900-1922).

Also worked upon this year were the donated office papers of former State Senator John G. King of Danvers. As time has permitted we process the very large collection of these interesting political papers from the 1970s and 80s. Among papers processed this year were speech files (1976-1983) and files (1975-1982) concerning energy issues and legislation, including the bottle bill, solar, nuclear and fossil energy.

Donated manuscripts given to the Archival Center this past year were very extensive. They included remarks by Sarah F. Richmond at a Holten High School Alumni Association meeting honoring her (1915?); and Holten High School Alumni Association reunion guest book (1915). These two items were sent to us from the Foxboro Museum.

A very significant donation was a collection of correspondence by famed local 19th century artist Abel Nichols gifted by a descendant from Westwood, Massachusetts. Nichols (1815-1860) was born in Danvers and traveled to the south and mid-west to pursue portrait painting. In 1844 he painted a portrait of General and President-elect William Henry Harrison from life. The letters date from 1837-1844 and include news to his Danvers relatives of his painting and life in the antebellum south. Nichols eventually came back to live in Danvers. Several years ago the Archival Center was given by a Washington State resident an oil-on-canvas portrait executed by Nichols of Levi Preston, a veteran of the American Revolution. This new group of correspondence also nicely compliments a large deposit collection of other Abel Nichols letters from the Danvers Historical Society.

Another very interesting gift from a gentleman from Osterville, Massachusetts was correspondence of Charles Putnam Preston (1849-1850). These letters give a very detailed account of life in Charleston, South Carolina. Preston had traveled from Danvers to the south for health reasons. He graphically describes in an 1849 letter the so-called “peculiar institution” of slavery, including a vivid account of his attending a slave auction. Here is an excerpt from the letter:

The last letter of this Preston group dating to 1850 is from a friend describing how Preston succumbed to yellow fever in Brazil.

Mrs. Vas Vrettos donated correspondence and inscribed books (1966-1980) of her late husband, famed local novelist Theodore Vrettos, augmenting the collection which Ted had initially given the Archives. Among the newly donated items is correspondence with English novelist John Fowles, author of The French Lieutenant’s Woman. Other manuscript gifts included financial records of the Danvers chapter of Patriotic Sons of America (1891); and Endecott burial ground papers (1928-1994).

One other gift item sent to us early in the year was a family autograph album kept by the Sillars family of Danvers (1882). This item was sent to us from Connecticut by Marcia Goldblatt. Marcia was one of our wonderful Archive volunteers during the 1990s and was very active in local organizations until she and her husband moved to be closer to their children. Just recently we were saddened to learn that Marcia had passed away. She was a very wonderful lady and great fun as a volunteer. Our thoughts went out to her husband and family.

Purchased manuscripts for our collection come from many sources including auctions, catalogues, on-line web sites and eBay. Purchased manuscripts this past fiscal year included a near pristine John Greenleaf Whittier autographed, stamped and cancelled mailing envelope from Danvers (1886); a vote of refusal by the Danvers South Parish on a petition of Israel Hutchinson and others requesting New Mills (Danversport) to be set off to the North Parish (c.1767); Civil War era correspondence from the Augustus Mudge family in Danvers to Clara Helen Mudge attending Mount Holyole Seminary (1864-1866), including news of the war effort; a petition from members of the North Parish to the Massachusetts General Court concerning the illegal actions of the South Parish in holding a Town Meeting (1767); a petition to the Board of Selectmen regarding who will pay to maintain the Waters River bridge (1771); a very important retained draft letter by iron foundary owner, inventor and U.S. Representative Nathan Read to Manasseh Cutler concerning Federalist and Jeffersonian politics and describing the problems with the country now that the Federalists are out of control (1804). (See first page at right.)

Also purchased was a Revolutionary War military muster roll. These types of documents are very seldom available on the market. This one was of Danvers Captain Asa Prince’s company during service in the Rhode Island military campaign between June and October 1777. Prince had served as captain of a Danvers company at the Lexington Alarm of 1775 and was noted for his coolness in the face of danger. Many of the named soldiers on this 1777 pay document have never been credited in history books with this service, including Danvers Ensign Archalaus Dale.

Other items purchased included a Levi Brackett, Jr. letter (1850s); and a John Greenleaf Whittier A.L.S. (1883) sent from Danvers to a national women’s organization in which Whittier declares “the women of this country will yet save the men of it,” and speaks of the need for women suffrage.

After almost three years of waiting for a resolution to the ongoing situation relating to the 1776 Broadside originally sent to the Town Clerk in Danvers and now in private hands, the end came as quick as it had begun. The ruling was not in the town’s favor and it arrived just after the end of the 08 fiscal year. I thought it appropriate to report on it now.

In brief summary, in late October of 2005, I noticed on eBay a listing of a 1776 Broadside being offered for sale at a Boston auction. On the reverse of the Broadside was a hand written notation addressed “To the Town Clark of Danvers.” The document was pictured and described in the eBay entry as an “important proclamation announcing the forming of a new government”. After I notified town officials, the town through its counsel Michael C. Lehane obtained an injunction to prevent its sale, and since then the Town has been pursuing a legal course to have the document returned to Danvers.

The document had the very specific address notation written in pen on its reverse “To the Town Clark of Danvers,” indicating that the broadside was sent to the town as an official notice. Subsequently I discovered that this proclamation was authorized by a vote of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and a further vote was recorded to indeed print it as a broadside and send copies “one for each Town-Clerk.” As official documents are in the public’s possession in perpetuity; if one “goes astray,” it should be brought back. This one may have gone astray by accident, as most did.

Though the broadside, unfortunately, turned out to be a very valuable document, and worth it to the family to litigate over, for me it was the principle of the matter and not its value, as the town could never sell the broadside if it acquired it. Rather, it is part of the official, corporate records and history of the Town of Danvers and should be returned to its origin. Quite a number of these “strays” have come back to the Town of Danvers collection in the Archival Center, almost all through private donations. As for one example, in 1984 a printed broadside circular-letter dated 1768 concerning a now-famous meeting at Boston about the landing of British troops was donated to the Archives. Written on the back of this item were the words “To the Select-men of Danvers.” This item was valued in 1999 in excess of $30,000. Within our town collection of broadsides there are a number of items addressed in pen on the reverse of the broadside “to the Town Clerk” and “to the Selectmen,” indicating these were official documents sent to the town.

Last August I had attended a hearing at Plymouth Superior Court concerning the ownership of the 1776 broadside at which with both parties requested a Summary Judgment, as all material facts have been discovered. Astonishingly to both parties the Court issued a decision in a day-and-a-half denying both parties’ Cross Motions for Summary Judgment and opening the course for a trial. Subsequently the Town filed for a Renewed Motion for Reconsideration in January 2008, and finally on July 31 a judgment was ordered that the complaint of the Town of Danvers be dismissed, with a counter suit by the defendants against the town also dismissed.

The court’s decision opined that though the broadside concerning military recruitment was addressed “To the Town Clark of Danvers,” this was insufficient to establish ownership of it or that it may have been discarded, as possession of such a document in 1776 was treasonous. The subject of the broadside was actually about establishing a judiciary procedure during those troubled time. Massachusetts had already been defacto ruling itself for over two years, with the British government unable to control any territory other than occupied Boston. Danvers was a hot bed of patriotism with one of the signatories of the broadside being Danversite Samuel Holten. The town records are replete with other broadsides of more seditious content being preserved, many with similar notations as having been delivered to Danvers. In fact the town actually voted for complete independence from Great Britain five months after the broadside was ordered by the House of Representatives to be printed and sent to the Town Clerk of each town in Massachusetts. Fear had nothing to do with this broadside disappearing and if one contends that it was not delivered, I would suggest that the address is still valid and Danvers would be happy to receive the communication no matter now late in coming.

Another point in the decision was that there was no definitive evidence established for when the document might have left town custody. It would be virtually impossible to know a date certain and the circumstances over a 200+ year period, especially if such an action was done surreptitiously. It was therefore amazing to me that I actually found a document reference that shed some light on about when it went missing.

In the 19th century Fitch Poole of Danvers collected many historic documents. These were rediscovered in recent years in Poole family records and put up for sale by descendants. Poole was town librarian in South Danvers, which later became Peabody. He was also the editor of the Danvers Wizard. Poole also collected antiquarian items and in one of his news articles which I located that was dated December 12, 1860, Poole wrote “this collection was made by direct application, by contributions of friends and the exchange of duplicates….” Poole then quoted from some of his collection of documents. The letters in his collection written to him date to the early 1840s and many of them from which he quotes were part of the collection offered for sale in 2005. My belief is that over time this particular document, which might have been borrowed for an exhibit or research by Poole, didn’t get returned and became mixed in with Poole’s own collection. Then in 2005 descendants discovered this and other documents in an old trunk and put them all up for auction.

The Town has acted in good faith to do the correct thing in attempting a legal remedy to retrieve this item back into the town records to be preserved as an item of corporate property. Our Board of Library Trustees and Library Director have also been very supportive. It is a shame that the process was so elongated and expensive, but I appreciate the commitment of the Town Manager, Town Counsel and his associate Brian Le Blanc for all their hard work.

I remain and will always be absolutely convinced from my own experience with the collections for over 35 years, from my knowledge of local history, from the historic record left by the Massachusetts House of Representatives, from the ordered delivery of it to Town Clerks, from the transmission address on the back of the document, and from the Fitch Poole article in 1860, that this was indeed a Town of Danvers record which strayed from town custody. It will always remain a disappointment to me that we could not recover this important broadside for care, access and preservation, and that it will now be sold and disappear again from public access.

An important Revolutionary War Broadside, which is still present within the Town collection at the Archives, was catalogued this past year and is now available to the public and scholars. The subject of the February 1776 notice was the Massachusetts House of Representatives sitting in Watertown, Massachusetts instructing each town within the province to choose men to serve as a Committee of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety during the current rebellion against England. This is a 35 x 24 cm. sized early, pre-independence broadside with an historically important content. It also records the printed names of the 15 Massachusetts Council members, including Danvers’s own Samuel Holten. The item is quite valuable.

Besides broadsides, the Archival Center also has a significant collection of maps and plans. Donated maps this past year included a “Plan of the Homestead Country Club” originally located on Locust Street and now under the waters of the Danvers Reservoir. The sheet was drawn up by O. D. Taylor in 2000.

A very fine collection of 20th century plans was donated to us by architect Robert D. Farley, including fifty-six architectural drawings executed by him for Danvers building projects. Included are plans of the First Church of Danvers, Congregational (1979); alterations to the Carriage House at 21 Spring Street (1978); the Rotary Pavilion at Mill Pond (1998); alterations to the 1891 Barn at 8-10 Liberty Street (1980); and plans of the Salem Village Witchcraft Tercentenary Memorial (1991).

As noted earlier, though the Archival Center does not collect objects per say, an exception to that rule are items relating to the Peabody Institute Library or souvenir glass and china relating to George Peabody. Two larger objects were donated this past year which are both artifacts and archival objects. Dave McKenna, former selectman and present Fin Com member, donated an item he had purchased. The item was a presentation piece given to Ellison J. Morse, Jr., a long time member of the Board of Selectmen, being a tanned and colored animal hide mounted within a 32″x36″ frame. In the center of the hide is an ink drawing of the seal of the Town of Danvers and surrounding the seal are the signatures of 170 citizens who were honoring Ely in 1973 for his years of town service.

The other object acquired by gift is a relic from the November 22, 2006, blast in Danversport. Back in the 1980s I had found out that the original cast iron 1930 Massachusetts Tercentennial Marker located at the corner of Water and Endicott Streets in front of the Fox Hill School had been missing for years. The marker told of the nearby Endecott Pear Tree. I contacted the Massachusetts Public Works Department about this and they created a new replacement sign of the same size and color, but made out of marine plywood. This sign was hit and blown down by the concussion of the Danversport blast in 2006 and was brought to the Archives last July as a relic of that explosion.

During 48 weeks we kept statistics on public use of the Archives. Some 814 patrons visited the Archives and were given assistance, while 876 telephone calls were received and 650 letters and emails were sent out answering patron queries. Talks were given to 9 civic, scout, college, school and historical organizations including Gordon College, the Danvers Historical Society, Towne Family Association, Maple Street Church, Danvers Middle School and several elementary grades. The combined audience amounted to over 470 people. In April I also participated in the “Exploring Genealogy Series” put together by Donna Maturi and the Library Reference Department as a “How-To” series for beginning genealogists. The series was held on three consecutive Wednesdays with good attendance at each program. Genealogical author Marcia Melnyk and David Dearborn of NEHGS were the other speakers. My topic included sources for Essex County and practical tips on approaching research and reference collections.

In my position as Town Archivist I continue to serve as a commissioner for the Essex County National Heritage Area and am a member of the sub-committee that considers and chooses yearly grant recipients. I am also a member of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Historical Records Advisory Board, which also looks to award preservation grants. I also continue to serve (since 1972) on the Salem Village Historic District Commission. The Commission holds public meetings in the Archival Center and its records are stored here under my custody.

This past June I requested to step down as Danvers Historical Society Vice President, a temporary position I agreed to serve for one year. I am still active, however, with the Society as a member of its Executive Board and as its Honorary Historian. I also serve as a resource person for the Danvers Preservation Commission, particularly in regard to researching structures which have been requested by owners to demolish. This past year at their request I have researched and reported in writing on six structures and often attended site visits. Independently I communicated with the new developer of the 1899 Colonial Block on Maple Street regarding the original look and potential renovation of this block which was until recently the Tompkins Furniture Store. I have also given some service to the Danvers Preservation Fund, including attending several meetings relating to the attempted preservation of the 1869 Danvers Plains Railroad Station currently located off Cherry Street and to the preservation of the 1875 Walnut Grove brick and granite Receiving Crypt.

Another aspect of my communications with the Preservation Commission was to continue to voice my opinion on the future use of the $500,000 fund from the sale of the Danvers State Hospital, which money was to be set aside specifically for historic preservation, an unwritten acknowledgement that such funds should lessen the terrible toll of losing this important National Register campus. I met with the Commission and went over my suggestions as stated in a May 2007 letter to the Selectmen and Town Manager, modified to request that $300,000 be earmarked for the Town Hall exterior restoration and $200,000 for other areas. The Commission believed it had a commitment of $100,000 for projects other than Town Hall and I urged that the request be for $200,000, as this amount would have an impact on preservation in Danvers.

It can always be hoped that the Selectmen, Town Manager and others in responsibility in Danvers will consider these and other options, as these funds can and should have a real positive effect on local preservation.

In the winter of 2007/08 I was requested to serve on a Danvers Designer Selection Advisory Committee reporting to the Town Manager our recommendation of an architectural firm from among 10 candidates who could sensitively and cost effectively work to restore the 1855 Town Hall exterior and install a new HVAC system. Later in the year I communicated to the Selectmen and Finance Committee my thoughts on the importance and continued use of Danvers Town Hall.

This year I began an outreach program in cooperation with The Danvers Herald. Editor Cathryn O’Hare had previously asked if I might be willing to write an occasional column about the Archives. Beginning in April I submitted a monthly article and photograph under the title “Touching the Past at the Danvers Archival Center” spotlighting an item recently acquired by us. The Herald gives us good space and I am able to describe in some detail an item we have acquired and its context in history. We will eventually post these illustrated descriptions on the Library website.

In early January I was contacted by Tower Productions from Chicago, Illinois concerning a program this production company was developing for the A&E Network titled “Biography on Witchcraft.” Letting them know of our local sites where they could film, I was also requested by director Ken Rowe for film time in the Archives and an on-camera interview. The film crew came to the Archives on January 20, 2008, and for an hour and a half filmed some of our collections and our rooms. After lunch they laboriously set up lighting and sound for an interview of me on all aspects of the 1692 witchcraft events, which taping took one-and-a-half hours. The program will show on A&E sometime this fall.

This past year the Archival Center generated $114 in mail reference fees and certified copies as part of my responsibilities as an Assistant Town Clerk. House markers were ordered by seven homeowners, 5 for newly researched homes and 2 for replacement signs. Since I created the program in 1975 through the Archives and the Danvers Historical Commission, over 400 house markers have been generated, being a point of ownership and neighborhood pride and historic information. In 1992 the Archives took on the responsibility for the entire program. On new requests I research and draw up a short history of each house for the homeowner and our house file, and provide through the work of our talented sign painter Robert Leonard, signs which include the original date of the house, original owner and occupation. The sign requests brought in an additional $315 for the “Archive Special Fund.”

A significant amount of income was also generated through other sources including a talk I gave in which a monetary gift was made, and the sale of several extra copy books. Most significantly we received payment for the use of some of our illustrations. E! Entertainment used an image of Danvers State Hospital in a televised program, while three publications also used an image each. We also licensed use of a group of images to JSA, Inc. for a display within one of the new buildings on Endicott Street, while the University of North Carolina used an anti-slavery image for a cover illustration of a forthcoming book. Over $1,300 was also generated through the exclusive use of our images in the new witchcraft book produced by Greenwood Publishers in K. David Goss’s new work, The Salem Witch Trials: A Reference Guide. We thank David for his insisting on using our collection.

We were also honored to receive a generous gift of $500 from the Danvers Antique Study Group. This organization met for years at the Samuel Holten House hearing speakers on all aspects of antiques and collectibles. I was pleased to speak before them several times over the years and upon their retirement as an organization they donated this nice gift to the archives through Mary Eisenhauer. We thank the group for its thinking of us and its generosity.

In total $4,256.95 was brought in this past year, giving a balance to our Archival Special Fund of $11,207.90. This fund was established years ago in order to have money available in case important but expensive items came to our attention and would overwhelm our regular budget.

This past year we purchased many archival supplies to keep up with our cataloguing and proper storage commitment. Various sizes of Hollinger acid-free manuscript and photograph boxes and a large number of inert Mylar envelopes to use with the storage of fragile documents and photographs were obtained, as were slide files and envelopes, acid-free photocopying paper, a para-view slide viewer and a new chair for me. The chair looks very impressive, has a high back and the look of leather. It cost $73 on sale at Staples and I’m treating it carefully so it will hopefully last and continue to look good.

The Archives continues to act as a resource for other town agencies needing background information. Among departments assisted this past year were the Town Manager, Town Clerk, Town Counsel, Preservation Commission, Senior Center, Building Inspector, Fire Department, Harbor Master, Planning Department, Historic District Commission, and Public Works Department.

Last fiscal year significant time over several weeks was spent readying the Salem Witchcraft transcription project for publication. Since 1999 I have spent time and the intellectual resources of the Archives in my unpaid participation as Town Archivist as an associate editor in support of the publication of this new chronological transcription of the 1692 Salem witchcraft papers. This over 1,000 page volume is to be published in late 2008 or early 2009 by Cambridge University Press. Our multi-year efforts have been under the direction of Professor Bernard Rosenthal of Binghamton University in New York, who is project director. Working on the project has been an international group of twelve historians and linguists from the U.S., England, Finland and Sweden serving as associate editors.

As the manuscript is now in the hands of the publisher, this year’s efforts have centered on a few periods of our receiving text and checking it for accuracy prior to publication, as well as attempting to make adjustments with further document discoveries. Several months ago I located from an obscure source a copy of a 1692 deposition in the case of Wilmot Redd never included in any past collections of documents. We had to find a way to incorporate this information in a fairly closed text. I also have made several revisions to my essay in the book titled “Legal Procedures Used During the Salem Witch Trials and a Brief History of the Published Versions of the Records.” A few more spurts of work and sometime in the foreseeable future we should have the long-anticipated work finally in print. Thanks to Doug Rendell and the Trustees for allowing me to work on this project which should be the premier witchcraft transcription for several generations. Our participation should keep the Danvers Archival Center known as the source for Salem witchcraft scholarship. The book’s co-sponsorship by the Danvers Archival Center should indeed be a point of institutional pride.

Cambridge University Press in a pre-publication description touts the significance of this work:

It is also my intention once the book is in print to put my chronology listing of the witchcraft documents, which I laboriously put together and which list is, I believe, more helpful and complete than the book listing, on-line as part of the Archive’s section of the Peabody Institute Library website. This chronology, with introductory explanation notes, runs about 100 pages of small type-face.

This past year has been very active for the Danvers Archival Center, with many new and some quite historical and valuable items being added to our Town’s history repository. As more and more of our historical built environment is lost by demolition or neglect in Danvers, and as preservation organizations have their own problems with viability in a changing society, the Archival Center’s function as the institutional memory of the history of the Town of Danvers, takes on a more critical note. Thanks are tendered to the many people and institutions which have most generously given items to our collections, or have assisted us with the continued care of this ever-expanding and rich heritage collection.