A Request for Education

On February 28th, 1837, the Selectmen of the Town of Greenwich gave permission for the teachers of the North Greenwich Congregational Church Sabbath School to educate a woman named Emaline Foster. The letter shown bellow, granting Ms. Foster permission to attend the church’s school, highlights a brief but important moment in the history of civil … Read more

Elmer and Emma Constant: A Love Story

Our beautiful and all powerful love, my darling, will carry us through everything, and crown us with success and happiness in the end. Elmer Livingston MacRae to Emma Constant Holley, February 14, 1898 Elmer Livingston MacRae and Emma Constant Holley first met in the summer of 1896 when Elmer, New York City native and budding … Read more

How to Read an Early American Real Property Deed

If you’ve ever come across a deed from the eighteenth or even nineteenth century, you’ve probably been confused by the language used more than once. Are we sure this is English, and how can I get any usable information from this document? This post will break down a deed from top to bottom, defining terms and giving … Read more

Flip it and Reverse it: The Other Side of Archival Materials

In the Library & Archives, we have the privilege to work with and care for the materials that make up our collective history. Archivists organize, inventory, describe, digitize, and maintain vast collections with hundreds of thousands of individual pieces that can include anything from photographs to deeds to VHS tapes to ledgers. All of this … Read more

#AskAnArchivist at Greenwich Historical Society

Archivists are responsible for the care and preservation of historic records – the documents, photographs, and ephemera that keep our community’s history alive for future generations. At the Greenwich Historical Society, we’re lucky to be the stewards of thousands of records documenting the history of our town. For Ask An Archivist Day, an annual celebration … Read more