Marshall Historical Society

News

Fall Historians Meeting of APHNYS

What is APHNYS? It is the Association of Public Historians of New York State. The state is divided into 10 Regions.

How is the Marshall Historical Society connected to APHNYS? The Town of Marshall has an official Historian, Dorothy McConnell, and a historical society: Marshall Historical Society. Marshall Historical Society & historian, Dorothy McConnell are part of the Oneida County Historical Society. Oneida County Historical Society and several neighboring counties are Region 7 of APHNYS.

On a lovely fall Saturday, Yvonne Brady, Dorothy McConnell and Carol Gilley drove to Sharon Springs to attend the Fall APHNYS meeting of Region 7.

What happened there? We were warmly welcomed by Nancy Pfau, historian of Sharon. We were also welcomed by Gerry Smith, current APHNYS president. He is historian of Broome County and Binghamton. He is hoping to involve more of the 1600 municipalities with historians in APHNYS. He encouraged us to participate in the state wide Annual Meeting scheduled to take place in Syracuse April 16-19, 2013. And to plan to attend the next Region 7 meeting in Cooperstown next September. Sharon Manko, Town of Sharon Supervisor, talked about the 200 year history of Sharon Springs and showed us three books that she has written. The first tells of settlers coming from Sharon, Ct.; and the development of two parts of Sharon Springs – the farming community and the area with the spa and resort hotels. The second book focuses on the springs: “taking the waters” was fashionable and prescribed as treatment for a variety of ailments. The third book is about the 14 hamlets around Sharon Springs Dave Cornelius, of native American descent, described the life of the people who had lived in that area long before the coming of the white man. He showed us some ancient stone spearheads and pots. He reminded us that the Iroquois Confederacy was a constitutional democracy with elected chiefs. He also talked about the impact on their life by the settlers: the beaver trade, competition for land and hunting grounds, alcohol, treaties made. Dave explained about the clothes he was wearing: deerskin breeches, muslin shirt, feathered headdress, woven belt, and ornaments. Emily Lang, a graduate student in the SUNY Oneonta Cooperstown Graduate Program told us about her research into the Jewish influence on the history of Sharon Springs. In the 1800s wealthy merchants came to Sharon Springs from New York City for vacation, staying in luxurious hotels. Later, poor immigrants from E. Europe came with their families, staying in boarding houses. After WWII Holocaust survivors were brought for the healing treatment of the warm springs. It was particularly interesting to be in touch with some historical research in process.

Dick Williams, historian of Kirkland, Clinton and Oneida Co., and one of the organizers of the day, presented us with several pages of Tips and Activities for Town/Village and County Historians. We intend to study these as a means of enriching the life of the Marshall Historical Society.

Following the meeting, we drove through the historic district of Sharon Springs, stopping to visit the small museum that is the attractive home of their historical society and to visit the one room schoolhouse beside it.