Historical Society highlights stories of items in its collection for October Archives month
To celebrate Archives Month in October, the Manitowoc County Historical Society is delving into its archives to show the kinds of interesting and unique items, stories, and files we have in our archives collection.
The Manitowoc County Historical Society, formed in 1906, is one of the oldest historical societies in Wisconsin. It is also one of the earliest societies to become an affiliate of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. The Manitowoc County Historical Society collects, interprets, preserves, and promotes the history and heritage of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.
MCHS Engagement Manager, Devinne, shares unique stories of some of her favorite items in the museum’s collection:
A “scrapbook” that we have in our collection is a crocheted yarn pattern book from between 1895-1898. This book came into our collection in the 1990s. Earlier this year, we rediscovered the book and went on a mission to learn more about it. There is light lettering on the cover of the book that took some time to decipher. What we could easily read was "Francis Creek Manitowoc County Wis. 1897". There was a line above that I assumed could be a name but it was difficult to make out. Through modern technology (creating a digital scan of the cover and playing with brightness and exposure levels) we were able to make out what we believe says “Mrs. Josie Maresh”. After this we looked to our archives and different sources to see what we could find. We learned Mrs. Josie Maresh, who we believe to be the maker of the scrapbook, was born Josephine Peterson in 1869 and married Fred Maresh of Francis Creek. The crochet book has the years 1895-1897 written in pencil in the margins of some of the pages. Theoretically, she could have started this book while still living with her in-laws in the early years of her marriage. We were delighted to find her wedding pictures in our archives. She and Fred were married in her sister’s home on October 9, 1890. They welcomed a son, Lester, two years later.
Museums often rotate items that are on display for condition and preservation. Until earlier this year, there was an example of a Civil War officers uniform on display in our Flag of Company A exhibit. The items displayed were an overcoat and capelet. While preparing for a different program, our team decided to remove the uniform for use of the mannequin. As we examined the clothing, we began to realize that the clothing on the mannequin belonged with a vest and jacket that we had in our clothing collection. These four pieces, after making references to their catalog numbers within our database, were donated together in the 1940s. The vest, jacket, overcoat and capelet were worn by Captain George Waldo, Manitowoc County’s first Civil War casualty. These pieces were Captain Waldo’s first uniform, as Civil War uniforms at the time Waldo enlisted were not provided by the government. You can hear more about Waldo’s story and his uniform at our upcoming Hungry For History: Behind the Seams-Military Edition, on November 18 at 11 am. Advanced registration is required for this program. You can sign up for this program on our website: https://www.manitowoccountyhistory.org/programs/seams-military
Want to learn more? If you are interested in learning about our past, our local history archives from throughout Manitowoc County, Wisconsin may be able to help you in your search. All together, the collection includes 10,000 3-D artifacts, 16,000 document records, and 25,000 photographs that document Manitowoc County history. In addition to compiled local history books and artifacts, our archives includes many materials that may help in your family history search. These materials include: Manitowoc County plat books for family owned land, Manitowoc County immigration dates and declarations from 1848 to 1929, Manitowoc County cemetery lists, Manitowoc County Civil War veterans biographies, compiled village and town histories, various church records, city and county directories beginning in 1864, various one-room school materials, attendance records, and yearbooks, a collection of early Manitowoc newspapers is also available for limited examination and referencing. We have thousands of images and documents for our County's cities, towns, and rural villages, local business records and documentation, donated scrapbooks. Finally we have oral histories have also been collected and are available in various formats on a wide-range of subjects.
Those that are interested in having research done should go on our website https://www.manitowoccountyhistory.org/research and fill out a request form. A research request must be made prior to making an appointment. After our volunteer archivists receive your request and browse our files for related materials, our team will be in contact to set up an in-person research viewing appointment or send you digital copies of materials found.
If you have an item you would like to donate to our archives, you can fill out our online form on our website https://www.manitowoccountyhistory.org/donatetoarchives. As we plan for the future, prudent development of our artifact collection is especially important. Decisions are based on your object’s history and significance to the history of the Manitowoc County region, and its relationship to artifacts already in our collection. The Manitowoc County Historical Society accepts donations of original materials documenting the history of our community. Items cannot be dropped off at the museum without prior approval by museum and archives staff.
We are also always looking for volunteers in our archives! Are you interested in history and data collection? Do you enjoy doing research and answering peoples questions? We would love to chat with you! You can find our volunteer form online at https://www.manitowoccountyhistory.org/volunteers or you can email GuestServices@manitowowccountyhistory.org.