LibraryAware H&G February 2020 Newsletter

SONOMA COUNTY HISTORY & GENEALOGY LIBRARY

NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2020

Volume 2 Issue 2

Federal Preservation Assistance Grant

Getting the H&G Library Emergency Ready, by Joanna Kolosov

In September 2019, Sonoma County Library’s Special Collections was awarded its first federal grant by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to support the preservation of its historic materials. Following specific recommendations made by preservation specialists, H&G Library staff used the $7600 in funds to address three pressing needs: proper shelving for oversized materials, environmental monitoring of collection storage areas, and disaster response and recovery supplies.

Thanks to Sonoma County Library Facilities team member Tom Popenuck, shelving was the first item to be installed to make better use of the H&G Library processing room, where archival collections are being prepared for public access.

Special Collections librarian Joanna Kolosov (right) and Library specialist Elizabeth Fugere assembling the disaster response supply “cans.” The cans are modeled after the Bay Area Mutual Aid Network and will be stored on-site at the four library’s archival collections. They include a range of first-response safety gear, materials to mop up leaks and bag up items for quick removal, and supplies to cover and protect materials from water or smoke damage.

If you, too, would like to take steps to ensure that you and your family are prepared for an emergency, check out the Sonoma Ready! program series being offered throughout 2020 at the various library branches.

Our next step was to initiate an environmental monitoring program by installing “data loggers” in our collections' storage areas to record the temperature and relative humidity. Collecting baseline data will help library staff make informed decisions about long-term storage for our most fragile and vulnerable materials.

Joanna being interviewed by KQED reporter Molly Peterson

We even had an opportunity to share our disaster response kits with KQED science reporter Molly Peterson, who unexpectedly dropped by the H&G Library as part of her interview with patron Jerry on the topic of wildfire impact and resilience among the community’s most vulnerable,

the elderly and disabled.

News from the National Archives

On January 17, 2020 the Washington Post reported that a photograph of the 2017 Women’s March, which was part of a National Archives exhibit “Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote,” was altered. These alterations included blurred words on signs that were critical of President Trump and referred to female anatomy.

As an archives professional and the co-chair of the Society of the California Archivists’ Ethics and Inclusion Committee, I was disappointed to learn that National Archives would tamper with the authenticity of historical records and documentary materials. This action is unethical, against our profession’s Code of Ethics and undermines public trust in our institutions. David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, has since issued a public apology. Zayda Delgado, H&G Special Collections Librarian

Sonoma County Heritage Network

Heritage Network attendees at the Marcy House Archives

Another successful Sonoma County Heritage Network meeting was held on January 18, 2020 with 30 individuals representing historical societies, museums, libraries, and other organizations filling the Sonoma Valley Regional Library's Committee Room. The Sonoma Valley Historical Society provided refreshments before the meeting and treated attendees to tours of the Sonoma Depot Museum and the Marcy House Archives and Research Center after the meeting.

The Heritage Network is a committee of the Sonoma County Historical Society that strives to keep organisations and individuals with an interest in Sonoma County connected with each other. Interested in learning more? Please contact Heritage Network Secretary David Lightfoot at dvlightfoot@hotmail.com.

Left: Heritage Network attendees at the Marcy House Archives

Meet our Patrons - John Sheehy

Hi John, please tell us who you are and why you came to the H&G Library!

I am semi-retired from a career as a magazine publisher and editor and a fourth generation Petaluma native. My great grandfather John Casey came from Ireland in 1863 and settled in the Lakeville area southeast of Petaluma. In my family, quite a bit of lore and legend worked its way into the stories, and while this can be very entertaining, I have always tried to get down to the facts and uncover the truth. Both components are important, though; matching the two up can help to understand history and how to move forward.

What do you wish people knew about the H&G Library?

This is the place to connect the dots of your own family history! I come from a family with a number of secrets that hung over family gatherings like dark clouds. Thanks to the H&G Library I have been able to fill in a lot of gaps. The Library also provides the historical context as to why these secrets were kept. I was always told that my paternal great grandfather Charles Sheehy was exiled from Ireland as a "horse thief." Closer investigation revealed that he had actually been a member of the Fenian Brotherhood, a militant organization seeking an end to British rule. Charles and his sons owned a painting business in Petaluma, and being a "revolutionary" wouldn't have helped with establishing customer trust.

What would you like to see added to the H&G Library’s collection?

Since I have a background in oral history— I directed the Oral History Project for Reed College in Oregon for 12 years — the development of an Oral History program! When people pass on, their stories disappear. You cannot rely on descendants preserving family papers and records; more often than not that material just ends up being thrown away. That’s why it’s important to interview earlier generations as long as it's still possible.

What might someone be surprised to know about you?

After graduating from Petaluma High School I bought my first plane ticket, and flew half way around the world to Europe, which I then toured for two years. I studied the history, literature and culture of every country I passed through, listened to the stories of the people who picked me up hitchhiking, and worked odd jobs: as a roofer in Scotland, housepainter in London, chauffeur in Belgium, unloading boats in Greece, and picking grapes in Burgundy, France.

What was your most interesting find at the H&G Library?

While researching Petaluma's early black history between 1850-1880, I came across George W. Miller, a prominent local barber on Main Street, who not only started one of the first “colored schools” in California but also raised a white child, Richard Page Jessup, who was born out of wedlock to a wealthy stage coach manager and his young mistress in Marysville, with his own children. When the boy’s biological father died, Miller’s wife Margaret, by then widowed, went to court to contest the man’s will for his illegitimate son. And she won, in a widely reported landmark case! Unfortunately, the best part of the small fortune, $3.3 million in today's currency, went to their young, flamboyant lawyer from San Francisco, Henry Kowalsky, and his private detective sidekick, Jeremiah Mahoney.

Read the full story at the H&G Library: "George W. Miller and Petaluma’s Early Black Community" (unpublished article, 2019). John P. Sheehy is the author of numerous articles and the following publications: With Scott Hess, photography, On a River Winding Home: Stories and Visions of the Petaluma River Watershed. Ensatina Press, 2018; Comrades of the Quest: an Oral History of Reed College. Oregon State University Press, 2012. He is working on a new book about Petaluma with the tentative title, The Making of Main Street. Interview and photo: Simone Kremkau.

Black History Month 2020

Petaluma Historical Library & Museum

Please click on images for more information and a larger size

A Conversation with Ericka Huggins: Social Justice Activism & Civic Engagement

February 25, 2020, 6:00 PM
Sonoma State University

Student Center, Ballroom A

Human Rights activist, poet, scholar, Black Panther leader and former political prisoner on her extraordinary life and everyone's capacity to return back to humanity and find inner balance.

More events at SSU

Sonoma County Library Branches

Please click on links for dates and locations!

The Spirit of Us

Slave songs sung by local women from various churches and The Underground Railroad African American POP UP Museum to present a variety of productions to educate, enrich and inspire.

African Village celebration with Onye Onyemaechi

Master drummer Onye Onyemaechi will use rhythm, music and instruments to journey with children and families exploring the beauty and soul of the drum in African village life.

Women's Vote Centennial at the Sonoma County Library

Sonoma County Library joins its partners, Sonoma County 2020 Women’s Suffrage Project and the League of Women Voters Sonoma County, in hosting a yearlong centennial celebration with programming and events throughout the county that explore the long and complex history of the suffrage movement.

Suffrage centennial events will take place at participating locations through 2020.

See a calendar of all the events - library events are free and open to all.

Dr. Khal Schneider's presentation on Native American voting rights

Who has the right to vote & how have voting rights impacted indigenous people? Watch a recording of Dr. Khal Schneider's presentation on Native American voting rights on Saturday, January 25, 2020 at the Central Santa Rosa Library here! Dr. Schneider is a Sacramento State University Assistant Professor of History (Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2006: Citizen lives : California Indian Country, 1855-1940). He teaches Native American History and writes about Indian policy and politics as well as California Indian communities and their land in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Presentation filmed by Leslie Graves, Sonoma County 2020 Women's Suffrage Project

Winning Political Power for Women - Carrie Chapman Catt and the League of Women Voters

Robert P. J. Cooney, Jr.

Saturday, February 15, 2020

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Rohnert Park-Cotati Regional Library

Please join Robert P. J. Cooney, Jr., author of Winning the Vote: The Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement, as he discusses the final years of the women's suffrage movement and the formation of the League of Women Voters. Led by Carrie Chapman Catt, suffragists across the country surged to victory in 1920 and turned their National American Woman Suffrage Association into the League of Women Voters. Enjoy a well-illustrated journey through the successful grassroots political campaigns of the suffrage movement and its evolution into the force we know today. Mr. Cooney has studied American women's drive for equal rights for more than 25 years and has become a recognized expert on this historic nonviolent movement. He is also on the National Women's History Alliance board of directors. This event is free and co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters Sonoma County. Copies of the book will be available for sale after the presentation ($49.95; 4 for $120.00).

More Sonoma County Library Events

Distinguished Speaker Series:

New York Times bestselling Author Lisa See

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Sonoma Valley Regional Library

Join us for an evening with New York Times-bestselling author Lisa See who will discuss her latest book, The Island of Sea Women, about free-diving women of South Korea's Jeju island, female friendship and family secrets. See is the author of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, Shanghai Girls, China Dolls and Dreams of Joy. A book signing will follow questions from the audience. Did you know that the city of Jeju is Santa Rosa's sister city?

Local Events