Yearly Report

I just filed my fourth yearly report as Scipio Historian. I thought I would post this year's report on the blog so you know what it is a small-town Historian does. Here goes:

YEARLY REPORT of Town Historian, Scipio for 2007

This year was my fourth as Town Historian. The duties I performed included but were not limited to the following items:

I attended Cayuga County Historian’s meetings when they were offered and the yearly banquet and otherwise shared information with other local historians.
I responded to inquiries and requests for information of a historic or genealogic nature directed to me for the following names: Wyant, Freelove, Chilson, Lytle, Rhodes, Durkee, Gore, Mallory, Howe, Burt, Conkling, Fitzgerald, Reddy, McLoughlin and Hudson.
I continued an inventory of documents held by Scipio.
I accepted and inventoried donations to our historical holdings.
I maintained and updated our scrapbooks.
I submitted a brief article for each biannual town newsletter to inform our residents and increase local interest.
I obtained and organized copies of historical writings about our town and made them available in our History Corner for our residents and visitors.
I updated a brochure for display and/or mailing to interested parties about our available historical information.
I kept a supply of business cards at the Town Hall so residents could have a means to contact me by mail, phone or Internet.
I wrote an article that was published in our newspaper, The Citizen, about Scipio: Wyant Family. This generated several telephone contacts from Wyant family members and led to increased family tree information.
I visited the NYS Library and Archives in Albany and copied some information about Scipio residents for our History Corner.
I attended a NYS Historian’s Conference in Hunter, NY and brought back new information on how to set up exhibits, how to research the history of a house or property, and other ideas.
I completed work with the Town Clerk and our residents to find pictures and other information about our one-room schoolhouses and established a display.
I continued to attend functions and publicize information relative to the potential naming of the Town of Sherwood as a Historical District.
I created a BLOG for Scipio at http://scipiocenterny.blogspot.com to encourage younger residents to participate in their Town’s history in a medium they understand, and for others to communicate electronically with questions, etc.
I created a handout to gauge local interest in a project to photograph and document our barns.
I was provided with a file cabinet drawer at the Town Hall.


Sandie Stoker Gilliland
Town of Scipio Historian
January 6, 2008