WHAT DOES THE COUNTY HISTORIAN DO? by Dorothy B. Alsdorf
Since I became Dutchess County's Historian, numerous people have asked me, "What does a County Historian do?" The answer is, "The County Historian does a myriad of tasks". The first official act on the part of your present historian was to notify the New York State Department of Transportation of a broken mile stone on Route 9 near the entrance to Norrie State Park. In passing the area several days later, I observed that the damage had been most effectively repaired. This was most encouraging to your historian, for, although it is the duty of the person in cha,rge of any road, town, county or state, to make such repairs, it is not always done. Our thanks go out to Mr. Hart. It is essential that the County Historian be alert to the needs of the Appointed Historians within her jurisdiction. It was discovered that one of the greatest needs of this group was to be instructed in a better working knowledge of the use of the records in the County Clerk's Record Room. Arrangements were made with Mr. Hautman and his secretary, Miss Helen Harden, most graciously gave an afternoon of instruction in location of documents, maps and other records kept in the Record Room. This has proven most helpful to all of us making the searches for information so often requested of us. The formation of the Dutchess County Historians' Association has been of the greatest help in improving the communications among historians. Incidentally, the DCHA welcomes associate members from among the people of the County who are interested in history but are not Appointed Historians. A quarterly newsletter put out by DCHA Publicity Chairman Bea Fredriksen of Hyde Park, and also group meetings help the members of the organization a great deal. Assistance from the Department of History by Dr. Lewis Tucker and Mr. Edmund J. Winslow is always available to those who seek it. At the annual meeting in May, held at Wappingers Falls, Mr. Winslow was a guest of the group. He spoke on several subjects, among which was the problem of old cemeteries. Questions were addressed to Mr. Winslow regarding more or less routine subjects which sometimes have a tendency to pose problems. These he answered most graciously. This assistance from the State Department of History is deeply appreciated. Much of the historians' time is spent in research. With the Bicentennial of the American Revolution foremost, this historian has been spending a large portion of her research time studying the activities of such persons as the counter-spy Alexander Bryan, Abraham, Paul and Peter Schenck, Zephaniah Platt and many others having a Dutchess County background. A favorite activity in which your historian indulges is the sorting and indexing of ancient documents belonging to Dutchess County. Although this work is fascinating, it is most tedious and demands much patience. The handwriting of the people of the eighteenth century is anything but legible. 30
