Last Updated on Monday, 05 March 2012 15:44

The Westchester County Archives celebrates the New Year by reviewing some of its many accomplishments from 2011. 

Volunteers in Archives
Once again, our Volunteers in Archives were invaluable to the programs of the Westchester County Archives. During 2011, the 29 members of VIA contributed over 3,700 hours to assisting the patrons in the Archives’ Reading Room, adding to and improving the collection indexes available on the Archives’ website, and preparing new collections for use by the public. Almost 600 members of the public visited the Archives’ Reading Room during 2011, where they were aided by staff and specially trained VIA members.

In December, County Executive Robert P. Astorino attended the annual VIA awards luncheon to honor all VIA members, with special awards going to three individuals. Bill Thompson and Muriel Weiss were recognized for their 20 years of service to VIA. Weiss also received a special award for her contribution of over 6,000 hours during those years. John Perney was also recognized for the over 3,000 hours he has contributed during his 6 years with VIA. The Archives is very appreciative of the contributions of all of its volunteers.

Recent Acquisitions / Newly Processed Collections
The staff of the Archives, with the assistance of VIA members and archival student interns, made increasing the number of collections available to the public a priority for 2011 and will continue to focus on that goal in 2012. These newly available collections include:

Board of Legislator Records: As the chief legislative body in Westchester County, the records of the Board of Legislators, and its predecessor, the Board of Supervisors, document many of the key issues that have confronted the county over the years. The Board Meeting Packets collection for the Board of Supervisors provides a 40+ year meeting-by-meeting look at the issues being addressed for and the background materials that legislators were provided with as they considered the pressing topics of the day. More in-depth details on certain issues is found in the Subject Files for the Board of Supervisors, again showing some of the key topics dealt with in the middle of the 20th century. Look for additional Board of Legislator records – including Board Meeting Packets from the 1970s and 1980s – to be added to our collections in 2012.

County Historian Records: Gathered by the individual who held this position in the late 1980s/early 1990s, these paper and video records provide insight not only into Westchester County’s history but into what the role of a County Historian – or any municipal historian – can entail. In terms of documenting the history of Westchester County government, the oral history interviews in this collection is invaluable.

Court Records: A guide to using court records has been created to aid researchers in searching through the different types of court records and explaining what information may be available in the records. Also, newly accessioned indexes to Supreme Court and Special Proceedings now make accessible over 700 cubic feet of court records from the middle of the 19th century to the early 20th century.

Department of Correction Acquisitions: The Department of Correction worked closely with the Archives staff this past year to ensure the preservation of some of the historical records of that department. This includes the start of a Historical Records Collection, as well as the transfer of a Scrapbook containing newspaper clippings from the late 1980s. Perhaps most significantly, Jail Blotter Books spanning from 1903-1973, contain a wealth of demographic information on prisoners sent to the Westchester County jail during the first seven decades of the twentieth century.

Surrogate Records: An additional seven years of Surrogate estate files were accessioned into the Archives during 2011 bringing our holdings up to 1921. The records are available to researchers now, with staff and VIA members working hard to get these records processed and indexed in our online database to make using them even easier.