The Capital Region is overlooked.
I love living in Upstate New York. Part of that is due to the fact that I have access to so much history –
albeit a lot of the early documents are white-washed and tend to cater to men. While this may be true,
there is still a lot to uncover and unpack if you know where to search. For example, the founding of Emma Willard School in 1814 (located in Troy, NY) speaks wonders about females at the time. Access to the archives
of places like this – which is very easy, archivists love sharing their knowledge – allows for a greater
understanding of any period of time. For example, Emma Willard pitched the idea of the Troy Female Seminary
as a way to allow eventual mothers to be able to better educate their sons while pushing for education for women!
Even when documents cater to certain types of individuals, you can also find a narrative about those who are
casually mentioned in passing or entirely excluded.
By using the resources available, you can bring the past back to life. Images such as maps, drawings, and photographs, are able to contextualize what one is reading, while words that are no longer commonly used can be easily defined. Information such as this is able to enhance the text and provides a road map, allowing for easier mental navigation of materials. In addition to this, it can allow the reader to be more in touch with what the environment was like when the document was constructed. I would love to be able to use blueprints of the college during Pearson’s time and maps of Schenectady in orde to do this.
Benefits of the second-oldest college in New York.
Given that Union is an old institution (don’t worry, 226 looks great on the college), we have access to records from the time that George Washington was still president, from when the Civil War raged, the Great Depression, and so on. As Jonathan Pearson was located at or around Schenectady for the majority of his life, we can truly explore the world he found himself in. On another note, I wonder if he knew FDR’s father, James Roosevelt I, who graduated from Union in 1847!