Vol. 4, Issue 2
From the President's Desk
Webster's definition of serendipity is the gift of accidentally finding valuable or agreeable things. I know, for a fact, that since the Internet has become more widely used, serendipity is making more frequent appearances. But it is unimportant what mode of transportation she uses because when "Serendipity" does appear, someone is abundantly showered with good fortune.
Although the nature of historical and museum organizations deals with the far distant past, it does not mean that we should not take advantage of and use, to the best of our ability, 21st Century technology for day-to-day operation, communication, and promotion.
The technology of computers and having someone knowledgeable to use them (and for Allison-Antrim this person is my husband, Ken) has been vital to our success.
The computer was used from the very beginning to establish membership lists, mailing labels, and to maintain capital campaign records. It is now used to help maintain acquisition records, the background information on items in our collection for our docents, office records, and to store the text of our newsletter, "Allison-Antrim Annals", to name just a few things.
But, the two biggest opportunities it has given AAMI are the invaluable reciprocal, research resources and the capability of establishing a Web site for Allison-Antrim Museum. We are reaching out to the whole world via our Web site. This medium brings into perspective just how small the world in which we really live is.
In January 1998 when we had just barely begun, Ken started constructing a Web site. To make it easier for people (Web surfers) to find Web sites on the Internet, it is necessary that Web sites be submitted to businesses that are called search engines. Search engines collect, assimilate, and categorize information from many thousands of Web sites around the world in such a way that it allows people anywhere to search for and access information on almost any topic. Yahoo was one of the first search engines and is one of the more well known. It was also the first search engine to which Ken submitted our site.
Ken puts all of AAMI's newsletters on our Web site. This gives Yahoo and many other search engine companies access to everything in the newsletters as well as all the other information posted on our Web site.
Enter "Serendipity".
In the September 2000 "Annals" newsletter, my letter from the president focused on James Logan and touched only briefly on the document itself. But in that portion, I stated, " The document is on animal skin parchment and traces the history, dating back to June 1, 1707, of two contiguous lots of land in the City of Philadelphia. Both lots were eventually sold to Gabriel Wilkinson, trader, living in Philadelphia." Those few lines were "clipped" from the newsletter by Yahoo and put into their search engine database. And I might add that, that one sentence was the only place, till now, in all of the text that is on our Web site that has Gabriel Wilkinson's name printed. Through this continuing series of events, we received, on Sunday, January 28, an email from a descendant of Gabriel Wilkinson!
He wanted to know where the lot of land was located that Wilkinson bought. Those answers are in the deed. When AAMI was given this valuable archive by Tom Brumbaugh, never did I dream that we would ever determine where this plot of land was located almost, to date, 286 years later! We were focused only on the signature of James Logan. Through this email and further research by Ken and me, we have discovered that this piece of land is located in the heart of the historic Quaker district in Old Philadelphia City. Extensive archaeological digs are being done in this historic area; and during the end of January, artifacts were found - the news of which made the Philadelphia headlines. Wilkinson's land was bordered on the east by Sixth Street, on the south by Mulberry Street now called Arch Street, and on the north by lots that bordered Sassafras Street which is now called Race Street. This land is located in the northeast part of the Independence National Historical Park area of today's Philadelphia.
I am anxiously waiting for return email from Wilkinson's descendant with information on exactly who Gabriel Wilkinson was.
Both Wilkinson's descendant and Allison-Antrim Museum have greatly benefited from "Serendipity's" appearance this time!
Board Resignation
It was with many regrets that the board of directors accepted the resignation of Glen Cump as Historian of Allison-Antrim Museum.
Glen and Marg sold their home on East Side Drive last year and moved to Providence Place, a retirement home just outside of Chambersburg. Glen continues to stay very busy with daily appointments and taking care of Marg which are just a couple of the reasons for his resignation. He also has committed himself to write contributing articles for a book on the Browns Mill-Clay Hill area.
There are not enough words to describe how valuable his donations to AAMI have been of archives and artifacts, his time to research and answer questions, and his time in helping getting the museum ready for opening in 1998. He has, from the beginning, been a loyal supporter of our organization
Although he has resigned his position, he is still only a phone call away if needed to answer questions that we invariably will have about our history. With much gratitude, thank you, Glen.
The Brumbaugh Collection of Pennsylvania Governors' Signatures Exhibit
The January exhibit of the Governors' Signatures was a resounding success. There were close to 65 visitors on opening day from the surrounding area, including Maryland,
By the close of the exhibit more than 100 people had viewed the collection and many more did so via the Web site. If you missed the exhibit, you can still visit and study it by taking a virtual tour through the Pennsylvania Governors' Signatures Exhibit Web page on our Web site. It includes each man's signature and picture and an historical sketch of each of the Governors that covers their service to Pennsylvania. Additionally, as time permits, information on each document will be added to the text along with a picture of that particular document. This "tour" also includes information on Benjamin Franklin and Governor Geary that were loaned to AAMI for the exhibit. A notebook of the Historical Sketches with all the information is available in the museum's library for visitors to read.
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Ann Schnabel, a G-A Elementary fourth grade teacher, and some of her students attained, through writing letters, the "missing" signatures of Governor Ridge and former Governor Casey. Pictured above, from left to right, are Mindy Stenger, Megan Roadcap, Matt Barnhart, Zach Barnhart, Tyler Hagberg and Issac Seidel. In the back row, from left to right, are Representative Patrick Fleagle, Ann Schnabel, and Alice Brumbaugh with Bonnie Shockey.
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Distinguished visitors at the opening of the Signatures Exhibit on January 14 were, from left to right, Kay Hoffman - president of the Waynesboro Historical Society, Alice Brumbaugh representing her brother, Tom Brumbaugh, Joan McCulloh - president of the Mercersburg Historical Society, Representative Patrick Fleagle, and Terry Musselman - President of the Conocochegue Institute, along with Bonnie Shockey, president of AAMI.
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Have You Seen...
the little girl's check weave dress?
The answer to January's "Have You Seen..." is the Governor David Porter document that's on exhibit in the display case in the dining room. Porter was governor from 1839 - 1845 and was born in Montgomery Co., Pa. This paper is an extradition order signed by Porter and sent to the governor of New York for the return of Daniel E. Washburne. Washburne passed false, forged, and counterfeit bank notes and fled to New York. This document, with a wax seal and ribbon, is dated February 15, 1840 during his term of office. From the late 1830's to the 1860's Charles Dickens wrote his beloved stories of interesting characters that lived in England. "Oliver Twist" was written in 1837 and "Christmas Carol" in 1844 while "David Copperfield" was released in installments between 1849 and 1850. Would Bob Cratchit have used a similar dip pen to record Mr. Scrooge's business transactions in the ledger as was used to hand write portions of the Porter document?
Web Site Inquiries
* From Arizona, an email from a Web surfer who found our Web site and particularly enjoyed the "Make Do's" special exhibit from November 2000's open house. She said, "It took me back to my childhood to remember what my mother used to do for making do with things. THANK YOU FOR THE REMEMBRANCE."
* From Hollywood, Florida, senior citizens' art appreciation group that visits museums via the Worldwide Web that was searching for art exhibition catalogues to expand their knowledge of art.
* A request, from the United States Embassy in Santiago, Chile via retired Ambassador Peter Bridges, trying to locate descendants of Henry Prather Fletcher, former Ambassador to Chile in 1910.
* A genealogy inquiry about the Ditch family of Antrim Township in the 1860's.
* Details of the Gabriel Wilkinson deed signed by James Logan in 1715/16 were requested by one of Wilkinson's descendants 286 years later.
If at any time, any of you might have information or a lead on any of the genealogy inquiries mentioned in the newsletter, please let us know.
What's Been Happening
* Bonnie has submitted Allison-Antrim Museum's brochure in the American Association of Museums' (AAM) Marketing Materials Competition. It is a nationwide competition that includes members of AAM. We'll keep you posted on the outcome.
* Last May or June we were invited by Museums of the World via the Internet to fill out an information Web page form on our Web site and submit it to www.museum.com that is an international web database of museums originating in Duesseldorf, Germany. Through submission of our data, Allison-Antrim Museum was randomly chosen to be "Museum of the Day" on January 2, 2001 on their Web site. This means that on January 2 anyone who clicked into www.msueum.com immediately saw a picture of Allison-Antrim Museum with a direct link to our Web site. It was very exciting and that one day brought a lot of worldwide notoriety for our little museum.
Museum.com and "Museum of the Day" are two more avenues that provide additional exposure for Allison-Antrim Museum on a worldwide scope. AAMI received numerous emails and "regular notes" of congratulations on being chosen "Museum of the Day."
* Bonnie represented AAMI at the reception for the completion and presentation of the "Tuscarora Reader" to the Mercersburg Elementary School. The textbook was written by many members of the community as a local history book for their fourth graders.
* On January 31 the fourth grade class of Nancy Rice toured the museum to see the Governors' Signatures Collection.
* On the first Thursday open house on January 18, there were eight visitors to the museum. At 2:40 p.m. there was a knock on the door and two G-A Middle School student boys asked if they could tour the museum. Needless to say, it was well worth being open that first Thursday afternoon.
* Bonnie spoke on Allison-Antrim Museum and was warmly received at the February 6 quarterly dinner meeting of the Waynesboro Historical Society.
* AAMI, during the year 2000, increased its annual number of visitors significantly by 250 people for an average of 750 visitors.
Recent Acquisitions
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A Southern Star Rye Whiskey bottle from the National Hotel, Greencastle. It is a
clear glass, square shaped bottle and is elaborately decorated on the outside in
a filigree pattern in lead. It has the initials, J. H. Mitten and Greencastle,
PA engraved in the lead. Greencastle is misspelled - Greencastel. Jim Craig
believes it was probably a bottle that never left the bar area except to be
filled from the barrels of whiskey that were ordered for the tavern. It was more
than likely used as a "decanter" from which to pour shots. A gift from
David Reichard.
* A traveling trunk that formerly belonged to Ethel Sowell, wife of Dr. George Sowell. A gift from Brenda Denisar, sister of Nancy Pensinger. It is displayed on the baggage cart in the large parlor along with a suitcase that belonged to Henry P. Fletcher.
* The signatures of Governor Tom Ridge and the late Governor Robert J. Casey. Successfully acquired were these two "missing" 20th century governors' signatures by some of Ann Schnabel's Greencastle Elementary fourth grade students. Through a letter-writing project they made a significant addition to Allison-Antrim Museum's Brumbaugh Collection of Pennsylvania Governors' Signatures. With these two additions the total number of signatures in the collection rises to 42 equivalent to 42.9% of the 98 men who have so far served as governor of Pennsylvania since the 1600's.