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New Paltz, NY. Archival Information Now Available Online



Please pardon crosspostings.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Eric J. Roth, Archivist/Librarian

(845) 255-6738

New Paltz, NY. Archival Information Now Available Online

The Huguenot Historical Society is pleased to announce that descriptive information about thousands of documents in its archives is now accessible online through its website, www.hhs-newpaltz.org, effective January 2001. The database, representing four years of systematic work by archivist Eric J. Roth, represents a wealth of historical information including personal and family papers; local government, business and church records; genealogical and military records; photographs; rare and old books; maps and architectural drawings relating to life in and around New Paltz, NY from the time it was founded by the French Huguenots in 1677 up to the early twentieth century. The online data describes the provenance, scope, and content, as well as accessibility, of the Historical Society’s many archival collections.

The subject matter involves primarily farming, land speculation, development and local business activities, including stores and taverns, shipping, milling, blacksmithing and raising livestock. Other documentation relates to slavery, local and state politics, churches and religion, schooling and education, the Temperance movement, and other concerns. Roth believes that several collections documenting the economic, political and religious activities of New Paltz’s French Protestant founders in the 17th-18th centuries are of particular interest to researchers seeking to understand the complex fabric of life in this unique "French community, within a Dutch settlement, ruled by the English."

Roth expects the new database will serve a range of research needs by genealogists, historians, curators, archivists/librarians, teachers and students. In short, online accessibility to this data is expected to provide easy access by many more researchers than has been possible in the past. The site will be updated periodically, and information about more collections will be added over time

For further information, call Eric J. Roth at (845) 255-6738

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Huguenot Historical Society
Library and Archives
88 Huguenot Street
New Paltz, NY 12561
hhslib@ix.netcom.com
www.hhs-newpaltz.org
(845) 255-6738