{"id":5177,"date":"2019-03-06T12:45:41","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T17:45:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lizzieborden.org\/CuratorsCorner\/?p=5177"},"modified":"2019-03-07T07:24:53","modified_gmt":"2019-03-07T12:24:53","slug":"the-bbc-at-the-frhs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fallriverhistorical.org\/CuratorsCorner\/2019\/03\/06\/the-bbc-at-the-frhs\/","title":{"rendered":"The BBC at the FRHS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">Hard to believe that it is already March and that yours truly has not posted since December \u2026 time does fly, as they say.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">But there is reason for my seeming negligence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">The FRHS is currently closed for the season \u2013 a much-welcomed respite following the busy holiday season. The decorations, by the way, took seven weeks to install but were dismantled, packed, and stored away in only two days. Other than a few faceted grains of glitter imbedded in the carpet pile that remain despite vigorous vacuuming and occasionally glisten in the light \u2013 to taunt me, I believe \u2013 not a trace of the \u201cfestivities\u201d was to be seen by the 4<sup>th<\/sup> of January. I was delighted to be rid of them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">But do not think for a moment that we have been idle. Far from it, actually. The office has remained open \u2013 sans a bit of personal time off \u2013 and much has been going on behind the scenes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">We try to maximize the time afforded by our hiatus from visitors to indulge in relatively undisturbed worktime \u2013 impossible when the museum is open \u2013 and this winter, in addition to the customary day-to-day business, have been undertaking several projects, making considerable headway.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">What, you might ask?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">Preparing archival collections for cataloguing \u2013 specifically 18<sup>th<\/sup> to early 20<sup>th<\/sup> century <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">Fall River business, church, and club records; hundreds of volumes to process.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 12pt;\">Researching provenance on a few recent acquisitions \u2013 the thrill of the hunt, really. Amazing, what one can uncover.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 12pt;\">Converting the old accession numbers used by the FRHS for decades to a modern, standardized system \u2013 VERY involved, perhaps best described as <em>persnickety<\/em> and somewhat daunting.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 12pt;\">Completing the final edits on the next edition in the <em>Discourses on History Series<\/em> to be released by the Fall River Historical Society Press in the spring \u2013 two papers written by Thomas Richmond Burrell (1861-1953) detailing his reminiscences of Fall River\u2019s Main Street in the 1870s and 1880s. Fascinating material.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">In addition:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">There have been some very fine donations of ephemera and artwork to the museum collections; there is an important book on Fall River textile history soon to be published by the FRHS Press \u2013 a stellar work, that; and we are planning a major reinterpretation of one of the FRHS collections. Further details will be discussed in these pages, so stay tuned.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">Oh yes \u2026 we are working with the BBC, specifically, on an upcoming episode of the acclaimed British television series <strong><em>Who Do You Think You Are?<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">Thanks to the important archival collections maintained by the FRHS, and the superior sleuthing skills of a local independent researcher, a British production company tasked with producing a particular episode of <strong><em>Who Do You Think You Are? <\/em><\/strong>has reason to visit the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">Specifically, to visit Fall River.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">In a posting on October 16, 2018, I discussed the extensive assortment of Troy Mills records housed in the FRHS archive \u2013 the museum maintains the largest and most important collection of Fall River textile records extant, and is the principal repository for such material \u2013 and presented a letter received from an independent researcher who was undertaking a records search for the BBC.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">You may recall that they were \u201coverjoyed\u201d with the findings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">How significant is the FRHS collection?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">Here is an update, received just a few days ago:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; padding-left: 80px;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">March 6, 2019<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; padding-left: 80px;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Dear Michael Martins,<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; padding-left: 80px;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">As a follow up to my last letter to you thanking the Fall River Historical Society for being the sole archive of so many of Fall River\u2019s textile and mill records, I wanted to update you on my researching success.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; padding-left: 80px;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">I was hired as an independent researcher working on a project for the BBC for an upcoming episode of <strong>WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?<\/strong> They never say who the star is that they are requesting historical information about, but they are serious about the information being primary source material: the actual records of the period.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; padding-left: 80px;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Thank you for allowing me further access to the Troy Mill records, city directories, and city documents. I was able to locate even further details about this family and the BBC is again very happy with the results. The work records in the Troy Mill books painted a previously unknown narrative of this family\u2019s struggles.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; padding-left: 80px;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Fall River played an integral role in this family\u2019s story, albeit a very sad one. The BBC plan to film in the city in the coming weeks. Without the Society\u2019s records, this narrative could not be told. This invaluable collection will prove to be the <\/span><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">only<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"> way anyone could gain insight into this family\u2019s Fall River history.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; padding-left: 80px;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Thank you!<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">So, there you have it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">In the words of the researcher: \u201c<em>The work records in the Troy Mill books painted a previously unknown narrative of this family\u2019s struggles<\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">Poignant stuff, that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">Following several discussions with the FRHS, representatives of the production company will be doing a recce visit to the museum next week in preparation for filming, likely to occur later next month.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\"><strong><em>Who Do You Think You Are?<\/em><\/strong> is a widely popular British genealogy-based documentary series that is watched by in excess of 6 million viewers; the episode with Fall River content will be aired as a segment of their sixteenth season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">The premise of the show: A British celebrity of some sort \u2013 customarily, their identity is not revealed until making his or her appearance \u2013 is introduced to their familial history and presented with evidence, whenever possible on site, of the lives of their ancestors \u2013 fascinating.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">The American version of the television series, which many are likely more familiar with, has a slightly different format.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">So, if not for the Troy Mills records housed at the FRHS, there would be virtually no<em> tangible<\/em> evidence of this particular family\u2019s history in Fall River. More than sufficient reason, it appears, for the as-yet-unidentified-individual-of-note to make the trek to the former home of their ancestors \u2013 the once powerful Spindle City \u2013 to experience a tale of episodic struggle and abject poverty, with a few heart- wrenching twists along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">For them, the veil of time will be lifted, albeit briefly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">How significant is the FRHS collection?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">Clearly, very significant.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;\">In my estimation, this serves to reinforce exactly how important the work of the FRHS actually is.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hard to believe that it is already March and that yours truly has not posted since December \u2026 time does fly, as they say. But there is reason for my seeming negligence. The FRHS is currently closed for the season \u2013 a much-welcomed respite following the busy holiday season. The decorations, by the way, took &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5178,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fallriverhistorical.org\/CuratorsCorner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5177"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fallriverhistorical.org\/CuratorsCorner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fallriverhistorical.org\/CuratorsCorner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fallriverhistorical.org\/CuratorsCorner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fallriverhistorical.org\/CuratorsCorner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5177"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/fallriverhistorical.org\/CuratorsCorner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5188,"href":"https:\/\/fallriverhistorical.org\/CuratorsCorner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5177\/revisions\/5188"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fallriverhistorical.org\/CuratorsCorner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fallriverhistorical.org\/CuratorsCorner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fallriverhistorical.org\/CuratorsCorner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fallriverhistorical.org\/CuratorsCorner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}