Tallmadge Bible

Now that that archive room has some semblence of workablilty, I have been spending an hour or two whenever possible, checking out to see what the room contains.  Some things are obvious, but others are not.

I encountered a lot of 'books' that were wrapped in archival paper, with only a number written on the outside.  No clue as to whether what was enclosed was a scrapbook, an old photo album, a bible, or just an old book to preserve.  Just numbers on the spine.
Of course, I had to open one of them, to find out just what this collection consisted of.

I picked one of the larger books, and carefully opened the paper.  Lo and Behold, this was a large and beautiful Bible.  With all the reverence I could muster, I scanned the Bible to see if there were any pages for Family Records to be entered, and much to my surprise, I found the family record pages, and discovered that the Bible belonged to none other than Nathaniel Tallmadge himself.

Now, I have a special interest in the Tallmadge family.  In researching early Fond du Lac history, you can't help but discover that Nathaniel Tallmadge was one of the most important politicians of his time.  He was a very influencial Senator from the State of New York, and resigned his senate seat when his family all moved to Wisconsin.  He was appointed Governor of the Wisconsin Territory, and ran most of the state business from his home in the Town of Empire.

Nathaniel was the 8th of 9 children born to his parents, and almost all of his siblings came to Wisconsin with him.  There is one minor flaw, when doing Tallmadge research.  His tombstone lists his middle name as Potter, while most documents and articles online about his political life, give his middle name as Pitcher.  Both sources indicate that his middle name was the maiden name of his mother.

The only way to prove whether his middle name was Potter or Pitcher, was to find the Tallmadge Bible, and today I just stumbled upon it by accident.

So now I know, that Nathaniel Tallmadge's middle name was POTTER! (and also this is his mother's maiden name.)

tracy

The archives

It's been a bit since I have made any progress in familiarizing myself with all that this library contains.  I am now back on track, digging through material.
Just recently I received a key to the Adams House, so I can check out the "archives" .  The second floor of the Adams House contains material not currently on display in the Village, and one room is designated for library material.
My first attempt to look at the contents, made me think of a popular tv show, because I could only step a few feet into the room!
Yesterday I started clearing a path, opening boxes and cataloging the contents. I have yet to find any list of the library holdings, so I am making my own list as I go.
There is a full set of DAR Patriot Books, which probably belonged to Ruth Worthing.
I found a box of materials from the schools, and one item was a scrapbook from Cleveland School, which listed the names of their teachers from 1920 to 1959.
there was also a collection of record books from Lodge 357, of the brotherhood of railroad trainmen!
and this is just the start.
I plan on continuing my digging, and hopefully will have a full list of all of the library's holdings.
Stay tuned, as I make more discoveries.