To sum it all up

Now that this semester is officially over, I can say with confidence that participating in an internship is completely worth while. I encourage any student in Public History to dabble in as much as they can, even if it is not their " dream job". Throughout my time at the Florida Historical Society, I have learned that I don't necessarily want to be an Archivist per se; however I am lucky to have had the experience and it is only going to help me in the future. I had the opportunity to meet some really great people and learn a lot about different aspects of their daily jobs. I also learned where my areas of weakness were and ways in which I can work on them. Overall, the lessons I learned during this internship were vital and will last me throughout my career.

It's the end already?

This week wraps up my time here at FHS working as an Archivist Assistant. I have gathered all the Native American related documents, maps and pictures I could within the time constraints of this semester. One of the things I have realized is that there is always something that can be done when organizing and caring for items in an archive. With that being said, I feel a strong level of accomplishment in the short period of time I was here. Throughout this internship, I realized that the work of an archivist is multi faceted. I really didn't grasp a full understanding of how demanding working in Public History can be. One does not only keep documents of historic value safe and available for researchers; but also works with the public promoting history and sparking the interest of the community as well. Public History is definitely where my passion lies and although the job outlook is bleak, I still hope to work in this rewarding field.
The rest of my time at FHS I am working on preparing my finding guide and presentation. I hope to continue volunteering my time with FHS and in turn, aiding the community of researchers.

X Marks the Spot

This week I spent most of my time going through all of the maps and facsimiles of maps that could be used for a potential researcher. I was surprised by how many the FHS archives have acquired! Although my finding guide has to do with Native Americans in Florida, I have learned that many of the so called Seminoles were in fact generations of dislocated and conquered Indians throughout the Southeastern United States who eventually made there way to Florida. Many of the maps I have come across are of states such as North Carolina, Georgia, and Northern Florida. The oldest and most impressive map I have come across is from 1701. It is title, " Carte des Environs du Mississippi". Although it is not focused on Florida, I included it in my finding guide and added it to PastPerfect because it shows towns and Indian territories and their populations. Most of the maps I came across were from the Seminole Wars. One such map was of Florida in 1850, and included such markings as army routes, water route milage, and Indian forts and trails. This could be useful to researchers of Native American history by studying indirectly (through army tactics for example) the history of the Seminole Wars.

Safe keeping

As I continue working on the last leg of my internship, I am reminded how lucky I am to be able to has access to the many documents and artifacts in the FHS archives. As I was searching through a box, I noticed a copied version of a journal with a note attached that explained that the original was in the safe and in a delicate condition. This sparked my interest so I requested to view the original. I was able to go into the "safe", where fragile and very old items are held. I examined the journal and let me tell you, photocopied versions do not do old artifacts any justice! Although I completely understand the protection and preservation is first and foremost, being able to touch the real thing is exciting! The journal was from a man named John W. Phelps and it is a detailed account of his time during the Second Seminole War an his operations with the Creek Indians. It included hand drawings of camp scenes, himself and Seminole Indians. It is truly an intimate and treasured piece of history that not only researchers of Florida Native American history can benefit from, but all historians alike.

The Key to Collection Managent

This week in the archives I was faced with the dilemma of having too many documents and not enough time. For an intern I have learned that this is usually the case. The project at hand of preparing a finding guide requires great detail and sometimes this may be time consuming. However I have gathered a lot of really interesting and awesome pieces of history that will no doubt be of impeccable interest to researchers of Florida Native American history!

Also this week transitioned from gathering information to learning how to enter that information into the computer. One of my supervisors, Ben Dibiase, taught me the basics of using the PastPerfect database. For those of you interested in working for a historical society or museum, you will most likely come across this database. It makes collection management so much easier! It is a tool that allow Archivists to assist researchers with finding what they are looking for more efficiently. In the upcoming weeks I will be entering the documents I have gathered into the database and determining what key words researchers would use to find said documents. I really enjoyed learning how to use the database not only because i love to organize, but also because I know this skill will be essential after graduation and in my career.

Second-hand history

So far throughout my experience researching in the FHS archives, I have gathered a significant amount of material to compile into a Native American finding guide. I have come to find that Native Americans, the Seminole tribe in particular, have parts of their past that are shrouded in mystery due to lack of first hand history recorded by the tribe themselves. It is a common misconception that the Seminole tribe were the first Native Americans to inhabit Florida, however I have come to find that this is not the case. The Seminoles are a later tribe, compiled of many generations of earlier tribes taken over by conquest and slave trade. Such tribes include Timucuan, Ais, Creeks and Apachee. The Florida Historical Society has been around since the late 1800's and have acquired a rich collection of Native American related material. However, most o the documents I have come across ate second hand accounts from trading companies, lieutenants from the military, scholars, government documents and so on. The exceptions I have seen are deeds involving land and slave trade, and promissory notes written by chiefs and members of the tribes themselves. Below is a picture of a promissory note written by Nipeeholo, the Warrior King's son of the Cussitows to Panton Leslie and Company. Some pieces are missing or torn out.

It reads as follows:
"On or before the first day of June next ensuing- I hereby promise to pay or cause to be paid unto Mr. Panton Leslie and Co. their order, the sum of one hundred and thirty five Spanish milled dollars....or the value thereof in good raw deer, or bear skins at the marked price, if not in paper currency-- for value received of them".

Let the show begin...

One thing I love about participating in this internship is I not only get to help the staff and researchers of the Florida Historical Society, but I also learn new and fascinating aspects of history. This week I have been going through vertical files that have no finding guide, so I have no clue as to what I may encounter. I started this internship not knowing anything about Florida history (as a 20 year resident I am not proud of this). I came across a folder about slavery and learned that not only were African Americans victims of slavery but Native Americans were as well! I was honestly surprised to learn this fact. One newspaper article in particular caught my attention. It was from Jacksonville 1946 and mentions Indian warriors kept as military prisoners in St. Augustine at Fort Marion ( now named Castillo de San Marcos). The lieutenant in charge, Richard Henry Pratt, decided he wanted to show off his Indian prisoners and display their "wild and primitive" nature by making them participate in a bullfight. The more theatrical, the better. The star of the show was Tsen-T'ainte better known as White Horse. He closed the show by killing the bull and ripping out and eating its kidney. This story is so interesting to me because I always imagined slavery as being chained up and forced to cook or clean, but to put on a show of this nature is surprising. I chose to share this finding because it is a part of history that is not spoken of and many people might be as surprised as I was to learn this eccentric historical fact.
Below is a picture of the newspaper article I found

Legend or Myth?

This week I have been starting to look through the vertical files of the archive. This consists mostly, so far, of copies of primary documents rather than the actual physical primary document itself. In this one particular folder, I came across typescript letters to and from the State Director and the Local supervisor of the Federal Writing Project in Jacksonville Florida. The subject of the letters, dated 1938, was the legend of Chasco, Queen of the Calusas. I have always been interested in the Folklore of different cultures because what a group of people believe is one of the main driving force in there behavior. Calusa Indians were a tribe known as the "shell Indians" because they did not farm like most Indian tribes. Instead, they fished and utilized all types of shell fish. They died out in the late 1700s, however, their legend that the letters speak of have lived on as possible fact; until recently that is. The letters I found in the archives are addressing this so called "legend" and whether or not it is real. They go back and forth providing information the other has and while reading the letters, It was if I was in the conversation, figuring along with them the mystery behind this legend. One of the last letters stated, " I am sorry to have to disappoint you, but although this legend was handed down from father to son amount the early 'old-timers', this story is fiction so far as the characters are concerned". It is amazing how, by word of mouth and generations of stories handed down, history becomes legend and accepted as fact. It is a reminder of the power of a cultures folklore.

Searching for Pocahontas

I am starting my 6th week here at FHS! I don't know where the time has gone but times flies when getting lost in the Archives thats for sure! While searching through the documents, I came across this very interesting little book entitled, "Princess Uleah, A Florida Pocahontas" written by a man named Charles Kent. Upon first glance, I wasn't sure if this was fact or fiction. Other than its peculiar small size, the name Pocahontas stood out to me. I assumed that it must have some account relating to Native Americans. Well, not exactly. I began to read the book and realized that it was not a first hand account, but in fact it was a fictional story. Through some additional research and the help of my supervisors Ben and Kevin, we were able to cross reference this primary document with its source located in the Florida Historical Quarterly. It turns out that this story by Charles Kent is is based on work by F.P. Fleming entitled," The Story of Juan Ortiz and Ulelah". It is basically the story of John Smith and Pocahontas, only in Florida. I learned a very valuable lesson: don't take anything at face value! It may take a bit of digging to find where a document comes from, which is the most entertaining part for me. Sometimes working in an archive entails not only good organization skills but good investigative skills as well.

Encountering sensitive material

This week I came across an interesting letter written by a man named Randolph Rigley addressed to W.A. Carter. It was written in 1840 during the Second Seminole War. It is not the author or the recipient of this letter that caught my attention; rather it was the content expressed in the letter. Rigley proceeds to fill Carter in on the latest " Indian News" he has for him. He talks about his infantry and their encounters with the Indians. He proudly mentions that him and his men placed shells on the Indian trail and covered them with shirts and waited for the " bait". They watched as an "Indian" curiously picked up the shirt and was wounded in an explosion. This is when Rigley and his infantry moved in and either captured, killed, or exchanged fire with the "Indians".
While reading this, my first thought was that this letter would be a great primary source for someone researching war tactics during the Seminole Wars. Shortly after, I began thinking how graphic and intimate this account is and how some researchers may not be comfortable with this information. Public History faces this problem regularly when valuable historic information is available, yet one must be mindful not to offend the public with sensitive information. As of now, this letter is in the Archive, not on display for a public audience. However, that could change one day and it is the duty and a challenge for all those involved in Public History to present accurate accounts of the past all while being sensitive to the target audience. Working in this archive I feel that I am becoming better prepared to enter the world of Public History.

Making History "public", one transcription at a time

Primary documents may be challenging to read to the untrained eye. I have some training in Paleography, which is the study of earlier writing, so l am fortunate to be able to somewhat make it through early American handwriting unscathed. Although the feeling of being able to read a primary document is that of excitement and accomplishment; reading a transcription of the same document is ideal.
During my internship, I have come across many transcriptions of very old, and almost illegible documents. I have come to appreciate transcriptions for the simple fact that they allow for a quicker read. Researchers may not have a lot of time to get a project done. I have come to realize how extremely important it is for Public Historians to transcribe old documents; it allows the public to better utilize history. What good is it if it cannot be read and interpreted? So, if you are interested in History, I recommend learning the art of Paleography and transcribing a few documents on your own!

Below is a transcription I found this week. It is a transcript of MSS Captain Fitch's "Journal to the Creek's" dated 1726.

No Provenance, No Problem: Getting Started in the Archive

The work of an archivist is never ending; documents of all sorts are acquired on a regular basis and mounds of information accumulate rather quickly. The information comes in the form of primary documents, manuscripts, newspapers, photographs, maps, etc. Sometimes the information is neatly categorized, nicely labeled and stored in its appropriate spot, ready and waiting for the next researcher. On the other hand, quite often this information is in disarray, scattered or labeled as “miscellaneous” and often overlooked by the researcher. When someone comes in the archives to look for a specific topic, it can be problematic not only because valuable information may go missed, but researchers or students may be crunched for time, as this can become rather time consuming.

This is where I come in. My goal as the Archival Assistant Intern for the Florida Historical Society is to create a finding aid for all things related to Florida Native Americans in the archives. The past three weeks I have been browsing the archives, making note of what is already organized. Today, I rummaged blindly through the archives on my own. This is where the fun begins! I came across a Petition from John Forbes & Co. to the President of the United States to abolish the Chickasaw Nations debt. It caught my eye as a beautifully preserved primary document with elegant cursive handwriting of its time. As I began to read it, I noticed that it did not have a date, and did not specify which President was addressed. This is a perfect example of one of the many obstacles that an Archivist may face. Sometimes items are acquired with no provenance, or source of origin. One must then indirectly date this document with other information that might be gathered to make the best educated guess possible. It’s a dirty job but someone’s has to do it! I am excited about this project and am looking forward to both the new discoveries to be made, and the challenges I may face.