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.