MEMOIRS OF SCHOOL STREET VILLAGE: WAY BACK WHEN AND SOME SOURCES

MEMOIRS OF SCHOOL STREET VILLAGE

Thanks so much for the great response to this blog!

A special thank you to those who have passed it on to others. We are heading quickly to amazing page visits to this blog! Welcome to folks from all over the country and other countries as well, including Lisbon!!

The "Village", as it was called, is located in the northwest corner of the city of Taunton, Massachusetts U.S.A. It covers about 1 square mile with the center being School Street. A large portion of the Village population was Portuguese when I was growing up.

This blog covers a lot of the history of the Village, much to do with my years as a child there: 1940 through the late 1950's. I do have many wonderful photos and information prior to that that and will share those as well. Always looking for MORE PHOTOS AND MORE STORIES TO TELL.

If you would like to send photos or share a memory of growing up in the Village

e-mail me at spinoart@comcast.net

feel free to comment on the posts. Directions are on the right side of the blog posts. Jump in, the water is fine and it is easy!!!

I will be posting photographs but not identifying individuals unless I have permission or they are a matter of public record. It you wish to give me permission, please let me know.

I am looking for any and all photos of the Village...

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Friday, September 28, 2012

WAY BACK WHEN AND SOME SOURCES

Vintage photograph of the corner of School Street
and Main in Taunton, MA

in 1880

How is this for a beauty? One example of the fine vintage photographs to be found at the Old

Colony Historical Society. Around this time period the first families of the School Street Village

were arriving, setting the stage for their children and grandchildren.

I take this opportunity to share some of the sources I used for my genealogical work and for this blog. Along with the personal memoirs and photographs in my own collection and that of friends and relatives these sources are invaluable for any time traveller.

.........................................

The Old Colony Historical Society located on Church Green in Taunton is a treasure trove.
The archives and very good assistance from the staff will keep you enthralled for hours.

Another source is the Taunton Public Library Research department. Even by telephone they supported my work and found source material in their archives.

Believe it or not The New Bedford Public Library has (hopefully, still has) a genealogical department and genealogist on staff. When we were there my husband and I found our names in a book of marriages and baptisms of families at parishes in Fall River. As his grandparents were from there, we were listed though we married in N. Dighton!

I also recommend you visit your own library wherever you are. Today they are often

linked to all of the major genealogical research sites such as Ancestry.com

Once you have a library card and code you can go right into these and enjoy your findings.

The Portuguese American Genealogical and Historical Society has its papers now at the Old Colony Historical Society; you can find their information on the internet and subscribe to their newsletter.

Written sources I recommend are:

Samuel Hopkins Emery: The History of Taunton, Massachusetts from its Settlement Until the

Present time, 1893 This out of print tome is fascinating. I could not trust my eyes when I found a beautiful old copy in the tiny Little Compton, Rhode Island library where I was living when I did much of my family genealogy. Here you will find information on the founding of Taunton. As I looked online for this book (994 pages long) I found an online digitalized version of the 1923 publication: they warned that many of the pages were faded and difficult to read.
The copy in Little Compton was perfect. Genealogical research is all about the hunt!

William F. Hanna: A History of Taunton If you do not yet have this book published by Taunton resident and historian Dr. Hanna, send for it from The Old Colony Historical Society. It is a long treatise but so worth reading.

Shirley Rebelle: Portuguese in the City of Taunton, Massachusetts from 1930 to 1983.
This is a thesis written in 1983 for Bridgewater State College and is on file there. There I found important information on the early history of the Portuguese population in Taunton.