Historic scrapbook to be kept in archives

The physical copy of a 19th century scrapbook containing rare letters and records will be digitalized by the Wisconsin Historical Society and kept in the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Archives and Area Research Center. The scrapbook had been owned by Henry and Elizabeth Baird who came to Green Bay is 1824. Henry Baird was the first lawyer in the state and eventually went on to become mayor of Green Bay. The scrapbook contains valuable information about the Oneida Nation.

Document of claims submitted to Henry Baird in 1838. Reimbursements were sought for services and expenditures associated with the Oneida. Image via UW-Green Bay Archives and Area Research Center

“The Oneida materials are great for helping people do their genealogy, looking at that original census and so on,” says Deb Anderson, UW-Green Bay Archives and Research Center. “If you look at the amount of historical documents saved from the 1830’s, it’s not plentiful. And if you think about how old that document might be, and the fact that it is actually here and able to be studied is truly outstanding.”

For more, see media coverage on the scrapbook from Fox 11 and WBAY or see photos on the UW-Green Bay Archives and Area Research Center’s Facebook page.