Have you ever wondered about the Selectmen’s Perambulations or do you even know what they are! Or are you interested in an Indentureship – no, not what it feels like with your credit card, but a true multiyear commitment of your life to another person to learn a trade. Or perhaps you wondered how Rochester reacted to the Declaration of Independence. Answers to these and a multitude of other questions can now be answered by Town Hall archival work that has recently been finished.
The Rochester Historical Commission (RHC) is pleased to announce the completion of the Town Clerk’s Archival Collection Project. For over a year, Kyle DeCicco-Carey of Mattapoisett worked in the confines of the Rochester Town Hall Vault to organize and catalog its contents. His work was built on earlier efforts of several people including former Town Clerks and the current Town Clerk, Nadia Parker, Town Hall Clerk, Deb Lalli, as well as indexing by local historian Pamela Robinson.
In 2011, the RHC received a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council through the Rochester Cultural Council to process the collection and create an inventory of the contents. The Commission contacted Mr. DeCicco-Carey, who at that time was working at Harvard as a collection librarian, and he volunteer to undertake the project. Cultural Council funds were used to purchase needed archival supplies.
The finished product is now on line and may be accessed through the Town of Rochester’s website, http://www.townofrochestermass.com/ and following the link to Rochester Town Clerk Archival Collection. This may prove a boon to local genealogists and historians. Although access to the collection is open, if viewing is needed, please contact the Town Clerk’s Office prior to coming to the Town Hall.
The Rochester Historical Commission would like to thank all who had a hand in preserving this historical legacy of Rochester’s past. Special thanks, of course, go to Kyle DeCicco-Carey for his many hours of what could only be described as a labor of love.