Government Appointed Historians of Western New York

04/16/2026

✅ Are you super organized? Do you have cataloging or filing methods that you could share with peers?

🗄 GAHWNY is looking for one or two municipal historians to serve on a panel about cataloging, inventorying, and filing at the conference on Sept. 19, 2026 in East Aurora. Free conference admission, lunch, and a small honorarium can be provided for your participation.

➡If you're interested, please email [email protected], call GAHWNY President Holly Watson at 585-243-7955, or send us a message here. We will be happy to talk more!

03/12/2026

🚨 GRANT ALERT for archives and historical societies!

💲The New York State Program for the Conservation and Preservation of Library Research Materials provides $500,00 each year for preserving materials in the collections of libraries, archives, historical societies, and similar agencies. The grant awards for 2026-2027 will be limited to a minimum of $2,500 and a maximum of $45,000.

📜 Past projects have included: conservation treatment projects, preservation and rehousing of architectural drawings and blueprints, digitizing and reformatting audio files, and more.

⏱ Deadline: April 1, 2026

🔍 For more info and to apply, visit: www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/cp

01/26/2026

📌What's a crucial step for any historian? A basic inventory!

🏛Check out this DHPS Tips (from Documentary Heritage and Preservation Services for New York) blog post, "A Basic Inventory Is the Most Powerful Preservation Tool You Have."

🔍Read the article and look at the end for how to start your own collection inventory. ➡️https://dhpsny.org/node/8529

12/12/2025

📰Webinar: An Introduction to NYS Historic Newspapers
📌Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2026
⏱️Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM ET

📜The NYS Historic Newspapers project features over 15 million pages, and includes content covering 300 years. It’s a vital tool to support research on genealogy, local history, and more.

🎖Join Chuck Henry, manager of the NYSHN project, for an overview of this robust resource. This session will be a straightforward tour of search functions, tools for documentation, and tips for printing. Bring your questions and enthusiasms!

🔍Online via Zoom - more info and register here: nnyln.org/events/an-introduction-to-nys-historic-newspapers/

10/20/2025

Congratulations on your new book, Rob!

10/06/2025

🏛 Nazareth University is offering an online Public History Certificate course starting 10/14.

👩‍🏫This non-credit bearing certificate program is a six-week series of fully online, asynchronous courses that will cover the methods, practice, and application of public history.

🎖The program is designed for anyone with a passion for history and a desire to engage with diverse audiences.

📜Course is $300, and begins Oct. 14. More info and registration here: learners.naz.edu/programs/publichistory

09/19/2025

🏆 Congratulations to our 2025 Julia Reinstein Career Achievement Award recipient, Maureen Gleason, historian for the town of Cheektowaga, Erie County.

💔 Sadly, Gleason passed away early this year, so the award was presented posthumously and accepted by Gleason's son, Fred.

🏛 Maureen Gleason was appointed town of Cheektowaga historian in 2021, which was just another step in her journey as an active part of her community.

🇵🇱Gleason's main focus was on Polish heritage in Cheektowaga. Her projects included helping restore the older section of the Holy Mother of the Rosary Polish National Catholic Cemetery and re-locating unmarked graves. She especially focused on identifying babies who were buried in St. Adalbert’s Cemetery and didn’t have gravestones.

🪦Gleason also initiated cemetery tours at St. Stanislaus Cemetery. The tours aimed to educate people about Polish immigrants’ hard work and dedication that led to their success and influence in the community.

🎖In 2015, she was awarded the Am-Pol Eagle Citizen of the Year Award for Heritage in recognition for her work in these local cemeteries, which helps preserve the legacy of Polish Americans.

📰Maureen Gleason was also very involved with the Polish Genealogical Society of New York State. She spearheaded several initiatives for the society such as getting the Michael Drabik Memorial Library Collection archived at the Buffalo Erie County Public Library and negotiating with the Buffalo History Museum to get microfilm from an old Buffalo Polish newspaper so the society could get it digitized and published on NYS Historic Newspapers.

💎The many people she crossed paths with have described her as dedicated, involved, hard-working, compassionate, and inquisitive.

📜Thank you, Maureen, and congratulations on your impressive career achievements.

📸: GAHWNY President Holly Watson presenting the Julia Reinstein Award to Fred P., who accepted it on his mother's behalf, at the 2025 GAHWNY Conference on Sept. 13.

09/15/2025

🍏 We had a lovely time at the GAHWNY annual conference on Saturday!

🪦We heard from Jennifer Averill and Kaye Bovee about proper techniques for cleaning and capturing inscriptions on gravestones. The tennis ball and carboff paper rubbing method was a game-changer!

🗺️ Next, participants learned some steps and resources about history property research from Gary Goodridge, chair of the Henrietta Historic Site Committee. Tips for making the jump from tax id numbers back to lot numbers using maps and deeds was key.

🤝 There was lots of lively discussion and networking, and we enjoyed meeting some new neighbors! Thanks to everyone who came out.

📥 Check your inbox soon for a follow-up email, including digital copies of handouts from the programs.

08/29/2025

👋 Conference coming right up!

📲On-demand from Sept. 3-Nov. 16, 2025.

📥Registration and details at newyorkfamilyhistory.org/nysfhc/about

08/22/2025

We recently learned of the passing of Barbara Lamb, who was the Town of Geneva government appointed historian from 1997 til her death last October, 2024.
Condolences to her family and the town on the loss of their long time historian.

Barbara Imhofe Lamb was born February 2, 1923 in Rome, NY, the daughter of Robert Imhofe and Mabel Smith Imhofe. She grew up in the Village of Canastota, NY. She attended Smith College in Northampton MA, graduating in 1944 with a degree in Botany, and spent the next 6 months working with botanist Dr...