Week 2: Greene County, Wright State University's Special Collections and Archives

Week two's journey to WSU's Special Collections & Archives was a great trip. The archives is located in Wright State's Dunbar Library on the 4th floor, and houses the world famous Wright Brothers' collection. They have original pictures, film, and more from the Wright Brothers and their sister, Katherine (Wright) Haskell. They also have exhibits featuring medals that the Wright Brothers received from many places and for many things.

WSU's Special Collections & Archives reading room.

But I wasn't at Wright State to view the Wright Brothers' collection. I was on a mission, and the mission of the day was to look through microfilmed county records (and they have a lot), Justice of the Peace record books, Mayor's record books, and township record books.

Microfilm & microfilm reader.

The staff at the Special Collections and Archives were incredibly friendly. Some of the records I needed were stored off-site, but they were more than happy to retrieve it for me. Because there are only two county archive repositories in the Dayton area - Montgomery County and Greene County - WSU's archives hold many of the original record books and microfilm from the surrounding counties. While I was there I looked through record books and microfilm for my other three counties: Logan, Clark, and Champaign. While I was busy searching Justice of the Peace books for Manumission records, the head of special collections, Dawne Dewey, shared a Black registry from Miami County. While this is not one of my counties, it was a pleasure to see this book. It includes the names of the Randolph Freed Slaves and is quite an incredible and important piece of history.

Inside cover, Record of Black & Mulattoe Persons, Miami County.

Inside pages, Record of Black & Mulattoe Persons, Miami County.

I couldn't believe I was seeing, touching, reading, and smelling this incredible document. It really got my heart pumping and got me excited to find some records of my own. While I didn't find anything new at WSU, I was able to view their Emancipation Index. They have copies of some Emancipation records from the counties of Greene, Montgomery, Logan, and Miami. If you're interested, you can also view their Emancipation Index on their website at: https://www.libraries.wright.edu/special/emancipation/

That's all for this week; I hope you all join me next week when I travel to Champaign County to continue my search!

Thanks, and be good!