Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Historical Societies and Libraries

Well, we've had a couple of requests for a summary here of the genealogical sources (historical societies and libraries) we visited on our recent swing south. We had provided a fast play-by-play while we were on the road via Twitter (we'd be happy if you would follow @betweenthelakes, but it's not a requirement!), but it seemed like a list in blog form might be more useful. So, here's where we went and what we did:

--Frederick County (MD) Historical Society: A lovely old building in the historic district of Frederick with a municipal parking garage right across the street (a real convenience). The staff was very helpful (they were training some volunteers from local colleges when we visited, so possibly we were good examples of the kind of visitors the students could expect) and quite knowledgeable without being at all pushy. The collection is pretty comprehensive for Frederick County, and there's an internal catalog that represents a volunteer's life work, and is, as one might expect, quite helpful. The downside is that the library is in the basement, and there's no elevator, and the stairs aren't great, which is really a problem only if you're not terribly agile anymore. The good news there was that we saw volunteers taking material upstairs for a visitor who couldn't cope with the stairs. While you're there, ask the staff to direct you to a Spanish restaurant around the corner where the tapas were absolutely super! We regrettably didn't capture the name of the place or it would be the subject of a blog post all by itself.

--The Albemarle County/Charlottesville Historical Society, in Charlottesville, VA. We had only about two hours here, regrettably, since we were in transit between Frederick MD and Richmond. There was another reason for the brevity of our stay as well, and it's a real problem: no place to park. We found a space on the street, and the staff in the library were kind enough to let us know that the parking time limits are rigorously enforced. I found the visit useful because I was able to access a clipping file on a family I was researching, and I just about got through it in the limited time we had. I wish I had a suggestion for people wanting to research here who come by car (and there doesn't seem to be any alternative to that, either) -- maybe have one person research at a time while another drives the car around the block looking for short-term parking places? If there's a better solution, the staff didn't suggest it to us. Too bad, anyway -- looks like a nice collection!

--Virginia Historical Society, Richmond. We were able to spend a full day here, and the parking concerns of the previous day evaporated as we parked in their spacious, free, private parking lot. The staff were super helpful and took great pains to tell us what they had, and equally important, what they didn't, once we outlined our research needs. They've got a great index of the major periodicals of the area, and you can easily kill a whole day just with it (which I did). Again, plaudits for the staff. They got us started in the right direction, and they checked back with us periodically (but not TOO frequently) to make sure we were coming along well.

--The Amelia County Historical Society, in Amelia Courthouse, VA. One of those great little county historical societies you occasionally find, if your ancestors lived in the right places and if you're lucky. Plenty of free parking right across the street, and very helpful staff. Nice thing about these smaller local operations is that you're likely to discover that you're at least a distant relative of the people who are helping you! Despite the fact that they were setting up for a reception while we were there, we got lots of uninterrupted research time in a pretty comprehensive collection. Unfortunately it's open only two days a week, so this is one that you definitely have to schedule carefully.

--The Library of Virginia, Richmond. Back in Richmond again, for a few hours at this huge facility (which has free parking right in the basement -- you do need to remember to have your ticket validated on the way out for it to be free, however -- and because it was raining, we really appreciated it on this visit). The place is huge and the open shelves for Virginia material were enough to occupy us for the day. In previous visits we had also called material up from the stacks and had used the archival material. Copies are made using a card that you load with $$ before copying, which helps keep copying expense under control. You'll not get the level of personal service here that you get in smaller facilities, but it's still a great library and not to be missed if you have any interest at all in Virginia.

--The State Library of North Carolina, Raleigh. We spent two days here, and found the genealogy collection and archives were closed on one of them, due to the omnipresent budget cuts. There's a parking lot across the street (although the rates are clearly set for the lobbyists who pack the lot when the legislature is in session, not for ordinary people) and you will be well advised to visit here only when the legislature is absent. And don't forget to check to make sure which parts of the library are open, of course! We found the security here to be very tight. Government issued photo ID is required to enter the building and your name, address, license number, and who knows what else are recorded when you enter. Then, after getting a visitor badge, you get to re-identify yourself when you visit the archives. Be sure you check the schematic diagram of the facility, which is on three floors. There's general state information in the library on the first floor (under construction when we visited, but very helpful staff), the genealogy collection is on the mezzanine, and the archives are on the second floor. We initially went to the archives by mistake and were somewhat confounded by the absence of the familiar accoutrements of genealogy libraries, and when I asked at the desk, I learned of our error. They were polite enough; they noted it happens all the time. Once we got to the right room, the collection was very helpful, and it is by no means restricted to North Carolina -- they wisely recognize that a lot of people passed through NC en route elsewhere, and cover both the places from which people come and to whence they went. They even have some good New England material! Too little time here, unfortunately. We'll be back!

--Historical Society of Washington County, VA, Abingdon. This looks like a fine little collection. There's what seems to be a comprehensive online index of it, and most research is directed toward that index. We had only a few hours here (there is parking available, by the way), and the staff was very helpful, perhaps a little more helpful than I would have preferred -- but that's based on a single, short visit. Any inadequacies in their collection probably reflect the area's history as a place where lots of people passed through but left little in the way of footprints.

We also hit a couple of museums on the trip, and I'll cover them in a separate post.

Monday, November 07, 2011

Good food in Raleigh NC!!!!

As some of you know, we've been on a combined genealogy and local history trip south -- Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina to be specific -- and we succeeded in skipping the Halloween Snowstorm here in Northwestern Connecticut completely. That's good news, especially when you live on a dirt road that might not enjoy the highest priorities with road crews and for power restoration.

We tweeted impressions of some of the libraries and historical societies we visited (feel free to follow us as @betweenthelakes if you're so inclined), but we thought that we should mention two restaurants we found virtually next to each other in Raleigh, NC in a blog post. I think that either of them would be considered a good restaurant if they were located "up north" but down in a locale where it seems like "good eatin" -- i.e. southern cooking -- is the sine qua non, they were both notable.

The first of the two we visited was the Taj Mahal, located in a mini-mall at 4520 North Capital Boulevard (i.e. route 1). The place was (undeservedly) almost empty, but we decided to try it out anyway. I had lamb samosas, garlic naan, lamb saag, and mixed pickle as a condiment. The lamb samosas were light and flavorful -- I used a little of the tamarind sauce they came with, and a bit more of the green chili sauce, but they were nicely done and would have been fine without the sauces. I'd never had garlic naan before!! It was very good, light, soft, and garlicky. We liked it so much we took the remaining pieces back to the motel. The lamb saag was very nice. The spinach didn't have the metallic taste it sometimes does, the lamb pieces were small and tender, and the sauce was really just right. I thought it compared favorably with the lamb saag at the Ganges on Praed Street in London, which had always been my standard. I licked the platter clean on that one! The mixed pickle was the only disappointment of the meal. However, I was able to fish enough lime and chile chunks out of it to make a successful condiment.

Judy had chicken madras and was very pleased with it as well. Her conventional naan (no garlic) was also excellent, and she found the mango chutney sharp and refreshing, something I've never personally found mango chutney to be.

I'd say that the Taj Mahal was worth a detour. We would have had a second dinner there, but there was another restaurant we wanted to try, so we didn't give the Taj a chance to prove that it was not just good but also consistent.

The Casalinga Ristorante Italiano was the second restaurant, and it was so good we went back a second evening -- and thus can say that it was also consistent. It's a Sicilian restaurant, and we were fortunate to be there when they were having a special menu of recipes from their home town in Sicily.

The first night I had the tripe stew as an appetizer, and have to say it was as good as any tripe I have ever eaten in any national cuisine! It was tender, delicate, and perfectly flavored. That evening I had "Mamma Giuseppina's Meat Sauce" which was obviously more than "just" a sauce -- a filet of beef stuffed with mozarella, pine nuts, raisins, and various other items. A meatball and a sausage accompanied the filet, which was over rigatoni (I think). Of course it was more than just a meal -- and again I embarrassed myself by licking the platter clean (actually, with the aid of the bread, which was home made and similarly excellent). No dessert that evening; no room for it! I think that Judy had something more or less conventional -- lasagna, if I remember correctly -- which she was very pleased with.

At any rate, we promised we would be back the next evening (our last in Raleigh) if they would have the Pork Bracioli (they had run out the first evening we were there). They promised, and we came back. That evening I stuck to the special menu and enjoyed cuddruni (stuffed pie: tomato, onions, eggplant, basil, potato) which was light and flavorful. If you've never had pork bracioli (which is pig skin -- no meat, just skin -- stuffed with cheese, raisins, pine nuts and other things) with a tomato sauce -- also served with a meatball and a sausage, again over rigatoni -- you need to be ready to experience some chewiness, and I was expecting some good jaw muscle exercise. They fooled me!! It was extraordinarly tender and also flavorful. It was really, really good.

We had some Sicilian sfingi for dessert - and it, too, was excellent.

The address -- and this place proved itself to be worth more than just a detour, particularly if you want to enjoy real Sicilian (as opposed to Americanized Italian) food, expertly prepared and served -- was at 4538 North Capital Boulevard.

The food on the rest of the trip was undistinguished, but these two restaurants stood out as meriting some praise. I'd return to either in a heartbeat!