Today I visited the Oregon Historical Society to search their archives for holdings related to Old Believers. Thanks to a little homework searching the online catalog beforehand, I knew the OHS Research Library had several files under the heading of 'Ethnographic Materials'. I made sure to send the research librarian an email ahead of time, as I wanted to ensure the materials I wanted to view would be there and it allowed me to establish a first contact with someone who knows the OHS holdings far better than I do. Within minutes of arriving and signing in, I met with the librarian who received my email and he suggested that I look in the card catalog to find sources not yet indexed in the online version. Help like this is invaluable when undertaking a large research project, as local experts can often point to sources that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Even though I had only a couple of hours to survey the materials, I was not disappointed with what I found. At Portland State University, I found some dissertations written in the late 60's and mid 70's about the (then) recently immigrated Old Believer populations around Woodburn and Hopton here in Oregon. Within these secondary sources, I found some potential leads on archival source bases (like the now defunct Mt. Angel College and Valley Migrant League) as well as names of leaders in the Old Believer community. Thanks to the holdings at OHS I surveyed today, many of the names and institutions I read about in the dissertations are not taking greater shape and form in my mind. This may only be the start of my research, but I already have several leads to follow up and a much better idea of what exactly I want to pursue in my historical inquiry.
As I learn more and visit more archives, I will update my findings here.
No comments:
Post a Comment