Keepers of Our Past: Local Historical Writing in the United States, 1820s-1930s

(Hardback)

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Description

Long before Americans were imbued with the sense of a national past, local antiquarians and amateur historians wrote about the people, places, and happenings that were closest to their hearts, creating in the process a historical record of incalculable value. This gold mine of information and commentary is often overlooked by today's scholars. Russo's book puts us in touch with the historical consciousness of the American people and the once-paramount concern for the particular, the concrete, and the familiar.

Reviews

. . . David Russo has performed a service for all historians, and local historians in particular, by examining an era of great enthusiasm for local history in the United States.-The Annals of Iowa
. . . This is the first detailed survey of "amateur local historians" . . . Russo's analysis of editors of multi-volumed works, 1865-1930s, is especially valuable. The book ends with an intriguing critique of modern uses of local history by academic historians. Russo has made a useful beginning to an immensely complex topic. . . .-Vermont History
Before academic historians turned their attention to local history, it was, as this work documents, the domain of the antiquarians. In his expertly written study, Russo, has paid homage to these custodians of the community's past. He has produced a valuable addition to the historiographical literature on the writing of American history. Of particular importance is the last chapter, in which Russo shows the process by which the local historian lost his specialty to the academician. A careful reading of Russo's conclusion is recommended to PhD candidates and professional historians researching and writing local history. The footnotes, along with the complete bibliography, should prove informative to those interested in the history of historical writings. A required acquisition for all four-year institutions and research libraries.-Choice
In it, author David J. Russo divides his subject into four parts: the early antiquarians, the later antiquarians, formula local history, and the coming of the academics. While the early period is largely confined to New England pioneer histories, the later one includes the official chroniclers: town and city historians. The third section, perhaps the book's most interesting part, analyzes the production of local history as a publishing venture, as an editorial project, and as literature. The final part evaluates both amateur and academic historiography. An interesting bibliography, including manuscript sources as well as books, concludes the volume, which is available from the publisher. . .-Minnesota History
." . . David Russo has performed a service for all historians, and local historians in particular, by examining an era of great enthusiasm for local history in the United States."-The Annals of Iowa
." . . This is the first detailed survey of "amateur local historians" . . . Russo's analysis of editors of multi-volumed works, 1865-1930s, is especially valuable. The book ends with an intriguing critique of modern uses of local history by academic historians. Russo has made a useful beginning to an immensely complex topic. . . ."-Vermont History
"In it, author David J. Russo divides his subject into four parts: the early antiquarians, the later antiquarians, formula local history, and the coming of the academics. While the early period is largely confined to New England pioneer histories, the later one includes the official chroniclers: town and city historians. The third section, perhaps the book's most interesting part, analyzes the production of local history as a publishing venture, as an editorial project, and as literature. The final part evaluates both amateur and academic historiography. An interesting bibliography, including manuscript sources as well as books, concludes the volume, which is available from the publisher. . ."-Minnesota History
"Before academic historians turned their attention to local history, it was, as this work documents, the domain of the antiquarians. In his expertly written study, Russo, has paid homage to these custodians of the community's past. He has produced a valuable addition to the historiographical literature on the writing of American history. Of particular importance is the last chapter, in which Russo shows the process by which the local historian lost his specialty to the academician. A careful reading of Russo's conclusion is recommended to PhD candidates and professional historians researching and writing local history. The footnotes, along with the complete bibliography, should prove informative to those interested in the history of historical writings. A required acquisition for all four-year institutions and research libraries."-Choice

Author Bio

DAVID J. RUSSO is a Professor of History at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.