1. CNI Pnoros ev Jncx PLALe
Milwaukee County as ¡t looked in 1873 is documented in an atlas donated to the St.
Francis Library.
Refurbished L87 3 area,
^tlasoffers 1o c algenealog cal daø
By Pamela T. Brown
A re )'ou one of those PeoPle who a¡e
ll.intèrested in their family historical
background?The St. Francis tibrary has an
excellcnt tool that could be useful in your
search.
"
About two yeafs ago an antique atlas
-
was given to Carl Beahr, the acting refer-
ence librarian at that time. Beah¡ recog-
nized ihe intrinsic value of this atlas and
the" information côntained within. Tþe
information èorresponded directly to. a' :
repli.ç1 atlas thaf he used during the com-
pilation of a book hc had published in
1 99 4, called " Milwaukee Streets."
-'
The atlas given to the St.Francis Library
is a êollection of maps and charts of the
areas located near the lakefront.As a mat-
tei of fact, inside the atlas it shows the
area of the former "Town of Lake." .
.-In 1951 this town was split up into the
following cities: St. Francis, BayView, Cud-
ahy and Milwaukee's southwest side.Thc
atlas also contains numerous street names
which represent the families who once
lived and worked there,and contains pho
torgraphs of the area. For exarnple, it has'
ili¡¡tiztions that show the farms and plots
ofthat era.
. Initiall¡ the atlas waS without covel
pageó were detached and lacerated and
êould have easily been destroyed through
the oils of viéwers'hands.
.It was during this stage that a patron,
who wishes to remain anonymous, recog-
nized the value of the book and was will.
ing to incur the expense of preserving it.
Connic Sheehan, the current reference
übrarian, researched the cost in preserv-
ing the atlas on betralf of the anonymous
donor. She hired professor James Twomey
to preserve the Atlas for $350 so it could
once again be accessible to the public.
Twomey currently works as a book
preservationist in Kcnosha and- teachcs
classes at the University of rViiconsin Mil-
waukee.
Shcchan allowed the anonyrnous
donor to sha¡c in thc input of maintaining
the antique atlas. Thc individual had
expresscd interest in kecping thc atlas in
as natural a statc as possiblc, to preserve
its hisor¡cat cha¡acter.
Twomcy mcndcd and decidifìcd thc
pagçspf qhg atl-aq beforc he bound. t|rqrn . ,
b:lctcr<igÊthêr, rakür g càre- to:prc3ùve-th:et=^'
Connie Sheehan, a referance librarian,
researched the history of the atlas itself,
finding it to be one of four or five in exis-
tence.
antique app.ea¡ãnce ôf each page for his
torical accuracy.
Sheehan wanted to know how ra¡e the
atlas was, so she went to the Milwaukee
Historical Society.There she lea¡ned that
the original cover page and the back page
were missing from the atlas.
Shc also learned that the atlas was
dated from the year 1873. She was able to
have the missing pages duplicated, and
then hadTtvomey insert the daté onto the
new hard cover for the atlas.
"This atlas is one of four- or fivè that
exist. I am.av¡are that the Central Ubrary
lias one and that the Historical Society
also has one," Shcehan said.
"Having this donation given to our
library means historical resea¡ch of the
area will bc much casier and accuratei
Shechan said.
Researdüng fainily history is possible
at thc St. Francis Ubrary where, in addi
tion to the atlas, therc is also census data
on microfilm, gcnealogical books and an
Intcrnct site.
Thc St. Francis Library is located at
4230 South NicholsonAvcnue. For further
inþçmation, contact.Con¡Ug Shechan at
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