I agree with Peter:  Claims such as first, oldest, largest, etc. are only as good as the evidence/documentation, but many people are vehemently adamant and won't let that evidence/documentation trump their oral history or local myth."

Clif

On Aug 12, 2013, at 11:54 AM, HIST- Historian <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Titles such as first, oldest, largest.....are very dangerous because they are almost impossible to document. There is always some special caveat that makes some other place earlier, bigger.....etc.
> 
> Here in Wayne County we claim the first woman to be ordained a minister and the first Civil War Monument in NYS and the oldest theater in the USA in continuous operation.
> 
> There are plenty of people and organizations out there who would be willing to do battle over those clains. I tend to back off and say things like 
> "one of the first or oldest...etc." I just don't want to get into a nit picking contest with others. "Nit Picking" isn't healthy for the general history community.
> 
> All the best,
> Peter
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Robert Sullivan
> Sent: Tuesday, August 06, 2013 12:28 PM
> To: preservation; A LISTSERV list for discussions pertaining to New York State history.
> Subject: CDPTF Local history commemorated at Fort Herkimer Church
> 
> Mohawk, N.Y. - When asked to speak about the history of Fort Herkimer
> Church, Donald Fenner said he decided to clear up some misinformation
> people may have about it.
> 
> One thing, he said, is the idea that the church is the second oldest
> in the state.
> 
> "[It may be the oldest] in the Mohawk Valley. That's probably true.
> But the second oldest in the state, that's not quite true," he said
> before listing several other churches that date before 1767, including
> St. George's Episcopal Church in Schenectady and Sleepy Hollow
> Reformed Church in Tarrytown.
> 
> <http://www.littlefallstimes.com/news/x1383327996/Local-history-commemorated-at-Fort-Herkimer-Church>
> 
> -- 
> Bob Sullivan
> Schenectady Digital History Archive
> <http://www.schenectadyhistory.org/>
> Schenectady County (NY) Public Library
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------
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