East Hampton Historical Society: News & Updates / March, 2022 | Volunteer Interpreters Wanted…

March 2022

News & Updates

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Letter from the Director

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Hello!

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With the East Hampton Historical Society celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, I’m eagerly learning more about the history of the organization. Last week, I began reviewing Board Meeting minutes dating back to the early 1920s. Even though the 19th Amendment had guaranteed women the right to vote in 1920, there were no women elected to the Historical Society Board during the first 20 or 30 years of its existence. Because a dozen years of meeting minutes are absent starting in 1940, it’s not until 1953 that we have evidence of women serving on the Board of Trustees.

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In the meeting minutes, all women on the Board were identified by the names of their husbands, illustrating the legacy of coverture, which held that no female person had a legal identity separate from her father, or if she married, her husband. For example, when “Mrs. Robert M. Cheney” became the first woman elected Secretary of the Historical Society’s Board in 1953, she continued the practice of listing all married female trustees by their husband’s name. The only time Mrs. Cheney used her first name, “Hester,” was when she signed the minutes.

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Of course, Hester F. Cheney was far more than just her husband’s wife. In addition to serving on the Historical Society Board, she was active in the LVIS, Red Cross, East Hampton Presbyterian Church, and the Neighborhood Association. Many older community residents may remember Hester Cheney when she was the Head Librarian at the East Hampton Library. According to the Library’s Board of Manager minutes, she did a remarkable job of raising the profile of the Library by increasing the number of book borrowers, expanding the reference collection, and partnering with Guild Hall to start a “Great Books” discussion group.

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Forty-five years after Hester Cheney was elected Secretary, Isabel Furland became the first woman to serve as a President of the East Hampton Historical Society. By that time – in 1998 – she was listed by her own first name.

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In celebration of Women’s History Month, we hope you’ll share your stories about women who made East Hampton history with us on Facebook or Instagram.

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Sincerely,

Steve

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Volunteer Spotlight

Hilary Osborn – Malecki

Hilary Osborn-Malecki volunteers as a member of the Board of Trustees for the East Hampton Historical Society. Recently, elected as Vice President of the Historical Society, we asked Hilary to talk about her background and interest in serving her community.

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Tell us about yourself and your connection to East Hampton.

I was born and raised in East Hampton and went to High School here. I lived in Washington DC for about 20 years but then returned to East Hampton to raise my children. My roots run deep here, I come from a long line of farmers and fishermen. On my father’s side, the Osborns were founders of East Hampton and Wainscott going back eleven generations. I’m also related to the Halseys who founded Southampton. My mother was born in Montauk. Her mother was part of the Nova Scotia migration to the hamlet and her father jumped on a shop from Holland and ended up in Montauk.

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How did you first get involved with the Historical Society?

My father was a member of the Historical Society’s Board in the 1960s and ‘70s and a current Trustee reached out and encouraged me to get involved. One of my mother’s proudest accomplishments was serving as a member of the East Hampton Library’s Board of Managers. Through the Library, she got to know Enez Whipple when she was the Executive Director of Guild Hall from 1950 to 1981. Enez introduced her to artists and inspired my mom’s interest in collecting art, which she passed down to my siblings and me.

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What motivates you to volunteer in the community?

I realize volunteering has been a part of my family’s legacy for generations, passed down through my parents, and grandparents and so on. My family has always been civic minded and active in the churches and community. I believe communities don’t come to you; you must go out and make it a community. I read so much of people today struggling with loneliness and difficulties of modern life, and I think one of the answers is to disconnect from the phones, TVs and computers and head out into their community, meet its people and volunteer your time.

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What have you learned through your involvement with the Historical Society?

I know a lot of East Hamptons history but there is always something new and fascinating about the towns history and its people to learn. There are so many fascinating people, I enjoy hearing the stories of the people who have made this town what it is.

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Do you donate your time to any other organizations? If so, which ones and what spurred your interest in them? I am active in the Wainscott Sewing Society, which was founded in 1869. I believe it’s the oldest ongoing organization run by women in Eastern Long Island. I’m also active in the First Presbyterian Church of East Hampton, The Sons and Daughters of East Hampton, the New York Chapter of Daughters of Founders & Patriots of America, and the East Hampton Ramblers. When my children were young. I was also active in the PTA and Boy Scouts.

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Which of the Historical Society’s sites do you find most interesting? Why?

How to choose? Clinton Academy is interesting because so much went on there. Fascinating people went to school there who then went on to do great things. My own family members were educated there and after it was no longer a school, my great grandparents attended plays performed at Clinton Academy.

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I enjoy learning about Thomas and Mary Nimmo Moran and comparing their lives to that of my great grandparents who were Wainscott farmers at the same time. While living in the same small town, they lived very different lives.

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I feel a special connection to the Marine Museum because my great grandfather’s picture is hanging in the exhibit galleries. He was in the Wainscott whale crew that hunted whales off the beach from the 1880s until 1907. One newspaper described him and his brother as the greatest cod fishermen on the East End. I only realized recently that he was as much a fisherman as he was a farmer.

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We’re looking for Volunteer Interpreters!

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Are you passionate about East Hampton history? If so, please consider becoming a Volunteer Interpreter with the East Hampton Historical Society and share the history of our museums and historic sites. We really need your help this year to open and present our museums safely and effectively!

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The responsibilities of our Volunteer Interpreters include greeting the public, providing tours and information to visitors, and encouraging our community to engage with the past. Whatever your historical interest, we have a museum that’s just for you, including –

Clinton Academy
Marine Museum
Mulford Farmstead
Thomas and Mary Nimmo Moran Home & Studio

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Our interpreters typically volunteer one or two days per week from May through September. However, more flexible schedules are also available. To qualify as an interpreter, all volunteers must attend an East Hampton history workshop in late April or early May.

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To apply or receive more information, please email info@easthamptonhistory.org or call 631.32.46850 x3.

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Curator’s Corner

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This month, textile conservator, Lynne Bassett is conducting a conditions assessment of the Historical Society’s collection of textiles, including clothing, curtains, and rugs. In preparation for her visit, we began reviewing sewing-related artifacts and discovered this embroidery book donated by Sherrill Foster, who was an East Hampton Town Historian for many years. As the handwritten name on the book indicates, it was used by Phebe Jane “Jennie” Parsons, possibly to make her daughter, Maria’s wedding dress, which is in the Historical Society’s collection.

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On October 16, 1918, Maria, daughter of Jennie and H. Hale Parsons, married Edwin Sherrill in the Parsons’ home. Around the time of the marriage, H. Hale Parsons was listed in the East Hampton Star doing carpentry work. Jennie, like most married woman in the early 20th century had no officially recognized occupation. While the enumerator recorded Henry H. Parsons as a “carpenter” in the 1920 U.S. Census, Jennie’s occupation was listed as “none.” Even if she didn’t go to work outside the home, her embroidery and pattern books, hand-made clothing, and other household items in the Historical Society’s collection demonstrate that Jennie Parsons was an active and essential producer in the family economy.

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