New York Historical Society Museum and Library. Its library is one of the oldest independent research libraries in the United States. Collection 
strengths include local history of New York City and State; colonial history; the Revolutionary War; American military and naval history; religions and religious movements, 18th and 19th century; the Anglo-American slave trade and conditions of slavery in the United States; the Civil War; American biography and genealogy; American art and art patronage; the development of American architecture from the late 18th to the present; and 19th and 20th century portraiture and documentary photographs of New York City.
Internship Spring 2011
Cassie Brewer: working with the manuscripts curator, Maurita Baldock on processing 
the papers of Ebenezer Stevens (a revolutionary war soldier/officer) and the William H. Paine Papers
Many associate the name Roebling with the design and production of the Brooklyn Bridge, but what about the minds behind the scenes that aided in the planning and construction of this unprecedented engineering project? Aside from a plaque on the bridge listing the names of six other men involved in the bridge’s engineering, their contribution is rarely acknowledged in any popular history of the bridge.
One of those men is William H. Paine, an assistant engineer for the Brooklyn Bridge. Paine’s papers reside at the New-York Historical Society, and I processed them as a part of my internship this semester. For 14 years, Paine worked on the engineering and construction of the bridge’s cable railway system, obtaining 14 patents for new or improved technologies.
Although Paine is immortalized on that plaque for his work on the Brooklyn Bridge, he was involved with innovative engineering and major events of his time long before this. In 1848, he settled in the young state of Wisconsin and began his career as a land surveyor. Shortly after, Paine tried his hand at gold mine engineering in California at the height of the Gold Rush. Clearly a self-starter, upon returning to Wisconsin, Paine patented and began selling his “Paine’s Patent Steel Measuring Tape” while working on various railroad projects.
In 1861, Paine joined the Union Army as a topographical engineer and served in this position for the entirety of the Civil War, mapping land in Washington D.C. and Virginia. Post-war, Paine settled in Brooklyn and worked as a consulting engineer for major projects including the Niagara Suspension Bridge, the 10th Avenue railway line and, most notably, the Hudson River Tunnel.
The William H. Paine Papers document Paine’s diverse interests and involvement with modern innovations of his time, as well as his accounts of major events, particularly the Gold Rush and the Civil War. It is not often that we question the little-known names associated with major projects like the Brooklyn Bridge, but when we do, the results can be rich and exciting — as they are with the papers of William H. Paine.
Jacqueline Colognesi: assisting Marci Reaven (V.P., Historical Exhibits) at New York Historical Society on an exhibit she is curating on New York City in World War II, which will run from March 1, 2013 to September 1, 2013.
This past spring, my internship with the New York Historical Society had me searching for voices-the voices of those who lived, worked, or even just passed through New York City during World War II.
Thankfully, World War II has long been the focus of oral historians. Interest recording wartime memories actually began during the war, with personnel from the Army’s Information & Historical divisions interviewing soldiers directly after combat. Today, a number of institutions are carrying on the tradition and are executing projects dedicated to the preservation of World War II reflections.
The largest national project is the Veteran’s History Project, run by the Library of Congress. The project aims to help citizens better understand the realities of war. It is not primarily focused on World War II-veterans and civilians who participated in six different U.S. conflicts are invited to participate in the project and share their memories.
Rutgers University also possesses an extensive oral history archive dedicated to conflict histories. The archive is searchable by conflict and geographic region, and heavily focuses on participants from the New York/New Jersey area.
A good oral history archive or project doesn’t always have to be large, however. “What did you do in the War, Grandma?” is a great example of a student-run oral history project. Rhode Island high schoolers interviewed a group of 36 women about their roles in the war, and came away with some fascinating stories.
These are just a few examples of the hundreds of existing World War II oral history collections. If you’re in the market for World War II oral histories, a good place to start (besides Google) is the Alexander Street Oral History Database. Happy hunting!