Hometown Helper: Irene Sniffin, Huntington Historical Society

This week’s featured Hometown Helper is Irene Sniffin, a longtime Huntington Historical Society volunteer.

The Project:  Irene began at the Huntington Historical Society manually indexing the Long Islander from 1839-1862, without any help from computers.  Irene has also assisted, and continues to assist, with genealogical research, cataloging, and working with collections at the Huntington Historical Society.  She has enjoyed and continues to enjoy all of the projects with which she has been involved over the years.

Getting Started: Years ago, Irene’s husband, Artie, had gotten some information about his family. Together, Irene and Artie began looking into her husband’s family history.  They became very interested in genealogy and enrolled in a University of Connecticut course on the subject in 1975. Before the course, they had noticed mistakes in the book about Artie’s family history and they wanted to be able to knowledgeably correct those. After attending the course, they became more immersed in studying genealogy and went to more conferences and lectures.  Artie began teaching and lecturing.  They recognized the importance of preserving history and saw, early on, the great value in the collection at the Huntington Historical Society.  Irene and Artie got involved because they enjoyed the collection and felt a responsibility to make sure that it, and the historic places in Huntington, continue to be preserved for future generations.

Biggest Takeaway So Far:  Irene has enjoyed watching the society grow, and says that her greatest achievement has been participating in that growth.

In Addition:  Irene hopes that others realize the importance of donating to the Huntington Historical Society in order for it to continue to maintain its participation and responsibility in preserving history.

For more information about The Huntington Historical Society, check their website or call  631-427-7045,  ext 401.

Know a volunteer who you would like to celebrate? Email [email protected], and let us know!

Hometown Helpers: Mary Brenner, 94, Huntington Community First Aid Squad

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