The BenHaven Archives

By Al R. Young
Categories: Articles | Family heritage | Al R. Young | Journals

Briefly describes the origins of The BenHaven Archives and the nature of its holdings. Publication: alyoung.com, July 2008

Article No.: 0.09.0201.000

Table of Contents

Article No.: 0.09.0201.000
    1. Full Text
    2. Article Information
        a. Source
        b. Copyright and Usage
        c. Cite this Article (MLA/Chicago)
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Full Text

THE BENHAVEN ARCHIVES

The BenHaven Archives is the repository of the Young family's collections of papers, images, artifacts, and audiovisual materials focused primarily on the family's heritage. (BenHaven is of Scots origin, and signifies mountain haven.)

The collection and synthesis of the Archives' holdings is an effort that already spans more than a century:

S.P. Young (1894-1972) assiduously kept letters, newspaper clippings, documents, photographs, and memorabilia throughout his life. Notwithstanding the poverty into which he was born, and the meager opportunity for schooling that left him with less than two years of formal education, he established his family on a basis of faith and education. He was farseeing enough to realize that history derives from writing; that without writing and reading, there is no history. To the best of his self-taught ability, he wrote and collected, establishing much of the basis of the present effort.

Alfred R. Young (1919), one of Samuel's eight children, has also kept and collected much throughout his life. His contributions to the effort consist primarily of personal reminiscences, copies of original sources, images, and other materials pertaining primarily to his own life's experience. He has also spent many years collecting genealogical information.

Maxine Hodson (1927), Alfred's wife, has devoted nearly 60 years to the work of collecting photographs, documents, memorabilia, and genealogical information about families whose histories reach back to the threshold of America's colonization.

In ways small and great, numerous members of the family have contributed time, reminiscences, artifacts, photographs, and other materials. These include Sue Ann Strotman (1942-2006), one of Samuel's grandchildren, who devoted much of her life to collecting information and memorabilia concerned with family history; Eva Hodson (1912-2000), who wrote extensively in an effort to capture family stories that had otherwise been perpetuated only by word of mouth; Claudine Hodson who has also contributed much in terms of reminiscences, memorabilia, and genealogical information.

Contributions from other families have also greatly enhanced the Archives' holdings, particularly regarding Alfred R. Young's experiences during World War II. Most notably, the family of Warren R. Stewart, Jr., contributed the extensive writings of their father and grandfather. John W. Britton, Charles M. Montgomery, Walter Regehr, Miriam Pachacki, Raymond A. Patenaude, Jack W. Schwartz, Robert W. Phillips, Sandra van de Mortel, and others associated with Alfred's war-time experiences have generously contributed in every way they could.

The family of John L. Maas (1924-2001) has generously contributed to the Archives' extensive holdings of his papers pertaining to his life and work as a landscape architect and teacher.

The Archives is also the repository for the extensive collections of papers, artifacts, and other materials pertaining to the lives and works of the artists and writers associated with Al Young Studios.

Article Information

Author

Al R. Young

Copyright and Usage

This article is Copyright 2009 • By Al R. Young • All Rights Reserved.

Educational and personal use of this article is allowed. However, re-publication, reproduction, or other use of this article is prohibited without the consent of the author(s) and Al Young Studios. To request usage rights, please contact us.

Cite this Article (MLA/Chicago)

Young, Al R. "The BenHaven Archives". alyoung.com, July 2008: 1.

Young, Al R. "The BenHaven Archives". alyoung.com, July 2008: 1.

Note: though efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of both the citations and their formatting, some additional modification or formatting may be needed before citations may be entered into a bibliography or otherwise used.

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