Chaffee continues dedication to Newfield’s history

After a lifetime of studying history, Alan Chaffee, town historian for Newfield, has learned a wealth of knowledge about the town, including how much he has yet to discover, a lesson he said has humbled him.

“I think the most frustrating thing is all that I don’t know,” Chaffee said. “And I have told people that there is far, far more that I don’t know than they don’t know. And they said, ‘What? With all the knowledge you have?’ And I said, ‘The more you learn, the more you learn that you don’t know.’”

Chaffee, who is now 74 years old, said he had always been interested in history, and he can remember when he stood outside his family’s home as a child, wondering who lived in the house before them and what they did.

While in fourth grade, Chaffee often went to the cemetery up the road from his house to copy down the names on the stones. Eventually, some children from his neighborhood were injured while playing in the cemetery, and in response, Chaffee’s mother forbade him from going there.

Chaffee’s interest in history was reignited while he was in high school after his brother’s 10th grade high school history teacher asked the students to write down how far their family histories went back in Newfield. His mother called his grandmother Mary Emma Palmer Chaffee, who impressed him with how much information she had to share.

Starting in September 1963, Chaffee often rode his bicycle to his grandmother’s house to talk with her and hear her stories about history. He recalled that one time, his grandmother told him about how she spoke with a woman who had been born in the 1790s and had come to America in 1832.

“Can you imagine that now, talking with somebody who had conversations with somebody born in the 1790s?” Chaffee said.

Chaffee gradually developed a reputation for knowing about Newfield’s history, and a Town Board member asked him if he would be interested in becoming town historian. On Feb. 13, 1973, the Town Board appointed Chaffee to the position of town historian at its monthly meeting. Chaffee is also president of the Newfield Historical Society and has been part of the organization since its inception in 1972.

Chaffee has copied down all the inscriptions on the headstones in more than 150 cemeteries and made a spreadsheet including the inscriptions in 100 of those cemeteries, information that he uses to help those who want to know where certain people are buried. For example, a few months ago, Chaffee used those records to help a woman find where her ancestor’s wife was buried.

Jon Armstrong, a volunteer at the Historical Society, has lived in Newfield for almost 40 years. He has known Chaffee for many years, since Chaffee’s wife and Armstrong both worked at the Newfield Central School district, and described Chaffee as an interesting and knowledgeable person.

“He knows personal touches about so many people in Newfield’s history,” Armstrong said. “It’s fascinating to listen to.”

Armstrong said Chaffee was also a kind person who was willing to use his knowledge to answer his fellow residents’ questions.

“Any name that you throw out, or history of a building, or anything, he knows,” Armstrong said. “It’s incredible what he can give back to you informationwise.”

Sue Chaffee, who married Alan’s second cousin, said she was impressed by Alan’s ability to memorize historical details. She recalled how he was able to tell stories about the town’s history to those who came to the History and Activity Center open house March 15, 2021, as well as answer questions about the area.

“It’s just amazing how his memory works,” Sue said. “He remembers dates and years just like they were yesterday. Not only does he have a very deep knowledge of the history in this area, but it’s very detailed and in his memory.”

Sue, who is the director for the Newfield Public Library, said she was grateful for Alan’s help with opening the History and Activity Center, a collaborative effort between the library and the Historical Society. She said Alan was fun to work with, and he helped everyone involved handle complicated issues, such as an agreement on how to share the Center.

“It really could have been a complicated, difficult situation,” Sue said. “But it was made easy because we could see the value of the project, and even though it was a lot of work to make it happen, Alan was just good to work with.”

Alan later married the cousin of Larry Miller, a member of the Historical Society’s Board. Miller said Alan had always been a history buff.

“I don’t think that there’s a person in Newfield that knows more about the people of Newfield or the old-timers or the people that went before in Newfield than Alan,” Miller said. “He’s very knowledgeable of the buildings, the dates, who built what. He’s just a treasure trove of information, and I hope we can get that information in a form where more people can appreciate it.”

Miller has been involved in the Historical Society since a few months before COVID-19 reached Tompkins County. He currently does building maintenance for the History and Activity Center and enters data into the computer system.

“I’ve always been in awe of things that went before us, how people lived and what they did, where they lived, how they lived,” Miller said. “It’s always been kind of interesting to me.”

Miller said he hoped that younger people would get involved with the Historical Society, to “keep the home fires burning” and prevent information from being lost as Historical Society members age and pass away.

“We’re not, any of us, getting any younger,” Miller said. “We would like to, as a Historical Society, get some younger people involved and try to pass this information on.”

Alan said he plans to build up the archives and develop good indexes so the Historical Society can help answer people’s questions. He said that many documents, like scrapbooks, contain a great deal of information, even if the Historical Society does not necessarily know what is inside them.