Candace Wellman: Inside the Archives

Local history expert Candace Wellman will give a talk at Western Washington University entitled “Inside the Archives: Researching Cross-Cultural Marriages in 19th Century Whatcom County,” in Western Libraries Special Collections. The event is free and open to the public.

While volunteering at the local archives, Candace Wellman discovered that nearly 90 percent of all early-Whatcom County marriages were cross-cultural. While historical evidence of the husbands, who included notable community founders and officials, was plentiful, the indigenous women they married remained unknown to history. Experienced in research methods, history, and genealogy, Wellman resolved to uncover these hidden stories and thus began a decades-long quest in which she spent countless hours in the archives, pouring over historical documents and collections.This talk is part of the Western Libraries Heritage Resources Distinguished Speakers program.