Starting (Over) Again?

(This post is part of a series about my research of Fitchburg architect H.M. Francis)

Going over last year's inventory with a fine-toothed comb is definitely not as easy as it would seem.

After I combined the previous inventories of Francis buildings with my own, I had one gigantic list of over 500 entries.

Fig. 1: Screenshot of combined inventories.

Many of these entries are duplicates of others, but each possesses its own unique data.

For instance, one inventory list specifies when a certain Francis building was razed, while another describes the type of architecture of the building. The best information that I have been finding is source material from which other volunteers/researchers gathered their data. Many of them cite books about Fitchburg as well as newspaper articles. I've been making a list of these sources in order to go back and retrieve other bits of information.

I've been feeling very fortunate that other volunteers have taken the time to begin Francis inventories and appreciate the fine architecture in Fitchburg and I look forward to continuing their efforts.