Franklin County Collects Visits Fletcher's Charlie Tinker

[Henry]

Charlie Tinker is probably one of the most knowledgeable individuals I know in regards to Fairfax/Fletcher Genealogy.  He is an absolutely amazing individual to talk with.  His brain is like a computer.

Back when I was collecting data from The Fairfax Town Records, Charlie was invaluable in helping me connect families when I was putting them in a computer.  Charlie had reams of handwritten data, and what was amazing, he had it organized so he could find it.  Many genealogists keep their data very close to the chest and don't share with anyone - This was not the case with Charlie.  He let me borrow some of his handwritten documents (Which I had to admit made me just a bit nervous that something would happen to them), and read and take what I wanted from them.

Charlie works part time now for John Workman at The A. W. Rich Funeral Home.  This is almost a natural for Charlie, as you will find most funeral homes have someone who really knows genealogy in an area and Charlie fits this bill to a "T".

Each week, Jason Covely, St. Albans Messenger Correspondent writes and article in the Messenger in Franklin County Collects where he visits a local collector.  All kinds of collectibles qualify.  If you are interested in being featured, or know someone who should be, call 524-9771, ext. 121, or write to news@samessenger.com. All collectibles are of interest.  If you have a vintage/classic automobile, tractor or whatever, they would like to feature it in Franklin County Collects Vehicle of the Month.

Below is the article that appeared in The St. Albans (Vt.) Messenger, Saturday, April 19, 2008 Edition:

Franklin County Collects

The museum that glass built?

Fletcher's collection begins with rare negatives

ByJASON COVELY
Messenger Correspondent

FLETCHER — Charles Tinker Sr., Fletcher Historical Societies first president, spearheads efforts to create a Fletcher-based collection for the tentative summer opening of the soon-to-be Fletcher Historical Society Museum.

The Fletcher Historical Societies first acquisition is a collection of nearly 400 vintage glass photograph negatives (circa 1890-1915) of Fletcher scenes and people.

Glass negatives are much like film negatives and can be used to make unlimited copies..

These negatives provide a one-of-a-kind time capsule of rural Fletcher and a peek at the lifestyle and dress of the Vermont of that era.

They however, have a history of their own, and for a time were lost to the town.

Fletcher's late Effie Burdick-Gillilan, Charles Tinker's grandfather's sister, commissioned the taking of the photographs, said Tinker, who is also a genealogy buff, member of the cemetery association, and a town lister.

A traveling photographer most likely took them, said Tinker, but that person's name is now lost to the sands of time.

After Burdick-Gillilan's death, the collection remained in Fletcher with one of her sons.

"About 20 years ago an antique guy came and bought them," said Tinker, who retired after working as Aubuchon Hardware's Essex Junction store manager. That was the point where the collection disappeared from Fletcher, but not forever.

Luckily, the Fletcher negatives were never broken up and sold piecemeal or damaged and remain much as they where when Burdick-Gillilan commissioned them a century or more ago.

"We purchased them from an antiques dealer in Bristol for $4.000, said Tinker.

Four thousand dollars was viewed as reasonable price to pay for such important images of early Fletcher.

"The town voted to take a loan out for the collection at the last Town Meeting Day," explained Charles who brokered a wise investment for the town of Fletcher at roughly $10 per glass negative.

Tinker has one piece of advice about caring for glass negatives. Do not touch the slides surface with your hands. Handle them by the outer edges of the pane because sweat and oils damage them permanently.

There is a primary reason why Charles Tinker Sr. is so involved with the stewardship of his hometown's historical society. "We were the only town in Franklin County without a historical society, and my roots go back here so far. It is something that needed to be started" he says.

When Tinker says the word "roots" he means it. He is related to Jonathan Hunkins (1782-1844). The Hunkins family came up to Fletcher from Bradford, and Jonathan lived in Fletcher until he passed away in 1844.

The Tinker family tree branches out beyond the Green Mountains and back to the very genesis of the western migration of Europeans and European colonization of the Americas.

"I have two Mayflower certificates that prove my ancestry back to the Mayflower people. My grandfather Tinker was related to Stephen Hopkins and my grandmother Tinker to Henry Samson." said Tinker, who is also the Binghamville United Methodist Church president.

The Fletcher Historical Society is still in its development phase, but the collection of vintage Fletcher glass photographic negatives is an impressive start to its collection.

Note: If you have Fletcher or Vermont based items that you wish to donate to FHS, or if you would like to make a monetary donation contact the Fletcher Town Office. Also, time and knowledge can be as useful as any type of charitable donation, says Tinker.

[bnelli6]

Frank and I are were pleased to read that the Town of Fletcher bought the glass negatives. When we owned the store in Fletcher we had found some of Harold Shepardson's photos up in the attic of the store.
Eleanor Ballway took them down to UVM and they made copies of them. The glass negatives were returned to us. Sad to say that they were lost when the store burned in 1979. I'm sure the that UVM has the copies on file somewhere.