New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Mohawk Valley

American Revolution In The Mohawk Valley Events At Fort Plain Museum

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Fort Plain MuseumThe Fort Plain Museum will be hosting interpretive historians over the coming month, including: Glenn A. Bentz, who will present on the Haudenosaune (Iroquois) in the Mohawk Valley in the 18th Century; Jeff Tew who will discuss British Officers serving in the Mohawk Valley during the American Revolution; and John Anson, who specializes in Artillery, will offer an audio-visual presentation on cannon manufacturing in the 18th century.

Presentations begin at 7 pm. Admission is free and open to the public, although donations are appreciated. The Fort Plain Museum is located at 389 Canal Street, Fort Plain. Check their Facebook page or website at http://fortplainmuseum.com/index.html Details can be found below. [Read more…] about American Revolution In The Mohawk Valley Events At Fort Plain Museum

American Revolution Authors At Fort Plain Museum

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Fort Plain MuseumThe Fort Plain Museum will be hosting authors Don Hagist and Todd Andrlik to talk about their recent books about the American Revolution this Thursday, September 18th at 7 pm. Hagist will be speaking about his book British Soldiers: American War which details the lives of British soldiers during the American Revolution. Also scheduled is author Todd Andrlik who will speak on his book Reporting the Revolution. The book is a collection of newspaper articles written and published in the colonial newspapers both here in America and in Great Britain. The articles offer insights on the war in America and how these events were viewed by the common people.

Additionally Hagist will offer a glimpse of a new book he is writing based on an 1864 publication Last Men of the Revolution. Recently the Fort Plain Museum, working in cooperation with the Hagist, uncovered research on a 2nd New Hampshire soldier stationed at Fort Plain. The soldier, Samuel Downing was photographed at the age of 102 with what was then a relatively new technology. Hagist is revisiting the topic and exploring the lives of these early veterans who lived well into the middle of the 19th century. [Read more…] about American Revolution Authors At Fort Plain Museum

Underground Railroad History: Vigilance Committees

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The Vigilance Committee Flyer courtesy of American Antiquarian SocietyAs the 1830s drew to a close and the 1840s began, committees were formed in some cities in the north to protect freedom seekers from re-enslavement, and to assist them in their flight to freedom in the north or in Canada. As slave catchers sought freedom seekers, these “vigilance” committees provided legal assistance, food, clothing, money, employment, and temporary shelter.

Such a committee formed in Albany in the early 1840s, and one continued to exist up to the time of the Civil War. Albany’s anti-slavery newspaper, Tocsin of Liberty, identifies ten people, Blacks and whites, as members of the executive body of the local Vigilance Committee in 1842. Some are familiar names from the city’s history, such as Thomas Paul and Revolutionary War veteran Benjamin Lattimore. [Read more…] about Underground Railroad History: Vigilance Committees

Revolutionary War Photographs Linked to Fort Plain

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SamuelDowningThe Fort Plain Museum has announced that researchers have located several early photographs (called a carte de visite or CDV) of two Revolutionary War soldiers who served at Fort Plain.

Private Samuel Downing of Captain John Dennett’s Company, Colonel George Reid Commanding, 2nd New Hampshire Regiment, was stationed at Fort Rensselaer/Fort Plain from February 20, 1782 until September 20th that same year when the regiment was transferred to Johnstown. Downing had his picture taken in 1863 as one of the last surviving veterans of the war for American Independence, a time when the American Civil War was at its height. Downing, who had made Edinburgh, NY his home after the Revolution, passed away there three years later in 1866 at the age of 105. [Read more…] about Revolutionary War Photographs Linked to Fort Plain

Bob Cudmore: How ‘The Historians’ Came to WVTL Radio

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Bob Cudmore on WVTLMy first foray into local history was in 2000 when Steve Dunn and I co-produced the WMHT television documentary “Historic Views of the Carpet City: Amsterdam, N.Y.” Amsterdam is my home town. That same year my first book came out, self published. You Can’t Go Wrong: Stories from Nero, N.Y. and Other Tales (2000). [Read more…] about Bob Cudmore: How ‘The Historians’ Came to WVTL Radio

Drums Along the Mohawk Outdoor Drama 2014 Season

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Drums Along The Mohawk Outdoor TheatreFollowing a successful debut in 2013, the Drums Along the Mohawk Outdoor Drama is expanding its performance schedule to four shows for 2014 at Gelston Castle Estate, 980 Robinson Road, Mohawk, NY.

Kyle Jenks, the writer and producer of Drums Along the Mohawk Outdoor Drama used the plotline from the famous novel Drums Along the Mohawk by Walter D. Edmonds and adapted it for the outdoor stage. [Read more…] about Drums Along the Mohawk Outdoor Drama 2014 Season

The Battle of Oriskany and General Nicholas Herkimer

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image001(7)During the critical Battle of Oriskany in August 1777, Continental forces led by General Nicholas Herkimer defeated the British army under St. Leger in the heart of New York’s Mohawk Valley. It was a hard-won victory, but he and his troops prevented the British from splitting the colonies in two.

In The Battle of Oriskany and General Nicholas Herkimer: Revolution in the Mohawk Valley (History Press, 2013), Paul Boehlert presents a gripping account of the events before, during and after this critical battle. [Read more…] about The Battle of Oriskany and General Nicholas Herkimer

Susan B. Anthony’s Sleigh Ride Through New York State

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Twas_Night_Before_Christmas_Airborne_SleighAs many of us anticipate winter traveling in New York State this week, we might complain about the price of gas, too much traffic, or long hours on the road. None of our journeys could compare with the one Susan B. Anthony embarked on December 25, 1854.

Ignoring the holiday that most of her friends and family celebrated, Susan set out, not on a train or stagecoach. Just like Santa, she chose a sleigh, pulled not by reindeer but by horses. Just like Santa, she had vast goals in mind, which seemed as miraculous as those he pursued. Yet Susan’s trip would last far longer than twenty-four hours. She planned to visit each of New York’s 54 counties and take four months to do so. [Read more…] about Susan B. Anthony’s Sleigh Ride Through New York State

Early Black Musicians in Upstate New York

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Early African American FiddlerThe film 12 Years a Slave tells the story of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was lured away from Saratoga Springs, New York in 1841, and sold into slavery. Though he played the fiddle (and the men who tricked him into leaving Saratoga told him they wanted him to fiddle for a circus), the film overstates Northup’s status as a musician. Primarily, he earned his money from other work.

In his 1853 autobiography however, Northup wrote that prior to moving to Saratoga he had performed: “Wherever the young people assembled to dance, I was almost invariably there.” He attained some renown in Washington County, since: “Throughout the surrounding villages my fiddle was notorious.” [Read more…] about Early Black Musicians in Upstate New York

The Leadership Role of Municipal Historians

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19120822As the new year gets underway, it is appropriate to pause and reflect on open issues from years gone by. I am referring now to the role in 2013 of the county historian as a custodian for New York State history as we forge ahead with our Path through History Project.

The starting point for this investigation is an article which appeared on September 12, 2012 just after the summer launch in August entitled “New York State’s Curious, Century-Old Law Requiring Every City and Town to Have a Historian” by Amanda Erickson in The Atlantic Cities. [Read more…] about The Leadership Role of Municipal Historians