New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Western NY

Historical Societies, Museums Professional Development Grants Available

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The William G. Pomeroy Foundation is offering grants to Historical Societies and Historical Museums in NYS with annual budgets of $50,000 or less to attend the Museum Association of New York’s (MANY) annual conference being held April 8 – 10, 2018 in Rochester.

The grant of $1,000 can be used for conference registration, travel, meals/lodging, membership in MANY and the New York Council of Non-Profits. The grant deadline is February 15, 2018. [Read more…] about Historical Societies, Museums Professional Development Grants Available

Photo History – Photo Future Conference Set For Rochester

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Photo History Photo FutureThe complete program for the April 20-22 PhotoHistory/PhotoFuture conference in Rochester has been announced.

More than 70 speakers are expected, from nine nations and more than 15 U.S. states.

Topics and research subjects include new ways to view and understand “old” subjects (e.g., portraiture, landscapes) to novel, cross- and inter-disciplinary approaches to the medium (business, science, archivists, education, journalism, installations). [Read more…] about Photo History – Photo Future Conference Set For Rochester

Matilda Joslyn Gage Opera Opening in Syracuse

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reclaiming gageThe world premiere of the opera, Pushed Aside: Reclaiming Gage, is set for 4 pm Sunday, January 21 at the Carrier Theater, Civic Center, Syracuse.

Pushed Aside tells the story of Matilda Joslyn Gage, the lesser known third member of the “triumvirate” of early women’s suffragists – the other two being Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

This opera tells how the three came together in the early 1850’s, then had their split in 1890, resulting in Matilda being “pushed aside,” and right out of the history books. Matilda fought for others who had been “pushed aside,” including African-Americans and Native Americans, and how she came to believe that all freedom struggles are equal and interconnected. [Read more…] about Matilda Joslyn Gage Opera Opening in Syracuse

Lincoln Document At Emancipation Watch Night

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first step to freedomRetired Navy Commander Owen Corpin will again host the annual Peterboro Watch Night at 4 pm Sunday, December 31, 2017 at the Smithfield Community Center, 5255 Pleasant Valley Road.

Watch Night is held by the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum in commemoration of the long wait through the night of December 31, 1862 to see if President Abraham Lincoln would issue the Emancipation Proclamation on the first day of 1863. [Read more…] about Lincoln Document At Emancipation Watch Night

A Cannon Explodes: 19th Century Electioneering In Otsego County

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Battle of Vera CruzOn the morning of August 28, 1888 residents of Dimmock Hollow (Ostego County) woke up knowing that it was going to be a memorable day. They couldn’t have known how right they were. [Read more…] about A Cannon Explodes: 19th Century Electioneering In Otsego County

Abolition Hall of Fame Weekend Planned

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2016 Induction Webber Stewart LandThe National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum (NAHOF) commemoration ceremonies for the 2016 inductees will be held Saturday, October 21, 2017 at NAHOF, 5255 Pleasant Valley Road, Peterboro NY.

The inductees are Rev. John Gregg Fee, Beriah Green, Angelina Grimké, and James W.C. Pennington. This is the last year of the two year induction-commemoration cycle. Beginning in 2018 inductions and commemorations will be completed in one year.

At 3 on Saturday, October 21 Christopher L. Webber, who nominated Pennington to the Hall of Fame, will present James W.C. Pennington: Pastor and Abolitionist for the Abolition Symposia. Webber, the author of American to the Backbone: The Journey of James W.C. Pennington from Slavery to World Leader, will use his research to present Pennington’s remarkable story. Pennington was born in slavery in Maryland in 1808. At the age of 19, scared and illiterate, James escaped from slavery. Moving finally to Brooklyn he found work as a carriage man and took advantage of night schools. In 1829 Pennington participated in the first Negro National Convention of which he became the presiding officer in 1853. Pennington served congregations in Long Island, Hartford, and Manhattan and traveled three times to England, Scotland, and the continent of Europe as an anti-slavery advocate. He was so respected by European audiences that the University of Heidelberg awarded him an honorary doctorate, making him the first person of African descent to receive such a degree.  Pennington was accepted as the first black student at the Yale Divinity School and was accepted for ordination in the Congregational Church. April 26, 2014 Yale University celebrated the opening of the James W.C. Pennington Christian Ministry Center. [Read more…] about Abolition Hall of Fame Weekend Planned

Rebels on the Niagara: The Fenian Invasion of Canada

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rebels on the niagara book coverPurchases made through this Amazon link help support this site.

Lawrence E. Cline’s new book Rebels on the Niagara: The Fenian Invasion of Canada, 1866 (SUNY Press, 2017) takes a look at what is now largely considered a footnote in history, the American invasion of Canada along the Niagara Frontier.

The group behind the invasion – the Fenian Brotherhood – was formed in 1858 by Irish nationalists in New York City in order to fight for Irish independence from Britain. [Read more…] about Rebels on the Niagara: The Fenian Invasion of Canada

National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum Commemoration Weekend

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emancipation day 2017The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum (NAHOF) will commemorate its 2016 abolition inductees October 21 & 22, 2017 at 5255 Pleasant Valley Road, in Peterboro NY, the site of the inaugural meeting of the New York State Antislavery Society in 1835. 2017 is the last year of the two year cycle that NAHOF has used since 2005: one year to induct and the second year to commemorate with the unveiling of the Hall of Fame banners for each inductee. [Read more…] about National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum Commemoration Weekend

New York Museums Conference Call for Proposals

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The Museum Association of New York (MANY) will hold their Annual Conference on April 8-10, 2018, in Rochester NY.

This year’s MANY conference will take advantage of all that Rochester to offer; programs, workshops, and new Conference Capstones will be held in cultural institutions throughout the city. Evenings will include engaging networking events and dining experiences. [Read more…] about New York Museums Conference Call for Proposals

Sally Roesch Wagner: The Rest of the Suffrage Story

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bloomerSally Roesch Wagner PhD, Founder and Executive Director of the Matilda Joslyn Gage Center for Social Justice Dialogue in Fayetteville NY, will be the final speaker for the Peterboro Women’s History Weekend at 1:30 on Sunday, September 24 at the Smithfield Community Center in Peterboro NY.

Dr. Wagner’s program will culminate a weekend of activities related to women’s suffrage, dress reform, and the 19th C. “domestic sphere” in commemoration of the Centennial of NYS Women’s Suffrage.

Wagner will present The Rest of the Story of the Suffrage Movement which relates to Matilda Joslyn Gage’s and Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s position in 1880 on women’s voting. These two co-leaders of the National Woman Suffrage Association were beginning to see differently than Susan B. Anthony, the third co-leader of the organization. Anthony believed the movement should concentrate on getting women the vote. Gage contended that women already had the right to vote – that in a system based on the consent of the governed, the government just needed to protect the right to exercise citizenship, not “give” the right. [Read more…] about Sally Roesch Wagner: The Rest of the Suffrage Story