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Four Nymphs, a Satyr and Manhattan’s Ladies’ Mile

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Portrait of John David WolfeUntil the mid-1860s the Fifth Avenue area around Madison Square was Manhattan’s “aristocratic” heart. Its brownstone mansions were occupied by the city’s elite. The gradual incursion of commerce into this residential haven started with high-class hotels.

In 1864 Hoffmann House was one of the first to open its doors. Owned by Cassius H. Read, it was located on the corner of 25th Street & Broadway and contained tree hundred rooms with all the latest conveniences. The establishment proudly advertised its lavish furnishings, carefully chosen artworks, and refined French (Parisian) cuisine. At a time that hotel living was becoming a fashionable alternative to owning a family mansion for wealthy New Yorkers, Hoffmann House was recommended as the most comfortable and homelike residence in the metropolis.

During the 1880s the hotel’s “grand salon” became one of New York’s “secretive” attractions for a very specific reason. [Read more…] about Four Nymphs, a Satyr and Manhattan’s Ladies’ Mile

Slave-holding New York State Congressional Representatives: A Complete List

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United States CapitolAccording to a Washington Post report in the early years of the American republic over 1,700 Congressional representatives, Senators and Congressmen owned enslaved people. Despite a very clear conflict of interest they voted on the laws governing the country and the enslaved population. Some Representatives served in Congress long after slavery was finally abolished in New York State.

Five of the first seven U.S. Presidents were definitely slaveholders and at least five other later Presidents had family connections to slavery. Five of the Supreme Court Justices who ruled that African Americans had no citizenship rights under the Constitution in the 1857 Dred Scott decision were slaveholders. [Read more…] about Slave-holding New York State Congressional Representatives: A Complete List

Ballston Spa’s Abner Doubleday and Baseball

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The Historians LogoThis week’s guest on The Historians Podcast is Ballston Spa author and historian David Fiske who questions the persistent claim that Ballston Spa native and Civil War general Abner Doubleday invented the game of baseball in Cooperstown. [Read more…] about Ballston Spa’s Abner Doubleday and Baseball

Emancipation Days Features Solomon Northup Family

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Scripter Gala 12YAS Poster brIn November 2013 when Melissa Howell, descendent of Solomon Northup was asked to speak at the 2014 Peterboro Emancipation Days, little did anyone suspect that her great, great, great grandfather’s 160 year old biographical book Twelve Years a Slave would win the 2014 Academy Award for Best Motion Picture of the Year.

With five producers, including Steve McQueen and Brad Pitt (who also acted in the film) the film, and people associated with it, won many other awards, scooping up members of the current Northup family in the momentum. At 2 p.m. Saturday, August 2 at the Smithfield Community Center (5255 Pleasant Valley Road, Peterboro NY) Howell, her mother Shirley Howell, and her aunt Irene Northup-Zahos will discuss the film, the effects it had on the Northup family, and other experiences and opportunities that have come forth from the film. Howell will proudly display the University of Southern California Scripter Award conferred on Northup as the author of the written work upon which the Academy Award winning screenplay was based. Howell is also the founder of The Solomon Northup Legacy 1808. [Read more…] about Emancipation Days Features Solomon Northup Family

Solomon Northup Day Planned for July 20th

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Solomon Northup Day has been set for Saturday, July 20, 2019 at the Willsboro School, 29 School Lane, Willsboro, from 4 to 5:30 pm.

Solomon Northup was a free black man living in Saratoga Springs, New York, who was lured from home in 1841, abducted and sold into slavery in the South. After years as a slave, he was rescued and authored the book Twelve Years a Slave. The book was the basis for the Oscar-winning film, 12 Years a Slave. [Read more…] about Solomon Northup Day Planned for July 20th

Solomon Northup Day Planned For Saturday, July 19th

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Solomon Northup in a Sketch from Twelve Years a SlaveThe 16th annual Solomon Northup Day, an afternoon of activities inspired by a powerful memoir of enslavement and eventual freedom, will take place on Saturday, July 19, from 12:30 to 6 pm in Filene Recital Hall at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY.

The story of Solomon Northup, an African-American man abducted into slavery in 1841 and transported to Louisiana, is now known internationally thanks to the acclaimed 2013 film based on Northup’s autobiography, Twelve Years a Slave. But a grassroots effort to raise awareness of this compelling story has been going on for the past 15 years, in particular through Solomon Northup Day, an annual event launched in 1999 by Saratoga Springs resident and Skidmore College alumna Renee Moore. [Read more…] about Solomon Northup Day Planned For Saturday, July 19th

Peter Feinman: The Brooklyn State of History

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Currier and Ives print of Brooklyn, 1879What is the Brooklyn story and if there is one, is it being told?  In December, I wrote a post here about the Dutch heritage. That led to two responses from people who can claim a direct connection to that heritage in Brooklyn.

“My mother’s family ‘way back’ (1638) was Dutch, and helped found what is now Brooklyn. As I understand, they owned part of what is now Prospect Park. (I shocked a very family-proud great-aunt by saying ‘They should have held on to it; it would be worth a lot of money today!’ I was probably about 10 years old at the time and not impressed by family background!” – Celin Schoen [Read more…] about Peter Feinman: The Brooklyn State of History

Abner Doubleday’s 200th Birthday Celebration Set For Ballston Spa

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doubleday birthdayMembers of the Saratoga County History Roundtable and Brookside Museum are set to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Abner Doubleday’s birth on June 26, 2019 in Ballston Spa. [Read more…] about Abner Doubleday’s 200th Birthday Celebration Set For Ballston Spa

New York History Blog Marking 10 Years

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A recent call from the California State Library praising the work of the The New York History Blog and inquiring about how to model the blog’s successes in The Golden State, reminded me that it’s been ten years.

It couldn’t have happened without the many supporters and contributors, our long time advertiser The Adirondack Experience, and especially our longest and most generous supporter Suzanne Clary, executive director of the Jay Heritage Center. Without the generous contributions of our supporters, we simply could not have produced the most widely read publication about New York State history these long years.

In addition to keeping the state’s history community informed about new publications, newly available collections, the efforts of public history and historic preservation advocates, and notices about exhibits, events, conferences, and events, The New York History Blog has served as an important place to discuss the challenges, and I think there are some notable successes of this largely volunteer effort.  [Read more…] about New York History Blog Marking 10 Years

Saratoga History Being Featured On C-SPAN

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A crew from C-SPAN, the cable channel that covers government proceedings and public affairs, visited Saratoga Springs, New York, in late September 2017.

In addition to speaking with various community leaders, C-SPAN producers talked to horse trainer H. James Bond, outrider Natalie Rutigliano, and jockey Robbie Davis while it toured the Oklahoma Training Track and the facilities at the historic Saratoga Racetrack.

C-SPAN’s Local Content Vehicle also stopped by several other local sites, including Congress Park, the Saratoga Battlefield in Stillwater, and Grant’s Cottage in Wilton. [Read more…] about Saratoga History Being Featured On C-SPAN