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Our Women’s History Experiment, And An Opportunity

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Womens History MonthAt the end of February we asked for contributions of essays highlighting the role of women in New York State History in celebration of Women’s History Month. The response was excellent and The New York History Blog published 14 pieces, many from writers who have never contributed here before. Several of those related to the Adirondacks and were also published in the online journal Adirondack Almanack.

Over the course of the month thousands of people were introduced to the stories of New York women, but we shouldn’t stop here. I’m hoping readers will see this as an opportunity to bring forth their own stories about the role of women in the history of New York. Whatever aspect of history you are interested in, women played a role. Take the time to let us know about that history by contributing, not just in March, but throughout the year. Here’s how.

I’ve provided links to the stories and editorial commentary below: [Read more…] about Our Women’s History Experiment, And An Opportunity

The Spirit of the Times: A 19th Century Chronicle of American Sports

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Title page of the September 1, 1894 issue of The Spirit of the Times, featuring an illustration by Henry Stull.In the early 1800s it was unusual for Americans to be interested in sporting matters on their own shores. News from Europe was the only sporting news of merit, and publishing an American sporting journal was considered a risky use of capital.

The first attempt along these lines may have been in 1829 Baltimore, where John S. Skinner published a monthly magazine which focused on race horse pedigrees called The American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine. Another early attempt was published in New York by the recognized writer and horseman Cadwallader R. Colden, whose organ was called The New-York Sporting Magazine and Annals of the American and English Turf, first published in 1833.

Among the most notable of the sporting press arrived in 1831, when William T. Porter and James Haw published the first issue of The Spirit of the Times, focusing on horse literature and sporting subjects. They had chosen the name for their broadsheet from a quotation in Shakespeare’s King John, “The spirit of the times shall teach me speed.” [Read more…] about The Spirit of the Times: A 19th Century Chronicle of American Sports

July 1931: Prohibition Agents Seize A Still Near Lake George

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Prohibition Agents Seize StillDuring Prohibition the social life of so many Americans was made criminal overnight. Here’s a little nugget from the July 2, 1931 Ticonderoga Sentinel.

One wonders if the men arrested here ever served any hard time. I suspect they did. [Read more…] about July 1931: Prohibition Agents Seize A Still Near Lake George

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

Hyde Collection Receives Gift of Major Crockwell Painting

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The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, NY has announced that it has received a gift of a 1934 oil painting by Douglass Crockwell (1904-1968) entitled “Paper Workers, Finch Pruyn & Co,” from Mr. and Mrs. Samuel P. Hoopes, of Bolton Landing, New York.

Douglass Crockwell was a founding trustee of The Hyde Collection, acted as its first director, and was famous for his illustrative paintings for such national publications as the Saturday Evening Post, Life, Look, and Esquire. His commercial illustrations were commissioned by such manufacturing and industry giants as General Electric, General Motors, Coca Cola, and Standard Oil. Crockwell lived and worked in Glens Falls from 1932 until his death in 1968. [Read more…] about Hyde Collection Receives Gift of Major Crockwell Painting

Broadway Goes to War: Soldier Shows of World War I

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Illustration: The cover of sheet music for Atta Boy!A talk at the New York State Library will tell the story of the “soldier shows” which were presented during and after the first World War.

The program, titled “Broadway Goes to War: Soldier Shows of World War I,” will be held on Saturday, October 28, 2017, at 2 pm, at the State Library, located in the Cultural Education Center, 222 Madison Avenue, Albany, New York. Local author David Fiske will be the presenter. [Read more…] about Broadway Goes to War: Soldier Shows of World War I

Underground RR Project Holding Public History Convention

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Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region will hold its 16th annual public history convention, Liberty Con 2017 – Americans@Risk: Race, Denial, privilege, and Who Matters, on March 24 to 25 at Schenectady County Community College and on March 26 at The Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence in Albany.

Attendees will be able to explore race relations, gender issues, immigration reform, white privilege, and religion, and their relationship with American history. As well as dialogue about action responses through a series of workshops, roundtable conversations, and keynote speakers. [Read more…] about Underground RR Project Holding Public History Convention

New Critical Edition of ‘Twelve Years a Slave’

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twelve years a slave bookTwelve Years A Slave (W.W. Norton Critical Edition, 2017) offers the autobiography of Solomon Northup, based on the 1853 first edition. It is accompanied by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Kevin Burke’s introduction and detailed explanatory footnotes.

Solomon Northup was a New York State-born free African-American man who was kidnapped in Washington, DC, in 1841 and sold into slavery. Northup worked on plantations in the state of Louisiana for 12 years before his release. [Read more…] about New Critical Edition of ‘Twelve Years a Slave’