The Western New York Genealogical Society has announced Researching Genealogy at the New York State Archives, an event set for Saturday, September 21, from 10:30 am to noon, at the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, Central Branch Central Meeting Room, 2nd Floor, 1 Lafayette Square, Buffalo. [Read more…] about Researching Genealogy at NYS Archives in Buffalo
Buffalo
The Patriot War: Republic of Canada
A nineteenth century invading army’s journey into battle had two options, by land or by water. In the winter of 1838 the patriot army, which sought to invade Canada from New York State and overthrow the British Crown, saw a third alternative – by ice.
With Lake Erie covered with ice, “a band of the invaders determined to make it an avenue of passage across to Canada at a point where discovery would be improbable,” according to Our County and Its People, A History of Erie County published in 1898. [Read more…] about The Patriot War: Republic of Canada
The Patriot War: ‘Remember the Caroline’
When the fugitive William Lyon MacKenzie arrived in Buffalo Dec. 11, 1837, both the Lake Erie city and the United States were at the dawn of great expansion. The Erie Canal had been completed a decade earlier, and Buffalo was now the gateway for western migration.
There also was talk of expansion to the nation’s south. Just a year earlier, American frontiersmen had taken up arms and carved the Republic of Texas out of Mexico Could northern expansion also be part of America’s destiny? If not expansion, could Americans at least help their neighbors throw off the last English claim on North America? [Read more…] about The Patriot War: ‘Remember the Caroline’
The Forgotten War Between the United States and Canada
William Lyon MacKenzie strode into a packed theater in Buffalo, NY on the night of Dec. 12, 1837, his blue eyes blazing beneath his high, broad forehead, his sandy whiskers a chinstrap beard. The short, wiry 42-year-old native of Scotland had arrived in the booming border city a day earlier, a fugitive with a price on his head, after launching an ill-fated rebellion against the oligarchy that ruled colonial Canada.
More than 2,000 Buffalo residents waited anxiously to hear him speak, quite a crowd for a city of not even 18,000 souls. [Read more…] about The Forgotten War Between the United States and Canada
A Sunken Buffalo Canal Barge, A Coal Baron, A Canal Diver & A Publisher
On June 17, 1909 the Broadalbin Herald newspaper reported on a canal boat that sunk in Fort Hunter that was loaded with 240 tons of salt. The barge, George Bleistein had been hauling the salt in a “double header” (both barges being towed together) along with the Col. J.H. Horton. Both barges were from Buffalo and captained by George H. Ray of Port Byron. The George Bleistein sank ON the Schoharie Creek Aqueduct.
Reportedly, a steam pump and diver were required to raise the boat and the cargo was thought to be a total loss. The bags of salt were consigned to The International Salt Company of New York, which continues today in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. [Read more…] about A Sunken Buffalo Canal Barge, A Coal Baron, A Canal Diver & A Publisher
Fenian Irish Raids On Canada Historian Speaking In NYC
Christopher Klein, author of When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland’s Freedom (Doubleday, 2019), is set to share the true story of the Civil War veterans who fought for Ireland’s freedom by launching attacks on Canada, on Monday, April 8 at 6:30 pm at the American Irish Historical Society in New York City. [Read more…] about Fenian Irish Raids On Canada Historian Speaking In NYC
Tracing Your Family Tree at Buffalo History Museum
A presentation, Tracing Your Family Tree, is set for Wednesday, April 24th at the Buffalo History Museum, One Museum Court, Buffalo.
Join D. Joshua Taylor, President of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, will discuss how to best access and use important collections for genealogical research, with a focus on the New York collections. Highlights of specific materials (and what treasures can be found) will be discussed alongside techniques for preparing to do research, either online or in Albany. [Read more…] about Tracing Your Family Tree at Buffalo History Museum
Former Buffalo State Asylum Receives Preservation Award
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has announced the 145-year-old Richardson Olmsted Campus in Buffalo, New York as one of only three winners of the 2018 Richard H. Driehaus Foundation National Preservation Awards.
Given each year at the end of a juried competition, the Driehaus Foundation National Preservation Awards are bestowed on historic preservation efforts that demonstrate excellence in execution and a positive impact on the vitality of their towns and cities. [Read more…] about Former Buffalo State Asylum Receives Preservation Award
Richardson Olmsted Site Offering Sign Language Tours
The Richardson Olmsted Campus in Buffalo has announced the introduction of American Sign Language (ASL) interpreted tours of the 145-year-old National Historic Landmark.
The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo has partnered with the Richardson Olmsted Campus and Deaf Access Services to provide ASL-interpreted historical tours of the iconic Buffalo landmark. [Read more…] about Richardson Olmsted Site Offering Sign Language Tours
Buffalo’s Dug’s Dive Riot of 1863
Not much has been written about this civil disturbance that occurred on the afternoon of August 12, 1862 when Irish and German stevedores protested against local dock bosses, demanding increased pay for their work, and preventing others from working however when police responded the rioters overpowered them and Chief Dullard and other members of the force injured.
Ultimately the police regained control of the situation with gunfire wounding two rioters and arresting the ring leaders. [Read more…] about Buffalo’s Dug’s Dive Riot of 1863