History, Natural History & the Arts
Yates Street in Schenectady runs north and south from Union Street to Liberty Street, from the Friendship Baptist Church on Union Street to the Katbird Shop at the corner of Liberty and Yates.
In the late 1840s it was regularly traversed by the only former resident of Schenectady and the only graduate of Union College ever destined to occupy the office of President of the United States. [Read more…] about Chester A. Arthur, The Spoils System & Civil Service Reform
The Friends’ Trail Restoration Committee, members of the Adirondack Mountain Club, and some dedicated volunteers spent a weekend rebuilding sections of Dellwood Avenue at the Albany Rural Cemetery to turn the old carriage road into a safer walking trail. [Read more…] about Albany Rural Cemetery’s Dellwood Avenue Trail Restoration
The John Nicholas Bleecker was born in August 1739, the son of Albany businessman Nicholas Bleecker, Jr. and his wife, Margarita Roseboom Bleecker. When the American Revolution began in 1775, Bleecker was elected to represent the second ward on the Albany Committee of Safety, Protection and Correspondence.
He was commissioned in a militia company and while serving in the Commissary Department of the Northern Army he was involved in the removal of the cannon from Crown Point and Fort Ticonderoga in 1775. Bleecker died in October 1825 at the age of 87. [Read more…] about Revolutionary Soldier John Nicholas Bleecker Marker Dedication
Erastus Corning (1794-1872) got his business started in Troy and made the bulk of his fortune in railroads, including the production of iron tracks and hook-headed railroad spikes. Corning and his partner, John Flack Winslow, received the contract to make the deck and skirt armor for the USS Monitor and at least eight additional monitor class ironclad warships.
Born in Connecticut, Corning began his business career working in a relative’s hardware shop. His interest in the iron trade would eventually lead him to establish the New York Central Railroad which, during his lifetime, was the largest corporation in the United States. He served as Mayor of Albany, founding a political dynasty that continued into the 20th-century with Mayor Erastus Corning II. [Read more…] about Erastus Corning & His Ironworks
Tjerck Claeszen DeWitt immigrated to New Amsterdam (now New York City) from Grootholt in Zunterlant in 1656. Grootholt means Great Wood and Zunterland was probably located on the southern border of East Friesland, a German territory on the North Sea only ten miles from the most northerly province of the Netherlands.
By 1657, Tjerck DeWitt married Barber (Barbara) Andrieszen (also Andriessen) in the New Amsterdam Dutch Church and moved to Beverwyck (now Albany). While in Beverwyck, he purchased a house. At this time Albany contained 342 houses and about 1,000 residents, about 600 of whom were members of the Dutch Church. [Read more…] about Simeon DeWitt: America’s Surveyor General
The Friends of the Albany Rural Cemetery will host “Hidden Lakes & Ponds of Albany Rural Cemetery,” a two-part historical introduction to the many lakes and ponds that were part of the natural landscape of Albany Rural Cemetery, set for Saturday, April 23rd. [Read more…] about Albany Rural Cemetery’s Hidden Lakes & Ponds
The Albany Rural Cemetery will host “Cars & Crypts,” a classic car show centered around Cypress Pond and Millionaires Row on June 11th.
This event will provide a chance to see some vintage and classic automobiles, as well as view the inside of some of the cemetery’s historic “Millionaire’s Row” vaults, and more. [Read more…] about ‘Cars & Crypts’ Event Planned For Albany Rural Cemetery
The Albany Rural Cemetery has a completely new and improved website.
Users can search for graves, make a donation, become a member of the Friends, see updates and other news, find information on burial options from family plots to the cremation garden. [Read more…] about Albany Rural Cemetery’s New Website Debuts
Born in Fairfield, Vermont, Chester A. Arthur was a graduate of Union College and an educator at several local schools. As an attorney, he helped represent Elizabeth Jennings Graham, an African-American teacher, in the 1854 case to desegregate New York City streetcars. During the Civil War, he served as Quartermaster General of the New York State Militia.
He was elected Vice-President of the United States in 1880 and, following the assassination of James A. Garfield, Arthur became the 21st President. During his time in office, he signed the Pendleton Act which prohibited the solicitation of federal employees for political contributions, and created the Civil Service Commission (now the Office of Personnel Management). He also presided over the dedication of the Washington Monument and the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge. [Read more…] about Presidential Wreath Laying Set For Grave of Chester A. Arthur
Ira Harris was born at Charleston, Montgomery County, NY on May 31st, 1802 to Fredrick Waterman Harris and Lucy Hamilton. When he was six years old, his family moved to Preble, NY where his father became one of the largest landowners in Cortland County.
Harris attended Homer Academy and graduated from Union College in 1824. He studied law for one year in Homer, New York and then moved to Albany where he assisted one of that city’s most highly regarded jurists, Ambrose Spencer. [Read more…] about Albany’s Ira Harris: From Rights Advocate to Lincoln’s Assassination