New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Albany

The Road to Ticonderoga: The Campaign of 1758 in the Champlain Valley

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Road to Ticonderoga Campaign 1758 Champlain ValleyThe British campaign to capture Fort Carillon on the Ticonderoga Peninsula in 1758 resulted in the largest battle of the French and Indian War. Crafted by Prime Minister William Pitt, the scope and scale of the British effort was staggering, calling for their northern colonies to raise 20,000 men to rendezvous with the British Regulars at Albany.

The directive would test the patience, resources, and will of the colonial governments as well as that of the newly appointed the British commander-in-chief, General James Abercrombie. [Read more…] about The Road to Ticonderoga: The Campaign of 1758 in the Champlain Valley

The Sinking of the Steamship Ville du Harve

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Rufus Wheeler Peckham (1809-1873)On May 17, 1870, Judge Rufus Wheeler Peckham was appointed a justice of the New York Court of Appeals, but in the early 1870s he began to show signs of skin cancer – a tumor had appeared on his lip. Advised that no known cure was available in the United States, he decided to undertake a trip with his wife to Europe to seek medical help.

On November 15, 1873, Judge Peckham sailed for Europe on the  SS Ville du Havre of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (French Line) bound for Havre, France near Paris. [Read more…] about The Sinking of the Steamship Ville du Harve

Judge Rufus Wheeler Peckham & The McCann Murder

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Rufus Wheeler Peckham (1809-1873)In 1787, Patroon Stephen Van Rensselaer III sent an agent to Rensselaerville in Albany County, NY to conduct a land survey. At that time there were 60 occupied lots in the village, rented by tenants.

Among them was Captain Daniel Shay, known as the leader of “Shays’ Rebellion” in Massachusetts, who purchased a farm from David Williams and settled in the vicinity of Preston’s Hollow in 1795. David Williams had been one of the captors of British spy, Major John André. [Read more…] about Judge Rufus Wheeler Peckham & The McCann Murder

French Canadians in Northern New York: A Primer

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Two French Canadian Renaud-King-Lavigne family members arm wrestling in Cohoes (Courtesy Siena College Je me Souviens)Although a few arrived in the 150 years before to exploit the region’s natural resources, French-speaking Canadians began settling in New York in larger numbers during and after the American Revolution (many as refugees from English power in Canada). [Read more…] about French Canadians in Northern New York: A Primer

Albany’s Daniel Manning: Newspaperman & Secretary of the Treasury

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Photograph of Daniel Manning (1831-1887) U.S. Secretary of the TreasuryDaniel Manning was born in Albany, NY, on August 16, 1831, the second son of John and Eleanor Manning. The Mannings were of Irish, English, and Dutch descent.

Daniel was six at the time of the Panic of 1837 when his father died, causing financial strain on the politically connected family. When Daniel was ten he was appointed a page in the New York State Assembly where he served for two years. During the second year, he also got a job distributing the Albany Atlas newspaper. [Read more…] about Albany’s Daniel Manning: Newspaperman & Secretary of the Treasury

Albany County-Wide History Driving, Walking, and Bike Tours

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Ten Broeck MansionThe Albany County Historical Association and 11 other museums, historic, and cultural sites throughout Albany County are presenting a Path Through History Day on Saturday October 7 from 11 am until 4 pm. [Read more…] about Albany County-Wide History Driving, Walking, and Bike Tours

Flee North! Thomas Smallwood & The Early Underground Railroad

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Flee North Thomas Smallwood Early Underground RailroadBorn enslaved, by the 1840s Thomas Smallwood (1801–1883) had purchased his freedom, was self-educated, and working as a shoemaker a short walk from the U.S. Capitol.

Working alongside prominent abolitionist Charles Turner Torrey, the two men encouraged those enslaved to flee north and helped create what is believed to be the first organized line of the Underground Railroad. [Read more…] about Flee North! Thomas Smallwood & The Early Underground Railroad

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum Acquires Historical Paintings by Ernest Haas

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"The General Butler on the Burlington breakwater," Ernest Haas, 2000Historical painter Ernest Haas has donated a collection of his original artworks, prints, and materials to the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes, Vermont. Haas has been a longtime supporter of the museum, which already holds a few of his works.

This donation brings the total number of Haas’ original paintings held by the museum to 29. [Read more…] about Lake Champlain Maritime Museum Acquires Historical Paintings by Ernest Haas

1889 Tows on the Hudson River: Great Fleets of Freight Boats

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Hudson River. A tow just north of West Point (Hudson River Maritime Museum)This article, “Tows on the Hudson. The Great Fleets of Freight Boats That Come Down the River,” first appeared in the August 18, 1889 edition of The New York Times. It was transcribed by Hudson River Maritime Museum volunteer Carl Mayer and annotated by John Warren.

Very few persons who journey up and down the Hudson River either upon the palatial steamers or upon the railway trains that run along both banks of this great waterway know how great an amount of wealth is daily floated to this [New York] city on the canal boats and barges that compose the immense tows that daily leave West Troy [now Watervliet], Lansingburg, Albany, Kingston, and other points along the river bound for this city. [Read more…] about 1889 Tows on the Hudson River: Great Fleets of Freight Boats