The Underground Railroad Consortium of New York State has announced the formation of a new committee, focusing on archives and oral histories with the goal of identifying archival materials related to the Underground Railroad in New York State. [Read more…] about Underground Railroad Survey Seeks To Identify Local Collections
Archives
19th Century Oneida County Records Return Home
Oneida County History Center (OCHC) Trustee and Volunteer Barbara Granato recently acquired 19 boxes of records from county archives that the clerk’s office was removing from storage to be returned to their rightful homes in the town or village where they originated.
The records date from the 1840s, 1850s, and early 1900s and include birth, marriage, deaths, orders of filiation, indentures, and commitments to orphanages. Granato spent 10 months organizing, photographing, and transcribing each record. [Read more…] about 19th Century Oneida County Records Return Home
Preserving Motion Picture History (Podcast)
This week on The Historians Podcast, movie historian and SUNY Albany lecturer emeritus Audrey Kupferberg discusses film preservation. [Read more…] about Preserving Motion Picture History (Podcast)
New York Archives Conference Goes Virtual & Free
The New York Archives Conference, which brings together archivists, manuscript curators, local historians and local government record keepers to discuss issues of mutual concern to professional holders of historical records, will be held virtually this year, and admission will be free. [Read more…] about New York Archives Conference Goes Virtual & Free
Quarantine Pastimes: Help Transcribe Women’s Rights History
In recognition of 2020 and the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, Women’s Rights National Historical Park has invited the public to participate in a virtual transcribe-a-thon through the Library of Congress to help build their available sources of research.
From the safety of their own homes, volunteers can lend their hands to transcribing historical documents belonging to leaders of the women’s suffrage movement. [Read more…] about Quarantine Pastimes: Help Transcribe Women’s Rights History
Quarantine Pastimes: Local History Management Webinars
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented crisis in our local communities, country, and world. In response to concerns from the history community, American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) has developed a new webinar series — AASLH conversations — to help practitioners and institutions discuss how to respond to the current crisis. [Read more…] about Quarantine Pastimes: Local History Management Webinars
Fire Damages Palisades Park Commission Building, Archives
A substantial fire has closed the 1920s Palisades Interstate Park New Jersey Park Headquarters building in Alpine, N.J., across the Hudson River from Yonkers. No one was hurt in the blaze, but one Park Commissioner has said some of the Commission’s on-site records have been destroyed. The building was significantly damaged.
“All the historic things in the building are lost forever – the chief’s records and the records are gone,” Palisades Park Commissioner Sophie Haymann said, standing outside the smoldering 100-year old building. The Commission’s archival holdings are a largely untapped Hudson Valley treasure, but most are stored off-site. [Read more…] about Fire Damages Palisades Park Commission Building, Archives
Fort Ticonderoga Receives NEH Collections Planning Grant
Fort Ticonderoga has been named a recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for Humanities Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections program in the amount of $40,000.
The funds are expected to be utilized to develop a Master Preservation and Storage Needs Plan for the collections of historical artifacts housed in the Thompson-Pell Research Center on Fort Ticonderoga’s 2,000-acre museum campus and historic site. [Read more…] about Fort Ticonderoga Receives NEH Collections Planning Grant
Archivists File Brief In State Archives Copyright Case
The Society of American Archivists has joined with the American Library Association, Association of College and Research Libraries, Association of Research Libraries, and Software Preservation Network in a September 27 amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in the Allen v. Cooper case.
The case began when Frederick Allen, a videographer, sued North Carolina for copyright infringement. Allen also asked the court to declare a 2015 state law unconstitutional, claiming the law was passed in bad faith. [Read more…] about Archivists File Brief In State Archives Copyright Case
Featured Records: NYS Gov. Harriman’s 1954, 1958 Campaigns
W. Averell Harriman served as the Governor of New York from 1955 to 1958. A collection of records held at the New York State Archives, which cover both Harriman’s 1954 and 1958 campaigns, include copies of speeches, addresses, press releases, correspondence, party platforms, and fact sheet binders.
[Read more…] about Featured Records: NYS Gov. Harriman’s 1954, 1958 Campaigns