Auburn

Grants Support Cayuga County History Curator, Exhibit

September 28, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Cayuga Museum of History and Art in Auburn, NY was awarded a $50,000 Inspire! Grant for Small Museums from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The grant will be matched 1:1 by a donation from Brad Schwartz, to fully support a Curator position for two years.

This Curator will have the task during this time period of developing an interpretive plan for a major new project: a comprehensive exhibit exploring the entire history of Cayuga County. [Read more…] about Grants Support Cayuga County History Curator, Exhibit

New Digital Resources for Underground Railroad History Research

September 10, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Recently retired Cornell University Professor Gerard Aching will present on his research and coordination of the Underground Railroad Research Project, which highlights the extensive roots of the network in Central New York, Western New York, and the Finger Lakes Region. [Read more…] about New Digital Resources for Underground Railroad History Research

Euro-American Expansion Into The Finger Lakes Region

August 27, 2023 by Guest Contributor 7 Comments

The Treaty of Paris of 1783 officially ended hostilities between the British and Americans; however, the treaty did not include the allied Indian Nations, leaving their legacy treaties with the Europeans unresolved and their future to be resolved through separate treaties with the new American government. [Read more…] about Euro-American Expansion Into The Finger Lakes Region

Deciding Vote: Film Tells Story of George Michaels Deciding NYS Abortion Vote

August 8, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Cayuga Museum’s Carriage House Theater will screen a new documentary from Wheelhouse Creative, “Deciding Vote”, which explores the story of former New York State Assemblyman George Michaels, a prominent member of Auburn, NY’s Jewish community and a veteran of World War Two.

Michaels entered politics in the tumultuous era of the 1960s, and became a central figure in paving the way for abortion rights in the US when his switched vote barely passed New York’s law legalizing abortion in 1970. [Read more…] about Deciding Vote: Film Tells Story of George Michaels Deciding NYS Abortion Vote

Annie Edson Taylor: Over Niagara Falls & Into The Poor House

July 26, 2023 by Jack Kelly Leave a Comment

Advancing into the later stages of life, some turn their thoughts to immortality, whether through achievement, offspring, or religion. Many more focus on simply having enough dough to sustain themselves with dignity to the end. Annie Edson Taylor took aim at both goals.

In 1901, she was approaching her sixty-third birthday. She had long fended for herself, an adventurous entrepreneur in an age when most women were still locked into dependency. But life offered scant opportunity for an aging free spirit. [Read more…] about Annie Edson Taylor: Over Niagara Falls & Into The Poor House

Canton Eddie, Turn of the Century Safecracker

December 30, 2021 by John Warren Leave a Comment

“Canton Eddie” (a.k.a. “Boston Shorty,” Edward Collins, Edward Burns, Harry Wilson and possibly Harry Berger and Eddie Kinsman) who real name is believed to have been Edward Wilson, was a native of St. Lawrence County, born in about 1876 in Canton.

He was the perpetrator of a string of daring robberies in New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont, and probably elsewhere during his lengthy career. Using nitro-glycerin and “the rest of the safecracker’s outfit” he blew the safes of more than 30 post offices, including the Montpelier, Vermont Post Office at least twice in 1905 and in 1907. By the time he was arrested for the last time in 1916, he had already served a number of prison sentences totaling more than nine years. [Read more…] about Canton Eddie, Turn of the Century Safecracker

A Killing in Rock City Falls

November 4, 2021 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Pearl Marcellus was born May 23rd, 1898, in the Town of Day, Saratoga County, NY, the daughter of Delbert and Elvira (Colson) Marcellus. By age five, her mother had died in childbirth along with her newborn sister, leaving her father to raise nine children.

Pearl was the youngest. She and her father moved to Rock City Falls shortly after 1915. What happened there on November 1, 1917 is told in court testimony by Pearl’s friend Margaret Seeley. [Read more…] about A Killing in Rock City Falls

Black History in Upstate New York Programs Begin August 16th

August 4, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum (NAHOF) will present Black History in Upstate New York programs, created by Colgate University graduate Victoria Basulto, beginning August 16th.

The daily programs will provide a combination of bite-sized informational videos and longer presentations by scholars on historical figures and places that emphasize the crucial role Black Americans have played in the history of Upstate New York. The events will be available on the Hall of Fame’s YouTube channel. [Read more…] about Black History in Upstate New York Programs Begin August 16th

First To Volunteer: The Conflicting Civil War Claims

March 18, 2020 by Brenda Thomas 5 Comments

When rumbles of impending Civil War rolled through the North, New Yorkers were roused to volunteer even before Fort Sumter was taken and the President rallied troops.

After Sumter fell and Lincoln issued his proclamation, more New Yorkers offered their service to the Union. Likewise, men in other states sought to join the Union army both before and after the proclamation.

After the war, some of those early, quick volunteers also battled to be named the first volunteer for the Union. Months, years, and decades after the war, numerous claims and accolades for who had been the first volunteer began emerging across the North. [Read more…] about First To Volunteer: The Conflicting Civil War Claims

Black Soldiers of NYS Talk Features Cayuga County

October 29, 2018 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Local historian and author Anthony Gero is set to present a lecture about African American soldiers on Sunday, November 4 at 2 pm in the Carriage House Theater at the Cayuga Museum.

In this presentation, Gero will offer a vision of these soldiers’ legacies from 1750 through the First World War, featuring the role of African Americans from Cayuga County.