On Sunday, July 12, the City of White Plains will commemorate the 250th birthday of the United States with a parade, a reenactment of the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in the community and a “Colonial Village Experience.” This event is free and open to the public. [Read more…] about White Plains Declaration of Independence Reading Commemoration Sunday
DAR
DAR Intern To Support Great Camp Santanoni Digital Preservation
The Saranac Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) has announced that the organizational recipient of their 2026 Internship Program Award is Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) based in Keeseville, NY.
AARCH will use the $5,000 grant award to sponsor a digital preservation internship through the first half of 2026. The selected intern, Sam Lasher of Lake George, will assist AARCH with the digital preservation of historical files and photographs associated with AARCH’s involvement at Great Camp Santanoni in Newcomb, NY. [Read more…] about DAR Intern To Support Great Camp Santanoni Digital Preservation
Lafayette’s 1825 Visit to Oneida County
Oneida County, NY, was part of Marquis de Lafayette’s 1824-1825 visit to America. His interest in visiting the site of the Battle of Oriskany was partly responsible for bringing the aged general to the area.
Unlike George Washington’s comment about Oriskany – “In their hands rested the fate of a nation” – Lafayette’s sentiments are lost and can only be surmised from his well-known reverence for liberty. [Read more…] about Lafayette’s 1825 Visit to Oneida County
Revolutionary War Audits (1775-1785) Being Digitized
A new digitization project funded by the New York State’s Daughters of the American Revolution has begun on recently rediscovered records.
The project involves digitization and development of educational materials for the New York State Archives’ earliest (1775-1785) of the Journals of the Auditor General, 1775-1794. [Read more…] about Revolutionary War Audits (1775-1785) Being Digitized
Clinton County Commemorating Women’s Equality Day
Women’s Equality Day commemorates the passage of the 19th amendment in 1920 which ensured that no one was barred from voting due to their gender. This meant white women and black women but not Native American women, women who had married non-US citizens and Asian women. That would come later. [Read more…] about Clinton County Commemorating Women’s Equality Day
The Tale of Whaling: In Story and Song
Local actors and musicians will bring Hudson NY’s whaling past to life in letters and song on Thursday, September 4, at 6 pm at the Hudson Area Library’s Community Room. The event is part of the return to the library of the popular “Hudson: A History of Whaling & Maritime Commerce” exhibit for the months of September and October. [Read more…] about The Tale of Whaling: In Story and Song
Knox Artillery Train Cannon Relay Set for December
More than 75 people gathered Sunday at Prospect Hill Cemetery in the Village of Victory, Saratoga County, — just steps from the site of British Gen. John Burgoyne’s 1777 surrender—to commemorate four Revolutionary War anniversaries and rededicate a cornerstone of American memory.
The event, hosted by Saratoga 250, featured the dedication of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts Knox Artillery Cannon, the 248th anniversary of the Battles of Saratoga, the 250th anniversary of Gen. Henry Knox’s Noble Train of Artillery, and the 148th anniversary of the Freemasons’ cornerstone-laying of the Saratoga Monument. [Read more…] about Knox Artillery Train Cannon Relay Set for December
Un-permitted Work at Kingston DAR Chapter House Prompts Outrage
On Saturday July 19, at about 12:30 pm, the Kingston Police Department responded to a report of unauthorized construction activity at the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Wiltwyck Chapter House, also known as the Sleight-Tappen House, located at 106-122 Green Street in the heart of the Stockade Historic District.
Local resident and historic preservation professional Marissa Marvelli observed window removal underway without the required permit from the City. Marvelli, familiar with the DAR’s ongoing efforts to replace historic windows at the property, reported the incident to police. [Read more…] about Un-permitted Work at Kingston DAR Chapter House Prompts Outrage
Ethan Allen in Castleton: A 250th Anniversary Event
In 1775, three weeks after the war began between the American colonies and Great Britain, patriots from New England quietly prepared to capture the British artillery at Ticonderoga and Crown Point on Lake Champlain before those forts heard that war had broken out at Lexington & Concord on April 19th.
At a council of war held in Castleton, Vermont, several hours before the first of two forts were liberated, Ethan Allen was chosen to lead the expedition. [Read more…] about Ethan Allen in Castleton: A 250th Anniversary Event
Women and Whaling in Hudson Events
Three Columbia County organizations, the Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Hudson Area Library, and the Columbia County Historical Society, are working collaboratively to address a ground-breaking, first-time-ever project on whaling.
Without whaling, there would be no “Hudson Miracle” that began in 1783 with Nantucket merchants and whalers. This story covers the peak era of Hudson, NY’s whaling–1783-1829 and more. The story needs to be told and shared with the Hudson community. Few are familiar with this “Hudson Miracle.” Women’s roles during whaling have not been explored. How women lived, adapted, survived, and thrived in this era will be brought to life. [Read more…] about Women and Whaling in Hudson Events
Marian Anderson & DAR Diversity History
World-renowned Black opera singer Marian Anderson (1897 – 1993) got her first big break after winning a 1925 singing competition sponsored by the New York Philharmonic. She performed at the Metropolitan Opera in Manhattan in 1955, becoming the first Black artist to do so. Throughout her career, Anderson performed all over the world while also lending her talent to the struggle against racial injustice. The granddaughter of Black people once enslaved in Virginia, she sang at the March on Washington in 1963 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom that same year.
Back in April 1939 however, Anderson was denied access to auditoriums in Washington, DC, and instead performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. [Read more…] about Marian Anderson & DAR Diversity History
Hudson: A History of Whaling & Maritime Commerce
In 1784 Hudson, NY, was founded by a group of whalers and merchants, largely from Nantucket, who purchased Claverack Landing from Dutch settlers. The established river port soon became a busy port with whaling and transatlantic voyages.
Between 1784 and 1845, there were 47 whaling voyages out of Hudson, some successful and some financially devastating. Industries turning out products such as shipbuilding, rope, sail, soap and candle making rose along the wharves, and in 1795 Hudson became a U.S. Port of Entry. [Read more…] about Hudson: A History of Whaling & Maritime Commerce
Women’s Equality Day Event to Detail Proposed New York Equal Rights Amendment
August 26th is the anniversary date of the certification of the 19th Amendment for which women fought to gain the right to vote.
In 1973, the Senate and House of Representatives officially designated August 26th as Women’s Equality Day, and the President issues a proclamation annually in commemoration of that day in 1920. [Read more…] about Women’s Equality Day Event to Detail Proposed New York Equal Rights Amendment
Preservationist Ellen Hardin Walworth: A Celebrated, Yet Tragic Life
Ellen Hardin Walworth (1832 – 1915) founded both the national and Saratoga Springs chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and was the only woman to serve as a trustee of the Saratoga Battle Monument Association.
More than 100 years later, her efforts to preserve the history of Saratoga Springs, its residents, and the connections to the American Revolution are still evident and her impact reaches far beyond the city including the preservation of Mount Vernon in Alexandria, Virginia. [Read more…] about Preservationist Ellen Hardin Walworth: A Celebrated, Yet Tragic Life
Long Island Loyalists History & Genealogy
No one usually sheds a tear for the British Loyalists of Long Island, those inhabitants who remained loyal to the crown during the American Revolution. But genealogist Brendon Burns has spent a tremendous amount of effort tracking them down through libraries and archives across the world.
The result is his five-volume series The Loyal and Doubtful: Index to the Acts of British Loyalism in the Greater New York and Long Island Area 1775-1783 (Independently Published, 2023). It’s a meticulous record of people in the city of New York, Staten Island, and on Long Island, acting in support of King George and the efforts to defeat the revolutionaries. [Read more…] about Long Island Loyalists History & Genealogy
Fort Ticonderoga Genealogy Initiative Goes Online
Fort Ticonderoga has launched a new genealogy initiative, Ticonderoga Soldiers Project, launched as a result of a dramatic increase in genealogical interest and inquiries related to soldiers who served at Ticonderoga during the 18th century. [Read more…] about Fort Ticonderoga Genealogy Initiative Goes Online
Ticonderoga Historical Society Genealogy Workshop on Oct 28
The Ticonderoga Historical Society will offer “Reading the Records,” a genealogy workshop on Saturday, October 28 from 10 am until noon at the Hancock House, 6 Moses Circle in Ticonderoga, Essex County, NY. [Read more…] about Ticonderoga Historical Society Genealogy Workshop on Oct 28
The 128th NY Regiment & Columbia County Contributions to the Union Army
The 128th New York Infantry Regiment was a volunteer regiment from Columbia and Dutchess Counties during the American Civil War. Formed in Hudson, New York, on September 5, 1862, by Colonel David S. Cowles, the regiment fought at the Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana and was part of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
Over the course of the war, many of the regiment died or were taken prisoner and sent to the infamous Confederate Libby Prison. Colonel Cowles died with many of his men in battle at Port Hudson, while attempting to reopen the Mississippi River to the Union . [Read more…] about The 128th NY Regiment & Columbia County Contributions to the Union Army
General Horatio Gates in New York City: A Political Legacy
For many years New York City has not been known for its patriotic ceremonies recognizing important Revolutionary War heroes or sites.
Recently this has begun to change, beginning with the rediscovery of the grave of General Horatio Gates, who many consider the second most important American general of the American Revolution. Until about ten years ago his grave located in Trinity Churchyard in Manhattan was completely unmarked.
Gates was the commanding general at the Battle of Saratoga in October of 1777, which most historians agree was the most important battle of the American Revolution and the turning point of the Revolutionary War. He played another important role in early American politics in the city of New York after the war. [Read more…] about General Horatio Gates in New York City: A Political Legacy
Hudson River Whaling Industry History
Whales were always part of Hudson River life (they were spotted at Albany in 1647), and whaling was a major industry in New York, especially on the Hudson River, for over 60 years. It helped to shape the region’s economy and culture, and it left a lasting legacy. Today, there are several historical markers and museums in the Hudson Valley that commemorate the region’s whaling past and the Great Seal of the City of Hudson still includes a whale. [Read more…] about Hudson River Whaling Industry History