Alexander Macomb, the elder, (1748–1831) was a fur trader, land and currency speculator, and slaveholder who supported the British during the American Revolution and provided the occupying British army with trade goods. [Read more…] about The Two Alexander Macombs: A Slaveholder & A Duplicitous Negotiator
Florida
William Seward Day Parade in Florida, NY on Saturday
The Florida Historical Society will host a Seward Day Parade on Saturday, May 14th, honoring the Village of Florida’s native son William Henry Seward, New York Governor, State Senator, U.S. Senator and Secretary of State under President Abraham Lincoln. [Read more…] about William Seward Day Parade in Florida, NY on Saturday
19th Cent Medicine: Everyone Their Own Doctor
The Seward/Mapes Homestead has announced a talk nineteenth century American health care, set for Thursday, October 24th, from 7 to 9 pm, led by Carolyn Ivanoff.
Ivanoff will examine healthcare in Victorian America, and how Americans were their own doctors and caregivers. [Read more…] about 19th Cent Medicine: Everyone Their Own Doctor
Phillips Park in the Mohawk Valley
This week on The Historians podcast, Amsterdam Recorder columnist Dan Weaver discusses Philips Park, a recreational site in the town of Florida, NY, in the Mohawk Valley that closed after brutal murders in 1950. Weaver also looks at the history of an early settlement of free African Americans in the area. He operates the Bookhound bookstore in Amsterdam, NY. Listen to the podcast here. [Read more…] about Phillips Park in the Mohawk Valley
Virtual Tour of Arlington National Cemetery Nov 2nd
On Thursday, November 2, 2017 from 7 to 9 pm, the Seward/Mapes Homestead will present a virtual tour of the Arlington National Cemetery to benefit the Seward/Mapes Homestead Restoration. The fundraiser will be held at the Florida Senior Center, 3 Cohen Circle, Florida, NY.
The virtual tour will follow the history of Arlington from its origins during the Civil War as a burial place of necessity, to its current celebrity as the most prestigious cemetery in the United States. Once the great antebellum plantation of the Custis & Lee families, Arlington’s green slopes shelter over 275,000 United States veterans from every war. [Read more…] about Virtual Tour of Arlington National Cemetery Nov 2nd
Children Who Served In The Civil War
On Thursday, April 27, from 7 pm to 9 pm. at the Senior Center (next to the Florida Library), at 4 Cohen Circle in Florida, NY, Civil War historian and re-enactor Yvonne Bigney will tell the story of 12 year-old Johnny Clem’s experience in the Battle of Chickamauga.
Clem was one of many children who served in the Civil War. In 1863, escaped slave, “Contraband Jackson”, served as a drummer boy and stretcher-bearer in the 79th Infantry Regiment – U.S. Colored Troops. It was an all-black unit that incurred heavy casualties. Fifteen year-old Tillie Pierce served as a nurse at Gettysburg. They were just three of the thousands of boys and girls engaged in the Civil War; whether on the front lines or back home, active in vital adult roles that would astonish us today. [Read more…] about Children Who Served In The Civil War
Seward/Mapes Homestead Raises $9k For Preservation
On Thursday, December 14th, the Seward/Mapes Homestead Restoration Committee of Florida presented the Village of Florida’s governing Board with a $5,000 check toward the restoration of the Seward/Mapes Homestead. Added to a $4,000 contribution made earlier in 2016, the organization raised a total of $9,000 toward a New York State matching fund grant for historic preservation. [Read more…] about Seward/Mapes Homestead Raises $9k For Preservation
Ghosts of Gettysburg Seward Homestead Fundraiser
On Thursday evening, October 27, from 7 pm to 9 pm, Civil War re-enactor and historian Carolyn Ivanoff will present “Ghosts of Gettysburg Battlefield,” at the Florida Senior Center, in Florida NY.
Ivanoff will provide an overview and description of the three day battle, along with maps, and contemporary and period photographs. [Read more…] about Ghosts of Gettysburg Seward Homestead Fundraiser