Folklore

Local Pageants Once Brought History to Life

September 26, 2025 by Anthony F. Hall 2 Comments

Before the documentaries of Ken Burns, there were historical pageants – a popular form of entertainment by means of which Americans also digested information about the history of their nation and their region.

From the 1850s to the 1950s, historical pageants, or folk dramas, as they were also called, were a characteristic feature of life in American communities, celebrating American history and/or a town’s founding, its most memorable historical events and its most prominent citizens. [Read more…] about Local Pageants Once Brought History to Life

The Dutch World of Washington Irving

June 12, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

In December of 1809, before finding fame with “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” Washington Irving (1783-1859) published his satirical A History of New York, from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker.

In her book The Dutch World of Washington Irving (Cornell Univeristy Press, 2025) Elisabeth Paling Funk explains that the History of New York and the Hudson Valley folktales that followed were part of an early trend of responding to the national desire for a historical record. [Read more…] about The Dutch World of Washington Irving

New Season of ‘History on the Road’ Focuses on Warren County

May 14, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Ten new episodes of History on the Road, hosted by historian Don Rittner and theaterical director Justyna Kostek focus on the natural and human history of Warren County, New York.

History on the Road features Rittner and Kostek traveling the earliest highways of America, stopping at the historic communities along the way, interviewing historians and experts about their community, and trying to solve some history mysteries along the way. [Read more…] about New Season of ‘History on the Road’ Focuses on Warren County

Brother Andre: Faith Healer St André Bessette’s New York Connections

May 6, 2025 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Faith healer André Bessette (1845–1937), who was later known as Brother André or Saint André of Montréal, was a frequent visitor to Plattsburgh, NY, especially after Clinton County residents, many of whom were distant cousins, told people about their cures. His special friends were Andrew Wilson and his wife, Mary Picotte, who lived at 33 Broad Street. Brother André would often take the train down from Montreal or friends would drive him down to spend a few days with them.

While he was in the area, he would visit relatives and people who were ill, and the Wilsons would open their home to people who wanted to see their friend. [Read more…] about Brother Andre: Faith Healer St André Bessette’s New York Connections

How Black Chefs Shaped Early America

February 19, 2025 by Dr. Liz Covart 2 Comments

Many of the food traditions that define cuisine in the United States today have roots in African American culinary history.

In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, Diane M. Spivey, a culinary historian and author of three culinary history books, uncovers the rich and complex legacy of African and African American foodways and how those foodways helped establish the United States. [Read more…] about How Black Chefs Shaped Early America

History of “The Night Before Christmas”

December 24, 2024 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

The latest episode of the Troy Story podcast features Kathy Sheehan, Executive Director of the Hart Cluett Museum in historic downtown Troy, who shares the story behind “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” and the poem’s two-century connection to the Collar City. [Read more…] about History of “The Night Before Christmas”

Immigrant Photographer Katrina Thomas Collection Digitized

October 15, 2024 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (Hart-Cellar Act), signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson. The law abolished the National Origins Formula, which had been the basis of U.S. immigration policy since the 1920s. [Read more…] about Immigrant Photographer Katrina Thomas Collection Digitized

The Witch of Saratoga: Angeline Tubbs, History & Folklore

October 2, 2024 by Bill Orzell Leave a Comment

October is the month we celebrate Halloween and the anniversary of General John Burgoyne’s surrender at the Battles of Saratoga. It is also the month which precedes a much anticipated national election, which many look forward to, yet others fear the consequences.

One of the candidates seeking office has used a term, which for better or worse, has entered the American lexicon, “childless cat women.” Intended as a rather nasty insult, it has been seized upon by some as a mantra of opposition.

In Upstate New York, where Halloween includes spooky local lore, and where Burgoyne’s surrender took place, it might be interesting to consider a “childless cat woman” of the past who had also been considered a witch. [Read more…] about The Witch of Saratoga: Angeline Tubbs, History & Folklore

Hungry for History: Culinary and Foodways History

August 30, 2024 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

The latest episode off the A New York Minute in History podcast focuses on culinary history and the Pomeroy Foundation’s Hungry for History program, which commemorates significant food dishes created prior to 1970 in the role they play in defining American culture and forging community identity. [Read more…] about Hungry for History: Culinary and Foodways History

Erie Canal Songs: Some History

July 28, 2024 by NYS Music 1 Comment

The bicentennial of the Erie Canal takes place in 2025. Not only did the Canal transform much of Upstate New York, but it also transformed folk music.

While known by many names since its composition, “The Erie Canal Song” has become a staple of the American folk songbook. With lyrics reflecting life on the canal, and the changes it brought to the state, it proves a useful tool for exploring New York’s history. [Read more…] about Erie Canal Songs: Some History

Marjorie Lansing Porter’s Contributions to Preserving Adirondack history

July 27, 2024 by Anthony F. Hall 1 Comment

The artist and illustrator Rockwell Kent once suggested that Pete Seeger compose an opera based on Adirondack folk tunes, and that my father write the book. Despite the fact that my father was a friend of Seeger’s, it’s hard to imagine him, a lifelong newspaperman, collaborating on an opera. Nevertheless, the idea is not as far-fetched as it sounds.

In fact, in 1960, Seeger did release “Champlain Valley Songs,” an album based on lyrics and tunes recorded by Marjorie Lansing Porter as she traveled throughout the North Country. [Read more…] about Marjorie Lansing Porter’s Contributions to Preserving Adirondack history

Black Election Day & King Pompey Mansfield: New Archaeological Finds

July 10, 2024 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Archaeologists at the University of New Hampshire along with a historian at Northeastern University believe they have unearthed the long-lost homestead of King Pompey, an enslaved African man who won his freedom and later became one of the first Black property owners in colonial New England. [Read more…] about Black Election Day & King Pompey Mansfield: New Archaeological Finds

Africans in Dutch New Netherland: A Sensory & Culinary History

March 27, 2024 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

In early New Netherland and New Amsterdam new arrivals, Black and white, tried to recreate the world they had left. As historical sources are scarce and incomplete, historical interpreter and culinary historian Lavada Nahon uses deep empathy and imagination to depict the sensory world of the enslaved.

It is easy to put the Africans on the same playing field as the Europeans in their sensory experience of New Netherland. To imagine that they, like the Dutch, could immediately begin recreating, reconstructing their home world in the New World, bringing forth those deep sensual parts of human experience that they had left behind in Africa. But believing that they could do so in a timely manner means negating their everyday reality. [Read more…] about Africans in Dutch New Netherland: A Sensory & Culinary History

Uncle Judd Smith, Brant Lake’s Old-Time Adirondack Guide

January 10, 2024 by Dave Waite 2 Comments

One hundred years ago anyone fishing Brant Lake in Warren County would undoubtedly know the name, Uncle Jud Smith.

If they were fortunate, he would have been their guide for a day out on the lake fishing for bass.

His knowledge of these fish was as firsthand as you can, as it was in the 1870s that he brought the first black bass to the lake. [Read more…] about Uncle Judd Smith, Brant Lake’s Old-Time Adirondack Guide

The Historians Podcast Features World Holiday Songs & Stories

November 17, 2023 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

This week on the Historians Podcast, Mohawk Valley singer-songwriters Cosby Gibson and Tom Staudle join Bob Cudmore to talk about and perform historical holiday songs and stories from Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and other year-end holidays. [Read more…] about The Historians Podcast Features World Holiday Songs & Stories

Roguery & Mythmaking: Criminal Biographies From Claude Duval to Herbert Asbury

October 19, 2023 by Jaap Harskamp Leave a Comment

Over time, there have been numerous taverns and pubs in England that carried the name of Hole-in-the-Wall. It has been suggested that the name is a biblical reference to Ezekiel 8:7: “And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall.”

There is, in other words, an access to every secret which no man can seal off – there is “a crack in everything.” [Read more…] about Roguery & Mythmaking: Criminal Biographies From Claude Duval to Herbert Asbury

Exploring Records Related to Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs)

September 24, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The American cultural phenomena of “flying saucers” started in 1947 when a civilian aircraft pilot saw several objects from his plane that he claimed were traveling at supersonic speeds. Reports of more flying saucers soon proliferated throughout the country and the term “unidentified flying object” was coined by the military in 1952.

When a rancher found unidentified debris including rubber, tape, and tinfoil near Roswell, NM, the most enduring UFO legend was born. [Read more…] about Exploring Records Related to Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs)

New Yorkers Serving in Alaska Territory, 1908-1910

May 14, 2023 by Rebecca Rector 1 Comment

While transcribing Alaska Territory records for the National Archives, I noticed two interesting men who were working with the native tribes. A little research revealed they were both from New York State. Here are their stories. [Read more…] about New Yorkers Serving in Alaska Territory, 1908-1910

The Green Mountain Boys & The Evolution of Vermont’s State Flag

March 15, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

If you walk into the Vermont Historical Society’s museum in Montpelier, you’ll a flag hanging from the wall behind the admission desk: the blue and green Green Mountain Boys flag.

It’s a flag that’s been wrapped up with a hefty dose of legend and mythology. [Read more…] about The Green Mountain Boys & The Evolution of Vermont’s State Flag

Woodsman Willard Howland and his Amazing Critters

January 28, 2023 by Dave Waite 5 Comments

“Lotsa Screes in here tonight,” Willard spoke low. “Puts me in mind of a he-scree I see up in Hawk’s Nest one fall when I was trappin’.”

And so began a story that would enliven the trailside or campsite for those who had the privilege to spend time with Willard Howland. Little has been written about the life of this woodsman beyond bits and pieces of the stories he told. It could even be said that his tales, everything from experiences in the woods, to amazing fantasy creatures that inhabited his wilderness, tell more of who Willard was than anything a written history could reveal. [Read more…] about Woodsman Willard Howland and his Amazing Critters

Folklore

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