History, Natural History & the Arts
It seems to have been forgotten, or ignored, but the vast majority of Americans have an immigrant family history story – often of struggle and sacrifice. New York Almanack wants to publish them.
In 300 words or less, tell us the story of your immigrant ancestor(s) and their earliest experiences in New York and we’ll share them with our readers.
Here’s how: [Read more…] about Send Us Your Immigrant Family History Story
Throughout Saratoga County’s long history, many religious and spiritual communities have called our home their home, with the land even being sacred to some. This article will highlight the founding of several of Saratoga County’s religious communities through the 19th century, with a focus on Saratoga Springs.
Today, diverse people of faith have joined those long-established denominations to call Saratoga home, including Jewish communities, several Indigenous Cultural Revival Movements, and a Mosque, Masjid Al-Arqam in Halfmoon. All of them play important roles in the Saratoga Community. [Read more…] about Early Saratoga County Religious Communities: Some History
A small box of old documents at the Clinton County Historical Association Museum (CCHA) recently came to my attention. It contained items about the Saint Jean Baptiste Society (SSJB) affiliated with St. Peter’s Church in Plattsburgh: an early ledger of the SSJB dated July 17,1872, with as many as 80 members on the rolls, member applications from the early 20th century, plans to build a hall for the SSJB, financial records, and a proclamation concerning World War One.
The SSJB was founded in Montreal in 1834 by Ludger Duvernay (1799-1852) with the purpose of retaining the French language and culture in the New World. June 24, 1834, was the first celebration of Saint Jean Baptiste Day in Quebec and is now an established provincial holiday. [Read more…] about French Canadians in NY: The Saint Jean Baptiste Society of Plattsburgh
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
I was first introduced to Joe Bolio in Camps & Tramps in the Adirondacks when author Ansel Judd Northrup encountered Bolio during the summer of 1878, while he and some friends were on a fishing trip into the Cranberry Lake region of St. Lawrence County.
Joe Bolio was said to have been a caretaker at a dam on the Grasse River, possibly in the area that is now the Grasse River Flow. [Read more…] about Joe Bolio: Adirondack Guide, Hunter, and Hermit
Although a few arrived in the 150 years before to exploit the region’s natural resources, French-speaking Canadians began settling in New York in larger numbers during and after the American Revolution (many as refugees from English power in Canada). [Read more…] about French Canadians in Northern New York: A Primer
In the early 1750s, the French were establishing trading posts and building forts along western the frontiers of the British colonies. In the fall of 1753, in part to protect his own claims on Indigenous lands, Virginia Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie had sent 22-year-old George Washington (then a militia leader and surveyor) to deliver a letter to Fort Le Boeuf at what is today Waterford in northwest Pennsylvania, demanding they stop. [Read more…] about The French and Indian War: A New York Perspective
The St. Lawrence & Adirondack Railroad, also known as the Mohawk & Malone – eventually owned by the New York Central and called the Adirondack Line or the Adirondack Railroad ran directly through the Adirondacks from Herkimer (near Utica) to Malone connecting the rail lines along the Mohawk River to the Main Trunk Line running into Montreal. The line is often attributed to William Seward Webb, but it was the men who actually built the line that are the subject of this essay.
On March 29, 1892 a Boston Globe article titled “Labor’s Slaves in the Adirondacks” reported that Utica “resembled Washington during war times, hundreds of penniless and destitute Negroes are camped out tonight in the temporary places of shelter given them, and the citizens of Utica are consulting as to the best means of returning them to their homes.”
The Globe told readers that all night, “runaway slaves” had been coming into town. One hundred and fifty of them, mostly black laborers from the Deep South, but some recently arrived European immigrants as well. [Read more…] about “Labor’s Slaves in the Adirondacks”: Building the Adirondack Railroad
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