Immigration

17th Century Immigrant Ancestors (Podcast)

October 21, 2021 by Clare Sheridan Leave a Comment

The October 2021 episode of “Crossroads of Rockland History,” focused on the new book by Ralph Blauvelt: Four Hundred Years in America: 17th Century Immigrant Ancestors (Self-Published, 2021).

This the story of the first immigrant settlers in New Netherland, including Blauvelt’s own ancestors. Their lives are reconstructed from the documents they left behind, and their stories are those of strangers in a strange land trying to build a new life. [Read more…] about 17th Century Immigrant Ancestors (Podcast)

Niblo’s Garden, Yiddish Broadway and the American Musical

August 31, 2021 by Jaap Harskamp 3 Comments

In cities with growing populations and increased prosperity during the eighteen and nineteenth centuries, the demand for amusement venues rose dramatically. Leisure became an economic factor and show biz took off with a bang.

Urban pleasure gardens were recreational spaces that featured landscaped grounds, lights, fountains, grottos, music, and theater. Offering a variety of entertainments, they were open day and night. [Read more…] about Niblo’s Garden, Yiddish Broadway and the American Musical

The Saratoga Racecourse Backstretch Backstory

August 27, 2021 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

The saga of thoroughbred racing at Saratoga has largely been told by and about the horse owners, tycoons, the rich and famous of their era.

The people who actually care for the horses, the backstretch (barn area) workers, grooms and hot walkers often receive little attention. [Read more…] about The Saratoga Racecourse Backstretch Backstory

The Palatines Along Hoosick Road in Rensselaer County

August 27, 2021 by John Warren 4 Comments

During the turmoil of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), many Protestant Germans from the Middle Rhine region of the Holy Roman Empire fled to England, with the largest group of refugees – some 13,000 – arriving there in 1709.

The arrival of these “Poor Palatines” caused a rise in opposition to immigration in England. Most were quickly sent to Ireland, but nearly 3,000 were sent on 10 ships to the colonial Province of New York (a group about a third the size of the population of the city of New York at that time). [Read more…] about The Palatines Along Hoosick Road in Rensselaer County

Childhood Memories: Pulcinella & The Tradition of Dissent

August 3, 2021 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

During carnival festivities in Madrid in February 2017, puppeteers Alfonso Lázaro de la Fuente and Raúl García Pérez gave a performance of La bruja y Don Cristóbal (The Witch and Don Cristóbal). The leading character is Spain’s counterpart to Mr Punch. With the show in full flow, police moved in. The puppeteers were charged with inciting violence as the witch carried a banner referring to a fictional terrorist organization.

In the United States, Punch & Judy shows reached a height of popularity during the latter decennia of the nineteenth century. This was a time of mass immigration and growing prosperity. The era was thirsting for entertainment. Aware of underlying social tensions, political authorities were keen to restrain the fun. [Read more…] about Childhood Memories: Pulcinella & The Tradition of Dissent

Corinth’s 1919 German–American Club Fire

June 24, 2021 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

In the early morning hours of July 4, 1919, a fire alarm was sounded in the village of Corinth, Saratoga County. Many residents thought some kids were celebrating Independence Day a bit early, but when the International Paper Mill fire whistle sounded everyone knew it was real.

The popular German-American Club next to a creek on lower Pine Street was ablaze. [Read more…] about Corinth’s 1919 German–American Club Fire

The Palatine Printer & Three Scots Behind The First Amendment

June 20, 2021 by Jaap Harskamp Leave a Comment

Censorship is the official prohibition or restriction of any type of expression conceived as a threat to the sociopolitical or moral order. Attempts by the authorities to suppress freedom of the press in the American colonies were recurrent. These efforts would eventually lead to a confrontation at the Supreme Court in the case of New York v. John Peter Zenger in August 1735. [Read more…] about The Palatine Printer & Three Scots Behind The First Amendment

Engineering Theatre: The Brunel Legacy in London & New York

June 1, 2021 by Jaap Harskamp Leave a Comment

For a long time Rotherhithe was London’s natural port, gaining its name from the Anglo-Saxon term for “landing-place for cattle.” There were shipyards in the area from Elizabethan times until the early twentieth century, and working docks until the 1970s. [Read more…] about Engineering Theatre: The Brunel Legacy in London & New York

Fires of Philadelphia: A New Book On The 1844 Nativist Riots

May 27, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Book purchases made through this link support New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.

In 1844 America was in a state of deep unrest, grappling with xenophobia, racial, and ethnic tension on a national scale that feels singular to our time, but echoes the earliest anti-immigrant sentiments of the country.

In that year Philadelphia was set aflame by a group of Protestant ideologues — avowed nativists — who were seeking social and political power rallied by charisma and fear of the Irish immigrant menace. [Read more…] about Fires of Philadelphia: A New Book On The 1844 Nativist Riots

Myth and Migration: The Old West As Urban Invention

April 25, 2021 by Jaap Harskamp 2 Comments

The idea of utopia as a place of peace and plenty away from the hardships of ordinary life, is a recurring theme in literature. The term entered popular usage after publication of Thomas More’s Utopia in 1516. His Eden is an idyllic island society wholly removed from the corruption of sixteenth century England. [Read more…] about Myth and Migration: The Old West As Urban Invention