New York Almanack

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New Lebanon

New York’s Revolutionary Committee Records: Correspondence, Safety & Conspiracies

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Engraving of John Lamb reading the Tea Act to a crowd in New York CityFor a century and a half prior to the American Revolution the people of New York had been accustomed to act through representative committees in order to win one concession after another for self-government.

During the Dutch period the Twelve Men (a committee chosen in 1641 by the residents to advise Willem Kieft on relations with Native Americans), the Eight Men (Remonstrance of the Eight Men, 1644), the Nine Men (Remonstrance of the Commonality, 1649, led by Adriaen van der Donck), and other groups, wrested rights for the people from autocratic New Netherland governors and the West India Company. [Read more…] about New York’s Revolutionary Committee Records: Correspondence, Safety & Conspiracies

Recent Wildlife Rescues Around New York State

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Injured Red-Tailed Hawk discovered at Belmont Lake State ParkNew York State Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) made several wildlife rescues recently including a Red-Tailed Hawk on Long Island, two rabbits in Erie County, and an Red-Necked Grebe in Columbia County. [Read more…] about Recent Wildlife Rescues Around New York State

The Water Cure, Bottled Water & New York’s Local Bottling Industry

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Four men operate a mineral water bottling plant run by the New York State Conservation Commission in the New York State Reservation (now Saratoga Spa State Park) in Saratoga Springs, November 1918 (NYS Archives)The emergence of the bottling industry in New York State occurred due to the rise of the leisure economy and the fashion for the kind of mineral waters available at natural spas.

Prior to the availability of chlorinated water, inhabitants of many highly populated areas of the world avoided unmixed water from most sources for fear of contamination. [Read more…] about The Water Cure, Bottled Water & New York’s Local Bottling Industry

Ventriloquism & America’s First Modern Public Libraries

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The New York Public Library Main Branch during its late stage construction in 1908 with the lion statues not yet installed at the entranceNew York-born John Bigelow started his career in 1849 as co-owner with William Cullen Bryant of the New York Evening Post. In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him Consul in Paris and promoted him to American Ambassador four years later.

His diplomatic efforts were aimed at influencing the French in favor of the federal government. Working with Charles Francis Adams, U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom, he blocked political attempts to have France and Britain intervene in the Civil War on behalf of the Confederacy, thus paving the way for the United States victory. [Read more…] about Ventriloquism & America’s First Modern Public Libraries

A Cultural & Ecological Field Guide to Columbia County, NY

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Columbia County Field GuideFrom the Hudson to the Taconics: An Ecological and Cultural Field Guide to Columbia County, New York (Black Dome Press, 2024) written by Anna Duhon, Gretchen Stevens, Claudia Knab-Vispo and Conrad Vispo with the support of The Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program and Hudsonia features 36 discreet natural habitats in the Hudson Valley’s Columbia County and is beautifully illustrated with over 750 full-color photographs, maps, graphs, tables, and charts. [Read more…] about A Cultural & Ecological Field Guide to Columbia County, NY

The 128th NY Regiment & Columbia County Contributions to the Union Army

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Admiral Farragut’s Fleet Engaging the Rebel Batteries at Port Hudson, March 14th, 1863 during the Civil WarThe 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

Revolutionary Veterans in New Lebanon’s Cemetery of the Evergreens

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John Bull, Capt., Stephens' Northern AP'T, Rev. War graveFormer New Lebanon resident George Clark, a member of the community’s Floyd Carlton Post of the American Legion, has been working to identify the graves of Revolutionary War soldiers for many years.

Helping him has been his friend Dale Ackley. Former town historian Sharon Moon and Cemetery of the Evergreens board members have been working at it, too. The undertaking has been immense, and, if they succeed in their goal to restore headstones, it will be very costly. [Read more…] about Revolutionary Veterans in New Lebanon’s Cemetery of the Evergreens

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