New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

New Rochelle

Thomas Paine’s Lost Body

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a new york minute in history podcastIn the first episode of the A New York Minute in History podcast’s 2022 season, Devin Lander and Lauren Roberts look to a William G. Pomeroy Foundation historical roadside marker in Westchester County to learn about American patriot Thomas Paine, his influence on the American and French Revolutions – and just how and why his body went missing.  Guests include Dr. Nora Slonimsky and Dr. Michael Crowder of the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies at Iona College.

The sign is one of hundreds reviewed by New York Almanack founder and editor John Warren in his role as a Pomeroy Foundation Grant Consultant. You can learn how to apply for your own historic sign here. [Read more…] about Thomas Paine’s Lost Body

Huguenots & New Rochelle’s Spirit of Liberty

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Monument in Hudson Park commemorating the Huguenot founders of New RochelleThe city of New Rochelle has a relevant place in the founding history of the United States. It was here that in 1689 a small community of French Protestant refugees would settle.

Known as Huguenots, they exercised considerable influence on America’s course towards self-determination. George Washington descended from a Huguenot refugee on his mother’s side. [Read more…] about Huguenots & New Rochelle’s Spirit of Liberty

Body Snatching at New Rochelle: Cobbett & Paine

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Woodcut of anatomical dissectionThe teaching of anatomy at European medical schools had become standard practice by the middle of the sixteenth century. Instruction included the dissection of a human corpse. Initially, bodies at hand were those of (male) criminals or heretics.

The occasional dissection of a woman, it being a public event, attracted large numbers of spectators by the prospect of the exposure of female organs. A dissection at the time was both education and spectacle. It was attended by professionals, painters, and the curious alike. The cutting up of a body was a celebration of scientific progress. [Read more…] about Body Snatching at New Rochelle: Cobbett & Paine

New Rochelle’s Thomas Paine Memorial Building Event

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Thomas Paine Memorial BuildingThe Committee to Save the Thomas Paine Memorial Building has announced a celebration of the building’s designation as a New Rochelle Historical Landmark, set for Sunday, September 6th, at 1:30 pm.

The brief outdoor ceremony will feature community leaders and supporters, Committee members, and Board members of the Huguenot and New Rochelle Historical Association and the Thomas Paine National Historical Association. [Read more…] about New Rochelle’s Thomas Paine Memorial Building Event

A Last Chance To Save The Thomas Paine Museum

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Thomas Paine CottageShortly before the City of New Rochelle recently became nationally famous (or infamous ) as an epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, a controversy was developing over the threatened destruction of the Thomas Paine Museum Memorial Building on North Avenue. [Read more…] about A Last Chance To Save The Thomas Paine Museum

Controversy Over New Rochelle’s Thomas Paine Sites

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The Historians LogoControversy has developed involving American Revolution advocate Thomas Paine and neglect of historic sites dedicated to Paine’s memory in New Rochelle in Westchester County. This week on The Historians Podcast, New Rochelle resident and historian Jim Kaplan explains the issue. Kaplan was author of an essay on the subject in the New York History Blog. [Read more…] about Controversy Over New Rochelle’s Thomas Paine Sites

Crisis: Forgetting Thomas Paine in New Rochelle

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portrait of Thomas Paine by Laurent Dabos for the purpose of engravingThe City of New Rochelle, the last home of Thomas Paine, is beginning to undergo something of an economic renaissance. A number of the City’s tremendous historical resources however, remain neglected.

The Thomas Paine Museum on North Avenue — once the centerpiece of an international effort to recognize and promote the importance of Thomas Paine  – has been vacant for years and is headed for sale and destruction. [Read more…] about Crisis: Forgetting Thomas Paine in New Rochelle