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New York State Archives

1813: Fall of Fort Niagara & Burning the Niagara Frontier

May 6, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

new yorks war of 1812In December 1813, during the War of 1812, there was a human catastrophe as a result of the burning of the Niagara Frontier. Only one home was spared along the 37-mile-long border and upwards of 6,000 refugees fled into the snowy forests heading for the Genesee River and safety.

Richard V. Barbuto’s book New York’s War of 1812: Politics Society and Combat (University of Oklahoma Press, 2021), looks back to the War of 1812, from the beleaguered Fort McHenry to the burning White House to an embattled New Orleans. [Read more…] about 1813: Fall of Fort Niagara & Burning the Niagara Frontier

Filed Under: Books, Events, History, Western NY Tagged With: Erie County, Genesee River, Military History, New York State Archives, Niagara County, Niagara River, Old Fort Niagara, War of 1812

Documents Reveal Sojourner Truth’s Battle to Free Her Son from Slavery

March 15, 2022 by Alan J. Singer 1 Comment

Sojourner TruthIn February 2022, the New York State Archives announced that archivists had uncovered court records detailing the 1828 legal battle by Sojourner Truth to secure her enslaved son Peter’s freedom. According to archivist Jim Folts, this case was the first time in United States history that a Black woman successfully sued a White man for a family member’s freedom.

After passage of the New York State Gradual Emancipation Act in 1799, some slaveholders illegally sold enslaved Africans to Southern planters for the expanding cotton industry. When Sojourner Truth, then known as Isabella Van Wagenen, escaped from enslavement in 1826, her former “owner,” John J. Dumont of New Paltz, Ulster County, NY, sold her five-year old son Peter to Eleazer Gedney who planned to take the boy with him to England.

When this plan fell through, Eleazer Gedney sold Peter to his brother, Solomon Gedney, who resold Peter to their sister’s husband, a man named Fowler, who was a wealthy Alabama planter. [Read more…] about Documents Reveal Sojourner Truth’s Battle to Free Her Son from Slavery

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Abolition, Archives, Black History, Legal History, New Paltz, New York State Archives, Political History, Slavery, Sojouner Truth, Ulster County, womens history

Bruce Dearstyne’s ‘Spirit of New York’ Reissued In Expanded Edition

January 24, 2022 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Bruce Dearstyne Spirit of New YorkBruce W. Dearstyne’s expanded new edition of The Spirit of New York (SUNY Press, 2022; first published 2016) explores nineteen dramatic events from New York State’s history that altered the course of U.S. history.

From the launch of the state government in April 1777 thru the tragedy of September 11th and through the debut of the musical play Hamilton in 2015, Dearstyne’s chapters describe great political changes, historical turning points, and struggles for social, racial, and environmental reform.
[Read more…] about Bruce Dearstyne’s ‘Spirit of New York’ Reissued In Expanded Edition

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Books, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: 1964 World's Fair, Aviation History, Baseball, Cultural History, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Environmental History, Glenn Curtiss, Jackie Robinson, John Jay, Legal History, New York, New York State Archives, Office of State History, Political History, Public History, Robert Moses, Sports History, The Spirit of New York, womens history

State Archives Research Residency Applications Available

December 6, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Albany Cultural Education Center State Museum Archives and LibraryThe New York State Archives is now accepting applications for their Larry J. Hackman Research Residency Program, which supports advanced work on New York State history, government, or public policy using historical records in the State Archives. [Read more…] about State Archives Research Residency Applications Available

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: New York State Archives

New York State Archives 50th Anniversary (Virtual Program)

October 15, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The People's RecordsThe New York State Archives will host “The People’s Records: Celebrating 50 Years of New York State Archives,” a virtual program set for Tuesday, October 26th. [Read more…] about New York State Archives 50th Anniversary (Virtual Program)

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Events, History Tagged With: New York State Archives

NYS Museum, Library & Archives Re-opening May 17th

May 14, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Albany Cultural Education Center State Museum Archives and LibraryThe New York State Education Department’s Cultural Education Center (CEC), which houses the State Museum, State Library and State Archives, is set to re-open to the public on Monday, May 17th. [Read more…] about NYS Museum, Library & Archives Re-opening May 17th

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Events, History Tagged With: New York State Archives, New York State Library, New York State Museum

New Online Educator Resource For New York State Teachers

May 6, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

New York ArchivesThe New York State Archives has announced the launch of Consider the Source New York (CTSNY), a new online educator resource which delivers over 2,000 primary sources, learning activities and tools for educators and students throughout the state. [Read more…] about New Online Educator Resource For New York State Teachers

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Education, New York State Archives

Stories From Newly Translated Dutch Colonial Documents (Virtual Talk)

February 12, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Life in a Dutch Colony MapNew York State Archives Magazine is set to continue their online speaker series with Hidden Stories from Newly Translated Dutch Colonial Documents on Tuesday, February 16th, at 12:30 pm. [Read more…] about Stories From Newly Translated Dutch Colonial Documents (Virtual Talk)

Filed Under: Events, History Tagged With: New Netherland, New York State Archives

Organizing Your Home Archives

January 13, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Family Photo courtesy Columbia University Special CollectionsNew York Archives Magazine is set to continue its Online Speaker Series with Organizing and Preserving Your Home Archives, a discussion with D. Joshua Taylor, President of the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, on Tuesday, January 26th. [Read more…] about Organizing Your Home Archives

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Events, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: New York State Archives

Science Knows No Gender: Eunice Newton Foote And Climate Change

January 12, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The presentation Science Knows No Gender: Eunice Newton Foote and the Cause of Global Warming, by University of California Santa Barbara Visiting Scholar John Perlin, has been made available online.

Eunice Newton Foote, born July 17th, 1819, was an American scientist (including biology, especially botany), an inventor, and a women’s rights campaigner from Seneca Falls, New York. She died on September 30th, 1888. [Read more…] about Science Knows No Gender: Eunice Newton Foote And Climate Change

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Climate Change, Gender History, New York State Archives, Science History

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