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19th Century Railroad News from Northern New York

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Bridgman's new railroad and township map of New York (1896)One railroad was flourishing. “The immense quantity of lumber coming from Canada has caused a brisk revival in the freight business of the Delaware and Hudson, and the employees are pleased at the prospect,” The Morning Star of Glens Falls reported on November 15, 1893. “A number of men in the vicinity of Whitehall have been put to work again.”

Another railroad was struggling. “The new Adirondack and St. Lawrence Railroad Company is reducing expenses for the winter months. Fifty employees have been laid off, and the passenger department has been transferred from Herkimer to Malone,” according to the The Morning Star of November 11, 1893. “The change is made to enable the company to compete more successfully with the Central Vermont and Chateaugay roads.” [Read more…] about 19th Century Railroad News from Northern New York

The First World War & New York City

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James Montgomery Flagg, poster for ‘Wake up America Day’, April 19, 1917. (Library of Congress)On April 6, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson declared America’s entrance into the First World War and initiated a nation-wide drive to strengthen the armed forces. It was decided that the commemorations of Patriots’ Day on April 19 should coincide with a “Wake up America Day” of recruitment. Every city hosted its own parties and spectacles.

In New York City, festivities were organized with decorated floats, patriotic banners and a grand vaudeville at Carnegie Hall starring Will Rogers, Ethel Barrymore, and others. James Montgomery Flagg designed the posters announcing the event. Fifth Avenue hosted a parade, whilst Army and Navy planes dropped pamphlets encouraging the crowd to summon the “Spirit of 1776.” [Read more…] about The First World War & New York City

Professional Racist John Van Evrie & The New York Weekly Day Book

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W.G. Jackman, engraver "The White Republic against the World. Portrait of John H. Van Evrie," after 1868 (American Antiquarian Society)Southern secession was a disaster for American nationalists with a pro-slavery vision. Few were as virulent as John Van Evrie (1814–1896), a Canadian educated as a physician, who spent the 1850s building a publishing company that churned out pro-slavery works, including the notorious New York Weekly Day Book newspaper.

Van Evrie’s pseudoscience theories, which lacked evidence even for the time, claimed black people were inferior to white people, defended slavery as practiced in the United States, and attacked abolitionism. [Read more…] about Professional Racist John Van Evrie & The New York Weekly Day Book

19th Century Fashion Tips From Northern New York Newspapers

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William Powell Frith's "A Private View at the Royal Academy," 1881If you are writing a historical novel, be sure to dress your characters in the fashion of the period. One 19th century fashion writer advised to be courageous and wear a violet tux – or just about any color except for black. [Read more…] about 19th Century Fashion Tips From Northern New York Newspapers

Colonel Thomas Picton: Fillibuster, Historian, Editor, Sports Writer & Man About Town

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A cigar card from the history of Cuba shows the landing of Narciso López in Cardenas, Cuba, on May 19, 1850The following obituary of Thomas Picton Milner (known only as Thomas Picton) first appeared in the New York Recorder of February 25, 1891. It has been lightly edited and annotated by John Warren.

In the [New York] Press Club lot in Cypress Hills Cemetery [located at 833 Jamaica Avenue in Brooklyn], Saturday [February February 21, 1891], the clods rattled on the coffin of one who, when alive, was the best informed man about old New York of any who dwelt within its limits. [Read more…] about Colonel Thomas Picton: Fillibuster, Historian, Editor, Sports Writer & Man About Town

Albany’s Daniel Manning: Newspaperman & Secretary of the Treasury

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Photograph of Daniel Manning (1831-1887) U.S. Secretary of the TreasuryDaniel Manning was born in Albany, NY, on August 16, 1831, the second son of John and Eleanor Manning. The Mannings were of Irish, English, and Dutch descent.

Daniel was six at the time of the Panic of 1837 when his father died, causing financial strain on the politically connected family. When Daniel was ten he was appointed a page in the New York State Assembly where he served for two years. During the second year, he also got a job distributing the Albany Atlas newspaper. [Read more…] about Albany’s Daniel Manning: Newspaperman & Secretary of the Treasury

Tidbits From Northern New York Newspapers

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A New York Times pressman checking a newspaper for defects in 1942Trivia clue: Who introduced American corn bread to England? Correct response: Jeremiah Rusk of Wisconsin, U.S. Secretary of State from 1889-1893.

“It must never be forgotten of Hon. Jeremiah Rusk that when he was secretary of agriculture, he made a market for American pork that was shut off for many years,” The Morning Star of Glens Falls editorialized on December 19, 1893. [Read more…] about Tidbits From Northern New York Newspapers

Flee North! Thomas Smallwood & The Early Underground Railroad

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Flee North Thomas Smallwood Early Underground RailroadBorn enslaved, by the 1840s Thomas Smallwood (1801–1883) had purchased his freedom, was self-educated, and working as a shoemaker a short walk from the U.S. Capitol.

Working alongside prominent abolitionist Charles Turner Torrey, the two men encouraged those enslaved to flee north and helped create what is believed to be the first organized line of the Underground Railroad. [Read more…] about Flee North! Thomas Smallwood & The Early Underground Railroad

Noah Webster’s Dictionary for Independence

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New York Grand Federal Procession, July 22 1788 (a ship tribute to Alexander Hamilton navigates the parade at Bowling Green)On July 23, 1788, a colorful “Federal Procession” of nearly 5,000 citizens marched through Lower Manhattan in celebration of the ratification of the Constitution. The Order of the Procession was divided in ten divisions representing various trades and professions. One of those involved in the manifestation was a young Federalist and lexicographer by the name of Noah Webster.

Noah was a member of the Philological Society of New York. Founded in March 1788 for the purpose of “improving the American Tongue,” the Society was eager to take part in the event. Solemnly dressed in black, the philologists paraded in the Ninth Division with lawyers, college students and merchants. [Read more…] about Noah Webster’s Dictionary for Independence

Unusual 19th Century Vocabulary Found in Northern New York Newspapers

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Terpsichore, Greek Muse of dusic and dance, an oil-on-canvas painting by Jean-Marc Nattier (1739)Robert Sims played a fiddle and the dancing in April 1894 was livelier than that of antiquity. Nevertheless, the ancient Greek muse of dance and chorus must have been smiling on a group of devotees from Sandy Hill, now Hudson Falls, in Washington County, NY. [Read more…] about Unusual 19th Century Vocabulary Found in Northern New York Newspapers