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George Cooke: Albany Snake Oil Salesman

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Patent Medicines (photo by John Warren)In the June 1841 the Albany Evening Journal ran the following notice:

“Dr. Cooke, No. 3 Norton Street, Albany, NY — In every age of the world, men of superior genius have lived: Homer, Voltaire, Euripides and Virgil. It has, however, remained for the 19th century to produce a man whose attainments, both in letters and science, which justly entitles him to equal rank with the illustrious mentioned above. That man is the world-renowned surgeon and physician, Gen. George Cooke whose fame and knowledge of the healing art have reached every clime. [Read more…] about George Cooke: Albany Snake Oil Salesman

Misinformation Nation: Truth in Revolutionary America

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misinformation nationThe new book Misinformation Nation: Foreign News and the Politics of Truth in Revolutionary America (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022) by Jordan E. Taylor reveals how foreign news defined the boundaries of American politics and ultimately drove colonists to revolt against Britain and create a new nation.

“Fake news” is not new. Just like millions of Americans today, the revolutionaries of the eighteenth century worried that they were entering a “post-truth” era. Their fears, however, were not fixated on social media or click-bait, but rather on peoples’ increasing reliance on reading news gathered from foreign newspapers. [Read more…] about Misinformation Nation: Truth in Revolutionary America

Bobcat Ranney: The Hermit of Dogtown

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Bobcat RanneyAccording to “A Who’s Who of Adirondack Hermits,” in the Fiftieth Anniversary edition of Adirondack Life magazine there were only two in Warren County: artist John Henry Hill at Phantom Island on Lake George and Archie “Bobcat” Ranney of Baker’s Mills.

Hill only lasted six years, from 1870 until 1876: the year he was picked up and sent to an asylum, never to return to the county. Archie, on the other hand, made his mark in Adirondack history and lore by “hermiting” for twenty years in Baker’s Mills, a hamlet in the town of Johnsburg. [Read more…] about Bobcat Ranney: The Hermit of Dogtown

Trivia & Editorial Wit From Historic Northern NY Newspapers

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A New York Times pressman checking a newspaper for defects in 1942Trivia clue: He was a New York Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner who acted as “spokesman,” so to speak, for the state’s $1.15 billion environmental bond act in 1972. [Read more…] about Trivia & Editorial Wit From Historic Northern NY Newspapers

Lake George’s Arthur Knight Writes Home From World War One

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parade in Lake George Village featuring veterans of World War I and American Legion Post 374On November 11th, 1918, German delegates signed the armistice formally ending the “Great War,” four years of killing and unprecedented – at least at the time – mass destruction.

Lake George resident Arthur Knight, who within a few years would become editor of the Lake George Mirror and serve in that capacity until 1969, was among the two million Americans who, in answer to their nation’s call, joined the American Expeditionary Force to fight on the side of Britain and France and their allies. [Read more…] about Lake George’s Arthur Knight Writes Home From World War One

The Schenectady Newsboys’ Association: Some History

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Schenectady Newsboys’ Association Fife and Drum CorpsAround the turn of the twentieth century, many boys sold newspapers on city streets. In Schenectady, as in cities around the country, these boys and young men, known as “newsboys” or “newsies,” were among the main distributors of newspapers to the public.

Newsboys did not work for one particular newspaper; they were independent agents who purchased newspapers from the publishers and sold them around the city. Since they were not allowed to return unsold papers, newsboys worked hard to sell all of their newspapers in order to make a profit. In Schenectady newsies protected their territories and competed vigorously, especially for the potential customers who headed to work at General Electric and the American Locomotive Company each day. [Read more…] about The Schenectady Newsboys’ Association: Some History

Political Anecdotes From Historical NNY Newspapers

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A New York Times pressman checking a newspaper for defects in 1942Trivia clue: It was a 19th century technology for announcing real-time election results in Glens Falls, NY.

Correct response: What is the stereopticon?

“The Rochester Clothing Company has made arrangements to exhibit the election returns tomorrow night on a canvas in front of their store,” The Morning Star of Glens Falls reported on November 5th, 1888. “As the dispatches are received. W.W. Kennedy will transfer them in brief to his plates and reproduce them upon the canvass by means of his stereopticon.” [Read more…] about Political Anecdotes From Historical NNY Newspapers

1875: The Ticonderoga Sentinel Returns

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Ticonderoga SentinelThe Ticonderoga Sentinel resumed publication on June 4th, 1875 after several weeks of dormancy  —  a “New Sentinel” printed on a new Fairhaven brand press, sporting a new masthead and laid out in a new format with additional front-page advertising.

Ticonderoga is in Essex County, NY, between the outlet of Lake George and Lake Champlain. [Read more…] about 1875: The Ticonderoga Sentinel Returns

Off the Northway: A New Book by Journalist Stephen Williams

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off the northwayThe Saratoga County History Center has announce the publication of Off the Northway (Saratoga County History Center, 2022),  a compilation of 83 articles written by longtime local journalist Stephen Williams, who retired after a 42-year career at the Daily Gazette in Schenectady, NY. [Read more…] about Off the Northway: A New Book by Journalist Stephen Williams