New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

NYS Court of Appeals

The Sinking of the Steamship Ville du Harve

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Rufus Wheeler Peckham (1809-1873)On May 17, 1870, Judge Rufus Wheeler Peckham was appointed a justice of the New York Court of Appeals, but in the early 1870s he began to show signs of skin cancer – a tumor had appeared on his lip. Advised that no known cure was available in the United States, he decided to undertake a trip with his wife to Europe to seek medical help.

On November 15, 1873, Judge Peckham sailed for Europe on the  SS Ville du Havre of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (French Line) bound for Havre, France near Paris. [Read more…] about The Sinking of the Steamship Ville du Harve

The Eight: The Lemmon Slave Case and the Fight for Freedom

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The Eight The Lemmon Slave Case BookThe Eight: The Lemmon Slave Case and the Fight for Freedom (SUNY Press Excelsior Editions, 2023) tells the story of Lemmon v. New York — or, as it’s more popularly known, the Lemmon Slave Case. All but forgotten today, it was one of the most momentous civil rights cases in American history. [Read more…] about The Eight: The Lemmon Slave Case and the Fight for Freedom

Judge Rufus Wheeler Peckham & The McCann Murder

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Rufus Wheeler Peckham (1809-1873)In 1787, Patroon Stephen Van Rensselaer III sent an agent to Rensselaerville in Albany County, NY to conduct a land survey. At that time there were 60 occupied lots in the village, rented by tenants.

Among them was Captain Daniel Shay, known as the leader of “Shays’ Rebellion” in Massachusetts, who purchased a farm from David Williams and settled in the vicinity of Preston’s Hollow in 1795. David Williams had been one of the captors of British spy, Major John André. [Read more…] about Judge Rufus Wheeler Peckham & The McCann Murder

Court Ends Lawsuit That Ruled State Violated Constitution

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New York State Court of Appeals in Albany in 2023The New York State Supreme Court in Albany County signed a judgment that ends the 10-year-long legal odyssey by Protect the Adirondacks to defend Article 14, Section 1, the famed Forever Wild clause in the New York Constitution.

In May 2021, the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, released a 4-2 opinion in favor of Protect the Adirondacks that upheld Article 14, Section 1, ruling that the state’s network of snowmobile connector trails violated the Forever Wild clause. [Read more…] about Court Ends Lawsuit That Ruled State Violated Constitution