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Religious History

David Lowe Dodge: The Merchant Peacemaker

January 24, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

David Lowe Dodge by Charles HowlettWhile carrying a large sum of money on a business trip in 1805, the well-to-do city of New York merchant, David Low Dodge, who had been fast asleep in a tavern, was suddenly awakened by the noise of someone jiggling the lock to his bedroom door. Startled by the rattling doorknob and as the door slowly opened, Dodge, not taking any chances, quietly turned and reached for the pistol he always carried for protection.

And then, just before he was about to discharge his pistol, he recognized the suspected intruder as the innkeeper who had come to prepare the room for other guests. [Read more…] about David Lowe Dodge: The Merchant Peacemaker

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: New York City, New York State Archives, Pacifism, Peace Studies, Religious History, War of 1812

Raymond Buckland and Wicca in America

January 24, 2023 by Chris Kretz Leave a Comment

long island history project logoIf you lived in Brentwood, Long Island in the late 1960s and 70s, you may have encountered a charming, transplanted Englishman named Raymond Buckland. You many not have realized it at the time, but Buckland was in the process of establishing Wicca as a religion in America.

A private practitioner at first, introduced to Wicca by Gerald Gardner, Buckland was soon thrust into the public eye by the press. He then helped popularize Gardnerian Wicca through television appearances, newspaper interviews, and his own numerous writings on the subject. He went on to found his own museum and his own tradition of Seax Wicca. [Read more…] about Raymond Buckland and Wicca in America

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Brentwood, Cultural History, Long Island, Podcasts, Religion, Religious History

PT Barnum’s Personal Life

January 14, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Becoming Barnum podcastIn this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, we learn about P.T. Barnum’s thoughts on personal wealth, honor, and “gulling” the public, as well as his religious beliefs and values.

We explore letters written in December 1845 in which Barnum discusses his wife’s pregnancy, his acquisition of paintings of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, and his efforts to persuade others of his Universalist beliefs. Don’t miss this fascinating look into the personal and financial life of P.T. Barnum in the 19th century. [Read more…] about PT Barnum’s Personal Life

Filed Under: Arts, History Tagged With: Circus, Philosophy - Ethics, Podcasts, PT Barnum, Religious History

“Strange things about Mrs. Simeon Hays,” The Woman That Lived Without Eating

December 27, 2022 by John Warren 2 Comments

Chestertown and Horicon map 1858Night and day for three full weeks six well-dressed men would take shifts standing watch over Betsey Hays in her bed. They planned to stay with her two at a time in her one room cabin and make careful scientific notes.  For Betsey, who spent most of her time tormented by uncontrollable bodily contortions and seizures, it was something she was used to.

Over the past two years, thousands of people had come to Chestertown in Northern Warren County to stand over her as she suffered. [Read more…] about “Strange things about Mrs. Simeon Hays,” The Woman That Lived Without Eating

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Adirondacks, Brant Lake, Chestertown, Glens Falls, Horicon, Medical History, NYU, Religious History, Science History, Warren County, Washington County, William Miller

A Short History of Christmas for New Yorkers

December 25, 2022 by Peter Hess 9 Comments

Albany children singings hymns to St. Nicholas on the Eve of the Feast of St. NicholasThe tale of St. Nicholas is an old fable from mid-Europe that was popular in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. St. Nicholas was the patron saint of children, merchants and sailors and the patron saint of Amsterdam and was brought by the Dutch to the new world, which for the Dutch was Nieuw Nederlandt (New Netherland).

Many of the American traditions on Santa Claus originated in the Dutch settlement of New Netherland along the Hudson River between New Amsterdam (New York City) and Oranje (Beverwyck-Albany). The other colonies were English. [Read more…] about A Short History of Christmas for New Yorkers

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, Christmas, Cultural History, Dutch History, Holidays, Religious History, Rensselaer County, Rensselaerswijck, Troy

Puritans, Prussians, and the History of Christmas Cards

December 24, 2022 by Jaap Harskamp 3 Comments

First Xmas card by John Callcott HorsleyNew York has important associations with the formation of what is now considered a traditional American Christmas. “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (a.k.a. “Twas The Night Before Christmas”) was first published in the Troy Sentinel in 1823; The Albany Evening Journal ran an advertisement on December 17, 1841, that is believed to be the first time Santa Clause was used to advertise a store; and America’s first Christmas card was published in Albany in 1850/51.

Recently two rare printings of the first commercially printed Christmas card, published in England, have been announced for sale at auction. The cards depicts a family toasting with glasses of red wine. Commissioned by Henry Cole and designed by John Callcott Horsley, it carries the message “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.” [Read more…] about Puritans, Prussians, and the History of Christmas Cards

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Arts, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Christmas, Cultural History, Holidays, Religious History

Culture War, Transatlantic Migration & The Wreck of the SS Deutschland

December 6, 2022 by Jaap Harskamp 3 Comments

An 1875 caricature of Bismarck and Pope Pius IX playing a game of chess symbolizing the Kulturkampf (Culture War)Following the mid-nineteenth century revolution in steamship building, transatlantic passenger transport became a profitable enterprise. Travel went global, giving rise to an intercontinental “travel industry.”

Commercial oceanic transportation boomed. Bremen-based NDL (Norddeutscher Lloyd) and Hamburg-based HAPAG (Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Aktiengesellschaft) became the largest shipping companies in the world. [Read more…] about Culture War, Transatlantic Migration & The Wreck of the SS Deutschland

Filed Under: Arts, History, New York City Tagged With: Atlantic Ocean, Catholicism, Cultural History, German-American History, Immigration, Nativism, Poetry, Religious History, Shipwrecks, Steamboating

The Riot in Ogdensburg, 1871

November 6, 2022 by Richard White 5 Comments

Andre Massena Baron De Camin article from the Ogdensburg Daily Journal Aug 19 1871On Friday, August 18th, 1871, “The Riot at Ogdensburg” was the New-York Tribune’s title for its detailed review on the rapid rise of an Irish mob three days earlier – which the paper labeled “a formidable riotous element” – in the small, quiet port of Ogdensburg on the St. Lawrence River.

For two days, the mob’s threat of violence, and violence itself, was so intense that the mayor deputized nearly 100 men to restore law and order. [Read more…] about The Riot in Ogdensburg, 1871

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Irish Immigrants, Nativism, Ogdensburg, Religious History, riots, St Lawrence County, St. Lawrence River

Beyond Meat: A Short History of Vegetable Animals

November 4, 2022 by Paul Hetzler Leave a Comment

Cibotium barometz courtesy Wikimedia user DaderotRecent improvements in the texture and flavor of plant-based meat analogs have meat-lovers as well as vegetarians flocking to buy them. While it’s normal to think the quest for mouth-watering faux meat is a recent trend, it dates back almost a thousand years.

According to first-hand written accounts, European religious and political leaders in the Middle Ages and early Renaissance period spent decades searching for meat substitutes. [Read more…] about Beyond Meat: A Short History of Vegetable Animals

Filed Under: Food, History, Nature Tagged With: birds, Culinary History, fish, nature, Religious History, Science, Science History, vegetables, Wildlife

Possession and Exorcism in New France

November 2, 2022 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

ben franklins world podcastIn this episode of the Ben Franklin’s World podcast, Mairi Cowan, an Associate Professor of History at the University of Toronto, Mississauga, joins Liz Covart to investigate the life of a young French woman named Barbe Hallay and her alleged demonic possession.

Cowan is the author of The Possession of Barbe Hallay: Diabolical Arts and Daily Life in Early Canada (McGill-Queen’s Univ. Press, 2022). [Read more…] about Possession and Exorcism in New France

Filed Under: Books, History Tagged With: Canada, Catholicism, Halloween, New France, Podcasts, Religious History

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