History, Natural History & the Arts
In the 1830s, anti-Catholic attitudes inflamed by conspiracy theories were reaching a fevered pitch, especially in New York and Massachusetts where attacks on the homes of urban Irish immigrants occurred with some regularity.
In 1834 the bigotry turned particularly violent. Its greatest instigator was Samuel B. Morse who whipped his Protestant brethren into a fury. [Read more…] about ‘Monkish Traditions’: 1830s Hatred of Irish Immigrants
Although there had always been Irish immigrants to the colonies of the Americas, in the 1830s the pace of immigration of unskilled Irish quickened in the United States. (In 1820, only 21 percent had been unskilled laborers; by 1836 nearly 60 percent were.)
These newcomers were mostly Catholic. [Read more…] about Anti-Irish Sentiment In New York Before The 1830s
New 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
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Scott D. Seligman’s new book The Great Kosher Meat War of 1902: Immigrant Housewives and the Riots That Shook New York City (Potomac Books, 2020) is a full account of the Great Kosher Meat War of 1902, a milestone in the history of Jewish-American women. [Read more…] about New Book: The Great Kosher Meat War of 1902
This week’s guest on The Historians Podcast is retired Army Colonel Dave Cummings who discusses efforts to research St. Joseph’s Shrine and its nearby cemetery in the Adirondack hill town of Bleecker, NY.
Constructed in the 1850s, St. Joseph’s Church, torn down in 1919, was the first Roman Catholic Church built in Fulton County. [Read more…] about Researching Fulton County’s First Roman Catholic Church
Brad Kolodny started with some curiosity and an Instagram account but wound up with a coffee table book full of his images documenting synagogues from every corner of Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
He tracked the evolution of the architecture, from simple buildings to post-modern masterpieces, as well as the growth of the Jewish community on Long Island itself. The post-Second World War boom led to a boom in synagogues as well.
On this episode of the Long Island History Project podcast, we discuss the history of Long Island synagogues, the role they play in their communities, and what drives a man to document their storied histories. [Read more…] about Synagogues of Long Island (Podcast)
Getting the vote was just one of the issues suffragettes encountered in the late 19th century.
They also faced the premise of some theologians who contended the afterlife was restricted to an exclusive old boy’s club.
“A benignant looking, white-bearded patriarch,” who distributed candy to local children annually on Christmas Eve, debunked the theory in a Sunday afternoon debate in 1894 at Psychical Hall.
No — not Santa Claus. [Read more…] about Meredith B. Little: Leading Glens Falls Spiritualist
The three water color portraits shown here are hanging in Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the Mayor of the City of New York in Manhattan. They are on loan from the New York Historical Society.
The watercolors (from the 1820s) are of the Toussaint family. [Read more…] about Pierre Toussaint: Enslaved Haitian, NY Hairdresser – and Saint?
Lewis Merwin Hobbs was born in 1824 in the Delaware County town of Bloomville. He became a teacher in New York State before relocating to Lancaster County, Pa., where, in 1854, he became a moving force in the creation of the teachers’ academy which would one day become Millersville University.
During the Civil War, Rev. Hobbs served as the chaplain of the Third Regiment United States Colored Troops, labored for the Freedman’s Bureau, wrote a school bill for freedmen in the south and later became a circuit preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church, Philadelphia Conference. [Read more…] about Rev. L. M. Hobbs: Teacher, Chaplain, Thief?
Between 1500 and the 1860s, Europeans and Americans forcibly removed approximately 12 million African people from the African continent, transported them to the Americas, and enslaved them.
Why did Europeans and Americans enslave Africans? How did they justify their actions?