Fort Ticonderoga has launched a new genealogy initiative, Ticonderoga Soldiers Project, launched as a result of a dramatic increase in genealogical interest and inquiries related to soldiers who served at Ticonderoga during the 18th century. [Read more…] about Fort Ticonderoga Genealogy Initiative Goes Online
Rensselaer County
Balbriggans, Long-Johns and Union Suits: New York Underwear Makers
Waterpower was the top priority in the development and location of the abundant textile mills in New York State. In places like Utica or Cohoes, the Mohawk River; in Troy, the Hudson River; and in Waterford, the King Canal (built about 1828 by John Fuller King), provided plenty of rushing water. [Read more…] about Balbriggans, Long-Johns and Union Suits: New York Underwear Makers
The Sinking of the Steamship Ville du Harve
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 Peebles Family of Brookwood Manor
Thomas Peebles (1729-1774) and his wife Elisabeth Bradt (1739-1806) began building a home in about 1763 (during the French sand Indian War) in the Van Schiack Patent at what is now known as Routes 4 and 32 at the intersection of Brookwood Road in Halfmoon, Saratoga County, NY (although it was then Halve Maen, on the northern frontier of Albany County). [Read more…] about The Peebles Family of Brookwood Manor
French Canadians in Northern New York: A Primer
Although a few arrived in the 150 years before to exploit the region’s natural resources, French-speaking Canadians began settling in New York in larger numbers during and after the American Revolution (many as refugees from English power in Canada). [Read more…] about French Canadians in Northern New York: A Primer
Forest Rangers Recover Body; Find Hiker Lost Overnight; Rescue Injured Hikers
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents throughout New York State. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people.
What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers. [Read more…] about Forest Rangers Recover Body; Find Hiker Lost Overnight; Rescue Injured Hikers
1889 Tows on the Hudson River: Great Fleets of Freight Boats
This article, “Tows on the Hudson. The Great Fleets of Freight Boats That Come Down the River,” first appeared in the August 18, 1889 edition of The New York Times. It was transcribed by Hudson River Maritime Museum volunteer Carl Mayer and annotated by John Warren.
Very few persons who journey up and down the Hudson River either upon the palatial steamers or upon the railway trains that run along both banks of this great waterway know how great an amount of wealth is daily floated to this [New York] city on the canal boats and barges that compose the immense tows that daily leave West Troy [now Watervliet], Lansingburg, Albany, Kingston, and other points along the river bound for this city. [Read more…] about 1889 Tows on the Hudson River: Great Fleets of Freight Boats
New Netherlanders’ Views of Indigenous People
By 1642, the number of inhabitants of Rensselaerwyck (spelled Rensselaerswijck in Dutch), at the time basically what is now Albany and Rensselaer Counties, had grown and Patroon Kiliaen Van Rensselaer willingly complied with a requirement of the Dutch West India Company to secure a clergyman for a Dutch Church to conduct services for the settlers. [Read more…] about New Netherlanders’ Views of Indigenous People
Recent Wildlife Rescues & Encounters: Rattler, Owl, Eagle, Turtle & Rabid Fox
In 1880, the first eight Game Protectors began serving to protect the natural resources of New York State. In 2022, Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) and Investigators across the state responded to more than 25,600 calls. What follows are recently reported incidents involving wildlife rescues: [Read more…] about Recent Wildlife Rescues & Encounters: Rattler, Owl, Eagle, Turtle & Rabid Fox
‘Send Pies’: A Letter From School, 1854
As summer vacation comes to an end, students are once again preparing to return to school. What follows is a letter written in 1854 by a student at the Jonesville Academy. The Academy was a private school, built about 1839, complete with dormitories. It still stands today as a private home in the hamlet of Jonesville, in Clifton Park, Saratoga County, NY. [Read more…] about ‘Send Pies’: A Letter From School, 1854