• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

  • Email
  • RSS
  • Adirondacks & NNY
  • Capital-Saratoga
  • Mohawk Valley
  • Hudson Valley & Catskills
  • NYC & Long Island
  • Western NY
  • History
  • Nature & Environment
  • Arts & Culture
  • Outdoor Recreation
  • Food & Farms
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Submit
  • About
  • New Books
  • Events
  • Podcasts

Saratoga

Saratoga Area Ethnohistoric Survey Nears Completion

July 18, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

saratoga national historic park courtesy wikimedia user UpstateNYerIn 2018, Saratoga National Historical Park received funding to produce an ethnohistorical study of the Saratoga area. Professor Karim Tiro from Xavier University was chosen to conduct the research and compile the report.

Dr. Tiro specializes in North American history during the colonial, revolutionary, and early national periods with a focus on the history of Native Americans, the War of 1812, and epidemics. [Read more…] about Saratoga Area Ethnohistoric Survey Nears Completion

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Abenaki, American Revolution, Archaeology, Battle of Saratoga, Indigenous History, Lenape - Munsee - Delaware, Military History, Mohawk, Mohican, National Park Service, Saratoga, Saratoga County, Saratoga National Park, War of 1812

The Smith Family of Acrobats and Clowns & Saratoga Springs

June 26, 2022 by Dave Waite 9 Comments

Eddie Fritz Smith, 2nd Generation ClownIn the year 1900, York Avenue on Saratoga’s East Side was a quiet working-class neighborhood with a mix of young families, as well as older citizens, all living side by side. Listed on the street in that year’s census were laborers, painters, liverymen, and surprisingly, actors.

The neighborhood folks representing the theatre were Edward “Eddie” Fritz Smith, his wife Kitty Sharpe, and their children, Catherine, Sidney, Eddie, Jeal, and William. This couple was no stranger to the life in the spotlight, for even as they settled into a quiet life in Saratoga Springs they were still known across the globe as international celebrities. [Read more…] about The Smith Family of Acrobats and Clowns & Saratoga Springs

Filed Under: Arts, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Dance, German-American History, New York City, Performing Arts, Saratoga, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable, Theatre

1772 Foundation Supports Preserving Saratoga Springs

June 15, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

65 Phila Street courtesy Saratoga Springs Preservation SocietyThe Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation was one of 25 preservation organizations across the country to receive a grant from The 1772 Foundation. The $35,000 grant is to establish a historic property redevelopment program (HPRP). [Read more…] about 1772 Foundation Supports Preserving Saratoga Springs

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: 1772 Foundation, Architecture, Grants, Historic Preservation, Saratoga, Saratoga Springs, Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation

Black Musician Francis Johnson at Saratoga, 1822-1843

June 12, 2022 by David Fiske Leave a Comment

Francis Johnson 1792-1844 courtesy Music Division, New York Public LibrarySolomon Northup, the free black man who was kidnapped from Saratoga Springs and sold into slavery (as portrayed in the film 12 Years a Slave), was known locally as a good fiddler. Northup probably mostly played at dances, and there is no evidence that he played at any of Saratoga’s posh hotels.

But as a black musician, Northup probably could have found acceptance in such venues, because the way had been paved by Francis “Frank” Johnson. Johnson, a black resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, performed with his band during many summers at the best hotels in Saratoga. [Read more…] about Black Musician Francis Johnson at Saratoga, 1822-1843

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Black History, Cultural History, Music, Musical History, Pennsylvania, Performing Arts, Philadelphia, Saratoga, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable

One Community’s Experience of the Second World War

May 29, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Standing son Jim, Maynard Varney, wife Ruth daughter Jean, nephew Ken Petteys and Dalas Varney. Seated Audrey, Barbara and Carolyn PetteysThis Memorial Day, Wilton, New York’s town hall will begin work on an exhibit which tells the story of Wilton’s Second World War families.

[Read more…] about One Community’s Experience of the Second World War

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Military History, Saratoga, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable, Wilton, World War Two

William Sears’ American Hygiene Vegetable Renovating Pills

April 10, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Sears American Hygiene Vegetable Renovating Pills Advert Newburgh Telegraph, Jan 26 1835The nineteenth century in America saw the rapid growth of “patent” medicines, developed and marketed to a populace longing for relief from the many chronic maladies of life.  Newspapers of the times were filled with advertising extolling the virtues of these creations as entrepreneurs tried to make their fortune by selling into this need.

The early fall of 1834 found one such man, William Sears, then in his middle fifties, traveling around Saratoga County soliciting testimonials from prominent local citizens as to the benefits of the medicines he had produced that were now being offered to the public. [Read more…] about William Sears’ American Hygiene Vegetable Renovating Pills

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, New York City Tagged With: Ballston Spa, Medical History, New York City, Patent Medicine, Saratoga, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable

The Eddy Family: Capital Region Industrialists

March 25, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Oliver Tarbell Eddy and Titus Egbert EddyWaterford, NY’s involvement in the Industrial Revolution was more significant than its geographical size would imply. Family-owned and operated business ventures were the norm and usually a first and second-generation operation.

Names that immediately come to the fore such families as brothers Hugh and Canvas White, the Knickerbocker, Kavanaugh, Button, Breslin, and King families all demonstrated the business model of the period; manufacturing firms that employed many hands from Saratoga County and surrounding communities. [Read more…] about The Eddy Family: Capital Region Industrialists

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Albany County, Cohoes, Industrial History, Iron Industry, Labor History, Publishing, Rensselaer County, Saratoga, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable, Troy, Waterford

Political Anecdotes from Northern New York Historic Newspapers

February 2, 2022 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

A New York Times pressman checking a newspaper for defects in 1942Trivia clue: Saratoga County Democrats barbecued an 800-pound ox to celebrate his election in 1884.

Correct response: Who is Grover Cleveland? A Glens Falls hotel keeper saved a piece of the rib bone as a souvenir. [Read more…] about Political Anecdotes from Northern New York Historic Newspapers

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Newspapers, Political History, politics, Saratoga, Saratoga County

The Marquis de Chastellux’s Visit To Saratoga Battlefield

January 2, 2022 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

Portrait of Francois-Jean de Chastellux 1782 by Charles Willson PealeThe 1777 battles of Saratoga drew visitors to the region even before the Revolutionary War ended.

It is well known that the American victory at Saratoga garnered the outright support of the French. Not only did the French decide to send part of their navy, but they also sent troops under Marshal Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau.

A member of Rochambeau’s staff, François Jean de Beauvoir, Marquis de Chastellux, was particularly interested in the Battles of Saratoga. Being the ninth child of an aristocratic family, Chastellux entered into a military career. Eventually his military career and his knowledge of English led him to join Rochambeau’s staff, which brought him to the United States. [Read more…] about The Marquis de Chastellux’s Visit To Saratoga Battlefield

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Battle of Saratoga, French History, General Philip Schuyler House, John Burgoyne, Military History, Philip Schuyler, Saratoga, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable, Schuylerville, Stillwater

Saratoga National Historical Park Getting $6.6M For Infrastructure

December 26, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

saratoga national historic park courtesy wikimedia user UpstateNYerThe primary visitor experience at Saratoga National Historical Park is about to benefit from $6.6 million in funding provided by the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA).

Extensive work on the park’s self-guided battlefield Tour Road will begin in 2022 and is expected to result in increased accessibility and visible improvements to the parking areas, trailheads, walkways, seating, exhibits and viewing areas along the ten-mile-long route. [Read more…] about Saratoga National Historical Park Getting $6.6M For Infrastructure

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: America's 250th Anniversary, Battle of Saratoga, Historic Preservation, Military History, National Park Service, Public History, Saratoga, Saratoga National Historical Park

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 14
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Help Support The Almanack

Subscribe to New York Almanack

Subscribe! Follow the New York Almanack each day via E-mail, RSS, Twitter or Facebook updates.

Recent Comments

  • Ed Zahniser on Poetry – ‘Wir Haben Wegener Gefunden Tod Im Eis’
  • Linda El Bey on The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and NYC’s Minority Plumbers
  • Will on A New History of the Wallkill Central Schools
  • Jim Osekowsky on Working the Bugs Out of Firewood
  • Pamela Carlucci on The Rise and Fall of NY’s Taylor Wine Company
  • Lynne Westra on NY’s Frank Myers Of The 54th Massachusetts: Correcting The Historical Record
  • Catherine Berkley on The Shooting of Adirondack Guide Alex White
  • Michael A Mazza on French Canadian Rev War Veteran Antoine Paulin’s Grave Being Marked in Champlain
  • peter Waggitt on Raines Law, Loopholes and Prohibition
  • Anthony St Phillips on War of 1812: Carrying the Great Rope

Recent New York Books

Without Concealment, Without Compromise
Washington’s Marines
Major General Israel Putnam hero of the American Revolution
v is for victory
The Motorcycle Industry in New York State
Unfriendly to Liberty
weeds of the northeast
Putting Out the Planetary Fire: An Introduction to Climate Action and Advocacy
Seneca Ray Stoddard An Intimate Portrait of an Adirondack Legend
rebels at sea

Secondary Sidebar

Mohawk Valley Trading Company Honey, Honey Comb, Buckwheat Honey, Beeswax Candles, Maple Syrup, Maple Sugar
preservation league