• 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
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • 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

Thanksgiving

Talkin’ Turkey: 19th Century Thanksgiving Newspaper Reports

November 24, 2021 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

A 19th century Thanksgiving postcard“Let us talk about turkey,” proclaimed a New York Tribune humor column republished Nov.23, 1888 in The Granville Sentinel. Not Turkey in Europe, nor yet Turkey in Asia. But turkey in America – the esteemed bird that goes so well with cranberry sauce.”

The bald eagle, national bird of the United States, gets prominent attention for months at a time once every four years, when there is a presidential election, but the turkey is heralded every year, the columnist quipped.

“The eagle has had his full fling this year. He has ruled the roost ever since early summer, when the presidential conventions were held,” the columnist wrote. “Now that the election is over, let the eagle fold up his wings … and give way to the turkey. … The turkey stands for the refreshing calm that succeeds a quadrennial election. The turkey holds himself aloof from political parties, cares nothing for public life.” [Read more…] about Talkin’ Turkey: 19th Century Thanksgiving Newspaper Reports

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Food, History Tagged With: Holidays, Thanksgiving

The Two Thanksgivings of 1871

November 24, 2021 by Herb Hallas 5 Comments

1871 turkey plucking harpersFor about a week in 1871, New Yorkers were in a quandary about Thanksgiving. On October 25, New York Governor John T. Hoffman designated Thursday, November 23 as Thanksgiving Day for the state. In his Thanksgiving Day proclamation, the Tammany Hall Democrat urged New Yorkers to spend time on that day to declare “their gratitude to God for all his mercies” and to “remember especially the poor.”

On October 28, President Ulysses S. Grant recommended that the nation observe Thanksgiving a week after the New York Thanksgiving, on Thursday November 30. In his proclamation, the Republican chief executive called for Americans to “make the usual acknowledgments to Almighty God for the blessings he has conferred on them” and ask “His protection and kindness for their less fortunate brethren.”

What was a conscientious, holiday-minded New Yorker supposed to do? Observe the Democratic Thanksgiving on November 23, or the Republican Thanksgiving on November 30, or both? [Read more…] about The Two Thanksgivings of 1871

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Abe Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Cultural History, John Hoffman, Political History, Thanksgiving, Turkeys, Ulysses S Grant

The Pilgrims of Plimoth & The First Thanksgiving

November 24, 2021 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

The mayflower Rebecca FraserIn 1621, the Pilgrims of Plimoth (or Plymouth) Colony and their Wampanoag neighbors came together to celebrate their first harvest. Today we remember this event as the first Thanksgiving.

But what do we really know about this holiday and the people who celebrated it? [Read more…] about The Pilgrims of Plimoth & The First Thanksgiving

Filed Under: Books, Food, History Tagged With: Colonial America, Pilgrims, Plimoth, Plymouth Colony, Podcasts, Thanksgiving

USS Slater Open Thanksgiving Weekend

November 19, 2019 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

USS Slater in AlbanyUSS Slater is set to be open to the public for guided tours from 10 am to 4 pm each day this Thanksgiving Weekend. The ship will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.

This is the final opportunity this season to visit the USS Slater, the only World War II destroyer escort afloat in America. The final day to tour the ship this season is Sunday, December 1st. The ship will be closed to the public December through March. [Read more…] about USS Slater Open Thanksgiving Weekend

Filed Under: Events, History Tagged With: Albany, Hudson River, Military History, Thanksgiving, USS Slater

Primary Sidebar

Support Our 2022 Fundraising

Subscribe to New York Almanack

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

Recent Comments

  • Dave Waite on Alfred Billings Street: Albany’s 19th Century State Poet
  • Filly on Albany’s Ira Harris: From Rights Advocate to Lincoln’s Assassination
  • Laura on In Haverstraw, The House That Inspired Hitchcock
  • N. Couture on Mary Zawacki On Mohawk River History (The Historians Podcast)
  • Edythe Ann Quinn on Poetry: Local But Epic
  • Audrey on The Return of River Otters to Western New York
  • Mark Weinheimer on Vischer Ferry As A Summer Resort
  • Dave J on Remembering Amsterdam’s Bishop Scully HS
  • Dave Wallace on Stewards of the Water: A Lake George Conservation History
  • Marcy D H McKee on Revolutionary Albany: Organizing The Committee of Safety, Protection and Correspondence

Recent New York Books

vintage babes of broadway book
Mission Begin With Blood
Special Delivery book
killing time in the catskills
the soft city book
occupied america
stewards of the water
off the northway
Horse Racing the Chicago Way

Secondary Sidebar

preservation league
Protect the Adirondacks Hiking Guide