In 1976, as the nation prepared to celebrate its 200th birthday, my parents were already a year into the hunt for records of an elusive ancestor: Sanbun Ford, a founder of the town of Milton, in Saratoga County. [Read more…] about Sanbun Ford: An American Revolutionary Rediscovered
Westchester County
New Rochelle’s Thomas Paine Memorial Building Event
The Committee to Save the Thomas Paine Memorial Building has announced a celebration of the building’s designation as a New Rochelle Historical Landmark, set for Sunday, September 6th, at 1:30 pm.
The brief outdoor ceremony will feature community leaders and supporters, Committee members, and Board members of the Huguenot and New Rochelle Historical Association and the Thomas Paine National Historical Association. [Read more…] about New Rochelle’s Thomas Paine Memorial Building Event
The Inspiration Behind Ichabod Crane And The Headless Horseman (Podacst)
In the third episode of the podcast series Legends and Lore of the Empire State, A New York Minute In History explores the inspirations behind Washington Irving’s Headless Horseman and Ichabod Crane from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1820). [Read more…] about The Inspiration Behind Ichabod Crane And The Headless Horseman (Podacst)
The Hamilton Musical And History’s Unsung
Like millions this past 4th of July weekend, my family tuned in to Disney’s streaming of Lin Manuel-Miranda’s epic Hamilton.
The performances indeed blew us all away. Our toes tapped under our tray tables to Daveed Diggs’ electric portrayal of Thomas Jefferson and “What Did I Miss?” Our hearts pained over Phillipa Soo’s gorgeously rendered entreaties “Look Around” and “That Would Be Enough.”
But all these indelible lyrics underscored why we will never be satisfied. Despite the brilliance of the script and cast, in dramatizing the life and times of Alexander Hamilton, Miranda left us longing for narratives beyond those of the Founding Fathers and their rarefied circle. Now we want to know what will come next to fill the ever more obvious omissions in our nation’s history. [Read more…] about The Hamilton Musical And History’s Unsung
A Last Chance To Save The Thomas Paine Museum
Shortly before the City of New Rochelle recently became nationally famous (or infamous ) as an epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, a controversy was developing over the threatened destruction of the Thomas Paine Museum Memorial Building on North Avenue. [Read more…] about A Last Chance To Save The Thomas Paine Museum
Revolutionary War Farmhouse Will Be Preserved
During the American Revolution (from July 6 until August 18, 1781), the Odell House in the present Westchester County hamlet of Hartsdale served as the headquarters of Marshal Jean-Baptiste Donatien d e Vimeur (comte de Rochambeau).
Nearby fields and hills in the current Town of Greenburgh accommodated approximately 6,000 soldiers in the French expeditionary forces under his command. [Read more…] about Revolutionary War Farmhouse Will Be Preserved
New Westchester County History Published
Field Horne’s new book Westchester County: A History (Westchester County Historical Society, 2018) includes over 225 illustrations and is the first comprehensive history of the county to be published in 40 years.
The book traces the history of Westchester County from its early native peoples to today. [Read more…] about New Westchester County History Published
Lessons from a Social Studies Conference
As 2019 drew to a close, I concluded my review of the conferences I attended or would like to have attended in 2019. The final one was the annual conference of the Westchester/Lower Hudson Council for the Social Studies held on December 13 at a hotel in West Harrison in Westchester County. [Read more…] about Lessons from a Social Studies Conference
Historic Preservation Certificate Program Set for Peekskill
Westchester Community College has announced a new four-class certificate program in Historic Preservation, based at its Center for the Digital Arts, Peekskill Extension Center in the Peekskill Historic District
The program is geared towards providing a specialization for tradesmen who work in historic communities, for students in history or related fields that want to have an add-on to their traditional degree or for anybody who wants to be more effective in engaging local politicians as preservation advocates. [Read more…] about Historic Preservation Certificate Program Set for Peekskill
Crisis: Forgetting Thomas Paine in New Rochelle
The City of New Rochelle, the last home of Thomas Paine, is beginning to undergo something of an economic renaissance. A number of the City’s tremendous historical resources however, remain neglected.
The Thomas Paine Museum on North Avenue — once the centerpiece of an international effort to recognize and promote the importance of Thomas Paine – has been vacant for years and is headed for sale and destruction. [Read more…] about Crisis: Forgetting Thomas Paine in New Rochelle