Captain William T. (Chip) Reynolds of the Replica Ship Half Moon (and Director of the New Netherland Museum) forwarded the following notes on the Half Moon's progress and events this 400th year:
1. Half Moon in the News/Major Winter Work Projects
Recent articles in the Albany Times Union and the Troy Record provide a good summary of work on the Half Moon over this past winter. This past season major efforts have followed two paths: first, to expand and improve our programming (with new artifacts, educational curricula, interpretive brochures, and programming); and second, to make physical improvements to the Half Moon (renew the rig, rebuild the forecastle, improve the engine room, and rebuild the reduction gear).
See the video links at:
http://tinyurl.com/d2lxmc Times Union Fred LeBrun video in shipyard
http://tinyurl.com/cy9xjt Troy Record Mike McMahon video Half Moon in travel
See the stories and photos at:
http://tinyurl.com/cdgbnr Times Union Fred LeBrun story and Paul Bukowski Photos
http://tinyurl.com/cpb29b Times Union Paul Grondahl story
Both the program developments and the ship improvements are major efforts, and are nearing completion as we approach the start of our operating season. Special thanks are due to key donors whose contributions have made this possible: Dr. Andrew and Mary Hendricks, and the Hendricks Family Foundation John and Amy Peckham, Peckham Family Foundation, and Peckham Industries New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Robert E. and Lori S. Liebert Van Vranken
2. Volunteers Needed to Help Finish Work on Half Moon
The Half Moon will soon move from the Port of Albany to Peckham Materials, Athens, NY. Volunteers are needed to help move the ship from Albany to Athens. Once in Athens volunteers are needed to help finish the work aboard. We have a tight timeline, but expect to complete work at Scarano Boatbuilders in the Port of Albany about April 2, and depart there the weekend of April 4 and 5. Crew should board the ship on Saturday, April 4, stay overnight, and arrive in Athens mid-day on April 5. If you are interested in helping move the ship this weekend, please contact Karen
Preston, pkep1483@aol.com
3. Crew Opportunity for Move from Port of Albany to Athens, NY
The Half Moon will remain dockside at Peckham Materials through mid May. While there, volunteers of all skill levels are needed to help with work on the ship. This work will continue weekdays and most weekends. If you can help, please contact Karen Preston, pkepq483@aol.com. It is not possible to just walk up, as entry must be arranged ahead of time.
4. Schedule in 2009.
Our schedule for 2009 is developing well, with major program stops set. Additional inquiries arrive frequently, and some parts of the 2009 schedule will be refined as plans mature. The programs listed below are set:
VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY - Re-Creation of 1609 Voyage, Follow daily with postings on internet Sept. 14-Sept. 23, Sail with middle school students from New York Harbor to
Albany, NY Sept. 27-Oct. 8, Sail with middle school students from Albany to New York
Harbor
PROGRAM STOPS
* May 23,24,25 Memorial Day, Poughkeepsie, NY, Festival and Half Moon for tours
* June 6-13, River Day sail from New York Harbor to Albany, NY, and intermediate stops
* July (date to be determined) Goodwin College, East Hartford, CT, dockside programming and open for tours
* July 24,25,26,27, Hudson, NY Festival and Half Moon open for tours
* August 29,30, Staten Island, NY Festival and Half Moon open for tours
* Sept. 11,12,13, New York Harbor, Harbor Day festivities
* Sept. 26, Albany, NY Festival and Half Moon open for tours
* Oct. 16-31, Yonkers, NY Half Moon open for tours
You can keep in touch with the Half Moon's doings through their website.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Half Moon Update - Flitsbericht Halve Maen 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
This Week's Top New York History News
- Early Photo of NYC To Be Auctioned
- John Hope Franklin Has Died
- Public Hearing For Coney Island Plan
- Buffalo News: Pass Rehab Tax Credit
- St. Lawrence Co Papers Auction
- History Gets Paddy Whacked
- Bill Would Limit NY Museum Art Sales
- Ambitious Finger Lakes Museum Project
- Wartime Scrapbook Tells Haunting Story
- Van Buren Property Will Expand
New York History Blogging Round-Up
A new feature, every Friday morning I'll be bringing you the best of the blogosphere. I'll be keeping it to New York history, or stories and trends of national scope that are relevant to new York history. The usual Top New York History News Stories feature will continue at noon on Fridays. Enjoy!
- Public Historian: Women on The Key (Ada Lovelace Day)
- Digitization 101: Google Books Settlement at Columbia
- AHA Blog: Image Resource Roundup
- Great Lives In History: The "Queen of Gospel Hymns"
- Patell and Waterman's: Al Jolson's Own Story
- Inside the Apple: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
- The Bowery Boys: Forty Thieves, The First Gang of New York
- American History Now: The End of History?
- City Room: The Grand Concourse's First Century
- Adirondack Almanack: Tupper Lake History For The People
Thursday, March 26, 2009
New Exhibit On Native American Performing Arts Opens
The Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes Cave, NY has announced the opening of their 2009 exhibition: “Native Americans in the Performing Arts: From Ballet to Rock and Roll.” America’s first Prima Ballerina, Maria Tallchief; Grammy winning singer/songwriter, Joanne Shenandoah; founding member of the Village People, Felipe Rose; and legendary Rock musician, Robbie Robertson are a few of the Native American performers featured in this dynamic new exhibition.
According to the exhibit announcement: Native American performing artists are an integral part of the growth of popular music and dance in America. Many Native musicians and dancers rank with the most notable and recognizable of popular performers. In classical, country, opera, and rock music and in vaudeville, ballet and modern dance, Native American performing artists often have been the innovators and the inspiration to other performers. In addition to the numerous contemporary Native performers, the exhibition honors some of the groundbreaking artists who starred in the early Wild West Shows and traveled the world performing with orchestras, operas and vaudeville productions. We also explore the rich
history of traditional Iroquois song and dance.
The exhibition runs from April 1 to December 31. A free opening reception and party will be held on Saturday, April 4 from 3 to 6 pm. As part of the exhibition, the Museum will present “Saturday Matinees” on the first Saturday of every month, featuring films and documentaries on many of the featured performers. For more information contact the Museum at: Iroquois Indian Museum, P.O. Box 7, 324 Caverns Road, Howes Cave, NY 12092, 518-296-8949, info@iroquoismuseum.org or visit our web site at www.iroquoismuseum.org
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Mohican Seminar April 4th in Albany
Native American Institute of The Hudson River Valley will host ten scholars who will present papers on all aspects of Mohican culture on April 4, 2009 at the New York State Museum in Albany.
The Native American Institute of the Hudson River Valley (NAIHRV) specializes in the study of the native Algonquian people, or Mohicans, who were long settled along the river. Described by Hudson's crew as "loving people," they greeted the explorer in a friendly manner and later played an important role in the survival of the new colony.
The NAIHRV is a nonprofit organization of interested volunteers, educators, archaeologists, historians, and researchers devoted to promoting an awareness of Native Americans in general and the Mohican Nation in particular.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Novel By Bill Greer Set in 17th C. New Amsterdam
Here a note I received from the New York State Museum's Marilyn Douglas, who is coordinator of the New Netherland Institute:
Bill Greer's novel, set in 17th-century New Amsterdam, is now available from the New Netherland Institute online shop @ $10.95 plus $5.00 for S&H. (The S&H will be added at check-out.) You can access this new addition in the shop (scroll down on home page to broad horizontal band and click on online shop) at "latest products" or click on the books tab. Click "more" to read a description.
While you're there, browse a bit! The shop, with its number and variety of products, is becoming an important aspect of the website and a good place to search for special gifts. While a work of fiction, The Mevrouw Who Saved Manhattan
Bill Greer is Treasurer and Trustee of the New Netherland Institute.
Friday, March 20, 2009
This Week's Top New York History News
- Woolworth Biulding Eclipsed
- Double Dutch: Native NYC Game
- Reinvest New York Policy Update
- America History in Video Free
- McCauley Mtn to Celebrate 50 Yrs
- From Bell Tower To Cell Tower
- Merryl Tisch Is New Regents Chancellor
- Fall of Music Row Confirmed
- Irish in America: Long & Gregarious History
- Audubon Park Historic District Update
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Ten Named to National Women's Hall of Fame
To coincide with Women’s History Month, the National Women’s Hall of Fame announces its 2009 Inductees. Included in the group of ten outstanding American women are world-renowned artist Louise Bourgeois, biochemist Dr. Mildred Cohn, attorney and women’s rights activist Karen DeCrow, domestic violence advocate Susan Kelly-Dreiss, attorney and social justice activist Dr. Allie B. Latimer, ecologist and limnologist Dr. Ruth Patrick, and atmospheric scientist Dr. Susan Solomon. These women, along with three historic figures, will be inducted during a weekend of celebration to be held in Seneca Falls, New York on October 10-11, 2009. Seneca Falls was the location of the first women’s rights convention, held in 1848. The event began a 72-year struggle for women’s suffrage.
The 2009 Inductees are:
Louise Bourgeois (1911 - ) One of the world’s most preeminent artists, Louise Bourgeois’s career has spanned over seven decades. Best known for her work as a sculptor, Bourgeois uses a variety of materials including wood, metal, marble and latex to create works often reflective of her childhood experiences and life relationships. In 1982, Bourgeois became the first female artist to be given a retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and in 1997 she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. Her varied and extensive body of work has been displayed in the collections of major museums worldwide.
Dr. Mildred Cohn (1913 - ) A groundbreaking scientist in several important areas of biological research, Dr. Mildred Cohn pioneered research that helped form the scientific understanding of mechanisms of enzymatic reactions and the methods of studying them. In 1946, she introduced the use of isotopic oxygen 18 to study metabolic processes and enzyme mechanisms. She later applied nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) to investigate metabolism and metabolic intermediates. Dr. Cohn has published more than 150 scientific papers and has received several awards for her work, including the National Medal of Science in 1982.
Karen DeCrow (1937 - ) A nationally recognized attorney, author and activist, Karen DeCrow is one of the most celebrated leaders of the women’s movement. From 1974-1977, she served as the National President of the National Organization for Women (NOW), where she was instrumental in obtaining significant legislative and legal gains and tirelessly advocated on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Ms. DeCrow has written numerous books and articles and has lectured throughout the world on topics such as law, gender equality, and politics. In 1970, she served as National Coordinator of the Women’s Strike, and in 1988 she co-founded World Women Watch.
Susan Kelly-Dreiss (1942 - ) For over 30 years, Susan Kelly-Dreiss has worked to enact legal protections, implement innovative services and heighten public awareness on behalf of battered women and their children. In 1976, Ms. Kelly-Dreiss lobbied for passage of Pennsylvania’s first domestic violence law, and later that same year, she co-founded the nation’s first domestic violence coalition – the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV). She was a founding member of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, and has played a key role in drafting federal legislation including the Federal Violence Prevention and Services Act and the Violence Against Women Act.
Dr. Allie B. Latimer (19xx - ) An attorney, civil rights activist and humanitarian, Dr. Allie B. Latimer was instrumental in organizing Federally Employed Women (FEW) in 1968, and served as the organization’s founding president until 1969. In 1977, as a federal attorney, Dr. Latimer was the first African American and first woman to serve as General Counsel of a major federal agency as well as the first woman to attain the GS-18 salary level at the General Services Administration. She was also recognized as part of the “second wave of feminist pioneers” by the Veteran Feminists of America (VFA).
Emma Lazarus (1849 – 1887) “Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” These famous words from The New Colossus, were written by Emma Lazarus, one of the first successful Jewish American authors. Originally created in 1883, the sonnet was later engraved in bronze and placed at the base of the Statue of Liberty. Throughout her lifetime, Lazarus authored and published numerous poems, essays, letters, short stories and translations. She was an important forerunner of the Zionist movement, having argued for the creation of a Jewish homeland thirteen years before the term Zionist was even coined.
Dr. Ruth Patrick (1907 - ) A pioneer in the field of limnology - the scientific study of the life and phenomena of fresh water, especially lakes and ponds - Dr. Ruth Patrick pioneered techniques for studying the biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems and provided methods needed to monitor water pollution and understand its effects. Dr. Patrick is credited, along with Rachel Carson, as being largely responsible for ushering in the current worldwide concerns with ecology. She was the first female elected chair of the board of the Academy of Natural Sciences and received the National Medal of Science in 1996.
Rebecca Talbot Perkins (1866 – 1956) In 1927, a time when very few agencies existed to promote adoption, Rebecca Talbot Perkins joined with the Alliance of Women’s Clubs of Brooklyn to create The Rebecca Talbot Perkins Adoption Society. Later known as Talbot Perkins Children’s Services, the organization provided foster care and adoption services to countless families across the country for 75 years. Throughout her lifetime, Perkins was active in various charitable and civic causes as a member of the Brooklyn Women’s Suffrage Society, Chair of the Alliance of Women’s Clubs of Brooklyn, Vice President of the Memorial Hospital for Women and Children, and Director of the Welcome Home for Girls.
Dr. Susan Solomon (1956 - ) An internationally recognized leader in the field of atmospheric science, Dr. Susan Solomon pioneered the theory explaining how and why the ozone hole occurs in Antarctica, and obtained some of the first chemical measurements that established man-made chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as its cause. Dr. Solomon is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 1999 National Medal of Science and the Asahi Foundation of Japan’s Blue Planet Prize in 2004. From 2002-2008, Dr. Solomon served as the co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Albert Gore, Jr. in 2007. Dr. Solomon’s current research as a senior scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration focuses on climate change, ozone depletion and the links between the two.
Katherine Stoneman (1841 – 1925) Katherine “Kate” Stoneman was the first woman admitted to practice law in New York State. In 1885, she became the first female to pass the New York State Bar Exam, but her 1886 application to join the bar was rejected because of her gender. Stoneman immediately launched a lobbying campaign to amend the Code of Civil Procedure to permit the admission of qualified applicants without regard to sex or race, and was successfully admitted to the bar later the same month. In 1898, she became the first female graduate of Albany Law School, and was the first woman to receive a bachelor’s degree from any department of Union University.
These ten women will join the 226 already inducted into the Hall, the first national membership organization recognizing and celebrating the accomplishments of great American women.
For more information on the Hall of Fame or its activities, call (315)568-8060 or visit their website, www.greatwomen.org.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
OHEKA Castle Chronicled in New Book
A new book chronicles the untold story of the largest restored home in America – OHEKA Castle. The 291-page work, entitled OHEKA CASTLE Monument to Survival
The book opens up with personal reflections about OHEKA by best-selling author and Long Islander, Nelson DeMille. DeMille’s introduction begins with the statement: “Ellen Schaffer and Joan Cergol have worked eight years to write this remarkable book about a remarkable house: OHEKA Castle.” In the book’s foreword, entitled “Why OHEKA matters,” the authors state: “In sharing OHEKA’s story, we also tell a tale of victory for all those who believe historic structures should and can be saved for future generations. By documenting this successful large-scale experience in historic preservation, we hope to educate and inspire others to attain their own hopes and dreams of saving that ‘big old house’ down the road.”
The new book is the product of an eight year collaboration between co-authors Ellen Schaffer and Joan Cergol, who were introduced in 1996 by OHEKA Castle owner Gary Melius. Schaffer, a civic leader and longtime resident of Cold Spring Hills, the community in which OHEKA is situated, and Cergol, a local public relations professional, worked side by side to create a not-for-profit organization known as “Friends of OHEKA” and develop an innovative zoning approach to preserve the structure and maintain its residential zoning. At that time, OHEKA’s future was at risk due to zoning issues threatening Melius’ ability to advance his restoration plan for a 127-room “single family home” on Long Island’s North Shore.
The story illustrates the importance of public-private partnerships for historic preservation in America, where government funding is almost non-existent. It also documents a successful “public awareness campaign” to garner the public support needed for government intervention. The story reveals how a dedicated and resourceful owner, a supportive community and an enlightened town came together to accomplish what seemed impossible - rescuing, restoring and ultimately succeeding in finding adaptive reuses for an otherwise obsolete Gold Coast mansion in the center of a residential community.
The book encourages owners of historic structures, local communities and governments across America to think “outside the box” of historic preservation. The story reveals how a preservation tool known as a “historic overlay district,” when combined with good old-fashioned American ingenuity, can turn a devastated Gold Coast ruins into a useful structure to serve our modern-day society. Now carefully captured and preserved by the co-authors, this “preservation success story” is itself preserved to serve a larger goal of encouraging ordinary citizens and local governments to save historic homes for future generations.
Monday, March 16, 2009
32 Places Offered for NY State, National Registers
The New York State Board for Historic Preservation recommended the addition of 32 properties to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Property owners, municipalities and organizations from communities throughout the state sponsored the nominations.
"From urban office towers and factories to rural cemeteries and hillside retreats, these nominations reflect New York's distinctive history," said Carol Ash, Commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. "Recognizing these landmarks will help us to preserve, appreciate and understand New York's unique past."
Listing these properties on the State and National Registers can assist their owners in revitalizing the structures. Listing will make them eligible for various public preservation programs and services, such as matching state grants and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits.
The State and National Registers are the official lists of buildings, structures, districts, landscapes, objects and sites significant in the history, architecture, archeology and culture of New York State and the nation. There are nearly 90,000 historic buildings, structures and sites throughout the state listed on the National Register of Historic Places, individually or as components of historic districts.
Once the recommendations are approved by the state historic preservation officer, the properties are listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places and then nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, where they are reviewed and, once approved, entered on the National Register.
STATE REVIEW BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS
Albany County
1. Peltier House, Cohoes
2. Norman's Vale (Nott House), Guilderland
3. New Scotland Presbyterian Church & Cemetery, Slingerlands
Cayuga County
4. Hutchinson Homestead, Cayuga
Chautauqua County
5. Dunkirk Schooner Site, Dunkirk
Chenango County
6. Holden B. Mathewson House, South Otselic
7. Eaton Family Residence/Jewish Center of Norwich, Norwich
Columbia County
8. Conyn-Van Rensselaer House, Claverack
9. St. John's Lutheran Church, Ancram
10. Pratt Homestead, Spencertown
Cortland County
11. Stage Coach Inn/Royal Johnson House
Erie County
12. E.&B. Holmes Machinery Company Building, Buffalo
Herkimer County
13. Masonic Temple, Newport Lodge No.455, Newport
Kings County
14. Beth-El Jewish Center of Flatbush, Brooklyn
Livingston County
15. Sweet Briar, Geneseo
Madison County
16. Chittenango Pottery, Chittenango
Monroe County
17. Lake View Cemetery, Brockport
Montgomery County
18. Chalmers Knitting Mill, Amsterdam
New York County
19. New York Telephone Co. Building, Manhattan
20. Park and Tilford Building, Manhattan
Niagara County
21. 8 Berkley Drive, Lockport
Oneida County
22. First United Methodist Church, Rome
23. Edward W. Stanley Recreation Center, Clinton
Onondaga County
24. Louis Will House, Syracuse
25. C.G. Meaker Warehouse and Syracuse Industrial Properties, Syracuse
Orange County
26. Dock Hill Extension Stone Arch Bridge, Cornwall-on-Hudson
27. Balmville Cemetery, Balmville
Oswego County
28. Dr. Charles M. Lee House, Fulton
29. Little Stone House, Mexico
Richmond County
30. Jacques Marchais Center of Tibetan Art, Staten Island
Suffolk County
31. William Cauldwell House, Noyac
Westchester County
32. Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Sleepy Hollow
Friday, March 13, 2009
This Week's Top New York History News
- The Old Foodie: Albany Beef
- Samuel de Champlain, The Cartoon
- Study Guides for History Students
- Ominous Beauty From Coney's Underbelly
- History Faculty Salaries Continue Decline
- PhD's Anticipating Hard Times
- Rensselaer Co. History Group May Close
- Schenectady County Celebrates 200
- New England Regional Genealogical Conf.
- American Museum of Natural History Incompetant?
SUNY Stony Brook: The Worlds of Lion Gardiner
The State University of New York at Stony Brook, in cooperation with the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, will hold a conference at Stony Brook on The Worlds of Lion Gardiner, c. 1599-1663: Crossings and Boundaries on March 20-21, 2009. Military man and engineer, chronicler and diplomat, lord of a New English manor married to a Dutch woman, Gardiner led a life replete with crossings: of the English Channel to engage in Continental wars, of the Atlantic, of the lesser waters of Long Island Sound, of national, imperial, and colonial borders, of racial divides, and of the very bounds of colonial law. The many crossings in which he and his contemporaries were involved did much to create boundaries between things previously less clearly separated.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Underground RR Audio Tour at NY Historical Society
The New-York Historical Society is presenting an audio tour exploring the Underground Railroad during the time of the Civil War, highlighting how issues of slavery and freedom influenced national politics and the actions of Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), commander of the Union armies, and of Robert E. Lee (1807–1870), commander of the Confederate forces. The Run for Your Life audio tour adds a layer of interpretation to the current exhibition Grant and Lee in War and Peace and can be accessed when you visit the gallery and at nyhistory.org or on iTunesU.
Over the past five years, the New-York Historical Society has showcased documents, art and artifacts relating to the abolitionist movement and network known as the “Underground Railroad” by publishing the papers of the African Free School in print and on the Web and through the exhibitions on Alexander Hamilton; Slavery in New York; New York Divided: Slavery and the Civil War; and French Founding Father: Lafayette’s Return to Washington's America.
This year, the N-YHS takes the story of the abolitionist movement and Underground Railroad through the Civil War, focusing significant attention on its role in the turbulent 1850’s through the time that the resources of the Underground Railroad were drawn on to assist four million freed people to participate in a new, unified democracy.
These activities, including the Run For Your Life audio tour, are developed with grant funds from the U.S. Department of Education Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural (URR) Program.
The tour is comprised of seven thematic stops:
Introduction
When Grant and Lee attended West Point, no men of color were allowed to enlist in the US Army, however by the close of the Civil War over 180,000 African Americans had fought for the Union – many of them recently escaped from slavery. The larger saga of escaping slaves and relentless political struggle show how the African American quest for freedom held the country accountable to the principles so forcefully stated in the Declaration of Independence.
Black Seminoles Flee South
As enslaved people in Georgia and Florida sought sanctuary with the Seminole tribe, the U.S. government became more and more determined to conquer (in three different wars) the various Seminole groups who received these fugitives. Some bands became known as Black Seminoles because of the massive influx of African Americans and subsequent intermarriage.
John Brown: Escapes and Revolt
Abolitionist John Brown not only fought pro-slavery militias in Kansas in the mid-1850s, he led a band of fugitive slaves openly through the territories up to Canada, trying to prove that the Fugitive Slave Law was blatantly defied by antislavery citizens. Fulfilling the nightmare that haunted the South, he then tried to spark a general slave uprising, after capturing arms at Harper's Ferry. When Brown was sentenced to death he gave a farewell address in which he linked his Underground Railroad expedition to Canada with his attempted insurrection.
Lee at Arlington – Wesley Norris
Right before the Civil War, Lee inherited a large number of slaves at the Arlington estate through his wealthy wife. By the terms of her father’s will, the Arlington slaves were to be freed upon his death. Lee’s slowness in doing this, and his policy of breaking up families by hiring people out to distant plantations angered Mary Custis Lee’s slaves. Some fled, since they considered themselves already free. One such fugitive slave ended up living as a freedman on the very Arlington estate where he used to work.
Grant and the Davis Plantation
The story of Isaiah Montgomery is a startling window into the chaotic period of the war when the newly freed and the newly fleeing joined together to improvise new lives. From the beginning of the war thousands of enslaved people liberated themselves and fled to Union lines, as Federal forces secured pockets of Southern territory. Grant settled them in contraband camps or arranged for their protection on plantations of their former owners seized as punishment for supporting the Confederacy. The most notable of these were the properties of Jefferson and Joseph Davis in the Mississippi River, where the former slaves took control and successfully planted cotton and ran their own schools. Benjamin and Isaiah Montgomery, slaves only two years before, turned a profit of $160,000 in 1865 on the plantation of their former owners.
Lincoln, McClellan and Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass, the leading black statesman, condemned Lincoln’s policy of returning fugitive slaves and refusing to allow them to enlist in Union forces: “We are striking the guilty rebels with our soft white hand, when we should be striking with the iron hand of the black man, which we keep chained behind us. We have been catching slaves, instead of arming them… Slavery has been, and is yet the shield and helmet of this accursed rebellion.” Soon, however, Lincoln declared that slave labor was supporting the Rebel war effort. Then some of his more openly abolitionist generals, such as Benjamin Butler, could treat the escaping people as “legitimate contraband of war” seized from the enemy to prevent aid to the Rebel cause. The flight of thousands of slaves is called by some the Last Chapter of the Underground Railroad, as African American southerners added their efforts to the Union side, and subtracted their labor from the rebels.
About the New-York Historical Society
Established in 1804, the New-York Historical Society (N-YHS) comprises New York’s oldest museum and a nationally renowned research library. N-YHS collects, preserves and interprets American history and art; its mission is to make these collections accessible to the broadest public and increase understanding of American history through exhibitions, public programs, and research that reveal the dynamism of history and its impact on the world today. N-YHS holdings cover four centuries of American history and comprise one of the world’s greatest collections of historical artifacts, American art, and other materials documenting the history of the United States as seen through the prism of New York City and State.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Rensselaer County Historical Society May Close
The Rensselaer County Historical Society has announced that they may be forced to close due to economic hardship. I will reprint here the message they sent:
We Need Your Help!
Keep the lights on and history alive!
To our members and friends,
As you may have read in [yesterday's] Times Union, RCHS is currently experiencing severe financial difficulty. The organization been running annual deficits for several years, and despite special efforts, the situation has now become critical. In a matter of weeks RCHS will no longer have funds available to meet its basic operating needs. What may have seemed - even ten years ago - a reasonable endowment with sustainable cash reserves has now dwindled to the point where we are no longer able to pay our bills. Without an immediate and substantial infusion of funds (upwards of $150,000), it appears that we will be required to close our doors while we work to implement a prudent fiscal strategy.
If we must close,
· our loyal and hardworking staff will be furloughed. Together these professionals have over 74 years of service to our community.
· exciting new educational initiatives, popular public programs, and long-planned exhibits would cease or be cancelled. The loss to our community - both economically and psychologically - would be incalculable. RCHS collections hold over 60,000 items of decorative arts, furniture, paintings, and sculpture. None of these items would remain available to the public. More importantly, an even greater number of documents relating to our past would be completely inaccessible. The utility bills alone for maintaining these collections are almost $6,000 a month.
· RCHS efforts as a major catalyst in highly visible efforts to use the historic fabric of our county to stimulate economic development will be curtailed. We hope to be able to continue serving - in fact inspiring - our community through these efforts.
We are beginning a public campaign to "keep the lights on and history alive!" As in the past, we are grateful for your active interest and suggestions regarding strategies to ensure RCHS's survival. We also urgently need your personal assistance in providing immediate financial support during this financial crisis.
Our plan is to take the next three to four months to develop - in partnership with our supporters - a new business plan for RCHS, designed to ensure its long-term sustainability. We are fortunate to have Rachel Tooker, a very experienced and energizing Transitional Executive leading this effort. The dedicated members of the RCHS board are prepared to join Rachel to discuss our finances and future plans in detail. Please give us a call if you have questions or suggestions for us.
In the meantime, here are some things you can do to help RCHS:
Help us to spread the word about RCHS and its positive impact on the community.
Distribute RCHS membership and program brochures to your clubs and community organizations.
Hold a brunch or get-together and make a group donation to RCHS.
Give an RCHS membership as a birthday present or gift to a new neighbor.
Volunteer to help with an RCHS program or project.
Send us your ideas for making RCHS sustainable and an even more valuable part of the community.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Collecting and Gathering: Making Worlds, Staking Claims
A one-day interdisciplinary conference and exhibit at the Center for Archaeology, Columbia University, New York City will be held Saturday May 23rd, 2009; abstracts are due Sunday March 22nd, 2009.
Practices, institutions and ideas centered around collections and collecting offer a fruitful area for interdisciplinary enquiry in the humanities and social sciences. Whether in the processes through which collections come to be formed, or the ways in which existing collections are experienced by a variety of publics, the impulse to collect is often key to knowing a wider world, and also knowing oneself. This conference aims to bring a wide variety of critical perspectives to bear on this topic; including anthropological, historical and art historical, literary, architectural and museological. Papers dealing with actual formal collections such as those found in galleries or museums, as well as those interested in less tangible collections - such as collections of facts, observations or ideas - are equally welcome. There are no restrictions with regard to time period, and papers are sought relating to the contemporary world, as well as the recent and ancient pasts.
Papers are solicited on the following and related themes:
The temporality of gathering - how the past and future are grasped and mediated through material substances and practices
Collecting and power - how collecting sets up or maintains power differentials between collector and collected, exhibitor and exhibited
Fixing and making worlds - the bonding of materials, substances, place and people
Histories of collecting - changing modalities and definitions of the collection and of what it is to gather materials, ideas or people in place and time
Collecting as a transformative process - how collecting alters, re-presents or invents the object that is collected and the implications of such transformations
Spaces of collection and collections of spaces - the politics, poetics and meaning of the exhibition space and its architectural framing
This conference is run by graduate students affiliated with the Center for Archaeology and is organized in conjunction with an exhibit on collecting designed by students in the Museum Masters program at Columbia.
Please send a 200 word abstract along with contact information (including name, email, institution affiliation) to Matt Sanger at mcs2178@columbia.edu
Any questions can also be sent to this address.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Passing as Black: A Pioneer of American Alpine Climbing
There was an interesting review of Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line
Passing Strange meticulously — sometimes too meticulously; the book can be plodding — recounts the unlikely convergence of two lives: King was born in 1842 in Newport, R.I., to parents of longstanding American stock, and Ada Copeland was born a slave in Georgia, months before Confederate guns fired on Fort Sumter. Copeland, like most slaves, is woefully underdocumented; we know that she somehow became literate, migrated to New York in the 1880s and found a job in domestic service. King, by contrast, is all but overdocumented; after schooling, he went west as a surveyor, summing up 10 years of work in two books, including the 815-page “Systematic Geology,” which told, one historian said, “a story only a trifle less dramatic than Genesis.”
King was among the first to climb some of the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada range in the late 1860s and early 1870s and wrote Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada
The pair met sometime around 1888, somewhere in bustling New York. By telling Copeland he was “James Todd,” a Pullman porter from Baltimore, King implied his race; a white man could not hold such a job. They married that year (though without obtaining a civil license), settling in Brooklyn and then, as Copeland had five children, Flushing, Queens. All the while King maintained residential club addresses in Manhattan, where colleagues knew him as an elusive man about town. Living a double life is costly, and King’s Western explorations never quite delivered returns, so the Todds were always broke.
According to The Literature of Mountain Climbing in America (1918):The beginnings of mountaineering in America have to be looked for mainly in early histories and narratives of travel, though the first ascent in the Canadian Rockies is chronicled in the supplement to a botanical magazine. The first magazine article upon American mountains seems to be Jeremy Belknap's account of the White Mountains, printed in the American Magazine in Philadelphia in February, 1788. The first book was Joel T. Headley's The Adirondack
As an aside, among the men who were associated with Clarence King was his good friend, artist John Henry Hill. Hill accompanied King on two expeditions west (1866 and 1870) as a staff artist but his New York claim to fame is his work on the Adirondacks which he first visited in the 1860s. He camped and sketched throughout the Adirondacks, and from 1870 to 1874, lived in a cabin he dubbed "Artist's Retreat" that he built on Phantom Island near Bolton's Landing, Lake George. During one winter, Hill’s brother, a civil engineer, visited and the two men set out on the ice to survey the narrows and make one of the first accurate maps of the islands which Hill than made into an etching “surrounding it with an artistic border representing objects of interest in the locality.” On June 6, 1893 Phantom Island was leased by the Forest Commission to prominent Glens Falls Republican Jerome Lapham. 
His journal and much of his work is held by the Adirondack Museum, and additional works can be found at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Brooklyn Museum of Art, New-York Historical Society, and the Columbus Museum of Art.
Friday, March 6, 2009
This Week's Top New York History News
- American Museum of Natural History Incompetant?
- Apply Now for THATCamp 2009
- March is Women's History Month
- Prof: An Open Letter to the AHA
- February American Historical Review Online
- NYPL and Today's Economic Crisis
- Columbia Names First Black, Female Dean
- Auto Museum's History of Car Scents
- Fresh Water Museum Delaware Co
- Cheney Accepts Fishing Museum's Invite
Thursday, March 5, 2009
AHA Announces New Fellowship in Digital History
In 2009, George Mason University and the American Historical Association will offer the first Roy Rosenzweig Fellowship for Innovation in Digital History. This award was developed by friends and colleagues of Roy Rosenzweig (1950–2007), Mark and Barbara Fried Professor of History and New Media at George Mason University, to honor his life and work as a pioneer in the field of digital history.
This nonresidential fellowship will be awarded annually to honor and support work on an innovative and freely available new media project, and in particular for work that reflects thoughtful, critical, and rigorous engagement with technology and the practice of history. The fellowship will be conferred on a project that is either in a late stage of development or which has been launched in the past year but is still in need of further improvements. The fellow(s) will be expected to apply awarded funds toward the advancement of the project goals during the fellowship year.
In a 1-2 page narrative, entries should provide a method of access to the project (e.g., web site address, software download), indicate the institutions and individuals involved with the project, and describe the project’s goals, functionality, intended audience, and significance. A short budget statement on how the fellowship funds will be used should be attached. Projects may only be submitted once for the Rosenzweig Fellowship.
The entry should be submitted by e-mail to rosenzweigprize@historians.org. Questions about the prize and application process should be directed to rtownsend@historians.org. The deadline for submission of entries is May 15, 2009. Recipients will be announced at the 2010 AHA Annual Meeting in San Diego.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
History of Slavery in New York Discussion Today
Historian Alan Singer, a professor of education at Hofstra University, will address "Time to Teach the Truth: The History of Slavery in New York State," during a daylong series of talks and workshops at SUNY Cortland and at Cortland Junior-Senior High School on Wednesday, March 4.
"Most Americans are aware of the more than two century-long history of slavery in our country," explained Keith Smith, director of the Educational Opportunity Program and one of the event organizers. "Most, however, consider slavery to have been limited to the South. Dr. Singer is an expert on the many facets of slavery in the Empire State, and how to teach about them. He is eager to discuss his work with colleagues and students."
A drop-in discussion session will be held between 9:30-11:30 a.m. in Old Main, Room 127, for any educators, would-be educators, and others interested in conversing with Singer and viewing his teaching materials. Singer will speak on the history of slavery in New York state during a sandwich seminar, which is free and open to the public, at 12:30 p.m. in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge.
He will conduct a workshop on teaching about slavery from 3-4 p.m. at Cortland Junior-Senior High School. For information about attending that event, please contact Karen Hempson, coordinator of the Professional Development School, a SUNY Cortland-Cortland Public Schools initiative, at (607) 753-4209 or by e-mail at: karen.hempson@cortland.edu.
At the Hofstra University School of Education and Allied Human Services, Singer is a professor of secondary education and the director of social studies education. A former New York City high school social studies teacher, he is editor of Social Science Docket, a joint publication of the New York State and New Jersey Councils for the Social Studies. His books include New York and Slavery, Time to Teach the Truth and Social Studies for Secondary Schools (Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates, 2nd edition, 2003).
Singer, who earned a Ph.D. in U.S. history from Rutgers University, is the author and editor of New York and Slavery: Complicity and Resistance, a 268-page secondary school curriculum guide.
The daylong events are being sponsored by a combination of College and community groups. The College sponsors are: Africana Studies Department; Center for Gender and Multicultural Studies; Dean of Arts and Sciences Office; Dean of Education Office; Education Club; Educational Opportunity Program; History Department; President's Office and the Provost's Office. The community sponsors include the Cortland Junior-Senior High School Department of Social Studies, the Professional Development School, and the Wilkins Foundation.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
State Proposes Sales Tax on Preservation Projects
According to the New York Landmark Society a proposed change in New York State Tax Law would adversely affect preservation projects in the state:
A proposed change to the New York State Tax Law would harm preservation and increase sales tax on preservation projects by narrowing the definition of “capital improvements” on buildings. The new language would limit the definition to apply only to projects that constitute “new construction, or a new addition to or total reconstruction of existing construction.” This is a change from the current definition which allows an exemption of sales tax on labor for the many preservation projects whose scope is less than 100% reconstruction of a building.
As a result of the proposed change, many renovations, restorations and rehabilitations of existing buildings would no longer qualify as “capital improvements” and the labor associated with these projects would become subject to the State sales tax (4%), and possibly also the New York City sales tax (4%) and MTA sales tax (.375%). At present, these projects generally pay sales tax on building materials but not on labor.
Please e-mail Governor Paterson today by clicking here saying:"please continue using the current definition of 'capital improvement' in part PP of Tax Law 1101(b)(9) and not limit it to new construction. The proposed changes work against preservation projects by adding a sales tax to the cost of labor. Preservation projects promote economic revitalization, build communities, and save energy."
Monday, March 2, 2009
NYPL Updates Google Earth-Maps Division Collection
Matt Knutzen is reporting on the NYPL's blog that they have updated the Map Division's Google Earth index to the digitized New York City map collections. The index now includes "more than 2000 maps from 32 titles, organized chronologically and geographically by borough, all published between 1852 and 1923."
Here are Knutzen's recommended ways to search for maps using the index.1. Select a borough and vintage using the folders from the list on the left sidebar.
2. Double click the map to fly to your chosen location, then use the time slider at the top left of the map frame to narrow the chronological search scope.
3. Enter a street address in the "fly to" search box, then use the time slider.
Once you've located a historical map coverage, scroll your mouse over the area and click. A popup window will allow you to access bibliographic information and a digital copy of the historical map.
