- Civil War Museum Up For Auction
- Demolition at Admirals’ Row Is Approved
- Henry Hudson Meets Google Maps
- Teach-In Set at Underground Railroad House
- Tax Credit Passes Finance Committee
- Preparing For War of 1812 200th
- Fort Montgomery For Sale on eBay
- Dredging Uncovers Ancient Boat
- Lake Champlain Continues To Reveal Treasures
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Ethnobotany and Medicinal Plants in New Amsterdam
Dr. Joel W. Grossman, the archaeologist who directed the excavation of the early-17th century shoreline block of the Dutch West India Company at Pearl Street in Lower Manhattan, will discuss “Dutch Ethnobotany and Medicinal Plants in 17th Century New Amsterdam” on Saturday, June 6, 2009 at 12:00 noon in the Arthur and
Janet Ross Lecture Hall, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York.
The dig exposed the deeply-buried remains of the colony’s first warehouse, the artifact-filled cisterns of its earliest inhabitants, and a well-preserved record of changing colonial plants. Grossman’s lavishly illustrated talk will explore the intriguing transatlantic links between the Leiden Hortus, or botanical garden, of the University of Leiden, East and West India Company doctors, institutionalized plant collecting and Native American informants in 17th Century New Amsterdam.
Grossman’s talk is presented as part of the New York Botanical Garden’s Quadricentennial Celebration: The Glory of Dutch Bulbs: A Legacy of 400 Years: May 1-June 7, 2009. Discover indoor and outdoor displays that feature large swaths of bright flowering bulbs and companion plants inspired by the great tulip and lily gardens of Holland. See Nybg.org/dutch_bulbs for other offerings on June 6th, and all the events being offered as part of the Glory of Dutch Bulbs program. For directions please call: (718) 817-8779- for general info: (718) 817-8770.
Folk Concert to Benefit NY Folklore Society, May 29
Witch tales from Otsego County. The famed Binghamton spiedie sandwich. Irish ballads sung in New York City. African-American spoken word genres. North Country quilting. The work rituals of Saratoga racetrack workers. What do all of these have in common? These are a few of the rich and varied traditions of New York State, which the New York Folklore Society has been documenting and helping to preserve since 1944.
To help celebrate sixty-five years of the Society’s work, and to coincide with the release of the latest issue of Voices, the Society’s bi-annual journal, the New York Folklore Society announces “Voices: Roots & Branches of New York Folk Music”, a benefit concert to be held on Friday, May 29, 2009 in Schenectady, New York at 7 p.m.
Featured performers include Joe Bruchac, Abenaki storyteller and flute player and his son Jesse Bruchac- Adirondack singer/songwriter Dan Berggren- multi-instrumentalist John Kirk and Cedar Stanistreet- ballad singer Colleen Cleveland- Sengalese drummer and dancer Fode Sissoko- and performer/interpreters Kim and Reggie Harris. The concert will be held at Proctor’s Theatre, 432 State Street, in Schenectady, NY.
A Reception/Meet the Artists party will precede the concert at 5:30 p.m. in the Robb Alley at Proctors. The concert begins at 7 p.m. (Reception and Concert: $41.50, Concert only: $21.50). All proceeds will benefit the New York Folklore Society, a service organization dedicated to the study, promotion, and continuation of New York’s diverse folklore and folklife. Tickets are available through the New York Folklore Society, at 518-346-7008, or at http://www.proctors.org/events. A portion of the ticket price is tax deductible.
New Yorks 400th: River Day 2009 Great Flotilla
Beginning June 6, historic vessels and modern day boats will travel the Hudson River from New York Harbor to Albany for “River Day” Commemorating the Voyage of Henry Hudson 400 Years Ago. In 1609, Henry Hudson and his ship, the Half Moon, with a crew of Dutch and English sailors, ventured up the Hudson River from New York Harbor to near present day Albany, the first recorded European exploration of the river that now bears his name. In celebration of this historic event, the New York State Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial Office will launch a “River Day” celebration, an opportunity for thousands of recreational boaters and history buffs to gather on the water for an eight-day journey up the Hudson River.
Participating boats & ships include:
* The Half Moon, a replica of Hudson’s ship.
* The Onrust, a 17th century replica of the first ship built in New York. River Day marks the Onrust’s maiden voyage.
* Historic Tall Ships including the Sloop Clearwater and Schooner Mystic Whaler plus the Woody Guthrie, a wooden replica of an 18th-19th century Hudson River Ferry Sloop- the 1890′-s-style pilot Schooner Adirondack- the Manhattan, an open boat originally built as a life boat to explore the canals of Amsterdam- and the Shearwater, a classic Maine Schooner.
* Other participating boats include: The Circle Line- NYC Water Taxi- SeaTow- Launch 5- Coast Guard, the Discover Boating Cruiser and more.
* Escort from the sky – historic bi-planes will escort the flotilla from the Rhinebeck Aerodrome.
The River Day celebration will launch Saturday, June 6, 9 a.m. at the Statue of Liberty. The flotilla will spend eight days moving north on the Hudson, with stops scheduled at participating yacht clubs & marinas, cities and communities with special events & educational programs planned at each port. The tentative schedule is available at http://www.exploreny400.com/riverday.aspx
Outstanding New York Newspaper Source Now Online
The Library of Congress has launched the beta version of a new online searchable newspaper collection, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers at http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/. The site currently contains newspapers from 1880 to 1910 (more are coming) plus a directory for newspapers published in the United States since 1690 (a look there turns up over 11,000 New York newspapers). Results from Essex County include 85 newspapers once published there.
Research Buzz has all the tips on searching, but suffice it to say that along with the Brooklyn Daily Eagle online, and Northern New York Library Network’s vast online collection of Northern New York newspapers, online New York history research just got a whole lot better. The Library of Congress site includes papers that have heretofore been unavailable for free. These include New York City / National papers The Evening World, Horace Greeley’s The New York Tribune, and the The Sun, plus other major dailies from across the nation.
I took a look at some one of my favorite historical topics, the Adirondacks. The collection includes reports from Adirondack travelers, social notes from local resorts, and hundreds of advertisements like the one above by the Delaware & Hudson Railroad from 1908. Genealogists are going to find a lot of great stuff here, as well as political historians, and folks interested in the creation of the Adirondack Park, the 1903 and 1908 fires, and a lot more like a long report on the 1900 New York Sportsman Show, including the Adirondack Guide exhibit photo shown here.
Weekly New York History Blogging Round-Up
- New York Outdoors Blog: The Old Erie Canal Towpath
- New York Public Library Blog: Jack Kerouac, Fantasy Sportsman
- The Uncataloged Museum: Inside TR’s Brain
- Buffalo Preservationist: Statler Worth Saving
- ExecutedToday: Tupac Amaru II, Incan insurgent
- Uncataloged Museum: Live Long and Prosper: Audiences, Star Trek and History Museums
- Greater New York: Government and The Crisis of Journalism
- Ephemeral New York: The Master Mixologist of The Gilded Age
- New York Magazine: Beneath the Surface of the New York Harbor
- Brooklynology: I Knight Thee, Sir Hot Dog
This Weeks Top New York History News
- Lake Champlain Continues To Reveal Treasures
- Lighthouse Plans Quadricentennial Events
- Champlain College to Restore Perry Hall
- Noted Lincoln Historian Dies
- NY Psych Center WPA Murals at Risk
- Roebling Descendant Opposes DUMBO Project
- History, Access Concerns for Galloo Island
- H. Carl McCall’s SUNY Interests
- USS Slater Star of New Film
- 1909 Knew How to Celebrate 1609
Lake Placid Sliding Sports Museum Proposed
At the 1932 & 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum Board of Directors’ April meeting, newest member Joe Clain donated $1,000 to kick-off the creation of an International Sliding Sports Museum in Lake Placid. Clain made the donation on behalf of his father Gus Clain and the Linney Family in the hopes that other prominent families in the history of sliding sports will come forward and meet the challenge.
Angus (Gus) Clain was the brakeman for the four-man sled piloted by Robert Linney, which qualified at the 1939 trials in Lake Placid for the 1940 Olympic Winter Games. Because of WWII, the Games were not contested in 1940 or 1944. The family of Gus Clain previously created and donated a very rare exhibit consisting of the sweater and jacket issued to the 1940 Olympic Bobsled team, and which is on permanent display in the Olympic Museum.
The Sliding Sports Museum at Mt. Van Hoevenberg will be an annex to the already existing Olympic Museum – located within the Olympic Center – and as such will come under the same chartering agency, the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York on behalf of the State Education Department. The future museum will share the same 501(c) 3 not-for-profit status making all donations eligible for a tax deduction.
“The next logical step is to create an advisory board of interested community members who share the same passion for preserving, displaying and educating future generations on the rich history of sliding sports in this area,” said Olympic Museum Director Liz De Fazio in a press release issued this week.
For more information on the proposed International Sliding Museum, or to make a donation, contact De Fazio at (518) 523-1655, ext. 226 or [email protected].
2009 Ellis Island Family Heritage Awards
Iconic quarterback Joe Namath- Nobel laureate Dr. Eric R. Kandel- comedian and producer Jerry Seinfeld- and music superstars Gloria and Emilio Estefan are this year’s distinguished honorees who will be recognized during the Ellis Island Family Heritage Awards to be held at 11 a.m. on tomorrow (Tuesday), May 19, 2009 in the Great Hall at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. Candice Bergen, Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress, will serve as Host.
In its eighth year, the Ellis Island Family Heritage Awards are presented by The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. to celebrate exemplary Ellis Island/Port of New York immigrants or their descendents who have made a major contribution to the American experience. The B.C. Forbes Peopling of America Award, sponsored by the Forbes Family, honors the lives of immigrants who arrived at another time or through another port of entry. The Foundation’s database of ship’s passenger arrivals available at the American Family Immigration History Center® and online at www.ellisisland.org documents the arrivals of 25 million immigrants, travelers and crew members who came through America’s Golden Door and the Port of New York between 1892-1924. For more information on the Awards, visit http://www.ellisisland.org/genealogy/2009_recipients_intro.asp.
Getting there:
From NYC: Check-in 9:45 a.m. Statue Cruises Event boat departs 10:20 a.m.
From NJ: Take Statue Cruises ferry from Liberty State Park. For schedule, call (877-523-9849) or visit www.statuecruises.com.
Russell Shorto: The Accidental Legacy of Henry Hudson
Acclaimed writer Russell Shorto will present “The Accidental Legacy of Henry Hudson” at the Museum of the City of New York (1220 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street, NYC) this Wednesday, May 20, 2009 at 6:30 PM. According to the program announcement: “Henry Hudson’s name is everywhere in New York-attached to a river, a street, a park, a bridge, and more-yet little is known about the man himself. Bestselling author and New York Times Magazine contributing writer Russell Shorto, author of the award-winning The Island at the Center of the World
Shorto most recently published a feature in The New York Times (Sunday, May 3, 2009) entitled “Going Dutch: How I Learned to Love the Welfare State.”
The program is presented in conjunction with the exhibit Amsterdam / New Amsterdam: The Worlds of Henry Hudson. Reservations are required. The cost will be $12 for non-members, $8 for seniors and students, and $6 for museum members. A $2 surcharge applies for unreserved, walk-in tickets. Tickets may be ordered online at www.mcny.org or by calling 212.534.1672, ext. 3395.