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Archives Month: NYC Archivists Round Table

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New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has joined the Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York, Inc., along with hundreds of organizations in the archives community across New York State, to celebrate New York Archives Week, October 10-16, 2010. With special commemorative activities across all five boroughs, New York Archives Week is an annual celebration aimed at informing the general public of the diverse array of archival materials available in the Metropolitan New York City region.

Among the many activities free and open to the public will be open houses, exhibitions, lectures, workshops and behind-the-scenes tours of archives throughout the city. These special events are designed to celebrate the importance of historical records and to familiarize interested organizations and the public with a wealth of fascinating archival materials illuminating three centuries of New York City history and culture.

Among those participating in the event are local government agencies, historical societies, universities, libraries, and cultural organizations. Highlights include tours of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum Archives, the New York Transit Museum Archives, and the Trinity Church Archives- instruction in conducting genealogical research at the National Archives at New York City- and a presentation on the literary treasures of famous authors such as Herman Melville and Edgar Allen Poe at the New York Public Library. Over twenty New York City archives are opening their doors to the public for this city-wide event.

A complete list of Archives Week events and schedules can be found on the Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York, Inc.’s website. Note that pre-registration for some events
is required. For further information, contact: [email protected]

Interested in The History of the Adirondacks?

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If you have an interest in Adirondack history, culture, or outdoor recreation, take a look at Adirondack Almanack. I began the site in 2005 and it is now the leading online newsmagazine of the Adirondack North Country region. Over the past two years the site has grown considerably and is now the work of 20 contributors, mostly veteran local historians, writers, journalists, and editors and includes media professionals from local radio, magazines, and newspapers.

The Adirondacks is home to the largest park and the largest state-level protected area in the contiguous United States (it’s also the largest National Historic Landmark). The park is over 6 million acres in size (that makes it bigger than Vermont, or Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier, and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks combined.

However, about half the land is publicly owned and the rest privately owned, including several villages. That mix of public and private land makes the Park a unique are and fodder for some heated discussions over sustainable development, wilderness, environmental and outdoor recreation issues. I felt strongly that local news media was not fully representing the variety of perspectives on these important issues, that’s why I started the site.

However, we cover a lot of Adirodnack History. So have a look.

NY Genealogical & Biographical SocietyNew Digital Resources For Members

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The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (NYG&B) has announced that all issues of the NYG&B Record are now accessible online to the Society’s members. The entire run of the NYG&B Record comprises 563 issues at this writing and forms the largest single collection of published material on families that lived in New York State. The collection is every-word searchable and is accompanied by a new surname search engine based on an index to more than one million names from the pages of the Record. Originally created by Jean Worden, the search engine will simultaneously search every issue from 1870-2009 and will be updated every October when the year’s annual index is released.

Continuously published since 1870, the NYG&B Record is the second oldest genealogical journal in the country and one of the most distinguished. Published quarterly, it concentrates on people and places within New York City, State, and region and features compiled genealogies, solutions to problems, and unique source material.

Access to the digital version of the Record is available exclusively to NYG&B members through the Society’s growing E-Library of unique material on its website.

Other New Content: Expanding the digital content available to NYG&B members is one of the Society’s foremost goals. Book one of the 1855 New York State Census for Ward 17 of New York City, including an every name index was recently posted to the E-Library. Ward 17 was often the first home of new immigrants who arrived in the middle of the 19th century. The original census returns were damaged by fire and sat unused for many years. Thanks to an extraordinary effort by NYG&B volunteers and interns these records are now being made available. The remaining books will be posted once the indexing is complete. Also in progress is the posting of more than 500 biographical sketches of NYG&B members from the first half of the 20th century. Personally completed by each member as part of their application to the Society, these biographies contain exceptional firsthand narratives, family trees, and ephemera.

About the NYG&B: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society has been a primary resource for research on New York families since 1869. The NYG&B seeks to advance genealogical scholarship and enhance the capabilities of both new and experienced researchers of family history through a rich schedule of programs, workshops, and repository tours- through its quarterly scholarly journal The NYG&B Record and its quarterly review The New York Researcher– and through an E-Library of unique digital material on its website www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org.

77th New York Regimental Balladeers at Olana

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Sunday, October 10th, from 1-3 p.m., at Olana State Historic Site, the New York 77th Regimental Balladeers will reenact musical selections from the Civil War era.

Co-founded by John C. Quinn and Michael Yates, the 77th New York Regimental Balladeers are dedicated to preserving the songs, history and spirit of the 1860s. John, Mike, and fellow Balladeers John Perreault, Jim Broden and Kathleen Ross use the original Civil War music arrangements and lyrics to convey the thoughts, motives, and sorrows of the men and women who lived during one of the most defining periods of our American heritage. The songs are sung as they would have been performed in camp or the family parlor 138 years ago.

A $5 per vehicle grounds fee includes the performance. House tours will be available on a first come, first served basis starting at 10 a.m., with the final tour of the day beginning promptly at 4 p.m. Come early to ensure tour availability and shorter wait times. House tour tickets are $12/adult, $10/student or senior. Children under age 12 receive free tour tickets! Call 518-828-0135 for information.

Olana, the home and studio of Hudson River School artist Frederic E. Church, is a New York State Historic Site and a National Historic Landmark. It is located at 5720 Route 9G in Hudson. Olana is one of six historic sites and 15 parks administered by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation – Taconic Region. The Olana Partnership is a private, not-for-profit organization, which works cooperatively with New York State to support the preservation, restoration, development, and improvement of Olana State Historic Site. Call 518-828-0135, visit www.olana.org for more information.

Archives Month: Palisades Interstate Park Commission

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October is New York State Archives and National Archives Month, a time to celebrate and promote the rich and diverse documentary heritage of our great state by increasing public awareness of archival materials and repositories and by acknowledging the importance of our records keepers.

Archives are essential to the historical record and include a wide range of document types, including letters, legal records, transcripts, diaries, newspapers, photographs, reports, architectural drawings, manuscripts, artifacts, audio and video records, and materials in electronic formats.

The Palisades Interstate Park Commission has 110 years worth of archives in all of these categories. The PIPC’s archives are currently housed in a former naval barrack on the Iona Island Estuarine and Bird Sanctuary. The vast collection, which documents the creation and development of the nation’s first interstate park, is an important resource for historians, environmental advocates, and archaeologists. From the documentation of the movement to stop the destruction of the Palisades cliffs, the collection of statistics of multiple natural studies, to the reports and hearings that form the genesis of today’s environmental movement at Storm King Mountain, to the creation of its 28 parks and historic sites, PIPC’s archival holdings are a largely untapped Hudson Valley treasure.

Palisade’s archives are divided into four disciplines: Archaeology and Native Americans, Historical Photographs, Research Library, and Park History. Researchers, educators, and authors have used items in the collection for unlimited projects including books, films, newspaper articles, and lectures.

But like many repositories of history, the PIPC Archive is in serious need of improvement. Only generally organized, volunteers and funding are greatly needed for database entry, cataloging, digitizing documents, and general upkeep.

The Commission is grateful for its first archive grant given by the Nyack based Austin Stokes Ancient Americas Foundation in support of the PIPC Native American collection. This funding allowed the protection of this invaluable collection.

But, much more is needed. For example, of the approximately 100,000 photographs located in the collection, less than five percent have been digitized and catalogued. And the facility in which the archives are stored, originally a barracks from when Iona Island was a naval munitions factory for World Wars I & II, lacks climate control, a critical component in the preservation of any archive.

If you are interested in assisting the Palisades Interstate Park Commission to preserve and make available this unique collection, please contact Susan E. Smith, PIPC Research and Development Director, at [email protected].

Photo: The Carpenter Quarry, Fort Lee, NJ.

Franklin Co. Society Meeting to Feature Dutch Schultz

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The Franklin County Historical and Museum Society invites its members and friends to the annual meeting of the Society on Thursday, October 7, 2010 at the First Congregational Church of Malone, corner of Clay and Main Streets. The annual meeting begins with a social hour at 5:30 pm, dish-to-pass supper at 6 pm, followed by the reports to the membership and culminating with a program on notorious beer baron Dutch Schultz. Please bring a dish to share and table service. Members are encouraged to make &#8216-old fashioned’ recipes and to bring copies of the recipe to share. There is no cost to attend, but membership dues for 2010 and 2011 are welcome.

The Franklin County Historical and Museum Society, founded in 1903, is a membership organization dedicated to collecting, exhibiting and preserving the history of Franklin County, NY. The House of History museum is housed in an 1864 Italianate style building, most recently the home of the F. Roy and Elizabeth Crooks Kirk family. A museum since 1973, the House of History is home to the headquarters of the Franklin County Historical & Museum Society and its historic collections pertaining to the history of Franklin County. The recently renovated carriage house behind the museum is the beautiful Schryer Center for Historical & Genealogical Research, which opened in 2006. The Schryer Center contains archival materials and a library of family history information and is open to the public. FCHMS is supported by its members and donors and the generous support of Franklin County.

The House of History is open for tours on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-4pm through December 31, 2010- admission is $5/adults, $3/seniors, $2/children, and free for members. The Schryer Center for Historical & Genealogical Reseach is open for research Wednesday-Friday from 1-4 pm October 13-May 1, weather permitting. The fee to use the research library is $10/day and free to members.

Information about Franklin County History, the collections of the museum and links to interesting historical information can be found at the Historical Society’s website: http://www.franklinhistory.org

Please contact the Historical Society with questions at: 518-483-2750 or [email protected].

Photo: Gangster &#8220Dutch&#8221 Schultz, the subject of the program at the Franklin County Historical and Museum Society’s Annual Meeting.

The Black Pirate Showing in Albany

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&#8220The Black Pirate&#8221 (United States, 1926, 94 minutes, color, silent with live piano accompaniment provided by Mike Schiffer) will be shown on Friday, October 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center, on the University at Albany’s uptown campus. Sponsored by the New York State Writers Institute, the screening is free and open to the public.

Starring the greatest of all swashbucklers, Douglas Fairbanks (who also wrote the script), &#8220The Black Pirate&#8221 is widely hailed as one of the most spectacular action films of the silent era. Directed by Albert Parker, the film also pioneered the art of color with its use of &#8220two-strip Technicolor.&#8221

For additional information contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst.

This Weeks New York History Web Highlights

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Each Friday afternoon New York History compiles for our readers a collection of the week’s top weblinks about New York’s state and local history. You can find all our weekly round-ups here.

Subscribe! More than 400 people get New York History each day via E-Mail, RSS, or Twitter or Facebook updates.

Month of the Macabre At Historic Huguenot Street

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October is the month of the macabre at Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz. The six-acre site, continually occupied for over 330 years and lived on by Native Americans as far back at 8,000 B.C., is filled with the stories of those who have come before us. Two events this weekend help kick off the month, which will wrap up the organization’s popular Haunted Huguenot Street event at the end of the month.

Tonight, Friday, October 1st, from 8 to 9:30pm, HHS will host a Lantern Walk in its historic burial ground. The autumn night is the perfect time to venture into the graveyard, one of the region’s oldest. By the flame of the lanterns, guests will learn about the tragedies and triumphs of the people buried there. The dead are among us on Huguenot Street.

On Saturday, October 2nd, from 10am to 12pm, HHS will take a small group of individuals underground to the organization’s archives. Here, among documents, photos and images that go all the way back to 17th Europe, Curatorial Assistant Ashley Hurlburt will select glimpses of the ghoulish and the macabre from the archives. Space is limited to 15.

he cost is of each program is $12 per person or $10 for Friends of Huguenot Street. Advance reservations are strongly recommended. Individuals may register online at www.huguenotstreet.org or call 255-1889 to register over the phone. Both programs leave from the DuBois Fort Visitor Center, which is located at 81 Huguenot Street in downtown New Paltz.

Haunted Huguenot Street will be offered on the evenings of Friday, October 29th to Sunday, October 31st. More information about this event is also available at the website for Historic Huguenot Street.