New Board Chair for Brooklyn Museum

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The Members of the Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Museum have elected John S. Tamagni, a member of the Board since 1987 and currently Chair of the finance committee and Board Treasurer, as the Museum’s Chair. He succeeds retiring Chair Norman M. Feinberg, who has served as Chair since 2006. Feinberg will continue to serve as an active Board member. Trustee Stephanie Ingrassia was elected Board President. Ingrassia has been a Trustee for ten years.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Tamagni has recently returned to the Borough after living in Summit, New Jersey, for four decades. He has had a connection to the Brooklyn Museum since childhood, coming as a visitor when his mother studied art at the Brooklyn Museum Art School (which was moved to the Pratt Institute in the 1980s). Following his graduation from Dartmouth College with a degree in economics, he served as a Line Officer in the United States Navy. After his release from active duty in 1959, he joined Blyth & Co. as an investment banker in its Municipal Finance group. In 1972 he moved to Lazard Freres & Co. as a General Partner and retired as a Managing Director at the end of 2005. He subsequently assumed control of Capital Markets at Lazard for corporate, government, and municipal securities. He is currently a Founding Partner and Chairman of Castleton Partners, a fixed-income investment management and advisory firm. He was Vice-Chairman of the Securities Industry Association as well as a Director. He was also Director of the Bond Market Association.

Tamagni has long been involved in philanthropic causes. He is also a Trustee of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and an overseer of the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College. He is a former Trustee of Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey and a former Overseer of the Graduate School of the New School in New York City. With his late wife Janet, to whom he was married for 52 years, he collected American paintings of the mid-nineteenth through early twentieth century.

Stephanie Ingrassia, who takes over the long-vacant position of President, studied fine arts and art history at Michigan State and the University of London, and received a B. A. from the School of Visual Arts in New York. A career in graphic design has included the design of books, magazines, newsletters, and promotional materials as well as teaching computer graphics at the School of Visual Arts. A collector of contemporary art, Ingrassia has served on the Brooklyn Museum Board since 2001. Prior to her election as President, she was a Vice Chair. She has also been a board member of BRIC Arts/Media and of Creative Time. She and her husband, Tim Ingrassia, and their four children live in Brooklyn.

Boscobel Names New Executive Director

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David A. Krol has been named Executive Director of Boscobel House and Gardens, Garrison, New York, effective immediately. Most recently Krol served as Deputy Director of the Lobkowicz Collections in the Czech Republic &#8211 a family collection of four castles, paintings by Brueghel, Canaletto and Velazquez, musical instruments and autograph scores by Gluck, Mozart and Beethoven, rare firearms and decorative arts, a 65,000-volume library and a large family archive.

Krol played a role from 2006 to 2011 in the planning and management of the family’s museum at the recently restituted Lobkowicz Palace in Prague.

Krol will be responsible to the Board of Directors for leading and managing the collections, finances, facilities, development, programs and staff of Boscobel, which is situated in the heart of the Hudson River Valley. Boscobel is also the site of the the annual summer Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival.

“I am honored and delighted by the prospect of assisting the Board and staff of Boscobel in heightening awareness of this architectural and historical treasure, beloved by regional visitors and supporters, but perhaps less-well-known to a wider national, and indeed international, audience,&#8221 Krol said in a prepared statement. &#8220The mission of Boscobel includes an important environmental and conservation outreach to the Hudson River Valley. I am pleased to bring over thirty years of museum experience and expertise, at institutions large and small, foreign and domestic, to make Boscobel a destination for visitors of all ages.”

Previous to his assignment in Prague, Krol worked eighteen years in senior management positions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art followed by four years at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Born and raised in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, he was educated at Regis High School in New York City, holds a BA in English, Latin and Ancient Greek from Boston College in Massachusetts and attended Oxford University in the UK.

Cayuga Museum: New York in the Civil War

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New York supplied more men, money and material in the Civil War than any other state North or South, but New Yorkers responded to the Civil War in diverse and often contradictory ways. On Sunday, July 10 at 2:00 p.m. at the Cayuga Museum, Robert W. Arnold will present an illustrated lecture on New York during the Civil War.

Concentrating mainly on the home front, Arnold’s presentation will examine a sample of New Yorkers’ responses to the war and some individuals who exemplify them, all in the political, social and military contexts of that turbulent era. Arnold explores the social costs of the war as they played out in the farms and cities of the Empire State, in families, workplaces and neighborhoods.

Arnold is a career public historian, now retired from the New York State Archives. This Speakers in the Humanities event, which is free and open to the public, is made possible through the support of the New York Council for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The lecture is part of the Cayuga Museum’s commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. The Cost of Freedom: Cayuga County in the Civil War is the lead exhibit at the Cayuga Museum through Labor Day weekend.

On Sunday, August 21, at 2:00 the Museum will host a lecture by Dr. Laura Free of Hobart College entitled Bullets, Belles and Bloated Bodies.

On Sunday, August 28 at 2:00, the Museum will host a guided conversation titled The Gettysburg Address Challenges America.

On Thursday, September 1, the Museum’s History Book Club will discuss Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz.

Battle of Hubbardton Anniversary Weekend

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Vermont’s Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Site will present a Battle of Hubbardton living history weekend on July 9 and 10 to honor the July 7, 1777, Revolutionary War battle, the only one fought in Vermont. More than 400 re-enactors will be on hand, making it one of the largest events at Hubbardton site in years.

During the Battle of Hubbardton soldiers from Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire fought in a decisive rear guard action to halt the British army and allow the main American army under Maj. Gen. Arthur St. Clair to withdraw southward to safety from Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Independence. Events at Hubbardton saved St. Clair’s troops and led to the American victory in October 1777 at the Battle of Saratoga, considered a turning point in the Revolutionary War and in world history.

The weekend offers activities for all ages and interests, including visiting the museum. Organizers expect a large contingent of re-enactors, who portray American, British, and German soldiers and their families. Vistor will be able to walk through their tent camps, see the tactical and artillery demonstrations, camp life activities, courts martial, learning how to drill, and guided camp and battlefield tours. Mistress Davenport will set up her popular school and storytelling. There will also be a children’s activity tent and many sutlers (the traveling shopkeepers of the time) will set up sutler row, with a colonial shopping experience for the public. Local groups will provide a food concession stand both days.

Saturday afternoon will include a military tactical on the slope of Monument Hill, weather permitting and the weekend highlight will be the battle on Sunday morning, with troops forming-up about 7:30 a.m. The extended tactical demonstration begins at 8 a.m. Around 9 a.m. the start of a symbolic Revolutionary relay across Vermont to Windsor’s Old Constitution House, will celebrate a 234th anniversary of Vermont’s Constitution. The modern relay will carry to the constitutional delegates in Windsor the news about the battle and withdrawal from Mt. Independence and Fort Ticonderoga.

The site opens at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. Sunday’s events start about 7:30 a.m. Admission each day is $5 for adults and free for children under 15. There will be plenty of nearby parking and a “people mover” from the parking area to the central location for those who wish to ride. The event is offered by a partnership of the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, Living History Association, and the Hubbardton Historical Society with support from many other Hubbardton organizations and area Scouts and businesses.

The Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Site is located on Monument Hill Road 6 miles off VT Route 30 in Hubbardton or 7 miles off exit 5 on US Route 4 in Castleton. Carefully follow the signs. The site is regularly open Thursdays through Sundays and Monday holidays through Oct. 10 from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information about the Battlefield or this event, call 802- 273-2282.

Photo: British Rangers at Hubbardton in 2006. Photo courtesy Don Walker / 3rd New Hampshire Regiment.

New Native American Area Opens at Fenimore

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The Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, has officially unveiled “Otsego: A Meeting Place” &#8211 its latest addition to the Native American Interpretive Area and Trail.

Located on north side of the Fenimore’s expansive back lawn, the new area consists of the recently relocated Seneca Log House, a &#8220Three Sisters Garden,&#8221 a pond, and other features pertaining to a settlement of this type in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.


The Seneca Log House is a single-family log house typical for most reservation Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) families during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Adjacent to the house is a &#8220Three Sisters Garden&#8221 with corn, beans, and squash. Medicinal plants are grown in their natural environment in the surrounding woodlands.

Museum admission, which includes entry to “Otsego: A Meeting Place,” is $12 for adults and $10.50 for seniors. Children (age 12 and under), members of the New York State Historical Association, as well as active and retired career military personnel always receive free admission. Visit FenimoreArtMuseum.org for more information and full schedule.

Photo: Otsego: A Meeting Place.

Schryer Center Historical and Genealogical Research

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The Franklin County Historical & Museum Society welcomes the public for genealogy research or casual use of the reading room during the summer open hours for the Schryer Center for Historical and Genealogical Research.

The Schryer Center, now open Tuesday-Saturday, 1-4pm, is located in the renovated carriage house behind the House of History Museum on 51 Milwaukee Street, Malone.

Members of the Historical Society have free use of the Schryer Center as a benefit of membership, and non-members can use the genealogical resources of the Society for $10/day. Memberships start at $20/year and forms can be found online or picked up at the Society offices. Remote research requests for genealogical inquiry are also welcomed, at a cost of $10/half-hour.

The House of History Museum is open for tours Tuesday and Thursday, 1-4 pm and by appointment.

Visit the Society’s website or call 518-483-2750 for more information.

Guided Hikes. Bike Rides at Saratoga Battlefield

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Visitors to the Saratoga Battlefield can join one, or all of a series of free guided walks or bike tours this summer. The bike rides will typically cover approximately 5 miles on each of four Wednesday evenings during the summer – July 6 and 20,and August 3 and 17, from 6 PM to 8 PM. Hike participants should be able to walk at least two miles over uneven ground- hikers should meet at the Visitor Center at 9 am, and bring insect repellent and drinking water.

The hikes are free, but entrance to the Battlefield is $5 per car, or a one-year pass is available for $10. The bicycle tours are free, and take place in the evenings, so no entrance fees are involved.

Hike Tour Dates

Wednesday, July 6th, 9:00 AM: “Why Saratoga?”
Why did the American forces choose to stand and fight here?

Wednesday, July 13th, 9:00 AM: “The First Battle”
The Battle of Freeman’s Farm, September 19, 1777

Wednesday, July 20th, 9:00 AM: “The Second Battle”
The Battle of Bemis Heights, October 7, 1777

Friday, August 5th, 9:00 AM: “Why Saratoga?”
Why did the American forces choose to stand and fight here?

Friday, August 12th, 9:00 AM: “The First Battle”
The Battle of Freeman’s Farm, September 19, 1777

Friday, August 26th, 9:00 AM: “The Second Battle”
The Battle of Bemis Heights, October 7, 1777

For more information about these or other events, please call the Visitor Center at 518-664-9821 ext. 225 or check the park’s website.

Photo: Guided Bicycle Tour at Saratoga National Historical Park (Photo: Saratoga National Historical Park)

Exhibit Features 100 Years of Adirondack Mail Boats

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The Town of Webb Historical Association and Goodsell Museum, located at 2993 State Route 28 in Old Forge, Herkimer County, is currently featuring the exhibit “Floating Letters-The Town of Webb’s Mail Boats-Over 100 Years of Postal Tradition and Summer Fun” through the end of October.

The exhibit presents the history of the delivery of mail by boat in the Town of Webb on the Fulton Chain of Lakes, Big Moose Lake, Twitchell Lake, Rondaxe Lake, Silver Lake, and other locations from the early 1880s until the present. The exhibit includes photographs, certificates, ledgers and maps -as well as a wide assortment of custom leather & canvas/cloth mail pouches donated or on loan for the exhibit.

Included in the exhibit is the story of the Railway Postal Office (RPO) &#8211 a unique contract issued to Dr. William Seward Webb & the Fulton Chain Navigation Co. in 1901 whereby an official postal clerk rode on the boats to cancel mail, sell stamps & money orders, and perform other postal duties.

Additional exhibits at the Goodsell Museum include those on Adirondack wildlife, the Goodsell Family (George Goodsell was the first ‘mayor’ of the Village of Old Forge in 1903) and the 90th Anniversary of the Thendara Golf Club. The next featured exhibition, on early medicine, will open December 1st. The Webb Historical Association maintains a regular exhibit on early local doctors which will help form the basis the of the new exhibit.

The Goodsell Museum is open year-round- there is no admission charge.

The museum is also participating in Old Forge’s “First Friday Art Walk” events by including special exhibits connecting art with historical themes. On July 1st from 5-8PM they will have one of Lottie Tuttle’s oil paintings on display. Lottie was one of the Adirondack’s first female guides, she and her husband invented the devil bug fishing lure that was manufactured in Old Forge and marketed across the United States in the early 1900’s.

On July 9th the Association will hold its 9th Annual Benefit Auction. Preview and registration starts at 1 pm, bidding at 2 pm with auctioneer June DeLair from Constableville Auction Hall. The auction is held under a tent on the Goodsell Museum grounds and will include antiques, collectibles, new and nearly new items donated from members and friends of the museum.

The Association also has other programs, workshops, and walking tours. More information can be found online or by contacting Gail Murray, Director, via e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at

Photo: The Steamboat Hunter &#8211 Captain Jonathan Meeker delivered mail to hotels and camps as early as 1883.

Dreaming of Timbuctoo Showing in Essex County

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The “Dreaming of Timbuctoo” Exhibition will be on view at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall in the Champlain Valley from July 3-9. The Grange is located on Route 22, five miles south of the village of Essex, NY.

When it premiered at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake in 2001, “Dreaming of Timbuctoo” revealed the little-known antebellum history involving black homesteaders granted land in the Adirondacks in the mid-1840s—a step toward winning the vote for free black New Yorkers.

Through this abolitionist “scheme of justice and benevolence”, 3,000 African American men from nearly every county in the state each received 40 acres of land. John and Mary Brown moved to the Adirondacks in 1848 to be a friend and neighbor to those who settled their land. One of the loosely knit communities came to be called “Timbuctoo”.

Through letters, documents, archival photographs, and curator Amy Godine’s illuminating text, the exhibition explores the backdrop and motivations of some of the country’s most illustrious anti-slavery leaders involved, including philanthropist Gerrit Smith, the Rev. Henry Highland Garnet of Troy, Frederick Douglass, Syracuse’s Rev. Jermaine Loguen, and Dr. James McCune Smith of New York City.

As the nation marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, the Whallonsburg Grange Hall and John Brown Lives! host the exhibition and several educational and cultural events that examine the political war on slavery, discuss its place in North Country history, and its relationship to civil rights issues.

The exhibition opens on Sunday 3 July at 3:00 p.m. and a reception and talk by the curator will follow at 6:00 p.m. Suggested donation is $7. Regular hours from Monday-Saturday, July 4-9, are from 12 noon to 6:00 p.m. and admission is free.

Other upcoming programs at the Grange include:

Wednesday, July 7 at 7:00 p.m.: The Struggle for the Right to Vote, Past and Present, with historians and civil rights activists Dr. Laura Free, criminologist Alice Green, and Paul Murray, Mississippi volunteer in the 1960s. Excerpts from the new film marking the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Riders will be shown. Admission $5- students free.

Thursday, July 7 at 7:00 p.m. Transgressing the Blue Line: Toward an Inclusive Adirondack Narrative with environmental philosopher Marianne Patinelli-Dubay. Admission $5- students free.

Saturday, July 9 at 8:00 p.m. Magpie in Concert, featuring the gorgeous harmonies, brilliant musicianship, and inspiring songs of the folk duo, Greg Artzner and Terry Leonino. Admission $7- children under 12 admitted for $3.

Related programs at Heaven Hill Farm will involved a trek into the archaeological dig underway at one of the “Timbuctoo” homesteads under the direction of Dr. Hadley Kruczek-Aaron, SUNY-Potsdam Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Timbuctoo Archaeology Project. The dig is near the John Brown Farm State Historic Site in North Elba. Reservations for both Heaven Hill events are necessary and can be made at [email protected] or 518-962-4758.

Thursday, July 7, from 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., educators, artists, parents and community members engage in a roundtable conversation to shape a Timbuctoo Adirondacks-Timbuktu Sahara friendship connection. A representative from a Tuoareg community school on outskirts of the Malian city of Tiimbuktu will be present.

Sunday, July 10, from 3:00-6:00 p.m., a visit to the dig site of the Timbuctoo Archaeology Project and reception afterward. $20 per person would be appreciated.

“Dreaming of Timbuctoo” is a joint project of John Brown Lives! and the Essex County Historical Society. Funding from the New York Council for the Humanities and the New York Council on the Arts were principal funders of the exhibition. The Arts Council of the Northern Adirondacks is providing support for the concert with Magpie.

For more information, go to www.thegrangehall.org or contact Martha Swan, Director of John Brown Lives! at [email protected] or 518-962-4758, or Mary-Nell Bockman at Whallonsburg Grange Hall, [email protected] or 518-570-2382.

Photo: Black Farmers in North Elba (Courtesy Adirondack Museum).

This Weeks Top New York History News

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Each Friday morning New York History compiles for our readers the previous week’s top stories about New York’s state and local history. You can find all our weekly news round-ups here.

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