Farmers Museum Offers Circus Workshop For Kids

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The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown will provide an entertaining way for kids to spend part of their February break by offering a 3-day, circus-themed workshop entitled &#8220Under the Big Top.&#8221 The workshop is designed for kids ages 10-14 and will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day (February 16, 17, and 18) at the Museum. This workshop will help kids discover the fascinating background of circuses and sideshows in New York State and throughout America.

Each day will feature history, art, games, and a chance for children to express their acting talents! Participants will see actual pieces of circus history, learn about clowns and their acrobatic antics, and even take part in a performance.

The cost for the 3-day workshop is $150 for NYSHA members and $200 for non-members. To register or to get more information, contact Karen Wyckoff at 607-547-1410. Circus-themed snacks will be provided but participants are asked to bring a bag lunch each day.

NY Native American and Rev War Records Go Online

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A collection of records from New York State pertaining to American Revolution and Native American policy have been recently scanned from paper copy volumes in the New York State Library collection. The documents are full-text searchable and freely available online as PDF documents on the State Library’s website. The newly available records include documents relating to military bounty lands, and volumes of New York in the Revolution as Colony and State, which was compiled in the late 19th century from available records of the American Revolution.

The records also include several items related to Native American affairs from the 1940s. Particulalrly those of the New York State Joint Legislative Committee on Indian Affairs, which was established in 1943 &#8220to make a comprehensive study of the rights and obligations of the several tribes of Indians residing upon Indian reservations within the state- to inquire into all treaties, and the nature and extent of the title to lands granted to Indians- and to inquire into all matters relevant to its investigation&#8221.


Revolutionary War materials:
The Balloting Book and Other Documents Relating to Military Bounty Lands in the State of New York

This book contains copies of several acts relative to Revolutionary War bounty lands and the payment given of officers and soldiers for service in the War. An alphabetical listing of the names of soldiers and officers in each regiment is provided and includes the rank and company of the soldier, the township number, the lot number, the acreage, and date of patent. Dead and miscellaneous persons laying claim to land are also listed. The book also contains Lieutenant Michael Collonly’s return of names from Continental Army muster rolls and an accompanying list of names from the return of Colonel John Lamb. Another section of the book provides the number and names of townships in the military tract. The final section lists the names and lots of Canadian and Nova-Scotia refugees.

New York in the Revolution as Colony and State

This publication is a compilation of papers located in the NYS Comptroller’s Department that were arranged and classified by James A. Roberts, Comptroller. The papers included in the volume relate to the services performed by New York in the Revolutionary War, including muster and pay rolls of men serving in the Line, Levies, Militia, and Navy (Privateers). A personal name index and indexes to “sundry persons”, pensioners and applicants for pensions and commanding officers are included in the volume. This 2nd edition was published in 1898.

New York in the Revolution as Colony and State: Supplement

This supplement is a compilation of papers located in the NYS Comptroller’s Department related to the participation of New York State in the Revolutionary War. Included in this supplement is information on aspects of the military and naval service during the War including Courts-Martial, deserters, pay, bounties, pensions, American prisoners of war, hospitals, Indians, fortifications, military Roads, military stores, clothing, provisions, privateers and ships. The volume also includes information on the civil service during the War including the judiciary, the legislature and the executive and executive bodies. This supplement was printed in 1901.

Native American materials:

Hearing before the Joint Committee on Indian Affairs
Thursday, Jan. 4, 1945 at Ten Eyck Hotel, Albany, N.Y., 10 a.m.

This hearing considers federal legislation concerning the criminal and civil jurisdiction of New York State courts over Indian Reservations in New York State. The legislation was intended to end confusion over the extent of federal and state jurisdiction over offenses committed on Indian property within New York State.

Public hearing had at Salamanca, New York Court Room, City Hall
August 4-5, 1943

This hearing was convened by the Joint Legislative Committee on Indian Affairs to gain information on the issues that arose over attempts by New York State to gain and maintain civil and criminal jurisdiction over the Seneca Nation’s Allegany Reservation, which included the city of Salamanca. The dispute arose over the authority of the Seneca Nation to cancel land leases in Salamanca for non payment. The leases had been authorized by Congress to establish villages within the Allegany Reservation.

Public hearing had at Thomas Indian School, Cattaraugus Reservation, N.Y.
Wednesday, Sept. 8, 1943

This hearing was convened by the NYS Joint Legislative Committee on Indian Affairs to gain information on the operation of the Thomas Indian School and problems with its operation caused by the conflict between the federal and state governments over what legal authority has jurisdiction on the reservation and ultimate responsibility for regulating affairs of the school.

Report of New York State Joint Legislative Committee on Indian Affairs

The New York State Joint Legislative Committee on Indian Affairs was established by Senate resolution in 1943 &#8220to make a comprehensive study of the rights and obligations of the several tribes of Indians residing upon Indian reservations within the state- to inquire into all treaties, and the nature and extent of the title to lands granted to Indians- and to inquire into all matters relevant to its investigation&#8221. (New York State Legislative Manual, 1943). Reports were made annually to the Legislature from 1944-1964. In addition, a supplemental report was made in 1959.

Palestinian, Israeli Archivists – Archivists of the Year

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The Scone Foundation’s seventh annual Archivist of the Year Award will be awarded jointly to Dr. Yehoshua Freundlich, the Israeli State Archivist, and Mr. Khader Salameh of the Al-Aqsa Library and Muslim Museum. Both will attend the ceremony on January 25 at the CUNY Graduate Center.

This annual award recognizes an archivist who has made a contribution to his or her profession or who has provided support to scholars conducting research in history and biography.

As part of the program, which is open to the public, Professor Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies, Columbia University and Dr. David N. Myers, Director, UCLA Center for Jewish Studies will discuss “Archives and History”. Dr. Merav Mack of the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute will introduce the award winners and Dr. Chase F. Robinson, Provost of the CUNY Graduate Center and an outstanding scholar of early Islamic history, will moderate the post-discussion.

As conflicting narratives of past events have developed&#8221, commented Stanley Cohen, the President of the Scone Foundation, &#8220open archives may very well be instruments to reduce divergence, expand mutual understanding and fruitful cooperation.&#8221

Dr. Freundlich has served for many years as the general editor of the series, “Documents on the Foreign Policy of Israel’- he has also edited studies on the Jewish Agency and lectured on the relations between the U.N. and Israel. He joined the Israel State Archives in 1974 and was appointed State Archivist in 2006. He was born in Israel and educated at the Hebrew University with a major in the Modern History of Israel. He also earned a PhD studying diplomatic history of the Zionist Organization 1945-1948.

Mr. Salameh has served as director of the Islamic Museum and director of the al-Aqsa Mosque library for over two decades. He has published several catalogs on Arabic manuscripts, not only at the al-Aqsa library, but at private foundations as well. Mr. Salameh has played an important role in the preservation or archives and has delivered many lectures on the importance of digitization of archives. One of his ongoing concerns is the preservation of Palestinian newspapers from 1900 to the present day. Among his publications is a monograph: “A General Survey of Christians in Jerusalem through the Shari’ah Court Registers.” He was previously employed in the Hebrew University Library and worked as a librarian in Saudi Arabia and as a teacher in Libya. A PhD candidate in Ottoman History, he holds a Masters degree from Hebrew University.

Both honorees are active participants in the Endangered Archives Programme, which has been digitizing endangered archives and is sponsored by the British Library. This program has carried out a survey of the archives and libraries of Jerusalem, under the direction of Mr. Graham Shaw and Dr. Merav Mack. Dr. Mack, a research fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, with a PhD in medieval history from Cambridge University, will moderate the discussion and introduce the award winners.

Previous recipients of The Scone Foundation’s Archivist of the Year Award have included John Taylor (National Archives), Sheryl Vogt (Richard B. Russell Archives), Jackie Kavanagh (BBC), Dr. David Sutton (Reading University), Dr. Saad Eskander (Iraqi National Library and Archives), and Dr. Conrad Crane, (U.S. Army Military History Institute). Speakers at previous award ceremonies have included Robert Caro, Lord Briggs (ASA Briggs) and Robert Skidelski.

The Archivist of the Year award was established to honor an otherwise unrecognized profession and to offer something more than an acknowledgment in the front or back of a book.

The Scone Foundations is a non-profit that provides grants for artist programs, historical societies, and art schools as well as the annual Calder Prize which provides to a sculptor residency at the Calder home and studio in France. The foundation has also awarded a series of gifts to small Off-Broadway theatrical productions on historical themes at experimental venues like La Momma.

Finger Lakes Boating Museum Moves Forward With Site

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The Board of Directors of the Finger Lakes Boating Museum in Geneva, NY has established a Site Development Committee and are moving forward with ambitous plans for a facility to research, document, preserve, and share the boating history of the Finger Lakes region. The Museum reached agreement with the City of Geneva last fall to establish a permanent home on the Geneva waterfront in association with the Visitor Center. The facility will be located on the current Chamber of Commerce site. The Museum anticipates occupying approximately 20,000 square feet of space initially, with future expansion on the lakefront and off-site eventually growing to approximately 60,000 square feet of space.

Newly elected board president Bill Oben said the Museum has assembled a collection of more than 90 wooden boats built in the Finger Lakes over the past 100 years, as well as numerous related artifacts and extensive reference material. Portions of the collection will be displayed on a rotating basis within the new facility. Also planned are interactive workshops and displays to engage visitors in the design, construction and use of the boats and an active on-water program including sailing and small boat handling.

The board also elected a new slate of officers and appointed four new directors at its January 4th. The officers for 2010 are Bill Oben as President, Ed Wightman as Vice President, Bill Smith as Secretary and Dennis Karalow as Treasurer. The new directors are Chrissy Bennett-West, Dave Bunnell, Vince Scalise and Bruce Tuxill.

Bennett-West is a Geneva native and a graduate of William Smith College. A long-time member of the Seneca Yacht Club, she sails Thistles and serves on the Executive Board as Vice Commodore. She and her husband live in Canandaigua where she is employed as a Special Education teacher in the Canandaigua School System.

Dave Bunnell relocated to Geneva following a 40-year career in law and business. He has practiced law with two commercial law firms in Dallas, Texas, served in senior management positions with international food companies, and engaged in various entrepreneurial activities. He is currently involved with others in efforts to accelerate the revitalization of downtown Geneva. He serves on the Boards of Geneva Growth, the Finger Lakes Regional Arts Council and the Business Improvement District.

Vince Scalise, a Geneva native and Korean War veteran, retired as Superintendent of the Geneva City School System. He has served on numerous boards including Cayuga-Seneca Canalway Trail Association, YMCA, Geneva Growth, Geneva Historical Society, United Way of Rochester and Ontario County, the Geneva Area Chamber of Commerce, and the FL Cultural & Natural History Museum. He has also served on the Geneva City Council.

Bruce Tuxill returned to his native Geneva in 2008 following a 40-year career in the Air Force and Air National Guard. At the time of his retirement he was serving as the Adjutant General of the Maryland National Guard. He is currently the President of the Tuxill Group, which provides consulting service for federal, state and local officials in the areas of national defense and homeland security. He currently serves on the Board of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Geneva and the Vestry of Trinity Episcopal Church.

Bill Oben, is a founding trustee who has served as president of the 300-member Museum since 2007, commented that the organization is “excited about establishing a permanent home for the museum on the Geneva waterfront. We intend to create a world class facility highlighting the boating heritage of the Finger Lakes region,” Oben said.

Adirondack History Ski Tour of Great Camp Santanoni

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Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) is kicking-off their 2010 educational series with an interpretive cross-country ski into the 19th-century, Adirondack Great Camp, Camp Santanoni, located in the New York State Forest Preserve. Participants will learn about the camp’s history and architectural significance that make it. The 10-mile round trip ski, along the preserve’s gently sloping historic carriage road, leads into the majestic wilderness estate and a National Historic Landmark. Participants will be able to visit the camp’s three complexes- the Gate Lodge, the Farm, and view the massive log retreat at the Main Camp, the work of architect Robert Robertson. They will also see the authentic Adirondack rustic interiors and learn about the restoration of the camp.

The tour will be led by AARCH staff including John Friauf, a former AARCH Board Member. The group will depart Santanoni Preserve parking area, off Route 28N in the hamlet of Newcomb at 10AM, returning around 3 PM. This is a remote site. Participants are encouraged to bring a trail lunch and plenty of hydration. The fee is $20 for members and $30 for non-members. Advance registration is required by calling AARCH at (518) 834-9328.

Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) is the private, non-profit, historic preservation organization for the Adirondack Park region. AARCH works in partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Town of Newcomb to preserve and interpret Camp Santanoni. This tour is one of over fifty events in our annual series highlighting the region’s vast architectural legacy. For more information on AARCH including membership and a complete 2010 program schedule contact AARCH at (518) 834-9328 or visit our website at www.aarch.org.

US Cultural History Fellowships Announced

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The Library Company of Philadelphia and Historical Society of Pennsylvania have announced research fellowships in Colonial and U.S. History and Culture for 2010-2011. The fellowships, outlined below, include generally orientated one-month visiting fellowships, and long term dissertation fellowships, and a dissertation fellowship for the study of Early American Literature and Material Texts.

One-Month Visiting Research Fellowships

These two independent research libraries will jointly award approximately thirty one-month fellowships for research in residence in either or both collections during 2010-2011. The two institutions, adjacent to each other in Center City Philadelphia, have complementary collections capable of supporting research in a variety of fields and disciplines relating to the history of America and the Atlantic world from the 17th through the 19th centuries, as well as Mid-Atlantic regional history to the present. For information on the collections, visit www.hsp.org and www.librarycompany.org.

One-month fellowships carry a stipend of $2,000 and are tenable for any one-month period between June 2010-May 2011. Two Barra Foundation International Fellowships, each for $2,500 plus a travel allowance, are reserved for foreign national scholars resident outside the U. S. Some of the short-term fellowships provide for study in specific fields, such as ethnic and immigrant history- history of the book- African American History- visual culture- and economic history (through the Library Company’s Program in Early American Economy and Society). For more detailed information about all of these fellowships, go to www.librarycompany.org/fellowships. We invite inquiries about the appropriateness of proposed topics to [email protected]. The Library Company’s Cassatt House fellows’ residence offers rooms at reasonable rates.

The deadline for receipt of one-month fellowship applications is March 1, 2010, with a decision to be made by April 15. To apply, visit www.librarycompany.org/fellowships, fill out an electronic cover sheet, and submit one portable document format (PDF) containing a resume and a 2-4 page description of the proposed research. One letter of recommendation should arrive under separate cover in PDF format as well. Please email materials to [email protected]. If you wish you apply for more than one fellowship, simply check more than one box on your electronic cover sheet.

Library Company Long-term Dissertation Fellowships

The Library Company also supports dissertation research in residence through the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation Fellowship (on any subject relevant to its collections) and the Program in Early American Economy and Society Fellowship (for research in economic history). The term of these fellowships is from September 2010 to May 2011, with a stipend of $20,000. The awards may be divided between two applicants, each of whom would spend a semester in residence. The application deadline and procedures are the same as for the one-month fellowships as described above, with the addition of a second letter of reference and a writing sample of about 25 pages.

Dissertation Fellowships in Early American Literature and Material Texts

The McNeil Center for Early American Studies, in collaboration with the Library Company, offers two dissertation fellowships in early American literature and material texts, supported by a new grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Fellows will be in residence from July 2010 through July 2011. The stipend for a 13-month term will be at least $28,000. To apply go to www.mceas.org. Deadline, March 1, 2010.

Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition Post-Doc Fellowship

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The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University invites applications for its 2010-2011 Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. The Center seeks to promote a better understanding of all aspects of the institution of slavery from the earliest times to the present. The Center especially welcomes proposals that will utilize the special collections of the Yale University Libraries or other research collections of the New England area, and explicitly engage issues of slavery, resistance, abolition, and their legacies.

Scholars from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. The GLC offers one-month and four-month residential fellowships to support both established and younger scholars in researching projects that can be linked to the aims of the Center.

For more information visit http://www.yale.edu/glc/info/fellowship.htm.

The application deadline is April 2, 2010.

The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition
Yale University
PO Box 208206
New Haven, CT 06520-8206
www.yale.edu/glc
[email protected]
Phone: 203-432-3339 ~ Fax: 203-432-6943

New Book: America in the Sixties

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Sandwiched between the placid fifties and the flamboyant seventies, the sixties, a decade of tumultuous change and stunning paradoxes, is often reduced to a series of slogans, symbols, and media images. In America in the Sixties, Greene goes beyond the cliches and synthesizes thirty years of research, writing, and teaching on one of the most turbulent decades of the twentieth century.

Greene sketches the well-known players of the period—John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Betty Friedan—bringing each to life with subtle detail. He introduces the reader to lesser-known incidents of the decade and offers fresh and persuasive insights on many of its watershed events.

Greene argues that the civil rights movement began in 1955 following the death of Emmett Till- that many accomplishments credited to Kennedy were based upon myth, not historical fact, and that his presidency was far from successful- that each of the movements of the period—civil rights, students, antiwar, ethnic nationalism—were started by young intellectuals and eventually driven to failure by activists who had different goals in mind- and that the &#8220counterculture,&#8221 which has been glorified in today’s media as a band of rock-singing hippies, had its roots in some of the most provocative social thinking of the postwar period.

Greene also chronicles the decade in a thematic manner, devoting individual chapters to such subjects as the legacy of the fifties, the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, the civil rights movements, and the war in Vietnam. Combining an engrossing narrative with intelligent analysis, America in the Sixties enriches our understanding of that pivotal era.

John Robert Greene is the Paul J. Schupf Professor of History and Humanities at Cazenovia College. He has written or edited thirteen books including The Limits of Power: The Nixon and Ford Administrations and The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford. He is a regular commentator in the national media, having appeared on such forums as MSNBC, National Public Radio, C-SPAN, and the History Channel.

Note: Books noticed on this site have been provided by the publishers. Purchases made through this Amazon link help support this site.

This Weeks Top New York History News

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Hudson Valley History Day This Saturday

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Representatives from 15 historic sites and cultural institutions will engage visitors in fun, educational activities January 16 during Hudson Valley History Day at the New York State Museum. The free event will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is the highlight of Family Fun Weekend, January 16-17. The snow date will be Saturday, January 23. Activities will be held throughout the Museum’s first floor.

Participants include the State Museum, New York State Library, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt-Springwood, Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site, Olana State Historic Site, Hudson River Heritage Organization/Montgomery Place, Albany Heritage Area Visitor Center and Henry Hudson Planetarium, Thomas Cole National Historic Site/Cedar Grove, Clermont State Historic Site, Shaker Heritage Society, Albany County Historical Society/Ten Broeck Mansion, Albany Institute of History and Art, Historic Cherry Hill and Crailo State Historic Site.

Visitors will be able to play the Hudson River Valley Trading Game on a 32-foot long game board at the Historic Cherry Hill table- sketch, write poetry and add to a community landscape at the Thomas Cole table- try weaving and grinding peppermint at the Shaker Society table- design their own stained glass at the Museum table- meet the life-sized Henry Hudson puppet at the Albany Heritage Area Visitor Center table and see historic documents, photographs and other objects at the other locations.

Jeffrey Urbin from the Roosevelt site will offer a lecture at 1:30 p.m. in the Huxley Theater on “How to Prepare Family Archives and a Time Capsule.” At 11 a.m. and noon, he also will provide tours of the This Great Nation Will Endure, an exhibition designed and curated by staff from the FDR site. The exhibition showcases the works of a legendary group of photographers who documented the lives and struggles of Americans enduring the Great Depression.

Tours will also be offered at 1 and 2:30 p.m. of the 1609 exhibition. Michelle Stefanik, a senior exhibition planner at the State Museum, will share information about Henry Hudson and his crew’s exploration of the Hudson River 400 years ago. She also will discuss the Mohican and Native Peoples who were living along the shores, as well as their relationships with the Dutch settlers.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30 to 4 p.m., visitors will also be able to touch bear fur, try on a cradleboard and learn more about the Haudenosaunee at the hands-on Native Peoples cart, presented by Nancy Berns, a member of the State Museum’s Visitors Services staff.

On Sunday from 1-4 p.m., as part of Family Fun Weekend, the Museum will offer the same stained glass activity as the one on Saturday.

Family Fun Weekends offer theme-based family activities on the third weekend of the month.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Started in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website at .