State Library Puts Military History Records Online

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In 1895, Governor Morton appointed a state historian whose duties were &#8220to collect&#8230- edit, and prepare for publication all official records&#8230- and data, relative to the colonial wars, war of the revolution, war of 1812, Mexican war and war of the rebellion.&#8221 The New York State Library recently digitized the State historian’s 1st Annual Report (1895), 2nd Annual Report (1896) and 3rd Annual Report (1897). The 2nd Annual Report includes Volume 1 of the Colonial Muster Rolls for 1664-1760 (Appendix H)- the 3rd Annual Report includes Volume II of the Colonial Muster Rolls (Appendix M), as well as an index of names contained in the Colonial Muster Rolls (pages 899-1130). The annual reports of the State Historian are among the many historical documents that the New York State Library has made freely available online. [Link]

Preservation in Tough Economic Times

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Daniel Mackay, Director of Public Policy for the Preservation League of New York State, testified at a hearing of the New York State Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Committees regarding economic development initiatives and arguing for an expanded tax credit for the rehabilitation of historic properties in distressed areas as a way to stimulate the economy:

If New York is to be successful in preserving open space, working farmland and curbing sprawl, economic development must be directed back to existing municipal infrastructure, and that will require recognition and reuse of New York State’s extraordinary legacy of historic buildings in our commercial downtowns and residential neighborhoods across the Empire State.

Because New York State faces a severe budget challenge, now is the time to prioritize implementation of the tools and programs that target public and private reinvestment where it is most needed, in ways that most effectively leverage private and federal dollars for community renewal and economic reinvestment, and in ways that most aggressively and immediately meet economic stimulus benchmarks.

The program that meets these tests and serves these goals is an expanded New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credit. Legislation will shortly be introduced by Senator David Valesky and Assemblymember Sam Hoyt which will effectively and appropriately expand this program, direct stimulus and rehabilitation activity to distressed areas, and contain costs for New York State…

The Preservation League, and a diverse and growing partnership of business leaders, municipal officials, economic development interests, and a wide array of environmental and preservation organizations [including the Landmark Society] are joining together in a campaign entitled “Reinvest New York” to promote inclusion of this program in the enacted 2009-2010 New York State Budget…

Implementation of an expanded New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credit program represents a targeted investment in the downtowns and historic neighborhoods that form the core of municipalities across New York State, and represents exactly the type of investment that New York State should make in difficult economic and budgetary times: a targeted tool that leverages significant federal and private investment and delivers proven results and benefits to municipalities across New York State.

Apparently, according to Confessions of a Preservationist, Maryland, Missouri and Rhode Island, are three states with good tax credit programs that produce significant economic benefits. &#8220In Rhode Island every $1 million in state tax credit investment leverages $5.35 million in total economic output.&#8221 Preservationist notes,  &#8220In other words, the program more than pays for itself – it generates income for the state and creates jobs while improving our communities.&#8221

Contact Period Workshops For K-12 Teachers

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A National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant awarded to Dr. Thomas Chambers, history professor at Niagara University, will support a pair of week-long workshops to be held this summer for K-12 school teachers. The workshops, set to take place July 13 through July 17, 2009 and July 20 through July 24, 2009 at Old Fort Niagara in Niagara Falls, NY, will focus on American history and culture, specifically the history of European-Native American interaction. Classroom teachers and librarians in public, private, parochial, and charter schools, as well as home-schooling parents are eligible to participate.

The program was created by the NEH to encourage better understanding of American history and culture. Stipends cover most expenses for participants, see: http://neh.gov/projects/landmarks-school.html for eligibility requirements.

For more information visit www.niagara.edu/crossroads/

Native History Blog Featuring New York Indian Removal

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One of the blogs I’ve been following regularly (and you occasionally see posted in my New York History News Feature at right) is Jeff Siemers’ Algonkian Church History. Jeff is a Reference Librarian at Moraine Park Technical College (Fond du Lac Campus) and has recently written a series of outstanding posts on the New York Indian Removal that are highly recommended reading.

I asked Jeff to tell me how he came to Algonkian Church History and this is his reply:

If you include the Brothertowners, there are 12 American Indian communities in Wisconsin, but mostly they are relatively small and &#8211 except for the Oneidas &#8211 rural (or in forests). As a result, most white Wisconsinites don’t have a lot of awareness of Wisconsin Indians.

I was not much more aware than most other whites, until I took up the sport of whitewater kayaking (in 1995). I was part of a club that got together on Tuesday evenings&#8230-we paddled the Red River which i realized was close to the Menominee reservation, but I didn’t know that we were closer to another reservation, legally known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. Anyway, the spring snowmelt (and/or rain) makes normally unrunnable stretches of water runnable, and in April, 2001 I was part of a group that paddled the seldom-run upper Red &#8211 we were stopped by an Stockbridge-Munsee tribal employee who explained we were trespassing on a federally recognized Indian Reservation. The employee told us something about the history of the Stockbridge Mohicans and let us complete our trip.

Anyway, it was on that trip that another (white) paddler that lived in the area told me about an old and rare bible given to the Indians by the British. It aroused my curiousity &#8211 months later I visited the museum where the bible is held, then forgot all about it. Until I went back to school to become a librarian&#8230-.There I found myself in a class called the history of books and printing &#8211 and was racking my brain to think of a topic for my term paper &#8211 that’s when I remembered the Stockbridge Bible (it was fall, 2003 by then). After many re-writes, the project that began as a term paper was published by The Book Collector (Spring, 2007 issue) http://www.thebookcollector.co.uk/ (the world’s foremost authority on old and rare books).

I’ve continued my research way beyond the Stockbridge Bible since then, of course&#8230- gone on a lot of tangents.

my New York History News Feature at right) is Jeff Siemers’ Algonkian Church History[/CATS]. Jeff is a Reference Librarian at Moraine Park Technical College (Fond du Lac Campus) and has recently written a series of outstanding posts on the New York Indian Removal[/CATS] that are highly recommended reading.

I asked Jeff to tell me how he came to Algonkian Church History and this is his reply:

If you include the Brothertowners, there are 12 American Indian communities in Wisconsin, but mostly they are relatively small and – except for the Oneidas – rural (or in forests). As a result, most white Wisconsinites don’t have a lot of awareness of Wisconsin Indians.

I was not much more aware than most other whites, until I took up the sport of whitewater kayaking (in 1995). I was part of a club that got together on Tuesday evenings…we paddled the Red River which i realized was close to the Menominee reservation, but I didn’t know that we were closer to another reservation, legally known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. Anyway, the spring snowmelt (and/or rain) makes normally unrunnable stretches of water runnable, and in April, 2001 I was part of a group that paddled the seldom-run upper Red – we were stopped by an Stockbridge-Munsee tribal employee who explained we were trespassing on a federally recognized Indian Reservation. The employee told us something about the history of the Stockbridge Mohicans and let us complete our trip.

Anyway, it was on that trip that another (white) paddler that lived in the area told me about an old and rare bible given to the Indians by the British. It aroused my curiousity – months later I visited the museum where the bible is held, then forgot all about it. Until I went back to school to become a librarian….There I found myself in a class called the history of books and printing – and was racking my brain to think of a topic for my term paper – that’s when I remembered the Stockbridge Bible (it was fall, 2003 by then). After many re-writes, the project that began as a term paper was published by The Book Collector (Spring, 2007 issue) http://www.thebookcollector.co.uk/[/CATS] (the world’s foremost authority on old and rare books).

I’ve continued my research way beyond the Stockbridge Bible since then, of course… gone on a lot of tangents.

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