Kingston

AJ Schenkman: The Hasbrouck Ledger

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One of the problems in researching the life of Colonel Jonathan Hasbrouck is that there are so few primary sources written by him left to us. We are fortunate that at least one of the treasures that give us a peek into his life, one of his account ledgers, has been preserved. It is a rich source for a researcher of not only Hasbrouck, but of others from his time period as well.

Colonel Jonathan Hasbrouck was born in 1722 in Ulster County just outside of New Paltz, New York. He later relocated in 1749 to what would become Newburgh, where his mother Elsie Schoonmaker purchased 99 acres of land.
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18th Century Autumn Festival at Senate house

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Celebrate the bounty of autumn at the 18th Century Autumn Festival at Senate House State Historic Site on Saturday October 6, 2012. From 11am-3pm visitors will have a chance to see demonstrations of activities that were traditionally done in the autumn during the 18th century including meat smoking, apple cider pressing, making apple butter and blacksmithing.

Hands on activities including making cornhusk dolls and action figures, dipping candles and making dried apple wreaths are also available and are fun for all ages. The 1st Ulster Militia will be encamped on the grounds demonstrating 18th century military camp life. Period music will be provided by “Marilee and Kate”.

Guided tours of Senate House will be provided by costumed interpreters at regular admission rates of $4.00 for adults, $3.00 for seniors and free for children 12 and under, and members of the Friends of Senate House. All outside events are free. Everyone is invited to attend. Senate House State Historic Site is located on Fair St. in historic uptown Kingston, NY.

Senate House State Historic Site is part of a system of parks, recreation areas and historic sites operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, and is one of 28 facilities administered by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission in New York and New Jersey. For further information about this and other upcoming events please call the site at (845) 338-2786 or visit the State Parks website at www.nysparks.com.

Dutch Influence on the American Kitchen Lecture

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Senate House State Historic Site will host noted author and food historian Peter G. Rose on Saturday September 22, 2012 at 1pm. She will be giving a talk “The Influence of the Dutch on the American Kitchen.” The program is free and open to the public.

Peter Rose lectures on historic Dutch foodways throughout the country. She illustrates her talks with paintings of the Dutch Masters and has spoken at many museums with holdings of such Dutch art all over the country, including the Smithsonian Institution, Harvard’s Fogg Museum and The National Gallery.

Rose has worked as a food writer and contributed a syndicated column on family food and cooking to the New York – based Gannett newspapers for over 20 years. She has written articles for magazines including Gourmet, Hudson Valley Magazine and The Valley Table. In 2002 she received the Alice P. Kenney Award for her research and writing on Dutch food history.

Senate House State Historic Site is part of a system of parks, recreation areas and historic sites operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and the site is one of 28 facilities administered by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission in New York and New Jersey. For further information about this and other upcoming events please call the site at (845) 338-2786 or visit the State Parks website at www.nysparks.com.

Senate House Independence Day Celebration Saturday

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Senate House is one if New York’s outstanding historic sites. The former home of Abraham Van Gaasbeek was the first meeting place of the New York State Senate in 1777. It was burned by the British, along with the rest of Kingston, in October 1777. In addition to the Senate House, the site consists of a Colonial Revival art museum with the world’s largest collection of art by Kingston native John Vanderlyn, and other objects donated to the site over many years.

Senate House State Historic Site is celebrating Independence Day on Saturday June 30 from 11am-3pm. The day begins with a Patriotic Service at 11am which will include patriotic readings and music, followed by an afternoon of music provided by the Headless Horsemen Fife and Drum Corps, 18th century magic performed by “Mr. Bayly” and 18th century games for kids to play.

Additionally, the Third Ulster Militia will be encamped on the grounds demonstrating 18th century camp life, including hearthside cooking, washing laundry and demonstrating the practice of medicine in the colonial era.

Guided tours of Senate House will be provided by costumed interpreters. Outdoor events are free of charge. Tours of Senate House are $4.00 for adults, $3.00 for seniors, children 12 and under are free. The site is located on Fair St. in historic uptown Kingston. For more information please call the site at (845) 338-2786.

AJ Schenkman: The Old Senate House

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Kingston, New York, located in the Mid-Hudson Valley’s Ulster County, has been known for many things during its long history. It was once a center of commerce, where valuable goods were shipped up and down the Hudson River. It was also known for producing magnificent wheat. Read more →

Colonel Jonathan Hasbroucks Tory Son Cornelius?

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Governor George Clinton of New York sat down at his desk, in January 1781, to read a painful letter from Judge Robert Yates. The letter concerned the son of a now deceased acquaintance, Colonel Jonathan Hasbrouck. It involved his oldest son, Cornelius Hasbrouck, who as Clinton read the letter, sat in a Kingston jail tried, convicted, and branded for stealing “sundry oxen and goods and chattels of the United States of America”. Read more →

Lower Hudson Valley History: Stories on the Wind

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When I was a boy I worked on a farm in Little Neck, Queens in New York City. It was the only working farm left in Queens. The land was originally settled by a Dutch family. Every morning I would awake and bike from one side of Queens to the other. There I would feed ducks, cows, till, gather eggs, and eat my lunch under a huge tree or when it rained in the barn. Read more →

Kingston 18th Cent Market Days, Militia Muster

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The Brigade of the American Revolution will hold their 18th Century Market Days and Militia Muster on the grounds of Senate House State Historic Site in Kingston, NY. This free event will be held on Saturday, June 25, from 10am – 4:30pm, and Sunday June 26, from 11:00am – 3:00pm.

Throughout the weekend a variety of 18th century vendors will be on hand demonstrating their crafts and selling their goods. Participants can also enjoy militia drills and firing demonstrations, children’s games and drill, presentations on 18th century foodways and fashion and style, and 18th century dance instruction.

At 4pm on Saturday and 12pm on Sunday, a Meet the Authors will take place in the site’s museum. Norman Desmarais, Paul Huey and Tom Baker will all be on hand for the book signing. As usual Senate House State Historic Site will be open for tours. Admission to tour Senate House is $4.00 for Adults, $3.00 for seniors and students and free for children 12 and under. So take a step back in time and experience what life was like for soldiers of the American Revolution at the 18th Century Market Days and Militia Muster on the grounds of Senate House State Historic Site.

The Brigade of the American Revolution is a non-profit living history association dedicated to recreating the life of the common soldier during the American Revolution, 1775-1783. Members represent elements of all armies involved: Continental, Militia, British, Loyalist, German, French, Spanish, and Native American forces along with civilian men, women and children.

Photo courtesy The Brigade of the American Revolution.

Sustainable Living, Historic Hudson Valley Style

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What can our past tell us about better living today and for the future? A free festival of demonstrations, tours and living history interpreters, presented at Senate House State Historic Site on Saturday, May 14, offers some out-of-the-ordinary suggestions. Designed for the whole family, this outdoor event will offer ways for people of all ages to learn about practices of the past and their relevance to choices we make today. This free event is perfect for families and people of all ages, and occurs rain or shine. For more information, please call (845) 338-2786, or visit www.nysparks.com.

Friends of Senate House is partnering with the Kingston Land Trust and Hudson Valley Vernacular Architecture to offer presentations on colonial gardening and cooking, herbal medicinals, creative darning of textiles, special tours of Senate House on the theme of sustainable building practices, hands-on activities for kids, and free admission to the Senate House and the site museum.

The Kingston Land Trust will present master gardener Allyson Levy of Hortus Conclusus who will be on hand at 11:30 and 1:30 to speak on the contents and uses of a colonial woman’s dooryard garden, and present the historic garden she created.

Dina Falconi, practicing herbalist and author, will speak with visitors about her own herbal preparations and medicinals, and present examples of her creations and the plants used to make them.

Rob Sweeny, member of Hudson Valley Vernacular Architecture, will give special tours of Senate House at 10:30, 12:30 and 2:30 on the theme of historic building practices and house-holding in 17th- and 18th- century Hudson Valley.

Peter Cutul, a history educator with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation at Fort Montgomery, will present on historic land-use, farming and food preservation practices, with objects and samples for all ages to explore.

Dawn Elliott will offer a creative darning clinic, so bring your textiles for a consultation and possible repair.

Scions of Patria, re-enactors of 17th Century Dutch life in the “New World,” will present hearth cooking of traditional foods and other colonial activities and traditions.

Hands-on activities for kids: Children can practice writing with the “green” writing tool of the colonial period (a quill)- learn about the history and uses of a plant, and pot a seedling to take home.

New York Heritage Weekend will showcase the Empire State to residents and visitors alike and to help kick off the summer tourism season- it offers the opportunity for participants to enjoy historic site programs that highlight the significant historical, cultural and natural resources of New York State. In anticipation of this statewide celebration, a new website has been unveiled: please visit www.HeritageWeekend.org.

This special event is sponsored and financially supported by the Friends of Senate House, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area in partnership with the National Park Service.

Vanderlyn Expert to Speak on Huguenot Street

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The Vanderlyn name, long associated with the Mid Hudson Valley, will be front and center at the October Second Saturdays talk at Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz. “The Portraits of John Vanderlyn,” will be presented on Friday, October 9th at 7pm by Katherine C. Woltz, a scholar with the University of Virginia. Woltz has become a central figure as interest in Vanderlyn, an Ulster County native and one of the country’s first nationally recognized artists, has undergone a resurgence in recent years.

Born in Kingston in 1775 and educated at the Kingston Academy, John Vanderlyn was protege of statesman Aaron Burr and portrait painter Gilbert Stuart. Burr’s uncommon generosity allowed Vanderlyn to study first with Stuart in America, and then in Paris with the famous French painters Vincent and David at the e cole-des-beaux-arts. Meeting with acclaim in both Europe and the U.S., he was perhaps the first American artist to gain an international reputation and following.

Woltz is currently working on a book about Vanderlyn and will be featured at “Appraising Art, Re-Appraising Vanderlyn,” a special forum being offered by the Senate House State Historic Site in Kingston later this month.

The talk will be offered in the newly reopened LeFevre House. The museum house now features a portrait gallery. Currently on exhibit is “An Excellent Likeness,” a selection of portraits from the permanent collection of Historic Huguenot Street. “An Excellent Likeness” includes several portraits attributed to John Vanderlyn Jr. The LeFevre House is located at 54 Huguenot Street in downtown New Paltz. Parking is available in municipal parking lot across the street. There is an $8 charge ($6 for Friends of Huguenot Street). For more information, visit www.huguenotstreet.org or call (845) 255-1889.

Illustration: Abraham D Deyo. Attributed to John Vanderlyn, Jr. From the permanent collection of Historic Huguenot Street.