The Invisible Irish of the 19th Century


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Irish Servant Dressing WomanThey were neither to be seen nor heard as they served some of the great houses of Westchester County more than a century ago. But come February, the Anne Hutchinson-Bronxville Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) will uncover their forgotten stories in a lecture hosted by the chapter entitled, “The Invisible Irish of the 19th Century.”

The talk, which is free and open to the public, will be given by Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum Docent and writer Doug Hearle on Saturday, February 7th at 1 pm in the Yeager Community Room at the Bronxville Public Library.  Continue reading →

Unseen Hand: An 1869 Fort Hunter Diary


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003 - SXSHS In 1988, a small leather-bound diary was bequeathed to Schoharie Crossing State Historic site by Clarke Blair, who received it from Gertrude Ruck – a descendent of Michael Brown. Brown was one of the brothers that owned and operated the Brown Cash Store located at Lock 30 in Fort Hunter, NY from the mid-19th to early 20th century.

The diarist is unknown – nonetheless, it is obviously a personal journal of a Fort Hunter resident, and references to notable local families, places and events of 1869 fill its yellowed pages. Continue reading →

Cayuga Museum Presenting Writers Event


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Cayuga MuseumThe Cayuga Museum, in Auburn, is beginning a new monthly program.  Called simply word., the new event will debut on Thursday, February 19 at 7 pm in Theater Mack.  Writers can share their original work with the audience – poems, short stories, essays, segments of larger work, the spoken word, or more.  Poetry, fiction or non-fiction, read or recited, word. is meant to celebrate the writer’s art and help local writers find their voice.   Continue reading →

Historic Huguenot Street Lecture Series Set


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HHSHistoric Huguenot Street has announced its first events of the new year: a three-part lecture series with Ulster County Historian Anne Gordon. The lecture series will kick off on Saturday, February 7, at 4 pm.

In honor of Black History Month, this first lecture – entitled “From Isabella to Sojourner: A Slave in Ulster County” – will focus on the life of local abolitionist hero Sojourner Truth, from a childhood in slavery to her bold step into freedom. Continue reading →

REDC Tourism Awards Support Booze Destinations


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REDC RegionsEmpire State Development under the leadership of Ken Adams is the organization which includes ILoveNY (under Gavin Landry), which is responsible for the Path through History, but which has no full time staff. The mission of Empire State Development Market New York (ESD MNY) is:

The Market New York Grant program supports regionally-themed New York-focused projects that promote tourism destinations, attractions, special events and other travel related activities that help achieve the Regional Councils’ long term strategic goals for economic growth, which include attracting more visitors to New York State. Continue reading →

The Saga of Albany Jim Brady (Part 3)


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NYH3A 18776thNat'lAfter his third prison escape in 14 months, Albany Jim Brady worked extra hard at avoiding lawmen. But he also stayed busy and was a suspect in several additional crimes: the robbery of New York City’s Metropolis Bank in early 1877; a heist of the bank in Keeseville, New York, a short time later; and hitting the Sixth National Bank in April of that year, a job that again smacked of Brady’s boldness: drilling upward into an office, accessing the vaults, and completing the theft during daylight hours. Continue reading →

Brooklyn Museum Plans New Entryway Experience


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unnamed(35)The Brooklyn-based design firm SITU Studio has been selected by the Brooklyn Museum to create a new environment in the entry Pavilion and Lobby to transform the Museum’s entry. Taking a cue from retail and the hospitality sector, the new SITU-designed entry experience will focus on an assemblage of reconfigurable modular furniture designed to connect staff with visitors, while improving traffic and way-finding. Continue reading →

New Expanded Edition Of ‘Capitol Story’ Published


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Albany Capitol StoryOften celebrated as a masterpiece of civic architecture and decorative design, the New York State Capitol sits majestically at the head of Albany’s State Street. The story behind the most expensive capitol building ever to be constructed is a fascinating one.

Built between 1867 and 1899, the Capitol was the work of four different architects, who each worked under exasperating conditions – geological, structural, and political – with hundreds of highly skilled masons and exceptional stone carvers. After completion, the building attracted controversy – seen by some as an atrocity of jumbled architecture and by others as a successful blending of architectural forms. Continue reading →

Dolph Schayes And The Rise Of Professional Basketball


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Dolph Schayes and the Rise of Professional BasketballIn Dolph Schayes and the Rise of Professional Basketball (Syracuse Univ. Press, 2014), Dolph Grundman presents readers with a portrait, the first of its kind, of the star of the Syracuse Nationals basketball team during the 1950s and 1960s.

Dolph Schayes may not have one of the most recognizable names in basketball history, but his accomplishments are staggering. He was named one of the fifty greatest players of all time by the NBA, and he held six NBA records, including one for career scoring, at his retirement. Continue reading →

This Week’s New York History Web Highlights


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Delaware & Hudson History On The Historians Podcast


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The Historians LogoThis week “The Historians” podcast features an interview with Jim Bachorz, publisher of the Bridge Line Historical Society Bulletin, an extensive monthly newsletter that focuses on Delaware & Hudson Railroad (D&H) history and other rail topics. The D&H called itself the Bridge Line linking New York, New England and Canada. Today the railroad is a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway. Listen at “The Historians” online archive at http://www.bobcudmore.com/thehistorians/
Continue reading →

This Week’s Top New York History News


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Latest New York History News

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One of America’s Most Prominent Doctors


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Alfred Loomis Oval (1)It was Saturday, January 26, 1895, and throngs of mourners were gathered at the Church of the Incarnation in Manhattan for the funeral of one of America’s most prominent doctors.

Dr. Alfred Lebbeus Loomis, who had revolutionized the way tuberculosis was treated in this country, had died on January 23rd, just two days after his own personal physician had ordered him confined to bed because of a spiking fever.   Dr. Loomis, diagnosed with tuberculosis some thirty years earlier, had contracted pneumonia, and would never recover.  Continue reading →

2015 Museums Conference Keynote Speakers Set


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MANY LogoThe Museum Association of New York (MANY) has announced the keynote speakers for the 2015 Museums in Action Conference, being held in Corning, NY from Sunday, April 12th to Tuesday, April 14th.

The 2015 conference theme is “Museums Mean Business”. Locally, statewide and across the country, museums help drive the economy. The scope of their impact is varied and wide, and includes audiences from all ranges of income and education. Tourists, local community members and school children are only a few of the groups that frequent museums on a daily basis. Each year nationally, more people visit museums than attend all professional sporting events and theme parks combined! Museums provide jobs, education and community spaces, and are a major attraction for tourism dollars. Continue reading →

Thomas Cole Site Hosting Volunteer Info Open House


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Thomas-cole-houseThe Thomas Cole National Historic Site is opening its doors for an Information Open House on Sunday, February 15 at 12:30 pm for a one-hour program for all those interested in volunteering as a tour guide.

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site, located in Catskill, New York, is currently seeking volunteers to conduct tours of the house and studio. The organization is also recruiting Art Trail guides for their popular hiking program on the Hudson River School Art Trail where the views in 19th-century landscape paintings can be seen today in the Catskill Mountains. Volunteers are also needed for gardening and helping out at events. Continue reading →

State Parks, Historic Preservation REDC Awards


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REDC RegionsThis posts is the fourth in a series of posts examining the awards approved by the Regional Economic Development Councils (REDC) from the perspective of the Path through History. In this post, we turn to the awards by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation as part of the Heritage Areas System (HAS).

This is for projects to acquire, preserve, rehabilitate or restore lands, waters or structures, identified in the approved management plans for Heritage Areas designated under sections 33.03 and 33.05 of the Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law, and for structural assessments or planning for such projects. Some of the funding is substantial. Continue reading →

Same-Sex Marriage in Early America


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ben_franklins_worldDid you know that some early Americans lived openly in same-sex marriages?

In this episode of the “Ben Franklin’s World” podcast, Rachel Hope Cleves, an Associate Professor of History at the University of Victoria in British Columbia and author of Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America, will reveal the story of Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake, women who lived openly as a married couple in Weybridge, Vermont between 1807 and 1851. You can listen to the podcast here: www.benfranklinsworld.com/013 Continue reading →

Everything is Design: Paul Rand Exhibit in NYC


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Paul-RandThe Museum of the City of New York has announced a new exhibit opening in February, Everything is Design: The Work of Paul Rand, showcasing the nearly six-decade career of visionary American graphic design master Paul Rand (1914-1996).

Born in Brooklyn with a father who owned a small grocery store, Rand rose to the heights of 20th century design, seen as one of the most influential designers in the history of print and often called the ‘Picasso of graphic design.’  Continue reading →