Saratoga, Capital Region Sites Hosting Geocache Challenge

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New York State ParksThe Saratoga/Capital District Region of New York State Parks is hosting 50 all new geocaches in 16 state parks and historic sites, and will hold a drawing for prizes for those participants who successfully complete the geocache challenge by finding any 35 of the 50 geocaches.

The geocache challenge will begin Memorial Day Weekend and extend through Veteran’s Day, November 11th.  The goal of the extended event is to bring people out to experience state parks and historic sites and to introduce patrons to the family-oriented sport of geocaching. Read more →

Harold Holzer On The Civil War in 50 Objects

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Draft Wheel, ca. 1863

This summer, the New-York Historical Society will be displaying all fifty objects from Harold Holzer’s new book, The Civil War in 50 Objects. Though the book looks at the Civil War from many angles, quite a few of the objects originate from New York City. We spoke with the historian about the Civil War’s impact on the city, and the city’s attempt to secede from the Union! Read more →

Bloomer Girls: Women Baseball Pioneers

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1868 Peterboro Women's Baseball Game, Courtesy National Baseball Hall of Fame LibraryAt least twenty-six newspaper articles published around the nation in 1868 reported the existence of women’s baseball clubs. Thanks to Elizabeth Cady Stanton and an anonymous reporter, the baseball club in Peterboro was the best documented of the women’s teams in the 1860s. During a three week visit in August 1868 at the Peterboro home of her cousin, abolitionist Gerrit Smith, Stanton wrote three letters for her women’s rights publication The Revolution. Read more →

Plattsburghs Mary Johnson in Civil War

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Mary Hill Johnson 01The same “prove or disprove” mission I undertook to investigate Mary Johnson’s claims (to have passed as a man and fought in the Civil War) was attempted by Eleanor Vashon after interviewing Mary Johnson in 1924. Several parties were involved: a pension attorney- the Massachusetts adjutant general-  the Daughters of Veterans- the Convent of St. Rock, Quebec- the Canadian Red Cross- the Tewksbury Hospital- and acquaintances of Mary with whom she had shared the unusual story of her life.

The Red Cross managed to confirm that Thomas Hill indeed served in the Massachusetts 53rd, but found no record of a Saul Hill in the same outfit. They did find a Joseph Saul, and considering Mary’s age and her earlier jumbling of General Nelson Miles as Mills Nelson, the similarity was noted as a possible link. Read more →

This Weeks New York History Web Highlights

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Advocates Respond To New York Public Library Claims

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New York Public Library (NYPL)The Committee to Save the New York Public Library has just released a point-by-point rebuttal of claims made by the New York Public Library (NYPL) administration over a controversial plan for the library’s 42nd Street branch.

Previously, the Committee issued a document entitled &#8220The Truth About the Central Library Plan,&#8221 which it calls an &#8220analysis of the NYPL’s plan to gut the 42nd Street Library and sell the Mid-Manhattan Library and Science, Industry and Business Library.&#8221 The latest volley in the battle over the library is a response to NYPL’s recent &#8220Setting the Record Straight,&#8221 an attempt to counter critics. Read more →

New York Genealogy Statewide Conference Planned

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logo1The Central New York Genealogical Society and the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society are cosponsoring what they are calling &#8220the first-ever statewide genealogical conference in New York.&#8221

New York State poses numerous challenges for even the most experienced family history researcher.  The New York State Family History Conference is hoped to help break down research barriers and provide a forum that brings people together to share their research knowledge and problem-solving experiences and to collaborate on key research issues. Future conferences are expected to be scheduled at regular intervals. Read more →

History Conferences: Neglected Tourism Revenue

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54nytourismLast Saturday I attended the Native American Institute for the Hudson Valley’s conference on the Mohicans. The organization is based in Red Hook in Dutchess County. The New Netherland Museum and Replica Ship Half Moon provided support.

The conference included speakers, a walking tour to four sites all along Main Street, and a closing reception in a still-active colonial church. One of the speakers was from Canaan in Columbia County, and Albany, Kinderhook, Fort Ticonderoga, and New Stockbridge in Madison County figured prominently in the program. The border war between New York and Massachusetts in which the Mohicans became entangled was a constant topic.
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