tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64318263539119978312024-03-10T23:23:35.886-04:00Albany (NY) HistoryBlog focusing on the history of Albany, NY.Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-7747310805022990882018-03-14T20:20:00.000-04:002018-03-14T20:22:20.789-04:00Or did Burr shoot Aaron?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGwlb7wItcldf5DaVz-HJ3v0gJm-RHUkTGAWDE-W3rSVMviyEas7DXNTMCU9gyqEVZCNeCp4hQ4x8KuNnmTgGdKFKwL0B_IIqH9N9eKWpjoCB90YMCY3NqxhYUChH7O01JHrQrFQ8DhQpo/s1600/13092819685_e25d0e9094_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="411" data-original-width="640" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGwlb7wItcldf5DaVz-HJ3v0gJm-RHUkTGAWDE-W3rSVMviyEas7DXNTMCU9gyqEVZCNeCp4hQ4x8KuNnmTgGdKFKwL0B_IIqH9N9eKWpjoCB90YMCY3NqxhYUChH7O01JHrQrFQ8DhQpo/s320/13092819685_e25d0e9094_z.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
A rather amusing piece from Times Union on August 4, 1936. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Historic Albany:</b></div>
<b>
</b>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><br /></b>
</div>
<b>
</b>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>'Aaron Shot Burr On Albany Corner”</b></div>
<b>
</b>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><br /></b>
</div>
<b>
</b>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Touring Reporter Gets Startling Angles
on City</b></div>
<b>
</b>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>By Tourist</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Leaving gun and camera at home, the
touring reporter stalked through historic old Albany yesterday, armed
with pencil and paper to bag a compiled report on how much Albanians
actually know about their city.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Casual pedestrians approached in
Capitol park, at Schuyler mansion and in the Institute of History and
Art, gave unexpected humorous and fatuous answers. One onyx-eyed
girl, asked who General Schuyler was, took Oxford glasses from her
nose, raised a negligible eyebrow and said, “I'm sorry, I'm busy
tonight.” Another surprising answer came from an apple-cheeked
youth, who was sure that “Aaron shot Burr on this corner, or did
Burr shoot Aaron. Or was it Hamilton? Gee, I don't know.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The questions and answers:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Why is Schuyler Mansion famous?</b><br />
<br />
“It's
fully of old furniture.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“I've never been inside, myself.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“I don't know.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“An Indian chased General Schuyler up
the steps and threw a hatchet at him”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“It's a place at the south end of
town.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“I was born and raised in Albany but
I've never been through it.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>(Schuyler Mansion, Clinton and
Catherine streets. Home of the famous Revolutionary general,
preserved and maintained by the state. Exquisite colonial
furnishings. Open to the public daily.)</i></div>
<i>
</i>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>What is that little white monument in
Lafayette Park?</b><br />
<br />
“It's some kind of a marker.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“I couldn't say.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“They used to tie their horses to
it.”<br />
“Never noticed it.”<br />
“I think someone's buried
there.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“It says J. Bryan, 1824. Oh, sure,
that was William Jennings Bryan.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>(J. Bryan Tombstone. Lafayette park.
John Bryan was a member of the first board of directors of the
Mechanics and Farmers Bank, incorporated March 4, 1811.)*</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Why is the corner of Pearl and State
streets famous?</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“I couldn't say.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“I think Fort Orange was built
there.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“I don't know.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“I didn't know it was
famous.”<br />
“Famous? Don't be sill.”<br />
“Erastus Corning
used to live here. Yep. Had a barn right sprang where the savings
bank is now. I kin remember when --”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>(Lydius Corner. Pearl and State
streets. Upon this site stood the first brick building said to have
been erected in North America of building material imported from
Holland for the Rev. Gideon Schaets' parsonage 1657)</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Moses Statue in Washington Park:</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What does this statue represent?<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Some angels, I guess.”<br />
“It's
Moses and his magic rod.”<br />
“Somebody in the
Bible.”<br />
“Whatzisname. He strike the rock and the water come,
you know what I mean?”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“It's Moses and the Israelites.”<br />
“I
don't know.”<br />
<br />
<i>(Statue of Moses. In Washington Park. A
superb architectural example of “Moses at Hebron's Rock.”
Erected by Henry L. King in memory of his father, Rufus H.
King.)</i><br />
<br />
What's inside the Historical and Art
Institute?<br />
<br />
“There's a lot of mummies in there.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“I really couldn't say.”<br />
“They
have a lot of Indian relics and pewter in there.”<br />
“It's been
so long since I've been in there I can't remember.”<br />
“It's
interesting if you like that stuff.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“A general in the Revolution.”<br />
“I
don't know.”<br />
<i><br />(Albany Institute of History and Art.
Washington avenue. Found in 1791. Rare exhibits of Continental
silver, old pewter, and Early American furniture)</i></div>
<i>
</i>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><br /></b>
</div>
<b>
</b>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Who was General Schuyler?</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“He was a Revolutionary War general.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Led some charge.”<br />
“Revolutionary
War hero.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Lived in a mansion around here some
place.”<br />
“A general in the Revolution.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“I don't know.”<br />
<br />
<i>(Philip
Schuyler Statue. Facing City Hall. Major General Schuyler
(1733-1804) was the third major general commissioned by Congress. A
delegate to the Continental Congress. Said Daniel Webster of him:
“He was second only to Washington in the services he performed for
his country.”)</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Robert Burns Statue in Washington
Park:</b>
</div>
<b>
</b>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>What statue is that?</b><br />
<br />
“That's
Bobby Burns, didn't ye noe?”<br />
“I don't know.”<br />
“You got
me brother.”<br />
“Some poet, I think.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“A Revolutionary War general.”<br />
“I
haven't any idea.”<br />
<br />
<i>(Robert Burns Statue. In Washington
Park. Unveiled September 30, 1888, but not completed until the
insertion in the pedestal of four tablets depicting the four moods of
the poet's works, in 1891. Erected by Mary McPherson)</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>What does the plaque in the floor of
the Capitol commemorate?</b><br />
<br />
“Some famous man rested there after
he was dead.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“I don't know.”<br />
“I must have
walked over that thing a million times but I never noticed it.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Can't read it without my
glasses.”<br />
“Sure, that's where Grant's body rested on its way
to the cemetery at Arlington.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“I don't know, I'm sure.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>(Ulysses S. Grant Plaque. State
Capitol. “Here during the night of August 4, 1885, rested the body
on the way to its last resting place.”)</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Why is the corner of Green and Beaver
streets famous?</b><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Famous? I didn't know it was?”<br />
“I
think Aaron shot Burr around here, or was it Burr shot Aaron?”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“I'm very busy this morning, young
man.”<br />
“Used to be an old tavern here.”<br />
“George
Washington spent the night here.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“I haven't any idea.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>(Site of Hugh Denniston's Tavern.
Green and Beaver streets. Site of the first stone house in Albany,
where George Washington was presented with the freedom of the city in
1782 and 1783. It was removed during the year of the first cholera,
1832.)</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>For what is Saratoga famous?</b><br />
<br />
“Horse
racing.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Horse racing.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Horse racing.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Horse racing.”<br />
“Horse
racing.”<br />
“Horse racing.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>(Saratoga. The battlefield 36 miles
north of Albany, where the tide of independence was turned, bringing
France, Spain and Holland to the aid of the colonists.)</i></div>
<i>
</i>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
*The "Tourist" is actually mistaken about the Bryan stone. It did not mark a grave and was, in fact, a property marker.</div>
Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-53479580605680381242017-10-12T08:06:00.001-04:002017-10-12T08:06:09.511-04:00Restoration Work Needed At Albany Rural Cemetery<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ2bvkfmRP-T7rA_caZYjz340ehECJOKpyMZAu-8VDw6I5Y-WVxu3o4F4E5SxR0n7xj0OGxc7LLdVEnw8xwby1oAQ3kRCvFaChDxBxftQmDmC05aPUha1BzkZhphiNWO2c9lTnnUeOyw0/s1600/22384061_1301738339934782_2807373189525539137_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ2bvkfmRP-T7rA_caZYjz340ehECJOKpyMZAu-8VDw6I5Y-WVxu3o4F4E5SxR0n7xj0OGxc7LLdVEnw8xwby1oAQ3kRCvFaChDxBxftQmDmC05aPUha1BzkZhphiNWO2c9lTnnUeOyw0/s320/22384061_1301738339934782_2807373189525539137_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
“At the west, a short distance below, is a pear-shaped bit of silver, known as Cypress Water, in which is a miniature island.”<br />
<br />
(from "The Albany Hand-book for 1881" by Henry Pitt Phelps)<br />
<br />
One of the most recognizable features of the Cemetery landscape, Cypress Pond (or Cypress Waters, as it was more commonly known in the past) turns 148 years old this year. Among the monuments that overlook this pretty "bit of silver" are the bronze statue of "Contemplation" by Charles Calverley atop the grave of Dr. Jephta Bouleware, the pensive maiden marking the family plot of author Charles Fort, and one of the most photographed statues at Albany Rural - the John G. Myers angel. Seven of the Cemetery's many roads and paths converge here.<br />
<br />
The centerpiece of the South Ridge, if not the entire Rural Cemetery, Cypress Pond was created from a swampy patch of land dotted with natural springs. A large stone slab covering the outlet at the north end of the pond bears the date of its creation, 1869. The work was undertaken during the tenure of Superintendent J.P. Thomas who was known for numerous changes and improvements to the Cemetery, including the extension of the grounds to the South Gate. While a small pond does appear on Cemetery maps from the late 1850s, this area of the Cemetery was, for the most part, a swampy area dotted with natural springs.<br />
<br />
And what's in a name? The cypress is a tree long associated with cemeteries and can be found growing in many burying grounds. It has been a symbol of mourning since ancient times because, if cut back too much, the tree will not regrow. Its branches were gifted to grieving families in Athens and it was burned to clear the harsh odors of cremations. The trees have also been planted in great numbers in Turkish cemeteries for centuries<br />
<br />
Early photos of Cypress Waters show the little island which formerly occupied the middle of the pond. Some of the earliest views even show a little canoe near the island. The wooded island was later replaced with a classically-styled fountain installed in 1950.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, Cypress Pond is now in urgent need of repair. The fountain which replaced the little island has not functioned in several years. Several sinkholes near the newly repaired shelter at the northeast corner of the pond required work. The pond walls are unstable and tilting inward towards the water.<br />
<br />
Work is being done in phases and, to date, the Cemetery has financed $21,115 towards these much needed repairs. The final two phases of the project - replacement and reactivation of the fountain and the stabilization of the pond walls will require additional funds.<br />
<br />
The fountain runs on water pressure from a gravity-fed reservoir. It will be converted to an electrical source with a new floating aerating fountain similar to those seen in Washington Park, Buckingham Pond, and The Crossings in Colonie. The work will included electricity and working water outlets in the areas around the pond. The engineering work and design are completed and the project is now awaiting funding.<br />
<br />
The buckling pond walls are hazardous, especially since the area immediately around the pond is a popular place for visitors to park and walk.<br />
<br />
A more detailed illustrated report on the work to be done and funds needed can be downloaded here: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/ybd5982v" target="_blank">Cypress Pond Restoration Report PDF</a><br />
<br />
If you would like to make a donation of any size to help complete the badly-needed repairs to the fountain and pond walls, please make a check or money order out to:<br />
<br />
Albany Rural Cemetery<br />
Cemetery Avenue<br />
Menands, New York 12204<br />
<br />
Please include a memo that the donation is for "Restoration of The Cypress Pond Area." Or contact the Cemetery directly at 518-463-7017 or <a href="mailto:albanyruralcemetery@biznycap.rr.com">albanyruralcemetery@biznycap.rr.com</a> with any questions or to discuss other donation options. You can also stop by the office during business hours. Donations are tax-deductible.<br />
<br />
And, please, share and spread the word. This post (with additional historic images of the pond) will also be available on Facebook at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ARCbeyondthegraves/" target="_blank">Albany Rural Cemetery - Beyond Graves</a> (it will be pinned to make it easy to find) and on <a href="https://twitter.com/PaulaLemire" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-4593131161692737912016-12-18T08:54:00.003-05:002016-12-18T09:14:51.178-05:00James' Cancer Fight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLMY2kuTEve-hR1oo4GoMPnvvWmt7btrQ4CZs8mWHPytSLxasYCYY_vQTIAWPzkeMoVzTekguaIdaZdAYtlaX1U28My9AHI78YLrUeU9r9gF7d7g12bizJr80LPObDpyftpbNooOKiuU/s1600/DSC07396.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLMY2kuTEve-hR1oo4GoMPnvvWmt7btrQ4CZs8mWHPytSLxasYCYY_vQTIAWPzkeMoVzTekguaIdaZdAYtlaX1U28My9AHI78YLrUeU9r9gF7d7g12bizJr80LPObDpyftpbNooOKiuU/s320/DSC07396.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
As those of you who follow either my personal Facebook profile, my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ARCbeyondthegraves/">Albany Rural Cemetery Facebook page</a>, or Twitter account might know, my partner of eight years has recently been diagnosed with throat cancer and, last week, underwent a temporary tracheostomy to relieve serious breathing problems that occurred as a side effect of the radiation treatments.<br />
<br />
I affectionately refer to James as my research assistant though his assistance generally consists of carrying my backpack full of maps and notes, asking if it's time to go home for lunch, or making sure I don't tumble down various hills while taking photos at Albany Rural.<br />
<br />
His cancer is in the early stages and, even with setback due to the breathing complications, his prognosis is good. But this is still an incredibly difficult time for us. I am acting as his full-time caregiver until he completes his treatments and completely recovers.<br />
<br />
More can be read at our GoFundMe page. If you can contribute or even just share the link, it would be truly appreciated.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.gofundme.com/helpjamesc2016">James' Cancer Fight on GoFundMe</a><br />
<br />
Thank you and Happy Holidays.<br />
<br />
Paula<br />
<br />
P.S. I will post some updates regarding the preservation of the Church of the Holy Innocents as time allows.Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-83163339746526362182015-12-20T10:03:00.001-05:002015-12-20T10:03:41.884-05:00Help the Albany Rural Cemetery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfjIbcflpo0rrn79M8xX3CdoPFXVuX4ki-Pvv6e2up5Mu9_43SMnN33THKLVp0pgQmtzC0ol92RaC2_ScdxhZ0gacIlxApkmI-btDgdmNmoMsD9-ZvUi59tqvJX-kGi0_S83jCRj9wqVK/s1600/DSC06081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfjIbcflpo0rrn79M8xX3CdoPFXVuX4ki-Pvv6e2up5Mu9_43SMnN33THKLVp0pgQmtzC0ol92RaC2_ScdxhZ0gacIlxApkmI-btDgdmNmoMsD9-ZvUi59tqvJX-kGi0_S83jCRj9wqVK/s320/DSC06081.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
The history of the Albany Rural Cemetery is closely interlaced with Albany's history. If you'd like to support the Cemetery, please see the link below for a list of ways (including the Annual Fund, membership in the Friends of the Albany Rural Cemetery, and volunteering).<br />
<br />
<a href="http://gardenalley.net/supportARC.html">Support Albany Rural Cemetery</a><br />
<br />
"<em>Over the years, many generous donors have made
tax-deductible gifts to the cemetery and such support is needed now, more than
ever. For the sake of “these exalted acres” and the many people who enjoy the
parklike setting, a historic resource in the upper Hudson Valley, we hope to
broaden our base of support." </em><br />
<em><br /></em>
<em>- from a letter to the Times Union by Frank Slingerland, President of the Board of Trustees.</em><br />
<em><br /></em>
And, if you enjoy the Cemetery's history, don't forget to like this page on Facebook:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ARCbeyondthegraves">Albany Rural Cemetery - Beyond The Graves</a>Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-71031269522572677352015-11-12T13:58:00.000-05:002015-11-12T13:58:24.409-05:00Redevelop and SAVE the Church of the Holy InnocentsFollowing up on a post from several months ago, there is a chance to save the beautiful, but seriously endangered <a href="http://albanynyhistory.blogspot.com/2015/05/seriously-endangered-church-of-holy.html">Church of the Holy Innocents</a>. For more information, please see this link:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/19479588/275-North-Pearl-Street-Albany-NY/">Redevelopment Listing For Holy Innocents</a>Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-77524653205205651292015-10-24T17:08:00.000-04:002015-10-24T17:08:50.438-04:00The Grim Past of Van Rensselaer Park<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVH-nleyJrX9uT83IGsNFHFOvJysv3xkrKDYRrwYw6f_M7sJ6bfluHmcV_vckeu_7nfg9DhSajk9piAIMX9TI700tErqGIftQJtgclVwzDhELdqsL9RSw7gC4MTC8MxeTalXI3uxfTKfmZ/s1600/DSC04936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVH-nleyJrX9uT83IGsNFHFOvJysv3xkrKDYRrwYw6f_M7sJ6bfluHmcV_vckeu_7nfg9DhSajk9piAIMX9TI700tErqGIftQJtgclVwzDhELdqsL9RSw7gC4MTC8MxeTalXI3uxfTKfmZ/s320/DSC04936.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Located between the vacant St. Joseph's Church and the Ten Broeck Mansion (identified on the 1876 map below as the property of Thomas W. Olcott), Van Rensselaer Park is a small and pretty wedge of urban greenspace. <br />
<br />
Framed by Ten Broeck Street, Ten Broeck Place, Hall Place, and Second Street, it features a modern playground and an elegant 19th-century iron fence. Its history, however, goes back to the mid-18th century and the Patroons of Rensselaerwyck.<br />
<br />
On October 31 1764, Stephen Van Rensselaer II deeded this parcel of land to the City of Albany specifically for the purpose of a cemetery. At the time, this area was known as "The Colonie," though by 1808 it was annexed to the city proper.<br />
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Known variously over the years as the Colonie Burial Ground, the Arbor Hill Burial Ground, and the Van Rensselaer Burial Ground, the Patroon intended that the lot be used held by the city "on the condition that the same should not
be applied to any private purpose or secular use, but should remain as
a burial ground or cemetery for all persons in the manor of
Rensselaerwyck."</div>
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The Van Rensselaer Burial Ground is not to be confused with the private vault which was later built on the grounds of the Van Rensselaer Manor House for the interment of the Patroon's own family and which was later torn down in favor of a large plot at the Albany Rural Cemetery.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTA5_sOwR0OkZWHX2z4gtr4sQJYt0mV-zoidg0ksq2dN6GKLfzYMnjwmO1aQMBFs7p0FQqbn83HoB9PuEDUDpOqskCj_AAqtFVREPwtO1z15Kd5j_NXbNSMLi3xQjDiS1gZgZlKpQwz1Nd/s1600/vrpark+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTA5_sOwR0OkZWHX2z4gtr4sQJYt0mV-zoidg0ksq2dN6GKLfzYMnjwmO1aQMBFs7p0FQqbn83HoB9PuEDUDpOqskCj_AAqtFVREPwtO1z15Kd5j_NXbNSMLi3xQjDiS1gZgZlKpQwz1Nd/s320/vrpark+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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As with <a href="https://albanychurchgrounds.wordpress.com/">the municipal State Street Burying Grounds</a> at the western edge of the city, the little Arbor Hill Burial Ground eventually became an eyesore. The streets around it were filling up with elegant new houses. Construction and improvements to the surrounding streets altered the grade of the land around the old cemetery. Removal of the surrounding soil raised the burial grounds edges to an embankment of some fifteen feet. Bones and coffins were often exposed as sand was removed. Sometimes the remains tumbled into adjacent lots. The surrounding wooden fence was in ruins.<br />
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The well-to-do residents of Ten Broeck Triangle were not pleased to see gloomy old tombstones and exposed remains from their windows and stoops. Local property owners, including Joseph Hall (the namesake of Hall Place), advocated for its removal. </div>
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An 1844 report to the Common Council observed:</div>
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<i>"The whole presents a neglected and
ruinous aspect, which must be painful to the surviving friends of the
dead, who are buried there, and a source of annoyance to a
neighborhood daily becoming more populous, notwithstanding the
obstacle to its growth which this burying ground presents.....would not be expedient to continue to
use this ground for future interments. The public are becoming every
day more convinced of the inconveniences and painful associations, as
well as the unhealthiness of burying the dead in the midst of the
habitations of the living, and it is to be hoped that the practice
with us, as it is in very many cities, will be entirely discontinued.
Apart from the other considerations, this ground, after all that may
be done for its improvement, will still present an appearance of
insecurity, which must deter most persons from allowing their friends
to be buried in it. We are, however, bound to protect the remains of
those who now lie there, and the question presents itself whether it
is better to put the ground in as decent condition as possible, or to
remove the remains to a proper place where they may remain
undisturbed in future."</i></div>
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One expensive proposed remedy was a new fence of varying heights to enclose the forlorn graveyard. Another proposal called for removing the old remains to a lot at t<a href="http://albanyruralcemetery.blogspot.com/">he new Rural Cemetery </a>and erecting a suitable monument over them. <br />
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<i>We propose then, in place of
maintaining at a heavy expense to the city the present unsightly
burying ground on Arbor Hill, that the remains of those buried there
should be carefully removed to the new cemetery and then deposited in
a vault over which a handsome monument shall be erected – on the
monument the names of dead may be inscribed and it will thus stand as
a perpetual memorial. Neither the growth of the city or any probable
contingency will ever disturb the remains there deposited –
survivors will no longer be shocked by seeing the bones of their
relatives bleaching in the sun, but will feel a comfort and joy in
seeing the place of their repose surrounded as it will be by the most
appropriate associations, and their own pathway to the grave may be
made more cheerful by the thought that the same resting place may at
the appointed time<span style="font-style: normal;"> <i>receive
their own remains, as well as those of their friends.</i></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-style: normal;">In the end<i>, </i></span></i><span style="font-style: normal;">neither plan was adopted. On October 1, 1849, Stephen Van Rensselaer III deeded the land to the city again. Now that the city held title to the land without the stipulation that it be used for burials, work began to clear the graves and transform the old boneyard into a small park (just two decades later, the State Street Burying Grounds would similarly be converted to Washington Park)</span></div>
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<span style="font-style: normal;">Relatives of the deceased at were given a chance to remove the bodies of their kin from the Arbor Hill Burial Grounds at their own expense; a few were indeed transferred to the Rural Cemetery. The rest would be disposed of by the city. According to a 1901 column in the <i>Albany Evening Journal</i>:</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-style: normal;"><i>A</i> <i>large underground vault was placed in the center of the plot and all bodies not claimed were put in the common vault and the spot covered. The bones, or what remains of them, are now reposing within the confines of the park.</i></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-style: normal;">The articles and records make little or no mention of what became of the old headstones. They might have been stacked inside the vault, recycled for paving and other purposes, or simply discarded.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZ7bGXqNnHi1RElnXAQlObFO2Csfe7aSVJhfrsuR-0A5arm1brIHJknTnxdTn_Fb0RApvYHUnO2Pb1fklINg3v9thNUUonTZuTFZBWg0RZTfW5tCXif4ZOrJ1k9fZJZaruQYAJV3ZbNpR/s1600/DSC04938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZ7bGXqNnHi1RElnXAQlObFO2Csfe7aSVJhfrsuR-0A5arm1brIHJknTnxdTn_Fb0RApvYHUnO2Pb1fklINg3v9thNUUonTZuTFZBWg0RZTfW5tCXif4ZOrJ1k9fZJZaruQYAJV3ZbNpR/s320/DSC04938.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-66269012744157782662015-10-21T18:18:00.000-04:002015-10-21T18:18:04.339-04:00The Friends of Albany History<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6rj2eMj_OLm4Aj6c2ZIpOmKEMYDv5YpPx7XBgjuHD1laX9SaFw15X6hinEWYyl6TSlXcpw_E-SmE8t5oBHpM07FffOQh23iFg6VDHpAKCHNEYWwYBs6LtPrACcAt9b2XR3l9Qyd1CXMZe/s1600/12106987_906391106075819_7463369771195801677_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6rj2eMj_OLm4Aj6c2ZIpOmKEMYDv5YpPx7XBgjuHD1laX9SaFw15X6hinEWYyl6TSlXcpw_E-SmE8t5oBHpM07FffOQh23iFg6VDHpAKCHNEYWwYBs6LtPrACcAt9b2XR3l9Qyd1CXMZe/s320/12106987_906391106075819_7463369771195801677_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
If you're interested in Albany history on social media, please join the newly launched Friends of Albany History.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Friends-of-Albany-History-901439603237636/"><i>The Friends of Albany History</i> on Facebook</a><br />
<br />
(See also the previous post, <a href="http://albanynyhistory.blogspot.com/2015/08/everything-old-albany-on-flickr.html">Everything Old Albany on Flickr</a>)Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-85248686027162064072015-09-27T10:01:00.001-04:002015-09-27T10:01:44.337-04:00The Albany History RaceYesterday was the second Albany History Race courtesy of the Albany Public Library. Thanks to Christopher and Paul for taking part as Team Assiduity.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://findingyourpast.blogspot.com/2015/09/albany-history-race-2015_26.html">Finding Your Past - Albany History Race 2015</a>Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-36223982188456878122015-09-04T14:22:00.000-04:002015-09-04T14:22:06.414-04:00Historic African-American Burials In Albany<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://gardenalley.net/img12.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://gardenalley.net/img12.gif" height="320" width="319" /></a></div>
<br />
A essay from gardenalley.net:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://gardenalley.net/africanamericanburialsalbany.html">A Brief Look At Historic African-American Burials In Albany</a><br />
<br />Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-70029044710535885852015-08-12T12:26:00.000-04:002015-08-12T12:26:21.880-04:00Everything Old Albany On Flickr<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-0_hFEVme4AtTxxsT1zUh1mKaaEgU8E89Jb4XSKNHT8RhGrTwm-WAujP4LNkelPeX-YaIKEA1GTeZBncB2DarOsTK9PcPFS8PcMPfa6EUm0JZ-v1HXGrDl3CnPrkB4iSmFcZrGc7V488f/s1600/9293150776_11000ca1a0_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-0_hFEVme4AtTxxsT1zUh1mKaaEgU8E89Jb4XSKNHT8RhGrTwm-WAujP4LNkelPeX-YaIKEA1GTeZBncB2DarOsTK9PcPFS8PcMPfa6EUm0JZ-v1HXGrDl3CnPrkB4iSmFcZrGc7V488f/s320/9293150776_11000ca1a0_o.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
For an extensive collection of Albany photos - ranging from long-demolished buildings to vintage advertisements (and everything in between), visit <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/albanygroup/sets/with/72157634224992622">the Albany...The Way It Was group archive on Flickr.</a><br />
<br />
Thousands of photographs are sorted into albums by topic (such as Civil War, Washington Park, Banks, Maps, and more). It's a treasury worth exploring.<br />
<br />
Also, for terrific discussions on Albany history, please consider joining <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/albanythewayitwas/">the Facebook group. </a>Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-73609170525777789912015-05-15T16:34:00.000-04:002015-05-15T16:34:14.010-04:00Henry Johnson To Receive Medal of HonorThe long effort to posthumously award Henry Johnson the Medal of Honor for his service in World War I has been successful. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2015/05/14/henry-johnson-will-receive-the-medal-of-honor----f">Article from All Over Albany</a><br />
<br />
Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-17385882209969205072015-05-05T18:41:00.000-04:002015-05-05T18:41:01.423-04:00Seriously Endangered Church of The Holy Innocents<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdy_ND2LxnFiLf2KVxof-pbylZojLHdlHhXQaug_KxZ6Z0diXoImy8uF0cMOL-FAck4cHWYtH1N7pydeqVGj1TF31iZf-aXjYu8peQdihmTQmd3uKog5dyLE9wS69Fp2_hgl0XMjHQ_T3O/s1600/14222782582_8df10abc1b_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdy_ND2LxnFiLf2KVxof-pbylZojLHdlHhXQaug_KxZ6Z0diXoImy8uF0cMOL-FAck4cHWYtH1N7pydeqVGj1TF31iZf-aXjYu8peQdihmTQmd3uKog5dyLE9wS69Fp2_hgl0XMjHQ_T3O/s1600/14222782582_8df10abc1b_b.jpg" height="203" width="320" /> </a></div>
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In 1850, Albany lumber baron William H. DeWitt built a memorial to four of his children who died quite young. In addition to <a href="http://albanyruralcemetery.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-dewitt-children-and-church-of-holy.html?spref=fb">a splendid marble tombstone in the Albany Rural Cemetery</a>, DeWitt also erected a little stone church in their memory; the Church of the Holy Innocents.</div>
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Built at the corner of North Pearl and Colonie Streets, it was a short walk from the DeWitt home to the church which was designed by Frank Wills. In the 1860s, a matching chapel was added to the south side; this addition designed by Edward Ogden and William L. Woolett.</div>
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Holy Innocents served as an Episcopal church until the late 1940s. Until 1980, it was home to a Russian Orthodox congregation (hence the distinctive blue "onion dome" which replaced the original steeple and bell around 1960.</div>
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Vacant since 1980 and currently owned by Hope House, this beautiful building has suffered greatly from neglect. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and cited by the Historic Albany Foundation as one of the city's most endangered buildings, it is also one of the oldest church structures in Albany. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAviUjiyENwXraQJg-OSpPHCBQQvf9CMMtfwvVY4QrnLoQnIbrvJHEaqrPSJLd3VWBmeCWv9ZIKvYcO9y6Ro-dctwjJ0brIok3WmOMfDoUAwclPDNXpDLxFJCH34eAIq_LQqhnIKOcp02j/s1600/10109986736_03d4eabf10_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAviUjiyENwXraQJg-OSpPHCBQQvf9CMMtfwvVY4QrnLoQnIbrvJHEaqrPSJLd3VWBmeCWv9ZIKvYcO9y6Ro-dctwjJ0brIok3WmOMfDoUAwclPDNXpDLxFJCH34eAIq_LQqhnIKOcp02j/s1600/10109986736_03d4eabf10_o.jpg" height="260" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yesterday, the rear wall of the church collapsed. Despite the damage and the decades of neglect, Historic Albany Foundation states that the building can be stabilized and saved.<br />
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Albany is one of the oldest and most historic cities in the United States, but much of our tangible history has been lost to neglect and demolition. Several years ago, the equally historic <a href="http://albanynyhistory.blogspot.com/2011/07/trinity-church-demolition.html">Trinity Church </a>was demolished after part of the structure caved in. <br />
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Please, let's not lose the Church of The Holy Innocents, too. Call the City of Albany and let them know this historic church must be stabilized and saved, not reduced to yet another empty lot and yet another empty hole in the city's cultural and historic fabric.<br />
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Office of The Mayor, City of Albany - 518-<span data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876584299082116:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876584299082116:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876584299082116:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876584299082116:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0">434-5100</span></span></span></span><br />
Hope House (current owners of the site) - 518<span data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876594582414421:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876594582414421:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876594582414421:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876594582414421:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0">-482-4673 - Kevin Connally, Executive Director</span></span></span></span><br />
<span data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876594582414421:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876594582414421:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876594582414421:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876594582414421:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"></span></span></span></span><br />
<span data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876594582414421:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876594582414421:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876594582414421:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876594582414421:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876594582414421:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876594582414421:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876594582414421:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".nm.1:4:1:$comment876249685782244_876594582414421:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0">Photos are from the Albany...The Way It Was collection on Flickr</span></span></span></span><br />
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<br />
<a href="http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Section-of-former-Church-of-Holy-Innocents-6241978.php">Times Union article</a><br />
<br />Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-41746290814450585182015-03-12T16:44:00.000-04:002015-03-12T16:44:14.292-04:00The Gravestone of Jeremiah Field - A Mystery SolvedAn historic gravestone, long described as discarded, in fact rests in the Church Grounds lot of the Albany Rural Cemetery.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.gardenalley.net/jeremiahfield.html">Jeremiah Field and The Headstone Believed To Be Lost.</a>Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-40416135488939441542015-01-11T20:08:00.000-05:002015-01-11T20:15:18.419-05:00The Step Stone of The Church<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKqLMvxzxCMR_5oLz05XMEfPHovy_gFzzeNsxfx4dAdiTjBFt1WqzE7BdT9EEjQJ-d1iUCTl0LJUqyQwcabzRCLGupniZfa07PYKlLRqt_n7tpB5cQ_Ve7Z5wE99mDe8n5n5At3C4GDe3V/s1600/Untitled-1+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKqLMvxzxCMR_5oLz05XMEfPHovy_gFzzeNsxfx4dAdiTjBFt1WqzE7BdT9EEjQJ-d1iUCTl0LJUqyQwcabzRCLGupniZfa07PYKlLRqt_n7tpB5cQ_Ve7Z5wE99mDe8n5n5At3C4GDe3V/s1600/Untitled-1+copy.jpg" height="300" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Volume One of Joel Munsell's <i>Annals of Albany</i> contains a description of an old stone which marked the location of the First Dutch Church on Broadway near the foot of State Street. The stone survived until 1850. The stone - or at least an artistic rendering of it - is the kidney-shaped object near the left side of the "very rude engraving" above (click to enlarge).Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-40782479279620847262014-12-05T08:47:00.000-05:002014-12-05T08:47:09.079-05:00The Virginia Bowers Memorial Sculpture<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGP6WrEHmEo6G-rNSPYKNwxJJ_1ICYqwfECjKCcZm-VJBX5TYRvucAliIcDvkEnpyEF0RKXQKb8vLtM1rGmk0YXNF-cEuVEGSFWjDwI9C7zx-1yaSwNXr9UgrIucctlN4FvrUshVeW0rhg/s1600/10523215_10152857135830409_8152020663254170893_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGP6WrEHmEo6G-rNSPYKNwxJJ_1ICYqwfECjKCcZm-VJBX5TYRvucAliIcDvkEnpyEF0RKXQKb8vLtM1rGmk0YXNF-cEuVEGSFWjDwI9C7zx-1yaSwNXr9UgrIucctlN4FvrUshVeW0rhg/s1600/10523215_10152857135830409_8152020663254170893_o.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a></div>
This wonderful sculpture made from original trolley tracks removed from Delaware Avenue honors the late Virginia Bowers, Albany historian. It's a whimsical creation with metal birds in its branches and stands behind the Delaware Avenue branch of the Albany Public Library. If you'd like to buy a brick to be placed around the sculpture, they are $50 each and can be ordered <a href="http://thatsmybrick.com/DAMG">here</a>.<br />
<br />
For more on Virginia Bowers, see this <a href="http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/staff/vbowers.html">brief profile</a>.Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-77746077973653130432014-11-08T19:43:00.001-05:002016-01-04T09:45:01.050-05:00An Uncommon Thrill - When The Hilton Sisters Came To Albany<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNY0TK8Eo6gDxDdlky6b2wzj14ZX3j1vGDjLW-AhnE6PURyFnFhMrFPFqmHGPflAHf8KxuI3iCFqXygnlqSICmmnyuhq4_On-NsvuYvOcdTb5JvZ5om12-1kbyEcJccaRBFjUXIMf4Cupg/s1600/tumblr_lu9y2coeUA1r5jygdo1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNY0TK8Eo6gDxDdlky6b2wzj14ZX3j1vGDjLW-AhnE6PURyFnFhMrFPFqmHGPflAHf8KxuI3iCFqXygnlqSICmmnyuhq4_On-NsvuYvOcdTb5JvZ5om12-1kbyEcJccaRBFjUXIMf4Cupg/s1600/tumblr_lu9y2coeUA1r5jygdo1_1280.jpg" width="259" /> </a></div>
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Violet and Daisy Hilton</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
In 1934, Daisy and Violet Hilton brought their vaudeville act to Albany.<br />
<br />
<i>Audiences at the Capitol Theater in Albany are getting an uncommon thrill these days, "The Hilton Sisters," American Siamese Twins," born at San Antonio, Texas, are appearing on the stage with their "Double Rhythm Revue" and are also meeting with the audience personally in the foyer to chat with patrons and present their autographs.<br /><br />The Hilton Sisters, who are making an unfortunate accident of birth pay them back what it can by their stage appearances are also good entertainers. They sing, play musical instruments and dance with male partners.</i><br />
<br />
The June 4 edition of the <i>Schenectady Gazette </i>didn't get it quite right. Daisy and Violet Hilton were not born in San Antonio, but in Brighton, England on February 5, 1908. The illegitimate daughters of an unwed barmaid, the infant girls were fused together at the pelvis and, while they did not share any major organs, they did share a circulatory system and it was thought at the time that surgical separation could cause one or both girls to bleed to death. Immediately after their birth, the twins were taken by their mother's boss, Mary Hilton. Mary Hilton and her husband (always referred to as "Sir") raised the girls with plans to exploit their connection for profit. They oversaw the girls' early training as singers and dancers, but kept them under control with threats and abuse. The girls began their show business careers at the age of three when Mary Hilton and Sir took them on tour through Germany, Australia, and the United States. Mrs. Hilton died in Birmingham and left control of Daisy and Violet to Mary Myers. Mrs Myers took them to San Antonio and continued the girls' musical training. The abusive control of every aspect of the twins' lives also continued until 1931 when the twenty-one year old sisters sued their "managers." They succeeded in their suit, gaining their freedom from Mary Myers and her husband along with $100,000 in compensation.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i> Advertisements like this appeared in the Albany, Troy, and Schenectady newspapers.</i></div>
<br />
The Hilton Sisters took charge of their own careers, touring the country with a vaudeville act. In 1934, their "Double Rhythm Revue" came to Albany.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Booked at the Capitol Theater on Chapel Street and staying at the Kenmore Hotel, the Hilton Sisters met with Inez Shook of the <i>Albany Evening News</i> for an interview in the paper's June 1 edition.<br />
<br />
<i>Whether it's a question of boyfriends or breakfast, Daisy and Violet Hilton, famous "Siamese twins" appearing at the Capitol just can't seem to get it together.<br /><br />"We're not like other twins who pretend to have the same tastes and likes; we are individuals, first and last," said Daisy.<br /><br />"We never agree about our friends, the food we eat, or our clothes. It's silly for twins to say they always like the same things. It just isn't natural."</i><br />
<i>The little blue-eyed girl patted a bit of rouge on her face as she stood before the dresser mirror in her room at the Kenmore.<br /><br />"Did you notice that my sister uses rouge, while I don't?" Violet asked unexpectedly from the other side.<br /><br />That's the way they impress one -- as individuals. When Daisy speaks, you think of her as one person alone, and forget entirely her other sister. When Violet speaks, Daisy withdraws from your notice.<br /><br />Both twins have blue eyes, and for stage purposes wear the same style hairdress and clothing. But one would never mistake one for the other due to a difference in size and features. <br /><br />They confess to 26 years. Daisy is engaged and expects to be married -- sometime.<br /><br />"I don't plan to be married for a year or two," she announced, "but it isn't Violet who is delaying my wedding. We have to put up with one another's friends; I'm sure we can get used to one another's husband's as well.</i><br />
<br />
<i>"Marriage for a member of the theatrical profession is highly impractical. There are too many new persons, new amusement, and new places to come between them, and prevent them giving one another the full attention each will demand."</i><br />
<br />
<i>Since Daisy and Violet like different collors, they compromise on their dresses and take turns in choosing the day's outfit.<br /><br />"That's why we can get along despite our conflicting likes," Daisy declared. "Neither of us is boss. When we quarrel one just waits for the other to cool down. We never argue."<br /> </i><br />
<i>There are a few opinions which the sisters share together. Both prefer men to women. <br /><br />We have very few women friends," Daisy declared. Most girls in the show business are scatterbrained. They also are a menance to another girl's career. Or course, there are exceptions."</i><br />
<br />
<i>She introduced one "exception" -- Mrs. Eleanor Lynn, their young companion-secretary. Mrs. Lynn orders their meals, dresses their hair, and, as Daisy explained, "keeps away anyone we don't want to see."<br /><br />"We dress ourselves," she went on. "Ever since we were three years old we've been able to do everything for ourselves."<br /><br />Born in England, where they have returned on numerous tours during their lifelong careers as "troupers," both girls place the country of their adoption far ahead of that of their birth.<br /><br />"We loathe English people," Daisy declared with no hesitation. "You see, I am always frightfully frank; I believe in coming right out with what I think."<br /><br />"England is a beautiful country -- but lonesome. A show's headliners over there never associate with the other members of the company. Here we are all troupers together."</i><br />
<br />
<i>Moving pictures are one of the girl's favorite entertainments. Both like detective stories and are "passionately fond of jazz music." Both are able to sing and dance.<br /><br />"I had an abscessed throat during a Trenton engagement and couldn't make a sound," Violet spoke up. "Poor daisy had to do all the work. All I could do was just go along. That, incidentally, was the first performance I've missed. We are very healthy. Only I like to sleep more than Daisy."<br /><br />An enthusiastic liking for boxing is shared by both dimunitive young women. <br /><br />"But Violet likes boxers, too, and I can't tolerate them," Daisy observed. "I think they are the most stupid egotistical persons in the world."<br /><br />"We like everything that men like," Violet suddenly announced. "Every sport, that is, except baseball and football. If I weren't on the stage, I'd like to be a fight manager."<br /><br />"I'd want to be a detective or a nurse," said Daisy.</i><br />
<br />
<i>The twins manage all their own business affair and bookings for the revue that is now playing in Albany. Their work occupies a major share of their time. Accompanying them is their little Yorkshire terrier, Dollie, whom they brought from England. Dollie is Violet's pet, but both girls show a real fondness for the pint-size dog."<br /><br />"We both like dogs, but we can't agree about children," Daisy said. "Violet loves them and wants to have a child. I detest them. They make me nervous when they're around. But I'll never try to boss my sister about that matter any more than we ever have one another about other little things."</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuad3B1TKRItSdsdtPMVTqnn2vbgn7td9qxYeMTYMM0k_Th9dht3BQ4VLBQh_6w847ulWyVw9abSYgKcKAPMKmD-OQEgJasnFPH4yLhqgoGIUl-2dkZF8DhfFSrCy6TaNFIqtcXFkORFy/s1600/hiltonsis+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuad3B1TKRItSdsdtPMVTqnn2vbgn7td9qxYeMTYMM0k_Th9dht3BQ4VLBQh_6w847ulWyVw9abSYgKcKAPMKmD-OQEgJasnFPH4yLhqgoGIUl-2dkZF8DhfFSrCy6TaNFIqtcXFkORFy/s1600/hiltonsis+copy.jpg" width="141" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Photo of Daisy and Violet Hilton (and Dollie, Violet's Yorkie) which appeared in the </i>Albany Evening News<i>.</i></div>
<br />
While Daisy (who certainly dominated the interview) was engaged at the time of their first Albany performances, marriage never did work out for the Hilton Sisters. Plans for Daisy's marriage met with disaster as state after state denied her and fiance Jack Lewis' a marriage license on the grounds that marriage to a Siamese twin was bigamy. It was Violet who ultimately married; but it was purely a spectacle. She exchanged vows with Jim Moore in front of thousands of witnesses at the Texas Centennial Exposition in 1936. Jim was a close friend of the sisters and a dancer and emcee with their traveling show, but he was homosexual and apparently not even informed of the wedding until it had already been announced by promoters. The marriage soon ended in divorce. Daisy, too, married eventually. Her 1931 marriage to dancer Buddy Sawyer lasted less than a month.<br />
<br />
Hollywood stardom also eluded them. Though they appeared in Tod Browning's controversial 1931 film <i>Freaks</i>, there were no opportunities in the movies for a pair of women joined at the hip. They continued on the vaudeville circuit as long as they could. They made a second movie, the exploitation film <i>Chained For Life</i> which was a lurid tale of vaudeville and murder centered around Siamese twins named Dorothy and Vivian Hamilton. Their final live appearance was in 1961 at a seedy drive-in theater in Charlotte, North Carolina. Unaccustomed to life away from the stage, the sisters eventually found work at a supermarket in Charlotte. On January 4, 1969, the Hilton twins were found dead in their small home. Daisy had been ill with Hong Kong flu; it is believed that she passed away first and that Violet survived her by a couple of days. The <i>Knickerbocker News </i>carried their obituary; the headline noted they were "once entertainers."<br />
<br />
In 1997, <i>Side Show</i>, a musical based loosely on Daisy and Violet Hilton opened on Broadway. Starring Alice Ripley, Emily Skinner, Jeff McCarthy, Norm Lewis, and <a href="http://www.hugh-panaro.net/SideShow.htm">Hugh Panaro</a>, it had a very short run, but a revised production is now in previews on Broadway and a revival which opened on November 17, 2014. A documentary on the Hilton Sisters, <i>Bound By Flesh</i>, is currently streaming on Netflix.<br />
<br />Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-12776252883258410862014-10-30T07:00:00.000-04:002014-10-30T07:00:00.305-04:00A Tour of Lost Cemeteries<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr72NPHBB9zw1WO8Yez5Kx-AlcrlF-LszLrMqX1VN7VD5NgvjbJVyROupR-Jb2Vfk6XX9-itIYVDkfnpxAYcqdZxpyTdjT57qU7SE_xWAXQH5FMpryveMd4yn929KKkscoKx_7_ql9Zpar/s1600/Annals+4308taylorbt+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr72NPHBB9zw1WO8Yez5Kx-AlcrlF-LszLrMqX1VN7VD5NgvjbJVyROupR-Jb2Vfk6XX9-itIYVDkfnpxAYcqdZxpyTdjT57qU7SE_xWAXQH5FMpryveMd4yn929KKkscoKx_7_ql9Zpar/s1600/Annals+4308taylorbt+copy.jpg" height="320" width="231" /></a></div>
<br />
Just in time for Halloween, <a href="http://alloveralbany.com/">All Over Albany</a> (a site you should be reading daily) gave this blog a much appreciated shout-out in <a href="http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2014/10/27/washington-parks-former-role">a post about Washington Park's previous incarnation</a> as the <a href="http://albanynyhistory.blogspot.com/2011/10/state-street-burying-grounds.html">State Street Burying Grounds. </a><br />
<br />
Below is a brief tour of sorts of some other former burial grounds in Albany. It appeared in Charles Mooney's column (always a source of fascinating bits and pieces of local history) in the <i>Knickerbocker News </i>on October 14, 1961.<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /><i>We ran across
John E. Boos this week and, as we customarily do, asked Albany's
famed authority on Abraham Lincoln if he had a story to tell. Mr.
Boos, who is a man of a few thousand words when occasion demands,
took a deep breath and said, to wit:</i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><br /></i>
</div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>“Your column has been filled so much
with butchers, and bakers, and candlestick makers, old buildings, old
people, and Otto de Heus's sheet music, why not change to a more
solemn subject and asked if the average citizen remembers or ever
heard of the many cemeteries in the city?”<br /><br />“There was a
cemetery on Arbor Hill bounded by Ten Broeck Street, Second Street,
Hall Place and Ten Broeck Place – now, and for many years a
fenced-in lawn, although it could have been a more useful place as a
neighborhood playground.</i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><br /></i>
</div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>The Ten Broeck family erected a vault
at Livingston Avenue and Swan Street in which was entombed the
remains of Generals Philip Schuyler and Abraham Ten Broeck, both
heroes of the Battle of Saratoga.</i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>“When the vault began to crumble, the
remains were removed to Albany Rural Cemetery, and General Ten
Broeck's grave has never been marked, though there is a monument
honoring him on the battlefield.</i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><br /></i>
</div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>“To honor<a href="http://albanyruralcemetery.blogspot.com/2011/10/mills-monument.html"> Col. John Mills</a> and Gen.
Solomon Van Rensselaer, they were buried near the Washington Avenue
side of Capitol Park, one having been killed at Sackets Harbor in the
War of 1812 and the other severely wounded at Queenstown Heights in
the same war. Their remains were later removed to Rural Cemetery
where they now rest, the state having erected a monument on Mills'
resting place.</i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><br /></i>
</div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>“At the foot of State Street, under
the floor of the Reformed Church, a number of members were buried.
The remains were removed in 1818 to <a href="https://albanychurchgrounds.wordpress.com/2014/01/16/albanys-dutch-stones-john-walcott/">a new cemetery on Beaver Street</a>
where a new church had been erected. (The National Commercial Bank's
Heartland Building now covers the site).</i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><br /></i>
</div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>“Peter Schuyler, Albany's first
mayor, was buried in the church, and possibly his remains still rest
in <a href="https://albanychurchgrounds.wordpress.com/2014/08/21/placed-in-a-sugar-barrel/">the Beaver Street plot</a>.</i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><br /></i>
</div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>“There was a cemetery on the south
side of Central Avenue above Watervliet Avenue, where I believe the
members of St. John's Lutheran Church were buried. There was another
Lutheran cemetery on the State Street side of Washington Park at
Willett Street, the <a href="https://albanychurchgrounds.wordpress.com/">bodies having been removed</a> when the park was laid
out.</i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><br /></i>
</div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>“On Washington Avenue above Partridge
Street was <a href="http://www.gardenalley.net/maryconroy.html">St. Mary's Cemetery</a>, overgrown with weeds and brush when
the bodies were removed to a new resting place in <a href="https://albanychurchgrounds.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/saint-agnes-cemetery-the-altar-monument/">St. Agnes Cemetery</a>,
while at Hamilton and South Pearl Streets the <a href="http://albanynyhistory.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-old-halenbeek-burial-ground.html">Hallenbeck family'sburial plot</a> covered a half acres for more than 100 years.”</i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><br /></i>
</div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>John Boos, although he didn't say so in
so many words, appears to regret some of Albany's old cemeteries were
removed to make way for civic and industrial progress, for he
added:<br /><br />“The graves of early citizens are highly revered in
Boston, and one who rambles down its crooked streets will still find
the old cemeteries in the business section of the city. Kings
Chapel, Granary and Old North Church have visitors from all over the
nation who delight in reading the quaint inscriptions on the
tombstones.”</i></div>
<i>
</i>
Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-33357655356261636092014-10-11T08:47:00.001-04:002014-10-11T08:59:08.248-04:00The Half Moon Sailing Away<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0eQJIjRTskYd55Zlo0tmxNErpK8vltyWU24V4rEfrV3i81S1I0ph48CyqR-Cg19GIDMWWgNQqt9oDOxxlj4y9-O07ld1wlsdcfZWVi7BV4k_4GhhZXpj2oGqLaUWUD-ERdv9cBr4URX4B/s1600/DSC04138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0eQJIjRTskYd55Zlo0tmxNErpK8vltyWU24V4rEfrV3i81S1I0ph48CyqR-Cg19GIDMWWgNQqt9oDOxxlj4y9-O07ld1wlsdcfZWVi7BV4k_4GhhZXpj2oGqLaUWUD-ERdv9cBr4URX4B/s1600/DSC04138.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Albany has a pretty poor record when it comes to keeping and promoting its history. Now, there is a good chance that we will lose the Half Moon, the beautiful replica of Henry Hudson's ship which explored this area in 1609.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://newyorkhistoryblog.org/2014/10/09/replica-half-moon-may-move-to-the-netherlands/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NewYorkHistory+%28New+York+History%29&utm_content=FaceBook">Replica Half Moon May Move To The Netherlands</a><br />
<br />
It would be a wonderful thing if people could rally around keeping the ship here. Otherwise, the only Half Moon that we will have left will be the historic weather-vane atop the old D&H Building on Broadway.<br />
<br />
For more information on the ship and its activities...or to make a donation...please see their site:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.halfmoon.mus.ny.us/">The Half Moon</a><br />
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See also: <a href="http://albanynyhistory.blogspot.com/2014/06/helping-history.html">Helping History</a>Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-16690084563129312452014-10-08T20:29:00.001-04:002015-03-14T09:36:18.922-04:00Not The Right Stones<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpLg7xEz7eXQ7w3EMIEn1ck0lDxgHyDacp9v8WTJpRmbsA0V6OQZeb_vYHshaKoW8RuHMZ2xUgJu20doxBDFa4gLj8TDm9DaPnsdDSMbidQvuJIN80KkLt061iOgqWZ9fhwvowZ6VirpL/s1600/20140531_151854.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpLg7xEz7eXQ7w3EMIEn1ck0lDxgHyDacp9v8WTJpRmbsA0V6OQZeb_vYHshaKoW8RuHMZ2xUgJu20doxBDFa4gLj8TDm9DaPnsdDSMbidQvuJIN80KkLt061iOgqWZ9fhwvowZ6VirpL/s1600/20140531_151854.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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The Lake House is Washington Park has a series of panels which illustrate the Park's history. They're generally excellent, include a number of vintage photos and maps, and are definitely worth stepping inside to view.<br />
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The panel which interests me the most is, not surprisingly, the one which notes the history of the Park's location as a municipal cemetery. The <a href="http://albanychurchgrounds.wordpress.com/the-state-street-burying-grounds/">State Street Burying Grounds</a> served as the not-so-final resting place for thousands of local residents until it closed in 1868 and the remains moved to <a href="http://albanychurchgrounds.wordpress.com/about/">the Church Grounds section</a> at the Albany Rural Cemetery.<br />
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The panel in question includes a detail of an antique map of Albany showing the position of the Burying Grounds and its divisions among various congregations. Two headstones are included as representing the various graves at the Burying Grounds and therein lies an inaccuracy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTGTmnQltGQLeFdZD2enpX9eQwxCZ_taeYSyGGdLUKQyuzXFcyRS9phJzmxgCit4xF_v08SPoZWXO5JMu5v6iGLmj9Zd0YZMugN_CQHG_2NhCIPm1L90Ix41GsyRix0wTGUaBofTU8a_3/s1600/20140531_151906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTGTmnQltGQLeFdZD2enpX9eQwxCZ_taeYSyGGdLUKQyuzXFcyRS9phJzmxgCit4xF_v08SPoZWXO5JMu5v6iGLmj9Zd0YZMugN_CQHG_2NhCIPm1L90Ix41GsyRix0wTGUaBofTU8a_3/s1600/20140531_151906.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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It is very unlikely that either gravestone shown on the panel was ever in the State Street Burying Grounds.<br />
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The upper stone shown on the right is one of the most distinctive gravestones in the Church Grounds. Though it has eroded badly in recent years, it is an incredible example of a colonial headstone carved with a winged skull; an "momento mori" intended to remind the living of their own eventual death. The inscription is framed with heavy vines and the lettering is finely carved. It was carved for the grave of Elyse Gansevoort Winne who died in 1728 and was laid to rest in the graveyard of the Dutch Reformed Church which was then on South Pearl Street near Hudson Avenue. When that graveyard was eventually removed, a number of its oldest stones and remains were placed in a special vault beneath the tower of the Middle Dutch Church which was erected nearby on South Pearl Street. These same headstones and remains were later placed in a vault beneath the Madison Avenue Reformed Church, as noted in <a href="http://albanychurchgrounds.wordpress.com/2014/01/16/albanys-dutch-stones-john-walcott/">this article</a> by John Walcott. Those stones and remains - including Elyse Winne's - were eventually placed in the Church Grounds at the Albany Rural Cemetery, but did not spend time in the State Street Burying Grounds and was therefore not included in the Common Council inventory of the Burying Grounds.<br />
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The lower stone depicted is a plain brown sandstone marker from the grave of Dick who is identified in the inscription as a slave of John F. Pruyn who died in 1799. This stone now rests in the African Methodist Episcopal section of the Church Grounds. Dick may or may not have been originally buried in the State Street Burying Grounds. He does not appear in the massive list of graves inventoried by the Albany Common Council prior to the removal to the Rural Cemetery. However, that list is not complete. There are quite a few graves now in the Church Grounds that were not printed in the inventory, perhaps omitted by mistake as the stones were transcribed. He may have originally been buried in the previous municipal cemetery which stood just off Eagle Street south of the State Capitol. This cemetery received burials from around 1789 to 1799, the same year Dick died. He may have been buried in one of the small graveyards identified on period maps as "Negro Burying Grounds".<br />
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Or it's very possible the young man was buried in the same graveyard as Elyse Winne. Dick's master was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church and may have arranged for Dick to be interred in a family plot in the congregation's churchyard. This would account for why Dick's name also does not appear on Common Council inventory. Like Elyse Winne, Dick and his gravestone would have lain in the vault beneath the Madison Avenue Reformed Church before being eventually brought to the Rural Cemetery.<br />
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In that case, neither stone is representative of the graves cleared from the State Street Burying Grounds. Also, the caption identifies the skull stone as belonging to Elyse Wenne Huys. The word "huys" is not part of her surname, but part of the old phrase "huys vrouw" or "housewife."<br />
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See also: <a href="http://www.gardenalley.net/jeremiahfield.html">Jeremiah Field and The Headstone That Was Not Lost</a>, <a href="http://albanychurchgrounds.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/the-oldest-stones/">The Oldest Stones</a> (includes a larger photo of the Elyse Winne stone),and <a href="http://albanychurchgrounds.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/featured-a-m-e-gravestone-dick-slave-of-john-f-pruyn/">Dick.</a>Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-37458949717078771462014-09-17T17:57:00.000-04:002014-09-17T17:57:21.370-04:004 Elk Street<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There's been some discussion of the Roosevelts in Albany, thanks to <a href="http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-roosevelts/">Ken Burns' new PBS documentary.</a><br />
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The elegant house above is 4 Elk Street which was home to Franklin Delano Roosevelt while serving as a State Senator from 1910-12. <br />
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The house was built circa 1830. For many years, it was the home of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Townsend">Franklin Townsend</a> . In 1900, the facade was remodeled by architect Marcus T. Reynolds. It was at this time that the lovely glazed panels were added above the third story windows; the center panel depicts a classical female head above laurels and the side panels feature quivers of arrows and bows.<br />
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This is one of several facades that were incorporated into the present New York Bar Association Center building.Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-68703641398375826152014-09-10T09:59:00.000-04:002014-09-10T10:13:12.919-04:00Fort Nassau - Two EventsAt 7:00 tonight, at the main branch of the Albany Public Library, historian John Walcott will give a presentation on his research and findings about <a href="http://albanynyhistory.blogspot.com/2014/08/finding-fort.html">the location of Fort Nassau</a>.<br />
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Later this month, there will be an Early Albany fair at the Corning Preserve. The event will be held on September 28 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. More details are available <a href="http://www.albany.org/includes/calendar-of-events/Early-Albany-a-North-River-Festival/18234/">here</a> or you can RSVP on the event's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/356322674517648/">Facebook page</a>.Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-64067883643123027312014-08-18T15:33:00.001-04:002014-08-18T15:33:27.787-04:00Finding The FortAn essay by local historian John Wolcott on the likely location of the 1614 Fort Nassau<br />
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<a href="http://duncancrary.com/news/2014/08/18/researcher-pinpoints-long-lost-1614-albany-fort/">Researcher Pinpoints Long Lost 1614 Albany Fort</a><br />
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And more on the subject in a recent post by Don Rittner:<br />
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<a href="http://blog.timesunion.com/rittner/preserve-fort-nassau-and-fort-nassau-2-and-fort-nassau-3-and/4853/">Preserve Fort Nassau and Fort Nassau 2 and Fort Nassau 3 and....</a><br />
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This site is one with tremendous historic significance which should be explored, preserved, and promoted instead of forgotten or destroyed.Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-3269159864156436382014-08-12T14:42:00.000-04:002014-08-12T14:42:23.077-04:00Partial Collapse - The Palmer-Gavit House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday afternoon, various local news outlets reported on <a href="http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Columbia-Place-building-vicinity-off-limits-5683245.php">the collapse of a building</a> in downtown Albany. The building is located on Columbia Place (a corner just north of the intersection of Eagle Street and Columbia Street).<br />
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The brick house was built in 1852 by sculptor <a href="http://albanynyhistory.blogspot.com/2013/01/erastus-dow-palmer.html">Erastus Dow Palmer</a> and <a href="http://www.hoxsie.org/2013/08/john-gavit-engraver-to-the-world.html">John Gavit</a>. Gavit was a well-known Albany printer whose son, Joseph, would later marry Palmer's daughter Francis. By 1860, the house was mentioned in a long, rather florid poem in celebration of Albany that was read at the dedication of Tweddle Hall. One verse read in part: <br />
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<i>Our present, with that light upon us, how </i><br />
<i>Moves on Majestic to new glories now.</i><br />
<i>Arts flourish, Progress laughs, and all the world</i><br />
<i>Begins to know our banner is unfurled.</i><br />
<i>Here Palmer first divulged his splendid gifts,</i><br />
<i>Till now the sceptre of high art he lifts --</i><br />
<i>Till now his native genius, power, and grace</i><br />
<i>Make an art Mecca of Columbia place.</i><br />
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(from "Dedidcation of Tweddle Hall," a poem delivered by William D. Morange, Esq.)<br />
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Palmer began his career as a self-taught sculptor in Utica, but relocated to Albany in 1846. As a carpenter, Palmer had built mantles, carved moldings, and bannisters for various residences in Utica and it is possible that he did at least some of the interior woodwork for this new house in Albany. The building adjacent on the right in the photos was built as <a href="http://www.albanyinstitute.org/details/items/a-sculptors-studio.html">Palmer's studio</a> and it was here that many of his best known marbles were executed, including <i>The White Captive</i>, <i>Peace In Bondage</i>, and the heroic <a href="http://www.gardenalley.net/angel.html"><i>Angel At The Sepulchre</i></a>. Several other artists started their careers as apprentices in his studio, most notably <a href="http://albanyruralcemetery.blogspot.com/2012/12/charles-caverley.html">Charles Caverley</a> who sculpted <a href="http://albanynydailyphoto.blogspot.com/2009/05/robert-burns-washington-park.html">the monument to Robert Burns</a> in Washington Park. According to one of Palmer's daughter's, the studio included a blacksmith and carpentry shop on its lower floors while the marble studio and modelling studio were located on upper floors.<br />
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Due to high city taxes, Palmer later changed his primary residence to Appledale, a farm he owned in Glenmont. He continued to work from this studio and was a regular at Lawson Annesley's frame shop and art gallery. He also owned a house at 5 Lafayette Street where he died on March 9, 1904. <br />
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In the 1870s, Palmer's Columbia Place house was briefly occupied by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/albanygroup/11316496233/in/photolist-icMp3f-eQoe2p-eQnQK6-if1152-icLYrF-nHhW2S">St. Agnes School</a>. An advertisement for the school notes that it will be opening for its third year at 2 & 3 Columbia Place before moving to its permanent building later in the school year. In more recent times, the building has been used for offices, but was vacant for several years <a href="http://albanynydailyphoto.blogspot.com/2009/10/sculptors-house.html">as a photo posted on my companion blog in 2009</a> shows it empty and for sale.<br />
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At the time of yesterday's collapse, the building (which was recently sold) was undergoing stabilization. The rear of the property sits atop the steep hill above Sheridan Hollow and it is possible that recent heavy rains which flooded the hollow below may have contributed to the damage.<br />
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As of this afternoon, news reports indicate that building will be stabilized and saved.<br />
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<br />Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-4643604617948055712014-07-22T17:44:00.002-04:002014-07-22T17:50:29.680-04:00Charter Day and Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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July 22 marks the 328th anniversary of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongan_Charter">the Dongan Charter</a>, the document which established Albany as a city and which makes it among the oldest incorporated cities in the United States. The event doesn't get much attention since the Tricentennial celebrations in 1986 (which themselves seem to have been less spectacular than the 1886 Bicentennial (see the picture of crowds at <a href="http://albanynyhistory.blogspot.com/2014/06/helping-history.html">a night parade in this previous post</a> and some of the <a href="http://albanynyhistory.blogspot.com/2010/12/albany-bicenntennial-tablets-part-one.html">Bicentennial tablets</a> which were placed at significant locations around the city).<br />
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I spent much of the day thinking that it would be great if something could be done annually to celebrate the event, even if only on a small scale. <br />
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Yesterday, I picked up several vintage cookbooks. Someone was putting moving out of a building in Center Square and set out a box of books. I can never resist cookbooks so I came home with two. Both were community cookbooks and the recipes in those can be hit or miss. One was published by a church in Hagaman, New York and the other was published in conjunction with city Sesquicentennial in Indianapolis.<br />
I didn't have a chance to peek inside either until this afternoon when the piece of paper shown above slipped from between the pages. Not only does the apple cake recipe sound like its worth making (as soon as the weather cools enough to bake), but the recipe is handwritten on a piece of paper with <i>a letterhead from the Tricentennial celebration. </i>Perfect timing!Paula Lemirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00108241292727988806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6431826353911997831.post-13639817250264651372014-07-06T13:32:00.000-04:002014-07-06T14:57:01.727-04:00The Meneely Bell in Lincoln Park<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Just behind the Lincoln Park tennis courts and directly across from <a href="http://albanynydailyphoto.blogspot.com/2009/08/beaver-park.html">the old laboratory of Professor James Hall</a>, there is a very large bell. There is surprisingly little information on this bell, but the inscription on it gives a few clues as to its history.<br />
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The front of the bell reads: <i>Purchased under the supervision of the Albany Board of Fire Commissioners, June 1882. M.N. Nolan, Mayor. Thomas Willard, Philip O'Brien, H.S. Rosenthal, A.N. Brady, Thomas Austin. Chief Engineer, James McQuade.</i><br />
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The reverse of the bell notes that it was cast by the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meneely_Bell_Foundry"> famous Meneely foundry</a>.<i> </i><br />
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According to the 1917 <i>Albany Guide Book</i>:<br />
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The "Big Ben" of the city bells is in the City Hall tower and is used for striking fire alarms, the hour of 9 o'clock, and for municipal purposes generally. It was cast in 1882 by Meneelly of West Troy; weight, 7,049 pounds; height, 50 1/2 inches; diameter at mouth, 70 inches; thickness, 5 1/2 inches. Placed in position October 28, 1882<br />
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It may have been removed from City Hall when the carillon was installed in 1927. By then, the need for a fire bell in the tower had lessened as a new fire telegraph station had been built on Delaware Avenue in 1917. It's less clear exactly when the bell was moved to Lincoln Park.<br />
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Edited to add:<br />
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