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Special Events
Latest News from the Town of Ghent Historian - Gregg Berninger
Greg Berninger, Historian for the Town of Ghent, well-known for his lively public presentations and YouTube videos, is hitting the road the month of January. Both of these talks have been given before but if you haven't seen them yet, now is your chance to be informed and entertained!
“Life Along Ghent’s Boston & Albany Railroad”
Sunday, January 18, 2pm, New Lebanon Town Hall, 14755 State Route 22, New Lebanon, NY 12125
$10 admission - goes to restoring New Lebanon Train Station
"We’ll explore the social and economic life that thrived along one of North America’s first railroads. People worked, danced, and died along this now mostly forgotten rail line. It’ll take some imagination, but we’re going to get as close as we can to those who came before us." Gregg Berninger The rise of railroads brought prosperity that transformed the lives of every Ghent resident. However, their disappearance left a social and economic vacuum yet to be filled.
“Golden Age of Town Life: Ghent, NY 1900-1925”
Saturday, January 31, 3pm-4pm, Claverack Free Library, 629 NY-23B, Claverack, NY 12513
FREE!
Ghent Town Historian Gregg Berninger will bring to life the “Golden Age of Town Life: Ghent, NY 1900-1925”. In this one-hour illustrated talk, Berninger will bring the audience to a time when people worked together, sang together, gossiped together, and knew one another far better than we do today.
“We’re going to take an up-close look at the lives of two Ghent residents from one hundred years ago, my great grandfather farmer Chris Berninger, and nineteen-year-old schoolteacher Anna Plass, later Anna Moore.”, said Berninger. “We’re going to talk about life off the farm and outside the house, places where people worked, socialized, and spent time with one another.” It was a golden age of organic community; everyone was rich with social capital.
Latest News from the Hudson Area Library- History Room
Freedom of Speech in New York: The John Peter Zenger Trial
by Albert M. Rosenblatt
On Thursday, January 22, 6pm, in-person at the Hudson Area Library, the Jacob Leisler Institute for the Study of Early New York History, in collaboration with the Hudson Area Library, hosts this year’s first of four Leisler Lectures.
The landmark 1735 trial of New York printer John Peter Zenger, which acquitted him for seditious libel in publishing articles critical of New York's colonial governor, established the power of a jury to function as a check on government power and inspired the movement for freedom of the press later enshrined in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Its importance today is as great as it was in the eighteenth century.
Judge Albert M. Rosenblatt served as a Judge on New York’s high court, after having served on other New York Courts. A graduate of UPenn, and of Harvard Law School, Rosenblatt has written widely on New York law and culture, including a book, with his wife, Julia, on Dutch New York. He now teaches law at NYU Law School.
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HR talk January 22.jpgPHOTO CAPTION: Andrew Hamilton defending John Peter Zenger in court, 1734-5, Illus. in: Lamb, Martha J. History of the City of New York by Martha J. Lamb. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006687175/
The Long Road Home: Genealogy and Race in the Hudson Valley
On Sunday, February 1, 2-4pm, the African American Archive of Columbia County, in collaboration with the Hudson Area Library, will host the third in their Speaking About History lecture series: The Long Road Home: Genealogy and Race in the Hudson Valley.
This is an in-person and online event. Reservations are required via Eventbrite. Online reservation: https://tinyurl.com/557udtjj
In-person reservation: https://tinyurl.com/hbavjj6c
Family genealogy, especially in the Dutch-settled upper Hudson River Valley, is akin to an intricately woven fabric. As this event will show, all history is interrelated. Our history is your history. We are one.
Join us as the members of our panel discuss their genealogical experiences:
● Debra Bruno discusses researching her Dutch family and their slaveholding past as well as her encounter with Eleanor Mire, a descendent of one of those Debra’s family enslaved. This research and encounter led to the publication of Bruno’s bestselling book, A Hudson Valley Reckoning: Discovering The Forgotten History of Slaveholding In My Dutch American Family.
● Together, Debra and Eleanor discuss the emotional consequences of connecting, sharing thoughts and feelings as well as addressing and dispelling uncomfortable truths about family and national histories.
● Lisa Fludd-Smith, co-founder, president of the African American Archive of Columbia County, will share her feelings as a descendant of the Black Van Ness and Van Alen families and the discovery that her ancestors were enslaved by Columbia County’s most prominent residents. She and Peter Smith, co-founder and genealogist of the Archive,explain how this research not only led to a creation of a family tree which, to date, has more than 2,000 entries dating back to mid- 1700s, but also fostered the establishment of the African American Archive of Columbia County.
● The panel will be moderated by Vicki Jimpson-Fludd, co-founder and executive director of the African American Archive of Columbia County).
Additional information:
● An audience Q&A follows the discussion. Refreshments will be served.
● The event is both in person and online. Reservations are required via Eventbrite.
● Signed copies of Debra Bruno’s book will be available for sale.
● Information on preserving and digitalizing family records, documents and photos will be available.
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The African American Archive of Columbia County, New York exists to document, preserve, and share a deeper understanding of the history of Black people in the upper Hudson Valley. From their arrival with the Dutch Patroons in the 17th century, through today, the roots of our African forebears have been profoundly intertwined with the land and people of Columbia County. While hardly secret, this narrative is seldom told or taught in schools. Our mission is to lift the voices of our ancestors, bring our stories to light and life, and create a living chronicle that will honor our past and enlighten our future.
Long Road Home talk.jpgThe Hudson Area Library History Room houses a collection that pertains to the history of the City of Hudson, Greenport and Stockport; as well as Columbia County and New York State. The History Room also hosts the Local History Speaker Series at the library, offering free monthly talks on diverse topics related to local history.
The History Room is open Saturdays, 10am-1pm and Wednesdays 6 - 8pm and by appointment. Online research requests for information on local history are available at historyroom.hudsonarealibrary.org/. This is a free service to the public. To inquire about an appointment email brenda.shufelt@hudsonarealibrary.org or call 518-828-1792 x106.
The Hudson Area Library is located at 51 N. 5th St. in Hudson, NY. The mission of the library is to enrich the quality of life by providing free and equal access to programs, services and resources, and by creating opportunities for all members of our community to connect, create, learn and grow.
Contact:
African American Archive of Columbia County - Victoria Jimpson-Fludd, Executive Director
Cell: 914-410-0151;
Email: vjf.aaarchivecc@gmail.com
Website: https://www.afamarchivecc.org/
Social: Instagram, Facebook:
Reservations: Eventbrite
Latest News from the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society
Please be sure to check out the latest news from the RJHS:
Roeliff Jansen Historical Society
Check out the latest blog from the Hillsdale Historians:
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