The 28th Conference on New York State History

Cooperstown
 

Thursday June 7, 2007

9:00–6:00
Registration - Farmers’ Museum

Tours on your own:
The Farmers’ Museum
Fenimore Art Museum

9:30–3:30
Focus: Local History (Additional Workshop Fee Applies)

Presented by the Upstate History Alliance
The documentation of a community’s history is vital to the preservation of its story for future generations. Each person, each story, and each business lends itself to the greater story of New York State and beyond. Join us for this workshop in which participants will acquire the basics needed to develop community history projects.
Presenters include:
• Historian Carol Kammen will talk about the importance of community history
• Kay Benjamin and Nancy Cannon of SUNY Oneonta will talk about the resources available to those who are interested in community history
• Professor Alejandra Molina of Hobart and William Smith Colleges will talk about her collaborative project with her students and the Geneva Historical Society to document the Latino population in that community
• Ann Walton and her students from the Worcester Central School will talk about their NYS History Day documentation project.
9:30-10:00 Introductions
10:00-10:45 WHY LOCAL HISTORY MATTERS
10:45-11:45 USING YOUR RESOURCES
11:45-12:30 Lunch
12:30-1:30 LET’S TALK ABOUT IT: ORAL HISTORIES
1:30-2:30 DOCUMENTING UNDER-DOCUMENTED COMMUNITIES
2:30-3:15 CASE STUDY: STARTING YOUNG–GETTING YOUTH INVOLVED IN LOCAL HISTORY
3:15-3:30 Wrap-up and Discussion

1:30–4:00
Tours

Tour: Thayer Homestead
A well-preserved nineteenth-century farmstead site in the town of Springfield, it has been excavated over a number of years. Join David Staley of the State Museum along with participating teachers and students in exploring the dig. See also session 604.

Tour: Hyde Hall
An elegant Neoclassical mansion built in 1817, Hyde Hall was the home of George Clarke, an Englishman who took over family land grants originally made in the colonial period and developed them into an estate of tenant farmers.

Carpool from Farmers’ Museum, Main Barn parking lot

3:00
Organ Concert

Stephen L. Andersen, Organist; Town Historian, Putnam Valley • Concert at Cornwallville Church, Farmers’ Museum

4:00–5:45
Late Afternoon Sessions

101 Biculturism in 18th Century New York City
Chair/comment: Patricia U. Bonomi, New York University
SCOTTISHNESS AND NEW YORK’S PROVINCIAL ELITE
• John Dixon, University of California, Los Angeles
ABIGAILL LEVY FRANKS: NEGOTIATING JEWISH IDENTITY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK
• Edith B. Gelles, Stanford University
THE CULTURAL METAMORPHOSIS OF DOMINE LAMBERTUS DE RONDE
• Joyce D. Goodfriend, University of Denver

102 Education and Change
THE ENLIGHTENED LADIES OF BUTTERNUTS, 1769-1850
• Leigh C. Eckmair, Town/Village Historian, Butternuts/Gilbertsville
19TH CENTURY HIGHER EDUCATION INNOVATION IN THE CAPITAL DISTRICT
• Richard Ognibene, Siena College Cancelled
SPEECHES, BANNERS, AND HANDKERCHIEFS: PARTISAN WOMEN AND POLITICAL CHANGE
• Terrianne K. Schulte, D’Youville College
Comment: Susan Ouellette, St. Michaels College

6:00–7:30
Dinner on your own

7:30–9:30
Tours

Fees: See Registration Form
Walking Tour of Cooperstown
Guide: Hugh MacDougall, Village Historian
Starting point: Corner of Main and Pioneer Streets

Guided Cruise of Lake Otsego on the “Glimmerglass Queen”
Guide: Jessie Ravage, Independent Scholar
Starting point: Village Boat Landing at the foot of Fair Street

9:30
Presentation
Multi-media presentation,  Fenimore Art Museum Auditorium
“July '64” (California Newsreel, 2005)
Carvin Eison, Director • Christine Christopher, Producer

Friday June 8

7:00–6:00
Registration
Coffee & Pastry
Farmers’ Museum

Tours on your own:
The Farmers’ Museum
Fenimore Art Museum

8:00
Plenary Session
Welcome
Field Horne, Conference Chair
Introducing
D. Stephen Elliott, President, New York State Historical Association

Keynote
THE FLUSHING REMONSTRANCE
David William Voorhees
New York University

8:30–9:45
Early Morning Sessions

201 Twentieth Century Topics
INDECENT AND OBSCENE SCENES: CENSORING OF LATIN AMERICAN FILMS, 1926-65
• Edward Paulino, CUNY/John Jay College
THE SHOW THAT MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE: FEAR, SECURITY, AND THE ALERT AMERICA CONVOY
• Joshua Muse, Cooperstown Graduate Program
Comment: Thomas S.W. Lewis, Skidmore College

202 Urban History
PARTNERS IN HOUSING REFORM: THE APARTMENT DEVELOPMENTS OF ROCKEFELLER, HEYDT, AND THOMAS IN 1920S NEW YORK
• Ken Rose, Rockefeller Archive Center
URBAN RENEWAL AND ‘SELF-ORIENTALISM’: CITY PLANNING POLICIES AND THE SHAPING OF CHINATOWN, 1950-2001
• Dan Wishnoff, CUNY/Bronx Community College
• Greg Umbach, CUNY/John Jay College
Comment: Ivan Steen, SUNY Albany

203 Revival
THE GREAT AWAKENING AT NEW PALTZ
• Kenneth Shefsiek, Geneva Historical Society
THE IMPACT OF REVIVALS ON 19TH CENTURY WOMEN
• Rachel Cope, Syracuse University
Comment: Ron Helfrich, SUNY Albany and RPI

204 Indian Networks
INTER-TRIBAL DYNAMICS OF THE NATIVE REACTION TO THE HALF MOON
• James Ring Adams, National Museum of the American Indian
SHEKOMEKO: AN ALGONQUIN COMMUNITY WITHIN 18TH CENTURY NETWORKS
• Amy C. Schutt, SUNY Cortland
Comment: J. Michael Smith, Independent Scholar

9:45 – 10:00
Break

10:00–11:45
Late Morning Sessions

301 Colonial New York
SLAVERY IN THE MANOR AND TOWN OF PELHAM
• Blake A. Bell, Town Historian, Pelham
THE NETHERLANDS HUGUENOTS MOVE TO AMERICA
• Alfred H. Marks, Town/Village Historian, New Paltz
PROVINCIAL UNITY DURING LEISLERIAN FACTIONALISM, 1691-1709
• Andrew T. Stahlhut, Lehigh University
Comment: John Thomas McGuire, SUNY Cortland

302 Digitizing History
DIGITIZING ROCHESTER’S HISTORY
• Larry Naukam, Rochester Public Library
• Pamela O’Sullivan, Rochester Public Library
• Jeff Baker, Rochester Public Library
OUT OF THE VAULT AND ONLINE: WESTCHESTER COUNTY’S VIRTUAL ARCHIVES
• Patricia Dohrenwend, Westchester County Archives
• Katherine Hite, Westchester County Historical Society
COMMUNITY HISTORY GOES DIGITAL
• Mary Beth Sullivan, New York History Net
Comment: Toya Dubin, Hudson Microimaging
 

303 How Big a Leap New York Women as Party Politicians, 1895-1955 (panel)
Chair/Comment: Elisabeth Israels Perry, St. Louis University
SMOOTHING THE WAY: WOMEN’S POLITICAL CLUBS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WOMAN POLITICIAN, 1900-40
• Laurie Kozakiewicz, SUNY Albany
ALICE HILL CHITTENDEN: THE POLITICAL AWAKENING OF AN ANTISUFFRAGIST, 1895-1945
• Susan Goodier, Utica College
GENDER, MCCARTHYISM, AND THE POSTWAR STRUGGLE FOR PEACE AND FREEDOM
• Jacqueline Castledine, Northeastern University

304 Church and State
PRIESTCRAFT VS. INFIDELITY: CHURCH AND STATE IN 1830S NEW YORK
• James Kabala, Brown University
NEW YORK SHAKERS: POLITICS AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
• Polly Good, University of Oregon Cancelled
WALK WHERE REASON LEADS
• Kevin Tanner, Murray State University
Comment: Mark A. Nicholas, University of St. Thomas (Texas)

12:00–1:30
Lunch

Lunch Presentation:
Father Knickerbocker in the Twentieth Century: Mapping Gotham’s First Brand
Elizabeth Bradley
The New York Public Library

1:30–2:45
Early Afternoon Sessions

401 Archival Resources
USING LEGAL DOCUMENTS TO UNDERSTAND THE FOURTH AMENDMENT
• Andrew Bankert, Clinton Middle School
LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS AS RESOURCE FOR TEACHERS AND HISTORIANS
• Michelle Henry, County Historian, Chautauqua
Comment: Robert Arnold, New York State Archives

402 The Weather
THE HISTORY OF NEW YORK STATE CLIMATE DATA ACQUISITION
• Jerome S. Thaler, Independent Scholar
NEW YORK’S KILLER HEATWAVE OF 1896
• Edward Kohn, Bilkent University (Turkey)
Comment: Peter Eisenstadt, Independent Scholar

403 Erie Canal Construction
RESEARCHING THE STONE USED TO CONSTRUCT THE ERIE
• Mariana L. Rhoades, St. John Fisher College
WHO REALLY DISCOVERED THE CEMENT THAT MADE THE ERIE?
• Gerard Koeppel, Independent Scholar
Comment: Daniel Larkin, SUNY Oneonta

404 Journalism
THE POLITICS OF JUSTICE: NEGRO SUFFRAGE, NEWSPAPERS, AND THE 1860 ELECTION
• Michael Lipton, SUNY Oswego
‘THE ART OF PRINTING SHALL ENDURE’: JOURNALISM AND POLITICS IN NEW YORK CITY, 1800-10
• Steven Carl Smith, University of Missouri
Comment: Don Roper, SUNY New Paltz (emeritus)

2:45 – 3:00
Break

3:00–4:45
Mid-Afternoon Sessions

501 The Revolution
ALBANY VS. ONONDAGA: ‘REMEMBERING’ THE 1779 VAN SCHAICK EXPEDITION
• Robert Spiegelman, Independent Scholar
BORDER WARFARE IN NEW YORK: THE SULLIVAN EXPEDITION OF 1779  
• Tom Kanon, Tennessee State Library and Archives
DEBUNKING BURGOYNE’S RATIONALE FOR THE BRITISH DEFEAT AT FREEMAN’S FARM
• Leslie B. Potter, Independent Scholar
Comment: Jacob Ludes, New England Association of Schools and Colleges

502 Long Island
WILLIAM J. LEVITT: ARCHITECT OF POSTWAR DREAMS
• Joshua Ruff, the Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages
THE POSTSUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT OF RIVERHEAD, 1970-2000
• Eric J. Fauss,University of Connecticut
SHIPPEN’S HOLE: IDENTITY AND COMMUNITY ON THE SHINNECOCK HILLS
• Faren Siminoff,New York University
Comment: Harvey Strum, Sage College of Albany

503 Forest and Vineyard
THE EMPIRE STATE FOREST PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION: THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS
• Hugh Canham, SUNY ESF (emeritus)
SAMUEL WARREN AND OTHER NEGLECTED PIONEER FINGER LAKES WINEMAKERS
• Gary A. Cox, SUNY Geneseo (emeritus)
FROM HARDSCRABBLE FARMS TO PRODUCTIVE STATE FOREST: NEW YORK STATE’S ENLARGED REFORESTATION PROGRAM
• James Darlington, SUNY Cortland
Comment: Suzanne Etherington, New York State Archives

504 Abolitionism and Its Discontents: Remapping the Antislavery Movement
Chair: Robert E. Bonner, American Antiquarian Society
THE GEOGRAPHY OF ANTISLAVERY THOUGHT
• David T. Bailey, Michigan State University
ANTI-ABOLUTIONIST RIOTING AND THE SECESSION CRISIS IN SYRACUSE
• Thomas Summerhill, Michigan State University
Comment: Susan E. O’Donovan, Harvard University

4:45 – 5:00
Break

5:00–6:00
Individual Presentations

601 Finding Mohawk Country: History through a Graphic Format
• George O’Connor, Graphic Book Artist

602 Mapping Change: Saratoga Springs Through GIS
• Robert Jones, Skidmore College

603 The Folk Art of Homer Benedict
• John Gruen, Independent Scholar
Comment: Wendell Tripp, Editor emeritus, New York History

604 Upland Agricultural Adaptations: Historical Archaeology at Thayer Homestead
• David P. Staley, NYS Museum
• William Nelson, Daniel Blanchard, Jonathan Press, Samantha VanAlstine, Cherry Valley-Springfield Central School

6:30
Cocktails Cash Bar

7:00
Dinner

8:30
Performance:
 

The Lockwood Family of Greenfield and Their Music: Dance Musicians in Turn-of-the-Century New York State
—Traditional Musicians—
John Kirk
Bennington and Skidmore Colleges
Trish Miller
Skidmore College

Saturday June 9

7:00–9:00
Registration
Coffee & Pastry

8:30–9:45
Early Morning Sessions

701 The Nineteen Thirties
MEASURING UNEMPLOYMENT IN NEW YORK CITY, 1929-35
• Caroline Mével, Université Paris 7 - Denis Diderot
A NEW DEAL FOR HOUSEHOLD WORKERS: LEGISLATING DOMESTIC SERVICE
• Vanessa May, University of Virginia
Comment: Edward Knoblauch, College of St. Rose

702 Activism
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT ACTIVISM AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ON LONG ISLAND, 1956-74
• Neil P. Buffett, Stony Brook University
LEADING THE WAY: THE IMPACT OF TWO WOMEN ON ADIRONDACK HIKING
• Peggy Lynn, Independent Scholar
Comment: Edythe Quinn, Hartwick College

703 The New York Diaspora
FOUR CENTURIES OF LEAVING NEW YORK STATE: AN OVERVIEW
• Peter Eisenstadt, Independent Scholar
19TH CENTURY MIGRATION FROM NEW YORK: A GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE
• James Darlington, SUNY Cortland
Comment: Edward Countryman, Southern Methodist University

9:45 – 10:00
Break

10:00–11:45
Late Morning Sessions

801 Public Works
THE CREATION OF THE NEW YORK STATE PARK SYSTEM, 1885-1930
• Jonathan Anzalone, SUNY Stony Brook
ARMORIES: MONUMENTS TO GUARDIANS OF LAW OR BASTILLES OF PLUTOCRACY
• Nancy L. Todd, State Historic Preservation Office
PRISONS, NATURE, AND SOCIAL REFORM IN THE ADIRONDACKS, 1844-61
• Clarence J. Hall, SUNY Stony Brook
Comment: Martin Wachadlo, Independent Scholar

802 Public Welfare
HARRIET BAILEY AND THE MENTAL HYGIENE MOVEMENT
• Rachel Donaldson, Bellevue Alumnae Center for Nursing History
FEEDING ABANDONED WAIFS AT THE NEW YORK FOUNDLING ASYLUM
• C.Dianne Creagh, SUNY Stony Brook
AN IMMIGRANT’S PERSPECTIVE: ZOFIA MASIULIS
• Caroline Harting, Columbia University
Comment: Bonita Weddle, New York State Archives

803 Biography
BENJAMIN ANGEL OF GENESEO, NO ANGEL
• David W. Parish, Town/Village Historian, Geneseo
A PROSLAVERY SENTIMENT IN GERRIT SMITH’S BACK YARD
• Paul A. Reese, Independent Scholar
GRANT’S MYSTERY VISITOR AT MOUNT MCGREGOR
• Warren F. Broderick, New York State Archives
Comment: Hadley Kruczek-Aaron, SUNY Potsdam

804 Eastern Long Island in the 17th Century
Chair/Comment: Natalie Naylor, Hofstra University (emerita)
PROBLEMS OF LAND DISTRIBUTION IN SOUTHAMPTON, 1640-48
• David Goddard, Independent Scholar
‘HIVING OUT’ FROM SOUTHAMPTON: JONAS WOOD AND THE FOUNDING OF HUNTINGTON
• John A. Strong, Long Island University (emeritus)
BRIDGEHAMPTON'S “ACCIDENTAL” SETTLING, 1650 – 1700
• Ann Sandford, Independent Scholar

12:00–1:30
Lunch

Wendell Tripp Lecture

The Layers of New York History: A Look Across Time at Rensselaer County
Edward Countryman, Ph.D.
Southern Methodist University

1:30
Tours

Tour:
Hanford Mills Museum
Located at East Meredith, Delaware County, this extraordinary working nineteenth-century industrial site where a sawmill, gristmill, woodworking shop and hardware store operated from 1846 to 1967, includes a 1920s farmhouse; everything is documented in extensive archival collections.

Tour: Iroquois Indian Museum
A small, world-class museum at Howes Cave, Schoharie County, it interprets the lives and worldview of the Iroquois peoples of New York State.
Carpool from Farmers’ Museum, Main Barn parking lot

2007 Conference Information

In-Service Credit
The New York State Historical Association is pleased to offer continuing education unit (C.E.U.) credits for teachers. If you are interested in receiving C.E.U. please inquire at the registration desk.

Conference Facilities
The conference will be headquartered at the Main Barn of The Farmers’ Museum; the barn is on the National Historic Register. Registration, coffee and exhibitions will be in the admissions area of the barn. The plenary session, meals and larger sessions will be located in the Louis C. Jones Center of the Barn. Other sessions will be in the Auditorium of the Fenimore Art Museum, Lakeside Classroom at the Cooperstown Graduate Program and in the Cornwallville Church on the grounds of The Farmers’Museum.

Conference Housing
Rooms at Hartwick College are available at $24 per night per person (single or double), plus $20 one-time linen rental charge. Reserve dorm rooms on the registration form.
If you prefer to stay in a modern hotel, blocks of rooms have been reserved at the Holiday Inn (Oneonta, 22 miles S, 607-433-2250, $99 per night), Howard Johnson's (Route 28, 5 miles S, 607-286-7600), and Best Western (Route 28, 5 miles S, 607-547-7100).Make reservations directly by calling them. Rooms are being held for conference use until the first week of May.
If you prefer to stay in Cooperstown, you may contact the following places directly: • Lake and Pines Motel: 7102 State Hwy 80, 607-547-2790
• Aalsmeer Motel and Cottages: 7078 State Hwy 80, 607-547-8819
• Terrace Motor Inn, 6805 State Hwy 80, 607-547-9979
• The Inn at Cooperstown, 16 Chestnut St., 607-547-5756
• The White House Inn, 46 Chestnut St., 607-547-5054
• Hotel Otesaga, Lake St., 607-547-9931

Getting There:
Automobile
Cooperstown is a pleasant drive by automobile. Public transportation is limited.

Railroad
The NYSHA van will meet the Thursday train, which leaves New York Penn Station at 8:15 AM, arriving Albany-Rensselaer at 10:40 AM. Seating is limited and is first-come, first-served; you must reserve this on your registration form. The van will deliver passengers on Saturday to the train leaving Albany-Rensselaer at 7:15 PM, arriving New York Penn Station at 9:45 PM. Cost $35.

Bus
There is one Trailways bus daily from New York Port Authority to Cooperstown and return. The schedule is expected to change; call Trailways at 1-800-858-8555 for the current schedule.

Exhibits
As usual, the exhibits hall on Friday will be packed with publishers, book dealers, and organizations eager to tell you about their products or services.

Registration Form

Questions? 518-587-4962
E-mail: conference@nyhistory.net
Register by May 31
Make check payable to NYSHA. For discounted rate, postmark by May 31.Mail this page/check to: Conference on New York State History c/o NYSHA, Box 800, Cooperstown, NY 13326

2007 Conference Program Committee

Conference Chair Field Horne • Preferred contact method, e-mail: conference@nyhistory.net
Telephone: 518-587-4962 • Mailing address: Box 215, Saratoga Springs NY 12866-0215

Robert Arnold, New York State Archives
Marla Bennett, SUNY ESF
Thomas Chambers, Niagara University
Leigh Eckmair, Town/Village Historian, Gilbertsville/Butternuts
Kelly Yacobucci Farquhar, County Historian, Montgomery
Michael Groth, Wells College
Michelle Henry, County Historian, Chautauqua
Lisa Keller, Purchase College, SUNY
Edward Knoblauch, College of St. Rose
Garet Livermore, NYSHA ex officio
Hugh MacDougall, Village Historian, Cooperstown
Daniel Nathan, Skidmore College
Edythe Ann Quinn, Hartwick College
Patricia Scott, Registered Historian, Norwich
William H. Siener, County Historian, Erie
Eric Roth, Huguenot Historical Society
David Schuyler, Franklin and Marshall College
Gerald Smith, County Historian, Broome