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Albany Bicentennial Tablet No. 5 – The Old Dutch Church
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Continuing our series on the bronze markers that were placed by the Albany Bicentennial Committee in 1886 – the words below were approved to commemorate the first building constructed for use as a church in Albany: Tablet No. 5—The Old Dutch Church. Located in the Government building adjoining No. 3, to which it corresponds…
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Albany Bicentennial Tablet No. 4 — The First Patroon
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Continuing our series on the bronze markers that were placed by the Albany Bicentennial Committee in 1886 – the words below were approved to commemorate the first Patroon: Tablet No. 4—The “First Patroon” A bronze tablet, 16×22 inches placed in the City Hall, and thereon inscribed:“Killian Van Rensselaer, the Progenitor of the Van Rensselaer…
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Albany Bicentennial Tablet No. 3 – Broadway
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Continuing our series on the bronze markers that were placed by the Albany Bicentennial Committee in 1886. The Committee on Monumenting and Decoration chose to commemorate Broadway, then as now the major north-south street through the city. Tablet No. 3—Broadway. Located on ground front of Government building, on Broadway near corner of State—Bronze tablet…
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Albany Bicentennial Tablet No. 2 – Municipal
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Continuing our series on the bronze markers that were placed by the Albany Bicentennial Committee in 1886. This was the tablet that was described by the Committee on Monumenting and Decoration in its presentation of June 1886. It’s not clear to me whether this was ever cast, or if the copy was changed out…
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Albany Bicentennial Tablet No. 1: Fort Orange
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Our last entry talked about the Albany Bicentennial celebration and the fate of a marker meant to commemorate the Black citizens of Albany that may never have gotten to its intended location in Washington Park. Now let’s talk about the bicentennial markers that did make it to their intended locations (mostly). We know what…
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What Happened to the Burdett-Coutts Marker?
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Two notes: One, throughout this article there are variable spellings of Burdett-Coutts, and when quoting, I’ve reflected the spelling used in the source I’m quoting at the time. Two, of course the source materials use racial terms that are no longer acceptable, but as they were not intended as offensive I have copied those…
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Thomas H. Sands Pennington, Black Pharmacist
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I started out to write a little bit about Dr. Thomas Elkins, one of the most remarkable and accomplished African American residents of Albany. I was challenged by two things: there is so much to say about Dr. Elkins, and much has already been written elsewhere. I may well come back to him, but…
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Scotia Plans Insane Fourth
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From 1912, we ran across this article impugning the sanity of our original hometown and have just been waiting for it to be seasonal and/or timely again. So here we are. The article from the Schenectady Gazette is headed, “Scotia Plans Insane Fourth.” Schenectady is to have a safe and sane Fourth – in…
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William H. Johnson Talks Emancipation
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In honor of the sudden interest in Juneteenth, commemorating the day the belated word of emancipation reached slaves in Texas, I went off in search of whether there had been any sort of acknowledgements of that day or similar milestones in the Albany, Schenectady and Troy area. Not too surprisingly, that particular celebration, which…
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The Guests of Edwin Forrest
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Branching out a little bit, because it’s our understanding that Philadelphia has a little bit of history, too, and we’ve wondered about this one for a while now. Taking a bike ride through Philadelphia’s other great cemetery, West Laurel Hill, just about a year ago, we ran across this cryptic headstone. On one side,…