News

Lecture – The Mohicans’ Incorporation into the Iroquois League, 1671-1675

Thursday, June 24 6-7:30pm

Evan Haefeli, historian of colonial North America and the Atlantic world at Texas A&M University, will deliver our June local history talk at the Hudson Area Library library. This talk derives from one of Dr. Haefeli’s current research projects on the history of the Iroquois Confederacy’s relations with its Indigenous neighbors to the east and south, especially the people of the Hudson Valley. The incorporation of the Mohicans into the Iroquois League has remained obscured but was pivotal to the history of the colonial northeast. It explains why the Mohicans and Munsee neighbors did not join in King Philip’s War and so prevented that conflict from spilling over into the Hudson Valley. It also clarifies the nature of Indigenous politics in the region in the era of Jacob Leisler.

For Zoom registration link click here or contact Brenda Shufelt at 518-828-1792 x106 or brenda.shufelt@hudsonarealibrary.org.

The Jacob Leisler Library Lectures are made partially possible through the generous support of the Van Dyke Family Association.

Ruth Piwonka Recognized

News

Ruth Piwonka and David Voorhees stand in front of a fireplace mantel holding a certificate recognizing Ruth's contributions to teh Insitute.

On April 29 Ruth Piwonka received a certificate as Jacob Leisler Institute Trustee Emeritus, presented by Institute Director David William Voorhees on behalf of the Board of Trustees, in recognition of her many years of dedicated service. The physical presentation of the certificate had been delayed since the Annual Board Meeting in August 2020 due to COVID-19 quarantine restrictions.

Thank you Ruth for all your years of service and continuing support.

Coping with Life’s Necessaries

Virtual Talks

Thursday, April 29, 6-7:30pm

The Jacob Leisler Institute for the Study of Early New York History and the Hudson Area Library present Coping with Life’s Necessaries by Ian Mumpton.

Closely intertwined with Jacob Leisler through marriage and as bitter opponents in 1689s, the Schuyler family enjoyed many luxuries as part of their refined lifestyle. What did their hygiene practices look like? Learn more about the changing practices of this aristocratic, 18th century colonial Dutch family with this Schuyler Mansion program come to Hudson. A question-and-answer period will follow the talk.

The presenter, Ian Mumpton, is the Historic Site Assistant at Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site. His work focuses on highlighting underrepresented narratives as essential parts of the site’s history, including the stories of Loyalists, Native Americans, women, tenant farmers, and enslaved people of African descent. He is also currently researching the martial arts and martial identity of colonial New Netherland.

The Jacob Leisler Institute–Hudson Area Library Lectures are made possible through the generous support of the Van Dyke Family Association. This lecture is the second of four collaborations this year between the two organizations, each featuring an expert in early colonial history.

Spring ’21 Intern

News

The Jacob Leisler Institute welcomes Madison Haydon as a 2021 Spring semester intern. Ms. Haydon is a student in the History Department at SUNY New-Paltz specializing in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. We are delighted to have Madison on our team.

This image is an informal portrait of Leisler Institute Intern and SUNY New-Paltz student Madison Haydon sitting in an auditorium.

Lecture – The “Turkish Captivity” of Jacob Leisler and the Susannah.

Virtual Talks

Thursday, January 28, 6-7:30pm

Jacob Leisler Institute Director David Voorhees on Leisler’s capture and enslavement by pirates.

Throughout the early modern era, North African raiders known as Barbary Corsairs, trolled Europe’s coasts from the Aegean Sea to the Netherlands and as far north as Iceland in search of European slaves. American ships were among their victims. On October 8, 1677, Algerian Corsairs boarded New York City merchant Jacob Leisler’s ship Susannah in the English Channel and captured Leisler along with his crew, two stepsons, nephew, and a passenger. This lecture focuses on the Susannah’s dramatic captivity, the efforts to obtain the prisoners release, and their enslavement’s subsequent impact on New York politics.

The lecture is the first of four collaborations between the Leisler Institute and the Hudson Area Library, each featuring an expert in early colonial history.

The Jacob Leisler Institute – Hudson Area Library Lectures are made possible through the generous support of the Van Dyke Family Association.

Virtual Lecture Series – Purchase of Manhattan

Events

The Hudson Area Library and the Jacob Leisler Institute present:
“Imagination Aided by the Painter’s Brush”:
The Creation of the Purchase of Manhattan, 1844–1909
by Stephen McErleane.
Thursday, October 22, 6-7:30pm.

Though it is now known as a fundamental piece of the early history of the city, it was not until 217 years after the event that New Yorkers first learned of the now infamous 1626 purchase of the island of Manhattan by the Dutch from the Indians for twenty-four dollars.

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