Lecture:"Wartime Refugee Crisis in the Hudson Valley, 1754-1763," by Tom Arne Midtrød, Ph.D.Date/Time:Thursday, June 4, 2026 at 6PMLocation/Registration:Virtual Lecture on Zoom, click here to register. Tom Arne Midtrød, Ph.D. discusses how the outbreak of the Seven Years' War affected Mahican and Munsee-speaking populations in the Hudson Valley. During this conflict, many Native groups felt themselves pressured to relocate to new areas both inside and outside of the Valley, creating a refugee …
New Trustee – Peter Van Dyke
Peter Van Dyke (B.S., University of Richmond; M.B.A., New York University) is a New York–based consultant and investor with longstanding interests in history, preservation, genealogy, and civic institutions. He is active in charitable and educational initiatives through the Van Dyke Family Foundation, where he supports organizations focused on education, community engagement, and historical preservation. He also has a particular appreciation for the cultural and historical legacy of New …
Lecture – “Hudson Valley Food Riots & the American Revolution” Thursday, April 23, 2026 at 6PM
Lecture:Hudson Valley Food Riots & the American Revolution, by Thomas S. WermuthDate/Time:Thursday, April 23, 2026 at 6PMLocation:Hudson Area Library, 51 N 5th Street, Hudson, NY 12534 On Thursday, April 23, 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 second of four Leisler Lectures. Dr. Thomas Wermuth speaks on food riots during the Revolutionary War, …
Lecture – “Freedom of Speech in New York: The John Peter Zenger Trial” Thursday, January 22, 2026 at 6PM
Lecture:Freedom of Speech in New York: The John Peter Zenger Trial, by Albert M. RosenblattDate/Time:Thursday, January 22, 2026 at 6PMLocation:Hudson Area Library, 51 N 5th Street, Hudson, NY 12534 The Jacob Leisler Institute for the Study of Early New York History, in collaboration with the Hudson Area Library, hosts this in-person presentation with Professor Rosenblatt on the Zenger trial. The landmark 1735 trial of New York printer John Peter Zenger, which acquitted him for seditious libel …
Lecture – “Waterways, Footpaths & Wagon Ways: Hudson River Trade Prior to the Founding of Hudson” October 2, 2025 at 6PM
Lecture:Waterways, Footpaths & Wagon Ways: Hudson River Trade Prior to the Founding of Hudson, by Justin Wexler and David William VoorheesDate/Time:Thursday, October 2, at 6PMLocation:Hudson Area Library The Jacob Leisler Institute for the Study of Early New York History, in collaboration with the Hudson Area Library, hosts this in-person presentation with Justin Wexler, a local researcher on indigenous peoples, and David William Voorhees, director of the Leisler Institute. They …
Student Intern Clementine Ho
Beginning on July 1, the Jacob Leisler Institute welcomed Clementine Ho as our second summer 2025 student intern. Clementine is a senior at Nightingale Bamford School in Manhattan. She is interested in the political and cultural dynamics of Europe with a particular focus on the evolution of fashion. …