Hidden History of Columbia County, New York

Hidden History of Columbia County, New York PDF

Author: Allison Guertin Marchese

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2014-05-13

Total Pages: 169

ISBN-13: 1625849265

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Bordered by the Hudson River and the Berkshire Mountains, Columbia County is part of the famously picturesque Hudson Valley region. But look beyond the rolling hills to discover the secrets of Columbia County. A mastodon tooth rolled down a farmer's hill in Claverack, changing the world's understanding of prehistoric times. President Martin Van Buren lost his wife, Hannah, in Kinderhook and hardly mentioned her again. Hudson's gallows were the scene of New York's last hanging, as hundreds of ticketholders looked on. Outcasts called "Pondshiners" hid in the hills of Taghkanic, and the only sign of their existence are the fantastic baskets they made. Join local author Allison Guertin Marchese as she explores these little-known stories of people and places, deeply woven into the history of Columbia County, New York.

As Long as the Rivers Run

As Long as the Rivers Run PDF

Author: Barbara Seaborn

Publisher:

Published: 2012-09-13

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 9780615390130

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What began with Barbara Seaborn as a thumbnail sketch of Columbia County, Georgia, from 1750 to the twenty-first century, soon evolved into a more detailed but select account of the people and events in the county's history, beginning with the first known inhabitants circa 4,000 B.C., to the end of the nineteenth century, with an overview of the more recent years. The more she learned and the more she realized how quickly history in general is fading from our lives, the project acquired another purpose--to show how Columbia County history was related to what was going on in the region and around the world at the same time. This is more than a county story, much less that of just one Georgia county. Columbia County's settling and settlers, challenges and achievements, are but a microcosm of all settlements, a part of the fabric of all places and the people who migrated here. It is also a specific story with outstanding players, including an abundance of state and national leaders, Georgia's only (two) signers of the U.S. Constitution, and the founders and first presidents of all three major universities in the state: Emory, Mercer, and the University of Georgia. Columbia County: born of revolution, deliberation, and grit; developed in sacrifice, conflict, and toil; sustained by knowledge, diligence, and faith. Like those who showed early settlers the way, may those who dwell here today deliver this flourishing, one-fledgling settlement in the Backcountry of Georgia to those who continue to migrate here for as long as the rivers run. --From dust jacket.

Handbook of the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle and South Atlantic States

Handbook of the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle and South Atlantic States PDF

Author: William A. Kretzschmar

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 1993-09-15

Total Pages: 476

ISBN-13: 9780226452838

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Who uses "skeeter hawk," "snake doctor," and "dragonfly" to refer to the same insect? Who says "gum band" instead of "rubber band"? The answers can be found in the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle and South Atlantic States (LAMSAS), the largest single survey of regional and social differences in spoken American English. It covers the region from New York state to northern Florida and from the coastline to the borders of Ohio and Kentucky. Through interviews with nearly twelve hundred people conducted during the 1930s and 1940s, the LAMSAS mapped regional variations in vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation at a time when population movements were more limited than they are today, thus providing a unique look at the correspondence of language and settlement patterns. This handbook is an essential guide to the LAMSAS project, laying out its history and describing its scope and methodology. In addition, the handbook reveals biographical information about the informants and social histories of the communities in which they lived, including primary settlement areas of the original colonies. Dialectologists will rely on it for understanding the LAMSAS, and historians will find it valuable for its original historical research. Since much of the LAMSAS questionnaire concerns rural terms, the data collected from the interviews can pinpoint such language differences as those between areas of plantation and small-farm agriculture. For example, LAMSAS reveals that two waves of settlement through the Appalachians created two distinct speech types. Settlers coming into Georgia and other parts of the Upper South through the Shenandoah Valley and on to the western side of the mountain range had a Pennsylvania-influenced dialect, and were typically small farmers. Those who settled the Deep South in the rich lowlands and plateaus tended to be plantation farmers from Virginia and the Carolinas who retained the vocabulary and speech patterns of coastal areas. With these revealing findings, the LAMSAS represents a benchmark study of the English language, and this handbook is an indispensable guide to its riches.

Rogue

Rogue PDF

Author: John K. Driscoll

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2005-12-05

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 0786423854

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From his first court martial as a cadet at West Point through his dismissal from the United States Army at the age of 49, Justus McKinstry made his career through outright cunning and manipulation of the legal system. Graduating from West Point in 1838, he eventually landed a long-sought-after position in the quartermaster corps. During his service here he took advantage of the extraordinary wartime circumstances to betray the public trust and make a profit for himself in the guise of acquiring much needed supplies. He was brought before a court of inquiry or a court martial six times during his nefarious career, yet only one time were charges initiated from within the Army itself. The final charges--once again initiated from a source outside the Army--brought his crimes to light and resulted in his dismissal from the service. This biography takes a look at the forces within the life of Brigadier General Justus McKinstry that shaped him into the man he eventually became. It briefly discusses his upbringing as well as his unprecedented six years at West Point and his service during the Second Seminole and Mexican wars. The bulk of the text, however, concentrates on his Civil War commission and his duties as an officer of the quartermaster corps, especially his position as Chief Quartermaster of the Department of the West during the summer and fall of 1861. Special emphasis is placed on the ways in which the system itself failed McKinstry, bringing into question the ability of the Army to police itself. Sources incorporate an abundance of official records from the time period, including a transcript of McKinstry's final court martial.