Indomitable Irish Survivors of the Titanic

April’s blog post commemorates the anniversary month of the loss of the Titanic, and also looks back at March, Irish Heritage month, with stories of plucky Irish women who survived the sinking.

 

The Titanic departing from Queenstown, Ireland

Staatsburgh Quiz Night: Titanic-sized Edition

For over a century, the sinking of the RMS Titanic has captured the imagination of the public - but how much do you actually know about the disaster?

The histories of Staatsburgh and the Titanic intersect in several interesting ways, and the ship's story offers many insights into the Gilded Age. Each year, Staatsburgh commemorates the tragedy of the ship's sinking through various programs, informing people about different aspects of the ship and the period in our history so marked by the disaster. On April 9th and 15th, 2021, Staatsburgh staff hosted the newest installment of their long-running quiz series; Staatsburgh Quiz Night: Titanic-sized Edition! Covering three rounds of questions - "The Unsinkable Ship," "The Last Word in Luxury" and "The Most Famous Ship in the World" - guests learned about Titanic, its parallels with Staatsburgh and Hudson Valley connections, and why it still fascinates us today. 

If you missed this month's contest, or want to re-play, the questions and answers are below. For those who want to play along at home, a custom answer sheet can be downloaded, below:

Groundbreaking Gilded Age Women in Politics

The passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920 gave some women the right to vote on a federal level, but certainly not all.  As two examples: Native Americans were not allowed to be citizens in 1920, so indigenous women did not gain suffrage as a result. Despite their very active role in fighting for women's suffrage, Black women's right to vote was less clearly secured by the passage of the Amendment, but that did not deter them from advocating consistently for their right and engaging in electoral politics. In some parts of the country, some women had been allowed to vote in local elections long before 1920, and many women ran for office!  Exactly 100 years after the 19th Amendment was ratified, the United States elected the first female vice-president.  Because of this groundbreaking election, and amidst the backdrop of much controversy regarding voting rights in our current day, we want to highlight other women who also achieved political firsts.

Women's Political Union Votes for Women Sash
Photo Credit: Smithsonian Institution

This essay will explore the groundbreaking political campaigns of five different women during this era.  We will explore the first female to legitimately run for president as well as first woman elected to various offices including administrator of a statewide office, mayor, state senator, and US representative.

A Passing Fancy: Gilded Age Crushes

During the month of February, in honor of Valentine's Day, we celebrated some of the many swoon-worthy men and women of the Gilded Age.  These short profiles take a look at four men and four women who captured the attention of Staatsburgh staff.  Originally posted on Staatsburgh's facebook page, we compiled all the posts here to share in a single essay.  

Who is your Gilded Age crush? Without further ado, here are our selections descending by age...

When Ice Came from the River: Ice Harvesting in Staatsburg

Before the invention of electric refrigeration, how did food and perishables keep cold, especially during the warm summer months?  The answer is ice.  Large blocks of ice cut from a river or lake during the winter would keep food items cool all summer.  But how did the ice move from the river into the home?  To answer that question, we must take a look at the ice harvesting industry, which was active throughout much of the north-east coast of the country (as well as inland, in northern states) between the 1830s and 1920s, and which was dominated for several decades by production on the Hudson River and nearby lakes.

Ice harvesting on the Hudson, 1912
Photo: New York State Archives, NYSA_A3045-78_830