Thursday, February 28, 2008

1936 newspaper article on the history of Berne


I have decided to post a series of photos of local cemeteries, one each blog. The above photo of the Bogardus Farm Burying Ground was taken in October, 2005 by Gerald Dietz. He photographed each stone while his brother, Allen, transcribed them. The results are now posted on the Berne Historical Project site. Before that there was no record of who was buried there. This cemetery really needs to be cleared of brush and cleaned up. There are undoubtedly fallen stones that should be found and at least transcribed, and at best reset.

  • Here is an interesting article on the history of Berne that I found on the Old Fulton NY Postcards site. Among other subjects, it talks about former Associate Chief Justice of the United States Joseph Philo Bradley who was born on a farm on Cole Hill a mile from where I grew up. Also discussed is White Sulphur Springs Hotel which has been boarded up for the last fifty years or so.
  • There is a picture of a house in the 1936 article with a caption:
    This neat dwelling in the heart of Berne hamlet was erected more than a century and a quarter ago and used as a tavern. Recruiting for the war of 1812 was conducted in the building.
    It looks like it has a NYS Historical Marker in front of it. Can someone identify this building for me and send me a current photo, please.
  • The article also has a photo of the Lutheran Church with the caption:
    As the largest available auditorium at the time, this old church was the scene of a political convention at Berne in 1845. Three hundred delegates from 10 Capital District Counties assembled to vote support at the polls for only those legislative candidates opposed to the patroon system of rents.
    Henry Christman, in Tin Horns and Calico, a Decisive Episode in the Emergence of Democracy. ISBN 0-685-61130-2, says there were 150 delegates from 11 counties. The meeting was a turning point in the Antirent Wars.

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