Local History News





Recent Additions to the Local History Collection

January 10, 2006


I Grew Up On A Farm by Alan K. Lewis (N JP LEW)
The New York, Ontario & Western Railway's Middletown Branch: Part One
Cornwall to Burnside (N 385.314 BAR)
Grand Old Stations & Steam Locomotives of the Ulster & Delaware by John M. Ham and Robert K. Bucenec (N 385.2 HAM)
Images of America: Newburgh, The Heart of the City by Patricia Favata(N 974.7311 FAV)
Guide to the Delaware & Hudson Canal by David G. Barber (N 974.73 BAR)
Van Keulen/Van Keuren/Van Kuren/ Van Curen, A Family History by D. G. Van Curen (N 929.2 VAN)
Gravestone Inscriptions of Ulster County, v. 1-4, compiled in 1924 by Lila James Roney (N 929.5 RON)
Shawangunk Place-Names by Marc B. Fried (N 974.734 FRI)
Images of America: The Delaware & Hudson Canal & the Gravity Railroad by Matthew M. Osterberg (N 386 OST)
Images of America: Vernon Township by Ronald Dupont (N974.976 DUP)
Images of America: Milford to the Minisink Valley by Mickley, Susan Titus (N 974.8 MIC)
Historic Hudson: An Architectural Portrait by Byrne Fone (N 974.739 FON)
The Catskill Park: Inside the Blue Line by Norman J. Van Valkenburgh and Christopher W. Olney (N 974.738 VAN)
Kaaterskill Clove: Where Nature Met Art by Raymond Beecher (N 974.737 BEE)
Catskill Mountain House Trail Guide by Robert A. Gildersleeve (N 917.47 GIL)
Images of America: Sussex County by Wayne T. McCabe (N 974.976 MCC)
As Minisink Turns...50, June 30,1955...June 30, 2005; The History of Minisink Valley Central School (N 371 AS)
Caudebec in France and England by Elwyn L. Simons (N929 SIM)
One and Two Room Schoolhouses of the Tri-Valley School District by Agnes R. Kortright (N 371.6 KOR)
A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your African-American Ancestors by Franklin Carter Smith and Emily Anne Croom (N 929.1089 SMI)
Genealogical Data From Colonial New York Newspapers, compiled by Kenneth Scott (N 929.3747 GEN)
Ancestors of Orange County, New York by D. G. Van Curen (N 929.374 VAN)
The World With A Fence Around It: Tuxedo Park- The Early Days by George M. Rushmore ( N 974.7311 RUS)
Defending the Hudson in the American Revolution by Lincoln Diamant (N 973.33 DIA)
Death Passage on the Hudson: The Wreck of the Henry Clay by Kris A. Hansen (N 386.4 HAN)
The Records of the Sparrowbush Pine Hill Cemetery, Sparrowbush, New York, 1856-2003 (N 929.374 REC)
The Record of Two Centuries, 1804-2004: A Compilation of Two Books; Warwick Reformed Church, Warwick, NY (N 285 REC)
Old Stone Walls: Catskill Land and Lore by Norman J. Van Valkenburgh (N 396.2 VAN)
Vital Records of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Walden, Orange County, New York 1793-1906 (N 285.732 VIT)
An Enchanted Land: the Shawangunk Mountains by John E. Winkler (N 974.7 WIN)
The Hieronimus Weller Family in America by R. H. Weller (N 929.2 WEL)




Other Recent Additions to the Local History Collection:


The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England 1634-1635. v.2 C-F N 929.3 AND
The Great Migration Newsletter v1-5 1990-1994; v6-10, 1997-2001 N 929.3 AND
Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of Middletown Lodge #1097 Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, 1908-1983 N 974.731 COM
Orange County Comprehensive Plan: Strategies for Quality Communities in the 21st Century. N 974.731 ORA
Historical & Genealogical Miscellany: Data Relating to the Settlement and Settlers of NY & NJ. 5 volumes N 929.3749 STI
Horse Farms & Homesteads in Old Orange County by Robert C. Eurich. N 974.731 EUR
Images of America: Middletown by Marvin H. Cohen N 974.731 COH
A Guide to the New York Ontario & Western Railway's Southern Division: Cornwall to Liberty by Charles M. Breiner & William E. Scott. N 385.314 BRE
Records of the Laurel Grove Cemetery, Port Jervis, NY, 1864-2000 N 929.3747 REC
The Shawangunk Mountains: A History of Nature and Man by Bradley Snyder N 974.73 SNY
Images of America: Port Jervis by Matthew M. Osterberg. N 974.731 OST
Blooming Grove, Orange County, NY 1865 Census & Related Area Obituaries compiled by Robert W. Brennan. N 317.47 BLO
Tuxedo Park by Jennet Conant. N B Loomis
Newburgh in the American Revolution by Albert Gedney Barratt N 974.7311 BAR
Goshen Rotary History and Goshen Rotary, 1928-1978. N 974.7950 GOS
Memories of Pop and the Ontario & Western Railway by Clyde R. Conrow;
Train Control on the New York Ontario & Western Railway by Robert E. Mohowski N 385.314 CON
Diamond Jubilee, 1914-1989, Otterkill Engine Company No. 1, 75 Years Serving Hamptonburgh. N 974.7951 DIA
Bridging the Hudson: the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge and Its Connecting Rail Lines, by Carleton Mabee. N 385.0974 MAB
Thomas Cornell and the Cornell Steamboat Company, by Stuart Murray. N 386.2 MUR
Geology of New York: A Simplified Account. 2d ed. NYS Museum N 557.47 GEO
New York's Hudson: America's Valley, by Ted Spiegel. N 974.73 SPI
Songs and Sketches of the First Clearwater Crew, compiled and edited by Don McLean. N 784.49 McL
Genealogical Society of Rockland County Funeral Home Records Series, 2002: v.1 The Records of the A.W. Dutcher's Sons Funeral Home
1878-1965; v.2 The Records of the George M. Holt Funeral Home Including Purdy & McKenzie 1864-1953. N 929.5 REC
Burials at Brick Church Cemetery Rockland County, New York, 1774-1994. N 929.5 BUR
The March of the New Windsor Militia to the Defense of Ft. Montgomery, Oct. 6,1777, by Louis V. Mills. N 974.731 MIL
Florida, New York, Orange County: An Early Look at its Faces, Places, and Winding Staircases by The Florida Historical Society, 2002. N 974.7 FLO
The Battle of Fort Montgomery: A Short History by Jan Sheldon Conley. N 974.731 CON
Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants Awarded by State Governments by Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck. N 333.16 BOC
Pierce's Register. N 973.34 U.S.
Families of Bergen County, New Jersey, by Frances Westervelt. N 974.212 WES
High Point State Park and the Civilian Conservation Corps, by Peter Osborne. N 974.976 OSB
We Can Take It! The Roosevelt Tree Army at New Jersey's High Point State Park 1933-1941, by Peter Osborne. N 974.976 OSB
New York State Probate Records: A Genealogist's Guide to Testate & Intestate Records, by Gordon L. Remington N 929.3 REM
New York State Towns, Villages, and Cities: A Guide to Genealogical Sources, by Gordon L. Remington. N 929.3 REM
The Canaller's Songbook, by William Hullfish. N 784.49 HUL
Collections of the New York Historical Society 1891, Muster Rolls of New York Provincial Troops 1755-1764. N 974.702 MUS
A Guide to the New York Ontario & Western Railway's Monticello, Port Jervis & Kingston Division, by Charles M. Breiner, and William E. Scott. N 385.314 BRE
Mountain Top & Valley: Green County Folk Arts Today by F. Horne (N974.737 HOR)
Folk Medicine of the Delaware & Related Algonkian Indians by G. Tantaquidgeon (N9740.004 TAN)
The Chardavoynes in America by G.Corwin & V. Chardavoyne Corwin (N929.2 COR)
Genealogical History of Black Families of Orange County, New York by R.W. Brennan (N929 BRE)
A Hudson Valley Reader: Writings from the 17th Century to the Present, edited by B. Marranca (N974.73 HUD)
From Scranton to Cadosia along the New York O&W Railway Co. by S. A. Marder (N385.314 MAR)
100 Years (April 26, 1899-April 26, 1999), Orange County Golf Club (N796.352 Orange)
The Archaeology of the Tocks Island Area by H.C. Craft (N970.4497 KRA)
The Minisink Site by H.C.Kraft (N974.976 KRA)
A Hill, a Branch, and the Pecksport Loop by J. Taibi, O&W Railway Historical Society (N385.314 TAI)
Old Gravestones of Ulster County, New York (N929.574 POU)
Old Gravestones of Dutchess County, New York (N929.509 POU)
Fire Towers of the Catskills by M. Podskoch (N634.9 POD)
Early Deeds & Documents of the Minisink Region, compiled by T.H. Satter (N929.3747 SAT)
Monroe, NY Bicentennial Showcase: 1776-1976 (N974.73 BIC)
Guide to the Archives of Orange & Rockland Counties and the Towns of Ramapo & Warwick (N974.73 GUI)
Dear Sister: The Civil War Letters of the Brothers Gould by R.F. Harris (N973.781 PEA)
The Winding Delaware by P. DeNio (N973.0074 PEN)
Collage by Jonathan Talbot (N702.812 TAL)
History of Wayne County, PA by P.G. Goodrich (N974.73 GOO)
The Catskill Forest, A History by M. Kudish (N333.78 KUD)
Damascus Manor by A.V. Tyler (N974.823 TYL)
Chester Presbyterian Church by H. Predmore (N285.1 PRE)
Historic Catskill by J.V.V. Vedder (N974.737 VED)
St. Mary's in Tuxedo by D. Crofut (N283.747 CRO)
Ghosts, Haunted Hudson Valley and More Haunted Hudson Valley by Linda Zimmermann (N133.1 ZIM)
Gleanings from Rockland History, 4 pamphlets (N974.728 HIS)
Once upon a Memory: The Upper Delaware, 3 vol (N974.9 ONCE)
Orange County Gets a College by S.M. Morrison (N974.731 MOR)
From Sunset to Cock's Crow: Woodstock & Catskill Mountain Folklore, Witchcraft & Herbal Lore by N. Shultis (N398.2 SHU)
The Diary of Kitsey Horton Lain, 1884 (N B LAIN)
Dutch Schultz & His Lost Catskills' Treasure by J. Conway (N B Schultz)
Images of America: Newburgh by K. Barrett (N974.7311 BAR)
The Catskills in Vintage Postcards by I. Richman (N974.7 RIC)
The Palisades, a Surprising Wilderness (N917.47 PAL)
The West Point Foundry & the Parrott Gun by C.R. Isleib (N672.209 ISL)
Cameradoi Sing to Me: Poems Inspired by Walt Whitman at Bear Mountain (N811.5 CAM)
Meet Your Chester: A Handbook, sponsored by St. Paul's Church (N270 BAK)
Rockland County New York in the 1790s by J.M. Haley (N974.728 HAL)
Genealogies of New Jersey Families, 2 vol. (N929.3749 GEN)
Erie Railroad Trackside with Robert F. Collins by Larry DeYoung (N385 ERIE)
The First 50 Years Keepsake Journal of O.C.C.C. (N974.731 FIR)
1901-2001 Middletown Thrall Library Commemorative Centennial Journal (N974.731 MID)
The Hudson Valley: Our Heritage, Our Future by the Poughkeepsie Journal (N974 HUD)




Local History Image Search



Our image search currently contains hundreds of images portraying local area interests and persons over nearly two hundred years. These images are from our Digital History Initiative, which contains online editions of rare local history texts. The image database will continue to expand.

Click here for the search engine.


Photographs from the Historical Society



Middletown Thrall Library has been permitted by Historical Society of Middletown and the Wallkill Precinct, Inc. to digitize part of their extensive photographic collection and make them available on the Internet and on computer in the library. These images highlight notable features in and around the City of Middletown, including schools, buildings, businesses, places of worship, streets, trains and train stations. Class photos and a variety of personalities also populate this vivid exhibit. You may access these photographs at http://www.thrall.org/photos. The library has presented to the historical society a CD-ROM containing images digitized for this project.



Obituary Database Online



Middletown Thrall Library has created an obituary database which you may search. To access the database please click here. For more information or assistance please call 341-5483.



Additions to the Local History Collection



1. The Mountains Look Down: A History of Chichester, A Company Town in the Catskills by Reginald Bennett
2. The Hudson Valley Dutch & Their Houses by Harrison Meeske
3. The Riverkeepers by John Cronin and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
4. Preserving the Railroad Heritage of the Catskill Mountains; Ulster & Delaware Railroad (A Commemorative Brochure) Empire State Railway Museum, Inc.
5. Shawangunk: Adventure, Exploration, History and Epiphany from a Mountain Wilderness by Marc B. Fried
6. Illustrated Guide to Hudson River Fishes by James M. Haynes and Norman J. Frisch
7. The Underground Railroad in Orange County, N.Y.: The Silent Rebellion by Roger A. King
8. Jewish Farmers of the Catskills: A Century of Survival by Abraham D. Lavender & Clarence B. Steinberg
9. Images of America: Montgomery, New York by Robert L. Williams
10. 10,000 Vital Records of Central New York 1813-1850 by Fred Q. Bowman
11. 10,000 Vital Records of Easter New York 1777-1834 by Fred Q. Bowman
12. 10,000 Vital Records of Western New York 1809-1850 by Fred Q. Bowman
13. The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England 1634-1635 (vol. I A-B) by Anderson, Sanborn & Sanborn
14. A Family History, Eddy Farm by Frank D. Patterson II
15. Ellenville Days and Ways by Dorothy H. Sanderson
16. The Story of the River Road: Life along the Delaware from Bushkill to Milford, Pike County, PA by William F. Henn
17. History of Minisink Township by Doris E. COle
18. Wawayanda, Our Town (In Celebration of Its 150th Year Nov. 27, 1849 - Nov. 27, 1999) by Elaine Flynn et al.
19. The Village of Monroe: The Celebration of a Century by Cornelia Bush et al.
20. Caudebec in America by William Louis Cuddeback
21. Old Burying Grounds Within Harriman & Bear Mountain State Parks by Marjorie Smeltzer-Stevenot
22. Warwick Historical Papers. 2 vols. Historical Society of the Town of Warwick, Orange County, New York
23. The Hudson: An Illustrated Guide to the Living River by Stanne, Panetta & Forist
24. Shandaken, New York, A pictorial History by Lonnie & Ruth Gale
25. The Minisink: A chronicle of one of America's first and last frontiers by Bertland, Valence & Woodling
26. Wallkill, Orange County, New York. Volume One (Vital Statistics 1881-1913, Census 1900, Area Obituaries)
27. Pine Hill Cemetery/Families by Bob Brennan
28. Mapes Genealogy. 3 vols. by Joseph Boyle, et al
29. Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley. 3 vols. 1913 ed.
30. Hulce/Hulse Genealogy. 3 vols.
31. The King's Men on Command: A Compilation of the New Jersey Loyalist Volunteers in the American Revolution by Theodore V. Brush
32. Genealogies of Pennsylvannia Families. 3 vols. (From the Pennsylvannia Genealogical Magazine).




The League of Women Voters



In June, 2000, the League of Women Voters of Orange County donated videos, scrapbooks, pamphlets and other materials pertaining to their organization, to the library's Local History collection.


Additions to the Local History Collection





Digital History Initiative Update:
Historic Post Cards - These historic post cards represent architectural structures central to Middletown's rich heritage and illustrate, without words, the evolution of a small town from a quaint development to cultural epicenter. * Click here to begin viewing "Post Cards"

The original souvenir post cards are available in the Local History department at the library.



Digital History Initiative Update:
"Middletown Thrall Library, 1901-1996: A Historical Study of a Small City Public Library" offers rare insight into one of Middletown's most important social, cultural and educational institutions: the library. This comprehensive work covers nearly a century of the library's evolution, from its beginnings to the new Thrall Library on Depot Street. Click here to begin reading this work.






Digital History Initiative Update:
"Middletown: A Retrospect of the Years" is an illustrated introduction to the history of Middletown, New York. This work is now completely accessible through our website for the benefit of local students and teachers, patrons, and our Internet visitors. Please click here to begin reading "Middletown: A Retrospect of the Years."



Digital History Initiative Update:
"Middletown Firsts" is our latest Digital History document to come online, thanks in part to Peter Laskaris of the Middletown Historical Society, who gave us permission to make this information available to our patrons and all those interested in the history of Middletown, New York. To access this work, please click here.



Middletown Thrall Library has recently published "Documenting the Agricultural Records of the Black Dirt Region." This documentation project was funded in part by a grant from the New York State Archives Documentary Heritage Program, 1997 - 98. You may read the report, in its entirety, at our website at http://www.thrall.org/blackdirt. A copy of the report is also available at the library in Local History.



DIGITAL HISTORY PROJECT

Middletown: A Photographic History, by Peter A. Laskaris



[cover] Click here to access the complete illustrated volume.




PRESS RELEASE


Middletown Thrall Library has received a grant from the New York State Documentary Heritage Program, which is part of the New York State Archives and Records Administration, for the 1997/1998 year. The library will receive $5,235, to continue with a survey of the farming operations and agricultural organizations of the unique black dirt area of Orange County, New York, to locate appropriate records for collection and preservation, and to produce a finding aid to the records. This is the second year that the library has received a grant from the Documentary Heritage Program.

The project director is Gail Myker, Local History Librarian at Middletown Thrall Library. The project archivist is Christopher Gratzel, Assistant Archivist at Westchester County Archives and Records Center, and the project consultant is Frances Sodrick, Pine Island Historian and Deputy Historian for the town of Warwick.

For more information, please call the Local History Librarian at 341-5483.


[OC Onions] Click here to view a local brochure associated with this project.





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