Commemorating 150 Years: Kate Mullany in Troy

Did you know that there is a National Historic Site in Troy, NY? Yep, as in the National Park Service. I was not aware of it until this past Saturday.

You may recall I posted an event on the Town of Greenwich Facebook page last Friday regarding labor organizer Kate Mullany who lead the 1864 strike of collar laundry workers (women) in Troy, NY (aka the Collar City). 2014 marks the 150th anniversary of this event, lead by a teenager, which succeeded (after only 5 1/2 days) in granting the women better working conditions, higher wages, & shorter hours (the big 3).  Kate Mullany went on to become the 1st woman appointed to a National Labor Union post in 1868. The Kate Mullany House is located at 350 Eighth Street in Troy.


The event was sponsored by the Rensselaer County Historical Society. It consisted of a slide show while guests made there own strike signs. Then we marched down 2nd Street shouting like strikers. My daughter, was a bit embarrassed when I started shouting, though she didn't seem to mind the others shouting "Don't iron, while the strike is hot!" Here's a look at what you missed.

Making our strike sign for the Kate Mullany event 2014

I tweeted about our sign above.

Commemorating 150th Anniversary of Collar Laundry Strike here at @RensCoHistSoc #KateMullany. Daughter & I finished our sign. Walk next.
— Greenwich Historian (@greenwichhist) February 22, 2014

Some guests dressed the part

Slide show of the collar industry & Kate Mullany

RCHS Director, Ilene Frank, addresses the guests

Rensselaer County Historical Society (RCHS) in Troy, NY

Marching on 3rd St in Troy

Participating in the march on 3rd St in Troy

One of the photos I took I posted on my personal Instagram account (above).

We congregated in front of the NYS Dept. of Labor near the Farmer's Market

Educating the public about Kate Mullany

Strikers inside the winter Farmer's Market

Albany Rural Cemetery - History In Photos: The Presidential Grave

I apologize for the re-blog... I am reading People of Albany: During Albany's Second 200 Years (1800s & 1900s), Albany Rural Cemetery by Peter J. Hess & got to thinking about all of the people buried there. I really need to go visit this cemetery in Menands. Click on the 1st link to see the images that go along with this re-blog from Albany Rural Cemetery - History In Photos blog by Paula Lemire. The 2nd link takes you to the All Over Albany blog with a post by James Greene, Jr. Both posts are from Oct. 17, 2012. 



Albany Rural Cemetery - History In Photos: The Presidential Grave: One of my favorite local sites, All Over Albany, has an article today on what is easily the most famous grave at the Albany Rural Cemetery...

Gravespotting Chester A. Arthur.
The monument marking the resting place of President Arthur was the work of Baltimore sculptor Ephraim Keyser.  Reportedly, the elegant bronze angel and black stone sarcophagus cost $10,000.  The funds were raised by a group of the late President's friends.  It was erected in the Arthur family lot on the South Ridge in 1889, some three years after Arthur's death.
The white marble markers seen behind the monument in the antique photo below belong to members of the Arthur family, including Chester Arther's parents.  His wife's delicate Gothic sarcophagus is hidden by the larger Presidential monument in this photo, but is located just to the rear of it and it will be the subject of an upcoming post here.

In his 1893 history of the Albany Rural Cemetery, Henry P. Phelps wrote about the Arthur gravesite:

We turn now towards one of the most interesting and artistic monuments in the Cemetery, erected to the memory of Chester Alan Arthur, twenty-first president of the United States, born October 5, 1830, died November 18, 1886.  The lot is not a large one, nor is it conspicuous.  It was purchased by the president's father, Rev. William Arthur, and there he and the president's mother, wife, and son are buried.  It was right and best, of course, that Mr. Arthur should sleep among his kindred and his grave was made there before any testimonial was projected.  This is the free, cheerful, almost unasked for contribution of his friends, resident largely in the state of New York.  With few words, with little publicity, and no solicitation, a handsome sum of money was promptly raised, sufficient to pay for the monument and also for a statue in New York City.  The whole proceeding was conducted in the generous, gentlemanly way so much in accordance with the life and manner of the man whom it was sought thus to honor.