Columbia County 250: A Look Back at the Albany County Committee of Correspondence
Please join the municipal Historians of Columbia County New York and the Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution for an open house at the Historic Robert Jenkins House on May 10th, 2025 from 1pm to 3pm. Remarks provided by historians will be followed by a 2pm docent-led tour. The house is located at 113 Warren Street in Hudson.
May 10th is an important date in Revolutionary War history. It marks 250 years since delegates from our area were first elected to the Albany County Committee of Correspondence. Such committees, located throughout the 13 colonies, were key to organizing local patriotic efforts during the war’s early years. May 10th is also the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga. That day’s election and the attack on Fort Ticonderoga were very tightly connected, as can be seen from a reading of the minutes of that Committee of Correspondence wherein it is revealed that it had been requested to supply arms to the action at Ticonderoga. And the Committee was also responding to events at Lexington and Concord of just a month before. In fact, the Committee was collecting donations “to the relief of the said Poor at Boston.” The minutes can be found at babel.hathitrust.org.
What we know as Columbia County was not split off from Albany County until 1786, eleven years later. Local Committee delegates with family names that are recognizable today include Ten Broeck, Bay, Silvester, Livingston, Jansen, Rockefeller, Van Ness, Van Rensselaer, Essenstyn, Hogeboom, Van Aelstyn, Goes, Vossburgh, and Staats. Within the Committee, what would become Columbia County was split into several local districts. One, called German Camp, is very significant since this was the first time the children and grandchildren of Palatine settlers had political representation separate from Livingston Manor.
The Committee, established in late 1774, at first met every few weeks. With the April battles at Lexington and Concord, meeting frequency accelerated dramatically, sometimes every few days–remarkable given that traveling and communication were so much more difficult and time-consuming.
At the Robert Jenkins House, and aside from the docent-led tour at 2pm, the impressive collection of the Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution will be on display. Attendees will also have an opportunity to talk with local historians over light hors d’oeuvres.
There is a suggested donation of $20 to help with restoration efforts on the Robert Jenkins House.
The Historians’ website is available at historian.columbiacountyny.com. The Hendrick Hudson Chapter website is available at hudson-dar.org. Questions may be directed to 518.828.9764.
Date
- May 10 2025
Time
- 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
More Info
Location
- 113 Warren Street, Hudson, NY, USA
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Website
https://hudson-dar.org -
Historic Robert Jenkins House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, in Hudson, NY. The c 1811 house and grounds are owned and operated by the Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).