New York Archives - Chris Carosa

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: How Commonality Saved Captain Charles Williamson And Western New York

By Chris Carosa on July 9, 2024

Previous: Canandaigua Anxiously Waits Before Jubilation And An Elegant Supper

Captain Charles Williamson was responsible for developing much of the Genesee Country between Preemption Line and the Genesee River. Source: Main, William, Charles Williamson, Cowan & Co., Ltd., Perth, 1899, frontpiece

He was a proud Tory and Captain in the British army who volunteered to fight for King George III against the rebellious colonists. She was a proud Patriot whose father graciously saw in this prisoner of war a common human element.

Before we get into this backstory, let’s review why it’s so important.

In December 1786, the states of New York and Massachusetts agreed to resolve a conflict started by the kings of England. Those monarchs made a royal mess of Western New York, at one time or another granting rights to all or portions of it to no less than five colonies.

By the end of the American Revolution, three states had claims to the Greater Western New York region: New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut (a sliver along the southern tier). With Connecticut quickly quitting its claim, New York and Massachusetts stood nose-to-nose. With the Articles of Confederation dissolving, the two states decided to circumvent that ineffective parchment and meet in neutral territory. Ironically, this meeting took place in the state of Continue Reading “Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: How Commonality Saved Captain Charles Williamson And Western New York”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, History, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Abagail Newell, Articles of Confederation, Bath, Boston, Canada, Charles Williamson, Colonel Hugh Maxwell, Connecticut, Edinburgh Regiment, Genesee Trail, Geneva, George Washington, Iroquois Confederacy, John Graves Simcoe, Joseph Ellicott, King George III, Massachusetts, Nathaniel Gorham, New York, Newburyport, Oliver Phelps, Patrick Colquhoun, Preemption Line, Revolutionary War, Robert Morris, Roger Hale Sheaffe, Route 5 & 20, Sir William Pulteney, Sodus, State Road, The Association, The Gore, Treaty of Hartford, William Hornby

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: The State Of Greater Western New York In 1825

By Chris Carosa on April 23, 2024

Previous: Lafayette Prepares To Enter The Greater Western New York Region

WNY portion of 1825 map published by H.S. Tanner, 177 Chestnut St. Philadelphia.

Remember how excited you were when you began a new school year, started a new job, or moved to a new place? Life fills you with promise and anticipation. You can’t wait to wake up and start the next day. Everything is sunshine and roses.

Then reality inevitably interrupts. Things get overwhelming. Despair and sometimes desperation set in. It seems as if you’re trapped. You can’t see a way out.

But, somehow, you find a way. You get over that hump. (Because, when you get over things, what once seemed like an overbearing mountain now appears as nothing more than a mere bothersome bump.)

Again, you look forward to tomorrow with an enthusiasm you thought you’d never again have.

Such was the state of Greater Western New York. It began as an enthusiastic rush into the Continue Reading “Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: The State Of Greater Western New York In 1825”

Posted in History, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Aaron Miller, Batavia, Black Rock, Britain, Buffalo, Byron, Canada, Canandaigua, E.F. Warren, Erie Canal, Genesee Country, Geneva, Herkimer, Indonesia, Iroquois Confederacy, John Butler, Joseph Ellicott, Lafayette, lease, Lessees, Massachusetts, Mount Tambora, New York, New York Genesee Land Company, Niagara Falls, Niagara Genesee Land Company, Ontario, Orsamus Turner, Otsego, Phelps & Gorham, Phelps and Gorham, Preemption Line, Revolutionary War, Rochester, Seneca, Six Nations, Tioga, Treaty of Hartford, War of 1812, Warren

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Lafayette Prepares To Enter The Greater Western New York Region

By Chris Carosa on March 19, 2024

Previous: Overview Of His 1824-1825 American Visit (Part II)

The sun rose the morning of Friday, June 3, 1825, at 4:05am local time in Waterford, Pennsylvania.¹ Lafayette had two weeks—14 days—to travel 550 miles and visit almost two dozen towns and villages before the June 17^th dedication of the Bunker Hill Monument in Boston. He was determined to meet every community he promised to visit. Speed was of the essence.

But he couldn’t show it. At least not in a too obvious way.

Roughly three hours after the break of dawn, at about 7 o’clock, Lafayette’s party left Waterford for the seat of the County, Erie, Pennsylvania.² Though technically still in the Continue Reading “Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Lafayette Prepares To Enter The Greater Western New York Region”

Posted in History, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Andrew Ellicott, Battle of Lake Erie, Boston, Bunker Hill Monument, Captain Budd, cessation, cessions, Daniel Dobbins, Erie, Erie Triangle, French, General B. Wallace, Genesee Country, George Washington, Joseph Ellicott, Judah Colt, Lafayette, Lake Erie, Levasseur, Massachusetts, New York, Oliver Hazard Perry, Pennsyvalnia, Presqu' Isle, Revolutionary War, Rochester, War of 1812, Waterford

It’s Easier For Greater Western New York To Become Its Own State Than For Washington DC To Achieve Statehood

By Chris Carosa on April 27, 2021

There’s a verse in the Bible about it being easier “for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24 for those keeping score.) The latest escapades out of the House of Representatives got me thinking about this.

There’s also something about power that brings out the sorrowful worst in people, at once exposing their ego as well as their ignorance. Once again, the House provider fodder for this feeling.

Last Thursday, while you were reading the third part on “The Story of Abraham Parrish,” the House decided it was time for Washington DC to become a state.

No. Seriously. They actually did this.

It won’t go far in the Senate, or so promises Chuck Schumer. We’ll see. Like I said, power Continue Reading “It’s Easier For Greater Western New York To Become Its Own State Than For Washington DC To Achieve Statehood”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Chuck Schumer, Constitution, Continental Congress, Federalist No. 43, James Madison, Matthew 19:24, New York, Robert Reich, Washington DC

First They Came for Our Plastics Bags…

By Chris Carosa on February 4, 2020

First they came for our plastic bags, and I did not speak out – because I am but a small voice and could do nothing.

I offer this allusion because Martin Niemöller’s poem remains as profound today as it was when the Lutheran pastor penned his post-war confession in 1946. It’s language of persecution, oppression, and injustice, along with the attendant feelings of shame, regret, and the aura of culpability, ring true today in the Empire State as they once did in the totalitarian morass that immediately succeeded the Weimar Republic.

More on that in a moment. First, a bit of (more) recent history.

By the time Mr. Maguire whispered the word “plastics” into Benjamin Braddock’s attentive, albeit naïve, ear in the 1967 hit movie The Graduate, it had already been two years since Continue Reading “First They Came for Our Plastics Bags…”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Albany, Benjamin Braddock, Cellopast, Cuomo, Empire State, Gustaf Thulin Sten, Kroger, Martin Niemoller, Mr. Maguire, New York, plastic bag, Safeway, T-shirt plastic bag, Wegmans, Weimar Republic

5 Reasons Why Splitting From New York Would be a Bonanza for Greater Western New York

By Chris Carosa on March 19, 2019

A few weeks ago a Syracuse media outlet published an article denouncing the idea of splitting New York into multiple states. It is recommended that you read that article before reading this one. The article was entitled “5 reasons why splitting New York would be a disaster for Upstate,” by Mark Weiner. It appeared on March 5, 2019 on the NYUp.com website. [The on-line version of this Carosa Commentary contains a live link to that article.]

What follows is meant to mimic Weiner’s article by using the same data and quotes to reach a 180° opposite conclusion. It starts with the very title. Weiner concludes “studies show the split into two states would likely be an economic disaster for Upstate New York, experts say. The region simply depends too heavily on taxes and fees paid by wealthy residents and corporations in New York City and its suburbs.” I’ll present his very same arguments, with very little additional information, and come to a completely Continue Reading “5 Reasons Why Splitting From New York Would be a Bonanza for Greater Western New York”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Albany, David Friedfel, E.J. McMahon, Empire Center for Public Policy, Falconer, Jamestown, M&T Bank, Mark Weiner, Mark's Pizzeria, minimum wage, New York, New York Association of Counties, New York City, Preemption Line, Rockefeller Institute of Government, SUNY, Truck-Lite

Sorry, Mr. President, It’s Not “Flee” New York, It’s “Free” Western New York

By Chris Carosa on February 12, 2019

If you’re from Greater Western New York, you love it. That makes you part of a long tradition. American patriots felt the same way during the Revolutionary War. In 1779, George Washington dispatched General Sullivan to thwart the British and their Iroquois allies based in Western New York from continuing their lethal terror attacks on the small towns and settlements along the edge of the then New York frontier. When Sullivan’s troops first laid eyes on the beautiful landscape, they immediately knew where they wanted to spend the rest of their lives: Western New York.

Why would you be any different? And yet, living in Western New York too often becomes a burden. Although not as bad as it was decades ago, outsiders continue to disrespect our region. We’ve been the butt of late-night TV jokes. Organizations routinely bypass our bounty, lured by promised riches from others. Even our own state leaders forsake us. We’ve seen this as recently as when the New York-Albany axis decided to use our Continue Reading “Sorry, Mr. President, It’s Not “Flee” New York, It’s “Free” Western New York”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Amazon, Andrew Cuomo, Chuck Schumer, Donald Trump, General Sullivan, George Washington, Greater Western New York, Joseph Griffo, New York, New York-Albany axis, Queens, Ronald Reagan

The Night the Grand Old Party Died

By Chris Carosa on April 12, 2016

I was sitting in Amtrak’s Metropolitan Lounge at Union Station when it started. By the time I had already boarded the train, it was done.

On the evening of March 11, 2016, thousands of violent agitators marched their way towards downtown Chicago, intent on disrupting a scheduled campaign stop by Donald Trump, the leading candidate of a major American political party. Rumors swirled in advance of this event. It was believed various foreign funded Democrat operatives, along with the same Republican operatives that used this technique successfully in a 2014 Senatorial primary campaign, were working together to stop the Trump campaign appearance.

While it was never confirmed who organized the intimidating show of force, it worked. Large numbers of the Anti-Trump gang had maneuvered themselves into the University of Illinois’s Pavilion. Long before the speech was scheduled to begin, the troublemakers had Continue Reading “The Night the Grand Old Party Died”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Amtrak, Brownshirts, Casablanca, GOP, Hillary Clinton, Humphrey Bogart, Mendon Town Republican Committee, Nazi, New York, Snow storm, Trump

New York Governor’s Race: A Corleone Election

By Chris Carosa on October 18, 2010

OK, I just watched the debate. Rather, I just listened to the debate. Here’s what I’m convinced of: With all due respect to the minor party candidates, it’s pretty clear the matter of who will serve as New York State’s next governor comes down to a choice of these two characters:

Sonny Corleone
– or –
Michael Corleone

I guess that would make the sum total of all the candidates Fredo “You’re dead to me” Corleone.

But about the two main characters, the metaphor is so juicy we’ve got to wonder if Coppola isn’t in the wings writing the script. On one hand there’s the crude hot-headed thug whose wild passion constantly gets him in trouble but, in the end, probably will Continue Reading “New York Governor’s Race: A Corleone Election”

Posted in Western New York State of Mind Tagged Corleone, Godfather, New York, politics

Western New York Media Market: Whole Greater than Sum?

By Chris Carosa on January 18, 2010

A decade ago, before the financial crisis that opened the first decade of the new millennium, Adelphia Communications, in addition to a cable channel called the Empire Sports Network, owned a radio station with the call letters WNSA. The two worked in tandem and, at least until the falling stock market exposed the Regis family, this modest media juggernaut gained a respectful audience.

On the cusp of a content driven era, the small cable company had, together with the Buffalo Bills, successfully begun to build connections within a broader Western New York Region. This bigger footprint would include not only Buffalo and Niagara Falls, but also Rochester, Jamestown and several other cities within the roughly seventeen western-most counties of New York State. With a growing national market, Adelphia offered the allure of becoming the new century’s CNN (or at least ESPN). And with its intention to build an impressive headquarters in the state’s Queen City, Buffalo finally had a new hope – one that might bring it to rival Atlanta in cable communications.

But, as it seems to have happened to our region ever since Canada left us no choice but to build the Saint Lawrence Seaway, fate once again dealt a bad hand. Continue Reading “Western New York Media Market: Whole Greater than Sum?”

Posted in Western New York State of Mind Tagged 107.7, Adelphia, Bills, Buffalo, Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, Channel 2, CNN, D&C, Democrat & Chronicle, Democrat and Chronicle, Empire Sports Network, Enron, Entercom, ESPN, Jamestown, New York, New York State, Niagara Falls, Queen City, Regis, Rochester, Sabres, Saint Lawrence Seaway, Southern Tier, The Lake, Western New York, Western NY, Wethersfield, WGRZ, WGRZ-AM, WGRZ-TV, WLKK, WNSA, WNSA-FM, WROC-AM, Wyoming County