Likely everyone who has participated in this e-discussion has read it, but if not, I suggest, as background:

Feldman, Michael. The Turbulent Era; Riot and Disorder in Jacksonian America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980.

I think it sheds light on the question. Although not a whole lot of the volume deals with New York State, there is some material regarding New York City and Utica, and the overall premise made sense to me.
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Is any one on the list familiar with "vigilance committees" operating in
mid-nineteenth-century New York State?

I am trying to make sense of a brief notation in the town minutes for the
town of Fulton, Schoharie County. In Feb. 1840, the town formed a
"commitey at vigelence." Several men from various sections within the town
were named to be on the committee.

At that point Anti-Rent difficulties were starting up in nearby Albany
County. I know that Schoharie County farmers were paying close attention
to the Albany situation. And, within a few years, many Schoharie County
farmers would join the anti-rent resistance. The farmers in the uplands of
the town of Fulton were said to be particularly fierce in their support
for the resistance. So I am wondering if the 1840 vigilance committee
might have had something to do with the anti-rent situation. But this is
only a guess. I have no other information about this committee, or its
actions, other than this brief notation in the town records. Nor did I see
a reference to such a committee in the town an earlier or later date.

Any suggestions?

Thanks
Ian McGiver
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