Hi Ian--Vigilance committees were being formed in many NYS towns as part
of a network to freedom for fugitives from slavery. David Ruggles operated
a Vigilance Committee in NYC, and, beginning in 1838, upstate communities
were forming them as well, perhaps in response to a call from Ruggles,
although I am not sure of this. Best, Judy Wellman

On Thu, 8 Jun 2000, Ian McGiver wrote:

> 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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>