Hi Bill--I have been working on surveys of underground railroad sites in
central New York and have discovered how difficult it is to locate copies of
antislavery newspapers from before the Civil War. Specifically, there are
two titles that seem to be incredibly rare. One is the Friend of Man,
published in Utica, 1836-1842. The version for sale through Pro Quest is not
anywhere near complete. I know that a complete run exists somewhere, since I
used it for my dissertation in the mid-1970s. The State Library does not
seem go have this, nor do the others libraries I have contacted. Jan
D'Amicus, from Utica College, thought it might be at SUNY Plattsburgh.
    The other paper is the Liberty Press, published in Madison County in the
1840s. There are scattered copies in places like the Wisconsin Historical
Society, but the only consistent run I have been able to find is at the
Onondaga Historical Association in Syracuse, which has two years (I think)
on microfilm.
    Another one at the OHA, this one in hard copy made from microfilm, is
the Madison and Onondaga Abolitionist. I don't know where the originals of
either one of these are, but it would be good to identify them and make some
copies for the State Library, since they are so rare and so useful for
underground railroad research.
    Thanks for listening! Judy Wellman

> From: Bill Schilling <[log in to unmask]>
> Reply-To: "A LISTSERV list for discussions pertaining to New York State
> history." <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 16:44:19 -0400
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: NYS Newspaper Project Celebration
>
> New York State Library microfilms
> 3 millionth page of New York State history contained in newspapers
>
> ALBANY - The public is invited to celebrate more than 3 million pages of New
> York State history captured in newspapers at the New York State Library on
> Tuesday, October 8 at 4 p.m.  The event marks the microfilming of the 3
> millionth page of New York State history contained in newspapers by the
> Library's New York State Newspaper Project.
>
> Admission is free.  Refreshments will be served. Glen Liebman will talk on how
> he uses newspapers to gather material for the collections of sports and
> political jokes he has published, including the recently released Grand Slams!
> The Ultimate Collection of Baseball's Best Quips, Quotes and Cutting Remarks.
>
> Laid end to end, the three million pages of newspaper would stretch more than
> 1100 miles. (That's almost two complete round trips between the Capital
> District and Buffalo or four round trips between the region and New York City
> or between the region and Plattsburgh.)  Using microfilmed newspapers you can
> relive the county fair of 1902 or the day the circus came to town in 1932 or
> find out what other momentous event occurred on the day you were born.
>
> The New York State Library will also pay special tribute to former New York
> State Library Director Peter J. Paulson, who was an early leader in
> recognizing the exceptional value of newspapers for research purposes.  A
> tireless advocate for the preservation of newspapers, Paulson set the
> foundations for creation of the New York State Newspaper Project in 1987.
>
> The New York State Newspaper Project inventories and microfilms newspaper
> collections throughout the state. The project has completed inventorying the
> holdings of repositories in 56 of the state's 62 counties and currently is
> inventorying in Westchester County and the five counties of New York City.
>
> The New York State Newspaper Project is a program of the New York State
> Library, part of the State Education Department. New Yorkers can access the
> microfilmed newspapers anywhere in the state at their local library via
> Interlibrary Loan from the New York State Library. The Project is part of the
> United States Newspaper Program, a cooperative national effort among the
> states and the federal government to locate, catalog and preserve on microfilm
> newspapers published in the United States from the 18th century to the
> present.
>
> The USNP has supported projects in each of the fifty states, the District of
> Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Funding is provided by the
> National Endowment for the Humanities. Technical assistance is furnished by
> the Library of Congress.
>
> For more information on the New York State Newspaper Project go to the New
> York State Library's web site at www.nysl.nysed.gov and click on New York
> State Newspaper Project.
>
> For information on the October 8 program call Vicki Weiss at 518-474-4461.