I seem to recall seeing a meeting notice in a local Rensselaer County newspaper - the Sand Lake Advertiser - perhaps 20 years ago for the Anti-horseTheft Committee, which (as I understood it) was a modern civic club derved from the mid-19th century organization in the area. Philip Lord, Jr. Director, Division of Museum Services New York State Museum Albany, NY >>> [log in to unmask] 06/19/00 02:19PM >>> > Ian McGiver wrote: >> Is any one on the list familiar with "vigilance committees" operating in >> mid-nineteenth-century New York State? I don't think anyone has suggested horse (and cattle) theft yet. There were local anti-horse theft associations operating at this period. Chris Densmore, University at Buffalo