News

The Association of Public Historians of New York State (APHNYS) is pleased to announce the election of its new officers for the year 2025. The election took place at the organization's 2025 organizational meeting on January 10, 2025.

Julie Madlin, City of Ogdensburg Historian, was elected as the President of APHNYS. 

Samantha Hall-Saladino, Fulton County Historian, was elected as the 1st Vice-President. Lauren Roberts, Saratoga County Historian, was elected as the 2nd Vice-President.

Sarah Landschoot Riegel, Town of Phelps Historian, was elected as the Secretary, and 

Mary Cascone, Town of Babylon Historian, was elected as the Treasurer.

The APHNYS Board of Directors is responsible for overseeing the organization's operations and advocating for the preservation of New York State's history. The board holds regular meetings on the second Friday of each month from 9:30 to 11 am, which are held online via Zoom. The board can be contacted at any time through the organization's website at https://www.aphnys.org/APHNYS-Officers-and-Directors.

The APHNYS Program Committee is still accepting proposals for our upcoming 2024 Annual Conference being held on Long Island this year! Our theme, It's a Whale of a Tale: Outstanding Narratives in NYS History, is meant to inspire historians to think about the way historical narrative is shaped, as well as how it is conveyed to the public. Proposals can include individual sessions, workshops or panel discussions. The deadline to submit proposals is April 30th. To view our conference theme or submit a proposal, click here: https://aphnys.org/page-18086

The 2024 Regional Spring Conference Schedule is linked here. We hope you'll take the opportunity to attend, meet with fellow historians and learn something new! Regional Meetings.pdf

At its 2024 organizational meeting on January 9, 2024, the APHNYS Board of Directors elected the following officers for the year:

President—Christine Ridarsky

1st Vice-President—Julie Madlin

2nd Vice-President—Samantha Hall-Saladino

Secretary—Babette Huber

Treasurer—Mary Cascone

Regular meetings of the board will be held on the second Friday of each month from 9:30 to 11 am.  Most meetings will be held online via Zoom or Google Meet. Committee appointments will be announced soon.

The 2023 Annual Conference is just a little over a month away! Don't forget to register! We've updated the preliminary conference program to include details on the keynote speaker and tour options. Check it out here. We can't wait to see you in Ithaca in September!

Once again, APHNYS will have fun historian merchandise available for purchase at the annual conference, September 18-20, 2023. Make sure you get what you want before it sells out by pre-ordering using this form.

We will send you an email confirming the total cost of your order. Payment will be made in person at the conference by cash, check or charge card. Additional items will be for sale at the conference.

If you have any questions, please email mcascone@townofbabylon.com.

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society’s (NYG&B) 2023 New York State Family History Conference will be held in person and virtually Nov. 2–4, 2023. This year’s conference, “Navigating New York: From Queens to the Queen City,” will feature in-person and virtual programs and events in New York City and Buffalo, alongside access to more than 20 on-demand sessions, which can be viewed until December 15, 2023. In addition, all live sessions in New York City and Buffalo will be recorded and also made available on demand until December 15, 2023. Go to this link for more information. 

We have opened the online registration for the APHNYS 2023 conference to be held in Ithaca from September 18-20, 2023. Go to https://www.aphnys.org/event-5122052 to register with a credit card. If you want to send in the form with a check, go to https://www.aphnys.org/resources/2023%20Conferenence%20Registration%20Final.pdf  Please mail the form and check to APHNYS, PO Box 1363, Sag Harbor, NY 11963.

The year 2026 will mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the foundational document of the revolution that occurred between 1774 and 1783 and resulted in the creation of the United States of America. What is now the State of New York played an immense and vital role in both the Revolutionary Era and the subsequent 250 years of American history. Planning for such an important commemoration in a comprehensive way at the local, regional, and/or state level can be a daunting task. Because of this, the Association of Public Historians of New York State (APHNYS) has partnered with the Office of State History at the New York State Museum to produce the New York State 250th Commemoration Field Guide which provides suggested commemorative themes, ideas, and information to help planners at the local and regional level in all parts of the state.

On February 24, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the “New York State 250th Commemoration Act,” establishing a state commission to facilitate the planning and development of the commemoration of the 250th in New York State. This bill was introduced in the State Assembly by Assembly member Carrie Woerner and in the State Senate by Senator Shelley B. Mayer and passed both houses of the legislature unanimously. The 250th Commemoration Act draws particular notice to the potential of  the 250th commemoration to consider both the complexity of the American Revolution itself and the continuing struggle to achieve the ideals of the Revolution that at the time excluded a large portion of the population.

We ask you to consider each of the themes in this field guide as suggestions for how your community or organization can begin to think about commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of this nation. Each local community and region of the state has its own unique story to tell which together tell the history of the state itself. We urge you to take this once per half-century opportunity to help tell that history so that it may be preserved for the coming centuries.

We will keep you posted as the commemoration moves forward. 

The Preliminary Program for the upcoming conference in Ithaca from September 18-20, 2023 - "Home, Sweet Home" - is now available at 2023 prelim program for website (aphnys.org) We still have a few details to work out, but our sessions are basically set. When we have the final information ready, we'll be opening up the on-line registration for the conference. A reminder of the conference cost:

Member - Full conference $65.

Member - One day $25.00

Member - Virtual $100.00

Non-member - Full conference $85.00

Non-member - One day $50.00

Non-member - Virtual Conference $150.00

You have until August 18 to make your Hotel Reservation.

The conference will be held at the Hotel Ithaca, located at 222 South Cayuga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850. The conference rate is $139 a night.

Booking can be made on-line with the APHNYS conference rate by using this link: APHNYS Room Reservations at the Hotel Ithaca

You can also call 607-272-1000 to make reservations. Be sure to mention APHNYS in your phone call. The cut-off date is August 18, 2023. After that date, rooms will be subject to availability.