Johnson Hall State Historic Site’s 250th Anniversary Lecture Series, marking the building of the historic Johnson Hall estate, continues on Saturday, September 7. Through October, on the first Saturday of each month, lectures that focus on the period surrounding the 1763 building of the home will be held at Johnson Hall.
Due to continued historic restoration on the mansion’s back entrance, the September 7 lecture will be held, beginning at 11am, in the East Stonehouse, where seating will be limited. Refreshments will be available following the lecture. Regular public tours will be available after 1:00pm on lecture days.
On Saturday, September 7, Gayle Ann Livecchia will present “Colonial Johnstown, According to the Daybook of Robert Adems, Sir William Johnson’s Bookkeeper”. Livecchia has done extensive research on Adems, who also worked for Sir John Johnson following Sir William’s death. By examining Adems’ meticulous record-keeping, a picture emerges providing insight into the items stocked in the frontier store and the customers from all social classes. The customer list included Joseph Brant, Gilbert Tice, Daniel Claus and Guy Johnson. Major account holders used it as a bank, sending laborers and craftsman to the store for payment for services rendered. For the majority of people in the ledger, Adam’s notation of their visit is their only documentation of their lives.
An Ohio native, Livecchia received her undergraduate degree and MBA from Youngstown State University, and an MPA and MS in Rural Sociology from Ohio State University. She taught sociology at New Jersey community colleges and Fairleigh Dickenson University, then turned her research skills to history. She has presented papers at the New York State Historical Association conferences, the Researching New York conference at the University at Albany, and at the Elizabethtown College Amish Conference. Her primary research focus is the American Revolution in New York’s Mohawk Valley.
The final session of the 250th Anniversary Lecture Series will be held on Saturday, October 5 with Judy Anderson presenting “Georgian Opulence – in the Wilderness, above the Hudson, and on the Seacoast”.
For more information on Johnson Hall, contact (518) 762 – 8712, visit the Site’s Facebook page, or visit www.nysparks.com.