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FRIENDS OF ALEXANDER
HAMILTON & DESCENDANTS
COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER
I/16/2006
Vol. 1 Number 1
The Alexander Hamilton Traveling Exhibition was held at the Paterson Museum from Dec. 15,
2005 until Jan 15, 2006.There was an opening reception on Sat. Dec. 17, 2005. This was a very successful event and a bright
kickoff for Paterson, the city founded by Alexander Hamilton as the first planned industrial city in America. Those in attendance
were. Dr. James G. Basker, President of the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History and also Project Director of the
exhibition. Dr. Basker was our keynote speaker and in his remarks he discussed the life and times of Alexander
Hamilton
in depth. He also discussed how the New York Historical Society exhibition in New York came to be titled “Alexander
Hamilton: The Man Who Made Modern America.”
The next guest speaker was His Excellency Ambassador Dr. Izben C.
Williams, Permanent Representative of St. Kitts & Nevis, the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton. Dr. Williams proposed a
Sister-City relationship with Paterson for the purpose of exploring ways to enhance the legacy of Alexander Hamilton
by developing plans and programs that would benefit both St. Kitts, Nevis, St. Croix and Paterson such as a student exchange
program, tourism and other economic development projects e.g. import/export and hydroponic farm development. Ambassador Williams
is also in consultation with Dr. James G. Basker, Project Director of the Alexander Hamilton Traveling Exhibition to develop
a permanent Alexander Hamilton Exhibition in Nevis.
Mr. Caley Gray represented Congressman William ‘Bill’
Pascrell, II for his contribution to the event with a $1 million grant for the creation of the ‘Hamilton Fellows’
project. This project will provide stipends to 50 teachers of history who will focus on the history of America and New Jersey
with an emphasis on Alexander Hamilton as the founder of Paterson and a founding father of America. The 50 ‘Hamilton
Fellows’ in attendance all received Educational Boxes with teaching materials on Alexander Hamilton. The Educational
Boxes were made available By Dr. James G. Basker,President ot the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History and Project
Director of the Alexander Hamilton Traveling Exhibition at the New York Historical Society. The Educational Boxes were distributed
by Ms. Annalesa Williams-Barker, Director of Social Studies for the Paterson Public Schools.
The next speaker was Attorney
William J. Pascrell, III, Esq., Passaic County Counsel along with Passaic County Historian Ed. Smyk. Attorney Pascrell discussed
an on-going relationship with Passaic County that has many Revolutionary historical sites throughout Passaic County. Mr. Ed
Smyk. presented the reception with historical
documents directly related to the work of Alexander Hamilton in establishing
Paterson as the first planned industrial
city in America.
The next speaker was Mr. Douglas Hamilton, 5th Great Grandson
of Alexander Hamilton. In his address to the gathering he discussed how Alexander Hamilton’s widow always made it known
that her wish was to always have the memory and legacy of Alexander Hamilton preserved for future generations and the Friends
of Alexander Hamilton & Descendants Committee was in the process of fulfilling a family wish. Mr. Hamilton also distributed
lapel pins to many attendees making them Honorary Hamiltonians.
Following Mr. Hamilton was Ms. Eileen Conroy, Division Manager for The Bank of New York. This bank was founded by
Alexander Hamilton in 1784 as America’s first commercial bank. Alexander Hamilton also co-founded the first US Central
Bank, which later became The United States Federal Reserve Bank. Ms. Conroy gave an extensive history of The Bank of New York
and its role in helping to bring the central bank into existence. The Friends of Alexander Hamilton & Descendants Committee
looks forward to establishing a banking relationship with The Bank of New York for our future development projects.
The
next speaker was the Hon Jose ‘Joey’ Torres, Mayor of Paterson. Mayor Torres gave the audience a presentation
of his extensive knowledge of the life and times of Alexander Hamilton. He also presented the Friends of Alexander Hamilton
& Descendants Committee with a marvelous painting of the Paterson Great Falls which we accepted with gratitude.
Our
next speaker was Mr. Dennis Vroegindewey, Director of Technology and Libraries for the Paterson Public Schools. Director Vroegindewey
in association with Ms. Susan Lane presented a gift of 500 books about Alexander Hamilton titled “The Alexander Hamilton
You Never Knew” by James Lincoln Collier. These books will be distributed to
all students visiting the exhibition
and all social studies classes throughout the Paterson school system. This is a wonderful gift to the Paterson students and
we are indebted to Mr. Vroegindewey and Ms. Lane for their gift to our students.
Our nest speaker was Attorney Dennis
Hagerty, Esq., Chairman of the Board of Managers for the St. Andrews Society in New York. Attorney Hagerty gave us a history
of the St. Andrews Society of which Alexander Hamilton was a founding member. Attorney Hagerty will also make available a
gift of $500 from the St. Andrews Society to the Friends of Alexander Hamilton & Descendants Committee as soon as they
receive their 501(c)(3) non-profit status.
Other speakers present were Commissioner André` Sayegh and Commissioner
Willa Mae Taylor. The commissioners demonstrated their teaching and educational knowledge of Alexander Hamilton and their
knowledge of the history of
Paterson. Also in attendance was Hon Randy George, Mayor of No. Haledon, NJ. Because of Mayor
George’s knowledge and interest in Alexander Hamilton he has agreed to serve on our Board of Trustees as soon as our
board is formally organized. Also, in attendance was Dr. Jack A. Perna, Director of Grants for the Paterson Public Schools
and Dr. Jonathan Hodges, former President of the Paterson Board of Education.
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On
Sat. Jan. 15, 2006 we held a combined birthday celebration to commemorate the contributions of Alexander Hamilton (b. Jan
11th) and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. Jan 15th) to the education of blacks and other minorities. Alexander Hamilton
was the co-founder of the Manumission Society in New York 1785. This was an
organization of prominent New Yorkers who stood
for the abolition of slavery and also the co-founder of the African Free School for the education of freed and enslaved blacks.
Hamilton also co-founded the Oneida Academy for the education of the Oneida Native Americans. Oneida Academy is now named
Hamilton College in upstate Oneida, New
York.
Also In attendance at this event was Rev. Ronald Tuff of the Paterson
Task Force for Community Action. Rev. Tuff delivered the invocation for the event. He also spoke of his commitment to the
ideals of the Friends of Alexander Hamilton & Descendants Committee.
Our next speaker was Dr. Michael E. Glascoe,
Superintendent of Paterson Public Schools. Dr. Glascoe thought the exhibition was enlightening and a wonderful opportunity
for historical awareness. He has also agreed to expand the
support of the Paterson Public schools to work in cooperation
with the Friends of Alexander Hamilton & Descendants Committee on other Hamilton related historical projects. Our first
project will be to explore the relationship with St. Kitts & Nevis on a student exchange project. We will be working with
Ambassador Dr. Izben C. Williams and other St. Kitts & Nevis officials.
The Friends of Alexander Hamilton &
Descendants Committee wish to thank Ms. Marcia Julian Sotorrio, Director of the Division of Multicultural and Community Affairs
for providing the refreshments for this event. Serving graciously as hostesses for this event were Ms. Betty Ann Gross-June
and Ms. Joan Broadhead-Poe.
In addition to the student exchange project with St. Kitts & Nevis we look forward
to expanding our efforts to establish the Alexander Hamilton Foreign Trade Zone in Paterson and Passaic County. This economic
development project has the potential to bring large amounts of high-tech jobs and revenue to our cash-strapped city. We are
currently in contact with the National Association of Foreign Trade Zones for consultation on developing this foreign trade
zone for our area. It should be noted that Alexander Hamilton, for which this foreign trade zone is named, was the Secretary
of
the Treasury when he created what is now the Department of Commerce, the U.S. Customs House and the United States Coast
Guard all key elements in the development of any foreign trade zone.
Ron Gross/Founder
Friends of Alexander Hamilton
& Descendants Committee
24 Mill St. - #223
Paterson, NJ 07501-1863
973-523-9311
978-477-0079 (Fax)
email:
rongross98@aol.com
www.alexanderhamiltonlegacy.org
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