Welcome to the official website of the Colonial Albany Social History Project. It is intended to introduce everyone to the people of colonial Albany and their world. It is now the principal outlet for all project activities. Its articulation and development is the primary goal for the initiative that began more than thirty-five years ago. It is also the best contact point for the ongoing activities and programs.

New information based on project research is being added on an ongoing basis. You might consider the gallery page as a starting point. The images and icons selected to appear there represent major themes, resources, and activities related to understanding and interpreting the life of this important early American community.

Each subsequent page further explains and enhances a gallery image. Highlighted features lead to more information, opportunities for in-depth learning, and further digression. All gallery images are "live" - meaning each link from the gallery leads to an explanatory essay. At this point, each essay page includes some highlighted links to related information and materials.

As quickly as possible, we intend to provide illustrated, explanatory links from every person, place, and thing mentioned in the eighteen theme essays and the four logistical sections. We have begun to activate the chapters in the comprehensive Project Guide.

During 2018, more than 50 new items were added to the "People of Colonial Albany Live Here Website." In addition, several hundred existing pages were substantially improved with the addition of new information and more links! At the same time several dozen less detailed items have been silently added to support the more articulated expositions. Happily, the PCALH Website continues to grow virtually everyday in many ways!

This basic educational endeavor (more and more-useful web pages) again will represent the project's chief ambition for the year 2017. The community pyramid will be complete when all of the significant resources assembled and developed by the Colonial Albany Project since 1981 appear on this website. A link to the alphabetical index appears at the bottom of each page to facilitate site navigation. Biographies now are indexed in more detail.

Since 1999, "The People of Colonial Albany Live Here Website" has become an increasingly popular vehicle for finding out about the people of colonial Albany, for more general Albany history and other community-based information, and for news on the operations of the Colonial Albany Project. At this point, the website is our principal educational resource! A quick-and-handy way to find website-based material is to type the name of the person, place, or thing plus the word albany into a search engine such as Google.com.

In order to provide the most efficient service while continuing to learn and to add new resources and programs, we have set priorities for website development:

1. Introduce and integrate the individual people of colonial Albany through new website biographies.

2. Articulate the most frequently requested elements of the "Early Albany Story" in webpage format.

3. Accord highest priority to time-driven concerns such as upcoming programs and important news items.

4. Provide Internet-based access to project publications and related news items.

5. Provide family-based historical information and links in a project useful manner.

6. Provide external leads and links to related historical resources.

Given current resources, other activities must fall in behind those outlined above.

In the meantime, please stay tuned, be patient, and check-in on our progress on a regular basis! And, above all, please understand that your comments are appreciated and always welcome!

Stefan Bielinski
Community Historian


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last revised: 5/15/17