The Jewish Buffalo Archives Project (JBAP) collects and preserves documentation relating to the diverse histories, religious traditions and cultures of Jewish communities within the Greater Buffalo and Niagara area of Western New York.

Originally displayed under Cazenovia College until its closing, it is now held by Syracuse University's School of Design.

Located mainly in the Town of Oyster Bay with a small part in the Town of Hempstead, Jericho was part of the Robert Williams Plantation in 1648. The English families who settled in Jericho were, or soon became, Quakers, members of the Society of Friends. Many fled from persecution in England and in the New England Colonies. They sought a peaceful existence as farmers. The name of the area was changed in 1692 from Lusum to Jericho after the town in the Middle East near the Jordan River mentioned in the Bible as part of the Promised Land.

Mrs. Jennie Curtis Cannon was born in 1855, the daughter of Gold T. Curtis and Mary Abigail Anderson. She was married to Henry Cannon, who later became President of the Chase National Bank in New York City. Mrs. Cannon was active in the equal suffrage movement in New York State, including serving as a district director for the New York State Equal Suffrage Association. She was elected the third vice president of the New York State Suffrage Society and later served as Vice President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Mrs. Cannon also was very active in the Delaware County (NY) area in advocating for equal suffrage, bringing in nationally known speakers on the topic. She also was involved with the local Delhi Equal Suffrage Club, providing them with an office in Delhi. Mrs. Cannon died in 1929 while returning from a trip to Europe.

The Jeffersonian is the annual yearbook of Jefferson Community College. The College was founded in the 1960s and is located in Watertown, New York.

The term “Franco-American” was first used in 1902 to refer to Quebec’s diaspora whose 1 million members, while still culturally and linguistically attached to Quebec, increasingly became part of the fabric of US society.
In addition to providing a safe haven for French Canadians who had opposed British authority in Canada, upstate New York also offered numerous opportunities for bettering their economic lot. For example, located less than 200 miles from the Canadian border, the city of Cohoes drew French Canadians in search of financial security. Initially, 20 families made the city their home in the 1830s. By 1881, Cohoes was the adopted home of over 6,000 Québécois, a number that comprised over a third of the city’s population. The community supported four French-language parishes, three bilingual parochial schools, five French-language newspapers, and three French-language amateur theatre companies. The industrial city of Troy, across the Hudson River, also had a French-Canadian immigrant population of nearly 4,000 by 1881, ensuring that the Franco-American community had a significant presence in the region. French Canadians also made their way to the state’s “North Country,” primarily to pursue work in agriculture, lumbering, and mining. However, assimilation, movement from these rural areas, and the passing of many Franco-Americans mean that this number is down from more than 60% in towns such as Ogdensburg and Tupper Lake. Nonetheless, in 2000 nearly half a million New Yorkers still reported their ancestry as “French,” the term used by most Franco-Americans to identify themselves (data from The Encyclopedia of New York State, p. 254). This collection seeks to preserve and promote knowledge of the rich heritage of Francos throughout upstate New York.

Jane Secor, R.N. was a Class of 1940 graduate of Vassar Brothers Hospital’s School of Nursing and served in the United States Army Nurses Corps during WWII. Returning home from England after the war, Secor became a nurse educator and director in the nursing school. Secor was also actively involved as a member of the VBH School of Nursing alumni association. In her later years she helped to establish coronary care as a nursing specialty and published Coronary Care: a nursing specialty in 1971.

Jamestown and Olean are two cities in the Southern Tier of New York State. Jamestown is located in Chautauqua County, while Olean is in Cattaraugus County. They are both the largest cities in their respective counties.

James M. Milne was born in Scotland on September 29th, 1850. He received his early education in Edinburgh before his family moved to America. Milne graduated from the State Normal School at Geneseo and went on to attend the University of Rochester. He received his Ph.D. from Colgate University in Hamilton, NY. He was a longtime resident of Cortland NY, where he was principal of the academic department at the Cortland Normal School. In 1889, Milne was elected to become the first principal of the Oneonta Normal School. He stayed for nine years before he was forced to resign in 1898 due to a controversy with the board. He went on to study law and was admitted to the bar in 1901. In November of 1903, Milne was at a Masonic group meeting in Waterville where he gave a speech. Soon after finishing his address, he collapsed and died. He was buried in Cortland NY.