Keynote Address for the New York State Family History Conference, New York Genealogical and Biographical Society

On September 21, 1776, five days after the British occupied New York City, a devastating fire burned down a fifth of the city. While the mystery of the fire is fascinating in its own right, the event also brings together a startling cast of characters from around the Atlantic world. What's found is a very different American Revolution in the stories of the disgraced, the displaced, and the prematurely deceased.

The Great Fire of New York City brings together the thoughts and decisions of some well-known politicians and senior military officers, but also captains and privates, Loyalists, women, and people of African and indigenous descent. The Great Fire of 1776 offers opportunities to think about the lives and their actions of marginalized and lesser-known people, and it requires historical context as well as genealogical research to fully unravel its mysteries.