Albany Post Road

United State] [[Image:Gotoarrow.pn] [[United States Migration Internal|Migratio] [[Image:Gotoarrow.pn] [[US Migration Trails and Roads|Trails and Road] [[Image:Gotoarrow.pn] [[New York Genealogy|New York [[Image:Gotoarrow.pn] [[Albany_Post_Road|Albany Post Road]]

[[Image:Albany Post Road map.png|border|right|300px|Albany Post Road map.pn]The Albany Post Road, also known as the "Queen's Road," and later the "King's Road" connected the colonial seaport of [[New York City, New York|New York Cit] (New Amsterdam) and the fur trading outpost, and second-largest city of [[Albany, New York|Alban] (Beverwijck), New York starting in 1669. Each end of the road at New York City and Albany was a nexus of other significant migration routes. The Albany Post Road along the east side of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_River Hudson Rive was about 150 miles (241 km) long.

Historical Background
The Albany Post Road was created with military communications apparently in mind during a period tension between the Second and the Third Anglo-Dutch Wars. In 1664 four English warships in the harbor compelled the surrender of the New Netherland colony to England, thereby starting the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Anglo-Dutch_War Second Anglo-Dutch Wa. The colony was renamed New York. That same year King Charles II of England requested a postal road (later called the [[King's Highwa] or Boston Post Road) be built from Boston to newly conquered New York City. The first ride carrying mail on the Boston Post Road was in January 1673. In 1669 the New York government also designated a postal road from New York City to Albany, the Albany Post Road. It followed older trails of the Wiccoppe and Wappinger Indian tribes on the east side of the Hudson River. By 1671 these tribes had been hired to carry the mail between the two towns. In July 1673, during the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Anglo-Dutch_War Third Anglo-Dutch Wa, a Dutch fleet recaptured New York, but the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Westminster_%281674%29 1674 Treaty of Westminste returned it to England.

In 1703, during [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Anne's_War Queen Anne's Wa the legislature authorized the widening of the Albany Post Road into a general public highway. This highway was named the "Queen's Road" in honor of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. When she was succeeded by George II and George III, the road became known as the "King's Road" (not to be confused with the Quebec. After 1763 milestone were added at the request of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin Postmaster Benjamin Frankli. During the [[Revolutionary War, 1775 to 1783|Revolutionary Wa the road was fortified, defended, and frequently used for troop movements. After the war in 1785 the legislature established regular stagecoach service. Mail service went up the river on the east side road, and down the river on the west side road.

In 1806 competing turnpike routes lessened the traffic on the old route. By 1850 railroads had made the Albany Post Road obsolete and stagecoach service stopped.

Route
The counties along this migration route (south to north) were as follows:


 * [[New York (Manhattan) County, New York Genealogy|Manhattan Count]
 * [[Bronx County, New York Genealogy|Bronx Count]
 * [[Westchester County, New York Genealogy|Westchester Count]
 * [[Putnam County, New York Genealogy|Putnam Count]
 * [[Dutchess County, New York Genealogy|Dutchess Count]
 * [[Columbia County, New York Genealogy|Columbia Count]
 * [[Rensselaer County, New York Genealogy|Rensselaer Count]
 * [[Albany County, New York Genealogy|Albany Count]

Connecting trails. The Albany Post Road linked to other trails at each end. Other trails also had junctions with it in two places in the middle.

The migration pathways connected at the south end in [[New York City, New York|New York Cit] included:


 * the Atlantic Ocea, and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island_Sound Long Island Sound connected New York City with [[:Category:Europe|Europ], [[:Category:Africa|Afric], the [[:Category:Caribbean|Caribbea], and [[:Category:South America|South Americ]
 * Hudson Rive a navigable river stretching from north of [[Albany, New York|Alban then flowing south to empty into the Atlantic Ocea at [[New York City, New York|New York Cit
 * Great Shamokin Path a pre-historic Indian path from Long Island to Lake Eri mostly in [[Pennsylvania Genealogy|Pennsylvani
 * Port of New York City 1624 where ships from around the world brought immigrants, and boats could go up the Hudston River
 * Albany Post Road (or Queen's Road, or King's Road) 1669
 * [[King's Highwa] (or Boston Post Road) 1673 connected [[Boston, Massachusett] to [[Charleston, South Carolin] and many coastal cities between
 * Morris Canal 1831 connected [[Jersey City, New Jerse] (and NY City) to [[Philipsburg, New Jerse] on the Delaware Rive and part of [[Pennsylvania Genealogy|Pennsylvani
 * Delaware and Raritan Canal 1834 connected [[New Brunswick, New Jerse] on the Raritan River (and NY City) to [[Bordontown, New Jerse] on the Delaware Rive and part of [[Pennsylvania Genealogy|Pennsylvani

The migration pathways connected at the north end in [[Albany, New York|Alban] included:


 * Hudson Rive a navigable river stretching from north of [[Albany, New York|Alban then flowing south to empty into the Atlantic Ocea at [[New York City, New York|New York Cit
 * Lake Champlain Trail a pre-historic Indian path from [[Albany, New York|Alban] to the St. Lawrence Rive via the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_River Hudson Rive, [[Champlain Canal], Lake Champlai, and in [[Quebec Genealogy|Quebec] the Richelieu Rive (and [[Chambly Canal])
 * Mohawk or Iroquois Trail 1722 from [[Albany, New York|Alban] to [[Utica, New York|Utic] to [[Rome, New York|Rom] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Oswego Fort Osweg on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Ontario Lake Ontari
 * with a Mohawk or Iroquois Trail west fork by 1758 from [[Utica, New York|Utic] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Niagara Fort Niagar
 * and that fork was partially overlapped in 1794 by the Great Genesee Road from Utic] to [[Buffalo, New York|Buffal], [[Erie County, New York
 * Forbidden Path (later Catskill Turnpike) a pre-historic Indian path from [[Albany, New York|Alban] to [[Buffalo, New York|Buffal] on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Erie Lake Eri
 * Old Connecticut Path a pre-historic Indian path from [[Boston, Massachusett] to [[Springfield, Massachusett] to [[Albany, New York|Alban] with a fork from Springfield to [[Hartford, Connecticu]
 * Albany Post Road (or Queen's Road, or King's Road) 1669
 * Greenwood Road from [[Hartford, Connecticu] to [[Albany, New York|Alban]
 * Champlain Canal 1819 connected the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_River Hudson Rive to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Champlain Lake Champlai (New York City to Montreal)
 * Erie Canal 1825 connected [[Albany, New York|Alban] to [[Buffalo, New York|Buffal] on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Erie Lake Eri (New York City to the Great Lakes)

Between those ends the Albany Post Road also also had junctions with two other important migration routes:


 * Minsi Path from [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvani] via the Delaware Water Gap to [[Kingston, New York]] ([[Ulster County, New York Genealogy|Ulster Count]), just across the Hudson Rive from the Albany Post Road in [[Dutchess County, New York Genealogy|Dutchess Count.
 * Catskill Road (or Susquehanna Turnpike) 1806 from Springfield, Massachusett] to Catskill, [[Greene County, New York to Wattle's Ferr on the Susquehanna Rive in Otsego County, New York (and eventually Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York) crossed the Albany Post Road in [[Columbia County, New York Genealogy|Columbia Count].

Modern parallels. The modern road that roughly matches the Albany Post Road is U.S. Route 9 from New York City (Broadway) to Albany.

Settlers and Records
Settlers who came via New York City along the Albany Post Road may have arrived by sea, or by the Quebec, or Franc]. In the 1820s many Irish workers were attracted to the area to help build the [[Erie Canal, and Champlain Canal.

Setters who started at the Albany end of the road may have begun in Quebec or [[Vermont Genealogy|Vermon].

No complete list of settlers who used the Albany Post Road is known to exist. Nevertheless, local and county histories along that trail may reveal pioneer settlers who arrived 1669 to 1850, and therefore who were the most likely candidates to have traveled the Albany Post Road.

For partial lists of early settlers who may have used the Albany Post Road, see histories like:

Dutchess County


 * James Hadden Smith, History of Du[chess County, New York: with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers (Interlaken, N.Y.: Heart of The Lakes Publ., 1980). [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/7259599 WorldCat entr..

Columbia County


 * Franklin Ellis, History of Columbia County, New York: with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers (Philadelphia, Penns.: Everts and Ensign, 1878). [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/11107166 WorldCat entr..

Rensselaer County


 * Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvester, History of Rensselaer Co., New York: with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers (Philadelphia, Penns.: Everts and Peck, 1880). [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/18750611 WorldCat entr..