By Diane Dobry
As the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States approaches, we are reminded that Schoharie County was a key location for events leading up to the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War. Now is the 250th anniversary of important events here that led New Yorkers to declare and fight for independence. Local historians and enthusiasts bring these historic events to life for our community, often, doing so in 18th century attire, as a way to embody the time period. But the garments are not simply “costumes,” since a costume is just a modern imitation, with modern fabrics, zippers, or Velcro, not made from natural fabric with the same detail that authentically reproduced clothing is.
Many presentations and re-enactments are part of New York State’s Path Through History, and promote cultural tourism , encouraging visits to and exploration of museums, parks, and natural spaces important to this region’s history.
Some interpreters in Schoharie County, who represent the past wearing historic attire, educating visitors and locals as they bring early Schoharie to life, are introduced below.
Vic DiSanto
Vic DiSanto, a historian who volunteers at the Iroquois Museum, who is well versed in the history and culture of the Haudenosaunee people (also known as the Iroquois Confederacy) and early American history, frequently portrays and teaches about Revolutionary War hero David Williams. Williams, a Revolutionary militiaman, was one of three key patriots who thwarted the attempted treason by Benedict Arnold when they questioned and arrested Major John Andre, an intelligence officer of the British Army, as he traveled undercover after meeting with Arnold. DiSanto narrates the full story wearing a handsewn linen hunting shirt, linen shirt and waistcoat, breeches, and round hat - similar to what Williams would have worn when he was in the militia. He also gives talks the various flags that were used during the Revolutionary War to represent the confederation, leading to the various versions of the stars and stripes.
DiSanto’s introduction to historic dress reenactment (or costumed interpretation)—which he thought was “too corny to ever do”—was on a visit to Plimouth Plantation in Massachusetts, But he eventually saw value in it when he became Historic Site Manager of John Brown Farm State Historic Site in Lake Placid, NY. When volunteers dressed in historic attire, he saw that tourists “flocked to [the] volunteers in historic dress like bugs to a light.” It kept visitors interested and engaged, and he began to consider doing it himself.
In 2020, DiSanto began to research the life of David Williams after taking a tour led by Schoharie historic presenter Jeff O’Connor of Turning Point 1777. As a result, DiSanto published several articles in the Journal of the American Revolution and began speaking on podcasts and at the Annual Conference on New York State History at the New York State Museum. Having grown up in northern Westchester County, near Tarrytown, where Williams and the other militiamen captured Major John Andre, fueled his interest. DiSanto also lived just 10 miles from where David Williams lived from 1779-1805 before moving to Schoharie County. He has played the part of Williams in Schoharie County and in Westchester County at Reis Park in Somers, Croton Point Park in Croton, and Pierson Park and Scenic Hudson Riverwalk in Tarrytown.
“I consider myself a historian first and foremost, trying to act out a part of a historic character to get people interested and engaged in history,” DiSanto explains. “Not too long ago the captors were mostly written off as frauds, as highwaymen who got lucky. The climate of opinion seems to be changing and I hope in some small way my scholarship contributed to this.”
DiSanto chooses not to join a battle reenactment unit, a decision he made based on his own experience serving three years as a soldier in the US Army doing the real thing. “It just does not appeal to me,” he said.
Bonnie Dailey
In Schoharie County, you are likely to see Bonnie Dailey, a Jefferson, NY, native, in a blue calico bonnet and matching dress when she accompanies Vic DiSanto in presentations on militiaman David Williams, filling the role of Nancy Benedict, David Williams’ wife. Dailey also covers other historic periods, and is particularly thrilled to wear high-waisted dresses from the Regency Period (1811-1820) when playing FreeLove Fiske Frisbee, wife of Revolutionary War hero Gideon Frisbee. Both are buried in the family cemetery behind the Frisbee House in Delhi. Dailey has played that role for the Delaware Historical Society in the graveyard behind the Society’s museum house.
She also portrays a schoolmarm teaching 19th-century classes to modern grade school students at Jefferson’s one-room schoolhouse in reading, writing, and arithmetic the way they would have been taught more than a century ago.
At an upcoming presentation on October 26 at the Jefferson Historical Society, Dailey will portray the mother of Carl Skidmore, a WWI soldier from Jefferson who never came home. First-person interpreters will read letters sent to and from Carl and his family while he was fighting in the War.
With a BA in history from the University of Michigan, Dailey has a long history of teaching and presenting historical times and places, from being trained at the Smithsonian where she worked at the National Museum of American History, to her role as a guide in historic dress at the Noah Webster House in Fairfield, CT. From there, she was trained intensively at Watermark Annapolis historic site, learning American history and the history of Annapolis. After returning to Jefferson, NY, she gravitated to the Old Stone Fort to continue representing living history for the benefit of the public and visitors to the area, and to help people research genealogy.
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