Karen Q's Patriot Tours NYC

Karen Q's Patriot Tours NYC History like you never learned it in school! See us on the Travel Channels' Mysteries at the Museum! No two tours are exactly the same!

Since 2005, we've been leading our customers through the most historic parts of the city, along streets laid in the 1700’s and into national historic landmarks and are a daily presence in Lower Manhattan! We know the story of every nook and cranny of the Southern tip of the Island and we can’t wait to share it with you. Our Research
To prepare for our tours we comb through hundreds of archival doc

uments. Newspapers, broadsides, pamphlets, personal papers and prints all go into our storytelling of the city’s past. We visit research libraries and historic sites throughout the region to flesh out our understanding of events and people. We virtually live in the time period, recreating it in a way that allows us to answer all of your questions, no matter how obscure. Your Tour Experience
We keep our group sizes small to give you personal attention. Each tour is a unique experience as we tailor it to meet the needs of your group. As the tour moves along we pay attention to your questions and what you seem most interested in so that we change the narrative accordingly. Plus, if you have an ancestor or specific person or event you’d like to know about, let us know before the tour and we’ll be sure to include it for you. Your Guide
Karen Q has spent nearly fifteen years immersed in NYC’s early history. What began as a hobby, reading original documents, became a passion when she learned the stories of people long forgotten who did amazing things to create the city and nation we have today. In 2005 she began the Revolutionary Era walking tour to honor those great NYers. At the request of enthusiastic customers she added the Civil War Tour and the Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr Tour. Karen has spoken at meetings of the NYC Chapter of the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) and is a regular speaker for the Queens Public Library. She is also an historical consultant to The Travel Channel’s “Mysteries at the Museum”, Fordham University Radio WFUV and AM New York (newspaper).

01/21/2025

From last year, a video commemorating the Battle of Golden Hill, January 19, 2020.

Tonight at 9 pm ET on History with Mrs. Q, we'll discuss popular stories from early American History: what we learned vs...
01/19/2025

Tonight at 9 pm ET on History with Mrs. Q, we'll discuss popular stories from early American History: what we learned vs. what happened. For example, we'll discuss the famous John Paul Jones "I have not yet begun to fight" legend. What was going on there? The story is much better than anything you learned in school.

Plus, Paul Revere, the Sons of Liberty, and more.

Join me at republic broadcasting .org /listen-live

OR by phone:

605.313.0163
701.801.3663
T-Mobile: 605-781-4582
AT&T: 605-531-3016
Verizon: 605-562-5111
Sprint & OTHERS: 641-741-0030

A table full of wigs, all needing styling. What a chore! Our cat, Petey, managed to pop the lid off of the wig storage b...
01/19/2025

A table full of wigs, all needing styling. What a chore! Our cat, Petey, managed to pop the lid off of the wig storage box and mark them all with, well, you can imagine. The wig on the left was the most expensive and was styled by a Broadway historical period costumer. UGH!!!

Here's hoping I can turn them all into lovely 18th-century styles.

Dueling Editors!These newspapers are among the oldest in America: The Hartford Courant, The New York Post, and The Virgi...
01/18/2025

Dueling Editors!

These newspapers are among the oldest in America: The Hartford Courant, The New York Post, and The Virginia Gazette. (The New York Post is the oldest running without interruption, published since 1801.)

In 1804 the editor of one of these papers challenged the editor of another paper (not one of these) to a duel for accusing him in print of fathering a mulatto child out of wedlock. A prominent judge intervened, and that duel was called off. A friend of the editor who made the offending claim called the other editor a coward. That editor (the original man insulted) challenged him to a duel and killed him.

Do you know which newspaper was edited by the triumphant duellist? And, for extra credit, the name of the editor?

Hint: the founder of that newspaper was killed in a duel later that same year.

Which of these ladies, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, Sarah Livingston Jay, or Theodosia Burr Alston, had their portrait p...
01/17/2025

Which of these ladies, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, Sarah Livingston Jay, or Theodosia Burr Alston, had their portrait painted in the debtor's prison? The artist, Ralph Earl, was imprisoned for not paying debts. This woman went to him to help him raise the money needed to pay his debts.

Which of these three men, Aaron Burr, John Jay, or Alexander Hamilton, suggested in a post-Revolutionary War meeting of ...
01/15/2025

Which of these three men, Aaron Burr, John Jay, or Alexander Hamilton, suggested in a post-Revolutionary War meeting of the New York Manumission Society that members all free their slaves to show their commitment? Subsequently, he was the only one of the three who did so.

Hint: His uncle was removed from his position as pastor in a New Haven, CT, church for refusing to stop preaching about the evils of slavery.

TONIGHT 1/12 9 pm ET - History with Mrs. Q!I will discuss the heroic activities of Whigs (or patriots) leading up to the...
01/12/2025

TONIGHT 1/12 9 pm ET - History with Mrs. Q!

I will discuss the heroic activities of Whigs (or patriots) leading up to the American Revolutionary War. Some of these are taken from my NYC Revolutionary War Tour and were some of my customer's favorites. Hopefully, they will inspire you as well.

Plus, I will ask the question: do you have what it takes to stand against tyranny today?

Join me at Republic Broadcasting .org /listen-live

OR

Listen by phone:
605.313.0163
701.801.3663

T-Mobile: 605-781-4582
AT&T: 605-531-3016
Verizon: 605-562-5111
Sprint & OTHERS:
641-741-0030

In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote in Common Sense that the people of the colonies were paying for a government but living in c...
01/12/2025

In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote in Common Sense that the people of the colonies were paying for a government but living in conditions as bad as if there had been no government. The result, he suggested, is that the people were paying for the means of their suffering.

Friday, 01/10 2 pm ET - LIVETomorrow is my monthly presentation for the Queens (NYC) Public Library Mail-a-Book program....
01/09/2025

Friday, 01/10 2 pm ET - LIVE

Tomorrow is my monthly presentation for the Queens (NYC) Public Library Mail-a-Book program. I will be discussing art in 18th-century America.

I am not an art expert, that's for sure, but I will be showing the different uses of art at the time. If someone wanted a picture of their family or an advertisement, or anything, it had to be drawn. And there were no art schools yet in America, so where did they study?

I will show examples of portraits, miniatures, engravings, advertisements, and political cartoons. And I'll talk about some of the most in-demand artists of the time.

Please join us via Zoom.
https://queenslibrary-org.zoom.us/j/87394143138?pwd=dgMyZ7FoeKjXx0jSyrdNHwIzDbD8Gb.1

Meeting ID: 873 9414 3138

Who started the first stagecoach in America? John Mersereau (Mercereau), the owner of the Blazing Star Tavern on Staten ...
01/08/2025

Who started the first stagecoach in America? John Mersereau (Mercereau), the owner of the Blazing Star Tavern on Staten Island, NY!

The stagecoach is quintessential to the Old West's imagery. But it started a century before in New York when we were still British colonies. In 1765, John Mersereau placed the ad at the top of the collage in the Mercury, announcing his "Stage Waggon" from New York to Philadelphia. It left Wednesday and Saturday between 7 and 8 am from Powle's-Hook (Paulus Hook, NJ) and traveled in two stages. The first stage went to Trenton, stopping in Woodbridge, Brunswick, and Princetown (Princeton), then returned. At Trenton, passengers changed coaches for a direct ride to Philadelphia, which then returned to Trenton. Mersereau says the trip takes less than three days and is often full, being the shortest way.

The lower ad shows that by 1774, the route had changed slightly, turning around in Princeton, and was now shortened to two days. Mersereau informs his customers that it's advisable to arrive the night before to be on time and that 14 pounds of luggage is allowed per passenger. The price is 20 shillings per person (about $102 today).

"It is hoped that this very expensive Undertaking will meet with Encouragement from all Ladies and Gentlemen, as they may depend on the punctual Performance."

I was having a bit of fun over the weekend with the wig I wear for 1780s costuming. I usually add hair extensions to the...
01/06/2025

I was having a bit of fun over the weekend with the wig I wear for 1780s costuming. I usually add hair extensions to the back for a couple of long ponytails. Many of you have, I'm sure, seen this wig before.

I will resume Mrs. Q Live on YouTube weekly in a few weeks, on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. ET. I am inventorying all my costumes, wigs, and makeup to ensure I have everything I need. Lighting is a big challenge here, so I've been working on that. I didn't have much space to work with in our old place in Queens, NYC, but I got the lighting perfect for the period.

I hope you'll all join me for a new season of Mrs. Q LIVE! Be sure to follow me on YouTube () to be notified of my video work.

LIVE TONIGHT 1/5 9 pm ET - History with Mrs QAll about Washington's Crossing of the Delaware, Thomas Paine's "American C...
01/05/2025

LIVE TONIGHT 1/5 9 pm ET - History with Mrs Q

All about Washington's Crossing of the Delaware, Thomas Paine's "American Crisis #1," and the heroic spies who ensured the operation was successful.

I hope you'll join me! If you can't make it, these shows are archived on the website to listen to at another time.

Republic Broadcasting Network .org

Or By Phone:
605.313.0163
701.801.3663

T-Mobile: 605-781-4582
AT&T: 605-531-3016
Verizon: 605-562-5111
Sprint & OTHERS:
641-741-0030

Occasionally on my Hamilton and Burr Tour, I would have a customer who was sure about many bad things about Aaron Burr. ...
01/05/2025

Occasionally on my Hamilton and Burr Tour, I would have a customer who was sure about many bad things about Aaron Burr. And would recite them to me. I recognized the quotes as coming from the newspaper "American Citizen" or pamphlets published (and sometimes written) by its publisher, James Cheetham. I assumed they were from a book people were reading at the time.

I would remind the person that the quotes came from Cheetham's "American Citizen" and that Cheetham also published damaging articles about Alexander Hamilton. So, which are we to believe? All of what he published about the two men or none of it? Or should we assume his detrimental articles were honest about one man and dishonest about the other?

Isn't that looking for confirmation of one's own bias? Shouldn't we try to avoid this when examining historical events and people? I try, but despite my best efforts, I am not always successful.

It's simply not so easy!

James and Dolley Madison - an unlikely match!James Madison was a member of the First House of Representatives in 1789. I...
01/04/2025

James and Dolley Madison - an unlikely match!

James Madison was a member of the First House of Representatives in 1789. It was remarked in social circles in NYC that, despite his notoriety as the author of the US Constitution and many pro-ratification "Federalist" papers, he was rarely seen at social events or accompanied by any of the eligible young ladies. At 38, Madison was still a bachelor. Maybe it was because he was small and didn't have a commanding voice or presence. Or, perhaps it was, as one lady observed, because he had "the personality of an anchovy!"

By 1794, the capitol had moved to Philadelphia. Madison was still a member of the House, and he was still a bachelor. Fellow Princeton graduate and now Senator, Aaron Burr, was living in the same boarding house with Philadelphia's most popular socialite, a young widow, Dolley Todd. Burr wrote to his wife that he aimed to fix up the bachelor and the widow and introduced Representative Madison to the widow Todd. And, unbelievable to everyone in Philadelphia high society, it was a match made in heaven!

James and Dolley spent the rest of their lives together. And "little Gemmy Madison" had the last laugh. At least when it came to romance.

This portrait is of Senator and Mrs. Ralph Izard by John Singleton Copley, painted in 1774. Izard was educated in Englan...
01/03/2025

This portrait is of Senator and Mrs. Ralph Izard by John Singleton Copley, painted in 1774. Izard was educated in England and was from one of the wealthiest, most distinguished Patriot South Carolina families. He briefly returned to America in the late 1760s and was married in 1767. He and Mrs. Izard moved to London in 1771 and Paris in 1776. The Continental Congress appointed him commissioner to the Court of Tuscany, where he served in Florence from 1776 - 1779. In 1780, he returned to America and pledged his South Carolina estate to pay for warships built for use in the Revolutionary War. From 1782 - 1783, he served in the Continental Congress, and in 1788, he was elected to the first US Senate. He remained in office through 1795.

In 1789, the Izards moved to the new Capitol City, New York, where Senator Izard would take his place in the government. They leased a home on lower Broadway, along the fashionable Bowling Green. Mrs. Izard took her place in New York society, where she raised many eyebrows!

At a banquet given by Mrs. John Jay (Sarah Livingston Jay), wife of Chief Justice John Jay, Mrs. Izard announced herself as "LADY Izard." The trend of women announcing themselves this way was so alarming that a newspaper editorial condemned it as aristocratic and unbecoming to the new republic.

But it wasn't just the "lady" title that was shocking. It was the identity of Mrs. Izard: the former Alice DeLancey of the much hated and despised Loyalist DeLancey clan! Mrs. Izard's paternal and maternal grandfathers, James DeLancey and Cadwallader Colden, were Royal Governors of New York. Her brother, James, commanded DeLancey's Brigade, a Royalist unit, against General Washington's Americans and was universally hated by New York's Patriots.

And now, after spending the duration of the Revolutionary War in London and Paris society, Alice DeLancey was back in New York, the wife of a Senator from a Patriot family. It was said that Mrs. Izard never let politics interfere with her relationships. A brilliant lady, indeed!

Address

Mountain Top, PA
18707

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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Videos

Battle of Pell's Point October 1776
Battle of Pell's Point October 1776

Battle of Pell's Point October 1776 - Americans engage the superior British force and use unorthodox methods to confound them. HUZZAH!

Battle of Valcour Island - In October 1776, Benedict Arnold led a naval defense of Lake Champlain in New York that prevented the British from realizing one of their strategic goals—taking command of the Hudson, Lake George, and Lake Champlain to connect their base at Montreal with their base in New York. Would you have had what it took to be a patriot at Valcour in 1776? Although 300 miles North of the Battle for New York, which occurred during this time on and around Manhattan, Valcour Island was still a strategic part of the war in 1776.

Would you be a Patriot in 1776? By the end of September 1776, Gen Washington lost Brooklyn and the Southern half of Manhattan. The American Army is retreating. The British are gaining. NYC burns in a fire. Patriot Captain Nathan Hale is hanged as a spy. Do you think you have what it would take to stick with the fight?

In September 1776, British forces in America suddenly paused their attacks on General Washington's forces and requested a Peace Conference with the Continental Congress. If they were so powerful, why did they do it? Maybe they weren't as strong as they wanted everyone to believe. What was really going on with the British Command and Parliament? And why would the Americans humor them with a meeting on Staten Island?

August 29 - Gen. Washington's army attempts one of the riskiest operations of 1776. This is the story, video recorded right where it happened!

Battle of Brooklyn August 27, 1776 and the heroic stand of the Maryland 400. HUZZAH!

Today in 1776 - The Battle for New York Begins! Join me for a short lesson on why this is such an important part of Revolutionary War History.

Wilkes-Barré PA's Radical Name
Wilkes-Barré PA's Radical Name

Wilkes-Barré is named after two members of the British Parliament. Who were they, and why did the people choose to honor them?

1790 Historic House Tour - Denison House, Forty Fort, PA
1790 Historic House Tour - Denison House, Forty Fort, PA

Swetland Homestead - Historic 1797 Home - Wyoming PA
Swetland Homestead - Historic 1797 Home - Wyoming PA

Tour a 1797 home! Swetland Homestead, Wyoming, PA, with Mark Riccetti of the Luzerne County Historical Society

Battle of Wyoming Commemoration 2024
Battle of Wyoming Commemoration 2024

Commemoration of the Battle of Wyoming 2024 - The battle took place July 3, 1778 and has been remembered every year since 1878. I teamed up with @vinnielangdon this year to see what it is all about.

Wyoming Massacre July 3, 1778
Wyoming Massacre July 3, 1778

My latest video - how it took me eight years and a trip to the Wyoming Massacre monument in PA to discover the story about a portrait in the NY Historical Society.

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