Pages from the Past : NYC’s Greatest Diarist Dishes

Everyone loves a little gossip, right? And no one could dish it like George Templeton Strong. Once a well-connected lawyer and a trustee of both Trinity Church and Columbia College (but also a man who reflected the racial, ethnic, and religious prejudices of his time), he is now perhaps best known for the extensive private diary (never actually intended for publication) that he kept from 1835 until his death in 1875. Strong’s writings detail his frank observations of high society and the people of NYC who he knew intimately (many of whom wound up at Green-Wood), as well as his visits to the Cemetery. Matt again joins Jeff Richman, the historian at Green-Wood Cemetery, for an online Zoom chat to discuss Strong’s candid observations and his unique insider’s view of history. This conversation is part of the cemetery’s series of virtual programs about the history of Green-Wood and its permanent residents, Zooming in on History.