Albany County, New York
The city of Albany was the first municipality within this large county, founded as the village (dorp in Dutch) of Beverwyck by the Director-General of New Amsterdam, Pieter Stuyvesant, who also established the first court in Albany. Albany was established as a city in 1686 by Governor Dongan through the Dongan Charter after the English took over the colony. Schenectady to the west was given a patent with some municipal rights in 1684 and became a borough in 1765.
History of Albany, New York (1860–1900)
In 1860 George Thacher (Democrat) defeats John Taylor (Republican) by 735 votes. Eli Perry becomes mayor again in 1862 with 2,489 votes over George Luther the Republican candidate. George Washington Hough invents the recording barometer while director of the Dudley Observatory. In 1864 the Albany Railway Company begins intra-city service with horse cars between the corner of Broadway and State Street to the corner of Central Avenue and Northern Boulevard (today Henry Johnson Boulevard) and Eli Perry is reelected mayor by a 1,193 vote majority over John Rathbone (Republican). In 1866 former mayor George Thacher is elected over Robert Pruyn (Republican) by a 733-vote margin, the Livingston Avenue Railroad Bridge is finished in this year as well.