Ryan Wilsey

Midsummer Musings Summer begins with “midsummer.” Somehow, that makes perfect historical sense—and almost no logical sense at all. Why did the Romans decide the begin

July 23, 2026 Issue of The Sentinel Take a look at this week’s front page. What’s on the inside of this week’s issue and why is it important to you? Click here to view the entire issue 

Competing Dreams For The Genesee Country—Part II: Phelps And Gorham Play By The Rules Phelps and Gorham eventually acquired the rights to millions of acres in Western New York, but they were not the first to see the opportunity. Who got

Competing Dreams For The Genesee Country—Part I: John Livingston and the Lessees The Treaty of Hartford settled who owned the Genesee Country, but it did not settle what it would become. Who was the little-known visionary who saw an

The Birth Of Western New York: Treaty of Hartford Explained The Treaty of Hartford did not merely settle a boundary dispute. It transformed a century-old colonial controversy into a legal framework that created

The Seneca Between Nations: Western New York After the Treaty of Paris After the Treaty of Paris, everyone claimed Western New York, but only one people actually possessed it. How did the Seneca use the rivalry between

The Ghosts of Colonial Charters Return The Revolution ended British rule, but did it really end the disputes Britain left behind? How could America settle competing claims when the king who

HF-L Boys And Girls Lacrosse Teams Dominate To Win Section V Titles Honeoye Falls-Lima’s Boys and Girls Varsity Lacrosse teams made the case for declaring HF-L “Lacrosse Town, USA” with their victories in their respe

Treaty Of Paris Leaves Lingering Questions The Treaty of Paris officially ended the Revolutionary War and gave the United States claim to Western New York. But if the war was over, why did

LEGAL/PUBLIC NOTICELEGAL NOTICE MENDON PUBLIC LIBRARY NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING PURSUANT TO OPEN MEETINGS LAW: Mendon Public Library’s Board of Trustees will hold

Sullivan's Soldiers Discover The Genesee Valley The Revolutionary War brought Sullivan’s soldiers into the Genesee Valley to destroy it. What did they find there that Americans back east could s

The Roman Hamburger That Wasn’t Everyone knows the Romans invented the hamburger—or do they? The famous ancient recipe wasn’t made with beef at all. How did a Roman fish dish a

Washington’s Gamble – The Sullivan–Clinton Campaign George Washington’s Gamble wasn’t just a military campaign. It was a calculated risk that frontier destruction could save the Revolution itself. But wha

Democracy Dies On The Blackboard The Founders feared mob rule as much as monarchy. They believed liberty required citizens educated enough to understand the difference between democracy

The River Ran Red With Blood When war left the battlefield and entered the home, frontier justice gave way to frontier terror. How did the Cherry Valley Massacre make retaliation

Are You A Promoter Or A Closer? Some people can sell the sizzle. Others can seal the deal. But which one actually builds lasting success—and can one person truly be both? Read this w

The British–Iroquois Alliance and the Fractured Confederacy Alliances built over centuries can collapse in a single generation. When the American Revolution reached the Iroquois Confederacy, it didn’t just d

The Shot Not Heard ’Round the World: Vermont’s First Taste of Independence Before Lexington and Concord, before the world heard a shot that echoed across empires, another spark ignited in a quiet Vermont courthouse. Was this

A Royal Mess Of Competing Colonial Charters Royal charters drew clean lines across a continent no one had seen. When those claims collided, authority didn’t just weaken—it contradicted itself. So

European Rivals and the Seneca Frontier European rivals and the Seneca frontier collided deep in the forests of Western New York. The French marched in, burned villages, and claimed victory.