Upstate New York in the mid-19th century was a cauldron bubbling with the lure of fast fortunes, religious zealotry, and battles for civil liberties. This fervor centered on the Erie Canal, which successfully supported scores of villages brimming with opportunity. One village, Fayetteville, NY, was home to two future American leaders – Matilda Joslyn Gage and Grover Cleveland. Gage was an only child of freethinking parents, an ardent supporter of universal rights, who Gloria Steinem described as, “the woman who was ahead of the women who were ahead of their times.” In contrast, Cleveland was the fifth of nine children of an austere Presbyterian minister. He rose from mayor of Buffalo, to governor of NY, to US president over four years through his honesty and support of individual rights.
How did Upstate New York shape these people and how have they affected who we are?
Michael Miller was born in a New Jersey village similar to Fayetteville. Through small town life, he learned to respect people regardless of their backgrounds and to appreciate the gifts each person brings to the world. Miller developed a love of research during his schooling (Tufts University, B.A.; City College of NY, M.S.; Mt. Sinai, Ph.D.) and academic career (Tulane, Rutgers, Univ. Iowa, and SUNY). He applied these skills when he wrote his debut novel, High Bridge, Matilda and Grover Battle Learned Ignorance.