author
Arthur James Weise
1838–1921
A prolific New York historian and genealogist, he wrote sweeping local histories that helped preserve the stories of Albany, Troy, Rensselaer County, and other parts of the region. His work also reached far beyond New York, including studies of early American exploration and family chronicles.
1 Audiobook
The Discoveries of America to the Year 1525
by Arthur James Weise
About the author
Born in 1838 and active through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Arthur James Weise built a reputation as a hardworking author of historical and genealogical books. Reliable library and museum records connect him with major works such as The History of the City of Albany, New York, Troy's One Hundred Years, 1789–1889, History of the Seventeen Towns of Rensselaer County, and The Discoveries of America to the Year 1525.
His writing focused especially on the history of New York State and the Hudson River region, and he was noted for producing detailed accounts of cities, counties, and families. That combination of local history and genealogy made his books useful both to general readers and to later researchers looking for early source material.
Available source material also identifies him as a Civil War veteran, and modern archival references remember him as a prolific historical writer whose publications covered North America from early European settlement into the nineteenth century. He died in 1921, leaving behind a large body of work that still appears in library catalogs, digitized archives, and regional history collections.