History: 1876 - 2001

Truly the master craftsmen who launched the New York State Shorthand Reporters Association in 1876 built a sturdy ship, on which in the 125 years of its existence has safely weathered all the storms and adverse currents that have beaten against it, and which is now sailing on "calm seas and a prosperous voyage."

Starting with a membership of eight the roster now numbers in the hundreds and has included men and women whose names have become bywords in the reporting history. But now let the names of the charter members in our 125th year once again be spread upon the record so that we, who have benefited so greatly by their foresight and their labors, may offer thanks to the memory of these legendary giants of our profession.

What has changed in the first one hundred twenty-five years? In 1876, the year of our beginning, Ulysses S. Grant was President of these United States, and Samuel J. Tilden was Governor of New York State. There were no skyscrapers visible on the New York City skyline. There were no bridges spanning the East or Hudson Rivers. Brooklyn was a sovereign municipality. The Bronx was a comparative wilderness and Queens County was an expanse dotted here and there by towns and villages. The waters surrounding Manhattan Island were dotted with ferries, small steamships and forests of masts of sailing vessels. For all practical purposes there was no telephone, typewriter, light bulb or automobile in use at this time. In upstate New York the City of Syracuse had some fifty thousand inhabitants. It was a bustling, thriving hub of much of industrial and agricultural activity. The center square of that city was a terminal of water traffic on the Erie Canal. Here, too, farmers and hucksters from the surrounding countryside made their headquarters for the sale of their goods. On one side of the square stood the Onondaga County Court house, a large imposing structure of gray limestone, which was the center of the legal business of central New York.

It was in these surroundings , on August 18, 1876, in the words of Past-President Comstock of Syracuse, "that eight young men, proficient in shorthand, experience in court reporting, enthusiastic in the interests of their profession, met in the offices of Tinsely & Morgan, and resolved that the organization of a State association should be made, perfected a permanent organization, adopted a constitution, elected a staff of officers and chose the name, "New York State Law Stenographers Association."

We owe a debt to these men one hundred twenty-five years later that we can never repay.

That was the beginning of the New York State Court Reporters Association.