Nils Gustaf von Schoultz (1807-1838) was a Finnish-born Swedish national who helped lead the Battle of the Windmill during the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1838. After settling in New York in 1836 he became involved with a secretive organization known as the Hunters' Lodges, who were dedicated to the eviction of the British from North America. Von Schoultz was persuaded to assist them in their support of an attempted rebellion against British forces in Canada. Although he and his men, barricaded in a stone windmill, held the hamlet of Newport against British Loyalist for several days, they eventually were forced to surrender, and von Schoultz was court martialed and hung.
Carl Carmer (1893-1976) was an American author and historian. Many of his books deal with historical events in upstate New York, but his best known book was Stars Fell on Alabama (1934), about his experiences in the South in the early 1930s.
From the guide to the Nils Gustaf von Schoultz Collection, 1949-1963, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)
