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- New-York African Free School records, 1817-1832
- These records cover the latter portion of the African Free-Schools' existence, ending two years before oversight for the schools was transferred to the Public School Society. They relate to classroom observation, student performance, behavior and promotions, as well as examples of lessons and student work. The records are in four volumes. The first includes regulations, by-laws, and reports, from 1817 to 1832. The regulations are for the format of the school's examination procedures, while the reports give numbers of students promoted for each quarter. These are limited to school No. 1. A substantial portion of the volume is also made up of observations of the visting committee, giving their impressions of the progress being made, along with the behavior and organization of the classroom and students. The second volume is also filled with reports and observations of the visiting committee, but these are limited to school No. 2, and cover 1820 to 1831. Added to the closing pages of the volume are several pages of lessons on adding, subtracting and division of money, with examples. The third volume includes extracts, compositions, addresses and pieces spoken at public examinations for 1818 to 1826, but early pages do include some material on promotions.The fourth volume complements the third with penmanship and drawing studies by the students (1816-1826). Of particular interest are copies of the speech given by James McCune Smith on the occasion of the Marquis de La Fayette's visit to New York in 1824.While there is little, if any, information on individuals in the first two volumes, attributions are often given for the material appearing in volumes three and four.
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- New-York Manumission Society records, 1785-1849
- New-York Society for Promoting the Manumission of Slaves (1785-1849), commonly known as the New-York Manumission Society, was established to publicly promote the abolition of slavery and manumission of slaves in New York State. The society provided legal and financial assistance to manumitted slaves in need of protection, slaves seeking manumission and supported legislation and efforts to enforce laws banning the sale of slaves in New York State. The records include meeting minutes, commission reports, financial records, indentures, and registers from the year of its organization to its dissolution in 1849. Subjects covered include appointments, elections, political activities, finances, reports on individual cases, the sponsorship and operation of the African Free School and African American houses of refuge. Among its active members were: Robert C. Cornell, W. W. Woolsey, Nehemiah Allen, Melancton Smith, William T. Slocum, Samuel Bowne, Adrian Hegeman, Willet Seaman, Thomas Burling, John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, James Duane, John Murray, Jr., William Dunlap, Alexander McDougall, Noah Webster, and Egbert Benson.
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- Petition of Citizens of New York to Abraham Lincoln, undated [circa 1862].
- Undated petition, probably circa 1862, to United States President Abraham Lincoln from citizens of New York requesting that the governor of New York be authorized to raise a number of regiments composed wholly or partly of African American troops, including the signatures and addresses of petitioners. In scroll form, appproximately 25 feet long. Printed document signed., Mss Collection - BV Petitions, New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, 212-873-3400.
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- Records of the Association for the Benefit of Colored Orphans, 1836-1972 (bulk 1850-1936)
- The Association for the Benefit of Colored Orphans was founded in 1836 and was originally located on Fifth Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets in Manhattan. The Colored Orphan Asylum was among the earliest organizations in the country to provide housing, training, and employment specifically for African-American orphans. During the Draft Riots of July 14, 1863, the Colored Orphan Asylum was attacked by a mob. At that time, it housed some 600 to 800 homeless children in a large four story building surrounded by grounds and gardens. The crowd plundered the Asylum, then set fire to the first floor. The building burned to the ground. The records of the Colored Orphan Asylum document the activities of the institution from 1836 to 1972, with the bulk of the records falling between 1850 and 1936.
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- Slavery Collection, 1709-1864
- The Slavery Collection contains correspondence and legal and financial documents related to the North American slave trade, slave ownership, abolition, and political issues pertinent to slavery. The Slavery Collection is called an "artificial" collection because a third party placed unrelated items together according to subject matter. Researchers who have used this collection in the past, or those following citations in published sources, should be aware that it was rearranged in 1999 in order to facilitate intellectual and physical access. Certain material that formerly was not arranged, or was arranged chronologically, is now arranged by format. For example, depositions are now grouped together, rather than being interfiled with accounts, receipts or deeds of manumission.
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- Town Book for Castletown For the Entry of Black Children, 1799-1827
- Birth records and deeds of manumission for African American children in the town of Castleton, Staten Island, N.Y. between 1799 and 1827., Castleton is a former town in New York State. It was located in the northeastern part of Staten Island, prior to the incorporation of Staten Island into New York City in 1898., New-York Historical Society