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The New-York Historical Society's manuscript collections contain over 20,000 linear feet of archival materials, including family papers and organizational and business records. This website presents a selection of collections that document the lives of important New Yorkers and Americans as well as average citizens.
NYHS Identifier
Library Collection
Owning Institution
Publisher
Subject (Topical)
Subject (Geographic)
Contributor
Date Created
1630 to 1980
Subcollections
51 subcollections
Abigail Adams, who served as the second First Lady of the United States, was the wife of President John Adams, and the mother of President John Quincy Adams. Correspondence between Abigail Adams and family and friends, including her uncle Cotton Tufts, and her son John Quincy Adams. The letters discuss matters relating to family, illness, personal finances and the running of a household, the U.S. Congress at Philadelphia, and American politics.…
Drawn from several manuscript collections at the New-York Historical Society, Abraham Lincoln drafted, signed, endorsed, or received the 192 documents presented in this digital collection during his presidency. They range from correspondence with his Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, to proclamations and other official documents signed by Lincoln, to letters, telegrams, and petitions received by him from government officials, military leaders…
Correspondence of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr preceding their duel which resulted in Hamilton's death on July 11, 1804. Also correspondence of their seconds, Nathaniel Pendleton and William Van Ness, and two letters from Elizabeth Hamilton, Alexander's widow, to Nathaniel Pendleton. Alexander Hamilton was the Caribbean-born American statesman, politician, legal scholar, military commander, lawyer, banker, and economist who served as United…
Correspondence, drafts of essays and speeches, drawings, and autobiographical writings of Alexander Jackson Davis, a successful New York City architect. Includes letters to Davis and miscellaneous papers, 1835-1859, chiefly about building residences. The correspondents include Francis H. Smith of the Virginia Military Institute, Joel Rathbone, W.J. Rotch, and H.K. Harral. The collection also includes numerous examples of autobiographical writing…
Autograph letters from members of the Bartram family. Two letters, both by John Bartram (1699-1777), are of particular interest: the first to Cadwallader Colden, describing his recent expedition up the Susquehanna River; the second to William Bartram, which begins "Dear Billy, I have now a most grievous cough that teaseth me night and day yet I have sent thee six likely young negroes among which is [sic] two young breeding wenches..." John…
Approximately 760 letters written by U.S. Army private Benjamin Segan (b. 1924) to his fiancée, Judith Berman, in New York City, describing his activities at basic training in Fort Dix, New Jersey, Camp Croft, South Carolina, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, and his experiences in North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany during World War II.
A collection of three cut fragments of parchment and one cut fragment of wove paper, each of which has cut squares of blue paper adhered to it that are embossed with British tax stamps dating to the reigns of George II (1727-1760) and George III (1760-1820).
Letters, some in French, from C.J.M. De Wolf, a banker in Antwerp, Belgium, or, after 1806, his wife, to Gouverneur Morris concerning financial matters such as loans for the U.S., economic conditions in the U.S. and Europe and De Wolf's speculations involving 440,000 acres of land in northern New York State. Frequently mentioned are Phyn, Ellis & Inglis, William Constable & Co., William Short and Le Ray de Chaumont.
Charles Sumner (1811-1874) was a United States senator from Massachusetts and a campaigner against slavery. This is a draft of a version of the speech delivered in New York on May 9, 1855, and published that year under the title "The anti-slavery enterprise." Internal evidence indicates that it was to be delivered to a Boston audience, probably on May 15, 1855. The digital collection includes the draft along with the published version (Boston:…
The diaries of Charles Willoughby Dayton (1846-1910) date from 1863 to 1865: and contain entries about the weather and war news. He writes negatively about African Americans, African American soldiers, the Emancipation Proclamation, and Abraham Lincoln. He also mentions the New York Draft Riots and his fear of being killed by the mobs. Other events and topics noted by Dayton include the marriage of Tom Thumb, the death of Edwin Booth's wife,…
New York City merchant Christopher Bancker's journal, May 11, 1718 to February 28, 1750, recording sales of general merchandise and accounts of business and personal transactions.
65 autograph letters, signed, between James B. Collins and his brother Joseph T. Collins, their parents John W. and Mary Anne Collins, and a handful of friends and relatives, all dated between February 4, 1862 and July 9, 1863. The bulk of the letters from the front are written by James B. Collins. Also includes a manuscript copy of lyrics to a song entitled "Song of the Louisiana Lowlands."
Two volumes of account books (30 and 48 p., respectively) belonging to Loyalist Crean Brush. First volume has had several pages removed.
Twenty-four letters and financial accounts created by members of the Crooke family, originally of Ulster County, N.Y. Collection includes six documents pertaining to the disposal of the estate of Charles Crooke, Jr., dated 1753-1767; one autograph letter, signed, from John Crooke to Martin S. Wilkins, dated Rhinebeck, July 27, 1807; twelve autograph letters, signed, of an official nature from John Crooke Jr. to Henry Livingston, then clerk of…
Six volumes of recipes, dated 1840-1874, accompanied by twenty-eight loose recipes (most undated), a letter to Eliza Duane from her cousin Kate, and a handwritten song to the tune of "Yankee Doodle." Eliza Duane, and is dated November 28, 1843, another is identified as belonging to Mrs. Mary Wells (undated), and still another was given by S.T. Bagg to Fanny T. Wells, and is dated December 25, 1857; the remaining three volumes most likely…
This collection contains papers relating to the Duane family and associated families. The bulk of the collection concerns the papers of James Duane, a prominent New York lawyer, patriot, and land developer. James Duane (1733-1797) became the ward of Robert Livingston after his father's death around 1734 and married Livingston's daughter Mary in 1759. He made a number of profitable real estate investments and was a prominent lawyer by the time of…
Letters, certificates, land grants and military orders pertaining to the life of Ebenezer Gray of Connecticut. Items include Grays commissions as major (dated 1777, signed by John Hancock) and lieutenant-colonel in the Sixth Connecticut Regiment (1778, signed by John Jay); eight letters from various officers discussing military matters; Grays membership certificate in the Society of the Cincinnati, signed by George Washington; and a land grant…
Ebenezer Stevens (1751-1823) served as a soldier and officer in the Continental Army and the New York State Artillery Corps during the Revolutionary War. Post-war, he was an agent for the United States War Department as well as a successful merchant in New York City. This collection documents his activities as a merchant and as a commanding officer, focusing particularly on daily functions and the fortification of New York Harbor in the years…
24 letters and one warrant signed by George Clinton (ca. 1686-1761) in his capacity as governor of New York between 1744 and 1751. The majority of the letters are written from New York, addressed to Major Jacob Glen, and discuss various issues relating to King Georges War, especially negotiations with the Indians for their support in the war and troop supply problems. A letter dated Fort George, New York, May 30, 1751, announces the death of the…
The four-volume diary of George Templeton Strong (1820-1875) is a detailed chronicle of the activities, interests, and relationships that characterized its author's life. Beginning in 1835, and continued consistently into 1875, its thousands of individual entries contain descriptions of all facets of Strong's experience, typically beginning with the weather and going on to discuss matters such as his legal work, family life, health, social ties…
Thirty-eight items, mostly deeds and indentures for land in Hempstead, including a handful of receipts and invitations, and a set of documents related to the building of a road in Far Rockaway in 1870.
Henry Bergh founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and helped form both the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. This collection consists of seven letters by Henry Bergh, most concerning the A.S.P.C.A., or cases of animal cruelty. They are accompanied by one portrait engraving autographed by Bergh. Letter recipients…
Letter, promissory notes, and accounts relative Henry Hart of Kingsbury, N.Y., and the administration of his estate. Account of Hamilton McCollister lists numerous people with claims to Hart's estate.
Letters, notes, a printed circular, and one receipt pertaining to the life and activites of Horace Greeley, dated from 1840 to 1872. Nearly all letters are written by Greeley; recipients include Thurlow Weed, Henry Clay, Roscoe Conkling, Andrew Johnson, Hamilton Fish, and Joshua R. Giddings. Receipt is for a subscription to Greeleys Whig newsletter "Log Cabinactivities", signed by Greeley.
James F. Brown (1793-1868) was the gardener of the Verplanck family at Mount Gulian, Fishkill, New York. Brown had been enslaved in Maryland before running away, and the Verplancks purchased his time after he was found by his enslaver. The collection consists of eight diaries, 1829-1866, during which time Brown was gardener for the Verplanck family; one receipt book, 1832-1857, recording some personal and household expenses, although most…
Ledgers of John Avery (1739-1779), schoolteacher at Huntington, Long Island, New York. Three ledgers (A, B, and D--ledger C is referred to in the other ledgers, but is not held by New-York Historical Society) covering 1763-1770 and 1775-1780 and recording the accounts of parents of his pupils, most from Huntington, Suffolk County, and Brooklyn, Connecticut, where he boarded with Col. Israel Putnam, expenses of his school, particularly firewood,…
John Clarkson (1764-1828) was an English abolitionist, agent for the Sierra Leone Company, and lieutenant in the British Royal Navy. The collection consists of Clarkson's manuscripts, written in journal form, of his involvement with the settlement of free African-American loyalists from Nova Scotia to Sierra Leone, Africa. The loyalists had been evacuated from New York when the British pulled out at the end of the Revolutionary War and initially…
Drafts of Major John Coffin's statements in reply to the defense of Lieutenant-Colonel George Campbell at Campbell's court martial. Major John Coffin and Lieutenant-Colonel George Campbell both served in the loyalist Kings American Regiment during the Revolutionary War. Campbell was very unpopular among his fellow officers in the regiment, and was court martialed in the summer of 1783. Among the charges levelled against him was unfair treatment…
Two autograph notebooks (1787 May 25-June 16 and 1787 June 18-July 10), containing John Lansing's notes taken during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Some contents include: transcriptions of various committee reports, including a transcription of Alexander Hamilton's plan ('Colonel Hamilton's System'); the text of Elbridge Gerry's committee report of July 5 1787; and a three-page list of the delegates of the convention arranged by…
John Pintard (1759-1844), of New York, was a merchant, philanthropist and founder of the New-York Historical Society. Despite amassing a considerable fortune, he was briefly imprisoned in Newark, NJ for debts incurred during the financial panic of 1792. His extensive "Journal of Studies" (1797-1802) begins shortly before his imprisonment in 1797, and continues after his release thirteen months later, complementing a number of diaries and…
Joseph Reed (1741-1785) was a lawyer, Revolutionary War soldier, and statesman born in Trenton, New Jersey. His wife, Esther De Berdt (1747-1780), organized aid for the Continental Army during the Revolution and was born in London, England. The collection consists of letters and documents that pertain to such matters as colonial politics; trade between England and America; De Berdt family affairs; Joseph's pre-Revolution law practice; relations…
Two autograph letters, signed, from Joshua B. Aldridge to Anthony Van Schaick, Esq. of Albany, dated Ballston Spa, N.Y., August 23 and September 15, 1806, regarding the collection of a debt from one John Green. Both letters also bear notations "Sup. Court" and "[Plaintiffs] letter" on reverse. The note referred to in the first letter is not present.
Nine letters from various correspondents to Thomas Jefferson Durant, a lawyer and Louisiana state senator, and one of the few prominent Southerners who supported the Union during the Civil War. After the war he practiced in Washington D.C.
Correspondence, including letters received and copies of letters sent by Boston lawyer and abolitionist Lysander Spooner (1808-1887). Many of the letters pertain to Spooner's activities as an abolitionist and author of works opposing slavery. Included are 100 letters to or from George Bradburn, 106 letters to or from Gerrit Smith, 7 pieces of correspondence with Charles D. Cleveland, 7 with Daniel Drayton, 19 with Richard Goodell, 10 with…
Typescript of over 1,400 pages with approximately 650 accompanying illustrations written and compiled by Marion Mahony Griffin (1871–1961), architect, designer, delineator and artist, with her husband Walter Burley Griffin (1876–1937), architect, landscape designer and city planner. Their architectural practice spanned almost four decades on three continents. The Magic of America: Electronic Edition collates in a digital format all…
Papers, 1774-1868, mainly consisting of correspondence and legal documents relating to Martha Bradstreet's attempts to regain title to land in Utica (N.Y.), which was originally part of the property of General John Bradstreet, the stepfather of Bradstreet's father, Samuel. Title to the land became confused by a poorly drafted deed of sale to Peter Schuyler in 1793, and Martha Bradstreet's claim to the land was further complicated by the terms of…
Fabric samples sent and received by Mary Alexander, a successful New York businesswoman who specialized in "haberdashery " what would today be called notions. She ordered plain as well as luxurious fabrics and sold them at her store on Broad Street in Manhattan. Mary Alexander was born in New York in 1693 and married Samuel Prevoost, an importer, with whom she ran a mercantile business. After Prevoost died around 1720 she married James…
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…
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 enslaved people in New York State. While this was the publicly stated goal, numerous members still enslaved people in their own households, including John Jay and Rufus King. The society provided legal and financial assistance to manumitted…
Records of sanitary inspections made by various physicians in Manhattan during 1864-1865. These include detailed descriptions and colored maps and block diagrams of wards 5, 7, 8, 16, 18, and 19, with comments on sewage, drainage, state of cleanliness, general condition and use of buildings, sickness and mortality, etc. The Citizens' Association of New-York was formed in 1863 by prominent New Yorkers to undertake the task of reforming New York…
Richard Varick, born in New Jersey, 1753, served as Captain, deputy muster-master-general, and George Washington's secretary during the Revolutionary war. He was appointed one of the first mayors of New York and served from 1789-1801. He died in 1831. His papers pertain to a variety of subjects, including Varick's command of a company in Alexander McDougall's battalion at Ticonderoga and in Canada during 1775; his service on courts-martial in…
Salvator Cillis (September 5, 1892-February 17, 1966) was born in Potenza, Italy and immigrated to New York with his family in 1901. He worked as a sign painter at The Levy Company before being drafted for service in World War I attached to the 77th Division, 306th Infantry. This collection is composed of illustrated letters, postcards and envelopes produced by Cillis during this period (1917-1919). The correspondence covers his basic training…
Sarah R. Blunt (born in 1830 or 1831) was a Union nurse during the Civil War. Leaving her home and family in Brooklyn's third ward, Blunt aided soldiers at Point Lookout, Maryland, and Harper's Ferry, Virginia. This collection includes Sarah R. Blunt's letters to her mother, father, sisters, and cousin in Brooklyn, New York, written from hospitals in Point Lookout, Maryland and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia (March 4, 1862-July 24, 1865:). She…
Sebastian Bauman (died 1803) was a Revolutionary War officer. The collection consists of correspondence, 1775-1795 (mostly 1779-1781), when Bauman was in command of West Point. The 177 items include correspondence with Aaron Burr, Gov. George Clinton, Baron Friedrich von Steuben, Col. John Lamb, Gen. Henry Knox, and others. Letters relate to ordnance matters, disadvantages of the American artillery, serious situation at West Point, lack of…
Known as the "Republican Earl", William Alexander, "Lord Stirling", was born in 1726 in New York City. He served on the Provincial Councils of New York and New Jersey, and in 1775, joined the Whigs in rebellion against the Crown. In March 1776 Alexander was appointed brigadier general and took chief command of the defense of New York City. In 1777, he was promoted to major-general. He died in January 1783 of fever and gout. These selected papers…
Four letters from Stephen Bayard to Gilbert Livingston of Kingston, N.Y., and one to Evert Wendell of Albany, dated New York between 1728 and 1743, before Bayard became mayor of the city. The correspondence is largely concerned with financial matters, especially debts Bayard wished to collect. One letter to Livingston is signed by both Stephen and Nicholas Bayard; another, dated December 6, 1731, mentions new governmental appointments in New…
Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) was a key figure in the women's suffrage and abolitionist movements in the United States. Five of the letters concern speeches by Frederick Douglass, Theodore Tilton, Julia Ward Howe, and Mary L. Booth, as well as Anthony's own speaking engagements. Recipients include Theodore Tilton and Mary L. Booth. One letter is about remaking a dress. One letter is undated but is probably written by Anthony around November 1895…
Walt Whitman's letters to the parents of Erastus Haskell of the 141st New York Volunteers, who died on August 2, 1863 in Armory Square Hospital, Washington, D.C., where Whitman frequently visited the sick and wounded. He wrote the Haskells, of Breseport, New York, on July 27, 1863 to inform them that their son was very ill with typhoid fever. In a letter written August 10 he describes his visits with Erastus and their son's last days. In the…
Three folders (62 items) of mostly official signed documents from Burnet's tenure as governor of New York and New Jersey, including land grants, warrants for letters patent, memorials, leases, receipts, bills, and lists of accounts. James Alexander is a frequent co-signer and correspondent, and the collection also includes several bonds from Alexander to Burnet for fairly large sums of money. A few later documents discuss the disposition of…
The William Oland Bourne collection in the New-York Historical Society's Manuscripts Department includes correspondence, papers, broadsides, and unpublished manuscripts related to his work as a social reformer, editor and author in New York City during the 1850s and 60s. Through his publication, The Soldier's Friend, he sought to aid disabled soldiers by offering prizes to those who had lost their right arms in combat during the American Civil…
Correspondence of William Pitt Fessenden, and his sons Francis Fessenden and James Deering Fessenden. The majority of letters are addressed to William Pitt Fessenden on financial and political matters, but a few are private; several letters are addressed to Francis Fessenden, including one from William Pitt Fessenden. A handful are addressed to James Fessenden. Four letters (J.C. Ropes to P.W. Chandler, 1868; Joshua C. Stone to A.J.C. Sowdon…
