Salem (N.Y.) collection, 1760-1891 (majority within 1785-1891)

Summary

Creator:

Anonymous

Abstract:

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, financial records, newspaper clippings, and other items related to Salem, New York, and its residents, primarily from the 1780s-1890s.

Extent:

0.25 linear feet

Language:

English

Authors:

Collection processed and finding aid created by Meg Hixon, October 2012

Background

Scope and Content:

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, financial records, newspaper clippings, and other items related to Salem, New York, and its residents, primarily from the 1780s-1890s. Many of the items were once bound together.

The Correspondence series is comprised of around 60 incoming and outgoing letters related to Salem, New York, and to the history of the state of New York. Early letters between residents of Salem and other locales concern a wide range of topics including education, political offices and appointments, and legal cases. After 1856, most items are incoming letters to James Gibson, a native of Salem who was state senator, judge, and president of the Washington Academy. Three letters written during the Civil War concern military commissions and officers. Many of Gibson's incoming letters, particularly later items, relate to his genealogical work; some correspondents offered or requested information about their ancestors.

The Documents series contains over 140 indentures, financial records, petitions, and other items, primarily related to residents of Salem, New York, in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many of the indentures concern land ownership in Washington, County, New York, and personal financial agreements. Other material relates to the Washington Academy, including a list of pupils. Legal orders largely concern private debts, and one document pertains to a local election. Some documents have newspaper clippings pasted onto them, and others were once bound together. One item is a diploma that the Washington Academy issued to James McEl. A group of land indentures is housed in a large bound volume.

The collection's Printed Items include articles, programs, and newspaper clippings. The majority of newspaper clippings concern the Washington Academy in Salem, New York. Other articles concern the "Bench and Bar of Washington County," the Bancroft Public Library, and the family of William Williams. Some clippings are pasted onto large sheets of paper, with manuscript annotations; a small number of complete newspapers are present. The series also has several copies of a program from the dedication ceremony of the Bancroft Public Library in July 1890.

The Photograph, Essay, Notes, and Fragments series is made up of items pertaining to Salem, New York. The carte-de-visite photograph depicts J. B. Steele. The various notes, essay, and fragments pertain to genealogy.

Biographical / Historical:

This collection of items related to Salem, New York, may have been compiled by James Gibson (1816-1897). James Gibson was born in Salem, New York, on September 5, 1816, and attended the Washington Academy. After his admission to the bar in 1839, he practiced law in Salem. He served as a judge and state senator, and was a president of the Washington Academy. On October 17, 1844, he married Jane Wentworth, and they had three children: Mary, James, and Jennie. James Gibson died on June 6, 1897.

Acquisition Information:

1994. M-3048 .

Processing information:

Cataloging funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). This collection has been processed according to minimal processing procedures and may be revised, expanded, or updated in the future.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in the following series:

• Series I: Correspondence
• Series II: Documents
• Series III: Printed Items
• Series IV: Photograph, Essay, Notes, and Fragments

Each series is arranged chronologically, with undated items placed at the end. Some of the documents are bound in a single volume.

Rules or Conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Related

Additional Descriptive Data:

Alternate Locations

The following items are located in the Map Division:

• [Hutton's Plan 6000 Acres], 1793.
• Map of Argyle; or the Scot's Patent, 1772.
• Visscher, Nanning. A Map of the Subdivision of Sundry Lots and Parcels of Land Scituate Lying and Being in the County of Albany on the East Side of the Hudson River on Both Sides of a Run of Water Commonly Called Hosick Creek... Albany, 1814.
• Webster, George. Map of Putnam. [ca. 1772], 1772.

The following items are located in the Book Division:

• Kelly, Michael. Anniversary, 4th of July Exhibition. [Salem, N.Y.: Washington Academy, 1832.
• Macklin, Charles. Exhibition: The Members of the Salem Juvenile Lyceum Will Give a Public Exhibition on the 28th Sept., 1832 for the Purpose of Raising Funds to Paint and Otherwise Adorn the Chapel of the Academy. [Salem, N.Y.]: Washington Academy, 1832.
• Order of Exercises at the Washington Academy, Tuesday Evening, April 23d, 1833. [Salem, N.Y.]: The Academy, 1833.
• Order of Exercises at the Washington Academy on the Evening of 23d Dec. 1834. [Salem, N.Y.: The Academy, 1834.
• Order of Exercises at the Washington Academy on the Evening of 5th January, 1838. [Salem, N.Y.]: The Academy, 1838.
• Stewart, James W. Exhibition of the Students of Washington Academy, Salem, Held on the 4th of July, at Half Past Seven O'clock P.M. in the Chapel: the Following Pieces Were Assigned to the Students in Order under the Direction of the Rev. James W. Stewart, A.M. Preceptor. [Salem, N.Y.]: The Academy, 1832.
• The Following Letter Was Picked Up in the Cars: Know-Nothing Council, Salem, New-York, March 19th, 1855 : Brother F... [Salem, N.Y.]: The Council, 1855.
• To the Honorable the Legislature of the State of New York. [New York?]: s.n., 1831.

Related Materials

The New York State Library has a collection of James Gibson papers.

Bibliography

Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York: One Hundred and Seventeenth Annual Communication, June, 1898. New York: J. J. Little & Co., 1898.

The Salem Book: Records of the Past and Glimpses of the Present. Salem (N.Y.): The Salem Review-Press, 1896.

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

Real property--New York (State)

Formats:

Card photographs (photographs)
Clippings (information artifacts)
Diplomas.
Financial records.
Indentures.
Letters (correspondence)
Newspapers.
Notes.
Photographs.
Postcards.
Programs (documents)

Names:

Washington Academy (Salem, N.Y.)
Steele, J. B.
Gibson, James, 1816-1897.

Places:

New York (State)--History.
New York (State)--History--Revolution, 1775-1783.
Salem (N.Y.)
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Washington County (N.Y.)