Collections

The papers include accounts, land papers, correspondence, miscellaneous, and printed materials.

The collection includes Arthur Bronson’s Accounts, 1817-1843 and undated; Land Papers, 1833-1844, for Illinois, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, New York (State) and Kings County, and Wisconsin; Legal Papers, 1828-1849; Correspondence, 1820-1848 and undated; Miscellaneous, 1825-1843 and undated; and Printed Materials, including maps, laws, land sale fliers and advertisements, etc., 1815-1867 and undated. Companies documented include the Peru Iron Company, Union Bank of New York, and the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company.

Some of Arthur’s papers are found in the collections of his father and brother, Isaac and Frederic Bronson, and in the Bronson Family Papers. Bronson papers housed at other institutions are available at the Clarke on 30 reels of positive microfilm (Micro. Mss. F-40). These include Arthur’s letters, 1825-1838?, 1815-1844 and accounts, 1823-1844 (reels 3-5); letters, 1822-1834 (reels 9-10); letters, 1838-1844 (reels 13-16); legal cases, undated (reel 19); letters, 1835-1836 (reel 22); and accounts, 1846-1865 (reel 23).

For additional letters of Anna Eliza (Bailey) Bronson, see the Bronson Family Papers finding aid.

Letters to Arthur Bronson may also be found in the Charles Butler Papers (3 reels of positive microfilm, Mss. Micro. F-79).

The Augustus Porter papers consist primarily of Porter's incoming business correspondence from the early 19th century. Porter, an early settler of Niagara Falls, New York, had business interests across a variety of industries. Other items include financial records related to Porter's businesses and personal letters written and received by Porter's son, Augustus Seymour Porter.

The Augustus Porter papers consist primarily of Porter's business correspondence from the early 19th century. Porter, an early settler of Niagara Falls, New York, had business interests across a variety of industries. The material pertains to Porter's business interests, mail in and around Niagara Falls, property disputes in northern New York, and an unnamed canal. Augustus Seymour Porter, a United States senator from Michigan, received several personal letters from his mother, Jane Howell Porter. Also present are a printed booklet entitled Notes on the Niagara River (1948) and a newspaper clipping entitled Fun and Miscellany, with a list of puns. The Augustus Porter papers chronicle the early history and development of western New York through the interests of a prominent businessman.

This collection is made up of correspondence and legal documents pertaining to Martha Bradstreet of northern New York State. Much of the material pertains to Bradstreet's efforts to recover titles to her inherited land along the Mohawk River. The collection also contains materials related to Samuel Bradstreet and a group of Civil War letters from Silas E. Crandall to Phoebe Bradstreet.

This collection is made up of correspondence and legal documents pertaining to Martha Bradstreet of northern New York State. Much of the material pertains to Bradstreet's efforts to recover titles to her inherited land along the Mohawk River. The collection also contains materials related to Samuel Bradstreet and a group of Civil War letters from Silas E. Crandall to Phoebe Bradstreet.

The Martha Bradstreet Papers are divided into subseries of Martha Bradstreet Correspondence (126 items) and Martha Bradstreet Documents (25 items). The correspondence, including letters by and to Martha Bradstreet, largely pertains to her legal and financial affairs. Many items concern disputes over the land she inherited in upstate New York. Bradstreet's personal correspondence includes letters that she received from her children while traveling and letters to her children and others about their personal activities, such as her daughter Sarah's return to an abusive husband (November 26, 1840). Bradstreet's children wrote to one another about their personal lives, their mother's legal difficulties, and finances. The series' legal documents concern Bradstreet's New York property disputes, the will of Elizabeth Livius, and a civil suit between Elizabeth C. Bennett and Washington Garlock. A map of Mary Bradstreet's land along the Mohawk River is housed in the Map Division.

The Samuel Bradstreet Correspondence (138 items), dated 1800-1866, reflects the contentious relationship between Martha Bradstreet, her brother Samuel, and her husband, Matthew Codd, particularly with regard to real property and inheritance. The series includes several items written by Samuel's sons and grandsons.

The S. E. Crandall and Phoebe Bradstreet Correspondence (12 items) largely consists of letters that S. E. Crandall sent to Phoebe Bradstreet, whom he addressed as "Mother," while serving in the 17th Army Corps during the Civil War. He discussed his experiences in and around Atlanta, Georgia. He also sent letters before and after his military service about his life in Minnesota and about possible conflicts with the Sioux Indians (June 6, 1863).

The Photograph is a large portrait of a woman, mounted in a card frame.

This bound volume contains 153 incoming letters written to David Ellicott Evans between 1827 and 1828, primarily related to his financial affairs and business concerns. Many of the letters deal with the ownership of land in the state of New York, and others relate to legal affairs and commerce in early 19th-century New York.

This collection contains 153 incoming letters written to David Ellicott Evans between March 27, 1827, and July 17, 1828, primarily related to his financial affairs and business concerns. The first four pages are an index, organized alphabetically by the author's last name, and individual letters are attached to the volume by paper strips. Though some of his cousins included personal news in their letters, Evans's correspondents usually wrote about business affairs, often related to the sale of land in New York State. Others briefly mention canals and mills. William P. Gwinn, the most frequent correspondent, wrote several letters from Medina, New York, concerning the shipment of foodstuffs, including wheat and flour. In one letter, he reported that much of a recent shipment sent to the firm Ellicott & Evans had, upon inspection, proven to be ruined (July 15, 1828). C. Van Deventer wrote 4 letters to Evans, and in one mentioned recent discussion of Evans as a possible gubernatorial candidate for the state of New York (July 8, 1828).

The collection contains accounts, insurance papers, land papers, legal forms, and letters of Frederic Bronson.

The collection includes Frederic Bronson’s correspondence, 1832-1863, undated; accounts, records of loans, mortgages, 1828-1863; deeds, maps, and other land, business, and personal papers, 182?-1861, undated. Lands covered include those in Chicago, Michigan, Somerset County (New Jersey), western New York counties, New York (city), Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

The Clarke also has the original papers of Isaac and Arthur Bronson, Frederic’s father and brother, and the Bronson Family Papers (See those finding aids.). These collections include some additional papers of Frederic Bronson.

On microfilm, the Clarke has the Bronson Family Papers deposited at NYPL (Mss. Micro F-40, 30 reels of positive microfilm). Here, amidst papers of numerous Bronson family members, are found Frederic’s letters, 1825-1861, 1863 (reel 6, 17-18, 23, 25); miscellaneous, 1829-1854 and accounts, 1839-1863 (reels 26-27), and Bronson land and miscellaneous papers (reels 7-9, 18, 25, 29-30). Frederic’s Land Book, 1840, covering Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois, is part of the Arthur Bronson Papers in the Newberry Library. The negative microfilm of this book (Acc#565) is also available at the Clarke. The Land Book, 1840, was filmed by the Chicago Historical Society in 1978 and donated to the Clarke.

This volume contains financial data related to George Folliot's land interests in New Jersey and Dutchess County, New York, as well as scattered commentary on subjects related to his personal finances and land holdings.

The entries in George Folliot's journal are generally quite brief, but paint a picture of the substantial and diverse financial interests of a thoroughly well-heeled New York Tory. The journal was kept sporadically from July 6, 1771 through March 24, 1775 and includes records of rents collected, leases and mortgages, expenditures, accounts and invoices, along with occasional brief commentary on a miscellaneous range of subjects of interest largely to his personal finances and land holdings.

Of greatest interest in the journal are the entries regarding his landholdings in northern New Jersey and the mid-Hudson river counties of New York -- both places that experienced severe and often violent struggles between landlord and tenant. Folliot recorded sketchy, but important records of rents paid, leases signed, and accounts settled, and included occasional comments on his tenants and their maintenance of his property. James Palmer, for instance, is "a shuffling fellow, concerning the keeping of my Mare," while another tenant, Silas Anson, was recorded as keeping a farm with a broken chimney and a shed in bad order. One of the more unusual entries is a copy of a notice issued to his New Jersey tenants forbidding them from cutting green wood for timber (September 21, 1771).

This collection contains correspondence, letter books, and additional material related to the career of George Clinton Gardner, a surveyor and railroad engineer who worked in the United States, Mexico, and Peru throughout the latter half of the 19th century. Correspondence includes several letters related to Gardner's attempt to join the Army Corps of Topographical Engineers during the Civil War. The letter books provide details of Gardner's work with nitroglycerin in Pennsylvania, his experiences and travels while supervising railroad construction throughout Mexico, and his work with the Pacific Company in Peru.

This collection contains correspondence, letter books, and additional material related to the career of George Clinton Gardner, a surveyor and railroad engineer who worked in the United States, Mexico, and Peru throughout the latter half of the 19th century. Included are 17 letters, 4 letter books, 2 financial documents, 10 photographs, 1 printed copy of a painting, and several calling cards.

The Correspondence series has 17 items, including 15 directly related to George Clinton Gardner. These include 3 letters of recommendation that William H. Emory wrote in 1854 and 1856 regarding Gardner's work as a surveyor in the Pacific Northwest, with one addressed to President James Buchanan (August 13, 1856), as well as 5 letters related to Gardner's efforts to serve in the Union Cavalry and in the Army's Corps of Topographical Engineers during the Civil War (1861-1862). Postwar correspondence consists of 3 letters related to financial matters, 1 letter related to Gardner's surveying career, 2 personal letters addressed to Mary Gardner in 1889 and 1890, and a photographic Christmas card addressed to George Clinton Gardner from an acquaintance in Pacasmayo, Peru (1900).

The Letter Books series contains 4 letter books of Gardner's retained copies of his correspondence. The first letter book includes 27 pages of private letters to Messrs. Paul & Mooney and to James Mooney in Buffalo, New York, regarding property Gardner and his parents owned in Buffalo, as well as 2 related enclosed letters (3 pages). These are dated between September 27, 1862, and February 5, 1867, and primarily concern the finances associated with owning the land. Gardner frequently reported sending checks to pay for property taxes. One enclosed letter is dated January 11, 1868, and a second enclosed item is undated.

The second letter book is comprised of 42 loose pages from a single volume, dated between February 9, 1869, to February 14, 1874, with one letter dated October 28, 1879. The pages are numbered, though many are missing. Between 1869 and 1874, Gardner wrote to George M. Mowbray, a chemist involved in the development of nitroglycerin, and to other correspondents concerning Gardner's work overseeing submarine drilling for the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad Company. Many of the letters reflect Gardner's experiences with Mowbray's improved form of nitroglycerin, including a 5 1/2-page report Gardner wrote to General John G. Parke on August 2, 1869. Many letters from 1874 reflect the financial aspects of Gardner's property holdings in Buffalo, New York, and the single letter from 1879 relates to taxes he owed on property in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The third letter book (approximately 212 pages) consists of copies of letters Gardner wrote while working as the general manager of the Mexican National Construction Company, for which he supervised railroad construction on lines running west from Mexico City. The letters, written between September 9, 1881, and July 3, 1882, are addressed to both business and personal acquaintances, and cover Gardner's life, work, and travels throughout Mexico. He described recent developments in local railroad construction and often told his wife Fanny of his travels. The letter dated September 13, 1881, includes a diagram of a stateroom onboard the steamship Knickerbocker. He also discussed the local culture and economy, and provided details on contemporary Mexican life, particularly about the area west of Mexico City. Between January and July 1882, Gardner lived in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and Laredo, Texas. The letter book has been disbound, but the letters are in their original order.

The final letter book (approximately 84 pages) covers George C. Gardner's life in Peru between July 5, 1885, and November 9, 1895. The volume holds copies of personal and professional letters, including several lengthy ones to his wife Fanny, describing his travels around the country searching for and assessing coal deposits. He wrote a continuous letter "from the trail" during August and September 1895. Other topics he discussed are financial affairs and his work for the Pacific Company. Gardner returned to Washington by early October 1895, where he composed the volume's final letters.

The two Documents are financial accounts related to the settlement of the estate of General John McLean, Gardner's maternal grandfather (approximately 20 pages, May 8, 1821-December 27, 1828) and a list of "Charges against [an unidentified] Personal Estate" (1 page, undated).

The 8 card photographs in the Photographs series include one portraying a boy named Clinton Gardner Reed (May 22, 1884) and one taken at the Exhibition of Philadelphia in November 1876, as well as a carte-de-visite and a photographic portrait of Charles Kitchell Gardner. The final item is a black-and-white reproduction of a painting depicting a scene from Charles Le Brun's opera "La Famiglia di Dario ai Piedi di Alessandro," mounted on a thick card.

The Ephemera series contains several calling cards for Mrs. George H. Brodhea. Among several envelopes is one from the White House to Fanny Gardner .

This collection is made up of correspondence, diaries, legal documents, financial records, and other items related to multiple generations of the Hasbrouck family of Ogdensburg, New York. The materials concern land ownership, politics and historical events, family news, genealogy, and other subjects.

This collection is made up of approximately 3.5 linear feet of correspondence and documents, 21 diaries and commonplace books, 4 school-related items, around 40 printed and ephemeral items, and genealogical materials related to multiple generations of the Hasbrouck family of Ogdensburg, New York, between 1784 and 1940.

The correspondence and documents reflect the activities of many Hasbrouck family members, with an emphasis on Louis Hasbrouck, Sr., Louis Hasbrouck, Jr., and Levi Hasbrouck. The earliest items, written from 1802 to the mid-1830s, center around Louis Hasbrouck, Sr., and his wife Catharine, who wrote to one another and who received letters from their siblings and other family members. Louis's correspondents often provided news of Guilford, New York, and sometimes commented on political issues, particularly during the War of 1812. The Hasbroucks' correspondents included members of the Graham and Lasher families. Many of Catharine's letters to her husband concern her visits to and life in "New Hurley."

Approximately 1.5 linear feet of the elder Louis Hasbrouck's incoming and outgoing personal and business letters, financial and legal documents, surveying records, maps, and other items, pertain largely to land ownership in New York. Many of Hasbrouck's correspondents wrote from Albany, Schenectady, and New York City. A significant number of items concern the finances and land holdings of Stephen Van Rensselaer. Some correspondents discussed the younger Louis Hasbrouck's involvement in the New York Militia in the early 1840s.

Much of the correspondence dated from the mid-1830s to the 1850s is made up of personal letters between Louis and Catharine's children, largely consisting of letters to Louis Hasbrouck, Jr. The Hasbrouck siblings shared news of Ogdensburg while their brother studied at Union College in Schenectady, New York, in the mid-1830s.

The later correspondence, written from the 1850s to 1870s, is comprised primarily of letters addressed to Levi Hasbrouck of New Paltz, New York; Levi Hasbrouck, his grandson; and Louis Hasbrouck, Jr. The elder Levi wrote to his Ogdensburg relations about life in New Paltz, often providing news of family members and offering advice to his grandson. The younger Levi Hasbrouck corresponded with his siblings, particularly his half-brother Philip, who lived in Chicago, Illinois. Approximately 150 letters, invoices, and receipts of Levi Hasbrouck relate primarily to his purchases and other financial transactions between 1870 and 1882.

Three items from the 20th century include 2 letters that Thomas C. [Nakatsu] wrote to "Mr. Miller," a former traveling companion, about life in Japan. His letter of August 14, 1902, regards his life in a Buddhist temple and the relative absence of Christians in the country. His letter of January 1, 1926, contains reminiscences about the men's friendship. The final item is a letter that "Helen" received from a friend visiting England and France; the letter encloses several newspaper clippings about Bournemouth, England (March 15, 1928).

Six account books include an unsigned day book (October 9, 1812-May 25, 1813) and a day book belonging to L. Hasbrouck and L. Hasbrouck, Jr. (1867-1877); personal account books belonging to Louis Hasbrouck, Jr. (1833-1834, 1834, and 1868-1871); and a rent book belonging to E. B. Hasbrouck (1843-1853). Louis Hasbrouck, Jr., kept a memorandum book around 1840; the original pages have been torn out of the volume and the remaining notes are dated 1929-1939. Two items concern land: a field book concerning surveys of Canton Township, New York (undated), and a "Land Book" that belonged to Louis Hasbrouck, Jr. Other materials are record books for the La Madre Company, which was involved in the ownership and operation of mines in the late 19th century, and the St. Agnes Society, which was affiliated with an Ogdensburg church (1885-1912).

Additional groups of items include military records for Louis Hasbrouck's service in the New York Militia from the 1830s to 1850s; later copies of 18th and 19th century land surveys done in De Peyster, New York, and elsewhere; legal documents of an action between members of the Hasbrouck family and Asa Day in the mid-19th century; wills dated in the mid-1920s; postcards addressed to Louis Hasbrouck from the mid-1870s to the late 1890s; and indentures and other documents regarding the inheritance and later ownership of property belonging to Louis Hasbrouck, Sr.

• Three diaries by E. B. Hasbrouck, January 1875-January 1889 (with some gaps), and a record of sermons preached by "Mr. Carter" from April 5, 1822-April 7, 1826.
• Two unsigned diaries, concentrating on the authors' religious views and activities (August 2, 1835-February 4, 1855, and January 10, 1836-July 17, 1836).
• An unsigned diary ending with a note about the death of Louis Hasbrouck, Jr., made by one of his sons (May 13, 1855-April 1880)
• Jane Hasbrouck diary, October 1852-June 1897, with occasional remarks on the Civil War and genealogical notes.
• Eleven diaries of Levi Hasbrouck, containing daily entries between July 1, 1873, and May 27, 1882. Hasbrouck wrote primarily about his social activities, everyday occurrences, his father and his siblings, his travels, and his involvement in business activities. He very briefly discussed the presidential elections of 1876 and 1880, and recounted the final illness and death of his father in April 1880.
• Two commonplace books of Ellen Mary Hasbrouck (1827-1863) and Laura M. Hasbrouck (1875).

• One volume concerning basic arithmetic belonged to Elizabeth Bevier Hasbrouck around the early 19th century.
• One volume containing penmanship exercises and similar writings from young students (1805).
• One schoolbook containing notes and essays about classical history and literature composed or copied by Louis Hasbrouck, Jr., while he studied at Union College in 1834.
• One list of school assignments recorded by Louis Hasbrouck, Jr., 1831-1834.

Printed and ephemeral items (approximately 40 items, not counting duplicates) include published materials such as newspaper articles, speeches, newsletters, an almanac, a visitors' guide to Boston, Massachusetts, and many advertisements and notices. Additional items include a blank subscription form for The Little Corporal and a related mock commission for Bevier Hasbrouck, printed illustrations of several types of canoes, a printed map of St. Lawrence County, New York, and several sheets of unused stationery featuring an illustration of a storefront. Thirty-five newspapers include copies of and fragments from American Traveller, Boy's Journal, Morning Glory, the Philadelphia Saturday News, and other papers printed in the 1820s, 1830s, and 1850s.

The Hasbrouck family genealogical materials (approximately 15 items, not counting duplicates) include obituary notices, newspaper clippings, and manuscript notes. A bound volume contains extensive notes copied from a family record originally written by Abraham Hasbrouck, father of Joseph Hasbrouck and grandfather of Louis Hasbrouck, Sr.

Papers include correspondence, accounts, pension papers, estate papers, bills, receipts, contracts, land and legal records, and miscellaneous of Isaac Bronson.

The collection includes Isaac Bronson’s correspondence, 1792-1839, undated; accounts, 1818-1838, undated; pension papers relative to Isaac Bronson’s claims of service in the Second Regiment of Light Dragoons of the Connecticut Line during the American Revolutionary War, 1828-1846, undated; estate papers, 1842; bills, receipts, contracts, land, legal, and miscellaneous papers, 1792-1861, undated.

The Clarke also has the original papers of Frederic and Arthur Bronson, Isaac’s sons, and the Bronson Family Papers (See those finding aids.). These collections include some additional papers of Isaac Bronson.

On microfilm, the Clarke has the Bronson Family Papers deposited at NYPL (Mss. Micro F-40, 30 reels of positive microfilm). Here, amidst papers of numerous Bronson family members, are found Isaac’s letters, 1802-1838 (reels 1-2), 1820-1832 (reels 11-12), 1833 (reel 19), 1760-1838 and 1814-1836 (reels 20-21). Also available at the Clarke on microfilm are selected papers of Isaac Bronson which are deposited at NYPL (3 reels of negative microfilm, no Acc#). These papers were filmed at the NYPL in 1970 and donated by Dr. John Hager.

This collection contains letters written and received by members of the Jewett and Mack families of Pennsylvania and New York in the early to mid-19th century. Alfred Wolcott Mack and his wife, Betsey Jewett, wrote and received a majority of the correspondence, which relates to topics such as farming in western New York, family health, and other family news.

This collection contains 24 letters written and received by members of the Jewett and Mack families of Pennsylvania and New York in the early to mid-19th century. Alfred Wolcott Mack and his wife, Betsey Jewett, wrote and received a majority of the correspondence, which relates to topics such as farming in western New York, family health, and other family news.

The first item is a letter that Nathan Jewett wrote to his wife Electa while working in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1809; other early material includes personal letters between members of the Mack family. Most items dated after 1840 relate to Alfred Mack and his wife, Betsey Jewett. In a letter to his wife, Mack described and drew a piece of property located near Phelps, New York, where the couple considered moving in September 1842. After moving to Barre, New York, in 1843, Betsey Jewett Mack corresponded with her parents in Brooklyn, Pennsylvania. Betsey and Alfred Mack discussed their lives in Barre and commented on local farming methods and economic conditions; in the mid-1840s, they also wrote about their efforts to locate and purchase a different farm. Electa Jewett occasionally provided family and social news. Betsey and Alfred Mack's daughter Ellen also wrote 2 letters to her grandmother; in one undated letter, she enclosed a drawing of a piano.

Other correspondence includes a letter Nathan Jewett received from his brother-in-law, Dana Fox, who described an incident in which he believed he had been possessed by Satan (May 15, 1845), and a letter to Betsey Mack from a cousin, L. M. Mack, who enclosed a cut-out woman' silhouette (June 9, [1852]).