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The Allaire-Gibbons papers contain letters, receipts, and other material related to the early steamboat industry and, more specifically, to the 19th-century business affairs of James P. Allaire, Thomas Gibbons, and William Gibbons.

The Allaire-Gibbons papers contain letters, receipts, and other material related to the early steamboat industry and, more specifically, to the 19th-century business affairs of James P. Allaire, Thomas Gibbons, and William Gibbons.

The Correspondence series (16 items) consists primarily of business correspondence addressed to Thomas Gibbons, William Gibbons, and James P. Allaire. The earlier material in the series (1822-1837) is related to the Gibbons family's business affairs and often pertains to the legal disputes between Thomas Gibbons and Aaron Ogden. These include several letters from William Gibbons to his father, in which he discusses the impending court case as well as his own personal affairs. The majority of the series consists of later material (1837-1849) related to James P. Allaire's business interests, including the manufacture of steamboat engines. Interspersed with these items are receipts for parts related to Allaire's industrial operations.

The Documents series (12 items) contains receipts related to steamboats owned by James P. Allaire as well as 20th-century material about the early steamboat industry and the town of Allaire, New Jersey. The series includes 5 receipts for steamboat supplies (1828; 1856), including material for the Swan, the Thistle, and the Emerald, all Gibbons-owned ships whose engines were supplied by Allaire. The series also includes a document signed by the crew of the Swan affirming the receipt of their wages for April 1828. Later material in the collection includes two postcards of watercolor pictures of Allaire, New Jersey, and two articles, from the Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society (January 1949) and American Heritage (October 1963), respectively. These relate to the early steamboat business, and to the role of Thomas Gibbons in its development.

This volume contains a narrative of Jared Willard's travels from Madison, Connecticut, to Buffalo, New York, via railroad and the Erie Canal, as well as a later shopping list and genealogical information about the Field and Wilcox families.

This volume (23 pages) contains a narrative of Jared Willard's travels from Madison, Connecticut, to Buffalo, New York, via railroad and the Erie Canal, as well as a later shopping list and genealogical information about the Field and Wilcox families. In the first 13 pages, Willard recounts the first part of his 1833 trip with Leander Foster to the "western country," where they distributed religious tracts entitled "The Life of Christ," published by Deacon N. Whiting of New Haven, Connecticut. The pair began their journey at Madison on the Tryon, and a day later reached New York City, where they stayed long enough for Willard to make a brief record of his impressions of the "respectable" metropolis of just over 200,000 people. From there, the men took the Sandusky up the Hudson River to Albany, and embarked on a railroad journey to Schenectady; during this stage of the trip, the author noted several aspects of the railroad's construction, designed to accommodate both steam- and horse-driven carriages. After begin accosted by canal boat representatives at Schenectady, Willard and Foster made their way along the Erie Canal via several different boats to Buffalo. The remainder of the volume is occupied by a one-page account of household goods, complete with prices (March 26, 1841); genealogical information regarding the Field, Kelsey, and Wilcox families; and an inventory of fruit trees in a Connecticut orchard. Among the volume's several enclosures is a playful recipe for "Composition Cake," which lists parts of speech among its primary ingredients; this was composed by M. E. Redfield and E. W. Tucker for a publication called "School Echoes."

The Josephus Stuart papers contain correspondence, diaries, and documents related to Stuart's early medical practice and his service with the 29th regiment of the United States Infantry. The collection also includes a series of diaries written by Stuart between 1815 and 1821, which document Stuart's service as chancellor to the U.S. Consulate in London, a visit to former president Thomas Jefferson at Monticello in 1816, and Stuart's experiences operating a steamboat.

The Josephus Stuart collection contains 34 letters, dated 1810-1834, the majority of which belonged to Stuart, though six letters are addressed to Gerrit Wendell, a Washington county judge and former member of the New York state senate. In addition, the collection contains 38 documents, nine of which are associated with Stuart's father-in-law, Enoch Leonard. Several of the papers deal with Stuart's early medical practice, including a letter regarding research related to Stuart's medical thesis, which was a defense of cutaneous absorption. Other documents concern Stuart's military service with the 29th regiment, United States Infantry, including his commission as paymaster, signed by President James Madison.

Of primary significance are Stuart's eight diaries, written from 1815 to 1821. The early diaries document Stuart's period as chancellor to the U.S. Consulate in London. He records the sea voyage, as well his observations of English life and customs, often unfavorably comparing them with his views on conditions in America. The diaries also record trips Stuart took to Ireland, Scotland, France, and the Netherlands; he took care to note his observations during his travels, including the landscape, sights, lifestyle, living conditions, economy, and politics. Diaries four and five recount Stuart's return to the United States and include a detailed account of his visit with Thomas Jefferson at Monticello on December 24 and 25, 1816. He recorded Jefferson's views on a wide variety of topics, and made notes on his appearance and home. Also contained within diary five are accounts of Stuart's role as agent for Francis Cazeau, James Monroe's inauguration, travels to Ohio, encounters with Native Americans, and various business transactions, including his steamboat venture. The next several diaries record his experiences running the Walk-in-the-Water, his marriage to Ann Leonard in May 1818, and the beginning of his financial troubles in 1819. In the last diary (#8), Stuart had settled in Jamesville, New York, as an attorney. The last month of the diary records the loss of the steamboat, which ran aground during a gale in 1821.

Also included in the collection are a set of architectural plans by noted New York architect Philip Hooker. Hooker designed a house for Stuart in 1818, which was apparently never built; the plans are contained within a small booklet. The Stuart papers also have eleven items related to family genealogy, and three 1810 New York newspapers.

This collection is made up of financial records related to the steamers President and Benjamin Franklin, regarding the ships' profits and expenditures for the year 1830. Both ships were owned by the New-York and Boston Steam-Boat Company.

This collection (16 items) is made up of financial records related to the steamers President and Benjamin Franklin. Both ships were owned by the New-York and Boston Steam-Boat Company. Reports pertain to each ship's gross receipts and monthly expenses, divided into categories such as washing, repairs, provisions, wages, and miscellaneous disbursements. One document concerns the New-York and Boston Steam-Boat Company's finances throughout 1830.

The New York Woman's travel journal chronicles two trips undertaken by a woman and her father. In March and April 1888, the pair traveled across the country to New Orleans, and in June 1889 to Scotland and England.

The New York Woman's travel journal chronicles two trips undertaken by a woman and her father. In March and April 1888, the pair traveled across the country to New Orleans (pp. 1-52), and in June 1889 to Scotland and England (pp. 54-93). The cover of the volume bears a silver inlaid illustration entitled "Composition," and opens with the father and daughter embarking on a Pullman car on March 19, 1888, bound for "the West" from Jersey City. During their railroad journey, they traveled through Philadelphia, Indianapolis, and St. Louis, where they remained for a short stopover before heading south. Between St. Louis and Little Rock, their train collided with another vehicle, killing an engineer and delaying their arrival in the Arkansas capital, where they stayed for an additional week. The 12-page narrative of this leg of the trip is colored by anecdotes and descriptions of fellow passengers, and is followed by a lengthy account of the pair's time in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and in New Orleans. In Vicksburg, the tourists made note of Civil War-era caves used during the city's siege, and visited a Civil War cemetery, which the author found profoundly moving. Once in "thoroughly Southern" New Orleans, the writer described in detail the sights and sounds of the city, and frequently mentioned popular tourist destinations; she also noted the "swarms of little darkies" and other African Americans she encountered throughout her time in the city. She and her father left New Orleans on the steamboat Knickerbocker on April 19, and returned to New York via the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic Coast; upon her return, she reflected briefly on the positive impact the trip had on her worldview.

The second portion of the volume is titled "Letters written during our stay in England and Scotland in the summer of 1889," and is about the author's transatlantic voyage from New York to Glasgow on the State of Georgia, and the opening stages of her European adventures. After writing about the pleasant 12-day voyage, the diarist described several sights throughout Scotland, including a detailed depiction of Edinburgh Castle, complete with a brief history of the structure. York was their next destination, and they moved thence by rail to London, where sightseeing resumed in full force. The pair, along with a traveling companion named Leslie, proceeded to take in a thorough tourist's view of London, including several bus trips around the city and the requisite visits to St. Margaret's Church and Westminster Abbey. While in Europe, the author often reflected on how easily she was identified as an American, and on local social customs. The volume also recalls a visit to the British Museum to see the Magna Carta (pp. 92-93), but its final entry, dated July 4, 1889, is cut off just as the author catches a glimpse of Queen Victoria at a garden party.