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This commonplace book, produced by an anonymous farmer from the Bucks County, Pennsylvania, region primarily contains passages relating to farming and husbandry. Along with farming accounts and documentation of livestock, agriculture, and dairy production, the commonplace book also features material on the Agricultural Society of Bath. Newspaper clippings comment on medicine, recipes, and farming. Illustrations of fences, sheep, floor plans, property drawings, and a detailed diagram of the "cropping plan" for 1826 appear in the volume.

The creator of the volume references European agricultural societies, data and agricultural systems, and popular agriculturalists, such as George Culley (1735-1813) and Charles de Lasteyrie (1759-1849). The volume provides detailed information on growing crops, managing soil, and tending to livestock.

The Eaton-Shirley family papers consist of personal diaries, correspondence, military papers, legal and business documents, printed materials, and photographs. A primary figure in the collection, John Eaton, Jr., was Civil War Superintendent of the Freedmen and later Commissioner of Education under Grant. The papers also contains substantial material from other Eaton family members, including military papers and correspondence of his brother, Lucien B. Eaton, and papers of the Shirley family (the family of John Eaton, Jr.’s wife, Alice E. Shirley).

The Eaton papers consist of 1,903 items, dating from September 1790 to July 30, 1939. The bulk of the collection falls between 1850 and 1906. The papers contain 318 letters, 9 diaries/journals, 60 personal documents of John Eaton Jr., 275 legal documents and business papers, 112 military documents, 923 photographs, 84 printed items, and 122 miscellaneous items.

The majority of the correspondence is personal and relates to family matters. The 168 letters of John Eaton, Jr., contain extensive biographical information. Of particular interest are 44 Civil War-era letters including information about the freedmen, three letters pertaining to the publication of The Post, and two with content regarding the Ku Klux Klan. The collection also contains 22 letters to and from Alice (Shirley) Eaton, 31 letters to and from Lucien Eaton, and 32 miscellaneous letters from members of the Eaton family. Of the 30 letters written by Alice Eaton's parents (James and Adelaine Shirley), 10 letters regard compensation for the damage done to the Shirley House during the Civil War. Various other members of the Shirley family wrote 15 letters, and 20 letters are from other people unrelated to the Eaton and Shirley families.

John Eaton Jr.’s aunt, Ruth Dodge Eaton, wrote two diaries which consist almost entirely of Christian hymns and essays. John Eaton Jr.'s uncle, Horace Eaton, wrote one diary that contains Christian material written while he attended Dartmouth College. John Eaton, Jr., wrote two diaries, one of which he wrote as a youth, and the other as a student at Dartmouth. Other journals include two by John Eaton Jr.'s brothers, Frederick and Charles, and a household account book, kept by his sister Christina. Of particular importance is Alice Shirley’s diary, in which she described pre-civil war tensions between the north and the south, speculation on the upcoming Siege of Vicksburg, the early stages of the Siege of Vicksburg, and very personal feelings regarding her marriage to John Eaton, Jr.

The 60 personal papers of John Eaton Jr. include 17 documents regarding his appointments and titles, two documents about freedmen, and 41 miscellaneous address cards and invitations (including an invitation to the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge).

Of the 275 legal papers, 74 documents pertain to the sale of land in Mississippi; 7 concern Robert M. Jones’s claim to Choctaw Nation lands; and 25 relate to estate papers, deeds of trust and documents about the proceedings of Adelaine Shirley’s post-war relief claims; and a receipt for the sale of an African American woman. The remaining 176 legal papers are miscellaneous financial documents, such as tax documents, checks, and receipts.

Of the 112 military documents, 58 pertain to John Eaton, Jr., 7 of which are about freedmen. The military documents of Lucien B. Eaton number 54.

The 923 photographs consist of six photo albums, 31 cased daguerreotypes and ambrotypes, 144 cabinet cards, and 421 loose photographs and snapshots all depicting members of the Eaton and Shirley families, scenic locations, and the Shirley House.

Of the 84 printed items in the collection, 49 newspaper clippings pertain to the occupational and personal activities of John Eaton, Jr., and 9 miscellaneous clippings relate to the Eaton family. The remaining 26 items are published pamphlets, including addresses and reports concerning John Eaton, Jr.; a sermon written by Horace Eaton; a report of proceedings of an Ohio Brigade reunion; an Anti-Slavery Almanac from 1838; and an incomplete piece describing the history and restoration of the Shirley House.

The 122 miscellaneous papers of the John Eaton, Jr., collection consist of 53 recipes and 69 miscellaneous items including a partial autobiography of Alice Eaton.

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.

The Henry Newman family papers document Henry Newman's land speculation in the southeastern United States and Ohio, and Henry Newman, Jr.'s, efforts to manage these properties and resolve legal quandaries--primarily in relation to the family's involvement with the Yazoo Land Fraud. The collection also details activities of Henry Newman's other children, particularly William Newman and the business he established in Buffalo, New York, in the 1820s.

The Henry Newman Family Papers document Henry Newman's land speculation in the southeastern United States and Ohio, and Henry Newman, Jr.'s, efforts to manage these properties and resolve legal quandaries--primarily in relation to the family's involvement with the Yazoo Land Fraud. The collection also details activities of Henry Newman's other children, particularly William Newman and the business he established in Buffalo, New York, in the 1820s.

The bulk of the Correspondence Series is letters between Henry Newman and his son, Henry Newman, Jr., from 1803 to 1811, relating to the management of their land holdings. Notably, they discussed Henry Newman, Jr's, lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., regarding their Georgia claims. In this work, he interacted with President Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), the commissioners appointed to consider the Yazoo land claims-- James Madison (1751-1836), Albert Gallatin (1761-1849), and Levi Lincoln (1749-1820)--as well as Perez Morton (1751-1837) and Gideon Granger (1767-1822), agents for the New England Mississippi Land Company. The letters from 1803 to 1811 periodically reference John Peck, another speculator in the Yazoo lands who would eventually become embroiled in the landmark Supreme Court Case Fletcher v. Peck in relation to the Georgia land claims.

Henry Newman, Jr., also wrote detailed letters to his father describing his travels, meetings, and financial difficulties as he worked to manage issues with land titles, taxes, surveys, squatters, and determining the quality of their disputed properties in Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, and Ohio. Several of Henry Newman, Jr.'s, letters also describe his interest in Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, and western New York as developing centers of settlement, commenting on business prospects and rising land prices.

William Newman's letters detail his business enterprises in Buffalo, New York, where he settled in the 1820s. Other letters written between members of the Newman family, particularly the siblings, document the family's social life.

• Descriptions of meeting Samuel Blodget (1757-1814) in Debtor's Prison and discussions regarding his failed lottery to finance construction in Washington, D.C. (November 26, 1803; November 30, 1803; December 11, 1803; December 21, 1803)
• Land speculators' deliberate fraud in Virginia (December 10, 1803; November 9, 1805)
• Legislative negotiations concerning compensating Yazoo claimants (March 5, 1804; March 14, 1804; December 2, 1804; December 18, 1804; February 4, 1805; February 18, 1805; February 28, 1807)
• Mentions of the Burr conspiracy (January 28, 1807; February 1, 1807)
• Tennessee Governor Willie Blount's comments on Congressional support for settlement in the state and the possible threat of Native American conflict should war break out with Great Britain (March 17, 1812)
• Discussion of Ohio's promise as a site of settlement (December 2, 1804; January 28, 1807; February 28, 1807)
• Description of Huntsville, Alabama Territory, and its prospects (July 16, 1818; May 5, 1819)
• Prospects for settling in Texas and inducements provided by the Mexican government (October 27, 1833)
• Commentary on a German communal society (the Community of True Inspiration) and how the rising value of western New York lands convinced them to emigrate (April 15, 1856)

The Land and Estate Documents Series consists of eight items relating to the estates of William Newman and Henry Newman, Jr., as well as documents concerning Newman lands in Alabama, Mississippi, and Virginia, including three survey maps.

The Genealogy, Family Record, and Poetry Series consists of six items, which relate to the Newman and Cushing families' histories, including a detailed account of Henry Newman's final illness and an acrostic poem written for Henry Newman.

The Noah Phelps papers consist primarily of materials relating to Phelps' service as a Continental Army Captain during the American Revolution, but also contain documents from his work surveying, and as justice of the peace in Simsbury, Connecticut.

The Noah Phelps papers consist primarily of materials relating to Phelps' service as a Captain during the American Revolution. There are bills for "refreshment of his company," "victualing and Liquor," and lodgings for his troops and horses, as well as a few receipts relating to Capt. Elisha Phelps, Noah's brother. There is an abstract of payment to soldiers of Capt. Noah Phelps' Company of Light Horse in Major Bull's Regiment for August 1777, as well as requests that Phelps "put up the pork" in Simsbury, and return all guns and bayonets to Governor Trumbull of Connecticut. There are accounts of loads of flour carted from Sharon to Simsbury, and an account of the quantities of pork and beef bought by Phelps. There are also a couple documents concerning mutinous soldiers.

There are two notebooks kept by Phelps when he was a surveyor. One from 1772 lists his travel expenses, and the other is an undated notebook filled with measurements he took in the greater Simsbury area. Several documents concern complaints he heard as Justice of the Peace. There are also copies of court records, including the case of Hezekiah Phelps Viets, who was charged in 1779 by Charity Hills of Windsor for "begetting her with child in fornication." There is also a document signed by the proprietors of Victory, Vt., naming Col. Noah Phelps as their legal agent in 1784.

A Philadelphia surveyor recorded methodological information, distances, and other measurements pertaining to the city's streets in this 176-page volume, dated 1795-1802.

A Philadelphia surveyor recorded methodological information, distances, and other measurements pertaining to the city's streets in this 176-page volume, dated 1795-1802.

The surveyor typically recorded distances from a specified starting point, usually an existing street. Many of the entries adhere to the following form: "From [street] along [street or direction] to [location or street] is [number] feet." The volume also includes tables of distances and several maps.

The surveyor sometimes noted the dates on which he took his measurements, and occasionally shared the names of his fellow surveyors. Entries often include lot and house owners' names, or identify commercial properties, such as the "Survey of the Brew House" (p. 38). Measurements related to waste disposal include "field notes of a Survey of the natural chanel of Peggs Run as it appears at the present time" (1798, pp. 59-61a) and a description of the "common sewer" (62a).

The author also occasionally wrote about his methodology; in one entry, he noted, "In order to set the two pair of sights to my surveying instruments at right angles to each other the Meridian of the Box or Card plate makes an angle to the right hand of the Meridian of the Index plate of 7½ minutes" (December 3, 1799, p. 13a). The notebook contains 1 personal entry; on September 24, 1795, the author "Paid to Mrs. Lehnyder 6 Dollars to give to my Wash woman for a Quarter's washing" (p. 1).

• Brooke, Robert, 1770-1821
• Forepaugh, [George?]
• Huston, [John?]
• Kessler, John
• Miller
• Sowder
• Story

This collection is made up of correspondence, military documents, financial records, and other items related to the Van Vechten (also Van Veghten) family of Albany and Catskill, New York, and Detroit, Michigan. Most of the material dates from the mid-1700s to the late 1800s.

This collection is made up of correspondence, military documents, financial records, and other items related to the Van Vechten (also Van Veghten) family of Albany and Catskill, New York, and Detroit, Michigan. Most of the material dates from the mid-1700s to the late 1800s.

Two loose Correspondence items are a letter from Abraham Van Vechten to Harmanus Bleecker regarding news from Albany, New York, and local politics (January 20, 1813) and a letter that Abraham Van Vechten received from an acquaintance (November 10, 1813).

The Scrapbook (37 pages), currently disbound, contains printed and manuscript documents, notes, and other items from the late 1700s and early 1800s. Military records include muster rolls and related registers concerning Samuel Van Vechten's Continental Army company; a muster roll for John Van Vechten's company of the 66th Regiment of New York militia, pertaining to his service in the War of 1812; and military commissions for Samuel and John Van Vechten, signed by Cadwallader Colden and Daniel D. Tompkins. A Revolutionary War parole claim and several additional documents concern Jonathan, Lucas, and other members of the Elmendorff family. Additional items include a land survey conducted by Samuel Van Vechten in 1773, indentures pertaining to lands in the state of New York, a political broadsheet printed by the Albany Argus (October 12, 1824), and a letter from George Clinton to Christopher Tappen dated July 1, 1768.

The Orderly Book (34 pages) pertains to John Van Vechten's service in the New York Milita in the War of 1812. Orders, dated September 14, 1814-November 29, 1814, concern troop movements, drills and parades, and logistical matters. John's son Peter presented the volume to his own son, James, in 1913.

The Financial Records series contains loose and bound items. The Accounts subseries (7 items) contains brief notes and calculations; an undated document by Philip Phelps of the Albany Comptroller's office is also present.

Two Account Books belonged to members of the Van Vechten family in the 18th century. The first (approximately 310 pages) contains records dated from approximately 1672-1752, some of which were written in Dutch. The second half of this volume is an extensive genealogical record of the Van Vechten family and related families, compiled by Peter Van Vechten in the early to mid-1890s. The second account book (approximately 260 pages), which may have belonged to Teunis Van Vechten (1707-1785), contains records pertaining to individuals customers, dated from approximately 1768 to 1787 (bulk 1770s). Most entries pertain to sales of foodstuffs and related services, such as grinding wheat; at least one customer regularly paid for postage. Many of the individuals referenced in the volume were residents of Catskill, New York, including farmers, blacksmiths, and other laborers.

The Maps series includes 3 Loose Maps and a Survey Book. The individual maps include John Van Vechten's manuscript survey of lands along Batavia Kill; a printed map of the "Hollow Land" in the Netherlands, including the area around Amsterdam, showing city locations, the North Sea, and the Zuiderzee; and a blueprint map of lands belonging to Teunis Van Veghte [sic] in September 26, 1770. Samuel Van Vechten's Survey Book (approximately 40 pages) contains instructions for conducting land surveys, with illustrated examples and problems. Some pages bear small sketches of buildings.

The Photographs series (5 items) includes reproduced 19th-century portraits of Charlotte Scott, Harmon William Van Veghten, and Mary Jane Tigert, as well as a 20th-century portrait of John J. Tigert IV. The final item is a photograph of a house that belonged to the Schuyler family.

The undated Recipe Book contains manuscript instructions for making cakes, puddings, custard, blancmange, whipped cream, and other items. Newspaper clippings pasted into the front page include recipes for numerous types of cakes and puddings.

The Genealogy series (13 items) includes manuscript and typed notes about the Van Veghten (or Van Vechten) and Schuneman families, genealogical charts and trees pertaining to the Vanderpool and Van Vechten families, and reproduced images of manuscript notes about the Van Vechten family. Also included is a reproduced image of the Van Vechten family crest. The notes concern persons born as early as the mid-1600s and as late as the mid-1940s. Additional genealogical material may be found in one of the collection's account books (see above).

Miscelleanous material (5 items) includes fragments and an etching of a man and dog in front of a country home.

The William Young papers center on the lives of William Young and his son-in-law John McAllister, Jr. The strengths of the collection are its documentation of William Young's careers as printer, publisher, bookseller and paper maker; the Associate Presbyterian Church; John McAllister's antiquarian interests; and the personal lives of the Young and McAllister families.

The William Young papers center on the lives of William Young and his son-in-law John McAllister, Jr., and through these lives document a wide scope of business, cultural, family and religious history both in America and Scotland. The strengths of the collection are its documentation of William Young's careers as printer, publisher, bookseller and paper maker; the Associate Presbyterian Church; John McAllister's antiquarian interests; and the personal lives of the Young and McAllister families.

The earliest papers in the collection date from William Young's days as a Scottish seminarian, and include valuable information on the Associate Presbytery of Scotland. A group of letters written after the Youngs' removal to America, 1784, documents European interest in the new nation: the immigrants received many letters from Scottish friends (and potential emigrants) inquiring into the details of America life. Young kept certain business concerns in Scotland; his brother Stephen and Agnes Young's brothers, William and John McLaws, were all active in the book trade, and their correspondence provides some insight into the burgeoning international book business.

The backbone of the collection is the correspondence relating to William Young's diverse business enterprises from the 1780s through 1820s. Among the later material, the correspondence between William Young McAllister and his thirty-year-old son, William Mitchell McAllister (7:54 and 56), stands out as illustration of a father's displeasure over his son's mismanagement of affairs during the disastrous panic of 1873. Also interesting is a plaintive letter written by the 52 year-old Thomas H. Young (7:59) in 1876, asking his aging father to bail out his business with a handout of $5,000.00. Box 8 contains a large quantity of receipts, accounts, and other business papers of Young's, along with information on the tangled settlement of Young's estate (8:30) and information on the settlement of other estates. Additional information on Young's estate is located with the oversized material (see Separation Record).

The Young Papers also contains rich resources for study of the history of the Associate Presbyterian Church in America. One of the smallest Presbyterian denominations, the Associate Presbyterians preserved few primary resources and little survives from their presence on the American scene; the Young Papers contain some of the earliest records known for that church (folder 8-37). Among other Associate Presbyterian ministers represented in the collection is Rev. Thomas Hamilton (1776-1818), William Young's son-in-law. Much of the work compiled by John McAllister Jr. in compiling the Associate Presbyterian volume of Sprague's Annals of the American Pulpit, is preserved in folder 8:10.

Yellow fever in Philadelphia (1793) and the nation's first major cholera epidemic (1832) are both well documented through letters containing medical information, largely confined to home remedies and professional advice on medicines. There is some discussion of Frances Stevenson's illness which cost her the use of a leg, resulting in her use of a prosthesis (6:88). In addition, there is a detailed report on the body of Dr. William R. Grant in 1852 (folder 7:6).

The photographs associated with the collection include valuable insights into family relations within both the Young and McAllister families (1:1 to 1:8), particularly when seen in conjunction with the large number of personal letters between family members. William Young's instructions to his housekeeper (3:54), John McAllister's consultations with his wife on business matters, race relations in Philadelphia (5:9, 6:11), relations with a mother-in-law (4:58), and the execution of Robert Morris's seldom-mentioned and ne'er-do-well son Charles (4:21) are among the topics discussed. Perhaps the wittiest correspondent is Mary Ann Hunter, a friend of Eliza Young McAllister, whose observations on Philadelphia society in the first decades of the 19th century are trenchant and insightful and read almost like a novel.

The Woods family papers chronicle the establishment of an important family in western Virginia during the 18th and early 19th centuries. While the bulk of the collection pertains to Archibald Woods' (1764-1846) activities as a surveyor and land speculator in Ohio County, the collection also contains several letters from later generations of the family, and documents relating to military and public affairs, including the War of 1812.

The Woods family papers chronicle the establishment of an important family in western Virginia during the 18th and early 19th centuries. While the bulk of the collection pertains to Archibald Woods' (1764-1846) activities as a surveyor and land speculator in Ohio County, the collection also contains several letters from later generations of the family, and documents relating to military and public affairs. A series of land surveys of the Ohio Valley, prepared by Archibald Woods, has been arranged and placed at the end of the collection, and two land documents relating to Woods property are also present in Oversize Manuscripts, a 1774 deed signed by Dunmore granting lands in Botetourt County and an 1820 grant signed by James Monroe for lands in Ohio.

The collection includes a petition relating to the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798. Addressed to the Senate and House of Representatives of Virginia from the citizens of Ohio County, the petition includes thirty nine signatures protesting the Acts. The signers expressed their concern regarding what they saw as a violation of the Constitution, and asserted that the acts were a "serious cause of alarm" for the citizens of Ohio County, whom, they noted, continued to adhere to the Democratic principles of the American Revolution.

During the time that Andrew Woods served as sheriff of Botetourt County, 1777-1780, he kept a small, deerskin-bound notebook of his activities including receipts and notes on the collection of taxes and fees. There are also sporadic family business records. Included are an agreement for disposition of property including land, livestock, and enslaved persons (named Herod [Bin?], Sip, Ceasar, and Nanas). A copy of a contract between siblings Andrew, Martha, and Archibald (likely Andrew Woods' children) for the care of Martha Poage Woods and arrangements for the purchase of an enslaved person for Elijah Woods is also present. The contract provided for clothing, food, and shelter and, if Martha chose "to go back over the mountains," to provide an enslaved person to care for her.

Over fifty surveys and treasury warrants document Archibald Woods' importance as a surveyor and land speculator in the Ohio River Valley. Many of these can be positively traced to land that today lies in the state of West Virginia, mostly in the panhandle, but, Woods owned property throughout Ohio County, which then included parts of Ohio and a corner of Pennsylvania. A contemporary range and township map assists in situating Woods' land holdings.

Seven printed orders, each unique, or nearly unique, include information about troop recruitment and deployment during the War of 1812, and about demobilization at the end of the war. Among other documents in the collection are Archibald Woods' commissions and resignations.

There is little true correspondence in the Woods family papers, although one item, a letter from Joe Woods, is of some interest. In this letter written to his mother, Woods summarizes his reasons for transferring to Princeton, assuring her of his sound character and his decision. William Woods' ledger and daybook from 1828 and Hamilton Woods' cypher book from ca. 1820s are also present in the collection. The collection contains a photograph album with cartes-de-visite, cabinet cards, and other photos from around the 1870s and 1880s, as well as approximately 0.5 linear feet of photographs of Woods family members, particularly Ruth Woods and Charles Moss from the early 20th century, and the Woods family homestead.

Finally, the collection contains useful information about the Woods family estate, Woodsdale. Three documents from 1815-1816 provide floor plans and a record of construction costs, and there are two copy photographs of the house as it stood before its demolition in 1949. In 1976-77, Ruth Moss described the physical layout of the home and grounds as she recalled them, as well as her memories of life at Woodsdale in the early part of the century. An additional 0.25 linear feet of Ruth Moss's genealogical research on the Woods family is also present.