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Collection

Continental Army record book, 1778-1783

98 leaves (1 volume)

The United States Continental Army record book contains weekly and monthly military returns for various Continental Army brigades and regiments between March 1778 and August 1783.

The United States Continental Army record book is an elephant folio with 98 leaves, containing military returns for March 1778 to August 1783. The volume begins with returns for March 7, 1778, for brigades "under the immediate command" of George Washington stationed at Valley Forge. The regular weekly and monthly reports document the number and types of commissioned and non-commissioned officers, staff, and "rank and file members" at the brigade and regimental level. Also present are records of any alterations since the last return, including the number of soldiers killed, injured, deserted, transferred, and promoted. Various functions within the Continental Army, including artillery, cavalry, and "sappers and miners" are represented periodically within their own tables, as are invalids. After the Continental Army left Valley Forge, the adjutant general produced statistics on brigades and regiments encamped at White Plains, New York (August 1778); Fredericksburg, Virginia (October 1778); Middlebrook, New Jersey (March 1779); and New Windsor, New York (January 1781).

On December 8, 1780, the adjutant general recorded the returns of the Southern Army, commanded by Nathanael Greene. Also included are returns for regiments under General Heath in March 1781 and for Sheldon's Legion in May 1782. The volume ends with returns for August 16, 1783, and Adjutant General Edward Hand signed the final page.

Collection

Joseph Clift account book, 1765-1812 (majority within 1765-1801)

1 volume

The Joseph Clift account book contains Clift’s financial accounts for a variety of goods and services traded in Marshfield, Massachusetts, throughout the late 18th century. During the Revolutionary War, Clift recorded notes from several town meetings regarding the contribution of local men to the Continental Army.

The Joseph Clift account book contains Clift's financial accounts for a variety of goods and services traded in Marshfield, Massachusetts, throughout the late 18th century. The double entry account book (308 pages, or 154 pages of double entry accounts) records for purchases and payments in cash and in kind for many types of goods, including foods, tobacco, draft animals, skins, manufactured items, and labor. The index is alphabetically arranged by first names of persons who did business with Clift.

During the Revolutionary War, Clift recorded notes from several town meetings regarding the contribution of local militia members to the Continental Army. Following the accounts and a gap of blank pages are a list of men hired to join George Washington, as well as additional lists providing the names of men who served during the war, including several who traveled to Rhode Island.

Also at the back of the book are a few notes related to the settlement of "mother Clift's" estate following her death on January 4, 1782; William Clift and Peleg Rogers were the executors (p. 98).

Three items are laid into the volume, including an order to pay Joseph Clift (December 4, 1812), Clift's accounts with George Louis (1812), and accounts written on the back of a letter fragment.

Collection

Samuel Correy journal, 1776-1777

1 volume

Samuel Correy kept this journal while serving with the Continental Army in Pennsylvania and New Jersey from December 1776-January 1777. He discussed military actions, including the crossing of the Delaware River and the Battle of Princeton; disciplinary measures and regulations; troop movements; and other aspects of military life.

Samuel Correy wrote 67 pages of daily journal entries in this volume from December 14, 1776-January 27, 1777, pertaining to his service with a Philadelphia militia regiment in southeast Pennsylvania and central New Jersey. The volume begins in the middle of an undated entry; several early pages are absent.

Correy's journal reflects his service experiences, including his participation in the ferrying of troops across the Delaware River on the night of December 25, 1776, and in the Battle of Princeton (described in an entry dated January 2-4). He described marches through Pennsylvania and New Jersey and occasionally reported news of prisoners, engagements, and movements of the Continental Army, British Army, and Hessian troops; some of his entries mention reports from spies. A few entries from January 1777 concern troop discipline, particularly with regard to soldiers looting local homes, impressing horses and wagons without the permission of superior officers, and distributing goods seized from the enemy. On December 31, 1776, Correy led a foraging party; his entry from that date describes an interaction with a local woman. Correy's journal entries mention many Continental Army officers, including George Washington, Nathanael Greene, Thomas Mifflin, Charles Lee, John Cadwalader, Israel Putnam, and Joseph Moulder.

Collection

Van Vechten family collection, 1672-1947 (majority within 1768-1896)

1 linear foot

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.