Found 9 collections related to New York (N.Y.) -- Social life and customs

Pierre Toussaint (1766-1853?) was born a slave in Haiti (then Saint Domingue) and came to New York City in 1787 with the family of Pierre Berard. After becoming a successful hairdresser, Toussaint supported the Berard family and bought the freedom of many slaves. A devout Roman Catholic, Toussaint contributed to Catholic schools and orphanages, was a founding member of the first French Catholic Church in New York City, and helped poor black youths and the victims of yellow fever. In 1951 a petition was begun for his canonization. Collection consists of Toussaint's correspondence and other papers. Correspondence, 1793-1853, is with friends and relatives in the U.S., France and the Caribbean. Also included are letters and poems, 1822-1829, from his niece and ward, Euphemie, and manumission papers of several slaves whose freedom Toussaint had arranged. less

Samuel Ward (1814-1884) was an American lobbyist, financier, author, and adventurer. He was the son of the banker Samuel Ward (1786-1839) and the grandson of Samuel Ward (1756-1832) soldier and merchant. His sister was Julia Ward Howe, author of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic". After leaving his father's banking house, Prime, Ward & King, he visited Latin America on behalf of U.S. corporate and government interests. By the end of the U.S. Civil War he was settled in Washington, D.C. where he lobbied the government on behalf of financiers. Collection contains the papers of Ward, his father, his grandfather, and other family members, as well as his collection of autograph letters of mathematicians and scientists. Papers include handwritten and typescript letters, notebooks, transcripts, photographs, and printed matter. Samuel Ward correspondence, 1825-1882, concerns his activities, intellectual and literary matters, and family concerns. Many letters were written by friends who were historical figures. Autograph collection, 1647-1856, comprises letters by famous mathematicians and scientists acquired by Ward with his purchase of the library of mathematician A.N. Legendre. Also, Ward's travel notebooks, and letters, photographs and other papers of various members of the Ward family. less