Collections in Manuscripts and Archives Division

Robert Adams' papers include an unpublished holograph "History of Newbury, Mass., from its settlement to 1828," as well as his notes from the town records, 1706-1783, and other sources, as well as a list of records and books consulted. Includes ten original documents, 1743-1773 less

James Alexander (1691-1756) was counsel for John Peter Zenger during his trial for libel, 1734-1735, in Mount Vernon, Westchester County, New York. The collection consists of papers relating to the trial of John Peter Zenger, written or collected by Alexander. Papers contain letters, notes, articles, legal documents, drafts written by William Smith, Zenger's second counsel, and related papers. less

William Alexander (1726-1783) of New York City, popularly known as Lord Stirling, was a merchant, public official, the first governor of King's (Columbia) College, and a soldier in the American Revolution. He joined the British army at the onset of the French and Indian War, acting as commissary, aide and secretary to Governor William Shirley. In 1757 the House of Lords officially revoked his appeal as rightful heir of the earldom of Stirling; despite the ruling, Alexander assumed the title of Lord Stirling. On his return to America in 1761 he was made a member of the New Jersey Council and he acted as surveyor-general and assistant to the governor of the colony. He subsequently became the leader of the first New Jersey Regiment of the Revolutionary army. Alexander fought throughout the war in the Battles of Long Island, Trenton, Princeton, Matouchin, Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. In 1781 Alexander took command of a battalion in Albany, New York, and two years later he died after preliminary peace negotiations were drafted. Collection consists of correspondence and documents dealing with personal, legal and commercial matters. Correspondence, ca. 1762-1779, includes Alexander's incoming and outgoing mail with some supplementary copies and facsimiles of letters held in other repositories. Core of the collection contains letters, ca. 1753-1835, exchanged between well-known merchants of the day. Also, legal and commercial papers, ca. 1790-1833, relating to Alexander, his family and his business associates. less

Frederick Innes Allen (1859-1938) of Auburn, New York was an attorney who served as Commissioner of Patents during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. His wife, Cornelia Margaret Seward, was the granddaughter of William H. Seward. Frederick I.Allen's research into the history of the Allen family includes correspondence, genealogical notes, clippings, photographs, printed material, and family charts. Original family documents in the collection dated 1706-1838 consist chiefly of correspondence, land records, and wills of Daniel Allen of Greenfield, Saratoga County, New York and Adams, Massachusetts. Also present is a notebook containing poetry, spelling or handwriting exercises, recipes, and miscellaneous notes. Additional research notes in the collection relate to the genealogies of the Palmer and other allied families. less

The Authors Club of New York was founded in 1882. Members included Robert Louis Stevenson, Stephen Crane, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Mark Twain, and Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt. The club was disbanded and its assets were turned over to the New York Public Library in 1973. Collection consists of negative photostats of materials collected by the Authors Club of New York. Papers include correspondence, poems, speeches, essays, documents, and photographs of American and European (mostly British) authors, historians and public figures. less

Five letters from Lartizien de Beauvoir addressed to the Chevalier de Beauvain, royal geographer at Paris, dated 1749 to 1775. Bound together with these letters, in a different hand, are Joseph Nicolas de Lisle's "Avertissement aux astonomes sur le passage de Mercure" and "Remarques sur la 'Géographie' de Mr. [Charles] Noblot ou corrections à faire aux six volumes." less

The Becker family papers consist of two scrapbooks containing papers of the Becker and related families from Saratoga, Rensselaerwyck, Albany, and elsewhere in New York State. The papers include accounts, receipts, bills and agreements, indentures, wills, other legal documents, and correspondence. Notable items include a 1753 legal document between Johannes Douw, Albertus Becker, and Storm Van Der Zee concerning their joint ownership of a mill on Norman's Kill, Volckert B. Douw's 1764 tavern license, and a letter from Cornelius Cuyler to Simon de Ridder dated 1747 asking him to grind a dozen bushels. less

The Beadle family settled in the U.S. in Salem, Mass. in the 17th century. Members of the family moved on to Connecticut and New York State. Erastus Flavel Beadle (1821-1894) was a printer and publisher who formed a company in 1856 with Robert Adams in New York City. In 1860 they published the first dime novel and continued the series with great success. Collection consists of record books and correspondence of Beadle family members, and diary of Erastus Flavel Beadle. Record books, 1635-1865, concern family legal matters, births, deaths, marriages, and baptisms. Correspondence, 1753-1889, of Beadle family members includes genealogical information. Diary, 1857, records the journey of Erastus Flavel Beadle from Buffalo, N.Y. to Nebraska. less

The Beekman family lived in New York City. The collection consists of late-18th to mid-19th century Beekman family deeds, wills, accounts, mortgages, and other documents. Other New York families represented are the Heath, Taylor, Payne, Roosevelt, Hyans, Ray, and Franklin families. Of note are ca. 20 deeds, 1738-1844, relating to land owned by members of the Beekman family in Manhattan and Jamaica, Queens; accounts, 1838, 1853-1854, of Abraham De Revere; and miscellaneous business papers of Gerard J. Beekman, 1763-1838. less

Collection consists of photoreproductions of documents about Columbus made by Bigelow during the 1920s from originals at the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid and the Archivo General de Indias in Seville. Materials include copy of journal abstract, 1492-1493, of Bartolomé de las Casas; documents relating to coat of arms granted to Columbus; his will; and Bigelow's notes. less

The Bleecker, Collins and Abeel families lived in Albany, N.Y. and New York City and were merchants, lawyers and military officers. Collection consists of correspondence, maps, surveys, deeds and land papers, military records, wills, and other papers of the Bleecker and Collins families and of John Abeel of Albany, N.Y. Also includes records of the Western Inland Lock Navigtation Co. and correspondence and notes, 1878-1882, of Mary E. Bleecker concerning genealogy of the Clinton and Genet families. less