Found 7 collections related to New York (State) -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775

The collection consists chiefly of papers of members of the Gansevoort, Lansing and Melville families and reflects the social, business, and political interests of the families, their friends and associates. Also included are some papers of members of the Sanford, Van Schaick and other prominent families of the Hudson and Mohawk Valley areas of New York State. The papers include accounts, correspondence, maps, and land, court, and military records, as well as personal collections of photographs and artifacts documenting the families' history. Notable individuals represented int the collection are Revolutionary War officer Peter Gansevoort, Jr. (1749-1812), his son Peter Gansevoort (1788-1876), a New York State Assemblyman, Senator, and Judge Advocate General, Henry Sanford Gansevoort (1835-1871), Union officer in the Civil War, and author Herman Melville. less

William Smith Jr. (1728-1793), an American Loyalist of New York and Quebec, was a prominent jurist, statesman, journalist and historian. The William Smith Jr. papers comprise the papers of William Smith Jr., 1683-1793; those of his son William Smith III (1769-1847), a Canadian government official, historian and militia officer, 1797-1848; and Smith family land and estate papers, 1665-1912. The bulk of the collection consists of William Smith Jr.'s papers pertaining to his activities as a lawyer, journalist and historian, and as a Councillor and Chief Justice in the British provinces of New York and Quebec (later Lower Canada). Papers include his correspondence and documents, writings for publication, and the diaries he kept from 1753 to 1783, known as his Historical Memoirs. Volumes documenting his law practice in New York are also present. less

Peter Gansevoort was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He took part in the invasion of Canada and commanded Fort Stanwix (renamed Fort Schuyler), defending it against a British attack in August of 1777. This selection from Peter Gansevoort, Jr.'s military papers, 1754-1818, document his career as an officer in the Albany militia and the Continental Army, as well as the commander of the United States Army's Northern Department. The bulk of the documents relate to Gansevoort's service as colonel in command of New York's 3rd Regiment during the Revolution. Subjects of note include intelligence, troop movements, the supply and arming of Continental forces, the siege at Fort Stanwix, the Saratoga Campaign, and the post-Revolution Western Frontier. Documents consist of correspondence, accounts, muster rolls, returns, commissions and commendations. less

George Chalmers (1742-1825) was a British historian, civil servant, and author. Born in Scotland, he emigrated to Maryland in 1763. He was a lawyer in Baltimore until the American Revolutionary War broke out, when he left for England. Chalmers held the positions of chief clerk for the Committee of the Privy Council for Trade and Foreign Plantations, and colonial agent for the Bahamas. He wrote on historical, political and economic topics, many concerning the American colonies, and collected a large library of books and manuscripts. The George Chalmers collection, dated 1606-1817, consists of materials relating to the North American British colonies of Canada, the Carolinas, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and West Florida, including letters, documents and maps. Also present are papers relating to the Indians in North America, and two variant manuscripts of Chalmers' history of the revolt of the American colonies. less

Abraham Yates Jr. (1724-1796) of Albany, New York, was an American lawyer, politician, and political essayist of the Founding Era. He was an Anti-Federalist during the Confederation and Constitutional periods, known for his writings as "Rough Hewer" and "Sidney" in the New York press. Yates held many elected and appointed offices, notably Albany alderman (1753-1773), high sheriff of the city and county of Albany (1754-1759), chairman of the Albany Committee of Correspondence (1775-1776), and member of the four New York Provincial Congresses and the State's first legislative convention (1775-1777), chairing the committee to write the State's constitution. He then served as New York State senator (1777-1790), Continental Loan Officer for New York (1779-1786), delegate to the Confederation Congress (1787-1788), and mayor of Albany (1790-1796). The Abraham Yates Jr. papers, 1688-1920s (bulk 1754-1795), chiefly span his professional and political activities in New York from 1754 until his death in 1796, reflecting his work as sheriff, lawyer, Revolutionary War patriot, public official, political essayist, and avocational historian. The papers comprise correspondence, documents, and printed matter, 1688-1825; a letter book kept while Continental Loan Officer, 1779-1782; journals, including a record of his time as sheriff during the French and Indian War, 1750s-1790s; drafts of his political and historical writings for publication, 1783-1796?; research materials serving his legal, political and historical endeavors, 1750s-1790s; and papers concerning the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, 1761-1700s. Also present are early 20th-century typescript copies of materials in the collection. less