Found 13 collections related to United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783

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

George Bancroft (1800-1891) was an American historian, diplomat and public official who wrote the ten-volume History of the United States. Bancroft's positions included Collector of the Port of Boston, Secretary of the Navy under Polk, Minister to Great Britain from 1846 to 1849, and Minister to Germany from 1867 to 1874. In addition to History of the United States, Bancroft wrote other historical studies and biographies. Collection consists of transcripts (and some originals) of letters, dispatches, statistical data, journals, minutes of proceedings, and other papers culled from American, British and European sources by George Bancroft in the course of research for his historical works. Bulk of the collection reflects the economic, political, military, and diplomatic relations between Great Britain and its North American colonies during the 17th and 18th centuries, particularly the period leading up to the American Revolution of 1775-1783, the war itself, and the immediate aftermath of the war culminating in the writing and adoption of the U.S. Constitution. There are materials on the presidencies of George Washington and James K. Polk, and the 1872 dispute between Great Britain and U.S. over the water boundary between the U.S. and British Columbia. Also, records dealing with relations in the 18th century between the U.S. and continental European countries, and various European countries with each other (especially Prussia, Austria, France, Spain, and Great Britain). less

Philip John Schuyler (1733-1804), a Revolutionary War general and statesman, was a prominent member of the landed aristocracy of New York State. The collection consists of correspondence, accounts, military records, land records, and other papers documenting Schuyler's military, political and business activities and, to a lesser extent, his family affairs. Correspondence, 1761-1804, is with military officers, members of the Continental Congress, committees of safety, and family, and concerns the conduct of the Revolutionary War in the Northern Department, 1775-1777, and political and personal matters. Indian papers, 1710-1797, contain Schuyler's papers as Commissioner of Indian Affairs in the Northern Department during the war and as agent of New York State. Canal papers, 1792-1803, include correspondence, diaries, reports, surveys, accounts, and other papers relating to the construction of canals in New York. His papers as Surveyor General of New York State, 1773-1788, and other public papers, circa 1775-1796, consist of correspondence, receipts, drafts of legislation and proposals, building plans, and other papers. Financial papers, 1711-1805, estate papers, 1752-1828, and land papers, 1705-1864, pertain to business activities and land holdings of Schuyler and family. Family papers, 1772-1851, contain correspondence and other papers of Schuyler family members. Military papers, 1775-1779, comprise Revolutionary War materials that were neither generated nor received directly by Schuyler. less

Members of the Van Cortlandt family were major Westchester County landowners and New York politicians from the 17th to the 19th century. The Van Wyck family was related to them by marriage. Collection consists of correspondence, accounts, legal documents, papers relating to land in New York owned by the Van Cortlandt family, estate papers, and wills. Correspondence, 1779-1912, concerns family, personal and real estate matters, the progress of the Revolutionary War, and political matters. There is a significant amount of correspondence between Pierre Van Cortlandt and his son Philip. Also, 1824 almanac with journal notes; manuscript of Philip Van Cortlandt's autobiography; sketch of seating arrangement in Congress Hall, Philadelphia, 1795; family documents; and documents, 1775-1813, concerning the Continental Army. less

George Washington (1732-1799) was a Virginia planter, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and first President of the United States. The Washington Papers comprise manuscript items by or related to George Washington and his family acquired by The New York Public Library and its predecessor the Lenox Library through various gifts and purchases. Among the items in the collection are Washington’s notebook as a colonel in the Virginia militia (1757), the manuscript of his Farewell Address to the nation (1796), and letters he sent and received, 1757-1799. less

Theodorus Bailey Myers (1821-1888) was an American lawyer, businessman, and historical manuscripts collector. His collection consists chiefly of letters and documents signed by individuals prominent in American history during the colonial period, the American Revolution, and the nineteenth century. Represented in the collection are the signers of the Declaration of Independence, governors of New Netherlands and New York, members of the Continental Congress, and generals and other military figures of the Revolution, including American, British, French, and Hessian officers. In addition to prominent figures in American history, the collection contains letters and documents of English and European royalty and military figures, including Napoleon and his marshals. 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