Found 60 collections related to United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783

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

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

Joseph Hawley (1723-1788) of Northampton, Massachusetts, a lawyer, legislator and militia officer, was one of the foremost political leaders of the American revolutionary movement in Massachusetts. The Joseph Hawley papers, dating 1653 to 1804, consist of letters and documents relating to him or members of his family dealing with public and private affairs, especially during the colonial wars and the Revolutionary era. Among these are letters to and from Joseph Hawley and his brother Elisha Hawley; Elisha Hawley’s brief journal of the Crown Point expedition, 1755; items pertaining to the ministry of Jonathan Edwards in Northampton; and papers of the Northampton Committee of Correspondence, of which Hawley was chairman. The collection also includes Joseph Hawley's writings on religious, legal and political topics, circa 1740s-1783, notably concerning the Stamp Act and the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention; sermon notes, 1724-1750, taken by Joseph Hawley with his own Bible commentaries, the early notes probably taken by Joseph Hawley's father; Hawley's legal notes on a dispute between a Mr. French and Joseph Allen of Deerfield, [1750]; and two undated texts in Latin, possibly from Hawley’s student days. less

Samuel Adams (1722-1803) was an American revolutionary and post-revolutionary era political leader. Adams served as lieutenant-governor of Massachusetts from 1789 to 1793, and was governor from 1794 to 1797. The Adams papers contain letters to Adams and drafts of letters by him, chiefly on public affairs; as well as manuscripts of addresses, petitions, committee minutes, resolutions, and other documents. Much of Adams’ correspondence is with notable figures of the period in America and Europe including John Adams, Samuel Cooper, Christopher Gadsden, Horatio Gates, Elbridge Gerry, Joseph Hawley, Thomas Jefferson, Arthur Lee, Richard Henry Lee, James Lovell, Thomas Paine, and James Warren. There are also letters (1778-1781) to Adams’ wife, Elizabeth Wells Adams, on family matters, as well as letters neither to nor from Adams. less

Robert Morris (1734-1806) was a Founding Father of the United States, a businessman, and statesman. As a Philadelphia merchant, Morris helped to finance the American Revolution with the wealth he acquired through his real estate and shipping business. He was one of the rare Founding Fathers to have signed all three of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution. The Robert Morris papers, dated 1751-1802, consist of correspondence, financial and legal papers. The correspondence pertains mostly to Morris's business affairs. Other letters concern his Revolutionary War activities, his service as Superintendent of Finance of the United States and as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety, and some personal matters. The financial and legal papers include receipts, accounts, stock certificates, and land records. less

Abraham Yates, Jr. (1724-1796) was an American lawyer, politician, and pamphleteer. He held numerous elected offices and political appointments throughout his life including sheriff of Albany city and county from 1754 to 1759, chairman of the Albany Committee of Correspondence from 1774 to 1776, member of the New York Provincial Congress from 1775 to 1777 and its chairman in 1776 and 1777, New York state senator from 1777 to 1790, delegate for New York to the Congress of the Confederation in 1787 and 1788, and mayor of Albany from 1790 to 1796. Like his nephew, jurist Robert Yates, he was an active revolutionary patriot and Anti-Federalist. As pamphleteers they shared the pen-name, The Rough Hewer. Collection, dated 1754-1825, consists of correspondence, writings, speeches, notes, estate papers, and printed matter pertaining to the activities of Abraham Yates as a political figure in New York State, his legal practice and private financial matters, and his family. Correspondence, dated 1754-1825, contains incoming and outgoing letters and drafts of letters. Writings, notes, and speeches contain essays he wrote on the United States Constitution, notes on proceedings in Congress, speeches to the delegates to Congress in 1786, The Rough Hewer manuscript, and notes for histories of New York and Albany. Also included are papers relating to the Manor of Rensselaerwyck and the Albany Committee of Correspondence, land and family records, photograph of a painting of Yates, and other items such as broadsides and a legal treatise by Thomas Wentworth printed in London in 1663. less

Alexander Hamilton (1754-1804) was a Founding Father, soldier, lawyer and statesman. He served as the first United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1789 to 1795. The Alexander Hamilton papers, dated 1775-1804, primarily consist of letters and documents either written or signed by Alexander Hamilton, and pertain to his career as a soldier, lawyer, statesman and United States Secretary of the Treasury. Autograph letters, drafts and copies of letters sent by Hamilton concern his Revolutionary War service, chiefly as an aide-de-camp to General George Washington; his legal practice in New York; and financial and political matters. Notable items include Hamilton’s letters to President Washington, dated 1796, concerning the writing of Washington’s Farewell Address to the nation, with a draft of the Address written by Hamilton for Washington’s consideration. Documents include his 1782 appointment as Receiver of Continental Taxes in New York, legal documents relating to his law practice and personal estate, and legal notes and other items in his hand. Treasury Department letters are chiefly manuscript or printed circular letters which are not in Hamilton’s handwriting but bear his autograph signature. 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

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

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was a Founding Father, statesman, lawyer, and planter. He is considered the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson held numerous political offices throughout his career including representative from Virginia in the Second Continental Congress, Governor of Virginia, Minister to France, Secretary of State under George Washington, Vice President of the United States under John Adams, and President of the United States from 1801-1809. The Thomas Jefferson papers, dated 1766-1826, cover Jefferson's career as a statesman, lawyer, and plantation owner. The bulk of the collection consists of outgoing correspondence, 1766 and 1783-1826, concerning Jefferson's thoughts on the formation of a new government, naval and shipping issues, the growth and sale of tobacco on his plantation, and personal and business matters. Correspondents include John Page, James Madison, James Monroe, Edmund Pendleton, Robert Purviance, and Noah Webster. Additional documents notably include Jefferson’s draft of a proposed amendment to the Constitution on the purchase of the Louisiana Territory, containing notes penciled by James Madison, as well as Jefferson's 1771 list of suggested books for a private library. Also present are legal documents, drafts, notes, and autographs. less

The Boston Committee of Correspondence was formed at the Boston Town Meeting of November 2, 1772 in response to the British government’s decision to pay the governor and Superior Court judges of Massachusetts with Crown stipends, thereby making them dependent on the Crown rather than the people in assembly. With the participation of Samuel Adams and others, the Committee prepared statements of the colonists’ rights and the violation of those rights by Great Britain, and sent them to other Massachusetts towns in pamphlet form, asking for their support and advice. In response to what became known as the Boston Pamphlet, similar committees formed in towns across Massachusetts and in other American colonies, helping to create a network of colonial communication ultimately leading to independence from Great Britain. The Boston Committee of Correspondence records, dated 1772-1784, document the Committee’s initiatives in colonial political action in Massachusetts, from the writing of the Boston Pamphlet in November 1772 through the early months of war with Great Britain in 1775, as well as the Committee's contact with other colonies. The records also document its continued work as the Committee of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety, 1777-1784, largely concerned with investigating suspected enemies of the American cause. less