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Creator
Ferris, Morris Patterson, 1855-
Call number
NYGB Coll 127
Physical description
3 linear feet (5 boxes)
Preferred Citation

The Morris P. Ferris Genealogical Research Files, NYGB Coll 127. The New York Public Library. The Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy.

Repository
Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy
Access to materials
Request a research appointment: https://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/milstein

The Morris P. Ferris Genealogical Research Files largely document Ferris’ own family history, but also contain research materials for genealogies of several other families, including the Brewer, Hadley, Haines (Haynes), and Mason families.

Biographical/historical information

Attorney Morris Patterson Ferris was born in New York City on October 3, 1855. His father, Rev. Isaac F. Ferris, was a Chancellor of the University of (the City of) New York. His mother was the former Letitia Storm.

Ferris received his law degree from New York University in 1879, but had begun his practice in New York three years earlier. Ferris married the author Mary Lanman Douw on September 4, 1879 in Poughkeepsie, New York. They had two sons and a daughter.

He founded the Brooklyn Young Republican Club and served on its Executive Committee. Ferris was also treasurer for the Society of American Authors from 1898 to 1906. He was also a charter member of the Order of Founders and Patriots of America, and founder and secretary of the New York State Historical Association (1899-1903). Ferris founded the Garden City Club and was president of the Yonkers Historical and Library Association.

He was also a member of the Lawyers Club, the Arkwright Club, and the Delta Phi fraternity. Ferris died at his home in Garden City, Long Island, on October 26, 1879.

  • MORRIS P. FERRIS DEAD: Lawyer Was Founder of New York State Historical Association. (1918, October 27). New York Times (1857-Current file),17. Retrieved November 6, 2008, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2005) database. (Document ID: 97037862).

Scope and arrangement

The papers consist mostly of Morris P. Ferris’ handwritten transcriptions of genealogical information relating to his family.

The collection includes numerous notebooks, loose sheets of handwritten notes, correspondence, typed family histories, some clippings, and a few photographs of a headstone. There is also a fair amount of research material on the Van Wyck family. The precise dates of the transcriptions are mostly unknown. Mrs. Ferris also compiled some of the data. Additionally, there is genealogical data for several other families, including Brewer (Brouwer), Concklin, Hadley, Haines (Haynes), and Mason. Several of these appear to have been done for hire, or for application to the Sons of the Revolution.

A few additional allied family names include Adriance, Griffin, Dubois, Bedford, and Platt.

Arrangement

Arranged by format

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

The Morris P. Ferris Genealogical Research Files were donated to the Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy in 2008 by the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. The research files were donated to the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society in 1928 by Mrs. Morris P. Ferris.

Processing information

Processed by Camille Croce Dee; Machine-readable finding aid created by Camille Croce Dee.

Using the collection

Location

Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
First Floor, Room 121

Access to materials

Request a research appointment: https://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/milstein

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, contact the Chief of The Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy.

Alternative form available

{manditory if applicable - statement regarding availability of collection on microfil, in published form, etc.}manditory if applicable - statement regarding availability of collection on microfil, in published form, etc.