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Creator
Riker, James, 1822-1889
Call number
MssCol 2581
Physical description
16 linear ft. (24 boxes, 39 volumes
Language
Colonial papers in Dutch, French and English; English
Preferred Citation

James Riker Papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations.

Repository
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply
Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online.

The James Riker Papers document the literary activity and family background of the New York historian and genealogist. The collection consists of original documents from colonial-era New York in Dutch and English, extracts and transcripts from New York and New Jersey historical records, genealogical notes, correspondence, writings, notebooks, printed matter and photographs. Also included are Civil War correspondence and military records of James Riker's brother, Colonel John Lafayette Riker of the New York 62nd Regiment Volunteer Infantry.

Biographical/historical information

The historian James Riker was born on May 11, 1822 in New York City. His father was a merchant and landowner descended from early Dutch settlers. Riker left school at the age of sixteen to work in his father's business. During the late 1830s and early 1840s he lived intermittently in Goshen, New York, where he ran a store. By the mid-1840s he had settled at the family home on Delancey Street in Manhattan. There Riker studied informally for the Presbyterian ministry and began the genealogical and historical research that would occupy him for much of his life. He collected original documents from the colonial era, copied extracts from documents in state and local archives and corresponded extensively with historians, relatives and old family friends. In 1848 Riker moved with his father to Harlem. Two years later, having given up his plans for a religious career, he began work as a teacher in New York's Ward School 24. James Riker's first publication, a pamphlet genealogy that traced the Riker family to their early Dutch origins, appeared in 1851. He followed it with a substantial volume of local history, The Annals of Newtown (1852). Riker married Vashti Wood Horton in 1853, and the couple had several children. Vashti died in 1864, and Riker was re-married in 1867 to Anna C. Clute. Several years later Riker moved to Waverly, New York where he established the Waverly Library and Museum, and wrote two additional historical works, Harlem (city of New York): its origin and early annals (1881) and Evacuation Day, 1783, with Recollections of Capt. John Van Arsdale, of the Veteran Corps of Artillery (1883). In his later years Riker struggled financially and was forced to auction off a substantial portion of his library. James Riker died in 1889.

Scope and arrangement

The James Riker Papers are a valuable source of information on colonial New York, the early settlement of Harlem and the history of the Riker family and their ancestors. The collection also provides insights on historical scholarship and family life during the nineteenth century. The papers consist of original documents from colonial New York, transcripts and translations of documents, genealogical notes, research notes and memoranda, personal and financial records, correspondence, writings by James Riker and printed matter pertaining to his writings. Highlights include Dutch manuscript records of the town of Harlem (New York City), 1662-1674, in Dutch; Kingston, N.Y., church accounts, 1681-1684, in Dutch; original papers relating to the Harlem Commons; transcripts and extracts of early records concerning Harlem, Newtown, Long Island, Brooklyn and other early communities in New York; maps of Holland and New York; Civil War correspondence and military records of James Riker's brother John Lafayette Riker, who was Colonel of the United States Army New York Volunteer Infantry 62nd Regiment ("Anderson Zouaves"); and photographs of the Riker family and their descendants.

The James Riker papers are arranged in eight series:

  • Series I. Correspondence
    1864-1894, n.d.
    .5 linear feet

    James Riker's correspondence files contain incoming and outgoing letters regarding his historical and genealogical research, the publication of his books and pamphlets and, to a lesser extent, his personal affairs. Several items that postdate Riker's death in 1889 are addressed to his widow, Anna. The chronologically arranged letters in Series I are complemented by additional correspondence filed in Subseries VIIIA, described below.

  • Series II. Colonial Papers
    1660-[1880s]
    5 linear feet

    The bulk of this series is comprised of Dutch manuscript records of Harlem pertaining to real estate transactions, wills, surveyor's reports, auditor's accounts and lawsuits. Of particular interest are several volumes of the Council Minutes of New Harlem from 1602-1760. Also included are extracts from church records and other documents from several New York-area towns including Bergen, N.J., Brooklyn, Kingston and Newtown. The material is arranged by town name.

  • Series III. Genealogical Papers
    1840s-1880s
    1 linear foot

    These files contain miscellaneous genealogical and demographic notes regarding New York families of the colonial era and their descendants. Interspersed among Riker's notes are extracts from church and town records.

  • Series IV. Notebooks
    1840s-1880s
    .5 linear feet

    These pocket notebooks contain diary entries, appointments, accounts, memoranda, genealogical references and research notes on Harlem and Newtown. The sixteen volumes were numbered by James Riker; a volume numbered 18 is included in the 1997 additions to the collection and is filed in Subseries VIIID, described below. Notebook number 17 is missing.

  • Series V. Miscellaneous Papers
    1790-1873, n.d.
    1 linear foot

    These files and volumes contain extracts from French and Dutch historical works, indexes to historical records and publications, notes of conversations with various persons regarding local history and genealogy, personal memoranda and maps.

  • Series VI. Writings by James Riker
    1880-1881
    1 linear foot

    Filed here are a draft manuscript of Riker's History of Harlem (1881) and related research notes, and a few pages of personal reminiscences.

  • Series VII. Memoria
    1840s-1880s
    2 linear feet

    These volumes contain extracts, clippings and research memoranda drawn largely from New York state and town records. There is abundant information regarding New York-area marriages, births and wills during the colonial era, with a particular emphasis on Newtown. Also included is information regarding the participation of New Yorkers in the French-Indian War and the American Revolution.

  • Series VIII. 1997 Additions
    1754-1989
    4 linear feet

    Additions to the James Riker Collection received by The New York Public Library in 1997 have been arranged into eight subseries which mirror the organization of the previously accessioned Riker materials described above. The eight subseries and their contents are described below.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Title Guarantee and Trust Company, 1918; Nancy Hillegas, via Kroch Library, Cornell University, March 5, 1997.

Processing information

Compiled by Richard Salvato, Revised by Jim Moske; machine-readable finding aid created by Jim Moske.

Using the collection

Location

Manuscripts and Archives Division
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328

Access restrictions

Volumes 9-17, Volumes 23-39 and Box 5, Folder 1 are fragile and have been microfilmed. Readers are required to use the microfilm versions of these materials.

Alternative form available

New Harlem (v. 9-17), Kingstown (b. 5, f. 1), Memoria (v. 23-29) available on ten microfilm reels; New York Public Library

Van Arsdale book (from box 17) available on microfilm. *ZZ-38515