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General Book Collection
10,000 titles which focus on the following subject areas as they pertain to the Hudson Valley: early African American history, agriculture, American 18th and 19th century culture, art, architecture, biography, cooking, decorative arts, the history of science and technology, social/political history, women, as well as museum studies and the works of Washington Irving.
Maps
Approximately 150 18th, 19th, and 20th century maps of Westchester County , New York State, and surrounding areas.
Graphics
1,000 items including American engravings, lithographs, etchings, etc. of famous people, and Hudson River scenes.
Rare Books
5,000 books including Washington Irving's library, the Livingston and Montgomery Collection, the Van Cortlandt family collection, The Diderot Encyclopedia, The Iconography of Manhattan Island: 1498-1909, and The Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste: vols. 1-17.
Washington Irving Collection: 900 books, including some editions of Washington Irving's works that are rare or first editions.
Manuscripts
Beekman Family Collection, 1721-1903
The Beekman family was part of the great landed aristocracy of colonial New York. Through inter-marriage, the Beekmans acquired alliances with the powerful Livingston and Van Cortlandt families. After the American Revolution, Gerard G. Beekman, Jr. was able to purchase a large part of the Philipse estate, which has been preserved by Historic Hudson Valley as Philipsburg Manor. The manuscript collection consists mainly of indentures, deeds and other legal documents pertaining mostly to the immediate family of Gerard G. Beekman, Jr. and his son Stephen D. Beekman. 68 items.
Conklin and Chadeayne Family Collection, 1721-1903
The Conklins and Chadeaynes are two related families who resided on the Philipse and Van Cortlandt Manors. This collection consists of legal papers, deeds, and wills connected with the estates of Nathaniel Conklin and Jacob Chadeayne. 29 items.
Hamilton Collection, 1786-1843, focus 1843
Alexander Hamilton (1816-1889) was the son of James A. Hamilton (1788-1879) and Mary Morris, and the grandson of Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804, Secretary of Treasury). Alexander Hamilton (1816-1889) served as Secretary to the Legation at Madrid under Washington Irving. This collection consists of correspondence from Alexander Hamilton (1816-1889) to the members of his immediate family and two legal documents from when he served as an attorney. 88 items.
Hoffman Family Papers, 1791-1912, focus 1810-1860
The Hoffmans were prominent landowners, merchants, and lawyers in New York. Josiah Ogden Hoffman (1766-1837) served as a Federalist representative in the New York Legislature, Attorney General of New York, and as an Associate Justice of the New York Supreme Court. Washington Irving (1783-1859) served as his clerk and became engaged to his daughter, Matilda. This collection consists of lecture notebooks, scrapbooks, family correspondence, photographs, clippings, illustrations, and miscellaneous items. The correspondence gives insight into early nineteenth century social and cultural conditions, as well as the education of women in the United States between 1800-1840. 540 items.
Philipse Family Collection, 1685-1822, focus 1760-1810
The Philipse family was one of the most successful merchant families of colonial New York. At the peak of its prosperity, the family holdings consisted of over 90,000 acres in Westchester County , Ulster County, Bergen County , Putnam County , and the Bronx , which were developed with efficient commercial acumen. These lands were forfeited as a result of the Philipses' loyalty to the Crown during the American Revolution. This collection consists of real estate documents, legal briefs relating to the effects of the Revolutionary War, correspondence, and rent materials. 54 items.
Schuyler Family Collection, 1729-1850, focus 1790-1835
The Schuyler family was an influential family in colonial and post-revolutionary New York. They married into the Van Cortlandt, Van Rensselaer and Livingston families. Philip John Schuyler (1733-1804) served in the New York General Assembly and was one of the four Major Generals under George Washington. This collection consists mainly of the family correspondence of Philip John Schuyler, his sons, John Bradstreet and Philip Jeremiah Schuyler, and Mary Ann Schuyler (Mrs. Philip Jeremiah Schuyler). There are also a few miscellaneous items referring to other family members. 123 items.
Van Cortlandt Family Collection, 1661-1938, focus 1750-1840
Pierre Van Cortlandt (1712-1814) was elected to the New York Provincial Legislature and served as New York's first Lieutenant Governor. Pierre's son, Philip (1749-1831), served as a regimental commander in the Continental Army. His military correspondence includes such major campaigns as Saratoga , Valley Forge, and Yorktown. These and other members of the Van Cortlandt family corresponded with such notables as George Washington, John Jay, John Hancock, George Clinton, and Alexander Hamilton. Their correspondence provides valuable insights into the nation's military, administrative, and political history from 1748 to 1848. This collection is particularly rich in legal documents and contains over 200 letters of Pierre Van Cortlandt, his sons, their immediate families, as well as, recipes and account books. 1300 items.
Washington Irving Collection, 1585-1938, focus 1810-1860
Washington Irving (1783-1859) was America's first internationally successful man of letters and the creator of such memorable fictional characters as Rip Van Winkle, Ichabod Crane, and Diedrich Knickerbocker. His correspondence covers his literary endeavors and his diplomatic career as the United States Minister to Spain. Washington Irving corresponded with and wrote about numerous famous people of the times: Sir Walter Scott, Charles Dickens, Henry W. Longfellow, and Edgar Allan Poe. This collection is perhaps the second-largest collection of Irvingiana in the United States , and is particularly rich in correspondence from Irving's final phase of life (1832-1859). It consists of correspondence, literary manuscripts, legal documents, certificates, genealogical material, and miscellaneous matter relating to Irving and members of his family.
Newspapers
120 full or partial newspapers from 1752 to the 1930s.
Miscellaneous Collection, 1651-1888
This collection consists of business material, letters, receipts, journals, judicial material, leases, and many items pertinent to the American Revolution: receipts and passes signed by Benedict Arnold, a journal of Robert C. Livingston, petitions, and correspondence to George Washington. There is a section of letters, journals, account books, and receipts from such literary and artistic notables and historical figures as General Philip H. Sheridan, the artist John Singer Sargent, actor Joseph Jefferson, singer Jenny Lind, Presidents George Washington and Millard Fillmore, Samuel F. B. Morse, Louis Napoleon, William Cullen Bryant, Samuel L. Clemens, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Horace Greeley, Henry W. Longfellow, and Daniel Webster. There are, also numerous deeds from 1800-1843 that concern property in New York and Connecticut , and military material, including Civil War pieces. 265 items.
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