Skip to main content Skip to main navigation

Nineteenth Century Notebooks, Diaries, and Journals

Call Number

MC.31

Dates

1833-1938, inclusive
; 1833-1883, bulk

Creator

Torrey, John, 1796-1873
Van Dyck, Ezekiel Deyo
Paton, James Morton, 1863-1944
Houghton, George Hendric, 1820-1897
MacCracken, John Henry, 1875-1948
Ludlum, Charles Henry
Brown, Elbert William
Burroughs, William Frank, d. 1899
Crosby, Howard, 1826-1891
Gould Memorial Library

Extent

2 Linear Feet in four manuscript boxes

Language of Materials

Materials are primarily in English.

Abstract

The collection contains notebooks, diaries, and journals kept by NYU students and professors from the late nineteenth century. The student notebooks contain the lecture notes taken by five New York University students between 1858-1897. Also included in the collection is Professor John Torrey's diary while traveling in Europe and a sermon journal kept by Professor Howard Crosby.

Biographical Note

Charles Henry Ludlum was born in Jamaica, New York, on February 21, 1843. He attended New York University (then the University of the City of New York) College of Arts and Pure Science from 1859-1863 and graduated with an A.B. in 1863. He attended New York University Medical College from 1863-1865 and received his M.D. in 1865. He received his A.M. degree from NYU in 1866. Ludlum was an intern at Bellevue Hospital from 1865-1867, and a visiting physician O.D.D. from 1867-1874. A practicing physician in Boonton, New Jersey, from 1874-1878, he moved his practice to Hempstead, New York, where he spent the remainder of his life. In 1889 Ludlum became a member of the Board of Education of Hempstead and became its president in 1890. He was married to Mary Jane White on May 20, 1868, and had six children.

Ezekiel Deyo Van Dyck was born in New Paltz, New York, on February 15, 1858. He attended New York University's College of Arts and Pure Science from 1876-1880 and graduated with an A.B. degree in 1880. He attended the Union Theological Seminary from 1880-1883 and received his A.M. degree in 1883. Van Dyck was a Presbyterian minister and served the following communities: Carlisle, New York, from 1883-1890; Johnsonville, New York, from 1890-1893; and Greenville, New York, from 1893 on. He married Alida Bevier June 21, 1888, and had four children.

James Morton Paton was born in the city of New York on May 12, 1863. He attended New York University from 1879-1883 and received his A.B. degree in 1883. Paton attended Harvard University from 1883-1887, studied at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and was a Rogers fellow of Harvard from 1892-1893. He received his Ph.D. from Bonn University in 1894. In 1906, he was a student of classical archaeology in Europe. Paton was a Morton Professor of Latin and French at Middlebury College, Vermont, from 1887-1891. He became an instructor of Greek at Wesleyan University, Connecticut, from 1895-1897, and an associate professor from 1895-1905. He was managing editor of the American Journal of Archeology from 1906-1908, and editor-in-chief from 1917-1920. He died in 1944.

George Hendric Houghton was born in Deerfield, Massachusetts, on February 1, 1820. He attended New York University (then the University of the City of New York) from 1838-1843 and received his A.B. degree in 1842 and his A.M. degree in 1845. He later received a D.D. degree from Columbia University. Houghton was a Protestant Episcopal clergyman who studied theology under the direction of William A. Muhlenberg, while at the same time teaching Greek at St. Paul's College, Flushing, Long Island (1843-1846), of which Muhlenberg was headmaster. He was ordained deacon in 1845 and priest in 1846, and was Muhlenberg's curate at the Church of the Holy Communion in New York until 1847. He ministered to the sick and dying in Bellevue Hospital and devoted his time to the underprivileged, establishing regular religious services at 48 East Twenty-Fourth Street. The parish was organized February 12, 1849, as the Church of the Transfiguration in the City of New York. From 1850-1862, Houghton was also a professor of Hebrew in the General Theological Seminary, New York City. During the Civil War he harbored slaves on their way to the Canadian border, established a war hospital, and during the Draft Riots of 1863 he sheltered hundreds of children driven by a mob from the Colored Orphan Asylum. Houghton's Church of the Transfiguration achieved lasting fame as "the little church around the corner."

William Frank Burroughs received his A.B. degree from New York University in 1859. He died in 1899.

John Henry MacCracken was born in Rochester, Vermont, on September 30, 1875. He attended New York University's College of Arts and Pure Science and graduated with an A.B. in 1894 and an A.M in 1897. He briefly attended Union Theological Seminary in 1894-1895. MacCracken received his Ph.D. from the University of Halle-Wittenburg, Germany, in 1899 and his LL.D. from Westminster College, Missouri, in 1903. MacCracken was an A. Ogden Butler fellow in philosophy in 1894-1895. He became an instructor in Philosophy at New York University and served from 1896-1899, becoming an assistant professor in 1899. He served as President of Westminster College, Missouri, from 1899-1903, and then returned once again to NYU serving as Syndic and Professor of Politics from 1903-1915, which also included one year as acting Chancellor of the University. He became President of Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania and served from 1915-1926. In 1929 he became President of the American Institute of Christian Philosophy, President of the Phi Beta Kappa Alumni of New York, President of the Board at Alborz College in Teheran, Iran and served as a trustee to the American University, Cairo, Egypt and the Masters School at Dobbs Ferry, New York. MacCracken also served as Regional Director of Student Army Training Corps in 1918. In 1927 he was a delegate to the Lausanne Conference, and was a delegate to the Oxford and Edinburough Conferences of 1937. MacCracken was the author of "College and the Commonwealth" (1920). He died in 1948.

Elbert William Brown received his A.B. degree from Yale University in 1865. He was a graduate student attending New York University during the years 1896-1898. He was listed as a student from Flushing, Long Island.

John Torrey was born in New York on August 15, 1796. He later became known as the first professional botanist in the United States. He specialized in the North American flora and is most known for his innovative classification system, known as the "natural system." He often worked with Asa Gray and other notable botanists. In 1858 he founded the Botanical Club of New York, which later became known as the Torrey Botanical Club. During his illustrious career he held several professorial posts beginning at the West Point Military Academy from 1824-1827. In 1832, Torrey arrived at New York University as a professor of chemistry and botany. Later in his life, Torrey served as an Assayer for the United States Mint.

Howard Crosby was born in New York City in 1826. Crosby, after graduating from New York University in 1844, became a Professor of Greek at NYU. After NYU Crosby taught at Rutgers College in New Jersey and in 1863 became pastor of the Fourth Avenue Presbyterian Church. Crosby returned to NYU and became its fourth chancellor in 1870 and maintained his pastorship during that time. The eleven years of his administration (1870-1881) marked a period of financial uncertainty and little growth. During his career he published several notable religious works including "The Lands of the Moslem" (1851), "Bible Companion" (1870), "Jesus: His Life and Works" (1871), and "True Temperance Reform" (1879).

Arrangement

Materials are arranged chronologically in nine series:

I. Charles Ludlum

II. Ezekiel Deyo Van Dyck

III. James Morton Paton

IV. George Hendric Houghton

V. William Frank Burroughs

VI. John Henry McCracken

VII. Elbert William Brown

VII. John Torrey

IX. Howard Crosby

Scope and Contents

The collection contains various notebooks, journals, and diaries kept by both students and professors at New York University. The student notebooks provide a useful insight into the lectures and classroom materials presented in the late nineteenth century. John Torrey's diary sheds light on the development of his innovative classification system and would be of interest to scholars studying botanical history. Also included in the collection is a compilation of sermons given by pastor and NYU Professor Howard Crosby.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Because of the assembled nature of this collection, copyright status varies across the collection. Copyright is assumed to be held by the original creator of individual items in the collection; these items are expected to pass into the public domain 120 years after their creation. New York University Archives is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from this collection.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; Nineteenth Century Notebooks, Diaries, and Journals; MC 31; box number; folder number or item identifier; New York University Archives, New York University.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Materials were transferred from Gould Memorial Library, University Heights in 1973. The accession number realated to this collection is 2019.016.

Collection processed by

Steven A. Walker

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 17:54:18 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

Decisions regarding arrangement, description, and physical interventions for this collection prior to 2018 are unknown. Because this is an assembled collection, University Archives and ACM staff made the decision in 2019 to unify this collection under one call phrase, MC 31. The individual collection numbers, MC 31-37 and MC 39-40, have been changed to series one through nine (I = MC 31, II = MC 32, III = MC 33, IV = MC 34, V = MC 35, VI = MC 36, VII = MC 37, VIII = MC 39, IX = MC 40). Materials were rehoused in four manuscript boxes and folder numbers were changed accordingly.

Revisions to this Guide

February 2019: Edited by Jennifer E. Neal for compliance with DACS and ACM Required Elements for Archival Description

Edition of this Guide

The 2012 finding aid was derived from a group of text finding aids that described the separate contents of this collection.

Repository

New York University Archives
New York University Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012