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George Folsom papers

Call Number

MS 222

Date

1821-1866, inclusive

Creator

Folsom, George, 1802-1869

Extent

4.17 Linear feet (10 boxes)

Language of Materials

The documents in this collection are in English.

Abstract

Correspondence and a few papers, 1821-1866, primarily letters received by George Folsom (1802-1869) from authors, politicians, historians, artists, librarians, booksellers, and ethnologists. Included is material relating to family matters, his service as New York State Senator (Native American Party, or Know Nothings), 1845-1847, and chargé d'affaires to the Netherlands, 1850-1853, as well as his associations with the American Antiquarian Society, New-York Historical Society, and other learned societies.

Biographical Note

In his long career George Folsom (1802-1869) adopted varied, interchangeable, and occasionally overlapping roles, among them attorney, historian, author, librarian, antiquarian, politician, diplomat, and ethnologist. He was a member (and sometime officer) of the American Antiquarian Society, New-York Historical Society, Maine Historical Society, Vermont Historical Society, American Geographical and Statistical Society, Athenaeum Association, Century Association, Union League Club, and American Ethnological Society, of which he was president for the last decade of his life. Most notably, he sat in the New York State Senate (1845-1847), and served as chargé d'affaires (the diplomatic official who heads an embassy in the absence of an ambassador) to the Netherlands (1850-1853).

Chronology

1802 May 23: Born in Kennebunk, Maine, to Thomas and Edna (Ela) Folsom.
1809 Moved to Portland, Maine. Educated there and at Phillips Academy, Exeter.
1822 Graduated from Harvard. Spent two years in the office of Ether Shepley of Saco, Maine; Shepley was then United States attorney for the District of Maine and later chief justice of the Maine Supreme Court.
1824 Admitted to the bar.
1830 Published History of Saco and Biddeford (Maine).
1831 October 24: Elected to membership in the American Antiquarian Society.
1836 Directed publication of the second volume of Transactions and Collections of the American Antiquarian Society.
1837 Moved to New York City to practice law.
1838 Lecture before the New-York Historical Society, "The Discovery of America by the Northmen in the 10th Century."
1839 Married Margaret Cornelia Winthrop (1800-1863), daughter of Benjamin and Judith (Stuyvesant) Winthrop of New York City. She descended from Peter Stuyvesant, last Dutch director-general of New Netherland, and John Winthrop, leading figure in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
" Two lectures before the New-York Historical Society: "The Manuscript Parliamentary Journals in the Library of the Society" and "The Life and Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci."
1840-1841 Appointed librarian, New-York Historical Society. Edited Collections of the New-York Historical Society, second series, volume 1 (1841).
1842 Member of the Executive Committee, New-York Historical Society.
" Published Mexico in 1842.
" Birth of daughter, Margaret Winthrop Folsom (1842-1925).
1843 Domestic Corresponding Secretary, New-York Historical Society (1843-1844).
" Lecture before the New-York Historical Society, "Extracts from a Translation of the Official Narrative of Cortez to Charles V," in conjunction with publication of his English translation (the first) of The Despatches of Hernando Cortes.
" December 26: Birth of daughter Helen Stuyvesant Folsom (1843-1882), later known as Sr. Helen Margaret Folsom, founder of the American branch of the (Anglican) religious sisterhood, the Community of St. John Baptist (CSJB), a.k.a. the "Clewer Sisters."
1845 Elected Native American Party (Know Nothing) member of the New York State Senate (1st District), sitting in the 68th, 69th, and 70th New York State Legislatures (1845-1847).
1846 American Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New York (unsuccesful).
" Delivered anniversary discourse before the Maine Historical Society.
" August 20: Birth of son George Winthrop Folsom (1846-1915).
1850-1853 Served as chargé d'affaires to the Netherlands under Zachary Taylor.
1854-1857 Travels in Europe and the Holy Land.
1858 Published A Catalogue of Original Documents in the English Archives, Relating to the Early History of the State of Maine.
1858-1859 Editor in New York of Historical Magazine.
1859 Lecture before the New-York Historical Society, "The Life and Character of Col. Isaac Barre."
1859-1869 President, American Ethnological Society in New York
1860 Received honorary degree of Doctor of Law, University of Vermont.
1861 Donated portrait of General Anthony Wayne (1745-1796) to New-York Historical Society (museum accession no. 1861.4).
1863 March 18: Death of wife, Margaret Cornelia (Winthrop) Folsom.
1869 March 27: Died at Rome.
" May 4: Interred at St. Mark's-in-the-Bowery churchyard, New York.

Arrangement

The collection is housed in ten boxes. Boxes 1 through 9 are arranged chronologically by date of letter, or, when that is lacking, by date of postmark. Letters from select correspondents, which span several years, are grouped into distinct folders, and are filed after the general correspondence for their initial year. For example, the letters from Albert Gallatin, which span 1834-1844 (Box 2, Folder 7), follow the general correspondence for 1834 July-December (Box 2, Folder 6).

Box 10 includes correspondence that is undated and grouped by recipient (Folder 1, family), place (Folders 2-4, Maine, Massachusetts, and Europe), or by correspondent (Folders 5-6, arranged alphabetically). Undated letters and loose covers from unidentified correspondents are in Folder 7.

Scope and Contents

The George Folsom Papers consist primarily of letters he received from an expansive network of historians, authors, librarians, scholars, ethnologists, geographers, clergymen, politicians, diplomats, club members, and family. They span from 1821 (the year before he graduated from Harvard) to 1866 (three years before he died at Rome). The chronology above is a guide to determining which of his myriad activities are likely to be referenced by the letters in a given year.

The collection includes extended correspondence from George Bancroft (1800-1891), American historian and statesman (Box 3, Folder 4); August Belmont (1813-1890), German-American politician, financier, and Folsom's successor as chargé d'affaires to the Netherlands (Box 8, Folder 4); John Romeyn Brodhead (1814-1873), American historical scholar (Box 4, Folder 3); Edward Everett (1794-1865), American politician, pastor, educator, diplomat, and orator (Box 2, Folder 4); Albert Gallatin (1761-1849), Swiss-American politician, diplomat, ethnologist and linguist (Box 2, Folder 7); Jared Sparks (1789-1866), American historian, educator, and Unitarian minister (Box 4, Folder 4); and Peter G. Stuyvesant (1778-1847), Folsom's uncle through marriage (Box 4, Folder 5).

Other items of note include an 1838 letter from Harvard librarian and Unitarian minister Thaddeus Mason Harris (1768–1842) regarding the first publication of the New-York Historical Society's manuscript copy of John Winthrop's 1630 sermon "A Modell of Christian Charity" (Box 3, Folder 7); an 1845 letter from geographer Henry R. Schoolcraft (1793-1864) regarding a census of the Native American population (Box 4, Folder 14); and an 1852 letter from artist and co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Eastman Johnson (1824-1906), who found the pictures in Florence somewhat disappointing (Box 7, Folder 6).

Invitations, receipts, and the occasional bookseller's prospectus are scattered throughout the collection.

Subjects

Access Restrictions

Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Use Restrictions

Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.

Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.

Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as George Folsom Papers, MS 222, New-York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased from Wesley A. Crozier, 1977.

Related Materials

The New-York Historical Society also holds

• Letter from George Folsom to Monseiur Poore (probably Benjamin P. Poore), dated Morley's Hotel, Trafalgar Square, London, 1843 October 24, regarding a place for a law student, a visit from Charles Magill Conrad, former senator from Louisiana, and publishing in "The Athenaeum," with a 25-page notebook containing Folsom's remarks on cases before the New York Court for the Correction of Errors during the May Term, 1846. Call phrase: AHMC - Folsom, George.
• Letter from George Folsom to George H. Moore, librarian of the New-York Historical Society, 1861 June 18, regarding Folsom's donation of a portrait of General Anthony Wayne (1745-1796) (see N-YHS museum accession no. 1861.4). Call phrase: AHMC - Wayne, Anthony.
• Consult the Manuscript Card Catalog to access Folsom's letters to Luther Bradish, 1844-1858 (call phrase: Bradish Papers) and Albert Gallatin, 1834-1845 (call phrase: Gallatin Papers).
• A number of Folsom's published works are held in the Printed Collections of the New-York Historical Society Library. His photograph is mounted at the front of In Memoriam, an 1871 biographical sketch by his daughter, Helen Stuyvesant Folsom. Call number: Pamph CT275.F65 F65 1871

The New York State Library holds two boxes of genealogical material and personal papers which include Folsom's college notebook and his attaché book from his service in the Netherlands.

Collection processed by

Joseph Ditta (2017, 2018)

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:51:01 -0400.
Language: Description is in English

Processing Information

Archivist Joseph Ditta processed this collection in 2017. Updated 2018.

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024