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Morgan Lewis Papers

Call Number

MS 383

Date

1715-1860, inclusive

Creator

Extent

7.5 Linear feet (8 boxes)

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

The Morgan Lewis Papers consist primarily of papers belonging to Morgan Lewis (1754-1844) and his family members, including correspondence, accounts, leases, mortgages, wills, maps, surveys, rent rolls, commissions, printed materials, and notes. They cover his time as a solider in the American Revolution and the War of 1812, as a jurist, and as governor of New York and primarily describe the business and land dealings of Morgan Lewis and his extended family.

Biographical Note

Missing Title

October 16, 1754 Morgan Lewis is born.
1773 Lewis graduates with high honors from the College of New Jersey (Princeton University) and goes on to study law with John Jay.
1775 June Joins a rifle company at the outbreak of the American Revolution.
1775 August Becomes commander of a company of volunteers.
1775 Nov. Becomes 1st Major of the 2nd regiment, commanded by John Jay.
1776 June Appointed deputy quartermaster-general.
May 11, 1779 Marries Gertrude Livingston, daughter of Robert R. Livingston.
1785 Forms law partnership with Richard Harrison.
1789 Elected to the New York State Assembly.
1791 Nov. Becomes Attorney General of New York.
1792 Elected to the New York State Assembly.
December 24, 1792 Named to the New York Supreme Court.
October 28, 1801 Becomes chief justice of the New York Supreme Court.
1804 Defeats Aaron Burr to become governor of New York.
1804 Appoints son-in-law, Maturin Livingston (married to Lewis's daughter Margaret) to the position of recorder of New York, amidst accusations of nepotism.
1806 Maturin Livingston is removed as recorder of New York by DeWitt Clinton and the Council of Appointments.
1807 Removes the popular New York City mayor, DeWitt Clinton, from office. Defeated in his bid for re-election as governor by Daniel D. Tompkins.
1810 Elected senator in the New York Assembly.
1812 Appointed quartermaster-general with the rank of brigadier general.
1813 Appointed major general and briefly commanded the Northern Army when Major General Henry Dearborn became ill. Lewis failed to follow up on the American victory at Ft. George leading to the subsequent American defeat at Stoney Creek. He then served under Major General James Wilkinson in the ill fated attempt to take Montreal from the British troops.
1814 Assigned to the defense of New York City.
June 15, 1815 Receives honorable discharge from the United States military.
1830-1844 Serves as grandmaster of the Masonic Order of the State of New York.
1832-1836 Serves as president of the New-York Historical Society.
1839 Named an honorary member of both the Georgia Historical Society and the American Institute.
1839-1844 Serves as president general of the Society of the Cincinnati.
April 7, 1844 Morgan Lewis dies.

Arrangement

Items in the collection are arranged chronologically. The undated material in box 8 is arranged by subject matter.

Scope and Content Note

The Morgan Lewis Papers consists primarily of the land dealings and personal correspondence of Morgan Lewis (1754-1844) and his family members, including correspondence, accounts, leases, mortgages, wills, maps, surveys, rent rolls, commissions, printed materials, and notes. They cover his time as a solider in the American Revolution and the War of 1812, as a jurist, and as governor of New York and primarily describe the business and land dealings of Morgan Lewis and his extended family. The collection also contains the land dealings and correspondence of his son-in-law, Maturin Livingston, the land dealings of Henry Beekman, his wife's maternal grandfather, and the correspondence of his daughter, Margaret Lewis Livingston, and his wife, Gertrude Livingston Lewis.

Also included in the collection are an 1801 copy of Robert R. Livingston's will; a document from 1805 entitled "The Sins of the United States" and signed by "Shiloh" that was sent to "The Governor of the State of New York" when Morgan Lewis held that position; letters from 1806 relating to Maturin Livingston's removal as recorder of New York; a letter from DeWitt Clinton on November 15, 1824, favoring Andrew Jackson for president; letters from 1830, 1831, and 1842 pertaining to Masonic matters, including an 1842 letter from James Herring suggesting that Lewis contact John Jacob Astor to obtain funding for a new Masonic building; and Margaret Livingston's correspondence from the early 1840s regarding the antirent agitation, including a letter from P.P. Wright in August of 1845 describing the murder of Sheriff O.N. Steele in Delaware County, New York.

The majority of the collection is composed of land deals negotiated in Duchess and Delaware counties in New York between Morgan Lewis and various renters. Materials prior to 1775 deal primarily with the land dealings of Henry Beekman, who was Gertrude Livingston's maternal grandfather. The correspondence is also primarily focused on the business, financial, and legal transactions of Morgan Lewis and his extended family.

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers.

Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to twenty exposures of stable, unbound material per day. (Researchers may not accrue unused copy amounts from previous days.)

Use Restrictions

Permission to quote from this collection in a publication must be requested and granted in writing. Send permission requests, citing the name of the collection from which you wish to quote, to:

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

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as the Morgan Lewis Papers, The New-York Historical Society.

Related Material at The New-York Historical Society

Additional material at NYHS related to Morgan Lewis:

The Beekman Family Papers

The Robert R. Livingston Papers

Cheetham, James. 1806. Observations on the Conduct of Governor Lewis: In relation to the Bribery Charged on the Passage of the Act to Incorporate the Merchants' Bank. New York: Printed by James Cheetham.

Delafield, Julia Livingston, Mrs. 1877. Biographies of Francis Lewis and Morgan Lewis. By their Granddaughter, Julia Delafield. New York, A.D.F. Randolph and Company.

Person in New York. 1807. A Concise Account of the Rise, Progress, and Final Dissolution of the Late General Committee Friendly to the Re-election of His Excellency Morgan Lewis : In a Letter / from a person in New York to his friend in the country. New York: The Committee.

To the Republican electors of the state: Fellow-citizens, Governor Clinton, your long tried and faithful servant, having declined a re-election, two candidates are offered to your choice as his successor: the one is Chief Justice Lewis, the other is Aaron Burr. 1804. Broadside. [New York : s.n.].

Collection processed by

Processed by Susan E. Burke

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:49:11 -0400.
Language: Description is in English.

Edition of this Guide

This version was derived from lewis.xml

Repository

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