
Guide to the Morgan Lewis Papers
1715-1860
MS 383
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024
Phone: (212) 873-3400
@ 2011 New-York Historical Society
Collection processed by Processed by Susan E. Burke
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit
on November 01, 2011
Description is in
English.
Descriptive Summary
Title: | Morgan Lewis Papers |
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Dates: | 1715-1860 |
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. |
Quantity: | 7.5 Linear feet (8 boxes) |
Location note: | Manuscript Cage |
Call Phrase: | MS 383 |
Biographical Note
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. |
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.
Arrangement
Items in the collection are arranged chronologically. The undated material in box 8 is arranged by subject matter.
Access Points
Subject Names
- Beekman, Henry, 1688-1776
- Lewis, Gertrude Livingston, 1757-1833
- Lewis, Margaret, 1780-1860
- Livingston, Maturin, 1769-1847
- Livingston, Peter R., 1766-1847
- Livingston, Robert James, 1760-1827
Document Type
- Bills
- Commissions
- Correspondence
- Leases
- Legal documents
- Maps
- Mortgages
- Pamphlets
- Surveys
- Wills
Subject Topics
- Antirent War, N.Y., 1839-1846
- Farm tenancy
- Land Tenure
- Landlord and tenant
- Politics, Practical
- Rent Rolls
- United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783
- United States--History--War of 1812
Subject Places
- Delaware County (N.Y.)
- Dutchess County (N.Y.)
- New York (N.Y.)
Administrative Information
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.
Container List
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
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Box: 1 | Folder : 1 | Correspondence and Papers |
1715-1769 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 2 | Correspondence and Papers |
1770-1774 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 3 | Correspondence and Papers |
1775-1779 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 4 | Correspondence and Papers |
1780-1784 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 5 | Correspondence and Papers |
1785-1789 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 6 | Correspondence and Papers |
1790-1792 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 7 | Correspondence and Papers |
1793-1794 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 8 | Correspondence and Papers |
1795 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 9 | Correspondence and Papers |
1796-1799 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 1 | Correspondence and Papers |
1800 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 2 | Correspondence and Papers |
1801 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 3 | Correspondence and Papers |
1802 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 4 | Correspondence and Papers |
1803 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 5 | Correspondence and Papers |
1804 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 6 | Correspondence and Papers |
1805 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 7 | Correspondence and Papers |
1806 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 8 | Correspondence and Papers |
1807 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 9 | Correspondence and Papers |
1808 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 10 | Correspondence and Papers |
1809 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 11 | Correspondence and Papers |
1810 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 1 | Correspondence and Papers |
1811 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 2 | Correspondence and Papers |
1812 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 3 | Correspondence and Papers |
1813 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 4 | Correspondence and Papers |
1814 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 5 | Correspondence and Papers |
1815 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 6 | Correspondence and Papers |
1816 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 7 | Correspondence and Papers |
1817 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 8 | Correspondence and Papers |
1818 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 9 | Correspondence and Papers |
1819 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 1 | Correspondence and Papers |
1820 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 2 | Correspondence and Papers |
1821 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 3 | Correspondence and Papers |
1822 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 4 | Correspondence and Papers |
1823 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 5 | Correspondence and Papers |
1824 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 6 | Correspondence and Papers |
1825 | |
Box: 5 | Folder : 1 | Correspondence and Papers |
1826 | |
Box: 5 | Folder : 2 | Correspondence and Papers |
1827 | |
Box: 5 | Folder : 3 | Correspondence and Papers |
1828 | |
Box: 5 | Folder : 4 | Correspondence and Papers |
1829 | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 1 | Correspondence and Papers |
1830 | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 2 | Correspondence and Papers |
1831 | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 3 | Correspondence and Papers |
1832 | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 4 | Correspondence and Papers |
1833 | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 5 | Correspondence and Papers |
1834 | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 6 | Correspondence and Papers |
1835 | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 7 | Correspondence and Papers |
1836 | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 8 | Correspondence and Papers |
1837 | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 9 | Correspondence and Papers |
1838 | |
Box: 6 | Folder : 10 | Correspondence and Papers |
1839 | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 1 | Correspondence and Papers |
[1840-1849] | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 2 | Correspondence and Papers |
1840 | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 3 | Correspondence and Papers |
1841 | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 4 | Correspondence and Papers |
1842 | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 5 | Correspondence and Papers |
1843 | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 6 | Correspondence and Papers |
1844 | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 7 | Correspondence and Papers |
1845-1846 | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 8 | Correspondence and Papers |
1847 | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 9 | Correspondence and Papers |
1848 | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 10 | Correspondence and Papers |
1849 | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 11 | Correspondence and Papers |
1850-1851 | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 12 | Correspondence and Papers |
1852 | |
Box: 7 | Folder : 13 | Correspondence and Papers |
1853-1860 | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 1 | Notes pertaining to Government and Military Matters |
Undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 2 | Correspondence sent to Morgan Lewis |
Undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 3 | Correspondence sent by Morgan Lewis |
Undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 4 | Correspondence sent to Margaret Livingston |
Undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 5 | Correspondece sent by Maria Tillotson |
Undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 6 | Correspondence |
Undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 7 | Photograph of "Mrs L" and her two children, Ogden and Bobby |
Undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 8 | Ephemera |
Undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 9 | Accounts, Bills, and Receipts |
Undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 10 | Maps and Surveys of Plots of Land |
Undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 11 | Newspaper Clippings |
Undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 12 | Geneaological Materials pertaining to the Livingston and Beekman Families |
Undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 13 | Note pertaining to a Jewel Theft |
Undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 14 | Biographical Information on Morgan Lewis |
Undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 15 | Legal Documents |
Undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 16 | Historical Materials |
Undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 17 | Prayers and Religious Materials |
Undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 18 | Notes |
Undated | |
Box: 8 | Folder : 19 | Poetry |
Undated | |
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