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Samuel B. Parsons, Jr. papers

Call Number

MS 3153

Date

1862-1962 (bulk, 1877-1920s), inclusive

Creator

Parsons, Samuel, 1844-1923

Extent

3.3 Linear feet in 4 document boxes and one flat box

Language of Materials

The documents in the collection are in English.

Abstract

The collection includes a variety of documents related to landscape architect Samuel B. Parsons Jr. (1844-1923). The documents principally concern his involvement with New York City's Parks Department and Central Park, for which he was Superintendent of Planting under Calvert Vaux and later Landscape Architect (from about 1880-1911). There are also several corporate records of the privately-held firms Samuel Parsons & Sons and Samuel Parsons, Inc. In connection with Central Park, the collection holds photographs and diagrams related to the restoration of elm trees on the Mall, a typescript of testimony taken during Raymond B. Fosdick's 1911 investigation into the Parks Department accounts, a draft resolution of exoneration of Parsons by the Parks Board, and a scrapbook and manuscript "memories," both of which largely concern the Park. In addition the collection also holds several letters from Parsons written to his father while the son was in service during the Civil War with the U.S. Sanitary Commission; a lecture by Parsons with suggestions for landscaping a country home; published works by Parsons; a volume of extracts taken by Parsons of books he read; genealogical notes; photographs of the grounds of various estates; and other documents.

Biographical / Historical

Samuel Bowne Parsons Jr. (1844-1923) was a landscape architect who, most relevant to this collection, was responsible as Superintendent of Planting and later Landscape Architect for the New York City Parks Department from about 1880 to 1911. In that post he was engaged especially with Central Park and was consequently embroiled in many disputes over the appropriate usage and development of the Park, which eventually led to his removal as Landscape Architect.

Parsons's grandfather was a horticulturalist and founded a nursery in Flushing, Queens, Long Island around 1840. That business was known as Samuel Parsons & Sons (one of the sons being Parsons's father) and was handed down through the family until its dissolution about 1907. Parsons learned the trade as a youngster before serving with the U.S. Sanitary Commission during the Civil War and then graduating from the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale in 1865. He moved out on his own, buying a farm, and developing his skills as a landscape architect. He came into the orbit of Calvert Vaux (1824-1895) and, when Vaux became Landscape Architect for the New York City Parks Department in 1880, he had Parsons named Superintendent of Planting. After Vaux's death, Parsons replaced him as Landscape Architect until 1911. Aside from his official New York City responsibilities, Parsons also worked on other projects during and after his tenure, including the design of Balboa Park in San Diego around 1902.

Parsons married Martha Francis in 1865 and they had a daughter, Mabel. Mabel briefly carried on Parsons's business after his death and published a book of the "memories" he had drafted late in his life. Parsons died in 1923 at his home in the San Remo apartments, on Central Park West, directly across the street from the Park. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged roughly by format, with correspondence and other manuscript material opening the inventory, followed by financial records, scrapbooks, book extracts, photographs, and published material.

Scope and Contents

The collection includes a variety of documents related to Samuel Parsons, especially concerning his involvement with New York City's Central Park and the corporate records of the privately-held firms Samuel Parsons & Sons and Samuel Parsons, Inc. In connection with Central Park, the collection holds photographs and diagrams related to the restoration of elm trees on the Mall, a typescript of testimony taken during Raymond B. Fosdick's 1911 investigation into the Parks Department accounts, a draft resolution of exoneration of Parsons by the Parks Board, and a scrapbook and manuscript "memories," both of which largely concern the Park.

The collection also holds several letters from Parsons written to his father while the son was in service during the Civil War with the U.S. Sanitary Commission; a lecture by Parsons with his suggestions for landscaping a country home; published works by Parsons; a volume of extracts taken by Parsons of books he read; genealogical notes; photographs of the grounds of various estates; and other documents. The container list below includes a full inventory of the content.

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers.

Use Restrictions

Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to 20 exposures of stable, unbound material per day. 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

The collection should be cited as: Samuel B. Parsons, Jr. Papers, MS 3153, New-York Historical Society.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Cogswell Limited Partnership, 2020.

Collection processed by

Larry Weimer

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:46:59 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

Prior to its acquisition by N-YHS, the collection was arranged, labelled, and processed into archival folders and boxes by archivist William Alley of Alley Archival Services. Upon N-YHS's acquisition of the collection in 2020, archivist Larry Weimer made minor changes to the arrangement and prepared this finding aid.

Repository

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