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Clarence Lexow scrapbooks

Call Number

MS 3189

Date

1881-1930s (bulk, 1890s), inclusive

Creator

Ferris, Warren, active 1890s

Extent

4 Linear feet in 4 record cartons (21 volumes)

Language of Materials

The documents in the collection are in English, with a small number in German.

Abstract

The collection holds 21 scrapbooks primarily containing newspaper clippings concerning the political career of Clarence Lexow (1852-1910). Most, and perhaps all, of the scrapbooks were compiled by Lexow's brother-in-law, William Ferris. Lexow was a New York State Senator from 1894-1898 and the clippings relate principally to subjects that Lexow was closely involved with: the Senate Committee's investigation into New York City police corruption, legislative actions leading to the consolidation of Greater New York City in 1898, investigations into trusts and restraint of trade, and legislation on civil service reform.

Biographical / Historical

Clarence Lexow (1852-1910) was born in Brooklyn, NY. His father was a German immigrant and Lexow studied abroad in Germany for several years in his youth. He graduated from Columbia Law School in 1872 and practiced briefly in New York City before moving to Rockland County, settling in Nyack in 1882. There he headed a building and loan association and became a trustee and corporation counsel for the town.

Lexow became active in politics as a member of the Republican Party. In 1887 he ran for elective office for the first time, losing to the Democratic candidate for county judge. He lost again in an 1890 run for Congress, but was eventually successful, winning election to the New York State Senate, where he remained from 1894-1898, the period most represented in this collection.

In the Senate, Lexow immediately took up a leadership role in an investigation of corruption and extortion by the New York City Police Department. He chaired the so-called Lexow Committee, formally known as the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the Police Department of New York City. The committee's proceedings are credited with leading to the loss of the Tammany Hall (Democratic Party) mayoral candidate in 1894.

In the later years of his Senate tenure, Lexow was a central player in the legislative actions leading to the consolidation of Greater New York City in 1898, investigations into trusts and restraint of trade, and legislation on civil service reform. He declined renomination in 1898, returning to his law practice, though staying involved in party politics. Lexow died of pneumonia in 1910.

(The above note was based on information primarily from Wikipedia, Lexow's obituary in the New York Times, and documents in the collection.)

Arrangement

The arrangement opens with the 12 volumes explicitly compiled and indexed by Lexow's brother-in-law, Warren Ferris. These are followed by 3 volumes closely related in date range and subject matter to the first 12 volumes, then the final 6 volumes in chronological order. Titles in [brackets] were determined by the processing archivist based on a skim of the contents.

Scope and Contents

The collection includes 21 scrapbooks, 18 of which clearly relate to Clarence Lexow's political career, with three less clearly related. Of the 18 scrapbooks, all but one include newspaper clippings that document Lexow's candidacies for office in the 1880s and 1890s, his work in the New York State Senate in the 1890s, and New York politics of the 1880s-1890s generally. The Lexow Committee's investigation into police corruption, legislative actions leading to the consolidation of Greater New York City in 1898, investigations into trusts and restraint of trade, and legislation on civil service reform are all major topics of the clippings. One scrapbook, titled "Trust Investigations, 1897" is an exception in this collection in that, rather than clippings, it holds other original documents related to the trust/restraint of trade matter, including Senate report, bills, typescripts of testimony, and more.

Of these 18 scrapbooks, 12 were compiled by Warren Ferris, Lexow's brother-in-law. These are designated as volumes 1-12 in the scrapbooks themselves and in the container list. A few of these 12 volumes are inscribed to indicate that Ferris was the compiler, and the consistency of format suggests that all 12 were prepared by him. Each of these includes an index to the scrapbook on loose sheets of Lexow's Senate stationery. It is uncertain whether Ferris, Lexow, or another contemporary compiled the other scrapbooks, but those all relate to Lexow and New York politics.

In addition to the above 18 scrapbooks there are three others dating from about 1881-82 that are not obviously related to Lexow, though he may have compiled them in connection with his law practice. These hold clippings related to various court proceedings and lawsuits.

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers. Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact manuscripts@nyhistory.org prior to your research visit to coordinate access. Keep in mind that it will take between two (2) and five (5) business days for collections to arrive, and you should plan your research accordingly.

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

The collection should be cited as: Clarence Lexow scrapbooks, MS 3189, New-York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact manuscripts@nyhistory.org prior to your research visit to coordinate access. Keep in mind that it will take between two (2) and five (5) business days for collections to arrive, and you should plan your research accordingly.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Katharine Morton Babcock Fulmor (Mrs. William Fulmor), April 19, 1950. Katharine was the daughter of Caroline Lexow Babcock and the granddaughter of Clarence Lexow.

Collection processed by

Elise Winks and Larry Weimer

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:46:12 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

The collection was processed to a minimal degree by archivists Elise Winks and Larry Weimer in 2020-21. Winks flagged all the volumes, assigning them an overall sequence number (SN) to facilitate access, and prepared a preliminary finding aid. Weimer boxed the volumes for offsite storage and completed the finding aid.

Repository

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