New-York Historical Society collection of New York City miscellaneous manuscripts
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Abstract
The collection was compiled over time by New-York Historical Society and is composed of miscellaneous documents related to New York City. Included are affidavits, correspondence, Common Council reports, muster rolls, receipts, licenses, wills, property surveys, account statements, and a variety of other items. The collection contains documents regarding the Five Indian Nations; correspondence from the Sons of Liberty; a directive from the 16th British regiment allowing each solider a "half a galloon" of beer per day; records of the New York Revolutionary Committee; an 1803 document listing deaths from yellow fever; a brief history of the New York Asylum for Lying in Women; a 1904 invitation to the opening of the subway and a ticket for one ride; and the last piece of ticker tape from the Stock Market crash on October 29, 1929.
Arrangement
The container list is presented in rough chronological order. This differs from how the physical folders are arranged, though they seem to follow an uneven chronology as well. For documents that are a later copy of a document, the chronology (and date presented in the finding aid) is based on the date of the copied document. Undated items are presented in the finding aid in the approximate chronology implied by their place in the physical sequence of folders.
Scope and Contents
The collection was compiled over time by New-York Historical Society and is composed of miscellaneous documents related to New York City. Included are affidavits, correspondence, Common Council reports, muster rolls, receipts, licenses, wills, property surveys, account statements, and a variety of other items. Although the bulk of the collection consists of original documents, many are various forms of copies of originals.
The collection contains documents regarding the Five Indian Nations; correspondence from the Sons of Liberty; a directive from the 16th British regiment allowing each solider a "half a galloon" of beer per day; records of the New York Revolutionary Committee; an 1803 document listing deaths from yellow fever; a brief history of the New York Asylum for Lying in Women; a 1904 invitation to the opening of the subway and a ticket for one ride; and the last piece of ticker tape from the Stock Market crash on October 29, 1929.
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Conditions Governing Access
For more information on making arrangements to consult the collection, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Conditions Governing Use
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: New York City miscellaneous manuscripts, MS 443.19, New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was compiled by N-YHS from various sources over time.
Accruals
The collection is open to additional accessions, though N-YHS has generally stopped added documents to it. Recent accessions of the type formerly placed in miscellaneous manuscripts are more likely to now be cataloged individually as an American Historical Manuscripts Collection (AHMC) item.
About this Guide
Processing Information
The collection was compiled over time and a folder inventory was prepared at some point. The collection was cataloged and a PDF of the inventory was made available online. Around 2019, volunteer Alison Barr transcribed the folder inventory, with reference to the documents themselves, into the collection management system. In 2022, archivist Larry Weimer rearranged the container list to a chronological order and added notes to produce this finding aid.