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W. Stebbins Smith papers

Call Number

MS 575

Date

1799, 1840s-1935, inclusive

Creator

Smith, W. Stebbins (William Stebbins), approximately 1846-1937
Smith, Chauncey, 1810-1883

Extent

50 Linear feet in 49 record cartons and 1 flat box.

Language of Materials

The documents in the collection are in English.

Abstract

The collection includes the papers of Bronx, New York-based lawyer, W. Stebbins Smith, who practiced from the 1870s to the early 1930s. To a much lesser extent, the collection also includes the papers of Smith's father, Chauncey Smith, who was also a lawyer practicing from perhaps the 1840s to the 1880s. Smith's practice primarily encompassed real estate and general estate matters in the Bronx and Westchester County, and the collection reflects that. In addition to the many individuals represented by Smith, the collection includes records related to the real estate transactions of various Methodist Episcopal churches which engaged Smith. As a member of the Bronx community himself, Smith's papers also include a sizable amount of correspondence and other documents related to local politics, trade, transit, and charitable causes. The legal papers have not been processed and access restrictions apply to them.

Biographical / Historical

W. (William) Stebbins Smith was born about 1846. He attended Columbia Law School, graduating in the 1870s. By 1881, he had joined his father, Chauncey Smith, who was also a lawyer, in practice in the Bronx, New York. Smith's practice seems to have centered principally on real estate property transactions and general estate administration. He lived in the Bronx and practiced law there for about 65 years, retiring in the mid-1930s. He seems to have worked out of the same office at 462 East 167th Street for most, and perhaps all, of his career (though the city changed the building number at least once during his ownership). Smith was active in various civic, professional, and religious organizations. As one example, he served a two-year term in 1903-04 as the first president of the Bronx County Bar Association. Smith died in Kingston, NY, in 1937 at age 91.

(The above note was based on Smith's obituary in the New York Times, other on-line references, and documents in the collection.)

Arrangement

The collection is preliminarily organized in three series:

Series I. Correspondence/Contents of Letter Boxes

Series II. Bound Volumes

Series III. Legal Matters

Scope and Contents

The collection includes the papers of Bronx, New York-based lawyer, W. Stebbins Smith, who practiced from the 1870s to the early 1930s. To a much lesser extent, the collection also includes the papers of Smith's father, Chauncey Smith, who was also a lawyer practicing from perhaps the 1840s to the 1880s.

Smith's practice primarily encompassed real estate and general estate matters, and the collection reflects that. Centered principally on the Bronx real estate market, the collection includes title abstracts, maps, deeds, mortgages, lease and other agreements, tax and other assessments, damage claims, client-related correspondence, etc. There is print matter related to auctions, tax liens, foreclosure sales, and the like. In addition to the many individuals represented by Smith, the collection includes records related to the real estate transactions of various Methodist Episcopal churches that engaged Smith.

As a member of the Bronx community himself, Smith's papers also include a sizable amount of correspondence and other documents related to local politics, trade, transit, and charitable causes.

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers. Some access restrictions apply to the documents in Series III; see the notes at that series for details.

Most of the 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: W. Stebbins Smith papers, MS 575, New-York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

Most of the 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

Purchase, February 15, 1938, from George W. Waterman (likely Smith's son-in-law), through Edmund B. Child.

Related Materials

It appears that when the W. Stebbins Smith collection was first acquired by N-YHS in 1938, it included much more material related to Smith's father, Chauncey Smith, than is currently in the collection. That material was separated into a different collection, the Chauncey Smith papers. There is no finding aid currently for those papers, but they are cataloged in Bobcat; follow this link. Some W. Stebbins Smith-related documents can also be found in those Chauncey Smith papers.

A single W. Stebbins Smith document was cataloged in the AHMC collection: W. Stebbins Smith title fee payment, 1907 May 7 (AHMC - Smith, W. Stebbins).

N-YHS also holds the Mysterious Star Club Minutes, 1864 Sept. 12-1865 Aug. 2 (BV Mysterious Star Club). W. Stebbins Smith was an officer of that club.

The New-York Historical Society's museum holds W. Stebbins Smith's notary public seal press: https://blog.nyhsdev2.org/exhibit/seal-embosser

Collection processed by

Larry Weimer

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:48:05 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

A survey of the collection content was performed by archivist Larry Weimer in October 2021 to generate this preliminary finding aid. Minimal processing steps were done with the collection; see the processing notes at the series level.

Repository

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