Henry O'Reilly papers
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Abstract
The Papers of Henry O'Reilly, dating from 1832 to 1873, consist of 28 linear feet of material. The bulk of these papers date from 1844 to 1860. The O'Reilly Papers contain the following types of material: business and personal correspondence (letters, telegraph messages), minutes, proceedings, organizational documents (charters, by-laws, articles of incorporation and association), financial documents (bills, receipts, invoices, expenditure sheets, accounts, bank drafts, promissory notes, inventories, stock certificates), legal documents (contracts, conveyances, indentures, deeds, leases, affidavits, depositions, insurance policies, mortgages, memoranda), notes, reports, scrapbooks, and printed material (pamphlets, proofs, circulars, flyers, clippings).
Biographical Note
Missing Title
Henry O'Reilly was born in Carrickmacross, Province of Ulster, Ireland on Feb. 6, 1806 to a merchant and the daughter of a physician. In 1816, the family emigrated to New York. After working as an apprentice in the printing trade including several years as an assistant editor of the New York Patriot, in 1826 O'Reilly was appointed editor of the Rochester, NY, Daily Advertiser. Within a year, O'Reilly gained notice in the anti-Masonic uproar that followed the kidnapping and murder of William Morgan. In 1832, he was appointed Deputy Collector and Inspector for the District of Genesee, NY. He published numerous circulars and pamphlets on current events and issues, and in 1838 Sketches of Rochester, with Incidental Notices of Western New York. In that same year, O'Reilly was appointed Post Master of Rochester. From the 1830s through the 1850s, he was heavily involved in civic and political organizations, serving as the President of the Rochester Athenaeum and Young Men's Association, Recording Secretary of the New York State Agricultural Society, and Chairman of the Clinton League.
O'Reilly's commercial activities were similarly energetic and varied. In 1833, he threw his support behind improvements to the Erie Canal. In 1845, he contracted with Samuel F.B. Morse and Amos Kendall in the planned construction of telegraph wires from eastern Pennsylvania to the Great Lakes. Legal difficulties ended his involvement with the enterprise, despite his erection of over 8,000 miles of wire. In 1851, O'Reilly established the Irish and American Steamship Company; in 1854, he organized the Demoine Navigation and Railroad Company.
O'Reilly was married to Marcia Brooks, daughter of General Micah Brooks; they had one son, Henry Brooks O'Reilly, who was killed in the Battle of Williamsburg, 1862. Late in his life, O'Reilly changed the spelling of his surname to O'Rielly; additional papers of O'Reilly may be found under this variant.
Arrangement
Correspondence within series are usually arranged alphabetically for letters received, chronologically for letters sent. Unidentified letters received and correspondence between others arranged chronologically.
The documents have been arranged in twenty-four series, the last of which includes materials inventoried and added to the finding aid in April 2022. Many of the series have been arranged in subseries.
Series I: General Correspondence, 1837-1872
Series II: Telegraph Enterprise, 1844-1861
Series III: Demoine Navigation and Railroad Company, 1849-1858
Series IV: Erie Canal Enlargement, 1836-1841
Series V: Clinton League, 1859
Series VI: New York State Agricultural Society, 1841-1856
Series VII: Politics, 1836-1857
Series VII: Post Office, Rochester, 1838-1844
Series IX: Common Schools, Rochester, 1838-1840
Series X: Rochester Athenaeum and Young Men's Association, 1838-1840
Series XI: Western Virgina Lands, 1838-1856
Series XII: Albany Irish Repeal Association, 1843
Series XIII: American Indians, 1838-1860
Series XIV: Deputy Collector and Inspector of District of Genesee, 1832-1842
Series XV: Irish and American Steamship Company, 1851
Series XVI: New York Typographical Society, 1849
Series XVII: Rochester Daily Advertiser, Undated
Series XVIII: Sketches of Rochester, Undated
Series XIX: Legal Documents, 1832, 1840-1851, 1857
Series XX: Financial Documents, 1834-1859
Series XXI: Notes and Fragments, 1840-1859
Series XXII: Personal and Family Papers, 1832-1862
Series XXIII: Printed Material, 1830-1869
Series XXIV: Items Added in 2022, 1819-1880
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Henry O'Reilly, dating from 1819-1880, consist of 28 linear feet of material. The bulk of the papers date from 1844 to 1860 and include the following forms: business and personal correspondence, minutes, proceedings, organizational records, financial records, legal records, notes, reports, scrapbooks and printed matter.
The O'Reilly Papers document the diverse activities of Henry O'Reilly in Rochester, NY; the Genesee District; and New York State. Specific topics addressed include: the establishment of telegraph lines; the development, improvement and operations of the transportation industry, particularly canals, steamships and railroads; local and state politics; civic and cultural organizations; journalism; typography; American Indians; agriculture; government reform; the postal service; public schools; land purchases in Western Virginia; and the military career of O'Reilly's son.
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Access Restrictions
Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, 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.
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Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as the Henry O'Reilly Papers, MS 464, New-York Historical Society.