Relyea family papers
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Abstract
The papers cover over three generations of the Relyea family, but particularly concern Peter Relyea. The collection includes letters, legal documents, accounts, and also contains documents relevant to the Rosevelt family.
Biographical Note
The bulk of the papers revolve around Peter Relyea (1817-1896), a prosperous New York undertaker. He served in the New York State Militia during the 1830s and 1840s rising to the rank of lieutenant. Relyea also achieved prominence in his secondary field, having crafted the hearse that carried President Lincoln's body through New York City in 1865.
Relyea relocated to Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 1869, and was appointed an Official Undertaker of that city in 1881. Peter Relyea married Elizabeth Ryers in 1838. After her death in 1866, he married C.A. Decker. A long-time Freemason, Peter Relyea was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn with Masonic honors.
Arrangement
The collection has been arranged into folders by type of material. Items within the collection are arranged chronologically.
Scope and Content Note
This collection includes various letters from Peter Relyea to his daughter Millie, letters to Willie Relyea from his cousin Henry, invitations addressed to Relyea family members to attend surprise parties, and letters addressed to Peter Relyea from business associates.
The collection also includes the military records of Peter Relyea, mortgages, real estate deeds, bonds, deeds to cemetery plots, receipts (including undertaker services rendered by Peter Relyea), and other various papers, such as a license granted to Peter Relyea to act as an Official Undertaker of the city of Brooklyn.
The collection also contains genealogy papers of the Rosevelt family (to which the Relyea family was related) and business papers of Rosevelt and Sullivan, the contracting partnership of Warren Rosevelt and John M. Sullivan. These concern the construction of a pile dock on Governors Island.
The Relyea Papers do not include any information regarding Peter Relyea's construction of Abraham Lincoln's hearse.
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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.
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
This collection should be cited as Relyea Family Papers, MS 518, The New-York Historical Society.