Charles Simpson Scrapbooks
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Abstract
Two scrapbooks containing letters, photographs, and memorabilia collected by Charles Augustus Simpson, his wife Julia Wolff Simpson, and their son, Edward Charles Simpson.
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Scope and Content Note
The collection consists of two scrapbooks. The first, titled "Ancestral Records of the Simpson Family and of their Kindred by Marriage, from the Seventeenth Century to the Present Time," consists primarily of autobiographical accounts written by Charles, Julia, and Edward Simpson. Charles describes his childhood in Sweden, his arduous trip to the United States, his brief service in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War, and his successful career as a real estate agent. He also explains his decision to have his son educated in Europe, and describes his numerous trips overseas. Finally, he provides a great deal of detail about some of the illnesses he suffered later in life. Julia's brief account focuses on her childhood and young adulthood in Utica, New York and New York City. Edward's autobiography, written at the age of twenty-eight, describes his childhood in New York City, his schooling in Europe and at Packard's Business College, and his employment subsequent to his graduation. The autobiographies are accompanied by a few maps and a great many photographs of New York City, the family, their trips abroad, and their home. This volume also contains a detailed family tree, tracing the Simpson family to seventeenth-century Sweden, and the Wolff family to eighteenth-century France and Germany.
The second volume, titled "Miscellaneous Records of the Simpson Family and of their Kindred by Marriage. Book Number One." contains letters, photographs, legal documents, receipts, sketches, and other materials collected by the members of the Simpson family. Charles Simpson was an amateur photographer, and the scrapbook contains a great many photographs of New York City, including Coney Island and the Statue of Liberty, as well as photographs of Italy, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Egypt, Turkey, and other destinations the family visited in the 1890s. In addition, Charles was a member of the Society of Amateur Photographers. A few articles which he published in The American Amateur Photographer are inserted in the scrapbook. Also included are ticket stubs, currency, travel itineraries, maps, and postcards from various foreign countries. Materials relating to Charles' business as a real estate agent include some photographs of his shop, business cards, and some financial papers. Among the official documents are Charles' passports, his U.S. citizenship papers, and Edward's birth certificate. There are also many items related to Edward's schooling, including his report cards from his grammar school in New York, assignments he completed for his German school in New York, report cards from his school in Dresden, and assignments and report cards from Packard's Business College.
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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 The Charles Simpson Scrapbooks, The New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
Provenance
Donation, 2004.