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Richard Varick Papers

Call Number

MS 655

Date

1743-1871 (bulk 1775-1830), inclusive

Creator

Extent

2.5 Linear feet (5 boxes)

Language of Materials

The documents in the collection are in English.

Abstract

Richard Varick, born in New Jersey, 1753, served as Captain, deputy muster-master-general, and George Washington's secretary during the Revolutionary war. He was appointed one of the first mayors of New York and served from 1789-1801. He died in 1831. His papers contain items resulting from his military, legal, and political careers, as well as personal and familial correspondence and accounts--including letters received, drafts of letters sent, accounts, receipts, military orders, inventories, muster and pay rolls, military pay accounts, indentures, court-martial papers and civil court papers.

The Richard Varick papers are digitized and available in the Shelby White and Leon Levy Digital Library.

Biographical Note

Missing Title

1753 Mar. 23 Born in Hackensack, NJ. Son of John Varick.
1775 Captain in Alexander McDougall's regiment
1775 July 1 Appointment by General Phillip Schuyler as his secretary
1776 Sept. 25 Appointed by Congress as Deputy muster-master-general
1777 Apr. 10 Lieutenant-colonel
1780 Inspector-general at West Point, and first aide-de-camp to General Benedict Arnold
1781 Recording secretary for General Washington
1784-1789 Recorder of New York City
1787-1788 Speaker of the New York State Assembly
1787-1816 Trustee of Columbia College
1788-1789 Attorney-general of the State of New York
1789 Varick and Samuel Jones appointed revisers of New York States laws (codified state statutes)
1789-1801 Mayor of New York
[1803]-1820 President of Merchants Bank
1816-1831 Founder and benefactor of American Bible Society
1828-1831 President of American Bible Society
1831 July 30 Died in Jersey City, NJ

Richard Varick was married to Maria Roosevelt, daughter of Isaac Roosevelt who was the son of James Roosevelt.

Arrangement

The Richard Varick Papers have been arranged into the following six series.

The materials within each folder are arranged chronologically.

Missing Title

  1. Series I. Correspondence
  2. Series II. Military Documents
  3. Series III. Legal Documents
  4. Series IV. Accounts, Bills, Receipts
  5. Series V. Appointments to Various Offices
  6. Series VI. Genealogies

Scope and Content Note

This collection of Richard Varick's papers contains items resulting from his military, legal, and political careers, as well as personal and family papers such as correspondence and accounts. The majority of the collection dates from the Revolutionary War, and over half of the collection consists of correspondence.

The collection includes letters received, drafts of letters sent, accounts, receipts, military orders, inventories, muster and pay rolls, military pay accounts, indentures, court-martial papers and civil court papers. Also contained within the collection are papers about veterans' claims to military lands in New York State, including some maps; papers relating to the settlement of the estate of Derick Dey, Varick's maternal grandfather, and the affairs of other members of the Dey family; personal and family correspondence and accounts; and a few documents signed by Varick in his capacity as mayor of New York.

The papers in the collection pertain to a variety of subjects, including Varick's command of a company in Alexander McDougall's battalion at Ticonderoga and in Canada during 1775; his service on courts-martial in 1775; problems of the bateau service in northern New York State in 1776; his position as secretary to Gen. Philip Schuyler in 1775-1776; his work as deputy muster master general, inspector general at West Point, first aide-de-camp to Benedict Arnold (including papers about Arnold's defection and subsequent investigations), and as recording secretary for George Washington (including papers about the transcription of Washington's letters); and suits handled by him as an attorney practicing in Poughkeepsie in 1782-1783, and in New York City after the war.

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 Richard Varick Papers, MS 655, The New-York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Related Material at The New-York Historical Society

See Richard Varick Papers, 1775-1806 shelved at BV Varick.

Existence and Location of Copies

Digital copies are available in the Shelby White and Leon Levy Digital Library.

Collection processed by

Shannon Yule

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:50:03 -0400.
Language: Description is in English.

Edition of this Guide

This version was derived from varick.xml

Repository

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