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Sylvester Manor Archive

Call Number

MSS.208

Date

1649-1996, inclusive

Creator

Sylvester, Nathaniel, 1610-1680
L'Hommedieu, Ezra, 1734-1811
Fiske, Andrew, 1912-1992
Horsford, Eben Norton, 1818-1893
Gardiner, Samuel Smith, 1789-1859

Extent

88.37 Linear Feet
(159 boxes)

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Abstract

Sylvester Manor is the home of the original European settlers on Shelter Island in eastern Long Island, New York, created in 1652 with the arrival of Nathaniel and Grissell Sylvester. For over 350 years and continuing to this day, the Manor has remained with descendents of the original Sylvesters, and the Sylvester Manor Archive contains documents dating from its mid-17th century European settlement to the late-20th century. The earliest documents provide evidence of an operational northern provisioning plantation involved in the Atlantic trade of the 17th century, while later portions of the collection document the lives of several notable descendents including: Ezra L'Hommedieu, an attorney and politician from the American Revolutionary Era, Samuel Smith Gardiner, an attorney from a prominent family of eastern Long Island, and Eben Norton Horsford, successful entrepreneur and scientist at the forefront of the development of American food science and chemistry.

Historical Note

Sylvester Manor and its grounds are located on Shelter Island, an 8,000-acre island situated between the north and south forks of eastern Long Island that was inhabited by Manhansett Native Americans until its purchase in 1651 by the first permanent European settlers. Nathaniel Sylvester, an Englishman born and raised in Amsterdam, and three Barbadian planters, his brother, Constant, Thomas Middleton, and Thomas Rouse, bought the property to use in the Caribbean provisioning trade. Enslaved Africans, impressed Natives, and European indentured servants raised livestock, produced timber for barrels, and grew food to sell in the West Indies, where most arable land was devoted to valuable sugar cane. In 1653, Nathaniel (Nathaniell in most records) Sylvester and his wife Grissell Brinley (also recorded Grizzell), married and moved to Shelter Island, creating the establishment that would later bear their family name. The property was granted royal manor status by Governor Richard Nicoll of New York Colony in 1666.

In 1752 with the death of Brinley Sylvester, the estate passed to his daughter, Mary (Nathaniel's great-great granddaughter), and her husband Thomas Dering. The Manor remained in the Dering family for another two generations before debt forced the sale of the property. Dering records do not appear in any number in the Archive. The property was purchased from the Derings in 1827 by Samuel Smith Gardiner, a Suffolk County and New York attorney who had married into a different branch of Sylvester descendents.

Samuel Gardiner's wife was Mary Catherine L'Hommedieu, the daughter of Ezra L'Hommedieu, a very prominent attorney, national and state political representative, Suffolk County Clerk for some twenty years, and a great-great grandson of Nathaniel Sylvester. Although Ezra L'Hommedieu never owned Sylvester Manor, the collection houses a substantial volume of his papers. The Gardiners produced three daughters, Mary L'Hommedieu Gardiner, Phoebe Dayton Gardiner (sometimes spelled Phebe, particularly in earlier records), and Frances (Fanny) Gardiner.

Mary L'Hommedieu Gardiner wed Eben Norton Horsford, a professor of chemistry at Harvard University, a pioneer in food science, and founder of the Rumford Chemical Works in Providence, Rhode Island. Mary and E.N. produced four daughters, Lillian (also Lilian), Mary Katherine (Kate), Gertrude, and Mary Gardiner (Mamie). Mary died in 1855, and E.N. Horsford married her sister Phoebe two years later. Phoebe gave birth to one daughter, Cornelia Conway Fenton (referred to as Nellie in her younger years). Samuel Gardiner died in 1859, passing the Manor to Phoebe and E.N. Horsford, at which time it became a summer home, as the Horsfords were well established in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Following her mother's death in 1903, Cornelia Horsford, who never married, retained the property until her death in 1944. The property then passed to the Fiske family, a family of Boston attorneys into which Gertrude Horsford had married. Augustus Henry Fiske briefly inherited the Manor before passing the estate to his son Andrew, who held the Manor from 1949 until his death in 1992. His widow, Alice Hench Fiske, retained life interest until her death in 2006.

The original house was probably constructed soon after Nathaniel and Grissell's arrival. Provisioning activities likely ended in 1680 at Nathaniel's death, but farming and trading continued. After Brinley Sylvester, a successful merchant operating regionally in the New England and New York sphere, tore down the first dwelling, he constructed the current surviving house around 1735. By the time Samuel Gardiner became the owner of the manor in the early 19th century, the Manor property had been significantly reduced and much of the remaining arable land was leased to local farmers. When the Horsfords took possession of the manor, they hosted members of Boston's intellectual and social elite during the summers. While some small-scale farming continued, the existing gardens were formalized and expanded. The Horsfords set up monuments and fenced enclosures, including two extant graveyards, to relate their understanding of the landscape features of the property's history. After her mother's death, Cornelia Horsford maintained the home as a summer residence; continuing work on the gardens and overseeing a substantial renovation to the residence by the well-known architect, Henry Bacon, in 1908.

The estate currently comprises approximately 243 acres including the manor house, several subsidiary houses, as well as barns and out-buildings, most of which date to the nineteenth century. Sylvester Manor remains in the possession of family descendents and is today being cultivated as an educational organic farm. In addition, nine seasons of field schools were conducted by archaeological teams from the University of Massachusetts Boston, providing further information on the original buildings and activities conducted on the site. See http://www.fiskecenter.umb.edu/excavations.htm for information on the archaeological activities.

Due to the large number of individuals whose records are included in the Archive, more detailed Biographical Notes are made at the appropriate level of the finding aid.

Sources:

Sylvester Manor Archive, MSS 208, Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries.

Thompson, Benjamin F. History of Long Island, Vol. II. Port Washington, N.Y.: Ira Friedman, Inc., 1962

Arrangement

Materials are divided into record groups by their general family affiliation (Sylvester, L'Hommedieu, Gardiner, Horsford, and Fiske) and subdivided into series consisting of individuals' papers. Women that crossed family divisions, such as Mary Catherine L'Hommedieu (Gardiner), and Phoebe Gardiner (Horsford), were included in their married family because most records date from after marriage. Sub-series are identified by the document or material types. Materials are arranged depending on the record type; correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent and then chronologically, most other materials are arranged chronologically except where noted.

Materials are divided into record groups by their family affiliation (Sylvester, L'Hommedieu, Gardiner, Horsford, and Fiske). These record groups are then subdivided into series consisting of individuals' papers. Women that crossed family divisions, such as Mary Catherine L'Hommedieu Gardiner, and Phoebe Dayton Gardiner Horsford, were included in their married family because most records date from after marriage. Subseries are grouped by the document or material types. Most materials are arranged chronologically except where noted; correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent and then chronologically where applicable.

RECORD GROUP I: Sylvester and Early Familes

Series A: Sylvester Family

Series B: Brinley Family

Series C: Lloyd Family

RECORD GROUP II: L'Hommedieu Family

Series A: Benjamin L'Hommedieu II

Series B: Ezra L'Hommedieu Subseries 1: Correspondence Subseries 2: Financial and Accounting Materials Subseries 3: Legal Documents Subseries 4: Court and Legal Case Documents Subseries 5: Published Materials Subseries 6: US Government Documents and Reports Subseries 7: New York Government Documents and Reports Subseries 8: Upstate New York Land Materials Subseries 9: Personal Papers and Poetry

Series C: Mary Catherine Havens L'Hommedieu Subseries 1: Correspondence Subseries 2: Legal and Financial Materials

Series D: Thomas Lester

Series E: Sylvester Dering

L'Hommedieu: Oversize

RECORD GROUP III: Gardiner Family

Series A: Samuel Smith Gardiner Subseries 1: Correspondence Subseries 2: Financial Documents and Papers Subseries 3: Account Books and Ledgers Subseries 4: Legal Papers Subseries 5: Government and Political Publications Subseries 6: Printed Materials Subseries 7: Personal Manuscripts and Papers

Series B: Mary Catherine L'Hommedieu Gardiner Subseries 1: Correspondence and Additional Materials

Gardiner: Oversize

RECORD GROUP IV: Horsford Family

Series A: Eben Norton Horsford Subseries 1a: Academic and Family CorrespondenceSubseries 1b: Wellesley College Correspondence Subseries 1c: Rumford Chemical Works Subseries 1d: American Civil War Army Rations Subseries 2: Financial Documents Subseries 3: Shelter Island and Cambridge Materials Subseries 4: Personal Journals and Notebooks Subseries 5: Scientific Papers Subseries 6: Business and Patent Papers Subseries 7: University, Associations and Club Materials Subseries 8: Norumbega/Northmen Materials Subseries 9: Travel and Event Materials Subseries 10: Newspapers and Magazines Subseries 11: Poetry and Miscellaneous Materials Subseries 12: Maps

Series B: Mary L'Hommedieu Gardiner Horsford Subseries 1: Correspondence Subseries 2: Manuscripts and Printed Materials

Series C: Phoebe Dayton Gardiner Horsford Subseries 1: Correspondence Subseries 2: Financial and Legal Subseries 3: Notebooks and Printed Materials

Series D: Mary Leila Horsford Farlow (Lilian) Subseries 1: Correspondence Subseries 2: Notebooks and Printed Materials

Series E: Mary Katherine Horsford (Kate) Subseries 1: Correspondence Subseries 2: Notebooks and Printed Materials

Series F: Gertrude Hubbard Horsford Fiske

Series G: Mary Gardiner Horsford Curtis (Mamie)

Series H: Cornelia Conway Felton Horsford Subseries 1: Correspondence Subseries 2: Archaeology and Research Materials Subseries 3: Financial and Sylvester Manor Materials Subseries 4: Geneology and Local History Subseries 5: Manuscripts and Other Materials Subseries 6: Artwork and Sketchbooks Subseries 7: Plans and Blueprints

Series I: Assorted Horsford Materials Subseries 1: Correspondence Subseries 2: History and Genealogy Materials Subseries 3: Financial and Sylvester Manor Materials Subseries 4: Memorial Programs Subseries 5: Newspaper, Clippings, and Scrapbooks Subseries 6: Poetry and Manuscripts Subseries 7: Gardening Materials Subseries 8: Artwork and Engravings

Horsford: Oversize

RECORD GROUP V: Fiske Family

RECORD GROUP VI: Photographic Material

Series A: People and Portraits

Series B: Sylvester Manor, 27 Craigie Street

Series C: Research Images

Series D: Photo Albums

Series E: Glass Plate Negatives and Slides

RECORD GROUP VII: Artifacts

Scope and Contents

The Sylvester Manor Archive includes correspondence, financial records, manuscripts, photographs, artworks, and realia from the owners and related family members of the Sylvester Manor. These materials document over 350 years of American history. The earliest items are legal and financial documentation such as land deeds pertaining to the purchase of property on Long Island, and includes the signature of noted Mantaukett tribe sachem Wyandanch. The earliest items also document Atlantic trade of the late 17th and early 18th century through wills and ledgers. Later records are the largely the personal records of the individuals who lived at Sylvester Manor, several of whom had noteworthy careers in their respective fields. The records of three individuals comprise the bulk of the collection: Ezra L'Hommedieu, a prominent attorney and politician; Samuel Smith Gardiner, a Long Island and New York attorney; and Eben Norton Horsford, an early leader in food chemistry and owner of the Rumford Chemical Works. Other significant groups of records include the early records of the Sylvester, Brinley, and Lloyd families, as well as the papers of Cornelia Horsford. A significant number of photographs dating from approximately the 1870's through the 1930's document Sylvester Manor and its grounds as well as members of the Horsford and Fiske families.

Subjects

People

Sylvester, Brinley, 1694-1752; Smith, John, 1752-1816; Stanton, Edwin M. (Edwin McMasters), 1814-1869; Sylvester, Grissell, 1635-1687; Sylvester, Constant; Sylvester, Giles, 1657-1704; Tyler, Julia Gardiner, 1820-1889; Van Buren, Martin, 1782-1862; Tallmadge, Benjamin, 1754-1835; Tyler, John, 1790-1862; Wyandanch, Sachem, approximately 1620-1659; Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826; Jay, John, 1745-1829; Jackson, Helen Hunt, 1830-1885; Horsford, Phoebe Dayton Gardiner, 1826-1903; L'Hommedieu, Mary Catherine Havens, 1765-1843; L'Hommedieu, Benjamin, 1694-1755; Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909; Lloyd, James; Lloyd, Henry, 1685-1763; Liebig, Justus, Freiherr von, 1803-1873; Lester, Thomas; Palmer, Alice Freeman, 1855-1902; Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 1807-1882; Farlow, Mary Leila (Lilian), 1848-1927; Durant, H. F. (Henry Fowle), 1822-1881; Dyckman, William N.; Dering, Sylvester, 1758-1820; Dewey, Melvil, 1851-1931; Clinton, George, 1739-1812; Curtis, Mary Gardiner Horsford (Mamie), 1855-1893; Botta, Anne C. Lynch (Anne Charlotte Lynch), 1815-1891 (Role: Correspondent); Brinley, Francis, 1632-1719; Barnard, Frederick A. P. (Frederick Augustus Porter), 1809-1889; Horsford, Mary Katherine (Kate), 1850-1927; Horsford, Jerediah, 1791-1875; Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 1809-1894; Sylvester, Nathaniel, 1610-1680; Hall, James, 1811-1898; Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885; Gelston, David; Gardiner, Mary Catherine L'Hommedieu, 1806-1838; Gardiner, Lion, 1599-1663; Gardiner, David; Floyd, William, 1734-1821; Floyd, Nicoll, 1762-1852; Fiske, Gertrude Hubbard Horsford, 1852-; Fiske, Augustus Henry, 1880-1944; Horsford, Cornelia, 1861-; Wilson, George F. (George Francis), 1818-1883; Fields, Annie, 1834-1915 (Role: Correspondent)

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open to researchers. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:

Identification of item, date (if known); Sylvester Manor Archive; MSS 208; box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries.

Provenance

The Sylvester Manor Archive consists of materials retrieved from the Sylvester Manor House on Shelter Island. These materials were donated to NYU by Eben Fiske Ostby. Alice Hench Fiske intitiated the donation, and in 2008, Mac Griswold oversaw the process with the assistance of Melanie Martin.

Appraisal

Approximately 50 nitrate negatives, found in the repository during processing in 2016, were described in the finding aid and digitized. The nitrate negatives were transferred to New York City for safe destruction once the digitization process was completed.

Separated Materials

Selected printed materials have been removed to Fales Special collections and cataloged. These items are noted in the finding aid. To see a list of cataloged items, search for "Sylvester Manor Archive" in BobCat.

Related Archival Material

Dering Papers, Shelter Island Historical Society, Shelter Island, New York.

Horsford Family Papers, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Rumford Chemical Company Records MSS 13 SG 2, Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence, Rhode Island.

Collection processed by

Colin Wells, with the assistance of Liza Harrell-Edge and Noah Gelfand, 2008-2010. Description revised and enhanced by Rhyannon J. Rodriguez , December 2015

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-02-06 14:16:53 -0500.
Language: Description is in English

Processing Information Note

Between 2008-2010, the Sylvester Manor Archive was arranged into record groups by family affiliation, then subdivided into series consisting of individuals' papers, and then chronologically. The finding aid published in 2010 consisted of record titles that described both creator and genre. Sponsored by the R.D.L. Gardiner Foundation, descriptive enhancements were added to the finding aid from 2014-2015. Scope and content notes in the correspondence series of Record Groups I, III, IV, and V now include physical details and subject information about the personal and professional lives of the Sylvester, Brinley, Lloyd, Gardiner, Horsford, and Fiske families. Record Group I also includes descriptive enhancements to its financial and legal records. During the course of these revisions, creator and genre information were separated into different descriptive fields; some items of similar genre or subject were consolidated; and some items received preservation treatment. For these reasons, the current finding aid reflects changes in box and folder locations.

The Sylvester Manor Archive finding aid published in 2010 without these descriptive enhancements is available by request.

Approximately 50 nitrate negatives, found in the repository during processing in 2016, were described in the finding aid and digitized. The nitrate negatives were transferred to New York City for safe destruction once the digitization process was completed.

Revisions to this Guide

January 2022: Edited by Anna Björnsson McCormick to remove dead links

Repository

Fales Library and Special Collections
Fales Library and Special Collections
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012