Alexander papers
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Abstract
The Alexander Papers is one of four discrete but closely related collections, known together as the Alexander - Stuyvesant - Rutherfurd Collections. The Alexander Papers consists of the papers of James Alexander, James' wife, Mary Alexander, and their son, William Alexander (Lord Stirling). Material includes correspondence, surveys of tracts of land, mostly in New Jersey, contracts, wills, deeds, conveyances, accounts, bills, receipts, invoices, sight drafts, time drafts, promissory notes, memoranda, writs, warrants, depositions, affidavits, briefs, legal opinions, legal arguments, judgments, minutes, and petitions.
Biographical Note
Biographical Note for the Alexander - Stuyvesant - Rutherfurd Collections
Chronology
For more information on some of the persons represented in these collections consult:
Biographical Dictionaries
Dictionary of American Biography- James and William Alexander, Lewis Morris Rutherfurd
American National Biography- James, Mary, and William Alexander, Lewis Morris Rutherfurd, Henry White
Dictionary of National Biography- John Reid
Books
Rutherfurd, Livingston Family Records and Events New York, De Vinne Press, 1894
Valentine, Alan Chester Lord Stirling New York, Oxford University Press, 1969
Arrangement
The Alexander Papers are organized in twelve series:
Series 1: James Alexander, 1686-1764
Series 2: William Alexander, 1744-circa 1786
Series 3: Mary Alexander, 1726-1766
Series 4: Other Correspondents, 1697-1815
Series 5: Legal Papers, 1665-1817
Series 6: Surveys, [1681]-1804
Series 7: Court Papers, 1684-1818
Series 8: New Jersey Proprietors, 1707-1797
Series 9: Colony/State of New Jersey, 1674-1787
Series 10: Colony/State of New York, 1683-1785
Series 11: Business Papers, 1699-1813
Series 12: Miscellaneous Items, 1712-[1883]
Scope and Contents
Scope and Content for the Alexander - Stuyvesant - Rutherfurd Collections
The Alexander Papers is one of four discrete but closely related collections. The largest and the smallest of the four collections, the Alexander Papers and the John Rutherfurd Papers, were originally a single donation, made in the late 19th Century. The remaining two collections, the Rutherfurd Family Papers and the Stuyvesant-Rutherfurd Papers, were donated separately in the 1970's.
Together, these collections chronicle seven generations of an extended family in New York an d New Jersey over the course of two centuries. The founders of the family were James and Mary Alexander, who married in 1721. James Alexander had merchant business, but was primarily active as an attorney and government official in New York and New Jersey. Most of the material in the Alexander Papers derives from James Alexander's legal practice in both colonies, and from his tenures as Surveyor General of New Jersey, and Attorney General of New York. Other material in the Alexander Papers documents Mary Alexander's merchant business in New York, and the business activities and pre-Revolutionary military service of their son, William Alexander (Lord Stirling).
While the daughters of James and Mary Alexander are underrepresented in these collections, their husbands are represented to a greater or lesser extent in each of the collections described below. The Alexanders' four daughters married men who were or would become leading figures in New York and New Jersey. Mary married Peter Van Brugh Livingston, Susanna married John Reid, and Elizabeth married John Stevens. Catherine Alexander married Walter Rutherfurd.
The marriage of Catherine and Walter Rutherfurd also produced a son, John Rutherfurd, who evidently inherited the bulk of his father's and grandfather's papers. In 1847, Stuyvesant Rutherfurd (a grandson John Rutherfurd and nephew of Peter Gerard Stuyvesant), changed his name to Rutherfurd Stuyvesant in accordance with a provision of Peter Gerard Stuyvesant's will. Rutherfurd Stuyvesant evidently inherited at least some of the papers of his uncle. The Rutherfurd collections contain material created by or pertaining to the Alexander family, and the Stuyvesant-Rutherfurd Papers contain material created by or pertaining to the Alexanders and the Stuyvesants.
The material the Rutherfurd collections relates primarily to the landholdings and business undertakings of a wealthy and socially prominent family. The Stuyvesant-Rutherfurd Papers documents the activities of later generations of that family. By the mid-nineteenth century, the family had become more occupied in strictly leisure activities.
Various descendants of John Rutherfurd donated the collections described in these finding aids to the New-York Historical Society, and the collections extensively document the business dealings, professional activities, and family relationships of the Alexanders during the 18th Century, and the Rutherfurds from the 18th until the early 20th centuries.
Finding aids to the other three collections:
The Rutherfurd Family Papers, http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/nyhs/rutherfam.html
The John Rutherfurd Papers, http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/nyhs/rutherjohn.html
The Stuyvesant-Rutherfurd Papers, http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/nyhs/stuyruth.html
Scope and Content for the Alexander Papers
The Alexander Papers consists of the papers of James Alexander, James' wife, Mary Alexander, and their son, William Alexander (Lord Stirling). Material includes correspondence, surveys of tracts of land, mostly in New Jersey, contracts, wills, deeds, conveyances, accounts, bills, receipts, invoices, sight drafts, time drafts, promissory notes, memoranda, writs, warrants, depositions, affidavits, briefs, legal opinions, legal arguments, judgments, minutes, and petitions. The papers of William Alexander includes a few documents relating to the sale, sickness, and burial of slaves.
Series 1, 2, and 3 contain correspondence, personal papers, and material such as accounts, bills, receipts, and invoices, that document the merchant businesses of James, Mary, and William Alexander.
Series 5, 6, and 7 contain material arranged by type, and in addition to items that relate to James, Mary, and William Alexander, contain items that relate to other persons. In the Court Papers series, for example, no distinction is made between suits or cases in which a member of the Alexander family was a litigant or counsel and those in which other persons were litigants or counsel. Similarly, indentures (excepting servant indentures) to which one Alexander Family member was a party, are interfiled in the Legal Papers series with those to which no family member was a party. Surveys made for members of the Alexander family are interfiled alphabetically with those of other landowners in the Surveys series.
Most of the material in the collection pertains to, or was created as a result of, James Alexander's various careers as a merchant, attorney, and agent of the Council of Proprietors of the Eastern Division of New Jersey. Although James Alexander was intimately involved in the defense of John Peter Zenger who was tried for seditious libel in New York in 1735, there is no material in the collection relating to the Zenger trial.
Similarly, the collection contains no material regarding William Alexander's suit in the late 1750's to have himself recognized as Earl of Stirling.
Very little of the material was in original order. When enclosures could be identified as belonging with letters, the enclosures were kept with the letters that enclosed them. Thus, a deed or will enclosed with a letter would remain with the letter in the Correspondence series; the letter would not be placed with the deed or will in the Legal Papers series. The only exceptions to this are papers relating to the court cases of DePeyster vs. Prevoost (Box 50), and Medina vs. Het (Box 51). In these instances, correspondence and legal papers have been kept in the Court Papers series, because this material appears to have been kept as a unit by James Alexander.
In all series, William Alexander appears in the alphabet under the name Alexander, William rather than under the name Stirling.
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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 Alexander Papers, MS 8, New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Lewis Morris Rutherfurd, 1884