Riker family papers
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Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
This collection contains the financial records of the Riker family, dating from 1869 to 1950. Family members documented in the collection include John L. Riker, John J. Riker, Charles L. Riker, Henry L. Riker, Mary J. Riker, Edith B. Riker, Margaret Riker Haskell, Selina Schroeder Riker, and Lavinia R. Strong. Materials in the collection include account books, receipts, correspondence, real estate records, estate records, and tax records. It also includes photographic negatives relating to estate at Sea Bright, New Jersey (1936-1944), photographic prints of the Riker family homestead, mezzotint portraits of John L. Riker and an unidentified man (circa 1880s), flyers detailing the like of John Jackson Riker from the Co-Operative Press (October 26, 1910), and maps of Westchester County property.
Biographical note
The Riker family ancestry extends back to the early Dutch settlers of New York, specifically to the von Rycken family of Amsterdam, where several members of the von Rycken family were successful in establishing Dutch independence alongside William I, Prince of Orange in the Dutch Revolt. The first American settler of the Rycken family was Abraham Rycken, who settled in New Netherland in 1636. Later in 1654, Abraham would acquire a land in the Township of Newtown in present day Queens County. On this land, the Riker family established the Riker Homestead and burial ground.
John Lawrence Riker (1830-1909) was a prominent New York City merchant, best known as the founder of J.L. & D.S. Riker, a drug and chemical trading firm. He married Mary Anne Jackson in 1857. His first son, John Jackson Riker, was born in 1858 and became a partner in his father's firm in 1888. On April 20, 1881, John Jackson married Edith M. Bartow in Brooklyn, New York. In December of 1901, John Jackson Riker was elected president of the newly incorporated J. L. & D. S. Riker, Inc. John J. Riker held many other leadership positions including director of the Farmers' Loan & Trust Company and incorporator and director of the Mutual Trust Company in Westchester County, New York. He died in 1932.
Arrangement
The collection is unorganized.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains the financial records of the Riker family, dating from 1869 to 1950. Family members documented in the collection include John L. Riker, John J. Riker, Charles L. Riker, Henry L. Riker, Mary J. Riker, Edith B. Riker, Margaret Riker Haskell, Selina Schroeder Riker, and Lavinia R. Strong. Materials in the collection include account books, receipts, correspondence, real estate records, estate records, and tax records. It also includes photographic negatives relating to estate at Sea Bright, New Jersey (1936-1944), photographic prints of the Riker family homestead, mezzotint portraits of John L. Riker and an unidentified man (circa 1880s), flyers detailing the like of John Jackson Riker from the Co-Operative Press (October 26, 1910), and maps of Westchester County property.
Subjects
Families
Genres
People
Topics
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright status of images in the collection have not been evaluated.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Riker family papers, 1985.003, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Michael M. Smith, 1985.
About this Guide
Processing Information
The collection was surveyed and processed by Miriama Diallo in July-August 2016. The finding aid was written by John Zarrillo, with the assistance of Diallo, in August 2016.
The collection included approximately three cubic feet of cancelled checks and receipts that were discarded during processing. An inventory of the collection as it was recieved by BHS is available in the collection's accession file.
