Peter Curtenius papers
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Abstract
Peter Curtenius served as the United States Marshal of the District of New York during the War of 1812. The collection primarily relates to his duties as Marshal, though there are also deeds and other documents pertaining to the Curtenius family's real estate holdings.
Biographical note
Peter Curtenius was born in New York City to Peter Theobaldus Curtenius (1734-1796) and Catharine Goelet (d. 1806). Peter T. Curtenius, a merchant by trade, served as a member of the New York Committee of Correspondence and later as a Lieutenant-Colonel of the Militia of the City of New York and as Commissary General, in charge of purchasing provisions for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He also held the position of New York State Auditor from 1782 to 1796. The family had six children: Peter, Philip (a merchant who died in 1802), Mary, Elizabeth, Jane (who married Elbert Roosevelt), and Catharine (who married Reverend John Dunlap).
Peter Curtenius was appointed Marshal of the District of New York by Thomas Jefferson in 1806. He served in this post until about the end of the War of 1812. During his tenure as Marshal, Curtenius maintained registers of the approximately 1,500 British citizens living in New York. Curtenius also monitored British prisoners of war and oversaw the U.S. District Court, District of New York. He had a wife, Mary Ann, and their son Frederick fought in South America against Spanish rule in the 1820s.
Peter Curtenius died in New York City in 1817.
Arrangement
The collection is organized in four series by topic or form:
Series I. Correspondence
Series II. Financial Documents
Series III. Prisoner and Alien Files
Series IV. Family Real Estate
Papers within each folder are arranged chronologically. The first three series relate to Peter Curtenius's work as U.S. Marshal for the District of New York. In the fourth series are personal papers related to his family's real estate holdings.
Scope and Contents
The materials in the first three series of the Peter Curtenius Papers relate to Curtenius's role as U.S. Marshal of the District of New York before and during the War of 1812. The papers consist mainly of correspondence between Curtenius and various government agencies, financial documents related to expenses generated by the Marshal's Office, and papers related to civilian prisoners of the U.S. District Court, District of New York and British prisoners of war. Some of the papers in these series were generated during the tenure of John Smith, Curtenius's successor as Marshal of the District of New York.
The fourth series consists of personal papers related to the Curtenius family's real estate holdings. It contains releases, deeds, grants, indentures, surveys, and other documents related to the family's land transactions and the transactions of their relatives and/or business partners.
Presidential signatures are found in:
Box 1, Folder 3: Department of State Correspondence (multiple letters written by James Monroe)
Box 3, Folder 4: Land Grants and Patents (Martin Van Buren's signature)
Box 3, Folder 4: Land Grants and Patents (John Tyler's signature)
Subjects
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Conditions Governing Use
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 Peter Curtenius Papers, MS 142, The New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
About this Guide
Repository
Series I. Correspondence, 1808-1815, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Series I consists of letters written by Peter Curtenius (or on his behalf) or letters from various government agencies containing instructions for Curtenius in his capacity as U.S. Marshal of the District of New York. Most of the correspondence is between Curtenius and the Department of State (during James Monroe's tenure as Secretary of State), the Department of the Treasury (during Albert Gallatin's tenure as Treasury Secretary), and the Commissary General of Prisoners of War, John Mason. Much of the correspondence, particularly from the State Department and the Commissary General, is related to the status of British citizens living in New York City or British prisoners of war during the War of 1812, though the Treasury Department also issued instructions regarding civilian debtors. There is also some correspondence from the Treasury Department related to the 1810 census.
Arrangement
Series I is arranged alphabetically by correspondent or by the topic of the correspondence.
Correspondence Re: British Aliens and Prisoners of War, 1812-1813, 1815, undated, inclusive
Correspondence Re: District of New York, 1809, 1812-1813, undated, inclusive
Department of State Correspondence, April 1811-July 1813, inclusive
Department of the Treasury Correspondence, 1808, 1810, 1813, inclusive
New York State Comptroller's Office Correspondence, 1813, 1815, inclusive
Office of the Commissary General of Prisoners of War Correspondence, April-July 1813, inclusive
Alienated Envelopes, 1812-1813, inclusive
Series II. Financial Documents, 1806-1819, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Series II consists of documents related to the finances of the Marshal's Office, District of New York. There are five record books which detail the expenses involved in the U.S. government's attachment of specific vessels and their cargos, including captures by privateers and Navy warships. There is also a record book which lists operating expenses generated by the U.S. District Court, District of New York, namely compensation for the jurors, marshals, clerks, attorneys, and constables. In addition to the record books, there are bills, receipts, orders to pay, and other documents for expenses related to the Marshal's Office, mostly pertaining to ships attached by the government and the maintenance of British prisoners. Some of the bills and requests for payment are from 1810 census takers, while others are more general requests from individuals for various services rendered to the District Court.
Arrangement
Series II is arranged alphabetically by topic and form.
Bills, Receipts, and Requests for Payment (mostly District Court), 1806, 1809-1815, 1819, undated, inclusive
British Prisoners of War Expenses, 1812-1814, 1817, undated, inclusive
Census Expenses, 1810-1811, undated, inclusive
Naval Expenses, 1801-1802, 1808-1813, undated, inclusive
Record Book, 1806-1809, inclusive
Record Book, 1809-1810, inclusive
Record Book, 1810-1812, inclusive
Record Book (Court Expenses), August 1810-December 1813, inclusive
Record Book, 1812-1813, inclusive
Record Book, 1812-1813, 1816, inclusive
Series III. Prisoner and Alien Files, 1806-1817 (bulk, 1811-1814), inclusive
Scope and Contents
Series III consists of discharge orders, receipts of prisoners, and bail notices generated by the U.S. District Court, District of New York. There are also reports and lists of British prisoners of war, some from the ships "Acasta," "Ocean," "Peacock," "B. Franklin," "Saratoga," "Quebec," and "Macedonian." Of particular note is a ledger maintained by Curtenius on British prisoners of war, including information on which vessel they were captured from, the length of their confinement, and rations issued. A small portion of the series relates to British "aliens" living in New York, and there is also a document listing American prisoners of war permitted to return to the United States.
Arrangement
Series III is arranged alphabetically by topic and form.
American Prisoners of War, undated
Bail Bonds, 1808-1814, undated, inclusive
British Citizens Reports, 1812-1814, undated, inclusive
British Prisoners of War (Reports and Lists), 1812-1813, 1817, undated, inclusive
Discharge Orders, 1809-1813, undated, inclusive
Receipts of Prisoners and Orders into Custody, 1806, 1811-1813, inclusive
Record Book (British Prisoners of War), 1812-1813, inclusive
Series IV. Family Real Estate, 1748-1844, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Series IV consists of surveys, deeds, indentures, mortgages, a field book, and maps of land primarily in Oswego County, Oneida County, Lansingburgh, and New York City. The documents relate to the Curtenius family's real estate holdings and details purchases they made, especially the Scriba Purchase, Fonda Purchase, and Roosevelt Purchase. Many documents in this series relate to the splitting of the estate of Peter T. Curtenius, father of Peter Curtenius, between his children and his wife, Catharine, and the settling of the debts of Philip Curtenius, Peter Curtenius's brother, following Philip's death. This series also contains the will of Philip Goelet, the maternal grandfather of Peter Curtenius. Of note are deeds signed by Martin Van Buren and John Tyler authorizing the sale of land in Detroit to Joseph Kirkland of Oneida County, a possible relative of the Curtenius family or a purchaser of some of their holdings.
Papers in this series are especially fragile and should be handled with care.
Arrangement
Series IV is arranged alphabetically by form.