George Folsom papers
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
Correspondence and a few papers, 1821-1866, primarily letters received by George Folsom (1802-1869) from authors, politicians, historians, artists, librarians, booksellers, and ethnologists. Included is material relating to family matters, his service as New York State Senator (Native American Party, or Know Nothings), 1845-1847, and chargé d'affaires to the Netherlands, 1850-1853, as well as his associations with the American Antiquarian Society, New-York Historical Society, and other learned societies.
Biographical Note
In his long career George Folsom (1802-1869) adopted varied, interchangeable, and occasionally overlapping roles, among them attorney, historian, author, librarian, antiquarian, politician, diplomat, and ethnologist. He was a member (and sometime officer) of the American Antiquarian Society, New-York Historical Society, Maine Historical Society, Vermont Historical Society, American Geographical and Statistical Society, Athenaeum Association, Century Association, Union League Club, and American Ethnological Society, of which he was president for the last decade of his life. Most notably, he sat in the New York State Senate (1845-1847), and served as chargé d'affaires (the diplomatic official who heads an embassy in the absence of an ambassador) to the Netherlands (1850-1853).
Chronology
Arrangement
The collection is housed in ten boxes. Boxes 1 through 9 are arranged chronologically by date of letter, or, when that is lacking, by date of postmark. Letters from select correspondents, which span several years, are grouped into distinct folders, and are filed after the general correspondence for their initial year. For example, the letters from Albert Gallatin, which span 1834-1844 (Box 2, Folder 7), follow the general correspondence for 1834 July-December (Box 2, Folder 6).
Box 10 includes correspondence that is undated and grouped by recipient (Folder 1, family), place (Folders 2-4, Maine, Massachusetts, and Europe), or by correspondent (Folders 5-6, arranged alphabetically). Undated letters and loose covers from unidentified correspondents are in Folder 7.
Scope and Contents
The George Folsom Papers consist primarily of letters he received from an expansive network of historians, authors, librarians, scholars, ethnologists, geographers, clergymen, politicians, diplomats, club members, and family. They span from 1821 (the year before he graduated from Harvard) to 1866 (three years before he died at Rome). The chronology above is a guide to determining which of his myriad activities are likely to be referenced by the letters in a given year.
The collection includes extended correspondence from George Bancroft (1800-1891), American historian and statesman (Box 3, Folder 4); August Belmont (1813-1890), German-American politician, financier, and Folsom's successor as chargé d'affaires to the Netherlands (Box 8, Folder 4); John Romeyn Brodhead (1814-1873), American historical scholar (Box 4, Folder 3); Edward Everett (1794-1865), American politician, pastor, educator, diplomat, and orator (Box 2, Folder 4); Albert Gallatin (1761-1849), Swiss-American politician, diplomat, ethnologist and linguist (Box 2, Folder 7); Jared Sparks (1789-1866), American historian, educator, and Unitarian minister (Box 4, Folder 4); and Peter G. Stuyvesant (1778-1847), Folsom's uncle through marriage (Box 4, Folder 5).
Other items of note include an 1838 letter from Harvard librarian and Unitarian minister Thaddeus Mason Harris (1768–1842) regarding the first publication of the New-York Historical Society's manuscript copy of John Winthrop's 1630 sermon "A Modell of Christian Charity" (Box 3, Folder 7); an 1845 letter from geographer Henry R. Schoolcraft (1793-1864) regarding a census of the Native American population (Box 4, Folder 14); and an 1852 letter from artist and co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Eastman Johnson (1824-1906), who found the pictures in Florence somewhat disappointing (Box 7, Folder 6).
Invitations, receipts, and the occasional bookseller's prospectus are scattered throughout the collection.
Subjects
Organizations
Genres
People
Topics
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 George Folsom Papers, MS 222, New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Wesley A. Crozier, 1977.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Archivist Joseph Ditta processed this collection in 2017. Updated 2018.
Repository
Box 1: Letters, 1821-1832
Letters, 1821-1824
Letters, 1825
Scope and Contents
See 1825 March 4, from Nathaniel Hazelton Carter, a Dartmouth professor who lost his position after the Dartmouth College Case (a.k.a., Dartmouth College v. Woodward).
See 1825 May 24, introducing Folsom to Stephen Longfellow, U.S. Representative from Maine.
Letters, 1826 February-August
Letters, 1826 October-December
Letters, 1827
Letters, 1828-1829
Letters, 1830
Letters, 1831
Scope and Contents
See 1831 October 24, Folsom's certificate of election to membership in the American Antiquarian Society.
Letters, 1832
Box 2: Letters, 1833-1835 (April)
Letters, 1833 January-April
Letters, 1833 May-June
Letters, 1833 July-December
Letters from Edward Everett, 1832-1852
Scope and Contents
On politics and the acquisition of a portrait of Hugo Grotius. Edward Everett (1794-1865) was an American politician, pastor, educator, diplomat, and orator.
Letters, 1834 January-June
Letters, 1834 July-December
Letters from Albert Gallatin, 1834-1844
Scope and Contents
On Native American tribes and languages, and documents in London relating to the colonial history of New York. Refer to the Manuscript Department card catalog for Folsom's responses to Gallatin. Albert Gallatin (1761-1849) was a Swiss-American politician, diplomat, ethnologist and linguist.
Letters, 1835 January-April
Box 3: Letters, 1835 (May)-1840
Letters, 1835 May-August
Letters, 1835 September-December
Letters, 1836
Letters from George Bancroft, 1836-1850
Scope and Contents
On historical and literary matters. George Bancroft (1800-1891) was an American historian and statesman.
Letters on seamstresses, 1836-1837
Scope and Contents
Includes two copies of a printed broadside, Order of Excercises, for the Public Meeting in behalf of the Tailoresses and Seamstresses' Benevolent Society, Wednesday Evening, December 28th, 1836, and three letters from Irish-American publisher and economist Mathew Carey dated 1837 (January 24, February 1, and February 7).
Letters, 1837
Letters, 1838 January-June
Scope and Contents
See 1838 April 11, from Thaddeus Mason Harris, at Boston, to Folsom at the New-York Historical Society, regarding publication by the Massachusetts Historical Society of John Winthrop's 1630 sermon "A Model of Christian Charity." Harris (1768–1842) was a Harvard librarian and Unitarian minister.
Letters, 1838 July-December
Letters, 1839 January-June
Letters, 1839 July-December
Letters, 1840 January-June
Letters, 1840 July-December
Box 4: Letters, 1841-1845 (March)
Letters, 1841 January-July
Letters, 1841 August-December
Letters from John Romeyn Brodhead, 1841-1843
Scope and Contents
From The Hague and London, reporting on Brodhead's progress in procuring material from European archives to fill gaps in New York State archives. John Romeyn Brodhead (1814-1873) was an American historical scholar.
Letters from Jared Sparks, 1841-1859
Scope and Contents
On historical and literary matters. Jared Sparks (1789-1866) was an American historian, educator, and Unitarian minister.
Letters from Peter G. Stuyvesant, 1841-1847
Scope and Contents
Letters and some papers from New York City, mostly concerning the controversy surrounding the opening of Stuyvesant Square. Peter G. Stuyvesant (1778-1847) was the maternal uncle of George Folsom's wife, Margaret Cornelia (Winthrop) Folsom.
Letters, 1842
Letters, 1843 January-May
Letters, 1843 June-September
Letters, 1844 January-July
Letters, 1844 August-December
Letters, 1845 January
Letters, 1845 February
Letters, 1845 March 1-12
Letters, 1845 March 15-31
Scope and Contents
See 1845 March 31, from Henry R. Schoolcraft on a census of the Native American population, and the New-York Historical Society's committee on the subject of a new name for the United States. Schoolcraft (1793-1864) was an American geographer.
Box 5: Letters, 1845 (April)-1846 (June)
Letters, 1845 April 1-12
Letters, 1845 April 16-30
Letters, 1845 May-June
Letters, 1845 July-December
Letters to Folsom in Albany, N.Y., as senator, [1845-1847]
Letters, 1846 January-February 14
Letters, 1846 February 17-March 12
Letters, 1846 March 15-April
Letters, 1846 May-June
Box 6: Letters, 1846 (July)-1848
Letters, 1846 July-December
Letters, 1847 January
Letters, 1847 February
Letters, 1847 March
Scope and Contents
See 1847 March 2, from Townsend Harris, president of the New York City Board of Education, on the establishment of a "Free Academy," today's City College.
Letters, 1847 April
Scope and Contents
See 1847 April [26], from William Hunt, at Lexington, Greene County, N.Y., requesting Folsom's personal details for inclusion in The New York Biographical Sketch Book, published in 1848 under the title The American Biographical Sketch Book. With prospectus and subscription form.
Letters, 1847 May-December
Letters, 1847 March-August
Letters, 1847 September-December
Box 7: Letters, 1849-1852 (September)
Letters, 1849 January-June
Letters, 1849 July-December
Letters, [1840s-1850s]
Letters, 1850
Scope and Contents
See 1850 January 8, from J. F. Butterworth regarding the establishment of a branch of the United States Mint in New York.
Letters, 1851
Letters, 1852 January-April
Scope and Contents
See 1852 March 17, from Eastman Johnson, at Venice, on the rigors of his European travels and comments on art: "Florence is beautiful, tho. I was somewhat disappointed in its pictures. The more I see of old pictures the more humbug I find in them, & I have had a surfeit these past few days." Johnson (1824-1906) was an artist and co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Letters, 1852 May-September
Box 8: Letters, 1852 (October)-1855
Letters, 1852 October-December
Letters, 1853 January-May
Letters, 1853 June-December
Letters from August Belmont, 1853-1856
Scope and Contents
On matters of transition and consular affairs. August Belmont (1813-1890) was a German-American politician, financier, and Folsom's successor as chargé d'affaires to the Netherlands.
Letters, 1854
Scope and Contents
See 1854 December 19, from painter John Gadsby Chapman, at Rome, on cholera there and the progress of pictures ordered.
Letters, 1855
Box 9: Letters, 1856-1866
Letters, 1856 January-April
Letters, 1856 May-June
Letters, 1856 July-October
Scope and Contents
See 1856 July 30, in French, from Paris, on stationery featuring a portrait of Tadeusz Kościuszko.
Letters, 1857-1859
Letters, 1860
Scope and Contents
See 1860 March 29, pictorial cover of the Delavan House [hotel], Albany, N.Y.
See 1860 November 15, request to have Folsom's portrait painted for the Athenaeum Club. Signed by George E. Waring Jr. and others.
Letters, 1861
Letters, 1862-1863
Scope and Contents
See 1862 March 25, on stationery featuring a portrait of General Ambrose Burnside.
See 1863 January 23, includes a carte de visite photograph of a mature woman.
Letters, 1864
Letters, 1865-1866
Box 10: Letters to Folsom and family, undated
Undated, to Folsom and family, undated
Undated, to Folsom in Maine, undated
Undated, to Folsom in Massachusetts, undated
Undated, to Folsom in Europe, undated
Undated, from correspondents A-L, undated
Scope and Contents
Includes material from Park Benjamin Sr. (2 letters); Hamilton Fish (2 invitations); Mr. and Mrs. Alexander J. Hamilton (2 calling cards); and a letter from Washington Hunt, governor of New York, 1851-1852.
Undated, from correspondents M-Z, undated
Scope and Contents
Includes material from Rembrandt Peale (2 letters, one referencing Folsom's portrait of Revolutionary War General Anthony Wayne; see N-YHS museum accession no. 1861.4) and Commodore Matthew C. Perry (a note, in his hand, written on his calling card).
Undated, unidentified, loose covers, etc., undated
Scope and Contents
Includes a photocopy of In Memoriam, an 1871 biographical sketch by Folsom's daughter, Helen Stuyvesant Folsom. For original, request call number: Pamph CT275.F65 F65 1871.