Iselin family papers and photographs
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
Papers and photographs documenting the Iselin family of New York, particularly the immediate descendants of banker Columbus O'Donnell Iselin (1851–1933) and his wife, Edith Colford (Jones) Iselin (1854–1930), as well as their Jones and O'Donnell forbears.
Biographical note
Coal and iron investor ADRIAN GEORG ISELIN (1818–1905) and his wife, Eleanora O'Donnell (1821–1897) had at least seven children, among them sons ADRIAN GEORGE ISELIN JR. (1846–1935) and banker COLUMBUS O'DONNELL ISELIN (1851–1933). Columbus married EDITH COLFORD JONES (1854–1930), the daughter of Lewis Colford Jones and CATHERINE MARGARETTA BERRYMAN (c. 1829–1910). Among the children of Columbus and Edith Iselin were two sons, LEWIS ISELIN (1879–1928) and O'DONNELL ISELIN (1884–1971), and one daughter, ADRIENNE MARGARETTA ISELIN (1895–1967). Lewis Iselin married MARIE EMILIE DE NEUFVILLE (1883–1979), and together they had three children: COLUMBUS O'DONNELL ISELIN II (1904–1971), MARIE (ISELIN) LA FARGE (1907–1979), and LEWIS ISELIN JR. (1913–1990), who married SARAH CARY CURTIS (1915–1998). O'Donnell Iselin married MARGARET URLING SIBLEY (1893–1951). During World War I he served as railroad specialist on the staff of General John J. Pershing. Adrienne Iselin married Dudley Pierrepont Henry Gilbert (1898–1982), son of prominent "mansion architect" C. P. H. Gilbert (1861–1952). [Names in CAPITAL LETTERS are represented by documents and/or photographs in the collection.]
Arrangement
The Iselin Family Papers and Photographs are organized in three series:
- Series I.
- Iselin family, 1872–1991
- Series II.
- Related families, 1913, 1918, undated
- Series III.
- Photographs, 1880–1948
Scope and Contents
The bulk of the Iselin Family Papers and Photographs focus on the lives of banker Lewis Iselin (1879–1928) and his wife, Marie Emilie (de Neufville) Iselin (1883–1979), and on Lewis's brother, O'Donnell Iselin (1884–1971), whose World War I letters home from Europe chronicle his time as a railroad specialist on the staff of General John J. Pershing. Other scattered and seemingly disparate materials—bank statements, correspondence, school essays and report cards, wills and estate inventories, genealogical tables and memoirs—provide a picture of the wider Iselin family, and of their O'Donnell and Jones connections.
Subjects
Organizations
Families
Genres
People
Conditions Governing Access
Except for one oversize folder, all of this collection is stored offsite. To arrange to consult it, please go to www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Conditions Governing Use
Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New York Historical, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org.
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as "Iselin Family Papers and Photographs, MS 3076, New York Historical."
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Frederick William Byron Jr., 2018 (accession MS-2018-047) and 2019 (accession MS-2019-032), and gift of Alexander Byron, 2023 (accession MS-2023-009).
About this Guide
Processing Information
Processed by Joseph Ditta, December 2018, August 2021, and October 2026.
Repository
Series I. Iselin family, 1872–1991, inclusive
Columbus O'Donnell Iselin (1851–1933)
Columbus O'Donnell Iselin (1851–1933). Letters received, 1872-1933, inclusive
Columbus O'Donnell Iselin (1851–1933). Indenture, 1919 May 29, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Transfer of corporate stock of the City of New York for the construction of the Rapid Transit Railroad to his grandson, Lewis Iselin Jr. (1913–1990).
Edith Colford (Jones) Iselin (1854–1930)
Edith Colford (Jones) Iselin (1854–1930). Letter received, 1919 July 7
Edith Colford (Jones) Iselin (1854–1930). Copy of a letter to her children and grandchildren, 1922, 1930, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Photostat / facsimile of a letter dated February 2, 1922 from Edith C. Iselin to her children and grandchildren. With an embossed black leather (?) pouch and a cover letter from Columbus O'Donnell Iselin passing Edith's letter to his grandson, Lewis Iselin [Jr.], May 5, 1930.
Lewis Iselin (1879–1928)
Lewis Iselin (1879–1928). "School Days of Lewis & O'Donnell", 1892–1907, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Embossed red leather (?) scrapbook containing various school publications, e.g., the Cutler School Honor Roll (1892–1902), Cutler School catalogs (1899, 1902), The Cutler Fortnightly (1903), The Standard (a publication of the Knickerbocker Greys?) (1898–1899), leaflets and ephemera from Columbia University and Harvard College, as well as receipts, bills, correspondence, and school essays by the Iselin brothers, Lewis (1879–1928) and O'Donnell (1884–1971).
Lewis Iselin (1879–1928). Schoolwork [essays], 1895–1902, inclusive
Lewis Iselin (1879–1928). "Letters of Lewis Iselin", 1895–1903, inclusive
Scope and Contents
In a red leather (?), embossed portfolio.
Lewis Iselin (1879–1928). Receipt, Black, Starr & Frost, Jewellers [sic] and Silversmiths, 438 Fifth Avenue, 1903 October 8
Lewis Iselin (1879–1928). Decennial Record of the Class of 1903, Columbia University in the City of New York, 1914, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Lewis Iselin on p. 85.
Lewis Iselin (1879–1928). "Appraisal and Inventory of Household Furnishings Belonging to Lewis Iselin, Contained In and On the Premises Situated at 16 West 52nd Street, New York City," by the Equitable Appraisal Company, 1920 February 17
Scope and Contents
Covers each room in the five-floor home. 105 pages.
Lewis Iselin (1879–1928). Union Club resolution marking the death of Lewis Iselin, 1928 April 11
Scope and Contents
Engrossed copy of a resolution passed to mark the death of Lewis Iselin, who served as the Union Club's governor, 1915–1927, and treasurer, 1917–1927.
Marie (de Neufville) Iselin (1883–1979)
Marie (de Neufville) Iselin (1883–1979). List of passengers, R.M.S. "Queen Mary", 1952 September 4
Scope and Contents
Includes "Mrs. Lewis Iselin."
Marie (de Neufville) Iselin (1883–1979). Last will and testament [2 copies], 1958 July 25, inclusive
Marie (de Neufville) Iselin (1883–1979). Estate papers, 1979 November 1–6, inclusive
Marie (de Neufville) Iselin (1883–1979). Estate appraisal, 1979 December 12
Scope and Contents
"Appraisal of the Estate of Marie DeN. Iselin, Deceased," by Masterson & O'Connell & Albano Co., covering each room of the apartment at 860 Park Avenue, as well as Mrs. Iselin's jewelry. 63 pages.
Columbus O'Donnell Iselin II (1904–1971)
Columbus O'Donnell Iselin II (1904–1971). Financial statements, The Farmer's Loan and Trust Company, 1922–1923, inclusive
Lewis Iselin Jr. (1913–1990)
Lewis Iselin Jr. (1913–1990). Wills, powers of attorney, 1975, 1976, 1987, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Wills and powers of attorney for Lewis Iselin Jr. and his wife, Sarah Cary (Curtis) Iselin (1915–1998).
Lewis Iselin Jr. (1913–1990). Estate appraisal, 1991 April 14
Scope and Contents
Jan G. Andersen & Assoc. "Qualified appraisal prepared at the request of the Estate of Lewis Iselin."
Lewis Iselin Jr. (1913–1990). Maine tax papers, 1991 November 5
O'Donnell Iselin (1884–1971)
O'Donnell Iselin (1884–1971). "School Days of Lewis & O'Donnell", 1892–1907, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Embossed red leather (?) scrapbook containing various school publications, e.g., the Cutler School Honor Roll (1892–1902), Cutler School catalogs (1899, 1902), The Cutler Fortnightly (1903), The Standard (a publication of the Knickerbocker Greys?) (1898–1899), leaflets and ephemera from Columbia University and Harvard College, as well as receipts, bills, correspondence, and school essays by the Iselin brothers, Lewis (1879–1928) and O'Donnell (1884–1971).
O'Donnell Iselin (1884–1971). Letters, 1901, 1916, inclusive
O'Donnell Iselin (1884–1971). Letters, 1917 September-October, inclusive
O'Donnell Iselin (1884–1971). Letters, 1917 November-December, inclusive
O'Donnell Iselin (1884–1971). Letters, 1918 January-March, inclusive
O'Donnell Iselin (1884–1971). Letters, 1918 April-June, inclusive
O'Donnell Iselin (1884–1971). Letters, 1918 July-September, inclusive
O'Donnell Iselin (1884–1971). Letters, 1918 October-December, inclusive
O'Donnell Iselin (1884–1971). Letters, 1919 January-April, inclusive
Adrienne Margaretta (Iselin) Gilbert (1895–1967)
Adrienne Margaretta (Iselin) Gilbert (1895–1967). Letter received, 1910 January 12
Iselin family genealogy
Iselin family. "Stammtafel der / Genealogical Tree ISELIN von Basel", 1948, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Nach dem Familienbuch von Fr. Weiss un Beiträgen von Hr. Dr. Felix Iselin-Merian, ergänzt und gezeichnet von Hans Lengweiler, Basel-Luzern, Im Febr./März 1948. No. 14. Measures 28.5 x 41 inches.
Iselin family. Gustav Adolf Wanner. Seit 600 Jahren in Basel: Lebensbilder aus der Familie Iselin , 1964, inclusive
Scope and Contents
With tipped-in letter from O'Donnell Iselin (1884–1971), May 1965.
Series II. Related families, 1913, 1918, undated, inclusive
Jones family
Marie Caroline de Trobriand Post. The Descendants of John Jones and John Mason, 1913, inclusive
Helen A. Wissmann, "Memories of the Past", undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Photocopy of 23-page typescript plus 10-page appendix. Helen (Jones) Wissmann was the sister of Edith Colford (Jones) Iselin (1854–1930).
O'Donnell family
"Antique Milesianæ Familiæ De O'Donnell", undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Facsimile genealogy and family tree of the O'Donnell family (apparently originally "Niall"), in Latin, on a scroll of 4 attached sheets with an overall measurement of 18 x 87 inches.
Allan Macsherry. "The O'Donnell Family", 1918, inclusive
Scope and Contents
15-page typescript.
Series III. Photographs, 1880–1948, inclusive
Album. "Marie Iselin", 1881–1929, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes photographs of Columbus O'Donnell Iselin (1851–1933), Lewis Iselin (1879–1928), O'Donnell Iselin (1884–1971), Marie (de Neufville) Iselin (1883–1979), Columbus O'Donnell Iselin II (1904–1971), Marie (Iselin) La Farge (1907–1979), and Lewis Iselin Jr. (1913–1990).
Album. "Mrs. Lewis Colford Jones", 1900, inclusive
Scope and Contents
An album of five studio portraits, plus two loose prints of Catherine Margaretta (Berryman) Jones (circa 1829–1910), Mrs. Lewis Colford Jones, mother of Edith Colford (Jones) Iselin (1854–1930).
Loose photographs [3 folders], 1880–1948, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes photographs of various members of the extended Iselin family, such as Columbus O'Donnell Iselin (1851–1933), Edith Colford (Jones) Iselin (1854–1930), Lewis Iselin (1879–1928), O'Donnell Iselin (1884–1971), Marie (de Neufville) Iselin (1883–1979), Columbus O'Donnell Iselin II (1904–1971), Eleanor "Nora" Emmet (Lapsley) Iselin (1907–1971), Marie (Iselin) La Farge (1907–1979), Lewis Iselin Jr. (1913–1990), Francis "Frank" and Helen (Jones) Wissmann.