Hudson River Day Line records
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
The collection includes the records of the Hudson River Day Line, spanning roughly the entire 100 year history (1840s-1940s) of the company and its predecessor and related entities. The Day Line is best recalled for its passenger service, carrying people for business or pleasure up and/or down the Hudson River between New York City and Albany, with various stops along the way, but its history reaches back to the mid-19th century and its steam towing operations. The collection includes financial and transaction records, correspondence, scrapbooks, publicity material, timetables, ephemera, ship-level records of passengers landed and received, and more. Much of the documents relate to specific steamboats, including the Alida, Anna, Armenia, Austin, Cayuga, Chauncey Vibbard, Commerce, E. Corning Jr., Daniel Drew, Mary Powell, Mercury, New York, Ontario, Oswego, Schuyler, Seneca, and others
Biographical / Historical
The Hudson River Day Line, which operated in various forms from the 1840s until 1949, is best recalled for its passenger service, carrying people for business or pleasure up and/or down the Hudson River between New York City and Albany, with various stops along the way. Its roots went back to the early 19th century and the shipping concerns of Abraham Van Santvoord (1784-1858). By the 1820s, Abraham had become the New York agent for the Steam Navigation Company, one of the first companies to operate steamboats for towing non-powered canal boats. In 1845, he was an organizer and first president of the Hudson River Steamboat Company. In 1848, Abraham had built the Oswego, the first of the large side-wheel steamers designed and built specifically for towing (this collection holds records from the Oswego).
Abraham's son, Alfred (1819-1901), joined the Hudson River Steamboat Company as its Albany agent, with his role in the organization expanding after his father's death. In 1855, Alfred bought the Alida, a day line (as opposed to a night line, with sleeping accommodations) passenger ship and began running regular service between New York and Albany. Over the following ten years, Alfred expanded his line of ships to include the Armenia, the Mary Powell, the Daniel Drew, and the Chauncey Vibbard, and perhaps others. Passenger travel for Alfred's company increased beginning in the 1860s, from 22,000 in 1863, to 173,000 in 1876 and to 192,000 in 1892.
The organization itself also evolved. Partners in the company at this time included John McBride Davidson and Chauncey Vibbard. Vibbard was also a superintendent of the New York Central Railroad, confirming the important business and transportation relationships between the railroads and steamships. In 1879, Alfred's New York and Albany Day Line incorporated, renaming itself formally as the Hudson River Line, though the Day Line reference remained in use. Its stock of ships also turned over, as the old ships Armenia and Daniel Drew were destroyed by fire (1886), the Vibbard was sold (1880s), and two steel hulled boats, the Albany (1880) and New York (1887), were constructed. In 1899, the Hudson River Line officially changed its corporate name to the Hudson River Day Line.
In 1901, Alfred Van Santvoord died of a stroke aboard his yacht, the Clermont. Alfred's son-in-law, Eben Erskine Olcott (1854-1929), took over as president of the Day Line, a position he held until his death. Olcott was the son of John Nathaniel Olcott and Euphemia Helen (Knox) Olcott. He had married Alfred's daughter, Katherine, in 1884 and, upon the death in 1895 of Alfred's only son, Olcott had become more heavily involved in the Day Line's management. Olcott had graduated in 1874 from the School of Mines at Columbia and retained his extensive mining interests, notably in Central and South America, into the 20th century. Under Olcott's leadership, the Day Line's ridership would surge from 266,000 in 1902 to almost 2 million in 1925. New ships were brought on line: Hendrick Hudson (1906), Robert Fulton (1909), Washington Irving (1909), De Witt Clinton (1921), Alexander Hamilton (1924), Chauncey M. Depew (1925), and Peter Stuyvesant (1925). Ships also were brought off-line: New York lost to fire, 1909; Mary Powell, retired in 1919; Albany, sold in 1934; and the Washington Irving, sank in 1926, with three deaths.
Eben Olcott died in 1929, and his son Alfred Van Santvoord Olcott (1886-1961), the donor of this collection, took over as President. But the Great Depression hurt the company financially and its business was scaled back. Into the 1940s, the emergence of automobiles and highways and other forms of recreation reduced the need for and interest in the Day Line, and it went out of business in 1949, selling its assets to other organizations. By that time four steamboats were still running: the Alexander Hamilton, Peter Stuyvesant, Hendrick Hudson, and Robert Fulton. A successor company, which is not part of this collection, continued to run a dwindling number of steamboats up the Hudson to Bear Mountain and West Point until 1971 when the last of them, the Alexander Hamilton, made a final voyage.
(The above note was based primarily on "A Short History of the Hudson River Day Line" by Peter Hess, found at https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2017/02/a-short-history-of-the-hudson-river-day-line/. A biography of Eben Olcott can be found at https://prabook.com/web/eben.olcott/3763677.)
Arrangement
The collection is organized by format:
Series I. Files
Series II. Bound Volumes
Scope and Contents
The collection includes the records of the Hudson River Day Line, spanning roughly the entire 100 year history (1840s-1940s) of the company and its predecessor and related entities. The collection includes financial and transaction records, towing records, correspondence, scrapbooks, publicity material, timetables, ephemera, ship-level records of passengers landed and received, and more. Much of the documents relate to specific steamboats, including the Alexander Hamilton, Alida, Anna, Armenia, Austin, Cayuga, Chauncey Vibbard, Commerce, E. Corning Jr., Daniel Drew, Hendrick Hudson, Mary Powell, Mercury, New York, Ontario, Oswego, Robert Fulton, Schuyler, Seneca, various barges, and others.
Subjects
Organizations
Genres
Topics
Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers.
Although the collection is unprocessed, the bulk is accessible for use. There are some files that are in poor or fragile condition and require special advance arrangements with the curator of manuscripts before use; these are noted in the container list.
Use Restrictions
Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to 20 exposures of stable, unbound material per day. 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
The collection should be cited as: Hudson River Day Line records, MS 315, New-York Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was a gift of Alfred V.S. Olcott, son of Eben E. Olcott and President of the Hudson River Day Line, donated over time from 1948-1951.
About this Guide
Processing Information
The collection is processed to a minimal degree. To prepare the collection for off-site storage, in 2019-20 archivist Elise Winks rehoused documents from original tin containers into archival boxes, flagged the bound volumes with sequence/control numbers, and prepared box content summary descriptions. The conservation team shrinkwrapped all the bound volumes. Archivist Larry Weimer listed the volumes in the finding aid and added further notes to complete the finding aid.
Repository
Series I. Files, 1818-1949, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Contents
The series includes a broad range of documents including ephemera (postcards, tickets, publicity brochures, timetables, etc.); booklets (on-board magazines, trip/excursion descriptions, guide books, etc.); tariff/fare schedules; way bills of tickets collected (i.e., packets by steamer for each day recording the number of passengers by port along the route and other details); steamer inspection certificates; insurance policies; annual reports; subject files concerning railroads in the Catskills, the steamboats Alexander Hamilton and De Witt Clinton, and the Hudson-Fulton Celebration and replica Clermont; the capital stock register book for the Mary Powell Steamship Company; a report on the sinking of the Washington Irving; miscellaneous financial documents; and other documents. The container list provides some further details, though the description is based on a broad survey of the content of the boxes.
Arrangement
The series is arranged roughly by format/subject matter.
Postcards; Tickets; Library records, 1860s-1940s, undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
1) Includes many postcards, including many duplicates, generally undated. 2) Includes tickets and other stubs, 1860s-1940s. Most of the tickets and passes are undated, but a few indicate they are from the 1860s; many are single tickets or sheets stamped "sample" and are dated from the 1930s-1940s. There are a variety of tickets, including those for on/off on various stops, meal tickets, luggage tags, etc. 3) Includes index cards noting the reading material available on board, and a Hudson River Day Line Library rubber stamp (1920s?).
Brochures, placards, and other publicity/advertising (22 folders), 1890s-1949, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes a set of 12 envelopes of publicity material as originally donated, chronologically arranged from 1937-1948. Another 10 folders includes compiled materials dating from the 1890s to the 1940s, with most dating from the 1910s. Includes posters/placards of schedules (1910s); some menus, including one for a dinner to Mrs. Wilton Merle-Smith on the Washington Irving (1913); sheet music for "On the Hudson River (Day Line Moonlight Sail)" (1948); two punch-out paper models of the Hendrick Hudson (unassembled, in original envelope for mailing); and the advertisement from Indian Point Corporation (formerly Hudson River Day Line) for the liquidation auction of six properties (1949). Some material is not specifically that of the Day Line, though it relates to their business; most notable of these is a plan of the floors of the Hotel Champlain at Bluff Point, Lake Champlain (undated).
Steamship "Mary Powell" (8 folders), 1869-1918, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes 24 annual guides from the Mary Powell, 1888-1913 (missing 1891, 1895, 1903, 1904); a 1918 memorial book; passes for years 1886-1914 (some gaps); bill of sale for the Mary Powell to Alfred Van Sanvoort and J. McB. Davidson (1869); and the capital stock ownership register for the Mary Powell Steamship Company (1899-1902).
Publicity and other printed material, 1850-1948, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes a broad range of printed material, including timetables, schedules, guide maps, trip descriptions, tourist maps (including an 1850 map), souvenir booklets, commemorative booklets, some Day Line Magazines (1910s), and a copy of the Day Line Rules & Regulations for its employees (1927). Includes materials specifically about the river trips, but also related places, such as Bear Mountain State Park.
Pamphlets, magazines and other promotional materials, circa 1918-1940s, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes an orderly set of original files of printed publicity material, in chronological order circa 1918-1940s
Files re: Hudson-Fulton celebration (11 folders), 1902-1909, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes correspondence of Eben Olcott, among other documents. Some specific subjects include the replica Clermont (specifications, the record of its voyage, and bill of sale to the Day Line (1909); and materials concerning planning for the Hudson Tri-Centennial Memorial Bridge (also referred to as the Hendrick Hudson Bridge) over the Harlem Ship Canal at Spuyten Duyvil.
Photograph of Hendrick Hudson statue sculpted by J. Massey Rhind (oversize), undated
Scope and Contents
Item found in stacks, 2022. Unframed by conservator Alan Balicki and added to collection by archivist Larry Weimer, September 2022.
Files on various subjects (11 folders), 1818-1935, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes various documents not necessarily related to the Day Line:
* Letters (1818-1860s), including two from Euphemia Knox (Eben Olcott's mother), and perhaps two to her including one from Jacob Van Vechten concerning the Civil War (1864);
* special order (1864) from George Monroe of the 22nd Kentucky Volunteers;
* invoice related to improving Hudson River navigation at New Baltimore (1867);
* various invitations, including some specifically to Eben Olcott (1925-1926);
* deed of sale of New York property from Euphemia M. Olcott to Eben Olcott (1889);
* Alfred Van Santvoord memorial book from United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company (1901);
* signed petition to the U.S. Congress for a Highlands of the Hudson River National Park (undated);
* a typed manuscript "A Tete-a-Tete Driving Trip," written by Kate H. Huntington and describing her travels in the Berkshires (1906);
* annotated programme of the Ecumenical Conference on Foreign Mission (1900), with newspaper accounts (in poor condition);
* Official's ribbon for the Indian Point Outboard Motorboat Regatta (1935);
* 5 photographs (George Washington Blauvelt; Timothy H. Roberts of Flatbush; Pilgrim Mother statue; and two of the damaged depot of the Peoples Line of the Hudson Navigation Company (1913);
* an insurer's report on the sinking of the steamship Washington Irving (1926);
* and documents concerning a dispute between the Harlem Company and the New York and Harlem Railroad Company (1898).
Hudson River Day Line annual financial reports, 1879-1948, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Specific years in the file are: 1879-1890, 1927, 1930, 1932-1948. Other years are not here. Also two blank, small ledger booklets.
Legal documents (1 folder), 1850s-1929, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Charter of the Peoples Line/New Jersey Steamboat Company (1854); several bills of sale for vessels, including barges, River Queen, Seneca, New York, and several bought from the special master for the Central Hudson Steamboat Company (1929); and charter party agreement for the River Queen (1888).
Specifications; Certificates of inspection (12 folders), 1879, 1906-1940s, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Specifications: 1) hull of an iron side-wheeled steamer (Albany), 1879; 2) hull, carpenter and joiner work for side wheel steamboat for Albany Day Line (i.e., Robert Fulton), 1908; 3) hull, carpenter work & boiler for paddle wheel steamboat, 1911; 4) paddle wheel steamers, 1922 and 1925 (steel); 5) electric lighting, plumbing, heating, ventilation for Washington Irving; and 6) steel freight steamer (1922). Certificates of inspection (1930s-1940s): Alexander Hamilton, Robert Fulton, Peter Stuyvesant, Hendrick Hudson, Chauncey M. Depew, De Witt Clinton, and various barges. Certificate of enrollment for Hendrick Hudson (1906).
Various financial transaction records (9 folders, 7 small volumes), 1834-1920s, inclusive
Scope and Contents
These files are largely unarranged documents regarding various transactions. Bulk is from 1850s-1890s. There are many invoices, receipts/vouchers (earliest is 1834), journal/ledger sheets, expense lists (including repairs and alterations, such as for the Albany, Armenia, and Cayuga), unpaid bills (e.g. Cayuga), and other detailed financial data often relating to specific ships. A few financial documents reference the Swiftsure Line. There are some letters and specifications related to ship alterations, such as proposals from the North River Iron Works. A folder of documents relates to an inquiry of Eben Olcott regarding light draft steamboats, with correspondence, a blueprint, 5 photographs from Yarrow & Co of London, etc. There are also some indentures and insurance policies (Clermont, Mary Powell and Armenia) in these files, and a record of insurance policies (1864). Some material relates to other companies, including financial data for the Delaware & Otsego Railroad Company (1892) and the Ulster & Delaware Railroad (1893). There are sheets of blank towing receipts for Van Santvoord's Line, the Hudson River Steamboat Co., and a generic form. The small volumes include steamship transactions of the 1860s-1870s; steamer New York inventories (1894) and repairs and furnishings; and William Mackay's New York inventory for 1868-69.
Unpaid bills, financial records, rate schedules and clippings, 1850s-1860s, 1915-1948, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes unpaid bills lists from 1850s-1860s; a classification of expenses for the SS Chauncey Vibbard, 1867; letterpress copybook of General Ticket Agent C.R. van Benthuysen, 1883-1887; adoption notice re: the Mary Powell (1915); tariff/fare rates (passengers, charters, etc.) for circa 1923-1948; and some clippings (1940).
Passenger reports, 1927-1941, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Statistical reports of numbers of passengers by pick-up points/ports and date
Local and joint passenger tariff, 1900-1928, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Orderly files of printed material with annual fares.
Newspapers (1 of 2), circa 1870s-1900s, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes unorganized, folded newspapers in fragile condition. Advance arrangements for use of these materials must be made with the curator of manuscripts.
Newspapers (2 of 2), circa 1870s-1900s, inclusive
Scope and Contents
See note for box 10.
Way bills, 1863-1899, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This box includes an inventory prepared in 1919 of the waybills from the 1860s-1908 preserved by the Day Line, now found in this box and the next (boxes 12 and 13). The note indicates that all other waybills were destroyed in 1919, which would account for the gap in the collection of waybills between 1908 and 1916. According to that list this box holds waybills from the following steamboats: Daniel Drew (1863-1880), Armenia (1863-1878), Chauncey Vibbard(1864-1886), Albany(1880-1899), and New York (1887-1899).
Way bills, 1900-1908, inclusive
Scope and Contents
See the note for box 12. According to the referenced inventory, this box holds waybills from the following steamboats: Albany (1900-1908), New York (1900-1908), Mary Powell (1903-1908), and Hendrick Hudson 1906-1908).
Way bills, 1916-1922, inclusive
Way bills, 1937, inclusive
Way bills, 1937, inclusive
Way bills, 1939, inclusive
Way bills, 1939, inclusive
Way bills, 1940, inclusive
Way bills, 1940, inclusive
Way bills, 1941, inclusive
Way bills, 1941, inclusive
Way bills, 1942, inclusive
Way bills, 1942, inclusive
Way bills, 1943, inclusive
Way bills, 1943, inclusive
Way bills, 1944, inclusive
Way bills, 1944, inclusive
Way bills, 1945, inclusive
Way bills, 1945, inclusive
Way bills, 1946, inclusive
Way bills, 1946, inclusive
Way bills, 1947, inclusive
Way bills, 1947, inclusive
Way bills, 1948, inclusive
Way bills, 1948, inclusive
Files re: Steamship De Witt Clinton, 1920-1921, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Contents all relate to the addition of the De Witt Clinton (ex-Nopatin, ex-Manhattan) to the line. Topics include purchase of the ship from the Navy, furnishings (includes fabric samples), trial run, inspection, research for publicity and other purposes, etc.
Files re: Steamship Alexander Hamilton, 1923-1924, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes several files on the construction, furnishing (including fabric samples), inspection, etc., of the ship.
Files re: Other steamship lines, 1933-1934, inclusive
Scope and Contents
About 60 folders labeled with a name of a steamship line (some railroad companies), generally each with a single sheet of paper listing the ships of that company with basic descriptive details of each ship. Appears to be basic information for competitive comparison purposes. The companies generally appear to be from New York State and New England.
Hudson River Day Line annual reports submitted to the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), 1914-1942, inclusive
Scope and Contents
A set of 29 reports for years 1914-1942.
Files re: Catskill Mountain railroads, circa 1880-1914, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Entire box includes legal documents, financial records, correspondence, and other documents concerning the Catskill Mountain Railway, the Catskill & Tannerville Railway, the Otis Elevating Railway, and the Otis Railway Company. The papers are mostly unorganized and loose.
Stewards' accounts, financial records (1 of 3), circa 1848-1860s, inclusive
Scope and Contents
3 boxes of steward accounts (provisions, supplies for ships); vouchers; cancelled checks; towing records; some correspondence. The documents are tri-folded with related documents bundled together. Many are brittle with water damage. Because of their condition, special arrangements must be made in advance of their use with the curator of manuscripts.
Stewards' accounts, financial records (2 of 3), circa 1848-1860s, inclusive
Scope and Contents
See note for box 41
Stewards' accounts, financial records (3 of 3), circa 1848-1860s, inclusive
Scope and Contents
See note for box 41
Printed material: Hudson River by Daylight, 1890-1900, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Missing 1892
Printed material: Hudson River by Daylight, souvenir magazine, 1901-circa 1917, inclusive
Series II. Bound Volumes, circa 1833-1948, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Contents
The series includes 375 bound and shelved volumes. Most of these are financial and transactional in nature ranging from the 1830s into the early 20th century, including captain's returns (cash collected by steamboat captains and turned over to the company agent), ledgers, cash books, journals, expense/revenue recapitulations, check books, outstanding (unpaid) bills, towing bills, bills of lading, and the like. There are several volumes of reports of passengers "landed and received," primarily from the 20th century. There are many volumes of letter books and letterpress copybooks. There are also various scrapbooks of clippings and of publicity material.
The container list includes an inventory of all volumes. However, when the inventory was taken, all volumes had been shrinkwrapped for off-site storage. Consequently, for the most part the inventory is not based on a review of the volume content but was based on any labeling visible on the spines, inventories taken at the time of donation, inferences, and other observations short of unwrapping all but a few of the volumes. Inaccuracies, especially in date ranges, are likely. The absence of a date range in the container list means that no dates were observed on the exterior of the shrinkwrapped volume.
Arrangement
In 2020, in preparing the bound volumes of the collection for off-site storage, each volume was given a sequence number (SN), which simply indicated the order of the volumes as found on the shelves. This finding aid presents the volumes in that same order, with reference to the sequence number. Related volumes were often found together on the shelves, but there was also a considerable degree of randomness that is reflected in the container list.
SS Alida. Captain's returns, 1867, inclusive
SS Alida. Captain's returns, 1862, inclusive
SS Alida. Captain's returns, 1857, inclusive
SS Alida. Captain's returns, 1866, inclusive
SS Alida. Captain's returns, 1868, inclusive
SS Alida. Captain's returns, 1869, inclusive
SS Alida. Captain's returns, 1858, inclusive
SS Alida. Captain's returns, 1863, inclusive
SS Alida. Captain's returns, 1861, inclusive
SS Alida. Captain's returns, 1864, inclusive
SS Alida. Captain's returns, 1865?, inclusive
SS Alida. Towing bills, 1857?, inclusive
SS Anna. Unpaid bills, 1855-1868?, inclusive
SS Anna. Record of collections, 1855-1856, inclusive
SS Anna. Record of collections?, 1857-1860?, inclusive
SS Anna. Captain's returns, 1864, inclusive
SS Anna. Captain's returns, 1866, inclusive
SS Anna. Captain's returns, 1862, inclusive
SS Anna. Captain's returns, 1868, inclusive
SS Anna. Captain's returns, 1865?, inclusive
SS Anna. Captain's returns, 1867, inclusive
SS Anna. Captain's returns, 1857, inclusive
SS Anna. Captain's returns, 1855, inclusive
SS Anna. Captain's returns, 1856, inclusive
SS Anna. Unidentified (Unpaid bills?), 1855-1868?, inclusive
SS Anna. Captain's returns, 1858, inclusive
SS Anna. Captain's returns, 1861, inclusive
SS Anna. Captain's returns, 1860, inclusive
SS Anna. Captain's returns, 1859, inclusive
SS Anna. Captain's returns, 1863, inclusive
SS Austin. Miscellaneous accounts, 1853, inclusive
SS Austin. Captain's returns, 1855, inclusive
SS Austin. Captain's returns, 1856, inclusive
SS Cayuga. Captain's returns., 1863, inclusive
SS Cayuga. Captain's returns., 1858, inclusive
SS Cayuga. Captain's returns., 1861, inclusive
SS Cayuga. Captain's returns., 1866, inclusive
SS Cayuga. Captain's returns., 1856, inclusive
SS Cayuga. Captain's returns., 1857, inclusive
SS Cayuga. Check stubs, 1857-1858, inclusive
SS Cayuga. Captain's returns., 1867, inclusive
SS Cayuga. Captain's returns., 1855, inclusive
Various steamboats. Towing, 1859, inclusive
SS Cayuga. Record of collections?, 1850s-1860s?, inclusive
SS Cayuga. Towing, 1851, inclusive
Various steamboats. Towing, 1859-1860, inclusive
SS Cayuga. Captain's returns., 1864, inclusive
SS Cayuga. Captain's returns., 1865, inclusive
SS Cayuga. Captain's returns., 1863?, inclusive
SS Cayuga. Captain's returns., 1868, inclusive
SS Commerce. Miscellaneous accounts, 1853-1856, inclusive
SS Commerce. Captain's returns, 1855, inclusive
SS E. Corning Jr. Record of collections, 1856-1859, inclusive
SS E. Corning Jr. Captain's returns, 1856, inclusive
SS Mercury. Captain's returns, 1857, inclusive
SS Mercury. Record of collections, 1857, inclusive
SS Mercury. Captain's returns, 1858, inclusive
SS Mercury. Captain's returns, 1859, inclusive
SS Ontario. Captain's returns, 1867, inclusive
SS Ontario. Captain's returns, 1863, inclusive
SS Ontario. Captain's returns, 1858, inclusive
SS Ontario. Captain's returns, 1857, inclusive
SS Ontario. Captain's returns, 1856, inclusive
SS Ontario. Captain's returns, 1864, inclusive
SS Ontario. Captain's returns, 1868, inclusive
SS Ontario. Captain's returns, 1862, inclusive
SS Ontario. Record of collections, 1856-1859, inclusive
SS Ontario. Captain's returns, 1861, inclusive
SS Ontario. Captain's returns, 1869, inclusive
SS Ontario. Towing bills, 1858?, inclusive
SS Ontario. Captain's returns, 1866, inclusive
SS Ontario. Captain's returns, 1865, inclusive
SS Oswego. Captain's returns, 1866, inclusive
SS Oswego. Towing, 1849, inclusive
SS Oswego. Ledger (expense/receipts), 1849, inclusive
SS Oswego. Record of collections?, 1853, inclusive
SS Oswego. Captain's returns, 1865, inclusive
SS Oswego. Unidentified, 1848-1849, inclusive
SS Oswego. Captain's returns, 1864, inclusive
SS Oswego. Captain's returns, 1858, inclusive
SS Oswego. Captain's returns, 1868, inclusive
SS Oswego. Captain's returns, 1867, inclusive
SS Oswego? Check stubs
SS Oswego. Captain's returns, 1861, inclusive
SS Oswego. Captain's returns, 1862, inclusive
SS Oswego. Captain's returns, 1857, inclusive
SS Oswego. Captain's returns, 1855, inclusive
SS Oswego. Captain's returns, 1856, inclusive
SS Schuyler. Captain's returns, 1866, inclusive
SS Schuyler. Captain's returns, 1865, inclusive
SS Schuyler and SS Seneca. Accounts, 1864, inclusive
SS Schuyler. Captain's returns, 1862, inclusive
SS Schuyler. Captain's returns, 1863, inclusive
SS Schuyler. Captain's returns, 1858, inclusive
SS Schuyler. Captain's returns, 1869, inclusive
SS Schuyler. Captain's returns, 1867, inclusive
SS Schuyler. Captain's returns, 1860, inclusive
SS Schuyler. Captain's returns, 1859, inclusive
SS Schuyler. Captain's returns, 1868, inclusive
SS Schuyler. Captain's returns, 1864, inclusive
SS Schuyler. Captain's returns, 1861, inclusive
SS Seneca. Captain's returns, 1866, inclusive
SS Seneca. Captain's returns, 1867, inclusive
SS Seneca. Captain's returns, 1868, inclusive
SS Seneca. Captain's returns, 1864, inclusive
SS Chauncey Vibbard? Passage book, 1867, inclusive
SS Mary Powell. Stock Book
SS Mary Powell. Passage reports, 1900-1901, inclusive
Letterpress copybook of Alfred White, 1864-1866, inclusive
Letters
Letterbook (Letters to Alfred Van Santvoord), 1862-1863, inclusive
Letterbook (Letters to Alfred Van Santvoord), 1863, inclusive
Letterbook (Letters to Alfred Van Santvoord), 1864, inclusive
Letterbook (Letters to Alfred Van Santvoord), 1865, inclusive
Letterbook (Letters to Alfred Van Santvoord), 1855, inclusive
Letterbook (Letters to Alfred Van Santvoord), 1855, inclusive
Letterbook (Letters to Alfred Van Santvoord), 1857-1859, inclusive
Letterbook (Letters to Alfred Van Santvoord)
Letterbook (Letters to Alfred Van Santvoord), 1857, inclusive
Letterbook (Letters to Alfred Van Santvoord), 1858, inclusive
Various steamboats. Miscellaneous accounts, 1850, 1860s, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Besides accounts, includes a transcript of a financial agreement between the Hudson River Towing Association and the owners of the Cayuga and Oswego, with meeting notes related to the agreement (1850).
Recapitulation of receipts and expenses for various steamboats, 1861-1868, inclusive
Letters, to September 1855, inclusive
Letterpress copybook of Alfred Van Santvoord, 1862-1864, inclusive
Letters, 1883-1895, inclusive
Letters, 1869-1870, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #2. August 1895-March 1896, 1895-1896, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Sequence numbers 127-159 is a series of letterbooks numbered on the spine, with some gaps (#1, 11, 15, and 31 were not included in the original donation).
Letterpress copybook, Volume #3. March 1896-August 1896, 1896, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #4. August 1896-June 1897, 1896-1897, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #5. June 1897-May 1898, 1897-1898, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #6. May 1898-June 1899, 1898-1899, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #7. June 1899-May 1900, 1899-1900, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #8. May 1900-February 1901, 1900-1901, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #9. March 1901-September 1901, 1901, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #10. September 1901-1902?, 1901-1902?, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #12. March 1903-September 1903, 1903, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #13. September 1903-June 1904, 1903-1904, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #14. June 1904-March 1905, 1904-1905, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #16., 1905-1906?, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #17., 1906?, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #18., 1906?-1907?, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #19., 1907?, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #20. September 1907-April 1908, 1907-1908, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #21. April 1908-August 1908, 1908, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #22. August 1908-January 1909, 1908-1909, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #23. January 1909-June 1909, 1909, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #24. June 1909-September 1909, 1909, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #25. September 1909-March 1910, 1909-1910, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #26. March 1910-August 1910, 1910, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #27. August 1910-January 1911, 1910-1911, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #28. January 1911-July 1911, 1911, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #29. July 1911-October 1911, 1911, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #30. October 1911-May 1912, 1911-1912, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #32. October 1912-March 1913, 1912-1913, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #33. March 1913-July 1913, 1913, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #34. July 1913-May 1914, 1913-1914, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #35. May 1914-November 1914, 1914, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #36. November 1914-September 1915, 1914-1915, inclusive
Letterpress copybook, Volume #37. September 1915-January 1922, 1915-1922, inclusive
Letterpress copybook of the Hudson River Day Line, Albany Office, General Agent W.B. Elmendorf. June 1906-September 1907, 1906-1907, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Sequence numbers 160-170 and 172 comprise a set of letter books. There are gaps of missing dates that were not included in the original donation.
Letterpress copybook of the Hudson River Day Line, Albany Office, General Agent W.B. Elmendorf. June 1909-February 1910, 1909-1910, inclusive
Letterpress copybook of the Hudson River Day Line, Albany Office, General Agent W.B. Elmendorf. November 1905-November 1906, 1905-1906, inclusive
Letterpress copybook of the Hudson River Day Line, Albany Office, General Agent W.B. Elmendorf. November 1917-October 1918, 1917-1918, inclusive
Letterpress copybook of the Hudson River Day Line, Albany Office, General Agent W.B. Elmendorf. August 1913-May 1914, 1913-1914, inclusive
Letterpress copybook of the Hudson River Day Line, Albany Office, General Agent W.B. Elmendorf. September 1911-July 1912, 1911-1912, inclusive
Letterpress copybook of the Hudson River Day Line, Albany Office, General Agent W.B. Elmendorf. May 1914-September 1914, 1914, inclusive
Letterpress copybook of the Hudson River Day Line, Albany Office, General Agent W.B. Elmendorf. February 1910-August 1910, 1910, inclusive
Letterpress copybook of the Hudson River Day Line, Albany Office, General Agent W.B. Elmendorf. July 1912-April 1913, 1912-1913, inclusive
Letterpress copybook of the Hudson River Day Line, Albany Office, General Agent W.B. Elmendorf. April 1913-August 1913, 1913, inclusive
Letterpress copybook of the Hudson River Day Line, Albany Office, General Agent W.B. Elmendorf. July 1915?-November 1917, 1915?-1917, inclusive
Letter book of Hudson River Day Line Cashier., 1900?-1912, inclusive
Letterpress copybook of the Hudson River Day Line, Albany Office, General Agent W.B. Elmendorf. September 1914-May 1915, 1914-1915, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1921, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1922, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1923, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1924, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1925, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1926, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1927, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1928, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1929, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1930, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1931, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1932, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1933, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1934, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1935, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1936, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1939, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1940, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1941, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1942, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1943, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1944, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1945, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1937, inclusive
Landed and Received Reports, 1938, inclusive
Account book. Abram Van Santvoord re: Swiftsure Line, 1840-1844, inclusive
Ledger of Alfred Van Santvoord. April 1857-March 1861, 1857-1861, inclusive
Ledger, 1833-1845, inclusive
Ledger, 1833-1845, inclusive
Hudson River Steamboat Company. Journal, 1845-1869, inclusive
Cash book, 1882-1883, inclusive
Ledger of Alfred Van Santvoord. March 1861-March 1864, 1861-1864, inclusive
Ledger of Alfred Van Santvoord. March 1864-March 1866, 1864-1866, inclusive
Ledger of Alfred Van Santvoord. March 1866-March 1880, 1866-1880, inclusive
Unidentified (Ledger?)
Unidentified (Ledger?)
Ledger
Cash book of Alfred Van Santvoord, 1883-1901, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Sequence numbers 210-212 are a set of three cash books spanning 1883-1901. Sequence number 203 may be part of these as well.
Cash book of Alfred Van Santvoord, 1883-1901, inclusive
Cash book of Alfred Van Santvoord, 1883-1901, inclusive
Unidentified (Ledger?)
Ledger. Day Line Steamers, 1865-?, inclusive
Unidentified. (Ledger? Day Line Steamers?), 1860s-1870s?, inclusive
Ledger. Day Line Steamers, 1870s, inclusive
Ledger? Hudson River Day Line, 1879-1884?, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Sequence numbers 218-221 and 234-238, and possibly this number 217, are a set of 10 ledgers spanning 1879-1914.
General Ledger. Hudson River Day Line, 1885-1888, inclusive
General Ledger. Hudson River Day Line, 1889-1893, inclusive
General Ledger. Hudson River Day Line, 1894-1896, inclusive
General Ledger. Hudson River Day Line, 1897-1899?, inclusive
Uptows, from September 1856, 1856-?, inclusive
Uptows, to September 1856, ?-1856, inclusive
Coal accounts, 1855-1858, inclusive
Bills of lading for coal, ?-1868, inclusive
Bills of lading for coal, 1863-1864, inclusive
Bills of lading for coal, 1861-1862, inclusive
Bills of lading for coal, 1857-1858, inclusive
Scrapbook, circa 1903-1905, inclusive
Scrapbook?
Uptows, 1855, inclusive
Uptows, 1857, inclusive
Record of coal contracts, 1855-1869, inclusive
Ledger. Hudson River Day Line, 1900-1902?, inclusive
Ledger. Hudson River Day Line, 1903-1905?, inclusive
Ledger. Hudson River Day Line, 1906-1908?, inclusive
Ledger. Hudson River Day Line, 1909-1912?, inclusive
Ledger. Hudson River Day Line, 1913-1914?, inclusive
Cash book. Hudson River Day Line, 1890-1891?, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Sequence numbers 239-246 comprise a set of cash books. The donation included an additional cash book, which is likely one of the unidentified volumes in the container list. In total, the dates span 1882-83 and 1887-1909.
Cash book. Hudson River Day Line, 1892-1895?, inclusive
Cash book. Hudson River Day Line, 1896-1897?, inclusive
Cash book. Hudson River Day Line, 1898-1901?, inclusive
Cash book. Hudson River Day Line, 1902-1904?, inclusive
Cash book. Hudson River Day Line, 1905-1906?, inclusive
Cash book. Hudson River Day Line, 1907-1909?, inclusive
Cash book. Hudson River Day Line, 1887-1889?, inclusive
Day book. Hudson River Day Line, 1894-1896, inclusive
Ledger balances and trial balances. Hudson River Day Line, circa 1883-1917, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Sequence numbers 248, 250, and 251 comprise a set of three ledger/trial balances, spanning 1883-1917.
Alfred Van Santvoord account (payments on his personal account) with Hudson River Day Line, and Eben Olcott account, 1897-1900, inclusive
Ledger balances and trial balances. Hudson River Day Line, circa 1883-1917, inclusive
Ledger balances and trial balances. Hudson River Day Line, circa 1883-1917, inclusive
SS Austin. Collections & running expenses account book, 1853-1856, inclusive
Ledger. Mary Powell Steamship Company, 1910?, inclusive
Account. Eben Olcott, Mary Powell Steamship Company, People's Line, 1910-1911, inclusive
Ledger. Mary Powell Steamship Company, 1911?, inclusive
SS Chauncey Vibbard. Passage book., 1874-1876, inclusive
Estimates, 1856-1857, inclusive
SS Peter Stuyvesant. Bible
SS DeWitt Clinton. Bible
SS Chauncey M. Depew. Bible
Towing, 1858, inclusive
Downtows, 1861, inclusive
Downtows, 1865, inclusive
Downtows, 1863, inclusive
Downtows, 1864, inclusive
Downtows, 1858, inclusive
Checkbook, 1859-1861, inclusive
Checkbook, 1866-1867, inclusive
Checkbook, 1863-1865, inclusive
Checkbook
Checkbook
Checkbook, 1862-1866, inclusive
Checkbook, 1864-1866, inclusive
Checkbook
Downtows, 1856, inclusive
Unpaid bills, 1855, inclusive
Unpaid bills, 1858, inclusive
Unpaid bills, 1857, inclusive
Unpaid bills, 1855-1856, inclusive
SS E. Corning Jr. Unpaid bills
SS Mercury. Unpaid bills
Unidentified (Unpaid bills?)
Visitor's Register. Hudson-Fulton Celebration replica of "Clermont" (1 of 2), 1909, inclusive
Various steamboats, including Mary Powell. Summary of receipts, expenses, and passengers, 1860s-1875, inclusive
Accounts, 1865-1869, inclusive
Disbursements ledger, 1865, inclusive
New York returns, to September 1856, 1856, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The volumes labeled "New York returns" appear to refer, not to accounts or reports concerning the steamboat New York, but to journal entries of disbursements made on a daily basis from the New York office.
New York returns, 1858, inclusive
Cash book, 1900-1901, inclusive
Daily & weekly earnings book
SS Chauncey Vibbard. Passage reports, 1865, inclusive
Towing, 1859-1861, inclusive
Visitor's Register. Hudson-Fulton Celebration replica of "Clermont" (2 of 2), 1911-1912, inclusive
New York returns, 1867, inclusive
Petty cash account, 1858-1868, inclusive
Classification of expenses and other financial data, 1857-1860, inclusive
New York returns, 1854-1855, inclusive
Permits
Unidentified
Coal shipping receipts from Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, 1867-1867, inclusive
Unidentified (Checkbook?)
Various steamboats. Passage book, 1856, inclusive
Accounts, 1866-1867, inclusive
New York returns, 1859, inclusive
New York returns, 1855, inclusive
New York returns, 1863, inclusive
New York returns, from September 1857, 1857, inclusive
Cash book B. V.B.G. & Co.
Unidentified (account book?)
Unidentified (Shipping receipts?)
Unidentified (Receipts?)
New York returns, from September 1856, 1856, inclusive
New York returns, to September 1857, 1857, inclusive
New York returns, 1864, bulk
Barge Washington. Passage book, 1854, inclusive
Account book
Towing ledger, 1858, inclusive
Towing permits
Towing bills, 1850, inclusive
Towing ledger, 1855, inclusive
Towing ledger, 1857, inclusive
Downtows, 1856, inclusive
Downtows, 1862, inclusive
Downtows, 1855, inclusive
New York returns, 1862, inclusive
New York returns, 1861, inclusive
Scrapbook
Scrapbook. "The Launch of the Hendrick Hudson"
Scrapbook
Cash book, 1894-1899, inclusive
Scrapbook
Scrapbook
Scrapbook
Evening record for Hudson River Day Line at Albany, 1914-1928, inclusive
Passenger report, 1945-1948, inclusive
Scrapbook* #35
Scope and Contents
A few scrapbooks in oversize 20th century binders were numbered as 33-41, with gaps. Several other unnumbered scrapbooks were in similar binders, suggesting that they were part of a set. Each of these were marked with an asterisk by the archivist in the container list.
Scrapbook
Recapitulation of passenger counts, receipts, expenses, 1901-1902, inclusive
Minutes book. Mary Powell Steamboat Company, 1899-1918, inclusive
Scrapbook
Scrapbook
Scrapbook
Boilers. Hudson River Day Line
Check stubs. Mary Powell Steamship Company, 1913-1919, inclusive
New York returns, 1866, inclusive
New York returns, 1867?, inclusive
Scrapbook
Passengers received and landed, 1902-1915?, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Sequence numbers 347-349 are a set of volumes with date span of about 1902-1915 and possibly into the 1920s.
Passengers received and landed, 1902-1915?, inclusive
Passengers received and landed, 1902-1915?, inclusive
Scrapbook*
Scrapbook*
Scrapbook* #41
Scrapbook* #37
Advertising Material, 1930s?, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Sequence numbers 354-357 are a set of 4 packets. Sequence 354 and 355 are unlabeled, but as they are packaged similarly to 356 and 357, which are labeled, these appear to be advertising/marketing material developed by the Wendell P. Colton Company.