In 1831, the New York and Harlem Railroad received a charter from the State of New York to build tracks from the southern tip of Manhattan to Harlem. Because Harlem was quite rural at this time, the only existing travel means between Manhattan and Harlem were steamboats and stagecoaches. The New York & Harlem Railroad was built between 1837 and 1841 and extended from City Hall to the Harlem River, as in the original design. In 1840, the New York State legislature granted the New York and Harlem Railroad rights to build a bridge across the Harlem River and extend to the New York and Albany's Railroad Line. Gouverneur Morris, Jr, then on the Board of Directors of the railroad, was entrusted to purchase the land.

In 1846, the New York and Albany Company was sold and the New York and Harlem Railroad bought the rights to complete the line to Albany. By 1852, the New York and Harlem Railroad had been extended 131 miles to Chatham Four Corners, New York, where it connected to an existing railroad line that went to Albany. In 1864, Cornelius Vanderbilt acquired a majority of NY & HRR stock and by 1869 had consolidated the New York and Harlem Railroad with the New York and Hudson River Railroad to become the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad.

Most of the documents in this series relate to the Albany extension of the New York and Harlem Railroad, including the bridge built over the Harlem River. This series contains details on the progress of construction and includes estimates and plans as well as statements of work completed and payroll records. The documents illustrate to Gouverneur Morris's role in the railroad as a significant stockholder, a member of the Board of Directors, and a contractor with the company Morris, Miller, and Schuyler (Gouverneur Morris, George Schuyler and Sidney Miller) for building the railroad and its extension. Many of the property documents pertain to Gouverneur Morris since sections of the railroad were to be built through his property in Morrisiana. The large number of accounts, bills, and receipts in the series detail the materials, labor, and property needed to construct the railroad.

Sources:

Greene, Joseph Warren, Jr. New York City's First Railroad: The New York and Harlem (1832-1867). New York: s.n., 1926.

Hyatt, Elijah Clarence. The History of the New York & Harlem Railroad. Mount Kisco, New York: E. Clarence Hyatt, 1898.

The New York and Albany railroad received a charter in 1832 to build a line from Harlem to Albany. However, in 1840, after several years with little success, the rights to build a bridge over the Harlem River were sold to the New York and Harlem Railroad Company. Gouverneur Morris, Jr. was a significant stock holder in the railroad. When the New York and Albany Railroad was sold in 1846, New York and Harlem Railroad bought all the rights to complete the line to Albany.

This subseries contains stock and real estate agreements between Gouverneur Morris, Jr. and the railroad, letters written to Gouverneur Morris, Jr., and financial information in the form of accounts, bills, and receipts.

Sources:

Greene, Joseph Warren, Jr. New York City's First Railroad: The New York and Harlem (1832-1867). New York: s.n., 1926.

Hyatt, Elijah Clarence. The History of the New York & Harlem Railroad. Mount Kisco, New York: E. Clarence Hyatt, 1898.

The Albany and Susquehanna Railroad was chartered in 1851 to run the one hundred and forty-two miles between Binghamton, New York and Albany. It was completed at Binghamton in January of 1869. Morris, Miller, Baker, and Co. (Governeur Morris, Sidney Miller, Josiah Baker, James St. T. Stranaham, George L. Schuyler, and Charles G. Case) were contracted to build the railroad.

The contracts as well as the legal documents in this series are between Morris, Miller, Baker, and Co. and the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad. The small amount of correspondence in this series mostly relates to a legal suit against the railroad. The monthly estimates of the work completed include estimates by contractors Morris, Miller, Baker, and Co. and other subcontractors.

Source:

Hicks, Frederick C. High Finance in the Sixties: The Early History of the Erie Railway. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press, Inc., 1966.

This series includes documentation on the railroad track in Northumberland County Pennsylvania that changed names and ownership several times. It was originally titled the Trevorton, Mahoney, & Susquehanna Railroad but reorganized with the Susquehanna and Union Bridge Company in 1854 to become the Trevorton and Susquehanna Railroad. In 1856, it consolidated with the Mahanoy and Shamokin Improvement Company and to become the Trevorton Coal & Railroad Company. It later became the Trevorton Coal Company Railroad in 1860 and the Zerbe Valley Railroad Company in 1867. It became part of the Mahoney & Shamoken Railroad in 1870 and merged with the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company in 1871. According to the contracts and agreements in the series, Gouverneur Morris Jr. was a stockholder in the railroad companies and was involved in the contruction of the railroad.

Source:

History of Northumberland Co., PA, Chapter 8. WebRoots.org Genealogy Foundation. 22 July 2002. http://www.webroots.org/library/usahist/honcpa07.html.

The Flushing Railroad was incorporated on February 24, 1852 and opened on June 28, 1854. It ran the twelve mile distance between Hunter's Point (Long Island City) and Flushing, Queens. Gouverneur Morris, Jr. and J.W. Allen were contractors, under the name Morris & Allen, for building sections of the railroad line. The Flushing Railroad faced competition when the Long Island Railroad built a branch from Jamaica to Hunter's Point. The Flushing Railroad was foreclosed on in 1859 and became known as the New York and Flushing Railroad.

The correspondence in this series includes specifications for the construction of passenger railroad cars and a dispute with the railroad over the financial obligations of Morris & Allen. The accounts, bills, and receipts pertain to Morris's stock in the company and often refer to the estimates of work completed in this series.

Source:

Andersen, Bob. The Flushing and New York and Flushing Rail Roads. Long Island Rail Road History Website (Unofficial). 22 July 2002.
http://www.lirrhistory.com/Flushing.html.

This series contains documents regarding the stock and reorganizations of the Vermont Valley Railroad Company. Gouverneur Morris, Jr. was president of the company from approximately 1871 to 1880. The letters in this series to Gouverneur Morris, Jr. discuss railroad bonds, issues of the stockholders, and a flood and the subsequent damage it caused. The stockholders' documents relate mostly to the 1871 reorganization of the railroad.

This series includes contractual and financial information regarding the building of the Central Iowa Air Line and Railroad. Gouverneur Morris, Jr. appears to be an investor in the railroad as well as a developer through Morris, Reed, Bishop & Company. Most of the series consists of contracts and agreements with Morris or Morris, Reed, Bishop & Company regarding the building of the railroad. The small amount of incoming and outgoing correspondence relates to stock of the railroad.

The Illinois Central Railroad was chartered in 1851 to span from Cairo, (at the southern tip of Illinois), to Galena (in northwestern Illinois) with a branch to Chicago. The Illinois Central Railroad was the first railroad company to receive a federal land grant. Despite the fact that the land was granted from the government in return for a percentage of the income of the railroad, the company still had trouble finding investors. It opened its first section to Chicago in 1852 and the line was finished in 1856. The account documents and correspondence in this subseries relate to Gouverneur Morris's stock holdings in the railroad. His involvement in the construction of the railroad is unclear.

Sources:

Corliss, Carlton J. Main Line of Mid-America: the Story of the Illinois Central. New York: Creative Age Press, 1950.

A Brief Historical Sketch of the Illinois Central Railroad. Illinois Central Historical Society. 22 July 2002. http://www.icrrhistorical.org/icrr.history.html.

This series pertains to the railroads which are represented in the collection by only a few documents.

This series contains documents which cannot be attributed to a specific railroad or which refer to more that one railroad. The series is organized by type of material.