The bulk of the correspondence in this series is that of Henry V. Freeman, his wife, Ida Van Horn Freeman, and their daughters, Genevieve and Irmingarde, and is related to personal matters. Other correspondence is from Ida Van Horn Freeman's sisters and other family members including Abner Van Horn, Ida Freeman's father.

Henry Freeman wrote to his wife and daughters at home in Greenpoint, Long Island, while he was on business trips to Central America and California. After Henry's death in 1888, Ida returned to her family's home at Artist's Lake in Fishkill-on-Hudson (later renamed Beacon). A number of her letters were written to her daughters while they were away at school. Ida's sisters, Gertrude, Gay, Sadie and Alice also wrote to Genevieve and Irmingarde reporting Ida's failing health.

Irmingarde's correspondence begins when she was quite young and continues into the early years of her marriage, signed using various forms of her name and nicknames. Of interest is a letter written on the last night of the nineteenth century (January 31, 1899) to her sister, enclosing a pressed four-leaf clover (Box 1, Folder 6).

Also of particular note are Genevieve's letters to her father describing her intentions to become a doctor (Box 1, Folder 4, October 14, 1884) and Ida's letter to Henry showing her support for Grover Cleveland and describing an appearance in Brooklyn of Cleveland and George B. McClellan (Box 1, Folder 3, October 11, 1884).

Of the more than 107 letters and fragments, most are in good condition. A few are difficult to read because the ink has faded and some of the fragments (Box 1, Folder 10) are in poor condition.

Of the more than 105 letters in this series, fifty-three are those of John B. Seaman and the majority of his correspondence is with Charles C. Peck, his business partner or agent. These letters deal primarily with business transactions. There are quite a number of condolence letters to John B. Seaman and his niece, Lizzie, on the death of his wife Amelia. There are other letters of a personal nature as well.

A number of family members moved to Texas and several of the letters are from Bonham County where John B. Seaman and C.C. Peck sold land to a Howard L. Parmele for the establishment of a settlement. Of interest is a letter from John Seaman's nephew, Seaman Field, describing the 'new city' of Dallas and commenting on his suspicion and dislike for members of the Parmele family (Box 2, Folder 2 - March 15, 1874).

Another letter of particular note was written to Emily Seaman on September 16, 1900, from "Lizzie" in Galveston, Texas (Box 2, Folder 4). The letter describes the devastating hurricane that killed thousands and destroyed much of the city. The letter is not in good condition, but it is legible.

In Box 2, Folder 6, there is what appears to be a copy of a letter sent on November 5, 1815, from John Adams, the former U.S. President, to John P. DeWindt congratulating him on the birth of a daughter. The daughter, Caroline, was born on Adams' birthday.

Several documents and papers related to school activities are included in the collection. Essays and lecture notes belonging to George A. Seaman are included in Box 2, Folder 7; Ida Van Horn Freeman's grammar school testimonials and a tuition receipt are in Box 2, folder 8. Two school notebooks in Box 2, Folder 9 contain the lecture notes of William Morrow Knox. A variety of subjects (e.g., physical geography, logic, English literature) are included.

Abner Van Horn's military appointments -- as Infantry Ensign and as Infantry Lieutenant -- are included, as are Regimental Orders from Colonel Oran. W. Rogers -- one to serve as member of a Regimental Court Martial and one to organize parades. Box 2, Folder 10 includes the original documents as well as photostats of each.

In Box 2, Folder 11, there is an 1816 document identifying Andrew Van Horne as a soldier in the Third Regiment Horse Artillery Company, New York State Artillery.

A variety of legal documents is included in this collection, arranged by family and, to the extent possible, by type of document within family. Box 3 contains items such as deeds, leases, wills, bonds, agreements, and a lengthy court transcript, belonging to members of the Van Horn and Freeman families, Abner Van Horn predominating. In Box 4, there are Seaman and DeWindt family legal documents including a copy of the will of John Peter DeWindt (Box 4, Folder 4). In Box 4, Folder 3, is a group of 37 deeds, wills, agreements, etc. involving certain families (e.g., Corwin, Howell, Woodhull, and DeWindt) from Southold, Riverhead and other Long Island towns, dating from 1761 to 1837. Among the documents are several relating to 'vessels' as well as many concerning real estate. There is also a copy of official minutes from a meeting (April 9, 1793) in which two ministers reached satisfaction "respecting the sentiments about gospel and ministerial order." Box 4, Folders 5 and 6 contain patent documents.

This series (one box and 36 volumes) contains papers of a business or financial nature, the majority having belonged to Abner Van Horn. The folders are arranged by type of document with the exception of Box 5, Folder 1. This folder holds two packets of various document types all involving Junius Judson, manufacturer of governors and valves, who supplied valves to Van Horn's business. The packets include correspondence, receipts, accounts, illustrations, etc. Folders 3 and 4 contain a large number of receipts and bills. Along with these are what appear to be worksheets on which bills were calculated. The items include Van Horn business purchases as well as customer accounts and bills. They are arranged chronologically, falling between 1864 and 1879 with the bulk dated 1870. In Folder 5 are bonds issued by the Mott Manufacturing Company along with a notice that the Mott Company is filing bankruptcy (both Van Horn and Henry Freeman are listed as creditors); a related letter written by Abner Van Horn; and a document transferring company stock to Van Horn. Items in Folder 7 include miscellaneous documents such as a survey report, insurance policy documents and cancelled checks.

Two folders contain Seaman Family items. Folder 8 contains an account book belonging to the George A. Seaman family. Among its entries are items purchased for his children, Emily, George and Charles (Carl). There are several of George Williams Seaman's receipts in Folder 9. The final folder (Folder 10) in this series is an account book fragment; the author is not identifiable.

The majority of volumes in this series are those of Abner Van Horn and Company. According to the 1870 New York City Directory, the company was located at 624 5th Street, between Avenue D and Lewis Street. Most of the volumes are account books or ledgers. Among them are a Workmen's Account Book and a Wage Book that identify hours worked and wages paid. It appears that Henry V. Freeman, Van Horn's son-in-law, was also an employee of the company. A Diary (1880-1884) belonging to Henry V. Freeman is of interest not only for its financial content but also the information printed in the volume (e.g., "Eclipses for 1880," "Church Days," postage and interest tables, "The Interest Laws of the United States" and "Population of States and Territories 1870").

A volume labeled "Journal" is actually used as both an account book and a scrapbook. Belonging to Abner Van Horn, it contains transactions that occurred in 1836-1839 while he was doing business in Charleston, South Carolina, as well as business conducted in 1842 in New York. The rest of the volume is taken up with newspaper clippings on a variety of topics, one of which is Shakespeare, primarily the controversy over who actually wrote Shakespeare's plays, etc. There are also articles on Epictetus, Raphael, Rubens, Swedenborg, Prior and others, as well as an article by Henry Ward Beecher called "Cats, Dogs and Robins."

Two of the volumes belonged to Irmingarde Van Horne Freeman Seaman. One is an Account Book from her home furnishings and decorating business. The other, labeled "Bank Book," contains lists of layette items and their costs for two different years - 1904 and 1908. Her daughter, Sarah Corvinus, was born in 1904 and her son, Ogden Van Horne, in 1908.

While fewer in number than the Van Horn volumes, those of the Seaman family contain a mix of business papers that reveal a good deal about the David Brown Company, later George W. Seaman, Inc., a New York City-based import-export business dealing in wood and rubber. Much of the material is loosely contained within a large Ledger Book (1913-1923) and a Letterbook (1918-1923) of business correspondence, shipping documents, bills of lading and brochures.

Some of the volumes in this series are in good condition although others have begun to deteriorate, have faded ink, or have come unbound. The letterbook of business correspondence contains numerous items in poor condition. Several volumes are housed in boxes or enclosures (*).

Personal papers and ephemera are included in this series. Of particular note is the wedding book of George Williams Seaman and Irmingarde Van Horne Freeman Seaman in which many of the family members are mentioned (Box 6, Folder 6). The folder also contains wedding invitations and several associated photographs. A portion of the estate inventory of George and Irmingarde (Box 6, Folder 7) is annotated to indicate from whom items were inherited or purchased.

In Folder 8 are a number of items that are not clearly associated with a specific member of the Van Horn, Freeman, DeWindt or Seaman families. Items include letters; receipts; notes on scraps of paper; an advertisement for "Dr. Wistar's Balsom of Wild Cherry" (1844); extracts from a memorial for John Dubois (1869); pages from a notebook concerning medical expenses (1880-1881); a copy of a document promising freedom to two slaves if they obey their master for ten years (1805); and an undated sermon discussing Acts II Verse 23.

Three volumes are included in the series - a notebook that appears to have belonged to Ida Van Horn Freeman and two scrapbooks belonging to Caroline Elizabeth DeWindt Monell. One scrapbook contains miscellaneous clippings and personal writings and the other includes, primarily, clippings describing Newburgh's Centennial (1882) celebrating the 100th anniversary of the end of the American Revolution. Caroline Monell's second husband, Judge John J. Monell, was on the Centennial's Executive Committee and made a speech during the festivities. The scrapbook also contains a drawing and other items unrelated to the Centennial. The smaller two volumes are housed in boxes (*).

This series contains a variety of printed and visual materials. There are photographs (Box 6, Folder 9), including one of Amelia Seaman, wife of John B. Seaman. Among the other printed items are illustrations; advertisements; flyers; business cards; a 1901 schedule for the Lackawanna Railroad's New York - Buffalo - Chicago - St. Louis service (Box 6, Folder 12); the 1871 Annual Report of New York's Metropolitan Savings Bank (Box 6, Folder 13); event programs including the Commencement Exercises of Bellevue Hospital Medical College, 1873 (Box 6, Folder 14); and a ticket stub from the Metropolitan Opera (Box 6, Folder 16). In Folder 15, the pamphlet titled "Names of Those Buried in the Union Cemetery at Middle Island, L.I., New York" contains burial locations and dates for many members of the Van Horn family.

Newspaper sections and clippings are contained in Box 6, Folder 17. Among the clippings are many concerning the 1887 America's Cup race and other yachting news; the mention, in 1882, of a crayon portrait of Grover Cleveland done by Ida L. Van Horn Freeman; and an 1887 New York Herald article about an electric streetcar in Boston. There are larger newspaper sections from papers such as the New York Daily Witness (1858), The Home Journal (1875) and American Merchant (1881). An 1859 issue of Harper's Weekly contains several novel serializations including Book II Chapter VI of Charles Dickens' new novel A Tale of Two Cities.

The final item in this series is a photographic plate. Its subject is a pen and ink sketch of the DeWindt Homestead. The home was destroyed by fire c. 1892. Photographs from the plate were made for Irmingarde Van Horne Freeman Seaman.