Series I Rutherfurd Stuyvesant
Scope and Contents note
Series 1 consists of the papers of Rutherfurd Stuyvesant (1842 - 1909). The principal subseries are: Letters Received; Accounts, Bills, Receipts; Legal Papers; and Court Papers. Other subseries (see box and folder list for names) primarily reflect Rutherfurd Stuyvesant's interest in collecting art and armor, and his interest in yachting.
The series also includes 20 volumes of diaries kept by Rutherfurd Stuyvesant between the years 1869 and 1890. Most of the entries in the diaries are of money paid, received or owed, or of his arrivals and departures on various trips. There are more detailed entries, however, for hunting trips that Rutherfurd Stuyvesant took to the western territories of the United States in 1884 and 1885, and a hunting trip to western Canada in 1888.
Subseries 1: Rutherfurd Stuyvesant - Letters Received N.D., 1845-1906; bulk dates: 1865-1906
Scope and Contents note
Most letters in the series are from members of the Rutherfurd family. For the most part, the letters concern themselves with family and social matters, including the writer's health, news about people that members of the family have visited, and occasionally relations with servants. Intermittently, correspondents make observations about politics. Lewis Morris Rutherfurd writes in November 1865 about the statewide elections in New Jersey ("that last! last! ditch of the rebellion"), and the victory of the Union Party there. A year later, commenting on the congressional elections, he criticizes President Johnson ( "a common street brawler").
Other correspondents include St. Clare Byrne, naval architect, regarding the design of Arcturus, S. B. Jameson, manager of the family's New Jersey estate, Tranquillity (sic). Rutherfurd Stuyvesant's attorneys, Morris, Sentell & Main, of New York City frequently wrote to him about the state of his business ventures and real estate holdings. Bashford Dean of the Metropolitan Museum of Art corresponded with Rutherfurd Stuyvesant about antique arms and armor.
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, N.D. (1 of 3)
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, N.D. (2 of 3)
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, N.D. (3 of 3)
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, 1845, 1848, 1860 - 1865
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, 1867 - 1869
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, 1870 - 1875
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, 1876 - [1880]
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, 1880 - 1889
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, 1890 - 1893
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, 1894 - July 1895
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, Aug. 1895 - Dec. 1895
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, Jan. 1896 - Aug. 1896
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, Sept. 1896 - Dec. 1896
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, Jan. 1897 - Feb. 1897
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, March 1897 - April 1897
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, May 1897 - June 1897
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, July 1897 - Dec. 1897
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, 1898 - 1899
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, Feb. 1900 - July 1900
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, Aug. 1900 - Dec. 1900
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, Jan. 1901 - March 1901
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, April 1901 - May 1901
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, June 1901 - Dec. 1901
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, 1903 - May 1904
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, June 1904 - Dec. 1904
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, 1905
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, 1906 - Feb. 1907
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Letters Received, March 1907 - Dec. 1907
[Rutherfurd Stuyvesant] -- Letters Received, N.D., 1904, 1906
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Postcards Received, 1905, [1906]
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Telegrams Received, 1903 - 1904
Subseries 2: Rutherfurd Stuyvesant - Accounts, Bills, Receipts N.D., 1865-1907
Scope and Contents note
There is no material in this subseries dated prior to 1865. Most of the items dated 1866-1867 are from hotels and businesses in Europe, including some receipts for the purchase of art. Much of the material consists of bills for household items such as coal or ice, and receipts for building supplies. Some of the building supplies appear to have been used on rental properties. Approximately half of the material in this subseries dates from the period 1895-1905, and consists of accounts from the Tranquillity Farms estate, or accounts concerning Rutherfurd Stuyvesant's rental properties in New York City.
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Accounts, Bills, Receipts, N.D., 1865, 1866
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Accounts, Bills, Receipts, 1867
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Accounts, Bills, Receipts, 1868 - 1869
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Accounts, Bills, Receipts, 1870, 1874, 1877
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Accounts, Bills, Receipts, 1883 - 1893
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Accounts, Bills, Receipts, 1894 - July 1895
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Accounts, Bills, Receipts, Novenber - Dec. 1895
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Accounts, Bills, Receipts, 1896
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Accounts, Bills, Receipts, 1897 - 1899
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Accounts, Bills, Receipts, Jan. 1900 - July 1900
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Accounts, Bills, Receipts, Aug. 1900 - 1902
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Accounts, Bills, Receipts, 1903 - 1905
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Accounts, Bills, Receipts, Jan. 1906 - April 1906
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Accounts, Bills, Receipts, May 1906 - 1907
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Check Books, 1892 - 1901
Subseries 3: Rutherfurd Stuyvesant - Legal papers 1856, 1866, 1869
Scope and Contents note
One contract (in French), which appears to concern the purchase of a piece of art; a release by Rutherfurd Stuyvesant to the New York Life Insurance Co.; a contract to lay a cranberry bog on a farm (presumably Tranquillity).
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant -- Legal Papers, 1856, 1866, 1869
Subseries 4: Rutherfurd Stuyvesant - Court Papers 1876, 1900
Scope and Contents note
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant vs. Richard O'Brien; suit over land in NYC. The items appear to be a State of Case and a summons.