Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Records, ca. 1914-1978.

Extent: Less than 1 cu. ft.

Location: Monsey Products Company, 430 Hudson River Rd, Waterford, NY 12188. For access, contact the company.

Historical Note: American Seal was the primary brand of ready-mixed paints and varnishes produced by the William Connors Paint Manufacturing Company. Connors established a business on Hill Street in Troy in 1878 and moved to River Street in 1889. The company changed ownership several times over more than a century and has operated under several different names. The Connors Company built a building at 669 River Street in Troy in 1898. In 1971 the company was acquired by Monsey Products, and it moved from its long-time home on River Street to facilities in Waterford in 1979.

Scope and Content: Records maintained by Monsey Products in Waterford, as successor to American Seal relate almost entirely to the years since the company moved from Troy in 1978. There are, however, some blueprints of the company’s River Street building, ca. 1914, an insurance appraisal of the firm’s property from 1949, and a few pieces of promotional material.

Materials Outside the Capital District: The Special Collections Department of the University of California, Santa Barbara Library has some trade catalogs of the William Connors Paint Manufacturing Company in its trade catalog collection.

The Archives Center of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., has a few folders of promotional materials of William Connors Company and American Seal Manufacturing, ca. 1910-1930 in the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Historical Note: Ashe Manufacturing was a carding and spinning mill that made woolen cloth and sweaters. It was founded by Patrick Francis Ashe in 1920 and located on Green Street in Rensselaer. After Ashe’s death in 1934, the business was run by his wife and then sold to another mill operator from outside of the area. The mill remained active through World War II and was a major supplier of sweaters and possibly uniform cloth for the United States military. The mill closed in 1948.

Records of Ashe Manufacturing Company have not been located and according to Matthew Ashe, the son of the founder, were presumably discarded. Matthew Ashe has retained some samples of the firm’s products, however.

Lansingburgh, New York

Records Inventory - Accession 1982.47

Records, 1902-1982.

Extent: 8 boxes and 1 package

Historical Note: The Bethesda Home was founded as a privately funded institution in 1902 in Lansingburgh, New York and was operated until 1982. The Home was managed by a Board of Directors, a Superintendent and in later years a Board of Women Managers also provided assistance. It was founded for older women who were homeless or destitute, although in its early years it cared for children and younger women as well. The Home was funded by donations from Protestant churches in the city as well as from endowments and legacies made by the residents of the Home and their families. The home was located at two places in Lansingburgh and one address in Watervliet; for most of its history it was located at Second Avenue and 113th Street in Lansingburgh. For many years, there was a Bethesda Home Circle and a Friendship Circle of people who assisted by providing linens, preparing monthly suppers and providing entertainment for the residents of the Home.

As the 20th century progressed and progressive social welfare laws, such as Social Security and Medicare were legislated, the need for private residences such as the Bethesda Home decreased and there were fewer applications for residence there. The Home closed in 1982 after arranging to donate their assets to the Eddy Memorial Geriatric Center, Troy, New York. The Eddy was to provide care until decease of the ladies from the Home who moved to the Eddy. The Presbyterian Home Association also closed around this time and the Bethesda Home and Presbyterian Home Association assets were used to build what is known as the Bethesda-Presbyterian Wing of the Eddy. The last president of the Bethesda Board of Directors was Frank McKnight.

Scope and Content: The Bethesda Home archives include the Constitution of the Home, Minutes of the Board of Directors, including Treasurer’s Reports, Minutes of the Board of Women Managers, Inspection Reports by the NY State Board of Charities and Dept. of Social Welfare, Annual Reports of the Home and Annual Reports of the Home made for the State Board of Charities, deeds to cemetery lots, wills of residents, Daily Register of Events, House and Home Registers of residents and financial records, including journals, donations, bills and receipts. They provide a detailed documentation of the history of the Home. There are only a few photographs.

Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Records, 1874-1947.

Extent: 21 v., 0.5 cu ft.

Historical Note: The Burden Iron Company was incorporated in 1881 as the successor to the firm of H. Burden & Sons, which had been founded by Henry Burden. Among the iron products that Burden manufactured were bolts, rivets, spikes, and wrought iron bars. Burden Iron was purchased by Republic Steel about 1940.

Scope and Content: This small collection of records include minutes of the executive committee (1910-1936) and trustees (1881-1947) together with account books (1912-1947), payroll records (1882-1936), auditors’ reports (1925-1937), stock listings and transfers (1924-1942), and a forge work book for Steam Mill No. 3 (1874-1875).

Records, 1818-1935

Extent: 155 packages, 25 boxes.

Scope and Content: This extensive collection includes long runs of day books (1824-1896), cash books, (1822-1933), ledgers (1827-1924), cost books (1881-1897), sales books (1869-1925), foreman’s reports (1891-1935), payrolls (1929-1933), scrapbooks, and letterbooks.

Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Records, 1879-1982 (inclusive), 1900-1960 (bulk).

Extent: ca. 415 cu. ft.

Historical Note: Cluett, Peabody traces its origins in Troy back to 1850, and it grew to be the largest of Troy's collar and cuff manufacturers. It manufactured Arrow shirts in Troy for many years and continued to maintain a research facility in the city until about 1990.

Scope and Content: The Cluett, Peabody archives consist chiefly of financial records and advertising materials documenting the collar and shirt manufacturing business based in Troy. The collection is strongest for the first half of the twentieth century. Financial records include cash journals and receipts, expense ledgers, stock ledgers, sales records, and bank records. Some Board minutes and payroll records are also present. There are also files for Cluett, Peabody, Canada and other records documenting the company’s extensive international activities. Advertising records include scrapbooks, salesmen’s catalogs, trade catalogs, photographs, and product samples. Copies of patent records from the U.S. Patent Office document many clothing patents including those of numerous Troy patentees. The collection also includes the personal papers of Sanford Cluett, documenting the development of the Sanforizing process, and including diaries, scrapbooks, correspondence, and photographs. Advertisement from Troy City Directory, 1950.

Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Records, 1989- .

Location: Collins Lumber, 2742 Sixth Ave., Troy, NY 12180. For access, contact the company.

Historical Note: Collins Lumber Corporation was founded in 1888. For many years it operated as Charles Collins & Sons. In addition to selling lumber and hardware, the firm has a long history of manufacturing custom mill work pieces for construction and in recent years has played an important role in the renovation of Troy’s historic architectural heritage. Collins Truss Systems, Inc. is a subsidiary firm.

Scope and Content: A disastrous fire in 1989 destroyed the first century of Collins’ lumber’s business records. Current records maintained are chiefly accounting records, sales records, and payroll records.

Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Records, ca. 1815-1970.

Extent: ca. 1 cu. ft.

Historical Note: Huyck Mills were manufacturers of paper maker’s felts, wool jackets, and bed blankets. Originally based in Rensselaerville, New York, the firm relocated to the city of Rensselaer in 1894 after a fire destroyed their mill in Rensselaer. The business was sold and subsequently closed in the early 1980s.

Scope and Content: Consists of a scrapbook of documents and photos (1815-1947) showing the history of the firm that was presented as a commemorative to one of the firm’s executives. There is also an album of photographs of the mill, 1912, including photos of machinery and employees, some annual reports from 1964 to 1975, a centennial history done in 1970, and copies of the company newsletter The Huyck Feltmaker (1964-1972).

Location Note: The New York State Library contains 30 volumes of Huyck family business records from 1839 to 1890 that document their business activities before moving to the city of Rensselaer.

Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Records, ca. 1960- .

Extent: ca. 168 cu. ft.

Historical Note: Garden Way’s roots are in the Rototiller Company founded in 1930 by Cadwallader Washburn Kelsey. Kelsey moved his operation to the Lansingburgh section of Troy in 1937. After his retirement in 1957, his chief engineer George Done purchased the supply business of the company. In 1961 Done invented a new rototiller which came to be christened the Troy-Bilt Rototiller. The name of the company became Garden Way Manufacturing. The company maintains manufacturing and office facilities in Troy and in East Greenbush as well as in other locations in the United States.

Scope and Content: These records consist primarily of advertising and marketing materials. They include detailed information on Garden Way’s marketing plans through magazine advertisements and through direct sales at temporary locations around the country. Includes log books recording serial numbers and names and addressees of purchasers of Troy-Bilt tillers. Also includes auxiliary enterprises including copies of gardening books published by Garden Way Publishing and video tapes of gardening tips broadcast on television.

Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Records, 1915- .

Extent: ca. 175 cu. ft.

Location: Geier & Bluhm Inc., 594 River St, Troy, NY 12180. For access contact the company.

Historical Note: In 1907 two young immigrants, James Geier (from Switzerland) and Joseph Bluhm (from Hungary) joined together to establish a business to manufacture surveying instruments. Geier & Bluhm was incorporated in 1922. In the 1930s the rights to manufacturing its surveying instruments were sold to the Bostrom Brady Manufacturing Company, and Geier and Bluhm gained the rights to distribute Bostrom Brady instruments in the Troy area. Geier & Bluhm concentrated on the manufacture of spirit levels, which continues to be the firm’s principal product.

Scope and Content: A fairly complete run of accounting records extending back to the early years of the company includes ledgers and ledger sheets (1915-1929), cash books (1915-1926), inventories and accounts (1917-1925), bank books, trial balances, and a stock purchase book (1925-1927). Later records include employee records, and long runs of purchase orders, customer orders, paid bills, and cash journals. Product related records include blueprints and drawings for instruments, patent information, product literature, catalogs, and other promotional material. There are some photographs and clippings relating to Geier & Bluhm products and people associated with the business.

Records, 1824-1867.

Historical Note: There appears to be little known about this organization. It seems to have been active from about 1843 until 1867, although it may have been active previous to and after those dates. The members appeared to have been assessed fees based upon a cost per acre of land owned (at one time, 3 cents per acre) and among other functions, the fees were used to fund the costs of attorneys in lawsuits related to the anti-rent crisis.

On December 20, 1844, Elijah Smith and his uncle Plumb Martin, lumbermen in Grafton, were surrounded by about fifty “Indians” and during that incident, Smith was shot by Norman Goyer and died later. There is a receipt for payment by Goyer to the Grafton Anti-Rent MPA in the papers. In 1854, the Van Rensselaer family sold most of their remaining lands to Walter S. Church. Church brought hundreds of lawsuits to eject tenants for non-payment of rent and many tenant families who had worked the land for generations lost their lands. The receipts for payment for counsel, particularly to attorney, Anson Brigham, indicate that the MPA was fighting lawsuits for their lands until at least 1867.

Scope Note: These records are chiefly financial and include receipts and lists of residents of Grafton who were supporting the organization. They provide one of the scarce sources of the names of those who may have been “Indians” in the anti-rent dispute that continued for nearly three decades.

Item List:

Folder 1: Two receipts from the Rensselaer County Mutual Insurance Company to Henry Hydorn, April 21, 1842 and Sept. 20, 1843.

Folder 2: Lists of member of the Grafton Anti-Rent MPA with amounts of money received from them as part of their dues as members, six lists, four undated, one dated Nov. 5, 1861 and one dated March 12, 1859 (assessment for this was 3 cents per acre). Surnames such as Wagar, Hydorn, Lawler, McChesney, Littlefield, Dunham, Clickner, Hayner, Emerson, Bonesteel, Goyer, Coonradt, Shaver and others.

Folder 3: Two receipts for subscriptions to the Albany Freeholder; to Peter T. Hydorn, dated Nov. 19, 1847 and July 6, 1847, signed by A.G. Johnson for C. F. Bouton.

Folder 4: Promises to pay and receipts to individuals for payments of the Grafton Anti-Rent MPA, 1843-1863. Receipts made to the following persons, who it probably can be assumed were members of this semi-secret association.

Allen, Jeremiah, 1853-1861

Barringer, Peter D., 1853-1857

Baxter, Sophia, 1855

Bonesteel, Jonas, 1854-1860

Bornt, Joel, 1858-1860

Branshaw, Israel, 1859-1860

Brock, Benjamin, 1855

Clickner, Adam, 1853-1860

Clickner, Sylvester, 1853-1859

Coonrad, George, 1853

Coonradt, George W., 1863

Coonradt, William P., 1857-1860

Coons, William W., 1853-1859

Crandall, David W. 1853-1857

Dunham, Bradley, 1860

Dunham, William L. B., 1853-1857

Durkee, John B., 1862

Emerson, David, 1859-1860

Ford, Ira B., 1853-1861

Gibson, John W., 1859-1860

Goyer, Norman, 1854-

Hayner, George P., 1855

Hayner, Henry F., 1856-1859

Hayner, William, 1854-1859

Hydorn, David, 1853-1861

Hydorn, Peter T., 1853-1859

Hydorn, William, 1853-1859

Lawler, Edward, 1861

Littlefield, H.W., 1854-1861

Littlefield, Hiram B., 1853-1861

McChesney, J.M., 1855-1860

McChesney, Richard, 1854-1860

McChesney, Walter B., 1854-1861

McChesney, William J., 1855-

Murphy, David, 1861

Ott, Adam, 1854-1860

Reynolds, Thomas, 1857-1861

Rifenburgh, George, 1857

Rifenburgh, Nelson, 1863

Shaver, Christian, 1855-1860

Shaver, James H., 1855-1859

Shaver, Nathan, 1855-1857

Simmons, David L., 1859

Simmons, William H. ,1855-

Smith, John L., 1855-1860

Snyder, Adam, 1853-1861

Snyder, George, 1863

Snyder, Jacob, 1853-1857

Tilley, Nelson, 1859

Wagar, Adam, 1861

Wager, George, 1855-1857

Wagar, Peter, 1853-1861

Wagar, Jacob, 1853-1861

Wagar, William H., 1855-1861

Wagar, Adam H., 1853-1861

Wilds, T. B., 1853-1859

Wagar, Adam, 1853-1860

Wager, Henry L., 1853-1860

Wagar, Jacob P., 1853-1860

Wagar, Simeon, 1853-1857

Weeden, James, Jr., 1861

Wagar, William N., 1853-1860

Folder 5: Eight receipts to Executive Committee of the Grafton Anti-Rent MPA for payments to Bennajah Allen, Treasurer of the MPA, 1843-1844

Folder 6: Orders (7) to Peter T. Heydorn, Treasurer from William Heydorn to pay various sums of money to various members of the MPA, 1853-1861. One receipt of money received from Peter Hydorn for blacksmithing, 1853.

Folder 7: Receipts of payments made to Peter Hydorn and others related to payment for counsels in “Indian suits,” and other actions, 1853-1867.

Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Historical Note: Gurley Precision Instruments traces its origin to the partnership founded in 1845 by William Gurley and Jonas Phelps. William Gurley’s brother Lewis joined the firm in 1851. The Gurley brothers bought out Phelps in 1852, and the firm became W. & L.E. Gurley. The business remained under family control until 1968, when it became part of the high-tech corporation Teledyne and the name was changed to Teledyne Gurley. In the early 1990s Teledyne sold the company, and it became Gurley Precision Instruments. The firm originally manufactured surveying, hydrological, meteorological, and other technical instruments. More recently it has manufactured electro-optical encoders used in space vehicles, aircraft mapping cameras, navigation systems, and other applications.

Note: Records of Gurley Precision Instruments, Inc. are held by the New York State Museum and by the company itself. These collections are described separately.

A. – Records at NYSM

Records, 1854-1970 (inclusive), 1860-1920 (bulk).

Extent: ca. 300 cu. ft.

Location: New York State Museum, Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY 12230.

Scope and Content: Approximately 270 cubic feet of Gurley records were donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 1970. In 1995 these records were given to the New York State Museum, along with a collection of instruments manufactured by the company. An addendum of records was transferred from the company to the New York State Museum, and the result is that the bulk of the company’s records before 1970 are at the Museum. A small group of records remains at Gurley Precision Instruments, Inc.

Long runs of cash books, day books, cost books, order books, sales books, general ledgers, time books, and inventories, chiefly covering the years from 1860 to 1920. The collection also includes serial number books, 1908-1970, containing information on major instruments purchased by Gurley customers. Employees’ ledgers, 1853-1870 include payroll accounts. Also includes corporation minutes, 1900-1965; stockholders reports, 1920-1947, photographs of employees, factory views, and instruments. There is also a complete run (1855-1951) of the firm’s catalogue, “Manual of the Principal Instruments Used in American Engineering and Surveying, Manufactured by W. & L.E. Gurley, Troy, N.Y.”

The Gurley records also include records of other companies in which the firm had interest and of charitable organizations in which the Gurley family was involved. These include the Charles E. Wilder Thermometer Company of Peterboro, N.H., the Owens Grocery Co. (located in the Gurley building), the Troy & Bennington Railroad, the Rensselaer Agricultural Society, the Troy Orphan Asylum, and the Fifth Avenue Baptist Church in Troy.

B. – Records at Gurley Precision Instruments

Records, ca. 1862-1980.

Location: Gurley Precision Instruments, Inc., 514 Fulton St, Troy, NY 12180. For access, contact the company.

Scope and Content: Serial number cards (1924-1968), serial number books for Gurley levels (1899-1910), patent papers, architectural drawings for the firm’s Fulton Street building, shop drawings for Gurley products, promotional publications.

Tracking the History of Property in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Historical Note: Troy is a city with great numbers of historic buildings, including homes as well as industrial, commercial, educational and religious architecture. Clearly identifiable neighborhoods have grown up around these historical buildings that provide a foundation for the development of the neighborhoods. Because of the importance of this historic architecture, property owners, historic preservationists, and neighborhood activists have become increasingly interested in the ownership of homes and land in the City of Troy, New York. This brief listing provides a general overview of the most important records for studying property ownership in Troy and Rensselaer County, New York. Some of the records are located at the Hart Cluett Museum, while others may be found at the county clerk’s office and elsewhere.

Deeds, etc.: These are found at the Rensselaer County Clerk’s Office, 3rd and Congress Streets, Troy. The County Clerk’s Office, is the central place for all land transactions in Rensselaer County, including maps, mortgages, deeds, foreclosures and other related records.

Leases: Most of Rensselaer County was originally possessed by the Van Rensselaer family (generally all of the county except the city of Troy, village of Lansingburgh, and towns of Pittstown, Hoosick, and Schagticoke). There were several thousand tenants, about 3000 in the early 19th century, who leased their lands from the Van Rensselaer “patroons.” Many of the leases, indexed by surname, are in the Manuscripts and Special Collections of the New York State Library. The Van Rensselaer Manor Papers at the State Library also include surveys of property and maps of the manor lands as well as rent books listing tenants and their annual rental payments to the Van Rensselaer family.

Title Searches: There are numerous companies in the Capital District, including some in Troy, that do title searches of property. HCM has the Charles Cohen Collection that consists of title search files for property in Troy and Rensselaer County that were done in the late 20th century. This collection is partially indexed.

City Directories: City directories for Troy from 1832 to 1999 are available in the HCM Research Library. The city directories include a wide range of information including names of government officials, advertisements of businesses, and other data about the city. The major portion of a city directory is the list of residents, with their addresses and usually with their occupations noted, in the city for each year. The directories may be searched by name only through 1914. Beginning in 1915, the directory also includes a House Directory that allows searching by street address as well as name. Beginning about 1860, Lansingburgh, West Troy (i.e. Watervliet), Cohoes, Waterford, and Green Island began to be included in the Troy directories. The City of Rensselaer is included in the Albany city directories.

Surrogate’s Court Records: The records of the Surrogate’s Court have been microfilmed and are available on microfilm at the County Clerk’s Office. The original paper records for 1791 to 1916 are in the collections of HCM and are indexed by surname in an automated database available only at HCM. These files may have a small or great amount of information depending upon various factors. A typical file may contain a deceased person’s will, an inventory of the estate of the deceased, letters of administration given to executors (often children or other relatives of the deceased) responsible for the estate and other legal documents with family names and information with potential value for tracing the history of a family, estate or house.

Cartographic Resources: Maps and atlases of Troy may show buildings, lots, property owner’s names and other pertinent data useful for studying the history of houses and neighborhoods. Using maps with a range of dates will help represent the changes over time of the neighborhoods and city generally. Some useful atlases are:

Beers, F.W., County Atlas of Rensselaer, New York, New York, F.W. Beers, 1876.

French, J.H., Gazetteer of the State of New York, Syracuse, R.P. Smith, 1860.

Hopkins, G.M., City Atlas of Troy, NY, Philadelphia, G.M. Hopkins, 1881.

Sanborn Map Company, Insurance Maps of Troy, New York, New York, Sanborn Map Company, ca.1903-1950.

Single sheet maps of Troy and other parts of Rensselaer County are also in the collection of HCM and can be searched in the card catalog. Other libraries and archives also have maps; the Rensselaer County Clerk’s Office has land maps for places in Rensselaer County; the New York State Library has maps of Troy and the county as well as Sanborn Insurance Atlases of Troy for 1876 in hard copy and other years on microfilm. The State Library also has insurance maps on microfilm for other places in the county, including Castleton, Hoosick Falls, Lansingburgh, Rensselaer, Schagticoke, and Valley Falls. The Troy Public Library has insurance maps of Rensselaer County on microfilm. Panoramic maps of Troy (1877) and Castleton (1884) are available at HCM and give an overall birds-eye view of these communities while showing individual buildings.

Photographs: There are several thousand photographs in the HCM collection, including many of houses, chiefly in Troy, both exterior and interior views, and street scenes. The photographs are not indexed; copies of the photos are filed in broad subject categories in binders. A preservation survey of homes and other buildings done in 1970 of buildings in downtown Troy and along 1st and 3rd Avenues in Lansingburgh is in the HCM library and includes very brief descriptions of buildings as well as photographs of them taken in 1970.

Building Permits: The City of Troy Code Enforcement Bureau has records for the past two years only in its office. Earlier records are placed in records storage. For information about access to building permit records, you must contact the Code Enforcement Bureau. Building records prior to 1938 were probably lost when the City Hall burned.

Newspapers and Published Books: When attempting to date a house, knowing the characteristics of the style of the house can be very helpful in dating its construction. The HCM library has books with information about architectural styles. HCM also has all the basic published histories of Troy and Rensselaer County and these books may have information, including pictures about buildings. The Troy Public Library and New York State Library have Troy newspapers on microfilm dating from the 19th century to the present. Newspapers may have articles about the construction, renovation, or demolition of buildings, particularly large, non-residential buildings. The Troy Public Library also has a large scrapbook collection of newspaper articles and other historical items that has been microfilmed and indexed.

National State Registers of Historic Sites: HCM has a file of National Register of Historic Places Registration Forms that include information on sites nominated for the national register. The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Historic Preservation Field Services Bureau on Peebles Island, Waterford, NY has further information about historic site registration.

Online Resources: The following websites may be helpful for locating information regarding the history of buildings in Rensselaer County:

home.nycap.rr.com/content/us_troy.html

www.rootsweb.com/~nyrensse/

If you have other questions about a building in Troy or Rensselaer County, please call the Hart Cluett Museum at (518) 272-7232.

Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Records, 1991- .

Extent: ca. 75 cu. ft.

Location: Integrated Book Technology, Inc., 18 Industrial Park Rd, Troy, NY 12180. For access, contact the company.

Historical Note: Integrated Book Technology utilizes modern electronic technologies to produce short runs of books for publishers and for individuals. The company was founded in 1991 by John Paeglow, who continues as its president and owner. The firm began its life in the Rensselaer Technology Park and in the summer of 1996 moved into larger quarters on Industrial Park Road in Troy. Most of the firm’s business consists of order from publishers for short runs (typically 250-2,000 copies) of books that have gone out of print. IBT scans the text of these books and then prints the sheets of the books from the digitized text. Sheets are shipped to the binder for binding and ultimate shipping to the customer.

Scope and Content: IBT maintains an internal database that contains information on all orders received and fulfilled by the company. Paper records for these orders are also currently maintained. Order records include the original quotation for the job and a series of forms requesting action and detailing specifications on various parts of the job, including scanning request, printing request, proofing request, cover request, bindery request, and invoice summary. The IBT database also includes the texts that have been produced in order to facilitate reprinting or remote access if necessary. The original printed copy that was used for scanning is also retained.

Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Historical Note: John L. Thompson Sons & Company traces its origins in Troy back to 1797 when Dr. Samuel Gale Jr. opened an apothecary shop in the city. John L. Thompson joined the business in 1881, and his name was added to the firm in 1821. In 841 the business became John L. Thompson & Company. The business was primarily engaged in the wholesale drug trade, but also manufactured some patent medicines. The firm went out of business in 1990.

A. – Records at AIHA

Records, 1818-1889.

Extent: 132 items.

Location: McKinney Library, Albany Institute of History and Art, 125 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12210.

Scope and Content: A small collection of correspondence, bills, receipts, and order (1818-1889), including orders from the Watervliet Arsenal from 1827 to 1832.

B. – Records at HCM

Records, 1879-1986

Extent: 2 cu. ft.

Location: Hart Cluett Museum, 57 Second St, Troy, NY 12180.

Scope and Content: A small collection of stock ledgers (1880-1940), minutes ( 2 vols. 1903-1934, 1935-1940), personnel records (ca. 1895-1939), sales ledgers (1921-1925, 1973-1985), group of post card orders (1879), plus some miscellaneous correspondence.

Note: A few records of John L. Thompson Sons & Company are in private hands. These include a salesman’s price book (ca. 1909), stock certificate record books, voting trust agreement, and correspondence relating to a 1972 anniversary booklet about the business. The bulk of the recent business records of the company appear not to have survived the dissolution of the business.

Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Records, 1872-1969 (inclusive), 1930-1960 (bulk).

Extent: 1.5 linear ft.

Location: Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180

Historical Note: Ludlow Valve produced sluice valves, foot valves, check valves, and hydrants. It was founded by Henry G. Ludlow in 1866 in Waterford and moved to Lansingburgh in 1872. Not many years thereafter it relocated to the foot of Adams Street in Troy where it continued to operate until the business was closed in 1969.

Scope and Content: Includes stockholders, financial reports, balance sheets, correspondence, catalogs and promotional materials, annual reports, order and transaction books. Also includes material on the Rensselaer Valve Company.

Materials outside the Capital District: The Special Collections Department of the University of California, Santa Barbara, Library has some trade catalogs of the Ludlow Valve Manufacturing Company in its trade catalog collection.

The Archives Center of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. has a folder of promotional materials of Ludlow Valve in the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Records, ca. 1856-1950.

Extent: ca. 6 linear ft.

Location: Hudson-Mohawk Industrial Gateway, Foot of Polk St, Troy, NY 12180.

Historical Note: Manning Paper Company began in 1846 at the Mt. Ida Mill at the Poestenkill Gorge in Troy. Larger mills were established on River Street after the Civil War. The firm existed under various names, including Manning and Peckham and the John A. Manning Paper Company. Some facilities were moved to Green Island in 1912 and to Watervliet in 1918, but the Mt. Ida Mill was in operation until 1962. Manning is now a division of Lydall, Inc.

Scope and Content: Ledgers (1856-1900), journals, trial balances, payrolls (1912-1918), some accounts receivable, production records and run books.

United Spanish War Veterans

Camp Marcus D. Russell #2 Records

Historical Note: Rensselaer County sent troops to the Spanish-American War in Cuba in 1898 and one of these men, Marcus D. Russell was a member of Troop G, the Rough Riders, commanded by Theodore Roosevelt. Russell was killed in action at the battle of La Guasimas, Cuba on June 24, 1898. To honor his memory, the United Spanish War Veterans of Troy named their organization after him, i.e. Camp Marcus D. Russell #2. (A Surrogate Court record for Russell is in HCM, File #278). One other Trojan died as a result of his service in Cuba; John Connolly, a bugler in Company D, First New York Infantry, was wounded and later died of yellow fever at his home at 484 Second St, Troy, New York. Camp Russell was the second camp formed in the Department of New York of the U.S.W. V.. The first camp was formed in New York City and there were eventually about 131 camps in the Department of New York.

The Camp Russell group was an active participant in statewide and national meetings of the United Spanish War Veterans and remained active until 1968 with a commander at least until 1971. The records of Camp Russell consist of both local manuscript material and publications of the state and national organizations.

Container List:

Box 1: Rules and Regulations of the United Spanish War Veterans, Boston, 1910 and Index volume, 1910. Includes mss. notes that these books are property of Camp Russell and its commander, Frank T. Wells and his successors, John Gillies and George Moore. (71.129.6-7).

Constitution and Rules and Regulations of the United Spanish War Veterans, Chicago, 1920. Note to give book to successor commander, i.e. Frank T. Wells to George Moore. (71.129.18)

Constitution and Rules and Regulations of the United Spanish War Veterans, Washington, DC, 1951. (71.121.19)

Ritual of the United Spanish War Veterans, 1912. includes variety of information about conduct of meetings, colors, bugle calls, oaths, mustering and so forth. 2 copies. ((71.129.20, 32).

Book of Ceremonies of the United Spanish War Veterans, Forms and Procedures, 1912 with revisions from 1913, St. Louis, 1916, includes information about parades, installation of officers, muster days, memorial services, and so forth. (73.76.33)

Book of Ceremonies of the United Spanish War Veterans, 1928 edition. (71.129.21)

Box 2: Minute Books of Monthly Meetings of Camp Russell #2, U.S.W. V., 1954-1965, 2 volumes. Meetings held at Noble-Callahan Post, Troy, New York. Minutes of business conducted at meeting, including treasurer’s reports, news of comrades who were ill or died, election of officers and other business. (71.129.22-23)

Ledger of names of U.S.W. V., Camp Russell members, ca. 1940-1961. The ledger is arranged alphabetically by veteran names and including name of veteran, address, occupation, dates of service, rank, company and regiment, discharge date, place and reason, date mustered into Camp Russell, birth place, and date, name and address of nearest relative, signature, remarks (deceased, transferred). (71.129.26)

Quartermaster’s Account Books of U.S.W.V., Camp Russell, 1955-1965, 2 volumes. The books include receipts and disbursements arranged monthly from January 1955-December 1959 and January 1960 to September 1965. Both volumes also include list of veterans who died 1957, 1958, 1959 (vol. 1) and 1960, 1961, (vol. 2). (71.129.24-25)

Ledger for recording dues paid by members, 1944-1961. Contains names and addresses of veterans with checkmarks for each year that dues were paid. Also has financial accounts of receipts and disbursements, 1952-1954. These accounts precede those accounts in above Quartermaster Accounts. (71.129.28)

Cards with memorial prayers and ritual programs to be used at meetings and memorial services. (71.129.40-44)

U.S.W. V., National Headquarters, Washington, DC, General Orders, 1962-1967. Include news of consolidated and disbanded camps, appointments, national encampments, convention programs, observances of holidays and other information. (71.129.35)

Forms used by U.S.W.V. for membership information , etc. An appointment form for John Gillies as Commander of Camp Russell, 1968. Also, one copy of the Proceedings of the …Convention of the 69th National Encampment of the U.S.W. V., San Antonio, Texas, 1967. (71.129.53)

Proceedings of the U.S.W.V., Dept. of New York, 65th Annual Encampment, Albany, NY 1968. Two letters from New York Dept. Commander Joseph A. Burkart to Camp Russell Commander Frank T. Wells about not disbanding the camp, which had 6 members in 1968. (71.129.54-56)

Flyer: Flag of Destiny, First Arkansas Infantry, Spanish War with statement on verso, “I am Proud to be a Spanish War Veteran.” (71.129.39)

Roster of the Camps, Dept. of New York, U.S.W.V., 1914 and Roster, 1962. Both include names of officers, names and addresses of the camps, local officers names, times of meetings and the 1962 roster includes the number of members for each camp. Also, a copy of the By-Laws of the M.D. Russell Camp No. 2, 1938. (71.129.36-38)

Program for a concert, review and reception of the Companies A, B, D of Troy and Company B of Cohoes of Camp Russell, at State Armory, Troy, NY April 27, 1905. Includes music played, order of dances, officers names.

Bulletin of U.S.W.V., Department of New York, 1961-1971. Includes names of officers, committees, resolutions, information about encampments, memorials, and elections. (71.129.34)

Blank letterhead stationary of U.S.W.V. M.D. Russell Camp No. 2. (71.129.27)

Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Records, ca. 1928- .

Extent: ca. 50 cu. ft.

Location: Marvin Neitzel Corporation, 444 River St, Troy, NY 12180. For access, contact the company.

Historical Note: Marvin Neitzel Corporation, manufacturer of nurses uniforms, traces its heritage back to a collar and cuff manufacturing company founded in Troy in 1845 by William Gunnison and Walter Stewart. Through the nineteenth century the firm evolved into Gunnison, Stewart and Company, Gunnison and Son, and then Gunnison and Marvin in 1886 when E. W. Marvin joined the firm. The firm was incorporated in 1908 as E. W. Marvin Company. Although nurses’ collars and cuffs had been part of the business for years, it was not until after Raymond P. Neitzel joined the firm in 1917 that a full line of hospital products was developed. The firm became Marvin Neitzel Corporation in 1931. Long located at Fifth and Fulton Street in Troy, the company moved to 444 River Street in 1974.

Scope and Content: Board minutes, by-laws annual statement of accounts (1928-1956), legal and patent papers, a few specs for clothing, and an appraisal of the Fifth Avenue property. The bulk of the records, however, date from after the firm’s relocation to River street in 1974. These include accounting records, orders, invoices, and payrolls.

Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Historical Note: The Meneely Bell Company of Troy was established in 1870 by Clinton H. Meneely and George H. Kimberly as Meneely and Kimberly. It was reorganized in 1880 as the Clinton H. Meneely Company and was later reorganized as the Meneely Bell Company. It should not be confused with the older Meneely and Company established in 1826 by Andrew Meneely in Watervliet, NY.

Note: Records of Meneely Bell Company can be found at the Hudson-Mohawk Gateway and at the New York State Library. These collections are described separately.

A. – Records at Hudson-Mohawk Gateway

Records, 1871-1952

Extent: ca. 3 cu. ft.

Location: Hudson-Mohawk Industrial Gateway, Foot of Polk St., Troy, NY 12180

Scope and Content: The bulk of the collection consists of 36 volumes of ledger covering the years 1871 to 1951. Also included are stock certificates, a scrapbook, catalogs, clippings, and some technical notes on belltones and correspondence with Professor Arthur T. Jones of the Physics Department at Smith College.

B. – Records at NYSL

Records, 1870-1929.

Extent: 34 vols.

Location: Manuscripts & Special Collections, New York State Library, Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY 12230.

Scope and Content: Journals, cash books, and ledgers recording information on business transactions and items purchased and sold.

Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Records, 1881-1970.

Extent: ca. 1 cu. ft.

Location: Hudson-Mohawk Industrial Gateway, Foot of Polk St, Troy, NY 12180.

Historical Note: The Rail Joint Company was a manufacturer of iron rails and other railroad products in South Troy. Its successor was the Portec Corporation, which closed the Troy plant in 1989.

Scope and Content: Includes technical specifications, drawings for rails, an order book (1898), payroll book (1881-1884), a detailed 1907 appraisal of plant and dwellings owned by the company, stock certificate book, and a book recording scrap materials received and paid for (1920-1924).

Note: The University at Albany Libraries Special Collections and Archives contains photocopies of records of the Local 8652 of the United Steelworkers of America for the year 1977 to 1989. This was the local which represented steelworkers at the Railway Products Division of Portec Corporation in Troy.

Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Records, ca. 1950-1988.

Extent: ca. 30 cu. ft.

Location: Ready Fund Raising Company, 391 Third Ave, Troy, NY 12181.

Historical Note: A leader in the business of supplying and selling fund raising programs to youth groups and church groups across the United States, Ready Fund Raising was founded in 1909 by Herbert S. Harp who had developed a gelatin dessert which he called Ready Jell. He began manufacturing the dessert on Green Island and making it available for churches and other organizations to sell in fund raising. The company moved to Lansingburgh in the 1950s and continues to be run by the Lewis family , descendants of the company’s founder. The firm stopped making Ready Jell in the early 1960s. A related business operated by the Lewis family, Lewis and Company, engages in a mail order business selling kits and parts for the making of rosaries.

Scope and Content: Correspondence files, ledgers and ledger cards, payrolls, and sales records.

Historical Note: The Rensselaer County Soldiers and Sailors Monument Association was formed in October 1886 with the goal of constructing a monument honoring the soldiers from Rensselaer County who served in the military during the Civil War. The names of these soldiers were placed in a copper box at the base of the monument. The monument also honors all those who served and fought in all previous wars. It does so by an inscription of the names of battles listed on the monument base. The RCSSMA was responsible for choosing a design and builder for the monument., funding the construction of the monument, maintenance of the monument until 1950, the year the ownership of the monument was transferred to the City of Troy.

Scope and Content: The records contain correspondence between RCSSMA members and associates. The minutes of meetings documents the work of the RCSSMA from its origins to the construction of the monument. There are newspaper clippings about the monument, particularly the unveiling of it and the transfer of ownership in 1950 to the City of Troy. There are financial records and insurance policies, including a policy that paid for repairs needed after a 1903 fire in the vicinity of Broadway and River Street damaged the monument and records of donations by individuals and businesses. There are submissions of plans for the monument competition with estimates of construction costs and correspondence between the RCSSMA and architect, builders and suppliers of construction material. A bound volume (Box 6) includes minutes of meetings and many separate documents about the RCSSMA including the constitution, newspaper clippings, correspondence and other material.

Container List:

Box 1:

Folder 1: Meeting minutes of Oct. 21, 1886 of organization of RCSSMA.

Folder 2: Minutes of RCSSMA, Nov. 29, 1886, presenting constitution and by-laws.

Folder 3: Articles of incorporation of RCSSMA with Board of Trustees & Advisory Committee names.

Folder 4: Correspondence of RCSSMA members and associates. Includes resignation of Arthur W. Bradley as Secretary and William Kemp as Treasurer.

Folder 5: Correspondence of RCSSMA and G.A.R. posts in re: representatives for Advisory Council.

Folder 6: RCSSMA blank certificate given to donors to authorize them to vote on design and location of monument.

Folder 7: Invoice to RCSSMA for invitations for the laying of the monument cornerstone, March 7, 1890.

Folder 8: Responses to invitations for laying of cornerstone: acceptances

Folder 9: Responses to invitations for laying of cornerstone: regrets

Folder 10: Newspaper clippings; mainly announcement of plan to construct the Soldiers and Sailors Monument and formation of RCSSMA and the GAR Advisory Board

Folder 11: Documents related to the loan of four captured Confederate 12 pound bronze field guns from the Watervliet Arsenal for the base of the monument.

Folder 12: Responses to invitation to attend dedication ceremony of monument: Regrets

Folder 13: Correspondence related to damage to monument caused by a fire in vicinity of Broadway and River St. , 1903.

Folder 14: Treasurer’s report for 1904 by William Kemp.

Folder 15: Correspondence in re: to cleaning monument after fire of November 3, 1903. Waterproofing and cleaning by sandblasting was done. Receipt for collection of $30 from a Pennsylvania insurance company.

Folder 16: Insurance policies for monument, 1905,-06,-12,-13. Also, related correspondence from 1891. Each policy notes condition of the monument.

Folder 17: Bills for maintenance of the monument and landscape maintenance, 1911-1912.

Box 2:

Folder 1: Bill from Troy Daily Times, 1889, for printing the circular for the monument design competition.

Folder 2: List of people who were sent circular about the monument competition.

Folder 3: Requests for competition circular and competition related information.

Folder 4: Monument competitions submissions, #2-6 (Charles H. Niehaus, C.M. Lang, George E. Bissell, MA St. John “Clark’s Island Granite Works,” J.W. Carpenter and Son.

Folder 5: Monument competitions submissions, #7-12 (Lazzari & Barton, Alex Doyle, M.H. Mosman (2 submissions), NE Monument Co. (C.B. Caulfield), Robert Cushing.

Folder 6: Monument competitions submissions, #13-15 (Albert R. Ross, P. Reinhalter & Co., (Paul J. Pelz, architect and Henry J. Ellicott, sculptor) with blueprint, J. Philipp Riim.

Box 3:

Folder 1: Copyright from Library of Congress for monument design. Also, specifications for Fuller & Wheeler, architect and Frederick & Field for monument.

Folder 2: Correspondence between architect Fuller & Wheeler with Arthur W. Bradley, C.L. MacArthur and Frederick & Field.

Folder 3: Correspondence between A.J. Zabriskie, engineer for monument project with General Joseph B. Carr (Board of Gettysburg Monuments Commissioners), C.L. MacArthur and Arthur W. Bradley. Also included are two estimates to Frederick & Field.

Folder 4: Correspondence from Frederick Field to A.J. Zabriskie, C.L. MacArthur, Arthur W. Bradley. Also from Bradley to Zabriskie and Frederick & Field to Ausable Granite Works.

Folder 5: Research information for monument plaques; also document appointing Col. Sidney Park as compiler of list of soldier and sailor names from Rensselaer County in the Civil War. Also draft of battle information to be inscribed on plaques, including an incorrect date for Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga.

Box 4:

Folder 1: Subscription books and other papers regarding donations for monument construction.

Folder 2: Correspondence related to donations for monument.

Folder 3: Papers from a subscription book.

Folder 4: Letter re: to souvenir for subscribers to the monument construction.

Folder 5: Subscription lists by firm with individual names and donations; including police, post office, and other public offices

Box 5:

Folder 1: Original printing block for view of the monument.

Box 6:

Bound record book of RCSSMA, ca. 1886-1949. Includes loose bills, correspondence related to illuminating the monument in 1903 with counter proposal and related newspaper clippings. Also includes the RCSSMA constitution (pp. 6-9), name and address of subcommittee members (p. 15), dedication ceremony invitation (pp. 85-89), newspaper clippings (pp. 90-98), dedication ceremony program (p.98), minutes of meetings, bills and correspondence, and a newspaper article about the transfer of monument to City of Troy in 1950.

Biographical Note: Rice Cook Bull was born in 1842 in Hartford, Washington County, New York. He was a farm boy before the Civil War, enlisted in 1862 and served in the 123rd New York Volunteer Infantry. After the war, he returned to Troy, New York where he was banker, Secretary-Treasurer of the Troy and New England Railroad, and a member of the Ninth Presbyterian Church in Troy. He died May 19, 1930. Several years after the Civil War, he wrote his recollections of his experiences in the conflict. His son George had the recollections transcribed. A typescript of those recollections was used by K. Jack Bauer in his published edition entitled, Soldiering: The Civil War Diary of Rice C. Bull, 123rd New York Volunteer Infantry, 1977.

Scope and Content: These papers consist of Bull’s 1864 diary, letters of Bull, the original manuscript of Bull’s recollections, a typescript of that manuscript, the manuscript of K. Jack Bauer’s book, a photograph of Bull as a Civil War soldier, and miscellaneous related items. He served at Chancellorsville, in Tennessee, in the Atlanta and Carolinas campaigns and his recollections are a vivid recounting of his experiences during the war.

Container List:

Box 1:

Original manuscript of my recollections of the Civil War, by Rice C. Bull, n.d..

“From the diary of Rice C. Bull, Sergeant Company D 123rd Regiment N.Y. Vol. Inf. kept for the period of service of that Regiment September 4, 1862-June 8, 1865.” (Typed transcript. (74.12.1)

Box 2:

Diary of Rice C. Bull, Co. D, N.Y.V., Jan. 10, 1864-January 1, 1865. (76.164.20).

Correspondence of Rice Bull,1862-1863; original letters and transcriptions.

Letters from Rice Bull:

to his brother Gurdon, Washington, DC, Sept. 11, 1962 (76.164.1)

to Gurdon, Camp Chase, Arlington Hgts., VA, Sept 21,1862 (76.164.2)

to Gurdon, near Harpers Ferry, Oct. 5, 1862 (76.164.3)

to Gurdon, Pleasant Valley, VA, Oct 21, 1862 (76.164.4)

to Gurdon, Hospital, Harpers Ferry, Nov. 20, 1862 (76.164.5)

to Gurdon, Loudon Valley, VA, Dec. 7, 1862 (76.164.6)

to Gurdon, Fairfax Station, VA, Dec. 19, 1862 (76.164.7)

to Gurdon,Fairfax Station, VA, Dec. 25, 1862 (76.164.8)

to Gurdon, near Fairfax Station, VA, Jan. 11, 1863 (76.164. 9)

to Gurdon, near Stafford Court House, Jan. 30, 1863 (76.164.10)

to brother George, near Stafford Court House, VA, Feb. 6, 1863, (76.164.11)

to Gurdon, Camp William, VA, April 5, 1863 (76.164.12)

to Gurdon, Camp William, VA, April 26, 1863 (76.164.13)

to George, Aquia Creek, May 17, 1863 (76.164.14)

Other Correspondence:

N[athaniel] Bull to Rice Cook, [Hartford, NY] June 12, 1842, (76.146.19): Letter mentions birth of Rice Cook Bull.

Letters (2) of Enoch Squires, Research Associate, New York State Civil War Centennial Commission to Ralph Mather Jillson, 1962 and Miss Helen Bull, 1963 related to Rice Bull’s diary and cane. Also one letter from Jillson to Miss Bull, 1962 (76.164.15-16)

Printed Material:

New York State Centennial Commission,, New York State and the Civil War, Nov. 1962 issue with article “Sergeant Bull gets a cane and wins a Rebel friend.” (76.164.17)

Daguerreotype photograph of Rice Bull in dag. frame and larger frame.(78.74.2)

Photographic print, enlarged, of photograph of Sergeant Rice Bull, n.d. ca. 1862-63. (64.113)

Newspaper clipped article. Troy Record, 1/15/1978, by Jack Casey, “Civil War Diaries paint grim picture.”

Box 3:

K. Jack Bauer, manuscript of his book, Soldiering including some research notes. (77.58.1-4).

Note: The Hart Cluett Museum also owns Bull’s cane.

Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Location: Ross Valve Manufacturing Company, 6 Oakwood Ave, Troy, NY 12180.

Historical Note: Ross Valve Manufacturing Company was formed in 1879 by George Ross who had invented a fluid pressure regulator, a spring-loaded valve. In 1880 a patent was obtained for a fluid balanced cutoff valve, the predecessor for valves used to reduce pressure in water mains or to regulate water flow between reservoirs. Ross valves were sold and installed around the world, from the New York City water system to the Panama Canal. Another major product around the turn of the century was reciprocating water engines for driving the pumps of church organs. In 1893 Ross Valve moved to a new building on Oakwood Avenue in Troy, where it continues to operate. The business was incorporated in 1917, and it continues to be under the control of the Ross family.

Scope and Content: The Ross Valve files comprise an almost complete set of the firm’s business records since 1890. The largest series consists of general correspondence with customers, including orders for valves, general inquiries, and requests for repairs. The series is arranged alphabetically but broken into numerous chronological segments. More recent records are maintained alphabetically within each year. The records also include correspondence from salesmen on the road in the 1890s, payrolls (1890-1921), time books (1922-1942), bank records, order books, letter books, trustees’ minutes, accounts payable, and patents. There are also long runs of the firm’s catalogues and other promotional material. Also included with the Ross Valve records are approximately 2 cu. ft. of correspondence files (1914-1923) of the Gem Spoon Company, manufacturer of spring action ice cream scoops, another business enterprise of the Ross family.

Historical Note: The Second Regiment of the National Guard of the State of New York (2nd NGSNY) established its first connection with Rensselaer County in 1876, when a reorganization of New York’s National Guard reassigned the Second regiment from New York City to Troy. The Second lay dormant in peacetime, but was activated in wartime as several independent militia companies folded into the unit. The Headquarters company and Companies A (Troy Citizens’ Corps), C (Tibbits Veteran Corps) and D (Tibbits Cadets) came from Troy, and Company M (32nd Separate Company) came from Hoosick Falls. The Second volunteered as a unit for wartime service in 1898 for the Spanish-American War; the unit (known commonly as the “Second New York State Volunteers”) did not see action, but spent the conflict training at various camps in Georgia, Florida and Rensselaer County. The Federal government called up the Second again in 1916 for service along the Mexican border, supporting the Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa; the regiment did duty along the Rio Grande, and suffered no losses. Upon U.S. entry into the First World War in 1917, the Second was again called for Federal service and assigned to the 27th Division, where it was redesignated the 105th Infantry Regiment.

Scope and Content: This collection is a variety of memorabilia and scrapbooks of the regiment’s service. The vast majority of the materials deal with the Spanish-American War, with other items pertaining to the Mexican border service, First World War, and peacetime service of Troy militia units.

Container List:

Box 1: This box contains six envelopes and two scrapbooks, as follows:

Muster Roll of Company A, 2nd NGSNY: It covers the period 1 June – 31 August 1898. This is a list of all men who enlisted in Company A, with information on each man’s height, weight, where enlisted and by whom, and any additional remarks if necessary. Also included is a roster of Company A by rank and exact position in the line of battle, and a second (more informal) muster roll for August 1898. (41.21.10, 12, 13)

Quarterly Return of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores for Company A, for the Quarter Ending 30 September 1898: This document lists all arms and equipment issued to Company A in detail. Every item the company received is listed here, except ammunition. (41.21.3-4)

Quarterly Return of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores for Company A, for the Quarter Ending 30 September 1898: This is a copy of the above document. (41.21.5-6)

Quarterly Return of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores for Company A, for the Quarter Ending 31 December 1898: This is the same form and contains similar information to the above returns. This document covers the period 1 October – 31 December 1898. (41.21.7)

Folder: This contains a souvenir program of the Second’s triumphal return parade in Troy on 27 August 1898. This program gives information on who was involved in the procession and what route it took through the city. (60.97)

Folder: This item is the program of the opening of the enlarged state armory in downtown Troy on 18 March 1903. It includes a list of all the companies that comprised the Second, plus a list of regimental officers. (60.99)

Scrapbook – “April 2. 1898 to June 1. 1898”: This book covers the period immediately before the outbreak of war, the regiment’s recruitment and dispatch southward. Materials of note include numerous newspaper clippings containing many rosters of NGSNY Separate Companies (some of which would fold into the Second), coverage of the Troy Citizens’ Corps (with a wartime roster), and formation of the Second Regiment NGSNY. Also pasted into the book are several original pictures of officers, including Colonel Edwin D. Hardin, the Second’s commanding officer. (74.46.21A)

Scrapbook – “June 1 1898 to July 23 1898”: This book is a continuation of the previous scrapbook, and contains more newspaper clippings about the regiment. This covers the regiment’s move to camp around Tampa, Florida, and has some interesting original photographs of the unit in the Sunshine State. Newspaper clippings discuss camp life, the possibility of going to Cuba, training and maneuvers. A few items discuss wartime Troy, but most clippings are about the Second. Two notable deaths are mentioned: a private killed by lightning in Tampa, and Sergeant Marcus D. Russell of Troy, who was a Rough Rider and “the first Trojan to fall under the Spanish fire.” (74.46.21.B)

Box 2: This box holds two scrapbooks, which include:

Scrapbook – “July 24. 1898 to Aug 29. 1898”: This follows the two scrapbooks in Box 1. The book contains more newspaper accounts of the Second, and discusses camp life in Florida, the move to a new camp in Fernandina, rumors about going to Puerto Rico, and wartime Troy. Also included are several group photographs in camp, and accounts of other Rensselaer County men fighting in the war; among the latter is a good account of Santiago in the 24 July paper. A great deal of the clippings toward the end deal with the regiment’s transfer to Troy in preparation for muster out, and include good details about the Second’s triumphal return and camp (Camp Hardin) in Averill Park. (74.46.21C)

Scrapbook – “Aug 29 1898 to Sept. 30 1898”: This is the last scrapbook in the set, and covers the regiment’s arrival at Camp Hardin and muster out. The first page has a good sketch map of the camp’s location in Averill Park. Further clippings cover additional units at Camp Hardin and vignettes of other Rensselaer County men fighting in the war. (74.46.21D)

Box 3: This box holds two books and two scrapbooks, covering a wide variety of topics.

Manual for Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates of Infantry, 1917: On the inside front cover is the markings “Co. G No. 8.” This book was given to all NCOs and enlisted men upon joining up. It gives details on such matters as discipline, hygiene, French, and care of the 1903 Springfield rifle. Everything a soldier needed to know to survive in the First World War was in this book. (73.90.12)

Courts-Martial Manual, 1898: Inside bears the mark “Co. A, 2nd N.Y. Inf.” This book contains the legal Articles of War as they existed in 1898, and also gives all procedures necessary to settle military justice in the U.S. Army (the Navy and Marine Corps had a separate book). (81.6.1)

Scrapbook: There is a picture of a raven on the front cover, and quotes from Edgar Allen Poe’s poem: “Quoth the raven – NEVERMORE.” This scrapbook, which is in poor shape, contains a variety of materials pertaining to Troy militia units in the period 1890-1910. Most newspaper clippings and items deal with the Tibbits Cadets (21st Separate Company). Highlights include several pages of amazing pictures of the Second NGSNY during the Spanish-American War, newspaper clippings about the dedication of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in Troy, and various items relating to the Cadets’ activities suppressing riots in Buffalo in 1892. Pasted in the back are orders, paperwork, and other miscellany from the 1890s. (73.72.2)

Scrapbook: This is simply titled “Scrap Book.” The inside markings identify this as the former property of Private James F. Matthews, and the book covers the Second’s Mexican border service in 1916. Among the items in this compilation are some pictures of the regiment and the places they served, interspersed with newspaper clippings about the Second’s operations supporting the Punitive Expedition. (76.56.114)

Historical Note: The Tibbits Cadets were the 21st Separate Company of New York State Militia, and existed from 1876 through the 1960s. During wartime the company became Company D of the 2nd Regiment New York State National Guard (later known as the 105th Infantry Regiment). As part of the 2nd/105th the Cadets served in the Spanish American War, the 1916 Punitive Expedition into Mexico, and both the First and Second World Wars. In both World Wars the 105th was a part of the 27th Division.

Scope and Content: The collection contains two scrapbooks which were both originally the property of Jesse M. Slattery, who was a veteran of the Cadets and later was very active in reunion organizations. Additional material includes a folder containing a typed history of the Cadets.

The first scrapbook, marked “World Wars I and II,” contains many newspaper clippings on 27th Division activities in France during 1918, including many casualty lists. Also included is a serialized history of the 27th Division during the First World War by Major General John F. O’Ryan, its former commander. World War II-era clippings cover many aspects of wartime Troy, American decorations and campaign ribbons, 27th Division campaigns during the Second World War, and 25th-Anniversary retrospectives on the First World War.

The second scrapbook is marked “Military” on the front cover, and on the back is marked “US Presidents, Clippings of Me.” This contains various 1950s and 60s-era clippings and memorabilia about the Cadets. Much of the book contains published profiles of American presidents, politicians, generals, and other historical figures. At the back can be found historical and reunion information about the 27th Division; of note there is a roster of Tibbits Cadets men who were in the 1916 Punitive Expedition (notations have been made as to who was dead in 1965). In the back endpapers are programs from various regimental balls and soirees. Of particular interest here is a 1930 program from one of these events, which has pictures of all the officers and a short history of the regiment.

A photocopied typescript titled History of Tibbits Cadets 1876-1957 is in the collection. This is a comprehensive document containing a chronology of the Cadets, a biography of William Tibbits, rosters, lists of casualties, and notes on the unit’s activities after the Second World War. The front cover features a reproduction of the unit crest. This is a significant source on the Cadets, and is full of useful information.

Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Records, ca. 1980- .

Historical Note: These separate but related organizations were non-profit groups which sought to promote business in downtown Troy and to foster civic improvements.

Scope and Content: Records that exist include minutes of meetings, membership records, financial records, and materials relating to their sponsored programs, most notably the Victorian Stroll.

Capt. William D. Taylor, 125th Regiment

New York State Volunteers Records

Historical Note: The 125th Regiment was raised in Troy and towns in Rensselaer County and was commanded by Col. George L. Willard. The regiment was mustered in August 1862 and remained until the end of the Civil War, during which 243 men of the regiment died. Within one month of enlistment the regiment found itself at Harper’s Ferry and the entire regiment was surrendered to the Confederate forces under Stonewall Jackson. After being paroled and sent to Camp Douglas in Chicago during the winter of 1862-1863, the regiment returned to battle at Chancellorsville and later at Gettysburg, where the men of the regiment fought with heroism and lost many men, including their commander, Col. Willard. The regiment continued in action at Mine Run, Bristoe Station, the entire Wilderness Campaign, the Petersburg assaults, and the remainder of the war up to Appomattox. The regiment with 214 enlisted men and 20 officers returned home on July 8, 1865 having fought in over 20 battles. Capt William D. Taylor lived in Troy, NY, was a captain in the 125th Regiment and was Treasurer of the Brigade Monument Fund. He was also the President of the 125th Regiment Association in 1888.

Records of the 125th Regiment, NYS Volunteers: A book of detailed information about the 125th Regiment, compiled after the war and including: list of the officer field and staff by name with information about them; lists of recruits for each company by name with notes about each person (killed, wounded, discharged, etc.); list of veterans who attended the unveiling of a monument at Gettysburg on Oct. 1, 1888 with a description of the unveiling; information about the regiment copied from F. Pfisterer’s work; a broadside dated Troy, Nov. 30, 1888 asking for contributions for a monument to be erected at Gettysburg in honor of the Brigade that fought there on July 2, 1863; a list of the marches with distances made by the regiment; clippings about the regiment; information about Capt. Taylor’s service. Also a pamphlet “Gem Souvenir of Gettysburg” by Penrose Myers, Jeweler in Gettysburg, who also sold souvenir sword pins and spoons of the battle. Also a separate volume index of names of members of the 125th regiment with notes about the names; (not a complete list of the regiment). (Acc. 63.388-389)

Records of Capt. William D. Taylor: Volumes, (5) of indexed names of men in the various companies in the 125th Regiment with information about the person (transferred, dead, killed in action, etc.). Volumes are labeled and contain information as follows: Companies A & F; Companies B and G; Companies E & K; Companies C & H; Companies D & I. (Acc. 63.114-118)

One volume including information about men in all companies; also a list of battles regiment fought with dates; also three pages with names of veterans and their service record clipped from a publication and pasted in the volume. (Acc. 63.113)

Historical Note: Women played a variety of significant roles in the story of Rensselaer County as mothers, factory workers, labor leaders, educators, in charitable organizations, founders and board members of community organizations. Names such as Emma Willard, Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, Mary Warren, Kate Mullaney, and others set examples of leadership and intelligence that resonate to the present. The Hart Cluett Museum’s library considers the collecting of the archives of the history of women and woman-led organizations to be a major part of its mission.

Resources for Study: The following is a sample of the archival collections available for researchers studying women’s history of Troy and Rensselaer County.

Diaries of women include among several others:

Mary Sanford, 1901-02, diary of her travels in England and Europe

Ellen Julia Lesley Stevenson, diary for 1862-63

Ruth Howe’s Diary, 1942-1971

Harriet G. Hart, travel journals in Europe, England and Egypt, 1841-42 and 1857-59

Martha Weisbrod, Snyders Lake, NY diary, 1943-1958

Diary of an unknown young woman, 1866 and 1870

Diary of Amanda Cluett, 1847-1918

Photographs: There are hundreds of photographs in the collections that show women depicted in individual portraits, as workers, in family portraits, in street scenes and other views. There are also many family photograph albums. Cluett, Peabody and Company, Archives, include photographs of women collar workers. The company magazine, The Arrow, dating from the early 20th century has photographs showing women and articles about the women factory workers who manufactured the collars and shirts.

Records of organizations founded and/or led by women:

Deborah Powers Home for Old Ladies: 2 cu. ft., 1883-1950. Deborah Powers, a manufacturer and banker, who owned the very successful Powers Oil Cloth and Linoleum Co. in Lansingburgh, New York in the 19th century, became a philanthropist in her later years. Probably her most significant philanthropy was the Home for Old Ladies she established in Lansingburgh in 1883. The bulk of the Powers Home collection consists of correspondence of the staff and women who lived at the Home, papers related to the management of the Home including application forms from prospective residents and signed agreements by residents, financial records of the Home and correspondence related to complaints by residents.

Troy Day Home: 3 cu. ft., 1858-1954. The Day Home was founded in 1858 and was the oldest day nursery in the United States. It was incorporated in1861 by the same women who were its founders and was the first incorporation in New York State comprised solely of women. The Day Home with approximately 100-150 children per day, provided these pre-school age children with some basic education, taught handicrafts, meals and had onsite medical examinations and care. The records include the charter and by-laws, annual reports, scrapbook of clippings, photographs, meeting minutes of the Day Home trustees and other material.

Presbyterian Home Association of Troy: 2 cu. ft., 1871-1984. The Presbyterian Home Association of Troy was founded in 1871 and survived until 1984 when it closed and donated its property and moved its remaining residents into local nursing home in Troy. The Home Association was formed to provide a place for aged and infirm women to reside until their decease. The records consist of minutes of the Board of Managers and Advisory Committee, financial records, correspondence, journals recording the meals served, a history of the Home Association and papers related to the final years and closing of the Home.

Mary Warren Free Institute: 6 cu. ft., 1839-1970. The Mary Warren Free Institute had its origin in a Saturday Sewing School begun by her mother Phebe Warren at St. Paul’s Church in 1815 for orphaned children. In 1846, Mary B. Warren founded the school that would be renamed the Mary Warren Free Institute in 1859. The school was dedicated to educating economically deprived girls. The school taught girls reading, writing, religion as well as sewing skills. The records documenting the Free Institute include photographs dating from the late 19th to early 20th century, several ledgers listing the names of children attending the school with additional information, many volumes of music used by the children in their choruses, manuscript copies of The Portfolio, the Institute children’s magazine, and other material.

Rensselaer County Almshouse Records: 1 cu. ft., 1875-1892. The county almshouse must have served hundreds of county residents in the 19th century. Almost all these clients remain anonymous. This small collection consists of records of 250 of the inmates, many of whom were women, of the almshouse over two decades. It is a sample of the inmates only, because it appears that all other inmate and administrative records of almshouse are no longer extant. These records are very interesting because they describe each inmate in great detail on a form that includes 30 questions about each inmate. An index to the names has been created and is available on genealogy web sites, but the collection has never been cataloged in a national online catalog.

Wiawaka Holiday House: 18 cu. ft., 1905-1990. Wiawaka Holiday House, Inc. is located on Lake George, New York, but was founded and has always been lead by women from Troy and has its winter office in Troy, New York. Wiawaka was a camp created by prominent women in Troy as a vacation retreat for working women, particularly collar workers in the early 20th century. The records document the work of the board of directors and staff of Wiawaka, their programs for women, financial records, newsletters and other material.

Bethesda Home: 3 cu. ft., 1901-1969. The Bethesda Home was founded in 1901 to provide for the care of homeless girls and women. It remained in existence until about 1969. The records consist of minutes of meetings of the board of directors, reports to the New York State Department of Social Welfare, records of residents at the home, journals of daily activities of the residents, financial records, wills and other documents of donors to the Home and other material.

Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing: 30 cu. ft., 1899-1980. This collection includes photographs, photograph albums, scrapbooks, artifacts of nursing, curriculum materials, Faculty Association minutes, Board of Directors minutes, Traveling School material, annual reports and other materials. The Samaritan Hospital was planned beginning in 1896 and was opened in 1898. The School of Nursing, originally called the Training School, was begun in 1898. The School trained nurses and provided a residence for them as well. In 1922, the school became affiliated with Russell Sage College where students could pursue a five-year degree in nursing. The School of Nursing continues to the present day.

Family Papers Collections: HCM houses many family papers collections. This is a sampling.

The Hart Family Papers: Includes a vast collection of financial records kept by Betsey Howard Hart over nearly half a century as she managed a large household, the Hart family home, now part of the Hart Cluett Museum, and her many business interests.

Julia Dickinson Tayloe: This is a collection of Tayloe’s diary, commonplace and poetry manuscript books and correspondence from her homes in Troy and Washington, DC, dated mainly from about 1830-1846.

Emma Willard: There are letters and other papers of the Willard family.

Lansing family of Lansingburgh and Troy collection: Includes correspondence and other archival material of this family.