Artificial Collections

ACCOUNT BOOK COLLECTION. 8 cubic feet. Collection unprocessed. No more information available. Other account books are located in the collections of Personal and Family Papers.

BIBLE AND RELIGIOUS BOOK COLLECTION (1582-1969). App. 65 cubic feet. App. 450 items. List available.
Many items contain family genealogical records, most records are transcribed and are noted in the list. Includes Christian Bibles, prayer books, psalm books, hymnals, and other religious books in the English, Dutch, and French languages, published in a variety of cities in America, England, Scotland, Netherlands, and France, most notably New York, Cooperstown, Boston, Philadelphia, London, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Dordrecht, and Paris. The majority of the Bibles dates from the seventeenth - nineteenth centuries and represents a number of different sizes. A variety of different binding and printing methods are also evident. Many of the Bibles dating from the late nineteenth century contain decorative bindings, and intricate fold-out illustrations and maps. The greatest strength of the collection, however, is found in the family genealogical records and other items kept inside the Bibles and books their respective owners. The genealogical records chiefly include notices of births, baptisms, marriages, and deaths of family members, although occasional listings of slaves appear as well. Photocopies of family records are prohibited due to the fragile condition of the items. Other items typically found in the Bibles include newspaper clippings, wedding invitations, handwritten notes and prayers, receipts, and obituaries and death notices. Many of the items in this collection share provenance with collections of Personal and Family Papers and Institutional Records stored in the Society's Archives. There is some overlap between the Rare Book Collection and the Bible and Religious Book Collection.

CIPHERING BOOK COLLECTION (ca. 1700-1849). 1.5 cubic feet. 26 items. Some items have been digitized; click the link below or see individual links within the finding aid. Collection ID: MSS.208.
Finding aid
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Handwritten, student workbooks containing math, business, surveying, handwriting, and spelling lessons. Surnames include Chase, Coddington, Deyo, DuBois, Elting, Freer, Hasbrouck, LeFevre, Schoonmaker, Stillwell, and Vreeland. Some items are in French and Dutch. Some items in this collection share provenance with collections of Personal and Family Papers, which are also stored in the Society's Archives.

EPHEMERA COLLECTION (1790-1969). 2.5 cubic feet. app. 600 items. 
The Ephemera Collection consists of approximately 600 items with publication dates ranging from 1790 to 1969, with the bulk of the collection falling between 1875 and 1900. The period between 1940 and 1960 is also well documented by one particular subseries, the Heidgerd Family Postcard Collection. Types of records include invitations, business cards, death notices, timetables, sketches, medicine cards, railroad and canal fares, printed programs, and bank certificates. The greatest strength of the collection is its ability to depict patterns of social life in the late nineteenth century through a variety of items that were never expected to be saved. The collection is an excellent source for documenting the day-to-day cultural and social life of the New Paltz community.

GENEALOGY COLLECTIONS (1852-1980). App. 5 cubic feet. 25 collections. List available. 
The Genealogy Collection consists of separate collections of research papers kept by genealogists chiefly concerning French and Dutch families who originated from Ulster County, New York, although other localities are mentioned. Records include hand-and type-written materials such as genealogical correspondence, charts, notebooks, scrapbooks, pamphlets, and newspaper clippings. There also some photographs, historic documents, and print manuscripts of published genealogies. Families represented in these collections include Ackerman, Albertson, Allaire, Bevier, Blanshan, Bonnet, Bourbon, Brodhead, Bruyn, Church, Clark, Coutant, Dayton, DeWitt, Deyo, Drake, DuBois, Elting, Fordham, Hasbrouck, Gonsalus, Hills, Hudler, Kidney, LeFevre, Merrit, Rapalje, Scott, Smith, and Seamon, Schoonmaker, VanWagenen, VerNooy, Woolsey, and others. Significant amounts of genealogical research papers can also be found in the Surname Vertical File housed in the HHS Reference Library, the records of the various Family Associations affiliated with HHS, the HHS Bible and Religious Book Collection, and in a number of the Personal and Family Papers housed in the HHS Archives.

MAP COLLECTION (1661-ca. 1980, with copies).
Copies and originals of rolled and oversized maps chiefly relating to properties in Ulster, Orange, Dutchess, and Putnam Counties in New York. Many items deal specifically with property located within the town of New Paltz. Others include published county maps, unpublished property surveys, land patents, tax assessments, and election district maps. There are also maps concerning the New Paltz Cemetery Association, Ulster County Fairgrounds, and travel in France. Many of these maps share provenance with collections of Personal and Family Papers, the New Paltz Town Records, and the Huguenot Historical Society Institutional Records, which are all also stored in the Society's Archives.

NEWSPAPER COLLECTION (1783-1835). 0.5 cubic feet. 32 items.Finding aid available. 
Miscellaneous collection of Ulster County Newspapers. Contents include advertisements, political and diplomatic news, obituaries, shipping and stage coach schedules, poems, jokes, and other notices. There are also a few titles from New York City; Philadelphia; Staunton, Virginia; and Newburgh, Orange County, New York.

PAMPHLET COLLECTION (1818-1988). 208 items. Finding aid available. 
The Pamphlet Collection consists of approximately 200 pamphlets with publication dates ranging from 1818 to 1988. The bulk of the collection was published between 1860-1870, and 1900-1930. The collection is organized topically into four series: History, Genealogy and Politics, Religion and Philosophy, Professional and Practical, and Creative Works and Belles Letters. Primary subjects covered throughout the collection include church history, education, local and regional history, cemeteries, military history Huguenot history, medicine and health care, temperance, Native Americans and archeology. The types of pamphlets also vary. In addition to standard informational booklets, here are also articles and studies from journals and magazines, institutional pamphlets, and reference works.

PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTIONS (ca. 1840 - present). 27 cubic feet. App. 6,000 photographs. List available. 
The collection as described here is an aggregation of all of the archival photographic materials owned and maintained by the Huguenot Historical Society. These materials are physically located in 121 smaller collections, each with its own provenance and organization. In addition, there are several hundred loose photographs organized by geographical area or by subject and filed together as one separate sub-collection. The Photograph Collection documents the people, places, scenes, and social events in the area of New Paltz, New York from the mid-nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century. The large majority of the collection consists of studio portraits of local residents and their relatives taken from 1860 to 1930, providing an important resource for genealogists and local historians. Other photographs show scenic views of the New Paltz and its environs. Also of interest are photographs of people of color, photographs of uniformed soldiers and death and mourning pictures.

PROBATE RECORDS. List available. 
Copies of approximately 150 wills, estate inventories, and other probate records selected from the Society's holdings of special collections are available upon request. These records are listed alphabetically by testator.

RARE BOOK COLLECTION. Finding aid available.
The Rare Book Collection consists of approximately 1,000 eighteenth and nineteenth century American books owned by local historical figures. Subjects include history, surveying, business and commerce, religion, education, grammar, cooking, travel, children's stories, and fiction. There are also books in French, Dutch, German, Greek, and Latin, some of which date back to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. There is some overlap between the Rare Book Collection and the Bible and Religious Book Collection.

RECIPE BOOK COLLECTION (1799-1940). 1 cubic foot. Finding aid available. 
Handwritten account books, receipt books, scrapbooks, and published cookbooks containing food recipes and remedies for ailments dating primarily from the 19th century, mostly from Ulster County families such as Hasbrouck, Merril, Phinney, Sutton, Hoffman, Elting, Kiersted, Schoonmaker, Brodhead, and others. Many of the recipes are Dutch in origin. A number of these books share provenance with collections of Personal and Family Papers also stored in the HHS Archives.

SHEET MUSIC COLLECTION (1836-1920). MSS.456
Finding Aid available. 
The Sheet Music Collection consists of over 270 publications of American popular songs and instrumental pieces owned by individuals and families who resided in the towns of Gardiner and New Paltz, Ulster County, New York, the most prominent of which is the Sears family. Other items include music catalogs and sheet music found in popular journals and newspapers. The collection spans the years 1836 to 1920, but the bulk of the collection is comprised of music published during the four decades between 1880 and 1920. The subject content of the songs varies throughout the collection and can be described in terms of the following genres: patriotic and political songs, "Tin Pan Alley" songs, love songs, songs about family and home, dance and instrumental music and religious songs. Of particular interest are songs relating specifically to World War I, the Temperance Movement, African Americans, and motherhood. In addition to vocal songs, the collection also contains a small number of pieces of dance and instrumental music.