William Cornelius Hasbrouck Family Papers (1776-1964)
Finding Aid Completed by Eric Roth, June 3, 2002
Last revised April 13, 2011
Volume: 1.2 cu. ft.
Acquisition: The collection was donated to Historic Huguenot Street by Mrs. Albert S. Morrow in 1978 and 1988.
Access: Unrestricted.
Copyright: Request for permission to publish materials from these records should be discussed with the Archivist and Director of the Huguenot Historical Society.
Biographical Note
William Cornelius Hasbrouck (E-155), [1] lawyer and politician, was the first child born to Cornelius Benjamin Hasbrouck (1769-1851) and Jane Kelso (1774-1836) on August 23, 1800. He was baptized at the New Hurley Reformed Church (town of Shawagunk, Ulster County, New York). William's two siblings were Benjamin Cornelius Hasbrouck (b. 1803) and Margaret Hasbrouck (b. 1803). On June 28, 1831, William married Mary Elizabeth Roe (1811-1907), [2] daughter of William Roe (1781-1863) [3] and Maria Hazard. Between 1833 and 1853, William and Mary had nine children: William Hazard Hasbrouck, Maria Hazard Hasbrouck, Mary Roe Ann Hasbrouck, Henry Cornelius Hasbrouck, Emily Ann Hasbrouck, Mary Elizabeth Hasbrouck, Cornelia Jennette Hasbrouck, Blandina Hasbrouck, and Roe Hasbrouck.
According to E.M. Ruttenber's History of Orange County, [4] William C. Hasbrouck graduated from Union College in Schenectady and lived for a time in Franklin, Tennessee, where he served as "principal of the academy founded by Bishop Otey." After returning to the North, he briefly worked as principal of the Farmer's Hall Academy in Goshen in the early 1820's and then studied law with various lawyers in Newburgh and was admitted to the bar in 1826. A member of the Whig Party, Hasbrouck was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1847, where he served as speaker. Ruttenber also lists Hasbrouck as Trustee of Newburgh from 1835-1839, and as lieutenant and later captain of a local militia at Newburgh called "The Village Guard" in 1827.
Collection Description
The collection is a miscellaneous aggregation of documents and photographs, dating chiefly from the mid-nineteenth century, relating to the Hasbrouck, Roe and Hazard families of Orange County, New York , centering on the marriage between William Cornelius Hasbrouck and Mary Elizabeth Roe. The collection provides a useful but fragmented source of documentation in that certain types of records (namely, diaries, photographs, and certificates and degrees) are very comprehensive, while other items such as wills, deeds, inventories, account books, receipts, and family letters are largely lacking. For example, the diaries of William Roe provide interesting information about the management of his estate, finances, and gardens, but provide little about his social life. In contrast, the records of following generations, including William's daughter Mary E. Roe, her husband William C. Hasbrouck, and their son Roe Hasbrouck relate more to social and educational concerns than estate and financial management.
The strengths of the collection lie in the comprehensiveness of the photographic materials and diaries. The photographs, representing several different photographical processes, provide visible representations of virtually all of the individuals identified in the rest of the collection, as well as numerous relatives. The diaries of William Roe are also of significant interest to agricultural historians due to Roe's persistent daily recordings of decisions made and work done in relation to his estate gardens, which yielded a wide variety of fruits and vegetables such as corn, tomatoes, turnips, potatoes, apples, peaches, beets, carrots, strawberries, cucumbers, cauliflower, broccoli, etc. (For more information about the diaries, see the Series Description below).
The remainder of the collection is comprised of scattered certificates and degrees relating to educational and professional accomplishments, marriage, and memberships to civic and social organizations. Other items include genealogical research notes and correspondence, invitations to social events, and other miscellaneous materials. Documents of particular interest include a military order for the protection of Sarah Hazard of New York 1776, a one-page financial account between James Roe and Elting Van Gansbeek 1777-1778, three poetry journals, 1823-1833, at least one of which was kept by Mary E. Roe while a student at Madam Pardo's School, another contains songs set to music and cooking recipes; law certificates and educational diplomas of William C. Hasbrouck and Roe Hasbrouck 1822-1878, invitations to military balls and private parties in Newburgh sent to Mary E. Roe, 1828-1829, marriage certificate of William C. Hasbrouck and Mary Elizabeth Roe, dated 1836, diagrams of the New York State and United States Senate Chambers,1847, a descriptive letter of application written by William C. Hasbrouck to a Miss Bolton concerning his daughter's education, 1853, survey map of William C. Hasbrouck's estate at Cornwall, New York, 1870, and an agreement and receipt for a marker placed in the Cedar Hills Cemetery in Paterson, New Jersey, 1907/1925. Also in the collection are records relating to the life of Isabel Hasbrouck Collins (1893-1963) of Mount Dora, New Jersey, including her birth and death certificates, intermittent court records from 1919-1957 relating to her divorce settlement with her husband Siegmund Leon Richter, and correspondence dating from 1964 between Kenneth E. Hasbrouck of the Huguenot Historical Society and Marshall Collins discussing her death.
As a whole the collection is in fair-to-good physical condition, showing the usual signs of damage from fading, yellowing, staining, tearing, or rolling. The handwriting is generally legible, but the diaries are somewhat difficult to read.
In addition to this collection, two other collections held by the Huguenot Historical Society also provide significant documentation of Orange County during the nineteenth century. These are the Nathaniel and Isaac DuBois Family Papers (1778-1927), and the Jonathan Hasbrouck Family Papers (1751-1904).
Series Descriptions
The collection is organized into three series: 1) Diaries, 2) Photographs, and 3) Family Papers. [5]
Series 1: Diaries (1828-1863)
Housed in this series are fourteen daily diaries of William Roe and two poetry journals kept by his daughter Mary E. Roe Hasbrouck. The front board of each diary is numbered and dated, generally covering a two-to-four year period. The poetry journal contains poems in French and English, many of which were probably written by well-known 19th-century poets (1823-1833), although a few may be of local provenance; one also contains songs set to music, and cooking recipes. The diaries of William Roe chiefly document the weather, the management of his gardens and cash crops, and the family's finances. Descriptions of the weather are always given, and are almost always followed by brief notes tracking the growth a wide variety of fruits and vegetables such as corn, tomatoes, turnips, potatoes, apples, peaches, beets, carrots, strawberries, cucumbers, cauliflower, broccoli, etc. The other main function of the diaries is financial management. In all of the diaries, entries often contain listings of items purchased or individuals paid. There is also usually a section of each diary devoted to recording expenses made throughout each year for household goods such as foodstuffs, alcoholic beverages, magazines and (presumably) newspapers, stamps, coal, flour, picture frames, nails, and services provided by butchers, carpenters, carriage drivers, and makers of kitchen utensils. There are also occasional entries containing instructions for curing meats and making sausage, as well as very infrequent references to meetings attended by Roe relating to church or political business. Finally, newspaper clippings chiefly related to elections and other political matters at the state and national level are often affixed to or enclosed within the diaries.
Series 2: Photographs
Daguerreotype, albumen, paper, glass, and tintype photographic prints of the Roe, Hasbrouck, Hazard, and affiliated families; historic houses and properties in New Paltz and New Hurley, Ulster County, New York; and a stereo-optic travel set containing photographs of famous churches, buildings, and other tourist sites in Europe. Most of the photographs are identified. Individuals represented include William Roe, Maria Roe, Mary Elizabeth Roe Hasbrouck shown seated at a piano), Emily Maria Roe, Rachel Roe, Caroline Caldwell, Elizabeth Douglas Turril Vandenberg, Mary Elizabeth Hasbrouck, Maria Hazard Hasbrouck, Anna Beard Hasbrouck, A. Louis Hasbrouck, Richard Oliver Hasbrouck, Blandina Hasbrouck Wyld, Emily Hasbrouck Gurney and her daughter Maria Emily Gurney, and Elizabeth Roe Caldwell. Of particular interest among the photographs of buildings are two reprints showing the Bevier-Elting House and the Jean Hasbrouck House in New Paltz ca. 1900, both of which show fences and outbuildings.
Series 3: Papers (1776-1964)
Family letters; deeds and other estate papers; receipts; certificates of marriage and law school diplomas; genealogical materials of the Roe, Hazard and Hasbrouck families, primarily of Newburgh, New York. Papers are organized chronologically or by size. Several oversized diplomas and maps are rolled and left loose in the box.
Box and Folder List
Box 1
Series 1: Diaries (1826-1863)
Diaries, William Roe - 14 bound volumes (1828-1863)
Poetry Journals, Mary E. Roe Hasbrouck
(1823)
(1826-1833)
Box 2
Series 2: Photographs (1857-1911)
There is no folder listing for this box.
Box 3
Series 2: Photographs
Buildings and Properties (undated)
People (1870s - 1911)
Stereoptic Travel Set (ca. 1880)
Box 4
Series 3: Papers (1776-1964)
Certificates and Miscellaneous:
(1829-1874) - oversize
(1823-1878) - oversize, rolled, loose
Family Papers:
(1776-1878)
(1893-1964)
Maps drawn by Mary Elizabeth Roe (1822) - oversize, rolled, loose
Photograph, House of William Roe (1857) - oversize
Notes
[1] Identification numbers are taken from Kenneth E. Hasbrouck's The Hasbrouck Family in America with European Background, Third Edition, published by the Hasbrouck Family Association, Huguenot Historical Society, New Paltz, NY (1986). Unless otherwise noted, all genealogical information is also taken from this source.
[2] An unpublished paper entitled The Repertoire of Mary E. Roe: America 's music of the Federal Period, by Charlotte D. Koby, 1987, giving much information about the life of Mary E. Roe, is available at the Huguenot Historical Society Library.
[3] Ruttenber, E.M., and Clark, L. H. History of Orange County, New York, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, 2 vols. Philadelphia, Everts & Peck (1881), Republished in 1980 at Interlaken, NY, by Heart of the Lakes Publishing. According to Ruttenber, William Roe was a wholesale grocer and importer at Newburgh and served as president of the Newburgh Whaling Company.
[4] Ibid.
[5] This collection also contains material objects such as a belt, sewing equipment, textiles and other items. These objects are stored in collection storage and managed by the Curator of collections.