- Collection Overview
- Collection Description & Creator Information
- Access & Use
- Collection History
- Find Related Materials
Expanded View
Collection Overview
- Creator:
- Pyne, M. Taylor (Moses Taylor), 1855-1921
- Collector:
- Princeton University. Library. Special Collections
- Title:
- Pyne-Henry Collection
- Repository:
- Princeton University Archives
- Permanent URL:
- http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/jm214p130
- Dates:
- 1747-1947
- Size:
- 3 boxes
- Storage Note:
- Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Box 1-3
- Language:
- English
Abstract
The Pyne-Henry Collection is a diverse group of documents, letters and writings relating to Princeton University, covering an array of topics primarily concerning student life and administrative activities. The collection consists of letters, essays and orations, reports, memoranda, minutes, proclamations, accounts and class lists, and other documents written by students, faculty and administrators which, along with other administrative records and Trustee Minutes, constitute the earliest records and documentary history of the University. Most of these papers and records were amassed by Princeton alumni Moses Taylor Pyne (Class of 1877) and Bayard Henry (Class of 1876) during the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Collection Description & Creator Information
- Description:
The Pyne-Henry Collection is a diverse group of documents, letters and writings relating to Princeton University, covering an array of topics primarily concerning student life and administrative activities. The collection consists of letters, essays and orations, reports, memoranda, minutes, proclamations, accounts and class lists, and Trustee Minutes.
- Collection Creator Biography:
Pyne, M. Taylor (Moses Taylor), 1855-1921
Moses Taylor Pyne (1855-1921), graduate of the Princeton Class of 1877, was a longtime trustee and benefactor of Princeton, and did much to usher the school's transition from a college to a university by way of his donations and financial support. Among other projects, in conjunction with fellow trustee Bayard Henry, Pyne amassed a sizable collection of records, letters, and writings documenting the early history of the University. Upon its donation in 1894 the Pyne-Henry Collection formed the cornerstone of the University Archives.
Pyne's family wealth was originally accumulated by his maternal grandfather, Moses Taylor, who served as the first president of the National City Bank of New York and the principal stockholder in the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company.
A year after receiving his LL.B. at Columbia Law School in 1879, Moses Taylor Pyne married Margaretta Stockton, a great-great-granddaughter of Richard Stockton (1730-1781), and became general counsel for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company. In 1891, he resigned from this office in order to give more time to his other interests, particularly Princeton. For a period of time, Pyne's estate, "Drumthwacket," served as the center of social life for many Princeton residents and those affiliated with the university; the state and the surrounding land was sold to the state of New Jersey in 1966 and was designated the governor's mansion in 1982.
Collection History
- Acquisition:
These papers were originally part of the Pyne-Henry Collection, much of which is housed in the Manuscripts Division of the Special Collections section of Firestone Library. Moses Taylor Pyne was one of the most prolific benefactors to Princeton. His gifts of a vast collection of alumni papers, institution records and rare books, many collected in conjunction with his fellow Trustee Bayard Henry, became the origins of the University's Special Collections, University Archives.
- Appraisal
No appraisal information is available.
- Processing Information
This collection was processed by John S. Riddle in 1994-1995. Finding aid written by John S. Riddle in 1994-1995.
Access & Use
- Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research use.
- Conditions Governing Use
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. For quotations that are fair use as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission to cite or publish is required. The Trustees of Princeton University hold copyright to all materials generated by Princeton University employees in the course of their work. If copyright is held by Princeton University, researchers will not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with non-commercial use of materials from the Mudd Library. For materials where the copyright is not held by the University, researchers are responsible for determining who may hold the copyright and obtaining approval from them. If you have a question about who owns the copyright for an item, you may request clarification by contacting us through the Ask Us! form.
- Credit this material:
Pyne-Henry Collection; Princeton University Archives, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Permanent URL:
- http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/jm214p130
- Location:
-
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript LibrarySeeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library65 Olden StreetPrinceton, NJ 08540, USA
- Storage Note:
- Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Box 1-3
Find More
- Existence and Location of Copies
Digital images of the collection, created in 2009, are accessible in the contents list.
- Subject Terms:
- College Students -- New Jersey -- Princeton -- Social conditions -- 18th century.
College Students -- New Jersey -- Princeton -- Social conditions -- 19th century.
Student Aid -- New Jersey -- Princeton -- 19th century.
Universities and colleges -- Administration -- New Jersey -- Princeton -- 18th century.
Universities and colleges -- Administration -- New Jersey -- Princeton -- 19th century.
Universities and colleges -- Business management -- New Jersey -- Princeton -- 18th century.
Universities and colleges -- Business management -- New Jersey -- Princeton -- 19th century. - Names:
- Princeton University
Henry, Bayard, 1857-1926
