Collection View
The first series, "Business Records, Largely Relating to Land," dates from 1766 to 1829 and consists of two subseries, "Correspondence to Ebenezer Foote, 1785-1829," and "Financial and Land Records, 1766-1829." For both subseries, researchers will find substantial material from John Atkinson, Colonel Thomas Barclay, Cornelius Bogert, Robert Bowne, George Caines, Simeon Goodman, John Johnston, Peter Kemble, Governor Morgan Lewis, Robert Pearsall, Josiah Quincy, Robert Ross, Obediah Sands, Captain William Shirreff, Thomas Tillotson, Daniel and Johnston Verplancks, Honorable Elisha Williams, and Richard and Thomas Willing.
This series is arranged in two subseries, "Correspondence to Ebenezer Foote, 1785-1829," and "Financial and Land Records, 1766-1829."
Addison, John, 1792-1793
Askin, Joseph, 1811-1812
Atkinson, John, 1810-1826
Austen and Andrews, 1812-1815
A, 1801-1829
Bacchus, E., 1807-1809
Bacon, David, 1808-1814
Baldwin, Jesse, 1813-1815
Baldwin, Samuel, 1818-1829
Banyar, Goldsbrow, 1805
Barclay, Colonel Thomas, 1804-1929
Barney, John P., 1796
Bartlett, Deacon, 1825-1827
Bartlett, [Shuman], 1814-1828
Bayard, William, 1817-1829
Beeker, Henry, circa 1805
Beekman, John K., 1804-1815
Beers, Cyranus, 1818-1829
Beers, William Pitt, 1805-1810
Benedict, David, 1818
Benedict, Richard H., 1814-1816
Benson, Egbert, 1825
Bethune, Divie, 1810-1811
Bethune, Joanna, 1826-1827
Bishop, Peter, 1813-1815
Blake, Robert, 1827-1828
Bogert, Cornelius, 1802-1822
Bostwick, Ammon, 1812-1816
Bouchier, Charles, 1819-1825
Bowles, Catherine, 1805-1816
Bowman, P., 1789-1800
Bowne, Robert, 1805-1817
Bowne, Robert H., 1818-1828
Bradt, Susanna, 1816-1819
Brewster, John, 1821
Brinkerhoff and Goodwin, 1804-1805
Brown, Jacob, 1827-1829
Butler, Elias, 1803-1804
Butler, William, 1805-1821
B, 1796-1829
Caines, George, 1804-1814
Caldwell, James, 1809-1810
Caldwell, Thomas Henry, 1800-1804
Case, Phineas, 1812-1825
Case, Roger, 1827-1828
Clark, Aaron, 1813-1814
Cleaveland, William P., 1815-1826
Coles, John B., 1804-1806
Cuyler, Cornelius, 1816-1818
C, 1792-1828
Dahlgreen, Charles, 1827-1829
Darling, James, 1809-1820
Day & Johnston, 1810-1816
Day, John, 1816-1825
Day, Orrin, 1809-1820
DeGroot, Henry, 1820-1821
DeLancey, Warren, 1819-1821
DeLong, Reuben, 1811
Dewey, Aaron, 1805-1815
Dewey, John, 1814-1815
Dodge, David, 1813-1815
Dodge, Levi, 1792-1815
D, 1793-1827
E & E Janes, 1806-1808
Edwards, Edward, 1806-1827
Elmendorf, Conrad E., 1804-1812
Emott, James, 1814
Evertson, Eliza, 1828
Evertson, George B., 1810-1827
Evertson, Nicholas, 1802-1803
E, 1804-1827
Fay, Charles, 1806-1811
Foote, Charles A. (Son), 1815-1817
Foote, Ebenezer, 1785-1827
Foote, Isaac (Brother), 1804-1821
Foote, Justin (Brother), 1794-1804
Foote, Samuel (Nephew), 1819-1829
Fowler, Theodosius, 1826
Francis, Willing, 1826-1829
Franklin, Samuel, 1785-1787
F, 1807-1816
Gelston, David, 1803-1804
Gibbs, Cyranus, 1805-1811
Goodman, Simeon, 1807-1816
Gould, Daniel, 1827
Graves, James, 1803-1816
G, 1803-1821
Hale, Daniel, 1804
Hasbrouch, James, 1802-1805
Hathaway, C., 1827
Hazard, Robinson, 1826-1829
Height, Solomon, 1796-1804
Henry, John S., 1803-1813
Hoffman, Josiah O., 1801-1811
Hoffman, Martin, 1804-1816
Hotchkiss, Roswell, 1820-1821
Hough, Walter, 1813-1814
Hubbard, Thomas H., 1817
H, 1791-1828
Ireland, Reverend John, 1804-1814
Jay, Peter Augustus, 1814-1828
Johnson, Samuel W., 1818-1820
Johnson, Silas G., 1811-1816
Johnston, John, 1799-1815
J, 1811-1827
Keeler, Martin, 1818-1821
Kemble, Peter, 1793-1829
Knight, Dr. W. Scott, 1816-1824
K, 1798-1828
Lamb, John, 1802-1819
Landon, Thomas, 1814-1820
Larkin, Jonas, 1806-1815
Law, Samuel, 1810-1816
Lawrence, Caleb, 1819-1822
Lawrence, Nathaniel, 1804-1805
Lawrence, Richard, 1805-1820
Leal, James, 1803-1810
Leggett & Fox, 1825-1827
Leggett, Samuel, 1809-1816
Lenox, Robert, 1793-1821
LeRoy & Bayard, 1801-1803
LeRoy, Herman, 1809-1824
Livingston, Jacob, 1819-1821
Livingston, John, 1803-1805
Lloyd & England, 1809
Lynch, George W., 1823-1825
L, 1793-1829
Macomb, Alexander, 1810
Maples, Darius, 1812-1828
Martin, Solomon, 1804-1816
Maxwell, William, 1803-1811
Merrit, Nemehiah, 1811
Miller, Johannes, 1793-1796
Miller, Sylvanus, 1803-1805
Morris, Andrew, 1818-1819
Morris, G., 1804-1816
Morese, James O., 1825
Morton, Jacob, 1796-1804
Murray, Alexander, 1804-1807
M, 1801-1829
Noble, Barbazon, 1805
North, Gabriel, 1816-1821
North, William, 1814-1821
N, 1803-1808
Ogden, David A., 1802-1814
Ogden, David B., 1808-1809
Olds, Gershom, 1811
O, 1800-1828
Page, Robert, 1824-1825
Paine, A.E., 1810-1815
Parkman, Samuel, 1809-1811
Pearsall, Robert, 1804-1824
Phelps, Benjamin B., 1813-1815
Phelps, David, 1804
Phelps, Homer R., 1811-1816
Pierson, Elijah, 1814
Pine, Joshua, 1806-1814
P, 1800-1825
Quincy, Josiah, 1815-1820
Radcliffe, Peter W., 1808-1815
Ray, Cornelius, 1815-1817
Robertson, John A., 1807-1810
Robertson, Robert S., 1814-1829
Rodgers, Dr. John R.B., 1810-1829
Root, Erastus, 1811-1820
Root, William, 1804-1814
Ross, Ann, 1827-1828
Ross, Robert, 1805-1827
R, 1793-1826
Sands, Abel, 1810-1814
Sands, Obediah, 1805-1829
Schermerhorn, Peter, 1810-1828
Sebor, Jacob, 1803-1826
Severley, A.G., 1810-1816
Seymour, William, 1812-1820
Sherwood, Samuel, 1800-1825
Shute, William, 1811
Simpson, Thomas, 1805-1814
Smith, James Ross, 1809-1826
Spierens, George, 1792
Stewart, John James, 1818-1819
Stilson, Cyranus, 1811, 1816
S, 1795-1828
Taylor, John, 1817-1826
Thomas Leggett & Son, 1805-1806
Tillotson, Robert, 1809-1815
Tillotson, Thomas, 1805-1812
Tucker, Fanning, 1815-1826
T, 1796-1828
Upham, James, 1781
Van Antwerp, John, 1820-1825
Van Ness, Garret B., 1804
Van Ness, William P., 1804
Van Ransaeller, J.R., 1802-1820
Van Schaick, Henry, 1800-1804
Van Vechten, A., 1798-1814
Varrick, Richard, 1796
Verplanck, Daniel, 1812-1829
Verplanck, Johnston, 1817-1821
V, 1799-1828
Walsh, Elizabeth, 1826
Walsh, Hugh, 1796-1804
Walton, James D.L., 1808-1829
Washburn, Thomas, 1813
Wheaton, John R., 1816-1827
White, James, 1805-1815
Wigram, John, 1810-1814
Wilcox, Lewis, 1812-1821
Williams, Elisha, 1801-1829
Willing and Francis, 1804-1816
Willing, Richard, 1822-1829
Willing, Thomas M., 1816-1822
Wilsey, Jacob, 1811
Winter, Joseph, 1804-1810
Woods, James, 1808-1811
Wright, Samuel, 1827
Wyckhoff, Albert, 1820-1829
W, 1792-1828
Yates, J.V.N., 1805
Y, 1802-1805
Allen, William. Receipts, 1820-1828
Atkinson, Francis. Accounts, 1814
B. Accounts, Bills and Receipts, Bonds, Covenant for Deed, Lease, and Promissory Note, 1797-1826
Cuyler, Henry. Leases, 1793-1799
Ensign, Otis. Account and Bond, 1803
Evertson, Edgar and Eliza. Agreement, Bills and Receipts, and Discharge of Mortgage, 1808-1829
Fleckner, William. Deed, 1817
Foote, Charles A. (Son). Bills and Receipts, Bond, Mortgages, and Promissory Notes, 1808-1828
Foote & Purdy. Accounts, 1784-1786
Ireland, John. Bond, 1815
Joy, Gershom. Lease, 1794
K. Bills and Receipts, 1811-1829
Lewis, Morgan. Accounts, 1799-1812
Mallory, Oliver. Accounts, 1818-1819
Ogden & Day. Bond, 1825
Palmer, Stephen. Receipts, 1805
Pearsall, Robert. Bills and Receipts, Bonds, Instructions for Payment, and Mortgage, 1805-1821
Quit Claims, 1790-1808
Rapaljies Patent. Leases, 1813-1827
Ross, Robert and Ann. Accounts, Agreements, Bills and Receipts, Bonds, and Mortgages, 1815-1826
Surveys of Land, 1815-1817
Tax Records, 1799-1828
Underwood, Silas, Lease, 1812
Verplanck, Samuel. Lease, 1788
Walton, J.D.L. Accounts, Bills and Receipts, Bonds, and Draft of Covenant for Deed, 1808-1829
Willing, Thomas. Accounts, 1816-1822
W. Accounts, Articles of Agreement, Bills and Receipts, Estimates of Rent, and Release, 1807-1827
"Legal Records," the second series, dates from 1788 to 1829. Foote served as judge of the New York Court of Common Pleas from 1810 to 1816 and from 1828 to 1829. The papers in this series consist of court records, arranged by court (Chancery, Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, and New York Supreme Court), materials relating to insolvent debtors (including discharges, inventories, notes, notices, and requests for subpoena), and letters requesting that Foote serve as power of attorney.
This material is arranged in alphabetical order.
Insolvent Debtors. Discharges, Inventories, Notes, Notices, and Requests for Subpoena, 1811-1829
Letters of Attorney, 1794-1828
The third series, "Revolutionary War Correspondence and Financial Records regarding Supplies of Cattle for the Continental Army," dates from 1778 to 1782. The correspondence, organized chronologically, relates almost entirely to cattle supplies and general needs for supplies of the Continental Army, with the most frequent correspondents being James Forsyth, Daniel Kellogg, Simon Phillips, Nathaniel Stevens, and Asa Worthington. The series also contains invoices for cattle supplied and an account of monthly deliveries of beef cattle. There are also four letters addressed to John Fisher, who was the keeper of Continental stores at Fishkill, New York, from Colonel Hay and Timothy Whiting, regarding camp supplies, such as iron, kettles, tents, and writing paper. These documents are revealing examples of the needs and desperation experienced by the Continental Army.
This series is arranged with the letters first, followed by financial material.
Letters to John Fisher, 1779-1780
Letters to Ebenezer Foote, 1779
Letters to Ebenezer Foote, 1780
Letters to Ebenezer Foote, 1781
Invoices for Cattle, 1781
Invoices for Cattle, 1782 January
The final series, "Family Records," dates from 1790 to 1925, and deals largely with Foote's children and grandchildren, but also contains a small amount of material regarding his own estate. Family members included are his father, Daniel Foote; his daughters, Harriet Foote Bryan (later Foote) and Margaret P. Foote Maxwell; his sons, Charles Augustus Foote and Frederick Parsons Foote; and his son-in-law, Reverend Ebenezer K. Maxwell. Also included, in Harriet Bryan's material, are the court records making her guardian of her brother Charles' children (Frances, Catherine B., Rensselaer, Charles, and James), all of whom were minors at the time of their father's death. Of interest are notes of Reverend Ebenezer K. Maxwell, which probably are for sermons given at the First Presbyterian Church of Delhi, New York.
The material in this series is arranged alphabetically by the creator.
- Scope and Contents
The Ebenezer Foote Papers date from 1766 to 1925 and primarily document Foote's land agency business. The bulk of the records date from 1785 to Foote's death in 1829, and in addition to the land and financial records related to his business, the collection also contains some legal records, records documenting Foote's work as inspector of cattle for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, and limited family records. The collection is arranged in four series: "Business Records, Largely Relating to Land, 1766-1829," "Legal Records, 1788-1829," "Revolutionary War Correspondence and Financial Records regarding Supplies of Cattle for the Continental Army, 1778-1782," and "Family Records, 1790-1925."
As a collection, this material provides an interesting glimpse into the formation of a new county, particularly in assessing its property, negotiating its land transactions, and governing/judging its community. The papers also provide a unique opportunity to see the American dream in action, from fighting for the nation's independence, building a business, earning success and respect, and participating in the governance of the county and state.
- Arrangement
Box 13 is oversized.
- Collection Creator Biography:
Foote
Born April 12, 1756 in Connecticut, Ebenezer Foote was the son of Daniel (1717-1801) and Margaret Parsons (1721-1764) Foote. At the start of the American Revolutionary War, Foote volunteered as a soldier, without permission from his father, and saw action at the Battle of Bunker Hill, wintered in Valley Forge, and was taken prisoner at the Battle of Fort Washington. Following his capture, Foote was held in Bridewell Prison in New York City, from which he escaped in December, 1777 by swimming across the Hudson River to New Jersey. Although free from captivity, Foote's health was compromised due to his winter-time escape, and he was unable to participate in further military engagements. Instead, he served in the Commissary Department as inspector of cattle for the Continental Army, stationed in Crompon, New York. In this capacity, he gathered cattle from the countryside and forwarded them across the Hudson River to West Point to supply the troops. He eventually left the army in 1783 with the rank of major.
Returning to civilian life, Foote served as a member of the New York legislature in 1792, 1794, 1796, and 1797, and worked in the mercantile business in Newburgh, New York and Ulster County, New York until 1797, when he actively participated in the formation of Delaware County, and moved to Delhi, New York. He quickly became active in Delaware County's community and politics. He was appointed the first county clerk of Delaware County, serving from 1798 to 1801, served as a member of the state senate from the Middle District from 1798 to 1802, sat in the Council of Appointment with Governor John Jay (1745-1829) in 1799, and conducted an extensive land agency. In 1810, Foote was appointed the judge of the New York Court of Common Pleas, serving until 1816, and then again, from 1828 until his death in 1829.
In 1779, Foote married Jerusha Purdy (1754-1818) and, in 1797, he began building his estate, Arbor Hill, on land granted to him in return for his military service. The Footes were the parents of four children: Frederick Parsons Foote (1782-1827), Charles Augustus Foote (1785-1824), Harriet Foote (born 1787), and Margaret Parsons Foote (1790-1840). Frederick Parsons Foote served as a general in the War of 1812. He married Charlotte Welles, had three children, and died in Leghorn Italy at the age of 45. Charles Augustus Foote, a lawyer and member of Congress from New York in 1824, married Maria Baldwin and was the father of five children who lived to adulthood: Frances, Catherine B., Rensselaer (West point graduate and career soldier who served in the Seminole War and was killed at the Battle of Gaines Mill during the Civil War), Charles A., and James. Harriet Foote first married Ambrose Bryan, and later married her cousin John Foote (son of Ebenezer's brother Isaac [1746-1842]). She became guardian to her brother Charles' children following his death. Margaret Parsons Foote married Reverend Ebenezer K. Maxwell (1743-1840), the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Delhi for twenty-eight years.
Ebenezer Foote died on December 28, 1829 at the age of 75.
- Acquisition:
This collection was acquired in two parts. The bulk of the collection was donated by Stewart Robinson, March 18, 1964. The correspondence found in "Series III. Revolutionary War Correspondence and Financial Records Regarding Supplies of Cattle for the Continental Army, 1778-1782" was purchased at auction in 2012.
- Appraisal
No material was separated during 2013 processing.
- Processing Information
This collection was processed by Holly Mengel in 2013. Finding aid written by Holly Mengel in 2013.
- Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
- Conditions Governing Use
Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
- Credit this material:
Ebenezer Foote Papers; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Permanent URL:
- http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/6m311p35m
- Location:
-
Firestone LibraryOne Washington RoadPrinceton, NJ 08544, USA
- Storage Note:
- Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1-13
- Subject Terms:
- Land companies -- New York (State) -- Delaware County.
New York (State) -- Politics and government.
Tax assessment -- New York (State) -- Delhi.
United States. Continental Army. Commissary General's Dept. - Genre Terms:
- Business records -- 19th century
Business records. -- 18th century
Correspondence -- 18th century
Correspondence -- 19th century
Deeds -- 18th century
Deeds -- 19th century.
Financial records -- 19th century
Financial records. -- 18th century
Legal documents. -- 18th century
Legal documents. -- 19th century - Names:
- Bowne, Robert H. (1776-1843)
Bowne, Robert (1745-1818)
Foote, Charles Augustus (1785-1828)
Foote, Frederick Parsons (1783-1827)
Foote, Harriet Foote Bryan (1787)
Foote, Isaac (1746-1842)
Foote, Justin (1762)
Kemble, Peter
Maxwell, Ebenezer K. (1743-1840)
Maxwell, Margaret Parsons Foote (1790-1845)
Williams, Elisha (1773-1833) - Places:
- Delhi (N.Y.) -- History. -- Sources
United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783. -- Sources
