New Jersey Miscellaneous Collection, 1671-1956

Contents and Arrangement

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Collection Overview

Creator:

Princeton University. Library. Special Collections

Collector:

Princeton University. Library. Special Collections

Title:

New Jersey Miscellaneous Collection

Repository:

Manuscripts Division

Permanent URL:

http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/41687m04d

Dates:

1671-1956

Size:

9 boxes and 5.6 linear feet

Storage Note:

Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1-9

Language:

English

Abstract: Consists of a collection of miscellaneous legal and financial documents, correspondence, and other manuscript materials, assembled from various sources, that relate to New Jersey history or inhabitants of New Jersey from the late 17th century through the mid 20th century.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

Consists of an assembled collection of miscellaneous legal and financial documents, correspondence, and other manuscript materials related to New Jersey history or inhabitants of New Jersey from the late 17th century through the mid 20th century. Documents primarily pertain to Mercer, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset, Burlington, Monmouth, Bergen, Cumberland, Sussex, and Cape May counties, and some relate to areas around Princeton and Trenton.

This collection sheds light on the daily life of colonial New Jerseyans and their descendents, or on legal, political, or religious matters in the region, with most documents regarding the sale, mortgage, or legal transfer of lands in New Jersey. There are family and personal records and manuscript copies of official documents, including deeds and indentures, bills of sale, purchase agreements, receipts, financial accounts, land surveys, maps, drawings of buildings, wills, petitions for lawsuits, certificates of marriage, diplomas and licences, appointments to official posts, documents pertaining to indentured servants and power of attorney, petitions, genealogical research notes, broadsides, and correspondence.

Notable content includes documents and correspondence of governors of New Jersey as a colony, province, and state, including Jeremiah Basse (1698-1699), Jonathan Belcher (1747-1757), Sir Francis Bernard, 1st Baronet (1758-1760), Thomas Boone (1760-1761), William Livingston (1776-1790), George Franklin Fort (1851-1854), Marcus Lawrence Ward (1866-1869), and John Franklin Fort (1908-1911). There are also some documents related to the American Revolutionary War and the American Civil War, the Continental Congress, colonial matters in New Jersey, and early Princeton history, as well as reports, extracts of meetings and minutes, and other papers related to various societies, churches, and schools, including the New Jersey Literary and Philosophical Society, New Jersey Prison Instruction Society, Princeton Reading Society, Lawrenceville School, and Presbyterian churches around the state. While most materials in the collection date from the 19th century or before, among the 20th century items is a Princeton-based petition regarding Bruno Richard Hauptmann's trial for the kidnapping of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr.

Arrangement

Materials are arranged alphabetically by name. In several cases where multiple documents were acquired as an aggregate, materials remain in original groupings under the collector's name.

Collection History

Acquisition:

This collection was formed as a result of a Departmental practice of combining into one collection material of various accessions relating to a particular person, family, or subject. Materials have been acquired through multiple purchases and gifts.

Appraisal

No materials were removed from the collection during 2018 processing beyond routine appraisal practices.

Processing Information

The collection was physically reprocessed and a folder inventory was added to the finding aid by Julia English '19 in July 2018. At this time, identifying information about materials that was written on folders was transcribed into the finding aid and supplemented as needed. The existing collection-level description was revised by Kelly Bolding in August 2018. A decision was made not to update the collection title per DACS 2.3.3 at this time in order to avoid potential overlap with other collections of New Jersey documents assembled by Princeton University Library.

One folder of material containing Board of General Proprietors of the Eastern Division of New Jersey, Minutes of Meetings was treated for mold in August 2018.

Access & Use

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.

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