Rochester Family Papers
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rochester_family_papers This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on September 26, 2021. English. Describing Archives: A Content Standard Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester Rush Rhees Library Second Floor, Room 225 Rochester, NY 14627-0055 [email protected] URL: https://www.library.rochester.edu/spaces/rbscp rochester_family_papers Table of Contents Summary Information .................................................................................................................................... 3 Biographical/Historical note .......................................................................................................................... 3 Scope and Contents note ............................................................................................................................... 4 Administrative Information ............................................................................................................................ 5 Related Materials ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Controlled Access Headings .......................................................................................................................... 5 Collection Inventory ....................................................................................................................................... 6 Series I: Correspondence ............................................................................................................................. 6 Series II: Financial material ........................................................................................................................ 6 Series III: Deeds, mortgages, leases, etc. ................................................................................................. 17 Series IV: Printed and manuscript materials ............................................................................................ 19 Subseries I: Printed and typescript materials ......................................................................................... 19 Subseries II: Miscellaneous manuscript materials ................................................................................. 20 Subseries III: Newspaper clippings ........................................................................................................ 21 Series V: Photographs of the Rochester family ........................................................................................ 22 Series VI: Genealogy materials ................................................................................................................ 23 Series VII: Biographical material about Nathaniel Rochester III ............................................................. 25 - Page 2 - rochester_family_papers Summary Information Repository: Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester Creator: Rochester family Creator: Rochester, Nathaniel, 1752-1831 Creator: Rochester, Nathaniel Title: Rochester family papers ID: D.236 Date [inclusive]: 1780-1994 Physical Description: 11 boxes Language of the English Material: Preferred Citation [Item title, item date], Rochester Family Papers, D.236, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester ^ Return to Table of Contents Biographical/Historical note Nathaniel Rochester (1752-1831) was a prominent citizen of Hagerstown, Maryland when in 1803 he acquired part-interest in what is now part of downtown Rochester. He later moved to upstate New York, settling first in Dansville, then in East Bloomfield, and finally in Rochester in 1818. He lived the rest of his life in Rochester and played an active part in the affairs of the growing community that was named for him. He and his wife had twelve children and a number of descendants. ^ Return to Table of Contents - Page 3- rochester_family_papers Scope and Contents note Boxes 1 and 2 contain about 250 letters, dating from 1780 to 1910, with a concentration of letters between 1800 and 1830. The correspondence is mainly to and from Nathaniel Rochester, with some other family members represented. The papers contain a few letters from well-known national figures, including Henry Clay (two letters, along with material concerning Clay's burial in Box 3 folder 10), James Madison (one letter signed), Albert Gallatin (one document signed), and Alexander Hamilton (one document signed). Other important correspondents include Charles Carroll and William Fitzhugh, Rochester's partners in the 1803 Western New York land purchase. There are also retained copies of Rochester's own letters, written in his own hand along with correspondence from several of his sons, including William B. Rochester, who served as a Congressman. Also included are 17 letters Nathaniel Thrift Rochester wrote to his mother and sisters during a tour of Europe in 1832. Letters dating from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are to and from descendants of Rochester. Thirty-two of the letters were purchased from Mrs. Howard Osgood on December 11, 1933. See the register folder for a list of these letters. Emory M. Osgood donated the approximately 250 of the letters and the other material described above in August 1990. Additional correspondence, photographs, and other ephemera were purchased from Terry Prace on May 26, 2006. >Box 3 contains financial and legal material such as bills, receipts, deeds, agreements, etc. The material is concentrated between 1780 and 1830 with some material extending into the 1850s. The earlier material documents Rochester's business dealings before he came to Western New York, including the sale of slaves. Box 4 contains other material, including a few nineteenth-century broadsides, speeches, and newspaper clippings. Boxes 5-8 were purchased on November 5, 2003. Some dates overlap with material contained in boxes 1-4. This material includes a journal of Nathaniel Rochester's slave transactions (1790-94) in Box 5, folder 1, and what appears to be an account of a trip to the Genesee region in 1800. Boxes 7 and 8 contain genealogical material of the Rochester family compiled by Nathaniel Rochester III (1919-2001) along with material accumulated by family members about his work for IBM. These boxes also contain additional material about Montgomery Rochester, the grandson of Nathaniel Rochester. Mongomery Rochester died in 1909. Boxes 9 and 10 are books collected by or containing information about Nathaniel Rochester III. ^ Return to Table of Contents - Page 4- rochester_family_papers Administrative Information Publication Statement Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester Rush Rhees Library Second Floor, Room 225 Rochester, NY 14627-0055 [email protected] URL: https://www.library.rochester.edu/spaces/rbscp Restrictions on Access The Rochester Family Papers is open for research use. Researchers are advised to contact the Rare Books Special Collections & Preservation Department prior to visiting. Upon arrival, researchers will also be asked to fill out a registration form and provide photo identification. Restrictions on Use In consultation with a curator, reproductions may be made upon request. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from a curator. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions. ^ Return to Table of Contents Related Materials Related Archival Materials note Database: Rochester Family Papers letter index (boxes 1-2 only). ^ Return to Table of Contents Controlled Access Headings • New York (State)--Rochester - Page 5- rochester_family_papers • Correspondence • Financial records • Photographs • Rochester family • Rochester, Nathaniel, 1752-1831 • Rochester, Nathaniel Thrift, 1802-1883 • Rochester, Nathaniel Collection Inventory Series I: Correspondence Title/Description Instances Correspondence, 1780-1817 Box 1 Correspondence, 1818-1910, undated Box 2 ^ Return to Table of Contents Series II: Financial material Title/Description Instances 1770-1775 Box 3 Folder 1 Rochester, Nathaniel, Ds, 1774 Physical Description: 3 pages Scope and Contents Signed (in 3 places) co-partnership agreement between 5 principals including William Crawford 1776-1779 Box 3 Folder 2 Receipt for money received from Nathaniel Rochester signed by Wm. Burford and marked by Lucy L. Peck, May 22, 1777 Physical Description: 1 page Rochester, Nathaniel, ANS, receipt to Capt. Samuel Jackson, August 30, 1777 Physical Description: 1 page Rochester, Nathaniel. Unsigned agreement between James Monroe and John Hamilton, with his signature appearing several times in the text, October 16, 1777 Physical Description: 1 page - Page 6- rochester_family_papers Scope and Contents Bond of indemnity Receipt for payment of taxes received from Nathaniel Rochester signed by Thos. (last name illegible), January 16, 1778 Pyles, Reuben, receipt for purchase of two Negroes, August 25, 1778 Scope and Contents Transcribed Rochester, Nathaniel, ANS, financial agreement between Brian Crosbie and Rochester, October 5, 1778 Physical Description: 1 page Physical Description: Signature partially torn away, but appearing in the text Rochester, Nathaniel, signed receipt, account with James Monroe, 1778 Physical Description: 1 page Receipt written in Nathaniel