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t' C 
 
 
 
 
FOUNDED 1754 
 
 HISTORY OF 
 
 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER ON LIBRARIES 
 IN COLONIAL NEW YORK, 1698-1776 
 
 COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY 
 
 AUSTIN BAXTER KEEP, A.M. 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE TRUSTEES BY 
 
 THE DE VINNE PRESS 
 
 M CM VIII 
 
Copyright, I go 8, by 
 The New York Society Library 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 BOARD OF TRUSTEES,1908-1909 xi 
 
 PREFACE xiii 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK, 1698-1776 . . 8 
 
 1. The Bray Foundation, or the Library of Trinity 
 
 Parish, 1698-1776 8 
 
 2. The Sharpe Collection, given in 1713 to found a 
 
 "Publick Library" at New York 43 
 
 3. The Millington Bequest, or the Corporation Library, 
 
 1730-1776 64 
 
 4. The New York Society Library, founded in 1754 . . 83 
 
 5. The Library of King's College, 1757-1776 .... 84 
 
 6. Booksellers' Circulating Libraries, 1763-1776 . . . 101 
 
 7. The Union Library Society of New York, 1771-1776 . 112 
 Summary and Conclusion 118 
 
 I. THE FOUNDING OF THE NEW YORK SOCIETY 
 
 LIBRARY, 1754 123 
 
 II. FIRST STEPS, 1754-1772 148 
 
 III. FROM THE ROYAL CHARTER, 1772, TO THE 
 
 REVOLUTION, 1776 179 
 
 IV. STARTING AFRESH, 1788-1791 200 
 
 V. PROGRESS, 1791-1804; THE FIRST LIBRARY 
 
 BUILDING IN NEW YORK, 1795 222 
 
 V 
 
PAGE 
 
 vi CONTENTS 
 
 VI. 1804-1829 257 
 
 VII. THE NEW YORK ATHEN^UM, 1824-1839 .... 313 
 
 VIII. 1829-1854 363 
 
 IX. 1854-1879 437 
 
 X. 1879-1904 492 
 
 CONCLUSION. 1904-1908 528 
 
 SUBSCRIPTION ARTICLES, 1754 535 
 
 THE CHARTER AND AMENDMENTS 538 
 
 LIST OF TRUSTEES, 1754-1908 554 
 
 LIST OF OFFICERS, 1754-1908 ... .561 
 
 LIST OF BENEFACTORS .... . . . 564 
 
 AUTHORITIES QUOTED AND CITED 565 
 
 INDEX . . 575 
 
INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Full-page Illustrations 
 Present Home of the New York Society Library Frontispiece 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 Rev. Thomas Bray, D.D 20 
 
 First Trinity Church Building, 1737 30 
 
 Hon. William Alexander (Major-General Lord Stirling) 58 
 
 Old City Hall, as erected, 1700 66 
 
 Governor WilHam Livingston, LL.D 78 
 
 King's College in 1760 88 
 
 Chief Justice William Smith, Jr . . 108 
 
 Hon. John Watts, Sr 120 
 
 Samuel Bard, M.D., LL.D .130 
 
 Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, LL.D 142 
 
 Hugh Gaine . 150 
 
 John Pintard, LL.D 160 
 
 Hon. WiUiam Samuel Johnson, J.C.D., LL.D 176 
 
 Mrs. Anne (Kirten) Waddell 188 
 
 Federal Hall, 1789 208 
 
 Rt. Rev. Benjamin Moore, D.D., S.T.D. . . . . 220 
 
 First Building of the New York Society Library, 1795 . 230 
 Facsimile of an early certificate, 1790 , . .... 246 
 
 VH 
 
viii INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 Chancellor James Kent, LL.D 262 
 
 General Edward William Laight 278 
 
 Anthony Bleecker 294 
 
 Hon. Gulian Crommelin Verplanck, LL.D 308 
 
 Rt. Rev. John Henry Hobart, D.D., S.T.D 324 
 
 Hon. John Jordan Morgan 340 
 
 Alexander Robertson Rodgers 356 
 
 Peter Augustus Schermerhorn 370 
 
 Hon. Frederic de Peyster, LL.D 378 
 
 Charles Edward Strong 390 
 
 Second Building of the New York Society Library, 1840 400 
 Facsimile of a reissue by transfer of a pre-Revolutionary 
 
 certificate, 1841 408 
 
 Robert Lenox Kennedy 418 
 
 John Romeyn Brodhead 430 
 
 Evert Augustus Duyckinck 440 
 
 Wentworth Sanborn Butler 458 
 
 Frederick Sheldon 470 
 
 Richard Edwards Mount 478 
 
 John Cleve Green 488 
 
 George J. Foster 498 
 
 Mrs. Mary Matilda (Drake) Keese 510 
 
 Charles Henry Contoit 520 
 
 George Van Nest Baldwin 530 
 
 Facsimile Illustrations in the Text 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Page from Dr. Bray's "Apostohck Charity," 1698 . . 9 
 Page from Bray catalogue (MS.), 1697 14 
 
INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS ix 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Page from catalogue (MS.) in Trinity Vestry minutes, 
 
 1698 15 
 
 Scarred labels on surviving Bray book, 1697 25 
 
 Page from catalogue (MS.) in Trinity Vestry minutes, 
 
 1705-1715 34 
 
 Robert Elliston's bookplate, 1725 38 
 
 Later Elliston bookplate (undated) 41 
 
 First page (MS.) of Rev. John Sharpe's diary, 1704 . . 48 
 
 First page (MS.) of Sharpe Proposals, 1713 53 
 
 Autograph letter from Mayor and Common Council, 1729 71 
 
 Joseph Murray's bookplate 85 
 
 Signature of Rev. Dr. Bristowe 87 
 
 Dr. Duncombe Bristowe's bookplate 92 
 
 British proclamation in newspaper, 1777 96 
 
 Bookplate of the Society for the Propagation of the 
 
 Gospel in Foreign Parts 100 
 
 Common Council action (MS.) on Union Library Society 
 
 petition, 1774 117 
 
 Label on Clarendon history, 1711 119 
 
 Earliest press notice of Society Library, 1754 .... 137 
 
 First page (MS.) of Subscription Articles, 1754 . . . 154 
 
 First bookplate of Society Library, 1758 168 
 
 Contemporary copy (MS.) of Charter, 1773 ... . 183 
 
 Title-page of earhest surviving catalogue, 1758 .... 197 
 Extract from letter from Dr. Samuel Bard, 1789 . . .214 
 
 Title-page of catalogue supplement, 1792 240 
 
 Title-page (MS.) of collection of Bray catalogues, 1697 254 
 
 Directions (MS.) for first New York Library, 1697 . . 271 
 
 Title-page of Sharpe funeral sermon, 1706 287 
 
X INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 MS. page from Sharpe Proposals, 1713 301 
 
 Second bookplate of Society Library, 1789 317 
 
 Signature of Governor John Montgomerie, 1729 . - . 332 
 
 Page from General Assembly Journal, 1729 348 
 
 MS. page from Common Council minutes, 1730 .... 365 
 First page (MS.) of Society Library Trustees' 
 
 proceedings, 1754 383 
 
 Title-page of Union Library Society Articles, 1771 . . 396 
 
 Library notice in New-York Gazette, 1765 411 
 
 Receipt from Hugh Gaine for printing catalogues, 1773 . 427 
 Title-page of Bray's "Apostohck Charity," 1698 . . .449 
 
 Hessian proclamation in newspaper, 1777 466 
 
 Third bookplate of Society Library, 1797 484 
 
 Dedication page (MS.) of Sharpe Proposals, 1713 . . . 503 
 First page of Sharpe catalogue (autograph), 1713 . . 526 
 
BOARD OF TRUSTEES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 1908-1909 
 
 F. Augustus Scheemeehorn 
 
 Charles H. Maeshall 
 
 Fredeeic de p. Foster, 
 
 Chairman 
 
 D. Maitland Aemstrong 
 Charles C. Haight 
 Archibald D. Russell 
 George W. Folsom 
 
 Beverly Chew, 
 
 Secretary 
 
 Henry C. Swoeds, 
 
 Treasurer 
 
 T. Matlack Cheesman 
 
 J. WlLLLA-M BeEKMAN^ 
 
 David B. Ogden 
 
 W. Emlen Roosevelt 
 
 Howard Townsend 
 
 Bayard Tuckerman 
 
 ' Died August 9, 1908 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Upon the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding 
 of the New York Society Library, in the spring of 1904, its 
 Board of Trustees decided that the event would be best signal- 
 ized by the issuance of a volume commemorative of the history 
 of the institution. Accordingly Messrs. George V. N. Baldwin, 
 Beverly Chew and Henry C. Swords were appointed a Publica- 
 tion Committee, to which Frederic de P. Foster was later added 
 in place of Mr. Baldwin, deceased. The preparation of the pro- 
 posed work was entrusted to Austin Baxter Keep, A.M., an 
 alumnus of Amherst College, formerly instructor in history at 
 Adelphi Academy, Brooklyn, and at the time holding a graduate 
 scholarship in American history at Columbia University. He 
 was then also engaged in editing the English-colonial manu- 
 script "Minutes of the Common Council of the City of New 
 York, 1675—1776," an eight-volume work published by the city 
 authorities. Owing to the exactions of these prior engagements 
 in addition to the magnitude of the present task, which has in- 
 volved much research both in this country and abroad, the pro- 
 jected volume has been thus long in the making. 
 
 The main purpose of this book is to set forth conditions at- 
 tending the establishment of the Society Library and successive 
 episodes of its first century-and-a-half of existence, together 
 with brief characterizations of its long array of Trustees, pri- 
 marily for the benefit of its members and management, now and 
 for all time to come. But it is also felt that many will be inter- 
 ested to trace the mutations and advance of Library science in 
 various phases through this record of the progress of a single 
 institution for so long a period. 
 
 It is expected, furthermore, that citizens of New York will 
 find profitable entertainment in this fresh insight into the liter- 
 ary activities and interests of many a notable personage iden- 
 
xiv PREFACE 
 
 tified with our civic past. By far the oldest Library in the 
 State of New York and one of the earliest literary organizations 
 of the country, dating from colonial times with incorporation 
 by royal letters patent in the reign of King George the Third, 
 the Society Library, during its extended career of public use- 
 fulness and through its imposing membership roll, has yielded 
 its share toward the growth and influence of our great metrop- 
 olis. 
 
 We are confident, moreover, that this work should interest 
 the student of general history as well, for it tells the story of 
 early attempts toward advancement in culture and social better- 
 ment in this country. In confirmation of this belief, it is a 
 pleasure to state that the introduction and first three chapters 
 of the book, under title of "The Library in Colonial New 
 York," have been approved by the faculty of political science in 
 Columbia University as the dissertation required of Mr. Keep 
 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 
 
 Although the planning, the investigation and the composition 
 involved in the preparation of the book have been wholly the 
 work of its author, there are not a few to whom cordial acknow- 
 ledgments are due for personal reminiscence, critical assistance, 
 generous disposal of treasured information, and above all for 
 sympathetic interest. In hearty appreciation, therefore, are 
 recorded these names : Mr. Worthington C. Ford of the Library 
 of Congress; Director J. Franklin Jameson, LL.D., and Miss 
 Frances G. Davenport of the department of historical research 
 of the Carnegie Institution, Washington ; Professor Herbert L. 
 Osgood, LL.D., Supervisor Frederic W. Erb of the Loan Divi- 
 sion, Secretary Frederick P. Keppel and former Registrar 
 Rudolf Tombo, Jr., Ph.D., of Columbia University; the late 
 Rev. Dr. Morgan Dix, Rector, Mr. Hermann H. Cammann, 
 Comptroller, and Chief Clerk W. F. L. Aigeltinger and Mr. 
 Charles L. Foster of the clerical staff of Trinity Parish; the 
 Rev. Dr. Howard DufBeld, Pastor, Colonel Charles H. Olmstead, 
 Clerk of the Session, and Treasurer James Henry of the First 
 Presbyterian Church; Messrs. John S. Bussing, Elder, and 
 Charles S. Phillips, Clerk, of the Collegiate Dutch Church; 
 Librarians Wilberforce Eames of the Lenox Branch of the New 
 York Public Library, A. J. van Laer of the State Library at 
 
PREFACE XV 
 
 Albany, Charles K. Bolton of the Boston Athenaeum, James G. 
 Barnwell of the Library Company of Philadelphia, Ellen M. 
 FitzSimons of the Charleston (S. C.) Library Society, Bernard 
 C. Steiner, Ph.D., of the Enoch Pratt Free Library and Law- 
 rence C. Wroth of the Maryland Diocesan Library, Baltimore, 
 Frank B. Bigelow, Wentworth S. Butler and the staff of the 
 New York Society Library, Edward H. Virgin of the General 
 Theological Seminary, Mrs. Florence E. Youngs of the New 
 York Genealogical and Biographical Society, Robert H. Kelby 
 and Assistants William A. Hildebrand and Alexander J. Wohl- 
 hagen of the New York Historical Society, William Nelson of 
 the New Jersey Historical Society, Albert C. Bates of the Con- 
 necticut Historical Society, Mabel L. Webber of the South 
 Carolina Historical Society ; the Librarians of the British 
 Museum, Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh and Aberdeen Uni- 
 versities, Lambeth and Fulham Palaces, Sion College, Dr. Bray's 
 Associates, and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, 
 London ; the Rev. Sadler Phillips, Vicar of St. Etheldreda, Ful- 
 ham Palace Gates, Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, the Hon. John 
 Bigelow, Mr. and Mrs. John Austin Stevens, Mrs. Schuyler Van 
 Rensselaer, Mrs. William H. Shankland, Miss Kate O. Petersen, 
 the Rev. Dr. Edward T. Corwin, the Rev. Dr. Arthur Went- 
 worth Eaton, the Rev. Shepherd Knapp, formerly of the Brick 
 Presbyterian Church, Mr. Henry W. Kent of the Metropolitan 
 Museum and Newel Perry, Ph.D., besides other personal friends 
 of the author. 
 
 Especial indebtedness is gratefully acknowledged to James H. 
 Canfield, LL.D., Librarian of Columbia University, for reading 
 first proofs of the text, in addition to other assistance ; to State 
 Historian Victor H. Paltsits for contributions and critical com- 
 ments ; to the Rev. Joseph Hooper of Durham, Conn., for valu- 
 able aid and constant interest ; to Mr. John R. Todd, to whose 
 photographic skill and gratuitous services the admirable char- 
 acter of much of the illustrative material is due; to Arthur P. 
 Monger, R.A., photographer, of London, for the personal atten- 
 tion and excellent results that have marked his reproductions of 
 ancient manuscripts and title-pages ; to Mr. William Dickinson 
 Keep, whose antiquarian interest and fraternal regard have 
 made possible the great number of quotations and data from 
 
xvi PREFACE 
 
 repositories in the United Kingdom; to the Vestry of Trinity 
 Parish for the contribution of text illustrations bearing on its 
 early Library; to Mr. John B. Pine, Clerk of the Board of 
 Trustees of Columbia University, for the loan of several full- 
 page cuts, and particularly for his generous donation of the 
 illustrations of the section on King's College Library ; and to 
 Mr. Phihp H. Waddell Smith of Pittsburgh for contributing 
 the portrait of his great-great-great-grandmother, Mrs. Anne 
 Waddell, and the facsimile of a certificate of membership orig- 
 inally acquired by her husband. Captain John Waddell, in 1754, 
 the very year of the Library's foundation. 
 
 The index has been prepared by Mr. Charles Alexander Nel- 
 son, Reference Librarian of Columbia University. 
 
 The book contains likenesses of a few of the men who as 
 Trustees have served the Library with devotion and success. 
 It is a matter of regret that, because of the insufficiency of funds 
 available for the purpose, portraits of many other Trustees, 
 illustrious in their day and generation, have necessarily been 
 omitted. 
 
 These prefatorial remarks cannot be concluded without at 
 least a brief allusion to the passing of the late Chairman of this 
 Committee, George Van Nest Baldwin. He it was who in the 
 first instance proposed the writing of the volume now completed. 
 He read the history chapter by chapter with critical care and 
 enthusiasm, believing the book would redound to the credit of 
 the institution he so deeply cherished. His death occurring just 
 as the manuscript went to the printers, this book will ever be 
 intimately associated with the memory of his faithful services as 
 a Trustee of the New York Society Library. 
 
 Beverly Chew ] 
 
 Henry Cotheal Swords r Committee. 
 
 Frederic de Peyster Foster ) 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 1698-1776 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 1698-1 T76 
 
 IN these days of exploration into aU realms of 
 achievement and knowledge, there is no field more 
 proper for research than that of early Library de- 
 velopment in America, So marked have been advances 
 in Library science within recent years, and so increas- 
 ingly bright and so boundless is its prospect, that there 
 is all the greater reason for studying the beginnings and 
 early days of the movement. The subject is inviting 
 and full of promise, none the less that its sources are 
 scattered and difficult of access. But this dauntless age 
 of inquiry demands correct and full information con- 
 cerning the establishment of oiu* oldest Libraries. With 
 reverent curiosity it also seeks intelligence of earlier en- 
 deavors and of short-lived institutions that fell by the 
 wayside, leaving scarce a trace to-day. It is in this spirit 
 that the present study has been made of conditions in 
 Colonial New York. 
 
 Present-day inves1;igations are commonly expected to 
 abound in revelations, to set forth an array of revolu- 
 tionary statistics, to throw doAvn and grind to powder 
 
4 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 the tablets of engraven belief. Only to a local and not 
 at all damaging extent, however, will such expectation 
 be realized in this portion of Library research. Its dis- 
 closures will occasion uneasiness to none of those com- 
 monwealths or communities that cherish landmarks 
 along the Library way. Nothing has been discovered 
 that can possibly ruffle their placid contentment. So far 
 as New York is concerned, Virginia may forever point 
 to its Indian massacre of 1622 as the fell destroyer of 
 the earhest College Library in the new world. ^ Massa- 
 chusetts may abide in serene satisfaction over the be- 
 quest of John Harvard's books in 1638 to the institution 
 that bears his name as our oldest university to-day ; while 
 Boston justly glories in having had a "publike Library" 
 in its town house before the year 1675.^ 
 
 Nor is there the least disposition on the part of New 
 York to challenge either the statement of South Caro- 
 lina's historian, that "there can be little doubt that the 
 first library in America to be supported in any degree at 
 the public expense was that at CharlestoAvn in 1698 ;"' or 
 the equally convincing assertions of Maryland's cham- 
 pion, that the Bray "provincial library," sent thither in 
 1697, was "probably the first free circulating library in 
 the United States,"* and that Governor Nicholson's 
 suggestion of the same year, that the assembly make 
 provision for its maintenance and increase, was "the first 
 recommendation by any public official, that a part of 
 
 >The "CoUedge at Henrico," = Edward McCrady. The History 
 
 founded in 1620. Horace E. Scud- of South Carolina under the Royal 
 
 der. "Public Libraries a Hundred Oovernment. New York, 1899. 
 
 Years Ago," chap, i in Public Libra- P. 508. 
 
 ries in the V. S. Washington, 1876. * Bernard C. Steiner. "Rev. Thomas 
 
 Pp. 91-22. Bray and his American Libraries." 
 
 ' Charles K. Bolton in The Influ- The American Historical Review, 
 
 ence and History of the Boston New York, 1897. Vol. II, p. 73. 
 Athenceum. Boston, 1907. P. 17. 
 
THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 5 
 
 the public funds be applied to the support of a free 
 public library."^ 
 
 Furthermore, in the chronological procession of insti- 
 tutions of later foundation, existing and prosperous to- 
 day,— the Library Company of Philadelphia, dating 
 from 1731, the Company of the Redwood Library, in- 
 stituted at Newport, R. I., in 1747, and the Charles- 
 Town (Charleston, S. C.) Library Society, established 
 in 1748, — the New York Society Library, founded in 
 1754, cheerfully takes fourth place, thereby surrender- 
 ing its long-asserted claim to have dated from the year 
 1700. This act is none the less gracious, — even though 
 the question of precedence has never been seriously agi- 
 tated by sister institutions, — for the present investiga- 
 tion has been conducted in the name of the Society 
 Library, now become sponsor for the truth. 
 
 First, therefore, it may be well to quote in full the 
 latest and supposably the most nearly authentic accoiuit 
 of Library beginnings in New York, that has been 
 printed prior to the preparation of this monograph. It 
 reads interestingly as follows, in a chapter entitled "The 
 City under Governor John Montgomerie, 1728-1732," 
 by the Rev. Daniel Van Pelt in the "Memorial History," 
 pubhshed in 1892: 
 
 In September, 1728, Governor Montgomerie received word that 
 the private Kbrary of an EngUsh clergyman, the Rev. John Mill- 
 ington, had been bequeathed by him to the Society for the Prop- 
 agation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts ; and that the society — 
 something like our present church boards of foreign missions, 
 and evidently regarding New- York as included within its range 
 of operations among the heathen — -had decided to bestow Mr. 
 Millington's gift of books upon the corporation of our city. 
 
 ^Ibid., p. 67. 
 
6 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 There were a Kttle over 1600 of them, a fair number for a pri- 
 vate library, but rather a modest beginning for a municipal one. 
 Naturally the prevailing character was theological or devo- 
 tional, though doubtless the "Wits of Queen Anne's Time" — 
 Pope, Addison, Steele, Swift — found a place among them. These 
 volumes, moreover, were not the first donation of this kind: a 
 smaller collection, also formerly the private library of a clergy- 
 man, was already in the possession of the city. This had been 
 presented in 1700 by the Rev. John Sharp, Lord Bellomont's 
 chaplain in the fort. As this gentleman was still living, the 
 authorities now gave into his charge the Ubrary as thus mate- 
 rially increased, quarters were assigned for it in the City Hall, 
 and here access to it was given to the public at large. Mr. 
 Sharp, however, being an aged man, did not long survive his ap- 
 pointment ; and after his death no one was found either able or 
 willing to take his place. Hence the City Library fell into sad 
 neglect, until it was transferred to the keeping of the Society 
 Library, organized in 1754, becoming thus the nucleus of the in- 
 stitution that still exists and flourishes in this city to-day.^ 
 
 And later in the same work, in a section devoted to the 
 history of the Society Library, appears the following 
 paragraph, authorized by that institution as its under- 
 standing of how the Library movement in New York 
 originated : 
 
 The History of the New-York Society Library begins in the 
 
 year 1700. At that time "The PubHc Library" of New- York 
 
 was founded during the administration of the Earl of Bellomont 
 
 (Grahame's "History of the United States," Vol. II, p. 256). 
 
 The Kbrary thus organized appears to have gone on increasing, 
 
 and to have acquired considerable importance. Several folio 
 
 volumes — now in the possession of the Society Library — ^were 
 
 presented by friends in London in 1712; and in 1729 the Rev. 
 
 Dr. Millington, rector of Newington, England, bequeathed his 
 
 ^The Memorial History of the article on early Libraries in New 
 
 City of New-York. Edited by York, in Alnsworth R. Spoiford's 
 
 James Grant Wilson. New York, A Book for All Readers. New 
 
 1893. Vol. II, p. 194. Statements York, 1900. Pp. 39T-298. 
 in this extract form the basis of the 
 
THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 7 
 
 Kbrary to the "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in 
 Foreign Parts," and by this society it was presented to the Pub- 
 lic Library of New- York. The whole collection of books was 
 placed in charge of the corporation of the city, and seems to 
 have suiFered from want of proper attention and management 
 until the year 1754, when an association of individuals was 
 formed for the purpose of carrying on such an institution more 
 efficiently. On the apphcation of these gentlemen [the con- 
 tributor here by mistake gives the names of the Trustees who 
 secured the charter in 1772], the books they had collected were 
 incorporated with the Pubhc Library, and the whole placed 
 under the care of trustees chosen by them. The institution was 
 known at that time as "The City Library," a name by which it 
 was popularly designated up to about the year 1750 [1850].^ 
 
 Without pausing to correct or even to point out in- 
 consistencies and inaccuracies— not to mention anachron- 
 isms^ — in these two extracts, which so well and fully 
 represent all hitherto published knowledge of the sub- 
 ject, a beginning wiU at once be made to disclose the 
 actual facts. How errors crept in and how much was 
 forgotten in the passage of the indifferent years, and 
 how, in the absence of any special study, misleading re- 
 ports came to be accepted as fact, will all appear in suc- 
 ceeding pages as old traditions and fables are explained, 
 and in their stead is unfolded the true story of the 
 Library in Colonial New York. 
 
 1 Wentworth S. Butler. "The New- dred Years Ago" by Horace E. 
 
 York Society Library," in chap, iii, Scudder (see p. inl), as also of Mr. 
 
 "The Libraries of New- York." The Van Pelt's sketch quoted above. 
 
 Memorial History. Vol. IV, p. 106. What seems to have been a fuller 
 
 This extract is taken bodily, with and more nearly accurate account, 
 
 but trifling changes, from an "His- however, in an historical address de- 
 
 torical Notice" published in the livered by Chairman de Peyster in 
 
 Society Library Catalogue of 1850, 1879, is not known to have been 
 
 which also forms the basis of the printed. Chap. IX, infra. 
 
 article in "Public Libraries a Hun- "See pp. 43, 69-70. 
 
8 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 1. The Bray Foundation, or the Library of 
 Trinity Parish, 1698-1776 
 
 So far as known, the earliest printed mention of a Li- 
 brary as an institution in New York appears in an ob- 
 scure and now rare little book, published at London in 
 1698, with one of the inordinately long titles then com- 
 mon, but which may briefly be called "Apostolick 
 Charity."^ It has for a preface "A General View of the 
 Enghsh Colonies in America, with respect to Religion; 
 In order to shew what Provision is wanting for the 
 Propagation of Christianity in those Parts." Here, 
 under a tabular arrangement into Colonies, Parishes <§ 
 Churches, Ministers, and Libraries, conditions in New 
 York are thus itemized : "1 Church in the Fort. 1 Church 
 in the City. 2 Dutch Churches. 1 French Church. 1 
 Minister in the Fort. 1 Minister in the City. 2 Dutch 
 Ministers. 1 French Minister. 1 Library." Further 
 study reveals that credit for establishing the last-named 
 interest belongs to the learned author himself, the Rev. 
 Thomas Bray, D.D. 
 
 Born at Marton, Shropshire, in 1656, a graduate of 
 All Souls' College, Oxford, a successful pastor and an 
 able writer. Dr. Bray had been appointed by the Bishop 
 of London in April, 1696, to act as commissary of eccle- 
 siastical affairs in Maryland. This post he was "content 
 to accept," if the bishops would help him provide "Pa- 
 rochial Libraries" for the use of the missionaries he should 
 
 ^Apostolick Charity, its Nature tions. By Thomas Bray, D.D. Lon- 
 
 and Excellence Consider'd. InaDis- don, 1698. The copy whose title-page 
 
 course upon Dan. 12. 3. Preached is liere reproduced is in the New 
 
 at St. Pauls, Decemb. 19, 1697, at the York Public Library. An author's 
 
 Ordination of some Protestant Mis- presentation copy is in the Library 
 
 sionaries to be sent into the Planta- of the General Theological Seminary. 
 
THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY PARISH 
 
 Colonies. 
 
 m. tfeu>-Tcrk. 
 
 t.LoHg-IJlanJ 
 
 A popilous Colony beloiv!- 
 Ingto the Govemmeiic of 
 New-iorK, havim in die 
 J»»-fart lo fnelllh- 
 Xowiwi ivKerein ere com- 
 PMed ibove 800 Fami- 
 lies ; and in the Weft- 
 part 9 Dutch -To^snj. 
 uherein sre upwjids of 
 500 Fsoulies. 
 
 ^arijhes &. Churches 
 
 I Churchill the Fort. 
 
 1 Chtirch in the Qty. 
 
 2 Dutch Churches. 
 I French Church. 
 
 1 3 Churches. 
 
 IV 
 
 V. 
 
 VI 
 
 a. Albany, 
 A krge City, 
 confifting of 
 400 Families, 
 bordering up- 
 on thcIndiof/Sy 
 and belong- 
 ing to the Go- 
 vernment of 
 JVejp Tork. 
 
 Newjerfey 
 Penjjhattia. 
 
 1 Church in the Fort for the 
 
 Garrifon, confifting of 2 
 
 Foot-Compames, and the 
 
 Englifh Inhabitants of the 
 
 Town. 
 I Dutch Church. 
 
 I French Church. 
 
 I SmJiJh Church. 
 
 In Ea/i.'Jnfy there are 8 
 Towns, no Church. 
 
 In this Province there are 
 alfo feveral Towns. 
 
 Church at Philadd- 
 phia, having a conC- 
 derablc Number of 
 Church of Ptigland 
 ProteftanK. 
 
 Colonies. 
 
 Second page (slightly reduced) of preface to "Apostolick Charity," published in 1698, 
 containing first printed mention of a Library in New Yorlj. See p. 8. 
 
 Minijters 
 
 I Minifter 
 in iheFort. 
 I Miniftcr 
 in the City, 
 a Dutch 
 Miniilcrs. 
 .1 French 
 
 Minilttr. 
 
 Not I Cbutcb 
 of EfigUnJ 
 Minifter, Iho" 
 much detir'd 
 In the£»»/i/i 
 Part. 
 
 <? Dutch Mi- 
 nifters in the 
 Weft-part. 
 
 1 Dutch 
 Minifter. 
 
 1 French 
 Miniftcr. 
 
 I Sivedijl/ 
 Minifter. 
 
 1 Minifter 
 going over 
 
 I Minifter. 
 
 I School- 
 
 Mafter. 
 
 Libraries 
 t Library. 
 
 A Library 
 begua. 
 
 1 Library. 
 
10 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 send to America, the majority of whom, he said, would 
 be of "the poorer sort of Clergy, who could not suffi- 
 ciently supply themselves with books." ^ The church 
 dignitaries cordially endorsed this proposal, believing 
 that his "Design" would, "in all likeHhood, invite some 
 of the more studious and virtuous persons out of the 
 Universities to undertake the ministry in those parts, 
 and be a means of rendering them useful, when they are 
 there." ^ With even greater earnestness the commissary 
 himself declared, a year and a half later: 
 
 By Experience, as well as the Reason of the Thing, I 'm con- 
 vinc'd, That 100 I. laid out in a LIBRARY, is what will best 
 induce a Learned and Sober Minister to go into the Service 
 of any part of the Church in the Plantations ; And that the same 
 is a necessary Encouragement, considering that few Men of 
 Fortunes, who are able to purchase Books for themselves, wiU 
 go into such remote Parts. ^ 
 
 Although for political reasons Dr. Bray did not set 
 out for his new field until 1699,* he had been busy choos- 
 ing his men and despatching sundry "book presses" over- 
 sea. The first few consignments went naturally to 
 Maryland and neighboring provinces. But that was 
 only the beginning of his plan. Two years before, he 
 had issued a brochure with a similarly interminable cap- 
 tion, "An Essay towards promoting all Necessary and 
 Useful Knowledge, both Divine and Human, in all the 
 
 ^Dr. Bray's proposal in reply to ' Apostolick Charity, pp. (Iv-v). 
 his appointment as commissary. ' "He took his Voyage December 
 Here copied from "Memoir of Dr. 16, 1699, and arriv'd in Maryland 
 Bray" in the Report of Dr. Bray's after an extream tedious and dan- 
 Associates for 1905, pp. 31-33. gerous Passage, the 19th of March 
 
 - From a document in Lambeth following" ; but within the year he 
 
 Palace Library, signed by Arch- made a "speedy Return," without 
 
 bishops Tenison and Sharpe and by going far, if at all, beyond the 
 
 Bishops Compton, Lloyd, Stilling- Maryland border. See Publick 
 
 fleet, Patrick and Moore. "Memoir Spirit Illustrated . . . (1st edition), 
 
 of Dr. Bray," p. 32. pp. 26, 35. 
 
THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY PARISH 11 
 
 Parts of His Majesty's Dominions, both at Home and 
 Abroad."^ 
 
 First in this work comes a six-page homily on Know- 
 ledge, "the fairest Ornament of the Soul of Man," which 
 "does more distinguish the Possessors of it than Titles, 
 Riches, or great Places: . . . whilst the Gaudy, but 
 Empty Beau, is no other than the Scorn and Derision of 
 all who Converse with him." Then, fearing lest his plans 
 should seem too limited in scope, he hastens to add: 
 "Though this Design seems more immediately directed 
 to the Service of the Clergy, yet Gentlemen, Physicians 
 and Lawyers will perceive they are not neglected in it." 
 The MTiter next addresses "Proposals to the Gentry and 
 Clergy of this Kingdom, for Purchasing Lending Li- 
 braries in all the Deanaries of England, and Parochial 
 Libraries for Maryland, Virginia, and other of the For- 
 eign Plantations." His fully matured purpose is dis- 
 closed in this quaint and touching conclusion : 
 
 In short, as meer Zeal for Publick Service hath excited me to 
 leave no Stone unturn'd, to procure Parochial Libraries for the 
 Plantations, in which I thank God I have had hitherto no mean 
 Success ; . . . Instead of Libraries for Maryland, the bounds of 
 my first Design, I shall not only extend my Endeavours for the 
 Supply of all the English Colonies in America therewith; but 
 can most willing be a Missionary into every one of those Prov- 
 inces, to fix and settle them therein when they are obtain'd, being 
 so fully perswaded of the great Benefit of these kind of Li- 
 braries, that I should not think 'em too dear a Purchase, even at 
 the hazard of my Life. 
 
 A complete system for founding and "preserving" Li- 
 braries is thereupon elaborated. Several pages are filled 
 with titles of suitable books, comprising works in all 
 
 1 London, 169T. A copy is in the New York Public Library. 
 
12 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 lines of literature, especial emphasis of course being laid 
 on theology. In passing, it might be of interest to know 
 how many collections sent to America owed existence to 
 the following thrifty scheme: "That what Gratis-^ooks 
 will be obtain'd of the Bookseller, in consideration of so 
 many bought of 'em towards these Lending Libraries; 
 that these be set apart towards making up Parochial 
 Libraries for the Foreign Plantations." 
 
 The origin of the first New York Library, however, 
 was clearly due to no such bonus arrangement. For upon 
 a manuscript catalogue — about all that remains of this 
 early collection— the price of each volume is carefully 
 annexed, the total cost amounting to exactly £70. This 
 list is to-day, as it has been for nearly two hundred 
 years, in the possession of "Dr. Bray's Associates," a 
 board of trustees organized by that good man in 1723 to 
 found Clerical Libraries and for the education of negro 
 slaves in the colonies. Under this heading, 'A Register 
 of y* Books Sent towards Laying y^ Foundacbn of a 
 Provincial Library in New York," ^ appear 157 titles 
 numbering 220 volumes, grouped into the following 
 comprehensive classification : 
 
 I The H. Script: w* Commentators, 23; II Fathers, 7; III 
 Discourses Apologetical, 9 ; IIII Bodies of Divinity both Cate- 
 chetical & Scholastical, 14; V On y^ Genl Doctrine of y^ Cov* 
 of Grace, 2, and On the Creed — ^both y^ whole Body of Cre- 
 denda & on particular Articles, 18 ; VI Of Moral Laws & X^" 
 Duties, 28 ; VII Of Repent : & Mortificacbn, 3 ; VIII Of Divine 
 Assistance, Prayer and y*^ Sacram*^ — those Means of perform- 
 
 '■ The title-page of the MS. from Anbpolis in Mary Land. For the 
 
 which this list is copied reads as use and Benefit of the Clergy and 
 
 follows: Bibliothecw Promnciales others in the Provinces of New Eng- 
 
 Americance, Being the Registers of land. New York, Pennsylvania, 
 
 Books Sent Towards Laying the Carolina, ^ Bermudas. Vol. II. By 
 
 Foundacbn of Five more provincial Thomas Bray, D.D. 
 Libraries in Imitation of that of 
 
THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY PARISH 13 
 
 ing the foregoing Articles, 10 ; IX Sermons, 34! ; X Ministerial 
 Directories, 5; XI Controversial, 19; XII Historical and Geo- 
 graphical, — i Humanity, vizt Ethicks & Oeconomicks, 6 ; ii 
 Polity & Law, ; iii History and its Appendages — Chronology, 
 Geography, Voyages and Travails, 23 ; iiij Physiology, Anat- 
 omy, Chirurgery & Medicine, 2 ; v Mathematicks & Trade, ; vi 
 Grammars & Lexicons, 6 ; vii Rhetorick, 1 ; viii Logick, 1 ; ix 
 Poetr}', 3 — Poets Antiqui, Buchanani Psalmi 12°, Miltons 
 paradise Lost; x Miscellanies, 6.^ 
 
 More than this could scarcely have been asked by the 
 most ardent booklover of that day — from the point of 
 view of the clergy, that is — in the way of subjects; the 
 only remaining desideratum wovdd be the certainty of 
 substantial and frequent increase, an interest not as 
 thoroughly furthered by the broad- visioned promoter, as 
 will presently appear. Nevertheless, the arrangement 
 just quoted deserves more than passing attention, not 
 alone for being a good specimen of an early classification 
 for an American library, but also for its admirable 
 character even to-day; while the Ust itself comprises the 
 standard works of the period for a clergyman's library. 
 
 That the httle assortment reached its destination is 
 proved by a fairly exact copy of the catalogue spread in 
 full upon the old manuscript book of minutes of the 
 vestry of Trinity parish, imder the following slightly 
 altered inscription: "A Register of the Books sent to- 
 wards laying the foundation of a parochial Library in 
 
 ^This scheme corresponds, with both Divine and Humane, a MS. 
 
 trifling exceptions, chiefly in the work now in the Library of Sion 
 
 omission of explanatory notes, to College, London. A transcript is in 
 
 Dr. Bray's elaborate classification the New York Public Library. 
 
 inbis Bibliothecas Americana: Quadri- Sion College is a sort of guild or 
 
 partitce; or Catalogues of the Libra- corporation of the parochial clergy, 
 
 ries sent into the Severall Provinces rectors, vicars, lecturers and curates 
 
 belonging to the Crown of England, of the city of London proper and 
 
 in order to promote all the parts of immediate suburbs, having been 
 
 Usefull and Necessary Knowledge founded about the year 1625. 
 
14 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 
 
 0\ 
 
 if:h-:Or 
 
 
 
 o J), o 
 
 <■ <: ^■■. 
 
 J: ^:^- 
 
 ,cO^ . „ ^ y n^ J 3 C 
 
 First page (reduced) of catalogue of Bray books brought to New York by the Earl of Bel- 
 lomont. Written in 1697; now in possession of Dr. Bray's Associates, London. 
 
THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY PARISH 15 
 
 .1// 
 
 ^"^^'^^"^^ aA ^m/j/ir. 
 
 
 'e- 
 
 , /A- 
 
 //a / / /^ 
 
 Copy (much reduced) of Bray catalogue in Trinity Vestry minutes, written in 1698. 
 
16 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 New York for the Use of the Ministers of Holy Trinity 
 Church"!^ Though at first sight this discrepancy in 
 phrasing might cause a shock in its suggestion of per- 
 verted funds, fortunately for the honor of the venerable 
 and venerated parish in question, the latter style ex- 
 presses precisely the intention of the founders. This is 
 quite apparent from the set of rules accompanying the 
 books, written as early as 1697 in the following form: 
 
 DIRECTIONS 
 
 FFOE, Y^ Use, & P^SERVATION OF Y^ LlBRAUY 
 
 SENT w"^^ HIS Excellency the Eabl of Belt.amont to 
 New York in America 
 
 Ffirst j^ Cheif Design of this Library is for y^ Use of y^ 
 Church of England Ministers belonging to y^ Ffort, & City of 
 New York, & for y^ Chaplains of his ]Maj*i£5 Ships during their 
 Residence in y* Port. 
 
 Secondly To y^ End y* any P^'sons concernd may have a freer 
 Ingress, & Regress, it is desir'd y^ Books may be fixt in some 
 pubHck Roome in y^ Ffort, or in y^ Vestry of y^ Church at New 
 York, so as shall be most Convenient for y^ Clergy to come at 
 y^ Use of 'em. 
 
 Thirdly That three Registers of these Books be made, one 
 whereof to Remain w^^ y^ Ld B|) of London, a Second w*^ his 
 Excellency y^ Govern'", & a Third to remain in y^ Library. 
 
 Ffor y^ betf p^'servation of em it is desird y* y^ Gentlemen of 
 y^ Vestry wou'd yearly Inspect y^ Books & p^'sent, as to y^ 
 GovST, so to y^ Ld BJ) of London an acc*^ wheth"" they are Safe, 
 or anywise Imbezeld or Lost.^ 
 
 Richard Coote, first Earl of Bellomont, was commis- 
 sioned by King William III in June, 1697, as royal gov- 
 ernor of the provinces of New York, IMassachusetts and 
 
 ^ Trinity vestry minutes, vol. I, fiilly written copy are to-day pre- 
 
 p. 200 et seq. served in the collection of manu- 
 
 ' The original, marked "Duplicate" scripts left by Dr. Bray to Sion 
 
 in pencil in a later hand, and a care- College. 
 
THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY PARISH IT 
 
 New Hampshii-e. He landed in New York city April 2, 
 1698, after a tempestuous passage of seven months' dura- 
 tion. The voyage may well be regarded as an omen of 
 his stormy term of office, whose brief three years were 
 filled with bitter quarrels. His efforts to counteract the 
 pohcy of his notorious predecessor, Colonel Benjamin 
 Fletcher, — who had issued territorial grants with a lavish 
 hand, and who was almost openly in league with piracy, 
 — naturally aroused great hostihty and left hitn scant 
 opportiinity to patronize an infant hbrary. Further- 
 more, he soon became involved in a serious personal dif- 
 ference with the Rev. William Vesey, first rector of 
 Trinity parish, so that harmony between them on any 
 matter was wholly impossible. 
 
 In due time the governor fulfilled this part of his mis- 
 sion, however, for the Trinity vestry minutes bear this 
 record for June 8, 1698 : "M'' Vesey having informed y^ 
 Board that [he] has reced from his Excel Rich : Earl of 
 Bellomont a parcell of Books of Divinity sent over by y* 
 right Reverend Henry Lord Bishop of London for y^ 
 Use of Trinity Church for which he hath given a receipt 
 to his Excel a hst whereof is produced. It is ordered the 
 books remain in the custody of M^ Vesey vmtill fiirther 
 order and that y* Clerk do register the Catalogue of the 
 books in the vestry book." ^ 
 
 In the meantime, what may have been the nucleus of a 
 Library had already been formed in a gift from the re- 
 tiring executive, Colonel Fletcher, who had shown his 
 good will to Trinity by signing its original charter, May 
 6, 1697, and in the granting of an extensive land lease to 
 the parish. For, at a vestry meeting held March 26, 
 
 ^Trinity vestry minutes, I, 35-36. follow at once, beginning on page 
 The "Catalogue," however, does not 300. 
 
18 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 1698, "M' David Jamison reports that his Excel y* Gov^ 
 has given a Bible & some other books to this Corporation 
 for y^ use of Trinity Church w'^'' are Suppos'd to be in y® 
 hands of M^ Symon Smith. Ordered Capt Wilson & 
 W™ Sharpas do waite upon M"" Smith & aske for y^ 
 Same."^ 
 
 From the beginning, the vestrymen of Trinity Church 
 have uniformly been influential citizens, and these early 
 members certainly present no exception. David Jameson 
 held successively the offices of deputy secretary of the 
 province, clerk of the assembly and city recorder ; Cap- 
 tain Ebenezer Willson, for years city treasurer, had been 
 a common councilman and later occupied the mayoralty 
 from 1707 to 1710; while William Sharpas, confirmed as 
 town clerk in the Dongan charter in 1686, held that im- 
 portant post until his death in 1739. Lastly, the Rev. 
 Simon Smith was chaplain of the forces in the fort from 
 1696 to 1700, the chapel having been ordered rebuilt by 
 Governor Fletcher in the year 1695.^ 
 
 The first Trinity Church, which stood on the present 
 site on land formerly a portion of the old Dutch West 
 India Company's garden, had been opened for pubhc 
 worship in March, 1698. That the books were housed in 
 this edifice, doubtless from their receipt, is plain from a 
 letter of Mr. Vesey's to Governor Nicholson of Virginia, 
 
 ' Trinity vestry minutes, I, 21-22. Govr Fletchers carrying over an- 
 
 " Of this event the Rev. John Mil- other for that use ^ purpose in ye 
 
 ler, chaplain, 1692-1695, writes: year 1692." The chapel was de- 
 
 "The Chappell was first built about stroyed early in 1741 in "the late 
 
 the year 1630 but growing ruinous fatal fire that laid in ashes the 
 
 it was puU'd Down Ano 1694 ^ re- house, chaple, barracks & Secre- 
 
 built in ye years of X 1695 |- 1696.'" tary's office in his Majesty's fort in 
 
 From a note in his own hand on this Town." Speech of Lt.-Gov. 
 
 the fly-leaf of a great Bible, now George Clarke to the Council, April 
 
 in the N. Y. Public Library, and of 15, 1741. Journal of the Legislative 
 
 which he says: "This Bible belonged Council, 1691-17 4S. Albany, 1961. 
 
 to the Chappell in the Kings fort at P. 769. 
 New York ^ fell to my Lot upon 
 
THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY PARISH 19 
 
 dated June 9, 1702, in which he tells how, at the sugges- 
 tion of "his Reverence D^ Bray," a "happy Society" of 
 the several ministers of the city was "maintained in the 
 Church Library."^ 
 
 Other hsts, also preserved in the archives of the Bray 
 Associates, show that additions were made from time to 
 time to the original collection. For example, under "A 
 Catalogue of Books Sent Aug* 30*^ 1701 to New York 
 to Improve the Library at New York," appear some 
 twenty titles covering twenty- four volumes of sermons 
 and religious treatises, the cost of each book being en- 
 tered as before. Again, as few as eight volimies, sim- 
 ilarly devotional in character, were accompanied with 
 "A Catalogue of the Books Sent Apl 23, 1702 to Augmt 
 the Library at New York." 
 
 Both these accessions are found copied in the Trinity 
 vestry minutes" directly following the first "Register." 
 A supplementary reference to the subject appears in the 
 proceedings of Jiuie 2, 1701, when "The Vestrey Exam- 
 ined the Churches Library according to the Catalogue 
 Sent from D'' Bray & Signed the same returned with an 
 Acco^ of what books were wanting & w* were not in the 
 Catalogue."* 
 
 The next consignment, comprising six volimies, is 
 styled in the church records "A Catalogue of Books Sent 
 to the Library Anno 1704." Subsequent donations, how- 
 ever, seem to have come from private sources, full credit 
 for the gifts being expressed. The first of such presents, 
 
 ^S. p. G. Letter Book (copies). Archives, N. Y. MSS., I, 14-15. 
 
 no. 112, 1702-1799. The archives of These Hawks papers are kept in the 
 
 the Society for the Propagation of Church Missions House, 4th ave. and 
 
 the Gospel in Foreign Parts have 32d St., N. Y. city. 
 
 been for years at no. 19 Delahay st., ^ Vestry minutes, I, 308 et seq. 
 
 Westminster, London. A later copy 'Ibid., I, 38. 
 by Dr. Hawks is in the Gen. Conv. 
 
20 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 a collection of twelve doctrinal works, is entered under 
 "A Catalogue of Books given to the Library of New 
 York by Tho? Byerly Esq^ Colector and Receiver Gen- 
 eral of the province of New York of the Value of five 
 pounds Sterling 1704 & brought from London by M' 
 Brett 1705." Immediately after this, acknowledgment 
 is made of some books "At the Same time Sent by the 
 Bishop of London," including prayer books and "22 
 Serious Exortations to the practice of Religious Duties 
 both publick and private. Sent to be Distributed among 
 the poor by the Minister." 
 
 Following this doubtless most comforting benefaction 
 comes an entry well calcidated to awaken antiquarian at- 
 tention. Thus reads the record : " Jariry 1712 Given the 
 Right Hon''!^ the Earle of Clarendons y^ History of the 
 Rebellion & Civil Wares in 3 Vol. fol."^ And interest 
 centers in the announcement because the second volume 
 of this very set may be seen to-day in the New York So- 
 ciety Library. Natural sentiment attaching to this ven- 
 erable book, a pathetic survivor of New York's first 
 Library, is heightened by an ornate label on its front 
 cover, bearing in gilt letters still bright the clear-cut 
 legend, BELONGING TO Y= LIBRARY OF NEW YORK 
 IN AMERICA 1711. 
 
 Certainly here was offered an agreeable contrast to 
 the dull monotony of theological lore. Though the 
 kindly donor's name is not known, he may reasonably be 
 
 1 Edward Earl of Clarendon. The floor of the City Hall, "had pre- 
 
 History of the Rebellion and Civil sented . . . the Library with the 
 
 Wars in England. Oxford, 1703. Lord Clarendons first part of the 
 
 This was not the only copy in History of the Civil Warrs of the 
 
 the early Library, for the Trinity Kingdome of England." Vol. I, p. 
 
 vestry minutes show that in January, 63. This gift had quite a personal 
 
 1709, Lord Cornbury, then removed touch, for Lord Cornbury — as was 
 
 from the governorship and confined also Queen Anne — was a grandchild 
 
 in the debtors' prison, on the top of the author. 
 
Rev. Thomas Bray^ D.D. 
 Founder of the first Library in New Yorli, 1698 
 
THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY PARISH 21 
 
 presumed to have been either Dr. Bray or the Bishop of 
 London again, for this gilt lettering conforms exactly 
 with that on the books brought by Lord Bellomont in 
 1698 for Boston, as the nucleus of its parochial library.^ 
 This collection, known as King's Chapel Library, has 
 long been deposited in the Boston Athenaeimni. It 
 comprises some 110 volumes, with the royal stamp, SVB 
 AVSPICIIS WILHELMI III, on one cover, and on the 
 other, DE BIBLIOTHECA DE BOSTON. A few of the 
 books, however, are labeled Uke the old Clarendon his- 
 tory, BELONGING TO Y= LIBRARY OF BOSTON IN 
 NEW ENGLAND, though no date is affixed, that feature 
 evidently having come as an improvement in course of 
 time. Moreover, Dr. Bray had expressly directed : 
 
 THAT for further Security to preserve them from Loss and 
 Imhezelment, and that they may he known where-ever they are 
 found; in every Book, on the one side of the Cover, shall be Let- 
 ter'd these Words, SUB AUSPICIIS WILLIELMI III. on the 
 other side the Name of the Parish to which these Boohs do he- 
 long: EX. GR. E. BIBLIOTHECA DE MARY-TOWN: E. 
 BIBLIOTHECA DE JAMES-TOWN, c^-c.^ 
 
 ^ Receipt of these books was ac- cedes that of the slightly larger 
 
 knowledged in a letter to the Lord New York consignment in the MS. 
 
 Bishop of London under date of brochure, Bibliothecas Provinciales 
 
 July 25, 1698, as appears from a Americanw (see p. 13m), bound into 
 
 copy in the vestry minutes of King's a, nameless, leather-covered vol- 
 
 Chapel, Boston. Its records also ume now in the keeping of the Bray 
 
 contein a catalogue of the books. Associates. Each volume of the 
 
 classified much like those for New old collection now in the Boston 
 
 York, and styled, "A Register of Athenseum also bears on its inside 
 
 Books Sent with his Excellency the cover this stamp, "Belonging to 
 
 Earl of Bellomont towards laying King's Chapel Lieraky, Boston." A 
 
 the foundation of a Library for the rebound folio with this same label 
 
 use of the Church of England is in the Library of the General 
 
 Clergy in Boston." The list is given Theological Seminary, New York, 
 
 in full, to the number of 211 vol- It is "The Book of Common Prayer," 
 
 umes, by the Rev. Henry W. Foote in published in London in 1739, so 
 
 the "Proceedings" of the Mass. Hist. that it was of course a later con- 
 
 Soc. for May, 1881, 1st series, vol. tribution. 
 
 XVIII. Boston, 1881. Pages 426- = "Proposals for the Incourage- 
 
 430. The original "Register" pre- ment and Promoting of Religion 
 
22 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 We may therefore easily imagine how the earlier 
 volumes of New York's first Library were probably 
 stamped. But of that little collection the Clarendon 
 book alone survives to-day in its sohtary isolation in the 
 Society Library. How and when it came there can only 
 be conjectured, as "will be seen.^ 
 
 It is thus perfectly patent that the first Library in 
 New York was wholly parochial in scope. But from its 
 being intended for the use of the clergy in general, it as- 
 sumed a more public character. And that it was even so 
 styled is evident from one source at least. For, at a 
 Trinity vestry meeting, Jime 13, 1707, "the Reverend 
 M^ Vesey inform'd this Board Tho: Byerly Esq'^ had 
 presented the public Library with Books amounting to 
 Six pounds which are put down in the Catalogue there- 
 of,"^ as related above.* 
 
 Meanwhile, in 1700, Dr. Bray had widened his Li- 
 brary plan to include among its beneficiaries the laity, 
 for whom were to be provided "Lending Laymen's 
 Libraries." He had previously written, that "in the 
 Chief Town in each Province it would be reqviisite to 
 have a Library of more Universal Learning, for the 
 Service and Encouragement of those who shall launch 
 out farther in the pursuit of Useful Knowledge, as well 
 
 and Learning in the Foreign Planta- WILHELMI III, and DE BIBLIO- 
 
 tions." P. 124, Part I, of Biblio- THECA DE NEW YORK. Fur- 
 
 theca Parochialis. London, 1697. thermore, the title, "Epiphanij 
 
 Reprinted in "Rev. Thomas Bray. Opera 2 Vol. Colon. 1682," — entered 
 
 His Life and Selected Works Relat- under the heading, "Fathers," in the 
 
 ing to Maryland." Edited by Ber- original "Register" of 1697, as in its 
 
 nard C. Steiner. Pp. 204-205. Vide copy in the Trinity vestry minutes, 
 
 infra, p. 27ni. —identifies this book, the second vol- 
 
 ^ Since this matter was set up in ume of the work, as part of the 
 
 type, there has come to light in the original consignment brought over 
 
 Library of the General Theological by Lord Bellomont. 
 
 Seminary a single folio volume, its ^ Trinity vestry minutes, I, 58. 
 
 respective covers stamped, in similar ' Supra, p. 20. 
 gilt characters, SVB AVSPICIIS 
 
THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY PARISH 23 
 
 Natural as Divine."^ Accordingly he now arranged to 
 despatch books "to be Lent or Given at the Discretion of 
 the Minister," the clergy being "the Persons whose 
 Chief Business it is to be Men of Knowledge."^ In one 
 of his "Circular Letters" to the clergy of Maryland in 
 1701, this enthusiastic man speaks of the Layman's Li- 
 brary as "my darhng Contrivance." Among recipients 
 of its benefits are included "y^ Chief Governors," "y^ 
 Best Disposed Magistrates," and "y* publick Houses." 
 To expedite this measure Dr. Bray proposed the ap- 
 pointment of a special agent in America, with the fol- 
 lowing towns as distributing centers or "chief stations" : 
 Boston; New York, "from whence he may go to Long 
 Island & East Jersey"; Philadelphia; "Annopolis in 
 Mary Land"; and Williamsburg, Virginia.^ The Rev. 
 George Keith, a clergyman of renowned fervor, was 
 chosen to conduct the new enterprise. Both his selection 
 and the character of the matter to be distributed show 
 clearly that the missionary idea was even more pro- 
 nounced than before. Mr. Keith, himself a rabid con- 
 vert from Quakerism, was to be supphed with books and 
 tracts of an exclusively religious tone,— without a gleam 
 of worldliness to hghten their pervading solemnity, — 
 under the following heads: the Scriptiu-es; works "for y^ 
 Instruction of Catechumens" ; others "for y^ use of y^ 
 Adiilts" ; still others "to promote .... a Reformation of 
 Manners"; writings "to prepare y'' Adults for y^ Worthy 
 Receiving of both y^ Sacram^^" ; and, lastly, works aimed 
 "to Recover to y* Unity of the Church all such as have 
 Gone astray into Heresy and Schism," such wanderers 
 being classified as Quakers, Dissenters and Papists. 
 
 '■Apostolick Charity, p. (v). Americana! Quadripartitw. See p. 
 
 ' From the preface to Bihliothecw 13ri. 
 
 » Ihid. 
 
24. THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 George Keith set sail in April, 1702, and remained in 
 the colonies for a little over two years, as the first mis- 
 sionary sent by the Society for the Propagation of the 
 Gospel in Foreign Parts on a tour of personal investiga- 
 tion. Concerning the condition of the Anglican church 
 in New York, he thus expresses himself upon arrival : 
 
 The Church of England under the late Administration of the 
 Lord Bellamont and Captain Nanfan hath been grievously 
 opposed and oppressed; but since the auspicious arrival of 
 the Right Honorable the Lord Cornbury, has been delivered 
 from the violence of her enemies, restored to her rights, greatly 
 countenanced and encouraged, and lives under the just expecta- 
 tion of being more firmly established and enlarged.-^ 
 
 Lists of books and tracts sent over to America for this 
 work among laymen are preserved to-day with the Bray 
 papers in the Library of Sion College, London. One of 
 them is styled "An Acct of the Books Set up in y^ Book- 
 press Sent to N. York." It is not dated, but that the 
 books were received appears in a letter from Mr. Keith 
 to Dr. Bray, dated at Philadelphia, February 24, 1704, 
 as follows: "The six boxes you sent are all come safe; 
 that to Boston, that to New York, that to the two Jer- 
 seys, and that to Pennsylvania, are all disposed of al- 
 ready, according to your orders, and are very acceptable 
 to the people."^ The majority of the books were not 
 only deeply religious in character but excessively contro- 
 
 ^ Collections of the Protestant Rev. John Sharpe's diary: "A Cata- 
 
 Episcopal Historical Society. New logue of Books given by the Society 
 
 York, 1851. Page xix. for propagation of the Gospel to His 
 
 ' Ibid., p. xxiv. Also quoted by Excy CoH Hunter which are now 
 
 the Rev. Joseph Hooper in his given to be distributed." It includes 
 
 pamphlet "George Keith," in Soldier IS titles of tracts, numbering in all 
 
 ^ Servant Series, Hartford, 1894. P. 530 volumes. (^Governor Hunter ar- 
 
 15. That this work was maintained is rived at New York in June, 1710.) 
 clear from a memorandum in the 
 
THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY PARISH 25 
 
 versial as well, comprising many copies of the Rev. 
 Charles Leslie's "Y^ Snake in y^ Grass"— that reptile 
 being understood to mean Quakerism— and of Bugg's 
 "Pilgrim's Progress from Quakerism to Christianity." 
 
 SVB 
 ^WSPICIIS 
 
 WIT Tn £lM' 
 
 DE 
 
 BIBLIOTHECA 
 VIL 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 Gilt letters (facsimile size) stamped on covers of surviving volume of first 
 consignment of Bray books to New York, 1697. See pp. 21, i2nl. 
 
 Evidently Mr. Keith had been directed also to look 
 into the condition of the several Parochial Libraries, for 
 in a long letter to Dr. Bray from Philadelphia in the 
 spring of 1703 he writes, in part: "I view'd the Library 
 att Boston, as ye ordered me, and find it in good Condi- 
 tion. But at N. York I could not have the Catalogue. 
 
26 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 M^ Vesey the Minister told me the Chaplain of the fort 
 had carried it away w**' him to England." There is 
 nothing in the records to indicate who this oif ending 
 person was. The Rev. Edmond Mott held the chap- 
 laincy for the two years preceding his death in 1704.^ 
 According to the rather confusing table of chaplains in 
 the appendix to the recently published history of Trinity 
 parish,^ his immediate predecessor was the Rev. John 
 Peter Brisac, who in I70I succeeded the Rev. Simon 
 Smith, incumbent from 1696 to 1700. This last-named 
 individual, it will be recalled, was for a time the unofficial 
 custodian of the first books given by Governor Fletcher 
 in 1698. He is mentioned in the vestry minutes of 
 September 23, 1700, as "suspended,"* so he may as well 
 bear the further odium of having absconded with the 
 Library catalogue. 
 
 It must long since have become apparent that Dr. 
 Bray was a man of unusual creative power. He should 
 be accounted one of the ablest organizers in the colonial 
 period of American history, for his efforts led to the 
 establishment of the celebrated "Venerable" Society for 
 the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, char- 
 tered June 20, 1701, and of the still older Society for the 
 Promotion of Christian Knowledge — both institutions 
 wielding great influence. To the former New York is 
 especially indebted for its instrumentality in establish- 
 
 ^ Possibly this person's private York. 1898. Vol. I, appendix ix, 
 
 library was joined with the parish p. 485. 
 
 collection, for Governor Cornbury ^Trinity vestry minutes, I, 35. 
 
 wrote to the Lords of Trade, Oct. Also, Lord Bellomont wrote to the 
 
 3, 1706, that Mr. Mott, "late Chap- Lords of Trade, Oct. 17, 1700: "I 
 
 lain to Her Majty's forces here, . . . suspended Parson Smith, Chaplain 
 
 has left some books of which I here- to these Companys, on the 7tli of 
 
 with send a Catalogue." N. Y. Col. last August for affronting my Lord 
 
 Docs., vol. IV, p. 1182. Bishop of London and for living a 
 
 ^Morgan Dix. A History of the scandalous life." OoZ. Docs., IV, 719. 
 Parish of Trinity Church. New 
 
THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY PARISH 27 
 
 ing, among similar institutions in America, the first 
 Public Circulating Library (the Corporation Library) 
 and the first College Library (the Library of King's 
 College) in the metropolis, the history of both of which 
 will presently be reviewed. The study of Dr. Bray's life 
 and work is profitable, so interesting and useful was 
 his career, and so abiding have been many fruits of his 
 labors and sacrifices.^ 
 
 In 1746 there was published an appreciative volume 
 entitled "Publick Spirit Illustrated in the Life and De- 
 signs of the Reverend Thomas Bray, D.D." An appen- 
 dix to its second edition (1808) gives this summary of his 
 chief work: "By the exactest account that has been pro- 
 cured, upwards of Fifty Libraries, it appears, were 
 founded by Dr. Bray in America and other countries 
 abroad, and Sixty-One Parochial Libraries in England 
 and Wales." A schedule is added, according to which 
 foiu- collections had been sent "into the Government of 
 New York," namely: to the city of New York, 211 ; "to 
 Amboy in New Jersey," 30; to Albany, 10;^ and "to 
 
 '■ For sources, see Dr. Bernard C. Bodleian Library, Oxford, was made 
 
 Steiner's article, "Rev. Thomas Bray the basis of Publick Spirit Illus- 
 
 and his American Libraries," in The trated in the Life and Designs of 
 
 American Historical Review. New the Reverend Thomas Bray, D.D. 
 
 York, 1897. Vol. II, p. 59 et seq.; London, 1746. A copy is in the 
 
 "Parochial Libraries in the Colonial General Seminary Library. A copy 
 
 Period," by Bishop John F. Hurst, of the second edition (1808) is in 
 
 D.D., in Papers of the American the New York Public Library. 
 Society of Church History. New ^ In the year 1900, one of these ten 
 
 York, 1890. Vol. 11, pp. 37-50; and, books, sent early in the 18th cen- 
 
 especially, "Rev. Thomas Bray. His tury to "The Church of Albany in 
 
 Life and Selected Works Relating New York" by Dr. Bray's Associates, 
 
 to Maryland." Edited by B. C. was "again in the custody of the 
 
 Steiner. Maryland Historical 8o- parish" of Old St. Peter's. It was 
 
 ciety Fund Publication, No. ST. a copy of Dr. Bray's own work, 
 
 Baltimore, 1901. This collection of Catechetical Lectures. London, 1701. 
 
 reprints contains also "A Short His- See A History of Saint Peter's 
 
 torical Account of the Life and De- Church in the City of Albany. By the 
 
 signs of Thomas Bray, D.D., late Rev. Joseph Hooper, A.M. Albany, 
 
 Vicar of S* Botolph's without Aid- 1900. P. Sin. But in November, 
 
 gate," by the Rev. Richard Raw- 1907, diligent search failed to find 
 
 linson. This sketch, a MS. in the the book. 
 
28 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 Boston in New England," 221 ; the figures represent- 
 ing the number of books despatched to each place. 
 
 Nevertheless, beyond the few and insignificant acces- 
 sions already enumerated, the New York collection 
 remained practically dormant. Fully a quarter of a cen- 
 tury after its foundation. Rector Vesey, in response to a 
 printed request from the Bishop of London, thus briefly 
 exposes its undeveloped state: "I have under my care in 
 my Study a small parochial library, and though I never 
 received any particular rules and orders concerning it, 
 I assure your Lordship all the books are preserved and 
 kept in good condition."^ The good rector was evidently 
 quite unmindful of the "Directions" that accom- 
 panied the consignment in the first instance. Very prop- 
 erly the church continued to be the repository, and its 
 pastor the custodian, of the little collection. Of its care- 
 ful preservation indeed, the Rev. Robert Jenney, chap- 
 lain at the fort and assistant minister at Trinity, writes 
 suggestively to the Bishop of London in November, 
 1720, when asking aid to establish the Sharpe collection 
 as a Public Library: "... provided it be really a pub- 
 lick library & be not lockt up in y? particular Study of 
 any particular person." 
 
 It thus appears that some thought at least was paid to 
 the colonial Library, although but slender additions had 
 gained their way to its shelves. The energetic founder 
 himself would seem to have had no system of enlarging 
 the several collections he had brought into being, until 
 
 " His reply to the last of 17 orders duly observed?" The orig- 
 
 Queries to he answered by every inal of this paper cannot now be 
 
 Minister, viz: "Have you a Parochial found among the MSS. in Fulham 
 
 Library? If you have, are the Palace, London. A copy is pasted 
 
 Books preserved, and kept in good in Gen. Conv. Arch., N. T. M88., I, 
 
 condition? Have you any particular 640, undated, but similar papers 
 
 rules and orders for the preserving from other parishes in the province 
 
 of them? Are those rules and are dated 1733 or 1724. 
 
THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY PARISH 29 
 
 his formation of the Bray Associates, the income from 
 whose charity fimd has, since his decease in 1730, estab- 
 hshed and perpetuated hundreds of Theological Li- 
 braries in Great Britain and in her dominions beyond the 
 seas. But the New York Library, with others in what is 
 now the United States, received no further support 
 from home. 
 
 Nor did they, on the other hand, meet with much en- 
 coviragement from the colonists. The Library idea was 
 too advanced for them, especially in New York, where 
 confusion of tongues still prevailed, and where the An- 
 ghcan element was too unpopular to secure aid for a 
 purely sectarian institution. And the predominant char- 
 acter of the Bray collections was so exclusively devo- 
 tional and churchly as not to be generally acceptable. It 
 was thus never possible to establish or confirm this early 
 Library by legislative enactment, as its pious founder 
 earnestly desired, and as was done in other provinces.^ 
 
 Furthermore, the Knickerbockers were too deeply en- 
 grossed in their private and political concerns for even 
 the well-to-do to be men of leisure. All alike were en- 
 gaged in business, while for recreation they not unnatu- 
 rally preferred out-of-door pastimes to excursions in 
 theology. When Governor Bellomont first set foot on 
 the island of Manhattan, echoes of the distracting Leisler 
 excitement, the reflection in New York of the Glorious 
 Revolution of 1688, had by no means died away in the 
 httle city, whose settled portion lay wholly below Wall 
 street, and whose inhabitants numbered less than five 
 thousand souls. 
 
 From the following lines in an old history one gains 
 
 'See Colonial Laws of Maryland, 1T04, 1706, 1712; of North CaroUna, 
 1699, 1727; of South Carolina, 1700, 1715. 
 
30 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 an interesting picture of the cultural conditions of those 
 times, — discrediting the while its concluding assertion, 
 especially in view of the facts to be brought out in the 
 present work. Listen, then, to the learned Britisher, 
 James Grahame, how he writes : 
 
 A printing-press was established at New York, in the year 
 1693, by a printer flying from the strange occurrence of 
 Quaker tyranny and persecution in Pennsylvania ; and a library 
 was founded under the government of Lord BeUamont in the 
 year 1700. But the schools in this province were inconsid- 
 erable; and although the wealthier families obtained valuable 
 instructors for their children among the numerous Protestant 
 refugees from France, the great bulk of the people were 
 strangers even to the first rudiments of science and cultivation, 
 till the era of the American Revolution.-' 
 
 On this allusion to a Library has been based the hith- 
 erto uncontroverted claim that "The history of the New 
 York Society Library commences in the year 1700," at 
 which "time 'The Public Library' of New York was 
 founded during the administration of the Earl of BeUa- 
 mont."^ Not a little of the glamour attaching to this 
 long-vaunted, cherished belief is therefore dispelled in a 
 realization that the collection was originally but a paltry 
 "parcell" of sober tomes for a Parish Library. Know- 
 ledge of the fact, however, will in turn soothe any sting 
 of disappointment at learning that this early Library 
 never had the slightest connection with the Society Li- 
 brary, founded confessedly in 1754. The two institu- 
 tions maintained independent existences for twenty-two 
 years, side by side in the little capital, the one in Trinity 
 
 ' James Grahame. The History of History, Charter, By-Laws, S^c. 
 
 the United States. (London, 1837, 1881. P. 5; also. Catalogue of the 
 
 1836.) Boston and Philadelphia, JVero York Society Library. 1850. 
 
 1845. Vol. II, p. 356. P. vii. See also p. 6, swpra. 
 
 ' The New York Society Library. 
 
First Trinity Church Building, Broadway 
 facing Wall Street 
 
 Erected, 1698; enlarged, 1737; destroyed by fire, 177fi 
 Home of the first Librarv in New York, 1698-1770 
 
THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY PARISH 31 
 
 Church and the other in the City Hall/ until the mori- 
 bund career of the former and the first epoch in the his- 
 tory of the latter came to a simultaneous end under the 
 ravages of the Revolution. 
 
 An even earlier mention of the older Library is found 
 in another historical work, published almost contem- 
 poraneously with the event chronicled, and bearing the 
 ambitious title, "The British Empire in America, Con- 
 taining the History of the Discovery, Settlement, Prog- 
 ress and present State of all the British Colonies, on the 
 Continent and Islands of America."^ In the chapter on 
 New York it is stated as proof of advancement that "A 
 Library was erected, this Year [1700], in the City of 
 New- York: And the Dutch Inhabitants built Mills to 
 saw Timber; one of which wou'd do more in an Hoiu", 
 than 50 Men in 2 Days."^ 
 
 The very arrangement of these informing particulars 
 points with unconscious emphasis to the relative insig- 
 nificance of a Library in comparison with the general 
 interests of the commimity at that time. There is no evi- 
 dence at hand to show that the Dutch ever had so much 
 as thought of a Chxu-ch Library in New York;" while 
 the only reference to books that can be fotind in their 
 public acts appears in an ordinance of 1662 by the di- 
 rector-general and council of New Netherland against 
 
 ' The City Hall then stood in Wall scholars of well-nigh as many na- 
 
 street opposite Broad, scarcely a tionalities, English, French, Ger- 
 
 stone's throw from Trinity Church, man, Latin, Italian and Spanish, as 
 
 on Broadway facing Wall' street. well as Dutch. The little collection 
 
 ' John Oldmixon. London, 1708. was despatched from HoUand in the 
 
 ' Vol. I, p. 128. same vessel that bore the Rev. Jo- 
 
 * In the "Rensselaerswyck MSS." hannes Megapolensis to his new field 
 
 there is recorded a "Catalogue of in the colony of Rensselaerswyck. 
 
 Books which are sent for the Li- For a list of the books with "re- 
 
 brarv in Rensselaerswyck, to be for- marks," see E. B. O'CaUaghan. His- 
 
 warded there." This "list comprises tory of New Netherland. New York, 
 
 17 titles of theological works by 1846. Vol. I, pp. 454^55. 
 
32 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 conventicles, whereby "diuerse persons" were prohibited 
 from importing or dispersing "seditious & erroneous 
 boeeks, writings & letters."^ Yet by 1664 there were 
 schools in nearly all the towns and villages of New Neth- 
 erland, with a Latin or high school of wide repute at 
 New Amsterdam. And certainly the ministers, as also 
 other leading citizens, were the possessors of private 
 collections. Even as elegant a personage as Governor 
 Francis Lovelace is said to have written to King Charles 
 in 1668 : "I find some of these people have the breeding 
 of courts, and I cannot conceive how such is acquired."'' 
 Nevertheless, as one careful student of that period has 
 observed, "the spirit of trade, and those depressing in- 
 fluences common to all colonies and young countries, 
 checked if not stifled literary enterprise."' 
 
 It is even less probable that other religious bodies in 
 the city had Libraries. The Presbyterians, in point of 
 influence the third denomination, met with too much op- 
 position and discouragement simply in maintaining an 
 establishment in New York to think of conducting a 
 Library. It is therefore not surprising to find in their 
 records no suggestion of such an institution. One sig- 
 nificant entry, however, betokens their proper apprecia- 
 tion of the value of books. The trustees of the church 
 on June 1, 1756, took the following action: 
 
 Resolved That the Rev^ M"" Bostwick may become a subscriber 
 to the New York Society Library. That the Clerk draw an Or- 
 
 ' Lavis and Ordinances of New 349. It must be said, however, that 
 
 Netherland, 1638-1674. Edited by no source is given for this quota- 
 
 E. B. O'Callaghan. Albany, 1868. tion, which does not appear in the 
 
 P. 428. governor's correspondence printed 
 
 ■"The Rev. Ashbel G. Vermilye, in the N. T. Col. Docs, or in the 
 
 D.D. "Francis Lovelace and the Doc. Hist, of N. Y. 
 
 Recapture of New Netherland, ' E. B. O'Callaghan. History of 
 
 1668-1674." The Memorial History New Netherland. New York, 1848. 
 
 of New-Tork. Vol. I, chap, ix, p. Vol. II, p. 547. 
 
THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY PARISH 33 
 
 der in his Favour on the Treasurer for such sum as the Sub- 
 scription money may amount to And it is to be understood that 
 this Interest in the Library is given to M"" Bostwick as Minister 
 of this Church, & that at his Decease his Heir Executor or Ad- 
 ministrator or Legatee or himself in Case he shall cease to be our 
 Minister in his Life time will assign his Interest in the said 
 Library to such Person as the Majority of the Trustees shall 
 direct and that he will in the mean Time pay the annual Sub- 
 scription money due by the Articles.^ 
 
 The subsequent history of the old Trinity Parish Li- 
 brary — as it should properly be called— is also of inter- 
 est, culminating in truly dramatic fashion. All its later 
 acquisitions, so far as the vestry proceedings reveal, seem 
 to have been presented by the same individual, "the pious 
 M^ Elliston," a personage of no little consequence, to 
 judge by the deferential manner in which his name and 
 station, as well as votes of appreciation, are entered in 
 the ancient minutes. Beginning in 1715 these donations, 
 together with smidry offerings of choice plate, were con- 
 tinued intermittently for many years, the last "Addi- 
 tional! Nimiber of Books to the Parochial Library" 
 being recorded in July, 1741. 
 
 All told, these benefactions nvimber some 116 volimies, 
 covering six pages of the "Catalogue" in the big manu- 
 script folio,^ and thus introduced: "Robert Elliston 
 Gent. ComptroK of his Majesty's Customs in New York 
 in America. His Gift of the Books by the Reverend 
 Authors in the Catalogue fFollowing; To Holy Trinity 
 Church in New York City Its Library." The titles are 
 tabulated under these headings : "The Reverend Authors 
 Named," "Their Respective Tracts Distinguished," and 
 
 1 The Rev. David Bostwick died in was transferred in 1766 to Henry 
 November, 1763; his share, accord- Remsen, Jr., who paid the arrears, 
 ing to the Society Library records, = Trinity vestry minutes, I, 310- 
 
 312; 318-230. 
 

 IL {.•c:u/t>ii xiiin-eii. mm/ij /^ - " ~ ^ /} 
 
 ^^ ^/z /^* 
 
 //« 
 
 /^/ oMaJaucJ^,.,. f:':^/'^'^'^/ "^^ 
 
 
 
 ^^''. ^2«iS /i^^' 
 
 
 OftFe 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 _J O**, (irf^ctuuit-rtj 
 
 
 
 
 
 <f/. 
 
 Vis/^rr loM ^JL^ l^^S3 
 
 l-~ 
 
 
 Full page (much reduced) from catalogue in Trinity Vestry minutes. See pp. 20, 38-35. 
 
THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY PARISH 35 
 
 "The Number of Volums Lettered." An artistic finish 
 is intended in a valedictory, handsomely written in 
 Latin, expressive of the donor's hope that the gift may 
 prove useful ; but the passage is so incomplete, not to say 
 inaccurate, that it will not bear close scrutiny from in- 
 telligent readers. The whole is dated, churchly fashion, 
 at the Feast of the Epiphany, January, 1743. 
 
 No further allusion to this Library, either in the 
 church records or anywhere else, has come to light in the 
 present investigation, prior to the sad chronicling of its 
 virtually complete destruction in the great fire of Sep- 
 tember 21, 1776, when the charity schools and the rec- 
 tory, as well as the sacred edifice itself, fell prey to the 
 destroyer. The least item in the damage, the loss of the 
 Library, was yet estimated as £200,^ a very considerable 
 sum for those days, even though a pound represented 
 but about $2.50 in New York currency. It would seem 
 that the collection must have received additions other 
 than the catalogue in the minutes records, for not over 
 425 volumes are there enumerated, and not all of these 
 were lost. 
 
 A graphic account of this fire is given by Rector Ing- 
 lis, who labored heroically to save the church property 
 from destruction.^ In some way a few of the books 
 escaped annihilation. Besides the old Clarendon history 
 in the Society Library, already mentioned, about twenty 
 Elliston volumes are in existence to-day in the Library 
 of the General Theological Seminary. Most of them 
 are still adorned with his beautiful bookplate and the 
 printed label, "His Gift to H. Trinity-Church Library 
 
 ' Vestry minutes, I, 398. ords and in Gen. Conv. Arch., N. Y. 
 
 ' The Rev. Charles Inglis, D.D., MS8; it is printed in Doc. HUt. of 
 
 to the Rev. Richard Hind, D.D., JV. T. Vol. Ill (1850), pp. 637-646. 
 Oct. 31, 1776. Copy in S. P. G. rec- 
 
36 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 in New- York City." In company with them is yet an- 
 other interesting httle book/ its fly-leaf bearing this 
 significant inscription, "John Sharp May 6*^ 1714," — of 
 which more anon. 
 
 There is real romance in the story of what next befell 
 this fire-spared remnant. In the words of Nathaniel F. 
 Moore, president of Columbia College, when referring 
 to the transfer of the Library and other effects of 
 King's College to the City Hall in May, 1776: 
 
 Almost all the apparatus, and a large proportion of the books 
 belonging to the College, were wholly lost to it in consequence 
 of this removal ; and of the books recovered, six or seven hundred 
 volumes were so, only after about thirty years, when they were 
 found, with as many belonging to the N. Y. Society Library, 
 and some belonging to Trinity Church, in a room in St. Paul's 
 Chapel, where, it seemed, no one but the Sexton had been aware 
 of their existence, and neither he nor any body else could tell 
 how they had arrived there.^ 
 
 In consequence of this statement, the belief very nat- 
 urally came to prevail that the books were in some way 
 wholly hidden from the view and from the actual know- 
 ledge of all the church officers. In fact it has been 
 solemnly assumed that the doorway to their place of re- 
 pository was carefully walled up for their preservation!* 
 But from press comments at the time the miscellaneous 
 assortment was "discovered," it appears that even then 
 the story— though not the collection— was pronounced 
 
 ' Warnings of the Eternal Spirit, B. Beach, rector of St. Peter's 
 
 . . . London, 1713. Another work, Church. 
 
 The Lawfulness and Expediency of ^N. F. Moore. An Historical 
 
 Set Forms of Prayer, Maintained Sketch of Columbia College. New 
 
 (Robert Calder. N. p., 1706), bear- York, 1846. P. 62. 
 ing the same autograph and date, 'Morgan Dix, S.T.D. Historical 
 
 was presented to the Seminary in Recollections of S. Paul's Chapel 
 
 1890, by the late Rev. Dr. Alfred New York, 1867. P. 43. 
 
THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY PARISH 37 
 
 an invention, "a hoax"!^ Upon investigation, the editor 
 of the Morning Chronicle on December 14, 1802, gave 
 the following explanation of current lively rumors : 
 
 There are in a room in the east corner of St. Paul's church, 
 about two thousand volumes consisting chiefly of latin and Eng- 
 lish authors. They are the remains of a hbrary presented by 
 diflFerent persons to Trinity church, many years since, which 
 were saved from the flames when that edifice was consumed, and 
 were lodged in the hands of bishop IngHs. On his removal to 
 Nova-Scotia (at the evacuation of this city by the British 
 forces) they were conveyed from his house to St. Paul's church, 
 where they have ever since remained. They were not forgotten, 
 as reported, but have been visited frequently by bishop Provoost 
 and others. 
 
 It would seem that "others" did indeed know of their 
 existence prior to this date, for exactly a year previously 
 Mr. John Pintard, one of the most public-spirited men 
 of his day, had written in his diary :^ "Conversed with 
 Bishop Moore on forming a Theological Library under 
 the auspices of Trinity Church." Enough of a stir, how- 
 ever, was occasioned by the newspaper disclosures for 
 the college authorities to claim the neglected remnant 
 of the King's College Library.^ And friends of the So- 
 ciety Library no doubt as promptly recovered such of its 
 property as could be identified, though the minutes of its 
 Trustees do not mention the circumstance at all, in their 
 brief chronicles of the few meetings held at that period. 
 
 Nearly twelve years passed before any further atten- 
 tion was paid to the old volumes still left in St. Paul's. 
 
 1 The Morning Chronicle, N. Y., in the possession of Mrs. E. B. Ser- 
 Dec. 13, 1803. voss, N. Y. city. 
 
 - These valuable MS. records are ° At least one volume, however, 
 
 widely scattered. The sections re- was left behind and is now in the 
 ferred to in the present volume are Librarj' of the General Theological 
 
 Seminary. See p. Q9n2. 
 
38 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 HIS GIFT TO H.TRINITY-CHUIICHLIBRARV 
 
 I N 
 
 NEW- YORK CITY. 
 
 3^^^ 
 
 Robert Elliston bookplate (facsimile size), printed label and 
 private inscription. See pp. 33, 84, 35-36. 
 
THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY PARISH 39 
 
 Finally, at a Trinity vestry meeting on March 14, 1814, 
 a letter was read from the Rev. Nathaniel Bowen, rector 
 of Grace Church, "and others, a Committee in behalf of 
 the New York Protestant Episcopal Library Society, 
 praying a Transfer of the Books composing the Library 
 now in Saint Paul's Chapel."^ Without delay the re- 
 quest was granted, "on condition that the said Society 
 become incorporated according to Law."^ 
 
 Although in a twelve-page pamphlet, published in 
 1816 as "Extracts from the Minutes of the Protestant 
 Episcopal Library Society of New- York,"® the Society 
 is expressly declared to have "since become incorpo- 
 rated," no such record appears, either in the archives of 
 the state or legislative departments at Albany, or upon 
 the registers in the New York county clerk's office. So 
 fragmentary are any allusions that can be found to this 
 httle association, a forerunner of the General Theolog- 
 ical Seminary, that it may not be amiss to devote a par- 
 agraph or two to its consideration, justification for their 
 insertion being found in the very circumstances of its 
 origin. According to Mr. Pintard's journal for 1814 : 
 
 On Wednesday evening, 30* March, several Clergymen & Lay- 
 members of the protestant Episcopal Church in this city met in 
 the Episcopal Charity School room to take into consideration 
 the propriety of forming an Association having for its object 
 
 1 Trinity vestry minutes, II, 269. calling this Society "Literary" in- 
 
 ''In chronicling this incident in stead of "Library," as the original 
 
 the lately published, elaborate his- minutes of the vestry, and indeed its 
 
 tory of Trinity parish, the statement own printed by-laws, show clearly 
 
 is made that "The Society did be- was its actual name, 
 come incorporated and is now the " A copy is in the Library of the 
 
 'New York Society Library' on Uni- N. Y. Hist. Society. A slightly de- 
 
 versity Place"— an institution then fective copy is in the Library of the 
 
 of fuUy sixty years' standing! General Seminary, bound up as 
 
 (Vol. II, p. 196.) Though this mis- "No. 34a" in a book of pamphlets, 
 
 take is later corrected (Vol. IV, "383.7471,P19." 
 p. 533), a small error stiU lingers in 
 
40 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 the collection of a Theological Library of all the most rare & 
 valuable works in the various departments of sacred literature 
 and science. Bishop Hobart presided — about 25 Gentlemen 
 met. Rules prepared by the Rev^ Doctor Bowen, who interests 
 himself in this laudable pursuit, were reported & adopted, being 
 similar & taken from the Rules for the Government of the N. 
 York Society Library. The Admission Fee was fixed at Ten 
 Dollars & Five Dollars annual dues. The meeting adjourned 
 till Wedy 12 o'clock 13* April for election of Trustees. 
 
 The balloting resulted in the choice of Bishop Hobart 
 as president ex officio, the trustees elected comprising 
 the Rev. Dr. John Bowden, professor of rhetoric and 
 belles-lettres in Columbia College, the Rev. Dr. Bowen, 
 rector of Grace Church, the Rev. Dr. William Harris, 
 rector of St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery and at the 
 same time president of Columbia College, the Rev. 
 Thomas Y. How and the Rev. Benjamin T. Onder- 
 donk, assistant ministers of Trinity parish, the Rev. Dr. 
 Samuel F. Jarvis, rector of St. Michael's, William 
 Johnson and Wilham Cutting, Esquires, lawyers of 
 standing, and John Pintard, the prime mover of it all. 
 His diary further records that a smaller gathering had 
 been held on March 24ith at Dr. Bowen's house, "to pre- 
 pare Rules & Regulations for establishing a Library for 
 the benefit of the Episcopal Clergy in this citj'" ... a 
 Subject I have long had at heart, & on which I have 
 often conversed with Doctor Bowen." Alluding to the 
 old Parish Library, he says : 
 
 There is a small Library, established before the revolution, be- 
 longing to Trinity Church, which will be granted by the Vestry 
 as the Basis of this institution. This Library consisting of 
 donations may contain about 500. volumes of valuable Theolog- 
 ical works. To the shame of Trinity Church [it] has never been 
 
THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY PARISH 
 
 41 
 
 augmented but possibly been dilapidated. It is at present in a 
 Chamber over the N. East door of St Pauls Church. 
 
 
 Later Elliston bookplate with -written label (facsimile size). See pp. 85-36. 
 
42 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 This historic old room^ was long ago converted into a 
 passageway to the gallery, but its dimensions cannot 
 have been much changed, should any one wish to gaze 
 upon the four walls which for so many years guarded 
 portions of New York's early Libraries. 
 
 The Protestant Episcopal Library Society soon ful- 
 filled its destiny,^ becoming merged into the far better 
 organized Protestant Episcopal Theological Society,^ 
 which in its turn gave rise to the General Theological 
 Seminary. That numerous additions of books were re- 
 ceived in the meantime is plain from a manuscript cat- 
 alogue now in the General Seminary, and from a letter 
 of John Pintard's to Bishop Hobart, dated March 14, 
 1822, in which he says: "The Books in St. Paul's, it is 
 said, am* to 800 vs." ; and of the entire collection, includ- 
 ing 1000 volumes given to the Library during the early 
 years of the Seminary in New Haven, he adds : "Consid- 
 ering the short period of the existence of the Sem^ this 
 number is far from contemptible, especially when their 
 character & ponderosity are considered." * 
 
 It is therefore indeed fitting that the few survivors 
 of this old Church of England Parish Library, founded 
 in pious zeal for the use of the clergy, should be given 
 a final asylimi in the Library of an institution devoted 
 to the training of young men for the Episcopal ministry. 
 
 ' That it had a sacredness aside in the General Seminary, show a 
 
 from the sentimental interest here membership of 53 persons in 1817. 
 
 ascribed to it, is plain from these " "Hobart planned and organized 
 
 words of Dr. I)ix: And now I have a clerical association under the title 
 
 to mention the great glory of that of 'The Protestant Episcopal Theo- 
 
 ancient 'Library Room.' In it the logical Society.' From this as from 
 
 General Theological Seminary was a germ sprang our noble institution 
 
 born ; or there, at least, the first of learning. The General Theological 
 
 chBdren were nurtured, and thence Seminary." Morgan Dix. History 
 
 were they sent forth." P. 44, Sis- of Trinity Parish. II, 236. 
 
 torical Recollections of 8. Paul's * Quoted by Morgan Dix. History 
 
 Chapel, New York. of Trinity Parish. Ill, 372. 
 
 ' The treasurer's records, preserved 
 
THE SHARPE COLLECTION 4-3 
 
 2. The Sharpe Collection, given in 1713 to found a 
 "Puhlick Library" at New York 
 
 Turning now from the story of the first New York Li- 
 bi'ary,— which never was a PubUc Library at all,— as 
 from a tale that is told, and retracing our steps almost to 
 the same early date, we hear again the voice of one cry- 
 ing in the vmlettered Avilderness. The name of this per- 
 sonage, next smnmoned from the shadowy past, bears a 
 closer relationship to the still far distant Society Library 
 than founder or patron of the old Parish Library. The 
 Rev. John Sharpe, D.D., is the individual; and his con- 
 nection with New York begins in his appointment by 
 Governor Cornbury, October 20, 1704, as "Chaplain of 
 her Majesty's Forces in the Province of New York."^ 
 This date should dispose of the oft-recurring anachron- 
 ism that Mr. Sharpe was chaplain to Lord Bellomont, 
 for the latter died March 5, 1701, more than three years 
 earlier, and in fact foin- months before Mr. Sharpe left 
 England. Inasmuch as no sketch of this good man has 
 ever been published, and as his career has a direct bear- 
 ing on our narrative, it is pertinent to give here, in 
 outhne at least, the known facts of his pilgrimage. 
 
 The record of his early years is simply told in a few 
 sentences as preface to his private diary, entitled "A 
 Journal of my Life— Exteriour," in which it is written: 
 "On May 15* 1680 I was born at the Church of Bourty 
 in the Presbytery of the Garrioch in the Kingdom of 
 Scotland My ffather M^ Alexander Sharpe Minister of 
 
 ^The Sharpe diary, however, gives in the office of the Secretary of 
 
 the date of actual investiture as State, Albany. A rough draft is in 
 
 Oct. 19. His commission is recorded "N. Y. Col. MSS.," XLVII, 54, 
 
 in full in "Commissions," III, 95, State Library. 
 
4.4 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 Said parish and Anne Douglass his wife my mother." 
 He was evidently a precocious and studious lad, for he 
 was graduated Master of Arts from the University of 
 Aberdeen at the age of eighteen, whereupon he began 
 the study of theology privately in the city of Edinburgh. 
 Most touching is the glimpse of sentiment and filial af- 
 fection revealed in these simple words : "At 20 I left my 
 Fathers house May 18* 1700 and was accompanied by 
 him to Aberdeen where I received his blessing at parting 
 on that spot of ground where his Father blest him when 
 he went to Ireland." His ordination to the ministry at 
 the hands of the Bishop of London occurred in March, 
 1701.^ On July 3d he "came on board her Ma^'^^ Ship 
 Southampton bound for Virg2 and arrived there Sept- 
 8, 1701," whence he presently proceeded to Maryland. 
 
 Thus John Sharpe at twenty-one began laboring in 
 the American mission field as one of Dr. Bray's ap- 
 pointees and imder the auspices of the Society for the 
 Propagation of the Gospel, just incorporated. So he 
 doubtless became fully imbued with all Dr. Bray's plans, 
 especially when settled where Parochial Libraries were 
 most thickly planted. In 1702-1703 he was rector of 
 Broad Neck parish, Anne Arundel county, and the next 
 year at Snow Hill parish, Somerset county, both in 
 Maryland. In May, 1703, with other clergymen he 
 signed a petition "To his honour the President and 
 Council," asking among other things "That Catalogues 
 of Parochial Librarys be taken & sent to the Council."^ 
 
 ' These statements are confirmed inal book of subscriptions to the 
 by the records of the London See at Act of Uniformity, etc., in the same 
 Fulham Palace in Liber Subscrip- diocese, preserved in the Rawlinson 
 Hon., 1699-1709, containing also the MSS. (B. 375), in the Bodleian Li- 
 signature of Mr. Sharpe after the brary, Oxford, viz: "John Sharpe, 
 customary oaths of conformity, etc. Maryland, April 26, 1701." 
 His name also appears in the orig- ' "Proceedings of the Council, 
 
THE SHARPE COLLECTION 4-5 
 
 The diary ^ of Jolin Sharpe, now in the possession of 
 the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, states that its 
 second part was "begun at point Love in Chesapeack 
 bay in the province of Mary Land March 1. 1701," when 
 its author was about to leave that section of the colonies. 
 A partial explanation of his abrupt move comes from a 
 wholly outside source in a letter from a Pennsylvania 
 clergyman to the secretary of the S. P. G., dated March 
 20, 1704.^ He says in part: 
 
 ... & because Dear S^ I have Sufficiently Experienced your 
 Goodness, I dare open my whole Concern & fear, & that is 
 this, I met w*^ one M^ Sharp of Maryland, one who has been 
 sent about 3 years since, he told me that D^ Bray was his 
 Friend, & procured a Support for him from that Honorable 
 Body, but seems it was his 111 fortune to QuarreU w*^ D^ 
 Bray, since w"^^ time he has never rec"? one Penny but the first 
 £50. He has left Maryland, & thinks to settle in this Province 
 or else in BurKngton in E. Jersey. It is a Miserable thing if we 
 that are so remote, stand Precarious to one Member's Displeas- 
 ure. I could relate to you the most Surprising Storyes that I 
 have had too sure reason to believe concerning D^ B. of his De- 
 portment towards the Principall Benef^ our Church has in this 
 Country, Coll^ Nicholson Gov^ of Virginia. You have undoubt- 
 edly heard Enough already, but you must Expect to hear a 
 great deal More. [In a postscript he adds:] Since this was 
 finished I hear that M? Sharp will take upon him the Itinerant 
 office in M^ Keith's Room. 
 
 1698-1731," Archives of Maryland. Mag. of Hist., vol. XXIII (1899), 
 
 Baltimore, 1905. P. 160. pp. 104-105; and also in a, pamphlet 
 
 ^A contemporary allusion to this by the Rev. Joseph Hooper, "The 
 
 journal appears in a letter from Church in Connecticut, 1705-1807," 
 
 Col. Lewis Morris to Secretary privately printed for the Commission 
 
 Chamberlayne of the S. P. G., dated on Parochial Archives of Conn., 
 
 Feb. 30, 1711, in which he speaks of June, 1906. 
 
 "Mr Sharp's narrative, who kept a 'The Rev. Henry Nicols of Ches- 
 
 Diary while in N York." N. Y. ter, Penna., to the Rev. Mr. Stubs, 
 
 Gol. Docs., V, 318. Extracts from London. 8. P. G. Letter Book, vol. 
 
 the journal have been published I A (copies), 
 (though with errors) in The Penna. 
 
46 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 By May, 1704, the wanderer had arrived in New Jer- 
 sey, and for the next five months was busy helping the 
 Rev. John Talbot in the evangelical work begun by 
 George Keith. A good idea of his enthusiasm and suc- 
 cess is given in these extracts from a letter from Mr. 
 Talbot to Mr. Keith, dated at New York, October 20th. 
 
 M^ Sharp was very zealous to bring y^ Quakers to stand a Tryal, 
 he carried one of y^ Bombs-' into their Meeting and read 
 a new Challenge w*^*? I sent them to answer what they had 
 printed. . . . M^ Sharp and I have gon y"^ rounds several times 
 from Burhngton to Amboy to Hopewell to Eliz :Town to Staten 
 Island in our Turns with good Success, God be blessed, in all 
 places. He had gather'd a Church himself at Cheesquaks where 
 he preacht several times, (§• Baptiz'd about 40 ^sons.^ 
 
 Then, alluding to the chaplaincy, which had been first 
 offered to himself, Mr. Talbot concludes : 
 
 Now I am alone for my Lord Cornbury has p^'ferr'd him to be 
 Chaplain of her Ma*'?® Fort and Forces at N. York. I saw his 
 Cofnission sign'd this day, in y^ Room of M^ Mott who dyed 
 about 3. months agoe. I was loth to part with my good Friend 
 and Companion in Travel, but considering how he had been 
 disappointed at home I would not hinder his p^'ferment abroad, 
 hoping that y^ good providence of God and y^ venerable Society 
 will supply his place. 
 
 Thus the young priest entered upon the last and long- 
 est period of his American ministry. His stipend as 
 chaplain included board and lodging and £130 a year, 
 payable weekly.^ He was also directed by the governor 
 
 * A tract by the Rev. Francis Sharpe received £30 from the S. P. 
 
 Bugg. G. See Letter Book, vol. II (orig- 
 
 'S. P. G. Letter Book, vol. II inals), 1704-1706, no. cxxix. 
 
 (copies), 1704-1706, no. xxiii. For ' "Mr Talbot to ye Society," Lon- 
 
 his services in New Jersey, Mr. don, March 14, 1705. 8. P. Cf. Letter 
 
THE SHARPE COLLECTION 47 
 
 to assist Mr. Vesey, who writes to the secretary of the 
 S. P. G., February 26, 1705: "... nor do I now want 
 an Assistant, for M^ Sharp who since [he] had his 
 Coiiiission to be Chaplain of the Forces, is order'd by my 
 L*^ Cornbury to assist me & to preach every Sunday."^ 
 
 Even a cursory glance through his little old "Journal" 
 impresses one with the sense of John Sharpe's having 
 been an earnest, conscientious soul, tender and kind, with- 
 out trace of envy or rancor, a true lover of his fellows. 
 Fond of the open air and the water, he "walked a Shoot- 
 ing" and "went a fishing" with wholesome zest. Plainly 
 of a genial temper, tactful and loyal, he continued at in- 
 tervals to visit "my Lord" Cornbury in his durance in 
 the debtors' prison, up to the departure of that discred- 
 ited nobleman, at whose wife's funeral he had delivered 
 an eloquent tribute.^ He also won and held the esteem 
 of his successor. Governor Hunter, and of such public 
 leaders as Col. Lewis Morris, afterward chief justice, 
 and Col. Caleb Heathcote, mayor of the city, as well as 
 the regard of his own more intimate associates, Elias 
 Neau, catechist, and William Huddleston, master of 
 the charity school. On one occasion he acted as security 
 for William Bradford, the printer, on a bond to the 
 vestry of Trinity.^ But social diversions and physical 
 recreation could not interfere with his performance of 
 duty, to judge by the monotonous entries, "at Study" 
 and "preach'd." 
 
 He seems to have been popular with his troops, whom 
 
 Book, vol. II A (copies), 1704- ford copy is in the Library of the 
 
 1706, no. cxlii. Historical Society of Pennsylvania. 
 
 ^ Ibid., no. Ixxvii. Copies of the reprints are less rare. 
 
 'This sermon, printed by Brad- ""'Journal," March 13, 1711; cor- 
 
 ford at New York in 1706, was twice roborated in Trinity vestry minutes, 
 
 reprinted at London, and sold "for I, 58, 81. 
 the Benefit of the Poor." A Brad- 
 
4.8 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 he accompanied on the expeditions of 1709 and 1711 
 against the French in northern New York. At times he 
 addressed the Iroquois on rehgious topics, such ministra- 
 tions being regularly supplemented with "a barrell of 
 beer." For a large part of his term the old chapel in the 
 
 Q4- iL^-«ux£^^^«^ o^~ -^IS-Lor,,,^. 
 
 C^ 
 
 Qmuf^t^ ^ fv-tJ^>yj^ 
 
 t^trf^Sfix^,. 
 
 First page (reduced) of Sharpe diary. See pp. 43-44. 
 
THE SHARPE COLLECTION 49 
 
 fort was in a ruinous state; but, on its restoration by 
 Governor Hvmter in 1711/ he held services there reg- 
 ularly. During the interval he had made tours embrac- 
 ing Long Island and neighboring towns in New York 
 and in a portion of Connecticut, to officiate in communi- 
 ties without church organization, thereby accomplishing, 
 in the words of Elias Neau, "a great deal of good here 
 these six Years." ^ His return from these httle trips, as 
 well as from longer ones, invariably brings out a fervent 
 "Deo Gr alias" in the journal. 
 
 On November 2, 1710, the good chaplain seems to 
 have reached the acme of human happiness, to judge 
 from an entry heavily underscored in scarlet; "This day 
 I was married to my dearest ikf * Margarita Dreyer. 
 Deo Gloria in Eternum." According to such evidence 
 as is now available, this young woman was a daughter 
 of Andries Draeyer (or Drauyer), a Dane,® who had 
 commanded at Fort Albany in later days of Dutch rule, 
 and who was an officer of the Dutch fleet in American 
 waters. Another daughter, Anna Dorothea, became the 
 wife of the Rev. Thomas Barclay, D.D., rector of St. 
 Peter's Church at Albany,* whose son Henry, second 
 
 ' "The Queens Chappel in the Fort, ' Elias Neau to the Rev. John 
 that from the time of Coll Fletcher Chamherlayne, July S, 1710. S. P. 
 till his [Gov. Hunter's] arrivall O. Letter Book. 
 had been put to the several uses ' His wife was Gerritje Van 
 of Store house. Bear house, and Schaick, whose sister was the wife 
 work house, he took care to have of the Rev. Bernardus Freeman, a 
 decently fitted up and applyed to Reformed Dutch minister at New 
 the use it was built for, and the Utrecht, L. I., and formerly a, suc- 
 Soldiers, who before were carried cessful missionary among the Mo- 
 out of the Garrison and during the hawks. He had been appointed by 
 service stood for the most part in Gov. Bellomont until an English 
 the Steeple, where they could but clergyman should be sent over, 
 imperfectly hear, are now very well ' Joseph Hooper. A History of 
 accommodated with Seats in the Saint Peter's Church in the City of 
 Chappel, where the service is regu- Albany. Albany, 1900. P. 63; also, 
 larly performed." Col. Morris to R. Burnham Moffat. The Barclays 
 Secy. Chamberlavne, Feb. 20, 1711. of New York. New York, 1904. 
 N. 7. Col. Docs.; y, 330. P. 51. 
 
50 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 rector of Trinity Church, was to be in 1754 a member of 
 the first board of Trustees of the New York Society 
 Library. 
 
 The Sharpe diary, to its abrupt close in 1713, con- 
 tains not a word about its author's Hterary tastes, let 
 alone his private library or plans for a public institution. 
 Nor is it till near the end of his sojourn in New York 
 that his views on the subject begin to appear in his cor- 
 respondence. In a long letter^ to the secretary of the 
 S. P. G., dated December 4, 1710, he says in part that it 
 would be "highly conducive" to the work of the Society 
 to have "provincial and parochial Librarys erected," "a 
 great many good Collections of Books" having been sent 
 to "the Metropolis of the several provinces of Maryland, 
 Pensylvania, New York and Boston." If these collec- 
 tions were only "vmder good regulation, there would be 
 considerable Additions made dayly by Charitable Per- 
 sons here." To prevent the "Inconvenience" of the 
 books' becoming scattered, "it wou'd be very Adviseable 
 that there shou'd be Compleat Catalogues of the several 
 parochial Librarys lodged in the hand of some INIinister 
 or Member of the Society, according to which the Li- 
 braries might be now and then reviewed and secured 
 upon the death or removal of any of the Missionary's" ; 
 and, in case of additions through "the Benevolence of 
 any here, it might be Notify ed to the Ven^l^ Society." 
 
 Coming to his personal interest in the matter, the 
 chaplain continues : 
 
 M^ Talbot and I have talked of building a Superstructure, to 
 which I will sell one part and dedicate the other of my small 
 Library upon my death or removal from this Country. I have 
 
 '■S. P. O. Letter Book (copies), in Gen. Conv. Arch., N. Y. MSS., I, 
 vol. VI, 1710-1711, no. i. A copy i8 330-933. 
 
THE SHARPE COLLECTION 51 
 
 sent you a Catalogue of such as I wou'd sell to the Society (hav- 
 ing others in my View to fill up the room) . As for the price I 
 leave it to be set by the Society's Book-seller, and if you agree 
 to take them I shall give Orders where the Money shall be paid, 
 and before such Order, upon the Intimation of your pleasure, 
 shall deliver them to M^ Talbot or any others you shall appoint, 
 and transmit the receipt of them before I receive the Money. 
 
 He concludes with a request for "some hundred of the 
 Society's Seal to iRx on the adverse page of the Titile 
 page as is usual." ^ 
 
 Two years passed, however, without any action or 
 further mention of the purpose in his heart, until March, 
 1713, when Governor Hunter granted him leave of ab- 
 sence, nominally "to see his aged Parent,"^ but no less 
 particularly to set forth "y^ Posture of Ecclesiastical 
 Affairs in these Provinces"^ to the church authorities 
 at home. He bore with him letters of high endorsement 
 from the governor to English dignitaries. In one he is 
 said to have "too much Sence to be Imposed on and too 
 much Probity to Impose upon others,"* and in another 
 characterized as "a very worthy, ingenious, and con- 
 scientious clergyman."^ But a single jarring note ap- 
 pears to have been struck amid the general chords of 
 approval. It sounds as foUows from General Francis 
 Nicholson, formerly governor of Virginia, in a commu- 
 
 ^ Not one volume of the Sharpe " Gov. Hunter to the Secretary, 
 
 collection, however, bears an S. P. March 14, 1713. S. P. O. Letter 
 
 G. bookplate. Book (copies), vol. VIII A, 1713- 
 
 = His mother is of course meant, 1713, no. xv, p. 123. 
 
 as the records of the Presbytery * Ibid. 
 
 of Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, " Gov. Hunter to Dean Swift, 
 
 show that the Rev. Alexander Sharp March 14, 1713. Letters written by 
 
 died Feb. 90, 1709, his son, accord- Jonathan Swift, D.D. . . and Sev- 
 
 ing to his journal, receiving on eral of his Friends. London, 1767. 
 
 August 29th "ane account of my Vol. I, pp. 281-383. See also "The 
 
 dear ffathers death §■ Brl" to which Rev. Mr. Sharpe to Dr. Swift," ibid., 
 
 sad entry he adds in characteristic pp. 320-331. 
 fashion "Requiem Eternam." 
 
52 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 nication to the secretary of the S. P. G., from Boston, 
 December 1, 1713, several months after John Sharpe's 
 return to England : 
 
 I beg the Society will be pleased not to give intire Credit to 
 any offer or Representation of the Rev'^ M'" Jn° Sharpe (late 
 Chaplain to Her Majestys forces in N York Governmt) for 
 himself or others without Good Authority and Proofs I know- 
 ing him to be a Person of double dealing &9 and am Sorry I 
 am not in London to call him to Acc'^ as a Deserter for running 
 away from his Duty as Chaplain to the said Forces on the last 
 Designed Expedition to Canada and more heartily Sorry to 
 have this and many other things to lay to the charge of any 
 Person in Sacred Orders. '^ 
 
 More in explanation of such language than of the 
 charge conveyed, it must be said that Francis Nicholson, 
 though a generous contributor to the interests of the 
 church in Virginia and South Carolina, was jealous, 
 passionate and headstrong in temperament, and far 
 from deserving "intire Credit to any offer or Representa- 
 tion" he himself might make. Bitterly chagrined at the 
 failure of his carefully planned expedition, he was only 
 too ready to denounce any one connected with it. That 
 his charge was unjust in this case is plain from the 
 Sharpe diary, whose author left Camp Nicholson in 
 September, 1711, because of illness, proofs of which, in- 
 cluding a physician's "affadavit," were several times sent 
 to the general. 
 
 It is evident that Chaplain Sharpe not only had kept 
 in mind his Library plan but had been developing it all 
 the while, and was to make its announcement one of the 
 main objects of his visit to England. For, on the eve of 
 
 ^S. p. G. Letter Book, vol. VIII, p. 525. 
 
THE SHARPE COLLECTION 53 
 
 his departure, he drew up a remarkable paper, dated 
 March 11, 1713, in which he declared it his intention to 
 promote the establishment of "A Publick School," "A 
 
 hi i/aru 9—i^,jej:^„yi^ <:^Ut..'^i-U^^ Ar-^^e.^^^^ a^^ir^ a^J 
 ^ ^ri^q^^^j .f^^ A^^<^.^ U.^^^^^ ^^^-r^.. 
 
 First page (reduced) of Sharpe Proposals. See pp. 53-54. 
 
54 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 Publick Library" and "A Catechising Chappel" in the 
 city of New York. 
 
 He mournfully explains that "There is hardly any 
 thing which is more wanted in this Countrey than learn- 
 ing there being no place I know of in America where it 
 is either less encouraged or regarded." This sad condi- 
 tion he accounts for in the following words, which sug- 
 gest an applicability to New York in less remote times. 
 "The City," he says, "is so conveniently Scituated for 
 Trade and the Genius of the people so inclined to mer- 
 chandise, that they generaly seek no other Education 
 for their children than writing and arithmetick. So 
 that letters must be in a manner forced upon them not 
 only without their seeking, but against their consent." 
 
 After elaborating his theories of founding and gov- 
 erning schools, he proceeds to "The Library," saying: 
 "Another thing which is very much wanted here is a 
 publick Library, which would very much advance both 
 learning and piety. Such there are at Charles Town in 
 Carohna, Annapolis in Mary Land, at Philadelphia and 
 Boston. Some books have been formerly sent to New 
 York but as parochial they remain in the hands of the 
 Incumbent." In contradistinction to this last-named — 
 at once recognizable as the Library of Trinity parish — 
 the proposed institution should be "publick and pro- 
 vincial" and "open every day in the week at convenient 
 hours," when "all men may have liberty to read in the 
 Library." As evidence of his advanced ideas, it need 
 only be said that the Society Library, founded in 1754, 
 was not made accessible daily until 1791. 
 
 Eight regulations are suggested, by which, in addition 
 to the above, it appears that the use of the books and the 
 lighting should be free, though each borrower of a vol- 
 
THE SHARPE COLLECTION 55 
 
 ume must "sign to a receipt or obligation to return it at 
 such a time," for which the hbrarian was to receive six- 
 pence. Also, the subscription element was to be purely- 
 voluntary, a book to "ly on the table where it may be 
 lawful for others to subscribe books or money." A cat- 
 alogue, signed by the governor, the mayor and a clergy- 
 man, must be sent to the Enghsh primate ; and like the 
 Bray libraries the proposed institution must be visited 
 once in three years by these same officials, who should 
 "certify the improvements or Embezehnents to the 
 Trustees in England to be appoynted by his Grace the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London." 
 His plan expands, amazing in its scope, as he beholds 
 the Library "a Repository of all such Rarities as the 
 Countrey produces, or are brought hither from other 
 places to be communicated to the Ingenious in Europe." 
 It might as well comprise also "a small garden of rare 
 and Exotick plants to send yearly some to the curious in 
 England and have others in Exchange."^ And he was 
 desirous to have the Library under the same roof as the 
 
 ^ There is in this proposition not ments of each country, may at once 
 a little resemblance to the scheme and always be assigned to their true 
 of the celebrated Frenchman, Alex- origin, and always verified without 
 andre Vattemare, for "an interna- doubt or difficulty." Address of M. 
 tional exchange of all that is valu- Vattemare before the two houses of 
 able in science, literature, natural the N. Y. Legislature, Oct. 30, 1847. 
 history and the fine arts — and the This was a mission he had been con- 
 establishment in every nation and ducting for twenty years with fitful 
 state of an institution (under the success. It was in consequence of 
 fostering care of its government), his securing to the city of New 
 to receive these exchanges, forming York, in IS^S, for example, a 
 not only a museum illustrative as "splendid case of valuable medals, 
 well of the powers of nature, as of commemorative of interesting events 
 the state of perfection to which the during the administration of' Pope 
 productions of the human mind and Pius IX, that the present City Li- 
 hand have arrived, or are tending brary was instituted in the City HaU 
 to in every quarter of the globe, by the local authorities in January, 
 but a kind of patent office, where 1849. See Proceedings of the Boards 
 the creations of the industry, the of Aldermen and Assistant Alder- 
 achievement of the intellect, of the men approved by the Mayor. Vol. 
 inventive faculties, and of govern- XVI. Ne-,^ York, 184-9. 
 
56 THE LIBRAHY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 school, for it would be "a motive to the Industry and 
 application of the scholars when they see so good provi- 
 sion made for their Studys." O Chaplain, great was thy 
 faith! 
 
 The innate sincerity and goodness of the man shine 
 out in the concluding passages, in which he avows his 
 long-cherished resolve to bestow "for a foimdation or 
 beginning to this Library ... all my own books, which 
 I now have or may have at the time of my decease or 
 leaving of that countrey, which shall be put up in it how 
 soon it is fitted to receive them"; for, he pathetically 
 acknowledges, "the undertaking looks so formidably 
 great (at first) that something must be done to make it 
 seem possible." Modestly reserving for himself "during 
 life or stay in the countrey free access" to the Library of 
 his dreams, "and leave to borrow . . . iinder the same 
 restrictions and limitations as others," he reverently en- 
 treats in closing: "So God prosper the work." 
 
 Appended to the "Proposals" is a catalogue of his 
 precious collection, "intended to be given as a founda- 
 tion of a Publick Library at New York," comprising 
 146 volumes, of which 105 appear to have been left be- 
 hind by the donor. They are classified much hke the 
 Bray collections, as follows : 
 
 I the holy Scriptures, 9 ; II Criticks and Commentators, 20 ; 
 III Fathers and Schoolmen, 20 ; IV Discourses, Apologetical, 6 ; 
 V Ecclesiastical History, Chronology, Chorography, 4 ; VI 
 Body's of Divinity, 18; VII Practical Divinity, 24; VIII Con- 
 troversial Tracts, 11 ; IX Philology, History, &c, 18; X Devo- 
 tional, 16. 
 
 These books were left with his friend Ehas Neau, until 
 the passage of an act of assembly, which he confidently 
 
THE SHARPE COLLECTION 57 
 
 predicts "can be easily obtained to secure the said 
 Library for ever."^ 
 
 The original manuscript is now in the Library of 
 Lambeth Palace.^ A somewhat defective copy, now in 
 the Bodleian Library at Oxford, contains a dedicatory 
 page, dated in London, July 11, 1713, and thus in- 
 scribed : 
 
 To THE MOST Reverend Fathers in God the Arch Bishops, To the 
 Right Reverend the Bishops, To the Reverend the Clergy. And 
 to all the Learned and pious Patrons and Promoters of Piety 
 and Learning in the Kingdom of Great Britaine 
 
 This following Proposal as a means of its Advancement in the 
 Province of New York and other parts of America 
 
 Is most humbly dedicated and with most profound Respect 
 and Deference to their Godly Wisdom, is intirely Submitted by. 
 
 Their most faithful! Servant and fFellow-Labourer in Christ 
 Jesus our Lord and Master 
 
 John Shakpe Chaplaine to her Majestys Garisons in the 
 province of New York.^ 
 
 The catalogue attached to this copy is dated May 15, 
 1715, and enumerates 238 volimies, including those left 
 behind, "given towards laying the Foundation of a Pub- 
 lick Library at New York in America." This statement 
 of actual gift is borne out by the final paragraph : "Lon- 
 don July 15* 1715. To the Glory of God and the Ad- 
 vancement of true Religion and Virtue in the Infant 
 Church of America I do freely and heartily give & re- 
 sign at this time all the above mention'd books." The 
 
 ^ From his copy of 171S. Historical Society for 1880, though 
 - The MS. itself bears no label or a comparison of its text with photo- 
 endorsement. In the Lambeth cata- graphs of the original document 
 logue it is in vol. 841, "Proposals discloses variations in spelling, etc. 
 for erecting a School, Library and ' A copy of this copy is in the 
 Chapel at New York, 1713-13." 8. P. G. Letter Book, "Letters Re- 
 The paper was printed in fuU in ceived," vol. XA (copies), 1714- 
 the Collections of the New York 1715. 
 
58 THE LIBRAKY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 additional volumes were despatched oversea for Elias 
 Neau to put with those already in his hands, the whole 
 collection being thereupon formally presented by Dr. 
 Sharpe, as he had then become, to the Society for the 
 Propagation of the Gospel in trust for a Public Library.^ 
 
 Nevertheless, despite his sanguine expectation and ef- 
 forts of the Venerable Society, seconded by Elias Neau 
 and Chaplain Jenney,^ and notwithstanding the evident 
 favor of Governors Hunter and Burnet in turn, no 
 measure to establish the proposed Library by statute 
 seems even to have come before the provincial legislature.* 
 In May, 1723, Governor Burnet wrote to Secretary 
 Humphreys of the S. P. G. that he had received the 
 books from Mr. Neau, but that he feared it would "take 
 some time to bring the Assembly into the Notion of a 
 Pubhck Library."* 
 
 So the little collection remained with the governor. 
 In all hkelihood it was examined by young Benjamin 
 Franklin when entertained by Burnet in 1724, for in his 
 autobiography Franklin says: "The then governor of 
 New York, Burnet (son of Bishop Burnet), hearing 
 from the captain that a young man, one of his pas- 
 sengers, had a great many books, desir'd he would bring 
 me to see him. . . . The gov'r. treated me with great 
 civility, show'd me his library, which was a very large 
 one, and we had a good deal of conversation about books 
 and authors."® It is natural to suppose that their talk 
 
 ^ Basis for these statements is to become Laws, 1685-1770." MS. 
 
 found in the correspondence be- no. 44., State Library, Albany. 
 
 tween Elias Neau, Gov. Hunter, * S. P. G. Letter Book, vol. XVII A 
 
 Gov. Burnet, et al. and the secy. (copies), 1733-1723, pp. 230-231. 
 
 of the S. P. G., in the S. P. G. Let- ' The Complete Works of Benja- 
 
 ter Books. min Franklin. Edited by John 
 
 " See p. 28. Bigelow. New York, 1887. Vol. I, 
 
 ' This fact is established by a vain pp. 73-74. 
 search through "Bills which failed 
 
Hon. William Alexander (Major-General Lord Stirling) 
 Organizer, 1754-. Trustee, 1754-1756 
 
THE SHARPE COLLECTION 59 
 
 embraced a discussion, not merely of the Sharpe plans, 
 but also of the general "Notion of a Publick Library." 
 
 Whether or not Franklin, "the father of social li- 
 braries in this country," ^ in listening to the proposals of 
 poor Chaplain Sharpe, then and there received the in- 
 spiration that eventually led him to organize a library in 
 his adopted home, is of course purely a matter for con- 
 jecture. His institution, which he calls "the Philadel- 
 phia public library"^ and "the mother of all the IVorth 
 American subscription libraries,"^ was founded in 1731 
 and formally chartered eleven years later as The 
 Library Company of Philadelphia, and is to-day the 
 largest as well as the oldest Proprietary Library in the 
 United States. 
 
 There is nothing, however, in Franklin's available 
 writings to confirm or even to suggest any indebtedness 
 to Sharpe. And if such a surmise should ever prove 
 true, ahead of Sharpe appears the primal genius of 
 Bray; while, moreover, Franklin's own birthplace, Bos- 
 ton, possessed a "publike Library" in its town house 
 prior to 1675.* Nor would our great savant's reputa- 
 tion for originality suffer by such an admission. His 
 acuteness of perception, no less than his pubhc spirit, is 
 revealed in his successfully adapting the ineffectual 
 plans of Bray and Sharpe ( for institutions pubhcly sup- 
 ported) to the subscription scheme, in which movement 
 he is regarded as the pioneer of the English-speaking 
 world.® 
 
 To return to John Sharpe in closing. Unfortunately 
 
 ' Free Public Libraries, a pamphlet ' Ibid., I, 159. 
 
 published by the American Social Sci- * See p. inS. 
 
 ence Association. Boston, 1871. P. 3. " Ainsworth R. Spofford. A Book 
 
 ' The Complete Works of Benja- for A II Headers. New York, 1900. 
 
 min Franklin. Edited by John Big- P. 399. 
 elow, N. y., 1887. Vol. I, p. 167. 
 
60 THE LIBRAKY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 his last years are at the present writing shrouded in ob- 
 scurity. Soon after his return from America, he took 
 his doctor's degree in divinity, January 6, 1714, at his 
 loved alma mater, King's College in the University of 
 Aberdeen, his thesis being "a latine discourse upon some 
 subject in theologie."^ In June of that year he inno- 
 cently fell among thorns in suffering himself to be 
 "forcibly presented" by two of his Aberdeen faculty into 
 the pulpit of Old Machar, where he gave fiu-ther offence 
 by using the Anglican ritual. In the justiciary process 
 that ensued at Edinburgh, he was sentenced to be "un- 
 capable of enjoying any parish Chiu'ch Stipend or Bene- 
 fice within Scotland for the Space of Seven years," — in 
 effect a virtual decree of banishment from his native 
 heath.^ 
 
 The next known of him is that in 1717 he pubhshed a 
 treatise in London, a work of a scholarly and deeply 
 religious character.^ In the meantime he had resigned 
 the chaplaincy at New York, his successor, the Rev. 
 Robert Jenney, receiving a conunission from King 
 George I, dated September 17, 1717.* Then comes a 
 melancholy allusion to "the late D^ Sharpe, once Chap- 
 lain to the Garrison," in a letter written by Secretary 
 Humphreys to Governor Burnet in June, 1722.^ 
 
 'From the faculty minutes, Christ, explain'd in Two Hundred 
 
 King's College, Aberdeen, Jan. 3, Conclusions and Corollaries, from 
 
 1714. The thesis, a 16-page pam- the Last Words of our Blessed 
 
 phlet, entitled De Bebus Liturgiois, Lord to his Disciples . . . London, 
 
 was printed at Aberdeen the same 1717. A copy is in the British 
 
 year. A copy is in the Library of Museum. 
 
 Glasgow University. * "Grant Warrants," Colonial Of- 
 
 ' See Officers and Graduates of fice, London. Vol. XV, p. 114. 
 
 University and King's College, " A puzzling allusion to Dr. 
 
 Aberdeen, MVD-MDCCCLX. Ab- Sharpe appears in a letter from 
 
 erdeen, 1893; also, MS. "Justiciary the Rev. John Milne of Albany to the 
 
 Decisions, Edinburgh, 1710-1721," S. P. G., dated June 20, 1728. Re- 
 
 vol. II. (Copy in Society Library.) ferrlng to his predecessor. Dr. Bar- 
 
 ' The Charter of the Kingdom of clay, he says: "The prejudices which 
 
THE SHARPS COLLECTION 61 
 
 It is sad indeed, not only that the date of death and 
 the burial-place of this first proposer of a free Public 
 Library in New York are unknown, but also that the 
 last days of so public-spirited a man should have been 
 spent in poverty and neglect. For it appears from let- 
 ters of Governor Burnet and EUas Neau that he had 
 become so destitute as to have written to the latter, in 
 the spring of 1721, asking piteously for the return of his 
 as yet un-established Library "to get a little Money to 
 subsist on," being "very poor" and "reduced to a state of 
 misery." More important a date to posterity than that 
 of his death, however, is the year 1713, when a Public 
 Library was first proposed in New York; and a higher 
 sentiment than even a gravestone could evoke lingers 
 about the remains of John Sharpe's beloved collection 
 to-day, in their last quiet resting-place in the New York 
 Society Library. 
 
 How and when these books, now mmabering 124 vol- 
 umes under 104 titles,^ actually became a part of the 
 Society Library, cannot confidently be told at the pres- 
 ent writing, notwithstanding long and diligent search, 
 for the records of that institution are absolutely mute on 
 the subject. The following theory as to their history is 
 suggested as tenable, at least tintil the facts come to 
 light. In the first place they seem never to have formed 
 a part of the Trinity Parish Library, as the catalogue of 
 that collection includes comparatively few of their titles, 
 and those the common ones of the day. It is probable, 
 then, that they were joined to the Corporation Library, 
 
 he and one Sharp his brother-in- place." (Copy in Gen. Conv. Arch., 
 law, who is since gone to the Church N. T. M8S., vol. II, pp. 18-20.) 
 of Rome, have given too just 'The Sharpe Collection to-day 
 
 ground for, are like to be the great- comprises 49 folios, 3 quartos, 13 
 est obstacles I shall meet with in this octavos, 13 duodecimos and 46 of 
 
 smaller fold. 
 
62 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 on its arrival and opening in 1730, Governor Burnet 
 having no doubt left them in trust to his successor, Gov- 
 ernor Montgomerie. 
 
 In 1754, when the Society Library was founded and 
 was allowed to store its new collection in the City Hall, 
 on condition of caring for the worn-out Corporation Li- 
 brary, permission was given also to box up books held 
 to be "of no Service & scarce ever read." Many of the 
 Sharpe tomes would have answered this description as 
 perfectly then as now, and may well have been the ones 
 meant. So, when such few books as the vandals spared 
 in 1776 were hastily given sanctuary in St. Paul's 
 Chapel, it was an easy matter to carry the boxes to that 
 place of safety. Otherwise it would be hard to explain 
 how the collection should have been preserved compara- 
 tively intact. 
 
 After slumbering a generation longer, the books at 
 last saw the light again upon the opening of that room. 
 From what will be said later, it is plain that no portion 
 of the Corporation Library shared this captivity. But, 
 as the Sharpe books bore no S. P. G. bookplate and yet 
 were known to have been under the control of the "City 
 Library," as the Society Library was commonly called 
 in its early years, it is probable that they were at once 
 handed over to that institution, on the release and distri- 
 bution of the long-imprisoned collections in 1802. That 
 they were preserved in St. Paul's Chapel seems reason- 
 ably certain from the fact, already mentioned, that a 
 single volume bearing John Sharpe's name has been 
 kept for years with the relics of the Trinity parochial 
 collection. The probability also is that together with 
 them went, naturally enough, the old Clarendon history, 
 doubtless because it also bore no S. P. G. bookplate and 
 
THE SHARPE COLLECTION 63 
 
 chiefly because of its label, "Belonging to y*= Library of 
 New York in America," which, with the character of the 
 book, would not readily suggest its former connection 
 with the Parish Library. The dominant fact, however, 
 is this: the Sharpe books and this Clarendon history 
 came to the Society Library sometime between 1800 and 
 1813, for they are enumerated for the first time in the 
 catalogue of the latter year. 
 
 As for these venerable books themselves, each of the 
 weary -looking volumes displays on fly-leaf or title-page 
 the good chaplain's autograph, written in a variety of 
 ways, as "Johannis Sharpe," "Joh: Sharpe," and "John 
 Sharp," together Avith the year of acquisition in each 
 case. It appears he dropped the final "e" after leaving 
 America; but it is retained in this work for the reason 
 that he so spelled his name during his residence in New 
 Y'ork, and on his Proposals. In some of the books oc- 
 curs also this motto, "Ad quid venisti?" which may con- 
 vey a choice of meanings according to the emphasis in 
 the modern translation, "What have you come to?" Is it 
 a lamentation or a jest, or may it not be simply, to quote 
 the Proposals, "on the title page or cover such inscrip- 
 tion badge or Impression as the Trustees shall appoynt." 
 
 In response to the natural query why the idea of a 
 Public Library as proposed by Dr. Sharpe did not strike 
 root in New York, it may be replied that in the narrow 
 and jealous view of the average provincial assembly- 
 man^ it was merely an administrative measure, which 
 would call for annual appropriations from the treasvu-y, 
 
 ' Grovernor Hunter wrote to Dean in the universe. And if our trees 
 Swift from New York, March 14, and birds could speak, and our as- 
 1713, in the same letter in which he semblymen be silent, the finest con- 
 spoke so highly of John Sharpe: versation too." See p. 51m5. 
 "Here is the finest air to live upon 
 
64 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 besides giving a purchase for interference from the ex- 
 ecutive or from the home government at some future 
 time. Furthermore, as in the case of the earher Parish 
 Library, the proposed institution would be under An- 
 ghcan control largely, a prospect none too pleasing to 
 the "Dissenters" of the Dutch Church, stiU in a strong 
 majority. But above all else, there had not as yet been 
 developed the proper intellectual activity to oif er sym- 
 pathy and support to the plan. Like Dr. Bray, John 
 Sharpe was far in advance of his times. 
 
 3. The Millington Bequest^ or the Corporation 
 Library, 1730-1776 
 
 Little as the Knickerbocker of the early 18th century 
 may have rehshed the growing influence of the estab- 
 lished church, and reluctant as he certainly was to fttr- 
 ther — not to say active in trying to thwart^ — the worthy 
 objects attempted in her name, the fact remains that to 
 one of the organizations sanctioned by the Church of 
 England is due the credit for founding the first Public 
 Circulating Library in New York. It came about in 
 this wise. 
 
 On the 25th of March, 1728, there died in Kensington, 
 England, the Rev. John Millington, D.D., for the past 
 twenty -three years rector of St. Mary's at Stoke New- 
 ington, a parish in Middlesex, about three miles north of 
 
 ' Elias Neau, catechist to the tended "obstacle to stop the De- 
 negroes, complained bitterly of a signes of the Illustrious Society 
 city ordinance of March, 1713, "for [S. P. G.]," and as "a Snare" for 
 Regulating Negro & Indian Slaves his school. Mr. Neau to the Rev. John 
 in the Night Time," — by which they Chamberlayne (contemporary trans- 
 were forbidden to appear on the lation), Sept. 8, 1713. S. P. O. 
 streets an hour after sunset without Letter Book, vol. VIII, p. 173. 
 lighted "Lanthorns,"— as an in- 
 
THE CORPORATION LIBRARY 65 
 
 London. He had also held the titles and offices of fel- 
 low of Magdalen Hall, Cambridge, chaplain to the 
 Bishop of London, vicar of Kensington and preben- 
 dary of Newington. Always generous to the church and 
 toward his own parish, at his death he left handsome be- 
 quests to religious work. Among his beneficiaries was 
 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in For- 
 eign Parts, of which body he had long been a member, 
 as also one of its early officers.^ 
 
 In its annual abstract of proceedings for 1729, the 
 statement is made that he had bequeathed to the Society 
 £200 "and all his Books, being a very valuable Library, 
 which Books he desires should be sent together to the 
 Plantations in America; and the Society have agreed to 
 send them to New York^ as soon as an Act of Assembly 
 shall be passed for their due Preservation." 
 
 The Society had acted promptly, despatching a letter 
 dated September 23, 1728, to Governor Montgomerie. 
 This notification he took nearly a year to answer, until 
 he could give "a satisfactory account of the proceedings 
 of the General Assembly." After returning thanks, he 
 calls attention to enclosed copies of the action taken by 
 the legislature and by the Common Council of the city to 
 "ejBfectually provide for the reception and preservation 
 of the Books." He requests the exact "dementions" of 
 the gift, lest the authorities should "fall into some mis- 
 take" in preparing accommodations; and closes with a 
 promise "to have the room so contrived, that it may be 
 enlarged in case the Library encreases." ^ 
 
 ' For sources see the various S. P. portorium Ecclesiasticum Parochiale 
 
 G. "Abstracts" (the N. Y. Hist. Soc. Londinense . . . Compiled by George 
 
 has a complete set) ; William Robin- Hennessy. London, 1898. 
 
 son. The History and Antiquities ' Governor Montgomerie to the Rev. 
 
 of the Parish of Stoke Newington David Humphreys, D.D., secretary 
 
 . . . London, 1842; and Novum Be- of the S. P. G., Aug. 29, 1T29. 
 
THE CORPORATION LIBRARY 67 
 
 three cases containing 1642 volumes, "for a Publick Li- 
 brary for this City,"^ brought over in the good ship 
 Alexander, Dennis Downing, master, and "ready to be 
 landed and delivered." A committee of five (including 
 John Roosevelt, an ancestor of President Roosevelt, and 
 John Chambers, later a member of the first board of 
 Trustees of the Society Library) was directed to receive 
 the books and put them in the City Hall. Also, should 
 they "find Occasion," they were "to Open the Said Cases 
 and Cause the Said Books to be wiped and Cleaned and 
 an Inventory thereof to be taken." Lastly they were to 
 "Consider of a proper place for the said Library," and 
 to estimate the cost of its installation. 
 
 At the next meeting of the Corporation, early in 
 June, the committee announced with almost childish 
 precision : 
 
 We did Receive the above mentioned twenty three Cases of 
 Books Containing Sixteen hundred and forty two Volumes 
 which Cases we Opened and took the Books out and put them in 
 the Assembly Room of which Alderman Philipse has the Key.. 
 And we are of Opinion that the Room Opposite to the Commom 
 Council Room in the City HalP will be a proper place for de- 
 positing the Said Books and that the same be made Convenient 
 
 ^ Common Coimcil Minutes, IV, 10. common Prison. This Edifice is 
 'This structure, the second of the erected in a. Place where four 
 three City Halls, was erected in Streets meet, and fronts, to the 
 1700 on the site of the present sub- South-west, one of the most spa- 
 treasury building at the junction of cious Streets in Town. The Eastern 
 Wall and Nassau streets, facing Wing, in the second Story, consists 
 Broad. It is thus described in the of the Assembly Chamber, a Lobby 
 year 1756: "The City HaU is a and a small Room for the Speaker 
 strong Brick Building, two Stories of the House. The West Wing, on 
 in Heighth, in the Shape of an Ob- the same Floor, forms the Council 
 long, winged with one at each End, Room and a Library; and in the 
 at right Angles with the first. The Space between the Ends, the Su- 
 Floor below is an open Walk, except preme Court is ordinarily held." 
 two Jails and the Jailor's Apart- William Smith. The History of the 
 ments. The Cellar underneath is a Province of New-York. London, 
 Dungeon, and the Garret above a 1757. P. 194. 
 
68 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 as soon as may be but the manner of doing thereof we humbly 
 Refer to the Consideration of this Board.^ 
 
 Its report being at once approved, the committee was 
 ordered to "Employ Workmen and Purchase Materialls 
 for fitting up a Convenient Room or Chamber," as rec- 
 ommended, "for Containing the said Library with Con- 
 venient Shelves and Desks Nessessary thereunto."^ 
 
 On July 20th Governor Montgomerie wrote briefly 
 again to Secretary Himiphreys of the Society, renewing 
 appreciation and assm-ances that the Corporation would 
 treat the gift with "great Care."* Two days later the 
 Common Council, after ordering a receipt to the Rev. 
 Mr. Vesey — still rector of Trinity Church, and since 
 1714 the S. P. G. commissary for New York— for the 
 cases of books, and directing the same committee to have 
 a catalogue made and to have the books cleaned and put 
 into the "Library Room," requested Recorder Harison 
 to "prepare the Draft of a letter of thanks &c, . . . then to 
 te fair drawn, signed by the Mayor,"* and sent abroad. 
 This epistle, of the same date, informed the Society that 
 ithere had been "furnished and Compleated an handsome 
 large Room for the Reception of them and a much 
 greater Number whenever we shall be so happy to see 
 any Addition made to this their Noble Benefaction"!^ 
 In conclusion they said: "The Approaching session of 
 Assembly Encourages us to hope that we shall be En- 
 abled to take all proper Measures for the Preservation 
 of this Library, and the Keeping it in such Manner as 
 may best Answer the Intention of the Donors, in all 
 which worthy purposes we have already received (and 
 
 ' Common Council Minutes, IV, 12. * Common Council Minutes, IV, 17 
 
 'Ihid., 13. ^Ibid., 17-18. 
 
 "(S. P. O. Letter Booh (copies), 
 vol. XXIII A, no. 11, p. 77. 
 
THE CORPORATION LIBRARY 69 
 
 have further Assurances of) his Excellencys Patronage 
 and Encouragement," 
 
 Nevertheless, Governor Montgomerie seems never 
 to have formally recommended that the assembly should 
 confirm the Library by statute, nor did that body ever 
 carry out its intention, expressed June 27, 1729, "to pass 
 an Act for the due preservation of the Books when 
 here."^ These particulars have been given to show that 
 the legislature took no active part in the establishment of 
 the first Public Library in New York city; that in this 
 important event "home rule" was not questioned. And 
 further, inasmuch as the Corporation met all the con- 
 tingent costs of the new enterprise, — amoiuiting alto- 
 gether to fully £85,^ a very respectable sum for that 
 day, especially in view of the really small size of the col- 
 lection, — it was only natural that the institution should 
 come to be called the Corporation Library — that is to 
 say, controlled by the Corporation of the city, technically 
 termed "The Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty of the 
 City of New York." 
 
 The appointment of a librarian finds no mention in 
 the minutes of the Common Council for some years. In 
 several histories of New York city it is asserted that the 
 Rev. John Sharpe, "still living," was put in charge, but 
 "being an aged man did not long survive his appoint- 
 ment."^ Even were he then hving, — which does not 
 seem probable, from the statement to Governor Burnet 
 already quoted,— he would have been only just fifty 
 years of age. This tradition is perhaps based on the 
 probable union of the old Sharpe collections with the 
 
 ^Journal of . . . Oeneral Assem- 453, 480; V, 8, 56, 299. A pound in 
 
 bly, I, 603. New York currency equaled $2.50. 
 
 ' Common Council Minutes, IV, ' E. g., see p. 6. 
 16, 25, 61, 63, 145, 304, 348, 359, 407, 
 
70 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 newly started Public Library, thus at last identifying his 
 name with the object so long his heart's desire. But 
 there can be found no evidence to prove that he had ever 
 retiu-ned to America, while there is evidence that points 
 to his having died in London prior to 1723.^ One might 
 think that Mrs. Martha J. Lamb, the historian, not 
 merely as a careful investigator would have discovered 
 the person first named as "Library Keeper," but would 
 have been only too ready to pubhsh his name, which was 
 — Alexander Lamb. 
 
 This individual, of whom very little is known save 
 that he later served on the city watch, began in Novem- 
 ber, 1734, a term of eight years as "Keeper of the Li- 
 brary," at a salary of £3 ($7.50) per annum till raised 
 to £4 ($10) in 1737.^ What his duties were, to merit 
 this not excessive allowance, we do not know; but 
 doubtless, to judge from later regulations, he was re- 
 quired, besides keeping the room and shelves in order, to 
 be present in the "Library Room" for a short time once 
 or twice a week to give out or to receive books. As the 
 very title implies, however, one did not need to be a man 
 of great literary intelligence simply to be a "Keeper." 
 
 Before Mr. Lamb's appointment, the Rev. Richard 
 Charlton, assistant at Trinity Church, had in June, 1733, 
 been granted by the Common Council "Liberty to make 
 A Key to the Library of this City for his own use, and 
 none Others, he promising to make a Catalogue of the 
 Said Library, and properly to place the Books therein, 
 thereby to Render the same more Easy to be found and 
 more useful!, he also promising not to suffer any Books 
 whatsoever to be taken from thence without the direction 
 
 ' See p. 60. 304, 306, 349, 407, 453, 480; V, 8, 55, 
 
 ^ Com,mon Council Minutes, IV, 83, 299. 
 

 7^^ ^0,,^^^ "- f'^"f ■^' 
 
 
 ■^„z ^ A^ 
 
 ^ ^J-a/.^ 
 
 './^ 
 
 may ^?i^ //"»■•■ .^ f.p^n^r^-^j- ajQ/^r^i^^'- ^/f*^^^^^/^. a^O ^^ ^.^^ 
 
 ^y ajn A^/^ 
 
 ^^^ x^.yT. ^/-^ ■ 
 
 y^ rra^A ^■^ /t^o-j^A. 
 
 'A A- M O^/^j-t^a /dfi /^/*t^ Q'sA^ aAMfi ^^/y ^i^M^ //e^^«/; 
 
 ■y 
 
 l>-^ ^i^ ^/f 
 
 
 Reduced facsimile of letter from Common Council, preserved 
 in S. P. G. archives, London. See p. 66. 
 
72 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 and Licence of this Corporation."^ There has survived 
 no copy of this catalogue (if it was ever printed), nor 
 any evidence to prove that it was actually prepared. 
 Previous to this entry the only reference to the subject 
 occurs under date of July 13, 1732, when one Cornelius 
 Lodge, a whUom city collector and surveyor, was ordered 
 paid £5 "for attending and Cleaning the Books in the 
 Library."^ This ambiguous passage may be taken to 
 mean that he was its first though transient custodian. To 
 how large an extent the books circulated during these 
 early years there is no means of telling. But that they 
 did circulate is plain enough from subsequent calls for 
 missing voltunes. 
 
 With the cessation of Mr. Lamb's ministrations in the 
 Library in the fall of 1742, his not over-tempting office 
 was without incimibent for a season. There is nothing to 
 indicate that any additions to the collection had been 
 forthcoming, while in the dozen years of its existence no 
 doubt the more alluring of the worthy Dr. Millington's 
 books had been read, if not re-read, by those who cared 
 for the printed page at all. So a very natural languor 
 fell upon the still youthful institution. 
 
 Suddenly in the year 1745 a stir was felt. On April 
 19th the Common Council was presented with a business- 
 like memorial from an enterprising young man, James 
 Parker, a former apprentice of William Bradford and 
 for the past four years partner of Benjamin Franklin 
 under the terms of a six-year agreement, "for the Carry- 
 ing on the Business of Printing in the City of New- 
 York."^ It would seem that Franklin must have been 
 
 ^Oommon Council Minutes,TV,184i. the Mass. Hist. Soc. for May, 1902 
 
 ' Ibid., IV, 145. (as quoted by Worthington C. Ford 
 
 ° The Articles of Indenture are from the original MS. in the pos- 
 
 given in fuU in the "Proceedings" of session of the American Philosoph- 
 
THE CORPORATION LIBRARY 73 
 
 fully cognizant of this new venture, if indeed he had not 
 urged it upon his partner, as would not be at all improb- 
 able. Unfortunately, however, their available corre- 
 spondence begins in September, 1747, after Parker had 
 given up all hope of success with the Library.^ The 
 preamble of his petition reads as follows: 
 
 Whereas the Corporation is possessed of a Valuable Library 
 which May be of very Great Use And Service to the Inhabitants 
 of the Province, but More Especially to those of the City, if a 
 Library keeper was Appointed Under proper Regulations, the 
 want of which at present Not only deprives Many persons of the 
 Use of the Said Books, But Subjects the Books to be hurt Or 
 Destroyed by the Dust and paper Worm, Wherefobe James 
 Parker Printer for this Government Humbly proposes to Take 
 the Care And Charge of the Said Library As Library keeper 
 during the pleasure of the Corporation.^ 
 
 His proposed "Terms and Regulations" are in brief 
 as follows: 1st, to "Compleat a true and perfect Cat- 
 alogue . . . and Print the Same in a handsome Manner 
 on or before the first day of August next," with "his 
 receipt for the Books therein" ; 2d, that he be empow- 
 ered to loan books at sixpence a week, under certain 
 limitations and penalties, to "persons Resideing within 
 this Government," such "Hirers Entring into a Penalty 
 in Double the Value of Each Book with Security if Re- 
 quired" ; 3d, that the extent of loans be between a week 
 and a month, no person to have more than three books at 
 once; 4th, that members of the Common Coimcil "be 
 Entituled to the Loan of any Book Gratis And be pre- 
 
 ical Society of Phaadelphia) . Bos- James Parker to Benjamin Frank- 
 ton, 1903. 2d series, vol. XVI, pp. lin, 1747-1770. 
 
 186-189. ^ Common Council Mimites, V, 142. 
 ^Ibid., pp. 189-333, Letters from 
 
74 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 ferred before all other hirers," but with the same liabil- 
 ities; 5th, that the new keeper give "Attendance at the 
 Library at a fixed time once a Week for two hours in 
 Order to Let out and Receive the Books"; receive for 
 himself the "ProfRtts"; keep the books in repaiir; and 
 replace lost copies, — all "at his Own Expence without 
 any Charge to the Corporation." 
 
 The last consideration expresses aptly the attitude 
 consistently shown by the city fathers toward this po- 
 tentially valuable asset in their possession. Beyond 
 initial charges of preparing accommodations, and the 
 keeper's wages for a few years, not a shilling appears to 
 have been disbursed toward its maintenance, let alone 
 any attempt at improvement or increase. The applica- 
 tion of Mr. Parker was received with favor, as it in- 
 volved the Corporation in no expenditure and at the 
 same time relieved it of all responsibihty. Apparently 
 with little question or discussion, therefore, the Common 
 Council, Mayor Stephen Bayard presiding, agreed to 
 the "Proposalls" and tersely ordered that "the Key of 
 the Library be Delivered to the Said James Parker."^ 
 
 As in the case of many another promised work, how- 
 ever, to undertake is one thing and to consummate, an- 
 other. Over a year passed before the catalogue was 
 advertised. Mr. Parker, besides his public printing, con- 
 ducted The New-York Weekly Post-Boy, established 
 in 1743 as the third city newspaper. The first evidence 
 of his new activity appears in the issue of August 19, 
 1745, in a notice calling for the return of some ten folio 
 works, naming their titles,^ "as likewise several others." 
 
 ' Common Council Mirmtes, V, 143. Hammond's Paraphrase, Newman's 
 
 ^ "Howel's History of the World, Concordance, Wood's Institutes, 
 
 The 3d Vol. of Clarendon's History, Cook's Institutes, Hardress's Re- 
 
THE CORPORATION LIBRARY 75 
 
 all of which would be "thankfully received, and no 
 Questions ask'd." One of the books, it is interesting to 
 observe, chanced to be "The 2d Vol. of Clarendon's His- 
 tory," which would almost make one think it the iden- 
 tical copy now in the Society Library, were it not for 
 the fact that the latter had already been reposing thirty- 
 three years in the Trinity Parish Library, while the 
 Millington books are stated to have borne the S. P. G. 
 bookplate, besides their former owner's name. The titles 
 given in this instance, as also those of a quarto hst simi- 
 larly printed in October,^ show that Dr. MiUington's 
 library had not been as closely confined to dull doctrinal 
 works as the Bray and Sharpe collections. And yet 
 Smith the historian wrote of the Corporation's books in 
 1756: "The greatest Part of them are upon theological 
 Subjects." At the same time he gives their number as 
 "a 1000 Volumes," adding: "through the Carelessness of 
 the Keepers many are missing." ^ 
 
 Finally, on June 16, 1746, Mr. Parker, having "been 
 at the Charge and Trouble of taking and printing a 
 Catalogue of those Books," advertised free copies "to 
 any Lovers of Reading, that will send and desire the 
 same," thus making the Millington and Sharpe books 
 again available to the public. His "Conditions of Loan" 
 embraced "Four Pence Half-penny per Week, for 
 every Book" borrowed, with "Security to retiu-n such 
 Book safe and unhurt, at the End of one, two, three or 
 four Weeks." Only one book could be taken at a time, 
 "unless more than one Volume of a Sort." After June 
 
 ports, Dalton's Country Justice, Dryden's Juvenal; as also several 
 
 Harris's Lexicon, and Whitby's Ad- others in Octavo and Duodecimo." 
 
 ditions." The Post-Boy, Oct. 14, 1745. 
 
 ' "Two Volumes of an Historical ' William Smith. History of New- 
 
 and Geographical Dictionary, Ty- York. London, 1757. Pp. 194-195. 
 son's Anatomy of a Pigmie, and 
 
76 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 24th "due Attendance" was announced to be given "at 
 said Library Room, every Tuesday at 4 o' Clock in the 
 Afternoon." 
 
 In January, 1747, the same journal, its name slightly 
 altered to The New-York Gazette^ Revived in the 
 Weekly Post-Boy,— for old William Bradford had then 
 retired,— thus presented the possibilities of the Library 
 as a winter attraction : 
 
 As several Persons have signified their Desire of hiring Books 
 from the Library belonging to the Corporation of this City; 
 but the Time of Attendance being short, and the cold Weather 
 rendering it uncomfortable, they neglect it; this is to give 
 Notice, that on any Person's signifying a Day before-hand what 
 Book they would have, they may at any Time have such Book 
 of the Printer hereof, they giving the usual Security for the 
 same. Catalogues to be had for sending for.^ 
 
 Notwithstanding this very earnest endeavor to renew 
 interest in the palsied Corporation Library, it seems to 
 have listlessly settled once more into inanition. Again 
 it cannot be told when Captain Parker^ — brave enough 
 in the face of human foes — was forced to yield to the 
 deadly bayonet of atrophy, due both to the staleness of 
 the unimproved collection and to the still prevalent 
 literary indifference. 
 
 This next period of prostration, however, came sooner 
 to an end, with the founding, in 1754, of the New York 
 Society Library, whose history the present work has 
 been undertaken to set forth. The conditions that led to 
 its estabhshment and the circumstances of its origin will 
 therefore fittingly appear later on. But it is proper to 
 
 ^ No copy is known to exist. Hildeburn. Sketches of Printers and 
 
 ' For further particulars concern- Printing in Colonial New York. 
 ing James Parker see Charles R. New York, 1895. P. 34 et seq. 
 
THE CORPORATION LIBRARY 77 
 
 give here the terms under which the two institutions 
 joined forces. Their resulting unique association for so 
 many years, coupled with the fact that the hght of each 
 was extinguished in the storm of the Revolution, has 
 very naturally developed belief that the Society Library 
 was the successor to the older Corporation Library. In 
 a sense it was, but not to the extent of the latter's identity 
 being wholly merged into that of the Society Library, 
 as will now appear. 
 
 On September 11, 1754, at a meeting of the first board 
 of Trustees of the new institution, a set of "Proposals" 
 was drafted, whose preamble and resolutions read as fol- 
 lows: "Whereas the Corporation-Library hath for some 
 years past been shut up, & the Books contained in it be- 
 come of httle or no advantage to the Public; that the 
 same may hereafter be improved & found beneficial to 
 the Community, Resolved/' 1st, that the room in the 
 City HaU containing that neglected collection "be ap- 
 propriated to the Trustees of this Library for the use of 
 the same" ; 2d, that such of the former's books deemed 
 "most fit ... be joined to the same," the Society Li- 
 brary to be "accoxmtable to the Corporation for the same 
 whenever demanded"; 3d, that books judged "of no 
 Service & scarce ever read" be "put up into Boxes to be 
 made for that piu-pose and seciu-ed," to make room for 
 the fresh consignment expected from abroad; 4th, that 
 the Common Council appoint a person to act with a 
 Trustee in taking an inventory of the old store ; and 5th, 
 that books of the Corporation Library entrusted to the 
 Society Library "be improved for the public advantage 
 in hke manner" as the latter's, "subject in all respects to 
 the same Rules and Regulations." 
 
 These proposals were ordered submitted to the city 
 
78 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 authorities by a committee comprising the Hon. John 
 Watts, William Livingston and William Peartree 
 Smith. Unfortunately we are denied the satisfaction of 
 knowing just how the response was phrased, for there is 
 a gap of more than two months in the Common Council 
 minutes at this very interesting juncture. Nor is there 
 any allusion in the Society Library records to such reply; 
 but, inasmuch as Mayor Holland and other members: 
 of the Corporation had subscribed to the new project,, 
 their consent was no doubt assured in advance. Re- 
 hable evidence of a favorable action, however, is found 
 in The New-York Mercury for October 21st, wherein 
 "the Proprietors of the New- York Society Library" are 
 notified that its lately imported books had been "placed, 
 for the present, by Leave of the Corporation, in their 
 Library Room in the City-Hall," and that "constant At- 
 tendance" would be given "on Tuesdays and Fridays, 
 from the hours of Ten to Twelve." Attached to this 
 notice is a schedule of "The Terms for the Loan of 
 Books," but, as they were established by the Trustees of 
 the Society Library, their consideration Avill properly be 
 deferred.^ 
 
 While the new Subscription Library is winning ap- 
 plause and support, nothing is heard of the little old col- 
 lection for some nine years. But that absorption had 
 not taken place, and that the Common Council was bent 
 on maintaining differentiation between the two institu- 
 tions, is apparent from several entries in the city records. 
 For instance in August, 1763, a warrant was issued to 
 pay Isaac Stoutenburgh, a public overseer, for "the re- 
 moveing of the Citys arms, Library &c from the City 
 Hall."^ Also the same official was paid regularly for 
 
 ' See p. 1S6. ^ Common Council Minutes, VI, 334. 
 
Governor William Livingston, LL.D. 
 Organizer, 1754. Trustee, 1754-1756; 1757-1773 
 
THE CORPORATION LIBRARY 79 
 
 his "Storage of the Citys arms Pubhck Library &c,"^ 
 while the City Hall was undergoing repairs. The work 
 proceeded slowly, for not until May, 1765, was the old 
 "Library Room" ordered to be finished "in the most 
 plain and Cheap manner that Can be."^ 
 
 At last, by August, 1765, the books would seem to 
 have been restored to the shelves, for on the 23d the 
 Common Council voted, "upon application of Alderman 
 Hicks," then a Trustee of the Society Library, "that 
 Thomas Jackson be appointed ... to take Charge of 
 the Corporation Library, and that he attend at the Li- 
 brary Room in the City Hall on Mondays and Thurs- 
 days, from half after Eleven oClock in the morning 
 until one, to let out the Books and that he keep an exact 
 account of the Income thereof."* He was also re- 
 quested to have a new catalogue prepared and printed, 
 while a stipend of £4 ($10) a year was accorded him 
 "for his Trouble." At the same time the rate of loans 
 was appointed to be two shillings a month for a folio, 
 one shilling for a quarto, and sixpence for an octavo 
 "or Lesser Volume." Overdue books entailed a fine of 
 six, four, or two pence a day, according to size. 
 
 Continuance of a close relationship between the two 
 institutions is made very plain in this advertisement in 
 the New-York Gazette; or the Weekly Post-Boy,^ for 
 five nxmibers, beginning September 19, 1765: 
 
 ^ Ibid., 376, 450. Augustus Van Cortlandt, is pre- 
 
 ^ Ibid., 418. served in the Society Library. 
 
 ^ Ibid., 427. A neatly written copy * Then printed by John Holt, "late 
 
 of this minute, signed by City Clerk partner with James Parker." 
 
80 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 NEW-YORK LIBRARY. 
 
 THIS is to give notice, that the worshipful corporation of 
 the city of New- York, have committed the care of their Li- 
 brary, of near 2000 volumes, (among which are a great many 
 very valuable, antient, curious, and rare books,) to Mr. Jackson, 
 Master of the Academy in the Exchange, who will soon pubKsh 
 a catalogue,-'^ with the conditions of lending them out. The 
 trustees of the Society-Library have also appointed him keeper 
 of their Library, consisting of a large well chosen collection of 
 the most useful modern books, with a considerable late addition, 
 of which a catalogue wiU be speedily pubhshed, that the sub- 
 scribers may stitch in with their former catalogues. A share in 
 this Library is now worth 10 1. 10 s. and is transferable by the 
 subscribers. 
 
 Both Libraries are kept in a large commodious room, fitted 
 up for the purpose, at the City-Hall, where constant attendance 
 will be given on Mondays and Thursdays, from half past eleven 
 to one o'clock. 
 
 As a sense of the universal benefit of good reading, and of the 
 great want of opportunity of having that otherwise supplied, 
 in this place, has prompted the corporation, and the gentlemen 
 of the Society, to take this method for encouraging it ; it is 
 hoped great numbers will improve this advantage, which it is 
 not doubted, Mr. Jackson will exert himself all he can to pro- 
 mote, at the fixed hours of attendance ; and also will assist, par- 
 ticularly young gentlemen, at such other convenient hours, as 
 upon application to him, they and he shall agree upon. 
 
 The announcement concludes with a request for the re- 
 turn of books borrowed from both Libraries, and with a 
 quotation from Cicero on "Good Reading." 
 
 This renewed attempt to arouse interest in books was 
 made coincidentally with the Stamp Act agitation, 
 which was no tame affair in New York. During the 
 
 '■ No copy is known to be extant. 
 
THE CORPORATION LIBRARY 81 
 
 stirring decade that ensued, the people evidently were 
 moved to read as well as to make history, for in Decem- 
 ber, 1771, there suddenly sprang into being another 
 Subscription Library, denominated the Union Library 
 Society. Though its brief career is recounted in a later 
 section, it is pertinent to say here that the Common 
 CouncU granted the new appUcants leave to place their 
 collection in "the Eastermost part of the Room" con- 
 taining the books of the New York Society Library.^ 
 
 This was in April, 1774. There were now three dis- 
 tinct collections of books in the old Library Room in the 
 City Hall. Still a fourth was added in May, 1776, 
 when the Library of King's College was deposited there 
 on that institution's being turned into a mihtary hospital 
 by the "Rebels." Thus indeed may the city's whole 
 hope of letters be likened to the marketer with all his 
 eggs in one basket; and, alas, the simile continues to 
 the disastrous crash, with but a small portion rescued 
 from the sorry downfall. 
 
 The sad story as told by eye-witnesses has often been 
 repeated in print. Of the old Corporation Library, the 
 venerable dean of that little assemblage of books, the 
 "Digest" of the S. P. G. records says: "Sufficient se- 
 curity for peaceful times, it availed not dviring the 
 Revolutionary War."^ And in the manuscript journal 
 of the Society appears this abstract of a letter from the 
 Rev. Dr. Charles Inglis, rector of Trinity Church, dated 
 at New York, May 1, 1778:* 
 
 A library left to the Society in trust by the Rev"? D^ Millington 
 in the year 1728, for the use of their Missionaries, and the H- 
 
 ' Common Council Minutes, VIII, of the 8. P. a., 1701-189S. London, 
 24-25. 1893. P. 798. 
 
 ^ Classified Digest of the Records " This letter cannot be found 
 
 among the S. P. G. papers. 
 
82 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 brary and philosophical apparatus belonging to the College, 
 together with a large Subscription Library, belonging to the In- 
 habitants, were, after the King's Troops took possession of the 
 City, plundered, sold, and dispersed by our soldiers, before a 
 discovery was made. As soon as the affair came to T)l Inglis's 
 knowle[d]ge, he applied for redress, a proclaimation was issued 
 for returning the books, but not a tenth part of them, and those 
 the least valuable, and the sets broken, were returned. He hath 
 collected into one place, and sorted those that belonged to the 
 several Libraries, and with the consent of the Mayor of the City, 
 hath taken the Millington Library into his own possession. 
 Their amount is about 80 volumes out of 1000; and the most 
 valuable of these are a few that he had borrowed before the 
 troubles, and had preserved with his own books. He begs to 
 know the Society's determination respecting these books — 
 whether they shall be left in their former state, or remain in his 
 possession, or be given to Trinity Church, the Library of which 
 was consumed by the Fire in Sept^ 1776. 
 
 The committee on this communication was "Agreed 
 in opinion that . . . the remains of the Millington Li- 
 brary be left in the custody of D^ Inglis"; whereupon 
 the Society "Resolved to agree with the Committee." 
 
 Nothing further can be stated positively concerning 
 the little remnant of the collection. When the success 
 of the American cause became certain, Dr. Inglis set sail 
 for Nova Scotia, of which British province he was not 
 long afterward consecrated first Anglican bishop. His 
 private library, which may still have included these sur- 
 viving volmnes, was left to his son John, third bishop of 
 the same diocese. At the latter's death his books were 
 scattered, most of them being taken to England and 
 there sold. Some were given to King's College at 
 Windsor, Nova Scotia, but its librarian has found no 
 books with the name of Dr. Milhngton inscribed therein. 
 So, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, may 
 
THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 83 
 
 we not fancy a book or two of the long-defunct Cor- 
 poration Library back again in England, perchance 
 within sound once more of the old vesper bell, given to 
 his beloved church at Stoke Newington by its pious 
 rector, Dr. John Milhngton. 
 
 A- The New York Society Library^ founded in 1754 
 
 Inasmuch as succeeding chapters are devoted to set- 
 ing forth the history of the Society Library, it is unnec- 
 essary to give attention to this institution here, further 
 than to indicate its proper place in the chronological se- 
 ries. It is well to state, however, that the Society Li- 
 brary differed radically in its foundation from previous 
 Library movements in New York. It owed existence 
 to no gift of individual, or of associate body, but was 
 the spontaneous outgrowth of a rather general desire 
 for improvement. It was a Subscription Library, pub- 
 he in the sense that any person was welcome to member- 
 ship at a uniform rate, and its books soon circulated 
 through a fair proportion of the cultivated citizens. 
 
 From what has gone before, the claim cannot be sub- 
 stantiated that the Society Library, in its stewardship 
 of the old Corporation Library, actually dates from 
 1730,— thus holding the distinction of being the oldest^ 
 Public Library in the country, — or still less truthfully 
 from 1713, when the Sharpe books, now in its posses- 
 sion, were given to found a "Publick" Library. Only 
 by way of analogy, in consequence of its close associa- 
 tion with these older collections, may the Society Li- 
 
 'The term "oldest" is not used at all in the sense of earliest. 
 
84. THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 brary— in the sense in which the Father of Waters, in 
 conjunction with its tributary, the Missouri, is the long- 
 est river in the world— be termed the oldest Public 
 Library in the United States. 
 
 5. The Library of King's College, 1767-1776^ 
 
 As elsewhere noted, the founders of the Society Library 
 in 1754 had advanced as a motive for its establishment 
 the hope that a Public Library "may be also advan- 
 tageous to our intended CoUege."^ This not over-con- 
 fident expectation was probably justified, for not until 
 1760 was King's CoUege housed in a building of its 
 own. Its little faculty, therefore, as also its scarcely 
 larger body of students, no doubt made glad use of the 
 steadily growing public collection in the City Hall. 
 
 Naturally, however, the need of a special reference 
 Library was early felt by the College authorities. But 
 there were no funds to warrant expenditure for books, 
 so it was by gift or bequest alone that a beginning must 
 be made. Nor had their patience long to wait. Like 
 the old Corporation Library, its origin was due to a leg- 
 acy. By the wiU of the Hon. Joseph Murray, one of its 
 Governors, as also a member of the first board of Trus- 
 tees of the Society Library, who died in April, 1757, 
 there was devised to "the Governors of the College of 
 
 ^ Sketches of this early collection New York, 1904. P. 437 et seq. 
 
 have appeared in print in the several Material in the present study is 
 
 histories of Columbia CoUege, the based, however, on original sources, 
 
 latest being in an article on "The some of which have been unavailable 
 
 Library" by Librarian James H. hitherto. 
 
 Canfield, LL.D., in A History of = See pp. 136, 146. 
 CoVumhia University, n5Ii.-190lf. 
 
THE LIBRARY OF KING'S COLLEGE 
 
 85 
 
 the Province of New York, by whatever name they are 
 called," the residue of his estate, including a fine li- 
 brary/ The books were doubtless handed over with 
 despatch, to judge from a notice inserted in the Mercury 
 for May 16th, calling for the immediate return of any 
 books borrowed from the testator or his "late lady." 
 
 Local journals eulogized this early benefactor of the 
 CoUege in highest terms. The Gazette of May 2d re- 
 counted how, "during the long and extensive Course of 
 his Practice," Mr. Murray had "approved himself a 
 Gentleman of the strictest Integrity, Fidelity, and 
 
 " Abstract of the will of the Hon. 
 Joseph Murray, Esq. {Liber 20, p. 
 233, of "Wills in the New York Sur- 
 rogate's Office"), printed in The 
 
 Collections of the New York His- 
 torical Society for the Year 1896. 
 New York, 1897. Pp. 165-166. 
 
86 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 Honour," and that "by Principle, he was a steady and 
 hearty Friend to the National Constitution, both of 
 Church and State, and frequent in his Attendance on 
 the publick Offices and Ordinances of Religion." The 
 Mercury of the same date said of him : 
 
 On Thursday last departed this Life, in the 63d Year of his 
 Age, the Honourable Joseph Murray, Esq; one of his Maj- 
 esty's Council for the Province of New-York, and the most con- 
 siderable Lawyer here in his Time; by which Profession he ac- 
 quired a large Fortune, in such a Manner as justly in titled him 
 to the Character of an honest, upright, judicious Man: As a 
 Counsellor, he gave his Opinion and Advice according to the 
 Dictates of his own Reason, without Favour or Affection ; it 
 was the Cause and not the Person that directed his Judgment ; 
 and neither Threats [n] or Frowns could make him deviate from 
 what he thought right : His Purse was always open to the true 
 Objects of Charity: He was an excellent Husband, a kind Mas- 
 ter, and a true Friend ; a most regular Man in all his Conduct ; 
 and those Lines in the XVth Psalm, might justly be applied to 
 him. . . . 
 
 It seems probable that this beginning of the College 
 Xiibrary was deposited temporarily in the Trinity char- 
 ity school building, for, according to advertisements in 
 the newspapers, President Johnson gave regular in- 
 struction to his classes "at the Vestry Room in the 
 School-House, near the English Church."^ As an as- 
 sistant minister of Old Trinity, Dr. Johnson was also 
 entitled to unrestricted use of the Parish Library, so 
 that in a sense all the literary resources of the city — 
 such as they were — had been placed at the disposal of 
 the young College. 
 
 The next acquisition was likewise a bequest, in most 
 
 ' The NexD York Gazette; or, the Weekly Post-Boy, July 1, 1754. 
 
THE LIBRAKY OF KING'S COLLEGE 87 
 
 respects a counterpart of the Millington foundation of 
 the Corporation Library. According to printed records 
 of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, for 
 the year ending in February, 1759, it appears that 
 
 the Rev. Dr. Bristowe, a worthy Member of the Society lately 
 deceased, having by his last Will, bequeathed his Library of near 
 1500 Volumes to the Society to he sent to the College of New 
 York, of which Dr. Johnson is President, or to such other Place 
 or Places as the Society should direct, the Society hath directed 
 those Books to be sent and placed in this College of New York, 
 in Approbation of the generous Donor's Design.^ 
 
 The Rev. Duncombe Bristowe, D.D., a graduate of 
 Brasenose College, Oxford, had been, at the time of his 
 death in June, 1758, rector of All Hallows, Staining 
 within Aldgate, London, for thirty years. The recipient 
 of various university honors, he also held a supplemen- 
 tary "college living" at Selborne in Hampshire. Public 
 announcement of this bequest — "together with Sixty 
 Pounds sterling, to be paid after his Widow's decease" 
 — was made at New York in Weyman's Gazette for 
 June 25, 1759. 
 
 For some time, however, it looked as if a notice of the 
 benefaction was all the College would receive. In a let- 
 ter dated February 16, 1760, the Rev. Henry Barclay, 
 second rector of Trinity Church, in behalf of the Gov- 
 ernors thanked the Venerable Society "for their resolu- 
 tion to send us the Library, bequeathed by the late 
 worthy D^ Bristow."^ He says further: "The Library 
 
 ^An Abstract of the Proceedings ' S. P. G. Letter Book, vol. II B 
 
 of the Society. London, 1759. P. 61. (1759-1782), pt. i, no. 44. 
 
88 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 Room in the College we hope will be in readiness to re- 
 ceive the Books by Midsummer." These hopes were no 
 doubt reahzed, so far as the Murray books were con- 
 cerned, for by May the officers and students "began to 
 Lodge & Diet" in the new building, so long the home 
 of the College on Murray street. The attractiveness of 
 the spot chosen, then lying well without the settled part 
 of town, in full view of the Hudson, is attested to by 
 an Enghsh visitor, who predicts it "wiU be the most 
 beautifully situated of any college in the world." ^ 
 
 The promised collection had not arrived at the time of 
 the annual meeting of the Governors in May, 1761. In- 
 stead, President Johnson read to the board a letter 
 "from the Rev? Doctor Bearcroft in which he desires 
 some directions about the Liberary of Books given to 
 this Corporation by the late Rev? Doctor Bristow." He 
 was thereupon directed to ask Dr. Bearcroft "to deliver 
 the said Liberary to M^ William Neat of London Mer- 
 chant when he shall chuse to call for them." And 
 Nathaniel Marston, an influential member, was re- 
 quested to notify Mr. Neat "that as soon as there is a 
 Peace he will call on Doctor Bearcroft for the said 
 Liberary and send it over in the best and most reason- 
 able manner he can and to Insure it when shipt." 
 
 Owing to a continuance of war and for other reasons, 
 the books had not come by March, 1763; though a com- 
 mittee on "the State and Circumstances of the College," 
 comprising "M? Chief Justice Pratt, M^ Justice Hors- 
 manden, the Rev? M^ Barclay, Colli De Lancey and the 
 Rev? M^ Auchmuty or any three of them," then re- 
 
 ' The Rev. Andrew Burnaby, the Best and Most Interesting Voy- 
 
 D.D. Travels through the Middle ages and Travels in All Parts of the 
 
 Settlements in North America. Re- World. Edited by John Pinkerton. 
 
 printed in A General Collection of London, 1813. P. 737. 
 

 o 
 
 ^ ^-! ti. 
 
 o 
 
 M 
 
 bfj ^ 
 
 
 K £ 
 
THE LIBRARY OF KING'S COLLEGE 89 
 
 ported "a considerable Number of Books in the College 
 Library (the generous Donation of the late Joseph 
 Murray Esq^) and a very large Addition soon expected 
 from England, the Donation of Doctor Bristow." It 
 was thereupon deemed "high time, that a Librarian be 
 appointed with a small Salary, and that he be furnished 
 with such Rules and Directions as may tend to the pres- 
 ervation of the Books committed to his Care, and best 
 answer the purposes for which they were bestowed." Ac- 
 cordingly Robert Harpur, "the Mathematical Teacher," 
 became first incmnbent of that office at £10 ($25) a 
 year. He was further ordered to "make a Catelogue of 
 the Books that now are and hereafter may belong to the 
 Library and dehver a Copy thereof to the President of 
 the CoUege and another Copy to the Clerk of this Cor- 
 poration, and also that he be accountable for the said 
 Books." 
 
 Meanwhile, in November, 1762, the Governors had 
 authorized "James Jay M.D. a gentleman of this City 
 Eminent in his Profession, the Honourable George 
 Clarke Esq' Secretary and Robert Charles Esq^ Agent 
 of this Province and Barlow Trecothick & Moses 
 Franks Merch*? of London and each of them by himself 
 our Substitutes, for us and in ovu- behalf to Solicit and 
 receive the Donations and Contributions of all such as 
 shall be Generously disposed to favour the advancement 
 of Learning & Virtue in this extensive & uncultivated 
 part of the World." 
 
 In the com-se of the address presented by this commis- 
 sion to the Enghsh authorities of church and state, as to 
 the universities, mention of the Library is made in out- 
 lining the progress of the institution, as follows : "Thus 
 far encom-aged a neat & convenient Edifice is erected. 
 
90 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 for public Schools & Lodgings, a small Liberary, with a 
 Mathematical Apparatus provided, and a course of 
 Education begun, under the Direction of a President & 
 two Professors." 
 
 In response to this memorial, substantial sums of 
 money were contributed to the College, and its Library 
 received certain specific gifts, for the minutes record that 
 "Sundry Gentlemen at Oxford gave Books whose names 
 are in them." Indeed, President Nathaniel F. Moore 
 emmierates in his historical sketch "many valuable works 
 given by the Earl of Bute and other individuals, and 
 from the University of Oxford, a copy of every work 
 printed at the University Press." ^ 
 
 Very hkely the commission was also instructed to 
 hasten the shipment of the Bristowe books, for at the 
 May meeting of 1763 Mr. Marston read a letter from 
 the Messrs. IVeat & Co., "acquainting him that they had 
 Shipped nine Boxes of Books the Gift of the late Rev- 
 erend Doctor Bristow to the College which the Gover- 
 nors have received." The arrival of this consignment is 
 chronicled in dignified fashion in the following para- 
 graph from Weyman's Gazette of May 16, 1763: 
 
 With Pleasure we can inform the Public, from good Authority, 
 that the Governors of King's College, in this City, have received 
 a Donation by the last Vessels from London, of no less than 
 Tvcelve Hundred Volums, of valuable, well chosen, and useful 
 Books; being Part of the Library of the late eminent and 
 worthy Divine, Doctor BRISTOWE: The Remainder of his 
 Library, consisting of several Hundred Volums more, is ex- 
 pected every Day. This generous and noble Present, must af- 
 ford a singular Pleasure to every Gentleman of Learning 
 
 'For sources of this statement see (Oxford items), and for Sept. 24th 
 Holt's Journal, for July 30, 1772 (London notes). 
 
THE LIBRARY OF KING'S COLLEGE 91 
 
 amongst us, and to all that have the Improvement and Well- 
 being of the rising Generation at Heart: And which with the 
 Library of the late Hon. Joseph Murray, Esq; (a Gift also to 
 the College) are immediately to be placed in the College Li- 
 brary, for the Use of the Students, under proper Restrictions 
 and Regulations. With such essential Helps to Learning, may 
 we not flatter ourselves with the Prospect of soon seeing our 
 Youth, hitherto destitute of a Seminary of Learning, vie with 
 our Neighbours in the Knowledge and Improvement of the 
 Liberal Arts and Sciences? The rising Generation will now 
 enjoy a Blessing our Fore-fathers were destitute of, and reap 
 those valuable Advantages which the generous Donors had in 
 View, by bestowing their Libraries on an Infant College, that 
 has been honoured and promoted by the Legislature, several 
 pubhck spirited Gentlemen at home and abroad, and which, 
 every Day, becomes more and more deserving the Countenance, 
 Protection, and Assistance of every Person of Rank and Learn- 
 ing amongst us. 
 
 It presently appearing, however, that all the books 
 had not been sent, after waiting over a year the board, 
 in October, 1764, directed Mr. Marston "to write to M^ 
 Neate to enquire what is become of the Remainder of 
 the Library left to the College by Doctor Bristow and 
 to desire him to Ship them as soon as possible upon the 
 best and most reasonable Terms he can." 
 
 No answer having apparently been ehcited as the 
 months wore away, again, in December, 1765, the second 
 President, Dr. Myles Cooper, and the Rev. Samuel 
 Auchmuty, third rector of Trinity Chvu-ch, were "de- 
 sired to write to Doctor Burton the Society's Secretary 
 to enquire what is become of the Remainder of Doctor 
 Bristow's Liberary given to this Corporation and that he 
 be requested to put them into the Hands of M^ William 
 Neate in order to be sent over as soon as conveniently 
 may be." The resulting letter, at once despatched by 
 
92 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 these gentlemen, and now preserved in the archives of the 
 S. P. G., states that 1000 volumes had been received of 
 "M^ Neat Merch^ in London," and requests Dr. Bur- 
 ton, if the remaining books "are still in the Custody of 
 the Society," to "be pleased to order them to Mess''^ Neat 
 & Pecue Merch^^ who are desired to forward them by 
 the first good Opportunity." 
 
 !:i/)M/?tc6rmS& OOrt^^^7/e,D. d. 
 
 This communication evoked at least a reply, which in 
 November, 1766, President Cooper writes he "had not 
 the pleasure to receive before the latter end of August, 
 it having been landed at some distant port." With ref- 
 erence to the missing books he says ; 
 
 I likewise am much obliged to you, as is the whole Government 
 of the College, for the notice you take of D^ Auchmuty's Letter 
 and mine, concerning the Library of D^ Bristowe: tho' we are 
 sorry to find so small a prospect of recovering such a consider- 
 
THE LIBRARY OF KING'S COLLEGE 93 
 
 able number of Books as were left in England when the former 
 part was sent us. But perhaps, Sir, it may be of some Use to us, 
 that you should be informed that y? principal remainder of the 
 Books was said to be in the possession of D^ Bearcroft's Son, 
 who was then out of London ; which was given as y? Reason why 
 the whole could not be sent us at once. Wherefore [if] it would 
 be in your power, and not attended with too much farther 
 trouble, we should beg of you to make Enquiry of him; and I 
 am persuaded y? Apphcation would not be ineffectual.^ 
 
 From stiE a third letter, similar in purport, it is clear 
 that the long-sought volimies never materialized, for in 
 September, 1767, Dr. Cooper again thanked the secre- 
 tary "for the Trouble you have been at, in a fruitless En- 
 quiry after the Remainder of D^ Bristowe's Library."^ 
 
 Besides these important gifts, the College authorities 
 had enlarged the Library by incidental piu-chases of 
 books from local dealers, Hugh Gaine, Garrat Noel and 
 William Weyman, the first and last of whom were also 
 printers and newspaper editors. Mr. Noel on one occa- 
 sion prior to 1763 presented "Romain's Ed. of M. Cal- 
 lasio's Hebr. Concordance 4. vol. fol." Another donor 
 named in the Governors' minutes is Bartholomew Cran- 
 nell, a former city marshal and for a long time overseer 
 of the local watch, who in March, 1770, bestowed "sun- 
 dry Books to be added to the College Library." 
 
 From the occupations of its two chief benefactors, the 
 collection partook largely of a professional character, 
 comprising standard works in law and theology, with the 
 usual proportion of history and the classics, and a 
 sprinkling of science and belles-lettres. Its exact extent 
 there is no means of ascertaining, for no "catelogue" has 
 survived. It may reasonably be estimated at about two 
 
 ' S. p. O. Letter Book, vol. Ill B, pt. ii, no. 319. ^ Ihid., no. 320. 
 
94 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 thousand volumes at least, when the perfidious dispersion 
 took place. The known facts are as follows : 
 
 In April-May, 1776, in accord with a demand "from 
 a Number of Men who stiled themselves the Committee 
 of Safety"^ the College building was given up 
 to the use of the patriot troops, all academic exercises 
 were suspended, and the books and apparatus removed 
 to the City Hall. There they were probably deposited in 
 the old Library Room, then sheltering the Corporation 
 Library (presumably including the Sharpe Collection), 
 the Society Library and the Union Library Society. 
 A few months later came the cataclysm, when all alike 
 suffered disruption and other indignities. 
 
 Two eye-witnesses of this vandalism have left on rec- 
 ord what they beheld. John Pintard affirms that the 
 British soldiers were in the habit of carrying off the 
 books in their knapsacks and bartering them for grog. 
 Judge Thomas Jones, though of strongly loyal sym- 
 pathies, thus unsparingly draws aside the curtain on the 
 shameful scene : 
 
 Upon General Howe's entry into New York in September, 1776, 
 the soldiers broke open the City Hall, and plundered it of the 
 College Library, its Mathematical and Philosophical apparatus 
 and a number of valuable pictures which had been removed there 
 by way of safety when the rebels converted the College into a 
 hospital. ... I saw in a public house upon Long Island nearly 
 40 books bound and lettered, in which were aflBxed the arms of 
 Joseph Murray, Esq., under pawn from one dram to three 
 drams each. . . . All this was done with impunity, publicly, and 
 openly. No punishment was ever inflicted upon the plunderers. 
 No attempts were made by the British Commanders to obtain 
 restitution of the stolen goods, nor did they ever discounte- 
 
 ^ From "The Matricula" of King's College. 
 
THE LIBRARY OF KING'S COLLEGE 95 
 
 nance such unjustifiable proceedings, by issuing orders con- 
 demning such unmilitary conduct, and forbidding it in future.-' 
 
 Though our author here denounces his own side, and in 
 no gentle terms, he is yet in error with regard to his last 
 charge, as will presently appear. Writing as he did in 
 England, upwards of ten years after the perpetration 
 of these outrages, memory may weU have played him 
 false, the Attainder Act of 1782 preventing him from 
 verifying recollection or securing correct information. 
 As a matter of fact no fewer than foiu* proclamations 
 were issued by his Majesty's mihtary representatives, 
 their language testifying unmistakably to a high regard 
 for law and order. The first of these was published in 
 Gaine's Gazette and Weekly Mercury for February 3, 
 1777, as follows : 
 
 PROCLAMATION. 
 
 INFORMATION having been made to Maj or-General Robeet- 
 soN, that the Library of King's College, and of the Society 
 Library in the City of New- York, have been pillaged, as well of 
 the Books as of Part of the Philosophical Apparatus. Public 
 Notice is heeeby given, that in the Books belonging to the 
 College is placed either the Arms of the CoUege, or of the So- 
 ciety for propagating the Gospel, and in some of them the Arms 
 of Joseph Murray, Esq ; and that in the Books of the City So- 
 ciety Library, is placed the Arms of the said Society, or that 
 the several Books so pillaged are otherwise so marked, that no 
 one can be ignorant to whom they respectively belong. And 
 all Persons in whose Hands any of the said Books or Apparatus 
 now are, by whatever means they came into their Possession, are 
 hereby strictly ordered, within TEN DAYS, to deliver the 
 same to the Printer hereof, for the Use of the respective Pro- 
 
 ^ Thomas Jones. History of New War. Edited by Edward F. deLan- 
 York during the Revolutionary cey. New York, 1879. I, 136. 
 
96 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 prietors, or they will be committed to the Provost,^ and pun- 
 ished as Receivers of stolen Goods. 
 New-York, 9nth January, 1777. JAMES ROBERTSON. 
 
 PROCLAMATION. 
 
 INFORMATION having been made 
 to Mafor General P I G O T, that the 
 Library at Kiag's College, and the Sodetf 
 Library in the City of New-Yoik, have been 
 pillaged, as xvwU of the Books as of Pan of 
 the Phiififaphical Apparatus, of the natural 
 and anatoAiical Curiohtict, &c. PUBLIC 
 NOTICE is hereby given, That in the 
 Books belonging to the College, is placed 
 either tlie Arms of the College, or of the 
 Society ^r propagating the GoTpel ;' and that 
 in the Books of the City Society Library, is 
 plscedtheArmsof the faid Society ; or that the 
 fevcral Books fo pillaged, are otherwife fo 
 marked that no one can be ignorant to whom 
 they reipeftively belong. And all Perfoiis in 
 whofe Hands any of the faid Books or Appa- 
 ratus, &c. now are, by whatever Means they 
 came into their Pofleffion, arc hereby ftriftly 
 ordered within One Month, to deliver the fame 
 to the Reverend Mr. Houfeal, Miniiler of the 
 ancient Lutheran 'Trinity-Church, living in 
 Little Queen-Street, at No. lo; of this City, 
 for the Ufe of the rcfpedive Proprietors ; or 
 they will be conimitted -to the Provoft, and 
 punilbed as' Receivers of llolcn Goods. 
 NEW-YORK, 26th March, 1777. 
 
 Rt. P I G O T. 
 
 Proclamation (facsimile size) by British commander for 
 return of King's College and Society Library books, plun- 
 dered from City Hall. From Hugh Gaine's T/ie New-York 
 Gazette; and the Weekly Mercury, March 31, 1777. See 
 pp. 95-97, 194^195. 
 
 A similar notice, signed by Major-General Pigot, ap- 
 peared in the same newspaper for March 31st, when the 
 
 "The old debtors' prison, used by the present City Hall, it was long 
 the British to incarcerate "rebels." known as the Hall of Records until 
 Standing a little to the south-east of taken down in 1902-1903. 
 
THE LIBRARY OF KING'S COLLEGE 97 
 
 period in which missing hooks must be returned was ex- 
 tended to "One Month/ ^^ Their recipient this time was 
 to he "the Reverend Mr. Houseal, Minister of the an- 
 cient Lutheran Trinity-Chvirch, living in Little Queen- 
 Street, at No. 10, of this City."^ 
 
 Just how many volumes were restored in response to 
 these commands, there is no knowing. An earlier re- 
 quest for their return had been inserted in the Gazette 
 and Mercury for several weeks in October and Novem- 
 ber, 1776, by Samuel Glossy, M.D., who held the pro- 
 fessorship in anatomy, as follows : 
 
 IF any person into whose hands part of the College apparatus 
 or books, which were deposited in the City-Hall in May last, 
 or any of Dr. Clossy's books, which were deposited in the 
 closet near the organ loft in St. Paul's, will bring them to the 
 doctor, at the house where Dr. Bard lately lived, the favour will 
 be very gratefully acknowledged; and whatever trouble or ex- 
 pence such person may have been at in carrying such instru- 
 ments or books, the doctor wiU very gratefully pay them for. 
 
 The allusion in this notice to a deposit of books in Old 
 St. Paul's at once suggests the extract already quoted 
 from President Moore on page 36, that "of the books 
 recovered, six or seven hundred volumes were so, only 
 after about thirty years, when they were found, vrith as 
 many belonging to the N. Y. Society Library, and some 
 
 ' These proclamations were also he was a Governor of King's Col- 
 printed in German in the same col- lege and of the New York Hospital, 
 urons, entitled "Eine Offentliche An ardent loyalist, he left for Nova 
 Bekanntmachung," and signed "Von Scotia when the British evacuated the 
 Heister," the Hessian commander. city in November, 1783. D. Johann 
 
 = The Eev. Bem(h)ard Michael Ludewig Schulze. Nachrichten von 
 
 Houseal, D.V.M., was pastor of den vereinigten Deutschen Evange- 
 
 Trinity Lutheran Church, corner of Usch-LutherischenGemeineninNord- 
 
 Broadway and Rector street, from America, 1787. AUentown, Pa., 
 
 1T70 to 1783. A man of imposing 1886. P. 634 et seq. 
 personality, culture and eloquence, 
 
98 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 belonging to Trinity Church, in a room in St. Paul's 
 Chapel, where, it seemed, no one but the Sexton had 
 been aware of their existence, and neither he nor any 
 body else could tell how they had arrived there." 
 
 Whether the miscellaneous assortment was actually 
 protected aU those years by a stoned-up doorway,^ there 
 is a reasonable doubt, partially confirmed by a contem- 
 porary statement in print that the books "were not for- 
 gotten, as reported, but have been visited frequently by 
 Bishop Provoost and others."^ So interesting is the an- 
 nouncement that finally focused attention on the long- 
 neglected tomes, that it should be seen in full as it caught 
 the eye of readers of the Morning Chronicle on Decem- 
 ber 13, 1802: 
 
 COMMUNICATION. — A report prevailed a day or two past of a 
 splendid library having been found in a part of the chancel of 
 St. Paul's church by the workmen employed in preparing a 
 place for the organ. It was supposed to have originally be- 
 longed to Columbia College, and to have been locked up and 
 forgotten ever since the revolution. On investigating the mat- 
 ter, however, it was found to be merely a hoax, invented by 
 some wag to quiz the natives a few. The report had gained so 
 much by travelKng that it was said a Hbrarian was discovered 
 with the library, who, on coming out into the city, was quite 
 surprised with the changes that had taken place ! ! ^ 
 
 Although this quasi-resurrection was labeled "a hoax" 
 by the witty contributor, and despite editorial explana- 
 tion next day that the "two thousand volimies" in ques- 
 tion were "the remains of a library presented by 
 
 ' See page 36. editorially next day: "The part of 
 
 ^ The Morninff Chronicle, N. Y., the report concerning a librarian's 
 
 Dec. 14, 1803. having been discovered with them, 
 
 " Apropos of this last witticism, though probable enough, is a mis- 
 
 the Morning Chronicle remarked take." 
 
THE LIBRARY OF KING'S COLLEGE 99 
 
 different persons to Trinity Church, many years since"; 
 nevertheless, that among them were certainly some sur- 
 vivors of the old King's College collection is proven, not 
 merely by President N. F. Moore's later assertion, but 
 according to minutes of the Trustees of Colimibia Col- 
 lege, On August 1, 1803, President Benjamin Moore 
 "presented a Letter from Valentine Nutter^ respecting 
 the Books lately found in St Paul's Church ; which, being 
 read, was committed to the Treasurer to consider & 
 report." 
 
 No further reference to the subject is found in the 
 Trustees' records, the long-missing volumes doubtless 
 being returned with httle parade to their former repos- 
 itory, whose name had in the meantime been changed to 
 Columbia College. And to-day the great Library of 
 Colvunbia University cherishes among its treasures a 
 handful of books known to have formed a portion of the 
 King's College collection. A few of them still bear the 
 elegant "arms" of the Hon. Joseph Murray, Esq., "of 
 the Middle Temple," while others are adorned with the 
 bookplate of the Rev. Dr. Duncombe Bristowe, as also 
 with the ancient emblem of the Venerable Society for 
 the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. ^ 
 
 ' A large landholder in upper tains perfect copies of both S. P. G. 
 Manhattan, for years a warden of and Bristowe bookplates. Cf. p. 37. 
 St. Michael's parish. Before and On the fly-leaf of a survivor of the 
 during the Revolution there had collection (now in the Columbia Li- 
 been a prominent "bookbinder" of brary), a copy of Thomas Hutchin- 
 that name in the city, "opposite the son's History of the Colony of 
 Coffee-House" in Broad street. Massachusetts-Bay (lioston, 1764), is 
 
 ^ There is in the Library of the written: "The Gift of The Rev'd Mr 
 
 General Theological Seminary a Jeremy Condy, of Boston, to the 
 
 single folio volume, once a part of Library of King's College in New 
 
 this collection, A Rational Account York. Novr 1766." This gentleman. 
 
 of the Grounds of Protestant Be- "well esteemed among his associates" 
 
 ligion . . . By the Rev. Edward (Memorial History of Boston), was 
 
 StiUingfleet, D.D. London, 1681. pastor of the First Baptist Church, 
 
 It is in excellent condition and con- 1739-1768. 
 
100 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 To the man of sentiment these antiquated and now 
 unread books are very appeahng, not alone as repre- 
 senting the earliest College Library in the province of 
 
 New York, as also the noble aim of enlightened donors, 
 but as being tangible, eloquent evidence of that old Li- 
 brary, which, in helping to mold the youthful minds of 
 such men as Egbert Benson, Robert R. Livingston, 
 John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, has fairly earned 
 the reverential regard of a nation. 
 
BOOKSELLERS' CIRCULATING LIBRARIES 101 
 
 6. Booksellers' Circulating Libraries, 1763-1776 
 
 As is only too well known, New York was lamentably 
 behind its Puritan neighbors in an appreciation of the 
 printed page. WiUiam Bradford, who introduced 
 printing to the Knickerbockers in 1693,^ would seem to 
 have been also the first local dealer in books. In this line 
 he had no competitors for over a generation, for, ac- 
 cording to an English visitor in 1719, there was then 
 "but one little Bookseller's Shop" in New York city, 
 whereas the Boston Exchange was "surrounded with 
 Booksellers' Shops, which have a good Trade." In 
 fairness to the former, however, should be quoted his 
 further comment that there was "in the Plantations of 
 Virginia, Maryland, Carohna, Barbadoes, and the Is- 
 lands, none at aU."^ 
 
 These statements are corroborated by Dr. Franklin, 
 who has recorded that about the year 1725 "there was 
 not a good bookseller's, shop in any of the colonies to 
 the southward of Boston." He observes wittily that 
 the printers of New York and Philadelphia, in offering 
 for sale "only paper, etc., almanacs, ballads, and a few 
 common school-books," "were indeed stationers."* 
 
 Following Bradford in succession came John Peter 
 Zenger, James Parker and Hugh Gaine, all noteworthy 
 names in the history of metropolitan printing and jour- 
 nalism. From the character of their calling they nat- 
 
 ' Printing was begun in Cam- of New-England. 2d edition, Lon- 
 
 bridge, Mass., in 1639, by Stephen don, 1747. Vol. II, p. 335. 
 
 Daye. Pennsylvania came second ° The Complete Works of Benja- 
 
 of the colonies, with Bradford's min Franklin. Edited by John Bige- 
 
 press at Philadelphia in 1685. low. New York, 1887. Vol. I, pp. 
 
 'Daniel Neal, A.M. The History 167-168. 
 
102 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 urally were booksellers also. So far as has been ascer- 
 tained, however, none of these individuals — nor con- 
 temporary lesser lights in the typographical firmament 
 —appears to have essayed a Circulating Library, al- 
 ready a well-established English institution, one having 
 been in operation in London as early as 1674.^ The 
 nearest approach to anything of the kind was, it will be 
 recalled, James Parker's vain though brave attempt in 
 1745 to manage the Corporation Library with a view to 
 personal profit.^ The actual inauguration of this 
 branch of conmiercial activity in New York was re- 
 served for a bookseller who was never a printer at all, — 
 Garrat Noel. 
 
 The pedigree and early years of this enterprising and 
 useful citizen must be left for futiu-e research to tell. 
 He was well in his prime when, in March, 1753, he was 
 registered a freeman of the city under the appellation 
 of "Schoolmaster."^ Not finding this occupation suffi- 
 ciently lucrative, however, in May of the same year he 
 opened a bookstore in Dock, now Pearl, street, near 
 Coenties market, "at the Sign of the Bible," where he 
 advertised for sale, besides "Books, Stationary, &c.," "a 
 fresh Parcel of the right Tooth Powder, and Stough- 
 ton's famous Bitters." 
 
 He prospered to such an extent that in August, 1763, 
 he felt able to embark in a semi-commercial, semi-liter- 
 ary venture hitherto untried in New York, and which, 
 strange to say, had not yet been undertaken in Boston.* 
 
 ' Francis Kirkman, author and ' ' List of "Burghers and Freemen, 
 
 bookseller (b. 1633), combined with 1675-1866." N. Y. Historical 80- 
 
 his regular business "that of a cir- ciety Collections for 1885. P. 177. 
 
 culating library, his specialty being * See article by Charles K. Bolton, 
 
 plays, poetry, and romances." {Diet. "Circulating Libraries in Boston, 
 
 Natl. Biog.) 1765-1865," in Proceedings of the 
 
 ''See pp. 72-76. Colonial Society of Mass., Feb., 
 
BOOKSELLERS' CIRCULATING LIBRARIES 103 
 
 The idea may have been suggested to him with force at 
 that particular time by the temporary closing of the 
 Corporation Library on account of repairs to the City 
 Hall — a suspension which must have been shared in 
 some measure by the Society Library. At aU events, he 
 took advantage of the situation and issued in the news- 
 papers this announcement, here taken from Weyman's 
 The New-York Gazette for August 29th: 
 
 To those who dehght in Reading, And would spend their 
 Leisure Hours, and Winter Evenings, with Profit and Enter- 
 tainment, This is to give Notice, that this Day is opened by 
 GARRAT NOEL, Bookseller next Door to the Merchants Cof- 
 fee-House, A CIRCULATING LIBRARY ; Consisting of sev- 
 eral Thousand Volumes of choice Books, in History, Divinity, 
 Travels, Voyages, Novels, &c. 
 
 A Catalogue of the Books, with the Conditions of subscrib- 
 ing, may be seen at said Noel's Store. ^Where are SOLD 
 
 all Sorts of Books and Stationary Ware: And Country Stores, 
 and Chapmen, are supphed, Wholesale and Retail, on the very 
 lowest Terms. 
 
 Said NOEL has Hkewise to sell, the very best of Durham 
 Flour of Mustard, and a fresh Parcel of very fine Snufi', com- 
 monly called Black Guard. 
 
 In the same journal for September 12th following, 
 Mr. Noel proclaims a large addition to the Library, 
 justifying his enterprise on the ground that "sundry 
 Gentlemen" had "for a long Time been desirous of see- 
 ing such a Thing established in this City," and that 
 
 1908, pp. 196-207. And even a few plan." (South Carolina Gazette, 
 
 months before Garrat Noel's van- March 5-12, 1763.) For mention of 
 
 ture, George Wood, bookbinder and other Circulating Libraries in the 
 
 stationer in Charleston, S. C, ad- colonies, see Charles Evans' monu- 
 
 vertised his intent "to set on foot A mental and myaluahle American Bib- 
 
 CmcuLATiNG Library" for "Gentle- iio^ropA^ (Chicago, 1903), vol. 4, p. x. 
 men and Ladies that approve this 
 
104 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 many persons had "given their Approhation by sub- 
 scribing to the One now on Foot." The "Conditions 
 for subscribing," he trusts, "wOl not, for the Present, 
 be tho't unreasonable, as the Books are all new, the 
 Number already very considerable, and will be con- 
 stantly increasing, especially by all the new published 
 Books, Pamphlets, Magazines, and Reviews, &c." The 
 "Conditions" were as follows : 
 
 1. Each Subscriber to pay Five Dollars a Year, viz. Two 
 Dollars on subscribing, and One Dollar at the Beginning of 
 each Quarter afterwards. 
 
 2. No Subscriber to take above one Book at a Time out of 
 the Library. 
 
 3. Any Subscriber losing or spoiHng a Book, shall pay the 
 full Price of it, or the Set, taking the Remainder. 
 
 NOTE, — Books will be dehvered out of the Library any 
 Time, except Sundays, and after Store is shut. 
 
 The institution seems to have maintained itself, 
 though with little or no advertising, for Weyman's 
 Gazette on October 8, 1764, announces it as "now 
 opened for the second Year, with the Addition of sev- 
 eral Hundred Volumes of choice Books." There is sig- 
 nificance, however, in the statement that those "pleased 
 to become Subscribers" might "read a whole Year at the 
 easy Rate of Four Dollars" ! 
 
 Noel's Library continued to exist until the fall of 
 1765, at least. In August of that year the Common 
 Council, it will be remembered, again had a spasmodic 
 reahzation of the latent value of its Public Library, and, 
 on the restoration of the City Hall, appointed Thomas 
 Jackson to take charge of the old Corporation Library 
 in conjunction with his duties as Librarian of the 
 
BOOKSELLERS' CIRCULATING LIBRARIES 105 
 
 Society Library.^ Mr, Noel was moved by this action to 
 append a note to his regular advertisement in Holt's 
 The New-York Gazette; or the Weekly Post-Boy, for 
 September 5th and 12th, as follows: 
 
 JH^"" The Subscribers to NOEL's circulating Library are 
 hereby informed, that there is an Addition made of several 
 new Books, and more expected for their entertainment, and of 
 those who shall think proper to become encouragers of this 
 useful undertaking. 
 
 Again, on September 19th, in the very issue of this 
 same paper that first proclaimed the anticipated re- 
 nascence of the "New- York Library,"^ there was put 
 forth a more elaborate address, containing the same 
 terms of subscription as the year before, and a state- 
 ment of catalogues "to be had gratis."^ Here, after an 
 array of titles of recent importations, comprehending 
 "a vast Variety of all Sorts of Books," the public was 
 informed of the continuance of the Circulating Library, 
 "with a large Addition of choice Books, particularly 
 those that have been lately pubhshed." 
 
 This notice appeared in the next number of Holt's 
 Gazette for the second and last time. Apparently Mr. 
 Noel abandoned his project as profitless, especially in 
 competition with a natural stir over the renovated col- 
 lections in the City HaU, which represented more dis- 
 tinctly a pubhc movement. So he devoted himself 
 thereafter to heralding new or seasonable publications 
 and to other details of his regular business. The follow- 
 
 ^ See pp. 79-80. of Noel's stock-in-trade in 17SS and 
 
 ^ See p. 80. 1762. See The Journals of Hugh 
 
 ' No copies of his Circulating Li- Gaine, Printer. Edited by Paul 
 
 brary catalogues are known to be ex- Leicester Ford. New York, 1902. 
 
 tant. They were probably printed Vol. I, pp. 94, 110. 
 
 by Gaine, who published catalogues 
 
106 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 ing week, for example, he advertised a work of current 
 import in that exciting Stamp Act year, "Oppression, a 
 Poem, by an American, with Notes by a North Briton. 
 Occasioned by the Grievances of the Times." Besides 
 books and "stationary," he sold cutlery, patent medi- 
 cines and miscellaneous articles, including at one time 
 "extraordinary good Violins and Flutes, with an As- 
 sortment of New Music," ^ and again "a few extraor- 
 dinary good Temple Spectacles, with Brazil Pebble 
 Eyes, set in Steel and Silver, double Joints, in very neat 
 Cases, from Three to Five Pounds per Pair."^ 
 
 Without saying more of his "general Assortment of 
 Books" than that it comprised standard Enghsh works 
 of the day, the subjoined extract from a newspaper in- 
 sertion will prove of interest, as showing the attention 
 he paid to juvenile tastes: 
 
 And what should not be forgot, A very large Parcel of Mr. 
 Newberry's beautiful gilt Picture Books, for the Entertainment 
 of his old Friends the pretty Masters and Misses of New- York, 
 at Christmas and New-Year; — Amongst them they will find, 
 The History of Giles Gingerbread, Esq ; The History of Goody 
 Two Shoes. Nurse Trueloves Christmas Box and New Years 
 Gift. The Easter, Whitsuntide, and Valentine Gifts. The 
 Fairing or Golden Toy. The Little Lottery Book. Be Merry 
 and Wise. Master Tommy Trapwits Jests. Poems for 
 Children Six Feet high. — Royal Primmer, Royal Battledore, 
 
 &C. &C. &C.3 
 
 After the lapse of fuUy three years, however, the 
 project was revived "upon a very extensive Plan." So 
 promises an advertisement in Mr. Noel's characteristic 
 
 » John Holt's The New-York Jour- « lUd., July 7, 1768. 
 
 nal, or General Advertiser, Dec. 18, 'Ibid., Dec. 18, 1766. 
 
 1766. 
 
BOOKSELLERS' CIRCULATING LIBRARIES 107 
 
 style in Holt's Journal for September 1, 1768. It was 
 to open on October 1st at the same place, when the 
 "Terms" would be divulged to any "inclined to sub- 
 scribe." The notice closes with a request that those 
 having books "belonging to the former Circulating Li- 
 brary" should "return them forthwith, or it wiU be ex- 
 pected that they will pay for them, agreeable to the 
 Articles." 
 
 So far as has been ascertained, this effort was fruit- 
 less and was the last attempt made by Mr. Noel to con- 
 duct a Circulating Library. For nearly a decade longer 
 he continued business "in his usual Way," as a press 
 notice phrased it. In April, 1771, he admitted to part- 
 nership Ebenezer Hazard, the firm, as "Noel and Haz- 
 ard, Booksellers," for some years occupying his old 
 station, "Next Door to the Coffee-House." In the 
 spring of 1776 they were located "At the Post-Office," 
 in Broad street. 
 
 Throughout his sojourn in New York, Garrat Noel 
 had been very intimately identified with the historic 
 First Presbyterian Church. Its old manuscript records 
 plainly reveal not merely his membership and that of 
 "Experience his Wife," but also his constant services, as 
 a trustee for the years 1757 and 1758, and thereafter as 
 an elder imtil his death. He also held the treasurership 
 from November, 1767, to May, 1773, besides acting as 
 "Stated Clerk of the Session" from the former date xui- 
 til January, 1774, when he resigned "by Reason of In- 
 firmity." 
 
 Not long afterward he removed to Elizabethtown, 
 New Jersey, where he died, September 22, 1776, in his 
 seventieth year. His long-time fellow-citizen, Hugh 
 Gaine, not content Avith saying that he was for "many 
 
108 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 years an eminent bookseller, in the city of New- York," 
 adds in evident sincerity: "He was a kind husband, and 
 tender parent, and justly esteemed and beloved by all 
 that knew him."^ His love for books would seem to 
 have come by inheritance to his grandson, Anthony 
 Bleecker, — son of Mary Noel and Anthony Lispenard 
 Bleecker, — a recognized man of letters of his day, and 
 who for the last seventeen years of his life was an active 
 member of the board of Trustees of the New York So- 
 ciety Library. 
 
 But before Garrat Noel left New York, another 
 attempt was made to establish a Circulating Library 
 there. More than five years elapsed, however, between 
 the last-mentioned advertisement of Mr. Noel's enter- 
 prise and the initial announcement of his successor. At 
 length there came to the front a person of the requisite 
 daring, Samuel Loudon, a Scotchman by birth and a 
 ship-chandler for some years after his arrival in the city, 
 about 1760. In the early seventies he became a book- 
 seller, and meeting with success decided to see what 
 more might be accomplished by opening a Circulating 
 Library in connection with his regular business. Ac- 
 cordingly he advertised in Rivington's New-York Ga- 
 zetteer on December 30, 1773, as follows : 
 
 Samuel Loudon's 
 
 Circulating Library 
 
 WILL be opened the first day of January 1774 ; subscrip- 
 tions for reading, are taken in at his house, at 20 shil- 
 lings per annum, half to be paid at subscribing. Occasional 
 
 ' The New-York Gazette; and the ark, in East-New- Jersey. Saturday, 
 Weekly Mercury. Printed at New- Sept. 28, 1776. 
 
Chief Justice William Smith, Jr. 
 Organizer, 1T54. Trustee, 1755-1756; 1757-1776 
 
BOOKSELLERS' CIRCULATING LIBRARIES 109 
 
 readers to pay by the week, or volume; the prices for which, 
 with rules for reading, will be particularly affixed to the cata- 
 logue, which is now printing, and will be ready to deliver to the 
 subscribers, and other readers, next month. 
 
 The design is set on foot at the desire of several very respect- 
 able inhabitants, and shall be conducted with all possible fidelity 
 and diligence, in providing books, both instructive and enter- 
 taining, and written by authors of the most estabhshed reputa- 
 tion. It is hoped that all who approve of the undertaking, will 
 do their utmost to encourage it, and without delay, as every 
 body may see that it's existance and perfection, depends on the 
 encouragement it meets with, by enabling the undertaker to 
 provide, and keep in order, a sufficient number of valuable 
 books. 
 
 A few weeks later, in Game's Gazette and Mercury 
 for January 24, 1774, the catalogue was announced, 
 "ready to be delivered to the subscribers, gratis/' This 
 would "shew a neat collection of books; to which the 
 proprietor wiE be making additions by every oppor- 
 tunity of every new hterary production of value." 
 Meanwhile, those persons "willing to countenance the 
 undertaking" were requested "to be speedy with their 
 subscriptions." 
 
 In the same paper for November 21st following, Mr. 
 Loudon advertises a new catalogue, the collection hav- 
 ing increased to "upwards of a thousand volumes." The 
 proprietor takes pleasure in informing "aU such con- 
 noisseurs," as disparaged female intelligence and love 
 of reading, that "the ladies are his best customers, and 
 shew a becoming delicacy of taste in their choice of 
 books." Lest this shoiild arouse feeling, he hastens to 
 add: "Neither are the gentlemen deficient in shewing 
 the ladies a laudable example in this respect." The 
 "prices for reading," payable in advance, were : 
 
110 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 A year 20 shillings. And occasional readers to 
 
 Half a year 12 shilKngs. pay one penny for each shilling 
 
 A quarter 8 shilKngs. the book they read is valued at. 
 
 The Ubrary open every week day, from morning till night. 
 And, from a "sketch of the rules," non-subscribers were 
 
 ... to pay when each book is delivered, to give a note for the 
 value of the book they receive, if required, — one book to be re- 
 turned before another is deKvered, the time allowed to read an 
 octavo volume is one week, a quarto two weeks, and a folio four 
 weeks, — readers in the country to be indulged with two or three 
 volumes at a time, to be sent and returned (at their own risque 
 and charge) — Books to be paid for if lost or abused. — Books 
 are not to be lent by the subscribers. 
 
 A notice in Holt's Journal for February 23, 1775, 
 reports "the addition of several hundred volumes," quot- 
 ing a few attractive titles and adding, no less alluringly: 
 "Novels, a variety; History, a considerable number; and 
 sundry miscellaneous pieces." The proprietor promises 
 that a "Supplement to the Library Catalogue" will soon 
 appear, and that "every opportunity in his power shall 
 be improved to increase the variety and number of useful 
 Books, that his Library may be rendered more and 
 more a lasting friend of knowledge and entertainment." 
 The regulations continued the same, with these slight 
 improvements, indicative of popularity; "The Library 
 is open from morning to eight at night, and the Readers 
 may have a Book exchanged if they please, every day, 
 by their very humble servant, Samuel Loudon." 
 
 Mr. Loudon must have been "encouraged" appre- 
 ciably, for in January, 1776, he further extended his 
 activities to include the publication of a weekly news- 
 paper. The New-York Packet, and the American Ad- 
 
BOOKSELLERS' CIRCULATING LIBRARIES 111 
 
 vertiser. In a brief address he thanks the pubhe for as- 
 surances of support, and presents "the comphments of 
 the season to his kind Customers ; wishing, that the year 
 1776 may be the happy iEra, in which Peace and Union, 
 on a Constitutional Basis, shall be concluded between 
 Great-Britain and her Colonies." 
 
 That his Circulating Library had also flourished is in- 
 ferable from a notice in this same first nimiber of his 
 own paper, that it was "increased to upwards of Two 
 Thousand Volumes." He again promised a supple- 
 mentary list of books for subscribers "to annex with the 
 Catalogue^ they have already," and in conclusion thus 
 armounces a sort of exchange: "Ready money, or new 
 books exchanged for any old hbrary or parcel of books, 
 particularly for history and well chosen novels, for the 
 use of the Library." 
 
 This advertisement was renewed regularly until well 
 into March. But the enterprise had not much longer to 
 Mve. As a commercial venture, pure and simple, it was 
 dependent on its proprietor's attention no less than upon 
 popular "encoiu-agement." In September, 1776, Mr. 
 Loudon, a zealous Whig and patriot, annoiuiced his re- 
 moval to Fishkill, "where the Provincial Congress now 
 reside," in consequence of the city's invasion "by a 
 powerful Fleet and Army."^ Though he advertised a 
 suspension of the Packet "for several Weeks" only, his 
 departure meant the end of the second and last and ap- 
 parently a successful Bookseller's Circulating Library 
 in Colonial New York.* 
 
 ' No copies of either the catalogue left New York, however, Mr. Lou- 
 
 or the supplement are known to be don resumed business at "No. 5, 
 
 in existence at the present writing. Water-Street, between the Coffee- 
 
 'The New-York Gazette; and the House and Old Slip," where he ad- 
 
 Weekly Mercury, Sept. 2, 9, 1776. vertised, in his Packet of Nov. 13, 
 
 ' Before the British had actually 1783, "to commence again," in Janu- 
 
112 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 7. The Union Library Society of New York, 1771-1776 
 
 With the single exception of Garrat Noel's brief at- 
 tempts to establish a Circulating Library as a commer- 
 cial venture, the Society Library seems to have had the 
 local field wholly to itself for more than seventeen 
 years. At last, however, a rival appeared upon the 
 scene. In December, 1771, there issued from the press 
 of Samuel Inslee and Anthony Car, "at the New Print- 
 ing-Office, on Beekman's-SHp," a twelve-page pamph- 
 let, entitled "Articles of the Union Library Society of 
 New-York." 1 
 
 The objects of this new suitor for popular support are 
 thus announced: 
 
 WHEREAS an advancement in knowledge and literature is 
 a highly laudable pursuit, and attended with many ad- 
 vantages, as well to individuals as society in general ; and as the 
 private purchase of books is attended with an expence too heavy 
 for many persons whose inclinations lead them to improvement ; 
 and we being sensible that the establishment of a public Library 
 will greatly promote the attainment of so valuable an acquisi- 
 tion, have therefore, and by these presents do unite ourselves 
 into a voluntary association, by the name of the Union Libeabt 
 Society of New-Yobk, for the purpose of erecting and con- 
 tinuing a Library, for the benefit of ourselves, and all others 
 who may chuse, upon the conditions prescribed, to become mem- 
 bers thereof: 
 
 ary, 1784>, "at the request of several preference to the public Libraries, 
 
 respectable citizens," "The Cibctj- they being open only at certain 
 
 LATINO Library," containing about hours, his at all hours of the day, 
 
 2000 volumes. The fact of "the and proper attendance given." 
 
 public Libraries of this city being in ' The only copy known to be in ex- 
 
 a great measure lost" made his istence is in the Society Library, 
 
 enterprise "the more necessary and having been presented by Henry 
 
 useful at present." Besides, "in NicoU, a Trustee, in June, 1838. 
 point of convenience it had the 
 
THE UNION LIBRARY SOCIETY 113 
 
 Following this preamble come twenty regulations, 
 "obligatory upon every member" and regarded "as a 
 magna charta of the constitution," to be repealed "either 
 altogether or in part" only by a three-foiirths majority 
 of the Society. In brief they direct all property of the 
 institution to be held "in common, and not in joint ten- 
 ancy," each member having the right to assign or de- 
 vise his share. At the annual meeting, to be held on the 
 first Tuesday in May, a Treasxirer and twelve Directors 
 must be chosen, such election to be in charge of a Secre- 
 tary, "some fit person of the company," with the assist- 
 ance of suitable inspectors. Vacancies in the directorate 
 or treasurership were to be filled by the board, which was 
 also to elect a President and Vice-President each year. 
 The Directors were to meet on the second Tuesday of 
 each month "at the place where the Ubrary shall be kept, 
 or at some other fit place in the city," seven of their 
 number, always including an officer, constituting a 
 quorum; and they were entrusted with the entire man- 
 agement of affairs, even to removing the Treasurer for 
 incompetency or neglect. 
 
 As in the case of the Society Library, the annual pay- 
 ment charge was fixed at ten shillings ; but the subscrip- 
 tion cost of a share or right, it is of interest to note, was 
 the modest simi of twenty shillings, or only a fifth of the 
 price charged throughout those years by the older or- 
 ganization. Penalties for "arrearages" were to be 
 strictly enforced, offenders being "debarred the privi- 
 ledge of taking any book from the library." Each mem- 
 ber was to have only one vote, however many shares he 
 might own ; and a very radical provision entitled a per- 
 son holding more than one share to take out no more 
 books than any other member. It is difficult to see in 
 
114. THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 this last prohibition any inducement to purchase extra 
 shares. 
 
 The concluding article is a resolution nominating, "for 
 the immediate putting in execution our useful designs," 
 a hst of twelve Directors and a Treasurer, "invested 
 with f uU power and authority to enter imxnediately upon 
 their respective offices," as follows: Walter Franklin, 
 Jacob Watson, John Murray, Willet Seaman, Garret 
 Rapalje, Benjamin Hugget, White Matlack, Lindley 
 Murray, John Berrien, William Denning, James Mott 
 and Benjamin Underbill, Directors, and Robert Bowne, 
 Treasurer. 
 
 All of these names represent position and influence in 
 the community, particularly among the mercantile ele- 
 ment. Walter Franklin, the head of a large importing 
 house, and Robert Bowne, a prosperous retail merchant, 
 were afterwards original stockholders and directors of 
 the Bank of New York, the former having been also a 
 founder of the Chamber of Commerce in 1768, of which 
 institution John Murray was later to become president. 
 Garret Rapalje and Benjamin Hugget were for a num- 
 ber of years assistant aldermen, serving on important 
 committees, in the days when the Common Council had 
 jm-isdiction over all departments of municipal adminis- 
 tration. Lindley Murray, a member of the colonial bar, 
 will ever be best known by the appellation of "the gram- 
 marian." Of the subsequent patriotic and useful career 
 of William Denning, due notice will be taken in chron- 
 icling the history of the Society Library, which institu- 
 tion he served as Trustee for fifteen years, long after 
 the Union Library Society had ceased to exist. 
 
 The little brochure closes with a clause of agreement 
 and subscription, dated December 3, 1771. Unfortu- 
 
THE UNION LIBRARY SOCIETY 116 
 
 nately the names of subscribers are not included, and it is 
 not for over a year that their number is published. The 
 first newspaper notice of the Society is found in The 
 New-York Gazette; and the Weekly Mercury for De- 
 cember 30th as follows : 
 
 PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given to the Members of the 
 Union Library Society of New York, and to all others who 
 may choose to be concerned therein, That the Library Room 
 will be opened at the House of Captain John Berrien, at Bur- 
 ling's-SHp, on Tuesday the Seventh of January next, at 3 
 o'clock in the Afternoon of the same Day; where new Sub- 
 scriptions are taken in, and printed Articles of the Society dis- 
 tributed: The Founders of this Institution flatter themselves 
 with the Prospect of a speedy Advancement of so useful an 
 Undertaking, as they conceive it founded upon Principals of 
 Freedom and general Utility. 
 
 By Order of the Directors, JOSHUA WATSON, Sec'ry. 
 
 Further particulars concerning the Society are but 
 fragmentary, though informing. The first annual 
 meeting was called for May 5, 1772, "at 4 o'Clock in the 
 Afternoon, at the City-Hall," and a year later this 
 function took place in "the Library Room" at ten in the 
 morning, but the result of neither election was pub- 
 lished. In the meantime the only obtainable statement 
 regarding the size of the collection and membership had 
 been proclaimed in the several papers of January, 1773, 
 the books numbering "near 1000 volumes" and "contin- 
 ually receiving new additions," while there were 140 
 shareholders. The pubhc was also informed that the 
 subscription price had been advanced to "the small 
 sum of thirty shillings."^ 
 
 *See The New TorTc Journal; or, 1773, and The New-York Gazette, 
 the General Advertiser, Jan. 14, Jan. 25, 1773. 
 
116 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 It thus appears that the newer institution, in member- 
 ship at least, had gone far ahead of the Society Library, 
 whose charter, recorded two months before, enumer- 
 ates fifty-nine names. Also, the next reference to the 
 Society reveals a turn of affairs far from pleasing to 
 friends of the older Library. The situation is best de- 
 scribed in the simple words of the original source, leav- 
 ing the rest to the imagination. In the minutes of the 
 Common Covmcil for April 12, 1774, is fovmd this entry: 
 
 The Petition of the Members of the union Library Society 
 was preferred to this Board and Read, praying that this 
 Board would be favourably pleased to Indulge them with the 
 Eastermost part of the Room in which the books of the New 
 York Societys Library are Contained, and this board having 
 Viewed the Same unanimously agreed that the Same be Granted 
 them, they being at the Expence of a doar, and Making the 
 Partitions required.' 
 
 By July, the necessary alterations and "doar" having 
 doubtless been made, the Directors published a notice to 
 members that the collection had been "removed to a 
 Room in the Old City HaU, where attendance is given 
 at the usual days and hours." ^ Fortune evidently smil- 
 ing upon the institution, its terms were again advanced 
 to "forty shillings original subscription money," though 
 ten shillings continued to be the yearly charge. All the 
 newspaper extracts give the name of Walter Franklin 
 as President and show that Robert Bowne continued to" 
 serve as Treasurer. 
 
 But no lists of Directors or members and no cata- 
 logues are known to have been printed, nor, seemingly, 
 
 ' Mirmtes of the Common Coimcil, ' The New York Journal; or, the 
 
 VIII, 34-25. General Advertiser, July 38, 1774. 
 
THE UNION LIBRARY SOCIETY 117 
 
 have any stray voliunes survived the Revolution, when 
 the Union Library Society, in company with other Li- 
 braries of the city, suffered irretrievable ruin in the 
 
 JCy. (tuvwj t^i> ^cvi/fa*7u5i ^ CwvS) l^vi ^(^£i U.eu/Uy' /^^^ 
 
 Entry (reduced) in Common Council minutes, April 12, 1774. See pp. 81, 116. 
 
 general derehction. One vahant but vain attempt, so 
 far as known, was made to rehabihtate the Society some 
 years after the war, as evidenced by the following inser- 
 tion in The Daily Advertiser for December 21, 1791 1 
 
 NOTICE is hereby given to the subscribers of the Union Li- 
 brary, (which was established prior to the late war) that 
 some business of importance, requiring attention, they are re- 
 quested to meet on the evening of the 23d inst. at six o'clock, at 
 Crosbie's Tavern, in Water street, between Peck and Beekman 
 sHp, where punctual attendance is desired. 
 
 JOHN MURRAY, 
 In behalf of the Trustees. 
 
 The meeting, if held, was not reported in the papers, 
 so that all hope of a restoration or renewal was prob- 
 
118 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 ably abandoned. Thus all that remains to-day to bear 
 witness to a once prosperous Library is the little old 
 discolored prospectus of the Union Library Society, 
 now treasured by its successful rival, the New York 
 Society Library. 
 
 Summary and Conclusion 
 
 BRrEFLY reviewing the history of the efforts to establish 
 an institutional Library in Colonial New York, we find 
 that no fewer than six attempts were made toward that 
 end, exclusive of the purely commercial Circulating Li- 
 braries, as follows : 
 
 1. The Trinity Parish Library, founded in 1698 by 
 the Bishop of London through the instrumentality of 
 the Rev. Dr. Thomas Bray, and reenforced by small ad- 
 ditions from the same sources and by later private dona- 
 tions. So far as the vestry minutes reveal, on its almost 
 complete destruction by fire in 1776, it could hardly 
 have comprised over 450 volumes, some of which were 
 saved. The only books of this collection known to have 
 survived are now in the Library of the General Theolog- 
 ical Seminary, with the single exception of the old 
 Clarendon history, preserved in the Society Library. 
 
 2. The Sharpe Collection, given in 1713-1715 by 
 Chaplain John Sharpe for a "Publick Library." Never 
 securing an independent existence, it remained in the 
 hands of private individuals until (probably) joined 
 with the Corporation Library in 1730. In some way, as 
 above conjectured, the majority of its 238 volumes sur- 
 vived the Revolution and are now to be seen in the 
 Society Library. 
 
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 119 
 
 3. The Corporation Library, New York's first real 
 Public Circulating Library, originally the private col- 
 lection of the Rev. Dr. John Millington, an English 
 clergyman, who bequeathed it to the Society for the 
 Propagation of the Gospel, by which Society the books, 
 numbering 1642 volumes, were given to the city of New 
 York. Arriving in 1730, they were kept in the City 
 Hall, undergoing successive fluctuations of usefulness 
 and desuetude, until scattered by the British troops in 
 1776. 
 
 
 Label (reduced) on second volume of Clarendon history (1711), 
 now in Society Library. See pp. 20, 63, 118. 
 
 4. The New York Society Library, founded in 1754 
 and incorporated in 1772 as a Public Subscription Cir- 
 culating Library by a number of well-to-do, enterpris- 
 ing citizens. Receiving immediate and gratifying 
 support, and constantly enlarged by consignments of 
 imported books, it was in a flourishing state when para- 
 lyzed by the approach and ravages of war. Practically 
 exterminated by the atrocious vandalism of the British 
 troops, scarcely a volume of its pre-Revolutionary col- 
 lection is known to have survived save the Sharpe books, 
 which, as part of the Corporation Library, were for- 
 merly in its care. Its Catalogue of 1773, the last issued 
 
IW THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 before the war, enumerates 1291 volumes, increased by 
 later purchases to 1500 at least. 
 
 5. The Library of King's College, from its nature 
 scarcely more public than the Parish Library, was estab- 
 lished in 1757 through a bequest of the private library of 
 Joseph Murray, Esq. It had received sundry gifts of 
 books from the S. P. G. and other sources up to the time 
 of its removal, in 1776, to the City Hall, where it also 
 met with destruction. Its extent is not known at aU, but 
 probably approximated 2000 volumes. 
 
 6. The Union Library Society of New York, called 
 into being in 1771, too late to secure a large collection 
 within the succeeding fateful five years, though its ad- 
 vertisement of "near 1000 volumes" bespeaks its energy 
 and growing importance. 
 
 Only one printed statement has come down as to the 
 total number of volumes at the time of dispersion, but it 
 is so plainly an exaggeration or a mistake, that it cannot 
 be considered at all seriously as it stands. Justice Jones 
 says that the British soldiers stole from the City Hall, 
 besides the King's College collection, "all the books be- 
 longing to the subscription library, as also of a valuable 
 hbrary which belonged to the Corporation, the whole 
 consisting of not less than 60,000 volumes."^ One of 
 these ciphers must be a typographical error, for 6000 is 
 the more probable figure for the combined assortment. 
 
 Of these six collections, then, all were prostrated by 
 the war. Of two of them, the Union Library Society 
 and the Corporation Library, not a vestige has survived. 
 Of two others, the Sharpe Collection and the Trinity 
 
 ' Thomas Jones. History of New York during the Revolutionary War. 
 Vol. I, p. 136. 
 
Hon. John Watts, Sr. 
 Trustee, 1754-1755; 1756-1776. Treasurer, 1754-1755 
 
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 121 
 
 Parish Library, the former is by far the better pre- 
 served, but it plainly has never, at any stage of its 
 career, been a working Library, while the latter lives to- 
 day only in a few fragments. The only ones that arose 
 from the ashes of their former selves, the New York So- 
 ciety Library and the King's (Colimibia) College Li- 
 brary, were forced to make a whoUy fresh start in life, 
 the few relics of their early collections not being restored 
 for many years. A handful of the King's College books 
 are preserved in the Library of Columbia University to- 
 day, while the Society Library can show but two books, 
 besides the Clarendon history and the Sharpe Collection, 
 that are of undoubted Colonial Library ownership. 
 
 From this consideration of the Library in Colonial 
 New York, the reader will not turn with any great de- 
 gree of pride in the general cultural attainments of the 
 capital city of the province, let alone evidences of Li- 
 brary science. And yet the facts of the case behe the 
 statement in Grahame's history already quoted,^ that 
 "the great bulk of the people were strangers even to the 
 first rudiments of science and cultivation, tiU the era of 
 the American Revolution." For all through the Eng- 
 hsh colonial period one finds traces of increasing cultiva- 
 tion and refinement. As far back as 1668, Col. Francis 
 Lovelace, the second English governor, is said to have 
 written home: "I find some of these people have the 
 breeding of courts, and I cannot conceive how such is 
 acquired."^ StiU earlier, in 1643, the "Inventory of the 
 personal property of the Widow Bronck at Emaus" 
 enumerates over fifty books and pamphlets, the collection 
 of "the late Jonas Bronck."^ Moreover, there are in the 
 
 » Supra p. 30. " But see p. 32ng. 
 
 'N. Y. Col. Docs., vol. XIV, p. 42. 
 
122 THE LIBRARY IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 
 
 New York Public Library to-day several volumes that 
 once formed a part of the personal collection of the Rev. 
 John Miller, chaplain at the fort from 1692 to 1695. 
 
 Governors Hunter and Burnet were themselves own- 
 ers of libraries and scholarly in their tastes, while Gov- 
 ernor Montgomerie, though not so regarded, left a 
 library of about 1400 volumes.^ Among the colonists, 
 fm-thermore, there were all along men of literary ap- 
 preciation, with their own private collections: for ex- 
 ample. Col. Lewis Morris, Robert EUiston, James De 
 Lancey, William Smith, James Alexander, Cadwal- 
 lader Golden, Joseph Murray, David Clarkson and 
 others.^ Such was the type of men who not only per- 
 ceived the permanent value of a Public Library but gave 
 to their ideas enduring embodiment in the form of the 
 New York Society Library, whose history is now to be 
 related. 
 
 ^ See notice in The New-York Ga- return of volumes belonging thereto: 
 
 zette in May, 1732, advertising its e.g., John Pintard (the elder) asks 
 
 sale. for the borrowed books of William 
 
 ^ Executors of estates sometimes Searle, deceased, in The Gazette and 
 
 advertised in the newspapers for the Fost-Boy, Nov., 1747. 
 
THE FOUNDING OF THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY, 1754 
 
 IN the spring of 1754, when the New York Society 
 Library first drew breath, the position held by what 
 is now the United States in world affairs was truly 
 insignificant. Regarded and treated chiefly as ap- 
 pendages to the British crown, restricted in commerce, 
 and with inventive and mechanical instincts kept in 
 leash, the colonies were indeed but scattered "planta- 
 tions," clinging closely to the Atlantic seaboard. Num- 
 bering all told only about 1,370,000 souls, or less than a 
 third of the present population of New York city alone, 
 the Enghsh colonists, furthermore, differed as widely in 
 their institutional life as in their geographical location. 
 Yet in spite of all this and their primitive means of 
 intercourse, the idea of nationality was already begin- 
 ning to find expression. 
 
 Across the water, the reign of old George the Second 
 had still more than six years to run, while America's 
 future "tyrant" was but a lad of fifteen, with traits of 
 temperament all unguessed. On the decaying French 
 throne lolled Louis the Well Beloved, whose ill-starred 
 successor was yet to see the light this same year; and 
 over a twelvemonth was to pass before the tragic name 
 
IM THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 of Marie Antoinette would become a household term at 
 the Austrian court, — in their very cradles innocent vic- 
 tims of that unnatural state alliance formed to crush the 
 great Frederick. All Europe was taking a moment's 
 breath before plunging into the Seven Years' War, 
 from which Prussia was to emerge a power. 
 
 As landmarks in the progress of the arts of peace, it 
 wiU be recalled that only a year earlier the British Mu- 
 seum had been founded, and that not long afterward 
 Dr. Johnson published his famous dictionary. In the 
 new world, too, significant signs of culture were not 
 lacking. Already four colleges. Harvard, William and 
 Mary, Yale, and Princeton, were in existence ; and within 
 a few months still a fifth was to be chartered in close 
 proximity to the new Library — King's College, known 
 ever since the Revolution as Columbia. 
 
 The year 1754 is notable in American annals. It 
 marks the outbreak of the fiercest and fortunately the 
 last of the intercolonial struggles, the French and In- 
 dian War, whose chief benefits to the English provin- 
 cials, besides the prestige of final victory, were their 
 experience in cooperation and their training for that 
 sterner and more momentous conflict, of which few had 
 so much as dreamed. At the celebrated Albany Con- 
 gress, opened in June by Lieutenant-Governor De Lan- 
 cey, Benjamin Franklin submitted his Plan of Union, 
 so clever that it was rejected by both the colonies and 
 the home government for the advantages supposably 
 given the other side. And it was in an early episode of 
 the war that a young Virginia colonel at Fort Necessity 
 was learning lessons in patience and self-reliance, and 
 undergoing a discipline, that in after years were justly 
 to earn for him the title, "Father of his Country." 
 
GROWTH OF NEW YORK CITY 125 
 
 None of the colonies showed a bolder front or greater 
 foresight in preparing for this contest than New York. 
 Its energetic executive, James De Lancey, as a native 
 of the province was the better able to discern the various 
 needs and perils of the hour. His recommendations 
 found full favor with the Lords of Trade, who approved 
 his view of New York city, as "in aU respects the most 
 proper place for a general Magazine of Arms and 
 Military stores."^ As it was the provincial capital 
 throughout the colonial era, there consequently existed a 
 close association between the two governing boards. 
 Often the mayor was appointed to the governor's coun- 
 cil, whose members frequently mingled with assembly- 
 men and common councilmen in the corridors of the 
 City Hall. 
 
 By this time New York may fairly be said to have at- 
 tained a well-defined organization. Granted a nominal 
 charter by Director Stuyvesant in 1653, the city, ever 
 since the arrival of Governor Andros, in 1674, had been 
 ruled under the English municipal system, with such 
 modifications as changing conditions brought about. A 
 truly distinctive character had gradually come into being 
 from the very composition of the community; in earliest 
 times cosmopolitan tendencies were pronounced, and 
 before the middle of the seventeenth century the city's 
 population was claimed to include well-nigh a score of 
 nationalities. These various elements had fused harmo- 
 niously at length, a circxmistance serving to counteract 
 that spirit of provincialism so natural to colonial hf e. 
 
 Then, as now, and in fact throughout its history, the 
 chief resource of the city was its commercial acumen. 
 In the words of a contemporary historian. New York 
 
 ' N. T. Ool. Docs., VI, 1016. 
 
126 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRAKY 
 
 was "the Metropolis and grand Mart of the Province," 
 commanding "by its commodious Situation . . . also all the 
 Trade of the Western Part of Connecticut and that of 
 East Jersey." " 'No season,' " he quotes, " 'prevents 
 our Ships from launching into the Ocean. During the 
 greatest Severity of Winter, an equal, unrestrained. 
 Activity runs through all Ranks, Orders, and Employ- 
 ments.' "^ Trading monopolies and the rich harvests 
 reaped from privateering had laid the foundations of 
 many a local fortune and had brought prosperity to the 
 city. 
 
 But for all that. New York was a smaller place than 
 either Philadelphia or Boston. Barely 12,000 people 
 could be counted within its gates, then not far apart, for 
 little land had as yet been reclaimed from the rivers, 
 while the Fields, the present City Hall Park, lay well 
 outside the inhabited portion. 
 
 In those days, as for over half a century before, and 
 for as many years to follow, the City Hall stood in 
 Wall street at the head of Broad. Here were discussed 
 all matters relating to the welfare of the community. 
 It will therefore be of interest to regard briefly the con- 
 cerns of the city fathers, at a time when no salary but 
 great honor attached to the office of alderman, while to 
 be mayor was accounted an imperishable dignity. For 
 the most trustworthy source of information one should 
 turn to the old minutes of the Common Council, so care- 
 fully kept by the city clerks throughout the hundred 
 years ending with the British occupation in 1776. 
 
 At a glance, one is impressed with their alertness and 
 attention to civic interests. First in importance at that 
 
 'WUliam Smith. The History of 1757. P. 188. The author does not 
 the Province of New-York. London, give the source of his quotation. 
 
CIVIC LIFE IN COLONIAL NEW YORK 127 
 
 time, naturally enough, would come preparation for 
 suitable defense. Not only were constables paid for 
 "SeveraU Nights and Days Watchings," but masters of 
 all tacoming vessels were notified to report within two 
 hours of arrival the names of strangers carried as pas- 
 sengers, under penalty of forty shillings for each 
 default. A "thousand stand of arms" was ordered from 
 England, each musket to be "fixed with a Bayonet, one 
 Catridge box and a Belt." Again, all freemen were to 
 be taxed for an appropriation of not above £3500 for a 
 new barracks in the Fields, to be built by "the most 
 principall Carpenters," to accommodate 800 men; upon 
 completion it was regularly kept supplied with firewood, 
 candles and straw. As an expedient for raising funds, 
 the Common Council — as had been done in the case of 
 founding King's College— petitioned the assembly for 
 leave to start a lottery, "beeing apprehensive of a Warr 
 with France." 
 
 To matters of the general weal a similar devotion 
 seems to have been shown. New streets were laid out 
 from time to time, while some of the travel-worn thor- 
 oughfares would be ordered paved or leveled. Fines 
 were exacted of persons refusing to serve in elective 
 positions, a special exception being made in the case of 
 one constable-elect, Caleb Shrieve, "screaned by being a 
 Quaquer." The poorhouse. City Hall and other public 
 buildings were kept in constant repair, and a pest-house 
 and a new jail were in process of erection. One citizen 
 was regularly paid for "taking Care of the City 
 Lamps," another received quarterly instalments for 
 services as "publick Whipper," stiU a third was desig- 
 nated as "Publick Inviter to fFimeralls,"— this last 
 fimctionary plainly showing title to Dutch origin. 
 
128 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 For over a score of years a fire department had been 
 in operation, the firemen receiving individual appoint- 
 ment from the Common Council. For precaution's 
 sake new wells were sunk in the streets, as had long been 
 the custom, and a special ordinance forbade the storing 
 of turpentine or pitch within the corporate limits. 
 
 Frequent regulations attest to the watchfulness of 
 the city's guardians over the health of their charge, 
 stringent laws calling for cleanliness in streets and mar- 
 ket places. One ordinance in particular prohibited the 
 selling of oysters between May 15th and the middle of 
 August, thus showing famiharity with the phenomena 
 of the months without the "r" ! At a time when small- 
 pox was reported as rampant in Philadelphia, the Am- 
 boy boat was ordered held up for inspection, Bedlow's 
 Island being the quarantine station. 
 
 In the direction of public charities a beginning had 
 long been made. The city's poor and destitute received 
 attention from regularly chosen church wardens and 
 city vestrymen, officials quite distinct from those of 
 Trinity parish. Physicians were summoned at the 
 Corporation's expense to attend sick debtors or other 
 prisoners in their durance. 
 
 There was greater opportimity for simple recreation 
 in those days ; people took life more leisurely than in the 
 hurry-worry of the present age. Citizens then had their 
 out-of-door sports close at hand ; and their social diver- 
 sions resembled nothing so much as great family gather- 
 ings, for the local gentry were nearly all related, by 
 marriage at least. Political discussions at taverns and 
 coffee-houses were doubtless as convincing as any held 
 to-day, though possibly more moderate, as the practice 
 of dueling tended to set a guard on men's lips. Smith 
 
FORMS OF SOCIAL ENJOYMENT 129 
 
 the historian characterizes New York as "one of the 
 most social Places on the Continent," where "the Men 
 collect themselves into weekly Evening Clubs," and 
 "the Ladies, in Winter, are frequently entertained either 
 at Concerts of Musick or AssembUes, and make a very 
 good Appearance." ^ 
 
 For a charming glimpse of the customary round of 
 outings as the seasons changed, behold the following pic- 
 ture from the joiu-nal of an English traveler: ^ 
 
 Their amusements are . . . balls, and sleighing expeditions in 
 the winter ; and, in the summer, going in parties upon the water, 
 and fishing ; or making excursions into the country. There are 
 several houses, pleasantly situated upon East river, near New 
 York, where it is common to have turtle-feasts : these happen 
 once or twice in a week. Thirty or forty gentlemen and ladies 
 meet and dine together, drink tea in the afternoon, fish and 
 amuse themselves till evening, and then return home in Italian 
 chaises, (the fashionable carriage in this and most parts of 
 America, . . . ) a gentleman and lady in each chaise. In the 
 way there is a bridge, about three miles distant from New York, 
 which you always pass over as you return, called the Kissing- 
 bridge ; where it is a part of the etiquette to salute the lady who 
 has put herself under your protection. 
 
 All these forms of enjoyment were of course made 
 possible only by the underlying commercial prosperity. 
 Numerous and powerful as were the merchants of New 
 York, however, there was yet another class of society 
 even more instrumental in lending weight and distinc- 
 tion to the advancing community. The commanding 
 influence of the legal fraternity, in shaping a colonial 
 
 ^ William Smith. History of New- Travels through the Middle Settle- 
 Tork. London, 1757. P. 211. ments in North America. Pp. 738- 
 
 " The Rev. Andrew Burnaby, D.D. 739. See p. S8n. 
 
130 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 attitude toward arbitrary policies of the home govern- 
 ment during the stirring times then beginning, was as 
 freely admitted by the British ministry as by its agents 
 on this side of the ocean. And the leaders of the New 
 York bar of that day stood second to none in learning, 
 in forensic ability, or in their patriotic breadth of view. 
 
 From such a people knowledge was bound to receive 
 recognition. Amongst enterprising men of affairs 
 there were a number of distinctly scholarly minds, be- 
 sides many others thirsting for literary advantages or 
 plain general information, for themselves and particu- 
 larly for their f amihes. This instinct had been developed 
 in the case of wealthier citizens to the extent of some 
 notable private collections of books, as already men- 
 tioned/ To the exclusive cultivation of this spirit, 
 however laudable in itself, may be attributed in some 
 degree the prevailing apathy hitherto shown toward 
 maintaining a Public Library. 
 
 Yet from a coterie of these very persons came the 
 impetus and gtiidance that carried to a successful issue 
 the plan of establishing a Subscription Library. Smith's 
 history tells how "the project was started at an evening 
 convention of a few private friends," with the aim of 
 "promoting a spirit of inquiry among the people."^ As 
 likely as not the little gathering was held at the home of 
 the Hon. James Alexander, a renoAvned place of meet- 
 ing to discuss cm-rent affairs. The same printed source 
 gives likewise the names of these conspirers for good as 
 foUows: Philip Livingston, William Alexander, Rob- 
 ert R. Livingston, William Livingston, John Morin 
 Scott, "and one other person." This last, with a rea- 
 
 ' See p. 133. the Late Province of New-York. 
 
 ' William Smith. The History of New York, 1830. Vol. II, p. 307. 
 
Samuel Bard, M.D,, LL.D. 
 
 Trustee, 1769-1776; 1788-1793; 1796 
 Secretary, 1769-1776; 1788-1789 
 
THE LIBRARY PROJECT STARTED 131 
 
 sonable amount of certainty, may be pronounced to have 
 been the author himself, for WiUiam Smith, Jr., was 
 boon companion to several of these men, and he mani- 
 festly writes as 6ne having authority. 
 
 Their ultimate and liberal aim, our chronicler adds, 
 comprehended "an incorporation by royal charter and 
 the erection of an edifice, at some future day, for a 
 Museum and an Observatory, as well as a Library."^ 
 Athwart this pleasing picture there darts a reminiscent 
 gleam of poor John Sharpe's unrealized yearnings. Is 
 not that optimist, therefore, vindicated at last in this 
 approaching consummation of his cherished designs? 
 And is he not freed forthwith from any charge of fanat- 
 icism, when active men of affairs follow his lead, and 
 even dream of foimding also these additional public 
 benefits, unattainable for years to come? 
 
 But these dreamers, if you will, were not content with 
 seeing visions. They began earnestly to embody their 
 ideas in living form, and they were of just the creative 
 spirit to breathe the breath of life into any undertaking. 
 Ardent, young, — ranging from twenty-five to thirty- 
 eight years of age,— but well disciphned, they were the 
 acknowledged leaders of an association called the Whig 
 Club, a center of opposition to the royalist or govern- 
 ment party. Of good birth themselves, they had ready 
 access to persons of standing in the community. The 
 historian records laconically their initial steps: "To en- 
 gage aU parties in the subscription, it was carried first to 
 the lieutenant-governor and the council,"^ nearly all of 
 whom gave prompt signature, the Library records show. 
 
 At this point it is fitting to learn something about the 
 six young men who had set this abiding work in opera- 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 208. ' Ibid., pp. 207-208. 
 
132 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 tion. All were destined to lives of eminent usefulness 
 and, in some instances, to enduring fame. 
 
 Of Philip Livingston, fourth son of the second lord 
 of the manor, it is almost enough to say that he was to be 
 a signer of the Declaration of Independence. A Yale 
 graduate, he turned his attention to business and ac- 
 quired a handsome fortune, which he freely offered to 
 sustain the credit of his country. Throughout his busy 
 life he devoted himself to public interests, serving as an 
 alderman for eight years ; as a member of the assembly, 
 where he was speaker for a time; and as a delegate to 
 the First and Second Continental Congresses, of which 
 latter body he was a member at the time of his death. 
 Moreover, rehgious matters were close to his heart; 
 throughout his life he maintained allegiance to the Re- 
 formed Dutch Church, serving that denomination as 
 deacon and as elder for years. Truly the house founded 
 by the original Robert, the Albany fiu' trader and pro- 
 moter, gained greatly in public esteem in its third 
 generation. Talents and resources, such as the first lord 
 of the manor had applied to his own purposes, were 
 generously placed at the disposal of their fellow-beings 
 by not a few of his descendants. 
 
 WUliam Livingston, a younger brother, was also 
 graduated from Yale College, where he took highest 
 honors. He studied law with James Alexander and 
 William Smith in tiu-n, at the same time imbibing their 
 political ideas. But he was original and forceful, soon 
 advancing to the front of his chosen calling, though 
 bitterly denounced by opponents as a "Presbyterian 
 lawyer,"— a term implying seditious views toward the 
 government, as well as indicating his denominational 
 affiliation, for at this time he was a trustee of that 
 
CHIEF MOVERS IN THE ENTERPRISE 133 
 
 chui'ch. He compelled attention and won renown as 
 the author of numerous brilliant pamphlet articles, pub- 
 lished under the titles, "The Independent Reflector" 
 and "The Watch-Tower." Although he took up his 
 residence in New Jersey in 1760, he retained an active 
 interest in the Library, appreciation of which was shown 
 by his continued election as Trustee from its f oiindation 
 luitil 1773, or nineteen years. To prove his sincerity in 
 recommending abohtion he freed all his own slaves. 
 Representing his adopted province and state in all three 
 Continental Congresses, and in the Constitutional Con- 
 vention of 1787 as well, he ranks as one of the most 
 eminent patriots and statesmen of New Jersey, of which 
 he was the first governor under independence. 
 
 Closely identified with the brothers in this enterprise 
 was their cousin, Robert R. Livingston, third of the 
 name in the direct fine. Achieving eminence at the pro- 
 vincial bar, he was appointed a judge in admiralty, and 
 for the last twelve years of his hfe was an associate 
 justice of the supreme court. As a delegate to the 
 Stamp Act Congress, he opposed the compulsory ac- 
 ceptance of the hateful paper; but he showed conser- 
 vatism on the question of American independence. 
 Reputed the wealthiest land owner in New York, he 
 died in 1775, before it was necessary to declare for one 
 side or the other. In church affihations, Anghcan, 
 though a Whig in politics, his services as a vestryman of 
 Trinity parish ceased only with his death. Judge Liv- 
 ingston's trusteeship in the Library covered eighteen 
 years, from the beginning, and was perpetuated in that 
 of his stiU more distinguished son and namesake. 
 
 Mention has several times been made of the historian, 
 William Smith, Jr. For years a law partner of Wil- 
 
134 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 liam Livingston, and associated with his personal 
 friends in local politics, a man of attainments though of 
 strong bias, he also was to find a parting of the ways on 
 the question of independence. While "aU his syra- 
 pathies were with the individual rebel, none were with 
 the rebeUion that severed the new from old England." 
 Before this occurred he had been a useftd member of 
 society as lawyer and jurist, and as a trustee of the Pres- 
 byterian Church. After the Revolution he continued 
 allegiance to the crown in Canada, where an honorable 
 career was in store for him as chief justice. 
 
 Another "Presbyterian lawyer"— as also a trustee of 
 that church, and a man of great influence, as both writer 
 and speaker — was John Morin Scott. For some years 
 an alderman and later a member of the provincial con- 
 vention and of the Continental Congress, as also of the 
 local committee of safety, he was no less full of martial 
 ardor. One of the founders of the famous Sons of 
 Liberty, he acted a gallant part in the battle of Long 
 Island, retiring from the war as brigadier-general. 
 Thereafter he held such positions of honor as state 
 senator, member of Congress, and secretary of state in 
 New York. 
 
 The last but by no means the least significant name in 
 this little group is that of WiUiam Alexander, son of the 
 eminent advocate and councilor, James Alexander, and 
 known in American history as the titular Earl of Stirl- 
 ing. Beginning life in mercantile pursuits, he was made 
 an army contractor by General Shirley and later became 
 his private secretary. At an early age he was appointed 
 to the governor's council of New York and subsequently 
 of New Jersey, where, like his brother-in-law, William 
 Livingston, he dwelt in considerable state. Well in- 
 
EARLIEST PRESS NOTICE 135 
 
 formed on literary and scientific subjects, a member of 
 the board of governors of King's College, he was also a 
 man of action ; for he played a distinguished role in the 
 Revolution, participating conspicuously in notable en- 
 gagements, for which services he was rewarded with the 
 thanks of Congress on several occasions and with a 
 major-general's commission. Held in high esteem by 
 Washington, whom he was said greatly to resemble in 
 personal appearance, he was characterized at the time of 
 his death, just before the war closed, as "possessed of 
 great bravery, perseverance and extraordinary mihtary 
 talent."^ By birth and marriage Lord Stirling was 
 related to leading houses of the province. It is a family 
 tradition that his cultivated mother, Mistress PoUy 
 Spratt Alexander, in her strong public spirit and desire 
 for improvement, had suggested the Library idea to her 
 son and his friends."^ 
 
 This was early in March, 1754. Within httle more 
 than one month they effected an organization, chose a 
 board of Trustees, and, still more to the point, raised by 
 private subscription a sum sufficiently ample to sustain 
 the enterprise. Its first press notice appeared in The 
 New-York Mercury for AprU 8th, as follows: 
 
 A Subscription is now on Foot, and carried on with great Spirit, 
 in order to raise Money for erecting and maintaining a publick 
 Library in this City ; and we hear that not less than 70 Gentle- 
 men have already subscribed Five Pounds Principal, and Ten 
 Shilli/ngs per Annum, for that Purpose. We make no doubt but 
 a Scheme of this Nature, so well calculated for promoting Lit- 
 
 ' Elias Boudinot, President of the 133. MS. Archives, Dept. of State, 
 Continental Congress, to General Washington. 
 
 Washington, Philadelphia, Jan. 39, ' Mrs. John King Van Rensselaer. 
 
 1783. "Letters to Washington," xcii, The Goede Vrouw of Mana-lia-ta. 
 
 New York, 1898. P. 382. 
 
136 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 erature, will meet with due Encouragement from all who wish the 
 Happiness of the rising Generation.^ 
 
 A considerable number of citizens having become 
 interested, there had been drawn up on April 2d the 
 "Articles of the Subscription Roll of the New 
 York Library," under which the institution was to 
 prosper for more than eighteen years, or until a charter 
 was secured, in November, 1772. Its objects are an- 
 nounced briefly and without ostentation in these simple 
 phrases, — the first now held in hght esteem, though then 
 reserved for dignified occasions, — "Whereas a Publick 
 Library would be very useful, as well as ornamental to 
 this City & may be also advantageous to our intended 
 College." The sentence concludes with business-like 
 directness: "We whose Names are hereunto subscribed, 
 in order to promote the Design of erecting one in this 
 City, do promise to pay Five Pounds New York Cur- 
 rency, each on the first Day of May next ensmng the 
 Date hereof." 
 
 They further agreed to a yearly assessment of ten 
 shillings and to an annual election of twelve Trustees, 
 to be chosen from subscribers or their assigns at the Ex- 
 change in Broad street, between eleven o'clock and noon 
 on the last Tuesday in April. The Trustees were em- 
 powered to appropriate funds toward the purchase of 
 books, and to select a repository for them; to appoint a 
 "Library Keeper" at a "propper Sallary"; to regulate 
 the terms of loans; and "to do every Thing they shall 
 judge necessary to erect, preserve, ornament & improve 
 the said Library," under clearly outlined directions. 
 
 ' This same notice was printed un- prising in view of its character, even 
 
 der New York news in the Philadel- though there was less affinity be- 
 
 phia papers of April 11th, but not tween those two towns, 
 in Boston papers at all, which is sur- 
 
REGULATIONS OF THE NEW LIBRAHY 137 
 
 Then follow foiirteen "Regulations" for the govern- 
 ment of the institution and the guidance of its Trustees. 
 The main features comprise the "Right to take out one 
 Book at a Time," with the stipulation, foreign to mod- 
 
 ._- A Subfctiption is aow on Foot, and carried on with great Spirit, 
 in order to raifa Money for ereAiog and miintaining a publick Li- 
 brary in this City ; and we heat that not lefs than 70 Gentlemen 
 have already fubfcribed Five Pobnds Principal, and Ten Shillings 
 per Annum, for that Purpofc. We make no Doubt but a Scheme 
 of this Nature, fa well calculated for promoting Literature, wiU 
 meet with due Encouragement from ail who wilh the Happinefs of 
 the Riling Generation. 
 
 Lall Tuefday Morning^. 150, in Counterfeit BritUh Half-pence, 
 wat.feized in a Hoofein this City, by George Harrilbn, Efqj Sur- 
 veyor and Searcher of his Majefly's Caftoms. [^Sutk JlJJidmty as 
 ibis, in TrjiJtjng two confidsrabU Siixures ivitbin a FartitigbCs Time, 
 •uall, VIC truft, be an effcSnal Sicf trwards pmcnting tbc Importa- 
 tion of CouniErfett Copptr Halfpence into tbii Frovivec, fo frejudicial 
 to the Country in general) and tbe fair trader in particular j ttnd 
 tviltf undoubtedly, rtfUS no left Honour «n one fo xeohus for tbe Good 
 vf tbe Common Weal, tban Dijbonouf on tbe Perjen or Ferfons vfbo 
 mcy at ^imes import tbem, contrary to tbe exprefi IVoras of the Ati of 
 JSjftmhly of this Province, iatcly made and provided in ttiat ^Behalf .^ 
 Cufioa>Hoiife, New*Tcrkf Inward Bntrtet, 
 
 Sloop Herring, A. Ouzcdg from Jamaica. Outvardsm Sloop 
 Little David. J. Philiofon for Newfoundland. Sloop Elizabeth, C. 
 Mitlcr fer Virginia. Br'ig Fanny, Edward KendriCk tor Ncvii. 
 Sloop Ann, B. Richards for Barbados. Biig William, J. Koome 
 for Liflion. Snow Mefopotamia, A. Rutgeii tor New-Caftle. Snow 
 Charming Sally, T. Wnile for Pott Dover. Cleared, Sloop Ma- 
 iler Mafon, J. Crew, Sloop Unity, HczeUiah Sawyer, and Sloop 
 Baichelor, D. Cox to Kova-Scotia.. Stoop Weymouth, J. Cooklia 
 to Boflon. Biig Elizabeth, Jofias Smith to V. Idandt. SioopKiog- 
 ffon, John Ebbcis to MontPsiat, Schoonct >lamfton, J. Cramer to 
 Ant-gua. Sicof Dolphin, .Thomas Romfcy :a Jsmaica. BrigCo- 
 mus, A. Brown to i/UieHi. Sloop Bumper, A. Hama to Giaf-^ 
 gow. 
 
 First press notice of the Society Library. The Pewnsylvania Gazette, 
 April 11, 1754 (facsimile size). See pp. 135-136. 
 
 em ways, requiring a deposit "in Cash, at least one third 
 more than the value of it"; that the length of the loan 
 "be proportioned as nearly as possible to the Bulk of 
 the Volumn," together with certain penalties for delin- 
 quents ; and that the majority of members might, at any 
 annual meeting, amend the instrument. The Trustees 
 
138 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 were to be elected by ballot, should serve "Gratis," and 
 might appoint a Treasurer, "at a proper Allowance for 
 his Trouble," who, however, could not be one of their 
 number; and they were to be held responsible for the 
 financial status of their charge. 
 
 Individual shares or "rights" might be bequeathed, 
 inherited or ahenated, "as of any other Chattel"; but, 
 no matter how many rights he might possess, each sub- 
 scriber was to have only one vote. It is interesting to 
 observe how the term "right" — meaning a share — has 
 been carefully retained to the present day as one of the 
 distinguishing marks of the Society Library. It is also 
 of interest to note, retrospectively, that the Hberal intent 
 of the donors of the Corporation Library was here per- 
 petuated in part, by the provision that all privileges, in- 
 cluding the loan of books, should be extended to any 
 resident of the province at large. 
 
 On the eve of the first election for Trustees this notice, 
 here copied from The New-York Gazette: or, the 
 Weekly Post-Boy, for April 29th, was inserted in the 
 current newspapers : 
 
 THE GENTLEMEN, who are Subscribers to the PUB- 
 LICK-LIBRARY, which is to be erected in this City, are 
 hereby Notified, that To-morrow, being the last Tuesday 
 in April, is the Day appointed by the Subscription Articles for 
 their Meeting ; in order to elect Twelve TRUSTEES, who are 
 to have the immediate Care and Management of the said Library, 
 for the Year ensuing. They are therefore desired to convene for 
 that Purpose, To-morrow morning at Eleven o'Clock, at the 
 EXCHANGE Coffee-Room in Broad-Street. As it will be the 
 first public Transaction of the Subscribers, in Advancement of 
 this excellent and useful Design, it is hoped, that Gentlemen will 
 not fail to give a very general Attendance. 
 
FIRST ELECTION OF TRUSTEES 139 
 
 Not a whisper of the proceedings at this first ballot- 
 ing for Trustees has reached our ears. It is perhaps too 
 much to expect to find no politics in the affair, consider- 
 ing the temper of the six originators ; and especially in 
 view of the fact that in the same year King's CoUege 
 was nearly strangled at birth by sectarian dissensions, 
 with their underlying political motives. That there was 
 politics in this election is made very plain from a long 
 article, number XXV of "The Watch-Tower" series, in 
 the Mercury for May 12, 1755, signed "B."' 
 
 After explaining the intent of the foimders as "well 
 judging that an Acquaintance with Books would tend to 
 unshackle the Minds of their fellow Subjects," the out- 
 burst proceeds with increasing bitterness : 
 
 No sooner were the Subscriptions compleat, and a Day ap- 
 pointed for the Election of Trustees, than a dirty Scheme was 
 concerted, for excluding as many English Presbyterians as 
 possible, from the Trusteeship ; concerted, not by Trinity 
 Church in this City, but by some of her unworthy Members : 
 Which Distinction is here carefully taken, to prevent those con- 
 tracted Bigots from misrepresenting the Sentiments of an 
 Author, who for the Reasons abovementioned, holds that, and 
 all other Protestant Churches, in the highest Veneration. This 
 Scheme a certain Gentleman in this Province undertook to 
 execute ; and by his Emissaries dispersed among the Subscribers 
 a Number of Copies of such a List of Trustees, as best suited 
 his known Humour and Inclination, and advised many of them 
 carefuUy to avoid electing any Presbyterians to the Trustee- 
 ship. Strongly prepossessed in favour of his own judicious 
 Choice, the good Man doubtless expected it would be submitted 
 to by many of the Subscribers with a most obsequious Defer- 
 ence. How well his Expectations were answered, the Event of 
 
 'Probably the Rev. Aaron Burr, dated with William Livingston in 
 D.D., president of the college at the preparation of these articles. 
 Princeton, for he was closelj asso- 
 
140 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 that Election will best determine. Thus much however is cer- 
 tain, that in Spite of his utmost Efforts, the Subscribers were 
 so obstinatly impartial, as to chuse Persons who, from their 
 Acquaintance with Literature, they imagined were able to make 
 a proper Collection of Books. 
 
 Nevertheless, we can only conjecture whether the 
 elections were close, whether there reaUy was active 
 rivalry for the honor, or whether some of the nominees 
 may not have accepted their new responsibilities reluc- 
 tantly, questioning the outcome. The gathering itself, 
 composed of representative citizens, met in the new 
 Exchange at the foot of Broad street, and was probably 
 as large as often assembled for any purpose. The result 
 bears witness to the intelligence and wisdom of the 
 voters. Of the twelve gentlemen chosen to the first 
 board of Trustees of the Society Library, three were 
 founders, Robert R. Livingston, WiUiam Livingston 
 and WUham Alexander. Upon the remaining nine 
 members attention wiU next be directed, to learn what 
 manner of men they were, these guardians over the 
 earliest days of the institution we behold to-day, time- 
 honored but virile and fuU of promise. In response to 
 our invocation the muse of history will now simimon 
 them one at a time, for a brief and reverent review. 
 
 First among these twelve apostles of culture rises the 
 august figure of his Honor James De Lancey, Esquire, 
 lieutenant-governor of the province of New York 
 throughout this decade, and for thirty years chief justice 
 of the supreme court. Scarcely past the prime of life, 
 handsome, brilliant, imperious yet urbane, he lived and 
 moved in a style commensurate with his dignities and 
 great wealth. The very rumbhng of his gilded coach 
 over the rough city streets, no less than the gracious but 
 
THE FIRST BOARD OF TRUSTEES 141 
 
 stately inclination of his flowing peruke, proclaimed the 
 majesty of the law and the power of the crown whose 
 servant he was. In poHtical astuteness without a peer, 
 respected and admired for his quick penetration and 
 unfailing good judgment, and popular for his affable 
 manners, James De Lancey wielded an influence over 
 the men of his day exceeded by no other individual in 
 New York prior to the Revolution. 
 
 Next comes the Hon. Joseph Miirray, a man of sober 
 mien, for years the foremost constitutional lawyer of the 
 province, his Majesty's attorney-general, a member of 
 the council and the chief exponent of the royalist view. 
 Serving Trinity parish as vestryman and warden for 
 many years, he was also often retained by the Common 
 Council in its litigations, usually declining compensa- 
 tion. In 1728 his disinterestedness was recognized in 
 bestowing upon him the freedom of the city. Devoted 
 to the welfare of King's College, of which he was one of 
 the first governors, he bequeathed to it a handsome 
 legacy and his private collection of valuable books, which 
 formed the nucleus of the College Library. Although 
 somewhat advanced in life, he was still the acknowledged 
 leader of the colonial bar. 
 
 Close upon his heels treads the Hon. John Chambers, 
 often pitted against him in council deliberations, as an 
 uncompromising foe of government by prerogative, 
 demanding for provincials the freeholder rights of 
 Englishmen. With Mr. Murray, in return for gratui- 
 tous legal services, he had been complimented with the 
 freedom of the city by the Common Council, of which 
 body he was afterward a member. He was also concerned 
 with Trinity Church affairs, a vestryman for years and 
 succeeding Mr. Murray as warden. An associate justice 
 
142 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 of the supreme court, he had been identified with that 
 great advocate, Andrew Hamilton of Philadelphia, in 
 securing the acquittal of the printer Zenger, nearly 
 twenty years before, whereby freedom of the press was 
 established in New York. 
 
 As though seeking to soften the ardor of their dis- 
 cussions with words of peace, there now advances from 
 the shadows the benign and somberly clad form of the 
 Rev. Henry Barclay, D.D., second rector of Trinity 
 Church. For years a devoted laborer among the Mo- 
 hawks, he had been induced some time before to take up 
 the mantle of the Rev. William Vesey. He was to find 
 amongst the elect as bitter feuds as prevailed in his own 
 heathen field, but these he set out resolutely to bring to 
 reconciliation. Displaying unusual adaptability, he won 
 from the cultivated and weU-to-do the same high regard 
 so openly accorded him by the poor Indian. 
 
 Our study now centers in the grave and dignified per- 
 sonality of the Hon. James Alexander, long a member 
 of the council, sometime attorney-general and advocate- 
 general, and venerated as an oracle by his associates at 
 the bar. In addition to his legal learning, he had marked 
 capacity for scientific research, becoming with Dr. 
 Franklin and others a founder of the American Philo- 
 sophical Society. One writer says that he was "equally 
 distinguished for his humanity, generosity, great abilities 
 and honourable stations." One of the leading actors in 
 the dramatic Zenger episode, for his boldness in criti- 
 cising the bench he suffered temporary disbarment and 
 loss of conciliar honors. Restoration followed soon, how- 
 ever, the grand jury and Common Council drawing up 
 elaborate testimonials to his character and ability. On 
 the passage of the Montgomerie charter in 1731, he had 
 
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 Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, LL.D. 
 
 Trustee, 1773-1774; 1788-1793 
 
VARIED INTERESTS REPRESENTED 143 
 
 been given the freedom of the city, together with James 
 De Lancey and Wilham Smith. For years he was the 
 mouthpiece of the popular party, though not gifted as a 
 speaker, directing pubhc sentiment through the columns 
 of John Peter Zenger's Weekly Journal. 
 
 In the Hon. John Watts the Library had a powerful 
 supporter, for he was a leader in the province, socially 
 and politically. A merchant prince of business hf e above 
 reproach, he was ever active and far-sighted in promoting 
 the welfare of his fellow-citizens. He was foremost in 
 the erection of the Exchange in 1752, to which he later 
 "with others" presented a large clock; and he was deeply 
 interested in the establishment of the New York Hos- 
 pital, of which society he was the first president, from 
 1770 till a successor was chosen in 1784. As speaker of 
 the assembly and while a member of the council, Mr. 
 Watts allied himself closely with the policies of his 
 intimate friend and brother-in-law, James De Lancey; 
 and afterward, as attorney-general luider Governor 
 Monkton, he showed his partisanship so strongly, that he 
 is said to have been designated as the next royal gov- 
 ernor, had the war terminated otherwise. Yet he was 
 withal a most intrepid denouncer of injustice, and was 
 the only one among them all who faced the Earl of Lou- 
 doun to oppose the quartering of troops in the city in 
 1756. A Trustee of the Society Library for twenty 
 years, his attention to its interests ceased only with his 
 removal, in 1775, to England, where he died an exile, 
 bereft of his great estates. 
 
 A whoUy different element of New York's social 
 structure now demands representation— a class the most 
 fimdamental of all, the mercantile. In the person of the 
 Hon. William Walton there appears more of the mod- 
 
144. THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 ern self-made man than is generally to be seen in the 
 grandees of that day. The most prominent member of 
 a noted family, he both inherited and acquired great 
 wealth. Through certain trade preferences conceded 
 by the Spaniards of Florida and the West Indies, and 
 by dexterous privateering during the French war, the 
 Waltons literally coined money. A man of strong pub- 
 he spirit he, as well as John Watts, refused all compen- 
 sation while representing the city in the assembly. 
 Established in the most elegant private dweUing in the 
 colonies, and a member of the governor's council, Cap- 
 tain Walton maintained so lavish an hospitality, that 
 stories of his entertainments, replete with gold and sUver 
 service, were adduced in Parhament as proofs positive 
 that the colonists were not impoverished by so-caUed 
 repressive acts. 
 
 The lot next falls upon Benjamin Nicoll, Esq., a man 
 in middle life. Carefully fitted for Yale by his step- 
 father, the Rev. Dr. Samuel Johnson, first president of 
 King's College, he subsequently entered the legal pro- 
 fession in New York, where he had become at his un- 
 timely demise, in 1760, "a Lawyer of great note, . . . 
 than whom no man was ever more lamented throughout 
 this province."^ So wrote his afflicted parent to the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, but without exaggeration, to 
 judge from his record as a devoted Trustee of the Li- 
 brary up to the time of his death, as also a vestryman of 
 Trinity Church and a governor of King's College, of the 
 movement to establish which institution he is said to have 
 been, with Dr. Johnson, "the life and soul." His public 
 career comprised several years' service as an assembly- 
 man of conservative leanings, and an appointment, at 
 
 ' N. Y. Col. Docs., VII, 441. 
 
THE FIRST TRUSTEES WELL CHOSEN 145 
 
 the very time our story opens, to act with Joseph Mur- 
 ray, Wilham Smith, Cadwallader Golden and WiUiam 
 Livingston on an important commission to settle the 
 boundary question with Massachusetts. Years after- 
 ward the final adjustment of this matter accorded with 
 the findings of the New York commissioners. 
 
 Last of all we are introduced to one of the youngest 
 and cleverest of the little company, William Peartree 
 Smith, a second cousin of the historian, and of a family 
 long identified with New York. His grandfather, Wil- 
 ham "Port Royal" Smith, an alderman for many years, 
 was son-in-law to Col. WiUiam Peartree, mayor of the 
 city from 1703 to 1706. During his residence in New 
 York he was for some years a trustee of the Presby- 
 terian Church. A classmate and hfe-long intimate of 
 WiUiam Livingston, he also took up his residence in 
 New Jersey, where he had earlier been instrumental in 
 the founding of the coUege at Princeton. At one time 
 secretary of the province of New Jersey, he acted in 
 1774 as chairman of its general committee of corre- 
 spondence, and was sent the next year as delegate to the 
 Continental Congress. Genuinely interested in Utera- 
 ture, as also an ardent patriot, he was widely known as 
 a writer of both prose and verse in his country's cause; 
 for a time he had been associated with WiUiam Living- 
 ston in editing the "Independent Reflector." After the 
 Revolution he held various positions of honor in his 
 adopted state. 
 
 From this review of the individuals composing the 
 first board of Trustees of the New York Society Li- 
 brary, there is no question as to the sagacity of the sub- 
 scribers in their choice. These twelve gentlemen 
 represented as a whole the best that the province 
 
146 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 aJfForded in position, cultivation, attainments, native 
 ability and character. Their very difference in age was 
 a good omen, as well as the variety in their lines of ac- 
 tivity. It is of interest further to note that, as regards 
 political affiliation, six of them were of one party and 
 half a dozen of the other: Messrs. De Lancey, Murray, 
 Barclay, Watts, Walton and NicoU properly belonged 
 to the aristocratic or government party, while Messrs. 
 Chambers and Smith, the Alexanders and the Living- 
 stons were as naturally aligned with the popular side. 
 In the next chapter we shall see how they attacked the 
 problems with which the new enterprise fairly bristled. 
 
 Before continuing the narrative, however, more than 
 passing mention is due the allusion in the Articles to 
 "our intended College." It is a matter of no ordinary 
 moment that the Society Library and King's College 
 were founded in the same year. That two such under- 
 takings, representing ideas so advanced, could originate 
 at the very same time, reveals an abundance of cultivation 
 and public spirit, despite "the low state of science and 
 the narrow views and jealousies of sectarian zeal," which 
 Smith the historian knowingly says proved obstacles to 
 the early advance of the College. 
 
 The close bond between these twin-sister institutions 
 of culture may further be seen in the frequent identity 
 of their officers, from that day to this. Of the first 
 Library board, for instance, no fewer than eight — 
 James De Lancey, John Chambers and Henry Barclay, 
 each ex officio, and Joseph Murray, William Walton, 
 John Watts, Benjamin NicoU and William Livingston 
 — were named among the first governors of the College, 
 showing also that men of ability are usually to be found 
 
BOND BETWEEN LIBRARY AND COLLEGE 147 
 
 in more than one good work. And this hereditary con- 
 cord between the two institutions has never been more 
 marked than to-day, in their reciprocal privileges of con- 
 sultation, so cordially subsisting between the Society 
 Library and the Library of Columbia University. 
 
II 
 
 FIRST STEPS, 1754-1772 
 
 rHE New-York Mercury for Monday, May 6, 
 1754, in announcing the names of the Trustees 
 elected "to superintend the Affairs of our LI- 
 BRARY, for the present Year," adds: "The above 
 gentlemen are desired to meet To-morrow, at the House 
 of Edward Willet, in the Broad-Way, precisely at 
 11 o'clock." 
 
 While we as well as the new officers await this inter- 
 esting event, it should be stated that from now on our 
 chief source of information as to the proceedings of 
 successive boards of Trustees is found in the complete 
 series of their books of minutes, happily preserved to the 
 Library through all its century-and-a-half of existence. 
 The first two volumes, ending respectively in 1772 and 
 1832, are leather-covered, dingy old fohos, the writing 
 varjong in style, and in conformity with the canons of 
 orthography, under different scribes, but as legible to- 
 day as when penned. 
 
 The entries at first are variously headed, "At a Meet- 
 ing of the Trustees of the New- York Library," "At a 
 Meeting of the Trustees of the Library," or simply "At 
 a Meeting of the Trustees," until October, 1759, after 
 
EXPLANATION OF "SOCIETY LIBRARY" 149 
 
 which date the stereotyped form begins, "At a Meeting 
 of the Trustees of the New York Society Library," end- 
 iag with place and hour of assembling. Then after the 
 word "Present" are listed the members in attendance. 
 Seven constituting a quorxmi, it often chanced that no 
 meeting could be held, but abortive attempts were 
 scrupulously entered, even when scarcely two or three 
 were gathered together. 
 
 Although for its early years the institution was not 
 styled "Society Library" in the minutes, it yet is plain 
 that this name was soon decided upon, from an an- 
 nouncement in the Mercury of October 21, 1754, ad- 
 dressed to "the Proprietors of the New- York Society 
 Library," as also from subsequent newspaper notices. 
 The origin of this imique title is often a subject of 
 inquiry. Some have maintained, in view of the high 
 social standing of its originators, as of its general mem- 
 bership always, that the institution was so called because 
 it was meant to be, as it has ever been, the Library of 
 New York Society! But this opinion cannot be enter- 
 tained seriously, for the term "society" had not then, nor 
 until comparatively recent times, the limited or derived 
 sense of caste. Besides, such a narrow view is incon- 
 sistent with the hberal aim of the founders, and tends to 
 bring undeserved reproach upon the institution. 
 
 The question is susceptible of explanation as follows : 
 in the beginning there was formed a voluntary associa- 
 tion of persons, a company, a society. This term, "the 
 Society," has been used officially in the minutes and in 
 miscellaneous dociiments and notices to designate the 
 organization always, the expression, "the Library,"— 
 now in common parlance, and therefore used throughout 
 the present work,— having a colloquial and less formal 
 
150 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 tone. This Society, then, distinctively a New York 
 enterprise, was instituted to found and perpetuate a 
 Library; hence— the New York Society Library. As 
 such it corresponds exactly in purpose to the Library 
 Company of Philadelphia, the Redwood Library^ at 
 Newport, and the Charleston (S. C.) Library Society, 
 all thriving to-day,^ and to the Social Libraries so com- 
 mon in New England just before and in the half -cen- 
 tury following the Revolution. The generic or class 
 name of all these institutions is Proprietary Libraries; 
 yet they have always been Public Libraries in the orig- 
 inal meaning of the term, — that is, available or open to 
 the public, hke public houses or conveyances, — in contra- 
 distinction to private or parochial or special collections. 
 It is only since about 1850 that the word "pubhc" has 
 come to mean "free," as applied to libraries. 
 
 For fully one hundred years the Society Library was 
 popularly called the "City Library," long after the 
 Mercantile Library Association and the Apprentices' 
 Library were established in 1820, and even after the 
 
 ' Since 1835 known o£Bclally as The umes of a later colonial association, 
 
 Redwood Library and Athenaeum. the Hartford Library Company, 
 
 ' Among similar institutions, long formed in 1774 (see The Connecticut 
 since passed into oblivion, may be Courant, Feb. 22, March 1, 15, 22, Apl. 
 mentioned the Book Company of 96), are now preserved in the Hart- 
 Durham, Conn., established in 1733; ford Public Library. Of those or- 
 the Philogrammatican Library of ganized soon after the Revolution, 
 Lebanon, Conn., instituted in 1738 the Library Company of Baltimore, 
 (see "Booklovers of 1738— One of incorporated in 1797, was merged 
 the First Libraries in America," by into the Maryland Historical Society 
 Mrs. Martha W. Hooker, in TAe Con- in 1854; while the Boston Library 
 necticut Magazine, X (1906), 715 Society, dating from 1792, has suc- 
 et seq.) ; the Elizabeth-Town (N. J.) cessfully maintained an independent 
 Library Company, founded in 1756 existence. Wider in scope than any 
 (see The New-York Gazette; or, of these, the Boston Athenseum, 
 the Weekly Post-Boy, March 3, which has lately celebrated its cen- 
 1760); and the equally obscure Al- tennial anniversary (1907), presents 
 bany Society Library, whose book- a different type of proprietary estab- 
 plate bears date of 1759 (see illus- lishment, as will presently appear 
 tration in American Book-Plates, by (see Chapter VII). 
 Charles D. Allen, p. 84). Some vol- 
 
Hugh Gaine 
 Trustee, 1788-180T 
 
INITIAL ACT OF FIRST BOARD 151 
 
 insignificant beginning of the present City Library in 
 the City Hall, a collection chiefly of records for con- 
 sultation only, under supervision by the board of alder- 
 men.^ With the gradual development of the modern 
 free Public Library system, however, the old appellation 
 has fallen into disuse, and would not now be recognized 
 as meaning by far the oldest Library in the city— the 
 New York Society Library. 
 
 Ten Trustees are recorded as forming the first meet- 
 ing of its newly elected board, held on May 7th, the only 
 absentees being James Alexander and Robert R. Liv- 
 ingston. They met at the City Arms,^ on the corner of 
 Broadway and Stone (Thames) street, the principal 
 tavern in town, then but lately opened in the former 
 residence of Lieutenant-Governor De Lancey. That 
 dignitary was no doubt called to the chair, though the 
 minutes are mute on the subject; in fact it is not mitil 
 1791 that there is mention of a chairman at all. The 
 chronicle of proceedings is pitifully meager in the early 
 years, simply giving a bare outline of the few measures 
 approved, the record of attendance and, not invariably, 
 the results of annual elections. 
 
 ^ After the destruction of the old memorative of interesting events" in 
 
 Corporation Library in 1776, the city the reign of Pope Pius IX, "recently 
 
 harbored no coOection of its own un- received from him through the 
 
 til an ordinance of January, 1849, agency of Mons. A[lexandre] Vatte- 
 
 set aside a room "for the accommo- mare." (See p. 55re.) Occupying 
 
 dation of a Library, to contain the various rooms, the City Library has 
 
 books now belonging to the Common been in its present apartments since 
 
 Council, and which may hereafter January, 1898, Librarian Philip Baer 
 
 belong to them." As early as De- having held office since January, 
 
 cember, 1816, there had been a tenta- 1895. 
 
 tive but ineffectual suggestion of = Called also the Province Arms 
 
 "the expediency of establishing a Tavern, the New York Arms and. 
 
 Library for the use of the Common after the Revolution, the New York 
 
 Council." Final action by the alder- State Arms. In 1793 the Tontme 
 
 men was occasioned by a gift to the Association bought the old stone 
 
 city of a "splendid case of valuable structure and erected on its site the 
 
 medals [now in the keeping of the famous City Hotel, demolished in 
 
 New York Historical Society], com- turn about 1850. 
 
152 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 The initial act of this first board was very sensibly a 
 resolution empowering John Watts, William P. Smith 
 and William Alexander, Trustees, and John Livingston 
 — evidently for the shareholders in general, as he was not 
 then a Trustee — to "receive the Subscription Money, 
 from the several Subscribers, in order to be laid out in 
 Books for the Library," a service they "agreed to per- 
 form Gratis." Mr. Smith was made "Clerk," also a 
 "gratis" office, and ordered to "prepare a proper Book 
 at the public Expense, for entring the Minutes." They 
 voted to meet "in the Public Library-Room" thrice 
 yearly, on the first Tuesday afternoon in April, May 
 and September, at three o'clock. A fine of three shill- 
 ings was to be levied for excuseless absence, "to be paid 
 into the Hands of the Cashier," but no further mention 
 is made of the penalty or of any enforcement. 
 
 As few steps were taken at the opening session, in all 
 likelihood their deliberations at the tavern were weighty 
 and prolonged. At any rate, there was unfinished busi- 
 ness when they adjourned, to meet nine days hence at the 
 same place, each Trustee pledged to bring a "catalogue" 
 of suitable books. On reconvening, some of them, "vizt 
 Mess''? Barclay, W^ Livingston, Robt R. Livingston, 
 W™ Alexander & W™ P. Smith, produced a List of 
 Books." "But," the minutes record with much sim- 
 plicity, "as M^ Murray imagined, there would not be 
 sufficient time, at this Meeting, to Consider, examine, & 
 collect a proper Catalogue from the Same," the im- 
 portant matter was again postponed. Nor until the end 
 of the month was a full report rendered of their choice 
 for the first consignment, when, "having now spent some 
 time in examining the several Lists of Books before 
 produced, the Trustees agreed upon the foUoAving 
 
FIRST LIST OF BOOKS APPROVED 153 
 
 Catalogue selected from the s^ Lists, to be sent for by 
 the first Opportunity." 
 
 This combined list, as spread upon the records, in- 
 cludes some 250 titles of leading works of the day in 
 literatiu*e and science. It is interesting in itself, and is 
 of especial value as showing the taste of the Trustees 
 and their aim to secure the best and a variety. It is 
 pleasing also to observe how impressed they were with 
 the need of frugality, some works being endorsed "2^ 
 hand if good." Naturally there are the usual selections 
 from the ancient classics, from EKzabethan writers, and 
 from essayists of the age of Anne. Historical works 
 abound, interspersed among memoirs, diplomatic cor- 
 respondence, party pamphlets, and philosophical and 
 scientific brochures. Legal minds presumably yearned 
 for "State Tryals complete at large" or "Debates in 
 Parliamt"; while the mercantile element was to find 
 relaxation preferably in books of travel, diverting and 
 yet not remote from accustomed interests. 
 
 For the clergy there were provided standard com- 
 mentaries, as also devotional and theological disserta- 
 tions without number, though not of the extreme 
 heaviness of earher collections in New York. The 
 remainder consisted of treatises in mathematics and in 
 the field of the natural sciences, together with an assort- 
 ment from the realms of music, oratory and logic. Truly 
 these were earnest-minded men, aware and proud of 
 their responsibihty. We may readily fancy how sug- 
 gestions had poured in upon them from interested sub- 
 scribers, and no less from members of their families. 
 One is impressed with the utter absence of light reading 
 in the final decision; for, after approving the list, Mr. 
 Watts was to "transmit by the first Opportunity," to one 
 

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 wn\:iouxmi ^dLipneb^ltiscub yn<mau i^ fnoufraiMa sucA lioiASjOS ^uu sficdl' ifUnfi 
 pfoppxfi hc^i ji/me to Timfj wiw i/n^tuirvn^cn 'JfatiiB erf fleam io dipasi/l- cfwrn'i/Hj 
 % a|3)tow->f a. Jvlnauru ^KaupMj ami Maui ^uim a. p/apfwt ia&auiu '^Unaniy aMn -. 
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 First page of the Articles (reduced). See p. 138 et seq. 
 
BOOKS ORDERED FROM LONDON 155 
 
 Moses Franks in London, the sum of £300 "in Bills of 
 Exch" for these books, "or such other modern Authors 
 as he may judge most suitable for a public Library, & 
 have obtained an established Reputation among the 
 Learned." Then follow the names of "paid" sub- 
 scribers, to the number of 118, including three "in Eng- 
 land," Moses, Naphtali and Aaron Franks, the agents 
 of the enterprise ; certainly the soliciting conunittee had 
 done its work well, for the list comprises leading citizens 
 of the period. 
 
 Among them, besides individuals mentioned elsewhere 
 in these pages, appear the names of Mayor Holland, his 
 successor, John Cruger the younger, James Duane, first 
 mayor after the Revolution, Abraham De Peyster, pro- 
 vincial treasurer, Capt. Archibald Kennedy, later 
 known as the Earl of Cassilis, the Rev. Samuel Auch- 
 muty, assistant minister and afterward rector of Old 
 Trinity, the Rev. Alexander Gumming of the Presby- 
 terian Church, Lambert Moore, Esq., for years clerk 
 of the board of governors of King's College, Col. 
 Beverley Robinson, of French War luster, James Mc- 
 Evers, who very sensibly resigned the odious post of 
 stamp collector, James Parker and Hugh Gaine, the 
 well-known printers and editors, and Dr. Richard 
 Shuckburgh, reputed author of "Yankee Doodle," in 
 addition to members of such other notable old New York 
 families as Abeel, Alexander, Alsop, Aspinwall, Bar- 
 clay, Bayard, Beekman, Crommeline, Cuyler, De Lan- 
 cey, Des Brosses, Dey, Duncan, Gouverneur, Harison, 
 Jones, Kortright, Lawrence, Lispenard, Livingston, 
 Ludlow, Morris, Xichols, Nicoll, Ogden, Provoost, 
 Richard, Smith, Stujrvesant, Van Cortlandt, Vander- 
 spiegel. Van Home, Walton and Watts, many of whose 
 
156 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 shares are held to-day hy descendants, and, in not a few 
 instances, of the same name. 
 
 During the summer, the question of securing proper 
 accommodations for the expected collection was doubt- 
 less much discussed. At the September meeting, as 
 already stated, they adopted the clever plan of taking 
 charge of the unused old Corporation Library, in return 
 for permission from the Common Council to keep their 
 own books in the "Library Room" in the City Hall, with 
 what entire success we already know.^ 
 
 At the same time, in anticipation of the approaching 
 arrival of the books, they drew up their first set of rules, 
 to be "strictly observed by the Librarian," — yet to be 
 appointed, — as foUows: 
 
 Reg. 1. That no Book whatsoever belonging to this Library, 
 shall be detained in the hands of any Subscriber, longer than 
 the space of One Month, under Penalty of paying for the use 
 of the same for any longer time as a Non-Subscriber. 
 
 Reg. 2. Every Non-Subscriber shall pay to the Librarian, for 
 the use of a Book after the following Rates Viz* 
 
 For a Folio Volumn .... 1 Month ... 4s. 
 For a Quarto D^ .... 1 Month ... 2s. 
 For an Octavo, or lesser Vol. . 1 Month . . . Is. 
 And if any Book shall be detained in the hands of a Borrower 
 longer than the time herein hmitted, he shall pay for every 
 day exceeding the said time One Shilling untiU the same be 
 returned. 
 
 Reg. 3. Every Non-Subscriber, upon taking a Book out of the 
 Library, shall deposit in the hands of the Librarian one third 
 more than the Value of the Book taken, and give a sufficient 
 Receipt for the same. 
 
 This table is printed in the Mercury for October 21st, 
 which same issue conveys the satisfying information, 
 
 •See pp. 77-78. 
 
ARRIVAL OF LONDON IMPORTATION 157 
 
 already quoted, that the books "lately imported are 
 placed for the present, by Leave of the Corporation, in 
 their Library Room in the City-Hall," where "constant 
 Attendance" was assured on Tuesdays and Fridays 
 from ten to twelve. In November, however, a notice in 
 the Mercury declared the collection accessible only on 
 Tuesdays, for one hour, "during the winter season." 
 
 Thus, in the meantime, the eagerly awaited collection 
 had come, after a voyage covering "42 Days from Lon- 
 don," according to the advice in the Mercury of October 
 14th. The arrival of the volumes is announced in this 
 latter issue with the following flourish: 
 
 Some Time ago we informed our Readers, that a Subscription 
 was then on foot for raising a Sum of Money in order to erect 
 a public Library in this City; we now have the great Pleasure 
 and Satisfaction of acquainting them, That all the Books sent 
 for, are arrived safe in Capt. Miller. We hope that aU who 
 have a Taste for polite Literature, and an eager Thirst after 
 Knowledge and Wisdom, wiU now repair to those Foimtains 
 and Repositories from whence they can, by Study, be collected. 
 And we heartily wish, that the glorious Motives of acquiring 
 that which alone distinguishes human Nature (we mean Science 
 and Virtue, join'd to the noble Principles of being useful to 
 Mankind, and more especially to our dear Country) will be suffi- 
 cient to excite the most Lethargic, to peruse the Volumes pur- 
 chased for this End, by Means of the Advice and Endeavours of 
 Gentlemen whom we and future Generations, will have Reason, 
 we hope, to praise and extoll ; and whom, we cannot help saying, 
 are an Honour to their Country: We finally wish, that New- 
 York, now she has an Opportunity, will show that she comes not 
 short of the other Provinces, in Men of excellent Genius, who, 
 by cultivating the Talents of Nature, will take off that Reflec- 
 tion cast on us by the neighbouring Colonies, of being an 
 ignorant People; and make the following Maxim of Seneca's 
 our own: Inter Studia Versandum est et inter Auctores Sapien- 
 
158 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 tice, ut QucEsita discamus, nondv/m Inventa qiuBramus. Sen. 
 Epis. civ. 
 
 A printed catalogue of the new collection was 
 straightway published by Hugh Gaine and advertised 
 in his Mercury on October 21st, at the price of "Four 
 Coppers." Unhappily no specimen of this first cata- 
 logue of the Society Library is known to be in existence, 
 though there is ever the chance of one's coming to light 
 in some ancestral attic. Tradition has it that the initial 
 consignment comprised "about 700 Volumesof new, well 
 chosen, Books," ^ a somewhat exaggerated statement, 
 however, as appears on consultation of the minutes. Not 
 more than 650 volumes, at the most, can have constituted 
 the original collection, which William Smith prophesied 
 would "in Process of Time . . . probably become 
 vastly rich and voluminous."^ 
 
 After some months' trial, the following "Rates" were 
 substituted in June, 1755, for keeping books out over a 
 month: "for every folio, per diem 1 s. For every Quarto 
 9^ For every Octavo 6^ and for every Duodecimo 3"?" 
 It was also decreed that, "instead of an allowance of one 
 Month for the Loan of Books of All Sizes," the time be 
 "For every Foho 6 Weeks, For every Quarto 4 Weeks, 
 For every Octavo 3 Weeks & for every Duodecimo 2 
 Weeks," thus returning to the plan of the original 
 Articles. 
 
 At this time John Morin Scott was given charge 
 of the finances, in place of William P. Smith, and also 
 "the Care of the Library," with power to depute the 
 same. No hint is vouchsafed as to who had been acting 
 as custodian before; probably Mr. Smith had engaged 
 
 ' William Smith, The History of the Province of New-York. London, 
 1757. P. 195. 'Ibid. 
 
CHURCH QUAKRELS DISTURB ELECTION 159 
 
 some person, for he appears to have been the sole officer 
 of the board that first year. Again, in November, 1756, 
 Gabriel Ludlow was put in charge of the collection, and, 
 together with David Clarkson, was directed to receive 
 funds and subscriptions. But in May, 1757, Mr. Smith 
 was once more made "Clerk to the Trustees," an office 
 evidently including guardianship of the capital, then 
 "in M'; Ludlow's hands." 
 
 At this stage it is well to pause for a glance at the 
 changes that had taken place in the ranks of the Trus- 
 tees. In consequence of three more elections, held regu- 
 larly according to advertisement at the Exchange, 
 thirteen new names appear on the roU, of whom three 
 were the remaining founders, Philip Livingston, John 
 Morin Scott and William Smith, Jr., aU chosen at the 
 second election. That this balloting of 1755 was at- 
 tended with a repetition of the contest of a year before, 
 with even greater acrimony, is revealed in the same 
 communication from the forceful pen of "B," in the 
 Mercury for May 12th, above quoted in part.^ 
 
 Referring to the former effort as "A Design so dis- 
 graceful and ridiculous in itself, and so effectually frus- 
 trated, . . . [as to] have satisfied any Man, but a blind, 
 hot-headed, and imprudent Zealot," this racy Avriter pro- 
 ceeds to inform how, "after the fullest Defeat in the 
 most shameful Cause, Bigotry ventured again to rear 
 her Head"; and how a second attempt was made, 
 "equally imsuccessful with the first." Responsibility 
 was attributed to "the Resentment of a Bigot, now 
 heightened into Madness by the late frequent contro- 
 versial Defeats of High-Church, on the Subject of 
 the College," which "drove him, in Defiance of Reason, 
 
 " See pp. 139, 140. 
 
160 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 and the Rules of Probability, into a Resolution, once 
 more to attack the Presbyterians, and that in a Manner 
 more base and insidious than the Former." 
 
 He then explains that, on the day before election, 
 "this palpable Untruth was impudently coined," and 
 "as impudently propagated. That the Presbyterians 
 were resolved to turn out every Churchman from the 
 Trusteeship/' "With what View this vile Slander was 
 published," was "a Matter too obvious, to require a 
 curious Disquisition." After denouncing such a report, 
 as having "a natural Tendency to prepossess every warm 
 Episcopalian with the strongest Prejudices against the 
 Presbyterians" the philippic continues; "And doubtless 
 had this Scheme taken its full Effect, the Trusteeship 
 would have been filled with a Set of Persons far differ- 
 ent in their Sentiments, from those who now enjoy it." 
 
 This unpleasant expose may well close with its very 
 interesting estimate of the position and opportimities 
 of the trusteeship : 
 
 It must indeed be admitted, that the Office of a Trustee of our 
 Library is, at present, of very little Importance, either to its 
 Possessor, or the Public. We have an excellent Collection of 
 Books, and no Money in Bank to be squandered. Hence it is 
 impossible to prostitute the Office; and consequently a Matter 
 of IndifiPerence whoever fills it. But if its Unimportance cannot 
 subvert the Right of a Subscriber to stand Candidate for the 
 Post, all undue Means to destroy the Impartiality of an Elec- 
 tion, is an Abridgment of his Right; which doubtless as an 
 Englishman, he may justly resent. 
 
 The fact that the seven new persons then chosen to 
 the board were aU of the popular party is proof enough 
 that "the Presbyterians, . . . from a Love of British 
 Freedom, . . . devised Means in this particular Case, 
 
John Pintard, LL.D. 
 
 Trustee, 1790-1793; 1809-1817. Secretary, 1815-1816 
 
OPPOSING POLITICAL FORCES 161 
 
 effectually to disappoint the Invaders of their Rights," 
 and that "in doing it they were remarkably successful." 
 They were William Smith, William Smith, Jr., Phihp, 
 John and Peter Van Brugh Livingston, John Vander- 
 spiegel and John Morin Scott, an interesting group, as 
 showing the alignment of Dutch Church members with 
 Presbyterians in opposition to the Anglican element. 
 Though John Chambers and James Alexander of the 
 Whig contingent were retired, their places were filled by 
 representatives of the same views, Wilham Walton 
 being the sole Trustee with government leanings re- 
 turned to office. 
 
 The next year saw a turning of the tables, for, of the 
 seven above mentioned, only one, John Livingston, was 
 then reelected; while his Honor Lieutenant-Governor 
 De Lancey, the Hon.^ Joseph Miirray, the Rev. Dr. 
 Barclay, the Hon. John Watts and Benjamin Nicoll, 
 Esq., were triumphantly reinstated; as was also the 
 Hon. John Chambers of the opposition, which lost in its 
 turn William Livingston, the Hon. William Alexander, 
 Robert R. Livingston and William P. Smith, besides 
 six of the Whigs elected only the year before. Further- 
 more, the aristocratic following gained four new men in 
 the Hon. OHver De Lancey, the Hon. Henry Cruger, 
 David Clarkson and Gabriel Ludlow. 
 
 In 1757 there came another reversal, by which there 
 was a more equitable division of the opposing political 
 forces, with only two new names, Peter Keteltas and 
 Goldsbrow Banyar. Thereafter, a wholesome calm 
 seems to have settled down upon that annual function, 
 for, in the seventeen remaining years before the disrup- 
 
 ' The title "Hon." in colonial days implied a member 
 of the governor's council. 
 
162 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 tion occurred, but ten additional individuals were called 
 to the work, changes seemingly taking place only with 
 inroads of time. 
 
 When one surveys the characters and careers of these 
 several Trustees, one finds the fire of partisan zeal sink- 
 ing low in comparison with their general worth and 
 usefulness in their day and commiinity. Of this type 
 Peter Van Brugh Livingston, an older brother of Philip 
 and William, is a conspicuous example. A successftJ 
 merchant, with an unblemished record for probity, he 
 not only aided the city and its various concerns in num- 
 berless ways, but also has a strong claim on his country's 
 gratitude, for patriotic assistance with funds and credit. 
 Stanchly Presbyterian in church affiliations, he served as 
 an elder for more than twenty years, and for eight years 
 as a trustee, of the old First Church. He was also treas- 
 urer of the New York Hospital for seven years. His 
 trusteeship in the Library lasted until the very eve of 
 the Revolution, but he left the city in 1787, before the 
 institution was set on its feet again. John Living- 
 ston, yet another member of this remarkable brother- 
 hood, appears to have been its only Tory representative, 
 perhaps because of his large mercantile interests. He 
 did not turn against his family, however ; while his ser- 
 vices to church and state, in deliberations of the Common 
 Council and of the Dutch Church consistory, entitle him 
 to respectful appreciation. 
 
 The Hon. William Smith, Sr., was reputed the most 
 eloquent speaker in the province. With his friend, 
 James Alexander, he had pleaded the causes of free 
 speech and free press, to their own personal temporary 
 humiliation, but to the lasting advantage of democracy. 
 These same men were also associated in founding the 
 
MERCHANTS ON THE BOARD 163 
 
 first public school in New York in 1732. Honors heaped 
 upon him never turned his head, as he calmly put aside 
 what did not fit in with his carefully planned life. At 
 the age of twenty-seven, he had declined the presidency 
 of Yale CoUege; again, in 1760 he refused the vacant 
 chief justiceship. But he served his fellow-citizens with 
 distinction in the several posts of councilor, attorney- 
 general, advocate-general and associate justice of the 
 highest provincial tribrmal ; and no less useful was he as 
 one of the earliest trustees, and later as an elder, of the 
 Presbyterian Church in New York. 
 
 It may have been noticed that the lawyers were in 
 large majority on the first board — not at all an astonish- 
 ing phenomenon. Little by little, however, the mer- 
 chants gained admittance, until it is worthy of comment 
 that, of the twenty-five Trustees in office prior to 1760, 
 there were ten merchants to thirteen "Esquires." They 
 include John Vanderspiegel, who acted as the first regu- 
 lar Treasurer of the Library for thirteen years ; Henry 
 Cruger, the son and the brother of a mayor of this city,, 
 himself an assemblyman and later holding a seat in the 
 council; David Clarkson, of the old dry goods firm, a. 
 Trustee for twenty years, and as long a vestryman and 
 warden of Trinity parish; Gabriel Ludlow, clerk of the 
 assembly for an extended term and for nearly a genera- 
 tion a vestryman of Old Trinity; and Peter Keteltas, 
 identified as inseparably with the history of the Dutch 
 Church, a man who "was not only esteemed, as he truly 
 was, an upright and honest man, but enjoyed the sin- 
 gular felicity of passing through life unsuspected of an 
 unworthy action."^ 
 
 A right gaUant figure was the Hon. Col. Oliver De 
 
 ' Obituary notice in The New-York Journal, August 29, 1799. 
 
164. THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Lancey, younger brother of the heutenant-governor and 
 a large landholder of the day. Preeminently a military 
 character, he yet was identified with civic interests, 
 serving for a short time as alderman. Impetuous and 
 intriguing in disposition, he led in all political manoeu- 
 vering, though lacking the superb equipoise of his 
 brother. A member of the council for sixteen years, he 
 maintained his allegiance to the crown, dashing off at 
 the head of his own battalion under a brigadier-gen- 
 eral's commission from his Majesty, never to retvu-n. 
 Alas for his elegant country-seat at Bloomingdale, to 
 go up in pitiless flames, and alas for this illustrious but 
 loyalist family, its great estates forever confiscate, and 
 its once proud station but a local memory ! 
 
 Not nearly so tragic a fate befell Goldsbrow Banyar, 
 deputy-secretary of the province for many years, and of 
 whom Lieutenant-Governor Colden wrote to England, 
 in recommending his appointment to the council, that 
 there was "no Man . . . more usefull on every account," 
 nor "so long conversant in public aiFairs." At the out- 
 break of the Revolution he retired quietly to Rhinebeck 
 and later to Albany, where he peacefully ended his days 
 at a great age. He served as first president of the 
 famous British- American St. George's Society; while 
 his trusteeship in the Library covered thirteen years. 
 
 Resuming our narrative, an item of note is the ap- 
 pointment of a regtdar Librarian. On May 16, 1757, 
 the board met at "Scotch Johnny's,"^ a place of refresh- 
 ment charmingly situated near the waterside at White- 
 hall, when and where, "M^ Benj : Hildreth having 
 
 'John Thompson, tavern keeper ferry had been started to Staten 
 at the Sign of the Crown and Thistle Island, then having a population of 
 at Whitehall slip, where in 1755 a about 2300. 
 
FIRST LIBRARIAN APPOINTED 165 
 
 agreed to execute the Office of a Library Keeper," the 
 sum of £6 was "allowed him amiually out of the yearly 
 Subscriptions, for his Trouble & Care while in that 
 Office." He was instructed to give "constant personal 
 Attendance at the Library room two Hours in every 
 week vizt from 2 to 4 o'Clock on every Wednesday 
 Afternoon thro'out y^ Year, imless prevented by Sick- 
 ness or other unavoidable avocation, when he shall 
 depute some other capable person to attend in his stead, 
 for whose care of the Books he shall be accoimtable." 
 At the same time, Gabriel Ludlow was ordered to 
 "desire his Son [George Duncan Ludlow], who has for 
 a considerable time generously acted as oiu- Librarian," 
 to get a receipt for the books from Mr. Hildreth. 
 
 Quite in contradiction to this action is a notice in the 
 Mercury of May 23d, stating that Joseph Hildreth was 
 "appointed keeper of the New- York Library," under 
 the same schedule. According to the Treasurer's ac- 
 counts, the first year's salary was paid to the latter 
 individual, who, however, signed "^. Jos. Hildreth," as 
 though simply acting for another. Thereafter, the 
 duties of the position were discharged by Benjamin 
 until September, 1765. 
 
 This first Librarian of the Society Library had been 
 registered a freeman in January, 1752, by occupation a 
 "Distiller." He was the second son of Benjamin Hil- 
 dreth, "taylor,"^ a juryman at the famous Zenger trial 
 in 1735. The name of Benjamin, Jr., appears in pub- 
 lished sources as having served the community in various 
 capacities. In 1746, as "Captain," he was commissioned 
 to transport some prisoners of war to the French col- 
 
 ' "Abstract of Wills," Liber 13, tions for 1894, p. 233. His wUl was 
 p. 127. N. T. Hist. Society Collec- proved March 22, 1738. 
 
166 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 onies; seven years later, the South ward chose him a 
 constable; and on one occasion in 1755 he was paid for 
 delivering fuel to troops on Nutten (Governor's) 
 Island. Prospering in business "at the New Brick 
 Distill-House, near Peck's-Slip," he was living in St. 
 George's Square in 1774, when, as one of "the Principal 
 Male Inhabitants," he signed a petition to Lieutenant- 
 Governor Golden for further suspension of a law 
 prohibiting the erection of wooden buildings in certain 
 parts of town.^ His older brother, Joseph, an account- 
 ant, kept the records of Trinity parish for nearly forty 
 years, and for as long a time was master of its charity 
 school. 
 
 In November, 1756, and again in March, 1758, new 
 invoices of books were announced, at a cost of £52 and 
 £70, respectively. Though much smaller than the first 
 consignment, they present as wide a range of interest, in 
 titles, at least. On the arrival of the former of these 
 two, Trustees Cruger and Ludlow were requested to 
 "wait on" Captain Jasper Farmar and Mr. Jacob 
 Franks, "& return them thanks of y^ trustees, for their 
 Generousity in Giving this Society the freight of the 
 Books, sent for by them." Further, "the Use of the 
 Library, upon y* term's of a Subscriber," was voted to 
 the captain, — an early instance of honorary member- 
 ship. 
 
 At the March meeting of 1758, William Livingston 
 "presented to y^ Trustees a Devise to be engraven & 
 fixed in the Books," which they "thankfully" accepted, 
 and ordered Mr. Vanderspiegel, just appointed to the 
 "gratis" office of Clerk-and-Treasurer, to "get the said 
 Devise engraved & paisted in the Books as soon as he 
 
 ' Valentine's Mamial of the Corporation for 1850, p. 427 et seq. 
 
LIBRARY'S FIRST BOOKPLATE 167 
 
 conveniently can." Such was the origin of the Society 
 Library's first bookplate, made within a few months by 
 Elisha Gallaudet, presmnably from the suggested 
 design of Mr. Livingston.^ 
 
 Ftirther directions were at the same time given to the 
 new incumbent of the double office, "to get all the Books 
 Number'd in Gilt Letters," and to "immediately order a 
 new Catalogue . . . printed, and . . furnish every 
 Subscriber with a Copy." Lastly, he was to send a copy 
 to John Ward, the London agent, "and desire him, 
 when ever he observes any Sett of Books want to be com- 
 pleated, to take particular care to supply the additional 
 Vol? by the first Ship after their publication." 
 
 That this last comotnission was executed in due season 
 by the Treasurer-Clerk is proved by some memoranda 
 written in the sole copy of the issue that has come down 
 the years.^ This diminutive, paper-covered pamphlet of 
 twenty-four pages was presented to the Library, Janu- 
 ary 25, 1865, by the Hon. Horatio Seymour of New 
 
 ^ A receipt, signed "E Gallaudet" support the frame, standing upon 
 
 and dated July 26, 17S8, shows that the ribbon which bears the name; 
 
 the artist was paid £3 10s 6d "for above the frame sits Apollo with his 
 
 Engraving a Copper Plate for the broad back to the full-shining sun; 
 
 New York Society Library." On clouds which resemble toy balloons 
 
 Nov. 29, 1758, Gerardus DuycMnck, rise about him. Beneath the frame 
 
 stationer, receipted a biU of £3 13s, appear the outskirts of a city, with 
 
 "for Striking off One Thousand im- spires and towers visible; directly 
 
 pressions from Copper Plate"; and under this is the word 'Mf/vai (pre- 
 
 on the same date Joseph HUdreth sumably to suggest that New York 
 
 acknowledged receipt of 18s, "for City was the modern Athens) ; a 
 
 pasting devices in ye Books." Fol- closed chest with a lighted candle 
 
 lovring is a description of the plate, upon it has these words on it, sed in 
 
 appearing in American Book-Plates candelabra, and an open book bears 
 
 (Charles Dexter Allen. New York, across its face the motto, Noscb teip- 
 
 1894), p. 255: "This plate is armorial sum. Signed, E. Gallaudet. Sc. II- 
 
 in form, but presents no real arms. lustrated in 'Ex Libris Journal,' Vol. 
 
 The central frame, of Chippendale III, p. 141." 
 
 design, contains four quarterings, ' A Catalogue of the Books be- 
 
 which represent the arts of Astron- longing to the New-York Society 
 
 omy, Navigation, Geography, Mathe- Library. New- York: Printed and 
 
 matics, and Literature; Religion also Sold by H. Gaine, at the Bible and 
 
 is represented. Mercury and Minerva Crown, in Hanover-Square. 
 
168 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 York, a special vote of thanks being at once accorded 
 him by the dehghted Trustees. Though its title-page 
 bears no date, a list of new subscribers at the back, 
 penned by either Mr. Vanderspiegel or the Librarian, 
 was begun "13 Sept^ 1758." The total number of vol- 
 
 y^lcMdxt.J'e. ' 
 
 First bookplate of the Society Library, engraved by Gallaudet 
 in 1758 (facsimile size). See pp. 166-167. 
 
LIBRARY OPEN TWICE WEEKLY 169 
 
 umes here listed is 859, showing that the collection was 
 slowly growing. Of the membership no definite state- 
 ment can be made, for the roll as printed is identical with 
 that inscribed in the minutes in 1754, evidently copied 
 from the first pubhshed hst without additions or correc- 
 tions, inasmuch as Joseph Murray, for one, had died the 
 year before. 
 
 Preceding the catalogue proper comes an "Advertise- 
 ment," containing "The Conditions for the Loan of 
 Books"; the hours as last stated, from two to four on 
 Wednesdays ; and the date of the annual election at the 
 Exchange, "when Gentlemen should come prepar'd to 
 pay their Yearly Subscription, which is ten Shillings." 
 A special "N. B." announces that "Books marked thus 
 * in the following Catalogue, are an additional Impor- 
 tation per the Charles, Captain Jacklyn."^ The titles, 
 arranged in alphabetical order only by the initial letter, 
 are further divided into groups according to fold, first 
 the folios, from A to Z, and so on. 
 
 Doubtless in response to a growing demand, it was 
 voted in February, 1759, "that the Library be opened 
 Twice a Week"; but no corresponding consideration 
 was shown the Librarian in a resolve that, "unless the 
 Keeper will Attend that Service for the Same Salary 
 heretofore paid, M^ John Vanderspiegel have Leaue to 
 appoint another that will." Without a mvu-mur, so far 
 as the records tell, Mr. Hildreth continued at his post 
 imder double hours, notice of his "Attendance every Mon- 
 day and Thursday, from half an Hour after Eleven, to 
 one o'clock," appearing in the local papers for May. 
 
 ^ There are 55 such asterisks ; while for the Fraight of a Case of Printed 
 
 a page of accounts in the minutes Books from London to New York in 
 
 shows this confirmatory item: "Rec'd the Ship Charles (and Nine pence 
 
 of John v. D. Spiegel Two pounds for Entry). Edmd Jacklyne." 
 
170 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 From time to time, as funds accmnulated, additional 
 works were ordered from abroad, the lists being com- 
 piled from "catalogues" of suggested books required of 
 each Trustee. One such list met with a fate happily 
 withheld from any actual consignments amid the for- 
 tunes of war; for in May, 1761, the Treasurer was 
 asked to "Send to M^? Ward, Or to Such Other Person 
 as He Shall think fit, in London, for the Books men- 
 tioned in the Catalogue, formerly Sent John Ward, and 
 taken by the Enemy." 
 
 In consequence of these accessions, of the same gen- 
 eral character as the original collection, a third printed 
 catalogue was necessitated and duly appeared in 
 August, 1761. A single specimen of this publication of 
 200 copies is also in the possession of the Society Li- 
 brary; it too is from the press of Hugh Gaine,^ and 
 similar in all respects to the last, being likewise undated. 
 According to its "Advertisement," the Library hours 
 are continued as before. The hst of subscribers is again 
 identical with those in former catalogues, a strange 
 recurrence ; it must have been repeated simply to put on 
 record the names of the original shareholders, though 
 one would expect a full list of up-to-date members in 
 full standing. The total number of volvraies, their titles 
 arranged alphabetically and with more care this time, 
 is 1018, a gain of 159 in three years. One title in partic- 
 ular is of interest, in connection with the story of that 
 survivor of the Trinity Parish Library, now in the So- 
 ciety Library, — a set of "Clarendon's History of the 
 Rebellion." 
 
 A very noticeable omission in this last catalogue is the 
 
 '/4 I Catalogue \ of the \ Books \ he- Galne, at the Bible and Crown, in 
 longing to the \ New-York Society Ha-|nover-Square. 
 Library. \ New-York: | Printed by H. 
 
BOARD MEETS AT FRAUNCES' TAVERN 171 
 
 schedule of terms for non-subscribers. In May of that 
 year the board had directed the Librarian "not to Suffer 
 any Person not a Subscriber to have any Book Out of 
 the Library for the Futiue," because many books 
 "hired" by them had been "greatly injured and 
 Abused." At the same time, a committee was charged 
 to "See whether Any and what Books are lost Or Miss- 
 ing," and to "Advertise Such Books as Shall be found 
 Missing." Lastly, the Treasurer was authorized to em- 
 ploy a collector, the first mention of such an assistant, 
 at the modest remuneration of "Ninepence in the 
 Pound." His accoiuits show that this work was regu- 
 larly performed by Librarian Hildreth. 
 
 Trustee meetings continued to be held in itinerant 
 fashion at one and another of the public houses. It is 
 gratifying to one's curiosity to find that the board pa- 
 tronized our celebrated Fraunces' Tavern, forever re- 
 nowned as the scene of Washington's "Farewell" to his 
 officers. On March 9, 1764, the Trustees assembled "at 
 the House of M^ Samuel Francis,"^ as it is politely ex- 
 pressed in the minutes. The list of books, then "added 
 and sent for," may be quoted in full to show their char- 
 acter, as well as the constant attention paid to enlarging 
 the collection. They are thus entered in the records : 
 
 Swift's Works latest & best Edition with Cutts; Lady Mary 
 Worthly Montague's Letters or Travels ; Elements of Criticism 
 by Lord Keams ; Broughton's History of All Religions ; AU the 
 Volumes of Warburton's divine Legation of Moses, succeeding 
 the fourth Volume if any ; Commons Debates, 1667-1694 ; Mon- 
 
 1 According to newspaper adver- 1907 the historic structure was re- 
 
 tisements, "Samuel Frances" was at stored by the Society of the Sons 
 
 that time innkeeper "at the Sign of of the Revolution, and to-day old 
 
 the Queen's Head, near the Ex- Fraunces' Tavern looks as it did 
 
 change" on Broad street, corner of when "Black Sam," its West Indian 
 
 Queen (Pearl). Within the year proprietor, flourished. 
 
172 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 taign's Essays; St Evremont; Dodly's Collection of Poems; 
 Reflections on the Rise and fall of Ancient Republicks adapted 
 to the present state of G Britain by E. Worthly Montague 
 Esq^; The Present State of Europe by John Campbell Esq^; 
 The Duke of Sully's Memoirs ; Kempfer's History of Japan ; 
 Levy's Roman History in English, the best Edition; An Ac- 
 count of the European Settlements in America &9; The Works 
 of Daniel Defoe; Clarendon's History of His own Life; The 
 Adventurer; The Connoisure; Humes Political Discoveries; 
 Voyages from Asia to America for Compleating the Discoveries 
 of the North West Coast of America translated from the High 
 Dutch of S. MuUer by Thomas JefFery's with the Maps; All 
 Sheridan's Works ; FuUer's Gymnastic Exercises ; Montesqui's 
 Persian Letters. — All Lettered on the Backs. 
 
 Although at this time, it will be recalled, the old 
 Corporation Library was taking a repose of two years 
 in storage,^ pending extensive repairs to the City Hall, 
 there is nothing in the Library minutes to prove that its 
 collection was at all disturbed. The Librarian continued 
 to draw his salary regularly, while Trustee meetings and 
 annual elections were held as usual, at taverns or at the 
 Exchange. That the institution was contributing its 
 share toward these same improvements is inferable 
 from this item in the accounts: "To Cash p*? Andrew 
 Gautier for Work Done at the Library Room . . . 
 15^," dated March 26, 1764. Again, just a year later. 
 Treasurer Vanderspiegel records: "To Cash p^ Clean- 
 ing the Library Room & Carting Books from my House 
 to the Library Room ... 10^ 9^" At first sight this 
 last entry might seem to imply that the Society Li- 
 brary's books had also been temporarily removed; but 
 the smallness of the item, coupled with the fact that a 
 new consignment of 130 volumes had just arrived from 
 London, makes that theory the less tenable. 
 
 1 See p. 79. 
 
MISSING BOOKS ADVERTISED 173 
 
 At all events, by the middle of September, 1765, 
 Thomas Jackson, "Master of the Academy in the Ex- 
 change," had begixn his duties as Librarian of both 
 Libraries in the City Hall. By the Conmion Council he 
 was paid £4s a year "for his Trouble," and he received 
 from the Trustees of the Society Library the further 
 sum of £6 per annum. The two collections were to be 
 open to the public as before, on Mondays and Thursdays 
 from 11 : 30 to one o'clock. Inasmuch as the advertise- 
 ment in the Gazette for September 19, 1765, states no 
 terms for loans, it is probable that the Trustees had made 
 no change since their by-law of June, 1755, repeated in 
 the Catalogues of 1758 and 1761. The rates charged by 
 the Corporation Library have already been quoted.^ 
 
 This same Gazette notice reports that the Society 
 Library then had "a large well chosen collection of the 
 most useful modern books, with a considerable late addi- 
 tion, of which a catalogue will be speedily pubhshed, 
 that the subscribers may stitch in with their former 
 catalogues." Sad to relate, the surviving copies of those 
 earlier publications contain not this supplement, printed 
 in the fall of 1766 by Hugh Gaine. It may, however, 
 have become parted from their company, for their pres- 
 ent condition might properly be termed ttwstitched! 
 The interesting statement then foUows that "A share in 
 this Library is now worth 10 1. 10 s.," which quotation 
 indicates increased market valuation. Further on ap- 
 pears this list of books, advertised as "missing" : 
 
 Ludlow's memoirs, fol. Wood's institutes of common law, fol. 
 Hogarth's analysis, ito, Cowley's works, vol. 1st. Shakespear, 
 vol. 2d. Rolt of the late war, vol. 4th. Clogher's journal. 
 Life of Richlieu, 2 vols. De la Sale's voyages. Henepin's trav- 
 
 ^ See p. 79. 
 
174 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 els. Life of Sir Matthew Hale, 12mo. Life of the duke of 
 Marlborough. Thompson's travels. Voyage to Peru. Chris- 
 tian hero. Conclusion of bishop Burnet's history. Adventurer, 
 vol. 4<th. Select trials at the Old Bailey, vol. 3d. Rowe's works, 
 vol. 2d. 
 
 Contrary to custom, but perhaps out of deference to 
 the engagements of Mayor Hicks, one of their number, 
 the Trustees met on December 17, 1766, "in the Library- 
 Room at the City Hall." After ordering Treasiirer 
 Vanderspiegel to pay all salary arrears to Messrs. Ben- 
 jamin Hildreth and Thomas Jackson, it was voted that 
 the Librarian thenceforth be paid quarterly. There- 
 upon, that officer was requested "to observe punctually" 
 a certain "standing Rule" of the Library as to the limita- 
 tion of its privileges to delinquents. Next they acknow- 
 ledged from Messrs. Robert Barclay and Daniel Mil- 
 dred, "in Name of the Society of Friends at London 
 . . . Eight Volumes of the principal Writings for that 
 People." And lastly Messrs. Vanderspiegel, W. Living- 
 ston and Rutherford were deputed to prepare "a List of 
 the new Books now proposed to be sent for, and to 
 recommend to their Correspondent at London to send 
 the Books as mentioned in the Order of the List as far 
 as the Money in the Hands of the Treasurer will pay 
 for." This measure had been announced in the Mercury 
 of December 15th as the chief object of assembling, and 
 "all the Proprietors" were urged "in the mean Time to 
 send a Catalogue of such Books as they think proper for 
 that Purpose to Mr. Jackson, the Librarian, to be then 
 submitted to the Judgement of the Trustees." 
 
 For many years no mention was made of domestic 
 purchases of books. But in February, 1770, an order 
 was given to James Rivington, printer, publisher of 
 
BOOKS OBTAINED THROUGH RIVINGTON 175 
 
 Bivington's New-York Gazetteer, and a bookseller as 
 well, at his "open and uninfluenced Press, fronting 
 Hanover-Square"; and a committee was asked to 
 "Make a fair List of such books as are Agreed on to 
 be purchas^ & in case they cannot be purchased here 
 Cheeper or as Cheep as they Can be sent for, 
 that then M^ Vanderspiegel do send for them,"— the 
 minute being self-explanatory as to why local dealers 
 had not been patronized hitherto. Thenceforth, until 
 the Revolution summarily closed all accounts, Mr. Riv- 
 ington, together with "some Bookseller in London," 
 played no minor part in supplying needs of the institu- 
 tion. Over a year after this incident, a Hst of books, 
 "lately received" through Rivington's agency, appeared 
 in Gaine's Gazette and Mercury of April 15, 1771, as 
 follows : 
 
 Handmaid to Arts, Anderson on Commerce, Hook's Roman 
 History, Fitzosborne's Letters, Smith's moral Sentiments, Fer- 
 guson on civil Society, Dalrymple on Feudal Property, Annual 
 Register, Delaney's Revelation examined with Candour, Gerard 
 on Taste, Felton on the Classics, Reid on the Mind, Ferguson's 
 Astronomy, Ferguson's Lectures, Burk on the Sublime, Bio- 
 graphical Dictionary, Vatel's Law of Nations. 
 
 During the brief space of time remaining before the 
 outbreak of war, the Trustees continued to assemble for 
 dehberation and refreshment at Widow Brock's wayside 
 inn, which stood "near the old City Hall in Wall- 
 street," the newspapers tell. But httle business appears 
 to have been transacted, beyond looking out for missing 
 books, contracting for new ones, and regulating the 
 duration of loans. In February, 1770, it was enacted 
 that a foho might be "detained" six weeks; a quarto, 
 four; an octavo, three; and a duodecimo, two weeks, 
 
176 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 further retention entailing a "forfitt" of four, three, 
 and two pence and "one penney" a day, respectively. 
 
 Within these years several changes took place in the 
 incumbency of the Librarian's oiRce. Thomas Jackson, 
 appointed to the two-fold charge of the Society Library 
 and the old Corporation Library in September, 1765, 
 was a man of cultivation and ability. In 1762 he had 
 conducted on Wall street a private classical school,^ 
 which, in consequence of success, he was encoxiraged to 
 remove, in May, 1765, to more pretentious quarters in 
 the Exchange, "the best house in town for a publick 
 school,"^ "at the Rent of Sixty Pounds."* Here he 
 entered into a brief partnership with Peter Wilson, "a 
 young gentleman, who with the greatest approbation, 
 finished a regular course of education in the University 
 of Aberdeen, and also assisted for two years, to great 
 satisfaction, in teaching."^ This is an early allusion to 
 one of the leading educators of his time, afterward to 
 serve for many years as a Trustee of the Society 
 Library. The pair advertised an "Academy" of instruc- 
 tion in "all branches of useful education," for "gentle- 
 men and ladies of eight years old and upwards." 
 Several months later, coincidentally with his new Li- 
 brary duties, this active man started another enterprise, 
 heralded in the Mercury of September 30th as follows : 
 
 AN evening school, for the greater convenience of young peo- 
 1- pie, will be opened this evening Sept. 30, in Mr. Jackson's 
 academy, at the Exchange; where will be taught, reading, 
 writing, cyphering, book-keeping, navigation, geography and 
 
 ' History of the School of the Col- ^ The New-York Gazette; or the 
 
 legiate Reformed Dutch Church. Weekly Post-Boy, May 3, 1765. 
 New York, 1883. P. 63. ' Minutes of the Common Council, 
 
 vol. VI, p. 409. 
 
Hon. William 
 
 Samuel Johnson, J.C.D.,LL.D. 
 
 Trustee, 1793-1801 
 
LIBRARIAN THOMAS JACKSON 177 
 
 algebra. Punctual attendance will be given, and proper pains 
 taken for the benefit of the scholars. 
 
 While residing in New York, Mr. Jackson was a 
 devoted member of the English Presbyterian Church, 
 which he served as elder and as clerk of the session. 
 With others, including William Smith, Garrat Noel 
 and Peter Van Brugh Livingston, elders, and William 
 Smith, Jr., and John Morin Scott, trustees, he formu- 
 lated a petition to the city fathers in 1766 for "the 
 Angular Piece of Groimd," ^ on which the "Old Brick" 
 Church was so long to stand. The time and occasion of 
 his leaving New York are thus recorded in the ancient 
 "Session Book," under date of August 26, 1768: "M"- 
 Thomas Jackson a worthy Member of this Session, hav- 
 ing applyed himself to the Ministry & removed out of 
 the City, is no longer considered a Member of this Judi- 
 cature." So far as his Library work was concerned, he 
 seems to have employed a deputy at the last, as the 
 Treasurer's records show that the usual £6 for the year 
 ending May 1, 1768, was paid to one Alexander MUler, 
 "for M^ Tho? Jackson." During the next six years the 
 post of Librarian was held by James Wihnot. 
 
 Throughout these years the subscribers had met regu- 
 larly on the last Tuesday in April,^ — as has been the 
 practice ever since, — though at varying times of day, 
 the hour for the first decade and more being eleven in the 
 forenoon. No fm-ther contests appear to have arisen, 
 and, as has been said, the old board was usually reelected. 
 
 '■Minutes of the Common Council, usual hour, at the Exchange, when 
 
 vol. VII, pp. S-6, 8-12. "some matters of importance" — 
 
 ' On one occasion, in 1771, a notice probably the discussion of a charter 
 was issued in Gaine's Gazette and —were to be "proposed." A week 
 Mercury of April 15th, calling the later, however, members were prop- 
 annual meeting for the 16th, at the erly advised of the "Mistake." 
 
178 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 The last act of moment to chronicle for this first period 
 in the history of the Society Library is the appoint- 
 ment, in February, 1771, of Samuel Jones, elected a 
 Trustee the preceding April, as Treasurer to succeed 
 John Vanderspiegel, deceased.^ In passing, it wiU be 
 observed that the clause in the original Articles, forbid- 
 ding a Trustee to hold the office of Treasurer, had been 
 systematically ignored from the beginning. It had 
 doubtless been found far easier in the management to 
 have that officer a member of the board; while any 
 apprehensions that framers of the Articles may have 
 entertained regarding proper disposal of the funds had 
 evidently not been shared by members at large, when 
 once the machinery of administration had been set in 
 motion. 
 
 ' The Gazette of Feb. 4, 1771, con- and elect a Treasurer, in the Room 
 
 talned a summons to "Subscribers of Mr. Vanderspiegle, deceased." 
 
 and Trustees of the Society Library" Goldsbrow Banyar was elected to the 
 
 to meet "at the House of Mrs. board, which thereupon chose Mr. 
 
 Brock" on the 12th, "at six o'CIock Jones, Treasurer, 
 in the Evening to choose a Trustee 
 
Ill 
 
 PROM THE ROYAL CHARTER, 1772, TO THE REVOLUTION, 1776 
 
 THERE is no question that the founders of the 
 Society Library looked forward with confidence 
 to a time, not remote, when they should secure 
 their undertaking on the strong and enduring basis of 
 incorporation. Such had been the original aim, as 
 recorded by one of their little company, WiUiam Smith, 
 Jr., that "it would be very proper for the Company to 
 have a Charter for its Security and Encouragement"^; 
 yet more than eighteen years were to elapse before 
 attaining that object. It is not easy, in the lack of evi- 
 dence, to offer a convincing explanation of this apparent 
 and protracted indifference. 
 
 It may be that the strenuous injection of politics into 
 the enterprise at the start, let alone the evident worsting 
 of his own party, may have so disaffected Lieutenant- 
 Governor De Lancey that he lost interest in the Library 
 and could not be induced to sanction its incorporation. 
 Then, too, the international life-and-death struggle for 
 mastery on the American continent was absorbing the 
 attention and energies of provincial authorities to the 
 exclusion of aught else, during the first half of this very 
 period. 
 
 '■History of the Province of New York. London, 1757. P. 195. 
 
 179 .■ 
 
180 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Nevertheless, some gleam of hope must have shone out, 
 possibly from De Lancey himself, for in October, 1759, 
 Benjamin Nicoll, William Smith, Jr., and William 
 Alexander were deputed to prepare "the Draft of a 
 Charter for Incorporating the Society agreeable to the 
 Articles & Lay it before the Trustees with all Conveniant 
 Speed." But this slight glimmer was extinguished not 
 many months later by the sudden death of the lieuten- 
 ant-governor. 
 
 Dr. Cadwallader Colden, who presently succeeded as 
 acting executive, must have entertained a prejudice 
 against the Library. He certainly never evinced enough 
 interest even to become a member, an astonishing fact 
 when his cultivated and scholarly tastes are taken into 
 account. Always at odds with his predecessor, he was 
 ever only too conscious of the antipathy also existing 
 between himself and "those Presbyterian lawyers," as 
 he termed Livingston, Smith and Scott. Consequently 
 there was slim chance to consummate their purpose 
 throughout his term of office. No encouragement, 
 furthermore, seems to have been offered by successive 
 royal governors, Monckton, Moore and Dunmore, dur- 
 ing their brief tenure. 
 
 Early in the incumbency of Governor Tryon, how- 
 ever, a renewed and successful attempt was finally 
 made, in an order of December 4, 1771, "that M^ Jones 
 prepare a Draft of a Charter for incorporating the mem- 
 bers of the Library and lay it before the Trustees at their 
 next meeting." Besides the anticipation of executive 
 favor, there was yet another motive impelling to a 
 speedy accomplishment of the long-deferred project. 
 Oft-times competition will stimulate to activity even more 
 cogently than sympathetic interest alone. Possibly such 
 
STEPS TOWARD INCORPORATION 181 
 
 was true in this case, for, on the very day before the 
 meeting just chronicled, there had been issued the pro- 
 spectus of the Union Library Society of New York/ 
 For more than seventeen years the Society Library had 
 been the only estabUshment of its kind in the community, 
 cordially sanctioned by the city government as well as 
 by the general public; but now a rival suddenly springs 
 up to contest its influence, if not its very existence. 
 
 From the standing of the sponsors of the new insti- 
 tution, and in view of the very reasonable charges ad- 
 vertised, the older organization had clearly a serious 
 situation to face. Although the minutes record no 
 mention of this event, or of any apprehensions on its 
 score, the Trustees were fully ahve to its import. Too 
 much careful planning and hard work had been ex- 
 pended in behalf of their trust to lose ground now, when 
 so near attainment of the long-distant goal. Spurred to 
 action, Incorporation became their slogan. 
 
 At the January meeting in 1772, Samuel Jones ac- 
 cordingly produced the desired draft of a charter, which 
 was read and agreed upon by the board after some shght 
 emendation. A petition, "praying for a Grant of the 
 Charter," was then drawn up and signed; and Mr. Jones 
 was requested to present it to the governor, after secur- 
 ing the signatures of four absent members. The first 
 volume of the old records thereupon concludes with 
 proclaiming the election, on the last Tuesday in April, 
 1772, of "the same Trustees as the last Year." A gap 
 of thirteen months stretches between the first two books 
 of minutes, in which interval the charter had passed the 
 provincial seals, with the signature of Governor WiUiam 
 Tryon on November 9, 1772. 
 
 ^ See Introduction, pp. 112-118, 120. 
 
182 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Well might the second volume of proceedings open 
 with a flourish, amid sounding of trumpets and haut- 
 boys ! Here indeed, if nowhere else in the formal record 
 of events, a note of self -congratulation would assuredly 
 be appropriate. But the laconic equipoise of the entries 
 is unfailing. Not a trace of enthusiasm, or even of satis- 
 faction, is discernible in the simple statement that, "at 
 the Tavern kept by Sarah Brock ... on Thiu-sday the 
 seventh Day of January 1773," in the presence of a 
 bare quorum, "the Charter for the said Library was pro- 
 duced and read." 
 
 Immediately following comes a draft of the precious 
 document in full, covering some fifteen pages of the old 
 folio; in the absence of the original instrument, addi- 
 tional interest attaches to this contemporary copy, 
 elegantly written throughout. Coltmibia University 
 fitly cherishes to-day the actual charter granted to 
 King's College in 1754 by Lieutenant-Governor De 
 Lancey, as the representative of King George II. No 
 less may the Society of the New York Hospital rejoice 
 in possessing under glass its deed of incorporation, 
 bestowed by the Earl of Dunmore with the sanction of 
 King George III in 1771. Still greater cause for com- 
 placency have the corporations of the Reformed Dutch 
 Church and Old Trinity in having preserved similarly 
 authoritative evidences of legal establishment, signed by 
 Governor Fletcher in the days of King William III in 
 1696 and 1697, respectively. But the Society Library — 
 like the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New 
 York, chartered in March, 1770, under Lieutenant- 
 Governor Colden — has suffered irreparable loss in this 
 particular respect. There is no knowledge of the actual 
 destruction of the missing parchment, but the great 
 
CONTEMPORARY COPY OF CHARTER 
 
 183 
 
 ^ HPTirPMliii I 
 
 111 HllftMllifet.! 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 - % 
 
 III I' 1^1^ ■ 
 
 t f it! ll'\^ri ^^ fell |p|?kt. K 
 
184 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 hope that it may sometime be restored grows ever less 
 with the years. ^ 
 
 Like other royal charters, this document is unpara- 
 graphed, from the salutation of the king, in all his titled 
 majesty, to the signatiu-e of Governor Tryon at the end. 
 With stately pomp there comes first the customary 
 greeting from "George the Third, by the Grace of God, 
 of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender 
 of the Faith, and so forth." The preamble recites the 
 names of that year's Trustees, classifying them as 
 Esquires, Merchants, Gentlemen, and Physician. It 
 also includes extracts from their petition, which in turn 
 reads like a recapitulation of the old Articles of 1754. 
 Still quoting the petition, the instrument continues : 
 
 By which Means the said Library was become very considerable, 
 but would increase much faster, and might be made of greater 
 pubhck Utility if a Corporation should be formed for that Pur- 
 pose. . . . Now we taking into our Royal Consideration the 
 beneficial Tendency of such an Institution within our said City, 
 are graciously pleased to grant the said humble Request of our 
 said loving Subjects. Know ye thebefobe, That we of our 
 especial Grace, certain Knowledge and mere Motion, have willed, 
 given, granted, ordained, constituted and appointed, and by 
 these Presents, Do will, give, grant, ordain, constitute and ap- 
 point. That the said . . . [naming the twelve Trustees and then 
 other members, to include seventeen Esquires, one Doctor of 
 Divinity, twenty Merchants, three Gentlemen, two Distillers, one 
 Printer, one Apothecary, one Surgeon, and one Widow, — fifty- 
 nine in all] : Being such of the Subscribers to the said Library, 
 
 ^ There is no record of the time of course bears no signatures. The 
 when the charter disappeared. It is Executive Council minutes (MS.) 
 said to have been in the Library's record receipt of a petition for in- 
 possession as late at 1850. The origi- corporation under date of Sept. 8, 
 nal draft of the document, contain- 1773; but the original paper is miss- 
 ing 16 pp. folio, is in vol. 6 (1773- ing. See Calendar of Council 
 1775) of "Original Drafts of Land Minutes, 1668-1783. Albany, 1903. 
 Patents," State Library, Albany. It P. 567. 
 
CORPORATE RIGHTS 185 
 
 or their Assigns, as have not only paid the said Sum of Five 
 Pounds, but also the said Ten Shillings yearly, ever since; and 
 such other Persons as shall be hereafter admitted Members of 
 the Corporation hereby erected, be, and for ever hereafter shall 
 be by Virtue of these Presents, One Body Corporate and Politic 
 in Deed, Fact and Name, by the Name, Stile, and Title of The 
 Trustees of the NEW-YORK Societt Libeauy. 
 
 Next are conferred unreservedly all the rights inci- 
 dent to a corporation, including perpetual succession, 
 capacity to sue and to be sued, the holding of property, 
 possession of a seal, and the liberty to erect a Library 
 building and other structiu-es. There should continue to 
 be, it goes on to state, twelve Trustees to conduct the 
 affairs of the institution; and that, as hitherto, on the 
 last Tuesday in April, "yearly and every Year for ever 
 thereafter," the members should meet at the Exchange 
 in Broad street, "or at some other convenient Place in 
 our said City of New York," to elect Trustees. 
 
 Then come provisions for filKng vacancies in the 
 board, for calling meetings, for determining a quorum, 
 for passing,, amending or repealing by-laws, — not to be 
 repugnant to the statutes of New York or to the laws of 
 England, — and for appointing a Treasurer, a Secretary 
 and a Librarian. Members were to be privileged to sell, 
 assign or devise their rights, such assigns to become 
 members in full standing, but only when owning whole 
 shares; and the Trustees might elect as members of the 
 corporation whom they should think proper. After 
 regulating the annual dues (ten shillings), the penalties 
 for arrears, forfeitures, etc., it is stated in conclusion 
 that the charter should be "deemed, adjudged and con- 
 strued in all Cases, most favourably and for the best 
 Benefit and Advantage of our said Corporation." 
 
186 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 There is afforded here for the first time an opportu- 
 nity to compare the membership with that at the outset. 
 The fifty-nine names mentioned in the charter show a 
 falling-off of exactly fifty per cent, from the original 
 subscription list. But it must be borne in mind that 
 ntmierous "rights" had been bequeathed, or otherwise 
 "alienated," during these eighteen years; while not a 
 few members held several shares. Thus it cannot 
 be told just how many paying shares there were. Un- 
 doubtedly, however, there had not been anything like 
 the substantial accessions hoped for, if increase there 
 had been. 
 
 How agitated and proud these sturdy workers must 
 have been to behold reahzed at last their cherished hopes 
 of many years! Content to labor and to wait for the 
 success now attained, they must have felt the happiness 
 of the moment well worth all the weary planning and 
 the time and money spent. It is good to find at least a 
 few of the prime movers of the undertaking stiU on the 
 board of Trustees, namely, William Smith the historian, 
 Robert R. Livingston and William Livingston, together 
 with John Watts, who had served, with the exception of 
 but a single year, from the beginning to the now fast- 
 approaching pohtical convulsion. 
 
 In the first flush of their triumph and increased im- 
 portance, however, they were not unmindful of favors 
 received. Their initial act as a corporation was to con- 
 fer honorary membership upon Governor Tryon, 
 Attorney- General John Tabor Kempe, and William 
 Banyar, nephew of Goldsbrow Banyar, deputy-secre- 
 tary of the province, through whose united instrimien- 
 tality the charter had been gratuitously granted and 
 passed. Each of the three was to receive a certificate of 
 
CATALOGUE OF 1773 187 
 
 admission, it was voted, with the naive quahfication, "as 
 soon as one shall be procured." 
 
 After a careful revision of the by-laws, — the schedule 
 of loans and penalties being identical with the last state- 
 ment, but the hours of attendance increased to three 
 days, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from twelve 
 to two, "Holy-Days excepted,"— the Trustees, clothed 
 in their new powers, proceeded to appoint, or really to 
 confirm, Samuel Jones as Treasurer and James Wilmot 
 as "Keeper of the said Library." A departure was 
 made in appointing Dr. Samuel Bard, Secretary, an 
 office formerly identified, as "Clerk," with the treasurer- 
 ship. It was then voted to have the "Terms of Admis- 
 sion" published for three weeks "in the News Paper 
 printed by Hugh Gaine," who should also have the con- 
 tract for printing the charter, by-laws and a fresh 
 catalogue. Finally the Treasiirer was ordered to "lay 
 before this Board at the next Meeting a Device for a 
 Seal." 
 
 In compliance with the first of these directions, a 
 notice that the Trustees had "obtained a Charter of In- 
 corporation," and would "now admit new Members upon 
 Payment of Five Pounds each, for the Use of the Li- 
 brary," appeared in The New-Tork Gazette; and 
 the Weekly Mercury for three weeks, beginning on 
 January 11th. It also announced the speedy issuance 
 of a new catalogue, which was promptly forthcoming. 
 This Catalogue of 1773, a copy of which the Library is 
 so fortunate as to own, though a larger affair than the 
 earlier issues, is yet but a modest paper-covered pam- 
 phlet of thirty-six pages.^ Eight pages are devoted to a 
 
 ' The Charter, and Bye-Laws, of to the said Library. New York, 
 the New-Tork Society Library; with 1773. Gaine's receipt shows that he 
 a Catalogue of the Books belonging was paid £10 8s for 500 copies. 
 
188 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 closely printed copy of the charter, and three succeeding 
 pages comprehend revised "Laws, Ordinances, and 
 Regulations." The catalogue proper contains a total of 
 1291 volumes, the last accounting before their shameful 
 dispersion. 
 
 To revert to the charter, — some little amusement may 
 have been excited at the last-named incorporator, "Anne 
 Waddel, Widow," as though that title were her calhng 
 in life! John WaddeU, her husband, had been one of 
 the original subscribers to the Library movement, and it 
 is interesting to see how she was here perpetuating his as 
 well as her own regard for the institution. It is also 
 noteworthy that a woman's name should have been 
 allowed to stand on such a very legal document, showing 
 that there was no law to forbid, nor, fully as requisite, 
 any social convention either.^ As in this instance, so 
 throughout its history, the Society Library has ever wel- 
 comed women to enrolment as shareholders, with unre- 
 stricted access to the shelves. 
 
 It would be needless to make this trite statement, 
 were it not for the fact that such an attitude is quite in 
 contrast to that evinced by the Boston Athenaeum, for 
 example, where no women were allowed to consult books 
 prior to 1829, nor for some years thereafter, save in one 
 or two exceptional cases. As late as 1856, Librarian 
 Folsom of that institution reported it "as undesirable, 
 that a modest young woman should have anything to do 
 with the corrupter portions of the polite literature. A 
 considerable portion of a general Ubrary should be to her 
 a sealed book." He further asserts that the proposed 
 
 * Anne (Kirten) Waddell, born in interests (after his decease in 1762) 
 
 1716, was a lady of uncommon abil- with great profit, until her own 
 
 ity and force of character, conduct- death in 1773. 
 ing her husband's large shipping 
 
Mrs. Anne (Kirten) Waddell 
 
 Widow of Captain John ^\'addell. Only woman named 
 in the Charter, 177:3 
 
RIVALRY OF UNION LIBRARY SOCIETY 189 
 
 concession to admit women to the shelves "would occa- 
 sion frequent embarrassment to modest men." ^ 
 
 Before continuing the narrative, a further word is 
 pertinent in regard to the Union Library Society. As 
 we have seen,^ this institution throve and bade fair to 
 become no shght menace to the prosperity of the Society 
 Library. No sooner had the latter's incorporation been 
 announced in the newspapers, than the Directors of the 
 yoiinger institution promptly published a notice, em- 
 phasizing their moderate terms, stating their collection 
 to contain "near 1000 volumes," and claiming a member- 
 ship of 140 persons, — rather more than double the num- 
 ber of shareholders enumerated a few months before in 
 the charter of the Society Library. 
 
 Furthermore, the action of the Common Council in 
 April, 1774, allowing the Union Library Society to 
 deposit its books in the same room that held their own 
 collection, must have been unspeakably irritating to the 
 pride of the Trustees, so lately exalted by the investiture 
 of chartered rights. It was indeed but a shabby rettirn 
 by the city fathers for the care of the old Corporation 
 Library during so many years, for there is no mention in 
 the municipal records that the city paid for a Librarian 
 after Thomas Jackson retired in 1768. Truly the haz- 
 ards of war would then have seemed to the Trustees 
 hardly more insupportable than so forced and distasteful 
 a companionship. 
 
 Less than thirty days after this ungracious act of the 
 Common Covmcil, and fully sixteen months since a 
 recorded session of the board, there was held what 
 proved to be the last meeting of the Trustees for many a 
 
 * Report, March 29, 1856. MS. in Influence and History of the Boston 
 Boston Public Library; also, The Athenwum. Boston, 1907. P. 41. 
 
 = See Introduction, pp. 112-118. 
 
190 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 day. Eleven members constituted this gathering, at the 
 Exchange, May 9, 1774. Various matters came up for 
 consideration, both retrospectively and, as they doubtless 
 supposed, for the unbroken future. In the first place, 
 acting on previous instructions, "the Treasurer and 
 Secretary laid before the Trustees a Device for a Seal 
 of which they approved," and ordered "to have it imme- 
 diately cast in Steel." 
 
 Several cheering items next gladden the eye: the 
 treasury shows a balance of £116:7:9%; and five new 
 members had lately been enrolled, including the Rev. 
 Dr. Inghs, fourth rector of Trinity Church, the Rev. 
 John H. Livingston, of the Dutch Reformed commu- 
 nion, and John Jones, M.D., — the last-named just 
 chosen a Trustee, and the second destined to serve fully 
 a quarter-century later. Also it was recorded that "M' 
 Saml Verplank purchased the Share of M' Rob* Crom- 
 line and paid up the arrears," — the first mention of such 
 a transfer in the minutes. Encovu-agement from these 
 evidences of prosperity appears in the single entry: 
 "Ordered^ That M' Kettletass purchase one dozen Win- 
 sor Chairs, and two step Laders for the use of the 
 Library." 
 
 Quite a notable departure from custom was made in 
 a vote to hold the annual meetings for the future at the 
 City Hall instead of at the Exchange. Another by-law, 
 then adopted, fixed Trustee meetings "for the Dispatch 
 of Business ... at the Library Room upon the first 
 Tuesday in y*" months of Aprill, July, October, and 
 January at twelve o'Clock at noon." After agreeing 
 "to the purchase of Books of wh^ a Catalogue" was 
 exhibited, and voting that all volumes "wanting to com- 
 plete old sets be replaced," it was finally "Order'd, That 
 
BOOKS READ IN COLONIAL PERIOD 191 
 
 Doct. John Jones, M? Kettletass, M^ Treasurer, Peter 
 Vanschaack, or any three of them, be a Committy to do 
 the above Business." 
 
 Having ascertained the character of the original col- 
 lection, and knowing who were the early members of the 
 Society Library, the natural wish follows, as the night 
 the day, to learn something of the actual handling of the 
 books ; who read what ! Happily this desire it is possible 
 to gratify to a slight extent, for there remains a dis- 
 colored rough draft of a manuscript catalogue in folio, 
 without date or cover, not untidily fastened by a once 
 blue ribbon. Following some twenty of the titles in a 
 fragmentary fashion are jotted down the names of 
 occasional borrowers throughout the colonial period, as 
 follows : 
 
 Addison's Works 4 Vols. (4*^ Vol. wanting), John Provoost; 
 Bacon's Works, 3 Vols. ( l^t Vol. want.) , Basnages History of the 
 Jews, Ab™ Depeyster, Oct^ 29, 1767 ; Columelle on Husbandry 
 and Trees, Ja? Depeyster by Peter Dubois, June 15, 1766 ; Chubb's 
 posthumous Works, 2 Vols., Peter V B Livingston, April 9*^ 
 1770; Cicero's Orations by Guthrie, 3 Vols., Cornelius Van 
 Home, 7th Sept^ 1769: Albers Lives of the Poets, 5 Vols, (l^t 
 Vol. wanting), Edw^ Nicoll, May 12, 1766; Cato's Letters, 4 
 Vols. (1st Vol. wanting), Phil. Livingston, 14 March, 1768; 
 Franklin on Electricity, Augustus V Cortlandt, August 10, 
 1756 ; Grandison, 7 Vols., Nathanl Marston, March 13, 1769 ; 
 Kiel's Astronomy, W? Laight, 24 Sept^ 1772; Kiesler's Trav- 
 els, 4 Vols. (1st Vol. wanting), W? Imlay, March 7, 1753 
 [1773?] ; Maintenon's Letters, 2 Vols., Stephen D'Lancey,Septr 
 22, 1766 ; Montague's Letters, 4 Vols., y^ l^t & 29^ W? Smith 
 Sen' Ap 28th 1768; Philosophical Transactions, 10 Vols., Ab™ 
 Brinckerhoff ; ancient History, 10 Vols, (l^t Vol. want?), Robt 
 G. Livingston, Dec^ 19, 1765 ; System of Geography, 2 Vols., 
 Henry Remsen; Sheridans Lectures on Elocution, Jn? Living- 
 
192 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 ston, Dec^ 6, 1768 ; Warburton's Shakespear, 8 Vols, (y^ 24 & 
 6* Vols, want?), 6* Vol., L. Cortwright, October 6*^? 1768; 
 Whiston's Theory of the Earth, Alex^ Cummings, Dec^ 28*1? 
 1757 ; Waller's Poems, John Dies, Aprl 5, 1762. 
 
 In accordance with the new by-law, notice of the 
 annual meeting and election of 1775— "to be held at 
 Twelve o'Clock at Noon, in the Library Room"— was 
 duly inserted by Secretary Bard in the Gazette for 
 April 24th. But from a minute of later date it appears 
 that "no meeting of the proprietors for the choice of 
 Trustees was held from the last Tuesday in April 1774," 
 until December 20, 1788. Consequently we must 
 assume that the board last elected continued in office, 
 "until other fit Persons" were "chosen in their Places," 
 — to quote the language of the charter. During these 
 fourteen years no meetings appear to have been held; 
 and one would think the business of the corporation 
 wholly suspended in 1774, were it not for the above 
 mentioned newspaper notice and certain memoranda by 
 Treasurer Jones in the old minute books. 
 
 Furthermore, there has survived a receipt for £5, 
 signed by George Mm-ray, for "half a Year's Attend- 
 ance as Librarian from July the 6* to Jan^ 6th 1776." 
 From the Treasurer's meager accoimts it appears that 
 Mr. Murray had succeeded James Wilmot on May 1, 
 1774, at an advance of £4 a year, for attending "three 
 times a Week." Of these two persons, little can now be 
 told. James Wilmot's name appears among the 3000 
 signatiu-es of "Principal Male Inhabitants"^ in 1774, 
 while George Murray, a Quaker, kept a select school on 
 Crown (Liberty) street, opposite the Friends' Meeting 
 
 ' See p. 166n. 
 
APPROACHING DISRUPTION 193 
 
 House.'^ He reopened this institution in April, 
 1783,^ but died a few months later "at an advanced 
 
 For aught now known to the contrary, therefore, 
 George Murray was the last Librarian before the 
 Revolution; while there is nothing to prove that the 
 work of the Library did not continue as usual until 
 September, 1776, save the natural behef, as expressed in 
 the manuscript "Matricula" of King's College for that 
 year, that "The Turbulence & Confusion which prevail 
 in every part of the Country effectually suppress every 
 hterary Pmrsuit." Still, a positive indication of Library 
 activity appears in a notice in the Mercury, August 7, 
 1775, calling for the return, "without Delay," of some 
 thirty-odd books "belonging to the New- York Society 
 Library." 
 
 No httle pathos may be read into the detailed and 
 careful dehberations at the last meeting outhned above, 
 in view of the fact that more than fourteen long years 
 of stress and anxiety were to run their course before 
 another gathering would be held, at which, indeed, only 
 four of this group would respond to roll-call. The 
 Society Library, with kindred institutions of culttire and 
 of peace, was early to undergo suspension and well- 
 nigh complete disruption at the blighting touch of war. 
 In the record of this last assembling of its Trustees 
 before the storm, however, no note of apprehension was 
 sounded, matters relative to the welfare of the associa- 
 tion alone finding attention. It is altogether fitting 
 that the curtain should go down with all the actors in 
 
 ' New York City during the Amer- ^ The New-York Gazette; and the 
 
 lean. Revolution, New York, 1861. Weekly Mercury, Apl. 28, 1783. 
 p. 21. " Bivington's Royal Gazette, Sept. 
 
 10, 1783. 
 
194 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 their proper places, conscientiously playing their ap- 
 pointed parts. 
 
 What poor beleaguered New York suffered in the 
 throes of revolution it happily does not fall within the 
 bounds of this narrative to recount. Possessing from its 
 situation one of the chief strategic points in the colonies, 
 it was indeed a vantage-ground to be fought for desper- 
 ately. Within the city, feeling had long been running 
 high between malcontents and upholders of prerogative, 
 and had voiced itself in repeated outbreaks between the 
 ardent Liberty Boys and his Majesty's troops. The 
 British occupation of seven years had good effect in 
 stopping these bickerings perforce, but it was none the 
 less notorious for lawless practices of the soldiery. A 
 spirited account of such depredations as pertain to this 
 study has already been quoted in connection with the 
 history of King's College Library.^ 
 
 Likewise, in the same section of the present work, are 
 given details of efforts on the part of British command- 
 ers to accomphsh a rettirn of at least a portion of the 
 plundered collections.^ In commenting on these out- 
 rages. Judge Jones condescendingly observes: "To do 
 justice even to rebels, let it be here mentioned that 
 though they were in full possession of New York nearly 
 seven months, and had in it at times above 40,000 men, 
 neither of these libraries were ever meddled vpith (the 
 telescope which General Washington took excepted)"!* 
 In a similar spirit of fairness, therefore, it must be ad- 
 mitted that the invaders were not alone in the destruc- 
 tion of books, though for sheer wantonness and cupidity 
 
 1 See pp. 9i-96. War. Vol. II, p. 137. This tele- 
 
 ^ See pp. 95-97. scope now adorns the mantel of 
 
 ' Thomas Jones. History of New the beautiful Trustees' Room in the 
 
 York (hiring the Revolutionary Library of Columbia University. 
 
BOOKS USED IN CARTRIDGE-MAKING 195 
 
 they stand unrivaled. It is said that in one instance a 
 whole edition of the Rev. Gilbert Tennent's sermon, 
 "Defensive War," printed by Franklin, "was utilized 
 by revolted colonists for the manufacture of musket 
 cartridges to aid in driving King George's Hessian 
 mercenaries off the soil, and to establish American lib- 
 erty in place of foreign tyranny."^ 
 
 However this may have been, the one melancholy 
 indisputable fact remains that all the Libraries of the 
 city were either burned or looted, their precious contents 
 ruthlessly scattered to the four winds. Not least among 
 them, the Society Library, the fruit of more than twenty 
 years of planning, of labor and of sacrifice, was in a 
 twinkhng stricken seemingly with utter annihilation. 
 
 In the eighteen years ending with 1776, only ten new 
 names appear on the board of Trustees. Two were 
 merchants of high repute: Walter Rutherford,— styled 
 "Gentleman" in the charter, — a Scotchman by birth, a 
 founder and for some years president of St. Andrew's 
 Society, an incorporator and later a governor of the 
 New York Hospital, a brother-in-law of the Earl of 
 Sterling, was a man of unblemished integrity; as was 
 also his associate, Samuel Verplanck, a scion of one of 
 the oldest Dutch families, a member of the first class 
 graduated by King's College in 1758, a Wall Street im- 
 porter and banker of scholarly tastes, one of the twenty- 
 four founders of the Chamber of Commerce, a member 
 of the "General Committee of One Hundred" in 1775, 
 a delegate to the provincial convention of New York, 
 and a subscriber to the celebrated Declaration of Asso- 
 ciation and Union against the pretensions of Great 
 
 ^ The Memorial History of the City of New-York, vol. IV, p. 115. 
 
196 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Britain; though, from dread of consequences, it is stated, 
 inactive in support of the Revolution. 
 
 Three of them have lent distinction to the noble heal- 
 ing art: John and Samuel Bard, father and son, Phila- 
 delphians by birth, though of mingled French and 
 English ancestry. Gifted alike with engaging man- 
 ners, imusual ability and capacity for hard work, they 
 numbered among their intimate friends Franklin and 
 other noted persons in Amierica and Europe. They were 
 instrumental in securing a charter of incorporation for 
 a public hospital, and in raising funds privately for its 
 support. Dr. Samuel Bard was chief agent in founding 
 the first medical school in New York, soon annexed to 
 the college. On its staff for forty years, he also served 
 as a trustee and dean of its medical faculty, and was 
 likewise a vestryman of Trinity parish. While the city 
 was the seat of the Federal Government, he acted as 
 Washington's family physician, a circumstance tending 
 to allay distrust aroused by his moderate course diu"ing 
 the war. His services to the Library cover an extended 
 term as Trustee and Secretary. 
 
 The name of John Jones long stood at the head of 
 the surgical profession in this country. A professor in 
 King's College, he was a pioneer in introducing plain 
 and simple measures in place of prevailing methods. 
 Removing to Philadelphia and achieving renown, he 
 became the medical attendant and as well the friend of 
 Dr. Franklin. 
 
 Half of the number were members of the legal 
 brotherhood. Whitehead Hicks, fellow-student with 
 William Livingston and William Smith, Jr., under the 
 latter's father, became an alderman and held the mayor- 
 alty for the long term of nearly ten years. He resigned 
 
LEGAL MEMBERS OF THE BOARD 
 
 197 
 
 for a judgeship in the supreme court, but, owing to his 
 Whig principles, never took his seat. Besides the Li- 
 brary, he served the Presbyterian Church as a trustee for 
 
 C AT ALOGU 
 
 B (TO K S 
 
 BEtONGINC TO THE 
 
 New-York Society Library. 
 
 C$)C$DpilS.C*.C«50$xi|j5083=ifeOi^X$OCilfc,^ 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 C>!fb{^j0C5oOg30$OC53C$J0$DoSo^ 
 
 N EW-r O RK 
 
 Sold bjrl?. 0aiiif, at the la 
 
 Primed and Sold hyt). ©aiiif, at the 'EilJle anli Croiun, 
 
 Earliest catalogue of the Society Library, or of any Library in New York, 
 known to be in existence (facsimile size). See pp. 167-168. 
 
198 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 some years. Jovial in disposition, he was popular with 
 his associates at the bar and with the public. Of oppos- 
 ing views was John Tabor Kempe, attorney-general of 
 the province, and long a vestryman and warden of Old 
 Trinity. Removing to England when the war closed, 
 he passed his remaining years in poverty and neglect, 
 his services unheeded by an indifferent sovereign. 
 
 Samuel Jones, Treasurer for many years, was also a 
 man of Tory sympathies, but he took no part in the 
 war ; and, upon the consimimation of peace, threw in his 
 lot with the new nation, becoming one of the foremost 
 metropolitan lawyers and jurists, eminent and useful in 
 public life. He sat for years in the state legislature, 
 both as assembljrman and as senator, at the same time 
 holding such offices as city recorder and state comp- 
 troller, aiding materially the while in the first revision 
 of the statutes. Chancellor Kent pays tribute to his 
 lucidity and accurate learning, while Dr. David Hosack 
 says: "Common consent has assigned him . . . the 
 appellation of father of the New York bar." 
 
 Peter Van Schaack, LL.D., a leading member of 
 another well-known Knickerbocker family, and for 
 years a vestryman of Trinity parish, was banished to 
 England early in the war for his loyalist leanings. On 
 his return, in 1785, he met with a cordial reception from 
 his former brethren of the bar. He conducted a law 
 school, where many young men were trained for the 
 profession, and he also published several substantial 
 works on legal topics. 
 
 Most illustrious of them all, however, and destined to 
 a fame of more than national proportions, shines forth 
 the name of Robert R. Livingston, Jr., or Chancellor 
 Livingston, as he was subsequently called. His career 
 
CHANCELLOR LIVINGSTON 199 
 
 is too well known to be dwelt upon here. CarefuUy 
 brought up by his father, graduated from King's Col- 
 lege, a law partner of John Jay, he came to hold in turn 
 the honorable offices of city recorder, assemblyman, and 
 delegate to Congress before the war. Though a member 
 of the congressional committee which drew up the De- 
 claration of Independence, a summons to the provincial 
 assembly alone prevented his signing that immortal 
 docimient. 
 
 No less interested in his church, he was a warden of 
 Trinity parish in its trying season just after the Revolu- 
 tion. The first chancellor of the state of New York, from 
 1777 to 1801, he was for two years national Secretary 
 for Foreign Affairs, and chairman of the state conven- 
 tion that ratified the Federal Constitution. It was his 
 proud distinction to administer the oath of office to 
 General Washington as first President of the United 
 States. His name is also linked with that of Robert 
 Fulton in the latter's successful application of steam to 
 navigation. But his chief claim to a nation's gratitude 
 hes in his negotiation, in 1803, while minister to France, 
 of the famous Louisiana Purchase, an event whose cen- 
 tennial anniversary was but lately conmiemorated in 
 the great St. Louis Exposition by aU the world. 
 
IV 
 
 STARTING AFRESH, 1788-1791 
 
 THE close of the Revolution found New York in 
 a pitiable plight. Not merely had aU enterprise 
 stagnated but there had been sad retrogression. 
 All the churches except St. Paul's Chapel had been 
 demohshed or desecrated. There were no charitable 
 institutions at all, no banks or insurance companies. 
 Trade was at a standstill, education had been suppressed, 
 with schools and the coUege closed, and the claims of let- 
 ters all unheeded. The residence section stopped short 
 of Murray street, with quantities of vacant lots besides 
 the burnedrout areas still littered with ashes. Hosts of 
 inhabitants, many of them once wealthy and influential, 
 had left never to return. The whole population at the 
 time of evacuation comprised scarce 20,000 souls. 
 
 But with a restoration of civil government, resimap- 
 tion of confidence set in, and the city gradually came to 
 its own again, behef in its destiny fast regaining 
 strength. Of the first seven years' progress a contem- 
 porary wrote : 
 
 The spring given to the human mind, by means of the Amer- 
 ican revolution, has, in no part of the union, been more fully 
 evidenced than in New- York. This city, like a phoenix arising 
 out of its parent's ashes, is rapidly soaring far beyond the flight 
 
REVIVAL OF THE LIBRARY 201 
 
 of former times; and the numerous improvements, both public 
 and private, while they attract the admiration and praise of 
 travellers, really create astonishment in our citizens themselves, 
 and "who would have thought it!" is the universal exclamation 
 of every tongue.-* 
 
 This writer observes that "few of the distressing 
 circvunstances which befel the devoted capital of this 
 state during the late glorious struggle for American 
 hberty were more injurious than the loss of the library 
 which had been founded some years before," and which 
 "had increased to a considerable collection of the choicest 
 authors." But "the private losses of most of the citizens 
 who returned to their desolate habitations," he adds, "were 
 too severe to permit attention for some time to any thing 
 but private concerns." With the rebound in material 
 affairs, however, came a natural craving for the brighter 
 and better things in life. "The cause of science and 
 literature at length arrested the public attention," the 
 same article reports, and found its embodiment in a re- 
 vival of the college and of the Society Library. 
 
 Although no Trustee meetings are recorded for an 
 interval of fourteen years, this does not necessarily 
 prove that no conference took place. By the terms of 
 the charter the Trustees chosen in 1774 held office imtU 
 an election of successors. That some of them assembled 
 at least once is evident from this notice in The New- 
 York Packet for February 16, 1784, entitled "Books," 
 and signed by Dr. Samuel Bard "by order of the Trus- 
 tees": 
 
 SUCH PERSONS who have in their possession any of the 
 BOOKS belonging to the NEW- YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY, 
 
 ' From an artide "On the Utility York Magazine; or. Literary Bepos- 
 of Public Libraries" in The New- itory for June, 1791. 
 
202 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 are requested to send them to Peter Kettletas, No. , Wall- 
 street, Walter Rutherford, No. , Broad-way, Samuel Bard, 
 No. 44, Broad-street, or Samuel L. Mitchill,^ No. 50, Water- 
 street. 
 
 This attempt, less than three months after the evacua- 
 tion of the city, proved premature, though it was not the 
 first local endeavor to revive interest in books. A few 
 days prior to the departure of the British troops, Samuel 
 Loudon had advertised his intention of soon reopening 
 his Circulating Library of "about two thousand vol- 
 imies."^ The results of Dr. Bard's notice cannot have 
 been ample and they certainly were not immediate, for 
 nearly five more years elapsed before the fresh start was 
 actually made. The next reference to the movement was 
 a card in The Daily Advertiser for December 15-20, 
 1788, again signed by Dr. Bard, "Sec'ry," to this effect: 
 
 ' The following Gentlemen, Proprietors of the New-Yoek 
 Society LIBRARY, are requested to meet at the Coffee-House* 
 on SATURDAY next, at Six o'clock in the evening, in order to 
 choose Trustees, and to consult on measures for the speedy 
 re-estabhshment of that useful institution ; John Alsop, Garrit 
 Abeel, T. Bache, W. Bayard, M. Clarkson, P. T. Curtenius, J. 
 Desbrosses, J. Farquhar, M. Gomez, J. Griswold, H. Gaine, J. 
 Hunt, J. Jauncey, P. Kettletas, L. Lispenard, W. Ludlow, G. 
 Ludlow, R. Morris, W. Rutherford, H. Remsen, L. Scot, D. Van 
 Home, R. Watts, W. Walton, J. Wiley, together with such of 
 the non-resident proprietors of the said Library as may then be 
 in town. 
 
 'Presumably appointed at some ^ The New-York Gazetteer, Nov. 
 
 mirecorded meeting, in conformity 17, 1783. See also p. lllji. 
 
 with the charter provision authoriz- ° The Merchants' CofFee-House, 
 
 ing the board to "nominate and corner of Wall and Water streets, 
 
 choose another" to fill a vacancy. kept at that time by the widow 
 
 Dr. Mitchill was not regularly Bradford, 
 elected a Trustee until 1793. 
 
NEW TRUSTEES CHOSEN 203 
 
 Accordingly the books of minutes were brought out 
 from their long concealment, and record of the caucus 
 was thus entered : 
 
 The accidents of the late War having nearly destroyed the 
 former Library, no meeting of the proprietors for the choice of 
 Trustees was held from the last Tuesday in April 1774 until 
 Saturday y^ 20 ^ December 1788, when a meeting of the proprie- 
 tors was summoned ... at which The Honbl^ Robt R. Living- 
 ston, RoW Watts, Brockholst Livingston, Saml Jones, Peter 
 Kittletas, Walter Rutherford, Mathew Clarkson, Samuel Bard, 
 Hugh Gaine, Danl C. Verplanck, Ed4 Greswold, Hen^ Remsen 
 were chosen Trustees to act until the next annual Election. 
 
 Thereupon Samuel Jones was reappointed Treasurer, 
 and Dr. Bard, Secretary; while Messrs. Bard, Ver- 
 planck and Greswold were deputed "to take the neces- 
 sary measures" to revive the charter. It is of course 
 impossible to teU just how many former shareholders 
 rallied to the reorganization. They were soon far out- 
 numbered by new recruits; and, as Dr. MitchiU wrote 
 years later that "the present library has been purchased 
 since 1784,"^ the collection, too, had to be started aU 
 over again. 
 
 In noting the names of the newly elected board, it is 
 of interest to find, in three of its members, sons of 
 original Trustees, Robert R. Livingston, Robert Watts 
 and Brockholst Livingston, son of the redoubtable war 
 governor. Also, in the selection of Messrs, Clarkson 
 and Verplanck appear further instances of hereditary 
 succession. Five of the nimiber, Messrs. Jones, Ketel- 
 tas, Rutherford, Bard and R. R. Livingston, were 
 veteran Trustees. 
 
 ' Through a clerical error, the ^ The Picture of New-York. 1807. 
 
 original entry reads "21." P- 114. 
 
204 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Conspicuous among early members of the Chamber 
 of Commerce appears the name of Robert Watts. In 
 the Revolution he played no active part, remaining 
 quietly loyal to the crown, attending to his private con- 
 cerns. This attitude was perhaps a resultant of 
 conflicting forces, inherited principles and later in- 
 fluences; for, while his father and his uncle, James 
 De Lancey, were stiff-necked royalists, he was a son-in- 
 law of that stanch patriot, Lord Stirling. 
 
 The career of Brockholst Livingston is as varied as it 
 is stirring and distinguished. Graduated from Prince- 
 ton on the eve of war, he at once espoused his country's 
 cause. After winning honors and a lieutenant-colonelcy 
 at Saratoga, he acted as private secretary to his brother- 
 in-law, John Jay, when minister to Spain. Admitted to 
 the bar on the conclusion of peace, he met with rapid 
 advancement from one dignity to another, until ap- 
 pointed to the United States Supreme Court. His other 
 positions of responsibility included trusteeship of the 
 Presbyterian Church, of the Historical Society, and of 
 Columbia College, of which last he was treasurer for 
 nearly forty years. Numerous party pamphlets signed 
 "Decius" are from his trenchant pen. He ranks with 
 Hamilton, Biu-r, Egbert Benson and others of his day 
 as a fluent speaker, an able advocate and an accom- 
 plished scholar. 
 
 Similarly, Matthew Clarkson won his spurs at Sara- 
 toga, as aide to the impetuous Arnold, retiring from the 
 war a major-general. Attentive to business, he yet 
 gladly made time for manifold outside interests. As a 
 regent of Columbia College in 1784, he was its special 
 representative to solicit subscriptions abroad. Long a 
 vestryman of Trinity parish, his counsel was also sought 
 
HUGH GAINE, THE PRINTER 205 
 
 in directing the Manufacturing Society, as a prison 
 commissioner, and in establishing the free public school 
 system in 1806. For thirty years a governor of the New 
 York Hospital, of which he was vice-president, as also 
 of the American Bible Society, he was for twenty-one 
 years president of the Bank of New York. He was 
 increasingly worthy of his characterization by John Jay 
 to President Washington in 1790: "Few men here of his 
 standing enjoy or deserve a greater degree of the esteem 
 and good-wiU of the citizens." 
 
 The name of Hugh Gaine has often been mentioned 
 in these pages as enterprising printer and bookseller. 
 From now until the day of his death, eighteen years 
 later, he appears as one of the most devoted Trustees of 
 the Library, of which indeed he had long been a member. 
 Of Scotch-Irish birth, he had landed in New York in 
 1745 at the age of eighteen, "without basket or burden," 
 as he himself says. Though blessed with few advan- 
 tages, he was boundlessly ambitious, hke Franklin. 
 Apprenticed to James Parker the printer, at the time of 
 his management of the Corporation Library, he may 
 have drawn inspiration from a perusal of some of the 
 old Millington books. His successful career as a printer 
 and his interesting "journalistic straddle" during the 
 Revolution, as also his useful later life, have been fully 
 and ably presented in monographic studies.^ 
 
 Chosen a Trustee at the early age of twenty-six, 
 Daniel C. Verplanck, son of Samuel, proved himself a 
 worthy member, for he was present at every session but 
 one of his term. Removing from the city, he afterward 
 became a lawyer of note, several times a representative 
 
 '^The Life and Journals of Hugh ers and Printing in Colonial New 
 Gaine, by Paul Leicester Ford. York, \>j Charles R. Hildeburn. 
 New York, 1903. Sketches of Print- New York, 1895. 
 
206 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 in Congress and judge in the common pleas court for 
 Dutchess county. 
 
 Of Edward Greswold but httle can be told. He was 
 an attorney of standing, hcensed to plead causes before 
 the state supreme court, and on one occasion he was ap- 
 pointed an inspector of elections in the Montgomerie 
 ward. His comparative obscurity serves to bring into 
 stronger relief the position and achievements of his asso- 
 ciates. 
 
 Among the oldest of the company was Henry Rem- 
 sen, a merchant prince indeed, of the guild which the 
 name of Peter Faneuil of Boston— himself the son of 
 a New York tradesman — so imperishably adorns. 
 Stoutly Whig in conviction, he had been energetic in 
 favor of non-importation, despite its disastrous effects 
 upon his own interests. Identified with the several 
 Revolutionary committees, he was also a member of the 
 provincial convention, and personally aided the patriot 
 troops with supphes until the British occupation. On 
 the restoration of peace he was foremost in the work of 
 general rehabihtation. 
 
 Tiu-ning attention now to the proceedings of these 
 gentlemen in behalf of the Library, we notice first their 
 despatch. The committee appointed to revive the char- 
 ter appears to have acted promptly and with gratifying 
 success, for the next entry is a verbatim recital of "An 
 Act to remove doubts respecting the Charter granted to 
 the members of the New York Society Library," passed 
 February 18, 1789, by the state legislature. 
 
 This enactment declares the charter of the corporation 
 to be "in full force, virtue and efficacy to all intents, 
 constructions and purposes in the Law whatsoever, not- 
 withstanding any non-user or mis-user thereof, or any 
 
"EASY TERMS" FOR NEW MEMBERS 207 
 part thereof," between the 18th day of April, 1775,^ and 
 its date of passage. Members and their legal represen- 
 tatives had all rights and privileges confirmed, despite 
 arrears, which were "remitted" without quahfication. 
 The act concludes with a ratification of the board chosen 
 in December, stipulating for a new election at the reg- 
 ular time in April, "according to the said Charter." 
 
 Meanwhile the Trustees, encouraged by evidences of 
 interest, authorized a long statement for the local press, 
 the passages here quoted appearing in the Packet at 
 intervals for about foiu* months, beginning with the 
 issue of January 9, 1789, as follows : 
 
 SoKcitous to revive this useful institution, and to meet the 
 wishes of many of their fellow citizens, who have expressed their 
 desire to join them, they [the Trustees] have come to a resolu- 
 tion, 'to admit new members, upon paying into the hands of 
 their treasurer the sum of five pounds ; which was the original 
 sum paid by the first subscribers, and which each share is now 
 worth; or in Heu of money to receive books to the amount, pro- 
 vided they are such as the committee chosen for that purpose 
 shall approve.' 
 
 Considering next "the many and great advantages 
 which may result from a well chosen public Library," 
 such as "the ready information it will afford to the 
 philosopher, the politician and the artist; the improve- 
 ment in arts and sciences which it will introduce; the 
 general diif usion of laiowledge, the advancement of true 
 taste, and the increase of pubhc virtue which it will pro- 
 mote,"— "and all upon terms so cheap and easy, as to 
 be within the reach of almost every individual,"— there 
 
 1 The last day on which a royal regarded as the outbreak of war, on 
 charter might be considered binding, the 19th. 
 the Lexington-Concord affair being 
 
208 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 was no doubt that citizens woijld "zealously join in ad- 
 vancing so beneficial an institution." 
 
 Next the investment idea — still a feature of the Li- 
 brary and destined so to be as long as it continues a cor- 
 poration of shareholders— is delineated as follows: 
 "Nothing is given away, but each right is an estate which 
 the proprietor is laying up for his heirs, or which he may 
 sell to whom he pleases, and which is gradually accumu- 
 lating and becoming more and more valuable by the 
 addition of ten shillings per annum from each pro- 
 prietor." The notice ends with urging heirs or assigns 
 of former proprietors to claim their "rights," and with a 
 renewed call for lost books, "known by the arms pasted 
 in front." 
 
 One other topic touched upon in this announcement 
 relates to a matter very near the hearts of New Yorkers 
 at that time, namely, the hope of having their city chosen 
 as permanent seat of the Federal Government. The 
 bearing of the Library upon the question is thus ex- 
 plained: "Nor will it be thought a trifling motive to a 
 speedy exertion, that a useful public Library will add to 
 the inducement which Congress have to remain with us, 
 and that the want of one has actually been advanced as 
 one among other reasons for removing the general gov- 
 ernment from this city." 
 
 In the meantime, also, application had been made to 
 the local authorities for permission to reestabhsh the 
 institution in its former accommodations. The request 
 met with rather passive acquiescence on the part of the 
 Common Council in a resolution of January 7, 1789, 
 "that this Board have no Objection to the appropriation 
 of the uppermost Room in the South East part of the 
 City Hall to the use of the Society Library provided the 
 
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LIBRARY HOUSED IN FEDERAL HALL 209 
 
 same shall not be necessary for the accommodation of 
 the Genl Govt of the United States."^ This act on the 
 part of the Corporation of the city was the more gracious 
 since it no longer had a collection of its own to "be im- 
 proved for the pubHc advantage in like manner with the 
 Books" of the Society Library.^ 
 
 In preparation for the inauguration of the Constitu- 
 tional experiment in New York, the City Hall had been 
 elaborately altered and enlarged under direction of the 
 French engineer and architect, Major Charles L'En- 
 f ant, and now, as Federal Hall, was to be ceremoniously 
 handed over for the exclusive use of the new Govern- 
 ment, — the Conmion Council, legislature and courts 
 arranging to hold sessions in the Exchange. Thus the 
 Library would be the sole occupant of the building not 
 in any way connected with the Federal administration. 
 
 Such a prospect was by no means forbidding to the 
 men at the hehn, to judge from a resolution at their next 
 meeting, April 7th, at the City Hall, that Messrs. Ver- 
 planck and Greswold "apply to the Congress of the 
 United States to know if they can spare the room in the 
 City Hall which on those occasions has been assigned by 
 the Corporation of this City for the purpose of deposit- 
 ing the Books belonging to this Corporation." There is 
 no further allusion to the matter in the minutes, while 
 the journals of Congress, fragmentary at best in those 
 early days, are equally reticent, not so much as mention- 
 ing receipt of the petition. 
 
 All that can be definitely asserted, then, is that the 
 petition must have been granted in some way, for it is a 
 fact that the Library soon resumed its mission amid 
 
 '^ Minutes of the Common Council (MS.)> kept in the City Hall. 
 
 ' See p. 77. 
 
210 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 familiar though improved surroimdings. And certain it 
 is that the Trustees met in the City Hall, as above 
 quoted, even before presenting their memorial, though of 
 course they had made no attempt to store any books there. 
 Also, at the same time and place, they directed Secretary 
 Bard to advertise the annual election "to be held at the 
 City hall upon the last Tuesday in the present month." 
 
 Consequently there is the justifiable assumption that 
 the petition was favorably received. In return for this 
 courtesy, the privileges of membership were conferred 
 upon the national legislators at the first session of Con- 
 gress, as had been done by the Library Company of 
 Philadelphia toward the members of the First Conti- 
 nental Congress in August, 1774. As yet Congress had 
 no Library of its own, so it may be said with due regard 
 to the verities, that the first Library of the Federal 
 Congress of the United States was the New York So- 
 ciety Library!^ 
 
 The last Tuesday of April, 1789, fell on the 28th, but 
 two days before the memorable inauguration of General 
 Washington as first President of the United States.^ 
 Local papers were therefore too fuU of the incidents of 
 that impressive ceremony and its attendant festivities, to 
 devote any attention to the results of a simple Library 
 election. The minutes make no mention of the meeting, 
 
 ^Mention of this relationship is New York that great man was en- 
 made in the report of the Librarian tertained among other places at 
 of Congress for 1901, p. 183; but the "Boxwood Hall," the handsome 
 dates there given are inaccurate, not home of the Hon. Elias Boudinot. 
 merely so far as the Society Library Here at "an elegant luncheon" were 
 is concerned, but also with refer- assembled to meet him, among 
 ence to the time when the "Federal others, Governor Livingston of New 
 Congress" sat in New York. The Jersey, Egbert Benson, the Hon. 
 fact is properly stated, however, in William Samuel Johnson, John 
 the History of the Library of Con- Pintard and Chancellor Livingston, 
 gress. Washington, 1904. Vol. I, all former, present or destined 
 p. 17. Trustees of the Society Library. 
 
 ^ On his triumphal progress to 
 
LIBRARIAN GEORGE WRIGHT 211 
 
 or of the reorganization of the board thereafter; but 
 from the httle old city directory it appears that Samuel 
 Jones was reelected Treasurer, Edward Greswold, 
 Secretary, and for Librarian the Trustees appointed the 
 Rev. George Wright, "minister of Brooklyn," residing 
 at "13 Dye's-street." This gentleman, a native of Ire- 
 land, was the first Episcopal clergyman in Brooklyn, 
 and laid in 1784 the foundations of what is now the 
 venerable and prosperous parish of St. Ann's-on-the- 
 Heights. He continued his ministrations there "until 
 some time about the middle of the year 1789."^ He then 
 passed a mmiber of months in Jamaica, whence he set 
 sail for Nova Scotia. The accounts of Treasurer Jones 
 show that he was paid on January 26, 1790, the sum of 
 £lO 16* 2d for a year's salary and sundry collections. 
 
 The sole change in the board at this first regular elec- 
 tion was the retirement of Peter Keteltas in favor of 
 Gulian Verplanck, another eminent merchant. A 
 younger brother of Samuel, he was also an alumnus of 
 King's College, and became later one of the early reg- 
 ents of the University of the State of New York. Elected 
 to the assembly several times, he twice held the speaker- 
 ship. For the last eight years of his life he was president 
 of the Bank of New York. 
 
 When the board finally convened, November 11, 1789, 
 at Simmons' Tavern, corner of Wall and Nassau streets, 
 it made a full revision of the by-laws, repeahng aU 
 former rulings. The chief features of the new set of 
 nine regulations were : 
 
 1. a continuation of £5 and 10* respectively, as the price of a 
 share and the annual payment; 2. that the Librarian should 
 
 ^/S«. Arm's Church (Brooklyn), 1784-1845. By F. G. Fish. 
 Brooklyn, 1845. P. 31. 
 
212 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 attend from twelve to two on Monday, Wednesday and Friday 
 afternoons, and also must render an accounting to the Treas- 
 urer every three months ; 3. that the period of loans remain as 
 previously determined, with the inclusion of pamphlets as duo- 
 decimo books. Also, persons without the city limits might 
 "detain" a volume double the ordinary time with the privilege 
 of renewal, unless called for ; 4. a rearrangement of the schedule 
 of penalties for overdue books, as follows: "fol., 4^; 4to, 3"^; 
 8^", 2^; & 12mo. or pamphlet, 1^ per diem"; 5. that only 
 members could take out books or pass "within the raiHngs in 
 the Library-room." (These last two rules were maintained un- 
 changed until 1812.) In conclusion came regulations, precisely 
 worded, as to the transfer of shares, the issuance of certificates, 
 and the accountability of the Treasurer. 
 
 These by-laws, the charter and the validating act of 
 the assembly, together with a complete catalogue of the 
 collection and a full list of members as well, were pub- 
 hshed in pamphlet form in 1789. A copy of this com- 
 pilation of 80 pages is in the possession of the Library 
 to-day.^ The collection then comprised about 3100 
 volumes. Such a showing is really astonishing so soon 
 after the reorganization, but it is largely accounted for 
 by the long array of "right" holders. Of these there are 
 239, arranged like the books in alphabetical order. 
 Prominent among them, besides those to be found on the 
 roster of Trustees, are such well-known names as The- 
 ophylact Bache, merchant, Aaron Burr, his Excellency 
 Governor George Clinton, Mayor Duane, Alexander 
 Hamilton, John Sloss Hobart, the jurist, Nicholas Fish, 
 John Jay, ten members of the Livingston family (in- 
 cluding Robert Livingston of the manor of Livingston, 
 
 ' The Charter, Bye-Laws, amd said Library. New York (Hugh 
 
 Names of the Members of the New- Gaine, printer), 1789. This copy 
 
 York Society Library, with a Cata- is stamped with the name of Fred- 
 
 logue of the Books belonging to the eric De Peyster, "Junr." 
 
LIBRARY'S SECOND BOOKPLATE 213 
 
 Governor Livingston and Philip Livingston of Green- 
 borough), Carey Ludlow, Samuel Loudon, the printer 
 and editor, James McEvers, the stamp collector of pre- 
 Revolutionary days, James Roosevelt, representatives of 
 the Rhinelander family, WiUiam Seton, long identified 
 with the Bank of New York, Isaac Stoutenburgh, a 
 name found throughout the colonial period from ear- 
 liest Dutch days, Van Cortlandts and Van Homes, 
 Col. Marinus WiUett, a hero of the war who was to 
 sm-vive to greet General Lafayette in 1825, Recorder 
 John Watts, and many others of all callings and pin*- 
 suits. 
 
 At this point in the narrative a personal note vdll be 
 welcome in an extract or two from a letter written by 
 Dr. Samuel Bard to his daughter, probably in July, 
 1789. It shows a beautiful relationship to have existed 
 between them, and is also interesting for the range of 
 topics covered, comprising charming allusions to Presi- 
 dent Washington. The portion referring particularly to 
 the subject in hand is as follows: "When you return 
 home, you wlU never want proper Books, as we have 
 been successful in storing oiu' Society Library with near 
 2000 Volumes, among which are a great many very 
 valuable, & it will annually receive an addition of the 
 best new pubhcations."^ 
 
 Though not at all mentioned in the minutes, and not 
 expHcitly in the Treastu-er's records, there was engraved, 
 in the year 1789, the second bookplate of the Society 
 Library. It was the work of Peter R. Maverick, who 
 was paid, in June, 1789, "in full of his Account £ll : 
 
 * Copied from an original, un- Susan Bard (to whom the letter is 
 
 signed as undated, letter loaned by written), afterward wife of Judge 
 
 the Rev. W. AUen Johnson, of Johnston of Dutchess county, N. Y. 
 
 Littleton, Colo., a grandson of See facsimile illustration, p. 214. 
 
214 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 7:0," and again in February, 1790, "for a Seal, £5: 
 14:0."i 
 
 Nearly a year and a half elapses without an entry in 
 the minutes, though there must have been a meeting 
 held, to judge from a message emanating from the state 
 
 I • 
 
 
 CAx-tx-ft— ^o-^ 
 
 ^^Ji,y(^&l -u^*^ ^<rr,^^ ^i) /5te^o^^^X«A* '►'-''^ 
 
 ^-i" 
 
 M/.A^ U~.,n^ <rv.^>— -'^.'^ -^ '^^'^ <^/'^'y^ 
 
 X'/»^«??*> ^^Xt^x^ t) „^^^<--t, ./W^ ^^'^ "^/^ ^-^JL.^ 
 
 (Pq.,^-L- ^-u-r ^r^rl-^ijM^ 'J^^^ -'^^^^^/^ ^ .^ ^ 9^^ ^tfyt^ A^fX. 
 
 Part of letter (reduced) from Dr. Samuel Bard to his daughter, 
 written probably in July, 1789. See p. 213. 
 
 ^ The plate is thus described in of it he seems to be offering his 
 
 Charles D. Allen's American Book- tomahawk in exchange. The shelves 
 
 Plates, p. 356:"iV«TO York Society Li- of the library are seen behind them, 
 
 brary. Allegorical. Minerva [Athena], and in the gable the motto, Emollit 
 
 just alighted from the clouds, mores, is painted. The oval frame 
 
 with garments somewhat displaced enclosing this scene is upheld by 
 
 by her flight through the air, and ribbon and festoons, branches of oak 
 
 with clouds still about her, finds an are crossed beneath, and the plate is 
 
 Indian waiting to receive the volume signed, Maverick. Set. Crown 
 
 she holds out to him; as he lays hold Street." 
 
ADVANCE IN PRICE OF SHARES 216 
 
 assembly under date of March 24, 1791, thanking the 
 Trustees "for their pohte offer to the Legislature at the 
 beginning of the Session, and for the use of the said 
 Library by the Members of this House." When finally 
 the board did convene, on April 8, 1791, it was to hear 
 with satisfaction of a "ballance" of over sixty pounds in 
 the exchequer. More than half of this sum, however, 
 was at once ordered paid to hquidate a debt to John 
 Pintard, and the purchasing committee was directed to 
 "buy of D^ Johnson the Journals of the house of Com- 
 mons." The office of Secretary was tendered to Jacob 
 Morton, Edward Greswold then being about to retire 
 from the board. 
 
 A radical move was made at the next meeting, August 
 18th, when, after appointing all future annual elections 
 to be held "in the Library room," it was "Resolved, That 
 the purchasing Committee acquaint the public with the 
 State & Value of the Library, solicit Pamphlets and 
 give notice that, twelve & an half Dollars being inade- 
 quate to the real Value of a share, from and after the 
 first day of October next none will be sold under fifteen 
 Dollars." Immediately after this vote John Pintard 
 resigned from the pvu-chasing committee, his place being 
 filled by Rufus King, Esq. Whether his withdrawal 
 expressed disapproval of the advance in price does not 
 appear. Certainly the clause about collecting pamphlets 
 bears the impress of his well-known spirit of pubhc ser- 
 vice in the preservation of records, which led, thirteen 
 years later, to the foundation of the New York His- 
 torical Society. 
 
 In accordance with the action of the board, a state- 
 ment was inserted in The Daily Advertiser for the last 
 three days of August, as follows : 
 
216 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 THE Library now consists of upwards of 3,000 Yolumes, con- 
 taining the works of many eminent writers, ancient and 
 modem. Considerable additions of the best publications are con- 
 stantly making to the Library, and the members of the Society 
 have lately very much encreased in number. To encourage the dif- 
 fusion of science, as much as possible, the Trustees hitherto have 
 demanded not more than 5 1. the original price of a share. 
 Persuaded, that there are yet many citizens wilhng to promote 
 this institution, and obtain an interest in so valuable a Library, 
 but who thro' mere inattention have neglected to become mem- 
 bers, the Trustees give this notice, that they will continue to 
 receive 5 1. for a share until the jirst day of October next; but 
 that, after that period, the price wiU positively be advanced to 
 Fifteen Dollars. It will be remembered that this Society is in- 
 corporated, and the rights or shares transferrable. 
 
 The Trustees are anxious to make a collection of aU pamphlets 
 and other publications, that in any manner relate to the history 
 or poHtics of this country, before or since the revolution. Sev- 
 eral donations of this kind already have been made to the 
 Library, and it is to be hoped that gentlemen who are possessed 
 of such papers wiU deposit them there, and make them thro' that 
 medium more extensively useful. — Shares in the Library may be 
 had by applying to Samuel Jones, Esq. the Treasurer, or to 
 Rufus King and John Cozine, Esquires, and Mr. Nathaniel 
 Hazard, the purchasing committee of the Library. 
 
 An anonymous communication, "On the Utility of 
 Public Libraries," in The New-York Magazine; or. 
 Literary Repository, for Jime, 1791, after expatiating 
 on the rebound in civic affairs after the Revolution, says : 
 "The cause of science and literature at length arrested 
 the public attention, nor has the call been in vain. A 
 handsome subscription list was obtained, which has 
 enabled the Trustees of the New- York Society Library 
 to form a collection of upwards of four thousand vol- 
 umes, within two years." 
 
 From these statements it is clear that the institution's 
 
NEW NAMES ON THE BOARD 217 
 
 renewed start had been timely and successful. Before 
 proceeding to the next topic of chronological impor- 
 tance, the erection of a building, let us direct brief atten- 
 tion to new names on the board. 
 
 General Jacob Morton, who served the Library as 
 Secretary for a year, and as financial manager of the 
 new building, was a conspicuous figure of his day. Of 
 an honorable mihtary record, a master mason of high 
 degree, and a trustee of the Presbyterian Church, he 
 busied himself further in aU worthy movements and 
 objects, such as the Humane Society, the new pubhc 
 school system and, in particular, the Erie Canal proj- 
 ect. One of the notables in attendance at the jubilee to 
 mark its opening, he had shown his interest years before, 
 in presenting to the city a great porcelain pmich-bowl, 
 thus inscribed: "Drink deep. You will preserve the 
 City and encom-age Canals."^ He was himself at one 
 time a member of the Corporation as alderman, and for 
 years city clerk, and, in a word, "of most pleasant mem- 
 ory for his many kindnesses and virtues."^ 
 
 Easily one of the most remarkable men in the history 
 of New York city is httle enough distinction to ascribe 
 to the name of John Pintard. Of gentle birth, carefully 
 brought up, a graduate of Princeton and an associate 
 always of the most cultivating persons and authors, nat- 
 urally thoughtful and generous and of wide interests, 
 he seems to have consecrated his talents to the welfare 
 and amelioration of fellow-citizens. Even after the loss 
 of a large fortune, whose income had been freely ex- 
 
 * This bowl, bearing date of July 4, be seen to-day in the Governor's 
 1812, was plainly intended also to Room. 
 
 commemorate the opening of the ^Charles King. Progress of the 
 
 present City Hall, where it may 0% o/ IVew Forfc (1801-1851). New 
 
 York, 1852. P. 36. 
 
218 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 pended in the service of his country, he was ever able to 
 command the resources of others in support of his plans. 
 His long life covered more than the period of transition 
 from the narrower limits of colonial days to the great 
 expansion that set in with the opening of the Erie Canal. 
 Gifted with the insight of a seer, he discerned the peo- 
 ple's needs in advance, and he was furthermore so 
 eminently practical that he usually set the wheels of new 
 enterprises in motion himself, sharing in their operation 
 for a longer or shorter time. 
 
 His passion for service was first shown as a lad of 
 seventeen, fresh from college, where he had ardently 
 espoused the patriot cause. As deputy to his uncle, 
 Lewis Pintard, commissary of prisoners, he was touched 
 by their sufferings and placed his property at the dis- 
 posal of the Continental authorities, whom he further 
 aided in translating French despatches. His native city 
 he was glad to serve as an inspector, as alderman and as 
 assemblyman. 
 
 But his real work lies beyond all this. There truly 
 seems to have been no useful or philanthropic enterprise 
 or organization in his day that he did not either suggest 
 or stoutly champion. A leading sachem of the St. Tam- 
 many Society, — as originally called, when its objects 
 were solely charitable, — he established its American Mu- 
 seum, for the preservation and display of curiosities 
 relating to our history, natural or political, and was 
 instrumental in the founding of the Sailors' Snug Har- 
 bor, the American Bible Society, the General Theo- 
 logical Seminary, the Society for the Relief of the 
 Destitute, and the public school system, in all of which 
 he was chosen a director and usually secretary. 
 
 In the world of affairs he is said to have been the first 
 
THE CAREER OF JOHN PINTARD 219 
 
 licensed New York broker. He was one of the organ- 
 izers of the first fire insurance company, the Mutual 
 (later the Knickerbocker), and its secretary for twenty 
 years; he was of great assistance in securing a charter 
 for the Bank of New York; upon his suggestions and 
 ideas was founded the first savings bank in New York, 
 of which he was president for over a score of years ; while 
 for a decade he acted as secretary to the Chamber of 
 Commerce. De Witt Clinton foimd in him, always his 
 warm friend, a tower of strength in furthering the Erie 
 Canal project against the heavy odds of popular dis- 
 approval. One of the noblest and most enduring monu- 
 ments to his genius and public spirit, however, is the 
 New York Historical Society, of which he is justly 
 venerated as the founder. 
 
 In addition to all these labors he read extensively in 
 various lines of literature, and has left voluminous jour- 
 nals of his doings and opinions. Until these diaries, 
 together with his immense correspondence, now some- 
 what scattered, shall be assorted and edited, the true 
 history of New York for the great period from the 
 Revolution to 1825 can not be fully studied or written. 
 John Pintard's services to the Society Library were not 
 confined to a trusteeship covering ten years and in- 
 cluding the inevitable secretaryship; he was ever active 
 in its behalf, and up to the time of his death was 
 constantly adding to its treasures. 
 
 The Hon. Rufus King is too well-known a character 
 in national annals to require many words of biography 
 here. A simple enumeration of his honors and dignities 
 would at once proclaim him one of the foremost men of 
 his day. A son of New England and of Harvard, with 
 some war experiences, he represented the old Bay State 
 
220 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 in Congress during the "critical period," where a resolu- 
 tion of his became the basis of the famous Ordinance 
 of 1787, prohibiting slavery in the northwest territory; 
 and he was also a delegate to the Constitutional Con- 
 vention of that same year. 
 
 Upon his subsequent removal to New York, his 
 ability met with ready appreciation, the legislature 
 electing him one of the state's first two senators, an 
 oiSce he was repeatedly chosen to fill. Interspersed with 
 these honors came appointments as minister to the 
 Court of St. James's and nominations by the Federalist 
 party for the governorship and the presidency in turn. 
 Yet amid the distractions of his great career he found 
 time to identify himself with many charitable and liter- 
 ary interests, serving as a warden of Trinity parish and 
 showing particular interest in its charity school. 
 
 In striking contrast to this man of large public af- 
 fairs, appears the gentle and benignant personality of 
 the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Moore, later consecrated second 
 bishop of New York, and for a number of years rector 
 of Old Trinity, a large part of the same time holding 
 also the presidency of Columbia College. From all 
 accounts he was a preacher of rare simplicity, and a man 
 of saintlike life and appearance. His usefulness to the 
 Library embraced fifteen years, during which term he 
 was often called upon to preside as chairman and to 
 give the benefit of his scholarly taste in the selection 
 of books. 
 
 In Nathaniel Hazard and John Cozine, Esq., again 
 are found opposites in calling, though identical in 
 devotion to the Library. The former had for years a 
 large business as commission merchant in wooUens. It 
 is said of him that he sold not merely for cash, but for 
 
Rt. Rev. Benjamin Moore, D.D., S.T.D. 
 
 Trustee, 1791-1792; 1797-1811 
 
BARON STEUBEN A TRUSTEE 221 
 
 "cash to be paid at the time the goods were deUvered to 
 the buyer" !^ The latter gentleman was a lawyer of 
 eminence, dying just when promoted to a judgeship on 
 the state supreme bench. He is described by President 
 Duer as "a good off-hand-case lawyer," who "appeared 
 more at home at Nisi Prius than at Bar," and who, as 
 an advocate, "stood foremost in the second rank."^ At 
 the time of his death Mr. Cozine was a trustee of Colum- 
 bia College as weU as of the Society Library. 
 
 The last individual of this review is one whom the 
 nation delighted to honor. This personage is none other 
 than a military hero of international renown — General 
 Frederick William Augustus, Baron Steuben. A native 
 Prussian, serving on the staff of the great Frederick in 
 the Seven Years' War, on its conclusion he began a tour 
 of investigation in the interests of military science. At- 
 tracted to America by the outbreak of the Revolution, 
 he threw in his lot with the "rebels" as a volunteer. Soon 
 appointed inspector-general with the rank of major- 
 general, he participated in battle under both Lafayette 
 and Washington. His manual of arms, adopted by 
 Congress, introduced thorough disciphne into the army. 
 The resolutions of appreciation and tracts of land voted 
 him by several states, as also an annuity by the Govern- 
 ment, prove that republics are not always ungrateful. 
 
 ^ Old Merchant) of New York. ^ William A. Duer. Reminiscences 
 
 N. Y., 1885. Vol. Ill, pp. 99-100. of an Old Yorker. New York, 1867. 
 
 P. 25. 
 
PROGRESS, 1791-1804 ; THE FIRST LIBRARY 
 BUILDING IN NEW YORK, 1T9S 
 
 FROM the first, as will be recalled, it had been the 
 hope and expressed intention of the Society 
 Library to establish itself in a home of its own. 
 For obvious reasons this purpose had been found im- 
 practicable hitherto. But at last, with a collection and 
 a membership both larger than ever before, and con- 
 stantly gaining, the prospects were certainly bright for 
 the erection of a building, a proceeding especially 
 authorized by charter. 
 
 The subject finds earliest mention in the minutes 
 under date of September 29, 1791, in an offer from 
 Brockholst Livingston of land "to build a Library-hall 
 upon." Its title proving defective, however, the Trus- 
 tees did not "suppose it proper to accept of the said 
 Gift." In May following, a committee was deputed to 
 ascertain the availability and price of "the Lott belong- 
 ing to the Lutheran Church," then situated on the 
 corner of Frankfort and William streets, and commonly 
 known as the "Swamp Chiu-ch"; but presently reported 
 it as "not to be purchased upon any consideration." 
 
 Thereupon Messrs. Hazard, Cozine, Childs and Ed- 
 ward Livingston were requested "to enquire for a 
 
NEGOTIATIONS FOR A SITE 223 
 
 suitable Lott," and in September, 1792, they reported 
 an agreement "to take of Miss Joanna Livingston a 
 Lott of Ground in Wall Street in possession of M^ 
 Michael Huck^ on a Lease for ever, paying the first 
 Year from the first day of May next Fifty Pounds, and 
 Seventy Pounds per Annum for ever thereafter, she 
 taking two shares in the Library at Six poiinds each it) 
 part payment of the first year's rent." The Treasurer 
 was at once asked to submit a draft of conveyance. 
 
 Other proceedings at the same time reveal clearly the 
 enthusiasm and determination aroused. Edward and 
 Brockholst Livingston, General Morton and Israel 
 Wilkes were instructed to submit plans "for the Library 
 and an estimate of the expence"; while Messrs. Hazard, 
 E. Livingston and Morton were to sohcit funds "for the 
 purposes of building," vdth authority "to fi:x a period 
 after which the subscriptions should be raised from 15 to 
 20 Dollars," only a hmited number thus to be sold. 
 
 Some uneasiness, however, soon arose over the size of 
 the proposed lot; and in February, 1793, "it appearing 
 that on an actual admeasurement" it really was too 
 small, the agreement was broken, Miss Livingston cheer- 
 fully cancehng the lease. This amiable lady was a sister 
 of Robert R. and Edward Livingston, and thus, as 
 daughter of a fomider, had an hereditary interest in the 
 Library. She may have been one of the guests men- 
 tioned in Washington's diary as dining with him on the 
 first ISTew Year's Eve of his presidency, for among them 
 were "Chan'r Livingston, lady and sister."^ 
 
 ^ According to the directory for that the lot in question, if either, 
 
 1792 he lived at 55 Wall street and was no. 55. 
 
 had a Uvery stable at no. 5 WaU. = The Diary of George Washing- 
 
 The next year his place of business ton (Oct. 1, 1789, to June 1, 1791). 
 
 was the same, but he had moved to Edited by Benson J. Lossing. New 
 
 56 Smith street, so it would seem York, 1860. In October, 1805, Miss 
 
224 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Renewed inquiry resulted in finding two locations, 
 "the one Situate in Nassau Street belonging to Joseph 
 Winter & the other in Broad Street at the Corner of 
 Verhtenbergh," the latter, Verlittenberg street, now 
 known as Exchange place. To think of the Library on 
 that spot under present conditions is indeed amusing; 
 while its ownership of the lot to-day would awaken 
 sentiments still more pleasurable I In March, 1793, the 
 board decided to take the former lot in perpetual lease 
 at a rent of £70 a year, "according to his proposal" ; and 
 in April the indentm-e of lease and a personal agreement 
 were signed and sealed. Their terms were strictly ob- 
 served until June, 1811,^ when the Trustees bought the 
 land of Mr. Winter, a weU-known lawyer. 
 
 The buUding committee — General Morton and Ed- 
 ward and Brockholst Livingston — was authorized to 
 draw upon the Treasurer for any sum not exceeding 
 £2000, an amount about equal to $5000 in ISTew York 
 currency. Just when ground was broken, or to whom 
 the contracts were awarded, the minutes do not tell; 
 though General Morton's receipt book shows forty-odd 
 entries of disbiu-sements for work and materials, aggre- 
 gating £883:3:71/2 (a little over $2200), from July, 
 1793, to April, 1795. No doubt a start was made at 
 once, for in December an annoying set-back was re- 
 ported, in "part of the Library Hall having fallen." The 
 committee was thereupon ordered to "suspend further 
 finishing of the Library— after the Roof be put on— & 
 that Materials be put within the building & the same be 
 properly secured." 
 
 Some months pass in silence until June, 1794, when 
 
 Livingston was married at Clermont, tive, the Hon. Peter R. Livingston 
 the "lovper manor," to a distant rela- of New York city. 
 
 1 See pp. 308-309. 
 
CONTESTED ELECTION OF TRUSTEES 225 
 
 the building was ordered "finished in a square form in- 
 stead of an Oval as formerly proposed." Shortage of 
 funds beginning to hamper the committee, in October 
 Mr. Gaine was detailed to borrow $750 from the Bank 
 of New York, "for the purpose of finishing the New 
 Library," the board to "indemnify" him to that amount. 
 
 Several other resolutions at this last meeting indicate 
 that the long-awaited hour was at hand when the institu- 
 tion would be able to welcome members under its own 
 roof, namely: first, "that one of the front Rooms in the 
 New Library be allowed for the use of the Librarian for 
 the time being"; second, "that M^ Jacob Morton be 
 requested to deliver an Oration in the New Library at 
 the time of the opening thereof," and that immediately 
 after its delivery a collection be taken to defray "part of 
 the expences of the building"; third, that an occupant 
 be secured for the lower part of the structure except the 
 room allowed the Librarian; and fourth, that the com- 
 mittee "provide wire network for the book case doors." 
 Librarian Forbes was then requested to submit "a plan 
 for arranging the Books scientifically." 
 
 Meanwhile a tenant for the lower rooms had been 
 chosen from several appKcants in the person of one John 
 Corman, who "engaged to keep a Coffee Room" there, 
 at a rent of £100 a year. However, either his venture 
 proved unsuccessful, or else the arrangement was found 
 distasteful, for a year later the apartments were "let to 
 Nicholas Fish Esq^ as a pubhc Office," at the same 
 rental, "the Cellar and Yard to be in common between 
 him and the Trustees." 
 
 But just before the building was occupied, a contested 
 election seems unfortunately to have convulsed the 
 hitherto peaceful surface of affairs. A few days prior 
 
226 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 to the annual meeting a gathering of shareholders was 
 called at Hunter's Hotel, "to nominate Trustees for the 
 ensuing year."^ Some dissatisfaction must have arisen 
 over the work of the building committee, for the ticket 
 then decided upon^ did not include Edward Livingston 
 and General Morton, its chairman and bursar, respec- 
 tively. Nor were they reelected, if indeed nominated by 
 an opposition movement, of which no record has sur- 
 vived. Only three names on the list submitted failed of 
 election, the Rev. Dr. Moore, William Laight and John 
 Watts, the recorder, son of the Hon. John Watts, an 
 original Trustee; and the first two of these were pres- 
 ently returned. 
 
 Consequently, when the new structure was eventually 
 thrown open to the public, it is hardly probable that 
 General Morton delivered the oration previously 
 requested of him. The Library minutes are absolutely 
 mute on the subject of any dedicatory exercises at all, as 
 likewise the newspapers— so far as ransacked. 
 
 Although the Trustees first met in "the New Library" 
 on April 25, 1795, it was upwards of two months before 
 the collection was there installed. On June 2d the 
 Librarian was ordered "to pro'cm-e some person to clean 
 and prepair the new Library Room for the reception of 
 the Books of this Society, and that as soon as the said 
 Room is ready he superintend the removal of the Books 
 from the City Hall to the said Room." Librarian 
 Forbes in his txirn informed the public, that "from the 
 6th to the 15th Inst." no books would "be delivered or 
 received," and that in future all such transfers would 
 take place "at the Library in Nassau street, opposite to 
 
 ^The Daily Advertiser, April 31-93, 1795. 
 'Ibid., April 28, 1795. 
 
BOOKS REMOVED TO NEW BUILDING 227 
 
 the new Dutch Church."^ Promptly on the date last 
 named, Mr. Forbes notified the board that the removal 
 had been duly made, at a cost of £5. 
 
 Thus came to a close the second and last sojourn of 
 the Society Library in the City Hall.^ Upon the re- 
 moval of the Government to Philadelphia in 1790, Fed- 
 eral Hall had received again its old name and its former 
 occupants of state and municipal officialdom, the 
 Library continuing to enjoy the hospitality of the city 
 fathers. In their longer first tenancy of that old build- 
 ing, whose erection dated back to the earliest years of the 
 18th century, the Trustees had given a partial equiv- 
 alent, in caring for the defiinct Corporation Library, 
 but this second stay just ending had been granted 
 wholly on sufferance by the Common Council. With 
 all due respect to the favor, however, and despite two 
 subsequent instances of similar courtesies offered, — but 
 not accepted because of "conditions," — such rather 
 negative patronage can hardly be advanced as evidence 
 of encouragement of letters on the part of the civic 
 authorities. 
 
 It is indeed only within recent times that anything has 
 been done by the city for the literary advancement of 
 the community. True enough, that beautiful marble 
 temple, now nearing completion on Fifth Avenue, de- 
 nominated the center of the New York Public Library 
 system, may be pointed out with pride as proof that these 
 interests are now being furthered. Yet, after all, the 
 great work confessedly rests "on the Astor, Lenox and 
 Tilden Foundations." And far back of these benefac- 
 
 ^ The Daily Advertiser, June 10, "the old Library Room in the City- 
 
 179S. Hall," by permission of the Common 
 
 ''In 1805 one Delacoste advertised Council. See Commercial Adver- 
 
 a "Cabinet of Natural History" in tiser, Feb. 7th. 
 
228 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 tors, respectful attention and appreciation are due the 
 noble work wrought in founding the Society Library, 
 and in its successful continuance through those long 
 years of depression and struggle, iinaided by private 
 gift or public funds, when it was in fact the only Public 
 Library in New York. 
 
 To retiu-n to the new building. The lot lay on Nassau 
 street between Liberty (Crown) and Cedar (Little 
 Queen) streets, and was known as no. 16 until 1827, 
 when, upon a readjustment, it became no. 33, where 
 towers to-day the great office building of the National 
 Bank of Commerce. Thanks to the skill of that pioneer 
 in wood engraving. Dr. Alexander Anderson, — as also 
 to the enterprise of A. T. Goodrich the publisher, — a 
 faithful representation of the structure has been pre- 
 served. It is shown to have been an edifice of no shght 
 architectural pretensions and finish for the times; and 
 New Yorkers may well have taken satisfaction in the 
 appearance of this home of their loan Library. The 
 library proper occupied the second floor, the high roof 
 allowing a gallery above the long windows, three at each 
 end. Bookcases along the sides, guarded by doors of 
 "wire network," held the collection, which at the time of 
 removal numbered fully 5000 volumes. Of interest at 
 this point will be the following reminiscences of this first 
 Library building in New York, — as also one of the 
 earliest in America,^ — from the pen of Philip J. Forbes, 
 son of Librarian John Forbes, and himself Librarian in 
 1836, when the building was sold:^ 
 
 ' The first building of the Library Charleston Library Society first oc- 
 
 Company of Philadelphia was cupied a home of its own in 1836. 
 
 erected in 1790; while the original 'From an article, "The New York 
 
 structure of the Redwood Library Society Library," in D. T. Valen- 
 
 at Newport has stood since 1750, tine's Manual of the Corporation 
 
 with harmonious additions. The . . . for 1855. Pp. 578-579. 
 
FIRST LIBRAHY BUILDING DESCRIBED 229 
 
 To those who are fond of recalKng the pleasing imagery of 
 the past, it may prove gratifying to retrace some of the linea- 
 ments of the locality of the old Library in Nassau street. The 
 building was of brown free-stone, brick interior, with three- 
 quarter Corinthian columns, resting on a projecting basement, 
 on which an ornamental iron balustrade formed a favorite bal- 
 cony, where the younger frequenters of the Library were fond 
 of viewing the unobstructed scenery of the vicinity, consisting 
 of the garden of Mr. Winter, with its fine grapery and over- 
 hanging fruit-trees, the venerable specimen of low Dutch church 
 architecture opposite, whose lofty peaked roof, massive gables, 
 substantial tower, belfry and cupola, surmounted by its gilt 
 rooster, still remain, a rehc, alas ! one of the few, to remind the 
 native Knickerbocker of his childhood's home ; to the south-east 
 remained the still more antiquated Eglise du St. Esprit, the 
 church of the French Huguenots. Two or three other churches 
 occupied positions in the immediate vicinity, but were not dis- 
 tinctly visible from the Library. The neighborhood, however, 
 was crowded with objects of historical interest, including, be- 
 sides these ancient churches, with their moss-grown roofs, vener- 
 able trees and grassy grave-yards, many a queer old house, with 
 the date of its erection conspicuous in iron numbers on its walls 
 of Holland brick; while a httle way down Liberty (formerly 
 Crown) street, hid behind the big Dutch church, lowered that 
 dark and evil-omened pile, the old Sugar-house, or prison of the 
 Revolutionary patriots. The Quaker meeting-house, to which 
 Grant Thorburn with his flower pots afterwards removed from 
 the neighboring corner, was planted behind a high brick wall 
 nearer to Broadway in the same narrow street. The view south- 
 ward gave a vista of that fine, wide, well-built and handsomely 
 planted avenue. Broad street, then still the leading quarter of 
 the early aristocracy of the town. Such were the immediate as- 
 pects and surroundings of the old Library in Nassau street. 
 The tree seen in the sketch, against the Library wall, was a most 
 luxuriant apricot, an object — when its burthened fruitage 
 bowed its branches over the high brick wall in front — of no 
 small desire to the watery-mouthed urchinry, especially when 
 "just let loose" from the neighboring school, on the other side 
 
230 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 of the Library, by that dreaded discipUnarian, Master Ironside, 
 or that cloaked and hump-backed Richard-looking man. Shep- 
 herd. Then, in those early times, when our goodly town still 
 held many a monumental association with the past, long before 
 the mammon of trade had devoured every rehc of home, and 
 overlaid us with avalanches of brick and mortar ; before the roar 
 of omnibuses and the din of iron-axled carts had begun to stun 
 the ear, there was only heard the hum of an industrious but not 
 an excited community. . . . 
 
 The interior of the Library building was homely, but attrac- 
 tive from its intrinsic comforts. Several offices fiUed its first 
 story, variously occupied from time to time, with a predomi- 
 nance, however, of legal tenantry. The access to the principal 
 floor was by means of a flight of stairs, conspicuously placed in 
 the centre of the building, and forming in fact the leading fea- 
 ture in its structure. This imposing peculiarity, which by- 
 the-by seems to have been reverently observed as a model for 
 future edifices dedicated to the same liberal objects, monopo- 
 lized the best part of two stories, and contributed not a little 
 towards impressing the pubhc with a high sense of the im- 
 portance of the place they were approaching. In fact one of 
 the worthy contrivers of this remarkable trait in the Library 
 architecture was wont to express, although jocularly, his con- 
 sciousness of the achievement, by terming the ascent, as he came 
 somewhat exhausted to its summit, "The Hill of Science." . . . 
 
 An earlier memory touch is thus given by Charles 
 King, editor of the American, in reviewing the Library 
 Catalogue of 1838: 
 
 The writer of this article was once one of those truant youths 
 who passed days and weeks in that silent retreat, unheeding the 
 frequent warnings of the Middle Dutch, that school-time had 
 arrived and passed. We all remember the strict restraint, 
 unwillingly submitted to, imposed upon us during the adminis- 
 tration of the elder Mr. Forbes, the father of the present 
 Librarian, in whose first attempts to use the ladder we bore not 
 an unequal part. That gallery was indeed a whispering gallery. 
 
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FIRE APPLIANCES AND INSURANCE 231 
 
 for woe to the unlucky wight whose voice exceeded the bounds 
 of a fearful murmur.^ 
 
 Last of all may be quoted a sentence or two from a 
 contemporary journal, to put vividly before us the old 
 structure when new, and the usefulness of the institution 
 as well. Dr. Alexander Anderson, better remembered 
 for his engraving talent, as a youth of twenty thus notes 
 in his diary for June 17, 1795 : "I went to the Library, in 
 the New Buildmg, and got Lee's Botany"; this he "re- 
 newed" on July 6th; and, on the 24th, "Retxu-ned Lee's 
 Botany and got Sully's Memoirs from the City 
 Library."^ 
 
 When once settled in the building, very properly the 
 next step in the direction of permanence would be its 
 insurance against fire losses. Accordingly, in January, 
 1796, Treasurer Phoenix was empowered to insure the 
 structure for £2500 with the Mutual Assurance Com- 
 pany. This amount, in New York currency equivalent 
 to $6250, was increased to $9000 by December, 1803; 
 but there is no mention of any insurance on the books or 
 furnishings. Evidences of other, though simpler, meas- 
 ures for safety appear early in two accounts, the one 
 "for 6 fire buckets at 18/," and the second "for a ladder 
 &c, 16/," a small simi being paid for painting buckets. 
 
 That the Trustees were not disposed to surrender any 
 part of the fimds in their keeping, without due cause 
 and investigation, may be seen in an incident of this 
 year. Mr. Winter presented a demand "for Damage 
 done his fences by the building," a claim Mr. Gaine 
 was deputed to investigate, it "appearing to be more 
 than the real damage done." At the same time, how- 
 
 » The clipping from which this ex- = From a MS. diary of Alexander 
 
 tract is copied bears no date, but its Anderson, M.D., now in the Library- 
 context establishes the year as 1838. of Columbia University. 
 
232 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 ever, punctilious and business-like, the Treasurer was 
 ordered to pay to Mr. Winter "the last year's ground 
 rent of the Library Lot," which the records show was 
 regxilarly done until the land was acquired in 1811. 
 
 Few references to the building are met with in the 
 next eight years, and they relate chiefly to insurance, 
 needed repairs, or "alterations to render the Lower part 
 more convenient." One entry alludes to the wide-spread 
 blight from the yellow fever epidemic, in the Li- 
 brarian's reporting, December 7, 1803, that he had "on 
 account of the fever shut the Library," from September 
 14th to November 8th. 
 
 Two final allusions to accommodations for the Li- 
 brary during this first half-centiu-y of its history occur 
 in April, 1804, the fiftieth anniversary of its founding. 
 But they deal with no plans for any commemoratory 
 celebration; rather indeed do they read like a return to 
 first principles. One resolve was for Egbert Benson 
 and William Samuel Johnson "to inquire of the City 
 Corporation whether a Room in the City Hall now 
 building will be allowed to this Society to be used as a 
 Library"; and the other similarly asked them, three 
 weeks later, "to endeavour to procure a Room in the 
 new City Hall to be used as a Library by this Society." 
 
 Such action is indeed startling and disappointing. In 
 reviewing the finances, we shall presently see that in 
 erecting the new building the Trustees had gone beyond 
 their depth. With that first loan in 1794 began an 
 indebtedness that was destined to weigh down the ad- 
 vancement of the institution for over sixty years, at 
 times with hopeless obstinacy. That the Library ever 
 recovered from this prostration, let alone continuing 
 the while to perform its contemplated mission, is Avell- 
 
PUBLIC INDIFFERENCE A HINDRANCE 233 
 
 nigh inconceivable, especially considering the general 
 indifference manifested toward its efforts and needs, 
 and toward its great possibilities for public usefulness. 
 
 As to the attempts above recited to secure quarters in 
 the new City HaD, the Common CouncU minutes record 
 no receipt of any memorial or petition from the Library. 
 Doubtless none was presented, for the simple reason 
 that the corner-stone of that structure, the City Hall of 
 to-day, had been laid only on September 20, 1803; while 
 the edifice was not formally opened until July 4, 1812. 
 
 Before considering other matters that in these thir- 
 teen years arose to occupy, to interest or to perplex the 
 Trustees, it will be refreshing to turn for a Httle to the 
 new personahties that had in the meantime been called 
 to participate in the work. 
 
 These include first, for brief terms, John Blagge, a 
 former Liberty Boy who settled down into a substantial 
 merchant, a secretary and a vice-president of the Cham- 
 ber of Commerce; Israel Wilkes, of whom httle has 
 been learned, save that he was an original stockholder 
 in the Bank of New York in 1791 ; and Francis Childs, 
 a printer and founder, in 1785, of the Daily Advertiser, 
 New York's first daily paper. It was the second in the 
 country, the Pennsylvania Packet having been estab- 
 hshed less than a year before. 
 
 Following them are three names of more distinction, 
 as also of longer periods of usefulness to the Library. 
 William Samuel Johnson, LL.D., Trustee for nine 
 years, was long a power in pubHc affairs. A lawyer by 
 training, a supreme coxui; justice in Connecticut before 
 the Revolution, and immediately afterward a represen- 
 tative in Congress from that state, he was its first 
 senator under the Constitution, which he had helped to 
 
234. THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 draft. From 1787 to 1800 he was president of Colum- 
 bia College, of which, as King's College, his father, 
 Dr. Samuel Johnson, had been first president. 
 
 Edward Livingston, younger brother of the chancel- 
 lor, a leader in Congress, Federal district-attorney for 
 New York and mayor of the city, and afterward senator 
 from Louisiana, Secretary of State mider President 
 Jackson and minister to France, wiU be remembered 
 best and longest for his famous codification of the 
 Louisiana penal law. 
 
 Charles Wilkes, nephew of the celebrated English 
 agitator, John Wilkes, and uncle of that Charles Wilkes 
 who captured the Confederate envoys in the Civil War, 
 was himself a man of peaceful pursuits. Interested in 
 aU that was improving, his services were freely rendered 
 as a trustee of Colimibia College, as a founder of the 
 Historical Society, as treasurer of the Greek Fund in 
 1824, and as Trustee of the Library for more than 
 twenty-six years. His life-work was his forty years' 
 connection, as cashier and president, with the Bank of 
 New York. 
 
 Among New York's many representatives on the 
 tented field appear the next two members, Brigadier- 
 General James M. Hughes and Adjutant-General 
 David Van Home : the former a Liberty Boy, a lawyer 
 of standing, a justice of the peace and master in 
 chancery; the latter one of the old merchants, a member 
 of the Whig Club and an active trustee of the Presby- 
 terian Church. With them began the larger connection 
 of a name as unique in local history as it was well known 
 beyond the city gates — Samuel L. Mitchill, M.D., phy- 
 sician, professor, lecturer, editor, author, founder and 
 member of countless literary, scientific and charitable 
 
NOTABLE NEW TRUSTEES 235 
 
 societies, member of Congress and United States 
 senator. A man of wide travel, varied learning and 
 marvelous memory, he might be called information in- 
 carnate, even as he has been styled the Nestor of Ajneri- 
 can science. Yet with all his energy and attainments he 
 ever preserved a rare simplicity of character and tender- 
 ness of heart. 
 
 A stately figure next advances, martial in bearing and 
 laden with civic dignities no less, the "Dutch mayor," 
 Colonel Richard Varick, An eminent lawyer, recorder 
 of the city, member of assembly and attorney-general, 
 besides holding the mayoralty twelve years, — the longest 
 term in its history, — his military record was equally dis- 
 tingiiished, comprising the post of secretary to Generals 
 Schuyler, Arnold and Washington, and earning him the 
 thanks of Congress on retirement. In local concerns he 
 was also a notable participator, as an elder in the Re- 
 formed Church, chairman of the Columbia College trus- 
 tees, an officer of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, a 
 founder and president of the American Bible Society, 
 president of the Merchants' Bank, and for thirty years 
 honored president of the Society of the Cincinnati. 
 
 Another name of Revolutionary luster is that of 
 William Denning, a gentleman-merchant of the old 
 school. One of the first to support non-importation, he 
 served on all the local "committees" and in the provincial 
 congress, acting in the war as a captain and as quarter- 
 master-general. His later career included usefulness in 
 both branches of the state legislature and in pubhc ser- 
 vice generally, as director in various business enterprises. 
 
 Several others were drawn from the ranks of the "old 
 merchants." Daniel Phoenix, another imcompromising 
 Whig and Liberty Boy, though not a participant in the 
 
236 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 war, served his community for many years as alderman 
 and city treasurer, at the same time identified with edu- 
 cational and benevolent interests, as with the Chamber 
 of Commerce and the Presbyterian Church. Similarly 
 useful are the records of Daniel McCormick and Wil- 
 liam Laight, the former being a Whig and a Presby- 
 terian elder and the latter a vestryman of Trinity parish, 
 with loyalist views during the war. Among them it is 
 good to see the name of Thomas Eddy, if only for a 
 single year, for, if ever a man had a passion for serving 
 htmianity, it was he. With his kindred spirit, John 
 Pintard, he was active in founding and supporting 
 educational, charitable and reformatory institutions of 
 every description. 
 
 Nor were the learned professions overlooked. Wil- 
 liam Pitt Smith, M.D., son of William Peartree Smith, 
 an original Trustee, was a man of promise, professor in 
 Columbia College, and holding pubhc office, when he 
 fell victim to yellow fever, after less than a year's mem- 
 bership on the Library board. Likewise Dr. Thomas 
 Jones, a brother of another Trustee, Dr. John Jones, 
 and an associate of Dr. Smith on the hospital staiF, was 
 removed by death before serving two years as Trustee. 
 Another Trustee who died in office, though after eigh- 
 teen years' service, was John Kemp, LL.D., professor 
 of mathematics and natiu-al science at Columbia, and 
 also identified with various public concerns. With him 
 on the board was associated his colleague. Dr. Peter 
 Wilson, of the classical department, long an educational 
 factor in the community, and a pillar in the Dutch 
 Church. 
 
 The ministry was represented by three of its bril- 
 liant members, Dr. William Linn and Dr. John Henry 
 
LEGAL MEMBERS OF THE BOARD 237 
 
 Livingston of the Reformed communion, and Dr. John 
 M. Mason, pastor of the Scotch Presbyterian Church. 
 Of these the first was distinguished for wide usefulness 
 and influence, as for great personal charm, while his 
 associate was renowned for pulpit eloquence; a founder 
 of the Historical Society, he is also remembered as first 
 chaplain of the Federal Congress. Of equal erudition, 
 and unsurpassed in power as a preacher, was Dr. Mason, 
 who coincidentaUy held the unique and important office 
 of provost of Columbia College. 
 
 Last, there await om* respectful attention three mem- 
 bers of the bar, than whom none can be held in higher 
 honor, Egbert Benson, Wilham Johnson and James 
 Kent. For many years Judge Benson gave of his time 
 and talents to the welfare of the Library, as also to 
 Coltmibia College, his alma mater, to the Historical 
 Society, of which he was the first president, and to his 
 duties as an elder in the Dutch Church. He is revered 
 as a devoted patriot and as an eminent jiu-ist, distin- 
 guished ahke for eloquence and learning. 
 
 Full twenty years is the span that marks the term of 
 WiUiam Johnson as a Trustee of the Society Library. 
 Equally valuable were his services as vestryman and 
 comptroller of Trinity parish, and as trustee of Colum- 
 bia College and of the Historical Society. His great 
 achievement was his series of "Reports" of cases and 
 decisions, familiar to every New York lawyer. A man 
 of elevated character, he possessed a decided literary 
 taste, and was the associate of the leading men of letters 
 of his day. To him are dedicated the famous "Commen- 
 taries," by his friend. Chancellor Kent, a renowned per- 
 sonage, who truly needs no eulogivmi here, nor mention 
 of the manifold public positions and honors that were 
 
238 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 heaped upon him. His decisions at law cover so wide a 
 range and are so profound, that they are recognized as 
 forming the basis of American equity jurisprudence. 
 
 During the years when the Society Library was build- 
 ing and setting its house in order, its Trustees were not 
 unmindful of matters of general routine. In fact they 
 seem to have been more than formerly observant of the 
 needs of the hour and alive to changing conditions. This 
 win appear in a study of their various problems and 
 activities as gathered from the minutes. 
 
 The foremost consideration would properly be a 
 judicious increase of the collection. Lists of new books 
 no longer appear upon the records, as in early days. 
 But the issuance of several additional catalogues, be- 
 tween 1791 and 1804, shows that this interest was not 
 neglected. The first of these, pubhshed in 1791, is 
 without cover and styled simply "Continuation of the 
 Catalogue [of 1789] of the New- York Society Li- 
 brary," to which it was designed to be attached, as its 
 28 pages begin at 81. It contains titles of about 700 
 volumes, arranged alphabetically, with subdivisions 
 under each letter, according to fold. Many titles are in 
 part self-explanatory, as "Irish guardian, a pathetick 
 story, 2 vols." ; "Love and madness, a story too true, in 
 a series of letters between parties whose names would 
 perhaps be mentioned were they less known" ; or "Kalish 
 revolution, containing observations on man and man- 
 ners, by Durus, king of Kalikang, who was born in the 
 reign of the emperor Augustus, travelled over most of 
 the globe, and still exists." The last two pages are de- 
 voted to the names of "Additional Members" — sixty-six 
 in all. 
 
 The next year saw "A Farther Continuation" of both 
 
MESSRS. T. & J. SWORDS, PRINTERS 239 
 
 catalogue and list of shareholders, a pamphlet of 24 
 pages, numbered from 109 to 131, to be joined with the 
 preceding issue. It contains titles of 816 books in all, 
 including a number "in french," and the names of 188 
 new members. The first of these supplements bears no 
 name of printer, though conforming to the Gaine Cata- 
 logue of 1789. The second, however, which has the 
 titles arranged alphabetically, without regard to folding, 
 is the product of the Messrs. Thomas and James Swords. 
 
 This same firm in 1793 published a complete cata- 
 logue, whose preface states the collection then to com- 
 prise "about Five Thousand Volumes." It was the 
 ambitious aim of the board "to class the books under 
 distinct heads, so as to have presented nearly at one view, 
 all those that relate to any particular subject, art or 
 science." But, owing to exigencies of time and re- 
 sources, "a more systematical arrangement" was de- 
 ferred, until opportunity should offer "to execute the 
 same, in a manner more useful to readers of every 
 description." Besides the catalogue of books, this 100- 
 page pamphlet, the largest yet issued, contained the 
 charter, by-laws, hst of Trustees elected in 1793, and a 
 full register of members, then numbering 892. It was 
 at just this prosperous time that the lot of Joseph Win- 
 ter was leased and the building begun. 
 
 In December, 1800, William S. Johnson for the pur- 
 chasing committee reported the publication of 500 copies 
 of "A Supplementary Catalogue," to be sold "for eigh- 
 teen cents each." Of this issue, as of the others, the 
 Library possesses to-day a single copy. It also bears the 
 imprint of the Messrs. Swords, of whom John Pintard 
 wrote in his diary in August of that year: "They have 
 risen to some degree of wealth by their industry, have 
 
^^^^^^^^^w^w- 
 
 A 
 
 FARTHER CONTINUATION 
 
 OP THE 
 
 CATALOGUE op BOOKS 
 
 BELOKCING TO TilE 
 
 New-York Society Library, 
 
 WITH THE 
 
 NAMES 
 
 OP THB 
 
 ADDITIONAL MEMBERS 
 
 OF THE SAID SOCIETY. 
 
 NE W-Y O R K: 
 
 Printed by Jhotnas tf James Ztustds, at tlieii" Printing-Office, 
 
 No. 27, William-Street; where PRINTING in ge- 
 
 neral is executed with Neatnefs, Accuracy and 
 
 Difpatch, and on reafonabk Terms. 
 
 —1792.— 
 
 Facsimile size. See pp. 238-289. 
 
PENALTIES FOR LOST BOOKS 241 
 
 two printing presses & 6 or 8 hands, with more work to 
 execute than they can perform; they are the neatest & 
 most correct printers on the continent." At this time 
 Thomas Swords, the senior partner, was a member of the 
 Library, on whose board of Trustees the family has 
 twice been represented, his nephew, Charles R. Swords, 
 serving from 1855 to 1876, while Treasurer Henry C. 
 Swords, a grandson, has been a Trustee since November, 
 1901. 
 
 This supplement, which contained "a full and satis- 
 factory accoimt of the titles" added since 1793, or about 
 748 volumes, is arranged Hke earlier catalogues, but with 
 a new feature in an appendix for "Novels, Adventures, 
 &c." Some of the additions had been imported, as in 
 the early days, and others had been bought of local 
 dealers. By 1800, then, twelve years after the institu- 
 tion was reestabhshed, its -collection comprised nearly 
 6000 volumes. 
 
 With reference to the collection itself, rulings were 
 made as to "what books were improper" for circulation; 
 and, in consequence of some choice illustrations having 
 been cut out, a hst for reference only was bulletined, 
 consisting of "Maps of every description," and works in 
 architectiu'e, geography, travel, and biography, as also 
 "the whole sett' of British and French encyclopedias. 
 With regard to lost or injured books, the rule called for 
 a new copy or its money value; while, in the case of a 
 volvmae lost from a set, the borrower was expected to 
 supply a new set, or to pay for the whole set and receive 
 the remaining volumes. At the same time, if any mem- 
 ber, "injuring or losing a book," should himself feel 
 "injured" at the penalty imposed, he might "appeal to 
 the Trustees." 
 
242 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 An instance savoring of grace occurred in May, 1799, 
 when Dr. Samuel Bard — no longer a Trustee — reported 
 that he "had taken from the Library the first volume of 
 Rollin's Ancient History, and that the book was put on 
 board a Sloop, and that the Sloop up set in the River, 
 whereby the said book was lost," and the board ordered 
 him to pay one dollar "for the book he has lost." At this 
 same meeting, Edward Livingston confronted the board 
 Avith the statement "that he had some time since sub- 
 scribed for a Copy of Lavater's Essay on Physiognomy 
 for the Library," as yet unpaid for. He was met with the 
 cool reply that, "as it does not appear to the board that 
 he had any authority to subscribe for books on account 
 of this Society, they think it inexpedient to receive the 
 said Copy of Lavater or to pay therefor." 
 
 Occasionally gifts are recorded, as in May, 1792, 
 when acknowledgment was voted to Thomas Barrow 
 "for his polite donation of the portrait of M^ Howard 
 and the sketch of his life" ; while, at the same time, "M^ 
 Morton presented to the Library Douglass's summary 
 which was accepted with thanks." In April, 1802, ap- 
 preciation was expressed to Judge Benson for "copies 
 of most of the editions of the Laws of this state." Then 
 also was acknowledged the first in the long series of gifts 
 from Guhan C. Verplanck, "a Book entitled A View 
 of London and its Environs.' " 
 
 Closely allied in importance to the matter of books 
 were the duties and the choice of a Librarian. Isaac L. 
 Kip, who succeeded the Rev. George Wright in 1790, 
 was a lawyer, later the partner of Brockholst Living- 
 ston. He served as clerk in chancery under three suc- 
 cessive chancellors, and figured prominently in the af- 
 fairs of the Reformed Church, as also in the state 
 
LIBRARY FIRST OPEN DAILY IN 1791 MS 
 
 militia. His salary as Librarian, however, finds no 
 mention in the minutes until May, 1793, when it was 
 fixed at $250, together with fines. A year later, upon his 
 resignation, John P. Pearss held the appointment for 
 just one month, until, in June, 1794, John Forbes began 
 his thirty years of service. Mr. Pearss, who had failed 
 of reappointment only by a vote of five to four, was 
 "allowed at the rate of £150 per Annum during the time 
 he kept the Library," while Mr. Forbes was voted, "for 
 his Salary as Librarian and Secretary," £100 a year with 
 fines. He was also "to collect the annual Subscriptions 
 & be allowed therefor 23^^ per Cent." As stated above, 
 he was also given for his own use the front room on the 
 ground floor of the new building, which apartment three 
 years later he was permitted "to let, rent or otherwise 
 dispose of." The duties of Secretary were for a time 
 combined with the treasiu-ership, then for some years 
 detached, and from 1792 to 1815 united with the ofiiee 
 of Librarian. 
 
 Another topic of importance relates to times when the 
 collection was available. It must be borne in mind that 
 this was long before a Library was thought of as a place 
 for all-day reading or for prolonged reference. The 
 hours for drawing books were still few and far apart; 
 yet frequent alterations, in even the simple schedule then 
 maintained, show a regard on the part of the authorities 
 for pubhc convenience. 
 
 In November, 1789, the time had been from 12 to 
 2 P.M., Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. But in 
 1791 the Library was open daily, at the same hours. The 
 year 1793 saw several changes. In March the time was 
 fixed from 10 to 2 o'clock, Librarian Kip being voted 
 £30 extra therefor. Again, from May to September 
 
M4i THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 the hours were from 11 to 2 and from 4 to 7, daily, 
 Saturday afternoons excepted. Lastly, they were from 
 9 to 12 and from 2 to 5, a rule in force imtil May, 1800, 
 when they became 9 to 2, daily, Sundays and holidays 
 always excepted. 
 
 Throughout its history, a distinctive feature of the 
 Society Library has been the title of Chairman, as ap- 
 plied to the presiding officer of the Trustees. Since 
 1856 this position, filled by each year's board upon or- 
 ganization, has been of annual tenure, but prior to that 
 date a chairman was chosen at each meeting. Yet it is 
 not till September, 1791, that the term first appears in 
 the minutes, following the name of Samuel Jones, the 
 last of the eight members present. The next July it is 
 written "Doctor Johnson in the Chair," and thereafter 
 the office is intermittently entered in one way or another, 
 untU May, 1794, after which, under the latter form, it 
 becomes an established part of the heading. During the 
 years from 1791 to 1804, William Samuel Johnson 
 oftenest served in this capacity. 
 
 A vital function of membership in the Society Library 
 is the privilege of voting at the annual meeting of share- 
 holders, on such matters as may arise for action, besides 
 electing Trustees. Some laxity with regard to the vot- 
 ing and the payment of arrears led the board in Febru- 
 ary, 1793, to adopt an elaborate and stringent by-law, 
 regulating the election of Trustees, which was spread 
 upon the minutes and printed, both in the new catalogue 
 and in two newspapers. The Diary; or Loudon's Reg- 
 ister and The Daily Advertiser. It ordained, briefly: 
 
 1st, that all elections be by ballot on the last Tuesday in April 
 in the Library room from ten to four ; 2d, that the Secretary 
 give at least two weeks' notice in two newspapers, and affix a like 
 
VOTING FOR TRUSTEES REGULATED 245 
 
 notice on the "outward door" of the room; 3d, that elections 
 be held under inspection by three Trustees, the Secretary to 
 keep a poll Kst under "their direction and view," and the said 
 inspectors to preside over the election as returning officers ; 
 4th, that every qualified voter hand in his baUot, "a paper ticket 
 containing the names of as many persons for Trustees as then 
 to be chosen, or as many of them as such elector shall think 
 proper to vote for" ; 5th, that the inspectors on closing the poll 
 at once "canvass and estimate the Votes," and sign a certificate 
 of those elected Trustees, the same to be laid before the board, 
 "whose duty it shall be to assemble at the Library room at 
 Seven o'Clock in the evening" of that day ; 6th, that no minor 
 be eligible to serve as Trustee ; 7th, that only certified share- 
 holders, not in arrears, could vote, no member to have more than 
 one vote or to vote by proxy ; 8th, that, in case of the death, 
 resignation or removal of a Trustee, an election be held at a time 
 appointed by the Trustees. 
 
 Naught appearing to prove the contrary, these rules 
 were scrupulously observed. This can be assumed only, 
 in the case of the fourth and seventh sections, as they 
 need contemporary confirmation for absolute certitude. 
 But as no complaint of illegality was registered during 
 this period, the assumption may be pronounced assur- 
 ance. With regard to the other divisions of the ordi- 
 nance, ample verification is furnished by the minutes, 
 supplemented by insertions in the current press. 
 
 Variation in time of holding meetings seems to have 
 suited the Trustees. In November, 1793, they voted to. 
 meet "in future regularly on the first Tuesday." This 
 was changed in February, 1797, to "the first Wednesday 
 of every month at 4 o'Clock in the afternoon," and six 
 months later it was again amended to read "that the 
 futm-e monthly meetings be held at any time on the first 
 Wednesday." Lastly, in May, 1803, the date was 
 moved to "the second Tuesday of every month." 
 
246 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 As must long have been noted, the board worked 
 through committees appointed in open meeting. Their 
 reports were similarly acted upon, as were also petitions 
 or other communications. In a word, then, the mode of 
 procedure was identical with that now obtaining, save 
 that there were no standing committees. 
 
 Now and then a Trustee had died in office, whereupon 
 the board appointed his successor at its next meeting. 
 For example, in December, 1798, Charles Wilkes, a 
 former Trustee, and Peter Wilson were chosen to fill out 
 the unexpired terms of Thomas Jones and John Cozine, 
 deceased. These selections were ratified, so to speak, at 
 the annual election following, both men being destined 
 to long terms of service. In the case of Dr. Samuel 
 Bard, however, unanimously appointed in March, 1796, 
 to round out the term of Dr. William P. Smith, de- 
 ceased, a reelection was probably not desired, for he had 
 given time and thought to the institution during his best 
 years and certainly merited an honorable retirement. 
 No doubt, however, the attention gave him considerable 
 satisfaction, though he does not appear to have attended 
 a single meeting. 
 
 By-laws bearing on the forfeiture of rights were en- 
 forced, as for instance in January, 1802, when, on the 
 request of three persons,— whose shares "had become 
 forfeited because the annual payments had not been 
 made within the time limited by the Charter,"— "to be 
 informed how much they must pay to become members 
 again," certificates were ordered issued to them, "on 
 their paying to the Treasurer a sum equal to what 
 would have been due at this time had their shares not 
 have become forfeited." 
 
 Cases are also recorded of certificates being issued for 
 

 
 
 
 
 s^^ 
 
 3 
 
 ^ 
 
 o 
 
SHARES A MEDIUM OF EXCHANGE 247 
 
 an equivalent of the price, as likeAvise where such offers 
 were dechned. In March, 1793, "Bankes Geography 
 being offerd for a share in the Library with the addi- 
 tion of 20/, orderd that the same be received," and 
 "Chambers Dictionary being offerd by M^ Rhine- 
 lander for Shares, orderd that the same be received at 
 Sterhng Price." Again, in May, 1799, when "M? 
 Alexander Tiebout offered to sell to the Trustees 
 'Voyage Pictorisque dans le Grec' for which they may 
 think it worth," two shares were voted him for the 
 work, plus "the payment in addition thereto of ten 
 Dollars,"— a share then selling for $20. But in April, 
 1797, on "an Application of D. Fraser's to become a 
 member of this Society (in consideration of certain 
 books offered by him)," the board decreed that they 
 "were not of sufficient value." 
 
 Fiu'thermore, shares were made a medium of ex- 
 change for work done, as well as for books received. In 
 February, 1797, it appears that one Thomas Allen had 
 been given shares in return for rebinding books. In 
 concluding the subject, it should be stated that shares 
 had all along been transferable, a resolve of September, 
 1792, directing that four shillings be paid to the Secre- 
 tary at each transfer, "the one half of which to go to the 
 Library, the other half to the Treasiu-er & Secretary." 
 
 Successive fluctuations in the price of shares will be 
 of interest, as indexing somewhat the varying fortunes 
 of the institution. Originally, and for more than thirty- 
 five years, the cost of a right was fixed at £5, or $12.50 
 in New York currency. In October, 1791, it was ad- 
 vanced to $15. Again, in March, 1793,— the zenith of 
 the Library's prosperity for its first century of exist- 
 ence,— the figure became $20. The reason for this 
 
THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 advance is explained in the following extract from 
 the Daily Gazette, of February 6th: "The present 
 yearly income will admit of an increase of 1000 volumes 
 per anmun. From the encouragement the Trustees 
 have received, they have reason to expect to increase 
 their Capital by an elegant and commodious Hall, in 
 Wall-street, and the subscriptions on shares, so as to 
 enrich the Library with near 2000 volvmies per annum." 
 The Journal 8^ Patriotic Register for February 27th, 
 in announcing the impending rise, says: "Its pres- 
 ent income increases this accumulating capital stock 
 nearly twenty-five per cent, per annum." The capstone 
 was set in a resolution of May 7th, that for the futxu-e 
 no share should be sold for less than $20. 
 
 Alas for expectations and bright prospects, the 
 heavy expenses of building entailed a mortgage, effec- 
 tually preventing the anticipated "increase of 1000 
 volumes per anmun," and within a few years the mem- 
 bership of nearly 900, in 1793, became much reduced. 
 Foreseeing stringency, the board voted, in January of 
 that year, to petition the legislature for a "donation," 
 but nothing came of it. Two years later, as a trans- 
 parent hint for an appropriation, "the use of the Li- 
 brary"— stiU in the City Hall— was offered to the state 
 legislators, then holding session in the same edifice, be- 
 fore the removal of the capital to Albany, in 1797. No 
 response forthcoming, in March the Trustees applied 
 again fruitlessly, for "the loan or Gift of a Sum of 
 Money," to aid them in finishing the building. Thus 
 the representatives of the interests of the whole state 
 seem to have been as impervious to the cause of letters 
 as the Common Coimcil, and the stand then taken— 
 whether avowedly or not— has been consistently main- 
 
FINANCIAL EMBARRASSMENT 249 
 
 tained by both bodies, so far as the Society Library is 
 concerned. 
 
 A formal accounting was called for in June, 1795, in 
 the appointment of Messrs. Phoenix and Cozine and 
 Messrs. Denning and Phoenix, respectively, "to collect 
 the accounts of the different Booksellers," and "to col- 
 lect and arrange the accounts of the Expenditvire and 
 Debts of this Corporation in consequence of the new 
 Library." 
 
 Six months later both reports were rendered, the first 
 stating "the accoimts due to the different Booksellers" 
 to amoimt to £226:2:7, and the other that £244:0:5^ 
 was the "Amotmt of accounts due ... on acc*^ of the 
 building." The board promptly authorized Messrs. 
 Gaine, Phoenix and Denning "to borrow £500 (if to be 
 procured at 5 per Cent. ) ," to pay these items. 
 
 In January, 1796, Daniel Phoenix, lately appointed 
 Treasurer, reported "further Sums due to sundry per- 
 sons," amounting to £897:17:41/2/ "the whole that has 
 yet come to Knowledge." Staggered by these figures, 
 "appearing [to] amount to more than was supposed," 
 the Treasurer was empowered to borrow from the Bank 
 of New York $3000 at five per cent., to pay the debts. A 
 bond for this sum "having been prepaired by M^ Cozine," 
 it was approved, sealed and delivered to Mr. Phoenix to 
 secure the loan. In March he reported its accomplish- 
 ment; the loan, originally for a year, was renewed and 
 continued till 1836. Thus began the long lane of in- 
 debtedness whose turning was not to be visible for so 
 many years. 
 
 Desired relief not appearing, in February, 1797, the 
 
 ' The various items, as entered in the minutes, do not match the total, 
 which is probably correctly copied. 
 
250 THE NEW YORK SOCEETY LIBRARY 
 
 board resolved to petition the legislature for a law, 
 enabling them to raise the annual charges from ten shil- 
 Hngs ($1.25) "to any sum not exceeding twenty shil- 
 lings." Accordingly the petition was "prepaired," sealed 
 and forwarded to Samuel Jones, then a state senator at 
 Albany, by William S. Johnson, chairman of the meet- 
 ing.' 
 
 The document is spread on the minutes, as also are the 
 senate resolution and the concurrent action by the as- 
 sembly, dated March 6th and 7th, respectively, author- 
 izing the Trustees "to present to either house at their 
 next session a Bill for increasing the annual Tax or 
 Assessment upon the Proprietors," after observing cer- 
 tain conditions as to advertising their intention, "to the 
 end that aU persons interested in the premises may shew 
 cause . . . why the prayer of the said petition should 
 not be granted." 
 
 Whether these conditions were fulfilled or not, the 
 minutes do not record, nor whether pressure was brought 
 to bear upon the legislators by hostile shareholders. For 
 some reason the project failed and for nearly five years 
 is unmentioned in the records. At last, in January, 
 1802, at a special meeting, Dr. Johnson read a petition 
 similar in all respects to the other, and William Den- 
 ning was asked to present it to the legislature at once. 
 This time there was no untoward obstacle, for in April 
 the Secretary reported that a law had been passed on 
 March 8th to raise the annual payment "to any sum not 
 exceeding" $2.50. With all speed the Trustees issued 
 
 'Dr. Johnson's letter, enclosing given by William Alfred Jones, 
 this petition, is in the possession of A.M., late of Norwich, Conn., Li- 
 the Library, having been presented brarian of Columbia College, 1851- 
 in November, 1904, by Librarian 1883, son of David S. Jones and 
 Emeritus Butler, to whom it was grandson of Samuel Jones. 
 
SAGACIOUS COUNSEL TO RAISE FUNDS 251 
 
 an ordinance raising the annual dues to that figure, be- 
 ginning on May 1st following. 
 
 Some time before this, in December, 1799, in its per- 
 plexity the board had assigned to Messrs. Kemp, Gaine 
 and William Johnson a task "to devise ways and means 
 for encreasing the funds of this Society," and had rec- 
 ommended that the same gentlemen sell an additional 
 nxmiber of shares at $20 each. Four months later they 
 reported as "not yet compleated, any Plan ... to 
 encrease the Fimds," but that they hoped soon to sug- 
 gest a measure which "must improve the Resources of 
 the Library." The other Trustees seem to have been 
 equally sanguine, or at any rate unwilling prematurely 
 to spoil the fruit of their colleagues' careful delibera- 
 tions, for the committee was continued after the annual 
 election, a few weeks later. Finally came justification of 
 their confidence, just one year lacking a day from the 
 original appointment, in a profound opinion delivered 
 by the learned Professor Kemp, "that, if members were 
 allowed to take out from the Library sets of books in- 
 stead of a single volume at a time, it would not only be a 
 great conveniency to the present members, but would 
 also be a great inducement for other persons to become 
 members of this Society and thereby increase its funds." 
 
 No sooner had the Trustees listened to these sagacious 
 words than they at once acted upon the counsel in a 
 resolve to aUow members "to take from the Library at 
 one time one folio volume or one quarto, or three octavo 
 volumes (when belonging to the same set and all on 
 the same subject), or six duodecimo volumes (of the 
 same set and relating to the same subject), on each 
 share he or she may hold in the Library." If Nassau 
 street was thereupon crowded with persons, some hurry- 
 
252 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 ing to piirchase new rights and others moving off with 
 armfuls of "sets," the phenomenon was unmentioned by 
 the newspapers, while the Library records reveal no 
 apparent appreciation of this rare opportunity on the 
 part of the public. 
 
 Before leaving the consideration of this early period, 
 a few cullings of a more miscellaneous character will 
 prove entertaining. In view of the present efficient mail 
 service, and as dimly suggesting the admirable mes- 
 senger system now maintained by the Society Library, 
 it is of interest to learn that in May, 1793, it was voted 
 "that the penny post be paid 40/. for his trouble in 
 Carrying the Letters to the members of the Library." ^ 
 
 In previous chapters^ the origin of the Society Li- 
 brary's first two bookplates has been narrated. Scarcely 
 fuller data are at hand concerning the third than of the 
 second, — simply two items in the Librarian- Secretary's 
 report of February, 1797, as follows: "A. Robertson for 
 a design for a plate for Books, £1:12:0"; and "Peter 
 Maverick for 500 plates for Books, £l :13:9."* 
 
 What at first sight looks like an attitude anything but 
 liberal was a vote of May, 1792, that it was "inexpedient 
 
 ^ The Session records of the obeisance, an American Indian, half 
 
 Presbyterian Church show that in draped, witli tomahawli under his 
 
 November, 1787, "a charge was foot, receives from the hand of the 
 
 brought against Hugh Duncan the gracious goddess a book. The well- 
 
 pennypost, that he is addicted to filled shelves of the library are dis- 
 
 drinli." Expressing due contrition, closed behind them, as the dra\vn 
 
 he was restored to the fold; so he curtain, upheld by cords, lets the 
 
 may be this very individual. sunlight stream in. This view is con- 
 
 ' See pp. 166-167, 313-214. tained within an oval frame which 
 
 ' This third bookplate is thus de- rests upon a pedestal bearing on its 
 
 scribed in Charles D. Allen's Ameri- face the name of the library; the 
 
 can Book-Plates, Tpp. 255-256: "NeiB whole is filled out to the edges of 
 
 York Society Library. Pictorial. the plate by a background represent- 
 
 The interior of the library is shown; ing a brick wall. Signed, Engd. by 
 
 Minerva [Athena], helmeted, and P. JR. Maverick 85 Liberty Street. 
 
 with spear resting against her arm, A large painting of this design 
 
 leans upon a pillar; before her, in hangs in the library at present." 
 
FREE IMPORTATION OF BOOKS SOUGHT 253 
 
 to grant the Petition of M^ Abeel . . . requesting per- 
 mission to have the use of the Library to compile the 
 history of the City & State of New York." Who this 
 gentleman was, it is hard to tell. In that year the mem- 
 bership roU included two of the name, Garret Abeel, for 
 whom the city directory gives no occupation, and Garret 
 B. Abeel, ironmonger, both hving at no. 28 Cherry 
 street. The only other Abeels were David, mariner, 
 David G., keeper of the city dispensary, and James, 
 merchant. If not the first-named of these five it may 
 have been the Rev. Dr. John N. Abeel, son of James, a 
 native of New York and later a resident of the city as 
 pastor of the Dutch Church, though at that time a tutor 
 at Princeton. 
 
 The refusal, therefore, may have been due to the peti- 
 tioner's not being a shareholder, or perhaps to the fact 
 that the idea of prolonged research was as yet too new to 
 be acceptable to the board. The investigator may have 
 asked to spend more time in the building than the hours 
 warranted, and, as has been said, there was then httle 
 inducement to use the collection for reference work. 
 But, inasmuch as the proposed book seems never to have 
 been pubhshed, if indeed ever written, one may weU 
 query whether such action did not perhaps discourage a 
 work of promise. In all Hkelihood valuable material 
 would have been collected and evidence sifted, to the 
 gain of later historians. 
 
 In January, 1799, the Library for the first time re- 
 ceived a communication from a kindred institution in a 
 proposal of the Library Company of Baltimore to pre- 
 sent to Congress a petition for the passage of a law, 
 "allowing public Libraries to import Books, Maps and 
 Charts free from Duty." The Hon. Wilham Johnson 
 
Amcnoans 
 
 
 
 Ydjr 
 
 £miomASSi\/WDD 
 
 MS. title-page (reduced) of a collection of catalogues of Parochial Libraries, written in 
 1607 and now preserved by Dr. Bray's Associates, London. See p. 12n. 
 254 
 
PETITIONS IGNORED BY CONGRESS 255 
 
 presenting the draft of such petition, it was approved, 
 signed and sealed, and ordered "transmitted to Edward 
 Livingston Esq^ at Philadelphia ... to be laid before 
 Congress." 
 
 This movement originated at a meeting of the Direc- 
 tors of the Library Company of Baltimore, December 
 19, 1798, in a resolution "to correspond with the Direc- 
 tors of the Library Company of Philadelphia concern- 
 ing the propriety & expediency of Petitioning Congress 
 to take off the imposts upon books imported for public 
 Libraries, & concerning the best mode of making such 
 application."^ The records of the latter organization 
 testify that on January 22, 1799, "a letter from the 
 Directors of the Library Company of Baltimore was 
 read, requesting the Directors of this institution to join 
 them in a petition to Congress for an exemption from 
 duty on books imported for these and similar institu- 
 tions,"^ which was agreed upon and the enclosed peti- 
 tion, with their signatures added, was ordered presented 
 to the House of Representatives. 
 
 In the case of both institutions, this is the first and last 
 reference to the subject in their minutes of proceedings. 
 The journals of Congress contain no allusion to the 
 matter at all, even the receipt of the petitions being 
 ignored. As for the exemption desired, it was not until 
 1816 that "philosophical apparatus, instruments, books, 
 maps," etc., etc., were put on the free list when intended 
 "for the use of any society incorporated for philosophical 
 or hterary purposes, or for . . . any seminary of learn- 
 ing."^ 
 
 iProm the MS. minutes of the Directors of the Library Company 
 
 Directors of the Library Company of Philadelphia, 
 of Baltimore. ' ^- S. Statutes at Large, vol. Ill, 
 
 ''From the MS. minutes of the p. 313; Act passed April 27, 1816. 
 
256 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 From this review of the management of the Society 
 Library in all phases, the reader must be impressed not 
 merely with the great amount of detail involved but 
 chiefly with the disinterestedness and singleness of pur- 
 pose shown by these devoted Trustees. Serving as they 
 did quite without emolument, and animated by no selfish 
 aim to enhance the capital of a corporation of which 
 they were directors, they are indeed representatives of 
 that desirable type of personal responsibUity and fidelity 
 to duty in public service. In character and achievement 
 they were of the best element of our citizenship, as a 
 hasty glance at their careers will show. After all, how- 
 ever, no eidogy can more eloquently stimulate or more 
 thoroughly convince than this detailed study of their 
 patient, earnest, unassuming stewardship. 
 
VI 
 
 1804,-1829 
 
 THE fiftieth anniversary of founding the Society- 
 Library passed without notice. If any demon- 
 stration was urged at all, the laconic records 
 suggest no hint of it. One must bear in mind that the 
 people had not then largely taken to holding exercises 
 of a commemoratory character. The country was still 
 too young to realize a history of any depth; its laborers 
 were too few and its harvests too great for much giving 
 thought to the past. Yet the sentiment was there, voic- 
 ing itself in celebrating the Fourth of July and the 
 piu'ely local Evacuation Day; while in this very year the 
 New York Historical Society was established and soon 
 began its long series of public observances of great 
 events. 
 
 The American of to-day knows how he would have 
 stirred up such an interest in the time-honored institu- 
 tion, through general exercises expressive of the noble 
 foundation and long usefulness of the Library, as well 
 as its historic associations with the community, that it 
 would at once have been relieved of all financial embar- 
 rassment! It is probable, however, that public opinion 
 of that age would have regarded any such move as an 
 
258 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 unrighteous display of self-glorification. Quite the 
 contrary ; the minutes show an unusual lack of attention 
 on the part of the Trustees for several years ensuing. 
 
 But in 1810 came the deluge. In consequence of the 
 awakening then caused, more than nine pages in the big 
 book of minutes — as much as for the whole five years 
 before — are taken up with the proceedings of that year's 
 board. Thereafter closer attention was demanded and 
 gained, though the records, aside from full financial 
 reports, are very sketchy, especially in comparison with 
 the voluminous entries of later years. All through this 
 period, and up to the close of 1832, the same volume was 
 used that begins with the charter in 1772. 
 
 During the quarter-century now under consideration, 
 not quite a score of new personahties were introduced 
 into the management of the Library's affairs, or at a 
 rate of less than one a year. Long terms of service were 
 the rule, the average for the thirty-two gentlemen iden- 
 tified with any part of this epoch being nearly sixteen 
 years. While it must be admitted that the extraordinary 
 length of Guhan C. Verplanck's tenure— about fifty- 
 eight years— would offset many a fitful term, yet the 
 fact is that only two of this number served less than 
 seven years, and but eight of them under ten years. 
 
 As in the earlier days, so did the members of the Li- 
 brary continue to choose for its managing board men of 
 high standing in the commimity. Though fewer names 
 of national repute are met with, it simply means that the 
 aim was to elect persons so identified with civic interests 
 of one kind or another, as to perceive the importance of 
 the Library's advancing with the rest. The new names 
 include that inventive genius. Col. John Stevens, son of 
 "Stamp Act" John Stevens, a nephew of Lord Stirling 
 
NOTABLE ACCESSIONS TO TRUSTEES 259 
 
 and brother-in-law to Chancellor Livingston; General 
 Edward W. Laight, long a noted figure in social and 
 legal affairs, a Trustee for a full generation; Peter 
 Augustus Jay, eldest son of the first American Chief 
 Justice, distinguished in his own right at the bar, as 
 assemblyman and as city recorder, constant patron of 
 charitable and literary movements, chairman of the 
 board of trustees of Columbia College and president of 
 the Historical Society; Anthony Bleecker, bred a lawyer 
 but preeminently a man of letters, a vidt and a poet, 
 though modest to self -extinction ; Gulian C. Verplanck, 
 his life-long friend, whose name is so identified with the 
 Society Library for almost sixty years, its Nestor in- 
 deed, then in the flush of young manhood; and the 
 gentle, scholarly personality of Clement C. Moore, for 
 years clerk of the board of trustees of Columbia College, 
 an early benefactor to the General Seminary, in whose 
 faculty he sat as professor of Hebrew and of Greek and 
 Oriental hterature, and who will be held in grateful 
 remembrance forever, as the author of the poem begin- 
 ning, " 'T was the night before Christmas." 
 
 In striking contrast appears the energetic figure of 
 that great apostle of genuine cathohcity, the Right Rev. 
 Dr. John Henry Hobart, rector of Trinity Church and 
 bishop of New York. A man of force and action, an 
 inveterate controversiahst, yet of infinite tenderness and 
 deep piety, he preached the gospel of a militant Chris- 
 tianity, the first modern churchman. His counsel was 
 widely sought, and in unsparing service was his fife 
 spent, a seemingly untimely death ending his twenty- 
 year term as Trustee of the Library, as of many another 
 institution. An associate of his in Library matters as 
 well as in church afl'airs was the Rev. Dr. Samuel F. 
 
260 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Jarvis, rector of St. James's and St. Michael's parishes, 
 sometime assistant at Old Trinity, and just entering the 
 faculty of the Seminary when called to the rectorship of 
 St. Paul's at Boston. 
 
 Another member of a little coterie, to which Messrs. 
 Jay and Moore belonged, was the Hon. David S. Jones, 
 son of a former Trustee, Samuel Jones, "a chivalrous 
 and pohshed gentleman, a kind-hearted and devoted 
 friend, and a skilful practitioner in the private and con- 
 fidential — though not less arduous and responsible — 
 branches of the law."^ Also of literary tastes, he was 
 for years a trustee of Columbia College and of the Gen- 
 eral Seminary, as of the Library. 
 
 It is of interest to find not only that five represen- 
 tatives of the busy medical profession were called to the 
 Library management, but that, excluding the failure of 
 Dr. Wright Post to serve, the average term of the other 
 four was over twelve years. They included the brilliant 
 John Augustine Smith, one-time president of William 
 and Mary College and later of the College of Physicians 
 and Surgeons in New York, a writer, lecturer and editor 
 of renown, participating also in civic affairs in alder- 
 manic councils. A personality less conspicuous, but no 
 less faithful, in a trusteeship of fifteen years, is that of 
 Dr. Charles Drake. 
 
 For more than twenty-five consecutive years the name 
 of Rodgers appears upon the records in the persons of 
 father and son. The former, Dr. John R. B. Rodgers, 
 long a noted practitioner of the city and a scholar as well, 
 was a hero of Valley Forge as one of the medical corps 
 of the patriot troops, a charter member of the Society of 
 
 ' William A. Duer. Arnniversary ciety, Dec. 1, I84S. New York, 1849. 
 Address before the St. Nicholas So- P. 47. 
 
TRIBUTE TO JOHN JORDAN MORGAN 261 
 
 the Cincinnati, for years on the staff of the New York 
 Hospital and of Columbia College. His trusteeship in the 
 Library, as in the Presbyterian Church, was perpetuated 
 in that of his son, John Kearney Rodgers, a surgeon of 
 great distinction. He is especially remembered as a 
 founder of the Eye and Ear Infirmary, on whose staff 
 he was leading surgeon for over thirty years, as also of 
 the New York Hospital ; and he was an early advocate 
 and a charter member of the New York Academy of 
 Medicine. 
 
 Other names include John Le Conte, the naturalist; 
 Ezra Weeks, builder, long the popular host of the old 
 City Hotel on Broadway, a director of the Academy of 
 Fine Arts and a Trinity vestryman; Evert A. Bancker, 
 worthy scion of an ancient and honorable Dutch family ; 
 John Ferguson, a trustee of Columbia College, naval 
 officer of the port, and sometime mayor of the city; and 
 James Renwick, professor of chemistry and philosophy 
 in the college, a notable figure in the scientific gatherings 
 of his day. 
 
 For the last name in the review, there has been re- 
 served that of the Hon. John Jordan Morgan, whose 
 unwearied labors in the Library's behalf covered twenty- 
 two years. A native New Yorker of ample means, liv- 
 ing in considerable style, representing the city in the 
 assembly and in Congress, he divided the richness of his 
 devotion between the Library and St. John's Chapel, as 
 a vestrjTuan of Old Trinity. The late Rev. Dr. Morgan 
 Dix, long the honored rector of that parish, said of his 
 "Grandfather Morgan," his mother's uncle and adopted 
 father, for these pages: "He was in politics a Jeffer- 
 sonian Democrat of the strict school, but in personal 
 bearing, manners and habits a thorough aristocrat. He 
 
262 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 was always deeply interested in the Society Library. 
 Among my early recollections is that of the daily visit to 
 the Library, and of his long talks with the Librarian, 
 'Phil' Forbes, whose face I distinctly remember, as if 
 photographed in the air." 
 
 Turning attention now to the administrative work of 
 the Trustees for this period, one is impressed not alone 
 with the length of service, but with the scarce occurrence 
 of irregular vacancies, as well. On only four occasions 
 was the board obhged to fiU an unexpired term. The 
 Rev. Dr. Jarvis resigned in October, 1820, on removing 
 from town, and Dr. Wright Post's busy career prevented 
 his accepting an election in 1817; while the remaining 
 instances were both caused by the hand of death. Profes- 
 sor Kemp dying in November, 1812, in his nineteenth 
 year of service, and "their deeply regretted Associate," 
 Secretary Anthony Bleecker, in March, 1827, after 
 nearly seventeen years of devoted trusteeship. It is in- 
 teresting to note in passing that their successors, as 
 chosen by the board, met with the approval of members 
 of the corporation at subsequent elections. Professor 
 Renwick wore Dr. Jarvis's mantle for more than thir- 
 teen years, and the declination of Dr. Post allowed the 
 return of Gulian C. Verplanck, thus concluding the 
 first hiatus in his extended term; while Dr. John R. B. 
 Rodgers and Dr. J. Augustine Smith succeeded the 
 deceased members respectively. 
 
 Between May, 1803, and December, 1812, the board 
 met, nominally at least, on the second Tuesday of every 
 month, apparently "at any time" that should prove con- 
 venient. But the new by-laws then adopted set the hour 
 "at seven o'clock in the afternoon," on the first Wednes- 
 day in May, August, November, February and April. 
 
Chancellor James Kent^LL.D. 
 Trustee, 1796-1798 
 
"THE PURCHASING COMMITTEE" 263 
 
 In May, 1818, the hour was again made "discretionary 
 with the Secretary, . . . when not particularly directed 
 by the board at a preceding meeting." In November, 
 
 1823, it was put back to seven o'clock, though in May, 
 
 1824, by another change, "for the futvire ... at % past 
 four o'clk in the afternoon." Finally, in AprU, 1825, 
 the regular May meeting was fixed for the first Friday 
 instead of Wednesday. The names most often appear- 
 ing as chairman are those of Judge Benson, Bishop 
 Hobart and General Laight, with John J. ISIorgan and 
 ex-Mayor Ferguson not far behind. 
 
 Almost from the start the chief responsibihty for 
 matters of executive concern has devolved upon the 
 Library Committee, although it has been for several 
 years relieved of some of its burdens by the Finance 
 Committee and the House Committee. At first indif- 
 ferently termed "a committee to purchase Books for the 
 Library," and later called "the Pm-chasing Committee," 
 it definitely received its present name in the by-laws of 
 1812. Its duties as then outlined were "to inspect the 
 state of the Library, from time to time"; to purchase 
 books; to dispose of valueless copies, and to repair 
 others; "and to take the general care and superinten- 
 dence of the Library," reporting at each stated meeting. 
 The number of its membership was set at three, and 
 remained so until 1836, save from February, 1822, to 
 May, 1824, when it was made five, no reasons being 
 vouchsafed for either change. 
 
 In view, then, of the often onerous labors involved, it 
 is natural that its members should be persons manifest- 
 ing among other qualifications the deepest personal in- 
 terest in the Library's welfare ; and, as familiarity begets 
 both despatch and facility, they were usually reap- 
 
264 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 pointed as long as their trusteeship or willingness lasted. 
 Those longest identified with this work for these years 
 were Professor Kemp, Bishop Moore, the Hon. William 
 Johnson, John Pintard, Anthony Bleecker, Gulian C. 
 Verplanck, the Rev. Dr. Jarvis, John R. B. Rodgers, 
 M.D., John J. Morgan and Bishop Hobart. 
 
 Included in their province were of course the appoint- 
 ment of a Librarian and the regidation of his salary; 
 yet it was theirs also to attend to matters such as "the 
 ruinous state of the cistern and cess pool in the Library 
 yard," which they were ordered in September, 1820, to 
 have repaired. More in line with the work of this com- 
 mittee to-day, however (barring the need of borrow- 
 ing!), is an authorization, five years later, "to borrow a 
 svun of money not exceeding $1000," to be applied to im- 
 porting books from England — not as common a pro- 
 cedure as in early days. 
 
 From time to time the Trustees had passed ordinances 
 of one kind or another, as occasion demanded, but in a 
 whoUy disconnected fashion, with no effort at codifica- 
 tion at all. Some of the earlier catalogues reflect such 
 directions about loans, fines and open hours, as had last 
 been determined upon by the board. But no systematic 
 arrangement of the by-laws obtained until the appear- 
 ance of the very elaborate and complete set approved in 
 December, 1812, after seven years of procrastination, 
 the final committee in charge comprising William 
 Johnson and Peter Augustus Jay. 
 
 Under the title, "By-Laavs and Ordinances," the 
 compilation covers eight and a half closely written folio 
 pages in the minutes, and in the Catalogue of 1813 
 nearly fourteen pages of that octavo volimie. The text is 
 divided into seven chapters, as follows : "I Of the Elec- 
 
LOAN PROVISIONS OF 1812 265 
 
 tion of Trustees and Officers; II Of the Trustees; III 
 Of the Admission and Privileges of ^Members; IV Of 
 the Treasurer; V Of the Secretary; VI Of the Li- 
 brarian; VII Of the Loaning of Books." Xoteworthy 
 changes included the readjustment of the polling hours 
 at elections, formerly from 9 to 4, to read from 12 to 
 2, P.M.; while the scale of fines for overdue books was 
 fixed at four cents for a folio, three cents for a quarto, 
 and two cents for an octavo or smaller book or pamphlet. 
 JNIembers were allowed to detain a f oho for six weeks ; a 
 quarto, three weeks ; an octavo, two weeks ; a duodecimo 
 or lesser volume, or a pamphlet, one week, — only a single 
 book at a time, iinless the work comprised more than one 
 volvune, "relative to the same subject," when it was per- 
 missible to take out the whole set, if it included n6 more 
 than 3 octavos or 6 duodecimos ; though for no longer a 
 time than for a single voliime. Members residing more 
 than ten miles from the City Hall might detain books a 
 week longer. These loan pro^dsions were continued 
 without change iintil 1894, although since 1838 the fine 
 for all overdue books has been one cent per day. For 
 non-members the regulations required a deposit with 
 the Librarian of "double the value of the book" or 
 set, such deposit to be forfeit in the event of a book's 
 becoming more than a month overdue, wliile their rates, 
 to be deducted from the deposits, were to be : for a folio, 
 75c; for a quarto, 50c; for an octavo or smaller book, 25c 
 a week, "and at least those sums respectively, although 
 the book may be returned within one week." In after 
 years as conditions changed, some of the provisions were 
 amended, supplanted or wholly stricken out, or even, as 
 will presently be seen in a review of the illegal election 
 of 1825, simply disregarded. 
 
266 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 As has been said, these by-laws were pubhshed in the 
 Catalogue of 1813/ a most presentable octavo volume of 
 nearly 300 pages, with which the half-dozen earlier 
 pamphlet catalogues are not for a moment to be com- 
 pared. Its preparation was the work of Librarian John 
 Forbes, under the constant, critical supervision of Wil- 
 liam Johnson, Peter WUson and Dr. Samuel L, Mit- 
 chiU, to begin with, the two last-named later being 
 relieved by Gulian C. Verplanck and Anthony Bleecker, 
 who finally issued the book. Instructions of May, 1810, 
 had further empowered them "to reject from the Li- 
 brary such books as they may judge unfit to be inserted 
 in the Catalogue." 
 
 As a preface there first comes an "Address" of about 
 800 words, "to the friends and votaries of literature and 
 science,"— written by William Johnson. The collection 
 is declared to contain nearly 12,500 volumes, "compris- 
 ing the works of the most eminent authors, ancient and 
 modern; many of them in choice and splendid editions," 
 rarely to be found in private libraries. Assurance is 
 given in measured phrase that an immediate acquisition 
 of "a ready supply of recent and periodical publications, 
 as well as the more expensive works of science" is pre- 
 vented only by "the circumscribed funds of the society 
 and a debt contracted by the erecting and subsequent 
 additions to the building." The Trustees, however, 
 "feel persuaded that in a city so distingmshed for its 
 prosperity and opulence, and which has never yet in- 
 curred the imputation of refusing patronage and en- 
 couragement to the cause of Literature and the liberal 
 
 ' A Catalogue of the Books be- and By-laws of the Same. Printed 
 longing to the New-York Society by C. S. Van Winkle, New York, 
 Library, together with the Charter 1813. 
 
APPEAL FOR NEW SUBSCRIBERS 267 
 
 arts, the maintenance of a public library can never be a 
 matter of unconcern." 
 
 In this appeal for new subscribers, which was not "to 
 sohcit pecuniary aid without offering an adequate con- 
 sideration," nor simply "to descant on the utility of 
 public Ubraries," there follows a brief summary of the 
 Library's assets and the value of its shares. The address 
 in its concluding sentences exposes the lamentable indif- 
 ference of Xew Yorkers to the cause of letters; though 
 "the facihties they [libraries] afford to the researches of 
 scientific men, the literary taste and curiosity they have a 
 tendency to excite in the minds of ingenuous and aspir- 
 ing youth, and the asylum they ofi'er, from the ravages 
 of accident and time, for the productions of genius and 
 exalted virtue, are circumstances sufficiently obvious to 
 every person of inteUigence and reflection." 
 
 After the table of contents come the charter and the 
 by-laws, already mentioned, a hst of Trustees and offi- 
 cers for the current year, and then the "Names of the 
 Subscribers," numbering 542 and arranged alphabeti- 
 cally, only, however, so far as the initial letter of the 
 surname goes. Besides those familiar as Trustees at 
 one time or another, there may be mentioned a few 
 names standing for achievement in various lines, such as 
 John Jacob Astor, the f oimder of that wealth-prominent 
 house, Dr. Archibald Bruce, Mayors De Witt Clinton 
 and Cadwallader D. Golden, "Columbia College, sen'r 
 class," Dr. John Griscom, scientific investigator and a 
 pioneer in the lecture field, Judge Josiah Ogden Hoff- 
 man, David Hosack, M.D., a leader in all cultural 
 movements, the Hon. John Jay, first Chief Justice of 
 the United States, Dr. Peter Irving, editor of the 
 Morning Chronicle, Madam Eliza Jumel, whom Aaron 
 
268 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Burr espoused, Professor John MeVickar, D.D., of the 
 Columbia faculty, Selah Strong, Thomas Swords the 
 publisher, Lieut-Col. George TurnbuU, Stephen Van 
 Rensselaer, last patroon of the famous manor of Rensse- 
 laerswyck, John Van Nostrand, Samuel Ward, father 
 of Mrs. Julia Ward Howe and a member of the great 
 banking firm of Prime, Ward and King, and old Col. 
 Marinus Willett, as also family names of long standing, 
 like Beekman, Bleecker, Bogert, BrinekerhoflP, Crom- 
 meline, Demilt, De Peyster, Dyckman, Hamersley, 
 Hoffman, Laight, Lefferts, Livingston, Ludlow, Mur- 
 ray, Ogden, Oothoudt, Provoost, Philipse, Remsen, 
 Rhinelander, Roosevelt, Schermerhorn, Schieffelin, 
 Stagg, Stevens, Swartwout, Van Alen, Van Cortlandt, 
 Van Home, Varick, Verplanck, Walton and Watts. 
 
 The catalogue proper, covering 232 pages, is thus 
 topically classified : 
 
 1. Sacred History, Theology, Ecclesiastical History, Sacred 
 Criticism, and Religious Controversy ; 2. Classic Authors 
 (Greek and Latin) ; 3. Ethicks, Logick, Metaphysics, &c. ; 
 4. Mathematics, Natural and Experimental Philosophy, As- 
 tronomy, Chemistry, and Arts; 5. Natural History, Botany, 
 Agriculture, &c. ; 6. Civil and Military History, Antiquities, 
 Mythology, Chronology, Biography and Memoirs; 7. General 
 History, &c. ; 8. Politics, Legislation, PoHtical (Economy, Com- 
 merce, and Revenue ; 9. Geography, Topography, Voyages, and 
 Travels ; 10. Education, Dictionaries, Grammars, Philology, 
 Belles-Lettres, and Criticism; also Encyclopcfidias ; 11. Poetry 
 and Drama; 12. Fictitious Writings, Novels, Romances, and Fa- 
 bles ; 13. Medicine and Surgery ; 14. Architecture, Civil, Military 
 and Naval; 15. Magazines, Reviews, Transactions of Learned 
 Societies, and News Papers ; 16. Miscellanies ; 17. Pamphlets, &c. 
 
 Lastly as an appendix comes "A List of [155] Books," 
 added "since the Catalogue was put to Press," conclud- 
 
FICTION NOT IN DEMAND 269 
 
 ing with five bound volumes of pamphlets. Set apart 
 here also is a collection of some 225 titles thus desig- 
 nated: "The following Books were presented by Fran- 
 cis B. Winthrop, Esq. and were part of the Library of 
 John A'S'inthrop Esq. first Governor of Massachusetts."^ 
 This substantial increment was acknowledged through 
 Dr. Archibald Bruce in December, 1812. Like the 
 venerable Sharpe Collection and others since bestowed, 
 the Winthrop Library has always been kept by itself. 
 
 Even a hasty glance at the array of titles in the new 
 catalogue detects a preponderating seriousness. The 
 aim of the founders had been faithfully cherished; the 
 lapse of two generations had but deepened and quick- 
 ened the purpose of the management to cultivate and 
 gratify that "Taste for polite Literature" and "eager 
 Thirst after Knowledge and Wisdom," confidently sup- 
 posed to exist in the far-away days of 1754.^ 
 
 For example, the section devoted to "Fictitious Writ- 
 ings" is the smallest in the whole classification. A pe- 
 rusal of its attractions fails to discover anything more 
 sensational than "Clelia, an excellent new Romance by 
 the exquisite pen of M. de Scudery," or "Louisa, or the 
 Lady of the Hay-Stack, from the French." One may 
 well speculate on what might be the long-distance 
 theories of the unknown Irish author of "Negro 
 equalled by few Europeans." Some human touches 
 would seem assured in the "Historical Dictionary of 
 Love, containing Anecdotes of Persons eminent for 
 their Virtues and Vices," to say nothing of "Sketches of 
 the History, Genius, Disposition, &c. of the Fair Sex." 
 
 This Catalogue of 1813, then, deserves more than 
 
 ^ Later corrected to read, "John Winthrop, the Founder of Connecticut." 
 Catalogue of 1850, p. 491. ^ Swpra, p. 157. 
 
270 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 passing mention as an exhaustive work, carefully per- 
 formed under expert direction. The great pity is that 
 its usefulness should have been doomed almost at the 
 start; like the garments of a fast-growing child, it 
 was destined ere long to become but an outworn relic. 
 Nevertheless, fully ten years passed before the board 
 took renewed action on the subject, beyond expressing 
 appreciation of occasional gifts. It should be said that 
 about 300 titles in the catalogue are followed by the 
 
 phrase "Gift of ," the chief benefactors being John 
 
 Pintard, G. C. Verplanck, William Johnson, G. Bragg 
 of Birmingham, England (largely on Swedenborgian 
 doctrines), Dr. Hosack, T. B. HoUis of London, Judge 
 Benson, Dr. J. W. Francis, Samuel Parsons and Dr. 
 Mitchill. Besides more than thirty complimentary 
 copies of their own productions by various authors, edi- 
 tors, publishers and translators, other donors were Henry 
 Laight, Dr. J. Augustine Smith, D. C. Verplanck, G. 
 Gilbert, Noah Webster, De Witt Clinton, Professor N. 
 F. Moore, Clement C. Moore, P. Middlemas, John 
 Forbes, L. Sands, John Nitchie, Esq., Robert Bowne, 
 the Church du St. Esprit and "Mr. Gahaganof Dubhn." 
 With the passage of time, however, came need for a 
 fresh accounting; in November, 1823, the Library Com- 
 mittee was authorized to print a supplement. Announce- 
 ment of the completed task was made in April, 1825, by 
 Mr. Verplanck, who had "the satisfaction of laying 
 before the Board the printed Supplement . . . contain- 
 ing the titles of above 4000 volimies added since the year 
 1813," together with 138 volumes, "added since the 
 Catalogue went to press." ^ 
 
 '^ Bupplement to the Catalogue of York Society Library. Printed by 
 the Books belonging to the New- C. S. Van Winkle, New York, 1835. 
 

 
 ■jruuf, /Smt-s o-'jZs-s-t' ^^f'i^^re) Ki-QA^, iOts 
 
 
 Directions (reduced) accompanying the first Library sent to New York. Written in 
 1697 and now preserved among Bray MSS., Sion College, London. See p. 16. 
 
272 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Conforming in style and arrangement with the main 
 catalogue, it contains two additional divisions, "Period- 
 ical Publications, &c." and "Novels, &c.," both showing 
 regard to the popular trend. The former includes six 
 daily and two weekly journals and fifteen magazines; 
 but it is in the "Novels" department that the most 
 marked advance appears. There are fully 570 distinct 
 works, ranging in calibre from the Waverly Novels, 
 "Sorrows of Werther," "Robinson Crusoe," "Don 
 Quixote" and "Thaddeus of Warsaw" to "Winifred, 'a 
 Tale of Wonder,' " "Jemmy and Jenny Jessamy," 
 "Life of a Lover, 6 vols., by H. Lee," "Camilla, or Pre- 
 tence of Youth, 3 vols.," "Child of Thirty-six Fathers," 
 "Cehna, or Widowed Bride, 4 vols.," "Clarissa Harlowe, 
 by Richardson, 8 vols.," the same, "Abridged, 1 vol.," or 
 "D— D , 1 vol." 
 
 As before, presents of books were frequently received, 
 individual acknowledgment appearing in the Supple- 
 ment. A particularly serviceable gift, in January, 1826, 
 was "a set of The New-York Evening Post, from its 
 commencement in 1801 to the present time," from for- 
 mer Trustee Richard Varick. 
 
 In the course of its career, the Library has met with 
 not a few attacks in the newspapers, as will appear in 
 due season. Here, however, is an extract from a more 
 appreciative source, an editorial note of the Evening 
 Post for January 13, 1827: 
 
 We notice with great pleasure the rapid increase of valuable 
 books in this Library. The Society has just received from 
 London the books . . . which have cost them about $1200. 
 These books have just been deposited in the Library, and some 
 of them are splendid specimens of typography. Among them 
 are Malcolm's Central India & History of Persia, Ker Porter's 
 
DA PONTE ITALIAN LIBRARY SOCIETY 273 
 
 Travels in Persia, Marsden's History of Sumatra, Mill's India, 
 Massinger's Plays, Transactions of the Linnean Society, and 
 the volumes wanting to make complete sets of the New Annual 
 and Edinburgh Annual Registers. 
 
 Continuing, the article sketches briefly the history of 
 this "most ancient public Library in the State, . . . the 
 third for size and value in the United States, being in- 
 ferior only to those of Cambridge and Philadelphia," 
 and possessing "above 18,000 volumes, many of which 
 are of the most rare and valuable description." The 
 notice, however, ends with the customary regret at the 
 building's being so "badly situated." If only more 
 centrally located, the institution would "no doubt receive 
 from the pubhc of New York that attention which it so 
 justly merits." 
 
 An interesting collection received by the Society Li- 
 brary comprised several hundred works in Itahan, 
 deposited there in May, 1827, by the cultivated Signor 
 Lorenzo Da Ponte, a poet and a musician in his own 
 right and at that time professor of Itahan hterature in 
 Columbia College. The year before, he had founded 
 his Italian Library Society, an enterprise which met with 
 the more favor because of the great enthusiasm shown by 
 New Yorkers in the first rendition of Itahan opera in 
 this country, in October, 1825, its introduction being 
 chiefly due to this same brilliant Venetian. Encoxu-aged, 
 therefore, by a goodly mmiber of subscriptions, and the 
 collection increasing, he made an arrangement with the 
 Library Committee to accommodate his books in return 
 for their free use to members of the institution. 
 
 Signor Da Ponte inserted in the American, May 21- 
 28, 1827, a notice "To my Pupils," stating that he had 
 placed 600 books in the Society Library with the expec- 
 
274 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 tation of 400 more soon to arrive from Eirrope, the 
 whole assortment to contain "the flower of our hterature 
 in all the useful arts and sciences." From the original 
 subscription book — now preserved in the Library, to- 
 gether with a printed catalogue and some Avritten 
 memoranda — it appears that by October, 1829, the so- 
 ciety had a membership of over seventy persons, holding 
 nearly one hundred shares. These cost five dollars each, 
 with an annual tax of one dollar a year, later discon- 
 tinued. Entries in the hand of Librarian Philip Forbes 
 show that new shares were taken up to April, 1834, 
 Among the mmiber were Professors Renwick and An- 
 derson of Columbia, Clement C. Moore, Daniel Embiu-y 
 and General Laight, sometime Trustees of the Society 
 Library. 
 
 As for the collection, it was reported by the Library 
 Committee in February, 1829, to include only 280 vol- 
 umes. In his enthusiasm. Professor Da Ponte may have 
 inadvertently been guilty of enlargement, or else a 
 number of the books had not been returned. According 
 to their minutes, the trustees of Colimibia College pur- 
 chased of Signor Da Ponte about 300 books between 
 January, 1826, and November, 1829, though these were 
 supposedly his private property. He himself died in 
 1838 at a great age, and, the association ceasing to exist 
 as its patrons all passed away, the Society Library has 
 come quietly into possession. 
 
 Thus by purchase, by gift and by deposit, the collec- 
 tion of the Society Library steadily accumulated until 
 it numbered in April, 1829, nearly 20,000 volumes. Let 
 us now briefly note the gradual changes in the hours of 
 opening and closing during these twenty-flve years. 
 
 The rule of April, 1800, of "every day (except Sun- 
 
LIBRARY HOURS PROVE UNPOPULAR 275 
 
 days) from nine to two," was in force until May, 1807, 
 when the time was fixed at "every day except Sunday 
 from two o'clock in the afternoon to Sun set."^ (It 
 may as well be remarked here that the Library has never, 
 throughout its history, been open on Sunday.) The 
 carefully revised by-laws of December, 1812, changed 
 the schedule to read "from 10 o'clock in the forenoon to 
 2 o'clock in the afternoon," a custom which obtained for 
 nearly eighteen years, though not without arousing dis- 
 satisfaction. 
 
 This f eehng voiced itself in several press notices early 
 in 1824, for instance, alike protesting, in the name of 
 "a daily editor, or active merchant or professional man," 
 at the inconvenient hours. A commimication signed 
 "Subscriber," in the American for January 26th, led off 
 with "respectfully soliciting" the Trustees "to open the 
 rooms in the afternoon or evening for the accommoda- 
 tion of Mercantile men." Two days later an editorial 
 article in the Statesman^ entitled "City Library," as- 
 serted that the institution, though "containing many 
 rare and valuable books, in the very centre of our city," 
 was "at present of comparatively little utility to oiu* 
 citizens." Instead of being open only for "men of 
 leisure," at the hours of "a ladies' drawing room, a fash- 
 ionable resort," it should, like the Boston Athenasum, 
 
 * This change evoked instant criti- noon and the same in the after- 
 
 cism, a protest from "A Subscriber," noon: . . Is it that we totally 
 
 in the Mercantile Advertiser of June neglect reading and are grown so 
 
 11th, saying: "I have sent my black besotted with prosperity and riches 
 
 boy to the Library twice or thrice a as to regard all moral acquisitions 
 
 week for books, and he always with contempt, or is the access to 
 
 brought word, that it was shut up. the Library to be obstructed and 
 
 ... I could not help reflecting on gradually abridged till it tapers off 
 
 the deterioration of this useful in- to nothing at all?" A like com- 
 
 stitution. When the books were kept plaint, signed "Z. Z.," including a 
 
 in the City Hall, access might be demand for a new catalogue, ap- 
 
 had to them three hours in the fore- pears in the same paper, July 14th. 
 
276 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 "be a place open till ten at night, where the industrious 
 and intelligent may resort, after the avocations of the 
 day, and consult the various writers on different subjects 
 without interruption. It should be a place where aU 
 could leave the bustle of the family and boarding-house, 
 and pass an hour or two in the acquisition of know- 
 ledge." Lastly, in the American for January 31st, one 
 suggests, in behalf of "Many Subscribers," an extra levy 
 of eight dollars each year, "for the privilege of reading 
 in the Library Room," adding that, if "a few newspa- 
 pers, from different parts of the Union, were taken," 
 there would be no objection to the small price named, 
 especially if the institution be kept "open from 9 a.m. 
 to 9 P.M." In the light of these sensible and moderate 
 suggestions, it does seem strange that the Trustees 
 should not have made some effort to meet the general 
 want, in part at least. Their failure to respond, how- 
 ever caused, doubtless proved a potent factor in the 
 establishment of the New York Athenseimi, only a few 
 months later. 
 
 Turning now to the office and perquisites of the Li- 
 brarian, it wiU be recalled that John Forbes, appointed 
 in June, 1794, was, in 1798, receiving a salary of £100 
 ($250) a year, with fines and 2^/2 per cent, on collec- 
 tions, besides the use or rental of the front lower room. 
 In May, 1803, instead of that apartment was substituted 
 "the sole use and occupation of the back Rooms . . . 
 with the whole of the Cellars." Five years later a return 
 was made in giving him the disposal of the front room, 
 "at present occupied by E. W. Laight, Esq." as a law 
 office. No allusion to salary is found, until the detailed 
 report of May, 1810, on "the State of the Library," cites 
 it as $200, with the recommendation that it be paid 
 
LIBRARIAN JOHN FORBES 277 
 
 quarterly, plus a commission of five per cent, on collec- 
 tions. The board, however, contented itself with grant- 
 ing him "the Rent of the lower part of the Library 
 Building for the present year." 
 
 Alas for the poor man's prospects, his tenant proved 
 unable to pay, resulting in a loss of $375 to Mr. Forbes, 
 though the board authorized him "to make use of all 
 legal means to recover" the arrears, at the same time 
 renewing to him the lease of the apartments to such 
 tenant as the Purchasing Committee should think 
 proper. In the meantime, also, the Historical Society, 
 of whose collections he had been Librarian during the 
 five years' sojourn of that institution in the "City Li- 
 brary," had removed in 1809 to the Government House, 
 thus further reducing his income. So in November, 
 1813, he "informed the board that his present salary was 
 too small, and that he hoped they would increase his 
 compensation." Accordingly his accounts were exam- 
 ined, as a result of which, in April, 1814, he was voted 
 $500 a year, with fines, five per cent, on collections, and 
 the rental of the whole lower floor, this remuneration 
 continuing until his death, in October, 1824, "in the 50th 
 year of his age."^ 
 
 From available sources few particulars can be given 
 of the Hfe of John Forbes, other than that he was a 
 faithful Librarian for full thirty years. A native of 
 Aberdeen, he was brought to this country in childhood 
 by his widowed mother, a canny Scotchwoman of great 
 resolution and piety, that he might have a good chance 
 for a start in life. Upon her remarriage he was forced 
 to shift for himself, like many another successf til Ameri- 
 
 ^ From the death notice in the Eveninq Post and in the American, 
 October 5, 1824. 
 
278 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 can. Early evincing a fondness for books, he must have 
 shown xinconunon maturity of judgment and executive 
 abihty to secure so important a post at the youthful age 
 of nineteen.^ He grew with the years and became rec- 
 ognized as a student and man of wide information. Dr. 
 John W. Francis, in his reminiscent "New York during 
 the last Half-Century," styles him "the learned librarian 
 of the Society Library." Out of respect to his memory 
 the Trustees voted to attend his funeral in a body, and 
 ordered the building closed the rest of that week — four 
 days. 
 
 A month later his brother-in-law, Burtis Skidmore, 
 "who had acted in his stead during his illness" and since 
 his death, was appointed to fill the vacancy, a position 
 which he held until May, 1828, at the same remimeration 
 accorded Mr. Forbes. At that time, his own business 
 reqmring his undivided attention (young Philip J. 
 Forbes, oldest son of the late Librarian, having reached 
 his majority in the meantime, and being thoroughly con- 
 versant with the routine work) , Mr. Skidmore retired in 
 favor of his nephew, whom the Trustees thereupon for- 
 mally chose Librarian at a salary of $600 a year; and, 
 giving immediate satisfaction, his appointment was 
 made permanent in the position he was to occupy for 
 nearly a generation. 
 
 Every year, however, as regular as clockwork, came 
 the election of Trustees. So far as the records show, the 
 annual meetings of this period were conducted smoothly, 
 
 ' This early distinction, however, was Deacon "John Forbes, Secretary 
 
 is as nothing compared with the and Librarian of N. Y. Society Lir- 
 
 precocity attributed to Mr. Forbes brary, 1794 to 1824" ! History of 
 
 by a compiler of the history of the the School of the Collegiate Re- 
 
 Dutch Church school, who states that formed Dutch Church in the City of 
 
 in 1774— within a year of his birth — New York, 16SS-188S. New York, 
 
 one of the officers of that institution 1883. Second edition, p. 99. 
 
General Edward William Laight 
 
 Trustee, 1809-1839. Treasurer, 1810-1826 
 
EARLY INSPECTORS WERE TRUSTEES 279 
 
 — not to say tamely, — without seeming let or hindrance. 
 Even the report of the election inspectors for 1825, — an 
 episode soon to be reviewed,— though departing from 
 stereotyped form, reveals no trace even of disaffection. 
 In comphance with time-honored regulation, notices of 
 the coming event were published in local papers a full 
 fortnight in advance, while there is less reason to doubt 
 that placards, heralding the function in John Forbes's 
 bravest penmanship, adorned "the outward door of the 
 Library room." 
 
 The minutes record the appointment and report of the 
 Election Committee year after year in strict conformity 
 with the detailed ordinance passed in February, 1793, 
 save that for some reason there were four persons in- 
 stead of three in 1806 and 1810- The original rule 
 required the inspectors to be members of the board, and 
 this practice was continued unchanged — though not so 
 enjoined in the by-laws of 1812— untU 1819. In that 
 year two of them were not Trustees, and, for the ten 
 years ensuing, non-members were regularly appointed, 
 as is compulsory to-day. The nearest approach to the 
 old order occm-red in 1824, when John Le Conte, an 
 inspector, was himself elected. The Trustees had doubt- 
 less come to regard it as undignified for some of their 
 own number to preside at an election, as seeming bidders 
 for continuance in office, or else they judged it better 
 for appearance's sake to have others count the ballots. 
 Whatever their motive, we must not charge them with 
 seeking to divest themselves of labor or responsibility,- 
 a thesis impossible to defend. 
 
 Usually the same men were selected each year, and in 
 but few instances do the signatures of the full committee 
 fail to appear as evidence of attendance. A study of 
 
280 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 the lists discloses that in the twenty-six years from 1793 
 to 1818, inclusive, when only Trustees served, Hugh 
 Gaine had twelve appointments (ending only with his 
 death) , Wilham Johnson, ten, Anthony Bleecker, seven, 
 and Gulian C. Verplanck, six, while Professor Kemp 
 acted as inspector in every one of his eighteen years of 
 trusteeship. From 1819 to 1829 there was of course a 
 greater latitude in choosing the make-up of the commit- 
 tee, but those most often appointed were Evert A. 
 Bancker, later a Trustee, James F. Watson, Henry 
 Laight and Edward M. Willett. 
 
 Therefore this habitual even-tenor will ill prepare us 
 — as it did the men of that day — for the bombshell re- 
 port of a disputed election in 1825. Unhke the contests 
 of earher or later days, there seem to have been no 
 advance warnings of the coming stroke. Taken utterly 
 by surprise, the management of the Library had a 
 wholly unprecedented situation to face. That for the 
 time being there must have been a lack of harmony— let 
 alone acrimony — is painfully evident; but, in view of 
 its transitory character and the meagerness of our infor- 
 mation, it is best to let well-enough alone, and to raise 
 no fresh cloud of the long-settled dust. 
 
 The subject is in itself both stimulating and satisfy- 
 ing. The possibility of open rupture, submission to 
 expert opinion, a speedy adjustment and evident ac- 
 quiescence on the part of those decided against, — all 
 these phases of the affair offer lessons on arbitrament 
 by law and the prevention of disorder, well worthy of 
 respectful consideration — not to say emulation — in even 
 this advanced age. So, in presenting the successive 
 stages of the episode, no attempt will be made to expa- 
 tiate or to explain. Simply the evidence bearing on the 
 
ELECTION OF TRUSTEES PROTESTED 281 
 
 affair from written and printed sources will be set forth, 
 and the reader may for once draw his own conclusions, 
 imhampered by another's interpretation. 
 
 It appears from the returns that the unusually large 
 number of sixty ballots were cast, but that only eleven 
 persons received a majority of votes, thirty-one or over. 
 Among them were but three of the former board, Gen- 
 eral Laight, Anthony Bleecker and Professor Ren- 
 wick; while the others were Messrs. John Trumbull, 
 Alfred S. PeU, Thomas L. Smith, James Watson, Jas- 
 per F. Seaman, Samuel L. Gouverneur, John R. Mur- 
 ray and Samuel Jones. The twelfth man on the Hst, 
 James Jones, received but twenty-eight votes. On April 
 29th, in the midst of the uncertainty, nine of the old 
 board assembled to discuss the situation. After listen- 
 ing to the Election Committee's report and to a written 
 protest from eight shareholders, — including one Trustee, 
 Guhan C. Verplanck, — against the validity of the re- 
 turns, inasmuch as many votes "were not given by per- 
 sons legally admitted as members," they resolved to 
 submit the case to Chancellor Kent, a former Trustee, 
 authorizing Messrs. Bleecker and Verplanck "to present 
 to him a retaining or covmsel fee of twenty-five dollars." 
 
 While the board awaits his opinion, let us pay heed to 
 a press notice evolved by the phenomenon, which it at- 
 tempts to explain. In an Evening Post communication 
 of April 29th, "A Share Holder" denounces the intent 
 of newly elected Trustees, "to melt down this old and 
 respectable institution, that it maj^ come out bright as 
 a new dollar, under the name and style of the 'New- 
 York Atheneima,' " "a proposition to connect the two 
 concerns" having already been rejected by the Library;^ 
 
 ' See p. 398. 
 
282 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 The article concludes with the writer's expressed deter- 
 mination to oppose the project, "however hallowed, if 
 such means as those resorted to are necessary to effect 
 it." 
 
 "Additional information" about this extraordinary 
 election is supplied by another "Share Holder," in the 
 American for May 2d. Describing the customary an- 
 nual meeting — "conducted without parade" in the pres- 
 ence of "perhaps ten or twelve members" — with this one, 
 at which sixty ballots were cast, he declares that forty or 
 fifty of them "proceeded from the new party," which 
 by "mask or manceuvre" had kept its plans secret (one 
 of its followers being overheard to remark: "I do not 
 believe that the others had any idea of this opposition") . 
 Furthermore, four new shares had been taken on that 
 same day, — "a very unusual circimnistance," — two of the 
 purchasers certainly having "voted for the new party," 
 — "the two youths dressed in uniform who were brought 
 to the Library by a gentleman," then elected a Trustee. 
 Again, nine of the voters bore the same name as the 
 aforesaid individual! Yet, with all his suspicions, still 
 in the dark, the writer "would be glad to discover" what 
 was "behind the curtain." If the scheme was to unite 
 the Library and the Athenaeum,— as "says rumour,"— 
 then many questions would press for settlement. There 
 was foundation for this belief in the fact that several 
 Trustees-elect were "most zealous supporters of the 
 Athen^mn." 
 
 As might be expected, this extended charge drew a 
 smart retort from the directorate of the new institution, 
 in the form of an editorial note in the next day's Ameri- 
 can, pronouncing such a surmise "entirely groundless," 
 and asserting indignantly that "no person, in any way 
 
ELECTION DECLARED VOID 283 
 
 interested in the affairs of the Athengeum," had "had 
 any hand in the management" of the Library election 
 then in dispute. 
 
 Meanwhile the old board had met again on JNIay 2d to 
 listen to the opinion of Chancellor Kent. Unfortunately 
 the hmits set us forbid giving even in outline this lucid 
 and convincing argimaent, which, in the averagely fine 
 handwriting of Secretary Bleecker covers more than five 
 folio pages. It is a paper of great interest, not merely 
 by vu'tue of its effectual settlement of a delicate prob- 
 lem, but no less as being an admirable specimen of the 
 clear, terse and vigorous style of its celebrated author. 
 With his reasoning based wholly on the provisions of the 
 charter, — "which discovers a solicitude to preserve a full 
 constitutional board of Trustees," — he thus concludes: 
 "Upon the whole, for the reasons which have been sug- 
 gested, I incline very strongly to the opinion that the 
 Election is void in toto, and that the former Trustees 
 are entitled to hold over." 
 
 Acting on this advisement, the board at once framed a 
 resolution, to "be published together with the names of 
 the present Trustees." Then, weary but triumphant, 
 the crisis safely past, they adjourned, having happily 
 avoided what bade fair to cause a serious disturbance, if 
 not disruption of the organization. The notice inserted in 
 the Evening Post for May 3d rehearses the facts, "the 
 opinion of eminent counsel," and the resolution that the 
 election of 1825 must therefore be deemed null and void, 
 the Trustees chosen in 1824 to continue in office until 
 other fit persons be elected in their places, "pursuant to 
 the charter." Accordingly these were Bishop Hobart, 
 General Laight, Professor Renwick, Dr. J. K. Rodgers, 
 Dr. Charles Drake and Messrs. John J. Morgan, John 
 
284 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Ferguson, John Le Conte, Ezra Weeks, David S. 
 Jones, Gulian C. Verplanck and Anthony Bleecker. 
 
 In the editorial columns of the Post for the same 
 date, the Trustees are congratulated upon their "fit and 
 spirited" protest, "against the improper, illegal and dis- 
 honorable attempt, lately made by a secret combination 
 of persons, to turn out the former officers and foist upon 
 the institution a new set of men, who, so far from pos- 
 sessing the confidence of the society, are not even per- 
 sonally known to them." The note closes with an 
 authorization from the Athenaeum Directors "to deny, 
 in the most positive manner, all participation in such 
 conduct, and to declare it is considered by them to be 
 highly unworthy and ought not to be countenanced." 
 
 Whence, then, came the movement, and what was its 
 purpose? We are obliged to wait several years for the 
 answer. A report of the Library Committee, in 
 February, 1830, finds consolation for the "apparent loss" 
 of considerable revenue, in the fact that many of the 
 forfeited shares had been purchased with a view to "the 
 attempt made some years since to turn the Library into 
 a Bank." A supplementary reference is found in a 
 pamphlet issued by the board in April, 1833, as follows: 
 
 It is only eight years since several persons, supposing that the 
 charter of the Library contained banking powers, endeavored 
 to possess themselves of the institution, for the purpose of turn- 
 ing it into a bank. Although an unusual number of shares was 
 bought for some months before the election, the project was 
 conducted with such secrecy that the Trustees had no notice 
 of it. Though surprised, they were determined if possible to 
 save the Library, and a high legal opinion having been given, 
 that the election — which it was contended had gone against 
 them — was void, the Trustees held over; and at the next annual 
 
USE OF CORPORATE SEAL GUARDED 285 
 
 election an overwhelming vote put down the bank projectors 
 and saved the Library, for a time, from aU other projectors.^ 
 
 On looking back now to the editorial comment in the 
 American of ]May 3d, partly quoted above, we find this 
 hint, — whose meaning would be obscure without later 
 revelations, — "It cannot but be a subject of regret to 
 the friends of this hterary institution, that the specula- 
 tive spirit which seems to possess the people, or certain 
 portions of it, should seek its gratification even in the 
 haunts of literature." 
 
 Thus the imtoward episode came to a peaceable issue, 
 but its influence may be traced in several later develop- 
 ments. First of all, the Trustees at their next session, 
 after choosing ofiicers for the year as usual, drew up two 
 resolutions: first, that recent pm*chasers of shares who 
 had received certificates and paid their dues be con- 
 sidered "admitted members" ; and second, that a section 
 of the by-law relating to the Secretary be amended to 
 read: "He shall keep the seal of the corporation but 
 shall not affix the same to any instrument without the 
 special direction of the Trustees." 
 
 A secondary effect may perhaps be read in the choice 
 of a wholly diff*erent set of inspectors for the next an- 
 nual election. This fact may be too trivial to mention, 
 and possibly had no bearing at all on the case in point, 
 but certain it is that three years elapsed before one of 
 this year's committee was given another appointment; 
 and it is equally true that the same trio never again 
 served in that capacity together. Finally, a no less en- 
 during result— and one directly attributable to the 
 
 ^Address of the Trustees of the the Management and Present Condi- 
 New York Society Library to the tion of that Institution. New York, 
 Members of the Society, relative to 1833. 
 
286 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 threatened but happily averted embroglio — found em- 
 bodiment in a custom soon after adopted. This was to 
 enter in the minutes the names of new members as 
 approved by the board, in conformity with the charter 
 and by-laws — a practice in force to-day. 
 
 During these twenty-five years now passing in review, 
 the Library maintained its depot of usefulness in the 
 Nassau Street building, whose original number, "16," 
 was changed to "33," in 1827. The structure was cer- 
 tainly serving its purpose well. From time to time 
 needed repairs and slight alterations were made to 
 accommodate the growing collection. For example, in 
 May, 1825, the Library Committee was directed to have 
 the stairs "leading from the east end of the Library 
 floor" removed "to make more room," as well as to have 
 the woodwork "painted white," and the ceiling white- 
 washed, and to provide "new shelves and cases for the 
 books" and "an additional reading table or tables." 
 
 The lower rooms continued to be rented as offices, 
 though the minutes shed little light on the identity or 
 occupation of their tenants. Besides those before men- 
 tioned, Richard Harison, a noted lawyer of his day, used 
 the two rear rooms for several years in the '20's. As has 
 been noted, the rental at times formed part of the Li- 
 brarian's emolument, but again accrued directly to the 
 treasury. Likewise the cellar or "basement" had a 
 varied career. At first held in reserve, then granted to 
 the sole use of the Librarian, that ofiicer was empowered 
 in May, 1818, to rent it to "some careful person, or 
 small family without children," as part payment for 
 janitor services. Such an occupant appears to have 
 been there from 1821 to 1825, the Library Committee 
 reports for those years announce, also stating that the 
 
A RARITY IN COLONIAL PRINTING 
 
 287 
 
 ■«.«;{••' .»'>siii.>- 
 
 IsermonI 
 
 Preached At 
 
 Trinity Church in New- York 
 
 in America, Juguft i^. 1706. 
 
 At the FUNERAL of 
 The Right Honourable Katberine Lady! 
 
 C R N B V R r, 
 
 Barronefs Clifton of Lelghton 'Bromfwold^ Sec. 
 
 Heirefs to the moft Noble Charles Duke of 
 
 Richmond and Lenox ^ 
 
 AND 
 
 [Wife to his Excellency Edward Lord Vifcount' 
 CORNBVRT, Her Majefties Captain General and 
 Governour in chief of the Provinces of Nerv-Tork, 
 Netp-Jer/ejy and Territories depending there- 
 on in America^ 8fC. 
 
 \By John Sharpe, A.M. Chaplain to the Queens Forces 
 in the Province of New- York. 
 
 Printed and Sold by WillUm Bradford at the Bible in 
 New-York, 1706. 
 
 Title-page (slightly reduced) of Sharpe sermon, printed by Bradford; from original 
 owned by Historical Society of Pennsylvania. See p. 47n^. 
 
288 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 basement was "reserved unlet from apprehension of 
 fire." 
 
 Throughout its history, the Society Library has been 
 favored above most institutions in respect to loss by 
 fire. The precaution above cited indicates the spirit of 
 vigilance that has ever characterized its management. 
 On one occasion, however, the building was greatly im- 
 periled, at a time when a veritable holocaust devastated 
 its neighborhood, utterly destrojdng several buildings 
 used as schoolhouses, as well as private dwellings, and 
 damaging others, besides "consuming" five persons.^ 
 That the structure was preserved only by great exertion 
 is plain from this card of appreciation in the Commer- 
 cial Advertiser for August 25, 1808: "The Librarian of 
 the New- York Society Library, in behalf of the Trus- 
 tees, returns his grateful thanks to the gentlemen who 
 kindly aided in saving the Library from the destructive 
 fire of last night." 
 
 At this time the building was still insured for $9000. 
 This amoimt remained unchanged, with nothing said 
 about the books, until August, 1817, when the policy 
 was altered to read $10,000 "on the building and book 
 cases." Until 1824 the policy ran on seven-year terms; 
 then began a system of annual policies of $5000 on the 
 building and $10,000 on its contents. 
 
 Satisfied and proud as members of the Library un- 
 doubtedly were in the possession of so tastefiil and 
 serviceable a building, almost from the first there is 
 evident on the part of the Trustees an eagerness for its 
 disposal. Not that they were ever craving some new 
 thing, or desirous to tear it down for a greater structure. 
 
 'See accounts in the Oommercial Advertiser and the Oracle and Daily 
 Advertiser for August 3S, 1808. 
 
PROPOSALS FOR NEW QUARTERS 289 
 
 Its maintenance was handicapped by the burdensome 
 debt incidental to its erection. So it redoimds greatly 
 to the credit and abihty of the Trustees that, through 
 these years of public indifference and private embar- 
 rassment, they succeeded not only in steering clear of 
 bankruptcy, but even in materially increasing the collec- 
 tion. We are now to review the series of overtures and 
 negotiations in which this institution figured, with the 
 hope of its removal to other quarters, that by a sale 
 of its holdings the oppressive incumbrance might be 
 Hfted. 
 
 The first chance of such removal was broached in Feb- 
 ruary, 1807, in a request from members of the Historical 
 Society, the Society of Fine Arts and the Medical So- 
 ciety, to join them in petitioning the legislature for the 
 use of the Government House for their several pur- 
 poses. Though promptly favoring the apphcation, the 
 Trustees apparently heard no more of the project. 
 Perhaps, however, accommodations were offered and 
 deemed insufficient, for the Society of Fine Arts pres- 
 ently removed thither, followed in September, 1809, by 
 the Historical Society, whose books had hitherto been 
 deposited in the Society Library. In passing, it may be 
 said that the Government House, originally designed 
 for the residence of President Washington, but not fin- 
 ished till after the departure of the Federal Government 
 from New York, was occupied by Governors George 
 Clinton and John Jay until the removal of the state 
 capital to Albany, in 1797. Up to the time of its demoli- 
 tion in 1815, it was used as the custom house; so it is an 
 interesting coincidence that the row of dwellings erected 
 on its site below Bowling Green has in turn made way 
 for our smnptuous new custom house. 
 
290 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 The next eiFort was made in a personal letter^ to 
 Mayor De Witt Clinton in August, 1812, from John 
 Pintard, then a Trustee of the Library and secretary of 
 the Historical Society, suggesting that the Corporation 
 of the city "foster the Arts, Science, & Literature in this 
 place," by appropriating, for the use of the "City Li- 
 brary," the Academy of Arts, the Historical Society 
 and the "American Museimi," accommodations in either 
 the old almshouse or the much older bridewell— both 
 buildings soon to become vacant by the transfer of their 
 inmates to Bellevue. If the bridewell should be offered, 
 — as indeed many years later it was tendered to the So- 
 ciety Library, but on terms distasteful to a majority of 
 its members,^ — the several associations would "engage 
 to ornament the exterior of that Building & render 
 it similar in appearance to the New City HaU." 
 But, "should it be objected that this Building together 
 with the GaoP ought to be prostrated as interfering 
 with the elegant perspective of the City Hall," then let 
 one end of the old almshouse be set apart for these 
 societies, for "by concentering all ovu- resources we may 
 give a greater impulse and elevation to our intellectual 
 character." 
 
 Next, sketching the history and usefulness of each 
 institution in turn, he says of the "City Library," that, 
 though "grown to considerable importance both as to 
 nimiber & value of Books," it yet "languishes under a 
 debt," whose interest and current expenses "preclude the 
 purchase of important works." But, if the Library 
 were only in "apartments free from rent," and "relieved 
 
 'This letter, dated August 28, 1813, " Built in 1758, and known as the 
 
 is in the possession of the New York Provost prison during the Revolu- 
 
 Historical Society. tion. Used for years as the Hall of 
 
 "See p. 378. Records, it was razed in 1902-1903. 
 
JOHN PINTARD'S "IMPUDENT" REQUEST 291 
 
 of debt" by the sale of the biiilding, it would be "capaci- 
 tated to acqmre those rare and expensive works in 
 science & Literature so essentially requisite to enlighten 
 & improve, works which too far exceed the power of in- 
 dividuals to procure." 
 
 Yet all the answer Mr. Pintard got for his trouble 
 and interest appears in the following marginal endorse- 
 ment in his own hand: "Mem? M^ Clinton on reading 
 this communication observed 'that the request was too 
 impudent to be submitted to the Corporation'!" Well 
 might John Pintard add, instead of an "Amen," his 
 private motto, "Never Despair." For, as will presently 
 be seen, his project was carried out to a nicety. In his 
 diary for March 18, 1814, occurs the following allusion 
 to this beneficent scheme of his own conjuring, quoted 
 nearly in full to reproduce not alone the actual words of 
 that public-spirited man, but also a little New York 
 atmosphere of a century ago. With the charming touch 
 of a natixre lover he begins; "The First Spring Morning 
 — heard Bluebirds sing — a field in the Bowery was suffi- 
 ciently free from frost to be ploughed." 
 
 Then, making for his particular hobby, already re- 
 vealed in the Chnton letter, he continues : 
 
 It is but a few days that M^ M^Comb the Street Commissioner 
 showed me the rough draft of a design for improving the Front 
 of the present Bridewell to render it suitable to the elegance of 
 the City Hall. On reflection it appeared that the expense to 
 take down the present front & rebuild with marble would be very 
 great & after all that the Building is so narrow ... as not to 
 afford, without a Rotunda in the rear, sufficient capacity for 
 the purposes it is required to accommodate the Academy of 
 Arts, the Philosophical & N. Y. Historical Societies. The alter- 
 native is to request the Corporation to make a temporary grant 
 of the present Alms House which would afford ample room for 
 
292 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 the above institutions, for the City Library & the American 
 Museum, owned by John Scudder, where they could remain for 
 some years, until the increase of the wealth of this City sh9 
 afford sufficient patronage to erect two wings of marble & 
 correspondent Architecture on each side the City Hall w*^? 
 w4 embellish the City & accommodate these public institutions. 
 But, sh^ the parsimonious views of the projectors for selling the 
 aforesaid ground prevail, all these projects will vanish. 
 
 By the middle of May, as a result of his vigorous 
 initiative, a petition had been laid before the Common 
 Council from "sundry Literary Societies," — the Acad- 
 emy of Arts, represented by Cadwallader D. Colden, 
 Dr. David Hosack and William Cutting ; the Historical 
 Society, by John Pintard, Peter A. Jay and Gulian C. 
 Verplanck; the Literary and Philosophical Society, by 
 Dr. Samuel L. Mitchill, Dr. John Griscom and James 
 A. Smith; and the Society Library, by Dr. John R. B. 
 Rodgers, Edward W. Laight and Anthony Bleecker, — 
 "praying from the Corporation a grant of the ground 
 and the building thereon occupied as the Bridewell for 
 the accommodation of the said Societies and for the pur- 
 poses of their respective Institutions."^ 
 
 This movement, it will be noticed, was organized in 
 the midst of the War of 1812. 'No less applicable in 
 1814 than two years before, therefore, is the following 
 excerpt from the Pintard-Clinton letter above quoted : 
 
 It may be urged that this is not the moment for such great en- 
 terprizes, that our City is paralyzed by the present times, and 
 that httle encouragement can be expected for the promotion of 
 Literary establishments. True; Inter Arma Silent Leges. But 
 we have a right, Auspice Teucro, to hope for better times ; and 
 
 ' MS. Minutes of the Common Proceedings from 1784. to 1831, as 
 Council for May 2 and 16, 1814. yet unprinted, are in tlie City Hail. 
 
PETITION TO COMMON COUNCIL 293 
 
 it may be proper to anticipate any other applications respecting 
 the public buildings. 
 
 Though coromerce was indeed prostrate, the enthu- 
 siasm of the populace for the war had not diminished, in 
 view of the fact that the authorities were supported in 
 bestowing the freedom of the city upon no fewer than a 
 dozen mihtary and naval heroes within two years, includ- 
 ing the usual addresses in golden boxes, as also articles 
 of silver plate suitably inscribed, or in requesting the 
 objects of popular admiration to sit for their portraits — 
 such being the origin of many paintings in the City Hall 
 to-day. 
 
 It was not until June, 1815, that the Common Council 
 finally took action on the report of its committee, regard- 
 ing the joint petition. Limitations of space alone 
 prevent giving this remarkable paper in full. Gran- 
 diloquent and bombastic to a degree, it is typical of 
 language then in vogue for purely formal addresses and 
 documents. Such extracts as are here given will sound 
 strange indeed to modern ears, so increasingly impatient 
 of prolixity. The actual authorship of the production 
 must remain divided amongst the collaborating com- 
 mittee, composed of Aldermen Peter Mesier, chairman, 
 George Buckmaster, Nicholas Fish and Isaac S. Doug- 
 lass, and Assistant- Alderman Augustine H. Lawrence, 
 who declared the petition presented "for consideration a 
 subject of immense importance." 
 
 The city of New York, they assert, had made "such 
 large and liberal contributions to the public exigencies, 
 . . . that for credit & influence it has been contrasted 
 with the supreme authority of some communities." 
 "Since, then," they go on to ask, "such endeavour has 
 
294 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 been manifested to extend the fame of the city for 
 entrepidity, wealth and strength, ought not some atten- 
 tion be now directed to the fine & liberal arts?" There 
 being no longer need "to provide for the tented field, 
 would not a garden spot, in which the young plants of 
 science might be cultivated, be a suitable & delectable 
 first fruit offering to the Goddess of Peace?" Though 
 "many have presumed, and ridicule has excited merri- 
 ment in endeavouring to demonstrate, that such plants 
 are here exotics, that our soil is sterile and unfit for such 
 culture," yet "fortunately your petitioners have with 
 great talent and perseverance proven them to be indeg- 
 enous and the soil congenial to their nature. With 
 considerable success they have already planted & nour- 
 ished several; and, if the cultivation is only moistened 
 with your friendly dew, these young trees wiU ere long 
 exhibit a luxuriance and spread into a grove of science, 
 under the shade of which your men of genius may se- 
 cvu-ely repose." 
 
 "Sarcasm may perhaps with some effect direct its 
 taunts, and censure justly condemn the neglect with 
 which the elegant arts have hitherto been permitted to 
 struggle," for "the citizens of New York have too long 
 been stigmatized as phlegmatic, money making & plod- 
 ding." Although "our Sister Cities deny we possess any 
 taste for the sciences, and the total inattention to institu- 
 tions of this class has ever been construed as an evidence 
 of a want of genius itself," nevertheless, "materials 
 requisite to erect splendid establishments in every de- 
 partment of the fine arts exist here in abundance." "The 
 Petitioners have given an earnest of what may be antici- 
 pated, and, should they hap[p]ily be blessed with public 
 patronage, such a stimulus will be given & such ranges 
 
Anthony Bleecker 
 
 Trustee, 1810-183T. Secretary, 1816-182T 
 
A LITERARY INSTITUTE PROPOSED 295 
 
 made in the field of science as to occupy a circumference 
 difficult to be described." 
 
 As to the societies in question, "notwithstanding the 
 adversities they have had to contend with, their defi- 
 ciency of means, the want of countenance & above all 
 the want of patronage, still their progress and advance- 
 ment has astonished every one." Then reviewing each 
 in turn, the report says of the Society Library that its 
 entire collection, comprising "numerous scarce and 
 valuable works not to be obtained on this side of the 
 Atlantic," had "been made since the Revolutionary war 
 by Gentlemen of the first taste & hterary acquirements 
 in our country" ; and that, "by oeconomy and a judicious 
 administration of its finances, the committee of pvLr- 
 chases" had been "enabled to enrich the collection with 
 the most expensive works in the higher walks of lit- 
 erature." Also, should the petition be granted, it was 
 purposed, "by disposing of their present building, to 
 disencumber themselves of debt, and, by appropriating 
 the surplus to further piirchases, to enlarge still more 
 this field of general literature." 
 
 Besides their present usefulness, the joint petitioners 
 were planning, if favored, "to open an Athenaeum or 
 general reading room, to estabhsh a professorship of 
 mineralogy & Natiu-al history, to provide a School for 
 Painting, Scxolpture & Architecture, ... to fm-nish 
 [a] Chymical Laboratory with an enlightened profes- 
 sor, & to reserve a Hall for anniversary discourses or 
 forensic disputations; and thus render this assembly of 
 hterary Societies famous as an Institute of the elegant 
 and liberal arts." 
 
 Thus "at your portal" these suppliants "kneel & 
 anxiously sohcit your assistance," says the peroration. 
 
296 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 "United under one Roof, and thus enabled to converge 
 their efforts," they would form "a constellation of 
 science," siu-e to "illuminate our hemisphere." Indeed, 
 "a temple diverging such splendid rays" would "dispell 
 every gloom and impart activity to the germs of genius 
 however obscurely planted" ; while "an intellectual Com- 
 merce, extending to every quarter of the globe," would 
 "from this center of intelligence be industriously piir- 
 sued, and the returns of mental treasures enrich our 
 citizens beyond calculation." 
 
 In conclusion, — inasmuch as "the blessing of peace 
 wiQ have a benign influence on Science and Literatm-e, 
 the Common Council ought to perpetuate the auspi- 
 cious event in the memory of the wise & good by an act 
 of munificence which will create an sera in our history & 
 erect an illustrious monument to their patriotism & intel- 
 hgence," — the report recommends that "the spacious 
 building in the rear of the City Hall"— the old alms- 
 house — be appropriated to the petitioning societies. It 
 was thereupon so ordered by a vote of thirteen to four, 
 the length of the term to be "not less than seven nor 
 more than twenty-one years." 
 
 Although gratified at this gracious action, and minded 
 at first "to receive the said Lease," the Trustees pres- 
 ently found on investigation that a larger sum was 
 required to adapt the old apartments to hbrary pur- 
 poses than their exchequer warranted expending. Fur- 
 thermore, "taking into consideration the improbability 
 of their being able to dispose of the Library building on 
 advantageous terms, and believing that, by making 
 alterations in the lower apartments of the same, suffi- 
 cient conveniences" might be seciu"ed at less expense, 
 they voted in November, 1816, to surrender the lease to 
 
THE NEW YORK INSTITUTION 297 
 
 the Common Council. In executing this order Secre- 
 tary Bleecker courteously added: "Whilst the Trustees 
 of the Library regret the circumstances which impel 
 them to resign the lease, they will still retain a grateful 
 sense of the favor and patronage of the Corporation in 
 having originally granted the same in comphance with 
 their solicitations."^ Further appreciation may have 
 been meant in the election of John Ferguson— mayor at 
 the time the leases were voted— to the board of Trustees 
 of the Library, a position he held for over sixteen years. 
 
 All the other societies promptly availed themselves 
 of the desired permission, the leases being for ten years, 
 at a yearly rental of one peppercorn, "if lawfully de- 
 manded,"^ and the name of the building was changed to 
 The New York Institution. It was a three-story brick 
 structure, erected in 1795 on the site of the present 
 County Court House, slate-roofed, with a basement, 
 and, according to Goodrich's "Picture of New- York," 
 its exterior had "nothing attractive about it." 
 
 Thus the project came to naught, so far as the Li- 
 brary was concerned, possibly to the disappointment of 
 some of its well-wishers. Doubtless, however, the ma- 
 jority of its members — no less than those now first 
 learning of the plan — experienced a pleasurable relief 
 that their own building would not have to be given up 
 and the collections of the Society Library removed to 
 the old almshouse ! 
 
 It has been noticed that the above negotiations sug- 
 gested simply a cooperation among the several literary 
 and scientific institutions of the city. But in January, 
 1825, the Trustees were approached by Messrs. Richard 
 
 ' MS. Minutes of the Common " The New York Historical Society 
 
 Council, Nov. 18, 1816. —I8O4-I904. P. 31. 
 
298 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Harison, William Johnson and Clement C. Moore in 
 behalf of Columbia College, Dr. David Hosack, An- 
 thony Bleecker and Colonel William L. Stone for 
 the Historical Society, Professor James Renwick and 
 William Gracie for the Athenjevmi, and a committee 
 representing the Philharmonic Society, with the pro- 
 posal "to confer together on the subject of a union of 
 Libraries." This project had been started by the Asso- 
 ciates of the Athengeum, coincidentally with the opening 
 of that institution in December, 1824. 
 
 Although the Trustees joined heartily in the move- 
 ment — appointing John Ferguson, Dr. Drake and Dr. 
 Rodgers to meet these gentlemen — nothing came of it. 
 One after another the several committees reported "no 
 progress" and were discharged. The death notice of the 
 suggestion is found in the editorial columns of the Com- 
 mercial Advertiser of May 4, 1825, where, in reply to 
 the query of a correspondent, — "Why is not the noble 
 plan of the founders of the Athenaeum carried into 
 effect, of uniting the libraries of our city into one?" — it 
 is said that, though "the committees of the Athenasum, 
 City Library and Historical Society had a friendly 
 meeting several months since, and discussed the matter 
 freely, no formidable objections or difficulties" being 
 raised, yet "from that day to this the committees have 
 not been called together." It appears from the minutes 
 of the Directors of the Athenaeum for March that the 
 "plan of union and building" had been abandoned, as 
 they considered it "indelicate to go forward in the un- 
 settled state of the affairs of the Atheneeum."^ 
 
 Two years later, however, — in April, 1827, — the 
 Athengeum renewed the subject, appointing Isaac S. 
 
 ' Minutes of the board of Directors of the Athenasum, March 4, 1825. 
 
ACTION TOWARD CONSOLIDATION 299 
 
 Hone, James I. Jones and John Delafield to negotiate 
 again with the Society Library and Columbia College. 
 Once more they designated committees— John J. Mor- 
 gan, John Ferguson and Gulian C. Verplanck for the 
 former and the Rev. Dr. WiUiam Harris, Bishop Ho- 
 bart, the Rev. Dr. James M. Mathews, David S. Jones 
 and William Johnson for the College. As before, how- 
 ever, the proposal ran amuck of the same spirit of indif- 
 ference, or of no sentiment in its favor; it was not, 
 however, vmtil February, 1828, that the Columbia com- 
 mittee was discharged upon reporting that "no agree- 
 ment was likely to be made upon the subject."^ 
 
 Before this attempt had died away, another movement 
 had been begun to consolidate all the leading literary 
 societies of the city. At a pubhc meeting held in the 
 Common Council chamber. May 17, 1827, Governor 
 De Witt Clinton in the chair and Frederic De Peyster, 
 Jr., acting as secretary, it was voted to apply "to the 
 Corporation for a Lease of 99 years, of the Building 
 now occupied as the New York Institution, to be appro- 
 priated"^ for the purposes of the Academy of Arts, "the 
 City Library," the AtheuEeum, the Lyceum, the Liter- 
 ary and Philosophical Society, the Historical Society, 
 the Horticultural Society and the Law Library Asso- 
 ciation. 
 
 The project was received, as usual, with enthusiasm, a 
 committee was appointed to enlist the support of the 
 several institutions named, and Colonel John Trumbull 
 
 ' Minutes of the board of Trustees meeting held in the Chamber of the 
 
 of Columbia College, Feb. 4, 1828. Common Coimcil of the city of New 
 
 ° This and succeeding excerpts are York to concentrate the different 
 
 from a paper in the possession of Literary Institutions under one roof, 
 
 the Historical Society, penned by and also of the proceedings of the 
 
 Frederic De Peyster, Jr., and en- Come appointed thereat." 
 dorsed as "Minutes of a Public 
 
300 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 "entered at large upon the subject of the plan and cost 
 of the contemplated improvements in the Building 
 referred to, . . . and exhibited a sketch of the proposed 
 alterations, and of accommodations, which (if the de- 
 sign was carried out), could be furnished to the various 
 Institutions disposed to unite in this important & highly 
 interesting undertaking." But in a "Note" at the end 
 of the proceedings. Secretary De Peyster wrote: "The 
 proposed plan was finally abandoned, the anticipated 
 aid not having been obtained, and small encouragement 
 being held out by those most directly interested in the 
 measures suggested for carrying out, fully and appro- 
 priately, a design so important to the various Institu- 
 tions throughout the city, and to the public at large." 
 
 In the midst of this series of joint deliberations, the 
 Trustees had steadily cherished hopes of a new location 
 and home without encumbrance. In the spring of 1826, 
 after some talk of asking the city fathers for the use of 
 the Rotunda,^ they voted to request of the Common 
 Council the "grant of a lot of ground in a central part 
 of the city," "for the purpose of erecting thereon a Li- 
 brary House instead of the present one." The city rec- 
 ords contain no reference even to receiving a petition, 
 nor do the Trustees' minutes again allude to the sub j ect. 
 
 Two more years creep by, leaving the situation un- 
 changed, when suddenly, in May, 1828, there comes a 
 return to the identical position of fourteen years before 
 in deputing Professor Renwick, Dr. John Augustine 
 Smith and Mr. Morgan "to treat with the Corporation 
 on the subject of obtaining apartments in the old Alms- 
 
 '■ The "Panoramic Rotunda," 52 old almshouse in March, 1817. Upon 
 
 feet in diameter and 30 feet high, the expiration of a nine-year lease 
 
 had been erected by private enter- the structure was to revert to the 
 
 prise on city property east of the Corporation. 
 
RENEWED PETITION TO CITY FATHERS 301 
 
 house for the use of the Library." This petition/ pre- 
 sented in conjunction ^^'ith one from John Delafield, 
 Henry Brevoort, Jr., and James I. Jones in behalf of 
 
 3 
 
 s- 
 
 e 
 
 i^ a- 
 
 «- ce^U^ lA^-^^iO-H^^ *v^.>£,;^5»^^r^ 4^^5n«X^>ife 
 
 Page (reduced) from Sharpe proposals for " A Publick Library." See pp. 54r-57. 
 ^ Printed copy in minutes of Historical Society trustees, May, 1828. 
 
302 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 the Athenseum, was addressed "To the Hon. the Mayor, 
 Aldermen, and Commonalty of the City of New- York." 
 In a word, it respectfully asked for apartments in the 
 Institution, "without prejudice to the Corporate Institu- 
 tions already settled there by the liberality of the Cor- 
 poration," at the same time oiFering, in return, "to 
 decorate and embellish" the exterior of the building. 
 
 A comprehensive resume of both the Library and the 
 Athenaeum appears in this elaborate petition. "The 
 Society Library," it says, was "among the most ancient 
 Corporations of our City and was considered, from the 
 importance of the purposes it was intended to subserve, 
 at an early period in its history, worthy of being per- 
 mitted to occupy apartments in the Public Hall of the 
 City." "Nearly five hundred whole families" were then 
 "entitled to the privilege of its circulation," while a col- 
 lection of nearly 20,000 volumes had been accumulated. 
 But the building was "in truth, rather in the midst of 
 uninhabited places of business than a resident popula- 
 tion." Lastly, "a Library accessible upon the cheapest 
 possible terms" was "the most valuable auxiliary to the 
 dissemination of knowledge." 
 
 Despite the fact that the Common Council received 
 supplementary memorials from some of the societies al- 
 ready within the Institution, as well as from "residents 
 in the vicinity of the Park, stating that the building 
 denominated the Institution is in a dilapidated state, and 
 that the most conspicuous part of it is devoted to a use 
 not entitled to public patronage,"— despite all this, the 
 subject never came up for action at all — the most trying 
 of all fates to anxiously waiting suppliants. The reason 
 for withholding consent, however, presumably lay in the 
 fact that the authorities were planning to use the build- 
 
SEVERAL HOLDERS OF SECRETARYSHIP 303 
 
 ing in question for other purposes, for in March, 1829, 
 they ordered notice sent "to all the occupants of apart- 
 ments in the buildings m Chamber street" to vacate the 
 rooms before August.^ 
 
 So the situation at the close of the quarter-century may 
 best be simimed up in this extract from the Library Com- 
 mittee report for February, 1829: "Negotiations with 
 Columbia College and the Apphcation to the Corpora- 
 tion of the City for ground for the erection of a building 
 for the Library in a more central position may be con- 
 sidered as having failed. These applications were made 
 in conjunction with the Athenseimi, which institution 
 has lately connected itself with another and purchased 
 ground for building.^ The New York Society Library 
 is therefore thrown back upon its own resources & to 
 the building it has so long owned." 
 
 In all this time a few changes had inevitably taken 
 place among the officers of the Library. The secretary- 
 ship — filled for twenty-one years by John Forbes in 
 con j miction with his duties as Librarian — it was voted 
 in May, 1815, should thereafter be held by a member of 
 the board, John Pintard receiving the appointment. No 
 doubt the Trustees decided they would feel freer to dis- 
 cuss matters, especially such as related to the Librarian, 
 in the absence of that fimctionary. A year later Mr. 
 Pintard was succeeded by Anthony Bleecker, who re- 
 mained at the post until his death in March, 1827,— a 
 period of nearly eleven years. He in turn was followed 
 by Evert A. Bancker, who served for a full decade, the 
 major part of his term faUing without the bounds of 
 this chapter. 
 
 ^MS. Minutes of the Common "The Clinton Hall Association; 
 
 Council, March 23, 1829. but see pp. 331-332. 
 
304 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 The position of Treasurer continued to be held by a 
 member of the board. Daniel Phcenix, who had been 
 appointed in January, 1796, resigned in May, 1810, 
 leaving a deal of expert accounting to be done by his 
 successor, Edward W. Laight. The finances of the in- 
 stitution were certainly in chaos, as will soon be noted, 
 and discouragements continued to beset the manage- 
 ment; but, whether through high-minded devotion or 
 from a sense of personal pride, — probably both, — Gen- 
 eral Laight conducted the fiscal afi*airs of the corpora- 
 tion in this gratuitous office during a trying stretch of 
 sixteen years. He was succeeded by John J. Morgan in 
 May, 1826. 
 
 Before reviewing briefly the financial concerns of the 
 Library for these years, a word should be said about the 
 shares or rights, their purchase, sale, forfeiture and vary- 
 ing price, as also about changes in the annual payment 
 charge. In regard to the last item, it will be recalled 
 that in May, 1802, the yearly dues had been advanced 
 with legislative sanction to $2.50. This amendment re- 
 mained in force for seventeen years, when again, with the 
 hope of recouping their low fortunes, the Trustees applied 
 to the legislature for leave to raise the annual payment 
 to $4, which became the established rate in May, 1819. 
 
 The price of a share or right was $20 from March, 
 1793, till May, 1810, when it was increased to $25. A 
 fortnight later, however, aroused by the plain speech of 
 Dr. Wilson's report on the finances, the figure was set 
 at $30. Again, in December, 1812, it was raised to $40, 
 at which height it remained until May, 1824, when — 
 very possibly in consequence of rumors of the movement 
 that presently resulted in founding the Athenaeum — it 
 was reduced once more to $25. 
 
ARREARS AND FORFEITURES 305 
 
 Notice of this reduction was inserted in the daily 
 papers for six weeks, beginning with May 29th. It de- 
 clared that the "sole motive" of the Trustees was their 
 "desire of extending the usefulness of the institution" 
 and of "making it more generally accessible." The col- 
 lection, "much more extensive and valuable than ever," 
 included about 16,000 volumes, "comprehending the 
 most valuable works in science, theology, and classical 
 hterature, together with a very complete collection of 
 encyclopedias, dictionaries, reviews, magazines, registers, 
 and similar works of reference and amusement." In con- 
 clusion, "usefiil and valuable books" would be received 
 in payment, at what would to-day be called library rates, 
 or, if the purchaser should prefer, the purchase money 
 would be apphed "to the procvu-ing of such books" as he 
 might recommend. Only one instance is recorded dur- 
 ing this period, however, of a proposal to acquire a share 
 by an equivalent other than the coin of the realm. In 
 April, 1813, "on an apphcation of M^ Ehas Hicks to 
 give certain news papers in part payment for a share," 
 it was voted that they were "not of a kind to be useful to 
 the Library." 
 
 As to arrears and resulting forfeitures, committee 
 reports prove they were indeed a feature to be reckoned 
 with. It was only to be expected in the course of himian 
 events, and many of them lapsed forever, despite efforts 
 to reclaim such errant members on favorable terms. For 
 example, in April, 1814, with the price of shares $40, it 
 was decreed that the payment of arrears in full, or the 
 sum of $20 for each share before August, would entitle 
 a former shareholder to a new certificate. In this way a 
 number of lapsed rights were brought again to an active 
 status. As a general rule, the charter provision was 
 
306 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 quoted in arrearage cases, that failure to pay dues within 
 thirty days forfeited membership, but that settlement of 
 arrears within five years would bring restoration of 
 privileges. 
 
 Not until after the shock of the illegal election of 
 1825 are names of new members entered in the minutes, 
 some purchasing shares and others receiving admittance 
 on the assignment of former shareholders, "according to 
 the Charter." In the gloomy Library Committee report 
 of February, 1828, about thirty shares were "in a course 
 of forfeitm-e." But in the joyous statement of a year 
 later, with which this period closes, first among gratify- 
 ing items is recorded "the sale of shares." 
 
 Now comes, last of all, the least entertaining but the 
 truly fundamental interest of each epoch in tm-n — the 
 financial side. It must be admitted, however, that it did 
 not give the Trustees much concern during the first half- 
 dozen years of this period. At the May meeting the new 
 board would perfunctorily appoint one or more mem- 
 bers "to audit the accounts of this Society for the last 
 year," but there the matter ended. No reports were 
 entered, and even the custom itself fell into disuse, luitil 
 revived by the reformatory by-laws of 1812. It again 
 lapsed, however, for a special committee's report on 
 finances in May, 1825, complains that the practice, 
 "wholesome" as it is, has been rarely attended to." After 
 1828 this task was taken over by the Library Committee. 
 
 Consequently, during a large part of the time the 
 board must have acquiesced in such oral statements as 
 were made by the Treasm-er, thus maintaining a laissez- 
 faire policy. It was not until April, 1809, that any 
 apparent thought for the morrow seems to have been 
 taken. Aroused by we know not what, Professor Wil- 
 
TRUSTEES DABBLE IN STOCKS 307 
 
 son, Dr. Mitchill and General Clarkson were directed 
 "to inquire into the present State of the Library, its 
 funds, and its affairs in general." Though they were 
 asked to report at the next meeting, more than a twelve- 
 month passed before their desired statement came. 
 
 Pending the result of the investigation, we may be 
 diverted— no less than the participators themselves— by 
 a little dabbling in stocks on the part of the Trustees. 
 With "Bishop Moore m the Chair," ( !) Charles WHkes 
 and Dr. Mitchill were requested "to subscribe to the 
 Stock of the Mutual Assurance Company for as many 
 shares in the said Stock as this Society may be entitled 
 to," and authorized "to borrow from the Bank of New 
 York" any sum needed under $1300. Nearly a year 
 later, in April, 1810, — though at their next meeting — 
 "it appears there had been made a clear gain for the 
 Library of $159.02." But this fabulous profit had al- 
 ready been spent, as Dr. Kemp was deputed to pay it 
 to Peter A. Mesier, bookseller, on account. 
 
 Finally, in May, 1810, "D^ Wilson, from the Com- 
 mittee appointed to inquire into the State of the Li- 
 brary," — Peter A. Jay and John Pintard having been 
 appointed his associates in place of Dr. Mitchill and 
 General Clarkson, retired, — rendered a report that covers 
 nearly four folio pages in the minutes. It is by no means 
 cheerful reading. First of all, the Ust of subscribers had 
 fallen from 965 in 1794 to but 659 in 1810 (oddly 
 enough in appearance but a transposition of the fig- 
 ures). The debts, in the second place, amounted to 
 $4306.15. Next, a comparison of the annual expenses 
 with the yearly revenue left a balance of but $742.52 
 "for purchasing Books." Lastly, estimating the build- 
 ing and its furnishings as worth $18,000, and the 10,196 
 
308 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 books at, "say," $22,000, "the Capital Stock of the So- 
 ciety" approximated $40,000, so that the 659 shares had 
 a value of about $60, each. Therefore, "in justice to the 
 old subscribers," the price of shares— then $20— ought to 
 be raised to at least $30, the report suggests. Closing 
 with several specific recommendations for future con- 
 duct, the committee sternly rebukes "the culpable neg- 
 lect ... in the collection of the annual dues, whereby 
 so large a Sum as $2396^%oo is totally lost, and a propor- 
 tion of the balance [$1630] may be difficult to recover." 
 
 Profoimdly moved by this relentless diagnosis, the 
 board at once took action, in accord with its suggestions, 
 by raising the price of shares to $30, by appointing 
 Messrs. Pintard, Bleecker and Verplanck — the last- 
 named only just elected a Trustee, at the age of twenty- 
 four — a special purchasing committee, and by ordering 
 the Librarian to attend to the collecting without delay, 
 and to render an accoxmting at each meeting. Good 
 results appeared at the next session, a month later; but 
 then came a series of nine failures to secure a quormn. 
 
 An important measure was initiated in June, 1811, in 
 appointing Treasurer Laight and Gulian C. Verplanck 
 to ascertain Mr. Winter's price for the lot on which the 
 building stood, the committee being authorized "to give 
 up the Covenant," whereby Mr. Winter was "boxmd not 
 to erect any building within ten feet of the southerly side 
 of the Library Building," provided he should convey to 
 the Trustees, forever, all his lands in the rear of the 
 Library lot, so as to carry it to the land of Brockholst 
 Livingston, "of equal width with the Library Building." 
 The committee was also requested to learn at what rate 
 the required sum might be borrowed from the Bank of 
 New York. 
 
Hon. Gulian Crommelin Verplanck, LL.D. 
 
 Trustee, 1810-1855; 1857-1870. Chairman, 1858-1870 
 
AID OF LEGISLATURE SOUGHT 309 
 
 When it was found that Mr. Winter would "sell his 
 right in the ground or rent charge on the Library lot for 
 $2250,"— though declining to make any agreement con- 
 cerning the above covenant or "exchanging the ground 
 in the rear,"— the board voted to accept his terms, pro- 
 vided the required sum could be borrowed from the bank 
 at six per cent. All progressing satisfactorily, the 
 papers were signed with despatch on June 18th. By 
 these transactions the Library was a gainer in two re- 
 spects: an interest charge of $135 was substituted for 
 the former groimd rent of $175; and still more profit- 
 ably, in the long run, it thus became owner of a piece of 
 real estate destined to eventual rise in value. 
 
 But the standing indebtedness of the institution was 
 considerably augmented, of coiirse. Six months after- 
 ward it amoimted to $6643.75, and by April, 1814, it had 
 risen to $8208.33, the chief items being the old bond of 
 $3000 at five per cent., the $2250-bond and mortgage 
 at six per cent., — both to the Bank of New York, — 
 $2185.25 due to "Book seUers, &c.," and $773.08 due to> 
 the Librarian — poor man! Partly alive to the pressing 
 need of retrenchment, the board voted to buy no books 
 nor disburse a cent beyond necessary expenses, until 
 these last two sums should be paid oif . 
 
 Darker and more depressing grew the outlook, until, 
 in February, 1818, in sheer despair the distracted board 
 authorized John J. Morgan, David S. Jones and An- 
 thony Bleecker "to prepare and present to the Legisla- 
 ture a petition for a grant of money for the benefit of 
 the Library." The last heard of this effort was that 
 the petition had been referred to a committee of the as- 
 sembly. Pigeonholed! The Society Library has never 
 since been a suppliant for public aid. 
 
310 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Again several years pass with no direct allusion to 
 matters of finance. Finally, in February, 1821, comes a 
 Library Cormnittee report on "the property, funds and 
 debts of the Society," by which it appears that the debt 
 had by strict economy — together with the increased in- 
 come from raising the yearly dues — been reduced to the 
 amount of the bonds and mortgage. The books, com- 
 mendably increased to 13,917 volumes, were valued at 
 $24,595 ; but it is astonishing to find the building and lot 
 together estimated at only $15,000, — "a proper valua- 
 tion," — when the building, Avith only furnishings in- 
 cluded, was deemed worth $18,000 in 1810. The number 
 of shares had fallen to 616, which, at the advanced rate 
 of $4-a-year dues, yielded $2464, "the only fund for the 
 support and increase of the Library." Nevertheless, the 
 committee submitted the report "with pleasure," for 
 "compared with former times it presents a very gratify- 
 ing view," the "favorable change" being attributed to 
 the increase in the annual payment charge. 
 
 Subsequent reports show successive ups and downs, 
 until February, 1828, when the most dismal statement of 
 all was rendered. To begin with, the widely heralded 
 imported books — for whose purchase $1000 had been 
 borrowed in 1825 — had ultimately cost even more, leav- 
 ing the Library "much straitened in its means." Then 
 a tax of $321 — happily reduced from the original assess- 
 ment of $670, "by the earnest and able exertions" of 
 David S. Jones, John Ferguson and Evert A. Bancker 
 — had been levied on the extension of Nassau street (at 
 which time the numbering of the houses was rearranged, 
 the Library being changed from no. 16 to no. 38) . Fur- 
 thermore, of the shares — now fallen to 482 in nimaber — 
 only about 450 would probably pay their dues. In short. 
 
"PROSPEROUS STATE OF AEFAIRS" 311 
 
 but $64 could be counted on "for the purchase of books, 
 binding of books, insurance, fuel, repairs and contingent 
 expenses," for the ensuing year. The report, signed 
 by John J. Morgan alone, concludes with recom- 
 mending the adoption of a plan already broached, 
 to devote the $450 derived from office rents to a sink- 
 ing fund toward extinguishing the debt to the 
 bank. 
 
 This measure was again urged in the extended Li- 
 brary Committee report of February, 1829, whereupon 
 the board at once voted to appropriate that part of the 
 income, together with a sxmi equal to the annual interest 
 on the bank debt, as a sinking fund toward its discharge. 
 This report's bright auguries, then, based on figures, 
 will fittingly serve as a valedictory to this chapter, mark- 
 ing the conclusion of the seventy-fifth year in the history 
 of the Society Library. 
 
 In this report the institution was "pronounced free 
 from debt," — "with the exception of the old debt to the 
 Bank of New York,"— "with a considerable balance in 
 the hands of the Treasurer." This "prosperous state 
 of aifairs"— "so different from that of former years"— 
 was attributable not to the purchase of fewer books 
 ("within the last two years more books, & costly books 
 too," had been acquired than in the five years before) , 
 but to the efficient measures for collecting dues, to a 
 rigid economy, and to the reduced salary of the Libra- 
 rian, "which salary the Committee think still a very 
 handsome one."^ 
 
 After touching upon other matters of moment, else- 
 where discussed, the address closes with this peroration, 
 imdoubtedly the production of Mr. Morgan: 
 
 1 See p. 278. 
 
312 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 The Committee will not refrain from indulging for a moment 
 the feelings of an honest pride. This Library was founded and 
 has been sustained by the equal contributions of its members ; it 
 has received no State or City aid ; it has solicited no rich man's 
 donation ; and it has successfully resisted the assaults of specu- 
 lators upon its literary existence. The Institution has gone on 
 silently and steadily to the acquisition of a Idrge and excellent 
 building and to the collection of nearly 25,000 Volumes of 
 books, thus forming a Library which perhaps is not surpassed 
 in the United States, and which certainly has nothing at all 
 equal to it in the State where it is established. 
 
VII 
 
 THE NEW YORK ATHEN^UM, 1824-1839 
 
 THE subject now claiming attention is already 
 somewhat familiar, in name at least. In this 
 chapter it is purposed to recount the origin and 
 something of the management of the Athenaeiim, as well 
 as the terms of the agreement under which it was finally- 
 merged into the Society Library. Such a treatment is 
 justifiable on the double ground of pertinency to the 
 main theme and of bringing to light an important but 
 well-nigh forgotten interest, once dear to the hearts of 
 New York's leading citizens, and which, for a few years, 
 was manifestly the chief literary asset of the community. 
 Although the Athenaeum was formally established in 
 1824, its real genesis may be traced to an earlier date. 
 Its model was the Liverpool AthenEeum, founded in 
 1798 and conducted with such immediate and signal 
 success. The plan was first adopted in this country in 
 January, 1807, in the opening of the Boston Athenasum, 
 Philadelphia following suit in March, 1814. The gen- 
 eral scheme of these institutions embraced, in addition to 
 a library (chiefly for general reference) , a reading room 
 to contain newspapers and magazines ; a cabinet or mu- 
 seum; a laboratory for scientific experiments; and a 
 lecture department. 
 
314 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Meanwhile there had been signs of a similar movement 
 in New York. Besides the Society Library and the 
 various booksellers' libraries^ of more or less fleeting 
 patronage, there was advertised in 1804 the Select Li- 
 brary Society, whose object was "to procure rehgious 
 and moral publications, as well as History, Voyages, 
 Travels, &;c, in order to disseminate useful knowledge, 
 and to contribute to the comfort and interest of those 
 eminent characters, whose time and talents are devoted 
 to the dignified purpose 'of giving ardour to virtue and 
 confidence to truth.' "^ Again, in November, 1809, a 
 reading room was opened in the Government House, 
 Avith at least forty subscribers, of whom John Pintard 
 seems to have been the moving spirit, others being De 
 Witt Chnton, G. C. Verplanck, Washington Irving, 
 Archibald Bruce, M.D., General Morton, Dr. MitchiU, 
 Charles Wilkes, General Laight, Abraham Schermer- 
 horn, Dr. David Hosack, the Rev. Samuel Miller and 
 the Rev. Dr. John M. Mason. About a dozen period- 
 icals are named, one Valleau acting as attendant.* Both 
 of these enterprises were short-hved. 
 
 In January, 1810, John Howard Payne, later to win 
 enduring fame as the author of "Home, Sweet Home," 
 then only in his nineteenth year, opened an establishment 
 at no. 2 Broadway, "in front of the City Hotel," which 
 he called a "Literary Exchange," and which he hoped 
 would soon equal the Boston Athenseum. It was "in- 
 tended for a general depository of Newspapers, Mag- 
 
 ^B. g., in 1802, "H. Caritat's reasonable terms"; and, in 1810, 
 
 Book-Store, Literary Assembly Goodrich's Circulating Library, 124 
 
 Room, and Circulating Library, No. Broadway. 
 
 1, City Hotel, Fenelon's Head, " New York City Directory, 1804. 
 
 Broadway"; in 1809, "The Albion 'From a MS. memorandum by 
 
 Library, No. 13 Park," for refer- John Pintard, now in the possession 
 
 ence only, "daily open, on the most of Mrs. E. B. Servoss, New York. 
 
PAYNE'S "LITERARY EXCHANGE" 315 
 
 azines, and Pamphlets, both pohtical, hterary and 
 scientifick," of this country, as also of "the principal 
 European Miscellanies, and all Pamphlets, either for- 
 eign or domestick, which may excite attention." Thus 
 would the institution be "an attractive rendezvous for 
 the merchant, as well as the man of letters." ^ The sub- 
 scription price of ten dollars a year, "requested in ad- 
 vance," may or may not have interfered with its success. 
 In his letter of August, 1812, to Mayor Clinton, above 
 quoted,^ John Pintard wrote of this project: "Nothing 
 but the depression occasioned by the state of our public 
 affairs could have interfered with the establishment of 
 an Athenaeum in this city, two years ago." 
 
 In this same comimimication, in which it wiU be re- 
 called he had ineffectually m-ged his friend to further 
 efforts to house aU the literary institutions of the city in 
 one of its own buildings, Mr. Pintard adds, that "the 
 establishment of an Athengeima or pubhc reading room" 
 was also proposed, as "an important appendage to the 
 City Library & Historical Society," to "furnish our 
 fellow citizens with every resource to gratify rational & 
 liberal curiosity." Not only would "strangers & visitors 
 be accommodated with a genteel place of resort for lit- 
 erary, pohtical & general information," but "the great 
 benefits that will result to society from the acquisition & 
 preservation of foreign & domestic gazettes, period- 
 ical & political publications, together with globes, maps, 
 charts, Atlases &^ &*? may be easily conceived." 
 
 The next move in this direction seems to have been 
 
 ' See Gabriel Harrison. lAfe and book at the Boston Athenaeum, en- 
 
 Writings of John Howard Payne. titled "Notes, Comments, etc." Vol. 
 
 Philadelphia, 1885. These quota- I, p. 2. See also the New York 
 
 tions are taken from a fragmentary Columbian, Jan. 13, 1810. 
 newspaper clipping, date and name 'See pp. 290-291, 292-293. 
 
 of journal not given, in a scrap- 
 
316 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 more of a business undertaking, as appears from an 
 entry in Mr. Pintard's diary for February 14, 1814, as 
 follows: "Mess""? Eastburn, Kirk & C°['s] new Literary 
 Rooms at the corner of Wall Street & Nassau, on the 
 site of the old City Hall, were opened this day at 12 
 o'clock. A discourse on the utility of public reading 
 rooms was delivered on the occasion by M"^ Bristed one 
 of the Subscribers. This is a splendid & honourable 
 establishment, w'^^ has met with very laudable patron- 
 age." In 1817 this institution, originated by one 
 Sargeant, a bookseller, was located on Broadway, at the 
 corner of Pine street; but it also failed to enlist a very 
 general support. 
 
 Within a few years, however, there came a change. 
 Wounds inflicted upon industry by the War of 1812 
 fast turned to unheeded scars ; New York was soon again 
 on its bounding course toward predestined supremacy 
 in population and wealth. These strides in local pros- 
 perity seem happily to have been attended, or closely 
 followed, by a deepening inclination to reflect soberly 
 on involved responsibilities. Men felt constrained to 
 look more searchingly to themselves, their manners and 
 their minds (as well as to their creature wants) , and to 
 their fellows, no less. The period from 1814 to 1830 
 may fairly be characterized as an age of foundations. 
 Under the influence of a steadily growing humanizing 
 spirit, there began to flourish asylums for the bodily and 
 mentally infirm, institutions to encourage thrift and 
 saving among working people, societies for the relief 
 of the poor and destitute, and a determined eff'ort to 
 ameliorate the moral and physical condition of public 
 off*enders. 
 
 Furthermore, this moral awakening was accompanied. 
 
INTELLECTUAL RENASCENCE 317 
 
 if not caused, by an intellectual stir and renascence. The 
 growth of American democracy, the discussion of social- 
 istic views, a reaction against the hitherto accepted tenets 
 of theology,— these played a part in stimulating desire 
 
 Secondibookplate of the Society Library, by Maverick (facsimile size). See p. 313. 
 
318 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 for knowledge and for its dissemination. Promptings 
 of this nature accordingly led to the formation of such 
 associations as the Literary and Philosophical Society, 
 the Lyceum of Natural History, the New York Law 
 Institute, the American Bible Society, the various Epis- 
 copal theological societies that culminated in the estab- 
 lishment of the General Seminary, the Mercantile and 
 Apprentices' Libraries, and other institutions of similar 
 purport. But of them all the one which seems to have 
 attracted most wide-spread attention, and which cer- 
 tainly gathered unto itself the support of the community 
 to a remarkable degree, was the New York Athenasum. 
 
 Of individual efforts leading to its actual inception, 
 however, little can now be told. The Society Library 
 has the book of minutes of the Directors of the Athe- 
 naeum, but that particular body was not called into being 
 until January, 1825. In a previous chapter mention was 
 made of a general discontent, voiced by the newspapers 
 in January, 1824, because the Society Library did not 
 keep later hours, or have a reading room supplied with 
 the principal journals and magazines.^ 
 
 In March, 1824, while this subject was still fresh in 
 the public mind, it is said that one day there dined to- 
 gether at the City Hotel on Broadway, near Trinity 
 Church, a notable company of gentlemen, including 
 Henry Brevoort, Jr., James Cooper, the Hon. Churchill 
 C. Cambreling, William Gracie, Bishop Hobart, Fitz- 
 Greene Halleck, Murray Hoffman, Dr. David Hosack, 
 Washington Irving, Chancellor Kent, the Hon. Rufus 
 King, James K. Paulding, Professor Renwick, Gulian 
 C. Verplanck, and the Hon. Henry Wheaton. It was 
 not a chance gathering; the special object of this assem- 
 
 1 See p. 375. 
 
AN ATHENAEUM PROPOSED 319 
 
 blage of learning, wealth and talent was to discuss the 
 propriety of establishing in New York city an institu- 
 tion for the promotion of hterature and science. They 
 informally but unanimously agreed that such an associa- 
 tion was needed and should be founded.^ 
 
 Of what next took place, or of proceedings during the 
 ensuing few weeks, all trace, and even recollection, is 
 long since lost. When notice of the institution first ap- 
 peared in print, two months later, it was well under way, 
 with an imposing array of fifty-nine supporters. 
 
 The salutatory address of this new candidate for pop- 
 ular favor, directed "To the Public," bears date of 
 June 1, 1824. Published in a twelve-page pamphlet,^ 
 from the press of J. W. Palmer & Co., corner of Wall 
 and Broad streets, it contains also a "Constitution" in 
 nine articles, and the names of fifty-nine "Associates," 
 persons prominent in the community for their cultivated 
 tastes, "including several of the reverend Clergy, and 
 Professors of our Colleges." ^ Among them, besides the 
 names already given as presumable originators, should 
 be mentioned the Rev. Drs. William Harris, James M. 
 Mathews and John F. Schroeder, Drs. James E. De 
 Kay, John W. Francis, William James MacNeven, 
 Samuel L. Mitchill and Wright Post, Asher B. Durand 
 and Wilham Dunlap, artists, Peter A. Jay, Charles 
 King, Clement C. Moore, Nathaniel F. JNIoore, John 
 J.Morgan, General Jacob Morton and Robert C. Sands. 
 
 '■ Basis for these statements is an number, or, at least, that he became 
 
 article in The New York Times for an Associate, and confuses James 
 
 June 15, 1901, by Gen. James Grant Cooper, Esq., with "Fenimore" 
 
 Wilson, based in turn on his recol- Cooper. There is no evidence to 
 
 lections of what Gulian C. Ver- show the latter was ever a member, 
 
 planck, the last survivor of the =A single copy is in the Library 
 
 meeting, himself recalled. General of the Historical Society. 
 
 Wilson errs, however, in stating " From an editorial comment in the 
 
 that Washington Irving was of the American for June 3, 1824. 
 
320 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Space and time preclude giving the Address here in 
 full, though covering but six small pages. It begins with 
 stating the long-felt want of a "Public Institution for 
 the cultivation of Literature and Science, and by which 
 a taste for such pxu-suits might be awakened and pre- 
 served in activity among our citizens." Following this 
 comes the usual unfavorable comparison of New York 
 with "sister cities of our own republic," and with "the 
 commercial and manufacturing marts of the Exiropean 
 continent," notably Liverpool, in the support of such 
 establishments. An appeal is made to "the well-known 
 liberality of their fellow citizens" by the Associates, 
 "persons of Uterary and scientific pursuits," imbued 
 with "a just sense of the dignity of the city." Say 
 they: "The wealth derived from commerce may vanish; 
 the pride of monied opulence may be checked; but the 
 works of genius, the productions of learning, and the 
 monuments of taste, are indestructible and Tinfading." 
 
 Next are set forth the "objects and motives" of the 
 Association under several heads. Some of the Asso- 
 ciates were to give "public discourses," to "detaU the 
 progress of those branches of literature and science 
 . . . most intimately connected with their individual 
 pursuits." Courses of "popular lectures" were prom- 
 ised, "open to both sexes," and arranged "for the sake 
 of the pleasure they produce, and the agreeable relaxa- 
 tion they afford from the cares of domestic life, the 
 dissipation of the fashionable world, and the turmoil 
 of business." 
 
 Another aim was "to procure and furnish to its sup- 
 porters the whole of the works, whether periodical or 
 standard, that hourly issue from the presses of America 
 and Europe"! There was contemplated, further, "a 
 
GENEROUS SCOPE OF THE ATHENAEUM 321 
 
 library of scientific reference," to comprise "all the 
 standard elementary works of literature and science of 
 every age and nation"! Nor did they "despair of ac- 
 complishing it," should they arouse New York "to a 
 sense of the importance of their plan to its honour and 
 prosperity." 
 
 Again, several of the lecturers agreed to contribute 
 "collections of specimens, and apparatus illustrative of 
 the courses they may be appointed to deliver." "Addi- 
 tions and improvements," demanded by "the progress 
 of science," were to be paid for "from the cormnon 
 stock," thus creating "permanent collections, the prop- 
 erty of the association." 
 
 In conclusion, "the plan, being intended to embrace 
 every valuable object of curiosity, would require much 
 time to expose in aU its ramifications." The purpose is 
 distinctly stated to be "based upon no views of private 
 or individual emolument," the lecturers seeking "no 
 other reward for their exertions, than the reputation 
 they may have an opportunity of acquiring, and the 
 pleasure they must derive from being instrumental in 
 establishing a useful institution." 
 
 This eloquent appeal is signed in behalf of the Asso- 
 ciates by a committee of four, Professor James Ren- 
 wick of the Colimibia faculty, at that time a Trustee of 
 the Society Library, WiUiam Grade, an eminent mer- 
 chant and a trustee of the Historical Society, John 
 Smyth Rogers, M.D., and Dr. Frederick Gore King, 
 youngest son of the Hon. Rufus King. Though then 
 but twenty-three years of age, he was already house- 
 surgeon at the New York Hospital. At the time of his 
 early death, but a few years later, he was professor of 
 anatomy in the National Academy of Design and as- 
 
322 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY ^ 
 
 sured of a brilliant future in his profession. Appleton's 
 Encyclopaedia says of him: "He was one of the first to 
 give popular lectures on professional subjects." This 
 service he was enabled to render, like others of his day, 
 under the auspices of the New York Athenaeum. 
 
 From a modern point of view, not the least note- 
 worthy feature of the above Address is the contemplated 
 admission of women to the lectures, with the expressed 
 assurance "that the ladies of New- York will thus be 
 enabled to pursue studies, and investigate subjects, 
 from which, by the present system of education, they 
 are excluded." Oddly enough, however, this particvdar 
 proposition, seemingly so in advance of the times, re- 
 ceives no recognition from the current press. 
 
 The project met with a prompt and cordial endorse- 
 ment. Such is the burden of an editorial article in the 
 New-York American for June 3d, which was, in es- 
 sence, "to hope, that objects so worthy, and expectations 
 so reasonable and disinterested, will not be urged in 
 vain upon our comLOiunity." The Evening Post for the 
 next day contains a communication from "X," who, 
 after reviewing the proposals in outline, concludes thus 
 enthusiastically: "I confess, sir, that upon this subject, 
 I feel a local pride, which I cannot repress." 
 
 On June 10th, a meeting of the Associates in the 
 chapel of Columbia College, "for the purpose of organ- 
 izing the institution," resvdted in the following elec- 
 tions: The Rev. WiUiam Harris, D.D., President; the 
 Rev. Jonathan M. Wainwright, Prof, James RenAvick, 
 Peter A. Jay, Esq., and the Rev. Dr. James M. Math- 
 ews, Vice-Presidents; William Gracie, Corresponding 
 Secretary; John Delafield, Jr., Treasurer; and John 
 R. Rhinelander, M.D., Curator. Committees were then 
 
THE ATHENAEUM LECTURES 323 
 
 deputed "to devise a system of Lectiixes, the establish- 
 ment of a Reading Room and Library, to report 
 lecturers to the Institution, and to obtain from the 
 Legislature a charter of incorporation." ^ 
 
 Rummaging through newspaper files reveals occa- 
 sional summonings of the Associates; though, as stated 
 above, no records of such meetings have sm"vived. They 
 were regularly held in the chapel of Columbia College, 
 then situated "at the foot of Park Place," the little city 
 directory announces. By fall, a second prospectus^ was 
 issued, covering twenty pages and containing, in addi- 
 tion, the by-laws, a "General Scheme of Subjects for 
 Lectures," and the plan of lectures for 1825. 
 
 Matters progressed satisfactorily, for, in the Ameri- 
 can of November 18th, subscribers were duly notified to 
 "receive their tickets of admission to the Lectiires of the 
 Institution on application to the Treasurer." In the 
 meantime, the Association had received notice of a 
 resolution by the trustees of Columbia College, on 
 November 1st, that the Athenseum be allowed "the use 
 of the college chapel, as requested by them, from the 
 30* of November next until the further order of this 
 Board." ' 
 
 In recognition of this courtesy, which was renewed as 
 long as the Athenseimi's lectiires were maintained, its 
 Directors voted to regard the college trustees and their 
 families on the same footing as regular subscribers, and 
 gave the Senior class free admission to the courses. They 
 also agreed to pay the cost of "lamplight" and "any 
 
 ' See the American and the Post University. It is addressed "To the 
 
 for June 11, 1834. Publick," under date of June 1st, as 
 
 ^ Copies of this announcement before, 
 
 may be seen in the Libraries of both ' From the minutes of the trustees 
 
 the Historical Society and Columbia of Columbia College. 
 
324 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 damage or dilapidation consequent upon such use" of 
 the chapel. 
 
 Toward the end of the year, appeared a third pam- 
 phlet/ similar in all respects to the last, but showing an 
 Associate membership increased to seventy-nine. It 
 also bears the imprint of J. W. Palmer & Co., now 
 proudly styling themselves "Printers to the New- York 
 Athenasum." 
 
 The long-heralded opening came at last on Monday, 
 December 13, 1824, at one o'clock, in the assembly room 
 of the City Hotel, 123 Broadway. The American of 
 December 11th announces that: 
 
 The Rev. the Clergy, the Judges of the Supreme and State 
 Courts, the Honourable the Mayor and Corporation, the Trus- 
 tees of Columbia College, the Professors and Students of the 
 Theological Seminary, the Members of the Literary Societies of 
 the city, the Members of the Academy of Fine Arts, the Presi- 
 dent, Vice-Presidents, Secretary and Members of the Chamber 
 of Commerce are invited, all persons friendly to the Institution 
 are requested to attend. Seats in the body of the room reserved 
 for Ladies. 
 
 Full accounts of the great event, duly chronicled in 
 current journals, bear witness to the profound impres- 
 sion produced, the American coming first with a glowing 
 panegyric. Its columns record that, despite "the un- 
 favorable state of the weather, a large assemblage of 
 ladies and gentlemen was collected at an early hour," 
 and that "the members of the Athenaeimi, preceded by 
 their President, Dr. Harris, who was accompanied by 
 Mr. Talmadge, the Lieut.-Governor elect, entered . . . 
 
 ' A copy is in the Library of for June 15, 1901, as the original 
 Columbia University. It is this "small brochure of twenty octavo 
 third issue that General Wilson pages." The date, June 1st, is re- 
 describes in his article in the Times peated, as before. 
 
Rt. Eev. John Henry Hobart, D.D., S.T.D. 
 Trustee, 1811-183U 
 
FLATTERING PRESS NOTICES 325 
 
 and took the seats prepared for them on the stage." 
 Presently the Hon. Henry Wheaton, LL.D., long an 
 authority on international law, was introduced, who, 
 
 in a very appropriate, well reasoned, and eloquent discourse, 
 explained the objects of the institution, its hopes, and aims. 
 He traced the progress of the American mind, through all the 
 trials and perils of the Revolution, and its sure and steady 
 course amidst the wants and occupations that surrounded us, 
 as a new and comparatively a poor people, concluding with 
 an exhortation that now that wealth had crowned the efforts of 
 American enterprize, some part of it might be appropriated to 
 the fostering of those institutions, that are calculated to adorn, 
 to dignify and to exalt the character of our republic. -"^ 
 
 The ensuing lectures, according to the newspaper 
 announcements, were divided into classes and delivered 
 in the following order : 
 
 Class I — Greek Literature, Prof. Nathaniel F. Moore; Archi- 
 tecture, Dr. R. Greenhow; History of the Philosophy of the 
 Mind, Prof. John McVickar. Class II — Eloquence, the Rev. 
 Dr. Wainwright ; Geology, Dr. Jeremiah Van Rensselaer ; Ap- 
 plied Mechanics, Professor Renwick. Class HI — Oriental Liter- 
 ature, the Rev. John F. Schroeder; Applied Chemistry, Dr. 
 William J. MacNeven ; Zoology, Dr. James E. DeKay ; Phrenol- 
 ogy and Anatomy of Expression, Dr. Frederick G. King. Class 
 IV — PoHtical Economy, GuHan C. Verplanck; Elementary 
 Chemistry, J. Smyth Rogers, M. D. ; Botany, Abraham Halsey ; 
 Poetry, G. W. Doane ; Painting, John Trumbull. 
 
 Flattering press notices chronicle the early sessions. 
 For instance. Professor Moore, before "a very numer- 
 
 ^This address, printed by request, tions of good will between the new 
 
 proved so popular that within a institution and the Liverpool Royal 
 
 year a second edition was published, Institution, an interesting conse- 
 
 of which the Society Library owns quence of the close commercial re- 
 
 an author's presentation copy. It lations obtaining between the two 
 
 is prefaced with reciprocal resolu- trade centers. 
 
326 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 ous auditory, among whom were nearly one hundred 
 ladies, distinguished for fashion, beauty and accom- 
 plishments,"^ "forgot the technicalities of the profes- 
 sorial chair, and discoursed in poHshed periods on the 
 genius, taste and general literature of the Greeks, . . . 
 and [on] the peculiarities of a language in which De- 
 mosthenes thundered, Plato reasoned, and Anacreon 
 and Sappho 'loved and sung.'"^ Further, "should the 
 other lecturers treat their subjects Avith but half the in- 
 genuity, learning and talent evinced by Mr. Moore, they 
 will not fail to attain the objects of their association." ^ 
 
 In consequence of business men being unable to at- 
 tend this lectiu-e, the time was changed from one to six 
 o'clock, an hour presumed to "interfere with no neces- 
 sary engagements," and to "afford our fashionables 
 time to dress for their evening engagements after its 
 expiration." * In explanation of this last, it should be 
 stated that bankers and merchants then went early to 
 their counting-houses, returning for breakfast at eight 
 o'clock, and for dinner at three; the prevailing supper 
 hour was nine o'clock. Homes and business houses were 
 so near to one another, that even the affluent usually 
 walked to and from their daily concerns. 
 
 Plainly bent on striking for support while general 
 enthusiasm was in a glow, the management, over the 
 signatures of such cormnercial stalwarts as William 
 Bayard, William W. Woolsey, Isaac Carow, Henry C. 
 De Rham, Isaac Lawrence, John Hone, James Boor- 
 man, Jonathan Goodhue, George Griswold and Wil- 
 liam B. Astor, called a meeting of "the merchants and 
 
 ' The American, December 17, ' From the American, December 
 
 1824.. 17th. 
 
 " From the Statesman, December * Ibid. 
 16th. 
 
LITERARY SLOTH IN NEW YORK 327 
 
 all others friendly to the institution" on December 29th, 
 at the City Assembly Room/ 
 
 At the same time the whole editorial weight of the 
 American was brought into play to win a deserved 
 recognition for the Athenaeum. An entire column of its 
 issue for December 28th is devoted to rehearsing the 
 shameful literary sloth in New York and the high aims 
 newly and so auspiciously professed, "not for the benefit 
 of learned ease," but for "real and practical utility." 
 It is suggestively urged, in true Addisonian style, that, 
 "at the courses of lectures on practical subjects, many a 
 mind unconscious of its powers, or at least of its par- 
 ticular bent, may catch the etherial spark which shall 
 light up its fires. Many a hstener, who goes in from 
 fashion, from listlessness, from ennui, may depart with 
 instruction, and return with delight." 
 
 Stirred by these dignified entreaties, the citizens re- 
 sponded in what would to-day be called a "Rally," a 
 gathering characterized by numbers, enthusiasm and 
 happy results. Chancellor Kent opened with a few pref- 
 atory words, and, after a statement by Charles King, 
 later president of Columbia College, the institution 
 was formally recommended "to the liberal patron- 
 age of the merchants and their fellow citizens in gen- 
 eral." A committee of ten — Thomas H. Smith, Arthur 
 Tappan, James Heard, Jeromus Johnson, Samuel Gil- 
 ford, Nathaniel Richards, John Stewart, Jr., J. A. 
 Leavitt, John S. Crary and Isaac S. Hone — was ap- 
 pointed to solicit subscriptions. The most gratifying 
 feature of the occasion was thus summed up in the 
 Statesman, December 30th : "A large nimiber of names, 
 
 ' From an advertisement in the American and in the Statesman, 
 Dec. 37, 28, 1834. 
 
328 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 as patrons, governors, and annual subscribers, were ob- 
 tained, the amount of subscriptions exceeding five 
 
 THOUSAND DOLLAES" ! 
 
 As the several grades of membership just mentioned 
 may prove somewhat puzzling, it is necessary to oif er at 
 least a brief explanation of the nomenclature of the 
 Athengeum, as applied to its divisions and privileges. 
 
 In the first place there were the Associates, — some of 
 whom were originators of the institution, — all pledged 
 to offer gratuitous services as lecturers. They paid an 
 entrance fee of $5 and the same simi annually. At their 
 stated quarterly meetings they were to determine the 
 lecturers and subjects, to recommend books and appa- 
 ratus, and to plan two annual public discourses. Each 
 Associate was entitled to admittance to the lectures, the 
 hbrary and the reading rooms for himself alone, while 
 an additional $10 a year admitted his family. Lecturers 
 were exempt from yearly dues. Limited in nmnber to 
 100, at the close of 1824 they included about eighty. 
 
 Now these Associates, together with all the other sub- 
 scribers, were themselves divided into three groups, — 
 Patrons, Governors and Members, — the classification 
 being based on the amount of subscription, as follows: 
 
 The Patrons, confined in membership to 100, paid 
 $200 each, the aggregate of which was to constitute a 
 permanent fund under their exclusive control. A 
 Patron had four votes at elections and was given three 
 transferable tickets to lectures, library, etc., and admis- 
 sion for his family also. His certificate was to be per- 
 petual and like other stock could be sold or devised. 
 
 The Governors, similarly limited in number, paid 
 $100 each, also toward the permanent fund; their cer- 
 tificates to be transferable only during the life of the 
 
EXTRAORDINARY GROWTH OF ATHENJEUM 329 
 
 original holder. They had two votes, each, and other 
 privileges like the Patrons. 
 
 Lastly there were the Members, who paid $10 a year 
 for single tickets to lectures, library, etc., double that 
 amount securing admission for their families. 
 
 In February, 1825, an amended constitution was 
 published in pamphlet form.^ Its chief innovation is 
 the creation of a board of Directors, to be elected an- 
 nually by the Society, to consist of eight Patrons, four 
 Governors and four other Members, besides the Treas- 
 urer, ex officio. This new body eventually was given 
 control over the "disposable fund," which was made up of 
 annual subscriptions plus the income of the "permanent 
 fund." This latter the Directors could invest, but could 
 not expend without the consent of a majority of Pa- 
 trons convened. 
 
 By this time the membership roll comprised 121 
 Patrons, 59 Governors and 274 Members, the last being 
 of coiu-se those who paid annually. Thus the grand 
 total embraced 454 subscribers— certainly a record 
 little short of extraordinary, especially after an exist- 
 ence of only a few months. 
 
 It is under this constitution and management that the 
 earliest extant records of the Society begin. They fill 
 two thirds of a large leather-covered folio, stamped in 
 gilt letters, "New- York Athen^um. Boabd of Di- 
 rectors." The proceedings cover a period of a little 
 over fourteen years, and, though interesting to-day 
 chiefly as a curiosity, have been preserved with scrupu- 
 
 ^ Report of the Committee Ap- has a copy, as also of the last 
 
 pointed to Amend the Constitution prospectus of the series, entitled 
 
 of the New-York Athenwnm. (12pp. Constitution and By-Laws of the 
 
 containing also the original ad- New York Athenwttm. (34 pp.) New 
 
 dress.) New York, D. Fanshaw, York, J. W. Pahner & Co., 1835. 
 1825. Columbia University Library 
 
330 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 lous care by the Society Library, ever since they were 
 transferred to its keeping so long ago. First in the old 
 volume comes a handsomely penned transcript of the 
 act of incorporation, to be discussed in due season. The 
 minutes proper begin as follows : 
 
 A meeting of the Directors of the New York Athenaeum was 
 convened, by notice from the Corresponding Secretary [Prof. 
 James Renwick] of the Institution, acting by orders from the 
 President [the Rev. Wm. Harris, D.D.J, at Columbia College, 
 on Friday evening 25*^ February, 1825, at seven o'clock. At 
 which time and place appeared the following gentlemen, M"" Ca- 
 row, 'NP Cary, M'' Sheldon, M"" Sewall, M^ Richards, M^ Bre- 
 voort, Mr Leavitt, M"" Strong, M^ Johnson, and M^ Delafield, 
 the Treasurer. The Board was organized by calling M"" Carow 
 to the chair. 
 
 The proceedings, though far more detailed than the 
 early records of the Society Library, are confined chiefly 
 to the matters of business routine pertinent to any 
 board of control. In fact, were it not for such items as 
 appeared in the daily papers from time to time, one 
 might well speculate as to the real nature and full ex- 
 tent of the work conducted by the Directors. For 
 example, the subject of popular lectures, which figured 
 so prominently in the pubhc eye, was managed by the 
 Associates, of whose deliberations no records are known 
 to have survived. 
 
 Under the constitution, therefore, the Directors at- 
 tended primarily to the financial administration of their 
 charge, at the same time dealing with other important 
 matters, such as the best possible location for the estab- 
 lishment, and successive negotiations toward uniting 
 with one or another kindred institution. They met 
 regularly, but for more than a year at various offices. 
 
"LITERARY ROOMS" ON BROADWAY 331 
 
 Thereafter, the sessions were \xniformly held at the 
 headquarters of the Society, styled the "Literary 
 Rooms" or the "Reading Rooms," until 1830, after 
 which date the place of meeting is seldom mentioned, 
 presimiably being the apartments of the institution. 
 
 These "Literary Rooms," situated over the bookstore 
 of their owners, the Messrs. G. & C. Carvill, at 108 
 Broadway, on the north corner of Pine street, were 
 occupied by the Athenaeum from December, 1824, to 
 May, 1825, at the rate of $500 a year. On this spot, now 
 covered by but a small portion of the massive Equitable 
 building, the Society continued to make its home — with 
 enlarged accommodations and at a rental varying from 
 $600 to $700— until the spring of 1832. Here were 
 kept its wide assortment of periodicals, its medals and 
 specimens, and the beginnings of a hbrary. An inter- 
 esting sign of prosperity and advancement appears in 
 a vote of February, 1826, "to light the rooms with gas." 
 From November, 1829, to May, 1830, the reading rooms 
 were "lighted with gas every evening until the hour of 
 8 o'clk P.M." 
 
 Nevertheless, the records reveal a steadfast purpose 
 to secure a suitable and permanent abode. ^ Some of 
 these efforts at establishment, in conjunction with other 
 institutions, have already been discussed on pages 297- 
 303. 
 
 Again, in October, 1828, there began a series of 
 overtures from the Clinton Hall Association, a new 
 organization, on "the subject of a union of the funds of 
 the Institutions for the purpose of erecting a building 
 
 ' Grant Thorbum, the celebrated says "the New York Athenaeum and 
 
 Scotch "seedsman," in 1835 bought other public bodies" were hoping to 
 
 for $20,500 the old Friends' Meeting purchase. Forty Years' Residence 
 
 House on Nassau street, which he in America. Boston, 1834. P. 87. 
 
332 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 jointly."^ This project seemed for a time sure of adop- 
 tion, the Patrons authorizing the expenditure of $25,000 
 to buy "the whole or a part of the plot of ground 100 
 feet square opposite to the brick church, bounded by 
 Beekman Street, Theatre Alley & Nassau Street, and 
 in the erection of a bmlding or two buildings thereon. 
 
 
 Signature (reduced) of Governor Montgomerie, acknowledging gift of Millington books 
 from S. P. G., 1729. From original in S. P. G. archives, London. See p. 65. 
 
 in conjiuiction with the Clinton Hall Association." But 
 a full report with estimates called for $35,000 as the 
 Athensemn's probable share in the proposed undertak- 
 
 ' The Clinton Hall Association, efforts for intellectual improve- 
 
 founded in 1828, "for the cultivation ment." \A Glance At New-York. 
 
 and promotion of Literature, Sci- 1837.] Incorporated in February, 
 
 ence, and the Arts," was "composed 1830, in November, 1830, it joined 
 
 of some of the first merchants of forces with the Mercantile Library 
 
 the city, united for the laudable Association, under the terms of a 
 
 purpose of aiding the clerks in their still-existing agreement. 
 
PATRONS EXERCISE THEIR VETO 333 
 
 ing. Thereupon the discussion was dropped, perforce, 
 as the Treasurer's report in May, 1830, showed a per- 
 manent fund of just $27,300, and all idea of borrowing 
 seems to have been wisely foreign to the management. 
 
 On another occasion the Patrons of the Athenseum, 
 similarly apprehensive, stifled a unanimous recommen- 
 dation of the Directors, in November, 1829, to purchase 
 a lot on Broadway, between the City Hall and Franklin 
 street, under an appropriation of $21,000 for its pur- 
 chase "and the erection of a suitable building." Once 
 more, in 1830, the Patrons exercised their veto prerog- 
 ative on a proposal to join in the notable and liberal 
 movement then on foot, toward a union of the several 
 libraries and literary institutions of the city, to form a 
 great university — a movement that was not successful 
 in itself, although from it dates the origin of the present 
 New York University. 
 
 Regarding the Athenaeimi's most conspicuous activity, 
 its lecture courses, a simamary will suffice, as follows : 
 
 1825-1826: the Rev. Dr. James Mathews, Anniversary Dis- 
 course; Prof. Charles Anthon, Roman Literature; Dr. F. G. 
 King, Phrenology ; Prof. John McVickar, Taste and Beauty ; 
 Richard Ray, The Revival of Classical Literature; Professor 
 James Ren wick. Chemistry; John Hone, Jr., Commerce; Prof. 
 Samuel F. B. Morse, Painting, &c; WilKam Beach Lawrence, 
 Political Economy; William CuUen Bryant, Poetry; the Rev. 
 Dr. John F. Schroeder, Oriental Literature. 1826-1827 : Pro- 
 fessor Renwick, Anniversary Oration; Prof. James Freeman 
 Dana, Electro-Magnetism; Professor Renwick, Astronomy; 
 Dr. F. G. King, Philosophy of Voice; Dr. J. D. Goodman, 
 Natural History; Dr. J. Augustine Smith, The Moral Faculty ; 
 WiUiam Emerson, German Literature; M. C. Paterson, Some 
 Passages in the History of the Italian Republics. 1827-1828: 
 John Hone, Jr., Introductory Address ; Professor McVickar, 
 
334 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Political Economy; Dr. John Revere, Chemistry; Professor 
 Renwick, The Atmosphere and its Phenomena; Prof. S. F. B. 
 Morse, Painting in its Connection with the other Fine Arts ; 
 Dr. J. Augustine Smith, The Varieties of the Human Species ; 
 William Emerson, Enghsh Literature.-' 
 
 These programmes have been compiled from inser- 
 tions in the columns of the American^ an ever-faithful 
 champion of the Atheneeum. Each speaker gave usually, 
 at weekly intervals or less, a course of three or four 
 lectures, in the chapel of Columbia College, at six 
 o'clock in the evening, or, for a short time in 1826, 
 "punctually at % past 6 o'clock." 
 
 With the year 1828 the lecturing enterprise of the 
 Athenffitma seems wholly to have been abandoned, no 
 fiirther announcements appearing in the current press. 
 Their usefulness had evidently been deemed spent. 
 Such a conclusion it is hard to reconcile with the noble 
 aim of the Associates, and with the wide-spread approval 
 at first. 
 
 During its fifteen years of existence, the Athenaeum 
 was served by no fewer than fifty-three gentlemen as 
 Directors. There were, in all, five Presidents, the Rev. 
 Dr. William Harris, president of Columbia College, 
 Charles Wilkes, president of the Bank of New York, 
 Chancellor Kent, Peter A. Jay, and Prof. John Mc- 
 Vickar, of both the Columbia and General Seminary 
 faculties. The treasurership, so long filled by John 
 Delafield, was later held by Joseph Kernochan, Esq., 
 by Samuel Ward, Jr.,— who should be regarded as a 
 man of letters no less than as a man of fashion, a brother 
 
 ' In accord with the constitution, Dr. F. G. King, Dr. J. Augustine 
 
 life membership, Including mone- Smith, Prof. S. F. B. Morse and 
 
 tary exemption, was conferred upon William Emerson, all "having ren- 
 
 William Gracie and upon the Rev. dered essential services to the 
 
 Dr. McVickar, Professor Renwick, Society." 
 
DIRECTORS or THE ATHENJEUM 335 
 
 of Mrs. Julia Ward Howe as well as son-in-law to 
 William B. Astor,— and lastly by Benjamin Woolsey 
 Rogers, a hardware importer on a large scale, a f oimder 
 of the Bloomingdale Asylum, a Trinity vestryman, and 
 long a governor of the New York Hospital. Devoted 
 service as Secretary was rendered in turn by Professor 
 Renwick, Henry Brevoort, Jr., Frederic De Peyster, Jr., 
 and Stephen C. WiUiams. Seven of these men— Messrs. 
 Wilkes, Kent, Jay, RenAvick, Brevoort, De Peyster and 
 WiUiams — are to be remembered as Trustees of the So- 
 ciety Library, at one time or another, and, in addition, 
 among the Directors occur the names of seven others, 
 the Rev. Dr. Wainwright, General Laight, Guhan C, 
 Verplanck, Peter A. Schermerhorn, Dr. J. Augustine 
 Smith, Rufus L. Lord and WUham H. Harison. 
 
 Conspicuous in its directorate were, also, the names 
 of such eminent merchants and bankers as Isaac Carow, 
 John W. Leavitt, John Austin Stevens, a founder of 
 the Bank of Commerce and its second president for 
 forty years, Isaac S. Hone, of a distinguished family, 
 and a worker in politics, Henry D. Sewall, the Hon. 
 Jeromus Johnson, Frederick Sheldon, Sr., Benjamin 
 Strong, Henry Kneeland, Ebenezer Irving, wine mer- 
 chant, a brother of Washington Irving, David Hadden, 
 a Scotchman, the popular brothers, Richard and Rob- 
 ert Ray, leaders of fashion, James Heard, exten- 
 sively interested in the China trade, Hendrick Booraem, 
 the head of a great silk house, a man of elegant address, 
 Peter Schermerhorn, of ancient lineage, whose son and 
 grandson find honored mention on the roll of Trustees 
 of the Society Library, Joseph Kernochan, Charles A. 
 Davis, an iron merchant, renowned as a wit, John S. 
 Crary and Myndert Van Schaick. 
 
THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Besides these should be mentioned the Hon. Henry 
 Wheaton, LL.D., Minister to Russia, author and lec- 
 turer on subjects in law, the Hon. William Beach Law- 
 rence, later governor of Rhode Island, an authority on 
 international law, John Watts, M.D., and such gentle- 
 men of elegant manners as Col. Nicholas Fish, Henry 
 Gary and John C. Hamilton, son of the great statesman. 
 
 The Athenaeum was incorporated on April 17, 1826, a 
 copy of its charter covering two pages of the book of 
 minutes. It is a brief, concise instrument, by which the 
 Society was legally constituted a corporation, "for the 
 better cultivation of Literature, Science and the Arts," 
 and given the right to hold real estate not in excess of 
 $50,000, with all its property forever exempt from state 
 or municipal taxation. It was not until January, 1836, 
 that a seal was adopted, an impression of which in wax 
 embelhshes a page of the proceedings for that date. 
 
 Several years after the discontinuance of the lecture 
 courses, the constitution was considerably revised, in 
 May, 1832, thereby greatly simplifying the former 
 complex character of the institution. AH classification 
 into Patrons, Governors, etc., was swept away, including 
 the original board of Associates. Instead, all property 
 holdings, together with the management of affairs, were 
 vested absolutely in the board of Directors. It only 
 needs to say that the "capital fund" had been divided 
 into shares of $100 each, to show the complete trans- 
 formation also in the internal workings of the Society. 
 
 The early ambition of the Associates for a library, to 
 "comprise when complete all the standard elementary 
 works of literature and science of every age and na- 
 tion," failed of reahzation, it is needless to say. In a 
 report of ^Nlarch, 1829, Treasurer Delafield said: "The 
 
THE ATHENiEUM'S LIBRARY 337 
 
 Library, though small, deserves attention; it contains 
 many valuable works of reference." Four years later 
 a printed statement announced "a well selected library 
 of 1,600 vols., together with all the most popular For- 
 eign and American periodicals and newspapers."^ In 
 1839, the last year of Athenaeum entity, the same notice 
 appeared,^ few additions having meanwhile been made. 
 
 A large proportion of the books at the last consisted 
 of bound volumes of periodicals and newspapers, in 
 both of which lines the Athenaeum made a specialty. An 
 advertisement in the American^ late in March, 1828, 
 gives a full list of the foreign journals, "received at the 
 rooms, by the Packets sailing from England on the first 
 day of every month." In this connection the Hon. 
 John Bigelow, now past ninety years of age, interestedly 
 recalls the eagerness with which he and a friend of his, 
 in 1836 or thereabouts, used to race down to the "Read- 
 ing Rooms," at the corner of Broadway and Chambers 
 street, for Macaulay's latest article in the Edinburgh 
 Review. 
 
 At that time the rooms were open on week days from 
 eight o'clock in the morning mitil nine at night, gen- 
 erous hours surely. The institution, according to the 
 American, in March, 1828, subscribed for all local "daUy 
 papers, & newspapers from principal cities of the U. 
 States and the Canadas, also aU the Periodical works on 
 Science and Literatiire" of this country. The minutes 
 for May, 1834, enumerate current lists of 32 newspapers 
 and 22 periodicals. Just three years before, the board 
 had decided to dispense with "a few of the foreign 
 periodicals, which — besides the irregularity in their 
 
 '■NeiB-York As It Is, In 18SS, pp. ^New-York As It Is, In 1839, p. 
 
 56-57. 68. 
 
338 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 receipt — evidently appeared not to be of much interest 
 to the Members, from the circumstance of the pages of 
 several of these remaining in many cases uncut" ! 
 
 Although the lack of a quorum occurred so often as to 
 excite no comment, on two occasions explicit and solemn 
 reasons are given for failure to meet. On July 7, 1831, 
 "Owing to the decease of the Hon. Ja? Munroe, and the 
 public obsequies this afternoon observed, in respect to 
 the memory of one, who had filled the highest office in 
 the Gift of the People of our common country, the 
 Meeting adjourned to this day, did not take place." 
 Again, from May to November, 1832, the Directors did 
 not assemble once, "in consequence of the prevalence of 
 Cholera, in this City." 
 
 The finances of the Athenaeum appear to have been 
 managed conservatively, but for all that the institution 
 languished. In May, 1825, the permanent fund was 
 $32,300. Necessary expenditures reduced the amount 
 to $27,300, at which point it remained for eight years, 
 each year's report showing a deficit of over $300. In 
 January, 1834, the Directors bought of Dr. Hosack his 
 house at 14 Vesey street for $26,437.50. After renting 
 out the building for a year or two, they sold it, in Janu- 
 ary, 1836, for $35,000, at the time when property values 
 were so exaggerated. 
 
 In the spring of 1832, the Athenaeum left its abode 
 of eight years at Broadway and Pine street for a better 
 location on the second floor of the newly erected Remsen 
 building on the corner of Broadway and Chambers 
 street, at a rental of $800. Hopes of "a beneficial re- 
 sult," according to an executive committee report of 
 1833, were "realized in some degree" only, for "the 
 patronage bestowed upon the Institution continued to 
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS FALL OFF 339 
 
 be regulated more by the slight attractions which it 
 offered to the Pubhc, than by a disposition to promote 
 the liberal and benign objects contemplated" by the 
 founders. Reducing the fee from ten to five dollars had 
 already raised the membership of annual subscribers 
 from twent^ir to seventy-six, and it was expected that the 
 "more central location" would have a good effect. The 
 subscriptions, however, again fell away steadily. 
 
 It is now seasonable to review the correspondence be- 
 tween the Athenaeum and the Society Library that led 
 to the final absorption of the former by the Library. In 
 follo^^ing these negotiations, one is indeed led through 
 tortuous "bye- ways and crooked ways." The negotia- 
 tions in detail read hke the record of a mihtary campaign, 
 or, more properly, perhaps, like a series of diplomatic 
 manoeuvres. There are aU the elements of both : advance 
 and retreat, march and coimtermarch, attack and re- 
 pulse, mine and countermine, overtures and withdraw- 
 als; terms proposed, rejected, amended, accepted; final 
 agreement. A sizable book might be vsTitten on the 
 subject, but space limitations here demand strict con- 
 densation. 
 
 The first definite proposal of consohdationcameinMay, 
 1831, when representatives of the Library Trustees were 
 asked to confer with a conmaittee of Athenaeum Direc- 
 tors, "on the subject of an Union of the two Institutions." 
 The joint committee, through Messrs. John J. Morgan, 
 Gulian C. Verplanck and Dr. J. Kearney Rodgers, re- 
 ported favorably; but a motion to that effect failed to 
 pass the Library board, despite such recommendation, 
 reenforced by communications in the daily papers.^ 
 
 ' See contributions from "A Friend May 11th and 19th, and one from 
 to Literature" in the American for "Mercator" in the same journal for 
 
340 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 One month later, however, the discussion was re- 
 opened in Library cotincils by the receipt of a set of 
 twelve resolutions from the Athenasum Directors. In 
 brief they pronounced a union "desirable," at the same 
 time suggesting for its name the compound title, "The 
 New York Athenseimi and Library," and stated certain 
 terms for a merger, together with the relative standing 
 of Patrons, Governors and Members— that classification 
 then still existing. In return the Trustees, "after an 
 animated discussion," passed a dozen resolutions similar 
 in character, the chief difference apparently being a 
 substitution of "The City Library and the Athenaeum" 
 for the new name. Inasmuch as nothing more was done 
 about the matter in that form, it would seem that the 
 rock of disagreement was the order of precedence in the 
 proposed rechristening ! 
 
 Several years elapsed before a renewal of the agita- 
 tion, and then negotiations were started by the Athe- 
 nseum, simply for the Library and itself to establish 
 themselves "in amicable vicinage." In May, 1835, in 
 response to such request, the Trustees appointed Pro- 
 fessor Anderson, Dr. Rodgers and Treasurer Morgan 
 to meet Messrs. James Heard, John A. Stevens and 
 William B. Lawrence of the Athenaeum. This joint 
 committee drew up a "short and simple exposition" of 
 the situation, which, as read and accepted, covers more 
 than nine full pages in the Athenaeum book of minutes. 
 It begins with a convincing preamble on the proper 
 maintenance of "an American Institution for Literary 
 Purposes," which should look for support, "not to the 
 patronizing few, but to the reading many." 
 
 May 13th, this last advocating more chants, "the main dependence of 
 regard to the wishes of the mer- such an institution." 
 
Hon. John Jordan Morgan 
 Trustee, 1816-1838. Treasurer, 1826 -1838 
 
BROADWAY SITE RECOMMENDED 341 
 
 In its advocacy of "the contemplated site" — two lots 
 on the east side of Broadway, boimded by Leonard 
 street and Catherine lane — the joint report considers 
 benefits, siu"e to result, under these "conditions" : 
 
 1. Economy. "No conceivable combiQation of cir- 
 cvimstances can ever take from property on Broadway 
 its power of commanding a remunerating revenue." To 
 say nothing of the ampler and far better accommoda- 
 tions thus made possible, the Library could count on 
 increasing the rents then accruing from imoccupied 
 rooms from a paltry $600 to "three times this amount." 
 Fxirther, "no where else on that magnificent avenue" 
 could two such choice lots be procured, bounded by 
 streets on both sides as well as in front. 
 
 2. Accessibility. In a similarly prophetic vein the 
 report says in part: "From the configuration of the sur- 
 face, Broadway vdll always continue to be the main 
 artery, as it were, of our circulating population, and 
 nineteen twentieths of those who will wish to avail them- 
 selves of the privileges of an Athenaeum or a Library 
 will pass, for other purposes, in the general stream of 
 our population, by the very doors of ova: Institutions." 
 
 3. Increased public prominence. Such a "central 
 position" would be "admirably calculated to bring the 
 two bodies conspicuously and prominently before the 
 public eye, to exhibit their accoromodations and to extend 
 their facihties to the countless crowd of strangers and 
 visitors who annually throng our principal Hotels ; and 
 to make known to many even of our own citizens who 
 have been left ignorant of the fact, that there [are] 
 Institutions in this City competent under favorable cir- 
 cumstances to administer to all the wants of the reading 
 public, and to furnish to an extent, at least equal to the 
 
842 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 effectual demand, a supply of the great staples of 
 literary intelligence." 
 
 4. Proximity of kindred institutions. Just as "kin- 
 dred occupations" gain by "mere contiguity," so "the 
 concentration on contiguous grounds of various institu- 
 tions devoted to literary and scientific objects would 
 not only confer upon the whole a character of unity, 
 propriety, dignity, and completeness, but would greatly 
 enlarge the sphere of usefulness of each." The urgent 
 need of the time was to bring together "the scattered 
 and wasted intellectual resources of this great City." 
 While lamenting "the absence of everything like literary 
 sympathy or learned fellowship," the committee, in 
 striking contrast to the desire for union so pronounced 
 but a few years before, was "far from entertaining the 
 plausible but chimerical idea that any real advantage 
 would flow from the consolidation imider one charter 
 and one government of the various bodies which consti- 
 tute, in the true sense of the word, the University of the 
 City." 
 
 All thought of actual union between the two would 
 seem definitely discouraged in this corollary: "Nor is it 
 perhaps desirable that out of all the nxmierous sovereign- 
 ties into which our literary republic is divided, any two 
 should so lose their distinctive character as to become 
 absolutely merged into one." In this view — or more in 
 its expression, perhaps — the reader may detect a shght 
 tinge of the familiar State Rights doctrine, then but 
 lately reiterated. 
 
 In conclusion, the report recommends an attitude of 
 mutual courtesy and "the erection of buildings uniform 
 in out-ward appearance, but in no way interfering with 
 the right of separate property management & controul," 
 
LIBRARY AND ATHENAEUM BUY SITE 343 
 
 and predicts that "no intelligence would be hailed with 
 more hearty congratulations by the pubhc than the 
 announcement of the purchase of [the] property in 
 question." 
 
 The distinct literary finish of this report, no less than 
 its thoroughness and discernment, must have deeply 
 impressed the gentlemen to whom it was addressed. We 
 can only speculate on its exact authorship.^ The chief 
 point that concerns our study, however, is that the 
 "deal," in modern parlance, "went through" with grati- 
 fying despatch in less than a month. 
 
 It was on June 3, 1835, that the committees, consist- 
 ing of Messrs. Heard and Stevens for the Athenseum 
 and Dr. Rodgers, Dr. Anderson and Mr. Morgan for 
 the Library, signed a contract with Mr. Ebenezer Clark 
 for the land already described, the price being $47,500. 
 Under its terms $1000 was paid at the signing, the bal- 
 ance to be adjusted upon taking possession the first of 
 May ensuing. 
 
 For its committee on terms of settlement the Library 
 Trustees chose Messrs. Bancker, Verplanck and Laight, 
 while the Athenaeum was represented by Messrs. Heard 
 and Stevens and Dr. J. Augustine Smith. The agree- 
 ment drawn up by this joint committee and accepted by 
 both boards is entered in full in the Library records for 
 January 30, 1836, and in those of the Athenaeum for 
 February 4th. It was in effect as follows : 
 
 The ground was to be divided into two lots having an 
 equal frontage on Broadway, with a division hne paral- 
 lel to Leonard street. After a valuation by three disinter- 
 
 ' The allusion to a university is so by his f,dus A chates, John Austin 
 
 thoroughly in accord with the views Stevens the elder, a Director of the 
 
 of the Hon. Albert GaUatin, that it Athenseum throughout its career. 
 is possible the paper was prepared 
 
S44 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 ested persons, possession was to be determined by lot, 
 each owner to pay the appraised value of its drawing. 
 It being deemed inadvisable to erect a building at once, 
 the premises were to be let, the accruing rentals to be 
 apportioned "first to the payment to the owner of the 
 lot on Leonard Street, of the interest at six per cent, on 
 the sum paid for the same, above what was paid for the 
 lot on Catherine Lane; then for taxes, and the balance 
 to be equally divided between the societies." 
 
 A building was to be started on or before May 1, 
 1837, at joint expense, not to exceed $60,000 in cost. It 
 should have a hallway sixteen feet wide to allow for a 
 partition, should the wish for separation ever arise. The 
 second story, in two equal divisions, was to be devoted 
 to the objects of the respective societies. It was planned 
 to have a joint committee rent out the rest of the edifice, 
 the income to be distributed as above described. The 
 third floor was to be finished in a style suitable for the 
 Academy of Fine Arts or for the National Academy 
 of Design, to either of which institutions it might be 
 let for a term not exceeding ten years. Should such 
 leasing prove impracticable, the committee was to finish 
 and let the same at its discretion. 
 
 This document was signed for the Library by Evert 
 A. Bancker, acting Treasurer, and in behalf of the 
 Athenseum by its President, James Kent, and then 
 sealed by the respective Secretaries, Evert A. Bancker 
 and Stephen C. Wilhams. February 15, 1836, was the 
 date of this covenant, just two days after the Library 
 Trustees had sold the old building on Nassau street.^ 
 
 In the Athenseiim records alone is given the finding 
 of the appraisers, Messrs. I. Green Pearson, Benjamin 
 
 ' See pp. 381-383. 
 
ATHENiEUM UNABLE TO BUILD 345 
 
 L. Swan and Rufus L. Lord, on April 25, 1836. It 
 contains a map of the property executed in red ink, the 
 dimensions of both lots given as 30 x 100 feet, with a 
 narrow triangular sUp along the lane, only six feet wide 
 at the rear. The Leonard Street lot was valued at 
 $26,250 and that on Catherine lane at $21,250, exclusive 
 of the gore, which belonged of cotu"se with the latter, 
 and which the joint committee decided was worth $500. 
 The final terms, therefore, pronounced the former lot 
 as worth $26,000 and the other, $21,500. That on 
 Leonard street was drawn by the Athenaeum, the other 
 becoming the property of the Library.^ 
 
 It is thus perfectly plain that this first agreement 
 contained no clause about consolidation, simply stipu- 
 lating that the two institutions should cooperate in the 
 erection of structures, side by side and iiniform in de- 
 sign. When the time agreed upon arrived, however, the 
 Athenaeum was financially unable to carry out its part 
 of the covenant, and the Library, "owing to the high 
 price of Labor and Materials," reluctant to undertake 
 the work alone. But in June, 1837, the Library Trus- 
 tees voted to begin building at once upon their lot, ap- 
 pointing Messrs. Verplanck, Johnson and Evertson to 
 confer with representatives of the Athenseum, "or any 
 other society" desirous of joining them. This last 
 means the National Academy of Design, for, in a report 
 just rendered, that society was stated to be in need of 
 "a proper exhibition room," with $6000 in available 
 funds toward "defraying in part the cost of the build- 
 
 " At this time the premises were 1810, while the other was kept as a 
 
 occupied by two small frame buUd- grocery store by one Cahoone. Un- 
 
 ings, erected prior to 1809. In the til forced to vacate, these persons 
 
 one on the Leonard Street corner a paid to the two institutions a joint 
 
 hardware business had been con- rent of $1800 a year, 
 ducted by Stephen Conover since 
 
346 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 ing." If the Athengeum would only fulfil its share of 
 the compact, such an arrangement would be whoUy 
 satisfactory to all concerned, for there would then be 
 assxired "ample room to the Academy of Design." 
 
 In reply the Athenaeum Directors "professed their 
 willingness" to abide by the agreement, if they could 
 raise the needed sum. Finding that impossible, they 
 proposed "a real or substantial union." A conspicuous 
 gain would be the joint possession of "a large, spacious 
 & square room, imposing in its architectural proportions 
 and convenient for the arrangement of the Books and 
 the retirement of Students and arrangements of lights." 
 Otherwise, there would be "two long and narrow Li- 
 brary Rooms," devoid of artistic grace or "any features 
 of peculiar conveniance." 
 
 A fair-sized book might be written of the negotia- 
 tions — at times interspersed with virtual passages at 
 arms — that distracted the two boards for the ensuing ten 
 months. A set of resolutions issuing from the one camp 
 would inevitably meet with disfavor from the other, and 
 in turn the latter's proposals were as promptly rejected. 
 The situation was far more analogous to that of adver- 
 saries sulkily endeavoring to come to terms than of two 
 associations aiming to promote the arts of peace. Fur- 
 thermore, within the lines there was also a fierce spirit 
 of division, especially among the Trustees of the Li- 
 brary, with regard to terms of alliance. 
 
 Despite the "belief" of a joint committee that "the 
 Jealousies heretofore preventing Union" would "give 
 way to more liberal considerations," and that their com- 
 mon objects would be "better promoted by united than 
 single handed efforts," the Trustees were obliged, after 
 repeated, futile attempts at unanimous action, to leave 
 
PROPOSED DISSOLUTION OF ATHENAEUM 347 
 
 the decision of the whole matter with the Library share- 
 holders at their annual meeting. Time after time the 
 entire board would assemble to pass upon resolutions, 
 only to have a tie vote result. Never were Trustees 
 more devoted, or more steadfast in adhering to convic- 
 tion, than the twelve men then in office. Unfailing was 
 the line of cleavage on motion after motion, the members 
 favoring the terms finally adopted being Messrs. 
 Laight, Verplanck, Harison, Inghs, Lawrence and 
 Johnson, at least three of them members of the Athe- 
 nasima and the first two, Directors. As stoutly opposed 
 to the "gross inequahty" of the proposed terms, were 
 Messrs. Morgan, Hamersley, Ferris, Evertson, NicoU 
 and Townsend. Their contention was that the Library, 
 in addition to its collections, "admitted to be of great 
 value," held property in excess of $40,000, "in cash or its 
 equivalent immediately available," with an additional 
 income of over $1600 a year from the annual payment 
 charge of $4 on each share. In contradistinction to this, 
 the stockholders of the Athenaeum had a cash capital 
 of only $33,250, and "no library worth mentioning." 
 
 Nevertheless, they were willing, vmder the lead of Mr. 
 Evertson, to sell 318 shares — corresponding to the num- 
 ber in the AthenEeum^ — at $40 each by May 1st, "pro- 
 vided the Athensevmi would dissolve and give up their 
 charter, and as many of their Stockholders as see fit 
 individually become members of the Library." Owing 
 to the absence of Mr. Verplanck, this motion was car- 
 ried; but it was not acceptable to the Directors of the 
 Athengeimi, who declared they could not of themselves 
 dissolve their association. Even if they could, or should 
 wish to, there was not time before May 1st to take the 
 
 '■ It appears, however, that the exact number was 316 shares. 
 
3d O. II. 7"^" Montgomcrk, Efq; Governor. 60 1 
 
 nrA,r,J That Col. Wlllet, Capt. Rutgers, tants thereof. But before the Houfc proceed 
 
 J^ cZrilfen and Maior Philipfih<' =■ Com- to take any Refolut.ons thereon ; ,t ,s, 
 
 Mr. <?'':"'>" "j^.'^^^^^ ,0 Ordere^l, That the Clerk deliver a Copy of 
 
 r as'top to t growinrMifchief at prefent, this Min.te .0 the Mayor of the C.ty of M-.- 
 
 ^Ta fc7rreVcntine the like for the future, and nri, who is-defired tO convene the Common 
 
 fhat^hevrepo'tle rLeto the Houfe, as Council upot, the Subjeft Matter thereof, and 
 
 tn as miv be that they m^e retutn to this Houfe. whether 
 
 °P,> M.r,h, 3 io. P. M. -June 24, ^7^9- ™"^S '° ""'^^ '" ^"'""= ^°' ""'' ^f.' ^. 
 
 ■^ „ . ,, , ^ Mr.P<.~«"f="'lMr.i™,V/.», in Behalf of the,rW.v«. 
 
 A /TR. Garntjen reported from the t-Om- c^^^ar/na and Cumilia. Danghiers to Cor. Hmrj Bukmax^ 
 
 jyi mittee, appointed to confider of pro- ^^^m^^^^i:;^r^:'^J:;^^'^ 
 per Remedies, to put a Stop to the growing ^^.^ s^^^, fcfliort, for enabling "hem » fcii and difpofc i 
 MiCchief arifing by the great Number of Per- „,Ja Pa/i of the Lands, deviftd to then, by ihtii faid Fa- 
 Yons, which lately have fet up to praftice the ''g;^^,^^ xhat Leave be given to bring in a Bill accord- 
 Law-; That they are of Opinion, that a Bill ,•„„!,. . , . , 
 
 L. . I. u .1,. •« r^^ .k.., Pi.t-i^nf^ Maior Plat prcfented to this Houfc, a Bill, entitled, yjo 
 
 ought to be brought in for that Purpole. ^ ™ J ^^^^J^^ ^^^ ^„^^,_^^ „ ,^^ R,p„jMa,m, ,f ,i. 
 
 Ordered, That the fame Committee, ilo cii«w/«»/ Soflblk, i(»» Qn«n'! Cb«»vi aW/»r ;«wi/raf 
 
 prepare and bring in fuch a Bill accordingly. «f^X'^%!rX^lt S^^-l^ffot '^a'rS 
 
 The Hoofe {according to Order) taking into Confideraiion, (he firft Time, and ordered to be/ead a fecond Timt. 
 
 the Reafons of the Council, for ihcir.A[nendmenO to tiic Bill, Rtf^lttd, That (his Houfe will. To-morrow, refolve -IdK* 
 
 entitled. An MX, fer ihe met lal) Adtxruiltdgimcnl ef Duds; a Commiticc of the whole Houfe, 10 confidcr fiHlhcr of his 
 
 Qrd.Tid, That ihe Committee of this Houfe, which were Excellency's Speech. 
 
 at the laft Confcrence. do draw op ReafoTH, why ihu Houfc j„ Confideradon that the Harveft la drawing near, 
 
 cannot agree to [he faid Amendments, cotwiihflanding the faid Rtjolvtd, That this Houfc will not receive or admit of any 
 
 Reafonj. new Matters, butprocetd ia ihe Difpatcb of the Bulltiefs now 
 
 The Speaker (at the Requeft of his Excel- ^'"'^ '"■" "°°'''- 
 
 lency) communicated to this Houfe, a Lctirt ,Zt,Sl^'"'' "'•'°°'""' '"' ' °^ *° '^""'' '^°"'°" 
 irom Mr. David Hiimpbrejs, Secretary to the 
 
 Society for the Propagation of the Gofpel in @g0SSg@SSS®©yS©®@®S©S@S§S 
 
 foreign Parts, dated in London, the 23d of _,. ,, .. , . ,, ^ 
 
 Septmier laft, direfted to his faid Excelfency, ^" Mercury, 9 ho. A. M. Jun, 25, 1729. 
 
 importing, that whereas a large and valuable TV/TR- s«i""''ff<«'*. Deputy Weigh Mailer (actording to 
 
 , J r Ti I rn.- r L . .T J.VJL Order) laid before this Houle, an Account of Cocoa 
 
 Library of Books, confilling ot about a thou- i„, „dgi,i„g. from the Srll of Jul, 1728. 10 the 241b lo. 
 
 fand Volumes, had been bequeathed to them. Hunt 7*"i'i amounting to EUiiin Poundi, Ftpeia Shiliwgi zai 
 
 by (he late Dr. Milllnpon, Reftor of AW„- ^"o^.'^rt'The f,id Accon.. lie o„ the Table for ,ho" 
 
 mgton ; and that tne Society being denrouS to Confideraiion of the Memben. 
 
 place the fame, where it might be moft ufe- The Bill entitled, M«m,flrthi mfrr,:,, ,1, Allnam,, 
 
 i- , , 1 T 1 1 r ^ - • 1 ^- f. to Iht Kiirfjintoti'vci of ihe Counliii of SuBolk, anil Queen a 
 
 lul abroad, had agreed to hx it in the City of c.^y, a,d fo, pmMi.g mjiah, in ,b, Saf,r<,if„i.f ,i, 
 
 Nem-Tork. But it being their Intention it /'"<<:•""<'• "J 10 mmaf, it, Numtir of Safirmfir, in it, 
 
 ftould be eftablilhed a Library, from which (^'S Kje^t^V^Sirnlf^.^rtnTSic^ut;':'' 
 
 tneClergyarid Gentlemen of thlsGovernment, Mr. Lvingpon reported from the Committee, appointed 
 
 ini Jerfey, Ptnnfyhailia and Conm-aicuti '» ""f'^" "■« i<"f"»> of the Council, for their Amendtnem. 
 
 .,'',■' -^ _ Y I ■ ■ n '° the Bill, entitled, An Aa, for the more cafy Aokne-wltjoi- 
 
 mignt borrow Books to read, upon giving Se- m„l of DuJ,. That they are of Opinion, this Houfe cannot 
 
 entity to return them within a limittcd Timej "£'" " '}' '''■^ Ameodmems. 
 
 it wac tlipir n..i;.» .u.,. „ « =,. l\*/T .k J ^"-y?. l-or that both the Title and Scope of the Bill, is onljr 
 
 It was their Uefire that a proper Method for making the Act„o.ledgement of Deeds eafy to the Sub- 
 
 IhouHbe taken for the Prefervation of the J'-I'i '""'■ 
 
 Books, before they fend them over ; and there- Jo'""t IVo^irL 'uv'\^' '''»"'''""""" "'"'' 
 
 r_ J r J ■ - 1 I proper lor a Kegilter A£t, which they conceived foreign to 
 
 iurc, aenred it might be recommended to tiie the intention of the Bill ; which being read, were approved 
 
 vld'^Tl''i; *" tP™P"P'^" ""ybe pro- "'o'rVr^^.^ThtM,. Z,.,.,.;.. deliver a Copy of thefe Re,- 
 
 viaea, vi-herein this Library may be repofitcd fons to the Committee of the Council. 
 
 for the publick Ufe, and that an hO. be made, Then the Houfe adjourned to 3 o'Clocle, in the Afier- 
 
 poviding for the due Prefervation of theft »»on. 
 
 Books, and all others, which Ihall be added D!s Mercurij, 3 ho. P. M. June 25, 1729. 
 
 to them. 
 
 tjrr,- u T 1 ' /* /'^OL. Mtndtri Schuyler reported from the Committee, to 
 
 Wnicn Letter btyng read, the Houfe do in V> whom was refcred, the Bill, entided. An Aft, for ite 
 
 % mod grateful Manner, acknowledge the t,,,,r 'l,',,,g rrguUi^g a,d furihir h,i,go.,. jutl,, H.st 
 
 favOnrtM.I . .• r 1. c • . J 1- 'Jm.'i. ■'"'"C/'r 111' C.m/^ of Albany, That they had £one 
 
 p]:'"'™''°"°' 'he Society towards this through the Bill, and made feteral Amendments thereto/ 
 
 rlace,- in prcfering it before any of his Ma- w*^"^*^ they had direfted him to report to the Houfej wbl'l* 
 
 leftv's r^t^l. - Dl • t-- /"^ ■ were read, and agreed unto by ihe Houfe. _, 
 
 J 7 s other Plantations on this Continent, to (y,j,„j_ That the Bill with the Amomlmeno be e.groiTed. 
 
 "polite a Library in, which will not only re- Major Ph,l,ffi prefented to this Houfe. n Bill, '"""'•i^ 
 
 aound to the Reputation of this Colony, but ^' *"' /f "«;'''''"« ''"'?'''"'''^r/{;Tr^me, and or- 
 
 h-__/ii rriii t. • , 1 ."^,.. Practice of iht Lav. which was read inc 
 
 >^vaitiy ulclul and beneficial to the Inhabi- dered to be t«d a fecond Time. Hifihm 
 
 Page of General Assembly Journal (much reduced), printed by Hugh Gaine, 1764, 
 showing proceedings on notice of Millington books, 1729. See p. 66. 
 948 
 
ANTE-ELECTION PRESS WAR 349 
 
 required legal steps. But, inasmuch as their object was 
 "to transfer every farthing of [corporate] property" to 
 the Library, when this act should be accomplished the 
 Athenseima would practically be dissolved, while "its 
 legal dissolution" could be effected at any time. 
 
 There the question lay at issue until after the fast- 
 approaching annual meeting of the Library sharehold- 
 ers. It is not to be supposed that such a heated and 
 persistent dispute could long be confined within the 
 privacy of Trustee meetings. Nor, especially in view of 
 the character of this controversy, afi*ecting so vitally the 
 very being of the Library, can it be thought that the 
 board would desire to keep the matter to itself. It 
 would be only natm-al for each side to wish to share 
 responsibihty for its acts and to gain a majority of 
 adherents from the members at large. 
 
 Accordingly it will occasion no svu-prise to learn that 
 the cm-rent press for a fortnight was made the medium 
 for a continuous bombardment between the two factions. 
 The projectiles varied in force and weight from the cus- 
 tomary announcement of the coming election, and an 
 equally matter-of-fact statement of the resiilt, to com- 
 mimications charged with an extreme of bitterness and 
 rancor. Some were calculated to persuade through 
 simple presentation of facts, while others carried the 
 sting of satire or sarcasm, a poison often reacting on its 
 user. In a few instances the shots came openly from 
 one or the other of the two camps, but in most cases the 
 marksmen were screened behind editorial license or ficti- 
 tious signatures. To such an extent was the warfare 
 carried that one contributor, "Knickerbocker," exclaims 
 in despair: "Well may this unfortunate institution — the 
 City Library — say, 'save me from my friends' !" ^ 
 
 ^ From the American, April 18, 1838. 
 
350 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 The same writer thus continues : 
 
 Two parties, each professing to have the good of the institution 
 near their hearts, are desirous of ruhng its destinies. One says, 
 "Let us alone. We are doing very well. We rule supreme. We 
 have so long had our own way, that any alteration to suit what 
 you call the spirit of the age will throw us into new situations, 
 and impose upon us new responsibilities and new duties, for 
 which we feel our unfitness. What is the honor of New York to 
 us? 'Will honor set a hmb.'" Will honor permit us to pre- 
 occupy the apartments of the Library with our chosen clique? 
 We have a comfortable home. Why bring us and our deeds to 
 the light? We are doing very well, we are rich." This is the 
 Sedentary party, which sits like an incubus on this respectable 
 institution. 
 
 The other party, which we may denominate the Mouvement, 
 says : "We thank you for your paternal care, for your brooding 
 over the interests of our friend. But do not neglect the best 
 opportunity that was ever offered to establish permanently the 
 prosperity of the Library. The Athenseum is ready and de- 
 sirous to unite with you upon terms so liberal, as in themselves 
 to excite your suspicions, terms more liberal than those you 
 were wilhng to accept some years ago. You suspect their mo- 
 tives. You fear the loss of absolute power. Do not such names 
 as Verplanck, Laight, Harison, with a host of others, your 
 shareholders, silence such unworthy suspicions? Do you sup- 
 pose they desire to appropriate Public Property to private 
 uses? Perish the thought. They, in common with a majority 
 of the Society, feel that the Library belongs to the Public, that 
 it is treason to calculate the value of the 'union' with a view to 
 division. No, let our motto be 'Union and Force' not 'Divide 
 and Conquer.' " So says the Mouvement Party. 
 
 The question is not. Shall the Library give up its charter? 
 No ! the Athenffium resigns its own. It is not, Shall Athenaeum 
 influences preponderate? No! they, as individuals, only wish to 
 buy at a price named by the seller, a minority of the shares. 
 They give you what you want— money. They only ask in re- 
 turn that share in your privileges which by law they are entitled 
 
PRESS POLEMICS 351 
 
 to demand, the use of your books and a share in the credit which 
 must result from the establishment of an Institution which shall 
 rank equal, if not superior, to any in our country. 
 
 This commvinication has been quoted nearly in full, 
 for it is a clear, as well as a temperate, expression of the 
 pro-Athenasvun cause. From the score and more articles 
 that fairly deluged the various newspaper offices only 
 one other will be selected, though most of them afford 
 spicy reading. The extract to follow, signed "Corlaer," 
 appeared in the American for April 21st, and is here 
 reproduced in its entirety, not merely as uttering the 
 opposite view, in direct reply to the foregoing, but also 
 for its summary of the Athenaeum's career, as weU as 
 for its dehghtfully facetious touch. Under this title, 
 "LiBEAEY AND Atheneum," it is addressed to the edi- 
 tor, as follows : 
 
 Your correspondent who figures under the successive signa- 
 tures of Knickerbocker and Diedrick Knickerbocker, has evi- 
 dently forgotten his own name. He is no other than Rip Van 
 Winkle himself, and not sufficiently aroused from his nap to be 
 conscious of his true appellation. He denominates the members 
 of the Atheneum a mowvement party, and applies the name of 
 sedentaries to the party of the Library. 
 
 Awake Rip, to the facts ! Scratch your head and rub your 
 eyes, until your somnolency has departed, and then "Ksten and 
 perpend." It is true that just before Rip's nap commenced, the 
 Atheneum made a grand mouvement in this community, and the 
 recollections that preceded his slumbers account for his present 
 impressions. At that period nothing was talked of but the 
 Atheneum, which, with its hundred literary and learned 
 Associates, its hundred Patrons, its hundred Governors, its 
 Subscribers, its President, its eight Vice Presidents, its Corre- 
 sponding Secretary, its two Recording Secretaries, its Treas- 
 urer, its Curator, and its sixteen Directors, gave out that it 
 
S52 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 was to be no ornamental institution, but intended to elevate the 
 literary character of the city, and diffuse universally among our 
 benighted citizens a taste for science and the arts. It had its 
 lectures on taste and beauty, on the revival of classical Htera- 
 ture, on oriental hterature, on Roman literature, on eloquence, 
 on political economy, on commerce, on painting, poetry, and 
 chemistry, on phrenology, geology, and all the other ologies; 
 and promised that it would duly proceed in instructing in as- 
 tronomical, astrological, and, in short, as Mrs. Malaprop would 
 express it, all other "diabolical studies." The throngs which 
 attended the lectures, it was imagined, would eventually be so 
 great, that no room already constructed in the city was large 
 enough to accommodate the auditors. Such was the excitement 
 in regard to the institution, that even its name became a quaestio 
 vexata of orthography. Some warmly insisted that the penul- 
 tima ought to be the dipthong ce, while others as ardently con- 
 tended that the simple vowel e was entitled to that distinction. 
 The learned Associates differed on this matter. The wealthy 
 Patrons could not solve the difficulty, and the sturdy Governors 
 would not. The Legislative power of the State was alone found 
 equal to the dissolution of this Gordian knot. An act of incor- 
 poration was granted in 1826, which enabled the institution to 
 hold fifty thousand dollars' worth of real estate, which would 
 afford a sufficiently capacious chapel for the lectures ; and it 
 forever put at rest the pretensions of the ambitious dipthong — 
 enacting that the society should thereafter be known by the 
 style of "The New York Atheneum." 
 
 It was in this posture of things that Rip's drowsiness com- 
 menced. He will be surprised to hear, that since the period in 
 question, and while he has been indulging in his slumbers, there 
 has been no mouvement in the Atheneum, except "from post to 
 pillar." The excision of the dipthong had a kindred effect with 
 the clipping of Sampson's hair. From that moment the Asso- 
 ciates, the Patrons, the Governors, the Presidents, the Curators, 
 &c., &c., seemed to be shorn of their strength "for the better 
 cultivation of literature, science and the arts." It is needless 
 to detain poor Rip with a detail of all its intermediate mowve- 
 ments; but if he will take the trouble of enquiring, he will find 
 
"SEDENTARY" AND "MOUVEMENT" PARTIES 353 
 
 that this literary, scientific, and philosophic creation has shared 
 the fate of most of the other Hterary, scientific, and philosophic 
 inflations which preceded it, and that its last mouvement has 
 been to an upper story in Broadway, where it spends the 
 lingering remnant of its existence in the reduced character of 
 an indifi'erent reading room. 
 
 So much for the mouvement party. Let us now look, honest 
 Rip ! to the Sedentaries. They have an unpretending estabhsh- 
 ment, which began with the trifling capital of six hundred 
 pounds old York currency. It has no high sounding titles con- 
 nected with it. Its aff^airs are committed to twelve Trustees. 
 It has not even a President — the Board electing its temporary 
 chairman at each meeting. By strict attention to their duties, 
 by the practice of a Dutch economy, which never permits the 
 outgoings to exceed the income, by discarding all the magnifi- 
 cent fancies which have proved the bane of every other hterary 
 association in this city, the successive trustees have collected a 
 hbrary of 25,000 volumes, worth $40,000, and other property 
 of the value of $41,000 more. The setting of the Sedentaries, 
 therefore, has not been without profit ; they have kept to their 
 nest and hatched their eggs, while those of the mouvement 
 cacklers have all proved addle. 
 
 Shall we then, honest Rip ! transfer the control of the Library 
 to those whose career in another institution has been so un- 
 profitable, or continue it with those who are disposed to pursue 
 the old, prudent, thrifty, and wholesome system? If you have 
 recovered the use of your seven senses, and have no fashionable 
 contempt of your Nieuw Amsterdam blood, I can safely leave 
 the question to your own decision. 
 
 In the meantime, on April 18th, the dissatisfied ele- 
 ment, at the Howard House on Broadway, presented a 
 ticket of nominees, pledged, if elected, to reject "the 
 terms hitherto oiFered by the New- York Atheneum for 
 a junction of the two corporations." It comprised — be- 
 sides the six stalwarts of the retiring board, whose "judi- 
 cious and firm conduct" was cordially approved — Mr. 
 
364. THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Verplanckof the contrary -minded, the Rev. Dr. Berrian, 
 but lately a Trustee, and other men of standing, includ- 
 ing ex-Mayor William Paulding, John L. Lawrence, 
 John T. Dolan and Anthony Lamb. The dissenters pub- 
 lished an address, "To the Members of the New- York 
 Society Library,"^ the authorship of which was attrib- 
 uted to John J. Morgan. The paper contains, briefly, a 
 rehearsal of the previous covenant with the Athenasvmi, 
 as of the latter's more recent proposals, and expresses 
 astonishment, not merely that the Directors "should 
 have supposed that the Trustees of the Library would 
 have acceded to the proposition," but "that six of the 
 Trustees of the Library did accede" to it. The follow- 
 ing declaration is significant of their belief: "The truth 
 of the matter is, it is not a case of individuals wanting 
 shares, it is a society wanting to make a good speculation 
 in the shares of another society, and by votes thus ob- 
 tained, to make that society a mere appendage to their 
 own." Far from being opposed to a union with the 
 Athenaeum, the undersigned Trustees, in protesting 
 against the terms ofi'ered, heartily desired "all conflicting 
 interests to cease by merging the two societies into one, 
 and, by the perfect union of their property and in- 
 fluence, to obtain more fuUy the objects for which they 
 were both created." 
 
 On April 17th, at the Broadway House, there had as- 
 sembled a company of shareholders favoring the Athe- 
 naeum proposals. They also drew up resolutions and an 
 address, signed by the six Trustees of their persuasion, 
 and nominated, besides those gentlemen. Evert A. 
 Bancker, a former Trustee, Charles A. Clinton, Daniel 
 
 ' A single copy is in the Library two-page leaflet, suitable for maU- 
 of the Historical Society. It is a ing. 
 
LIBRARY-ATHENJEUM PABULUM 355 
 
 Seymour, William Kent, Nathaniel F. Moore and 
 A. Robertson Rodgers, aU well-known citizens. The 
 address, styled a "Statement of the Trustees of the 
 New- York Society Libeahy," directed to the share- 
 holders, fills a pamphlet of sixteen pages,^ besides an 
 appendix containing certain resolutions by the Athe- 
 naeum Directors and the Council of the Academy of 
 Design, and tables to show the comparative holdings of 
 the Library and the Athenaeum. It reviews the succes- 
 sive proceedings of the past few months and explains 
 how it would be for the great advantage of the Library 
 to accept the latter's proposals. The imidersigned five 
 Trustees, Mr. Verplanck being then at Albany, declared 
 their object had been "to protect not to betray, to build 
 up not to destroy, to extend not to abridge the useful- 
 ness" of the Library, the "genial doctrine" of whose 
 motto — "Emollit mores" — deprecated an "exclusive and 
 narrow spirit so unfavorable to literature." 
 
 Unlike poHtical contests of to-day, in which both 
 sides agree to a truce on the day before the actual 
 measuring of strength, these contestants allowed each 
 other, and the long-suffering pubhc as well, absolutely 
 no respite. Up to the very morning of the final con- 
 flict were continued the distracting preparations of the 
 two parties, whose "civil broils," the American said on 
 April 21st, were "disturbing the qmet of that venerable 
 institution, the City Library." For more than ten 
 days those who depended upon newspapers for mental 
 nourishment must have been surfeited with the amount 
 of Library- Athen^imi pabulum served to them. 
 
 ^The Historical Society having in Kelby kindly presented one to the 
 its possession two copies of this Society Library in April, 1905. 
 pamphlet, Librarian Robert H. 
 
356 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Almost on the eve of the election, however, occurred 
 an event which lends rather a dramatic as well as a 
 melancholy interest to the situation. This was the sud- 
 den death of Edgar Evertson, a man only thirty-seven 
 years of age and one of the most active members of the 
 board during the year past. His devotion to the Li- 
 brary was recognized in the wording of the newspaper 
 notices, inviting to his funeral "the friends of the family 
 and the Trustees of the New York Society Library." 
 The board took appropriate action on the decease of 
 their "late friend and associate," and voted to attend the 
 services, which were announced, strangely enough, for 
 April 24ith at fovu" o'clock, the very hour of closing the 
 polls. 
 
 The fateful Library election, held at last, resulted in a 
 complete victory for the Athengeum party. Not a single 
 candidate on the opposition ticket was elected except 
 Mr. Verplanck, but, as his name adorned both lists, his 
 return would seem in either event to have been foreor- 
 dained. In justice to him it should be said that, when 
 he found, upon his retiu-n from an extended session of 
 the legislature, that the dissenters had also nominated 
 him, he made haste to publish in the papers his disavowal 
 of the act and his concurrence in the views of General 
 Laight and "the gentlemen associated with him." But 
 this statement came too late to alter the printed ticket. 
 Apparently not content with the usual bare announce- 
 ment of the outcome, in this instance the winning side 
 went further. The public must be informed to its full 
 satisfaction just how the votes were cast, ostensibly — or, 
 let us assume for sweet charity's sake, chiefly— that 
 there might be no future misunderstanding, as in the 
 illegal election of 1825. Consequently there was in- 
 
Alexander Robertson Rodgers 
 Trustee, 1838-1855. Treasurer, 1843-1855 
 
ENERGETIC VOTING 357 
 
 serted in the Evening Post of April 25th, not merely 
 the list of successful candidates, but also the showing 
 made by the defeated nominees. A little "figuring on 
 the retiu-ns" of this extraordinary contest wiU be of 
 interest. By as nearly exact a computation as it is pos- 
 sible to make, it is clear that fully 325, and very prob- 
 ably as many as 350, shares were represented at the 
 poUs. As the voting hours lasted only from noon to 
 four o'clock, and as no proxies were allowed, there must 
 certainly have been a congestion at some part of the 
 time in the neighborhood of 12 Chambers street, then 
 the temporary home of the Society Library, for the 
 ballots were deposited at the rate of oftener than one a 
 minute. 
 
 Of spht tickets there is manifold evidence, for in only 
 three cases did as many as two candidates receive the 
 same number of votes. Mr. Verplanck was credited 
 with the most votes— 241 ; while Charles A. Clinton, who 
 received the lowest number among the elect — 164, had 
 only seven votes more than the two standing highest of 
 the opposition — John J. Morgan and John L. Law- 
 rence. However disappointed or apprehensive the 
 vanquished party may have felt, its adherents abided 
 by the result philosophically, perhaps reheved after all 
 that the whole responsibility had now devolved upon a 
 united board. 
 
 Properly interpreting this triumph as an endorsement 
 of their pohcy, the newly chosen Trustees at once set 
 about fulfiUing their preelection pledges. Accordingly, 
 after some preliminary parleying, the two boards 
 agreed: first, that 316 shares of Library stock be issued 
 "to such person or persons being members of the Athe- 
 nseum as the New York Athengeum may designate, upon 
 
868 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 receiving a deed for the lot of the AthenEeum, . . , sub- 
 ject to the mortgage of $16,000 now thereon"; and, 
 second, that the Library take charge of the books and 
 other effects of the AthenEeum, "now in the rooms of the 
 Library, to be used without charge by the members of 
 both Institutions imtil the expiration of one year from 
 this date, and until further agreement between the two 
 parties." 
 
 This covenant proved final and binding. In con- 
 formity therewith, President McVickar of the Athe- 
 ngeimi signed and delivered the deed on May 16, 1838, 
 and in return received on July 6th a certificate of mem- 
 bership made out to Benjamin W. Rogers, as trustee 
 for 316 shares in the Library, signed by Secretary 
 Inghs and Treasurer Harison. In September the per- 
 sons designated by Mr. Rogers were "permitted to take 
 Books from the Library on the footing of Members." 
 
 It was not, however, until April 26, 1839, that the 
 Trustees — having at last received on transfer the bond 
 and mortgage of $22,436, held on the former Athe- 
 ngeum property at 14 Vesey street (in addition to the 
 deed of its lot on Broadway), and having agreed "to 
 appropriate the interest of the capital yearly forever to 
 the payment of the annual dues of $4 on each of the 
 316 shares now held by B. W. Rogers" — formally rati- 
 fied, through Treasurer Harison and Secretary Inghs, 
 a signed and sealed release, "endorsed upon the certifi- 
 cate for the shares." 
 
 The release, spread in fiill upon the minutes, in effect 
 acknowledges receipt of the above sum from Mr. Rog- 
 ers, and thereupon absolves him, "his executors, admin- 
 istrators, successors & assigns, forever of & from the 
 payment, in respect to the within mentioned rights \_i.e. 
 
LIBRARY DXJES MAY BE COMMUTED 359 
 
 shares], and each and every of them, of any sum or sums 
 of money which the said the Trustees of the New York 
 Society Library are now authorized and allowed by law 
 to levy & require annually from the members of the 
 Library." 
 
 This document and procedure demand the further 
 explanation that on March 15th the legislatiu-e had, on 
 due petition of the board, passed "An Act to Authorize 
 the Trustees of the New York Society Library to Com- 
 mute their Annual Dues." In brief it empowered the 
 Trustees "to commute or receive a sum in gross for or 
 upon any rights or shares now held or hereafter to be 
 held in the said Society, in lieu of the payment of the 
 annual dues thereon," at the same time specifying that 
 the said sum should not be less than $67. By this 
 enactment the Library was really the gainer, for, at the 
 rate of seven per cent, then prevailing, the interest on 
 this amount, $4.69, was manifestly greater than the 
 annual payment of $4 then charged. 
 
 Thus owners of any of the 316 Athenasum shares, 
 after due transfer of membership, were — hke regular 
 Library members who should pay outright the sima of 
 $67, in lieu of the payment of $4 a year on a share — to 
 be forever exempt from paying the annual dues the 
 institution was then authorized to collect. But there is 
 no stipulation, either in the release or in the amendment 
 to the charter of the Library, that can be construed to 
 prohibit the Trustees from raising the yearly payments, 
 under legislative approval. It was plainly, therefore, 
 no breach of faith on the part of the board to raise the 
 annual dues to six dollars in March, 1842, and again to 
 ten doUars in April, 1866, — both of these amendments 
 having the sanction of the members at large, as of the 
 
360 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 legislature. Consequently there can be no denying their 
 legal right to levy upon shares commuted on the four- 
 dollar-a-year basis the amount in excess of the sum then 
 yearly collected. 
 
 Reverting now to the prolonged game of consolida- 
 tion, it appears that all these transactions were ap- 
 proved at the last-recorded meeting of the Athenaeum 
 Directors, April 29, 1839. Treasurer Rogers as trustee 
 was authorized "to transfer the rights held by the Athe- 
 naeum in the N. Y. SoeX Library to the shareholders in 
 this Corporation and to receive in exchange a transfer 
 of their several shares in the Athenaeum." This order 
 would imply the virtual dissolution of that Society by 
 the voluntary surrender of their shares by its members. 
 So it would have been, had all made the exchange; but 
 they did not. The last entry in the Directors' minutes 
 is an appointment of inspectors for the annual election, 
 notice of which had already been inserted in the daily 
 papers, to be held on May 1st "at No. 12 Chambers 
 street." Here the "books, maps, charts and medals" 
 of the Athenaeum had been stored since May 1, 1838, 
 upon closing the rooms at the corner of Broadway and 
 Chambers street. 
 
 There is no evidence, however, that a meeting was held 
 or new Directors chosen; but, conformably to their 
 charter, — if not out of a very hxmian obstinacy, — in 
 1840 and again in 1841 an annual meeting with election 
 of Directors was advertised to take place "at the office 
 of the Eagle Fire Insurance Co., 59 Wall street," of 
 which concern General Laight was president. Accord- 
 ing to the city directory for 1837-1838, the Athenseum 
 was at "74 Chambers c. Broadway," the next year at 
 "12 Chambers," and in 1840 at "348 Broadway"— its 
 
SUBSEQUENT STATUS OF ATHENJEUM 361 
 
 final mention as an entity. That the terms of its absorp- 
 tion by the Library were not generally understood, 
 however, is manifest in a brief editor's note in the 
 American for April 30, 1840, which gives the impression 
 that the Athenfenm was in control of the situation ( !) 
 in chronicling that "the New York Society Library and 
 the Athengeimi are moving their books and papers to the 
 new building corner of Leonard street and Broadway, 
 . . . and the Athenaeum has at last carried out the in- 
 tents of its founders. It embraces a reading-room and 
 a lecture-room, which will, no doubt, be as well filled as 
 in the first lectures of the Associates at the Chapel of 
 Colvunbia College." 
 
 Though the Athenasum thus really ceased to exist, it 
 does not appear that action was ever taken to annul its 
 charter. So from time to time the question arose at Trus- 
 tee meetings, "as to the present relation of the Library 
 with the Athenasum," without, however, securing a settle- 
 ment until Jime, 1883. Then Charles E. Strong upon 
 investigation reported nineteen Athenjeum shares still 
 in existence, whose thirteen owners represented "its 
 charter and corporate rights" and were entitled "to call 
 upon B. W. Rogers or his representatives in the trust 
 for a share in the Library for every AthenEeum share" 
 they should "surrender." The Library had "no power 
 or duty in the matter, having fully carried out its agree- 
 ment with the Athenseum."^ 
 
 ^ Only one attempt seems ever to between itsdf and the Society Li- 
 have been made to revive the old brary. Among "reasons for a union" 
 charter of the Athenaeum, and that were suggested the "excellent charter 
 came from an outside and wholly still valid," of the same name; the 
 unexpected quarter. In January, "inadequate improvement" of the 
 1859, there was received a communi- Library building "and its contents" 
 cation from the Athenseum Club, a by the public generally; "the re- 
 recently organized association, "as markable adaptation of the site and 
 to the practicability of a coalition" edifice to the joint purposes of a 
 
&62 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Thus came to an end the history of the New York 
 AthenEeum. Founded by wealthy and cultivated citi- 
 zens to further objects praiseworthy and benevolent in 
 scope, it languished and expired, chiefly through the 
 lamentable want of moral as well as financial support, 
 so long characteristic of the metropohs toward letters 
 and the arts. Other conditions there no doubt were, con- 
 tributing to its failure, such as the petty jealousies, 
 already hinted at, among the literary coteries of the day. 
 In addition to this, the constant shifting of residential 
 centers, in the rapid expansion of the city, inevitably 
 tended more and more to separate persons of kindred 
 interests. The Athenfeimi was fondly expected to be a 
 sort of neighborhood or social club among the leading 
 people of the community,^ a hope dissipated by the 
 swiftly advancing tide of business. So the great ma- 
 jority of its members transferred allegiance to the 
 Society Library, becoming participants in its varying 
 fortunes, whose narration is now to be resumed. 
 
 club and a library"; the fact that of letters, "and other citizens of 
 many persons were members of both kindred tastes." The Trustees of 
 institutions; the "public utility" cer- the Library, however, without much 
 tain to result from "such combined ado deemed the very complacent 
 resources, local, personal and liter- proposition "inexpedient to enter- 
 ary"; the expressed approval of tain." The club experienced a brief 
 many Library shareholders and period of prosperity, with head- 
 "some" Trustees; and lastly the quarters in various places, but 
 probability of amalgamation "with- finally, through extravagant man- 
 out infringing upon the existent agement, was obliged to dissolve, late 
 privileges of the members of the el- in 1869, at the sound of the auction- 
 der and to the vast mutual advan- eer's hammer. 
 
 tages of both" institutions. ^ Proof of this may be seen in the 
 
 This association, modeled after the fact that the elegant Union Club, 
 
 Athenaeum Club of London, made the oldest purely social organization 
 
 so famous through the membership in New York to-day, dating from 
 
 of Browning, Bulwer, Carlyle, June, 1836, was founded within the 
 
 Dickens, Tennyson and Thack- precincts of the Athenaemn, at 
 
 eray, was "intended for a rendez- Broadway and Chambers street. 
 vous" of professional persons, men 
 
VIII 
 
 1829-1854 
 
 ALTHOUGH little disposition was evinced by the 
 ijk general community toward a vigorous support 
 -^ -^ of its literary institutions,— as has already been 
 seen, and as will continue to appear in succeeding 
 pages, — nevertheless the spirit of letters was abroad, 
 manifesting itself in a natural drawing together of 
 congenial minds. There was, for example, the Kent 
 Club, comprising, besides the learned Chancellor, Dr. 
 J. Augustine Smith, Peter A. Jay, Professors N. F. 
 Moore, John McVickar and James Renwick, the Rev. 
 Drs. Wainwright and Mathews, Samuel F. B. Morse 
 and Albert Gallatin. Another association was called 
 the Literary Confederacy, whose membership included 
 such men as Gulian C. Verplanck, WiUiam CuUen 
 Bryant and Robert M. Sands, editor of the Atlantic 
 Monthly. For all these litterateurs, for the wits and no 
 less for persons of fashion, the Society Library afforded 
 an inviting meeting-place, in the days when elegant man- 
 ners and polished conversation — fully as much as a sub- 
 stantial bank account — were indispensable passports to 
 good society. It was to be expected, therefore, that the 
 Trustees of the institution would be chosen from this 
 choice constituency. 
 
364 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 On Siirveyiiig the new names in the trusteeship, one is 
 confronted, in sharp contrast to the last period, with an 
 array of fully fifty additional personahties, with a con- 
 sequent average tenure of but little over five years. 
 Still, a few long terms are found: Major Joseph Dela- 
 field, lawyer and scientist as weU as soldier, serving for 
 thirteen years; Joshua Coit, a lawyer renowned for 
 social graces, James De Peyster Ogden, eminent mer- 
 chant, president of the Chamber of Commerce, and 
 ever the stanch Democrat and Unionist, and Dayion 
 Hobart, son of the great bishop, lawyer and wit, author 
 of the parody on "The House that Jack Built," — each 
 of these for fourteen years; another gentleman-lawyer 
 of the old school was Alexander Robertson Rodgers, 
 younger brother of Dr. J. Kearney Rodgers, a classical 
 scholar, witty, genial and kind, acting as Treasurer 
 through all but four of his seventeen years' term as 
 Trustee; William Inglis, judge in the common pleas 
 court, an active Whig in pohtics, a devout booklover al- 
 ways, but little given to society, though ever eager to aid 
 younger lawyers, a Trustee and Secretary of the board 
 for eighteen years ; and Stephen C. Williams and Fred- 
 eric De Peyster, whose long though interrupted official 
 connection of twenty-two and twenty-eight years, re- 
 spectively, began within this period, both bred as 
 lawyers, though more particularly devoted to the social 
 and cultural movements of their day. 
 
 None of the others held office for as many as ten 
 years, the Hon. James H. Titus, assemblyman and 
 leather dealer, serving for nine years; as also Charles 
 M. Leupp, another "Swamp" merchant, an active mem- 
 ber of the Chamber of Commerce, and later president of 
 the Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen; the Hon. 
 
PAGE FROM CITY'S COLONIAL RECORDS 365 
 
 
 j^^? 
 
 ^y^.^ f,«fi^/ ^«,^>^ f'''^*^ ^»~ «%A^>,&«^y^,^A- .^-— .^-^ 
 
 ^^..^ ^«^A. ,iQ^r^ Si.&-,.^^^ aiC <fet^ «^^^™^ ^f?^ 
 
 ^...^^-T^fr/^vL ^A:^..a^ /■'^ -^ >«^^^ if,y^/A^ ^/(^.^ 
 
 JU»,^ '/<i^ ^^^--^ Ay7&* «<lw i^*^ l^'33j^^,^ /KU .^^-^ ««..»^.„^ 
 
 Report of committee of Common Council on arrival of Corporation 
 Library (reduced). See pp. 67-68. 
 
366 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 James W. Beekman, officer in many literary, historical 
 and benevolent institutions, a generous but unassuming 
 benefactor of the needy and the unfortunate; and John 
 H. Gom-lie, prominent in commercial aiFairs, and a 
 lecturer on economic subjects. 
 
 Of the short-term Trustees, by far the most eminent, 
 of world-wide fame indeed, was Washington Irving, a 
 life-long member of the Library, which he mentions as 
 the "City Library" in his "Knickerbocker" history. 
 Though a Trustee but two years, he gave substantial 
 assistance on the Library Committee. Another name 
 on the roll of pubhc honor is that of Enos T. Throop, 
 governor of this state from 1831 to 1833, and afterward 
 useful in the diplomatic service. 
 
 As "old merchants" appear, besides some already 
 enumerated, the names of John R. Townsend and WU- 
 ham A. Lawrence, of the China trade, Augustus Flem- 
 ing, Jacob Harvey, and Jonathan Sturges, a merchant 
 prince indeed, a generous patron of art always, and of 
 institutions to relieve suffering; as also Robert B. Min- 
 turn, first president of the Union League Club, a 
 founder of St. Luke's Hospital, a man of such wise and 
 tender benevolence, that his life, said George William 
 Curtis, was "a public blessing," and his death, "a uni- 
 versal sorrow." 
 
 As men especially interested in letters, aside from 
 those named above, appear Charles Baldwin, associate 
 of Peter A. Jay, David S. Jones, John Ferguson, Wil- 
 liam A. Duer and others in their literary society; Dr. 
 Henry J. Anderson, accomplished linguist, professor of 
 mathematics and astronomy in Columbia College and 
 its one-time librarian; Nathaniel F. Moore, nephew of 
 Bishop Moore, elegant classical scholar, professor of 
 
ANOTHER GROUP OF TRUSTEES 367 
 
 Latin and Greek and afterward president of Colum- 
 bia College, whose earliest library catalogue was his 
 work; Joseph G. Cogswell, first superintendent of the 
 Astor Library, adviser and close personal friend of 
 both John Jacob and William B. Astor; and 
 Charles Astor Bristed, grandson and nephew of these 
 two last-named, a dehghtful conversationahst, a ripe 
 scholar, and a charming writer under the pen-name of 
 "Carl Benson." 
 
 From the ranks of professional men were drawn 
 more lawyers than others, including, in addition to those 
 already mentioned, James Campbell, the scholarly sur- 
 rogate; John Anthon, one of the founders and fourth 
 president of the New York Law Institute; Wilham H. 
 Harison, of an ancient family of metropolitan lawyers, 
 dating to the early 18th century, a trustee also of Colum- 
 bia College, long a vestryman, comptroller and a warden 
 of Trinity parish, for foiu- years Treasm-er of the Li- 
 brary; Wilham Samuel Johnson, an assistant alderman, 
 son-in-law of that captain of industry, Wilham Walton 
 Woolsey; Charles G. Ferris, active as an alderman and 
 in Congress, where he materially aided Samuel F. B. 
 Morse in securing an appropriation toward the first 
 telegraph line, between Baltimore and Washington; 
 Edgar Evertson; Henry NicoU, of the distinguished 
 family that gave a member to the first board of Trustees 
 in 1754 ; Charles A. Clinton, son of the great governor, 
 for many years clerk of the superior coiut in this city; 
 and last, but by no means least eminent, Wilham Kent, 
 son of the celebrated jurist, himself a practitioner of 
 high repute, judge of the circuit court, holding a law 
 professorship at Harvard, a founder and a lecturer of 
 the New York University law department, sometime 
 
368 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 librarian of the Law Institute, a man of engaging ad- 
 dress, a charter member of the Union Club. 
 
 The medical fraternity had but a slender representa- 
 tion: Dr. James E. DeKay, noted naturalist and social 
 favorite, friend of Audubon, Drake and Halleck, a 
 founder of the Academy of Medicine, a man of wide 
 travel, author of "Sketches of Turkey by an American," 
 and compiler of a monumental work on the zoology of 
 New York state ; while the only other physician was Dr. 
 Andrew Hamersley, remembered as one of the truly 
 elegant men of the day. 
 
 Five clergymen gave of their literary taste and 
 judgment to the Library councils: the Rev. John F. 
 Schroeder, assistant minister of Trinity parish, a de- 
 voted student and lecturer, particularly in the field of 
 oriental hteratiu'e; the Rev. Jonathan M. Wainwright, 
 then rector of Grace Church, afterward of St. Paul's, 
 Boston, and again in New York as assistant rector of 
 Old Trinity and provisional bishop of the diocese, rep- 
 resenting the American house of bishops at the sesqui- 
 centennial of the "Venerable Society," at London in 
 1852; the Rev. Dr. William Berrian, eighth rector of 
 Trinity parish; the Rev. Dr. Benjamin I. Haight, rec- 
 tor of All Saints' Church, for many years professor in 
 the General Seminary and assistant rector of Old 
 Trinity, in preference to the bishopric of Massachusetts ; 
 and the Rev. Orville Dewey, one of the most noted of 
 Unitarian divines, who gave great congregations in his 
 Church of the Messiah on Broadway "such preaching 
 as had never been heard in New York before," blending 
 "the force of Edwards, the fire of Whitefield, the ten- 
 derness of Simamerfield, and the strong conviction of 
 Mason." 
 
TRYING TIMES FOR TRUSTEES 369 
 
 In conclusion: Daniel Embury, president of the At- 
 lantic Bank of Brooklyn, owner of a notable private 
 library; Anthony Barclay, for years British consul at 
 New York, a noted clubman and social favorite ; Henry 
 Brevoort, Jr., and Rufus L. Lord, former Directors of 
 the Athenseum and ever prominent in the advancement 
 of culture; Daniel Seymom-, James I. Jones and Ed- 
 ward Jones, men of wealth and scholarly refinement; 
 William Templeton Johnson, owner of a splendid col- 
 lection of paintings; and Peter Augustus Schermer- 
 horn, a gentleman of unbounded philanthropic interests. 
 
 Generally speaking, it would not be inapt to charac- 
 terize the period from 1830 to 1850 in the history of the 
 Society Library as preeminently the times that tried the 
 Trustees' souls. In addition to oppressive financial diffi- 
 ctdties, there was heaped upon the management— itself 
 composed of strong-minded gentlemen not seldom 
 divided in opinion — criticism amounting to obloquy, 
 some of which has survived in the form of pamphlets 
 and further exploitation in the daily press. 
 
 In the spring of 1832 came the first recorded attempt 
 to oust any of the board from office, since the election of 
 1795; but it met with no success. Nevertheless, the 
 following year a still more determined and systematic 
 effort was put forth in the same direction. It resulted 
 in unseating three of the Trustees, in whose ranks no 
 change had taken place for seven years. 
 
 According to the first ^ pamphlet of the series, it was 
 a matter of reproach that "an institution emphatically 
 
 ^Address to the Stockholders of at an adjourned meeting of stock- 
 
 the City Library, on the Manage- holders, March 26, 1833, and to be 
 
 ment and Actual Condition of that "circulated among the members." A 
 
 Institution. New York, 1833. An single copy is in the possession of 
 
 unsigned, 16-page pamphlet, with the New York Historical Society, 
 yellow paper cover, ordered printed 
 
370 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 called the 'City Libeahy' " should, after eighty years' 
 standing, be held "so low in the public estimation." This 
 melancholy stagnation, made the more conspicuous by 
 current enthusiasm in societies far more recently estab- 
 lished, such as the Athenseum, the Historical Society, 
 the Apprentices', Mercantile and Clinton Hall Associa- 
 tions, was attributed to: (1) the perpetuation of "absurd 
 and antiquated regulations" ; (2) a remissness in attend- 
 iag Trustee meetings; and (3) the jealous, "close- 
 borough" attitude of the board toward honest inquiry 
 or suggestion from interested subscribers. 
 
 Certainly no lack of loyalty could be charged to the 
 authors of the protest from the sentiments of the con- 
 cluding paragraph, when, disclaiming any personal 
 feeling or intentional disrespect, they say: 
 
 We earnestly desire to see the chief literary establishment of 
 our beloved city upon a scale commensurate with her wealth and 
 intelligence, and to place it upon such a footing that instead of 
 being the opprobrium it may eventually become the ornament 
 and the boast of New- York. We humbly hope that by a thor- 
 ough change in the direction, new life and renewed vigor will be 
 given to an institution which has been peacefully slumbering for 
 nearly a century. 
 
 The Trustees, stung to utterance, at once replied in 
 kind,^ observing slurringly that the complaints had 
 come from persons but lately admitted to membership, 
 and therefore excusable for not being better "ac- 
 quainted with the history and the means of the Library 
 from its foimdation." A resume of its career and 
 
 ^Address of the Trustees of the tion of that Institution. New York, 
 
 New York Society Library to the 1833. A 13-page pamphlet. A 
 
 Members of the Society, Relative to single copy is in the Columbia Uni- 
 
 the Management and Present Gondii versity Library. 
 
Peter Augustus Schermerhorn 
 Trustee, 1840-1841 
 
HOSTILE PAMPHLETEERS 371 
 
 hounding difficulties was presented, with a flat denial of 
 all charges, the members being asked to endorse the 
 present board at election-time. 
 
 In hot haste there was next thrown out a "Reply to 
 the Manifesto of the Trustees of the City Library,"^ 
 issued by "A Plebeian." Couched in terms of biting 
 sarcasm and personal abuse too intense to carry weight, 
 it is to-day simply an amusing specimen of satirical 
 rhetoric. The guardians of the Library are variously 
 styled "very respectable gentlemen," "venerable octo- 
 genarians," or "merry old souls," as the writer's humor 
 changes play. In contrast to "new, yoting members," 
 impudent enough to ask for the voting list,— "a de- 
 mand" withheld as not "in any way connected with the 
 good of the Library," say the Trustees, — "venerable 
 gentlemen, whose existence was nearly forgotten, will, 
 on the day of election, make their appearance to vote 
 for the friends of their youth; and by these and other 
 honorable means, they fancy their election sure." 
 
 Then comes a sharp passage, in which the Trustees 
 are termed "our servants, our agents, everything but oiu- 
 masters. Have we not made you, and can we not un- 
 make you again? ... If we cannot learn by whom you 
 are kept in office, we shall, at least, compel you to give 
 an account of your transactions." But the final sentence 
 is more pacific: "We have done; we have endeavored to 
 stir up our dignified agents 'with a long pole' ; and if our 
 labor has been in vain, we must good-naturedly abide 
 the issue." 
 
 A selection or two from the attentive press shows the 
 notice paid the dispute by the public. Canny editors 
 aimed 
 
 ■ A copy is in the Library of the Historical Society. 
 
372 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 only to give a plain, unbiassed abstract of the statements and 
 arguments of both parties, to the end that those interested 
 might have fully before them the means of judging of the merits 
 of the question, and that, by the mere fact of publishing the 
 representations of both sides, more care in the management of 
 the institution (if there had been any remission in these particu- 
 lars) might be induced for the future.-*^ 
 
 This same oracle remarks^ that "the indifference with 
 which it [the Library] is regarded, springs partly from 
 the fact that most people hearing little of it have almost 
 forgotten it"; predicts confidently that "a little stir, 
 therefore, concerning the Library is a good omen" ; and 
 voices a wide-felt sentiment in the opinion: 
 
 Whatever may be the merits, or the final decision of the con- 
 troversy in question, we hope it may have the effect of awaking 
 attention to a most important public institution ; that it will 
 increase the revenues and extent of the Library, and make it, 
 what to our discredit, it is not, a collection of books bearing 
 some proportion to the wealth and population of our city. 
 
 Loyal supporters of each side are impartially given 
 hearings in the newspaper columns, but in the main 
 they simply affirm or amplify the pamphlet utterances. 
 A few extracts will suffice : "G. M. W.," in championing 
 the board, observes: "It may seem surprising that such 
 imfounded allegations should be advanced, but the 
 enigma is readily solved when we know that the objec- 
 tors are men who would have no objection to the office of 
 Trustee." Such persons are denominated "those candi- 
 dates, . . . who abound in interested declamation."* 
 
 Again, imder the pen-name "Recent,"* a partisan of 
 
 ' From the Evening Post, April " Ibid., April 18, 1833. 
 
 29, 1833. *Ibid., April 26, 1833. 
 
 'Ibid., April 18, 1833. 
 
THE MANAGEMENT ARRAIGNED 373 
 
 the reformers in scholarly parlance sees the Trustees 
 actuated in their "Address" by the favorite principle of 
 Horace, "Odi profanum vulgus et arceo" ; while, on the 
 other hand, the protesting shareholders do but "adopt 
 the sentiments of Hudibras, when he concludes: 
 
 'It is in vain, 
 I see, to argue 'gainst the grain. 
 Or like the stars incline men to 
 What they 're themselves averse to do.' " 
 
 Another zealot of the opposition, cast in an equally 
 classic mold, over the signature "Alethes kai Eleuthe- 
 ros/'^ speaks out "candidly" against "inveterate office- 
 holding." He presents "Three Facts," to show "the 
 self-respect, modesty and disinterested zeal" of "the 
 present direction [which] has been gazing for twenty 
 years on the venerable dust and cobwebs accumulating 
 on the not-to-be-approached treasures of the Library's 
 parchment and sheep-skin." From this evidence the 
 public will "fully appreciate the incapacity" of the in- 
 cumbents, and thereby "infer the tenacity with which 
 the respectable gentlemen cling to their seats, the com- 
 fortable seats in which they have so long been accus- 
 tomed to doze." 
 
 A last word comes from the fair-minded "X,"^ who 
 has read all the articles and pamphlets, "without feeling 
 entirely satisfied with any," and who disclaims "con- 
 nexion with either of the contending parties." From 
 this circumstance he arrogates to himself the privilege of 
 freely arraigning the management, regarding "the pros- 
 pect of change with pleasure, and anxiety that it may 
 
 ^ From the Evening Post, April - From the New-York American, 
 
 29, 1833. April 29, 1833. 
 
374! THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 be realized," for, "when an old institution has settled 
 on its lees, almost any change is advantageous." The 
 Society Library, he judicially opines, 
 
 is not what it ought to be, nor what it might be made ; it is no 
 credit to our city, and of very shght utiKty to the reading 
 pubhc. What 's the design of a Public Library? Not, surely, 
 to afford facihties for novel reading, and serve as an auxihary 
 for the dissemination of the evanescent, generally trifling, and 
 too often vapid periodical literature of the day ! No ; but to 
 provide the studious with means of access to works not within 
 ordinary reach. 
 
 Inasmuch as this communication is somewhat anti- 
 climactic, there will be given in conclusion what should 
 have been its peroration : 
 
 The Trustees complain of stinted patronage. On the other 
 hand, I complain of them that they have not procured better 
 patronage. Do they expect the public to seek out an object for 
 its support.'' You remember the painting of Timoleon, Mr. 
 Editor? Our good Trustees seem to think that it embodied 
 both truth and fitness ; they would gladly have fortune throw 
 her scoop net, and bring books, bequests, and subscribers to the 
 old building in Nassau street, while they, good souls, sleep on 
 and take their rest! 
 
 As has been said, the movement was only partially 
 successful, the new members of the board comprising the 
 Rev. John F. Schroeder, Jonathan M. Wainwright, 
 D.D., and Dr. James E. DeKay; but the closeness of 
 the election is revealed in a brief newspaper report, that 
 "there wanted but three votes more to have ensured the 
 success of the entire 'Reformed Ticket.' "^ It should be 
 noted, moreover, that Mr. Verplanck and Professor 
 
 ' From the Evening Post, May 1, 1833. 
 
PURCHASE OF EUROPEAN BOOKS 375 
 
 Renwick were on both lists, so that the opposition might 
 properly claim five representatives; yet, strangely 
 enough, not one of these, save Mr. Verplanck, was ever 
 again elected.^ 
 
 Consequently, it is not surprising to meet with traces 
 of a renewed agitation within two years, though not as 
 pronounced, nor so widely bruited in the papers. The 
 one bit of surviving evidence is a single-sheet circidar, 
 issued "To the Shareholders of the New- York Society 
 Library,"^ in April, 1835, by Messrs. William N. Clark, 
 George Bruce, William H. Harison, William Emerson, 
 WUliam Kent, John D. Ogden and S. C. WUliams. 
 
 While its tone is far more temperate than that of 
 earher pamphlets, its object is the same and no less deter- 
 mined. Rehearsing the fate of preceding efforts, the 
 address bemoans "the present state" of the institution, 
 urging the election of carefully nominated persons to 
 "give their best attention to the interests of the Library." 
 The subjoined list includes five* "in the present board," 
 together with two former Trustees.* The old board 
 being reelected with a single exception,^ — and he not 
 one of their choice, — the dissatisfied members had to be 
 content, as before, with the nominees on both ballots. 
 
 One probable good result of the agitation was that in 
 February, 1836, the sum of $2000 was ordered spent for 
 European books, more than for the preceding five years 
 taken together ; but it must be remembered that this was 
 the board that sold the old building and consequently 
 had funds at its disposal. Furthermore, the records 
 
 * Dr. Wainwright resigned in thon, Gillian C. Verplanck, Henry J. 
 
 January, 1834, having been called to Anderson and James Campbell. 
 
 Boston. * J- Augustine Smith, M.D., and 
 
 ^A copy is in the Library of the the Rev. John F. Schroeder. 
 
 New York Historical Society. " Washington Irving vice Gov. 
 
 ' Edward W. Laight, John An- Enos T. Throop. 
 
376 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 show a noticeable change in 1837, when nine new names 
 appear on the report of the election committee. It was 
 by this quasi-new board that the questions involving the 
 union with the Athengeum and the erection of a new 
 building were fought over, as already related in the last 
 chapter, culminating in the bitter contest of 1838. StiU 
 another battle of the same sort was waged in 1842, but it 
 also resulted in the complete triumph of the administra- 
 tion, every one of the fifteen Trustees being reelected. 
 
 At this point, in connection with the last-named ob- 
 jects, — the Athenaeum merger and the new building, — 
 attention must again be directed to the tendency toward 
 an identification of several or all of the city's hterary 
 interests ; for this phenomenon was to continue to mani- 
 fest itself for some years to come. As heretofore, the 
 impulse arose from a lack of financial support in the 
 various institutions, rather than from any wide-spread 
 conviction of the fitness of such a consolidation, or from 
 any deep-seated longing on the part of individual so- 
 cieties. Each was naturally jealous of its own special 
 mission and entity, and only through grinding necessity 
 would any one of them consent to make or to entertain 
 overtures, even for association merely. The movement 
 was largely materialistic, then, springing from the behef 
 that upon union depended, not only solidarity or 
 strength, but actual existence. 
 
 The next suggestion looking to such merging comes 
 from a whoUy new source. In July, 1830, a letter was 
 read to the board from the Rev. Dr. James M. Mathews, 
 in behalf of "The University of the City of New York." 
 The communication begins by saying that enough sub- 
 scriptions had been received to "place the accomplish- 
 ment of the object beyond a peradventure." From the 
 
]\IERGER WITH UNIVERSITY DECLINED 377 
 
 outset, however, it had been "the ardent wish of the 
 friends and projectors of the University to unite, so far 
 as practicable, the resources of the several existing lit- 
 erary Institutions in our City, on such terms and to such 
 extent as would best promote their common interests 
 and usefulness." It was accordingly proposed to the 
 Trustees, "that suitable apartments for their library be 
 furnished by the University, on condition that free 
 access to the use of said hbrary be allowed to the mem- 
 bers of the University for reference." Despite the 
 statement that similar proposals had been accepted by 
 the Lyceum of Natural History and the Historical So- 
 ciety, the board, "after due deliberation," voted the 
 measure "inexpedient at this time."^ 
 
 Hard upon this oifer there began a succession of 
 schemes relative to "a change of location." In presenting 
 them it wiU be unnecessary to repeat the course of the 
 Athenaeum negotiations, already discussed. Between 
 November, 1832, and January, 1835, a desultory enter- 
 prise was afoot, on the part of the Library, the Athe- 
 neeum and the Historical Society, toward jointly leasing 
 land of Columbia College in Murray street; but no 
 action was taken beyond a consideration of the terms 
 submitted by the college trustees.^ 
 
 Within this same period two overtures were made to 
 the Corporation of the city for relief. In December, 
 1832, a petition was ordered drafted, "praying the 
 grant of a piece of land near the City HaU, for the 
 erection of a new building for the use of the Library." 
 
 ^See also p. 333. Jan. 13, 1834; May 4, 1835; His- 
 
 ^ See Library minutes, Feb. 4, torical Society minutes, May 14, 
 
 Mch. 35, Apl. 1, Nov. 4, 1829; Nov. 1833; Columbia CoUege minutes, 
 
 7, 1833; May 3, June 3, 11, 1833; Jan. 7, June 5, Dec. 4, 1833; Feb. 5, 
 
 Jan. 6, 1834; Jan. 26, 1835; Athe- 1834. 
 
 naeum minutes. May 6, Dec. 6, 1833; 
 
378 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Spread upon the proceedings of the board of assistants 
 of the Common Comicil, in January, 1833, is found the 
 following "Report and Resolution of the Committee on 
 Arts and Sciences, on the petition of the Trustees of the 
 New York Society Library" : 
 
 Resolved, That as it has heretofore been considered inexpedient 
 to remove the building called the Bridewell, that it be assigned 
 to the New York Society Library on the following conditions : 
 That it shall be ornamented and fitted up by the Trustees in 
 conformity with the plans which shall be decided upon by the 
 Mayor and Copimittee on Arts and Sciences of the two Boards 
 [i.e., aldermen and assistants] ; and the building be held by said 
 Trustees so long only as it shall by them be used as their Li- 
 brary, or so long as the Common Council shall not make any 
 other disposition of the property ; in which last case the Trus- 
 tees of the Library are to be repaid such proportion of their ex- 
 penditure as shall be decided upon by three respectable citizens, 
 to be chosen one by the Common Council, one by the Trustees, 
 and the third by the two so chosen ; and on the further condition, 
 that the present and future Members of the Common Council, 
 and the Heads of Departments of the City Government, shall 
 have free access to the books of the Library in the said building. 
 
 This resolution was never acted upon, its consideration 
 meeting with one postponement after another. Possibly 
 it was "killed" by Library members, hostile to the "ill- 
 omened measure," as it is styled in the pamphlet, 
 "Address to the Stockholders of the City Library,"^ 
 which complains that the petition had been presented, 
 "without reference to the opinions or wishes of the mem- 
 bers, although by the terms of the application ... it is 
 proposed to sink the whole capital of the society for an 
 indefinite term of years." This remonstrance was an- 
 swered as follows in the "Address of the Trustees."^: 
 
 ' See p. 369m. = See p. 370™. 
 
Hon. Frederic de Peyster^ LL.D. 
 Trustee, 1840-1855; 1869-1883. Chairman, 1870-1882 
 
MORE CENTRAL LOCATION DESIRED 379 
 
 The present Trustees have been long desirous of obtaining for 
 the Library a more central location. The only means they have 
 of doing so, however, is by the sale of their present building; 
 and being of opinion that, although the sum which would remain 
 after the payment of the incumbrance on their property would 
 be suflScient to erect a suitable building, but not sufficient to 
 purchase ground also in a good situation, they determined to 
 apply to the Common Council of the city, for the use of some 
 piece of public ground in the neighborhood of the City Hall, 
 upon which they might erect a building, creditable to the city 
 and themselves, and offering to the Corporation free access to 
 the books for themselves and the officers of the state and general 
 governments. On the presentation of their petition, the friends 
 of the Library in the Common Council suggested that there was 
 but little chance of obtaining ground for the purpose desired, 
 but the building formerly used as a Bridewell might be obtained. 
 Of course the Trustees did not object, and that matter is yet 
 pending in the Common Council. 
 
 A parting shot was discharged at this plan by "A 
 Plebeian," in his caustic "Reply to the Manifesto of the 
 Trustees of the City Library,"^ as follows: 
 
 The Trustees have not yet got into the Bridewell, but they hope 
 to reach that venerable Elysium ; of course they did not ask for 
 it, oh no ; this would have been descending from their dignity ; 
 but some of their friends in the Common Cotmcil suggested it, 
 and upon the valuable consideration of being permitted to read 
 the rare and valuable works in the Library, the corporation, it 
 is stated, are desirous of accommodating the Trustees. We 
 humbly hope that no alderman wiU be permitted to take out 
 our rare oriental manuscripts, without making an equivalent de- 
 posit, nor should our representatives in Assembly or Congress, 
 be permitted to carry oif our editiones prmcipes, without the 
 personal guarantee of two respectable householders. Our valu- 
 able MSS. from Herculaneum and Pompeii, and that rarest of 
 rarities, the proofsheets of Webster's Spellingbook, should be 
 
 ^ See p. 371. 
 
380 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 kept from the vulgar gaze of the ward inspectors ; nor should 
 our costly monuments of Peruvian and Araucanian literature be 
 lightly exposed to the romantic enthusiasm of the various offi- 
 cers connected with the City-hall. 
 
 Whatever may have caused the failure of this object 
 at the time, it was not forgotten; in November, 1834, less 
 than two years later, a committee was deputed to confer 
 with the Corporation, "for a lease of the Bridewell." No 
 record of a petition appears in the Common Council min- 
 utes, doubtless because at just this time it was voted to 
 demolish the edifice in question, "as soon as a proper 
 prison for the confinement of debtors can be provided 
 elsewhere."^ 
 
 Meanwhile, in June, 1833, the location committee was 
 ascertaining the price of leasing certain lots on Broad- 
 way between Chambers and Warren streets, as also the 
 cost of building; but no report was rendered. Again, 
 in 1834-1835, another committee was investigating 
 "the practicability of purchasing the Chiu-ch of D^ M*^- 
 Leod" in Chambers street, a brick structure built in 
 1815 opposite the old "Institution," as a house of wor- 
 ship for the Reformed Scotch Presbyterians. The 
 non-success of these attempts was a foregone con- 
 clusion, to judge by the appended criticism from dis- 
 affected members : 
 
 And the whole progress made during the last year towards pro- 
 viding a more convenient place for the Library has been the 
 
 '^Minutes of the Board of Alder- morally. Torn down in 1838-1839, 
 
 men, Nov. 17, 1834. The old bride- on the completion of the city prison, 
 
 well, here alluded to, was a plain, or old "Tombs,"— for whose compo- 
 
 two-story structure of dark-grey sition much of its stone was used, — 
 
 stone, erected in 1775-1776, in the its memory has since been chiefly 
 
 west of the park. Its accommoda- associated with the sufferings of 
 
 tions had been long outgrown, while American patriots confined there 
 
 its nearness to the City Hall was an during the Revolution. So we must 
 
 offense, architecturally as well as again own to a feeling of relief that 
 
SALE OF NASSAU STREET PROPERTY 381 
 
 appointment within a few days of a committee to inquire respect- 
 ing the Scotch Presbyterian Church in Chambers-street ; a mat- 
 ter that had been before fully investigated, and found to be 
 impracticable by reason of the price demanded, a pending htiga- 
 tion, and the situation of the premises relatively to other build- 
 ings, were the price within our means.-' 
 
 Other projects — such as leasing a portion of the 
 house at 14 Vesey street, lately bought by the Athe- 
 naeum, a suggestion considered early in 1834— were set 
 aside by the inability to dispose of the Nassau Street 
 property. Nevertheless, not wishing to let a rare chance 
 slip by, and encouraged by a rise in down-town real 
 estate, in June, 1835, the Trustees, in conjunction with 
 the Directors of the Athenaeum, purchased for $47,500 
 the valuable lots on Broadway and Leonard street, as 
 above set forth.^ Fortiine soon further favored them, 
 for, at a special meeting of the board, February 16, 
 1836, the exciting announcement was made 
 
 That on Saturday the 13*^ instant, through the agency of 
 James Bleecker & Sons, the Library lot and premises were sold 
 to WiUiam W. Townsend for $44,200. The terms of sale were : 
 ten per cent, down ; $10,000 on the delivery of the deed, on or 
 before the first of May next ; and the balance either in cash, or 
 on bond and mortgage, with lawful interest, at the option of 
 the purchaser* ; the Society to have the priviledge of removing 
 the book cases and fixtures appertaining to the Library. The 
 sale was very satisfactory to the committee ; and they trust it 
 will meet the approbation of the Board. 
 
 the Library was never housed in this " On May 3d the deed, "duly exe- 
 
 building, a notion even less agree- cuted by a majority of the Trustees, 
 
 able to entertain than the old alms- was delivered to Messrs. To^vnsend & 
 
 house proposition. See pp. 296-297. Brothers," the latter having paid 
 
 '■ From a circular. To the Share- $14,200 in cash and given a bond and 
 
 holders of the New-York Society mortgage for $30,000 for one year at 
 
 Library. New York, April, 1835. seven per cent., payable semi-annu- 
 
 ' See pp. 343-344. aUy. 
 
382 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Needless to say, the good news met with the full 
 sanction of the Trustees, who at once bade the same 
 gentlemen, Messrs. Bancker, Laight and Verplanck, to 
 consimimate the bargain. Thanks were then voted to 
 the Athenaeum for its courteous offer of the Directors' 
 room, while the Trustees might be "deprived of their 
 usual place of meeting." In conclusion the committee 
 was further empowered to hire the Mechanics' Society's 
 building, "or some other suitable apartments, to take the 
 necessary measures, and to defray all expenses for re- 
 moving the Library."^ 
 
 There must have been jubilation unrestrained and 
 much rubbing of hands over the announcement. Small 
 wonder the board "approved." Less than two years 
 before it had been impossible to get $30,000 for the 
 property, which in 1821, and even as lately as 1831, had 
 been appraised at but half that sum. Furthermore, the 
 price received was only $3300 less than the combined cost 
 of the two new lots on Broadway, of double its extent. 
 The terms, as finally adjusted, included cash payment 
 of $14,200 by the Messrs. Townsend, with a bond and 
 mortgage of $30,000 for one year at seven per cent., inter- 
 est payable semi-annually. The compact with Mr. Clark 
 for the Broadway property was even more advantageous 
 to the Library — at the time. He was given a bond and 
 mortgage for $14,000 at six per cent., payable half- 
 yearly, and $7500 in cash on the conveyance of the lot, 
 the deed bearing date of April 30, 1836. 
 
 On April 12, 1836, the Trustees held their last meet- 
 
 ' The sale was effected at the important transfers, appeared in the 
 height of the inflation of New York American of tlie same date, — an 
 real estate, just prior to the disas- evidence of reportorial despatch not 
 trous panic of 1837. A notice of the unworthy of present-day journal- 
 transaction, along with several other ism. 
 
FIRST PAGE OF TRUSTEES' MINUTES 
 
 >fe^ 
 
 
 
 •'-Ji^^^J^ 
 
 ^ ^^^ 
 
 
 
 <^^e^/i^. 
 
 
 
 ^i^^f^C^c^ A^ >%i^^^ ^^^=«^;^.<«=/^fe6>^^£,{:^ 
 
 ^iV'aS^iii^ 
 
 ^^i/:^ 
 
 First page (reduced) of Society Library Trustees' proceedings. See pp. 151-152. 
 
384 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 ing in the old Nassau Street building, which for exactly 
 forty-one years had been their official home. Many of 
 them could not recall the time before it stood there; 
 while to them all, as to the great body of the citizens, it 
 was one of the landmarks of New York. Associations 
 and memories must have clustered about the venerable 
 structure in profusion; yet not a trace of feeling is dis- 
 cernible in the even tenor of the minutes. This was the 
 hour for rejoicing, not for sentimental regret; the re- 
 ward had been slow in coming, but come it had at last; 
 achievement and enlarged responsibilities alike pointed 
 only to the future. 
 
 It became at once necessary to make a satisfactory 
 change of station, until a new building should be up and 
 ready. By June it appears the Library had been safely 
 ensconced in the building of the Mechanics' Society, at 
 12 Chambers street. It was a thrifty move, in view of 
 the location and the accommodations offered, and "more 
 especially as the basement is under-let for the yearly 
 rent of $100 and the rooms in the third story remain to 
 be disposed of." The original lease was for two years, 
 at a rental of $1200 per annxmi, payable quarterly; as 
 events turned out, however, this sojourn was extended 
 to a little over four years." ^ 
 
 At the first meeting of the board in the Chambers 
 Street building, June 13th, a letter dated May 11th was 
 read from Mr. William Beach Lawrence, asking in 
 
 ^ This building, erected in 1831 as to make way for the new Manhattan 
 
 the "Mechanics' School and Appren- terminal of the Brooklyn Bridge, 
 
 tices' Library," by the General So- See Amials of the General Society 
 
 ciety of Mechanics and Tradesmen, of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the 
 
 was d, three-story, unpretentious, City of New-York, Thomas Elarle 
 
 brick structure, 27x51 feet in dimen- and Charles T. Congdon, Editors, 
 
 sions. But little changed in outward New York, 1882; and also A. T. 
 
 appearance, it survived many vicissi- Goodrich, The Picture of New 
 
 tudes, until demolished in July, 1907, York and Stranger's Guide, 1828. 
 
OFFER FROM STUYVESANT INSTITUTE 385 
 
 behalf of the Historical Society on what terms its collec- 
 tions might be housed in the proposed Library building, 
 and whether the Trustees could offer temporary shelter 
 pending the completion of the edifice. "After a short 
 deliberation," the board voted to tender gratuitously to 
 the Historical Society a large room on the third floor of 
 the lately leased building, "for their temporary accom- 
 modation," naturally reserving a consideration of "their 
 further application for a permanent location," until a 
 new building should be erected.^ 
 
 Shortly before the original lease of the building of 
 the Mechanics' Society was to expire, the Trustees re- 
 ceived, early in February, 1838, an urgent solicitation 
 from the directors of the Stuyvesant Institute to remove 
 to its attractive abode. The letter, dated January 29th 
 and signed by Messrs. William Kent, Samuel Alley and 
 I. Green Pearson, bespeaks at least a "candid considera- 
 tion," for the proffered apartments were "admirably 
 adapted for the purposes" of the Library, and the com- 
 mittee was "not aware of any objection to the local 
 situation" of the Institute. The Trustees, however, 
 were too certain of their new building, and too uncertain 
 when it would be an actuality, to make another move 
 before that happy day should dawn.^ 
 
 ^ The Historical Society, which circumstances it was evidently 
 
 could complain of neglect and lack deemed best to put aside the Library 
 
 of appreciation more justly than any oifer; and indeed, long before plans 
 
 of the worthy institutions of that of the new building were even 
 
 day, had for some months been draughted, the errant Historical So- 
 
 pluckily struggling to regain its ciety had, by the summer of 1837, 
 
 footing. In Jan., 1836, its trustees had gratefully found an asylum in the 
 
 met, after the lapse of rather more lately finished Stuyvesant Institute, 
 
 than two years, to authorize con- See minutes of the trustees of the 
 
 ferences with the Society Library, Historical Society; and also Robert 
 
 the Athenseum, the City Lyceum, "or Hendre Kelby, The New York His- 
 
 any other institution, whose building torical Society: 1804-1904, New 
 
 will be completed within the present York, 1905, pp. 40-41. 
 year," in order "to procure perma- -The Stuyvesant Institute, named 
 
 nent accommodations." Under the in honor of Peter G. Stuyvesant, 
 
386 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 In the spring of 1841, the Historical Society, through 
 Messrs. Hamilton Fish, Archibald Russell and George 
 W. Folsom, was again making overtures to other insti- 
 tutions, regarding "terms of mutual accommodation." 
 The joint committee, comprising Stephen C. Williams, 
 Dayton Hobart and A. Robertson Rodgers of the Trus- 
 tees, recommended a four-fold plan for a temporary asso- 
 ciation of the two institutions under one roof, with an 
 exchange of privileges, the Society to introduce and pay 
 the annual dues of between two and three hundred mem- 
 bers, who, however, could not vote in Library meetings. 
 
 These recommendations, like so many before, were, in 
 May, deemed "inexpedient"; though the board had "no 
 objection to a union . . . upon such terms of equality as 
 would best promote the interests of both institutions and 
 the cause of literature generally." At the same time, as 
 an earnest of good will, the gratuitous use of one of the 
 basement stores — for which two apartments the Library 
 was presently to draw rentals of $400 and $600 — was 
 "tendered to the Historical Society for the deposit of 
 their property until they can obtain suitable accommoda- 
 tions," — an offer "respectfully declined" by the latter 
 body, then about to accept a proposed lease of apart- 
 ments in New York University on Washington square. 
 
 To return to the Library, just removed to the Me- 
 chanics' Society building. With the institution fairly 
 settled in this temporary abode, we may now properly 
 gather up loose ends of the narrative in other matters. 
 
 was organized in 1834i by leading for the hopes of its founders, tMs 
 
 citizens, "for the diffusion of Itnow- institution had an even shorter life 
 
 ledge, by means of popular lectures, than the Athenaeum; early in 1841 
 
 and to establish a reading room, li- foreclosure proceedings were brought 
 
 brary, cabinet of natural history, against the association, and it was 
 
 &c." Unfortunately for the causes not long afterward dissolved, 
 it represented, however, no less than 
 
LIBRARY IN TEMPORARY QUARTERS 387 
 
 Looking closely into the affairs of the Library during 
 the period in review, one finds nothing sensational to 
 mention besides these contested elections, the sale of the 
 old and the erection of the new building, negotiations 
 with other institutions, and the final absorption of the 
 Athenaeum. A regular routine was observed in con- 
 formity with the by-laws ; and even these same exciting 
 campaigns caused no jarring of the administrative ma- 
 chinery, defeated "reformers" acquiescing dutifully, if 
 not cheerfully, in the issue. 
 
 Throughout this epoch the old custom still obtained of 
 choosing a chairman at each meeting of the Trustees. 
 There was thus never an absence of that functionary, 
 though no special prerogatives attached to the position. 
 The names most often occurring in this capacity are 
 those of Messrs. Laight, Morgan and Berrian, Mr. Ver- 
 planck not being called to the chair imtil May, 1828, 
 after he had served on the board for eighteen years. 
 
 As always, the executive work was performed by the 
 Library Committee, in accord with the by-laws, its mem- 
 bers being chosen with other officers at the first assem- 
 bling of each new board. In 1836 its number was 
 increased from three to five, and, by an amendment of 
 1839, two of its members were to be the Secretary and 
 the Treasurer, ex officio. After 1840 the reports of the 
 Libraiy Committee were either rendered orally, or filed 
 away, without transcription in the minutes. The gentle- 
 men of longest standing in its membership were Messrs. 
 Morgan, Verplanck, J. Augustine Smith, Dayton Ho- 
 bart and William Inglis. It was the usual practice to 
 reappoint the faithful. 
 
 Several changes were made in the daily opening of 
 the Library to its patrons. From December, 1812, imtU 
 
388 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 May, 1830, the hours were from ten to two, Sundays and 
 hohdays excepted. It was then voted to keep open from 
 nine to three until November 1st; a year later the time 
 was amended to read from ten to three, "and in the 
 afternoon from 4 to 6 o'clock." In May, 1832, the Li- 
 brary Committee was given "discretionary power to 
 direct the opening of the Library in the afternoon," 
 During 1833 the season of the year determined the mat- 
 ter, as books were to be accessible from ten to three, and 
 "from 4 P.M. to simset." For the first half of the sojom-n 
 in Chambers street, the building was unlocked at nine 
 for "the whole of the remainder of every day except Sun- 
 days and a few Holy-Days." Under the revised by-laws 
 of 1838, the time was established at the ample extent 
 of from 8 a.m. until sunset, daily, except Sundays 
 and holidays, throughout the year. StiU greater latitude 
 was shown in a resolve to keep the reading room open 
 until 10 P.M., on and after November 30, 1840, gas hav- 
 ing been introduced below Canal street in 1825. Ac- 
 cording to an advertisement in the Post, in January, 
 1849, books could be taken out "from 8 o'clock a.m. till 
 sundown"; while the reading room was "open from 
 8 o'clock a.m. tiU 10 p.m." 
 
 Likewise the hour for Trustee meetings was shifted 
 about somewhat, to suit the varying convenience of 
 members. For nearly ten years, after November, 1823, 
 they assembled at half -past four on the first Wednesday 
 afternoon of May, August, November, February and 
 April, save that in 1825 the stated May meeting was 
 changed to the first Friday. In April, 1833, the speci- 
 fied day became the second Tuesday in all the usual 
 months, but in February, 1837, a return was made to 
 the former observance. As laid down in the published 
 
CHOLERA PREVENTS A QUORUM 389 
 
 by-laws of 1838/ the time was appointed to be "the first 
 Wednesday after the fourth day of every month except 
 August, and also, on the day next before the last Tues- 
 day of April, in each year, at half past five o'clock in the 
 afternoon." This rule obtained imtil May, 1848, when 
 the board voted to meet, until December, at "half past 
 six o'clock in the afternoon." Finally, in November, 
 1851, this last-named hour was ordained for all stated 
 meetings. 
 
 While it frequently happened, as has been more than 
 intimated in the newspaper extracts above quoted, that 
 the board failed of a quorum, there yet appears but 
 a solitary occasion on which not a single Trustee at- 
 tended. This was in August, 1832, when "no members 
 appeared, owing to the prevalence of the Cholera" ; and 
 the clerk logically concludes, with a spice of grim hiimor : 
 "An adjournment of necessity took place." 
 
 The annual meeting of the corporation was regularly 
 held on the last Tuesday of April, in accordance with 
 the charter provision that has been scrupulously observed 
 throughout the history of the Library. The Trustees' 
 minutes contain the record of its proceedings, year after 
 year, up to 1856. Usually httle was done save to appoint 
 a chairman and a secretary, and, on the conclusion of 
 the voting, to listen to the result of the election from 
 inspectors, previously named by the Trustees. The 
 attendance is never entered and doubtless was small, as 
 to-day, unless in case of a contested ticket. From 
 January, 1813, to April, 1838, the meeting was called 
 to order at noon, while the poll was kept open from 1 
 to 2 P.M.; at the latter date the polling time was ex- 
 tended to four o'clock; though within a year it was 
 
 ^ See Catalogue of 1838, p. xxi. 
 
390 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 established by the new by-laws to read from one to four, 
 a custom observed with but slight variation until 1856. 
 
 In the next place, what of the accessions to the Li- 
 brary's shelves within the term of years now under 
 examination? The chief fault found with the manage- 
 ment had been over the slow increase observable in the 
 collection. The first pamphlet sarcastically exclaims: 
 "In 1813 the Trustees estimated the Library to contain 
 between 12,000 and 13,000 volumes, so that for the last 
 20 years, the Library has increased at the prodigious 
 rate of 250 volumes annually." In a footnote lurks a 
 sneer in the remark, "that nearly 1000 volmnes have 
 been presented." 
 
 To this the Trustees made answer that the rate had 
 been 425 rather than 250 voliunes a year, the collection 
 at present numbering fully 21,000 volumes instead of 
 18,000, as their accusers had asserted. Certainly those 
 most closely concerned should know best; and the min- 
 utes tend to support the Trustees, for the Library Com- 
 mittee had reported in December, 1832, that the books 
 were "stated by the Librarian to amount to 20,000."^ 
 
 Giant strides, comparatively speaking, were taken 
 under the impetus of the successful sale of the old build- 
 ing. A committee of investigation announced impres- 
 sively in June, 1837: "The Library consists of about 
 25,000 volumes, a great number of which are very costly, 
 and very many of the works are curious and rare." This 
 same estimate is given also in the preface to the Cat- 
 alogue of 1838.^ 
 
 In the struggle for a bare existence, and under the 
 
 ' This number is given also in the ^ The number is stated as 30,000 
 
 sketch of the Library in New-York volumes in New-York As It Is, In 
 As It is, In 1833, p. 56. 1839, p. 68. 
 
Charles Edward Strong 
 Trustee, 1855-1897. Treasurer, 1855-1859. Chairman, 1883-1885 
 
SUBSCRIPTION CATALOGUE OF 1838 391 
 
 burden of outside dissatisfaction, the board found little 
 time or thought, not to say funds, to bestow upon the 
 subject of a new catalogue, for a number of years after 
 the pubhcation of the Supplement of 1825. Finally, in 
 June, 1837, the Library Committee was authorized "to 
 print a catalogue." On learning, however, that the 
 probable expense, "from 8 to $900," would prove em- 
 barrassing at that juncture,— "the demand for cata- 
 logues having never been considerable, and a large part 
 of the old impression still remaining on hand in sheets," 
 — it was suggested that "a written copy of the Catalogue 
 as lately corrected should be made in a large foho vol- 
 ume, strongly bound and laid on the Library table, to 
 be consulted by the subscribers when required," the 
 board voting merely that "the printing of the proposed 
 Catalogue be suspended." 
 
 The next word on the subject came in February, 
 1838, when Mr. Evertson promised the immediate com- 
 pletion of a catalogue "at no expense to the Library, 
 having been voluntarily subscribed for at $2 per copy." 
 He added that "the risk and burthen of the publication" 
 had been assumed solely by the Librarian, to whom 
 thanks were due for this saving of several hundred dol- 
 lars. In December following, Mr. Forbes announced 
 an edition of 500 copies, at a total personal cost of 
 $624.23. After having sold just about enough cata- 
 logues to cover the expense, he was, in January, 1839, 
 ordered paid $300 for the remainder, in consideration of 
 his "more than a year of industrious occupation." 
 Should the Trustees, however, succeed in disposing of 
 150 copies at the regular price, this resolution loses some- 
 thing of its generous look. But with over 300 already 
 in the hands of readers, such a probabihty was at least 
 
S92 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 remote. Still, the Treasurer's reports show that every 
 httle while one was sold at the stipulated price. 
 
 This Catalogue of 1838/ an octavo volume of about 
 350 pages, tastefully bound in cloth, must have com- 
 mended itself as a model in hbrary science for its day 
 and generation. It met with flattering press notices and 
 is well worthy of a brief consideration, at least. 
 
 About twenty introductory pages are devoted to 
 miscellaneous matters of interest, comprising: "An His- 
 torical Notice of the Library," the first really author- 
 itative sketch of the institution, and which, though but 
 an outline, is fairly accirrate as far as it goes; the 
 "Articles of the Subscription Roll of the New- York 
 Library, 1754"; a hst of the first Trustees, 1754; the 
 charter and subsequent amendments; the by-laws; a list 
 of Trustees^ from the foundation; the names of the 
 Librarians^; and officers for the year 1838—1839. 
 
 The body of the text is divided into two main parts, 
 an "Alphabetical Catalogue" and an "Analytical Cata- 
 logue," the former in coarser type covering very much 
 more space. The production betokens infinite care and 
 thoroughness in preparation; in comparison with the 
 last catalogues, of 1813 and 1825, the greatest gain is 
 the introduction of the "alphabetical" scheme. Its chief 
 fault, judged by present standards, lies in the absence 
 of any attempts at cross-references. All the time and 
 effort spent on the "analytical" classification — which is 
 really nothing more than a topical arrangement — might 
 
 ' Alphabetical and Analytical Cat- ^This table is inaccurate, cum- 
 
 alogue of the New-York Society brously arranged and somewhat mis- 
 
 Library: with a Brief Historical leading. A carefully prepared list 
 
 Notice of the Institution; the Origi- will be found in the Appendix to 
 
 nal Articles of Association, in 1764; the present volume. 
 
 and the Charter and By-laws of the ' Also an imperfect list ; see the 
 
 Society. New York: Printed by Appendix. 
 James Van Norden. 1838. 
 
SYNOPSIS OF CATALOGUE 393 
 
 far more profitably have been devoted to a double-entry 
 system, of "titles" and "authors" both; or, best yet, to 
 include "subjects," as well. But in such case we shoidd 
 prematurely have had the modern "dictionary" method 
 complete, thus violating the law of progress; so it is 
 enough to pronounce the work an excellent specimen of 
 its stage in catalogue evolution, reflecting credit upon 
 the institution and Librarian Forbes alike. 
 
 Preceding the "Analytical" part come two pages of 
 a "Synopsis" of its contents, whose headings, though 
 modeled after earlier catalogues, show a finer discrimina- 
 tion in arrangement, as follows : 
 
 I Theology: sacred writings, philology and criticism; eccle- 
 siastical historjr and law ; natural theology and the evidences 
 of Christianity ; miscellaneous. 
 
 II Law : statute, common, mercantile and military. 
 
 III Science : universal, comprising encyclopedias ; mental and 
 moral, including metaphysics, ethics and logic, and educa- 
 tion ; poHtical, including government, national law and poli- 
 tics, and poHtical economy, currency, commerce, statistics 
 and public documents ; exact, including mathematics and 
 astronomy ; natural, including natural philosophy, chemistry, 
 natural history, and anatomy, medicine and surgery. 
 
 IV Arts : mathematical, covering engineering and the art of war 
 and navigation; natural, comprising agriculture, gardening 
 and veterinary ; fine, including drawing, painting, engraving 
 and music, and architecture, civil and naval; miscellaneous, 
 comprising mechanical, chemical, domestic, &c. 
 
 V Belles Lettkes : elementary and theoretical, including dic- 
 tionaries and grammars, and rhetoric, oratory, poesy, philol- 
 ogy and criticism; proper, including: poetry and drama, 
 English and American; ditto, foreign and translated; ro- 
 mance and facetiffi, Enghsh and American ; ditto, foreign and 
 translated ; literary essays, letters and orations, Enghsh and 
 American; ditto, foreign and translated; Greek and Latin 
 classics and translations. 
 
394 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 VI Geoguaphy, Topography, Voyages and Travels : uni- 
 versal, comprising gazetteers and collections ; Europe ; Asia 
 and Africa ; America ; AustraKa and Polynesia. 
 
 VII History: introductions, historical dictionaries and uni- 
 versal history ; mythology, chronology, antiquities and her- 
 aldry ; Greece and Rome ; England, Scotland and Ireland ; 
 Europe ; Asia and Africa ; America. 
 
 VIII Biography : general, and dictionaries ; English, including 
 Scottish and Irish ; foreign ; American. 
 
 IX Transactions: memoirs and transactions of hterary and 
 scientific institutions, foreign and American. 
 
 X Periodical Works : registers, reviews and magazines, Brit- 
 ish and foreign ; ditto, American ; American and foreign news- 
 papers. 
 
 XI Polygraphy: collected works of miscellaneous writers, 
 EngKsh and American ; ditto, foreign. 
 
 XII Bibliography: comprising catalogues of books, foreign 
 and American. 
 
 XIII Pamphlets: unclassified; classified, viz., theological, 
 pohtical, statistical and politico-economical, on medicine and 
 natural history, addresses and orations, poetical, critical and 
 philological, on education, historical and biographical, moral, 
 on law and reports of trials, on slavery and Indian affairs, 
 on prison discipline, on arts and internal improvement, mis- 
 cellaneous. 
 
 XIV Novels. 
 
 In sharp contrast to some of the other headings, espe- 
 cially those of the collection in 1825, this summary shows 
 but a slight increase in the list of novels. Its total of 
 724 titles marks a gain of only 155 over the enumeration 
 made thirteen years before, — a circumstance which may 
 explain in part the lamented public indifference to the 
 Library's advantages. 
 
 As before, the custom was observed of attaching to 
 presentation works the names of donors, including 
 authors, translators, editors and publishers, together 
 
DONATION FROM BRITISH GOVERNMENT 395 
 
 with stanch friends of the institution, whom it would 
 be in^ddious to single out from scores of benefactors. 
 Some gifts are acknowledged in the minutes, notably in 
 July, 1834, when, "a donation of valuable records hav- 
 ing been received from the British Government," the 
 Secretary was directed to thank "the British Record 
 Commission for their munificent donation." This col- 
 lection comprised printed acts of both English and 
 Scotch parliaments and other government pubUcations, 
 such as excerpts from the "Rolls" series (in Latin), a 
 "General Introduction to Domesday Book," calendars 
 of proceedings of various courts, etc.^ Again, in Janu- 
 ary, 1835, "an ancient Book of Maps," declared by the 
 donors "worth being preserved," was received from 
 Messrs. E. and G. W. Blunt. 
 
 In 1848 the Library became the owner of what is to- 
 day one of its most valued and unique treasures, an 
 ancient engraving, styled "A South Prospect of y^ 
 Flourishing City of New York in the Province of New 
 York in America," published in London, in 1746, by 
 Thomas Bakewell, and "most Humbly" dedicated to 
 "His Excellency George Clinton Esq^ Captain Gen- 
 eral & Governor in Chief of y'' Province of New York 
 & Territories thereon dependent in America." This rare 
 old print, six and a half feet long by twenty-eight inches 
 in width, and said to be duplicated only by copies owned 
 by the New York Historical Society and the British 
 Musexmi, was the gift of Mrs. Maria Peebles of Lans- 
 ingburgh. In June, 1850, it was voted, at the suggestion 
 of former Trustee William H. Harison, to present to 
 
 ' This gift is thus noticed in the made to the Institution by the 
 
 "Circular" issued by protesting British Government, but it cannot be 
 
 shareholders in April, 1835 (see p. supposed that the Trustees take any 
 
 375) : "A valuable present has been credit ... for the acquisition." 
 
OF THE ' ^^-^ 
 
 UNION LIBRARY SOCIETY 
 
 O F 
 
 NEW-YORK. 
 
 Publifhe^ the Third Day of December, One 
 Thoufand Seven Hundred and Seventy-One. 
 
 Printed by S. Inslee, and A. Car, at the New 
 Printyig-Office, on BeekmamVSujn 
 
 MJ3CC,LXXI. 
 
 A unique specimen of colonial printing (facsimile size). See p. 112m. 
 
PLANS FOR NEW BUILDING EXPEDITED 397 
 
 the donor "a print ^ from an old Map of the City of 
 New York with a smtable memorandum on the back of 
 the frame." The original picture was skilfvdly "re- 
 stored" in 1903, at the studio of H. A. Hammond Smith 
 in Tenth street, and to-day, sealed under glass, figures 
 conspicuously in the adornment of the main hall. 
 
 It is now seasonable to retvu-n to the long-deferred 
 preparations for a new building. Amid all the distrac- 
 tions of these trying years, the friends of the Library 
 had kept before them a vision of the new home, finished 
 and in order, as a veritable beacon flame of hope. 
 
 As already stated, the Society Library had acquired 
 from the Athenseum, by deed of transfer, signed May 
 16, 1838, its portion of the premises on the corner of 
 Broadway and Leonard street. It will also be recalled 
 that this agreement was the initial act of the Trustees 
 chosen at the fiercely contested election of 1 83 8 . ^ Closely 
 aUied to that move, another undertaking pledged by the 
 new board to push to completion was the erection of the 
 contemplated building. 
 
 The work was begun with energy and despatch. On 
 May 26th the Trustees unanimously adopted a report 
 of the committee in charge, consisting of A. Robertson 
 Rodgers, chairman, Professor Moore, Judge Inghs and 
 Messrs. G. C. Verplanck and W. S. Johnson. This 
 report, together with "accompanying plans and eleva- 
 tions,"— not copied in the minutes, — had been rendered 
 three days before, "after a consultation with several 
 gentlemen of taste and experience." 
 
 Resolutions passed August 1st authorized an edifice 
 "of brick with bro^vn Stone dressings," and a disposal of 
 
 ^ Reproduced in D. T. Valentine's Manual for 1849. 
 = See pp. 349-357. 
 
398 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 the Townsend mortgage (on the old Nassau Street 
 building), "or a loan on the pledge thereof," to raise 
 needed funds. Finally, on November 23d, two contracts 
 were ordered executed, the one with Frederic Diaper, 
 architect, and the other with masons and carpenters. 
 
 At the end of the official year, in April, 1839, the 
 committee submitted a fuller statement, announcing 
 that $10,000 had been spent as "the first payment due in 
 the progress of the Work." The report closes with little 
 purrings of satisfaction, offering in explanation a recent 
 letter from the architect. By this it appears that the 
 walls were then at the height of one story, that "the 
 brick piers &c" were "ready to receive the iron columns 
 in the lecture room," and that "the whole of the work 
 hitherto" had been "executed in a sound, workmanlike 
 manner, with materials of the best quality." 
 
 As no demonstration was made at the annual election 
 in 1839,^ the board went steadily on in its course, 
 promptly reappointing the building committee. Little 
 was reported, however, until December, when the Li- 
 brary Committee was "authorized to apply to M^ Ver- 
 planck to defiver an address on the removal of the 
 Library to the new building in Broadway, and to make 
 such other arrangements, for the same occasion, as they 
 may deem proper." But, as in the case of the "Oration" 
 requested of General Jacob Morton on the opening of 
 the first building in 1795, no further allusion to any 
 dedicatory exercises do the minutes vouchsafe.^ 
 
 ^ The successors to General Laight 19, 1838, according to memoranda 
 
 and Mr. Kent— Messrs. Rufus L. deposited therein by the Librarian, 
 
 Lord and Henry Brevoort, Jr.— Philip Forbes. The box with its 
 
 were proposed by the board and charred contents came to light in 
 
 were hence in sympathy with cur- 1867, when the building, then owned 
 
 rent policies. by the Appleton Publishing Co., was 
 
 ^ The corner-stone was laid Sept. demolished in consequence of fire. 
 
FIRE IN THE NEW EDIFICE 399 
 
 Instead, to the great concern of the friends of the 
 Library, a serious set-back was met with in a fire in 
 January, 1840, just as the structure was nearing com- 
 pletion. A letter from the architect estimated the 
 damage at $1726, chiefly to floors and plastering, in 
 consequence of which he predicted a delay of from six 
 to eight weeks. Early in March, however, repairs had 
 so advanced that a formal visit of inspection was paid 
 by several of the board, Messrs. Bancker, Brevoort, 
 Harison, Lawrence, Rodgers and Seymour, the records 
 being mute as to their impressions. 
 
 The long-anticipated occupation of the new abode 
 woidd seem nigh at hand from a resolution of March 
 17th, directing the removal of the collection to the build- 
 ing, and closing the institution for the interim. Never- 
 theless, one more election took place in the dismantled 
 Mechanics' Society building at 12 Chambers street, 
 where the Library had maintained an indifferent exis- 
 tence for a Httle over four years. That the migration 
 had then begun is evident from an editorial notice in the 
 American for April 30, 1840, which, in mentioning the 
 removal as taking place, lets fall a few words of descrip- 
 tive interest. "The rooms," it says, "hke the exterior, 
 are chaste in style, spacious in extent, and . . . [the 
 building] now embraces a reading-room and a lecture- 
 room." 
 
 On May 13, 1840, the first meeting of the Trustees 
 was held amid the fresh surroundings, and was duly 
 signalized in the minutes as convened "pursuant to 
 notice at the New Library Building corner of Broadway 
 
 The Messrs. Appleton courteously and scorched newspapers of the day, 
 sent to the Library the few remain- a copy of the Catalogue of 1838 and 
 ing articles, including water-soaked some personal notes of Mr. Forbes. 
 
400 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 and Leonard Street," That friends of the Library were 
 not alone in their satisfaction over the finished prod- 
 uct of patient and careful planning is amply vouched 
 for in jom-nals and manuals of the day, as well as by 
 many a word in personal reminiscence of its dignified 
 and impressive appearance. One or two such apprecia- 
 tive extracts will be of interest. For example, Ruggles' 
 "Picture of New York in 1846" says the Society Library 
 was "a conspicuous and beautiful edifice, of the Ionic 
 order, of brown freestone," and declares its apartments 
 "unsurpassed for architectural beauty by any in the 
 United States." Equally enthusiastic in its praise is 
 the verdict of "New- York: Past, Present, and Future"^: 
 
 This building, 100 feet long by 60 wide, is constructed of finely- 
 cut brown sand stone, and presents on Broadway a chaste 
 fa9ade of Ionic columns. On passing the structure, the eye is 
 arrested by its bold and massive front, while the beauty of its 
 proportions, and its highly finished masonry, ehcit the appro- 
 bation of good taste and critical observation. 
 
 For a sympathetic description of the interior of the 
 building, the following extract from the New Yorker 
 of November 28, 1840, will prove illuminating: 
 
 The New Youk Society Libuart has lately been re-opened in 
 its new and beautiful edifice ... a new ornament of our prin- 
 cipal avenue. The basement floor is divided into stores and 
 offices. A spacious hall occupies the middle of the building. 
 The visitor enters this and ascends a broad flight of stairs, 
 which leads to the reading room in the rear. This is a lofty 
 and well proportioned apartment, with windows at each end, 
 and in it are four commodious tables covered with rich food for 
 the literary appetite. One contains the city journals; another 
 
 'Published in 1849 by E. Porter Belden, M.A., projector of the 
 famous "Model" of the city. 
 
7 
 
 O 
 
 2: 2 .- 
 
 c/i ,r = 
 
BROADWAY BUILDING DESCRIBED 401 
 
 those from different parts of the United States ; and the other 
 two are loaded with EngHsh and American periodicals — weekly, 
 monthly and quarterly ; Kterary, scientific, religious and politi- 
 cal. This room, brilliantly Kghted at night, with its soft car- 
 pets deadening the sound of footsteps, its cushioned arm chairs, 
 and its rich supplies of periodicals, renewed by every steam- 
 ship, forms the perfection of Kterary luxury. From a landing 
 place upon the grand staircase two flights turn and ascend to 
 the book room, which is a spacious apartment in the front of the 
 building, with two rows of columns dividing it, and formed into 
 alcoves by the cases which contain the books, arranged in double 
 ranks. The librarian's desk faces the entrance. Connecting the 
 reading room and the book room are two smaller apartments, 
 used as conversation parlors, to avoid disturbing the readers, as 
 committee rooms, and as studies for those authors who desire to 
 pursue their investigations with their authorities around them, 
 or who wish to make new books on old Burton's recipe, "as 
 apothecaries make new mixtures, by pouring out of one vessel 
 into another." A lecture room, arranged on the commodious 
 plan of ascending and circular seats, is situated in the rear of 
 the basement, and the upper stories are occupied by the National 
 Academy of Design. 
 
 Next in importance to a safe anchorage in the desired 
 haven is knowledge of what it cost to reach that happy 
 state. An inventory, published two years later, gives 
 the entire expense of lots, building and furnishings as 
 $121,313.42.^ From these figures and accompanying 
 tables, it is apparent that the board had become involved 
 considerably in excess of even the predictions of mem- 
 bers opposing absorption of the Athenasum in 1838. 
 
 Early efforts of the first board in the new building 
 resulted in a legislative enactment of March, 1841, so 
 
 ^See Report of the Board of bound with Annual Reports: 1875- 
 
 Truatees of the New-York Society 189$. An unbound copy is in the 
 
 Library, AprU 23, 1843. A copy of Library of the N. Y. Historical So- 
 
 this pamphlet is in the Library, ciety. 
 
402 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 amending the charter of the Society Library that hence- 
 forth its shareholders were to elect, "on the last Tuesday 
 in April in each and every year," fifteen Trustees in- 
 stead of twelve. Further provisions of the act altered 
 the quorum from seven to eight, and confirmed the 
 accepted "mode of filling vacancies and all other matters 
 in relation to the election and term of office of the said 
 Trustees." Accordingly the first election in the new 
 building was for fifteen Trustees. The former board 
 was returned in its entirety, with the addition of 
 Augustus Fleming, Joshua Coit and the Rev. Benjamin 
 I. Haight. Practice soon demonstrated the wisdom of 
 this change, the chances being thus more favorable to 
 obtaining a quorum. 
 
 This same first twelvemonth in the Broadway build- 
 ing was also the banner year for new subscriptions, 150 
 additional shares then being purchased. The enrolment 
 comprised 480, it will be recalled, at the time of the 
 Athengeum merger. The 316 shares taken out \inder its 
 terms, together with sixty-eight besides, raised the num- 
 ber to 864 in 1839. When the new building was opened 
 in 1840, the membership was 897; a year later it had 
 risen to 1047; and in May, 1842, it had reached 1120, 
 the highest point hitherto, and indeed for some time to 
 come. 
 
 It must be understood that these figures do not rep- 
 resent the actual nmnber of share holders, for of course 
 there were, as always, many instances of the ownership 
 of two or more rights by the same person. For example, 
 the 480 shares held prior to absorbing the Athenaeum 
 were owned by 420 individuals; the 316 shares then 
 added were the property of only 190 persons, of whom 
 "about twenty-five" were already possessed of Library 
 
REPRESENTATIVE SHAREHOLDERS 403 
 
 stock. Consequently the nearly 800 shares combined 
 were divided among less than 600 different people. 
 
 The rvding that a person was not entitled to the 
 privileges of membership until his admission should be 
 ratified by the board— even though he had paid the price 
 and had received his certificate— was adhered to rigidly. 
 This practice was loudly denounced at the time of the 
 preelection agitation in 1833, as giving the Trustees the 
 opportunity— of which they were accused of avail- 
 ing themselves— to postpone such ratification until after 
 the election. 
 
 No list of shareholders was published between 1813 
 and 1856, so one must depend for information upon the 
 Treasurer's books and the entries of names in the min- 
 utes. It is to be regretted that a careful record has not 
 been kept of the issuance and disposition, of the trans- 
 fers and present ownership of each share or right in the 
 Library, as has so scrupulously been done by some insti- 
 tutions — the Boston Athenaeum, for instance; but it 
 must be borne in mind that comparatively few of the 
 shares have been "free," while there would be httle profit 
 in keeping track of the hundreds that have been for- 
 feited. 
 
 In the absence of such a table, therefore, and in the 
 limited space permissible, only a few representative 
 names may here be given, some of which are of national 
 importance. Among such may be mentioned that noble 
 philanthropist, Peter Cooper; Samuel Jones Tilden, a 
 library founder himself, as well as a great political 
 leader; George Bancroft, the historian, and Daniel E. 
 Sickles, of Civil War fame. Exclusive of those who 
 served as Trustees,— a list of whom will appear in full 
 in the appendix,— there might be named William A. 
 
404 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Duer, president of Columbia College, the Hon. Ben- 
 jamin D. Silliman, Nestor of the New York bar, Francis 
 Marbury, the Hon. Joshua Marsden Van Cott, Thomas 
 R. Mercein, John C. Hewitt and Cornelius Van Schaack 
 Roosevelt, an eminent merchant, grandfather of Presi- 
 dent Roosevelt. 
 
 Meanwhile the shares of the founders and fathers 
 were being handed down to succeeding generations, so 
 that the membership roll was kept replenished with old 
 Knickerbocker patronymics. The patrician element of 
 the community has ever prided itself on its connection 
 with the Society Library. For was the institution not 
 aristocratic even in its origin? Indeed its very name has 
 been taken to imply that it is the Library of "Society" 
 —of "New York Society"! 
 
 These sentiments, though unwritten, are plainly dis- 
 cernible, and it is equally patent that to such a spirit 
 of exclusiveness must be attributed in some degree the 
 languor, approaching atrophy, into which at times the 
 institution has lapsed. And it has had to be renewed by 
 ingrafts of fresh material. Of the newer infusion at 
 this time, one name may be taken to typify the by no 
 means insignificant achievements of the country-bred 
 in the fast-expanding metropolis. Long since, the tide 
 of lu-ban migration had begun, a tide that seemingly is 
 to have no tm-ning. The rural districts were sending— 
 or rather were unable to hold back — their promising 
 young men for the city to engulf. 
 
 But many were only temporarily lost to sight; they 
 presently emerged, weU on the road to success and 
 honor. One of such was Thomas White, born in "Old" 
 Boylston, Massachusetts, February 9, 1804. Of a 
 notable New England ancestry, grandchild of an 
 
so 
 
 THOMAS WHITE, TYPICAL SHAREHOLDER 405 
 
 orthodox Congregational clergyman and son of the 
 ' local "Squire," he was reared with his nine brothers and 
 
 * sisters under the best traditions of that Ptu'itan common- 
 
 * wealth. Though admitted to the bar, he turned his 
 '■ attention to business. His inherent good judgment and 
 
 sagacity, together with habits of apphcation, brought 
 '^ him prosperity, while his stainless integrity and unfailing 
 
 devotion to the duties of Christian citizenship won for 
 him the aiFectionate esteem of the community. He was 
 '1 active in affairs and good works till the last, dying at his 
 
 ra Brooklyn home after only a brief iUness, November 23, 
 
 5' 1896, aged nearly ninety-three.^ 
 
 ti! Turning from the shareholding theme to a closely 
 
 ty aUied topic, we find that the Trustees, flushed with grati- 
 
 fication over the substantial gains in membership during 
 h- the first year in the Broadway building, were determined 
 
 to raise the price of shares, which since May, 1824, had 
 been $25. The subject had already met with some 
 attention; in December, 1837, Mr. Evertson, of the anti- 
 Athenaeum persuasion, had advocated an increase to $50. 
 This was too radical, of course; but the board took a 
 laissez-faire attitude, deciding with Judge Inglis that 
 any such advance was "inexpedient," at least until "a 
 g plan of building and general improvement" should be 
 
 |,.|i formed, with due pubhcation to those interested. 
 
 Nevertheless, that rumors of an impending change were 
 
 I 
 ill 
 DJt 
 
 nil 
 
 ]i- 
 
 ^ Mr. White became a member of only daughter. Miss Salome E. White 
 the Society Library in April, 1841, of Brooklyn, should give a Library 
 and took the highest satisfaction in to the town of her parents' nativity, 
 the relationship for forty years, in memory of her mother, Mrs. 
 long after his removal to Brooklyn. Harriet Sawyer White. The corner- 
 So deeply did he feel the value and stone of the Sawyer Memorial Li- 
 need of the Library as an educa- brary of Boylston, Mass., was laid 
 tional factor, that it is not sur- May 30, 1904, at about the time the 
 prising to those who connect cause Society Library was celebrating its 
 and effect, to learn that, after the 150th anniversary, 
 delayed settlement of his estate, his 
 
406 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 being industriously bruited abroad is inferable from a 
 bit of confidential advice inserted without authority in 
 the newspapers, cautioning shareholders "against selling 
 or transferring their shares at the present price of $25, 
 as they are worth much more, and a vigorous and deter- 
 mined eiFort is about to be made to raise the price of 
 shares."^ 
 
 It was in the midst of the excitement just prior to the 
 stirring election of 1838 that the above words were 
 printed, and very naturally, however kindly meant, they 
 were at once made the target for a partisan discharge. 
 Accordingly an insertion, signed "Reform," in the Post, 
 April 18, 1838, declared the above notice meant 
 
 that certain people have very snug berths in a public institution, 
 and would not have their good friends sell out to persons that 
 they know not. Keep up the cost of the privilege — restrict the 
 number of beneficiaries, instead of spreading wide the gates of 
 knowledge. Let us stay in our places. The Chinese party in 
 the board may use their efforts to raise the price of shares, but 
 such conduct is behind the age. 
 
 And yet, at the very first meeting of the Trustees 
 elected to office by this same contributor and his party, 
 Mr. Lawrence proposed that, upon the opening of the 
 new building, $40 should be made the price of a share. 
 No action was taken on his motion, though three years 
 later, in February, 1841, the board voted to set the price 
 at that figure; but in March they reconsidered, decree- 
 ing the admission fee to be $33 after May 1st. The time 
 was later extended till June 10th, probably to attract 
 fresh subscriptions at the lower rate. For one year only 
 
 'From the American, April 19-20, and New-York Enquirer, April 17- 
 1838, and also the Morning Courier 19, 1838. 
 
u 
 
 h- 
 
 ANNUAL PAYMENT RAISED 407 
 
 was this rule in force, when a return was made to $25, 
 "the experience of past years" having shown that to be 
 "the highest price that can be readily obtained." 
 J'' Even with this last change in view, there was Httle 
 
 * encouragement that it would secure the desired result. 
 
 '"' So recourse was again had to the one remaining ex- 
 
 pedient, legislative permission to raise the annual pay- 
 '*'" ment charge. Accordingly, as in 1802 and 1819, the 
 
 '^™ prescribed form of appHcation was followed, and in 
 
 % March, 1842, the state legislature passed an act, empow- 
 
 "gf ering the Trustees "to demand and receive" six dollars 
 
 "«*( instead of four "on the first Tuesday of every May 
 
 hereafter," with the "same powers and remedies for the 
 collection of the said additional sum." Agreeably to the 
 terms of this law it was formally so voted by the board, 
 on April 26th, with a corollary calling for the yearly 
 payment of two dollars "on each right or share now 
 free of all annual dues." 
 
 It will thus be noted that the charter was altered three 
 times in as many years. The board stated in justification 
 of this last amendment, "that it would be better to have 
 its a permanent and steady fimd to rely upon, than to 
 
 ittr, resort to a system of occasional loans, which would 
 
 'tit render a heavier accumulated taxation finally neces- 
 
 ait sary."^ ^ 
 
 jyj As will presently be observed, however, this measure 
 
 ijJK was equally fruitless, to say nothing of the storm of 
 
 j(. protest evoked from shareholders, particularly those who 
 
 j^( had just had their yearly dues commuted by the cash 
 
 J payment of $67, not to mention numbers of Athenaeum 
 
 1 members.^ In consequence there ensued, to a far 
 
 ' From the Report of the Board of Trustees, published in April, 1842. See 
 If- p. 401tc. " See p. 359. 
 
 ■tia 
 ;e si 
 iria 
 
408 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 greater extent than before, transfers^ of shares, "pre- 
 sumed to be sold at a reduced rate"; while arrearages 
 were allowed to accimiiilate on others, until inevitable 
 forfeitures resulted. Among those whose membership 
 thus lapsed during the '30's, appears a name of romantic 
 interest, Madam Eliza Jumel, the widow of Aaron Burr 
 and long the owner of the stately, historic Roger Morris 
 mansion,— now known as Washington's Headquarters, 
 — that still dominates the valley of the Harlem. 
 
 On the subject of forfeited shares it was ordained in 
 May, 1838, that they might be redeemed on the pay- 
 ment of $20, with the retiirn of the "previous right." 
 Furthermore, such shares might be reissued to "heirs 
 or assigns," as well. All three varieties of renewals are 
 found recorded in the proceedings and ledgers. 
 
 So prone were members to falling behind, that in 
 April, 1840, the board resolved upon a strict enforce- 
 ment of the by-law withholding all privileges from 
 those in arrear until payment, and that rights on which 
 sixteen dollars — or four years' dues — were owing should 
 be declared forfeit. Instances also occurred of the 
 annulment of membership for failure to pay the one- 
 dollar "initiation fee." 
 
 For the short time in which $33 was the price of a share, 
 1841, the figure at which one might be redeemed was 
 set at $25. In February, 1849, it was voted that holders 
 of forfeited rights could be restored to full standing on 
 paying the arrears, or $15 "for each share within six 
 months." As a further incentive to such resumption it 
 was at the same time decided to levy no annual charge 
 on any such, prior to May, 1850. 
 
 ' On Feb. 3, 1830, it had been transfer, just as in the case of the 
 voted to charge one dollar for a issuance of a new share. 
 
•T 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 ( 
 
 
 
 "1- / 
 
 0(^ 
 
SHARES IN EXCHANGE FOR BOOKS 409 
 
 Occasionally an application for a gift-share was made 
 to the Trustees, and semi-occasionally was such an 
 appHcation granted. In March, 1839, a letter was read 
 from Peter A. Schermerhorn, Esq., a manager of the 
 New York Asylum for the Bhnd, asking in its behalf 
 free access to the Library. The "use of one right" was 
 granted, the managers to be responsible for any restdting 
 loss or injury to books. But in the following December 
 it was voted "inexpedient"— the favorite word for ad- 
 verse decision— to bestow the same privilege upon "the 
 Teachers, Monitors & others connected with the Pubhc 
 School Society." 
 
 Similar action was taken at times on requests for full 
 membership in return for other than the stipulated 
 monetary equivalent; for example, in January, 1848, 
 "an offer from D. I. Browne to exchange certain books 
 for a free share in the Library was declined." Very 
 different, however, was their procedure, in April, 1850, 
 over the proposition of John J. Audubon, "to sell his 
 work on the birds of America for a free share," it being 
 voted to "pay him fifty doUars and give him certificates 
 for two ordinary Rights." Thus the Trustees secured, 
 at an actual outlay of only $50, — though of course rep- 
 resenting double that sum,^ — a work which even then 
 commanded a much higher price, and which to-day has a 
 value of $200, at least. 
 
 A notable departure from customs obtaining since 
 the founding of the institution was made in December, 
 1840, when the board voted that "persons not members 
 be admitted to the use of the Library (within the Build- 
 ing) and the Reading Room at the rate of ten dollars 
 for one year, six dollars for six months and four dollars 
 
 ^ In April, 1850, the Treasurer paid $100 for a copy of this work. 
 
410 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 for three months, payable in advance." Previously, 
 either there had been set terms, depending on the length 
 of loan and the fold of the book, or else the whole sub- 
 ject had been left discretionary with the Library Com- 
 mittee. The printed by-laws of 1850, however, show a 
 return to the latter practice, though there is no evidence 
 to prove any variation in the rates charged to temporary 
 subscribers from 1840 to the present time.^ 
 
 Excluding such persons, there may be summarized 
 three classes of proprietors, as follows: 1st, those paying 
 $6 a year on each share; 2d, holders of commuted shares, 
 paying $2 annually; and 3d, owners of "Athenaeum" 
 shares, also assessed $2 a year. The actual amounts, 
 which, at the prevailing seven per cent, rate, would yield 
 interest equal to the assessments of $6 and $2, were, 
 respectively, $87 and $29; but, inasmuch as the sum of 
 $67— established in March, 1839,^ as the amount for 
 commuting the annual payment of $4 — was somewhat 
 in excess of the sum necessary to produce that interest, 
 and "as an inducement to members to commute," these 
 figures were, in June, 1842, reduced to $75 and $25, 
 respectively. 
 
 Meanwhile, in September, 1841, there had been pub- 
 lished a supplementary catalogue, a slender octavo vol- 
 ume of about sixty pages, containing titles of about 
 3411 volumes.^ It is Tiniform in typography and 
 "arrangement" with the Catalogue of 1838, — that work 
 having been found "practically useful," it is stated in 
 the preface or "Remarks." An edition of 1000 was 
 
 1 In January, 1849, John W. ' See p. 359. 
 Leigh, who had just paid $10 for a 'Supplementary Catalogue of The 
 year's subscription, on leaving town New-York Society Library. New 
 asked for a return of his fee. It York, J. Van Norden & Co., Print- 
 was voted, not unfairly, to refund ers, 1841. 
 $6 on his surrendering his "ticket." 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY CATALOGTJES 411 
 
 ordered, the price charged to purchasers being fifty 
 cents a copy. The board assumed the whole expense of 
 the pubhcation— $182.34. 
 
 Again, in May, 1843, there was issued a second sup- 
 plement, although no copy can now be found in any 
 
 NEW-YORK LIBRARY. 
 
 THIS is to give jiotice, that the woi(hipful corporation of the 
 city of New-Yoik, have commirtcd the care of their Li- 
 brary, of near looo volumes, (among which are a grea- 
 in»ny very valuable antient, curious, and rare books,) to Mt. Jack- 
 fan, Mailer of the Academy in the Exchange, who- will foDn pub- 
 lifli a catalogue, with the conditions of lending them out. The 
 truflces of the Society-Library have alfb appointed Jiim keeper of 
 their Library, conlifting of a large well chofen colleQion of the moft 
 ufeful modern bookr.v/jth a confiderable late addition, of which a 
 catalogue will be fpebdily publifliedj that the /ubfcriberB may ftitch 
 ij» with their former catalogues. Afiiare in this Library is now 
 worth lo 1. 10 i, and is translerable by the fubfcnbers. 
 
 Both Libraries are kept in a large commodious room, fitted up for 
 tlicpurpofe, acthc City-Hall, where conflant attemlance will be given 
 on Mondays and ThutUays, from half pa(f eleven to one o clock. 
 
 As a fenfe of the univerfal benefit of good reading, and of the 
 great want of opportunity of having that otherwife fupplied, in this 
 place, has prompted the corporation, and the gentlemen of the So- 
 ciety, to take this method for encouraging it 5 it is hoped great num- 
 bers will improve this advantage, which it is not doubted, Mr. Jack- 
 fon will exert himfclf all he can to promote, at the fijced hours of 
 attendance; and atfo will affift, pauiculaily young gentlemen, at 
 fucEkother convenient hours, as upon application to him, they and be 
 flialfagree upon. 
 
 Thofe who have borrowed, or have any books from the Corpora- 
 tion-Library, are defired to return them ; and thofe who have any of 
 the following books, now mi/Tmg out of the Society-Library, ere de- 
 flltd alfo to return thr f^me to the librarian. 
 
 Booh wjfmx out of the Society-Library, 
 
 Ludlow's memoirs, fbl. Wood's infiitutes of common law, fol, 
 Hogarth's analjfis, 4to, Cowley's woiks, vol. ill. Sbakefpear, vol, 
 id. Rolt of thelate war, vo;. ^'.h. Clogber's journal. Life of Rich- 
 lieu, 2 vols. J3e la Sale's voyages, Hcnepio's travels. Life of Sir 
 Matthew Hale, i2mo. Life of the duke of Marlborough. Thorap- 
 fgo's travels.- Voyage to Peru. Chriftian hero. ConcluCon of 
 bilhop Burnet's hiftory. Adventurer, vol. 4lh. Seled trials at the 
 Old Bailey, vol. 3d. Rowc's works, vol, id. 
 
 " Good readijig enriches the minds of youth, and. forms them to 
 juft thinking ; aciufes old age, graces profpcrity, ajid relieves and 
 comforts in adveifity , it affords agreeable entertainment at home, 
 incumbers not, but rtcommendi abroad ; ii always a chearful com- 
 panion in the city, in the country, and in travelling, wKertver ono 
 \t\ alone or in company." Cicero, 
 
 Notice (facsimile size) of reopening of Corporation Library and Society Library in City 
 Hall; from the Gazette and Weekly Post-Boy, September 19, 1765. See pp. 80, 173. 
 
412 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 institutional Library of the city. Inasmuch as the 
 Treasurer's books show that only $29.25 was devoted to 
 the purpose, it must have been a limited edition. Ac- 
 cording to the Librarian's memorandum in April, 1848, 
 it contained titles of 737 additional volimnes. 
 
 In February, 1845, there came a long report from 
 Messrs. Verplanck, Cogswell, Ogden, Minturn, Wil- 
 liams, Rodgers and Inglis, appointed the December 
 before to suggest a plan whereby the Library might "be 
 brought more prominently before the public and its 
 usefulness be extended by an increase of its members 
 and pecuniary funds." In its accompanying statement, 
 for general distribution, the committee declared: "Our 
 Library now contains more than 35,000 volumes, well 
 selected and carefully condensed in number and value by 
 the exchange of duplicates and sale of useless books." 
 
 At the same time, local papers were announcing a 
 considerable importation of French books. The Even- 
 ing Post, in commenting on this acquisition, February 
 20th, says: "We are glad to see the Library in a state of 
 growth and prosperity. Within a year it has paid $1000 
 of its debt, besides increasing its collection of books by 
 nearly 2000 volumes, which we are informed by the 
 Librarian is twice as many as were ever added in one 
 year." Alluding to the fact that the Society Library 
 was "our only public institution of the kind," which 
 should, with proper public spirit, "ere this have been the 
 finest public collection of books in the United States," 
 the editor nevertheless concludes: "As it is, it offers a 
 basis on which a little well-applied munificence might 
 build up a noble library. The number of volumes it 
 contains is about 40,000, and there is very little trash 
 among them." 
 
TRUSTEES COUNT THE BOOKS 413 
 
 But in April, 1848, Messrs. Titus, Coit, De Peyster, 
 Cogswell and Leupp, specially deputed "to ascertain 
 the number of volumes now in the actual possession of 
 the Library," reported at great length their painstaking, 
 precise coiuit of the books. As a result they were "not 
 prepared to give any opinion as to the number of vol- 
 umes which may have been lost, nor how far the value of 
 particular works may have been impaired by such loss." 
 Expressing full conciuTence in the lately rendered 
 opinion of another select committee, that there was 
 urgent need "of adopting some plan which, avoiding 
 unnecessary trouble or expense," might "provide a 
 mode of ascertaining with certainty whether books taken 
 from the Library" had been lost or not, these gentlemen 
 annovmced that the institution had then "in its actual 
 possession 30,635 volumes," of which there were "packed 
 away in store room, being mostly duplicates, odd vol- 
 xmies, old files, &c, &c, 3465." 
 
 In December, 1848, a committee was charged with 
 "the expediency and best mode of publishing a new 
 catalogue." After several oral reports, in February, 
 1849, the sum of $900 was voted for its preparation and 
 issuance. At a November meeting this appropriation 
 was raised to $1200, on the Librarian's assurance that 
 the work would " be ready for the press before the end 
 of the year"; nevertheless. May came again before print- 
 ing was begun. According to the Treasurer's records 
 the printer was paid $1148 ; so, with the expense of bind- 
 ing, the appropriation must have been somewhat over- 
 drawn. By October, 1850, Mr. Forbes reported that 
 the stipulated edition of 1000 copies had been taken to 
 the binders, three months before, and that he had paid 
 on them an insurance premiimi of $10.50. From the 
 
414. THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Treasurer's accounts it appears that they were sold at 
 rates varying from $2.50 to $1.50, presumably according 
 to binding, for the first himdred copies were ordered "in 
 a suitable style to the pattern of Bossange's Paris Cata- 
 logue." By April, 1851, over $400 had been realized on 
 their sale. 
 
 This Catalogue of 1850,^ the last and most elaborate 
 pubhshed by the Society Library, was again the product 
 of the industry and intelligence of Librarian Philip 
 Forbes, assisted by Dr. H. D. Neal. Of octavo-fold 
 like its predecessors, it is a much larger volume than 
 any of them, containing about 670 pages. Its excel- 
 lencies, from the point of view of the printer, the book- 
 maker or the modern scientific cataloguer, wiQ not be 
 detailed here. In fine, with its Avide margins, "double- 
 leaded" clear type, good quality of paper and service- 
 able binding, the book presents to-day, to the layman at 
 least, a most attractive appearance, and certainly must 
 have been regarded, when issued, as a handsome addition 
 to any hbrary. 
 
 In plan it follows closely the Catalogue of 1838; 
 there is no foreword, but the table of contents is like the 
 latter's, with additions. The first topic as before is the 
 "Historical Notice"; though somewhat altered in 
 phraseology, it shows no further research beyond claim- 
 ing in the opening sentence, that "The history of the 
 New York Society Library commences in the year 
 1700," ^— the first appearance of this oft-quoted asser- 
 tion and fond belief. 
 
 ^Alphabetical and Analytical ° For the source of this statement 
 
 Catalogue of the New York Society and for full treatment of the sub- 
 
 Library, with the Charter, By-laws, ject, see the introductory chapter, 
 
 S[C., of the Institution. New York: "The Library in Colonial New 
 
 ft. Craighead, printer, 113 Fulton York." 
 street. 1860. 
 
THE CATALOGUE OF 1850 4.15 
 
 The sketch is brought up to date and announces, with 
 reference to the size of the coEection, that "the present 
 number amounts to 35,000 volvmies." In recording the 
 bequest of Miss Elizabeth Demilt, the hope is expressed 
 that her example "may prove an incentive to the hberal- 
 ity of others," and "may induce our richer citizens to 
 spare a portion of their wealth thus to erect to then- 
 memories moniunents the most useful, the most honor- 
 able, the most diu-able." Worthy of quoting in full is 
 the closing paragraph : 
 
 It win thus be seen that while the number of its supporters 
 has remained ahnost stationary in the midst of an unparalleled 
 growth of population, the Society Library has continued to 
 increase and to extend its resources for usefulness. It has 
 erected two large and conspicuous pubhc edifices, ornamental to 
 the city ; and in redeeming the city from the imputation of in- 
 diiFerence to such institutions, it has surmounted every obstacle 
 connected with its great outlays for building, and by strict 
 economy has been enabled largely to increase its supplies of 
 valuable books, of which the volume now oflFered wiU, it is hoped, 
 afford satisfactory evidence. 
 
 Then follow, as usual, the several documentary proofs 
 of the Library's formdation and legal rights as a cor- 
 poration ; eight pages of by-laws ; a hst of the Trustees 
 from the beginning, continued to date but repeating 
 former errors; and the names of Librarians since 1793. 
 The chief new featvu-es are an "Alphabetical List of 
 Subjects Contained in the Analytical Catalogue" and 
 the "Catalogue of the Winthrop Library." The latter 
 in 269 titles is thus introduced: "This Ancient and 
 Curious Collection of Books was presented hy the late 
 Frajstcis B. Winthkop, Esq.; they were the property 
 
416 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 of his distinguished ancestor, John Winthrop, the 
 Founder of Connecticut." 
 
 Philip Jones Forbes occupied the office of Librarian 
 during this whole period and more, serving the institu- 
 tion, like his father before him, for a full generation. 
 Born in New York city and beginning his connection 
 with the Library in 1824, on that parent's decease, he 
 truly, as he himself says,^ "succeeded him in fact, tho' 
 not officially, at his death, being still a minor." He was 
 first appointed Librarian, it will be recalled, in May, 
 1828, at a salary of $600, together with a percentage on 
 collections of annual payments. 
 
 This stipend was continued until May, 1835, when it 
 was raised to $700; a year later, upon the removal to 
 Chambers street, $300 additional was voted for an 
 assistant. In November, 1837, Mr. Forbes was ordered 
 paid $900 a year, and the assistant was awarded a "dona- 
 tion" of an extra $100. The next May the board 
 decided for the future to appoint "a clerk who shall be 
 also collector and an assistant to the Librarian," at $350 
 a year, and presently named one John W. Palmer for 
 the position. He was further accorded a commission of 
 five per cent, on collections of annual dues. 
 
 A very interesting, not to say extraordinary, notion of 
 the province of a Librarian is that formulated by Wil- 
 liam S. Johnson as a proposed by-law, in February, 
 1840. He recommended that the post be "honorary" 
 and "conferred on such person as in the opinion of the 
 Board of Trustees is so accomplished in literature and 
 science as to give dignity to the office and fill the office 
 of literary head of the corporation." Furthermore, be- 
 
 " From notes on a, sheet of fools- in a box under the corner-stone of 
 cap, enclosed with various articles the Broadway building. See p. 398nj2. 
 
THE "HEAD LIBRARIAN" THEORY 417 
 
 sides certain perquisites, such as a room to himself, 
 stationery, fuel and lights, all "at the expense of the 
 corporation," he should "preside at all meetings of the 
 Board of Trustees when present," and be ex officio a 
 member of the Library Committee. Besides appointing 
 and regulating the salaries of assistants, etc., this im- 
 posing personage was to "have the general supervision 
 and superintendence of the Library and the interests of 
 the corporation, and from time to time make such reports 
 and suggestions to the Board," as he should "deem ex- 
 pedient." 
 
 Whether the holder of these advanced views had any 
 definite person in mind answering these requirements, 
 there is no telling ! That the Trustees did not rehsh the 
 idea of such a dictatorship, however, is plain from their 
 promptly voting the measure "inexpedient, inasmuch as 
 it is believed to be impossible to find a gentleman of the 
 proper quahfications and character who would bestow 
 an adequate degree of attention on the duties of the Li- 
 brary, rendering it necessary to employ as great a nvmi- 
 ber of persons, and of the same qualifications, as on the 
 old plan." The majority opinion — if not unanimous, 
 for by that time Mr. Johnson had retired — took shape, 
 however, in June, 1840, in the passage of a by-law in- 
 vesting the Library Committee "with aU the powers and 
 duties of head Librarian, subject to the control and 
 directions of the Board." This provision was still in 
 force in 1850; and, though not so expressed in the care- 
 fully revised by-laws of 1856, its spirit is plainly dis- 
 cernible in that committee's dealings with successive 
 Librarians. 
 
 In May, 1843, the salaries were set at $800 for the 
 Librarian, $350 for the "room keeper," A. W. Trappan, 
 
418 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 and $250 for the janitor, George Paterson, or a reduc- 
 tion of $200 in all. Three years later these items of 
 expenditure were a httle over $1400, including "Boy 
 (in clothing), $28.75." 
 
 In September, 1847, the board judged it "inex- 
 pedient at the present time to make a permanent addi- 
 tion to the salary of the Librarian," nevertheless voting 
 him a gratuity of $100. A similar present was made to 
 him in May, 1849, towards — to use his own plaintive 
 words — "the extension of the relief required to enable 
 him to continue the performance of his duties in 
 the station in life in which circumstances had placed 
 him." 
 
 At the same time, in response to his tale of hardship 
 and embarrassments, Messrs. Delafield, Titus and Gour- 
 he were asked to confer upon "a proper salary for a 
 Librarian . . . and upon such other matters connected 
 with the office," as should seem "expedient." Within a 
 month they reported, in part as follows: that he was 
 entitled to $1000 a year, because his whole time was re- 
 quired; but that, even "when the debt should be paid," it 
 would "probably be more advisable to employ assistants 
 at liberal salaries than to raise the salary of the prin- 
 cipal." Otherwise "the alternative would be to suggest 
 that the Librarian be at liberty, at a convenient time, 
 and when he finds it to his advantage, to seek some more 
 profitable employment." Such a course the Trustees 
 "could not in justice oppose," for Mr. Forbes's "long 
 and faithful services" gave him "strong claims" to con- 
 sideration. 
 
 As to the fact "that some of the shareholders were dis- 
 satisfied with the Librarian," together with "vague 
 complaints" at his "want of covu-tesy and alleged disre- 
 
Robert Lenox Kennedy 
 Trustee, 1856-1887. Chairman, 1883-1883. Benefactor, 1878 
 
CRITICISM OF LIBRARIAN FORBES 419 
 
 spect" to members, it should be said in fairness to him 
 that "the zeal and interest always displayed by him when 
 the interests of the institution were to be promoted are 
 not reconcileable with intentional offence to the share- 
 holders." Nevertheless, the report suggested that "a 
 concihatory and kind manner, so far at least as to 
 prevent injurious misconstructions, would be at once 
 the remedy," and might be "reasonably required and 
 easily practised." A copy of the paper, which also in- 
 cluded a discussion of missing books, was "furnished" to 
 the Librarian. 
 
 In April, 1852, on his asking for "desired relief," the 
 board again voted Mr. Forbes $100, half the sum peti- 
 tioned for, his salary stUl being $900. In February, 
 1854, it was decided "to credit him with a simi not ex- 
 ceeding $200, in consideration of any reasonable claim 
 on account of his increased expenditures or past extra 
 services." Thus, in the centennial year of the Library, 
 the "salaries and perquisites" amounted to something 
 over $1600, of which the Librarian received, including 
 "extras," a little more than $1000, the remainder going 
 to subordinates. 
 
 As will be remembered, the Librarian had been given 
 the use of certain rooms in the old Nassau Street build- 
 ing; also these and other chambers were from time to 
 time rented to outsiders, chiefly lawyers, that neighbor- 
 hood being then as now a rendezvous of the legal fra- 
 ternity. During the stay in the Mechanics' Society 
 quarters some little revenue was gained from the stores 
 on Broadway, later demolished to make way for the 
 second building. 
 
 It was during the thirteen years' occupancy of this 
 latter edifice that the Library's exchequer drew from 
 
420 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 the rental of extra apartments one of the main streams 
 of its income. To sxmimarize: there was realized for 
 that period a total of $42,575 from this source, or an 
 annual average of $3275. The first year's receipts there- 
 from were $3250; the last,— 1852-1853,— $2976; the 
 highest sum reached was $4658.86 in 1848-1849; the 
 lowest in 1851-1852,— $2514. 
 
 Three items entered into the calculation, viz. : from the 
 "stores and basement" was derived the amoimt of 
 $15,234.36, or a yearly average of $1171.87; for the 
 lectiu*e room the Library received approximately 
 $15,261, or an average of $1173.90, the regulation 
 charge for its use being $15 ; while the exhibition rooms 
 on the top story brought in $12,081.99, or at the rate of 
 $929.38 a year. 
 
 The stores held a more or less shifting tenantry, of 
 more or less shifting ideas of business, not to say moral, 
 obligation. For instance, in May, 1842, Secretary 
 Inglis was empowered to collect the rent from one Hol- 
 brook, "by distress or otherwise and to take measures to 
 eject him." His case is not dignified by a further men- 
 tion in the minutes; but the Treasurer's report recites 
 that in April, 1843, $1.87% covered the "expenses of 
 distraining on Holbrook"; while an almost burlesque 
 finale is put upon the episode in the terse entry, "Laborer 
 ousting Holbrook, 25c." 
 
 That the lecture room would prove a popular feature 
 had been anticipated long before the building was even 
 "on paper." In it were held entertainments, discussions 
 and assembhes of the widest variety. As a notable in- 
 stance, it is told hoM% on February 3, 1848, Edgar Allan 
 Poe held a select audience "entranced" for over two 
 hours there by his brilliant lecture on "The Cosmogony 
 
THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF DESIGN 421 
 
 of the Universe."^ Among organized bodies that met 
 there at one time or another may be mentioned the Me- 
 chanics' Institute and the Society of the New Jerusalem, 
 which latter conducted Sunday worship in the hall from 
 1847 to 1850. 
 
 A much more steady tenant occupied the exhibition 
 rooms on the third floor. As far back as May, 1838, the 
 council of the National Academy of Design had sought 
 accommodations in the proposed structure. Posses- 
 sion was taken in the early summer of 1840 and was held 
 under the terms of a ten-year lease at a rental of $1000. 
 Says the annalist^ of that society: 
 
 The engagement was deemed extremely venturesome, extra haz- 
 ardous, too high up town, too high up stairs, too everything 
 wrong — "risky," in fact. Yet it was taken. The accommoda- 
 tions were doubled in extent — the rent so in amount. The rooms 
 were to be reserved in the rough and would require from four 
 to five thousand dollars properly to finish and furnish them — 
 which would more than exhaust the Treasury — and nothing 
 could exceed the fears with which the proceeding was received. 
 . . . The largest Exhibition receipts ever taken were taken in 
 that building. The rooms were handsomely proportioned, im- 
 posing in appearance, beautifully decorated, and not difficult of 
 access. The stairs grand and easy, and the whole building one 
 of excellent fitness. 
 
 Another historian ^ of the Academy wrote years later 
 of this sojourn: "We were at the top of the Society 
 Library building, a long climb." No untoward incident 
 seems to have happened to mar the harmony of the 
 
 ' George E. Woodberry. Edgar ^ Daniel Huntington. "The Na- 
 
 AllanPoe. Boston, 1885. P. 284. tional Academy of Design" in tlie 
 
 ' Thomas S. Cummings. Historic Year Book of the Art Societies of 
 
 Annals of the National Academy of New Tork, 1898-9. New York, 1899. 
 
 Design. Philadelphia, 1865. P. 153. P. 17. 
 
422 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 relations between the two institutions, even when mis- 
 fortiine befell the Academy.^ 
 
 In direct consequence of the revenue derived from 
 galleries, lecture hall and stores, the Trustees, in 1851, 
 became involved in a lawsuit with the Corporation of the 
 city over the taxing of the Library premises. So far as 
 the records show, there had been no thought of assessing 
 the institution prior to May, 1838, the time when the 
 Athenseum holdings were taken in charge ; on a remon- 
 strance from the board this imposition was promptly 
 withdrawn. Apparently the city assessors resumed their 
 former attitude the next year, however, for upon the 
 minutes appears a copy of the opinion of Peter A. Cow- 
 drey, "Counsellor for the Corporation," relative to such 
 a levy, dated November 9, 1839. His finding is wholly 
 favorable to the Library, as follows: 
 
 In brief, he declares the property of the institution 
 "not legally subject to taxation," as being denominated 
 "a public Library," both in the charter and in its legis- 
 lative confirmation of 1789. The objection to its being 
 so considered arose from "its being divided into shares 
 and being thus the property of individuals." For an 
 institution to be included under the act of exemption, it 
 
 ' Early in January, 1850, Secretary which the same became payable." A 
 J. H. Shegogue of the latter society "schedule" was enclosed, enumer- 
 advised the Trustees of the Library ating nine pieces of statuary (the 
 that the receipts of the late exhibi- freight on which it was claimed cost 
 tion had been insufficient to meet $3500!), which were accepted as col- 
 current expenses, let alone to pay the lateral security, — in preference to 
 rent, of which $750 would shortly be $1500 worth of Academy stock,— to- 
 due. On February 6th the board gether with some seventeen standard 
 adopted a committee's recommenda- works on the literature of art, at the 
 tion to accept from the Academy a same valuation. The Treasurer's 
 bond for $2000, secured by a mort- records show, however, that a sur- 
 gage on certain statues and books. prisingly early settlement was made 
 The sum of $250 was to be paid on June 15th following, at which 
 every six months, beginning on May time the Academy of Design had re- 
 1st thereafter, as also "interest on moved to its new building further up 
 each quarter's rent from the day on Broadway. 
 
THE LIBRARY DECLARED "PUBLIC" 423 
 
 "must have something of a public character," that is, 
 "common to many," Pubhc Libraries, by their very 
 terms of incorporation, are styled "social and public/' 
 and are "to be formed by private subscription and to be 
 divided into shares, assignable as the property of the in- 
 dividual owner." Such are all colleges, seminaries of 
 learning, schools and churches, being whoUy "of the 
 same character in point of pubhc usefulness with the 
 Library in question." 
 
 The subject was again agitated in March, 1849, 
 though a petition from the Treasurer and Secretary to 
 the city board of supervisors, "praying a discharge from 
 such tax," was evidently granted. The matter took a 
 more serious form when, in February, 1851, Treasm-er 
 Rodgers was empowered to conduct legal proceedings 
 against the city's claim to tax "the real and personal 
 property of this corporation." On April 28th, he re- 
 ported the suit begun, and that a temporary injunction 
 had been issued to restrain a collection of the assessment. 
 
 While the question was hanging fire in the courts, 
 there came the sale of the Broadway premises to Mr. 
 Samuel F. Appleton, acting for the firm of Messrs. 
 D. Appleton & Co., pubhshers. Under the terms of 
 settlement, executed April 29, 1853, a bond and mort- 
 gage of $5000 was given the purchaser, payable only in 
 case of remission by the city authorities of the averred 
 tax arrears, less "any redemption thereof on account of 
 sales for taxes." 
 
 When at Ig^st the courts were heard from, in January, 
 1854, the decision proved disappointing. Judge Emmet 
 at the special term of the superior court ruled ad- 
 versely, "on the ground that the Library had not pur- 
 sued the proper remedy." Nevertheless, encouragement 
 
424 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 was found in the court's expressed belief, "that this 
 institution was a Pubhc Library." Thereupon the same 
 officers were empowered to petition the city fathers 
 again, or to appeal the case, as they should see fit. For 
 some time there is no further mention of the subject, 
 save that in April, 1854, the Treasurer was authorized 
 to redeem any property "sold or liable for taxes." 
 
 Immediately after the regeneration of 1855, however, 
 a special committee, Messrs. Van Schaick, W.H.Anthon 
 and Le Roy, took the subject up in earnest. In July a 
 petition was presented to the Corporation of the city, 
 asserting that the New York Society Library should be 
 exempt from taxation imder the statute of 1823, ex- 
 pressly exempting "the real and personal property of 
 every pubhc library." This paper rehearsed the facts of 
 the case, laying stress on the opinion of former Corpora- 
 tion Counsel Cowdrey and on the obiter dictum of Jus- 
 tice Emmet. It also adverted feelingly to the close 
 connection between the Society Library and the long- 
 defunct Corporation Library, prior to the Revolution. 
 
 At the request of the board of councilmen, the counsel 
 to the Corporation, Robert J. Dillon, took the matter 
 under advisement. He delivered in January, 1856, an 
 elaborate opinion,^ upholding the contentions of the 
 Trustees. The term "Public Library," he says, as used 
 in the statute of 1823, "relative to taxation," could not 
 mean state or municipal libraries, "because public prop- 
 erty is never taxed." The fact that the privileges of the 
 Society Library were subject to certain yearly charges 
 did not alter its public character, as they were "not im- 
 posed as a source of gain or profit," being "no more than 
 
 ^ Proceedings of the Board of Councilmen. New York, 1866. Vol. 
 LXI, pp. 702-704. 
 
A QUESTION OF TAXATION 425 
 
 sufficient to defray the necessary expenses of keeping, 
 preserving and supplying the Library." Though, as a 
 corporation, it was private, "in its uses and its objects it 
 is pubhc," just hke railway companies, "which are of 
 such a pubhc character that the legislatiu-e may delegate 
 to them the right of eminent domain." Furthermore, 
 all Public Libraries, incorporated under the act of 
 1796, "possess every feature which makes the Society 
 Library a private corporation." In conclusion, there- 
 fore, his opinion is that the assessments were illegal, and 
 that the Trustees, "having presented their [former] 
 petition in time ^i.e., within six months after confirma- 
 tion by the board of supervisors]," should not "inciir any 
 prejudice" in their just demand for restitution. 
 
 Impressed by this unequivocal judgment, the com- 
 mittee on finance of the board of councilmen, comprising 
 Messrs. George A. Barney, Charles Whitlock, J. W. T. 
 Van Riper and Otis D. Swan (then in the first year of 
 his trusteeship in the Library) , recommended that the 
 petition be granted, both as to remitting the taxes for- 
 merly levied, and as to authorizing the comptroller to 
 "draw his warrant in favor of the Library" for the sums 
 paid by Mr. Appleton to redeem the premises in 1849 
 and 1850, together with proper interest money. Their 
 finding was approved in June,^ subject to ratification by 
 the board of aldermen; btit in that body it met with 
 unforeseen opposition, and, after several votes and 
 fiu-ther conferences, failed of adoption by a vote of ten 
 to eight.^ The chief objections were that the institution 
 had drawn a revenue from the stores, lecture hall and 
 exhibition rooms in the Broadway building, and that, 
 
 gs of the Board of ^Proceedings of the Board of 
 
 Councihnen,\%56. Vol. LXII, p. 908. Aldermen, 19SS. Vol. LXII, p. 607. 
 
426 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 despite all reasonable proof to the contrary, it "was not 
 in the strict sense of the term a public hbrary." 
 
 What course was now open to the Trustees? They 
 must either pay the so-called arrears, — a refusal to do 
 which would simply mean more redemption costs, — or 
 else renew the htigation at a standstill siQce Justice 
 Emmet's decision, over two years before. Without 
 hesitation they determined on the latter alternative, feel- 
 ing that their future interests were no less at stake. But 
 the affair was brought to settlement much sooner than 
 could have been anticipated. When the comptroller 
 learned of their intention to prosecute their former suit 
 against the city before a higher cotui;, he at once offered 
 to compromise the claim on the following basis : that he 
 would accept, without interest, the original sum of 
 $917.04, still due, provided the Library wotdd abandon 
 its efforts to have the taxes remitted. 
 
 In October the compromise was accepted, inasmuch as 
 by the terms of Mr. Appleton's bond he had the right to 
 pay the whole amount, about $1600, and charge it to 
 the Library, and as he indeed "had given notice that he 
 would do." Thus from the $5000-bond and mortgage 
 the institution realized, after all payments and expenses, 
 the sum of $2532.78. Another good result of the agita- 
 tion was that the Treasurer was able to announce that 
 "there did not appear on the assessors' books any tax on 
 the property of the Library" for 1856, their first year in 
 the University Place building. And this exemption was 
 continued, save for occasional levies for street improve- 
 ments, imtil 1885, a discussion of which renewal belongs 
 properly in a later chapter. 
 
 The final subject for special notice here is the 
 financial history of the Society Library during the 
 
A LONG-STANDING DEBT PAID AT LAST 427 
 
 quarter-century, 1829-1854. Although its considera- 
 tion occupies by far the most space in the minutes and 
 engages the attention, not to say the earnest sohcitude, 
 of the Trustees above any other topic, it will be possible 
 to outline here only the leading features. 
 
 Receipt (facsimile size) signed by Hugh Gaine. See p. \%ln. 
 
 To begin with, in February, 1830, it was announced 
 with no little satisfaction that the debt to the Bank of 
 New York had been reduced from $5250 to $4290 in 
 one year; by December, 1832, it had sunk to $2750, their 
 only obligation. After running for forty years, it was 
 finally discharged in May, 1836, on the sale of the Nas- 
 sau Street property. 
 
 But bright prospects then in view were soon dispelled 
 
428 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 by heavy expenses incident to the new building, com- 
 bined with assuming the Athenasum obhgations, both of 
 which plunged the institution into a much greater debt 
 than before. Along with this came a series of unfortu- 
 nate investments of Library funds by Treasurer Hari- 
 son, a full account of which, together with the report of 
 an investigating committee, was published in pamphlet 
 form by the Trustees in April, 1842/ 
 
 No imputation "of bad faith or of seeking any per- 
 sonal advantage" was cast at Mr. Harison, and due 
 credit was given him for the "great care and accuracy" 
 his accovmts had shown ever since his appointment in 
 April, 1838. "Whatever error of judgment may have 
 been committed," the Treasurer's integrity was imim- 
 peachable, and it was deemed "but justice to him to add" 
 that no member of the board had performed services of 
 greater or more lasting value. Nevertheless, "the ques- 
 tion of the responsibility of Mr. Harison, or of any 
 person or persons now or heretofore connected with this 
 Institution, for any loss to it by reason of loans hereto- 
 fore made," was referred to counsel, an action approved 
 at the annual stockholders' meeting, a few days later. 
 
 On the reorganization of the board, — to which aU 
 former members were returned, despite another con- 
 tested election,^ — Mr. Harison was reappointed Treas- 
 urer; but on May 16th he resigned that office and his 
 
 ' Report of the Board of Trus- Library, general harmony and good 
 
 tees. See p. 401ji. feeling prevailed." The names of 
 
 ' From a communication in the Messrs. Inglis, Barclay, Minturn 
 American, April 27, 1842, it appears and Verplanck were on both lists, 
 that 451 ballots were cast and that, so they received the highest number 
 "although there were two tickets of votes, respectively. The other 
 voted for by their respective sup- candidates on the defeated ticket 
 porters, and although the annual were William Kent, John R. Town- 
 meeting was long, and some differ- send, John J. Morgan and Henry 
 ence of opinion existed as to the Nicoll, former Trustees, and Messrs. 
 management of the affairs of the Hugh Maxwell, Van Beuren, 
 
TREASURER HARISON RESIGNS 429 
 
 trusteeship as well. He did not claim to have "done 
 enough," in so "painfully exerting" himself to serve the 
 Library, but withdrew "on account of circumstances," at 
 the same time assuring "each one and all" of his "un- 
 feigned regard and respect." 
 
 In November, 1842, the opinion of cotmsel, George 
 Wood, was rendered, namely : that the Treasurer had no 
 authority to invest the funds of the institution, such 
 power appertaining solely to the board in its corporate 
 capacity; that he had not "exercised caution" or sought 
 "the best and highest kind of security"; and that the 
 other Trustees, not fully informed of the investments, 
 were not responsible, for, though they had not de- 
 manded an exphcit statement from the Treasurer, "they 
 had a right to repose some confidence ... in his known 
 character and general deportment in ofiice." 
 
 On the next point, "the right and expediency of 
 effecting a compromise with M'' Harison," counsel 
 argued that it did not "derogate from the power of the 
 board to compromise Avith an officer who has been 
 delinquent, if done fairly and with a view to the best 
 interests of the stockholders and all concerned." 
 
 Consequently negotiations were promptly opened with 
 the former Treasvu-er; but not until April, 1844, was 
 an arrangement finally made with him. In substance 
 this unique agreement was as foUows: (1) a fom--year 
 bond of $8000, due April 2, 1848, with interest at seven 
 
 Butler, — — Barstow, Dil- Evening Post of the same date, Mr. 
 
 Ion, Jaffray and Cornelius Matthews, celebrated as the author 
 
 Matthews. The last-named was ac- of the book, "Puffer Hopkins," re- 
 cused in an article, entitled "Puffer ceived the lowest number of votes. 
 Hopkins and the New- York Society Other articles in the American and 
 Library," in the New World of the Post for April 23d and 25th 
 April 23d, of having drawn up the aired the financial situation of the 
 opposition ticket. Although this Library at considerable length, 
 charge was flatly denied in the 
 
430 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 per cent., payable semi-annually and secured by a mort- 
 gage on the property of the institution, was given to Mr. 
 Harison, in exchange (2) for his delivering to the Trus- 
 tees, canceled, a five-year bond of $10,000 at the same 
 rate, made over by him in the name of the Library, in 
 September, 1839, to Mr. Thomas W. Ludlow, and on 
 which no interest had ever been paid; (3) the ex-Treas- 
 urer was further awarded $560, the equivalent of one 
 year's interest, to cover the time elapsed since his pro- 
 posal was made; and (4) two releases were executed, 
 mutually absolving both parties from any future ac- 
 countability for past transactions. 
 
 In brief, the meaning of this happily adjusted com- 
 promise was that the Library, which had lost outright 
 the sum of $9500, together with all accruing interest for 
 five years, was partially compensated by having had for 
 about that length of time the free use of $10,000, and by 
 the virtual restoration of $2000 from Mr. Harison, who 
 also became responsible for nearly $3200 of back inter- 
 est on the Ludlow bond. In return he was awarded in 
 cash the sum of $560; he was to receive that same 
 amount in semi-annual payments as long as the new 
 bond should rvm; and, besides the clearing of his record 
 and his guaranteed immunity from any later claims, he 
 was entitled to whatever revenue might arise from the 
 seemingly worthless securities still held in his name. 
 
 At the time of this imderstanding the debt of the 
 Society Library had attained to $60,534.12, its highest 
 figure. The next year, in consequence of the above 
 agreement and other measiu'cs, it had fallen to $52,000, 
 at which level it remained for three years. In May, 
 1848, a special committee unanimously urged "a prompt 
 and vigorous effort to place the Institution in a more 
 
John Romeyn Brodhead 
 
 Trustee, 1858 -18T1 
 
CAUSES OF LIBRARY'S STAGNATION 4.31 
 
 eligible situation as regards its annual revenues, as well 
 as its means to reduce and extinguish the debt, that the 
 Library may be rendered more useful as well as more 
 popular." "A difference of opinion," however, arose 
 "as to the means most suitably and effectually to accom- 
 plish this object." Both majority and minority reports 
 were spread in fuU on the records. The former, signed 
 by James H. Titus, Daniel Sejonour and Frederic De 
 Peyster, proposed a reduction of the cost of shares to 
 $12.50, and of the annual payment charge to three dol- 
 lars, — just half the current prices, — Avith a correspond- 
 ing whittling down of the commutation rates. 
 
 After showing in tabular form the steady decrease in 
 membership, the majority were "unable to avoid the 
 conclusion that some of the elements under which the 
 Library exists are not propitious to its growth, and that 
 there are causes operating, however silently and moder- 
 ately, stiU positively, to its detriment." These causes, 
 in their "conclusive conviction," were: "1^'^, the cum- 
 brous debt; 2^, the high price charged for shares; and 
 3*^, the increase of annual payments." The first of these 
 was hkened rather hideously to "an active, however much 
 concealed, gangrene, constantly preying on" the Li- 
 brary's existence, and which, "if not extinguished or 
 placed in the process of rapid reduction, must sooner or 
 later result in ruin." 
 
 Three resolutions were recommended: one urged a 
 reduction of the rates, as above recited; another called 
 for "a public demonstration" to present "the object and 
 aim of the Society to the attention of the citizens at 
 large" ; the third emphasized the need of removing "the 
 heavy debt, which now presses with a blighting influence 
 upon the prosperity of the Library." The board, how- 
 
432 THE NEW YORK SOCEETY LIBRARY 
 
 ever, "after spending considerable time" in discussion, 
 
 adjoiirned without taking action. 
 
 Finally, in December following, the question was put 
 to vote, when the above resolutions were lost and the 
 minority report— drawn up by James De P. Ogden and 
 Charles M. Leupp— was adopted, by a vote of eight to 
 four. This involved no change in the prevaihng rates, 
 but enjoined upon the members of the Library a sys- 
 tematic endeavor "to obtain increased subscriptions." It 
 also exacted the appointment of "a suitable Collector"^ 
 to sohcit "likely" purchasers, the preparation of "a 
 short Address," and a pledge from each Trustee to 
 secure "from five to ten subscribers, or at least to devote 
 a portion of his time and attention to that object." 
 
 The required "short Address" appears in full on the 
 records for April, 1849, having been signed in January 
 by the entire board. It is a 300-word statement, clear 
 and concise, setting forth the chief facts and featiu-es 
 and needs of the institution, already so familiar. In 
 conclusion "an earnest appeal" is made to the public, "in 
 behalf of this time-honored and valuable Institution," — 
 "the only pubhc Library, properly so-called, in our 
 city," — and "aid is respectfully solicited on the score of 
 ancient recollection, of city pride, of individual benefit, 
 and of public utility." 
 
 Notwithstanding such efforts, the next annual report 
 showed but a slight increase in membership and a lessen- 
 ing of the debt by only $500, leaving still an incubus of 
 $49,000. These facts as to the "stationary condition of 
 the Library" — "whilst the population and prosperity 
 of our City are rapidly progressing"— are embodied in 
 
 'On January 30, 1849, it is stated that "Mr. [H. D.?] Neal had been 
 appointed Collector." 
 
THE ELIZABETH DEMILT LEGACY 433 
 
 another long report by the same majority members of 
 the identical "Select Committee" of two years before. 
 Covering several pages of the records for April, 1850, 
 it concludes with an earnest renewal of the resolutions 
 before rejected. They again met with defeat, the ma- 
 jority of the board strongly opposing any reduction in 
 the price of shares. 
 
 However, at this disheartening time no slight relief 
 was felt over the payment, in November, 1850, of a 
 legacy of $5000 from the estate of Miss EKzabeth De- 
 milt, long a devoted member of the Library, who died in 
 August, 1849. Much as the Trustees would have liked 
 to perpetuate her name and gift in some fitting manner, 
 — such as a special fund or alcove, — the needs of the 
 hour were too pressing. So the timely benefaction was 
 apphed at once toward the extinction of the debt and 
 thus almost sordidly lost to sight ; but the moral encour- 
 agement of this first pecuniary donation to the institu- 
 tion, then nearly a century old, cannot be overmeasured. 
 Full honor to the generosity of Elizabeth Demilt, the 
 Society Library's first benefactor, and, in all rever- 
 ence, let this that this woman hath done be told for a 
 memorial of her.^ 
 
 To resvmie the series of faithful attempts at lightening 
 the incumbrances of the Library. The Treasiu-er's state- 
 ment of April, 1851, showed the wholesome effect of 
 the Demilt bequest, the entire debt having dropped to 
 $44,200. A year later $700 more had been paid off; 
 
 ' Miss Demilt bequeathed over instance of such liberality" in the 
 
 $80,000 to some twenty literary and history of the Library. Through 
 
 charitable institutions of the city, an unaccountable error the name of 
 
 all in amounts of from two to five this good lady is given as Miss Jane 
 
 thousand dollars. Receipt of the Demilt, in the "Historical Notice of 
 
 legacy was publicly acknowledged the Library," prefacing the Cata- 
 
 by Treasurer Rodgers, in the Everir- logue of 1850, and in all subsequent 
 
 ing Post of Nov. 9th, as "the only sketches of the institution. 
 
434., THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 but at the same time the auditing committee reported 
 an excess of expenditure over income. To make mat- 
 ters worse, it also appeared from another exhaustive 
 research that the number of shares had fallen to 1110, 
 or a loss of sixteen in two years. This report, signed by 
 Messrs. Titus, De Peyster, Hobart and Leupp, sounds 
 like a dreary echo of the past, far from reassuring. 
 
 Happily, better days were drawing nigh. A rise in 
 property values was again coming to the succor of the 
 Library; in January, 1853, Mr. Ogden formally notified 
 the board of the sale of the Broadway building, on the 
 18th of December preceding, to Mr. Daniel D. How- 
 ard, for $110,000. This was a grateful announcement, 
 especially in view of the fact that, only two years before, 
 the Trustees had vainly tried to realize $85,000 on the 
 property. The terms of the transfer were: $10,000 in 
 cash; the rest to be paid on the 1st of May following, 
 on taking possession; and the existing mortgage to be 
 assumed by the purchaser. In conclusion, "the gas- 
 light fixtures and book cases of all sorts to be reserved 
 to the Library," and "the seller to pay the broker 1 per 
 cent." After the reading of the contract, the first act of 
 the Trustees was to authorize Treasurer Rodgers to 
 discharge the bond held by the New York Life In- 
 surance and Trust Company, to which corporation it 
 had been assigned by ex-Treasurer Harison. In the 
 meantime it had been reduced from $8000 to $3500. 
 
 No less strange than refreshing to the long-drooping 
 spirits of the Trustees must have seemed the appoint- 
 ment in May, 1853, of a committee on "the best mode 
 of investing the surplus funds belonging to this cor- 
 poration." The Treasurer had then received the balance 
 of the purchase money from Mr. Samuel F. Appleton, 
 
GOOD PRICE FOR BROADWAY PREMISES 435 
 
 —to whom Mr. Howard had assigned his interest in the 
 deed,— and the $40,000-bond and mortgage had at last 
 been shifted to other shoulders. 
 
 At the next meeting the special committee reported 
 bonds and mortgages as the "most proper securities" for 
 investment, at the same time presenting a hst of seven 
 persons willing to borrow amounts varying from $2500 
 to $17,500. The Treasurer was empowered to distrib- 
 ute sums aggregating $15,000 among three of them, on 
 his "satisfying himself" that the property offered was 
 "worth double the amount to be loaned." A further 
 direction to have the titles approved shows that the 
 lesson of the not-remote past had been learned. 
 
 These last two sessions of the Trustees were held at 
 the office of Joshua Coit, 11 Wall street, for in the 
 meantime the collections of the Library had been re- 
 moved from the Broadway building. In April, 1853, a 
 two years' lease was taken of "a suite of rooms in the 
 second story of the new building" of the American Bible 
 Society, at the corner of Third avenue and Astor place, 
 the rental being fixed at $2400. A room on the third 
 floor was also engaged for $150 a year, as a Trustee 
 meeting-place. 
 
 Toward the end of 1853 the books were threatened 
 with destruction, to judge from a minute of December 
 7th, awarding ten dollars to the custodian, George 
 Paterson, "for the services of himself and family on the 
 occasion of the fire that lately occurred in the Bible 
 House, which endangered the safety of the Library." 
 At that time the institution was carrying an insurance of 
 only $8000 on its books and furniture. For the previous 
 ten years premiums had been paid for $20,000 on the 
 building and $10,000 on the books. 
 
436 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 At the end of March, 1854/ the Society Library com- 
 pleted its one-hundredth year. It is a fitting time to 
 pause to take accoimt of stock; and highly gratifying is 
 the situation revealed in the Treasurer's report. Wholly 
 freed from debt at last, with a collection of books worth 
 many thousands of dollars and a membership roll of 
 over 1100 persons, there was indeed every reason for 
 confidence, especially after the laconic statement of the 
 auditing committee on April 5th, that "the whole prop- 
 erty of the Library consists (excluding its books) of 
 the sum of $67,360.01." 
 
 * It was voted, April 12, 1842, that the fiscal year should "determine on 
 the 31st of March." 
 
IX 
 
 1854-1879 
 
 NO public celebration, not even a casual word in 
 the minutes, marked the centennial anniversary 
 of founding the Society Library. Although the 
 institution was at last out of debt and possessed of a fund 
 of nearly $70,000, it was homeless, practically stowed 
 away in hired rooms. 
 
 Pending preparations for reestablishment, it is fitting 
 to scan the new names on the roll of Trustees, fuUy fifty 
 appearing in the next quarter-century. Nine of them, 
 however, as will presently be seen, declined or resigned 
 within a few months of their election, in 1855, — a phenom- 
 enon unique in the history of the Library. Excluding 
 these from calculation, therefore, the average tenure for 
 the others is found to be a httle over twelve years, a 
 number of terms under five years being counterbalanced 
 by several of great length. 
 
 Charles E. Strong, a learned, accomphshed and suc- 
 cessful lawyer, an original member of the local Bar 
 Association, prominent in public and private charities 
 and a popular figure in social life, was a Trustee of the 
 Library for forty-two years, the longest period but one 
 in its history, serving also as Treasurer and as Chair- 
 man; the Hon. Charles R. Swords, one-time Chairman 
 
438 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 also, held a trusteeship of over thirty years; Otis D. 
 Swan, a lawyer of great urbanity, a member of the 
 finance committee of the Common Council, was Treas- 
 urer for nearly the whole of his twenty- two-year term; 
 William Adams, for twenty years "distinguished for 
 his earnest, constant and useful service in the interests 
 of this Society, for his uprightness as a merchant, and 
 for his character as a Christian gentleman"; Robert 
 Lenox Kennedy, an influential financier, president of 
 the Bank of Commerce, whose name will ever be held 
 in grateful remembrance by the Library for his services 
 and gifts in connection with the Green Art Alcove, as 
 for his useful term of over thirty years, ending only with 
 his death; the Hon. William J. Hoppin, Secretary for 
 nearly his whole trusteeship of two decades, honored as 
 a founder and a president of the Union League Club, a 
 trustee of the Astor Library, and secretary of the 
 American legation at the Court of St. James'; Henry 
 C. Dorr, a lawyer of quiet but wide influence, served 
 for twenty-five years; Edward Schell, Treasurer for 
 almost fourteen of his nearly twenty-three years' ser- 
 vice to the Library, held similar positions of trust and 
 confidence in numerous other associations, mercantile, 
 religious, social and political ; Professor Henry Drisler, 
 who also died in ofiice, in the twenty-fifth year of his 
 trusteeship, was long the lucid interpreter of the classics 
 at Columbia College, its dean and twice its acting presi- 
 dent, and a vestryman and warden of Trinity parish; 
 Frederick Sheldon and Frederic J. de Peyster,^ who 
 began long terms of service within this period, belong 
 more intimately throughout the next, and even beyond. 
 
 1 At some time in this period the to prevaihng) to "de Peyster" (as 
 style of writing this family name was now in vogue). 
 changed from "De Peyster" (hither- 
 
NOTABLE NEW TRUSTEES 439 
 
 Evert A. Duyckinck, whose death occurred in the 
 twentieth year of his incumbency, was preeminently a 
 man of letters; compiler of the "Dictionary of Ameri- 
 can Literature," author of numerous historical and 
 biographical works, as well as editor and constant con- 
 tributor to magazines, he also served, besides the Li- 
 brary, St. Thomas's Church, as clerk of the vestry, and 
 the Historical Society and Columbia College, as a trus- 
 tee. Another whose devotion to the Library ended only 
 with death was Colonel Richard T. Auchmuty, in his 
 eighteenth year of service, an architect of more than 
 local repute, a vestryman of Old Trinity (from whose 
 third rector, Dr. Samuel Auchmuty, he was directly de- 
 scended), a gentleman ever possessed of great personal 
 charm; Francis A. Stout, a quiet individual of liberal 
 views; John M. Knox, a leading lawyer; Dr. Thomas 
 Ward, famous for his talent in dramatic and operatic 
 art, composer of "The Gypsy Queen"; Stephen P. 
 Nash, a lawyer particularly eminent in church litiga- 
 tions, a vestryman of Trinity parish for many years, as 
 also a trustee of Columbia College, whose law school he 
 greatly furthered and in the establishment of whose 
 school of political science he was deeply interested; J. 
 Romeyn Brodhead, the celebrated state historian of 
 New York; William Allen Butler, a prominent lawyer 
 of the front rank, renowned for several satirical poems, 
 the most noted being "Nothing to Wear" ; and, last of 
 this group of Trustees of between twelve and twenty 
 years' standing, Stacy B. Collins, a member of the 
 Society of Friends, a successful printer and publisher, 
 whose blameless life was filled with acts of unassuming 
 benevolence. 
 
 First-elected Trustee of this period stands the name 
 
440 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 of the Hon. John Bigelow, journaUst, lawyer, author 
 and diplomatist, for years editor of the Evening Post, 
 and minister to France during the Civil War, who con- 
 tinues his literary pursuits to-day, though past ninety 
 years of age, active besides as president of the Century 
 Association and of the New York Public Library trus- 
 tees. Other short terms were held by the Hon. Charles 
 E. Anderson, once stationed at Paris in the consular 
 service, a founder of the Union Club; J. P. Giraud 
 Foster, a lawyer much given to antiquarian research; 
 Dr. O, Wolcott Gibbs, a founder of the Union League 
 Club, distinguished scientist, now residing at Newport, 
 professor emeritus of chemistry at Harvard, where he 
 enjoyed uncommon popularity among undergraduates; 
 Henry Van Schaick, well read in law, though devoting 
 himself to varied interests, Secretary of the board for 
 one year; the Hon. William H. Anthon, judge-advocate 
 on Governor Morgan's staff in the Civil War; George 
 C. Anthon, a founder of the Union League Club, long 
 interested in educational work; Benjamin H. Field, a . 
 citizen of rare public spirit, a founder of the free library 
 system, a director and trustee of financial, charitable and 
 literary institutions without mmiber ; General Robert Le 
 Roy, of Civil War gallantry, an officer in the Union 
 Club, a man of social gifts and striking personal attrac- 
 tions; Robert Kelly, a public-spirited merchant, the 
 first regular Chairman of the Library; Dr. George T. 
 Elliot, Jr., of the Bellevue faculty, a handsome figure in 
 social life; Lewis C. Jones, of an old New York family; 
 the Hon. George Folsom, United States Minister at The 
 Hague, a notable book collector; James P. Cronkhite, 
 successful merchant, president of the Bank of Com- 
 merce, "a public-spirited man, forward in all good 
 
Evert Augustus Duyckinck 
 Trustee, 1859-1878 
 
PLANS FOR A NEW LOCATION 4.41 
 
 undertakings"; Edgar S. Van Winkle, a leader at the 
 local bar; Adam T. Sackett, retired merchant, a vestry- 
 man of Old Trinity for many years ; the Hon. William 
 McMurray, state senator, a thoroughgoing Tammany 
 politician, than whom no Trustee was ever more active 
 in securing members, for, says Librarian Emeritus 
 Butler, "he never attended a meeting of the board with- 
 out presenting th^ name of at least one new subscriber" ; 
 Judge Thomas W. Clarke, of English birth, "a typical 
 Sir Roger de Coverley," says the same authority; Rich- 
 ard E. Mount, a man of marked social tastes and 
 generous impulses, a devout student of early New York 
 and deeply interested in musical and dramatic aifairs; 
 Treasurer of the Library at his death, he bequeathed to 
 the institution $1000, which modest sum is nevertheless 
 the sole legacy from a Trustee; George Cabot Ward, 
 a founder and a president of the Union League Club, a 
 banker of high standing; and the Hon. John L. Cad- 
 walader, formerly Assistant Secretary of State, an ac- 
 tive lawyer of this city to-day, identified, as trustee, with 
 such pubhc concerns as the New York Public Library, 
 the Metropolitan Musetmi and the Carnegie Institution 
 of Washington. 
 
 These two-score names, together with those of the last 
 period who continued their ministrations in behalf of the 
 Library, are plainly the names of representative men, 
 whom any institution would be proud to claim as direc- 
 tors of its concerns. We are now to follow them in the 
 conduct of their charge, throughout an epoch momentous 
 and trying in national history. 
 
 By 1854 plans were well under way for a new location 
 for the Library. The first intimation had come in May, 
 1850, in a last vain conference with the Historical So- 
 
44-2 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 ciety "on the subject of a site and building suitable for 
 the objects of both Institutions, or for accommodations 
 in such building, on terms to be made mutually satis- 
 factory," the Library's deputies being Messrs. Dela- 
 field, de Peyster, Ogden, Rodgers and Leupp. The 
 joint committee favored securing land "in the upper 
 part of the city"— in the vicinity of Foiu-teenth street 1 
 — and the erection of a building jointly, but adapted to 
 the purposes of each Society, "separately and not in 
 common," save perhaps the reading and lecture rooms. 
 No action, however, was taken by either board ; in AprU, 
 1851, the Historical Society announced the pvu-chase of 
 "a site for its separate use." 
 
 Meanwhile, in June, 1850, Messrs. Ogden, Leupp 
 and Beekman had been commissioned to dispose of the 
 Broadway building, with what success we have seen; 
 and in May, 1853, Messrs. Williams, Anderson and 
 Rodgers consummated an arrangement with Mrs. 
 Adeline E. Schermerhorn, widow of Peter Augustus 
 Schermerhorn, a former Trustee, for the three lots on 
 the east side of University place, on which the present 
 building stands. The price agreed upon was $18,650, 
 with certain conditions, the Trustees agreeing not to 
 erect within forty feet of the front of the premises "any 
 building save of brick or stone of at least two stories 
 in height," nor to "erect, permit or suffer upon the said 
 premises or any part thereof any public school, theatre 
 or other place for public amusement, or any other place 
 for any other trade, business or occupation dangerous, 
 noxious or offensive to the neighbouring inhabitants." 
 
 According to an itemized memorandum, Mr. Dudley 
 S. Gregory, the owner of the lots in question, was first 
 paid for them the simi of $21,000 by Mrs. Schermer- 
 
OLD BOARD VOTED OUT OF OFFICE 443 
 
 horn. Then by a sort of neighborhood covenant the 
 difference between that amount and the price charged 
 to the Library was made up by voluntary contributions. 
 Next, after repaying Mrs. Schermerhorn the resulting 
 difference of $2350,— less $850 for an extra gore, or an 
 even $1500,— the residue of the subscription money, 
 $41.75, was paid to Treasurer Rodgers as a balance in 
 favor of the institution, collected "for the purpose of 
 inducing the said Library to purchase and build." 
 
 Active steps toward building were taken after the 
 annual meeting of 1854, when the old board was re- 
 elected with a single exception, John Bigelow in place 
 of Edward Jones. Messrs. Verplanck, de Peyster and 
 Anderson were at once empowered to have plans and 
 estimates prepared and to call for bids. By March, 
 1855, the Trustees had ratified the choice of Messrs. T. 
 Thomas & Son as architects and had approved mason's 
 and carpenter's contracts. 
 
 By a strange freak of fate, however, the men who 
 had borne the heat and burden of the wilderness through 
 so long a day were destined as a board never to reach the 
 promised land, almost within their vision. On turning 
 the leaves for the report of the annual election of 1855, 
 one is amazed to find not a single familiar name. As 
 usual, no explanation is vouchsafed by the inscrutable 
 minutes, but hearsay has it that almost at the moment 
 of closing the polls a company of the younger element 
 hxu-riedly entered and voted out the unprepared old 
 board to a man. 
 
 Scarce crediting their senses and reluctant to acknow- 
 ledge so summary a discharge, the former Trustees 
 asserted that the election was illegal, on the ground that 
 Charles R. Swords was not a member of the corpora- 
 
444 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 tion; but upon conclusive proofs of his eligibility they 
 were perforce "disposed to acquiesce." Only four of 
 them were ever returned to office, Messrs. Verplanck, 
 Beekman, de Peyster and Williams; in the case of the 
 last-named, after a lapse of more than twenty years. 
 
 Dissatisfaction or impatience with the management is 
 beheved to have been the cause of this startling coup; 
 but it had apparently been planned without the con- 
 currence of all the newly chosen Trustees. Whether 
 they were not in full sympathy with the movement, or 
 whether their names had been used without sanction, or 
 whether they simply felt unable to cope with the situa- 
 tion, we do not know. The fact remains, however, that 
 long before the end of the official year no fewer than 
 nine of the fifteen gentlemen either had declined to act 
 or had tendered their resignations^; and of the remain- 
 ing six, only Mr. Swords served for more than four 
 years. All vacancies, however, were promptly filled by 
 the board, agreeably to the interests of shareholders, 
 judging by subsequent elections; three so chosen, 
 Charles E. Strong, Otis D. Swan and WiUiam Adams, 
 remained Trustees for over a score of years. 
 
 Wholly alive to the heavy responsibilities pressing 
 upon their inexperience, the new board at once author- 
 ized a searching examination into the affairs of the 
 institution. The first matter for attention was very 
 naturally the status of the new building. Having ascer- 
 tained that the contracts were binding and that excavat- 
 ing had actually begun, they carried the undertaking as 
 quickly as possible to completion. During the summer 
 
 ^ George T. Strong, George J. Cor- Goodhue, Cornelius Du Bois, and 
 
 nell, Henry R. Winthrop, George R. Martin R. Zabriskie (later written 
 
 J. Bowdoin, George G. Waters, "Zborowski" ) . 
 Jacob Harsen, M.D., Robert C. 
 
THIRD LIBRARY BUILDING DESCRIBED 445 
 
 the corner-stone was laid, and the Trustees met for the 
 first tune m the ahnost finished structure on April 28, 
 1856. According to the inspectors' report, the annual 
 election was held next day, "in the new edifice situate 
 in University Avenue." 
 
 A brief description of this third Library building 
 appears in the printed annual report of the Trustees in 
 March, 1856. The longer account quoted below, from 
 Valentine's "Manual" ^ for 1856, should prove interesting 
 as a contemporary statement of the merits of the stately 
 structure, to-day, as for more than fifty years, the home 
 of the New York Society Library. 
 
 The new edifice has fifty-two feet front, leaving a space unoc- 
 cupied on each side, so as to give light by windows to the inte- 
 rior. Toward the rear, however, the building spreads out and 
 covers the whole width of the lot [104i feet]. The front is in 
 the Italian style of architecture. The entrance is ornamented 
 with coupled Corinthian pilasters, supporting the entablature, 
 over which is a balustrade inclosing a small balcony. The door 
 is surrounded by an architrave with keystone. The wall is faced 
 with ashlar, with horizontal grooves cut into it, and supports 
 a cornice. Above the first story is a pedestal, on which rest 
 the piers and window ornaments. The angles of the piers have 
 rustic quoins running up to the cornice at the top of the build- 
 ing. The windows in the side divisions are [have] ornamented 
 architraves and pilasters supporting consols, which in turn 
 support the cornice and pediment. The middle window con- 
 tains a triple window with Corinthian pilasters and entablature, 
 in the frieze of which is the inscription "Founded A.D. 1754." 
 Over the windows are stone panels. Those in the side divisions 
 are filled with ornaments. The one over the middle window 
 contains the name of the building, "Society Library." The 
 walls are faced with fine bricks, above which is a massive entab- 
 
 ^Mamial of the Corporation of the City of New-York for 185S. 
 By D. T. Valentine. Pp. 545-548. 
 
446 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 lature of iron, consisting of an architrave, frieze and cornice, 
 over which is a continued balustrade between pedestals. 
 
 On entering the front door, the visitor finds himself in a 
 hall forty-seven feet long and twelve wide, handsomely paved 
 with tessalated pavement. On the left hand is a comfortable 
 room for a ladies' reading room, sixteen feet by thirty. A 
 similar room on the right is used as a conversation room. At 
 the end of the hall are folding doors opening into the large 
 reading room, thirty-one feet by seventy-three, well lighted and 
 well furnished with papers and periodicals. In the hall, near 
 the entrance to the large reading room, an easy flight of stairs 
 leads to the library, which offers to view a noble apartment, 
 thirty-five feet high, and taking in the whole depth and width 
 of the building, having pleasant and quiet alcoves below, with 
 two galleries rising above and receding as they rise, leading 
 the eye up to the oblong dome of the roof, that with its fine 
 large skyhght sends down a flood of hght on all below. The 
 galleries are also divided into alcoves, and the whole building 
 most conveniently and comfortably arranged, affording room 
 for 100,000 volumes. 
 
 The cost of this handsome structure approximated 
 $55,560. Thus, including the price paid for the land, 
 the total expenditures amounted to about $75,000 ; con- 
 sequently the institution was once again in debt. How- 
 ever, it was soon set free from that evil and has never 
 suffered a recaptiu-e, as will appear in the narrative. 
 
 Next on the programme is a less conspicuous but fully 
 as vital an interest, the membership roll. It was found 
 that there were registered 1087 shares, of which 103 were 
 "free," or exempt from annual dues. "Stringent meas- 
 ures" were first iirged against delinquents, closely 
 seconded by exertions at enlarging the list of members. 
 
 In furtherance of this plan a public gathering was 
 called for the evening of February 15, 1856, at Hope 
 Chapel, 718 Broadway, at which, according to the pa- 
 
LIBRARIAN MACMULLEN'S LECTURE 4.4.7 
 
 pers/ fully 150 persons were present. An address was 
 delivered by the lately appointed Librarian, John Mae- 
 Mullen, on "The Past, the Present, and the Future of 
 the New York Society Library." The discourse proved 
 so entertaining and stimulating that it was at once 
 ordered to be published and "widely circulated."^ 
 Copies of this address are still available in the Library, 
 and might be distributed with profit even after the lapse 
 of a full half -century, so fundamental and convincing 
 are its arguments in favor of a more general support of 
 the Society Library. 
 
 Although much of the matter relating to the "Past" 
 is inaccurate, Mr. MacMullen can hardly be blamed, as 
 he had but scanty sources to draw from, while the pleas- 
 ing images and contrasts depicted are most effective. 
 On the "Present" he writes with authority, and on the 
 "Futvu-e" with conviction. All in all, it is an able pre- 
 sentation of "the practical, material and profitable uses 
 of a great Public Library." The paper concludes with 
 the following idealistic conception: 
 
 Through the dim haze that veils the future, I see the interior 
 of a noble Library with all its manifold enjoyments — an ample 
 Reading-Room, whither the Telegraph, on lightning wings, 
 concentrates intelligence from all quarters of the world — a Con- 
 versation-Room, where brilliant wit and profound remark cheer 
 the heart, and excite the intellect : in short a place, from whose 
 heaven all those influences that refine and ennoble our race lend 
 each the soft ray of its star. The busy investigator, the 
 educated citizen, the intelKgent stranger, throng thither to 
 enjoy and profit by "the feast of reason and the flow of soul." 
 
 ^ See notice in the Daily Tribune, Society Library, delivered before 
 
 February 16, 1856. the Shareholders, February 15th, 
 
 " A Lect^ire ore the Past, the Pres- 1856, by John MacMullen, Libra- 
 
 ent and the Future of the New York rian. New York, 1856. 
 
448 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Appended to the address is a list of members to date, 
 showing a gain of twenty-six names since the new board 
 took office. With each pamphlet went also a circular 
 from a committee of shareholders, Messrs. Elias G. 
 Brown, Jacob Harsen, and I. Green Pearson, to an- 
 noimce a speedy occupancy of the new building and 
 bespeaking aid in procuring additional subscriptions to 
 the amoimt of $20,000. 
 
 A second rally was held on March 1st in the chapel of 
 New York University, which meeting,^ though slunly 
 attended because of a severe storm, must have been 
 enthusiastic, to judge by its fruits. For, in their annual 
 report, dated March 31st, the Trustees state trium- 
 phantly that "the results thus far secured diu-ing the year 
 are 131 new members, and 112 commuters of the annual 
 dues." It is told of several of them, notably Henry 
 Van Schaick, Charles E. Strong and Wolcott Gibbs, 
 that they were driven in an open barouche on an actual 
 house-to-house canvass in quest of subscribers, and in 
 this spectacular fashion harvested many a hundred- 
 dollar share. This large accession, beyond comparison 
 with the paltry average of two for the past four years, 
 was quaintly pronounced "animating." 
 
 In fact, so many changes were inaugurated by this ac- 
 tive board that its advent truly "indicates the commence- 
 ment of a new era in the progress of the Library." ^ 
 Further, for example, the office of Chairman, hitherto 
 simply temporary, was, in January, 1856, put on a yearly 
 basis. Like the Secretary, the Treasurer and the Library 
 Committee, a Chairman was henceforth to be chosen at 
 "the first stated meeting after the annual election." 
 
 ' See full account in the Evening Post, March 3, 1856. 
 ' Annual Report, 1856, p. 3. 
 
SEVENTEENTH CENTUHY PRESS RARITY 449 
 
 Apoftolick Charity, 
 
 ITS 
 
 J^atttre anu CjcteUente 
 
 C O N S I D E RD. 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
 Upon Dm, 12.3. 
 
 Preached at St. Pauls, DecemL 19. l'^57- 
 at the Ordination of fome Prote- 
 ftant Miilionaries to be ient into the 
 Plantations. 
 
 To which is Prefixt, 
 J General Vtew of the Englifli Colonies tn America, with 
 refpeEl to (?^e/gw« j In order to Jhew what TroViJion is 
 wanting for the propagation o/Chriftianity hi thoje 'Parts. 
 
 By Cl3oma0 'Btw^, d. d. 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Printed by W. DowitiMg, for William Howes, at the Sign of the 
 Rofe in LuJgate-Street, 1698. 
 
 Title-page (slightly reduced) of book containing first mention of a Library 
 as an institution in New York. See p. 8. 
 
4.50 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Nevertheless, this officer was not entrusted with an 
 excess of executive power. His functions were limited 
 to calling the annual meeting to order, and to summon- 
 ing special meetings of the corporation upon the written 
 request of at least fifty members, or upon a majority 
 vote of the board, at which gatherings he was to preside 
 until a chairman should be appointed. Lastly he was 
 required to "prepare an annual report upon the affairs 
 and condition of the institution," which report, upon 
 ratification by the board, should be submitted to the 
 shareholders at the annual meeting in April. 
 
 The first gentleman honored with an election as an- 
 nual Chairman was Charles R. Swords, in January, 
 1856. On his declining to serve, the lot fell upon Robert 
 Kelly. But the board was destined to a very brief 
 "benefit from his highly cultivated taste and great ex- 
 perience," as he died suddenly in April. The Library 
 "was but one of the many public institutions of the city, 
 literary, educational and benevolent, which received his 
 devoted attention, and had just cause to deplore his 
 loss."^ 
 
 Mr. Kelly's successor as Chairman was Charles E. 
 Anderson, who, however, resigned from the board in 
 October. He was followed in February, 1858, by 
 Charles R. Swords; but in May Gulian C. Verplanck, 
 returned to his long-familiar place as Trustee, was 
 unanimously chosen Chairman, a post he held until his 
 death in March, 1870, "with his accustomed ability and 
 practical good sense." ^ He was succeeded in this office 
 by Frederic de Peyster, who served continuously in turn 
 until his own decease in August, 1882. 
 
 Another innovation of this reactionary board was the 
 
 ' Annual Report, 1867, pp. 5-6. ' Annual Report, 1870, p. 6. 
 
FIRST ANNUAL REPORT 451 
 
 publication of an annual report to the shareholders, just 
 before the election of 1856. It was a frank and en- 
 gaging statement of their aims, difficulties and achieve- 
 ments since the "sweeping change" put them under 
 responsibility. This measure commending itself gen- 
 erally, it has become a settled and indispensable usage. 
 
 This first annual report is printed in a pamphlet of 
 sixteen pages, which contains also the Treasurer's state- 
 ment and that of the auditing committee. Later it 
 came to be the practice to include lists of newspapers and 
 magazines on the reading room tables, as also the yearly 
 accessions to the shelves. In addition there are given 
 the names of Trustees and officers, the terms of mem- 
 bership, and the hours of opening and closing. The 
 Library has a set of these reports neatly bound in two 
 volumes, including the year 1892, which, together with 
 the readily available issues since that date, make the his- 
 tory and progress of the institution practically an open 
 book. 
 
 All matters of an executive nature continued to be 
 entrusted to the Library Committee, despite the pro- 
 posed creation, in January, 1872, of an executive com- 
 mittee, to absorb all the functions of the former, except 
 an oversight of the reading room and of the books them- 
 selves. Also, as formerly, it was habitual for the same 
 Trustees to serve year after year. In May, 1860, its 
 number was raised from five to six, the Treasurer and 
 the Secretary remaining members ex officio. The 
 gentlemen of this period conspicuous for length of 
 term were Mr. Dorr, twelve years, Mr. Brodhead, thir- 
 teen, Mr. Strong, sixteen, Mr. Duyckinck, nineteen, 
 and Mr. Kennedy, thirty years. 
 
 Soon after that same revolution in the management. 
 
452 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 also, a change of Librarians was made. On May 17, 
 1855, it was voted "that Mr. Forbes be requested to 
 resign," which he promptly did four days later. Cer- 
 tain strained relations between him and the Trustees as 
 to money matters were presently adjusted by the Li- 
 brary's taking a small second mortgage on his Staten 
 Island real estate; and at the annual meeting in 1856 
 the shareholders voted to forgive him the debt. As has 
 been said, Mr. Forbes was unremitting in his regard for 
 the institution. For instance, in the following August 
 he informed his successor that he had discovered in an 
 auction-sale catalogue — "forming the library of the late 
 Henry Austin Brady, Esq." — more than eighty works 
 long missing from the Library, which books, with one 
 exception, were presently identified and cheerfully re- 
 stored by the executors. 
 
 No time was lost in securing a new Librarian. 
 Notices in local and Washington papers announced the 
 vacancy, requesting "applicants for the station" to ad- 
 dress "testimonials" to the Library Committee.^ Re- 
 sults showed the desirability of the office, for no fewer 
 than forty-seven persons applied, of whom the com- 
 mittee recommended five to the consideration of the 
 board, June 6th. On the first ballot John MacMullen, 
 a shareholder, was chosen unanimously. His salary was 
 determined at $1200, a noticeable advance over that 
 hitherto paid.^ The printed annual report of 1856 said 
 he was "well qualified and adapted for the place," serv- 
 ing "to the satisfaction of the Trustees and Members, 
 and all others with whom he has been brought into inter- 
 course." 
 
 John MacMullen, A.M., was born in New York city 
 
 ' See the Evening Post, May 28, 18S5. " See p. 419. 
 
COMMITTEE VERSUS LIBRARIAN 453 
 
 in I8I8, of Scotch-Irish parentage. He was graduated 
 from Columbia College with honors at the early age of 
 nineteen, after which came several years of European 
 travel and study. Upon his return he entered the 
 teaching profession, in which his linguistic abihties: 
 brought him success. He was an interesting speaker,, 
 and, besides the address on the Society Library, he 
 delivered a course of lecttires on literary subjects in the 
 new building during the winter of 1856-1857, being 
 "honored with the attendance of an inteUigent and ap- 
 preciating audience."^ 
 
 With all his cultivation, however, Mr. MacMuUen 
 was opinionated, outspoken and impatient of restraint, 
 traits of temperament incompatible with the traditions 
 of his office. He presently became involved in a dis- 
 agreement Avith the Library Committee, which continued 
 to regard itself, in spirit at least, as the "head Li- 
 brarian," formerly so termed.^ As a consequence of this 
 lack of harmony, all the members of the committee, 
 Messrs. Anthon, Gibbs, Kennedy, Secretary Van 
 Schaick and Treasiirer Strong, simultaneously resigned. 
 An ensuing investigation found "that the official acts of 
 the Library Committee fail to afford a justification for 
 the persisting objection of the Librarian, much less, 
 acrimony of feeling on his part towards the members of 
 the Committee," and that the regrettable conflict had 
 "arisen from a misapprehension on the part of the Li- 
 brarian of the requirements of the constitution and 
 by-laws, rather than from any desire to embarrass the 
 Committee." 
 
 Though these gentlemen promptly withdrew their 
 resignations, further friction soon arose, and the dispute 
 
 ' Annual Report, 1857, p. 6. " See p. 417. 
 
454 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 was carried into the annual meeting of 1857. Mr. Mac- 
 Mullen distributed a printed memorial among the 
 members, to announce his intended resignation and to 
 set forth his explanation of the Library's "stagnation," 
 jwhile "all the other large libraries in the city were mak- 
 ing progress." It was chiefly due, he declared in crisp 
 sentences of hard-headed logic, to the lamentably subor- 
 dinate position of the Librarian and to the vesting of 
 power in one "Committee Man," who had not been 
 trained to the "business" of a Librarian. This protest 
 evoked a hasty circular^ in rebuttal, signed simply "A 
 Friend of the Library," which was hardly more than a 
 personal attack, ending with the query: "Shall we have 
 an ornamental Librarian like Mr. MacMullen, sitting 
 in the upper alcoves of the Library, or an eiScient work- 
 ing Librarian at the desk?" 
 
 Inasmuch as the annual report of the next year char- 
 acterizes this election as "a contest . . . exceeding in 
 spirit any thing that had ever been kno\vn in the history 
 of the Library," it is proper to quote the following ac- 
 count in the Evening Post of April 29, 1857: 
 
 New York Society Library — Annual Report — The 
 MacMullen Controversy 
 
 Two tickets for Trustees were in the field — one bearing the 
 names of the old Trustees, and the other supposed to be favor- 
 able to Mr. MacMullen, the Librarian, between whom and the 
 old Board a serious misunderstanding has arisen. It appears 
 from a pamphlet by Mr. MacMullen, issued yesterday, that he 
 had removed his desk in the library from the main floor to the 
 
 ^ To the Shareholders of the New York Society Library. A copy is 
 
 York Society Library. April 28, in the Library of the Historical 
 
 1857. 10 pp. Society. 
 
 - To the Shareholders of the New- 
 
EXCITING ELECTION OF TRUSTEES 455 
 
 gallery, and that the committee ordered him to resume the old 
 place. This he thought arbitrary, and in his pamphlet contends 
 that the Librarian should have control of the library, as other- 
 wise no man respecting himself can hold office. 
 
 At the meeting last night an anonymous paper was hberally 
 circulated, stating that it was evident Mr. MacMuUen wished 
 to usurp entire management, and otherwise reflecting upon his 
 course. After the adoption of the [annual] report, he asked to 
 be heard in relation to these charges. Mr. Anthon thought he 
 ought not to heed an anonymous paper; but the meeting voted 
 to hear him, and he proceeded to defend himself, saying among 
 other things, that he thought his services were worth more than 
 $1200 to the Library, and therefore he did not think it im- 
 modest to ask an advance of his salary. 
 
 While in the midst of his explanations, the chairman received 
 a letter from five of the gentlemen whose names were upon Mr. 
 MacMullen's ticket, in which they stated that the use of their 
 names was wholly unauthorized, and disclaimed all connection 
 with the affair. Four or five others whose names were on the 
 ticket, and who were present, hereupon arose and made the same 
 statement with relation to themselves. 
 
 The chairman announced that the time had arrived to open 
 the polls, and the voting began. The contest was spirited, and 
 the result was not known until ^ifter 12 o'clock. The old Board 
 was re-elected, with the exception of Mr. Strong, who was de- 
 feated by three majority. . . . 
 
 The annual report of 1858 says further of this affair: 
 
 The unusual excitement attending the election and the unprec- 
 edentedly large vote cast, were a pleasing evidence of the in- 
 terest felt in the Institution by its shareholders. Experience 
 has proved that no Public Institution, however worthy its 
 Managers may be, can flourish as it ought, while an apathetic 
 disposition is manifested by the large number who constitute its 
 body. An excitement, such as characterized the last election, 
 tends not only to keep alive the interest of the shareholders, 
 but also to stimulate and increase the energy and efficiency of 
 the Trustees. 
 
456 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 When the Trustees met, May 6th, Mr. MacMiillen's 
 resignation was duly read, to take effect on May 26th; 
 but the board rather resentfully— though, it is good to 
 see, not unanimously — voted that the resignation "be 
 laid upon the table and that he be informed that his 
 connection with the Library is dissolved from the present 
 date." An address to the shareholders, "in answer to 
 Mr, MacMullen's statement," was next ordered pre- 
 pared ; but, if ever framed, no copy has survived.^ Con- 
 cerning the retirement of Treasurer Strong, the same 
 report says: 
 
 The defeat of this gentleman was a matter of much regret to 
 the Trustees, who alone knew with what zeal and efBciency he 
 had devoted himself to the duties of his office, and the difficulty 
 they would experience in adequately filling his place. It was 
 satisfactory to know, however, that in the gentleman [Mr. Ver- 
 planck] elected by the shareholders in the place of Mr. Strong, 
 the Library would secure the services of one of its oldest and 
 warmest friends ; one whose scholarship and long experience in 
 the conduct of its affairs would be productive of the greatest 
 advantage to it. 
 
 The report, however, neglects to add that, coinci- 
 dentaUy with its abrupt dismissal of Mr. MacMullen, 
 the board reappointed Mr. Strong a Trustee (as also 
 Treasurer), in place of Benjamin H. Field, who, it is 
 
 ^Mr. MacMullen returned to the tures of his private school for boys 
 
 calling of a teacher, in which he were its gymnasium, military driJl, 
 
 gained notable success; his ideas library, manual training classes, 
 
 were advanced and eminently sensi- and holiday excursions to places of 
 
 ble. He introduced "self-govern- historic interest and to factories, 
 
 ment" by his pupils, under which local institutions, etc. He was one 
 
 system matters of discipline were of the founders of the Washington 
 
 submitted to a board of arbitration; Heights Free Library in 1868; and 
 
 and he gave practical instruction in for several years prior to his death, 
 
 the simple methods of business and in 1893, assisted in arranging and 
 
 banking, preparing paper coinage compiling the early records of Co- 
 
 of all denominations. Other fea- lumbia College. 
 
LIBRARIAN WENTWORTH S. BUTLER 457 
 
 said, had resigned on that understanding. One month 
 later, for reasons not now remembered, Mr. Strong 
 himself resigned; but, after an interval of temporary 
 Treasiu"ers and further resignations,— the causes of 
 which are equally obscure,— he was, in October, again 
 returned to his former offices. Secretary Hoppin ad- 
 vising him of his "unanimous election" and of the 
 board's "earnest wishes" for his acceptance. He ac- 
 quiesced gracefully and remained a Trustee tmtil 1897, 
 though holding the treasurership only until May, 1859.^ 
 
 During the summer of 1857 the appointment of a new 
 Librarian was carefully considered. Many apphcations 
 were received, some bearing the weighty endorsements 
 of trained men like Librarians Poole of the Boston 
 Athenaeum, Herrick of Yale College and Cogswell of 
 the Astor Library, or of such influential laymen as the 
 Hon. Edward Everett of Massachusetts, Washington 
 Irving, Fitz-Greene Halleck and S. B. Ruggles. 
 Finally, on October 7th, Wentworth S. Butler, who 
 had been assistant and acting Librarian since December, 
 1855, was chosen on the third ballot, and the election was 
 made iinanimous, his salary being set at $1200. 
 
 Wentworth Sanborn Butler, yoixngest son of the 
 Hon. Josiah Butler of New Hampshire, was born in 
 that state, September 30, 1826, and was graduated with 
 honor from Dartmouth College in 1848. After a year 
 of special study at Harvard, followed by a season's 
 teaching in Maryland, he took the three-year divinity 
 course at Union Seminary in New York city. Such a 
 
 ' Another incident, in itself trifling, consequently his father was elected, 
 is illustrative of the confusion at duly notiiled and forced to send a 
 this contested election. By a press formal note of explanation to "de- 
 error the suffix "Jr." was omitted cline the honor," the board promptly 
 from Dr. EUiot's name on the ticket; repairing the inadvertent mistake. 
 
458 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 procedure was not thought inconsistent for even the 
 stanch churchman that Mr. Butler has ever been, but 
 rather indicative of real catholicity of temper. He 
 nevertheless presently abandoned his design of taking 
 orders, and soon entered on what was to be his uninter- 
 rupted life-work — the librarianship of the Society Li- 
 brary. Says the annual report of 1858: "Mr. Butler 
 has discharged the duties with fidelity and ability, and 
 apparently to the entire satisfaction of the share- 
 holders." 
 
 Beginning with January, 1867, the Librarian's salary 
 was advanced to $1500; that his services were valued is 
 inferable from his unbroken incumbency and from his 
 very lack of mention in the minutes. Now and then a 
 word is dropped to show the high esteem in which he was 
 held by successive boards. For instance, in April, 1875, 
 Treasurer Swan concludes his annual report in these 
 words : "The increase of dues is to a great extent owing 
 to the aid of the Librarian in collecting arrears. It has 
 been persistent and successful as no one else could have 
 made it." Again, in May, 1877, under inspiration 
 from the substantial Dorr and Green benefactions, the 
 Trustees unanimously voted Mr. Butler a donation of 
 $500, "in view of his long and faithful service, and of 
 the interest he has taken in advancing the welfare of the 
 institution." Attached to this appreciative resolution, 
 however, was the canny proviso, "as soon as the Treas- 
 urer shall be in funds." So it is not wholly surprising, 
 though none the less disappointing, to learn that thirteen 
 months later the board felt constrained to reduce the 
 gift to "one half the sum previously voted." 
 
 The time for Trustee meetings varied little with the 
 years. Between 1838 and 1884, barring the brief inter- 
 
Wentworth Sanborn Butler 
 
 Assistant Librarian, 1855-1857. Librarian, 1857-1893 
 Librarian Emeritus, 1895 — 
 
VOTE ALLOWED FOR EACH SHARE 459 
 
 val in 1877, noted below, the date for stated meetings 
 was rather intricately scheduled to be "the first Wednes- 
 day after the fourth day of every month except 
 August, and also on the day next before the last Tuesday 
 of April." The hour, however, met with alterations: 
 from JNIay, 1848, to May, 1856, it was half -past six; 
 then half -past seven until April, 1871 ; and eight o'clock 
 thereafter, with the exception of six months between 
 May and Xovember, 1877, when the time was set at 
 four o'clock on "the second Monday of every month 
 except August." The former practice was "restored" 
 on motion of the same Trustee who had proposed the 
 change — Mr. Strong. Yet this seeming contradiction 
 should not betoken whimsicalness, but rather a sensible 
 acknowledgment of mis judgment, for a quorum had 
 been obtained only once out of seven attempts in the 
 meantime. 
 
 Under the by-laws of 1856 the hour of the annual 
 corporation meeting was shifted from noon to seven 
 o'clock in the evening; while the balloting time, pre- 
 viously from one to fovu- in the afternoon, was hence- 
 forth to be from eight until half -past ten at night. A 
 radical and noteworthy change was made that year, 
 to go into effect in 1857, allowing each member "one 
 vote for every right held by him or her," the custom 
 hitherto, from the very adoption of the Articles of the 
 Subscription Roll in 1754, having expressly enjoined: 
 "nor shall any member vote by proxy, nor in any case 
 have more than one vote."^ 
 
 This privilege of granting a vote for every right 
 owned is the evident though tardy result of a statute 
 passed in Jime, 1853, "for the incorporation of Ubrary 
 
 » By-law, printed in Catalogues of 1813, 1838, 1850. 
 
460 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 companies," by which "each member shall be entitled to 
 one vote on every such share held by him, and standing in 
 his name on the books of the company. ' ' Voting by proxy, 
 however, has never been permitted throughout the his- 
 tory of the Society Library, though expressly allowed 
 by statute to members of all but religious corporations. 
 Apropos of the subject of proxy -voting, there was 
 demanded, in 1860, a settlement of the long-mooted 
 question, whether a minor shareholder had the right to 
 vote, and, if not, whether the guardian of such "infant" 
 could vote for him. A special report, signed by Messrs. 
 Butler, Dorr and McMurray, was printed with the 
 annual statement of I860. Upon diligent inquiry and 
 research it was determined that such a right did not 
 exist, being wholly "without foundation" in law, but 
 that it was "the right and duty of the guardian of a 
 minor shareholder to appear at the corporate elections, 
 and to give the vote appertaining to the share of his 
 ward." The report closes thus facetiously: 
 
 By way of consolation to our infant members, we can only advise 
 them to be content for the present with their undoubted right to 
 marry and to make their wills of their personal estates, leaving 
 to the future the important responsibility of voting for Trus- 
 tees of the Society Library. 
 
 Continuing the outline of hours, in 1862 the election 
 poll was closed at ten o'clock, and at half -past nine in 
 1867, while the next two years saw a temporary change to 
 "9% o'clock P.M." In 1876 the shareholders' meeting 
 was not convened until half -past seven, an amendment 
 requested by the members themselves. As a rule these 
 gatherings were slimly attended save on a few notable 
 occasions. Since 1856 the minutes of their proceedings 
 
THIRSTY INSPECTORS— AND JANITOR 461 
 
 have been recorded separately. Trifling as the chron- 
 ichng of these variations in Trustee and shareholder 
 meetings may seem, it is yet an integral part of the 
 present work; and, furthermore, do not these same 
 particulars have a real bearing on the life of the commu- 
 nity, as an indicator of society's dinner hour, fluctuating 
 under the dictates of fashion? 
 
 From time out of mind it had been customary to ac- 
 knowledge the services of the election inspectors with a 
 suitable entertainment after their evening's task, the 
 matter usually being left with the committee nominating 
 them. But in 1859 the janitor was authorized "to furnish 
 proper refreshments" for the inspectors ; and five years 
 later this convivial commission of ascertaining and sat- 
 isfying the taste of the above mentioned functionaries 
 was entrusted, possibly for his name's sake, to the dis- 
 criminating acumen of Librarian Butler. Then for a 
 number of years Mr. Swords was selected as the "com- 
 mittee" on entertainment, but in 1872 Mr. Dorr was 
 associated with him in dispensing rewards of merit to 
 the thirsty inspectors. It so chanced on this occasion, or 
 after it, more probably, that the long-neglected janitor 
 took thought for himself, and so liberally did he minister 
 unto his creature wants that when the building was 
 broken open, late on the following day, he was found 
 prone upon the floor, still living in the past. This epi- 
 sode marked the passing of the custom and, it is needless 
 to add, of the janitor.^ 
 
 In this connection it is pertinent to state that, from 
 1838 on, the reading room had been opened at eight 
 o'clock in the morning. When the new bmlding at 67 
 
 ' During the treasurership of Mr. tomed to give a dinner to the inspec- 
 Mount, 1877-1880, he was accus- tion committee. 
 
462 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 University place— the number was not changed to 109 
 until 1897— was finished and ready for patrons in 1856, 
 the reading room continued open until ten o'clock in 
 the evening; while the loan department, hitherto closed 
 at sunset, was kept open until nine o'clock from May 
 first to November first, closing at eight in other months. 
 The next year, books could not be taken out after seven 
 o'clock, and in 1863, between November first and April 
 first, not after six. Lastly, from 1864 to 1891 the hours 
 for borrowers were from eight in the morning until six 
 in the evening, and, for the reading room, eight in the 
 morning until ten at night. In February, 1872, a request 
 to have the building open on Sundays and holidays was 
 voted "inexpedient" to grant. 
 
 Although the Librarian was required to "keep a full 
 and accurate catalogue of all the books belonging to the 
 corporation," and despite repeated assurances that "the 
 new Catalogue, now in course of preparation, will soon 
 be ready for distribution," the Catalogue of 1850 re- 
 mains to this day, as in the nature of things it will ever 
 remain, the last published work of the kind. The "list 
 of additions" printed in each annual report did much to 
 relieve the pressing need of a catalogue. 
 
 In the first of the regular series of annual reports, 
 issued in 1856, the collection of books, which had been 
 35,000 volumes in 1850, is stated to comprise 40,000, 
 "about 8000 in classic and foreign tongues, and the re- 
 mainder English books." ^ In 1864, there were 54,000 
 
 ' An excellent Idea of the collec- great value, a few sheets of ancient 
 
 tion at the beginning of this period church music on vellum, numerous 
 
 is given as follows in Valentine's collections of engravings, a small 
 
 Marmal for 1856, pp. 547-548: "The but beautiful collection of bronze 
 
 Library now numbers about 40,000 medals, one set of casts of the Elgin 
 
 volumes, a few manuscripts of marbles, forty-eight in number, and 
 
 modern date, maps and charts of one set of Waterloo medals, fifty in 
 
CREDIT DUE THE LIBRARY COMMITTEE 4-63 
 
 volumes, and by 1879, the arbitrary limit set to this chap- 
 ter, the collection had risen approximately to 70,000 in 
 number. 
 
 Those who presided over the f ortimes of the Library 
 during the dark days of the Civil War are worthy of no 
 ordinary commendation, not merely for having kept the 
 institution out of debt, but also for having regularly 
 added to its shelves. For, as was stated in the report for 
 1864, the advanced price of books and periodicals had 
 "much restricted the Library Committee in their pur- 
 chases and prevented them from procvu-ing many costly 
 and desirable foreign publications," while the increased 
 cost of paper and labor had raised the price of new 
 American books more than one half. Nevertheless, in 
 1865 the board took just satisfaction in announcing that 
 "nearly all the productions of the American press of 
 any value, whether original or reprints, have been pro- 
 cured." Furthermore, with the added funds arising 
 from the advanced annual dues in 1866, a large order 
 was sent abroad for "many publications of science and 
 general literature." 
 
 A good idea of the purpose and work of the Library 
 Committee in its chief function is gained from the fol- 
 lowing passages in the annual report for 1861, it being 
 borne in mind that the committee was restricted from 
 incurring any indebtedness. 
 
 This city has within a few years become one of the great book- 
 marts of the world, not only for the publications of the Ameri- 
 
 number. One of the most curious They relate chiefly to alchemy and 
 
 collections of books in the Library magic, including books in regard to 
 
 is one of about 275 volumes pre- the Rosicrucians. A very important 
 
 sented to the society by the late feature of the Library is its exten- 
 
 Francis B. Winthrop, formerly the sive files of newspapers, both of the 
 
 property of his ancestor, John Win- present and last century. No library 
 
 throp, first governor of Connecticut. has taken more pains to obtain and 
 
464 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 can press, but for older publications of all kinds and all ages 
 and countries, thrown upon the market by the dispersion and 
 sale of libraries and booksellers' stock, etc., here and in Europe. 
 The Library Committee of this Board have carefully and con- 
 stantly availed themselves of such opportunities to fill up at 
 moderate cost many chasms in the catalogue of works of Eng- 
 lish literature, biography, and travels, published during the 
 present century, but never reprinted in this country. The 
 usual supply of the pubhcations of the day, EngHsh and Ameri- 
 can, has also been kept up, together with that of the best cur- 
 rent literature from the Paris press, and some German and 
 Italian works. Besides the purchase of most original publica- 
 tions of the year, pains have been taken to fill up the deficiencies 
 in general local American history and biography, in which de- 
 partments the Library is becoming quite rich. Although far 
 the greater number of these purchases were of works suited to 
 the demands of the general reader, some valuable additions have 
 been made in works of high science and ancient learning. 
 
 At the same time a special plea was made, and regu- 
 larly repeated, for contributions to the collection of 
 pamphlets, "whether political, theological, or scientific." 
 Of such hterature the Library possessed a store, as "the 
 gradual and almost accidental accimiulation of above 
 sixty years," which might "easily be made in a still 
 greater degree a body of information of incalculable 
 value." This object would seem a trespassing on the 
 domain of the Historical Society, were there any chance 
 of rivalry at all with that colossal storehouse. 
 
 As before and since, gifts of books or other printed 
 matter, averaging 150 volxmies a year, were continually 
 
 preserve these dail7 records of cur- that of voyages and travels, is full, 
 
 rent events. Their great utility for interesting and important. The 
 
 reference, both for public and pri- number of French and Italian works 
 
 vate affairs, is demonstrated almost is also considerable— the latter hav- 
 
 daily. The collection of historical ing been mostly presented to the 
 
 and biographical works, and also society ... by Mr. Da Ponte." 
 
DONATIONS TO THE LIBRARY 4.65 
 
 being made to the institution. Besides private acknow- 
 ledgment of these, the annual reports from 1858 to 1868 
 contained lists of donors. Many volumes presented in- 
 clude publications of innumerable organizations of every 
 description, with now and then documents from abroad. 
 
 In all, about 120 names of such benefactors are men- 
 tioned with gratefulness, those most frequently seen 
 being, of the Trustees, Messrs. Verplanck, McMurray 
 and Kennedy, and, of others, the Hon. John R. Bart- 
 lett, Librarian Butler, the Hon. J. Winthrop Chanler, 
 the Hon. Frederick A. Conkling, Nathaniel S. Bow- 
 ditch, Henry Onderdonk, Jr., General J. Watts de 
 Peyster, Professor W. E. Eigenbrodt, of the General 
 Seminary, David T. Valentine, for years clerk of the 
 Common Council and editor of much valuable matter 
 relating to city history, and Andrew H, Green, who only 
 lately passed away, widely revered as the "Father of 
 Greater New York." Masquerading among these pa- 
 trons of literature, it is indeed amusing to find the name 
 of a notorious personage, little associated with public 
 benefits, that arch-reprobate and self-seeker, the Hon. 
 WiUiam M. Tweed. 
 
 Not a few of these gifts had doubtless been prompted 
 by appeals in the annual reports. It will therefore be 
 well worth while to quote some of their statements, to 
 learn just what claims and promises the institution was 
 making for itself. Says the report for 1857: 
 
 The Public Library is to a certain extent a part of the grand 
 university scheme ; the completion of our system of public edu- 
 cation. The student when he leaves the academy or college has 
 but crossed the threshold of knowledge. The library now be- 
 comes his quiet lecture-room, and self-instruction from its 
 resources must supply the place of the teacher. 
 
466 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Next, reference is made to the recent study of Euro- 
 pean libraries by Librarian S. Hastings Grant of the 
 
 Eine Offentliche Bekanntmachung. 
 
 NACHDEME der General-Majdr Ro- 
 bertson in Erfcihrung gebracht hat, 
 daaz- die Bibliochec zu des Roenigs Hohen 
 Schale gehcerig, wie auch die Bibliochec, der 
 Bibliothec-Societaet in der Stadt Neu-York 
 Zuflsndig, iind beraubec worden, fowohlder 
 Buecher, als anch eines Theils des Philofb-, 
 phifchen Inflrumenten\j..5. f. Satzes : So-wird 
 biemit ledermaenniglich Zuwoiffen gemaeht, dasz 
 indenen Buechern Zu der Hohen Schule ge- 
 hcerig das Wapen der Hohen Scbule, oder das 
 Wapen der Zu Portpflanzung des Evangelii 
 erricfaieten Societxt feft gemacht oder figiret 
 ftehet ; und in einigen derfelben ftehet das 
 Wapen des Jofephs Murray, Efqr; und dasz 
 in denen Buechern der Stadt-Bibliothecs-Ge- 
 fellschafFc das Wapen befagter GesellschafFc 
 Agiret ift ; oder, dasz die Zerfchiedene fo 
 entwendete Buecher fonften fo gezeichnet find, 
 dasz ledermann wiffen kan, wem felbige aller- 
 feits Zugehoeren. Und alien Perfonen, in 
 deren Haenden einigc der befagten Buecher, 
 oder einigerTheil des Philofophifchen Jnftru- 
 menten u. s. f. Satzes dermalen find, auf 
 Waferley Weife fie auch zu deren Befiz mcegen 
 gekommen feyn^ wird hiedurch auf das fchaerfF- 
 ste anbefohlen, dieselbigen innerhalb ZE- 
 HEN TAGEN dcm Drucker diefer Nach- 
 richt einzuhsendigen' Zu dem Gebrauch derer 
 allerfeitigen Eigenthums-Herrn : — Oder fie 
 wcrden dem Profoj gefaenglich ueberliefFert 
 und geftraffcc werden als folche, die gellohleae 
 Gue'ther einnehmen und verhelen. 
 Neu-Terk, din ijjlen January, 1777. 
 
 VON HEISTER. 
 
 Proclamation by Hessian commander for return of King's 
 College and Society Library books, plundered from the City 
 Hall (facsimile size). From Hugh Gaine's The New-Yorh 
 Gazette; and the Weekly Mercury, February 3, 1777. See 
 pp. mnl. 104-195. 
 
 Mercantile Library Association. As a result of his 
 researches, he was led to recommend, as is advocated in 
 
SPECIALIZATION OF LOCAL LIBRARIES 467 
 
 our own day,^ the adoption of some scheme for a "imion 
 of interests" of the libraries in the city. This was not to 
 mean the consolidation that had been so often sought 
 between 1825 and 1840, but rather a complete differen- 
 tiation or speciahzation, each institution being bound to 
 perfect its collection in some one department. 
 
 By such an understanding "a more complete field for 
 the labors of the scholar might be secured than the re- 
 sources of any one library could ever hope to offer, and 
 the value and usefulness of aU be immeasurably in- 
 creased." There abeady existed in the city certain 
 special collections to illustrate this theory, viz., theolog- 
 ical, medical and law libraries and, with equal truth, the 
 treasures of the Historical Society. Furthermore, the 
 arrangement would tend to diminish expense and losses 
 incurred in purchasing duplicate works, "a serious con- 
 sideration." 
 
 In descanting on the paucity and comparative poverty 
 of American libraries, natural regret is expressed that 
 "our historians and scholars have all been compelled to 
 avail themselves of the resources of European libraries, 
 or in like manner [with Gibbon] collect their own tools 
 for literary labor." Nevertheless, in one respect there 
 was cause for satisfaction: the recent examination of 
 American private libraries by Dr. James Wynne and 
 others had proved "gratifying as regards om* own coun- 
 try, but more particularly so to us, as elevating to a 
 higher rank the literary character of our city." The 
 whole number of vohmies in New York public libraries 
 was then about 348,000, which, with an estimated total 
 
 ' See article, "The Need for Spe- versity, in The Independent, Nov. 
 cialized Libraries," by Dr. James H. 15, 1906. 
 Canfleld, Librarian of Columbia Unl- 
 
468 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 of 270,000 in private collections, gave an aggregate of 
 618,000 volumes, or a ratio of about one to each in- 
 habitant. By these statistics New York was shamefully 
 outclassed by European cities, "much more so, in fact, 
 than is consistent with our boasted intelligence." 
 
 Coming now to the pith of the argument for the sup- 
 port and specialization of local libraries, it is asserted 
 that the Society Library, said to have been for years the 
 "literary heart" of the city, was "emphatically the Fam- 
 ily Library, sending its treasures to the fireside and the 
 closet." As a literary heart, "its pulsations should be 
 felt in every part of the public body." "Let this be the 
 case," the appeal concludes, though in mixed metaphor, 
 "let its circulation be healthful and active, and it too will 
 fulfil its mission in sending light and knowledge into 
 every quarter of our widely extended city." 
 
 At the time of its foimidation, in 1754, the Society 
 Library was denominated a "Public" Library in contra- 
 distinction to existing private or parochial collections. 
 It was both a shareholders' or proprietary hbrary and a 
 subscription library, and practically identical in char- 
 acter with the "social" libraries, so common in New 
 England just before and in the first half-century after 
 the Revolution. Prior to 1850 the term "public" was 
 never thought of as synonymous with the word "free," 
 as is to-day the general acceptation. 
 
 Nevertheless, the free library movement of the early 
 fifties, exemplified in the establishment of the Boston 
 Public Library and in the noble Astor endowment for 
 New York, would seem not merely to have caused the 
 Trustees of the Society Library some uneasiness, but to 
 have challenged them to explain their position. It 
 should have been perfectly plain, however, that they 
 
PUBLIC CHARACTER OF THE LIBRARY 469 
 
 had no shadow of right to turn their institution into a 
 free library, even had they been so disposed. In the 
 annual report for 1858, accordingly, appears this de- 
 claration : 
 
 It has been objected that ours is not a public library, but pri- 
 vate incorporation, and therefore not so much entitled to con- 
 sideration as some of our sister institutions. It is true, that 
 in the strictest sense of the term, it cannot be called a public or 
 free library ; nevertheless, in all its essential qualities, it is public 
 in its character. The privileges of consultation and study are 
 open to all upon the payment of a very small fee, and the Trus- 
 tees have from time to time freely extended every facihty in the 
 loan of books and otherwise, where the application was deemed 
 worthy. 
 
 The same report, moreover, in appealing for generous 
 donations hke the Demilt bequest, or such as the Boston 
 Athenaeum had often received, laid especial stress upon 
 the need of a fund exclusively for the purchase of books, 
 lest "the popularity of the Library sensibly dechne." 
 The desired "princely liberality" not forthcoming, it 
 was voted, in June, 1859, that "all moneys hereafter 
 received for free shares or for the commutation of 
 annual dues" be invested as a permanent fund, the in- 
 come of which fvmd, on its attaining to $1000, should be 
 applied to the purchase of books; by the spring of 1864 
 this fund had matured. Further in this connection the 
 report for 1866 states that "the establishment has con- 
 tinued its ordinary course of long-sustained public use- 
 fiJness, Its collections have been freely open to all 
 persons engaged in any literary, scientific, or practical 
 or legal researches, and those connected with the press, 
 and the privilege has been largely used." It should be 
 remarked here that during the greater part of this epoch 
 
470 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 the sum of twenty-five cents was ordinarily charged, as 
 an "examination" or "consultation" fee, to readers other 
 than members or temporary subscribers. 
 
 At this juncture a few excerpts from the minute re- 
 port of Librarian Grant of the Mercantile Library 
 Association will prove pertinent and interesting, as 
 showing the relative standing of New York libraries 
 with some in Europe. These investigations were made 
 in the spring and simimer of 1855, the report appearing 
 in print the following year.^ 
 
 Mr. Grant observed that the "Free Library System" 
 had "proved eminently successful," in the few years of 
 its operation, especially in Liverpool and Manchester. 
 The Liverpool Library, then a century old, was a cir- 
 culating hbrary of 43,000 volumes, with annual charges 
 of £l, "and corresponds very much to the N. Y. Society 
 Library." The Liverpool Athenaetim, after which the 
 defunct New York Athenaeum had been modeled, in 
 1824,^ was "very exclusive," with a yearly subscription 
 of £2, its 21,000 volumes available for reference only. 
 
 In London, he says, "public or circulating libraries 
 like our own are almost unknown," people having to 
 depend upon booksellers, "of whom more than eighty 
 let out works at rates varying from a penny per volume 
 to a guinea per year." Again, "one looks in vain in 
 Paris for the well organized circulating library. In its 
 place he often sees, posted in a window, some of the 
 more popular recent works, for hire at the rate of two or 
 three sous a day." The Royal Library at Berlin, how- 
 ever, gave him "more satisfactory information concern- 
 
 ' Thirty-fifth Annual Report of City of New York. May, 1856. Pp. 
 the Board of Direction of the Mer- 46-52. 
 cantile Library Association of the ' See p. 313 et seq. 
 
Frederick Sheldon 
 Trustee, 1871-190T. Chairman, 1893-1894 
 
THE HAMMOND CIRCULATING LIBRARY 471 
 
 ing the manner of conducting large institutions of this 
 kind," its average of volumes loaned heing about 40,000 
 a year.^ 
 
 None could have scanned more carefuUy or gained 
 more stimulus from this report than the friends of the 
 Society Library. Certainly the Trustees did not relax 
 a whit in their efforts to advance. In referring a few 
 years later to the fact that the British Museiim and 
 other great libraries of the old world owed "a very large 
 proportion of their literary treasm-es" to donations, and 
 adding that those institutions were national property, 
 the plea was offered that by "private liberality alone" 
 could the Society Library hope "ever to rival the im- 
 mense establishments of Europe." 
 
 In response to such appeals there were coming 
 gradually some substantial accessions, besides the an- 
 nual increase by gift and purchase, through individual 
 generosity. A particularly noteworthy instance was the 
 presentation, in the spring of 1868, by Robert Lenox 
 Kennedy, of about 1850 volumes, or the greater part of 
 the old Circulating Library of James Hammond of New- 
 port, R. I. Of this collection the report for 1868 says: 
 
 It is a very curious memorial of the taste, manners, and lighter 
 literature of the country from the period of 1783 until about 
 or near 1830. Newport in those days was, as it still is, a resort 
 during the warm season of the most refined, wealthy and culti- 
 vated society of the whole of this country ; and this Circulating 
 Library was long the chief resort of that society for lighter 
 literature; for the valuable Redwood Public Library was then 
 almost exclusively devoted to works of reference and authority. 
 This library contained the works of light reading at the 
 time in most demand, including the numerous novels from the 
 
 " The circulation of the Society Li- in 1855; 15,780 in 1857; 19,109 in 
 brary is given as 6238 in 1854; 6544 1862, and 32,642 in 1865. 
 
472 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 then fashionable Minerva Press in London, most of which have 
 now passed away and are forgotten, although a few of them 
 are by authors, like Mrs. Radcliffe, of great power and orig- 
 inality. It also contains not a few original works by American 
 authors, now rarely to be found, as well as others, equally 
 scarce, by foreign authors who wrote on this country, or con- 
 cerning our aifairs, in those times. 
 
 The collection is also remarkable on another account, as 
 showing the progress and mutation of the pubHshing business 
 in this country, for many of the volumes were printed at places, 
 most of them then small villages, from which, though those have 
 now grown with the increase of the country in wealth and popu- 
 lation, and afford large markets for the best literature, the 
 pubhshing business has wholly died out, it being absorbed by 
 our great cities. 
 
 At the same time with the acknowledgment of this 
 unique donation, grateful mention was made of 331 
 "standard books of medical science, all of them of the 
 best editions, and well bound," received from Ohver 
 Bronson, M.D., long a shareholder, who had also pre- 
 viously given to the Library about a hundred works on 
 physical science and in foreign literature. 
 
 Again, in 1873, Chairman de Peyster announced that 
 his son, Major-General J. Watts de Peyster, had begun 
 to fill an alcove with "books on special subjects," and 
 that he himself had bestowed a set, complete in eighty- 
 six folio volvmies, of the "Indices of Conveyances, Judg- 
 ments, Suits in Equity and Insolvent Assignments, 
 recorded in the city of New York." These documents 
 were received with appreciation and ordered placed in 
 the de Peyster Alcove, to whose store these kindly 
 benefactors regularly made additions, aU of which were 
 to be for reference only. By 1880 this collection had 
 grown to include about 1000 volumes. 
 
THE JOHN C. GREEN ART ALCOVE 473 
 
 Another gift of note, comprising 112 volumes/ was 
 received in 1874 from Mrs. J. R. Brodhead, the books 
 being "a selection from the valuable library of her hus- 
 band, the eminent historian of our State, whose long and 
 faithful service to this Institution, as a member of its 
 Board of Trustees and of its Library Committee, will 
 ever be held in grateful recollection." A year later some 
 seventy handsome volimies on Arctic explorations, in 
 both English and French, giving full accounts of all 
 such attempts from the earliest times, were presented by 
 Mr. James Benkard. These books were also to be se- 
 questered for consultation alone, the donor proposing 
 to enlarge the collection when new publications on the 
 subject should appear. 
 
 The report of 1879 announces a further proof of the 
 intelligent devotion of Mr. Kennedy, who had just 
 fitted up and decorated the "John C. Green Alcove" at 
 his own expense. It was adorned with a bronze tablet, 
 a clock and a stained window, and he added later a por- 
 trait of Mr. Green, by a noted Italian painter, Mad- 
 razo. For this alcove, as a nucleus of the present 
 notable Green Art CoEection, Mr. Kennedy had "pur- 
 chased and deposited in the same a valuable and rare 
 collection of books,^ handsomely bound, upon art, 
 architecture and kindred subjects, most of which are 
 beautifully illustrated," all these gifts being made "as a 
 memorial of his deceased friend," John C. Green. 
 
 In recognition of this splendid gift, which represented 
 an intrinsic value of fully $10,000, exclusive of the 
 
 'A list of these books appears in Oreen Alcove of the New York 
 
 the Report for 1874, p. 17. Society Library selected and pre- 
 
 ' For the titles of this collection, sented by Robert Lenox Kennedy. 
 
 numbering 415 volumes, see A New York, 1879. Privately printed. 
 
 Classified Catalogue with Critical 48 pp. with index. 
 Notes of the Works on Art in the 
 
4.74 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 books, Mr. Kennedy was tendered a formal vote of 
 thanks; and a covenant "of perpetual obligation" was 
 drawn up by the board, under the terms of which these 
 books were to be suitably labeled and preserved, and to 
 be taken out only by express permission of the Trustees, 
 while the alcove with its "furniture" was to be forever 
 kept "in good order and complete repair." 
 
 As a further mark of honor and appreciation, both 
 Mrs. Sarah H. Green and Mr. Kennedy were especially 
 empowered, "during their lives, each to appoint ten per- 
 sons who shall, during her or his pleasure, respectively 
 have and enjoy all the privileges of the use of the Li- 
 brary in the same manner as members of the corpora- 
 tion"; and the Library Committee was also directed to 
 "provide special cards of admission for the use of Mrs. 
 Green and Mr. Kennedy." 
 
 Setting apart the Green Alcove had necessitated re- 
 moving the Librarian's desk from its post of vantage 
 opposite the staircase to "the east end of the Library 
 room." This move had been proposed in November, 
 1875, on account of the ctu-rents of icy air that would 
 sweep across the room, despite a partition having been 
 ordered at the head of the stairs in December, 1868, "to 
 protect the Library from cold during the winter." 
 Matters such as heating and repairing the building, 
 however, came under the province of the Library Com- 
 mittee, and do not find mention in the general minutes.^ 
 
 Owing to limited wall space in the large haU, few 
 decorations could be accommodated there. From time 
 
 ^ In this connection it is said that exposure. This image adorned the 
 
 Dr. John G. Adams on a particu- reading room for many years, 
 
 larly bitter day deposited on the though its origin has long been ob- 
 
 table a little bronze figure of an scure. 
 old woman bent and shivering with 
 
EMBELLISHMENT OF READING ROOM 475 
 
 to time, however, various ornaments found their way 
 into the building. In Jime, 1858, a picture of New 
 Amsterdam in 1656, belonging to the St. Nicholas So- 
 ciety, was deposited in the Library. Again, in April, 
 1861, Samuel S. Osgood, the artist, was allowed, at his 
 own risk and expense, to hang four of his paintings in 
 the ladies' reading room, the subjects being "a Scripture 
 piece, The Denial of Peter, An Italian Peasant Girl," 
 and "portraits of Mrs. Norton and Mrs. Osgood." In 
 January, 1879, Dr. John G. Adams was accorded a 
 formal vote of thanks "for his gift of a bust of Caius 
 Octavius Augustus, Emperor of Rome." 
 
 A notable embeUishment of the large upper haU, now 
 used as the reading room, was made in March, 1878, in a 
 vote "to have the Arms of the Library painted on the 
 wall above the front window at an expense not to ex- 
 ceed $250." This decoration, a reproduction in heroic 
 size of the second Maverick bookplate,^ still meets one's 
 up-turned eyes. 
 
 Not a few furnishings of the Library were given by 
 interested friends. For instance, in June, 1857, a hand- 
 some chair was bestowed by the Hon. George Folsom; 
 again, in June, 1874, came the "generous donation of a 
 carpet for the ladies' room" from Richard E. Mount; 
 and, in the following November, Chairman de Peyster 
 presented a special set of chairs for that apartment, at 
 the same time loaning a mirror, "while the room should 
 be occupied as at present." 
 
 At times, however, the ladies' reading room and other 
 apartments on the first floor were diverted from their 
 original purposes and used for various objects. From 
 1859 to 1861 the suite on the south side of the hallway was 
 
 ' See pp. 253, 484. 
 
476 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 occupied by the Manhattan Life Insurance Company. 
 Then for nearly a dozen years in one or both of these 
 rooms were stored some private ej[f ects of the Misses Gel- 
 ston. Also, for a nvunber of years in the seventies, the 
 "Genealogical Registry Board" — which translated meant 
 Albert Welles, Esq., and his "College of American Her- 
 aldry" — flourished as the green bay tree; while across the 
 hall were the headquarters of the New York Chess Asso- 
 ciation, conducted by John Treat Irving. Other tempo- 
 rary tenants were George VandenhofF, the celebrated 
 actor and dramatic reader, in 1864 ; the American Numis- 
 matic Society, in 1866-1867; the Peithologian Society, 
 one of the oldest undergraduate organizations of Colum- 
 bia College, in 1866; the Commissioners of Immigration, 
 in 1869; the Trustees of Roosevelt Hospital, at odd times 
 between 1869 and 1878 ; and, from 1872 until well into the 
 eighties, Mr. Thomas Townsend was there hard at work 
 on his unique history of the Civil War, as told by con- 
 temporary newspaper accounts.^ 
 
 Situated as it was, only one block east of Fifth avenue 
 and no further from Broadway, near Union square and 
 but a short distance from Washington square, the So- 
 ciety Library building on University place was for years 
 in the heart of the choice residential section of the city. 
 New Yorkers of those days did not pass the greater part 
 of the year "in the country." Private establishments 
 were uniformly kept open the year roimd, members of 
 families perhaps taking turns in vacation outings dm-ing 
 the warm season. Old Knickerbocker customs still 
 prevailed, such as neighborhood gatherings and informal 
 visiting on the front "stoops" in the long'summer even- 
 
 ' This vast collection of clippings, now deposited in the Library of Co- 
 known as the Townsend Library, is lumbia University. 
 
NOTABLE HABITUES OF THE LIBRARY 477 
 
 ings. So it was natural that the Library should have 
 figured as a social rendezvous, as well as a Mecca for 
 booklovers. What tales the patient old walls could tell 
 of the numbers— of every type, from some of national 
 fame to others of quiet repute as simple citizens— that 
 here have passed their hours in reading or in exchanging 
 views on topics of the day, whether hterary, political, 
 religious, or merely worldly. 
 
 Among the Library's frequenters were to be found 
 college presidents and presidents of financial institu- 
 tions alike, professional men of every calhng, scientific 
 investigators, men of letters and men of leisure, mer- 
 chant princes and fashion's devotees, holders of high 
 office, — all these, to say nothing of the galaxies of 
 lovely, cultured and accomplished women, who found 
 unfaihng enjoyment, stimulus or solace among the 
 treasures of the Library, especially in the trying days 
 of the great war. 
 
 Space will permit the mention of only a few represen- 
 tative names. Among them we find Professor Charles 
 Anthon of the Columbia faculty, renowned classical 
 savant ; William H. Appleton of the famous publishing 
 house; Isaac Carow, banker, once a director of the old 
 Athenasum, and a former president of the Chamber of 
 Commerce, now honorably retired from the madding 
 crowd, his name interesting also to-day as the grand- 
 father of the present First Lady of the Land, Mrs. 
 Theodore Roosevelt; Joseph B. Collins, a prominent 
 Quaker and one-time president of the United States 
 Trust Co.; the Hon. Edward Cooper, son of the great 
 philanthropist, mayor of New York ; that handsome and 
 distinguished editor, author and orator, George William 
 Curtis; the Rev. Calvin Colton, D.D., noted clergyman 
 
478 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 and writer; James F. de Peyster, president of the old 
 Bank for Savings; the Hon. John A. Dix, Major-Gen- 
 eral and Governor; Commodore Henry Eagle, U. S. N. ; 
 Judge Francis W. Edmonds ; John Ericsson, celebrated 
 far and wide as the designer of that revolutionary craft, 
 the Monitor; Isaac Ferris, chancellor of New York 
 University ; Isaac V. Fowler, postmaster of New York ; 
 Dr. John W. Francis, for years foremost exponent of 
 the medical profession ; Elbridge Gerry, socially promi- 
 nent; the Goelet brothers, Peter and Robert, kings of 
 commerce; Miss Henrietta B. Haines, principal of one 
 of the noted "select schools for young ladies" of that 
 age; Messrs. A. Gordon Hamersley and Louis C. 
 Hamersley, popularly known as "Dombey and Son," as 
 they paraded the streets in single file; D. Murray 
 HoiFman, undisputed authority on ecclesiastical law; 
 that distinguished artist, Daniel Huntington, long 
 president of the National Academy of Design; Dr. 
 John McVickar, a professor in both Colimibia College 
 and the General Seminary; the Rev. Dr. William A. 
 Muhlenbergh, rector of the Church of the Holy Com- 
 munion and a founder of St. Luke's Hospital; the 
 clarion-voiced orator and reformer, Charles O'Conor, 
 long the recognized head of the New York bar ; Judge 
 Charles A. Peabody; Edward Robinson, a scholar of 
 enduring fame; James H. Roosevelt, founder of the 
 great hospital that bears his family name ; Alexander T. 
 Stewart, one of the best-known retail merchants in his- 
 tory; John A. Weekes, a founder of the Union League 
 Club; — but why continue? To satisfy the judgment 
 of aU on what names should be given, it would be neces- 
 sary to repeat nearly the whole list. Let these suffice, 
 then, to show the stamp of persons composing the pro- 
 
Richard Edwards !Mount 
 
 Trustee, 1873-1880. Treasurer, 1877-1880. Benefactor, 1880 
 
POST-BELLUM DEPRESSION 479 
 
 prietors of the Society Library in the dark period cover- 
 ing the Civil War and its perplexing after-problems. 
 
 During these years, however, the membership roll, 
 which, it may be recaEed, had been so signally aug- 
 mented in the spring of 1856 as to include 1218 names, 
 became steadily impaired through the lapsing and for- 
 feiture of many a share on which annual dues were 
 payable. The acme of the Library's history was reached 
 in 1857 with a total enrolment of 1255 rights. Although 
 new subscriptions were received, averaging ten a year 
 up to 1866, they could not offset the heavy inroads at- 
 tributable to financial and political "causes, familiar to 
 the public mind." 
 
 Referring to this tendency, the report for 1858 says: 
 "While the actual interest of the shareholders in the 
 property of the Library is increased by the forfeiture of 
 shares, the Library is in fact rendered poorer, and its 
 means of usefulness much abridged by the withholding 
 of the dues upon them." Again, in the reports for 1862 
 and 1863, the board, while rejoicing that the "old and 
 valued institution had continued in a period of difSculties 
 and gloom to hold on its steady and unostentatious 
 course as it had long done through years of alternate 
 prosperity and adversity," at the same time hoped and 
 trusted that the evidence so long given of the Library's 
 "valued usefvdness" would "soon awaken a more ex- 
 tensive and liberal patronage." 
 
 Nevertheless, the desired aid was not forthcoming; 
 and when by 1865 the number of forfeitures had grown 
 alarmingly large, the Trustees were forced to take some 
 decisive measures. In November of that year the Li- 
 brary Committee reported "three ways in which a 
 greater revenue can be got: by liberal donations in a 
 
480 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 charitable subscription, by a considerable increase of 
 members, and by an increase of annual payments." "A 
 more independent mode of action" was preferable to the 
 first of these ; while a large influx of new members, suffi- 
 cient for the purpose, would doubtless result in "some 
 inconvenience to the present body of shareholders." The 
 "only remaining method," then, was to raise the yearly 
 dues, ten dollars being suggested, which price, "as a 
 club rate— and the Shareholders form a literary club," 
 would be "certainly a very moderate outlay." 
 
 Upon deliberation, then, and only after several share- 
 holders' meetings, it was voted to seek legislative per- 
 mission to raise the annual charge once more. 
 Accordingly, despite stout opposition on the part of a 
 few proprietors, — though with the frankest possible 
 avowal by the board of its purpose and of the causes 
 impelling thereto, — the state legislature passed, April 
 3, 1866, "An Act to Increase the Annual Payments on 
 the Shares of the New York Society Library, and to 
 Authorize the Trustees of the said Society to Commute 
 their Annual Dues." 
 
 Subsequently, at the regtdar meeting of the corpora- 
 tion, this action of the Trustees and the proposed amend- 
 ment were fully and freely discussed in the presence of 
 a company that taxed to its utmost the seating capacity 
 of the great hall. Mr. Richard Schell presided and an- 
 noiuiced, on the question's being put to vote, that the 
 views and acts of the management had met with 
 the endorsement of the shareholders. Furthermore, the 
 entire old board was reelected, these same fifteen gentle- 
 men serving from 1862 to 1869. They at once convened 
 and authorized the Treasurer to levy four dollars addi- 
 tional upon each share or right, the several classes of 
 
NEW LEVY ON SHAREHOLDERS 481 
 
 stockholders therefore being assessed four, six and ten 
 dollars a year, respectively. Also the price of shares 
 was raised from $100 to $150, the commutation sums 
 being fixed at $50, $75, and $125, respectively/ 
 
 Of the effect of these heroic measures, the report for 
 1867 says: "The augmentations were cheerfully com- 
 phed with by most of the Stockholders," whereby the 
 net income was nearly doubled; and, though "a few 
 only of the Shareholders" had "hesitated or refused to 
 pay the increased amount," the hope was confidently 
 expressed that after studying "the causes and necessity 
 of the augmentation" they would "see reason to with- 
 draw all objection." Notwithstanding this great effort, 
 the lapsing of shares continued, the list of members 
 published in 1881 containing only 924 names. 
 
 As usual heretofore, the subject of shares now leads 
 to a consideration of the general finances of the Library 
 for this quarter-century. Harking back once more to the 
 "sweeping change" of 1855, it appears that the initial 
 move of that new-broom board was to call for a detailed 
 report on "the financial condition of the corporation." 
 Very promptly Treasurer Strong stated that the 
 securities of the Library amoiinted to $42,400, including 
 a $5000-bond and mortgage of William H. Appleton 
 on the Broadway building, its payment contingent upon 
 the remission of certain taxes. ^ At the same time the 
 board undertook to raise $2000 by "donations and sub- 
 scriptions," each Trustee to be equipped with a book 
 for the purpose. Mention of this soliciting and the suc- 
 cess attending their exertions has already been made.'* 
 
 No arts of rhetoric can more eloquently display the 
 results of these efforts than the simple figures them- 
 
 1 Of. pp. 359, 410. ■ See pp. 423, 426. " See p. 448. 
 
482 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 selves, which show for 1855-1856 a balance of nearly 
 $700, as against a deficit of over $450 the year before, 
 or, in a word, an actual gain of $1150 in net receipts. 
 The total inventory then taken of the property, books 
 excepted, amounted to $73,395.68. 
 
 By November, 1856, the question of back taxes hav- 
 ing been settled by compromise with the city comp- 
 troller,^ and Mr. Appleton having paid over the 
 specified sum of $2532.78, the Treasurer took "great 
 pleasiu-e in reporting the Institution to be (for probably 
 the first time in twenty years, while occupying its own 
 premises) free from debt." This was but a modest 
 claim, however, as further study would have shown him 
 that sixty years would be nearer the truth, or in fact ever 
 since the completion of the Nassau Street building in 
 1795. So the next annual report, in announcing the 
 new edifice as "entirely completed and paid for," 
 rejoices over the passing of the "dark era" and the pros- 
 pects of "a bright future," and proclaims in letters big 
 with elation that "THE CORPORATION DID 
 NOT OWE A DOLLAR." And this happy state, 
 despite wide-spread declines in the money market and 
 distractions of war-time, has continued tmbroken to the 
 present day, when fortunately the hkelihood of any 
 return to former conditions is increasingly remote. 
 
 Yet prosperity did not come by leaps and bounds. 
 The great panic of 1857, it is needless to say, did not 
 noticeably "recruit the finances" of the Library, though 
 the report for 1858 was glad to state that "the blighting 
 effects of the commercial tornado" were "fast disappear- 
 ing." For some years thereafter the Library continued 
 to be "much crippled in its means of usefulness by the 
 
 1 See p. 426. 
 
IN FINANCIAL DIFFICULTY AGAIN 483 
 
 scantiness of its income,"^ and the Trustees continued 
 to deplore that "the property and income, and the lit- 
 erary resources of this venerable institution" were "by 
 no means commensurate with the wealth and magnitude 
 of the city, nor with the means of intellectual instruction 
 and gratification"^ thus offered. 
 
 Diu-ing the "gloom and difficulties" of the Civil War, 
 the Library did little more than to exist in "quiet and 
 unpretending continuance in ministering to the gratifi- 
 cation and improvement of a numerous class of citi- 
 zens."^ But, peace not bringing the desired relief, and 
 in order to off'set the "comparative decrease in the 
 pecuniaiy resources of the Institution, growing out of 
 the depreciation of money and consequent universal rise 
 of prices,"* it was then that steps were taken for better- 
 ment, resulting in raising the annual payment charge 
 in 1866, as narrated above. By this means a revenue of 
 $9420 was gained in 1866-1867, in contrast to $5043, 
 the year before; and the next year it was over $200 
 more. 
 
 But again there fell a sullen hush on the expected 
 enthusiasm. So, as often before, the board had to resort 
 in 1874 to the appointment of a special committee on 
 "increasing the means and usefulness of the Library." 
 Chairman de Peyster, Treasurer Swan and Richard 
 E. Mount, so delegated, drew up a circular, which, 
 though approved, was not then printed, owing to "the 
 universal prostration of business at that time (June, 
 1874)." Finally, in December, 1875, this circular to 
 the public, as also a briefer notice to shareholders, was 
 published by the same committee, in conjunction with 
 
 • Annual Report, 1859, p. 1. " Annual Report, 1865, p. 5. 
 
 " Annual Report, 1861, p. 5. * Annual Report, 1866, p. 3. 
 
484 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Jfnr-* l^-P.R.Mavrr,,k O J, /^,l I rtf ^Ut r, ^ t . 
 
 Third bookplate of the Society Library, engraved by Maverick in 1797 
 (facsimile size). See pp. 852, 175. 
 
AN ABSCONDING TREASURER 4.85 
 
 Messrs. J. G. Adams, F. A. Stout and R. T. Auchmuty, 
 a delegation from the members at large. 
 
 The next item to chronicle is one of those sad occur- 
 rences so much pleasanter to leave unrecorded ; but as it 
 has already appeared in print, it must be mentioned 
 here, though with reluctance. The fact itself is set forth 
 thus tersely and cuttingly in the report for 1877: "The 
 late Treasurer has absconded and rendered no account." 
 Little further information is gleaned from the minutes : 
 on January 13th Mr. Swan had been unanimously "dis- 
 placed" from the treasurership, for having "neglected 
 the duties of his office," "disappeared from the city," 
 and, "as believed, appropriated to his own use the funds 
 of this corporation." The sum of money thus lost was 
 the commutation fimd, already described, which by that 
 time had risen to about $3000.^ It was never restored; 
 but again learning a lesson, as in the Harison case in 
 1842-1846, the board at once established a Finance 
 Committee, to consist of the Chairman, the Secretary 
 and the Treasurer, to control the permanent fund and 
 all investments. 
 
 Turning hastily from this untoward episode, we are 
 to be greeted with some very gratifying intelligence 
 indeed, and on the same page that bore the bad news. 
 In brief it is that the long financial drouth, unbroken 
 since the generous Demilt remembrance in 1850, had at 
 last come to an end through the receipt of two hand- 
 some gifts. The first of these was a bequest of $5000 
 from the estate of George B. Dorr of Boston, long a 
 member of the Library. According to the terms of his 
 Avill, the sum was to be only $3000, unless $45,000 addi- 
 tional should be subscribed within six months after 
 
 1 See p. 469. 
 
486 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 probating his will. There seemed little prospect of such 
 a windfall, however, until just before the time-limit was 
 to expire, when the astounded board was notified, in 
 March, 1877, of "a mimificent donation" of $50,000 
 from Caleb S. Green and Charles E. Green, residuary 
 legatees under the will of the late John C. Green, 
 through his widow, Mrs. Sarah H. Green, thus securing 
 to the institution the whole Dorr bequest. 
 
 Overjoyed at this unlooked-for benefaction, which 
 far transcended their fondest dreams, and which in all 
 was more than double the noted Bromfield gift to the 
 Boston Athenseum in 1846, — an instance of intelligent 
 generosity repeatedly brought forward as a precedent 
 by successive appeals in behalf of the Library, — the 
 Trustees at once returned suitable thanks and ordered 
 the new funds to be deposited in the National Bank of 
 Commerce, their investment to be subject to the direction 
 of Robert Lenox Kennedy, to whom they extended a 
 hearty appreciation of "the munificent result of his 
 zealous efforts in procuring . . . the donation just re- 
 ceived." Soon afterward the "free use of the Library" 
 during their respective lifetimes was tendered to Mrs. 
 Green and to the Messrs. Green. 
 
 In deference to the expressed wishes of Mrs. Green, a 
 special by-law, recommended by Messrs. Kennedy, Nash 
 and Drisler, was passed in June, entitled "Of the John 
 C. Green Fund," in brief as follows: 
 
 1. That the said endowment of $50,000 be forever "kept in- 
 vested in such interest-bearing securities as are allowed by law 
 for the investment of trust funds," and not to be used "in the 
 purchase of lands, or the construction or repair of buildings" ; 
 the said fund to be kept invested by itself and its "condition" 
 to be given in the Treasurer's yearly report. 
 
THE JOHN C. GREEN ENDOWMENT 487 
 
 '^ 2. The net income thereof to be "applied to the purchase and 
 
 IS binding of books," each book to be labeled or stamped, "Pur- 
 
 ill chased from the income of the John C. Green endowment." 
 
 )|] 3. "The alcove in the library-room fronting the entrance 
 
 from the stairs" to be set apart for these books with "a bust 
 or portrait of Mr. Green," and to "be designated the John C. 
 '' Green Alcove." 
 
 ? 4. One half of the income of the fund to be applied to "the 
 
 purchase and binding of works relating to the Fine Arts," and 
 not to be loaned save to Mrs. Green; "the residue of said in- 
 1 come to be applied to the purchase and binding of books of Gen- 
 
 eral Literature, excluding, however, all works of prose fiction." 
 
 5. The annual report to contain a Hst of books bought from 
 this income. 
 
 6. This by-law, "in the nature of an agreement with the 
 donors," to be "of perpetual obUgation." 
 
 Such was the noble foundation of the Green Ai't 
 Collection of the Society Library, an endowment that 
 has brought prestige not alone to the institution but to 
 the great city of New York as well. After the lapse of 
 a full generation it stands to-day, as it will stand for all 
 time, a monument indeed more enduring than bronze or 
 marble to the enlightened philanthropy of its fotmders. 
 Honor is due also in no sHght degree to those gentlemen 
 whose cultivated judgment and unwearied devotion 
 have been so freely offered year by year in its further 
 enrichment. As has already been said, the nucleus of 
 this collection, as also the elegant decoration of the 
 alcove, was the princely gift of Robert Lenox Kennedy, 
 in memory of his friend Mr. Green. 
 
 John Cleve Green, a great-grandson of the Rev. 
 Jonathan Dickinson, first president of the College of 
 New Jersey, was for years a well-known and prosperous 
 figure of the old China trade, and director in manifold 
 
488 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 financial, railway and charitable organizations. He left 
 a fortune of over four millions to "the cause of Christian 
 education," a large portion of which served to endow 
 the school of science at Princeton and the celebrated 
 academy at Lawrenceville, N. J., his birthplace. His 
 wife, Sarah H. Griswold, was a daughter of George 
 Griswold, one of the noble "old merchants" of New York, 
 whose counting-house Mr. Green had entered as a youth. 
 
 Closely following these legacies came a third bequest, 
 $3000 from the estate of George J. Foster. This siun 
 was received in April, 1878, with no less satisfaction for 
 its being somewhat overshadowed in amount by the 
 previous donations. Like them it was at once invested 
 in bond and mortgage, its income alone to be used in the 
 purchase of books. 
 
 The quarter-century ending with April, 1879, there- 
 fore, left the Library in by far the most prosperous state 
 in its history hitherto. The value of its property on 
 University place (books excepted) was then estimated 
 at $130,000, — the insurance on the building being 
 $44,000, with $46,000 on the books,— while in addition 
 the total gift funds of $58,000 were secvirely invested in 
 "improved property in the city of New York worth 
 double that amoimt." Consequently it was wholly 
 proper for the Trustees to "feel themselves authorized 
 to congratulate the Shareholders on the general state of 
 the trust committed to their charge, and the great im- 
 provement of the establishment during the past year"^; 
 and, for the future, to hope "that the friends of the 
 Library will not remit their endeavors to increase the 
 fund for the purchase of books." ^ 
 
 This chapter cannot be concluded without chronicling 
 
 ^ Annual Report, 1878, p. i. ' Annual Report, 1879, p. 4. 
 
John Cleve Green 
 from «'hose estate were founded the Green Art Alcoves, 1877 
 
TRIBUTE TO GULIAN C. VERPLANCK 489 
 
 two events of deep significance in the history of the So- 
 ciety Library. On the 18th of March, 1870, its vener- 
 able Chairman, the Hon. GuHan Crommelin Verplanck, 
 died in the eighty-fourth year of his age, nearly sixty 
 years since his first election to the board, at whose coun- 
 cils he had sat or presided for almost all that space of 
 time. Besides the resolutions of respect and sorrow, the 
 annual report of 1870 devotes several pages to a con- 
 templation of "the rare excellence" of the deceased, in 
 whose mind "were stored vast treasures of diversified 
 learning, the lore of antiquity, and the sources and 
 character of the progress of modern times in science, 
 literature and art" ; and adds : 
 
 Other societies and institutions, religious, charitable, literary, 
 and social, have united in similar tokens and estimates of his 
 great worth and useful services. His name and merits were 
 widely known and highly appreciated. Deeply is this loss felt 
 in the community, which he represented on the floor of Congress, 
 of the Legislature of this, his native State, and in the depart- 
 ments and other situations in which he held official prominence and 
 gained merited distinction. He was a public man, and attained 
 to "the popularity that follows — not that which is run after." 
 
 It is fitting to close this chapter with a brief account 
 of the "Centennial Celebration" of the Library's incor- 
 poration, the first demonstration of a commemorative 
 character in its history. In accordance with plans of 
 the committee. Evert A. Duyckinck, Dr. Thomas Ward, 
 Frederic de Peyster, William J. Hoppin, Charles R. 
 Swords and George H. Moore, appropriate exercises 
 were held in "the Hall of the New York Historical 
 Society," Second avenue and Eleventh street, on the 
 evening of November 9, 1872.^ 
 
 1 See card of invitation, preserved in the Library Scrap-Book. 
 
490 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 Chairman de Peyster presided, and, after an invoca- 
 tion by the Rev. Dr. John Cotton Smith, rector of the 
 Church of the Ascension, gave a very interesting and 
 informing resume of social conditions prevaihng in the 
 city in 1700, the date so long claimed for the founding 
 of the Society Library.* 
 
 Next in order came the "Centennial Address"^ by Dr. 
 Thomas Ward, a discourse, which, though highly enter- 
 taining for play of fancy, was very discursive, as if the 
 speaker felt impelled to present a wider range of topics 
 than time would permit more than superficially to men- 
 tion. In swift succession there swept past his hearers' 
 mental vision the great libraries of history, from earliest 
 days, culminating in a hasty glance at New York in- 
 stitutions, of which the Society Library, imtil 1820, 
 "stood alone to bear the brunt of all demands made 
 by all classes of the country." In tracing its history, 
 emphasis was laid on its having received but one pecu- 
 niary donation in all its century and more of public 
 service. 
 
 Brief observations then followed with bewildering 
 rapidity on the world outlook in contemporary politics, 
 in professional advancement, in literature, the arts and 
 science, and particularly in mechanical inventions. In 
 conclusion the optimistic speaker saw the Library a 
 century hence, "permanently established in some beauti- 
 
 ' This address seems never to have 1876. Part I, chapter xxxviii, "Pub- 
 been printed, despite a direction to lie Libraries of Ten Principal 
 that effect by the board; at any rate, Cities"; §vii, "Public Libraries of 
 no copy is known to exist. Reports New York City," by O. C. Gardner, 
 show it was uncommonly advanced Vol. II, pp. 919-920. 
 in both information and deduction, ^Thomas Ward, M.D. Address 
 — though perpetuating old errors, — delivered before the New York So- 
 especially in view of meager sources ciety Library on the One Hundredth 
 available. See the Evening Post, Anniversary of its Incorporation, 
 Nov. 11, 1873; also Public Libraries November 9th, 1812. New York, 
 in the United States. Washington, 1879. 
 
CHARTER CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 491 
 
 ful portion of our upper island, ... in an elegant and 
 commodious edifice, with a spacious reading-room open- 
 ing upon a charming parterre of flowers, enriched with 
 fountains and statuary; with a noble library of 200,000 
 volumes; with a list of 3000 shareholders." 
 
X 
 
 1879-1904 
 
 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY," 
 writes a devoted student of local history in 1880, 
 "is the rarest and richest, as well as the earliest, 
 loan library in America."^ Although in this present 
 study the institution heartily disavows for itself any 
 such absolute claim as the last, and can scarcely assent 
 to the former statements; it yet does subscribe to the 
 further assertion, that it then contained "about 70,000 
 volumes, comprising a great number out of print, and 
 not to be found in modern or antiquarian bookstores." 
 True also is the same writer's concluding characteriza- 
 tion, that "from its inception down to the present time, 
 this library has been the resort, pre-eminently, of the 
 families of wealth and social position; and its founders 
 and early members are still represented by their descen- 
 dants." In a similar strain the annual report of 1870 
 had said: 
 
 This is not a library to which the laboring classes readily have 
 access. Its locality, its constitution and its associations have 
 tended to confine it to the wealthier portion of society. This 
 
 ' Mrs. Martha J. Lamb. History of the City of New York. New 
 York, 1880. Vol. II, p. 716. 
 
VALUE OF A SUBSCRIPTION LIBRARY 493 
 
 has been the result rather of circumstances than of any delib- 
 erate intention. This institution partakes more of a private 
 and social character than those great public institutions whose 
 object it is to throw open the treasures of literature and science 
 to every class in the community. 
 
 Again, in 1871, the Trustees— alluding to "the fact 
 that it is not a circulating library thrown open to the 
 public, and that a right to its privileges is secured only 
 by the payment of a stipulated sum, tends to circum- 
 scribe its operations and impede its increase"— observed, 
 however, that "this very feature in this library secures a 
 more discriminating selection of books than in libraries 
 which have a more promiscuous circulation." Further- 
 more, in syllogistic reasoning, "the Society Library is 
 exercising its influence among the more highly educated 
 and reflecting classes," from which proceed the influ- 
 ences that determine "the character of our civihzation." 
 
 So much, therefore, in explanation of the Society Li- 
 brary in this modern age of the omnipresent Free 
 Public Library. It now remains to carry the narrative 
 to the spring of 1904, when the venerable and sturdy old 
 institution rounded out a full century-and-a-half of his- 
 toric life. 
 
 At a glance it is observable how few new names 
 appear on the board of Trustees for this sixth and con- 
 cluding quarter-century. Besides the fifteen who held 
 over from the previous period, only twenty-one other 
 gentlemen were called to participate in the Library's 
 management, or at a rate of less than one a year. Long 
 terms of service have thus been the rule of late years. 
 To give a few examples: the average tenure of the old 
 board of 1879-1880 was over twenty years; the three 
 trusteeships of less than eight years' duration ended 
 
494 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 only with death, — as also six others of far greater ex- 
 tent, — the high average being attained chiefly through 
 the forty-two-year term of Charles E. Strong and that 
 of Frederick Sheldon, elected in 1871 and only recently 
 deceased; Frederic J. de Peyster was a member of the 
 board for a little over thirty years ; while, in the case of 
 his uncle, Frederic de Peyster, Trustee from 1840 to 
 1855 and from 1869 to 1882, more than forty-two years 
 covered the time between his first election and his re- 
 moval by death. A still longer span of nearly fifty-two 
 years comprehends the four distinct terms of Stephen C. 
 Williams, though aggregating only about twenty years 
 of actual service in all. 
 
 Within this space of twenty-five years, furthermore, 
 the council board had been little visited with the old-time 
 spectre of a contested election, followed by a possible 
 overturn. In 1881, and again in 1882, an opposition 
 ticket was put into the field, but none of its nominees— 
 save for the eight names which in the former year were 
 on both lists — received above forty-six votes, to the 
 eighty-seven cast as the lowest number on the "regular" 
 ballot. 
 
 There is little to record in the procedure at board 
 meetings. Excuses for past failures to attend, as also 
 for expected absences to come, have been for the most 
 part scrupulously presented and acted upon. In 
 December, 1903, however, it became needful to call at- 
 tention to the by-law that unexplained absence at three 
 consecutive meetings created a vacancy. For many 
 years, when a quorum has not been found, it has been 
 customary for those present to transact the business of 
 the moment, trusting to the next full meeting to have 
 their action ratified. 
 
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES TO TRUSTEES 495 
 
 With the death of Chairman Frederic de Peyster in 
 August, 1882, it became the practice to have a minute 
 prepared on the character and services of Trustees who 
 died in oflBce, such memorial to be entered on the records, 
 engrossed for the family of the deceased, and often sepa- 
 rately printed besides. From some of these it is meet 
 to quote in part at least. Formal and conventional as 
 the language may sound, it yet voices sincere apprecia- 
 tion of these men who gave so liberally of time and 
 talents to the cause of the Society Library. 
 
 In the case of the Hon. Frederic de Peyster, LL.D., 
 descended from the Scotch nobility, as from a notable 
 Dutch ancestry, his associates could "refrain from men- 
 tioning the long list of offices and honors to which he was 
 elected by leading financial and charitable institutions 
 desiring the benefit of his legal acquirements, hereditary 
 honesty and good sense in all things." But they must 
 "allude" to "the industry and ability which were to con- 
 stitute him a worthy descendant of his distinguished 
 ancestors, and were to cause his co-operation and his 
 counsel to be desired and sought where Hterature was 
 cultivated and good deeds encouraged"; for, "hving in 
 an age almost unexampled for its personal impeach- 
 ments, he stood steadfast for the right and unassailed." 
 They gratefully recalled "his imfailing cheerfulness and 
 coiuily courtesy," as also his "almost affectionate inter- 
 est in the affairs of the Library," and his "legitimate and 
 delightful pride in its increasing prosperity and useful- 
 ness." 
 
 Robert Lenox Kennedy, who was unanimously chosen 
 to succeed Mr. de Peyster as Chairman, has been men- 
 tioned often in these pages as one of the most disinter- 
 ested of the Library's benefactors. A notable figure in 
 
496 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 financial and social circles of the city, he was no less 
 influential in the advancement of culture and good 
 works. At his death in 1887, after a trusteeship of more 
 than thirty-one years, his colleagues paid him deserved 
 tribute as "one of the most useful and honored trustees 
 of this institution, ever showing his attachment to it by 
 acts of generous liberality." In acknowledging his in- 
 stnmientality in securing the Green endowment, to 
 which he had "made contributions from time to time 
 from his own means," the minute lauds "his exquisite 
 taste in art," which "made him a most serviceable coun- 
 sellor in the selection of works in that department." 
 Finally, "as an expression of the sense of their great 
 loss, which they share with so many of the religious, 
 charitable and literary institutions of the city," the Trus- 
 tees paid respect to "his integrity of character, uniform 
 courtesy of manner and considerate regard for the feel- 
 ings of others," as also to "his extreme modesty." 
 
 Since the death of Frederic de Peyster, the chairman- 
 ship has been held also by Messrs. Strong, Sheldon, Dris- 
 ler, Knox, F. J. de Peyster, Baldwin, J. L. de Peyster, 
 King, Curtis, Schermerhorn and Foster, somewhat in 
 rotation, for terms of not more than four years in length. 
 
 Omitting, in deference to convention, all mention of 
 present Trustees, brief and respectful attention is due 
 those members of the board whose terms fell wholly 
 within this period. For ten years the "good sense and 
 sound judgment" of James M. McLean, a man of the 
 business world, "were ever at the service of the institu- 
 tion," says the tribute to his memory; Henry A. Cram, 
 a lawyer by profession, was renowned as an art lover and 
 critic, whose accomplishments made him especially valu- 
 able in the management of the Green Alcove, which his 
 
PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO CHARTER 497 
 
 personal gifts further enriched; John A. Hardenbergh, 
 a successful merchant, had served on the board for seven 
 years, and as Treasurer for four, at the time of his 
 death; the "cultivated mind and varied and extensive 
 reading" of Alfred Pell "had given him a knowledge of 
 books and an appreciation of what is needed in carrying 
 out the objects of an association such as this"; Albert 
 Mathews, a lawyer, eminent at the bar and ever firm 
 and courageous in his adherence to principle, was a 
 Trustee for over fifteen years; Col. Johnston L. de 
 Peyster, grandson of Frederic de Peyster, conspicuous 
 for gallantry in the Civil War, served the Library for 
 twenty years, ever showing "a warm interest in and a 
 zealous unselfish devotion to its welfare"; lastly, for a 
 brief period, the name of R. Fulton Cutting, Esq., a 
 gentleman well known for his zeal in civic betterment, 
 appears upon the roll of Trustees. 
 
 The time for stated Trustee meetings continued as last 
 recorded until April, 1884, when it was changed from 
 eight o'clock to eight-thirty, the same evening being 
 retained. Again, in April, 1906, a return was made to 
 long-ago custom in setting the hour at half -past five in 
 the afternoon, the date amended to read the second 
 Wednesday of the regular months. Special meetings, 
 however, have been called at various hours and at places 
 other than the Library building; for example, in 1899 
 several such were held at the office of Mr. King, at 80 
 Broadway, chiefly concerning the Contoit legacy. 
 
 No further change in the number of the Trustees has 
 been proposed since 1841, when fifteen were first elected 
 instead of twelve. In 1881 a movement was on foot for 
 an amendment to the charter, whereby but five of the 
 board should be chosen each year, thus insuring a term 
 
498 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 of three years at least to each Trustee. But at the 
 annual meeting of that year the proposition was lost, 
 though how decisively the records do not tell. Great 
 interest seems to have been manifested in the question, 
 for 127 shares were represented at the gathering, with 
 an opposition ticket in the field. Nothing daunted, the 
 promoters of the plan carried the matter before the legis- 
 lature, and a bill to that effect passed the assembly in 
 March, 1882. 
 
 It appears that most of the Trustees themselves were 
 bitterly set against the project, for early in April the 
 officers of the board were "instructed to make such 
 representation in opposition as they should deem ex- 
 pedient." A few days later, "by invitation," General J. 
 Watts de Peyster came before the Trustees and "made 
 some remarks in regard to the ptu-port of the bill," which 
 he had been strongly advocating for several years, per- 
 haps in behalf of his father. Chairman Frederic de 
 Peyster. It was thereupon voted to protest to the gov- 
 ernor and the legislature against the passage of the bill, 
 "in any shape whatever"; while at the same time "the 
 propriety of sending out circulars to the shareholders 
 inviting their presence at the approaching annual elec- 
 tion was suggested." Efforts of the revisionists were 
 once more ineffectual, both their platform and ticket 
 again meeting with defeat at the annual meeting. The 
 bill, after a seemingly promising career in the senate, 
 was fmally lost to sight in May, upon its return to the 
 committee on municipal corporations.^ 
 
 'In March, 1904, the project was should expire each year"; but upon 
 
 revived by the board itself, in a dls- Treasurer Foster's reporting it to be 
 
 cussion 'Vhether the terms of office possible only through a legislative 
 
 of the Trustees could not be so ar- amendment, the matter v?as deemed 
 
 Tanged that the terms of only five "not now desirable." 
 

 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 '■ -^ 
 
 \ 
 
 f 
 
 .1 
 
 iHj 
 
 
 George J. Foster 
 Benefactor, 1878 
 
PLEASANTRIES AT ANNUAL MEETINGS 499 
 
 Throughout this epoch the annual meetings of the 
 corporation— of which a notification is sent to each mem- 
 ber by postal card— have come to be rather tame and 
 perfunctory affairs, with the two exceptions in 1881 and 
 1882, just mentioned. Smce 1884 the number of share- 
 holders present has not reached thirty, while the average 
 for the past decade has been about a dozen votes only. 
 This does not mean careless indifference, however, but 
 rather implicit confidence in the management on the part 
 of the members. Owing to this feeling, as well as to the 
 lack of numbers, these gatherings have come to assxxme 
 an informal, genial character, enlivened by not a few 
 pleasantries. 
 
 For example, the meeting on April 24, 1906, called to 
 order by Mr. Baldwin, was composed of eleven share- 
 holders — including one lady — and one outsider. As for 
 many years before, Mr. Edward F. Brown was chosen 
 temporary chairman and Mr. Henry E. Gregory, secre- 
 tary. The chairman remarked that as the annual report 
 of the Trustees had been handed in printed form to 
 those present, it would be unnecessary to have it read. 
 At this a member sprang to his feet and moved that the 
 secretary be requested to read the report, for pray why, 
 otherwise, was there any need of that functionary! The 
 motion was carried, and all followed the reading of the 
 annual statement with open texts, greeting its con- 
 clusion with vociferous applause. As there seemed to be 
 no particular business to be considered, the presiding 
 officer took occasion to speak feelingly of his life-long 
 devotion to the Library, observing that he had kept one 
 of its books on his desk for over thirty years. "What 
 book is that?" demanded another member, exclaiming, 
 "Fine him! Fine him!" to the general merriment. Chair- 
 
500 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 man King then made some remarks on the increased 
 usefulness of the institution, "as the Society Library- 
 grows old — or older, rather," he corrected. Upon re- 
 quest, Mr. Baldwin, chairman of the Library Com- 
 mittee, told of the labors and achievements of that coterie 
 of gentlemen, his statements being received with a chorus 
 of "Hear! Hear!" from a few lusty-throated share- 
 holders, led by Treasurer Foster. Upon announcement 
 by the tellers of the unanimous reelection of the old 
 board, fourteen ballots having been cast, Chairman 
 King, on the point of adjournment, moved a vote of 
 thanks to the inspectors, to the chairman of the meeting 
 and especially to the secretary, "for his admirable read- 
 ing of the annual report, which displayed linguistic 
 attainments of a high order in rendering the titles of 
 foreign pubHcations." 
 
 In 1880 the shareholders' meeting was held at eight 
 o'clock instead of seven-thirty, the polling-hour being 
 correspondingly altered to read from half -past eight to 
 half -past nine. Since 1902, however, the business meet- 
 ing of the corporation has been called at eight -thirty 
 o'clock, the poll to be open from nine to nine-thirty. On 
 one occasion, in 1889, the board went so far as to direct 
 that the annual meeting and election be held on Thurs- 
 day evening. May 2d, inasmuch as the legislature had 
 appointed Tuesday, April 30th, a pubhc holiday, in 
 celebration of the 100th anniversary of General Wash- 
 ington's inauguration as President of the United States. 
 Upon second thoughts they must have realized the 
 illegality of their action, for the election was held on the 
 date fixed by the charter, twenty ballots being cast. 
 
 Needless to say, these elections and meetings have 
 been regularly conducted in the University Place build- 
 
CHANGES IN LIBRARY'S SURROUNDINGS 501 
 
 ing, the third home of the Society Library, and the one it 
 has longest occupied. But how different to-day are its 
 surroundings ! At its erection it was well up-town ; now 
 it is "way down-town." Almost with the swiftness of 
 time itself the hastening city has been advancing and 
 spreading over the island's pastures, woodlands and 
 fastnesses alike, and even more relentlessly sweeping 
 into oblivion cherished landmarks of earlier times. So 
 continuous is this spirit of demolition that scarcely a 
 portion of the old town can be said to have an enduring 
 character nowadays. 
 
 Long before, Broadway had been given over to busi- 
 ness houses, just as Fifth avenue has for some years, to a 
 point far above Thirteenth street. Offices and retail 
 establishments now reign supreme in University place, 
 and steadily strengthen their foothold among the count- 
 less boarding-houses in the numbered streets east and 
 west. Those who passed infancy and youth in this once 
 aristocratic neighborhood, scampering over the brown- 
 stone steps of the Society Library in saucy defiance of 
 Trustees and crusty old janitor, have long since been 
 forced, like their fathers before them, to sell their homes 
 and quietly steal away, knowing full well a similar fate 
 to lie in store for their children. The Library building, 
 with the stately Schermerhorn mansion by its side in a 
 loyal comradeship of over fifty years, still maintains its 
 quiet dignity amidst all change of scene, though it re- 
 ceives but scant notice from the hurrying throngs on 
 business bent. At night, save for the single occasion of 
 the annual meeting, it stands lost in darkness and deep 
 silence where once the gaiety and brightness of social 
 interchange were all-prevailing. 
 
 It must not be thought, however, that the Library's 
 
502 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 persistent clinging to its long-wonted site has been due 
 merely to sentimental attachment. No such spirit has 
 ever deterred its Trustees in the past from making an 
 advantageous move, nor will the present management be 
 found less reluctant, when the opportunity shall come. 
 Indeed the question has often been discussed and acted 
 upon. For example, in March, 1892, the board declined 
 an offer of $100,000 for the property, deeming the sum 
 insufficient to establish the institution fittingly else- 
 where. Also, late in 1893, other negotiations met with a 
 similar fate, for the Trustees have been unwilling to run 
 the risk of an indebtedness such as had formerly retarded 
 progress for so many years. According to the report 
 for 1894, they were "not unmindful of the advantages of 
 moving the Library to a situation farther up town, when- 
 ever such a change becomes practicable." Two years 
 later they were facing "with increasing seriousness [the 
 problem] of either a removal up town, or of the estab- 
 lishment of a branch or branches in the upper part of the 
 city." 
 
 In the meantime an offer of $175,000 had been de- 
 clined in 1895, owing to the original conditions of 
 agreement on acquiring the lots. In April, 1897, Chair- 
 man Baldwin and Messrs. J. L. de Peyster, Sheldon and 
 Schermerhom were asked to take up "the matter of a 
 new site for the Library, the purchase of the same, and 
 also the sale of the present building and site." At the 
 next meeting, in May, the removal of the Library and 
 the purchase of the Berkeley Lyceum in West Forty- 
 fourth street "were discussed generally," but "indefi- 
 nitely postponed." Then for the first time mention was 
 made of a proposition to have the Society Library unite 
 with the New York Public Library system, the sugges- 
 
PROPOSAL FOR AMALGAMATION 503 
 
 tion of its "desirability" having come to Mr. Haight 
 from George L. Rives, Esq. Of this proposition John- 
 ston L. de Peyster declared that he and his family and 
 friends would "vigorously oppose amalgamation, pre- 
 ferring to die a natural death to strangulation."^ The 
 
 Jo J ho inojtQ^us,^ c^/zc^ ^ f^ Me, Otc/ 
 
 
 
 Dedication page of Sharpe Proposals (reduced) , now in Bodleian Library, Oxford. See p. 67. 
 
 ' Oddly enough, eighteen years posed that the legislature be asked 
 
 before, at the shareholders' meeting "to reorganize the Society Library 
 
 in April, 1879, Col. de Peyster (not as a Free Library, to be supported 
 
 then a Trustee) had himself pro- by endowment similar to the Boston 
 
504 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 committee was discharged "with thanks," in December, 
 1898. 
 
 At the same time, however, a long discussion took 
 place over removal and a suitable location, Mr. Baldwin 
 stating that "the insuperable obstacles to moving were 
 lack of money and the disposition of the present site." 
 The Berkeley Lyceimi was again recommended, as also 
 "the old Columbia College Library" in Forty-ninth 
 street near Madison avenue. But a second committee, 
 Messrs. Sheldon, King, Russell, Foster and Baldwin, 
 after a single report of "progress," was discharged at its 
 own request, in March, 1899, the Library "for financial 
 reasons being unable to purchase," and "a pause in the 
 direction of moving . . . imperatively enforced." 
 
 The subject continued to receive attention, however, 
 for in October, 1899, there came an offer of $125,000, 
 on which no decision was made; and in April, 1901, 
 Treasurer Foster reported "an offer of $154,000 and an 
 intimation that possibly $175,000 would be offered, if 
 less would not be accepted." Again no action followed, 
 the proposition having been found impracticable. Lat- 
 terly there has been adopted the Fabian policy of wait- 
 ing and hoping, the Trustees and other friends of the 
 institution simply biding their time for the right oppor- 
 tunity, and the assurance of adequate funds. Mean- 
 while, the inconvenience of the present location is not a 
 little mitigated by the telephone service and by the free 
 messenger system maintained by the Library. 
 
 In this connection there is something further to be 
 
 Public Library." Action was indefi- donate to the Society Library 
 nitely postponed, however, on the $350,000, we recommend the Trus- 
 prompt and significant amendment tees take into consideration the pro- 
 of Mr. Richard Schell, "that, when priety of converting this Society into 
 the People of the City of New York a Free Library." 
 
OBSTACLES TO CONSOLIDATION 505 
 
 said about "amalgamation" with the Public Library 
 system, several times proposed, but always outside the 
 board. For instance, in January, 1898, Mr. Baldwin 
 was approached by Andrew H. Green, Esq., with that 
 end in view. His letter was laid on the table "for the 
 present," while Messrs. King and J. L. de Peyster 
 undertook "to consider the whole question of the future 
 of the Library." Nothing definite resulted, however. 
 Again, in December, 1900, Messrs. Sheldon, Foster and 
 Marshall were named to investigate "the desirability of 
 consolidation" with the New York Public Library; but 
 eventually, in February, 1901, the measure was deemed 
 "not best for the interest of the Society Library." Op- 
 position to any such move was two-fold. Not only was 
 there a strong feeling of pride in inherited proprietor- 
 ship to be encountered among the members of the 
 Libraiy, but there were, furthermore, grave legal ob- 
 stacles in the way of a union with any other institution. 
 The rights of its shareholders were explicitly safe- 
 guarded in the ancient charter, and it was very doubtful 
 whether the Trustees, or even a majority of the members 
 themselves, could in any way divest other members of 
 the complete ownership of their shares in the property of 
 the Library. 
 
 Notwithstanding its wilKngness to remove at short 
 notice, there has been no disposition on the part of the 
 board to relax in due attention to the building itself. In 
 fact so important has the proper supervision of the edi- 
 fice become, that in May, 1883, a by-law was passed, 
 creating a House Committee to "have the management 
 and control of the Library building and the grounds 
 connected therewith." At first comprising two, and 
 since 1886 three, members, for some years regularly 
 
606 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 designated by the Chairman at the opening of each fiscal 
 year, but since 1899 "appointed by ballot," this com- 
 mittee has so grown in usefulness and responsibility as 
 to have taken over several functions formerly exercised 
 by the Library Committee, even to the appointment of a 
 Librarian and the regulation of his salary. For four 
 years, from 1886 to 1890, its membership was identical 
 with that of the Finance Committee. Long terms of 
 service have characterized its history, Mr. Auchmuty 
 serving for eleven years and Mr. King for more than 
 sixteen, while of its present incimibents Mr. Haight was 
 first appointed in 1898 and Mr. Schermerhorn in 1894. 
 At the time the committee was estabhshed, Mr. Auch- 
 muty, appointed its first chairman, was tendered a vote 
 of thanks "for his gratuitous services in an unofficial 
 capacity." 
 
 Noteworthy changes in the familiar old structure have 
 been caused by the growth of the Green Art Collection. 
 In 1884 a portion of its income was devoted, with the 
 approval of the donor, to fitting out the alcove next ad- 
 joining on the east, in a manner consistent with the 
 original compartment; and a fine plate-glass window 
 was provided in 1889. Still a third alcove, west of the 
 others, received a finish uniform therewith in 1901, the 
 additional equipment having been demanded by the 
 growth of the department. 
 
 Another new departure was the removal of the cur- 
 rent periodicals and newspapers up-stairs into the large 
 hall, the erection of a towering office building in the rear 
 of the Library in 1896 shutting out daylight rather 
 effectually from the old reading room. That apartment 
 has since been used as a repository for government 
 documents and files of old newspapers, formerly of 
 
EXEMPTION FROM TAXATION 507 
 
 necessity stored in the basement "in dangerous proximity 
 to the furnaces." Other alterations, aside from ordinary 
 repairs and improvements, have been the prohibition of 
 smoking in any part of the building since 1881, the ex- 
 clusion of dogs for the past decade, and the introduction 
 of two indispensable agents of progress— the telephone, 
 in 1899, and electric lighting, early in 1901. 
 
 It should be mentioned here that after a lapse of over 
 thirty years the Library building was again placed on 
 the city tax list for the year 1887. But, thanks to the 
 intelligent energy of George V. N. Baldwin, the land 
 and premises were reheved from the assessment and 
 from all future taxation, and a refund was made of the 
 sum paid under protest. For these signal services Mr. 
 Baldwin was presented vdth a free share in the Library. 
 
 As in the past, so also during this last epoch, arrange- 
 ments have been made from time to time with certain 
 individuals engaged in literary pursuits or with patriotic 
 societies for temporary accommodation among the 
 alcoves or in vacant apartments on the first floor. For 
 example, the Society of the Cincinnati, which had been 
 authorized in 1877 to fit up an alcove at its own expense, 
 was further allowed, in January, 1882, "to place their 
 safe in the reading room." Again, in April, 1883, 
 Thomas S. Townsend received permission "to deposit 
 his work on the Rebelhon in one of the rooms of the 
 Library." The front room at the left of the entrance, 
 known as the Ladies' Room all along, was in May, 1892, 
 cut in two, the inner division having a new doorway to 
 the hall and retaining the old name, the alteration giving 
 "general satisfaction." For some years the front section 
 has been unoccupied. Across the hallway the south 
 room, variously styled the Men's Room, the Conversa- 
 
508 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 tion Room and the Chess Room, has been, since June, 
 1899, a rendezvous for the Society of the Colonial Dames 
 of America — right worthy guests of an institution itself 
 colonial in origin and established by royal charter. 
 
 Though relieved of its former responsibility over the 
 building and other matters in 1883, as above related, 
 the Library Committee continues a potential force in the 
 management. Its membership has varied in number at 
 times, having been enlarged from six to seven in 1885, 
 and even to eight in the single year 1893-1894; then in 
 1898 reduced from seven to six, at which figure it has 
 since remained. Only four persons are elected by the 
 board each May, the Treasurer and the Secretary being 
 ex officio members always. Here again long periods of 
 usefulness have been the rule. Besides Mr. Kennedy's 
 thirty-year term already mentioned, Professor Drisler 
 served for twenty years, Mr. Baldwin throughout his 
 long trusteeship, and Mr. Sheldon and Mr. Mathews 
 for about fifteen years each ; while, of its members to-day 
 (1908) , Mr. Armstrong was first appointed in 1897. 
 
 Within the province of this committee falls the regula- 
 tion of loans and of the hours when books and reading 
 room may be accessible. In January, 1891, on its recom- 
 mendation the board changed the time for the opening 
 of the building from eight o'clock in the morning to 
 nine ; and four months later the reading room, which had 
 been kept open until ten o'clock in the evening ever since 
 November, 1840, was ordered closed at six o'clock with 
 the loan department. This change was necessitated by 
 the scant attendance of readers, owing to the distance 
 of the Library from its members' homes. For a year or 
 two the reading room was closed between the hours of 
 twelve and two o'clock, but the measure arousing loud 
 
DEVELOPMENT IN LOAN PRIVILEGES 509 
 
 disfavor was abandoned in 1894. For many years the 
 building has regularly been closed, save for the return 
 of books, during the last two weeks in August, thus 
 allowing opportunity for repairs and inventory, at a 
 time when the fewest demands are naturally made. 
 
 From the foundation of the Library until 1894,-140 
 years,— members were allowed only a single book at a 
 time on each share, though for varying periods. From 
 1800 to 1896, three octavo or six duodecimo books might 
 be borrowed, if belonging to a set. During the two 
 years 1894 and 1895, shareholders and temporary sub- 
 scribers were permitted to "take out two works"; but 
 since the latter year they have been privileged "to take 
 out four works at a time," of which not more than one 
 shall be new. At the same date there was abolished the 
 antiquated custom of having the length of loan "pro- 
 portioned as nearly as possible to the Bulk of the Vol- 
 umn," — a rule in force, though differently phrased, ever 
 since the adoption of the original Articles of 1754. In- 
 stead, new books may be kept one week only, and all 
 other books for three weeks, with privileges of renewal, 
 unless otherwise needed. Since 1838 a fine of one cent a 
 day has been exacted on overdue books. 
 
 The chief business of the Library Committee — as in- 
 deed of the institution itself — is of course the proper 
 increase and oversight of the books, including also 
 pamphlets, ciu-rent periodicals and daily papers. Ever 
 since 1860 the annual report of the Trustees has con- 
 tained a list of such additions, in part at least, together 
 with statements from time to time of the number of ac- 
 cessions to the shelves during the previous year. In a 
 word, therefore, it may be said here that the collection, 
 which approximated 80,000 volumes in 1879, to-day com- 
 
510 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 prises fully 100,000 books and pamphlets, scores of 
 which are rare and unique among libraries, besides the 
 valuable works in the Green Art Collection. This does 
 not imply that the Society Library has kept every book 
 once acquired; by no means. In December, 1883, on 
 motion of Mr. Baldwin, the Library Committee was 
 authorized "to examine the useless mass of ephemeral 
 books now stored away in the alcoves of the upper story 
 of the Library, and to dispose of such of them as may be 
 worthless, either by sale or exchange, retaining, however, 
 a copy in each case." By the continuance of this policy, 
 the shelves are kept clear of much old lumber and at the 
 same time additions are made to the income. 
 
 Besides judicious purchases, gifts of books and pam- 
 phlets from various sources have been received in 
 abundance. These have been regularly acknowledged 
 in the yearly reports, but a few merit attention here. In 
 November, 1882, Mr. Kennedy further enriched the 
 Green Alcove by some fifty volumes "of signal value 
 and beauty." In December, 1883, Charles H. Contoit, 
 destined to be the heaviest benefactor to the Library, 
 presented a set of Audubon's "Birds of America" in 
 four folio volimies, together with a handsome case. A 
 distinctly unique gift came from Trustee Henry A. 
 Cram in November, 1888, consisting of twelve folio 
 volumes of superb photographs of the paintings of the 
 old Itahan masters, as also of the most celebrated archi- 
 tectural monuments in Italy. All of these prints were 
 mounted under the direction of Mr. Cram himself, and 
 their value enhanced by his explanatory and critical 
 notes. In the spring of 1896, the Library received from 
 the family of Mr. Cram, then deceased, eight additional 
 volumes, similar to the others, the whole collection com- 
 
Mrs. Mary Matilda (Drake) Keese 
 
 Widow of tlie Rev. William L. Keese 
 Benefactress, 1880 
 
NOTEWORTHY DONATIONS OF BOOKS 511 
 
 prising about 3000 examples, one of the largest in the 
 country. 
 
 Through the hberality of Howland Pell, Esq., in 
 memory of Arthur Pell, the Library, in March, 1895, 
 became the owner of many rare editions of White's 
 "Natural History of Selborne," with an ornamental case 
 for their special preservation. This donation comprised 
 sixteen different editions, including a princeps of 1789, 
 of course of great value. The report for 1903 an- 
 nounces the receipt of "three unique little volumes" from 
 Mrs. John King Van Rensselaer, consisting of news- 
 paper notices of marriages and deaths of leading New 
 York families between the years 1838 and 1870, together 
 with a full index of both married and maiden names, — 
 all having been the painstaking work of the donor's 
 mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Denning (Duer) King, wife of 
 Archibald Gracie King, Esq. 
 
 At the same time acknowledgment was made of an- 
 other handsome present by Mrs. J. Romeyn Brodhead, 
 comprising 850 additional volumes from the library of 
 her late husband. Among them were important his- 
 torical works, rare Americana, sets of proceedings and 
 works in the Dutch language, bearing on Holland and 
 America. Still a third gift of distinct value came from 
 the same kind source in 1905, to the extent of 300 choice 
 unbound volumes and pamphlets on similar subjects. 
 
 In the list of donors published with each annual re- 
 port, appear also the names of institutions and public 
 bodies favoring the Library with statistical reports or 
 other documents. In fact, the Society Library is well sup- 
 plied with this class of matter, current as well as back 
 nimibers, so necessary for certain kinds of research. In 
 this connection there was read to the board in November, 
 
512 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 1905, from the Hon. Thomas C. Piatt a letter "making 
 inquiries as to the value of the daily issues of the Con- 
 gressional Record" ; whereupon Secretary Chew was 
 requested "to thank the Honorable Senator and inform 
 him the Library finds it valuable and desires it to be 
 continued." 
 
 Gifts of other than printed matter have from time to 
 time been received. In 1894 the Library became in- 
 debted to Mrs. Laura A. Delano for the large oil paint- 
 ing — "Cromwell Refusing the Crown," by Prof. Julius 
 Schrader, 1870 — that adorns the upper hall. A full- 
 length plaster figure of Aristides was presented by Miss 
 Anne V. R. Ogden in February, 1895; and in January, 
 1900, thanks were voted to the Rev. W. W. Moir for 
 two exquisite marble busts, — "Spring" and "Autumn," 
 by Albano, — given in memory of his late father, James 
 Moir, Esq. 
 
 Additional decorations of the main apartment com- 
 prise: an oil portrait of former Trustee Anthony 
 Bleecker, the gift of his life-long friend, Gulian C. Ver- 
 planck ; a handsome bronze bust of Frederic de Peyster, 
 presented by his son. General J. Watts de Peyster; a 
 marble bust of John G. Adams, M.D., long an active 
 member of the institution; still another marble bust, a 
 finely executed head of Napoleon, given by Miss Ger- 
 trude Collins; photographs under glass of Mrs. Mary 
 M. Keese, a generous benefactress, and Walter Ruther- 
 ford, a Trustee before the Revolution, — the latter pic- 
 ture copied from a portrait; a framed engraving of the 
 late Trustee Frederic J. de Peyster, given in 1907 by 
 Mrs. de Peyster ; and an enlarged photograph of Charles 
 H. Contoit, ordered by the board to be framed and 
 "hung in the Library room." 
 
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S CHEQUE 513 
 
 Besides well-preserved specimen impressions from the 
 original bookplates, other relics of the remote past con- 
 sist of several early certificates, issued prior to 1800, and 
 bestowed by descendants, seal impressions and signa- 
 tures still showing boldly. In very suggestive contrast 
 to the valuable old engraving of New York in 1746, 
 already described,^ there hangs close by an appropriate 
 companion-piece, a proof engraving of the city in 1855. 
 A wholly unique souvenir is a framed imcashed cheque 
 for foiu- dollars on a Washington bank, dated May 2, 
 1904, and signed by Theodore Roosevelt, President of 
 the United States. It was given by Treasurer Foster, 
 who personally paid for the cheque, it having been sent 
 to pay the annual dues on the share owned by Mrs. 
 Roosevelt, still registered as "Estate of Charles Carow." 
 
 In the two show-cases there are now on exhibition some 
 of the earliest and more notable books from the Sharpe, 
 Winthrop and Hammond collections, together with 
 several rare copies of proceedings of various colonial 
 legislatures. Here is also to be seen — a gift of Mrs. 
 Sallie Morris Cory — an ornate copy of "The Booke of 
 Common Prayer," printed in London in 1620. Its cover 
 embellished with the Prince of Wales emblem of three 
 ostrich plumes, it is said to have been used by a member 
 of the House of Stuart. By the same donor were also 
 given other quaint and interesting specimens of long- 
 ago book-making. 
 
 It is now fitting to mention some of the very useful 
 donations that have proved nothing short of indis- 
 pensable, such as library furniture from the de Peysters 
 and a fine typewriter, the gift of Mr. Schermerhorn. By 
 far the most valuable of such conveniences is the full 
 
 1 See pp. 395-397. 
 
514 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 cataloguing of the Library's collections according to the 
 Charles A, Cutter "dictionary" method. This great 
 work, involving the services of trained cataloguers for 
 about two years (1896-1898) , together with a handsome 
 set of cabinets and cards, has been made available to the 
 institution through the exceptional generosity of a mem- 
 ber of the board of Trustees, F. Augustus Schermer- 
 horn, Esq. In terms of the street, this princely gift cost 
 approximately $15,000, thus writing its donor's name 
 high on the roll of benefactors ; but far above and beyond 
 any intrinsic estimate should be regarded the permanent 
 usefulness of such a donation. May the author of this 
 great pubhc service live long in the knowledge of an 
 ever increasing appreciation of his broad and enduring 
 philanthropy. 
 
 As has been stated in foregoing chapters, the Library 
 published its last catalogue in 1850. A manuscript sup- 
 plement of the "author" hst was kept abreast of the 
 times by Librarian Butler, but the board never felt pre- 
 pared to meet the cost of publication. For some years 
 prior to the introduction of the card system, the Leyden 
 plan of "slips" had been in use, consisting simply of an 
 author arrangement; and, just before the gift of Mr. 
 Schermerhorn was offered, a "subject" classification was 
 in process of preparation. 
 
 It now becomes pertinent to say it was by no mere 
 chance that this particularly advanced embodiment of 
 Mr. Schermerhom's wise liberality should have syn- 
 chronized with the advent of a new personality behind 
 the Librarian's desk. In the report of 1896 it appears 
 that Mr. Butler, "whose health had become much im- 
 paired, asked to be relieved from a portion of the active 
 duties of his office. His long, faithful and useful service 
 
LIBRARIAN FRANK B. BIGELOW 515 
 
 to the Library entitled him to such rehef, and accord- 
 ingly Mr. Frank B. Bigelow, for three years Assistant 
 Librarian at Columbia College, was appointed Acting 
 Librarian— becoming Librarian on the first day of 
 October last [1895]. Mr. Butler thereupon became 
 Librarian Emeritus, and will continue to render his 
 valuable services to the Library as far as his health may 
 permit." 
 
 Frank Barna Bigelow, a native of Amherst, Mas- 
 sachusetts, and a graduate of the weD-known college 
 there situated, laid the foundation of his successful career 
 in an exacting apprenticeship under that renowned mas- 
 ter of Library science, WiUiam I. Fletcher, A.M., Li- 
 brarian of Amherst College. After a year of practical 
 experience in the Colimibia College Library on Forty- 
 ninth street, Mr. Bigelow was appointed its Reference 
 Librarian, from which position he was called, as above 
 related, to the Society Library. Here his varied talents 
 have found a freer scope and have won for him recogni- 
 tion in his chosen field. 
 
 And now a word of him who has so long been in the 
 Society Library as to seem wholly of it— Wentworth S. 
 Butler, Librarian Emeritus. Seldom has that distinc- 
 tion been more fittingly conferred. Few positions de- 
 mand more patience, self-control and tact than the 
 stewardship so long held by this approved good and 
 faithful servant. On all sides are to be seen tangible 
 evidences of his efficiency. But who can adequately tell 
 of the countless extra steps he has taken in the Library's 
 behalf, of his untiring efforts to keep up the membership 
 roll, of the real pain that every lapsed share has given 
 him, and of his devout rejoicing over each new registra- 
 tion ! Of his unostentatious services in securing a remis- 
 
616 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 sion of the taxes levied on the Library, as also of the 
 inaudible hints and suggestions that have played their 
 part in securing some of the notable bequests to the 
 institution, no one can ever know. Mr. Butler, though 
 he loves to recall men and events of by-gone days, lives 
 not in the past. Over eighty years of age, and in the 
 fifty-third year of his devotion to the Library, he is yet 
 found there almost daily, scanning his favorite period- 
 icals and assisting unobtrusively but materially in the 
 current routine. 
 
 During the long period of Mr. Butler's incimibency, 
 and in the dozen years since Librarian Bigelow has been 
 at the helm, assistants have come and gone in profusion. 
 A few may be mentioned here for meritorious service. 
 Upon the resignation of Robert W. Cana in 1873, after 
 a term of seven years as Assistant Librarian, that post 
 was held until his death in December, 1890, by John 
 Forbes, a son and grandson of former Librarians. He 
 was succeeded in turn by Samuel J. Black, who retired 
 in 1896. From November, 1902, for about four years 
 Miss Annie L. Elliott presided at the loan desk to gen- 
 eral satisfaction. The Green Alcove was attended for 
 some years by Miss Alice Sandford, who resigned in 
 October, 1882. She was followed by Miss Jennie L. 
 Butler, whose acceptabihty continued through a term of 
 nineteen years, her withdrawal, in February, 1901, call- 
 ing forth a special vote of thanks from the board "for her 
 fidelity and useful services." Her immediate successor 
 was Miss Constance Ogden, until February, 1906. The 
 present staff of the Library (1908) comprises, besides 
 Messrs. Bigelow and Butler, Mrs. M. L. Chamberlain 
 and Miss Marion D. Morrison, at the loan desk, and 
 Messrs. Jacob Ermoloff, cataloguer, and George F. 
 
FREE DELIVERY OF BOOKS 517 
 
 Baker, in charge of the shelf department, the two last- 
 named having been connected with the institution since 
 1896 and 1897, respectively. 
 
 In the matter of the circulation of the books, it appears 
 that the extraordinary record of 32,642 volimies reached 
 in the year 1864-1865 was finally surpassed in the year 
 1898-1899, since which time it has risen to nearly 40,000. 
 But this does not mean that the building is thronged all 
 day with impatient book-borrowers. Quite the reverse; 
 indeed, no quieter as well as more spacious or brighter 
 accommodations could be desired for vmdistm-bed read- 
 ing or study. Even so, the attendance of visitors diiring 
 the past six years has averaged over 20,000. It is really 
 fortunate for the staff and for those who do come that all 
 the members are not frequenters. 
 
 Aside from the rather out-of-the-way situation of the 
 Library, another factor in the reduction of attendance is 
 the free dehvery system. Like many another custom 
 this has had a gradual groAvth. Beginning with the year 
 1882, books were occasionally sent to the homes of sub- 
 scribers "at a small charge"; although, to be fair to the 
 management of that day, it was said in the report for 
 1883 that "such dehveries should be made free whenever 
 the income of the Library will justify the employment of 
 messengers for that purpose." 
 
 By 1892 the plan was regularly adopted, at the nom- 
 inal cost of the carriers' carfares, the first year showing a 
 total of between 600 and 700 books thus circulated. 
 Within the next twelve months this number was more 
 than doubled; while, by the last report (1908), it ap- 
 pears that "our messengers carried 37,537 books, visiting 
 11,288 residences and offices between No. 1 Broadway 
 and 147th Street," a gain of more than 6000 books over 
 
518 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 the year before. It only remains to state that in Feb- 
 ruary, 1904, the free delivery of books was introduced by 
 the Trustees, to show their disposition toward the share- 
 holders. Such an attitude is possible because of the 
 wholly responsible character of the membership, for the 
 Society Library can safely circulate books whose cost 
 would not only preclude purchase but render circulation 
 hazardous in many libraries, whether subscription or 
 free. Because of this liberal policy, it is said, the late 
 President Henry Morton of Stevens Institute left to the 
 Society Library a valuable bequest of some eighty vol- 
 umes on Egyptology, in January, 1905. 
 
 At the same time the management has uniformly paid 
 proper heed to its chief charge. Though the regulations 
 as to the nmnber and extent of loans have long been most 
 liberal, and though members have unrestricted access to 
 the shelves, insistence is maintained upon fines for over- 
 due books and upon recompense for lost or damaged 
 copies. A single instance may be cited to show devotion 
 to trust, even in the face of a little "feeling." In March, 
 1889, in response to a request from the Washington 
 Inaugural Centennial committee for the loan of certain 
 journals of that early period, for display in the Metro- 
 pohtan Opera House, fully insured, the board did "not 
 feel authorized to incur the risk of the loss or mutilation 
 of the newspapers asked for." Here was a chance for 
 free advertising, but the temptation was resisted. 
 
 The Society Library has never yielded to the popular 
 craze for charlatan self -exploitation. Once a year in 
 dignified statements its advantages and claims are set 
 before the public in the annual report of the Trustees.^ 
 He who runs may read, and pause and read again ; or he 
 
 ' Since 1896 bulletins of new books have been issued at frequent intervals. 
 
INCREASED USE OF THE LIBRARY 619 
 
 may speed on, unobservant. The institution surely will 
 not run after him. Figures prove that the running to 
 the Library is on the constant increase. During the 
 past year (1907-1908) the number of yearly sub- 
 scribers—not shareholders— was over two hundred, 
 larger than ever before. 
 
 In 1881, besides the yearly report, the Trustees pub- 
 lished a pamphlet^ of some fifty pages, containing: 
 (1) an historical notice of the Library; (2) the Articles 
 of Subscription, 1754; (3) the Charter; (4) its legisla- 
 tive confirmation, 1789; (5) its successive amendments; 
 (6) the by-laws; (7) a list of Trustees since 1754; (8) a 
 list of Librarians since 1793; (9) a list of shareholders, 
 1881. Of these divisions the historical sketch and the 
 two former lists follow the lines, as the errors, of earlier 
 publications, already reviewed; while the documentary 
 matter is also famihar. The carefully revised by-laws 
 are important as being the first (and the last) printed 
 since 1855. 
 
 The "list of persons holding rights" is interesting and 
 well worth regarding briefly at least. In the twenty 
 years since the last published record, many names notable 
 in divers branches of human endeavor and achievement 
 had become identified with membership in the Society 
 Library. To mention but a few on the roll is necessary, 
 though difficult. There might be named Samuel F. 
 Appleton, the honored head of the great publishing 
 house; Charles Carow, a highly respected merchant, 
 the father of Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt; Alexander I. 
 Cotheal, a scholar of great linguistic attainments ; Judge 
 Charles P. Daly; Edward F. de Lancey, noted for 
 
 ^ New York Society Library. Lists of Trustees and Shareholders. 
 History, Charter, By-laws, &c., with New York, 1881. 
 
520 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 historical research and editing; General J. Watts de 
 Peyster, writer on military and historical affairs, and 
 a man of considerable philanthropy; the Rev. Dr. Mor- 
 gan Dix, whose extended rectorship of Trinity Church 
 has but lately been closed by death ; William A. Duncan, 
 for years chief clerk in the vestry office of that same 
 ancient parish ; William M. E varts, David Dudley Field 
 and Hamilton Fish, all national figures as jurists and 
 statesmen; Elbridge T. Gerry and Nathaniel L. Gris- 
 wold, leaders in commerce as also in the social world; 
 Charles H. Haswell, the distinguished civil and marine 
 engineer, who only lately passed away (May, J.907), at 
 the advanced age of nearly ninety-nine years, in the full 
 possession of his faculties ; the Rev. Dr. Roswell Dwight 
 Hitchcock, professor in Union Seminary and volumi- 
 nous writer on theological and sacred subjects; the 
 Very Rev. Eugene Augustus HoiFman, D.D., late 
 dean of the General Seminary; the Hon. John Jay, 
 a lawyer and diplomat not unworthy of an illustrious 
 lineage; WiUiam T. Jerome, the renowned district at- 
 torney, then a lad in his teens; Wheeler H. Peckham, 
 Esq., a lawyer of commanding ability and ever a stal- 
 wart for reform and disinterestedness in positions of 
 fiduciary trust; S. Whitney Phoenix, booklover and 
 man of letters; the University Place Presbyterian 
 Church; the estate of Theodore Roosevelt, then but 
 lately deceased, a name held in afPectionate remembrance 
 as the promoter of every good work ; and, in conclusion, 
 the gracious personality of Miss Catherine L. Wolfe, a 
 woman of wide and intelligent charity and a generous 
 giver to public institutions, such as the Metropolitan 
 Museimi of Art. 
 
 The influence of an institution such as the Society 
 
Charles Henry Contoit 
 Benefactor, 1897 
 
AUTHORS INDEBTED TO THE LIBRARY 521 
 
 Library is scarcely tangible enough to hazard an esti- 
 mate. It will not be amiss, however, to name over some 
 of those who have borne afar, along varied paths of 
 culture, the torch of letters from this imfailing source 
 of light. The names of Halleck, Kent, Irving, Poe, 
 Bryant, Verplanck and Duyckinck will serve to revive 
 by-gone luster of days when the Library was the center 
 and rendezvous of famous literary coteries. Unlikely 
 as is a return to these former conditions, especially in 
 this present age of club-hfe, the Library is no less ready 
 to meet the situation. The report for 1908 says: "The 
 list of the leading Clubs of the City to which reading 
 matter is now furnished includes the Army and Navy, 
 the Century, the Colimibia University, the Knicker- 
 bocker, the MetropoHtan, the Yale, the Union, the 
 Union League and the University." 
 
 Among recent and contemporary authors, who have 
 been only too happy to express indebtedness to the So- 
 ciety Library, may be mentioned Russell Sturgis, John 
 Bigelow, Edward Eggleston, General James Grant 
 Wilson, Pro fessor William Milligan Sloane,Mrs. Burton 
 Harrison, Mrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer, Mrs. George 
 C. Riggs (Kate Douglas Wiggin) , Miss Esther Single- 
 ton, Gherardi Davis, Paul Leicester Ford and Presi- 
 dent Roosevelt. Besides the memory of its own honored, 
 the Library treasures recollections of visits from the 
 renowned of other lands. Years ago Thackeray made 
 glad use of its stores when on his American lecture- 
 tour, and this very year the institution has been visited 
 by Mrs. Humphry Ward. 
 
 As always in the past, the membership list bears the 
 highest stamp of distinction in citizenship and in social 
 standing. With many families it is a matter of pride to 
 
622 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 keep up connection with the Society Library; on its 
 registry books to-day are found between forty and fifty 
 names of the early supporters and charter members, to 
 say nothing of innumerable descendants bearing other 
 names. At the present time (1908) the number of 
 shares held in the Library is about 725, the great ma- 
 jority of which are unassessed or free. It is to be 
 deplored that the once great number of shares has been 
 so reduced, or even that it has not held its own ; but the 
 free library naturally attracts the people of moderate 
 means, while the wealthy often prefer to buy their books, 
 whether or not they may be private collectors.^ 
 
 Nevertheless, the income from assessable shares was 
 $2008 during the year 1903-1904. Since then there 
 have been numerous commutings of the yearly dues. 
 Meanwhile the simi received for temporary subscriptions 
 has been steadily advancing from $245 for the year 
 1878-1879, until by the last fiscal report (1907-1908) 
 it was given as $2262, an amount in excess of the annual 
 payments of proprietors ($1526) ! 
 
 Coming now to the subject of the actual finances of 
 the institution for the last time, it may be said truly that 
 the lines have fallen unto the Library in pleasant places 
 these latter days. Despite a lessened membership roll, 
 there has been an entire absence of the pecuniary burdens 
 that made some of the earlier periods so dark and 
 anxious. For more than fifty years the institution not 
 only has been out of debt, but, through further timely 
 bequests and uniformly careful management, has had a 
 permanent fund of constantly increasing proportions. 
 
 At the close of the fiscal year, March 31, 1879, the 
 value of the property— exclusive of the books, then in- 
 
 ' In 1907, however, a free share ($150) brought $153 at a sale. 
 
MODEST PROSPERITY 523 
 
 smed for $46,000— was estimated at $130,000, while 
 $58,000 besides was invested in bonds and mortgages. 
 In the spring of 1880 a handsome bequest of $12,000 
 was received from the estate of Mrs. Mary M. Keese. A 
 few months later came $1000, bequeathed as a token of 
 regard by the late Treasurer Mount.^ Many years later 
 one of his sisters, Miss Maria B. Mount, similarly re- 
 membered the institution in her will, the sum of $1000 
 being received in April, 1901. 
 
 By far the largest donation in the history of the 
 Society Library is due to the mimificence of Charles H. 
 Contoit, for years a most interested shareholder. Mr. 
 Contoit, who died in December, 1897, in his seventy- 
 sixth year, was the ranking vestryman of Trinity parish 
 and a man of large but unobtrusive generosity. Devoted 
 to church interests, he delighted in ministering to the 
 poor and needy with fuel, food and clothing, and he 
 especially loved to help young men and boys. The Li- 
 brary was named as one of his residuary legatees, but 
 owing to various delays the last instalment was not paid 
 imtil 1903, the sum-total then amounting to $142,586.68. 
 Thus the gifts of money to the Library, including the 
 $5000 bequeathed by Miss Elizabeth Demilt in 1849, 
 aggregate the very gratifying amount of $215,086.68. 
 By the last report (1908) the whole property of the So- 
 ciety Library— excluding the books, now insured for 
 $132,795^— is valued at $420,146.49, all safely invested. 
 
 In contemplating these statistics of modest prosperity, 
 one instinctively formulates the vain trite wish that the 
 men who foimded the Library, as also those who tided 
 
 * This modest amount Is yet dis- ' The insurance on the building 
 
 tinctive in being the only bequest has been only slightly advanced 
 
 from a Trustee in the history of the from $44,000 in 1879 to $50,000 at 
 
 Library. the present time. 
 
624. THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 the institution through the stormiest weather, might be 
 privileged to behold what time hath wrought on their 
 labors. Yet after aU they believed in its future, and they 
 were content in their great faith with the substance of 
 things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. All 
 honor to their unwearied devotion, not alone to the Li- 
 brary's welfare but toward elevating the literary stan- 
 dards of their day and community. This institution may 
 well be proud of the character and attainments of its 
 long procession of Trustees; and in turn a seat at its 
 council board has conferred a coveted and worthy dis- 
 tinction upon successive incumbents. Through them, 
 as representatives of its membership roll, the Society 
 Library has long since become deeply and vitally inter- 
 woven with the very fiber of New York. 
 
 It now remains only to touch upon the recent ob- 
 servance of the sesquicentennial anniversary of the 
 Society Library, before bringing this long narrative to 
 a close. In February, 1904, "the question of celebrating 
 the 150th anniversary of the Library" was committed to 
 the consideration of the late Chairman Curtis, former 
 Treasurer Foster and Secretary Chew. Inasmuch as the 
 preparation of the present volume had just been author- 
 ized by Messrs. Baldwin, Chew and Swords, — as stated 
 in the preface, — it was decided not to hold any com- 
 memoratory exercises, but simply to plan a week's dis- 
 play of the rarities in the possession of the Library. 
 Accordingly invitations were issued to such persons as 
 would be interested, as well as to city officials and officers 
 of other local institutions of a literary or artistic char- 
 acter. So generally did people avail themselves of the 
 opportunity, and so much enthusiasm was expressed 
 by visitors and the press, that the exhibition was ex- 
 
SOME TREASURES OF THE LIBRARY 525 
 
 tended to include a fortnight, between April 26th and 
 May 7th. 
 
 To enumerate all the treasures in the possession of the 
 Library would not be vain repetitions but impossible for 
 lack of space. In general, and to include a few titles of 
 particularly rare works, it may be said that its collection 
 is especially rich in Americana, — books, pamphlets, 
 newspapers and autograph letters of distinguished per- 
 sons, including the Presidents of the United States, — 
 and in the genealogical field. It has an almost perfect 
 set of city directories ; a notable assortment of early New 
 York newspapers, prior to 1800, including Bradford's 
 Gazette from 1726 to 1729, a vmique possession; full sets 
 of the Evening Post and Commercial Advertiser from 
 1800 to 1900, and nearly complete files of all the local 
 dailies before 1900. Here is also to be found an im- 
 posing array of first editions of EngMsh as well as 
 American writers, as also of French memoirs and his- 
 tories. 
 
 Among tincommon works should be named an un- 
 usually full set of New York Colonial and Session 
 Laws, a beautifully colored copy of Visscher's "Novi 
 Belgii . . . Tabula" (about 1650), Vander Donck's 
 "Nieuw-Nederlant" (1656), Andrew Bradford's Laws 
 of Pennsylvania (1738), the Charters of Pennsylvania, 
 printed by Franklin in 1742, Acts of the Assembly of 
 Virginia, printed by W. Hunter in 1752, Acts of the 
 Assembly of New Jersey, printed by James Parker in 
 1761, etc., etc., as well as such monumental works as 
 Napoleon's "Egypt," Lepsius's "Egypt," Audubon's 
 "Birds" (first folio edition), Kingsborough's "Mexican 
 Antiquities," Montfaucon's "L'antiquite expliquee" and 
 "Les monumens de la monarchic Fran9oise," etc., etc. 
 
526 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 ^t^So. «7^<iv-z4. %n£aaA~ 
 Q/oMeu-u^ €A<tr,>- -^f. C<^ CA£i*0'^' ■ -%^- *^ f"^ '^■ 
 
 f&i\A. /^'J-Utc "^c ►TL ■" ai^^^- 
 
 
 ykji^u^i^ iU ^^^AtGm^ 
 
 
 First page (reduced) of autograph catalogue of John Sharpe's collection ; from original, 
 written in 1718 and now in Lambeth Palace Library. See pp. 50, 51, 56, 57, 527. 
 
OLDEST LIBRARY IN THE STATE 527 
 
 The John C. Green Alcoves of books on the fine arts 
 are particularly replete with works in the subjects of 
 decoration and in the several schools of painting, as also 
 with large illustrated texts on individual painters, 
 miniatures, costumes, lace, furniture and heraldiy, to- 
 gether with full sets of the best art periodicals and illus- 
 trated folio volumes of all the European galleries. The 
 Library also contains one of the best architectural collec- 
 tions in the city. 
 
 While the wide range of the exhibition was well calcu- 
 lated to attract persons of diverse tastes, none could fail 
 to be interested in the old Clarendon history, labeled 
 "Belonging to y^ Library of New York in America 
 1711,"^ and still more touched at sight of the hundred- 
 odd pathetic-looking tomes of the John Sharpe Collec- 
 tion, given in 1713 "as a foundation of a Publick Library 
 at New York."^ Fittingly indeed are these ancient 
 volumes cherished to-day by the Society Library, — it- 
 self by far the oldest Library in this state, — as memorials 
 of the alas too advanced public spirit of poor Chaplain 
 Sharpe. A still closer tie confirms its present repository 
 as the proper home of the older collection, from the fact 
 that it once formed part of the Corporation Library, 
 opened in 1730 as the first Public Circulating Library in 
 New York, and from 1754 to 1776 under the control of 
 the Trustees of the Society Library.^ Upon this inter- 
 esting sequence of events has been based the statement, 
 occasionally made, that the Society Library is the oldest 
 Public Library in the United States. 
 
 ^See pp. 20, 119. 'See pp. 43-64, 118. = See pp. 77-78, 119, 156. 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
 1904-1908 
 
 A S all matters of routine or of a business character, 
 /_% pertaining to this brief span, have been com- 
 jL. ^L. prehended within the last chapter, it is fitting to 
 terminate the long narrative in a more personal vein. In 
 these few years several serious inroads have occurred in 
 the ranks of the Trustees. In October, 1906, came the 
 regretted resignation of Edward King, sometime Chair- 
 man, in the twenty-second year of his term. A former 
 president of the Stock Exchange and a notable figure in 
 financial circles, he proved himself, in his services as 
 chairman of the "King Committee" in the recent panic, 
 a worthy scion of his patriotic father, James Gore King, 
 the banker, and of his illustrious grandfather, the Hon. 
 Rufus King, one-time Trustee of the Library. 
 
 The other changes have been due to the inexorable 
 leveler. Charles B. Curtis, who died in March, 1905, had 
 served for over twelve years, long holding the secretary- 
 ship, and was Chairman at his death. He ranks as an 
 author of note, his book, "Velasquez and Murillo," win- 
 ning him an international reputation ; while he often con- 
 tributed to standard periodicals, chiefly on genealogical 
 and art subjects. Two months later died Frederic J. de 
 Peyster, nephew of Frederic de Peyster, a lawyer by 
 
RECENT DEATHS OF TRUSTEES 529 
 
 profession, whose wide interests made him active in 
 numberless hterary, social and charitable movements. 
 His thirty years of service caused his associates to regard 
 him "as one of the pillars of our edifice, and the absence 
 of his name from our roll makes our meetings seem like 
 those of another and strange body." On the other hand, 
 after but a brief trusteeship, S. Franklin Stanton died in 
 June, 1907, a retired member of the Stock Exchange, a 
 man "conservative in taste and habit, in marked contrast 
 to the general trend of sentiment during the later vears 
 of his life." 
 
 In November, 1907, there passed away that accom- 
 plished and knightly soul, whose name had so long 
 adorned the head of the trustee roll— Frederick Sheldon, 
 Gentleman, in his thirty-seventh year of service. In 
 these discriminating words of tender and affectionate 
 regard for "the Nestor of our body," Mr. Baldwin gave 
 apt expression to the general sentiment of loss and ap- 
 preciation ; 
 
 Mr. Sheldon was possessed of unusually fine literary tastes, and 
 his power of criticism, though dehcate, was searching. His 
 style of writing was of the purest, and his sense of humor en- 
 abled him to delineate characters with a pen, which, while he 
 was too kind to wound, developed traits in the subject of his 
 criticism, which a less trained and capable mind would have 
 failed to discover. ... A courteous gentleman and an accom- 
 plished scholar has passed from our midst, and the record of 
 his association with us is a story of most valuable influence and 
 is most fragrant in the recollection. 
 
 Scarcely three months were vouchsafed to Mr. Bald- 
 win as ranking Trustee, his wide-felt death occurring in 
 February, 1908, after nearly twenty -five years of devoted 
 ministration to the Library. He had served as Secretary 
 
530 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRAKY 
 
 for eleven years, as Chairman for four, and as a member 
 of the Library Committee during all his term, its chair- 
 man for the last decade. Though he was identified with 
 innumerable literary and social organizations, the So- 
 ciety Library ever held first place in his affections. The 
 annual report for 1908 says: "His long service to our 
 institution in many capacities, his legal and literary 
 knowledge and practical common sense made him an 
 invaluable member of the Board, and the loss is felt more 
 deeply as the days go by." At a special meeting of the 
 Tinistees immediately after his obsequies, which despite 
 a furious storm were attended by a noteworthy assem- 
 blage at the Marble Collegiate Church, there was 
 adopted this minute, prepared by Chairman Foster in 
 phrases notable not alone for choice diction but for their 
 ring of genuine feeling, a tribute the most beautiful 
 recorded throughout the history of the Library: 
 
 In the ripeness of his age, at the summit of his useful career, 
 George Van Nest Baldwin, our associate and friend, has passed 
 from among the living, to receive, as we reverently beheve, the 
 eternal reward of a life well spent and worthy. 
 
 A lawyer, learned, accomplished, sagacious, a man of rare 
 social qualities, endearing him to a multitude of friends, he 
 was also by choice and natural predisposition a man of letters, 
 knowing clearly and loving always the wondrous charm of 
 literature. And so it came about that to this institution, the 
 object of his literary devotion, he gave without stint or reserve 
 his intelligent and affectionate interest. In duration of service 
 the oldest member of our Board, and for years its Chairman, 
 every day of his long trusteeship has added to the Library's 
 debt of gratitude to him for work well done and faithfully. 
 The last effort of his life, put forth when the shadows were al- 
 ready gathering, was for us and for our well-being. 
 
 And therefore remembering the man who is gone, and his 
 
George Van Nest Baldwin 
 Trustee, 1883-1908. Secretary, 1883-1894. Chairman, 1894-1898 
 
TRIBUTE TO GEORGE V. N. BALDWIN 631 
 
 unremitting and ever successful zeal in our behalf, remembering 
 his intellectual power and culture, mindful even more of his manly 
 and yet gentle personality, his pure and spotless life, and while 
 the sound of the funeral bell has hardly died away into silence, 
 do we, the Trustees of the New York Society Library, make 
 this brief record of our loss, sorrowing for that in this world 
 which he did so much to make brighter and better, we shall see 
 his face again no more. 
 
 Although the board agreed that Mr. Baldwin's death 
 was a great personal loss and a severe blow to the Li- 
 brary, and that his duties would be taken up by others 
 with heavy hearts; nevertheless it is a strong though 
 melancholy testimonial to the stabihty of the institution 
 that its work can go on without interruption under such 
 bereavement. It is therefore proper and indeed requisite 
 to regard briefly the status and the mission of the Society 
 Library to-day. 
 
 Absolutely without incumbrance but with a handsome 
 though not excessive endowment, deriving an excellent 
 income fiu-thermore from the annual payments of share- 
 holders and its fast-growing array of temporary sub- 
 scribers, with a splendid collection of over 100,000 vol- 
 umes housed in its own dignified and attractive building, 
 this ancient though vigorous institution faces the future 
 with justifiable confidence. Although the rapid expan- 
 sion of the city has wholly altered the original character 
 of its environment and left the Library remote from 
 residential centers; yet, thanks to the wisdom of its 
 Trustees, it is within ready reach by telephone and by 
 the admirable messenger system, while the strong senti- 
 ment for a new and more advantageous location awaits 
 only the right opportunity and adequate funds. 
 
 Frequenters of the Society Library encounter none of 
 
532 THE NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 the discomforts of over-crowded public libraries, and 
 may browse at will among the alcoves or read in quiet 
 corners, unhampered by burdensome restrictions. It 
 is in such a peaceful atmosphere that the true love of 
 reading and a genuine taste for letters are formed and 
 cultivated. Here are to be found not alone standard 
 works of reference and the great staples of general 
 literature, together with innumerable rarities to glad- 
 den the hearts of antiquarians, art lovers or special 
 investigators, but also the latest productions, whether 
 light or serious, on the date of their publication. The 
 best books are supplied with little hesitation as to cost, 
 and suggestions from members and subscribers for de- 
 sirable additions are welcomed by the management. The 
 fact that the books of the Society Library circulate 
 through a select membership is no reproach. Among 
 such a constituency are included earnest thinkers and 
 writers, and men of large affairs no less, conservative 
 leaders of the thought and the movements of their day. 
 Thus the Society Library, despite the increasing ex- 
 pansion of the free public library system, shows ever a 
 very noticeable advance year by year. Founded broad- 
 based on individual initiative and desire for public im- 
 provement, it has been perpetuated through cooperative 
 effort and touching devotion, as a conspicuous asset in 
 the culture-life of the community. Among members 
 and officers throughout its long history appear countless 
 names representative of achievement and honor in Ameri- 
 can citizenship. Holding positions of eminence in all 
 lines of human endeavor, they have spread far and wide 
 the quiet but pervasive influence of the New York 
 Society Library, now auspiciously journeying toward 
 its two-hundredth milestone. 
 
ARTICLES OF THE SUBSCRIPTION ROLL 
 OF THE NEW YORK LIBRARY 
 
 (As written in the book of Trustees' minutes, April 2, 1754.) 
 
 Whereas a Publick Library would be very useful, as well as 
 ornamental to this City & may be also advantageous to our 
 intended College; We whose Names are hereunto subscribed, 
 in order to promote the Design of erecting one in this City, 
 do promise to pay Five Pounds New York Currency, each on 
 the first Day of May next ensuing the Date hereof; and Ten 
 Shillings yearly, each, on every first Day of May forever here- 
 after, to Twelve Trustees, to be chosen by the Majority of 
 us, or our Assigns, annually, out of the number of Subscribers 
 hereto, or their Assigns ; for which Purpose, we agree to meet 
 constantly on the last Tuesday in April, in every Year ensuing 
 the Date hereof, at the Exchange in Broad Street, in this City, 
 between the Hours of Eleven & Twelve; which Trustees, or the 
 Majority of them, are hereby impowered to dispose of the said 
 Money, in purchasing such Books, as they shall think propper 
 from Time to Time, and in procuring a House or Room to de- 
 posit them in ; To appoint a Library Keeper, and allow him a 
 propper Sallary for his care & attendance of the said Library ; 
 to regulate the Terms on which the Books belonging to the said 
 Library shall be lent (those who are not Subscribers being to 
 pay such Rates for the Loan of Books as the Trustees shall ap- 
 point) and to do every Thing they shall judge necessary to 
 erect, preserve, ornament & improve the said Library ; which 
 they are to keep under the following Regulations 
 
 1st Every Subscriber, or his Assigns, shall have a Right to 
 
 535 
 
536 APPENDIX 
 
 take out one Book at a Time, depositing in Cash, at least one 
 third more than the value of it, with the Library Keeper, and 
 to keep it for so long a Time as the Trustees for the Time being 
 shall appoint, to be proportioned as nearly as possible to the 
 Bulk of the Volumn ; and in case he shall keep it longer to pay 
 for the use of the said Book, after the Expiration of the said 
 Time according to the Rates (to be settled by the Trustees) to 
 be paid by those who shall not be Subscribers hereto. For this 
 Purpose Books shall be valued by the Trustees, and a Catalogue 
 of them with the^ Price of each Book be made & left in the 
 Hands of the Library Keeper. 
 
 gndly Every Subscriber may alienate or bequeath his Right, 
 as of any other Chattel. 
 
 grdly j^q Person shall have above one Vote, tho' he shou'd 
 subscribe more than is above mentioned or purchase several 
 Rights. 
 
 4thly Part of a Subscription Right shall not be regarded or 
 entitle the Owner to any Priviledges whatsoever. 
 
 gthly Every Subscriber who refuses to pay the ten shillings 
 yearly shall forfeit his Right & Priviledges in the said Library 
 but if either he or any other in his name pay the Arrears with 
 Lawful Interest from the several Times of their becoming due, 
 he or they shall be as fully restored to them upon such Payment, 
 as if such Forfeiture had not incurred. 
 
 gthly 'Yhe^ Trustees shall serve Gratis. 
 
 •ythly They may appoint a Treasurer if they shall think 
 proper, & make him a proper Allowance for his Trouble not ex- 
 ceeding 5 ^ Cent on all the money he shall receive into his 
 Hands from Time to Time for the use of the said Library.^ 
 
 8*!y No Trustee shall be appointed Treasurer. 
 
 gthly Tjjg Election of Trustees shall Be by Balloting each 
 putting the whole Number he Votes for upon one Ballot. 
 
 IQthly The trustees Shall if they think Proper admitt any 
 person to be come a Subscriber after y^ date hereof upon pav- 
 ment of the Like Sum of Five pounds which is the Originall 
 
 ' The rest of this article and the ^ Succeeding articles are written in 
 
 six following articles are entered in still a third hand, 
 another hand. 
 
APPENDIX 537 
 
 Subscription money and Ten Shillings ^ Annum from y^ first 
 Day of may [sic] next till the time of his subscription. 
 
 ll^ily That the rights & Priviledges in the said Library in 
 consequence of such subscription and the Loan of Books to 
 such as shall not Subscribe hereto shall not be Confined to this 
 City but that Every Person residing in this province may be- 
 come a Subscriber or have the Loan of Books in the manner and 
 on the terms herein mentioned or hereafter to be Prescribed. 
 
 ^^gthly That regular accounts of the Several Sums received 
 as subscription or for the Loan of Books and of the Disburse- 
 ment arising from y^ Purchasing Books [and] for erecting 
 enlarging and repairing the said Library shall be exhibited to 
 the Subscribers hereto or to their Assigns at Every annual 
 Meeting on the last thuesday [«ic] in Aprill upon pain of the 
 Forfeiture of the right and Priviledges of Every Trustee that 
 shall be Delinquent in this Particular. 
 
 IS^rfy That the Trustees for the time being shall make such 
 Further Rules and orders for the Better Support of y^ Said 
 Library as to them or the majority of them shall seem meet 
 which rules and orders so to be made by them shall be Subject 
 to the Confirmation or repeal of the Subscribers hereto or their 
 assigns at Each annual meeting aforesaid. 
 
 j4,thly That the majority of y® Subscribers hereto or their 
 assigns at every Annual Meeting forever hereafter shall if they 
 think proper alter correct or repeal all or any of the above 
 rules and orders or any Other Rules and orders hereafter to be 
 made and make such further and other Rules and orders as to 
 them shall seem meet and most Condusive to the support and 
 increase of the said Library. 
 
II 
 
 THE CHARTER OF THE NEW YORK 
 
 SOCIETY LIBRARY, SIGNED 
 
 NOVEMBER 9, 1772 
 
 Geoege the Third, hy the Grace of God, of Great Britain, 
 France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, and so 
 forth. To all to whom these presents shall come. Greeting: 
 
 Whereas our loving subjects, John Watts, William Smith, 
 Robert R. Livingston, Whitehead Hicks, William Livingston, 
 Goldsbrow Banyar and Samuel Jones, of our city of New York, 
 Esquires ; Peter Van Brugh Livingston and Peter Keteltas, of 
 our said city of New York, merchants ; Walter Rutherfurd 
 and David Clarkson, of our said city of New York, gentlemen ; 
 and Samuel Bard, of our said city of New York, physician, — 
 by their humble petition presented unto our trusty and well- 
 beloved William Tryon, Esq., our captain-general and gover- 
 nor-in-chief in and over our province of New York and the 
 territories depending thereon in America, chancellor and vice- 
 admiral of the same, and read in our council for our said prov- 
 ince on the eighth day of September last past, — did set forth: 
 That sundry persons conceiving a public library would be useful 
 as well as ornamental to our said city of New York, did, in the 
 year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four, 
 set on foot a subscription, in order to promote the design of 
 erecting one in our said city, and did thereby promise to pay 
 five pounds. New York currency, each, on the first day of May, 
 in the said year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and 
 fifty-four, and ten shillings yearly, each, on every first day of 
 May for ever thereafter, to twelve trustees, to be chosen by the 
 
 538 
 
APPENDIX 539 
 
 majority of the subscribers, or their assigns, annually, out of 
 the number of subscribers thereto, or their assigns (for which 
 purpose the said subscribers did thereby agree to meet con- 
 stantly, on the last Tuesday in April in every year, at the 
 Exchange in Broad Street, in our said city of New York, be- 
 tween the hours of eleven and twelve) ; which trustees, or the 
 majority of them, were thereby empowered to dispose of the 
 said money in purchasing such books as they should think 
 proper, from time to time, and in procuring a house or room 
 to deposit them in; to appoint a librarian, and allow him a 
 proper salary for his care and attendance of the said library; 
 to regulate the terms on which the books belonging to the said 
 library should be lent, and to do everything they should judge 
 necessary to erect, preserve, ornament and improve the said 
 library; That the moneys subscribed as afoi-esaid, amounting 
 to six hundred pounds, current money of New York, together 
 with so much of the annual payments as could be collected, had 
 been applied according to the terms of the said subscription ; 
 by which means the said library was become very considerable, 
 but would increase much faster, and might be made of greater 
 public utility, if a corporation should be formed for that pur- 
 pose ; And, therefore, the petitioners, being the present trustees 
 of the said library, humbly prayed our letters patent, forming 
 a corporation for the purposes aforesaid. Now we, taking 
 into our royal consideration the beneficial tendency of such an 
 institution within our said city, are graciously pleased to grant 
 the said humble request of our said loving subjects. Know ye, 
 therefore, That we of our especial grace, certain knowledge and 
 mere motion, have willed, given, granted, ordained, constituted 
 and appointed, and by these presents do will, give, grant, or- 
 dain, constitute and appoint. That the said John Watts, 
 William Smith, Robert R. Livingston, Whitehead Hicks, 
 William Livingston, Goldsbrow Banyar, Samuel Jones, Peter 
 Van Brugh Livingston, Peter Keteltas, Walter Rutherfurd, 
 David Clarkson and Samuel Bard; John Cruger, James 
 Duane, Richard Morris, PhiKp Livingston, Lambert Moore, 
 James Jauncey, Robert R. Livingston, Jun., Henry Hol- 
 land, Leonard Lispenard, John Morin Scott, Elias Desbrosses, 
 
540 APPENDIX 
 
 Augustus Van Cortlandt, Richard NichoUs and Peter Van 
 Schaack, all of our said city of New York, Esquires ; George 
 Duncan Ludlow of Queen's County, Esq. ; Robert Livingston, 
 of the manor of Livingston, in the county of Albany, Esq. ; the 
 Reverend Samuel Auchmuty, of our said city of New York, 
 doctor of divinity ; John Troup, of Jamaica, in Queen's County, 
 Esq. ; Abraham Brinckerhoff, William Robinson, Isaac Low, 
 John Hunt, Theophilact Bache, Gerard W. Beekman, Matta- 
 thias Gomez, William Ludlow, Humphrey Jones, Gerard G. 
 Beekman, David Van Home, Lawrence Reade, John Livingston, 
 Laurence Kortright, John Alsop, William Kelly, William Wal- 
 ton, Peter T. Curtenius, Henry Remsen, Jun., and Garrit 
 Abeel, all of our said city of New York, merchants ; Gulian Ver 
 Planck, Thomas Barclay, Jun., and Abraham De Peyster, all 
 of our said city of New York, gentlemen ; John Wiley and 
 Joseph Greswold, of our said city of New York, distillers ; 
 Hugh Gaine, of our said city of New York, printer ; William 
 Brown John, of our said city of New York, apothecary; Peter 
 Renaudet, surgeon ; and Anne Waddel, of our said city of New 
 York, widow ; Being such of the subscribers to the said library, 
 or their assigns, as have not only paid the said sum of five 
 pounds, but also the said ten shillings yearly, ever since ; and 
 such other persons as shall be hereafter admitted members of 
 the corporation hereby erected, be, and for ever hereafter shall 
 be, by virtue of these presents, one body corporate and politic, 
 in deed, fact and name, by the name, style and title of The 
 Trustees of the New York Society Library. And them and 
 their successors by the same name, we do, by these presents, 
 really and fully make, erect, create, constitute and declare one 
 body politic and corporate, in deed, fact and name, for ever ; 
 and will give, grant and ordain, that they and their successors, 
 the trustees of The New York Society Library, by the same 
 name, shall and may have perpetual succession ; and shall and 
 may, by the same name, be persons capable in the law to sue 
 and be sued, implead and be impleaded, answer and be answered 
 unto, defend and be defended in all courts and elsewhere, in all 
 manner of actions, suits, complaints, pleas, causes, matters and 
 demands whatsoever, as fully and amply as any other of our 
 
APPENDIX 54.1 
 
 liege subjects of our said province of New York may or can sue 
 or be sued, implead or be impleaded, defend or be defended, by 
 any lawful ways or means whatsoever : and that they and their 
 successors, by the same name, shall forever hereafter, be per- 
 sons capable and able in the law to purchase, take, hold, receive 
 and enjoy to them and their successors, any messuages, tene- 
 ments, houses and real estate whatsoever ; and all other heredit- 
 aments, of whatsoever nature, kind or quality they be, in fee 
 simple, for term of life or lives, or in any other manner howso- 
 ever ; and also any goods, chattels, and personal estate what- 
 soever; provided always, the clear yearly value of the said real 
 estate doth not at any time exceed the sum of one thousand 
 pounds sterling, lawful money of our kingdom of Great Britain, 
 above all outgoings and reprises : And that they and their suc- 
 cessors, by the same name, shall have full power and authority 
 to give, grant, sell, lease, demise and dispose of the same real 
 estate and hereditaments whatsoever, for life or Hves, or years, 
 or forever ; and also all goods, chattels and personal estate 
 whatsoever, at their will and pleasure, as they shall judge to be 
 most beneficial and advantageous for the said library. And 
 that it shall and may be lawful for them and their successors, 
 forever hereafter, to have a common seal to serve for the causes 
 and business of them and their successors ; and the same 
 seal to change, alter, break and make new from time to time, at 
 their will and pleasure. And our royal will and pleasure is, 
 that when our said corporation hereby erected, shall have ac- 
 quired, by subscriptions of the members, by donation or other- 
 wise, a proper and convenient piece of ground in our said city 
 of New York, and funds sufficient for that purpose, that they 
 do erect within our said city of New York a public library; 
 which we will, shall forever hereafter be called by the name of 
 The New York Society Library. And that it shall and may be 
 lawful for our said corporation, from time to time, and at all 
 times hereafter, to erect for their use and convenience any 
 other house, houses or buildings whatsoever : And for the better 
 carrying into execution the purposes aforesaid, our royal will 
 and pleasure is, and we do hereby for us, our heirs and succes- 
 sors, give and grant unto the Trustees of The New York 
 
542 APPENDIX 
 
 Society Library, and their successors forever, that there 
 shall be forever hereafter belonging to our said corpora- 
 tion, twelve trustees of the said library and corporation, 
 who shall conduct and manage the affairs and business of 
 the said hbrary and corporation, in the manner hereinafter 
 directed and appointed. And we do hereby assign, consti- 
 tute and appoint the aforesaid John Watts, William Smith, 
 Robert R. Livingston, Whitehead Hicks, William Livingston, 
 Goldsbrow Banyar, Samuel Jones, Peter Van Brugh Livingston, 
 Peter Keteltas, Walter Rutherfurd, David Clarkson and 
 Samuel Bard, to be the present trustees of the said Hbrary and 
 corporation, and who shall hold, possess and enjoy their said 
 offices until the last Tuesday in April now next ensuing ; and for 
 keeping up the succession in the said offices, our royal will and 
 pleasure is, and we do hereby for us, our heirs and successors, 
 establish, direct and require of, and give and grant to the 
 Trustees of The New York Society Library, and their succes- 
 sors forever, that on the said last Tuesday in April next ensu- 
 ing, and yearly and every year forever thereafter, on the last 
 Tuesday in April in every year, the members for the time being, 
 of our said corporation, shall meet at the Exchange, in Broad 
 Street, in our said city of New York, or at some other con- 
 venient place in our said city of New York, to be fixed and 
 ascertained by some of the by-laws or regulations of our said 
 corporation, and there, by the majority of such of them as shall 
 so meet, shall, by ballot, elect and choose twelve of their mem- 
 bers to be trustees of the said library and corporation for the 
 year ensuing, who shall immediately enter upon their said 
 offices, and hold, exercise and enjoy the same, from the time of 
 such elections, for and during the space of one year, and until 
 other fit persons shall be elected and chosen in their places ; and 
 in case any of the said persons by these presents nominated and 
 appointed to be trustees of the said library and corporation, 
 or who shall hereafter be elected and chosen thereto, shall die 
 or remove out of our said city of New York, before the time of 
 their appointed service shall be expired, or refuse or neglect to 
 act in and execute the said office, then and in every such case, 
 our royal will and pleasure is, and we do hereby give and grant, 
 
APPENDIX 543 
 
 and direct and require, that the surviving trustees for the time 
 being of our said corporation, shall, by majority of voices, 
 nominate and choose another, or others of the members of our 
 said corporation, in the place and stead of him or them so dy- 
 ing, removing, refusing or neglecting to act, within thirty days 
 after such contingency ; hereby giving and granting, that such 
 person or persons as shall be so chosen and appointed from time 
 to time, by the majority of the surviving trustees for the time 
 being of our said corporation, shall have, hold, exercise and 
 enjoy their said offices, from the time of such election and ap- 
 pointment, until the last Tuesday in April then next ensuing, 
 and until other or others be legally chosen in his or their place 
 or stead, as fully and amply as the person or persons, in whose 
 place he or they shall be chosen, could or might have done by 
 virtue of these presents ; and we do hereby will and direct, that 
 this method shall forever hereafter be used for filHng up all 
 vacancies in the said office of trustees, between the annual elec- 
 tions above directed: And further our royal will and pleasure 
 is, and we do hereby, for us, our heirs, and successors, ordain 
 and appoint, and give and grant to the trustees of The New 
 York Society Library, and their successors, that any one of the 
 trustees for the time being, shall and may, from time to time, 
 as occasion may require, summon and call together at such 
 times and places in our said city of New York, as they shall 
 respectively think proper, the trustees of the said library and 
 corporation for the time being, giving them at least one day's 
 notice thereof: And we do hereby require them to meet accord- 
 ingly ; and give, grant and ordain, that any seven or more of 
 the said trustees, being so convened together, shall forever here- 
 after be a legal meeting of the said corporation ; and they, or 
 the major part of them so met, shall have full power and au- 
 thority to adjourn from day to day, or for any other time, as 
 the business of our said corporation may require, and to do, 
 execute, transact, manage and perform, in the name of our said 
 corporation, all and every act and acts, thing and things what- 
 soever, which our said corporation are or shall, by virtue of 
 these our letters patent, be authorized to do, act, transact, 
 manage and perform, in as full and ample manner as if all and 
 
54.4 APPENDIX 
 
 every the trustees of our said corporation were present and 
 consenting thereto : And further, we do hereby for us, our 
 heirs and successors, ordain and appoint, and give and grant 
 to the trustees of The New York Society Library, that at any 
 and every such legal meeting of any seven or more of the trus- 
 tees for the time being, of our said corporation, it shall and 
 may be lawful for them, in writing, under the seal of our said 
 corporation, to make, frame, constitute, establish and ordain, 
 from time to time, and at all times hereafter, such laws, consti- 
 tutions, ordinances, regulations and statutes, for the better 
 government of the officers, members and servants of the said 
 corporation ; for regulating the terms upon which the books of 
 the said library shall be lent out, both to members and others ; 
 for fixing and ascertaining the places of meeting of our said 
 corporation, for the election of trustees, and the places of meet- 
 ing of the trustees ; for regulating the management and dis- 
 position of the books of the said library, and the moneys, funds 
 and eff'ects belonging to the said corporation ; the transferring 
 rights in the said library from one person to another ; and aU 
 other the business and aff^airs whatsoever of our said corpora- 
 tion, as they or the major part of them, so legally met, shall 
 judge best for the general good of the said corporation, and 
 for the more effectual promoting, increasing and preserving 
 the said library ; and the same, or any of them, to alter, amend 
 or repeal, from time to time, as they or the major part 
 of them so met as aforesaid shall think proper ; provided such 
 laws, constitutions, regulations, ordinances and statutes be not 
 repugnant to the laws of that. part of our kingdom of Great 
 Britain called England, nor of our province of New York. 
 And, also, at any and every such legal meeting of any seven or 
 more of the said trustees for the time being of our said corpora- 
 tion, it shall and may be lawful for them, or the majority of 
 them so met as aforesaid, to nominate, and appoint one of the 
 members of the said corporation to be treasurer, and one other 
 of the members of the said corporation to be secretary of the 
 said corporation, and some other fit person or persons to be 
 keeper or keepers of the said library ; and from time to time to 
 appoint them, the said treasurer, secretary and librarian, and 
 
APPENDIX 545 
 
 each of them, their respective powers, authorities, business, 
 trusts and attendances, and to displace and discharge them, or 
 any of them, and to appoint other or others in their places and 
 stead. And further, it is our royal will and pleasure, and we 
 do hereby, for us, our heirs and successors, will and ordain, 
 and give and grant to the trustees of The New York Society 
 Library, and their successors, forever, that it shall and may be 
 lawful to and for each and every of the members for the time 
 being of our said corporation, his and their executors, adminis- 
 trators and assigns, to give, sell, alien, assign, devise or dispose 
 of their respective rights in the said library ; and that their 
 respective assigns shall be members of our said corporation, 
 and be entitled to all and every the same rights and privileges 
 in the said library, and in our said corporation, as the members 
 hereby made are entitled to by virtue of these presents. Pro- 
 vided always. That a part of a right in the said hbrary shall 
 not entitle the proprietor or owner thereof to any privilege 
 whatsoever in the said library or corporation : And, also, that 
 all and every the original subscribers to the said hbrary, or 
 their assigns respectively, upon paying to the treasurer for the 
 time being of the said corporation, for the use of the said 
 library, the full arrears of the yearly sum of ten shillings, 
 agreed by the said original subscription to be paid yearly ; 
 that then and from thenceforth, each of the persons so paying 
 the said arrears, shall thereupon become members of the said 
 corporation, and be entitled to all and every the same rights 
 and privileges in the said library and corporation, as the mem- 
 bers herein particularly named are entitled to by virtue of these 
 presents : And further, that at any and every such legal meet- 
 ing of any seven or more of the trustees for the time being of 
 the said library, it shall and may be lawful for them, or the 
 major part of them so met as aforesaid, to elect and choose, by 
 the majority of their voices, and in such manner and form, and 
 upon such terms and conditions as shall be directed, ordained 
 and established for that purpose, by any of the said by-laws, 
 statutes, constitutions or ordinances of the said corporation, 
 and admit under the common seal of our said corporation, such 
 and so many persons to be members of our said corporation as 
 
546 APPENDIX 
 
 they shall think beneficial to the said library; which members, 
 so admitted, shall be entitled to have, hold and enjoy all and 
 every the same rights and privileges as the members herein 
 particularly named are entitled to by virtue of these presents. 
 And likewise, we do will, ordain, direct and require, that each 
 and every of the members for the time being of our said cor- 
 poration, shall, on the first Tuesday in May next, and yearly, 
 on the first Tuesday in May, in every year for ever hereafter, 
 pay to the treasurer for the time being of the said corporation, 
 the sum of ten shillings, current money of New York, for the 
 use of the said library ; and in case any of the said yearly sum 
 of ten shillings shall at any time or times hereafter be in arrear 
 and unpaid, by the space of thirty days next after any of the 
 days on which the same ought to be paid, that then the person 
 or persons from whom the same shall be due and payable, shall 
 thereupon forfeit, and be utterly excluded from all his or their 
 rights and privileges in and to the said library and corporation, 
 but shall at any time within five years thereafter, upon pay- 
 ment of all the arrears due to the time of payment, be restored 
 to his and their respective rights and privileges in the said 
 library and corporation, as if no such forfeiture had happened : 
 and lastly, we do by these presents, for us, our heirs and suc- 
 cessors give and grant to the trustees of The New York Society 
 Library, and their successors forever, that this our present 
 charter shall be deemed, adjudged and construed, in all cases, 
 most favorably, and for the best benefit and advantage of our 
 said corporation ; and that this our present grant, being en- 
 tered on record, as is hereinafter expressed, shall be forever 
 hereafter good and effectual in the law, according to our royal 
 intent and meaning hereinbefore declared, and without any 
 other license, grant or confirmation from us, our heirs or suc- 
 cessors hereafter, by the said corporation to be had or obtained 
 notwithstanding any mis-recitals, non-recitals, not naming or 
 mis-naming of any the aforesaid offices, franchises, privileges, 
 immunities, or other the premises, or any of them, and although 
 no writ of ad quod damnum, or other writs, inquisitions or pre- 
 cepts, hath been upon this occasion had, made, issued or prose- 
 cuted ; any statute, act, ordinance or provision or other matter 
 
APPENDIX 547 
 
 or thing to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding. 
 In testimony whereof we have caused these our letters to be 
 made patent, and the great seal of our said province to be 
 hereunto affixed, and the same to be entered on record in our 
 secretary's office, for our said province of New York, in one of 
 the books of patents there remaining. Witness our trusty and 
 well-beloved William Try on, Esq., our captain-general and; 
 govemor-in-chief in and over our said province of New York 
 and the territories depending thereon in America, chancellor 
 and vice-admiral of the same, at our fort, in our city of New 
 York, by and with the advice and consent of our council for 
 our said province of New York, the ninth day of November, 
 in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and 
 seventy-two, and of our reign the thirteenth. 
 
 ^^^''^- WILLIAM TRYON. 
 
 Indorsed. New-York, Secretary's Office, 25th November, 1772. 
 The within Charter or Letters Patent is recorded in this 
 
 Office, in Lib. Patents, No. 16, page 229, ^c. Gw. Banyak, 
 
 D. Secy. 
 
 AN ACT TO REMOVE Doubts eespecting the Chab,teb, 
 
 GBANTED TO THE MeMBEES OP THE NeW-YoBK SoCIETT 
 
 LiBRAEY. — Passed February 18, 1789. 
 
 Whereas the operation of the charter granted to the mem- 
 bers of The New-York Society Library, incorporating them 
 by the name of The Trustees of the New-York Society Library, 
 bearing date the ninth day of November, in the year of our 
 Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-two, was sus- 
 pended during the war lately waged by the King of Great 
 Britain against the United States of America: In order, there- 
 fore, to remove doubts respecting the said corporation. 
 
 Be it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, repre- 
 sented in Senate and Assembly, and it is hereby enacted by the 
 authority of the same. That the said charter, and all and sin- 
 gular the estates, rights, powers, authorities, liberties, privi- 
 
548 APPENDIX 
 
 leges, franchises and immunities thereby granted, and which the 
 said corporation and the members thereof did, or might law- 
 fully hold, exercise and enjoy, on the nineteenth day of April, in 
 the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, by virtue 
 of the said charter, shall be, continue and enure in full force, 
 virtue and efficacy, to all intents, constructions and purposes in 
 the law whatsoever, notwithstanding any non-user or mis-user 
 thereof, or any part thereof, between the eighteenth day of 
 April, in the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, 
 and the day of the passing of this act ; and that the members of 
 the said corporation, and their legal representatives under the 
 said charter, and each of them, shall have, hold and enjoy, and 
 be fully able and capable in the law to exercise all and singular 
 the rights, powers and authorities to them belonging, by virtue 
 or in consequence of the said charter, although the yearly sums 
 which ought to have been paid by them, or any of them, accord- 
 ing to the said charter, may be in arrear and unpaid ; and all 
 such yearly payments and sums as have become due and pay- 
 able, and now remain in arrear and unpaid, are hereby remitted 
 to the members of the said corporation; and that Robert R. 
 Livingston, Henry Remsen, Robert Watts, Brockholst Living- 
 ston, Samuel Jones, Peter Keteltas, Walter Rutherford, Mat- 
 thew Clarkson, Samuel Bard, Hugh Gaine, Daniel C. Verplanck 
 and Edward Greswold, shall be, and hereby are declared and 
 appointed the present Trustees of the said Library and corpora- 
 tion, and shall hold, possess and enjoy their said offices, until 
 the last Tuesday in April now next ensuing, and until other fit 
 persons shall be elected and chosen in their places, according to 
 the said charter. 
 
 AN ACT TO ENABLE THE TRUSTEES OF THE NeW-YoEK SoCIETY 
 
 Library to increase the Yearly Sums payable on the 
 Shares op the said Library. — Passed March 8, 1802. 
 
 Be it enacted hy the People of the State of New-York, repre- 
 sented in Senate and Assembly, That it shall and may be lawful 
 for the Trustees of The New-York Society Library, in the City 
 
APPENDIX 549 
 
 of New-York, for the time being, on the first Tuesday of May 
 next, and yearly on the first Tuesday of May in every year 
 thereafter, to demand and receive from the members of the said 
 Society, a sum not exceeding two dollars and fifty cents for 
 each and every right or share in the said Library ; and in case 
 any of the said yearly sums of two dollars and fifty cents shall 
 at any time thereafter be in arrear or unpaid for thirty days 
 next after any of the days on which the same ought to have 
 been paid, that then the person or persons from whom the 
 same shall be due shall be subject to the like forfeiture of their 
 rights and privileges in the said Library, as is mentioned and 
 provided in the charter of the said Society. 
 
 AN ACT TO ENABLE THE TRUSTEES OF THE NeW-YoRK SoCIETY 
 
 Library to increase the Yearly Sums payable on the 
 Shares of the said Library. — Passed March 15, 1819. 
 
 Be it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, repre- 
 sented in Senate and Assembly, That it shall and may be lawful 
 for the Trustees of The New-York Society Library, in the City 
 of New- York, for the time being, on the first Tuesday of May 
 next, and yearly, on the first Tuesday of May in every year 
 thereafter, to demand and receive from the members of the said 
 Society the sum of one dollar and fifty cents, in addition to the 
 sum of two dollars and fifty cents, which they are now author- 
 ized by law to demand and receive for each and every right or 
 share in the said Library, making together the yearly sum of 
 four doUars ; and in case any of the yearly sums of four dollars 
 shall at any time thereafter be in arrear and unpaid for thirty 
 days next after any of the days on which the same ought to 
 have been paid, that then the person or persons from whom the 
 same shall be due shall be subject to the like forfeiture of his, 
 her or their rights and privileges in the said Library, as is men- 
 tioned and provided in the charter of the said Society. 
 
550 APPENDIX 
 
 AN ACT TO AUTHoaizE the Trustees of the New-Youk 
 Society Libkaby to Commute their Annual Dues. — 
 Passed March 15, 1839. 
 
 The People of the State of New- York, represented in Senate 
 and Assembly, do enact as follows : 
 
 § 1. It shall and may be lawful for the Trustees of the New- 
 York Society Library to commute or receive a sum in gross for 
 or upon any rights or shares now held or hereafter to be held in 
 the said Society, in lieu of the payment of the annual dues 
 thereon ; but the sum for which the annual payments upon any 
 such rights or share [s] shall be commuted shall not be less than 
 sixty-seven dollars. 
 
 § 2. This act shall take eifect immediately. 
 
 AN ACT IN relation to the Trustees or the New- York 
 Society Library. — Passed March 29, 1841, by a two- 
 third vote. 
 
 The People of the State of New- York, represented in Senate 
 and Assembly, do enact as follows : 
 
 § 1. It shall be lawful for the members of the New-York 
 Society Library, on the last Tuesday of April in each and every 
 year after the passage of this law, to elect fifteen Trustees of 
 the said Library, and the number of the Trustees of the said 
 Library shall be fifteen instead of twelve, upon and immediately 
 after the election which shall be next held. 
 
 § 2. From and immediately after such election, eight instead 
 of seven shall be a quorum of the Trustees of the said New- York 
 Society Library for the transaction of business. The mode of 
 filling vacancies and all other matters in relation to the election 
 and tenure of office of the said Trustees, shall remain as the 
 same are now provided for in the charter of the said Library. 
 
 § 3. This act shall take eff^ect immediately on its passage. 
 
APPENDIX 551 
 
 AN ACT TO Increase the Annual Payments on the Shaues 
 or the New- York Society Library. — Passed March 24>, 
 1842. 
 
 The People of the State of New- York, represented in Senate 
 and Assembly, do enact as follows : 
 
 § 1. The Trustees of the New-York Society Library are 
 hereby authorized to demand and receive from the members of 
 the said Society on the first Tuesday of every May hereafter 
 the sum of two dollars, in addition to the sum which they are 
 now authorized to demand and receive, upon each and every 
 right or share in the said Library, and the said Trustees shall 
 have the same powers and remedies for the collection of the said 
 additional sum, by forfeiture of the shares or otherwise, as they 
 now have for the collection of the annual payment which they 
 are authorized to demand and receive as aforesaid. 
 
 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 
 
 AN ACT CONCERNING THE TiTLE OF "ThE TRUSTEES OP THE 
 
 New- York Society Library" to certain Real Estate in 
 THE City op New York. — Passed February 14, 1843, by a 
 two-third vote. 
 
 The People of the State of New- York, represented in Senate 
 and Assembly, do enact as follows : 
 
 § 1. The title of "The Trustees of the New-York Society 
 Library" to the two lots of ground in the City of New-York, 
 on which their Library stands, bounded westwardly in front 
 by Broadway, eastwardly in the rear by land now or late of 
 Ebenezer Clark, southwardly by Catharine Lane, and north- 
 wardly by Leonard Street (one of which lots was conveyed to 
 the said Trustees by Ebenezer Clark and wife, by deed bearing 
 date the thirtieth day of April, one thousand eight hundred 
 and thirty-six, and the other of which lots was conveyed to the 
 
552 APPENDIX 
 
 said Trustees by "The New- York Athenseum," by deed bearing 
 date the sixteenth day of May, one thousand eight hundred 
 and thirty-eight), is hereby confirmed to the said "The Trus- 
 tees of the New- York Society Library," their successors and 
 assigns forever, to the same extent only as if there were no 
 conditions, prohibitions, limitations or restrictions in the 
 charter of said corporation, as to the yearly or total value or 
 amount of the real estate to be held by the said Trustees or 
 their successors. 
 
 § 2. It shall and may be lawful for the said corporation to 
 mortgage the real estate in this act described, or any part 
 thereof, in fee simple or for any less estate, to any person or 
 persons, and for such consideration as to the said Trustees shall 
 appear expedient. 
 
 § S. This act shall take effect immediately. 
 
 AN ACT TO Increase the Annual Payments on the Shares 
 OF THE New- York Society Library, and to Authorize 
 the Trustees of the said Society to Commute their 
 Annual Dues. — Passed April 3, 1866; three-fifths 
 BEING present. 
 
 The People of the State of New- York, represented in Senate 
 and Assembly, do enact as follows : 
 
 § 1. The Trustees of the New-York Society Library are 
 hereby authorized to demand and receive from the members of 
 the said Society, on the first Tuesday of every May hereafter, 
 the sum of four dollars, and in addition to any sum which they 
 are now authorized to demand and receive upon each and every 
 right or share in said Library ; and the said Trustees shall have 
 the same powers and remedies for the collection of said addi- 
 tional sum by forfeiture or otherwise, as they now have for the 
 collection of the annual payments which they are authorized to 
 demand and receive as aforesaid. 
 
 § 2. It shall be lawful for the Trustees of the said Society to 
 commute and receive a sum in gross for or upon any right or 
 
APPENDIX 553 
 
 share now held, or hereafter to be held, In the said Society, In 
 lieu of the payment of the annual dues thereon ; but the sum for 
 which the annual payments upon any such right or share shall 
 be commuted shall not be less than one hundred and twenty-five 
 dollars for annual payments of ten dollars, and in that ratio 
 for lesser annual payments. 
 
 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately. 
 
Ill 
 
 TRUSTEES OF THE NEW YORK SOCIETY 
 LIBRARY, 1754-1908 
 
 (Where no month is given, the regular election in April is to be 
 understood.) 
 
 James De Lancey, 1754-55, 1756-57 
 Joseph Murray, 1754-55, 1756-57 
 John Chambers, 1754.-55, 1756-57 
 Henry Barclay, 1754-55, 1756-57 
 William Walton, 1754-57 
 John Watts, Sr., 1754-55, 1756-76 
 James Alexander, 1754—55 
 Robert R. Livingston, Sr., 1754-56, 1757-73 
 Benjamin NicoU, 1754-55, 1756-60 
 WiUiam Livingston, 1754-56, 1757-73 
 William Alexander (Lord Stirling), 1754-56 
 WiUiam Peartree Smith, 1754-56, 1757-60 
 William Smith, Sr., 1755-56 
 Philip Livingston, 1755—56 
 
 Peter Van Brugh Livingston, 1755-56, 1757-76 
 John Livingston, 1755—57 
 WilHam Smith, Jr., 1755-56, 1757-76 
 John Vanderspiegel, 1755-56, 1757-71 (d. Feb.) 
 John Morin Scott, 1755-56 
 Oliver De Lancey, 1756-57 
 Henry Cruger, 1756—57 
 David Clarkson, 1756-74 
 Gabriel Ludlow, 1756-70 
 Peter Keteltas, 1757-76, (Dec.) 1788-89 
 Goldsbrow Banyar, 1757-65, (Feb.) 1771-76 
 
 554 
 
APPENDIX 555 
 
 John Bard, 1760-69 
 
 Whitehead Hicks, 1760-74 
 
 Walter Rutherford, 1765-76, (Dec.) 1788-91, 1799-1800 
 
 Samuel Bard, 1769-76, (Dec.) 1788-93, 1796 (Mch.-Apl.) 
 
 Samuel Jones, 1770-76, (Dec.) 1788-97 
 
 Robert R. Livingston, Jr., 1773-74, (Dec.) 1788-93 
 
 Samuel Verplanck, 1773-76 
 
 John Jones, 1774-76 
 
 John Tabor Kempe, 1774-76 
 
 Peter Van Schaack, 1774-76 
 
 Robert Watts, (Dec.) 1788-91 
 
 Brockholst Livingston, (Dec.) 1788-96 
 
 Matthew Clarkson, (Dec.) 1788-90, 1798-1810 
 
 Hugh Gaine, (Dec.) 1788-1807 
 
 Daniel Crommehn Verplanck, (Dec.) 1788-92 
 
 Edward Greswold, (Dec.) 1788-91 
 
 Henry Remsen, (Dec.) 1788-90 
 
 Gulian Verplanck, 1789-91 
 
 John Pintard, 1790-92, 1809-17 
 
 Jacob Morton, 1790-95 
 
 Frederick William Augustus, Baron Steuben, 1791-92 
 
 Benjamin Moore, 1791-92, 1797-1811 
 
 Nathaniel Hazard, 1791-94 
 
 John Cozine, 1791-98 
 
 John Blagge, 1791 (Apl.-Aug.) 
 
 Rufus King, (Aug.) 1791-92 
 
 Israel Wilkes, 1792-93 
 
 Francis Childs, 1792-93 
 
 William Samuel Johnson, 1792-1801 
 
 Charles Wilkes, 1793-94, (Dec.) 1798-1824 
 
 Edward Livingston, 1792-95 
 
 James Miles Hughes, 1793-94 
 
 David Van Home, 1793-96 
 
 Samuel Latham Mitchill, 1793-95, 1805-10 
 
 Richard Varick, 1794-96 
 
 Wilham Linn, 1794-1805 
 
 John Kemp, 1794-1812 (d. Nov.) 
 
 WiUiam Denning, 1795-1810 
 
556 APPENDIX 
 
 Daniel Phoenix, 1795-1809 
 
 WiUiam Pitt Smith, 1795-96 (d. Feb.) 
 
 James Kent, 1796-98 
 
 Thomas Eddy, 1796-97 
 
 Wilham Laight, 1796-98 
 
 Thomas Jones, 1796-98 (d. Dec.) 
 
 William Johnson, 1797-1817 
 
 John Henry Livingston, 1798-99 
 
 Peter Wilson, (Dec.) 1798-1814 
 
 John Mitchell Mason, 1800-03 
 
 Daniel McCormick, 1801-11 
 
 Egbert Benson, 1803-16 
 
 John Stevens, 1807-09 
 
 Edward William Laight, 1809-39 
 
 Peter Augustus Jay, 1810-17 
 
 Anthony Bleecker, 1810-27 (d. Mch.) 
 
 Gulian CrommeHn Verplanck, 1810-17, (Nov.) 1817-55, 
 
 1857-70 (d. Mch.) 
 Clement Clarke Moore, 1811-16, 1817-24 
 John Henry Hobart, 1811-30 (d. Sept.) 
 John Richardson Bayard Rodgers, (Dec.) 1812-21 
 John Augustine Smith, 1814-15, (Apl.) 1827-34, 1836-37 
 Samuel Farmar Jarvis, 1815—20 (res. Oct.) 
 John Jordan Morgan, 1816-38 
 John Ferguson, 1816-32 (d. July) 
 David Samuel Jones, 1817-33, 1834-36 
 Charles Drake, 1817-32 
 Wright Post, 1817 (decl'd) 
 James Renwick, (Nov.) 1820-34 
 John Kearney Rodgers, 1821-37 
 John Le Conte, 1824-26 (res. May), (Nov.) 1830-33, 
 
 1834-36 
 Ezra Weeks, 1824-33 
 
 Evert Abraham Bancker, (May) 1826-37, 1838-45 
 Charles Baldwin, 1832-34 (d. July) 
 James CampbeU, (Nov.) 1832-37 
 John Frederick Schroeder, 1833-34 
 Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright, 1833-34 (res. Jan.) 
 
APPENDIX 557 
 
 James Ellsworth DeKay, 1833-34 
 
 Stephen Clay Williams, (Jan.-Apl.) 1834, (June) 1840-50, 
 
 (Apl.) 1852-55, (Mch.) 1877-85 (res. Nov.) 
 William Berrian, 1834-37 
 John Anthon, 1834-37 
 
 Henry James Anderson, 1834-37, (Nov.) 1850-55 
 Enos Thompson Throop, (July) 1834-35, 1836-37 
 Washington Irving, 1835-37 
 WiUiam Henry Harison, 1837-42 (res. May) 
 Andrew Hamersley, 1837-38 
 William Samuel Johnson, 1837-40 
 Charles Goadsby Ferris, 1837-38 
 John Richard Townsend, 1837-38, 1840 (decl'd), 
 
 1845-46 (d. Mch.) 
 WilHam Inghs, 1837-55 
 
 William Anson Lawrence, 1837-41 (res. Jan.) 
 Edgar Evertson, 1837-38 (d. Apl.) 
 Daniel Embury, 1837 (decl'd) 
 Henry Nicoll, (Sept.) 1837-38, (Jan.) 1843-46 
 Nathaniel Fish Moore, 1838-39 (res. July) 
 Charles Alexander Clinton, 1838-40 
 Wilham Kent, 1838-39 
 
 Daniel Seymour, 1838-43, (Nov.) 1846-50 (d. June) 
 Alexander Robertson Rodgers, 1838—55 
 Henry Brevoort, Jr., 1839-40 
 Rufus Lathrop Lord, 1839-40 
 Dayton Hobart, (Dec.) 1839-55 
 Anthony Barclay, 1840-42 (res. Sept.) 
 Peter Augustus Schermerhorn, 1840—41 (res. June) 
 Frederic De Peyster, 1840-55, 1869-82 (d. Aug.) 
 James De Peyster Ogden, (Mch.) 1841-55 
 Augustus Fleming, 1841—42 (res. June) 
 Joshua Coit, 1841-55 
 Benjamin Isaac Haight, 1841-46 
 Robert Bowne Minturn, (June) 1841—45 (res. June) 
 Joseph Delafield, (June) 1842-55 
 James Isaac Jones, (Sept.) 1842 (res. Oct.) 
 Joseph Green Cogswell, (Jan.) 1843-48 (res. Oct.) 
 
658 APPENDIX 
 
 Jacob Harvey, 1843-48 (d. Nov.) 
 
 John Hamilton GourHe, (Oct.) 1845-47, (Nov.) 1848-55 
 
 Orville Dewey, 1846 (res. Nov.) 
 
 James Henry Titus, 1846—55 
 
 Charles Mortimer Leupp, 1846-55 
 
 Charles Astor Bristed, 1847-53 
 
 Jonathan Sturges, (Dec.) 1848-49 (res. Mch.) 
 
 James WiUiam Beekman, Sr., 1849-55, (June) 1857-59 
 
 WilHam Templeton Johnson, 1850-52 (res. Jan.) 
 
 Edward Jones, 1853-54 
 
 John Bigelow, 1854-55 
 
 Charles Edward Anderson, 1855—56 (res. Oct.) 
 
 George Templeton Strong, 1855 (decl'd) 
 
 George James Cornell, 1855 (res. Dec.) 
 
 Charles Richard Swords, 1855-76 (res. Jan.) 
 
 Henry Rogers Winthrop, 1855 (decl'd) 
 
 George Richard James Bowdoin, 1855 (res. Oct.) 
 
 Jacob Post Giraud Foster, 1855—58 
 
 Oliver Wolcott Gibbs, 1855-58 
 
 George Gilfert Waters, 1855 (decl'd) 
 
 Jacob Harsen, 1865 (res. June) 
 
 Robert Clarkson Goodhue, 1855 (decl'd) 
 
 Cornelius Du Bois, 1855-56 (res. Feb.) 
 
 Henry Van Schaick, 1856 — 58 
 
 William Henry Anthon, 1865-59 
 
 Martin Ryerson Zabriskie, 1855 (res. July) 
 
 George Christian Anthon, (May) 1866-58 
 
 Charles Edward Strong, (May) 1856-57, 
 
 (May) 1857-97 (d. Oct.) 
 Benjamin Hazard Field, (May) 1855-67 (res. May) 
 Robert Le Roy, (May) 1855-58 
 Robert Kelly, (June) 1866-56 (d. Apl.) 
 Otis Dwight Swan, (July) 1865-77 ("displaced" Jan.) 
 George Thomson Elliot, Jr., (Oct.) 1865-68 (res. Mch.) 
 William Adams, (Dec.) 1866-76 (d. Feb.) 
 Lewis Colford Jones, (Feb.) 1856-57 (res. Oct.) 
 Robert Lenox Kennedy, 1866-87 (d. Sept.) 
 Wilham Jones Hoppin, (Dec.) 1856-77 
 
APPENDIX 659 
 
 John Romeyn Brodhead, 1858-71 
 
 George Folsom, 1858-62 
 
 James Paine Cronkhite, 1858-59 
 
 Thomas Ward, 1858-73 (d. Apl.) 
 
 Henry Crawford Dorr, 1858-83 
 
 William Allen Butler, 1858-71 
 
 Stacy Budd Collins, 1859-71 (res. Mch.) 
 
 Evert Augustus Duyckinck, 1859-78 (d. Aug.) 
 
 WiUiam McMurray, 1859-68 (d. June) 
 
 Thomas W. Clerke, 1862-71 (res. Mch.) 
 
 John Lambert Cadwalader, (Mch.) 1870-74 (res. Oct.) 
 
 Frederick Sheldon, 1871-1907 (d. Nov.) 
 
 Edgar Simeon Van Winkle, 1871-73 (res. Mch.) 
 
 Edward Schell, 1871-94 (d. Jan.) 
 
 Stephen Payne Nash, 1871-84 (res. Dec.) 
 
 Henry Drisler, (Mch.) 1873-97 (d. Nov.) 
 
 Richard Edwards Mount, 1873-80 (d. Mch.) 
 
 Frederic James de Peyster, (Oct.) 1874-1905 (d. May) 
 
 Francis Aquila Stout, (Feb.) 1876-92 (d< Dec.) 
 
 Richard Tylden Auchmuty, (Apl.) 1876-93 (d. Dec.) 
 
 Adam Tredwell Sackett, 1877-78 (d. Dec.) 
 
 John Mason Knox, (Jan.) 1879-94 (d. Mch.) 
 
 George Cabot Ward, (Jan.) 1879-86 ("retired" Mch.) 
 
 James Monroe McLean, 1880-90 (d. May) 
 
 Johnston Livingston de Peyster, (Dec.) 1882-1903 (d. May) 
 
 George Van Nest Baldwin, 1883-1908 (d. Feb.) 
 
 Edward King, (Jan.) 1885-1906 (res. Oct.) 
 
 Albert Mathews, (Nov.) 1885-1901 (res. May) 
 
 James WiUiam Beekman (Jr.), (Mch.) 1886-96 (res. Nov.), 
 
 (Dec.) 1905-08 (d. Aug.) 
 Henry Augustus Cram, 1888-94 (d. Apl.) 
 John Andrew Hardenbergh, (Feb.) 1891-98 (d. Mch.) 
 Charles Boyd Curtis, (Dec.) 1892-1905 (d. Mch.) 
 Frederick Augustus Schermerhorn, (Mch.) 1894— 
 Robert Fulton Cutting, (Mch.) 1894-96 (res. Nov.) 
 Charles Henry Marshall, (Mch.) 1894- 
 Frederic de Peyster Foster, 1894— 
 David Maitland Armstrong, (Mch.) 1897- 
 
560 APPENDIX 
 
 Charles Coolidge Haight, (Mch.) 1897- 
 Archibald Douglas Russell, (Jan.) 1898- 
 Alfred Pell, (Jan.) 1898-1901 (d. Mch.) 
 George Winthrop Folsom, (Apl.) 1898- 
 Beverly Chew, (Apl.) 1901- 
 Henry Cotheal Swords, (Nov.) 1901- 
 Timothy Matlack Cheesman, (Mch.) 1904)- 
 Jacob Harsen Purdy, (Apl.) 1905 (res. Nov.) 
 Stiles Franklin Stanton, (Apl.) 1906-07 (d. June) 
 David B. Ogden, (Apl.) 1907- 
 William Emlen Roosevelt, 1908- 
 Howard Townsend, 1908— 
 Bayard Tuckerman, 1908— 
 
IV 
 
 OFFICERS OF THE NEW YORK SOCIETY 
 LIBRARY, 1754-1908 
 
 Chairmen^ 
 
 Robert KeUy Jan.-Apl., 1856 
 
 Charles Edward Anderson . . May— Oct., 1856 
 
 Charles Richard Swords Feb., 1857-58, May 
 
 Guhan CrommeUn Verplanck May, 1858-70, Mch. 
 
 Frederic de Peyster Mch., 1870-82, Aug. 
 
 Robert Lenox Kennedy Oct., 1882-83, May 
 
 Charles Edward Strong May, 1883-85, May 
 
 Frederick Sheldon -i -.r ' inna n^ xt 
 
 [ May, 1892-94<, Nov. 
 
 Henry Drisler Nov., 1885-87, May 
 
 John Mason Knox May, 1887-90, May 
 
 Frederic James de Peyster May, 1890-92, May 
 
 George Van Nest Baldwin Nov., 1894-98, May 
 
 Johnston Livingston de Peyster . . May, 1898-1900, Dec. 
 
 , ,^. [Dec, 1900-03, May 
 
 Edward King ^-^^^^ 1905-06, May 
 
 Charles Boyd Curtis May, 1903-05, Mch. 
 
 ^ . . c -L 1. f Apl.-May, 1905 
 
 F. Augustus Schermerhorn | May, 1906-07, May 
 
 Frederic de Peyster Foster May, 1907- 
 
 ^ Prior to 1856 a Chairman was appointed at each meeting. 
 561 
 
562 APPENDIX 
 
 Treasurers 
 
 John Watts May, 1754<-55, June 
 
 John Morin Scott June, 1755-56, Nov. 
 
 Gabriel Ludlow -^ tn^n i-n I.- 
 
 T^ .J „, , Nov., 1756-57, May 
 
 David Clarkson •' 
 
 William Peartree Smith May, 1757-58, Mch. 
 
 John Vanderspiegel Mch., 1758-71, Feb. 
 
 „ , ^ [Feb., 1771-76, Sept. 
 
 Samuel Jones |j^^^^ I'lBS-QG, Jan. 
 
 Daniel Phoenix Jan., 1796-1810, May 
 
 Edward WilHam Laight May, 1810-26, May 
 
 John Jordan Morgan May, 1826-38, May 
 
 WilHam Henry Harison May, 1838-42, May 
 
 Alexander Robertson Rodgers .... June, 1842—55, May 
 
 Charles Edward Strong May, 1855-59, May 
 
 Otis Dwight Swan May, 1859-77, Jan. 
 
 Richard Edwards Mount Feb., 1877-80, Mch. 
 
 Edward Schell May, 1880-94, Jan. 
 
 John Andrew Hardenbergh Jan., 1894-98, Mch. 
 
 Archibald Douglas Russell Apl., 1898-99, May 
 
 Frederic de Peyster Foster May, 1899-1907, May 
 
 Henry Cotheal Swords May, 1907- 
 
 Secretaries 
 
 William Peartree Smith ^ ht -iwr-w ^r,\r ^ 
 
 \ May, 1757-58, Mch. 
 
 Gabriel Ludlow Nov., 1756-57, May 
 
 John Vanderspiegel Mch., 1758-69, May 
 
 c 1 -o J ! May, 1769-76, Sept. 
 
 Samuel Bard < _, •' .,„„„ „_ ^.^^ 
 
 I Dec, 1788-89, May 
 
 Edward Greswold May, 1789-91, May 
 
 Jacob Morton May, 1791-92, May 
 
 Isaac Leonard Kip May, 1792-94, May 
 
 ' Styled "Clerks" until 1773. 
 
APPENDIX 563 
 
 John Forbes June, 1794-1815, Apl. 
 
 John Pintard Apl., 1815-16, Apl. 
 
 Anthony Bleecker Apl., 1816-27, Mch. 
 
 Evert Abraham Bancker Apl., 1827-37, May 
 
 William Inglis May, 1837-55, May 
 
 George Christian Anthon May, 1855-56, May 
 
 Henry Van Schaick May, 1856-57, Apl. 
 
 William Jones Hoppin Apl., 1857-77, Apl. 
 
 Frederic James de Peyster May, 1877-80, Feb. 
 
 John Mason Knox May, 1880-83, May 
 
 George Van Nest Baldwin May, 1883-94, Nov. 
 
 Charles Boyd Curtis Nov., 1894-1903, May 
 
 Beverly Chew May, 1903- 
 
 Librarians 
 
 John Morin Scott, acting June, 1755—56, May 
 
 George Duncan Ludlow, acting . . Nov., 1756-57, May 
 
 Benjamin Hildreth May, 1757-65, Sept. 
 
 Thomas Jackson Sept., 1765-68, May 
 
 James Wilmot May, 1768-74, May 
 
 George Murray June, 1774—76, Sept. 
 
 George Wright Jan., 1789-90, Jan. 
 
 Isaac Leonard Kip Jan., 1790-94, May 
 
 John P. Pearss May- June, 1794 
 
 John Forbes June, 1794-1824, Oct. 
 
 Burtis Skidmore Nov., 1824-28, May 
 
 PhiKp Jones Forbes May, 1828-55, May 
 
 John MacMullen June, 1855-57, May 
 
 Wentworth Sanborn Butler Oct., 1857-95, Oct. 
 
 Frank Barna Bigelow Oct., 1895- 
 
 Librarian Emeritus 
 Wentworth Sanborn Butler Oct., 1895- 
 
V 
 
 BENEFACTORS OF THE NEW YORK 
 SOCIETY LIBRARY 
 
 EUzabeth Demilt 1850 $5,000.00 
 
 Estate of John Cleve Green 1877 50,000.00 
 
 George B. Dorr 1877 5,000.00 
 
 Robert Lenox Kennedy 1878 10,000. 00^ 
 
 George J. Foster 1878 3,000.00 
 
 Richard Edwards Mount 1880 1,000.00 
 
 Mary Matilda (Drake) Keese 1880 12,000.00 
 
 F. Augustus Schermerhorn 1898 15,000.00'' 
 
 Maria Branson Mount 1901 1,000 . 00 
 
 Charles Henry Contoit 1903 142,586.68 
 
 $244,586.68 
 
 ' Expended for the decoration and Library collections and to the intro- 
 nucleus of the Green Art Alcoves. duction of the card catalogue sys- 
 
 ^ Devoted to recataloguing the tem. 
 
 564 
 
VI 
 AUTHORITIES QUOTED AND CITED 
 
 Abstract of Wills, Liber 13, N. Y. Hist. Soc. Collections for 
 
 1894., 165 
 American Historical Review, 4 
 Anderson, Alexander, ]M.D., Ms. Diary, 231 
 Annals of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of 
 
 the City of New-York (1882), 384 
 Archives of Maryland (1905), 44 
 
 Belden, E. P., New-York, Past, Present and Future (1849), 400 
 Bolton, Charles K., "Circulating Libraries in Boston, 1765- 
 
 1865," in Proceedings of Colonial Soc. of Mass., 1908, 102 
 
 The History of the Boston Athenceum (1907), 4, 189 
 
 Bray, Thomas, D.D., Apostolick Charity (1698), 8, 10, 23 
 
 Bibliothecce Americana quadripartitce, in ms., 13, 23 
 
 Bibliotheca parochialis (1697), 22 
 
 Bibliothecce provinciales Americana, in ms., 12 
 
 An Essay towards Promoting all Useful Knowledge 
 
 (1697), 10-12 
 
 Memoir of Dr. Bray, in Report of Bray Associates 
 
 (1905), 10 
 Publick Spirit illustrated in the Life and Designs of 
 Rev. Thomas Bray (1746), 10, 27. See also 
 Steiner, B. C. 
 Burnaby, Rev. Andrew, Travels through the Middle Settlements 
 
 in North America (1812), 88, 129 
 Butler, Wentworth S., "The New York Society Library," in 
 
 The Memorial History of the City of New-York (1892), 7 
 Calendar of Council Minutes, 1668-1783 (1902), 184 
 Collections of the Protestant Episcopal Historical Society 
 
 (1851), 24 
 
 565 
 
566 APPENDIX 
 
 Colonial Laws of Maryland, 29 
 
 Colonial Laws of North Carolina, 29 
 
 Colonial Laws of South Carolina, 29 
 
 Columbia College, Minutes of the Board of Trustees, in ms., 
 
 299, 323, 377 , 
 Commercial Advertiser, 227, 288, 298 
 Connecticut Courant, 177 If., 150 
 
 Cummings, Thomas S., Historic Annals of the National Acad- 
 emy of Design (1865), 421 
 Daily Advertiser, 202, 215, 226, 227, 233, 244 
 Diary, The; or Loudon's Register, 244 
 Dix, Morgan, S.T.D., Historical Recollections of S. Paul's 
 
 Chapel (1867), 36 
 History of the Parish of Trinity Church (1898), 26, 
 
 39,42 
 Documentary History of New York (1850), 35 
 Duer, William A., Anniversary Address before the St. Nicholas 
 
 Society, Dec. 1, 18Jf8 (1849), 260 
 
 Reminiscences of an Old Yorker (1867), 221 
 
 Evans, Charles, American Bibliography (1903), 103 
 
 Ex Libris Journal, vol. 3, 167 
 
 Fish, F. G., St. Ann's Church (Brooklyn), 1784--184-5 (1845), 
 
 211 
 Ford, Paul Leicester, Life and Journals of Hugh Gaine (1902), 
 
 105, 205 
 Franklin, Benjamin, Complete Works, ed. by John Bigelow 
 
 (1887), 58, 59, 101 
 Free Public Libraries (1871), 59 
 
 General Convention Archives, New York Mss., 19, 28, 35, 50, 61 
 Glance at New-York, 1837, 332 
 
 Goodrich, A. T., Picture of New-York, 203, 297, 384 
 Grahame, James, History of the United States, Boston and 
 
 Phila. (1845), 30 
 Grant Warrants, Colonial Office, v. 15, 60 
 Harrison, Gabriel, Life and Writings of John Howard Payne 
 
 (1855), 315 
 Hennessy, George, Novum Repertorium ecclesiasticum paro- 
 
 chiale Londinense (1898), 65 
 
APPENDIX 667 
 
 Hildeburn, Charles R., Sketches of Printers and Printing in 
 
 Colonial New York (1895), 76, 205 
 History of Columbia University/, 1754.-1904, (1904), 84 
 History of the School of the Collegiate Reformed Dutch Church 
 
 (1883), 176, 278 
 Holt, John, The New-York Journal, or General Advertiser, 90, 
 
 106, 110, 115, 116 
 Hooker, Mrs. Martha W., "Booklovers of 1738— One of the 
 
 first Libraries in America," in Connecticut Magazine, v. 
 
 10 (1906), 150 
 Hooper, Rev. Joseph, The Church in Conn., 1705-1807, 45 
 
 George Keith (1894), 24 
 
 History of Saint Peter's Church, Albany (1900) , 27, 49 
 
 Huntington, Daniel, "The National Academy of Design" in Year 
 
 Book of the Art Societies of New York, 1898-9 (1899), 421 
 Hurst, John F., D.D., "Parochial Libraries in the Colonial 
 
 Period," in Papers of the Amer. Sac. of Church History 
 
 (1890), 27 
 Johnston, W. D., History of the Library of Congress, v. 1 
 
 (1904), 210 
 Jones, Thomas, History of New York during the Revolutionary 
 
 War (1879), 95, 120, 194 
 Journal (J* Patriotic Register, 248 
 
 Journal of the Legislative Council, 1691—1743 (1861), 18 
 Journal of the Votes and Proceedings of the General Assembly 
 
 of the Colony of New-York, 1691-1743 (1764), 6, 69 
 Kelby, Robert Hendre, The New York Historical Society, 
 
 1804-1904 (1905), 297, 385 
 King, Charles, Progress of the City of New York, 1801-1851 
 
 (1852), 217 
 Lamb, Mrs. Martha J., History of the City of New York 
 
 (1880), V. 2, 492 
 Laws and Ordinances of New Netherland, 1638—1674, ed. by 
 
 E. B. O'Callaghan (1868), 32 
 Letters to Washington, xcii:132, Ms. Archives, Dept. of 
 
 State, 135 
 Letters written by Jonathan Swift . . . and Several of his 
 
 Friends (1767), 51 
 
568 APPENDIX 
 
 Liber subscription., 1699—1709, 44! 
 
 Library Company of Baltimore, Ms. Minutes, 265 
 
 Library Company of Philadelphia, Ms. Minutes, 255 
 
 McCrady, Edward, The History of South Carolina under the 
 
 Royal Government (1899), 4 
 MacMuUen, John, A Lecture on the Past, the Present and the 
 
 Future of the New York Society Library . . . (1856), 447 
 Mass. Historical Society, Proceedings, 9,1, 72, 73 
 Matricula of King's College, 94 
 Mercantile Advertiser, 273 
 Mercantile Library Association of the City of New York, 35th 
 
 Annual Report of the Board of Directors (1856), 470 
 MofFat, R. Burnham, The Barclays of New York (1904), 49 
 Moore, N. F., Historical Sketch of Columbia College (1846), 
 
 33 
 Morning Chronicle, The, 1802, 98 
 Morning Courier and New-York Enquirer, 1838, 406 
 Neal, Daniel, The History of New-England, 2d ed. (1747), 101 
 New World, 429 
 
 New York American, 230 et passim 
 New-York as it is in 1833, 337 ; in 1839, 390 
 New-York Athenceum, Constitution and By-Laws (1825), 329 
 
 Directors' Minutes (Ms.), 377 
 
 New York City — Minutes of the Board of Aldermen, 1834, 380 
 
 Proceedings of the Board of Aldermen, 1856, 425 
 
 Proceedings of the Board of Councilmen, 1856, 424, 425 
 
 Proceedings of the Boards of Aldermen and Assistant 
 
 Aldermen approved by the Mayor, 184-9, 55 
 
 — Ms. Minutes of the Common Council, 209, 292, 297, 303 
 
 Minutes of the CoTumon Council of the City of New 
 
 York, 1675-1776 (1905), 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 72, 73, 74, 
 
 78, 79, 81, 116, 117, 176, 177 
 New York City Directory, 1804, 314 
 
 New York City during the American Revolution (1861), 193 
 New York Colonial Documents, 26, 45, 49, 121, 125, 144 
 New York Colonial Mss., v. 47, 43 
 New York Columbian, 1810, 315 
 New-York Evening Post, 272 et passim 
 
APPENDIX 569 
 
 New-York Gazette; and the Weekly Mercury, 108, 111, 115, 
 
 122, 175, 176, 177, 178, 187, 193 
 New York Gazette; or. The Weekly Post-Boy, 86, 138, 150m, 
 
 173, 176, 411 
 New-York Gazetteer, 1783, 202 
 New York Historical Society, Collections for 1896, 85 ; for 
 
 1885, 109,; for 189 Jf, 165 
 
 — Minutes of Trustees (Ms.), 377 
 
 New-York Journal, The, 1792, 163 
 
 New-York Magazine; or. Literary Repository, 1791, 201, 216 
 
 New-York Mercury, The, 148, 149, 156-59, 165, 193 
 
 New-York Packet, 201, 207 
 
 New York Society Library. Address of theTrustees . . . relative 
 
 to the Management and Present Condition, 1833,285,310 
 Address to the Stockholders of the City Library, on the 
 
 Management and Actual Condition . . . 1833, 369 
 Annual Reports of the Board of Trustees, 401, 407, 
 
 428, 450, 453, 483, 488 
 ■ Catalogue of the Books belonging to the, 1768, 167; 
 
 1761, 170 
 Catalogue of the Books belonging to the, together with 
 
 the Charter and By-Laws of the Same, 1813, 266 
 ■ Supplement to the Catalogue of the Books belonging to 
 
 the, 1825, 270 
 
 ■ Alphabetical and Analytical Catalogue . . . 1838, 392 
 
 Supplementary Catalogue, 184-1, 410 
 
 Alphabetical and Analytical Catalogue . . . 1850, 30, 
 
 414 
 A Classified Catalogue with Critical Notes of the Works 
 
 of Art in the Green Alcove . . . selected and presentedby 
 
 Robert Lenox Kennedy, 1879, 473 
 The Charter and Bye-Laws; with a Catalogue of the 
 
 Books belonging to the said Library, 1773, 187 
 The Charter, Bye-Laws, and Names of the Members; 
 
 with a Catalogue of the Books belonging to the said Li- 
 brary, 1789, 212 
 
 History, Charter, By-Laws, <^c. 1881, 30, 519 
 
 Minutes of Trustees (Ms.), 377 
 
570 APPENDIX 
 
 [Morgan, John J.] To the Members of the New-York 
 
 Society Library, 1838, 354 
 "The New York Society Library," in Valentine's 
 
 Manual for 1855, 228 
 Statement of the Trustees of the New-York Society 
 
 Library, 1838, 355 
 To the Shareholders of the New-York Society Library, 
 
 1836, 381, 395 ; 1857, 454 
 Ward, Thomas, M.D., Address . . . on the One Hun- 
 
 dredth Anniversary of its Incorporation, Nov. 9, 1872, 490 
 New-York Statesman, 273, 326, 327 
 
 O'Callaghan, E. B., History of New Netherland (1846), 31, 32 
 Officers and Graduates of University and King's College, Aber- 
 deen, MVD-MDCCCLX (1893), 60 
 Oldmixon, John, The British Empire in America (1708), 31 
 Oracle and Daily Advertiser, 1808, 288 
 Pennsylvania Gazette, The, 17 5 14., 137 
 Pennsylvania Magazine of History, 1899, 45 
 Pintard, John, Ms. Diary, 37, 41 
 Public Libraries in the U. S. (1876), 4, 490 
 Rivington's Royal Gazette, 1783, 193 
 Robinson, William, History and Antiquities of the Parish of 
 
 Stoke Newington (1842), 65 
 Ruggles, E., Picture of New York in 181f.6, 400 
 Schulze, D. J. L., Nachrichten von den vereinigten Deutschen 
 
 Evangelisch-Lutherischen Gemeinen in N ord- America, 
 
 1787 (1886), 97 
 Scoville, J. A., Old Merchants of New York (1885), 221 
 Scudder, Horace E., "Public Libraries a Hundred Years Ago," 
 
 in Public Libraries in the U. S. (1876), 4, 7 
 Smith, William [Jr.], History of the Province of New-York 
 
 (1757), 67, 75, 126, 129, 130, 131, 158, 179 
 S. P. G. Abstracts of the Proceedings of the Society, 65, 87 
 
 Classified Digest of the Records, 1701-1892 (1893), 81 
 
 Letter Book, 1702-99, 19, 45, 46, 47, 49, 50, 51, 52, 
 
 57, 58, 64, 66, 68, 87, 93 
 South Carolina Gazette, 1763, 103 
 Spofford, Ainsworth R., A Book for All Readers (1900), 6, 59 
 
APPENDIX 571 
 
 Steiner, Bernard C, "Rev. Thomas Bray and his American Li- 
 braries," in The Amer. Historical Review, v. 2 (1897), 4, 
 
 6,27 
 Rev. Thomas Bray; his Life and Selected Works (Md. 
 
 Hist. Soc. Fund Pub. 37) (1901), 22, 27 
 Thorburn, Grant, Forty Years' Residence in America (1834), 
 
 331 
 Trinity Vestry Minutes, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 26, 33, 34, 39, 47 
 TJ. S. Statutes at Large, v. 3, 255 
 Valentine's Manual of the Corporation for 1850, 166 ; for 1855, 
 
 228;/'ori55(5, 445, 462 
 Van Rensselaer, Mrs. John King, The Goede Vrouw of Mana- 
 
 ha-ta (1898), 135 
 Vermilye, Rev. A. G., "Francis Lovelace and the Recapture of 
 
 New Netherland," in Memorial Hist, of New-York (1892), 
 
 32 
 Washington, George, The Diary of, 1789-1791 (1860), 223 
 Wilson, James Grant, Article in New York Times (15 June, 
 
 1901), 319, 324 
 The Memorial History of the City of New-York (1892), 
 
 6, 7, 195 
 Woodberry, George E., Edgar Allan Foe (1885), 421 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abeel, Mr., Petition of, for use of 
 Library, refused, 253 
 
 Aberdeen, University of, 44, 60 
 
 Academy of Arts in joint petition 
 to Common Council, 293 
 
 Accessions to Library, 390 
 
 Adams, Dr. John G., gives small 
 bronze, 474; gives bust of Octa- 
 vius, 475; on shareholders' com- 
 mittee, 485; bust of, 512 
 
 Adams, William, trustee, 438 ; chosen 
 by the board, 444 
 
 Albany, Number of volumes sent to, 
 by Dr. Bray, 27 
 
 Albany Congress, The, 124 
 
 Albany Society Library, 150re 
 
 Aldermen refuse to remit taxes, 425 
 
 Alexander, James, had private li- 
 brary, 122; Library project 
 broached at home of, 130; sltetch 
 of, 142-43; 151; 161 ; pubUc school 
 founder, 162-63 
 
 Alexander, Mrs., suggests Library 
 idea, 135 
 
 Alexander, William (Lord Stirling), 
 an organizer of Society Library, 
 130; sketch of, 134-35; trustee, 
 140; on subscription committee, 
 152; on committee to draft charter, 
 180; son-in-law of, 204 
 
 Allen, Charles D., authority cited, 
 150re, 167m, 214m, 352» 
 
 Allen, Thomas, received shares for 
 binding books, 247 
 
 Alley, Samuel, 385 
 
 Almshouse, Request for use of, 290, 
 291 ; request for, granted and 
 name changed to New York Insti- 
 tution, 296-97 
 
 Amboy, N. J., Number of volumes 
 sent to, by Dr. Bray, 27; evan- 
 gelical work in, 46 
 
 American, Communication to, on dis- 
 puted election, 282 
 
 American Bible Society, The, 318; 
 founded, 318 
 
 American Museum, The, 290; owned 
 by J. Scudder, 293 
 
 American Numismatic Society, 476 
 
 Americana, Collection rich in, 525 
 
 Amusements, Social, 129 
 
 Anderson, Dr. Alexander, made en- 
 graving of first building of Soci- 
 ety, 228; books borrowed by, 231 
 
 Anderson, Charles E., trustee, 440; 
 442; on building committee, 443; 
 chairman, 450 
 
 Anderson, Prof. H. J., member Ital- 
 ian Library Society, 374; on joint 
 committee with Athenseum, 340, 
 343; trustee, 366, 375» 
 
 Andros, Gov. Edmund, 125 
 
 Anglican church in New York, Rev. 
 Geo. Keith on, 24; unpopular, 29, 
 64 
 
 Annapolis, A Layman's library for, 
 23, 24; public hbrary in, 54 
 
 Anne, Queen, 20» 
 
 Annual meeting, 389; small attend- 
 ance at, 499; of 1906, 499-500 
 
 Annual report first published, 451; 
 on MacMullen controversy, 455; 518 
 
 Anthon, Prof. Charles, 477 
 
 Anthon, George C, trustee, 440 
 
 Anthon, John, a founder of Law In- 
 stitute, trustee, 367; 375m 
 
 Anthon, William H., trustee, 440; on 
 committee on taxes, 424 
 
 Appleton, D., & Co., purchase Broad- 
 way premises, 423, 434-35 
 
 Appleton, Samuel F., right holder, 519 
 
 Appleton, William H., a proprietor, 
 477 
 
 Apprentices' Library, 150, 318, 370 
 
 Arms of Library painted on wall, 
 475 
 
 Armstrong, D. Maitland, trustee, 
 on Library Committee, 508 
 
 Arrears and forfeitures, 346, 305-6, 
 479 
 
 Articles of Subscription, 136; fac- 
 simile, 154 
 
676 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Assembly (N. Y.), Attitude of, to- 
 ward public library, 58, 65-66, 69 
 
 Assemblymen, Smallness of provin- 
 cial, 63; "if trees and birds could 
 speak and assemblymen be silent," 
 63re 
 
 Associates of the Athenseum, 328 
 
 Astor, John Jacob, a subscriber, 267 
 
 Astor, William B., 326, 335 
 
 Athenseum, see New York Athenaeum 
 
 Athenasum Club, The, 361m 
 
 Auchmuty, Col. Richard T., trustee, 
 439; on shareholders' committee, 
 485; on House Committee, 506 
 
 Auchmuty, Rev. Samuel, on King's 
 College committee, 88; letter of, 
 about Bristowe books, 91-92; sub- 
 scriber, 155 
 
 Audubon, John J., trades Book of 
 Birds for rights, 409 
 
 Authors indebted to Society Library, 
 521 
 
 Bache, Theophylact, a right holder, 
 213 
 
 Baer, Philip, librarian City Library, 
 151n. 
 
 Baker, George F., Library assistant, 
 516-17 
 
 Baldwin, Charles, trustee, 366 
 
 Baldwin, George V. N., Chairman, 
 496; at annual meeting of 1906, 
 500; on obstacles to moving, 504; 
 gets taxes removed, 507; on Li- 
 brary Committee, 508, 510, 524; on 
 F. Sheldon, 529; death of, 529- 
 31 
 
 Bancker, Evert A., trustee, 261; on 
 election committee, 280; appointed 
 Secretary, 303; 310; on committee 
 on terms of settlement, 343, 344; 
 favored Athenaeum's terms, 354; 
 399 
 
 Bancroft, George, shareholder, 403 
 
 Bank of New York, John Pintard's 
 efforts for, 219; loans of, to Soci- 
 ety, 249, 308-9; paid, 427 
 
 Bankes' Geography accepted for 
 share, 247 
 
 Banyar, Goldsbrow, trustee, 161, 
 178m; sketch of, 164 
 
 Banyar, William, made honorary 
 member, 186 
 
 Barclay, Anthony, trustee, 369, 428» 
 
 Barclay, Henry, CD., rector Trin- 
 ity, 49; trustee, 50, 161; letter of, 
 87; sketch of, 142; governor 
 
 King's College, 146 ; submits list of 
 books, 152 
 Barclay, Rev. Dr. Thomas, 49, 60ra 
 Bard, John, M.D., Sketch of, 196 
 Bard, Dr. Samuel, Secretary, 187; 
 caUs annual meeting and election, 
 193; sketch of, 196; calls for lost 
 books, 201-2; calls meeting of 
 proprietors, 303; reappointed Sec- 
 retary, 203; on Library in letter 
 to daughter, 313; facsimile, 214; 
 paid for book lost, 243; unani- 
 mously appointed trustee, 346 
 Barney, George A., councilman, 425 
 Barracks in the Fields, Tax for new, 
 
 127 
 Barrow, Thomas, gives portrait, 243 
 Bartlett, John R., benefactor, 465 
 Bayard, Stephen, mayor, 74 
 Bayard, William, 336 
 Beach, Rev. Dr. A. B., 36ji 
 Bearcroft, Rev. Dr. Philip, on dispo- 
 sition of Bristowe books, 88 
 Beekman, James W., trustee, 366; 
 
 443, 444 
 Beekman, James W. (Jr.), trustee in 
 
 1908, 659 
 Bellomont, Earl of, 16-17; royal 
 governor, 16; quarrels with Rector 
 Vesey, 17; delivers books to Trin- 
 ity, 17; brought books for Boston, 
 31; administration of, 24; sus- 
 pends chaplain, 26»; conditions in 
 New York on arrival of, 39-30; 
 died, 43 
 Benkard, James, donor, 473 
 Benson, Judge Egbert, 100, 310»; 
 on committee to get room in City 
 Hall, 233; sketch of, 337; presents 
 Laws of the State, 343; often 
 chairman, 363; benefactor, 270 
 Berkeley Lyceum, Purchase of, dis- 
 cussed, 502, 504 
 Berrian, Rev. Dr. William, 354; 
 
 trustee, 368; often chairman, 387 
 Berrien, Capt. John, director Union 
 Library Society, 114; house of, 
 115 
 BibliotheccB Provinciales Americance, 
 13», 31n; facsimile of ms. title- 
 page of vol. II of, 254 
 Bigelow, Frank B., Librarian, 
 
 Sketch of, 515 
 Bigelow, Hon. John, on the Athe- 
 naeum, 337; trustee, 440, 443; 521 
 Bishop of London, appoints Dr. 
 Bray commissary for Maryland, 
 
INDEX 
 
 577 
 
 8, 118; to have register and report, 
 16; books from, 17; donor, 20, 91n; 
 Rector Vesey reports to, 28; asked 
 to aid Sharpe collection, 28; J. 
 Sharpe ordained by, 44; to name 
 trustees of Sharpe collection, 55; 
 J. Millington chaplain to, 65 
 
 Black, Samuel J., 516 
 
 Blagge, John, Liberty Boy, trustee, 
 233 
 
 Bleecker, Anthony, grandson of G. 
 Xoel, 108; trustee, 259; death of, 
 262; long a member of Library 
 Committee, 264; inspector of elec- 
 tion, 280; 281; holds over as trus- 
 tee, 284; 292; 298; appointed 
 Secretary, 303; on purchasing 
 committee, 308; 309; portrait of, 
 presented, 512 
 
 Bodleian Library, MS. copy of 
 Sharpe Proposals with catalogue 
 in, 57 
 
 Bolton, Charles K., authority cited, 
 
 4, 102, 189 
 
 Book Company of Durham, Conn., 
 established, 150w 
 
 Bookplate, The first, of Society Li- 
 brar}', 166-67; facsimile, 168; the 
 second, 213; facsimile of, 317; de- 
 scription of, 214n; the third, 252; 
 described, 252»; facsimile of, 484; 
 early impressions of each, pre- 
 served, 513 
 
 Bookplate, The S. P. G., in Milling- 
 ton books, 75 
 
 Bookplates, Facsimiles of: EUiston, 
 38, 41; Murray, 85; Bristowe, 92; 
 
 5. P. G., 100; Society Library, 
 168, 317, 484 
 
 Books, Only reference to, in public 
 acts of New Netherland, 31-32 
 
 Books for children, Advertisement 
 of, 106 
 
 Books, ordered for Society Library, 
 Character of, 153; arrival of, 
 157-58; new invoices of, 166; 
 one list of orders taken by 
 enemy, 170; list of books ordered 
 in 1764, 171-72; list of missing, 
 173-74; domestic purchases of, 
 174-75; list of books received 
 through Rivington, 175; commit- 
 tee to purchase, 190-91; some, 
 and their borrowers, 191-92; rul- 
 ings on, improper for circulation, 
 injured or lost, 241, 518; gifts of, 
 recorded, 242, 510; hours for 
 
 drawing, 243-41., 388, 508; mem- 
 bers allowed to take several at 
 once, 251, 509; petitions for re- 
 moval of duty on, for libraries, 
 254-55; for libraries put on free 
 list, 255; length of time for keep- 
 ing, 265; value of the, 310, 436, 
 523; threatened by fire, 435; long 
 missing, restored, 452; useless, dis- 
 posed of, 510; rare, exhibited, 513; 
 circulation of, 47l7j., 517; free 
 deUvery of, 517-18 
 
 Books sent for Laymen's libraries. 
 Character of, 23-25; lists of, pre- 
 served, 24 
 
 Books, Titles of ten, missing from 
 Corporation Library, 74», 75n. 
 
 Booksellers' Circulating Libraries, 
 1763-1776, 101-11 
 
 Booksellers' libraries, 314 
 
 Booksellers' shops in New York and 
 Boston, 101 
 
 Booraem, Hendrick, 335 
 
 Boorman, James, 326 
 
 Borrowers, Names of, and of books 
 taken, 191-92 
 
 Boston, had "publike Library" before 
 1675, 4, 54, 59; a Layman's library 
 for, 23, 24; Bray parochial library 
 at, 21, 25, 28 
 
 Boston Athenaeum, depository of 
 King's Chapel Library, 21 ; centen- 
 nial of, 150re; refused admission 
 to women, 188; 313; 403; the 
 Bromfield gift to, 486 
 
 Boston Library Society, 150m 
 
 Bostwick, Rev. David, made a sub- 
 scriber to Society Library, 33-33; 
 death of, 33?i 
 
 Boudinot, Elias, on Lord Stirling, 
 135; 210w 
 
 Bowden, Rev. Dr. John, trustee P. 
 E. Lib. Soc, 40 
 
 Bowditch, Nathaniel S., a benefactor, 
 465 
 
 Bowdoin, George R. J., 444n. 
 
 Bowen, Rev. Nathaniel, 39; trustee 
 P. E. Lib. Soc, 40 
 
 Bowne, Robert, director Union Lib. 
 Soc, 114; treasurer, 114, 116; a 
 donor, 270 
 
 Boxwood Hall, 210b 
 
 Bradford, William, printer, 47; J. 
 Parker apprentice of, 72; first 
 printer and bookseller in New 
 York, 101 
 
 Brady, Henry Austin, 452 
 
578 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Bragg, G., of Birmingham, England, 
 donor of Swedenborgian books, 
 270 
 
 Bray, Rev. Dr. Thomas, commissary 
 in Maryland, 8 ; on parochial libra- 
 ries, 8, 10, 11-12; voyage of, to 
 Maryland, lOn; homily of, on 
 Knowledge, 11 ; proposals for Lend- 
 ing libraries in England, 11; sys- 
 tem for founding libraries, 11-12; 
 classification of books sent to New 
 York, 12-13; directions of, for 
 lettering books, 31; plan of, for 
 Laymen's libraries, 22-25; able or- 
 ganizer, 26; summary of chief 
 work of, 37; "sources" on, 27w; 
 had no system for enlarging colo- 
 nial collections, 38-29; deport- 
 ment of, toward J. Sharpe and Gov. 
 Nicholson, 45; ahead of Sharpe, 
 59; far in advance of times, 64 
 
 Bray collections, Chief character of, 
 29 
 
 Bray Foundation, The, or the Li- 
 brary of Trinity Parish, 1698- 
 1776, 8^.2; cost of, 12; register of 
 books for, 12-13; facsimile page, 
 14; directions for use and care of, 
 16 
 
 Bray papers in Sion College, Lon- 
 don, 34 
 
 Bray "provincial library" of Mary- 
 land the first free circulating, 4 
 
 Bray's Apostolick Charity, 1698, 
 First printed mention of library 
 in New York in, 8; facsimile page 
 of, 9; of title-page of, 449 
 
 Bray's (Dr.) Associates, organized, 
 12; ms. catalogue of books sent, in 
 possession of, 12; other lists in 
 archives of, 19, 21»; books sent to 
 Albany by, 37m; gave no aid to 
 New York Library, 29 
 
 Brevoort, Henry, Jr., 301; 318; Sec- 
 retary of Athenaeum, 335; trustee, 
 369; 39871; 399 
 
 Bridewell, Request for use of, 290, 
 293, ,378, 379, 380; resolution of 
 committee of Common Council on, 
 378 
 
 Brisac, Rev. John P., fort chaplain, 
 36 
 
 Bristed, Charles Astor, trustee, 367 
 
 Bristowe, Duncombe, D.D., Bequest 
 of books by, to King's College, 87 ; 
 letter aliout, 88; some books of, 
 received, 89; failure to secure re- 
 
 mainder, 91-93; facsimile of book- 
 plate, 93; books of, in Columbia 
 University Library, 99; book of, 
 in Gen. 'Theol. Sem. Library, 99re 
 
 British commanders. Proclamations 
 of, for return of pillaged books, 
 95-97, 194 
 
 British Museum founded, 134 
 
 British occupation notorious, 194 
 
 British Record Commission, Dona- 
 tion from, 395 
 
 Brock's, Widow, wayside inn. Trus- 
 tees met at, 175; 178}i; charter 
 read at meeting in, 183 
 
 Brodhead, J. Romeyn, historian, 
 trustee, 439; on Library Commit- 
 tee, 451; books of, given, 473, 511 
 
 Bronck, Jonas, Library of, 131 
 
 Bronson, Oliver, M.D., a donor, 472 
 
 Brown, Edward F., chairman of an- 
 nual meeting of 1906, 499-500 
 
 Brown, Elias G., on shareholders' 
 committee, 448 
 
 Browne, D. I., denied a share in ex- 
 change for books, 409 
 
 Bruce, Dr. Archibald, a subscriber, 
 367; 314 
 
 Bruce, George, 375 
 
 Bryant, William Cullen, 363, 531 
 
 Buckmaster, George, alderman, 393 
 
 Building, Heavy expenses of, en- 
 tailed mortgage, 248, 349 
 
 Burlington, N. J., Religious work 
 in, 46 
 
 Burnaby, Rev. Andrew, on King's 
 College, 88; on social life in New 
 York, 139 
 
 Burnet, Gov. William, received 
 Sharpe collection, 58; showed same 
 to Benjamin Franklin, 58-59; on 
 J. Sharpe, 61 ; owner of a library, 
 123 
 
 Burr, Aaron, D.D., contributor to 
 the Watch-Tower, 139« 
 
 Burr, Aaron (Jr.), a right holder, 
 212; Mme. Eliza Jumel, widow of, 
 267-68, 408 
 
 Bute, Earl of. King's College donor, 
 90 
 
 Butler, Miss Jennie L., 516 
 
 Butler, Wentworth S., on New York 
 Society Library, 6-7; chosen Li- 
 brarian, 457; sketch of, 457-58, 
 515-16; donation to, 458; commit- 
 tee on entertainment, 461; a bene- 
 factor, 465; asks relief from du- 
 ties, 514; Librarian Emeritus, 615 
 
INDEX 
 
 579 
 
 Butler, William Allen, trustee, 439; 
 
 reports on rights of "infants," 460 
 Byerly, Thomas, donor to Trinity 
 
 Library, 20, 33 
 By-laws revised, 211; published, 212 
 By-laws and ordinances, Compilation 
 
 of, 364-65; published in catalogue 
 
 of 1813, 366; last published in 
 
 1881, 519 
 
 Cadwalader, John L., trustee, 441 
 
 Cambreling, C. C, 318 
 
 Campbell, James, trustee, 367; 375» 
 
 Cana, R. W., 516 
 
 Canfield, James H., "The Library" in 
 Hist, of Columbia University, Sin; 
 467m 
 
 Canterbury, Archbishop of, to name 
 tmstees for Sharpe collection, 55 
 
 Car, Anthony, printer, 113 
 
 Carow, Charles, right holder, 519 
 
 Carow, Isaac, 336; director of Athe- 
 na;um, 335; 477 
 
 Cartridges made from sermon on de- 
 fensive war, 195 
 
 Cary, Henry, 336 
 
 Catalogue of books in Society Li- 
 brary, First, published 1754, 158 
 second, ordered printed 1758, 167 
 copy of, gift of H. Seymour, 167 
 facsimile of title-page of, 197 
 third, printed 1761, 170; supple- 
 mentary, announced 1765, 173; of 
 1773, 187-88; of 1789, 312; con- 
 tinuation of, 1791, 288; a farther 
 continuation, 1793, 338-39; fac- 
 simile of title-page, 340; complete, 
 with charter, list of trustees, etc., 
 1793, 239; a supplementary, 1800, 
 239-41; of 1813, 366-70; address 
 by W. Johnson in, 366-67; list of 
 officers and subscribers, 367-68; 
 topical classification, 268; Win- 
 throp Library, 269; fiction small- 
 est section in, 269; carefully pre- 
 pared, 370; supplement ordered 
 printed, 1825, 270; periodicals and 
 novels included in, 272; written, 
 suggested, 391; of 1838 prepared 
 and printed by Librarian Forbes, 
 391; description of, 392-93; sy- 
 nopsis of, 393-94; supplementary, 
 410-11; of 1850, 413-15; compiled 
 by Philip Forbes and H. D. Neal, 
 414; "Historical Notice" in, 414- 
 15; contents, 415; of Winthrop Li- 
 brary, 415-16; the last, 462, 514; 
 
 a dictionary card catalogue pre- 
 pared, 514; ms. author list, 514 
 
 Catalogue of Bray books. First page 
 of, in facsimile, 15 
 
 Catalogues of parochial libraries ad- 
 vised by J. Sharpe, 50 
 
 Chairman of trustees chosen at each 
 meeting, 344, 387; names most 
 often appearing, 244, 263, 387; 
 made an annual office, 448; duties 
 of, 450; first incumbents, 450; suc- 
 cessors, 496 
 
 Chamber of Commerce, Original 
 charter of, lost, 182; J. Pintard 
 secretary of, 219 
 
 Chamberlain, Mrs. Marion L., 516 
 
 Chambers, John, on committee to re- 
 ceive Millington books, 67; sketch 
 of, 141-42; a first governor of 
 King's College, 146 ; reelected trus- 
 tee, 161 
 
 Chambers Dictionary accepted from 
 Mr. Rhinelander for shares, 247 
 
 Chanler, J. W., a benefactor, 465 
 
 Chapel in King's Fort, 18; Bible 
 from, now in N. Y. Public Li- 
 brary, 18»; restored by Gov. 
 Hunter, 48-49» 
 
 Charles, Robert, agent of province, 
 89 
 
 Charles II, King, 32 
 
 Charleston, S. C, First Library in 
 America supported at public ex- 
 pense at, 4 
 
 Charleston (S. C.) Library Society, 
 5, 54, 150, 228rs 
 
 Charlestown (Charleston, S. C.) Li- 
 brary Society, 5 
 
 Charlton, Rev. Richard, allowed key 
 to Corporation Library, 70-72 
 
 Charter, A, an original aim of Soci- 
 ety Library, 179; committee named 
 to draft, 180; S. Jones to draft, 
 180; passed and signed, 181; 
 copied, 182; original, lost, 181; 
 facsimile page of copy of, 183; 
 preamble and act of incorpora- 
 tion, 184-85; rights conferred, 
 185; committee to revive, 203; 
 renewed by act of legislature, 
 206-7; altered, 407; movement to 
 amend, 497-98 
 
 Cheesman, Dr. T. Matlack, trustee 
 in 1908, 560 
 
 Cheesquaks, N. J., Rev. J. Sharpe 
 founds church in, 46 
 
 Chew, Beverly, trustee. Secretary, 
 
580 
 
 INDEX 
 
 513; on anniversary committee, 
 524; on publication committee, 524 
 
 Chiilds, Francis, trustee, on commit- 
 tee on site, 222 ; founder of Daily 
 Advertiser, 233 
 
 Church du St. Esprit, a donor, 370 
 
 Circulating Library, The first Book- 
 seller's, in London, 102; in New 
 York, 103; closed, 107; S. Lou- 
 don's, 108-9; a success, 110-11; 
 removed, 111; reopened, lllra 
 
 Circulating Library, The first Public, 
 in New York, 64, 119 
 
 Circulation of Society Library 
 books, Vtln, 517 
 
 City Arms, First meeting of trustees 
 held at, 151; other names of, 
 151m 
 
 City Hall, Location of, 31m; library 
 room in, for Millington books, 66; 
 description of, 67m; library room 
 in, fitted up, 68 ; repaired, 79 ; Cor- 
 poration and Society libraries in, 
 80, 94; books of Union Library 
 Society added, 81; Library of 
 King's College deposited in, 81, 
 94; repairs to, 172; enlarged, 
 called Federal Hall, 209; old name 
 and occupants restored, 227; li- 
 brary room asked for in new, 232; 
 corner-stone of present, laid, 233 
 
 City Hotel, The, erected by Tontine 
 Association, 151m.; 318 
 
 "City Library," Society Library long 
 called, 150 
 
 City Library, The, present quarters 
 and history of, 151re 
 
 Clarendon's History of the Rebel- 
 lion, given to Trinity Library, 20; 
 second volume of, now in Society 
 Library, 20, 22, 35, 118, 170, 527; 
 facsimile of label on, 119 
 
 Clark, Ebenezer, Land purchased 
 from, 343, 382 
 
 Clark, William N., 375 
 
 Clarke, George, secretary of prov- 
 ince, 89 
 
 Clarkson, David, had private library, 
 122; appointed to receive funds, 
 159; trustee, 161; sketch of, 163 
 
 Clarkson, Matthew, trustee, 203; 
 sketch of, 204-5; on committee on 
 state of Library, 307 
 
 Classification, Topical, of catalogue 
 of 1813, 368 
 
 Clergyman's library. Classification of 
 standard works for a, 12-13 
 
 Gierke, Judge Thomas W., trustee, 
 441 
 
 Clinton, Charles A., favored Athenae- 
 um's terms, 354, 357; trustee, 367 
 
 Clinton, DeWitt, subscriber, 267; 
 donor, 270; snubs J. Pintard, 391; 
 chairman of meeting for union of 
 literary societies, 399; 314 
 
 Clinton, Gov. George, right holder, 
 312; resided in Government House, 
 389 
 
 Clinton Hall Association, 303™, 331, 
 333m, 370 
 
 Glossy, Samuel, M.D., Advertisement 
 of, for lost books, 97 
 
 Clubs of New York supplied with 
 reading matter by Society Library, 
 531 
 
 Cogswell, Joseph G., trustee, 367; on 
 committee to increase use of Li- 
 brary, 412; on committee on num- 
 ber of volumes, 413 
 
 Coit, Joshua, trustee, 364, 403; on 
 committee on number of volumes, 
 413 
 
 Golden, Gadwallader, had private 
 library, 122; Mass. boundary com- 
 missioner, 145; prejudiced against 
 Society Library, 180 
 
 Golden, Gadwallader D., subscriber, 
 367 
 
 College library, Earliest, in the new 
 world, 4 
 
 College library. The first, in New 
 York, founded by S. P. G., 37, 
 see King's College Library 
 
 Colleges, First four in America, 
 124 
 
 Collins, Miss Gertrude, gave bust of 
 Napoleon, 512 
 
 Collins, Joseph B., 477 
 
 Collins, Stacy B., trustee, 439 
 
 Colonial New York, The Library in, 
 3-123 
 
 Colonies, Insignificance of the, 123 
 
 Colonists, Library idea too advanced 
 for, 39; cultural conditions of, 30, 
 121 
 
 Colton, Rev. Calvin, 477 
 
 Columbia College, represented in 
 proposed union of libraries, 298; 
 its committee discharged, 299; 
 chapel granted to Athenaeum for 
 lectures, 323 
 
 Columbia College Library in 49th 
 St., 504 
 
 Columbia College senior class, a sub- 
 
INDEX 
 
 681 
 
 scriber, 367; admitted free to 
 Athenaeum lectures, 333 
 
 Columbia University, Original char- 
 ter of King's College preserved at, 
 183 
 
 Columbia University Library, 99; 
 reciprocal relations of, with Soci- 
 ety Library, 147 
 
 Commemorations, No public interest 
 in, 357 
 
 Commercial prosperity, 126, 129 
 
 Commissioners of Immigration, 476 
 
 Committee of Safety demands King's 
 College building, 94 
 
 Common Council, provides room in 
 City Hall for Millington books, 
 66-67; report of committee of, 
 67-68; orders receipt to Mr. Vesey 
 for Millington books, 68; facsimile 
 of letter of, 71; accepts proposals 
 of J. Parker, 7'4; appoints libra- 
 rian for Corporation Library, 79, 
 104; grants Union Library Society 
 place in City Hall, 116; facsimile 
 of minutes, 117; old records of, 
 carefully kept, 126-27; prepara- 
 tion by, for defense, 127; care for 
 general weal, 127; petitions assem- 
 bly for a lottery, 137; health regu- 
 lations and public charities, 128; 
 shabby return by, for care of its 
 library, 189; renews grant of li- 
 brary room in City Hall, 308-9; 
 had no collection, 209; courtesies 
 shown Society Library by, 227; 
 library room in new City Hall 
 asked of, by Society Library, 233; 
 petition to, from literary societies, 
 for bridewell, 292; report of com- 
 mittee on, 393-96; grants petition, 
 396; ignores later petition, giving 
 notice to vacate, 302-3; facsimile 
 of report of committee on arrival 
 of Corporation Library, 365 
 
 Common Council, Members of, to 
 borrow books gratis, 73 
 
 Company of the Redwood Library, 
 see Redwood Library 
 
 Condy, Rev. Jeremy, Book given by, 
 in Columbia University Library, 99m 
 
 Congress, Society Library the first 
 Library of, 310 
 
 Conkling, Frederick A., benefactor, 
 465 
 
 Contoit, Charles H., gave Audubon's 
 Birds, 510; photograph of, 513; 
 munificent bequest of, 523 
 
 Contoit legacy, 497, 533 
 
 Cooper, Edward, 477 
 
 Cooper, James, 318 
 
 Cooper, James Fenimore, 319n 
 
 Cooper, Myles, president King's Col- 
 lege, 91; letters of, about Bristowe 
 books, 91, 93-93 
 
 Cooper, Peter, shareholder, 403 
 
 Coote, Richard, Earl of BeUomont, 
 16-17 
 
 "Corlaer" in American on union with 
 Athenaeum, 351-53 
 
 Corman, John, first tenant of lower 
 rooms of New Library, 325 
 
 Cornbury, Lord, gave Clarendon's 
 History of the Rebellion to Trinity 
 Library, 30re; Anglican church un- 
 der, 34; on Mott gift, 26re; ap- 
 pointed J. Sharpe chaplain, 43, 
 46; in debtors' prison, 47; death 
 of Lady, 47 
 
 Cornell, George J., 444m 
 
 Corporation, Action of, regarding 
 Millington bequest, 67-68; paid 
 cost of fitting room for library, 69 
 
 Corporation Library, Gift of J. Mil- 
 lington's books founded the, 5-6, 
 7; gift of J. Sharpe's books to, 6; 
 inaccurate statements concerning 
 the, 5-7; the first public circulat- 
 ing library in New York, 27, 527; 
 in City Hall, 31, 66; room fitted 
 up for, 68; no action taken by As- 
 sembly for, 69; why so named, 69; 
 no librarian of, for some years, 69; 
 Alex. Lamb appointed librarian of, 
 70; R. Charlton to make catalogue 
 of, 70; C. Lodge paid for clean- 
 ing, 72; books of, circulated, 72; 
 proposal of J. Parker for run- 
 ning, 73-74; missing books from, 
 advertised for, 74-75; Wm. 
 Smith on size and character of, 75; 
 as mnter attraction, 76; relation- 
 ship with Society Library, 76-77, 
 227, 424, 527; proposals concern- 
 ing, from Society Library trus- 
 tees, 77-78; nothing heard of, for 
 few years, 78; removed from City 
 Hall, 78; restored, 79, 94; T. Jack- 
 son appointed keeper, 79, 173; ad- 
 vertisement of, in Gazette, 80; 
 remnant of, in hands of Dr. In- 
 glis, 82; some volumes of, possibly 
 back in England, 83; and Society 
 Library, 83; reopened in City 
 Hall, 104-5; summary, 119; not a 
 
582 
 
 INDEX 
 
 vestige of, has survived, 120; lib- 
 eral intent of donors of, 138; de- 
 struction of, ISln; in storage, 173 
 Cory, Mrs. Sallie M., donor, 513 
 Cotheal, Alexander I., right holder, 
 
 S19 
 Cowdrey, Peter A., Opinion of, 
 against taxing public libraries, 
 422-23 
 Cozine, John, trustee, 316; sketch of, 
 320-31; on committee on site, 
 332; deceased, 346 
 Cram, Henry A., trustee, donor, 
 
 496-97; unique gift from, 510 
 Crannell, Bartholomevir, donor to 
 
 King's College Library, 93 
 Crary, John S., 327, 335 
 Cromline (Crommelin), Robert, 
 
 Share of, purchased, 190 
 Cronkhite, James P., trustee, 440 
 Cruger, Hepry, trustee, 161; sketch 
 
 of, 163 
 Curtis, Charles B., trustee. Chair- 
 man, 496, 524; death of, 528 
 Curtis, George William, 366, 477 
 Cutting, R. Fulton, trustee, 497 
 Cutting, William, trustee ]?. E. Li- 
 brary Society, 40; 292 
 
 Da Ponte, Lorenzo, deposits books 
 of Italian Library Society in Soci- 
 ety Library, 273-74, 46471 
 
 Daily Advertiser, Call for meeting 
 of Union Library Society pub- 
 lislied in, 117; call for meeting of 
 Society Library proprietors in, 
 203; statement puWislied in, 316; 
 New York's first daily paper, 233 
 
 Daily Gazette on prospects for Soci- 
 ety Library, 248 
 
 Daly, Charles P., right holder, 519 
 
 Davis, Charles A., 335 
 
 Davis, Gherardi, 521 
 
 DeKay, Dr. James E., naturalist, 
 319 ; trustee, 368, 374 
 
 De Lancey, Edward F., 519 
 
 De Lancey, James, It.-gov. and chief 
 justice, had private library, 133; 
 134; able executive, 135; sketch of, 
 140-41; given freedom of city, 
 143; governor of college, 146; re- 
 elected trustee of Society Library, 
 161 ; lost interest in Library, 179 ; 
 death of, 180; granted charter to 
 King's College, 182 
 
 De Lancey, Col. Oliver, on King's 
 College committee, 88; trustee. 
 
 161; loyalist, estate confiscated, 
 164 
 
 De Peyster, Abraham, 166 
 
 De Peyster, Frederic (Jr.), on fail- 
 ure of plan to consolidate literary 
 institutions, 299, 300; secretary of 
 Athenaeum, 335; trustee of Society 
 Library, 364; on committee on 
 number of volumes, 413; favored 
 reducing shares and dues, 431; on 
 auditing committee, 434; long ser- 
 vice of, 364, 494; Chairman, 450, 
 473, 496; donor, 475; on relief 
 committee, 483; on charter centen- 
 nial committee, 489; historical ad- 
 dress of, 490; trustee minute on 
 character of, 495; 498; bust of, 
 given, 512 
 
 De Peyster, Frederic J., trustee, 438, 
 494; on joint committee with His- 
 torical Society, 443; on building 
 committee, 443; 444; long service 
 of, 494; Chairman, 496; engraving 
 of, 512; death of, 538 
 
 De Peyster, James F., 478 
 
 De Peyster, Gen. J. Watts, benefac- 
 tor, 465, 473; on bill to change 
 charter, 498; gave bust of father, 
 513; right holder, 520 
 
 De Peyster, Col. Johnston L., Chair- 
 man, 496 ; trustee, 497 ; on committee 
 on new site, 502, 505; proposed re- 
 organization as free library, 503?i; 
 opposed amalgamation, 603 
 
 De Peyster Alcove begun, 472 
 
 De Rham, Henry C, 326 
 
 Debts, Accumulation of, 249; re- 
 duced, 437; at height, 430; paid 
 off, 436, 482 
 
 Delafield, John, Jr., Treasurer of 
 Athenaeum, 299, 301, 332, 334 
 
 Delafield, Major Joseph, trustee, 
 364; on committee on librarian, 
 418; on joint committee with His- 
 torical Society, 442 
 
 Delano, Mrs. Laura A., gives paint- 
 ing, 512 
 
 Delinquents, Stringent measures 
 against, 174, 446 
 
 Demilt, Miss Elizabeth, Bequest of, 
 415, 433, 523 
 
 Denning, William, director Union 
 Library Society, 114; trustee, 235 
 
 Dewey, Rev. Orville, trustee, 368 
 
 Diclfinson, Jonathan, 487 
 
 Dillon, Robert J., Opinion on taxa- 
 tion of public libraries, 434-35 
 
INDEX 
 
 583 
 
 Directions for use and preservation 
 of Trinity Library, 16; facsimile 
 page of, 271; forgotten by Rector 
 Vesey, 28 
 
 Discontent with hours at Library, 
 275-76, 318 
 
 Dix, Hon. Gen. John A., 478 
 
 Dix, Rev. Dr. Morgan, authority 
 cited, 26, 36, 39, 42; on John J. 
 Morgan, 261-63; and "Phil" 
 Forbes, 262; right holder, 520 
 
 Dolan, John T., 354 
 
 Donors, Names of, 270, 465; institu- 
 tions as, 511 
 
 Dorr, George B., Bequest of, 458, 
 485-86 
 
 Dorr, Henry C, trustee, 438; on Li- 
 brary Committee, 451 ; report on 
 "Infants," 460; on refreshment 
 committee, 461 
 
 Douglass, Anne, mother of John 
 Sharpe, 44 
 
 Douglass, Isaac S., alderman, 293 
 
 Draeyer (or Drauyer), Andries, 
 commander at Fort Albany, 49 
 
 Draeyer (or Drauyer), Anna D., 
 wife of Rev. T. Barclay, 49 
 
 Drake, Dr. Charles, trustee, 260; 
 holds over, 283; on union commit- 
 tee, 298 
 
 Dreyer, Margarita, married Rev. J. 
 Sharpe, 49 
 
 Drisler, Prof. Henry, trustee, 438; 
 on Green Alcove by-law, 486; 
 Chairman, 496; on Library Com- 
 mittee, 508 
 
 DuBois, Cornelius, 444» 
 
 Duane, James, right holder, 155, 212 
 
 Duer, William A., 366; shareholder, 
 404 
 
 Dues, Annual, 136, 185, 211, 246, 250, 
 304; law passed allowing commut- 
 ing of, 359, 410, 480; raised, 359- 
 60, 407, 463, 480; storm of protest, 
 407-8; commuted, 522 
 
 Duncan, Hugh, penny post, 252m 
 
 Duncan, William A., right holder, 
 520 
 
 Dunlap, William, 319 
 
 Dunmore, Lord, granted charter to 
 New York Hospital, 182 
 
 Durand, Asher B., 319 
 
 Dutch, The, had no church libraiy in 
 New York, 31 
 
 Dutch West India Company's gar- 
 den, 18 
 
 Duyckinck, Evert A., trustee, 439; 
 
 on Library Committee, 451 ; on cen- 
 tennial committee, 489 
 Duyckinck, Gerardus, stationer, 167ra 
 
 Eagle, Com. Henry, 478 
 
 East Jersey, Layman's library for, 
 23, 24, 27 
 
 Eastburn, Kirk & Co.'s literary 
 rooms opened, 316 
 
 Eddy, Thomas, philanthropist, trus- 
 tee, 236 
 
 Edmonds, Judge Francis W., 478 
 
 Eggleston, Edward, 521 
 
 figlise du St. Esprit, 229 
 
 Eigenbrodt, Prof. W. E., benefac- 
 tor, 465 
 
 Election, A contested, 225-26, 349- 
 57, 369-76, 428; rules for hold- 
 ing, 244-45; a disputed, 280-83; 
 an old-time spectre, 494 
 
 Election committee. Members of, 
 279-80; reports nine new names, 
 376 
 
 Election inspectors, see Inspectors 
 
 Elections, Change of polling hours 
 at, 365, 389-90, 459, 460, 500 
 
 Elizabethtown, N. J., Evangelical 
 work in, 46 
 
 Elizabeth-Town (N. J.) Library 
 Company, 150» 
 
 Elliot, Dr. George T., Jr., trustee, 
 440 
 
 Elliott, Miss Annie L., 516 
 
 Elliston, Robert, Benefactions of, to 
 Trinity Library, 33-35; surviving 
 books of, 35; facsimile of book- 
 plates of, 38, 41; private library, 
 122 
 
 Embury, Daniel, member Italian Li- 
 brary Society, 374; trustee, 369 
 
 Emerson, William, life member of 
 AthenEEum, 334re; 375 
 
 Emmet, Judge, Tax decision of, 423 
 
 Epiphanij Opera, vol. 2, only known 
 book of Trinity Parish Library, 
 22™ 
 
 Episcopal theological societies or- 
 ganized, 318 
 
 Ericsson, John, 478 
 
 ErmolofF, Jacob, cataloguer, 516 
 
 Evans, Charles, authority cited, 103n 
 
 Evarts, AVilliam M., right holder, 520 
 
 Evening opening demanded, 275 — 76 
 
 Evening School opened, 176-77 
 
 Evertson, Edgar, trustee on com- 
 mittee of conference, 345 ; opposed 
 Athenaeum's terms, 347; funeral of. 
 
584 
 
 INDEX 
 
 on day of election, 356; 367; 391; 
 advocated raising price of shares, 
 405 
 
 Exchange, the New, First Library- 
 shareholders' meeting held at, 140; 
 erection of, 143; Common Council, 
 legislature and courts meet in, 909 
 
 Exhibition of treasures on ISOth an- 
 niversary, 524-27 
 
 Family names on membership roU, 
 155, 268 
 
 Farmar, Capt. Jasper, made honor- 
 ary member of Library, 166 
 
 Federal HaU, new name for City 
 Hall, 209; old name restored, 227 
 
 Ferguson, John, trustee, 261, 297; 
 often chairman, 263; to hold over 
 as trustee, 283-84; on union com- 
 mittee, 298, 299; on tax reduction 
 committee, 310; 366 
 
 Ferris, Charles G., alderman, 347; 
 trustee, 367 
 
 Ferris, Isaac, 478 
 
 Field, Benjanain H., trustee, 440; 
 resigned, 456 
 
 Field, David Dudley, right holder, 
 530 
 
 Finance Committee established, 485 
 
 Finances, Depressing condition of, 
 232; an accounting called for, 249; 
 money borrowed to import books, 
 364; "handicapped by debt, 289; 
 neglect of, 306; committee ap- 
 pointed on, 307; sharp report on, 
 307-8; dismal condition of, 310- 
 11; oppressive difBculties in the, 
 369; from 1839-1854, 427-35; debt 
 to Bank of New York paid, 427; 
 building expenses and Athenaeum 
 obligations, 438; bad investments of 
 Treasurer Harison, 428-29; set- 
 tlement with, 429-30; debt, 430; 
 recommendations of committee, 
 431-33; Demilt legacy, 433; sale 
 of Broadway building, 434; invest- 
 ment of surplus funds, 434-35; 
 free from debt, 436, 482; report 
 of Treasurer Strong, 481 ; annual 
 dues raised, 483; special commit- 
 tee named, 483; defalcation of 
 Treasurer Swan, 485; Dorr be- 
 quest, 485 ; Green endowment, 486 ; 
 Foster bequest, 488; prosperous 
 condition of, 522; Keese, Mount 
 and Contoit bequests, 523 
 
 Fines for books overdue, 79, 265, 618 
 
 Fire insurance company. The first, 
 219 
 
 Fish, Hamilton, on joint committee 
 of Historical Society, 386; right 
 holder, 530 
 
 Fish, Nicholas, right holder, 212; 
 rented lower rooms of Library 
 building, 225; alderman, 293; 336 
 
 Fishkill, Provincial Congress at. 111 
 
 Fleming, Augustus, trustee, 366, 403 
 
 Fletcher, Col. Benjamin, notorious 
 governor, 17; gave original charter 
 and books to Trinity Church, 17- 
 18, 182; granted incorporation to 
 Reformed Dutch Church, 183 
 
 Fletcher, William I., 515 
 
 Folsom, Charles, librarian Boston 
 Athenaeum, on young women and 
 polite literature, 188-89 
 
 Folsom, George, trustee, 440; gave 
 chair, 475 
 
 Folsom, George W., on joint com- 
 mittee of Historical Society, 386 
 
 Folsom, George W., trustee, 560 
 
 Forbes, John, Librarian, allowed 
 front room in Library building, 
 325, 243, 376; to submit plan for 
 arranging books, 325; prepares 
 room and moves books from City 
 Hall, 226-27; elected Librarian, 
 and salary paid to, 343, 276-77; 
 donor, 370; also librarian of His- 
 torical Society, 377; notice of, 
 277-78; Secretary, 303 
 
 Forbes, John, assistant librarian, 516 
 
 Forbes, Philip J., on old Library in 
 Nassau St., 329-30; Rev. Dr. 
 Dix's remembrance of, 262; ap- 
 pointed Librarian, 278; published 
 Catalogue of 1838, 391 ; 414; sketch 
 of, and salary, 416-19; requested 
 to resign, 452 
 
 Ford, Paul Leicester, authority 
 cited, 76»; 521 
 
 Forfeiture of rights. By-law on, 
 enforced, 246 
 
 Forfeitures, see Arrears and for- 
 feitures. Shares 
 
 Foster, Frederic de P., Chairman, 
 496; Treasurer, on committee on 
 new site, 504; reported offers for 
 Library, 504; on consolidation, 
 505; on anniversary committee, 
 524; on G. V. N. Baldwin, 530- 
 31 
 
 Foster, George J., Bequest from, 488 
 
 Foster, J. P. Giraud, trustee, 440 
 
INDEX 
 
 585 
 
 Fowler, Isaac V., 478 
 
 Francis, Dr. J. W., benefactor, 370; 
 on Librarian John Forbes, 378; 
 319; 478 
 
 Francis, Samuel, House of, see 
 Fraunces' Tavern 
 
 Franklin, Benjamin, probably ex- 
 amined Sharpe Collection, 58 -S9; 
 originator of subscription libra- 
 ries, 59; J. Parker partner of, 72- 
 73; on booksellers in colonies, 101; 
 submitted Plan of Union, 134/ 
 
 Franklin, Walter, importer, director 
 Union Library Society, 114; presi- 
 dent, 116 
 
 Franks Brothers, London agents, 155 
 
 Franks, Jacob, voted thanks for free 
 transportation of books, 166 
 
 Franks, Moses, London merchant, 89 
 
 Fraunces' Tavern, Trustees meet at, 
 171 
 
 Frederick the Great, 124, 331 
 
 Free delivery system, 353, 517-18 
 
 Free Library system in Liverpool 
 and Manchester, 470 
 
 Freeman, Rev. Bernardus, 49n 
 
 French and Indian War, 124 
 
 Frequenters of Library, Prominent, 
 477-78 
 
 Friends, Society of, gives books, 174 
 
 Fulton, Robert, 199 
 
 Fund, Permanent, increasing, 523 
 
 Furnishings given, 475, 513 
 
 Gahagan, Mr., of Dublin, donor, 370 
 
 Gaine, Hugh, Books for College Li- 
 brary bought from, 93; printer, 
 101; onG. Noel, 107-8; subscriber, 
 155; elected trustee, 203; sketch 
 of, 205; 235; 231; on committee to 
 raise funds, 251 ; inspector of elec- 
 tion, 280; facsimile of receipt 
 signed by, 427 
 
 Gaine's The New-York Gazette and 
 Weekly Mercury, Proclamation in, 
 95-96; facsimile, 466; Loudon's 
 Circulating Library advertised in, 
 109 
 
 Gallatin, Albert, 343n, 363 
 
 Gallaudet, Elisha, engraved Society 
 Library's first boolrplate, 167; fac- 
 simile, 168 
 
 Gautier, Andrew, 172 
 
 Gelston, The Misses, 476 
 
 Genealogical Registry Board, 476 
 
 General Assembly Journal, Facsimile 
 of page of, 348 
 
 General Convention Archives, see 
 Hawks papers {N. Y. MSS.) 
 
 General Society of Mechanics and 
 Tradesmen, 384re; Society Library 
 leases building of, 384 
 
 General Theological Seminary, A 
 King's Chapel Library booli in 
 library of, 21»; a Bray book in, 
 22w; Elliston volumes in library 
 of, 35, 118; books of J. Sharpe in, 
 36; a King's College Library book 
 in, 37», 99ni rise and early years 
 of, 42, 41-42re; J. Pintard a 
 founder of, 218; established, 318 
 
 George I, King, 60 
 
 George II, King, 182 
 
 George III, King, 182, 183, 184 
 
 Gerry, Elbridge, 478 
 
 Gerry, Elbridge T., right holder, 
 520 
 
 Gibbs, Dr. O. Wolcott, trustee, 440; 
 personal canvass of, for members, 
 448 
 
 Gift-shares, Occasional, 409 
 
 Gifts of books, 270, 464-65, 510-11 
 
 Gifts other than books, 512, 533 
 
 Gilbert, G., donor, 270 
 
 Gilford, Samuel, 327 
 
 Goelet, Peter, 478 
 
 Goelet, Robert, 478 
 
 Goodhue, Jonathan, 336 
 
 Goodhue, Robert C, 444re 
 
 Gourlie, John H., trustee, 366; on 
 committee on Librarian, 418 
 
 Gouverneur, Samuel L., 381 
 
 Government, The Federal, in New 
 York, 310; removed to Philadel- 
 phia, 337 
 
 Government House, Petition of So- 
 ciety for quarters in the, 389; 
 reading room opened in the, 314 
 
 Governors of the Athenaeum, 338-29 
 
 Gracie, William, Athenseum Asso- 
 ciate, 398, 318, 331; correspond- 
 ing secretary, 323; life member, 
 334?i 
 
 Grahame, James, on cultural condi- 
 tions in colonial New York, 30 
 
 Grant, S. Hastings, on European 
 libraries, 466-67, 470-71 
 
 Oratu-Jiooks set apart for parish 
 libraries, 12 
 
 Green, Andrew H., benefactor, 465; 
 proposed union with Public Li- 
 brary, 505 
 
 Green, Caleb S., joint donor, 486; 
 granted free use of Library, 486 
 
586 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Green, Charles E., joint donor, 486; 
 
 granted free use of library, 486 
 Green, John Cleve, Gift of residuary 
 
 legatees of, 486; sketch of, 487-88 
 Green, Mrs. Sarah H., Privileges 
 
 granted to, 474; 486; 488 
 Green Art Alcove, 438; fitted up by 
 
 R. L. Kennedy, 473-74; 496; 
 
 others added, 506 
 Green Art Collection, Foundation of, 
 
 486-87; 496; growth of, 506, 510, 
 
 527 
 Gregory, Dudley S., Lots bought of, 
 
 443 
 Gregory, Henry E., secretary of an- 
 nual meeting of 1906, 499 
 Greswold, Edward, trustee, 203; 
 
 sketch of, 306; elected Secretary, 
 
 311; retired, 315 
 Griscora, Dr. John, pioneer lecturer, 
 
 subscriber, 267; 392 
 Griswold, George, 326, 488 
 Griswold, Nathaniel L., right holder, 
 
 530 
 
 Hadden, David, director of Athe- 
 nseum, 335 
 
 Haight, Rev. Dr. Benjamin I., trus- 
 tee, 368, 402 
 
 Haight, Charles C, trustee, 503; on 
 House Committee, 506 
 
 Haines, Miss Henrietta B., 478 
 
 Hall of Records, 96re, 390m 
 
 Halleck, Fitz-Greene, 318, 457, 531 
 
 Hamersley, A. Gordon, 478 
 
 Hamersley, Dr. Andrew, 347; trus- 
 tee, 368 
 
 Hamersley, Louis C, 478 
 
 Hamilton, Alexander, 100; right 
 holder, 312 
 
 Hamilton, Andrew, secured acquit- 
 tal of printer Zenger, 142 
 
 Hamilton, John C, 336 
 
 Hammond, James, Circulating Li- 
 brary of, presented, 471 ; character 
 of the books, 471-73 
 
 Hardenbergh, John A., trustee and 
 Treasurer, 497 
 
 Harison, Francis, recorder, to draft 
 letter to S. P. G., 68-69 
 
 Harison, Richard, a tenant, 286; 
 398 
 
 Harison, William H., 335, 347, 358; 
 trustee and Treasurer, 367; 375; 
 399; invests funds unfortunately, 
 438; settles with trustees, 439-30; 
 bond given to, discharged, 434 
 
 Harpur, Robert, first librarian of 
 King's College, 89 
 
 Harris, Rev. Dr. WlUiam, trustee 
 P. E. Lib. Soc, 40; on union com- 
 mittee of Columbia College, 399; 
 319; elected president of Athe- 
 naeum, 323, 330, 334 
 
 Harrison, Mrs. Burton, 521 
 
 Harsen, Jacob, M.D., trustee, 444?i; 
 on shareholders' committee, 448 
 
 Hartford Library Company, 150» 
 
 Harvard College, Bequest of John 
 Harvard's books to, 4 
 
 Harvey, Jacob, trustee, 366 
 
 HasweU, Charles H., right holder, 
 520 
 
 Hawks papers. The (Gen. Conv. 
 Archives, N. Y. MSS.), 19m, 38?i, 
 35», 50m, 61» 
 
 Hazard, Ebenezer, partner of G. 
 Noel, 107 
 
 Hazard, Nathaniel, trustee, 316; 
 sketch of, 220-31; on committee 
 on site, 332; on funds, 223 
 
 Health regulations, 128 
 
 Heard, James, 327, 335, 340, 343 
 
 Heathcote, Col. Caleb, mayor, 47 
 
 Henrico, College library at, de- 
 stroyed, 4 
 
 Hewitt, John C, shareholder, 404 
 
 Hicks, Elias, OflFer of newspapers 
 by, for share declined, 305 
 
 Hicks, Whitehead, trustee, 79; 174; 
 long-time mayor, 196-98 
 
 Hildeburn, Charles R., authority 
 cited, 76» 
 
 Hildreth, Benjamin, Jr., chosen Li- 
 brarian of Society Librarj^, 164- 
 65; sketch of, 165-66; hours of 
 attendance doubled, 169; salary 
 arrears paid to, 174 
 
 Hildreth, Joseph, acting librarian, 
 165; kept Trinity parish records, 
 166 
 
 History, Charter, By-laws, etc., pub- 
 lished, 519 
 
 Hitchcock, Rev. Dr. Roswell D., 
 right holder, 520 
 
 Hobart, Dayton, trustee, 364; on 
 joint committee with Historical 
 Society, 386 ; long on Library Com- 
 mittee, 387; on auditing commit- 
 tee, 434 
 
 Hobart, Bp. John H., president P. E. 
 Lib. Soc, 40; Morgan Dix on, 
 43m; trustee, 359; often chairman, 
 363; long on Library Committee, 
 
INDEX 
 
 587 
 
 264.; to hold over, 283; on union 
 
 committee, 299; 318 
 Hobart, John Sloss, right holder, 
 
 213 
 HolTuian, D. Murray, 478 
 Hoffman, Eugene A., D.D., right 
 
 holder, 520 
 Hoffman, Josiah Ogden, subscriber, 
 
 267 
 Hoffman, Murray, 318 
 Holbrook, Distress and ejectment of 
 
 one, 420 
 Holland, Edward, mayor, 78; mem- 
 ber Library, 155 
 Hollis, T. B., of London, benefactor, 
 
 270 
 "Hon.," The title, in colonial days, 
 
 161» 
 Hone, Isaac S., 299, 327; director of 
 
 Athenaeum, 335 
 Hone, John, 326 
 Hooper, Rev. Joseph, authority 
 
 cited, 24, 27, 45, 49 
 Hopewell, N. J., Religious work in, 
 
 46 
 Hoppin, William J., Secretary, 438; 
 
 457; on centennial committee, 489 
 Horsmanden, Daniel, Chief Justice, 
 
 88 
 Hosack, David, M.D., subscriber, 
 
 267; benefactor, 370; 392, 298, 314, 
 
 318 
 Hours for drawing books, 157, 165, 
 
 169, 173, 187, 212, 243-44; sev- 
 eral changes in, 387-88, 463, 
 
 508-9 
 Hours of opening and closing, 274- 
 
 76; criticisms of, in the press, 375- 
 
 76, 318 
 House Committee created, 505-6 
 Houseal, Rev. B. M., 96, 97» 
 How, Rev. Thomas Y., trustee P. E. 
 
 Lib. Soc, 40 
 Howard, Daniel D., buys Broadway 
 
 building, 434; assigns deed to Ap- 
 
 pleton, 435 
 Howe, Mrs. Julia Ward, 268, 335 
 Huck, Michael, 223 
 Huddleston, William, master of 
 
 charity school, 47 
 Hugget, Benjamin, director Union 
 
 Library Society, 114 
 Hughes, Brig.-Gen. James M., Lib- 
 erty Boy, trustee, 234 
 Humphreys, David, D.D., Secretary 
 
 S. P. G., 60, 68 
 Hunter, Gov. Robert, 47; efforts of. 
 
 for Sharpe Collection, 58; on New 
 York, 63n; owner of library, 122 
 Huntington, Daniel, 478 
 
 Incorporation, Satisfaction at, 186; 
 centennial of, 489-91 
 
 Indebtedness, Standing, 309; report 
 on, 310 
 
 Independent Reflector, The, by Wil- 
 liam Livingston, 133, 145 
 
 Indian massacre at Henrico, 4 
 
 Infant members. Report on rights 
 of, 460 
 
 Inglis, Rev. Dr. Charles, wrote ac- 
 count of fire, Sept., 1776, 35; Trin- 
 ity books in hands of, 37; leaves 
 N. Y., 37; letter of, on plundering 
 of libraries by King's troops, 81- 
 82; bishop Nova Scotia, 82; mem- 
 ber Society Library, 190 
 
 Inglis, John, third bishop Nova Sco- 
 tia, 82 
 
 Inglis, Judge William, trustee. Sec- 
 retary, 347, 358, 364; long on 
 Library Committee, 387; on build- 
 ing committee, 397; on committee 
 to increase use of Library, 412; 
 428» 
 
 Initiation fee, 408 
 
 Inslee, Samuel, printer, 112 
 
 Inspectors of election, how ap- 
 pointed, 279-80, 285; refresh- 
 ments for, 461 
 
 Institutions, Short-lived, 3; chrono- 
 logical order of oldest, to-day, 5 
 
 Insurance carried, 331, 288,435,523- 
 23 
 
 Ironside, Master, dreaded discipli- 
 narian, 330 
 
 Iroquois, Sermons and beer adminis- 
 tered to, 48 
 
 Irving, Ebenezer, director of Athe- 
 naeum, 335 
 
 Irving, John Treat, 476 
 
 Irving, Dr. Peter, editor Morning 
 Chronicle, subscriber, 367 
 
 Irving, Washington, 314, 318, 319»; 
 trustee, 366, 375re 
 
 Italian Library Society, Books of, 
 deposited in Society Library, 273- 
 74 
 
 Jacklyne, Captain Edmond, 169 
 Jackson, Thomas, in charge of Cor- 
 poration Library, 79, 104; and So- 
 ciety Library, 80; Librarian, 173; 
 paid quarterly, 174; success of, as 
 
588 
 
 INDEX 
 
 teacher, 176; became minister, 177; 
 leaves town, 189 
 
 Jameson, David, Trinity vestryman, 
 reported gift of books by Gov. 
 Fletcher, 18 
 
 Jarvis, Rev. Dr. Samuel F., trustee 
 P. E. Lib. Soc, 40; trustee of 
 Society Library, 359-60; resigned, 
 263; long on Library Committee, 
 364 
 
 Jay, James, M.D., commissioner to 
 raise funds for King's College, 89 
 
 Jay, John, Chief Justice, 100; Chan- 
 cellor Livingston law partner of, 
 199; right holder, 312; subscriber, 
 267; resided in Government House, 
 389 
 
 Jay, Hon. John, right holder, 520 
 
 Jay, Peter A., trustee, 359; on com- 
 mittee on by-laws, 364; 392; on 
 committee on Library, 307; 319; 
 333; president of Athenaeum, 334; 
 363 
 
 Jenney, Rev. Robert, on Sharpe col- 
 lection and parish library, 28; ef- 
 forts of, 58; succeeds Chaplain 
 Sharpe, 60 
 
 Jerome, William T., right holder, 520 
 
 John C. Green Alcove, see Green 
 Art Alcove 
 
 John C. Green Fund, Perpetual by- 
 law passed on, 486-87 
 
 Johnson, Jeromus, 327; director of 
 Athenaeum, 335 
 
 Johnson, Samuel, D.D., president 
 King's CoUege, 86; letters of, 
 about Bristowe books, 88 
 
 Johnson, William, trustee P. E. Lib. 
 Soc, 40; trustee, sketch of, 237; 
 on committee to raise funds, 251; 
 prepares petition for removal of 
 duty on books, 254-55; long mem- 
 ber of Library Committee, 264; on 
 committee on by-laws, 264; ad- 
 dress in Catalogue of 1813, 366- 
 67; benefactor, 270; inspector of 
 election, 280; on committees of 
 conference, 298, 399 
 
 Johnson, William Samuel, LL.D., 
 210n; on committee on room in 
 new City Hall, 332; sketch of, 
 233-34; 339; served oftenest as 
 chairman, 344; sends petitions to 
 legislature, 350 
 
 Johnson, William Samuel, asst. al- 
 derman, trustee, 345, 367; favors 
 Athenaeum terms, 347; on building 
 
 committee, 397; his notion of a 
 librarian, 416 
 
 Johnson, William T., trustee, 369 
 
 Jones, David S., trustee, 360; 384, 
 399, 309, 310, 366 
 
 Jones, Edward, trustee, 369; retired, 
 443 
 
 Jones, James, 281 
 
 Jones, James I., on AthenjEum com- 
 mittees, 299, 301; trustee Society 
 Library, 369 
 
 Jones, John, M.D., member Society 
 Library, 190; trustee, on purchas- 
 ing committee, 191; at head of 
 surgical profession, 196 
 
 Jones, Lewis C, trustee, 440 
 
 Jones, Samuel, trustee and Treas- 
 urer, 178; to draft charter, 180; 
 confirmed as Treasurer, 187; 
 "father of N. Y. bar," 198; reap- 
 pointed Treasurer, 203, 211; peti- 
 tion to legislature sent to, 350 
 
 Jones, Samuel, 281 
 
 Jones, Dr. Thomas, trustee, 236; de- 
 ceased, 246 
 
 Jones, Judge Thomas, on vandalism 
 of British soldiers, 94-95, 194- 
 95 ; on number of books lost, 120 
 
 Jones, William A., librarian Colum- 
 bia College, 250m 
 
 Journal ^ Patriotic Register on rise 
 in price of shares, 348 
 
 Journals of House of Commons pur- 
 chased, 215 
 
 Jumel, Mme. Eliza, subscriber, 267; 
 share of, forfeited, 408 
 
 Keese, Mrs. Mary M., benefactress. 
 Photograph of, 513; bequest of, 
 523 
 
 Keith, Rev. George, to establish lay- 
 men's libraries, 23-35; on An- 
 glican church in New York, 24; 
 reports on parochial libraries of 
 Boston and New York, 25-26; 
 succeeded by Talbot and Sharpe, 
 45-46 
 
 Kelly, Robert, first regular Chair- 
 man, 440, 450 
 
 Kemp, Prof. John, trustee, 236; plan 
 of, to increase funds, 251 ; death 
 of, 262; often on Library Commit- 
 tee, 264; election inspector, 280 
 
 Kempe, John T., attorney-general. 
 Honorary membership conferred 
 on, 186; sketch of, trustee, 198 
 
 Kennedy, Capt. Archibald, 155 
 
INDEX 
 
 589 
 
 Kennedy, Robert Lenox, trustee, 
 438; on Library Committee, 451, 
 508; benefactor, 465; gave Ham- 
 mond Circulating Library, 471; 
 fitted up John C. Green Alcove, 
 473-74, 487, 510; privileges 
 granted to, 474; 486; trustee min- 
 ute on, 495-96 
 
 Kent, Chancellor James, trustee, 
 337-38; contested election sub- 
 mitted to, 281; declares it void, 
 283; at Athenaeum dinner, 318; at 
 "Rally," 327; president of Athe- 
 naeum, 334, 344 
 
 Kent, Prof. William, 355; trustee, 
 367-68; 375; 385; 398re; 428re 
 
 Kent Club, The, 363 
 
 Kernochan, Joseph, treasurer of 
 Athenasum, 334; 335 
 
 Keteltas, Peter, trustee, 161; notice 
 of, 163; ordered to purchase fur- 
 niture for Library, 190; on com- 
 mittee to buy books, 191; books to 
 be returned to, 202; 203; 211 
 
 King, Charles, on first Library build- 
 ing, 230-31; 319; at "Rally" for 
 Athenseum, 327 
 
 King, Edward, Chairman, 496; meet- 
 ings at office of, 497; at meeting 
 of 1906, 499, 500; on committee on 
 new site, 504, 505; on House Com- 
 mittee, 506; resigned, 538 
 
 King, Dr. Frederick Gore, signer of 
 Address of Athenaeum Associates, 
 321-22; lecturer, 325, 333; Ufe 
 member, 334tc 
 
 King, James Gore, 528 
 
 King, Rufus, on purchasing commit- 
 tee, 215; 216; sketch of, 319-30; 
 at Athenaeum dinner, 318; 538 
 
 King's Chapel Library, Boston, 31 
 
 King's College, Society Library an 
 advantage to, 84; literary re- 
 sources of city at disposal of, 86; 
 new building of, on Murray St., 
 88; committee on, 88-89; commis- 
 sion to raise funds for, 89-90; 
 Gazette on, 90-91; chartered, 134; 
 founded same year as Society Li- 
 brary, 146; original charter of, 
 preserved, 183 
 
 King's College Library, 27, 84-100; 
 books of, transferred to City Hall, 
 36, 81; found in St. Paul's chapel, 
 36, 98, 99; claimed, 37; origin of, 
 a legacy, 84-85; library of D. 
 Bristowe bequeathed to, 87; delay 
 
 in getting the books, 87-89; some 
 books received, 90; room for, in 
 new building, 88, 90; R. Har- 
 pur appointed Librarian of, 89; 
 donations to, 90; additions to, 
 purchased, 93; removed to City 
 Hall, 94; plundered and dis- 
 persed by British soldiers, 94- 
 95; proclamations regarding, 95- 
 96; summary of history of, 130; 
 handful of original books of, in 
 Columbia University Library, 121 
 
 King's College Library, Windsor, 
 Nova Scotia, gets no Millington 
 books, 82 
 
 Kip, Isaac L., chosen Librarian, 342; 
 salary paid to, 243 
 
 Kirkman, Francis, had circulating 
 library in London, 102m 
 
 Kissing-bridge near New York, 129 
 
 Kneeland, Henry, director of Athe- 
 naeum, 335 
 
 "Knickerbocker" in American on 
 union with Athenaeum, 349-51 
 
 Knickerbockers, The, too engrossed 
 in business to care for sectarian 
 institutions, 39 
 
 Knowledge, Dr. Bray on, 11; an in- 
 telligent thirst for, developed, 130 
 
 Knox, John M., trustee, 439; Chair- 
 man, 496 
 
 Label on volume II of Clarendon's 
 History of the Rebellion, 20; fac- 
 simile, 119; on King's Chapel 
 books, 21 
 
 Laight, Gen. Edward W., trustee, 
 259; often chairman, 363; member 
 of Italian Lib. Soc, 374; a tenant, 
 376; 381; to hold over as trustee, 
 383; signed petition, 393; Treas- 
 urer, 304 ; on committee to buy lot, 
 308; 314; 335; on committee on 
 terms of settlement, 343; favored 
 Athenaeum's terms, 347; 375»; 
 often chosen chairman, 387; 398n 
 
 Laight, Henry, donor, 370; on elec- 
 tion committee, 380 
 
 Laight, William, failed of election, 
 326; trustee, 336 
 
 Lamb, Alexander, appointed keeper 
 of Library, 70; retires, 72 
 
 Lamb, Anthony, 354 
 
 Lamb, Mrs. Martha J., historian, 70; 
 authority cited, 492» 
 
 Lambeth Palace Library, Original 
 MS. of Sharpe proposals in, 57 
 
590 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Law passed for raising annual dues, 
 350, 407, 480; for commuting an- 
 nual dues, 359 
 
 Lawrence, Augustine H., assistant- 
 alderman, 293 
 
 Lawrence, Isaac, 326 
 
 Lawrence, John L., nominee opposed 
 to Athenaeum terms, 354, 357 
 
 Lawrence, WiUiam A., trustee, fa- 
 vors Athensum terms, 347; 366; 
 399; urges advance in price of 
 shares, 406 
 
 Lawrence, William Beach, 336, 340; 
 asks for quarters for Historical 
 Society, 384-85. 
 
 Lajrmen's libraries. Rev. G. Keith to 
 establish, 23; character of books 
 for, 23-25 
 
 L'Enfant, Charles, architect of Fed- 
 eral Hall, 209 
 
 Le Conte, John, naturalist, trustee, 
 261 ; inspector at own election, 279 ; 
 holds over, 284 
 
 Le Roy, Gen. Robert, trustee, on 
 committee on taxes, 424; 440 
 
 Leavitt, J. A., 327 
 
 Leavitt, John W., director of Athe- 
 naeum, 335 
 
 Lecture courses of Athenaeum, 325, 
 333-34 
 
 Lecture room, The, a popular fea- 
 ture, 420-21 
 
 Lecturers of Athenaeum, 321, 325, 
 328, 333-34 
 
 Legal fraternity. Influence of, 129 
 
 Leigh, John W., 410re 
 
 Leisler excitement, The, 39 
 
 Lending Laymen's Libraries planned 
 by Dr. Bray, 23-25 
 
 Lending libraries in England pro- 
 posed by Dr. Bray, 11, 12 
 
 Lettering on Bray books, 31, 32»; 
 facsimile of, 25 
 
 Letters, No encouragement of, by 
 civic authorities, 327 
 
 Leupp, Charles M., trustee, 364; on 
 committee on number of volumes, 
 413; on committee on debt, 432; on 
 auditing committee, 434; on joint 
 committee with Historical Society, 
 442 
 
 Liberty Boys, Outbreaks of, 194 
 
 Librarian, A, said to have been dis- 
 covered with the books in St. 
 Paul's, 98 
 
 Librarian, The first, of Society Li- 
 brary, 164-66; T. Jackson suc- 
 
 ceeds, 173; to observe rule regard- 
 ing delinquents, 174; changes in, 
 176-77; J. Wilmot as, 177; city 
 paid nothing for, 189 ; Geo. Murray 
 the last, before Revolution, 193- 
 93; Rev. Geo. Wright appointed, 
 311; Isaac L. Kip chosen, 242; 
 salary paid, 243; John P. Pearss 
 as, 243; John Forbes appointed, 
 243; salary and perquisites of, 
 376-77, 419; Burtis Skidmore 
 appointed, 378; Philip J. Forbes 
 appointed, 378, 416; ordered to 
 collect dues, 308; amount due the, 
 309; W. S. Johnson's notion of a, 
 416-17; salary question, 417-19; 
 criticised, 418-19; P. J. Forbes 
 asked to resign, 453; John Mac- 
 Mullen appointed, 447, 453; dis- 
 missed, 456; W. S. Butler ap- 
 pointed, 457 ; salary advanced, 458 ; 
 desk of, moved, 474; appointment 
 of, transferred to House Com- 
 mittee, 506 
 Libraries, Dr. Bray's system for 
 founding, 11-13; number of, 
 founded by him, 27 
 Libraries of New York all burned or 
 
 looted, 195 
 Libraries, public. Petitions sent to 
 Congress asking removal of duty 
 on books for, 254-55; not legally 
 subject to taxation, 422-33, 424- 
 25, 507 
 Libraries, A union of, proposed, 298 
 Library, A, a necessary encourage- 
 ment to a minister, 10 
 Library assistants, 417, 419, 516-17 
 Library beginnings in New York, 
 Account of, by D. Van Pelt, 5-6; 
 by W. S. Butler, 6-7; earliest 
 printed mention of, 8 
 Library building. The first, in New 
 York, 223-32; begun for Society 
 Library, 334; no record of any 
 dedicatory exercises, 226; reminis- 
 cences of, by P. J. Forbes, 339-30; 
 by Charles King, 230-31; badly 
 situated, 273; alterations in, 386, 
 296; imperiled by fire, 288; sold, 
 344, 381-83; the second, begun, 
 397-98; corner-stone laid, 398»; 
 damage by fire, 399; first meeting 
 of trustees in, 399-400; descrip- 
 tions of, 400-1; cost of, 401; 
 rental of apartments in, 419-23; 
 taxed, 432-36; description of 
 
INDEX 
 
 591 
 
 third, 445-46; cost of, 446; heat- 
 • ing and repairing, in charge of 
 Library Committee, 474; arms of 
 Library painted on wall, 475; 
 apartments on first floor variously 
 used, 475-76, 507-8; a social ren- 
 dezvous, 476-77; surroundings of, 
 501; offers for, declined, 502, 504; 
 House Committee to care for, 605; 
 changes in, 506; again on tax list, 
 relieved for future, 507 
 
 Library, Circulating, The first Pub- 
 lic, in New York, 64 
 
 Library Committee, chiefly responsi- 
 ble in executive matters, 263, 387, 
 451; leading members of, 264, 387, 
 451; variety of matters referred 
 to, 264; authorized to print a sup- 
 plement to catalogue, 270; report 
 on forfeited shares, 284; make al- 
 terations, 286; report on failure to 
 secure new quarters, 303; report 
 on property, funds and debt, 310, 
 311; number of, increased, 387, 
 451; given powers and duties of 
 head librarian, 417; friction of, 
 with Librarian MacMullen, 453- 
 54; work of, 463-64; report on 
 greater revenue, 479; some func- 
 tions of, transferred to House 
 Committee, 506; membership of, 
 and functions, 508-9 
 
 Library Company of Baltimore, in- 
 corporated, 156n; petition of, for 
 removal of duty on books for li- 
 braries, 353-55 
 
 Library Company of Philadelphia, 
 5; oldest proprietary library in 
 U. S., 59, 150; privileges of, given 
 to Continental Congress, 210; first 
 building of, 228m; petitions Con- 
 gress to remove duty on books for 
 Bbraries, 254 
 
 Library custodian, C. Lodge, of Cor- 
 poration Library, 72 
 
 Library development in America, 
 Early, 3; short-lived institutions, 
 3; cherished landmarks of, 4; first 
 libraries, 4-5; number of libraries 
 founded by Dr. T. Bray, 27 
 
 Library, free circulating. The first, 
 in U. S., 4 
 
 Library, free public. First recom- 
 mendation of public funds for a, 
 4-5 
 
 Library, The, in Colonial New York, 
 3-122; introduction, 3-7; true 
 
 story of, to be unfolded, 7; 
 Bray Foundation, or Library of 
 Trinity Parish, 8-42, 118; li- 
 brary idea too advanced, 29; 
 Public Library of New York, 30; 
 Protestant Episcopal Library So- 
 ciety, 39-42; Sharpe Collection 
 for a "Publick" Library, 43-64, 
 118, 121; Sharpe Proposals, 53-57; 
 why idea did not strike root, 63-64; 
 Miilington Bequest, or Corporation 
 Library, 64-83, 119; New York 
 Society Library, 83-84, 119-20; 
 Library of King's College, 84-100, 
 120; Booksellers' Circulating Li- 
 braries, 101-11, 118; Union Li- 
 brary Society, 112-18, 120; six 
 collections prostrated by War, 120 ; 
 cultivation and refinement in colo- 
 nial period, 121 ; private collec- 
 tions and their owners, 120-21 
 
 Library in Rensselaerswyck, 31ra 
 
 Library Keeper, A. Lamb, 70; J. 
 Parker, 73-74; T. Jackson, 79- 
 80; rules to be observed by, 156, 
 169 
 
 Library of Trinity Parish, see Trin- 
 ity Parish 
 
 Library room in City Hall, Society 
 Library in, 157; payments for re- 
 pairs of, 173; Union Library Soci- 
 ety granted joint use of, 116, 189 
 
 Library, Sociefy, see N. Y. Society 
 Library 
 
 Library Society, see Charleston Li- 
 brary Society, Union Library Soci- 
 ety 
 
 Library supported at public expense, 
 The first, in America, 4 
 
 Linn, Rev. Dr. William, trustee, 236 
 
 Literary and Philosophical Society 
 in joint petition to Common Coun- 
 cil, 292; founded, 318 
 
 Literary Confederacy, The, 363 
 
 Literary Exchange opened by John 
 Howard Payne, 314-15 
 
 Literary Rooms of Eastburn, Kirk 
 & Co., 316 
 
 Literary Rooms of G. & C. CarvUl, 
 headquarters of Athenaeum, 331; 
 lighted with gas, 331 
 
 Literary societies. Project for 
 consolidation of, 299-300, 315; 
 source of the movement, 376; a 
 new suggestion, 376—77 
 
 Liverpool Athenaeum model of New 
 York Athenajum, 313, 470 
 
592 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Liverpool Library, The, 470 
 
 Livingston, Brockholst, trustee, 203; 
 sketch of, 304; offers land for 
 building, 222; 223 
 
 Livingston, Edward, on committee 
 on site, 222; on plans, 223; chair- 
 man of building committee, 324; 
 not reelected trustee, 226; sketch 
 of, 334; snubbed by trustees, 242; 
 member of Congress, 255 
 
 Livingston, Miss Joanna, Lot in 
 Wall St. leased from, but lease 
 canceled, 323 
 
 Livingston, John, to receive part of 
 funds, 153; trustee, 161; only Tory 
 representative of family, 162 
 
 Livingston, Rev. Dr. John H., mem- 
 ber Society Library, 190; trustee, 
 23T 
 
 Livingston, Peter R., 234™ 
 
 Livingston, Peter Van Brugh, trus- 
 tee, 161; sketch of, 162; 177 
 
 Livingston, Philip, an organizer of 
 Society Library, 130; sketch of, 
 132; trustee, 159, 161 
 
 Livingston, Robert, 132 
 
 Livingston, Robert G., 191 
 
 Livingston, Judge Robert R., an or- 
 ganizer of Society Library, 130, 
 186; sketch of, 133; trustee, 140; 
 submitted list of books, 152; 161 
 
 Livingston, Robert R., Jr., chancel- 
 lor, 100; 151; sketch of, 198-99; 
 reelected trustee, 303; 210r!. 
 
 Livingston, William, on committee to 
 submit proposals to city authori- 
 ties, 78; an organizer of Society 
 Library, 130, 186; sketch of, 132- 
 33; trustee, 140; on Massachusetts 
 boundary commission, 145; named 
 a first governor of Kling's College, 
 146; submitted list of books, 152, 
 161, 174; presented device for 
 bookplate, 166; 310», 213 
 
 Livingston family. Ten members of, 
 right holders, 213 
 
 Loan of books, extended to any resi- 
 dent of province, 138; conditions 
 for, 156, 158, 169, 175, 212, 365, 
 509 
 Loans, Rate of, for books, 75, 79 
 Local history, Pamphlets on, asked 
 
 for, 316 
 Lodge, Cornelius, paid for cleaning 
 books in Corporation Library, 73 
 London, Public libraries unknown 
 in, 470 
 
 Long Island, A Layman's library 
 for, 23, 24 
 
 Lord, Rufus L., 335; appraiser, 345; 
 trustee, 369, 398n 
 
 Loudon, Samuel, opens Circulating 
 Library, 108-9; terms of, 110; 
 publishes the New-York Packet and 
 American Advertiser, 110-11; left 
 New York, 111; announced re- 
 opening of Circulating Library, 
 lllw, 202; right holder, 213 
 
 Louis (XV), the Well Beloved, 
 123 
 
 Louisiana Purchase negotiated by 
 Chancellor Livingston, 199 
 
 Lovelace, Gov. Francis, on people of 
 New Amsterdam, 32, 121 
 
 Ludlow, Carey, right holder, 213 
 
 Ludlow, Gabriel, put in charge of 
 collection, 159; trustee, 161; clerk 
 of assembly, 163; 165 
 
 Ludlow, George D., acting Librarian 
 of Society Library, 165 
 
 Ludlow, Thomas W., 430 
 
 Lurting, Robert, mayor, 66; fac- 
 simile of letter of, to S. P. G., 71 
 
 Lyceum of Natural History 
 founded, 318 
 
 McCormick, Daniel, trustee, 236 
 
 McEvers, James, right holder, 155, 
 213 
 
 McLean, James M., trustee, 496 
 
 MacMullen, John, Librarian, Address 
 of, on Society Library, 447; sketch 
 of, 452; disagreement with Library 
 Committee, 453; contest at elec- 
 tion, 454-55; resigns, 456; 456m 
 
 McMurray, William, trustee, 441 ; re- 
 ports on "infants," 460 ; benefactor, 
 465 
 
 MacNeven, Dr. William J., 319 
 
 McVickar, Prof. John, subscriber, 
 268; president of Athenaeum, 334; 
 life member, 334re; signed deed, 
 358; 363; 478 
 
 Manhattan Life Ins. Co., 476 
 
 Marbury, Francis, shareholder, 404 
 
 Marie Antoinette, 124 
 
 Marshall, Charles H., trustee, on 
 committee on consolidation, 505 
 
 Marston, Nathaniel, governor of 
 King's College, 88 ; correspondence 
 of, 90-91 
 
 Mason, Rev. Dr. John M., provost of 
 Columbia, trustee, 237; 314, 368 
 
 Massachusetts, Early libraries in, 4; 
 
INDEX 
 
 593 
 
 commissioners on boundary ques- 
 tion with, 145 
 
 Matiiews, Albert, trustee, 497; on 
 Library Committee, 508 
 
 Mathews, Rev. Dr. James M., 399, 
 319, 322, 363 
 
 Matlack, White, director Union Li- 
 brary Society, 114 
 
 Matricula of King's College on con- 
 fusion incident to War, 193 
 
 Matthews, Cornelius, 429tc 
 
 Maverick, Peter R., paid for engrav- 
 ing second bookplate for Soci- 
 ety Library, 213; for engraving 
 third bookplate, 252; facsimiles, 
 317, 484 
 
 Maverick bookplate. The second, 
 painted on the wall, 3S2?t, 475 
 
 Maxwell, Hugh, 428re 
 
 Mechanics' Institute, 421 
 
 Mechanics' Society building, leased, 
 384; described, 384»i; 385, 399 
 
 Meetings of trustees. Variation in 
 time of holding, 171, 174, 175, 190, 
 245, 263-63, 388-89, 497; special 
 meetings, 497 
 
 Megapolensis, Rev. Johannes, of 
 Rensselaerswyck, 31» 
 
 Members, No change in printed lists 
 of, 169, 170; new, enroUed, 190; 
 "admitted," 285; names of new, 
 entered in minutes, 286, 306, 403. 
 See also Proprietors, Shareholders, 
 and Subscribers 
 
 Members of the Athenaeum, 329 
 
 Membership, Annulment of, 408 
 
 Membership, Comparison of charter 
 with original, 186 
 
 Membership roU, Active efforts to 
 enlarge, 446 ; public meetings, 446 - 
 48; address by John MacMuUen, 
 447; successful personal canvass, 
 448; impaired by Civil War, 479; 
 lessened, 481 ; 532 
 
 Memberships, Honorary, conferred, 
 166, 186 
 
 Mercantile Library Association, 150, 
 318, 370, 466 
 
 Mercein, Thomas R., shareholder, 404 
 Merchants' CoiFee-House, 2037J 
 
 Mercury, The, on Joseph Murray, 85 
 
 Mesier, Peter A., alderman, 393; 
 bookseller, 307 
 
 Middlemas, P., donor, 270 
 
 Miller, Alexander, T. Jackson's sal- 
 ary paid to, 177 
 
 Miller, Rev. John, chaplain, on fort 
 
 chapel, 18»; books of, in N. Y. 
 Public Library, 122 
 
 Miller, Rev. Samuel, 314 
 
 Millington, John, D.D., Disposition 
 of private library of, 5-6, 6-7; 
 death of, 64; bequests of, to S. P. 
 G., 65; gave bell to Stoke Newing- 
 ton church, 83 
 
 Millington Bequest, The, or the Cor- 
 poration Library, 1730-1776, 64- 
 83, 119; S. P. G. gives Millington's 
 books to New York, 65; action of 
 general assembly and Common 
 Council on, 66-68; report of 
 committee of Coi-poration on, 67- 
 68; use of books, 72; bore S. P. 
 G. bookplate, 75; catalogue of, 
 printed, 75, 80; remnant of, in 
 hands of Dr. Inglis, 83; facsimile 
 of Assembly Journal on, 348 
 
 Milne, Rev. John, Puzzling allusion 
 of, to Dr. Sharpe, 60» 
 
 Minister, A library a necessary en- 
 couragement to a, 10 
 
 Ministers, owners of libraries, 33 
 
 Minturn, Robert B., trustee, 366, 
 428»; on committee to increase use 
 of Library, 412 
 
 Minutes of trustees. Books of, pre- 
 served, 148 
 
 Mitchill, Dr. Samuel L., trustee, 202; 
 his Picture of New-York, 203»; 
 Nestor of American science, 234- 
 35; benefactor, 270; 293; on com- 
 mittee on state of Library, 307; 
 to buy stock, 307; 314, 319" 
 
 Moir, Rev. W. W., gives busts, 513 
 
 Money, Total of gifts of, 523 
 
 Montgomerie, Gov. John, learns of 
 gift of Millington books to city, 
 5-6; letter of, to S. P. G., 65, 68; 
 never recommended a library stat- 
 ute to assembly, 69 ; left a library, 
 129; facsimile of signature, 332 
 
 Moore, Bp. Benj., J. Pintard con- 
 ferred with, on theological library, 
 37; sketch of, 220; failed of elec- 
 tion, 226; long on Library Com- 
 mittee, 964; chairman, 307 
 
 Moore, Clement C, trustee, 259; 
 donor, 270; member Italian Li- 
 brary Society, 274; 298; 319 
 
 Moore, George H., on charter cen- 
 tennial committee, 489 
 
 Moore, Lambert, 155 
 
 Moore, Nathaniel F., on library books 
 found in St. Paul's, 36, 97-^98; on 
 
594 
 
 INDEX 
 
 donations to King's College Li- 
 brary, 90; donor, 270; 319; lec- 
 tures on Greek literature be- 
 fore Athenaeum, 335-26; favored 
 Athenaeum's terms, 355; member 
 Kent Club, 363; trustee, 366; on 
 building committee, 397 
 Morgan, John J., trustee, 261 ; Rev. 
 Dr. Morgan Dix on, 261-62; often 
 chairman, 263, 387; long member 
 of Library Committee, 264, 387; 
 holds over as trustee, 283 ; on union 
 committee, 299 ; on almshouse com- 
 mittee, 300; appointed Treasurer, 
 304; on committee to petition 
 money grant from legislature, 309 ; 
 recommends sinking fund, 311; on 
 condition of Library in 75th year, 
 312; Athenaeum Associate, 319; on 
 joint committees for union with 
 Athenaeum, 339, 340, 343; opposed 
 Athenaeum terms, 347, 354, 357; 
 4,3811 
 
 Morning Chronicle on books found 
 in St. Paul's, 37, 98 
 
 Morris, Col. Lewis, public leader, 47; 
 had collection of books, 122 
 
 Morrison, Miss Marion D., 516 
 
 Morse, S. F. B., life member of 
 Athenaeum, 334»; 363, 367 
 
 Morton, Prof. Henry, gives books on 
 Egyptology, 518 
 
 Morton, Jacob, Secretary, 215; 
 sketch of, 217; on building com- 
 mittee, 223; disbursements of, for 
 library building, 224; asked to de- 
 liver oration at opening of new 
 Library, 225; defeated for reelec- 
 tion, 226; donor, 242; 314, 319 
 
 Mott, Rev. Edmond, fort chaplain, 
 26; left books to parish, 36»; 
 death of, 46 
 
 Mott, James, director Union Library 
 Society, 114 
 
 Mount, Miss Maria B., Bequest of, 
 523 
 
 Mount, Richard E., Treasurer, only 
 trustee to leave legacy, 441, 523; 
 gave dinners to inspectors, 461m; 
 gave carpet, 475; 483 
 
 Muhlenbergh, Rev. Dr. William A., 
 478 
 
 Murray, George, paid for attend- 
 ance as Librarian, 192; kept 
 Quaker school, 192-93; last Libra- 
 rian before Revolution, 193 
 
 Murray, John, director Union Li- 
 
 brary Society, 114; calls meeting, 
 117 
 
 Murray, John R., 281 
 
 Murray, Joseph, trustee of Society 
 Library and a Governor of King's 
 College, founds King's College 
 Library, 84-85, 91, 120, 146; 
 character of, 85; facsimile of 
 bookplate of, 85; books of, in 
 Columbia University Library, 99; 
 private collection of, 122; attor- 
 ney-general, sketch of, 141 ; Massa- 
 chusetts boundary commissioner, 
 145 ; reelected trustee, 161 ; death 
 of, 169 
 
 Murray, Lindley, grammarian, direc- 
 tor Union Library Society, 114 
 
 Mutual Assurance Co., Stock of, 
 purchased, 307 
 
 Nanfan, Capt. John, lieut.-gov., 24 
 
 Nash, Stephen P., trustee, 439; 486 
 
 Nassau St., Tax for extension of, 310 
 
 National Academy of Design occu- 
 pied third floor of Broadway 
 building, 421-22 
 
 Nationality, Idea of, finding expres- 
 sion, 123 
 
 Xeal, Daniel, on booksellers' shops, 
 101 
 
 Neal, Dr. H. D., 414, 432w 
 
 Neat, William, to ship Bristowe 
 books, 88, 90, 91 
 
 Neau, Elias, catechist, 47; on work 
 of Rev. J. Sharpe, 49; Sharpe 
 books left with, 5S, 58; on J. 
 Sharpe, 61 ; on city ordinance 
 about slaves, 64m 
 
 New Amsterdam, Culture of people 
 of, 33 
 
 New Amsterdam in 1656, Picture of, 
 475 
 
 New Jersey, Evangelical work of 
 Talbot and Sharpe in, 46 
 
 New-York American on Athenaeum, 
 322, 327; on opening exercises, 324 
 
 New York Athenaeum, The, 313-62; 
 establishment of, 276, 313; scheme 
 to unite, with Library charged, 
 283; denied, 282-83, 284; proposals 
 of, for union of libraries, 298-99; 
 joins Library in petition for rooms 
 in Institution, 302; book of min- 
 utes of, in Society I/ibrary, 318; 
 how originated, 318-19; saluta- 
 tory address of, 319-21; to admit 
 women to lectures, 322; election of 
 
INDEX 
 
 595 
 
 ofBcers, 322-23; scheme of lec- 
 tures, 323; given use of college 
 chapel, 323-24; opening assembly, 
 324; address, 325; list of lectures, 
 325; enthusiasm aroused for, 326- 
 27, 370; subscriptions, 328; grades 
 of membership, 328-29; board of 
 Directors, 329; records of pro- 
 ceedings, 339-31; sessions held in 
 Literary Rooms, 331; overtures 
 from Clinton Hall Assoc, 331-32; 
 summary of lecture courses, 333- 
 34; prominent officers of, 334-36; 
 charter and revision of constitu- 
 tion, 336; library and reading- 
 rooms, 336-37; hours open, 337; 
 finances of, 338 ; moved, 338 ; nego- 
 tiations for union with Society 
 Library, 339-58; disagreement 
 over name, 339 ; proposes "amicable 
 vicinage," 340; joint committee on 
 situation, 340-43; contemplated 
 site, 341 ; purchased and divided 
 by lot, 343-45; unable to build, 
 345-46; proposes "real union," 
 346; prolonged negotiations, 346 — 
 47, 349; final covenant, 357-58; 
 agreement with, 357—58; last 
 meeting of Directors, 360; not all 
 shares exchanged, 360; charter not 
 annulled, 361 ; passing of the 
 Athenaeum, 362 
 New York Chess Association, 476 
 New York City, Account of library 
 beginnings in, 5—7; earliest library 
 in, 8; first library in, parochial, 22; 
 receipt of a layman's library for, 
 24; indebted to S. P. G., 26-27; 
 number of volumes sent to, by Dr. 
 Bray, 27; conditions in (1698), 
 29—30; J. Sharpe on need of pub- 
 lic school in, 54; his plans for free 
 public library, 54-56; public li- 
 brary first proposed in, 61 ; under 
 English rule, 125; commercial 
 prosperity, 125-26; small size 
 of, 126; under British occupation, 
 194; plight at close of Revolution, 
 200; progress in seven years, 
 200-1; seat of Federal Govern- 
 ment, 208; age of foundations in, 
 316; early engraving of, given, 
 395; expansion of, 501; engraving 
 of, in 1855, 513 
 New-York Evening Post on growth 
 of Library, 272-73, 412; commu- 
 nication to, on disputed election. 
 
 281; "X" on Athenaeum in, 322; 
 on MacMuUen controversy, 454-55 
 
 New-York Gazette; and the Weekly 
 Mercury, The, Notice of Union 
 Library Society in, 115 
 
 New-York Gazette; or, the Weekly 
 Post-Boy, The, 79; on Joseph 
 Murray, 85; Noel's advertisements 
 in, 103-5 
 
 New-York Gazette, Revived in the 
 Weekly Post-Boy, The, 76 
 
 New York Historical Society, 215; 
 John Pintaud founder of, 219; es- 
 tablished, 257; John Forbes libra- 
 rian of, 277; moved to Government 
 House, 289; in joint petition to 
 Common Council, 292; favors 
 union of libraries, 298; enthusiasm 
 in, 370; asks terms for quarters 
 in new building, 385 ; in Stuyvesant 
 Institute, 385n,; seeking terms of 
 mutual accommodation, 386; in 
 New York University, 386; pur- 
 chases site, 442 
 
 New York Institution, The, 297, 299 
 
 New York Law Institute founded, 
 318 
 
 New York Library, 30, 80, 105, 118- 
 23, 136, 527; facsimile of notice 
 of reopening of, 411. See also 
 Trinity Parish Library, Corpora- 
 tion Librarjr and New York Soci- 
 ety Library 
 
 New York Life Insurance and Trust 
 Co., Bond held by, discharged, 434 
 
 New-York Magazine; or. Literary 
 Repository, on civic progress, 300- 
 1 ; on Society Library, 216 
 
 New York Mercury, The, on new 
 subscription library, 135-36; "B" 
 on election of trustees in, 139-40, 
 159-60; notices in, 148, 157-58 
 
 Xeic-York Packet, The, and the 
 American Advertiser, 110; adver- 
 tisement for lost books in, 201-2 
 
 New York provincial legislature 
 passed no act to establish a li- 
 brary, 58, 69 
 
 New York Public Library building, 
 227 
 
 New York Public Library system, 
 227; union with, proposed, 602-3, 
 505 
 
 New York Society Library, fourth 
 in chronological series, 5; sponsor 
 for truth, 5; account of, in Me- 
 morial History, 6-7; organized, 7, 
 
596 
 
 INDEX 
 
 30, 76; book from Trinity Library 
 in, 20; boolcs of, found in St. 
 Paul's, 36, 97-98; not accessible 
 daily till 1791, 5i; proposals from 
 trustees of, regarding Corporation 
 Library, 77; books of, in City 
 Hall, 78, 94; T. Jackson, Librarian 
 of, 80, 173; advertisement of, 80; 
 founded a subscription library, 83 ; 
 how termed oldest Public Library 
 in U. S., 84; pillaged by British 
 soldiers, 94-96, 194, 195; sum- 
 mary of pre-Revolutionary his- 
 tory of, 119-20;— founding of, 
 123-47; its organizers, 130-35; 
 first press notice of, 135-36; fac- 
 simile, 137; subscription articles, 
 136; powers of trustees, 136; regu- 
 lations, 137; disposition of "rights," 
 138; first election, 138-40; slcetches 
 of first board of trustees of, 140- 
 46; political afSliation of trustees, 
 146; close bond of, with (King's) 
 Columbia College, 146-47;— first 
 steps (1754-1772), 148-78; call 
 for first meeting, 148; books of 
 minutes, 148; various names used, 
 148-49; why called Society Li- 
 brary, 149-50; popularly called 
 "City Library," 150; first meeting 
 of trustees, 151 ; character of 
 books ordered for, 153; facsimile 
 page of Articles, 154; names of 
 paid subscribers, 155; rules and 
 rates, 156; arrival of books, 157- 
 58; first catalogue, 158; change of 
 rates, 158; J. M. Scott given 
 charge of finances and books, 158; 
 G. Ludlow in charge of collection, 
 159; appointment of regular libra- 
 rian, 164-65; new invoices of 
 books for, 166; bookplate ordered 
 engraved, 166-67; second catalogue 
 printed, 167; facsimile of title- 
 page of, 197; number of volumes 
 listed, 169; opened twice a week, 
 169 ; additional books for, 170, 172, 
 173; third catalogue printed, 170; 
 loans to non-subscribers stopped, 
 171; list of books ordered (1764), 
 171-72; value of shares (1766), 
 173; domestic purchases of books 
 for, 174-75; — from royal charter 
 to Revolution, 179-99; incorpora- 
 tion, an original aim, 179; execu- 
 tive indifl'erence to, 179-80; com- 
 petition of Union Library Society 
 
 with, 181; charter granted, 181; 
 call for return of books (1775), 
 193;— starting afresh, 200-21; call 
 for meeting of proprietors of, 
 202; collection started again, 
 203; charter of, renewed, 206-7; 
 advantages of, 207-8; as an in- 
 vestment, 208; first Library of 
 Federal Congress, 210; new regu- 
 lations for, 211-12; number of vol- 
 umes, 212, 216, 228, 266, 274, 312, 
 390, 410, 412, 413, 415, 492, 510, 
 531 ; second bookplate of, 313 ; ser- 
 vices of J. Pintard to, 219; — prog- 
 ress, 1791-1804, 222-56; commit- 
 tee on lot, 222-23; on plans, 223; 
 building begun, 224; arrange- 
 ments for opening, 225; books 
 moved to new building, 226-27; 
 descriptions of new building, 228- 
 31; insurance, 231, 232, 288; closed 
 by yellow fever, 232; additional 
 catalogues, 238-41; rule for lost 
 books, 241; gifts recorded, 242; 
 Isaac L. Kip chosen Librarian, 
 242; members allowed more than 
 one book at a time, 251; — 1804- 
 1829, 257-312; awakening of in- 
 terest for, 258; by-laws of, 264- 
 65; Catalogue of 1813, 266-70; 
 subscribers, 267-68; classification 
 of books in, 268; names of donors, 
 270; periodicals and novels in, 272; 
 New-York Evening Post on in- 
 crease of, 272-73; Italian Library 
 collection, 273-74; hours of open- 
 ing and closing, 274-76, 318; dis- 
 puted election, 280-83; attempt to 
 turn, into bank, 284—85; commit- 
 tee of Common Council on, 295; 
 r^sum6 of, 303; — has minutes of 
 Athenaeum Directors, 318; negotia- 
 tions for union with Athenaeum, 
 339-58; disagreement over name, 
 340; exposition of situation by 
 joint committee, 340-43; contem- 
 plated site, 341 ; purchased and 
 divided by lot, 343-45, 381; 
 "Knickerbocker" in American on 
 union with Athenaeum, 349-51; 
 "Corlaer" on same, 351-53; dis- 
 senters prepare ticket and address, 
 353-54; pro-Atheneeum address, 
 354-55; acquired Athenaeum prop- 
 erty, 357-58, 397;— 1829-1854, 
 363-436; stinted patronage of, 
 374; European books ordered for. 
 
INDEX 
 
 597 
 
 375; moved to Mechanics' Society 
 bmlding, 384; summary of affairs 
 of, 387; gifts to, 395; aristocratic 
 even in name, 404; report of com- 
 mittee to increase use of, 412; 
 Evening Post on, 413; income from 
 rents summarized, 419-20; tax 
 question, 422-26; sale of Broad- 
 way premises, 423, 434; debt of, at 
 highest point, 430; Demilt legacy, 
 433; removed to Bible House, 435; 
 value of property, 436, 482, 522- 
 23;— 1854-1879, 437-91; home- 
 less, 437; University Place build- 
 ing planned, 443; completed, 445; 
 cost, 446; public meetings in in- 
 terest of, 446, 448; annual reports 
 begun, 451 ; during Civil War, 463 ; 
 collection of pamphlets, 464; claims 
 and promises for, 465—69; special 
 collections, 467; the "family" li- 
 brary, 468; denominated a public 
 library, 468-69; need of purchas- 
 ing fund, 469; appeals for, 471; 
 gift of Hammond Circulating Li- 
 brary, 471-72; circulation, 471ji; 
 medical books presented, 472; 
 other gifts, 473; John C. Green 
 Alcove fitted up, 473-74; fittings 
 given, 475; various rooms leased, 
 475-76; in heart of residential 
 section, 476; mecca for booklovers, 
 477-521; inventory, 482; in most 
 prosperous state, 488; committee 
 on Centennial Celebration, 489 ; 
 address by Chairman de Peyster, 
 490; Centennial Address by Dr. 
 Thomas Ward, 490-91;— 1879- 
 1904, 492-527; not for general 
 public, 492; advantages of exclu- 
 siveness, 493; lists of additions to, 
 published, 509 ; influence of the, 
 530-21; sesquicentennial anniver- 
 sary, 524-35; book treasures 
 exhibited, 534-37; — Conclusion, 
 1904-1908, 528-33; present status 
 and mission of, 531-33 
 
 New York State Arms, The, tavern, 
 151» 
 
 New York University, Origin of, 
 333; offers rooms to Society Li- 
 brary, 376-77; 386 
 
 New-York Weekly Post-Boy, The, 
 third city newspaper, 74; titles of 
 missing books advertised for in, 
 74m, 7578 
 
 New Yorkers, Indifference of, to 
 
 cause of letters, 227, 248, 367, 294, 
 330, 337 
 
 Newspapers, Notable collection of 
 early, 525 
 
 Nicholson, Gov. Francis, first rec- 
 ommended public funds for li- 
 brary support, 4; letter of Mr. 
 Vesey to, 18-19; letter of, against 
 J. Sharpe, 53; characterized, 52 
 
 Nicoll, Benjamin, Sketch of, 144; 
 Massachusetts boundary commis- 
 sioner, 145; a first governor of 
 King's College, 146; reelected 
 trustee, 161 ; on charter commit- 
 tee, 180 
 
 Nicoll, Henry, 347; trustee, 367, 
 428)1 
 
 Nicols, Rev. Henry, writes to S. P. 
 G. Secretary, 45 
 
 Nitchie, John, donor, 270 
 
 Noel, Garrat, Books for College Li- 
 brary bought from, 93; opens 
 bookstore, 102; announces Circu- 
 lating Library, 103—4; advertise- 
 ments of, 105; as bookseller, 
 106-7; death of, 107; 177 
 
 Novels in the Society Library, 273 
 
 Nutter, Valentine, Letter of, re- 
 specting college books found in 
 St. Paul's, 99 
 
 O'Callaghan, Edward B., authority 
 
 cited, 31, 33 
 O'Conor, Charles, 478 
 Ogden, Miss Anne V. R., gives a 
 
 statue, 512 
 Ogden, Miss Constance, 516 
 Ogden, David B., trustee, 660 
 Ogden, James De P., trustee, 364; 
 
 on committee to increase use of 
 
 Library, 412, 433, 434; on joint 
 
 committee with Historical Societv, 
 
 442 
 Ogden, John D., 375 
 Old Brick Church, Petition for 
 
 ground for, 177 
 Oldmixon, John, mentions library in 
 
 New York, 31 
 Onderdonk, Rev. Benj. T., trustee 
 
 P. E. Lib. Soc., 40 
 Onderdonk, Henry, Jr., benefactor, 
 
 465 
 Osgood, Samuel S., Four paintings 
 
 of, hung in ladies' reading-room, 
 
 475 
 Oxford University gave books to 
 
 King's CoUege, 90 
 
598 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Palmer, John W., library assistant, 
 416 
 
 Panoramic Rotunda, The, SOOre 
 
 Parker, James, Proposal of, to run 
 Corporation Library, 72 -H; part- 
 ner of Franklin, 72; proposed 
 terms and rules, 73-74; library 
 kej"^ ordered given to, 74; adver- 
 tised for missing books, 74-75; 
 advertised free catalogue, 75; con- 
 ditions of loan, 75—76; terms of, 
 for "winter, 76; gives up library, 
 76, 103; bookseller, 101; member 
 Society Library, 155 
 
 Parochial libraries. Dr. Bray on, 8, 
 10, 11-12; report of Mr. Keith on, 
 25-36; number of, founded by 
 Dr. Bray in England and Wales, 
 37; queries about, to be answered, 
 38»; thickly planted, 44; J. Sharpe 
 on, 50, 54 
 
 Parsons, Samuel, benefactor, 270 
 
 Patrons of Athenaeum, 328; exercise 
 veto power, 333 
 
 Paulding, James K., 318 
 
 Paulding, William, 354 
 
 Payne, John Howard, opened Liter- 
 ary Exchange, 314—15 
 
 Peabody, Judge Charles A., 478 
 
 Pearson, I. Green, appraiser, 345; 
 385; on shareholders' committee, 
 448 
 
 Pearss, John P., Librarian, 243 
 
 Peartree, Col. William, mayor, 145 
 
 Peckham, Wheeler H., right holder, 
 520 
 
 Peebles, Mrs. Maria, presented early 
 N. y. engraving, 395 
 
 Peithologian Society, 476 
 
 PeU, Alfred, trustee, 497 
 
 Pell, Alfred S., 381 
 
 Pell, Howland, Gift from, 511 
 
 Pennsylvania Pacfcef, first daily paper 
 in the country, 333 
 
 Penny post, Gratuity voted to the, 
 253 
 
 Philadelphia, A Layman's library 
 for, 33, 34; library in, 54 
 
 Philadelphia Public Library founded 
 by Franklin, 59 
 
 Philharmonic Society favored union 
 of libraries, 298 
 
 Philipse, Adolph, speaker of Assem- 
 bly, 66 
 
 Philogrammatican Library of Leba- 
 non (Conn.) instituted, 150 
 
 Phoenix, Daniel, Whig and Liberty 
 
 Boy, 335-36; Treasurer, 231, 249, 
 304 
 
 Phoenix, S. Whitney, right holder, 
 520 
 
 Pigot, Maj.-Gen. Robert, Facsimile 
 of proclamation of, in regard to 
 books pillaged from City Hall, 96 
 
 Pintard, John, on library for Trinity 
 Church, 37; extracts from diary 
 of, on P. E. Library Society, 39- 
 40; on old Parish Library, 40-41; 
 prime mover for P. E. Lib. Soc, 
 40; on books in St. Pavil's, 42; on 
 vandalism by British soldiers, 94; 
 210?(; payment to, 215; resigns 
 from purchasing committee, 215; 
 sketch of, 217-19; 236; on Messrs. 
 Swords, 339, 241 ; long a member 
 of Library Committee, 264; bene- 
 factor, 270; letter of, to Mayor 
 Clinton, 390-91; on bridewell or 
 almshouse as quarters for Library, 
 291-92; elected Secretary, 303; 
 on committee on state of Library, 
 307; on purchasing committee, 308; 
 starts reading room in Govern- 
 ment House, 314; on an Athe- 
 naeum, 315; on new Literary 
 Rooms, 316 
 
 Pintard, Lewis, commissary of pris- 
 oners, 218 
 
 Piatt, Thomas C, Letter from, 513 
 
 Poe, Edgar Allan, Lecture of, 430- 
 21 
 
 Post, Dr. Wright, Failure of, to 
 serve as trustee, 260, 363; 319 
 
 Pratt, Benj., chief justice, 88 
 
 Presbyterians, The, took share in 
 Society Library for minister, 32- 
 33; scheme to exclude, from trus- 
 teeship, 139-40, 159-60 
 
 Printing-press, A, established in 
 New York, 30, 101 \ 
 
 Proclamation by British commander, 
 95-96; facsimile of, 96 
 
 Proclamation by Hessian com- 
 mander, 97»; facsimile of, 466 
 
 Proprietary libraries, generic name, 
 defined, 150; list of defunct, 150m 
 
 Proprietors named in call for elec- 
 tion of 1788, 203; classes of, 410. 
 See also Members, Shareholders, 
 and Subscribers 
 
 Protestant Episcopal Library Soci- 
 ety, Story of, 39-42; organization 
 of, 39-40; merged in P. E. Theo- 
 logical Society, 43 
 
INDEX 
 
 599 
 
 Protestant Episcopal Theological 
 Society gives rise to the General 
 Theological Seminary, 43 
 
 Province Arms Tavern, The, ISlre 
 
 Provincial Library in New York, 
 Register of books for a, 13-13; 
 facsimile of first page, 14 
 
 Provoost, Bp. Samuel, 37, 98 
 
 Provost, The, old debtors' prison, 
 96»i, 390m 
 
 Proxy, Voting by, never allowed, 460 
 
 Public, Use of the word, as meaning 
 "free," 150, 468 
 
 Public charities, 128 
 
 Public Circulating Library of New 
 York, see Corporation Library 
 
 Public Library, A free, for New 
 York, planned by J. Sharpe, 54- 
 56, 61 ; regulations and trustees 
 for, 54-55; to have museum and 
 garden, 55; classification of books 
 given for, by J. Sharpe, 56; books 
 for, left in New York, 56; no pro- 
 vision by Assembly for, 58 
 
 Public Library, Trinity Parish Li- 
 brary called the, 32 
 
 Public Library, The, 465. See also 
 New York Public Library system 
 
 Public school, A, for New York, 
 planned by Chaplain Sharpe, 53— 
 54; the first, founded, 162-63 
 
 Public school system, John Pintard 
 instrumental in founding the, 318 
 
 Punch-bowl presented to city by 
 Jacob Morton, 317 
 
 Purchasing committee, Instructions 
 to, 315; statement from, in Daily 
 Advertiser, 316; later called Li- 
 brary Committee, 363; appointed, 
 308 
 
 Purdy, J. Harsen, trustee, 560 
 
 Quaker meeting-house, The, 329 
 Quaker tyranny and persecution in 
 
 Pennsylvania, 30 
 Quakers, Zeal of J. Sharpe against, 
 
 46 
 Queries for ministers to answer, 28re 
 
 Rally held for Athenaeum, 32T-38; 
 for Society Library, 448 
 
 Rapalje, Garret, director Union Li- 
 brary Society, 114 
 
 Rarities, Exhibition of, 534-27 
 
 Ray, Richard, 335 
 
 Ray, Robert, 335 
 
 Reading room, Library, hours, 243- 
 
 44, 275-76, 318, 388, 461-62, 508-9. 
 See also Hours 
 
 Reading room opened in Government 
 House, 314 
 
 Redwood Library, Company of the, 
 Newport, R. I., 5, 150, 228m 
 
 Reformed Dutch Church has original 
 charter, 182 
 
 Refreshments, Passing of, and a 
 janitor, 4.61 
 
 Register of books for provincial 
 Library in New York, 13; fac- 
 simile of first page, 14 
 
 Register of books sent for use of 
 Trinity clergy, 13; facsimile of, 15 
 
 Remsen, Henry, Jr., 33»; elected 
 trustee, 203; sketch of, 206 
 
 Rensselaerswyck, Library in, 31« 
 
 Renwick, Prof. James, trustee, 261, 
 363; member of Italian Library 
 Society, 374; 381; holds over as 
 trustee, 383; 398; on almshouse 
 committee, 300; 318; chairman of 
 committee of Athenaeum Asso- 
 ciates, 321; Vice President, 322; 
 life member, 334w; Secretary, 330, 
 335; 363; on both tickets, 375 
 
 Rhinelander, John R., curator of 
 Athenseum, 322 
 
 Rhinelander family represented 
 among right holders, 313 
 
 Richards, Nathaniel, 327 
 
 Riggs, Mrs. George C. ( Kate Douglas 
 Wiggin), 531 
 
 Right holders, Names of prominent, 
 312 
 
 Rights or shares in Society Library, 
 Conditions of, 138; value of, in 
 1766, 173; price of, raised, 215, 
 316; by-law on forfeiture of, en- 
 forced, 246; lapsed, 305 
 
 Rives, George L., proposed union 
 with New York Public Library, 503 
 
 Rivington, James, Books for Society 
 Library ordered from, 174-75 
 
 Bivington's New-York Gazetteer, 108 
 
 Robertson, Maj.-Gen. James, Proc- 
 lamation of, regarding books 
 stolen from City Hall, 95-96 
 
 Robinson, Col. Beverley, 155 
 
 Robinson, Edward, 478 
 
 Rodgers, Alexander Robertson, fa- 
 vored Athenaeum's terms, 355; 
 trustee, 364; on joint committee 
 with Historical Society, 386; on 
 building committee, 397; 399; on 
 committee to increase use of Li- 
 
600 
 
 INDEX 
 
 brary, 412; Treasurer, 433w; on 
 joint committee with Historical 
 Society, 443 
 
 Rodgers, John Kearney, surgeon, 
 trustee, 261; holds over as trustee, 
 283; on union committee, 298; on 
 joint committee for union with 
 Athenasum, 339, 340, 343 
 
 Rodgers, Dr. John R. B., a hero of 
 Valley Forge, trustee, 260, 262; 
 long on Library Committee, 264; 
 signed petition, 292 
 
 Rogers, Benjamin Woolsey, Treas- 
 urer of Athenaeum, 335; received 
 certificate for 316 shares, 358; 
 authorized to exchange shares, 360, 
 361 
 
 Rogers, John Smyth, signer of ad- 
 dress of Athenaeum Associates, 331 
 
 Roosevelt, Cornelius V. S., share- 
 holder, 404 
 
 Roosevelt, James, right holder, 213 
 
 Roosevelt, James H., 478 
 
 Roosevelt, John, on committee to re- 
 ceive Millington books, 67 
 
 Roosevelt, Theodore, Sr., Estate of, 
 holds share, 520 
 
 Roosevelt, Theodore, Uncashed check 
 signed by, 513; 521 
 
 Roosevelt, Mrs. Theodore (n^e Ca- 
 row), 477, 513, 519 
 
 Roosevelt, W. Emlen, trustee in 
 1908, 560 
 
 Roosevelt Hospital Trustees, 476 
 
 Royal Library at Berlin, 470 
 
 Rules and rates for use of Library, 
 156; rates changed, 158; new, 211- 
 13 
 
 Russell, Archibald, on joint com- 
 mittee of Historical Society, 386 
 
 RusseU, Archibald D., trustee, on 
 committee on new site, 504 
 
 Rutherford (Rutherfurd), Walter, 
 merchant, 174; sketch of, 195; 
 books to be returned to, 202; trus- 
 tee, 203; photograph of, 512 
 
 "S. P. G." = Society for the Propa- 
 gation of the Gospel in Foreign 
 Parts 
 
 S. P. G. bookplate, No, in Sharpe 
 books, 51 71, 63 
 
 Sackett, Adam T., trustee, 441 
 
 Sailors' Snug Harbor, 218 
 
 St. Ann's-on-the-Heights, Brooklyn, 
 311 
 
 St. George's Society, The, 164 
 
 St. Paul's Chapel, Library books 
 found in, 36, 98; Morning Chroni- 
 cle on discovery, 37; library room 
 in, 41-42; number of books in, 42; 
 college books in, 97-99 
 
 St. Tammany Society at first whoUy 
 charitable, 318 
 
 Salaries, Question of, 417-19 
 
 Salary of library keeper, 70. See 
 also Librarian 
 
 Sanford, Miss Alice, 516 
 
 Sands, L., donor, 270 
 
 Sands, Robert C, editor Atlantic 
 Monthly, 319, 363 
 
 Sawyer Memorial Library, Boylston, 
 Mass., 405» 
 
 Schell, Edward, trustee. Treasurer, 
 438 
 
 Schell, Richard, 480 
 
 Schermerhorn, Abraham, 314 
 
 Schermerhorn, Mrs. Adeline E., sold 
 site on University Place, 443-43 
 
 Schermerhorn, F. Augustus, Chair- 
 man, 496; on committee on new 
 site, 503; on House Committee, 
 506; donor, 513; provides recata- 
 loguing and dictionary card cata- 
 logue, 514 
 
 Schermerhorn, Peter, director of 
 Athenaeum, 335 
 
 Schermerhorn, Peter A., 335; trus- 
 tee, 369; solicits share for Blind 
 Asylum, 409 
 
 Schools, in New York, 30; in New 
 Netherland, 32 
 
 Schroeder, Rev. John F., orientalist, 
 Athenaeum Associate, 319; trustee, 
 368, 374, 375re 
 
 Schuckburgh, Dr. Richard, 155 
 
 "Scotch Johnny's," Trustees meet at, 
 164-65 
 
 Scott, John Morin, an organizer of 
 Society Library, 130; sketch of, 
 134; given charge of finances and 
 books, 158; trustee, 159, 161; 177 
 
 Seal, Treasurer to submit device for, 
 187; device approved and ordered 
 engraved, 190; to be kept by Sec- 
 retary and not used without order 
 of trustees, 985 
 
 Seaman, Jasper F., 281 
 
 Seaman, WiUet, director Union Li- 
 brary Society, 114 
 
 Searle, William, Books of, adver- 
 tised for, 132ra 
 
 Sectarian zeal. Jealousies of, 139- 
 40, 146, 159-60 
 
INDEX 
 
 601 
 
 Select Library Society, The, 314 
 
 Seton, William, right holder, 213 
 
 Sewall, Henry D., director of Athe- 
 naeum, 335 
 
 Seymour, Daniel, favored Athe- 
 naeum's terms, 355; trustee, 369; 
 399; favored reducing shares and 
 dues, 431 
 
 Seymour, Horatio, gives Catalogue 
 of 1758, 167 
 
 Shareholders, Meeting of, to nomi- 
 nate trustees, 336; no record kept 
 of, 403; names of prominent, 
 403-4; protest against raising 
 dues, 407; some, dissatisfied with 
 librarian, 418-19; character of, 
 518, 531-33; names of leading, 
 519-20. See also Members, Pro- 
 prietors, and Subscribers 
 
 Shares, forfeited by non-payment of 
 dues, 346, 306, 408, 479 ; certificates 
 issued for equivalent of price, 347, 
 409; fluctuations in price of, 247- 
 48, 304-5; reasons for advance, 
 348; reduction announced, 305; 
 sale of, 306, 448; fall off in num- 
 ber, 310, 434; 316 issued to Athe- 
 naeum, 358; numberof, 402-3, 533; 
 price of, raised, 405-7, 481; re- 
 demption of, 408; income from, 
 533 
 
 Shares in Society Library, see also 
 Rights 
 
 Sharp, see Sharpe 
 
 Sharpas, William, Trinity vestry- 
 man, on committee to get books, 18 
 
 Sharpe, Rev. Alex., 43; death of, 51tc 
 
 Sharpe, Rev. Dr. John, Gift of li- 
 brary of, to City, 6; Rev. R. Jen- 
 ney asks aid to make this a public 
 library, 28; books of, with auto- 
 graph, in General Theol. Sem., 36; 
 appointed chaplain at fort, 43 ; par- 
 entage of, 43; education and ordi- 
 nation, 44; a Bray appointee in 
 Maryland, 44; rectorships of, 44- 
 45; diary of, 45; letter on quarrel 
 of, with Dr. Bray, 45; at evan- 
 gelical work in New Jersey, 45- 
 46; zealous against Quakers, 46; 
 his stipend as chaplain, 46; to as- 
 sist Rector Vesey, 47; character 
 and influence of, 47-48; facsimile 
 of page of diary of, 48; tours of, 
 49; marriage of, 49; on provincial 
 and parochial libraries, 50; offers 
 to sell and give of own library. 
 
 50-51; returns to England, 51; 
 falsely attacked, 52; facsimile 
 pages of Proposals, 53, 301, 503, 
 526; proposals for school, library, 
 and chapel, 53-55; on neglect of 
 learning in America, 54; advocates 
 free public and provincial Library, 
 accessible daily, 54; plans for 
 same, 54-56; original MS. of Pro- 
 posals at Lambeth, 57; presents 
 books to S. P. G. in trust for 
 Public Library, 57-58; a D.D. 
 at Aberdeen, 60; resigned chap- 
 laincy, 60; work by, 60n; died in 
 jioverty, burial place unknown, 61 ; 
 far in advance of times, 64; not 
 librarian of Corporation Library, 
 69-70; reflection of spirit of, 131; 
 facsimile of title-page of sermon 
 by, 287 
 
 Sharpe Collection, The, given to 
 found a "Publick Library" at New 
 York, 43-64, 83, 118; Proposals 
 for, 53-56; classification of, 56; 
 left in N. Y., 56; .presented to S. 
 P. G. in trust, 58; received by 
 Gov. Burnet, 58; examined by 
 Benj. Franklin, 58; present con- 
 tents of, 61™ ; last resting-place of, 
 61; suggested history of, 61-63; 
 in Society Library, 63, 83, 118, 
 527; catalogue of, printed, 75; in 
 City Hall, 94; never a working 
 library, 121 ; facsimile of first 
 page of catalogue of, 526 
 
 Sharpe Proposals, MS. copies of, 
 preserved, 57; dedicatory inscrip- 
 tion, 57; facsimile of, 503; where 
 printed in fuU, 57n 
 
 Shegogue, J. H., 422™ 
 
 Sheldon, Frederick, Sr., director of 
 Athenaeum, 335 
 
 Sheldon, Frederick, trustee, 438; 
 long service of, 494; Chairman, 
 496; on committee on new site, 
 502, 504, 505; on Library Com- 
 mittee, 508; death of, 529 
 
 Shrieve, Caleb, "screaned" from fine, 
 137 
 
 Sickles, Gen. Daniel E., shareholder, 
 403 
 
 SiUiman, Benjamin D., shareholder, 
 404 
 
 Singleton, Miss Esther, 531 
 
 Sinldng fund. A, established, 311 
 
 Sion College, London, 13m; Bray 
 papers in Library of, 24 
 
602 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Skidmore, Burtis, Librarian, 278 
 
 Sloane, Prof. William M., 521 
 
 Smith, James A., 292 
 
 Smith, Dr. J. Augustine, trustee, 
 260, 262; donor, 270; on almshouse 
 committee, 300; life member, 334?i; 
 335; 343; 363; 375m; long on Li- 
 brary Committee, 387 
 
 Smith, Rev. Dr. John Cotton, 490 
 
 Smith, Rev. Simon, fort chaplain, 
 had books given by Gov. Fletcher, 
 18; suspended, probably took off 
 catalogue, 26 
 
 Smith, Thomas L., 281 
 
 Smith, Thomas S., 327 
 
 Smith, William, Sr., had private li- 
 brary, 122; freedom of city, 143; 
 on Mass. boundary commission, 
 145; trustee, 161; sketch of, 162- 
 63; 177 
 
 Smith, William, Jr., historian, on 
 Corporation's books, 75; an organ- 
 izer of Society Library, 130, 131, 
 186; sketch of, 133-34; elected 
 trustee, 159, 161; 177; on incor- 
 poration, 179; on committee to 
 draft charter, 180 
 
 Smith, Wm. Peartree, on committee 
 to submit proposals to city au- 
 thorities, 78; sketch of, 145; on 
 subscription committee, 153; clerk 
 of board, 152, 159, 161 
 
 Smith, Dr. William Pitt, professor 
 Columbia College, trustee, 236; 
 deceased, 246 
 
 Smith, William "Port Royal," 145 
 
 Social diversions, 128, 129 
 
 Social libraries of New England, 
 150, 468 
 
 Society for the Promotion of Chris- 
 tian Knowledge, 26 
 
 Society for the Propagation of the 
 Gospel in Foreign Parts, gives J. 
 Millington's books to New York, 
 5, 6-7, 65, 119; catalogue of 
 books given by, to Gov. Hunter, 
 24re; organized, 26; sends Rev. J. 
 Sharpe to Maryland, 44; Sharpe 
 on work of, 50; seal (bookplate) 
 of, asked for, 51; given Sharpe 
 Collection in trust, 58; letter from, 
 read to Assembly, 66; orders 
 Bristowe books sent to King's 
 College, 87; facsimile of book- 
 plate of, 100 
 
 Society Library, Explanation of 
 term, 149-50 
 
 Society Library, see New York So- 
 ciety Library 
 
 Society of the Cincinnati granted an 
 alcove, 507 
 
 Society of Colonial Dames, 508 
 
 Society of Fine Arts moved to Gov- 
 ernment House, 389 
 
 Society of the New Jerusalem, a 
 tenant, 421. See also Swedenbor- 
 gian 
 
 Society of the New York Hospital 
 has original charter, 182 
 
 Specialization in libraries, 467 
 
 SpofFord, Ainsworth R., authority 
 cited, 6, 59 
 
 Stamp Act agitation, 80 
 
 Stanton, S. Franklin, trustee. Death 
 of, 529 
 
 Staten Island, Evangelical work on, 
 46 
 
 Steiner, Bernard C, authority cited, 
 4, 5, 27 
 
 Steuben, Baron, Sketch of, 231 
 
 Stevens, Col. John, trustee, 358 
 
 Stevens, John Austin, Sr., director 
 of Athenajum, 335, 340, 343 
 
 Stewart, Alexander T., 478 
 
 Stewart, John, Jr., 327 
 
 Stoke Newington, 64, 83 
 
 Stone, Col. William L., 298 
 
 Stout, Francis A., trustee, 439, 485 
 
 Stoutenburgh, Isaac, public overseer, 
 78 
 
 Stoutenburgh, Isaac, right holder, 
 313 
 
 Strong, Benjamin, director of Athe- 
 naeum, 335 
 
 Strong, Charles E., 361 ; trustee, 437, 
 494; chosen by board, 444, 456, 
 459 ; personal canvass of, for mem- 
 bers, 448; on Library Committee, 
 451; defeated for reelection, 455; 
 Chairman, 496 
 
 Strong, George T., 444ra 
 
 Strong, Selah, subscriber, 268 
 
 Sturges, Jonathan, trustee, 366 
 
 Sturgis, Russell, 521 
 
 Stuvvesant, Peter, director-general, 
 31 
 
 Stuyvesant Institute, Rooms in, of- 
 fered to Library, 385; Historical 
 Society in, 385» 
 
 Subscribers, Names of paid, 155, 
 267-68; appeal for new, 266-67; 
 Increase of yearly, 519, 533. See 
 also Members, Proprietors, and 
 Shareholders 
 
INDEX 
 
 603 
 
 Subscription Library, Plan for, 130; 
 Lt.-Gov. and Council favor, 131 
 
 Subscription money. Committee to 
 receive, 152 
 
 Subscriptions, Secretary allowed per 
 cent, on collecting, 343; banner 
 year for new, 402 
 
 Sugar-house, The old, 229 
 
 Summary and conclusion of Library 
 in Colonial New York, 118-22 
 
 Swan, Benjamin L., appraiser, 345 
 
 Swan, Otis D., trustee, 425; Treas- 
 urer, 438; chosen by board, 444; 
 483; defaults and absconds, 485 
 
 Swedenborgian books. Gift of, 270. 
 See also Society of the New Jeru- 
 salem 
 
 Swords, Charles R., trustee, 241, 438, 
 443; Chairman, 450; on refresh- 
 ment committee, 461 ; on centen- 
 nial committee, 489 
 
 Swords, Henrjf C, trustee and 
 Treasurer, 241 ; on publication 
 committee, 524 
 
 Swords, Thomas, member of Library, 
 241, 268 
 
 Swords, Thomas and James, print- 
 ers, 239; tribute to, by John Pin- 
 tard, 239-41 
 
 Talbot, Rev. John, at evangelical 
 work in New Jersey, 46; on 
 Sharpe's work and appointment to 
 chaplaincy, 46 
 
 Tallmadge, James, Lt.-Gov. elect, 324 
 
 Tappan, Arthur, 327 
 
 Taxes, Lawsuit over, 422-26, 482; 
 exemption from, 426, 507 
 
 Telescope taken by Washington, 
 194 
 
 Tennent, Rev. Gilbert, Sermon of, 
 used to make cartridges, 195 
 
 Tenure of ofBce, Average, of trus- 
 tees, 358, 364, 437, 493-94 
 
 Terms and regulations for loans, J. 
 Parker's, 73, 75; Society Library's, 
 78; G. Noel's, 104; S. Loudon's, 
 110. See also Loan and Loans 
 
 Thackeray, W. M., a visitor, 521 
 
 Theological libraries established by 
 Bray Associates, 39 
 
 Thompson, John, "Scotch Johnny," 
 tavern keeper, 164n 
 
 Thorburn, Grant, bought Friends' 
 Meeting House, 331» 
 
 Throop, Gov. Enos T., trustee, 366, 
 375»i 
 
 Tiebout, Alexander, sells book to 
 trustees for two shares, 247 
 
 Tilden, Samuel J., shareholder, 403 
 
 Titus, James H., trustee, 364; on 
 committee on number of volumes, 
 413; on committee on librarian, 
 418; on committee on debt, 431; 
 on auditing committee, 434 
 
 Tontine Association, The, erected 
 City Hotel, 150re 
 
 Townsend, Howard, trustee, 560 
 
 Townsend, John R., 347 ; trustee, 366, 
 428» 
 
 Townsend, Thomas S., compiler of 
 "clipping" library, 476, 507 
 
 Townsend, William W., Nassau St. 
 building sold to, 381-82 
 
 Townsend Library, The, 476m 
 
 Treasury, Good balance in, 190, 215 
 
 Trecothick, Barlow, London mer- 
 chant, 89 
 
 Trinity Church received original 
 charter and gift of books from 
 Gov. Fletcher, 17; vestrymen of, 
 influential, 18; first building 
 opened, 18; burned, 35; has origi- 
 nal charter, 183 
 
 Trinity Parish, The Library of, 
 1698-1776, 8-42; cost of, 12; reg- 
 ister of books sent for, 12-13, 16, 
 17; facsimile of Bray catalogue, 
 15; directions for use and care of, 
 16, 38; books received by Mr. 
 "Vesey, 17; earlier gift of books 
 from Gov. Fletcher, 17-18; a 
 "happy society" of city ministers 
 in, 19; private donations to, 19- 
 30; book from, in Society Librarj', 
 30; one from, in library of Gen. 
 Theolog. Sem., 22»; called public 
 library, 22; catalogue of, carried 
 away by fort chaplain, 26; Rev. 
 Vesey reports on, to Bp. of Lon- 
 don, 28 ; Rev. R. Jenney on, 28 ; no 
 system of enlarging, provided, 28- 
 29; no connection of, with Society 
 Library, 30; moribund, 31; earlier 
 mention of, 31 ; gifts of R. Ellis- 
 ton, 33—35; nearly destroyed by 
 fire, 35, 82, 118; some EUiston 
 books in Gen. Theol. Sem., 35 — 
 36; books of, found in St. Paul's, 
 36, 98; were in hands of Bp. In- 
 glis, 37; transferred to N. Y. P. 
 E. Library Soc, 39, 40-41; J. 
 Pintard on, 40-41, 54; final asy- 
 lum for, 43; summary of history 
 
604 
 
 INDEX 
 
 of, 118; few fragments of, left, 
 121 
 
 Trinity Vestry examined church Li- 
 brary, 19 
 
 Trinity Vestry minutes. Facsimile 
 pages from, 15, 34 
 
 Troops, Quartering of, in city, op- 
 posed, 143 
 
 Trumbull, John, 281 ; 299 
 
 Trustees, Election of, 139-40; 
 slietches of first board of, 140-45; 
 equally divided in political affilia- 
 tion, 146; books of minutes of, 
 preserved, 148 ; first meeting of, 151 ; 
 chronicle of proceedings meager, 
 151 ; committee to receive subscrip- 
 tion money named, 153; first books 
 selected by, 153; changes in board, 
 159-62; sectarian bitterness at 
 elections, 159-60; importance of 
 office of, 160; lawyers in majority 
 on first board of, 163; notable 
 merchants, 163; appointment of 
 regular librarian, 164—65; design 
 for bookplate presented, 166—67; 
 committee on missing books, 171 ; 
 payments for work on library 
 room, 173; pay salary to T. Jaclc- 
 son, 173; acknowledge gift, 174; 
 met at Widow Brock's, 175; S. 
 Jones elected Treasurer, 178; com- 
 mittee on charter, 180; charter 
 signed by Gov. Tryon, 181; confer 
 honorary memberships, 166, 186; 
 revision of by-laws, and publica- 
 tion of charter and catalogue, 187; 
 last meeting of, before war, 189- 
 90; vote to hold annual meetings 
 at City Hall, 190; committee to 
 purchase books, 190-91; no elec- 
 tion (1774 to 1788), 193; pathos 
 in last meeting, 193-94; ten new, 
 in eighteen years, 195-99; at- 
 tempt to recover lost books, 201-2; 
 elected in 1788, 203; published 
 statement, 307-8; ask for former 
 accommodations in City Hall, 208; 
 met in City Hall, 209, 310; confer 
 privileges of membership on na- 
 tional legislators, 210; no minutes 
 of annual meeting of 1789, 210; 
 revised by-laws, 211; message of 
 thanks to, from legislature, 215; 
 decline offer of land for building, 
 222; committee on lot, 323; on 
 plans and cost of a building, 233; 
 on soliciting funds, 223; secure 
 
 lot in Nassau St., 224; appropria- 
 tion for building, 224; borrowed 
 money to finish, 335; rented lower 
 rooms, 235; contested election, 
 225-26; first meeting in new 
 building, 236; seek new quarters, 
 333-33; alive to changing condi- 
 tions, 238; additional catalogues 
 issued, 238-41; presiding officer 
 called chairman, 244; variations in 
 time of holding meetings, 245, 
 262-63, 388-89, 458-59; worked 
 through committees, 246; ap- 
 pointed successor in case of death, 
 246; raise price of shares, 248; 
 vain appeals of, to legislature for 
 aid, 248 ; petition legislature for law 
 to increase annual dues, 250, 304; 
 efforts of, to raise funds, 251; re- 
 ceive communication from Library 
 Co. of Baltimore on removal of 
 duty on books, 253-54; disinter- 
 ested fidelity of, 256; long terms 
 of service of, 258; publish by- 
 laws, 264-65; disregard calls for 
 change of hours, 276; attend 
 funeral of J. Forbes, 278; annual 
 elections of, regularly held, 278- 
 79; names of election inspectors, 
 380; of 1834 to hold over, 283; 
 petition for use of Government 
 House, 289; to Mayor Clinton for 
 almshouse or bridewell, 290; sign 
 joint petition to Common Council, 
 292; decline lease of almshouse, 
 396-97; union of libraries pro- 
 posed to, 298; ask Common Coun- 
 cil for grant of land, 300; renew 
 request for rooms in Institution, 
 300-1; neglect financial side, 306; 
 dabble in stock, 307; petition leg- 
 islature for aid, 309; sell Nassau 
 St. building, 344, 381-82; vote to 
 build, 345, 397; division of, on 
 terms of alliance with Athenaeum, 
 346-47; Athenaeum party wins 
 election, 356—57; make final cove- 
 nant with Athenaeum, 357-58,397; 
 release from annual dues shares 
 held by Athenaeum, 358-59; new 
 trustees, 364-69; first pamphlet 
 criticising the, 369-70; reply of, 
 370-71; reply by "A Plebeian," 
 371, 379-80; press comments and 
 communications, 372-74; agita- 
 tion against, renewed, 375; ques- 
 tions of Athenaeum merger and 
 
INDEX 
 
 605 
 
 new building, 376; schemes for 
 change of location, 377, 380-81; 
 terms for lease of Columbia Col- 
 lege land considered, 377 ; petitions 
 to Corporation, 377-79, 380; re- 
 port to Common Council on leasing 
 bridewell to, 378; statement by, 
 378; last meeting of, in old build- 
 ing, 383-84; facsimile of first 
 page of ms. proceedings, 383; of- 
 fered Historical Soc. room in 
 Chambers St. building, 385, 386; 
 quarters offered to, by Stuyvesant 
 Institute, 385; no meeting on ac- 
 count of cholera, 389; list of all, 
 in Catalogue of 1838, 392; proceed 
 to build, 397-98; removal to new 
 building, 399; first meeting in, 
 399-400; procure amendment to 
 Charter, 402; raise price of shares, 
 405-7; criticism of, 406; give use 
 of right to Blind Asylum, 409; 
 admit persons not members, 409; 
 lawsuit with Corporation over 
 taxes, 422-26; opinion of P. A. 
 Cowdrey, 422-23; sell Broadway 
 premises, 423, 434; adverse deci- 
 sion of Judge Emmet, 423-34; 
 committee to petition Corporation, 
 434; opinion of R. J. Dillon, 434- 
 35; compromised, 436; settlement 
 with Treas. Harison, 428-30; 
 committee on reduction of debt, 
 431—32; receive Demilt legacy, 
 433; invest surplus funds, 435; 
 lease rooms in Bible House, 435; 
 new names on roll of, 437-41; last 
 vain conference with Historical 
 Society, 441-43; purchased site on 
 University Place, 442-43; active 
 steps toward building, 443; old 
 board voted out, 443-44; nine 
 new, resigned, 444; carry forward 
 work, 444; meet in new building, 
 445; inaugurate new era, 448; pub- 
 lish annual report, 451; MacMul- 
 len controversy, 454-56; report 
 for 1858, 469; "gifts, 471-73; rec- 
 ognition of gift of Green Art Al- 
 cove, 474; forced to raise yearlj' 
 dues, 480; call for financial report, 
 481; raise annual charge, 483; re- 
 ceive Dorr bequest, 485 ; and Green 
 donation, 486; adopt John C. 
 Green fund by-law, 486-87; Fos- 
 ter legacy, 488; few new names 
 of, in last quarter century, 493; 
 
 absences from meetings, 494; min- 
 utes on deceased, prepared, 495; 
 opposed to change in Charter, 
 497-98; decline offers for build- 
 ing, 503, 504; discuss various pro- 
 jects for new sites, 602, 504; de- 
 cline amalgamation with New York 
 Public Library, 502-3, 505; de- 
 cline to exhibit rare papers, 518 
 receive Keese, Mount and Contoit 
 bequests, 523; devotion of the, 524 
 inroads in ranks of, 538-31 
 
 Tryon, William, governor, 180 
 grants charter to Society Library, 
 180; honorary membership con- 
 ferred on, 186 
 
 Tuckerman, Bayard, trustee, 560 
 
 TurnbuU, Lt.-Col. George, sub- 
 scriber, 368 
 
 Tweed, William M., benefactor, 465 
 
 Tj'pewriter, A, given, 513 
 
 Underbill Benjamin, director Union 
 Library Society, 114 
 
 Union Club, The, founded at Athe- 
 naeum rooms, 363ra 
 
 Union Library Society, Books of, in 
 City HaU, 81, 94, 116, 189; objects 
 of, 113; regulations, 113; names 
 of directors, 114; first press notice 
 of, 115; annual meetings, 115; 
 nothing of, survived Revolution, 
 117; vain attempt to revive, 117; 
 only relic of, a prospectus in 
 Society Library, 118; brief career 
 of, 130; spurred Society Library 
 to get charter, 181 ; claims of, 189 ; 
 facsimile of title-page of Articles, 
 396 
 
 University of the City of New York, 
 see New York University 
 
 University Place Presbyterian 
 Church, right holder, 530 
 
 Valentine, David T., benefactor, 465 
 Value of property, 436, 482, 532-33 
 Van Cortlandt, Augustus, 79», 191 
 Van Cott, Joshua Marsden, share- 
 holder, 404 
 Van Home, David, merchant, trus- 
 tee, 334 
 Van Nostrand, John, subscriber, 268 
 Van Pelt, Rev. Daniel, Account of 
 library beginnings in New York 
 by, 5-6, 7» 
 Van Rensselaer, Mrs. John K., cited, 
 135n; unique gift from, 511 
 
606 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Van Rensselaer, Mrs. Schuyler, au- 
 thor, 531 
 
 Van Rensselaer, Stephen, subscriber, 
 268 
 
 Van Riper, J. W. T., councilman, 425 
 
 Van Schaack, Peter, on purchasing 
 committee, 191; sketch of, 198 
 
 Van Schaick, Gerritje, wife of A. 
 Draeyer, 49» 
 
 Van Schaick, Henry, trustee, on 
 committee on taxes, 424, 440; per- 
 sonal canvass of, for members, 448 
 
 Van Schaick, Myndert, 335 
 
 Van Winkle, Edward S., trustee, 441 
 
 VandenhoflF, George, dramatic reader, 
 476 
 
 Vanderspiegel, John, trustee, 161 ; 
 first regular Treasurer, 163; ap- 
 pointed Clerk and Treasurer, 166, 
 169, 174; dies, 178 
 
 Varick, Col. Richard, "Dutch" 
 mayor. Sketch of, 235 
 
 A'attemare, Alexandre, Scheme of, 
 5Sii, 151m 
 
 Verplanck, Daniel C, trustee, 203; 
 sketch of, 205-6; donor, 270 
 
 Verplanck, Gulian, trustee. Sketch 
 of, 211 
 
 Verplanck, Hon. Gulian C, trustee, 
 donor, 243; long tenure of service, 
 258, 359, 362; long member of 
 Library Committee, 364, 387 ; bene- 
 factor, 370, 465; election inspector, 
 380; 381; holds over as trustee, 
 384; 392; on purchasing commit- 
 tee, 308; on committee to buy lot, 
 308; on joint committee for union 
 with Athenaum, 299, 339; 314; 
 318; 335; on committee on terms 
 of settlement, 343; of conference, 
 345; favored Athenaeum's terms, 
 347; with dissenters, 354; on both 
 tickets, 356, 374, 438m; 363; 375; 
 387; on building committee, 397, 
 443; to deliver address on removal 
 to new building, 398; on commit- 
 tee to increase use of Library, 412; 
 444; Chairman, 450; death of, and 
 tribute to, 489; gave portrait of 
 A. Bleecker, 512 
 
 Verplanck, Samuel, purchased share, 
 190; sketch of, trustee, 195-96 
 
 Vesey, Rev. William, first rector 
 Trinity parish, 17; received Bray 
 books from Gov. Bellomont, 17; 
 on "happy Society" of ministers, 
 18-19; reports to Bp. of London on 
 
 parish library, 28; assisted by 
 Chaplain Sharpe, 47; Common 
 Council receipts to, for Millington 
 books, 68 
 
 Volumes, Number of, in Society Li- 
 brary, 313, 216, 228, 366, 274, 312, 
 390, 412, 509-10; report of com- 
 mittee on, 413; given in annual re- 
 ports, 462-63 
 
 Vote, One, allowed for each right, 
 459 
 
 Voting at annual meetings. Rules 
 for, 244-45 
 
 WaddeU, Anne (Kirten), widow, 
 noteworthy incorporator, 188 
 
 WaddeU, Capt. John, original sub- 
 scriber, 188 
 
 Wainwright, Dr. Jonathan M., Vice 
 President, Athenaeum Associates, 
 322; trustee, 368, 374; resigned, 
 375m; director, 335; 363 
 
 Walton, William, Sketch of, 143-44; 
 a first governor of King's College, 
 146; trustee of Society Library, 
 161 
 
 Ward, George Cabot, trustee, 441 
 
 Ward, Mrs. Humphry, 521 
 
 Ward, John, London agent, 167 
 
 Ward, Samuel, subscriber, 268 
 
 Ward, Samuel, Jr., treasurer of 
 Athenaeum, 334 
 
 Ward, Dr. Thomas, trustee, 439; on 
 centennial committee, 489; deliv- 
 ered Centennial Address, 490-91 
 
 Washington, George, 124, 135; took 
 telescope, 194; oath as President 
 administered to, 199; inauguration 
 of, 210 
 
 Watch-Toii>er, The, by William Liv- 
 ingston, 133; on Society Library 
 election, 139-40, 159-60 
 
 Waters, George G., 444m 
 
 Watson, Jacob, director Union Li- 
 brary Society, 114 
 
 Watson, James F., election inspector, 
 380; 381 
 
 Watson, Joshua, secretary Union 
 Libranr Society, 115 
 
 Watts, John, on committee of Soci- 
 ety Library to submit proposals to 
 city authorities, 78; powerful sup- 
 porter of Library, 143; sketch of, 
 143; refused compensation as as- 
 sembljonan, 144; a first governor 
 of King's College, 146; on sub- 
 scription committee, 153; to order 
 
INDEX 
 
 607 
 
 books, 153; reelected trustee, 161; 
 incorporator, 186 
 
 Watts, John, Jr., recorder, right 
 holder, 213; failed of election as 
 trustee, 226 
 
 Watts, John, M.D., director Athe- 
 naeum, 336 
 
 Watts, Robert, trustee, 203; sketch 
 of, 304 
 
 Webster, Noah, donor, 270 
 
 Weekes, John A., 478 
 
 Weeks, Ezra, trustee, 261; holds 
 over, 284 
 
 Weyman, AVilliam, printer and ed- 
 itor, 93 
 
 Weyman's New-York Gazette on re- 
 ceipt of Bristowe books for King's 
 College, 90-91; on Noel's Circu- 
 lating Library, 104, 106 
 
 Wheaton, Henry, 318; gave address 
 at opening of Athenaeum, 325; 
 336 
 
 Whig Club, Leaders of, active mov- 
 ers for Library, 131 
 
 White, Miss Salome E., 405re 
 
 White, Thomas, shareholder. Sketch 
 of, 404-5 
 
 Whitloclc, Charles, councilman, 425 
 
 Wilkes, Charles, Sketch of, 234; 
 trustee, 2-16; 307; 314; president 
 of Athenaeum, 334 
 
 Wilkes, Israel, on committee on 
 plans, 233; trustee, 233 
 
 WiUet, Edward, First meeting of 
 trustees called at house of, 148 
 
 Willett, Edward M., election inspec- 
 tor, 280 
 
 Willett, Col. Marinus, right holder, 
 213; subscriber, 267 
 
 William III, King, 16, 21, 32, 25, 183 
 
 Williams, Stephen C, secretary of 
 Athenaeum, 335, 344; trustee of 
 Society Library, 364; 375; on joint 
 committee with Historical Society, 
 386; on committee to increase use 
 of Library, 412; 443; 444; four 
 terms of service of, 494 
 
 Willson, Capt. Ebenezer, Trinity 
 vestryman, 18 
 
 Wilmot, James, Librarian of Soci- 
 ety Library, 177; confirmed as 
 "keeper," 187; successor to, 192 
 
 Wilson, Gen. James Grant, 319n, 531 
 
 Wilson, Dr. Peter, partner of T. 
 Jackson in teaching, 176; profes- 
 sor at Columbia, trustee, 236, 246; 
 report on finances, 304, 307-8 
 
 Winter, Joseph, Lot of, in Nassau 
 St., secured for Library building, 
 224; garden of, 229; claim of, for 
 damage, 231 ; ground rent paid to, 
 233; land bought from, 308-9 
 
 Winthrop, Henry R., 444» 
 
 Winthrop, John, Part of library of, 
 presented, 269 
 
 Winthrop Library, The, presented, 
 269 ; catalogue of, 415 ; 463to 
 
 Wolfe, Miss Catherine L., right 
 holder, 520 
 
 Women, Admission of, to Athenseum 
 lectures, 322 
 
 Women freely admitted as share- 
 holders and readers by Society 
 Library, 188; long excluded from 
 Boston Athenaeum, 188; "modest 
 men embarrassed by admission of, 
 to library shelves," 189 
 
 Wood, George, advertised Circulat- 
 ing Library in Charleston, S. C, 
 103ra 
 
 Woolsey, William W., 326 
 
 Wright, Rev. George, Librarian, 
 Sketch of, 211 
 
 Wynne, Dr. James, on American pri- 
 vate libraries, 467 
 
 "Yankee Doodle," Dr. Schuckburgh 
 reputed author of, 155 
 
 Year 1754 notable in American an- 
 nals, 124 
 
 Zenger, John Peter, printer, 101; 
 acquittal of, established freedom 
 of press in New York, 143 
 
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