^-^ *0/' o o 21 ^^^^S"^ Class .L....i.i.»s:i. Book .?.Dd..C*5 . Author . Title Imprint. C. 10—47872-1 «F0 f.-m New York Historical Society REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 1902 \ ' Gift SooI»ty Library, 170 Second Avenue. New York, February 10, 1903. In transmitting" to you a copy of the Annual Report of the Executive Committee for the year 1902, I beg leave to call your attention to the paragraph on page 8 in regard to membership. It is very desirable to maintain in full and efficient strength the roll of Members, which is constantly diminished by the decease of many of our oldest and best citizens, here- tofore identified with the history, progress, and prosperity of the Society. By order of the Committee, Sydney H. Carney, Jr., Recording Secretary. Officers of the Society, 1903. -*-♦-►- PRESIDENT, SAMUEL VERPLANCK HOFFMAN. FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT, FREDERIC WENDELL JACKSON. SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT, FRANCIS ROBERT SCHELL. FOREIGN CORRESPONDING SECRETARY, ARCHER MILTON HUNTINGTON. DOMESTIC CORRESPONDING SECRETARY, GEORGE RICHARD SCHIEFFELIN. RECORDING SECRETARY, SYDNEY HOWARD CARNEY, Jr., M.D TREASURER, CHARLES AUGUSTUS SHERMAN. LIBRARIAN, ROBERT HENDRE KELBY. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. FIRST CLASS FOR ONE YEAR, ENDING 1 904. GEORGE W. VANDERBILT, CHARLES ISHAM, FRANK TILFURD. SECOND CLASS— FOR TWO YEARS, ENDING I905. JOHN A. WEEKES, J. I'lERPONT MORGAN, GEORGE R. SCHIEFEELIN. THIRD CLASS FOR THREE YEARS, ENDING I906. F. ROBERT SCHELL, DANIEL PARISH, Jr., FREDERIC WENDELL JACKSON. FOURTH CLASS — FOR FOUR YEARS, ENDING I907. ISAAC J. GREENWOOD, CLARENCE STORM, JAMES WILLIAM BEEKMAN. DANIEL PARISH, Jr., CJiainnaii. ROBERT H. KELBY, Secretary. [The President, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, and Librarian are members of the ExecutiYe Committee.! Ncu3 Ijork historical 0acictt), ANNUAL REPORT. New York, January 6, 1903. In accordance with the By-Laws, the Executive Committee of the New York Historical Society submits herewith its Annual Report for the year 1902. During the past year the Society held nine stated meetings, at which the following papers were read : January 7. Annual Meeting. Reports of the Executive Committee, Treasurer, and Librarian, and election of Officers. February 4. " James Wolfe, the Hero of Quebec," by Miss Mary V. Worstell. March 4. " History and Humor in Colonial Advertise- ments," by Mr. Frank Warren Crane. April I. " Religious Liberty in Colonial New York." bv Mr. Rocellus S. Guernsey. May 6. " Naval Operations around the Island of Man- hattan, 1776," by Mr. Reginald Pelham Bolton. June 3. " Our French Allies in Westchester Count \-, New York," by Mr. John C. L. Hamilton. October 7. Resolulidus on the death of Dean llotinian, late President of the Society. November 5. " The Ceremonies Attending Occupation of (8) Fort George, this City, by the American Forces on Evacuation by the British Army, November 25, 1783," by the Hon. Asa Bird Gardiner, LL.D. December 2. " An Address Commemorative of the Very Rev. Eugene Augustus Hoffman, D.D., LL.D., D.C.L.," by the Rev. WilHam R. Huntington, D.D. Eighty persons were elected to membership in the Society during the year To the Hst of deceased associates have been added, among others esteemed by the Society and community, the names of the Very Rev. Eugene Augustus Hoft'man, D.D., President of the Society ; Nicholas Fish, Second Vice-Presi- dent of the Society ; John J. Tucker, Chairman of the Execu- tive Committee; Richard C. Fellows, John T. Metcalf, M.D., Edward C. Fiedler, John H. Pell, Charles L. Tiffany, Henry G. Marquand, Frederick D. Tappen, Jacob W. Feeter, Cyrus Lawton, Paul Leicester Ford, Randolph W. Townsend, James Benkard, William Miles, Isaac Myer, Luther R. Marsh, Henry W. Bibby, Rev. Thomas Gallaudet, D.D., William Allen Butler, Samuel D. Babcock, William Harman Brown, Amasa A. Red- field, Francis A. Palmer, Ferdinand P. Earle, and William Colford Schermerhorn. On February 19, 1902, Mr. John J. Tucker died. He was a member of the Society since 1874; member of the Execu- tive Committee, 1897, and its Chairman since 1900, from whose meetings he never was absent. He was also a member of the Building Committee. The Very Rev. Eugene Augustus Hoffman, D.D., LL.D., D.C.L., our honored and distinguished President, died June 17, 1902. Resolutions of appreciation and sympathy were adopted at the October meeting, and at the December meeting the Rev. William R. Huntington, D.D., read a paper com- memorative of the late President, which is now in press. The office 'of Second Vice-President became vacant Sep- tember 16, 1902, on the death of the Hon. Nicholas Fish, a member of the Society since 1867, member of the Executive Committee, 1900; Domestic Corresponding Secretary, 1900; Foreign Corresponding Secretary, 1901 ; Second Vice-Presi- dent, 1902. The Committee earnestly request that each member nomi- nate at least one new member during the coming year. At the present time there are 1,057 niembers, of whom 170 are honorary, 515 life, and 372 pay annual dues. In the transac- (9) tion of the business the Coiiiniittee has held one special and ten stated meetings. The Report of the Treasurer exhibits a continuance of the careful management of the Society's funds. The Society has no debts, no mortgage upon the land, buildings, or collections, and no outstanding bills. The income during the year from all sources for general purposes was $12,789.25, and the expendi- tures were $9,337.08. The receipts comprise fees of initiations, life membership, annual dues of members, and interest from the investment of : 1. " Tlie Eugene Augustus Hoffuuvi Memorial Fund,'' $47,500. The legacy of Dean Hoffman, 1902, late President of the Society. Also from the following permanent funds, bequests to the Society without restrictions and kept intact as memorials to their founders : 2. The Isaiah Thomas Fund. The legacy of Isaiah Thomas, of Worcester, Mass., in 1832, $300. 3. The Elizabeth Deuiilt Fund. The legacy of Miss Elizabeth Demilt, of New York, in 1849, $5>ooo. 4. The Seth Grosvenor Fund. The legacy of Seth Gros- venor, of New York, in 1858, $10,000. 5. TJie David E. WJieclcr Fund. The legacy of David E. Wheeler, of New York, in 1870, $1,000. 6. The Thonms Barron Fund. The legacy of Thomas Barron, of New York, in 1875, $10,000. 7. The Richard E. Mount Fund. The legacy of Richard E. Mount, of New York, in 1880, $1,000. 8. TJie Edzcard Bill Fund. The Legacy of Edward Bill, of New York, in 1884, $5,000. 9. The Augustus Schell Fund. The legacy of Augustus Schell, of New York, in 1884, $5,000. 10. The Mary Rogers Fund. The legacy of Mrs. Charles H. Rogers, of New York, in 1891, $1,000. 11. The James Francis Evans Fund. The legacy of Cap- tain James Francis Evans, of New York, in 1893, $1,000. 12. The Henry Keteltas Fund. The legacy of Henry Keteltas, of New York, in 1898, $5,000. 13. The Charles P. Daly Fund. The legacy of Charles P. Daly, of New York, in 1900, $5,000; and 14. The Maria Branson Mount Fund. The legacy of Miss Maria Branson Mount, of New York, in 1901, $1,000. ( I o ) ]\laking an aggregate of $97,800. the interest of which is apphcable to the general purposes of the Society. The Society possesses, in addition, the following special funds: 15. Tlic loll II Dii'inc Jones Fund. Founded by John Divine Jones, hi New York, in 1879, for the publication and sale by the Society of works relating to the early history of New York and other American Provinces. This fund now amounts to $3,778.31. 16. TJic Fund of the Sons of Rhode Island, the gift of the Association in New York known by that name during the Civil War, presented in 1866. and devoted to the purchase of w'orks for the Library relating to the history of Rhode Island, $600. 17. Fhe Stephen Whitney PJuvnix Fnnd. The bequest of Stephen Whitney Phoenix, of New York, in 1882, for the maintenance ami increase of the Phoenix Collection of Heraldrv and Genealogy, $15,000. 18. The Publication Fund. Established by the Society in 1858, for the publication of its Proceedings and Collections. Of the shares of the capital stock of this Fund, limited in number to 1,000, 823 have been sold up to the present time, as follows : 750 shares were sold prior to June 6, 1866, at twenty-five dollars per share ; subsequently the price of shares was advanced to fifty dollars, when thirty shares were sold at the latter figure ; the price of shares was again advanced Jan- uary I, 1883, to one himdretl dollars jier share, since then forty-three shares have been sold, realizing $24,550, the in- terest of which is used for the publication of each successive volume. Originally this fund drew seven per cent. ; with the present rate of interest it draws 4^ per cent. The cost of publishing the volumes is expensive, hence the delay in issuing the publications. The Committee begs leave to call attention to the fact that there remains in the Treasury 177 shares of the capital stock of the Fund. It is desired to increase the capital of the Fund by their sale, to insure the publication of the volumes more promptly. They are offered (every share being entitled to a complete set of twenty-seven volumes of Collections already issued) at the low price of $100 each. These shares are transferable, and entitle the holder to one copy of each suc- cessive annual volume of the series. No investment could be more desirable^ as the purchaser acquires a most important (II) series of volumes relating to the history of America not to be obtainetl in any other way, as the publications are the divi- dends earned by the stock, and are deliverable only to stock- holders. \'olumes XXV.-XXVIL, the first three volumes of a series, consisting- of " Abstracts of Wills on file in the Sur- rogate's Ofiice, City of New York," are published. \'olume XX\ 111. is in jiress. The twenty-seven volumes issued contain the following valuable material : A^ol. I. (1868) The Continuation of Chalmers's Political An- nals of the American Colonies, 1685-1696. The Colden Letters on Smith's Historv of New York. 1759-1760. Documents relat- ing to the Administration of Jacob Leisler, 1689-1769. \o\. IT. (1869) The Clarendon Papers, relating to New York and X^ew England, 1662-1667. The De- struction of Schenectady, 1690. Montague's Arguments on Acts of New York Assembly, 1701. Colden's Letter on Smith's Historv of X^ew York, 1759. Plowden's New Al- bion, 1632-1650. Gardiner's Historv of East Hampton, X>w York, 1798. Collec- tion of Evidence and A'indication of the Rights of New York to the New Hampshire Grants. \'ol. HL (1870) Territorial Rights of New York against the Government of X^ew Hampshire, a brief, b\- James Duane. Old New York and Trinity Church, 1730-1790. Sermon by the Rev. Francis INIakemie, 1707. \'ol. T\'. (i87Crj \'ol. A\ (1872) I The Papers of Major-General Charles Vol. VL (1873) I Lee, 1754-1811. \'ol. VH. (1874V \'oI. \TH. (1875) Letters of General I'attison. Comnruulant of X\nv York City. 1 779-1 780. Letters to General Lewis Morris, 1775-1782. I- z 111 u (0 < z ; ri! r. !L ._.iLZi._iriiL n. r'T ir~~^i o z D CO u I- u _i Q. O o (13) Vol. XIX. (1886) Vol. XX. (1887) The Deane Papers, Correspondence, Official and Private, of Silas Deane, 1 774- 1 789. Vol. XXI. (1888) Vol. XXII. (1889) Vol. XXIII. (1890) Vol. XXIV. (1891) Muster Rolls of New York Provincial Troops, 1755-1764. Vol. XXV. (1892) Abstracts of Wills on file in the Surro- gate's Office, City of New York, 1665- 1707. Vol. XXM. (1893) Same, 1708-1729, with Appendix. Vol. XX\TI. (1894) Same, 1730-1744. Vol. XXVIII. (1895) Same, 1744-, in Press. And 19. The Building Fund. For years it was apparent to the officers that some steps should be taken to procure funds for the erection of a new building. On December i, 1885, ]\Ir. John S. Kennedy submitted a letter from a friend of the Society stating there was deposited with the Central Trust Company the sum of $100,000 for the purchase of a site and the erection of a building, suitable for the purposes of the institution, subject to the condition that the further sum of $300,000 shall be secured therefor within two years from November 30, 1885. It being found impossible to raise the amount within the time specified by the donor, Mrs. Robert L. Stuart, the Society, on November 15, 1887, requested an extension of twelve months, which was granted. The amount of the sum required by its conditions to be subscribed for the proposed object was reduced from $300,000 to $150,000. In January, 1887, the Hon. John Alsop King was elected President of the Society, and became Chairman of the Com- mittee on Subscriptions; active measures were begun, and through the great interest and exertions of President King the necessary sum was secured. The following are the names of the subscribers : Mrs. Robert L. Stuart $100,000 00 John S. Kennedy 15,000 00 George W. Vanderbilt 15,000 00 J. Pierpont Morgan 10,000 00 Cornelius Vanderbilt • 10,000 00 Miss Catherine Wolfe Bruce 10,000 00 Miss Matilda Wolfe Bruce 10,000 00 (H) John Alsop King 8,500 00 Alfred Corning Clark 7,200 00 John Divine Jones 5.000 00 Mrs. Augustus Schell 5.000 00 Miss Charlotte A. Mount 2.500 00 Miss Susan Mount 2,500 00 William K. Vanderbilt 2,000 00 Robert Schell 2.000 00 Benjamin H. Field 1.500 00 Henry Herrman 1 .000 00 Mrs. Henry Herrman 1,000 00 David Dows 1,000 00 William Waldorf Astor i.ooo 00 CoUis P. Huntington 1,000 00 Henrj' G. Marquand i .000 00 Goldsborough Banyer i.ooo 00 Ambrose K. Ely i.ooo 00 Phillips Phoenix . i.ooo 00 Lloyd Phoenix 1 ,000 00 W. Bayard Cutting 1,000 00 R. Fulton Cutting i.ooo 00 Miss Julia Rhinelander 1,000 00 Miss Serena Rhinelander 1,000 00 Robert J. Livingston i.ooo 00 Darius O. Mills 1,000 00 William H. Jackson i.ooo 00 Charles Lanier 1,000 00 Tames M. Constable i ,000 00 Robert Winthrop i .000 00 Percy R. Pyne i ,000 00 Frederick Billings i ,000 00 Cornelius N. Bliss i ,000 00 Gerard Beekman i ,000 00 Daniel Parish, Jr 1,000 00 John A. Weekes i ,000 00 Franklin H. Delano 1,000 00 Adrian Iselin i ,000 00 Frederick Sturges i.ooo 00 Charles L. Tiffany i.ooo 00 William C. Schermerhorn i.ooo 00 William Austin i ,000 00 W^illiam L. Skidmore 1,000 00 Samuel D. Babcock i ,000 00 William D. Sloane i.ooo 00 Mrs. Charles H. Rogers i.ooo 00 William B. Isham i ,000 00 Abram Dubois, M.D i.ooo do David Stewart i .000 00 Miss Rachel L. Kennedy i.ooo 00 Harris C. Fahnestock i .000 00 Levi P. Morton i .000 00 George Bliss i.ooo 00 Daniel B. Fayerweather 1,000 00 Woodbury G. Langdon i ,000 00 Orlando B. Potter i.ooo 00 Martin E. Greene i.ooo 00 Samuel Riker goo 00 Albert R. Gallatin 500 00 Miss Mary L. Kennedy 500 00 William Astor 500 00 Thomas N. Lawrence. 500 00 Mrs. Sarah J. Zabriskie 500 00 Morris K. Jesup 500 00 (15) ^ Frederick F. Thompson 500 oo George G. Williams " soo 00 Elliott F. Shepard 500 00 J. Hampden Robb " ' _ c^oo 00 Isaac J. Greenwood ^00 00 Mary Greenwood ]][ 'c^qo qq Andrew C. Zabriskie l^oo 00 Edward F. de Lancey [_] 500 00 'Sirs. William H. Osborn \[[ -00 00 Richard T. Auchmuty c^oo 00 William M. Evarts 500 00 Henry Dexter . . . ; ." ." ; ^qq qq A. Van Home Stuyvesant 250 00 Charles Howland Russell [[ 250 00 Maturin L. Delafield 250 00 Mrs. Jonathan Stnrges 250 00 George Peabody Wetmore 250 00 Mrs. Frank W. Jackson ^-o 00 Amos R Eno [[][[[ 25000 Josiah M. Fiske 250 00 Frederic Bronson 2:;o 00 John L. Riker 200 00 Herman C. van Post 200 00 William Remsen 200 00 Jacob Wendell 200 00 George F. Baker ............] 200 00 James C. Carter 200 00 Hugh N. Camp ......].... 200 00 Charles W. Sloane 200 00 Elbridge T. Gerry .....'..'. 100 00 Stuyvesant Fish 100 00 -J°!l" H. Riker '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'..'. 100 00 William T. Buckley 100 00 Jenkins Van Schaick 100 00 Rev. Samuel M. Jackson 100 00 Samuel Sloan joo 00 Charles G. Langdon 100 00 James W. Gerard 100 00 Frederick B. Jennings 100 00 Mrs. James A. Glover 100 00 John Bigelow [[ 100 00 Robert Halsteat! 100 00 William Lummis 100 00 Edward N. Dickerson 100 00 Henry T. Drowne 100 00 Robert Harris 100 00 Hicks Arnold 100 00 Orlando M. Harper 100 00 Charles A. Peabody 100 00 James D. Lynch 100 00 John T. Agnew 100 00 John A. Hadden 100 00 Henry Clews 100 00 Rev. Dr. Morgan Dix 100 00 James A. Garland 100 00 James Talcott 100 00 Charles F. Southmayd 100 00 Rev. Richard L. Burtsell 100 00 Hiram Hitchcock 100 00 Robert Ray Hamilton 100 00 Abram S. Hewitt 100 00 Albert L. Loomis, M.D 100 00 Henry C. Sturges 100 00 100 00 100 00* 100 00 100 00 100 oo 100 00 100 00 50 00 50 00 50 oo 50 oo 50 00 50 00 50 00 5o oo 25 00 -'5 oo ^5 00 25 00 25 00 25 oo 25 oo 25 oo 25 00 25 00 (i6) W. Seward Webb, M.D., Walter Langdon Franklin Burdge Woolsey R. Hopkins John McKesson, Jr Henry Dudley Jonathan H. Crane Elihu Chauncey Henry E. Lawrence Oliver G. Barton John T. Lockman Hamilton B. Tompkins John Clinton Gray William Augustus White Thomas C. Wood Robert Goelet Ogden Goelet Henry E. Gregory Charles E. Strong Edgar M. Crawford John S. Craig Lazarus Rosenfeld Addison Brown Richard J. Leggat George Wilson On May 2i, 1889, a special Committee was appointed to examine and report on a suitable site for a new building. In answer to an inquiry concerning the possible purchase of the Madison Avenue front of the Lenox Library, the Trustees of that institution advised the Committee that the property was not for sale. It being found that no suitable site on the east side could be secured at a cost within the means of the So- ciety, the Committee selected the property situated on Eighth Avenue (Central Park West), consisting of ten city lots, with a frontage of 204 feet on the avenue and a depth of 125 feet on Seventy-sixth and Seventy-seventh streets, respectively. The purchase was effected June i, 1891. The site secured for the future home of the Society is an admirable one, facing Central Park on the east and Manhattan Square on the north ; the future position of the proposed build- ing will guarantee safety from fire and abundance of air and light. The transverse roads through Central Park and the new method of rapid transit will insure its convenience of access, while its proximity to the American Museum of Nat- ural History will make it a centre of attraction to members, students, and visitors. In consequence of the depression of business throughout the country the special committee whose appointment was authorized by the Society to solicit subscriptions for the (17) erection of the new building were unable to report any progress until 1899, when subscriptions amounting to $17,000 were received. After the death of the Hon. John Alsop King, President of the Society, Dean Hoffman succeeded to the Presidency, January 2, 1901, and took active measures to procure addi- tional subscriptions toward the' erection of the new building. On June 4, 1901, a " Building Committee," of which the President was Chairman, was appointed to receive and report upon plans for the proposed new building. It was decided to erect the central portion, 135 x 115 feet, on the lines of Amer- ican Colonial architecture, from plans of Messrs. York and Sawyer. The estimated cost was about $400,000. A circu- lar was forwarded to the members of the Society stating these facts and requesting subscriptions. The following subscrip- tions have been received : Legacy of the late Robert Schell $23,812 50 Arthur Milton Huntington 20,000 00 Miss Matilda Wolfe Bruce isiooo 00 The Very Reverend Eugene Augustus Hofifman, D.D 10,000 00 F. Robert Schell 10,000 00 "^ A Friend of the Society " (through Gouverneur Tillotson) 10,000 00 " A Friend of the Society " (through Samuel Thorne) 10,000 00 John Alsop King 5^000 00 Miss Charlotte A. Mount 5,000 00 Miss Susan Mount S,ooo 00 Charles A. Sherman (in memory of Charles P. Huntington) s'ooo 00 Mrs. Frederick F. Thompson 5,000 00 William C. Schermerhorn S^ooo 00 Mrs. Eugene Augustus Hofifman 2,000 00 Miss Phebe Anne Thorne 1,000 00 Miss Mary Rhinelander King 1,000 00 Miss Serena Rhinelander 1,000 00 Edward S. Clark 1,000 00 Daniel Parish, Jr 1,000 00 Mrs. Richard T. Auchmuty 1,000 00 Herman C. von Post 1,000 00 Theodore F. Jackson 1,000 00 Isaac J. Greenwood 1,000 00 Mrs. James M. Lawton i|ooo 00 Miss Caroline Phelps Stokes I'ooo 00 Nicholas Fish 1,000 00 Charles A. Hoyt ijooo 00 Mrs. Charles Frederick Hofifman 1,000 00 Frederic Wendell Jackson i^ooo 00 Henry Phipps I'ooo 00 George G. Williams 1,000 00 William K. Vanderbilt 1,000 00 James Speyer i",ooo 00 Mrs. Joseph M. White 1,000 00 Samuel Sloan 1,000 00 Frank Tilford i'ooo 00 (.8) Mrs. Henry Herrman i,ooo oo Henry H. Cook i,ooo oo George F. Baker i,ooo oo Harris C. Falinestock i,ooo oo Mrs. Morris K. Jesup i,ooo oo Mrs. John E. Parsons i,ooo oo Murray Guggenheim 500 00 John C. Osgood 500 00 John E. Parsons 500 00 Frederick Billings 500 00 Mrs. J. Henry Watson 500 00 Mrs. Thomas W. Nickerson, Jr 500 00 Mrs. Charles L. Hackstaff 500 00 Samuel Verplanck Hoffman 500 00 Mrs. Daniel M. Stimson 300 00 Sidney Webster 250 00 Mrs. J. Herman Aldrich 250 00 Stuyvesant Fish 250 00 John C. Havemeyer ^ 200 00 William Alexander Smith 100 00 Marinus W. Dominick 100 00 James J. Higginson 100 00 Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt 100 00 Woodbury G. Langdon 100 00 Anson Phelps Stokes 100 00 Nathaniel W. Hunt 100 00 A. Lanfear Norrie 50 00 Addison Brown 50 00 Frederic J. de Peyster 50 00 George Abeel 25 00 Mrs. Eugenia Brodhead 25 00 Rev. Dr. Wm. R. Huntington 25 00 Abram S. Post 25 00 Evert Jansen Wendell 25 00 Francis E. Woodruff 25 00 Mrs. Frederick Hasbrouck 25 00 Jacob Rothschild 20 00 J. Marcus Boorman 20 00 Samuel Sherwood 15 00 Miss Mary F. Hall 10 00 John Neilson Beekman, M.D 10 00 The Rev. Thomas Gallaudet 10 00 Wm. Gray Schauffler, M.D 5 00 Cash I 00 The informal breaking of ground for the new building- took place September 10, 1902. Mr. Samuel Verplanck Hofif- man, son of our late President, raised the first spade of earth in the presence of the Recording Secretary, the Librarian, and Mr. Philip Sawyer, of the firm of York & Sawyer, Architects. On September 24, 1902, a contract was made for the ex- cavations and foundations for the new building; the work has steadily progressed and is now near its completion. It is hoped that contributions will be made by the members and friends of the Society sufficient in amount to insure the com- pletion of the building by November, 1904, the Centennial of the founding of the institution. (i9) Tlie balances to the credit of tlie Society are as follows: 1. In the Bank of the Metropolis: Annual dues, interest, etc., for current expenses $3,452 17 2. In the Bank of the Metropolis: Interest of the Phoenix Fund 295 57 3. In the New York Life Insurance & Trust Co.: Publication Fund 1 3,021 43 The John Divine Jones Fund 2,202 16 4. In the Central Trust Company: Building Fund 120,766 43 5. In the New York Security & Trust Company: " The Eugene Augustus Hoffman Memorial Fund " 47,500 00 Phoenix Fund 15,000 00 The report of the Librarian shows an increase dnring the past year of 3,241 volumes of books, 4,390 pamphlets, 83 bound volumes and 1,344 numbers of old newspapers, 79 vol- umes and 385 separate manuscripts, 27 bound volumes of maps and 419 separate maps, 215 broadsides, 85 lithographs, and 83 engravings. The Phoenix Collection of Heraldry and Genealogy has been increased by purchase and donation 126 volumes, 160 pamphlets, and 27 charts. To the archives of the Society have been added the " Rufus King- Papers," consisting of the letters and corre- spondence of the Hon. Rufus King, placed in the custody of the Society by Mrs. Charles R. King, at the request of the late Charles R. King, M.D., the Hon. John Alsop King, late President of the Society, and Mr. Edward King ; also, sundry papers of Colonel Timothy Pickering relating to this city, pre- sented by his great-grandson, Mr. John Pickering, and the " Leggett Papers," 1657-1746, relating to the early history of the northern section of the present City of New York, pre- sented by Mr. Francis W. Leggett. The following portraits in oil have been added to the Gallery of Art: The Very Rev. Eugene Augustus HofTman, I)ainted for the Society by H. T. See; William Walton and Cornelia Beekman, his wife, bequest of the late Theodora M. Storm; David Grim, painted, 1812, by Samuel L. Waldo, be- quest of his great-granddaughter, the late Sophie E. Minton ; Zophar Mills, painted by Frank B. Carpenter, presented by his daughter, Adelaide Mills. The Gallery now contains 878 paintings, of which 195 form the nucleus of an American portrait gallery, and 64 pieces of sculpture. The collection includes that of the New York Gallery of Fine Arts, which came into its possession in 1858 through the exertions of the late Jonathan Sturges ; the (20) pictures of the American Art Union, the celebrated Bryan Gallery of Old Masters, presented by the late Thomas J. Bryan in 1867; the Durr Collection, presented by the execu- tors of the late Louis Durr, in 1882. The Gallery is also enriched by the original water-colors prepared by Audubon for his work on Natural History. The collection in the Department of Antiquities embraces the Abbott Collection of Egyptian Antiquities, purchased for the Society in 1859, and the Nineveh Sculptures, presented by the late James Lenox in 1857. Li view of the near approach of the Centennial of the So- ciety, the Committee repeats a brief retrospect of its history. On November 20, 1804, Egbert Benson, DeWitt Clinton, Rev. Drs. William Linn, Samuel Miller, John N. Abeel, John M. Mason, Dr. David Hoosack, Anthony Bleecker, Samuel Bayard, Peter G. Stuyvesant, and John Pintard, eleven well- known and influential citizens, met by appointment in the Pict- ure room of the City Hall, and agreed to organize a Society, the principal design of which should be to collect and preserve materials relating to the natural, civil, or ecclesiastical history of the United States in general, and of the State of New York in particular. It was further agreed that this organization should be called The New York Historical Society. Active measures were at once taken to secure books, manu- scripts, statistics, newspapers, pictures, antiquities, medals, coins, and specimens in natural history, thus commencing in a comprehensive manner the formation of a Library and Museum for the preservation of materials relating to American history and science. Attention was called through the press to the importance of cherishing public records and private papers, and their value to the student in elucidating the his- tory of the State and country was impressed upon the public mind. Special committees were formed in the various depart- ments to further the progress of this important work. All were quite successful in their efiforts, and the material thus gathered formed the nucleus of the magnificent collection of which to-day the Society may be justly proud. This is an age of specialization, and as the popular inter- est in studies of this character has increased, many of these Special Committees developed into separate Societies who charged themselves with promoting more fully their respec- tive objects; and several of these outgrowths of this Society (21) as the parent stock are in a flourishing condition at the pres- ent time. After occup}ing rooms in different locations — in the Old City Hall from 1804 to 1809, the Government House from 1809 to 1816, the New York Institution from 1816 to 1832, Remsen's Building in Broadway from 1832 to 1837, the Stuy- vesant Institute from 1837 to 1841, the New York University from 1841 to 1857 — and after overcoming many serious and almost fatal obstacles to its progress, the Society celebrated its Fifty-third Anniversary by taking possession of its present edifice, then supposed sufficiently capacious for the future wants of the institution, but which is now overcrowded with its collections in history, art, ancf antiquity. The Society is eminently a public institution. Its design is national and patriotic ; its membership is within the access of every citizen ; the use of its collections is denied to none. It is neither sectarian in its objects, nor exclusive in their direction. It seeks now a building which may permanently cover its collections, and that object being obtained, it can more readily extend its influence. By order of the Committee, [Signed] Charles A. Sherman, Chairman pro tern. ABSTRACT OF TREASURER'S REPORT, 1902. deneral Account: Receipts $12,789 25 Payments 9,337 08 Balance in Bank of the Metropolis $3,452 17 Phoenix Fund (Interest): Receipts $916 10 Payments 620 53 Balance in Bank of the Metropolis $295 57 Publication Fund: Receipts and Principal $i5,493 59 Payments 2,472 16 Balance in New York Life Insurance & Trust Co. $13,021 43 Investment of Funds. Grosvenor Fund: Bond and Mortgage, at 5 per cent $6,000 00 at 4 per cent 1,000 00 " " at ^y2 per cent 3,000 00 $10,000 00 Bond and Mortgage, at 4>^ per cent at 4^ per cent Barron Fund: Demilt Fund Bill Fund Schell Fund Wheeler Fund " Thomas Fund " Sons of R. I. Daly Fund Maria Branson Mount Fund Richard E. Mount Fund Rogers Fund " Keteltas Fund " Evans Fund: Bond of Forty-second Street, Manhattanville & St. Nicholas Avenue R.R. Co., at 6 per cent Jones Fund: Bond and Mortgage, at S per cent $i.750 00 In New York Life Insurance & Trust Co. .. . 2,202 16 at 4^ per cent, at 4!/2 per cent, at 5 per cent. . . at 5 per cent. . . at 5 per cent. . . at 41/2 per cent, at 4>4 per cent. at 4V2 per cent, at 5 per cent. . . at 4 per cent. Publication Fund: Bond and Mortgage, at 5 per cent $11,350 00 " " at 4 per cent 1,000 00 " " at 4]/2 per cent 1,000 00 $10,000 00 5,000 00 5,000 00 5,000 00 1,000 00 300 00 600 00 5,000 00 1,000 00 1,000 00 1,000 00 5,000 00 1,000 00 $3,952 16 The Eugene Augustus Hoffman Memorial Fund in New York Security & Trust Co Phoenix Fund in New York Security & Trust Co $13,350 00 $47,500 00 15,000 00 Building Fund in Central Trust Co $120,766 43 Total $268,237 76 CHARLES A. SHERMAN, Treasurer. MEMBERSHIP. Members, on their election, pay an initiation fee of Twenty Dollars, which includes dues for the cur- rent year, and annually thereafter Ten Dollars as dues ; or, a life-membership fee of One Hundred Dollars, in lieu of all other dues and fees. Nominations are to be sent by members to the Recording Secretary. Members have the privilege of introducing visi- tors to the rooms of the Society by their card or a note, and of bringing two persons with them to the monthly meetings. -♦-♦•♦- FORM OF A BEQUEST. I Give and beqtieath to "The New York His- torical Society," founded hi the year 1804, and incorporated by the Legislature of New York in the year 1809, the sum of dollars. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 113 781 5 I