The New Jersey Room has a number of manuscript collections – that is – collections of documents, letters, research material and related material amassed by individuals or organizations. In order to make the public aware of some of the things that cannot be catalogued as books, the staff of the New Jersey Room along with graduate students from the Library Schools of Rutgers University and Pratt Institute, are creating Finding Aids to facilitate use of these individual collections.
William H. Richardson was a historian who wrote features for local newspapers starting in the early 20th century, and served as official City Historian from 1930 until his death in 1937.
The William H. Richardson Papers are organized into four series – correspondence, planning of commemorative events, resources and writings – and are contained in two manuscript boxes. These papers were the personal possession of Mr. Richardson and were given by him to the Jersey City Board of Education. They were later transferred to the New Jersey Room of the Jersey City Free Public Library. The series organization reflects the activities of Mr. Richardson as a local historian – corresponding with experts and peers about activities and interests, planning and documenting commemorative events, collecting 3 documentary resources, and communicating his findings and historical perspective through both published and unpublished writings. Considerable material is included from the planning of the 1930 Pavonia Tercentenary, from research on General Washington’s activities in northern New Jersey, and the disputed rights to the invention of the first steamboat, to items of biographical and local interest to Jersey City residents.
Subsequent to the writing of this finding aid, many additional resources were identified as part of this collection, and will be listed in a supplementary inventory.
The Historical Society of Hudson County was founded in 1908 and was active into the 1950s. This inventory covers the documents collected by the Society in their most active years. It is based on an inventory created by long-term President of the Society Louis Sherwood in 1936. Sherwood’s inventory was created on a series of index cards, which were transcribed into a spreadsheet and matched with the existing collection to create the inventory printed on the following pages.
The bulk of the collection consists of the papers of the Zabriskie law firm, founded by Abraham O. Zabriskie, a prominent attorney and jurist, and continued by his sons Lansing and Augustus. John Heck was a junior partner in the firm and later administrator of Lansing Zabriskie’s estate which included these documents. Heck was a founding member of the society and on his passing the documents were added to the society’s collection, which was the impetus for the creation of Sherwood’s inventory.
The bank that became known as First Jersey National Bank opened its doors in April of 1864 as The First National Bank of Jersey City (FNBJC).
The records of the First Jersey National Bank Papers collection date from 1920 to 1990, with the bulk of the papers from the years of Thomas J. Stanton’s reign as CEO: 1967-1990. Records are arranged into 11 series: Area Historical Documents, Community Outreach, First Jersey People, Misc. Banking Documents, Papers of the First Holding Company, Predecessor Banks, Publicity and Publications, Thomas J. Stanton, Jr., Negatives, Photographs, and Slides. Series are divided into text and photographic (photographs, negatives, slides) materials, and each division is arranged alphabetically. Within series, folders are arranged numerically and then alphabetically. Folder contents are arranged chronologically, with some undated photographic materials arranged with similar items. The collection also contains two boxes of large format materials, the contents of which fit with the series of the regular materials of the collection.
The Paul F. Franco Collection is an assembled collection of Hudson County, New Jersey ephemera spanning from the Colonial era to the mid-1970s. The Franco Collection is made up mostly of paper ephemera, although there are a few photographs and artifacts. A small portion of the ephemera are personal papers of the Franco family, and also some personal papers of the Riker family of North Bergen. There is no clear connection between Franco and the Rikers.
The collection is particularly strong in several ways. Geographically speaking, the collection is strong concerning items from West New York, where Franco spent most of his life, and Jersey City, the county seat. The political ephemera from West New York is especially robust because it contains handbills, broadsides and other political mailings for the local elections in the first half of the twentieth century – items that illustrate the down and dirty political battles that Hudson County is famous – or really, infamous – for. As a WWI veteran, Franco also collected a wealth of material by and about West New York’s American Legion Post 15, named for Charles Cusick, a native West New Yorker who died in action during the war.
Nelson James Harrison Edge was born in Jersey City about 1845 to Margaret and Isaac Edge Jr. His father was a fireworks manufacturer who supplied fireworks displays to all the major cities of the United States for their Independence Day celebrations. He was the grandson of Isaac Edge, whose gristmill was one of the first manufacturing businesses in Jersey City in the early 19th century.
This collection mostly consists of correspondence received by Nelson J.H. Edge regarding real estate, business and personal matters. There are also letters and documents referring to the estate of his sister, Mary Louise Edge, as he was the executor of her estate for a time, as well as some real estate correspondence received before her death. There is some correspondence regarding real estate received by other family members. There are also two items that were included with the Edge Family collection that are of unknown origin as no connection to the Edges can be made based solely on the information contained in this collection.
Charles Wyatt (July 16, 1942 – September 29, 1986) was an urban planner and historic building consultant. Following a career in public service he formed Charles Wyatt Associates to provide assistance to building owners seeking to obtain the investment tax credit for certified rehabilitation of historic structures.
The materials in this collection consist of the work product of Charles Wyatt Associates, including paperwork, photographs and designs for properties within Jersey City as well as some outside of the city. The material dates from May 1982 through December 1987. Historic designation nominating forms condense research on the properties, with photographs showing the condition of the structures at time of appraisal. Some properties include before and after documentation.
The New Jersey Room Family Files are a collection of uncataloged genealogy resources collected over the years made. Items from the collection have been donated to The New Jersey Room and range from genealogical charts to narrative family histories.
This collection of works on paper represents a portfolio spanning almost 30 years of Jersey City native and NJCU BA graduate Richard La Rovere.
Mr. La Rovere's wide range of subject matter covering both the commerical and personal has been the result of much local activity engaging with individuals seeking art for everything from problem solving to aesthetic affirmation.
His approach was hands on; going door to door and/or manning a table in one day outdoor art shows as a way to offer his services before computer technology.
A representational artist who still does his work by hand and whose heroes are the old American illustrators of yore, La Rovere consistently employs his trademark pen and ink style whether it be a piece for advertising, a building proposal, book or editorial illustration, a commissioned birthday gift, or a depiction of a Jersey City streetscape for himself.
The Abercrombie Guild first began their mission of supporting Christ Hospital in 1874. Over their decades of service, they raised money for many projects, predominantly relating to improving the quality of pediatric and maternal care services available. This collection consists of scrapbooks compiled by members documenting guild activities from 1910-2019 (bulk 2001-2019), and books of meeting minutes from 1939-1951 and 1960-1969.
This collection documents Jersey City’s vibrant arts and culture scene from 2004-2020. It consists predominantly of postcards advertising local galleries, special showings, and events relating, mostly in Jersey City, but also a few in Hoboken and New York. It also contains a number of local magazines talking about similar and related topics
This collection documents environmental concerns relating to Liberty State Park in Jersey City over the decades, as well as the founding and development of the park itself and related organizations via official documents, newspaper coverage, and correspondence from 1934-2002. Topics include chromium waste dumping; the development of a marina, a golf course, and Port Liberté; proposed demolition and repairs to Caven Point Pier; creation of the Liberty Science Center; and criticism of the Liberty State Park Development Corporation management and finances.
This collection documents the activities of the Lincoln Association, the oldest organization to annually celebrate the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, having been doing so annually since 1867. With internal documents, correspondence, and newspaper clippings dating from 1883-2017, the bulk of this collection relates to the planning of their annual dinner celebrations, but also includes other activities such as raising funds for the Lincoln, The Mystic statue in Lincoln Park, advocating for said park to be renamed to Lincoln Park, and wreath laying ceremonies at the statue.
For further reading, see The “Makings” of the Lincoln Association of Jersey City (N369 L63R) and the Lincoln Association vertical files located in the New Jersey Room.
This collection consists mainly of correspondence, both in the form of V-mail and typed and written letters, written by James Schlett to his family in Jersey City after he enlisted during the Second World War. Covered within this collection is his correspondence from January of 1942 through August of 1945, although his date of entry into service is not listed as being until September 30, 1942. His service would end on November 13, 1945.
There are additional non-correspondence documents from later in his life and after his passing (1942-1983) relating to his service, people he knew, reunions with other members of the 1028th Signal Company after the war, correspondence written by individuals other than Schlett, and a collection of photos taken by Schlett during his service and mailed back home.