John R. Brodhead Papers

John R. Brodhead's papers consist of correspondence, 1831-1871, including drafts of letters sent; European diaries, 1839-1849 with gaps; writings and related notes, primarily concerning early New York State history; lists, transcripts and translations of documents from archives in Holland, London and Paris; papers (some printed) concerning service in the 63rd Brigade, New York Infantry, 1836-1838; papers (some printed) concerning the New York Historical Society; speeches; legal and financial documents, some concerning real estate; press clippings; scrapbooks (primarily containing press clippings but also including a broadside and pamphlets such as printed New York State legislative documents); certificates; and other papers, including photographs of Brodhead and copies of his bookplate. Also present are papers relating to Brodhead's relatives, especially Brodhead's father, the Rev. Jacob Brodhead; his father-in-law, Simeon DeWitt Bloodgood; and Goose Van Schaick and other members of the Van Schaick family of Albany, N.Y. In addition, the papers include Dutch naval documents, 1613-1781, that Brodhead collected.

Of John R. Brodhead's more notable correspondents, those represented by the most letters are George Bancroft and Everett Everett. Among his other correspondents are Lord Aberdeen [sent to Everett but concerning Brodhead's work], Prince Adolphus (the Duke of Cambridge) [recipient not actually stated], Harmanus Bleecker, William H. Campbell, Lewis Cass, George Catlin [a letter of introduction], Lyman Draper, Evert Duyckinck, Hamilton Fish, James Lenox, Benson J. Lossing, Charles Lyell, Lord Palmerston, Benjamin P. Poore, William H. Seward [including a letter sent to Washington Irving], Henry Stevens, Peter D. Vroom and Daniel Webster. A red-brown imperforate 5-cent postage stamp depicting Benjamin Franklin appears on one of the Everett letters, while another letter (apparently from Henry T. Tuckerman) includes a green 2-cent Boyd's City Express stamp. Also included with the correspondence is a visiting card for Leiut. Genl. U.S. Grant (in a small envelope addressed to Brodhead at the Union Club) and several letters not addressed to Brodhead, including items from James Buchanan (1845), Winfield Scott (undated) and P.T. Barnum (1883).

John R. Brodhead's diaries were written during his travels to and from the Netherlands (on the packet-ship Gladiator in 1839 and on the steamship President in 1840) and during his service in The Hague as secretary to the American chargé d'affaires, September 1839-October 1840; in the Netherlands, England and France, May 1841-February 1844, while searching archives to secure copies of records; and during his service as secretary of the U.S. legation in London, October 1846-August 1849. The diary kept while serving under Ambassador George Bancroft in London has been described as presenting "an intimate glimpse of the personalities, politics and culture of the period." It also includes some information regarding Brodhead's activities as Herman Melville's literary agent in Great Britain.

The writings present in John R. Brodhead's papers primarily consist of chapters and notes for his History of the State of New York.

Jacob Brodhead's papers include letters that he received from N[icholas] Bleecker, Jr., who acted as his agent in Albany.

The correspondents of S. De Witt Bloodgood, in addition to John R. Brodhead, consist chiefly of Nicholas Biddle, Thomas Cole, Caleb Cushing, James Hogg, Elisha Kent Kane, James Sheridan Knowles, Samuel F.B. Morse, Jared Sparks, Daniel Webster and Nathaniel Parker Willis. Also represented is James M. Gray, evidently the son of the Rev. James Gray; in 1836 he seeks copies of James Hogg letters. The letters from John R. Brodhead comprise about nine items and were written from Europe, 1841-1843.

The Dutch naval manuscripts that John R. Brodhead collected consist of twenty-five items, 1613-1677 and 1781, alienated from the Ministerie van Marine in The Hague when, along with many other documents, they were tossed out of a burning building during a fire in January 1844. Many of these items pertain to the Anglo-Dutch wars.