Scope and Contents
The Yates Family Papers consist of 2.5 inches of correspondence, and 30 inches of legal and financial papers and descriptions of land holdings of the Yates family of Schenectady and other New York families. Most of the collection has to do with land. There are a few copies of seventeenth-century documents, but the concentration of legal and financial papers falls between the 1760s and the 1820s. The bulk of the correspondence consists of letters from Yates family members to the land agent Charles Fuller (fl. 1845–1869) and others concerning land holdings and transactions and the collection of rents. Approximately fifty of the letters are from Ann Elizabeth (Delancy) Yates, widow of the New York State Governor Joseph Christopher Yates (1768–1837), written during the 1840s and 1850s. Other persons represented include Christopher Yates and his descendents from mid-eighteenth century to mid-nineteenth century, and James Duane (1733–1797) and his descendants, and members of the Delancy family.
Dates
- 1678-1923
- Majority of material found within 1714 - 1868
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of this collection are in the public domain. There are no restrictions on use. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Yates Family Papers were purchased in 1968 from the Winterthur Museum, which had acquired them from the estate of Helen Delancy Watkins of Schenectady, N.Y.
Extent
3 Linear Feet (7 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
Principals in this collection are the Yates family of Schenectady, New York, the Delancy family and James Duane (1733-1797) and his descendants. The major part of the papers is made up of financial and legal papers relating to land transactions in New York state between the 1760s and the 1820s. Included are leases, rent receipts, boundary agreements, survey field books, account books and charts. Most of the correspondence consists of letters from Yates family members to their land agent, Charles Fuller. Of these, approximately fifty were written by Ann Elizabeth Delancy Yates, widow of Joseph Christopher Yates, governor of New York state. Other correspondents are James Duane and his descendants and members of the Delancy family.
Biographical / Historical
James Duane: jurist, mayor; admitted to N.Y. bar, 1754; member of Committee of Correspondence, 1774; delegate, Continental Congress, 1774-1784; member, N.Y. Provincial Convention, 1775, 1776, 1777; helped draft Articles of Confederation; advocated ratification of U.S. Constitution; first mayor of N.Y.C., 1784; member, N.Y. Senate, 1782-1785, 1789-1790; first U.S. judge, district of N.Y., 1789-1794.
- Title
- Guide to the Yates Family Papers
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- compiled by Staff of Manuscripts and Archives
- Date
- October 1980
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Created In Accordance With Manuscripts And Archives Processing Manual
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository
Yale University Library
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven CT 06520-8240 US
(203) 432-1735
(203) 432-7441 (Fax)
beinecke.library@yale.edu
Location
Sterling Memorial Library
Room 147
120 High Street
New Haven, CT 06511