Manuscript Group 248, N. Norris Halsted (1816-1884) and Nancy Marsh Halsted (1817-1891) Papers, 1817-1891

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Manuscript Group 248, N. Norris Halsted (1816-1884) and Nancy Marsh Halsted (1817-1891)

Papers, 1817-1891, 2.75 linear ft.

Call Number: MG 248 + Box and folder number

• Summary

• Biographical Note

• Provenance Note

• Series Notes

• Container List

Summary:

Correspondence, diaries, and financial records of N. Norris Halsted (1816-1884) and his wife, Nancy Marsh Halsted (1817-1891); account book, 1866-1872, of the building committee of Halsted Observatory, Princeton University; commonplace books, poetry, and genealogical notes of Nancy Halsted; notes, 1869-1872, kept by Mrs. Halsted on sermons preached by Reverend Elijah R. Craven, pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church, Newark; minute book, 1876, of the New Jersey Washington Aid Society retained by Mrs. Halsted; return of the absentees of the 1st Battalion, 4th Regiment, Essex Brigade, September 24, 1794; plan of the Newark India-Rubber Manufacturing Company works, Newark; correspondence and legal records of relatives of Mrs. Halsted.  Included are letters pertaining to land speculation in Florida, Louisiana, and California and records retained by Albert C. Janin and Edwin Janin concerning claims against the Mexican government under the provisions of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.  N. Norris Halsted was a partner in the wholesale dry-goods firm of Halsted, Brokaw and Company in New York and a major stockholder in the New Jersey Rubber Company.  During the Civil War, he was commander of camps Olden and Perrine at Trenton, New Jersey.  Nancy Halsted was active in church and hospital work and in the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association.

Gift of Mrs. James E. Howell, 1903.

Biographical Note:

Nancy Ward Marsh Halsted (1817-1891) was the daughter of John Terrill Marsh, a descendent of John Marsh, who sailed from Scotland on the ship Caledonia in 1635.  Her mother, Margaret Dayton Morse Marsh, had eight other children.  Nancy W. Marsh was raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and was considered well read and an excellent writer.  She married General N. Norris Halsted (1816-1884) on June 12, 1837.  They left no children.

The Halsteds resided in Kearny, New Jersey (Hudson County) on a 33-acre estate named “Hillside,” which had a summer retreat on the same property.  The main house was staffed with servants and the estate had beautiful gardens, a result of Nancy Halsted’s fondness for flowers.

Mrs. Halsted was actively involved with two charitable organizations, in the founding of the Knox Presbyterian Church in Kearny and as a leader in the Mt. Vernon Ladies Association of New Jersey (MVLANJ).  The Knox Presbyterian Church started in the Kearny homes of several families, including “Hillside.”  In 1870, Mrs. Halsted donated property for a church site.  By 1877, Mrs. Halsted was instrumental in establishing a fund-raising program for the Church.  In November 1879, the first official service was held for the laying of the cornerstone.  On January 25th, 1882, the Knox Presbyterian Church was dedicated at the corner of Kearny and Woodland Avenues.

Nancy Halsted also established a substantial fund-raising campaign for Mt. Vernon, in her belief that George Washington’s home should be restored for the centennial year of the nation.

Her husband was killed in a train accident in 1884.  She stayed at Hillside until her death in 1891.

This collection also includes correspondence, legal documents, account books and miscellaneous material of Louis Janin and Sons, a law firm in Washington, DC.  Louis Janin’s son, Edward, was married to Helen Morse, a relative from Nancy Halsted’s mother’s family, who lived at “Hillside” as a widow and remained there after Nancy Halsted’s death.  Helen Morse Janin is named in Nancy Halsted’s will.

The Janin legal firm was involved in land claims, especially in cases against Mexico, stemming from the treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo which ended the war with Mexico.  The major portion of this collection is from Edward Janin.  He and his wife, Helen, lived in Washington, DC and Louisiana. (See Box 6, folder 10, for a brief description of the law firm’s history)

Provenance Note:

The collection was presented to The New Jersey Historical Society by Mrs. James E. Howell in 1903.

Series Notes:

This collection is arranged in three series.  Series I: Nancy Halsted – Boxes 1, 2, 3,4;  Series II: Gen. N. Norris Halsted – Box 5; and Series III: Janin & Sons, law firm, and the Janin Family – Boxes 5 and 6.

Container List:

 Processed by Gail Lieberman, Caldwell College, 1985.  Updated in 1999.

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