Manuscript Group 944, Edsall Family (English Neighborhood, NJ) Papers, 1792 – 1882 (Bulk dates: 1820 – 1866)
Archives Documents, Manuscripts, Maps, & Photographs
Manuscript Group 944, Edsall Family (English Neighborhood, NJ)
Papers, 1792 – 1882 (Bulk dates: 1820-1866), 0.25 linear feet / 1 small manuscript box
Call Number: MG 944 + Folder number
Correspondence, receipts, and indentures of a family living in what was then called English Neighborhood, a region of Bergen County extending from Englewood to Ridgefield. The collection contains letters written by three soldiers in New Jersey regiments during the Civil War. Also included are letters and financial records of Garret L. Edsall, Jacob Edsall, John Edsall, Naomi Edsall, and Samuel Edsall.
The Edsalls were early settlers of what was known as English Neighborhood in Bergen County, New Jersey. It was there that they established a large homestead and were farmers for many generations. Garret L. Edsall, son of Gertrude (Lydecker) and John Edsall, was one of many English Neighborhood men to fight in the Civil War, where he reached the rank of second lieutenant before resigning. James Dean, R. C. Dey, John E. Johnson, and David W. Terhune were other family members or neighbors who also became soldiers.
See Edsall Family Tree.
Sources:
Edsall Family Vertical File, The New Jersey Historical Society.
Van Valen, J. M. History of Bergen County New Jersey (New Jersey Publishing and Engraving Company: New York, 1900) pgs. 538-541, 555-559.
The source of this collection is unknown.
This collection is mostly made up of the correspondence and receipts of the Edsall family. The collection dates from 1792-1882, with bulk dates of 1820-1866, and has been divided into three series: Correspondence; Receipts; and Bonds, Bill of Sale, Pension Certificate.
The correspondence in the collection mostly dates from 1862-1864 and deals with the Civil War. It has been divided by recipient and then sorted by writer and date. R. C. Dey, David W. Terhune, James Dean, John E. Johnson, and Garret L. Edsall all wrote home and to each other about their experiences as soldiers in the Union Army. They discuss such topics as army movements, army politics and appointments, the resignation of Garret L. Edsall and of Lieutenant Colonel ( ) Davis, deaths, food, prices, and the weather. They often mention each other in their letters and pass along status reports. The remainder of the letters in the collection deal with a variety of topics, including farming, prices, road surveying, and the maintaining of indentured servants.
The collection also contains a large series of receipts. These have been divided by person and arranged chronologically. The receipts document purchases, estate settlements, and tuition costs, and largely belong to Garret L. Edsall, John Edsall (d. ca. 1794), John Edsall (d. 1876), and Jacob Edsall.
The last series in the collection consists of various legal contracts or documents. There are a number of bonds belonging to the Edsall family, along with a bill of sale for a “Negro man named Jack aged about twenty six years.” This series also contains the pension certificate of Margaret A. Terhune, mother of David W. Terhune.
| Folder | Title | Dates |
| Correspondence | ||
| 1 | To Garret L. Edsall from: | |
| – R. C. Dey | 1862 | |
| – R. C. Dey | 1863 | |
| – R. C. Dey | 1866 | |
| – R. C. Dey | 1866 | |
| – R. C. Dey | 1866 | |
| – Frederick Gibbs | 1851 | |
| – E. G. Gismond | 1882 | |
| Invitations to the wedding of Mr. & Mrs. Garret L. Edsalls daughter | 1874 | |
| Three yellow envelopes | n. d. | |
| 2 | To John Edsall (d. 1876) from: | |
| – John De Groot | 1827 | |
| – R. Despard | 1819 | |
| – R. Despard | 1820 | |
| – R. Despard | n. d. | |
| – Frederick DeVoe | 1827 | |
| – Rinier Wortendyke | 1820 | |
| 3 | Johnson Family: | |
| – Joel M. Johnson to John E. Johnson (2 xerox copies) | 1859 | |
| – John E. Johnson to “Uncle” | 1863 | |
| – John E. Johnson to “Uncle” | Nov. 26 (no year) | |
| – Envelope | n. d. | |
| 4 | Terhune Family: | |
| – David W. Terhune to “Sir” | 1862 | |
| – David W. Terhune to “Brother & Family” | 1863 | |
| 5 | To “Friend,” “Cousin,” or “Parents” from: | |
| – Clara Brinkerhoff | 1864 | |
| – James Dean | 1863 | |
| – James Dean | 1863 | |
| – James Dean | 1863 | |
| – John Edsall | 1862 | |
| – James McMurray | 1863 | |
| – Thomas Prindell | n. d. | |
| Receipts | ||
| 6 | Garret L. Edsall | 1851-1870 |
| 7 | Jacob Edsall and his estate (Abel Smith and Samuel Edsall, executors) | 1797-1799 |
| 8 | John Edsall (d.ca.1794) and his estate (Samuel Edsall, executor) and John Edsall (d. 1876) | 1794-1851 |
| 9 | Naomi Edsall and Rinier Wortendyke | 1818-1841 |
| 10 | Unidentifed Edsalls, William Day, ( ) De Groot | 1819-1878, n. d. |
| Bonds, Bill of Sale, Pension Certificate | ||
| 11 | Bond: Jacob Edsall bound to Hartman Brinkerhoff | 1792 |
| Bond: Jacob Edsall bound to Abel Smith | 1794 | |
| Bill of Sale: Sale of “Negro man named Jack” to Samuel Edsall by John Van Buskirk | 1794 | |
| Pension Certificate: To Margaret A. Terhune, mother of David W. Terhune | 1864 | |
| Bond: Gertrude Vreeland bound to Joel M. Johnson, administrator of the estate of John Edsall | 1878 | |
Edsall
Family Tree: See Biographical Note
Samuel Edsall (b. ca. 1630) + Jannetje Wessel (d. ca. 1675)
|
John Edsall (b. 1660)
| (descendants)
Samuel Edsall
John Edsall (d. ca. 1794)
Jacob Edsall (d. ca. 1797)
| (probably descendant of one of these)
Samuel E. Edsall + Naomi Christina Day
|
Naomi Edsall (?)
John Edsall (d. 1876) = Gertrude Lydecker
|
Samuel Edsall
Garret L. Edsall (d. 1885) = Lavinia Terhune
|
John G. Edsall = Pauline Pruden
Processed by Kim Charlton, December 1999 as part of the “Farm to City” project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
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