Manuscript Group 1085, Edward J. Grassmann (1887 – 1973), CollectorManuscript Collection, 1731 – 1935 (Bulk dates: 1731 – 1780, 1810 – 1860)
Archives Documents, Manuscripts, Maps, & Photographs
Manuscript Group 1085, Edward J. Grassmann (1887 – 1973), Collector
Manuscript Collection, 1731 – 1935 (Bulk dates: 1731 – 1780, 1810 – 1860), 0.5 linear feet / 1 box
Processed as part of the “Farm to City” project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Call Number: MG 1085 + folder number
A closed collection of materials relating to the history of Elizabeth, New Jersey and vicinity. Among these papers are deeds pertaining to many Essex County families including the Day, Dod, Halsted, Meeker, Pierson, and Woodruff families. A record book includes a “Record of Sheriff[‘]s Bonds from the Borough of Elizabeth” from 1820-1848, and a handwritten copy of “The Laws and Ordinances of the Corporation of the Borough of Elizabeth in New Jersey,” 1740-1762. Also included is material pertaining to pew rents at the First Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey and a docket of “Supreme Writs Returnable to Essex Common Pleas, September Tern, 1790.”
Purchase, 1978.
Edward J. Grassmann was born in 1887 and graduated from Cooper Union College. He was a civil engineer, worked for the Yara Engineering Corporation and the Georgia Kaolin Company, was president of the Interstate Equipment Company, treasurer and surveyor-general for the General Board of Proprietors of East Jersey, and a member of the Board of the Proprietors of West Jersey. Grassmann was also a real estate investor and sold land to the Bell Telephone Company in New Providence, to the New York Port Authority for Port Elizabeth and the Newark Airport, and to developers for the communities of Sky Top, Blue Mountain, and Twin Falls in New Providence. Edward Grassmann married Ernestine ( ). He died in early March 1973.
Sources:
Edward J. Grassmann Obituary, Vertical Files, The New Jersey Historical Society.
This collection was purchased from the estate of Edward J. Grassmann in 1978.
This collection is made up of documents gathered by Edward J. Grassmann dating from 1731-1935, with bulk dates of 1731-1780 and 1810-1860. The collection is organized by document type and contains correspondence; research and literary works; legal documents; government documents, and financial records. Although the items document various individuals, they mostly come from or deal with the town of Elizabeth, New Jersey.
The majority of the collection consists of correspondence and Elizabeth, New Jersey land deeds. Correspondents include General Matthew Clarkson, Peter Van Brugh Livingston, William Livingston, John Dod Ward, Daniel Dod, Silas Ward, Meschech Weare, Nathaniel Peabody, Aaron Ogden, Colonel Samuel Webb, and William Phillips. The letters cover such topics as the American Revolution, particularly fighting in New Jersey; the steamboat business; debts and money transactions; and a trip to New Orleans, Louisiana in 1816.
The collection also contains literary works and research by Warren R. Dix, John Clement Fitzpatrick, and particularly Ernest L. and Oswald L.P. Meyer. The research covers such topics as George Washington and property in Elizabeth.
The legal, government, and court documents in the collection consist of Elizabeth land deeds, pew indentures for the First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth, certificates, bonds, licenses, wills, depositions, dockets, commissions, and various laws and resolutions. This last group contains an undated resolution to improve the entrance to the Port of New York at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, a 1779 law “to prevent horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs from running at large” in the town of Elizabeth, and a record book containing the charter, laws, and ordinances of the borough of Elizabeth and copies of sheriffs bonds dated between 1820-1843.
Lastly, there are a small number of accounts, bills, and receipts.
Manuscript Group 1302, Gibbons Family (Savannah, GA and Madison, NJ) Papers
| Folder | Title | Dates |
| Correspondence | ||
| 1 | Correspondence: A-H | |
| – To Gerard Baucher from Jonathan Hampton | 1769 | |
| – To General Matthew Clarkson from Peter Van Brugh Livingston | 1791 | |
| – To Jonathan Dayton from Aaron Ogden | 1798 | |
| – To Warren R. Dix from John C. Fitzpatrick | 1935 | |
| – To the Honorable Hamilton Fish from William B. Cogan | 1879 | |
| – To James J. Hill from E. Ralston | 1839 | |
| 2 | Correspondence: L-R | |
| – To William Livingston from James Latham | 1782 | |
| – To William Livingston from J. Swanwick | 1782 | |
| – To Nicholas Lowe from Joseph Lyons | 1794 | |
| – To John Pine from John D. Pierson | 1861 | |
| – To Mrs. ( ) Richards from E.B. Sykes | 1893 | |
| 3 | Correspondence: S-Wa | |
| – To L.A. Seaver from Frank Cole | 1906 | |
| – To L.A. Seaver from The Elizabeth Nursery Company | 1901 | |
| – To Samuel Smith from Robert Ogden | 1759 | |
| – To William N. Tillinghast from ( ) | 1864 | |
| – To John Dod Ward from Daniel Dod | 1815 | |
| – To John Dod Ward from Daniel Dod | 1816 | |
| – To John Dod Ward from Daniel Dod | 1816 | |
| – To John Dod Ward from Daniel Dod | 1816 | |
| – To Silas Ward from Daniel Dod | 1816 | |
| – To Silas Ward from Daniel Dod | 1818 | |
| 4 | Correspondence: We-Z | |
| – To Meschech Weare from Nathaniel Peabody (handwritten copy with typed copy) | 1780 | |
| – To Colonel Samuel B. Webb from William Phillips | 1779 | |
| – To Theodore Williams from Charles Salomon, with receipt/certificate | 1870 | |
| 5 | Correspondence regarding the preservation of Elizabeth, New Jersey records | 1933-1936 |
| Research and Literary Works | ||
| 6 | – Warren R. Dix: Catalogue of his library | 1917 |
| – Warren R. Dix: “Some Old Streets of Elizabeth” | 1925 | |
| 7 | – John Clement Fitzpatrick: List of “General George Washingtons Accounts of Expenses, 1775-1783” and “Journeys in that vicinity not specifying Elizabethtown” | n.d. |
| – Benjamin and Niobe Greene: Notes on their genealogy | n.d. | |
| 8 | – Ernest L. and Oswald L.P. Meyer: Correspondence | 1898-1913, n.d. |
| 9 | – Ernest L. and Oswald L.P. Meyer: Land research | n.d. |
| 10 | – Ernest L. and Oswald L.P. Meyer: Lists | n.d. |
| 11 | – Ernest L. and Oswald L.P. Meyer: Receipts and Bills | 1865-1874 |
| 12 | – List of papers for New Jersey Scrapbook | n.d. |
| – Report of the Union County Sub-Committee (pertaining to art) | n.d. | |
| Legal Documents: Contracts and Court Records | ||
| 13 | Land Deeds: A-G | |
| – William Broadwell to John Halstead | 1734 | |
| – Amos and Sally Clark to Robert P. Pierson | 1842 | |
| – Solomon Cooper to Elihu Brittin | 1839 | |
| – Elizabeth Athletic Club to Henry E. Duncan, Jr. | 1879 | |
| – William and Abby Louisa Gibbons to John J. Chetwood | 1842 | |
| 14 | Land Deeds: H | |
| – Timothy Halstead to John Halstead | 1731 | |
| – John Halsted to Isaac Hatfield | 1736 | |
| – Cornelius Hatfield to John Halsted | 1754 | |
| – Cornelius Hatfield to Andrew Blanchard | 1767 | |
| – William and Hannah Higgins to Cornelius Hatfield | 1764 | |
| 15 | Land Deeds: K-P | |
| – Land survey for Philip Kearny in Elizabeth Town | 1744 | |
| – Joseph Mills to William Pierson | 1774 | |
| – Gershom Moore to Rebeckah Allton, executor of Erasmus Allton, and Philip Kearny | 1736 | |
| – George Nicolls to John Hallsted | 1742 | |
| – John Pierson (represented by Isaac Nichols, Obadiah Meeker, and William Brown, commissioners appointed by the Orphans Court) to Rhoda (Pierson) Baldwin | 1835 | |
| – John D. and Pirah Pierson to William Whitlock | 1830 | |
| – Keen Pruden to James C. Blake | 1854 | |
| 16 | Land Deeds: R-W | |
| – William Robison to Edward Fitz Randolph | 1731 | |
| – John and Maria Silvers to Elihu Brittin | 1805 | |
| – Hezekiah and Susannah Stibbens to Uzel Woodruff | 1767 | |
| – Abraham Vreeland to Elihu Britttin | 1836 | |
| – James and Elizabeth Vreeland to Elihu Brittin | 1829 | |
| – Henry Whitlock to Susan U. Niemcewiecz | 1809 | |
| – Henry and Fanny Whitlock and Josiah M. and Elizabeth Howell to Ralph Price | 1810 | |
| – Matthias Williamson, John Blanchard, and Edward Thomas to Jonathan Morrell | 1772 | |
| 17 | Other Contracts: | |
| – Bond: John and Matthias Halsted to John and Susanna Halsted | 1785 | |
| – Bond: William Pierson to The Elizabeth Building Loan and Savings Fund Association | 1854 | |
| – Certificate of non-liability from the Board of Enrollment for the Nation Guard, given to Stephen W. Waterbury | 1864 | |
| – Indenture for a pew between the First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth Town and John Nuttman | 1787 | |
| – Indenture for a pew between the First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth Town and Enos Woodruff | 1809 | |
| – License to build a dock, wharf, and pier on the Elizabeth River between The Board of Chosen Freeholders of the County of Union and John Kean (3 versions) | 1871, 1891, 1891 | |
| – Will: Peter Emile Dumageard (?), with summons for Marie Dumageard and David R. Jaques, guardian of Emilie, Louis, and Aimie Dumageard | 1854 | |
| 18 | Court Documents: | |
| – Deposition of Elihu Brittin for John Silvers and Henry M. Brittin vs. Elihu C. Reynolds | n.d. | |
| – Deposition of John M. Trumbull for John M. Trumbull vs. Thomas Gibbons | 1816 | |
| – Docket: “List of causes noticed for Trial in the Borough of Elizabeth” | 1799 | |
| 19 | – Docket: Essex County | September 1790 |
| Government Documents | ||
| 20 | – Massachusetts: “An Abstract of one days pay for every 20 miles travel from Boston to their respective homes of a number of prisoners lately arrived in a cartel.” | 1777 |
| – New Jersey: Resolution to improve the entrance to the Port of New York at Sandy Hook, New Jersey | n.d. | |
| – Elizabeth, NJ: Law to “prevent horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs from running at large” in the town | 1779 | |
| – Elizabeth, NJ: Commission to William F. Day as commissioner for the State of New Jersey (Elizabethtown) | 1849 | |
| 21 | – Elizabeth, NJ: Recordbook of sheriffs bonds, also includes the charter, laws and ordinances of the Borough of Elizabeth (passed in 1762, copy?) | 1820-1843, 1762 (?) |
| Financial Records | ||
| 22 | – Accounts, Bills, and Receipts of George, Jane, and William Ross | 1792-1812 |
| – “An Account of Horses purchased in the state of New Jersey after the 1st March 1779″ | 1779 | |
Submit a request to copy part of this collection
