Early American Newspaper Collection (1783-1835)
Finding Aid Completed by Eric Roth March 2, 2000
Last updated January 14, 2013
Volume: 0.5 cu. ft., 35 items
Acquisition: The newspapers were donated separately and aggregated together at the repository. Acquisition information for each item is provided in the Item Descriptions section.
Access: Unrestricted.
Copyright: Request for permission to publish materials from these records should be discussed with the Collections Manager and Archivist of the Historic Huguenot Street.
Collection Description
The Early American Newspaper Collection is a miscellaneous aggregation of 35 newspapers (16 different titles) in original print form dating from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The majority of the titles were printed at Kingston, NY, but other issues come from Newburgh, NY, New York City, Philadelphia, and Staunton, VA. There are no runs of papers, only single issues, although there are multiple issues of the Ulster County Gazette, Ulster Palladium, and The Plebian, all from Kingston. More complete runs of all of titles found in the collection are maintained on microfilm by the Library of Congress, the New York State Newspaper Project in Albany, NY, as well as by other libraries around the state. A list of Ulster County newspaper titles on microfilm from this time period is available at the repository upon request.
The overall physical condition of the collection ranges from poor to fair, with most items showing signs of damage from tearing, folding, fading, and yellowing. Most of the newspapers span two to four pages, although some items are fragments only. There are no restrictions on access to the newspapers, however, the papers are fragile and must be handled with extreme caution. The newspapers are organized chronologically, regardless of title.
For local historians, the greatest strength of the collection is the documentation of business activities in Ulster County in the advertisement sections. These advertisements provide information regarding the formation and sales of businesses such as restaurants, coffee houses, taverns, mills, tanneries, canal and road companies, brokerage and law firms, farms, and factories. They provide information on the sales of land, ships, livestock, farm tools and equipment, books, medicines and other remedies for common ailments, and domestic goods such as foods, kitchenware, clothing, and other household items. Other advertisements seek apprentices or journeymen for hire in industries such as shoemaking, blacksmithing, "saddle and harness making," and general and specialty stores. The advertisements also provide a rich source for documenting the institution of slavery through notices for the sales of slaves and rewards offered for the return of runaway slaves. These advertisements and notices often provide information regarding the names, ages, clothing, hairstyles, work skills, ownership, and price values of slaves.
In addition to the advertisements, the contents of the newspapers cover a variety of subjects such as political and military affairs; natural disasters and sensational criminal acts; local transportation schedules (shipping, stage coach, etc.); obituaries; weekly price indexes for domestic goods; and miscellaneous material such as poems, jokes and novelty stories. Of specific interest are numerous articles discussing political matters at the state and national levels. Several of the newspapers report local and state election returns and copies of published letters of resignations submitted by elected officials in the New York State Legislature and U.S. Cabinet. Several Presidential and Gubernatorial addresses and legislative reports discuss topics such as national and state trade tariffs, canal construction, foreign and Indian relations, anti-masonic philosophy, the Temperance and Abolitionist movements, and funding for education and prison construction. There are also foreign intelligence reports on Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and the Caribbean; and reports on diplomatic and military developments during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
Item List
#1: The New York Morning Post, New York, NY (Friday, November 7, 1783).
#2: The Pennsylvania Packet, and Daily Advertiser, Philadelphia, PA (Tuesday, September 21, 1784).
#3: London’s New York Packet, New York, NY (Thursday, March 17, 1785).
#4: The Newburgh Packet, Newburgh, NY (Monday, June 19, 1797).
#5: Ulster County Gazette, Kingston, NY (Saturday, July 13, 1799).
#6: Ulster County Gazette, Kingston, NY (Saturday, July 20, 1799).
#7: Ulster County Gazette, Kingston, NY (Saturday, January 4, 1800).
#8: Ulster County Gazette, Kingston, NY (Saturday, October, 31, 1801).
#9: Ulster County Gazette, Kingston, NY (Saturday, January 23, 1802).
#10: The Rights of Man, Newburgh, NY (Thursday, May 20, 1802)
#11: The Plebian, Kingston, NY (Wednesday, November 9, 1803)
#12: Unknown, possibly Kingston, NY. (Winter or Spring 1805)
#13: Unknown, possibly Ulster County Gazette, Kingston, NY (March 9, 1805).
#14: Unknown, possibly Kingston, NY (June 1805).
#15: Ulster County Gazette, Kingston, NY (January 1806)
#16: The Plebian, Kingston, NY (October 1807).
#17: Unknown, possibly Kingston, NY (March 1808)
#18: New York Spectator, New York, NY (Saturday, July 15, 1809).
#19: The Plebian, Kingston, NY (Tuesday, March 26, 1811).
#20: Ulster County Gazette, Kingston, NY (Tuesday, January 7, 1812)
#21: Republican Farmer, Staunton, VA (Thursday, February 18, 1813)
#22: Unknown, possibly Albany, NY (March 1815).
#23: Ulster Plebian, Kingston, NY (Tuesday, February 3, 1818).
#24: New York Spectator, New York, NY (Friday, January 16, 1824).
#25: Unknown, possibly Kingston, NY (1829).
#26: Unknown, possibly Kingston, NY (Fall 1829).
#27: The Ulster Palladium, Kingston, NY (Tuesday, April 6, 1830).
#28: The Ulster Palladium, Kingston, NY (Tuesday, May 18, 1830).
#29: The Ulster Palladium, Kingston, NY (Wednesday, May 11, 1831).
#30: The Ulster Sentinel, Kingston, NY (Wednesday, December 19, 1832).
#31: Ulster County Whig, Rondout, NY (Wednesday, September 9, 1835).
#32: Plebian, Kingston (Tuesday, May 14, 1811)
#33: Unknown, possibly Kingston, NY (ca. 1835)
#34: Political Index, Newburgh, NY (Tuesday, March 18, 1828).
#35: The Balance, Columbian Repository, Hudson, NY (Tuesday, May 29, 1804)
Item Descriptions
Newspaper #1: The New York Morning Post, New York, NY (Friday, November 7, 1783).
Date and source of acquisition unknown. Paper is torn around edges and slightly brittle. Contents include articles and advertisements relating to the Revolutionary War such as proclamations and orders from the office of the Commander in Chief, General Washington's Farewell Address to the Armies of the United States ; Congressional news, and an anti-loyalist poem entitled "Tory's Soliloquy." There are also numerous advertisements for the sale of ships, houses and property, books, public auctions and imported domestic goods. One advertisement offers a reward for the capture and return of a runaway servant from Belfast, Ireland named Patrick Gelson. There is also an advertisement posted by a woman attempting to find work as a wet-nurse.
Newspaper #2: The Pennsylvania Packet, and Daily Advertiser, Philadelphia, PA (Tuesday, September 21, 1784).
Forms part of the Hendricus DuBois Family Papers (1702-1927). Date and source of acquisition unknown. Paper in fair condition showing early signs of brittleness. The print is faded, but most of the text is still legible. Articles and advertisement relate primarily to shipping news, crime reports, and items for sale such as domestic goods, ships, books, land and brokerage services. Items of interest include schedules for ships departing to Europe and the Caribbean; Foreign Intelligence reports concerning military and political affairs in Dublin, London, Hamburg and Turkey, etc.; articles concerning ships recently sunk in the Caribbean; and cash rewards for stolen objects. There are also numerous reports of thefts and other crimes. One advertisement offers a reward for a runaway slave woman.
Newspaper #3: London's New York Packet, New York, NY (Thursday, March 17, 1785).
Forms part of the Hendricus DuBois Family Papers (1702-1927). Date and source of acquisition unknown. Paper is wrinkled, dirty, and weak. Contents include numerous advertisements and notices for sales of farms, livestock, property, and domestic and imported goods; listings for weekly tide-measurements; current prices for common foodstuffs; an advertisement offering a reward for a runaway slave; and editorials discussing tax and import tarrif rates, freedom of speech, and slavery.
Newspaper #4: The Newburgh Packet, Newburgh, NY (Monday, June 19, 1797).
Apparently belonged to a J.G. Johnston. Date and source of acquisition unknown. Paper badly torn, some text is lost. Contents primarily relate to local news such as runaway livestock and slaves; ships, land and domestic goods for sale; and shipping schedules. Other items include a detailed account of the activities of the U.S. Congress for June 5-8, and reports on the German Army of the Rhine and a mutiny within the British Navy. Marginalia discusses the transfer of property from the Terwilliger family to the Jansen family.
Newspaper #5: Ulster County Gazette, Kingston, NY (Saturday, July 13, 1799).
Forms part of the Philip DuBois Bevier Family Papers (1685-1910). Collection donated by Richard Bevier Borcherding in 1958-1960 and in 1965. Paper dirty but otherwise in good condition. Includes various articles excerpted from the Albany Centinel concerning the court sentence of the tax-resistance group known as the "Liberty Pole Lads," news of relations with the Native Americans in Ohio and Kentucky, a Hessian fly outbreak that destroyed significant amounts of wheat in New York, and a proclamation by U.S. President John Adams discussing the suspension of trade between the United States and France. Advertisements generally concern the sale of farms, land, and domestic goods. One notice offers for sale a slave woman and her young child.
Newspaper #6: Ulster County Gazette, Kingston, NY (Saturday, July 20, 1799).
Forms part of the Philip DuBois Bevier Family Papers (1685-1910). Collection donated by Richard Borcherding Bevier in 1958-1960 and in 1965. Paper dirty, but otherwise in good condition. Contents include articles and letters discussing relations between the U.S. Government and the Mackasooky Indians of Florida, shipping schedules and news from the Americas and abroad; an advertisement for the sale of a slave woman, and a notice of the accidental death of two men during a cannon mishap on the Fourth of July at Salem, NY. There are also several advertisements for sales of land and goods.
Newspaper #7: Ulster County Gazette, Kingston, NY (Saturday, January 4, 1800) - 10 copies (reprints).
Date and source of acquisition unknown. Late 19th century reprints of this infamous issue recording the burial of George Washington. The issue also includes articles on international political and military news, foreclosure statements executed by Sherrif Peter Ten Broeck, and store and private advertisements for the sale of livestock, slaves, domestic goods, sawmills, houses, and property.
Newspaper #8: Ulster County Gazette, Kingston, NY (Saturday, October, 31, 1801).
Date and source of acquisition unknown. Paper folded and torn, some text is lost. Contents include notices of land transactions, announcements from the Sheriff, international news reports on affairs in Europe and North Africa, death notices, reports of stolen goods, notices of domestic goods for sale, and two poems entitled "The Simile" and "Hope".
Newspaper #9: Ulster County Gazette, Kingston, NY (Saturday, January 23, 1802).
Apparently belonged to R. Lounsberry. Probably donated by Sarah Lounsberry in 1972. Paper folded, wrinkled and dirty. Print faded but still legible. Includes notices of land for sale in Western New York and Ohio, a report from the National Treasury, advertisement for the sale of a brewery in Kingston, Sherriff's sales and announcements, poems, and obituaries. Contains signatures of R. Lounsberry and another unidentified member of the Lounsberry family.
Newspaper #10: The Rights of Man, Newburgh, NY (Thursday, May 20, 1802).
Date and source of acquisition unknown. Paper very weak and dirty. Edges frayed and torn. Contents include articles concerning diplomatic negotiations between the United States Government and Napoleon, election results for Orange County, NY, price index of foodstuffs and dry goods, and store and private advertisements for the sales of domestic goods, land, blank legal documents, farms and stores.
Newspaper #11: The Plebian, Kingston, NY (Wednesday, November 9, 1803).
Forms part of the Patterson DuBois Family Papers (1775-1921). Collection donated by Mrs. Sidney Johnson in 1991. Paper dirty, folded and torn, some text lost. Includes a notice for the sale of a brewery, report on the purchase of New Orleans, and parts of Florida, advertisement for the 1804 edition of theFarmer's Almanac and Ulster And Dutchess Counties Register, and general public notices.
Newspaper #12: Unknown, possibly Kingston, NY. (Winter or Spring 1805).
Date and source of acquisition unknown. Fragment only. Contains articles on the escape and recapture of convicted murderer Isaiah Martin in Baltimore, advertisements for medial remedies, farms, and goods for sale; and legal notices, including one concerning a woman who ran away from her husband. Written in one of the margins is the phrase "boundaries of Hasbroucks patent and DuBois patent."
Newspaper #13: Unknown, possibly Ulster County Gazette, Kingston, NY (March 9, 1805).
Date and source of acquisition unknown. Paper edges torn and frayed, some text lost. Contents include election results in the town of Kingston , and news of recent U.S. Presidential appointments and Naval actions in the Mediterranean near Tripoli. There are also store and private advertisements for the sale of items such as mills, farms, houses and property, livestock, domestic goods, shares for the Ulster and Delaware Turnpike Road Company, and a notice concerning a woman who ran away from her husband.
Newspaper #14: Unknown, possibly Kingston, NY (June 1805).
Date and source of acquisition unknown. Fragment only. Paper dirty and torn. Includes advertisements of remedies for common ailments, store and private advertisements for the sale of land, a covered wagon, domestic goods, and a notice seeking a blacksmith journeyman. There are also articles concerning French Naval movements in the Caribbean and the capture of Antigua.
Newspaper #15: Ulster County Gazette, Kingston, NY (January 1806).
Date and source of acquisition unknown. Fragment only, fair condition. Includes store advertisements for domestic goods, private advertisements for the sale of land, farms, and houses by Josiah Deyo, Petrus DuBois, Isaac LaFever, and John Van Vleeck. One article discusses a case of murder and attempted suicide by prisoner Josiah Burnhams in Haverhill, New Hampshire. There is also an announcement of a fulling-mill recently opened at High Falls in the town of Marbletown, Ulster County by David Hasbrouck.
Newspaper #16: The Plebian, Kingston, NY (October 1807).
Date and source of acquisition unknown. Paper badly torn, much text lost. Contents include article entitled "The Case of Aaron Burr" concerning a court case where Aaron Burr testified against suspected military deserter Jacob Dunbaugh; an article reporting recent diplomatic negotiations between the U.S. and Britain concerning Naval movements; and advertisements for the sale of land, farms, and grist mills. There is also an advertisement from tailor John Hogg in Kingston seeking to hire a journeyman.
Newspaper #17: Unknown, possibly Kingston, NY (March 1808).
Date and source of acquisition unknown. Fragment only. Includes advertisements for the sale of mills, farms, stoneware, land and houses; advertisements for the Ulster and Delaware Turnpike Road Company and Saugerties & Woodstock Turnpike Road Company.
Newspaper #18: New York Spectator, New York, NY (Saturday, July 15, 1809).
Date and source of acquisition unknown. Paper in fair condition. Contains weekly price index for domestic goods, obituary notices, crime reports, Congressional news, European political and military news, and a list of phrases suitable for toasting Independence Day celebrations. There are also advertisements for the sale of books, medicines, insurance, mineral water and stores in New York, a reward offered for military deserters, and an advertisement for a young boy apprentice wanted for "particulars."
Newspaper #19: The Plebian, Kingston, NY (Tuesday, March 26, 1811).
Date and source of acquisition unknown. Paper in fair condition, some tears along masthead. Contains legal notices, an article on the Spanish Americans move to secure independence from Europe, foreign intelligence reports, reward offered for runaway slave, and announcements for college lotteries, and notices concerning the Kingston Academy. There are also advertisements for the sale and lease of land, farms, houses, stores, sloops, and a tannery.
Newspaper #20: Ulster County Gazette, Kingston , NY (Tuesday, January 7, 1812).
Date and source of acquisition unknown. Paper in good condition, some fraying around edges. Advertisements for the sale of land and domestic and manufactured goods: a notice mentioning the "Old Kingston Coffee House:" news of an earthquake in Charleston, South Carolina, and news of fires in Philadelphia, Trenton, New Jersey, and Richmond, Virginia. There are also several articles and poems concerning New Year's Day.
Newspaper #21: Republican Farmer, Staunton, VA (Thursday, February 18, 1813).
Date and source of acquisition unknown. Paper in good condition, minor fraying around edges. Transcript of a speech by Josiah Quincy concerning the War of 1812, news of British Naval movements near Virginia, reward offered for runaway slave, an announcement for a patented remedy for common ailments entitled "Columbia Oil," and advertisements for the sale of land in Rockbridge County, Virginia .
Newspaper #22: Unknown, possibly Albany, NY (March 1815).
Date and source of acquisition unknown. Fragment only, good condition. Contains announcements and shipping and stage coach transportation schedules between New York City and Albany , an announcement of the U.S. Declaration of War against Algiers, notices of theatre productions, national lotteries, and notices for the sale of wood and furniture. There is also marginalia concerning an 8,000 acre tract of land for sale.
Newspaper #23: Ulster Plebian, Kingston, NY (Tuesday, February 3, 1818).
Date and source of acquisition unknown. Paper very dirty but otherwise in good condition. Print is faded but still legible. Much of the contents consist of the transcript and critiques of a speech given by New York State Governor George Clinton discussing the agricultural industry, construction of canals and roads, education, military, and crime and prisons. There are also advertisements for a coffee house in Kingston, an apprentice wanted for the "Saddle and Harness Making Business," recently opened stores and a footwear manufacturing business, a book auction, sales of land, and "Thayer's Patent Water Wheel."
Newspaper #24: New York Spectator, New York, NY (Friday, January 16, 1824).
Probably belonged to J.W. Jansen. Forms part of Jansen Family Papers (1706-1869). Collection donated by Elaine Kniffen in 1983 and 1985. Fragment only, torn, some text lost. Article concerning "intrigue and conspiracy afoot in Albany," notices of suicide and an accidental hunting death, Court Martial of English officer for "dilatoriness," an article concerning a movement in Georgia to abolish the practice of imprisonment for faulty debtors, and tally of money raised at West Point for the "Greek Fund."
Newspaper #25: Unknown, probably The Ulster Palladium, Kingston, NY, Jan. 1830.
Date and source of acquisition unknown. Fragment only, torn. Contains advertisements for the sale of land, farms, domestic goods, minerals, and medicines and surgical instruments; notices for the blacksmithing, tanning, book printing and wagon and plough manufacturing businesses; shipping schedules, and a bank note exchange table for New England states and New York State, There is also a notice of the Horse Thief Detection Society, which was founded in New Paltz. The notice includes an extensive list of local names.
Newspaper #26: Unknown, possibly Kingston, NY (Fall 1829).
Date and source of acquisition unknown. Articles and notices concerning anti-masonic philosophy, election results from various counties in Pennsylvania, advertisements for land and stores, and a restaurant for sale on Wall Street in Kingston.
Newspaper #27: The Ulster Palladium, Kingston, NY (Tuesday, April 6, 1830).
Belonged to Daniel Gerow. Forms part of the Gerow Family Papers (1753-1950). Collection donated in 1972 by Mrs. Edgar R. Jones and Mrs. Francis Maymaley, and in 1983 by Lois Gerow Frankel. Paper in very good condition. Contains an article concerning debates in the New York State Legislature over the anti-masonic movement, historical articles about Wakonda and Esopus, NY, a weekly bank-note table, local election returns, advertisements for the Delaware & Hudson Canal, and miscellaneous jokes and other witticisms. There are also advertisements for the sale of domestic goods, land, farms, clothing, furniture, tomb stones, sloops, remedies for "swelled neck," and a recently patented washing machine.
Newspaper #28: The Ulster Palladium, Kingston, NY (Tuesday, May 18, 1830).
Belonged to Daniel Gerow. Forms part of the Gerow Family Papers (1753-1950). Collection donated in 1972 by Mrs. Edgar R. Jones and Mrs. Francis Maymaley, and in 1983 by Lois Gerow Frankel. Paper in good condition. Contents include a letter of resignation from New York State Legislator John C. Spencer, an article on a law enacted to exempt Revolutionary War Veterans from debtor's prison, articles promoting anti-masonic philosophy and the Temperance Movement, and news of accidental deaths and other novelty stories. There are also advertisements for the sale of domestic goods, farms, land, stores, lumber, furniture and other items.
Newspaper #29: The Ulster Palladium, Kingston, NY (Wednesday, May 11, 1831).
Belonged to Daniel Gerow. Forms part of the Gerow Family Papers (1753-1950). Collection donated in 1972 by Mrs. Edgar R. Jones and Mrs. Francis Maymaley, and in 1983 by Lois Gerow Frankel. Paper in good condition. Contents include an address by members of the New York State legislature on anti-masonic philosophy, letter of resignation written by U.S. Secretary of State Martin Van Buren to President Andrew Jackson, and a memorial notice of the death of Daniel D. Demarest of Plattekill, Ulster County, NY. There are also advertisements for the sale of land, farms, domestic goods and kitchenware, and horses.
Newspaper #30: The Ulster Sentinel, Kingston, NY (Wednesday, December 19, 1832).
Belonged to Johannis Schoonmaker. Date and source of acquisition unknown. Paper in good condition, edges frayed. Contents include a proclamation by U.S. President Andrew Jackson on trade tariffs and South Carolina, county election returns for New York State, an article on South Carolina 's secession movement, and an article promoting the development of a Lyceum (an intellectual society that promotes public discourse) in Kingston. There are no advertisements in this issue.
Newspaper #31: Ulster County Whig, Rondout, NY (Wednesday, September 9, 1835).
Forms part of the Gerow Family Papers (1753-1950). Collection donated in 1972 by Mrs. Edgar R. Jones and Mrs. Francis Maymaley, and in 1983 by Lois Gerow Frankel. Paper in good condition. Contains political discussions on the Temperance movement and anti-abolitionist philosophy, foreign intelligence reports, brigade orders of the New York State Infantry, obituaries, shipping schedules, and advertisements for the sale of land, farms and farm tools, remedies for common ailments, wines and ales, and mills and other businesses.
Newspaper #32: Plebian, Kingston (Tuesday, May 14, 1811).
Acquisition unknown. Belonged to John Vanderlyn, the celebrated painter from Kingston. Includes advertisements for the sale of farms, slaves, dry goods, and turnipike stock. Also, political and international news, and poetry.
Newspaper #33: Unknown, possibly Kingston, NY (ca. 1835).
Donated in 1962 by C.E.C. Longyear. Includes advertisements and announcements pertaining to books, printing supplies, tanners, domestic goods and groceries, paint, timber, law offices, livestock, steamships, etc.
Newspaper #34: Political Index, Newburgh, NY (Tuesday, March 18, 1828).
Acquisition unknown. Includes news of the "Capture of Constantinople by the Turks," the Battle of Navarin, and other foreign military news; articles on courtship and mourning for the deceased, biographical portraits of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain in relation to Columbus' discovery of America; pending Congressional bills on payments to veterans, internal improvements, and tarrifs; notices of local marriages and deaths, and advertisements for the sale of farms, paper, and clothing. There are is also a poetry column, the North Boat Steam Boat Line schedule, and an advertisement seeking a "woman to manage a dairy: also a man to work on a farm."
Newspaper #35: The Balance, Columbian Repository, Hudson, NY (Tuesday, May 29, 1804).
No. 23-Vol. III. Page 169-176. Donated in 2011 by Salvatore J. LaBruna. 8 pages. On page 174, is an advertisement for a run-away slave for fifty dollars names Polladore, from Edward Griffin of Craven County. Also included is political and election news, poetry "The Soldier’s Dream" and international news.