Louis Bevier Family Papers: The Elizabeth Wright Collection (1721-1929)

Finding Aid Completed by Eric Roth, December 20, 1999 (last revised June 29, 2001)

Volume: 4.17 cu. ft.
Acquisition: The papers were donated to HHS by Elizabeth Wright in October, 1999.
Access: Unrestricted.
Copyright: Request for permission to publish materials from these records should be discussed with the Archivist/Librarian of HHS.
Digital Access: Digitized in 2022, hosted online in New York Heritage through Southeastern NY Library Resources Council (SENYLRC).

Biographical Note 

The papers chiefly document the lives of three individuals spanning four generations of the paternal line of the family of Louis Bevier B-30 [1] (1717-1772). The two successors to this line primarily represented in the papers are Louis' grandson Louis Bevier D-302 (1779-1826), and great-grandson Louis Bevier E-396 (1822-1911). Individuals represented in the collection to a lesser degree include David Bevier C-144 (1746-1822), Revolutionary War soldier, Louis Bevier F-503 (1857-1925), Professor and Dean at Rutgers University, and his daughter May Margaret Bevier G-463 (1886-1958), wife of Ralph G. Wright, Professor of Chemistry at Rutgers University.

Louis Bevier B-30 was born on April 29, 1717 to Louis Bevier (1684-1753) and Elizabeth Hasbrouck (1685-1760) and baptized at the Kingston Reformed Dutch Church on June 9 of the same year. He married Esther DuBois (1718-1790), daughter of Philip DuBois and Esther Gumaer on October 10, 1745. They had five children. Louis became a member of the Foot Company of Captain Daniel Brodhead in 1738, but went on to become a prominent surveyor in Ulster County . At Marbletown, Louis served as Town Clerk from 1745-1758, Assessor (1760), Trustee (1762-1772), Justice of the Peace (1769), and Supervisor in 1772) Louis is also listed as a member of the building committee for the Reformed Dutch Church in 1743. [2] He also served as deacon in 1753 and later as elder. At the church, Louis was involved in the Coetus-Conferentie dispute, siding with the Coetus faction, which favored centralized control of the church from the Classis at Amsterdam, as opposed to a more localized form church government centered in the New World that was favored by the Conferentie party. Louis Bevier died on September 29, 1772.

Louis' grandson Louis Bevier D-302 was born on February 13, 1779 to David Bevier C-114 (1746-1822) [3] and Maria Hasbrouck (1751-1816) and baptized at Marbletown ten days later on the 23rd. Louis was educated at the Kingston Academy , where he studied Greek, mathematics, surveying, and geography in addition to other subjects. He remained at the family home at Marbletown and married Maria Elting (1785-1859), daughter of Cornelius Elting, on January 6, 1807. Together they had nine children. Louis served as a captain during the War of 1812, and was stationed at the "Quarantine Ground" on Staten Island . In 1820, Louis was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the 130th Regiment of Infantry in New York State. According to Hasbrouck, Louis established a circulating library at Marbletown. [4] He died on October 25, 1826. 

Louis' youngest son, Louis Bevier E-396 was born on August 29, 1822 and baptized on November 3 at Marbletown. On November 17, 1847 he married Catherine VanDyck (1824-1885), daughter of Lawrence VanDyck and Catherine Hawes of Stuyvesant, NY. Louis and Catherine had five children: Marie L., Margaret S., Louis, Katherine, and Alida. As a young man, Louis Bevier received his education at Kinderhook Academy, under the direction of Silas Metcalf. He later took over the family farm at Marbletown and also worked as a surveyor, and served as Town Supervisor in 1875, and from 1878-1880. Louis also became a manager of the Ulster County Agricultural Society in 1859 and was a member of the State Charities Aid Association. At the Marbletown Dutch Reformed Church, he held the offices of Deacon, Elder, and Superintendent of Sunday School. Louis' other interests included the study and collection of geology and fossils, as well as local history and genealogy. He died on June 17, 1911 and left no will. [5]

Collection Description

The papers chiefly relate to the Bevier family of the towns of New Paltz and Marbletown, Ulster County, NY, specifically, the families of Louis Bevier B-30 (1717-1772), (1746-1822), Louis Bevier D-302 (1779-1826), and Louis Bevier E-396 (1822-1911). Records include account books, receipts, ciphering books, deeds, wills, mortgages, letters, property survey books and maps, genealogical materials, photographs, certificates, poems, memorabilia. The bulk of the collection dates from the mid-to-late 19th century, but there are several important documents dating from the 18th century as well, some of which are in French. These include several account books, ciphering books, and property survey books of Louis Bevier B-30, a 1763 letter concerning a schoolmaster at Marbletown, a 1768 letter concerning a fine levied against a man named John Van Vliet of the town of Rochester, and Resolutions of the Council for Safety for the State of New York, 1777. [6]

The collection is organized into six series:

Series 1: Ciphering Books (1734-1824) 0.5 cu. ft.
Series 2: Account Books and Receipts (1721-1901) 0.5 cu. ft.
Series 3: Estate Papers and Property Survey Books (1737-1914) 0.17 cu. ft.
Series 4: Genealogical Materials (1859-1917) 1 cu. ft.
Series 5: Miscellaneous Materials (1846-1929) 0.5 cu. ft.
Series 6: Photographs (mid 19th - early 20th century) 1 cu. ft. [7]

The major strength of the collection is the documentation of the history of education and the life of children in Ulster County found in the ciphering books located in Series #1. The majority of the lessons in the ciphering books are mathematical in nature (addition, multiplication, liquid and dry measure, currency, fractions, decimals, simple interest, loss and gain, the Rule of Three, etc.) although moral and religious lessons can also be found. Much of the lesson material appears to be designed to train the students for careers in mercantilism or land surveying, and application problems involving currency abound throughout the series. These books also form part of the Huguenot Historical Society Ciphering Book Collection, which contains 23 other ciphering books from the 18th and 19th centuries. Used collectively, these books provide an excellent source for studying the early development of education in Ulster County from ca. 1700 to ca. 1850, before the widespread distribution of printed textbooks and the development of government standards.

Also of interest in the collection are the materials in Series #2 and #3 relating to the financial and legal business of the Bevier family, specifically the management of the Marbletown estate. Both the account books and estate and legal papers of Louis Bevier E-396 chiefly relate to transactions between various members of the Bevier, Hasbrouck, Smith, Hannibal, Morris and Winchel families involving land in the towns of Marbletown, Rochester and Rosendale, Ulster County, NY. Several items from the late 19th century concern Louis Bevier's work as administrator of the estates of Edgar Hasbrouck and Fanny Morris, both deceased. Other items of financial or legal interest include the will of Peter Countryman (1867), and a letter relating to the guardianship of Mary Susan Mowers (1879), signed by Ulster County Judge and 1904 United States Presidential Candidate Alton B. Parker.

Additionally, three account books of Louis Bevier B-30 provide a very useful source for studying commerce, construction, and social ties in the New Paltz area during the early to mid-18 th century. These account books, some of which contain entries written in French, document transactions for a variety of items and services such as clothing, books, foodstuffs, livestock, shoemaking, fence building, and cutting shingles, as well as transactions involving the purchase and sale of real estate and the settlement of debts.

Also in the collection are daguerreotype, tin-types, albumen and paper photographic prints, both in albums and loose, as well as framed photographs of people and buildings relating to the Bevier, Wright, Van Dyck, and Scott families. The majority of these photographs date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries (ca. 1890-1920, but there are some earlier images as well. Individuals chiefly represented include Louis Bevier, May Margaret Bevier, and Elizabeth Bevier. Other families represented include the Dealing, Halsey, Huyck, Shaw, Hasbrouck, Ingersoll, Northrupp, Basten, DuBois, Van Slyke, Smith, Mott, Caldwell , Conover, Johnson, Voorhis, Dusenberry, Staats, Nervius, Jewett, Suydam, and Slarghter families. Many photographs are unidentified. Also present are two photographs of the Bevier House in Marbletown, ca. 1908, with one showing the family and their black servants in the foreground; a postcard of the Bevier-Elting House on Huguenot Street ca. 1910; and several group shots of school classes and young people at picnic in the woods. There is also a tintype of a black woman named Susie and a young boy, presumably her son, named Percy taken at Kingston Point in 1905.

The remainder of the collection consists chiefly of family memorabilia and genealogy, including scrapbooks, certificates, sheet music, poetry, advertisements, calendars, notebooks, various organizations' records and other miscellaneous materials. Items of note include the bridal album and various poems of May Margaret Bevier (1904-1911), record books of the Marbletown School District (1818-1855) and Female Benevolent Society (1846), marriage certificate of Louis Bevier and Catherine Van Dyke (1847), receipts from the American Board of Foreign Missions (1856-1857), two scrapbooks of geological information of Louis Bevier E-396 (1871-1882), passport of Katherine Bevier (1914), and an undated map of Eurasian Continent. Genealogy materials include notebooks on various families, family ancestral and pedigree charts, local history and genealogy pamphlets, and genealogical correspondence of Louis Bevier E-396, Isaac E. Hasbrouck, Hasbrouck Innis, May Margaret Bevier G-463, A.P. Bovier, Dr. Nathan Webb Hunt, and others. Families documented in the genealogical papers include Bevier, Hasbrouck, DuBois, Elting, Newkirk, Krom, Van Keuren, Van Leuven, Van Dyke, and many others (See Box and Folder List for more detail).

This collection significantly overlaps two other collections of Bevier family papers: the Captain Philip Dubois Bevier Family Papers (1685-1910), and the Louis Bevier Family Papers: The Rutgers Collection (1687-1921) the both of which are also available at the Huguenot Historical Society Library and Archives. Another collection entitled the Bevier Family Papers (ca. 1700-1850) is available at the Columbia University Rare Books and Manuscripts Library in Manhattan .

Other collections at the Huguenot Historical Society Archives concerning the Bevier Family include Lewis Coe Bevier Civil War Letters (1862-1922), Louis Bevier Papers (1675-1719), Harriet Bevier Urion Family Papers (1883-1903), the Elting Family Papers (1703-1928), and the New Paltz Town Records, which contains property maps surveyed by Louis Bevier B-30, as well as information pertaining to local offices at New Paltz held by various Bevier family members.

Also donated with this collection was the French Bible of Louis Bevier (ca. 1647-1720) entitled La Sainte Bible: Intrepretee par Iean Diodati, and published in Geneva, Switzerland in 1644. This Bible is stored with the Huguenot Historical Society Bible and Religious Book Collection.

Series Descriptions

Series 1: Ciphering Books (1734-1824) 0.5 cu. ft.

Handwritten mathematical workbooks of Louis Bevier B-30, David Bevier C-114, Louis Bevier D-302, Joseph Bevier D-304, Maria DuBois, Maria Eltinge (See Louis Bevier D-302), and Catherine Bevier E-391. Subjects typically include basic mathematics (addition, multiplication, etc.), liquid and dry measure, currency, fractions, decimals, simple interest, loss and gain, the Rule of Three, etc. The ciphering books also contain numerous application problems relating to the business of buying and selling goods, as well as occasional drawings and other examples of "doodling." The ciphering books are arranged chronologically.

 Series 2: Account Books and Receipts (1721-1901) 0.5 cu. ft.

Ten account books (primarily daybooks), of Louis Bevier B-30 and Louis Bevier E-396 containing financial transactions involving farm supplies, labor, domestic goods, and other matters of estate. Enclosed in some account books are newspaper clippings and loose receipts. Due to the miscellaneous nature of the account books, they have been left unordered. Instead, each account book has been given an identification number and title with inclusive dates. Loose receipts are arranged chronologically.

 Series 3: Estate Papers and Property Survey Books (1737-1914) 0.17 cu. ft.

Deeds, letters, bills of sale, bonds, cancelled checks, mortgages, cemetery deeds, letters of administration, survey maps, and other documents primarily of Louis Bevier E-396 relating to property in the towns of Marbletown, Rochester, and Rosendale, Ulster County, NY from 1847-1887. This series also includes two 18 th century property survey books kept by Louis Bevier B-3 and E-396, containing copies of deeds, conveyances, survey maps, preparatory questions, etc. Both the papers and the survey books are arranged chronologically.

 Series 4: Genealogical Materials (1859-1917) 1 cu. ft.

Notebooks, correspondence, charts, pamphlets, clippings and other materials primarily of Louis Bevier relating to the history and genealogy of numerous Ulster County families such as Bevier, DuBois, Cantine, Hasbrouck, Elting, Newkirk, VerNooy, Vreeland, and others. Materials are arranged alphabetically by format and thereunder by date. Due to the miscellaneous nature of the genealogical notebooks, they have been left unordered. Instead, each notebook has been given an identification number and title with inclusive dates.

 Series 5: Miscellaneous Materials (1846-1929) 0.5 cu. ft.

Albums, scrapbooks, certificates, programs, maps, poems, sheet music, calendars and other miscellaneous memorabilia of Louis Bevier E-396, Katherine Bevier F-504, and May Margaret Bevier G-463, and other Bevier family members. Items are identified by type and arranged alphabetically.

Series 6: Photographs 1 cu. ft.

Daguerreotype, tin-types, albumen and paper photographic prints, both in albums and loose, as well as framed photographs of people and buildings relating to the Bevier, Wright, Van Dyck, and Scott families, although other families are represented as well. Individuals chiefly represented include Louis Bevier, May Margaret Bevier, and Elizabeth Bevier. Many photographs are unidentified. Also present are two photographs of the Bevier House in Marbletown, ca. 1908, with one showing the family and black servants in the foreground, a postcard of the Bevier-Elting House on Huguenot Street ca. 1910, and several group shots of school classes and young people at picnic in the woods. There is also a tintype of a black women named Susie and a young boy, presumably her son, named Percy taken at Kingston Point in 1905. Photographs are roughly organized by type and family.

Box and Folder List

View all digitized items on New York Heritage (collection is partially digitized; links to individual items are provided below where possible)

Box 1
Series 1: Ciphering Books (1734-1824)

Ciphering Books:
     (1734-1739) Louis Bevier, includes accounts and legal documents
     (1739) Maria DuBois
     (1743-1745) Louis Bevier, Jun.
     (1760) David Bevier
     (1767) David Bevier
     (1792-1793) Louis Bevier
     (1796) Joseph Bevier
     (1797) Joseph Bevier
     (1799) Maria Elting
     (1800) Louis Bevier
     (1824) Catherine Bevier
     (Undated, ca. late 18th century) Louis Bevier

Box 2
Series 2: Account Books and Receipts (1721-1901)

Account Books:
     #1, Unidentified, French (1721-1763)
     #2, Louis Bevier, Jun. (1729-1761)
     #3, Andries Bevier, kept by Louis Bevier, one page in French (1742-1768)
     #4, Louis Bevier (1856-1895)
     #5, Louis Bevier (1852-1865)
     #6, Unidentified, includes clippings (1871-1901)
     #7, Louis Bevier (1882)
     #8, Louis Bevier (1862-1870)
     #9, Louis Bevier, includes receipts (1885-1897)
Receipts (1773, 1854-1899 and undated)

Box 3
Series 3: Estate Papers and Property Survey Books (1737-1914)

Estate and Legal Papers:
     (1763-1879)
     (1881-1889 and undated)
Property Survey Books:
     (1737-1745) Louis Bevier, Jun.
     (1741-1767) Louis Bevier, Jun.
     (1848-1870) Louis Bevier
Property Survey Map (undated), stored with oversize materials in Box 8

Box 4
Series 4: Genealogy Materials (1859-1917) [8]

Genealogical Charts:
     (undated)
     (undated) Bevier and Van Dyke families, stored with oversize materials in Box 8
Genealogical Correspondence:
     (1873-1897)
     (1899-1934 and undated)
Genealogical Notebooks:
     #1, Westbrook, Sahler, DePue, Kortright, VerNooy, Stillwell, Ean families (undated)
     #2, Pawling, Viele, Hoornbeck, Hoffman, and Swartwout families (undated)
     #3, Decker, Hooghteeling, and Roosa families (undated)
     #4, Bevier family (1892)
     #5, "Memorandum of Eltinges" (1892)
     #6, "Memorandum of Jan Hasbrouck Family" (1899)
     #7, Newkirk, Jansen, and Cantine families (1895-1897)
     #8, "Abraham Hasbrouck Family Record" (Undated)
     #9, Bevier family (1904)
     #10, "Memorandum of Eltinge Family" (1897-1898)
     #11, "Memorandum of LeFevre Family" (undated)
     #12, Bevier, Vreeland, Schoonmaker, and Van Keuren families (undated)
     #13, "Abstract of County Records of Sales, U.C." (Ulster County) (undated)
     #14, "Memorandum of DuBois Family" (undated)
     #15, "Genealogical Memorandum of the Bevier Family" (1892-1899)
     #16, Bevier family (1899)
     #17, DuBois family (undated)
     #18, Wynkoop, Bruyn, Crispell, DeWitt, and Freer families (undated)
     #19, Marbletown Church Records (1893-1898)
     #20, Bevier family (1914)
     #21, Bevier family (1899), stored with oversize materials in Box 8
Genealogy and Local History Pamphlets:
     (1859-1887)
     (1888-1917)
Genealogical Papers, Miscellaneous (undated)   

Box 5
Series 5: Miscellaneous Materials (1846-1929)

Bridal Album, May Margaret Bevier (1911)
Minute Book, Marbletown School District Annual Meetings (1818-1855)
Miscellaneous Papers (1846-1929 and undated)
Female Benevolent Society record book, marriage certificate, receipts from the American Board of Foreign Missions, Rutgers College Commencement program, poem, Reformed Church in America Coat of Arms, advertisements for cleaning supplies, etc.
Map of Eurasian Continent (undated), stored with oversize materials in Box 8
Musical Scores, Blandina Bevier (undated), stored with oversize materials in Box 8
Passport, Katherine Bevier (1914), stored with oversize materials in Box 8
Poems, May Margaret Bevier (1904-1911)
Quality Street Calendars, with photographs (1908)
Science Scrapbooks, Louis Bevier:
     (1871-1880)
     (1874-1882)  

Box 6
Series 6: Photographs (mid-19th - early 20th century)

Five photograph albums containing chiefly albumen and tintype photographic prints of members of the Bevier, Wright, Dealing, Van Dyck, Halsey, Huyck, Shaw, Hasbrouck, Ingersoll, Northrupp, Basten, DuBois, Van Slyke, Smith, Mott, Caldwell, Conover, Johnson, Voorhis, Dusenberry, Staats, Nervius, Jewett, Suydam, and Slaughter families. Many photographs are unidentified. There are also two photographs of unidentified young black women.

Box 7
Series 6: Photographs (mid-19th - early 20th century)

Daguerreotypes (mid-19th century)
Mixed photographs, miscellaneous people (mid 19th century - early 20th century)
Albumen and paper prints, buildings (late 19th - early 20th century)
Albumen and paper prints, Bevier family (late 19th - early 20th century)
Paper prints, Wright family (early 20th century)
Loose framed photographs, miscellaneous people (early 20th century)

Box 8
Oversize Materials

Account Book #10, Louis Bevier (1851-1910), from Series 1
Genealogy Charts, Bevier and Van Dyke Families (undated), from Series 4
Genealogical Notebook #21, Bevier Family (1899), from Series 4
Map of Eurasian Continent (undated), from Series 5
Musical Scores, Blandina Bevier (undated), from Series 5
Passport, Katherine Bevier (1914), from Series 5
Property Survey Map (undated), from Series 3

Notes
 

[1] Unless otherwise noted, identification numbers and personal data are taken from The Bevier Family: The Descendants of Louis Bevier, Patentee of New Paltz, New York. The Huguenot Historical Society, New Paltz, New York (1970) compiled by Kenneth Hasbrouck.

[2] Sylvester, Nathaniel Bartlett. History of Ulster County, New York, with Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part Second. Philadelphia, Evans & Peck (1880): p. 196.

[3] Papers of David Bevier and other close relatives can be found in the Captain Philip Dubois Bevier Family Papers (1685-1910) , the Louis Bevier Family Papers: The Rutgers Collection (1687-1921), the both of which are also available at the Huguenot Historical Society Library and Archives. Another collection entitled the Bevier Family Papers (ca. 1700-1850) is available at the Columbia University Rare Books and Manuscripts Library in Manhattan.

[4] Hasbrouck, p. 50.

[5] Bevier, pp. 214-215.

[6] These three items are located in Series #3: Estate Papers and Property Survey Books.

[7] Note: Oversized items are housed Box 7, regardless of series.

[8] Note: dates in parentheses refer to the dates of item compilation, not item contents.