Hartshorne Family Papers - The Monmouth County Historical

Transcription

Hartshorne Family Papers
1670-2014
A Descriptive Guide
By
JOSEPH W. HAMMOND
Monmouth County Historical Association
Copyright © 2015 by Monmouth County Historical Association
TO
Daniel Ward Seitz (1931-2008)
and
Ellen Noonan Adams (1922-2011)
family descendants
in the ninth American generation
who served as
guardians of the
Hartshorne Family Papers
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PREFACE
Writing in his will in 1722, Richard Hartshorne devised “all my Books to my Son William and
my Son Hugh, and My papers for them to take Care of . . .” William's descendants have taken
that directive most seriously in every generation from that date to the present. The Hartshorne
Family Papers at the Monmouth County Historical Association represent the net result of their
instinct to save documents of every imaginable type for more than three centuries. Their
accumulation pertains to hundreds of individuals in the extended family over eight generations.
This remarkably complete archive had not been seen outside the family since the late 19th
century. And even within the close kinship network, not more than five or six people in the last
100 years had been accorded the privilege of studying the extraordinary treasures it contained.
Packed away for decades in a Victorian steamer trunk and footlocker, the main portion of the
Hartshorne Family Papers finally entered the public domain in 2009 through the benefaction of
the late Daniel Ward Seitz, a member of the ninth generation of the family to reside on a portion
of their historic estate called Portland in Middletown, Monmouth County, New Jersey.
My recent involvements with the Hartshorne legacy began in October 2008, shortly after Daniel
Seitz's death. I received a telephone call from Henry G. Gulick, an old friend and Seitz's
Executor. He asked me if I would serve as a consultant to the estate to assist in the identification
of the many family heirlooms, antiques, rare books, and artwork at Seitz's residence, an 18th
century home known as Portland Place. I was also engaged to work with the appraisers. The
contents of the house were very familiar to me going back to 1978 when I became Director of the
Monmouth County Historical Association. Seitz and I remained in contact with each other for a
number of years after I left that position, but gradually lost touch as my management consulting
career took me out of the United States for extended periods of time. The opportunity to work
with the Seitz estate came along at a point in life when I could dedicate myself to such projects.
So I jumped at the invitation.
The appraisal process at Portland Place went forward in November 2008. Joseph J. Felcone, the
well known and highly respected Princeton antiquarian bookseller and specialist in New
Jerseyana, was chosen to evaluate the rare books and family papers. So on 12 and 25 November
2008, I had the once-in-a-lifetime experience of being the first historian since the 1890s to
examine the Hartshorne family archive with Felcone. We laid out the papers on the floor of
Seitz's dining room, sorting them into basic record groups. The earliest items, from 1670 to about
1720, were looked at individually. Later documents, many still folded docket-style and bundled
with string, were appraised in lots, those of great importance being roughly sorted into a half
dozen categories. My principal role was to assist Joe in the sorting process, and to identify many
of the key documents, subjects and individuals represented. The two trunks proved to contain a
veritable cornucopia of historical riches. The papers fully documented the Portland estate and the
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activities of its owners over six generations to about 1900. The collection also contained much
material related to the extraordinary life and career of Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne (18261900), who amassed a sizeable fortune in California during the Gold Rush era and beyond. All in
all, I could not have enjoyed the intellectually exhilarating experience more.
The Hartshorne Family Papers entered my life a second time in the summer of 2010. Lee Ellen
Griffith, then Director of the Monmouth County Historical Association, invited me to submit a
proposal to serve as a Consulting Historian/Archivist to organize and process the collection, and
to prepare a descriptive finding aid or guide. My proposal was accepted by the Board of
Trustees, so work began in January of 2011. Who knew at the time that the project would
continue in phases for three and a half years! Or that the death of Seitz's cousin Ellen Noonan
Adams in January of 2011 would also impact the work in a very significant way. Adams was
known to possess more family papers. In fact, she had received several cartons of material
related to her grandfather, Robert Hartshorne (1866-1927), through Seitz's will. So in November
2011, Adams's two daughters, Ann Adams Royal and Mary Minturn Adams, made a visit to the
Association's museum and library in Freehold. I gave a formal presentation to them regarding the
project, the importance of the Hartshorne Family Papers, and how beneficial it would be for
some of the materials collected by their mother to be added to the collection. Their holdings
could fill some of the large continuity gaps in the Seitz bequest. I also set up a temporary exhibit
of some of the family treasures and archival items from the collection in the museum's
Hartshorne Room, given as a memorial in 1931 by their great-grandmother. The day went well.
Starting after Christmas and extending into November of 2012, I made several visits to the
Adams estate. My purpose was to assist in identifying things primarily of a photographic or
archival nature. Professional appraisers had already completed their evaluations on the other
contents of the house. On each trip, I returned to the Association with quantities of Hartshorne
family papers and related material to be added to the main archive from Daniel Seitz. In the end,
the collection increased by about fifty percent, becoming truly encyclopedic on the history of the
Hartshornes through eight generations. There is no other family archive like it at the Monmouth
County Historical Association, and very few elsewhere in New Jersey. Processing of the final
segments of the Hartshorne Family Papers was completed in May of 2014.
In a project of this duration, there are many people to thank for their assistance and contributions.
First, to Henry G. Gulick for involving me in the Seitz estate, for reading large parts of the text
as it was generated, and for project support when it was badly needed. Second, to Joseph J.
Felcone for allowing me to work with him on a team basis to evaluate the documents in the Seitz
estate, and for serving as an outside reader for my draft text. His objective input kept me moving
in the proper direction intellectually. Third, to Lee Ellen Griffith, Ph.D., former Director of the
Monmouth County Historical Association, for the courage to get the project started, for finding
initial funds to support it, for establishing effective contacts with the Adams estate, and for
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providing such great creative companionship until she retired in April of 2012. To Ann Adams
Royal for extending her warm friendship, hospitality, and generosity to the project and to me
personally. She also read large parts of the draft manuscript, especially as it pertained to her
great-grandfather and grandmother. To her sister, Mary Minturn Adams for her enthusiasm,
support, and generosity. And lastly, to Laura M. Poll, Librarian/Archivist of the Monmouth
County Historical Association, for her ongoing professional guidance, and for securing all of the
necessary archival supplies for the project.
Others to be acknowledged are: Laury A. Egan, an accomplished free lance book designer,
Highlands, NJ; Gail L. Hunton, Supervising Historic Preservation Specialist, Monmouth County
Park System; Claire Knopf, President, Board of Trustees, Monmouth County Historical
Association; C. Glenn May, Jr., Education Coordinator, Monmouth County Historical
Association; Evelyn C. Murphy, Ph.D., Director, Monmouth County Historical Association;
Bernadette M. Rogoff, Curator of Collections, Monmouth County Historical Association; Arthur
H. Sorensen, Esq., Atlantic Highlands, NJ; and Margaret Westfield, R. A., Westfield Architects
& Preservation Consultants, Haddon Heights, NJ.
This project was funded in part by a grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission.
It has been my special privilege to give structure and understanding to the Hartshorne Family
Papers.
Joseph W. Hammond
Freehold, New Jersey
June 2014
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INTRODUCTION
COLLECTION SCOPE
The Hartshorne Family Papers document eight generations of a family that figured prominently
in the history of Monmouth County, New Jersey, and elsewhere. It consists of 31.4 linear feet of
manuscripts and related material, plus two boxes of large format rolled maps, and one large box
of oversized items. The collection, dating from 1670 to 2014 and housed mostly in 71 archive
boxes, provides extensive primary source information on the personal, social, business, and
economic interests of the Hartshorne family line that owned a large estate known as Portland in
Middletown. This line of descent, from father to son in unbroken succession, is as follows:
Richard Hartshorne (1641-1722)
William Hartshorne (1678/9-1747/8)
Robert Hartshorne (1721-1805)
Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne (1826-1900)
Portland, originally amounting to about 2,500 acres, once encompassed all of the prominent
Highlands area of Middletown Township, Monmouth County, plus Sandy Hook. It was bounded
on the south by the Navesink River, north by Sandy Hook Bay, and east by the Atlantic Ocean.
Divided equally in 1761 between brothers Robert and Esek Hartshorne, the collection pertains
almost exclusively to Robert's southern 761 acre portion of the estate and the extended branch of
the family that owned it until the mid-twentieth century. Eighteen boxes, or 25% of the entire
archive, contain materials pertaining to the highly successful life and career of Benjamin Minturn
Hartshorne, who made a substantial fortune in California between 1850 and 1878.
Joseph J. Felcone, noted New Jersey antiquarian book and manuscripts dealer specializing in
New Jerseyana since 1972, appraised a major portion of the collection in 2008. He described it as
follows: “In 37 years as a rare books dealer and appraiser with a specialty in Americana and New
Jersey history, I have never seen a collection of family papers to compare with the Hartshorne
papers. They span four centuries in the life of a distinguished American family and reflect the
extended family’s domestic, commercial, and social activities both locally and on the national
and international levels.”
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COLLECTION COMPONENTS
The Hartshorne Family Papers collection consists of four principal components, each of which is
described individually below.
Seitz Bequest
According to his will dated 30 January 2007, Daniel Ward Seitz bequeathed “to Ellen Adams,
my papers in the trunk in my front hall relating to, or from the time of, my great uncle Robert
Hartshorne." Seitz’s will then continued: “To the Monmouth County Historical Association,
Freehold, NJ, all papers in the trunk in my front hall not included in the above devise to Ellen
Adams, and the trunk itself.” Accordingly, three boxes of material related to Robert Hartshorne
(1866-1927), his widow Margaret Willis Hartshorne (1868-1942), and their grand era at Portland
were turned over in February of 2009 to Seitz’s cousin Ellen Noonan Adams, a granddaughter of
Robert Hartshorne. The remainder of the extraordinary Hartshorne family archive was
transferred at the same time to the Historical Association.
The trunk mentioned in the Seitz will was accompanied by a footlocker packed with family
papers also stored in his front hall, plus several cartons of additional material found elsewhere in
his historic house known since the late 18th century as Portland Place. Altogether, they represent
the contents of 42 archive boxes or 60 percent of the entire Hartshorne collection, as well as the
majority of those materials that date before 1900. A brief history of this family archive is in
order.
Dr. John E. Stillwell (1853-1930), a renowned New Jersey genealogist and historian, was able to
consult the Hartshorne Family Papers in the late 19th century when compiling his Hartshorne
chapter that appeared in Volume III of Historical and Genealogical Miscellany.1 Many of the
individual documents that he quoted or listed, particularly those pertaining to Richard Hartshorne
(1641-1722), are contained today in this collection. At the time of Stillwell's research, the papers
were owned by Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne (1826-1900). When his son Robert died in 1927,
an obituary in the Red Bank Register noted that “he had many historical books and papers, as
well as many articles of historical interest."2
The Hartshorne Family Papers remained in possession of Robert Hartshorne’s son Richard
(1900-1958) and then with his widow Hellene Hartshorne (1903-1997). Parts of the archive
appear to have been assembled when the main residence at Portland was cleared of its contents
and sold out of family in 1953. However, the entire collection, by then housed in the large
1
2
Dr. John E. Stillwell, Historical and Genealogical Miscellany, III, (New York: Printed Privately, 1914), 279‐300. Red Bank Register, 19 January 1927. vii
wooden trunk and accompanying wooden foot locker, was put in storage in 1970 when Hellene
moved to a smaller residence. For more than 100 years, it has been entirely unavailable for
historical research outside the family. On 2 July 1993, Mrs. Hartshorne wrote to the Banfield
Moving and Storage Company in Middletown, NJ: “I would like to have the items I currently
have in storage with your company delivered to my cousin Mr. Daniel Ward Seitz . . . Thank you
for being of service in this matter over all these years.” Seitz was a great-grandson of Benjamin
Minturn Hartshorne. Before being sent to the Banfield warehouse, however, Mary Hartshorne
Noonan, a sister in law to Hellene Hartshorne, had spent untold hours working with the
collection. She placed about half of the documents or document bundles into envelopes,
annotating them on the outside with what information she knew about the individual involved
and/or subject matter. While in the process often breaking down the original record group order
of the material, Noonan's notes nonetheless proved extremely helpful in finally arranging and
processing the collection to present-day archival standards.
Noonan Bequest
According to her will dated 1 March 1976, Mary Hartshorne Noonan (1897-1978) left to the
Monmouth County Historical Association "all papers relating to the Hartshorne family given me
by my cousin, Louise Hartshorne . . ." This highly interesting group of mostly nineteenth century
correspondence, received by the Association in 1978 and 1979 and housed in five archive boxes,
became known as the Hartshorne Family Papers and given the designation Collection #11. Miss
Louise Hartshorne (1866-1956) was a first cousin of Noonan's father Robert Hartshorne. At
some point in the early 20th century, she was given access to the family archive, and allowed to
remove a selection of documents from it. In many instances, the letters were some of the most
important written in their era among various members of the Hartshorne clan. Early on in
processing the Seitz bequest, it was decided in consultation with the Historical Association's
Director and Librarian/Archivist to reintegrate the Noonan materials back into the main
collection from which they had been clearly separated. The five archive boxes account for 7
percent of the present Hartshorne Family Papers. Collection #11 of the same name no longer
exists as a separate entity.
Adams Estate Gifts
As per the Seitz will, three cartons of material related to Robert Hartshorne (1866-1927) and his
wife Margaret Willis Hartshorne (1868-1942) were transferred to their granddaughter Ellen
Noonan Adams (1923-2011) in February of 2009. Adams died on 11 January 2011, about the
same time that archival processing of the Hartshorne Family Papers at the Historical Association
commenced. In late December, the two Adams heirs, Mary Minturn Adams and Ann Adams
Royal, visited the project. As a result of that meeting and presentation, combined with follow up
visits to the Adams estate over most of 2012, the equivalent of 24 archive boxes of material were
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contributed to the collection, including nearly all of the papers from the Seitz estate. This
extreme generosity made the Hartshorne Family Papers truly complete, filling in much of the
twentieth century history of the family down to Hellene Hartshorne. The Adams Estate gifts also
included the highly important map of the lands of William Hartshorne by William Lawrence that
dates from about 1710-1720; research files, photographs, and glass plate negatives mostly
pertaining to Middletown Village initially collected by Miss Louise Hartshorne and expanded by
Mary Hartshorne Noonan (Ellen Adams's mother); residuals of further Hartshorne archive
material obtained by Miss Louise; and the very interesting correspondence of Benjamin M.
Hartshorne Jr. (1873-1902), a brother to Miss Louise, that documents his U. S. Army career at
West Point, as well as in Cuba, China and the Philippines. In December 2012, the Adams heirs
graciously allowed copies of any important items remaining in their hands to be made for
inclusion in the family archive. These items included four extensive volumes of document
typescripts and genealogical research compiled by Mary Hartshorne Noonan; two seventeenth
century documents relating to Sandy Hook; and an extraordinary map of the Battle of Monmouth
prepared by Capitaine du Chesnoy, a skilled cartographer and Aide-de-camp to the Marquis de
Lafayette. The twenty-four archive boxes of material from the Adams Estate represents 33
percent of the total Hartshorne collection.
Miscellaneous Documents
Eight individual Hartshorne documents had been acquired over time by the archives of the
Monmouth County Historical Association. These included three photostatic copies of important
deeds and a release pertaining to Sandy Hook not represented in the collection, a letter from
Richard Hartshorne (1752-1831) requesting that a beacon be erected at the tip of Sandy Hook,
and four miscellaneous receipts for goods and services purchased by Robert Hartshorne (17981872). They have been incorporated into the Hartshorne Family Papers for research convenience.
DONORS
Short biographical entries for the three principal donors to the Hartshorne Family Papers are
included below, principally because two of these individuals, namely Seitz and Adams, are not
discussed elsewhere in this descriptive guide.
Daniel Ward Seitz
Daniel Ward Seitz was born in New York City on 30 August 1931, the son of Robert W. Seitz
and Katherine L. Ward. Ward's mother, Mary Hartshorne Ward, was a daughter of Benjamin
Minturn Hartshorne. Seitz attended the Buckley School in New York, Phillips Exeter Academy
in New Hampshire (class of 1949), and Harvard University (class of 1953) where he majored in
Classics. After serving in the U. S. Army, Seitz joined the Bankers Trust Co. in New York,
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retiring from their International Division in 1983. He belonged to the St. Nicholas Society and
the Men's Committee of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and also to the
Rumson Country Club and the Sea Bright Beach Club in Monmouth County. Seitz served on the
Boards of many local organizations, including the Monmouth County Organization for Social
Service (now the Visiting Nurse Association of Central New Jersey), the Hartshorne Woods
Association, Friends of the Parks, Friends of Twin Lights, and the Christ Church Foundation,
Middletown. He was appointed in 1975 to the Board of Trustees of the Monmouth County
Historical Association, a position he retained for thirty-three years. During that long tenure, he
filled a number of offices, including Assistant Treasurer, Treasurer, Vice President, and First
Vice President, and as a member of the Executive Committee. He also sat on many of the
Board's other committees, including Finance, Education, Development, Buildings and Grounds,
Long Range Planning, and Centennial. The first Association Garden Party was held at the Seitz
residence on 28 August 1977, since then an annual event that has become one of the
organization's major fundraisers.
Daniel Ward Seitz was a communicant and lay reader at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman
Catholic Church in Highlands, and sat on the Board of Consultants and Board of Regents for the
Portsmouth Abbey Monastery and School in Rhode Island. For his entire adult life, Seitz
maintained a part-time residence in New York. But his true passions were for the Hartshorne
legacy and Portland Place, a distinguished 18th century home on the Navesink River in
Middletown which had been conveyed to his grandmother as a summer residence by her father in
1898. In 1971, when Congress was considering the formation of Gateway National Park, Seitz
testified before a U. S. Senate committee in favor of preserving the natural and historic
environment of Sandy Hook, which had been owned by his Hartshorne ancestors for nearly 150
years. Shortly before his death on 7 October 2008, Seitz transferred the title of Portland Place to
the Monmouth County Park System, also devising to them by his will the majority of its contents
of family heirlooms, fine antiques, artwork, and rare books, plus a large fund for its maintenance.
In addition to the exceptional family archive, Seitz left the Historical Association a generous
cash bequest. His remains were interred in the historic Hartshorne Burying Ground on Kings
Highway in Middletown Village, a private cemetery used and maintained by the family since the
earliest years of the 18th century.
Mary Hartshorne Noonan
Mary Hartshorne Noonan dedicated much of her adult life to Hartshorne family research. She
was born Mary Minturn Hartshorne in New York City on 7 April 1897, daughter of Robert
Hartshorne and Margaret Willis. Known as Polly, she received her early education in private
schools. Later she attended Bryn Mawr College in PA. While a student there, Hartshorne
obtained in 1917 a First Aid Certificate from the American Red Cross, training that she used
during World War I. On 14 January 1921, Polly married William J. Noonan in the chapel of St.
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Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in New York City. He was the son of Daniel O. and Ellen M.
Noonan of North Ferrisburg, VT. They became the parents of three children. In 1928, Polly
Noonan's mother deeded to her 54.5 acres of the Portland estate on which sat a stone dairy
building. The Noonans expanded that structure into a very attractive home in the Colonial
Revival style of the day that became known as Portland Farmhouse. This residence stands on a
scenic bluff above the Navesink River with spectacular views. Polly took special pride in the
gardens and landscaping on their property. But the family continued to spend much of their time
in New York City where they maintained a second residence.
William Noonan passed away in 1946 at the early age of fifty-seven. Eventually, Polly made
Portland Farmhouse her full-time home. There she continued with considerable energy the
genealogical and historical research of her mother and her father's first cousin, Miss Louise
Hartshorne of Middletown Village, the papers of whom she had acquired. Noonan became
President of the Middletown Township Health Association, a major charity of her mother. She
was also a member of All Saints' Memorial Episcopal Church in Navesink, NJ, the Sea Bright
Beach Club in Monmouth County, and the Colony and Cosmopolitan Clubs, both in New York
City. Noonan joined the Board of Trustees of the Monmouth County Historical Association in
1954, remaining on it until made an Honorary Trustee in 1975. Polly also served on the
Middletown Township Bicentennial Committee. She passed away on 4 August 1978 at the age of
81. In her will, Noonan devised a portion of the Hartshorne Family Papers she had obtained from
Miss Louise Hartshorne to the Historical Association, along with an important leatherupholstered armchair made about 1735 in Boston that had descended in the Hartshorne family.
The Association's third annual Garden Party fundraiser was held at Portland Farmhouse on 29
July 1979 courtesy of Noonan's daughter, Ellen Noonan Adams. For a more detailed
biographical sketch of Mary Hartshorne Noonan, see: Box 56, Folder 5.
Ellen Noonan Adams Estate
While not a direct donor to the Hartshorne Family Papers, Ellen Noonan Adams was a careful
guardian of the Hartshorne legacy, especially as it related to her grandfather Robert Hartshorne.
Born as Mary Ellen Noonan in New York City on 19 May 1922, she was a daughter of William
J. Noonan and Mary Minturn Hartshorne. She attended the Brearley School in New York City,
Garrison Forest School in Baltimore, MD., and Smith College (class of 1944) in Northampton,
MA. Early in life, Ellen was presented to society at the New York Junior Assemblies in 1940,
and joined the New York Junior League. Noonan married at the chapel of St. Bartholomew's
Church in New York on 21 February 1948 to John Adams, a son of Henry Coolidge Adams and
Louise Scaritt of Bermuda and New York. They became the parents of two daughters, and in
1955 built a new home on a lot owned by Hartshornes since about 1738 opposite Portland Place
that was obtained from her mother. Ellen Adams maintained memberships in the Rumson
Country Club and the Sea Bright Beach Club, both in Monmouth County, and also in the
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Cosmopolitan Club in New York City. She was an ardent champion of the mission of the
Visiting Nurse Association of Central New Jersey, continuing an involvement in a field of
special interest to her grandmother, Margaret Willis Hartshorne, and her mother. In particular,
Adams advocated for the care of mothers and children, often volunteering in WIC nutrition
clinics and other programs. She served as a board member of VNACNJ from 1958 to 2011, and
as its chairman from 1974 to 1977. In 1997, the agency dedicated their Keyport Health Center in
Adams' name, honoring her commitment to community health.
Ellen Adams was a lifelong member of All Saints' Memorial Episcopal Church in Navesink, NJ,
where her husband John served for many years on the church Vestry. Adams joined the Board of
Trustees of the Monmouth County Historical Association in 1965, remaining in that position for
forty-six years. She served at various times on the Executive Committee, and also on the
Membership, Special Events, and Personnel committees. Ellen Noonan Adams died at her home
on 11 January 2011. In her will, she left a sizeable cash bequest to the Association. The
organization is grateful to her two daughters, Ann Adams Royal and Mary Minturn Adams, for
their generous support and extensive additions to the Hartshorne Family Papers, which have
made the family archive truly complete. Ellen Adams and her husband John were both interred in
the Hartshorne Burying Ground.
COLLECTION ARRANGEMENT
When received by the Monmouth County Historical Association in February of 2009, the
Hartshorne family papers in the Seitz bequest were largely contained in a 19th century domedtop trunk and accompanying footlocker. There was no perceptible order to the collection.
Approximately half of the contents of the trunk had been put into envelopes by Mary Hartshorne
Noonan, which she annotated with notes on the individual involved and/or the subject matter.
Many documents perceived by the family as very early and/or important had been placed more
recently in non-archival plastic sheet protectors and laid in the top of the trunk. During the Seitz
estate appraisal process, the contents of the trunk were given a rough sort by major record group,
and then returned to the trunk in that order. Subsequent examinations of the Hartshorne Family
Papers before archival processing began scrambled the envelopes and bundles once again.
Archival processing of the collection commenced in January of 2011. The first step was to
establish an overall order for the many records groups that ranged in date from the late 17th
century to the mid 20th century. The envelopes and bundles were first sorted into two categories
- the large group pertaining to Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne (1826-1900), and everything else.
The latter was then further divided by separating all materials dating before 1800 from those
dating after 1800. Then a grouping by individual took place.
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After discussions with Historical Association staff, it was decided that the Hartshorne Family
Papers would be given an arrangement first by generation, then by individual, and then if
necessary by topics for the larger records groups. When processed in 1980, the Noonan bequest
had been given a strict chronological arrangement without regard to individual or subject. Those
documents were reintegrated into the new collection structure, returning items to their
appropriate record groups. All materials were placed in uniform legal-sized archival storage
boxes and folders, except for three boxes of glass plate negatives, one large box of oversized
items and two boxes of large-format rolled maps. Additions to the family archive made by the
Adams estate during 2012 were received in several batches, long after most of the collection had
been given a final order. But happily, it was possible to incorporate those materials into the
overall structure without much disruption as they pertained primarily to the 20th century,
whereas the Seitz and Noonan bequests contained very little dating after 1900. Only a few
addenda will be found at the end of the collection, along with some miscellaneous folders. Any
inconsistencies in the arrangement of the Hartshorne Family Papers relates principally to the
manner in which the archive kept growing as processing work progressed. The last phase of
organizing and describing the collection concluded in May of 2014.
Overall condition of the Hartshorne Family Papers was excellent, with no water, dampness,
mold, mildew or insect damage. Even the 17th century documents were still bright, clean and
perfectly legible. Long term storage in the trunk and footlocker may well have kept the collection
from suffering any environmental deterioration. Virtually all documents had to be unfolded.
Some required relaxation in a humidity chamber. A large percentage of the 19th and early 20th
century correspondence retained original envelopes complete with stamps and cancellations. A
few, however, had been separated for their postal history interest, and/or clipped of stamps.
Descriptions of every folder begin with a two-line heading indicating its box and folder number,
the main topic or individual to whom the material pertains with their dates, secondary topics
where warranted, and the number of items it contains. The last item will be important going
forward for document control and security. The earliest materials from 1670 to about 1780 have
mostly been described at the individual document level. Later entries address folder contents by
batch or record group, even though the contents of some key folders revert in places to detailed
listings. The first folder of material pertaining to a particular individual includes a biographical
note after the description so that users will be able to gain insight into the context of the
documents. These sketches, which vary from a line or two to many pages, are not intended to be
definitive academic texts. They therefore lack formal footnote or endnote citations. Much of the
detail in these biographies has been drawn from notes taken while processing the collection.
Citations for external sources of information used can be found at the end of the entry in shorttitle form. Additional folder notes comment on the significance of the documents, offer
interpretive suggestions, and refer the user to other related materials to be found elsewhere in the
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Hartshorne Family Papers. Considerable effort has especially gone into identifying the many
sailing vessels and steamboats in which the Hartshorne family held interest.
KEY SUBJECTS
Users of the Hartshorne Family Papers will find detailed documentation on a wide range of
topics pertaining to Monmouth County, New Jersey, New York, California, Arizona, and
elsewhere. A few key topics include:

The development and evolution of the family estate called Portland from the 17th century to
its sale out of family in the 1950s. This includes its transformation from a working farm to a
gentleman's country estate in 1875-76, the construction of coastal defense systems on part of
the property from 1942 to 1974, and its inclusion in a major County park in the 1970s and
1980s.

The history of Sandy Hook from the 17th century to the mid 19th century, first as the private
property of the Hartshornes and later when owned by the U. S. government. The construction
and early operation of the original Sandy Hook light house, first illuminated in 1764, is
covered in detail.

The American Revolution from a Loyalist viewpoint.

Early Blacks, slavery and manumissions in Monmouth County.

Coastal shipping, vessel construction, and venture cargoes in North America and the
Caribbean, 1770-1900.

Captures of American vessels by British, French, and Spanish privateers, 1790-1800, and
nearly a century of efforts to obtain compensation for the losses by marine insurance
underwriters which are called spoliation claims.

Late 18th and early 19th century investments in undeveloped land in upstate New York and
western Pennsylvania.

Legal opinions of leading American lawyers on estate settlements, voting rights of former
Loyalists, marine insurance and reinsurance, and property ownership, 1760s-1875.

Education and family relationships in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Nineteenth century rise of a Monmouth County family from local prominence to national
significance.

The roles of single women in a prominent New Jersey family in the 19th century.
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
Foreign travels and adventures by 19th century New Jersey residents.

Navigation, communication, and defense of New York Harbor from the Highlands of New
Jersey, 1830-1950s.

Development of steam navigation on San Francisco Bay and its tributaries, on the Colorado
River, and along the Pacific Coast from Chile to Alaska, 1850-1900.

Early landscape and portrait photography in San Francisco.

Management of a large California-based fortune and investments, 1860-1900.

The United States Army experiences of one young man at West Point, and in Cuba, China
and the Philippines, 1891-1902.

Fine art, rare book, and historical map collecting in the early 20th century.

Genealogical and local history research, 1895-1980.

Early visual documentation of the Hartshorne family, Portland, and Middletown Village,
especially by pioneer local photographer Edward Taylor.
RELATED COLLECTIONS
The archives of the Monmouth County Historical Association contain four collections related to
the Hartshorne Family Papers, as follows:
Joseph Hartshorne Genealogical Collection
Known as collection 12, it consists of material compiled or created by Joseph Hartshorne (18521918) for a book on the Hartshorne family that was never written. Document types include
correspondence, research notes, photographic material, genealogical chart files, bound volumes,
oversized printed material, and index card files. The collection documents the New England,
New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia branches of the Hartshorne family. The bulk of the
collection dates from 1900 to 1908.
Hartshorne Family Papers II
The collection is comprised of two very small records groups totaling six file folders that have
been combined as collection 24: the Joseph Hartshorne Collection and the Lawrence Stabler
Collection. Both were assembled by Hartshorne descendants. The papers document the
xv
Pennsylvania and Virginia branches of the family, especially William Hartshorne (1742-1816),
his daughter Sarah Saunders Hartshorne (1785-1853), his son Joseph Hartshorne, M. D. (17791850), and his grandson Edward Hartshorne, M. D. (1818-1886). The bulk dates of the collection
are from 1800 to 1896.
Judge Richard Hartshorne Papers
The collection, identified as collection 86, contains extensive family history notes, newspaper
clippings, photographs, and correspondence accumulated by Judge Richard Hartshorne (18881975), who from 1951 to 1961 served as a U. S. District Court Judge in New Jersey. Judge
Hartshorne, who was in regular contact with his cousins in Monmouth County, made a number
of visits to the area in search of information and family landmarks.
Louise Hartshorne Collection
The collection, numbered 26, contains personal papers of various Conover, Hendrickson,
Schureman, and Wikoff family members who were relatives in the maternal line of Miss Louise
Hartshorne (1866-1956), a long-time resident of Middletown Village. Documents include letters,
financial records, legal records, business papers, estate papers, literary productions and printed
material. The bulk dates of the collection are from 1800 to 1900. Additional material in the
Hartshorne Family Papers pertains to Miss Hartshorne's Hendrickson and Wikoff aunts and
cousins with whom she lived. Most of the Louise Hartshorne Collection was donated by her to
the Monmouth County Historical Association between 1932 and 1956, even though much else
went to her cousin Mary Hartshorne Noonan.
RESTRICTIONS
On the Hartshorne Family Papers, none.
On the digital images of visual material owned privately that form a part of the collection,
permission of the owner before use.
xvi
SHORT TITLES
A full list of source citations can be found at the end of this document.
1798 Direct Tax
Middletown Township 1798 Direct Tax Assessment Particular List,
Monmouth County Park System Historical Services Archives,
Lincroft, NJ.
Adams-Onis Treaty
Adams-Onis Treaty. Last modified 22 May 2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Adams%E2%80%93On%
C3%ADs_Treaty. (accessed 8 June 2014).
Albion
Robert G. Albion, Square-Riggers on Schedule: the New York sailing
packets to England, France, and the Cotton Ports (Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1938).
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton. Last modified 7 June 2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Alexander_Hamilton. (accessed 8 June
2014).
All Saints' Church
All Saints' Memorial Church in the Highlands of Navesink, 18641964 (Navesink: The Rector, Wardens and Vestrymen of All Saints'
Memorial Church in the Highlands of Navesink, 1964).
Applegate
John S. Applegate, Early Courts and Lawyers of Monmouth County
(New York: L. Middleditch & Co., 1911).
Arkelian
Marjorie Dakin Arkelian, William Hahn: Genre Painter, 1829-1887
(Oakland: The Oakland Museum, 1976).
Atlantic Reporter
The Atlantic Reporter, Vol. 30, (October 3, 1894-February 27, 1895),
(St. Paul: West Publishing Co., 1895).
Bancroft
Hubert Howe Bancroft, Chronicles of the Builders of the
Commonwealth (San Francisco: The History Company, 1891-1892).
Barbara Carver Smith
Barbara Carver Smith, George Corlies and Some of his Descendants:
A Quaker Family of Monmouth County, New Jersey (Fort Pierce, FL:
Privately Reproduced, 1987).
xvii
Bass
Charissa Taylor Bass and Frank Nelson Bass, Genealogy of TaylorSnow in Memory of Oscar Taylor and Malvina Snow Taylor
(Freeport, IL: Charissa T. Bass, 1935).
Bible Records
Bible Records from the Monmouth County Historical Association
Library, Vol. V (Lincroft: Monmouth County Genealogy Society,
2001).
Bigg-Wither
Rev. Reginald Fitz Hugh Bigg-Wither, Materials for a History of the
Wither Family (Winchester: Warren & Son, 1907).
Cox
Henry Bartholomew Cox, "A Nineteenth-Century Archival Search:
The History of the French Spoliation Claims Papers,” in The
American Archivist, Vol. 33, No. 4 (October 1970), 389-401.
Delta History
Delta History. http://californiadelta.org/where-is-the-delta/deltahistory. (accessed 8 June 2014).
Dexter
Franklin Bowditch Dexter, Biographical Notices of Yale Graduates of
Yale College (New Haven: n. p., 1885-1913).
Ellis
Franklin Ellis, History of Monmouth County, New Jersey
(Philadelphia: R. T. Peck & Co., 1885).
Falk
Peter Hastings Falk, ed., Who Was Who in American Art, 1564-1975
(Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1999).
Favretti
Rudy J. Favretti, Jacob Weidenmann: Pioneer Landscape Architect
(Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2007).
Fletcher
Carleton Fletcher, Glover Park History: James H. Causten. 2014.
http://gloverparkhistory.com/ estates-and-farms/weston/james-hcausten/. (accessed 8 June 2014).
Foresta
Merry A. Foresta, American Photographs: The First Century
(Washington, D.C.: National Museum of American Art with the
Smithsonian Institution Press, 1996).
xviii
Forman
Benno M. Forman, American Seating Furniture, 1630-1730 (New
York & London: W. W. Norton & Co., 1988).
Fox
George Fox, A Journal or Historical Account of the Life, Travels,
Sufferings, Christian Experiences, and Labour of Love in the Work of
the Ministry, of that Ancient, Eminent, and Faithful Servant of Jesus
Christ, George Fox, 2 vols. (Philadelphia: Marcus T. C. Gould, and
New York: Isaac T. Hopper, 1831).
Funk
Arthur Layton Funk, “Richard Hartshorne of Middletown, New
Jersey (1641-1722)” in Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical
Society, Vol. 67, No. 2 (April 1949), 126-140.
Hall
Hall: Pomfret, Conn,. Branch. 2008. http://www.ctgenweb.org/
county/cowindham/records/ biographies/com_bio_record/
hallfamilypomfretbranch.html. (accessed 8 June 2014).
Hutchinson
Elmer T. Hutchinson, ed., Documents Relating to the Colonial,
Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary History of the State of New
Jersey, First Series, Vol. XLII (Trenton: McCrellish & Quigley,
1949).
Jobe
Brock Jobe, "The Boston Furniture Industry: 1720-1740," in Boston
Furniture of the Eighteenth Century (Boston: The Colonial Society of
Massachusetts, 1974), 3-48.
Jobe and Kaye
Brock Jobe and Myrna Kaye, New England Furniture: The Colonial
Era (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1984
Johnson
George A. Johnson, Autobiography and Reminiscence of George
Alonzo Johnson, 1901, Society of California Pioneers, San Francisco,
CA. http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt7p30228k/. (accessed 9 June
2014).
Jones
E. Alfred Jones, Loyalists of New Jersey: Their Memorials, Petitions,
Claims, Etc., from English Records (Newark: New Jersey Historical
Society, 1927).
xix
Lawrence Hartshorne
Lawrence Hartshorne. Last modified 15 March 2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Hartshorne. (accessed 8 June
2014).
Leonard
Thomas H. Leonard, From Indian Trail to Electric Rail (Atlantic
Highlands: The Atlantic Highlands Journal, 1923).
Lingenfelter
Richard E. Lingenfelter, Steamboats on the Colorado River, 18521916 (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1978).
Low
Charles P. Low, Some Recollections by Captain Charles P. Low,
Commanding the Clipper Ships “Houqua,” “Jacob Bell,” “Samuel
Russell,” and “N. B. Palmer” in the China Trade, 1847-1873
(Boston: George H. Ellis Co., 1906).
MacMullen
Jerry MacMullen, Paddle-Wheel Days in California (Stanford:
Stanford University Press, 1944).
Malbone Hall
Malbone Hall Castle.
http://www.dupontcastle.com/castles/malboneh.htm. (accessed 8 June
2014).
Mandeville
Ernest W. Mandeville, The Story of Middletown: The Oldest
Settlement in New Jersey (Middletown: Christ Church, 1927).
McIntire
Penny McIntire, Reverend John Grammer. 1 January 2004.
http://faculty.cs.niu.edu/~mcintire/ grammer/PDFFiles/RevJohn.pdf.
(accessed 8 June 2014).
Moss
George H. Moss, Jr., Nauvoo to the Hook: The Iconography of a
Barrier Beach (Locust, NJ: Jervey Close Press, 1964).
Murfree
Willia L. Murfree, ed., The Central Law Journal, Vol. XIV, Jan-June
1882 (St. Louis: William H. Stevenson, 1882).
Nelson 1895
William Nelson, ed., Documents Relating to the Colonial History of
the State of New Jersey, Vol. XII, Extracts from American
Newspapers Relating to New Jersey, Vol. II, 1740-1750 (Paterson:
The Press Printing & Publishing Co., 1895).
xx
Nelson 1914
William Nelson, ed., Documents Relating to the Revolutionary
History of the State of New Jersey, Second Series, Vol. IV, Extracts
from American Newspapers Relating to New Jersey, 1779-1780
(Trenton: State Gazette Publishing Co., 1914).
Newbern
Newbern. http://www.cawreckdivers.org/wrecks/newbern.htm.
Nicholas Roosevelt
Nicholas Roosevelt (inventor). Last modified 22 July 2013.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Nicholas_Roosevelt_(inventor).
Palace Hotel
Palace Hotel, San Francisco. Last Modified 6 May 2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Palace_Hotel,_San_Francisco. (accessed
14 June 2014).
Poppino
Poppino/Popenoe/Popnoe & Allied Families: The Rhode Island/New
York City Minturns. August 2007. http://www.popenoe.com/MinturnRI.htm. (accessed 6 April 2011).
Reed
John Elmer Reed, Townships of Erie County, Pennsylvania. 1925.
http://history.rays-place.com/pa/erie-townships.htm. (accessed 8 June
2014).
Rutledge
Rev. Edward Rutledge. 2010. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/
fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=56897846. (accessed 8 June 2014).
Reynolds
Cuyler Reynolds, ed., Genealogical & Family History of Southern
New York and the Hudson River Valley (New York: Lewis Historical
Publishing Co., 1914).
Richard Harison
Richard Harison. Last modified 15 March 2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Harison. (accessed 8 June
2014).
Richard Stockton
Richard Stockton (U. S Senator). Last modified 3 April 2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stockton_(U.S._Senator).
xxi
Samuel Smith
Samuel Smith, The History of the Colony of Nova Caesaria, or New
Jersey (Burlington: James Parker, 1765).
San Francisco Builders
San Francisco: Its Builders, Past and Present (Chicago & San
Francisco: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1913).
San Francisco Maritime
San Francisco Maritime: Finding Photographs in the Historic
Document Collection.
http://www.nps.gov/safr/historyculture/upload/FindingPhotos.pdf.
San Francisco Wharves
San Francisco Wharves, Docks, Piers, 1847-1870.
http://www.maritimeheritage.org/news/wharves.html. (accessed 13
June 2014).
Sitherwood
Frances Grimes Sitherwood, Throckmorton Family History, Being the
Record of the Throckmortons in the United States of America with
Cognate Branches (Bloomington, IL: Pantagraph Printing &
Stationery Co., 1929).
Stillwell
John E. Stillwell, Historical and Genealogical Miscellany, 5 vols.
(New York: Privately Printed, 1903-1932).
Weidenmann
Jacob Weidenmann, Beautifying Country Homes: A Handbook of
Landscape Gardening, Illustrated by Plans of Places Already
Improved (New York: Orange Judd, 1870).
Whitehead
John Whitehead, The Judicial and Civil History of New Jersey
(Boston: The Boston History Co., 1897).
William H. DeLancey
William H. DeLancey. Last modified 31 January 2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ William_DeLancey. (accessed 8 June
2014).
Woolman & Rose
T. F. Rose and H. C. Woolman, Historical and Biographical Atlas of
the New Jersey Coast (Philadelphia: Woolman & Rose, 1878).
Wynkoop
Richard Wynkoop, Schuremans of New Jersey (New York:
Knickerbocker Press, 1902).
xxii
DESCRIPTIVE GUIDE
Box 1 – Folder 1; Collection Provenance
8 items
Contents include: a letter from Mrs. Richard (Hellene) Hartshorne (1903-1997) to Edwin F.
Banfield of Banfield Moving & Storage Company of Middletown, NJ, dated 2 July 1993,
instructing them to deliver her items in storage to Daniel Ward Seitz; a Banfield Moving &
Storage Co. tag removed from the footlocker containing part of the collection; a note found in
the dome-topped trunk signed by Hellene Hartshorne and dated 15 January 1953, regarding some
of the papers of Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne (1826-1900) found in his sea chest; four samples
of envelopes formerly containing documents that were annotated extensively by Mary
Hartshorne Noonan (1897-1978); two receipts acknowledging transfer to Daniel Ward Seitz of
eight historical family legal files from Red Bank attorneys McCue & McCue (apparent
successors to the firm of Applegate, Stevens, Foster & Reussille); and a copy of the will of
Daniel Ward Seitz (1931-2008) leaving the bulk of the family papers to the Monmouth County
Historical Association.
Box 1 – Folder 2; Collection Index Cards
12 items
Contents include: twelve 5 x 8 inch index cards listing individual documents in the collection, in
the handwriting of Mary Hartshorne Noonan (1897-1978). These were apparently the start of an
index to the family papers.
Box 1 – Folder 3; Hartshorne Family Genealogy
1 item
Contents: a handwritten Hartshorne family genealogy compiled in a patented and printed
genealogy book entitled The Record of My Ancestry designed and published by Frederic W.
Bailey in 1897, illustrated with many portraits, miniatures, and photographs. This exhaustive
study of the family and all of its ancestral branches serves as an indispensable guide to
individuals represented in the collection. One of two known copies, the other still owned by
descendants.
Box 1 – Folder 4; Genealogy Notes & Bible Records
34 items
1
Contents include: original bible records for the Pelletreau family, largely written in French and in
poor condition, with several transcriptions and translations; various Hartshorne bible record
transcriptions and genealogical notes; and other materials related to the Saltar, Minturn, Heurtin,
Ustick, and O’Rourke families. Also includes a drawing of the Hartshorne family coat of arms
copied from Burke’s General Armory, and an extract from the journal of George Fox regarding a
visit to Richard Hartshorne of Middletown, NJ, in 1672.
Box 1 – Folder 5; Richard Hartshorne (1641-1722)
25 items
Documents include:
List of patents and deeds to Richard Hartshorne, most of which are contained in this folder, no
date.
Patent with seal, Philip Carteret to Lewis Mattix of Middletown for 19 acres of land and
meadow, 25 March 1670.
Patent Extract, to Richard Hartshorne for 350 acres at Portland Point, 5 December 1678.
Letter, Hugh Hartshorne of London to his brother Richard Hartshorne, 1st 4 mo 1682.
Deed, Randall Hewitt of Middletown to Richard Hartshorne for a tract of upland adjoining land
of Hartshorne, 25 May 1685.
Deed of Sale, Randolph Huet to John Crawford for 240 acres of land at Neversinks bounded on
the east by Richard Hartshorne, 17 June 1685.
Deed, John Crawford of Middletown to Jeremy Bennett of Middletown for 130 acres of land, 19
September 1685.
Deed, Richard Davis of Middletown to Richard Hartshorne of Middletown for 120 acres of
upland in Middletown, 1 September 1687.
Deed, Lewis Mattix of Shrewsbury to Richard Hartshorne of Portland Point for 19 acres of
upland and meadow, 2 February 1688.
Deed, Jeremiah Bennett of Middletown to Richard Hartshorne of Portland Point for thirty acres
of land, part of 130 acres acquired by Bennett from John Crawford, 1 November 1688.
2
Deed, Jonathan Holdridge of Middletown to Richard Hartshorne of Portland for 13 acres of
upland, 24 June 1690.
Deed, Jeremiah Bennett of Middletown to Richard Hartshorne of Middletown for 100 acres of
land, 15 July 1690.
Survey, land of Randolph Hewett of Middletown, 90 acres, adjoining land of Richard
Hartshorne, 29 November 1692.
Letter, Israel Williams to “Smock’s Dick” regarding payment of a debt, 20th 3rd mo 1700, with
four late 19th century photostats of same.
Note regarding a deed of manumission from Richard Hartshorne for a servant man called
“Whan” recorded in Monmouth County deed book 2, page 487, 6 March 1702/3.
Deed, Richard Hartshorne of Middletown to his son William Hartshorne for 500 acres of land at
Portland Point, 15 September 1703. Cited in Stillwell, III, 281.
Deed, Robert Hamilton of Monmouth to Richard Hartshorne for a tract of meadow comprising
six acres, 22 October 1706.
Deed, Richard Hartshorne of Middletown and wife Margaret to son William Hartshorne for 200
acres of land, 1 June 1709.
Abstract of Will, Richard Hartshorne, 14 May 1722, setting aside an acre of land in Middletown
for a burying place or grave yard fronting the street.
Receipts from Richard Hartshorne to Capt. Stout regarding payment to the Indians of a barrel of
cider and an anker of rum, and a note about the purchase of land from the Indians, no date, with a
late 19th century photostat of the same. Quoted in part in Stillwell, III, 281-282.
See also: Oversize Box, Folder 1.
Biographical Note: Richard Hartshorne, the first of the name to locate in Monmouth County,
was born on 24 October 1641, at Hathern in Leicestershire, England. He was a son of William
Hartshorne and a brother of Hugh Hartshorne (1629-84), the latter a London upholsterer and a
Proprietor of the Province of East Jersey. Richard Hartshorne, a Quaker, came to America from
London in September of 1669, apparently first settling in Rhode Island. On 27 April 1670, he
was married at Newport to Margaret Carr, daughter of Robert Carr. But early on his interests
began to focus on Monmouth County. On 18 February 1669/70, Hartshorne agreed to purchase a
3
cleared and partially fenced property at Waycake Creek on the Bay Shore from John Hawes.
This land included a house then under construction. A final agreement dated 27 February
included specifications for finishing the house. After relocating to Middletown, Hartshorne
quickly acquired considerable land by patent and purchase. He became a Monmouth Patentee in
1670 by acquiring William Goulding’s share (which included town lot 25 in Middletown Village
and out-lot 27). and an East Jersey Proprietor like his brother Hugh. Among Hartshorne’s
holdings were Sandy Hook and a large tract at the Highlands that encompassed everything east
of Atlantic Highlands from the Bay Shore to the Navesink River. This large estate became
known as Portland Point, or simply Portland. It served as the seat of the Hartshorne family until
1952. A letter by Richard Hartshorne dated 12 October 1675, was published in London in 1676
in a compilation of similar essays entitled A Further Account of New Jersey, in an Abstract of
Letters Lately Writ from Thence, by Several Inhabitants There Resident. It was intended to
encourage emigration, describing in vivid detail the natural resources of the area, living
conditions in the Province, and the practices of early Middletown farmers. Descendants continue
to live on portions of the Portland tract as of this writing. In all, Hartshorne accumulated more
than 2,500 acres of land in Monmouth and Ocean Counties before his death in May of 1722.
Richard Hartshorne and Margaret Carr became the parents of eleven children, five of whom died
young. He held many positions of responsibility as Middletown Town Constable, Town Clerk,
Justice, member of the Provincial Assembly representing Middletown, Speaker of the Assembly,
a member of the Provincial Council, and Judge of the Court of Common Right in Perth Amboy.
George Fox, the celebrated English Quaker preacher, visited Hartshorne twice in 1672 while on a
journey through the Caribbean and North America. In his will (which was proved on 22 May
1722), Hartshorne gave “all my Books to my Son William and my Son Hugh, and My papers for
them to take Care of . . .” He also reserved a half acre lot on Kings Highway in Middletown
Village “for a burying place for me and my children and their posterity . . .” which is still
maintained and used as of this writing by his descendants. For further information, see: Stillwell,
II, 173-174, and III, 279-283; Samuel Smith, 63; Applegate, 21-32; Ellis, 70; Fox, II, 124-130;
Funk, 126-140; and Mandeville, 46-48.
Note: Nearly all of the documents in this records group pertain to land title, a subject of obvious
importance to Richard Hartshorne and his descendants. Items also include several 18th and 19th
century copies of his “Advice to his Children,” a letter from his brother Hugh in London, and an
odd volume from his library.
Sandy Hook, 7 items
Documents include:
4
Warrant & Return to Richard Hartshorne of Middletown for Sandy Hook comprising 400 acres
of land plus barrens, and a second tract of 200 acres, 8 March 1686.
Deed, Proprietors of the Province of East New Jersey to Richard Hartshorne of Middletown for
“Sandie Hooke” plus a second tract of 200 acres, with the proprietary seal and signatures of ten
proprietors, 2 November 1692. Cited in Stillwell, III, 281.
Bond, Richard Hartshorne of Middletown to Col. Andrew Hamilton, Governor of the Province of
East New-Jersey, for 500 pounds and involving Sandy Hook, 20 December 1692.
Three late 19th century photostatic copies and a recent color photograph of a Release from the
Indians to Richard Hartshorne of Portland relinquishing for thirteen shillings “all the liberty and privilidge of pluming fishing fouling hunting whatsoever . . .,” 8 August 1698. Two Indians with
the names of Tocus and Rowavapon signed the release with marks, one of which resembles an
animal. Original document still owned by descendants. Cited in Stillwell, III, 282.
Note: Richard Hartshorne obtained a 21 year lease for Sandy Hook in 1677 from Philip Carteret,
Governor of the Province of New Jersey. That spit of land forming the south side of the entrance
to New York Harbor figured prominently in the affairs of the Hartshorne family for more than
three centuries. Before his lease expired, Richard Hartshorne was able to obtain a deed on 2
November 1692 for the Hook from the Proprietors of the Province of East Jersey. Title remained
with his descendants until 1817 when the United States of America purchased it from his greatgrandson also named Richard for $20,000. The Hartshornes continued long after to take an
interest in Sandy Hook and the government's activities on it. Robert Hartshorne (1798-1872), for
example, waged a successful campaign in the late 1850s to prevent the State of New York from
establishing a quarantine facility there. Sandy Hook became a part of Gateway National
Recreation Area created in 1972. Today it is administered by the National Park Service.
Additional material pertaining to Sandy Hook will be found throughout the Hartshorne Family
Papers, but especially in Box 2, Folder 10; Box 6, Folder 12; and Box 16, Folder 9.
Advice to Children, 7 items
Documents include: seven copies of Richard Hartshorne’s “Advice to his Children” written just
prior to his death in 1722. The earliest copy is dated 25 February 1775, and the next by Sarah
Hartshorne (1796-1854) on 5 June 1815. The remainder seems to have been copied during the
second half of the 19th century, one dated 5 March 1866. Transcribed and published in Stillwell,
III, 282.
5
1 item
Item: copy of an odd volume of Historical Collections by John Rushworth, missing the title page
and the first portion of the Preface. Inscribed on the inside front board “Richard Hartshorne his
Booke / Cost 10s 1685” with subsequent ownership and genealogical notations there and on the
front free end paper relating to its descent in the family to Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958), a
gift from his father Robert (1866-1927) on 4 July 1907. Also inscribed variously on the inside
rear board. See also: Box 2, Folder 4.
Box 2 – Folder 1; William Lawrence II (1658-1750)
2 items
Documents include:
“A Discourse by way of Dialogue Between an old Inhabitant of the County of Monmouth and a
Proprietor of the Eastern Division of New Jersey . . . [1727].” The original manuscript of an
important Anti-quitrent essay written by Lawrence. Signed on the rear leaf: “William will be
True / An Inhabitant of New Jersey / William Lawrence,” along with signatures and writings of
several subsequent members of the Hartshorne family. Transcribed and published in full in
Stillwell, I, 220-222.
Inventory, estate of William Lawrence taken at the house of Robert Hartshorne (his grandson) in
Middletown, 7 May 1751, with a distribution of effects and accounting to Hannah Herbert on the
reverse, 11 August 1755.
Biographical Note: William Lawrence II was born in 1658, the son of William Lawrence I. The
elder became a prominent landowner and office holder in Middletown, NJ. William II married
Ruth Gibbons on June 24, 1686. He also lived in Middletown, serving at times as Town Clerk,
Sheriff of Monmouth County, member of the Provincial Assembly, Justice, and Judge of the
Inferior Court of Common Pleas. Like his father, he owned considerable land in Middletown and
elsewhere. William Lawrence and Ruth Gibbons were the parents of eight children. Their
daughter Elizabeth (1690-1750/51) married William Hartshorne (1678/79-1747) as his third
wife. The inventory contained in this folder implies that Lawrence died at the home of the
Hartshornes. See: Stillwell, III, 399-400.
Box 2 – Folder 2; William Hartshorne (1678/79-1747/48)
4 items
6
Documents include:
Deed, Richard Stout of Middletown to William Hartshorne of Portland for 100 acres at Garret’s
Hill in Middletown, 2 June 1718.
Deed, Zachariah Richardson of Bridgetown, Barbadoes, merchant, to William Hartshorne of
Middletown, for 110 acres of upland and meadow, 21 November 1720.
Survey return from J. Alexander, Surveyor General, to William Hartshorne for a 5-acre sedge
island between Claypit Creek and the North River “lying near South and by East from the now
Dwelling House of said Hartshorne . . .,” 15 November 1722.
Quitclaim deed, John Davies of Middletown, miller, to William Hartshorne of Middletown for
land near Claypit Creek in Middletown, 7 May 1733.
See also: Oversize Box, Folder 2; and Rolled Maps, Box 1.
Biographical Note: William Hartshorne was born 22nd 1st mo 1678/79, a son of Richard
Hartshorne and his wife Margaret Carr. He died 29 February 1748/49 at the age of 68. He
married first to Catherine, daughter of John Bowne; second on 1 May 1713 to Helena Willet
(1680-1715) of Flushing, Long Island; and third to Elizabeth Lawrence (1690-1750/51),
daughter of William Lawrence II and Ruth Gibbons. Hartshorne had three children by his first
wife, two children by his second wife, and seven children by his third wife. He succeeded his
father as owner of Portland and Sandy Hook. Hartshorne served as a Justice, and was socially
and politically prominent in Monmouth County. In 1710, he served on a committee to build a
new goal in Middletown. William Hartshorne was interred in the Hartshorne Burying Ground on
Kings Highway in Middletown Village. As of this writing, his sandstone headstone still stands,
although that of his wife Elizabeth next to him has been broken off and lost. See: Stillwell, III,
283-284; and Ellis, 400-401.
Box 2 – Folder 3; William Hartshorne (1678/79-1747/48)
Estate, 29 items
Documents include:
Will, William Hartshorne, 21 November 1745, with codicil of 25 August 1746, proved 10 March
1747 at Shrewsbury before Robert Hunter Morris.
7
Quitclaim deed, James Bowne of Middletown to Elizabeth Hartshorne, executrix, and Thomas
Hartshorne, Robert Hartshorne, and Hugh Hartshorne, executors, of the last will & testament of
William Hartshorne, for setting the bounds between their properties, 2 June 1748.
Deed, Thomas Hartshorne, Hugh Hartshorne, and Robert Hartshorne, executors to the last will &
testament of their father William Hartshorne, late of Portland Point, to John Hartshorne for 1,500
acres of land known as Portland Point, plus Sandy Hook, 18 April 1749.
Quitclaim deed, John Hartshorne of the City of Burlington, hatter, to Hugh Hartshorne, Robert
Hartshorne, and Esek Hartshorne, all of the Township of Middletown, for 2,300 acres consisting
of Portland Point and Sandy Hook, 10 July 1749.
Quitclaim deed, John Lawrence of Upper Freehold to Hugh Hartshorne, Robert Hartshorne, and
Esek Hartshorne, all of Middletown, for Portland Point, Sandy Hook, and 5 acres of sedge in the
Shrewsbury River, 19 January 1749/50.
Bond, William Mott of Trenton, farmer, to Thomas Hartshorne, Hugh Hartshorne, and Robert
Hartshorne, executors of the Last Will & Testament of William Hartshorne, late of Middletown,
Deceased, 21 March 1749/50.
Deed, Hugh Hartshorne of Middletown to Robert Hartshorne and Esek Hartshorne, both of
Middletown, for his interest in Portland Point and Sandy Hook consisting of 2,250 acres, 17
January 1754.
Letter, John Lawrence to Robert Hartshorne regarding legacy of Katherine Lawrence from the
estate of the late William Hartshorne, 31 March 1756, with receipt at the bottom from Elisha
Lawrence dated 2 April 1756.
Deed, Thomas Hartshorne, Hugh Hartshorne, and Robert Hartshorne, executors to the last will
and testament of their father William Hartshorne late of Portland Point, to Esek Hartshorne, for a
5-acre sedge island between Claypit Creek and the North River, 3 September 1764.
Receipts for various distributions from the estate of William Hartshorne from legatees, ranging
in date from 1748 to 1768, 20 items.
Note: Many of the documents in this folder pertain to the ownership change of the Portland tract
following William Hartshorne's death on 29 February 1747/8. In his will, Hartshorne left 200
acres west of Tan Vat Creek bordering Clay Pit Creek to his son Thomas. He then directed that
"all the Remaining parts or Parcells of my Land I Give & Desire to be Sold by my Executors . .
." in order to fund a number of cash bequests to his widow and eight other children or their heirs.
8
To that end, Hartshorne's executors placed an advertisement in the New York newspapers dated
25 July 1748 offering Portland for sale.
To Be Sold. The High Land of Navesinks and Sandy-Hook lying in Middletown, East
Jersey, consisting of 2800 Acres, well watered and stored with Timber, the Highlands
with Hickery and Oak, the Hook with Cedar fit for building Ships or Houses; There hath
been sold off said Hook, Ship-Timber to the Value of 200 l. New-York Currency in one
Year, yet the Swamp appears but little the thinner; and is yearly winter'd on said Hook
upwards of 60 Head of Neat Cattle and 20 Horses, without one Lock of Hay, or any sort
of Grain given to them, or any Manner of Trouble to the Owner: Upon the Highlands
there is a good Dwelling-House, 40 Feet long and 30 Feet broad, with Sash Windows,
two good Stone Cellars under it, with three Kitchens adjoining, pleasantly seated on the
Navesinks River, fresh Oysters and Clams to be had in great plenty and of the best Sort,
within 200 Yards of the Door: in the Winter Season the River abounds in Water Fowl of
all sorts, the Hills with Deer: There is between 2 or 3 hundred Acres cleared, good for
Pasture or Grain, and 400 bearing Apple Trees of choice Fruit, fenc'd on three Sides by
the Water: one Mile in Fence will inclose the whole: it of late belonging to William
Hartshorne, deceased, who, by his Will ordered it to be sold by his Executors. For further
information enquire of Thomas Hartshorne in Middletown aforesaid; Hugh Hartshorne,
in Burlington; and Robert Hartshorne, living on the Premises, Executors aforesaid, by
whom a good Title to the Premises to any Purchaser, will be made.
No prospective purchasers apparently came forward. So the estate executors placed a second ad
in the New York newspapers dated 13 March 1749.
To be sold at Publick Vendue, on the Seventeenth Day of April next, at the late Dwelling
of William Hartshorne, deceased: The Highlands of Navesinks, with Sandy-Hook, as
lately advertised in the New-York Post Boy. The Condition of Sale may be known at the
Time and Place of Sale, and a good Title made to any Purchaser, by Thomas Hartshorne,
Hugh Hartshorne, and Robert Hartshorne, Executors.
Again, there may have been no bidders. So on 18 April 1749, the day after the auction, William
Hartshorne's three executors conveyed the title for Portland to John Hartshorne (1725-1813).
John was a brother to the executors, who at the time was apparently a disinterested party living in
Burlington, NJ, and employed as a hatter. He later acquired his own large plantation at Black
Point in Rumson directly opposite Portland on the south side of the Navesink River. This
sideways estate transaction, however, may have been a calculated one intended to keep the
Highlands and Sandy Hook in the Hartshorne family. It may have also been perceived at the time
as inappropriate for the executors to transfer title for this very substantial tract to themselves
directly. Or perhaps it took time for the buyers to put their financing together. Anyway, less than
9
three months later, John deeded Portland on 10 July 1749 back to three of his brothers - Hugh,
Robert and Esek, two of whom had been executors to their father's estate. The brothers shared in
the ownership of Portland and Sandy Hook until Hugh relinquished his interest to Robert and
Esek on 17 January 1754. See: Nelson 1895, 466-467, and 523.
Box 2 – Folder 4; Elizabeth Hartshorne (1690-1750)
2 items
Documents include:
Inventory of goods and chattels late in the possession of Elizabeth Hartshorne deceased given to
her by her husband William Hartshorne in his last will during her natural life, taken at the
Dwelling house of Robert Hartshorne (her son) at Portland in Middletown, 29 November 1750.
Receipt, Thomas Hartshorne to Robert Hartshorne settling all accounts with the estate of his
mother Elizabeth Hartshorne, and also of his grandfather William Lawrence, 17 October 1756.
Biographical Note: Elizabeth Lawrence (1690-1750), a daughter of William Lawrence II and
Ruth Gibbons, became the third wife of William Hartshorne (1678/79-1747/48). They were the
parents of seven children. See: Stillwell, III, 283-284, and 407-408.
Note: The inventory provides exceptional documentation for a leather upholstered armchair
bequeathed to the Monmouth County Historical Association in 1978 by Mary Hartshorne
Noonan (1897-1978), a descendant, and also for “One Volume of Rushworth’s Collection
Belonging to the Estate in General . . .” contained in Box 1, Folder 8, of this collection.
The armchair was made in Boston ca. 1725-1745. This bustling colonial port city had developed
a specialized furniture trade by that time which exported chairs of this type in large numbers
throughout the American colonies and Caribbean until about 1750. Part of the success of these
chairs, generically called "Boston chairs," can be credited to the comfort afforded by their backs,
which were curved to a body-conforming shape, high enough to support shoulders, and
upholstered for pliant support. Boston chairs introduced a more comfortable form of seating than
most urban Americans had enjoyed previously. Leather, which was cheaper in the 18th century
than cane or fabric, was an inexpensive material consistent with mass production. When William
Hartshorne of Portland died in 1747/8, he left to his widow Elizabeth the use of a number of
items during the time that she remained a widow, including "Seven Leather Chairs." They no
doubt represented the then-typical set of six side chairs and one armchair. This supposition is
confirmed in an inventory dated 29 November 1750 of the household goods given for Elizabeth's
use by her late husband. That enumeration includes "Six Leather Chairs at £2.8. To An Arm'd Do
12/," all of which were valued together at £3:0:0. At the time that Elizabeth Hartshorne's
10
inventory was taken, her possessions were located "at the Dwelling house of Robert Hartshorne
at Portland." The armchair remained there through five more generations, descending to Richard
Hartshorne (1900-1958). It was sold by him in a Parke-Bernet auction in New York in January of
1953. Richard's older sister, Mary Hartshorne Noonan (1897-1978), purchased the remarkable
family heirloom, had it repaired and reupholstered, and then left it to the Historical Association
in her will.
It is entirely possible that William Hartshorne acquired his Boston leather chairs through a New
York merchant. But early consumers in Monmouth County had direct access to New England
markets through the trading activities of Thomas Holmes, a merchant in Middletown and
Shrewsbury who had arrived in the area by 1725. Holmes first partnered with William
Hartshorne who owned the vessels Portland and Mary, both of which Holmes commanded. The
captain made frequent trips by boat to New York, and occasionally to other destinations from
New England to the Caribbean. He took local agricultural products on commission, sold them,
and then when asked brought back such items as his customers requested, settling the difference
in cash. Holmes often maintained record of these trading transactions in small pocket notebooks.
In July of 1735, this ambitious trader organized a voyage from Monmouth County to Boston. He
kept track of the venture in what he titled "The Boston Book." Among those who consigned local
products was William Hartshorne. He shipped 16 barrels of flour, 130 bushels of rye, 20 bushels
of corn, 200 pounds of gammon (a cured pork product), and 1 firkin of butter weighing 50
pounds. Hartshorne's goods sold for £130:2:0, which, after deducting commissions and expenses
such as wharfage, left a sizeable net profit of £114:16:0. While the chairs are not mentioned in
this particular transaction, it establishes a link through which local farmers could obtain
manufactured goods and luxury items directly from such distant markets as Boston. One chair
maker there named Samuel Grant charged 26 shillings each for leather chairs in 1732. So a set of
six side chairs and one armchair would have cost wholesale roughly £10, well within
Hartshorne's substantial buying power. See: Forman, 349-352; Jobe, 3-48; Jobe and Kaye, 339342; and the Holmes Family Papers, Monmouth County Historical Association Library &
Archives, Collection 10, Box 1, Folder 6.
Box 2 – Folder 5; Hugh Hartshorne (1685-1742)
6 items
Documents include:
Four receipts for legacies received from Robert Hartshorne, one of the executors of the estate of
Hugh Hartshorne, dated 1745 and 1746.
Deed, Richard Rogers of Shrewsbury to Catherine Hartshorne, relict of Hugh Hartshorne, late of
Middletown, for 8 acres in Middletown, 30 April 1747.
11
Accounts of Robert Hartshorne, one of the executors of the Last Will and Testament of Hugh
Hartshorne, 1743-1749.
Biographical Note: Hugh Hartshorne was born on 21st 6 mo 1685, a son of Richard Hartshorne
and Margaret Carr. He married Catherine (1684-1767), daughter of Peter Tilton and Rebecca
Brazier. They became the parents of nine children. Hartshorne’s will was proved 18 October
1742. See: Stillwell, III, 284-286. Robert Hartshorne (1721-1805) served as one of Hugh
Hartshorne’s executors.
Box 2 – Folder 6; Catherine Hartshorne (1684-1767)
15 items
Documents include:
Declaration of non-indebtedness to friends and neighbors with whom she lived by Catherine
Hartshorne, 7 September 1759.
Will of Catherine Hartshorne, dated 18th fifth mo 1765. Proved 30 September 1767.
Inventory of the goods, chattels and credit of Catherine Hartshorne deceased, at her dwelling at
the house of Elias Bailey in Middletown, taken 21 September 1767.
Legal opinion by Cortland Skinner regarding the settlement of the estate of Catherine
Hartshorne, 18 March 1771.
Bond, Elias Bailey and James Mott, both of Middletown, to Robert Hartshorne, executor to the
estate of Catherine Hartshorne, 18 June 1771.
Bond, William Nixon of the City of New York, merchant, and John Burrowes of Middletown,
merchant, to Robert Hartshorne, executor to the estate of Catherine Hartshorne, 26 October
1771.
Nine receipts dated 1767 and 1772 for receipt of legacies from the estate of Catherine
Hartshorne.
Biographical Note: Catherine Tilton, the daughter of Peter Tilton and Rebecca Brazier, was
born 14th 7 mo 1684, and died in 1767. She married Hugh Hartshorne (1685-1742), and they
became the parents of nine children. Her inventory was taken at the house of Elias Bailey,
12
second husband of her daughter Mary Hartshorne (1716-1796). See: Stillwell, III, 284-286; and
V, 136-137. Robert Hartshorne (1721-1805) served as one of Catherine Hartshorne’s executors.
Box 2 – Folder 7; Robert Hartshorne (1721-1805)
Correspondence, 8 items
Documents include:
Memorandum from Andrew Bowne noting the opening of the Shrewsbury Inlet dated 28 January
1746/47, a second entry by Robert Hartshorne noting another opening of the Shrewsbury Inlet on
20 December 1756, and a third entry on the reverse by Robert Hartshorne dated 20 June 1757,
noting that 72 sail of top sail vessels sailed out of Sandy Hook Bay under command of Vice
Admiral Hardy and John Earl of Loudon, along with 16 sloops and schooners.
Two late 19th century photostat copies of the above memoranda.
Document fragment bearing the signature of Robert Hartshorne, 7th 10th mo 1748.
Letter, Lawrence Hartshorne of Halifax, Nova Scotia, to uncles Robert and Esek Hartshorne,
Portland, New Jersey, regarding Loyalist claims, 7 May 1786.
Letter, Richard Hartshorne of New York to Robert and Sarah Hartshorne (his parents) at
Portland, regarding the death of a young son, 13 September 1794.
Letter, Sarah Saltar Hartshorne to her daughter Elizabeth Bowne in New York, n. d.
Biographical Note: Robert Hartshorne was born on 2nd 2 mo 1721, a son of William Hartshorne
and Elizabeth Lawrence. He married Sarah Saltar by license dated 21 December 1743. She was a
daughter of Richard Salter and Hannah Lawrence. The Hartshornes became the parents of five
children. Robert Hartshorne and his brother Esek (1728-1795) succeeded their father William as
co-owners of Portland, which they subdivided equally about 1761. Robert’s 764.5-acre share
included the southern portion of the tract bordering on the Navesink River, plus a half-interest in
Sandy Hook. He sold this property to his son Richard in 1799 for $15,000, and died in 1805.
Hartshorne’s will was filed in New York County, NY, even though he was noted as being from
Monmouth County, NJ. See: Stillwell, III, 289; and IV, 187-194.
There is scant information available concerning the early main residence on Portland. The ca.
1710 survey of the estate by William Lawrence contains a small sketch entitled 'William
13
Hartshorne's House." It depicts the gable end of a two story but narrow dwelling, implying that it
was only one room deep. These survey sketches are not always an accurate rendering of specific
buildings, but more suggestive of their general nature. This house form would also have been
unusual in Monmouth County at that early date. A newspaper advertisement dated 25 July 1748
offering the entire 2,800 acres for sale by the Executors of William Hartshorne noted that "Upon
the Highlands there is a good Dwelling-House, 40 Feet long and 30 Feet broad, with Sash
Windows, two good Stone Cellars under it, with three Kitchens adjoining, pleasantly seated upon
the Navesinks River . . ." The sale did not go through.
Writing to an unnamed brother about 1761, Robert Hartshorne stated that "Brother Esek and I
have divided the Plantation, which has been a Troublesome affair but I hope, happily and
satisfactory over, However my Having the old house to Repair and three Hundred Pounds in cash
to pay him, Engages my attention so much at Home at Present, that I am Obliged to Postpone the
Very Agreeable Thoughts of Visiting thy self and family so Soon as I could wish." The 1798
Direct Tax Assessment Particular List for Middletown Township gives somewhat more
information about the house near the end of Robert Hartshorne's ownership. At that time, the
main house measured 28 feet by 42 feet (no doubt a more accurate measure than that noted in the
earlier newspaper ad), was wood framed and two stories in height, contained 12 windows, and
had a kitchen dependency or wing. The width of the structure being almost double its depth
indicates that the floor plan included a central hallway with two rooms on either side, or what is
called a full Georgian floor plan. In spite of its large size, the house was appraised with a twoacre lot at only $825. The three other houses of similar center hallway configuration ranged in
value from $510 to $1,650. The latter, owned by Thomas Lloyd and measuring 32 feet by 47
feet, could have contained much more elaborate woodwork and interior finishes. The nearby
house now called Portland Place, then owned by Robert Hartshorne's nephew Thomas
Hartshorne, provides a good comparison. Measuring 28 feet by 28 feet, wood framed and two
stories in height, with 8 windows and a kitchen dependency, it was assessed at only $560. This
dwelling, which still stands, consists of a through hallway floor plan with two rooms only on one
side. It is called a two-thirds Georgian plan. The original interior paneling, main staircase, and
other features are extremely plain, no doubt contributing to its low valuation. The early Portland
residence was totally destroyed by fire on 30 July 1834. See: Box 2, Folder 10; and Oversize
Box, Folder 2. See also: Nelson 1895, 466-467; and 1798 Direct Tax.
This portion of the Hartshorne Family Papers provides detailed documentation on the
construction and early years of operation for the Sandy Hook lighthouse, the division of Portland
between Robert and Esek Hartshorne, the American Revolution, and early Blacks in Monmouth
County.
Land Title, 3 items
14
Documents include:
Quitclaim deed, Esek Hartshorne to Robert Hartshorne for his interests in land to the eastward
and southward of the division lines between their two properties, plus a sedge island, 22 August
1765.
Quitclaim deed, Jonathan Burdge of Hunterdon County, son and heir of David Burdge late of
Middletown, to Robert Hartshorne three acres of upland on the east side of Portland Point, 14
August 1773.
Deed, Robert Hartshorne and Sarah his wife to Richard Hartshorne of New York, for Portland
Point, Sandy Hook, and a sedge island, 31 December 1799.
Surveys, 7 items
Documents include:
Survey of land on Sandy Hook Bay dated 31 March 1753, by Anthony Dennis.
Survey of land in New York by Hendrick Remsen Jr. dated 6 April 1753.
Survey dated 7 April 1759, for land on Sandy Hook Bay. Surveyed for Robert Hartshorne by
Anthony Dennis.
Mensuration of Portland Point by Richard Lawrence, n. d.
Survey of 103 acres on Sandy Hook Bay, n. d.
Survey of 279 acres on the Navesink River, n. d.
Survey of land formerly McCleese’s on Claypit Creek and the Navesink River dated 25 May
1796.
Sandy Hook & Lighthouse, 7 items
Documents include:
15
Letter, New Jersey Governor Thomas Boone to [Robert Hartshorne] regarding the sale of land on
Sandy Hook for the purposes of erecting a lighthouse, 5 May 1761.
Photostatic copy of an undated letter, ca. 1761, from Robert Hartshorne to an unnamed brother
discussing Gov. Boone’s letter above, plus the division of Portland between himself and his
brother Esek.
Articles of Agreement between John Cruger, Philip Livingston, Leonard Lispenard and William
Bayard of the City of New York and Robert and Esek Hartshorne of Monmouth County
regarding the sale of 4 acres on Sandy Hook for the construction of a lighthouse, 14 May 1762.
Survey of Sandy Hook by Anthony Dennis, 24 June 1765.
Minutes of the New York Mayor’s Court regarding a suit brought by Robert and Esek
Hartshorne against John Mannix for trespassing on their land at Sandy Hook and cutting down
five cedar trees valued at 10 pounds, 14 September 1790.
Letter, Thomas Randall to Robert and Esek Hartshorne at Portland regarding their appointment
to keeping the lighthouse on Sandy Hook for one year, 22 February 1792. Includes an inventory
of equipment and furniture in the lighthouse and keepers’ residence, plus a boat.
Articles of agreement between Thomas Randall, Superintendent of the Light House on Sandy
Hook, and Robert and Esek Hartshorne, contractors for the same, 25 February 1792.
Revolution, 2 items
Documents include:
Letter, Robert Hartshorne to Edward Taylor at Middletown excusing himself from a meeting to
be held at Levi Hart’s tavern in Colts Neck to consult on the legal and proper methods to be
taken to get a satisfactory account of the application and distribution of the public money of the
Province from the year 1760 to 1770, 13 May 1771.
Memorandum of Loyalist detachments under the command of Capt. Samuel Ryerse, 3rd Battalion
of New Jersey Volunteers, on Sandy Hook in 1782, with notes of expenses paid by Lawrence
Hartshorne with money received from Robert Hartshorne, 5 June 1783.
Blacks, 1 item
16
Document:
Bond, David Cooper of Deptford, Gloucester County, and Samuel Allinson of the City and
County of Burlington, to Robert Hartshorne of Middletown, regarding his purchase and
manumission of a Negro woman named Catherine and her daughter Esther formerly owned by
Cyrenius Van Mater, 27 April 1774.
Receipts, 36 items
Documents include:
Two receipts to Robert Hartshorne from Esek Hartshorne regarding money paid him during the
division of their lands, 1760 and 1763.
One receipt to Robert Hartshorne from Thomas Hartshorne for settlement of all accounts, 2 May
1760.
Thirty-three receipts for items purchased, items sold, and money received by Robert Hartshorne,
1770-1801.
Estate, 33 items
Documents include:
Will copy of Robert Hartshorne, dated 2 December 1803. Filed in the Surrogate’s Office in New
York, although identified as “Robert Hartshorne of the Township of Middletown, County of
Monmouth . . .” Copy signed by Silvanus Miller, Surrogate, and dated 9 November 1805.
Two bonds between William Hartshorne and his father Robert Hartshorne, dated 10 December
1800.
Bond between William Hartshorne and his mother Sarah Hartshorne dated 8 April 1807.
Four acknowledgment receipts for settlement of bequests of Robert Hartshorne to his daughters
Sarah Ustick and Elizabeth Bowne, 1817.
17
Seventeen loose pages of accounts of the estate of Robert Hartshorne with his sons Richard and
William Hartshorne, daughters Sarah Ustick and Elizabeth Bowne, husbands of his daughters
William Ustick and Robert Bowne, and the executors, 1805 to 1816.
Eight loose pages of accounts of the estate of Robert Hartshorne, 1804 to 1807.
Box 2 – Folder 15; Thomas Hartshorne (1715-1795)
1 item
Document:
Extract from the Will of William Hartshorne regarding 200 acres of land devised to his son
Thomas Hartshorne, (1747/48).
Biographical Note: Thomas Hartshorne was born 28 April 1715, a son of William Hartshorne
and Helena Willet. He married first to Phebe Wright, and second to Mariah Smith. Hartshorne
died 20th 9 mo 1795. See: Stillwell, III, 288.
Box 2 – Folder 16; William Ustick (1731-1806)
5 items
Documents include:
Letter, Stephen Ustick of Falmouth, England, to his cousin William Ustick, “Ironmonger at New
York in America,” regarding the family coat of arms and other matters, 20 July 1772, with a later
copy.
Account between the estate of William Ustick and John Titus, executor, 1806-1809.
Account between Richard Hartshorne and John Titus, executor to the estate of William Ustick,
1807-1809.
Fragment of an 18th century copperplate engraved bookplate found with the letter of Stephen
Ustick cited above.
Biographical Note: William Ustick was born in New Jersey on 28 December 1731, a son of
Thomas Ustick and Elizabeth Shackerley. He married on 19 June 1757, to Susannah Pelletreau
(1733-1789), daughter of Paul Pelletreau and Susanna Heurtin of New York. They had seven
children. Ustick became a New York merchant and iron monger, and during the American
Revolution held strong Loyalist sentiments. He died in New York on 2 May 1806, and was
18
buried in the Trinity Churchyard. Ustick’s daughter Susannah (1760-1833) married Richard
Hartshorne (1752-1831) of Portland, son of Robert Hartshorne and Sarah Saltar. Another
daughter Mary (b. 1766) married John Titus (1757-1826) as his second wife. See: Box 10, Folder
1, for further information on the Ustick family.
Box 2 – Folder 17; Lawrence Saltar (d. 1783)
5 items
Documents include:
Account, Lawrence Saltar with Samuel Burling, 1781.
Bond, Job Carr to Lawrence Saltar, 13 September 1781.
Extract, will of Lawrence Salter, no date.
Legal opinion on settlement of Pennsylvania assets from the estate of Lawrence Saltar by James
Willson of Pennsylvania, no date.
Legal opinion, Elias Boudinot to Robert Hartshorne, on the settlement of New Jersey assets from
the estate of Lawrence Saltar, 21 April 1785.
Biographical Note: There is much genealogical confusion surrounding the name of Lawrence
Saltar. One is a son of Richard Saltar and Hannah Lawrence, who had a wife named Dorothy.
That would make him a brother to Sarah Saltar Hartshorne, wife of Robert Hartshorne (17211805). The second Lawrence Saltar represented by the contents of this file died in 1783, leaving
a widow named Sarah (died 1785). There is a possible third Lawrence Saltar who married a
Mary Tremaine, although that may be a confused reference to Lawrence Hartshorne who married
Abigail Tremaine as his second wife. See: Stillwell, IV, 193-194.
Box 2 – Folder 18; Unidentified Legal Opinion
1 item
Document:
Legal opinion of William Smith of New York regarding tenants in common, 13 March 1762.
Box 2 – Folder 19; Unidentified Revolutionary War
2 items
19
Documents include:
Letter, Thomas Meadows to John Steady, to be left at No. 957, Burling Slip, regarding wartime
business and conditions, no date.
Note: The name “Thomas Meadows” may be a pseudonym used by William Hartshorne (b.
1748) on correspondence containing Loyalist sentiments during the American Revolution. See:
Box 6, Folder 1.
Warrant, General Artemis Ward to Nathanial Barber, for $120, dated Boston, 3 January 1777.
Box 2 – Folder 20; Rachel Irons
4 items
Documents include:
Deed, Garret Longstreet and wife Catherine of Shrewsbury to John Irons, for 576 acres of land in
Dover Township, NJ, 22 March 1770.
Statement of Reuben Swift of Falmouth, MA, regarding the death of John Irons of Shrewsbury,
NJ, in a shipwreck at Woods Hole, 12 March 1785.
Two documents regarding Rachel Iron’s attempt to recover the property in her right of dower,
one not dated and the other dated 29 January 1792.
Box 2 – Folder 21; Miscellaneous & Unidentified 18th Century
12 items
Documents include:
New Jersey 12 Shilling note, printed in Burlington by Isaac Collins, 25 March 1776.
Account, loads of walnut and oak wood sold, with inspection, possibly from Portland, no date.
Receipt for costs in the suit of Hannah Stout vs. Thomas R. Stillwell, signed by Richard
Stockton, 26 July 1798.
Receipt, Henry Striker to Hannah Stout, in full for lawyer’s fees mentioned in his obligation to
her, 12 March 1799.
20
Five deeds for various properties, relationships to the Hartshornes not readily discernible (two
with Robert Hartshorne, Richard Hartshorne, and William Hartshorne as witnesses), 1728/291796.
A religious prayer dated Flushing, 1788.
Receipt, Benjamin and Cornelius Van Mater to Edmund Williams, for cloth, clothes, and coffin,
Colts Neck, 14 November 1795.
Box 2 – Folder 22; Unidentified 18th Century Land Title
4 items
Documents include:
Survey dated 21 May 1754 by Jacob Dennis for Peter Knott for land near Wreck Pond.
Certificate and return of survey dated 9 April 1757 by Thomas Bartow, Surveyor General for the
Board of Proprietors of the Province of East Jersey, to Peter Knott near Wreck Pond.
Survey dated 7th day of the 5th month 1772 by Richard Lawrence for Elihu Williams for two lots
abutted by Benjamin Woolley, Peter Parker, William Woolley, and John Brinley, probably in
Shrewsbury.
Undated and unidentified survey probably representing land owned by Jacob Hance.
Note: A group of 18th century deeds and surveys for properties with no known Hartshorne
connection. The items in this folder probably relate to the various estates administered by
William Hartshorne (b. 1748). See below.
Box 3 – Folder 1; William Hartshorne (b. 1748)
Note: This folder contains an important group of letters describing political, social and business
conditions during the Revolutionary War period, from an apparent Loyalist viewpoint
Documents include:
Letter, James Bowne, Jr., New York, to William Hartshorne at Edenton, NC, 26 November 1774.
21
Letter, James Bowne, Jr., New York, to William Hartshorne, 7 January 1775.
Letter, James Bowne, Jr., New York, to William Hartshorne at Portland, NJ, 15 September 1775.
Letter, Peter Kemble Jr., St. Kitts, to “Mr. Hartshorne at Statia,” 18 October 1776.
Letter, James Bowne, New York, to William Hartshorne at Portland Point, NJ, 12th 8th mo 1784.
Letter, James Bowne, New York, to William Hartshorne at Portland Point, NJ, 6th 9th mo 1784,
with Hartshorne’s response.
Letter, James Bowne, New York, to William Hartshorne at Portland Point, NJ, 17th 11th mo
1784.
Letter, William Hartshorne at Portland, to “Dear Brother, 14th 8th mo 1786.
Letter, James Bowne, Philadelphia, to William Hartshorne at Portland Point, NJ, 28th 3rd mo
1787.
Biographical Note: William Hartshorne was born 17th 9 mo 1748, a son of Robert Hartshorne
and his wife Sarah Saltar. He married on 14 December 1797 to Sarah Lawrence, daughter of
Richard Lawrence and Alice Bunting. During the 1770s, William Hartshorne lived in Edenton,
NC, where he was a merchant trading in the South and the Caribbean on the Brig Katy. He was
also a partner in the New York merchant house of Bowne and Hartshorne. Hartshorne spent
much of the Revolutionary War years at Portland with his father’s family. By the late 18th
century, he had settled in Shrewsbury, where he served as an estate executor or administrator to
several members of the extended Corlies family and others. William Hartshorne’s whereabouts
after about 1815 are unknown. See: Stillwell, III, 289.
Business, 42 items
Brig Katy. Papers pertaining to a trading venture from Edenton, NC, to Charleston, SC, and the
West Indies, 1777-1778.
Documents include: correspondence, receipts, accounts with consignors and investors, accounts
of sales, shipping manifests, ship wages and expenses, disbursements, etc. An unusually
complete file found as one bundle and retained as a single records group.
22
Note: William Hartshorne organized this Revolutionary War era voyage while living in Edenton,
NC. It involved a number of cargo consignors, investors, buyers, etc.
Business, 25 items
Bowne & Hartshorne. Papers relating to the business of Bowne & Hartshorne, merchants in New
York, with the house of Benjamin & John Bower of Manchester, England, 1770-1798.
Items include: correspondence, accounts, statements, bonds, receipts, etc. Found as one bundle
and retained as a single records group.
Note: Documents include extensive correspondence between Bowne & Hartshorne and
Benjamin & John Bower regarding business conducted just before the outbreak of the
Revolutionary War, and the difficulties involved in settling accounts during and after the War.
1 item
Land Title. Item: deed, Anthony Smith to William Hartshorne for two lots in Middletown
containing 7 acres, 4 May 1781.
1 item
Marriage Certificate. Item: Quaker marriage certificate of William Hartshorne, son of Robert and
Sarah Hartshorne of Middletown, to Sarah Lawrence, daughter of Richard and Alice Lawrence
of Shrewsbury, with signatures of 55 witnesses, 14th 12th mo 1797.
Blacks, 4 items
Documents include:
Manumission document from Dr. John Johnston for his Negro woman Jean and her three
children named Deborah, Violetta, and Edward, 21 May 1792.
23
Letter, William Hartshorne at Portland to James Morris, regarding a slave named Cyrus and the
unfortunate circumstances surrounding the amputation of his legs, 22nd 2nd mo 1794.
Letter, James Morris to William Hartshorne, regarding the care of a slave named Cyrus, 21 April
1794, with Hartshorne’s response dated 24th 4th mo 1794.
Agreement between William Hartshorne, prosecutor on behalf of a black boy named Edward,
and Thomas Walton, regarding Edward’s claim of freedom his former owner, Dr. John Johnston,
28 April 1808.
Estate Administration, 21 items
Zilpha Corlies Estate. Documents include: the will of John Corlies, proved 18 August 1760, the
will of Zilpha Corlies, proved 3 August 1802; three copies of the inventory of Zilpha Corlies,
12th 7th mo 1802; two copies of the sales at public vendue of the estate of Zilpha Corlies dated 3rd
8th mo 1802; deeds and surveys pertaining to John Corlies property on Rumson Neck, 17391763; correspondence, 1769-1806; legal inquiries and opinions by Richard Stockton regarding
the estates of Zilpha Corlies, John Corlies, and Jacob Hance, 20 July 1802; undated deposition
by John Andrew regarding the shooting by Samuel Corlies of his wife in 1761; minutes of the
Monmouth Court of Common Pleas for Samuel Corlies vs. William Hartshorne, 4 April 1809;
and receipt from Samuel Corlies to William Hartshorne, garnishee, 1 November 1809
Biographical Note: Zilpha Wilbur was born at Shrewsbury on 16 August 1714, the daughter of
Samuel Wilbur and Leah White. She married on 24 February 1734/35 to John Corlies, son of
John Corlies and Naomi Edwards. He was born 8 November 1714, and died in 1760. John and
Zilpha Corlies were the parents of two sons. Zilpha Corlies died in 1802, her will being proved
on 3 August of that year. See: Barbara Carver Smith, 9-10.
William Hartshorne served as executor to the estate of Zilpha Corlies. This estate included
residual interests from the estates of Zilpha’s husband John and son John Jr. Settlement of the
estate eventually ended up in the Monmouth County Inferior Court of Common Pleas in 1809.
Zilpha Corlies was grandmother to Asher Corlies (see: Box 4, Folder 1) and John Corlies (see:
Box 4, Folder 2).
Zilpha Corlies Estate. Documents include: bonds related to Samuel Corlies, John Corlies, and the
estate of Zilpha Corlies, 1758-1809; accounts of the John Corlies estate, 1769-1771; accounts of
24
the Zilpha Corlies estate, 1802-1806; and 35 receipts for the John Corlies estate, goods
purchased by Zilpha Corlies, items sold by Zilpha Corlies, and for her estate (including one from
Richard Stockton for legal services dated 28 July 1802), 1769-1803.
Asher Corlies Estate. Documents include: the will of Asher Corlies proved 9 November 1793;
inventory of the estate of Asher Corlies taken 28 May 1793; account of property sold and items
consumed by family, 1793; sales at a public vendue held on 29 November 1793; bonds, 17891813; estate accounts, 1793-1813; and 73 receipts for items purchased, goods consumed,
household expenses of widow Rachel Corlies, expenses for keeping and schooling Asher
Corlies’s young children, estate expenses, estate disbursements, etc., 1791-1811.
Biographical Note: Asher Corlies was born on 11 October 1767, a son of John Corlies and his
first wife Elizabeth Borden. He married Rachel Hance, daughter of John Hance and Catherine
Wapels. They became the parents of two children. Asher Corlies died on 13 May 1793. See: See:
Barbara Carver Smith, 19-20, and 30-31.
William Hartshorne served as one of the executors of the estate of Asher Corlies, brother of John
Corlies (see: Box 4, Folder 2) and grandson of Zilpha Corlies (see: Box 3, Folders 7 and 8).
John Corlies Estate. Documents include: the will of John Corlies proved 25 October 1797;
inventory of the estate of John Corlies taken 3rd 10th mo 1797; sales at a public vendue of the
estate held on the 30th 10th mo 1799; conditions and sales of real estate, bonds, 1795-1813;
accounts, 1788-1803; deposition of John Andrews regarding the shooting of his wife by Samuel
Corlies, no date; and 41 receipts for items purchased, items sold, estate expenses and
disbursements, etc., 1793 to 1803.
Biographical Note: John Corlies was born ca. 1770, the son of John Corlies and Elizabeth
Borden. He died unmarried in 1797, his will being proved on 25 October of that year. See:
Barbara Carver Smith, 19-20, and 31.
William Hartshorne served as executor to the estate of John Corlies, brother of Asher Corlies
(see: Box 4, Folder 1), and grandson of Zilpha Corlies (see: Box 3, Folders 7 and 8)
25
Jeremiah Borden Estate. Documents include: the will of Jeremiah Borden proved 2 August 1783;
the will of Esther White dated 13 April 1773; inventories and estate allotments of the estates of
Jeremiah Borden, Esther White, and Esther Borden; property deeds; bonds; Orphan’s Court
proceedings; receipts for items sold and legacy payments received; and estate and executor’s
accounts.
Biographical Note: Jeremiah Borden Jr. was born on 30 December 1750, a son of Jeremiah
Borden Sr. (1711-1754) and Esther Tilton (1722-1777). Esther Tilton Borden married a second
time in 1761 to Amos White, son of Thomas White. Jeremiah Borden Jr. died on 7 September
1777. Apparently due to Revolutionary War conditions, his will was not proved until 2 August
1783. Borden’s will mentions his sisters Rebecca Woolley (wife of John Woolley) and Esther
Lippincott (wife of the notorious Tory Capt. Richard Lippincott who hung Patriot Capt. Joshua
Huddy). See: Stillwell, V, 152-153.
A complicated file involving the inter-related estates of Jeremiah Borden Jr., Esther Borden, and
Esther White, plus legacies of Rebecca Woolley and Esther Lippincott. Jacob Hance first served
as one of the executors, and was apparently succeeded by William Hartshorne.
Ebenezer Allen Estate. Documents include: an inventory of the personal estate of Ebenezer Allen
of Shrewsbury dated 25th 7mo 1791; bonds; application of daughters Nancy and Hannah Allen
for appointment of William Hartshorne as guardian dated 9 May 1791; petitions to the Orphans
Court for the sale of real estate with responses; estate accounts; and receipts for items purchased,
items sold, guardianship expenses and apprenticeships for Nancy and Hannah Allen.
Biographical Note: Ebenezer Allen died prior to 1 December 1791, apparently, according to
documents in this folder, as early as March or April of 1782. He married Margaret White (17511812), a daughter of Britton White and Dinah Corlies, and had two daughters Hannah and
Nancy, both of whom were minors in 1791. See: Stillwell, V, 267-268.
Jacob Hance Estate. Documents include: a Quaker marriage certificate for Jacob Hance and
Elizabeth Corlies dated 8 2-mo 1759; original early will of Jacob Hance dated 1 3-mo 1774;
proven will of Jacob Hance dated 17 April 1799; will of John Hance dated 9 February 1720
26
(bearing the signature of Jeremiah Bass); the will of Jeremiah Hance proven 2 August 1783;
estate inventory of Isaac Hance taken 10 September 1764; and an inventory of the goods
belonging to John Finmore taken 19 October 1777 by Jacob Hance.
Biographical Note: Jacob Hance was born on 3rd 3-mo 1729, a son of Isaac Hance and Rachel
White. He married first on 4 December 1750 to Ann White, by whom he had three children.
Hance married second on 8th 2mo 1759 at the Shrewsbury Friends’ Meeting to Elizabeth Corlies
(1736-1816), a daughter of James Corlies and Mary Woolley of Shrewsbury. Hance’s wife was a
niece of John and Zilpha Corlies. Jacob and Elizabeth Hance became the parents of four
children. He died on 21 June 1799. See: See: Barbara Carver Smith, 9, and 18-19.
A very extensive file involving the inter-related estates of Jacob Hance (1729-1799), his father
Isaac Hance, Jeremiah Borden (1711-1754), Jeremiah Borden Jr. (1750-1777) (the latter of
which Jacob Hance served as executor), and others. William Hartshorne served as executor to the
estate of Jacob Hance. Documentation for land titles cover the entire 18th century, and involves
property in Rumson, Shrewsbury, and Manahawkin.
Note: A cut square of linen fabric inscribed in ink “I. Hance” for Jacob Hance has been
transferred to the museum collection. It presumably came from a fabric bag that once contained
the extensive Jacob Hance estate documentation. See: Appendix A, item 2.
Estate Administration, 1 item
Jacob Hance Estate. Document: a ciphering book later used as an account book by Jacob Hance,
1764 to 1797. Includes birth records for Rachel Hance (born 23 December 1751) and Thomas
Hance (born 30 October 1753).
Jacob Hance Estate. Documents include: estate and related correspondence, 1783-1800,
including a letter written by John Ablin of New York to Elias Boudinot dated 20 June 1794
regarding collection on a bond signed by David and John Hance; and an exchange of letters with
Caleb Lloyd regarding the proper issuance of a bond, August 1800.
27
Jacob Hance Estate. Items include: legal documents, including a legal opinion of Richard
Stockton (1730-1781) dated 9 January 1779, respecting the estate of Jeremiah Borden (d. 1754);
undated legal opinion of Richard Stockton regarding the estate of Jacob Hance; undated and
unidentified legal opinion on the status of a bond; arbitration settlement dated 13 March 1766
between John Brindley, Joseph Jackson and John Hartshorne on the one part, and Timothy and
Jacob Hance on the other; power of attorney dated 13 9-mo 1792 from David Hance of
Burlington County to Jacob Hance; and a dower release dated 29 10-mo 1799 from Elisabeth
Hance to William Hartshorne, executor of her son Jacob Hance.
Jacob Hance Estate. Items include: public estate notices and conditions of sale for property
owned by Jacob Hance, 1799-1802, with annotations on purchasers, prices, defaults, etc.
Jacob Hance Estate. Items include: bonds and notes pertaining to the business and estate of Jacob
Hance, as well as to previous estates in which he had an interest, 1742-1802.
Jacob Hance Estate. Items include: land title documents, including deeds, quitclaim deeds,
agreements, releases, surveys, etc. for properties owned by Jacob Hance, or by estates in which
he had an interest, 1740-1794.
Jacob Hance Estate. Documents include: estate accounts of executors and administrator,
including Jacob Hance, executor of the estate of Jeremiah Borden, 1777-1796; William
Hartshorne, executor of the estate of Jacob Hance, 1799-1807; Thomas Borden, administrator of
the estate of Benjamin Borden, 1772; and Jacob Hance, executor of the estate of John Hance,
1787 – 1799.
28
Jacob Hance Estate. Documents include: receipts for goods purchased, goods sold, legacies
received, etc., 1725/26-1801.
Estate Administration, 1 item
Richard Lawrence Estate. Item: discharge from the heirs of Richard Lawrence of Shrewsbury
acknowledging the full settlement of the estate dated 5th 6mo 1816. Legatees and executors
included Richard R. Lawrence, William Hartshorne, Joseph Byrd, and John Barrow.
Biographical Note: Richard Lawrence was born in 1720, a son of William Lawrence and Mercy
Hartshorne of Middletown. He married first in 1747 to Elizabeth Steele, and second to Alice
Bunting. Lawrence died 3mo 1814, his will being proved on 13 April 1815. William Hartshorne
married Lawrence’s daughter Sarah on 14 December 1797. See: Stillwell, III, 407 and 416; and
Hutchinson, XLII, 249.
Revolutionary War Era Letters. Documents include:
Letter, William Hartshorne at Edenton, NC, to his brother Richard Hartshorne in New York, 20
March 1778.
Letter, D. B. to Richard Hartshorne, 19 September 1778.
Anonymous letter, addressed to R. H., dated “20th of the 3rd Moon 1779.” Comments on “Black
David” Forman. Possibly in the same handwriting as letter the signed “Thomas Meadows,” and
possibly by Richard Hartshorne’s brother William.
Letter, “Thomas Meadows” to R. H. dated “13th of the 4th Moon 1779. Possibly a pseudonym
being used by Richard Hartshorne’s brother William.
Letter, Robert Hartshorne at Portland Point to his son Richard Hartshorne, “Merct / Richmond,
Virginia, “8th 4th mo 1785.
Note: These highly important Revolutionary War era letters written to Richard Hartshorne
contain strong Loyalist sentiments.
29
Biographical Notes: Richard Hartshorne was born 12 mo 1752, a son of Robert Hartshorne and
Sarah Saltar. He died 3 October 1831, aged 78 years and 9 months. Hartshorne married Susanna
Ustick (1760-1833), a daughter of William Ustick (1731-1806) and Susanna Pelletreau (17331783) of New York. She died 23 May 1833, aged 72 years. They were the parents of four
daughters (one of whom died young), and one son. Only one of the children, namely son Robert,
married. The Ustick family were Episcopalians. All of the children of Richard Hartshorne and
Susannah Ustick were raised in that faith. The family maintained a pew in Christ Episcopal
Church in Shrewsbury (see: Box 10, Folder 5). Hartshorne became a merchant in New York by
the 1770s. For a brief period during the Revolution, he may have also relocated to Richmond,
VA. After the war, Hartshorne became increasingly involved in marine insurance underwriting,
at first in partnership with Joseph Lindley and later with several members of the Rhinelander
family, prominent New Yorkers. For much of the 19th century, Richard Hartshorne and his
descendants aggressively sought compensation from the United States government for losses
sustained through vessel and cargo captures before 1800 by British, French and Spanish
privateers. By the 1790s, Hartshorne also began investing in land. He held interests in central
Pennsylvania, in Ontario County in central New York, and in Erie County in northwest
Pennsylvania. Richard Hartshorne purchased the Portland estate from his father Robert on 31
December 1799 for $15,000. These papers document his activities in farming, raising sheep,
harvesting timber, and improving access to his hilly property. Also during Hartshorne’s lifetime,
the U. S. Government took possession of Sandy Hook in stages. First, the lighthouse and its fouracre parcel were ceded in 1790 to the Federal Government by the States of New York and New
Jersey; second, that portion of the Hook tip north of an east-west line through the lighthouse
containing 175 15/100 acres was acquired by deed dated 26 February 1806; and third, on 17 June
1817, Richard Hartshorne and his wife deeded their remaining 1,230 acres of Sandy Hook
property to the Government. See: Stillwell, III, 292-293; Moss, 57.
Note: A printed death notice and hair clipping for Richard Hartshorne (1752-1831), age 80,
wrapped in paper inscribed “My Father,” has been transferred to the museum collection. See:
Appendix A, item 24.
Documents include: miscellaneous letters written to and by Richard Hartshorne, 1791-1830, and
no date. Correspondents include Henry Brewerton, brother William Hartshorne, son Robert
Hartshorne, wife Susanna Ustick Hartshorne, Martin Wilkins, J. R. Murray, and David Ogden.
30
Lawrence Hartshorne Correspondence, 1787-1817. Documents include: a very interesting,
lengthy exchange of letters received from and written to Lawrence Hartshorne, a first cousin to
Richard Hartshorne and son of John Hartshorne (1725-1813) of Black Point in Rumson. See
also: Box 6, Folder 4, for a continuation of this record group. Topics discussed include personal
and family matters, politics, business between the two individuals, and after 1813 the settlement
of his father’s estate at Black Point. See also: Box 2, Folder 7 and Box 2, Folder 11.
Biographical Note: Lawrence Hartshorne was born in Shrewsbury on 1 July 1755, the son of
John Hartshorne (1725-1813) and Lucy Saltar. He married first on 20 January 1780 to Elizabeth
Ustick (1761-1793), daughter of William Ustick (1731-1806) and Susanna Pelletreau (17331783) and sister to Susannah Ustick, wife of Richard Hartshorne; and second in 1802 to widow
Abigail Tremaine. During the Revolution, he fled to New York and was a merchant who openly
supported the British cause. Hartshorne also spent time on Sandy Hook as part of the Loyalist
troops stationed there. At the end of the war, he went in 1783 to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he
resumed business as a hardware dealer, and served as a member of the House of Assembly and
of the Executive Council. Hartshorne died on 10 March 1822, at the age of sixty-seven. See:
Stillwell, III, 293; Jones, 281; Nelson 1914, 152; and Lawrence Hartshorne.
Lawrence Hartshorne Correspondence, 1818-1822. Documents include: a continuation of the
letters received from and written to Lawrence Hartshorne and his family, 1818 to 1822. See: Box
6, Folder 3. Topics discussed include personal and family matters, politics, business between the
two individuals, and the complicated management of his father’s estate at Black Point. Also
Includes three sheets of accounts from the estate of John Hartshorne (1725-1813).
Documents include: two undated notes written to his grandson, Richard Hartshorne (1823-1867),
and two card-mounted photographs of one of them that discusses shooting a deer in Tanvat
Hollow on the Portland estate by Robert Hartshorne (1798-1872), son of the elder Richard and
father of the younger.
Legal Opinions, 4 items
Documents include:
31
Letter, Richard Stockton of Princeton to Richard Hartshorne at Portland, dated 11 January 1805.
Discusses the issues of trespass.
Legal Opinion by Richard Stockton, dated 24 October 1808. Discusses the voting rights of
individuals who joined the British Army during the Revolutionary War but remained in the
United States following the close of the War, who has returned to New Jersey, and who meets all
other voting qualifications.
Letter, Richard Stockton in Princeton to Richard Saltar Hartshorne (1765-1833) in Freehold,
dated 24 October 1808. Encloses the opinion above, and discusses how to handle the situation at
the next election.
Letter, Richard Hartshorne at Portland to Richard Stockton in Princeton, dated 1 November
1808. Discusses voting disenfranchises and the above opinion and letter sent to Richard Salter
Hartshorne.
Biographical Note: Richard Stockton (1764-1828), son of Richard Stockton and Annis
Boudinot, served terms in the United State Senate and also in the House of Representatives. He
was born in Princeton, tutored privately, and graduated from the College of New Jersey (now
Princeton University) in 1779. Stockton studied law with his uncle Elias Boudinot, was admitted
to the bar in 1784, and commenced his practice in Princeton, where he succeeded his father as
owner of “Morven,” the family estate. Stockton served as the first U. S. Attorney for the District
of New Jersey, 1781-1791. See: Richard Stockton. See also: Box 2, Folder 21; Box 3, Folder 7;
Box 3, Folder 8; and Box 5, Folder 3.
Personal Papers, 14 items
Documents include: receipts for items purchased, items sold, various repairs, moneys paid, and
some business transactions involving James Bowne Jr. and the Sloop Dolphin
Personal Papers, 1 item
Travel Diary. Item: a narrative entitled “My Route from Baltimore to Alexandria and through
Virginia,” dated 1783 and 1784.
32
Blacks, 1794-1812. Documents include:
Bill of Sale from Wright Post, Surgeon of New York, to Richard Hartshorne of New York,
Merchant, for a Female Negro Slave name Betsy Launce, dated 29 August 1794.
Bill of Sale from John S. Holmes to Richard Hartshorne, 21 May 1804, for a black girl named
Jane, age 12 years. She will receive her freedom 13 years after she comes into the Hartshorne
family.
Bill of Sale from the estate of Capt. John Holmes to Richard Hartshorne, 22 November 1804, for
a Negro Girl named Gin, age 13 years and 8 days old. Terms of her freedom are written on the
reverse by Richard Hartshorne.
Bill of Sale from Richard Hartshorne to Garret H. Conover for a Negro Wench named Jen, aged
20, including terms of her freedom, dated 7 April 1812.
Undated memorandum by Richard Hartshorne regarding a black girl named Ann which was to be
bound to Robert Rhea and his wife Mary. It contained terms of freedom which the Rheas
rejected.
Mortgages and bonds, several using Portland as collateral, 1800-1827. Documents include: a
mortgage from Richard Hartshorne and his wife Susannah to his father Robert Hartshorne, dated
23rd 9th mo 1800, that was cancelled 13 June 1817; and others to his father Robert Hartshorne,
Robert Lenox of New York, and Ann Ustick (1772-1830) of New York, who was sister to
Richard Hartshorne’s wife Susannah Ustick (1760-1833).
Woodcutters’ Agreements and Accounts, 1805-1813. Documents include: letters, articles of
agreement, accounts, receipts, etc., for various woodcutting operations on Portland.
33
Sandy Hook and Lighthouse, 1802-1819. Documents include: a letter dated 8 December 1802 to
James Mott from Richard Hartshorne regarding the proposed erection of a beacon at the point of
Sandy Hook; a checklist of papers then in hand related to Sandy Hook, no date; letter from a
Capt. De Rigby, U. S. Engineers, dated 30 January 1819, inquiring about the privileges enjoyed
by New York Pilots on Sandy Hook prior to its becoming public property, with a draft
certification from Richard Hartshorne on the same subject dated 4 December 1818; a survey of
175 and 15/100 acres on Sandy Hook adjacent to the lighthouse by James Robinson dated 14
March 1805; a complete survey of Sandy Hook dated 10 and 11 October 1807 by Anthony
Dennis (depicting the Hook as not attached to the mainland); three late 19th century photostatic
copies of the latter mounted on linen; and a photostatic copy of a deed dated 26 February 1806
between Richard Hartshorne and wife Susannah, Tylee Williams and wife Elizabeth, and Nimrod
Woodward and wife Ann of the first part and the United States of America of the second part for
the north end of Sandy Hook beyond the light house.
Note: The transfer of Sandy Hook to the United States government was a more complicated
process than previous writers on the subject have appreciated. To recap, with the division of the
Portland tract in 1761, brothers Esek (1728-1795) and Robert Hartshorne (1721-1805) shared
equally in the ownership of the Hook. Four acres were sold by them in 1762 to a group of New
York merchants for construction of the lighthouse. This small parcel was ceded to the United
States of America by the States of New York and New Jersey in 1790. When Esek died in 1795,
he directed in his will that all property was to be sold, with the proceeds to be divided equally
among his five children. His Portland tract and half interest in Sandy Hook were conveyed to
Tylee Williams (1768-1828) and Nimrod Woodward (1765-1829). This much is well known.
Recent genealogical research on that branch of the Hartshorne family, however, has revealed
what a closely held transaction that turned out to be. Williams had married Esek Hartshorne's
daughter Elizabeth (1771-1849) in 1792. And Woodward had married in 1796 to Williams' sister
Anne (1774-1830). So Hartshorne's real estate holdings never really left the extended family. On
31 December 1799, the other half of the Portland tract with the shared ownership of Sandy Hook
was deeded by Robert Hartshorne to his son Richard (1752-1831), thereby completing the
ownership transfer of the Hook to the next generation.
The first decade of the 19th century saw tensions escalate between the United States and Great
Britain that led eventually to the War of 1812. Anticipating the need to strengthen fortifications
guarding the entrance to New York harbor, the U. S government in 1806 purchased 175.15 acres
of Sandy Hook representing all land north of the lighthouse to its tip. The sellers, as listed on the
deed, were Hartshorne, Williams and Woodward plus their respective spouses. The following
year, the Williamses and Woodwards conveyed their interests in Sandy Hook to Richard
Hartshorne and his wife, thereby giving them sole control over the remaining 1,230 acres not
34
already owned by the government. Federal purchase of the entire Sandy Hook tract took place on
17 June 1817, for which Richard and Susannah Hartshorne were paid $20,000. Because Sandy
Hook shifted frequently from a peninsula attached to the mainland to a peninsula attached to the
barrier beach or to an island, government representatives depended on Hartshorne descendants
for decades to share their collection of surveys taken over 100 years which showed where the old
boundaries were located. Just before the Civil War, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers copied
carefully the Lawrence survey of ca. 1710-20. The copy can be found today in the National
Archives in Washington, D. C. See: Stillwell, III, 289-290, and 293-294; Stillwell, V, 157-158,
and 422-423; Box 16, Folder 9; and Oversize Box, Folder 2. See also: Rolled Maps, Box 1, for
the National Archives copy of the Lawrence survey.
Creation of Hartshorne Road, 1807-1822. Documents include: drafts of letters written to Thomas
Hartshorne and his widow Sarah; letters received from Thomas Hartshorne and his widow Sarah;
public notices; petitions to and minutes of the Monmouth County Court of Common Pleas;
memoranda from the Surveyors of the Highways for the County of Monmouth; correspondence
with John Burdge; correspondence regarding actions of the Monmouth County Board of Chosen
Freeholders; road returns; correspondence with John Biles Hartshorne, son of Thomas
Hartshorne and Sarah Biles; a summary of Richard Hartshorne’s expenses; and an undated
survey of the route of the road.
Note: The contents of this folder document unsuccessful attempts by Richard Hartshorne to have
a road built across the land of his obstinate cousin Thomas Hartshorne (ca. 1756-1810). Richard
made repeated efforts in 1807 and 1810 to have the road constructed in order to get wood being
cut on his property to market via the new level road and a landing on Claypit Creek. The
argument continued after Thomas’s death with his widow Sarah Biles Hartshorne (1766-1843).
Surveying and Fencing the Hartshorne Cemetery, 1810. Documents include: bills, receipts, and
account statements for the cost of surveying and fencing the half-acre burying ground belonging
to the posterity of Richard Hartshorne on Kings Highway in Middletown Village.
35
Expenses for son Robert Hartshorne while attending Yale College, 1813-1815. Documents
include: a bond to the President and Fellows of Yale College, letters to and from Jeremiah Day
of Yale College, and statements of account.
Offer to sell Portland, September 1815. Documents include: a proposal and terms offered to sell
Portland, and letters to and from Nicholas I. Roosevelt regarding the same. See also: Oversize
Box, Folder 6.
Note: Nicholas Isaac Roosevelt (1767-1854) was an American inventor, a major investor in
Upstate New York land, and a member of the very prominent Roosevelt family. His primary
invention was the introduction of vertical paddlewheels for steamboats. Roosevelt was at times
in conflict with the steamboat interests of Robert Fulton and friends, and at other times in
partnership with them. In January 1815, Roosevelt applied to the legislature of New Jersey for
protection as the inventor of vertical wheels, for which he had obtained a patent from the United
States in December 1814. The legislature, after discussion, decided that “it was inexpedient to
make any special provision in connection with the matter in controversy before the body,” and
there the matter rested. While his petition to New Jersey was being debated, Roosevelt may have
briefly entertained the notion of acquiring a prominent estate in the State, where he hoped to
recoup his significant financial losses. See: Nicholas Roosevelt.
Document: altitude of the Highlands of Navesink calculated from barometric observations, 3rd 8
mo 1816, by Reuben Haines.
Box 7 – Folder 5; Richard Hartshorne (1752-1831
Farming and Home Practices, 1819 and no date. Documents include: a catalog of peach trees set
out on 24 April 1819; a recipe for cough drops; memorandum on planting corn; memorandum
from Isaac Townsend on planting cucumbers; memorandum on painting with milk paint; and
directions for raising Locust trees from seed.
36
Sheep Shearing and Wool Sales, 1817-1827. Documents include: memoranda of the number of
sheep sheared; the number of fleeces and their weights; correspondence regarding sale of wool;
etc.
Red Cedar Ship Timber, 1818-1819. Documents include: agreement between Richard Hartshorne
and Noah Brown, a shipbuilder in New York, for red cedar timber to be provided at his yard,
with specifications; and correspondence between Richard Hartshorne and Noah Brown regarding
the delivery of the timber, and disagreements about shortages.
Portland Land Title, 1799-1821. Documents include: an invoice from scrivener Philip L. Jones to
Richard Hartshorne for preparing a long and special deed on parchment, and three other
documents, dated 31 December 1799 (see: Box 2, Folder 8 for the actual special deed on
parchment mentioned in the invoice); a list of documents pertaining to the title of Portland
(mostly contained in this collection); and a deed from Richard Hartshorne to his son Robert
(1798-1872) for 229 and 47/100 acres of Portland, dated 14 March 1821.
Merchants Bank Account, 1822-1829. Documents include: a bank account book of Richard
Hartshorne with the Merchants Bank of New York, 1822-1829; and cancelled checks and notes
pertaining to the account.
Indenture, 1827. Document: an indenture from John Patterson and Joseph Taylor, two Justices of
the Peace for the County of Monmouth, to Richard Hartshorne, for Richard Roberts, a poor child
at the age of fourteen years, for the term of six years and six months, dated 27 December 1827.
37
Estate, 1810-1826. Documents include: four wills of Richard Hartshorne dated 28 March 1810, 1
April 1818, 21 March 1821, and 9 December 1826. The first three have had Hartshorne’s
signature cut out to render them void.
Business Papers, 22 items
John Titus Accounts and Correspondence, 1800-1808. Documents include: profit and loss
accounts with John Titus regarding merchandise consigned and shipped, marine insurance,
interests purchased in vessels, etc.; and letters written to and received from John Titus regarding
his business dealings with Richard Hartshorne.
Ship Sally Insurance, 1817-1824. Documents include: insurance premium calculations; insurance
claims; correspondence with Reuben Haines of Philadelphia (who refers to Richard Hartshorne
as uncle); memoranda, etc. Found bundled together under this name, but actually pertaining to
the vessels Greyhound, Sea Horse, Nancy Allen, and Sally, the latter under a Capt. Forester.
Apparently involves the business interests of Hartshorne & Rhinelander, marine insurance
underwriters and a partnership of Richard Hartshorne.
Note: This folder may relate to Spanish Spoliation Claims in Box 8, Folder 8. Richard
Hartshorne formed partnerships with three members of the Rhinelander family of New York City
to engage in marine insurance underwriting on vessels and cargo. Rhinelander, Hartshorne & Co.
consisted of Frederick Rhinelander, William Rhinelander, Philip Rhinelander, Richard
Hartshorne, William Kenyon, and Joseph Lindley. They were joined later by John Titus, Richard
Hartshorne’s brother-in-law. Early New York Directories listed nearly all of these individuals as
merchants.
Frederick, William and Philip Rhinelander were sons of William Rhinelander (1718-1777) who
married in 1743 to Mary M. Renaud (1733-1807).
Frederick Rhinelander (1743-1805) married in 1765 to Mary Speeder (1743-1837).
William Rhinelander (1753-1825) married in 1785 to Mary Elizabeth Robert (1753-1837)
Philip Rhinelander (1756-1822), unmarried
From the 1770’s to 1786, Frederick and Philip Rhinelander formed a partnership for importing
and retailing British ceramics. In 1787, they announced their entry into the lumber business with
their own saw mill. In 1790, William purchased the Cuyler Sugar House which had been sold
38
under Loyalist forfeiture. He engaged in sugar baking for many years. By the 1790s, all three
brothers had become increasingly involved in shipping, New York real estate investments, and
marine insurance underwriting.
There is no single internet source of accurate genealogical information for the Rhinelander
family. This paragraph was compiled from a large number of online sources located using
Google. Serious conflicts regarding dates and marriages were encountered. Errors may still exist.
See: www.americanancestors.org, the web site of the New England Historic Genealogical
Society, for online access to scanned images of New York Directories.
Parker & Van Mater Claims re: North Carolina, 1793-1800. Documents include: correspondence
between John Van Mater and Joseph Parker of Monmouth County on the one part, and Richard
Hartshorne in New York on the other; correspondence with Daniel Anderson in Petersburg, VA,
and two judgments by the Petersburg District Court for Joseph Parker and John Van Mater
against Herbert Haynes, apparently involving capture and detention of a vessel.
Schooner Monmouth, 1822. Documents include: a summary of the situation by Richard
Hartshorne, an account summary of claims by Richard Hartshorne, and receipts for ship
expenses.
Note: The contents of this folder pertain to the construction of the schooner Monmouth of
Middletown, of which Richard Hartshorne owned one quarter, his son Robert Hartshorne one
half, and Capt. William Patterson one quarter. Richard Hartshorne later bought out Patterson’s
interest. Various claims between the Hartshornes and Patterson arose regarding the Monmouth.
Schooner Pennsylvania / Capt. Henry F. Schenck, 1826-1827. Documents include: receipts for
merchandise purchased by Capt. Henry Schenck; receipts for items purchased to outfit the
schooner Pennsylvania; and an invoice to Capt. Schanck from 8 individuals dated 6 January
1827, “for work done in Brig Amanda stranded on Sandy Hook, employed by Capt. Brown.”
39
Note: A note in the handwriting of Hellene Hartshorne indicates that these papers were found in
a tin box in the trunk. This box has been transferred to the museum collection. See: Appendix A,
item 9. See also: Box 17, Folder 6, for further material pertaining to Henry F. Schenck.
John R. Murray Insurance, 1817-1819. Documents include: letters by Richard Hartshorne sent to
John R. Murray; letters received from Murray regarding the accounts of Hartshorne &
Rhinelander, marine insurance underwriters, and the portion of it belonging to the estate of
Joseph Lindley, a former partner of Richard Hartshorne; and statement of accounts.
British Captures, 1790-1801. Documents include: extensive lists of vessels captured by the
British, indicating date of insurance, vessel name, master, where from, destination, sum insured,
losses paid, and date of payment. Many lists are arranged by name of insurance broker, or by
date. Also includes various working papers to calculate and summarize losses. Considerable
duplication and overlap among lists. No specific document dates.
British Captures, 1790-1801. A continuation of Box 8, Folder 1, with identical content.
Marine Insurance Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1797-1817. Documents include: letters sent
and received regarding various captures, claims, and accounts. Correspondents include Horace
and Seth Johnson, J. Creighton, William Rawle of Philadelphia, John Ferrer, Reuben Haines of
Germantown, PA, and Samuel Mifflin of Philadelphia.
Marine Insurance Legal Opinions, 1797-1800. Documents include:
40
Letter, Alexander Hamilton to Richard Hartshorne, Merchant at New York, dated 12 September
1797. Discusses liability issues between the insured and the underwriters of the Brig Jenny,
which was captured and detained.
Letter, Richard Hartshorne to Alexander Hamilton, no date, regarding marine insurance on rum
shipped aboard the Ship Aurora from Jamaica to New York, and liability of the insured and the
underwriters. Also contains two responses from Alexander Hamilton dated 15 June 1798.
Three opinions rendered by Richard Harison on specific vessel claims, and on marine insurance
generally. One very lengthy document dated 2 June 1800 discusses the Doctrine of Reassurance,
a novel concept at the time in America and then prohibited in England.
Biographical Note: Alexander Hamilton (1755 or 1757-1804) was a founding father of the
United States, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional
lawyers, and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. He has been described as one who,
"more than any other, designed the Government of the United States.” Hamilton, a Federalist,
attended King’s College, studied law in Albany, was admitted to the New York Bar in July 1783,
and practiced law in New York City in partnership with Richard Harison. See: Alexander
Hamilton.
Biographical Note: Richard Harison (1747/48-1829) was an American lawyer and Federalist
politician from New York. He graduated A.B. from King's College in 1764, and practiced law in
New York City in partnership with Alexander Hamilton. Harison was a delegate to the New
York Convention which adopted the United States Constitution in 1788, and voted for adoption.
He was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1788 and 1788-89. In 1789, Harison was
appointed by President George Washington as the first United States Attorney for the District of
New York. He remained in office until 1801, and was also Recorder of New York City from
1798 to 1801. See: Richard Harison.
French Captures & Spoliation Claims, 1797-1802. Documents include: extensive lists of vessels
captured by the French, indicating date of insurance, vessel name, master, where from,
destination, sum insured, losses paid, dates of payment, and name of insurance broker. Also
includes working papers to calculate and summarize losses. Very few specific document dates.
Note: The French Spoliation Claims grew out of American vessels and cargo that were illegally
captured by privateers before and during the Quasi-War with France, 1798-1800. Richard
Hartshorne’s extensive business as a New York marine insurance underwriter with members of
41
the Rhinelander family and others was particularly affected by these depredations. Hartshorne
spent the last decade of his life unsuccessfully seeking settlement on these claims from the
United States government, which had assumed them as part of the Louisiana Convention. His
son Robert Hartshorne (1798-1872), grandson Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne (1826-1900), and
great-grandson Robert Hartshorne (1866-1927) made additional extensive applications to
Washington for settlement. The French Spoliation Claim issue remained unresolved as late as
1920.
French Captures & Spoliation Claims, 1823-1830. Documents include: extensive correspondence
between Richard Hartshorne and James H. Causten, an agent representing the claimants in
Washington, DC. Includes copies of letters sent, and letters received. Some of the latter are in
printed format.
Biographical Note: James Hyman Causten (1788-1874) was an American lawyer born in
Baltimore, MD. He moved to Washington, DC in 1832. Having served as a soldier in the War of
1812, he was later consul for the republics of Chili and Ecuador. By 1826, Causten had begun his
legal career as claims agent and Congressional lobbyist in the matter of French spoliations ––
American vessels and cargo illegally captured by privateers before and during the Quasi-War
with France, 1798-1800. Causten acted on behalf of American claimants petitioning Congress
and the President. It became his life’s work. Causten is buried in the Congressional Cemetery in
Washington, DC. See: Fletcher, and also Cox, 389-401, for a detailed study of James Causten’s
indefatigable role in attempting to obtain compensation for the claimants.
French Captures & Spoliation Claims, Memorials to Congress, 1823-1827. Documents include:
handwritten and printed versions of an undated memorial to the Senate and House of
Representatives, a handwritten memorial to the Senate and House of Representatives dated June
1823, printed register of the 20th Congress, 1st Session, and a newspaper account of
Congressional actions dated 1 March 1827. The latter appeared in the Commercial Chronicle and
Baltimore Advertiser.
42
Spanish Captures and Spoliation Claims, 1817-1824. Documents include: lists of vessel and
cargo captures, correspondence, statements of accounts, working papers to calculate and
summarize losses, bonds, etc., mostly between Richard Hartshorne and Philip and William
Rhinelander, but also including Joseph Lindley and others. Rhinelander, Hartshorne & Co.
received compensation for claims in 1824 under the Florida Treaty.
Note: The Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819 between the United States and Spain, known as the
Florida Treaty, gave East and West Florida to the United States, and set out a boundary between
the U. S. and New Spain (now Mexico). It settled a standing border dispute between the two
countries, and was considered a triumph of American diplomacy. In exchange for Florida, the
United States assumed liability for American claims against the Spanish government up to a total
of $5,000,000.00. After the treaty was ratified in 1821, Washington set up a commission that
handled American claims against Spain. Many notable lawyers, including Daniel Webster and
William Wirt, represented claimants before this commission. During its three-year term ending
in 1824, the commission examined 1,859 claims arising from over 720 spoliation incidents, and
distributed the $5 million in a basically fair manner. See: Adams-Onis Treaty.
Land Investments, 2 items
Central Pennsylvania Land, 1806. Documents include: a release to Richard Hartshorne for land
on the Franktown branch of the Juniata River, dated 31 October 1806, and a check from the
Bank of Philadelphia signed by Reuben Haines which appears to be related to the real estate
transaction.
Genessee Land, Ontario County, New York, 1796-1843. Documents include: account statements
between Hartshorne & Lindley and William Ustick, Jr., covering the years 1796 through 1801;
and letters to and from Richard Hartshorne dated from 1816 to 1822. Correspondents include:
Robert Troup, James Wadsworth, and Warder & Brothers. A letter from the U. S. Treasury
Department to Charles D. Lewis dated 22 July 1843, discusses unclaimed dividends due to
Hartshorne & Lindley, which were paid.
Note: An investment of Hartshorne & Lindley in upstate New York land.
43
Erie Land, 1792-1831. Documents include: letters to and from Richard Hartshorne from 1811
through 1819. Correspondents include: John B. Wallace, James Gibson, Enoch Marvin, John R.
Murray, Judah Colt in Erie, PA, William Miles, and Warder & Brothers.
Note: Richard Hartshorne invested in a large tract of land in Greenfield Township, Erie County,
PA, beginning in 1792. Initially this was a transaction of Hartshorne & Lindley with the
Pennsylvania Population Company of Philadelphia, and, after dissolution of that company, for
Hartshorne’s own account. Greenfield Township, Erie County, PA, consists of 34.1 square miles
of land. The township is located in northeast Erie County, against the border with New York on
the east. It was one of the original sixteen County townships, with a strip taken off in 1841 and
added to North East. In 1820 its population was 281. According to the 2000 census, the
population had increased to 1,909. Its first settlers were Judah Colt, the agent for the
Pennsylvania Population Company, who settled here in 1797. His home became "Colt's Station,"
but he was preceded in settlement by his brothers-in-law, Enoch and Elisha Marvin. Mr. Colt cut
the first road in the county (after an old French Road) from his residence here to the lake, the
northern terminus becoming known as Freeport. See: Reed.
Richard Hartshorne’s son Robert (1798-1872) continued the family’s interest in the land
investment in Greenfield Township. See: Box 18, Folders 1 through 3.
Erie Land, 1792-1831. Documents include: letters to and from Richard Hartshorne, 1820-1831,
and those with no date. Correspondents include: Judah Colt in Erie, PA, John B. Wallace, son
Robert Hartshorne (who visited Erie in 1829), Elisha Marvin, Thomas H. Still in Erie, Thomas
Forster in Erie, and Robert H. Bowne (a nephew).
Erie Land, 1792-1831. Documents include: property sales documentation, including printed
circulars, a copy of the Erie Gazette dated 4 May 1830, and miscellaneous handwritten notes
regarding sales, assignment of warrants, etc., mostly not dated.
Erie Land, 1792-1831. Documents include: Erie County and Road Tax Assessments, 1813-1830.
44
Erie Land, 1792-1831. Documents include: receipts, both printed and handwritten, 1816-1831,
mostly for payment of taxes.
Erie Land, 1792-1831. Items include: miscellaneous documents, including accounts with Judah
Colt, a later copy of a power of attorney dated 31 day 10th mo 1818 from John L. Bowne and
Robert H. Bowne of New York, executors of the late Robert Bowne, to Judah Colt of Erie,
listings of letters, summary account statements, instructions, etc, mostly not dated.
Box 10 – Folder 1; Susanna Ustick Hartshorne (1760-1833)
41 items
Correspondence, 1808-1833, and no date. Documents include: letters received by Susanna Ustick
Hartshorne, mostly pertaining to family and personal matters between sisters. Correspondents
include: daughter Susan P. Hartshorne, brother William Ustick, sister Mary Titus, sister-in-law
Elizabeth Bowne, sister Jane Hartshorne, son Robert Hartshorne, sister Deborah Onderdonk,
sister Ann Ustick, and daughter Mary Ann Hartshorne.
Biographical Note: The Ustick family, staunch New York Episcopalians and Loyalists, figures
very prominently in the Hartshorne Family Papers, a family with whom they closely
intermarried. William Ustick (1731-1806) married Susanna Pelletreau (1733-1883) on 19 June
1757, as noted previously. Their nine children with respective spouses, and relations to Richard
Hartshorne (1752-1831) of Portland are noted below:
Elizabeth, born 27 March 27 1758, died 15 July 1759.
Susanna, born 18 June 1760, died 23 May 1833; married Richard Hartshorne (1752-1831).
Elizabeth, born 22 November 1761, died 20 February 1793; married Lawrence Hartshorne
(1755-1822), a first cousin of Richard Hartshorne (1752-1831). They removed to Halifax,
Nova Scotia, after the American Revolution.
William, born 28 January 1764, died 27 January 1836; married 9 August 1787 to Sarah
Hartshorne (1754-1848), sister of Richard Hartshorne (1752-1831).
Mary, born 15 May 1766; married John Titus (1757-1826) as his second of three wives.
Deborah, born 23 February 1768, died 1837; married 23 March 1788 to Dr. John Onderdonk
(1763-1832). Two of their sons became Bishops of the American Episcopal Church. Rt. Rev.
45
Henry Ustick Onderdonk (1789-1858) served as Bishop of Pennsylvania, and Rt. Rev.
Benjamin Treadwell Onderdonk (1791-1861) as Bishop of New York.
Jane, born 27 December 1769; married William Hartshorne (1767-1836), a first cousin of
Richard Hartshorne (1752-1831).
Ann, born 12 June 1772, died a single person 29 September 1830 at Portland, the New Jersey
residence of Richard Hartshorne (1752-1831) and his wife Susanna Ustick (1760-1833).
Thomas, born 5 July 1774, died 19 February 1811; married Hannah Hartshorne (1778-1869) a
first cousin of Richard Hartshorne (1752-1831)
See: Stillwell, III, 289-290.
8 items
Correspondence, 1815-1818, and no date. Documents include: letters received by Susanna Ustick
Hartshorne from her son Robert Hartshorne (1798-1872) while he was attending Yale College,
mostly discussing personal matters. Found as a bundle and retained as a separate record group.
4 items
Estate, 1831-35, and no date. Documents include: letter of instruction regarding the bequest of
household furnishings to her three daughters Eliza, Sarah, and Mary Ann Hartshorne, verified by
Richard Hartshorne and dated 21 April 1831; draft undated will; proved will filed on 19 August
1835 in Middlesex County; and receipt from Littleton Kirkpatrick, Middlesex County Surrogate,
for letters testamentary.
Box 10 – Folder 4; Ann Pelletreau (d. 1828)
32 items
Estate, 1828-1842. Documents include: her will proved in New York on 14 October 1828;
executors’ accounts; receipts for items purchased, legacies received, estate expenses (including a
headstone), taxes, etc.; letter dated 13 September 1842 from Peter Morton regarding the estate;
and a 19th century copy of a quitclaim deed of 30 November 1759 between Elias Pelletreau (the
silversmith) and his five siblings regarding the estate of his mother Susanna Pelletreau (d. 1759).
Biographical Note: Mariane Pelletreau was born 10 May 1744, the youngest child of Paul
Pelletreau (1698-1745) and Susanna Heurtin (d. 1759) of New York. She died a single person on
26 September 1828, nominating her two nephews William Ustick and Robert Hartshorne as
executors.
46
Box 10 – Folder 5; Ann Ustick (1772-1830)
40 items
Personal Papers, 1821-1828, and no date. Documents include: a poem entitled “To My Good
Great Aunt Ann” dated 12 May 1813 by nephew John Henry Onderdonk; a letter from an “S. H.
U.” (probably Sarah Hartshorne Ustick) dated 17 February 1828; religious writings signed by
Ann Ustick or in her hand; and an undated letter from a cousin P. Minturn.
Estate, 1830-1856. Documents include: a will dated 2 February 1830; estate inventory taken 3
May 1831; a listing of silver plate belonging to Ann Ustick dated 20 May 1819, at the house of
Richard Hartshorne; estate inventory taken 9 January 1834; executors accounts and estate
expenses; documentation regarding real estate investments and insurance policies; bonds; and
receipts for items purchased, items sold, estate expenses (including her head stone in
Middletown), pew rents in Christ Episcopal Church in Shrewsbury, bibles from the Female Bible
Association of Middletown (of which Ann Ustick was Secretary), legacies received (including
detailed lists of silver plate bequests), etc.
Biographical Note: Ann Ustick was born on 12 June 1772, a daughter of William Ustick (17311806) and Susanna Pelletreau (1733-1783). A single person, she spent her last years with her
sister Susanna Ustick Hartshorne’s family at Portland, and died there on 29 September 1830. She
was interred in the Hartshorne Burying Ground on Kings Highway in Middletown Village. Ann
Ustick was a member of Christ Episcopal Church in Shrewsbury, where she rented a pew. Her
nephew Robert Hartshorne (1798-1872) was named executor of the estate.
Note: A printed death notice for Ann Ustick with blue and purple striped ribbon and wrapped in
a piece of tissue paper initialed in ink “A. U.” has been transferred to the museum collection.
See: Appendix A, item 20.
Box 11 – Folder 1; Sarah Hartshorne (1796-1854)
35 items
Correspondence, 1811-1854. Documents include: general letters received, mostly discussing
family matters. Correspondents include: Thomas Mulleady, aunt Ann Ustick, sister Mary Ann
Hartshorne, cousin Thomas W. Ustick, sister Eliza Hartshorne, Jerusha Holmes, sister-in-law
Mary Minturn Hartshorne, nephew Richard Hartshorne, nephew Richard or Robert Hartshorne,
cousin S. Onderdonk, brother Robert Hartshorne, and niece Mary Minturn Hartshorne.
Biographical Note: Sarah Hartshorne was born in 1796, a daughter of Richard Hartshorne
(1752-1831) and Susanna Ustick (1760-1833). Unmarried, she died 27 October 1854, at the age
47
of 58 years, 8 months and 3 days. Sarah Hartshorne was a devout Episcopalian. She lived for
some years with her sister Eliza Hartshorne in Burlington, NJ, where she may have served as a
Matron at St. Mary’s Hall, a church school for girls, but definitely at Burlington College, an
Episcopal school for boys. Sarah spent her last years in Red Bank, NJ. See: Stillwell, III, 292293.
Note: An ovoid red leather purse and a hair clipping, both found in Sarah Hartshorne's desk at
Portland, have been transferred to the museum collection. See: Appendix A, items 18 and 25.
24 items
Correspondence, no dates. Documents include: general letters received, mostly discussing family
matters. Correspondents include: sister-in-law Mary Minturn Hartshorne, sister Mary Ann
Hartshorne, brother Robert Hartshorne, and niece Mary Minturn Hartshorne.
9 items
Correspondence, 1811-1830. Documents include: letters received from Susanna Ustick
Hartshorne, her mother, mostly discussing family matters.
12 items
Correspondence, 1809-1812. Documents include: letters received from Robert Hartshorne (17981872), her brother, while he attended Literary Institution, a boarding school. These youthful
letters discuss school and family matters.
35 items
Correspondence, 1813-1818. Documents include: letters received from Robert Hartshorne, her
brother, while he attended Yale College in New Haven, CT, mostly discussing school
experiences and family matters.
10 items
48
Correspondence, 1810-1852. Documents include: letters received from Robert Hartshorne, her
brother.
10 items
Correspondence, no dates. Documents include: letters received from Robert Hartshorne, her
brother, mostly addressed from New York.
10 items
Correspondence, 1823-1825. Documents include: letters received from “P. M.,” believed to be
Penelope G. Minturn (1801-1873), a cousin and also a sister of her brother Robert Hartshorne’s
wife, Mary Ann Minturn (1802-1861).
52 items
Documents include: religious writings and prayers, 1814-1836, and no date. Ascribed to Sarah
Hartshorne based on handwriting, and on religious content. Some are original compositions,
others are transcriptions. A few may well have been written by others.
1 item
Item: a bound book of handwritten verse, prayers, and religious writings inscribed “Sarah
Hartshorne September 1813 / Portland / From her Brother.” The book was a presentation gift
from her brother, Robert Hartshorne.
4 items
Estate, 1848-1854. Documents include: a draft will dated 1848; probated will dated 4 April 1849;
a note signed “Sarah Hartshorne 1854” regarding money received from Robert B. Minturn, and
terms of repayment; and instructions for completing her will with no date.
Box 12 – Folder 3; Susan P. Hartshorne (1795-1813)
7 items
49
Items include: a letter from brother Robert Hartshorne dated 9 February 1809; two dinner
invitations dated 1810 and 1812; three school teacher testimonies of approbation all dated 1809;
and a handwritten book containing verse, religious writings, etc., inscribed “This little book
belonged to my beloved sister / Susan P. Hartshorne. My dear Mother gave / it to me a few days
after her death.” The fourth page of the book, in marbled paper wraps, is dated 13 April 1812.
Biographical Note: Susan Pelletreau Hartshorne was born in 1795, a daughter of Richard
Hartshorne (1752-1831) and Susanna Ustick (1760-1833). She died on 20 September 1813, at
the age of 17 years and 11 months. See: Stillwell, III, 292-293
Box 12 – Folder 4; Eliza Hartshorne (1794-1848)
29 items
Correspondence, 1808-1848. Documents include: letters written to and by Eliza Hartshorne.
Correspondents include: Violetta R. Taylor, mother Susanna Hartshorne, Miss Mary Hartshorne
in Halifax, Nova Scotia, aunt Ann Ustick, father Richard Hartshorne, sister Sarah Hartshorne,
sister Mary Ann Hartshorne, cousin Sarah Hartshorne Ustick, Mary Murray, Hannah Murray,
aunt Deborah Onderdonk, cousin Rt. Rev. Henry Ustick Onderdonk, cousin S. Onderdonk, and
aunt S. Hartshorne of Shrewsbury. Mostly pertaining to family matters. This folder also contains
an elaborately impressed award of merit dated 4 May 1809 from presumed instructor G. R.
Taylor that was addressed from 34 Fair Street.
Biographical Note: Eliza Hartshorne was born in 1794, a daughter of Richard Hartshorne
(1752-1831) and Susanna Ustick (1760-1833). She died unmarried on 23 May 1848, at the age of
53 years, 9 months and 23 days. Eliza lived for some years with her sister Sarah in Burlington,
NJ. She may have taught or served as a Matron at St. Mary’s Hall, an Episcopal church school
for girls. Eliza spent her last years in Red Bank, NJ. See: Stillwell, III, 292-293.
8 items
Correspondence, 1813-1818. Documents include: letters received from Robert Hartshorne (17981872), her brother, while he was attending Yale College in New Haven, CT.
28 items
Estate, 1848. Documents include: a probated will dated 10 April 1848; a copy of the Banner of
the Cross dated 3 June 1848, containing the death notice of Eliza Hartshorne; and
50
correspondence from cousin Richard Ustick in New York regarding head and foot stones for
Eliza dated 7 October 1848, with the bill from the stonecutters enclosed.
Box 12 – Folder 7; Mary Ann Hartshorne (1800-1856)
22 items
Correspondence, 1817-1856, and no date. Documents include: general letters received and sent.
Correspondents include: mother Susanna Hartshorne, aunt Ann Ustick, sister Eliza Hartshorne,
sister Sarah Hartshorne, cousin Mary Ann Minturn (later sister in law Mary Ann Minturn
Hartshorne), brother Robert Hartshorne, niece Mary Minturn Hartshorne, and George F. Riley.
Biographical Note: Mary Ann Hartshorne was born in 1800, a daughter of Richard Hartshorne
(1752-1831) and Susanna Ustick (1760-1833). Unmarried, she died on 26 June 1856, at the age
of 56 years. Mary Ann lived for some years in New York, and in New Brunswick, Burlington,
and Red Bank, NJ. See: Stillwell, III, 292-293
20 items
Correspondence 1818-1822, and no dates. Documents include: letters written to Mary Ann
Minturn, mostly pertaining to family matters.
Note: Mary Ann Minturn (1802-1861), daughter of Mary Ann Hartshorne’s first cousin Mary
Bowne Minturn (1774-1852), married Robert Hartshorne (1798-1872), thereby becoming Mary
Ann Hartshorne’s sister-in-law.
31 items
Correspondence, 1834-1856. Documents include: letters received from Robert B. Minturn, a
cousin, mostly pertaining to family matters. Minturn advanced his maiden cousins Mary Ann and
Eliza Hartshorne cash gifts totaling $2,700 between January 1844 and August 1856, using their
anticipated compensation from the French Spoliation Claims as security.
1 item
Estate, 1859. Document: letter, Robert B. Minturn to Robert Hartshorne dated 12 January 1859,
regarding the cash advances he had made to his cousins Mary Ann and Eliza Hartshorne.
51
Documents include: letters received by Robert Hartshorne, 1816-1829. Discuss family matters,
business interests, settlement of various estates, etc. Correspondents include: mother Susanna P.
Hartshorne, cousin William H. Minturn, aunt Mary Ann Hartshorne, cousin Susanna P. Titus,
cousin Mary Hartshorne of Portland Place, father in law Benjamin G. Minturn, Benjamin Parker,
John Hartshorne, Robert H. Bowne, cousin H. B. Titus, cousin Thomas W. Ustick, uncle William
Ustick, Lynford Lardner, David L. Curtis, and Howes & Spalding, booksellers in New Haven.
Biographical Note: Robert Hartshorne was born on 14 March 1798, the only son of Richard
Hartshorne (1752-1831) and Susanna P. Ustick (1760-1833). He graduated from Yale College in
1817 with a B. A. degree, having been elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Afterward he devoted himself
to agriculture on his Portland estate, which he acquired in two transactions. On 14 March 1821,
Richard Hartshorne conveyed to his son Robert 229 acres of the Portland tract. Robert
Hartshorne acquired sole ownership of the remaining 535 acres from his three single sisters
Sarah, Eliza, and Mary Ann Hartshorne on 17 August 1835. As of this latter transaction, the
bounds of the 764-acre south portion of the original Portland estate remained the same as in
1761.
On 2 April 1823, Robert Hartshorne married Mary Ann Minturn (1802-1861), a daughter of his
first cousin Mary Bowne (1774-1852) and her husband Benjamin G. Minturn (1771-1845). They
became the parents of eight children, five of whom died at early ages unmarried. The
Hartshornes were devout Episcopalians, maintaining affiliation at first with Christ Church,
Shrewsbury, and later with Christ Church, Middletown and All Saints' Memorial Church in
Navesink, NJ. In the latter, Robert Hartshorne served as Junior Warden from its founding in
1864 to 1870. The Hartshornes also afforded all of their children quality private-school
educations. In 1836, Robert became one of seven Trustees of the newly founded Franklin
Academy in Middletown Village.
Robert Hartshorne was known as a man of clear judgment, stern integrity, and remarkable
firmness. He was notably hospitable, and the rich and poor alike were welcomed to his home. He
fought successfully against the effort of the State of New York to locate a quarantine facility on
Sandy Hook. He also took a lively interest in all public improvements in this section of New
Jersey, laboring with great zeal for the improvement of navigation in the Shrewsbury River,
devoting much time and large sums of money for that purpose. His charities were numerous, and
like all the acts of his life, were done without ostentation. Robert Hartshorne suffered a stroke in
February 1867 which left him physically handicapped. He died on 18 July 1872, at the age of
seventy-four, loved, honored and respected by all who knew him. Two sons and one daughter
survived Hartshorne, all of whom lived as of 1878 on the Highlands, and to whom he bequeathed
52
his Portland estate. See: Woolman and Rose, 71; Stillwell, 295; Ellis, 549; Catalogue of
Members, Yale Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha of Yale (New Haven: n. p., 1915), p. 66; and
All Saints' Church, 46.
Note: An unmounted cut out silhouette of a male subject accompanied by a hair clipping dated 6
November 1832, and an envelope containing three cardboard cards depicting birds done with real
bird feathers, may pertain to Robert Hartshorne. They have been transferred to the museum
collection. See: Appendix A, items 26 and 32. A huckleberry twig and memorandum given by
Robert Hartshorne to his sister Sarah in October 1845 has also been transferred to the museum
collection. See: Appendix A, item 15.
See also: Oversize Box, Folder 7; and Addendum in Box 66, Folder 1.
Documents include: letters received and sent by Robert Hartshorne, 1830-1839. Discuss family
matters and business interests. Correspondents include" Thomas H. Sill, William Hartshorne,
aunt Elizabeth Bowne, sister Sarah Hartshorne, sister Eliza Hartshorne, sister Mary Ann
Hartshorne, son Richard Hartshorne, wife Mary Ann Minturn Hartshorne, mother in law Mary
Bowne Minturn, cousin Penelope Minturn, cousin James M. Hartshorne, cousin H. B. Titus,
cousin Thomas W. Ustick, and William Van Brunt. Of particular interest is the long series of
letters received from his sister Sarah Hartshorne, plus others from sisters Eliza and Mary Ann
Hartshorne.
Documents include: letters received and sent by Robert Hartshorne, 1840-1849. Continuation of
the above. Correspondents include G. C. Hastman, T. D. Wakeman, sister Sarah Hartshorne, A.
Frost, son Richard Hartshorne, cousin James M. Hartshorne, L. Blanche, cousin Frances Saltar,
brother in law Charles Minturn, Francis Murphy, brother in law Edward Minturn, brother in law
William H. Minturn, William H. Milnor, Jacob Corlies, daughter Mary M. Hartshorne, sister
Mary Ann Hartshorne, Hon. William Dayton, cousin Lawrence Hartshorne, Jr., sister Eliza
Hartshorne, and unidentified.
53
the above. Correspondents include sister Sarah Hartshorne, daughter Mary M. Hartshorne, son
Richard Hartshorne, sister Mary Ann Hartshorne, son Edward M. Hartshorne, Hon. Robert F.
Stockton, cousin Mary Hartshorne of Portland Place, J. Chetwood, Jr., Stephen S. Lawrence,
John B. Price, cousin Robert B. Minturn, G. H. Huntington, Rev. Henry Finch, Thomas Flinder,
brother in law Edward Minturn, Hugh H. Brown, Capt. Henry Scott, Ezra Osborn, Robert B.
Croes, [?] Holland, and cousin Lawrence Hartshorne, Jr., of Halifax.
the above. Correspondents include son William Hartshorne, son Richard Hartshorne, J. G. Crond
[?], nephew James B. Minturn, cousin Richard H. Bowne, Matilda M. Hendrickson, Archbishop
Jean Acheveque of New York, Thomas Stewardson, Jr., nephew R. M. Smith, son Edward M.
Hartshorne, brother in law Edward Minturn, [?] N. Black, L. Ives Hoadly, niece Alice [?], and
Rev. [?] Reily.
Note: The highly interesting letter from Robert Hartshorne to Matilda M. Hendrickson, dated 15
May 1862 from San Francisco, describes his first impressions of his new daughter in law, Julia
Norton Hartshorne. This copy is a transcription. The original can be found in Box 67, Folder 1.
Documents include: letters received and sent by Robert Hartshorne, no date. Continuation of the
above. Correspondents include sister Sarah Hartshorne, sister Mary Ann Hartshorne, J. Berry
Sears, Thomas G. Voorhis, aunt Elizabeth Bowne, son Richard Hartshorne, wife Mary Ann
Minturn Hartshorne, son William Hartshorne, and C. E. Van Cortland.
Postal covers and envelopes addressed to Robert Hartshorne and now separated from the letters
they once contained. Many have had their stamps clipped.
54
Documents include: letters received from Sarah H. Minturn, 1816-1822, and no date. Found in a
bundle and retained as a separate record group. Chatty and intimate letters that discuss family
and personal matters, written with much affection for her cousin Robert Hartshorne.
Biographical Note: Sarah H. Minturn (1795-1879) was the daughter of Robert Hartshorne’s first
cousin Mary Bowne (1774-1852) and her husband Benjamin G. Minturn (1771-1845). In 1822,
she married Joseph Budd Collins (1794-1867), son of Isaac Collins and Rachel Budd formerly of
Burlington, NJ. The following year Robert Hartshorne married Sarah Minturn’s sister, Mary Ann
Minturn (1802-1861). See: Poppino.
Documents include: letters written by Robert Hartshorne while on a trip to Niagara Falls, 1819.
Descriptive of the towns and country through which he passed. Correspondents include: sister
Mary Ann Hartshorne, mother Susanna P. Hartshorne, and father Richard Hartshorne. Found in a
bundle and retained as a separate record group.
Documents include: letters to and from Mary Ann Minturn, 1823. A most intimate exchange of
letters between two people engaged to each other in the three months leading up to their marriage
on 2 April 1823. Found in a bundle with the contents of the next folder, and retained as a
separate record group. See: Box 19, Folder 2, for additional correspondence following their
marriage.
Documents include: letters to and received from Mary Ann Minturn Hartshorne, 1823-1831, and
no date. Mostly discuss family matters, written after their marriage on 2 April 1823.
Correspondence of a newly married couple often separated by business or personal requirements.
Mary Ann Hartshorne also spent much of her first pregnancy at the New York home of her
parents.
55
Documents include: letters received from Edward Rutledge, 1816-1823, and no date. A Yale
College classmate of Robert Hartshorne.
Biographical Note: Edward Rutledge was born near Charleston, South Carolina, on 16
November 1798, the son of Edward Rutledge and Jane Harleson. He graduated from Yale
College, class of 1818, then studied theology, and was admitted to Episcopal Church deacon’s
orders in Middletown, CT, on 17 November 1819. Soon after, Rutledge married Augusta Shaler
of Middletown, CT, and then returned to South Carolina, where he served in the parish of St.
Thomas and St. Denis near Charleston. In 1821, he returned north and organized a church in
Springfield, MA. In November 1822, he went back to his former parish in South Carolina, and
was ordained a priest in December of that year. In 1824, Rutledge became Rector of Christ
Episcopal Church in Stratford, CT, where he remained until the spring of 1829, when he
accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of
Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. A serious bronchial affliction caused him to resign his position in
1831 in order to return to Charleston, where he died on 13 March 1832, at age 34. Rutledge
published "The Family Altar" (New Haven, 1822), and a "'History of the Church of England"
(Middletown, Connecticut, 1825). See: Dexter, 1913, 26; and Rutledge.
Documents include: letters received from John Grammer, Jr., 1816-1825. A Yale College
classmate of Robert Hartshorne from Petersburg, VA.
Biographical Note: Rev. John Grammer was born in 1796, the son of John Grammer (17541835) of Virginia, and his second wife Pricilla Withers. He graduated from Yale College in
1817. Grammer married first in 1819 to Juliana Barton (d. 1823), and second in 1832 to Maria E.
Meade. He was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1823, serving first in Petersburg, VA, and from
1831 to 1870 in Halifax, VA. Grammer died on 5 March 1871. His sister Elizabeth married in
1803 as his second wife to Thomas Withers (1766-1843), father of Grammer’s Yale classmate
Robert Walker Withers (1798-1854) See: McIntire.
Documents include: letters received from Jonathan Prescott Hall, 1818-1820. A Yale College
classmate of Robert Hartshorne from Pomfret, CT.
Biographical Note: Jonathan Prescott Hall was born on 9 July 1796, in Pomfret, CT, the son of
Dr. Jonathan Hall (1754-1815) and Bathsheba Mumford. He graduated from Yale College in
56
1817, and early in life attained eminence as a lawyer in New York City. During the
administrations of Presidents Tyler and Fillmore, Hall served as the U. S. District Attorney for
the Southern District of New York. He married Harriet DeWolfe (d. 1863), daughter of James
DeWolfe of Bristol, RI, but had no children. He died at Malbone Hall in Newport, RI, on 28
September 1862. Malbone Hall, a Gothic Revival castle, had been built for the Halls in 18481849, designed by noted American architect Alexander Jackson Davis. See: Hall and Malbone
Hall.
Documents include: letters received from Robert Walker Withers, 1817-1820. A Yale College
classmate of Robert Hartshorne from Dinwiddie County, VA. These letters were written while
Withers was a student at the Philadelphia School of Medicine.
Biographical Note: Dr. Robert Walker Withers was born on 9 November 1798, in Dinwiddie
County, VA, a son of Thomas Withers (1766-1843) and Louisa Walker (d. 1802). He graduated
from Yale College in 1817, and from the Philadelphia School of Medicine in 1820. Withers
married first in May 1822 to Martha Wilkins, and second in 1833 to his first cousin Mary
Dorothy Withers. After 1823, he abandoned medicine and became a plantation owner and
businessman in Huntsville, AL, where he died on 19 September 1854. An ardent Episcopalian,
he was buried in Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville. Thomas Withers married in 1803 as his
second wife Elizabeth Grammer, sister of Yale classmate Rev. John Grammer (see: Box 14,
Folder 6). See: Dexter, 1913, 29; Bigg-Wither, 169-170; and McIntire.
Documents include: letters received from William H. DeLancey, 1817-1818. A Yale College
classmate of Robert Hartshorne from Mamaroneck, NY. One of the longest and certainly the
most detailed exchange of correspondence with any of Hartshorne’s fellow Yale students.
Biographical Note: The Right Reverend William Heathcote DeLancey (8 October 1797-5 April
1865) was a bishop of the Episcopal Church, and the sixth Provost of the University of
Pennsylvania. DeLancey was known as a High Churchman, serving as the first bishop of the
Episcopal Diocese of Western New York. DeLancey was born at Mamaroneck, Westchester
County, NY, into a celebrated New York family. He was a son of John Peter LeLancey, a
Revolutionary War soldier, and his wife, Elizabeth Floyd. His sister married James Fenimore
Cooper. DeLancey graduated from Yale College in 1817 and later studied divinity with Bishop
57
John Henry Hobart in New York. He served in several positions in New York before being
ordained to the ministry in 1822.
William DeLancey married in 1820 to Frances Munro, a daughter of Peter Munro. They had five
sons and three daughters. After his ordination, DeLancey took a position in Philadelphia as
general assistant to Bishop William White. He held various clerical offices in Philadelphia, and
in 1826 was elected a Trustee of the University of Pennsylvania. DeLancey was elected Provost
of the University in 1828, continuing in that office until 1834. In 1839, De Lancey was elected
first Bishop of the newly created Episcopal Diocese of Western New York. He was consecrated
by Bishops Alexander V. Griswold, Henry U. Onderdonk, and Benjamin T. Onderdonk (the
brothers Onderdonk were first cousins to Robert Hartshorne). DeLancey remained in that
position for more than 25 years, residing in the town of Geneva. DeLancey was active in matters
of church organization and legislation, and was instrumental in placing Hobart College and
several other educational institutions on a firm basis. He received the following honorary
degrees: Doctor of Divinity from Yale in 1827, Doctor of Laws from Union College in 1849, and
Doctor of Civil Laws from Oxford University in 1852. He died in Geneva, NY, on 5 April 1865.
See: William H DeLancey.
Documents include: letters received from William H. DeLancey, 1819-1823, and no date.
Continuation from Box 14, Folder 9.
Documents include: letters received from Gouverneur Morris Wilkins, 1818-1819. A Yale
College student from New York.
Biographical Note: Gouverneur Morris Wilkins was a son of Martin Wilkins and [?] Nutter. He
died in New York City on 7 February 1871. He married Catherine Van Rensselaer (1803-1874),
daughter of Gen. Stephen Van Rensselaer and Cornelia Paterson of Albany, NY. She was a
grand-daughter of Gov. William Paterson (1745-1806) of New Jersey. See: Reynolds, III, 1166.
Documents include: letters received from James J. Cordes, 1817-1830. A Yale College student
from Charleston, SC.
58
Biographical Note: James Jamieson Cordes was born in 1798, a son of Thomas Cordes and
Rebecca Jamieson of Charleston, SC. He graduated from Yale College, class of 1818. He
married on 20 March 1820, to his second cousin Mary Lucas, daughter of Jonathan Lucas and
Sarah Lydia Simons. Cordes’s father-in-law was a very successful rice mill owner, who held a
milling monopoly as his father had invented mill technology then in use. In 1823, Jonathan
Lucas was induced by the British government to go to London to establish rice mills. The Cordes
family went with him and his family. James Cordes soon joined his brother-in-law in an iron mill
near London. Jonathan Lucas transferred to them a patent he had acquired for manufacturing
wrought nails. Cordes soon formed a very successful nail factory near Newport, in
Monmouthshire. He died at his home in Newport on 12 January 1867, in his 69th year. See:
Dexter, 1913, 33.
Documents include: letters received from William Ustick Titus, 1820-1822, and no date. A
cousin and Yale College classmate of Robert Hartshorne from New York, NY. Discuss family
and business matters, plus College associations.
Biographical Note: William Ustick Titus was born about 1797, a son of John Titus and Mary
Ustick. Entering college from Flushing, NY, he graduated from Yale in the class of 1817. Titus
became a wholesale merchant on Pearl Street in New York City, but retired about 1831 or 1832
to a farm on Long Island. He died in Malone, Franklin County, NY, on 19 January 1845, in his
48th year. Titus was a first cousin to Robert Hartshorne. See: Dexter, 1913, 27.
Documents include: letters received from fellow students at Yale College, 1816-1822, and no
date. Correspondents include Thomas Gadsden, George P. Robbins (?), Loammi I. Hoadly, L. H.
Huntington, Harry B. S., Aaron R. Jones, and Joseph B. Collin.
Yale College, 3 items
Documents include: letter of recommendation from B. T. Fenwick, Principal of the New York
Literary Institution, to Dr. Timothy Dwight, President of Yale College, for Master Robert
Hartshorne, dated 16 October [1812]; letter informing Robert Hartshorne, dated 26 June 1816,
59
that he had been elected into Phi Beta Kappa; and a letter dated 7 March 1817, informing
Hartshorne that he had been elected an Orator in the Brothers Society at Yale.
Documents include: college compositions, no dates. Essays and verse on various literary and
scientific topics.
Documents include: college dissertations, 1816 and no date. Four copies of a printed broadside
on the “Scheme of the Exercises at the Exhibition of the Brothers’ Society, Yale-College, 18
December 1816; a draft and two manuscript copies of Robert Hartshorne’s dissertation on the
question “Is the renown of Ancient Greece to be attributed rather to a Proficiency in Literature
and the Arts, than to her Military Exploits” delivered at the Brothers’ Society Exercises; and a
dissertation entitled “Ought the parent to entrust the child in the choice of a profession?”
Documents include: two college notebooks, and one composition book. One notebook is
inscribed “Robt Hartshorne / Yale College / 1815.” It contains various notes, plus a weather log.
Literary, 5 items
Documents include: Temperance Society Address, no date. Drafts and finished manuscripts of a
lengthy address Robert Hartshorne gave to a meeting of a Temperance Society probably located
in New York.
Literary, 6 items
Documents include: literary miscellaneous, 1831 and no dates. Various short texts and verse in
the distinctive handwriting of Robert Hartshorne.
Literary, 18 items
60
Documents include: childrens’ compositions, no dates. Found as a single bundle and so
identified. Some items may in fact be in Robert Hartshorne’s distinctive handwriting. One sheet
is titled “Epitaphs by H. U. O,” meaning the Rt. Rev. Henry Ustick Onderdonk, a first cousin to
Robert Hartshorne. Others are signed “Mary M. Hartshorne” and “M. M. Hartshorne,” his
daughter, and another “R. Hartshorne” that is dated 20 November 1839. The latter is by his son
Richard Hartshorne (1823-1867), as are apparently two copies of a poem entitled “Little Dick’s
Petition to his Mother.” One unidentified essay is entitled “Battle of Monmouth.”
Portland, 3 items
Hartshorne Road, 1817-1865. Documents include: a mid-19th century copy of an 1817
Monmouth County Road Return for Hartshorne Road over the lands of the heirs of the late
Thomas Hartshorne, a note from Edward M. Hartshorne dated 29 June 1865, indicating the
document was in the hands of Edmund M. Throckmorton, and a very lengthy legal opinion by
Throckmorton on the status of Hartshorne Road which he defined at the time as a private byroad.
Biographical Note: Edmund Maclaren Throckmorton was born in Red Bank, NJ, on 17 March
1825, a son of Edmund Throckmorton and Susanna MacLaren. He graduated from Princeton
College, read law with ex-Governor Peter D. Vroom, and was admitted as attorney to the bar of
New Jersey in October 1848, and as counselor in November 1852. He enjoyed an extensive
professional business for many years, lived an upright and honorable life, and died in 1873,
widely respected and esteemed. Throckmorton was known as a person of sound judgment. His
legal advice and argument carried the weight of conviction. See: Whitehead, Part 2, 88; and
Sitherwood, 146-147, and 205-206.
Portland, 1 item
Document: Portland farm account book, 1821. Accounts with ten farm laborers and contractors,
plus cash accounts, for the year 1821. Individuals include James Dougherty, Thomas Card,
Joseph Johnson, Jacob Herbert, John Patterson, James Patterson, Nimrod Woodward, John
Doughty, Robert H. Woolly [sic], and Isaac Doughty.
Portland, 1 item
61
Document: Portland farm journal, 1826-1828. A Common Place Book printed by Terrence
Cooke & Co., New Haven, 1804, bearing the inscription “James J. Cordes / Yale College /
Connecticut” on the front free end paper. The journal begins with the entry “Diary of Events
agricultural, botanical, meteorological, and miscellaneous, as they occur at Portland, begun on
the 1st March 1826.” Kept in the distinctive handwriting of Robert Hartshorne. Also four loose
pages inserted inside the front board.
Note: James Jamieson Cordes was a fellow student of Robert Hartshorne at Yale College. See:
Box 15, Folder 3.
Portland, 11 items
Portland Fire and Rebuilding, 1834-1851. Documents include: affirmations and certifications in
relation to a fire and complete destruction of Robert Hartshorne’s house at Portland on 30 July
1834; claims against the Globe Insurance Company of New York for $5,000; contract and
specifications for rebuilding Portland from William Sprague, contractor, dated 25 September
1834; floor plan and elevation drawing that accompanied the contract; undated letter of
agreement from James Vandenburgh, No. 68 Charlton St., for mason work and materials;
undated bill of materials and costs in the handwriting of William Sprague; two undated sheets of
materials, expenses, and labor; and an undated bill from William Sprague for extras, including
construction of a smoke house. This folder also contains a letter from Robert Hartshorne to D. N.
Wiley dated 18 September 1851, summarizing his insurance policies on Portland, and advising
them of his intent to construct a new hay barn on the property.
Note: Photographs in the collection confirm that the elevation drawing contained in this folder
represents Portland as rebuilt after the fire. See: Box 42, Folder 2.
Portland, 10 items
Farming Activities. Items include: miscellaneous documents pertaining to farming activities and
agriculture, many in the distinctive handwriting of Robert Hartshorne. Documents include
memoranda of agreement between Robert Hartshorne and John Van Kirk dated 15 March 1845,
and with John Murphy dated 15 March 1845, for farm labor; an undated agreement with
Eberhard Faber, pencil manufacturers, for cedar logs; a letter dated 12 March 1868 from D. K.
Youngs to Edward Minturn for Robert Hartshorne regarding the raising of asparagus; a listing of
apple grafts in the orchard at Portland dated April 1868; an invoice dated 6 April 1830, for fruit
trees purchased from William Prince, owner of the Linnean Botanic Garden and Nursuries in
Flushing, New York; an 1863 printed circular with prices of Vegetable, Garden, Field, Fruit and
62
Flower Seeds available from the National Agricultural Warehouse, 27 Courtlandt Street, New
York; a memorandum of a fax oxen killed and weighed by B. Lawrence of Center Market, New
York, dated 1 February 1848; and an undated note on measuring timber.
Portland, 3 items
Portland Land Title & Bonds, 1835-1855. Documents include: a mortgage dated 17 August
1835, between Robert Hartshorne and his wife Mary Ann Hartshorne on the one part, and
Hartshorne’s three single sisters Sarah, Eliza and Mary Ann Hartshorne on the other, for the
Portland estate, subject to a bond for $11,240 (this indenture excepts a tract of 229 acres from the
total of 764 acres that was conveyed by their father Richard Hartshorne to Robert Hartshorne on
14 March 1821); a bond dated 17 August 1835 between Robert Hartshorne and his three single
sisters for $11,240; a bond dated 17 November 1841, between Robert Hartshorne and his three
single sisters for $1,100; and six sheets listing interest and other payments made by Robert
Hartshorne through 1855, shortly before his last surviving sister’s death. See also: Box 7, Folder
8.
Highlands Area, 18 items
Sandy Hook, 1840-1859, and undated. Documents include: an extract from a deed of 1817, and
citations from Monmouth County deeds for the deeds of 1806 and 1817; a letter to Robert
Hartshorne from Thomas E. Courly (?) dated 3 January 1840, regarding the old boundaries of
Sandy Hook; a letter by Robert Hartshorne in answer to the above dated 8 February 1840,
discussing the old boundaries of Sandy Hook with sketches; a petition dated 11 November 1840,
from 21 residents of Monmouth County to the President of the United States requesting the
appointment of Joseph Parker as keeper of the Sandy Hook light house; a memorandum from
Robert Hartshorne dated 10 February 1849, regarding gunning privileges on Sandy Hook for two
New York pilots; a letter dated 20 December 1849 from Robert Hartshorne to Hon. William L.
Dayton regarding an attempt of the State of New York to locate a quarantine facility on Sandy
Hook; a letter dated 25 January 1855, regarding New York proposals for closing the current
Quarantine facility of Staten Island, with a newspaper clipping, and a personal letter of the same
date from brother-in-law Edward Minturn on the same subject (with family and personal news);
a letter dated 8 December 1856, from Robert Hartshorne regarding the New York proposal for a
Quarantine facility on Sandy Hook; a letter dated 15 January 1857, from George H. Shepard of
Newark discussing New York pilots and the Quarantine proposal; a letter dated 16 January 1858,
from Ezra Osborn of Middletown with newspaper clippings regarding the Quarantine hospital
proposal; a copy of a letter dated 22 May 1858, from Edward Minturn to Hon. John R.
Thompson regarding the Quarantine hospital proposal, with a copy of Thompson’s response; two
63
copies of a letter dated 8 March 1859, from Robert Hartshorne to Capt. H. W. Benham of the U.
S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding the old boundaries of Sandy Hook; Capt. Benham’s
business card; a note dated 22 November [no year] that Capt. Benham returns to Robert
Hartshorne two plats of the old surveys of Sandy Hook; an undated draft of a petition to the
Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey regarding the New York Quarantine
hospital proposal; a copy of Senator Brook’s resolution to the New York Harbor Commissioners
regarding the New York Quarantine hospital proposal; and a draft petition from the inhabitants
of Middletown to the New Jersey State Legislature opposing the New York Quarantine hospital
proposal.
Highlands Telegraph, 1829-1864, and no dates. Documents include: correspondence between
Robert Hartshorne and others regarding the establishment of a telegraph and signal station on the
top of the Highlands. Eleven items are dated between 1829 and 1831. Two letters of 1864
discuss exclusive rights to the existing American Telegraph Company should a competitor wish
to open another station in the same location. Correspondents include: John Earl, John Greene,
and W. O. Lewis.
Highlands Light House, 1841 and no dates. Documents include: four letter copies by Robert
Hartshorne, and two undated memoranda in his distinctive handwriting, regarding the light
houses on the top of the Highlands. They mostly discuss the political appointment of light
keepers, but also clearing trees from the southern slope of the Highlands so that ships
approaching from the south could see the lights.
Highlands Area, 1 item
Shrewsbury River Navigation, no date. Document: a subscription list for improving navigation
on the Shrewsbury River, with names and amounts subscribed. Twenty-nine individuals pledged
sums ranging from Robert Hartshorne’s liberal leading pledge of $100 to $4.
Financial, 32 items
64
Bills & Receipts, 1822-1859. Documents include: miscellaneous bills and receipts for household
provisions, cloth, clothing, physician services, agricultural supplies, subscriptions, Franklin
Academy in Middletown, Trinity College expenses for his son Edward M. Hartshorne, a receipt
of interest from his sisters Sarah Hartshorne and Mary Ann Hartshorne on $1,000 received in
payment for their house at Red Bank, etc.
Financial, 35 items
Bills & Receipts, 1860-1868, and no date. Documents include: miscellaneous bills and receipts
for goods and services, accounts with tenant farmers, for digging his wife’s grave in 1861 and
clearing brush from the family cemetery, clothing, farm supplies, etc.
Financial, 18 items
Taxes, 1833-1871. Documents include: Township, County and State tax bills, not complete.
Financial, 6 items
Bonds and Mortgages, 1822-1835. Documents include: bonds between Robert Hartshorne and
Cornelius Kingsland, shipwright; Ann Ustick, aunt; Dennison Wood and William Whitlock;
Robert Minturn; and Edmund Woodward. Mortgage dated 1 October 1834, from Robert Minturn
for a lot, distillery and dwelling on Somerset Street in New Brunswick, NJ.
Financial, 8 items
Highlands Area Real Estate, 1824-1853, and no date. Documents include: a receipt and survey
dated 11 June 1824, from William Parker, Jr., for surveying the line between Robert Hartshorne
and his cousin Sarah Hartshorne of Portland Place; articles of agreement dated 1 April 1821,
between Robert Hartshorne and John Doughty for a four-acre lot on the Shrewsbury River in
what is now Highlands, with construction of a house and other privileges, for a term of four
years; a letter dated 5 November 1842, to Peter W. Schenck regarding the line of John Doughty’s
lot; copy of a filed deed dated 5 March 1850, between Robert Hartshorne and his wife Mary Ann
Minturn and John Fletcher for twenty-six acres bordering on the lands of Robert Hartshorne and
the Shrewsbury River; letter from surveyor Ezra A. Osborne dated 5 June 1852, regarding the
survey of seven small lots; a letter dated 19 May 1853, for a survey of a 6.80 acre lot in what is
65
now Highlands on the river, abutting the lot of Edward Minturn; and an undated map of several
small lots of John Vanhise, Joseph Layton, and Jacob Swan.
Financial, 16 items
Henry F. Schenck, 1827-1850, and no date. Documents include: articles of agreement dated 4
January 1828, for construction of a sailing smack; articles of agreement and specifications dated
7 February 1828, for construction of a house in Middletown; arrest warrant for Henry Schenck
dated 1830; items related to vessels and cargoes; estate accounts from 1837 to 1850 amounting
to some $14,442.50; and an undated specification for building a house for Henry Schenck in
Middletown Point.
Note: Henry F. Schenck served as captain for Richard Hartshorne on the Schooner Pennsylvania.
Robert Hartshorne became administrator of Schenck’s estate, 1837-1850. See: Box 7, Folder 16,
for further material pertaining to Henry Schenck.
Financial, 34 items
John Nicholson Estate Claim, 1839-1842. Documents include: correspondence with Philadelphia
attorneys Daniel I. Desmond and Edward D. Ingraham regarding a $45,000 claim against the
estate of John Nicholson, filed by Robert Hartshorne as one of the executors of his father’s
estate. Other correspondents include Lawrence Hartshorne and John R. Murray. Printed circulars
and other printed items from the Pennsylvania courts are also included.
Note: John Nicholson was involved with the Pennsylvania Population Company and lands in
Erie, PA, in which Richard Hartshorne had made considerable investment. Robert Hartshorne
continued his father’s involvements in this issue. See: Box 9, Folders 3 through 8.
French Claims, 28 items
French Captures & Spoliation Claims, 1831-1860, and no date. Items include: correspondence,
printed circulars, printed reports from the U. S. Congress, etc., regarding the Hartshornes’
continuing efforts to obtain compensation for losses due to French vessel and cargo captures
before 1800. Correspondents include James H. Causten, Lewis Condict, John Connell, Theodore
Frelinghuysen, Joseph F. Randolph, Christian Mayer, Charles D. Lewis, T. L. Smith of the U. S.
Treasury Department, William L. Dayton, Littleton Kirkpatrick, George Sykes, R. F. Hartshorne,
James G. King, and A. M. C. Pennington. See also: Box 8, Folders 4 through 7.
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Erie Land, Correspondence, 1829-1865, and no date. A continuation of Richard Hartshorne’s
investment in Western Pennsylvania land located in Greenfield Township, Erie County.
Documents include: a lengthy description of the real estate dated 3 July 1829, written by Robert
Hartshorne who made the trip west, as well as letters sent and received by Robert Hartshorne.
Correspondents include: Thomas H. Sill, Judah Colt, John A. Tracy, William H. Minturn, E. C.
Spencer, James Sill, Milo Perry, W. S. Brown, William E. Marvin, J. B. Minturn, and Caroline
R. Minturn. See: Box 9, Folders 3 through 8 for further information regarding the Hartshorne
involvements in Erie land.
Erie Land, Accounts, 1836-1864. Documents include: accounts between Robert Hartshorne and
William H. Minturn, 1836-1857; accounts of William E. Marvin with Robert Hartshorne and
Caroline R. Minturn, 1859-1862; accounts of William E. Marvin with Robert Hartshorne and
Caroline R. Minturn, 1862-1864; statement of land sold by William E. Marvin on account of
Robert Hartshorne and Caroline R. Minturn, 1859-1862; and two loose pages of cash balances of
Robert Hartshorne dated 1861 and 1862.
Erie Land, Maps, Lists of Tracts, & Miscellaneous, not dated. Documents include: six lot plans
(mostly in color); a schedule of land contracts, bonds, and land unsold; expenses for a trip to Erie
County and return; checklist of the number of acres unsold in 12 tracts; and 8 misc. documents
related to deed drafts, unsold lots, etc.
Printed Items, 9 items
Printed Miscellany, 1858-1870, and no dates. Items include: a small pamphlet entitled “Sixteen
Reasons Why I Cannot Be a Hixite;” an engraved view of the National Hotel in Washington,
DC; a New Jersey Southern Railroad timetable for 20 June 1870; a printed envelope, an
illustrated billhead dated 10 September 1858, and a printed broadside for Thompson’s Atlantic
Pavilion hotel in Highlands, NJ; an undated clipping for the schedule of the Raritan and
Delaware Bay Railroad; an undated printed handbill entitled “Viva L’America” sung by J.
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Stratton at Bryant’s Minstrels in New York; and an undated U. S. Congressional pamphlet
entitled “Remarks on a Practical Plan for Establishing a Uniform Gold and Paper Currency and
for Funding the Public Debt at a Low Rate of Interest.”
Will Extracts, 3 items
Will extracts, no dates. Documents include: will extracts and instructions from Robert
Hartshorne’s sisters Sarah and Eliza Hartshorne.
Obituary, 1 item
Document: a handwritten obituary for Robert Hartshorne addressed to the New Jersey Standard
newspaper of Red Bank. No run of that paper for 1872 is known to exist, so therefore the text
cannot be compared to a printed version.
Estate, 2 items
Estate, 1872. Items include: a microfilm print copy of the will of Robert Hartshorne, dated 5 July
1872, and submitted for probate on 22 August 1872; and a microfilm print copy of the inventory
of Robert Hartshorne's estate taken on 1 August 1872.
Note: The inventory, taken by his son Benjamin M. Hartshorne and attorney Charles N. Black,
executors, and Joseph G. Mount and William B. Woolley, appraisers, is, so far as is known, the
only truly complete, very detailed listing to survive before 1900 that itemizes all household
furnishings and utensils by room, farm equipment, livestock, and farm stores on the Portland
estate. The total value of Hartshorne's assets, exclusive of real estate, came to $10,337.00. See:
Monmouth County Surrogate's Office, Wills, Book K, 294; and Inventories, Book G-2, 393.
Benjamin G. Minturn, 2 items
Estate of Benjamin G. Minturn, 1845. Documents include: two identical notices dated 21
February 1845, to the heirs and next of kin of Benjamin G. Minturn to appear on 10 May 1845,
before the New York City Surrogate to probate his will, as presented by William H. Minturn.
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Biographical Note: The Minturn family figures very prominently in the business and personal
affairs of the Hartshornes, as has been mentioned previously. A more complete genealogy of the
Minturns is therefore included here.
Benjamin Greene Minturn was born in 1771, the son of William Minturn (1738-1799) and
Penelope Greene (1746-1821) of Newport, RI. He died in 1845. In 1791, the Minturns moved to
New York City. Benjamin married Mary Bowne, daughter of Robert Bowne and Elizabeth
Hartshorne. She was born on 7 September 1774, and died 12 April 1852. Mary Bowne was
therefore a first cousin of Robert Hartshorne. Benjamin G. Minturn and his wife became the
parents of eleven children, as follows:
Sarah H. Minturn (21 March 1795-17 May 1879), married to Joseph Budd Collins (1794-1867),
son of Isaac Collins, New Jersey’s renowned early printer, and Rachel Budd.
William H. Minturn (7 October 1796-10 February 1854), married to Carolyn Byrnes (17941885), daughter of Joseph Byrnes and Rebecca Clarke of Charleston, SC.
Elizabeth Minturn (5 February 1798-11 October 1823), unmarried.
Robert Bowne Minturn (1799-1864), unmarried.
Penelope Greene Minturn (4 April 1801-27 December 1873), unmarried.
Mary Ann Minturn (1 November 1802-20 August 1861) married to Robert Hartshorne (17981872), son of Richard Hartshorne and Susanna Ustick.
Benjamin Greene Minturn (17 October 1803-1832), unmarried.
John Champlin Minturn (27 October 1804-(?) October1886), married to Sarah Ann (?).
Edward Minturn (7 July 1806-(?) May 1879), unmarried.
Cornelia Minturn (13 June 1812-(?) September 1882), unmarried.
Charles Minturn (6 June 1814-(?) May 1873), unmarried.
See: Poppino, and the handwritten Hartshorne Family Genealogy in Box 1, Folder 3, of this
collection.
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Note: A finely woven linen handkerchief inscribed “B. G. Minturn” in inked script letters has
been transferred to the museum collection. It measures 23.5 by 25 inches. Accompanied by a
copy of a letter dated 16 March 1899 from Ellen Collins to her cousin Benjamin M. Hartshorne
describing the handkerchief and its history. See: Appendix A, item 3. A hair clipping from Mary
Bowne Minturn dated 12 April 1852 has also been transferred to the museum collection. See:
Appendix A, item 25.
Benjamin G. Minturn, 4 items
Financial notes pertaining to Benjamin G. Minturn, 1813-1840. Items include: a note from David
Parrish of Philadelphia dated 13 September 1813, for $193,398.65; a narrative related to the
business of Minturn and Champlin with David Parrish in 1814; a checklist of stores and house
rents of Benjamin G. Minturn dated 31 March 1837; and a note from Minturn to Robert
Hartshorne for $1,000 dated 13 May 1840.
Box 18 – Folder 10; Mary Ann Minturn Hartshorne (1802-1861)
Items include: letters received, 1823-1847. Correspondents include: sister-in-law Mary Ann
Hartshorne, sister-in-law Sarah Hartshorne, sister-in-law Eliza Hartshorne, Susan Hartshorne,
husband Robert Hartshorne, Rev. Harry Finch of Christ Episcopal Church in Shrewsbury, cousin
H. Hartshorne of Halifax, son Richard Hartshorne, and brother Charles Minturn.
Note: This folder marks the beginning of an extensive correspondence with her relatives and
children that Mary Ann Hartshorne maintained from the time of her marriage in 1823 until her
death in 1861. These letters and those in other related boxes and folders cover every imaginable
detail of family life and relations over a 40 year period. In many instances, the collection
contains not only letters sent, but also answers received. Activities at Portland are reported
extensively. Letters from her children describe their experiences at boarding schools and
colleges. As her sons engaged in international shipping and steamboat ventures, they reported
extensively on their various global travels, especially covering their years of living in California,
South America, and elsewhere. Perhaps it was her deafness that resulted in such an extensive and
eloquent volume of correspondence. Letters written to all family members by sons Robert
Hartshorne, Jr., and Benjamin M. Hartshorne were found in bundles kept together by sender.
They have been retained in that order, and will be found in their respective sections of this
collection. Similar letters from sons Richard and William Hartshorne not so gathered together are
interfiled by recipient.
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Biographical Note: Mary Ann Minturn was born on 14 November 1802, a daughter of
Benjamin G. Minturn (1771-1845) and his wife Mary Bowne (1774-1852). She attended
Briarcliff School in New York, ca. 1819. On 2 April 1823, Mary Ann Minturn married Robert
Hartshorne (1798-1872), a son of Richard Hartshorne (1752-1831) and Susanna Ustick (17601833) who was also a first cousin to her mother. Robert Hartshorne and Mary Ann Minturn
became the parents of eight children, only three of whom married. She suffered from deafness.
While on a trip to Europe in 1843, she consulted with several physicians at the Royal Institution
for the Deaf and Dumb in Paris. In 1860, she took another trip for her health to the Bahamas,
Cuba, and the South. Mary Ann Minturn Hartshorne died at Portland on 20 August 1861 at the
age of 58 years. Her largely attended funeral was held at Christ Episcopal Church in
Middletown, NJ.
Note: Transferred from the Hartshorne Family Papers to the museum collection: a scalloped
octagonal white velvet award of merit with gold edging, ornamented with a watercolor basket of
flowers on the obverse, and a garland of leaves on the reverse with the initials “M. A. M.” Pale
pink interior with gold edging and a white folded paper ornament in the origami style. Inscribed
“Mary Ann Minturn received this small token of appreciation for voluntarily reciting the four last
epoch’s (sic) in Tucker’s Ancient History. / Briarcliff School / 10 mo 30th 1819.” See: Appendix
A, item 19.
Documents include: letters received and sent, 1848-1861. A continuation of the above.
Correspondents include: brother Charles Minturn, son William Hartshorne, son Edward M.
Hartshorne, son Richard Hartshorne, sister-in-law Sarah Hartshorne, daughter Mary Minturn
Hartshorne, sister-in-law Mary Ann Hartshorne, Caroline ______, and niece Ellen Collins.
Documents include: letters received, no dates. Many of these letters were written by Mary Ann
Hartshorne’s children while at boarding schools and colleges. Correspondents include: G. E.
Shippen, daughter Mary Minturn Hartshorne, sister Sarah Minturn Collins, sister-in-law Mary
Ann Hartshorne, sister Penelope Minturn, son Edward M. Hartshorne, son William Hartshorne,
mother Mary Bowne Minturn, sister-in-law Sarah Hartshorne, husband Robert Hartshorne,
cousin Sarah Minturn Grinnell, brother Charles Minturn, cousin Lydia M. Post, nephew William
M. Grinnell, and son Richard Hartshorne.
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Documents include: letters written jointly to her sons Richard Hartshorne and Benjamin M.
Hartshorne while they both studied with Rev. G. C. Eastman in Litchfield, CT, 1838-1840, and
no dates. Nearly all of these letters are addressed to “R. & B. M. Hartshorne” and contain
material intended for both. Additional letters from their mother but addressed to the sons
individually can be found in the respective folders under their names in this collection.
14 items
Documents include: diary and letters written to family members from London, Paris, Geneva,
Rome, and at sea, 1842-1843. A trip to Europe with her brothers Charles and Robert B. Minturn,
and sister Cornelia Minturn. This diary and letters that accompany it contain extensive detailed
descriptions of Mary M. Hartshorne’s travels and impressions of Europe in 1842 and 1843. They
recount places they visited, etc.. While in Paris, she consulted with several specialists at the
Royal Institution for the Deaf and Dumb concerning her own deafness. This folder also contains
an examination report written in French by Dr. P. Meniere dated 2 March 1843, on Mary Ann M.
Hartshorne’s condition. The letters were written on tissue paper in a dense hand, with much
bleed-through, which makes them very difficult to read.
7 items
Documents include: letters and account statements from her brother Edward Minturn regarding
legacies she received from her mother Mary Bowne Minturn and grandfather Robert Bowne,
1850-1861.
24 items
Documentation for a trip that Mary Ann Minturn Hartshorne took in 1860 to Nassau, Cuba and
the South for her health, accompanied by her son Edward M. Hartshorne and sister Penelope
Minturn. Items include: her diary from February through May, 1860; Spanish visas to visit
Havana for the three of them; a Letter of Credit from Duncan Sherman & Co., New York
bankers; hotel bills from Havana, Columbia, SC, Charleston, SC, Augusta, GA, and Savannah,
GA; and 8 business cards for various hotels and merchants.
16 items
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Documents include: letters written to family members while on her trip to Nassau, Cuba, and the
South, 1860. Letters were written from Nassau, Havana, Key West, Savannah, and Columbia.
Documents include: letters received, 1832-1847. Covers his years away at school, and while
working for Woodhull, Minturn & Co. in New York. Correspondents include: mother Mary Ann
Minturn Hartshorne, father Robert Hartshorne, cousin William B. Minturn, aunt Eliza
Hartshorne, aunt Sarah Hartshorne, cousin Mary Minturn Collins, cousin E. Minturn, brother
William Hartshorne, and J. T. Yarrington.
Biographical Note: Richard Hartshorne was born about 1823, the eldest son of Robert
Hartshorne (1798-1872) and Mary Ann Minturn (1802-1861). He received his education at
Bristol College in PA (1836), from Rev. G. C. V. Eastman in Old Saybrook and Litchfield, CT
(1836-1840), and from A. Frost at the Parsonage of Christ Episcopal Church in Shrewsbury, NJ
(1840). He was employed for many years at Woodhull, Minturn & Co. in New York, of which
his uncle Edward Minturn (1806-1879) was a principal partner. Richard Hartshorne made an
extended visit to Cuba, Louisiana and Galveston, TX, in 1847-1848. He also went south again in
1858. Apparently never in good health, he died unmarried of tuberculosis on 30 January 1867, at
the age of 43 years. Just days before his passing, Richard Hartshorne was baptized into the
Roman Catholic Church. See: Stillwell, II, 296; and a handwritten Hartshorne family genealogy
in Box 1, Folder 3 of this collection.
Documents include: letters received and sent, 1847-1859. A continuation of Box 19, Folder 7.
Correspondents include: William J. Cooke, J. T. Yarrington, uncle Charles Minturn, James
Nelson, John Fowler, Jr., David B. Ogden, Jr., cousin “Lizzie,” cousin Dr. William B. Minturn,
aunt Sarah Minturn Collins, William R. Laurance, Edwin A. Johnson, C. Grinnell, brother
William Hartshorne, mother Mary Ann Minturn Hartshorne, father Robert Hartshorne, aunt
Sarah Hartshorne, uncle Edward Minturn, aunt Penelope Minturn, H. M. Meade, brother Edward
M. Hartshorne, aunt Mary Ann Hartshorne, James W. Wall, and uncle Robert B. Minturn.
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Documents include: letters received, no dates. A continuation of Box 19, Folder 7, and Box 20,
Folder 1. Correspondents include: mother Mary Ann Minturn Hartshorne, sister Mary M.
Hartshorne, father Robert Hartshorne, aunt Mary Ann Hartshorne, uncle Edward Minturn,
brother William Hartshorne, W. Nicholas, cousin Elizabeth Minturn, Jane Hartshorne, and
grandmother Mary Bowne Minturn.
Documents include: letters received from aunt Sarah Hartshorne, 1828-1839. Nearly all sent
while Hartshorne was attending boarding schools. They describe the details of life at Portland.
Found as a bundle and retained as a separate record group.
Box 20 – Folder 4; Susanna Hartshorne (d. 1834)
4 items
Documents include: an undated note from her aunt Elizabeth Minturn, an undated note from her
aunt Sarah Minturn Collins (1795-1879), and a copy of Samuel G. Goodrich, Peter Parley’s
Winter Evening Tales (Boston: Carter, Hendee & Babcock, 1831) inscribed “Susan Hartshorne /
25 December 1831.” An undated note addressed to “Miss Susan Hartshorne” from Mary Ann
Minturn Hartshorne is included in this folder. It may or may not relate to this individual, but no
other appropriate member of the family could be identified.
Biographical Note: Susanna Hartshorne was the eldest daughter of Robert Hartshorne (17981872) and his wife Mary Ann Minturn (1802-1861). She died at an early age on 3 November
1834. See: Stillwell, II, 296; and a handwritten Hartshorne family genealogy in Box 1, Folder 3
of this collection.
Note: A clipping of Susan Hartshorne's hair wrapped in tissue paper has been transferred to the
museum collection. See: Appendix A, item 23.
Box 20 – Folder 5; Robert Hartshorne, Jr. (1833-1870)
Documents include: letters received, 1844-1864. Correspondents include: mother Mary Ann
Minturn Hartshorne, brother William Hartshorne, brother Edward M. Hartshorne, Grinnell,
Minturn & Co., father Robert Hartshorne, cousin Mary Minturn Collins, brother Richard
Hartshorne, J. Davis, Surgeon, Co. 9th, NY National Guard, and cousin Alice Minturn.
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Biographical Note: Robert Hartshorne, Jr., was born on 23 March 1833, a son of Robert
Hartshorne (1798-1872) and Mary Ann Minturn (1802-1861). He apparently attended Burlington
College (ca. 1844) in Burlington, NJ. Robert Hartshorne led a very adventuresome life, at first
going to California in 1852 where he resided at Smith’s Bar on the American River (1852-1853)
and at Whisky Bar (1853), both in the gold fields where he engaged in mining. Robert then spent
much of the 1850s in Chile, living at first in the major port city of Talcahuano (1854-1855), then
at Concepcion (1855-1857), and finally in Santiago (1862). While in Concepcion, he
occasionally piloted small steamboats up the treacherous River Bio-bio to Nacimiento, roughly
65 miles inland. Hartshorne also traveled with the Chilean army. In 1862, he crossed the Andes
Mountains on mule-back from Santiago to Mendoza, Argentina, and then on to Buenos Aires by
stage and steamboat. Robert Hartshorne later went to the Arizona Territory (1863-1865), making
claims and writing home from a short-lived gold-mining boomtown named La Paz and also from
Fort Yuma on the Colorado River, where his brother Benjamin had steamboat interests. Robert
returned eventually to Portland, where he died unmarried of “lung congestion” on 17 March
1870, six days short of his 37th birthday.
Documents include: letters received, no dates. Correspondents include: Miss Anna Head
(masquerade party invitation in San Francisco), aunt Sarah Hartshorne, aunt Mary Ann
Hartshorne, brother William Hartshorne, mother Mary Ann Minturn Hartshorne, and brother
Edward M. Hartshorne.
Documents include: letters written to family members, 1848-1853. Correspondents include:
brother Richard Hartshorne, father Robert Hartshorne, mother Mary Ann Minturn Hartshorne,
sister Mary Minturn Hartshorne, and aunt Sarah Hartshorne. Letters were written from Portland;
at sea; San Juan, PR; San Francisco; Smith’s Bar on the American River, CA; and Whiskey Bar,
CA.
Note: Robert Hartshorne’s letters written mostly to family members at home in New Jersey were
found bundled together. This arrangement has been retained as it reflects his travels throughout
California and South America.
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Documents include: letters written to family members, 1854-1857. Correspondents include:
mother Mary Ann Minturn Hartshorne, father Robert Hartshorne, and brother Richard
Hartshorne. Letters were written from San Francisco; Talcahuano, Chile; on board the steamboat
“Vaporcito del Rio Bio Bio” in Chile; Concepcion, Chile; and Nacimiento, Chile.
Documents include: letters written to family members, 1858-1864, and no dates. Correspondents
include: cousin William B. Minturn, father Robert Hartshorne, brother Richard Hartshorne,
brother Edward M. Hartshorne, sister Mary Minturn Hartshorne, and mother Mary Ann Minturn
Hartshorne. Letters were written from Portland, NJ; New York; Santiago, Chile; La Paz in
Arizona Territory; Hakava in Arizona Territory; Fort Yuma in Arizona Territory; Hardy’s
Landing; Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA; Norfolk, VA; Red Bank, NJ; and on board the
Steamer “Pacific” near Acapulco.
Box 21 – Folder 4; William Hartshorne (1835-1871)
Documents include: letters received, 1841-1847. Correspondents include: father Robert
Hartshorne, brother Robert Hartshorne, Jr., mother Mary Ann Minturn Hartshorne, brother
Edward M. Hartshorne, sister Mary Minturn Hartshorne, brother Richard Hartshorne, aunt Sarah
Hartshorne, brother Edward Minturn Hartshorne, J. Lathrop, and cousin Maggie _____.
Biographical Note: William Hartshorne was born on 26 January 1835, a son of Robert
Hartshorne (1798-1872) and Mary Ann Minturn (1802-1861). He attended school at Burlington
College (1847-1850) in Burlington, NJ, Mount Pleasant Academy (1852) in Sing-Sing, NY,
Bloomfield Academy (1852-1853) in Bloomfield, NJ, and Princeton College (1854-1855). He
became a physician, employed for many years as Assistant Physician at the large public hospital
for sick and destitute immigrants on Ward’s Island in New York City. William Hartshorne was
licensed to practice medicine in Middletown, NJ, in 1866. He died unmarried at Portland on 25
March 1871, at the age of thirty-six. “He was a man of splendid ability; a genial, pleasant
gentleman; an honest man and a true friend. He leaves a large circle of relations and friends to
mourn his loss.” See: unidentified obituary clipping, Hartshorne vertical file, Monmouth County
Historical Association Library & Archives.
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Documents include: letters received, 1848-1849. Correspondents include: sister Mary Minturn
Hartshorne, brother Edward Minturn Hartshorne, mother Mary Ann Minturn Hartshorne, father
Robert Hartshorne, brother Robert Hartshorne, Jr., aunt Penelope Minturn, aunt Sarah
Hartshorne, cousin Maggie ______, and brother Richard Hartshorne.
Documents include: letters received, 1850-1852. Correspondents include: brother Robert
Hartshorne, Jr., brother Edward M. Hartshorne, mother Mary Ann Minturn Hartshorne, father
Robert Hartshorne, and brother Richard Hartshorne.
Documents include: letters received and sent, 1853-1863. Correspondents include: mother Mary
Ann Minturn Hartshorne, aunt Sarah Hartshorne, uncle Charles Minturn, sister Mary Minturn
Hartshorne, John F. Clives, father Robert Hartshorne, brother Richard Hartshorne, and John
______.
Documents include: letters received, no dates. Correspondents include: mother Mary Ann
Minturn Hartshorne, sister Mary Minturn Hartshorne, aunt Sarah Hartshorne, brother Richard
Hartshorne, and brother Edward M. Hartshorne. Also includes an engraved invitation from Mr.
and Mrs. Charles J. Hendrickson to visit at Locustwood in Middletown on January 20 (?)
perhaps to celebrate the wedding of William’s brother Edward M. Hartshorne to their daughter
Louise W. Hendrickson as their cards are also included.
2 items
Folder contains a small memorandum booklet signed “William Hartshorne” and dated 1850
entitled “Egg Book” which tracks chicken, duck and turkey eggs collected and sold; and a U. S.
Internal Revenue license dated 12 May 1866, for William Hartshorne to practice as a physician
in the village of Middletown, NJ.
Box 22 – Folder 5; Edward M. Hartshorne (1837-1886)
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Minturn Hartshorne, brother William Hartshorne, sister Mary Minturn Hartshorne, and brother
Robert Hartshorne, Jr.
Biographical Note: Edward Minturn Hartshorne was born on 3 September 1837, the youngest
son of Robert Hartshorne (1798-1872) and Mary Ann Minturn (1802-1861). Named for his
maternal uncle Edward Minturn (1806-1879), he attended school at Burlington College (18481853) in Burlington, NJ, and Trinity College (1854-1855) in Hartford, CT. Both were founded as
Episcopal institutions. Early in life, Edward Hartshorne assisted his father with the agricultural
operations at Portland. Later on, he engaged in the combined malt business in Phelps, Ontario
County, NY, and a brewery business in New York City, but suffered severe financial losses as a
result. During this period, Hartshorne and his family made their home in Astoria, Long Island.
Edward took a sincere interest in the civic affairs of Highlands and vicinity. In 1867 he erected a
schoolhouse near Twin Lights that was sold in 1878 for use as a Catholic chapel. In 1870,
Edward's brother Benjamin M. Hartshorne (1826-1900) purchased the New Jersey Standard
newspaper in Red Bank. Edward was installed as editor and publisher for about two years, when
he retired. He also became a leading promoter of the first bridge at Highlands to connect the
mainland to the barrier beach. The Highlands Bridge Company was organized in 1871. They
erected a bridge 1,452 feet long with a draw of 186 feet to allow for the passage of marine traffic
on the river. This pioneering span opened to the public on 5 December 1872. Hartshorne's
brother Benjamin secured financial support for the enterprise. In 1877, he represented
Middletown on the General Committee of the Monmouth Battle Monument Association formed
to erect a major memorial for that Revolutionary event in Freehold.
On 20 January 1864, Edward Hartshorne married Louisa Wikoff Hendrickson (1839-1876),
daughter of Charles J. Hendrickson (1805-1889) and Julia Anne Schureman (1804-1889) of
Middletown. They became the parents of seven children, four of whom died young. After
leaving Astoria, the Hartshornes lived at the Highlands. While there, Edward served on the
Vestry of All Saints' Memorial Episcopal Church from 1864 to 1865, and again from 1871 to
1879. After the death of his wife in childbirth in 1876, he moved to her family’s home called
“Locustwood” in Middletown Village. Edward M. Hartshorne died on 19 May 1886, at the age
of forty-eight. His funeral was held in Christ Episcopal Church in Middletown. At the time of his
death, he owned about 200 acres of valuable Portland estate woodland at the Highlands that
included a popular picnic ground, but, as the property was entailed by the terms of his father's
will, he had only the use of it. Hartshorne's brother Benjamin was designated a Trustee of the
property with control over it during his brother's lifetime to keep it from being sold to satisfy
Edward's debts. See: Wynkoop, 86-87, and 128; Leonard, 72-73; Ellis, 481 and 550; the Red
Bank Register, May 19, 1886, and May 26, 1886; and All Saints' Church, 47-48. For further
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information about Hartshorne's financial difficulties arising from the malt and brewery
businesses, see: Box 35, Folder 15, and Box 37, Folder 2.
See also: Addendum in Box 66, Folder 3.
Note: Charles J. Hendrickson (1805-1889) of Locustwood in Middletown Village is most
commonly and mistakenly called "Charles I. Hendrickson." The manner in which he signs or
writes his name contributes to this confusion as the letter J does indeed resemble an I quite
strongly. His father's first name was John. So in an evolved Dutch use of patronymics he would
be known as Charles, son of John. Any lingering confusion about Hendrickson's middle initial
can be resolved by an examination of his tombstone in Fair View Cemetery in Middletown. This
granite monument is clearly engraved "Charles J. Hendrickson." One of his grandsons born in
1879 was also named Charles J. Hendrickson.
Minturn Hartshorne, brother William Hartshorne, brother Richard Hartshorne, and aunt Sarah
Hartshorne.
Documents include: letters received, 1854-1855. Correspondents include: Burlington College
classmates, William H. Sherman, James Devereux Jr., mother Mary Ann Minturn Hartshorne,
sister Mary Minturn Hartshorne, and father Robert Hartshorne.
Minturn Hartshorne, sister Mary Minturn Hartshorne, and Johnson & Company.
Documents include: letters received, 1862-1874. Correspondents include: brother William
Hartshorne, father Robert Hartshorne, cousin Carrie R. Minturn, cousin James B. Minturn, the
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Vestry of All Saints Memorial Church in Highlands of Navesink, F. D. Poisson, brother Richard
Hartshorne, the Vestry of the Church of the Redeemer in Astoria, NY, and W. S. Fielding.
Documents include: letters received and sent, no dates. Correspondents include: mother Mary
Ann Minturn Hartshorne, wife Louisa Hendrickson Hartshorne, and Edmund Cooper.
3 items
Documents include: school compositions, 1849 and no dates. One on Hernando Cortez is dated
Burlington College, November 23, 1849; and another identified as Burlington College.
2 items
Documents include: diaries, 1861-1862. They contain weather conditions, social notes, items
pertaining to farming and other activities at Portland, etc.
Box 23 – Folder 7; Mary M. Hartshorne (1839-1890)
Minturn Hartshorne, father Robert Hartshorne, and aunt Mary Ann Hartshorne.
Biographical Note: Mary Minturn Hartshorne was born on 3 November 1839, the youngest
child of Robert Hartshorne (1798-1872) and Mary Ann Minturn (1802-1861). She attended St.
Mary’s Hall (1848-1854), an Episcopal school for girls in Burlington, NJ. In 1871, she married
Felix Eugene O’Rourke (ca. 1827-1891). O’Rourke, a native of County Leitrim, Ireland, was
born about 1827 and graduated with honors from Armagh College, after which he joined the
Young Ireland Party. This group of violent radicals attempted a rebellion against the British in
1848 due to repression and the introduction of martial law in Ireland. The British government
issued an order for O’Rourke’s arrest, but he escaped to the United States, arriving in New York
on 25 July 1848 aboard the ship Columbus. O’Rourke established a dry goods store at 160
Broadway in New York City under the firm name of Smythe, O’Rourke & Herring. By 1861 he
was living at 72 West 14th Street, and was identified as a merchant. During the Civil War, he
withdrew from the firm and went into the Catholic publication business on Barclay Street,
having succeeded Donegan & Kirker.
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Upon Felix O’Rourke’s marriage to Mary M. Hartshorne, the couple retired to the Highlands in
New Jersey. The 1880 U. S. Census of Population indicates they lived there at the time with a
cook, a servant, and a laborer in their household. An 1890 article in The New York Times on the
Hartshornes had this to say about the O’Rourkes: “One of Robert Hartshorne’s daughters
married Mr. Felix O’Rourke of the Catholic Book Concern. In the course of time O’Rourke got
into the meshes of money changers. Messrs. Condert Brothers had a mortgage on the property
which O’Rourke received at the time of his marriage [actually 1872], and they finally decided to
foreclose on it. At this juncture Benjamin Hartshorne came to the rescue and bought it in. At a
later date, when O’Rourke’s uncle left him considerable money, he repurchased it from
Hartshorne, though he really did not need it. Occasionally he cuts some locust and sells it, and
that is about all the use he has for it. Mr. O’Rourke probably thinks he will find a big customer
some day who for a quarter of a million will consent to go in between the Hartshornes and be
ground between the factions.”
Mary Hartshorne O’Rourke died without issue on 11 November 1890 at St. Vincent’s Hospital in
New York City at the age of fifty-one. Her husband never recovered from the shock of his wife’s
death. He also passed away at St. Vincent’s Hospital only five months later on 6 April 1891 of
pneumonia. Their funerals both took place at St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church on West
16th Street in New York, with interments in Calvary Cemetery in Queens. Their estates went into
litigation for a number of years due to joint debts due to creditors. See: Box 1, Folders 3 and 4;
The New York Times, November 12, 1890, 23 February 1891, and April 8, 1891; and The
Atlantic Reporter, 30, 181-183.
Minturn Hartshorne, father Robert Hartshorne, and brother Edward M. Hartshorne.
Minturn Hartshorne, brother William Hartshorne, aunt Mary Ann Hartshorne, sister in law Julia
Norton Hartshorne, Susan E. Milnor, Madge ______, and aunt Penelope Minturn.
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Documents include: letters received, no dates. Correspondents include: Edith ______, aunt Sarah
Hartshorne, mother Mary Ann Minturn Hartshorne, father Robert Hartshorne, aunt Mary Ann
Hartshorne, and brother Edward M. Hartshorne.
3 items
Documents include: school compositions, 1850-1855, and no date. Three items entitled “The
First Grave,” “Home,” and “Birds’ Nests.”
1 item
Autograph album, entries dated 1856-1868. In an undated book entitled Album of Gems
published by John C. Riker of New York and illustrated with sentimental lithographs by Thomas
Sinclair (1805-1881) of Philadelphia. Riker was a prolific publisher of such albums in the mid
19th century. Bound in full tooled leather with gilt decoration. Many of the entries are now
virtually illegible.
Box 24 – Folder 5; Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne (1826-1900)
Documents include: letters received, 1832-1849. Correspondents include: grandmother Susanna
Ustick Hartshorne, cousin E. Minturn, mother Mary Minturn Hartshorne, brother Richard
Hartshorne, father Robert Hartshorne, aunt Sarah Hartshorne, brother Robert Hartshorne Jr.,
cousin William H. Minturn, cousin “Liz” Minturn, cousin William B. Minturn, sister Mary
Minturn Hartshorne, and brother Edward M. Hartshorne.
Biographical Note: Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne was born on 7 May 1826, the second son of
Robert Hartshorne (1798-1872) and his wife Mary Ann Minturn (1802-1861). Named for
Benjamin G. Minturn, his maternal grandfather, young Benjamin was sent off to boarding school
at the age of 10 with his older brother Richard. From 1836 to 1840, they studied under the
tutelage of Rev. G. V. C. Eastman, first at Saybrook, CT, and then in Litchfield, CT, where this
Episcopal clergyman served as a parish priest and also ran a school. As a follow up, both boys
received additional private instruction in 1840 from A. Frost at the rectory of Christ Episcopal
Church in Shrewsbury, NJ, where they also boarded even though it was so close to home. After
spending a few listless years mostly at Portland, by late 1846 Ben had decided to go to sea. This
choice of a career was no doubt influenced by his uncles Charles and Edward Minturn, both of
whom were engaged at the time in transatlantic shipping through the New York firm of
Woodhull, Minturn & Co. On 17 December 1846, Charles wrote to his sister Mary Minturn
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Hartshorne, “while I sympathize with the feelings of anguish you express at Ben’s decision,
endeavoring at the same time to comfort you by assuring you that not alone in mine but in the
opinion of those much more capable of forming a correct one, it is the best step he could take to
advance his future situation. The family is large. Most of the younger members have taken to
mercantile and professional pursuits in which I hope but fear not all can succeed. But none have
taken to the sea.”
Ben embarked from New York in March of 1847 onboard the clipper ship Houqua bound for
China. In a letter written to his mother while off Sandy Hook at the start of his maiden voyage,
he said, “Tell Dick I steered all the way down.” What a thrilling experience for a young man to
take the helm of a majestic clipper ship for its departure out of New York harbor. Ben was gone
for more than year. While passing through Indonesia on the outbound passage, the Houqua
encountered a horrific typhoon and was nearly lost. But the vessel limped into Hong Kong,
where it was repaired and made fit to continue its voyage. Ben sent letters home addressed from
Whampoa Reach, the Straits of Timor, Hong Kong, and Shanghai before returning to New York.
His second voyage took him in 1849 to Liverpool and back on the packet ship Liverpool, a
vessel of the Blue Swallowtail Line of Grinnell, Minturn & Co. Ben’s mother was a first cousin
to Robert Bowne Minturn, a senior partner in this firm. In January of 1850, he left New York
again aboard the ship Samuel Russell bound via Cape Horn for San Francisco, where they
arrived on 2 May. That was the last voyage on a sailing vessel that Ben was to make as part of
the crew. Once in California, he joined his uncle Charles Minturn, who had arrived in San
Francisco in October 1849, to seek his fortune in the West during the heady, economic boom
days of the Gold Rush.
But surprisingly, Benjamin M. Hartshorne’s first independent business venture did not follow his
uncle’s involvements in the lucrative steamboat business on San Francisco Bay and its
tributaries. In September 1850, he along with George A. Johnson and Alfred H. Wilcox traveled
to Yuma, AZ, by way of San Diego to investigate a ferry service across the Colorado River, and
a potential opportunity to ship military stores and supplies to the U. S. Army at Fort Yuma.
While there, they gained much knowledge of navigation on this treacherous, ever-changing river.
Writing years later, George Johnson recalled that their stay in Arizona “induced Captain
Hartshorne and myself to try and determine the navigability of the river from its mouth to Fort
Yuma.” Their pioneering explorations were to come in handy very soon. Ben returned to San
Francisco by January 1851. The Army then abandoned Fort Yuma a few months later. But in
1852 the Army returned. Hartshorne, Johnson and Wilcox secured contracts from the Army
Quartermaster’s Depot in Benicia, CA, to ship stores and supplies to Yuma by sea from San
Francisco Bay around Baja California to the mouth of the Colorado River, and then on smaller
vessels up the river to the fort. To take on this business, the three men entered into a partnership
on 7 January 1852. The company was to be called George A. Johnson & Co. Johnson and
Wilcox based themselves in Yuma, where by 1854 they operated the steamboat General Jessup
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according to their contract requirements with the Army. Hartshorne stayed in San Francisco,
perhaps in part to facilitate relationships with the Quartermaster’s Depot at Benicia.
Hartshorne remained very active in Colorado River steam navigation for the next twenty-five
years. In December 1859 and into 1860, he spent some time again in Yuma, perhaps to sort out
management issues after Johnson left the river in 1858 for San Diego. But Ben returned shortly
to San Francisco. The partnership with Johnson and Wilcox was formally dissolved on 22 May
1871 after its boats and other assets had been transferred on 17 March 1870 to a new stock
corporation formed on 22 December 1869 named the Colorado Steam Navigation Co.
Hartshorne, Johnson and Wilcox each held stock in the new company, along with other friends
and relatives. Hartshorne served as President. The new entity was at the time the only steamboat
operator on the Colorado River. It was sold on 24 April 1877 to Colis P. Huntington representing
the interests of the Southern Pacific Railroad, whose line from Los Angeles had bridged the
Colorado River at Yuma in that year. The arrival of the railroad at Yuma rendered navigation on
the Colorado below that point to the Sea of Cortez unnecessary as freight could be received there
from any rail station in California far faster and cheaper than by steamboat around Baja
California.
In his early days in San Francisco, Benjamin Hartshorne lived for a time on the ship Resolute
anchored off Cunningham’s Wharf. It was a boat owned by his uncle, Charles Minturn, who used
that pier as his main center of operations in the city. But eventually a more normal life
developed. In the spring of 1861, Hartshorne became engaged to Julia Norton, a daughter of
Charles Norton and his wife Julia A. Maltby. Julia Norton had been born in Buffalo, NY, on 19
November 1838. The couple was married in San Francisco on 13 February 1862. The
Hartshornes became parents of three children: Julia Norton (b. 1863), Robert (1866-1927), and
Mary Minturn (b. 1867). From May to November 1868, the Hartshorne family made an extended
visit east, staying at Portland with his aging father, and also with relatives in the New York area.
Shortly after returning to San Francisco, Julia contracted a serious illness that required extensive
doctor’s care from 4 December 1868 to her death on 3 February 1869, at the tragically young age
of thirty. A headstone to her memory was erected in the Hartshorne family cemetery in
Middletown Village in New Jersey. It was accompanied by a footstone engraved “J. N. H.” It
therefore seems likely that Julia’s remains were brought east for interment among her husband’s
family.
Concurrent with his steam navigation involvements on the Colorado River, Benjamin M.
Hartshorne also became active in the California Steam Navigation Co. This major steamboat
operator was organized in San Francisco on 1 March 1854 by a group of sixteen steamboat
owners, investors and captains who represented the interests of twenty-two boats. Among them
was Hartshorne’s uncle, Charles Minturn. Minturn served as agent for the vessels Senator and
New World, both of which joined the new firm’s fleet. The CSNCo was formed to end cutthroat
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competition on various steamboat routes on San Francisco Bay and its tributaries. It enjoyed a
virtual monopoly on Bay Area inland waterway transportation for seventeen years. In 1858 after
discovery of gold in British Columbia, CSNCo also entered coastal shipping to ports north and
south of San Francisco, as well as to Hawaii and other Pacific destinations. Benjamin Hartshorne
served the CSNCo as a Director, and also as its Secretary. In 1865, he was elected President. The
company withdrew from the coastal trade in 1867 after several tragic accidents involving
significant loss of life, disposing of four boats engaged in that service. The entire property was
sold to the Central Pacific Railroad in 1871. In 1864, a small vessel of 503 tons built for the
California Steam Navigation Co. was named the Julia after Hartshorne’s wife. It was destroyed
in a terrific explosion and fire near Vallejo in 1888.
The sale of the California Steam Navigation Co. in 1871 and the Colorado Steam Navigation Co.
in 1877 left Hartshorne with time on his hands and a pocket full of cash. So he and Alfred H.
Wilcox, his former Colorado partner, started a new enterprise about 1877 called the California &
Mexican Steam Ship Line. This company was formed for moving freight and other goods from
the San Francisco Bay area to ports along the western coast of Mexico and in the Sea of Cortez.
They also carried passengers. The steamboat Newbern, formerly owned by the Colorado Steam
Navigation Co., was purchased by the California & Mexican for the San Francisco to Mexico
route. Benjamin M. Hartshorne took a 2/3 share in the vessel, and Capt. Wilcox a 1/3 share. John
Bermingham, Hartshorne’s long-time friend and business associate, served as President of the
company. In 1881 and 1882, Hartshorne and Wilcox had a second vessel constructed at a total
cost of $211,869.92 for service on the California & Mexican. It was named the Mexico, at the
time the largest ship built on the West Coast. Hartshorne again took a two-thirds interest in the
new boat, with Wilcox assuming the remainder. Both it and the Newbern were sold on 14 July
1888 to the Oregon Improvement Co. for operation by the Pacific Coast Steamship Co. on routes
between Oregon and Alaska.
By the late 1850s, Benjamin M. Hartshorne began to invest in West Coast mines and land, in
addition to his extensive interests in steam navigation. His holdings included shares in a coal
mine in San Joaquin County, the Temescal tin mine in Riverside County, various copper, silver
and quicksilver mines on both sides of the Colorado River, etc. In 1869, he joined Alfred H.
Wilcox in purchasing a 17,719-acre ranch northeast of San Diego known as Rancho Santa
Ysabel that was used primarily for stock grazing. Later California real estate investments
included the Comfort Consolidated Mining Co. in Placer County and coal lands in Contra Costa
County, along with numerous lots and buildings in San Francisco and Los Angeles, many of
which were put into trusts for his children.
Benjamin Hartshorne had by the early 1870s established himself well in San Francisco. He had
risen to prominence in steam navigation all along the Pacific Coast, accumulating a significant
fortune along the way. But changing circumstances at Portland increasingly drew his attention
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east. First off, his mother Mary Minturn Hartshorne passed away in 1861. She had long been his
indefatigable correspondent, communicating on a regular basis details great and small about the
family and its various activities. Four more strategic deaths in the immediate family between
1867 and 1872 created an inheritance and leadership vacuum for Portland that needed to be filled
if the 700-acre estate at the Highlands was to remain intact. Older brother Richard, long the heir
apparent, passed away in 1867, followed by younger brothers Robert Jr. in 1870 and William in
1871. And finally, the family patriarch, Robert Sr., succumbed to his longstanding heart disease
condition in 1872. That left siblings Ben, Edward and Mary to inherit Portland. But Edward had
experienced a major business loss about 1871 that put his assets at risk. Business management
was not one of his strengths. Therefore, Edward’s share of Portland, as per their father’s will,
was held in trust by Ben. By the mid 1870s, it was clear that Ben’s future was in the east even
though the foundation of his success remained in the West.
Beginning in 1875, steps were taken to transform Portland into an estate worthy of a country
gentleman of great net worth. First, picturesque private carriage roads were laid out over the
entire property, including those portions inherited by Edward and Mary. The following year, the
main Portland residence owned by Ben, built after a fire in 1834 destroyed the 18th century
house, was expanded and renovated substantially. Hartshorne engaged Ezra A. Osborn of
Middletown, a surveyor, to serve as his agent. Osborn hired Alvin Newton & Charles H. Root,
also of Middletown, as architects, and to supervise the carpenters. Roughly $10,000 was spent to
construct a large wing on the original house, replace the piazzas, make alterations to the old floor
plan, update the exterior and interior appointments, etc. Osborn also asked Frederick Law
Olmstead to develop a new landscaping plan. Unfortunately, the country’s leading landscape
architect was otherwise engaged. So he put Osborn in touch with Jacob Weidenmann, another
nationally prominent colleague, who created a proper setting for the greatly enhanced Hartshorne
country seat. In late 1877, following the sale of the Colorado Steam Navigation Company, Ben
announced that he and his three children were coming back to New Jersey to stay.
In reality, the Hartshornes divided their time between New York City during the winter months,
and Portland when the weather was more inviting. Ben kept an office in lower Manhattan for
fifteen years or more, to which he went daily when in the city. He was described in a lengthy
1890 New York Times article bearing the title “MASTER OF NAVESINK: A Noble Heritage
and its Possessor” as a “plainly-dressed, every-day-looking sort of man” with an income in the
mid 1870s that was estimated at $4,000 per day. He was also given the “distinction of being the
only man on the Atlantic coast, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico, to own
nearly a mile of sea front.” The article went on to comment that “Benjamin Hartshorne now
practically owns all the best of the Highlands property, hundreds of acres of the grandest timber
on the Atlantic Ocean, the finest within 200 miles of New-York City, worth from $1,000 to
$10,000 an acre.” These claims, with perhaps some exaggeration, were generally true.
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Hartshorne kept tight control over his West Coast assets and investments through John
Bermingham, an old colleague who served as President of the California & Mexican Steam Ship
Line for its entire corporate existence. Bermingham also functioned as Hartshorne’s agent in San
Francisco, an advisor on stock and real estate investments, and good friend. Their twenty-five
year run of correspondence reveals just how much Hartshorne depended on Bermingham to
follow his often detailed instructions, to keep him informed on West Coast business conditions
and opportunities, and to astutely manage his considerable assets in California. An 1887 listing
of his various holdings showed a $30,508 balance in his childrens’ San Francisco accounts, 2/3
interest in the steamers New Bern and Mexico, large blocks of shares in real estate companies,
banks, utilities, insurance companies, and manufacturing enterprises, etc. He was also heavily
invested in railroad bonds, municipal bonds, and land. Among the latter were the 322 acres at the
Highlands, a part of a pier adjoining the Brooklyn Bridge in New York that he had acquired from
his uncle Edward Minturn’s estate, and numerous lots in San Francisco. Bank deposits included
$280,000 in the Farmers Loan and Trust in New York, plus smaller accounts elsewhere. And
lastly, he held mortgages valued at $163,000, most of which were being managed by J. Frederick
Kernochan, a prominent New York attorney.
Clearly, Hartshorne possessed astute business acumen in building a diversified portfolio that
yielded significant returns. But three investments he made between 1888 and 1891 harkened
back with nostalgia to his youthful days at sea on sailing vessels. Hartshorne took a 1/32 share in
a new schooner named the F. & T. Lupton in 1888, a 1/16 share in another new schooner named
the Marjory Brown in 1889, and a 2/64 share in a third new schooner named the Benjamin A.
Van Brunt in 1891. All three boats were operated by masters from Monmouth County. The
captains of the Marjory Brown and the F. & T. Lupton lived in Keyport, while the captain of the
Benjamin A. Van Brunt was from Manasquan. Nearly all of the other investors in these threemasted vessels were from the area. Put mostly into service moving coal and other bulk
commodities along the eastern seaboard, the schooners returned small profits to their owners.
Hartshorne gave his investments in the Marjory Brown and the F. & T. Lupton to his son Robert
in 1890.
Age began to take its toll on Hartshorne during the late 1890s. Eyesight was apparently a
particular problem, for which he underwent surgery. He spent more and more time when in New
York City at the Astoria residence of his oldest daughter Julia, who in 1888 had married Dr.
James D. Trask. Even in failing health, though, he kept up his business involvements with John
Bermingham, who since 1890 had become President of the California Powder Works, a major
West Coast manufacturer of sporting, military and blasting powders. Their correspondence
reveals just how much Bermingham sought out Hartshorne’s advice and commentary as the
company became more and more absorbed into E. I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co. Hartshorne held
500 shares in the California Powder Works, which was converted into Du Pont stock when the
company was taken over completely by them in 1906.
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Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne died on 21 March 1900 at the home of his daughter in Astoria,
Queens. An obituary in the Red Bank Register noted that “he was 74 years old and death was due
to paralysis.” The article claimed that Hartshorne “was probably the wealthiest man in
Monmouth County” and “his estate is estimated to be worth several million dollars.” His will
left the former Minturn House at Lower Rocky Point to his daughter Julia Trask, and the main
Portland estate of about 320 acres to his son Robert. The latter also received “the household
furniture, live stock and farming utensils and implements thereon and also the sedges in the river
adjoining said premises . . .” The remainder of the estate was to be divided equally among his
three children. An inventory of Hartshorne’s investments and personal property not including
real estate came to $1,263,622.33. As in 1887, he held a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds,
mortgages, and notes, a large percentage still in West Coast enterprises. Bank deposits amounted
to $439,560.46. Hartshorne’s generous legacies to his children formed the foundation for the
family’s continued prosperity through the twentieth century.
The 1890 New York Times article quoted above summarized the life of Benjamin Minturn
Hartshorne succinctly. It said that “this descendant of a grand old family, heir to a grand old
property, went to sea, became immensely wealthy, and returned just in time to hold intact the
family heritage.” The author went on to conclude “he could not do a more gracious act than to
turn over say 200 acres of his magnificent estate for a public park, where the poor as well as the
rich might enjoy the delights of forest and sea air during hot and oppressive Summer days.”
How prophetic these words turned out to be. Between 1974 and 2008, the Monmouth County
Park System acquired about 790 acres in the Highlands to create Hartshorne Woods Park. This
tract, larger than the original Portland estate of 1761, encompasses nearly all of the property in
this highly scenic area owned by Benjamin M. Hartshorne and his family. See: Stillwell, 295297, The New York Times, 23 February 1890; Red Bank Register, 28 March 1900; Johnson, 1315; and Lingenfelter, 2, 8, 11, 40, and 51.
Note: A match box made of bone, held together with four metal bands and hinge mechanism,
was given to Benjamin M. Hartshorne by Selim (?) Woodworth. It has been transferred to the
museum collection. See: Appendix A, item 14.
See also: Addendum in Box 66, Folder 2.
Documents include: letters received, 1850-1852. Correspondents include: William C.
Wilmerding, brother Richard Hartshorne, mother Mary Minturn Hartshorne, sister Mary Minturn
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Hartshorne, brother Edward M. Hartshorne, Samuel R. Krug (?), George A. Johnson, William
Nicholl, uncle Edward Minturn, father Robert Hartshorne, and W. A. Jennings.
Documents include: letters received, 1853-1854. Correspondents include: brother Robert
Hartshorne, Jr., mother Mary Minturn Hartshorne, W. E. Lawrence, and A. P. Tripp.
Note: This folder begins a highly interesting series of letters from brother Robert Hartshorne,
writing from the California gold fields at Smith’s Bar or Point, and Whisky Bar, and also from
Chile.
Documents include: letters received, 1855-1856. Correspondents include: brother Richard
Hartshorne, brother Robert Hartshorne Jr., mother Mary Minturn Hartshorne, father Robert
Hartshorne, and a letter of introduction for Benjamin M. Hartshorne by Isaac E. Cordes
addressed to Jefferson Davis, then U. S. Secretary of War.
Documents include: letters received, 1857-1859. Correspondents include: mother Mary Minturn
Hartshorne, brother William Hartshorne, father Robert Hartshorne, sister Mary Minturn
Hartshorne, brother Richard Hartshorne, and H. S. Brinton.
Documents include: letters received, 1860-1863. Correspondents include: mother Mary Minturn
Hartshorne, Joel Clayton, George A. Bromly, brother Richard Hartshorne, brother Edward M.
Hartshorne, J. G. Chandler, uncle Edward Minturn, cousin Alice Minturn, and brother William
Hartshorne.
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Documents include: letters received, 1865-1869. Correspondents include: brother Richard
Hartshorne, George H. (?), Capt of Engineers, S. O. Putnam, brother Edward M. Hartshorne,
Anson Burlingame, A. Redington, H. S. Brinton, uncle Edward Minturn, and father in law
Charles Norton.
Documents include: letters received, 1870-1879. Correspondents include: brother William
Hartshorne, brother Robert Hartshorne Jr., uncle Edward Minturn, brother Edward M.
Hartshorne, sister in law Lucinda Norton Moor (signed Lou), Charles H. Kimball, James
McCudden, A. Redington, James A. Duffy, J. M. Sohnfield (?), Mollie C. Low, William R.
Rowland, aunt H. F. Tracy, J. Saltar, Selover & Norton, brother in law Henry Norton, Anthony
Ludlum, John A. Read, Henry (?) Hobson, Edwin P. Marsellus, Jerome Lincoln, S. C. Hubbell,
and E. F. Spence.
Documents include: letters received, 1880-1881. Correspondents include: brother in law Henry
Norton, Jerome Lincoln, E. F. Spence, R. F. Clayton, W. H. Talbot, (?) Sawtelle, Charles J. C.
Clayton, M. W. Belshaw, W. H. Talbot, Rufus Ingalls, H. Villard, Charles C. Bemis, and A. F.
Rockwell regarding the status of health of President James A. Garfield.
Documents include: letters received, 1882-1885. Correspondents include: Robert W. DeForest,
O. Livermore, Robert Abbott, Henry Daily Jr., Rufus Ingalls, brother in law Henry Norton,
William M. Pierson, Col. Bill Holfe (?), Jerome Lincoln, and L. J. Y Jaeger.
Documents include: letters received, 1886-1887. Correspondents include: brother in law Henry
Norton, Laidlaw & Co., funeral of General Winfield Scott Hancock, C. C. Bemis, Jerome
Lincoln, C. G. Sawtelle, William Beelie, son Robert Hartshorne, Jesse Young, sister in law Ida
Norton, W. F. Shaffer, and Joseph Foursing (?).
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Documents include: letters received, 1888-1889. Correspondents include: Jesse Young, brother
in law Henry Norton, Theodore B. Starr, Henry A. Thomas, and John Adams Perry.
Documents include: letters received, 1890-1898. Correspondents include: cousin Alice White,
sister Mary Hartshorne O’Rourke, brother in law Felix O’Rourke, brother Edward M.
Hartshorne, Charles G. Sawtelle, Charles Bertody, Lewis J. Y. Jaeger, James T. Boyd, Mrs.
Wilhelm Hahn, sister in law Lucinda Norton Moor (some signed simply “Lou”), R. B.
Hartshorne, Frank P. McDermott, Hubert, Pirsson & Hoddick, J. B. Crockett, Mary A. Swift,
Laidlaw & Co., W. H. Talbot, Mary M. Saltar, L. K. Harnett, Delaware, Lackawanna & Western
Railroad, Samuel Welles, Henry E. Prentice, and White & Blackwell.
Documents include: letters received, March-June 1899. Correspondents include: San Francisco
Gas & Electric Co., Dr. Horace Tracy Hanks, “Elmhurst Lou” that is probably sister in law
Lucinda Norton Moor, cousin Ellen Collins, Nellie B. de De Pedrorena, Worthington Ames,
Laidlaw & Co., Great Northern Railway, Turner, McClure & Rolston, Charles G. Sawtelle, H. C.
Corbin, Adjutant General, Headquarters of the Army, daughter Mary Hartshorne Ward, and
daughter Julia Hartshorne Trask.
Documents include: letters received, Jul-Dec 1899. Correspondents include: Charles G. Sawtelle,
sister in law Lucinda Norton Moor (signed simply “Lou”), daughter Mary Hartshorne Ward,
Bank of California, Wells Fargo & Co., cousin M. M. Saltar, San Francisco Gas & Electric Co.,
Turner, McClure & Rolston, daughter Julia Hartshorne Trask, and Laidlaw & Co.
Documents include: letters received, no dates. Correspondents include: father Robert Hartshorne,
mother Mary Minturn Hartshorne, Edith L. Chase, sister Mary Minturn Hartshorne O’Rourke,
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Senator McPherson, the New York Club, aunt Cornelia Minturn, aunt Penelope Minturn, brother
William Hartshorne, aunt Sarah Hartshorne, A. Nicholas, and Rev. G. C. Eastman’s father.
Documents include: letters received, 1895. A series of letters written to Benjamin M. Hartshorne
by his son Robert Hartshorne while on a grand honeymoon tour of Europe, May through October
1895. Letters were written from Penzance, London, Bude, Ely, Edinburgh, Brussels, The Hague,
Berlin, Vienna, and Milan.
Note: Robert Hartshorne (1866-1927) married on 16 April 1895 to Margaret Willis (1868-1942).
These letters describe the travels and impressions of Europe in great detail. They were found in a
bundle under the name of the recipient and retained in that order.
Documents include: letters received from John Bermingham, 1876-1884. Topics covered include
renovations to the steamship “Newbern,” the Colorado Steam Navigation Co., mail contracts
with the Mexican government, the California & Mexican Steam Ship Line, construction of the
steamship Mexico, the health and deaths of friends and former associates, various investments in
securities and land, etc.
Note: These letters, and those that follow in subsequent folders, describe in great detail the
ongoing business ventures and investments made in California by Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne.
John Bermingham served as his representative or agent in San Francisco after Hartshorne
returned permanently to the East by 1878. The two former seafarers remained close friends,
confidants, and business associates for more than 25 years. Bermingham also managed trust
funds set up in San Francisco for each of Hartshorne’s three children.
Biographical Note: Capt. John Bermingham was born at Utica, NY, on 25 February 1830. At an
early age he displayed a deep interest in mechanical subjects. By the age of 17, he had become a
locomotive engineer on the Pennsylvania & Reading Railroad. But the sea attracted him more,
and on 4 July 1847 he sailed from Nantucket, MA, on the ship Planter bound for the Pacific
Ocean on a whaling and trading voyage. When news of gold discoveries in California reached
him, he left for San Francisco, where he arrived in 1850 and engaged in lightering freight from
ships in the harbor to the docks. The next year, he became first assistant engineer of the Pacific
Mail line on the Panama run. In December 1851 he personally saved the steamship Republic
from sinking in Acapulco harbor with 500 passengers on board.
92
In 1856, Bermingham was appointed chief engineer of the steamship Golden Age, and while in
charge of her engines the vessel made a speed run between San Francisco and Panama which
was not equaled for more than 50 years. He became captain of the Republic in 1861, then owned
by the California, Oregon & Mexican Steamship Co. Later he became superintendent of the
company, and in 1864 supervised construction of the Del Norte, the first regular steamship built
on the Pacific coast. Still later and for many years he was manager of the Colorado Steam
Navigation Company, a subsidiary of the California & Mexican Steamship Line of which he
served as President. For this company, Capt. Bermingham supervised construction of the
steamship Mexico, which was at the time the largest vessel of its type ever built on the West
Coast.
In 1892, John Bermingham was appointed United States supervising inspector of steam vessels,
being practically the marine judge of western waters. He rendered all final decisions as to
responsibility for wrecks, collisions, and the questions of navigation affecting the competency of
navigators and marine engineers. He was also responsible for the safety of vessels plying the
inland waters or upon the far reaches of Pacific and Alaskan waters.
By 1890, Berhingham’s career abruptly changed. In that year he became President of the
California Powder Works and its affiliate the Hercules Powder Works. He also served as a
director of Wells Fargo Co., the Donohoe-Kelly Bank, and of various insurance and commercial
enterprises.
Earlier in life, Bermingham had been a member of the famous Vigilance Committee during the
turbulent 1850s in San Francisco. Later in life he was urged to become a candidate for Mayor but
never accepted any political position except one term as School Director, 1878-1879. He was
also a prominent member of the Pacific Union Club. Bermingham married on 14 November
1862 to Lucy M. Seymour, eldest daughter of Capt. Samuel Seymour who had come to San
Francisco to take charge of the steamer New World on the San Francisco to Sacramento run.
They were the parents of four children. Bermingham married a second time on 8 October 1902 to
Frances A. Seymour, youngest daughter of Capt. Seymour. He died on 1 December 1911 at the
age of 81 after a distinguished 60 year career in San Francisco. See: San Francisco Builders, 141143.
Documents include: letters received from John Bermingham, July-September 1885. Continuation
of the above. Considerable detail on the operations of the California & Mexican Steam Ship
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Line, investments in securities and land, general shipping news of competitors, news of family
and friends, etc.
Documents include: letters received from John Bermingham, October-December 1885.
Continuation of the above.
Documents include: letters received from John Bermingham, January-June 1886. Continuation of
the above.
Documents include: letters received from John Bermingham, July 1886-1888. Continuation of
the above.
Documents include: letters received from John Bermingham, 1890-1892. By this time, interests
in the California & Mexican Steam Ship Line had been sold. John Bermingham then became
President of the California Powder Works, a company in which Hartshorne held a stock
investment. These letters focus more on investments in land and securities, news of family and
associates, personal items, and general topics of interest between the two men.
Documents include: letters received from John Bermingham, 1893-1895. Continuation of the
above. In early 1895, Bermingham made a trip East to visit Hartshorne. This folder also includes
a printed transcript of litigation in the Supreme Court of California between A. C. Diggins,
plaintiff and respondent, against B. M. Hartshorne, defendant and appellant, regarding the
defendant’s petition for hearing in bank.
94
above.
above. Bermingham made a last visit to Portland in the late Spring of 1899.
Documents include: letters sent to John Bermingham by Benjamin M. Hartshorne, 1890 and no
dates. Draft letters or notes prepared for writing letters, all in pencil.
Documents include: letters sent by Benjamin M. Hartshorne to his family, 1838-1849.
Correspondents include: mother Mary Minturn Hartshorne, brother Richard Hartshorne, and
father Robert Hartshorne. Letters were written at first from school in Litchfield, CT., and then
from Portland. In 1847, Hartshorne began regular correspondence with his family from various
ports of call while at sea on sailing vessels. Letters are addressed from the Ship Houqua off
Sandy Hook and At Sea, the Straits of Timor, Hong Kong, Whampoa Reach, Shanghai, and
Liverpool.
Note: Benjamin M. Hartshorne’s letters to family were found gathered together in bundles, and
have been retained in that order rather than broken up and distributed by recipient. The bulk of
this correspondence was written before the death of his mother in 1861. These letters give vivid
details of Hartshorne’s life away from New Jersey, first at sea and then in California, Arizona,
and with travels elsewhere.
Documents include: letters sent by Benjamin M. Hartshorne to his family, 1850-1852.
Correspondents include: mother Mary Minturn Hartshorne, father Robert Hartshorne, and
brother Richard Hartshorne. The majority were written from San Francisco, where Ben settled in
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May of 1850. But some were addressed from San Diego, Rio Colorado, and Rio Colorado near
its junction with the Gila.
Note: One letter from Ben to his brother Richard from San Francisco dated 1 September 1851
was written on stationery that featured a lithograph entitled “TREMENDOUS EXCITEMENT!
Samuel Whittaker and Robert McKenzie rescued from authorities and hung by the Vigilance
Committee, on Sunday August 24th at 3 o’clock in the presence of Fifteen thousand People. /
Lith. and Publ. by Justh. [sic] Quirol & Co. Calif. Corner Montg. Sts S. F.” This well-known,
detailed image of the double hanging measures 6 1/4 by 9 7/8 inches. Whittaker and McKenzie
were charged with various crimes of burglary, robbery and arson. Fairly tried, they admitted their
guilt and were sentenced to be hanged. The executions were accordingly carried out by the
Vigilance Committee on 24 August 1851, acting as private citizens where public officials had
failed to move forward with implementing the sentences.
Documents include: letters written by Benjamin M. Hartshorne to his family, 1853-1855.
Correspondents include: mother Mary Minturn Hartshorne, and brother Richard Hartshorne. All
were addressed from San Francisco.
Correspondents include: mother Mary Minturn Hartshorne, brother Richard Hartshorne, and
father Robert Hartshorne. All except one letter were addressed from San Francisco. The last item
was written from Fort Yuma on the Colorado River on 10 December 1859.
Correspondents include: mother Mary Minturn Hartshorne, brother Edward M. Hartshorne,
brother William Hartshorne, brother Robert Hartshorne, Jr., brother Richard Hartshorne, and
sister Mary Minturn Hartshorne. All except two were written from San Francisco. One of the
other items was addressed from Fairfield, CA, where Ben and his young family had gone for a
visit. The other was written from Hugo, CO, in November about 1871 when Ben and his family
were returning to San Francisco after spending time in the East. The train they were traveling on
became snow-bound for at least 24 hours.
96
Documents include: letters written by Benjamin M. Hartshorne to his family, no dates.
Correspondents include: mother Mary Minturn Hartshorne, and brother Richard Hartshorne.
Documents include: letters written to Benjamin M. Hartshorne from his children, 1873-1876, and
no dates. Found in a bundle marked “Childrens’ First Letters,” these charming youthful notes
and letters were written by his three children: Robert Hartshorne, Julia Hartshorne, and Mary
Hartshorne.
Documents include: letters written to Edward Minturn by Benjamin M. Hartshorne, 1865-1866.
All written from San Francisco, and most on California Steam Navigation Company letterhead.
Note: These letters between Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne and his uncle Edward Minturn (18061879) in New York discuss every imaginable detail of their mutual California interests,
investments and also the business of the California Steam Navigation Company, of which
Hartshorne served as President from 1865 to 1871. Hartshorne must have recovered these letters
from the estate of Edward Minturn.
Biographical Note: Edward Minturn was born on 7 July 1806, a son of Benjamin G. Minturn
and Mary Bowne. For many years, he was a partner in New York with Albert Woodhull in
Woodhull & Minturn, proprietors of a well-known line of Liverpool packets that included such
notable ships as Queen of the West and Constitution. This firm retired from business in 1848,
their vessels having been purchased by Grinnell, Minturn & Co. for use on their Blue
Swallowtail Line between New York and Liverpool. Robert B. Minturn, a partner in Grinnell,
Minturn & Co., was a first cousin to Edward Minturn. The latter remained very close to his
Hartshorne nieces and nephews, children of his sister Mary Ann Minturn and her husband Robert
Hartshorne. For some years he employed Richard Hartshorne, their eldest son, in his New York
packet company, as well as in a merchant business established after he exited transatlantic
shipping. Edward also took an active role after 1850 in the West Coast investments and business
ventures of his brother Charles Minturn, and nephew Benjamin M. Hartshorne. As an example,
in 1854 he purchased a tract of land in Encinal, CA, shortly after his brother obtained a
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monopoly on steamboat ferry service between nearby Oakland and San Francisco. This area,
renamed Alameda, was separated in 1853 from Contra Costa County to form Alameda County.
By 1859, Edward Minturn had become one of the new county’s highest taxpayers, owing
$27,200 in that year alone.
In 1854 and 1855, Minturn erected an imposing Italianate-style house with a tower at Lower
Rocky Point in the Highlands on land acquired from his brother-in-law Robert Hartshorne. This
elevated location offered spectacular views to the east of the open ocean over Sea Bright, and
south over the Navesink River toward Rumson and Long Branch. Designed by New York
architect Thomas R. Jackson, the large mansion was built at a total cost of $11,596 by carpentry
contractor John L. Taylor and masons James Strong & Co., both also of New York City. “His
residence was remarkable as the scene of extensive hospitality, and was filled with old paintings,
rare books, and other evidences of refinement and wealth. Brightly-polished brass cannon
commanded the entrance to the lawn, looking warlike enough, but they consumed powder only
on national holidays and specialty festive occasions.” After the Civil War ended, Minturn
partnered with Moses Taylor of New York to form the Merchants Steamboat Company. This
new company provided passenger and freight service between New York and Red Bank, with
intermediate stops at the Highlands Dock near Minturn's Monmouth County estate and at other
locations along the Navesink River. A "new and elegant" boat named the Sea Bird entered
service on the route in May of 1866. It remained a mainstay of the Merchants Steamboat
Company's fleet until the company withdrew from business in 1926. At the time of his death,
Edward Minturn still owned a 25% interest in the company.
Never married, Edward Minturn died in New York in May of 1879, a very wealthy individual.
By his will, Minturn left $40,000 to his sister Cornelia, plus all the furniture, wearing apparel,
silver plate, wines, liquors, pictures and books in his city and country houses. Other bequests
included $15,000 to his nephew Benjamin M. Hartshorne “for the latter’s kindness in attending
to the business of the testator,” $12,000 to his favorite cousin Penelope Colt, $15,000 in trust to
support former servants, and the residue in various shares to his siblings and nieces. See: The
New York Times, 20 May 1866, 17 June 1879, and 23 February 1890; and Red Bank Register, 24
April 1901.
Continuation of the above.
98
Continuation of the above. Mostly written on Colorado Steam Navigation Company letterhead as
the California Steam Navigation Company had been sold in 1871 to the Central Pacific Railroad.
Documents include: letters written to and by Edward Minturn, 1858-1877. Correspondents
include: brother Charles Minturn, James D. Ogden, Nicolas W. Luff, William Norris, and B.
Collins.
Note: One extensive package of letters dated May of 1858 involve Charles Minturn’s
investments in the Contra Costa Steam Navigation Company and its related real estate holdings.
A copy of that company’s deed selling the Oakland Ferry to Edward Minturn is included.
9 items
Edward Minturn Financial Miscellaneous, 1854-1891. Items include: a copy of a partition deed
from James F. Hibberd to Edward Minturn dated 18 August 1854 for land in Encinal San
Antonio, CA; two 1871 statements of property owned by Edward Minturn in the Minturn Tract,
Encinal of San Antonio, Alameda County, CA; a Statement of Account for 1873-1874 between
Edward Minturn and Benjamin M. Hartshorne mostly pertaining to land in Alameda, CA; two
other statements of account between Minturn and Hartshorne for 1874 on other accounts;
statement of account dated 1874 between Edward Minturn and Crane & Boyd for services
regarding Alameda land; a statement of account dated 1874 between Edward Minturn and
William Norris regarding Alameda land; and a memorandum of distribution from the executors
of Edward Minturn dated 1891.
12 items
Estate of Charles Minturn, 1859-1879. Items include: documents and surveys pertaining to land
in Encinal, CA; documents and a printed map pertaining to land in the Oakland View Homestead
Association; memorandum of errors in the account of Edward Minturn with his brother Charles
Minturn from September 1850 through 24 May 1873; documents and a stock certificate issued to
Benjamin M. Hartshorne for shares in the Contra Costa Steam Navigation Company; summons
to appear in the District Court of the Fourth Judicial District of the State of California in and for
the City and County of San Francisco, John Van Bergen plaintiff against Benjamin M.
99
Hartshorne administrator of the estate of Charles Minturn, et. als., dated 2 October 1873; printed
transcript of a complaint filed in the District Court of the Third Judicial District of the State of
California in and for the City and County of San Francisco, Benjamin Belloc plaintiff against the
administrators and heirs of the estate of Charles Minturn dated 15 June 1874; printed transcript
of a complaint filed in the District Court of the Third Judicial District of the State of California,
John D. Thompson, plaintiff, against B. M. Hartshorne, administrator of the estate of Charles
Minturn, et. als., dated 21 November 1873; printed transcript of a complaint filed in the District
Court of the Third Judicial District of the State of California in and for the County of Alameda,
John G. Kellogg plaintiff against B. M. Hartshorne, administrator of the estate of Charles
Minturn, et. als., dated 24 November 1873; undated agreement with Fred K. Krauth to continue
publication of The Encinal, a newspaper in the Township of Alameda, CA; and final settlement
of the estate of Charles Minturn filed in the Probate Court of the City and County of San
Francisco by Benjamin M. Hartshorne, administrator of the estate, dated 22 December 1879.
Biographical Note: Charles Minturn was born on 6 June 1814, a son of Benjamin G. Minturn
and Mary Bowne. Early on in life, he was involved with his brother Edward in Woodhull &
Minturn, owners of a transatlantic fleet of packets. But by October of 1849, he had settled in San
Francisco where he became very prominent in steam navigation, and also in railroad
development and land speculation. Minturn’s involvements with steam ferries began almost
immediately on arrival in California when he became agent for the boats Senator and New
World. With the formation of the California Steam Navigation Co. in 1854, these two boats
joined that new firm’s fleet, serving on routes from San Francisco to Sacramento and Stockton,
among others. In 1852, Minturn managed to secure a monopoly on trans-bay ferry service from
San Francisco to Oakland. He organized the Contra Costa Steam Navigation Company the
following year. This company became one of Minturn’s most powerful enterprises, operating its
primary route under subsequent owners for more than a century. Also in the early 1850s,
Minturn and his brother Edward invested heavily in land at Encinal, later renamed Alameda, in
Contra Costa and Alameda Counties. Even though his family participated in Minturn’s various
ventures and schemes, their correspondence indicates that they felt many of these enterprises
were risky and Charles at times unreliable.
The early 1850s saw Minturn expand his steamboat interests to South America, where he
obtained a patent from the government of Chile to operate on the River Bio Bio. In 1855 he sold
these rights to his nephew Benjamin M. Hartshorne. By the early 1860s, Charles Minturn had
earned the nickname “The Ferryboat King.” With his monopoly on Oakland services
weakening, he turned his attention to the north bay area. His first venture there was a steamboat
that ran up Petaluma Creek to Lakeville, seven miles south of Petaluma. Minturn also started
ferry service to San Rafael via Point San Quentin. To serve as feeders for his steamboat routes,
Minturn invested in several start-up short line railroads, including the San Francisco & Alameda
Railroad in the east bay in 1863 (which maintained its own ferry services from Oakland) and the
100
Petaluma & Haystack Railroad on the north shore of 1864. Ownership of the former passed to
the Central Pacific Railroad in 1869, and the latter to the Contra Costa Steam Navigation Co.
after Minturn’s death.
Never married, Charles Minturn passed away intestate in California on 26 May 1873 at the age
of 58. One East Bay newspaper carried the headline “A PIONEER STEAMBOAT MAN
GONE” with the following notice, “Charles MINTURN, closely identified with the early
steamboating enterprises of California, and long the owner of the Oakland and San Quentin ferry
lines, died at his residence in San Francisco on Monday.” Benjamin M. Hartshorne was
appointed administrator of his uncle’s estate, which wasn’t finally settled until 1879. Apparently
proud of his early commitments to San Francisco and the Bay Area, Charles Minturn joined the
Society of California Pioneers when that organization was formed in 1854. Two daguerreotype
images of Minturn are owned by the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. A portrait
taken ca. 1851 by Frederick Combs depicts a very well-dressed gentleman. The other also taken
about 1851 shows the ferry Erastus Corning owned by Minturn steaming past a part of the harbor
densely packed with sailing vessels. Minturn is standing on a piling in the foreground. See:
Contra Costa Times, 31 May 1873; MacMullen, 120-121, and 127-128; and San Francisco
Maritime.
4 items
Estate of Charles Minturn. Land Title, 1855-1871. Documents include: a title abstract dated 28
June 1855 for lot no. 323 on Battery Street in San Francisco; deed dated 14 May 1861 for all
right, title and interest in an undivided one-sixth part in a coal mine in New York Township,
Contra Costa County, CA; deed dated 4 May 1863 for interest in a copper mine in the Crescent
Lode, Low Divide District, Del Norte County, CA; and deed dated 22 May 1871 for a portion of
a claim and mining rights in the Branch Mint Mine and Branch Mint Extension in Nevada
County, CA.
1 item
Estate of Alfred H. Wilcox, 1880. Document: a copy of the will of Alfred Henry Wilcox of San
Diego, CA, dated 18 March 1880 naming John Bermingham of San Francisco and E. H. Spence
of Los Angeles as executors.
Note: Capt. Alfred Henry Wilcox was a long-time business associate of Benjamin M.
Hartshorne. Born in Chatham, CT (now East Hampton), in 1823, Wilcox went to California in
1848. Two years later he commanded the Army transport schooner Invincible in an unsuccessful
101
attempt to sail up the Colorado River from its mouth to the newly established Fort Yuma with
supplies. In December of 1850, the vessel became stuck after proceeding about 30 miles up the
river. The cargo was offloaded and taken to Yuma in wagons. In 1852, Wilcox joined George A.
Johnson and Benjamin M. Hartshorne in a partnership under the name of George A. Johnson &
Co. to operate steamboats on the Colorado River to bring military stores and supplies from the
mouth of the river to Yuma and other towns above it. This successful endeavor continued until
1871 when the partnership was dissolved, having transferred to the Colorado Steam Navigation
Company its boats, routes, assets, etc. The new stock company, which also ran steamers from
San Francisco to the mouth of the Colorado via the tip of Baja California and the Sea of Cortez,
enjoyed a monopoly on the river until it was sold on 24 April 1877 to Colis P. Huntington
representing the interests of the Southern Pacific Railway, which had reached Yuma from Los
Angeles in that year.
Wilcox and Hartshorne continued the ocean routes between San Francisco and ports along the
west coast of Mexico under the name of the California & Mexican Steam Ship Line. The two
former partners took ownership of the steamer Newbern in 1877, with Hartshorne putting up
two-thirds of the purchase price, and Wilcox one-third. In 1882, the two investors built a second
steamer named the Mexico for the company, with Hartshorne again taking a two-thirds share,
and Wilcox one-third. These two boats were sold in 1888 to the Oregon Improvement Company
for use on their Pacific coast routes between California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska.
By the 1860s, Alfred Wilcox settled in San Diego, where on 16 April 1863 he married Maria
Antonia Arguello (1821-1909), daughter of Santiago Arguello and Maria Del Pilar Salvadora
Ortego. In 1865, Wilcox brought a private yacht named the Restless to San Diego. Four years
later, he and Hartshorne jointly purchased Rancho Santa Ysabel, a 17,719 acre property located
in the mountains approximately 50 miles northeast of San Diego at an elevation of just under
3,000 feet. The large tract was at the time mostly used for stock raising. In 1869, gold was
discovered in the town of Julian, not far from the ranch. Three years later Wilcox built a toll road
from San Diego to Julian in order to improve access to the mines. In 1885, Wilcox’s widow sold
Rancho Santa Ysabel for $75,000 to three investors from Petaluma, Sonoma County, CA.
Capt. Wilcox started and served as President of the Commercial Bank of San Diego. He lived on
G Street in the Old Town section of the city, and later established a second residence at 818 West
Adams in Los Angeles. Alfred H. Wilcox passed away on 15 August 1883. He left an estate
valued at $492,863.71 with assets in San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles. His widow
died in Los Angeles on 18 April 1909. “Captain Wilcox’s memory will be revered by a large
circle of friends. His genial manner, his never-failing courtesy won the affection of all those with
whom he was brought into contact. His house in San Diego was ever full to overflowing with
guests; his yachts, his horses, his guns, and his dogs were always at the disposal of those who
claimed his acquaintanceship.” See: San Diego Weekly Union, 7 December 1871; and
102
Sacramento Daily Union, 16 August 1883. See: Box 32, Folders 7 and 10 of this collection for
his involvement with Hartshorne and George A. Johnson in their partnership involved in steam
navigation on the Colorado River. The Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, CA, owns 4 linear feet
of original manuscripts entitled the Alfred Wilcox Collection.
Maritime Activities, 1 item
Document: American Seaman Certificate, 1847. Certificate number 1087 issued by Cornelius W.
Lawrence, Collector of the District of New York, on 29 October 1847 to Benjamin M.
Hartshorne, pursuant to the Act for the Relief and Protection of American Seamen, certifying
that Hartshorne was a Citizen of the United States.
Document: a copy of the log of the Ship Houqua, 1848. The full title reads “A Copy of Capt. C.
P. Low’s log on board the Ship Houqua bound from New York to Shanghai, being an account of
the most terrific gale on record in the Indian Ocean, when the ship was hove down and demasted,
Jan 14 to Jan 16 1848, off Sandal Wood Island.”
Note: This was Benjamin M. Hartshorne’s first voyage as part of the crew on board a sailing
vessel. Letters written home to family while on this voyage can be found in Box 29 – Folder 5.
The ship Houqua was an early clipper with an innovative hull design. It was built in 1844 for A.
A. Low and Brother by David Brown of the Brown & Bell shipyard, located in New York City.
Named for the legendary Canton Hong merchant Houqua, the vessel sailed primarily in the
China trade. The ship Houqua left Yokohama, Japan, on 15 August 1864 and was never heard
from again. She apparently foundered in a typhoon.
Sandalwood Island, now known as Sumba Island, is located between the islands of Bali and
Timor in eastern Indonesia. Capt. Charles Porter Low became captain of the Houqua at the age
of 21, his first command. For a full account of this outbound passage, its horrific storm and how
the vessel limped into Hong Kong, see: Low, 66-78.
Document: log of the Ship Houqua, 1848-1849. The full title reads “ A Journal of the
Transactions and Remarkable Events on board the Ship Houqua which left (?) Island at the
mouth of the Yangtze-Keang on the 24th of November 1848 on her passage to New York via
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Hong Kong and Anjer Point.” Accompanied by a loose map insert showing the outbound and
return routes, addressed to Robert Hartshorne, care of Woodhull & Minturn, 87 South St., New
York.
Note: Much of this log was written in pencil and is now nearly illegible. This is the return
voyage of the Ship Houqua from Shanghai. A fierce storm encountered on its outbound leg is
described in Box 32 – Folder 2. Letters written by Benjamin M. Hartshorne to family while on
this voyage can be found in Box 29 – Folder 5. For another account of the voyage from Shanghai
to New York, see: Low, 83-85.
Document: log of the Ship Liverpool, 1849. The full title reads “Journal of a Passage from New
York to Liverpool in the Ship Liverpool, Captain John Eldridge.: The vessel departed New York
on 21 April 1849, and docked at Liverpool on 16 May. The log then continues as “Journal of a
passage from Liverpool to New York in the Ship Liverpool, Captain John Eldridge: being a
continuation of the voyage commenced at New York on the 21st of April 1849.” The ship left
Liverpool on 9 June 1849, and arrived at New York on 16 July.
Note: Benjamin M. Hartshorne accompanied this voyage. Letters written home to family while
on this voyage can be found in Box 29, Folder 5. The packet boat Liverpool was built in New
York by Brown & Bell in 1843. It measured 175 feet long, 35 feet beam, and 22 feet depth, of
1,077 tons. The Liverpool ran in the longest continuous line service of any sailing packet. From
1843 to 1849, it was placed in service by the Liverpool New Line between New York and
Liverpool. In 1849, it joined the fleet of Grinnell, Minturn Co. on their Blue Swallowtail route
also between New York and Liverpool. From 1855 to 1880, Grinnell, Minturn & Co. assigned
the vessel to their Red Swallowtail Line from New York to London. Capt. John Eldridge (17981874) of Yarmouth Port, MA, commanded the vessel for twelve years. Grinnell, Minturn & Co.
was founded in 1815 as Fish, Grinnell & Co. About 1830, Robert Bowne Minturn (1805-1866)
joined the firm, which was renamed Grinnell, Minturn & Co. It became one of the leading
transatlantic shipping companies in the mid 19th century, operating from 1822 to 1880 the Blue
Swallowtail line of New York to Liverpool packets, among others. Grinnell, Minturn & Co.
remained active until 1880. Robert B. Minturn, a son of William Minturn and Sarah Bowne, was
a first cousin to Benjamin M. Hartshorne’s mother, Mary Ann Minturn Hartshorne. The canvas
cover of the log book, which may well cover the Liverpool’s first voyage for Grinnell, Minturn
& Co., contains a pen sketch depicting the blue and white swallowtail flag used by the firm for
their Liverpool packets, reflecting the name of the line. See: Albion, 280-283.
104
Document: log of the Ship Liverpool, 1849. The full title reads “Journal of a Passage from New
York to Liverpool in the Ship Liverpool, Capt. Blethen.” The ship left New York on 22 August
1849, arriving at Liverpool on 16 September. The log then continues with a “Journal of a passage
from Liverpool to New York in the Ship Liverpool, Capt. James H. Blethen.” The ship departed
Liverpool on 7 October 1849. The log ends abruptly on 26 October in mid voyage, the day after
two steerage passengers died of cholera.
Note: Benjamin M. Hartshorne accompanied this voyage. Letters written home to family while
on this voyage can be found in Box 29, Folder 5. See notes for Folder 4 regarding background on
the vessel and Grinnell, Minturn & Co., its owners. Between 1840 and 1850, Capt. James H.
Blethen (1814-1897) was regularly assigned to boats on the New York to Liverpool run.
Previous to this voyage, he commanded the ship Liverpool in 1843. In 1851, Blethen went to San
Francisco, where he served as a steamship captain on various Pacific coast vessels and routes
until 1872.
Document: log of the Ship Samuel Russell, 1850. The full title reads “Ship Samuel Russell, C. P.
Low, master, left New York on Wednesday January 16th 1850 at 1 pm in tow of steamer
Telegraph bound to San Francisco.” The log ends on 2 May 1850 with the note “7 am Made the
land at Cape Mendocino . . .” A loose insert describes “To find the time at sea by two altitudes
shortly before and after noon in West longitude” and “To ascertain the Longitude by the Setting
Sun.”
Note: This was the voyage that brought Benjamin M. Hartshorne to San Francisco. See: Box 30,
Folder 1 for a letter from Hartshorne dated 4 May 1850 to his father Robert Hartshorne
describing this voyage in detail. For another full account of the passage to California and the
captain’s stay in San Francisco, see: Low, 88-98.
The clipper ship Samuel Russell was built in 1847 for A. A. Low and Brother by the Brown &
Bell shipyard in New York City. Measuring 173 feet in length, it was intended for the China
trade. The vessel wrecked on a reef in the Gaspar Straits on 23 November 1870. The remains of
the ship were subsequently sold for $370 and the cargo for $1,800. The Gaspar Straits, now
known as Selat Gelasa, separates Belitung and Bangka islands just east of Sumatra in Indonesia.
It connects the Java Sea to the South China Sea.
Maritime Activities, 10 items
105
Early San Francisco and Colorado River Navigation, 1850-1852, and no dates. Documents
pertain to Hartshorne’s earliest involvements in navigation in California and Arizona. Items
include: an agreement dated 8 September 1850 by 14 individuals (including Hartshorne) resident
on the Colorado River and members of the Calhoun Ferry Company regarding sales of land;
certification from Martin Tufts, Inspector, that Benjamin M. Hartshorne was appointed and
served as Clerk at an election held in Colorado township on 16 December 1850; receipt dated 6
January 1852 from M. Van Dusen to Benjamin M. Hartshorne for $1,000 being payment in full
for two launches; agreement dated 7 January 1852 between A. H. Wilcox, George A. Johnson,
and Benjamin M. Hartshorne regarding their contract to forward stores and supplies for the
United States government to the Colorado River and elsewhere; undated statement regarding
investments in the above made by Hartshorne, Wilcox, and Johnson; a memorandum dated 12
April 1852 from James Nelson of San Francisco to Benjamin M. Hartshorne certifying that he
has sold Hartshorne for $200 the lighters, boats, appurtenances and all interest in the lightering
business lately carried on by James Nelson & Co.; unsigned letter dated 1 June 1852 to Quarter
Master’s Office in San Francisco outlining terms on which any quantity of government stores
will be transported from the depot at Benicia on San Francisco Bay to the post at the junction of
the Gila and Colorado Rivers [Yuma]; award dated 11 October 1852 from the San Francisco
Harbor Master to Benjamin M. Hartshorne for $35 for damage to an anchor stock caused by a
brig; undated will of W. Blount leaving to John H. Merrill “all that he can get” on his judgment
against Beach, and also the usual stealage on trunks left with him on [sic] storage . . .”
Note: This entire lot of documents was found in an envelope identified in Hartshorne’s
handwriting as “Old Colorado memos &c of curious interest to me.” As these papers make clear,
Benjamin M. Hartshorne took an interest in shipping opportunities on the Colorado River from
his earliest days in California. He spent approximately six months from mid 1850 to early 1851
at Yuma, where a military post had been established in 1848 on the west side of the river near
where the Gila River joins the Colorado. At this time, the Gila River formed the southern
boundary of the United States with Mexico. The military post was virtually abandoned by the U.
S. Army in June 1851, and totally abandoned on 6 December of the same year, due to the high
cost of maintaining the facility. Food supplies and construction materials had to be shipped by
water from San Diego around Baja California and up the Sea of Cortez to the mouth of the
Colorado River. Then goods were loaded into wagons and carried overland through the Yuma
and Yuha deserts to Yuma. The post, known then as Camp Yuma, was reoccupied temporarily
on 29 February 1852. But then in August the name was changed to Fort Yuma and the Army
resolved to stay permanently. The following year, the United States expanded its territory in the
area through the Gadsden Purchase, which was ratified by the United States and Mexico in 1854.
It extended the international boundary from the Gila River south to provide for a deep southern
rail route west. This transaction also sorted out boundary issues remaining from the Mexican
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War of 1846-1848. Fort Yuma was finally abandoned on 16 May 1883. An Indian school and a
mission presently occupy the site.
Perhaps in anticipation of resuming a military presence at Yuma, Hartshorne and his partners
Alfred H. Wilcox and George A. Johnson entered into an agreement on 7 January 1852 regarding
their arrangement to transport government stores and supplies to the Colorado River and
elsewhere. By 1 June they had received a contract from the Army Quartermaster’s facility at
Benicia, CA, on the east side of San Francisco Bay to transport government stores from there to
the junction of the Gila and Colorado Rivers. The partnership of Hartshorne, Johnson and
Wilcox continued to provide steamboat shipping services on the Colorado until 17 March 1870,
when they sold their “boats, business, property and effects” to the newly-formed Colorado Steam
Navigation Company. The partnership was dissolved formally on 22 May 1871. Hartshorne and
Wilcox continued to maintain a substantial interest in the new firm and its affiliate, the California
& Mexican Steam Ship Line. See: Box 33, Folders 10 through 13 for further documentation on
steam navigation on the Colorado River and its related sea route from San Francisco to the
mouth of the Colorado River.
Biographical Note: Capt. George Alonzo Johnson was born in Palatine Bridge, Montgomery
County, NY, on 16 August 1824, a son of George G. Johnson and Gertrydt Van Slyck. In late
1848 as a sailor, he left New York for San Francisco, and while en route learned of the discovery
of gold in California. Johnson arrived in San Francisco in June of 1849. There he worked
unloading ships, except for a short trip to the mines, until May 1850. Hearing news of the
Glanton Massacre in Arizona that took place in April, he got together a small party that included
Benjamin M. Hartshorne with things necessary to build a ferry. The group traveled to the Yuma
Crossing of the Colorado River via San Diego. There they built and began operating a ferry, but
sold it and returned to San Francisco when the Yuma garrison was given up by the U. S. Army in
1851. Their brief stay in Yuma, though, gave Johnson and his cohorts first-hand knowledge of
navigation on the Colorado River. That “induced Captain Hartshorne and myself to try and
determine the navigability of the river from its mouth to Fort Yuma.” They then developed a
plan of supplying the fort, which was re-occupied by the Army in 1852, from San Francisco via
the Gulf of California and the Colorado River. With business secured once government contracts
had been received, Johnson entered into a partnership in 1852 with Alfred H. Wilcox and
Benjamin M. Hartshorne to supply the fort and engage in steam navigation on the Colorado
River. The new organization was called George A. Johnson & Co.
In 1854, Johnson brought the steamboat General Jessup in parts to the Colorado River delta,
assembled it and began shipping and carrying passengers on the river from its mouth, up to Fort
Yuma and beyond, being among the very first to explore the river as far as Nevada. George A.
Johnson & Co. became the largest steamboat operator on the river. In 1871, the partnership was
dissolved after its assets and boats had been transferred to the Colorado Steam Navigation
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Company, a stock company incorporated in 1869 of which Benjamin M. Hartshorne served as
President. This new entity, in which Johnson, Hartshorne and Wilcox each held an interest, was
sold to interests affiliated with the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1877.
After the discovery of gold along the Colorado River in 1858, George A. Johnson moved to San
Diego and became a member of the California State Assembly from the 1st District in 1863, and
again in 1866-1867. On 4 June 1859, he married Estephana Alvarado, a daughter of Francisco
Maria Alvarado who owned Rancho Penasquitos. This large tract of 8,486 acres was located 20
miles northeast of Old Town San Diego. Johnson loved Los Penasquitos and built a spacious
house there that became known for its generosity and hospitality. But a series of financial
reverses (caused in part by a claimed debt never settled of several hundred thousand dollars due
from the U. S. Government) resulted in the loss of the ranch in 1880. Johnson and his family
then moved to a small frame house he had erected in 1869 in San Diego. He died there on 27
November 1903 at the age of 79, two years after writing an extensive if self-serving memoir
about his pioneering days on the Colorado River for the Society of California Pioneers. See:
Johnson, 13-18; and Lingenfelder, 2, 5, 8-9, 11-51, 74, and 159.
River Bio Bio, Chile, 1855. Documents include: three receipts dated 26 and 28 April 1855 in San
Francisco conveying from Charles Minturn to Benjamin M. Hartshorne his right, title, and
interest in a patent obtained from the Chilean government for the exclusive navigation by steam
on the River Bio Bio, with all interest in the steamers Eudora and Sotomayor, interest in the
engines, boiler and machinery for a small steamer, and interest in the machinery for a saw mill at
Talcahuana, Chile.
Note: Hartshorne paid his uncle Charles Minturn $7,000 for his share. Hartshorne’s brother
Robert Hartshorne Jr. spent time in Chile, working for a while on Ben’s boats on the River Bio
Bio. Robert’s letters describing his adventures there can be found in Box 21, Folder 2, and in
Box 25, Folder 1.
California Steam Navigation Company, 1861-1865, and no dates. Documents include:
handwritten and detailed annual reports to the stockholders of the company describing their
financial position, status of business and operations, and discussion of the competition, plus a
financial statement from 1 February 1863 to 1 February 1864.
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Note: Benjamin M. Hartshorne served as a Director of the California Steam Navigation
Company, and also as its President from 1865 to the sale of the company in 1871. The California
Steam Navigation Co. was organized in San Francisco on 1 March 1854 by a group of sixteen
steamboat owners, investors and captains who represented the interests of twenty-two boats.
Among them was Charles Minturn, uncle of Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne. Minturn represented
the vessels Senator and New World, both of which joined the new firm’s fleet. The CSNCo was
formed to end cutthroat competition on the various inland waterway routes of San Francisco Bay
and its tributaries. It enjoyed a virtual monopoly on Bay Area inland waterway transportation for
seventeen years. In 1858, after discovery of gold in British Columbia, CSNCo also entered
coastal shipping to ports north and south of San Francisco, as well as to Hawaii and other Pacific
destinations.
Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne served the CSNCo as a Director, and also as its Secretary. In
1865, he was elected President. The company withdrew from the coastal trade in 1867 after
several tragic accidents involving significant loss of life, disposing of four boats engaged in that
service. The entire property was sold to the Central Pacific Railroad in 1871. The railroad and its
marine operations were absorbed after 1885 into the Southern Pacific Co. system, which finally
discontinued its last San Francisco Bay ferry services in 1958. Detailed letters written by
Benjamin M. Hartshorne to his uncle Edward Minturn that describe the activities of the
California Steam Navigation Co. from 1865 to 1868 can be found in Box 31, Folders 1 and 2.
One letter of 17 August 1865 discusses the wreck of the Brother Jonathan, in which more than
225 passengers and crew lost their lives. It was the most serious wreck to occur on the West
Coast up to that time. See: Bancroft, V, 138-147.
Colorado Steam Navigation, 1853-1871. Documents include: agreement dated 1 September 1853
in San Francisco between Major Osborn Cross, Quartermaster of the United States Army, and
George A. Johnson, Benjamin M. Hartshorne and William Hammond Jr. composing the firm of
George A. Johnson & Co. for the transport of 150 tons of stores from the Port of Benicia to Fort
Yuma at the junction of the Colorado and Gila Rivers; extract copy of an 1853 contract and
receipt between George A. Johnson & Co. and Major Robert Allen for transporting stores;
agreement dated 14 April 1855 at San Francisco between Major Osborn Cross, Quartermaster of
the United States Army, and George A. Johnson to place on the Colorado River before 1 October
a “good, new and substantial steam boat” fully described and to transport stores from the mouth
of the Colorado River to Fort Yuma for the period of one year; agreement dated 8 August 1855
at San Francisco between George A. Johnson and Benjamin M. Hartshorne to become joint
partners for fulfilling the government contract and to build a steamboat in which both parties
shall be equally interested; agreement dated 12 August 1856 at Benicia between Major Osborn
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Cross, Quartermaster of the United States Army, and George A. Johnson for transporting stores
from the mouth of the Colorado River to Fort Yuma for the period of one year; agreement 1
August 1858 at Fort Yuma between First Lieut. John Drysdale, Acting Assistant Quartermaster,
and George A. Johnson of San Diego County, CA, for transporting stores from the mouth of the
Colorado River to Fort Yuma for the period of one year; agreement dated 25 March 1859
between Lieut. C. G. Sawtelle, U. S. Army, and Capt. George A. Johnson for the exclusive
privilege of the steamers Colorado and Jessup as long as they may be needed to transport troops
and articles of freight for the Colorado Expedition as may be required from Fort Yuma up the
Colorado River to a point at or near where the Overland Mail Route from Albuquerque to
Stockton crosses the river; power of attorney dated 15 June 1869 from George A. Johnson of San
Diego County, CA, to Benjamin M. Hartshorne of San Francisco; dissolution of co-partnership
dated 22 May 1871 at San Francisco between George A. Johnson, Benjamin M. Hartshorne, and
A. H. Wilcox; and agreement dated 22 May 1871 at San Francisco to dissolve the co-partnership
of Benjamin M. Hartshorne, A. H. Wilcox and George A. Johnson, engaged in business as
George A. Johnson & Co., having sold on 17 March 1870 to the Colorado Steam Navigation
Company all the business, boats, property and effects owned by the said co-partnership.
Note: This folder of documents continues those found in Box 33, Folder 7. It details some of the
Colorado River operations of George A. Johnson & Co from 1853 to 1871, as well as their
government contracts to transport Army stores and supplies from the mouth of the Colorado
River to Yuma. Benjamin M. Hartshorne and Alfred H. Wilcox served as partners in this
endeavor with Johnson. Their mutual relationship was dissolved on 22 May 1871, having sold
the business on 17 March 1870 to the Colorado Steam Navigation Company, an entity which was
incorporated on 22 December 1869. Benjamin M. Hartshorne, based in San Francisco, served as
President of Colorado River successor to his longstanding partnership with Johnson and Wilcox.
An 1870s newspaper advertisement indicated that the new enterprise would leave San Francisco
every twenty days for Mexican ports and the mouth of the Colorado River, where it would
connect with river steamers. The company had placed the steamboats Newbern and Montana on
the route, and freight would be delivered at Yuma in only 12 days. River steamers operated by
the Colorado Steam Navigation Company included the Mohave, Gila, Cocopah, and Colorado.
The CSNCo was sold on 24 April 1877 to Colis P. Huntington representing the interests of the
Southern Pacific Railroad, whose line from Los Angeles had bridged the Colorado River at
Yuma in that year. The Colorado Steam Navigation Company was at the time the only steamboat
operator on the river. The arrival of the railroad at Yuma rendered navigation on the Colorado
below that point to the Sea of Cortez unnecessary as freight could be received there from any rail
station in California far faster and cheaper than by steamboat around Baja California. See:
Lingenfelter, 51 and 74.
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California & Mexican Steam Ship Line, 1877-1888. Documents include: note & property
account balance sheet dated 31 October 1877 with status annotations; steamer Newbern
alterations & repairs statement dated 31 July 1878; statement of Newbern earnings for the year
1881; 1882 statement of earnings for steamboats Newbern and Mexico; invoice from the
California Dry Dock Co. dated 18 June 1883 for extensive repairs and refitting to the Newbern;
receipt dated 15 September 1888 from Benjamin M. Hartshorne for $25,000, being one-third of
the sum received from the Oregon Improvement Co. on account of payment for steamers Mexico
and Newbern; balance sheet dated 9 November 1888; balance sheet dated 5 December 1888;
undated settlement of a bill for $32,704.81; and undated statement of earnings of the steamer
Mexico on the Mexico route covering voyages 1 through 16 with annotations on various other
revenue and expenses leading to a total profit figure while the boat was operated by the
California & Mexican Steam Ship Line.
Note: These materials were found in an envelope inscribed “Remarks on proposed changes for
Newbern. These were accepted and proved better than anticipated. / B. M. Hartshorne.” The
California & Mexican Steam Ship Line was formed about 1877 for moving freight and other
goods from the San Francisco Bay area to ports along the western coast of Mexico and in the Sea
of Cortez. It should be noted that the river boats of the Colorado Steam Navigation Co. had been
sold in 1877 to the Southern Pacific Railroad. The new company may well have been set up to
continue the ocean routes operated by George A. Johnson & Co. and its successor since the early
1850s. A balance sheet dated 31 October 1877 showed assets of $12,309.73 and debts of
$18,026.87 divided between $245.50 at Yuma and $17,781.39 at Ehrenberg ($12,721.54 from
the Vulture Mining Co). The steamboat Newbern was purchased by the California & Mexican
for the San Francisco to Mexico route. Benjamin M. Hartshorne took a 2/3 share in the vessel,
and Capt. Alfred H. Wilcox a 1/3 share. The wooden-hull Newbern had been built at by C. & R.
Poillon of Brooklyn, NY, in 1862. It measured 198 feet long, 29 feet in breadth, 943 gross tons,
and was powered by a 250 hp steam engine. Purchased by the U. S. Government for use during
the Civil War, it was christened the United States but later changed to Newberne. After the war
ended, the vessel was sailed to the West Coast via Cape Horn in 1867 and was sold to Hartehan
& Wilson. The new owners changed her name by dropping the last “e.” In 1869, the Newbern
sailed from San Francisco to Mexican ports in the Sea of Cortez. Two years later the boat was
sold again to the Colorado Steam Navigation Company, who continued to turn high profits from
trade with Arizona and Nevada then accessible via Port Isabel at the foot of the Colorado River.
In 1878 the Newbern was sold to Benjamin M. Hartshorne and Alfred H. Wilcox for operation
by the California & Mexican Steam Ship Line, John Bermingham, President. After making five
trips, the Newbern was taken out of service for more than $31,000 of changes and repairs. The
Risdon Iron Works of San Francisco provided new machinery at a cost of $21,330.10. Another
$5,542.20 in carpenter and joiner repairs were carried out by John A. Whelan. All of this work
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took place at the Merchant Dry Dock. Even with all these extraordinary expenses, the Newbern
still turned a profit in the first 7 months of 1878 of $9,302.27 for the new owners. In 1881,
Newbern earned $120,877.21 in profits from 12 voyages. But in 1882, the ship made only two
voyages, being replaced by the steamer Mexico which had been in charter service up to that time.
A detailed, itemized invoice of further repairs to the Newbern, amounting to $27,608.14 and
dated 18 June 1883, imply strongly that the Newbern had been heavily damaged by water. For
example, W. S. Hay & Co were paid $548.42 for “repairs to stoves, lamps, kitchen furniture and
replacing articles destroyed by salt water.” J. D. Griffith received $35.09 for “repairing boat
stove alongside when Ship turned over.” The Tug Kate charged $10 for “moving ship from
Mission Bay flats.” Damage to sails “by six weeks immersion in mud” was estimated at $100,
and another $50 for damage to “wind sails, awnings & sacking bottoms by immersion in mud.”
John Bermingham, President of the company, received $500 for “superintending damages
sustained by Machinery, Boilers, Hull, Cabins, Boats, Spars, &c, &c, 2 ½ Months @ $200 per
mo.” One of the few photographs of the Newbern shows her partially sunk when she rolled over
in San Francisco Bay. The photograph is dated 1880. Given the documentation in hand, this
event more probably took place in 1882, when the vessel was removed from service and replaced
temporarily by the Mexico.
On 14 July 1888, the steamers Newbern and Mexico were sold to the Oregon Improvement Co.
for use on its Pacific Coast routes. A final California & Mexican balance sheet showed
$17,129.66 remaining in the hands of John Bermingham as of 9 November. On 12 October 1893,
the Newbern left Ensenada, Mexico, en route to San Francisco with 32 passengers, and 36 crew
members. While passing the Coronado Islands just south of San Diego, the compass was found
to be in error. Overnight watches were kept by the Captain and first officer, but the Newbern
encountered heavy fog early the next morning. At 3:10 am on 14 October 1893, the Newbern
came to a grinding halt as she struck rocks near the shore of Long Point at Palos Verdes south of
Los Angeles. The passengers, startled but unhurt, quickly came up on deck. Seawater rushed into
the hull, causing the vessel to list to port and fill with water within an hour. Fortunately, the sea
was calm and no surf was running. At daybreak, the passengers and crew made shore by use of
the five lifeboats. The purser then walked 13 miles to Redondo Beach seeking help. They were
rescued by Redondo Co. wagons. Mail and baggage were later sent ashore via a line and all
silver bullion on board was brought ashore, with the exception of two bricks. Only fifty feet from
shore and with little surf, the salvage of the Newbern was accomplished with little difficulty.
Eventually the ship broke in two. Winter storms finished off the Newbern, and on 19 February
1894 a large part of her stern was said to have drifted out to sea some 12 miles south of Point
Vincente. Some remains can still be discerned on site by divers. See: Newbern.
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Steamer Mexico, 1881-1883. Documents include: complete statement of construction and outfit
account for the S. S. Mexico dated 31 May 1882; invitation dated 13 February 1882 to Benjamin
M. Hartshorne for attending the launch of the S. S. Mexico on 15 February at Dickie Brothers
Ship Yard in San Francisco; and a charter party contract dated 14 July 1883 between John
Bermingham, agent for the owners of the S. S. Mexico, and Goodall, Perkins & Co., agents of
the Pacific Coast Steamship Co. and the Oregon Railway & Navigation Co. for 90 days at $200
per day.
Note: The wooden hull steamer Mexico was built in 1881 and 1882 at the Dickie Brothers
shipyard in San Francisco for the total price of $211,869.92. Dickie Brothers constructed and
finished the boat for $119,102.28, which was launched with due ceremony on 15 February 1882.
The engine and other mechanical equipment were provided by the San Francisco’s Risdon Iron
Works for $78,925.69. Benjamin M. Hartshorne held a 2/3 interest in the Mexico, while his longtime business associate Alfred H. Wilcox took the remaining 1/3 share. The vessel, measuring
275 feet long, 36 feet beam, with a gross tonnage of 1,797, was operated by the California &
Mexican Steam Ship Line, John Bermingham being the company’s President. The new boat did
not enter revenue service immediately after completion. It was finally contracted on 14 July 1883
for charter service by the Pacific Coast Steamship Co. and the Oregon Railway and Navigation
Company, eventually earning the California & Mexican $212,150 in charter fees. It later served
on the California & Mexican’s Mexico route, making a total of 16 trips for a profit of
$138,907.88. On 14 July 1888, the steamer and its sister ship the Newbern were sold to the
Oregon Improvement Co. for operation by the Pacific Coast Steamship Co. on routes between
Oregon and Alaska. At the time of the sale, it was figured that the total profit of the Mexico
while in California & Mexican service had come to $231,057.88, just covering its costs of
$219,000. On 5 August 1897, the Mexico struck West Devil’s Rock while going into Dixon’s
Entrance from Sitka, Alaska, in heavy fog. Dixon’s Entrance is a strait on the Inland Passage
route located on the U. S. and Canadian border. After two hours the steamer sank in 500 feet of
water, stern first. The 75 passengers and crew were saved in small boats, along with part of the
baggage. After rowing until midnight, they arrived at Metakathia, Alaska. The ship was declared
a total loss. The Mexico survivors had to wait several days before the steamer Topeka arrived to
pick them up and take them to Seattle, where they docked on 11 August. See: The New York
Times, 12 August 1897.
Detailed correspondence between John Bermingham, who actively participated in the design and
construction of the Mexico, and Benjamin M. Hartshorne can be found in Box 27, Folder 5.
Bermingham received a gift of $10,000 from the two owners in recognition of his
accomplishment. A fine photograph of the Mexico taken at the Seattle dock of the Oregon
Improvement Co. by Wilhelm Hester is owned by the University of Washington Libraries,
Special Collections Division.
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Steamboat Miscellaneous, no dates. Documents include: an undated description of a steamboat
engine, boiler, and other mechanical equipment with pricing information; and an undated sketch
of what appears to be a boat launching mechanism.
Mexico trip, 1886. Documents include: diary of a trip from New York City to Mexico City
written in pencil in the handwriting of Benjamin M. Hartshorne, and hotel and restaurant bills,
some of which are dated and made out to John Bermingham and/or Benjamin M. Hartshorne.
Note: This trip may well have had to do with the status of their mail contract with the Mexican
government.
Schooners Marjory Brown, F. & T. Lupton, and Benjamin A. Van Brunt, 1888-1890. Documents
include: a ledger dated 1888 to 1890 showing receipts and disbursements for these three
schooners; a receipt dated 9 July 1890 from Benjamin M. Hartshorne to his son Robert
transferring to the latter a 1/32 interest in the schooner F. & T. Lupton and a 1/16 interest in the
schooner Marjory Brown; and two deposit receipts from the Second National Bank of Red Bank,
one dated 24 July 1895 for profits on trips 53 and 54 of the Marjory Brown and trips 81 and 82
of the F. & T. Lupton.
Schooner Marjory Brown, 1888-1890. Documents include: receipts for payments made during
construction of the schooner by Jackson & Sharp in Wilmington, DE; correspondence with Capt.
Marion A. Osborn of Keyport, NJ covering all aspects of construction, investors, and operations
of the vessel; statement of costs for building the schooner dated 28 August 1889; statements of
revenue, expense and profit & loss for each voyage of the schooner; and post cards sent to
investors informing them of departures and arrivals at various ports with descriptions of the
cargoes.
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Note: The schooner Marjory Brown was built in 1889 by the Jackson & Sharp Co. of
Wilmington, DE, for a total cost of $50,000. Benjamin M. Hartshorne held a 1/16 share in the
vessel, whose master, agent and captain was Marion A. Osborn of Keyport, NJ. She carried
primarily coal between ports along the East Coast and to Cuba. The schooner was described as
having 2 decks and 4 masts. It was 198 feet in length, 41 feet in breadth, and 18 feet in depth,
with 1,211 gross tonnage, later reduced to 1,150. On 6 December 1902, tragedy struck the vessel.
While passing within hailing distance of another schooner, “Mate Marshall of the Brown,
reported that Capt. M. A. Osborn had been lost overboard from the vessel off Pollock Rip
Saturday. No other particulars were learned.” “Capt. Osborn intended to make this his last trip
this winter, as he had not been in the best of health. He was nearly 58 years old and had been
very successful in his line of business.” Pollock Rip Channel, a dangerous but popular inside
passage for coastal vessels, is located in Nantucket Sound roughly four miles east of Monomoy
Beach and southeast of Cape Cod. On 21 October 1913, the Marjory Brown sank off Montauk,
Long Island, while bound from Newport News to Providence with a cargo of soft coal. In a
strong gale, the vessel began leaking. It was believed at the time that the coal worked its way into
the pumps, which were then rendered useless. Three photographic glass transparencies showing
the schooner’s last moments were taken from the passenger liner Berlin that rescued Capt. James
T. Walker and his crew of five who had taken to a small boat tied to the schooner’s stern. These
magic lantern slides are now in the collection of George Eastman House in Rochester, NY. The
Marjory Brown went down fifteen minutes after the Berlin had accomplished the rescue.
Capt. Marion Augusts [sic] Osborn was born in Manasquan, NJ, on 12 February 1845, a son of
Benajah Osborn and Caroline Louisa Allen. He married Anna L. Brown on 23 April 1877. They
became the parents of five daughters, and made their home in Keyport, NJ. About 1860, Osborn
took to the sea. At the time of his tragic death, he “had been engaged in coastwise traffic for over
forty years. He had been remarkably successful as a sea captain and during his long career had
met with no misfortunes such as seems inevitable in the life of a sailor, until last year.” The
family bible contains the following entry, “Marion Augusts [sic] Osborn died Dec. 6, 1902. Lost
off Chatham, Mass. From his vessels [sic] deck The Marjory Brown.” See: The Lewiston Daily
Sun, 12 December 1902; Keyport Weekly, 12 December 1902; Matawan Journal, 18 December
1902; The New York Times, 22 October 1913; and Bible Records, V, 216-220.
Schooner Marjory Brown, 1891-1896. Documents include: insurance receipts covering the
schooner; correspondence with Capt. Marion A. Osborn of Keyport, NJ, covering all aspects of
the schooner’s operation; bill of sale dated 11 July 1891 from Benjamin M. Hartshorne to his son
Robert Hartshorne for a 1/16 share in the vessel that contains an extensive description of the
schooner and a list of all its owners; statements of revenue, expenses and profit & loss for each
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voyage of the schooner; and post cards sent to investors informing them of departures and
arrivals at various ports with descriptions of the cargoes.
Schooner F. & T. Lupton, 1888-1895. Documents include: receipts for payments made during
construction of the schooner by Jackson & Sharp in Wilmington, DE; correspondence with Capt.
Abraham P. Longstreet and others regarding the launch of the vessel and covering all aspects of
its operation; newspaper clipping of the launch; statements of revenue, expense and profit and
loss for each voyage of the schooner; insurance receipts for the vessel; etc.
Note: The schooner F. & T. Lupton was launched at the Jackson & Sharp Co. shipyard in
Wilmington, DE, on 9 October 1888, at the time the largest wooden boat ever built in Delaware.
Benjamin M. Hartshorne held a 1/32 interest in the schooner, whose master, agent and Captain
was Abraham P. Longstreet of Keyport, NJ. The keel had been laid on 12 March 1888. It
measured 180 feet long on the keel, 38 feet beam, and 17 feet deep, with a capacity of 1,500
tons. The F. & T. Lupton entered the general coastal trade, primarily carrying coal. A photograph
of the completed four-masted schooner was taken by Jackson & Sharp for their archives, now at
the Delaware Public Archives. Another undated photo shows the Lupton docked at a lumber
wharf in Fernandina, FL. In 1906, she and Capt. Longstreet became involved in litigation with
the Carolina Portland Cement Co. regarding a cargo of cement delivered to Brunswick, GA, that
had been damaged when the vessel began to leak during a stormy passage. The court decided in
favor of the F. & T. Lupton and its captain. Other incidents involving the Lupton occurred in
April of 1899 in Albemarle Sound, VA, and in a heavy gale off Cape Hatteras in January 1909.
Capt. Abraham Pierce Longstreet was born in Manasquan, NJ on 20 April 1849, the son of
Carhart S. and Sarah Longstreet. He took to the sea at an early age, and from age 21 to his
retirement in 1914 had been master of his own vessels. Among these were the Jacob W. Morris,
Charles Woolsey, the Thomas L. James (a three-masted vessel which he had built for himself),
and the F. & T. Lupton, which was considered one of the finest schooners of its kind. The
Captain was sailing the Lupton when he retired due to failing health. Since about 1875,
Longstreet lived in Keyport, NJ. He married Jennie White, and left a daughter and son at the time
of his death on 16 September 1926. Interment with Masonic rituals took place in the family plot
in Green Grove Cemetery near Keyport. See: Virginian Pilot, 15 April 1899; Matawan Journal,
21 July 1906; New York Herald, 9 January 1909; and Keyport Weekly, 24 September 1926.
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Schooner Benjamin A. Van Brunt, 1890-1892. Documents include: receipts for payments during
construction of the schooner by Kelly, Spear & Co. in Bath, ME; correspondence with Capt
Edwin L. Pearce of Manasquan covering construction and operations of the vessel, plus its
sinking in Fall River in 1892 after being struck by another boat; statements of revenue, expense,
and profit and loss for each voyage; and an undated newspaper clipping that describes the loss of
a lawsuit against the Old Colony Steamship Co., owners of the steamship Providence which
rammed the Benjamin A. Van Brunt in 1892.
Note: The schooner Benjamin A. Van Brunt was launched on 25 June 1891 at the Kelly, Spear &
Co. shipyard in Bath, ME. It had been built for a contract price of $56,900, although final costs
after being made ready for sea came to $57,503.42. Benjamin M. Hartshorne held a 2/64 share in
the new schooner. Capt. Edwin L. Pearce of Manasquan, NJ, served as master, agent and captain
of the vessel. The Van Brunt, measuring 196 feet long and 41 feet wide with an engine and 1,191
gross tonnage capacity, had no sooner entered into the coastal trade carrying coal when she was
run down and sunk near Fall River, MA, with 1,328 tons of coal on board. At 6:45 am on 11
September 1892, the Van Brunt was first struck by the steamer Pilgrim. A dense fog prevailed,
and not a sound came from the schooner, which had blocked the channel for four or five days.
The Providence, a half-hour behind the Pilgrim,“struck the schooner square amidships,
completely cutting her in two, so that she sank in less than five minutes.” The Van Brunt’s crew
escaped by swimming to the dock a few feet away. The wreck sat in 26 feet of water directly in
the channel. Capt. John Waters of Newport, RI, was paid $6,000 for raising the Van Brunt,
which took several months to complete. By December, estimates for repairing the schooner came
to $20,000. The Admiralty Court in Boston eventually decided in favor of the Old Colony
Steamship Co., owners of the steamer Providence, so the stockholders of the Van Brunt appealed
their suit to recover $58,000, the amount the schooner cost to build. Meanwhile, the schooner
had been repaired and put back in service carrying coal in the New England coast trade. In May
of 1916, the vessel was sold reportedly for $100,000 although the person who inspected the Van
Brunt for the new owners felt the price was far less than that figure. Capt. S. C. Sprague had
commanded the schooner for a few years before the sale, and the boat frequently weathered in
New London, CT. The schooner sank off Delaware Bay on 20 September 1925.
Capt. Edwin Lewis Pearce was born at Manasquan, NJ, on 22 May 1839, a son of Benjamin D.
Pearce and Caroline Curtis. On 9 May 1866, he married Emily Wheeler, and left five daughters
at the time of his death on 13 January 1899. Interment took place in Atlantic View Cemetery
near Manasquan. See: The New York Times, 12 September 1892; The Day of New London, CT,
17 May 1916; and the Red Bank Register, 25 January 1899.
Western Real Estate & Mines, 10 items
117
Corral Hollow Coal Mine, 1855-1857. Documents include: deeds, notices, quit claim deeds, and
powers of attorney pertaining to a coal mine property in San Joaquin County.
New Almaden and Campo Francesca, 1856-1862. Documents include: agreements, deeds, and
receipts. Found in a linen lined envelope inscribed “In the property to which these papers refer,
Walter B. Minturn is equally interested with me. B. M. Hartshorne.”
Note: Walter B. Minturn (1829-1867) was Benjamin M. Hartshorne’s first cousin, a son of
William H. Minturn and Carolyn Byrnes. Involved with the West Coast business ventures of his
uncle Charles Minturn, Walter Minturn died in San Francisco at the age of 38.
Temescal Tin Mine, 1859-1860. Documents include: inscribed envelopes, a hand drawn and
colored map of northwest Washington State showing U. S. reservations, deeds, letters, written
description of the mines, etc.
Note: Benjamin M. Hartshorne purchased a one undivided half interest of all mines owned by
Joel Clayton in the Temescal District, which is located in present day Riverside County east of
Los Angeles.
Colorado River Area Mines, 1860-1864. Documents include: correspondence (some of which is
in Spanish), deeds, powers of attorney, agreements, three sheets of mining claims dated 15
October 1864 recorded in the books of records of the Wauba Yuma Mining District; and an
undated sketch of the gold and silver mines (including the Comstock Lode) in the vicinity of
Virginia City, NV.
Note: Benjamin M. Hartshorne purchased an interest in several copper, silver, and quicksilver
mines located on the east and west banks of the Colorado River above Fort Yuma. The Cobabi
Mine was located near La Paz, Arizona Territory. These transactions involved a number of
individuals, including Lewis J. F. Jaeger, F. P. Clymer, James S. Halstead, George A. Johnson,
Alfred H. Wilcox, William Blackwood and others. The Wauba Yuma Mining District claims
involve Benjamin M. Hartshorne, his brother Robert, and several other relatives from the
118
Minturn family. These represent claims in the following mines: Pride of the Renes, Ferrada,
Mammoth Lode, Knickerbocker Lode, Lent Lode, and an unspecified ledge.
California Coal Land Dispute, 1866-1874. Documents include: statements of account, and
correspondence.
Note: Apparently concerns disputes over coal lands in Contra Costa County. Involved the U. S.
Surveyor General’s Office in San Francisco, Joel and James A. Clayton in California, and E. O.
F. Hastings of Washington, D. C., attorney and official land agent for the State of California.
Comfort Consolidated Mining Company, 1890-1892. Documents include: receipts, letters to
stockholders, financial statements, etc.
Note: The Comfort Consolidated Mining Co. of New York owned a gold mine at the Ophir
Vein, in the Ophir mining district of Placer County, CA. Benjamin M. Hartshorne purchased
1,000 shares in this company.
Lot N1/2, Section 11, 1890-1892. Documents include: correspondence, annotated envelopes, and
notes.
Note: Pertains to coal lands at Mount Diablo, Contra Costa County, CA. The correspondence is
largely between Benjamin M. Hartshorne and John Bermingham, his California agent, friend and
long-time business associate. Bermingham’s letters also comment on other issues, such as the
steamers Newbern and Mexico, as well as the interest in them owned by the heirs of Alfred H.
Wilcox. This material was found bundled together.
San Francisco Lots, 1866-1898, and no dates. Documents include: notes and correspondence
with John Bermingham, title abstracts of lots belonging to the estate of Edward Norton (brother
119
in law to Benjamin M. Hartshorne), other title abstracts, and bills for legal fees related to real
estate from Boyd, Fifield & Hoburg.
San Francisco Lots & Elsewhere, 1888-1897, and no dates. Documents include: correspondence,
maps, surveys, notes, lease agreements, settlement statements, and an undated table of distances
to various places from Los Angeles.
Note: These materials were found in envelopes annotated in the handwriting of Benjamin M.
Hartshorne. One large batch is entitled “Terms of Lease of Townsend St. lot to Montague / Map
of Block 419, N1/2 of lot 6 / and San Diego Property lot 1790.” Other items include a settlement
statement between Hartshorne, B. F. Clayton, and H. A. Clayton for 1,600 acres in Stanislaus
County, CA; and documents pertaining to real estate of the late Edward Norton, brother in law to
Benjamin M. Hartshorne.
Statements of Rents Collected, 1890-1898. Documents include: statements of rental income and
disbursements from O. Livermore and his successors Davidson & Leigh for properties owned by
Benjamin M. Hartshorne and his three children: Julia H. Trask, Robert Hartshorne, and Miss
Mary M. Hartshorne.
Note: These statements are for income and expenses on lots and buildings located throughout
San Francisco and elsewhere that were managed by Livermore and later Davidson & Leigh.
Those statements pertaining to Benjamin M. Hartshorne cover the years 1893 to 1898; Julia H
Trask the years 1888 to 1891; Robert Hartshorne the years 1888 to 1896; and Mary M.
Hartshorne the years 1888 to 1896. In addition to his own account, Hartshorne had set up trust
funds in San Francisco for each of his three children that were managed by John Bermingham.
Income from these properties was deposited to their individual accounts.
New York Real Estate, 6 items
New York City, 1891-1899. Documents include: mortgages, real estate appraisals, rent
statements, and insurance premium statements for various properties located in New York City.
120
New York Real Estate, 6 items
No. 64 Remsen Street, Astoria, 1898-1899. Documents include: an insurance policy for a framed
two-story house with a tin roof located at 64 Remsen Street in Astoria, along with rent receipts,
and insurance premium receipts.
Portland, 3 items
Miscellaneous, 1889 and no date. Documents include: letter to B. M. Hartshorne dated 6
November 1889 from George Cooper, Civil Engineer, giving distances from Portland to the light
house fence, to the cross roads, to the Rocky Point cottage, and other locations; an undated list of
various distances between Portland and a train station; and an undated schedule of numbers “on
locks in the doors of B. M. Hartshorne’s house, Highlands, N. J.”
Note: The last item appears to pertain to Portland following expansion and renovations in 1876.
Portland, 1 item
Road Survey Agreement, 1875. Document: a certified copy from the Monmouth County Clerk
dated 11 June 1896 of an agreement between Benjamin M. Hartshorne of San Francisco,
Benjamin M. Hartshorne trustee of Edward M. Hartshorne, and Mary M. O’Rourke of New
York, owners of about 700 acres in the township of Middletown, to lay out and establish
roadways on and through the aforesaid land and premises.
Note: This highly interesting agreement provided for the laying out of eleven private roads on
the entire Portland property which had been divided into three tracts by the will of Robert
Hartshorne (1798-1872) for each of his three surviving children. These detailed surveyor’s
instructions were filed with Monmouth County by Ezra A. Osborn, a Civil Engineer from
Middletown. See: Oversize Box, Folder 7, for a Portland estate survey drawn by Osborn
depicting this network of private estate roads.
Portland, 10 items
Portland House Renovations, 1876. Documents include: letters exchanged between Benjamin M.
Hartshorne and Ezra A. Osborn regarding an enlargement and renovation of the main house at
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Portland; grade sketches for installation of a new water source and reservoir to serve the main
house; a $5,000 Bank of California check to Ezra Osborn to fund the renovations; and
specifications or “statement of improvements of Mansion House of Benj. M. Hartshorne at the
Highlands of Navesink, by Newton & Root, architects & builders.”
Note: All of the documents in this folder were found in a sealed envelope inscribed “Ezra
Osborn.” The laying out of private roads and renovation of the main house at Portland, both
carried out in 1875 and 1876, transformed this pre-eminent property into a country estate suitable
for Benjamin M. Hartshorne, by then a millionaire. Although Hartshorne did not return
permanently to New Jersey from San Francisco until 1878, this enhancement program at the
family property implies strongly that he was preparing it for his use in the near future. Ezra A.
Osborn, a civil engineer from Middletown, served as Hartshorne’s local agent. Their
correspondence reveals that Osborn first contacted Frederick Law Olmstead concerning a new
landscaping plan for Portland. This leading American landscape architect turned down the
commission, but put Osborn in touch with Jacob Weidenmann (1829-1893), an equally leading
professional colleague who did provide the landscaping plans for the Hartshorne estate.
Weidenmann was born in Winterthur, Switzerland. He was educated at the Akademie der
Bildenden Kunste in Munich, Germany, and worked in Europe, New York, and South America
before setting in America in 1856. In 1874, Weidenmann became a collaborator with Frederick
Law Olmstead on various projects. In 1870, he published a book entitled Beautifying Country
Homes which is mentioned in the Hartshorne-Osborn correspondence.
The architectural firm of Newton & Root drew up specifications for the renovation and
expansion of the main Portland residence, which had been built following a fire in 1834 that
destroyed the old house. Drawings cited and discussed in the correspondence almost certainly
would have been prepared by them as well. This program, which cost roughly $10,000,
transformed the structure from a restrained Greek Revival statement to the prevailing bracketed
Victorian taste. Newton & Root were also engaged by Osborn to supervise the carpentry crew.
Considering the nationally leading reputations of the landscape architects sought out by Osborn,
the decidedly local choice of architects and builders was somewhat of a surprise. Alvin Newton
and Charles H. Root had come to Monmouth County in 1875. Root, a carpenter by trade, had
been born in Lenox, MA, in 1851 and educated at Lenox Academy. Years later, it was recalled
that at the age of twenty-four, “he moved to Middletown village where he lived eight years and
where he was engaged in the building and contracting business with the late Alvin Newton. The
business was conducted under the name of Newton & Root.” These builders would have been
known to Osborn, who lived not far from the village on Red Hill Road. By 1878, Root was
joined in Middletown by his older brother Albert C. Root (1848-1918), also a carpenter and with
whom he was living in 1880 according to the U. S. census. After his marriage in 1882 to Emily
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Applegate, Charles Root specialized in the mill work and stair building business with several
partners, including 16 years in Red Bank with Frank J. Dibben. In 1909, Root was elected mayor
of Red Bank, serving for two terms or four years. He died on 28 August 1935 at the age of 83.
For information on Jacob Weidenmann, see: Favretti and Weidenmann. For information on
Newton & Root, see: Red Bank Register, 29 August 1935.
Biographical Note: Ezra Asher Osborn was born on 9 March 1823, a son of Ezra Osborn and
Hannah Dorset Taylor. His birthplace was the Osborn homestead at the intersection of Red Hill
Road and Holland Road in the west end of Middletown Village. Osborn married on 20 October
1852 to Sarah Corlies (1830-1896), a daughter of Benjamin W. Corlies and Miriam Tilton
Williams of Eatontown. They became the parents of three children. Having married into a
leading local Quaker family, Ezra Osborn joined the Shrewsbury Friends Meeting. He also
adopted the traditional Friends manner of addressing people as “thee” and “thou,” and dating
documents as “1st mo” instead of January, etc.
Osborn, a Civil Engineer, became one of the leading Monmouth County surveyors and
conveyancers. In 1855, he surveyed and published a detailed town plan of Freehold, the
Monmouth County seat, with Thomas A. Hurley. The following year he published a similar plan
of Mount Holly, Burlington County. From then on, Osborn was routinely called upon to prepare
surveys of farms, lots, estates, Fair View Cemetery in Middletown, real estate subdivisions, etc.,
in the greater Monmouth County area. He also served as a member of the New Jersey Board of
Health, as an incorporator of the Monmouth County Agricultural Society in 1857, as a Trustee
and Secretary of the Fair View Cemetery Association, and as a Director of the First National
Bank of Keyport. He also continued the sale of lots and development of extensive land holdings
in Keyport acquired by his father from the Kearney Estate in 1829. In the 1880s, Ezra A. Osborn
and Elnathan T. Field of Middletown attempted to start a coconut plantation on the east coast of
Florida between Key Biscayne and Jupiter. They imported and planted 300,000 un-husked
coconuts from the Caribbean. Alas, nearly all were eaten by rodents. In 1885, Osborn and Field
were allowed to purchase Key Biscayne and other oceanfront land from the Florida Improvement
Fund at the cost of 70 cents per acre. A few years later they quitclaimed their rights to this
property to others.
Ezra A. Osborn died suddenly of a stroke of apoplexy on 27 August 1895 at the age of 72. He
was interred in Fair View Cemetery in Middletown, as was his wife Sarah who passed away the
following year. At the time of his death, Osborn owned two large farms on Red Hill Road in
Middletown near the border with Holmdel, but did not work them himself. Both were rented to
tenant farmers. See: Red Bank Register, 28 August 1895; and Keyport Weekly, 31 August 1895.
123
Portland, 46 items
Middletown Township Real Estate Taxes, 1878-1897. Documents include: quarterly tax bills
from Middletown Township, 1878-1893, and 1896-1897.
Portland, 31 items
Title Transcripts, 1881-1882, and no dates. Documents include: transcripts of title documents
pertaining to Portland from 1678 to 1765.
Note: Most of these transcripts were taken from land records then in the hands of the New Jersey
Department of State. Copies of the Indian quitclaim deed or release regarding Sandy Hook dated
8 August 1698 were made from an original document in the Hartshorne family papers that is still
owned by descendants as of this writing.
Portland, 5 items
Farm Accounts, 1881-1889. Documents include: receipts for sales of agricultural products (some
issued by captains of the local steamboats Sea Bird and Albertina); receipts from commission
merchants; correspondence; items pertaining to a claim against David H. Sickles; and wood pile
measurements.
Note: These documents provide some insight into the farming activities carried out by Benjamin
M. Hartshorne on the Portland estate. Items sold included pears, apples, red wheat, ear corn, hard
and soft cord wood, barley, oats, etc. David H. Sickles was apparently a hired farm hand. See
also: Folder 10 below.
Portland, 12 items
Hogs & Wheat Sales Accounts, 1886-1891. Documents include: receipts of sales from
commission merchants and steamboat captains; and freight receipts from the Central Railroad of
New Jersey.
Note: Another group of documents that provide some indication of farming activities on
Portland. Most of the commission merchants were located in New York. Wheat was shipped in
bushels and in bags. The hogs were transported live. Wheat appears to have been a major crop.
124
Portland, 9 items
Construction of a road to the Swift House at Highlands, NJ, 1890. Documents include: lists of
workmen and sums paid for labor; contract to build a bulkhead; statements of expenses; and bills
for labor and materials.
Note: The Swift House was a hotel operated by Thomas Swift on the south side of the
Highlands-Sea Bright Bridge next to Thompson’s Pavilion Hotel.
Portland, 6 items
Portland Garden, 1890. Documents include: analysis report by Stillwell & Gladding, analytical
and consulting chemists, dated 14 October 1890 on a soil sample received from Benjamin M.
Hartshorne; letters from the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station in New Brunswick, all
dated 1890; and an undated statement of amounts of muriate of potash and ground bone added to
three garden plots.
Note: These documents represent an early attempt to improve the productivity of a Monmouth
County garden through chemical analysis and advice from E. B. Voorhees of the New Jersey
Agricultural Experiment Station in New Brunswick.
Portland, 20 items
Sale of Farm Products, 1891-1894. Documents include: receipts from commission merchants;
receipts from steamboat captains of the Sea Bird, Albertina, and Pleasure Bay; and statements of
produce quantities and on which steamboats they were shipped.
Note: A continuation of Folder 6 above, but found in a separate bundle. Products of the farm
included apples, crab apples, pears, potatoes, and wheat.
Portland, 20 items
Steamboat Sea Bird Shipping Receipts, 1895. Documents include: receipts for a wide variety of
household and farm items shipped aboard the steamboat Sea Bird from April to September 1895.
125
Note: These receipts cover such household items as a grand piano, food staples, groceries,
furniture, baggage, garden seeds, garden implements, glass lamp chimneys, etc.
Portland, 1 item
Land Acquisition Sketch, no date. A pencil sketch of lots acquired by Benjamin M. Hartshorne
along Hartshorne Road around its intersection with Tan Vat Road.
Note: This interesting sketch shows the lots purchased containing Portland Place, along with lots
east of Tan Vat Road down to a stream. Most of them were acquired from the heirs of the estate
of Thomas Hartshorne.
California Legal, 7 items
Miscellaneous, 1857-1897. Documents include: three notes dated 15 August 1857 between J.
Whitney, Richard M. Jessup, John Bensley, and Samuel Hensley on one part, and Frederick
Billings and Lafayette Maynard on the other part, for sums totaling $19,999.98; final discharge
of the Samuel O. Putnam as executor of the estate of Richard M. Jessup dated 30 October 1866;
agreement dated 10 March 1880 between William H. Moor, Benjamin M. Hartshorne and Arthur
W. Bowman of San Francisco wherein Moor borrowed $8,000 from Hartshorne with his
promissory note; settlement dated 16 March 1896 in the case of Edward Norton, Jr., vs. Edward
N. Moor et. al. for funds remaining in the hands of referee George Davidson; statement of Agnes
Ethel Tracy swearing that she is the widow of Francis W. Tracey, deceased, who died at Buffalo,
NY, on 18 April 1896 with a will dated 14 August 1876 which was admitted to probate in Erie
County, NY, and that she is the executrix thereof, and that she does not wish to administer the
estate in San Francisco but requests that Edward Norton Moor be appointed administrator.
Note: The agreement between Hartshorne, Moor and Bowman involved land situated in
Alameda County, CA. The Norton vs. Moor settlement pertained to Norton family assets, of
which Benjamin M. Hartshorne’s three children by Julia Norton were recipients of distributions.
Francis W. Tracy and his wife Agnes Ethel Tracy were also related to Hartshorne’s wife Julia
Norton.
California Legal, 7 items
Diggins vs. Hartshorne, 1890. Documents include: telegram copy, correspondence, and notes.
126
Note: This envelope of documents pertained to litigation at 7th and Channel Streets in San
Francisco involving an assessment levied on Hartshorne regarding 7th Street from Berry to
Channel.
New York Legal, 1 item
Document: complaint of Charles N. Black, Trustee of Benjamin M. Hartshorne, against Samuel
B. White, dated 13 June 1873, in the Superior Court of the City of New York.
Note: This complaint involves Benjamin Hartshorne’s brother, Edward M. Hartshorne and his
business partner Samuel B. White, who were engaged as maltsters in the town of Phelps in
Upstate New York, and as brewers on Sullivan Street in New York City. Benjamin M.
Hartshorne, a silent partner with his brother, lent the enterprises $10,000, which he was trying to
recover after the business went bankrupt.
New York Legal, 10 items
David W. Porter Suit, 1888-1889. Documents include: correspondence, affidavits, telegrams,
statements of account differences, and court summonses. Correspondents include: attorney J.
Frederick Kernochan, Bvt. Brig. Gen. Charles G. Sawtelle of the Quartermaster General’s
Office, and Fannie D. Porter (widow of David W. Porter).
Note: This litigation against Benjamin M. Hartshorne was brought in 1888 by Stephen A.
Walker, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. It involved
differences of $1,024.60 in the accounts of Capt. David W. Porter, Assistant Quartermaster of
the U. S. Army. Porter died on 15 October 1871. Hartshorne had served as his surety. The
deficiency in the account was discovered by the Accounting Officers of the United States
Treasury. The suit was discontinued in 1889 through the intercession of Bvt. Brig. Gen. Charles
G. Sawtelle, a personal friend of Hartshorne.
French Spoliation Claims, 25 items
Correspondence, 1885-1887. Correspondents include: William E. Earle, Charles Haight, John A.
King, and J. Frederick Kernochan.
Note: Throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, the Hartshorne family made
considerable effort to obtain compensation without success from the U. S. Government for
127
claims resulting from depredations against American shipping committed by France during the
Quasi-War of 1793 to 1800. These claims were relinquished by the terms of the Treaty of 1800.
Since they were no longer valid, claimants including the Hartshornes continually petitioned
Congress for the relief that had been waived by the Treaty.
The United States Court of Claims was established in 1855. It wasn’t until 20 January 1885 that
a law was passed that provided for consideration of what became known as the French Spoliation
Claims before the Court. These claims continued until 1915 or later. William E. Earle, a
Washington, DC, attorney, succeeded to the practice of the Causten agency that had been
established in 1816. James H. Causten had represented the Hartshornes in their petitions to
Congress until his death in 1874. Earle possessed all of Causten’s client files, client contracts and
supporting documentation pertaining to the French Spoliation Claims. Within days of the 20
January 1885 law being passed, he initiated correspondence with Benjamin M. Hartshorne and
reopened the family’s claims. See: Box 8, Folders 5 through 7 for earlier efforts to obtain
compensation for their losses.
Biographical Note: Attorney William Edward Earle was born on 31 October 1839 in Greenville,
SC, a son of Henry M. Earle and Sophia Frost Rowland. He attended Furman University in
Greenville for five years, graduating in the class of 1861 with an A. B. degree. He also spent two
years studying law at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, class of 1860. At both
institutions, Earle joined the local chapters of the Chi Psi fraternity, of which he was in each case
a founder. The recent graduate entered the Confederate Army in August 1861, and served until
Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s surrender at Greensboro, NC, in 1865. He became noted as an artillery
commander of the famous Earle’s Battery which rendered excellent service on the coast. William
Earle married first on 19 December 1865 to Bette Price. They became the parents of four
children. She died in 1878. Earle remarried on 13 January 1881 to Mary Orr (1858-1912).
After the war, Earle began the practice of law his native city of Greenville. He became the senior
member of the firms of Earle & Blyth and Earle & Wells. The successful young lawyer was
appointed Assistant United States Attorney for South Carolina on 27 February 1872. He served
in that position until 3 October 1877. Beginning in 1880, Earle practiced law in Washington, DC.
By 1885 his offices were located in the Kellogg Building on F Street. He specialized in business
with the Supreme Court of the United States, and with the Court of Claims. But the French
Spoliation Claims became a real focus of his practice. By 1887, Earle formed a partnership with
James L. Pugh, Jr., at the same location in Washington. This firm was succeeded in 1891 by
Jeffries & Earle at 1417 G. Street, N. W., where Earle joined forces with N. L. Jeffries. Suffering
from failing health for some time, William E. Earle died in Portland, ME, on 13 August 1894 at
the age of 54 while on vacation with his family. “In politics he was a Republican, and a faithful
adherent to that party, but in his intercourse with those who differed with him he always exhibited a
conservative spirit.” His remains were interred in the cemetery of Christ Episcopal Church in
Greenville, SC. See: The Sixth Decennial Catalogue of the Chi Psi Fraternity, 329 and 391.
128
Correspondence, 1888-1892. A continuation of the previous folder. Correspondents include:
William E. Earle, William H. Adams, Joseph Ogden, and J. Frederick Kernochan. Many letters
included enclosures such as newspaper clippings, printed items, etc.
Printed Materials, 1885-1897, and no dates. Items include: evidence for claimants, circular
letters, statements under rule, pamphlet histories and present status of the French Spoliation
Claims, a pamphlet describing provisions by Congress, and a pamphlet on Letters of Mark.
Printed Reports, 1884-1886. Items include: several extensive printed reports by the Secretary of
State issued in 1884 relative to the “Papers on file in the Department of State touching on the
unsettled claims of the Citizens of the United States against France for Spoliations Prior to July
31, 1801,” messages from the President of the United States to the 49th Congress (1886)
transmitting the report of the Secretary of State, and opinions of the Court of Claims delivered in
1886 by Judge John Davis.
Printed Reports, 1887-1890, and no dates. Items include: a Hartshorne petition of 1887, remarks
before the Judiciary Committee of the U. S. House of Representatives, a report of 1890, reprints
of earlier acts pertaining to the French Spoliation Claims, and opening oral argument of William
Earle with argument in reply by [Samuel] Shellabarger.
Court of Claims proceedings, 1886-1891. Transcripts of court proceedings pertaining to the
Hartshorne and Minturn claims, as well as those of Josiah Ogden regarding the Brig Hiram, and
of Susan Ludlow Warren regarding the Schooner Hatty.
129
Working Papers, no dates. Documents include: loose pages of notes in the handwriting of
Benjamin M. Hartshorne relating to the family’s French claims.
Newspaper Clippings, 1889, and no dates.
Edward M. Hartshorne, 1885-1886. Items include: notes, correspondence, printed circulars and
bills. Correspondents include: William E. Earle, John A. King, George W. Bashford, G. B.
Disbrow, Hanna & Johnson, James Burrell, and Benjamin M. Hartshorne.
Note: Benjamin M. Hartshorne’s brother Edward engaged in correspondence regarding the
French Spoliation Claims, particularly with Rhinelander family heirs who declined at the time to
become involved. The Rhinelanders had been partners with Richard Hartshorne in marine
insurance underwriting on vessels and cargoes.
Financial, 25 items
Miscellaneous Account Statements, 1861-1887, and no dates. Documents include: accounts
current and interest accounts with brother Richard Hartshorne, 1861-1862; account with Dr.
Charles Berthody of San Francisco for professional services rendered to his wife and children,
1868-1871; interest statements for the California Steam Navigation Co., 1871 (possibly related to
the sale and wind-up of the company); statement from the Security Savings Bank of San
Francisco for receiving $5,000 for payment of installment one on purchasing 40 shares of the
capital stock of the bank; correspondence with Jerome Lincoln and E. F. Spence regarding
mortgages and property, 1879 and later; statement of account with the Commercial Bank of Los
Angeles for 1879-1880 with a note attached to Jerome Lincoln from E. F. Spence; investment
account statements with Laidlaw & Co. of New York, 1883; notes on an 1885 distribution made
under the terms of the wills of Elizabeth and Robert Bowne; an 1887 listing of all bank accounts,
investments, properties, and other assets held by Benjamin M. Hartshorne; various financial
notes written on envelopes and scraps of paper; and an undated cost summary, ca. 1900, for the
expansion of Portland Place for Hartshorne’s daughter Mary H. Ward.
130
Note: The account with Dr. Charles Berthody of San Francisco documents the lengthy last
illness of Julia Norton Hartshorne, who died on 3 February 1869 after requiring extensive
medical treatment for two months.
Financial, 6 items
Edward M. Hartshorne Account, 1870-1871. Documents include: correspondence, notes,
payment orders, etc. relating to substantial loans made to Edward M. Hartshorne in support of
the malt house operation at Phelps, Ontario County, NY.
Note: The malt house and brewery operations of Edward M. Hartshorne went bankrupt by 1873.
See: Box 35, Folder 15. These documents were found in a sealed envelope inscribed “A/C &
letters from E. M. Hartshorne.” Benjamin M. Hartshorne lent his brother $10,000 and was a
silent partner in the business.
Financial, 9 items
Financial Miscellaneous, 1871-1874. Documents include: checks, notes, telegrams, etc., much of
which appears to pertain to his brother in law Henry Norton.
Financial, 36 items
Miscellaneous Bills & Receipts, 1883-1900. Documents include: bills and receipts mostly
pertaining to household and personal items in the last few years of his life. Items covered include
a clock; wine; items shipped on the steamboat Albertina; extensive plumbing, bathroom and
kitchen upgrades at Portland; carpeting for the house at 164 Remsen Street in Astoria; jewelry;
household accessories; food stuffs and supplies; care of the Hartshorne family cemetery in
Middletown Village; medical care and medicines; dry goods; charitable contributions; carpets;
house plants; etc.
Financial, 11 items
Commodity Trading, 1885. Documents include: account statements of Canfield, McCoun & Co.
of New York for the purchase and sale of large quantities of corn, wheat, etc. in New York and
Chicago.
131
Note: These documents are all addressed to “Mr. J. M. Selover, Trustee” and then forwarded on
to Benjamin M. Hartshorne. Selover appears to be an account representative for Hartshorne.
Financial, 34 items
California Powder Works, 1894-1899. Documents include: letters and reports to stockholders;
reports to the Board of Trustees and Directors; correspondence to and from the E. I Dupont de
Nemours & Co. in Wilmington, DE; articles of agreement between the California Powder Works
and other companies; correspondence to and from other companies; correspondence with H. M
Barksdale of the Atlas Powder Co.; correspondence with J. Amory Haskell, President of the
Eastern Dynamite Co. of New York; correspondence with Benjamin Brewster of the Standard
Oil Co. of New York; and a report to John Bermingham, President of the California Powder
Works, regarding an 1898 explosion at one of the plants.
Note: John Bermingham served as a long-time friend, business associate, and agent in California
for Benjamin M. Hartshorne. These highly detailed and at the time confidential documents
appear to have been sent to Hartshorne more as a courtesy to an investor in the company and
confidant of its President, rather than as an actual company officer. Hartshorne had returned
permanently to the East in 1878. For related materials and a lengthy biographical entry on John
Bermingham, see: Box 27, Folder 5, through Box 29, Folder 4.
Benjamin M. Hartshorne became very involved as an investor and confidential advisor to the
California Powder Works of Santa Cruz, CA, after his friend and colleague John Bermingham
was appointed President in 1890. This company was incorporated in 1861. It began
manufacturing powder in May of 1864. Founded due to Civil War era shipping difficulties and
U. S. Government embargoes on the transportation of arms and explosives, the California
Powder Works supplied the West Coast with blasting powder for mining and railroad
construction work, and also with sporting and military powders. The company eventually
expanded to comprise six separate plants. E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. began purchasing
stock in the company in 1868, and by 1879 had increased their holdings to a 43% interest. The
California Powder Works became a Du Pont subsidiary in 1903. In 1906, the company was
dissolved and absorbed into the huge du Pont industrial empire. Operations at Santa Cruz were
discontinued in 1914. At the time of his death in 1900, Hartshorne held 500 shares of the
California Powder Works with a market value of $78,750. Blocks of Du Pont stock remained in
the investment portfolios of Hartshorne’s descendants for much of the twentieth century.
Financial, 2 items
132
California Powder Works, 1898. Documents include: two newspaper clippings describing an
1898 explosion at one of the company’s plants.
Financial, 1 item
La Grange Ditch & Hydraulic Mining Co., 1899. Document: a power of attorney and agreement
dated 8 May 1899 from the stockholders of the company authorizing John Bermingham,
President of the company, and Abraham Halsey, Secretary, to sell their shares to Michael D.
Coffeen of Chicago for $100,000.
Note: At the time of this sale, Benjamin M. Hartshorne held 2,500 shares in the La Grange Ditch
& Hydraulic Mining Co., making him the third largest stockholder of the 18,885 shares
outstanding. He also owned an additional 100 shares registered to the President, John
Bermingham. La Grange was an investment made with much optimism that did not develop as
expected.
Financial, 4 items
John Bermingham Accounts, 1888-1898. Documents include: statement of account dated 5
December 1888 between Benjamin M. Hartshorne and John Bermingham, agent; statement of
account dated 6 December 1888 between Benjamin M. Hartshorne and John Bermingham, agent;
statement of account dated 29 February 1896 between Benjamin M. Hartshorne and John
Bermingham; and statement of account dated 27 March 1899 between Benjamin M. Hartshorne
and John Bermingham.
Personal, 1 item
School Composition, 1840. Document: one sheet containing compositions on Husbandry and
Sobriety. Inscribed “B. M. Hartshorne’s / Composition / for the last day / Wednesday April the
15th 1840.”
Note: These two very short essays were apparently composed by Benjamin Hartshorne for his
last day under the tutelage of Rev. G. C. Eastman in Litchfield, CT, where he had been a student
since 1838. Later in 1840, Hartshorne and his older brother Richard received private tutoring
from A. Frost at the parsonage of Christ Episcopal Church in Shrewsbury, NJ.
133
Personal, 4 items
Literary Miscellaneous, no dates. Documents include: a poem entitled “Dedicated to the
Whiskered Hombre” that was written in California; description of a Mammoth tusk found in the
Arctic; a satirical poem entitled “The Pope to St. Peter,” and an untitled poem about life.
Note: All of these literary items are in the adult handwriting of Benjamin M. Hartshorne.
Personal, 8 items
Recipes, no dates. Documents include: recipes for Quail pie, stewed lobster a la Creole,
Bouillabaisse, “To cook one Terrapin,” sausage “the old recipe,” eels en Matilat, Charlotte
Russe, sponge cake, and “How to Cook a Canvas-back Duck.”
Note: Many of these recipes are in Hartshorne’s adult handwriting.
Personal, 15 items
Social Invitations, 1853-1898, and no dates. Documents include:
Invitation to a social party on 30 September 1853 to be given at A. & P. Driesbach’s Kentucky
Flats.
Invitation from E. C. Lovell, Secretary, to attend on 4 July 1869 a private view of the Model
Aerial Steam Carriage in action at the Shell Mound Track, San Mateo County, CA.
Invitation from Mr. and Mrs. Paul Morrill, 18 August 1869, in Sacramento, CA.
Invitation to the Lick House in San Francisco from J. M. Lawlor & Co., 30 June 1870.
Invitation from William C. Ralston for a dinner on 25 January [1871] at Belmont, CA, to meet
His Excellency, I Wakura [sic], Envoy Extraordinary and Ambassador Plenipotentiary of His
Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Japan to the Treaty Powers (a special train will leave the San
Jose depot).
Farewell Benefit, California theater, 30 June 1871.
Invitation from J. H. Stilwell and Sister on 4 March 1874 at View Hill, Shrewsbury, NJ.
Invitation from Capt. And Mrs. George A. Johnson on 4 June 1874 at the Horton House, San
Diego, CA.
Inauguration Ball of the Hon. Newton Booth as Governor of the State of California on 19
December 1874 at the State Capitol in Sacramento, CA.
134
Banquet in honor of Gen. George Crook, given by the citizens of the Pacific Coast at the Lick
House, 12 April 1875 (B. M. Hartshorne served on the committee of arrangements).
Invitation from George T. Bromley to attend Bohemian High Jinks on 29 January 1876 at the
Bohemian Club Rooms.
Invitation of Dr. [Walter] & Mrs. [Julia] Cary to attend the wedding of their daughter [Jennie
Cary] to Mr. Laurance D. Rumsey at Trinity Church on 7 November [1876].
Invitation to the Opening Ceremonies of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge on 24 May 1883.
[The engraved invitation with a view of the bridge was produced by Tiffany & Co. The
envelope also contains a program for the opening ceremonies.].
Announcement by Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne of the marriage of his daughter Mary Minturn
Hartshorne to Ensign Henry H. Ward, USN, on 9 November 1898 at Highlands of Navesink
(2 copies).
Note: These invitations and those that follow testify to the high regard with which various East
and West Coast social, business, and patriotic groups held Benjamin M. Hartshorne.
Personal, 1 item
Mercantile Library Association, San Francisco, 1854. Document: a certificate dated 15 May
1854 for one share in the Mercantile Library Association of San Francisco.
Personal, 5 items
Yorktown Centennial Celebrations, 1881. Documents include: an invitation to the Yorktown
Centennial Celebration on 18 October 1881; a program for a promenade concert and hop on 19
October 1881; a letter from Major Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock inviting Hartshorne to be
received on board the steamer St. John’s, where a state room has been reserved in his name; and
several admission tickets.
Personal, 5 items
Old Map from William H. Vredenburgh, 1888. Documents include: two letters from William H.
Vredenburgh dated 20 April and 24 April 1888 discussing an old map; an 18th century map of
land between the North and South Shrewsbury Rivers; and several envelopes.
Note: William H. Vredenburgh, a Freehold attorney, obtained the map in question from Edward
M. Hartshorne while preparing for a trial with Ezra A. Osborn. The map was to be presented as
135
evidence, but apparently was not. It depicts a narrow strip of land on the Rumson peninsula
running from the South or Shrewsbury River to the North or Navesink River.
Estate, 24 items
Estate, 1889-1904. Documents include: the will of Benjamin M. Hartshorne dated 17 November
1896 and presented for probate in April 1900; a list of bonds dated 7 March 1900; a more
detailed list of bonds dated 16 April 1900; two copies of the inventory of the personal property
of Benjamin M. Hartshorne dated 21 March 1900; title insurance dated 15 July 1903 for an
undivided half part of Pier No. 28 in the East River of New York conveyed by John C. Minturn
and wife to Benjamin M. Hartshorne on 30 April 1880; releases among Hartshorne’s three
children for their several shares of the estate; powers of attorney among the Hartshorne heirs for
the sale of property belonging to the estate; a receipt from the U. S. Internal Revenue Service for
estate taxes paid amounting to $18,313,47; a receipt from the City of New York Controllers
Office for estate taxes paid amounting to $7,528.87; and a group of documents relating to Pier 28
on the East River formerly belonging to Edward Minturn.
Note: Benjamin M. Hartshorne died on 21 March 1900. His will divided the estate among his
three children, who were named co-executors. Daughter Julia H. Trask was devised the 20 acre
property formerly owned by Edward Minturn at Lower Rocky Point. Son Robert Hartshorne
received Portland, the 320 acres surrounding the residence, all appurtenances pertaining to the
property, plus all household furniture, live stock, farming utensils, etc. All the remainder of his
estate was to be divided equally among the three children. Hartshorne’s inventory of personal
property exclusive of real estate came to $1,263,622.33. Of that sum, $5,000 represented the
value of personal property at Portland bequeathed to his son Robert. The remainder consisted of
investments and cash accounts. Hartshorne had invested heavily in railroad bonds and stock,
bank stocks, industrial stocks, and mortgages. He also had deposits at the Farmers Loan & Trust
Co. of New York totaling $372,491.93. The interests in Pier 28 on the East River in New York
purchased in 1880 from John C. Minturn had formerly belonged to his grandfather Benjamin G.
Minturn, and then to his uncle, Edward Minturn. This facility was located adjacent to the south
side of the Brooklyn Bridge on the Manhattan side.
Estate, 8 items
Trust Litigation, 1936. Documents include: various summonses and petitions regarding litigation
dated 1936 pertaining to a trust set up by Benjamin M. Hartshorne on 9 March 1888 with City
Bank Farmers Trust Company of New York.
136
Note: This litigation involved all of the surviving descendants of Benjamin M. Hartshorne as of
September 1936.
Newspaper Clippings, 11 items
Items include: various literary, obituary, and legal clippings from West and East Coast
newspapers, mostly 1870s and undated. One item clipped from the New Jersey Standard of Red
Bank, NJ, dated 19 Septenber 1879, is a poem by John Fraser entitled “The Highlands.” It
describes the area around Portland, the Hartshorne estate.
Note: The newspaper clippings in this folder, and in those that follow, were indiscriminately
mixed in with the Hartshorne family papers. They were mostly found in the dome-topped trunk.
No attempt has been made to organize these materials more than superficially. Those items that
were contained in envelopes have been kept together.
Items include: various literary, historical, business, political, and social clippings, mostly dating
from the 1850s to the 1880s. From West Coast and East Coast newspapers. Some clippings
address the quarantine question in New York, 1858-1859, and others pertain to San Francisco
and California history. One undated clipping with annotations by John Bermingham contains an
obituary for Capt. Alfred H. Wilcox, a former long-time business partner and friend of Benjamin
M. Hartshorne.
Items include: large portions of the San Francisco Call of 25 July 1899 covering the life and
death of Lloyd Tevis of San Francisco. Also the envelope from the California Powder Works
addressed to Benjamin M. Hartshorne in which the clippings were contained.
Items include: a group of clippings from San Francisco newspapers dated 1896, plus the
California Powder works envelope which contained them addressed to Benjamin M. Hartshorne.
Some annotations in the handwriting of John Bermingham.
137
Items include: a group of small clippings, tightly folded, apparently all from East Coast
newspapers and mostly covering social news, plus the Gorham Manufacturing Co. envelope
which contained them addressed to Benjamin M. Hartshorne.
Items include: a group of clippings dating from the mid 1880s mostly pertaining to lengthy
litigation over the will of Francis W. Tracy, plus the envelope which contained them addressed
to Benjamin M. Hartshorne.
Items include: a small group of clippings mostly pertaining to literary and social items, plus the
envelope addressed to Benjamin M. Hartshorne that contained them.
Items include: a group of mostly San Francisco clippings dating from the 1880s, with some
Eastern clippings mixed in, plus the blank envelope which contained them.
Items include: a group of clippings pertaining to the history of Yuma and the Colorado River
trade, plus the envelope that contained them inscribed “Colorado History” in the handwriting of
Benjamin M. Hartshorne.
Note: These clippings include recollections of early Yuma history by Capt. George A. Johnson,
long-time partner of Benjamin M. Hartshorne in Colorado River steam navigation.
138
Items include: a group of literary, maritime, and social clippings, plus the blank envelope that
contained them.
Items include: a group of clippings found loose all pertaining to maritime subjects and the
French Spoliation Claims.
Newspaper Clippings, 1 item
Item: a large scrap book containing clippings mostly taken from California newspapers, but with
some Eastern items mixed in. Topics covered include: Colorado River navigation and history,
politics, literary items, obituaries of Hartshorne’s friends and business associates, San Francisco
and California coast navigation, explosion on board the steamer Julia of the California Steam
Navigation Company, incident involving the steamer Washoe on the Sacramento run, other
steamboat accidents, California railroads, California taxation, Vol. 1, No. 1 issue of The Lower
Californian published at Magdalena, Lower California, on 12 August 1870, international
politics, obituary for Capt. Alfred H. Wilcox, historical articles on the Highlands and
Shrewsbury, notices of various Hartshorne family activities, California history, a lengthy tribute
to Judge Edward Norton of San Francisco (brother in law of Benjamin M. Hartshorne), New
York quarantine issues, California politics and personalities, lengthy obituaries for Capt.
Benjamin Doughty who grew up on the Portland estate of the Hartshornes, etc.
Printed Materials, 3 items
Business cards, no dates. Items include: an engraved business card for Jed. Frye with an armorial
description on the reverse; printed business card for Edwin F. Corey, Notaries Public, at 60 Wall
Street, New York; and a printed business card for James Prentice & Son, importers and
manufacturers of Mathematical, Optical, Meteorological, and Surveying Instruments, 176
Broadway, New York.
Printed Materials, 1 item
Item: pamphlet, Misrepresentations of Early California History Corrected: Proceedings of the
Society of California Pioneers in regard to certain misrepresentations of men and events in early
139
California history made in the works of Hubert Howe Bancroft and commonly known as
Bancroft’s Histories (San Francisco: Hall of the Society of California Pioneers, February 1894).
Items include: pamphlets on New Jersey Riparian Rights, 1873-1884. Items include: Report of
the Riparian Commissioners of the State of New Jersey for the Year 1873 (Trenton: The State
Gazette-Murphy & Bechtel, Book & Job Printers, 1873); Annual Report of the Riparian
Commissioners of the State of New Jersey, with Accompanying Documents (Orange: Samuel
Toombs, printer, 1881); and Report of the Special Committee of the General Assembly of the
State of New Jersey, of 1883, on Riparian Rights (Camden: The Courier Publishing Association,
1884).
Item: San Francisco Directory, 1852-53. The San Francisco Directory, for the year 1852-53.
Embracing A General Directory of Citizens; a Street Directory; A New and Complete Map of the
City; and an Appendix of General Information, Almanac, Etc. First Publication (San Francisco:
Published by James M. Parker, 1852).
New York Harbor Encroachments, 1855. Item: Report of the Joint Committee of the Senate and
General Assembly of the State of New Jersey on the Encroachments Upon the Bay and Harbor of
New York, with the report of Robert L. Viele, State Topographical Engineer (Trenton: Printed at
the True American Office, 1855).
Item: View of San Francisco, no date. Engraved by Capewell & Kimmel, New York.
140
Broadside, San Diego, 1854. Entitled “A Card” and dated 20 December 1854. A response by J.
McKinstry to accusations made against him by Cave J. Couts, a resident of Guajomito in San
Diego County, that were published in the San Diego Herald.
Items include: Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, September 1879. Pages 541 to 553 contain an
article entitled “The Navesink Highlands” illustrated with thirteen wood block cuts. The
engravers were C. Graham, G. Kruell, J. P. Davis, and others. The cuts depict landmarks and
scenery around the Highlands, including Parkertown (now part of Highlands), All Saints Church
in Navesink, the old mills at Tinton Falls, etc. Two copies.
Item: McClure’s Magazine, September 1895. Contains articles on the art work of Will Low, on
the defense of the Americas Cup, and on the cup challenger “Valkyrie.”
Item: Scientific American Special Navy Supplement, 1898. Articles on the new vessels and
weapons of the United States Navy in 1898, leading up to the Spanish American War.
Item: Leslie’s Weekly Illustrated, 30 September 1899. Admiral George Dewey Number.
Postal History, 59 items
Stamps and Covers. Items include: two envelopes containing clipped stamps and some covers.
One envelope is inscribed “ Stamps Taken from old letters Found in trunk as is.” The other is
entitled “Old Stamps.” Left as found.
Postal History, 41 items
141
Stamps and Covers. Items include: mostly covers addressed to Benjamin M. Hartshorne, missing
the letters that they once contained. Left as found in an envelope addressed to Hartshorne.
Photography, 2 items
Photographs of Benjamin M. Hartshorne. Items include: a copy of a daguerreotype image of
Hartshorne, ca. 1860, air brushed to make it seem softer and more realistic; two additional prints
of the daguerreotype; and a photograph of him taken on the front porch at Portland, ca. 18951900.
Note: The original daguerreotype mentioned above is still owned by descendants. A glass plate
copy negative of the same is included in this collection.
Photography, 1 item
Item: a full plate daguerreotype view of the San Francisco waterfront that depicts tents, shacks,
and other informal structures in the foreground, wharves in the middle distance with the
steamboat Senator in the center of the plate, and many sailing vessels in the harbor beyond.
Yerba Buena Island can be seen in the distance. One of the wharf buildings has a sign on the roof
which reads “Cunningham’s Stores,” and a partially visible sign over the entrance to the wharf
reads “gham’s Wharf.”
Note: The 226-foot steamboat Senator, built in 1848, arrived in San Francisco in October of
1849, taking more than seven months to make the run around Cape Horn from New York. At
first represented by Charles Minturn, it became part of the California Steam Navigation Co. fleet
when that firm was organized in 1854. The splendidly appointed Senator spent 30 years on the
San Francisco to Sacramento route, occasionally making coastwise trips to San Diego and other
way ports. Extensively rebuilt in 1869, the vessel had her engines removed in 1882, went to New
Zealand two years later, and was converted into a coal hulk. See: MacMullen, 12, 20, 56, and
140; and Delta History. Charles Minturn used Cunningham’s Wharf in San Francisco as his principal dock in the city for
many years. This T-shaped wharf opened in October 1850, as advertised in the Alta California:
". . . having twenty-six feet of water at its end, and sufficient at the sides for the largest class
vessels, offers great inducements to them to land there, as by doing so they will be able to
discharge in one-half the time and at much less expense than they would be put to it by lying in
the stream . . . a spacious shed and fire proof building are connected with the wharf . . . goods
landed or stored on this wharf, will have the advantage of being shipped by first class steamers to
142
Sacramento city and the mining districts, free of all costs of cartage." An abandoned ship wreck
named the Resolute (aka Resolutis) located near Cunningham's Wharf once served as a flagship
for the California Steam Navigation Company. It was originally a Dutch vessel. Benjamin M.
Hartshorne and E. D. Chandler, managers for the California Steam Navigation Company, lived
aboard her until she was sold and broken up. The Resolute had been part of Charles Minturn's
fleet of coal hulks. An 1856 lithograph view of Cunningham’s Wharf by Sarony & Major shows
the steamboats Senator and New World at dockside. By then, all of the temporary structures and
tents shown in the daguerreotype had been replaced by more substantial, permanent offices and
warehouses. See: San Francisco Wharves.
Two daguerreotype images of the steamboat New World. Items include: a half-plate
daguerreotype of the New World at a landing, signs on the wharf reading “New York Drug
Store,” “New York Lunch,” “Stage Office,” “Donaldson & Harris . . .,” and “Lodging / Sutter
House;” and a quarter-plate daguerreotype of a painting of the New World under full steam.
Note: The 220-foot steamboat New World was built in New York. While still on the ways, a
sheriff had her seized because of a creditor’s lien. Through chicanery and the force of an armed
crew, the Captain had the boat launched with steam up and a full load of coal on board. The New
World departed immediately for San Francisco via the only route possible - around Cape Horn. It
was no easy voyage. The boat and its crew encountering a yellow fever epidemic in Rio de
Janeiro, came under hostile gunfire from a British frigate and from the Brazilian army, and
warded off confiscation in Panama City. On 11 July 1850, the New World steamed through the
Golden Gate carrying 250 cash-paying passengers and enough revenue in hand to pay off its
creditors. The boat, at first represented by Charles Minturn, joined the fleet of the California
Steam Navigation Company when that firm was organized in 1854. See: MacMullen, 13-15, and
139; and Delta History.
On the New World’s first run to Sacramento, the boat set a speed record by halving the best time
heretofore made by any other steamer. This record time held until December 1861. In May of
1864, the New World was sold to the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, with the restriction
that neither the boat, nor any of its machinery if salvaged for use on another vessel, could run in
California waters for a period of ten years. This transaction began a complicated series of
lawsuits and countersuits regarding the validity of those terms that eventually ended up at the
United States Supreme Court in October of 1881, long after the New World’s useful life had
ended. See: Murfree, 9-13.
143
Photography, 1 item
Item: a view of the Palace Hotel, Market and New Montgomery Streets, San Francisco, CA.
Depicts the interior courtyard of the hotel. Labeled on the reverse as “Watkins; New Series of
Yosemite and Pacific Coast Views, No. 427 Montgomery Street, embracing Yosemite, Big
Trees, Lake Tahoe, Virginia City, Southern California, Oregon, Overland Railroad, Southern
Pacific Railroad, San Francisco, Etc., Etc., In all Sizes, Mounted or Unmounted. The Only
Collection of Nevada and Southern California Views. The New Series can be obtained at 427
Montgomery Street, Only. Bet. Sacramento and California Streets, San Francisco.”
Note: The original Palace Hotel was built by San Francisco banker and entrepreneur William
Chapman Ralston, who heavily depended on his shaky banking empire to help finance the $5
million project. It opened on 2 October 1875. With 755 guest rooms, the Palace Hotel was at the
time of its construction the largest hotel in the Western United States, and according to some
claims the largest in the world. The skylighted open center of the building featured a Grand
Court overlooked by seven stories of white columned balconies which served as an elegant
carriage entrance. Shortly after 1900 this area was converted into a lounge called the "Palm
Court." The hotel featured large redwood paneled hydraulic elevators which were known as
"rising rooms". Each guest room or suite was equipped with a private bathroom as well as an
electric call button to summon a member of the hotel's staff. All guest rooms could be joined
together to create suites, or to make up large apartments for long term residents, and the parlor of
each guest room featured a large bay window overlooking the street below. Although the hotel
survived the initial damage from the San Francisco earthquake in the early morning of 18 April
1906, by late that afternoon it had been consumed by the subsequent fires. A new Palace Hotel
opened on the same site in 1909. It remains one of the pre-eminent luxury hotels in San
Francisco. See: Palace Hotel, San Francisco.
Items include: cartes-de-visite photographs of San Francisco friends and acquaintances of
Benjamin M. Hartshorne. Hand-written identifications and photographers are listed as follows:
Identification:
Photographer:
Bigelow, Sam
Buchanan
Bromly
Crane, John
Dow, John B.
Whipple, Boston
Bradley & Rulofson
J. H. Herring
Bradley & Rulofson
William Shew
144
Drum
Paymaster Eldridge
Flint
Hensley, J. J.
Hubbard, Sam
Jaeger
Jaeger
Jessup, Dick
Kohl, Ben
Love, Harlow S.
Love, Mr.
Love, Mr.
McAllister, Parson
McRuer, D.
Minturn, Walter
Mowry
Nelles, Sam
Nelles, Sam
Norris
Nudd, Asa
Perry, Rev. Henry G., St. Paul’s Church,
Benicia, CA, April 1867
Poston
Redington, John
Risley, Dr.
Sanford, N (?), USN, March 18, 1867
Sayre, Dr.
Seely, Tom
Seely, Tom
Seeley, Tom
Smith, Austin
Staples, Capt. (3 copies)
Ten Broeck
Ten Broeck, Dr.
Ten Broeck, Dr. & Wife
Unidentified (2 copies)
Unidentified
Van Dewater, R. J.
“The King of Paris”
145
William Shew
Hamilton’s Gallery, Wise & Prindle
Not Identified
Bradley & Rulofson
Not Identified
William Shew
William Shew
Higgins & Johnston
Helleck’s
Bradley & Rulofson
Not Identified
Not Identified
Edouart’s Gallery
M. B. Brady & Co.
Bradley & Rulofson
Not Identified
Not Identified
Not Identified
Not Identified
William Shew
Jacob Shew
Brady’s
Jacob Shew
Not Identified
William Shew
Bradley & Rulofson
Higgins & Johnston
T. J. Higgins
Not Identified
Not Identified
Not Identified
Glosser
Glosser
Bradley & Rulofson
Bradley & Rulofson
Bradley & Rulofson
Bradley & Rulofson
Edouart
Items include: photographs of San Francisco and other friends and acquaintances of Benjamin
M. Hartshorne.
Photographer:
Identification:
Connor, Commodore Francis, 1880
Taber
Connor, Commodore Francis
Bradley & Rulofson
Douglas, Capt.
G. D. Morse
Fouratt, Enos, 1850
Taber
Fouratt, John R., 1849
Taber
Livermore, 22 March 1877
Bradley & Rulofson
“To B. M. Hartshorne from his friend”
Unidentified
William Shew
Unidentified
C. E. Watkins
Unidentified
Rieman & Co.
Unidentified
M. B. Brady, Washington, DC
“With compliments and good wishes to my true old friend Col. B. M. Hartshorne,
a 49er [?] fine man of Fort Yuma, California [?]
Photographs of Colorado Steam Navigation Company vessels at Yuma, AZ, 1876. Items include:
an 8 inch by 9.5 inch card mounted photograph of the steamboat Cocopah at a wharf with the
two-stack steamboat Mohave II passing in the river, another boat out of water on the opposite
river bank, and Fort Yuma on the bluff above it; and an 8 inch by 9.5 inch card-mounted
photograph of the steamboat Mohave II fully decked out with decorations of flags and greens
with a large party of men and women on board.
Note: The photograph of the Cocopah is accompanied by a note addressed to John Bermingham
in San Francisco that reads “Dear Sir, I send you photograph of new boat. The picture is
particularly valuable owing to very effective grouping of the Editor of the Yuma Sentinel and the
writer in the foreground. Yours respectfully, H. Finlay.” This note is addressed from Yuma, AZ,
on 18 March 1876.
146
A stern-wheeler launched in March of 1867, the Cocopah II was 147.5 feet long, 28 feet wide at
the beam and displaced 231 tons. It could carry 120 tons of freight on less than 20 inches of
water. A replacement for the Cocopah I, it has been said that the Cocopah II made a recordbreaking voyage from Aubrey City to Yuma in four days, a distance of 220 miles. The vessel
was dismantled in 1881. See: Lingenfelter, 161.
Launched at Port Isabel, Mexico, in 1876 as successor to the Mohave I, the steamboat Mohave II
was the pride of the Colorado River fleet for many years. It was 6 inches longer than the Gila and
the largest steamboat to ever run on the river. The boat was a stern-wheeler, 149.5 feet long, 31.5
feet at the beam, displaced 188 tons, and drew only a foot of water. The Mohave II had the
distinction of being the only two-stacker ever to run the river. It was advertised as “palatial” and
“magnificent.” The Mohave II, retired in 1900, also served as a pleasure boat that made trips
into the Gulf of California. See: Lingenfelter, 162.
Photographs of Yuma, AZ, after 1877. Items include: eight 4.25 inch by 7 inch card mounted
photographs taken by E. A. Bonine; and one 4 inch by 5.5 inch photograph obtained from M. B.
Brady, Washington, DC.
Note: The Bonine photographs depict the following:


The steamboat Mohave II with two stacks and a barge marked “No. 3” at a dock at Yuma
with a wooden swing bridge over the Colorado River in the background. The steamboat Gila and a small freight barge at a dock at Yuma with a wooden swing bridge
over the Colorado River in the background.
Note: This stern-wheeler, launched at Port Isabel, Mexico, in 1873, had the distinction of
being able to carry more cargo tonnage than any other steamboat on the Colorado. The boat
was 149 feet long, 31 feet at the beam and displaced 236 tons. From 1879 to 1887, the Gila
saw service under charter for gold mines in Eldorado Canyon in Nevada, and salt mines at
the mouth of the Virgin River in Utah. In 1899, the boat was refurbished, rebuilt and
renamed the Cochan. As the Cochan, it displaced 234 tons and was shortened to 135 feet in
length. This boat served the U.S Reclamation Service from 1909 to 1910, when it was
dismantled after the river was closed to navigation due to dam construction. The Cocopah II
carried Mrs. Martha Summerhays, author of the book Vanished Arizona which describes her
life as the wife of a frontier soldier. She traveled on the Gila in September of 1874 when the
temperatures ranged from 107 to 122 degrees. See: Lingenfelter, 161-162.
147

A view of Yuma with the photographer’s tent set up in the foreground. Legible signs on the
buildings include “Bakery,” and “Yuma Exchange.”

A view of the Colorado River swing bridge with Fort Yuma on the bluff in the background.

A standing Yuma Indian woman carrying a woven basket on her head, inscribed on the
reverse “Hepa.”

A Yuma Indian woman seated in a Victorian Chair, inscribed on the reverse “Mahue.”

Two Yuma Indian men, one holding a bow and handful of arrows.
The Matthew Brady photograph, not taken by him, depicts three Yuma Indian runners, their
Chief, and Mr. L. J. F. Jaeger. The image contains a faint, mostly illegible inscription of another
photographer from San Francisco.
Note: The first bridge to span the Colorado River at Yuma was built by the Southern Pacific
Railroad in 1877. Three of these photographs depict it.
Elias Atkinson Bonine was one of three brothers, all of whom became photographers. He was
born in Lancaster, PA, on 20 September 1843, a son of Elias Bonine and Jane Atkinson. Moving
to California in 1876, he traveled throughout that state and Arizona to take photographs in
remote areas, using his tent as both home and darkroom. The arrival of the Southern Pacific rail
line in Yuma in 1877 greatly improved access to the Colorado River watershed from Los
Angeles, where Bonine lived. He subsequently settled in Lamanda Park, near Pasadena, where
he died on 3 August 1916 at the age of 72.
Bonine was one of the most prolific photographers of Native American portraits in the carte-devisite format. Unlike the earlier work of government survey photographers or of early
anthropologists who used photography as field research, Bonine's images were made for a public
audience increasingly enthralled by native subjects. His several trips to Arizona in the 1870s and
1880s produced hundreds of portraits of members of the Yuma tribes, including Maricopas.
Photographing his subjects in a temporary studio, Bonine attempted to add "natural" touches
such as rocks or logs rather than the usual props of chair or curtain. Bonine's photographs were
staged, calculated for a buying public who preferred the romance of the disappearing Indian to a
more truthful and authentic presentation. See: Foresta, 123.
Photography, 1 item
148
Item: an album of 24 carte-de-visite sized photographs of Arizona Indians, ca. 1868.
Note: The album contains ethnographic photographs of male and female subjects from the
Yuma, Apache, Maricopa, Pinal Apache, Cocopah, and Mojave tribes. One photo has been
removed from its album insert page. It contains the following printed legend: “Entered according
to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United
States for the Northern District of California, by Charles G. Johnson, San Francisco, Cal.” All
other photographs in the album that can be examined below their mat bear the same legend. A
key index at the front of the album identifies each subject by tribe, with occasional other
information such as tribe rank or name.
Items include: a photograph of Portland, before 1876. Original print and two copies.
Note: This important photograph depicts Portland as rebuilt following a fire in 1834. See: Box
16, Folder 6, for documentation relating to its design and construction. It confirms that a floor
plan and elevation drawing by William Sprague, the builder, represents the house as built.
Photography, 1 item
Item: a photograph of a Portland Painting, 1878.
Note: This photograph depicts an oil painting on canvas of Portland from the river executed in
1878 by William Hahn, a noted California artist. It shows the house as expanded and renovated
in 1876 by Benjamin M. Hartshorne, set in landscape enhancements by Jacob Weidenmann.
When acquired by MCHA, the photograph was matted and framed. A key identifying the
individuals in the painting was written on the very fragile brown paper backing. It has been
carefully removed and put into an archival mylar sleeve. A transcription follows:
In Row Boat
Robert Hartshorne
Julia Norton Hartshorne (Mrs. J. D. Trask)
Mary Minturn Hartshorne (Mrs. H. H. Ward)
In Sail Boat
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Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne
On Dock
Auntie Moore (under Parasol)
Susannah & Louise Hartshorne
Robert, Julia and Mary Minturn Hartshorne were the children of Benjamin M. Hartshorne and
his deceased wife, Julia Norton. Benjamin Minturn, Susannah and Louise Hartshorne were the
children of Edward M. Hartshorne and his deceased wife Louise Hendrickson. “Auntie Moore”
is most probably Lucinda Norton Moor, wife of William H. Moor and sister to Hartshorne’s late
wife.
The artist, William Hahn, was born on 7 January 1829 in the village of Ebersbach in the Saxony
region of Germany close to the Czech border. At the age of fifteen, he began to study art at the
Royal Academy of Art in Dresden. After graduation, he entered a master class under the
historical and genre painter, Julius Hubner, followed by further studies in Dresden and
Dusseldorf. Hahn enjoyed success in Europe as a painter of genre scenes. In 1871, he left for
America, establishing a studio first in Boston with fellow artist William Keith, whom he had met
previously in Dusseldorf. In May of 1872, the two men traveled west to California. Hahn and
Keith then set up separate studios in the Mercantile Library Building in San Francisco. Hahn
again achieved success with his depictions of daily life and scenery in the American West. For
four years, he participated fully in the artistic life of San Francisco. In the summer of 1876, Hahn
embarked on a grand cross-country tour from San Francisco to the East Coast, finally ending up
in New York where he remained from 1877 to 1879. But the artist returned to San Francisco for
three more years after his stay in the East. In 1882, William Hahn and his new wife Adelaide
Rising (whom he had married on 18 June) traveled to England, moving on to Dresden in 1885.
The couple planned to return to San Francisco but Hahn became ill and died on 8 June 1887 at
the age of 58. Adelaide Hahn and her daughter Rosina went back to San Francisco, where they
settled in Oakland. For many years, the widow and her daughter entered her late husband’s
paintings in exhibitions and tried to place them in museums. Many of the works, though, were
very large and difficult to handle. Only a few paintings were sold and these at a fraction of their
value. See: Arkelian, 12-46.
At the time of his death in 2008, Daniel Ward Seitz owned three paintings by William Hahn, all
of subjects pertaining to Benjamin M. Hartshorne and his family. The large landscape view of
Portland depicted in this photograph had been acquired by Seitz from the estate of Mrs. Richard
Hartshorne following her passing in 1997. It had apparently come from the collection of her late
husband’s father, Robert Hartshorne, who was the only son of Benjamin. The canvas is signed by
150
William Hahn and dated 1878 in the lower right corner. It would have been painted while the
artist was living in New York, quite possibly while on or after a visit to Portland. Hartshorne and
Hahn would have surely known each other from their California days. For example, Hahn’s San
Francisco studio was located in the Mercantile Library Building. Hartshorne had been a member
of that organization since 1854. The other two paintings were purchased in 1895 by Benjamin M.
Hartshorne from the artist’s widow at the cost of $55.00. Mrs. William H. Moor, a sister of
Hartshorne’s late wife who still lived in San Francisco, secured the two works from Mrs. Hahn.
Framing, mounting, boxing and shipping to New York came to an additional $24.25. One of the
pictures also dated 1878 depicts the gnarled ancient Hartshorne walnut tree at Portland. The
other dated 1885 is a genre scene of Hartshorne’s daughter Julia as a young woman sitting in
front of a window while reading. Her needlework basket rests on the floor by her side. Hahn was
in Dresden by 1885. He may have been working from sketches taken some years earlier or even
from a photograph. All three paintings are now owned by the Monmouth County Park System as
per the Seitz will. A fourth related work by Hahn is entitled “Gathering Sedge, Shrewsbury
River, New Jersey.” It shows a hay wagon with a team of horses in shallow tidewater being
loaded with hay from a flat-bottomed scow. The sedge islands, shown in the background, are
located in the Navesink or North Shrewsbury River just off shore from Portland. These longstanding sources of salt hay had been owned by the Hartshornes since 1722. The young boy
standing on top of the hay was believed by Seitz to have been his great uncle Robert, who would
have been about thirteen years old at the time the painting was executed. There are two known
copies of this painting. One that sold at Sotheby’s in New York in 2008 measures 24.5 inches by
40 inches and is signed and dated “William Hahn New York 1879.” It may represent yet another
visit by the artist to Portland before returning in that year to San Francisco. Hahn exhibited the
work in 1879 at the National Academy of Design in New York and at the Brooklyn Art
Association. The other, a much larger canvas measuring 42.5 inches by 69.5 inches, is dated
“San Francisco / 1880” and was exhibited at the Oakland Museum in 1976, a loan from the
Kennedy Galleries, Inc., of New York. See: Arkelian, 39.
Four unidentified portrait photographs of individuals, 1893. Items include: a photograph of an
adult woman wearing a large hat, photographs of two young boys, a photograph of a young girl,
and a bill dated 1 November 1893 to B. M. Hartshorne from DeHart & Letson, Red Bank
photographers.
Note: The photograph of the unidentified adult woman is stamped “DeHart & Letson, Red Bank,
N. J.” on the obverse, and those of the three children are stamped on the reverse. These items
were found in the dome-topped trunk which contained the bulk of the Hartshorne Family Papers.
151
Photography, 1 item
Item: a tin-type of two unidentified dapper young men, ca. 1890.
Note: This tin-type was found in the dome-topped trunk that contained the bulk of the
Hartshorne Family Papers.
Wedding, 35 items
Wedding to Julia Norton, 1862. Documents include: 33 name cards and envelopes (some with
inscriptions of good wishes); a marriage certificate dated 13 February 1862 for B. M. Hartshorne
and Julia Norton, Wm. H. Moor and Edward Norton witnesses, signed by Edward B. Walsworth;
and a card announcing that Mr. & Mrs. B. M. Hartshorne would be “at home” from Tuesday, Feb
25th to Friday 28th at 323 First St.
Box 42 – Folder 7; Julia Norton Hartshorne (1838-1869)
4 items
Documents include: letters received, 1861-1862. Correspondents include: mother in law Mary
Minturn Hartshorne, sister in law Mary M. Hartshorne, husband Benjamin M. Hartshorne, and
Ben’s aunt Penelope Minturn.
Biographical Note: Julia Norton was born in Buffalo, NY, on 19 November 1838, a daughter of
Charles Norton (1805-1870) and his wife Julia A. Maltby (1804-1873). Between 1854 and 1861,
the four Norton children moved to San Francisco, CA. They were joined in the winter of 1862 by
their parents. In the spring of 1861, Julia became engaged to Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne
(1826-1900), a son of Robert Hartshorne (1798-1872) and his wife Mary Ann Minturn (18021861) of Highlands, New Jersey. They were married in San Francisco on 13 February 1862. The
Hartshornes had three children: Julia Norton (b. 1863), Robert (1866-1927), and Mary Minturn
(b. 1867). From May through November 1868, the Hartshornes made an extended visit east,
staying at Portland with Ben’s aging father, and also in hotels and with relatives in the New York
area. Shortly after returning to San Francisco, Julia N. Hartshorne contracted a serious illness
requiring extensive care by a physician from 4 December through 3 February 1869. On 5
December 1868, Dr. Charles Bertody also vaccinated Ben and the children. This suggests that
the disease may have been smallpox as the vaccine for it was the only one in common usage at
that time. Julia Norton Hartshorne died on 3 February 1869, at the tragically young age of thirty.
See also: Box 42, Folder 6.
152
Letters written in 1862 to several family members by Robert Hartshorne Sr. while on a visit to
San Francisco capture some of Julia’s personality. Extracts follow.
Letter, Robert Hartshorne Sr. to his son Robert Hartshorne, Jr., 10 March 1862
They say first impressions are lasting. I believe they are and I hope so, for never did a girl
make a more agreeable impression upon strangers than she has upon us all . . . Julia’s
portrait did her less than justice except in the item of the put-her-foot-downicality [sic] . .
. She is not beautiful but has a most expressive countenance and every varying emotion
of her mind manifests itself in her face. She is as cheerful as a cricket, as playful as a
kitten, and as graceful as your aunt Cornelia, and throws herself into an arm chair with
the speed of an electric shock, and be all right. She is tall and her form strikingly perfect.
Letter, Robert Hartshorne to his son William Hartshorne, 13 April 1862
I think you would like your new sister. She is unique, “sui generis” and different from
any of the female sex that ever appeared in our family. I must confess that I like her and
with the ballast of Ben’s solidity of character to steady her, I think she will make a fine
woman. She is as sharp as a meat axe, as quick as a steel trap, as lively as a cricket, and
as lithe as the proboscis of an Elephant. Last night she, Mary, Ben and myself were in the
dining room. Suddenly she made a spring and stood erect and unruffled on the dining
table. I looked at her for a few minutes and then said “so stands the statue that enchants
the world” and off she went as quick [sic] as she came on without an angular movement
or disturbance of the symmetry of her redundant skirts.
Letter, Robert Hartshorne to Miss Matilda M. Hendrickson, 15 May 1862
. . . of Julia I have written to the boys and I suppose you have heard what my opinion is
on that interesting subject. I like her, she is an original and different from any member of
the interesting sex that has yet been reared up in one circle without being handsome. She
is very striking in her appearance, impulsive and very animated. In dress she uses taste
equal to the ladies of the Atlantic cities and she does not spare “barbarie gold and pearl,”
“purple and fair linen,” but that is the custom of the place. There is no love lost between
her and Ben. She appears to consider him the Hub of the Universe and he thinks her the
balance of the wagon, the team and the load to boot.
In 1864, a small side-wheel steamboat built for the California Steam Navigation Company was
named after Julia Norton Hartshorne, wife of the company's president Benjamin M. Hartshorne.
This 503 ton vessel was used on the company’s routes on the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers.
Unfortunately, the Julia experienced two major disasters that earned it an unfortunate reputation
153
for being unsafe. On the evening of 30 September 1866, as the boat headed across San Francisco
Bay near Alcatraz Island, the steam drum blew out, killing five passengers and injuring eleven
others, some fatally. Repaired and restored to service, the little steamer picked up its business
gradually and provided more than 20 years of useful service in the California river trade. In
1871, the California Steam Navigation Company was sold to the Central Pacific Railroad, which
in turn was absorbed into the Southern Pacific Co. in 1885. The Central Pacific assigned the
Julia to the South Vallejo to Vallejo Junction run. They also converted it to burn oil in its
furnaces rather than coal, the first vessel on San Francisco Bay so equipped. Another
catastrophic disaster ended the vessel’s 24-year career. With about 70 people on board, the Julia
was torn apart by a horrific explosion on the early morning of 27 February 1888, as it
approached the dock in South Vallejo. Flames consumed the boat and the entire dock area.
Thirty people died in the tragedy, and another 28 people were injured. Investigations blamed the
conversion to oil as contributing to the severe magnitude of the disaster. All boats in San
Francisco Bay service returned to burning coal as a result until after 1900 when marine
technology improved. In the 1960s, the keel of a ship was raised from muddy waters during a
dredging of the Mare Island Channel. Research led local historians to believe that it was the last
remains of the Julia. Two large, identical oil paintings of the Julia descended in the Hartshorne
family, both executed by noted California marine artist Joseph Lee (1827-1880). One is now
owned by the Monmouth County Historical Association, and the other by the Monmouth County
Park System. See: MacMullen, 31-32, 78.
25 items
Documents include: letters received, 1868. Correspondents include: sister Lucinda Norton Moor,
mother Julia M. Norton, brother in law William H. Moor, sister in law Louise H. Hartshorne,
Ben’s aunt Cornelia Minturn, cousin Eliza Maltby, aunt S. Saltar, father Charles Norton, cousin
Edward N. Moor, Mollie C. Low, Margaret McLoughlin, Ben’s cousin Ellen Collins, and Ben’s
cousin Sarah Minturn Grinnell.
Note: These letters, addressed to Julia Norton Hartshorne in New York and New Jersey, were
written to her while the family was on an extended visit East from May through November 1868.
9 items
Miscellaneous, no dates. Documents include: a note from Molly C. Low, a letter written by Julia
Norton Hartshorne to her sister Lucinda Norton Moor, two unidentified and undated notes, a note
written to Julia N. Hartshorne by her daughter Julia, two groups of social invitations, a group of
womens’ name cards, and a group of two unidentified cartes-de-visite photographs.
154
1 item
Item: a letter, 1841, written by P. B. Porter of Saratoga Springs, NY, to the Hon Henry Clay in
Washington, DC.
Note: This letter introduces E. F. Norton of Buffalo, NY, to Henry Clay. Norton is seeking
appointment as postmaster of Buffalo in an upcoming administration about to be inaugurated.
Ebenezer F. Norton was born on November 7, 1774, in Goshen, CT. He died on 11 May 1851, in
Buffalo, NY. On 21 December 1798, he married Abigail Kibbe (1771-1858). They were the
parents of three children, including Charles Norton (1805-1870), father of Julia Norton
Hartshorne.
Documents include: letters received from his father Benjamin M. Hartshorne while attending
Yale College, 1887-1890.
Note: These letters, while brief, gave Robert news of Portland and family, as well as the two new
schooners F. & T. Lupton and Marjory Brown. Benjamin M. Hartshorne also admonished his son
to pay attention to his studies, the poor performance of which at one point had him expelled from
Yale.
Biographical Note: Robert Hartshorne was born in San Francisco, CA, on 9 July 1866, the only
son of Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne and Julia Norton. His mother died tragically in 1869 when
the young man was only three years old. His father never remarried, raising their three children
on his own with the help of servants and members of his extended family. The Hartshornes
continued to reside in California until 1878, when they returned permanently to the East. Life
was then divided between New York City during the winter months, and in warmer weather at
the large ancestral Hartshorne estate called Portland near Highlands, NJ. The main Portland
residence had been extensively renovated and enlarged in 1876 in anticipation of such a move
back from California.
Robert received his early education in private schools, which prepared him for college. He
entered Yale College in New Haven, CT, in the fall of 1886, a member of the class of 1889, but
paid little attention to his studies despite repeated letters from his father urging him to improve
his standing. As a result of excessive absence from classes, poor grades, and misbehavior, the
young man was dismissed from Yale near the end of his freshman year. Robert re-entered Yale
155
in the fall of 1887 with the class of 1890, with which class he received his degree in June of that
year. His college honors included memberships in He Boule (a sophomore secret society), Delta
Kappa Epsilon (a fraternity), and Wolf’s Head (a senior secret society). After graduation,
Hartshorne studied law in New York City during 1891 and 1892. He also began to take an
interest in business, having obtained from his father shares in the schooners Marjory Brown and
F. & T. Lupton. But in fact Robert spent most of his time at Portland where he pursued the
occupation of a gentleman farmer. The U. S. Census of Population for 1900 lists him as such.
On 16 April 1895, Robert Hartshorne married Margaret Willis, daughter of William P. Willis
and Sarah C. Davenport, at St. George’s Episcopal Church near the Willis home in Flushing,
NY. Alfred H. Wilcox Jr. of California served as his best man. Wilcox was the namesake son of
Benjamin M. Hartshorne’s long-time partner in Colorado River and West Coast steam
navigation, plus other ventures. The young Wilcox made the trip East just for the wedding.
Among the large gathering of distinguished guests who attended was renowned American artist
Childe Hassam, whose works were collected by the Hartshornes. After a lengthy honeymoon trip
to Europe, the couple returned to a familiar pattern of life divided between New York City and
Portland. They became the parents of two children: Mary Minturn Hartshorne (1897-1978) and
Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958).
When Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne died in 1900, his son Robert received as a bequest “my
homestead situated on the Shrewsbury River in said County of Monmouth and the lands and
appurtenances attached thereto and forming part thereof, also the household furniture, live stock
and farming utensils and implements thereon, and also the sedges in the river adjoining said
premises between Clay Pitt Creek and Upper Rocky Point, said lands and sedges together
containing about three hundred and twenty acres more or less.” From then on, Robert devoted
much time and energy to Portland.
The main residence on the estate was upgraded in several phases beginning in 1899. In that year
all of the plumbing, bathrooms, and kitchen facilities were modernized. In 1901, the house was
wired for electricity and a power plant installed in a former brick ice house. At this time, the
Victorian bracketed exterior trim and porches dating from 1876 were replaced with simpler ones
in the Colonial Revival style.
By 1903, Hartshorne had begun the development of a prized herd of pedigreed Guernsey cattle at
Portland, which within a few years was accorded top awards at the annual Monmouth County
Fairs held near Red Bank, and also at the New Jersey State Fairs at Trenton. The contests at Red
Bank regularly pitted Hartshorne’s service bulls against those owned by J. Amory Haskell at Oak
Hill Farm, and Melvin A. Rice, both wealthy gentleman farmers of Middletown with large
showcase properties located within a few miles of Portland. The leading prizes rarely went to
anyone else.
156
When Robert Hartshorne’s aunt Mary H. O’Rourke and her husband Felix O’Rourke died in
1890 and 1891 respectively, his father, Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne, attempted to obtain title to
the O’Rourke portion of Portland that they had inherited. It consisted of two tracts totaling 210
acres lying east and west of his 300 acres. He argued unsuccessfully in court that the property
was entailed and should not be turned over to the heirs and creditors of Felix O’Rourke. After
passing through several hands, Robert Hartshorne was able to purchase this property in 1909,
expanding his Highlands holdings to 510 acres. This transaction restored nearly all the historic
Portland tract to Hartshorne family ownership, excepting only the westernmost woodlot near All
Saints’ Memorial Church that had been inherited by Edward M. Hartshorne, Robert’s uncle. That
parcel had been sold by his heirs to the Gelhaus family. About 1875 or 1876, the O’Rourkes built
a large Victorian house with elaborate porches and trim on the eastern portion of their land.
Robert Hartshorne had this dwelling torn down and portions moved off the property in 1924 in
an effort to reduce his property taxes.
When war broke out in Europe in the summer of 1914, Americans became increasingly patriotic
and supportive our allies, namely France, Great Britain and Russia. The American Red Cross
began aggressively recruiting members and funds to aid soldiers wounded in the conflict. Robert
Hartshorne joined the Red Cross in 1916 as a life member. His elaborate membership certificate,
still owned by descendants, was signed by President Woodrow Wilson. The United States
officially entered the war on 6 August 1917. Almost immediately, Hartshorne began to plan for
how he could get involved, even though he was then fifty-one years old. His association with the
Red Cross apparently put him in touch with an affiliated organization called the American
Committee for Devastated France, which intended to introduce modern American farming
methods in those battlefield areas heavily damaged near Rheims, France. The program was put
under the direction of Major Alexander G. Scott and Capt. Robert Hartshorne, who obtained
commissions in the United States Army. A formal portrait photograph of Robert in full Army
uniform was presumably taken at this time. Hartshorne applied for a passport on 29 April 1918.
He was scheduled to leave from New York on board the steamship Espana on 15 May. His
application was supported by a letter from the American Committee stating that “Mr. Robert
Hartshorne has been requested by this organization to go to France to volunteer his services in
the agricultural regions of France.” Once in Europe, Hartshorne served as Assistant Chief of the
Bureau of Agriculture of the American Red Cross is Paris. He and Scott then went to Rheims
where they demonstrated the value of modern methods of agriculture that also provided
employment for refugees in that district. Initially the French government put aside 1,000 acres to
be put under cultivation by the Red Cross experts. It became so successful that the program was
expanded to 3,250 acres by 1920. By the end of the year 1919, the 1,750 acres then reclaimed
had earned a profit of 150,000 French francs. The model farming program was intended to run
for two years. U. S. Immigration records, however, indicate that Robert Hartshorne arrived at
New York on 21 December 1918 aboard the steamship Baltic from Liverpool, England.
157
In anticipation of being out of the country for an extended period of time, the prize Hartshorne
herd of Guernsey cattle was auctioned on 4 May 1918, only days before Robert’s departure for
France. The sale held on site at Portland was conducted by Leander F. Herrick, a livestock
auctioneer and commission agent from Worcester, MA. Fifty-one lots were sold. Each animal
was described in detail in an elaborate catalog which outlined their individual pedigree. Charles
D. Cleveland of Eatontown, NJ, wrote the introduction:
For the past ten months I have been in general charge of Mr. Hartshorne’s Portland herd.
He came to see me last spring, believing at the time both that there was a likelihood of
the Government’s taking his property as a protection in its fortifications at the Atlantic
Highlands and that he, himself, might volunteer to go to the other side to engage in the
work of rejuvenating the ravaged farms, and as a consequence stated that he believed he
would have to sell his herd. I urged him not to do so if it could be avoided until he had
demonstrated that his cows were producers by putting a few animals on the A. R.
[advanced registry] test. This he has done. Seven cows were put on the test as they
freshened and they are making very creditable records although they had received no
previous preparation whatsoever.
The herd is a healthy collection of extremely well-bred animals, which has been
maintained as a hobby and whose produce has been sold at a fancy price to the higher
class milk trade. No females have been purchased since the herd was founded and there
has never been a single reaction for 15 years . . .
I have been asked to act as manager of the sale and will be pleased to see purchasers the
day before or day of the sale and give any information not contained in the catalogue, or
to answer any inquiries directed to me by mail at my farm in Eatontown, N. J.
For persons seeking good, solid foundation stock the sale of the Portland herd should be
very attractive.
Also perhaps due to his absence from the United States, Hartshorne entered into a one year
agreement in June 1920 with Holmes Crawford and Harry Myers for farming 110 acres at
Portland. Clearly the owner’s attention had gone elsewhere with the sale of his Guernsey herd
and the turnover of those portions of Portland suitable for agriculture to tenant farmers. As a
memento of his work in France, Robert Hartshorne put together a collection of World War I
battlefield relics, fragments from damaged historic structures, commemorative medals, ribbons,
buttons, etc. Each item was carefully identified, wrapped, and packed tightly into a painted tin
box still owned by descendants.
158
After returning permanently to New York, Robert Hartshorne engaged fully in the social life of
the city and country. He became a prominent member of the University, Yale and Grolier Clubs,
the Society of Iconophiles, the Century Association, and also of the Graduates Club and
Elizabethan Club of New Haven. In many of these organizations, Hartshorne served long terms
on their governing boards and committees. He and his wife attended St. Bartholomew’s
Episcopal Church on Park Avenue, and also All Saints’ Memorial Episcopal Church not far from
the family estate in Monmouth County. Hartshorne served on the Vestry at All Saints' from 1902
to his death in 1927, and also as Secretary and Treasurer of the Navesink Golf Club, a short-lived
enterprise near his beloved Portland not to be confused with the present-day Navesink Country
Club founded in 1963. He also served for many years on the Middletown Township Board of
Education, taking a deep interest in improvements in local education and contributing lumber
and a decorative terra cotta frieze for the construction of a new high school which opened in
Leonardo in 1912. In addition, Hartshorne became a vice president of the Second National Bank
of Red Bank from 1915 to 1917.
Trusts set up for Robert by his father in California and New York, plus a one-third share of his
father’s residual estate with investments of more than $1.2 million, accorded Hartshorne a
generous lifestyle without the necessity of engaging in any formal employment. He did,
however, maintain an office in New York for a number of years, and was identified in the 1910
census schedules as a “capitalist.” Hartshorne apparently inherited his father’s skills as a shrewd
investor in stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments like mortgages. Robert Hartshorne, as
then-administrator of his great-grandfather Richard Hartshorne’s will, also brought to conclusion
the family’s long-standing attempts to obtain compensation for marine insurance losses incurred
during the Quasi-War with France in the 1790s. These claims, which began in earnest in the
1820s, were revived with vigor by Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne in the 1880s through the U. S.
Court of Claims in Washington, DC. After more than 100 years since the French depredations
against American shipping occurred, the descendants of Richard Hartshorne received a
settlement “for French Spoliations under Acts of May 27th, 1902, and Feb. 24, 1905, collected by
said Administrator, as shown by his report of August 1st, 1912.” Each living descendant received
the paltry sum of $135.66 after expenses were deducted. That list would have included the three
surviving children of Edward Minturn Hartshorne (Susannah P. Bennett, Louise Hartshorne, and
William Hartshorne), and the three children of his older brother Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne
(Julia H. Trask, Robert Hartshorne, and Mary H. Ward). Their final claim for compensation was
denied in 1913.
With free time on his hands and resources at his disposal, Robert Hartshorne became a preeminent collector in several areas. These included: early historical maps of New York, New
Jersey, and North America; engravings, etchings, aquatints, and other works of art on paper by
important Impressionist artists including Mary S. Cassatt and James Abbot McNeil Whistler;
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rare books and 20th century press publications; and early American furniture. One writer in 1945
noted:
The life and personality of . . . Robert Hartshorne were of a type uncommon in our
country at any time and increasingly rare in the present day. He was a member of a
family long settled in Monmouth County, New Jersey. His affection for the countryside
thus especially his own, and the tastes and qualities natural to one possessing an inherited
cultural background and leading a life of leisure, flowered gradually into something more
than is found in the usual local ‘squire’. He cultivated a keen and sensitive love for the
beautiful in its varied forms-in nature and in the arts-to a point of real mastery, best
represented by his distinguished collection of maps, books, prints and furniture . . .
Items from these collections were generously lent to museums and other institutions. As early as
1917, a selection of his Whistlers and Cassatts was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York. Hartshorne also placed a large number of his maps on long-term display at the
University Club in New York. After the death of Mary Cassatt in 1926, more than 50 of her
works owned by the Hartshornes went on loan for memorial retrospectives at the Art Institute of
Chicago and the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh. Hartshorne also exhibited a selection from his
large collection of engravings by Jacques Callot at the Yale School of Fine Arts, along with
examples of his fine 20th century press publications. This distinguished gentleman/collector also
lectured on these topics for various Yale classes and clubs. In addition, loans from his collections
went on exhibit at the Providence School of the Fine Arts. Large parts of the notable Hartshorne
collections have been dispersed at auction beginning in 1945. Other sales with provenance intact
have been held in 1946, 1953, 2007, 2009, and 2012. For a detailed discussion of Robert
Hartshorne’s collecting interests and accomplishments, plus all relevant collection
documentation, exhibit and sale catalogs, see: Box 45, Folders 6 through 11, and Box 46, Folder
1.
Robert Hartshorne died very suddenly of a heart attack (angina pectoris) on 13 January 1927 at
the University Club in New York. “He had been enjoying good health and his death was a
surprise and a shock to his large circle of friends.” Letters of condolence poured in to his family,
many with glowing tributes to Hartshorne’s fine character, generosity, and old school manners.
Lengthy obituaries and tributes from colleagues also appeared in the leading newspapers of New
York City and Monmouth County. All offered similar characterizations of a much lamented
friend. One that appeared in the New York Herald Tribune was signed by William M. Ivins, Jr.,
Charles Downing Lay, artist Allen Tucker, and Forbes Watson. It read in part:
Robert Hartshorne was an important factor in the best life of his time. He lived, savored
life itself, touched it deeply, for he was real through and through. He was an idealist,
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reaching upward, yet with his feet firmly on the ground, in his person connecting the
practical world with the stars.
. . . and always he was a farmer, an outdoor man, who knew his business, lifting the old
farm [Portland] into a prize-winning concern that paid its own way. He loved nature,
knew plants, birds and animals through and through and saw the large aspects and wide
space with the eye of a painter . . .
He loved his fellow men and called out their affection. Those who knew him well, were
close to him, played with him and walked with him some of the mysterious paths of art,
at his passing lift our hands in an affectionate salute.
Another written by John S. Sheppard that was published in The New York Times commented:
Sir Robert Hartshorne was a gentleman of the old school by birth, training and habits . . .
He was the “Squire” of the [Highlands] neighborhood, but was keenly alive to the duty to
help the community in which he lived. He labored assiduously to set up a better school
system in Monmouth County, and the results of his labors are manifest today . . .
Besides all this, he was a man possessed of the widest culture, with the most exceptional
appreciation of beauty. He was a real connoisseur. His collections of etchings, prints, rare
and beautiful books, historical documents and maps grew both in size and quality with
his increasing knowledge and taste . . .
A rare soul has passed away, but nothing can take from us who had the privilege of his
friendship the abiding glory of that friendship and the lift he gave us.
Robert Hartshorne’s funeral was held on Monday, 17 January, at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal
Church on Park Avenue in New York City. Fellow members of the Grolier Club were requested
to attend. After the service, his remains were brought to Middletown Village for interment
among his ancestors and relatives in the ancient Hartshorne burying ground on King’s Highway.
Having died very unexpectedly at the relatively young age of sixty, Robert Hartshorne left a
large complicated estate. His deceptively simple will dated 23 August 1911 read: “I give, devise,
and bequeath to my wife Margaret Willis Hartshorne all my property, both real and personal, of
every kind and description and wheresoever situated.” He also named her his executrix.
Hartshorne’s estate was appraised at $1,093,958.95. This included real estate valued at
$224,299.65 [mostly the 510 acres of Portland], stocks and bonds valued at $782,194.03,
mortgages, notes, cash, and insurance valued at $13,886.95, and other miscellaneous property
valued at $73,578.32. This last category included his collection of etchings, drawings, maps, etc.,
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valued at $47,815, the fine and rare book collection at Portland valued at $15,115, household
furniture and equipment at Portland valued at $5,069.50, cigars and pipes in a humidor room at
the University Club valued at $2,882.44, and an ancestral portrait of Penelope Green by artist
John Wesley Jarvis on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art valued at $400. Attorneys
William E. Foster of Red Bank and William H. Smith in New York City handled all estate
matters, appraisals and tax filings. Consolidation of Hartshorne’s investments was complicated
by their being held in several custody and brokerage accounts in California and New York.
Margaret Willis Hartshorne created several memorials to her late husband in Monmouth County.
In 1930, she funded construction of a fully equipped health facility at Campbell’s Junction in
Middletown that cost $15,000 and was donated to the Middletown Township Public Health
Association. It bore a bronze dedicatory plaque that read “In Memory of Robert Hartshorne, a
Citizen of Middletown Township.” Although the handsome brick Dutch Colonial style building
still stands as of this writing, the plaque is now removed. In 1931, Mrs. Hartshorne also donated
a gallery to Robert’s memory in the new museum and library of the Monmouth County
Historical Association built in Freehold. Walnut boards from trees cut on the Portland estate
were used to create elaborate paneling in a space that has since been known as the Hartshorne
Room.
See: The New York Times, 15 January 1927, and 24 January 1927; New York Herald Tribune, 19
January 1927; and the Red Bank Register, 19 January 1927, and 15 October 1930.
Note: A large copper printers' block depicting five cows from Robert Hartshorne's Guernsey
dairy herd has been transferred to the museum collection. See: Appendix A, item 11.
See also: Oversize Box, Folder 10; an Addendum in Box 66, Folders 5 through 9; and Rolled
Maps, Box 1.
Documents include: letters received, 1890-1894. Correspondents include: the Farmers Loan &
Trust Co., Barry Sears of Lobdell, Farwell & Co., John Bermingham (his father’s business
associate in San Francisco), M. Lee, “Pelt” for cousin Susannah Pelletreau Hartshorne, cousin
Louise Hartshorne, cousin Alice White, Arthur Morgan Travers, cousin Nina M. White, cousin
Alice Minturn White, “Nisbe,” cousin M. M. Collins, and Juli[?] Wilcox Miner [?].
Note: Robert Hartshorne announced his engagement to Margaret Willis at Christmastime 1894.
The bulk of these notes offer congratulations to him. Many of the correspondents are friends
from Yale, and also relatives. See: Folder 3 for a continuation of these notes.
162
Documents include: letters received, 1 January-15 January 1895. Correspondents include:
Spencer Cosby, cousin “Carrie,” Rebecca B. Mitchell, T. Hassall Brown, cousin Ella
Hendrickson, cousin Julia Wikoff, aunt Lucinda Norton Moor, Anna Ilsley Ball, Maria A.
Wilcox, cousin Edith Minturn Lewis, cousin Alice Lewis, cousin E. M. Hardenburgh, Eugene R.
Pike, C. H. Sherrill, Jr., Barry Sears, Fay Cramer Pilst, Julian V., and cousin Louise Hartshorne
Moore.
Note: Nearly all of these letters and notes extend congratulations to Robert Hartshorne on his
engagement to Margaret Willis. They were received from Yale friends, relatives, and people
from the West Coast known through his father’s business associates.
Documents include: letters received, 16 January 1895-1920. Correspondents include: Alfred H.
Wilcox, cousin Elizabeth M. L. Cary, William H. Fitzgerald, M. Lee, William Willis, John
Bermingham, John d. Farnham, Charles Gibbs Carter, H. H. Perrin, cousin Mary M. Saltar,
cousin Agnes Tracy, cousin Alice Brereton, Joseph L. Chester, Peter Nelson (Archivist,
Manuscripts Division, New York State Library), and cousin Louise Hartshorne.
Note: Virtually all of these letters and notes offer congratulations on Robert Hartshorne’s
engagement to Margaret Willis, and their marriage on 16 April 1895.
Documents include: letters received, no dates. Correspondents include: “J. W,” J. D. Willis,
Elizabeth G. Rand, and Susanna Pelletreau Hartshorne.
Note: Although not dated, these notes pertain to the engagement of Robert Hartshorne to
Margaret Willis in December 1894.
Real Estate, 19 items
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California Real Estate, 1907-1923. Documents include: mortgage discharge between Ida Fletcher
Norton and the Security Savings Bank, 18 May 1907; mortgage dated 18 May 1907 between Ida
Fletcher Norton and the Security Savings Bank; deed dated 23 August 1909 between Julia H.
Trask and Robert Hartshorne for lots in San Francisco; deed dated 17 October 1909 between
Mary M. Ward and Robert Hartshorne for lots in San Francisco; deed dated 2 March 1910
between Julia H. Trask and James D. Trask on the one part, and Robert Hartshorne on the second
part, for a lot in San Francisco; deed dated 19 July 1910 between Richard and Maria O’Connor
of the first part and Samuel G. Buckbee of the second part for a lot in San Francisco; deed dated
20 July 1910 between Edward S. Norton, administrator of the estate of Sarah Saxe Norton, on
the first part, and Samuel G. Buckbee of the second part, for a lot in San Francisco; deed date 9
August 1910 between Edward S. Norton, Charles F. Norton and his wife Carrie, Janet S. Norton,
Murray Norton, and Tracy F. Norton and his wife Stella on the first part, and Samuel G. Buckbee
on the second part, for a lot in San Francisco; Superior Court judgment and decree dated 1
September 1910 establishing and quieting title to six lots in San Francisco (2 copies); deed dated
21 September 1910 between Robert Hartshorne and Julia H. Trask for two lots in San Francisco;
deed dated 21 September 1910 between Robert Hartshorne and Mary M. Ward for three lots in
San Francisco; deed dated 29 September 1910 between Samuel G. Buckbee of the first part, and
Robert Hartshorne, Julia H. Trask, and Mary M. Ward of the second part, for a lot in San
Francisco; receipt dated 14 December 1910 to Robert Hartshorne from the Mission Rock
Company for $23.00 for assessment on 46 shares of Mission Rock Co. stock; Superior Court
judgment and decree dated 18 October 1912 establishing and quieting title to nine lots in San
Francisco; letter dated 31 December 1912 from Shainwald, Buckbee & Co. of San Francisco to
Robert Hartshorne; deed dated 1 February 1923 from Ferdinand Reis, Jr., of the first part, and
Robert Hartshorne and Julia H. Trask of the second part, for a lot in San Francisco; and a title
insurance policy dated 3 February 1923 from the California Pacific Title Insurance Company to
Robert Hartshorne, Julia H. Trask and Mary M. Ward for a lot in San Francisco.
Note: These documents were found in an envelope inscribed, “Robt. Hartshorne / Papers to be
kept / in safe / No. 1.”
New York Real Estate, 1911-1921. Documents include: lease agreements between Henry C.
Tinker and successors as landlord, and Robert Hartshorne as tenant, for a suite of rooms on the
11th floor of the Mayfair, plus servants’ rooms elsewhere in the building, 1911-1921; and tax
receipts from the City of New York for Robert Hartshorne and Margaret Willis Hartshorne,
1915-1919.
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Note: The Hartshornes leased suite number A-11 on the eleventh floor of the Mayfair for many
years. The building was located at 449 Park Avenue at the corner of Fifty-Seventh Street.
New Jersey Real Estate, 1885-1930. Documents include: typed transcript copy of a deed dated
17 December 1885 between William H. Hartshorne et. al. of the first part and Benjamin M.
Hartshorne of the second part for 6 58/100 acres on the west side of Tan Vat Creek formerly
owned by Sarah and Mary Hartshorne (deceased) adjoining the property of Emeline Ferline;
original deed dated 21 October 1888 between Frank V. Hartshorne and wife Sarah of the first
part, and Benjamin M. Hartshorne of the second part, for one acre of land bounded by the land of
Emeline Ferline; typed transcript copy of a deed dated 23 June 1911 between Robert Hartshorne
et. al. of the first part, and Mary M. Ward of the second part, for 3 5/100 acres formerly
belonging to Emeline Ferline (pertaining to Portland Place and reciting its complicated title
history from 1885 to 1911); three copies of a typed transcript of a warranty deed date 17
February 1912 between Forman T. Stryker and his wife Annie S. of the first part, and Robert
Hartshorne of the second part, for a small lot abutting the land of Benjamin M. Hartshorne
(apparently on Tan Vat Road); a very important typed transcript dated 19 December 1913 of
many deeds from 1875 to 1886 pertaining to the division of Portland after the death of Robert
Hartshorne in 1872 and subsequent land purchases by Benjamin M. Hartshorne noted above;
four copies of a draft lease agreement dated June 1920 between Robert Hartshorne of the first
part, and Holmes Crawford and Harry Myers of the second part, for farming 110 acres on “The
Hartshorne Place” for the period of one year; typed transcript dated 19 November 1924 of a deed
dated 20 October 1852 between Robert Hartshorne and his wife Mary Ann of the first part, and
Joseph I. Thompson of the second part, for 4 62/100 acres bordering the North Shrewsbury
River, reserving a right of way along the shore (the property on which Thompson’s Pavilion
Hotel was built); amended certificate of incorporation dated 10 July 1926 for the Rumson
Community Victory Park (for the purposes of establishing a park and erecting a hospital that was
apparently a charity program of Howard and Bertram Borden, as well as a predecessor of
MCOSS); title search dated 19 June 1926 with a deposition dated 29 June 1926 for a lot
apparently on Tan Vat Road which Hermann Brockmann is about to convey to John McMahon;
deed dated 28 July 1926 between Julia H. Trask et. al. of the first part, and Robert Hartshorne of
the second part, conveying their undivided 2/3 interest in a lot of land; deed dated 28 July 1926
between Julia H. Trask et. al. of the first part, and Robert Hartshorne of the second part, for their
undivided 2/3 interest in a lot of land at the intersection of Hartshorne Road with Tan Vat Brook;
title search dated 23 July 1926 for 8 acres on Hartshorne Road adjoining the land of Benjamin
M. Hartshorne about to be conveyed by William Howard Smith to John McMahon; receipt dated
29 October 1926 from William Foster for a deed from Mary M. Ward et. al. to Julia H. Trask;
receipt dated 29 October 1926 from William Foster for a deed from Julia H. Trask et. al. to
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Robert Hartshorne; receipt dated 29 October 1926 from William Foster for a deed from Julia H.
Trask et. al. to Mary M. Ward; typed transcripts of depositions of the heirs of the late James B.
Frost regarding the sale of property to Robert D. Hartshorne; deed dated 12 June 1930 between
the heirs of Ellen Parmelee of the first part, and John McMahon of the second part, for a lot
(apparently on Tan Vat Road); undated notes on various land transactions in the vicinity of Tan
Vat Road and Portland Place; undated abstract of a deed describing the causeway to Portland
along the river bank; and an undated typed deed abstract of 54 5/10 acres owned by Mrs. Robert
Hartshorne.
Note: This entire folder was apparently created by William E. Foster, an attorney with offices in
Atlantic Highlands and New York City. It has been kept intact, even though some of the
documents in it pertain to earlier members of the Hartshorne family, as all items relate to the title
history of Portland, Portland Place, and surrounding lots.
Stone Church Realty Co., 1908-1928. Documents include: permission dated 20 February 1908
from the Stone Church Realty Co. to Robert Hartshorne and Henry H. Ward to erect a telephone
line along their property connecting Portland and Portland Place to the main exchange in Atlantic
Highlands; deposition dated 3 August 1908 by Fred Wademan and Fred Roller regarding the
closure of the road from Highlands to Hartshorne Woods through the property of Robert M.
Hartshorne on 25 and 26 July 1908; report to the stockholders of the Stone Church Realty Co.
dated October 1921; letter dated 23 October 1921 from the Stone Church Realty Co. to Robert
Hartshorne regarding an assessment; report to the stockholders of the Stone Church Realty Co.
dated 7 April 1925; a note dated 1 May 1928 regarding interest on land formerly belonging to the
Stone Church Realty Co., an undated blueprint map of the properties of the Stone Church Realty
Co., an undated map of the greater Locust / Red Bank / Highlands area showing the location of
the Stone Church Realty Co. property in relation to other local landmarks; and an undated
prospectus offering for sale the 20 acres of land owned by the Stone Church Realty Co.
See also: Rolled Maps, Box 1.
Note: The Stone Church Realty Co. was incorporated on 24 May 1906 for the stated purpose of
acquiring 28 acres bordering on Clay Pit Creek to keep it from being subdivided into small lots.
In 1910, 5 acres were sold to Morris Ketcham. The remaining tract had 1,200 feet of shore front
and measured 500 to 700 deep to Hartshorne Road. The 400 shares issued were held by nine
investors. This group included Robert Hartshorne, his brother in law Henry H. Ward, William
Barclay Parsons, Winthrop and LeRoy McKim, Alice M. Voss, Sylvanus A. and Latham G.
Reed, and Anna Reed Parsons. Hartshorne and Ward each held 80 shares.
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Middletown Township Taxes, 1903-1927. Documents include: Middletown Township tax
notices, 1903-1927; a tax appeal dated 14 December 1917 with a response from the Monmouth
County Board of Taxation dated 10 January 1918; and a tax appeal to the Monmouth County
Board of Taxation dated 20 July 1920.
Note: These documents were found in an envelope inscribed, “Robt Hartshorne / Papers to be
kept / in Safe. / No 2.”
Private Telephone Line, 1907-1920. Documents include: permissions from all abutters along
Hartshorne Road for Robert Hartshorne and Henry H. Ward to install and maintain a telephone
line, 1907-1908; permission from Robert Hartshorne and Henry Ward dated 6 November 1911
for the New York Telephone Co. to install and maintain a telephone line to the residence of
Morris Ketcham using their poles; permission from Robert Hartshorne and Henry H. Ward dated
18 July 1916 for the New York Telephone Co. to install and maintain a telephone line to the
residence of Louis Hays using their poles; and a detailed survey dated November 1920 of the
complete telephone installation from Stone Church to Portland Place along Hartshorne Road.
Financial, 4 items
Farmers Loan and Trust Co. Bank Books and Cancelled Checks, 1890-1895. Documents include:
bank book from 18 July 1890-19 Jun3 1894; a blank bank book containing cancelled checks
from 1894; a blank bank book containing cancelled checks from 1894 and 1895; and a loose
bundle of cancelled checks from 1891-1893.
Financial, 2 items
Farmers Loan and Trust Co. Bank Book and Cancelled Checks, 1890-1893. Documents include:
bank book from 4 September 1890 to 9 March 1892 that also contains cancelled checks; and
bank book from 11 March 1892 to 22 March 1893.
167
Financial, 1 item
Farmers Loan and Trust Co. Cancelled Checks, 1891-1893. Document: a loose bundle of
cancelled checks from 1891 to 1893.
Financial, 21 items
Miscellaneous, 1895-1923. Documents include: notebook of expenses incurred on a European
trip following Hartshorne’s marriage to Margaret Willis on 16 April 1895; certificates and other
documentation relating to the installation of electric wiring and dynamos in the residence, barn
and dynamo room at Portland, 1901; bank book with the Security Savings Bank of San
Francisco, 1902-1922; receipts for sums collected from life insurance policies on Joseph R.
Herod, 1909; a Farmers Loan & Trust Co. interest receipt dated 4 April 1910 on a $40,000 loan
to Robert Hartshorne; receipts from other Hartshorne heirs dated 1 to 3 August 1912 for awards
for French Spoliation Claims distributed by Robert Hartshorne, administrator of the will of
Richard Hartshorne; changes in a contract for service at Portland dated July 1913 with the New
York Telephone Co.; changes in a contract for service in New York City dated 1913 with the
New York Telephone Co.; U. S. Internal Revenue receipts for taxes paid, 1916; correspondence
regarding the sale of stock in the Stamford Manufacturing Co. owned formerly by Robert
Hartshorne, 14 June 1921; changes in a contract for service in New York City dated 1918-1922
with the New York Telephone Co.; two shipping receipts from the American Railway Express
Co. and the Central Railroad of New Jersey, 1923; three undated pages of notes regarding stock
and bond investments; and a loose group of six canceled checks.
Financial, 9 items
Mortgage Income, 1891-1895, and no dates. Documents include: receipt to Robert Hartshorne
dated 15 October 1891 from Davidson & Leigh for a draft from the Tallant Banking Co.; five
sheets of statements of rents collected and expenses paid for Robert Hartshorne on San Francisco
properties dated 1892-1895 from Davidson & Leigh; statement of account dated 18 October
1894 between John Bermingham and Robert Hartshorne; undated note of telephone numbers and
account balance with unidentified; and an undated list of New York mortgages held in trust by
the Farmers Loan & Trust Co. for Robert Hartshorne.
Financial, 4 items
168
Miscellaneous Receipts, 1900. Documents include: receipts and expenditures of “J. R.” at
Portland from October 1899 to June 1900; receipts dated 1900 for a load of old lumber and two
loads of wood; public road expenses from 23 February through 2 June 1900; and a receipt dated
2 April 1900 from A. R. Reid to “Mr. Rogers” for carting ice.
Note: These receipts, found together, all pertain to Portland and are mostly addressed to Robert
Hartshorne.
Legal, 22 items
Miscellaneous, 1891-1928. Documents include: an original and copy of a loan document dated 2
December 1891 between L. A. Cooper and Robert Hartshorne; receipts date 16 August 1898 to
18 January 1900 from William H. Smith to Robert Hartshorne for legal work regarding the
collection of money owed Hartshorne by L. A. Cooper; legal memoranda dated 21 October 1899
to 2 January 1900 and written by William H. Smith regarding the collection of money owed to
Robert Hartshorne by L. A. Cooper; correspondence dated 1919 of William E. Foster regarding
an accident involving Robert Hartshorne and Carl Bricken, with a collision or property damage
release dated 6 November 1919 from the London Guarantee & Accident Co. and a lengthy
damage report from John H. Mount auto repair shop dated 21 May 1920; correspondence
between William H. Smith and William E. Foster dated 1921 regarding tax rebates for Robert
Hartshorne; letter to Robert Hartshorne dated 31 October 1922 regarding dredging in the
Shrewsbury River by the Army Corps of Engineers; correspondence dated 19 September from
William E. Foster to Robert Hartshorne, 21 September from Robert Hartshorne to William E.
Foster, and 10 October 1923 from William E. Foster to William H. Smith, regarding a robbery at
Portland and expenses incurred following it; correspondence between William E. Foster, Robert
Hartshorne, Howard Roberts dated June 1925 regarding annexation of property by the borough
of Highlands; letter dated 3 March 1926 from Robert Hartshorne to his sister Mary H. Ward
regarding deeds conveying the residual estate of Benjamin M. Hartshorne, their father, to the
three heirs; letter dated 30 July 1926 from Terry & Co. to William H. Smith regarding insurance
on the Brackman property; agreement dated 27 February 1928 from the Standard Oil Co. of New
Jersey to Mrs. Robert Hartshorne for the installation of a motor oil storage tank at Portland; and a
bound collection of correspondence and invoices dated 1917 to 1926 from William E. Foster to
Robert Hartshorne et. al. for legal work mostly pertaining to real estate taxes and real estate titles
to Portland.
Legal, 5 items
169
Hartshorne vs. Goodsell Litigation, 1908-1912. Documents include: correspondence dated May
and June 1908 regarding a proposed business relationship between Robert Hartshorne and P.
Hamilton Goodsell (Secretary of the American Nursery Co.); memorandum of agreement dated 8
June 1908 between P. Hamilton Goodsell and Robert Hartshorne entering into the business of
buying, selling and dealing in nursery stock; New York Life Insurance Co. policy on P. Hamilton
Goodsell dated 10 June 1908 and cancelled on 10 June 1913; financial statements on the
business dated 30 June 1909 divided into bills receivable, bills payable, discounts for
merchandise sold, discounts from merchandise purchased and expense account, accounts other
than merchandise, and Goodsell’s personal charges; and correspondence ending the business
relationship dated 28 December 1912.
Collections, 37 items
Bills, Receipts and Correspondence, 1909-1928. Documents include: share certificate 41 dated 8
April 1909 made out to Robert Hartshorne for one share of the Carteret Book Club; an extensive
collection of receipts, correspondence, import documentation, and insurance coverage on many
of his etchings and other art works by James Abbott McNeil Whistler, Ingres, Goya, Degas,
Manet, Renoir, Gauguin, Delacroix, Morisot, and others, 1913-1926; and a checklist from
Kennedy & Co. of etchings, lithographs and drawings by Whistler dated 5 February 1923.
Undated items include a receipt for a broadside by Philip Freneau outlining proposals for a
Monmouth newspaper dated 15 February 1791 given in exchange for a set of McKenney and
Hall’s Indian Tribes; a checklist of maps and prints owned by Robert Hartshorne and displayed
in the hallways or kept in the House Committee Room of an unspecified club (probably the
University Club of New York); an incomplete checklist of etchings, drawings, maps, etc. with
estimates of value; a checklist from Kennedy & Co. of etchings, lithographs and drawings by
Whistler owned by Robert Hartshorne with values; a hand-written checklist of prints and
engravings; a checklist from the Metropolitan Museum of Art of William Loring Andrews books
belonging to Robert Hartshorne; and four miscellaneous hand-written notes concerning art
works.
Note: Robert Hartshorne became a discerning collector in several areas: works of art on paper by
leading French Impressionist and other artists, American historical maps, twentieth century press
publications, rare books, and early American furniture and accessories. In no area, however, did
he achieve greater distinction than in assembling a major collection of engravings, etchings,
aquatints, and original drawings by the likes of James Abbott McNeil Whistler, Mary S. Cassatt,
and others of their era. “Mr. Hartshorne’s prints . . . represent his development into the
connoisseur in the truest sense and mark him as having achieved the trained eye of an expert.”
By 1917, Hartshorne had already acquired enough important works that 18 items were lent to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for a special exhibit on etchings created by renowned
170
painters of the late 19th century. The lot included 13 works by Mary Cassatt, 4 by Whistler, and 1
by Rodin. From then until his death in January of 1927, Hartshorne added aggressively to his
holdings. His enthusiasm was apparently shared by his wife Margaret Willis Hartshorne as her
name also appears frequently on the invoices. They made purchases, often in large quantity
batches, from leading dealers such as Durand-Ruel of Paris and New York, Frederick Keppel &
Co. of New York, Edmond Sagot of Paris, and Jacques Rosenthal of Munich. Museums eagerly
sought out the unparalleled Cassatt collection for memorial retrospective exhibits following the
death of the artist in 1926 (see: Box 45, Folder 9 for a detailed discussion of the Cassatt
collection). Fifty-six works were on loan to the Art Institute of Chicago when Hartshorne died.
Another fifty-three were lent posthumously to the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh in 1928.
Hartshorne’s estate inventory listed 231 lots of etchings, engravings, etc., which with 25 lots of
historical maps and 7 special historical items were valued by Arthur Swann of the American Art
Association and Louis A. Wuerth of Frederick Keppel & Co. at $47,816. The inventory included
works by Callot, Cassatt, Cezanne, Degas, Delacroix, Forain, Gauguin, Goya, Ingres, Manet,
Matisse, Picasso, Pissaro, Renoir, Rodin, Toulouse-Lautrec, Whistler, and others.
Hartshorne’s interest in historical maps of New York, New Jersey and North America “declared
itself during his college days and resulted through the years in the assembling of a group of
documents of remarkable historical interest and importance.” In 1920, 25 of the maps were lent
to the University Club in New York City for display in the hallways of their building. Another 23
were stored in the club’s House Committee Room. Twenty-five lots of maps were noted by
Hartshorne’s estate appraisers in 1927. Perhaps the finest of them was a manuscript map of the
Battle of Monmouth owned originally by the Marquis de Lafayette that Hartshorne acquired at
auction in 1912 (see: Box 45 Folder 7 for a detailed discussion of this extraordinary map).
The appraisal of Robert Hartshorne’s library in 1927, conducted by Arthur Swann of the
American Art Association of New York, consisted of 293 lots amounting to several thousand
volumes. They were valued at $15,115. “With the growth of his knowledge and the increasing
self-discipline of his taste, his library, which already contained some fine historical books
belonging to his father Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne, was enriched by especially beautiful
examples of the private presses-the Doves, Kelmscott, Ashendene, Strawberry Hill and others.”
Hartshorne took special interest in fine printing and literature of the early 20th century. In his
later years, he generously shared his knowledge and collections with Yale, his alma mater. For
example, Hartshorne’s large collection of engravings by Jacques Callot (c. 1592-1635) was
exhibited at the Elizabethan Club in the mid 1920s, at which time he gave an address on the
artist. He also talked in 1925 to the Yale bibliography class at the Grolier Club in New York on
the Spanish prints he had placed on loan there. In 1926, Hartshorne went to Yale where he
addressed the same class on the publications of early 20th century private presses, many beautiful
examples of which he brought with him. Over the years, Hartshorne made annual contributions
to a fund at the Yale University Library for the purchase of 20th century poetry, especially works
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that related to World War I. He also served starting in 1925 on the Alumni Advisory Board
committee for a new library, and as a governor of the Yale Publishing Association in 1919, and
from 1922 to 1924. Andrew Keogh (1869-1953), a highly respected Librarian at Yale, had this to
say on learning of Hartshorne’s death: “I wish to add a personal word to tell you how keenly I
feel this breaking of the tie with a friend whose interest in the high things was evidenced to me
on many occasions, and whose disinterested counsel was of much assistance to me in the
building up of the great Yale Library, which he believed in, and for which he gave his time and
his thought as well as his money.”
In addition to his larger interests in literature and printing of the 20th century, Robert Hartshorne
also accumulated a small but select collection of early printed works relating to the history of
Monmouth County and New Jersey. Two examples will suffice. He was able to obtain the only
known copy of an unsuccessful 1791 proposal by Philip Freneau for publishing a newspaper in
Monmouth County, an item owned formerly by noted New Jerseyana collector William Nelson
of Paterson, NJ. For this considerable rarity, which is still a unique item, Hartshorne traded a set
of McKenney & Hall Indian Tribes. The proposal is still owned as of this writing by
descendants. Hartshorne also acquired a fine copy of what is known popularly as the
Elizabethtown Bill in Chancery, a highly desirable 1747 imprint by James Parker of New York
containing three large copperplate maps engraved in Boston by James Turner. It addressed a
longstanding dispute over the title to lands in and around Elizabeth, NJ. Hartshorne thought so
much of this book that he had his copy rebound in full red morocco. The volume is now owned
by the Monmouth County Park System, a 2008 bequest from the late Daniel Ward Seitz.
And lastly, over the years Robert Hartshorne purchased fine early American furniture and
accessories for Portland, his ancestral estate on the Navesink River near Highlands, NJ. This
imposing house had been built after a fire in 1834 destroyed an earlier structure. Hartshorne’s
father had greatly expanded and renovated Portland in the prevailing bracketed Victorian taste in
1876. Robert undertook a second renovation in 1901 after he had inherited the estate. This work
included replacement of the Victorian trim with new Colonial Revival details more popular at
that time. Furnishings at Portland included items inherited through the family, as well as items
collected by Robert.
Much of Robert Hartshorne’s collections have been dispersed over the years through auction.
Four hundred and forty-one lots of his press publications, historical maps, and rare book library
were sold at Parke-Bernet in New York in 1945. They brought $18,088. A year later, 177 lots of
the print collection were auctioned at the same gallery for $36,842.50. In 1953, a third ParkeBernet sale contained 82 lots of furnishings from Portland as the house had been sold out of
family in that year. The latter included a leather-upholstered armchair made in Boston, ca. 1735,
that had descended in the family, plus a very rare set of mid 18th century crewel-work bed
hangings with the same provenance that sold for $2,500. Both were purchased by other members
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of the Hartshorne family, and are now in the collection of the Monmouth County Historical
Association. More recently, sixty-three lots of engravings, etchings, aquatints and original
drawings by Mary Cassatt were sold in 2007 in a single consignor sale at Sotheby’s in New
York. They were identified as “Prints and Drawings from the Descendants of Robert
Hartshorne.” Seven lots did not sell. The remainder grossed $1,258,425. Two years later, a very
fine, richly carved New York Chippendale card table carrying the same provenance brought
$254,500 against an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. As recently as August 2012, items
identified as being sold by the descendants of Robert Hartshorne were auctioned by Northeast
Auctions in New Hampshire. They included 23 lots of furniture, and 22 lots of Chinese
porcelains and related furnishings. Copies of all pertinent exhibition and auction catalogs can be
found in the folders that follow.
Battle of Monmouth Map, 1912. Documents include: a copy of a catalog entitled “Illustrated
Catalogue of Rare Americana, an Exceedingly Interesting and Valuable Collection of Relics and
Souvenirs of the Marquis de Lafayette Chiefly Connected with the War of Independence,
Inherited by the Present Marquis Dumottier de Lafayette, to be sold at Unrestricted Public Sale
by order of Messrs. Gedge, Fiske & Gedge, Attorneys, Hastings House, London, Thursday
Afternoon, February 29th at Three O’Clock at the American Art Galleries, Madison Square
South. The Sale will be conducted by Mr. Thomas E. Kirby of The American Art Association,
Managers, New York, 1912 (the Monmouth Battle Map was lot number 85); an article in The
New York Times describing the sale dated 1 March 1912 and entitled “J. P. Morgan Buys
Lafayette Letters;” and a Red Bank Register article dated 22 September 1912 describing Robert
Hartshorne’s purchase of the Lafayette map of the Battle of Monmouth.
See also: Rolled Maps, Box 1, for a recent color photographic reproduction of the Battle of
Monmouth map signed in the lower right "Major Capitaine A. D. C. Du Genl La Fayette." The
original is still owned by descendants.
Note: Among the select collection of New Jersey history items acquired by Robert Hartshorne
is a large manuscript map of the Battle of Monmouth that took place in and around Freehold,
NJ, on 28 June 1778. Measuring 16 x 30.25 inches, the document was executed in pen and ink
with watercolor highlights. It is entitled “Carte de l’affaire de Montmouth [sic], or le General
Washington Commandoit l’armee Americaine, et le General Clinton l’armee Angloise le 28
Juin 1778.” The map is signed at the bottom: “Major Capitaine A. D. C. du Gl. La Fayette.”
Drawn on two and a half sheets of laid paper pasted together, troop movements are depicted,
indicated by different colors, as are the towns of English-town and “Montmouth or Friold” A
three-column legend of twenty-two numbers and letters A and B refer to places so marked on
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the map. This highly interesting Revolutionary War item was drawn by Michel Capitaine du
Chesnoy (1746-1804), a French engineer and cartographer who accompanied the Marquis de
Lafayette to America and served as his aide-de-camp. Today Capitaine du Chesnoy is
recognized as one of the most skilled cartographers of the 18th century because of the
accuracy, insight and artistry that he brought to the science of cartography. Lafayette's
remarkable performance at Monmouth, greatly admired by George Washington, won him a
position of command in the Continental Army. The manuscript plan of the Battle of
Monmouth shows the ravines and rugged terrain that were so influential in troop movements,
as well as the outcome of what was the longest battle of the war. The history and provenance
of the Hartshorne Monmouth Battle map, not understood in recent decades, are extremely welldocumented.
The Marquis Gilbert du Mottier de La Fayette was born at Chateau de Chavaniac in 1757. This
imposing property is located about 400 miles south of Paris in the Auvergne region of France.
Lafayette enjoyed a very distinguished military and political career on both sides of the Atlantic.
From 1802 to his death in 1834, he lived at Chateau de la Grange-Blaneau 30 miles east of Paris,
an estate inherited by his wife. When Lafayette died, he left a large accumulation of documents,
correspondence, memorabilia, etc. at La Grange, a remarkable collection covering his entire life
that may have originally numbered some 25,000 items. In the second half of the 19th century, a
significant portion of the archives perhaps amounting to 8,000 items or more was removed to
Chateau de Chavaniac, then in possession of Lafayette’s grandson Francois Edmond Gilbert du
Motier de Lafayette (1818-1890). Next to own the ancestral chateau was his great-nephew
Gaston de Sahune de la Fayette (1855-1942), given to him by the will of his great-uncle in 1890.
In 1912, Gaston de Sahune de la Fayette consigned for auction 87 lots of choice documents,
letters and memorabilia from his great-great grandfather’s archive to the American Art
Association in New York. The sale, which was held on February 29, realized $7,740. The
auction catalog contained a lengthy declaration by the then Marquis de la Fayette regarding his
right of ownership and authenticity of the items: “The said Articles . . . are, to the best of my
knowledge, information and belief, the genuine and original Articles which they purport to be,
and, as far as I am aware, there are no duplicates or replicas of any of them in existence.” The
items consigned included a monumental silver gilt vase with bas-relief panels depicting scenes
from the Marquis’s life, a white marble bust of George Washington given to Lafayette in 1781
by the city of Paris, relics and memorabilia associated with Lafayette and Washington, letters to
and/or from George Washington, James Monroe, Thomas Jefferson, Count de Rochambeau,
John Adams, John Quincy Adams, other important American politicians, and Lafayette himself.
The last five items in the sale were Revolutionary battle plans drawn by Michel Capitaine du
Chesnoy and all signed by him. Lot 85 was “Plan of the Engagement at Monmouth, in which
General Washington commanded the American Army, and General Clinton the English Army,
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on the 28th June 1778. Topographical drawing in watercolor, signed Major Capitaine, A D C to
General Lafayette.”
The New York Times reported the sale results on 1 March 1912 under the headline “J. P. Morgan
Buys Lafayette Letters.” The article said that: “Of the eighty-seven numbers making up the list
in the sale, from 19 to 82 inclusive were letters, and all of these were purchased by Miss Green
[i. e. Belle da Costa Greene], the librarian in charge of Mr. Morgan’s private library, for Mr.
Morgan.” They may be examined today at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City.
Prices for the letters ranged from $30 to $240. After discussing the memorabilia (such as a
branch of cypress clipped in 1821 by Lafayette from the grave of George Washington that
brought $95), the article continued: “A plan of the engagement at Monmouth, in which Gen.
Washington commanded the American Army . . . went to the Scribners for $225.” Other maps
sold for $170, $190, and $195. The buyer of the Monmouth Battle map referred to in the article
was Charles Scribner’s Sons, renowned New York publishers and book dealers with a rare and
antiquarian department at that time that frequently bid at auction on behalf of their regular
clients.
Six months later, an article in the Red Bank Register described gifts to a new high school in
Middletown, NJ. One such gift “received last week was from Robert Hartshorne, of the
Highlands, one of the members of the board of school trustees. This gift was of great local
significance. It was a copy of General Lafayette’s map of the Battle of Monmouth.” After
recounting the sale at length, the article continued:
At the sale of the Lafayette relics in New York three persons who are interested in the
Middletown public schools competed for the map of the Battle of Monmouth, and neither
of these three persons knew that the others were bidding. One man sent in a bid of $50
for the map. Another was present in person and he bid up to $200 for it. The third bidder
for the map had sent in a bid of $600 and had instructed those in charge of the sale to bid
up to this amount if necessary to secure the map for him. When the second bidder got as
far as $200 he dropped out. The manager of the sales bid $225 in pursuance of his orders,
and the map was knocked down. A couple of months later, at a county school meeting in
Freehold, at which all three men were present, one of them, Robert Hartshorne, told the
others of the historical relic he had bought. This was the first intimation the others had
had that the purchaser of the map was Mr. Hartshorne and there was a good deal of
bantering among them over their bidding against each other.
The article concluded by noting that Robert Hartshorne had had two photographic reproductions
of the map made. He gave one to the new Middletown high school as noted above. The other was
presented to a Freehold school “as it seemed to him that the Freehold public school, situated near
where the Battle of Monmouth took place, was one of the most appropriate places in the county
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for such a map.” Through his philanthropic generosity, Hartshorne underscored the local history
educational value of such important documents.
The large collection of Lafayette papers and memorabilia remaining at Chateau de Chavaniac
was sold shortly after the 1912 auction in New York to Elie Dieudonne Fabius (1864-1942), a
Parisian antiquarian dealer who made substantial additions to the collection in the following
decades. In late 1916, ownership of the chateau itself passed out of the family for conversion into
a Franco-American memorial museum and home by the French Hero Fund of New York. The
entire Fabius lot was purchased in 1963 by Arthur H. and Mary Marden Dean for Cornell
University, which, with further additions, now amounts to some 11,000 items. The main
Lafayette archive at Chateau de La Grange was found in a locked attic space in 1956 by a direct
descendant and then-owner Comte Rene de Chambrun (1906-2002). Almost four decades were
spent cataloguing and arranging the 18,000 items before scholarly access was permitted. The
Library of Congress was allowed in 1995 and 1996 to microfilm the entire collection, after years
of patient negotiation.
Following Robert Hartshorne’s death January of 1927, his appraisers described the Battle of
Monmouth map as “New Jersey Manuscript map signed as having been made by Lafayette” and
valued it at $750. Possession of this highly important local Revolutionary war item passed to
Hartshorne’s son Richard in 1931, and at his death in 1958 to his widow Hellene Hartshorne
(1993-1997). It was described by her estate appraiser as “Document: Battle of Monmouth, 28
June 1778, with map and legend; matted and framed,” valued at $1,000. This important original
map of the Battle of Monmouth, with its impeccable provenance now documented, is still owned
as of this writing by Hartshorne descendants.
About fifteen manuscript maps drawn by Michel Capitaine du Chesnoy are known, mostly in
institutional collections. In 2000, the Library of Congress acquired through private purchase
six Capitaine du Chesnoy maps of Revolutionary battles. They now hold the largest number of
them, including another copy of the Battle of Monmouth map containing identical text to the
Hartshorne example, but drawn with a vertical orientation rather than the horizontal one of the
latter. The purchase was made possible by a most generous contribution from Mr. and Mrs. H.
F. Lenfest, the largest up to that time in the history of the Geography and Map Division. In
announcing this very significant acquisition, the Library of Congress stated that “They are the
most exciting group of cartographic materials relating to the American Revolution to be
available for purchase in more than a century. Drawn from the Americans' point of view, they
add depth and new meaning to the other maps of that era already in the Library's collections.”
See: “Illustrated Catalogue of Rare Americana, an Exceedingly Interesting and Valuable
Collection of Relics and Souvenirs of the Marquis de Lafayette Chiefly Connected with the War
of Independence, Inherited by the Present Marquis Dumottier de Lafayette, to be sold at
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Unrestricted Public Sale by order of Messrs. Gedge, Fiske & Gedge, Attorneys, Hastings House,
London, Thursday Afternoon, February 29th at Three O’Clock at the American Art Galleries,
Madison Square South, “ (New York: American Art Galleries, 1912); The New York Times, 1
March 1912, and 1 January 1917; Red Bank Register, 22 September 1912; and the Library of
Congress Information Bulletin, July 2000.
Collections, 1 item
Bertram Goodhue Drawing, no date. A small pencil sketch measuring 3 inches by 5.75 inches
that depicts a Chinese style street scene with utility poles and wires overhead and a city gate in
the distance. The sketch bears the following inscription on the reverse: “Drawing done at lunch
by the architect Bertram Goodhue and given to his host my father. Robert Hartshorne.”
Mary Cassatt Collection, 1916-1928. Documents include; twelve invoices from Durand-Ruel of
Paris and New York for various works of art on paper by Mary Cassatt; a letter dated 10 July
1922 from the Art Institute of Chicago to Robert Hartshorne regarding a Mary Cassatt exhibit
held there drawn from his collection; a letter dated 15 November 1926 from Frederick Keppel &
Co. of New York to the Art Institute of Chicago regarding two packages of etchings by Mary
Cassatt to be shipped to them; a checklist of Mary Cassatt etchings in Chicago at the time of
Robert Hartshorne’s death in January 1927; a letter from Edward Duff Balken, Acting Assistant
Director of the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh to Mrs. Robert Hartshorne regarding a proposed
exhibit of the workings of Mary Cassatt; and a 1928 checklist of etchings with valuations sent to
the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh for a major Mary Cassatt retrospective exhibit.
See also: Box 66, Folder 7
Note: Robert Hartshorne became one of the pre-eminent early collectors of art works on paper
by Mary S. Cassatt (1844-1926), a renowned American Impressionist artist who lived as an
expatriate in Paris after 1872. By the time of his death in 1927, Hartshorne had acquired 149 of
her etchings, aquatints, original drawings, etc. This collection, which was considered to be the
most comprehensive and encyclopedic in existence, was valued by his estate appraisers at
$12,750. Much of it had been acquired between 1916 and 1920 from Durand-Ruel, leading
Impressionist art dealers in Paris with a gallery at 12 East 57th Street in New York. Hartshorne
was a generous lender of his Cassatt works to special exhibitions. In 1917, he lent 13 of them to
the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for inclusion in an exhibition of “Painter Etchings
and Engravings of the XIX Century Consisting Mainly of Loans from Private Collections.”
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When he died in January of 1927, 56 works valued at $6,425 were on loan to a retrospective
exhibit on Cassatt (who had died the year before) mounted by the Art Institute of Chicago from
21 December 1926 to 24 January 1927. “Mr. Robert Hartshorne’s loan of fifty-six of his Cassatt
prints, supplemented by those of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, Mrs. J. Montgomery Sears, other
collectors, and our own collections, permits a survey of her expert craftsmanship and
achievement in this field.” The show included 37 paintings and pastels, plus 71 dry points,
aquatints, and color aquatints. Hartshorne’s contribution represented more than three-quarters of
the art works on paper displayed. Another Mary Cassatt memorial retrospective was held at the
Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh in March and April of 1928. This exhibit contained 48 paintings
and pastels, and 53 etchings, all of the latter being lent by Mrs. Robert Hartshorne. The
Hartshorne loans were appraised at $13,285. The Cassatt collection remained intact until after
the death of Margaret Willis Hartshorne (Robert’s widow) in 1942. Four years later, her son
Richard sold 177 lots of “Fine Prints by French Impressionists and Other Masters” on 23 January
1946 from his parents’ distinguished collection at the Parke-Bernet Galleries in New York. The
sale included 54 of the Cassatts, which brought $10,830 out of total prices realized of $36,840. A
second sale had been planned but the items were withdrawn by Richard Hartshorne, who died in
1958. The remaining Cassatts were retained by his widow Hellene until her death in 1997 at the
age of 94. They were then inherited by a niece, a grand-daughter of Robert Hartshorne. Sixtythree more lots were consigned to Christie’s in New York in 2007, where they were sold in a
single consignor auction on 30 October with a catalog entitled “A Mary Cassatt Collection:
Prints and Drawings from the Descendants of Robert Hartshorne.” The auction brought
$1,258,425, with seven lots failing to sell. The residual collection is still held today by
descendants.
Mary Cassatt Collection, 1927-2007. Items include: a copy of a 1917 catalog from the
Metropolitan Museum of Art entitled “Exhibition of Painter Etchings and Engravings of the XIX
Century consisting mainly of Loans from Private Collections; a copy of a catalog from the Art
Institute of Chicago entitled “Catalogue of a Memorial Collection of the Works of Mary Cassatt,
December 21, 1926, to January 24, 1927 (Mrs. Robert Hartshorne lent 56 works on paper out of
71 exhibited); a catalog from the Department of Fine Arts of the Carnegie Institute entitled “A
Memorial Exhibit of the Work of Mary Cassatt, March 15 to April 15 1928 (Mrs. Robert
Hartshorne lent 53 or all works of art on paper exhibited); and two copies (one priced) of a
catalogue from Christie’s of New York for an auction held on 30 October 2007 entitled “A Mary
Cassatt Collection: Prints and Drawings from the Descendants of Robert Hartshorne (63 lots of a
single consignor sale, 56 of which sold for a total of $1,258,425).
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Collection Sale Catalogs, 1945-2009. Items include: an unpriced Parke-Bernet Galleries catalog
for an auction held on 29 and 30 October 1945 entitled “Press Publications: Ashendene,
Kelmscott, Doves, Daniel, Strawberry Hill and Other Famous Presses, Rare Americana,
Important Maps, First Editions: Selections from the Library Collected by the Late Robert
Hartshorne, Highlands, New Jersey, Sold by Order of His Son the Present Owner, Richard
Hartshorne; a photocopy of a priced Press Publications catalog; a priced Parke-Bernet Galleries
catalog for an auction held on 23 January 1946 entitled “The Print Collection of the Late Robert
Hartshorne, Highlands, New Jersey; a partially priced Parke-Bernet Galleries catalog for an
auction held on 22-24 January 1953 entitled “American and English Furniture and Decorations,
Comprising Property Collected by the Late Robert Hartshorne, Highlands, N. J., from the Estates
of the Late Walter M. McGee and Juliet P. Hamilton, and from Other Owners;” and a sale
catalog from Christie’s entitled “Sale number 2133, Important American Furniture and Folk Art
including English and Dutch Delft” held on 23 January 2009 (lot 216 was an important New
York Chippendale card table owned by Robert Hartshorne).
Collection Sale Catalogs, 2012. Items include: a priced Northeast Auctions catalog for the “26th
Annual Summer Americana Auction” 3-5 August 2012, containing “Property from Descendants
of Robert Hartshorne of Monmouth County, New Jersey,” and a priced Northeast Auctions
catalog for the “Annual Marine, China Trade & Historical Americana Auction,” 18-19 August
2012, containing “Property from the Descendants of Robert Hartshorne.”
Items include: New York Sugar House Views, 1857-1858. Items include: a small 4 1/8 x 5 7/8
inch lithograph entitled “Rhinelander’s Sugar House & Residence / between William and Rose
Sts / The Last of the Sugar House & Prison of the Revolution,” engraved by A. Weingartner and
published for D. T. Valentine’s Manual 1857; and a small 3 ¾ x 5 7/8 inch lithograph entitled
“The Old Sugar House & Middle Dutch Church / Liberty St. N. Y. 1830,” engraved by George
Hayward for D. T. Valentine’s Manual, 1858.
Note: Richard Hartshorne (1752-1831) engaged in the business of marine insurance on vessels
and cargoes with the Rhinelander family.
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Item: Memorial of the Joint Companies to the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New
Jersey, [1860].
Note: One of the innumerable pamphlets issued by the joint Delaware & Raritan Canal and the
Camden & Amboy Railroad and Transportation companies regarding their monopoly,
competition, and rates charged.
Item: A Brief Account of the Province of East-New-Jarsey [sic] in America: Published by the
Scots Proprietors Having Interest There, 1683 [Morrisania, N. Y.: Bradstreet Press, 1867].
Note: A 19th century reprint of a rare pamphlet published by the Scottish Proprietors of East
New Jersey in Edinburgh in 1683. This edition was published in the February 1867 number of
The Historical Magazine, a few copies having been run off in pamphlet form for private
circulation. This is one of the latter.
Item: Order of Service of the Consecration of the New Chancel, St. George’s Church, Flushing,
9 December 1894 (Flushing: Flushing Journal Steam Print, 1894).
Note: Robert Hartshorne married Margaret Willis in this Episcopal church on 16 April 1895.
Item: a copy of the Red Bank Register for 28 November 1900.
Note: There is no apparent article or notice in this issue pertaining to the Hartshornes. However,
there is a front page article entitled “A Supposed Vault Found: A Relic of the Earliest Settlers of
Monmouth.” It describes a stone vault or cellar discovered under a part of the homestead on the
Sen. William Henry Hendrickson Farm on Holland Road in Holmdel.
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Item: a pamphlet entitled “President McKinley’s Last Speech Delivered September 5, 1901,
President’s Day at the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo (New York: Henry Malkan, 1901).
Item: a book by Mrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer entitled Many Children (Boston: Atlantic
Monthly Press, 1921) with drawings by Florence Wyman Ivins. Inscribed on the front free end
paper “For the Hartshornes / Florence Ivin / Dec. 1921.”
Item: a pamphlet entitled “Hymne A L’Imprimerie, Reprinted on the Occasion of a Visit of
Members of The Club of Odd volumes to The Grolier Club, 1922.” Signed on the rear wrapper
by Francis R. Hart, President of the Club of Odd Volumes, and nine members.
Note: Robert Hartshorne was for many years a member of the Grolier Club.
Items include: two pamphlet works by H. Davenport. The first entitled “The Poetical Works of
H. Davenport, A. B. (Harv.), B. F. A. (Yale), A. D. G. F. (Paris, Fr.), Volume One (New Haven:
Printed by Carl Purington Rollins, M. A., at the Sign of the Chorobates, 1925), numbered 12 of
31 copies printed, and containing a poem entitled “The Big Bull Dean!;” and the second entitled
“The Poetical Works of H. Davenport, Esq., A. B., B. F. A., A. D. G. F, Etc., Volume Two (New
Haven: Printed for Carl Purington Rollins, and are to be had of Margaret Rollins at the Sign of
the Chorobates, 1926), numbered 22 of 31 copies printed, and containing a poem entitled “The
Ballad of Langzetel’s Desk.”
Note: Volume One contains a typed letter dated 4 February 1926 from Everett V. Meeks,
Chairman of the Yale Department of Architecture, to Robert Hartshorne following up on a recent
visit made by the latter to search through material at the Osborn Laboratory, and sending him the
enclosed pamphlet.
181
Item: a pamphlet entitled “The Town Book of Old Middletown” bound in wraps with “The
Burying Grounds of Old Monmouth” by John E. Stillwell and “The Quaker Records of
Shrewsbury, N. J.” by John E. Stillwell. Inscribed on the front wrapper “Return to E. Beekman”
with annotations written in the text of the Middletown Town Book.
Note: These three pamphlets are apparently early issues of texts transcribed by Dr. John E.
Stillwell that appeared later in his monumental five-volume work entitled Historical and
Genealogical Miscellany. The Shrewsbury Friends records can be found in Vol. I, p. 240-274;
the Middletown Town Book in Vol. II, p. 149-198; and the greatly expanded Burying Grounds
transcriptions in Vol. II, p. 277-348.
The Hartshorne Bookplate, 1901. Items include: 7 proof copies on large format paper, and 13
small format copies intended to be used in books.
Note: The bookplate is initialed “E D F” and dated 1901. It was used extensively by Robert
Hartshorne and other members of the family. Edwin Davis French (1851–1906) was a highly
esteemed bookplate engraver, producing at least 330 of them beginning in 1893. Born in North
Attleboro, Massachusetts, his artistic career began in 1869 with silver engraving for the Whiting
Manufacturing Company. French lived in New York City for many years. He joined the Art
Students League there in 1889. Later, he became a founding member and trustee of the American
Fine Arts Society, and also a member of the Grolier Club, and the National Arts Club. French
studied with William Sartain, among others. Two men who influenced French’s work were
Albrecht Dürer and Charles W. Sherborn. Many of his patrons belonged to the Grolier Club, of
which Hartshorne was a longstanding member. French had suffered from poor health for most of
his life, having left Brown University in his sophomore year because of it. He eventually
succumbed to tuberculosis. See: Falk, I, 1195.
Item: an announcement from the Nash Gas & Diesel Engine Co., of St. Marys, OH, regarding the
closure of their New York Office, n. d.
Note: This item could relate to the electricity plant installed at Portland in 1901.
182
Photographs of Robert Hartshorne. Items include: a tin-type of Hartshorne as a very young boy
in a dress with a cap; a card-mounted photograph of Robert Hartshorne in a suit and knickers
taken by Bradley & Rulofson of San Francisco; a card-mounted photograph of Hartshorne as a
teen-aged young man in a suit coat, vest and tie taken by the Pach Brothers of New York; and a
card mounted photograph of Hartshorne taken by Charles R. D. Foxwell on 4 September 1909 at
the Monmouth County Fair in Red Bank when Hartshorne’s bull took the Grand Championship
prize.
Photography, 1 item
Item: an autochrome color transparency of Portland from the southwest, ca. 1915-1920,
measuring 4 ½ by 7 inches sight and mounted in a Diascope viewing frame patented 1
September 1908 and manufactured by L. A. Dubernet.
Photography, 1 item
Item: an autochrome color transparency of Portland from the southeast, ca. 1915-1920,
measuring 4 ½ by 7 inches sight and mounted in a Diascope viewing frame patented 1
Photography, 1 item
Item: an autochrome color transparency of Portland from the southwest, ca. 1915-1920,
measuring 3 by 4 1/8 inches sight and mounted in a Diascope viewing frame patented 1
Estate, 3 items
Unexecuted Will, 1900. Documents include: a signed will dated 23 May 1900 (later superseded)
that divided his estate among his widow, two children, and sisters; instructions to the attorney
who is retained to offer this will for probate; and the envelope with annotations in which these
documents were found.
Estate, 10 items
183
Will and Powers of Attorney, 1906-1928. Documents include: a power of attorney dated 23
August 1906 from Robert Hartshorne to William H. Smith of New York; a true copy presented
for probate and dated 27 January 1927 of the will of Robert Hartshorne that was originally dated
23 August 1911; three additional copies of the same; a power of attorney dated 6 May 1918 from
Robert Hartshorne to his wife Margaret Willis Hartshorne and William H. Smith, counselor at
law in New York City; forms for corporate and individual creditors of the estate of Robert
Hartshorne dated 1927; and an affidavit dated 14 November 1928 from Margaret Willis
Hartshorne as estate Executrix to the County of Monmouth. Also an obituary or tribute clipping
from the New York Herald Tribune dated 19 June 1927 signed by William M. Ivins, Jr., Charles
Downing Lay, Allen Tucker, and Forbes Watson.
Estate, 8 items
Estate Appraisals, 1927. Documents include: an inventory and appraisal of the Household
Furniture and Equipment Belonging to the Estate of Robert Hartshorne; inventory and appraisal
of the Books Belonging to the Estate of the Late Robert Hartshorne Contained in the Residence
at Highlands, New Jersey; Items Stored at Manhattan Storage and Warehouse Company in New
York City Claimed by Mrs. Robert Hartshorne; two copies of a Supplemental Appraisal of the
Painting Belonging to the Estate of the Late Robert Hartshorne Contained at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York City; and three copies with notes of an inventory and appraisal of
Cigars and Pipes Belonging to the Estate of Robert Hartshorne Contained in the Humidor at the
University Club in New York City.
Note: See: Box 48 Folder 2 for an additional inventory and appraisal of Etchings, Drawings, etc.,
Belonging to the Estate of Robert Hartshorne Contained in the vaults of the Manhattan Storage
and Warehouse Company in New York City.
Estate, 17 items
Estate Evaluations Work Papers, 1926-1928. Documents include: various notes, memoranda,
calculations, regulations, newspaper clippings, legal opinions, handwritten notes, etc., pertaining
to the estate of Robert Hartshorne.
Estate, ca. 100 items
184
Farmers Loan & Trust Accounts, 1927-1928. Documents include: checklists of securities,
transaction and interest receipts, correspondence, buy and sell instructions, account statements,
etc., concerning the transfer of securities to custody accounts set up following the death of
Robert Hartshorne.
Estate, 13 items
Tailer & Robinson Accounts, 1927-1928. Documents include; correspondence, checklists of
securities, and account statements regarding a brokerage account belonging to Robert Hartshorne
in the hands of Tailer & Robinson.
Estate, 14 items
New York Properties, 1925-1928. Documents include: statements of account, correspondence,
payments checklists, etc., for properties at 123 Bowery and 550-562 West 25th Street in New
York City owned jointly by Robert Hartshorne, Julia H. Trask and Mary H. Ward.
Estate, 22 items
California Assets, 1927-1928. Documents include: correspondence, account statements, etc.,
regarding properties, interests, and securities held in California that belonged to the estate of
Robert Hartshorne.
Estate, 7 items
The Benedick Dividends, 1927-1928. Documents include: correspondence, notes, etc., regarding
issues involving and dividends paid by the Benedick building in Washington, DC, apparently
reflecting an investment in the building by several members of the Hartshorne family.
Estate, 56 items
Estate Expenses & Correspondence, 1926-1928. Documents include: bills outstanding at the time
of Hartshorne’s death; bills related to estate expenses and appraisals; legal correspondence and
invoices; insurance invoices; etc.
185
Note: These documents cover all manner of expenses incurred by Robert Hartshorne in his last
days, plus expenses related to his estate. They cover such topics as repairs at Portland, matting
and framing graphics, legal work by William E. Foster and William H. Smith, estate appraisals,
clothing, food supplies, farm activities, and his gravestone.
Estate, 12 items
Estate Taxes, 1927. Documents include: tax filings to the U. S. Internal Revenue Service, the
State of New Jersey, and the State of New York; various tax notices; real estate appraisals; tax
estimates; working copies of draft tax filings; etc.
Note: The New York County tax return includes an appraisal of Hartshorne’s renowned
collection of etchings, drawings, etc., then stored at the Manhattan Storage & Warehouse Co.
This highly important document does not appear elsewhere in Hartshorne’s estate papers. For
other appraisals also included in this folder, see: Box 47, Folder 5.
Estate, 3 items
Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne Trust Termination, 1927. Documents include: two copies with
cover letters to Richard Hartshorne and Mary Hartshorne Noonan from the Farmers Loan and
Trust Co. of New York of the full account and release in connection with the termination of the
trust created for the benefit of Robert Hartshorne by his father, the late Benjamin Minturn
Hartshorne, on 4 June 1886 to its termination in March 1927.
Note: These two identical and detailed documents prepared for the children of Robert
Hartshorne itemize all assets, investments, expenses, commissions and payments made by the
Farmers Loan and Trust Company as trustee of the Trust.
Estate, 7 items
Estate Legal Correspondence, 1927-1928. Documents include: correspondence between attorney
William E. Foster, Margaret Willis Hartshorne, Elizabeth A. Reilly (Robert Hartshorne’s New
York office secretary), and attorney William H. Smith.
186
William E. Foster Legal File, 1921-1933. Documents include; Foster’s copies of letters sent,
letters received, a third copy of the Benjamin M. Hartshorne Trust Termination account and
release, agreements, memoranda, original certificate of executorship for Margaret Willis
Hartshorne, estate expenses paid by Foster, checklists of investments and real estate holdings,
and other working papers used to establish the value of Hartshorne’s estate.
Note: This file was formerly contained in a large legal pocket folder marked “File 708 /
CLOSED / General File / In Charge of William E. Foster.” The contents discuss many issues
regarding the estate of Robert Hartshorne, as well as some legal work carried out by Foster for
Hartshorne before his death. Topics include real estate holdings, value of investments, a gold
nugget weighing more than two pounds found in his safe deposit box, estate appraisals, various
releases and tax filings, etc.
William H. Smith Legal File, 1927. Documents include: a bound run of Smith’s estate
correspondence from 20 January 1927 to 24 March 1927 (clasp removed and items are loose),
another from 24 March 1927 to 26 May 1927, and a third from 26 May 1927 to July 5, 1927,
plus additional loose copies of letters sent, letters received, and other estate working papers.
Note: The bound runs of correspondence includes notes, memoranda, etc., pertaining to estate
expenses, appraisals, resolution of assets in California, transfers of investments, etc. Much of the
correspondence represent exchanges between Smith and William E. Foster, Margaret Willis
Hartshorne, real estate managers, investment account managers, estate appraisers, etc.
Biographical Note: William Henry Smith, for many years an attorney for Robert Hartshorne,
was born in New York on 30 August 1868. He received a Bachelor’s degree from Yale College
in 1890, and an LL.B. degree from the Yale Law School in 1892. Smith and Hartshorne were
undergraduate classmates. After traveling extensively in Europe, Smith took up the practice of
law in New York City. In 1900, he represented the Twenty-Third Assembly District of New
York County in the State Assembly. Smith was an orator, as well as a connoisseur of Egyptian
and Greek art and literature. He died in New York on 6 August 1927, only seven months after
Hartshorne and just short of his fifty-ninth birthday.
Estate, 1 item
William E. Foster Legal File, 1927. Documents include: a bound run of Foster’s estate
correspondence from 27 January to 29 November 1927.
187
Note: This bound run of correspondence begins with a stiff cardboard cover marked “File No.
259 / Applegate, Stevens, Foster, Leonard & Reussille / In Re: Estate of Robert Hartshorne.” It
pertains to all aspects of estate management, and includes copies of letters sent, and originals of
letters received from Margaret Willis Hartshorne, her children Richard Hartshorne and Mary
Hartshorne Noonan, attorney William H. Smith, and others. For a continuation, see: Box 49,
Folder 3.
Estate, 2 items
William E. Foster Legal File, 1927-1931. Documents include: a bound run of Foster’s estate
correspondence from 1 December 1927 to 27 May 1929; and another bound run from 19 June
1929 to 6 February 1931.
Note: A continuation of the contents of Box 49, Folder 2. The later correspondence pertains to
tax audits, as well as a wide range of issues pertaining to the Hartshorne estate and Portland.
Box 49 – Folder 4; Margaret Willis Hartshorne (1868-1942)
11 items
Miscellaneous, 1897-1927, and no dates. Documents include: a letter postmarked 12 May 1897
from C. Gibson; a personal letter to William H. Smith dated 7 July 1927 from London; four
documents dated June and July 1927 pertaining to property at 550-62 West 25th Street in New
York; an undated extract of a deed pertaining to a shared right of way between Mary Hartshorne
Noonan and her mother Margaret Willis Hartshorne; and five small handwritten notes about
various repairs and equipment at Portland.
Biographical Note: Margaret Willis Hartshorne was born on 24 September 1868, the daughter
of William P. Willis (b. 1842) and Sarah Caroline Davenport (1842-1924) of Flushing, NY. She
married Robert Hartshorne at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Flushing on 16 April 1895. They
were the parents of two children: Mary Minturn Hartshorne (1897-1978) and Richard Hartshorne
(1900-1958). After a lengthy honeymoon trip to Europe, the Hartshornes settled into a routine
life of living in New York during the winter months, and spending summers at the ancestral
Portland estate near Highlands, NJ. For many years the Hartshornes maintained their city
residence at the Mayfair on Park Avenue at 57th Street. Later, the family took apartments at 955
Lexington Avenue. By the Depression years of the 1930s, the Hartshorne family ceased using the
large main residence at Portland regularly, even though it remained fully furnished. Instead, they
stayed in one of several other smaller houses on the estate when down from the city. Margaret
Hartshorne passed away on 1 January 1942, age 73, at her home in New York. Funeral services
188
were held in St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church on Park Avenue, with interment next to her
late husband in the historic Hartshorne family burying ground on Kings Highway in Middletown,
NJ. The service was conducted by the Rev. Charles P. Johnson, rector of All Saints’ Memorial
Church in Navesink, NJ, of which Mrs. Hartshorne had long been a member.
In the 1930s, Margaret W. Hartshorne took special interest in a local charity called the
Middletown Township Public Health Association. She presented to the organization the Robert
Hartshorne Memorial Health Center, a fully equipped medical facility located at Campbell’s
Junction in Middletown. This six-room brick structure, which cost $15,000, was designed by
Almus P. Evans of the firm Evans, Moore & Woodbridge of New York. Frank Scott of Headen’s
Corner in Middletown served as contractor. A memorial plaque to Mrs. Hartshorne’s late
husband was unveiled at the dedication on 11 October 1930 by two of their grandchildren,
Robert and Ellen Noonan. Mrs. Hartshorne also took a very active role in guiding the health
association in its initial stages of organization. Both she and her son Richard served on its Board
of Trustees. In memory, the flag at the health center was flown at half staff for 30 days following
her death. In 1931, Mrs. Hartshorne also donated a gallery in memory of her late husband in the
new museum and library building of the Monmouth County Historical Association located in
Freehold. Walnut boards from trees cut on the Portland estate were used to create elaborate
paneling for the space which has been known since as the Hartshorne Room. See: Red Bank
Register, 15 October 1930, 8 January 1942 and 12 February 1942.
Letters of Condolence, 1927. Documents include: notes received regarding the death of her
husband Robert Hartshorne. Correspondents include: Lewis Bigelow, the Grolier Club, Andrew
Keough, M. A. De Vesty, Lizzie B. Hines, Augustus H. Skillin, Samuel A. Chapin, John A.
Hartuall, H. Hobart Porter, Edward H. Mason, C. H. Sherrill, Robert Carle, May Humphries,
John Newby, Howard Mansfield, and John S. Sheppard (with an appended note by his grandson
Sheppard Poor).
1 item
Property Title Abstract, 1929. A title search conducted by the Red Bank firm of Applegate,
Stevens, Foster, Leonard and Reussille for a lot on Tan Vat Road.
189
4 items
William P. Willis Estate, 1934-1940. Documents include: an appraisal dated 15 February 1934 of
the household contents belonging to the estate of William P. Willis located at 41-20 Bowne
Avenue, Flushing, NY; a detailed settlement of the estate dated 1935 in the Surrogate’s Court of
Queens County; an agreement dated 27 December 1935 between Margaret Willis Hartshorne and
City Bank Farmers Trust Co.; and an agreement dated 20 December 1940 between Richard
Hartshorne and Mary Hartshorne Noonan on the first part, and Margaret Willis Hartshorne on
the second part regarding the Willis estate.
Note: William P. Willis, father of Margaret Willis Hartshorne, was a highly successful woolen
fabric importer with offices in New York City, London, and Huddersfield.
7 items
Middletown Township Public Health Association, 1935-1938. Documents include:
correspondence, certificate of incorporation, amendments to the certificate of incorporation, and
trustee designations.
Note: The Middletown Township Public Health Association was a favored local charity of
Margaret Willis Hartshorne. It was organized to provide visiting nurse and other health services
to needy individuals and families north of the Navesink River. Early on, the Public Health
Association competed with the Monmouth County Organization for Social Service, a parallel
organization supported largely by members of the Rumson and Red Bank communities. The
Middletown entity eventually merged into MCOSS.
Estate, 18 items
Estate Miscellaneous, 1942-1944. Documents include: correspondence, consents, etc., to wind up
the business of the Wilcox Realty Company of San Francisco, 1942-1944; settlement of the
William P. Willis estate, 1949; payment schedule from the estate of Margaret Willis Hartshorne,
1942-1943; financial settlement of the estate, n. d.; an undated checklist of the physical plant and
real estate assets at Portland; executors agreement, 1949; and estate discharges, 1944.
Note: These loose documents all appear to be from the business papers of Benjamin Hartshorne
Trask, a nephew of Margaret Willis Hartshorne and an attorney for the estate.
190
Estate, 17 items
Estate, 1942-1946. Documents include: 16 loose items and a bound legal file containing: a
certified copy of Margaret Willis Hartshorne’s will, correspondence, investment management,
estate expenses, estate checks written, deed copies, agreements, court proceedings, etc.
Note: These documents, from the business papers of estate attorney Benjamin Hartshorne Trask,
were found in a single folder and have been kept together.
Estate, 3 items
Estate, 1945-1978. Documents include: 2 loose documents and a bound legal file mostly
pertaining to estate taxes, tax filings, sale of an apartment at 955 Lexington Avenue in New York
City, tax protests and appeals, issues with the Middletown Township Public Health Association
and MCOSS, and miscellaneous working papers.
Estate, 1 item
Estate, 1942-1944. Documents include: a bound legal file pertaining to estate tax calculations,
estate tax filings, stock transfers, asset dispositions, estate working papers, etc.
Estate, 1 item
Estate, 1942- 1944. Documents include: a bound legal file consisting mostly of miscellaneous
estate legal correspondence, and estate transactions at the Fifth Avenue Bank of New York.
3 items
191
Correspondence, 1939-1946, and no date. Documents include: a letter to the Shareholders of the
Rumson Country Club, a letter from attorney William E. Foster of Red Bank regarding the real
estate title to the Hartshorne Burying Ground in Middletown, and a letter dated only “28
December” on Grand Hotel stationery from Pau, France, written by Richard Hartshorne
apparently to his grandfather, William P. Willis.
Biographical Note: Richard Hartshorne was born in New York City on 16 February 1900, the
only son of Robert Hartshorne (1866-1927) and his wife Margaret Willis (1868-1942). He
received his early education in private schools, graduating from Phillips Andover Academy in
Massachusetts in 1918. In July and August of that year, Hartshorne attended a six week military
training course, where he achieved the rank of First Lieutenant in the Officers’ Training Corps.
He did best at bayonet fighting, musketry, and conduct. In the fall of 1918, Dick (as he was
known) entered Yale University. But at the time World War I was still raging. So Richard
enlisted on 5 October 1918 in the Student Army Training Corps at Yale, where he served as a
Private. After armistice was declared on 11 November 1918, Hartshorne was discharged on 19
December. He graduated from Yale with the class of 1923. Just before graduation, he joined the
Officers’ Reserve Corps of the U. S. Army on 21 March 1923 as a Second Lieutenant, Field
Artillery.
As a young man, Richard Hartshorne became a skilled equestrian. He owned the jumper Mimic
and rode to many blue ribbons in 1927 and 1928. His victories included one at Madison Square
Garden in New York City. After that, he became an ardent snow skiing enthusiast. According to
the 1930 U. S. Population Census, Hartshorne was employed as a bank clerk in New York,
apparently with Bankers Trust Co. But he left the banking business by the early 1940s. During
World War II, Hartshorne was employed by Graphic Microfilm Inc. in New York and Hartford,
CT.
In 1931, Margaret Willis Hartshorne deeded Portland, the ancestral estate near Highlands, NJ, to
her only son, along with its contents and all related equipment. By the time the Great Depression
fully set in, they were no longer occupying the large main residence at Portland on a regular
basis. Instead, Hartshorne and his mother fitted up one of several smaller houses on the property
for their use when spending time in New Jersey. Otherwise, the family lived in an apartment they
owned at 955 Lexington Avenue in New York City. Like his father before him, Dick was a
member at various times of the Yale and University Clubs in New York City, in addition to the
Downtown Association. He also joined the Association of Ex-Members of Squadron A, his
former Army Reserve unit. Hartshorne continued another family tradition by serving from 1927
to 1941 on the Vestry of All Saints’ Memorial Episcopal Church located not far from Portland in
Navesink, NJ.
192
On 26 March 1936, Richard Hartshorne married Evelyn J. Scott as her second husband. She was
born on 18 March 1905 in Walla Walla, WA, the daughter of Thomas A. Price (1875-1964, a
furniture salesman) and his wife Edith Mary Comstock (1880-1964). The family moved at some
point after 1920 to Charlotte, NC. Evelyn Josephine Price married there in 1925 to Oscar J.
Scott, who was deceased by 1930. In that year the widow Evelyn Scott relocated to New York
City where the U. S. Population census indicates that she was employed as a secretary to a bank
officer.
Unfortunately, the marriage did not last. Richard Hartshorne and his wife Evelyn signed a
divorce agreement on 14 November 1942. A week later they obtained their divorce in Reno, NV,
which was announced in the 21 November issue of the Reno Evening Gazette. Evelyn retained
the last name of Hartshorne, and received a generous alimony settlement along with a life
insurance policy in her name should Hartshorne die before her. After remaining in New York for
several years, Evelyn Hartshorne moved back to Charlotte, NC, where she lived with her parents
until their deaths in 1964. She died on 8 March 1978 in Punta Gorda, FL, having never
remarried.
Two weeks after his divorce was finalized, Richard Hartshorne was married a second time on 5
December 1942 to Helen Gardenier by the Rev. George C. Hood of the Madison Avenue
Presbyterian Church in New York City. She was born on 25 August 1903 in Scotia, NY, a
daughter of Charles Gardenier and his wife Gertrude Knoll. Dick and Helen (later changed to
Hellene) split their time between New York City and Portland, as was family custom. By the
early 1950s, they occupied a former Gardeners Cottage on the estate as their primary residence,
even though the main house stood fully furnished.
The year 1942 also marked a time of significant change at Portland. First off, on New Year’s
Day Margaret Willis Hartshorne passed away at the age of 73 in New York. Shortly thereafter,
the U. S. Government entered into negotiations with Richard Hartshorne and his aunt Julia
Hartshorne Trask to purchase 218.2 acres of the Highlands property owned by them in order to
improve the protection of New York Harbor against potential German attack. This tract included
the former Minturn House at Lower Rocky Point, and most of the eastern Portland woodlands
south of the Grand Tour. Of that purchase, 142.3 acres came from Dick, and the remaining 75.9
acres from Mrs. Trask. Hartshorne was paid $96,000 for his share. Julia Trask received $95,000
even though her portion was smaller because of the inclusion of the imposing Minturn House in
the transaction. Benjamin H. Trask, a family attorney, handled much of the legal work for his
mother and first cousin.
After World War II ended, Dick Hartshorne began to sell off much of his father’s notable
collections. He established a relationship with Parke-Bernet Galleries in New York that lasted
from 1945 through 1953. During those years, many lots of rare and twentieth century press
193
books, important Impressionist prints, early American maps, and fine early American furnishings
were sold off at auction. Single consignor sales of the books and prints with provenance intact
took place in 1945 and 1946 respectively. But other Hartshorne items appeared in lesser sales for
years. In November and December 1952, Dick and Hellene were obliged to clear out the contents
of the main Portland residence on very short notice due to its impending sale to developers. After
deciding what they would keep for their own ongoing use in a new house, the Hartshornes
consigned much of the remainder to a Parke-Bernet auction held in 1953. Items included such
family heirlooms as an early 18th century maple armchair with leather upholstery made in
Boston, MA, and a nearly complete set of crewelwork bed hangings made in the mid 18th
century. Both items were purchased by Hartshorne relatives and are now in the collections of the
Monmouth County Historical Association.
Life for Dick and Hellene after World War II focused more and more on New York City, with
travels domestically and abroad for skiing and relaxation. Through Hartshorne and Willis family
inheritances, plus the sales of land to the Government and the collections at Portland, the
Hartshornes were able to lead a very comfortable existence without the necessity of employment.
During his ownership of Portland, Dick tore down the large range of Victorian barns and most of
the other outbuildings. By 1950, only the main residence, the garage and chauffer’s apartment,
the Gardener’s Cottage, a former brick ice house, and a cow barn built by his father about 1900
remained on the estate. Many of these buildings were described by real estate appraisers as in
poor condition. Even so, Hartshorne had employed a full-time caretaker for many years to watch
over the estate. In a letter of instruction to his wife dated 1 June 1943 that accompanied his will
prepared at the same time, Richard Hartshorne wrote:
The tradition has been in the family that Highlands [i.e. Portland] should not be sold. My
experience has been that Highlands can be a tremendous burden. This burden I would not
want placed upon you or our children. For that reason, and equally important so that no
one can question the propriety of your decision, I want to state in no uncertain terms that
I leave wholly to your discretion and to your judgment whether Highlands should or
should not be sold.
By 1952, that ambivalence toward Portland had been translated into evolving plans for change.
In July of that year Dick and Helene had preliminary plans prepared for a new house to replace
the main residence at Portland, which was far larger than a couple without children required. The
118 year old house was also in need of substantial improvements to accommodate modern living
in spite of several major renovations over the years. Edwin L. Howard, an architect from
Westport, CT, drew up floor plan sketches and a perspective rendering for the Hartshornes to
consider. At the same time, Portland was listed for sale with a local real estate broker. All of
Dick’s 315 remaining acres were to be included. To promote the property as a valued and
historic estate, an elaborate promotional brochure was issued containing many photographs of
194
the exterior and interior of the main residence as well as the Gardener’s Cottage, plus the
beautiful natural landscape of the Highlands area.
Events apparently happened more quickly than the Hartshornes anticipated. The entire Portland
estate was sold on 31 December 1952 to Hartshorne Manor, a real estate development
organization of which Thomas J. Gilmour of Keansburg, NJ, was President. In anticipation of
that sale, Portland was hurriedly emptied of its contents, much going to Parke-Bernet Galleries in
New York for auction as mentioned above. Another partner in Hartshorne Manor was
Middletown Mayor and attorney, Lawrence J. Carton, Jr. In 1953, Carton purchased the historic
main residence at Portland. It remains in possession of his family as of this writing. Once the
1952 sale of the estate was concluded, ownership of this great landmark house and most of its
associated property passed out of the Hartshorne family for the first time since the 1670s. It had
been in continuous occupancy from father to son for eight generations.
The 125-acre portion of Portland east and south of the Grand Tour along the Navesink River was
subdivided into 30 lots. Restrictive construction guidelines imposed on buyers assured investors
that Hartshorne Manor would become a very desirable, upscale development with houses placed
on large lots ranging from 2 to 5 acres. Two larger parcels of slightly more than 10 acres each
were handled separately. That west of the pond contained the Gardener’s Cottage. Another north
of the Grand Tour was reserved by Dick and Hellene for the site of their new house, which they
built in 1953 and 1954 at a cost of $41,750. Newton P. Bevin of New York City served as their
architect, incorporating some of the unusual floor plan concepts first proposed by Edwin
Howard. The general contractor was Arthur S. Goff of Red Bank. The remaining acreage of
Portland north of the Grand Tour was held in reserve for future development. That tract was
eventually acquired in 1974 by Monmouth County for inclusion in the newly-created Hartshorne
Woods Park.
In 1956 and 1957, the U. S. Government considered expansion of their real estate holdings on
the Highlands for construction of a missile defense system for New York City. Known as Missile
Master, this was a first-in-the-nation command center to control 20 Nike, Ajax and Hercules
missile sites that provided Army Air defense of the metropolitan area. An important feature of
the system was that it could distinguish between friendly and unfriendly targets with a speed and
accuracy made possible by new developments in electronic equipment and computers. It was a
strategic part of the Air Force’s Cold War Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE)
detection network with headquarters in Colorado Springs, CO. Extensive correspondence,
negotiations and legal action took place over two years, at times involving the New Jersey
Congressional delegation in Washington, before the Army withdrew its attempts to acquire
additional land from its abutters. Construction bids were finally opened in June of 1958, with the
system going operational two years later after $2.5 million were spent on the high tech facility.
By 1974, the missile system had been decommissioned. The entire Government tract, then
195
amounting to 230 acres, was subsequently turned over to Monmouth County to form a major
component of Hartshorne Woods Park.
Unfortunately, the Hartshornes did not enjoy their more relaxed lifestyle for long following the
sale of Portland for development. While on a skiing trip to Mont-Tremblant in Quebec, Canada,
Dick was stricken and died suddenly on 4 March 1958 at the age of 58. Several obituaries that
appeared in New York and Monmouth County newspapers listed his cause of death as a heart
attack. However, the autopsy report of the Coroner’s Court in Montreal declared his cause of
death as “Meningeal hemorrhage – Spontaneous rupture of cerebral vessels – Probable arterial
hypertension.” A meningeal hemorrhage of the brain is often caused by an accident or trauma to
the head. His true cause of death may well have been a skiing accident.
Richard Hartshorne left everything by will to his wife Hellene. His estate was appraised at
$857,583. This included real estate valued at $78,574, investments valued at $586,451, cash of
$54,411, insurance of $66,509 (including the policy to provide for his first wife), jointly owned
property valued at $67,598.73, and other miscellaneous property such as vehicles valued at
$4,037. Dick’s widow Hellene Hartshorne did not remarry. She lived to the age of 93, passing
away on 25 June 1997. See: The New York Times, 25 October 1935, and 27 March 1936; Newark
Evening News, 6 March 1958; and the Asbury Park Press, 7 March 1958.
1 item
Military, 1923. Document: a certificate dated 21 March 1923 appointing Richard Hartshorne a
Second Lieutenant, Field Artillery, in the Officers Reserve Corps of the United States Army.
Personal, 3 items
Divorce and Ex-Wife, 1942-1958. Documents include: divorce agreement dated 14 November
1942 between Richard Hartshorne, Evelyn J. Hartshorne, and attorney Benjamin H. Trask; a
letter dated 4 April 1958 from Evelyn J. Hartshorne to Richard Hartshorne (then deceased)
inquiring on her late alimony check; and an affidavit dated 2 May 1958 from Evelyn J.
Hartshorne to the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co. indicating that since her divorce from
Richard Hartshorne in 1942 she had not remarried.
Financial, 12 items
196
Miscellaneous, 1942, and no dates. Documents include: three letters dated 1942 from the City
Bank Farmers Trust Co. regarding payments from the estate of William P. Willis; receipts dated
1942 from the Lincoln Warehouse Co. of New York regarding items placed in storage; loan
documents dated 1942 from the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co.; and undated income and
expense calculations on Richard Hartshorne’s stationery.
Financial, 3 items
955 Lexington Avenue, 1943. Documents include: a letter dated 10 March 1943 to the
Stockholders of 955 Lexington Avenue in New York, along with a proxy and return envelope.
Note: Richard Hartshorne and his mother, Margaret Willis Hartshorne, maintained a co-op
apartment in this building for many years.
Parke-Bernet Galleries, 57 items
Auction documentation, 1945-1953. Documents include: correspondence, ownership affidavits,
sales receipts, account statements, contracts, conditions of sale, consignment checklists,
insurance advices, notes, cartage invoices, auction review newspaper clippings, insurance
certificates, etc.
Note: This folder documents Richard Hartshorne’s auction consignment of large portions of his
father’s collections of prints and etchings, rare and fine press books, maps, early American
furniture and accessories, etc. Most items with provenance so noted were sold in major sales at
Parke-Bernet Galleries in New York. These were held in 1945, 1946, and 1953. Many other
individual items were placed randomly in other auctions also held in those years. For further
information, see: Box 45, Folders 6 through 11.
Legal, 16 items
Miscellaneous, 1954-1961. Documents include: correspondence regarding the Helena Willet
estate; a later typescript of a trust agreement set up on 9 March 1888 by Benjamin M. Hartshorne
for his daughter Julia N. Hartshorne; correspondence with Ida K. Hildebrand, a Red Bank
attorney, mostly pertaining to the estate of Richard Hartshorne; legal invoices; a 1954 fire
insurance policy on the West 25th Street property in New York; account statements dated 1951
197
through 1954 for the Estate of Margaret Willis Hartshorne; and a group of documents dated 1951
to 1955 regarding the estate of Margaret Willis Hartshorne and other matters.
Note: This folder was obtained by Daniel Ward Seitz from the business papers of Benjamin H.
Trask, an attorney who handled much legal work for members of the Hartshorne family. It
contains a mix of material related to Richard Hartshorne, and also his own Trask line of the
family. The folder has been left intact as found.
2 items
Newspaper Clippings, 1944. Items include: two clippings dated May 1944 describing the sale of
the Hartshorne House on Kings Highway in Middletown Village.
59 items
Photographs, 1900-ca. 1958. Items include: four studio photographs of Richard Hartshorne taken
in 1902, another studio photograph of him taken about two years later; and 52 mostly candid
snapshots taken of Hartshorne from the time he was an infant through adulthood. A number of
the later photographs show him with his second wife Hellene Hartshorne.
Note: The candid snapshots include many views of Hartshorne around the Portland estate,
posing with animals or equipment, in uniform, and engaging in sports activities such as cross
country skiing.
Portland, 3 items
Property deeds, 1931-1949. Documents include: a deed dated 2 July 1931 between Margaret
Willis Hartshorne and her son Richard Hartshorne for the Portland estate; a deed dated 30
December 1931 between Margaret Willis Hartshorne and her son Richard Hartshorne for
property on West 25th Street in New York City; and a deed dated 24 August 1949 between Mary
Hartshorne Noonan and her brother Richard Hartshorne for use of a roadway in common.
Note: The 1931 deed conveying ownership of Portland to Richard Hartshorne included “all
chattels, furnishings and the entire contents of all buildings upon said premises.”
Portland, 22 items
198
Government Sale of Land, 1942. Documents include: two photostatic copies of the Federal
Estate Tax Return for the estate of Robert Hartshorne dated 1927; a photostatic copy of the
Declaration of Taking dated 31 October 1942 for 218.2 acres of land by the United States for
$191,000; notes and calculations; correspondence between Benjamin H. Trask and Richard
Hartshorne; correspondence with the Charles F. Noyes Co. of New York regarding properties
appraisals and other details regarding the Government sale of land; United States District Court
Judgment on the Declaration of Taking dated 20 November 1942; and a deed dated 10
September 1942 from Richard Hartshorne and his wife Evelyn J. Hartshorne to the United States
Government for 142.3 acres of Portland.
Note: The United States Government purchase of 218.2 acres of Portland was divided between
Richard Hartshorne (142.3 acres) and his aunt Julia H. Trask (79.5 acres). The sellers were paid
$96,000 and $95,000 respectively for their tracts. The Trask portion included the Minturn House,
which was razed by the government. Richard Hartshorne’s larger portion consisted mostly of
woodland.
Portland, 108 items
Highlands Property, 1942-1952. Documents include: correspondence, notes, tax bills,
agreements, deeds, court rulings, payment terms, real estate appraisals, easements, rights of way,
and all manner of other documentation regarding the 1942 Government sale of land and issues
that arose in the ensuing decade.
Note: This folder was obtained by Daniel Ward Seitz from the business papers of Benjamin H.
Trask, a family member and attorney who handled much of the legal work on this transaction. It
pertains to both tracts conveyed to the U. S. Government in 1942 by Richard Hartshorne and his
aunt Julia H. Trask. The contents have been left as they were found.
Portland, 34 items
Highlands Property, 1942-1966. Documents include: a bound run of correspondence regarding
the 1942 Government sale of land at Portland, as well as loose agreements, petitions,
correspondence, will extracts, surveys, notes, easements, property appraisals, etc.
Note: This folder was also obtained by Daniel Ward Seitz from the business papers of Benjamin
H. Trask. It overlaps and duplicates some of the documentation in Box 52, Folders 11 and 12,
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and covers Richard Hartshorne’s Portland tract as well as that owned by his aunt Julia H. Trask.
The contents have been left as they were found.
Portland, 64 items
Missile Master, 1951-1966. Documents include: government information releases, photographs,
surveys, agreements, notes, newspaper clippings, bank statements, cancelled checks, easements,
correspondence (including letters from members of the United States Congress), etc. mostly
regarding a U. S. Government proposal to acquire additional land at the Highlands in 1956 and
1957 for the installation of a Nike “Missile Master” control system. The folder also contains later
information concerning other properties owned jointly by various members of the Hartshorne
family.
Portland, 9 items
Miscellaneous, 1947-1951. Documents include: correspondence and agreements dated 1947
regarding the shared use of a roadway between Mrs. William J. Noonan and her brother Richard
Hartshorne; legal invoices, agreements, etc., for the 1950 sale of a lot and house from Richard
Hartshorne to Richard B. Smith; a 1950 Maryland Casualty Company insurance policy covering
1,000 feet of the Grand Tour to be used as access to the U. S. Army base on the Highlands; and
invoices and correspondence dated 1951 for an easement on the Grand Tour by the U. S. Army.
Portland, 54 items
Sale of Portland, 1952-1954. Documents include: correspondence, surveys, deeds, promotional
pamphlets, newspaper clippings, development restrictions, zoning variance applications,
easements, agreements, financial summaries, legal invoices, etc.
Note: This thick folder documents in great detail the sale of Portland to a development group
called Hartshorne Manor, a transaction which closed on 31 December 1952. Thomas J. Gilmour
of Keansburg served as President of the new corporation. Other partners included Lawrence J.
Carton, Jr., then Mayor of Middletown. In 1953, Carton purchased the main Portland residence
built after a fire destroyed an earlier dwelling in 1834. It had been expanded and renovated
extensively in 1876, and then underwent further changes between 1899 and 1901. Richard and
Hellene Hartshorne reserved a 10 acre lot for themselves on the Grand Tour, on which they
erected a new house in 1954. The master deed describes a number of lots sold previously by
Hartshorne to various owners, plus the 142.3 acres taken by the United States Government in
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1942. Hartshorne Manor acquired 315 acres. The property was then subdivided into 30 house
lots ranging from 2 to 5 acres, with very restrictive requirements imposed for the construction of
upscale new homes.
Portland, ca. 110 items
Construction of New House, 1953-1954. Documents include: specifications, contracts,
subcontracts, payment schedules, invoices, sketches, building permits, correspondence,
architect’s certifications, water quality analyses, equipment checklists, vendor catalogs, bank
statements, etc.
Note: This thick folder documents in great detail the construction in 1954 of a new house on the
Grand Tour for Richard and Hellene Hartshorne. It covers actual construction, grading and
landscaping, equipment, finishes, etc. The architect was Newton P. Bevin of New York City.
Arthur S. Goff of Red Bank served as general contractor for the price of $41,750.
10 items
Obituaries, 1958. Documents include: obituaries clipped from the Asbury Park Press, Newark
Evening News, and the New York Herald Tribune.
Note: Richard Hartshorne died unexpectedly on 4 March 1958 while on a skiing trip to MontTremblant near Montreal, Canada.
Estate, 7 items
Estate, 1958. Documents include: a Montreal Coroner’s Court report dated 4 March 1958 on
Hartshorne’s death from a Meningeal hemorrhage; a letter of instruction dated 1 June 1943 to his
wife Hellene Hartshorne; a probated copy of Hartshorne’s will dated 1 June 1943; and two
typescript copies of the same.
Estate, 23 items
Estate, 1958-1960. Documents include: Montreal physicians, funeral director, hotel and hospital
bills dated 1958; expenses for John Adams to drive Hartshorne’s car back to New Jersey; A. M.
Posten funeral home expenses dated 24 March 1958; invoices for headstone, flowers, etc.;
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cancelled checks for estate expenses; and 1960 checklists of securities owned by the estate, as
well as stamp and transfer taxes paid.
Estate Taxes and Stock Transfers, 1957-1960. Documents include: tax filings, correspondence,
life insurance claims and statements, Monmouth County Surrogate’s receipts, financial
calculations, stock listings, and a bound run of correspondence by Ida Hildebrand, estate
attorney.
Note: This folder was acquired in 1986 by Daniel Ward Seitz from the law firm of McCue &
McCue of Red Bank, NJ. They were successors to the firm of Applegate, Stevens, Foster &
Reussille, of which estate attorney Ida Hildebrand was a partner.
Estate, 1958-1962. Documents include: correspondence, estate tax working papers, notes,
invoices, tax searches, life insurance claims and payments, draft estate tax returns, Hartshorne
Burying Ground title investigations, and a bound run of mostly outgoing correspondence by Ida
Hildebrand, estate attorney.
Note: The contents of this folder also address Richard Hartshorne’s share of ownership in the
West 25th Street property in New York City. The folder was acquired in 1986 by Daniel Ward
Seitz from the law firm of McCue & McCue. They were successors to the firm of Applegate,
Stevens, Foster & Reussille, of which estate attorney Ida Hildebrand was a partner.
Estate, 3 items
Legal Correspondence, 1958-1960. Documents include: two bound runs of incoming and
outgoing correspondence by Ida Hildebrand, estate attorney.
Note: This folder, plus folders 3 through 6 in this box, were acquired in 1986 by Daniel Ward
Seitz from the law firm of McCue & McCue of Red Bank, NJ. They were successors to the firm
of Applegate, Stevens, Foster & Reussille, of which estate attorney Ida Hildebrand was a partner.
Estate, 23 items
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Federal Estate Taxes, 1958-1961. Documents include: estate tax returns, stock listings, powers of
attorney, checklist of estate bills paid, notes, financial calculations, working papers, etc.
Estate, 31 items
Employees Taxes, 1952-1966. Documents include: tax returns for agricultural employees, tax
returns, correspondence, working papers, notes, etc.
Estate, 31 items
Miscellaneous Documents, 1958-1959. Documents include: statements of tax liability, additional
tax assessments, tax filing schedules and exhibits, typescript of Hartshorne’s will, Montreal
Coroner’s Court report copies, correspondence, etc.
Estate, 56 items
Miscellaneous Documents, 1958-1960. Documents include: correspondence, estate tax filings,
estate benefits, notes, filing receipts, stock transfers, securities listings, documents related to the
estate of Hartshorne’s mother Margaret Willis Hartshorne, Federal Income Tax returns, tax
deductions for 1958, stock dividends for 1958, etc.
Loose Item; Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958)
1 item
Item: a framed studio portrait photograph of Richard Hartshorne as a young boy signed illegibly
by the New York photographer.
Note: This fine portrait photograph is in an original gilded, early 20th century frame. It is stored
loose in the Oversize box.
Box 54 – Folder 7; Hellene Gardenier Hartshorne (1903-1997)
5 items
Personal, 1903-1959, and no dates. Documents include: birth certificate dated 7 June 1933;
marriage service book dated 5 December 1942; birth certificate dated 1 September 1959; undated
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social security card; and an undated photograph of Hellene Hartshorne with her great niece Ann
Adams Royal.
Biographical Note: Hellene Hartshorne was born Helen Gardenier at Scotia, NY, on 25 August
1903, a daughter of Charles Gardenier and Gertrude Knoll. She married Richard Hartshorne on 5
December 1942 at the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City, only two weeks
after Hartshorne had obtained a divorce in Reno, NV, from his first wife Evelyn J. Scott. The
Hartshornes divided their time between Portland, his ancestral estate near Highlands, NJ, and
New York. But they also traveled extensively. Richard sold Portland on 31 December 1952. He
reserved 10 acres on the Grand Tour for himself on which he and Hellene built a new house in
1954. Dick died very suddenly in 1958 while on a skiing trip to Mont-Tremblant in Quebec,
Canada. Hellene remained at their beautifully landscaped and furnished house until 1970, when
she sold it to Willard T. and Ruth Bowne Somerville. She then purchased a new home at 568
Ridge Road in nearby Fair Haven, which she occupied until her death on 25 June 1997 at the age
of 93. In her last years, Hellene Hartshorne was largely bed-ridden. Her household furnishings,
antiques, and Hartshorne family heirlooms were appraised by the William Barron Galleries of
Asbury Park, NJ, at $63,814.
ca. 100 items
Property, 1969-1974. Documents include: correspondence, legal invoices, deed drafts, deeds,
Superior Court minutes, statements of closing title, property surveys (including a 1954 survey of
Hartshorne Woods), easements, notes, newspaper clippings, tax maps,
Note: This folder documents the 1970 sale of Hellene Hartshorne’s 1954 home on Grand Tour
Road in Hartshorne Woods to Willard T. and Ruth Bowne Somerville, the 1970 purchase by
Hellene Hartshorne of 568 Ridge Road in Fair Haven from J. Harold and Mae L. Collins, and the
1974 sale by Hellene Hartshorne of 8 remaining acres on the Grand Tour to the County of
Monmouth to become part of Hartshorne Woods Park. The folder was acquired in 1986 by
Daniel Ward Seitz from the law firm of McCue & McCue of Red Bank, NJ, apparent successors
to the law practice of Ida Hildebrand.
3 items
Storage, 1970. Documents include: a statement dated 10 June 1970 from Banfield Moving &
Storage Co. of Middletown, NJ, for items in storage; a warehouse receipt dated 13 April 1970 for
25 bundles, cartons, and trunks placed in storage with Banfield; and a detailed schedule dated 10
April 1970 of items placed in storage at Banfield.
204
Note: Apparently Hellene Hartshorne placed all her household furniture and other items in
storage after the 1970 sale of her home to Willard and Ruth Somerville, but before she closed on
and moved into the house at 568 Ridge Road in Fair Haven. The items scheduled included three
trunks in bad condition, two of which held the family archives given in 1993 to Daniel Ward
Seitz. They remained in storage at Banfield for 23 years.
Financial, ca. 40 items
Income & Estate Taxes, 1957-1960. Documents include: Federal and State tax individual income
tax returns for Richard and Hellene Hartshorne; estate tax return for Richard Hartshorne;
correspondence, working papers, receipts, account statements, checklists of investments, etc.
Note: These materials have been rough-sorted by year only.
Income Taxes, 1961-1969. Documents include: Federal and State individual income tax returns
for Hellene Hartshorne, correspondence, working papers, receipts, account statements, checklists
of investments, etc.
Note: These materials have been rough-sorted by year only.
Income Taxes, 1970-1979. Documents include: Federal individual income tax returns for
Hellene Hartshorne.
Income Taxes, 1980-1981. Documents include: Federal individual income tax returns for
Hellene Hartshorne, with some working papers.
Legal, ca. 15 items
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Miscellaneous, 1931-1970. Documents include: typed transcript of a deed dated 2 July 1931
from Margaret Willis Hartshorne to Richard Hartshorne for Portland; typescript of a deed dated
31 December 1952 from Richard and Hellene Hartshorne to Hartshorne Manor for the remaining
acreage of Portland; and a property description dated 22 April 1970 for the 2.062 acre lot and
house sold by Hellene Hartshorne to Willard T. and Ruth Bowne Somerville.
Note: These three documents were found mixed in with Hartshorne’s income tax files.
Estate, 3 items
Estate, 1960-1997, and no date. Documents include: a letter of instruction in the event of her
death dated 13 January 1960 from Hellene Hartshorne to her attorney Ida Hildebrand; an
inventory and appraisal dated 24 September 1997 of the tangible property belong to the estate of
Hellene Hartshorne; and an undated rough draft of proposed will of Hellene Hartshorne (not as
probated).
Photography, 1 item
Item: a photograph album containing 78 color photographs of the house built in 1954 by Richard
and Hellene Hartshorne on the Grand Tour, apparently taken in the late 1960s before the sale of
the property in 1970.
Note: A few of the photographs show the exterior and interior of the house, but the bulk show
the beautifully landscaped grounds in Spring.
Box 56 – Folder 5; Mary Hartshorne Noonan (1897-1978)
7 items
General File, 1917-1973. Documents include: copy dated 18 September 1917 of her American
National Red Cross First Aid Certificate; copy dated 4 February 1926 of a jewelry appraisal; a
Petition for Probate and Will dated 22 August 1950 for the estate of William J. Noonan; letter
dated 25 May 1956 from Mrs. William E. Erb to the Bowne House Historical Society; a letter
dated 26 June 1956 from the Bowne House Historical Society to Mary H. Noonan regarding the
above; a real estate appraisal dated 1 November 1973 of land on Hartshorne Road west of Tan
Vat Road; and a real estate appraisal dated 1 November 1973 of land on Hartshorne Road east of
Tan Vat Road.
206
Note: The real estate appraisals pertain to land sold to the Monmouth County Park System for
creation of Hartshorne Woods Park.
Biographical Note: Mary Minturn Hartshorne was born in New York City on 7 April 1897, a
daughter of Robert Hartshorne and his wife Margaret Willis. Known as Polly, she received her
early education in private schools. Later, Hartshorne attended Bryn Mawr College in
Pennsylvania, an institution opened in 1885 that offered women a more ambitious academic
program than any previously available to them in the United States. While at Bryn Mawr, she
obtained in 1917 a First Aid Certificate from the American Red Cross. A formal portrait
photograph of her in full nursing-style uniform indicates that she used this certification during
World War I, no doubt influenced by the wartime involvements of her father Robert and younger
brother Richard. On 14 January 1921, Polly Hartshorne married William J. Noonan in the chapel
of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church on Park Avenue in New York City. The service was
conducted by the Rev. Dr. William Montague Geer, rector, assisted by the Rev. John Crary Lord
from All Saints’ Memorial Church in Navesink, NJ. They became the parents of three children:
Mary Ellen, Robert H., and Margaret W.
William James Noonan was born in North Ferrisburg, Addison County, VT, on 19 June 1889, a
son of Daniel O. Noonan and Ellen M. Ball. By 1915, he had become employed by National City
Bank (now Citibank) in New York City. Noonan served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U. S.
Army during World War I, and was discharged on or before 31 December 1918. He immediately
left for Europe to assist in the reconstruction effort. After returning to New York, he rejoined the
staff of National City Bank, becoming a Vice President by 1926 and remaining there until his
untimely death. Noonan served as a director of the American News Co., the Union News Co.,
and the National City Safe Deposit Co. He also became a director of 955 Lexington Avenue,
Inc., a prestigious New York co-op building where he and his family made their home. Margaret
Willis Hartshorne and her son Richard, Polly Noonan’s mother and brother, also maintained an
apartment at 955 Lexington. Noonan was a member of the Church Club of New York, the New
England Society, the Vermont Society, the Downtown Association, and the Union League Club
in New York, as well as the Rumson Country Club and the Sea Bright Beach Club, both near the
Noonan summer home in Monmouth County. William J. Noonan died of leukemia on 17 March
1946 at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. He was 57 years old. Interment
took place in Vermont.
Following the death of her husband in 1946, Polly Noonan and her children gave up the New
York apartment in favor of permanent residence at her former summer home on part of Portland,
the historic Hartshorne family seat near Highlands, NJ. A total of 54.5 acres in the southwest
corner of the estate had been deeded to her in February of 1928 by her mother. It was situated
west of the pond, and included a former stone dairy building on a scenic bluff overlooking the
Navesink River which the Noonans enlarged substantially in that year. Polly Noonan named her
207
residence Portland Farmhouse, and soon increased her real estate holdings in the area to 114.86
acres. It included three parcels west of Tan Vat Road acquired in 1929 that totaled 55.4 acres
(one of which had 480 feet of river frontage), and six small house lots on the east side of Tan Vat
Road, at least two of which contained modest houses.
After settling on the Portland estate, Mary H. Noonan dedicated the rest of her life to various
local causes. She became President of the Middletown Township Health Association, a major
charity of her mother Margaret Willis Hartshorne. In 1957, Polly also fought successfully against
the expansion of government-owned land on the Highlands to construct the so-called Missile
Master facility that controlled the six Nike missile batteries surrounding New York. When that
military facility was decommissioned in the early 1970s, Polly Noonan championed the creation
of Hartshorne Woods Park by the Monmouth County Park System in order to preserve intact that
large undeveloped, scenic tract of rolling woodland. As part of that initiative, she sold to the Park
System much of her real estate holdings along Hartshorne Road. Mrs. Noonan also served on the
Board of Trustees of the Monmouth County Historical Association from 1954 to 1975, and on
the Middletown Township Bicentennial Committee.
But nothing occupied her interest more than family genealogy and local history. She spent years
studying and arranging much of this main Hartshorne archive which was then owned by her
brother Richard Hartshorne and later by his widow Hellene. She placed a large percentage of the
manuscripts into envelopes that were extensively annotated on the outside with notes regarding
the identity of individuals, subject matter, transactions, etc. She also dedicated years to
transcribing and typing a portion of the family archive that had become the property of her
father’s first cousin, Miss Louise Hartshorne (1866-1956) of Middletown Village. This latter
collection, amounting to about four archive boxes, had clearly been drawn from the main archive
decades earlier. In many instances, the items obtained by Miss Louise were among the most
important documents of their type in the collection. They were subsequently given to Polly
Noonan, along with a considerable volume of other local history materials on Middletown such
as clippings, research files, photographs, and glass plate negatives. Polly Noonan bequeathed a
large portion of these Hartshorne papers to the Monmouth County Historical Association in
1978. The remainder was given to the Association in 2012 by the estate of her daughter, Ellen
Noonan Adams (1922-2011). All of Miss Louise’s documents and files formerly in the hands of
Polly Noonan have now been reintegrated into the Hartshorne Family Papers collection, with the
exception of a few items retained by descendants.
Polly Noonan passed away at Portland Farmhouse on 4 August 1978 at the age of 81. She had
been a member of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in nearby Navesink and the Sea Bright Beach
Club, plus the Colony Club and the Cosmopolitan Club in New York. Her will devised to the
Monmouth County Historical Association the family papers owned formerly by Miss Louise
Hartshorne discussed above, plus an early 18th century leather upholstered armchair made in
208
Boston that had descended in the Hartshorne family. Noonan had acquired this notable family
relic in 1953 when much of the contents of the main Portland residence was auctioned in New
York by her brother Richard.
Wherever possible, original manuscript items mostly dating before 1902 that came from Miss
Louise Hartshorne have been reincorporated into their appropriate record groups in other parts of
the collection. The five archive boxes of material that follow generally retain the order and folder
titles established by Polly Noonan. There has been some regrouping into larger categories for
ease of use. These include Correspondence, Subject Files, Pamphlets & Articles, Newspaper
Clippings, Genealogical Research, Photography, Transcriptions, etc. The original typed
transcripts, housed in four large notebooks which took Noonan years to compile, have been
retained by the family. However, complete copies can be found in Boxes 60 and 61. Glass plate
negatives have been removed from the main Hartshorne family archive. They will be processed
and stored separately according to applicable photographic requirements (see: Boxes 69 through
71). The majority of the photographs and negatives plus the various reference files in the
following archive boxes were obtained from Miss Louise Hartshorne. In most instances, their
provenance remains intact. It seems clear from the nature of these files that Miss Louise, or
“Wesie” as she was known to the family, had begun to prepare an illustrated publication on the
historic buildings of Middletown. That initiative was continued by Polly Noonan, whose own
research accumulation is interfiled with that of her predecessor. The genealogical research
materials include information collected by both Hartshorne and Noonan, and also by Margaret
Willis Hartshorne (Noonan’s mother) when she was compiling a massive, illustrated, handwritten family genealogy in the early 20th century (see: Box 1, Folder 3). For further information,
see: The New York Times, 15 January 1921, and 18 March 1946; and The Sunday Register, 6
August 1978.
Ernestine L. Foster, 1918-1922, and no dates. Documents include: letters received from Foster,
most of them referring to old china shipped by Foster to Noonan.
Yvonne & Louise Girard, 1945-1946. Documents include: letters written to Noonan from France
by the Girards, mostly in French. The folder also contains a photograph of World War I soldiers.
209
Robert and Margaret Willis Hartshorne, 1895-1897, and no date. Documents include: a letter
dated 12 April 1895 from J. Rogers to Mr. and Mrs. William P. Willis declining an invitation to
the wedding of their daughter Margaret to Robert Hartshorne; a letter dated 17 April 1897 from
Robert Hartshorne to a Mr. Burdett thanking him for anniversary wishes; and an undated and
unsigned wedding card presumably pertaining to the marriage of Robert Hartshorne to Margaret
Willis.
Julia H. Trask to Margaret Willis Hartshorne, 1927. Documents include: a letter dated 8 May
1927 from Julia Trask to Margaret Hartshorne discussing another letter written by Henry James
to the widow of Henry Harland; a transcript of the James letter; and a description of the letter.
Note: The Trask letter to Hartshorne states, “Show it to Polly sometime for me, please.”
Robert and Margaret W. Hartshorne to Julia H. Trask, 1901. Documents include: letters written
to Julia H. Trask by the Hartshornes while the Trasks were living in England.
Note: These highly interesting letters describe, among other things, the 1901 renovations to
Portland that transformed the house to its present appearance. The letters are, so far, the only
primary documentation located for the changes made at that time to this historic Hartshorne
residence.
Land Title, 2 items
Deed, 1893. Documents include: a deed dated 21 January 1893 from Sarah B. Hartshorne and
her husband Frank V. Hartshorne to Joseph Luffburrow for several lots of land along Hartshorne
Road west of Tan Vat Road; and an unidentified and undated handwritten note stating “might
interest you to have this old deed!” This deed may pertain to one of the lots acquired by Mary H.
Noonan from Luffburrow.
210
Land Title, 7 items
Government Sale of Land, 1942. Documents include: an undated newspaper clipping describing
a valuation established for the property of Robert H. Trask; correspondence; a draft contract for
the purchase of property from Richard Hartshorne; a draft contract for the purchase of property
from Julia H. Trask; and a grant for the use of the land.
Note: These documents are copies of originals retained by the family.
Literary, 2 items
Literary, no date. Documents include: typescript of a poem entitled “Our Childhood Home;” and
a tag in Polly Noonan’s handwriting that says “Mount in Locust.”
Note: Polly Noonan apparently identified the family from which she obtained this poem.
Literary, 2 items
Literary, no dates. Documents include: typescripts of poems entitled “Home,” and “Grey Eyes.”
Note: The latter is initialed “E. T,” possibly for Eleanor Morton Trask (1926-2001), a daughter
of Benjamin Hartshorne Trask.
Literary, 1 item
Literary, 1934. Document: typescript of a poem dated September 1934 entitled “The Little
Graveyard,” by Al. Ryan.
Note: This poem describes the Hartshorne Burying Ground on Kings Highway in Middletown
Village.
Literary, 4 items
Katherine Ward Glover poems, 1919 and no dates. Documents include: a printed poem dated
October 1919 entitled “Navesink;” a typescript of a poem entitled “To My Grandfather,” and two
manuscript copies of “To my Grandfather,” both signed by Katherine Ward.
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Note: Katherine L. Ward Glover (1899-1968) was the daughter of Mary M. Hartshorne and her
husband Henry H. Ward, as well as a first cousin to Polly Noonan. She was also the mother of
Daniel Ward Seitz.
Subject Files, 1 item
Hartshorne, Oklahoma, 1958. Document: the 2 October 1958 issue of The Hartshorne Sun
newspaper.
The Huguenot Walloon Tercentenary Commission, 1924. Documen: a typescript of an address
by William Elliot Griffis.
Subject Files, 5 items
Marlpit Hall, Middletown, NJ. Documents include: an undated newspaper clipping of a short
article on Marlpit Hall by Vernon Howe Bailey; two undated photographs of the front door of
Marlpit Hall (one showing a bride in her wedding gown); an undated color post card of Marlpit
Hall; and handwritten a note dated 2 April 1951 from William C. Riker of Rumson, NJ.
Hartshorne House, Middletown, NJ. Documents include: an undated newspaper clipping
discussing the presentation of a historic plaque to the then owners of the Hartshorne House on
Kings Highway in Middletown; and a brief handwritten history of Richard Hartshorne in Polly
Noonan’s handwriting.
Middletown Township Master Plan, no date. Document: a printed pamphlet on a new Master
Plan for Middletown Township prepared by the Middletown Township Planning Board with the
cooperation of Community Planning Associates, Inc., of Princeton, NJ.
212
Missile Master Program, Highlands, NJ, 1956-1957. Documents include: a letter dated 16 April
1957 to U. S. Representative for New Jersey Hon. James C. Auchincloss from Lieut. Gen. S. R.
Mickelsen; a letter from James C. Auchincloss to John Adams; undated and unsigned draft of a
letter to New Jersey’s Congressional Representatives; an undated letter from Mary H. Noonan to
New Jersey Senator Howard A. Smith; Fact Sheets 1 through 5 issued by the Headquarters of the
First United States Army Information Section regarding an Army Missile Control Center to be
built in the Highlands, NJ, area; and the cover letter of a press packet dated 24 April 1957 from
the Information Section of the Headquarters, First United States Army, for construction of the
Missile Master system at Highlands, NJ.
Note: The United States Army-Air Force constructed between 1957 and 1960 what was called a
Missile Master system on government-owned land acquired from Hartshorne descendants in
1942 at Highlands, NJ. Its purpose was to control and coordinate the six Nike missile batteries in
the New York area.
Installation at Skunk Hill (Missile Master), Highlands, NJ, ca. 1960. Document: an undated
clipping, ca. 1960, entitled “Missile Master Base Nearing Completion” apparently from the Red
Bank Register.
Sandy Hook Research, 1932 and no dates. Documents include: letter dated 10 May 1932 from
Lt. Col. G. W. Cocheau (U. S. Army) to Louise Hartshorne; typescripts of a deed dated 6
February 1806 from Richard Hartshorne & Susannah his wife, Tylee Williams and Elizabeth his
wife, and Nimrod Woodward and Ann his wife to the United States of America for land on
Sandy Hook; typescripts of a deed dated 17 June 1817 from Richard Hartshorne and Susanna his
wife to the United States of America for the remainder of their land on Sandy Hook; and
typescript dated 29 November 1932 entitled “Substance of Deeds Relative to Sandy Hook
Property Based Upon Photostats Furnished by the War Department.”
213
Sandy Hook Marine Research Center, 1961-1962. Documents include: a program dated 28
September 1961 for the dedication of the Marine Game Fish Research Center at the Sandy Hook
Marine Laboratory; and a progress report dated 28 February 1962 from the Citizens for Sandy
Hook signed by Alfred L. Ferguson, Jr.
Ship Houqua, no date. Document: photostatic copy of a published narrative of the Ship Houqua
and its encounter with a typhoon in Indonesia.
Note: This photostatic copy is from Low, 66-78. Capt. Charles Porter Low became captain of the
Houqua at the age of 21, his first command. This particular section of his autobiography
describes the near sinking of the clipper ship in 1847 while on a voyage from New York to
Shanghai. Among its crew was Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne, Polly Noonan’s grandfather.
Pamphlets & Articles, 1 item
Item: Henry C. Beck, “Tale of old pirate’s trial a treasure of Middletown,” The Sunday StarLedger, 11 July 1948.
Item: Henry C. Beck, “Early Resident, 93, unfolds secrets of ‘The Highlands,’” The Sunday StarLedger, 22 December 1957.
Item: Henry C. Beck, “Broken Ships Line Coast,” The Sunday Star-Ledger, 16 February 1958.
Item: Henry C. Beck, “Half-forgotten Communities Located by Cranford Man,” The Sunday
Star-Ledger, 17 November 1957.
Note: This article discusses the light house at Chapel Hill in Middletown.
214
Item: Mrs. C. F. Borden, “History of the Friends’ Meeting House, at Shrewsbury, N. J.,” 11 June
1935.
Note: This article was read by its author at the first luncheon and historic tour given by the
Shrewsbury Towne Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution held at Shrewsbury on
11 June 1935.
Pamphlets & Articles, 3 items
Item: a pamphlet entitled “Early Days of Sea Bright and Rumson,” no date or author; a pamphlet
dated September 1930 and entitled “A Few Notes on the Early Days of Sea Bright and Rumson
by Miss Sophie M. Shippen; and an undated newspaper clipping describing the Schiff estate in
Rumson.
Item: Mrs. Theodosia Finch, “Historical Paper on Turtle Mill,” no date.
Note: This article was apparently written in 1907 but printed later. The Turtle Mill was located
between Eatontown and Long Branch.
Item: Judge Richard Hartshorne, “The Monmouth Patent, an Address Delivered by Judge
Richard Hartshorne at the Presentation of a Commemorative Tablet to the Monmouth County
Historical Association, at Freehold, N. J., May 10, 1946.”
Note: This pamphlet also includes lists of the officers and members of the Society of Colonial
Wars in the State of New Jersey.
215
Item: William A. Cooper, “A History of the Plymouth and Whitemarsh Turnpike Company,”
Conshohocken, PA: Press of the Recorder Publishing Co., 1923.
Item: Tel-News, New Jersey Bell Telephone Co., February 1960. Contains an article on the
Holmes-Hendrickson House in Holmdel, NJ, which was at the time still located on phone
company property. The house was donated to the Monmouth County Historical Association,
which moved and restored it.
Item: Elmer T. Hutchinson, “A Visit to the Town of Freehold in 1847,” reprinted from the New
Jersey Historical Society’s Proceedings of October 1947.
Item: George Libaire, “Heritage,” from the Atlantic Monthly, June 1935.
Item: Clarence E. Lovejoy, “Shrewsbury-Navesink Cruise Lures Exploring Skippers,” The New
York Times, 23 May 1958.
Item: C. B. Parsons, “Reminiscences of Middletown in the days of the old Tannery,” April 1908.
Item: M. C. Murray Hyde, “Retreat after the Battle of Monmouth,” The Spirit of ’76, Vol. V, No.
12, August 1899; a clipped image from the front cover of the magazine that depicts the house of
James Patterson at Nutswamp, Middletown, NJ, that was used as headquarters by General
Knyphausen after the Battle of Monmouth; a letter dated 10 February 1964 to James S. Brown Jr.
216
from Lawrence A. Carton, Jr.; and a letter dated 17 February 1964 to Mrs. William Noonan from
Lawrence A. Carton, Jr.
Item: James B. Russell, “The Flying Cloud: Great Ship of a Great Era,” undated typescript.
Item: Sailing Advertisement Reprints, The Seamen’s Bank for Savings, NY, no date.
Item: John C. Smock, “Early Settlements in Monmouth," newspaper clipping, no date.
Item: William S. Stryker, “Lee’s Conduct at the Battle of Monmouth,” Proceedings of the New
Jersey Historical Society, Third Series, Vol. II, No. 2, 1 May 1900.
Item: E. C. M. Van Brunt, “Two Old Historic Houses in the Village of Middletown, Monmouth
County, New Jersey,” Red Bank: Register Press, 1907.
Note: This paper was read before the Monmouth Chapter of the Daughters of the American
Revolution on 19 January 1907. This copy was owned by Miss Louise Hartshorne.
Items include: Yale College Catalogs of Graduates, 1823-1835, and no date. A collection of
catalog fragments, reprints and copies, all of which mention Robert Hartshorne (1798-1872) who
graduated from Yale in 1817.
217
Hartshorne Family, 1890-1953. Item: “The Master of Navesink, The New York Times, 23
February 1890; unidentified obituary for Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne; and “’Portland’ in
Hartshorne Family since 1671, Sold,” Red Bank Register, 15 January 1953.
Richard Hartshorne, 1931. Item: “Monmouth’s First Citizen in 1670,” Asbury Park Sunday
Press, 22 February 1931.
Old Philadelphia & Hartshorne Family, 1913. Item: “Old Philadelphia Families: CXLVIHartshorne,” The North American, Sunday, 19 January 1913.
Hendrickson Family, no dates. Items include: undated clippings on the tragic death in a fire of
John S. Hendrickson in Middletown, sale of the Mary Louisa Hendrickson property in
Middletown, and the death of Charles J. Hendrickson in Middletown.
Highlands of Navesink, 1879. Item: “An Interesting Story About the Highlands of Navesink in
the Year 1879,” Red Bank Register, 16 October 1952.
Twin Lights and the Highlands Area, 1955-1958. Items include: “N. J. Lighthouse Landmark
Saved, Opens as a Museum, New York Herald Tribune, 26 June 1955; “Highlands, Hook and
Bay,” Newark Sunday News, 3 March 1957; “Drive to preserve ‘Twin Lights’ gains momentum
at long last,” The Sunday Star-Ledger, 27 July 1958; and “This story helped save Twin Lights of
Highlands,” The Sunday Star-Ledger, 3 August 1958.
218
Old Middletown Area, NJ, no dates. Items include: clippings on Christ Episcopal Church, the
Friends’ Meeting House in Shrewsbury, and several historic buildings along Kings Highway.
Middletown Churches, 1924. Item: “Naught Now to Bring Blush to Middletown’s Churches,”
Newark Evening News, 23 February 1924.
Daniel Boone & Abraham Lincoln Ancestors, 1944. Items include: “Daniel Boone and Lincoln
Ancestors Were Settlers in Middletown Township,” “Middletown Still Bears Trace of
Revolutionary War and Plays Role in the Current Conflict,” and “Navesink Was Originally
Known as Riceville,” all from The Daily Record, Long Branch, NJ, 19 August 1944.
Middletown and Vicinity, 1925-1932, and no dates. Items include: “Middletown Can Cull Sons
from All Points for ‘Old Home Week,’” “Old Monmouth in its Youthful Days” by James Steen,
and “The Old Tannery at Middletown Village” by Capt. Charles B. Parsons.
New Era Wreck, 1901. Item: “Wreck of the New Era: A Story of the Disaster Told by Edwin
Beekman,” Red Bank Register, 12 June 1901.
Earle Snyder House, Middletown, no date. Item: “Let’s Visit: the Earle Snyder Home,” by Kay
Jones. An undated clipping describing the Earle S. Snyder Home on Locust Point Road in
Middletown, NJ.
219
Genealogical Research, 9 items
Bowne Family. Items include: 19th and 20th century pamphlets on the Bowne House in Flushing,
NY; Bowne & Co. printers; correspondence; newspaper clippings; photocopies; handwritten
research transcriptions; and genealogical notes.
Ellen Collins. Items include: correspondence, newspaper clippings, and an obituary issued by the
New York Friends.
Note: Ellen Collins was a cousin through the Minturn family, a daughter of Sarah H. Minturn
(1795 – 1879) and Joseph Budd Collins (1794-1867).
Genealogical Research, 1 item
Charles Collins. Item: an obituary from an undated and unidentified newspaper.
Note: Charles Collins was a relation through the Minturn family. His brother Joseph Budd
Collins married Sarah H. Minturn (see above). Charles and his brothers ran Collins Brothers,
printers in New York, a continuation of the printing business originally established in New
Jersey by their father Isaac Collins (1746-1817).
Alice Brown DeNormandie. Items include: an obituary from an undated and unidentified
newspaper, with an image of her also clipped from a newspaper.
Note: Alice Brown DeNormandie was a leading suffragette and a prominent early member of the
League of Women Voters.
220
Drexel Family. Items include: a note dated 24 August 1953 from Miss Louise Hartshorne of
Middletown, and copies of many newspaper clippings pertaining to the Drexel family of
Philadelphia, relations through a distant branch of the Hartshorne family.
Greene Family. Items include: handwritten genealogical notes on the Greene family, plus a handdrawn genealogical chart.
Hartshorne Family. Items include: handwritten genealogical notes, correspondence, materials
concerning a Hartshorne crest, genealogical charts, handwritten lines of descent, photocopies,
typed transcripts, printed pamphlets, and a lengthy but undated and unidentified Yale
biographical entry for Robert Hartshorne (1866-1927).
Richard Hartshorne Letter. Item: a printed transcription of Richard Hartshorne’s 1675 letter
describing the benefits of life in New Jersey, clipped from an undated and unidentified
newspaper and pasted to cardboard.
Note: This letter was published in London in 1676 in a compilation of similar essays entitled A
Further Account of New Jersey, in an Abstract of Letters Lately Writ from Thence, by Several
Inhabitants There Resident.
Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne. Item: a photostatic copy of the marriage announcement of
Benjamin M. Hartshorne to Julia L. Norton on 13 February 1862 in San Francisco, CA. Taken
from the San Francisco Alta California, 16 February 1862 owned by the California State Library.
221
Hartshorne Family Letters. Items include: handwritten transcriptions of original letters contained
elsewhere in this collection, written out by Margaret Willis Hartshorne and her daughter Polly
Noonan.
Genealogical Research, 89 pages
Benjamin M. Hartshorne Papers. Items include: photostatic copies of typed transcriptions of
letters mostly between Benjamin M. Hartshorne and his business partner Alfred H. Wilcox,
1854-1877, that discuss their activities in steam navigation along the Pacific coast and on the
Colorado River. The originals of these documents are believed to be in the Huntington Library,
San Marino, CA.
Hendrickson, Schureman, Covenhoven and Wikoff Families. Items include: typed transcriptions
of an obituary of Col. Elias Conover, typed transcriptions of Peter Wikoff letters dated 1820,
handwritten genealogical notes on the Hendrickson, Conover, Schureman families, and original
bible records of the Schureman family.
Note: These materials all pertain to the family of Louise Wikoff Hendrickson (1839-1876) of
Locustwood in Middletown Village. She married Edward M. Hartshorne (1837-1886), and was
the mother of Miss Louise Hartshorne (1866-1956).
Heurtin Family. Items include: handwritten genealogical notes on the Heurtin family of New
York.
Note: The Heurtin family was related to the Hartshornes through the genealogical line of
Susannah Ustick (1760-1833), who married Richard Hartshorne (1752-1831).
Lawrence Family. Items include: correspondence, a hand-drawn genealogical chart, a
handwritten copy of the will of Mary Lawrence, and handwritten genealogical notes on the
Lawrence family.
222
Note: The Lawrence and Hartshorne families intermarried in the early 18th century. Of particular
interest to this collection, Elizabeth Lawrence (1690-1750) married William Hartshorne
(1678/79-1747/48) as his third wife.
Maltby Family. Item: a 1960 reissuance of an 1804 birth certificate of Julia Ann Maltby of
Hatfield, MA.
Note: Julia Ann Maltby (1804-1873) married Charles Norton (1805-1870). Their daughter Julia
L. Norton (1838-1869) married Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne (1826-1900).
Minturn Family. Items include: handwritten notes on Minturn genealogy, a pamphlet on the
clipper ship Flying Cloud owned by Grinnell, Minturn & Co., and a beautifully drawn and
lettered Minturn genealogical chart prepared in 1846 by William Courthosse extracted from the
records of the College of Arms in London.
Note: The Minturn and Hartshorne families maintained very close ties throughout much of the
19th century and into the 20th. Mary Ann Minturn (1802-1861) married Robert Hartshorne (17981872).
Norton Family. Items include: handwritten genealogical notes on the Norton family,
correspondence, a hand-drawn genealogical chart, and a typed transcription of an obituary for
Julia Ann Maltby Norton.
Note: See: Box 58, Folder 20.
Saltar Family. Items include: handwritten genealogical notes on the Saltar family.
223
Note: Sarah Saltar, daughter of Richard Saltar and Hannah Lawrence, married Robert
Hartshorne (1721-1805).
Stout Family. Item: a photostatic copy of the 1703 will of Richard Stout of Middletown.
Williams Family. Items include: handwritten genealogical notes and correspondence regarding
the link between Roger Williams of Rhode Island and the Hartshorne family.
Note: Mary Ann Minturn (1802-1861), wife of Robert Hartshorne (1798-1872) was a direct
descendant of Roger Williams.
Saltar & Bowne Families. Items include: handwritten genealogical notes.
Ustick Family. Item: a letter dated 10 December 1908 from John Reichert, Clerk of the Vestry of
St. George’s Church in New York City, to Robert Hartshorne regarding William Ustick.
Miscellaneous. Items include: an undated and unidentified newspaper clipping on “Yes Virginia,
there is a Santa Claus;” handwritten transcription of a poem from The Echoes of a Rhineland
Book; typescripts of Hartshorne family correspondence; handwritten genealogical notes on the
Coward, Wikoff and Hendrickson families; newspaper clipping dated 2 July 1941 of the wedding
of Louise Hartshorne of Middletown to H. Austin Kaye of New York; genealogical charts for the
Hartshorne and Schureman families, and typed transcriptions of various genealogical notes.
Note: Most of this folder pertains to the family of Miss Louise Hartshorne. Louise Hartshorne
(1909-1966) was a granddaughter of Edward M. Hartshorne and his wife Louise Wikoff
224
Hendrickson. She and her husband H. Austin Kaye are interred next to her parents William
Hartshorne (1872-1944) and Sarah Haight (1868-1950) in the Hartshorne Burying Ground on
Kings Highway in Middletown.
Mary Hartshorne Noonan. Items include: two photographs of Polly Noonan in a wicker baby
carriage; a photograph of Noonan as a toddler sitting in a rocking chair on the lawn at Portland; a
portrait photograph of Polly Noonan and her brother Dick Hartshorne taken in 1902; a portrait
photograph of Polly with her three young children Ellen, Robert and Margaret; an informal
snapshot of Polly at a very young age; two similar portrait photographs taken at the same time of
Polly as an infant; a portrait photograph of Polly with her maternal grandmother Sarah
Davenport Willis; a portrait photograph of Polly as an infant; two portrait photographs of Polly
taken as an adult; and a recent photoshop copy of the latter.
Box 59 – Folder 1a; Mary Hartshorne Noonan (1897-1978)
Hartshorne, O”Rourke, and Saltar Families. Items include: an original carte-de-visite photograph
of Robert Hartshorne (1798-1872) taken by J. Gurney & Son of New York; a tintype of Mary
Hartshorne O’Rourke on her honeymoon at Saratoga, NY, with her husband Felix O’Rourke and
Matilda Hendrickson; a carte-de-visite photograph of an 18th century painting of the family of
John Saltar (including Lawrence Saltar as an infant); a carte-de-visite photograph of a portrait of
Lawrence Saltar; and two carte-de-visite photographs of cousin Fannie Saltar.
Box 59 – Folder 1b; Mary Hartshorne Noonan (1897-1978)
Extra prints from tiny negatives used to illustrate the handwritten Hartshorne family genealogy
contained in Box 1, Folder 3. Items include: Richard Hartshorne, Susannah Ustick Hartshorne,
Robert Hartshorne, three prints of Lawrence Saltar, Robert Bowne, Julia Ann Maltby Norton,
Benjamin Greene, Mary Bowne Greene, and two English churches associated with the Greene
family. See also: Box 68, Folder 8 for the negatives from which these prints were made.
Photography: 14 items
Hartshorne and Hendrickson Families. Items include: a cyanotype print of John S. Hendrickson
and a Mr. Hulse on the lawn at Locustwood (probably taken by Edward Taylor); a card mounted
225
photograph of Ella Hendrickson; a cyanotype print of Susannah P. Hartshorne and Charlie
Barton in a summer house (probably taken by Edward Taylor); two card mounted photographs of
Susannah P. Hartshorne and two cyanotype prints from the same negatives (probably taken by
Edward Taylor); a card mounted photograph, a cyanotype print, and an informal snapshot taken
of Louise Hartshorne; a card mounted photograph and a recent copy photograph of
Hartshorne/Hendrickson family groupings taken at Locustwood; a tintype of Benjamin M.
Hartshorne Jr. and his brother William Hartshorne with a dog named Bruce; and a copy negative
of a photograph of Louise Hartshorne as an infant.
Biographical Note: Edward Taylor, a noted amateur photographer of Middletown, was born in
New York on 26 September 1848, a son of Joseph Dorset Taylor (1802-1864) and his cousin
Mary Holmes Taylor (1814-1897). This family resided after 1851 at Orchard Home, a large and
imposing mid-19th century Italianate structure on the west end of Kings Highway adjacent to
Marlpit Hall, both of which are now owned by the Monmouth County Historical Association.
Family circumstances allowed Taylor to live very comfortably without the necessity of
employment. In 1881, he married Margaret E. Dominick (born 1845) of New York, a daughter of
James Dominick. For many years the couple lived at Orchard Home in the summer months, and
spent their winters in New York. By 1909, declining health caused Taylor to confine himself
full-time to Middletown. He died quite unexpectedly of heart disease while sitting in a chair at
Orchard Home on 23 December 1911 at the age of 63. The funeral took place at Christ Episcopal
Church in Middletown Village, where he and the family were prominent members. Taylor’s
widow Margaret continued to live at the homestead until her death on 27 October 1926. Both are
buried in the family plot at Fair View Cemetery.
Edward Taylor captured many views of Middletown and vicinity, as well as photographs of his
relatives and friends often posed in theatrical groupings and given humorous captions. Taylor’s
photography constitutes the best and most extensive early visual record of the Middletown area
and its people. Many of the cyanotype and photographic prints that follow in this box are known
or believed to have been taken by him. A large group of Taylor’s original glass plate negatives
accompanies this collection, but have been processed and stored separately to comply with
photographic requirements. See: Boxes 69 and 70. Most of the negatives were in their original
but severely deteriorated envelopes, annotated and identified in Edward Taylor’s handwriting.
Some of the envelopes were also stamped with Taylor’s name. The prints and negatives were
obtained by Polly Noonan from Miss Louise Hartshorne, who was part of Taylor’s social peer
group and kinship network. Edward Taylor’s notes on the envelopes indicate that more than a
few were developed and printed in a darkroom in the basement of Locustwood, Miss
Hartshorne’s family residence not far from Orchard Home in Middletown village. See: Red Bank
Register, 27 December 1911. For a collection of original glass plate negatives taken by Edward
Taylor, see: Boxes 69 and 70.
226
St. Mary’s Hall, Burlington, NJ. Items include: an 1889 card mounted photograph of Susannah
P. Hartshorne and “Garetta” on the grounds of St. Mary’s Hall; an 1889 group photograph on the
grounds of St. Mary’s Hall that includes Susannah P. Hartshorne; a class photograph taken on
the steps of St. Mary’s Hall that includes Susannah P. Hartshorne; and a mounted photograph of
the grounds of St. Mary’s Hall.
Photography, 1 item
Col. Elias Conover. Item: a cyanotype print of Col. Conover (1760-1820) taken from a portrait
that descended in the family at Locustwood (probably taken by Edward Taylor).
Note: Col. Elias Conover was an ancestor of Louise Wikoff Hendrickson, who married Edward
M. Hartshorne.
Photography, 1 item
Group Photograph on the Beach at Highlands. Item: an oval card mounted photograph that
depicts Julia Field, Louise Hartshorne, Thomas Field, and Susannah P. Hartshorne in a wagon
driven by Paul Golden.
Photography, 1 item
Drexel Family. Item: a card mounted photograph simply identified as “Drexel Family.”
Note: The Drexels are related to the Hartshornes through a Philadelphia branch of the family.
White Family. Items include: a photograph of Nina and Alice White taken at Atlantic City; a
photograph of Robert K. White taken at Atlantic City; and an unidentified male apparently from
the White family.
Note: The Whites were related to the Hartshornes through the Minturn family.
227
Photography, 1 item
Item: a small carte-de-visite photograph of the steamship Capitol of the California Steam
Navigation Company.
Note: The steamship Capitol was built in 1866 for the California Steam Navigation Co., of
which Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne (1826-1900) served as President.
Richard Hartshorne House, Middletown, NJ. Items include: a photographic post card view of the
house with a cow in the foreground; a cyanotype print of the house probably taken by Edward
Taylor; a recent copy photograph of the same; and a copy photograph of the house that shows the
early kitchen wing demolished in the early 20th century. For copy negatives of the last view, see:
Box 68, film negative 68-4-1; and Box 70, negative 18, a glass plate negative taken by Edward
Taylor. See also: Oversized Box, Folder 15.
Portland Estate. Items include: informal snapshots of the main Portland residence taken after
1953 when a large wing was removed; informal snapshots of the residence taken before 1953
that show the large wing; informal snapshots of the front lawn and small pond; informal
snapshots of the 19th century barns and prize Guernsey dairy herd; and a print of a photograph
that apparently depicts the old water works pond before 1900.
Portland Gardener’s Cottage. Items include: 28 photographic prints that depict the Gardener’s
Cottage, its beautifully landscaped setting, and the ice pond between it and the main Portland
residence. See also: Box 68, Folder 11, for the original negatives from which some of these
prints were produced.
Note: The Gardener’s Cottage was frequently occupied by the Hartshorne family, particularly
during the Great Depression years and later when then main residence was generally closed.
228
Hartshorne Walnut Tree. Items include: a copy negative and print of the tree in its advanced,
gnarled state; and three different cyanotype prints of the tree following its collapse.
Box 59 – Folder 13 Mary Hartshorne Noonan (1897-1978)
Old House at the Blackfish Hole. Items include: a large, card mounted photograph of a small
early house on the Portland estate at a geographic location called the Blackfish Hole between
Upper and Lower Rocky Points on the Navesink River; and a copy negative of the print.
Note: This diminutive dwelling is very similar to an 18th century house formerly from Asbury
Park but now relocated to Ocean Township known as the Whyte Homestead. The Navesink
River appears in the background. In 1798, Robert Hartshorne owned two houses, one described
in the Direct Tax Particular List as being 18 feet deep by 20 feet wide, of wood frame
construction one story high, with four windows, valued at $200. It would appear to be this
cottage. See: 1798 Direct Tax.
Neptune Club. Items include: two early photographic prints of the Neptune Club; four prints
made from copy negatives of the same; two prints made from a copy negative of a steam launch;
a sharp copy print of an early photograph of the Neptune Club; and a copy photograph of a
lithograph of the Neptune Club formerly in the collection of John L. Riker, Jr. and Daniel Ward
Seitz but now owned by the Monmouth County Park System.
Note: The Neptune Club was located on the shore of the Navesink River at what was called the
Blackfish Hole between Upper and Lower Rocky Points. This social club, founded by a group of
New Yorkers in the 1858, was given permission to build their facility on the Portland estate by
Robert Hartshorne (1798-1872). It remained there until the late 1870s after this section of
Portland had been inherited by Mary Hartshorne O’Rourke, daughter of Robert.
Morris-Saltar-Hartshorne-Treadwell House, Rumson, NJ. Items include: an early photographic
print of the house signed “Dickopf,” and a later copy print of the same.
229
Note: This house, now gone, was located at Black Point in Rumson. An inscription on the back
of the early print reads “Samuel Hartshorne’s house-Black Point. He was father of Hugh and
Charles. Now owned by Mrs. Frederick Neilson-1948.”
Beekman House, Middletown, NJ. Items include: a large card mounted photographic print of the
famed Beekman House signed in the lower right “ET / Photo” (taken by Edward Taylor); and a
damaged cyanotype print of the house taken from a slightly different location (probably an
Edward Taylor photograph).
Note: The Beekman House stood at the head of King’s Highway at the western edge of
Middletown Village. It burned in a spectacular fire in December of 1891.
Blacksmith Shop, Middletown, NJ. Items include: a cyanotype print of the blacksmith shop and
an adjoining harness shop; a photographic print of the same inscribed on the reverse “The
blacksmith shop & Jake Brower’s harness shop. Back of the blacksmith shop was a wheelwright
later burned down;” and two later copy photographs of the same. For Edward Taylor's original
glass plate negative of this image, see: Box 69, negative 29.
Christ Episcopal Church, Middletown, NJ. Items include: a cyanotype print of the church; a
photographic print of the same; an informal snapshot of the church; two poor quality copy
photographs of the church; two cyanotype prints of the early church rectory, one dated 1894 and
the other inscribed “The old Episcopal Rectory-new one built June 1898;” and a print from the
same negative inscribed “The old Rectory of Christ Church taken down in 1897 or 8." For
Edward Taylor's original glass plate negative of the Rectory, see: Box 69, negative 30. For a
similar but not identical glass plate negative of the church taken by Edward Taylor, see: Box 69,
negative 21.
230
Azariah Conover Farm, Middletown, NJ. Items include: four copy photographs depicting the
house, barns, and landscape of the Conover farm. For Edward Taylor's original glass plate
negatives of these views, see: Box 70, negatives 05, 06, 09, and 10.
Note: The Azariah Conover farm was located on the south side of the railroad in Middletown
Village, with a driveway and bridge over the railroad opposite the Reformed Church. See:
Oversize Box, Folder 13 for a large format panoramic view of this great early farmstead.
Dorset House near Middletown, NJ. Items include: a sharp photographic print of the house
inscribed “Dorset House, Dorsettown near Middletown near Mechanicsville. John Van Mater
now lives in it;” and a poor quality copy print of the same. For Edward Taylor's original glass
plate negative of this view, see: Box 69, negative 17.
Franklin Academy, Middletown, NJ. Items include: an informal snapshot of the Franklin
Academy on Kings Highway in Middletown Village, and the negative for the same.
Greenwood House, Middletown, NJ. Items include: a cyanotype print of the front of the house; a
sharp print of the rear of the house; and a poor quality copy print of the latter. For Edward
Taylor's original glass plate negatives of these images, see: Box 69, negative 27; and Box 70,
negative 01.
Photography, 1 item
John S. Hendrickson House, Middletown, NJ. Item: a large copy print inscribed “The John
Hendrickson House at Middletown, NJ.” A note that accompanies it states “John Hendrickson
House burned – next to Locustwood.”
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Locustwood, Middletown, NJ. Item includes: a large format card mounted photographic print of
Locustwood (probably taken by Edward Taylor); and a distant photographic print looking up the
lane to the house inscribed “Locustwood-Hendrickson now Mr. & Mrs. Rodewald.”
Note: Locustwood was built in 1830 and 1831 by Charles J. Hendrickson, and later occupied by
the family of Edward M. Hartshorne who married Hendrickson’s daughter Louise. This fine
early view of the house shows a different porch than pictures taken only a few years later.
McDowell Place near Middletown, NJ. Items include: a sharp photographic print of an early
house inscribed “Possum Hollow near Locustwood Farm called also McDowell Place;” and a
copy print of the same. For Edward Taylor's original glass plate negative of this image, see: Box
69, negative 19.
Middletown Railroad Station, Middletown, NJ. Items include: a sharp photographic print
depicting the railroad station inscribed “Middletown Depot / August 17-1886;” and a cyanotype
print of the Keyport road bridge over the railroad inscribed “Rail Road from the lawn - Orchard
Home, July 24, 1888. For Edward Taylor's original glass plate negatives of these two views, see:
Box 69, negative 3; and Box 69, negative 26.
Note: Orchard Home was the residence of Edward Taylor.
Middletown Toll Booth, near Middletown, NJ. Items include: two sharp photographic prints of
the toll booth, one inscribed “The Toll Gate on the turnpike to R. B. [Red Bank] where the road
turns near the road to Chapel Hill by the Malonys;” and two poor quality copy prints of the same.
For Edward Taylor's original glass plate negative of this image, see: Box 69, negative 24.
Photography, 1 item
Old Tavern on Kings Highway in Middletown, NJ. Item: one sharp small photographic print of
the tavern inscribed “(Rebuilt) Old tavern on the King’s Highway, Middletown, N. J.”
232
Middletown Village Photographs. Items include: a cyanotype print taken from the roof of
Orchard Home showing the west end of Middletown Village; a copy negative of the same; a
print from the copy negative; a poor quality copy print of the Baptist Church; and four recent
prints of village landmarks including Orchard Home, the Hartshorne House, Franklin Academy,
and the Dr. Edward Taylor House.
Middletown Village Area, Middletown, NJ. Items include: a panoramic cyanotype print of
Middletown Village inscribed “Taken from Garrett Conover’s Hill” and a photographic print of
the same; two panoramic cyanotype prints of Middletown Village featuring the Baptist Church
from a hill behind Locustwood; a card mounted print of Middletown Village inscribed “Hill back
of Osborne House” and a cyanotype print of the same; a cyanotype print of cows being driven
along a lane with the program for a recital on the reverse; two different cyanotype prints of the
Deep Cut; a card mounted photograph of the Deep Cut inscribed “Taken by J. D. Taylor Jr.;” a
postcard view of the Deep Cut; two more recent views of the Fourth Ward of Middletown
Village taken from the Beekman House property; and six copy photographs of varying quality,
two of which duplicate the better prints listed above. For Edward Taylor's original glass plate
negative of the view taken from the hill behind Locustwood, see: Box 69, negative 22. For
Edward Taylor's original glass plate negatives of the two views of the Deep Cut, see: Box 69,
negative 23, and Box 70, negative 04. For Edward Taylor's original glass plate negative of Kings
Highway looking west toward the railroad bridge, see: Box 70, negative 03. For Edward Taylor's
original glass plate negative of the view of Kings Highway looking east near the Hartshorne
Burying Ground, see: Box 69, negative 31.
Middletown & Holland Road Miscellaneous, Middletown, NJ. Items include: six sharp
photographic prints depicting the Jacob T. Stout house at Chapel Hill; a hunt meet dated 19131914 at the village railroad station; a street scene dated 1914-1918; the Luyster house on Holland
Road; the Senator William H. Hendrickson house on Holland Road; an unidentified woman and
child in a dooryard; two poor quality views of the Taylor House from the yard of the Beekman
house at the west end of Middletown Village; a large photographic print of the Wilson house on
the back end of the Beekman-Gulick tract near the railroad; and an unidentified view of a farm
233
yard with a team and wagon. This lot is accompanied by an envelope inscribed “Middletown
Memories!!” addressed to Edwin L. Beekman of Middletown.
Photography, 1 item
Murray House, Middletown, NJ. Item: a large card mounted photograph of the house inscribed
“Murray House in Mid . . . owned by . . . Condert from whom the Greenwoods bought it. They
moved it back, tore down the wing and made it the house now owned by Mrs. Steuerwald.”
Orchard Home, Middletown, NJ. Items include: a card mounted photograph entitled “Orchard
Home from the road;” a card mounted photograph entitled “Scene on the lawn at Orchard Home
‘now all ready’ and the pony said ‘yes;’” and four prints depicting the house from the hill behind
it (2 copies), a view looking out the front door, and a view of the central hallway. For some of
Edward Taylor's original glass plate negatives of these images, see: Box 69, negative 15; Box 69,
negative 18; and Box 69, negative 28.
Photography, 1 item
Red Rose Manor, Chapel Hill, Middletown, NJ. Item: a postcard view published by J. Dickopf of
Red Bank entitled “Colonial Doorway, Hosford’s Red Rose Manor, Chapel Hill, NJ / Copyright
by J. Dickopf.”
Middletown Reformed Church, Middletown, NJ. Items include: two sharp photographic prints of
the church from the same negative inscribed “The Reformed Dutch Church in 1898 before
present alterations,” and a poor quality copy photograph of the same. For Edward Taylor's
original glass plate negative of this image, see: Box 70, negative 07.
Henry Taylor House, Middletown, NJ. Items include: a cyanotype print of this iconic house on
Kings Highway in Middletown Village dated 1898 on the reverse; and a copy print of the same
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identified on the reverse as “The Henry Taylor House 1720-1740-the house of Mr. & Mrs. John
S. Scott.” This landmark dwelling is known more popularly as the Dr. Edward Taylor House,
named for Henry Taylor's father. For Edward Taylor's original glass plate negative of this image,
see: Box 69, negative 25.
Joseph Taylor House, Middletown, NJ. Items include: a sharp photographic print of the Taylor
house located at the head of Kings Highway opposite the Beekman property; and a poor quality
copy photograph of the same. For Edward Taylor's original glass plate negative of this image,
Photography, 1 item
Miss Ann Tilton’s House, Middletown, NJ. Item: a cyanotype print of a view (probably by
Edward Taylor) showing a corner of the house, a well and well sweep, and a male drinking from
a bucket. Accompanied by a note that states “beyond the school-about 3 houses down-now
destroyed.”
Photography, 1 item
Village Store, Middletown, NJ. Item: a poor quality copy photograph of the store that was
located on Kings Highway in Middletown Village. For Edward Taylor's original glass plate
negative of this view, see: Box 69, negative 14.
Highlands Bridge, Highlands, NJ. Items include: two photographic prints from the same negative
of the X-shaped bridge between Highlands and Highlands Beach shared jointly by vehicular
traffic and the railroad. The prints were obtained from Dorn’s Photo Shop in Red Bank.
Bathing Groups, Middletown, NJ. Items include: a stereopticon card dated 1875 showing seven
people from Bellefonte, PA, at the beach, all identified on the reverse; and three small snapshots
235
of couples in the water, one of which is identified as “Bayshore at Pt. Monmouth / LH [Louise
Hartshorne] & Chas. G. Bennett.”
Photography, 1 item
Sailboat on the Shrewsbury River, Middletown, NJ. Item: a large card mounted photograph
entitled “The Moonlight Sail on the Shrewsbury” taken by John Moran and published by D.
Scattergood, 400 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA.
Note: This photograph is numbered 11 in a series entitled “Views in the Vicinity of the
Highlands of the Neversink [sic].” The remainder of the series, retained by Hartshorne
descendants, depicts scenes around Twin Lights, Highlands, Sandy Hook, etc.
Sandy Hook and Navesink River Artworks. Items include: professional photographs of the
Topographical Views of Sandy Hook and Environs published in London in 1776 by J. F. W. Des
Barres from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York; an anonymous painting of
the Shrewsbury River near Sea Bright from the M. and M. Karolik Collection at the Museum of
Fine Arts in Boston, MA; and a Thomas Birch painting entitled “View from Staten Island to
Sandy Hook” and dated 1827, also from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York.
Transcriptions, ca. 90 pages
This folder contains a copy of typed transcription copies of various primary, secondary, printed
and manuscript sources of information on the Hartshorne family. It duplicates in part a recent
copy of the same volume to be found in Box 60 Folder 3.
Note: Polly Noonan spent much of her adult life patiently typing materials related to the
Hartshorne family. Many of the original letters carefully transcribed by her were owned in the
early 20th century by Miss Louise Hartshorne of Middletown, a first cousin of Noonan’s father
Robert. Those documents, clearly taken from the main family archive, were later given to Polly.
Noonan’s work filled four large notebooks, of which this is a partial copy of Volume 1. This and
the contents of Folder 2 were given to MCHA by the Estate of Mary Hartshorne Noonan in 1978.
See: Box 60 Folder 3 through Box 61 Folder 1 for a complete recent copy of the original
typescripts, which have been retained by the family. Virtually all of the documents and letters
contained in the typed transcripts are now a part of this collection.
236
This folder continues the Noonan typed transcriptions found in Folder 1. Approximately 40
pages, however, are original typed pages that have not been collated against recent copies of the
four complete volumes, and may not be represented in them.
Note: The contents of this folder were given to MCHA by the Estate of Mary Hartshorne
Noonan in 1978.
Volume I, Start to 1843.
Note: These complete copies of the Noonan typed transcriptions were made in December 2012
from the original notebooks retained by Hartshorne descendants.
Volume II, 1844-1847.
Volume III, 1848-1849.
Volume IV, 1850 to End.
Box 61 – Folder 2; Louise Hartshorne (1866-1956)
Documents include: letters received, 1882-1909. Correspondents include: Edmund D. Cooper,
aunt Mary M. Hartshorne O’Rourke, E. B. Jerome, Capt. N. P. Batchelder, Marguerite Richards,
237
Anna May Schoepfl, Annie N. Carpender, J. M. Hinckley Jr., cousin Ellen Collins, and Joseph
Hartshorne.
Biographical Note: Louise Hartshorne was born in Astoria, NY, on 19 October 1866, a daughter
of Edward Minturn Hartshorne and his wife Louise Wikoff Hendrickson. As a young girl, Louise
grew up in Astoria. But in the early 1870s her father experienced some severe business losses, so
the family returned to Monmouth County, living for a time at the Highlands on part of the
Portland tract inherited by her father. Louise’s mother died in childbirth in 1876 at the age of 37.
From then on, Edward M. Hartshorne and his children resided at Locustwood in Middletown
Village with his father-in-law Charles J. Hendrickson, single sisters-in-law Matilda and Ella
Hendrickson, and other members of his wife’s extended family. Louise Hartshorne attended St.
Mary’s Hall, an Episcopal school for girls in Burlington, NJ, graduating from there in 1884.
Miss Louise (as she was known in the family) was a member of Christ Episcopal Church in
Middletown from 1876 to her death in 1956 at the age of 90. In those eight decades, she served
as a Sunday School teacher as well as church organist. Miss Louise was also a founding member
in the late 1800s of the Christ Church branch of the Diocesan Women’s Auxiliary, of which she
was elected an officer for many years. Three weeks before her death, the 90 year old Louise
Hartshorne was guest of honor at a testimonial dinner held by church members to mark her 60
years as parish treasurer. She was presented with a locket. In addition to her many roles at Christ
Church, Louise Hartshorne was also a member of the board of directors of the Evergreens, an
Episcopal home in Moorestown, NJ. Her correspondence below includes letters from the Rt.
Rev. John Scarborough, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey, and his successor the
Rt. Rev. Paul Matthews.
Local history and family genealogy were among Miss Hartshorne’s greatest interests. She was
able to obtain possession of three archive boxes of documents from the main family collection
owned in the early 20th century by her first cousin Robert Hartshorne. These items were later
given by Miss Louise to Robert’s daughter Mary Hartshorne Noonan, along with important
research and photograph files on early Middletown buildings and events. A portion of them were
bequeathed to MCHA in 1978 by Mary Noonan. The remainder was given in 2012 by the estate
of her daughter, Ellen Noonan Adams. Louise Hartshorne’s selection from the family papers
have now been reintegrated into their respective records groups within this collection, along with
all her local history research files (see: Box 56 above for further details).
Miss Hartshorne served as a trustee of the Monmouth County Historical Association since its
inception in 1898. She was during that time a generous donor to the organization’s museum and
library collections. Between 1932 and 1956, Louise Hartshorne gave a large group of family
papers which now comprise Collection 26, known as the Louise Hartshorne Collection. It
consists mostly of documents pertaining to the Covenhoven, Schureman and Hendrickson lines
238
of her mother’s family, including important material on the business activities of Charles J.
Hendrickson and the construction of Locustwood in 1830 and 1831. Her contributions to the
museum collection include an important mid-18th century portrait of John Wikoff attributed to
Philadelphia artist John Wollaston; a set of four carved mahogany shield-back side chairs, ca.
1795, made in New York; a large group of 18th and 19th century clothing worn by her ancestors;
a miniature portrait on ivory of relative Chevalier Henry Wikoff; plus many smaller objects.
Louise Hartshorne continued to make her home at Locustwood with other single female
members of her extended family until that landmark house was broken up and sold in 1929.
From then until 1952 she lived with her sister Susannah P. Bennett. When her sister died, Miss
Louise then moved in with her niece Mary Bennett Gamwell for the last four years of her long
life.
Miss Louise passed away on 20 February 1956 at the age of 90. Her funeral was held at her
beloved Christ Episcopal Church in Middletown, the rector Rev. Andrew M. VanDyke
officiating. Interment took place in the historic Hartshorne Burying Ground on the opposite side
of Kings Highway from the church. The Rt. Rev. Alfred L. Banyard, Bishop of the Episcopal
Diocese of New Jersey, pronounced the benediction. See: Red Bank Register, 23 February 1956.
Documents include: letters received, 1910-1923. Correspondents include: Rt. Rev. John
Scarborough (Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey), Annie Saltar Coleman, Joseph
Hartshorne, Josephine Drexel Ernest, William D. Hartshorne, Rt. Rev. Paul Matthews (Bishop of
the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey), distant cousin Emile Salavert Pelletreau (in French), and
Andrei Allegre.
Documents include: letters received, 1924-1929. Correspondents include: distant cousin Emile
Salavert Pelletreau (in French), Antonia H. Froendt (The Huguenot-Walloon New Netherland
Commission), Andrei Allegre, cousin Edith Minturn Smith, and Rt. Rev. Paul Matthews (Bishop
of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey).
239
Documents include: letters received, 1930-1955, and no dates. Correspondents include: Anna P.
H. Hartshorne, J. Lawrence Boggs, Emile Salavert Pelletreau (in French), cousin Jane B. Haines,
Elizabeth H. Kimber, Andrei Allegre, Mrs. Sallie V. Hartshorne, cousin Elizabeth H. Hartshorne,
cousin Ellen Hartshorne, Miss B. A. Bredin, Eleanor Satbler Clarke, Margaret T. Hills
(American Bible Society), Mildred Livingston, Nina White, R. C. Naustiel, aunt Mary M.
Hartshorne O’Rourke, aunt Mary Matilda Hendrickson, and cousin Mary M. Collins.
Historical Research, 1 item
Christ Episcopal Church, Middletown, NJ. Document: an undated narrative of the history of
Christ Church.
Note: This short but interesting account, which quotes early primary sources, is written in the
handwriting of Miss Louise Hartshorne.
Scrapbook. Item includes: newspaper clippings, brochures, printed invitations, printed notices,
notes, etc.
Note: This scrapbook, compiled by Louise Hartshorne, focuses mostly on items of Monmouth
County, New Jersey, and regional history. It also contains a few notes written to Miss Louise,
obituaries of family members and friends, historic house restorations, etc.
Scrapbook. Item includes: newspaper clippings, articles, handwritten notes, printed items, etc.
Note: This scrapbook compiled by Louise Hartshorne contains lengthy articles on the Allen
House in Shrewsbury, Christ Church in Middletown, and other local historical buildings.
Box 62 – Folder 3; Susannah P. Hartshorne (1870-1952)
3 items
Miscellaneous, 1887-1904, and no dates. Documents include: a booklet containing essays written
while Susannah P. Hartshorne was a student at St. Mary’s Hall, one of which is dated December
1887 (her grade for each essay is noted); a letter dated 25 January 1890 from H. M. B.
240
Woodhull; and a Tiffany-engraved announcement of Susannah P. Hartshorne’s wedding to
Charles Gibson Bennett on 28 April 1904 at Locustwood.
Note: Susannah P. Hartshorne attended St. Mary’s Hall, an Episcopal school for girls located in
Burlington, NJ, as did her older sister Louise.
Biographical Note: Susannah Pelletreau Hartshorne was born in Astoria, NY, on 17 March
1870, a daughter of Edward M. Hartshorne and his wife Louise Wikoff Hendrickson. After her
mother died in 1876, the family made its home at Locustwood, the Hendrickson family residence
in Middletown Village. On 28 April 1904, Susannah married Charles Gibson Bennett in a private
ceremony conducted at Locustwood by the Rev. A. W. Cornell, Rector of Christ Episcopal
Church in Middletown. They became the parents of two sons and two daughters. Bennett had
been born in Centreville, MI, on 1 January 1850 and graduated from the University of Michigan.
He studied for the bar in Germany, later attaining prominence as an attorney in New York City
who specialized in elevated railway litigation. Bennett passed away on 8 September 1910 at the
age of 60 after several years of failing health, liver cancer being the immediate cause of death.
The Bennetts lived at Old Trees, a former Conover property on the Middletown-Lincroft Road.
On 31 October 1902, fire destroyed a house that had been built by Bennett about 1895. It was
replaced by a large, imposing brick house in the Dutch colonial style that commanded a hilltop
view over Middletown. Susannah Bennett was a member of Christ Episcopal Church in
Middletown, and the Rumson Garden Club. She passed away on 26 March 1952 at the age of 82.
Both she and her husband were interred in the historic Hartshorne Burying Ground on Kings
Highway in Middletown Village. From 1929 to Susannah Bennett’s death, she and her sister
Louise Hartshorne made their home at Old Trees, and later in a modest house in Middletown
Village. See: Red Bank Register, 4 May 1904, 14 September 1910, and 27 March 1952.
Box 62 – Folder 4; Susannah P. Hartshorne (1870-1952)
Items include: two undated photographs, ca. 1950, of Susannah Bennett, one taken in a rocking
chair while knitting, and the other taken at a beach with three young girls named Susie, Polly and
Wesie.
Note: The three young girls in the beach scene are Sarah Gamwell Cochrane, Mary Elizabeth
Gamwell, and Susanna G. Zezza, daughters of William W. Gamwell and his wife Mary Bennett.
They were the granddaughters of Susannah and Charles Gibson Bennett.
Box 62 – Folder 5; Benjamin M. Hartshorne Jr. (1873-1902)
241
Documents include: letters received, 1898-1902, and no dates. Correspondents include:
“Shorely” Calhoun, J. C. Wilbron, Frank Ramsay, and W. K. Gire. One letter from John Sigmont
to Hartshorne postmarked from Manila, Philippines, that also contains two telegram copies,
describe a recent patrol and the death of one Sergeant Johnson. Other items include an envelope
addressed to “2nd Lieut. B. M. Hartshorne Jr., 10th Infantry, Middletown, New Jersey” from the
Headquarters of the 10th U. S. Infantry in Camp Albert G. Forse, Alabama, that was bounced
from unit to unit with post marks from Harrisburg, PA, and Huntsville, AL, stamps saying
“unclaimed” and “returned to writer,” inscriptions which read “Not for the 10th U. S. I,” and
finally addressed to Havana, Cuba.
Biographical Note: Benjamin M. Hartshorne, Jr., was born on 21 July 1873 at Portland, a son of
Edward M. Hartshorne and his wife Louise Wikoff Hendrickson. His early life was spent at the
Hendrickson family residence called Locustwood in Middletown Village, where his parents
made their home. Hartshorne's mother died in childbirth when he was two years old, and his
father in 1886 when he was thirteen. So the young man was raised by his Hendrickson aunts
Tillie and Ella and their first cousin Julia Wikoff, all single women living at Locustwood as well.
Hartshorne attended Riverview Military Academy in Poughkeepsie, NY, with a term at a
preparatory school under a Lieutenant Braden at Cornwall and Highland Falls, NY, just before
entering the United States Military Academy at West Point on 17 June 1891. Upon graduation
from the Academy on 12 June 1896, he was assigned to the Ninth Infantry with station at
Madison Barracks, NY, and then on 4 February 1897, on being assigned as Second Lieutenant of
the Twenty-third, was transferred to the Tenth Infantry at Fort Reno, Oklahoma Territory.
Hartshorne served with the Tenth in Cuba during the Spanish American War and was
recommended for brevet by his commanding officers for conspicuous bravery at San Juan. But
he was stricken with fever in camp and it was six months before he could rejoin his regiment in
Havana. Again while in Cuba the fever attacked him and against his will he was sent home to
New Jersey to recuperate. In February of 1899, Hartshorne was promoted to First Lieutenant,
and although far from well he applied to join his new regiment – his old love, the Ninth – in the
Philippines. After seeing some severe service at many posts, to save his life the doctors ordered
him home. When his leave expired in the fall of 1900, Hartshorne was detailed for recruiting
duty at Fort Slocum and later at Fort Hamilton. In November 1900, he sailed to Asia to rejoin his
regiment. Hartshorne served with the Ninth through the China campaign to put down the Boxer
Rebellion.
On 5 October 1901, Benjamin M. Hartshorne, Jr., was commissioned a Captain and assigned to
the Seventh Infantry. He served at various posts in Luzon and with the Seventh at Samar, both in
the Philippines. On 28 December 1901, Captain Hartshorne took sixty men of Company M on a
march to Lanang and the south. It was a wild, hard march through the jungle in the rain; terrible
sores coming on the feet and legs of the men from the Samar mud. On 2 January 1902, the fifth
day of the tiresome march, and in spite of point and flankers and all the precautions of a careful
242
leader, while breaking through a dense bamboo jungle two single shots rang out from ambuscade
and before the sound had ceased the gallant Hartshorne was dead at the age of 28, shot through
the head. His fellow soldiers bore his body back to Bormongan where he was buried.
Unfortunately, Hartshorne's Captain's commission had arrived there the day of his death. He had
sadly never seen it. Hartshorne's remains were later brought back to the United States. They
arrived in New York on 12 September 1903 aboard the U. S. Army transport ship Kilpatrick.
Interment took place on 15 September at the Hartshorne Family Burying Ground in Middletown
Village following a funeral at Locustwood. An award from the Chinese government received
posthumously recognized Benjamin Hartshorne's service in guarding the Forbidden City in
Beijing during the Boxer Rebellion. See: The New York Times, 13 September 1903; and Red
Bank Register, 16 September 1903.
Documents include: letters written to sister Miss Louise Hartshorne, 1891-1898. Written from:
Camp Sherman; West Point; Santiago de Cuba; Fort Reno, Oklahoma Territory; Tampa, FL;
Augusta, CA; on ship Santiago off Santiago de Cuba; and Camp near Tampa, FL.
Note: This folder begins an extraordinary series of letters written during Hartshorne’s military
career to his relatives living at Locustwood in Middletown, NJ. Recipients included sisters
Louise and Susannah Hartshorne, aunts Mary Matilda and Ella Hendrickson, and Miss Julia
Wikoff, a first cousin of his mother. They described in great detail his education at West Point,
life in several Army posts, as well as experiences in the Spanish-American War in Cuba, the
Boxer Rebellion in China, and the post-war U. S. occupation of the Philippines. All letters were
found in bundles organized by recipient. That order has been retained.
Documents include: letters written to sister Miss Louise Hartshorne, 1899-1901. Written from:
Manila, Philippines; Augusta, CA; Kansas City, MO; Havana, Cuba; the Presidio in San
Francisco, CA; San Francisco, CA; London, England; Fort Hamilton, NY; Tarlac, Philippines;
Fort Slocum, NY; San Fernando de la Union, Philippines; Tien Tsin, China; Dolores, Samar,
Philippines; Beijing, China; and at sea 500 Miles from Gibraltar.
243
Documents include: letters written to sister Susannah P. Hartshorne, 1891-1901. Written from:
West Point, NY; Fort Reno, Oklahoma Territory; Camp at Tampa, FL; Manila, Philippines;
Matalacat, Philippines; and Beijing, China.
Documents include: letters written to aunt Mary Matilda (Tillie) Hendrickson, 1891-1893.
Written from: West Point, NY.
Biographical Note: Mary Matilda Hendrickson (known as Tillie) was born on 12 May 1835, a
daughter of Charles J. Hendrickson and his wife Julia Ann Schureman. She spent most of her life
at Locustwood in Middletown Village, and died there unmarried on 22 June 1893 at the age of
58. "The funeral was held at the house last Saturday afternoon at 3 o'clock. There was a very
large attendance, a number of Monmouth County men prominent in mercantile and political life
being present. The services were conducted by Rev. J. F. Jowitt, formerly Miss Hendrickson's
pastor. Rev. Dr. Taylor of Middletown also took part in the service." The Rev. Joseph Jowitt
served as Rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Middletown Village from 1882 to 1891, and Rev.
Joseph P. Taylor from 1891 to 1897. Interment took place in the family plot at Fair View
Cemetery in Middletown. See: Red Bank Register, 28 June 1893;and Mandeville, 106-107.
Documents include: letters written to Julia Wikoff, 1898-1901, and no dates. Written from:
Hospital at West Point, NY; Havana, Cuba; Tarlac, Philippines; near Port Said, Egypt;
Matalacat, Philippines; Nagasaki, Japan; Beijing, China; Tongkin, China; and Manila,
Philippines.
Biographical Note: Miss Julia C. Wikoff was born in Philadelphia, PA, on 13 April 1838, a
daughter of George Harrison Wikoff and his wife Louisa Mercer Schureman. For most of her
adult life, she made her home at Locustwood with her uncle Charles J. Hendrickson and his
family. Miss Wikoff died suddenly of heart disease in Middletown on 9 June 1917 at the age of
79. "The funeral was held Monday afternoon at the house and was in charge of Rev. Marion T.
Conklin and Rev. John Fawcette. The body was taken yesterday to Philadelphia and burial was
in that city." Conklin was minister at the Middletown Reformed Church from 1915 to 1920.
Fawcette served as Rector of Christ Episcopal Church in the village from 1909 to 1920.
244
Interment took place on 12 June in the family plot in Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia.
Benjamin Hartshorne addressed all his letters to Julia Wikoff as “Scotie,” an apparent family
nickname. See: Red Bank Register, 13 June 1917; and Mandeville, 107 and 112.
Documents include: letters written to his aunt Ella Hendrickson, 1891-1897. Written from: West
Point, NY; Kansas City, MO; Fort Reno, Oklahoma Territory; and Camp near Tampa, FL.
Biographical Note: Miss Ella Hendrickson was born in Philadelphia, PA, on 16 November
1846, a daughter of Charles J. Hendrickson and his wife Julia Ann Schureman. Her father was
engaged in the carpet manufacturing and sales business at the time. But when she was ten years
old, the family returned to their country home in Middletown Village called Locustwood.
Following the death of her parents, she continued to make her home at Locustwood with her
Hartshorne nieces and nephews. Benjamin Hartshorne addressed his aunt Ella as “Bless,” her
nickname within the family. Miss Hendrickson died unmarried at Locustwood on 14 January
1929. "She had a very pleasant and neighborly disposition and her death is mourned by a host of
friends." The funeral was held at her home, conducted by the Rev. Ernest W. Mandeville, Rector
of Christ Episcopal Church in the village, of which Miss Hendrickson was a member. Burial
took place in the family plot at Fair View Cemetery in Middletown. See: Red Bank Register, 16
January 1929.
Documents include: letters written to his aunt Ella Hendrickson, 1898-1899. Written from:
Augusta, GA; Havana, Cuba; Savannah, GA; Franklin Junction, VA; San Francisco, CA;
Honolulu, HA; Manila, Philippines; Mobile, AL; Minneola, TX; Fort Reno, Oklahoma Territory;
Ybor City, FL; Camp near Mobile, AL; Camp near Tampa, FL; on board transport ship Santiago
at sea; Santiago de Cuba; and Jersey City, NJ.
Documents include: letters written to his aunt Ella Hendrickson, 1900-1901. Written from:
Tarlac, Philippines; Mabalacat, Philippines; Fort Slocum, NY; Fort Hamilton, NY; Suez, Egypt;
at sea; on board the U. S. M. S. St. Louis 150 miles from Southampton, England; Beijing, China;
245
Borongan, Samar, Philippines; Manila, Philippines; Nagasaki, Japan; San Francisco, CA;
Dolores, Samar, Philippines; Washington, DC; and Brooklyn, NY.
4 items
West Point, 1891-1896. Documents include: an undated pamphlet entitled “Information Relative
to the Appointment and Admission of Cadets to the U. S. Military Academy;” parchment
appointment dated 1 July 1891 as a Cadet of the U. S. Military Academy; parchment
appointment dated 28 June 1892 as a Cadet of the U. S. Military Academy; and an engraved
invitation to the Graduation Exercises of the Class of 1896.
Note: The engraved invitation is addressed in Hartshorne’s handwriting to “Bless, Scotie, Lulie,
Susie, and Bill.” These individuals were his aunt Ella Hendrickson, her first cousin Julia Wikoff,
his sister Louise Hartshorne, his sister Susannah P. Hartshorne, and his brother William
Hartshorne.
13 items
Military Career, 1896-1902. Documents include: War Department appointment dated 9 July
1896 as Additional Second Lieutenant of Infantry; special orders dated 20 November 1897 at
Fort Reno, Oklahoma Territory, relieving 2nd Lieut. Hartshorne of duty with Company B, 10th
Infantry, and attaching him as 1st Lieut. Hartshsorne with Company B, 10th Infantry; General
Order No. 6 dated 9 June 1898 on board the steamship Santiago at Port Tampa, FL, regarding
sanitary regulations and inspections on board the ship; instruction dated 5 August 1898 from
Santiago de Cuba to the Captain of the steamship Gates City to take on board and transport to the
U. S. Capt. Gregory Barrett and Lieut. Benjamin Hartshorne, 10th Inf., who are on sick leave; a
doctor’s certificate dated 6 August 1898 from Camp near Santiago, Cuba, certifying that 2nd
Lieut. Benjamin Hartshorne as been ill with Malarial Fever and under treatment since 26 July
1898; a railroad pass issued on 16 August 1898 at Montauk, NY, to the conductors and porters of
the Long Island Railroad; a letter dated 16 August 1898 form Camp Wikoff at Montauk, NY,
certifying that six officers including Lt. Hartshorne have been released from detention at this
camp and hospital; a letter dated 24 October 1898 from Camp Albert G. Forse in Huntsville, AL,
requesting 2nd Lieut. Hartshorne if he is well enough to serve as a Recruiting Officer; a letter of
commendation dated 9 March 1899 from the Office of the Judge Advocate in Havana, Cuba,
thanking Hartshorne for his services as Judge Advocate; General Order No. 25 dated 25 July
1900 at Tientsin, China, regarding the death and military career of Col. Emerson H. Liscum; a
letter dated 15 December 1900 from Washington, DC, regarding Hartshorne’s return of ordnance
and ordnance stores pertaining to Company I, 10th Infantry; a letter dated 9 November 1901 from
246
Manila, Philippines, informing Lt. Hartshorne that he had been elected a member of the Order of
the Carabao of the Philippines; and a letter from J. N. Pickering, 1st Lieut. Of the 1st Infantry
stating that Benjamin M. Hartshorne Jr., 1st Lieut. Of the 7th Infantry had been killed by gunshot
one half mile north of Hernani, Samar, Philippines, on 2 January 1902, and was buried at
Lanang, Samar, on 3 January 1902.
4 items
Military Diaries, 1898-1899. Documents include: an incomplete diary of military actions in Cuba
on 2 July 1898; a diary of military actions in Cuba for Company B, 10th Infantry from 1 July
through 5 July 1898; a diary of military actions in Cuba in another handwriting for 1st Battalion
10th Infantry for 6 July 1898; and a diary covering 25 November through 14 December 1899 that
describes a voyage from Honolulu, HA, to Manila, Philippines.
9 items
Death, Condolences, and Memorials, 1902-1951. Documents include: a typescript of all military
communications from 9 January through 15 March 1902 regarding the death of 1st. Lieut.
Benjamin M. Hartshorne “being shot through the neck and head by insurgents lying in ambush;”
a telegram dated 21 January 1902 from Henry. H. Ward to William Hartshorne regarding Navy
efforts to transport home the body; a letter dated 24 January 1902 from Mary H. Ward to “Miss
Hartshorne” offering family condolences; a letter dated 24 January 1902 from Gertrude Clarke to
Susannah P. Hartshorne offering condolences; a letter dated 25 June 1902 from J. Hinckley to
“Miss Hartshorne” regarding the preparation of an obituary for Hartshorne; a memorandum
dated 12 October 1937 from L. B. Magruder, Col. Of the 7th Coast Artillery at Fort Hancock,
Sandy Hook, on the naming of Battery No. 1 on the Hook south of Spermaceti Cover as “Battery
Hartshorne;” a letter dated 14 October 1937 from Magruder to Miss Louise Hartshorne regarding
the naming of Battery No. 1 on Sandy Hook after her late brother; a letter dated 25 June 1951
from Lt. Col. W. J. Morton, Librarian at West Point, regarding a photograph of a memorial
plaque to Benjamin Hartshorne in Cullum Hall; and one handwritten and two typed copies of an
untitled poem apparently by Gertrude Adams concerning a soldier’s grave.
Note: Mary Hartshorne Ward was a first cousin to Benjamin M. Hartshorne, Jr., and his siblings.
She was married to Henry H. Ward, who at the time was serving in the United States Navy.
25 items
247
Obituaries, 1902 and no dates. Documents include: two copies of an unidentified newspaper
obituary, possibly from the Red Bank Register; a Philippines newspaper obituary entitled “Tragic
Details of the Late Murder of Captain Hartshorne;” a copy of the Army and Navy Journal dated
25 January 1902 containing notice of Hartshorne’s death; a copy of The Association of the
Graduates of the United States Military Academy Annual Reunion, June 9th 1902 containing a
biographical entry and photograph of Hartshorne; a handwritten draft of the preceding; a
handwritten listing of various biographical facts; a handwritten copy of the text from the
memorial plaque to Hartshorne in Cullum Hall at West Point; and an undated handwritten note
signed General Chaffee regarding Hartshorne’s remains in the Philippines.
5 items
Posthumous Awards, 1902. Documents include: two typed copies of a statement dated 18
September 1903 by Prince Ching, His Imperial Majesty’s Commissioner Extraordinary,
President of the Wai Wu Poo (Foreign office) and Member of the Grand Council, and with his
Imperial Majesty’s Sanction, conferring posthumously on First Lieut. Hartshorne a medal of the
third grade of Class 3; and two handwritten and one typed copy dated 20 February 1904
regarding the Chinese government’s desire to confer decorations on the six U. S. military officers
who guarded the Forbidden City during the Boxer Rebellion, including Hartshorne who had
since died.
18 items
Programs, Pamphlets & Souvenirs, 1894-1951. Items include: a program for the 100th Night
Entertainment 1894 at West Point; a copy of The Howitzer dated 24 February 1894; a copy of
Furlough Songs of ’96; a copy of The Corps of Cadets, U. S. Military Academy, June, 1896
(Hartshorne ranked 68 out of a class of 73); a copy of a menu for the Farewell Dinner held on 11
June 1896; a Roster of Commissioned Officers of the Tenth United States Infantry dated January
1898 and headquartered at Fort Reno, Oklahoma Territory (includes Hartshorne as a 2nd Lieut.
Of Company A, transferred from the 23rd Infantry on 4 February 1897); a program for The
Dedication Ceremonies of the Battle Monument at West Point held on 31 May 1897; two
souvenirs of vanilla with the note “Bought in Santiago de Cuba in July 1898 shortly after the
Surrender;” a copy of the Report of Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler, U. S. Volunteers, to the AdjutantGeneral U. S. Army, Relating to the Santiago Campaign dated 1898; an entertainment program
for Thanksgiving 1900 aboard the U. S. A. T. Kilpatrick; a music program, menu and guest list
(including Hartshorne) for an event held at the Temple of Agriculture in Beijing China on 22
April 1901; and a West Point Reunion bulletin and program for the week of June 1951. Undated
items include: an advertising card for Sakata, manufacturers of tortoise-shell ware in Nagasaki,
248
Japan; a business card for the Japan Hotel in Nagasaki (printed in Russian on the reverse); a
visitors’ guide to Yokohama published by the Grand Hotel; a military-style valentine card with
the legend “Arms that will protect U. S. Girls; and a map of the City of Havana, Cuba.
7 items
Newspaper Clippings, 1942 and no dates. Items include: an obituary dated 29 March 1942 for
General Andre W. Brewster who won a Congressional medal at Tientsin in 1900; a clipping of a
tropical bungalow; a death notice for Lieut. Col Edwin Roy Stuart; an article entitled “The Walls
of Peking;” an article on the return to the U. S. of Capt. Peter Vredenburgh of Freehold from the
Philippines; and an article entitled “Forts on Island Beach” regarding government plans to
construct fortifications on Plum Island to improve defense for New York City.
117 items
Photography, 1897-1901. Items include: cyanotype prints, photographic prints, and copy prints
of photographs of Fort Reno, Oklahoma Territory; the Philippines; and China; two different
portrait photographs of Benjamin M. Hartshorne Jr. in West Point uniforms (taken by the Pach
Brothers of New York); a Pach Brothers envelope; a photograph of Benjamin Hartshorne taken
as a young boy; a cyanotype of Hartshorne riding a bicycle; various card-mounted photographs
that appear to depict Hartshorne; and a photographic print of the memorial to Benjamin M.
Hartshorne Jr. in Cullum Hall at West Point. This folder also includes a business card holder
containing Hartshorne’s army cards, plus those he collected from others.
Note: The views of China depict the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Summer Palace northwest of
Beijing, and scenes from North China. Many others show army barracks, tents, and encampment
scenes from Fort Reno, the Philippines, and perhaps Cuba.
1 item
Scrapbook, no date. Item: a small scrapbook compiled by Miss Louise Hartshorne that contains
material on the life, military career, and death of her brother Benjamin M. Hartshorne, Jr. It
includes: correspondence, many newspaper clippings, plus photographs, event programs, etc.
Note: This scrapbook once contained most of the items in Box 64, Folder 3 through Box 65,
Folder 2. They were fortunately laid in loosely. So those items have been removed, sorted, and
249
placed in acid-free folders. Only those items that were actually pasted into the scrapbook remain
in it.
Addendum, 2 items
Legal Documents, 1834-1841. Items include: transcript of an 1834 court case involving debt
against a nonresident sent to Robert Hartshorne by James M. Hartshorne; and a receipt dated 28
May 1841 from Sarah Ustick to Robert Hartshorne representing the balance in full of all claims
against the estate of William Ustick, deceased, Robert Hartshorne and William Wilson,
executors.
Box 66 – Folder 2; Benjamin M. Hartshorne (1826-1900)
Addendum, 1 item
Document: a detailed search in Monmouth County deeds for all conveyances pertaining to
Joseph I. Thompson, compiled by County Clerk Thomas V. Arrowsmith and dated 1 September
1882.
Note: Benjamin M. Hartshorne became a part owner of Joseph I. Thompson’s Pavilion Hotel
located in Highlands, NJ. The 4.62 acre property on which the hotel stood had been purchased in
1852 by Thompson from Hartshorne’s parents, Robert and Mary M. Hartshorne.
Addendum, 33 items
Documents include: letters sent and received, 1864-1882, and no dates. Correspondents include:
Fanny Saltar, William B. Minturn, mother Mary M. Hartshorne, C. R. Minturn, Catherine Van
Cortland, Israel Smith, P. W. Vanwyck, M. Minturn, the Rt. Rev. William H. Odenheimer
(Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of New Jersey), Florence McKee, Julius Tower, Thomas M.
Riley, Mary Hendrickson, the Rt. Rev. John Scarborough (Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of
New Jersey), Thomas Saltar, James D. Trask, and Bridget McKee. This folder also contains two
envelopes of engraved social cards for Edward M. Hartshorne, Louise Hendrickson (who became
his wife), and Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Hendrickson of Locustwood (Louise’s parents). One of
the envelopes is addressed to Master Eddie Taylor (who later became a Middletown
photographer).
Box 66 – Folder 4; Louise W. H. Hartshorne (1839-1876)
Addendum, 41 items
250
Documents include: letters received, 1863-1875, and no dates. Correspondents include: husband
Edward M. Hartshorne, cousin “Carrie,” cousin Rebecca Minturn Smith, Lizzie C. Lewis, L. M.
M., Penelope Minturn, cousin Alice White, cousin L. King, mother Julia Ann Schureman
Hendrickson, cousin M. Minturn, Sally Randolph, Anna and Kate Vandervoort, cousin Mary H.
Hendrickson, sister in law Mary M. O’Rourke, and mother in law Mary M. Hartshorne.
Addendum, 1 item
Item: a copy a catalog entitled The Portland Herd of Guernsey Cattle to be sold Saturday, May
4, 1918, Highlands, New Jersey.
Note: Robert Hartshorne owned a prize-winning herd of Guernsey cattle from about 1900 until
this auction was held in 1918. Hartshorne volunteered to go to France at the end of World War I
to assist in bringing modern agricultural techniques to French farmers. He sold the herd just
before leaving the country. Hartshorne descendants own the original copy of the catalog.
Addendum, 3 items
Items include: copies of a military order of mission dated 2 December 1918 allowing Lt. Robert
Hartshorne to return to the United States via Le Havre and Southampton, signed by Major
Ridgeway Bishop; Robert Hartshorne’s identification card from the Red Cross cancelled on 29
November 1918; and two business cards for Robert Hartshorne in French.
Note: The originals of these documents have been retained by Hartshorne descendants.
Addendum, 1 item
Item: a copy of First Lieutenant Robert Hartshorne’s diary kept while on duty in France in 1918.
Note: The original of this diary has been retained by Hartshorne descendants. Hartshorne makes
reference to many places he visited. The family has also kept a tin box filled with souvenirs of
his World War I service, many of which are documented by the diary.
Addendum, 1 item
251
Item: a heavily annotated copy of Adelyn Dohme Breeskin, Mary Cassatt: A Catalogue
Raisonne of the Graphic Work (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979).
See also: Box 45, Folder 9
Note: As discussed previously, Robert Hartshorne was a preeminent collector of works of art on
paper by Mary Cassatt. This copy of Breeskin was acquired by his descendants, and used heavily
in the preparation of the Christie’s sale catalog of his Cassatt collection in 2007. Annotations and
post-it markers have been left in place.
Addendum, 1 item
Item: Freeman's Auctioneers & Appraisers, Rare Books & Manuscripts, 04/10/14; and Posters,
Maps & Other Graphics, 04/11/14, Sale 1487 and 1488.
Note: Robert Hartshorne assembled a very large collection of engravings by Jacques Callot ( c.
1592-1635), a noted French Old Master artist. Lots 595 through 601 of this sale in Philadelphia
contained a portion of the collection, sold by descendants.
Box 67 – Folder 1; Mary Matilda Hendrickson (1835-1893)
Documents include: letters received, 1862-1882, and no dates. Correspondents include: Robert
Hartshorne from San Francisco describing his new daughter in law Julia Norton Hartshorne,
Julia Hartshorne, Frances Saltar, cousin “Fannie,” and T. Henry Grant, Clerk of the Vestry,
Christ Episcopal Church, Middletown.
Note: The letter by Robert Hartshorne, dated 15 May 1862 from San Francisco, is the original
sent to Matilda Hendrickson that describes in detail his new daughter in law, Julia Norton
Hartshorne. A transcription of it can be found in Box 13, Folder 5.
Box 67 – Folder 2; Ella Hendrickson (1846-1929)
Documents include: letters received, 1863-1934, and no dates. Correspondents include: sister
Louise Hendrickson, mother Julia Ann Schureman Hendrickson, Frances Saltar, sister Louise H.
Hartshorne, niece Louise Hartshorne, and James Wall Schureman Campbell.
Box 67 – Folder 3; Hendrickson Family
252
Miscellaneous, 7 items
Items include: a book by John S. C. Abbott entitled The Child at Home (American Tract Society,
1833) inscribed “Mary Matilda Hendrickson” on the title page; and 5 business and social cards,
one of which reads Mr. & Mrs. Charles J. Hendrickson.
Box 67 – Folder 4; Hartshorne Miscellaneous
32 items
Historic Document Copies, 1607-1909. Items include: a postcard view of Hathern Parish Church
in England, where Richard Hartshorne was baptized in 1641; photographic reproductions of
Hartshorne baptisms and deaths from the Hathern Parish registers; an original sketch from Judge
Richard Hartshorne of the silver buckle and tip of the deerskin belt owned by Richard
Hartshorne; a photostatic copy of Richard Hartshorne’s will dated 14 May 1722; a photostatic
copy of records from the Bowne family bible; and three photostatic copies of inscriptions from
Richard Hartshorne’s copy of Historical Collections by John Rushworth.
Note: The original copy of Rushworth’s Historical Collections can be found in Box 1, Folder 8.
29 items
Minturn/Trask House at Lower Rocky Point. Items include: nine original photographs of the
Minturn/Trask house and its environs; two original photographs of Julia Hartshorne Trask; two
original negatives of the Minturn/Trask house exterior; five copy photographs from the originals;
four copy photographs of the Van Kirk family who worked over several generations for the
Trasks and Hartshornes; 1983 correspondence between Lee Heinsius and Helene Hartshorne
regarding the Minturn/Trask house; and 1998-1999 correspondence between Robert H. Trask,
Jr., and Robert Van Kirk.
ca. 75 pages
Hartshorne Family History Research. Items include: a note dated 17 December 2011 from Claire
and Robert H. Trask, Jr. to Mary M. Adams and Didi A. Royal sending them the materials in this
folder; newspaper clipping copies; an original card-mounted photograph of Benjamin M.
Hartshorne taken by Bradley & Rulofson of San Francisco; a typescript of Benjamin M.
Hartshorne’s will; copy of an article on Benjamin M. Hartshorne by Robert L. Moore based on
information at the Bancroft Library at Berkeley, CA; an index to the Benjamin
Hartshorne/Alfred Wilcox correspondence; an index for papers relating to Hartshorne, Johnson
253
& Wilcox in California and Arizona; a packet of information on Benjamin M. Hartshorne’s
partner, George A. Johnson; copies of various letters written between Hartshorne descendants
about family history; typescripts of letters and newspaper articles from California pertaining to
Benjamin M. Hartshorne and his steam navigation businesses, all stamped “Hayden;” and a large
group of typescripts of letters and other documents pertaining to Benjamin M. Hartshorne taken
from the originals at the Henry E. Huntington Library.
4 items
Hartshorne Woods Park, 1983. Items include: copies of four letters regarding the transfer of the
former Highlands Army Air Defense Site to the Monmouth County Park System as an addition
to Hartshorne Woods Park.
1 item
Proposed Navesink River Dock, 1994. A detailed proposal from Timothy J. B. Shaheen of 15
Wigwam Road, Middletown Township for installing a floating dock in the Navesink River,
revised 4 August 1994. Charles V. Bell & Associates of Red Bank prepared the application.
14 items
Miscellaneous Hartshorne Family Photographs. Items include: a snapshot of Ellen Noonan
Adams at the age of 1 ½ being held by her grandfather Robert Hartshorne; a snapshot of cousins
Katherine Ward and Mary M. Hartshorne; a color photograph of William Hartshorne (17341805); a tintype of Bessie Hartshorne and others; a photograph of a portrait of John Large; a
photograph of Grandfather Hartshorne and aunt Bessie; a photograph of a daguerreotype of
Richard Thomas Hartshorne; two photographs of Mary Bowne Minturn; and a color photograph
of Daniel Ward Seitz standing in front of his home called Portland Place.
3 items
Portland Painting by Allen Tucker, dated 1907. Items include: a black and white photograph of
the painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that depicts the power house at Portland in
winter; a letter dated 2 September 1998 from Susan G. Larkin, Research Associate at the Met
heavily annotated by Ellen Noonan Adams; and a note to Adams from Daniel Ward Seitz.
254
5 items
Miscellaneous Hartshorne Genealogical Information. Items include: information from Historical
Data Systems, Inc. on Lawrence P. Hartshorne, a Civil War soldier; a computer generated
lineage of the Descendants of William Hartshorne, including a Patterson family line (prepared by
one of the Van Kirk descendants and containing substantive errors); U. S. Census information
presented in spreadsheet format apparently compiled by the same person as the Descendants of
William Hartshorne; and a biographical sketch of Robert Hartshorne (1798-1872) written by
Daniel Ward Seitz for the Hartshorne Woods Association and dated 4 May 1994.
7 items
Miscellaneous Hartshorne Genealogical Information. Items include: an early 20th century post
card view of the Carr Homestead in Jamestown, RI; a reprint of an article from the New-York
Evening Post of 19 October 1814 offering the Hartshorne estate at Black Point in Rumson for
sale; genealogical information on the Greene family line; genealogical information from
Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn regarding the Jenkins family; and several letters among
various Hartshorne descendants inquiring about family history.
2 items
Alexander Brand, 1840-1865. Items include: a letter of recommendation dated 18 April 1840 for
Alexander Brand by John Henderson, a Justice of the Peace in Kinross, Scotland; and a record of
Alexander Brand’s birth taken from the Births and Baptisms of Kinross Parish at the General
Registry Office in Edinburgh.
Note: There is no known connection between the Hartshorne family and Alexander Brand, who
was born in 1814 and came to America as a baker in 1840.
3 items
Hartshorne Miscellaneous. Items include: an undated newspaper obituary for Mrs. Mary
Hartshorne Weston; a letter dated 25 June 1872 to “Julia Ann” from cousin William Moore; and
a letter dated 13 January 1883 to Miss Bessie Hartshorne of Locust Grove in Rahway from
cousin Harvey E. Proud. This last letter contained an undated letter to Sarah Hartshorne at
Locust Grove from Emily.
255
5 items
Miscellaneous Documents, 17[?]- 1858, and no dates. Items include: letter dated 27 December
17[?] to Miss Polly Lloyd of Freehold from cousin C. Lloyd describing how the family
celebrated Christmas, and a typed transcript of the same; a letter dated 13 April 1858 to an
unknown recipient by Patrick Gilgan of Cincinnati; an undated poem entitled “The Wanderer
Returns to his Home in the Highlands of N. Y, “ signed by illegible; and an undated poem signed
“W. G.”
Note: The interesting Lloyd letter has no apparent connection to the Hartshorne family. It has
suffered paper loss along one edge affecting the text.
Box 67 – Folder 16; Benjamin Hartshorne Trask
5 items
Items include: five copies of a published memorial article by Benjamin H. Trask entitled “Roger
Sherman.” Sherman (1888-1969) was a member of an unnamed Association with Trask, which
may have been the New York Bar Association.
Box 68 – Folder 1; Edward Norton
3 items
Letters sent, 1853-1858. Items include: three letters written by Edward Norton of San Francisco
to Albert H. Tracy, Esq, in Buffalo, NY,
Note: Edward Norton, a son of Charles Norton and Julia Ann Maltby, was a brother to Julia
Norton Hartshorne, wife of Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne.
Box 68 – Folder 2; Norton Genealogy
1 item
Norton Family Genealogy. Item includes: roughly 100 typed and handwritten cards of the Norton
family genealogy of Julia Norton Hartshorne.
Note: contained in an acid-free box
256
Box 68 – Folder 3; Scrapbook
1 item
Item: a 100 page scrapbook filled with newspaper clippings dating from 1863 to 1921. An
inscription on the front free end paper reads “Miss Emily W. Brown / with kind regards of Dan /
NY May 16/[18]78.” A lengthy article on the wedding of Robert Hartshorne to Margaret Willis
on 16 April 1895 appears on page 86. An example of their wedding invitation can be found on
page 95. An example of the wedding invitation for Robert and Margaret W. Hartshorne’s
daughter Mary Minturn Hartshorne to William James Noonan on 14 January 1921 is on page 96.
Note: This scrapbook apparently came from the Davenport branch of Margaret Willis
Hartshorne’s family.
Box 68 – Folder 4; Film Negatives
5 items
68-4-1
Copy negative of the Richard Hartshorne House, Middletown Village, ca. 1880.
The image shows the house with exterior shingles, shutters, and the early kitchen wing to the
right. This part of the structure was replaced with a new kitchen in the early 20th century.
68-4-2
Copy negative of a lithograph entitled “The Flushing Oaks, and the Old Bowne
House, in Flushing, Queens Co., L. I. 9 Miles from NY,” ca. 1850. Further legends indicate that
the image was sketched from nature by F. A. Smith, a surveyor from Hempstead, Long Island,
and drawn on stone by G. Hayward, 164 Broadway, New York.
68-4-3
Copy negative of a portrait of Julia Ann Maltby, wife of Charles Norton and
mother of Julia Norton Hartshorne.
68-4-4
Copy negative of a portrait of Charles Norton, husband of Julia Ann Maltby and
father of Julia Norton Hartshorne. Copy #1.
68-4-5
Copy negative of a portrait of Charles Norton, husband of Julia Ann Maltby and
father of Julia Norton Hartshorne. Copy #2.
5 items
68-5-1
Copy negative of a Hartshorne Family group photograph, including Robert
Hartshorne (in chair), Julia Hartshorne Trask (next), Susannah Hartshorne Bennett (sitting),
Louise Hartshorne (sitting in chair) Mary M. Hartshorne Ward (next), Grandmother Hendrickson
257
(in chair), and Grandfather Hendrickson (behind column), ca. 1880. Apparently taken at
Locustwood in Middletown Village.
68-5-2
Copy negative of a carte-de-visite photograph of Mary Minturn Hartshorne (18391890), wife of Felix O’Rourke, ca. 1865.
68-5-3
Copy negative of a photograph of Felix O’Rourke, his wife Mary M. Hartshorne
O’Rourke, and Matilda Hendrickson, taken at Saratoga, NY, ca. 1885.
68-5-4
Copy #1.
Copy negative of a photograph of Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958), ca. 1925.
68-5-5
Copy #2.
Copy negative of a photograph of Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958), ca. 1925.
68-5-6
Copy negative of a carte-de-visite photograph of Frances Saltar, ca. 1865.
68-5-7
Copy negative of a carte-de-visite photograph of Lawrence Saltar, ca. 1865.
68-5-8
Copy negative of a painting or drawing of the Saltar family, 18th century(?).
68-5-9
Copy negative of a photograph of Julia Hartshorne Trask and her son Benjamin
Hartshorne Trask, in front of Portland, ca. 1905.
68-5-10
Copy negative of a miniature portrait of cousin Ellen Collins, ca. 1900.
68-5-11
ca. 1918.
Negative of a photograph of Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958) in military uniform,
68-5-12
Negative of a photograph of Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958) in hunting attire
with a rifle slung over his shoulder, ca. 1930.
15 items
68-6-1
Negative of a photograph of Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958) playing with a toy
sailboat in a small pond in front of Portland, ca. 1910.
68-6-2
Negative of a photograph of Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958) playing in the yard
of Portland with the garage in the background, ca. 1910.
258
68-6-3
Negative of a photograph of Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958) riding a tricycle at
Portland, ca. 1910.
68-6-4
Negative of a photograph of Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958) playing with a
bulldog in front of Portland, ca. 1910.
68-6-5
Negative of a photograph of Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958) posed with pigeons
at Portland, ca. 1910.
68-6-6
Negative of a photograph of Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958) posed in the garden
68-6-7
Negative of a photograph of Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958) posed on the front
lawn of Portland, ca. 1910
68-6-8
Negative of a photograph of Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958) and his sister Mary
M. Hartshorne Noonan (1897-1978) seated on the lawn in front of Portland eating watermelon,
ca. 1910.
68-6-9
Negative of a photograph of Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958) posed on the rear
lawn at Portland with an older woman, the barns appearing in the background, ca. 1910.
68-6-10
Negative of a photograph of Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958) posed with pigeons
68-6-11
Negative of a photograph of Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958) walking a bulldog
68-6-12
bulldog on the rear lawn at Portland, ca. 1910.
68-6-13
bulldog on the lawn at Portland, ca. 1910.
68-6-14
Negative of a photograph of Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958) posed with two
horses in front of the barn at Portland, and also with two older men, ca. 1910.
68-6-15
Negative of a photograph of Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958) skiing across the
front lawn at Portland, ca. 1910.
259
12 items
68-7-1
Small copy negative of a photograph of the Richard Hartshorne House in
Middletown Village, ca. 1880.
68-7-2
Small copy negative of a view looking up the lane toward Locustwood in
Middletown Village, ca. 1880. Copy #1.
68-7-3
Small copy negative of a view looking up the lane toward Locustwood in
Middletown Village, ca. 1880. Copy #2.
68-7-4
Negative of a photograph of an unidentified woman standing on the sidewalk of
an urban street, ca. 1920.
68-7-5
Small copy negative of a photograph of the Hendrickson family sitting on the
front lawn of Locustwood in Middletown Village, looking down the lane to Kings Highway, ca.
1865.
68-7-6
Negative of a photograph of Richard Hartshorne (1900-1958) and Cornelia
Safford in the barnyard of Portland, ca. 1910.
68-7-7
ca. 1910.
Negative of a photograph of Cornelia Safford posed on the front lawn of Portland,
68-7-8
Negative of a photograph of Robert Hartshorne (1866-1927) with Edwin Tatham
while on a trip in Canada, ca. 1920.
68-7-9
Copy negative of a photograph of the Minturn Family Coat of Arms, n. d.
68-7-10
Copy negative of a drawing of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in
Dorsetshire, England, where early members of the Greene family were baptized, n. d.
68-7-11
Copy negative of a drawing of St. Thomas Church in Wiltshire, England, an early
parish where members of the Greene family worshipped, n. d.
68-7-12
Copy negative of a drawing of the Thomas Greene “Stone Castle” in Warwick,
RI, where the family resided from 1660-1795, n. d.
260
5 items
Note: The very tiny copy negatives listed in this folder were taken for the handwritten genealogy
of the Hartshorne family compiled ca. 1900 by Margaret Willis Hartshorne. Small photographs
were used to illustrate this very valuable genealogical record. See: Box 1, Folder 3.
68-8-1
Copy negative of a miniature presumed to be Richard Hartshorne (1641-1722) but
of a much later costume style, n. d.
68-8-2
Copy negative of a miniature presumed to be William Hartshorne (1679-1740)
but of a later costume style, n. d.
68-8-3
Copy negative of a miniature of Richard Hartshorne (1752-1831), n. d.
68-8-4
Copy negative of a miniature of Susannah Ustick Hartshorne (1760-1833), wife of
Richard Hartshorne, n. d.
68-8-5
n. d.
Copy negative of a carte-de-visite photograph of Robert Hartshorne (1798-1872),
68-8-6
n. d.
Copy negative of a daguerreotype of Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne (1826-1900),
68-8-7
Copy negative of a photograph of Julia Norton Hartshorne (1838-1869), wife of
Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne, n. d.
68-8-8
Copy negative of a miniature of Lawrence Saltar, n. d.
68-8-9
Copy negative of a portrait of Robert Bowne (1744-1818), n. d.
68-8-10
Copy negative of a photograph of Julia Ann Maltby (1804-1873), wife of Charles
Norton and mother of Julia Norton Hartshorne, n. d.
68-8-11
Copy negative of a photograph of the Richard Hartshorne House in Middletown
Village, ca. 1900.
68-8-12
Copy negative of a miniature of an unidentified woman, the original of which is
dated ca. 1810, n. d.
261
68-8-13
Copy negative of an 18th century painting or drawing of the Saltar family, n. d.
Portland Farmhouse, 62 items
Note: The film negatives in this folder and the one that follows depict Portland Farmhouse and
its landscape. This picturesque cottage served as a residence for Mary Hartshorne Noonan (18971978) and her family. Portland Farmhouse began as a stone dairy building probably erected
shortly after 1900 by Noonan’s father, Robert Hartshorne (1866-1927), in conjunction with the
development of his Guernsey dairy herd. It was subsequently enlarged and converted into a
residence in 1928 and 1929. One room is paneled with walnut harvested on the Portland estate. A
second room from the same choice lumber was donated by Noonan’s mother, Margaret Willis
Hartshorne (1868-1942), to the Monmouth County Historical Association in 1931 for installation
in its Freehold museum and library building then under construction. Polly Noonan took great
pride in her flowers and gardens surrounding Portland Farmhouse. These negatives capture some
of those prize plantings, sadly in black and white.
38 large format negatives measuring 4" X 5” depicting the exterior of Portland Farmhouse from
all angles, including some from a distance which captures its dramatic site overlooking the
Navesink River above the causeway leading into the Portland estate.
3 large format negatives measuring 4” X 5” depicting the interior of Portland Farmhouse,
including one partial view of the walnut paneled room.
21 large format negatives measuring 4” X 5” depicting the grounds, plantings, animal pens, and
vistas around Portland Farmhouse.
Portland Farmhouse; 56 items
9 negatives measuring 3.5” X 4.5” depicting the grounds, outbuildings, plantings and setting of
Portland Farmhouse.
1 unusual negative measuring 2.75” X 4.25” depicting the causeway that runs along the base of
the bluff on which Portland Farmhouse sits.
19 amateur quality negatives measuring 2.5” X 3.5” depicting the exterior, grounds, outbuildings
and setting of Portland Farmhouse.
27 amateur quality negatives measuring 1.75” X 3” depicting the same.
262
Portland Gardener’s Cottage, 22 items
22 large format negatives measuring 4” X 5” that depict the exterior and setting of the
Gardener’s Cottage at Portland, located near Portland Farmhouse and overlooking the ice pond.
See also: Box 59, Folder 11 for prints from some of these negatives.
Box 69; Glass Plate Negatives
38 items
Note: The thirty-one glass plate negatives described below, plus twenty-nine more in Box 70,
were taken by Edward Taylor of Middletown, NJ. The severely deteriorated paper envelopes in
which they were stored bore notations which have been transcribed in their entirety. Most of the
envelopes could not be saved. However, seven in the best, stable condition have been placed in a
folder at the end of the box as representative examples. Edward Taylor used an odd sized glass
plate measuring 5" by 8." His numbering scheme gives some indication of his activity as a
photographer, the highest one in this grouping being 1011. Those plates that are dated range
from 1886 to 1902. Mary Hartshorne Noonan acquired this small sampling of Taylor's negatives
from Miss Louise Hartshorne. Some of these views have been published, most recently in the
three Arcadia Images of America books on Middletown Township compiled by Randall
Gabrielan. For a biographical entry on Edward Taylor, see: Box 59, Folder 2.
69-01
Locustwood, the front drive looking from the front of the house toward Kings
Highway. Lower left corner of the plate is broken off and missing.
69-02
Locustwood, the front elevation of the house facing Kings Highway.
69-3
Middletown railroad bridge looking toward Matawan. This bridge was where
Kings Highway initially crossed a second time over the railroad from what became known as the
Fourth Ward heading toward Keyport. Envelope inscribed "609," "RR bridge from OH lawn,"
and "K. L. C." OH stands for Orchard Home, the Taylor family residence on Kings Highway
now owned by the Monmouth County Historical Association and called the Taylor-Butler
House. The initials K. L. C. stand for Katherine Louise Clark. For a print from this negative, see:
Box 59, Folder 26.
Biographical Note: Katherine Louise Taylor was born in 1866, a daughter of Joseph Dorset
Taylor and Maria McKesson Lefferts. On 2 June 1892, she married William F Clark. They lived
in Maplewood, NJ, for many years. Photographer Edward Taylor was a first cousin of Katherine
263
Taylor's father. The two families must have remained close throughout their lives. When
Edward's sister, Miss Mary Holmes Taylor, died on 9 December 1930, she bequeathed Orchard
Home, Marlpit Hall, and all her family heirlooms to Katherine Taylor Clark and her two siblings
with the provision that everything had to be sold. See: Bass, 54 and 58.
69-04
Locustwood, the front drive looking from the front of the house toward Kings
Highway. Envelope inscribed "454," and "Lane in Snow." Plate water damaged in the lower left
corner.
69-05
Miss Ella Hendrickson posed in an armchair on the lawn at Locustwood.
Envelope inscribed twice with "Bliss," and also "Ella Hendrickson," "exposed & developed by L
H [presumably her niece Louise Hartshorne]," and dated "Sept. 17th 1894." The plate is severely
deteriorated. "Bliss" was the nickname by which Miss Hendrickson was known in the family.
69-06
Envelope inscribed "Charlie Hendrickson," numbered "444," and dated "August
14, 1899." The plate depicts a young man in the garden at Locustwood fashionably dressed in
knee socks, knickers, a jacket and tie, and carrying a straw hat under his arm. The subject is
Charles J. Hendrickson (born 7 August 1879), a son of John S. Hendrickson and his wife Jeannie
S. Harris. He would have been a nephew of Miss Ella Hendrickson. The John S. Hendrickson
family lived in a home adjacent to Locustwood.
69-07
Huldah Holmes Taylor of Middletown. Envelope inscribed "Aunt Huldah," "986,"
3 stop 3 sec," "Sept 30/93," and "K. L. C." It is also stamped "Edward Taylor/Orchard
Home/Middletown, N. J." The very elderly woman, wearing a large white apron, is shown in
front of a doorway with side and transom lights, working at a garden stand holding geraniums
and other plants. The doorway is not that of Orchard Home. The initials K. L. C. stand for
Katherine Louise Clark.
Biographical Note: Huldah Holmes Taylor, who was in fact the photographer's aunt, was born
in the Joseph Taylor House in Middletown on 3 June 1816, the daughter of Joseph Taylor and
Martha Dorset. She died unmarried on 2 June 1898 just one day short of her 82nd birthday and
several weeks after a fall that broke her thigh from which she could not recover. She was one of
thirteen children and the last to survive. Burial took place at Fair View Cemetery in Middletown.
Edward Taylor served as one of her pall bearers. This image is often mistakenly thought to be of
Huldah Taylor (1785-1857), a daughter of John Taylor and Mary Holmes. See: Red Bank
Register, 8 June 1898.
69-08
Envelope inscribed "Snow scene from piazza," "377," "March 1898," and "S. P.
H." The initials stand for Susanna Pelletreau Hartshorne, a niece of Miss Ella Hendrickson and
sister to Miss Louise Hartshorne. The scene is taken from the front porch at Locustwood.
264
69-09
Envelope inscribed "Snow scene from piazza," "378," "March 1898," and "S. P.
H." Again, the initials stand for Susannah Pelletreau Hartshorne. The plate depicts a similar view
at Locustwood to 69-08, and is numbered in sequence with it.
69-10
Christ Episcopal Church in Shrewsbury, NJ. The envelope is inscribed
"Shrewsbury Church," "215," "Aug 17/86," and initials "K. L. C." Other notations have been
erased, and are no longer readable. The plate depicts this landmark church, begun in 1769, from
the southwest corner of the graveyard. Two women in long dresses are posed in the middle
distance. The initials K. L. C. stand for Katherine Louise Clark.
69-11
Envelope inscribed "Ice storm," and is dated 23 February 1902. The view shows
the lane at Locustwood from the front porch with severe tree damage from the storm. A portion
of the envelope has stuck to the plate in the lower left corner.
69-12
Interior of Christ Episcopal Church, Middletown, NJ. Envelope inscribed
"Interior Christ Ch Middletown," "1007," "July 25/94," "DeHart & Letson Red Bank / develop,"
and "Farber S. / Record lost / guess 3 stop 4 min." This fine plate shows the interior of the church
before extensive renovations and enlargements that were carried out in the spring of 1895.
DeHart a& Letson were professional photographers in Red Bank. For a nearly identical view,
69-13
Rear view of Christ Episcopal Church, Middletown, NJ. Envelope inscribed "Rear
Christ Church Middletown," "1008," "July 25/94," "DeHart & Letson Red Bank / develop," and
"Farber S. / 5 stop 1 sec." A highly unusual view of Christ Church from the rear with a very
small vesting room extension.
69-14
Envelope inscribed "Middletown Store," "147," and "KLC." An exceptionally
clear view of a two-story brick store that formerly stood on Kings Highway in Middletown. Nine
people plus a woman in a carriage are posed in front of the building. A smaller, single-story shop
stands to the left of the store. The initials KLC stand for Katherine Louise Clark. For a print from
this negative, see: Box 59, Folder 39.
69-15
Orchard Home from the hillside behind the house. Envelope inscribed "OH rear,"
"565," "KLC," and "1 point." Also stamped "Edward Taylor/Orchard Home, Middletown, N. J."
This fine view of the Taylor homestead in Middletown Village depicts the highly unusual twostory outhouse wing removed in the 1940s. The initials KLC stand for Katherine Louise Clark.
For a print from this negative see: Box 59 Folder 33.
265
69-16
Middletown Baptist Church on Kings Highway in Middletown Village. Envelope
inscribed "Baptist Church," "57," "Oct. 3/94," "late in afternoon," "Forbes plate," and "30 sec
exposure." The church building is much obscured by trees still in leaf.
69-17
Envelope inscribed "Dorsett House near Middletown," "1011," "Aug. 24/94,"
"Developed in Locustwood cellar dark room. This Picture was taken after sale of camera."
"Eagle 50," "5 stop 4 sec. / hazy," and "K, L. C." The plate depicts a two story, two-thirds
Georgian plan house with a Victorian bracketed from porch, and kitchen wing to the left. Two
women are posed in the yard with two dogs, and a wagon to the extreme left of the plate. The
initials K. L. C. stand for Katherine Louise Clark. For prints from this negative, see: Box 59,
Folder 20.
69-18
Orchard Home Hall and Staircase, Middletown Village. Envelope inscribed "OH
Hall Stairs," and "279." Also stamped "Edward Taylor/Orchard Home/Middletown, N.J." This
well-known view of the central hallway and grand staircase at Orchard Home also depicts the
portrait of Edward Taylor now owned by the Monmouth County Historical Association hanging
in the upper hallway, as well as some of the Asian furniture and porcelains collected by the
Taylors in the late 19th century. The plate is initialed "E.T." in the lower left hand corner. For a
print from this negative, see: Box 59, Folder 33.
69-19
McDowell House on Locustwood Farm, near Middletown. The severely
deteriorated envelope is inscribed "McDowell Place [text missing]," "October 1895," "Eagle
Plate," and "McDowell House / Locustwood Farm." The house depicted is a story and a half
cottage with a standing seam metal roof and kitchen wing to the right. Two women sit on the
front stoop, and barrels on their sides are lined up around the house. For prints from this
negative, see: Box 59, Folder 25.
69-20
The Joseph Taylor House at the head of Kings Highway opposite the TaylorBeekman House, Middletown Village. Envelope inscribed "Uncle John House," "691," and "K.
L. C." This well-known view depicts the Joseph Taylor House (then occupied by his son John)
still in fine condition, a full two-story, two-thirds Georgian structure with a two-story kitchen
wing and oven shed to the left. The initials stand for Katherine Louise Clark. For prints from this
69-21
Christ Episcopal Church on Kings Highway in Middletown Village. Envelope
inscribed "Episopal Ch Middletown," and "53." Christ Church is shown from the northeast with
a fine picket fence running in front of it along Kings Highway. A railing long since removed
appears between the crockets on the tower. The plate is initialed "E. T." in the lower left hand
corner. For a similar but not identical print lacking the picket fence, see: Box 59, Folder 18.
266
69-22
Panoramic view of Middletown Village looking southeast from the hill behind
Locustwood. Envelope inscribed "Snow scene from the Hill," "144," "Sun not out," "March 16,
1898," "Leeds plate," "1 second 3 stop," and "S. P. H." This dramatic plate shows the
Middletown Baptist Church from a distance framed by bare trees. The double row of trees lining
the lane to Locustwood cut across the view with the house out of the scene to the left. The initials
S. P. H. are for Susannah Pelletreau Hartshorne. For a print from this negative, see: Box 59,
Folder 30.
69-23
A view of the Deep Cut leading out of the north end of Middletown Village on the
road to Holmdel. The severely deteriorated envelope is inscribed "The Deep Cut with Lydia &
George Wilele [text missing]," and "324." This view shows the couple posed on the narrow,
rutted roadway at a point where the excavation was quite deep. For prints from this negative, see:
Box 59, Folder 30.
69-24
The Middletown Toll House at the present five corners end of Kings Highway on
the road to Red Bank. Envelope inscribed "Toll-house and Hill," "386," Toll House," "June 9,
1898," and "Toll Gate." The diminutive structure with a front porch bears several advertising
signs for boot and shoe repairing, W. A. French sarsaparilla and other beverages bottled in Red
Bank, etc. A sign across the edge of the porch roof says "Keep to the Right as the Law Directs."
After the toll road was acquired by Monmouth County in 1901, the toll booth was moved to a
new location across the road from the Middletown train station parking lots and converted into a
dwelling. For prints from this negative, see: Box 59, Folder 27.
69-25
Dr. Edward Taylor House on Kings Highway in Middletown Village. Envelope
inscribed "Taylor House," "388," "June 9, 1898," and "S. P. H." This gambrel roofed, 18th
century house is heavily obscured by trees in leaf, vines growing on the house, etc. The initials S.
P. H. are for Susannah Pelletreau Hartshorne. For prints from this negative, see: Box 59, Folder
36.
69-26
The Middletown railroad station from the track side. Envelope inscribed
"Middletown depot," "216," "Aug. 17/86," and "K. L. C." The plate shows two men standing
next to the building, and two other men posing with a baggage cart on the platform. The initials
K. L. C. are for Katherine Louise Clark. For a print from this negative, see: Box 59, Folder 26.
69-27
Greenwood House on Kings Highway in Middletown Village. Envelope inscribed
"Greenwood House," "450," and "January 1900." It is believed that this large, two-story, twothirds Georgian plan house with a kitchen wing to the left is shown from the rear given the
placement of the stair landing window above the entrance. For prints from this negative, see:
Box 59, Folder 22. For a front view of this same structure, see: Box 70, Negative 01.
267
69-28
View looking out of the front entrance of Orchard Home in Middletown Village.
Envelope inscribed "Thro' OH Hall Door," "755," "Don't trim this more than you would an
ordinary 5 x 8. I want to preserve the effect of looking through a door," and "K. L. C." Also
stamped "Edward Taylor/Orchard Home/Middletown, N. J." An unusual view looking out the
divided front door of the Taylor residence with an early Windsor chair on the porch. Taylor's
instructions to the photography studio who printed the image are of particular interest. The
initials K. L. C. stand for Katherine Louise Clark. For a print from this negative, see: Box 59,
Folder 33.
69-29
The Middletown Village blacksmith shop located on the south side of Kings
Highway at Conover Street. Envelope inscribed "Blacksmith Shop," "394," "June 25, 1898," and
"S. P. H." The brick blacksmith shop bears bold painted advertising on its gable wall facing
Conover Street. It reads "D. D. BRAY / Horse Shoer [sic] and / General Jobber" with a large
horse shoe painted with the text. The intials are for Susannah Pelletreau Hartshorne. For prints
from this negative, see: Box 59, Folder 17.
69-30
The early Christ Episcopal Church Rectory in Middletown Village. The severely
deteriorated envelope inscribed "Rectory," "[text missing] & developed by S. P. H.," "Sept. 11th
1894," and other notations now illegible. The image shows an 18th century story and a half
cottage with a lower kitchen wing to the left. A large barn appears to the right behind the Rectory
which may be on the Azariah Conover farm on the opposite side of the railroad from
Middletown Village. The plate was apparently developed at Locustwood by Susannah Pelletreau
Hartshorne. Christ Church erected a new Rectory that was completed in June 1898 at a cost of
$3,000. For prints from this negative, see: Box 59, Folder 18.
69-31
A view of Kings Highway in Middletown Village looking east toward Red Bank.
Envelope inscribed "View down the street," "389," and "June 9, 1898." There are no structures
visible in this view of Kings Highway but the wrought and cast iron fence surrounding the
Hartshorne Family Burying Ground can be discerned among the trees on the left. The tract on the
opposite side of the road was still open farmland. For a print from this negative, see: Box 59,
Folder 30.
29 items
This group of smaller glass plate negatives measuring 4" by 5" was also taken by Edward Taylor.
70-01
Condert House on Kings Highway in Middletown Village. Envelope inscribed
"The Condert House," "112," and "W. H." The image depicts an imposing two-thirds Georgian
plan house with a kitchen wing to the right and a large porch on the left. This is the same
268
dwelling as in negative 69-27 identified on that envelope as the Greenwood House. The initials
W. H. may stand for William Hartshorne, a brother to Miss Louise and Susannah Pelletreau
Hartshorne. For a print from this negative, see: Box 59, Folder 22.
70--02
The Middletown Baptist Church on Kings Highway taken from the southwest.
Envelope inscribed "Baptist Church," "100," "Nov. 3, 1894," "about 2 seconds," and "S. P. H."
This is a classic view of this important Middletown landmark. The initials stand for Susannah
Pelletreau Hartshorne.
70-03
A view looking west on Kings Highway in Middletown Village toward the bridge
over the railroad. Envelope inscribed "View up the street toward bridge," "391," and "June 9,
1898." For a print from this negative, see: Box 59, Folder 30.
70-04
A view looking up into the Deep Cut on the road leading from Middletown
Village to Holmdel. Envelope inscribed "Deep Cut," "383," and "June 7, 1898." The Deep Cut
was a heavily rutted and often muddy road on the steep road leading south out of western end of
Middletown Village. For prints from this negative, see: Box 59, Folder 30.
70-05
The Azariah Conover Homestead on the south side of the railroad alignment near
Middletown Village. Envelope inscribed "The Conover Homestead from a distance," and "332."
This image shows a classic mid-eighteenth century Dutch house with a widely flaring overhang
across the front of the structure similar to the Holmes-Hendrickson House in Holmdel owned by
the Monmouth County Historical Association. Outbuildings appear to the right of the house, and
a kitchen wing to its left. For a print from this negative, see: Box 59, Folder 19.
70-06
A view of the Azariah Conover Homestead taken up close. Envelope inscribed
"The Conover Homestead," and "330." The main body of the house had an unusual four-bay
facade. For a print from this negative, see: Box 59, Folder 19.
70-07
A southwest view of the Reformed Church on the north side of Kings Highway in
Middletown Village. Envelope inscribed "Dutch Church," "104," "bright day 2 seconds,"
"underexposed," and "S. P. H." This image of the Reformed Church shows the building after its
1898-99 remodeling when modifications were made to the entrance and stained glass windows
were installed. For prints from this negative, see: Box 59, Folder 35.
70-08
An image of the Taylor Family coat of arms. Envelope inscribed "Taylor Coat of
Arms," "184," "July 6, 1898," "Leeds," "3 or 4 seconds – 3 stop," and "S. P. H." This image
appears to be a photographic copy of a large framed painting as it sits on a wood floor and its top
rests against a chair rail. The initials "S. P. H." are for Susannah Pelletreau Hartshorne.
269
70-09
A view of the Azariah Conover Homestead largely obscured by trees. Envelope
inscribed "Conover Homestead," and "333." For a print from this negative, see: Box 59, Folder
19.
70-10
A view of the Azariah Conover Homestead from the rear. Envelope inscribed
"The Conover Homestead from the back," and "331." This elevation lacks the wide, flaring
overhang of the other side of house, but appears to have been the front of the house at one time
as it has a symmetrical five-bay facade. A tall well sweep is shown to the right of the structure,
and a vegetable garden enclosed by a picket fence in the foreground. For a print from this
70-11
A view of the front door at Locustwood, Middletown Village residence of the
Hendrickson and Hartshorne families. Envelope inscribed "The Front Door," "Locustwood," and
"258." This image shows a fine Greek Revival entrance with half columns separating the door
from its side lights. Quarter columns flank the side lights. Elaborate egg and dart moldings
surround the transom light, as well as the door header.
70-12
A portrait of Nancy Fish, wife of Col. Elias Conover (1760-1820). The severely
deteriorated envelope inscribed "Nancy Fish (Mrs. Elias Conover)," "321," "Eagle," and "[text
missing]posed and developed by W. H." This photographic copy of an early framed portrait
miniature of Nancy Conover depicts an older woman wearing a cap and shawl. Her initials "N. F.
C." are worked into the design on an eglomise panel that surrounds the oval image. Col. Elias
and Nancy Fish Conover were the great-great-grandparents of William Hartshorne, whose
initials appear on the envelope. The portrait was part of the extensive collection of family
heirlooms at Locustwood. It, along with a companion portrait of her husband Elias, is now in the
collection of the Monmouth County Historical Association. The pair was a 1960 purchase from
Mrs. William W. Gamwell, a daughter of Susannah Pelletreau Hartshorne and her husband
Charles G. Bennett.
70-13
An image of a dog named Jack. Envelope inscribed "Jack," and "May 1901." The
dog is posed on a porch, and wears a wide leather collar. He appears to be a pit bull mix.
70-14
A view of an imposing early 19th century porch and front of a house in
Arneytown, NJ. Envelope inscribed "Old porch in Arneytown," "163," "May 25, 1895," "About
2 seconds – 3 stop," "fair afternoon," and "S. P. H." The images shows three women posed on
the porch, which appears to date from the early 19th century. Ionic order columns support the
pitched porch roof, the cornice of which is decorated with carving. Arneytown is a small
crossroads community in the westernmost extremity of Monmouth County. Part of the village is
also in Burlington County.
270
70-15
Portrait photograph of Charles J. Hendrickson. Envelope inscribed "Charlie
Hendrickson," "37," "posed and developed by W. H.," and "[text missing] 15th 1895." William
Hartshorne staged this portrait of his first cousin Charles J. Hendrickson seated in front of a light
fabric backdrop.
70-16
A snow view looking up the lane toward Locustwood from Kings Highway in
Middletown Village. Envelope inscribed "Lane in Snow," "118," "Jan. 9th, 1895," and "L. H."
The initials stand for Miss Louise Hartshorne.
70-17
A view of Locustwood from the southwest. Envelope inscribed "House," "148,"
"March 16, 1898," "Leeds Plate," "2 seconds – 3 stop," "sun not out," and "S. P. H." Locustwood
is shown through a group of locust trees on the front lawn. The initials S. P. H stand for
Susannah Pelletreau Hartshorne, who lived at Locustwood with her siblings, aunt Ella
Hendrickson, and other single female members of the family.
70-18
A view of the lane at Locustwood taken from the front piazza. Envelope inscribed
"Lane from piazza," "143," "March 15, 1898," "Leeds Plate," "instantaneous – 3 stops," "not
sunny," and "S. P. H." The lane leading from Kings Highway to Locustwood was lined with trees
on both sides. The initials are for Susannah Pelletreau Hartshorne.
70-19
A posed photograph of Susannah Pelletreau Hartshorne and Rachel Taylor
entitled "The Angel of Death." Envelope inscribed "The Angel of Death," and "S. P. H. and
Ray," The two girls were dressed in Grecian or Roman style garb for this interesting staged
photograph. Miss Rachel Taylor (known as Rae), a daughter of Henry C. Taylor and Emeline
Story Conover, was the last family member to live in the Dr. Edward Taylor House on Kings
Highway in Middletown Village. She was born in Middletown on 18 September 1869, sold the
house out of family in 1948, and died unmarried in San Diego, CA, on 9 August 1962 at the age
of 92.
70-20
A view looking down the lane at Locustwood toward Kings Highway taken from
a window. Envelope inscribed "Lane from window," "146," "instantaneous – 5 stop," "bright
sunlight," "Leeds plate," "March 15, 1898," and "W. H." The trees are bare in this view of the
lane at Locustwood. Fence lines and the rear of buildings on Kings Highway show clearly in the
right background. The initials W. H. are for William Hartshorne.
70-21
A view of the south or main elevation of Locustwood with trees in foliage.
Envelope inscribed "House," "1," "August 21st, 1894," "[text missing] stop – 2 seconds about,"
"Forbes S," and "S. P. H." A classic view of Locustwood showing the circular drive in front of
the front porch.
271
Note: The following plates were mixed in with those above, but either lacked envelopes
altogether or retained just fragments of them without identifications.
70-22
An interior view of Christ Episcopal Church on Kings Highway in Middletown
Village. Taken before renovations in 1895, it shows an early chancel arrangement and two doors
on either side of the altar leading to a very small vesting room or sacristy. For a nearly identical
view, see: Box 69, negative 12, which is dated 25 July 1894.
70-23
An interior view of Christ Episcopal Church on Kings Highway in Middletown
Village taken after construction in the spring of 1895 of a large chancel extension and new organ
alcove to the left of the chancel. One of the Gothic pointed doors that appear in images 69-12
and 70-22 has been reused to the right of the chancel, as has the altar in a new location. The same
metal cross appears on the altar in all three views.
70-24
A copy negative of an early photograph of the Hartshorne House on Kings
Highway in Middletown Village. This image shows an early kitchen wing to the right which was
removed in the early 20th century for construction of a new kitchen. See also: Box 68, negative
68-4-1 for an 8" x 10" film copy negative of the same view. For a print from this negative, see:
Box 59, Folder 9.
70-25
Unidentified outdoor view of woman in a long skirt bending over at a gate in a
picket fence. A dog lies on the grass to her right.
70-26
A copy negative of an oval portrait of a man, perhaps in his sixties, facing left. A
companion image to 70-27.
70-27
A copy negative of an oval portrait of a woman, perhaps in her sixties, facing
right. A companion image to 70-26.
70-28
A copy negative of a portrait of a man, perhaps in his fifties, facing right. A
companion image to 70-29.
70-29
A copy negative of a portrait of a women, perhaps in her fifties, facing left. She
wears an elaborate bonnet and shawl. A companion image to 70-28.
14 items
272
Note: The negatives in this box, measuring 5" by 7," were apparently taken when two large
photograph albums were compiled on the Hartshorne family by Mary Hartshorne Noonan. Some
of the envelopes were dated 1941-1943.
71-01
A copy negative of a formal portrait photograph of Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne.
Not contained in an envelope. This image shows Hartshorne as a mature adult.
71-02
A copy negative of a formal portrait photograph of Julia Norton Hartshorne, wife
of Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne. She is dressed in a very ample gown of the 1860s.
71-03
A copy negative of a daguerreotype of Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne as a young
man. Apparently taken in San Francisco. The daguerreotype is still owned by descendants.
71-04
A copy negative of a daguerreotype of Julia Norton Hartshorne as a young
woman, wife of Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne. Apparently taken in San Francisco. The
daguerreotype is still owned by descendants.
71-05
A copy negative of a photograph of Dr. James D. Trask Jr. at a laboratory bench
with Petrie dishes, racks of test tubes, etc.
71-06
not known.
A copy negative of a daguerreotype of "Capt. Dick." Identity of this individual is
71-07
A copy negative of a daguerreotype of Mary Bowne Minturn, wife of Benjamin
Greene Minturn. Original daguerreotype still owned by desendants.
71-08
A copy negative of a daguerreotype of a very young girl identified as Mary
Minturn Hartshorne (b. 1868), wife of Henry Ward. That would be a late date for a
daguerreotype, although not impossible. The subject might also be Mary Minturn Hartshorne
(1839-1890), an aunt of Mary H. Ward. Original daguerreotype is still owned by descendants.
71-09
A copy negative of an oval portrait miniature of Penelope Minturn (1801-1873).
71-10
A copy negative of an oval portrait miniature of Cornelia Minturn (1812-1882).
71-11
A copy negative of a carte-de-visite photograph of Sarah Bowne, who married
William Minturn in 1818.
71-12
1872).
A copy negative of a carte-de-visite photograph of Robert Hartshorne (1798-
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71-13
A copy negative of a daguerreotype of Mary Minturn Hartshorne (1839-1890),
wife of Felix O'Rourke, as a young woman.
71-14
a girl.
A copy negative of a daguerreotype of Mary Minturn Hartshorne (1839-1890) as
Oversize Box – Folder 1; Richard Hartshorne (1641-1722)
4 items
Documents include:
Lease, Philip Carteret, Governor of the Province of New Jersey, and Council to Richard
Hartshorne for Sandy Hook for a period of twenty-one years, 23 October 1677. A recent color
photograph of the original document, which is still owned by descendants. Cited and abstracted
in Stillwell, III, 280.
Deed, James Bowne of Middletown to Richard Hartshorne of the same place for two parcels of
upland at Portland Point, 10 December 1678.
Deed, Richard Hartshorne of Middletown with consent of his wife Margaret to son William
Hartshorne for 500 acres at Portland Point, 10 May 1706.
Deed, Richard Hartshorne of Middletown to John Maccleesh of the County of Richmond on
Staten Island, New York, for 60 acres in Middletown on the Navesink River, 7 June 1721.
Oversize Box – Folder 2; William Hartshorne (1678/79-1747/48)
2 items
Documents include:
Manuscript map, ca. 1710, entitled “William Lawrence’s Map of the High Lands and Sandy
Hook” with additional titles shown as follows: “William Hartshorne’s Land and Hills Without
the Fence Contains 797 8/10 Acres English Measure,” “William Hartshorne’s Land Within
Fence Contains 812 8/10 Acres,” and “Sandy Hook Contains in Lands and Cedar Swamp about
800 Acres.” A highly important survey of all land in Middletown between the Bay Shore and the
Navesink River east of Atlantic Highlands, including Sandy Hook. Abutters to Hartshorne
include James and John Bowne, (?) Davis, and (?) Collen.
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Nineteenth century copy on linen of the above. Another 19th century copy is in the collection of
the National Archives, Washington, DC. See: Roll Maps, Box 1.
Oversize Box – Folder 3; Robert Hartshorne (1721-1805)
5 items
Documents include:
Survey of Portland dated May 1761 for Robert and Esek Hartshorne by Richard Lawrence,
Robert and Esek Hartshorne chain bearers. Shows the division of the estate between the two
brothers, each receiving 764 ½ acres. Does not include Sandy Hook.
Four photographic copies of the Portland survey above, mounted on linen.
Undated 18th century survey of a 2 and 88/100 acre lot bordering on the Navesink River adjacent
to the land of Robert Hartshorne.
Oversize Box – Folder 4; William Hartshorne (b. 1748)
Land Title, 2 items
Documents include:
Mortgage, Jacob Foster to Robert Bowne and William Hartshorne dated 20 August 1783, for
multiple properties on the Metedeconk River.
Mortgage, Jacob Foster to Robert Bowne and William Hartshorne dated 20 November 1783,
subject to the delivery of 25,000 feet of square-edged, merchantable, inch pine boards and
300,000 feet of square-edged, merchantable, inch pine boards to one of two mills.
Oversize Box – Folder 5; William Hartshorne (b. 1748)
Jacob Hance Estate. Documents include:
Deed, Proprietors of the Province of East Jersey to John Hance dated 20 May 1695 for land in
Shrewsbury. Bears the seal of the Proprietors and signatures of Andrew Hamilton, John
Johnstone, Isaac Kingsland, Thomas Codrington, and Richard Townley.
Sheriff’s sale deed from Elisha Walton, High Sheriff of Monmouth County, to Jacob Hance
dated 13 July 1793 for five lots or tracts of land in Shrewsbury and Dover Townships.
275
Sandy Hook and Lighthouse, 1817. Items include: photostatic copies of a release dated 17 June
1817 between Richard Hartshorne of the first part and the United States of America of the
second part regarding the sale of the remainder of Sandy Hook; and a deed dated 17 June 1817
between Richard Hartshorne and his wife of the first part and the United States of America of the
second part for the remainder of Sandy Hook.
Note: The deed of 17 June 1817 cites all applicable previous conveyances involving Sandy Hook
dating back to 1706.
Survey of Portland dated 5 September 1815, taken by Edward Burrowes, Surveyor. A highly
important survey of the estate, which then amounted to 787 12/100 acres. It was drawn in blue,
brown and red ink with watercolor enhancements. Heavily annotated with land use descriptions,
geographic place names, survey landmarks, etc.
Note: This survey was prepared as part of the 1815 offer to sell Portland to Nicholas I.
Roosevelt. See also: Box 7, Folder 3.
4 items
Documents include:
United States Passport for Robert Hartshorne, age 64, to be accompanied by his daughter, dated
7 February 1862, and signed by William H. Seward, Secretary of State. Issued apparently in
anticipation of his trip that Spring to California via the Isthmus of Panama.
“Map of Villa Sites beautifully located on the Highlands of Navesink in Monmouth Co., N.
Jersey. Each commanding views of the Ocean, Bays, &c. perfectly healthy, has the advantage of
both River and Sea, Bathing and Fishing. The easy access to New York makes it one of the most
desirable places for Rural Homes near that City. This well known property formerly occupied by
the late Co. Wm. Jones is now offered for sale on the premises at AUCTION, on the 22nd day of
May 1866.” Prepared by Ezra A. Osborn, Surveyor and Conveyancer of Middletown, NJ, and
published by Charles Berggoetz & Co., lithographers. This large tract of land extended from
Robert Hartshorne’s northern boundary to the Bay Shore, encompassing part of what is now
known as Water Witch Park. It was divided into 17 large lots extending up into the Highlands,
and 17 accompanying narrow lots in what was called the Bathing Ground along the Bay.
276
Undated survey of two Portland lots totaling 135.25 acres at Lower Rocky Point bordered on the
south and east by the river. One tract of 26 acres is entitled “Fletcher’s Lot.” Drawn by S. W.
Throckmorton.
“Map of the Robert Hartshorne Estate Situated in the Highlands of Navesink, Monmouth
County, New Jersey,” dated 1875 and prepared by Ezra A. Osborn, surveyor, Middletown, NJ. A
highly important, large format survey of the Portland tract showing many boundary landmarks,
land use designations, private roads, lots previously sold off along the river from Lower Rocky
Point to Thompson’s Dock in what is now Highlands Borough, and apparent divisions of the
property among his three surviving children and heirs. Other than the divested river front lots,
the boundaries of Portland remained the same as in 1761.
1 item
Document: a United States passport issued to Richard Hartshorne on 8 January 1858 signed by
Lewis Cass. Stamped on 9 January 1858 by the Spanish, Danish, and British consulates in New
York.
Oversize Box – Folder 9; Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne (1826-1900)
2 items
Items include:
Map on linen, copied for Capt. B. M. Hartshorne by Davidson & Leigh, 1892. Depicts tracts of
land owned by Benjamin M. Hartshorne, his three children, his sister-in-law Lucinda M. Moor,
Edward N. Moor, and Edward Norton. The location of this property is not specified, but is near
the junction of Old San Jose Road and Mission Road in California.
Undated map on linen of Portland, after 1876. It depicts the locations of the main house, barns,
cribs and other outbuildings. It also shows the layout of the garden, chicken yard, and areas
planted in blackberries, plums, pears and peaches, as well as changes contemplated to the garden.
This highly accurate survey illustrates the configuration of the main Portland residence after its
expansion and renovation in 1876, but before further alterations to the porches in 1900.
3 items
277
Items include: a Hartshorne family genealogical chart prepared by Dr. John E. Stillwell and
dated 20 January 1895; a copy of Robert Hartshorne’s United States Passport issued 7 May
1918; and a property survey dated February 1928 and prepared for Mrs. Robert Hartshorne,
executrix of her husband Robert’s estate, showing the 54.5 acres of Portland given to her
daughter Mary Hartshorne Noonan.
Oversize Box – Folder 11; Benjamin M. Hartshorne Jr. (1873-1902)
2 items
Items include: certificate numbered 129 for Captain Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne enrolling him
posthumously as an active member of the Military Order of the Dragon for having served in the
China Campaign in 1900; and a large map of Peking printed on tissue paper, with handwritten
annotations.
6 items
Items include: A Military Certificate from the Phillips Academy Officers Training Corps to
Richard Hartshorne for attending a six week course from 3 July to 13 August 1918 listing his
grades in various subjects; a survey of the Navesink Site dated 15 November 1941 of property
being taken by the U. S. Government, showing all of Portland and those portions belonging to
Richard Hartshorne, his aunt Julia H. Trask, and his cousin Robert H. Trask; a floorplan drawing
by architect Edward L. Howard of Westport, CT, and dated 3 July 1952 for the new house built
after the sale of Portland; interior sketches by Edward L. Howard dated 3 July 1952 for the same
house; photograph of a perspective rendering of a proposed but not used house design by Edward
L. Howard; and a survey dated May 1947 of a roadway leading to the residence of Richard
Hartshorne and shared with his sister Mary Hartshorne Noonan.
Oversize Box – Folder 13; Mary Hartshorne Noonan (1897-1978)
7 items
Items include: a photostatic copy of a 1901 reconstruction of the original 36 town lots and
owners of Middletown Village prepared by James Steen; a fine photograph of the Azariah
Conover farm near the Middletown train station taken by S. A. Poulson of Matawan, from the
Louise Hartshorne papers; a Middletown Township zoning map dated 1 January 1955; an 11 by
14 inch photograph of a map detail dated 1682 or 1683 from the British Museum showing
Shrewsbury, Middletown, and Portland; an 11 by 14 inch photograph of a map dated 24 June
1765 of the Portland estate and Sandy Hook prepared for William Hartshorne (a later copy of the
ca. 1710 William Lawrence map of Portland in Oversize folder 2); a photostatic copy of the
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Quaker marriage certificate of Elizabeth Hartshorne to Robert Bowne dated the 18th day of the
11th month1773; and a large photostatic copy of the family tree of John Bowne (1627-1695).
Note: A more detailed map of Middletown Village in 1678 in ink on linen and also prepared by
James Steen is owned by the Monmouth County Historical Association, as is another photostatic
copy of the marriage certificate for Elizabeth Hartshorne and Robert Bowne.
Oversize Box – Folder 14; Unidentified 18th Century Land Title
7 items
Documents include:
Deed dated 8 December 1757 between Peter Knott of Shrewsbury and Thomas Tilton for several
lots.
Deed dated twenty-fourth day of the sixth month 1761 between Thomas Tilton of Shrewsbury
and William Woolley for land in Shrewsbury.
Deed dated the twenty-ninth day of September 1764 between William Woolley of Shrewsbury
and Benjamin Rogers for land in Shrewsbury.
Deed dated first day of the first month 1765 between William Woolley of Shrewsbury and
Thomas Tilton for land in Shrewsbury.
Survey dated 9 July 1793 taken by John Forman representing long, linear lots owned by Jacob
Hance and Thomas Borden, probably on the Rumson peninsula.
Survey dated 9 July 1793 taken by John Forman representing long, linear lots owned by Jacob
Hance and Benjamin Corlies, probably on the Rumson peninsula.
Undated and unidentified survey for three lots containing 20 74/100 acres, 1 86/100 acres, and 3
49/100 acres.
Note: This group of 18th century deeds and surveys pertain to properties with no known
Hartshorne connection. These items probably relate to the various estates administered by
William Hartshorne (b. 1748).
Oversize Box – Folder 15; Photographs
1 item
279
Large format photograph measuring 7.5 by 10 inches mounted on cardboard that depicts the
Hartshorne House on Kings Highway in Middletown Village, ca. 1900. A label on the reverse
indicates that the item was framed by H. Wunderlich & Co. of 220 Fifth Avenue in New York
City. An inscription on the label reads: "Photograph of old Hartshorne house in Middletown,
N.J., built by Richard Hartshorne in 16--. Given to Robert Hartshorne by Susan & Louise
Hartshorne." For other views of the Hartshorne House, see: Box 59, Folder 9.
Note: This interesting photograph of the Hartshorne House may have been taken by Edward
Taylor, or by Susannah P. or Louise Hartshorne, first cousins of Robert to whom the photo was
presented. The item was donated to the Monmouth County Historical Association in 2014 by
Philip A. Hayden of Rocky Hill, NJ, with the following history: "It was given to me by an art
dealer who acquired it from a member of the family living in the Red Bank area within the last
few years. That's all I know of its provenance." It could have passed out of the Hartshorne family
through a William Barron Galleries auction of the residual estate of Mrs. Richard (Hellene)
Hartshorne held after her death in 1997. She was the daughter in law of Robert Hartshorne. See:
Letter, Philip A Hayden to Laura M. Poll, 24 July 2014.
Rolled Maps – Box 1; 1710 to 1927
8 items
Items include:
Photocopy of an apparent 19th century copy of a 1765 copy of the ca. 1710 William Lawrence
survey of the lands of William Hartshorne and others including Sandy Hook. The map bears the
date of 24 June 1765 and the legend “William Lawrence Map of the High Lands & Sand Hook”
and the notation “The above note was written about 60 years after this map was made.” A further
notation indicates that the map was “Copied from map in the possession of Mr. [map corner torn]
St. Jersey City.” The source of this map is the National Archives, RG 77, Fort. Map File, Dr. 44,
Sheet 124-3. The original survey, ca. 1710, can be found in Oversize, Folder 2, along with
another 19th century copy of it.
A recent color photographic reproduction of a manuscript map of the Battle of Monmouth
signed in the lower right "Major Capitaine A. D. C. Du Genl La Fayette." The original is still
owned by descendants. See: Box 45, Folder 7, for a detailed discussion of this highly important
contemporary map of the battle, which took place on 28 June 1778 near Freehold, NJ.
Map Showing Property of Robert Hartshorne and Adjoining Properties, Highlands of Navesink,
N. J., Frank Osborn, Surveyor, Middletown, N. J., no date. This highly interesting survey in ink
and watercolor on linen updates an earlier one from 1876 prepared by Osborn’s father Ezra A.
Osborn for Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne. It can be dated after 1906, when Stone Church Realty
280
Co. purchased a tract of land on Hartshorne Road near All Saints’ Memorial Episcopal Church,
and before Julia Hartshorne Trask purchased the remaining acreage on the Highlands from the
heirs of Edward M. Hartshorne. Robert Hartshorne’s holdings as depicted, amounting to 527.25
acres, also incorporate the tract he purchased that formerly belonged to his aunt, Mary H.
O’Rourke. Lots sold along the river facing Sea Bright with owners’ names are also documented.
In addition, this detailed survey shows the causeway built along the shoreline in front of Portland
Farmhouse as well as the old road alignment on the bluff above it.
N. J., Frank Osborn, Surveyor, Middletown, N. J., no date. A blueprint copy of the linen original
described above.
N. J. Frank Osborn, Surveyor, Middletown, N. J. with a further note “Traced by George D.
Cooper, CE., Sept. 4, 1930. Red Bank, N. J. This is a black ink on linen tracing of the survey
described above.
N. J. Frank Osborn, Surveyor, Middletown, N. J. with a further note “Traced by George D.
Cooper, CE., Sept. 4, 1930. Red Bank, N. J. A blueprint copy of the original map on linen above.
Map of Land Purchased from James M. Hartshorne by J. R. Maxwell, Trustee, no date. Depicts
the tract purchased by Stone Church Realty in 1906 located between Hartshorne Road and the
Navesink River. The blueprint survey also shows pieces of this parcel purchased in 1890 by the
Central Railroad of New Jersey and a proposed but not built alignment of the Atlantic Highlands
Railroad branch. Robert Hartshorne was an investor in Stone Church Realty. See: Box 44, Folder
2.
Map Showing River Frontage and Islands, Middletown Twp., Monmouth Co., N. J., Belonging
to Robert Hartshorne, Frank Osborn, Surveyor, Middletown, N. J., 1911. Two blueprint copies of
this survey which documents the Navesink River shoreline from the Blackfish Hole to Tan Vat
Creek, along with the sedge islands in the river owned by Hartshorne. The map shows the
causeway and cement gate posts at the entrance to Portland, and also a dock in front of the main
residence. Hartshorne’s total river frontage came to 6,269.5 feet.
Rolled Maps – Box 2; 1928 to 1941
8 items
Items include:
281
Map of Property in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, N. J., Mrs. Robert Hartshorne,
Owner, April 1931. Area: 456 429/1000 acres, area of Sedge Islands, 9 7/10 acres. An original
black ink on linen survey that shows the main Portland residence, the garage, a pump house that
was formerly a power house, and the large main barn erected about 1876 with its early 20th
century extension to house the Guernsey dairy herd. What remained of the private roads are
indicated, as is the gardener’s cottage and ice pond. The overall acreage had been reduced
through the gift of 54.5 acres to Mary Hartshorne Noonan, Mrs. Robert Hartshorne’s daughter.
Survey for Mrs. Robert Hartshorne Property in Middletown Township, Monmouth Co., N. J.,
February 1928, Herbert O. Toad, Surveyor, Area = 54 5/10 Acres. A blueprint map of the
property conveyed by Mrs. Hartshorne to her daughter, Mary Hartshorne Noonan. It shows the
causeway, and also the road shared in common leading to the gardener’s cottage.
Map of Property in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, N. J., Mrs. Robert Hartshorne,
Owner, April 1931. Area: 456 429/1000 acres, area of Sedge Islands, 9 7/10 acres. A
reproduction of the map noted above, but updated after 1941 with the U. S. Government property
line following acquisition of Hartshorne property at the Highlands for coast defense.
Navesink Military Reservation General Map, Highlands, New Jersey, Communications and
Radar Dept., U. S. Engineer Office, New York District, New York, N. Y., June 1944. This
highly interesting survey depicts the roadways, batteries, buildings, and other structures erected
on the former Hartshorne/Trask properties at the Highlands. Two dwellings have been annotated
in pencil with the legends “Bob,” and “Ben.” Bob refers to Robert H. Trask, Sr., and Ben to his
brother Benjamin H. Trask, both sons of Julia Hartshorne Trask and her husband Dr. James D.
Trask. Their residences must have been retained by the Army after its purchase of the property
for defense purposes.
Survey for R. Hartshorne, Middletown Township, Monmouth Co., N. J., Total acreage 1st & 2nd
Tracts 11.24 acres, Frank E. Mitchell, Surveyor, Apr. 29, 1950, Red Bank, N. J. This map shows
the 1st Tract only containing the gardener’s cottage above the ice pond. The roadway to it shared
in common with his sister Mary H. Noonan is also depicted in detail. Richard and Helene
Hartshorne retained ownership of this triangular-shaped tract following the sale of Portland, until
their own new house was finished on the 2nd Tract.
Map of Survey of Lands of Formerly Mrs. Robert Hartshorne Estate, Grand Tour Road &
Navesink River, Navesink, Middletown Twp., N. J., November 10, 1952, Henry Labrecque,
Engineer, Red Bank, N. J. This survey was prepared at the time that Portland was sold for a
residential subdivision. It depicts the main Portland residence with its large 1876 wing still
remaining, the garage, a masonry shed (formerly the power house), and a frame barn built in the
early 20th century to house the Guernsey dairy herd. The larger ca. 1876 barn complex had been
282
demolished by the time this survey was prepared. This survey also shows the spring house, pump
house, hydraulic ram and reservoir on a hill above Portland that was its source of water up to that
time. Elevation gradients have been included, as well as potential roadway options in preparation
for subdividing the property into house lots. Major specimen trees are shown in the vicinity of
the main residence. A pencil inscription on the reverse reads “Larry Carton,” who was the
purchaser of the main Portland residence as well as an investor in the real estate development.
Composite Map Showing Property Owned by Mrs. William J. Noonan, Formerly Part of the
Hartshorne Tract, Premises Situate in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey,
January 15th, 1958, Todd and Phraner, Surveyors. These two map copies depict ten lots acquired
by Mary H. Noonan that totaled 114.86 acres. This included her original parcel of 54.5 acres
obtained from her mother, plus ten small lots along Tan Vat Road and three larger parcels west
of Tan Vat Road that formerly belonged to another branch of the Hartshorne family. Much of
this property was later conveyed to the Monmouth County Park System for inclusion in
Hartshorne Woods Park. The original of this survey has been retained by Hartshorne
descendants.
Ancestral Fan Chart for Benjamin Hartshorne Trask, no date but probably 1960s or later. The
blank chart was published by Goodspeed’s Book Shop, Boston, MA. It has only been filled in on
the maternal ancestry side.
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APPENDIX A
Museum Transfer of Objects
The items described below were transferred from the Hartshorne Family Papers to the museum
collection on 26 May 2011. They were found mixed in with archival documents in the domedtop trunk and accompanying footlocker.
Items include:
1. Four schoolgirl-type watercolors, New York and/or New Jersey, possibly based on British
image sources.
a. Landscape scene on paper featuring a small lake or river with three sailboats and a
row boat, clusters of trees left and right, and two men standing on a hillock in the
foreground with a cow grazing to the left. Measures 13.5 by 19 inches.
b. Landscape scene on paper fixed to cardboard featuring small church on the right next
to a river with a man in a row boat, two more men along the back, and trees left and
right. Measures 14.25 by 19.25 inches. Inscribed on reverse: “Erbistock Church”
and “BelleVue Flushing 4 Octo . . .” on what would have been the lower margin of
the work before being mounted on cardboard.
c. Panoramic landscape scene on paper fixed to cardboard featuring a lake in the middle
distance with mountains beyond, a man in the foreground blowing a long horn,
accompanied by three cows. More cows under trees to the right. Measures 18.5 by
23.6 inches.
d. Landscape scene on paper (badly damaged) mounted on wood strainers with heavy
paper backing, featuring a river scene with a stone bridge in the foreground over
which two men are walking, with a path to the right bordered by railings, a horse, and
a man fishing. Row boat with two men in the river, and several houses and a rotating
wind mill on the opposite bank. A large tree appears in the center foreground, with
more trees to the left. Measures 18.5 by 23.5 inches. Inscribed on reverse: “For
Hannah Corlies.”
2. Woven linen fragment from a bag inscribed “I Hance” in ink for Jacob Hance, originally
containing his estate documents. Measures 13 by 14 inches.
284
3. Finely woven linen handkerchief inscribed “B. G. Minturn” in inked script letters. Measures
23.5 by 25 inches. For Benjamin Green Minturn (1771 – 1845). Accompanied by a copy of
a letter dated 16 March 1899 from Ellen Collins to her cousin Benjamin M. Hartshorne
describing the handkerchief and its history.
4. Green leather-covered document box with brass tack decoration, oval brass carrying handle,
and lined with blue marbled paper, ca. 1800-1820. Measures 10 inches wide by 5.25 inches
deep by 4 inches high. Lid detached, hinge broken.
5. Spectacles case from GaNum & Parsons, 13 West 42nd Street, and 310 Columbus Avenue,
New York.
6. One pair of wire clear-glass spectacles.
7. One pair of wire smoked-glass spectacles with the left eye covered with black fabric.
8. Black leather-covered valuables box with gold tooling and the tooled saying “Forget Me
Not,” folding flap closure and lid. Interior divided into two compartments, and lined with red
paper. Measures 4.25 by 4 by 1.5 inches.
9. Black-painted tin document box, badly dented and rusted. Measures 8.75 by 5.5 by 1.75
inches.
10. Wooden box with detachable lid inscribed in inked script, “Brazilian Beetles.” Measures 4.5
by 2.5 by 2.5 inches. Elaborately tied up with red tape, and not opened.
11. Copper printers’ block depicting five cows in a wooded landscape scene, wrapped in heavy
paper and addressed to “Robert Hartshorne Esq / Highlands N. J. / (Mdse).” Measures 8.5 by
3 by 1 inches. An image of the prized Guernsey dairy herd maintained by Robert Hartshorne
(1866-1927).
12. Green leather pocket book or wallet with folding leather clasp closure and two interior brown
leather pockets lined with red and white marble paper. Measures 4.5 by 6.5 inches.
13. Deck of old playing cards
14. Bone match box held together with four metal bands and hinge mechanism. Measures 2.25
by 1 by 0.3 inches. Given to Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne (1826-1900) by the widow of
Selim (?) Woodworth, whose father wrote “The Old Oaken Bucket.”
285
15. Huckleberry twig and memorandum given by Robert Hartshorne (1798–1872) to his sister
Sarah Hartshorne (1796 – 1854) in October 1845.
16. Purple leather needle book. Measures 2 by 2 inches. Found in desk at Portland.
17. Red, gilt tooled leather card case. Measures 3 by 2 inches. Contains cards for Miss
Hartshorne, Amy Anderson, and Miss (?) Ustick. Also contains a pale blue ribbon with
metal clasps. Found in desk at Portland.
18. Ovoid red-leather purse with green leather interior and two pockets lined with red marbled
paper. Measures 3.25 by 2.5 inches. Found in Sarah Hartshorne’s (1796-1854) desk at
Portland.
19. Scalloped octagonal white velvet award of merit with gold edging, ornamented with a
watercolor basket of flowers on the obverse, and a garland of leaves on the reverse with the
initials “M. A. M.” Pale pink interior with gold edging and a white folded paper ornament in
the origami style. Inscribed “Mary Ann Minturn received this small token of appreciation for
voluntarily reciting the four last epoch’s (sic) in Tucker’s Ancient History. / Briarcliff School
/ 10 mo 30th 1819.” Mary Ann Minturn (1802-1861) married Robert Hartshorne (17981872).
20. Printed death notice with blue and purple striped ribbon for Anne Ustick . Wrapped in a
piece of tissue paper initialed in ink “A. U.”
21. Needlepoint book mark with pale blue ribbon that reads: “Hope on Hope ever.” Found in an
old writing desk at Portland.
22. Account of Mrs. Benjamin G. Minturn’s last hours written by her daughter Mary Ann
Minturn Hartshorne (1802-1861), 12 April 1852, with a lock of Mrs. Minturn’s hair. Copies
of the envelope containing the account and the hair have been included with the hair clipping,
which is wrapped in paper and dated April 12th 1852. The original envelope and account
remain with the Hartshorne Family Papers.
23. Susan Hartshorne’s hair clipping. She died 3 November 1834. Wrapped in tissue paper and
inscribed “Susan.”
24. Printed death notice and hair clipping for Richard Hartshorne (1752-1831), age 80. Wrapped
in paper inscribed “My Father.”
286
25. Hair clipping. Found in Sarah Hartshorne’s (1796-1854) desk, along with a flower, shell,
and crystals.
26. An un-mounted cut-out silhouette of a male facing left, with a hair sample dated November
6th 1832. Possibly Robert Hartshorne (1798-1872).
27. A pressed flower mounted on paper.
28. A modern envelope containing 12 paper-wrapped hair clippings, and other bits of inscribed
paper. Most of the hair clippings can be identified through initials or other notations written
on the paper wrappers, many of which are dated between 1823 and 1840.
29. A sheet of paper containing 20 images of leaves, either pencil impressions or printed.
30. An envelope containing two 19th century bookmarks. One decorated with a trumpet and
tambourine drawing, and the other with a house on one side and sailing vessels and a steam
launch on the reverse.
31. An envelope containing four cardboard cards depicting birds done with real bird feathers.
Cards measure 4.25 by 6.5 inches.
32. An envelope containing three cardboard cards depicting birds done with real bird feathers.
Cards measure 2.75 by 4.5 inches. Envelope is addressed to “R. Hartshorne Esq. / Navesink
P. O. / Mon. Cy. / N. J.” Post marked from Red Bank. Probably Robert Hartshorne (17981872). The Navesink post office was established in 1866.
287
APPENDIX B
Digital Images Checklist
The visual archive of the Hartshorne family is as historically significant as the materials in this
collection. Through the kindness of descendants who own it, the Monmouth County Historical
Association has been given permission to capture digital images of the portrait miniatures,
daguerreotypes, and photographs of every description that relate to the Hartshorne Family
Papers. These images have become part of the collection.
[To be compiled later]
288
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293

Hartshorne Family Papers - The Monmouth County Historical

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