Gordon Lester Ford papers 1830-1910 1850-1869

  1. Resources
  2. View Resource

ArchivalResource

Gordon Lester Ford papers 1830-1910 1850-1869

http://archives.nypl.org/mss/1040

Gordon Lester Ford (1823-1891) was a businessman, lawyer and collector of Americana. He practiced law for much of his life but his main interests were business and real estate investment. He was president of the New London, Willimantic & Palmer Railroad from 1852 to 1856 and director or investor in several other railroads. He also served as U.S. Marshall in southern New York, collector of internal revenue for the third collection district, commissioner of deeds, and business manager of the New York Tribune. In 1863 he helped to found the Brooklyn Daily Union, a newspaper devoted to supporting the Union cause during the Civil War. He also was a founder of the Brooklyn Academy of Music and of the Brooklyn Art Association. He collected books and manuscripts and assembled what was regarded as one of the largest private collections of Americana. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, legal and business papers and account books. General correspondence, 1842-1893, which includes in-coming letters and drafts and letterbooks of out-going letters, reflects Ford's activities as a lawyer and businessman, his real estate and railroad investments, his government service, and his autograph collecting. Family correspondence, 1830-1910, contains Ford's correspondence with his parents, wife (Emily Ellsworth Ford), brothers and sisters, children, and various members of his mother's family, the Burnhams. Legal papers, 1837-1893, include case records, letterbook, law diaries, and law ledgers. Business papers, 1839-1891, include insurance papers, accounts, bills and receipts, promissory notes, and indentures. Account books, 1844-1892, consist of ledgers reflecting Ford's legal and business transactions and accounts with various people including family members. There are also papers, 1863-1871, concerning his internal revenue position and the Brooklyn Daily Union, in addition to miscellaneous papers which include membership certificates, invitations, calling cards, and printed ephemera.

11 linear feet (24 boxes)

New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6311103

New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division

Related Entities

There are 16 Entities related to this resource.

Ford, Emily Ellsworth Fowler, 1826-1893

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6z140pb (person)

Emily Ellsworth (Fowler) Ford (1826-1893), a granddaughter of Noah Webster (1748-1843) the lexicographer, and daughter of William Chauncey Fowler (1793-1881) a professor of rhetoric and oratory and English literature at Amherst College (1838-1843), grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts and moved to Brooklyn, New York in late 1853 upon her marriage to Gordon Lester Ford (1823-1891), a businessman and lawyer. Ford came from a prominent family, well-connected within both social and literary ...

Fowler, William Chauncey, 1793-1881

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6cr6cz6 (person)

Rev. William Chauncey Fowler was a graduate of Yale and came to Middlebury College as Professor of Chemistry and Natural History (1827-1838) which included responsibility for obtaining laboratory supplies, and as Treasurer of the college (1830-1837) was involved in the first fund raising undertaken outside Vermont. From the description of William C. Fowler papers, 1828-1841. (Sheldon Museum Research Center). WorldCat record id: 609599933 ...

Nordhoff, Charles, 1830-1901

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6b2841r (person)

American author and sailor. From the description of Autograph letters signed (7) : Washington, D.C., to Harper & Brothers, 1863-1886 Dec. 27. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270611572 Charles Nordhoff (1830-1901) was an American journalist and author. He edited the New York Evening Post from 1857 to 1871, was the New York Herald's Washington correspondent from 1874 to 1890, and wrote political works and books about the sea. He advocated the Union cause in the U.S. Civil W...

Burnham family

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66c21d1 (family)

G. & C. Merriam Company.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6t1965r (corporateBody)

G. & C. Merriam Company, established by George and Charles Merriam in Springfield, Massachusetts, publisher and reviser of Noah Webster's American Dictionary beginning in 1847. From the description of G. & C. Merriam Company archive, 1797-1978 (bulk 1830-1892). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702160972 From the description of G. & C. Merriam Company archive, 1797-1978 (bulk 1830-1892). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 78909801 Company founded in 1831 in Spr...

Bliss, Alexander, -1896

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6n37tzw (person)

Ford, Gordon Lester, 1823-1891

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6h13cn1 (person)

Gordon Lester Ford (1823-1891) was a businessman, lawyer and collector of Americana. He practiced law for much of his life but his main interests were business and real estate investment. He was president of the New London, Willimantic & Palmer Railroad from 1852 to 1856 and director or investor in several other railroads. He also served as U.S. Marshall in southern New York, collector of internal revenue for the third collection district, commissioner of deeds, and business manager of the N...

Burnham, Gordon W. (Gordon Webster), 1803-1885

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6n31twq (person)

Ford family

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64p427f (family)

March, Francis Andrew, 1825-1911

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w69k67fg (person)

Professor of English. From the description of [Addresses, reprints, etc.]. 1861-1893. (Lafayette College). WorldCat record id: 52474842 ...

New London, Willimantic & Palmer Railroad.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6s529jb (corporateBody)

Gardner, Henry J. (Henry Joseph), 1819-1892

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6b57528 (person)

Associated press

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6f22njb (corporateBody)

Reid, Whitelaw, 1837-1912

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6m61j2c (person)

U.S. politician, historian and newspaper editor. From the description of Autograph letter signed : Cedarville, to Schuyler Colfax, 1863 Sept. 18. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 649441349 American newspaperman, editor, diplomat, and historian. From the description of Papers of Whitelaw Reid [manuscript], 1878-1893. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647879858 From the description of Papers of Whitelaw Reid, 1878-1893. (University of Virginia). ...

Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6kd9z6x (corporateBody)

Joseph S. Dey was a resident of Brooklyn who lived at 30 Cranberry Street. From the guide to the Joseph S. Dey public cartman license, 1824, (Brooklyn Historical Society) ...

Chittenden, S. B. (Simeon Baldwin), 1814-1889

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6k6580c (person)