Table of Contents
- Collection Summary
- Biographical Note
- Scope and Content Note
- Subject Headings
- Related Material
- Administrative Information
- Access and Use
- Encoding Information
- Arrangement
- Container List
Collection Summary
| Repository: | Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries |
|---|---|
| Creator: | Swan, Cyrus |
| Title: | Cyrus Swan Papers |
| Dates: | approximately 1842-1898 |
| Quantity: | 7 ms boxes; 1 flat box (0.76 cubic feet) |
| Abstract: | Correspondence, diaries, account books, and other materials relating to the life and career of Cyrus Swan. |
Biographical Note
Cyrus Swan was born in 1820 and attended Yale College. After establishing a law practice in Poughkeepsie, New York, he became a close friend, advisor, and business agent of local brewer Matthew Vassar, the founder of Vassar College. In 1845 Swan accompanied Vassar on his homecoming voyage to Europe, and in 1855 he married Fanny Walker Swan, with whom he had two daughters, Frances Walker and Harriet Rachel. Swan served as Secretary of the Board of Trustees of Vassar College from 1861 to 1870 and remained a trustee until his death in 1900. He also served the college as a member of Committee on the Art Gallery and the Committee on the Library.
TopScope and Content Note
This collection includes personal and professional correspondence, diaries, account books, and other materials relating to the life and career of Cyrus Swan both before and during his time as a trustee of Vassar College.
TopArrangement
This collection is unprocessed. The container list below groups the materials according to their source. Folders 1.1-2.3 represent an artificial collection created by the Vassar College Library. Folders 3.1-3.2 and 4.1 contain materials transfered from the Main Building of Vassar College. Folders 5.1-8.13 contain materials purchased from various dealers. See collection folder for details.TopAccess and Use
Access
This collection is open for research according to the regulations of the Vassar College Archives and Special Collections Library without any additional restrictions.
Restrictions on Use
Permission to quote (publish) from unpublished or previously published material must be obtained as described in the regulations of the Vassar College Archives and Special Collections Library.
Subject Headings
Names:
- Vassar, Matthew, 1792-1868
Organizations:
- Vassar College. Art gallery
- Vassar College. Trustees
Subjects:
- Lawyers--New York (State)--Poughkeepsie
Places:
- Poughkeespie (N.Y.)
VCL Categories
- Local history
- Vassar College
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Cyrus Swan Papers, Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries.
Processing Information
Folder list by Emma Iadanza, October 2021.
Acquisition Information
Materials gathered or purchased from various sources. See collection folder for more information.
Container List
| Folder 1.1 | Diary by Cyrus Swan (?), 1845 |
| (London, Italy, France) | |
| Folder 1.2 | Cyrus Swan, Catalogue of the Miscellaneous Library of, 1855 |
| Folder 1.3 | Cyrus Swan, 18 page manuscript with clippings inserted (notebook) 1881? |
| ("Read before Armor Lodge, Knights of Pythias, Jan 11, 1881") | |
| Folder 1.4 | Cyrus Swan, Trustee, for Chandler Holbrook and Co., receipt book, 1856-1861 |
| Folder 1.5 | Cyrus Swan, Memorandum Book (Steward’s Department), approximately 1864-1865 |
| Folder 1.6 | Cyrus Swan, Memorandum Books (Steward’s Department), 1866 |
| Folder 1.7 | Cyrus Swan, Memorandum Book (Steward’s Department), 1865 |
| Folder 1.8 | Cyrus Swan, Memorandum Book (Steward’s Department) Rules of Operation, undated |
| Folder 1.9 | Maria Mitchell to Ms. Swan (?), 1896 |
| Folder 1.10 | Newspaper clipping with ink drawing of Cyrus Swan, undated |
| Folder 1.11 | Invitation and ticket for Inauguration of New Building at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1894 |
| Folder 1.12 | Cyrus Swan, Chancery Court License, 2 November 1843 |
| Folder 1.13 | Internal Revenue License issued to Cyrus Swan, 11 May 1865 |
| Folder 1.14 | Cyrus Swan, Supreme Court License, 27 October 1842 |
| Folder 1.15 | Correspondence to Cyrus Swan, 2 January 1896 |
| Folder 1.16 | Correspondence, C. Oatman Osborne to Cyrus Swan, 7 March 1881 |
| Folder 1.17 | Correspondence, Benson Lossing to Cyrus Swan, 6 December 1867 |
| Folder 1.18 | Correspondence, Benson Lossing to Cyrus Swan, 27 January 1883 |
| Folder 1.19 | Correspondence, D. F. Franks to Cyrus Swan, 15 March 1843 |
| Folder 1.20 | Correspondence, Hutchinson to Cyrus Swan, 4 August 1844 |
| Folder 1.21 | Correspondence to Cyrus Swan, March-November 1867 |
| (Correspondents include A.F. Bellows, John W. Ehninger, S.R. Giffford, George H. Hall, George Innes, Elias L. Magoon, C.H. Moore, and Marcus Waterman.) | |
| Folder 1.22 | William Swan, Notebook of Ms. Musier, 1882 |
| Folder 2.1 | Cyrus Swan, Scrapbook, 1846-1854 |
| (Includes some pages of Private Account, 1842-1843.) | |
| Folder 2.2 | Cyrus Swan, Scrapbook of Political Clippings, 1872 |
| Folder 2.3 | Cyrus Swan, Letterbook, 1868-1866 |
| Folder 3.1 | Letterbook, 1875-1878 |
| Folder 3.2 | Letterbook, 1862-1864 |
| Folder 4.1 | Letterbook, 1866-1867 |
| Folder 5.1 | Letters from Maria Mitchell to Harriet Swan, undated |
| Folder 5.2 | Letter from Matthew Vassar to Cyrus Swan, 1867 |
| Folder 5.3 | Letter from Milo Jewett to Cyrus Swan, 1879 |
| Folder 5.4 | Letter from Milo Jewett to Cyrus Swan, 1879 |
| Folder 5.5 | Letters from James Taylor to Cyrus Swan, 1890 |
| Folder 5.6 | Matthew Vassar to the Poughkeepsie Daily Press, incomplete draft, undated |
| Folder 5.7 | Letter of Resignation from Milo Jewett, 1864 |
| Folder 5.8 | Letter from John Raymond to Cyrus Swan, 1869 |
| Folder 5.9 | Letter from John Raymond to Cyrus Swan, 1867 |
| Folder 5.10 | Letter from John Raymond to Cyrus Swan, 1863 |
| Folder 5.11 | Letter from James Taylor to Cyrus Swan, 1888 |
| Folder 5.12 | Letter from Matthew Vassar to Cyrus Swan, 1864 |
| Folder 5.13 | Letter from James Taylor to Cyrus Swan, 1887 |
| Folder 6.1 | Speech? 4 July 1848 |
| Folder 6.2 | Speech? 8 February 1856 |
| Folder 6.3 | Framed photograph undated |
| Folder 6.4 | Miscellaneous papers, 11845-1880, undated |
| Folder 6.5 | Photograph of Cyrus Swan and daughter (?), undated |
| Folder 6.6 | Lyceum Materials, 1852, undated |
| Folder 6.7 | Matthew Vassar, financial affairs regarding kin, undated |
| Folder 6.8 | Matthew Vassar’s Address to the Trustees, draft in Cyrus Swan’s Hand, 1864 |
| Folder 6.9 | Letter from Board of Trustees Executive Committee to Matthew Vassar, 1864 |
| Folder 6.10 | Draft of the Will of Maria Mitchell, 1871 |
| Folder 6.11-6.12 | Lease from Matthew Vassar to Dudley and Thompson, 1855 |
| Folder 6.13 | Deed from Clark to Matthew Vassar, 1855 |
| Folder 7.1 | Vassar 50(?)th Anniversary, approximately 1915-1939 |
| Folder 7.2 | Letters, etc., 1848-1930 |
| (Letters to and from Cyrus Swan and Swan family members. Photograph, printed material, draft of Matthew Vassar's will) | |
| Folder 7.3 | Letters from Cyrus Swan to his family 1845 |
| Folder 7.4 | Letters, etc 1845-1930 |
| (Letters to and from Cyrus Swan and Swan family members and other correspondents, including Herbert E. Mills and J. Rockwell. Also includes reports and legal documents) | |
| Folder 8.1 | Account Book, 1846-1869 |
| Folder 8.2-8.3 | Material relating to Mill Street House, 1869-1886 |
| Folder 8.4 | Letters related to Cyrus Swan Monument, undated |
| Folder 8.5 | Various family materials, 1845-1930 |
Return to the Table of Contents
Details
Correspondence, diaries, account
books, and other materials relating to the life and career of Cyrus Swan.
1842-1898
