Seven bound manuscripts are included in the collection.

The first volume is a copybook with drafts of correspondence prepared by Charles after the death of his father, DeWitt Clinton, in February of 1828. Most letters notify friends and family of his family’s loss. Other letters deal with the settling of his father’s estate. General Lafayette, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, Nathanial Pitcher and Stephen Van Rensselaer III are just a few of Charles’ correspondents. Several letters in the book mention an elaborate silver vase that New York City presented to DeWitt Clinton for his political support and promotion of the Erie Canal while governor of the state. The vase, one of a pair made by Philadelphia silversmiths Thomas Fletcher and Sidney Gardiner, was presented to Clinton in Albany on March 19, 1825, and was part of the estate that Charles was settling. The draft letters date from October 1827 to June 1835.

The second volume is a notebook from a law class that Charles presumably attended in 1820. Both civil and criminal law is covered. The book provides some insight into the teaching of law in the early 19th century. The book has numbered pages and an index in the back of the book. The last entry is on page 281.

The third volume is a commonplace book. This book was presumably created in 1825. There is no discernible order or theme to the book. Topics include but are not limited to: ethics, zoology, biology, love of country, and discord. The book has numbered pages and an index in the back of the book. The last numbered page is 451. However, numerous numbered pages remain blank.

The last four manuscripts in the collection are titled Flim Flams. Among other printed material, the manuscripts are made up of newspaper clippings which are outrageous, deceptive, funny, unusual, scandalous, shady or otherwise strange material. Most of the clippings are editorials covering his father’s political career. Some of the clippings were written by DeWitt Clinton. However, there are some outliers covering such topics as natural history, book reviews, poetry, and numerous articles from a series run in the Albany Daily Advertiser titled ‘Rural Sports.’ There is a limited marginalia presumably penned by Charles in most of the volumes which provides additional context.

Newspapers clippings are from a variety of newspapers including but not limited to: Albany Daily Advertiser, Farmer’s Register, Schenectady Cabinet, Commercial Advertiser, Columbian, Albany Argus, Morning Chronicle, American Citizen and the Evening Post. The pages within the four volumes are numbered consecutively from 1 to 956. Pages 613 to 749 are missing which indicates that one volume is missing.

The first volume of Flim Flams was created between early 1819 and December of 1822. The volume includes clippings from 1818 to 1822. This volume covers DeWitt’s involvement in the Erie Canal and the strong opposition from Martin Van Buren and the Bucktails. Towards the end of this volume a controversy over the salaries of the State Printers is covered.

The second volume of Flim Flams was created in late 1822 through 1823. This volume continues with the controversy over the salary given to the State Printer, Isaac Q, Leake and Moses L. Cantine. Leake and Cantine were joint editors of the Albany Argus, a Republican newspaper. Most of the articles ran in papers that supported the Federalist at the time. This volume also includes a series of nine letters to the editors that ran in the Columbian from December of 1809 to 1810 penned by an individual that went by “Rattle in the Tail.” A subsequent series of communication titled The Diarrhodon is included as well. This communication ran in the Columbian from December 1810 to March of 1811. The first twenty articles are included but the twenty-first article that ran in the March 15, 1811 edition is not included. The author of these two series is unknown.

The third volume of Flim Flams was created in 1823. It begins with clippings from 1807. The clippings are letters to the editors penned by John Lansing, DeWitt Clinton and then Vice-president of the United States and DeWitt’s uncle, George Clinton. In question is the appearance of improprieties concerning DeWitt’s possible appointment as the Chancellor of the State, the highest judicial officer in the state. Also included is a controversy over the appointment of the Sheriff of the County of Westchester in the same year and a series of letters to the editor of the Columbian titled the Martling-man that ran in 1812. Marginalia attributes it to 1810. (One letter in this series appears at the end of the previous volume.) Numerous articles on George and DeWitt Clinton follow, dated from 1804 to 1823. The volume also includes numerous articles on Natural History.

The last volume of Flim Flams was created over two spans of time. The first section is from 1824 to 1827. It starts mid-way through a series of letters to the editor that ran in the summer of 1824 in the Schenectady Cabinet and a series titled “Political Correspondence” that ran in Albany Daily Advertiser. Covered in this material is the removal of DeWitt Clinton from the Erie Canal Commission, the Democratic Party nomination of Samuel Young for Governor, the 1824 and 1826 election for Governor. From page 862 on the articles are from 1843 to 1855. Also included is a copy of Mr. Clintons’ 1852 book A Winter from Home.