This collection is composed of letters written by brothers Albert and Garrett Vander Veer to family members. Garrett and Albert were the fifth and seventh children, respectively, of Abraham Harris and Sarah (Martin) Vander Veer and were officers in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The majority of the letters are addressed to the Vander Veer’s sister and brother-in-law, Esther and John Craig.

The Banks Family Papers collection consists of personal and legal papers of Robert Lenox Banks and his family, primarily his daughter, Mary Decamp Banks Moore. These include correspondence to and from the Banks Family by local businessmen, politicians, such as New York Governor, John T. Hoffman, and William Vanderbilt, President of the Hudson River Railroad. The documents are mostly personal in nature, describing the private life of a prominent local family of the 19th Century. Also in this collection are photographs, genealogical information, and other items relating to the Banks, Lenox, and Corning families.

This collection includes family papers for the Bedlow, Corpron, and McRae families, who were related through marriage and adoption. The Bedlow family was originally from Massachusetts before settling in Plattsburgh, then Champlain, New York. The collection contains correspondence, legal documents, financial documents, personal papers, ephemera, and photographs.

James Boyd (1742-1832) and Jane MacMaster Boyd (1751-1831) arrived in Albany, New York, from Scotland in 1774. In 1796, James founded the Arch Street Brewery, which would later become the Albany Brewing Company. This collection contains correspondence, personal papers, and photographs.

Joel W. Burdick accepted a position as a clerk with the D & H (Delaware and Hudson) Railroad Company in 1879, and moved with his wife to Albany, New York. He eventually rose to the position of passenger agent, and he and his wife traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada. This collection contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, and photographs.

Daniel Evan Button (1917-2009) was a Republican politician elected as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. After his landslide win for the 1966 election, Button once again ran and was re-elected to his seat on the House of Representatives as a representative of New York. He ran for a third term in 1970, but was ultimately defeated. This collection contains newspaper articles, letters, speeches, documents, photographs, and published works in his memory.

The Lathrop sisters, Dorothy Pulis Lathrop (1891-1980) and Gertrude Katherine Lathrop, (1896-1986) were from Albany, New York. Dorothy was a writer and illustrator of children’s books, while Gertrude was a sculptor, particularly of small animals. Their mother, Ida F. Pulis Lathrop, was a portrait, still life, and landscape artist. The Dorothy and Gertrude Lathrop Papers include correspondence, book lists, clippings, photographs and books to, from, and about Dorothy and Gertrude Lathrop.

Erastus Corning 2nd (1909-1983), was a member of the New York State Assembly, the New York State Senate, and was served as the Mayor of Albany, New York, from 1942-1983. This collection contains correspondence, clippings, photographs, and other personal and political materials.

Research notes compiled by Susan Bonynge Strange and Lucretia Booth Evans in researching the Foot(e), Booth, and Colt lines of their family trees. This collection contains correspondence, genealogies, and photographs.

Frederick Joseph Lawrence (1825-1904) was a prominent decorator and coach painter who resided in Albany, New York. This collection contains business papers, personal papers, Edward Tallmadge Papers, daguerreotypes, and newspapers.