Lorenzo State Historic Site

Lorenzo State Historic Site

South Cottage
17 Rippleton Road
Cazenovia, NY 13035, United States
Over decades, Friends of Lorenzo has played a key role in the preservation and promotion of Lorenzo's treasures. Its archives and collections, covering 160 years of history as seen through one family, consists of more than 200,000 documents and 50,000 objects. The documents and objects at Lorenzo comprise the most extensive collection held within the NY State Historic Site System.

Collection Sampling

Lincklaen/Ledyard Collection, 1740-1970, bulk 1780-1960

Dating from the 1790s through 1970, the Lincklaen/Ledyard collection in the Lorenzo archive contains correspondence, land records, wills, maps, store and personal account ledgers, photographs, ephemera, and more created, collected or relating to the family members, enslaved, servants, and business and personal associates.
Collection ID: LL001

The Helen Lucy Kennard Collection, 1700s-1960s, bulk 1800-1945

Helen Lucy Kennard was a direct descendant of the Ledyard family name. Throughout her life, Helen took a great interest in her family's history and compiled genealogical research piecing together her history that she wanted to publish as a book. Her collection contain that same genealogical research, correspondence pertaining to said research, original land and business papers and original correspondence between her ancestors. The collection also contains ephemera, printed materials, newspaper clippings, and photographs that pertain to her research and her family history.
Collection ID: HK001

The Meadows Collection, 1700-1989, bulk 1860s-1950s

The Meadows collection is comprised of documents, papers, and photographs collected by the families that owned The Meadows mansion in Cazenovia, NY. These families include The Ledyards, The Hubbards, and The Oakmans, providing a snapshot of the personal life of an upper class family during the mid 1800s to the 1950s. Please see the scope and content note for a more in depth description of the collection.
Collection ID: ME001

Pringle Symonds Photograph Collection, 1890s-1940s, bulk 1890s-1920s

The Pringle Symonds Photograph Collection is comprise of loose photographs and scrapbooks of the Burden, Ledyard, and Krumbhaar Family. From this collection, it's assumed that the Burden Family were close friends with the Ledyard's, although, little is known about the relationship.
Collection ID: PS001

Samuel S. Forman Papers, 1750s-1900s, bulk 1770s-1820s

The Samuel S. Forman Papers contain administrative records, books, cattle and livestock papers, papers pertaining to the Cazenovia Post Office, certificates, correspondence, estate records, genealogy, Jonathan Denise Ledyard, government records, land documents, legal documents, lists, papers pertaining to the Madison County Court, John H. Oley, Richard Button Patent, slave documents, store documents, speeches and addresses, writings, and miscellaneous papers. Although the Samuel S. Forman Papers are primarily made up of business documents and papers from Forman's time as a shop owner of general stores for the Holland Land Company, and a store in Middletown Point, New Jersey. These business documents and papers include: account books and statements, ashes, bills and receipts, calculations, cashbooks, correspondence, daybooks, invoice books, ledgers, memorandums, orders for payment, petty lists, receipt books, registers, scratch books, and suppliers for Forman's stores. Some business documents and papers pertain to business dealings with specific people and organizations such as Jonathan and Samuel Forman Sr., Oneida Turnpike Road Co., the Cazenovia Establishment, the Sloop Monmouth, Jacob H. Ten Eyck, Sweet and Lovejoy, the Third Great Western Turnpike, S. Van Rensselaer, and Isaac Van Vleck.
Collection ID: SF001

Moore Brothers Collection, 1870s-1970s; undated, bulk 1960s-1970s

This Moore Brothers Collection is comprised mostly of documents pertaining to the sale of Lorenzo in 1969 to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. This collection also includes genealogical research and personal correspondence, but it makes up a very small part of the collection.
Collection ID: MB001

Fairchild Family Papers, 1810s-1930s; undated, bulk 1810s-1890s

The Fairchid Family Papers are comprised of materials that were assumed to have been compiled by members of the Fairchild Family, although it's unknown as to who compiled them.
Collection ID: FA001

Jane Kennard Gilman Collection, 1820s-1900s, bulk c.1850s-1900s

This collection contains advertisements, business documents, correspondence, lists, petitions, photographs, printed materials, stamps, and writings. All materials within this collection are from the ancestors of Jane Kennard Gilmore's grandmother, Helen L. Stebbins (nee Kennard). These ancestors include members of the Childs, Fairchilds, Ledyards, and Stebbins families.
Collection ID: JG001

Henry H. Potter Papers, 1887, 1920, bulk 1887, 1900

This collection is made up of business documents and papers that were kept by Henry H. Potter. These documents and papers include bank notes, bills and receipts, checkbooks, checks and cancelled checks, miscellaneous materials, daybooks, and ledgers.
Collection ID: HP001

Aaron White Papers, 1820s-1930s, bulk 1840s-1890s

The Aaron White Papers contain land documents such as land surveys, assessment rolls, maps, notes, descriptions of lands, lists of some sections of the Delphi Cemetery in Delphi Falls, New York, and an aerial photograph of Cazenovia, New York; educational documents such as calculation examples and notes from a geometry lesson; administrative records such as annual records from the M.E. Church in Cazenovia, New York; floorplans from an unidentified building; and various estate records.
Collection ID: AW001