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.

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.

Hybertie Lansing Pruyn Hamlin (1873-1964) was born in Albany, New York, to John Van Schaick Lansing Pruyn (1811-1877) and Anna Fenn Parker Pruyn (1840-1909). Her father was a U.S. Congressman, representing New York’s 14th District. One of her sisters was Harriet Langdon Pruyn Rice (1868-1939). Hybertie married Charles Sumner Hamlin (1861-1938) in 1898. Charles was a lawyer, delegate to three international peace conferences, and later, the first Governor appointed to the Federal Reserve Board in 1914.