This collection consists mainly of business papers of Francis Patrick Garvan (1875-1937), Assistant D.A. in New York for 1901-1909, later lawyer and chairman of the Chemical Trust Fund Co.

This collection consists of family letters of the members of two families: the Meads of Albany and the Wilsons of Elizabethtown, New Jersey, covering the years 1824-1870, with a 1930 letter to Alice Duer Miller, a noted author, who was a descendant of both families. Miller wrote a brief history of both families, which is included in the collection.

Dibblee & Brown operated from the early 1820s to 1838 in Albany, New York. Located at the corner of State and Dock Streets, Dibblee & Brown were merchants, and commission and forwarding agents. They owned sloops, towboats, and canal boats, and chartered sloops and steamboats to transport goods and commodities on the Hudson River and Erie Canal. Partners included Allen Brown (1768-1852) and Henry Dibblee (1778-1840), while Silas and Stanton Brown managed the business in New York City. Elias Brown, son of Allen Brown and his wife Nancy, was a Hudson River pilot and captain of the steamboat North America.

The Pruyn Family Papers contains documents relating to three consecutive generations of the John Pruyn Family, along with genealogies and personal papers of more distant family relations. An autograph collection of presidents, statesmen, and local historic figures is included. The ownership of 43-45 North Pearl Street is documented from the first sale in 1679 to the last in 1968. The estates of Eleanor Erving, Justine Bayard Erving and Van Rensselaer Pruyn are also documented.

The majority of this collection includes the personal papers of Frank W. Rosell and his family. Correspondence and items regarding the works of Asher B. Durand are also present. Genealogies of several families are outlined.

The collection contains photographs, programs, correspondence, and materials related to the life of Nina Saunders Derby.