Personal and business papers of members of these related families, especially Charles Bush Collins, Lyman R. Lyon, Clinton L. Merriam, Charles C. Merriam and his wife Florence Lyon Merriam. Includes letters, diaries, military commissions, wills, inventories, cash accounts, deeds, and field books relating to their large land holdings in Lewis County, N.Y., their lumber business, and their involvement in politics. Also contains a large number of household bills of the Lyon family.

Harmen Harmanse was the patriarch of the Gansevoort family in Albany, New York, arriving in the area by 1657. Although not the first Ten Eyck in America, Jacob C. Ten Eyck was the first to come to Albany, moving from Manhattan after 1654. The two families intermarried several times over the years, along with other Dutch families in the area. This collection includes correspondence, financial records, estate records, and other family-related information.