Peter Christoph and his wife Florence, both of whom are Hartwick College Alumni and who now reside in Selkirk, New York, donated this collection to the archives in the fall of 2006. The Christophs were married in the city of Oneonta by the Reverend Louis Van Ess, who was a history professor at the college while they were students at Hartwick College. The finding aid below is based on the family history written by Peter and Florence Christoph, who also arranged the collection.

The Gerry Family Papers encompass several generations, and certain series are extremely well documented and rich with historical significance. The searches, land deeds and correspondence are of particular interest to scholars of land development in upstate New York. The majority of these properties are pieces of the original Hardenburgh Patent granted to Robert Livingston in 1749. It was the largest single patent ever granted in the American Colonies. The memorabilia holds the strongest research value in Cornelia Harriman's diaries of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the four volume scrapbooks of Cornelia's son, Elbridge T. Gerry II, which documents not only his impressive achievements as a polo player, but the entire culture of early 20th century polo. The collection as a whole represents the awesome prestige of well-known and powerful families from the Early American Republic to the mid-twentieth century, and glimpses at their elite culture and society. The collection has been arranged into the following series: I. Land Deeds, Legal Papers, Maps II. Lake Delaware III. Family Wills IV. Memorabilia

The documents in this record group span the years 1739 through 1940. The records were not received in a specific order and many were accessioned at different times. Thus, they have been arranged to best reflect the organization and history of the seminary. They are divided into twelve series: I. Dudde Collection II. H.C. Collection III. Day Collection IV. Yale Collection V. Board of Trustees VI. Course Records VII. Societies VIII. Publications IX. Memorabilia X. Hartwick Academy XI. Photographs, Maps, Graphics XII. Bibliographical Information The first four series contain related letters and land deeds during John Christopher Hartwick's years in America and the establishment of the institution after his death, with the bulk of the material dating between 1796 and 1878. The remaining series document life at the seminary. Although the records are not always complete they do delineate a clear picture of the struggles and growth of the seminary and the flavor of campus life.

The collection includes letters, newspaper clippings, lawsuits, legislation, meeting notes, periodicals, and reports dealing with such issues as land claims, acculturation, adoption, citizenship, and government relations of the Cayuga, Iroquois Mohawk, Oneida, and Onondaga Indians. A computer printout inventory has been compiled dividing the files into three categories: letters, newspaper clippings, and miscellaneous items. Each category is in alphabetical order, both by author and subject. This inventory is stored with the collection.

This small collection is arranged into three categories: 1) John Burroughs as author, 2) works written about John Burroughs, and 3) memorabilia. Items in this collection give only a periphery view of different aspects of Burroughs life. Certainly one of the most interesting pieces in the collection is a photo of John Burroughs sitting in his Ford. The automobile was a gift from Henry Ford, and Burroughs learned to drive it at the age of 75.

The collection includes postcards, photographs, one small weaving, newspaper clippings and publications ranging from 1917 to 1965. These include publications by the Tonawanda Indian Reservation, papers by William Ritchie of the New York State Museum, and pamphlets and articles on Native American textiles, basketry and beadwork.

The eclectic items from the Telfer family is most extensive in its collection of over one hundred postcards, which supplement the New York Regional postcard collection also held in the archives. Although there are only a dozen letters of correspondence, some of them make reference to farming both in America and in Scotland. Grace (Michaels) Telfer's eccentric scrapbook depicts the turn-of-the century culture in art and advertising.

The collection includes Synod constitutions, proceedings, convention minutes, and yearbooks. Notable items in the collection include - the Franckean Constitution of 1849; the March 1927 New York Synod proceedings approving the establishment of Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York; and the minutes of the 1969 New York Synod Convention reporting on Hartwick College's disaffiliation with the Lutheran Church. This collection has been divided into the following twelve series: