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Purdy Family Papers

 Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG5-243

Scope and Contents

The collection contains account books, financial papers, family correspondence, and miscellaneous papers of William Purdy, a New York Quaker preacher, and his family. William Purdy bought land on the Croton River. He was a member of Amawalk Monthly Meeting, attending Croton preparative and worship meetings, and traveled in the ministry, leaving an undated record of the Friends and meetings that he visited. Purdy donated money, land, and labor towards building a new bridge and school house. The collection also includes genealogical information compiled by Elliott Baldwin Hunt and Arthur M. Tingue.

Organized into three series:

  1. William Purdy
  2. Purdy family papers
  3. Genealogical papers

Dates

  • Creation: 1801-2004

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Some of the items in this collection may be protected by copyright. The user is solely responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder or their heirs/assigns to reuse, publish, or reproduce relevant items beyond the bounds of Fair Use or other exemptions to the law. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/.

Biographical / Historical

William Purdy, Quaker farmer and minister, was born about 1769; Quaker records give his birth variously as 1763 or 1767, and family records indicate 1769. There is evidence that he first married Mary Williams whose name is also given as Elizabeth in the Amawalk Monthly Meeting records. They had eight children: Fanny (1793), Charlotte (1794), Jesse (1797), Abraham (1799), Deborah (1801), Micajah (1803), Simeon (1805), and Henry (1807). After his wife's death, in 1812 and under the care of Amawalk Monthly Meeting, William married Elizabeth (McDonald) Farrington (1767 -1840), a widow. They had four children: Burling (1813), Ann (1815), John (1817), and Ebenezer (1820). William Purdy died in 1847.

William Purdy bought land in Cortlandt on the Croton River from Pierre and Peter van Cortlandt in 1801. He attended the Croton preparative and worship meetings and traveled in the ministry, leaving an undated record of the Friends and meetings that he visited. Purdy was also active in his town, donating money, land, and labor towards building a new bridge and school house.

His son Abraham (1799-1855) married Mary Sarles in 1824, and they had six children. The correspondence is primarily from their daughter, Deborah Ann, who married Charles Williams. The genealogical notes and correspondence were compiled by Elliot Baldwin Hunt who was the grandson of Micajah William Purdy, the fifth child of Abraham and Mary S. Purdy. He published an article and transcription of the travel record in The Quarterly Bulletin of the Westchester County Historical Society in April 1934.

Extent

1 linear ft. (3 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The collection contains account books, financial papers, family correspondence, and miscellaneous papers of William Purdy, a New York Quaker preacher, and his family. He was a member of Amawalk Monthly Meeting, attending Croton preparative and worship meetings, and traveled in the ministry, leaving an undated record of the Friends and meetings that he visited. Purdy was donated money, land, and labor towards building a new bridge and school house in Cortlandt. Collection also includes genealogical information compiled by Elliott Baldwin Hunt and Arthur M. Tingue.

Physical Location

For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donor: Arthur M. Tingue, 6/1/2004 (Accession number: 2004-006)

Processing Information

The collection was received in folders and an acidic binder, arranged by the donor, Arthur Tingue. The papers were removed from the non-archival housing, foldered, and organized into series.

Subject

Title
Finding aid for Purdy Family Papers, 1801-2004
Author
FHL staff
Date
2007
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Find It at the Library

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