1695-1982; bulk: 1720-1900
Guide to the Collection
Abstract
This collection consists of papers of the interrelated Hall, Baury, and Jansen families. Materials in the collection include family, business, and military correspondence; financial records; estate papers; sermon notes and other religious papers; schoolbooks; genealogical information; and diaries. A large part of the collection consists of the personal and professional papers of Rev. Alfred L. Baury (1794-1865).
Biographical Sketches
Below are brief biographical sketches of the individuals represented most prominently within the collection.
Hugh Hall (1693-1773) was born in Barbados to the Hon. Hugh Hall, a member of the King's Council, and Lydia Gibbs Hall. Raised in Boston by his grandmother, Hall graduated from Harvard College in 1713. He became a wealthy commission merchant in the Boston and Barbados trade, which included the importation of enslaved people. Hall also served on numerous Boston town committees and was a special justice on the Court of Common Pleas. In 1722, Hall married Elizabeth Pitts, with whom he had eleven children. He is buried in Boston's Old Granary Burial Ground.
Louis Baury de Bellerive (1753-1807) was born on Saint Domingo (Saint-Domingue, Haiti) to John Baury de Bellerive and Maire-Jane Guillotin de La Vigerie. He served in the American Revolutionary War from 1770-1783 and as aide-de-camp to Major General Benjamin Lincoln during Shays' Rebellion in 1786-1787. He also served in the French army in Saint-Domingue during the French Revolution. Baury married Mary Clark (1767-1856) in 1784, and they had four children: Francis (1784-1803), Frederic (1792-1814), Alfred La Figerie Jean Paul (1794-1865), and Mary B. (1799-1882).
Mary Clark Baury (1767-1856) was the daughter of Elisha Clark and Sarah Hall Clark and the granddaughter of Hugh Hall. She married Louis Baury de Bellerive in 1784.
Alfred La Figerie Jean Paul Baury (1794-1865) was the third son of Louis Baury de Bellerive and Mary Clark Baury. Born in Middletown, Conn., he owned a mercantile business in North Carolina before returning to New England to become an Episcopal minister in 1818. He served as rector of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Newton, Mass. from 1822 to 1851 and as rector of St. Mark's Church in Boston from 1855 to 1858. He received an M.A. from Yale in 1848 and a Doctorate of Divinity from Norwich University in 1865. Rev. Baury married Mary Catherine Henshaw (1798-1873) in 1829, with whom he had five children: Alfred Louis, Frederick Francis, Katherine H., Elizabeth P., and Caroline H.
Thomas Jansen (1735-1802) was the son of Hendrickus Jansen and Anneke Schoonmaker. He married Elsie Osterhoudt (1741-1808), the daughter of William Osterhoudt and Sarah Hasbrouck, in 1760. Their children included Catharine (1760-1785), Sarah (1762-1833), Anneke (1764-1787 ), Henry (1767-1793), William (1769-1808), Johannis (1771-1847), Joseph (1774-1848), Levi (1776-1824), Egbert (1778-1834), Elsie (1780-1844), Thomas T. (1782-1852), and Catherine (1785-1813). The family resided in Shawangunk, New York.
Collection Description
The Hall-Baury-Jansen family papers consist of 3 boxes and one oversize box spanning the years 1695-1982, with the bulk dating from the 1720s to 1900. The collection contains the papers of three interrelated families and has been divided into three series: the Hugh Hall papers; the Baury family papers; and the Jansen family papers. Materials in the collection consist of family, business, and military correspondence; financial records; estate papers; sermon notes and other religious papers; schoolbooks; genealogical information; and diaries. Family correspondence, which comprises the bulk of the collection, includes the letters of Hugh and Richard Hall, Mary Clark Baury, Mary Brown Baury, Thomas Jansen, and Thomas E. Jansen. The personal and professional papers of Rev. Alfred L. Baury (1794-1865), minister of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Newton, Mass., also comprise a large part of the collection. Also included are the diaries of farmer John Egbert Jansen (1837-1929) and his wife Margaret A. (Wisner) Jansen (1840-1923).
Of particular interest is the correspondence of merchant Hugh Hall (1693-1773) with his brother Richard Hall and other merchants regarding trade between Boston and Barbados from 1716 to 1744. Also of interest are papers relating to the French colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti), including letters from General Rochambeau to Louie-Baury de Bellerive, and 1803 customs house records for Port-au-Prince during the last months of the Haitian revolution.
Of additional note are an 1839 New Zealand land contract with two Maori chieftains and an October 1861 letter describing the war conditions in Newport News, Va. from a sailor aboard the USS Cumberland.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Caroline Knox, Trintje D. Jansen, Thomas Borden, Bradford Jansen, and Nicholas Slade Jansen, August 2008; February 2009. The Jensen family volumes (Series III.B.) and the photograph album (removed to the MHS Photo Archives) were given in October 2012. Additions were given in May 2014.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Hugh Hall papers, 1709-1768
Arranged chronologically.
The bulk of this series is family correspondence, including letters from Hall in Barbados to his mother Lydia Hall Colman, her husband Rev. Benjamin Colman, letters from Hall's brother Richard in Barbados concerning their father's estate and their Barbados trading business, and a letter from Hall to his daughter Sarah. Also included is correspondence between Hall and other Boston and Barbados merchants. This series contains a sermon notebook kept by Hugh Hall from 20-30 March 1709, with notes on sermons preached by various ministers.
II. Baury family papers, 1695-1906
This series contains the family, personal, and business correspondence of members of the Baury family, including the professional correspondence of Episcopal minister Alfred L. Baury, financial records, and other miscellaneous papers.
A. Correspondence, 1796-1873
Arranged chronologically.
Included in this subseries are several letters to Louis Baury de Bellerive from Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeru, Compte de Rochambeau (1725-1807), when Rochambeau was General in Chief of the Army of Saint-Domingue (Haiti). The letters discuss Baury's military service and the death of Baury's son. The subseries also contains three letters from Frederic Baury as a boy to his father Louis at Cape Francois, 1802-1803.
Also found here is correspondence relating to the legal claim of Mary Clark Baury on the estate of her stepfather Wensley Hobby. The "Hobby Claim" papers discuss legal opinions of the case, as well as the results of various depositions.
Family correspondence includes letters between Alfred Baury and his mother Mary Clark Baury, his sister Mary Brown Baury, his wife Catherine Henshaw Baury, and his son Frederick, as well as several letters from friends and business associates. An October 1861 letter from Alfred Baury's son-in-law, S. Jackson, a sailor aboard the USS Cumberland, describes conditions in Newport News, Va. several months before the ship was destroyed by the ironclad Virginia.
B. Alfred Baury professional papers, 1810-1866
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries includes correspondence and records relating to Alfred L. Baury's religious career, primarily letters from parishioners and fellow Episcopal ministers. Among these are an 1823 letter from Alexander Griswold, Bishop of the Eastern Diocese, installing Baury as priest of St. Mary's Church in Newton; a letter from Daniel Huntington; and letters from Boston's "Ice King" Frederic Tudor concerning the "French spoilations."
C. Family financial records, 1788-1895
Arranged chronologically by record type.
Financial records include a medical bill from Dr. John Warren (1788), a 1798 account book written in French, receipts for boarding and tuition, grocery accounts, an insurance policy, and papers relating the estate of Mary Brown Baury. An 1813 account book belonging to Alfred L. Baury records his business transactions as a merchant in North Carolina.
Of particular interest is an 1803 "Declaration D'Árriveé" listing American ships entering Port-Républicain in Saint-Domingue (today, Port-au-Prince, Haiti) during the last months of the Haitian revolution. It includes the ships' home ports, captains, destinations, cargo manifests, and value.
D. Miscellaneous records, 1695-1851
Arranged chronologically by record type.
Records in this subseries include the sermons of Rev. Nobadiah Russell of Middletown, Conn., recorded by an unidentified parishioner, 1695-1696; a 1788 sermon of Rev. William Colman written in Colman's hand; papers relating to a 1742 Newport counterfeit trial; schoolbooks and copybooks belonging to members of the Baury and Henshaw families; a typescript of the logbook of the USS Constitution dating from June to October 1812, kept by Frederic Baury when serving on the Constitution under Admiral Hull; a commonplace-book of Alfred L. Baury; and an 1839 New Zealand land contract between Gilbert Mair and two Maori chieftains. The connection of this contract to the Baury family is unknown.
E. Printed material, 1818-1906
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains several pamphlets and booklets, including an 1833 Harvard directory, published letters of John Quincy Adams, and various religious publications. Newspaper clippings and genealogical papers contain information about the history of the Baury family and include obituaries of Alfred L. Baury and Mary B. Baury, as well as a Congressional memorial for Mary Clark Baury.
III. Jansen family papers, 1747-1982
Arranged chronologically by record type.
This series contains correspondence, legal and financial records, genealogical papers, and printed material relating to the Jansen family of Shawangunk, New York. Included in the correspondence are letters between Thomas Jansen (1735-1802) and his brother-in-law Joseph Oostershoudt, a letter from Egbert Jansen to his brother John describing the territory of Natchez in 1808, and an 1838 letter to Thomas T. Jansen from his nephew in Provincetown, Mass. describing his work on a fishing schooner.
Legal and financial records contain a 1748 Dutch receipt, indentures, deeds, accounts, records relating to the estate settlement of Thomas Jansen, the marriage certificate of Rachel Jansen and Pierre V. S. Miller (1830), a list of property sold at auction by Joseph and Thomas Jansen (1830), documents relating to New York Supreme Court case James Jansen vs. Benjamin Dickerson, and estate papers of Thomas T. Jansen.
Genealogical papers include information on the Hardenburgh and Vernooy families, as well as the Jansen families. Printed material includes a 1747 copy of London Magazine, newspaper clippings, and pamphlets.
The series also contains seven diaries of farmer John Egbert Jansen, three diaries and a commonplace-book of his wife Margaret A. (Wisner) Jansen, and an autograph book of Mary Jansen.
A. Loose papers, 1747-1982
B. Volumes, 1825-1878
John Egbert Jansen diaries, 1858-1878
The diaries of farmer John Egbert Jansen, kept at Pine Bush, N.Y., describe his daily activities; logging and farm work; church attendance; travels; social calls, including calls on Margaret A. Wisner, whom he married in 1862; news of his brother Levi Jansen and other family members; local events; and the weather. Also included are accounts, poetry, and memoranda. Entries in 1860 describe John's illness during an outbreak of measles in February, the illness of his brother Charles, and Charles's death in November. The 1861 diary only occasionally mentions the Civil War.
Margaret A. (Wisner) Jansen diaries and commonplace-book, 1854-1864
The diaries of Margaret A. (Wisner) Jansen, kept at Pine Bush, N.Y., describe her daily activities; church attendance; social calls, including visits by John Egbert Jansen; and news of various Wisner and Jansen family members. The majority of the entries were written before her marriage to John E. Jansen on 17 Dec. 1862. Included are excerpts of poetry. The commonplace-book, probably also written by Margaret, contains poems, newspaper clippings, and memoranda.
Included are poems written and dedicated to Mary Jansen by her friends.
Preferred Citation
Hall-Baury-Jansen family papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.
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Materials Removed from the Collection
A small album containing carte-de-visite and tintype photographs has been removed to the MHS Photo Archives.