Flint-Van Valkenburg Memorial Collection
Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2019.0010
Scope and Contents
The contents of this collection are primarily handwritten documents donated in three separate accessions in 1995, 2010, and 2021 by grandchildren of Orin Q. Flint. Boxes one and two are organized separately in their own chronological arragements, with some overlap covering the lifetime of Orin Flint himself. The Third accession comprises two boxes sorted chronologically containing primarily documents of the Van Valkenburg Family, and the final series comprises the Flint Diaries in chronological order.
The first two boxes in the series contains a selection of early deeds and indentures for land in the vicinity of the current Village of Athens. Of note are two early documents: one being a true copy authenticated by the Albany County Clerk in 1751 of Governor Thomas Dongan's confirmation grant to Jan Van Loon, Johannes Provoost, and Jocham Staats [spelling varies] in 1688 for the Loonenburg Patent, the second being an indenture for land granted to Paul Dick by Johannes Hoener [spelling varies] and Christoffel Hagedorn [spelling varies] for a parcel of land within "the camp" granted to Hoener, Hagedorn, and others in the Manor of Livingston in 1725, more or less within the modern Town of Germantown.
Other materials in box one relate to the life and work of Castle Seeley as postmaster and tavern keeper in the Village of Athens and comprise letters, receipts, and legal papers. There is a heavy emphasis on Deeds and mortgages for land and buildings in the vicinity of Third and Franklin, namely the parcel upon which the home of General George S. Nichols stands. Other deeds relate to the transfer of lots in the Flack Estate [sometimes styled Flaack Estate] Which covers the neighborhood between Second and Market Street.
Subsequent papers relate to the life of Orin Q. Flint, and immediately preceding his documents in the folder arrangement are an assortment of interesting older documents not directly related to Athens that he nonetheless collected out of personal interest. An early copy of the minutes, by-laws, history, and officer/membership list of the Greene County Historical Society is also within the portion of the collection devoted to Mr. Flint's papers.
Materials added in a supplemental accession in 2021 comprise primarily 20th century documents related to the Van Valkenburg and Guilzon families of Athens. of particular note is a considerable amount of material related to youth organizations and extracurricular activities in Coxsackie-Athens Central School District for the period of attendance of the donor, John C. Van Valkenburg.
The first two boxes in the series contains a selection of early deeds and indentures for land in the vicinity of the current Village of Athens. Of note are two early documents: one being a true copy authenticated by the Albany County Clerk in 1751 of Governor Thomas Dongan's confirmation grant to Jan Van Loon, Johannes Provoost, and Jocham Staats [spelling varies] in 1688 for the Loonenburg Patent, the second being an indenture for land granted to Paul Dick by Johannes Hoener [spelling varies] and Christoffel Hagedorn [spelling varies] for a parcel of land within "the camp" granted to Hoener, Hagedorn, and others in the Manor of Livingston in 1725, more or less within the modern Town of Germantown.
Other materials in box one relate to the life and work of Castle Seeley as postmaster and tavern keeper in the Village of Athens and comprise letters, receipts, and legal papers. There is a heavy emphasis on Deeds and mortgages for land and buildings in the vicinity of Third and Franklin, namely the parcel upon which the home of General George S. Nichols stands. Other deeds relate to the transfer of lots in the Flack Estate [sometimes styled Flaack Estate] Which covers the neighborhood between Second and Market Street.
Subsequent papers relate to the life of Orin Q. Flint, and immediately preceding his documents in the folder arrangement are an assortment of interesting older documents not directly related to Athens that he nonetheless collected out of personal interest. An early copy of the minutes, by-laws, history, and officer/membership list of the Greene County Historical Society is also within the portion of the collection devoted to Mr. Flint's papers.
Materials added in a supplemental accession in 2021 comprise primarily 20th century documents related to the Van Valkenburg and Guilzon families of Athens. of particular note is a considerable amount of material related to youth organizations and extracurricular activities in Coxsackie-Athens Central School District for the period of attendance of the donor, John C. Van Valkenburg.
Dates
- Majority of material found within 1688 - 2005
Biographical / Historical
The Flint - Van Valkenburg Collection was originally assembled by Orin Queal Flint (1867-1933) of Athens, NY. A local teacher and attorney, Mr. Flint was a hobby collector of historical documents relating to the upper Hudson Valley and Greene County in particular. This interest prompted Mr. Flint to join a group of interested citizens in the formation of the Greene County Historical Society in 1929. Orin Flint would serve as the Society's first President for one year, stepping down in 1930 and passing away in 1933 from a heart condition. The documents he assembled during his lifetime were maintained by his daughter Marjorie Jean Flint Van Valkenburg (1908-1994), and passed into the care of the Historical Society in 1995 following her passing as one of the first collections accessioned by the Society's archives division in their new research facility.
The majority of the items within the collection relate to several of the founding families of the Village of Athens, a community on the western bank of the Hudson River opposite the City of Hudson and north of the Town of Catskill. The Village of Athens was originally an agrarian hamlet called Loonenburg [spelling varies] which by 1688 was settled and owned by Jan Van Loon and two acquaintances of his along with their respective families. Circa 1795 Edward Livingston and several partners purchased Loonenburg from descendants of Jan Van Loon as well as Conrad Flack [spelling varies, commonly Coonradt Flaack] and in 1799 a survey was commissioned to set aside Village lots and roads for a planned community called Esperanza. A variety of outside factors contributed to the decision by many partners in the Esperanza speculation to divest themselves of holdings, and a contingent of New England businessmen most recently of Hudson led by Isaac Northrup purchased many of the lots in what would become the "Lower Village." Northrup's endeavor attracted residents at such a successful rate that a Village was incorporated within the Town of Catskill in 1805 and named "Athens" in the spirit of the famed classical city. The Village of Athens would exist for much of the Antebellum period as "Upper" and "Lower Villages" - the Upper section being in the neighborhood heading north from the vicinity of Zion Lutheran Evangelical Church towards Murderer's Creek, and the Lower Section forming a neighborhood south of Market Street to the vicinity of Fifth Street.
Speculation on lots in the Lower Village continued through the Antebellum Period, with a considerable number of housing lots being bought and sold on the periphery of the Village by William Bedell, Sylvester Nichols, Tunis Witbeck, and others with varying degrees of success. The Village of Athens, particularly the neighborhoods around Second Street and along Franklin and Montgomery Streets, still host many of the original homes of this first generation of Athenians. There are a considerable number of deeds in the collection related to the General G. S. Nichols house. Although deeds in the collection do not confirm this, that home at the southwest corner of Franklin and Third is likely the original home of Samuel Hamilton, early sheriff and Justice of the Peace in the Village, and the home may date to as early as 1803. The earliest deed in the collection which seemingly relates to this property is from the 1830s.
Castle Seeley (1786-1866), who figures prominently in these papers, was one of the earliest postmasters in Athens and the owner of an Inn and Tavern early in the Village's history. Also present are papers from Nathan Clark (1787-1880), owner of the Clark Pottery, which was a major stoneware manufactory in the Northeast which operated at Athens for a century. Nathan Clark's son Edward made a fortune as a partner on the patents for the Signer Sewing Machine, and two letters in the collection are from Edward to his father.
The majority of the items within the collection relate to several of the founding families of the Village of Athens, a community on the western bank of the Hudson River opposite the City of Hudson and north of the Town of Catskill. The Village of Athens was originally an agrarian hamlet called Loonenburg [spelling varies] which by 1688 was settled and owned by Jan Van Loon and two acquaintances of his along with their respective families. Circa 1795 Edward Livingston and several partners purchased Loonenburg from descendants of Jan Van Loon as well as Conrad Flack [spelling varies, commonly Coonradt Flaack] and in 1799 a survey was commissioned to set aside Village lots and roads for a planned community called Esperanza. A variety of outside factors contributed to the decision by many partners in the Esperanza speculation to divest themselves of holdings, and a contingent of New England businessmen most recently of Hudson led by Isaac Northrup purchased many of the lots in what would become the "Lower Village." Northrup's endeavor attracted residents at such a successful rate that a Village was incorporated within the Town of Catskill in 1805 and named "Athens" in the spirit of the famed classical city. The Village of Athens would exist for much of the Antebellum period as "Upper" and "Lower Villages" - the Upper section being in the neighborhood heading north from the vicinity of Zion Lutheran Evangelical Church towards Murderer's Creek, and the Lower Section forming a neighborhood south of Market Street to the vicinity of Fifth Street.
Speculation on lots in the Lower Village continued through the Antebellum Period, with a considerable number of housing lots being bought and sold on the periphery of the Village by William Bedell, Sylvester Nichols, Tunis Witbeck, and others with varying degrees of success. The Village of Athens, particularly the neighborhoods around Second Street and along Franklin and Montgomery Streets, still host many of the original homes of this first generation of Athenians. There are a considerable number of deeds in the collection related to the General G. S. Nichols house. Although deeds in the collection do not confirm this, that home at the southwest corner of Franklin and Third is likely the original home of Samuel Hamilton, early sheriff and Justice of the Peace in the Village, and the home may date to as early as 1803. The earliest deed in the collection which seemingly relates to this property is from the 1830s.
Castle Seeley (1786-1866), who figures prominently in these papers, was one of the earliest postmasters in Athens and the owner of an Inn and Tavern early in the Village's history. Also present are papers from Nathan Clark (1787-1880), owner of the Clark Pottery, which was a major stoneware manufactory in the Northeast which operated at Athens for a century. Nathan Clark's son Edward made a fortune as a partner on the patents for the Signer Sewing Machine, and two letters in the collection are from Edward to his father.
Extent
3 Cubic Feet (Five legal size document cases, Shelved Manuscript Material.) : Paper documents, photographic prints, bound pamphlets and diaries.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials were preserved by John C. and Patricia Van Valkenburg of Athens, NY as inheritors of a private collection of family documents handed down to them through the Flint, Van Valkenburg, and Guilzon families. Mr. and Mrs. Van Valkenburg began the process of evaluating these personal materials for donation to the Greene County Historical Society following the completion of the Vedder Research Library in 1996, making a substantial donation of historic materials (Collection Boxes One and Two) in 1997. In 2021 a supplemental accession was given by John C. Van Valkenburg following an inventory of old papers still retained in his home which dated to a more recent period.
- Title
- Flint-Van Valkenburg Collection
- Subtitle
- MSS 2019.0010
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jonathan Palmer
- Date
- 2019-09-05
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- English
- Sponsor
- Robert Hart
- Edition statement
- Authored 2019, Revised 2021
Revision Statements
- 2021-09-29: Added two containers donated by Van Valkenburg family in supplement to original collection.
- 2021-10-05: Added series with inventory of Orin Flint diaries.
- Container: MSS Box 159 (Mixed Materials)
- Container: MSS Box 186 (Mixed Materials)
- Container: MSS Box 359 (Mixed Materials)
- Container: MSS Box 360 (Mixed Materials)
- Container: LOB 9 (Mixed Materials)
- Container: LOB 10 (Mixed Materials)
- Container: MSS Box 219 (Text)
- Container: Manuscript Shelves (Text)
Repository Details
Part of the Vedder Research Library Repository