Becker-Marafioti Collection
Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2019.0001
Scope and Contents
The collection comprises primarily family letters and ephemera relating to the Becker and Allen families of Catskill, a considerable share of these materials relate directly to the life and career of Mary Becker, a nurse employed for many years at the Catskill Hospital. other notable materials within include: a selection of letters by and concerning the life Samuel Allen, a former resident of Catskill who moved west to California in the 1870s to become a miner; papers and biographical materials related to Captain Joseph Allen; survey Books of Civil Engineer Charles H. Van Orden detailing the layout of streets in the Village of Catskill in the 1880s and the original layout of grants for Lands under water in the Village of Catskill.
Dates
- Majority of material found within 1815-1980
Condition Description
Documents within are in a generally stable and clean condition. Several late-19th century items are becoming brittle and are in the process of being flattened after having been stored rolled and creased.
Biographical / Historical
The contents of this collection were originally created and retained by the Allen Family of Catskill and were moved to the care of their Becker/DuBois descendants upon the death of Captain Joseph Allen in 1842. The Becker/Dubois family maintained and added to the original Allen Family materials throughout the second half of the 19th and early 20th century, creating the bulk of the collection as it currently exists. Upon the death of the last Becker descendant the Marafioti family of Catskill took possession of these documents to prevent their disposal, and several bound ledgers and booklets held by the Marafioti family were amalgamated to create the collection as it currently exists. Other original Allen family documents originally in the care of Captain Joseph Allen were similarly handled by a separate branch of the family and can now be found in the care of the Vedder Research Library as part of the Katharine Decker Memorial Collection. A comprehensive history of this family group can be found in the finding aid for that collection.
Extent
1.3 Cubic Feet (Four legal size document containers, one oversize box, and one family bible shelved separately.) : Primarily handwritten documents and letters, one family photograph album, three bound ledgers, and several loose photographs. ; Various
Arrangement
Collection is currently organized by family group, with box one containing primarily papers of the Allen/DuBois family. Box two comprises a selection of papers of James Van Gelder and Charles Van Orden. Boxes three, four, and five contain a considerable amount of material related to the Allen/Becker family, along with a selection of family photographs.
Condition Description
Documents within are in a generally stable and clean condition. Several late-19th century items are becoming brittle and are in the process of being flattened after having been stored rolled and creased.
- Title
- Becker-Marafioti Collection
- Subtitle
- MSS 2019.0001
- Status
- In Progress
- Author
- Jonathan Palmer
- Date
- 2019-6-13
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- English
- Edition statement
- Revised and expanded following accession of an additional cubic foot of material in 2020. Edited in 2021 to address clarity issues.
Repository Details
Part of the Vedder Research Library Repository