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    • Newest Aqusitions
    • Finding Aids >
      • Eliza Elvira Kenyon Papers, 1800-1911
      • Harold Family Papers, 1906-1995
      • Kenyon Gardens Association Records, 1916-1929
      • Plainfield Ephemera Collection, 1830-2017, with gaps
      • Plainfield Families Collection, 1761-1969, with gaps
    • Exhibits >
      • Plainfield During WWI and the Influenza Pandemic Exhibit
    • Restoration
    • Medal Of Honor
    • Roll Call Of Honor
    • The Last Will & Testament of Isaac Drake, 1756
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    • Donate To The Collection
  • Education
    • At Home Learning
    • Historic Districts
    • Historic Places
    • Architectural Walk: VWB
    • Historic North Plainfield
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Plainfield Families Collection
1761-1969, with gaps


Finding aid published in 2017. Copyright Historical Society of Plainfield.
Created by the Allen, Banks, Boice, Frazee, Halloway, Harberger, Laing, Lapsley, Talmadge, Tounley, and Van Norden families
Dates: 1761-1969, with gaps
Extent: 1 legal document case

Abstract: The Plainfield Families collection comprises a wide variety of materials from some of the city’s most well-known families through history. Of note are bonds purchased by Garshorn Frazee in 1761 and 1766, telegraphs by John S. Harberger in 1851 and 1858, and slavery records of the Talmadge family from 1815. 

Language: English
Repository: Historical Society of Plainfield, Drake House Museum, 602 West Front Street, Plainfield, NJ 07060, 908-755-5831, drakehouseplainfieldnj@gmail.com, www.drakehouseplainfieldnj.org
Conditions Governing Use: This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Reproduction: Copyright restrictions apply. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires written permission of the copyright owner. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility rests exclusively with the user.
Preferred Citation: [Identification of item], Plainfield Families Collection of Historical Society of Plainfield, Plainfield, N.J.
Physical Access: The items in this collection may be used by patrons who abide by the guidelines of the Historical Society of Plainfield Archive.
Technical Access: No additional technology is required to use this collection.
Collection Processed by: Debra Schiff, Archivist, in 2017
Finding Aid Author: Debra Schiff, Archivist
Description Control: Description based on DACS.

Biographical History:
Of the people in this collection, possibly the best-known individual is Cornelius Boice (1808-1864). Boice was Plainfield’s first lawyer, specifically, an examiner in the Court of Chancery. He also was a founding member of the First Presbyterian Church of Plainfield. He married Sarah Ann Cadmus, and they had the following children: Anna E. Clark, Frances M. Bell, Sarah Azelia Coward, Cornelia Underhill, Mary E. Cook, Cornelius C. Boice, and Emma Hoyt Young. Materials by Emma and Cornelia also are in this collection.

John S. Harberger (1817-1880) also is a prominent name in the collection, not least because he purchased the Drake House (home to the Plainfield Historical Society) in 1864 from Daniel Drake. At the time, he was president of the Manhattan Banking Company (later Chase). His heirs sold the house in 1917.

Howard G. Lapsley (1886-1969) was an electrical engineer and adjunct staff member of Muhlenberg Hospital from 1957-1967. Of all his inventions, he is best known for his oxygenating devices for mass disaster victims. His sister, Josephine H. created the Howard G. Lapsley Memorial Scholarship at the JFK-Muhlenberg Campus. 

Scope and Content:
This artificial collection of Plainfield families was created as a way of making this small quantity of materials more accessible to researchers interested in particularly influential individuals. The records range from 1761-1969, with some gaps. The types of materials comprise correspondence, certificates/diplomas, ephemeral, photographs, newspaper clippings, financial records, manuscripts, yearbooks, and other school records. Of note are bonds purchased by Garshorn Frazee in 1761 and 1766, telegraphs by John S. Harberger in 1851 and 1858, and slavery records of the Talmadge family from 1815.

Organization and Arrangement:
The collection is divided into 11 series by family name: Allen, Banks, Boice, Frazee, Halloway, Harberger, Laing, Lapsley, Talmadge, Tounley, and Van Norden. Within the series, it arranged first by type of material (e.g., Correspondence, Ephemera, etc.), then alphabetically. It is stored in Box 3 of the Plainfield Historical Society’s Manuscript Collections. 

Related Collections: Ephemera Collection, Plainfield High School section

Index Terms:
Corporate Names/Organizations:
Manhattan Banking Company
Miss Scribner and Miss Newton’s School
New Brunswick Female Institute
Plainfield High School
Sons of the Revolution
Subjects:
Education
Enslaved People
People:
Allen, Aaron
Allen, David B.
Allen, John (Col.)
Boice, Cornelius
Boice, Emma H.
Boice, Cornelia
Boice, L.B.
Frazee, Garshom,
Harberger, John S.
Harberger, George W.
Harberger, Mary E.
Lapsley, Howard G.
Lapsley, Josephine H.
Talmadge, Dianna
Tounley, Margaret
Underhill, Cornelia (B.)
Van Norden, Agnes
Places:
Plainfield (N.J.)
Genre Terms:
Correspondence
Ephemera
Yearbooks

Container List

Box 1, Allen Family, Banks Family, Boice Family, Frazee Family, Halloway Family, Laing Family, Lapsley Family, Talmadge Family, Tounley Family, Van Norden Family, 1761-1969, with gaps

Folder Number

Series Name

Folder Title

Date

1        

Allen Family

Correspondence, Allen, David B.

1830

2        

Allen Family

Correspondence, Allen, John, Col.

1827, 1833-1831

3        

Banks Family

Correspondence, Banks, Charles R.

1920

4        

Boice Family

Certificates, Boice, Cornelius, Examiner in the Court of Chancery

1833

5        

Boice Family

Certificates, Boice, Emma H., Diploma from New Brunswick Female Institute

Undated

6        

Boice Family

Correspondence

1864, Undated

7        

Boice Family

Ephemera, Programs, Boice, Emma Hoyt

1870

8        

Boice Family

Ephemera, Programs, Underhill, Cornelia B.

1888

9        

Boice Family

Photographs, Individual Family Portraits

Undated

10     

Boice Family

Clippings, List of Professionals, Boice, L.B.

1868

11     

Boice Family

Clippings, Underhill, Cornelia B.

1931

12     

Frazee Family

Bonds, Frazee, Garshom

1761, 1766

13     

Halloway Family

Receipt, Currency, and Ephemera

1874, 1905

14     

Harberger Family

Correspondence, Harberger, John S.

1879

15     

Harberger Family

Obituary, Harberger, George W.; Death Collection Record, Harberger, John S.

Undated, 1977

16     

Harberger Family

Telegraphs, Harberger, John S.

1851, 1858

17     

Harberger Family

Death Certificate, Harberger, Mary E.

1909

18     

Laing Family

List of People in Laing Hotel Photo

1860

19     

Lapsley Family

Correspondence, Lapsley, Howard G.

1906, 1913

20     

Lapsley Family

Correspondence, Lapsley, Howard G.

1923-1924, 1969

21     

Lapsley Family

Ephemera, Programs, Lapsley, Howard G., Plainfield High School Commencement Programs

1905

22     

Lapsley Family

Ephemera, Programs, Lapsley, Josephine H., Miss Scribner and Miss Newton’s School, Closing Exercises

1897

23     

Lapsley Family

Manuscripts, Lapsley, Howard G., Plainfield, N.J.

1969

24     

Lapsley Family

Manuscripts, Lapsley, Howard G., Sons of the Revolution

1913-1914, 1970

25     

Lapsley Family

Yearbooks, Plainfield High School, The Oracle

1905

26     

Lapsley Family

Financials, Lapsley, Howard G., Stock Certificate

1833

27     

Lapsley Family

Photographs, Lapsley, Howard G., Portrait

1949

28     

Lapsley Family

Clippings

1936-1956, 1969

29     

Talmadge Family

Receipts, Bill of Sale for Dianna

1815

30     

Tounley Family

Correspondence, Tounley, Margaret

1858

31     

Van Norden

Plainfield High School Records, Van Norden, Agnes (Marguerite)

1906-1907