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, [email protected], 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