MCHS Archives

In addition to an extensive collection of household items original to Acorn Hall, Mary Crane Hone donated a trove of family documents, books, and photographs that speak to life at the Hall from its construction in 1853 to her donation of the home to MCHS in 1971.

This includes patriach Augustus Crane’s library, his checkbook register (1863-7), family letters to Augustus Crane Jr. while he was at military school (1868-70), Mary Hone’s diary (1875), correspondence after the death of Mary Hone (1876-9), and family photographs (1843-1971). Mary Crane Hone’s theater career (1920s-30s) is also documented as well as her parents’ modernization of the Hall (1935).

Some earlier documents relate to Augustus Crane’s life and extended family in NYC before his retirement to Morristown. Others pertain to families that married the Cranes, including those of John Hone IV (1844-1915), Dr. J. Leonard Corning (1855-1923), and Alice Castleman Hone (1877-1949).

• Crane family: 1829-1935
• Hone family: 1824-1990
• Corning family: 1882-1923
• Castleman family: 1863-1955

Additional documents and photographs in the collecton relate to individuals that lived and worked at the Hall: John Lonergan (early 1920s) and the Bass family (1936-1942).

This collection was donated from the estate of Dr. John P. Schermerhorn’s only granddaughter, E. Constance Schermerhorn Skillin. It documents the lives of the doctor and his descendants as well as his ownership of Acorn Hall (then “Schermerhorn Place,” 1853-7).

These documents were likely amassed by a local law firm connected to Alfred Mills and/or one his sons, Edward K. Mills or Alfred E. Mills. The largest portion relates to the acquisition of land by Jonathan Dickerson which would become the Dickerson Suckasunny Mine and the division of the property by the heirs of his son, Mahlon Dickerson, following the latter’s death in 1853.

These records were likely amassed by Rhece Nicholas, a justice of the peace in Roxbury (c. 1835-1848), whose descendant donated them to MCHS. The bulk are summonses to answer for debts of $100 or less in Roxbury that were issued between 1813 and 1848 by Nicholas and his predecessors Robert Slaght (c. 1821-1825) and Paul Drake (1826-c. 1828). Also included are promissory notes submitted by the plaintiffs, dockets, petitions, warrants, and other documents related to proceedings.

Records include programs, judges’ packets, correspondence, clippings, and contestant applications and headshots for the beauty contest held at County College of Morris.

The 45 surviving teachers’ books from the little-recorded Morristown Sewing School include rosters for each class and attendance sheets. They span the entirety of the school’s existence, but books for a few classes are missing. Those for 1879-1882 record the skills taught in the class; books for 1883-1889 do not. The school was operated on a volunteer basis by some of the most prominent women in Morristown on Saturday mornings, teaching local young girls, most the daughters of tradesmen, practical sewing skills from darning to hemming.

Opened near Mt. Tabor in 1893, the grocery store was operated by four generations of the Dickerson family, remaining in business until 2018. The bulk of the collection spans the first 15 years and includes hundreds of invoices, checks, and ledgers that paint an unexpectedly vivid picture of the Denville enterprise’s daily operations, suppliers, sales, and clientele. A similar cache from WWII also includes ration stamps.

Epstein’s opened in 1912 in Morristown and remained a beloved local establishment until its closure in 2004. The large collection of photographs and slides is predominantly of the store’s window displays, but also captures events hosted or sponsored by the store.

Beverwyck Plantation was a large estate in Hanover (later Parsippany) first owned by William Kelly. After leaving the country, he sold the 2,000 acres to Lucas van Beverhoudt. A descendant of van Beverhoudt sold the estate, by then 330 acres, to John Ogden Condit in 1856. The Condit family lived on the property and operated a farm there until it was willed to Morris County Historical Society in 1963. It was condemned to make way for a ramp to Route 80, but was destroyed by a fire in 1971 before it was demolished. The collection contains a variety of materials belonging to several generations of the Condit family including Benjamin Smith Condit, Charles DeHart Condit, Sarah DeHart Condit, and Florence Bates Condit.

• Sale and release, William Kelly to Lucas van Beverhoudt, 1772
• Condit & van Beverhoudt family documents and photographs
• Archeological reports, 1969
• NJ Historical Society proceedings, 1919
• Photographs of the second house, 20th century
• Maps and surveys of the property, mid-19th century-1937
• Records of condemnation proceedings, 1937-8
• Hanover Twp. tax assessments and mortgages on property, 1885-1932

An extensive collection of letters to and from Henry Cooper Pitney of Morristown (1827-1911). A prominent lawyer who inherited Pitney Farm in Mendham, he was appointed Vice Chancellor of NJ in 1889. The collection breaks into several different series:

• Letters with his relatives in Oakland, CA regarding the will of and inherited property from his sister, Mary E. Pitney Brayton (1836-1884)
• letters with relatives in Auburn, NY regarding New York Times Association stock owned by his cousin, Mary E. Pitney Morgan
• Letters with various individuals in Cleveland, OH regarding land in Hamilton County, OH, owned by the Pitney family
• letters regarding the 50th reunion of Pitney’s Princeton class (1898)
• letters of congratulations on Pitney’s recovery from an illness (1892) and appointment as Vice Chancellor
• Documents regarding administration of several local estates
• Documents and correspondence regarding guardianship of Nelson Swezey of Morristown, “a lunatic”

General Joseph Warren Revere, grandson of Paul Revere, served in the US Navy and twice in the Army. Several documents and certificates relate to his service between 1839 and 1863. He, his wife, and two of his sons lived in Morristown after 1854, for many of those years at the Sansay House on Dehart Street. They also owned rental properties and were involved in local organizations such as the Washington Association. The papers give unique insight into the family’s life, service, and property in Morris County.

Donated over 43 years, the collection spans across the county, but centers largely around Dover & Rockaway in the 20th century. It includes documents from local events, residents, churches, and other organizations. Also included are public documents on Picatinny, records of veteran associations, and Dover, Rockaway, and Randolph memorial associations.

The collection is comprised of approximately 1,000 photographs and negatives of Morristown’s Italian American community collected by author James V. Costanzo in preparation for his book New Neighbors, Old Friends. They document weddings, family gatherings, clubs, social events, and everyday life for the community in the first half of the 20th century.