Research: Topics: Environment: Preliminary Guide to Environmental Sources
Preliminary Guide to Environmental Sources
Historical Records Repositories in New York State
New York Zoological Society. Archives.
Bronx, NY
- American Committee for International Wild Life Protection. Office
of the Secretary. Records, 1930-1962.
7.1 linear ft.
Arrangement: Correspondence, geographic subject files, and animal subject files, 1930-1940, are alphabetical or taxonomic within series.
Arrangement: Correspondence, 1940-1962, is alphabetical.
American Committee for International Wild Life Protection (ACIWLP) was founded in 1930 for the purpose of promoting the conservation of wildlife in ts original habitat and the protection of vanishing species of birds and mammals in all parts of the world except the United States. ACIWLP was an independent organization representing the leading natural history museums, zoological societies, and conservation organizations in the United States including the Boone and Crockett Club, the American Museum of Natural History, and the New York Zoological Society. A central office was located at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University until 1938 when it was moved to the New York Zoological Society. During the early 1960's the office moved to the American Museum of Natural History, and in 1974 ACIWLP was reorganized as the American Committee for International Conservation.
Records reflect the regular office work of the Secretary and Assistant Secretary, including maintaining a clearing house of information on endangered wildlife and efforts to solve conservation problems more effectively; referring important matters to the Executive Committee and Advisory Board; coordinating policies of cooperation with foreigngovernments and institutions in guiding the protection of wildlife and natural habitats; and supervising the preparation, publication, and distribution of special research studies concerned with endangered and extinct species of fauna. Individuals prominently represented include Charles Cadwalader, James L. Clark, W. Redmond Cross, Jean Delacour, Childs Frick, Madison Grant, Francis Harper, C.W. Hobley, Julian Huxley, Erna Mohr, Robert T. Moore, William Phillips, Kermit Roosevelt, Sir Charles Ross, Peter Van Tienhoven, Arthur Vernay, and Alexander Wetmore.
Finding aids: Folder list. - Camp-Fire Club of America. William T. Hornaday papers, 1903-1914.
.7 linear ft.
Founded in 1903-1904 and dedicated to the promotion of good fellowship among its members, the preservation of forests, and the protection of wild animals.
Records from the office of William Temple Hornaday, first President of the Camp-Fire Club, 1903-1905. Records include correspondence, news clippings, and ephemera. Prominent individuals represented are William E. Coffin, C.J. Jones, Arthur F. Rice, Ernest Thompson Seton, and Edmund Seymour. Also included are minutes from the first meeting of incorporation, membership nominations, and Club notices.
Finding aids: Folder list. - Center for Field Biology and Conservation. Records, [ca. 1972]-1979.
2.5 linear ft.
Center was established in 1971, replacing the Institute for Research on Animal Behavior, a collaborative effort of the Society and Rockefeller University from 1965 to 1971. In 1979 the Center was combined with the New York Zoological Society's Dept. of Conservation and renamed the Animal Research and Conservation Center.
Records consist of budgets, grant proposals, manuscripts, and correspondence. Records are from the zoological research staff including George Schaller, Roger Payne, Thomas Struhsaker, and Allegra Hamer.
Access restriction: Restricted to permission of Archivist.
Finding aids: Preliminary inventory. - Hornaday, William Temple, 1854-1937. Papers, 1888-1937.
12.6 linear ft.
Reproduction note: Autobiography is a photocopy.
Collection is derived from the personal activities of Hornaday (1854-1937), rather than from his official duties as Director and General Curator of the New York Zoological Society, 1896-1926. Papers include correspondence, manuscripts, scrapbooks, and printed matter dealing primarily with his role as a conservationist. Documented in detail are his activities as administrator of the Permanent Wildlife Protection Fund, ca.1913-1937. Other subjects discussed are passage of the Bayne Law in New York State, status of the fur seal herds, wildlife censuses, excessive hunting, importation of wild bird plumage for millinery purposes, and protection of migratory game and wildlife.Also, correspondence concerning real estate in Buffalo and publication of his TAXIDERMY AND ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTING, 1911; notes on mountain sheep, 1901; a survey of zoology in schools, 1905-1910; and a short series of miscellaneous writings including a photocopy of his unpublished autobiography, "Eighty Fascinating Years." Prominent correspondents include Frank Baker, Boone and Crockett Club, F.W. Castle, Jay N. Darling, L.L. Dycke, Rosalie Edge, Henry W. Elliot, G. Brown Goode, George Bird Grinnell, the National Committee of One-Hundred, A.H. Nelson, S.D. Platford, Cyril W. Plattes, Edward Seymour, Willard Van Name, Frank Winch, and the Bureau of Biological Survey of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.
- New York Aquarium. Office of the Director. Charles H. Townsend
records, [ca. 1885]-1936.
5 linear ft.
New York Aquarium, the first permanent public aquarium in U.S., opened in 1896 at Castle Clinton in Battery Park, Manhattan. Originally owned and operated by City of New York, control and operation was legally transferred to the Zoological Society in 1902. It suspended operation in 1941 and reopened in Coney Island in 1957.
Collection contains correspondence, notes, and manuscripts of the first Director of the New York Aquarium appointed by the New York Zoological Society, Charles Haskins Townsend (1859-1944). Records represent his tenure of office, 1902-1937, and some records predate his administration and concern activities not connected with the Aquarium.
Many documents reflect Townsend's work with the United States Fish Commission and the Bureau of Fisheries, especially investigations aboard the Fish Commission vessel ALBATROSS. A substantial portion of the collection is related to Townsend's study, "The Distribution of Certain Whales as Shown by Logbook Records of American Whaleships," ca.1935. Also included is correspondence with Arthur C. Watson; manuscript drafts; and subject files concerning Aquarium matters (1902-1935), the fur seal controversy (1910-1915), and Galapagos Conservation (1933-1935).
Finding aids: Folder list. - New York Zoological Society. Annual reports, 1897-1985.
3.5 linear ft.
The New York Zoological Society, incorporated in 1895, is a private non-profit institution dedicated to public education, zoological research, and the preservation of wildlife.
Summaries of the activities of the Society and its divisions and departments include the following information: censuses of the animal collections; members of the Board of Trustees, committees, and staff; names of contributors; financial statements; and bibliographies of publications by staff and research fellows. Prior to 1940, the annual reports also contained lists of accessions; complete rosters of the membership of the Society; and texts of the Society's charter of incorporation, bylaws, and the resolution granting South Bronx Park to the Society in 1897. Also, special scientific studies and reports are occasionally included.
- New York Zoological Society. Board of Trustees. Conservation
Committee. Records, 1937-1949.
.8 linear ft.
Arrangement: Alphabetical.
The Conservation Committee is a standing committee of the Board of Trustees, which oversees the wildlife conservation activities sponsored by the Society and the disbursal of funds appropriated by the Board or the Executive Committee. The Committee was disbanded in 1949 and reestablished in 1969.
Correspondence, account summaries, reports, and minutes. Prominent individuals and organizations represented include the Boy Scouts of America, W. Redmond Cross, Jean Delacour, Rosalie Edge, Everglades National Park Association, Jack and Manley Miner, Erna Mohr, National Research Council Committee on the Preservation of Natural Conditions, Wildlife Protection Society of South Africa, and Jan Zabinski.
The location of the pre-1937 files is unknown, and the post-1969 files are active files.
Finding aids: Folder list. - New York Zoological Society. Dept. of Conservation. Office of
the Director. Records, 1969-1979.
29 linear ft.
F. Wayne King, as director, was responsible for coordinating the Society's worldwide programs in wildlife conservation and habitat preservation.
Bulk of records consist of correspondence with individuals, organizations, and government advisory committees; particularly concerning King's service on committees of the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, and International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Subjects represented include the ecology and behavior of reptiles and the impact of international trade on wildlife populations.
Access restriction: Restricted to permission of Archivist.
Finding aids: Preliminary inventory. - New York Zoological Society. Office of the General Director.
William Conway records, 1939-1975.
50 linear ft.
William Conway joined the Society in 1956 as head of the Department of Birds, became curator in 1958, and began his tenure as Director of the Zoological Park in 1961.
Collection consists of correspondence, staff memoranda, and reports that reflect the full range of operations administered by the General Director of the Society and Director of the Zoological Park. Although most of the records are derived from the tenure of Conway, some were created by earlier Directors and General Directors. The records cover the planning and development of new zoological buildings and policies; animal health; field reports from research associates in animal conservation; and relations with the City of New York.
Also represented are Conway's activities with the following organizations: American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, Institute for Research on Animal Behavior, International Committee for Bird Preservation, International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, International Union of Directors of Zoological Gardens, International Wild Waterfowl Association, Museum Council of New York City, and the World Wildlife Fund.
Access restriction: Restricted to permission of Archivist. - New York Zoological Society. Office of the President. Records,
1906-1940.
1 linear ft.
Madison Grant was president of the Society, 1925-1937, and was succeeded by W. Redmond Cross (1874-1940) who retired in 1940.
Records include correspondence of Madison Grant and W. Redmond Cross, and Fairfield Osborn, Secretary from 1935 to 1940. The bulk of the records deal with endowments, insurance, and legal affairs. Among the subjects discussed are the Society's Art Gallery, wildlife conservation, and the Save the Redwoods League. Also included are a series of reports on the ARCTURUS and Bermuda expeditions of the Department of Tropical Research under the direction of William Beebe.
Access restriction: Restricted to permission of Archivist. - New York Zoological Society. Office of the President. Fairfield
Osborn records, [ca. 1935-1967]
35 linear ft.
Henry Fairfield Osborn, Jr., known as Fairfield Osborn, was President of the Society from 1940 to 1968. Osborn transformed the Society's Conservation Division into the Conservation Foundation and served as President from 1948 to 1962.
Collection consists of correspondence and subject files dealing with society matters, 1935-1967; the Conservation Foundation activities, 1949-1954; and African wildlife conservation, ca.1956-1965. Also included are extensive correspondence and reports concerning the planning, building, and development of the New York Aquarium on Coney Island and the Osborn Laboratories of Marine Sciences.
Finding aids: Preliminary inventory.
Associated materials: Related collections: Additional papers of Fairfield Osborn are maintained at the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. - New York Zoological Society. Office of the Secretary and Chairman
of the Executive Committee. Madison Grant correspondence, 1901-1910.
1.8 linear ft.
Collection includes correspondence collected or received by Madison Grant during his tenure as secretary of the Society, 1885-1925; chairman of the Executive Committee, 1909-1937; and chairman and president of the Bronx River Parkway Commission. Major correspondents on Society matters include Henry Fairfield Osborn, William T. Hornaday, C. Grant LaFarge, H.A. Caparn, and James L. Greenleaf. Subjects include the execution of plans for the Zoological Park; the establishment of a bison herd at the Wichita Game Reserve; and distribution of Grant's articles on Adirondack mammals and on wildlife in Alaska. Correspondents from the Bronx River Parkway Commission include Nathaniel Lord Britton, James Cannon, William White Niles, owners of land desired by the Bronx River Parkway, and officials of state, city and local government.
Finding aids: Folder lists.
Niagara County Historical Society
215 Niagara Street, Lockport, NY 14094
- Vertical File, 1900(ca.)-1980.
22.5 cubic ft.
Arrangement: Alphabetical.
Clippings, photos, programs, leaflets, and notes relating to Niagara County and its history. Subjects include Niagara River, Niagara Falls, North Tonawanda, tourism, local politics, bridges, hotels, Art Park, Melody Fair, Lewiston, towns and villages of Niagara County, fire companies, local businesses and industry, winter storms (particularly the blizzard of 1977), Love Canal, the Erie and Barge Canals, clubs and organizations, schools and churches.
Northport Public Library. Reference Department.
Northport, NY
- Northport Public Library (Northport, N.Y.). Long Island vertical
file, 1909-1988.
1.5 cubic ft.
Brochures, clippings, booklets, photographs, catalogs, newsletters, postcards, and other items arranged by subjects including Centerport, Commack, local maps, 1909-1917, Cold Spring Harbor, Town of Huntington history, hurricanes, Huntington Historical Society, natural resources, and history of Long Island, Nassau County, and Suffolk County, 1909-1988.