Katherine Decker Memorial Collection
Repository
Vedder Research Library
90 County Highway 42
Coxsackie, NY 12051
Access Number
Unassigned
Creator
Decker, Dubois, Stone, and Allen Families
Extent
3.3 Cu. Ft. (10 Boxes)
Languages Present
English
Date Range
1725-1975
Historical Note
The Katharine Decker Memorial Collection was willed to the Greene County Historical Society by Katherine Decker upon her death in the late 1960s. Katherine was a descendent of the rather extensive and influential Dubois family of Catskill and a niece of Benjamin Stone who was a member of the second generation of the Hudson River School of Painting. All the individuals and families represented within this collection were ancestors to the immediate family of Katherine. Notable persons represented within the papers include Captain Joseph Allen and the aforementioned Benjamin Bellows Grant Stone, both residents of Catskill in the 19th century. Captain Allen was a sailor and merchant captain by trade and a veteran of both the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Part of this collection deals directly with his military service and the history of his former home in Jefferson Heights. Benjamin B. G. Stone was a lifelong local artist and veteran of the Civil War. Stone is a lesser known member of the second generation of Hudson River School, most known for several famous sketches of Kaaterskill Falls and his work in Walton Van Loan's Catskill Mountain Guide. For a time in the late 1850s Stone rented one of the studios at Cedar Grove in Catskill from Maria Bartow Cole, widow of renowned painter Thomas Cole. Stone was a contemporary and friend of Winslow Homer, and corresponded with many notable artists of the period including Frederick Edwin Church, Jasper Cropsey, Benjamin Champney and Sanford Gifford. Other content relates to the adopted son of Benjamin Stone, an interior decorator and designer by the name of F. N. Dubois.
Summary of Contents
The collection contains a variety of material ranging from legal records to ephemera and memorabilia. Particularly prevalent are family correspondence files concerning business transactions and daily life during the late 18th and 19th centuries. Of particular note within the correspondence materials are several letters written by James B. Greene while a prisoner of the Confederate States during the Civil War. Land deeds, itemized lists of household goods, appointment notices and military records/documentation appear throughout the collection as well, this includes bills of sale for slaves purchased by a member of the DuBois family in 1795 and 1809. A formidable array of the works and personal papers of Benjamin Bellows Grant Stone also appear in this collection. This includes his personal diaries covering the period from c. 1855 through the late 1870s, including diaries from his service during the Civil War as a Lieutenant with the 1st Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Heavy Artillery.
Arrangement
Items arranged in folders by pertinent records creator or subject.
Acquisition
Gift by subject, documentation within.
Processing Details
Collection likely processed by Raymond Beecher c. 1970.
Publication
Collection processed c. 1970. Finding aid published Fall 2016 by Jonathan Palmer
Access
Materials are available to examine on-site at the Vedder Research Library in Coxsackie, New York during posted hours as found on the repository’s website.
Access Restrictions
None
Use Restrictions
Researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to current copyright laws. Duplication of print and photographic materials without express permission of library staff is strictly prohibited.
Citing material
Identification of Item, Folder, Box, Collection Name, Date Range. Vedder Research Library, Greene County Historical Society, Coxsackie NY.
Contents of Collection
Itemized list of collection provided on request when available by calling or emailing the Vedder Research Library during posted hours.
Copyright notice:
Individuals requesting reproductions expressly assume the responsibility for compliance with all pertinent provisions of the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. ss101 et seq. Patrons further agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Vedder Research Library and its staff in connection with any disputes arising over the reproduction of material at the request of patrons. For more information please visit the following website: http://www.loc.gov/copyright/title17/