Clarke Family Correspondence

Hyde Hall

Clarke Family Letter Copybook on Clarke Estate, 1837-1839 - Image Source

Collection Facts

Extent:

Dates of Original:

1826 - 1899

Historical Context

George Clarke (b.1768). A great-grandson of Lieutenant Governor George Clarke, he left England and moved to Albany, New York, in 1806 to administer his family’s American property. In 1817 he purchased 340 acres in Springfield, New York, and began the construction of Hyde Hall, which would become the center of Clarke’s extensive agricultural and industrial investments empire. Philip Hooker, the noted Albany architect, drew plans based on Clarke’s conceptual vision. The mansion and its English-style Picturesque park setting were mostly completed by the time of Clarke’s death in 1835.

Scope of Collection

Includes correspondence between 1850 and 1920, invitations and calling cards; school papers, a scrapbook, photographs, wills, address books, poetry, prescriptions, recipes, and games, as well as papers concerning Mary Gale Clarke's involvement in the Springfield, New York chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).