Finding Aid

The Liberty Hall Collection consists of approximately 4000 unique manuscript items, formerly at Liberty Hall, now Liberty Hall Museum, accumulated by the Livingston and Kean families. Dated between 1711-1847, two-thirds of the manuscripts are correspondence, the remainder are financial records, legal documents, and other papers. The bulk of the collection is related to Susan Livingston Kean Niemcewicz (1759-1833). The Livingston and Kean families frequently corresponded and held accounts with other prominent colonial and early American families in New Jersey, especially Elizabeth Town, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, New York, NY, upstate New York, South Carolina, Georgia, England, France, and Poland. A small portion of the collection includes correspondence with early Virginia families, unrelated to the Livingston and Kean families.

The collection includes insights from men, women, and children, patriots and loyalists, housewives, and political leaders. They wrote about family concerns, politics, and business practices. The collection also includes second-hand accounts of Enslaved People owned by the Kean and other families, offering a glimpse into their forced work and places of residence.

At this time, one-third of the collection is on Kean Digital Commons. Visit the Liberty Hall Resource Page (below) for more information.

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Liberty Hall Collection 1680s

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Liberty Hall Collection Resources