The Crounse-MacHarg Family Papers digital collection consists of five photograph albums dating between c. 1860s and c. 1890s containing photographs of the extended Crounse and MacHarg (sometimes spelled McHarg) families and their friends. The collection also contains twelve family Bibles inscribed with family birth, marriage, and death records, a cornet owned and played by Milton B. Crounse (1871-1962), and a hurricane lantern c. 1787 used on the farm of Philip Frederick Crounse (1743-1828). An additional non-digitized nine photograph albums are in the collection. Researchers may review the additional items at the Albany County Historical Association by appointment.
In addition to the Crounse and MacHarg/McHarg families, photographs of many members of the family’s social networks are included. Members of their social circle include James Keenholts (1821-1873), Rev. Luther Ludden (1854-1919), Caroline Wands Muckridge (b. 1845), John D. Ogsbury (1856-1948), Florence Strevell Simmons (1864-1947), and Peter Gansevoort Ten Eyck (1873-1944). The majority of the photographs were taken in photography studios located in Albany, New York. The photographers include but are not limited to J.H. Abbott, M. Chrisler, Aaron Veeder, A.F. Waldbillig, and Thomas J. Wendover. Photographs were also taken in the Elite Studio of Lincoln, Nebraska and Rhodes Photography Studio in Fulton, New York.
The family Bibles in the collection are from the Crounse and MacHarg/ McHarg extended families including the Bullock, Hilton, Keenholts, Livingston, and Ten Eyck families. The earliest Bible in the collection was published in 1832 and the latest c. 1904. The Bibles contain family birth, marriage, and death records.
The photograph albums and Bibles also include items interleaved between the pages. The items include newspaper clippings, Mass cards, and pamphlets. Notable among the interleaved items is an embroidery sampler from 1803 made by Nancy Hilton (b.1781), featuring the alphabet, numbers, her age [22], the year 1803, and floral motifs (Crounse-MacHarg Photo Album 5).
The albums are examples of family photograph albums popular in the mid-late 19th century when carte-de-visite/cabinet card photographs became readily available to middle and upper class families. Predating the invention of snapshot cameras, the albums compiled by the Crounse and MacHarg/McHarg families demonstrate their level of material wealth, depict extended family and social networks, and indicate their investment in professional photographers to capture their lives.
The family Bibles provide biographical information about members of the Crounse and MacHarg/ McHarg families and demonstrate the common practice of recording family history events on the pages of Bibles and prayer books.
The Crounse-MacHarg Family Papers were collected by Minetta Crounse MacHarg (1867-1951), sister of Milton B. Crounse and wife of Dr. Martin MacHarg. The collection was then passed to Minetta’s grandson Donald Alan MacHarg who passed them to his daughter who donated the collection to the
Albany County Historical Association.
Historic documents and artifacts depicting racist and/or stereotypical imagery or language may be offensive and disturbing. The ACHA maintains them in our collections to present and preserve the historical context in which they were created and used. Artifacts of this type provide an important historical record from which to study and evaluate Albany’s history, including issues related to bias, prejudice, and/or racism.
The following family names appear in the albums and Bibles:
Becker
Bullock
Crounse
Clemshire
Frederick
Gardener
Hilton
Keenholts
Livingston
Ludden
MacHarg (McHarg)
Neel
Ogsbury
Strevell
Swift
Twitchell
Ten Eyck
Walley
Wands
