Archive Record
Metadata
Title |
Snyder, Cristman and Snyder Law Firm records |
Collection |
ADKX Library: Manuscript Collection |
Object Name |
Manuscript |
Scope & Content |
Papers from the Snyder, Cristman and Snyder law firm. Collection contains a variety of documents relating to the law firm. It consists of land titles, maps, court cases, correspondence, and other legal documents. Materials date from the 1830s through the 1940s. |
Call Number |
MS 18-005 |
Catalog Number |
2018.026 |
Creator |
Snyder, Charles E. |
Other Creators |
Snyder, David E.; Snyder, Cristman, and Snyder Law Firm |
Year Range from |
1830 |
Year Range to |
1950 |
Dates of Creation |
1830 - 1950 |
Digital File |
Container listing and printable finding aid at this link. |
Extent of Description |
62 document boxes, 1 pamphlet box, 1 oversize roll [30 cubic feet] |
Admin/Biographical History |
Snyder, Cristman and Snyder was a Herkimer, New York law firm with extensive experience in connection with land matters in the Adirondacks. Partners were Charles E. Snyder (1863-1941), David Snyder (1890-1964), and Franklin W. Cristman (1869-1942). Charles E. Snyder studied law in the office of Samuel Earl and created a partnership with Earl, as Earl & Snyder. The firm was later renamed Snyder, Cristman & Earl, and finally Snyder, Cristman & Snyder. Charles E. and David E. Snyder (father and son) were deeply involved in the legal affairs of the central Adirondacks. The firm was legal counsel to William West Durant, the Adirondack entrepreneur and developer, who built a regional railroad, steamboat, and stagecoach network and designed the first Great Camps for clients such as J.P. Morgan, Collis Huntington, and Alfred Vanderbilt. The firm served as legal consul William Seward Webb, the Adirondack and St. Lawrence Railroad, the Raquette Lake Transportation Company, the Fulton Chain Railway Company, and the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company. The collection provides a unique glimpse of nineteenth century Adirondack society, both high and low. It contains correspondence with some of the most powerful men shaping the Adirondacks during the period. The legal files also include unique verbatim transcripts of testimony of early Adirondack characters, guides, and hoteliers such as: William West Durant, Verplanck Colvin, William H.H. "Adirondack" Murray, Alvah Dunning, Reuben Cary, Edward and Richard Bennett, Jerome Wood, and many others. |
System of arrangement |
Original order was maintained, and collection is not currently arranged into series. Materials are grouped by subject (Ex: Township 40, People vs. Jerome Wood, etc.) |
Notes |
Container List Box 1 - Township 40 (1880-1962) -Correspondence, Maps, Notes, Land Titles -Names Mentioned: Wallace Yeaple, John C. Dillon, John Lawrence -Has William West Durant and Thomas C. Durant Folders Box 2 - Township 40 (1880-1962) -Correspondence, Maps, Notes, Land Titles -Names Mentioned: Wallace Yeaple, John C. Dillon, John Lawrence -Has William West Durant and Thomas C. Durant Folders Box 3 - Township 40 (1862-1920) -Land Titles, Correspondence, Court Cases -Papers of William West Durant included Box 4 - Township 40 (1900-1969) -Court Cases -People Vs. Robert Glassbrook Box 5 - Township 40 (1850-1904) -Lands and Patents, Maps, Taxes, Titles Box 6 - Township 40 (1850-1910) -Titles, Miscellaneous Papers, Court Cases Box 7 - Townships 37 & 38 (1895-1927) -Court Case Notes, Ostranders Vs. Nehasane Park Association -Land Titles Box 8 - Townships 37 & 38 (1885-1896) -Correspondence, Land Titles -William Seward Webb Court Case Box 9 - Townships 37 & 38 (1846-1947) -Correspondence, Land Titles -Court Case Documents for William Seward Webb and George Ostrander Box 10 - Tahawus Purchase (1919-1944) -Court Cases Box 11 - Tahawus Purchase (1937-1941) -Court Cases Box 12 - Tahawus Purchase (1937-1941) -Court Cases Box 13 - Township 5 (1890-1900) -Land Titles, Correspondence Box 14 - Townships 5 & 8, John Brown's Tract (1890-1943) -Correspondence, Court Cases, Land Titles, Maps -William Seward Webb, George Longstaff mentioned Box 15 - Township 8, John Brown's Tract (1850-1929) -Land Titles, Correspondence, Maps -George Longstaff mentioned Box 16 - Titles in Various NY Counties (1834-1924) -Land Titles, Correspondence - Herkimer, Oneida, Montgomery, Fulton, Hamilton Counties Box 17 - Titles in Various NY Counties (1855-1915) -Land Titles, Correspondence -Oneida, Fulton, Herkimer Counties Box 18 - Misc. Titles (1850-1919) -Land Titles, Correspondence, Maps -Herkimer County NY, New Hampshire Box 19 - People Vs. Jerome Wood (1905-1917) -Court Cases, Correspondence Box 20 - People Vs. Jerome Wood (1905-1922) -Court Cases, Correspondence Box 21 - People Vs. Henry Beguelin (1906-1931) -Court Cases, Maps, Correspondence, Titles Box 22 - Durey Land & Lumber Company (1910-1920) -Correspondence, Maps, Titles Box 23 - Townships 21, 22, 23, Totten & Crossfield Purchase (1896-1924) -Correspondence, Titles, Tax Information -Papers of William West Durant Included Box 24 - Town of Wilmurt, NY (1860-1914) -Taxes, Assessments -Raquette Lake Railway Company Box 25 - Various Titles and Cases (1870-1900) -Old Forge Railway vs. William Seward Webb Case -Land Titles Box 26 - Various Titles and Cases (1850-1900) -Hugh Walsh family Box 27 - Township 25 and Various Adirondack Titles and Patents (1845-1898) -Land Titles, Patents, Court Cases Box 28 - Townships 25, 14, and 16 (1826-1890) -Land Titles Box 29 - Various Cases and Tax Papers (1890-1910) -Land Cases and Taxes Box 30 - Adirondack Development Corporation (1925-1939) -Court Cases, Title Papers, Taxes -Village of Old Forge Box 31 - Adirondack Development Corporation (1925-1939) -Court Cases, Title Papers, Taxes -Village of Old Forge Box 32 - Adirondack Development Corporation (1925-1939) -Court Cases, Title Papers, Taxes -Village of Old Forge Box 33 - Township Seven and John Brown's Tract (1896-1958) -Title to Old Forge Tract, Maps of Village of Old Forge -Walter Cahill Title -Rondaxe Hotel -Black River, Fulton Chain Lakes -Lyon de Camp Estate Box 34 - MacIntyre Iron Company (1922-1941) -Land Titles, Maps, Correspondence, Law Memos -Townships 46 & 47 -National Lead Company -Tahawus Purchase Inc. Box 35 - MacIntyre Iron Company (1859-1942) -Land Titles, Maps, Correspondence, Law Memos, Court Cases -Townships 45, 46 & 47 -Tahawus Purchase Inc. -ADK Iron & Steel Co. -National Lead Company Box 36 - MacIntyre Iron Company (1900-1941) -Land Titles, Maps, Correspondence, Law Memos, Court Cases -Townships 46 & 47 -National Lead Company Box 37 - NYS vs. Sumner (1850-1916) -Court Cases, Law Memos, Correspondence, Land Titles -Hamilton County Supervisor Meeting Transcripts -Township 40, Totten & Crossfield's Purchase Box 38 - NYS vs. Sumner -Land Titles, Court Cases -Township 40 Box 39 - NYS vs. Sumner -Land Titles, Maps, Court Cases -Township 40 -Book of Hamilton County Board of Supervisors Meetings Box 40 - Township 7, John Brown's Tract (1900-1931) -Land Titles, Maps (Maps of burned areas of Townships 7 & 1) -Townships 7 & 1 Box 41 - People vs. Tahawus Purchase (1930s) -Court Cases, Reports, Correspondence, Contracts, Maps Box 42 - People vs. Tahawus Purchase -Court Cases (booklets) Box 43 - People vs. Adirondack League Club & Gould Paper Company (1920-1940) -Land Titles, Cases Box 44 - People vs. Adirondack League Club & Gould Paper Company -Court Cases, Field Notes and Surveys, Reports Box 45 - Township 41 -Cases, Titles Box 46 - Township 41 -Cases, Titles, Maps Box 47 - Township 40 and Utica -Court Cases Box 48 - Township 40 and Utica -Court Cases, Maps -Raquette Lake Railroad Box 49 - Township 40 and Utica -Maps, Court Cases -Photographs of Utica, NY Box 50 - Township 41, Big Moose Lake -Correspondence, Land Titles, Court Cases -William Seward Webb Cases Box 51 - Graham Sumner -Court Cases, Land Titles, Tax Deeds Box 52 - Graham Sumner -Court Cases, Correspondence, Titles Box 53 - People vs. Tahawus Purchase (1930s) -Maps, Court Cases, Correspondence Box 54 - Township 40, Durant Papers -Land Titles, Deeds, Power of Attorney Papers, Correspondence -Documents of Annie Durant and William West Durant -Court Case between Heloise Durant Rose and William West Durant Box 55 - Township 41 -Land Titles, Tax Deeds -Charles Nichols Papers, Big Moose Box 56 - Township 8, John Brown's Tract, Big Moose Lake -Land Titles, Correspondence, Maps Box 57 - Moose River Tract, Township 7, Township 1 -Land Titles, Cases, Maps -Lyon/DeCamp Estate -Old Military Tract -Macomb Purchase Box 58 - Townships 1 and 7 -Land Titles, Cases -Lyon/Decamp Estate -St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railroad Company -Thomas Jefferson Coolidge Report -Brown's Tract Sales Box 59 - Moose River Tract, Kildare, Macomb etc. -Maps, Titles, Court Cases -Macomb Purchase, Township 9, Kildare Club -DeCamp Papers Box 60 - People vs. Ladew -Land deeds -Correspondence -Proceedings of the Commissioners of the Land Board, 1882 and 1883 -Court briefs and memoranda -Testimony -Court documents -Names mentioned: Joseph Ladew, Jennie Ladew, Charles W. Durant, Jr., William West Durant, Alvah Dunning, W. H. H. Murray, George Ostrander -Locations mentioned: Osprey Island and Indian Point in Raquette Lake Box 61 - People vs. Ladew and People vs. Carlin -Judgements -Affidavits -Correspondence -Court documents -Names mentioned: Joseph Ladew, Jennie Ladew, Alvah Dunning, Charles W. Durant, Jr., George Carlin, Albert H. King Box 62 - People vs. Carlin -Documents of Title -Correspondence -Court documents -Legislation regarding Raquette River -Memorandum of law and court briefs -Property maps -Names mentioned: William West Durant, Major Edward M. Burns, George Carlin Pamphlet Box 1 -Supreme Court Appellate Division, Third Department: People of the State of New York against George H. Carlin. Appeal from order permitting plaintiff to issue execution, 1919 (2 copies) -includes affidavits, deeds, maps, notices, judgements and wills relating to the People vs. Carlin case, reprinted and bound -Supreme Court Appellate Division, Third Department: People of the State of New York against George H. Carlin. Appeal from order denying defendant's motion for reargument of plaintiff's motion for leave to issue execution, volume 1, 1919. -includes affidavits, tax deeds, decrees, receipts, and legal opinions. Volume 2 not included in this collection, but the table of contents listings for volume 2 correspond with the previous bound document. Oversize Roll 1 - Roll of Tax and Land Papers, Twp 40 |
Search Terms |
Adirondack Park (N.Y.)--History.; Land titles--New York (State); Law firms; Lawyers--New York (State); Maps; Raquette Lake (N.Y.); Townships.; |
People |
Bennett, Edward Bennett, Richard Carey, Reuben Carlin, George Colvin, Verplanck, 1847-1920 Dunning, Alvah Durant, William West, 1850-1934 Murray, William Henry Harrison (1840-1904) Snyder, Charles E. Snyder, David E. Wood, Jerome |
Access Conditions |
Access to this collection is unrestricted. |
Copyrights |
Fair use copy permitted for research, study, or investigational purposes citing the Adirondack Experience. Any other use requires written permission. Preferred Citation: Snyder, Cristman and Snyder Law Firm Records, MS 18-005, Adirondack Experience Library, Blue Mountain Lake, NY |
Archivist's Notes |
Description and arrangement of this collection was made possible in part by a grant from the Documentary Heritage Program of the New York State Archives, a program of the State Education Department. |
Related units of description |
See also MS 65-25, Charles E. Snyder legal papers and historical novel; MS 65-26, Charles E. Snyder papers; MS 09-381, Snyder, Cristman and Snyder law firm papers 1829 - 1945; and MS 63-258, William West Durant collection. |