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A collection of letters to and from John Treat Irving Jr. While there are 63 letters from Irving, the majority of the correspondence is that of his father and mother, John Treat Irving, Sr. and Abby Furman Irving, other members of the Irving family, and friends. There are no letters of Washington Irving in the collection, though there are many interesting reference to him. There are nineteen letters to John Treat Irving from his uncle, the writer Peter Irving (1771-1838), dated 1835-1837. The collection also contains 51 pages of extracts from letters dating from the period of his European travels of 1836-1837. Included are two notebooks. The earlier of the two, dating from 1828 when John Irving was a senior at Columbia College, records class notes, problems, and exercises. The second contains poems, sketches, and essays, most of which are dated 1831-1833, the period preceding his travels to the West and the writing of INDIAN SKETCHES.

This collection is primarily concerned with Prof. James Renwick and his professional correspondence and papers, both as Professor of Natural Philosophy (Physics) at Columbia College and as a leading engineer. Many certificates of membership in honorary societies are included. There are letters from Washington Irving (1783-1859) to Prof. Renwick and to his mother, Jane Jeffrey Renwick, pertaining to contemporary events and Irving's own activities. The letters to Mrs. Renwick are about the travels and experiences of Irving and Renwick abroad. The collection also covers the affairs of the Prof. Renwick's grandfather, including documents concerning his land grants in New York State, and those of James Armstrong Renwick, including his valedictory address at Columbia College in 1876 and his class reunion in 1916. There are many legal documents, letters, and manuscripts of various members of the Renwick and Brevoort families; among these are Prof. Renwick's notes on his family genealogy and a memoir of Jane Jeffrey Renwick. Correspondents include Clement Clarke Moore, John A. Dix, Martin Van Buren, Secretary of State John Forsyth, and Secretary of the Navy James K. Paulding. There is one letter from Sir Edward Sabine (1788-1883), President of the Royal Society, giving his views on the American Civil War.