This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
The Ledger of Daily Expences is located on-site.
This collection has no restrictions.
This family archive includes numerous letters which shed light on MacDonald's career and the operation of the Sanford Hall asylum: 4 letters from James MacDonald to brother Allan MacDonald concerning the operation of their asylum, 1842-48, including one concerning admission of the widow of John Delmonico, the famous restaurateur, 22 March 1843: "They are respectable folks and want everything done for the comfort and advantage of Ms. D." * 7 letters of introduction and other documents relating to Dr. MacDonald's tour of European asylums, 1831-2 * Letter from Dr. MacDonald to his wife, who was apparently running the Murray Hill asylum briefly in his absence: "I hope you will have a more quiet afternoon than yesterday. Pray do all you can to keep the place quiet, particularly in front of the house." 17 June [1841?] * Letter from James MacDonald to Dr. Ranny of Blackwell's Island, referring a patient, 30 April 1849 (shortly before his death) * 18 letters from Dr. Josiah W. Barstow (superintendent of Sanford Hall) to widow Eliza H. MacDonald, circa 1857-60, most concerning the asylum * One long letter from C.M. Kittredge to Dr. Barstow, 1870, concerning a new Sanford Hall patient, B.B. Colah, a Parsi from India * Letter from Dr. Pliny Earle to widow Eliza MacDonald, 1857, researching Dr. MacDonald's use of restraints in the 1830s, with her draft response * plus more than a hundred family letters and receipts.
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
The Ledger of Daily Expences is located on-site.
This collection has no restrictions.
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); MacDonald Family Correspondence and Ledger; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Purchase, 2009-2010. Swann Auction Gallery.
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
2021-02-26 Created a box and folder list containing edited and enhanced description. cml
James MacDonald (1803-1849) was a pioneer in the treatment of the mentally ill in America. He served as physician of the Bloomingdale Lunatic Asylum in New York City from 1825 to 1837. In partnership with his brother Allan, he then operated his own private asylum from 1841 until his death, first in the Murray Hill neighborhood and then after 1845 at Sanford Hall in Flushing, Long Island. The institution remained in family control after his death, and operated through the 1920s.