Finding Aids
The Montclair History Center’s Finding Aids list available archival materials, books, maps, newspapers, and more from our collections. Each finding aid lists the material found within various collection from our archives including our African-American history collection, Football collection, Crane Family collection, map and blueprint collection, Zenas Crane and Dr. Love collection, and World War II collection. While these materials are not available for online viewing (yet!), you can contact our staff to inquire as to how to view the material.
Email: mail@montclairhistory.org Phone: 973-744-1796
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The collection is divided into the following series: Montclair African American Heritage Project, MHS (2005-2007), Montclair African American Oral History Project, MPL (2000-2002), African American Oral History Project, MHS (2012-2013), African American YMCA (1909-1998), Joseph Greene Scrapbooks (1962-1997), African American Vertical Files: General (1907-2013), Vertical Files: African American Churches (1939-2006), and African American People Files (1957-2006). The Montclair Public Library also has materials on Montclair’s African American community. Please see the end of this finding aid for a list of collections held there.
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This collection consists of over fifty books written by and about Albert Payson Terhune. Terhune was known for his books on collies, most notably Lad: A Dog (1919). Born in Newark, NJ, Terhune spent his life in Northern New Jersey, eventually settling at his family’s estate of Sunnybank in Wayne, NJ. Today, the Montclair History Center’s library and archives bears his name: the Albert Payson Terhune Archives and Library.
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The documents in this collection primarily refer to Amory Howe Bradford, who was a prominent minister at the First Congregational Church in Montclair. He was well known within both the Montclair community and the Congregational church. The collection includes documents written and/or published by Amory Howe Bradford, such as letters and books. It also includes documents about him, such as newspaper articles, and publications by his son, Arthur Howe Bradford.
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This collection contains documents pertaining to the Crane family, the founders of Montclair, New Jersey. They established themselves as a prominent family of the Newark area and remained so throughout the nineteenth century, which is when the majority of the collection was created. The collection also includes some materials relating to other families that were affiliated with the Cranes.
Alice Hooe Foster
Both Alice and the Hooe Family are in the African American History Collection.
Augustus Morrington and Ralph Crane
Crane Family Collection.
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Christine Laidlaw was a professional photographer and writer, with a PhD in Art History, and was a docent at the Crane House. The collection contains photographs and related objects from the photo study of Montclair houses by Laidlaw (study done circa 1970’s - 1980’s), as well as photographs, slides, and other documents related to Laidlaw’s work for the Montclair Historical Society and other organizations.
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This collection consists of books of early American recipes and receipts as well as books related to gardening and herbs from the 19th and 20th centuries. Some of the books were created as early as 1824 with recipes and receipts dating back as early as the 1700s, but the majority of the books were created in the early to mid 1900s. A good portion of the books were published in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Perfect for learning how our ancestors used to cook and bake!
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This collection contains a variety of deeds, titles, and original documents relating to homes and properties in Montclair, donated by the Stanton Realty Company. Please note: our collection is divided into two time ranges: 1922-1996, and 1996-2013. The types of documents in this collection include (but are not limited to) deeds, titles, insurance, notes, correspondence, reports, bulletins, pamphlets, blueprints, newsletters, and newspaper articles. To ensure the privacy of residents that may still live in those houses, the 1996-2013 deeds have not been included here. To research those properties, please email mail@montclairhistory.org or call 973-744-1796.
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This collection contains photographs, postcards, and other images documenting the life and career of Montclair architect, Dudley Van Antwerp (1867-1934). Dudley Strickland Van Antwerp was born August 27, 1867, in Huntington, Indiana and moved with his family to Montclair in 1880. According to the Biographical Dictionary of American Architects, Van Antwerp studied architecture in New York and worked as a draftsman with several notable firms, including that of William B. Tuthill, the architect of Carnegie Hall (1891) in New York. Early in the 1900s, after practicing architecture in a New York partnership, Van Antwerp opened an office in Montclair, where he had an independent practice for more than twenty-five years. He died on January 17, 1934; a member of the American Institute of Architects, his obituary in the Montclair Times states that he designed 500 houses, indicating a prolific practice. Parts of this photograph collection have been categorized by address and digitized.
Nathaniel Crane House, ca. 1975
As captured by Christine Laidlaw. Christine Laidlaw Collection.
The Cedars
Home of artist Harry Fenn. Dudley van Antwerp Collection.
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The Montclair High School Football team was established sometime around the turn of the 20th century. In 1941, with the help of coaches Clary Anderson (team player 1927-1929) and Butch Fortunato (team player 1933-1935), the team went to the championships. Montclair made it to the State Championships again in 1943, a year which is also known as the team’s first unbeaten season. In 1964, Montclair was ranked #1 in New Jersey and #3 in the country. After Anderson left Montclair High in 1968, the team suffered a slump. But in Fortunato’s last year as coach in 1983, the team won a State Championship on the field in head-to-head playoff competition for the first time ever. Two years later, the team went undefeated and un-tied, the first since 1964. Since then, the Montclair High School Football team has won the State Championships five times and extended their winning streak to 24 games in 2013. This collection contains a variety of files on the Montclair High School Football team in the twentieth century. It includes an assortment of material on specific people as well as events and occurrences from the team’s history. It highlights the coaches and players of the team as well as victories and defeats. Collection donated by Susan Anderson and Robin W. Hodgson.
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This collection contains scrapbooks, documents, and photographs documenting the life and career of Montclair musician and educator, Inez Bull (1920-2010). Inez Bull, a concert pianist and coloratura soprano, taught music at Julliard and worked with mentally challenged children in Totowa. She was descendent of Ole Bull, a renowned violinist, who established a Norwegian colony in Pennsylvania. She was awarded the St. Olav Medal by Norwegian King Harold V in 1999 for her work in establishing the Ole Bull Museum and Music Festival in Galeton, PA and serving as a goodwill ambassador.
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Christine Stehli Glickson was a long-time resident of Montclair with a prolific family: her mother was Emily Stehli Knoerzer, writer of The Upper Montclair Villager; her grandfather was Edgar Stehli, an actor; her grandmother was Emilie Greenough Stehli, an influential musician; and her other grandparents were Emilie and Walter Greenough, members of Montclair’s Art Colony. Christine’s family was heavily involved in the town and local organizations, from the establishment of the Union Congregational and the Unitarian Churches to their involvement with the Artists Colony, the Cosmopolitan Club, the Dunworkin Club, local publications, and more.
This collection consists of original newsletters, magazines, programs, photographs, and other archival material along with photocopies of 19th century maps. A majority of the material is related to various Montclair clubs and organizations that Christine Glickson and her family were involved in.
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This collection consists of a large quantity of maps and blueprints, which makes up a significant portion of the Montclair History Center’s map collection. The blueprints and architectural plans pertain mostly to the properties owned by MHC - the Crane House & Historic YWCA, the Clark House, and Evergreens, and additionally Montclair railroads, Grove Street School, and more. The maps describe Montclair, Essex County, New Jersey, and the United States. The tax maps demonstrate how the town of Montclair has evolved over time, in terms of property ownership, boundaries, and so on. As their name implies, the tax maps were intended for tax assessment purposes. The information used to compile the maps includes surveys, plans, and deeds.
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This collection contains material that belonged to Marjo Lewis (1881-1974) and Mabelanna Corby (ca. 1900-1962), prominent musical figures in Montclair in the early 20th century. Within the collection, most of the material consists of both handwritten and published song books written by Lewis and/or Corby.
Football Program, 1965
Football Collection (Montclair High School).
1878 Map of Montclair
Map and Blueprint Collections.
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The collection provides an excellent overview of the activities of the Montclair Dramatic Club. The collection has been divided into nine series: Administrative Files (1919-1991), Publicity (1918-1990), Financial Records (1950-1987), Tagline (1945-1992), Junior Wing Division (1963-1986), Programs (1889-1991), Scripts (1871-1964), Sheet Music (1948-1971), Photographs (1897-1987).
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This collection contains copies of the magazine Montclair Life & Leisure and of “Montclair this Month.” The material was collected by George Louvis, owner of Montclair Life & Leisure. From the magazine’s website: “From 1999-2008 Montclair Life & Leisure was the monthly newspaper guide to everything great about Montclair.”
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A “Vertical File” (aka clippings file or pamphlet file) is a collection of material, such as news clippings, booklets, maps, pictures, pamphlets, tourism brochures, or other literature. This collection contains a large volume of files that pertain to many aspects of Montclair’s rich history. It includes a vast wealth of information on specific people, organizations and groups, as well as the town’s government, committees, and schools. It highlights significant aspects of Montclair’s history, such as the Crane family and the town’s African American heritage.
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This collection includes a combination of historic magazines, newspapers, photographs, prints and posters. While some of these items document the history of Montclair, others relate to the broader spectrum of American history.
Montclair Life & Leisure, July 2005
Montclair Life & Leisure Collection.
Montclair Times, April 15, 1993
Newspapers and Prints Collection.
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This small collection contains a variety of plays that were performed on both British and American stages during the nineteenth century. They range from comedies and farces to dramas and operas. Some of the playwrights were well known in their day, while others were perhaps more obscure. The plays themselves may not be the authors’ best-known works, but enjoyed some success on the stage. Regardless of their popularity, these plays provide us with a unique glimpse at nineteenth-century theater and entertainment.
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Montclair’s Optimist Club was chartered on December 7, 1926 and continued until at least 1999. This collection consists of a scrapbook, newsletters, photographs, magazines, brochures, and newspaper clippings related to the Optimist Club of Montclair. Some of the material was created as early as 1969, but the majority was created in the 1970s and early 1980s. A majority of the material is related to the time Charles Seelinger was president of the Optimist Club in the 1970s.
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This list represents the collection of rare and unique books at the Montclair History Center. They cover a range of subjects such as Montclair history, New Jersey and United States history, and genealogy, as well as bound volumes of periodicals such as Harper’s. The majority of these books are also available for free digitally through HathiTrust Digital Library or GoogleBooks. They can be accessed by clicking on the provided links. In most cases, individual pages or the entire book can be downloaded as a PDF file.
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Royal F. Shepard, Jr was the Montclair Township Historian from 1996-2004. He was a minister, a gifted poet, and a writer winning several poetry and fiction prizes. The collection contains newspaper articles, photographs, pamphlets, and archival materials on various Montclair people and topics compiled by Royal F. Shepard, Jr, Former Township Historian and his father Royal F. Shepard, Sr. A real treasure trove of Montclair and its history!
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This collection contains a variety of files related to the Stevenson/Stanoyevich and Gray families in Montclair in the 20th century. The Gray line in Montclair began ca. 1927 at 7 Oxford St. The Stevensons eventually move to Essex Fells by 1929. The Stanoyevichs start with Milivoy Stanoyevich, born in Serbia in 1882 and moving to America in 1908, marrying marries Beatrice Stevenson in 1918. Their son, Nikolai was a professor of Slavonic languages at Columbia University and the University of California at Berkley. During World War II, Nikolai changes his name from Stanoyevich to Stevenson. It is with the marriage of Nikolai Stevenson and Shirley Gray that the two lines converge in 1951. Through the many types of documents in these files, we are able to gain insight into both families and therefore what life was like in Montclair in the early 20th century.
Godey's Lady Book, 1866
Rare Books Collection.
Egbert Farmhouse, 1940s
During the time Royal Shepard, Jr. lived there. Royal F. Shepard, Jr. Township Historian Collection.
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This collection contains a variety of files on the history of the Watchung Congregational Church. It includes a wealth of information on specific people as well as events and occurrences from the church’s history. It highlights the people and members of the church and their marriages, deaths, church transfers, and baptisms. Through the many types of documents in these files, we are able to gain insight into the various facets of life of the Watchung Congregational Church from their early years.
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This collection encompasses archival material related to the Welsh/Wiggin family of Montclair. Patriarch Blanton Charles Welsh was born in Lancaster County in 1860 and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1882. Soon after Welsh received commandant at Montclair Military Academy in 1897, he and his family moved into 24 Upper Mountain Ave. Welsh’s daughter, Emilie, continued to live in the house until her death in 1968. Emilie was a charter member of the Montclair Garden Club while her husband, Paul F. Wiggin, was head of the Paul F. Wiggin advertising agency and former advertising manager of the Vacuum Oil Company. The collection also contains numerous material related to 369 Claremont Ave, aka the James Howe House, as the Welsh’s owned the property for some years.
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This finding aid contains information on all of the items within the Montclair History Center’s collection that pertain to WWII. It includes an assortment of material from letters to interviews to photos to books. Through the many types of documents in these files, we are able understand life in Montclair during WWII and the experiences of people from Montclair overseas during WWII.
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Both MHC and the Montclair Public Library (MPL) have a plethora of yearbooks from schools around Montclair. See the list below and then contact MHC or the MPL to see the books in person.
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Zenas Crane (the great-great-grandson of Deacon Azariah Crane, the original settler of Montclair) and Dr. John James Hervey Love were both prominent members of Montclair during the 19th century. This collection includes an assortment of material on specific people as well as genealogy and biographical information predominantly pertaining to the Love family. Through the many types of documents in these files, we are able to gain insight into both families and get an inking for what life was like in Montclair in the 1800s.
Watchung Congregational Church, 1951
Watchung Congregational Church Collection.
Fighting Hitler from the North Jersey Suburbs
By James C. Berrall. World War II Collection.