United States -- Intellectual life

Contains primarily business and official papers of the New York Simson family. Papers include: a photocopy of a 1713 document declaring Nathan Simson, (d. 1725), Samuel Levy, Moses Levy, Moses Michalls, Moses Hart, and Mordecai Nathan "free denizons" of Great Britain and photocopies of receipts made out to Nathan Simson for the years 1710-1716; a manuscript copy of the Simson family history and genealogy deposited by Jacob Franks, Miriam Levy, and Francis Simson covering the years 1718-1760; photocopy of the 1781 will of Joseph Simson (1686-1787); a letter from Solomon Simson (1738-1801) to Polly Israel Levy concerning the business activities of her husband, Joseph Israel Levy (d. 1785); three copies (two in English and one in Hebrew) of an address delivered in Hebrew by Sampson Simson at the Columbia College commencement in 1800; photocopies of documents relating to his military service (1814); photocopies of maps and a document relating to land owned by Sampson Simson in the town of Yonkers, New York (1811-1892), and an inventory of Sampson Simson's personal estate.

The collection contains correspondence with notable American Jews regarding membership, lectures and other activities of the Jewish Academy of Arts and Sciences; copies of the presentations introducing new members; a typescript address by Bernard Revel on "Maimonides and Our Present Generation" (1935); and other manuscript and printed materials dealing with Academy affairs. The largest amount of correspondence by volume is with David I. Macht (1882-1961) and Abraham Aaron Roback (1890-1965).