Bowne House Archives
NEW! “BOWNE FAMILY PAPERS OF FLUSHING, LONG ISLAND” NOW ONLINE
The oldest document in the Bowne House Archives, 1652.
Our flagship collection “Bowne Family Papers of Flushing, Long Island” (1652-c.1800) has been digitized with the generous assistance of the Leon Levy Foundation and the New York Preservation Archives Project (NYPAP). With the online publication of these Colonial-era and Early American documents, much of the Bowne House Archives’ oldest and most historic material is now available to the public on demand in a growing digital archive. Learn more and link to the Bowne Family Papers online here: https://www.bownehouse.org/archives-online
About the Archives
The Bowne House Archives offers a window onto the history of the house, family, and community over the span of 350 years. Holdings range from Colonial-era documents and letters to the twentieth-century records of the Museum and Historical Society. Our collection also encompasses photographs, maps, architectural drawings, and ephemera. Many of these documents are original to the property, having been passed down through generations of the Bowne and Parsons families. Far more than a mere storehouse for old papers, the Archives embody the historical memory of the Bowne House and its people.
“In this house still remain letters written by some of them [Bowne ancestors], and by George Fox and other ancient Friends… They being long dead yet speak.”
Major Collections
The Papers of John Bowne (1627-1695): Correspondence, deeds and indentures, and Bowne’s protest to the Dutch West India Company have now been digitized with the generous assistance of the New York Preservation Archives Project and the Levy Foundation. View the original documents and annotated transcriptions here: https://www.bownehouse.org/john-bowne-papers
The Papers of Hannah (Feake) Bowne: Records of John Bowne’s first wife, an early Quaker preacher and missionary, have been digitized with the generous assistance of the New York Preservation Archives Project and the Levy Foundation. View the original documents and annotated transcriptions here: https://www.bownehouse.org/hannah-bowne-papers
BOWNE FAMILY PAPERS OF FLUSHING, LI (1652-ca.1842)
PAPERS OF THE BOWNE & PARSONS FAMILIES (1776-1981)
RECORDS OF THE BOWNE HOUSE HISTORICAL SOCIETY (1945-2007):
Finding Aid in Progress
THE BOWNE HOUSE MAP COLLECTION (1896–1935):
Finding Aid in Progress
THE JOHN BOWNE & EARLY FLUSHING RESEARCH COLLECTION (Copies of 17th–19th century documents):
Finding Aid in Progress
For information on collections for which finding aids are not yet available online, please send a query to bownehousearchives@gmail.com.
Doing Archival Research at Bowne House
The Bowne House Archives are usually open on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and by special appointment subject to staff availability. Advance notice of your visit is required. To schedule an appointment, contact bownehousearchives@gmail.com with a description of your research project and the materials that you wish to consult.
Please note that copying or reproduction of our archival materials in any form is prohibited without written permission from the Board of Trustees. Visitors must review and sign our Reading Room Policies before their appointment.