The papers contain four letter books and other official papers sent, received, and kept by George F. Usher, Haitian consul in New York under President Fabre Nicolas Geffrard; the correspondence primarily details Usher's diplomatic and commercial work in New York City on behalf of the Republic of Haiti during the years 1859-1867, which included, in 1862, the United States's official recognition of the Haitian government. Among the recipients of Usher's letters are Demosthenes Bruno and Ernest Roumain, chargés d'affaires in Haiti, and August Elie, Hatian secretary of state, as well as B. C. Clark, Haitian consul in Boston, and James Redpath. Some of the letter books include lists of cargo ships trading between Haiti and New York. Usher's papers also include personal letters written from New York and during his retirement in Bristol, Rhode Island, as well as a bound volume of manuscript records of the Sewing School for the Children of St. Michael's Parish, Bristol, conducted by his daughters Helen Maria Usher (1834-1892) and Irene (Ida) Frances Usher (1838-1925) between 1869 and 1873.
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