VALENTINE, David Thomas, historian, born in East Chester, Westchester County, New York, 15 September, 1801; died in New York city, 25 February, 1869. He was educated at White Plains academy, went to New York at the age of sixteen, was employed by a grocer for six years, and then received the appointment of clerk to the marine court. In 1831 he became deputy clerk to the common council, and six years later succeeded to that office, to which he was re-elected under each succeeding administration till his death. In 1842, in pursuance of a resolution of the state legislature, he began the publication of a "Manual of the Corporation and Common Council of New York," and for twenty-five years he issued a volume annually, each containing historical and antiquarian matters relating to the city, as well as pictures and views illustrative of its history. He was also the author of a "History of New York," treating of the progress of the metropolis from its early beginnings (2 vols., New York, 1853-'6).