Archives & Library Special Collections
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Call Number: ARC.212
Extent: 28.0 cubic feet, in 75 boxes: 32 manuscript boxes, 38 flat boxes, and 5 small boxes.
The Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims and Henry Ward Beecher collection traces the career of the Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, the well known 19th century preacher, and the history of Plymouth Congregational Church, of which Beecher was the first pastor. Plymouth Church was a major institution in 19th century Brooklyn, first gaining recognition on national and international levels as Beecher’s pulpit. Beecher was well known for his oratorical ability and for his vocal opposition to slavery and support of the Northern cause during the Civil War. He also spoke out on subjects ranging from women’s suffrage and evolution to organized labor and temperance. Beecher was a popular figure despite controversy that surrounded his activities, including a charge of adultery that resulted in a widely reported trial in 1875.
The collection relates principally to Beecher’s pastorate at Plymouth Church from 1847 until his death in 1887. Other materials, ranging through 1980, concern the church’s other pastors and the history of Plymouth Church itself, which consolidated with the Church of the Pilgrims in 1934. The papers provide insight into the church congregation’s various activities, illustrate the history of Beecher’s influence on his congregation and on 19th century congregationalism, and shed light on both the public and private life of a major American personality of the 19th century.
Names:
- Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1887
- Abbott, Lyman, 1835-1922
- Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1897
- Beecher, William Constantine, b. 1849
- Durkee, J. Stanley, 1866-1951
- Fifield, Lawrence Wendell, b. 1891
- Hibben, Paxton, 1880-1928
- Hillis, Newell Dwight, 1858-1929
- Hunt, Rose Ward
- Tilton, Elizabeth M. Richards, b. 1834
- Tilton, Theodore, 1835-1907
- Bethel of Plymouth Church (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Church of the Pilgrims (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.). Sunday School
- Church of the Pilgrims (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Henry Ward Beecher Literary and Debating Society (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Henry Ward Beecher Missionary Circle (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Plymouth Church (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.). Sunday School
- Plymouth Church (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Plymouth Institute (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Ellinwood, T. J., 1830-1921
- King, Horatio C., 1837-1918
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Church history
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Religious life and customs
- Brooklyn Heights (New York, N.Y.)
- United States — Religion
Subjects:
- Plymouth chimes (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Abolitionists — New York (State)
- Adultery — New York (State) — Kings County
- Antislavery movements — United States
- Authors, American
- City clergy — New York (State) — New York
- Clergy as authors
- Congregational churches — New York (State) — Kings County — Clergy
- Congregationalists — New York (State) — Kings County
- Lectures and lecturing — New York (State) — Kings County
- Pews and pew rights
- Reformers — United States
- Religious education of children — New York (State) — Kings County
- Religious institutions — New York (State) — Kings County
- Sunday schools — New York (State) — Kings County
- Trials (Adultery) — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
- Cartes-de-visite (card photographs)
- Church newsletters
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Correspondence
- Cylinder phonographs (phonographs)
- Photographs
- Picture postcards
- Scrapbooks
- Sermons
- Typescripts
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Call Number: 2005.031
Extent: 3.5 Linear feet, In 3 record cartons and 1 oversize flat box.
This collection holds the records of the Women’s Alliance, an organization operating under the agency of the First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn. The Women’s Alliance began as the Female Samaritan Society in 1838, several years after the Church’s founding. Members of the group took responsibility for all the physical housekeeping of the church, ran the church’s annual fundraising fair, and helped with parish duties such as visiting the sick and cooking for the congregation. After periods of inactivity in the twentieth century, the group was resurrected in 1973 as the Women’s Alliance, a primarily issue-oriented group concerned with social action and women’s rights matters.
The collection encompasses the period of the resurgence of the Women’s Alliance during the latter half of the twentieth century as a socially conscious and active organization. The inclusive dates span from 1922 to 2004, with bulk dates ranging from 1980 to 1998. The Women’s Alliance records consist primarily of organizational material, including meeting minutes, correspondence, and financial documents. There is also printed matter created or collected by the Women’s Alliance and material related to the causes of concern and group work of the Women’s Alliance. A number of records also reveal the group’s relationships with other female-oriented and religious organizations.
Names:
- First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.). Women’s Alliance
- Campobasso, Miriam
- Hoogenboom, Olive
- Lazarus, Katherine
- Odessky, Marjory H.
- Sage, Doris
- First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.). Samaritan Alliance
- First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Church history
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Religious life and customs
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Social life and customs
Subjects:
- Women’s work (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Feminism — New York (State) — New York
- Pro-choice movement — New York (State) — New York
- Social action — New York (State) — Kings County — History
- Unitarianism — New York (State) — Kings County — History
- Women and religion — New York (State) — New York
- Women’s rights and spiritualism — New York (State) — New York
Types of material:
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Correspondence
- Minutes
- Newsletters
- Photographs
- Sermons
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Call Number: V1989.022
Extent: 0.03 Linear feet, 17 items housed in on film slides binder.
The Bob Adelman photographs of Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) demonstrations is comprised of 17 black-and-white slides made in the late 1980s from original photographic prints dating from circa 1962. The photographs pertain to several civil rights demonstrations organized by the Brooklyn chapter of the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) including “Operation Clean Sweep,” a demonstration addressing discriminatory sanitation policies in New York City; a demonstration in front of Ebinger’s Bakery in Brooklyn in regards to its discriminatory hiring practices; a sit-in at the Board of Education calling for the end of de facto segregated schools and equal access to quality education; and a sleep-in at a “model home” for newly constructed housing located in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn in regards to discriminatory rental and buying practices. The collection includes photographs of street protests of the aforementioned civil rights actions; a photograph of Arnold Goldwag being arrested during a demonstration; several photographs in which Oliver Leeds, Marjorie Leeds, and some of the Leeds children are involved in demonstrations; and group portraits of other unidentified local civil rights activists. Although unnamed, the collection includes a photograph of the first African-American person hired by Ebinger’s Bakery. All photographs are attributed to Bob Adelman.
Names:
- Adelman, Bob
- Goldwag, Arnold
- Leeds, Marjorie
- Leeds, Oliver
- Congress of Racial Equality. Brooklyn Chapter
- Congress of Racial Equality
Places:
- Bedford-Stuyvesant (New York, N.Y.)
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Social conditions — 20th century
- Downtown Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Midwood (New York, N.Y.)
- New York (N.Y.)
Subjects:
- African Americans — Civil rights — New York (State) — New York
- African Americans — Education — New York (State) — New York
- African Americans — Employment — New York (State) — New York
- Civil disobedience — New York (State) — New York
- Civil rights demonstrations — New York (State) — New York
- Civil rights movements — New York (State) — New York
- Civil rights workers — New York (State) — New York
- De facto school segregation — New York (State) — New York
- Discrimination in employment — New York (State) — New York
- Discrimination in housing — New York (State) — New York
- Race discrimination — New York (State) — New York
Types of material:
- Photographs
- Slides (photographs)
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Call Number: 1990.025
Extent: 0.2 Linear feet, in three folders
This collection contains several items related to the New York Daily News workers strike of 1990, including clippings, publications, union bulletins, fliers, and pamphlets.
Places:
Subjects:
- American newspapers — New York (State) — New York
- Labor disputes — New York (State) — New York
- Strikes and lockouts — Newspapers — United States
Types of material:
- Bulletins
- Circulars (fliers)
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Fliers (printed matter)
- Newsletters
- Pamphlets
- Publications
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Call Number: 1991.034
Extent: 0.21 Linear feet, in one bound volume.
Scrapbook consisting of reports from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on the libel suit filed against the Eagle by Dr. Mary A. Dixon Jones, the chief physician of the Woman’s Hospital. Jones was indicted for manslaughter in 1889 after the Eagle published a series of articles describing her various surgical operations. She was tried and acquitted, but the verdict in the case against the Eagle was in favor of the Eagle.
Names:
- Jones, Mary A. Dixon, 1828-1908
- Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Firm)
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Subjects:
- Brooklyn daily eagle
- Libel and slander — New York (State) — Kings County
- Medicine — Practice — New York (State) — Kings County
- Physicians — Malpractice — New York (State) — Kings County
- Physicians — New York (State) — Kings County
- Trials (Libel) — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Scrapbooks
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Call Number: 1986.008
Extent: 0.2 Linear feet, in four folders
This collection contains items about various Brooklyn and New York historical events, including: one novelette entitled Crow Step about the Dutch in Brooklyn during the American Revolution, circa 1909 by Georgia Fraser; miscellaneous publications and clippings, dated 1917-1936, relating to Brooklyn families and events including the Bushwick Riot of 1696; and Hyde’s Pocket Map of Queens, dated 1908.
Names:
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Bushwick (New York, N.Y.)
- Queens (New York, N.Y.)
- United States — History — Revolution, 1775-1783
Types of material:
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Manuscripts (document genre)
- Maps
- Publications
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Call Number: 1991.036
Extent: 0.42 Linear feet, in one manuscript box.
The Back to the City collection spans the period 1974 to 1983 and is mostly comprised of materials relating to Back to the City’s annual national conferences held during the period 1974 to 1978 in the cities of New York, N.Y.; St. Paul, MN; Washington, D.C.; San Antonio, TX; and Hartford, CT; as well as the 1983 annual conference held in Brooklyn, N.Y. Materials relating to each of the above conferences largely focus on urban renewal and restoration efforts in the city in which the conference was held, with the most extensively documented conferences being those in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Items include city maps and brochures, correspondence, conference proceedings, building restoration and preservation guides, handouts, lists of conference participants, newsletters, pamphlets and leaflets, photocopies of news clippings, and brownstone purchasing guides. The collection also includes an additional folder of similar material pertaining to nationwide urban restoration and preservation campaigns, issues, and projects. Several allied organizations are also represented in the collection, particularly the Brownstone Revival Committee of New York.
Names:
- Back to the City, Inc
- Back to the City Conference
- Brownstone Revival Committee
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Buildings, structures, etc.
- Hartford (Conn.)
- New York (N.Y.) — Buildings, structures, etc.
- Saint Paul (Minn.)
- San Antonio (Tex.)
- Washington (D.C.)
Subjects:
- Architecture — New York (State) — Kings County
- Architecture — New York (State) — New York
- Brownstone buildings — New York (State) — Kings County
- Brownstone buildings — New York (State) — New York
- Community development corporations — New York (State) — New York
- Community development — Congresses
- Community development — New York (State) — Kings County
- Community development — New York (State) — New York
- Historic preservation — Congresses
- Historic preservation — New York (State) — Kings County
- Historic preservation — New York (State) — New York
- Urban renewal — Congresses
- Urban renewal — New York (State) — Kings County
- Urban renewal — New York (State) — New York
Types of material:
- Correspondence
- Manuals (instructional materials)
- Newsletters
- Printed ephemera
- Proceedings
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Call Number: V1989.033
Extent: 0.04 Linear feet, six items contained in one folder.
The Photographs of Curtis Sliwa and the Guardian Angels is comprised of six black-and-white and color photographic prints pertaining to the founder of the Guardian Angels, Curtis Sliwa. The six photographs show Curtis Sliwa in either group or single portraits and were taken circa 1971 to 1985. Other people shown in the photographs include Richard Nixon (taken in 1971), Mario Cuomo (taken in 1980), and Lisa Sliwa (taken in 1984), among others.
Names:
- Cuomo, Mario Matthew
- Nixon, Richard M., 1913-1994
- Sliwa, Curtis, 1954-
- Sliwa, Lisa
- Guardian Angels (Organization)
Places:
- New York (N.Y.) — Social conditions
Subjects:
- Community activists
- Crime prevention — United States — Citizen participation
- Vigilance committees
Types of material:
- Black-and-white prints (photographs)
- Color prints (photographs)
- Group portraits
- Photographs
- Portraits
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Call Number: 1985.029
Extent: 1.0 Linear feet, in one oversize box.
Membership certificate to the Colonization Society of the State of New-York issued to the Reverend Alexander Hamilton Bishop, dated 1849.
The Colonization Society of the State of New-York, established circa 1820, was an auxiliary to the American Colonization Society, which was originally established in 1817 as the American Society for Colonizing the Free People of Colour of the United States. The Society supported the idea of helping free African Americans settle in Africa so as to enjoy greater freedoms.
Reverend Alexander Hamilton Bishop was born on November 14, 1810 in New Haven, CT. He married Susan Holmes, who was the daughter of Obadiah Holmes (1790-1867) and Sarah Van Wyck (1793-1825), both of whom descended from from well-known Long Island families. Reverend Bishop was the pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church in Astoria, Queens County, Long Island. He died in New Haven on February 3, 1854.
Names:
- Colonization Society of the State of New-York
- Bishop, Alexander Hamilton
Places:
Subjects:
- African Americans — Colonization
Types of material:
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Call Number: 1992.021
Extent: 1.0 Linear feet, in one oversize box.
The Antonia Denis collection spans the period 1948 to 1983 and consists of correspondence, administrative documents, financial records, photocopied newspaper articles, calling cards, certificates, newsletters, pamphlets, and other ephemera relating to Denis’s work with the cultural organizations La Casa de Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican Pioneers Parade, as well as her political activism and work with the Betances Democratic Club and other organizations. A small amount of papers pertaining to Denis’s personal life are also included. Several newspaper articles, while not relating directly to Denis, contain information on the general political, social, and cultural affairs of Brooklyn and New York City’s Latino community. Over half the materials in the collection are written in Spanish, while the remaining items are in English.
Antonia Denis, a social and political activist, arrived in Brooklyn, N.Y. from Baja Vega, Puerto Rico during World War I. She soon became a major figure in several Brooklyn-based organizations, including La Casa de Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rican Pioneers Parade, and the Betances Democratic Club. These organizations advocated for political and social equality, celebrated Puerto Rican history and culture, and administered anti-poverty, cultural, and educational programs for Brooklyn’s Puerto Rican community.
Names:
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Economic conditions
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Intellectual life
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Politics and government
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Social conditions
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Social life and customs
Subjects:
- Community activists — New York (State) — Kings County
- Education — New York (State) — Kings County
- Housing — New York (State) — Kings County
- Puerto Rican women — Political activity — New York (State) — Kings County
- Puerto Ricans — Education — New York (State) — Kings County
- Puerto Ricans — Housing — New York (State) — Kings County
- Puerto Ricans — New York (State) — Kings County — Economic conditions
- Puerto Ricans — New York (State) — Kings County — Ethnic identity
- Puerto Ricans — New York (State) — Kings County — Intellectual life
- Puerto Ricans — New York (State) — Kings County — Politics and government
- Puerto Ricans — New York (State) — Kings County — Social conditions
- Puerto Ricans — New York (State) — Kings County — Social life and customs
- Puerto Ricans — New York (State) — Kings County — Societies, etc.
Types of material:
- Administrative records
- Articles
- Certificates
- Correspondence
- Financial records
- Printed ephemera
- Visiting cards
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