About Archives & Special Collections
|
New York City and Brooklyn Directories
The Brooklyn Historical Society’s collection of city directories includes copies of both New York City and Brooklyn directories, available to researchers on microfilm and/or microfiche, with a very small portion of the collection available in print. The New York City directories include information pertaining to the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, spanning the years 1786-1934, and are largely available only on microfilm (76 reels). The collection does include physical copies of New York City directories for the years 1915-1917 and 1925.
Brooklyn city directories are available on 28 microfilm reels for the period 1847-1913, or on microfiche for the period 1822-1861. The collection also includes one physical copy of a Brooklyn city directory covering the years 1933-1934, as well as four Brooklyn classified telephone directories spanning the years 1932-1938. Finally, the collection also includes separate directories for the city of Williamsburgh prior to its annexation as a part of the City of Brooklyn, which are available on microfiche and cover the years 1847-1854.
The collection of directories serves as a valuable resource of information pertaining to residential, municipal, and commercial life in both New York City and Brooklyn during from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries. Directories are quite extensive and regularly include features such as registers of public departments and institutions, street and avenue directories, purchaser’s guides, general directories (including occupations and businesses of local residents), and advertising indexes, while also occasionally featuring illustrated city plans, maps of transit lines, and information pertaining to public parks, ward boundaries, freight depots, locations of piers, cabs and taxicabs, and borough histories.
There is no appointment necessary to view this collection.
Brooklyn Eye and Ear Hospital Records, 1868-1976. 9 boxes (3.8 cubic feet).
AccNo 1985.005
Brooklyn Eye and Ear Hospital was established in 1868 by prominent Brooklynites as a philanthropic clinic, and opened on April 20th, 1869. Increasing demands for patient space necessitated the purchase of a Juvenile High School building c. 1881. In 1930, a new building was begun to accommodate growing staff, but the onset of the Depression made it difficult for the hospital to recover its large construction costs. Financial difficulties continued to plague the hospital’s operations until it was eventually forced to close in 1976.
The Brooklyn Eye and Ear Hospital Records contain mostly administrative and financial documents reflecting the various aspects of the hospital’s operations, such as the minutes of the Board of Directors, Superintendent reports, minutes of the Board of Surgeons, and minutes of the Ophthalmic Committee. Other items include a two-volume history of the hospital’s first one hundred years, a medical manual, a report on emergency room sanitary conditions, and a sub-committee directory.
View Full Finding Aid
The Dick Family Papers. 1 folder.
ArMs 1985.1
Archibald L. Dick (c.1793- 1856) of Brooklyn worked as an engraver, while his son, James L. Dick (c.J.833-l868), was an artist. James was also one of the founding members of the Brooklyn Art School and Academy of Design.
The Dick Family Papers consist of 26 items concerning the business affairs and careers of both Archibald and James Dick. Included in the collection are business documents, deeds, mortgages, wills, correspondence, engravings by Archibald Dick, James Dick’s obituary notice, and a photograph of James Dick in Civil War-era uniform, among other items.
View Full Finding Aid
Nehemiah Denton Papers (1785 - 1844). 3 linear inches.
AccNo 1977.171
Nehemiah Denton (1773-1844) was born in Jamaica, N.Y. His family were descended from Rev. Richard Denton who came to Hempstead, L.I. in 1650. He was related to Daniel Denton, one of the first settlers of Jamaica. Nehemiah Denton was a miller in Gowanus and a merchant in New York, and also owned land in Brooklyn. He attended the Dutch Reformed Church in Brooklyn and was appointed Elder in 1824. He was the director of Brooklyn’s first bank, the Long Island Bank, and was an assessor for the Town of Brooklyn in the 1820s and 30s.
The Nehemiah Denton Papers consist of more than 300 items in manuscript relating to the personal and business concerns of Denton. The time period covered is from 1785 to 1844, with the major portion of the collection dating from the late 1830s to 1844. The bulk of the material in the collection is in the form of legal papers, deeds, bills, receipts and account books. Items of special interest in this collection include a license to use the patented milling machinery designed by Oliver Evans, with a diagram of the machine on the back; and a bill of sale dated 1808 showing the purchase of a sixteen-year-old black boy for $80. Also, among the account books is one detailing the names and amounts paid by pew renters of the Dutch Reformed Church in Brooklyn from 1819 to 1826. Finally, Denton’s brother, Samuel, as well as a cousin named William Skidmore, are also briefly represented.
View Full Finding Aid
Terhune-Wyckoff Family Papers (1747-1932). 10 linear inches.
ArMs 1977.192
Albert Terhune (1715-1806) was a supervisor of the town of Gravesend, a member of the Gravesend Dutch Reformed Church (ca.1766) and an elder of that church (ca.1795). Upon his death, he left a sizable estate to his six surviving children (three sons and three daughters). One of his sons, John (1767-1842), was a judge in Gravesend and a supervisor of that town during the 1810’s and 20’s, and a founder of the Gravesend & Coney Island Road & Bridge Company. Before his death, he wrote but failed to execute a will, and upon his passing his estate was administered by the sons of his sister Margaret, Albert Wyckoff and Jacob V.D. Wyckoff (1805-57), a New York hardware merchant.
The Terhune-Wyckoff Papers span the years 1747-1932. They are primarily the records of family finances and estates administration for the period 1800-58. The bulk of the material in the collection is in the form of bills, receipts and promissory notes issued by or to the Terhune brothers, and notes or records kept by administrators of the estates of several Terhunes and Wyckoffs.
View Full Finding Aid
William Richardson Papers (1853-1896). 5 linear inches.
ArMs 1977.169
William Richardson (1822-1893) was a prominent post-Civil War resident of Brooklyn. He owned the Atlantic Avenue Railroad Company, was active in the Republican Party, was an Alderman for the Twenty-Second Ward, and was involved in many civic causes.
The William Richardson Papers document the personal and business affairs of this Brooklyn businessman. The collection includes correspondence, railroad documents, family items, political and governmental documents, ephemera, and miscellaneous items concerning civic issues.
View Full Finding Aid
Lawrence Family Papers (1759-1852). 3 boxes (1.6 cubic feet).
ArMs 1977.105
This collection contains log books, account books, journals, and day books belonging to the Lawrences of Bayside and Flushing, N.Y.
Joseph Lawrence (1741-?) was a merchant captain from Flushing. He was at one time employed by Samuel Townsend, who was the son of one of the first settlers of Oyster Bay, L.I. One of Townsend’s vessels, the brig Audrey, built some time before the Revolution, was commanded by Joseph’s brother, Effingham. Another brother, John L., (1731-?) may be the “John” who appears on the cover of an account book in this collection. Joseph’s son, Effingham, was a judge in Queens County in the early 19th century. He lived at the family homestead, “Stone-House,” in Bayside and was possibly the source of the later account books.
View Full Finding Aid
Augustus Graham and John Bell Graham Papers, 1808 - 1962 (Bulk Dates: 1850s).
ArMs 1977.266
The Augustus Graham and John Bell Graham papers consist of biographical and pictorial data collected and compiled by three descendants of Augustus Graham ( - 1851), philanthropist and businessman; and his brother John Bell Graham, both residents of Brooklyn.
View Full Finding Aid
John Middagh Account Book, 1773-1810.
ArMs 1974.027
This collection consists of one item: the account book of John Middagh, hatter and merchant, of Brooklyn. Middagh was active in the fur trade. The account book contains the autograph signatures of Middagh’s business associates in both Brooklyn and New York City, with their notations for dates of payment, amounts, and items or services purchased by Middagh for the period, 1773-1810. It also records the collection of Middagh’s taxes. Many prominent early Brooklynites set their hands to this book, as did John Jacob Astor (1763-1848) and his agents.
View Full Finding Aid
Well Made Glove Records, 1941-1964. 2 boxes (0.9 cubic feet).
ArMs 1986.006
This collection contains the financial records of Well Made Glove, a glove making shop owned and operated by Louis Lebman (Lebhman) of Brooklyn, N.Y. Included are account books, invoices, receipts, bank statements, and ephemera pertaining to Lebman’s business affairs.
View Full Finding Aid
|
Recently Added Collections
|
