Archives & Library Special Collections
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Call Number: ARC.280
Extent: 2.8 Linear feet, in one manuscript box and two flat boxes
Francis Skillman (1817-circa 1897) of Roslyn, Nassau County (part of Queens County in the nineteenth century), on Long Island, N.Y. was a Justice of the Peace from 1851-1876 in North Hempstead, a genealogist who published a family history of the Skillmans in 1892, and a farmer. The Francis Skillman papers include materials from each of these aspects of Skillman’s life. These materials include correspondence, a genealogy manuscript and the research underlying the manuscript, journals, a docket book, property agreements, and miscellaneous historical documents. The journals principally concern Skillman’s farming activities and his hiring of help. The correspondence can generally be categorized as: letters from the Civil War years to Skillman from Christian Walthert, a private in the 15th New York Regiment of Engineers; letters from Skillman to his brother principally concerning family matters; and responses to Skillman’s genealogical inquiries. Genealogical information on the Schenck and Onderdonk families can also be found in the collection.
Names:
- Skillman, Francis
- Onderdonk family
- Schenck family
- Skillman family
- United States. Army. New York Engineers Regiment, 15th (1861-1865)
Places:
- Nassau County (N.Y.)
- North Hempstead (N.Y. : Town)
- Queens County (N.Y.)
- Roslyn (N.Y.)
- United States — History — Civil War, 1861-1865
Subjects:
- African Americans — New York (State) — Long Island
- Agriculture — New York (State) — Long Island
- County courts — New York (State) — Long Island
- Crime — New York (State) — Long Island
- Family life
- Farmers — New York (State) — Long Island
- Genealogy
- Judges — New York (State) — Long Island
- Real property — New York (State) — Long Island
Types of material:
- Cadastral maps
- Correspondence
- dockets
- Genealogies
- Indentures
- Journals (accounts)
- Manuscript maps
- Manuscripts (document genre)
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Call Number: 1974.114
Extent: 1.0 Linear feet, in one flat box
John C. Bergen (1826-1907) was a farmer on Bergen’s Island in Flatlands, Kings County, New York (now part of Brooklyn). His papers include pages from his diary (1846-1848, 1854); an account book with daybook and other transactional entries (1827-1835, 1865-1894); and Bergen’s 1866 federal tax return. The diary entries focus principally on daily farming activities, hunting (including at Barren Island), weather, and bringing goods to market in Brooklyn and other Kings County towns, with references to illnesses, participation in town meetings, Bible readings, and other aspects of daily rural life. A farmhand named John J. who appears frequently in the diary’s 1840s entries is, judging from an 1854 entry, an African-American.
Names:
- Bergen, John C.
- Bergen family
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Flatlands (New York, N.Y.)
- Flatlands (New York, N.Y.) — Climate
Subjects:
- African Americans — New York (State) — Kings County
- Agriculture — New York (State) — Kings County
- Farmers — New York (State) — Kings County
- Farms — New York (State) — Kings County
- Markets — New York (State) — New York
Types of material:
- Account books
- Daybooks
- Diaries
- Journals (accounts)
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Call Number: 1974.117
Extent: 2.4 Linear feet, in two oversize boxes.
Six ledgers of Henry Lloyd, recording financial transactions and accounts throughout the period 1703 to 1744. The volumes include four waste books (i.e., day books), one invoice book, and a journal that duplicates much of the information contained in the other volumes.
Names:
Places:
- Long Island (N.Y.) — Commerce
- Queens Village (New York, N.Y.)
Subjects:
- Farmers — New York (State) — Long Island
- Farmers — New York (State) — Queens County
- Landowners — New York (State) — Long Island
- Manors — New York (State) — Long Island
- Manors — New York (State) — Queens County
- Merchants
Types of material:
- Daybooks
- Financial records
- Ledgers (account books)
- Volumes (documents by form)
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Call Number: ARC.257
Extent: 2.25 Linear feet, in one manuscript box and two flat boxes
The collection includes the journals maintained from 1790 to 1826 by Flatlands (Kings County, N.Y.) farmer John Baxter (1765-1826) and from 1826 to 1835 by his son, Garret (1792-1835). In addition, the collection includes a manuscript attributed to Garret Bergen with extracts from the journals of both Baxters. The Bergen manuscript also includes extracts dated 1824 from a journal not in the collection, that of one John Bergen. Access to the documents in this collection is restricted because they are in exceptionally fragile condition. Researchers are requested to use the typescript transcriptions available in the library. Researchers requiring access to the original documents need to request permission in writing from the Director of Library and Archives.
With attributes of diaries, the subjects covered by the Baxter journals include farming and agriculture, market transactions, health and illness, social relationships, civic duties, and weather conditions. The division and overlap of labor across gender, age, and race can be discerned. References to African-Americans, including those enslaved, are found in the journals. Social networks and matters of genealogical interest are illustrated by the journals because individuals are attributed by name in connection with labor, social visits, recreation, Sunday preaching, medical assistance, marriages, births, and deaths. Among the many family names well-represented in the journals are Wyckoff, Stoothoff, Bergen, and Lott.
Names:
- Baxter, Garret S.
- Baxter, John, 1765-1826
- Bergen family
- Hegeman family
- Lott family
- Stoothoff family
- Vanderveer family
- Voorhees family
- Wyckoff family
- Bergen, Garret
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Flatlands (New York, N.Y.)
- Flatlands (New York, N.Y.) — Climate
- Flatlands (New York, N.Y.) — Social life and customs — 19th century
- Kings County (N.Y.)
- Kings County (N.Y.) — History — War of 1812
Subjects:
- African Americans — New York (State) — Kings County
- Agriculture — New York (State) — Kings County
- Families — Health and hygiene
- Farmers — New York (State) — Kings County
- Fishing — New York (State) — Kings County
- Genealogy
- Labor — New York (State) — Kings County
- Markets — New York (State) — New York
- Piety
- Slavery — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
- Diaries
- Journals (accounts)
- Transcripts
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Call Number: ARC.045
Extent: 10.0 Linear feet, in 8 manuscript boxes and 4 flat boxes
Henry Onderdonk (1804-1886) of Queens County, Long Island, New York, was an educator at Union Hall Academy, and an historian and author of many works based on his research among local records. The Onderdonk papers include manuscript versions of Onderdonk’s historical works; notes and transcriptions taken by Onderdonk from private journals, church and local government records, and newspapers; correspondence from historians, genealogists and others often conveying information requested by Onderdonk; and scrapbooks of newspaper clippings covering the 1820s to 1868, with some earlier and later dated material. The bulk of the material concerns the geographic area encompassing present day Queens and Nassau counties, though the other two counties on Long Island, Kings and Suffolk, are also represented. The historical manuscripts, notes and extensive correspondence in the collection tend to center around Onderdonk’s research into the American Revolution, Quakers, churches, agriculture/animal husbandry, and genealogies, all with a focus on Long Island. Perhaps the most prominent correspondent is James Fenimore Cooper, whose three letters concern Loyalist Oliver de Lancey. Among the many other correspondents are historians George Bancroft, E. F. Ellet, E. B. O’Callaghan, Jeptha Root Simms, and Jared Sparks. The several scrapbooks in the collection, also with a Long Island focus, concern a number of subjects, principally electoral and partisan politics, agriculture, temperance, announcements and public notices for a wide variety of events, such as school openings, church dedications, auctions, cultural talks, etc., crimes and accidents, court proceedings, Civil War recruitments and drafts, and railroad developments, among other matters.
Names:
- Onderdonk, Henry, 1804-1886
- Bancroft, George, 1800-1891
- Bergen, Teunis G., 1806-1881
- Bowne, J. T., 1847-1925
- Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851
- Corwin, Edward Tanjore, 1834-1914
- De Lancey, Oliver, 1718-1785
- Ellet, E. F., 1818-1877
- Frost, Gideon
- Hicks, Benjamin Doughty
- Hicks, John D.
- Hoadly, Charles J., 1828-1900
- Johnson, Jeremiah, 1768-1852
- Jones, William Alfred, 1817-1900
- King, John A., 1788-1867
- Latting, John Jordan, b. 1819
- Lossing, Benson John, 1813-1891
- O’Callaghan, E. B., 1797-1880
- Sabine, Lorenzo, 1803-1877
- Simms, Jeptha Root, 1807-1883
- Sparks, Jared, 1789-1866
- Strong, Thomas M.
- Stuart, I. W., 1809-1861
- Thompson, Benjamin F., 1784-1849
- Queens County Agricultural Society (N.Y.)
- Union Hall Academy (Jamaica, New York, N.Y.)
Places:
- Flushing (New York, N.Y.)
- Hempstead (N.Y.)
- Jamaica (New York, N.Y.)
- Kings County (N.Y.)
- Long Island (N.Y.)
- Long Island (N.Y.) — History — Civil War, 1861-1865
- Long Island (N.Y.) — History — Revolution, 1775-1783
- Nassau County (N.Y.)
- North Hempstead (N.Y. : Town)
- Oyster Bay (N.Y.)
- Queens County (N.Y.)
- Suffolk County (N.Y.)
Subjects:
- African Americans — New York (State) — Queens County
- Agriculture — New York (State) — Long Island
- Agriculture — New York (State) — Queens County
- Church announcements
- County courts
- Crime — New York (State) — Long Island
- Crime — New York (State) — Queens County
- Fourth of July — New York (State) — Long Island
- Fourth of July — New York (State) — Queens County
- Genealogy
- Local elections — New York (State) — Long Island
- Local elections — New York (State) — Queens County
- Long Island, Battle of, New York, N.Y., 1776
- Press and politics
- Quakers — New York (State) — Long Island
- Quakers — New York (State) — Queens County
- Railroad companies — New York (State) — Long Island
- Temperance — Societies, etc.
Types of material:
- Birth records
- Burial records
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Correspondence
- Fliers (printed matter)
- Genealogies
- Marriage records
- Scrapbooks
- Transcripts
- Vital statistics records
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Call Number: ARC.145
Extent: 14.25 Linear feet, in 2 record cartons, 7 document boxes, and 14 oversize or odd-size boxes
The Lefferts family papers contain documents created and collected by members of the Lefferts family, a Brooklyn family of Dutch origin that played a prominent role in the city’s politics, society, and development. The collection also contains records created and collected by the stewards of the Lefferts Historic House Museum in relation to the Lefferts family and the house’s history. The documents span from the 1650s to the 1970s and include those created by members of the Lefferts family in Brooklyn (particularly in the town of Flatbush) as well as members of the family that branched out into other parts of America including Ohio and Illinois. The collection covers a variety of subjects including the development of Flatbush, the Lefferts family role in the political, economic, religious, and social life of Flatbush and Brooklyn, colonial life, slavery, and more. The documents include personal papers and correspondence of the family members, papers related to maintenance of their farm and businesses, genealogical records of the family, and photographs and other graphic materials of family members and the Lefferts house. The collection also contains related clippings, some maps, and an assortment of books either owned by or related to the Lefferts family and Flatbush. There are some documents related to the maintenance of the Lefferts Historic House and some documents and graphic materials collected over time by the stewards of the house.
Names:
- Lefferts family
- Cortelyou, John, 1772-1855
- Hegeman family
- Lefferts, Eliza, 1831-1865
- Lefferts, Femmetie Hegemann, 1760-1847
- Lefferts, Jacobus L.
- Lefferts, James, 1800-1862
- Lefferts, John, 1719-1776
- Lefferts, John, 1785-1829
- Lefferts, John, 1814-1877
- Lefferts, John, 1826-1893
- Lefferts, Leffert, 1774-1847
- Lefferts, Maria Lott, 1786-1865
- Lefferts, Peter
- Lott family
- Schenck, Sarah Lefferts
- Vanderbilt, Gertrude Lefferts, b. 1824.
- Brooklyn, Flatbush, and Coney Island Railway Company
- Brooklyn, Jamaica, and Flatbush Turnpike Company
- Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church (Flatbush, New York, N.Y.)
- Flatbush Plank Road Company
- Gravesend and Coney Island Bridge and Road Company
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Maps
- Flatbush (New York, N.Y.)
- Kings County (N.Y.) — History — Revolution, 1775-1783
- Long Island (N.Y.) — History — Revolution, 1775-1783
- New York (N.Y.) — Maps.
Subjects:
- Deeds — New York (State) — Kings County
- Draft Riot, New York, N.Y., 1863
- Farms — New York (State) — Kings County
- Genealogy
- Long Island, Battle of, New York, N.Y., 1776
- Real property — New York (State) — New York — Maps
- Roads — New York (State) — Kings County
- Slavery — New York (State) — Kings County
- Transportation — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
- Account books
- Bible
- Birth records
- Cadastral maps
- Cookbooks
- Daguerreotypes (photographs)
- Death records
- Engravings
- Financial records
- Genealogies
- Indentures
- Land titles — New York (State) — Kings County
- Manuscript maps
- Marriage records
- Photographs
- Picture postcards
- Receipts (financial records)
- Slave bills of sale
- Tintypes (prints)
- Wills
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View An American Family Grows in Brooklyn, an online exhibit of materials from the Lefferts family papers made possible by the Leon Levy Foundation
Call Number: 1977.025
Extent: 2.5 Linear feet, in 5 manuscript boxes
The Landon family papers relate principally to Jared Landon (died circa 1815) and to Henry Landon (died 1866) in their capacities as county judges, estate executors, and landholders. The Landons were residents of Cutchogue, part of the town of Southold in Suffolk County on the eastern end of Long Island, and the bulk of the collection concerns that area. Other Landons, such as Jared’s father Samuel (circa 1700-1782), and other New York areas are represented in the collection, though to a much lesser extent.
The collection is rich with legal and financial documents that can provide insight into social, economic, cultural, and political aspects of Suffolk County in the late eigtheenth century and first half of the nineteenth century. Document types include inventories, vendue (auction) accounts, day books, ledgers, promissory notes, court orders, trespasses and other court-related documents, land indentures and transfers, town meeting notices and resolutions, and more. The collection also holds substantive correspondence on legal, financial, personal, and political matters, including those related to the Democratic Party in Southold in the late 1820s-1840s. Documents concerning the American Revolution and the British occupation of New York, including the imprisonment of Jared Landon, are in the collection. References to African-Americans appear throughout the collection, including in account books and court cases.
Names:
- Conkling, David, d. 1787?
- Floyd, C. A., 1791-1873
- Huntington, Abel, 1777-1858
- Landon family
- Landon, Henry
- Landon, Jared
- Landon, Samuel, ca. 1700-1782?
- Sage, Ebenezer, 1755-1834
- Democratic Party (New York, N.Y.)
- Long Island Railroad Company
- Seaflower (Sloop : ca. 1786)
- United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 48th (1861-1865)
Places:
- Cutchogue (N.Y.)
- Long Island (N.Y.) — History — Revolution, 1775-1783
- Southold (N.Y.)
- Suffolk County (N.Y.)
Subjects:
- African Americans — New York (State) — Suffolk County
- Commerce
- County courts — New York (State) — Suffolk County
- Genealogy
- Indians of North America — Treaties.
- Judges — New York (State) — Suffolk County
- Liquor laws — New York (State) — Suffolk County
- Politics, Practical — New York (State) — Suffolk County
Types of material:
- Accounts
- Articles of incorporation.
- Correspondence
- Daybooks
- Deeds
- Diaries
- Estate inventories.
- Indentures
- Ledgers (account books)
- Legal documents
- legal instruments
- Petitions
- Promissory notes
- Receipts (financial records)
- Warrants
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Long Island Historical Society Quarterly, 1939-1942; The Journal of Long Island History, 1961-1969 and 1973-1982
From 1939-1942, 1961-1969, and 1973-1982, the Brooklyn Historical Society (known then as the Long Island Historical Society) published a periodic journal, called the Long Island Historical Society Quarterly in 1939-42 and, in the later years, The Journal of Long Island History. The journals include articles on historical topics concerning Kings, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties. Many of the articles, especially in the 1939-1942 volumes, include full or partial transcriptions of account books, correspondence, deeds, tombstone inscriptions, and other manuscripts from the BHS collection and elsewhere. While there is a wide range of subject matter, perhaps best-represented in the journal are articles concerning the colonial period through the 19th century, American Revolution, Civil War, and African-American history. No appointment is necessary to use the journals in the BHS library.
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