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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.
Stoothoff Family Collection
AccNo 1974.055
Captain Elbert Elbertse Stoothoff was a prominent citizen of early colonial New York. Born in the Netherlands around 1620, he emigrated to New York in 1637 and eventually came to settle in Flatlands, where, through the years 1648-1650, the Freeholders of the community elected him as one of nine men to represent “Manhattans, Breukelen, Amersfoort, and Pavonia,” whose duties were to promote the welfare of the country and to give their opinion on matters submitted to them by the director of the council. From 1654 to 1673, Stoothoff was one of the magistrates of Flatlands. He died in 1688.
The Stoothoff Family Collection contains manuscript documents and other papers relating to the Stoothoff Family, including deeds, commissions, certificates, land transfers, correspondence, etc. Many items are in Dutch. The collection includes 138 items in total. Items of interest include a copy of Stoothoff’s will, a complaint filed against Stoothoff concerning land boundaries, and items concerning Stoothoff’s heirs, among other documents.
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Thomas Messenger Family Papers, 1829-1923 (Bulk dates: 1853-1881). 3 Record Cartons (3 Cubic Feet).
ArMs 1978.124
Thomas Messenger (1810-1881) was a prominent landowner and businessman. Born in the county of Surrey in Southeast England, Messenger’s family relocated to America when he was very young and settled in Great Neck, Long Island. As an adult, Messenger would continue to reside in Great Neck with his wife and daughters, eventually coming to own the largest plot of land in Long Island and being elected President of the Queens County Agricultural Society. Along with their Long Island farm, the Messengers also resided at a property in Brooklyn Heights. Messenger and his brother, Harry, founded the tobacco company T. & H. Messenger & Co., which held its headquarters in New York City, and Messenger served as President of the Brooklyn Bank for twenty-five years until his death in 1881. The Messengers were also well known for their generous donations to both All Saints’ Church and St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn.
The collection consists of 3 cubic feet of personal and business papers associated with Thomas Messenger and his family. The materials conveyed in the collection primarily consist of handwritten personal and business correspondences, as well as receipts, ephemera, insurance policies, writings and business transactions. The bulk of the collection comprises of materials written for or by Thomas Messenger. Correspondences to his wife, Ann, and youngest daughter, Marie, are also represented within the papers. The materials are primarily in English, but there are materials also written in French, Italian, and German, reflecting the extensive traveling the Messenger Family did oversees ca. 1874.
Access Points:
Personal Names
Messenger, Ann
Messenger, Harry
Messenger, Marie Gerard
Messenger, Thomas
Corporate Names
Brooklyn Bank (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
St. Ann’s Church (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
T. & H. Messenger & Co.
Geographic Names
Great Neck (N.Y.)
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Manhattan (New York, N.Y.)
Westchester Co., N.Y.
Subjects
Banking
Tobacco industry New York (State) New York.
Travel
Long Island Railroad
Queens County Agricultural Society (N.Y.)
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Brevoort Family Papers, 1760-1879. 2 document boxes (0.5 cubic feet).
ArMs 1977.285
This collection contains documents regarding the personal and business affairs of four generations of the Brevoort Family, a prosperous nineteenth-century family of New York and Brooklyn. The Brevoort Family Papers contain 141 items for the period 1760-1879 relating to the personal and the business lives of family members. The bulk of the papers are from 1828-1847, chiefly the papers of Henry Brevoort, Jr. and J. Carson Brevoort. Nearly sixty percent of the collection consists of correspondence, and most of these are letters from J. Carson Brevoort to family members. Carson’s letters deal primarily with family and school news, although eight letters from 1841 describe an expedition into Quebec Province to survey the area and to take daguerreotypes of the landscape. Legal documents make up fifteen per cent of the collection, including estate records, land conveyances and business documents. The balance of the collection consists of genealogical notes, printed matter, certificates and a few non-Brevoort items.
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