Archives & Library Special Collections
|
Call Number: ARC.285
Extent: 0.33 Linear feet, in one manuscript box and one flat box
The Martense family papers include deeds, indentures, wills, estate administration documents, promissory notes, bills of sale for enslaved African-Americans, correspondence, and photographs and other images. The bulk of the documents date from the 1700s to circa 1876. The images date from circa 1870 to circa 1944. Deeds and other land transaction documents dating from the 1700s comprise the largest portion of the collection. The Martense family lived in Flatbush, now part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and most of the collection concerns that area. Correspondence in the collection dates from 1837-1839 and includes several letters sent to Gerrit Martense at Rutgers College in New Brunswick, N.J., by his family in Flatbush. Subjects of the letters include domestic and local matters. The letters, and other documents in the collection, also refer to dealings concerning one Juan Scorsur, an Italian immigrant to New York attempting to acquire real estate in Brooklyn while residing for an extended time in Cuba. In addition to multiple generations of Martenses, among the surnames found in the collection are Cornell, Hegeman, Lefferts, Remsen, Suydam, Terhune, Van Brunt, Van der Bilt, Van der Veer, and Waldron. The bulk of the collection is in English, but there are several documents in Dutch and one in Spanish. The photographs and other images, to the extent they are identified, are principally of members of the Wilbur family, into which a Martense married.
Names:
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Flatbush (New York, N.Y.)
- Kings County (N.Y.)
Subjects:
- African Americans — New York (State) — Kings County
- Decedents’ estates — New York (State) — Kings County
- Family life
- Genealogy
- Real property — New York (State) — Kings County
- Slavery — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
- Cabinet photographs
- Cartes-de-visite (card photographs)
- Correspondence
- Deeds
- Indentures
- Photographs
- Promissory notes
- Slave bills of sale
- Wills
View Finding Aid
Call Number: 1974.179
Extent: 0.17 linear feet, in 17 folders in one manuscript box
The Middagh family papers (1654-circa 1840) contain a variety of documents, many linked to the Middagh family by name or by affiliated family, including Couwenhoven and Stryker. Many documents have no obvious relationship to the Middaghs. Most of the collection includes legal documents of various forms including deeds, bonds, agreements, and legal filings. Among the documents not clearly linked to the Middaghs are: the concluding pages of the 1825 correspondence from William Steele to his son concerning Jonathan Dayton’s recollections of Benjamin Franklin’s proposal for prayer at the 1787 Constitutional Convention; the articles of agreement between generals Burgoyne (British) and Gates (American) at Saratoga during the Revolutionary War (1772), signed by Burgoyne; plans for the building of a school in Huntington, Long Island, and the subscriber list (1762); and a circa 1675 transcript of a 1669 Suffolk County Clerk’s document regarding the testimony of several Indian sachems of Montauket relating to a land dispute. Three items referring to African-Americans in Brooklyn are in the collection: an unidentified will (1727), a slave bill of sale (1737), and an arrest warrant concerning the unlicensed sale of liquor, including to African-Americans (1751). Eight documents (1654-1702) are in Dutch.
Names:
- Middagh family
- Cowenhoven family
- Stryker family
- Torrey, Joseph, 1707-1791
- United States. Constitutional Convention (1787)
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Kings County (N.Y.)
- Long Island (N.Y.)
- New York (State) — History — Revolution, 1775-1783
- Suffolk County (N.Y.)
Subjects:
- African Americans — New York (State) — Kings County
- County courts — New York (State) — Kings County
- Genealogy
- Indians of North America — New York (State) — Long Island
- Real property — New York (State) — Kings County
- Real property — New York (State) — Long Island
- Saratoga Campaign, N.Y., 1777
- Slavery — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
- Agreements
- Correspondence
- Deeds
- Legal documents
- legal instruments
- Slave bills of sale
View Finding Aid
Call Number: 1974.005
Extent: 0.25 Linear feet, in 16 folders in one manuscript box
The Seaman family papers (1752-1838) principally concern merchant John Seaman and Willet Seaman, though several other Seaman family members are also represented. The bulk of the collection consists of deeds and other documents concerning land transactions. Several of these deeds relate to land in North Hempstead, Long Island, acquired to establish a manufactory for woolen goods, circa 1816. Other legal documents related to this business are also in the collection, such as partnership agreements and an insurance policy. An indenture for an apprentice from the Overseers of the Poor of Brooklyn and a bill of sale for John Seaman’s purchase of an enslaved African-American also relate to the manufactory, known as Seaman and Cock (the Cock referring to partners John Cock and Townsend Cock). Other land transactions concern Seaman properties or interests on Long Island, New York City, other New York State counties, and other states. Other documents include John Seaman’s will, Seaman’s conditions for the eventual manumission of the slave he purchased, and correspondence from Willet Seaman supporting quarantine laws to prevent the spread of yellow fever.
Names:
Places:
- Long Island (N.Y.)
- New York (N.Y.) — Commerce
- North Hempstead (N.Y. : Town)
Subjects:
- Commerce
- Genealogy
- Indentured servants — New York (State) — New York
- Merchants — New York (State) — Kings County
- Merchants — New York (State) — New York
- Real property — New York (State)
- Real property — New York (State) — Long Island
- Slavery — New York (State) — Long Island
- Woolen goods industry — New York (State) — Long Island
Types of material:
- Agreements
- Cadastral maps
- Correspondence
- Deeds
- Indentures
- Legal documents
- Manuscript maps
- Slave bills of sale
- Wills
View Finding Aid
This collection also has an item inventory provided with the collection by the donor:
View Item Inventory, pages 1-2
View Item Inventory, pages 3-4
View Item Inventory, pages 5-7
Call Number: 1974.004
Extent: 0.01 Linear feet, in one folder
The collection includes one item, the 1672 judgment of British colonial New York governor Edmond Andros (1637-1714) concerning the estate of the late Captain John Underhill (circa 1597-1672) of Oyster Bay, Long Island. In his will, Underhill had left his estate to his wife, Elizabeth. Elizabeth died intestate. Andros’s judgment named Underhill’s eldest son, John, administrator of the estate.
John Underhill (circa 1597-1672) was a colonial military leader and magistrate. In the 1640s he moved from New England to Flushing, Long Island. After his second marriage, to Elizabeth Feake in the late 1650s, he moved to Oyster Bay, L.I., establishing an estate called Killingworth. Underhill helped the English gain control over New Amsterdam in 1664, became a surveyor of customs for Long Island, and eventually high constable and under-sheriff of North Riding, Yorkshire (L.I.).
Names:
- Andros, Edmund, 1637-1714
- Underhill, John, d. 1672
- New York (Colony)
Places:
- Long Island (N.Y.)
- Oyster Bay (N.Y.)
Subjects:
- Decedents’ estates
- Executors and administrators — New York (State) — Queens County
- Governors — New York (State)
View Finding Aid
Call Number: 1978.185
Extent: 0.25 linear feet, in four folders
The Southold, N.Y. register book spans the period 1683 to 1850 and measures 0.25 linear feet. Entries in the register cover genealogical information, indenture, bond and deed information, records of town information, manumission of slaves notices, town meeting minutes, and voting records with results. Also included are the Southhold Academy bylaws and constitution, First Universalist Church in Southold bylaws and constitution, and records of the Commissioner of the highway of the town of Southold. The register book includes an index and was prepared by successive town historians throughout the mid-20th century.
Names:
- Southold (N.Y.)
- First Unitarian Church (Southold, N.Y.)
- Southold Academy
Places:
- Long Island (N.Y.)
- Southold (N.Y.)
Subjects:
- Genealogy
- Slavery — New York (State) — Long Island
- Unitarian Churches — New York (State) — Long Island
Types of material:
- Bonds (legal records)
- Bylaws (administrative records)
- Constitutions
- Deeds
- Indentures
- Indexes (reference sources)
- Minutes
- Registers (lists)
View Finding Aid
Call Number: 1992.016
Extent: 0.2 Linear feet, in one folder
A bound volume containing handwritten inscriptions of headstones located in cemeteries in Kings County, N.Y. The cemeteries where the headstones were located are not specified in the volume, nor is the creator of the volume. In the back of the volume is an index organized alphabetically by surname.
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Subjects:
- Cemeteries — New York (State) — Kings County
- Genealogy
Types of material:
- Indexes (reference sources)
- Inscriptions
View Finding Aid
Call Number: 1985.068
Extent: 0.6 Linear feet, in three bound volumes
Three scrapbooks of clippings from the Long Island Traveler newspaper on the genealogy of numerous Long Island families. The scrapbook is dated 1897 to 1911 and its compiler is unknown.
Places:
Subjects:
- Long Island traveler (Newspaper)
- Families — New York (State) — Long Island
- Genealogy
Types of material:
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Scrapbooks
View Finding Aid
Call Number: 1977.623
Extent: 0.08 Linear feet, in one folder
This collection pertains to a Village of Brooklyn, N.Y. Municipal Court case invovling Alexander William Marr and Elias Taylor against Joseph Sprague and Andrew Demarest, administrators of the estate of Aaron S. Robbins. Included is an account against the estate by Marr and Taylor for debt incurred by Robbins from August 1825 through July 1826.
Aaron S. Robbins (d. 1826) was a farmer in Brooklyn. The last of his land, on the south side of Lenox Road between East 35th Street and Brooklyn Avenue, was sold in 1939 and became the site of apartment houses.
Names:
- Village of Brooklyn. Municipal Court
- Demarest, Andrew
- Marr, Alexander William
- Robbins, Aaron S.
- Sprague, Joseph, 1783-1854
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Subjects:
- Court records — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
View Finding Aid
Call Number: 1985.033
Extent: 0.06 Linear feet, in one folder in one oversize box.
This collection contains a May 25, 1929 copy of the weekly popular magazine Brooklyn Life and Activities of Long Island Society featuring an article by Cornelia Henshaw on the history of the Prentice family. Also included are photostat and typescript copies of an 1816 letter written by Jemima Parmele describing her journey with her husband from Alstead, N.H. to Canton, N.Y., which is quoted in Henshaw’s article. Additional materials include copies of the Prentice family coat of arms and a silhouette drawing of Deacon Davis, John H. Prentice’s father-in-law, both of which are also featured in Henshaw’s article.
Names:
- Henshaw, Cornelia
- Prentice family
- Prentice, Jemima Parmele
- Prentice, John H.
- Prentice, Sartell
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- New York (State) — Description and travel
Subjects:
- Businessmen — New York (State) — Kings County
- Families — New York (State) — Albany
- Families — New York (State) — Kings County
- Genealogy
Types of material:
- Articles
- Coats of arms
- Correspondence
- Drawings (visual works)
- Magazines (periodicals)
View Finding Aid
Call Number: 1978.075
Extent: 0.08 Linear feet, in one folder
A letter from Lanier Eason to Kitty and Hank Terjen discussing the author’s memories of members of the Roebling family, dated 1976. The Roeblings designed and built the Brooklyn Bridge. Eason’s mother (not named) appears from the letter to have known or married into the Roebling family.
Names:
- Eason, Lanier
- Roebling family
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Subjects:
- Families — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
View Finding Aid
|
Recently Added Collections
|
