Archives & Library Special Collections
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Call Number: ARC.245
Extent: 4.0 Linear feet, in 5 manuscript boxes and 9 boxes of various sizes
The collection was compiled over time by the Brooklyn Historical Society (formerly the Long Island Historical Society). It principally contains the records of two major Brooklyn-based Civil War relief associations, the War Fund Committee and the Women’s Relief Association, including records of their various projects. A large portion of the collection documents one significant project undertaken by these organizations, the Brooklyn and Long Island Fair of 1864, also known as the Sanitary Fair. Documentation of the Fair covers both its financial aspects and the events and exhibits taking place there, and includes posters, broadsheets, printed matter, the Fair’s newspaper, subscription books, admission tickets, stereographs of the New England Kitchen exhibit, and more. Some artifacts exhibited at the Fair are included in the collection, notably an album of autographed writings with contributions by Hawthorne, Longfellow, and James Fenimore Cooper, among many others. Documents concerning other relief organizations are found in the collection, including the Brooklyn Bureau of the American Freedmen’s Friend Society and the Brooklyn and Long Island Christian Commission. Records of fundraising in Brooklyn for a Lincoln Monument Fund and in response to an 1866 fire in Portland, Maine, are also included. In addition, the collection holds other materials, primarily concerning the Civil War, relief efforts in cities other than Brooklyn, politics, commercial advertising, and other matters.
Names:
- Brooklyn and Long Island Fair in Aid of the United States Sanitary Commission. (1864)
- War Fund Committee (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Women’s Relief Association of the City of Brooklyn
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — History — Civil War, 1861-1865
- Kings County (N.Y.) — Newspapers
Subjects:
- Boatswain’s whistle
- Drum beat
- Our daily fare
- Sanitary fair bulletin
- Spirit of the fair (New York, N.Y.)
- Charities — New York (State) — Kings County
- Fairs — New York (State) — Kings County
- Mexican War, 1846-1848 — Correspondence
- Presidents — United States — Election — 1864
- United States — History — Civil War, 1861-1865 — Civilian relief
- War — Relief of sick and wounded
Types of material:
- Admission tickets
- Advertisements
- American newspapers
- Autographs (manuscripts)
- Broadsides (notices)
- Correspondence
- Donor lists
- Lecture notes
- Ledgers (account books)
- Manuscripts (document genre)
- Minutes
- Poetry
- Printed ephemera
- Printing plates
- Receipts (financial records)
- Scrapbooks
- Stereographs
- Subscription lists
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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
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Call Number: 1977.625
Extent: 0.03 Linear feet, in one folder
This collection contains a receipt for a subscription to the Long Island Weekly Intelligencer for subscriber Michael Vandervoort, dated December 25, 1806.
The Long Island Weekly Intelligencer commenced publication on May 26, 1806, with William Robinson and William Little serving as publisher and editor, respectively. Robinson and Little were booksellers and stationers on the corner of Old Ferry and Fulton Streets in Brooklyn, N.Y. The paper was well supported by original material in poetry and prose, including serially published short stories. One of the newspaper’s features was a listing of letters left in the Brooklyn Post Office. The paper ceased publication at the end of 1806 due to lack of support.
Names:
- Long Island Weekly Intelligencer
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Subjects:
- American newspapers — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
- Receipts (financial records)
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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)
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Call Number: 1985.018
Extent: 1.67 Linear feet, in one oversize box.
One copy of the May 24, 1883 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, featuring a full front-page article on the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Names:
- Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Firm)
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Brooklyn Bridge (New York, N.Y.)
Subjects:
- Brooklyn daily eagle
- American newspapers — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
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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: 1981.001
Extent: 0.33 Linear feet, in five folders
The collection includes material from throughout the life of the Brooklyn Armstrong (1906-1920) and Hampton (1920-1943) Associations. A scrapbook (1906-1939) includes clippings about events and meetings (notably a visit to Brooklyn by Booker T. Washington and Secretary of War Taft), solicitations, meeting invitations, announcements, reports, membership lists, Hampton Institute publications, and the like. There are some annual reports in the collection. There are minute books (1906-1943) for the Executive Committee and Annual meetings. There is a small amount of correspondence, principally from 1943, concerning the final days of the organization.
Names:
- Brooklyn Armstrong Association
- Brooklyn Hampton Association (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Hampton Institute
- Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (Va.)
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Subjects:
- African Americans — Education — History
- Charitable giving
- Charity organization — New York (State) — Kings County
- Race relations — United States
Types of material:
- Annual reports
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Correspondence
- Minutes
- Scrapbooks
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Call Number: 1978.137
Extent: 3.0 Linear feet, in five manuscript boxes and one flat box.
The collection consists of the personal and business papers of Richetta Randolph Wallace (1884-circa 1971), an African-American woman having a longstanding engagement with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Harlem (New York City), African-American literary and arts culture, and matters of race relations, racial justice and civil rights. Documents include correspondence, pamphlets and other published print matter, event programs and other ephemera, photographs, receipts, manuscripts, and newspaper clippings. Commonly known by her maiden name, Randolph was office manager for the NAACP until the mid-1940s and personal secretary to Mary White Ovington and James Weldon Johnson. The collection includes correspondence with Ovington and Johnson as well as other NAACP principals. including Walter White, William Pickens, and others. The collection includes a full typescript draft of Johnson’s Black Manhattan, with notes, and a galley proof (1930) of the book. Much of the collection consists of print matter, which centers on matters of race in the United States, including discrimination, lynching, justice (or injustice), and civil rights. Other print matter includes programs, sermons, church newsletters, and other materials, principally concerning Mt. Olivet Baptist Church. Correspondence documents Randolph’s activities on behalf of Mt. Olivet over the years. There are a small number of photographs in the collection including, among others, those of Randolph, of Johnson and his wife in Great Barrington (1929), of Ovington, and stock images of NAACP principals.
Names:
- Wallace, Richetta G. Randolph
- Johnson, James Weldon, 1871-1938
- Ovington, Mary White, 1865-1951
- Mount Olivet Baptist Church (New York, N.Y.)
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Subjects:
- African American churches — New York (State) — New York
- African American women
- African American women civil rights workers
- African Americans — Civil rights — History — 20th century
- Civil rights movements — New York (State) — New York
- Civil rights workers — New York (State) — New York
- Minorities — Civil rights — New York (State) — New York
- Women in church work — New York (State) — New York
- Women — New York (State) — New York
Types of material:
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Correspondence
- galley proofs
- Pamphlets
- Photographs
- Printed ephemera
- Programs (documents)
- Publications
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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: 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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