Archives & Library Special Collections
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Call Number: 1979.006
Extent: 0.1 Linear feet, in one folder
The Reverend Edward Harris memoir, dated 1872, is a handwritten autobiographical work by Harris, a Presbyterian minister. Covering the period 1797-1872, Harris chronicles his various destinations as a minister, his motivations, family and other influences on his life choices, the manner in which he was called or assigned to various pulpits or presbyteries, his difficulties and challenges with various congregations, financial difficulties, health concerns, and his side occupations. Harris’s travels took him from Maine to North Carolina, from eastern Long Island (N.Y.) to Ohio, often repeatedly. Overall, Harris’s memoir provides insight into an itinerant ministry as a career choice, principally in the New England and Middle Atlantic states, in the nineteenth century.
Names:
Subjects:
- Clergy — Salaries, etc.
- Clergy — New England
- Clergy — New York (State) — Long Island
- Presbyterian Church — Clergy
- Presbyterians — New England
- Presbyterians — New York (State) — Long Island
Types of material:
- Autobiographies
- Manuscripts (document genre)
- Memoirs
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Call Number: ARC.263
Extent: 94.55 Linear feet, in 7 manuscript boxes and 85 flat boxes
The Pierrepont family papers (1761-1918) document the intersection of commercial, civic and personal interests across three generations of one of the most prominent and influential families of nineteenth century Brooklyn, New York. The bulk of the collection concerns the business dealings of Henry Evelyn Pierrepont from 1838 to his death in 1888. This especially includes an extensive set of accounting and transactional records concerning the Pierrepont Stores, the family’s warehouse on Brooklyn’s East River waterfront; these include records of ships arriving at the Stores and their cargoes delivered. Additionally, there are substantive correspondence, legal documents and other materials concerning the Union Ferry Company, of which Henry was an officer. In addition to commerce and shipping, a major theme of the collection is that of land acquisition in Brooklyn Heights and at the adjacent waterfront in the early nineteenth century, and the development of that property over the course of the century. Included in the collection are correspondence, deeds, indentures, leases, accounting records, diaries, maps, invoices, receipts, business proposals, legal filings, clippings, and historical and genealogical manuscripts.
Names:
- Pierrepont family
- Pierpont, Hez. B., 1768-1838
- Pierrepont, Henry Evelyn, 1808-1888
- Pierrepont, Henry Evelyn, 1845-1911
- Pierrepont, John Jay, 1849-1923
- Brooklyn Heights Railroad Company
- Covered Tube Cable Railway Co. (Brooklyn, New York, NY)
- Long Island Historical Society
- Nassau Cable Railway Company of Brooklyn (Brooklyn, New York, NY)
- Pierrepont Stores (Brooklyn, New York, NY)
- Union Ferry Company (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Maps
- Brooklyn Heights (New York, N.Y.)
- East River (N.Y.)
Subjects:
- Bonded warehouses and goods — New York (State) — New York
- Business enterprises — New York (State) — New York
- Ferries — New York (State) — New York
- Imports — New York (State) — New York
- Landowners — New York (State) — New York
- Real estate development — New York (State) — New York
- Real property — Ownership — New York (State) — New York
- Shipping — New York (State) — New York
- Waterfronts — New York (State) — New York
Types of material:
- Account books
- Cadastral maps
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Correspondence
- Daybooks
- Deeds
- Diaries
- Indentures
- Invoices
- Journals (accounts)
- Ledgers (account books)
- Manuscript maps
- Manuscripts (document genre)
- 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: 1977.255
Extent: 6.25 Linear feet, in 15 manuscript boxes and 3 photograph boxes
The bulk of the Edwin Warriner (1839-1898) papers and photographs includes the research notes and related materials gathered during the last decades of the nineteenth century in preparation for a planned, but never completed, encyclopedia of Methodism on Long Island, New York. Warriner’s files concern Methodist ministers, churches, circuits, and locales throughout Long Island. The collection includes correspondence, transcriptions, draft manuscript entries, clippings, and photographs, such as cabinet cards, cartes-de-visite, and tintypes. Warriner’s files also include some original documents dating from as early as 1791. The collection also includes printed material dating from the twentieth century that was added to the Warriner files after his death in 1898.This material consists mostly of special anniversary publications and other such documents that include historical notes on various Methodist churches.
Names:
- Methodist Episcopal Church. New York East Conference
- Warriner, Edwin, 1839-1898
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Church history
- Kings County (N.Y.) — Church history
- Long Island (N.Y.) — Church history
- Queens County (N.Y.) — Church history
Subjects:
- African American churches — New York (State) — Kings County
- African American churches — New York (State) — Long Island
- Church anniversaries — New York (State) — Kings County
- Clergy — New York (State) — Kings County
- Clergy — New York (State) — Long Island
- Clergy — New York (State) — Queens County
- Methodist Church — Clergy
- Methodist Church — United States — Clergy — Biography
- Methodist Church — United States — History
- Methodist Episcopal Church — New York (State) — Kings County
- Methodist Episcopal Church — New York (State) — Long Island
- Methodist Episcopal Church — New York (State) — Queens County
- Methodists, German — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
- Cabinet photographs
- Cartes-de-visite (card photographs)
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- commemoratives
- Correspondence
- Research notes
- souvenir programs
- Tintypes (prints)
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Call Number: ARC.218
Extent: 0.13 Linear feet, in one manuscript box
The collection includes correspondence received by Henry Reed Stiles in response to his requests for historical information in connection with his writing of A History of the City of Brooklyn. The bulk of the correspondence concerns religious institutions and congregations in Brooklyn, N.Y., including the areas of Williamsburg, Bushwick, and Greenpoint. Baptist, Congregational, Episcopal, Jewish, Lutheran, Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian, Reformed Dutch, and Universalist congregations are represented in the correspondence. A small number of institutions other than religious are represented in the collection. Among these is correspondence from the African-American activist and educator William J. Wilson concerning the history of Brooklyn’s Colored Public School Number 1. Also found here are financial data from Green-Wood Cemetery (1839-1868) and historical information about the Brooklyn Academy of Eclectic Medicine. The collection also includes, among other material, Jonathan Greenleaf’s descriptive recollections of 1840s East Brooklyn (the Wallabout area) and its subsequent growth to 1860 and correspondence from Joseph Gardner Swift, the Chief Engineer of the Army responsible for the fortifications built at New York and Brooklyn in 1814.
Names:
- Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909
- Atlantic Yacht Club
- Brooklyn Academy of Eclectic Medicine (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Brooklyn Eclectic Dispensary (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Green-Wood Cemetery (New York, N.Y.)
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Church history
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Description and travel
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — History — War of 1812
- Bushwick (New York, N.Y.) — Church history
- Greenpoint (New York, N.Y.) — Church history
- Williamsburg (New York, N.Y.) — Church history
Subjects:
- African Americans — Education — New York (State) — Kings County
- Baptists — New York (State) — Kings County
- Congregational churches — New York (State) — Kings County
- Episcopal Church — New York (State) — Kings County
- Jews — New York (State) — Kings County
- Lutheran Church — New York (State) — Kings County
- Methodist Episcopal Church — New York (State) — Kings County
- Presbyterian Church — New York (State) — Kings County
- Reformed Church — New York (State) — Kings County
- Sabbath schools — New York (State) — Kings County
- Sunday schools — New York (State) — Kings County
- Universalist churches — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
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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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Benjamin H. Foster and Samuel Hunt family papers, 1774-1870. 0.2 linear feet in one manuscript box.
Call number: 1977.198
This collection contains two principal sets of documents, one centered on attorney Benjamin H. Foster (1808-circa 1880s) of Southampton, Long Island, N.Y., and the other on Foster’s brother-in-law, Samuel Hunt (1810-1878) of Massachusetts. Many of the documents, such as bills of sale, receipts and indentures, pertain to Benjamin Foster and his family’s involvement in the whaling and steam ship industry in the mid-1800s. Other documents relate to Foster’s legal work for various estates, and some concern the building of a branch of the Long Island Rail Road from Riverhead to Sag Harbor. The Hunt material consists primarily of correspondence from Reverend Richard Hunt to his son, Samuel. Subjects of the Hunt correspondence include family matters, family deaths, fatherly advice, and religion, especially concerning the father’s encouragement of his son toward a life and career rooted in spirituality. Correspondence from Samuel’s ill brother describes an experience of searching for a cure through “animal magnetism.” The material also includes notes most likely taken by Samuel at a speech given by Carl Schurz at the Harvard College Alumni Dinner in 1877 concerning the federal government’s policies toward the U.S. South.
Access Points
Personal Names
Foster, Abigail
Foster, Benjamin H.
Hunt, Richard
Hunt, Samuel, 1810-1878
Corporate Name
Long Island Railroad Company
Geographic Names
Sag Harbor (N.Y.)
Southampton (N.Y.)
Southampton (N.Y.) — Genealogy
Suffolk County (N.Y.)
Subjects
Animal magnetism
Clergy — Massachusetts
Decedents’ estates — New York (State) — Suffolk County
Family life
Religion
Whaling ships
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Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims and Henry Ward Beecher collection, 1847- 1980. 28 cubic feet in 75 boxes (32 document boxes, 38 flat boxes, and 5 small boxes)
Call number: ARC.212
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.
Access Points:
Personal Names
Abbott, Lyman, 1835-1922
Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1887
Beecher, Henry Ward, Mrs., 1813-1897
Beecher, William Constantine, b. 1849 – Correspondence
Durkee, J. Stanley, (James Stanley), 1866-1951
Ellinwood, T. J., (Truman Jeremiah), 1830-1921
Fifield, Lawrence Wendell, b. 1891
Hibben, Paxton, 1880-1928
Hillis, Newell Dwight, 1858-1929
Hunt, Rose Ward
King, Horatio C., (Horatio Collins), 1837-1918
Tilton, Elizabeth M. Richards, b. 1834
Tilton, Theodore, 1835-1907
Subject Organizations
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.).
Titles
Plymouth chimes (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Subject 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
Subject Topics
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 |x 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
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Henry Onderdonk papers, 1729-1895. 12 boxes (8 manuscript boxes and 4 flat boxes), 10 linear feet
Call number: ARC.045
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.
Access Points:
Personal Names
Bancroft, George, 1800-1891 – Correspondence
Bergen, Teunis G., 1806-1881 – Correspondence
Bowne, J. T., (Jacob Titus), 1847-1925 – Correspondence
Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851 – Correspondence
Corwin, Edward Tanjore, 1834-1914 – Correspondence
De Lancey, Oliver, 1718-1785
Ellet, E. F., (Elizabeth Fries), 1818-1877 – Correspondence
Frost, Gideon – Correspondence
Hicks, Benjamin Doughty – Correspondence
Hicks, John D. – Correspondence
Hoadly, Charles J., (Charles Jeremy), 1828-1900 – Correspondence
Johnson, Jeremiah, 1768-1852 – Correspondence
Jones, William Alfred, 1817-1900 – Correspondence
King, John A., 1788-1867 – Correspondence
Latting, John Jordan, b. 1819 – Correspondence
Lossing, Benson John, 1813-1891 – Correspondence
O’Callaghan, E. B., (Edmund Bailey), 1797-1880 – Correspondence
Onderdonk, Henry, 1804-1886
Sabine, Lorenzo, 1803-1877 – Correspondence
Simms, Jeptha Root, 1807-1883 – Correspondence
Sparks, Jared, 1789-1866 – Correspondence
Strong, Thomas M. – Correspondence
Stuart, I. W., (Isaac William), 1809-1861 – Correspondence
Thompson, Benjamin F., (Benjamin Franklin), 1784-1849 — Correspondence
Subject Organizations
Queens County Agricultural Society (N.Y.).
Union Hall Academy (Jamaica, New York, N.Y.).
Subject 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.)
Subject Topics
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.
Vital statistics
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View Supplementary Finding Aid for Correspondence Series
Congregation Beth Elohim Oral History, 2010. Sound recordings: 6 digital audio WAV files (7hr, 14min)
2011.004
In 2010, the Brooklyn Historical Society partnered with Congregation Beth Elohim, a Reform synagogue founded in Park Slope, Brooklyn in 1861, to conduct an oral history with longtime member George Harris on the occasion of the Synagogue’s upcoming 150th anniversary (2011). The synagogue on 8th Avenue and Garfield Place was completed in 1910 and the Temple House across Garfield Place was completed in 1929.
In these interviews, George Harris talks about his childhood in Queens, lifelong friendships, his grandparents immigration experiences, education, religious education, his wife Katherine Harris’ conversion to Judaism, changes in Park Slope 1962-2010, and the community of Congregation Beth Elohim including influential rabbis and changes in ritual practice 1962-2010.
Recordings of these interviews and accompanying transcripts are available in the Brooklyn Historical Society’s Othmer Library and at Congregation Beth Elohim.
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