Archives & Library Special Collections
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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: 2005.021
Extent: 1.0 Linear feet, in one record carton
The Conklin and Bedell families papers (1839-1917) contain financial records and some personal correspondence generated by Ebenezer Conklin of Brooklyn, New York, and his descendants. The bulk of the records were generated by Ebenezer Conklin, and mostly concern household expenses, repairs and improvements made on Conklin’s several properties. The records of Nathaniel Augustus Conklin and Sarah Bedell, two of Ebenezer’s children, continue the history of Ebenezer’s properties. The small amount of correspondence contains Civil War letters, and a copy of the General Orders of the 19th Army Corps Headquarters at Camp Russell, Virginia. The collection also holds a cash accounts book and a pew ledger of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Bushwick for the years 1876-1884.
Names:
- Bedell family
- Conklin family
- Old Bushwick Reformed Church (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Bushwick (New York, N.Y.)
- United States — History — Civil War, 1861-1865
- Williamsburg (New York, N.Y.)
Subjects:
- Real property — New York (State) — Kings County
- Retail trade — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
- Account books
- Church records
- Correspondence
- Financial records
- Invoices
- Land titles
- Receipts (financial records)
- Tax records
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Call Number: 1974.008
Extent: 0.2 Linear feet, in 46 folders in one manuscript box
This collection contains correspondence to and from the Reverend Peter Lowe, Pastor of the Dutch Church of Flatbush. Many of the correspondents are fellow clergymen. The subjects of the correspondence principally include pleasantries and expressions of spirituality, especially in relation to dealing with difficulties, being favored with luck, matters of health or illness, and other fortunes or misfortunes of life. There is some commentary on finding preaching positions, performing clerical duties and seeking to redeem sinners. In this connection, there is an unsent 1788 letter from Lowe in which he expresses frustration that his church will not allow African-Americans to become members; he details the objections of the members and his answers to those objections.
Names:
- Lowe, Peter
- Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church (Flatbush, New York, N.Y.)
Places:
- Flatbush (New York, N.Y.)
Subjects:
- Clergy — New York (State) — Kings County
- Reformed Church — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
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Call Number: ARC.287
Extent: 0.13 Linear feet, in two folders
The Reverend William I. Chalmers served as pastor of the Congregational church in Riverhead, New York, during the late 19th century. The collection includes two manuscripts written and presented by Chalmers in the 1890s concerning the history of Congregationalism in Suffolk County, N.Y.
Names:
Places:
- Long Island (N.Y.) — History
- Suffolk County (N.Y.) — History
Subjects:
- Congregational churches — New York (State) — Long Island
Types of material:
- Lecture notes
- Manuscripts (document genre)
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Call Number: ARC.286
Extent: 0.13 Linear feet, in four folders
Epher Whitaker (1820-1916) was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Southold, Long Island, for more than forty years, retiring the pastorate in 1891. He was also an author and historian. The Epher Whitaker papers (1864-1900) include manuscripts of fourteen of Whitaker’s sermons, lectures and short writings dating from the late 1800s. There is also a small amount of correspondence from 1864 concerning religious revival among children. Most of the lectures and sermons concern historical topics, including past ministers at Southold and Shelter Island; preachers who appeared in the pulpit of the First Presbyterian Church of Southold, including African-Americans; the history of the First Presbyterian; and a survey of Suffolk County history. A summary of remarks entitled “The Proper Work of the Ministry” is an autobiographical account of Whitaker’s career (1891). Other manuscript remarks include reflections on “The Rise of Woman” and the relation of church and state, as well as religious themes.
Names:
- Whitaker, Epher, 1820-1916
- First Presbyterian Church (Southold, N.Y.)
Places:
- Shelter Island (N.Y.)
- Southold (N.Y.)
- Suffolk County (N.Y.)
- Suffolk County (N.Y.) — History
Subjects:
- African Americans — New York (State) — Suffolk County
- Presbyterian Church — Clergy
- Presbyterian Church — New York (State) — Suffolk County
Types of material:
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Call Number: 1974.133
Extent: 0.1 Linear feet, in 16 folders in one manuscript box
The John Kissam papers (1778-1823; 1864-1868) principally include correspondence and orders to Major Kissam, a Loyalist, concerning the Queens County Militia during the British occupation of New York and Long Island during the American Revolution. The subjects relate mostly to the taking of property, especially wood-cutting; authorization for movements about Long Island and to New York; and meeting troop musters. There are a small number of post-war items concerning Kissam. The collection also includes election (1865) and discharge (1868) certificates for Corporal Platt Wiggins from the New York State National Guard and the August 1864 muster roll of Company K of the 12th Georgia Infantry Regiment, Confederate States of America.
Names:
- Kissam, John
- Hamilton, Archibald, d. 1795
- Wiggins family
- Confederate States of America. Army. Georgia Infantry Regiment, 12th
- Queens County (N.Y.). Militia
Places:
- Queens County (N.Y.)
- Queens County (N.Y.) — History — Revolution, 1775-1783
Subjects:
- Military occupation damages — New York (State) — Queens County
Types of material:
- Certificates
- Correspondence
- Muster rolls
- Orders (military records)
- Receipts (financial records)
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Call Number: 2005.031
Extent: 3.5 Linear feet, In 3 record cartons and 1 oversize flat box.
This collection holds the records of the Women’s Alliance, an organization operating under the agency of the First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn. The Women’s Alliance began as the Female Samaritan Society in 1838, several years after the Church’s founding. Members of the group took responsibility for all the physical housekeeping of the church, ran the church’s annual fundraising fair, and helped with parish duties such as visiting the sick and cooking for the congregation. After periods of inactivity in the twentieth century, the group was resurrected in 1973 as the Women’s Alliance, a primarily issue-oriented group concerned with social action and women’s rights matters.
The collection encompasses the period of the resurgence of the Women’s Alliance during the latter half of the twentieth century as a socially conscious and active organization. The inclusive dates span from 1922 to 2004, with bulk dates ranging from 1980 to 1998. The Women’s Alliance records consist primarily of organizational material, including meeting minutes, correspondence, and financial documents. There is also printed matter created or collected by the Women’s Alliance and material related to the causes of concern and group work of the Women’s Alliance. A number of records also reveal the group’s relationships with other female-oriented and religious organizations.
Names:
- First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.). Women’s Alliance
- Campobasso, Miriam
- Hoogenboom, Olive
- Lazarus, Katherine
- Odessky, Marjory H.
- Sage, Doris
- First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.). Samaritan Alliance
- First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Church history
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Religious life and customs
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Social life and customs
Subjects:
- Women’s work (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Feminism — New York (State) — New York
- Pro-choice movement — New York (State) — New York
- Social action — New York (State) — Kings County — History
- Unitarianism — New York (State) — Kings County — History
- Women and religion — New York (State) — New York
- Women’s rights and spiritualism — New York (State) — New York
Types of material:
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Correspondence
- Minutes
- Newsletters
- Photographs
- Sermons
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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)
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Call Number: 1985.078
Extent: 0.1 linear feet, in one folder
The papers of Josie Prindle include 15 letters to Mrs. Prindle, some of which are from her husband Charles. Also included are a resolution of the Brooklyn City Guard concerning her husband, and a concert program of the Second Unitarian Church Choir from 1860, in which Mrs. Prindle was a soloist.
Names:
- Prindle, Josie
- Second Unitarian Church (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Social life and customs — 19th century
Subjects:
Types of material:
- Correspondence
- Resolutions (administrative records)
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Call Number: 1978.179
Extent: 0.1 Linear feet, in one folder
The collection includes constitution, reports, printed communications, newsletters, programs from the Knights of Columbus of Long Island, dated 1901 to 1966. Some Brooklyn material is included.
Names:
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Long Island (N.Y.)
Subjects:
- Catholics — New York (State) — Kings County
- Catholics — New York (State) — Long Island
- Fraternal organizations — New York (State) — Kings County
- Fraternal organizations — New York (State) — Long Island
Types of material:
- Constitutions
- Programs (documents)
- Reports
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