Archives & Library Special Collections
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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: 1977.639
Extent: 0.08 Linear feet, in one folder
This collection contains an original and typed copy of a sworn affidavit, signed by Major O. Tavles and dated September 14, 1779, stating that as a prisoner of war in the home of Adrian Voorhees of Flatbush, he was treated well. Also included is a sworn statement from Voorhees, dated August 4, 1780, stating that two horses and a wagon had been taken from him by Hessians, for which he was never compensated.
Names:
- Tavles, O.
- Voorhees, Adrian
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Flatbush (New York, N.Y.)
- Kings County (N.Y.) — History — Revolution, 1775-1783
- United States — History — Revolution, 1775-1783
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Call Number: ARC.278
Extent: 2.6 Linear feet, in two flat boxes and one manuscript box.
The Hulbert collection (1698-1846) consists principally of late eighteenth century documents related to colonial British America. The collection also includes documents from the American Revolution and early national period. The collection holds papers related to the British military presence in North America, including statistical reports (i.e., returns) for troops for several months in 1760 and documents compiled by Frederick de Deimar in connection with the Corps of Hussars (1779-1781) he raised for the British during the American Revolution. Non-military matters include correspondence, chiefly from Goldsbrow Banyar, Register of Prerogative Court and deputy to George Clark, Secretary of the Colony of New York, concerning a dispute among colonial New York officials over their respective rights to collect and receive patent and other fees (1766-1770). There are papers concerning the Bahamas (1795-1796), including correspondence, principally to and from colonial agent George Chalmers, and minutes of the Legislative Council. Among the other documents in the collection are land grants and indentures, a will, court filings, and other documents from New York State, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Florida. Several of these documents still have a large wax seal tied to them.
Names:
- Hulbert, Milan
- Banyar, Goldsbrow
- Chalmers, George
- Diemar, Frederick
- Great Britain. Army. Corps of Hussars (1779-1781)
Places:
- Bahamas — History
- New York (Colony)
- New York (State) — History — Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
- United States — History — French and Indian War, 1755-1763
- United States — History — Revolution, 1775-1783
- West Florida — History
Subjects:
- Land titles — New York (State)
- Land titles — South Carolina
- Land titles — West Florida
- Legal documents — Rhode Island
- Legal documents — Virginia
- Real property — New York (State)
- Real property — South Carolina
- Real property — West Florida
Types of material:
- certification
- Correspondence
- Deeds
- Land grants
- Returns (military reports)
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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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Call Number: ARC.145
Extent: 14.25 Linear feet, in 2 record cartons, 7 document boxes, and 14 oversize or odd-size boxes
The Lefferts family papers contain documents created and collected by members of the Lefferts family, a Brooklyn family of Dutch origin that played a prominent role in the city’s politics, society, and development. The collection also contains records created and collected by the stewards of the Lefferts Historic House Museum in relation to the Lefferts family and the house’s history. The documents span from the 1650s to the 1970s and include those created by members of the Lefferts family in Brooklyn (particularly in the town of Flatbush) as well as members of the family that branched out into other parts of America including Ohio and Illinois. The collection covers a variety of subjects including the development of Flatbush, the Lefferts family role in the political, economic, religious, and social life of Flatbush and Brooklyn, colonial life, slavery, and more. The documents include personal papers and correspondence of the family members, papers related to maintenance of their farm and businesses, genealogical records of the family, and photographs and other graphic materials of family members and the Lefferts house. The collection also contains related clippings, some maps, and an assortment of books either owned by or related to the Lefferts family and Flatbush. There are some documents related to the maintenance of the Lefferts Historic House and some documents and graphic materials collected over time by the stewards of the house.
Names:
- Lefferts family
- Cortelyou, John, 1772-1855
- Hegeman family
- Lefferts, Eliza, 1831-1865
- Lefferts, Femmetie Hegemann, 1760-1847
- Lefferts, Jacobus L.
- Lefferts, James, 1800-1862
- Lefferts, John, 1719-1776
- Lefferts, John, 1785-1829
- Lefferts, John, 1814-1877
- Lefferts, John, 1826-1893
- Lefferts, Leffert, 1774-1847
- Lefferts, Maria Lott, 1786-1865
- Lefferts, Peter
- Lott family
- Schenck, Sarah Lefferts
- Vanderbilt, Gertrude Lefferts, b. 1824.
- Brooklyn, Flatbush, and Coney Island Railway Company
- Brooklyn, Jamaica, and Flatbush Turnpike Company
- Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church (Flatbush, New York, N.Y.)
- Flatbush Plank Road Company
- Gravesend and Coney Island Bridge and Road Company
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Maps
- Flatbush (New York, N.Y.)
- Kings County (N.Y.) — History — Revolution, 1775-1783
- Long Island (N.Y.) — History — Revolution, 1775-1783
- New York (N.Y.) — Maps.
Subjects:
- Deeds — New York (State) — Kings County
- Draft Riot, New York, N.Y., 1863
- Farms — New York (State) — Kings County
- Genealogy
- Long Island, Battle of, New York, N.Y., 1776
- Real property — New York (State) — New York — Maps
- Roads — New York (State) — Kings County
- Slavery — New York (State) — Kings County
- Transportation — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
- Account books
- Bible
- Birth records
- Cadastral maps
- Cookbooks
- Daguerreotypes (photographs)
- Death records
- Engravings
- Financial records
- Genealogies
- Indentures
- Land titles — New York (State) — Kings County
- Manuscript maps
- Marriage records
- Photographs
- Picture postcards
- Receipts (financial records)
- Slave bills of sale
- Tintypes (prints)
- Wills
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View An American Family Grows in Brooklyn, an online exhibit of materials from the Lefferts family papers made possible by the Leon Levy Foundation
Call Number: 1977.025
Extent: 2.5 Linear feet, in 5 manuscript boxes
The Landon family papers relate principally to Jared Landon (died circa 1815) and to Henry Landon (died 1866) in their capacities as county judges, estate executors, and landholders. The Landons were residents of Cutchogue, part of the town of Southold in Suffolk County on the eastern end of Long Island, and the bulk of the collection concerns that area. Other Landons, such as Jared’s father Samuel (circa 1700-1782), and other New York areas are represented in the collection, though to a much lesser extent.
The collection is rich with legal and financial documents that can provide insight into social, economic, cultural, and political aspects of Suffolk County in the late eigtheenth century and first half of the nineteenth century. Document types include inventories, vendue (auction) accounts, day books, ledgers, promissory notes, court orders, trespasses and other court-related documents, land indentures and transfers, town meeting notices and resolutions, and more. The collection also holds substantive correspondence on legal, financial, personal, and political matters, including those related to the Democratic Party in Southold in the late 1820s-1840s. Documents concerning the American Revolution and the British occupation of New York, including the imprisonment of Jared Landon, are in the collection. References to African-Americans appear throughout the collection, including in account books and court cases.
Names:
- Conkling, David, d. 1787?
- Floyd, C. A., 1791-1873
- Huntington, Abel, 1777-1858
- Landon family
- Landon, Henry
- Landon, Jared
- Landon, Samuel, ca. 1700-1782?
- Sage, Ebenezer, 1755-1834
- Democratic Party (New York, N.Y.)
- Long Island Railroad Company
- Seaflower (Sloop : ca. 1786)
- United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 48th (1861-1865)
Places:
- Cutchogue (N.Y.)
- Long Island (N.Y.) — History — Revolution, 1775-1783
- Southold (N.Y.)
- Suffolk County (N.Y.)
Subjects:
- African Americans — New York (State) — Suffolk County
- Commerce
- County courts — New York (State) — Suffolk County
- Genealogy
- Indians of North America — Treaties.
- Judges — New York (State) — Suffolk County
- Liquor laws — New York (State) — Suffolk County
- Politics, Practical — New York (State) — Suffolk County
Types of material:
- Accounts
- Articles of incorporation.
- Correspondence
- Daybooks
- Deeds
- Diaries
- Estate inventories.
- Indentures
- Ledgers (account books)
- Legal documents
- legal instruments
- Petitions
- Promissory notes
- Receipts (financial records)
- Warrants
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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.
Call Number: ARC.190
Extent: 2.8 Linear feet, in seven manuscript boxes
Gabriel Furman (1800-1854) was a lawyer, Whig politician, New York State senator, and historian of early Brooklyn, New York, known for his Notes Geographical and Historical, Relating to the Town of Brooklyn, on Long-Island (1824). The Furman papers principally include thirteen journals dating from circa 1816 to circa 1854 in which Furman both documented his personal observations about Brooklyn and New York and recorded historical items relevant to his writing and lectures. Among the wide diversity of topics found in the journals are epidemics of cholera and yellow fever, financial crises, daily weather conditions, theatre and the arts, politics, and religious belief. The collection also holds Furman manuscript histories, notably one on theatre in New York. Finally, the collection includes several pages from a Furman letter book, principally from 1824, and a page of his legal drafts from 1823. The bulk of the correspondence consists of letters written by Furman to his father, William, who was a New York State assemblyman away at Albany. The principal subjects of these letters concerned local perspectives on matters that would be taken up by the legislature, including Brooklyn’s effort to gain a charter for a proposed Long Island Bank, the proposed act of incorporation for Brooklyn, and Furman’s opposition to a proposed expansion of capital punishment in New York. Local electoral politics is also a subject of the correspondence.
Names:
- Furman, Gabriel, 1800-1854
- Long Island Bank
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Buildings, structures, etc.
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Climate
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Commerce
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Description and travel
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Economic conditions
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — History
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — History — Archival resources.
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Politics and government
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Religious life and customs
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Social conditions
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Social life and customs
- New York (N.Y.) — History
- New York (State) — History
Subjects:
- Cholera — New York (State) — Kings County
- Theaters — New York (State) — New York — History
- Yellow fever — New York (State) — Kings County
Types of material:
- commonplace books
- Diaries
- Histories
- Letter books
- natural history
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View Subject Index for Volumes 2 and 3
View Subject Index for Volumes 4 and 5
View Subject Index for Volumes 6 and 7
View Subject Index for Volumes 8, 9, and 10
View Subject Index for Volumes 12, 15, and 16
View Subject Index for Volume Miscellanies
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Recently Added Collections
- John Kissam papers, 1778-1823; 1864-1868
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- Women’s Alliance of the First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn records, 1922-2004
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