Archives & Library Special Collections
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Call Number: 1974.114
Extent: 1.0 Linear feet, in one flat box
John C. Bergen (1826-1907) was a farmer on Bergen’s Island in Flatlands, Kings County, New York (now part of Brooklyn). His papers include pages from his diary (1846-1848, 1854); an account book with daybook and other transactional entries (1827-1835, 1865-1894); and Bergen’s 1866 federal tax return. The diary entries focus principally on daily farming activities, hunting (including at Barren Island), weather, and bringing goods to market in Brooklyn and other Kings County towns, with references to illnesses, participation in town meetings, Bible readings, and other aspects of daily rural life. A farmhand named John J. who appears frequently in the diary’s 1840s entries is, judging from an 1854 entry, an African-American.
Names:
- Bergen, John C.
- Bergen family
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Flatlands (New York, N.Y.)
- Flatlands (New York, N.Y.) — Climate
Subjects:
- African Americans — New York (State) — Kings County
- Agriculture — New York (State) — Kings County
- Farmers — New York (State) — Kings County
- Farms — New York (State) — Kings County
- Markets — New York (State) — New York
Types of material:
- Account books
- Daybooks
- Diaries
- Journals (accounts)
View Finding Aid
Call Number: 1978.008
Extent: 3.0 Linear feet, in one oversize flat box.
The Union Army Light Artillery, 5th New York Independent Battery records consist mainly of muster rolls for the period 1861-1865, covering the unit’s service during the Civil War. In addition to periodic muster rolls, the collection also holds the unit’s initial muster-in roll and the 1864 muster-out roll from the conclusion of the unit’s initial term of service. Additional items include rolls of absentees and deserters, and discharge, furlough and other documents of Private (later 2nd Lieutenant) William H. Cornell. Finally, the collection includes the printed roster and by-laws of the Brooklyn (N.Y.) George C. Strong Post No. 534 of the Grand Army of the Republic, circa 1910 with annotated updates through circa 1912.
Names:
- Grand Army of the Republic. George C. Strong Post No. 534 (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- United States. Army. New York Artillery. Independent Battery, 5th (1861-1865)
Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- New York (State) — History — Civil War, 1861-1865
- United States — History — Civil War, 1861-1865
- United States — History — Civil War, 1861-1865 — Veterans
Subjects:
- Soldiers — New York (State)
- Veterans — New York (State) — Kings County — Societies, etc.
Types of material:
- Bylaws (administrative records)
- Discharges
- Membership lists
- Military records
- Muster rolls
- Rosters
View Finding Aid
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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Brooklyn Navy Yard Oral History, 2006-2011. Sound recordings: 47 digital audio WAV files (80hrs)
2010.003
In partnership with the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, Brooklyn Historical Society collected interviews with men and women who worked in or around the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The majority of the interviews are with people who worked in the Yard during WWII. The narrators discuss growing up in New York, their work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, their relationships with others in the Yard, gender relations and transportation to and from work. Many narrators bring up issues of ethnicity, race, and religion at the Yard or in their neighborhoods. Several narrators describe the launching of the U.S.S. Missouri battleship and recall in detail their daily tasks at the Yard as welders, office workers, and ship fitters. While interviews focus primarily on experiences in and around the Yard, many narrators also discuss their lives after the Navy Yard, relating stories about their careers, dating and marriage, children, social activities, living conditions, and changes in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
View List of Interviews
Recordings of these interviews and accompanying transcripts are available in the Brooklyn Historical Society’s Othmer Library and the Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at Building 92.
Brooklyn Navy Yard Oral History, 1987-1989. Sound recordings: 12 digital audio WAV files (6hr, 23min)
1995.005
In 1987-1989, Brooklyn Historical Society interviewed 10 people who worked in the Brooklyn Navy Yard during WWII. Interviews were conducted by Benjamin Filene and Diane Esses and focus on working conditions and the experiences of women doing nontraditional labor such as welding and shipfitting. These interviews were recorded on cassette tape and have been digitized to make them available for listening.
Recordings of these interviews and accompanying transcripts are available in the Brooklyn Historical Society’s Othmer Library and the Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at Building 92.
Joseph Arthur Burr, Jr. composition book, 1860-1866. 0.8 linear feet in one folder.
Call number: 1973.108
Joseph Arthur Burr, Jr. (1850-1915) was a lawyer who served as Corporation Counsel for the City of Brooklyn from 1896 to 1898 and, from 1905 until his death, as a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court. This collection consists of a composition book kept by Burr as a youth attending the Williamsburgh Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y. (1860-1864) and the Wilton Academy in Connecticut (1864-1866). Burr’s book includes short descriptions of places and events in and around Brooklyn and New York. Among the subjects of these brief descriptions are the Japanese government’s 1860 delegation in New York, Blackwell’s Island (now Roosevelt Island), the 1864 Brooklyn and Long Island Sanitary Fair, local menageries, the brickyard at Verplanck’s Point on the Hudson River, the launch of the frigate Re D’Italia from the Webb Shipyard, the Morgan Iron Works, and anniversary celebrations of the Williamsburg Sunday School Union. Several entries are influenced by the progression of the Civil War and include reflections on some aspect of it, particularly the closing events of the war and Lincoln’s assassination.
Access Points
Personal Names
Burr, J. Arthur, (Joseph Arthur)
Corporate Names
Williamsburgh Institute (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Wilton Academy (Wilton, Conn.)
Geographic Names
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — Description and travel
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) — History — Civil War, 1861-1865
New York (N.Y.) — Description and travel
Williamsburg (New York, N.Y.)
Wilton (Conn.)
Subjects
Lawyers — New York (State) — Kings County
Students — New York (State) — Kings County
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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
View HTML Finding Aid
View PDF Finding Aid
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.
Brooklyn Heights Synagogue Oral History, 2010. Sound recordings: 12 digital audio WAV files (16 hours)
2011.005
In 2010, the Brooklyn Historical Society and Brooklyn Heights Synagogue partnered to collect oral history interviews with 10 members of the congregation on the occasion of the Synagogue’s 50th anniversary.
Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, a Reform synagogue on 131 Remsen Street, was founded in Brooklyn in 1960 and currently includes over 330 member units made up of families, couples, and singles who live in Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Park Slope and Fort Greene, as well as in nearby DUMBO and Lower Manhattan.
Recordings of these interviews and accompanying transcripts are available in the Brooklyn Historical Society’s Othmer Library and at Brooklyn Heights Synagogue.
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.
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Recently Added Collections
- John Kissam papers, 1778-1823; 1864-1868
- 90th Regiment New York Veteran Volunteer Association papers, 1862, 1882-1897
- Women’s Alliance of the First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn records, 1922-2004
- Collection of Brooklyn, N.Y., Civil War relief associations records, ephemera and other material, circa 1798-1964
- Brooklyn Heights, South Africa, and Germany photograph album, circa 1890s-1930s
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