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A HISTORY OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN AND KINGS COUNTY
A HISTORY OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN AND KINGS COUNTY
BY STEPHEN M. OSTRANDER, M.A. LATE MEMBER OF THE HOLLAND SOCIETY, THE LONG ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND THE SOCIETY OF OLD BROOKLYNITES EDITED, WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES, BY ALEXANDER BLACK AUTHOR OF "THE STORY OF OHIO," ETC. IN TWO VOLUMES VOLUME I. BROOKLYN Published by Subscription 1894 Copyright, 1894, By ANNIE A. OSTRANDER. All rights reserved. This Edition is limited to Five Hundred Copies, of which this is No. 21....
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PREFACE
PREFACE
At the time of his death, in 1885, Mr. Ostrander had completed considerable MS. for a history of the City of Brooklyn and Kings County; had prepared many chronological notes with a view to fuller writing, and had accumulated a mass of material in the form of transcripts, references, newspaper and other reports. It was his own understanding that a first volume of a proposed two-volume history might be regarded as well in hand, and that the wherewithal for the remaining chapters was advanced towar
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STEPHEN M. OSTRANDER
STEPHEN M. OSTRANDER
The name of Stephen M. Ostrander has been honored in the city of Brooklyn as that of a man whose career exemplified a stainless citizenship. The honors have been not those of public favor offered in a citizen's lifetime, nor of memorials after he has passed away, but the monuments of a cherished memory, the recognition of a generous and wholesome personality. Stephen M. Ostrander was born February 3, 1832, in the city of Brooklyn. He was of Dutch stock, his earliest ancestor in this country bein
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CHAPTER I THE REGION OF BROOKLYN AT THE TIME OF THE DISCOVERY
CHAPTER I THE REGION OF BROOKLYN AT THE TIME OF THE DISCOVERY
Geology and Conformation of Long Island. Evidences of the Glacial Period. Theory of the Glacial Action. "Back-Bone" of the Island. Earliest Historical Description. Trees. Animal Life. Indian Tribes: Their Subjugation by the Iroquois; Habits and Habitations. The geology of Long Island has always been regarded as a particularly interesting theme for those concerned in the study of such matters, since the examination of its phases brings into view so many and such various points of speculative inte
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CHAPTER II DISCOVERY AND FIRST SETTLEMENTS
CHAPTER II DISCOVERY AND FIRST SETTLEMENTS
Early Voyagers. Henry Hudson. Attitude of Holland and Spain. Motives of Holland. Hudson's Reports. West India Company. Dutch on Manhattan Island. The Walloons and the Wallabout. Derivation of the Name Wallabout. First authentically recorded Settlements on Long Island. The Van Corlaer Purchase. Bennett and Bentyn's Purchase. Joris Jansen de Rapalje. Van Twiller. West India Company's Purchases on Long Island. East River Lands. It is possible that in the voyages of the Cabots, Long Island was sight
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CHAPTER III THE INDIANS AND THE EARLY SETTLERS
CHAPTER III THE INDIANS AND THE EARLY SETTLERS
The Dutch Policy toward the Indians. Puritan and Dutch Policy Contrasted. Long Island Indians: Their Relations with the Whites. Kieft's Attacks on Pavonia and Corlaer's Hook. Uprising on Long Island. Overtures for Peace. Mission to Rockaway of De Vries and Olfertsen. Restoration of Friendly Relations. These numerous settlements had not been accomplished without the encountering of Indian difficulties. In general the Dutch policy toward the Indians was business-like and reasonable, contrasting fa
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CHAPTER IV THE BEGINNINGS OF BREUCKELEN 1643-1647
CHAPTER IV THE BEGINNINGS OF BREUCKELEN 1643-1647
The Ferry and the Ferry Road. Settlement of Flatlands. Flatbush. Lady Deborah Moody and the Settlement of Gravesend. Early Settlements. The Name of Breuckelen. Henry C. Murphy's Comments. First Schepens and Schout. Commission from the Colonial Council. The Removal of Kieft. Arrival of Stuyvesant. Near the site of the present Peck Slip, New York, there lay, in 1642, a farm owned by Cornelis Dircksen, who kept an inn, and conducted a ferry between a point of land at Peck Slip and a point on the Lo
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CHAPTER V DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL LIFE UNDER THE DUTCH 1647-1664
CHAPTER V DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL LIFE UNDER THE DUTCH 1647-1664
Beginning of Stuyvesant's Administration. Condition of the Colony. Character of the Early Dutch Houses. Household Arrangement. Dress. Funerals. Marriages. The Mixture of Races. Slavery. Religion. Attitude of Stuyvesant toward Sects other than Dutch Reformed. Triumph of Liberal Ideas. First Churches in Kings County. Troubles over the Church Tax. First Schools. The Dutch and Popular Education. End of Dutch Rule. When Stuyvesant, followed by the principal burghers, made his first public appearance
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CHAPTER VI KINGS COUNTY AFTER THE ENGLISH CONQUEST 1665-1700
CHAPTER VI KINGS COUNTY AFTER THE ENGLISH CONQUEST 1665-1700
Assembly at Hempstead. The "Duke's Laws." Lovelace. New York Retaken by the Dutch. Colve becomes Governor. Return of English Rule under the Treaty of 1674. Dongan and the Popular Assembly. De Sille. Journal of Dankers and Sluyter. The Ferry. A Dutch Dinner. The Schoolmaster and the Constable. William and Mary and the Leisler Revolution. Sloughter appointed Governor. Execution of Leisler, and Subsequent Honors of a Public Reinterment. Long Island receives the name of Nassau. Development of Privat
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CHAPTER VII BROOKLYN BEFORE THE REVOLUTION 1701-1775
CHAPTER VII BROOKLYN BEFORE THE REVOLUTION 1701-1775
Brooklyn becomes the Largest Long Island Settlement. Division of the Common Lands. Regulations as to the Cutting of Lumber. The King's Highway laid out. Brooklyn Officials at the Opening of the Century. Lord Cornbury's Proclamation to Long Island Justices. Slavery. Encroachments on the Common Highway. The trial of Zenger. Population in 1738. Fortifying Long Island. Newspaper Glimpses of pre-Revolutionary Life. Ferries. Kings County in the Assembly and the Provincial Convention. Philip Livingston
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CHAPTER VIII KINGS COUNTY DURING THE REVOLUTION 1775-1783
CHAPTER VIII KINGS COUNTY DURING THE REVOLUTION 1775-1783
Kings County at the Opening of the Revolution. Participation in Events leading to the Crisis. Military Officers. Long Island Tories. The Continental and Provincial Congresses. Fortifying. Declaration of Independence. General Greene on Long Island. Draft in Kings County. Landing of the British at Gravesend. The Battle of Brooklyn. The Night Retreat. British Occupation of the County. Temptations to Disloyalty toward the American Cause, and Action of the People under British Pressure. The County in
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A HISTORY OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN AND KINGS COUNTY
A HISTORY OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN AND KINGS COUNTY
BY STEPHEN M. OSTRANDER, M.A. LATE MEMBER OF THE HOLLAND SOCIETY, THE LONG ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND THE SOCIETY OF OLD BROOKLYNITES EDITED, WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES, BY ALEXANDER BLACK AUTHOR OF "THE STORY OF OHIO," ETC. IN TWO VOLUMES VOLUME II. BROOKLYN Published by Subscription 1894 Copyright, 1894, By ANNIE A. OSTRANDER. All rights reserved. This Edition is limited to Five Hundred Copies, of which this is No. 21....
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CHAPTER IX BROOKLYN AFTER THE REVOLUTION 1784–1810
CHAPTER IX BROOKLYN AFTER THE REVOLUTION 1784–1810
Effect of the British Occupation on Life and Business in the County. Brooklyn particularly disturbed. Town Meetings resumed. The Prison Ships and their Terrible Legacy. Tragedies of the Wallabout. Movement to honor the Dead. Burial of the Remains. The Tammany Enterprise and the Removal of the Bones. Further Removal to Fort Greene. Organization of the Brooklyn Fire Department. The Ferry. The Mail Stage. New Roads. Planning "Olympia." Early Advertisements. Circulating Library and Schools. The Rain
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CHAPTER X BROOKLYN VILLAGE 1811–1833
CHAPTER X BROOKLYN VILLAGE 1811–1833
Brooklyn during the "Critical Period" in American History. The Embargo and the War of 1812. Military Preparations. Fortifications. Fort Greene and Cobble Hill. Peace. Robert Fulton. The "Nassau's" First Trip. Progress of Fulton Ferry. The Village Incorporated. First Trustees. The Sunday-School Union. Long Island Bank. Board of Health. The Sale of Liquor. Care of the Poor. Real Estate. Village Expenses. Guy's Picture of Brooklyn in 1820. The Village of that Period. Characters of the Period. Old F
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CHAPTER XI THE CITY OF BROOKLYN 1834–1860
CHAPTER XI THE CITY OF BROOKLYN 1834–1860
Government of the City. George Hall, first Mayor. Plans for a City Hall. Contention among the Aldermen. Albert G. Stevens and the Clerkship. The Jamaica Railroad. Real Estate. The "Brooklyn Eagle." Walt Whitman. Henry C. Murphy. Brooklyn City Railroad. The City Court established. County Institutions. The Penitentiary. Packer Institute and the Polytechnic. Williamsburgh becomes a City. Progress of Williamsburgh. Mayor Wall and the Aldermen. Discussion of Annexation with Brooklyn. The "Brooklyn Ti
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CHAPTER XII THE PERIOD OF THE CIVIL WAR 1861–1865
CHAPTER XII THE PERIOD OF THE CIVIL WAR 1861–1865
Election of Mayor Kalbfleisch. The Call for Troops. The Militia. Filling the Regiments. Money for Equipment. Rebuking Disloyalty. War Meeting at Fort Greene. Work of Women. The County sends 10,000 Men in 1861. Launching of the Monitor at Greenpoint. The Draft Riots. Colonel Wood elected Mayor. Return of the "Brooklyn Phalanx." The Sanitary Fair. Its Features and Successes. The Calico Ball. Significance of the Fair. The Christian Commission. Action of the Supervisors of the County. The Oceanus Ex
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CHAPTER XIII BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR 1866–1876
CHAPTER XIII BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR 1866–1876
Administration of Samuel Booth. Metropolitan Sanitary District created. Cholera. Erie Basin Docks. The County Institutions and their Work. The Gowanus Canal and the Wallabout Improvement. The Department of Survey and Inspection of Buildings. Establishing Fire Limits. Building Regulations. Prospect Park. The Ocean Parkway. The Fire Department. The Public Schools. The East River Bridge. Early Discussion of the Great Enterprise. The Construction begun. Death of Roebling. The Ferries. Messages of Ma
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CHAPTER XIV THE MODERN CITY 1877–1890
CHAPTER XIV THE MODERN CITY 1877–1890
Rapid Transit. James Howell, Jr., elected Mayor. Work on the Bridge. Passage of "Single Head" Bill. John Fiske on the "Brooklyn System." Seth Low elected Mayor. His Interpretation of the "Brooklyn System." Reëlection of Low. Opening of the Bridge. Bridge Statistics. Ferries and Water Front. Erie Basin. The Sugar Industry. Navy Yard. Wallabout Market. Development of the City. Prospect Park. Theatres and Public Buildings. National Guard. Public Schools. Brooklyn Institute. Private Educational Inst
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I FRANCIS LEWIS54
I FRANCIS LEWIS54
One of the names ever to be remembered in the history of Brooklyn, and of the State and country, is that of Francis Lewis, who was an ardent patriot, and sacrificed his all to secure the independence of the colonies. As he resided for more than twenty years on Long Island, he can justly be claimed as one of her sons, and as such richly deserves a place in her history. Few men displayed so much zeal in the cause of liberty, or evinced such readiness to endure the hardships which the struggle nece
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II DUTCH NOMENCLATURE
II DUTCH NOMENCLATURE
In a letter written from Holland to the Brooklyn "Eagle," Henry C. Murphy gave an interesting explanation of the chief characteristics of Dutch nomenclature. In the course of this letter Mr. Murphy said:— "In order to show what difficulties the peculiar system adopted in this country (Holland), and continued by the settlers in our own home, throw in the way of tracing genealogies, it is to be observed that the first of these, in point of time, was the patronymic, as it is called, by which a chil
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III NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN FERRY RIGHTS
III NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN FERRY RIGHTS
New York City's exclusive claims to the ferry rights are almost as old as Brooklyn itself. Brooklyn was settled in 1636, and in less than twenty years, and while there was but a handful of people on this side of the river, the ferry from Peck Slip to Nassau Island, at a point corresponding to the present foot of Fulton Street, had become a public question. In the natural course of things, New York had first started the ferry. When the English conquered New Netherland, and Peter Stuyvesant steppe
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IV STATISTICS FROM THE FEDERAL CENSUS OF 1890 BROOKLYN MANUFACTURES56 Federal Census of 1890
IV STATISTICS FROM THE FEDERAL CENSUS OF 1890 BROOKLYN MANUFACTURES56 Federal Census of 1890
The tabulated statements presented herewith include only establishments which reported a product of $500 or more in value during the census year, and, so far as practicable, only those establishments operating works located within the corporate limits of the city. COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF TOTALS DETAILED STATEMENT FOR 1890 BY IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES IN BROOKLYN ELEVENTH CENSUS STATEMENT OF CITY DEBT, DECEMBER 31, 1893...
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