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TABLE OF CONTENTSInventory |
Guide to the Gravesend Town Miscellaneous Archives and Other Miscellaneous Documents
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Descriptive Summary | ||
| Creator | Gravesend (New York, N.Y.) | |
| Title | Gravesend Town Miscellaneous Archives and Other Miscellaneous Documents, | |
| Dates: | 1734-1932(Bulk 1791-1895) | |
| Abstract: | The documents in this collection, however, date back only to the late 18th century at the earliest, with the majority being for the 19th century. Approximately 290 documents comprise this collection. They have been arranged into the following four series: Town of Gravesend Miscellaneous Archives, Town of Gravesend miscellaneous land documents, Miscellaneous documents referring to various Long Island locales, Miscellaneous documents referring to various non Long Island locales. | |
| Extent: | 3 boxes, 2.4 cubic feet | |
| Identification: | G-4 | |
| Location: | The material is located in the Archives at Queens Library. | |
Historical/Biographical Note
Gravesend was one of several of the old towns of Kings County and was settled in 1643.
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Scope and Content Note
The documents in this collection, however, date back only to the late 18th century at the earliest, with the majority being for the 19th century. Approximately 290 documents comprise this collection. They have been arranged into the following four series: Town of Gravesend Miscellaneous Archives, Town of Gravesend miscellaneous land documents, Miscellaneous documents referring to various Long Island locales, Miscellaneous documents referring to various non Long Island locales.
The vast majority of these documents have typescripts accompanying them, said typescripts probably prepared by the collector of the documents, presumably done at or about the time they were acquired. Not all documents, however, have typescripts, and it should also be borne in mind that there exists a few typescripts for which there are no originals.
Typescripts have not been filed with the original documents, but rather separately, under the same title headings as the originals, within each series.
Town of Gravesend Miscellaneous Archives - These archives, with but two or three exceptions, exist only as loose documents, there being no bound volumes at all. They have been arranged into about a dozen categories, primarily by the type of governmental activity mentioned in the document. It would seem from the type of documents, that these were ones probably submitted to high officers in the town, such as the Supervisor, for many of them are, for example, oaths taken by individuals serving various functions for the town. Some documents more specifically, oaths of office contain the oaths of more than one individual. They are arranged by name or approximate name of office as follows:
Assessors (of real estate) – All of these documents are oaths of office taken by the various assessors. Included are three small soft-bound assessment roll books, ca. 1791-1842 (ca. 19 items)
Common Schools, Commissioners of - Besides some oaths of office of various commissioners, there are other documents such as communications to them by trustees of school districts; and receipts signed by trustees of school districts for having received the share of monies appropriated to them, ca. 1797-1843 (ca. 24 items).
Constables - These documents are oaths of office of the various constables of the town, or bonds submitted for the performance of their duties, ca. 1791-1843, 1875 (ca. 10 items)
Elections, Inspectors of - Documents certifying to election results or listing eligible voters 1839, 1846, 1853 (3 items)
Excise, Commissioners of - Included are bonds binding tavern and innkeepers to the proper conduct of their occupations; some oaths of office made by commissioners; and some minutes of meetings mentioning various individuals to who licenses for selling liquor were granted, ca. 1802-1852 (ca. 41 items)
Graveyard Committee? - Apparently in 1832 some repair work was done to the Gravesend burying ground. The three documents in this very small file are bills concerning work performed. They are 1832.
Highway, Commissioners of - Most of these documents are oaths of office of various commissioners. A few are receipts or accounts; while one document is a list of inhabitants "liable to work on the highways", while another is a commissioners report concerning the building of the Gravesend and Coney Island Road, ca. 1793-1847 (ca. 25 items)
Justices of the Peace - Included are a bond for the proper performance of duty and a jury verdict sworn to by one of the justices of the peace; 1836, 1846 ( 2 items)
Poor, Overseers of - Besides oaths of office of various overseers, there are some indentures pertaining to the binding of children as apprentices to various individuals. Also included is a court document regarding the removal of a pauper and child from one township to another, ca. 1791-1836 (ca. 14 items)
Road masters - Certificates from road masters promising to fulfill the duties and obligations imposed by said office, 1827, 1838 ( 3 items)
Town Clerk - All documents are oaths of office of the various town clerks, ca. 1793-1845 (ca. 9 items)
Town Supervisor - Besides oaths of office of various town supervisors, there is an account of the supervisor with the town ca. 1791-1837 (ca. 7 items)
Miscellaneous - The approximately 18 documents in this file do not lend themselves to any apparent breakdown. It is felt that a few of them may very well belong to previously mentioned offices, but because of lack of clear-cut identification, this is not clear. It also appears that at least one or two documents are not part of official archives but personal items. One document appears only in fragments and contains the name of Thomas Dongan, 1792-1840
Combined Items - The documents in this file are all or virtually all oaths of office. However, instead of containing the oath of one individual, each document contains two or more oaths, for different positions. One document, for example, has on it oaths taken by individuals for the offices of pound master, town clerk, commissioner of highways, and others, ca. 1803-1842 (ca. 14 items)
The series Town of Gravesend Miscellaneous Land Documents contains the following. There are only some dozen documents in this series. All of them are mortgages and involved individuals residing in Gravesend, and usually to the land in that town. These documents are dated mainly in the 1840s, with one or two for the 1830s.
The series Miscellaneous Documents Referring to Various Long Island Locales contains the following. This series of the collection is the most miscellaneous and varied in nature. It is varied not only in content, but chronologically as well, a very few items dated as late as the first half of the 20th century. They have been arranged according to town or village which is mentioned in the document. The series is a very small one totaling only about fifty documents. The arrangement is as follows.
Astoria - Letter of John W. Brown of the Astoria Institute, dated Mar 3, 1841; receipt of Miss Hume, dated Mar 1, 1912 for having paid for services rendered by Quinn’s livery and garage.
Babylon - Program of the bi-centennial exercises held at the Babylon High School auditorium May 29, 1932.
Bridgehampton-Southampton - Letter of James Panning from Southampton to Ebenezur White at Bridgehampton, and (probably late 18th century)
Brooklyn - Two of the five documents herein are admission tickets to the United States Navy Yard for an event for May 24, 1879. The others are a reward of merit certificate, dated 1870; receipted bill of a stationery store, dated Jan 5, 1895; and part of a letter from Benjamin F. Stephens, an hydraulic engineer, undated (probably late 1880s).
The series Miscellaneous Documents Referring to Non Long Island Locales contains. This extremely small series consists of only about a dozen documents. Included is an 1845 Manhattan marriage certificate; a small advertisement card of a Manhattan watchmakers firm, dated ca. 1878; a Letter addressed to Messrs. Rivera and Lopez, merchants at Newport, Rhode Island, from Captain James Bourke at (Savanlancor, Jamaica?); a Letter from Boston, dated 1734; a Letter from London regarding a commemorative medal apparently in the process of being struck; an oversized real estate indenture regarding land in New Jersey dated 1758; and an oversized inventory of the estate of Cornelius Wyckoff of New Jersey, dated 1793.
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Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Creator of item, date of item (if known), identification of item, if a photograph its control number. The Gravesend Town Miscellaneous Archives and Other Miscellaneous Documents, Archives at Queens Library, Queens Borough Public Library.
Provenance
The provenance of the collection is not known at all, but it would seem that it was assembled by some individual, perhaps a local historian who one way or another acquired them. Though we have no basis at all for saying this, it is possible that Henry Onderdonk (1804-1886) or Eugene L. Armbruster (1865-1943) may have assembled this collection. The latter, especially, was noted for his historical researches into Kings County history. It is also possible that a member of some historical society, such as Flushing Historical Society, also may have assembled it, though, again, there is no basis for this, and this would appear to be the least likely.
The fact that a very few of the documents deal with library matters or make mention of one of the earliest chief librarians could also indicate that one of the librarians in the division assembled the collection by gathering a number of miscellaneous documents together, and adding them, perhaps, to some previously gathered material.
What is a bit puzzling about the collection is that while the majority of the documents in it pertains to Gravesend, and appear to be actually official archival documents, a sizeable portion does not in any way pertain to it, but is simply a miscellaneous mixture of old or fairly old documents. It is also possible that these other documents were added by yet another individual -added to the Gravesend documents which formed the nucleus of the original collection. The collection has been in the library from probably about the late 1930s.
Access Restrictions
Open for research without restrictions. Manuscripts are only available in the Archives at Queens Library, please call (718) 990-0770 for hours. Manuscript users will be required to complete the division's Manuscript Usage Form and deposit their photograph identification or Queens Borough Public Library card with a staff member. The identification will be returned to the user after she/he has returned the material. Manuscript users will deposit all their personal items behind the reference desk. Manuscript users must use the division's loose sheets of paper for note taking. To reiterate, no pen of any type is permitted. Paper and a pencil are available upon request. Manuscript users may be required to use special handling procedures depending on the conditions of the material.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the:
- Archives at Queens Library
- Queens Borough Public Library
- 89-11 Merrick Boulevard
- Jamaica, NY 11432
- Phone: (718) 990-0770.
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Access Points
Subject Places:
- Gravesend (New York, N.Y.)
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Inventory
[The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.]
