Professional Documents
Culture Documents
History
...
.2f Brooklyn,
Administrative Aspects.
Submitted by
Jacob Judd
April, 1959
Approved
Table of Contents
Page
'
Preface
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
. Physical Features
The 'WardE
.Housing
Population
17
Increasing Population
18
Negroes
19
Sources of Population
20
25
31
Governmental Organization
33
34
34
Position cf Mayor
36
38
51
53
Charter of 1650
56
57
60
Cha.pter IV
67
Politics
Early Campaigns
Chapt.er V
69
Campaign Issues
70
Nature of Politics
81
City Services
Market
Facilities
Chapter VII
85
85
Street Lighting
89
Fire Protection
94
101
Hospital Facilities
113
Chapter VI
68
117
122
Sanitation
122
Sewage Disposal
127
Drainage
129
Water Supply
130
141
J.42
149
151
152
City Park
152
155
Washington Park
156
159
Taxation
160
Issuing Bonds
163
164
Chapter IX
Appendix
172
18.3
185
187
188
Consolidation?
189
or Brooklyn in 1834
Map of Brooklyn in 1855
I Population of Bro9klyn
II Rate of Population Increase
III ijayors of Brooklyn
IV
172
Map
Table
159
Councilmen of Brooklyn
V Mayoralty Elections
VI Real Estate Valuations
VII Expenditures or Selected City Services
194
195
196
197
198
199
212
215
218
220
221
222
XI
XII
XIII
XIV
xv
XV!
XVII
XVIII
XIX
xx
XXI
XXII
XXIII
1835
1836
1837
1838
1839
223
224
225
226
227
228
1840
230
1841
2 33
1842
184.3
1844
1845
1846
235
238
241
245
248
1847
XXV
1848
251
XX:VI
1849
258
XXIV
XXVII
XXVIII
XXIX
XXX
XXXI
Guide to Source Materials
Bibliography
1834
1850
1852
1853
1854
1855
25 5
261
264
267
20
..,.,
272
275
276
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Preface
on the
1. A Report by the Committee of the American Historical Association Planning of Research {New York, 1932), p. 93.
2. Blake McKelvey, ".American Urban History Today" .American Historical Review,
LVII (July, 1952), 919-29.
ii
Census of 1890 it ranked fourth, with a population of 8o6,343; and even
though it has been a part of greater New York City since 1898, it still
has many qualities of individuality that warrant its study as an urban
unit.
This singularity was recognized at an early date by various chroniclers.
In 1824, Gabriel Furman, a lawyer and native resident, published Notes:
Geographical Historical, Relating To Town.Of Brooklyn. 3 These
Notes were devoted primarily to the colonial history of the area.
in sequence crune Benjamin F. Thompson's The History
lishGd i 1834.
.2 Long
Next
Island, pub
Using these as a
His compilation
iii
pects. 114 Stiles did move partially in this direction in his two-volume
Civ-1, Political, Professional and Ecclesiastical..,.Record of the County
.2f
Kings and the City of Brooklyn, which appeared in 1884. Yet here the
c.
Syrett's City
.2.
Syrett is
It is the
aim
of this present
been chosen as a workable unit because tPis is the priod between the incor
poration of the city in 1834 and its consolidation with Williamsburgh and
Bushwick, which took effect on January 1, 1855.
4.
5.
For
iv
example, no official Common Council records are available outside of the
newspapers until 1853.
Other official
Thus it is the aim of this thesis both to help complete the story
Chapter I
The 24,000 or so persons who res.ided in Brooklyn as of 1834 had a
choice or nine wards in which to live. One of these was Brooklyn Heights,
or the First Ward. The Heights had changed rapidly in character during
the first half of the 18oos from a "rural rambling place" to a residen
tial area favored by the wealthier citizens of Brooklyn. The rural
atmosphere of the Heights had practically v anished by 1850. By the late
1800s, only _residents more adva.i;iceciin years could remember the days
when the Heights had "groves of cypress trees," frequented by young lovers
1
1955), p. 70.
5o
Because of its
view of the Harbor and Bay of New York, it is no wonder that so many
wealthy New Yorkers chose to live in magnificent homes on the Heights
while maintaining their businesses in New York City.
The grandeur of
11
homes here.' The Heights, however, did not comprise all of Brooklyn, but
rather only a limited portion of it.
extensive manufacturing.
-3stopped at the shores of the Second Ward, it was very convenient for
commuters to reside in this ward.7 The Third Ward's western boundary
faced the Heights' eastern boundary; therefore, the Third Ward lacked
the view of the Bay and was a bit further removed from the ferry lines.
Because of this geographical disadvantage, the Third Ward was not as
well populated as the surrounding wards.
The busy commercial artery, Fulton Street, flanked the Fourth
Ward on its western boundary.
most heavily populated area in Brooklyn in the 1830 1 s and early 1840s.
The United States Navy Yard was located in the Fifth Ward. This
ward was also the manufacturing section of the infant city.
In 1835,
one oil mill accounted for $150,000 worth of manufactured goods, two
distilleries together sent forth $183,000 worth of products, and a
glass factory created products valued at $70,000.
This manufacturing
tury, the Atlantic Dry Dock was built in this area. One distillery
carried on its trade in this ward.
Lr!
Island (New York, 1902), pp. 176-77.
.2.. 835, p., 43.
-4The large Seventh Ward was sometimes called "The Wallabout11 since
it contained the Wallabout meadows.
Division Street, the division between Brooklyn and the city of williams
burgh, to Atlantic Avenue on the south.
.....
It was chiefly an ag
Its
Park and Greenwood Cemetery; as they are today, plus an area equal to
both park and cemetery together.
The Ninth Ward was equally as enormous, if not larger. It extended
from the common boundary with the t&..m of Bushwick in the north to present
day East New York Avenue on the south.
would have fallen within its borders.
173 more persons within its borders than had the Eighth Ward. One can
better grasp the almost complete rural nature of these two sections by
noting that the Eighth Ward's total population in 1835 was 493.9
9.
-5compact region.
States Navy Yard on the northeast Atlantic Avenue on the south, the East
River on the west, and a line a bit beyond present-day Flatbush Avenue on
the east.
Brooklyn throughout the 1830 1 s and 1840's gave the city some aspects or
a boom town.
demands. During the year ending in January, 1836, some 321 residential
buildings were erected or in the
process
of being constructed.
In ad
opera house and was pleased that it contained "no house of ill-fa."ne to
taint its moral atmosphere."
10.
Long Island c',ity, he would have noticed the lovely mansions on the Heights,
and at the sa.e time the clutter of homes and warehouses along the water's
13
This
dichotomy was a reflection on the nature of the community itself which was
both a thriving industrial community ai1d at the same time a developing
suburb of New York City.
Upon arriving at the Ferry House at the foot of Fulton Street in
Brooklyn, the visitor emerged onto a narrow street with rows of low wooden
buildings on both sides.
upholsterers, tailors and grocers, shoe stores, drug stores, and other
innumerable enterises lined Fulton Street.
14
on the thoroughfare, he would have seen the vacant site of the projected
City Hall.
12. Ibid.
13. Entry of May 23, 1835, Diary of Thomas Chamberlain, New York Public
Library.
14. Brooklyn City Directories, 1834-1836.
quarters of a mile around the ferry slip0 15 Trees lined the solitary and
tranquil residential streets, which according to a Spanish visitor, were
as quiet as Spanish cemeteries.
16
Contemporary prints
and lithographs show one-family homes widely scattered along these tree
shaded streets.
the passage of twenty years, the entire scene was changed. The
visitor of the 1850 1 s still had to depend on the ferries for transportation,
but several lines now erlsted. Assuming that the Fulton Ferry was again
used, the passenger now alighted from the Ferry House onto a w.i.de thorough
fare.
industrial areas which now were spread over some twenty-five square miles.
As the visitor of the fifties walked along Fulton Street, the nature of
the metamorphosis which had occurred became apparent.
Rising.. in
..
.,.,, ..
.. :,..
'
their stead were solid brick buildings which housed the city's banks ., bus-
iness and professional offices, and societies.
A great assortment of
Surrounding
15.
George
-8this edifice was a little park ., occupying the former location of the
squatters 1 shacks which long since had been demolished.
As late as the mid-eentury, Brooklyn's homes were still mainly of
the one-.family variety. Small homes surrounded by a grassy plot could be
found in all directions extending from the city's hub. The streets might
have even appeared more stately as the trees aged and spread .their foliage.
A new development apparent in many residential areas by the fifties was
the rise of multiple dwellings. These were mainly located in the sections
of the city occupied by laborers. Dwellings occupied by three to six
families were found, for example, on .Adams ., Bridge, Front, Water, High.,
1
Jay and Navy streets. 7 The occupants were mainly Irish or Negro. Several
multiple-family units could also be found in the more elegant neighborhoods.
Colonnade Garden on Funnan Street was located amidst the stately homes of
the merchant princes. This structure actually consisted of seven attached
buildings four stories in height. The Colonnade housed the families of
merchants and professional men. Unfortunately, not all the multiple dwel
lings located in Brooklyn were so well kept and comfortable.
A legislative study attested to the crowded conditions in Brooklyn's
multiple dwellings in 1856. When the problem of crowded tenements came to
the attention or the State Legislature in that year, the Legislature or
ganized a Committee to study the situation in New York and Brooklyn. According
to the report, New York City by far had the most pressing problem in regard
to multiple dwellings.
New York in this vein, the Committee said, "The remarks that have been
made with reference to tenement houses in New York, apply with equal force
to similar buildings in Brooklyn. 11
18
or
persons in each family. According to the Report, the First Ward, Booklyn
Heights, had fifty multiple-dwelling units which on the average housed from
five to seven families in each.
1
family was said to be four. 9
These
housed on the average fiye to seven families comprising four persons in each
The Third Ward had only five multiple units and the Fourth Ward,
family.
nine.teen.
The average number of families in each unit still remained between five and
seven.
There were several units in this ward which contained twelve to four
l4
18. State of New York, Report of the Secial Committee on Tenement Houses
19.
.,pp.
-10In the Sixth Ward, which had a large share of the multiple dwellings,
there were ninety-nine units, each housing from five to-thirty-six families.
The Report specifically stated that in this ward all the multiple units
containing more than twenty families were constructed of brick. Otherwise
no mention was made of the material of which the buildings were fabricated.
The Report also neglected to list the number of rooms in these large mul
tiple-dwelling unitl!vand the average number of people in each family. The
multiple dwellings in the remaining wards averaged from five to eight fam
20
All in all, Brooklyn of 1856 was said to have
ilies in each building.
approximately 650 multiple-dwelling units, as compared to over 13,000 in
confines of the first twelve wards. These were the wards which comprised
conditions of the tenement houses in New York and Brooklyn reported that
.....
housing in Brooklyn did not present the picture of degradation and Itj.sery
that prevailed in New York. The Committee asserted that Brooklyn was not
. ' .
. . 21
yet afflicted with the tenement 'Rouse system as it existed in New Yorko
-11-
One area which underwent a rapid transformation from rural to urban living
in these years was East Brooklyn, in the Seventh Ward.
This community,
which some people called "the City of the Seventh Ward," had begun to de
velop towards the end of 1833. By 1839, it had 1,750 inhabitants and about
400 homes. The area then had some lighted and paved streets, a police and
fire fighting force and several factories.
recommended that because of its newness, this area should be made to con
form to the most modern municipal practices.
He
l-l'l'Ote,,
it
In 1852, the buildings being erected in East Brooklyn were still mainly
of wood, but more brick structures were being built than previously. The
Star advertised the residential opportunities of East Brooklyn in June or
Brooklyn Daily Evening Star, July 29, 1839. Formerly called Long
Island Star. The newspaper changed its name in January, 1841 ., when
it became a daily. It will be referred to hereafter as the Star.
23. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Jan. 18, 1847. It will be referred tohereaier
as the Eaglee
22.
-
-12that year:
As a general rule, much taste is displayed in this
part of the city, as to style of architecture; even
the lowest price {:dJ houses are neat in their
design. There are many buildings of all kinds to let
in East Brooklyn, lately finished; so that the poorest
or ri.chest can find in that desirable locality, eyery
thing [one'i/ heart could wish, for a residence. 24
South Brooklyn, a rising industrial center, was another area which
was being rapidly populated in the 1840 1 s.
In 1846
the Advertiser,
reported that 15,000 inhabitants had moved into the area within three
years.
now
a busy
-13within a very short period as that flourisng portion of our city has,
it necessarily bears an almost repulsively new apearance, and some parts
This kind ;of construction still met with disfavor ,in 1851, when a
11
The writer recommended that those seeking places of residence should move
to the outskirts of the city so that they could at lea.st have 11 good whole28
some air."
Despite these adverse comments, the construction of such homes in
South Brooklyn continued at a rapid tempo.
Star,
was the fastest growing section in all of Brooklyn in the year 1851.
The correspondent remarked that the reasons for this growth were the prox
iinity the area had to lower New York and the ease with whih connections
could be made by ferry to New York.
of brick buildings, nearly comple ted
or
every hand, and yet with all this building, we venture to assert that next
spring there will not be enough dwelling houses to be let to supply the
demand "
29
The Ninth Ward, comprising the area called "Bedford" also underwent
a metamorphosis as the years passed. Whitman wrote of this section:
"When
-14this section of the city becomes occupied it will be the most attractive
part of Brooklyn.
conceive."
here, until the ground shall be wanted, to live rent free, as far as the
1
land is ooncerned."3
North Brooklyn ., also a part o the Ninth Ward, was rapidly being
developed.
!2.:!
yearly total had increased to 419 in 1842, to 937 in 1844, and for the
combined years of 1848 and 1849 to 2,094. Brick dwellings were now being
constructed in greater numbers than frame structures.
34
stone construction, 6,196 were of brick and 8,988 were of frame con
struction. These homes had a total real estate valuation of approximately
3
$57,132,370. 5
Brooklyn had hugged the water's edge, but as the influx of newcomers in-
for
33. Thomas P. Teale, Brookll!! City Directory and .Annual Advertiser 1848-49 (Brooklyn, l84B); PPe 121-22; Eag'i'e; April 19 ., 1649e
34. SarahM. Maury, An Englishwoman in America (London, 1848), p. 224.
35. Census of the State of New York Tor 1855, (Albany, 1857), pp. 234-35.
-------------
-16-
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Chapter II
From the seventh largest city of the United States in population in
1835, Brooklyn became the third largest in the next twenty years. l Its
population expanded from 24,592 in 1835 to 96,838 in 1850.
This fifteen
the lean years immediately following the Panic of 1837. Yet, in the next
53.6 percent. If the two newly acquired areas are included then the
increase was 112 percent.3
In the first five-year period, 1835 to 1840, the two wards which
showed the greatest rise in population were the Seventh and Eighth wards,
with an increment of 121 percent and 93.8 percent respectively. In the
last period, 1850 to 1855, the Eighth and Ninth wards moved into the
lead. 4 Because the Sixth and Seventh wards grew so greatly in population,
they were reduced in size in order to equalize the political divisions
of the city. Both were divided in 1850, when a new Tenth Ward was carved
out of the old Sixth Ward and the Seventh Ward was split to make a new
Seventh and an Eleventh Ward.
therefore, in 1854, the Sixth was further split to make a Twelfth Ward.
Thus the city had twelve wards at the time of consolidation in 1855. .
1840-1845 . This was the half-decade in which Brooklyn saw its greatest
population increase.
Looking at the inhabitants from the point of view of race, the per
centage of Negroes remained small when compared to the total population.
3. Census for 1855, p. xxii. /statistical analysis is the work of the autho.!7.
4. See 11 Rateof Population Increase, 1835-55." Table II, P 197.
5.
-19In 1840, free Negroes numbered 1,772. They totaled 1,873 in 1845, and
7
2,424 in 1850. In terms of percentages the figures represented 4.6
percent of the entire population in 1840, 3.1 percent in 1845, and 2.3
percent in 1850.
over deaths was 129.8 but the total increase by birth was only 2.4 percent
of the total population.
was 73.7, but representing only a 1.4 percent increase of the total popu
lation. Deaths for these two years reached only l o B percent in 1845 and
and 1.9 percent in 1855. There are also death records in existence for
1848, an epidemic year, the total reached 2,095. In the fowing year
10
In the year 1851, the number of deaths climbed to
it reached 3,052.
11
2,858.
Since during these intervening years there was also a continuous
increase in population, it can be said that the annual death rate remained
fairly constant at approximately two percent. Thus the birth increase was
However, the
slight advantage in the rate of birth over death cannot account for the
great rise in population.
Another source of Brooklyn's growth was the migration across the river
from New York City. There is clear evidence that many merchants lived in
Brooklyn while transacting their business in New York.
These commuters
13
Because of
this unique situation, Brooklyn might be said to have been one of New York
City's first suburbs,with many of the qualities that distinguish the suburb
from the metropolis.
-21streets of the city, she continued, was luring New York merchants to this
cormnunity "where they have their houses and homes."14
By 1855, some
88,025 were atives of New York State, or 35.l percent of the total Brooklyn
an
the State.
Persons born in other areas of the United States also moved to Brook
16
from the movement of population across a body of water larger than either
the East or the Hudson rivers. European countries were the source of
large numbers of emigrants to the Brooklyn shores.
Unfortunately, since
Brooklyn was not an original port of entry, there are no yearly statistics
relating to the number of immigrants.
Letters of Fredrika
16.
Ibid.
-22population.
17
contribution to numbers in
. of Wales 338.
Scotland accounted for 2,598, Canada for some 901, Nova Scotia for 395 and
Newfoundland for
144.
18
In 1845
Germany.
By
1855 this number had risen to 18,983, but over 7,000 of these
excluded, the rise in the number of Germans in this ten-year period is still
significant.
The number of immigrants from France also increased notably in this
same period.
Some of these countries were Sweden with 191; Switzerland, 175; Spain, 158;
Ibid.
19
As
58 percent,
The British
United States, the arrival of Irish in such large numbers led to tension
between the native population and the newcomers, despite the fact that
some Irishmen ha.d:.already acquired fortunes by the 1840's.
Among these
in New York City and moved from there to an estate of seventeen acres
bounded by the East River and what is now Congress, .Amity and Court streets.
After moving to Brooklyn he devoted himself assiduously to charitable
endeavors.
In 1845, he
His grandmother
was of Dutch ancestry. Thus in him were fused the two ethnic groups which
19. Ibid.
20.
22
23
The political parties were always
to adopt a motto, "non-interferenc with politics," but .this they did not
25
do.
The Irish immigrants, while barely sustaining themselves and their
families, did not forget their suffering brethren still in their native land.
Many public assemblages were called in order to devise means to help the
11
1847.
On
showed their desire to "win friends and influence people" by organizing this
mass meeting.
22.
William H. Peck, owner of several omnibus lines; John Hall, 1.Jhig politician;
J.
o.
26
One such nativist was Francis B. Stryker, who helped to organize mass meetings
in the 1830 1 s. At one in 1835, at which he presided, the following reso
lutions were adopted:
Resolved, As a sense of this meeting, that all native
born .Americans are called upon, by the present situation of
our affairs, to band themselves together, without distinctipn
of arty, for the holy and patriotic purpose of rescuing our
civil institutions and librties from the hands of foreigners,
alike ignorant of the genius of our government and incompetent
to its just administration .
Resolved, That the laws respecting the naturalization
of foreigners, and their qualifications fo hol;ng office,
require immediate revision and alteration. 9
The, a Whig paper, warned that the organization of 11 Native American
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
the newcomers were claiming and exercising undue political rights, as the
nativists were charging, then the blame should not be placed directly on
the immigrants themselves, but rather on the natiYe citizens who capitalized
on the foreigners ignorance. t1The poor foreigner on his arrival is beset
by political runners, and told of rights new and wonderful to him, and of
0
should not be poorly treated and discriminated against; rather they should
be given credit for all they had accomplished.
Another organizer of the "Native Americans 11 was George Hall. Hall was
a perennial joiner of causes both worthy and otherwise. He was an active
Whig politician who was twice elected Mayor with a lapse of 20 years between
terms..
crats" during October and November, 1835. This group sought to serve as
"A check to the advancement of Foreigners to the Electoral privilege ., and
to holding office." They also sought "a check to the advancement of Popery
1
in the United States so far as Popery is a political engine. 113 At another
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
tion from the Sixth Ward might run into trouble on the way home.
A group
of armed men then volunteered their services as escorts for the "Sixth
Warders."
Someone
in the crowd hurriedly rushed off to put the Irish on their guard. When
the "Native .Alllericans" came into the''Sixth Ward, they were met by a throng
of fifty to sixty anned men. vJhen lvlayor Sprague reached the scene of the
melee, and urged the "Native Ameriea:ns 11 to disband, he received the answer,
11
Finally, after
0 peace, two militia companies, the Brooklyn Light Guard and the Union
Guards, were called out.33 They stayed at the scene all night, but fortu
nately their services were not requiredJ4
This disturbance caused the Roman Catholic authorities in Brooklyn to
fear for the safety of their places of worship.
-28they also had to fear the competition of the German immigrants, who on
occasion represented a cheaper l.abor force.
prestige of the Germans was high. Not many Germans had settled in .Brooklyn
in the 1830 1 s and early 1840 1 s.
According
to an Eagle estimate, there were no more than ten families of German origin
residing in Brooklyn during 1830-1831. However, by 1845, the total.German
population had risen to 3,000 persons.
The Irish did not see the Germans in the same light.
They held
Company brought in a good many Germans at lower wages than the Irish, and
also allowed them to live in the shantytown.
pitched battle occurred early in April, 1846, after which many of the Irish
lost their jobs and homes.
militia protection, since they expected more discord between the rival groups.
They did not have long to wait for the expected trouble. On April 19, a
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
workman mistaken for one of the German hiring-bosses was fired upon. The
next day a milital'y cordon was thrown around the construction works.
The Irish laborers held a protest meetipg on April 21, whereupon they
were addressed by the Reverend N. O'Donnell, of Sto Paul's Catholic Church
of Brooklyn.
shillings a day for a thirteen-hour day, and that from this tpey were ex
pected to feed themselves, their wives and children. Nevertheless, he
warned that they could not take the law into their own hands, even though
the Germans were willing to work longer hours and for half the pay. He
advised the protesters that it was the government's duty to protect the
38
contractors and the newly hired Germans.
His speech apparently had very
little effect, f'or a new attack on the German laborers occurred on April 23.
39
The
Whig-dominated Common Council ., which had just been elected, declared that
.
40
it could not interfere with either labor or management.
Finally, the
contractors, in order to bring peace to the Atlantic Dock works, decided
to hire the Germans and Irish according to a atio of
engaging approximately
250
5o-5o,
which meant
38.
39.
40 ..
41.
Eagle,
-,
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
New York City, and elsewhere, street orators, sanctioned by the nativists,
began to preach hatred of foreigners directing their venom particularly
42
One such demagogue was Reverend John Beach of
toward Irish Catholics.
the Primitive Methodist Church on Bridge Street.
. crowds of nativists from Brooklyn and New York. On May 28, 1854, he spoke
to an assemblage of 600 oersons.
43
4,
When Mayor
As they were
walld..ng to the ferry, they were met by a hail of stones and clubs thrown
by Brooklyri.ites
One
person was killed and many were severely wounded before the militia came
and restord order.44
One of the persons most active in inciting opposition to the Irish was
Johns. Orr, an itinerant street evangelist, who gained notoriety as the
Angel Gabriel." He received this title because he wore a long white robe
45
Wherewhenever he spoke, and summoned his followers by blasts on a horn.
11
ever
On Sunday, June 11, he appeared in New York and addressed a throng from the
, steps of City Hall in New York City.
43.
f City
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Brooklyn
The Brooklyn
authorities had been alerted, and therefore large numbers of extra police
were placed on duty.
despite the fact that approximately 101 000 persons gathered to listen to
0rr. 46
Perhaps because
of
strange customs and heritage, the older ethnic groups in Brooklyn began
to emphasize their cultural tradition.
11
Its members
were descendants of the Dutch settlers who came to America before 1786.
The pres.ident of this organization was the venerable Brooklynite, Jeremiah
J"ohnson. The vice-presidents and. stewards represented some of Brooklyn's
elite, such as Adria..r.1 Hegeman, Turiis G. Bergen, Francis B. Stryker, Isaac
47
.Van Anden and Roberti. Lefferts.
The New nglanders also organized in 1846 as "The New England Society
of Brooklyn." Important figures in this society were Chandler Starr,
8
Other New Englanders of prominent
Cyrus P. Smith and John Greenwood. 4
posiion who had settled in Brooklyn were Alden Spooner, the publisher of
the Star, a descendant of John and Priscilla Alden; George Hall, bsinessman,
who had first settled in New York City; the Graham brothers, who organized
.
9
the white lead industry; and Arthur Tappan, a wealthy New York merchant.!i
Brooklyn's Negro residents were apparently not subject to the criticism
from which European immigrants suffered. The Negroes engaged in varied
46.
Ibid.
470 Eagle, March 8, 1848.
48. 'i'6ici:', Dec. 23, 1847.
490 Weld, passim.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Negro schoolmaster was noted in the city directories of the period.SO The
largest number however, were listed as laborers. The women were engaged
as whitewashers and washerwomen.
Popular concern for providing wider advantages for Negro residents led
to a general meeting, in December, 1840, at which it was resolved "that a
Brooklyn, and the Supervisors of the County, with the view to the devising
of a plan for the better education and moral culture of the negro popula
tion of this city nd _county. 11 51 Nothing came of this plan.
In line with
the organizations which were founded by the other ethnic groups, members
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Chapter III
From the point of view or municipal administration the year 1834 saw
the transformation of Brooklyn from village to city. From 1815 to 1834,
the village was governed by a group of five men who,composed the Board
of Trustees.
with the rapid growth of the community, it was realized that the relatively
simple village organization had been outgrown.
to secure incorporation occurred during the 1833 session of the New York
State Legislature. When a bill to grant a city charter to the village of
Brooklyn was first introduced, the Assemblymen from New York City, not
having received any specific instructions, voted in favor of it. The
Senators from New York City, however, had received strict orders to block
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-34the measure.
New Yorkers in the Senate had le.ft no time for the village authorities to
. 1
present a case for cityhood before both branches of the State Legislature.
Some influential New Yorkers apparently favored a union of Brocklyn
with New York as early as 1833.
Common Council of that city that any move for incorporation by Brooklyn
must be carefully analyzed before being allowed to become a law.
He men
tioned the importance of making certain that the proposed charter would
2
not "endanger or contravene the charter rights of the city of New York."
He suggested that, instead of granting Brooklyn a separate city charter,
it might be more feasible to determine whether a mutually satisfactory bill
could be drafted which would encompass a union of the two communities.
Acting on Mayor Lee:s proposal, the New York Common Council in November,
1633, appointed a committee of its own members for the purpose of studying
3 This com
and reporting on the subject of Brooklyn's proposed charter.
mittee, reporting to the Council in January, 1834, recoITllTlended that all
legal measures be taken to prevent Brooklyn from becoming a city.
report stated:
The
natural rivals and competitors. Who does not know that wars and calamities
of the most grave character, have grown out of the rivalries and conflicts
incident to commerce, in all ages of the civilized world. 11
of the Mayor
to the Common Council,
1. Board of Aldermen of New York, Report -October 14, 1833, Document No. 1
2.
Ibid.
- -
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
of
The Brook
Assembly opposing a city charter for Brooklyn, the desired law was enacted
9
by the State Legislature. Notwithstanding the antagonism between the two
cities engendered by the charter movement, the two communities joined forces
10
in 1834 to celebrate Independence Day.
The act of the New York State Legislature forming the corporation of
"The Mayor and Common Council of the City of Brooklyn" was passed on April
.6.
7.
8
9.
10.
Ibid.
Star,
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-368, 1834 and went into effect the following April 18. According to this
charter the five distrits which had composed the old village of Brooklyn
now became the initial fi'9"e wards of the new city.
lines for four new wards were defined. Altogether, Brooklyn, as constituted
by the charter of 1834, contained nine wards.12 Following the provisions
of the charter, each ward was to elect two aldermen annually.
These alder-
The amount
13
of the mayor's salary varied from $1,000 in 1834 to $2,500 in 1854.
If
the wide variety of duties required of the mayor is taken into consideration,
then his annual salary can only be viewed as a token payment for services
rendered to the community.
He was the
This require
ment of officiating did not demand much of his time since the Council
usually met only once a week.
scribed activities.
ll.
12.
In addition, as
3-5. -
.- - -- -
c37=
chief of the fire wardens, he had to attend all major fires to make.sure
He also served as
He was
also in charge of the ?Olice force and was expected to read the terms of
the riot act before any mob which threatened to cause trouble.
he was the President of the Board of Health.
15
In addition
cussing_ the mayor's reasons for vetoing a measure, could then attempt to
repass the ordinance, and for this only a simple majority vote was required.
Actually, the veto amounted to nothing more than a delaying action.
It
appears that the mayors accepted the inevitability of not being able to
accomplish :much through it.s use. 16
Until 1840, the mayor was chosen by the Board of Aldermen, from
among its own members.
14.
19
of the
20
The matter was concluded when a general law was passed in Feb-
ruary, 1840, which covered all communities in New York State and made the
21
mayoralty an office elected by the people.
The city of Brooklyn's first mayor was George Hall, who was born of
Irish pa.rents i.n New York City in 1795. Soon thereafter, Hall's parents
moved to Brooklyn where the future mayor spent the rest of his life. His
22
In 1826, he
vocation was the same as his father's, painting and glazing.
was elected a trustee from the third district and six years later., in 133., he
was elevated to the nresidency of the village on a nonpartisan basis.
He
The latter
his personal efforts, during his term as mayor, were responsible for trans
forming a city "formerly full of uproar" into a city both "peaceful and
attractive. n
23
Still
another decade later, he ran for mayor on the "Know-Nothing" t.icket and on
19.
209
21.
22.
23.
In 1840,
helped organize the Atlantic Bank of Brooklyn and was its first president.
25
He
A direct descendant of
Punctuality
was a necessity, and so his official portrait presents him pointing finger
26
at his watch.
Before being selected as mayor, Johnson had distinguished
himself in many local governmental offices.
24.
Ibid.
26 0
-40-
after 1800, he served as a supervisor for the Tom and Village of Brook
From 1808 to 1809, he was the representative from Kings County in
27
During the War of 1812, he was elevated f'ran a
the State Assembly.
lyn.
27.
28.
29.
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-41moved to Brooklyn.
On May 9, 1839, he
elections for mayor in 1840, Smith sought the voters' approval as the
Whig candidate.
and thus became Brooklyn's first popularly elected mayor. He was re30
ty.
e1 ected on Apn. 1 13, 1841, by a siza
ble maJori
In the ensuing election of April, 1842, he was defeated by Brooklyn's foremost Democratic
31
Smith's
politician, Henry Cruse Yrurphy, by a majority of 265 votes.
service to the public was said by the
sion"on the citizens of Brooklyn.
.fil:!::
helped organize Brooklyn's first gas company and he was the managing
director of the Union Ferry Company after 1855.
mechanic and millwright, had married into an old Dutch family which had
settled in Princeton, New Jersey.
In 1835, Murphy
32 Since about
joined with John A. Lott to create a law firm of their own.
1830, Murphy had been trying his hand at writing. Walt Whitman, then a
lad no more than twelve or thirteen years old, recalled how elated Murphy
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-42had been when an article he had written had been accepted by a Philadelphia
magazine.33
Murphy was an avowed disciple of Andrew Jackson, a.."ld all that "Old
Hickory" symbolized.
his
to rid New York State of the monopolies which had been controlling the State's
banking activities.
rebellion at this convention, Murphy was denied elective office for a per
iod of eight years.
34
In
therfovember, 1844 election he met with defeat although he led his local
ticket.
33.
34.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
He attempted to estab
He pros
pered quickly and became a wool broker during the War of 1812. In 1819, he
moved to 115 Fulton Street in Brooklyn. Four years later, he helped found
the Long Island.Bank and the Brooklyn Fire Insurance Company.
Elected a
member o:f' the Board of Trustees in 1825, he was soon elevated to the presi
dency of the Board, a post which he held from 1827 to 1832.
His concern
for imnroving the cleanliness of the streets led him to buy an ox and cart
to be used in dirt removal.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-44the later 1830 1 s Sprague 1 s major efforts were devoted to the Long Island
Insurance Company, which he had helped found.
years as mayor, but this did not end his ch'ic activities.
In 1848, he
helped promote the idea of having Washington Park opened on Fort Greene;
and in 1854, he served on the board which considered the question of con
solidating Brooklyn and Will iamsburgh.
36
with his death in December, 1854.
In 1845, Sprague
was
A native of
In 1841,
In
the succeeding year Governor Silas Wright appointed him Judge of the County
Court.
Mayor ever attended to his duties more assiduously than Mr. Talmage.
We
feel warranted in saying, too, that n9 man in Brooklyn has ever had the
interest "sJ of the city more at heart, or strives more to advance them. 1137
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11
If you
are faithful in the enforcement of the laws and ordinances, you will be
censured by that class of citizens who are called to suffer the penalty
of their violation; if on the other hand,oPY want of energy on the part
of your subordinate officers, or from lack of, or defect in the ordinances,
or want of sufficient power vested in you, any of the laws and ordinances
appear to be disregarded, they will (by many) be regarded as your omissions
of duty."
of purpose, of one thing you may rest assured, that by many your good will
be evil spoken
mage also served as Loan Commissioner of the United States Deposit Fund
for Kings County in 1845. Active in t:ransnort,ation affairs, he was chosen
President of the Broadway Railroad Company of Brooklyn, in 1858, remaining
39
in this office until his death in 1863.
The Whigs succeeded in electing Talmage's successor in 1846 with a
majority of over 1,000 votes.
lynite, who was to serve the city for three terms, from May, 1846.to May,
1849.
at the local academy, Erasmus Hall, after which he entered the trade 0 car
pentry.
elected as sheriff on the Whig ticket. He was still practicing the trade
of a journeyman carpenter when the 'Whigs nominated him for the mayoralty
38. Ibid.
39. Stiles, II, 276-77.
40. , Dec. 3, 1835.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-46in 1846.
mayoral office.
and New York of being controlled by small cliques within the Conunon Council.
It called the office of mayor a sham contending that it made no difference
furthered the idea that the mayor should not exert authority.
In his dealings
with the Board of Aldermen, he would suggest a measure and then request that
the Board take action.
name was placed in nomination for Congressman on the Whig slate, but he de
clined. A decade later, he was elected as the city clerk of Brooklyn, an
office which he held for several years.
elected mayor.43 Upon being asked to run again for the same position in 1850,
he declined. 44 The Star claimed that Copland's term of office had been marked
41.
43.
44.
-47by "urbanity, dignity, decision, promptitude, energy and most minute and
careful attention to business."
In 1850, with the election of Samuel Smith:, the tenth mayor of Brooklyn,
the Democrats recaptured control . of the mayoralty. Smith was born in
Huntington, Long Island, on May 26, 1788. At the age of eighteen, he moved
to Brooklyn.
when he was chosen a commissioner of highways for the village. From 1827 to
1830 he was an assessor, and in 1831 he became a Justice of the Peace. Elected
as a Democrat, he served as an alderman on several occasions, 1834-1838,
1842-1843, and 1845 ...1846. He served as mayor from May 2, 1850_ to December 31,
1850. 4
11
the leading
In
45.
of a grain elevator and several stores. He later became the president of the
Mechanics Bank of Brooklyn.
- Whig ticket.
the mayor a two-year term, Brush served from January, 1851 to January, 1853.
The Star asserted that his outstanding qualification was "his perfectfamil
iarity with financial affairs."
J.
11
48
New
He was Edward
A self-made man,
Lambert had supported himself from the age of twelve, when hewas left father
less.
In 1850, when the Sixth W8.rd was divided into two separate
wards, the Sixth and Tenth, he.was again elected, but this t.ime from the.Tenth
Ward.
.50
48. Ibid.
49. Ibid., Jan. 26, 1852.
50. Stiles, II, 297-98.
-49to take a leave of absence for a period of a few months, during which time
51
he traveled to 1urope in order to recuperate.
When his term expired :in
January, 1855, he retired from politics.
By
became the first mayor of the newly consolidated municipality comprising what
were formerly the independent communities of Brooklyn, Williamsburgh and Bush
Hall, the perennial campaigner, after waiting a little over twenty years,
wick.
In his inaugural ad
dress, he remarked that during his earlier term as mayor Brooklyn had comprised
about 20,000 inhabitants living, for the most part, within three-quarters of
a mile of the Fulton Ferry.
upwards of 200,000 persons and ranked as the third largest city in the United
States.
52
16,000 acres, contained a water front of eight and one-half miles and was
seven and three-quarters miles in width.
have been levelled; valleys and lowlands have been filled up; old landmarks
have disap!)eared; and almost the whole surfa.ce of the City has been completely
changed."
53
In the twenty-one years that elapsed between 1834 and 185.5, Brooklyn had
twelvemayors.54 All but one were native to the United States; the majority
were born in New York.
51.
52.
53.
54.
-50that nine of these men were engaged in various businesses and trades, two
were lawyers, and one was a farmer.
The majority
served between one and two terms in office, while two mayors served for three
consecutive terms.
the community.
Brooklyn's aldermen of this period were drawn from the rank and file of
the community and represented a wide variety of occupations and sld.lls. Some
182 men served as aldermen between 1834 and 1854
nineteen who practiced law
two, although one alderman sat for as long as ten consecutive years.
The limited
many of the problems facing the city, he found his term at an end. Moreover,
55.
-51these men did not give their undivided attention to administration, since
they had to attend to their private vocations.
Proposals for changes in the city's charter began to be made before
Brooklyn had been ten years a city.
within the Common Council for a revision of the charter of 1834. In Feb
ruary.and March of 18h3, the councilmen considered amendments concerning
such questions as the expenses involved in paving Hamilton Avenue, the sale
of property for nonpayment of truces and the collection of taxes in the wards. 5
58
But the revisions were not fought on a party basis, rather on the
question of who held a political office as against those who did not.
No major chages appeared in the proposed revision.
Actually, this
draft amounted to nothing more than a detailed account of the powers already
56.
of the mayor; rather it only made that office's lack of authority more
obvioUso
which existed both in practice and as detailed in the proposed charter when
he wrote that the Connnon Council "has all the power of the city government,
legislative, execuive and judicial, while the mayor, the Chief Magistrate,
to adopt a resolution to the effect that "it belongs to the people to confer
power upon the Common Councii and not for the Common Council to suggest the
powers they themselves are to exercise. 1160 The revised charter reached the
61
measure. 62
The peti
tioners cited as reasons for such a move the callousness of the Council to
democratic principles, the secrecy in which the discussions were carried on,
590
6 0.
-53the lack of copies of the document for perusal and lastly the legal argument
6
that the Council could not sit as a constittional convention. 3 The Eagle,
several days later facetiously described the newly self-granted authority
of the council as powers extending
64
11
chancery. 11
14, 1847,
&
bill
for a Brooklyn
65
parks and a better police system.
6
delegates be elected on a nonpartisan basis. 7
64.
-54the establishra.:mt of a board of education and a general tax for city improvements.
69
11
On
meeting that the convention had made themselves laughing-stocks to the com
Not until February, 1849, did the Legislature approve the charter adopted
in convention, and then with the important amendment that the citizens of
Brooklyn would have the final voice in the matter. 70 The voters of Brooklyn
now began to examine the proposed document. They found that, in order to
take into account the movement of pouulation, two new wards, the tenth and
eleventh, had been created.71 If the document were approved., certain posit.ions
formerly appointive would now become elective--those of collector of taxes,
.
72
of excise.
-55than the other; voters were to elect one alderman from each ward, whereas
two councilmen would be chosen from each ward.73 The other changes provided
for a single assessment, the election of a chief of olice, and the estab
74
lishment of new boards of education and health.
In February, 1849, before the new charter was submitted to the voters,
the Eagle,reported that animosity was developing towards the charter from
. t.ments under the exis
ting
Counc11.
persons h_olding polt
1 1ca1 appoin
75
In
March, the Eagle asserted that the chief opponents of the charter were the
policemen, the road contractors and the city office holders.
These groups
were afraid, remarked the Eagle, that the spoils of office wre about to
end.
76
The Eagle anticipated that the general nublic's reaction to the measure
As a consequence, it was expected.that the opponents
_of the proposed charter would be able to defeat it when it was presented to
the electorate in the form of a referendum.
predictions, for the revised charter was defeated by a vote of more than two
. 77
ment, deleting the proposals calling for a bicameral legislature and a public
referendum.
in February, 1850.
78
73s
74..
75.
76.
77.
78.
Ibid., P 10.
pp .. vii-viii.
Eagle, Feb. 26, 1849.
., March 12, 1849.
Ibid., March 14, 1849.
Star, Feb. 11, 18.50.
"nii'd.,
-56"'!
paper accounts that the citizens were not too particularly interested in the
public reaction to-the latest revisions in the charter when they were announced
79
to the public.
At Albany, the proposed.new charter met little opposition,
BO
and was ena:cted into law on April 4, 18.50.
The most important item in the newly adopted charter was the retention
ulated, however, th.t half of the aldermen were to serve as members of the
city cort, for which they were to receive three dollars for each day in
cort.
The other half would serve as county supervisors and were to receive
82
The charter
a daily payment which would be established at some future time.
also
in regard to elected officers.
' retained the provisions
The former
taxes, the street commissioner, the members of the board of education ., the
8
In addition the fire and police departments underwent administrative reorms. 3
Mayor Edward Copland believed that the newly revised charter was "progressive
ll.'d. th
charter of 1850 remained in force for five years until it underwent minor
Bushwick.
79
80.
81.
82.
83.
New
Ibid.
v.
duce a bicameral legislature failed because of public apathy and the animosity
. of the appointed office holders.
islative year, the mayor, _in conf"erence with the majority party in the Council,
would name the members_of the standing committees for the ensuing year.
The
Among those appointed by the.Council were the attorney and the coun
sellor who not only received annual salaries but were cmpensated for each
service they performed.85_ In 1840, the city fathers in an effort to reduce
e>..-penditures established the salary of the attorney at $1,200 which was to be
11
-58again reviewing the matter of the counsellor's fees, reduced the annual
salary to $400.
office would not entail any appearances outside the city, or the handling
of any suits for violations of municipal ordinances.
5, 1845,
tuted by or against the city, to attend the meetings of the Common Council,
and to advise the councilmen on points of law.
ordinance did not produce the desired result of ending the practice of paying
fees to these officers. As late as 1849, the Eagle reported that the counsellor,
the attorney and the street commissioner were receiving salaries plus additional
8
fees. 9
The increasing complexity of Brooklyn's bookkeeping problems led even
before 1836 to a movement to create the office of comptroller.
Considerations
88.
89.
90.
Ibid.,.
Common
l,
.,
-,9system, to separate the costs of city management into those of the various
departments, to audit all accounts against the city, to prepare an annual statement of receipts and disbursements, to take charge of the real estte of the
1
Corporation and to have general supervision over all expenditures.9
The Democrats opposed the office, partly at least because the Whigs had
succeeded where they had failed in creating it.
should be abolished as an economy measure.
advised the Board of Aldermen that "it has been thought by many of our citizens
(and I confess myself among the number,) that those duties
[.or
the comptrolle!7
might be discharged by the Clerk, with the aid.of an assistant, and the present
In
1844, he
was authorized to collect all assessments, which previously had been paid to the
treasurer.93
The Common Council's wide powers of appointment also extended to officers
who dealt with the city services.
1850, the health physician, the city inspector, the inspector of lamps, wells and
pumps, the inspector of pavements, the city gaugers, the weighers and measurers
of grain, the inspectors and measurers of charcoal, the ins:pectors of wood, lumber,
carts and sleds, and the sealer of weights and measures. 94
Supplementing the authority of the Common Council over Brooklynites was
the legislative control exercised by a county body, the Board of Supervisors.
The
first seven wards annually chose a total of five freeholders to serve on this
Board.
The eighth and ninth wards together elected one additional spervisor. The
91.
92.
93.
94.
-60-
county hospital, a mental institution, and a poor house as well as the super
vision of inter-town or village roads.
Board of Supervisors an."lually met once a year to anprove the city budget for
the coming fiscal year.
no other concern with Brooklyn's finances. Actually, in the period from 1834 to
1855, the Board of Suervisors never refused to approve a city budget. When the
city charter was revised in 1850, the aldermen became members of the Board of
Supervisors.
without avail.
were growing more and more artificial as streeiB and avenues connected and over
lapped. 96 Discussions of a union at this time were apparently premature, for no
more was said on this subject for a decade. During that time the two communities
continued on separate paths, with Brooklyn far outpacing its neighbor.
In 1845, many citizens of Williamsburgh began advocating a union with
Brooklyn.
the citizens of Williamsburgh that "if we annex anything it will be New York
Annex Williamsburgh, indeed!
shrirnp-net.11 97 No reason was given for this jocular attitude toward Williamsburgh
overtureso
Perhaps Brooklyn thought that the whole project was not really orth
question of a merger.
-61a step would be for the mutual benefit of both places. 9 8 Aside .from these news
paper comments nothing further was done for the moment.
The ra:nid growth of Williamsburgh and its proximity to Brooklyn prompted
action by 1850.
5,ooo
inhabitants; now
was centered. along the shore of the East River. The Journal asserted that although
in all probability Williamsburgh would unite with Brooklyn, this merger would not
necessarily resolve the growing problems inherent in the rapid urban expansion of
the moment. These problems, the Journal contended, would only be resolved when
a great metropolitan area would be formed encompassing all of Manhattan, Brooklyn .,
Williamsburgh, Bushwick, Flatbush and the other small Long Island communities.
Only
when these were all united as one 11 bociypolitic and corporate" could the problems
of taxation, water supply, police and fire protection be resolved 0 99
In 1851, Williamsburgh was incorporated as a city. To its sorrow, it found
that the attempt to provide adeqate services led to increased and heavier taxes.
In 1853, Mayor A. J. Berry of Williamsburgh urged the. Williamburgh Common Council
to consider whether it would be to the community's advantage to try to satisfy
the increasing demands on its own or whether overtures should be made to con
1 0
solidate Williamsburgh with Brooklyn. 0 The Brooklyn Common Council showed inter
est by na.ming a committee to meet with representatives, when apointed, of the
communities of Williamsburgh and Bushwick to dicuss consolidation.101 The Star
agreed that consolidation would prove beneficial to Brooklyn in its continuing effort
102
In June, the reiterated its support
to achieve equality with New Yor.k City.
for the plan.
-62the aggregated city, which neither place could separately pretend to.
public offices being united expenses will be diminished."
The
103
Meanwhile, the groundwork was being laid for legislative approval for
the establishment of a commission on consolidation.
Enquirer reported:
11
Williamsburgh for its dinner, arid when it goes joyously out, rollicking and
revelling like a fat alderman issuing forth from Snedeors a1c7- it will
104
find itself seized upon and swallowed by New York. 11
On July 18, 18.53,
need more unused lands; its taxes would not decrease; rather they would in
crease because of the need to pave new streets; a larger body of aldermen
would prove unwieldy;. lastly, it would probably become necessary to move the
107
Times was quoted as saying that "Brooklyn and 1i'lilliamsburgh can never unite
any more than oil and water. 11
109
the consequences when Williamsburgh would have to beg Brooklyn for an ade
quate water supply.111 By January of the following year, however, the Press
had resi.gned itself to consolidation, for it maintained that the commissioners
from Williamsburgh would work for the best interests of thatcommunity. It is
impossible to get a complete picture of the reaction in Williamsburgh to the
consolidation proposal inasmuch as complete files of the Williamsburgh papers
107.
108.
e,
Po
.5.
was not to take effect until January 1, 1855. With consolidation, the
newly defined city of Brooklyn was divided into eighteen wards.
of Aldermen numbered thirty-six members.
The Board
all of the powers formerly vested in the aldermen of Brqoklyn, remained the
The office of mayor remained as weak as it
had been in the original Brooklyn.113
dominant organ of government.
For tax, fire and police purposes, the en;Larged ,city was divided into
two districts. The portion of the city lying to the southwest of Flushing
Avenue was designated the Western District, while the former communities
of Williamsburgh and Bushwick along with the area of rooklyn situated north
east of Flushing Avenue became the Eastern District.114 The fire department
still remained a- volunteer group a,nd no organizational change occurred in
the police department.
Walt Whitman sang the praises of the newly consolidated city by stating
that 11 its start need not be clogged by anything embarrassing or lowering.
Its beauty of site, cleanliness and health will never be surpassed by any
_115
Brooklyn, said Whitman, "may well be the choice and
ci....y, o1-ct or new.
11
112. New York State,, Seventy-seventh Session (Albany, 1854), 'PP 829-904.
113.
114.
roid.
Ibid.
-65pride of her sons and daughters, and 0 all who are identified with the
.
ll6.
116
Ibid.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Chapter IV
It cannot be said that Brooklyn was controlled by one particular
political party in the period frcm 1834 to 18$5.
power at any given ime depended upon several factors acting singly or
in concert:
appears that the 'Whigs controlled the city legislature for thirteen yars
as compared to six years of Democratic control.
In the first election held under the new city charter in 1834, party
poll tics did not play a dominant role. Many of the candidates for co1mcil
men were supported by both political organizations.
The anti-Jacksonian
-67national political issues into the local election. 1 The Jacksonians could
not publicly answer this assertion for they had no party organ at this
time in Brooklyn.
in the period between 1810 to 1841; it was the Brooklyn Daily Evening
This paper which was strongly Whig in politics, was published and edited
by Alden Spooner.
his two sons, Edwin and George, partners in.the. The paper remained
under the Spooner family control until it was discontinued in 1863.
Council.
using the gullible Irish ilm)dgrants and "floaters" in order to capture the
2
election for aldermen. When it became known that the Democrats had won,
the ran the following headline:
11
3
Triumphant - Corruption and Bribery Successful - Political Popery ErectUl"
Interesting aspects of this headline are the use of the term Native Americans
applied to the Whigs, the labelling of the Democratic Party as the party of
foreigners and the attempt to associate Irish voters and Catholicism.
These
in the same year, concluded that the campaign had been fought between the
party of "foreign influence" and the party of the patriotic "independent
Americans."
. 4
1.
2.
Ibid.,
v,
,p. 212.
It was admitted,
flowing rum to the "ignorant and flexible. 115 The Democrats dominated
the Council election 1n 1837.
With the adve.n t of hard times fallowing the Panic of 1837, Broo!clyn
vote.rs switched their allegiance to the party that h:ad been out.of power.
They held the Democrats responsible for the economic collapse, and, therefore,
sentiment turned in favor of the Whigs ..
The, in 1838, urged the election of Wfligs and associated Native Amer
icans to local offices as a way of showing Brooklyn's opposition to the
sub-treasury plan.
5.
-,
6. ., April 9, 18)8.
7. ., April 12, 1838.
B. ., Nov. 2, 1840.
,.,,,
reported that "Our City Election yesterday was unusually quiet, and void
of excitement."
c.
Murphy, Isaac Van Anden, Alfred G. Stevens and Judge John Greenwood.
They agreed that Brooklyn's Democrats needed a newspaper of thei own if they
were to revive the party in the city.
This
plan was later changed, however, when it was realized that the Democrats
should have a permanent party organ.
c.
It was
-70-
the na
wuether or not
Par ty as the true republican orgam.za
in
the appearance of the Eagle was the deciding factor, some Democrats were
elected in the county elections of November, 1841.
The issue of separation of church and state entered the political arena
in this contest.
to obtain a portion of the school funds, raised by taxation, for the purpose of maintaining parochial schools.
their supnort to this scheme whereas the Whigs did not commit themselves.
In the election, the Catholics split away from their. usual support of the
Democrats and voted for the Whig candidates.
the Whigs did not win the election.
"Whiggery, Priestcraft and Faction."
By
13
However,
for mayor. 14 The election results showed Wadsworth third behind Henry
Murphy, Democrat, and Cyrus P. Smith, Whig.
ll.
12.
13.
14.
c.
15 L
Other
New York State communities such as New York City and Albany also elected
Democratic candidates.
on a national level, for control of the party between John Tyler and
Henry Clay.
National issues were uppermost in the local elections in 1844.
The
Native .Americans, aided by the Whigs, were able, in 1844., to elect their
1
mayoral candidate to office. 7 Their state-wide goal was to obtain a re
vision in the laws so that residence of twenty-one years would be mandatory
18
before naturalization proceedings could be instituted.
In Brooklyn, as in New York City, the Whigs and N ative .Americans united
in 1844 in an effort to defeat the Democratic candidates.
The popularity of
the Democratic mayor incumbent, Joseph Sprague, however, was to powerful for
The control, of
the Common Council, however, now fell into the hands of a combination of
19
1nJhigs and Native Junericans.
All attention, for the remainder of the year,
centered on the forthcoming prestdential election.
to take place between James K. Polk, Democrat, and Henry Clay, the Whig
candidate.
The Dem
ocrats had sufficient strength to win the State for Polk and fo their
candidate for governor, Silas Wright, but in Kings County all Jhig-Native
American candidates were rewarded with larger returns than their opponents.
Clay received a larger return than Polk; the Whig candidate for governor,
Millard Fillmore, won the local campaign over Wright; and the remainder
of the Whig ticket also received pluralities over the Democrats. Even-the
popular Democratic Congressman, Henry Cruse Murphy, succumbed in this Whig
landslide.20 The reason for this lcl Whig victory in the face of State
and national defeat is not easily explained.
In 1845,
ones.
The Democrats
elected Talmage along with eleven of the eighteen council members. Analyzing
the results, the Eagle pointed out that the Democrats achieved an increase
19.
20.
Ibid.,
-73of 485 votes over the-ir vote in the local election of 1844, the 1-Jh:igs
gained 36 votes and the Native Americans were 192 votes short of their
21
tota1 in
the previous
. election
.
The question of slavery in the territories caused a split in the Dem
ocratic ranks in 1846. Isaac Van Anden, publisher of the Eagle, and Henry
C. Murphy, Democratic politician who had been actively associated with the
Eagle, belonged to that portion of the Democratic Party in New York which
opposed the Wilmot Proviso.
knowledge the Eagle "was the very first Democratic paper which alluded to
this subject in.a decisive mer. n
22
passed into Whitman's hands on the death of William B., Marsh in February, 1846.
Some Democrats refused
to
the leaders of the party, and they therefore organized a so-called 11 No-Party
2
Party. 11 3 These dissenters were joined by disgruntled Whig and Native
Americans.
The 11 No-Party 11 group held a rally on March ll, 1846, lihich was
11
25 Their efforts,
?"A.cm 1 +.
of that year.
their bst possible choice.26 The Whig nominee was Francis B. Strykel'.,
27
The Natives,
the Eagle found, still had enough life to choose a lawyer by the name of
Thomas
c. Pih\imey,
28
in Aril found the Whig candidate, Stryker, the victor, in the mayoralty
As
for the Common Council, a tie existed, with Whigs and Democrats
2
obtaining nine seats each. 9 Stryker received a majority of over 1 ., 100
race.
Among
Brooklyn voted by a,
0
majority of more than two to one in opposition to these innovations.3 In
a special referendum concerning Negro suffrage, the predominance of the
opposition was even greater.
the changes in Brooklyn and New York City, the amendments were carried in the
31
State at large except for the Negro suffrage proposal.
26.
27.
2 8.
29.
30.
31.
-75As the mayoral election of 1847 approached, the Eagle accused the
Whigs of relying on "connivances with third parties" such as the Native
Americans or any other party which might prove helpful in order for them
to gain office.32 For their part the Democrats, used the technique of
catering to the prejudices of the Irish whom they hoped to win to. their
side.
In 1848, when the conservative New York Democrats proposed Lewis Cass,
an anti-Wilmot man, for President, the opnosing New York faction countered
with Martin Van Buren. Van Anden and Murphy supported Cass, whereas Whitman
was a staunch advocate of the Van Buren cause.
led to Whitman's departure from the Eagle.
In January of the
following year, the veteran campaigner George Hall wrote a letter, printed
in the Eagle, in which he said that the time had come for a truly indepen
dent party in local politics.
Hall, had to repay the organization by placing many other party members in
office.
32.
33.
Both major political groups, Hall wrote, cared more for the spoils
who have no interest to gain but the interest of the city, and who shall
34
endorsed his views then nominated him as the standard bearer for the Inde
pendent Party.
c.
Henry
Murphy told the a.ssembled party members that the nomination was made
the Eagle, a band of Whigs, composed of and led by Irishmen, forced their
at that point.
With the Democratic Party torn by internal strife, the Whigs were able
to elect their slate of candidates, heade by Edward Copland, in April, 1849.
The Democrats consoled themselves with the statement that 11 During our whole
34.
35.
.,
38
-77political career we have never seen a victory where the victors were so
generally dissatisfied with the result as our Whig frieds appear to be
with the late contest. 1139 The reason for this supposed sentiment stemmed
from a dispute in 1tig circles over the disposition of the spoils.
The
McPeirces and the Devlins. 1140 In te same issue, the Eagle accused McMrray
of using large sums of money to defeat the Democratic candidates for council
discussion, and clear sighted and intelligent action"; rather they were
associated with packing schemes, "introduction of voters from other wards,
and exclusion of the proper voters. 11
43
dalism was not soon stamped out, the Whigs would consistently lose future
elections.
40.
41.
42.
43.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
The abolitionists,
44
concluded that the reason for this Democratic victory was that truces had
increased while the Whigs were in office.
only ten years. 45 The Whig local organization also appears to have been the
victim of internal disputes.
led by the former mayor Francis Stryker, and the other by Francis Spinola
an alderman.
44.
45.
-79which had been in control of party patronage within the city for several
years 46
,;,
It charged that voters had been brought into the Third, Fourth,
upon the fact that the vote in these wards appeared to indicate population
increases of 19 to 33 percent in the short space of seven months.
Since such
a sudden rise could not stem from population shifts, the Eagle concluded that
the only answer must be corruption.5
Despite the presence of a Whig mayor, control of the Council shifted
to the Democrats in the anriual Council election of 1851.
46.
Eagle, March 16, 1849; March 20, 1849; Star, April 10, 1850.
49.
So. ill.,
-80that this indicated a trend in the voters' sentiments in regard to the coming
would certainly bring "defeat and utter annihilation of the Whig party in
this city. 115
bring out the non-voters, continued the; otherwise the Whigs were
doomed to failure.
Too often,
according to the, the office honors the man rather than the man the
office.
The editor declared that more citizens should take an active inter
He urged that
The Democrats
had narrowed their choice to two, Edward Lambert and Henry Kent, both ex
aldermen.54 To the surorise of all, the Whigs nominated a complete "dark
52. Ibid.
S3. Ibid., Sept. 9, 1852.
54. Ibid.
55. Ibid., Oct. 29, 1852.
-81-
56
As was the case in the aldermanic contest of 1851, the party out of
In this instance
it was the Whigs who gained strength at the expense of the incumbent Demo
crats.57 Before the Democrats recovered from this setback, they met another
defeat in that they lost the mayoralty election in December, 1854.
The Whigs
dent of that area, Martin Kalbfleisch, who was of German origin. Although
he was defeated on this occasion, he later was to rise to political prom
inence in the commuDityo
that the Democrats began to act as a party under the leadership of a dominant
group.
Henry Cruse Murphy, Judge John Greenwood and Isaac Van Anden were
Since
they were removed from the area of social conflict between the races in
the South, the Brooklyn Democratic organization regarded the slavery question
as out of their sphere. They were, however, active in supporting the War
with Mexico.'9 It was only when the.question of the expansion of slavery
into the newly won territories arose, that dissension appeared in the party
ranks
. As has already been pointed out, one group of Democrats, with Walt
'Whitman as their spokesman, supported the Wilmot Proviso.
It could
11
11
It is evident then," he
that the proviso is a hu.'Jlbug its passage would not, probably, free
60.
61.
62.
63
thought, the Brooklyn Democratic Party supported Lewis Cass as their State
and national leader as 01)posed to Martin Van Buren, who, it was thought,
favored the Proviso.
Whitman left the city after his dismissal from the Eagle, early in
64
remained a.s,such until September 11, 1849, when it ceased publication forever.
65
They
could readily be called the "out 11 party in local politics during these years.
The v..1hig Party, organized in 1834, was created to oppose "King Andrew"
and the measures which his party advocated.
so-called 11 A.'!lerican System," they favored the Bank of th United States, and
were generally antagonistic to the democratic policies of Jackson.
63.
Ibid.
In the
-84local political sphere, the Whig Party of Brooklyn staunchly followed the
platforms adopted on the State and national levels.
protective tariff, hoped to see Webster and Clay in _the :,Jhite House, and
William H. Seward elected as governor.
towards labor and they were the advocates of honest, economical govermnent.
The leaders of the uarty in Brooklyn were Francis B. Stryker, Alden Spooner
and his son, E. B. Spooner, Francis Spinola, John A. Cross and Cyrus P.
Smith.
These men
were the spokesmen for the middle class in this rising industrial area.
They knew that the features of an economically oriented goverru.nent which
held out the possibility of lowering or at least maintaining the current
rate of assessments would appeal to the merchant interest of Brooklyn.
It
Chapter V
As Brooklyn grew from a community of less than 25,000 to one of
200,000, it struggled with issues inherent in an urban society.
One of
as retail merchants and had the exclusive right to sell meat products in
Brooklyn.
-86butchers who were licensed by the authorities had the privilege of selling
meat.
could not adequately supply all the food needs of a growing community. As
a result, many aspiring retail.butchers decided to challenge the market laws
in the attempt to create outlets other than those established by the munici
pality itself.
Ma.y
people began to say that Brooklyn, along with New York, was helping to foster
a "market monopoly."
Because
of this, it was claimed that the liensed butchers could charge higher prices
than prevailed elsewhere, since the laws of competition were not in operation. 4
The municlpality, in order to assert its position, :fostituted proceedings
by stating that every person had the privilege of entering the calling of his
own choice.
license fee required of those selling in the uublic markets, he could under
sell his licensed competitors and therefore give added service to the neigh
borhood in which he was located.
the municipal charter, it had the authority to regulate butchers and designate
.the areas in which meat could be sold as a matter of protecting the health
4.
The Eagle contended, however, that although the health of the citizens
might be involved, the question of "regulation is unjust in itself, unequal
and oppressive in its effects and calculated to give a fictitious price to
one of the chief necessaries of life." The editorial, on September 2, 1843,
6
Brooklyn" who imposed a $.500 penalty against a person for illegally operating
a butcher shop.
In
this proposal.
The Market Committee of the Common Council offered a series of suggestions
in January, 1844, without specifically dealing with the matter of licensing
butchers.
the citizens in the outer wards, and that some provision be made for a change
in the existing laws.9 Petitions began to flood the Common Council urging
the repeal of the existing laws concerning butchers.
In answer to these
5.
-88fresh meat in locations other th&, the public marts. His resolution was
,
immediately adopted. 10 Acting on this resolution the Market Committee reported again in March.
shops be permitted, provided that a license fee of $25 be paid and that a
The Eagle regarded the bond and license amounts as
11
exorbitant insofar as grocers paid only a $5 fee and clerks a $1 fee.
sell freshly cut meat, but they could not kill or dress any meat on their
premises.
the law specified that all meat had to be placed in a "refrigerator, ice
box or cask containing ice or pickle" which had been lined with lead so as
t.o make the container water tight.12
A warning was raised in 1849, that if Brooklyn did not soon construct a
11
large iron market house," the butchers and the public would settle te
handsome market," said the, "where the country people can be accommodated
with their wagons, and full freights of vegetables. 11
13
the market facilities, the administration decided to abolish the license fees
10.
11.
12.
13.
1
as the "commencement of a good work. 11 4 The Council also considered the
request of the petitioners was granted and all rents were immediately
Thus
by the end of the period, the principle of licensing butchers throughout the
city had replaced that of a localized market as the only authorized place
where meat could be sold.
Another vexing problem which faced Brooklyn was the matter of street
lighting - Previous to 1832, the municipal government had made no provisions
for lighting the streets.
posts were erected in 1832.
lamps at various locations in the village, but these were con:pletely inad
equate. The municipally owned lamps used whale and sperm oils as fuels.17
Many Brooklynites complained that these oil lamps were not much of an improvement over the former privately owned lamps o
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
-90action remained in effect until 1838, when all the street lamps were again
1
lighted. 9
The municipality realized that street lamps must be installed through
out the populated area. Therefore, a request was made of the State Legis
lature, in 1839, to enact the necessary legislation enabling Brooklyn to
raise funds for the building and lighting of new lamps and lamp posts.
The
"Persons walking the streets at night c:;i.n pass both ways on the same side;
and the travel of carriages maybe, as it is, confined principally to the
leading thoroughfares which I have named. 1121 In order to supervise the
work of the lamplighters and the conditions of the lamps, he also recommended
that a new office of Inspector of Lps, Wells and Pwnps be created. The
22
Common Council acted immediately to establish this office.
Despite the
mayor's recommendation to decrease the nwnber of lighted lamps, they all
remained illuminated.
Mayor Joseph Sprague, the successor to Murphy, advised the aldermen
in 1843, that by this date the annual cost of lighting and maintaining the
lamps had risen to $12,000 yearly.
.;;;.91said, "whether this item can be diminished, and sufficient light afforded
to the densely inhabited part of the city. 112 3 The aldermen, a year later,
were still contemplating methods by which the street ligh ting expenditures
could be reduced. The Eagle facetiously advised the aldermen that, in view
of the inadequate service provided by the lamps and the lamplighters, it
2
might be just as well to abolish the entire item. 4
In seeking a means of improving service at a reduced cost, the Common
Council in 1846 began debating the merits of gas light.
a Brooklyn merchant had experiinented with the use of gas in street lamps.
F,.is efforts failed to impress the muJLi...cipal authorities.
gas for street lighting purposes caine to the fore in 18h6 when the Brooklyn
Ga.s. :Light Company published its prospectus.
The directorate of the Company consisted of outstanding Brooklyn business
men and civic leaders:
of the Long Island Bank; Alden Spooner, proprietor of the Island. and
w'hig poiitician; John Dikeman, lryer; Ralph Malbone, real estate S?eculator;
and Lossee Van Nostrand and 'l\u1.i.s Barkeloo, businessmen and fonner aldermen. 25
The prospectus of the Gas Company urged the adoption of gas for street
lighting as a method of ending night robberies and other. nocturneJ. crimes.
Commerce, too, would benefit from having the stores and streets brilliantly
lighted.
11
persons from New York to make Brooklyn their residence, and increase the
number of merchants and rich.11ess of' the:;stores,--thus enhancing the value of
2S e Thomas P. Teale, Brooklyn City Directory for 1848 (Brooklyn, 1848), passim.
-92the property . 11 26
Urgent action on the problem of street lighting was needed, for the
situation had deteriorated to the point where the serio-comic qestion was
asked:
"Why are the Brooklyn lamps like young gentlemen of irregular habits?"
28
The answer was supposedly fairly obvious, 11because they're o-ut every night. 11
$3.6h to the cost, making the total cost for one lamp $10. A gas lamp
allowed to burn all night would cost $26, but it was contended that one
gas lamp could renlace three or four oil lamps.
The Eagle urged the municipal authorities to take action on the gas
question because each delay was placing Brooklyn further behind such cities
Ferry for the gas works and that construction would soon commence.
32
Mean-
while, another company was formed, under the presidency of Henry Ruggles,
also for the purpose of supplying Brooklyn with gas.
Ruggles petitioned
the Common Council for permission to lay pipes, but the Council refused his
plea. The members of the Council went ahead and granted the Brooklyn Gas
33
Light Company the right to lay pipes in the Sixth and Seventh wards.
In
March,
1849, the same Company received authorization to light the last four
.
wards of Brooklyn.
It allowed
the city to assess the costs for erecting such posts in each district and
.5
to collect the funds in the next annual tax.-
-94The Council's Joint Committee on Gas and Lamps issued a report in 1851,
on the entire question of contracts and costs involved in lighting the streets
with gas.
It was reported that for the year ending January 1, 1851, the
municipality had paid $23,517 for oil lamps and $14,172 for gas light.
For
the first six months of 1852, Brooklyn expended $10,505 for 2,400 oil lamps
36
such provios worked solei-ytor the benefit of the Company and to the detriment
3
of the city. 7' It was shown that the Company was charging the community a
higher rat for each 1,000 cubic feet of gas than was being paid by either
New York City or Williamsburgh.
Company announced that as of January, 18.53, fifty miies of gas mains had been
laid at the company's expense.
38
its ninety-five miles of gas pipes and 3,199 public lamps, of which 2,609
9
used gas.3 A beginning had been made in the attempt to provide adequate
street lighting for the citizens of this rapidly expanding community.
manned by voiunteers.
36. Common Council, Report of the Joint Committee on Gas and Lamps (Brooklyn,.
1851,) ., p.
4.
38.
39,.
40 0
---
---
-95The municipality sun.,...,lied the fire equipment and the engine houses while
the volunteers provided the necessary manpower.
the fire department was regarded as giving access to the political ladder for
anyone interested in a future in politics. The engine house sered as a
meeting place for the men of the area.
aried, and therefore official rank iri the department.had prestige value only.
In the late 1830's, the highest ranking officer in the department was Chief
Engineer John Du:flo, who was chosen by the foramen of the fire companies.
His popularit,y wc1.s e:nhanced by the fact that. he was the proprietor .of the
41
In 1838, the Fire Department was composed of ten engine companies, one
hook and ladder company and onehose company.
42
nine actually were in operation, while Engine Company Five existed only on
paper.
The area which the nine were to patrol, however, was confined to the
Upon serving in
the fire department for a period of three to five years, a fireman could be
exempted from any jury and military duty except in a national emergency.h4
-96A major obstacle confronting the fire department was the almost complete
lack of discipline.
"the flames would probably have been circumscribed within narrower limits, but
The
line of water was thus broken, and grea.t confusion ensued."45' Mayor Joseph
Sprague speaking to the Corrunon Council in May, 1843, urged them to take some
action in order to prevent the disturbaiicas that :resulted from engine companies
Such behavior, he said, caused heavy damage to
6
the engines and other equipment as well as injury to the men.4 No steps'were
taken, however, to sup"ress such behavior on the part of the v r ... ,-,nteer firemen.
In September 1843, two volunteer firemen were fined for assault and battery as
11
These 11 boys,"
spoiling for a fight. The 11 boys 11 usually became involved in the melee which
frequently followed the meeting of two fire companies. Mayor Sprague thought
it a source of regret that
45.
11
L,J engendering
The situation did not iiprove during the remainder of Sprague 1 s term
in office, for in May, 1845, Mayor Thomas G. Talmage asked the Common Council
to take urgent action.
the well being of that class of our youth who male these engine houses a
rendezvous for the commital rsic7 of crime, demands the most rigid enforcement of the law, and if the advice and counsel of parents and guardians are
unavailing for the protection of city property it becomes our duty to
exercise the arm of the law. 1149 Talmage demanded action because the volunteer
firemen and their juvenile adherents had even taken to fighting with the
po1.ice. 50
Presumably the situation had improved by 1846, for the Mayor attested
'to 11the general good conduct of all attached to the fire department; their
determination to free themselves from the odium which has heretofore attached
..
to them and their great promptitude and good order at fires, during the
An
20, 1852, when three engine companies, numbers Two, Seven and Nine battled
48.
49.
50.
51.
-98one another.
Engineer of the Fire Del'.'lartment "lock up and take possession" of the head
The engine houses were padlocked so
that the volunteers could not stay there or use the engines. Previous to
the June 20 fire, the members of Company Number .Two had appeared at a fire,
While fighting fires, the firemen had to work against a number of odds.
One spra.g from the fact that most of the buildings in Brooklyn were con
structed of wood.
the water needed during a major conflagration and many of the cisterns would
suddenly go dry . Furthermore; the fire apparatus was not the best obtainable
even for that er. 54 .Mayor F . B. Stryker considered the matter so important
for building materials. He was of the O?inion that this change might deter
the spread of fire from building to building.
the fire district in which the erection of wooden structures would be pro
hibited.
occur at night and " spread to any considerable extent it is certain that
the supply of water from the cisterns would be found inadequate.11 55
52.
5L..
55. .,
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-99On September 9, 1848, five days after Mayor Stryker delivered this
message, Brooklyn suffered the most devastating fire in its history to that
time.
It was reported that 11 in the space of six hours the devouring flames
had swept over eight entire blocks in the densest portion of our city, con
suming about two hundred buildings and turning into the streetsprobably
56
not less than four hundred persons."
Buildings in an area covering ten
to twelve acres were completely destroyed, with the damage estimated at a
.million dollars.
the city conduct a survey regarding the adequacy of the fire protection in
the community, another was the ?roDosal that the fire district in which
further construction of wooden buildings was curtailed, be ex:tended so as
to embrace the area bounded by the East River, Joralemon, Fulton and Wash
ington streets. It was also proposed that Fulton Street be widened, now
that extensive renair work was necessary.
By
not go into effect for three months, fear was expressed that unscrupulous
individuals would take advantage a the threemonth waiting period and con
58
struct wooden buildings on the site of the fire.
Only two years after the 1848 coni'lagration, another destructive fire
occurred.
Funnan
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-100-
a new fire law was enacted which extended the district in which wooden
construction was curtailed. The law also established minimum requirements
concerning the thickness of walls and protection for windows and doorwayso
It also set up standards for the type of masonry to be used. Wooen con
struction was exempted from the nrovisions of this law if the building did
60
During this year, Brooklyn increased
not exceed fifteen feet in height.
its fire protection facilities by purchasing engines and sites for new
6
engine houses. 1
By February, 18.52, .the Star thought it necessary to warn the community
that many citizens were finding means of circu.'l'tventing the fire laws.
In
maintain amicable relations, the Council usually complied with such requests.
The newspaper asserted that s uch a policy was harming the interests of the
62
The firemen, at a
city as a whole and should be stopped immediately.
convention, also a dopted resolutions requesting the Council to end this
6
practice. 3
Such attempts to circumvent the fire laws were only additional handi
caps to adequate protection. Failure to enforce the laws, the inefficiency
of the volunteers, inadequate equipment and a shortage of water all acted
in concert to nroduce very poor rotection against fire.
The ameliorating
legislation was too meager and came too late. Only a complete revision in
the composition of the fire companies could accomplish the desired end e
19, 1851.
6, 1852.
16, 1852.
23, 1852.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
the 1840's, Brooklyn had a very small force of men employed during the day
to guard the thoroughfares.
Those
64
It was the duy of the watchmen to apprehend and detain persons com
witting offenses during the night and to bring such offenders before a
Justice o.f the Municipal Court the following morning.
In additon, upon
discovering a fire, the watchien were to notify the fire wardens and bell
ringers, and awaken the populace by crying "f'ire. 11 For this service th
watch captains were paid $1.37 an evening and watcmnen received 87 cents.
65
In the sUllllTler of 1842, when a gang of burglars roamed the streets, the
Brooklyn Daily began to attack the Common council and its police force
64.
65.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-102The Eagle asserted that these attacks were politically inspired, because
the News had not been named as a Corporation newspaper.
Moreove, it con
tended that there was "no city in the United States, of its size which is
more orderly, or in which less crime is committed than Brooklyn. u67
Despite such assertions upon the part of a Democratic newspaper sup
porting a Democratic city r&'gime, the authorities finally were moved to
some action to curb the burglars.
pay $100 for the apprehension and arrest of any person caught entering any
premises at night with the intent to burglarize. 68 In November, a house
69
A day later, the urged the citizens to be "on their guard against the
rn:i,dnight prowlers who ... pel',mitted in the most public thoroughfares of
our town to rob the dwellings of our peaceful citizens. I" 70
According to the Eagle, the major causes of the crime wave of 1842
could be traced to the fact that Brooklyn was in close proximity to New York
7,
City.
was becoming overcrowded with "accomplished burglars and robbers," the more
industrious of the fraternity were beginning to cross the East River so that
2
they could "commit the grossest outrages upon our citizens., 117 Finally, after
a year's delay, the Eagle was compelled to agree that the city watch offered
67 .,
It admitted that'.the
watchmen "venture abroad only in couples, and at but short distances from
the watchhouse, in this way avoiding being stolen themselves. 1173
of fifty-twomen.
both too costly and still inadequate to deal with the situation.
"It may
not be amiss here to state," he said, "that the .52 Watchmen are /_to b2.,7
Ten
men on each shift could just as easily send. an alarm in case of fire as
could thirteen.
lyn actually needed a watch force of at least 240 men to maintain adequate
police protection.
number. 75
The councilmen brushed aside Mayor Sprague's veto and appointed the
thirty-nine additional watchmen.
It asserted that a
as its object the protection of the citizens against prowlers, thieves and
murderers, leaving to the watchmen the duties of sounding the fire alarm,
responding to calls concerning the disturbances of the peace and detaining
drunkards in the guardhouses until morning.
When Mayor Talmage assumed office in May, 1645, he urged the Common
Council to adopt some new type of police organization. He contended that
11the an.ual expense of the preent system, appears to be nearly $ll,OOO,
for which the city has the active services of 13 men on duty, and 13 men
remain in the watch house, to enjoy repose, except when called into service
8
by some sudden outbreak."7 In time, he produced a plan which asked for
the employment of a chief marshal, at an annual salary of $700, fifteen
police marshals, at annual salaries of $400 each, and 102 watchmen, at a
salary of $120 each.
watch and supervise the men so that none would fall asleep while on duty.
This arrangement would place over fifty men on duty all night, and fifteen
police marshals and nine constables on duty during the daytime.
He estimated
76.
78.
83
The
mayor-elect, Francis B. Stryker, also added his voice to the growing clamor
8
for a revision of the police and watch.systems. 4
J3y_1848,.' there were still so few policemen patroling the streets that
79.
80.
.,
-,
Ibid.,
,2 , ,a1.5
4-
Oct. 7, 1845.
Dec. 30, 1845.
Jan. 29,. 1846.
{\ ,. ,_
.n.u
e; ..,_
81.
82. .,
83. ., !I.lay 5, 1846.
84. Ibid.:
said, would be found at the corner of Court and Butler streets next door to
the Dutch Reformed Church and others would be found at the station house on
Court Street.
In May, 1849, Alderman Rodney Church offered a. plan which would combine
the police,watch and fire departments. He did not elaborate upon ?OW hi!s
system would be organized beyond suggesting that those who were detailed as
watchmen would have police powers and they would also have the powers of
Qt:
calling out the engines and directing the efforts _of the volunteer firemen.vv
Needless to say, his plan was not a_dopted.
to raise the salaries of the men in the watch. Watchmen received an increase
from 87 cents a night to $200 yerly.
the watchman had to pay his substitute 1.25 a night. Assistant captains'
salaries were raised from.$1.12 1/2 to $1.25 and captains' salaries were
8
raised to $1._i;;o, an increase of $.12 i/2. 7 Despite these increments,. Mayor
Copland in 1850 was of the opinion that the members of the department were
still not being remunerated "well and fairly. n
88
8
to 1855, consisted of 144 men plus 15 officers. 9
supervise the entire department while the wardens would supervise the police
men
in
be held jointly by the mayor, the chief marshal, and the wardens.
Nominations
watch.
the fact that the southern portion of the Sixth Ward was "totally unprotected
by the police.
extends to Red Hook Point, many new buildings are in the cottrse of erection:,
and lumber, planks, cement arid other materials, are necessarily exposed to
the.prowlers who co:mmit their denredations with impunj_ty. 119
Later that
year, the urged that the force be immediately enlarged because it was
impossible "for so few of them to guarantee a safe protection to our citizens
in the night time. 1193
From January 8, 1851, until June 30, 1851, the Police Department made
91.
92.
93.
Many believed,
he said, that "the services rendered by the policemen do not compens_ate for
the amount paid. 11
96
tigate the conduct of the olicemen within their respective wards, and report
for trial all who do not strictly comply with the rules and regulations."
The remarked that the city should not deal too harshly with members of
the Police Department since that department was understaffed and every man
was needed.
97
force was in its infancy, time itself would solve some of the problems then
existing.
any other, provided proper care be taken that capable and efficient men be
94.
97.
-109selected f'or policemen. 1198 He advocated the selection of 11 good able bodied
men" who would "regard the rules and regulations prescribed for their
government o 11 Folk suggested
11
100
Police. II-
Although there were good, able bodied men on the force, lolk
thought, there were also those 11wno should they remain in the Police for
.
,, 101
years, ne;.rer . L,...
wouldiT
, ma.ke good. po1i cemen.
When a complaint was presented to the police chief concerning a member
of the force, it was his obligation to report the case to the mayor.
The
mayor and one alderman were to sit in judgment upon the accused. The usual
charges brought against policemen were malingering on duty and maintaining
102
business activities such as owning grocery stores.
A
correspondent in the Star was of the opinion that some of the aldermen
anpeared to "seek every opportunity to make random and false assertions it:i
relation to the police of our city .. " Perhaps some men in the Department were
not adequately performing their duties but these were the exceptions not the
98.
102.
99. Ibid,.
100. Ibid.
101. Ibid.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-110-
rule, he asserted.
is rank injustice
was at one end of his beat, a crime could be committed at the other end,
and the culprits would make their escape before the polj_ceman arrived at
the scene.
olice force, especially in the outer wards, and recommended that no further
d..tsmissals be made from the department. In his opinion a good policeman
should be sound of body, of sober habits, industrious, courageous and
1
capable of reading and writing English. o6 He made no mention of higher
salaries for the men.
The Common Council took no action on these suggestions.
Meanwhile, a
group of citizens began circulating a petition which advocated higher pay for
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-u1..
the policemen.
raised from $1.37 1/2 a day to $1.50 a day, and that assistant captains
should receive $1.75 a day.
rents and the high prices of all kinds of provisions, and would most respect
fully ask the above advance of pay to that useful class of -public officers,"
wrote the petitioners, at testing to the inflation of the mid,..1850' s. It was
presumed that higher wages would stimulate greater diligence on the part of
the policemen in performing their duties.
right to nominate candidates, since he was of the opinion that as long as the,
aldermen were involved in the appointments, they would be made on a political
basis.108 As late as 1854, however, the desired reforms had still not been
achieved; and the Brooklyn Police Department remained politically appointed,
underpaid, understaffed and overworked.
In addition to protecting the citizens' lives and property, the police
were also charged with the obligation of guarding the -public health.
En
108.
5-7.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-112the Police Committee of the Common Council . One of these concerned the
removal of nuisances.
areas.
products was prohibited in the fast growing residential area of the Sixth
Ward.
A year later, the operations of bone and grist mills were prohibited
in all of Brooklyn between the months of May and November.110 The police
were
in the populated sections 0 the first six wards, for the reason that such
enterprises caused "noxious and offensive smells. 11 111 The police were soon
called upon to investigate the distillery of Cunningham and-Harris.
found that this distillery
hood
the
It was
In
He thought it
112.
113.
26, 1842.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
ordered the removal of the hog pens on the east side of Jackson Street
between York and Prospect streets as a public nuisance.
a likely site for a public burial ground. Although many locations were
examined that year, the Common Council remained undecided on the eventual
1ocat.ion. ll8
ground on Hampden Street near Portland and Canton streets. This little pub
lic cemetery remained in existence until the late 1850 1 s when the area was
-111+-
Despite the fact that the weekly health report of January 25, 1836, listed
only one death from smallpox, the reported that "there is undoubtedly
'
11
'
--
Mayor Cyrus Smith reported that smallpox was raging, there was still no
plac.e to take the victims.121
By the end of 1839, a small private hosital known as the City Hospital
had been established by a group of Brooklyn physicians. The Common Council
reluctantly agreed to aid this enterprise by appropriating the sum of $200
annually to helo defray the expenses of maintenance.122. The Hospital Com
mittee of the Common Council reported in December 184i, that it was the
desire of the Medical Board of the City Hospital to secure more adeaue.te
funds in order to continue the institution.123 In December, 1843, a petition
requesting funds was presented to the State Legislature, but no further action
was taken by the Council.124 Realizing that help must be given to the hos
pital if it were to survive, the Council voted in January, 1844, to appropriate
the sum of $1,200 to help liquidate its debts.
on the grounds that this grant could be interpreted as an attempt on the part
of the Council to establish a hospital.
120.
121.
122 ..
123.
124.
Upon being
re-elected
in April,
'
.
$600 to
the lack of legal ;uthority for the City Hospital.127 H is message to the
Common Council on this subject had the effect of causing that body to dis
continue appropriations for the hospital, which was therefore forced to halt
its services to the community, meager as they were.
lyn were new increasingly aroused over the lack of hospital facilities; and
at a meeting of citizens on February 17, 1845, resolutions were adopted to
128
raise $ 2 0,000 privately and to ask the State Legislature for $10,000.
On May 8, 1845, the State Legislature authorized the incorporation of "The
Brooklyn City Hospital. 1112 9 In October, 1846, the trustees purchased a house
on ,Jackson Street opposite Fort Greene for the accommodation of approximately
twenty patients.
125.
126.
No person
Also
excluded were those suffering from smallpox, measles, or any other contagious
Those able to pay for their board and maintenance were to pay
1 1
according to their means, while .others would be admitted as indigents. 3
disease.
the institution was soon changed to nBrooklyn Hospital," thus removing the
cnnotation that it was an institution totally supported by the municipality.
134
Ibid., Pe 92e
-117was completed, the dispensary was moved to the basement of the City Hali.135
Those patients who could not afford private medical care were treated at
the dispensary. It was soon apparent that the majority of patients were
Irish.
The Eagle reported that when an Irish workingman became ill, his
penalty of a $100 fine for each week during which the body was not buried
according to the law.138 Two years later, the Council further decreed that
no bodies might be removed without first acquiring the consent of the Council
sitting as a Board of Health.
the town clerk who in turn would send them to the county clerk's office.14
-118A major health problem facing Brooklyn during these years was the sale
of swill milk.
These dairymen
built long low stables divided into narrow stalls which accommodated forty
to fifty cows.
The cattle were fed hot swill purchased from various dis
Many of these
da,.";.J..YJ11cu
served as alderman from the Seventh Ward in 1836, 1837, 1842 and 1843.
Another
dairyman was "Hamilton, the milkman," who rented a mansion owned by the
Ryers.on family between Hamil ton Street and Washington Avenue.
On Flushing
Avenue near Schenck Street, John Jackson and his two sons ran a large dairy
also producing "swill milk."
In an attempt to bring this practice to an end, an ordinance was adopted
in April, 1848, restricting the number of cows which might. be kept in enclosures within _certain limits in the Sixth and Seventh wards.
It provided, for
example, that in order to keep six cows the owner had to provide more than one
acre of land. 141
for housing purposes brought an end to the "swill milk" business. 142
In
summer heat wave, the average weekly death total doubled as a result of this
disease e
..
The usual mortality rate was about twenty persons a week, ?Ut in the
14
third week of July, deaths numbered forty, of which twenty-five were children. 3
141.
142.
J.LJ.
Ibid., p. 54.
Ost.raJ1der, Brooklyn -Past -and Present (Brooklyn, i833), PP 177-78.
Eagle, July 23, 1545.
s:-11.
-119In December, Alderman Frederick Lee urged the municipal authorities to adopt
a program of free vaccinations for indigent families o
might stop the spread of the disease.
He hoped that it
adopted. 144 As another health precaution, the Eagle sought the erection
of public natatoria.
assertion that Brooklyn was a remarkably realthy place because of its "pen
insular situation and the hilly natur of the ground" and because it lacked
breeding -places for disease such as existed in New York City.
It contended
that the city would find its public health expenses lessened as a result of
such action. 145 The public natatoria sought by the Eagle were not provided.
In 18h9, Brooklyn, along
with. New York-City, suffered from an epidemic
.
of cholera.
Of the total.
46
were affected, four-fifths of the victims came from well defined localities
in the neighborho0d of Hoyt, Bond, Butler and Douglas streets in such densely
ponulated rows of houses as Blake's Buildings, Squire's Buildings and Hall's
Alley.
neighborhood of low ground and stagnant water or where the filth was abundant,
and were too crowded11 147 C. S. J. Goodrich, the Health Officer, estimating
the total Brooklyn population at 100,000 at the time, came to the conclusion
1.44.
147. ., P 286.
148
Praising the city for its handling of the epidemic, Mayor Copland in
dicated in his message of May, 1850, some of the measures undertaken by the
city to meet the crisis.
for the poor a.t the nublic exnenses L'sic 7--constant unremitting attention to
duty on the pary of the health officer--and a ready and willing acquiescence to
0
As a
result of this scourge a special hospital was opened in June of 1854 to handle
the cholera victims.
.Again most of the patients were immigrants who lived in filthy hovels
particularly along the East River.l50
further.
Throughout the 1840 1 s and 185 0 1 s the health of Brooklyn was adversely
For the major nortion of the neriod, Brooklyn really had made
no provisions for the handling of the sick, especially the chronically ill and
those suffering from contagious diseases.
-121began to realize that the municioa:lity had to provide for the underprivileged
and indigent who became seriously ill.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Chapter VI
A growing concern for community health prompted suggestions that the
city government assume broader responsibilities for the cleanliness of the
streets, the disposal of waste, and the provision of an adequate water
supply.
In 1831,
[ioJ
those who may desire a habitation among us. 111 When, in 1844, he reiterated
-123-
his belief in cleanliness, Brooklyn was divided into small districts for
street cleaning purposes.2 For each of these districts the municipal author
ities entered into contracts with various individuals.
satisfaction with the way the newly instituted contract system had been oper
ating during the past year.
be more assiduous in their duties. He singled out two main causes of excessive
rubbish in the streets:
spillage resulting from the fact that the cartmen were using vehicles of in. 3
adequate size.
It soon became evident that the contract system was not effective.
In
1847, a resolution was adopted requesting the authorities to study new plans
for cleaning the streets. Alderman Jesse Smith proposed that the refuse should
be "swept together and removed, by districts of one ward each." He further
suggested that the street inspector and at least one alderman certify that the
task was properly completed before payment would be made.4 Following his pro
posals, the refuse was then gathered into large heaps. The malodorous results
were lampooned by a poem which appeared in the Eagle entitled, "Buried."
"Beneath this heap the inspector .lies,
2.
-124He asserted that "Few if any cities are cleaner now than ours, or contain
successful he contended that the results were worth the effort. He asked
that his successors in office carry out the enforcement of the existing con
tracts, which was. "comparatively a light duty, a work of immense benefit and
long needed; and it will increase our city's fame." 7 In June, 1850, Alderman
R. Church presented a series of resolutions tightening the controls over
those who contracted to clean the streets. He requsted that it be made man
datory that the filth be removed on stipulated days . If the contractors did
not fulfill this requirement, then the alderman of the affected district
.
could hire men to nerform the task. The expense involved in such an undertaking
of
10
in shocking condition just now.''
However, that same month, a resident of
'taking the dirt, when swept up in ,heaps, is now .followed; being a great improve
ment on
the old cutom of letting it get trampled down and re-heaped, and re
trampled down tour or five times. Myrtle Avenue in particular, from the City
Hall., to Raymond Street, never began to show such a tidy conuntenance {sic
Ibid.
-125as this summer." The correspondent was the soon famous Walt Whitman.u
was part of the Report of Brooklyn's Health Officer, C. Goodrich, for 1851.
ment of an annual sanitary survey such as exised in New York City . He urged
the municipality to encourage the use of vaccination as a preventive for the
.
12
The councilmen did not take immediate action on the Health Officer's
recommendations regarding the streets as well as the other phases of the health
problem . The summer of 1852 found the city streets still in a deplorable state.
Asserting that the contract system was inefficient, the reported, "Many
of the gutters are filled with slopsand vegetable .matter which, with the hot
sun pouring upon it, is enough to breed an epidmic in our nrl:dst. 11 The news
paper asked, "Where are our street cleaners, or scavengers, or whatever name
they may be called by? Where are the Aldermen who have obtained the job for
their particular friend?" Unless something was done soon, the Star feared
cholera might strike agcdn.13 Fortunately, it did riot appear that year.
improved system of street cleaning was adopted providing for a municipal street
cleaning force. Lambert contended that if the streets were once cleand, they
could be kept that way. He proposed that Brooklyn be divided into three large
districts. Wards one through five were to comprise the first district ., the
sixth and tenth wards were to become the second district, and the seventh and
-126-
eleventh wards, the third district. 14 In bis opinion a force of twelve men
and four horses and carts would be able to clean the first district during
the three warm months of the year. For the remainder of the year, a force
of only four men and two horses and carts would be sufficient. They were to
collect ashes and refuse twice a week under the direction of a foreman who
woul.d be hired to supervise the work. The Mayor estimated the total a.nn,ual
cost at $5,304 for the first district The second district would use eight
men for 235 work days and an additional two men during the warm season. The
cost for the second district would be $4,.365. This amount applied to the -
third district also. He estimated that the annual cost for collecting refuse
would be $14,032. From this sum could be deducted a credit of $2,500, repre
senting the sale of 10,000 loads of manure at twenty-five cents per load.
-
Ibid.
Ibid., Feb. 8, 1853.
-127the particular locality of Clinton Street near the East River. This site
became so offensive that the authorities attempted to treat the offal with
chemicals. Lime was poured on the refuse, followed by a covering of fresh
earth. The urged that some permanent remedy for this unhealthful practice
be found.
11
manure to various parts of the island, but this mode of consumption can ob
viously meet but a very small portion of the requirements. 1117 Two sloop
owners proposed to carry.the refuse beyond Sandy Hook at a fee of $20 per
18
day. The thought this might prove to be a. feasible plan.
A year later, the councilme still had not determined upon a course of
action. They then appointed a committee to "select, procure and purchase so
much land as may be considered necessary for the purpose of providing a place
of deposit of night soil. n
19
lution, objecting to it on the ground that the City Charter did not permit
this delegation or authority to any connnittee. 20 As late as 1855 the muni
.,
addressed an open letter to Mayor Cyrus P. Smith in which he pointed out that
the streets facing away from the East River drained off toward the center of
the city, resulting in the formation of stagnant pools. He recommended that a
system of leaders.from the streets be connected to large sewers. These
sewers in turn would enter an open drainage canal extending from the Gowanus
meadow to-the Wallabout.21 This solution to the problem lay dormant until
17.
18.
1 9.
20.
Ibid.
Ibid., June 1.5, 18.52.
Ibid., June 30, 1852.
21. Ibid.' Aug .5, l839e
-128-
c.
be.ing created in many lowlying areas of the community. If not drained ., these
would "produce virulent diseases, if not pestilence. 11
22
This problem, like so many others, was ignored for a number of years.
Public interest reaakened to this health hazard in 1846-1847 when the Council
commissioned an engineer to draft a report on municipal drainage . At, .first
slighted, th report was later acted upon by the city fathers. 23 Finally, the
authorities ag:reed that the main thoroughfares, including the Fulton Street
business district, needed some type of sewage system. However ., the Fulton
Street merchants were not in agreement with this idea because it would neces
sitate a special assessment. They countered with a proposal of their own which
called for elevating the center of the street. Water, then flowing into side
g11tters, would be carried by gravity to the East River. 24 Surprisingly, the
began arguing for an adequate sewerage systeme Later that same year, the
26
27
continued during 1852, 1853 and 1854. By 1855, Brooklyn could boast of its
five miles of common sewers.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
-129A drainage canal was also under consideration in: the forties.
In
September, 1847, the Eagle reconunended that the drainings of the city be
deposited in Gowanus meadow.
meadow by allowing water from the bay region to cover the land. As the
tidewaters receded, they would remove the drainings. The paper suggested
that if the meadow could be sufficiently dredged, the resulting recetacle
could be developed into a commercial basin. This could be developed in
"with Gowanus bay, alone, or, by cutting through the isthmus into Wallabout
bay, connected with that also, so as to form a regular navigable canal, with
-the advantages of trade, transport and whaTfage, through the heart of the
"28
Cl.tY
The idea of a drainage canal was again broached in 1848, when the Street
Committee o:f the Comm.on Council recommended that a mile-long canal be con
2
structed to serve for both drainage and conunercial purposes. 9 In February,
1849, the Council peti_tioned the New York Legislature for permis_sion to build
a drainage canal which was expected to drain 1,700 acres of land in the
.
30
southern portion of the community.
Small amounts were expended annually by
he municipality during these yea.rs on profiles and reports on canal.a. It
was not until 1867, however, that a commission was established th the author
ity to proceed with the dredging of the Gowanus Canal for shipping.31
The solutions to the problems of providing effective fire control, street
sanitation, sewage disposal and drainage were all predicated upon the assump
tion that Brooklyn had an adequate water supply. Unfortunately, this was not
the case.
Despite the fact that many plans were proposed, during the period
-130-
In 1835, Mayor Jonathan Trotter advanced the idea that perhaps Brooklyn
2
might arrange with New York City to share the water from the Groton Ri.ver.3
The suggestion was dropped for a decade.
conununity confronted with the immediate problem of securing "pure and whole
some" water.
City to provide Brooklyn with Croton water by laying pipes under the East
River. The water was to be stored in a reservoir on Brooklyn Heights and then
distributed from that location. The Eagle was of the opinion that this plan
would prove impractical over a long span of years, inasmuch as.it appeared that
Brooklyn was destined to be a large and populous city in its own right.
33
Ac
cording to the Eagle, the Croton could not adequately supply two growing
communities such as would exist in 1900.
onism between the two cities, when it asserted, "we do not like the idea of
receiving this element through the grace of New York The best course is,
to have no more to do with her, in a corporate capacity, than is absolutely
necessary. 1134
In May, 1845, Mayor Thomas G. Talmage sought to bring the water problem
34. Ibid.
-131and warned the councilmen that an adequate water supply was absolutely neces
construct more public cisterns. The Council acted by appointing a new water
committee.
might be found ort Long Island itself. "We need not build a massive stone
acqueduct l.!ic 7 for the present," it counselled; "but use iron pipes--leaving
the ultimate nature and extent of the permanent structure to be determind in
I+' ,..7.future."
'-"h!,
36
Reactions to New York City's great fire of July, 1845, lent support to
the movement for a more adequate water system.
York caused a great deal of c'oncern in.Brooklyn because the water supply in
the public:cisterns was at a dangerously low point. In order to protect
0
At a public meeting
held in June ., 1845, a resolution was adopted requesting the officials "to take
immediate measures to secure a suff'icient spply of water. 1137 Fortunately .,
Brooklyn did not suffer from any great conflagration that summer.
"
In
, ,
ization ., discussed various means of.securing water, such as digging wells and
excavating for springs. These schemes were labeled as i.practical by the
38
In order to secure some action, the Eagle joined its political rival .,
Eagle.
the Advertiser, in urging the Council to find a substitute for the outmoded
systei'il of wells "in which is constantly being concentrated the essence of the
conglomerated filth of a dense and increasing population. n39
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
., May 5, 1845.
Ibid., June 10, 1845.
Ibid., June 24., 1845.
Ibid., Sept. s, 1845.
1'6ia.; March 24, 1846.
410
-133a tract of lowland near the corner of Flushing and Tompkins avenues.. This
scheme was soon forgotten. Then, William Burdon, an iron works proprietor,
advanced a plan whereby he would tap the streams on the south side of Long
Island within ten miles of the city.
each capable of yielding 8,000 gallons per minue, which for nine months in
the year could furnish three times that amount. _The Eagle reported th.at
"Mr. B's plan is to dig a basin containing 100,000,000 gallons at the ter
mination of the Jamaica st[1.7eam, build an engine house, put up a condensing
engine of 100 horsepower with pumps to give the water a sufficient elevation."
He further claimed that he could supply seven wards with irater within two
'.
years.45 The water eommitee of the Common Council seemed to be impressed,
for the members journeyed north of Jamaica to study the streams. They were
satisfied that the streams would furnish a sufficient quantity of water,but,
at the saJ)'J.e time, they were concerned over the costsinvolved i constructing
6
an aqueduct some fifteen or wenty miles in length. 4
I
The Eagle commented that a water supply sufficient only for fire fighting
commissioners and the authorization for Brooklyn to issue bonds n the amount
or $150,000 for the purpose of. creating a water supply adequate for fighting
fires.49 The Legislature did enact such a measure, but the Common Council
never appointed the three water cimdssioners.
.
The situation still remained unchanged more than a year later. In June,
151, a resident of Brooklyn posted.the following hwnorous riotice t the pump
Great ExcitementlJl
Fun Expected!! 1
Pumt
47.
48.
49.
50.
-135belo-w twenty other places, otherwise evecy way inferior to us. Reader,
have you ever thought what this pump. stuff real is?" He then proceeded
.
filtered into
the
its
way to
the neighborhood of pwnp-water, and:into pump-water. 1152 This was the deadly
concoction which was "daily ancl hourly taken into our stomachs, our veins,
our blood." Whitman hoped that someday Brooklyn would have "an abundant,
supply of clean, sweet, soft, wholesome water1 0 it is not only anted for
drinking, but for bathing, washing, cooking, sprinkling and cleaning streets
It is wanted to save this half-wooden city from_ruinous.conflagrations."53
. .
to ascertain the possible sources of wter upon which the city could draw.
Throughout the early part ofDeoember, the citizenry awaited their report.
The :!:!!:surmised that the engineers would concern themselves with the possibil
ity of obtaining water from four sres on Long Island.
54
55
He proposed to collect a
number of streams:o.r water which discharged into Jamaica and Hempstead Bays,
51.
Holloway, I,
54.
55.
52. Ibid.
53. Toici.
254-55.
-136on the south shore of Long Island, and to convey them by a conduit to the
rear of the high lands east of and nearest to the central part of the city.56
The watr_would then ?e.elevated by "mechanical power into a large reservoir
situated on the highest grqund east of the oity ., " and distributed "from thence
by ir-on pipes in the usual manner."$? He delared that his scheme was bsed
on supplying the water needs of a future population-f 250,000. This would
mean that at least ten million gallons of water would be rquired per day.58
59 The seoond
He estimated that the - entire proj_ect wld cost $3,500., 000.
.
.
.
.
60 The alder
engineer,_ John B. Jervis, substantially reported the s. e plan
..
'
men who comprised the water committee endorsed the engineers findings.
In June, 1852, Alderman Charles Ma.;rv in stated that $4,28 had been ex
.. .
. .
for
the erection
of
reservoir .,62
that McAlpine's was the only feasible plan and that he personally endorsed it e
He
estimated that the cost or building 'a water supply system'would approxilllate
$23 per capita, whereas New York , a.11.d Boston expended $43 and $55 per -oapita.63
51. Ibid.
58. .I.bid., PP J.4-17.
59. Ibid., pp. 17-20.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
Ibid., PP 23-4.
Stir, June 9, 1852.
Comiiion Council , Secret Sessions, Oct. 25, 1852.
Jan. 5, 1853.
-137-
----
was reported
in
the New York Times that a water company organized in Wil
..
liamsburgh had purchased several ponds and streams which Brookyn had ex65
pected to tap.
The soon claimed that the Williamsburgh Water Works
The conflag
ration caused damage estima:ted a.t 50,000. The water supply from the nearest
well proved insufficient and water had to be pumped: from the East River, a
6
distance of five blocks. 7
.
.
them to purchase sources of ater. On May
10, 1853,
the,Common Council
.
land.69 On the following day, it was announced that four streams had been
procured at a . cost of $57,000.
bought later that month.
71
70
Water on73 According to the provisions of the Act, the electorate was to
69. Tbid ..
(!;
+.v
l'lf'
'R.,.,.,,..1r, m, r;;_..,.
Asa means of
obtaining funds for the proposed water works, the city was authorized to
isue an unlimited amount of bonds bearing 6 per cent interest.
75
were insufficient because some of the streams tended to become dry beds in
the summer; a high tax rate would be necessary in order to pay for the con
struction; and the water was unfit.for culinary purposes 77
0
When the matter finally came before the electorate ., _the water bill ..was
overwhelmingly defeated.
were cast against the measure. Only in the Sixth Ward was there_a definite
majority in favor of the plan. Every other ward voteq resoundingly in the
negative.78 Thereupon the Colnlnon Council sought to alter the bill so as to
correct the shortcomings of the defeated measure.
74.
Ibid.
75. Ibid
. 76.
star,
July 2, 1853.
However, in the referendum held on June 1, the same fate awaited the
water bill as on the previous occasion. Few voters took the trouble to
cast ballots and of thoe who did, most were antagonistic to the proposar.
81
83
Water Woks Company recently had reorganized as the Long Island Water"Works
Company and had bought the ponds and streams best suited for water supply
purposes.
Because many still believed in t.he well system, Johns. Stoddard, City
sible to procure sufficient water fran a single well, and that at least twenty
wells .would be required.
against the
possibility that this source might run dry after eight or nine
.
.
years.
He concluded that the well system was nexpensive and complicated, and
84
This group
So. New York State, Laws, Seventy.seventh Session (Albany, 1854), p._361.
81. Star, June 2, 18
82. Ibid., May 27, 1854.
83. i"bid.
84. Common Council, Documents Submitted
!?z. Water
proposed to collect all the water that drained from the hills of Long
Island into a deep trench. This water would then be pumped into reservoirs
to await distribution.
of _which the associaion would subscribe to $3,000,000 and the Common Council
would assume the balance. The municiplity could only appoint one-fourth of
the board of directors, the corporation would be allowed to charge $35 for
each fireplug, the public was; to be charged according to the rate prevailing
in New York City as of 1842 and finally, the corporation would be tax ex
8
empt until a 7 percent annual return on the investmet was made. ' The plan
was not accepted.
Mayor George Hall, upon assuming office for the secO!!!;l time,_urged the
formation of an entirely independent water commission. Brooklyn, he stressed,
86 His words elicited no response
needed an.adequate water supply
.
. quick o
..
from the Council. It was not until a decade later that the municipality
.
'
'
finally tapped the streams on Long Island for its water supply.
Procrastin
Chapter VII
The need for an adequate street system in an urban area is well re
cognized A rapidly expanding community such as Brooklyn in the period
1834 to 1855 could ill afford to allow its street system to develop hap
hazardly. With the growth of the co:mmunitlS population was moving into
sections which had hitherto been devoted to agriculture.
If these newly
preparing a city map. This group had completed its task by December, 1835.
Fram the beginning, the work of the committee was met by antagonism on the
-J.42-
undertaking, tne committee and the city plan quietly entered the realm of
oblivion.
The Council, during the years 1834 to 1855, passed a number of ordinances
designed to provide general rules of procedure concerning streets already in
existence. An ordinance of July 1, 1835, defined the width of sidewalks,
using as a criterion the width of the streets. Sidewalks were to range in
width from ten to twenty feet; streets, f'rom forty to one hundred f'eet. 3
Curbstones were to be three and one-half feet long, three inches thick, sixt.een inches wide and composed of the best gratd.te.
the widths of streets and sidewalks not particularly mentioned n the ordin
ances.
should be four feet wide with sidewalks ten feet in width. 4 An additional
-143ordinance of July 13, 1840, dealt with the care of sidewalks by property
owners.
their property.
necessary work completed and charged the owners for the costs involved05
walk a few feet upon dry and comfortable flagging, and then, as if to make
the contrast more striking, plunge. ankle-deep in mud'l11 6 Pity the poor
ladies "picking and searching their way along, in the futile attempt to pre
serve dey feet--now perching themselves upon a heap of cabbage stalks and
springing thence upon the stones and bricks deposited by truant schoolboys;
and now, becoming desperate, 1 sposhing 1 trough the thickest of it, to the
utter ruin of their hose and morrocco aic]. n7 Unfortunately, this situation
remained to plague the women for years to come.
After 1843 1 inspectors of pavements who were appointed by the Council
were responsible for the condition of the streets and pavements. It was
their duty to ir.sp.ect all curbs, gutters ., crosswalks and pavements while in
the process of construction. They received remuneration according to tbe
Until May, 1843, the fee was two
cents per yard, and afterwards it was a penny done-half a yard.8 Needless
5.
7. 1'61
a. Brooklyn Ordinances, 1850; pp. 114-15.
..141,...
expense sometimes resulted from poor supervision over the street projects by
the city inspectors. Fulton Street, as originally laid out, was to be sixty
six feet wide. Over the years, merchants had continually encroached on the
thoroughfare's width by building beyond the legal limit .After the disas
trous fire of 1848, it was discovered that Fulton Street was then onl;y
In order to restore Fulton Street to its original dimension,
the municipality had t6 repurchase land it once had possessed.9
In
1844, Brooklyn, like several other Amen.can cities, experimented with wood,
but apparently without satisfactory results.
compelled to return to the old fashioned paving stones," the Eagle reported,
"and in Philadelphia the same reformation backwards is now going on. Our
own city was compelled to retrace her steps in the matter quite reent1y.11
The Street Committee of the Common Council had the responsibility of
was appointed by the Council until 1850 and who was under the supervision of
the Committee, handled the necessary details of obtaining estima.tes and main
taining records of street construction. The Committee also supervised the
activities of the inspectors of pavements. The composition of this body
annually changed for after each municipal election, the mayor would name
ive aldermen to serve on this committee. The constant rotation of its
members hampered the creation 0 a set policy in regard to street projects
by the Street Committee.
The city had to face the problem of paying for the opening of new
streets and the repairing of older ones. Following a procedure adopted in
its village period, Brooklyn assessed those owning property abutting the
projected thoroughfare. The opening of a street required the consent of
a majority of the interested property holders. In 1835, for example,
Brooklyn desired to purchase the Wallabout Bridge and Road from its private
owners in order to allow free access to and from portions of Long Island.
The community could not acquire this property until a majority of those vho
were to be assessed agreed to petition the Council to proceed. Only neces
sity compelled a sufficient number of taxpayers to agree that the munici
pality should make the purchase.13
Other difficulties arose over the question of equitable assessments.
The problem came to the fore in 1839 when it was proposed to open Fulton
Street from the site of the future City Hall to the city line, a distance
of five miles
land along the way differed greatly in value. Near the heart of the com
munity, land sold for $2,000 to $3,000 per lot, while at the city line, land
could be purchased for $20 to $25 a lot.
entire length of the street were to be opened, the project should be under
-146-
The regrading of streets also caused concern among the local taxpayers 0
When a street needed to be repaired, a general assessment would be declared
upon the entire cityo However, when it became necessary to regrade a street
Property owners asserted that
oftentimes they would have to pay for an "'improvement' which nearly ruins
their property, and benefits no one but the public who travel the streets,
and who are not ctarged one cent therefor 0
such policies led to litigation.
11
in the period 1834 to 1847. Of this sum, $94,256 was spent for legal
fees
16
for opening streets averaged $7,250.
No estimate was attempted for the
alone.
The
committee hald that the Common Council should continue to maintain its author
ity over the opening, grading and paving of streets c3:nd parks. In the matter
_
of street openings, however, the committee recommended that the municipa1
legislature be required to fulfill certain prerequisites.
was to advertise in at least two newspapers for thirty days before conducting
hearings.
work was to be undertaken unless provided for in the annual budget except in
case of fire, flood or other natural calamities
18500
Street grading, paving and repairing contracts were let out by the
municipality
to private
briberyand even corruption often prevailed. The Eagle charged,- in 1848, that
Paci.fie St,reet to the firm of Roberts and Bradshaw as a reward for their
1
labors during the last municipal electiono 9 -The Whig newspaper, the
Star, reported that two men had entered bids:, Roberts at $4 .59 per .foot and
McNamara at $3.67 per foot.
offer.ed
Roberts
had been
if the laiterwould do the work for $3.40 per foot. This would have given
Roberts a profit of $6,000 for a job he had not even begun. McNamara then
20
Council agreed to award the contract to William Gascoyne at $2.27 per foot
on condition that both Gascoyne and the city each pay Roberts $750 to re
linquish.his claim. The Eagle t s ink practically turned purple w.i.th rage
18. Ibid.
19.. Eagle, May 3, 1848.
20. Star, May 18, 1848.
22
to handle such matters with the utmost discretion. Difficuities often sprang
from the practice of awarding the contract to the lowest bidder irrespective
of bis qualifications and experience. "The idea evidently is," remarked the
23
Star., "that the cheaper the work can be done the better it is for the city."
'
sible contractors did not bother to enter bids because they knew that unethical
men would ofter much lower bids. The result was that the work lasted only for
24
a short time and then had to be done over.
Oftentimes, irresponsible contractors did not bother to adhere to the
letter of their contracts in rgard to material or date of completion e
If
the contractor's plea for leniency. The guessed that of all the contracts
awarded by the city "not one in ten of the number are ever carried out to the
-149letter. n25
Streets opened
this period totalled 133,27 feet, with 192,682 feet being graded and
paved. 27 For this work, Brooklyn sper1t' $318_,000 for street openings and
in
the authorities decided to allow steam engines to enter the city if their
28
This arrangement appeared to be
speed was confined to six miles per hour.
satisfactory until accidents occurred in 1839 in which two youths were killed.
26. Ibid.
in the
27. Street Commissioner, ReSort to the Common-Council on Improvements o:f Brooklyn from l Si tol'S
(Brooklyn,
i855T;
Po
4.,
28. gity ,Aprli 21, 1'83o.' -
-150-
The matter was then brought before the Common Council for renewed consid-.
eration.29 The aldermen determined to place more restrictions on the use
of steam locomotives in the center of the community.
again limited to six miles an hour and it was further stipulated that the
use of locomotives would be prohibited between the hours of sunset and sun
rise.
to take up
any
The train had to sound a warning when it approached a crosing and ring a
bell when traveling between Clinton and Atlantic avenues.31
and appended to their report a model ordinance authorizing the wok. 33 Pub
lic hearings on this subject were begun in March, 1844.
34 The
rgument
presented against this project was that citizens living at th ends .of the
tunnel would be forced to use a circuitous I:OUte in order to cross the avenue.
Counsel for the Railroad admitted this point, but he asserted that the benefits derived from a.. turu1el far cutweighsd the r..inor discOiill'orts.
Fu.rlhermore,
the Company had the right to build a tunnel on land it already owned. 3'
After considerable discussion, the Council approved the project with the
-151stipulation that the Long Island Railroad must restore the appearance of the
streets as they were before the construction commenced.36 The official decree
3
authorizing the plan was dated March 29, 1844. 7 The Company posted a bond
40
That body could license and regulate hackney coaches, carriages and stage
coaches.41 In relation to the hackney coachs, the Counci through the
Police Committee licensed both driyers and vehicles, and established hack
stands through.out the city. With the introduction of horsecars: in 1854,
they too came within the jurisdiction of the Council.
In 1853, a long de
service decided to grant the franchises to those firms which already operated
omnibus lines in the city. The compnies received attractive terms from the
-152In this instance the Council had acted in the best interest of the
community, but the same cannot be said for its actions concerning the street
plan.
the city authorities allowed the work of the State-appointed Street Committee
to come to nothing.
Also in this period, laxity on the part of the appointed officials led to
slipshod street construction by the ccmtractors.
i835. The idea for its inception came in this manner. In February of that
year, a group of real estate owners in the Wallabout area petitioned the
Counc.il for permission to fill in the lowlying regions contiguous to their
property.
c.
in the Wallabout area, the Council began to discuss plans concerning the
acquisition of the land in question, the filling in of the Wallabout low
lands and the preparation of the site as a park. The Council appoined a
-153committee of three consisting of Sackett and two other members to study and
report on this matter e
project was
serve as a
City Park comprised an area of seven acres bounded by Park and Flushing
avenues and Navy and Park streets in the Seventh Ward.
with creeks and marshlands. In 1841 ., it was described as a "low and wet
piece of ground," which "has been repeatedly declared a public nuisance, and
is offensive to all the neighborhood. 1146: As originally laid out, the park
It developed .,
however, that these streets had temporary rather than permanent grades. The
park was brought up to the surrounding temporary level with work ceasing at
that point.
additional three feet of earth was required in order to bring the park up to
the_ surrounding level.
. the commUPity.
In 1843,
43. Ibid.,
44. Ibid.,
45. Ibid.,
.
49
earth obtained from the elevation lmown as Fort Greene.
Mayor Sprague
To begin with, he thought the City Park needed more land fill
than .could be readily obtained from Fort Greene. Moreover, he doubted that
the work could be completed at a cost of $6,394, which was to be derived from
the sale of city owned property.
actions would yield a sum sufficient to cover expenses. Lastly, he was aware
that residents of the agricultural Eighth and Ninth wards were opposed to a
park, believing that only the well populated areas of the city would receive
0
benefits from such improvements.5 After a prolonged debate, Spragues
arguments were disregarded, and the original report was readopted. 5
1 The
process of removing land fill from Fort Greene and transporting it to the
City Park was then begun. This undertaking was still not completed four years
later.
52
urged to purchase the property in question before the entire section was built
-155upon and lost to the citizenry as a park area. 53 No action was taken to secure
this property throughout the 1B30's.
In
petition was sent to the Common Council by voters who requested the purchase
of land for a park.
"a glorious pro,ject ..-it will do more for Brooklyn than any other measure of
public improvement ever devised.11 54
In
repont estate was available for purchase led to renewed agitation for a park on
the Heights.
circulation of another petition was started. This proposed that the city pur
chase and lay out the plot known as the Pierrepont estate as a park or square. 55
Henry E. Pierrepont, writing to Henry Stiles in 1863, recalled that his
father, being a civic minded person, had approached the municipality on the pos
sibility that it might desire a strip of land along the waterfront for use as
a public promenade. He owned one-quarter of the total property and he expected
that he could induce the other property holders to sell a portion of their lands
to the municipality.
not to purchase the property. 56 Actually, it was not unt11a century later
that Brookl3 obtained a park on the Heights.
an important
His
54.
55.
56.
s.
to Henry Stiles,
-156the Eagle asserted, because it would provide a recreational site for workers
Alderman Jesse Smith reported in July, 1846, that the proposed area
The remainder,
$84,000.
58 The Common Council agreed to acquire the land if the State Legis-
A major problem still before the municipal authorities was the question
of how to determine equitably the amount of extra taxes to be borne by.the
property owners of Brooklyn in order to purchase and prepare the site as a
park. Realizing the necessity for some action on this matter, a public
meeting was called early in January, 1847, to discuss the situation. Out
of the meeting there emerged a conunittee whose mandate was to seek an im
partial solution. This body was composed of many distinguished Brooklynites,
c.
such as Henry
Square."
rived by the property owners whose lands abutted the park. These benefits
Court of the City of New York to appoint three persons to assess the property
to be acquired.
Common Council concerning the manner of acquiring the funds for the purchase
of the land.
the park, others that the costs should be met only by the owners of adjoining
property.
Those who opposed the park because of the fear that the 9ity would re
sort to a general assessment gathered at a meeting in January, 1848. They
contended that even though they were generally in favor of the project, they
could not support the plan whereby all the taxpayers in the first seven wards
would be assessed, rather than only those who would immediately benefit from
and contrary to the charter of the city, and ought to be resisted by al.l
64
legal and constitutional measures."
The friends of the park, who came from
all areas of the city, then held a meeting of their own.
Resolutions were
adoted supporting the concept of a general tax on the seven wards and con
upon by the municipality to enact a new measure in March, 1848, which stip
ulated that all nine wards were to be assessed rather than only the first
seven. Moreover, the city was permitted to issue long-term interest bearing
64.
Eagle, Jan.
5,
l'S'rar.
-158bonds to meet park costs. Finally, those who.had been assessed for the
the area . Before a year had elapsed, the 33-acre park began to be regarded
Thus by 1855, Washington and City Park were available to the residents
They were not large, but they helped to fulfill some of the
of Brooklyn.
Chapter VIlI
Several factors, resulting from local and national conditions, posed
financial difficulties for Brooklyn during the period 1834 to 1854.
On
the municipal level, the rapid growth in population and the expansion 0
residential areas called for increased city expenditures.
ulation preceding the financial crisis, Brooklyn; like so many other communities,
indulged in grandiose building schemes.
the exuberance of the age into commencing the constructon of a City Hall of
great magnitude.
The
economic collapse following the Panic caused difficulties for the city govern
ment in view of its real estate speculations and the many contracts it had
entered into on behalf of the aborted City Hall.
-160When Brooklyn was finally able to emerge from the economic morass it
saddled itself with other huge debts in its second attempt at constructing
a municipal building.
,1
taxation;,
.,
By consulting
Table VI, it can be seen that the inflated valuation qf $32,000,000 for 1836,
the last peak year before the Panic of 1837, was not again equalled until
1851, when real estate values, :in Brooklyn were estimated at $40,2421 000.
Table VI also draws attention to the fact that real estate valuations re.
'
mained fairly constant in the years 1839 to 1844. From 1844 to 1854, there
was a continuous trend.in the direction of increased estimates.
While real estate valuations were reflecting the economic conditions
prevalent in the city and in the nation, there was an increasing need of
funds for city services.
eventually a modernized police force, more and improved street lamps, public
cisterns, an adequate water supply, added compensation for the city officials
and more and better equipped fire houses.2 These services had to be provided
1.
2.
See
The
.$411,044.
By
Taxation did not fall equally upon all the residents of Brooklyn.
The expenses connected with maintaining the fire department, lamp lighting,
street cleaning and providing watchmen devolved only upon the first seven
wards.
All the wards were taxed for expenditures relating to general purposes, that
is, for the maintenance of a court of special sessions and for the Sinking
Fund.
held in reserve a stipulated amount received from taxes for the purpose of
defraying a portion of the community's debts of former years.4
If the property owners of Brooklyn had been liable only for the annual
municipal requirements, they would have been satisfied, but there were many
other governmental obligations for which they were also assessed. 5 New York
State levied a tax on Brooklyn property. In 1834, this tax en real property
.
6
amounted to one mill on the dollar. The Kings County also imposed a tax
on property in order to provide for community services such as a hospital
and an institution for the insane.
Brooklyn took pride in the fact that despite the rising cost of city
3. Star, Aug.
S, 1853.
5.
-162services, the tax rate was kept below that of New York City.
The Eagle
estimated that, for the year 1843, Brooklyn residents would pay six dollars
on each $1,000 assessment, whereas New York City residents would pay eight
7
dollars.
In November, 1845, the New York Journal
debts of Brooklyn.
.2f
approaching that of New York and that in time it would probably climb even
higher.
The Eagle answered this article by advising its readers that the
The improved
services would in the long run be conducive to making Brooklyn a better place
8
in which to live.
necessary work would not be delayed and since the city could follow the old
adage "a stiwh in time, 11 the strets would be kept in repair at less cost.
The correspondent asserted that people desired one annual tax levy in lieu of
separate 1otices for each improvem.ent.9 Murphy's proposition was not accepted;
-163-
Res
idents of the Eighth and Ninth wards, which were known throughout the period
of 1834 to 1855 as the agricultural wards because of the number of farms in
the area, complained in the 1840 1 s that they had been inequitably taxed.
They objected to being assessed in order to redeem bonds issued to cover the
expenses of street projects beneficial only to the non-agricultural wards.
The matter was placed in the hands of a committee of the Common Council in
1843, but no decision was reached until another committee, organized in 1844,
settled the affair.
In April,
dispute.
Special assessments proved to be a sufficient method for obtaining funds
for local improvements.
The redemption
dates for many issues of stock, however, carried over into the years after
1834. In the period following 1834, bonds were the only indebtedness incurred
ty the municipality.
,-,&.
of the bonds, Brooklyn also had to set aside a sufficient amount to cover the
However,
once one bond issue began to mourit upon another, the annual interest payments
became a great burden upon the city.
it necessary to float short term loans.from local banks and investment con
cerns.
The municipal authorities paid from four to six per cent interest on
these loans.13 Thus, Brooklyn, according to the proverb ., was "borrowing from
Peter to pay Paul."
in 1838, in connection with which $5,000 was annually set aside for the pur
hase of outstanding city bonds.
pality, the annual interest payments on these issues would be returned to the
city's reasury.
A major undertaking, which helped create the necessity for more and more
bond issues, was the project to construct a city hall. As early as July, 1834,
the "city fathers" had resolved to raise $50,000 for the purchase of land upon
the junction of Fulton, Court and Joralemon streets.15 .At a secret session
c.
Pollard and
G. Joh..son, were awarded $300 for their plans for a city hall.
12.
A second prize
-16516
or. $200 went to Gamaliel King.
In December of the same year, the Com
mittee on Public Lands of the Common Council reported that they had
received two estimates, one of $465,000 and the other, $480,000, for a
finished building.
Since the construction was to take some time, the authorities needed al
The city then purchased the Apprentices' Library Building, added a struc
ture on the rear and renamed it te City Buildings.19
The financial crisis of 1837 necessitated a change in Brooklyn's
plans.
On
to the effect that as an econ9my measure all work on the building cease
20
- t. e ly.
The Council, meeting in secret session in June, agreed to
J.rnmecu.a
suspend all operations.
21
Later
Smith concerning the city 1 s abrogatiqn of a contract for marble.
cluded
in
The city and the firm of 1a.sterson and Sm:i th, however, did not agree
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
reported that it was their opinion that the firm should be paid $17,445,
plus $699 in interest.24 The oard was not overly enthusiastic about
this plan. At.'a secret session in January, 1839, the aldermen decided to
offer the firm $5,750, reresenting 50 per cent of the value of the rough
marble which the company would be allowed to retain in its own possession. 25
The Council was notified in March, 1839, that the firm had not as yet
assented to
aif'J
The correspondent
argued that the .construction costs had already reached $179,000 and that at
least another $35,000 would be needed oefore the project would be completed.
28
The issue was not decided at the time, since the Board -put all plans aside
for two years.
In October, 1841, the aldermen, meeting in secret session, agreed to
revive the idea of building a small City Hall and decided to ask arcbitects
29
to submit sketches for such a structure.
At the same session, a Select
Committee was appointed to consider and report on this matter.
The Committee
completed its task in January, 1842 and the results were printed in pamphlet .
-167form.
would provide adequate office and storage space as well as rooms for the
courts .Another factor which could not be overlooked was the actual and
potential increase in BrooklYI?,'s population.
City Hall enhance the prestige of the city in the eyesof its own inhabi
tants, but it would also act as a lure to prospective residents from New
York City.
The new plans called for a structure of white marble, 150 feet in
sufficient to complete the task, since they proposed using the materials
abandoned in the first attempt at building such a structure.
Furthermore,
been appropriated for the erection of a municipal building. The least the
authorities could now do, according to the Committee, would be to apply the
proceeds of the sale to the cost of the new edifice.30
On
September 13, 1842, the Board of Aldermen agreed that the gity could
31
The subject apparently lay dormant for a period of nine months until
the claims of Masterson and Smith against the municipality again became
critical.
30. Select Committee on City Hall, Report (Brooklyn, 1842), unnumbered pages.
31. Aldermen, Secret Sessions, Sept. 13, 1842.
-168-
resolve their unsettled claim. In June of 1843, Circuit Court Judge Kent
ruled that Brooklyn had broken the contract and that the plaintiffs could
collect damages sufficient to cover the losses sustained. He adjudged that
the municipality had to pay the firm a sum of d?72,999.
32
that although the verdict must be considered in sir.let conformity with the law,
it did no approach "within a hundred miles of justice. 1133
. demolish the remaining foundation; roof over the foundation and convert it
into a city barracks; or remove the entire foundation and then commence
building anew.
34
matter o your
superior wisdom."
At a secret Board session in November,
.
.
1844, it was decided to ask Gamaliel King and Henry Armstead to submit plans
for a new City Hal1.35 Shortly. thereafter, the aldermen limited the cost of
the construction to $100,000 and accepted the design proposed by Gamaliel
6
King.3 In March, the Eagle reported that the city had attempted to obtain
funds for construction by the sale of municipal property. However, according
to the editor, vecy little money had been raised, and now the councilmen
did not know how to proceed. He advocated extreme caution in future actions
concerning the building in view 0 the costly consequences of the earlier
attempt. He urged the use of the present City Buildings for at least
In May., 1845, the newly elected mayor, Thomas Talmage, informed the
Board that in his opinion the claim of Masterson and Smith could be settled
for a nominal sum if they were granted the marble contract for the new City
8
Hali.3 on the following.day the ,Eagle gave its editorial support t? the
plari o the Democratic Mayor.
and Smith claim could be settled by giving the firm a contract, then the
Mayor had its heartiest s upport. 39 Meanwhile, in the latter part of May,
the State Legislature authorized a $50,000 bond issue for the "discharge
of e:xist:;i.ng lia.bilities II against the_ city a."ld for the "erection of a City
0
'Han. 114 In September of the same year, the aldermen allocated $150,000
In November, the Eagle revealed why the Board had begun to consider
-plans and estimates during the preceding months.
Smith versus the City of Brooklyn" was scheduled to be heard on November 12,
and the authorities were evidently endeavoring to prepare new contracts in an
2
ef'.fort to forestall further litigation.4
The Special Committee on the City
Hall reported a short time later that contracts had been signed with several
firms.
$91,240, .plus a payment of $8,760 for the relinquishment of their old cla.iln.
Other contracts amounting to $46,445 were made for masonry, carpentry and
iron work.43
Mayor Talmage, upon retiring from off;ice in May, 1846, held the settle-
39. Ibid.
40. Ibid., May 23, 1845.
41. Comiiion
42. Eagle,
43. ,
-170ment of the Masterson and Smith clai.rn to be one of the primary achievements of
his service as mayor.
be only twice the sum which the municipality would ha11e had to pay the company
Now Brooklyn would have
its City Hall and the marble contractors were placated,.as well o JJi Four days
later, the State Legislature authorized a bond issue of $100,000 to.cover
part of the costs of construction.
Walt Whitman, writing in the Eagle in January, 1847, remarked that the
46
The
Brooklyn City Register of 1848 estimated that the cost of the new edifice
would be $200 7 000 and that the building would be completed that year. 47
The City Hall was finally finished in 1849, during the administration
of Mayor F. B. Stryker.
Westchester County marble and the front portico was supported by six Ionic
columns.
land; $8,760 the sum paid Masterson and Smith to relinquish their claim;
45. New York State, Laws, Sixty-ninth Session (Albany, 1846) ., p. 180.
46. Eagle, Jan. 18, I8li7.
47. Cornwell, Brooklyn City Register, pp. 71-2.
a municipal building was essential both for the facilities it would provide
and for prestige.
investment.
48.
Chapter IX
Given the proximity of Brooklyn to New York City it is not surprising
that among the problems of the municipality between 1834 and 1854 were some
that arose out of tension between the two cities. Perhaps because of the
greater size of its neighbor to the westward, pre-Civil War Brooklyn suf
fered from an inferiority complex. Every scheme developed by New York
City which might affect Brooklyn was regarded with apprehensiveness, and
in many instances these suspicions were warranted. Brooklyn particularly
considered itself subservient to New York in regard to ferry and water
rights. Both these problems wel:'e interconnected, since they rested on the
fundamental question of who controlled the water rights and ferries on the
East River
.According to Isabella Bishop 1 an Englishwoman who visited New York in
1854, transport by ferry gave Brooklyn the same relationship to New York
City as did the suburbs of Lambeth and Southwark to London. Many merchants
of New York, she reported, resided in Brooklyn and commuted by means of
ferries. She called them nFloting platforms, moved by; steam, with space
in the middle part for twelve or fourteen carriages, and luxurious covered
-173apartments, heated with steam-pipes on either side ., " which plied "to and
fro every five minutes at the small charge of one halfpenny a passenger. n1
Legal authority over these so-called "floating platforms" or :ferries
had a long and involved history. New York City contended that on the basis
of the Cornbury and Donga.n charters it had the prerogative to license and
establish ferries across the East River. New Yorkers further claimed that
these charters gave them exclusive authority over the River to low water
mark on the Brooklyn side. Using this power, New York in 1814, granted
Robert Fulton and William Cutting a twenty-five year lease to operate.a
single ferry between New York and Brooklyn.
with th right to authorize and license ferries between the two cities. When
the bill establishing this Commission passed the lower house of the State
Legislature, the informed all Brooklynites that they should feel
"gratified" over this victory in the struggle of "New York versus Brooklyn.; 3
lo
2.
3.
-174The measure was on the verge of being accepted by the State Senate when
New York City dramatically announced that it would establish a South
Ferry.
This, of course, proyed to be the death knell for the bill advoca
At this point,
a group of Brooklyn citizens bought the entire stock of the Fulton company,
which was expected to yield a constant seven percent dividend. Unfortunately
the stock did.not live up to its expectations; for by 1839, not only had
dividend payments ceased, but the original investment had depreciated until
it was worth only sixty-eight cents on the dollar.4 Meanwhile, the lease
of the South.Ferry, organized in 1836, was about to expire.
The directors
of this enterprise hoped to unite with the Fulton Ferry under one management, as they, too, wre in finaucial difficulty. Many municipal officials
were found to be amenable to this plan of union.
Accordingly, resolutions
were introduced in the Brooklyn Common Council meeting of January 23, 1839,
to the effect that both companies should be reorganized as a single.unit .5
6
One alderman went so far as to advocate municipal management of the ferries.
New York City then granted the ferry companies permission to reorganize upon
their acceptance of a five-year contract and of payment to the city of an.annual
fee of $12,0007
of "tribute" to the larger city. The Str remarked, "Our duties and priv-
4.
5.
60 Ibid.
7. Ccmiiiiittee on Ferry and Water Rights, Report, pp.
4-12.
In 1842, the Eagle entered the fray. This newspaper reminded its
readers that they traveled to New York only on terms adopted and controlled
by New York. The rival city, the Eagle asserted, was using the ferries as
a means of enriching that municipality's coffers .,
days later the ardent Democrat, Aldrman Thomas Gerald, offered a resolution
following the type of law advocatd by the Eagle.
Contending
that the COI"?oration had realized a profit, the Eagle asked what had happened
to the improved facilities or reduced rates. Moreover, if New York City
could manage the ferries so that the trasury would be enriched then there
really would be no limit to their demands.
-176If New York had the authority to levy tribute from Brooklyn for its use of
the East River then, the Eagle continued, New York might just as well erect
toll gates on either the Bloomingdale Road or Third Avenue.12 The corpor
ation operating the ferries was, however, not interested in the Eagle's
theoretical suppositions; rather it was oncerned with the practical task
of remaining in operation. Therefore, j_t offered New York anannual fee
of $20,000 for the franchise.
Apparently this sum was not sufficient, in the opinion of- the New York
councilmen, and so on May 6, 1844, they decided to advertise for bids to.
operate the Brooklyn ferries The Eagle contended that the Long Island
city was now "entirely at the mercy of the mammoth city which.lies opposite
to us, the narrow views and selfish interests of whose up-town landholders
induce them to throw every obstacle which theycan in the way of our growtli. n13
It therefore urged the revival of the idea of establishing .an "Independent
Board of Commissioners" with the authority to license ferries.
This issue became the object of a great publi'c meeting, held on May B,
1844.
It asserted that the East River "ought to be and is, of right, as free to all,
as the air and light of heaven; and that as Ferries constitute the most con
venient mode of rendering it subservient to the public accommodation, every
To this end, a
The committee
consisted of John Greenwood, George Wood, William Harris, George Hall, Eban
Merriam, Jonathan Trotter, Alden Spooner, Henry E. Pierrepont,
Smith, Georges. Howland and Gabriel Furman.15
Cyrus Po
While they were in Albany, New York City officials were entertaining
several proposals for the ferry franchise.
not grant any monetary aid, but wished the committee the best of luck. 18
strategem had not succeeded, the city had changed its tactics so that the
15. /_Herrry Pierrepon,:!l, Remarks Report _2! the Committee of The Common
Council of Brooklyn
16. roid.
17. Eagle, May 11, 1844.
18. ., Dec. 10, 1844.
..
lBil};J)p. 3-23.
instead of the city of New York, violates no one of the Ten Commandments,
and is innocent in law and in morals; and is not, therefore, a crime which
the municipal authorities of the city of New York should be allowed to
21
visit with a fine and penalty. 11
East River.
Eagle offered its congratulations to all the residents of Long Island for
"the final over throw of that unjust.and utterly idefensible monopoly of
the ferries which the city of New York has so long exercised. 11
23
While the controversy was still going on the Brooklyn ferries were
being operated by the Union Ferry Company. Under the terms of a seven-year
lease, which it had obtained in 1844, the Company was to receive no more
than a seven-percent return on its investment with all surplus capital to
These stock
In an attempt
to gain recognition for their newly acquired lease, these men notified New
York City tht they were the only authorized group in the eyes of the Oom
nd.ssion.
applied for an injunction to halt the new lease from taking effect. Before
the case could reach the courts, however, the les.sees, Leroy and Pierrepont,
requested New York 9 renew the seven-year franchise of the Union Ferry
.
26
. their own names.
C ompany in
It was extremely important for Brooklynites to have the matter of the
the municipality would have
ferry charter settled as soon as possible for
.
'
-180bridges could never "span the North and East rivers, so as to connect Long
Island, the Jersey shore and Staten Island." Thus New York and Brooklyn
.
27
must "depend on good ferries."
Some New Yorkers opposed improving ferry connections because it might
induce people to move out of Manhattan.
deplored th talk of a new ferry to. Brooklyn fQr .the reason that this would
mean increased emigration to the suburban areas.
Ow'"ll
city
not let such sentiments win support in the State Legislature. Brooklyn "must
have the spirit of an equal, and not that of an abject petitioner and trib
On the eve of the expiration of the lease of the Brooklyn Union Ferry
Company, a group of citizens of Brooklyn petitioned the Common Council of
New York to pennit the establishment of a new ferry. equidistant between the
Fulton and South ferries.
care who received the franchise as long as the new ferry was authorized.O
In their opinion the interest of both communities would be served by the
additional ferry facility.
of New York, in great numbers, .and pay a g;reat amount of rent; a population
of nearly one hundred thousand people purchase all they1 eat., and drink and
wear, directly or indirectly, in the city of New York," t)ley wrote.
They also
urged New York to.realize that nthe resident families of the lower wards of
New York need this additional outlet to the country which will be especially
-181useful after the grading of Washington Park in Brooklyn which Park will
be about one mile from New York ., if the Ferry be esta.blished., 1131
the assertion that the Union Ferry Company was hampering the reali-
zation of the proposed new ferry line.between Wall and Mcntag-e streetso
He pointed out that, under the terms of the current lease, the Union Ferry
Company could not establish any new lines; it could only lend capital for
such facilities.
o.
Roberts,
from the Union Ferry .and from an investment group headed by Henry c. Murphy .,
E. J. Bartow, and Thomas G. Talmage.
had outbid the Union Ferry Company, the Company was granted a renewal of
its lease.33
4
Ferry Company and New York City in order to prevent delivery of the new lease.3
The case was tried in the state Supreme Court - Special Term in January,
1851.
The group recognized by the Ferry Commissioners argued that the Union
31. Ibid.
32. Ibid., Dec. 6, 1850.
33. ?He"9nry E. Pierreporg Remarks, PP 22-3e
34. e
-182-
New York: Cityt s power to grant charters when the Legislature pa.ssed the
New York City's right to issue a new lease to the Brooklyn Union Ferry Com
pany.36 Judge Seward Barculo, in his decision, held that the Act of 1845
was constitutional, but it did not effect any ferries already in existence.
He therefore removed the injunction and thereby aliowed New York City to
grant a renewal of the ferry franchise to the Brooklyn Union Ferry Company. 37
The consequence of this decision was to make the Act .of 1845 a nullity.
The
support for the idea was found in the Brooklyn. Common Council for that body
to agree to unertake the financial expenses involved in bringing the matter
this case, held that New York City ha a vested interest in the established
35.
36.
3i.
38.
39.
-183ferries.
His decision did not settle the matter one way or the other. 40
New York City then bowed to the inevitable and permitted the establishment
Thereupon,
on November 10, 1854, a new corporation was born,the Union Ferry Comp
of Brooklyn which operated all seven ferries running between New York and
Brooklyn. 4
Thus the long and complicated maneuveringsconcerning the ferry fran. chises were partia.lly resolved. Brooklyn had at last achieved a net.work
of ferries serving all parts of the community; New York City, however,still
retained the right to grant ferry leases. This authority, based on tne
Dongan and Cornbury charters, and not denied by the courts, kept Brooklyn
frustrated in its desire to achieve equal status in regard to control of
ferries on the East River.
cause of tension between Brooklyn and New York City was the question of
boundary limits and sovereignty over the East River.
boundary limits actually was the key to New York City's stand on the ferry
issue.
extended to the land hetween high and low water marks off Long Island, then
-184.
42
called Nassau Island.
If New York held fast to its claim of lands between
high and low water marks, then it would have unrestrained sovereignty over
the East River.
Brooklyn became aroused .over the issue whenever the ferry franchise was
about to be or ,just had been renewed.
Council appointed a committee to meet with a similar committee from New York
City for the nuroose of adjustig the water i;nes.43 NotP.ing came of thase
meetings.
River.44
Aldennan
River.45
The issue lay dormant for five years until 1847, when the Eagle again
issued a plea for action.
land between high and low water marks sprang from a misinterpretation of
that city_s early charters. According to the Eagle, Brooklyn had an exclusive
6
right to the land immediately offshore.4 A year later, Mayor F. B. Stryker
held that it was difficult to see any good reason why both cities might not
have concurrent jurisdiction over the river between the cities, but that if
this were deemed improper, jurisdiction , would be divided by the middle or
the river.4 7 Such a move wo12ld benefit not only Brooklyn, but also New York.
42.
'
-185one is in no small degree dependent upon the promotion of the other, and
it becomes the authorities of both cities to pursue such measures as will
Again the matter was dropped for a short time until the question of
ferries again came to the fore.
or water rights.
On
big and low water marks, that city was in a position to charge rents to
0
ovmers of Brooklyn property, or contiguous to it. 5 As Brooklyn grew in
size, this disputed land began to increase in value.because of its poen
tiality as sites for docks, wharves and piers.
of Brooklyn was obliged to pay New York City a large Sum for water rights
before it could begin its operations.
Therefore,
New York continued to receive quit rents for the water rights off the shore
of Brooklyn.
Aside from the issue involved in the ferry and water rights disputes,
a major source of irritation to Brooklyn was the repeated attempts on the
48.
Ibid.
alarr.ied over this scheme and hastily dispatched Mayor Joseph Sprague to
Albany to plead Brooklyn's case.'2 Sprague was able to report, a month
later, that his trip had been successful; the proposal was not reported
out of committee.53
A similar suggestion was made in 1846, with the same result.54 In 1850,
when the ferry question was before the public, New York revived its proposal
to tax residents of Brooklyn who worked in New York City . Unlike their
earlier behavior the Brooklyn newspapers reacted vigorously in 1850.
reason for this is not clear.
The
warned its readers that they must "awake" or they would find "the debts
.and taxes of New York City" added to their other burdens.'5 According to
the writer, the growth of Brooklyn had long been 11 a grievous thorn to the
wealthy landholders of New York; and they look on all who live here as traitors
and fugitives, whom they intend to reclaim, and tax to the uttermost u.56
they feared that New York City would tax goods sent from the hinterlands
for sale in the city or abroad.
f.ear by stipulating that all goods sent to factors and agents in New York
a series
Brooklyn had the exclusive right to tax the personal property of its res
idents and asserted that the residents of Brooklyn who did buiness in
New York paid their full share of real estate taxeson property in that
8 A writer in the Star contended that what New York sought was
city. 5
our forefathers to the fields 0 honor in the days of Seventy-Six: n59 For
tunately, a repetition of the events of 1776 did not come to pass, for the
57.
-188East River.
60
early as 183.5, the Common Covricil adopted a resolution calling for a study
"relative to the expediency and probabl expense of erecting one or more
bridges between the cities of Brooklyn and New York," and for collecting
"such general information as to plans and models" as might prove useful 61
0
The topic was again revived in 1837, when Roswell Graves, Jr. advanced a
plan for an iron suspension bridge which would cross Blackwell's Island
62
and reach a terminus in what is now Long Island City.
The project was pushed aside for over a decade until 1849, when the
Tribune aroused popular interest in a bridge.
that the existing ferries were not adequate to handle the crowds which crossed
daily beween the two cities.
The was
while the comfortable and well-warmed seats of the fine steam ferry boats
64
would be filled to over flowing."
60.
64. Ibid.
-189In November, 1849, the Tribune advanced a plan for a tunnel illuminated
by gas and carrying not_only telegraphic wires but water from the Croton
6
Aqueduct. The Star again answered that the ferries were cheaner. 5 Although
Brooklyn apparently did not think too much of these ideas at the time, New
York did.
w.
New Yorkers are extremely anxious to take us into their embrace. We are
old and strong enough to look out for ourselves, and so long as we can keep
well regulated and expeditious ferries we are satisfied. 11
66
Nothing was to
come of these schemes until the Brooklyn Bridge, completed in 1883, directly
linked the two communities.
Although they were not widely endorsd, some suggestions were made
during this period looking toward the union of New York and Brooklyn. During
the village years, the asserted, sentiments.were expressed by many or
the wealthy citizens for a union with New York. However, as soon as Brooklyn
6
became incorporated as a city, support for this notion waned. 7
Throughout this peiod, the remained antagonistic to any plan of
union with New York, whereas the Eagle on occasion advocated such a move.
According to the Eagle, such a consolidation with New York would solve the
.
problems relating to water and ferry rights
.
68
-19069
The Star responded by cautioning its readers that, although such a move might
bring Croton water to Brooklyn, the city ought not to lose its independence.
It wrote, "We lmow in half a century we shall possess the majority of inhabi
tants, that will live here at large instead of being cribbed, cabined and
confined on the island, and we can bide our time." 74 While the discussion
continued in the newspapers, a committee made up of aldermen from both Broeklyn
and New York was holding meetings to consider the question of consolidation.
The committee was organized following the suggestion of John A. Cross in the
State Senate to the effect that consolidation would be of benefit to both
communities. The Eagle asserted that many New Yorkers were beginning to be
Lieve that both cities were on the verge of un:i.ting, but the Eagle warned,
72. . Ibid.
73. Star, March 20, 1850.
740 Ibid., April. 11,- 1850.
-191.-
11
be
It,
however, urged Brooklyn to fight back; for it was eligible for recognition
as a city in its
01,m
right.
second in the state:," and there was no "assignable limit" to the increase in
.population.
editor, "that in a lapse of time not far distant, the greater amount of pop
ulation will occupy this side of the East River .,n7
According to the
Star, 11any union with New York [wasJ simply impossible, ar1y measures of
policy should proceed upon the ide a of independence.
things which will enhance our local importance, and render residence amongst
us attractive and desirable. 1179
His
Appendix
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-194 ..
Brooklyn, 183l
- qs f
1 4. '9
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-195Brooklyn, 1855
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-196Table I
Brooklyn
Wards
1835
1840
1845
1850
1855
1,523
2., 148
4 ., 622
6,062
6 ., 441
4,674
5., 447
6,903
9 ., 357
8 ., 383
2,764
3,834
5,936
8,749
8,900
5,724
6,827
8 ., 819
11,032
12,282
4,510
7,l.il5
13,682
16,352
2 ., 139
4,043
9 ., 419
10,651
11,536
18,l.i90
2,0 42
4,521
9,958
6,371
944
1,369
2,585
12,523
1,897
3$261
.4
5
487
666
1!' 054
5,318
q_,
':l':l
,,. ;-.,-
10
ll ., 782
21., 749
11
12,421
22,213
6,990
12
Total
24,529
36,233
59,574
96,838
148,774
1. State of New York ., Census .2! 1855 (Albany, 1857) ., -p. xxii.
2. The total for the amalgamated city was 205,250.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-197Table II
Wards
1835-1840
1840-184.5
1845-1850
41.0
11.5.o
31.l
16 .5
2 6.7
38.7
19.2
54.5
29.1
1850-18.55
6.2
35.5
- -11.6
24.8
11.3
44.o
1. 7
64.4
2 7.0
45o2
19.5
88.9
163.0
u8.o
7 2 .5
12 1.0
12 0.0
188.0
54.o
93.8
4.5 .o
88.o
106.0
58.2
70.4
71.8
180.0
47.7
6h04
62.,
53.6
6
72
Total Ciy
increase
1.
2.
3.
Table III
THE MAYORS OF BROOKLYN
Name of Mayor
-*
Terms
in Office
Party
Affiliation
Age
Occupation
Place
of Birth
1 ..
Geo. Hall
Whig
39
N.Y.C.
2.
Jonathan Trotter
Nonpartisan
38
Leather goods
England
Jere. Johnson
Nonpartisan
71
Farmer
Long Island
Cyrus Smith
tfuig.
39
Lawyer
New Hampshire
H. C. Murphy
D:lm
31
Lawyer
Brooklyn
6 .. Jos. Sprague
D::em.
Massachusetts
7. Thos. G. Talmage
60
Dem.
Businessman
New Jersey
8. Francis B. Stryker
Whig
Brooklyn
9. Edw. Copland
Whig
56
Carpenter
Retail grocer
Brooklyn
Dem.
62
Huntington, L.I.
_').
4.
5.
'
r-1
CD
44
35
11.
Conklin Brush
J.
Whig
56
Merchant
N.Y.C.
12.
Edw. Lambert
Dem.
40
Retail Merchant
N.Y.C.
13.
Geo. Hall*
Know-Nothing 60
Average
1.5
48.5
C
0
"ui
Cf)
.E
I...
Q)
Q.
"5
0
-
"O
.c
Q.
C
0
t5
:::J
"O
Q.
I...
Q)
.c
t:
:::J
LL
...:
Q)
C
Ol
>,
Q.
0
(.)
Q)
'+0
*Treated as two separate individuals because of the long span between terms.
C
0
"ui
Cf)
.E
I...
Q)
Q.
-
"O
Q)
(.)
:::J
"O
Q.
Q)
0:::
-199..:
Table IV -
Name
Ward
:>_-/-Party
Term in Office
Occupation
Charles Addoms
Native American
1844-1845
NY. Merchant
David Anderson
Democrat
183.5-1836
Stone Cutter
Whig
1847-1848
Physician
Whig
1840-1841
1841-1842
Merchant
Democrat
1836-1837
1837-1838
Grocer
David F. Atwater
John A. Baker
Tunis
s.
Barkeloo
Daniel P. Barnard
Whig
1854
1855
Lawyer
Abraham B. Baylis
10
Whig
1852
1853
N.Y. Broker
Democrat
1840-1841
Constable
Democrat
1845-1846
Farmer
Whig
1848-1849
N.Y. Merchant
Democrat
1834-1835
1835-1836
1836-1837
Grocer
Grocer
Gilbert
c. Baylis
w.
Benson
Johns. Bergen
John V. Bergen
Democrat
1850
18.51
Martenus Bergen
Democrat
1835-1836
1836-1837
1837-1838
1838-1839
1839-1840
1840-1841
1841-1842
1842-1843
1843-1844
1844-1845
1.
Farmer
*UP to 1850, a council year ran from April to April. After 1850, a council
year coincided with the calendar year. Also after 1850, aldermen were
elected for two-year terms rather than the anp.ual term which obtained until
18.50.
-200-
Name of Councilman
Ward
Peter Bergen
Charles
c.
Betts
Party
Democrat
Whig
Tenn in Office
1846-1847
1847-1848
Occupation
Florist
1839-1840
1840-1841
1841-1842
Real Estate
Henry Boerum
Whig
Farmer
William M. Boerum
1843-1844
1844-1845
Whig
1849-1850
David A. Bokee
Whig
1840-1841
1841-1842
1842-1843
1845-1846
1846-1847
1847-1848
Merchant
1851
1852
1853
1854
Builder
Samuel Booth
Samuel Bouton
Whig
Democrat
1836-1837
1837-1838
1842-1843
1843-1844
Milkman
1847-1848
Contractor
Whig
Democrat
1853
1854
Lawyer
Erastus F. Brigham
Whig
1843-1844
N.Y. Merchant
Thomas Brooks
Whig
1851
1852
Conklin Brush
whig
1834-1835
1850
1851
Merchant
Hamilton B. Bradshaw
Roswell
c.
Brainard
Charles Eo Bulkeley
Whig
1836-1837
1837-1838
1838-1839
Dry goods
Merchant and
Insurance agent
Elisha Burbank
Whig
1849-1850
Morocco
Manufacturer
-201Name of Councilman
William Burbank
Howard
c.
Cady
Ward
Party
Democrat
Term in Office
Occupation
1840-1841
1841-1842
1843-1844
1845-1846
1846-1847
Morocco
Manufacutrer
1848-1849
Lawyer
Whig
William H. Campbell
Democrat
1845-1846
1854
Farmer
Nelson G. Carman
Whig
18h8-1849
Butcher
Democrat
1849-1850
1850
1851
Lawyer
Rodney
s.
Church
James B. Clarke
Whig
1840-1841
Lawyer
John Cochran
Whig
1846-1847
1847-1848
18481849
Fur Factory
c.
Whig .
1843-1844
Ephraim Corning
Tnig
Lawyer
Edward Corning
1839-1840
Whig
1846-1847
1847-18h8
1850
1851
N.Y. Merchant
Peter
Cornell
Abraham Crist
Whig
1844-1845
184.5-1846
Lawyer
John A. Cross
ltHlig
1838-1839
1839-1840
1840-1841
1841-1842
1846-1847
Distiller
George D. Cunningham
Bipartisan
1834-183.5
Distiller
Alexander H. Dana
W1.g
1841-1842
Lawyer
Democrat
1853
1854
Real Estate
Agent
John A. Dayton
11
s.
s.
Ward
.. Party
Term in Office
12
Democrat
1850
1851
Denike
Democrat
1842-1843
1843-1844
Occupation
County Clerk
Builder
Democrat
1847-1848
John Dimon
Whig
1842-1843
1844-1845
Isaac N. Dolbear
Democrat
1845-1846
Grocer
1836-1837
1837-1838
Clerk,
U.S. Navy Yard
John
Devlin
Lieutenant,
u.s.M.c.
Builder
Ethan Eastabrook
Democrat
Martin Evans
Democrat
Thomas
Democrat
Engineer
1847-1848
1'vhig
1838-1839
1839-1840
1840-1841
1841-1842
1842-1843
1847-1848
1848-1849
Railroad
Agent
Ho
Faron
George B. Fisk
David Fithian
Charles
c.
Fowler
Gabriel Furman
10
Democrat
Whig
Whig
1R52
1853
1850
1851
Druggist
Sash Maker
1844-1845
1845-1846
1846-1847
1852
1853
1854
1855
1834-1835
18351836
Lawyer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-203 ..
Name of Councilman
Thomas J. Gerald
Ward
Party
Democrat
Tenn in Office
1841-1842
1842-1843
1843-1844
1844-1845
1845-1846
1846-1847
1850
1851
Samuel Graham
Democrat
1853
1854
Whig
1852
1853
1854
1855
Occupation
Grocer
Builder
Warehouses
Willia'n A. Greene
Whig
1843-184).i
Lawyer
George Hall
Whig
Democrat
1837-1838
1s4s-1s1.t9
Paint.er and
Glazier:<
William M. Harris
Democrat
1841-1842
1842-1843
Distiller
Samuel Hart
r'
Democrat
1838-1839
1839-1840
1840-1841
Naval
Constructor
11
Democrat
1852
18.53
Stone Yard
Democrat
1849-1850
1850
1851
1852
1853
Marketman
1834-1835
1835-1836
18.'.361837
Builder
Henry Harteau
Lemuel Hawxhurst
Stephen '-i"":nes
Democrat
James Hazlett
Whig
Furrier
Adrian Hegeman
1842-1843
Bipartisan
1834-1835
Stationer
John H. Hicks
Bipartisan
1834-1835'
Grocer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-204Name of Councilman
Ward
Elisha W. Hinman
3
10
\Tr.ig
l81.i9-18.5o
1853
18.54
Oil
Merchant
Hora.tic N. Holt
Whig
1853
18%
M.Y. Merchant
Charles Hooper
11
Democrat
1854
1855
Gold Leaf
Whig
1837-1838
1838-1839
1839-1840
1844-1845
N. Y. t-ferchant
Fisher How
Party
Term in O ffice
Occupation
Georges. Howland
Whig
1838-1839
1839-1840
3uilder
Thomas D. Hudson
Democrat
1850
1851
Stage
Proprietor
Frederick R. Hulbert
Democrat
1848-1849
Inspector
Jarnes Hu.mphrey
Whig
1844-1845
1845-1846
1846-1847
Lawyer
Democrat
1838-1839
Carpenter
Seymour L. Husted
Native American
Whig
1844-1845
1847-1848
1848-1849
1851
1852
Distiller
James N. Hyde
Native .American
1835-1836
1836-1837
Charles A. Jackson
Democrat
1842-1843
1843-1844
Lawyer
Stephen C. Jackson
Democrat
1854
1855
Clerk
Barnet Johnson
Whig
1838-1839
1839-1840
1840-1841
1841-1842
Farmer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-205Name of Councilman
Party
Ward
Term in Office
Occupation
Teunis Johnson
Democrat
1838-1839
Coal Dealer
Melville Kelsey
Whig
1843-1844
Oilcloth
Manufacturer
Henry A. Kent
Whig
1851
1852
Farmer
Edward Lambert
Democrat.
1849-1850
1850
1851
N.Y. Stationer
,,
10
John Lawrence
Democrat
1835-1836
U.S. Storekeeper
Frederick A. Lee
Whig
N.Y. Merchant
tTohn Leech
wm.g
1845-18h6
1851
1852
Stone Yard
Rem Lefferts
Whig
18l.9-1850
1850
1851
Exchange
Broker
Electus B. Litchfield
Democrat
1850
1851
N.Y. Merchant
Seth Low
Whig
1841-1842
1842-1843
1843-1844
N.Y. Merchant
wnig
1851
1852
Broker
Thomas R. Lush
11
Independent
1846-1847
Lawyer
Joshua S. March
Whig
1839-1840
1840-1841
Lawyer
Charles R. Marvin
t'V1U.g
1851
1852
1853
N.Y. Broker
Edward Macomber
Democrat
William McDonald
Whig
..
h!
1845-1846
184 7-18).i8
1848-1849
1849-1850
u.s.M.c.
Cooperage
..,,206Name of Councilman
Ward
Joh.11. McIntyre
.6
Party
Term in Office
Occupation
Na ti ve American
1845-1846
Contractor
lYiartin R. Meeker
0
/
Democrat
1845-1846
Farmer
Eli :Merrill
Whig
1853
1854
Merchant
Elisha B. Morrell
'.,,Jhig
1849-1850
1854
1855
Grocer
Frederick Morris
Democrat
1851
1852
Physician
Patrick H. Morris
Democrat
1853
1854
Physician
Peter Morton
Whig
1840-1841
1841-1842
1842-1843
1843-1844
Merchant
Joseph Moser
Democrat
1834-1835
1836-1837
Builder
William M. :Muchmore
Whig
1849-1850
1850
1851
Goal Dealer
Thomas Mulligan
Democrat
1854
1855
James M. Neely
Democrat
1851
1852
1853
1854
Wholesale Wine
and Liquor
Samuel Oakley
'..vhig
1839-lSho
Merchant
Isaac Odell
Democrat
1835-1836
Carpenter
Joseph Oliver
Democrat
1853
1854
Milkman
Albert H. Osborne
Democrat
1842-1843
18L3-184L
1844-1845
1845-1846
Real Estate
Agent
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-207Ward
Party
Term in Office
Howard Pearsall
Democrat
1836-1837
Fo T. Peet
Wbig
1849-1850
185::i
1851
Edward Pell
Democrat
Whig
Merchant
1848-1849
1850
1851
Joseph A. Perry
Occupation
City Gauger
1838-1839
1839-1840
1840-1841
Merchant
Theodore Polhemus
Whig
1834-1835
Farmer
Samuels. Powell
Democrat
1845-1846
Merchant Tailor
William Powers
Whig
1834-183.5
1835-1836
Farmer
Democrat
1834-1835
183.5-1836
Lumber
Merchant
Benjamin R. Prince
Montgomery Queen
Whig
1852
Francis G. Quevedo
1853
Stage
Proprietor
Democrat
1854
1855
Commissioner of
Deeds
Jesse Read
Whig
Thomas A. Redding
Whig
Indep. Dem.
1850
1851
N.Y. Merchant
1844-1845
1846-1847
1847-1848
1848-1849
1849-1850
18.50
1851
(Farmer ?).
Moses Reeve
Whig
1837-1838
Carpenter
Hamilton Reeves
Whig
1848-1849
Lumber Merchant
Philip Reid
Democrat
1842-1843
Farmer
George Remsen
Democrat
1853
1854
Li very Stable
-208Name of Councilman
John Rice
Ward
Party
Term in Office
Democrat
1849-1850
1850
1851
1852
1853
Occupation
N.Y. Merchant
Daniel Richards
Whig
1848-1849
N.Y. Merchant
\farren Richmond
Native American
1841!-1845
Grocer
Samuel T. Roberts
Democrat
William Rockwell
Whig
Jonathan Rogers
Democrat
Joshua Rogers
Democrat
1846-1847
1850
1851
1836-1837
1837-1838
1838-1839
1839-1840
1840-1841
1841-1842
1846-1847
Hotel Owner
Lawyer
Master Joiner
1836-1837
1837-1838
... f'\ ... n "'n.LO)O-.LO)
1839-1840
1840-1841
Henry Russell
Whig
1837-1838
N.Y. Merchant
John
Whig
Butcher
Martin Ryerson
1851
1852
Democrat
1850
1851
N.Y. Merchant
Clarence D. S ackett
Democrat
Lawyer
Jacob d. Schultz
1834-1835
Democrat
1848-1849
Auctioneer
s.
Ryder
George L. Shaw
Issac Si."Tlonson
Democrat
1844-1845
10
Whig
John Skillman
1854
1855
i'.Jhig
1844-1845
Banker
Cyrus P. Smith
Whig
1847-1848
Lawyer
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Clock Manufacturer
C ontractor
-209Name of Councilman
Ward
Party
Term in Office
Occupation
Issac H. Smith
Whig
c.
18.51
1852
N.Y. Merchant
Whig
184.5-1846
1846.;.1847':
Lawyer
Democrat
1834-1835
1836-1837
1837-1838
Farmer
1834-1835
1835-1836
1836-1837
1837-1838
1842-1843
1843-181..i.4
184.5-1846
Farmer and
Contractor
Jesse
Smith
Moses Smith
Samuel Smith
Whig
Democrat
Jeremiah V. Spader
Whig
1837-1838
N. Y. Hardware
Dealer
Francis Spies
Whig
1849-1850
Merchant
Francis B. Spinola
Whig
1847-1848
1849-18.50
1850
1851
Harbor Master
Democrat
1846-1847
1847-1848
Carpenter
John Stansbury
Asa Stebbins
Whig
1846-1847
Architect
George H. Stilwell
Democrat
1845-1846
1846-1847
1851
18.52
Grocer
s.
Whig
1847-1848
Carpenter
Democrat
1836-1837
1837-1838
Farmer
Democrat
1842-1843
1844-1845
Farmer and
N.Y. Merchant
Charles J. Taylor
Whig
Fur F.actory
Jeremiah H. Taylor
1840-1841
Whig
1838-1840
Merchant
F.
Stranahan
Moses Suydam
Thomas G. Talmage
-210Name of Councilman
Peter G. Taylor
William Thompson
Richard W., Thorne
T'ifard
Party
Whig
Whig
Democra.t
Term in Office
Occupation
1846-1847
1847-1848
1848-1849
1849-1850
1850
1851
N.Y. Merchant
1835-1836
1836-1837
1838-1839
N.Y. Merchant
18.36-1837
1837-1838
1838-1839
1839-1840
1840-1841
18LJ-1844
Owner Hay
Press
Jonathan Trotter.
Bipartisan
1834-1835
Manufacturer of
Rubber goods
William Udall
Democrat
1834-183S
1835-1836
Paint
Manufacturer
James E. Underhill
1837-1838
1838-1839
1839-1840
Builder
wlrl.g
1835-1836
Auctioneer
Whig
1835-1836
Leather Store
Democrat
1850
1851
Postmaster
Whig
1841-1842
1842-1843
1843-1844
Lawyer
11
James Walters
Native American
1835-1836
1836-1837
Coachmaker
Benjamin F. Wardwell
Whig
1848-1849
1849-1850
N.Y. Merchant-
Willet Weeks
Native 1\merican
1844-1845
Grocer
Frederick R. West
Whig
1843-1844
Street Insector
-211Name of Councilman
Ward
Party
Term in Office
Occupation
John Wheelwright
Whig
1841-1842
Merchant
Henry White
Whig
1848-1849
Builder
John Williams
10
Whig
1851
1852
Grocer
Joseph Wilson
Democrat
1848-1849
1849-18.50
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855
Monument Works
Robert Wilson
Whig
1834-1835
1835-1836
Farmer
.Amasa Wright
Whig
1838-1839
N.Y. Merchant
Native American
1836-1837
1837-1838
Merchant
Democrat
1838-1839
1839-1840
1844-1845
1847-1849
Farmer
1853
1854
Assessor
Peter Wyckoff
lnJhig
Democrat
-212-
Table v.
MAYORALTY ELECTIONS
Candidates
Party
Affil.
Vote
Date of
Election
Assumed
Office
Le.ft
Office
I1ay 11,1835
Council
May 20,1834
May 20,1834
Council
Appointed
May 11,1835
May ll,1835
Re-appointed
May 2,18.36
Council
Appointed
May 1,1837
Re-appointed
Ap:ril 18,1838
Council
Appointed
May 9 ., 1839
vfllig
2236
April 14,1840
2,047
George Hall
Appointed
Jonathan Trotter
Jeremiah Johnson
Cyrus P. Smith
Cyrus P. Smith
Cyrus P. Smith
R. v.w. Thorne
c.
Whig
*
2,486
2,252
Joseph Sprague
Dem.
2,847
David Bokee
Whig
2,536
Murphy
r,1ay 1,1837
May 9,1839
May 9,1839
April 13,18J.il
May 2,1842
May 5,1843
Dem.
Dem.
Henry
May 1,1837
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
. -213-
Candidates
Party
.Affil.
JosephSprague
Dem.
Geo. Hall
Whig
Wm. Rockwell
Vote
2,559
3,197
Geo. Hall
Whig
2,026
3,891
2,741
Thos.O,Pinckney Nat,
292
4,529
Dem.
2,989
4,593
Wm. Jenkins
Dem.
3,436
Edward Copland
Whig
3,676
2,550
Wm. Ellsworth
Dem.
Geo. Hall
Indep.
1,601
llem.
4,488
Whig
4,110
'Whig
4,220
John Rice
Demo
.3,937
Geo. Hall
Indep.
1,991
J.s.stranahan
Conklin Brush
May 7,1845
April 9,1844
April 8,1845
May 5,184.5
May 4,1846
Nat.Amer. 1,540
Samuel Smith
Left
Office
Nat.A.mer. 1 ., 723
Dem.
Thomas Gerald
Assumed
Office
1,966
Thomas Talmage
Wm. Rockwell
Date of
Election
April 13,1847
April 11,1848
April 23,18l
April 9,1850
Nov. 8,1850
Jan. 1,1851
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Jan. 3,1853
-214-
Candidates
Party
Affil.
Edward Lambert
Dem.
7 ., 926
P.G.Taylor
Whig
6 ., 171
George Hall
Whig
12 ., 131
Dem.
9 .,107
Martin Kalbfieisch
Vote
Date of
Election
Assumed
Office
Nov. 2 ., 1852
Jan. 3 11853
Nov. 7,1854
Jan. l .,1855
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Left
Office
Jan. 1,1855
-215Table VI
REAL ESTATE VALUATIONS UPON WHICH ASSESSMENTS \JERE BASED
IN DOLLARS
1839
1840
1838
2,352,999
2,294 ., 550
2,457,710
2 ., 369,265
3,589 ., 700
3,633 ., 6o0
3,726 ., 500
5,083.,695
3,184,892
1834 1837*
Ward
r. f
1,356,775
1,205 ., 275
5;0?8 ., 055
2,273,964
2 ., 581 ., 150
1 ., .508,840
5,161,610
3,074,760
2,890., 355
886 ., 429
872., 205
834,960
12040,2 680
12 1152970
12026,2051
22 ., 106., 911
Total
2 ., 059,354
21 ., 636 ., 079
1834
$15,642,290
1835
26,390,151
1836
32,428,942
1837
26,89.5,074
-216-
Ward 1842*
l
.3
184.3
1844
1845
1846
1847
10
11
Total
510,217
676,215
536,925
681,332
566,494
706,688
6.54,141
771,803
771,527
747,207
18.888.
- ... 592 20.261.
.. ... 363. 21.116.
. ....
- 98 5 26.933.61
- .... 3- 29.- 36a.u16
--
1848* 1849
-217-
Ward
5
6
8
9
10
11
Total
1850
3 ., 102 ., 330
1851
1852
3 ., 318 ., 265
4,242,100
5,085,425
5 ., 423 ., 993
6,063,200
2 ., 019 ., 050
2,249,763
2,339 ., 825
4,064,184
4 ., 887., 231
2 ., 359 ., 455
3,433,175
5,504., 990
:-809 ., 537
1,064,921
3,302., 846
.322992120
32,0l0,7ll
2 ., 629., 270
3,689,290
7,266,053
1 ., 196., 190
2,572,850
4,105,350
8 ., 881., 924
2,243,765
1 ., 864 ., 475
2,965,784
42 L462 814
527692805
4,093., 873
40,242,170
5,830,300
49,902,134
. 1
853*
1854
4,685,551
2 ., 851 ., 833
7,151,230
4,580,522
2 ., 598,0.53
12,275,789
6,549,526
3 ., 022 ., 532
5,156,415
8 ., 211,735
L.5812931
64 ., 665., ll7
Table VII
EXPENDITURES FOR SELECTED CITY SERVICES FROM
1834
TO
18.541
IN DOLW1->
Accounts
Fire Department
Watch
1834
1., 461
2., 397
Police (Day)
Street cleaning
Street lighting
.5., 204
Cisterns
'
1845
Fire Department
Watch
Police (Day)
Street cleaning
Street lighting
.5 ., 708
9., 050
200
4,200
1.
4,888
1831'. 1838
9 ., 680
3,132
3 ., 851
5 ., 084
9,692
722
1846
.5., 291
9 ., 199
_3,891
7 ., 159
;2.,039
9 ., 366
1847
1848
1849
5,500
39
6., 971
6JO
1., 714
1.,801
2,176
1840 . 181.il
1839
4,170
8 ., 456
8 ., 666
4 ., 182
;8 ., 683
.5,495
1 ., 504
J:,603
4., 875
8., liJ.3
1,395
1., 809
1842
1843
4,258
1844
3,380 6 ., 166
9 ., .596
835
777 1 ., 122
1,691
1,989 2 ., 244
10,932 11., 323 .. 9,458 10., 076 11., 657 10., 740 15 ., 513
207
162
1835 __ 1836
6., 001
3.,87!.._3.,483
60,5
- JJ)_. 18-
May 1850
to December
13 ., 142
1850
180
January 1 ., 1851 to
August
312 18.51
14,479
3 ., 351
167
62., 453
6., 843
5., 732
22,063
1.,375
en
en
.E
-
:c
I...
<l.l
a.
:::J
..c
"O
<l.l
..c
a.
16., 834
743
C:
.Q
23 ., 701
:::J
"O
0
I...
a.
<l.l
I...
I...
<l.l
..c
t:
:::J
LL
...:
<l.l
C
..c
0)
.::::
>,
a.
(.)
<l.l
..c
'+-
.Q
en
en
.E
I...
<l.l
a.
..c
"O
<l.l
(.)
:::J
"O
0
I...
a.
<l.l
0:::
Accounts
Fire Department
1851
to Aust 1852
September
29,927
August 1852 to
Aust 1853
August 1853 to
Aust 1854
19,300
37., 542
.E
Watch
I...
85., Boo
81,176.
83., 233
133,670
"50
Street cleaning
11 ., 838
18., 449
18 ., 880
Street lighting
31 ., 742
38,969
23., 798
42,405
38,521
"'O
Water
supply
Cisterns
8
Q)
Cl..
Police
C
0
'ui
Cf)
4,672
2., 906
2,395
34., 614
23., 328
2
;.e
..c
Cl..
C
0
t5:::J
"'O
Cl..
I...
Q)
..c
t:
:::J
LL
...:
Q)
C
Ol
c
>,
Cl..
0
(.)
Q)
'+0
C
0
'ui
Cf)
.E
I...
Q)
Cl..
"'O
Q)
(.)
:::J
"'O
Cl..
Q)
0:::
-220-
Table VIII
?
Year
Rate
1834
.0063
1835
.03h.
1836
.023
1839
.0066
:;t.838
.0051
1840
.0060
1843
c0084
1845
.0075
1844
.0086
1846
.0084
1847
.0085
1850
.012
*The tax records, like so many other official documents for the period
under study, have long since ceased to exist.
Therefore, it becomes
given year and the amount sought to be raised by taxation. wnen one
of these figures is lacking, it then becomes impossible to estimate
the ta. rate for that year.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-221Table IX
BONDS ISSUED BY THE CITY OF BROOKLYN FROM 1834 TO 18541
Year Issued
Date of Maturity
July 1, 1855
1835
1837
July
1, 1857
Amount
$200,000
100,000
1838
July 1, 1858
January 1, 1863
50., 000
50,000
January 1, 1856-1860
January 1, 1861-18 70
100,000
January 1, 1858
18,000
January 1, 1869
121,000
200,000
Janu.ary 1, 1872-1876
,o,ooo
January 1, 1875
1,,000
July 1, 1871
July 1 ., 1873
150,000
55,ooo
$1,184,540
-222-
Table X
ANNUAL INTEREST PAYMENTS ON CITY BONDS1
Bond Issue of:
_1835
1837
1838-1843
1845
1846/7
Annual Interest
$12 ., 000
6., 000
12,000
3,000
3000
1847/8
1,000
1847-1849
6,000
1849
1850
1850
1851/2
1848/9 and 1851
2 ., 000
4,500
200
2 ., 000
7,202
$58,902
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-223Table XI
FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR 18341
Receipts
Amount raised
by
$ 18 ., 050
tax
77 ., 501
17 ., 378
$113,032
Total Receipts
Expenditures
Interest on stocks
Municipal Court
630
1 ., 542
Public Market
224
Salaries
156
Contingent account
Wells and pumps repaired
9,419
629
Watch account
2., 397
Board of Health
1 ., 383
Lighting streets
Notes to Long Island Bank
Real estate
Fi.fth Ward Market
Streets, wells and pumps
Total Expenditures
Unexpended balance for 1834
1. , March 26., 1835 .,
5., 204
8,500
211
1 ., 1.55
77,604
$110,528
2., 504
-224Table XII
FINANCIAL STATEI:'.IENT FOR 1835
$ 4., 888
Board of Health
745
3,732
Watch
3,851
Police
Street, cleaning
5., 084
Street lighting
9 ., 692
4., 062
Salaries
Public cisterns
169
694
2. ., April
4, 1836.
814., 506
-22.5-
Table XIII
$ 7,340
315
7,835
1,462
7,159
9,366
4,262
722
1,340
5,ooo
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-226Table XIV
4
$ 20 ,000
200,000
100 ., 000
$320 ., 000
27,000
4,608
4J.,h38
$393,546
Deduct
Balance cash on hand September 1
$1,519
Advances on streets
32,404
Advances on streets
801
$34,734
358,822
-227Table XV
.5
$ 9,680
Board of Health
195
Watch
9,199
Police
3,891
Street cleaning
2,039
Street lighting
10,932
Salaries
5,109
Cisterns
None
1,366
21., 050
City map
Interest on loan
5.
22,065
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-228-
Table XVI
FINA.lCIAL STAT.EI1ENT FOR 1839
Receipts
.A.mount in City Treasury as of February 28, 1840
Received for taxes for 1839
$ 7,898
75,993
7,427
1,344
Marke.t fees
1,3 63
294
Fines
H. F. Franklin for rent
68
For vaults
51
60,939
1,277
36,356-
3,078
7,000
5,ooo
Bills payable
Total ReceipJlis
$208,091
Exoenditures
Advertising and printing
Cleaning streets
Fire Department
6. ., April 2, 1840 ,
782
1,504
8,456
-229-
1 ., 200
21 ., 1,0
2 ., 021
4 ., 469
Lighting streets
ll ., 323
Municipal Court
3., 591
4 ., 182
Police Account
605
Public Cisterns
Public Pound
123
Salaries
5 ., 150
Watch Account
8., 666
1., 072
2,656
46,270
Bonds payable
385
Advances on streets
57,945
1 ., 240
3 ., 618
2,665
Repairing streets
506
Public Markets
Total Expenditures
$195 .,534
-230-
Table XVII
7
Receipts
Amount in treasury on March 1, 1840
$ 12,502
Market fees
2,632
8,007
74,538
1., 137
Fines
314
Vaults
31
Hospital account
l,t 200
Advertising
4,657
Maps
17
80,523
1,500
Real estate
55., 500
4., 965
61
$247 .,584
Expenditures
7..
$ 60,,500
885
., March 1 ., lBW.o
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-231Centre market
City park
Real estate
Bonds to Mo Martin
Payments on streets
Payments for wells and pumps
Advertising
Street cleaning
Contingent
Fire Department
Hospital account
Interest on village stock
Interest on city loans
Interest on temporary loans
City map
Street lighting
Municipal court
Police
613
453
1,085
618
74559
1., 278
2,895
1,603
5,310
4,170
700
1,200
27,065
1., 219
3,614
9,458
2., 465
5,495
Watch
B ., 683
Public market
2 ., 448
Street repairing
Salaries
Sinking fund
2,980
6,305
10,000
1., 528
433
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
373
Total Expenditures
$237' 752
Unexpended balance
9 ., 832
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-233Table XVIII
$ 9,832
869
74., 398
7 ., 313
5,593
4., ooo
65., 551
193
3,382
228., 338
Expenditures
Advertising and printing
Street cleaning
$ 1 ., 976
1,809
Contingent
B ., 093
Fire Department
4,875
Hospital
Interest account
Interest on village stock
828
1,044
915
27 ., 240
Street lighting
10,076
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-2342 ., 393
Municipal court
183
Public cisterns
1., 395
Police
8 ., 413
Watch
1 ., 725
Markets
Public pound
Repairing of streets and'roads
7 ., 096
Salaries
3 ., 889
Special sessions
Repairing o! wells and pumps
1., 173
593
Bonds to M. Martin
10 ., 500
Village stock
City Hall ., balance due s. Haynes
Nassau Street grading opposite the City Park
Real
2 ., 116
2 ., 302
1 ., 082
1., 717
Estate
Bills payable
Opening., grading and paving streets
44., 857
64., 244
3., 097
81
Lamp posts
Total Expenditures
Unexpended balance
$213., 774
14., 564
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-23.5Table XIX
FINANCIAL STATfil'IENT FOR 1842 9
Receipts
Balance on hand on March 1, 1842
Received balance of taxes for 1841
Received tax payments for 1842
<!i'
I'
12,877
6,602
75,922
2,211
1,450
16
114
Fire Department
Hospital accounts
1,494
124
25
Advertising account
Repairing streets account
424
Police account
Contingent account
2,295'.'
Salaries
Interest on city loan account
Temporary loans
60
23
13,000
5,ooo
Bills payable
Certificate account
37,000
26,000
Real estate
9.
7,429
1843.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-236-
83,519
50,468
1,891
2,992
180
8,864
Total Receipts
Expenditures
Advertising Account
Street cleaning
Contingent Account
Fire Department
$ 2,673
1,691
5,536
4, 2.58
Hospital Account
1,123
Contingent Interest
3,309
645
27,420
Street lighting
11,657
2,053
Police Account
835
364
Public Markets
2,o67
Street repair
2,900
Salaries
7,361
Special Sessions
.4,564
Sinking Fund
10,000
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-2379,596
Watch
810
23,452
Bills payable
17,350
Temporary loans
13,000
Certificate Account
21,000
677
967.
85,793
47,581
2,298
2,953
Public cisterns
180
8,659
Total Expenditures
Unexpended Balance
$323,171
18,856
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-238Table XX
lO
FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR 1843
Receipts
Balance on hand, March 1, 1843
Balance of tax receipts for 1842
Tax
Special Sessions
Contingent Fund
Interest on city loan
Interest on contingent account
Salaries
Public market receipts
$ 18,8.56
3,578
81,212
640
4,077
2,465
215
so
2,010
8
1,539
85
300
Hunicipal court
Street repairing
39
93
hl,867
Opening streets
38,577
2,775
1,099
976
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-239-
City loan
18,000
37,500
44
Existing liabilities
City Park grading
8,091
15,000
8,000
Total Receipts
ii288,062
Expenditures
Special Sessions
Contingent Fund
Interest on city loan
Interest on loan of 1843
4,520
6,694
30,020
1,310
665
832
Salaries
6,239
Watch
9,433
Street lighting
10,740
Fire Department
3,380
Public markets
1,023
Public pound
34
925
Police
777
Advertising
3,989
Street cleaning
1,989
Hospital account
296
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
2,179
Municipal Court
5,ooo
Sinking Fund
6,229
Street repairing
Regulating and pa ving streets
42,831
Opening streets
Wells and pumps
1,285
1,166
Real estate
5,6o6
39,295
Existing liabilities
7,472
98
31,000
8,000
Tempora!"J loans
Total Expenditures
$276,766
Unexpended Balance
n,296
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-241Table XXI
FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR
184411
Receints
Balance on hand as of March 1 , 1844
Balance of taxes for 1843
Tax receipts for 1844
Special Sessions
Police
$11,315
1,788
83,42.5
5,593
500
Municipal Court
1,160
Cleaning streets
2,215
Street repairs
1,710
Street lighting
15,000
Fire Department
6,006
Watch
8,000
Salaries
6,oo.5
Contingent account
6,173
600
28,935
Interest, contingent
1,925
3,036
100;
5,ooo
Opening streets
20,421
50,891
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-242-
4,955
Police
122
Municipal Court
1,869
Street cleaning
2,244
Street repairing
3,199
Street lighting
15,513
Fire Department
6,166
Watch
10,727
Salaries
6,667
Contingent account
6,010
1,220
3 0,000
Interest, contingent
877
2,650
1,730
Sirtting Fur1d
;),vvv
,-.I
"'"'"
Street openings
20,225
49,945
Advertising account
3, 315
Public markets
1,929
Hosnital account
1,710
1,634
728
Bonds payable
222
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-243Certificate account
City Park grading
Existing liabilities, 1843
Real estate
37,000
11,275
4,347
3,860
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-244Advertising
3,465
Public markets
1,748
1,853
909
Certificate account
38,000
11,062
1,500
Real estate
3,358
$327,777
12.
12
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-245Table XXII
13
1 845
<i
,P
7,929
675
83,154
Special Sessions
5,604
Municipal Court
2, 117
Police
200
Street openings
22,999
44,659
Street cleaning
4,102
Street repairing
2,300
Street lighting
15,025
Fire Department
Watch
5,ooo
10,000
Sala...'l"i.es
Contingent account
Well and pump repairs
Interest on city bonds
r:' Onn
.;,vvu
10,492
1,020
30,000
3,000
100
1,162
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-246-
5,ooo
Sinking Fund
Advertising account
1,768
Public markets
2,938
1,894
Public cisterns
696
1,661
Real estate
13,128
Interest account
975
Certificate account
40,000
5,ooo
680
350
50
10,000
Total Receipts
$339,290
Expenditures
Taxes of 1845
$95,252
Special Sessions
5,900
Municipal Court
2,117
Police
200
Street openings
22,239
45,311
Street cleaning
4,200
Street repairing
1,631
Street lighting
13,564
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-247Fire Department
5,708
Watch
9,050
Salaries
6,631
Contingent account
9,497
1,291
30,000
3,000
1,162
s,ooo
Sinking Fund
Advertising account
3 ,. 379
Public markets
2,128
1,494
Public cisterns
670
1,864
Hospital account
25
Real estate
5,964
Interest account
793
Pu.blic pound
159
Certificate account
41,000
1,220
344
223
Sinking Fund
7,218
350
9,084
1,883
Total Expenditures
$339,290
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-248Table XXIII
FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR l846 l4
Receipts
Cash in Treasury, March l, 1846
Truces for 1846
Special Sessions
Municipal Court
Police
$ l ., 883
ll8,2!i4
5 ., 600
2., 141
200
Opening streets
29., 678
72,031
Street cleaning
Street repairing
4 ., 565
2.500
Street lighting
16,003
F.i.re department
8,500
Watch
10,000
Salaries
6 ., 5'00
Contingent
18,276
1 ., 812
36 ., 679
101.
5,oao
2,u,
Public markets
2 ., 160
2 ., 219
14. .,
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-249Public cisterns
1,878
1., 859
Interest account
525
551 000
15
Certificate account
City Park grading
Real Estate
2 ., 456
37 ., 000
500
750
50
Map 3 ward
800
400
1,000
5,ooo
430
Total Receipts
$453 ., 504
Expenditures
$
Taxes, 1846
5i5
119,696
Special Sessions
7,230
Municipal Court
2 ., 234
Police
74
Opening streets
25 .,.569
67 ., 932
Cleaning streets
5,.500
Repairing streets
3 ., 362
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-250-
15,400
Lighting streets
Fire Department
5,291
Watch
l0., 683
Salaries
6,361
Contingent
12,140
1,592
35,010
1,301
5,ooo
4,841
Advertising
Public markets
2,300
2,.500
Public cisterns
1,801
l,714
Interest account
971
Public Pound
55,ooo
Certificate. account
City Park grading
1,137
1,405
Real Estate
44,609
1,364
798
Map 3 ward
800
310
8,718
$453,504
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Table XXIV
1
FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR 1847 '
Receipts
8., 718
14,141
l26,6oO
Special sessions
5 ., 152
Municipal court
1 ., 898
Police
street openings
Street regulating and paving
200
34 ., 854
67 ., .300
street cleaning
6., 065
Street repairing
3,500
Street lighting
16 ., 007
Fire Department
6 ., 797
Watch
Salaries
Contingent
16,200
7500
12 ., 612
1., 800
39,695
Sinking fund
5., ooo
Advertising
2,001
Public markets
l,652
2,5:t.5
Public cisterns
2,392
15 .,Aprill, 18480
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-252-
1., 002
1,202
1,000
Certificates
71 ., 000
3,000
63 ., 000
L1J
11,000
3,183
Real Estate
1., 000
50
Ward maps
Total Receipts
Expenditures
3,900
$547,941
$
17
5,ooo
126,600
ll,813
1 ., 8 38
39
33,150
89,548
6 ,9 7 1
5,535
Street lighting
18 ., 102
Fire Departi11ent
8,316
Watch
15,12
----
PLEASE NOTE
PAGE 253
Seems to be lacki..11.g in page
numbering only
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-254Salaries
6 ., 514
13;362
Contingent
1., 908
37 ., 980
20S
Sinking Fund
5., ooo
Advertising
1,877
Public markets
2,161
2,244
Public cisterns
2,176
893
85 5
. 764
Expenses.city convention
1 ., 000
Certificates
71., 000
.58,101
1., 017
32
1 ., 610
Ward maps
Total Expenditures
269
17 ., 387
$547 ., 941
-255Table XXV
16
Receipts
Cash on hand March 1., 1848
$17,387.
Taxes of 1848
l.58,171
Special Sessions
7,707.
Municipal Court
2,022
Police
Opening streets and Washington Park
Street regulating and paving
Street clear.ing
Street repairing
200
24,469
152,504
6,000
5,ooo
Street lighting
22,000
Fire Department
10,001
Watch
16,000
Salaries
Contingent
8 ., 500
11,193.
2,000
52 ., 667
2,822
Sinldng Fund
12,877
Advertising
1,679
Public markets
2 ., 659
3,587
-256Public cisterns
4,962
764
l,ll9
70.,4 69
36,500
Certificates
City bonds, 1846
1;000
Real estate
119,000
2,328
2,600
Ward maps
TotalRecei.pts
ft58,188
Expenditures
Taxes of 1848
Special Sessions
Municipal Court
Police
Street openings.and opening Washington Park
Street regulating and pav_:I.ng
Street cle&J."1:tng
Street repairing
Street lighting
Fire Dep:i.rtment
$158,171
13,443
l,641
207
122,279
1.51,972
., 000
i,uuv
5,439
24,401
15,569
Watch
16,443
Salarles
10,402
Contingent account
11,306
1,523
47,520
1,297
-25712,877
. Sinking Fund
2,619
Advertising ..
Public markets'
2 ., 229
2 ., 681
'3,874
Public cisterns
Lamps and posts
620
70 ., 469
Certificates
Real estate
Road repairs in
Eighth and Ninth wards
. '
Ward maps
1,100
38 ., 460
995
2 ., 050
Total Expenditures
64
1,617
26 ., 263
$758,188
-258-
Table XXVI
1
FINANCIAL STATEMENT.FOR 1849 7
Receipts
Cash on hand, March 1, 1850
Taxes for 1849
Special Sessions
Municipal Court
Opening streets and Washington Park
street regulating and paving
$26,263
190,791
14,508
361
35,136
132,898
Street cleaning
8,000
Street repairing
5,500
Street lighting
25,000
Fire Department
13,530
Watch
20,000
Salaries
10 ., 999
Contingent
6,905
1,228
54,242
12,992
Sinking Fund
12,877
Advertising
2,651
Public markets
3,121
4,089
Public cisterns
3,686
2., 481
-259-
101,000
1,000
50,000
4,424
Real estate
Ward
1,577
50
maps
1,000
City court
Total Receipts
Expenditures
Taxes for 1849
Specia.1 Se ssions
4,629
$757,544
$190,791
13,810
Municipal Court
457
Police
162
41,268
139 1 618
Street cleaning
10,s1s
Street repairing
4;870
Street lighting
24,168
Fire Department
17,605
Watch
17,748
Salaries
13,072
Contingent
21,243
4,356
53,160
2,288
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-260City court
3,ll.i2
Sinking Fund
12,877
Advertising
3,273
1., 703
Public markets
Wells and pumps
4., 426
Public cisterns
3,483
Lamps
and posts
2 ., 417
2,529
101,000
Real estate
Road repairs in Eighth and Ninth wards
54,659
l., 124
l,850
Ward maps
11
2.,63
6 ., 001
Total Expenditures
102
155
$757 ., 544
-261Table XXVII
18
$ 8,176
181,892
5,,oo
600
1,320
51,622
Salaries
10,600
Contingent interest
Interest on village stock
1,006
655
Sinking Fund
20,377
Certificates
114,000
5,217
Street openings
18,246
Fire Department
30,430
Street cleaning
10,043
Watch
20,000
Public markets
Street regulating and paving
Lamps and posts
Map of Tenth Ward
18. ., Oct.,l.4 ., 1851.
1,039
97,87.5
2,o65
l.50
-262-
47,324
Street lighting
7,176
Advertising
14,390
Special Sessions
Real estate, Fort Greene
20
1,001
Public cisterns
477
7,292
8,918
Contingent
Gas lamp posts
Bonds of 1850 (existing liabilities)
Total Receipts
Expenditures
Tax of 1850
Police
Street repai1s
1,985
10,000
$619,650
$227,626
167
6,651
. 1,841
51,360
sla.!'ies
Contingent interest
Certificate
9 ., 370
3,571
114,000
59
J.4., 562
779
8 43
,. 3,408
21,326
200
1,500
Fire Department
13,142
Street cleaning
6,843.
16,834
Watch
Public markets
Street regulating and pa"Ving
Lamps and posts
1,376
89,596
1,520
2?,063
Street lighting
2,429
Advertising
18,435
Special Sessions
l,882
Public cisterns
Interest on Washington Park bonds
Washington Park opening
1,375
1,200
597
l,677
16,393
743
City Court
Cash in Treasury, Jan. l, 1851
Total Expenditures
16
-18 ., 263
$619,650
-264-
Table XXVIII
Receipts
Cash on hand, Sept. 1, 1651
$ l.,643
388,564
City tax
Assessments on city property
Gas lamp posts
3,527
l.,137
City bonds
40,000
60,480
7,292
350
1;0
150
Street lighting
Fire Department
45,ooo
15,647
Salaries
--1.17
-
Sinking Fund
30 ., 677
Public markets
2,66o
63,389
Contingent
3,562
Advertising
Contingent interest
Police and Justice courts
5le,
8,534
77,737
Police
19.
J.4., 268
26.5-
Street cleaning
u,5oo
Street repairs
10.,000
2.,500
Certificate
50., 000
2,950
10.,074
50
375
2,850
City Hospital
2.,000
4.,ooo
$886,169
Expenditures
City Tax
Assessments on city property
Washington Park opening
. Interest on city bonds
$388,564
3,724
291
60., 282
100
300
1,0
Street lighting
Fire Department
Salaries
Sinldng Fund
Public markets
31,742
29 p 927
33,280
30 ., 677
1,747
..266Contingent
18.,037
Advertising
4.,680
Contingent interest
8,603
7,16
Police
82,228
Cleaning streets
ll., 836
Street repairs
8,243
4,741
Certificate
90,000
1,.578
2,572
City Hospital
2,000
4,ooo
4,672
37,709
$886,!69
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-267Table XXIX
FilfANCIAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING ON THE 31st DAY OF AUGUST, 1853
General Statement of Receipts and Expenditures on all Accounts from
September 1, 1852, to August 31, 1853, including Tax.Appropriations
20
and Transfers
Received
Cash in Treasury September 1, 1852
Paid
Former
Debt
Paid
Current
Expenditure
37,709
Paid
Total
1 ., 353
l,.500
1 ., 353
2,9o6
2,9o6
2,9o6
60,480
60,480
7,292.
7,292
100
800
32,835
38,969
32;236
32 ! 236
City bonds
Interest on city bonds
Interest on Washington Park bonds
Map Fifth Ward
28,000
60,480
7,292
100
Lighting streets
40,000
Fire Department
21,795
Salaries
Sinking Fund
32,400
70()'
6,135
3,380
30,677
30,677
Public markets
2,442
593
Advertising
670
Contingent i nterest
5,749
5,4o6
7,159
494
Police Department
Cleaning streets
79,037
16,895
15,420
l,254
1,170
1,743
4 ., 510
l., 177
6 ., 641
75., 426
17,153
19,300
30,677
2,342
5,181
1,177
7,135
76,680
18,324
-268-
Received
Repairing streets
Repairing wells and pumps
Real estate sales of 1851
Eighth and Ninth Ward Police
.,,City Hospital
Water
Contingent
Common schools
5,ooo
5,519
1,910
Paid
Former
Debt
81,229
70,500
Paid
Total
9,130
2,846
6,284
1,497
. 4,993
6,490
5
2
52
2,000
9,921
Paid
Current
Expenditure
34l;
4,.326
731
731
2_,000
2,000
34,272
24,614
uo,994
70,500
_ 115,320
10,,00
1,94.3
318
1 ., 41.ih
2,750
::t,762
2,201
527
,734
1,000
2 ., 500
2,500
3,093
2,500
4,261
4,261
1,593
4,261
125
577 ., 422
125
24 ., 811
531 ., 856
1,593
125
20,754
577,422
-269Table XXX
$20,754
1 ., 022
21 ., 000
60 ., 480
7,292
3,300
Street lighting
45 ., ooo
Fire Department
38,91,k
Salaries
Sinking Fund
Public markets
- .34,082
33,427
2 ., 556
Cntir.gent
Advertising
8 ., 785
Contingent interest
6,463
Police
Stref'+, cleaning
Street repairs
Well and pump repairs
21.
77,737
23,172
15,450
6,750
8.
1st August, 1854
,
,
Office of the
.270..,.
Real estate, sales in 1851
2o6
City Hospital
2,000
Water account
623
1,800
3,597
3,o,o
2,;372
672
416
6,1,2
333
600
6 ., 605
Board of Health
Total Receipts
Expenditures
886
2,395
Gas lamp_posts
I11terest on,city bonds
3530,561
bonds
60,480
7,92
3,300
Street lighting
42,40.5
Fire Denartment
37,.542
Salaries
Sinking Fund
Public :markets
Contingent
32,246
33,427
2,083
. o"o., ,..,..,54
-271-
8,6n
Advertising
7,966
Contingent interest
78,542
Police
,23 ., 210
Street ,cleaning
13,898
Street repairing
Well and pump repairs
6,4.55
City Hospital.
2,000
Water account.
23,328
1,832
2,859
3,671
3,872
Eighth Ward
Seventh Ward
Street cleaning, Eighth Ward
672
255
5,053
333
600
3,043
Board of Health
16,500
Certificates on hand
Cash in Treasury
llij 270
Total Expenditure
$530,581
FISCAL
YEAR ENDING
SEPTEMBER 1, 1855
For the Consolidated cities of Brooklyn, Williamsburgh
and Bushwick22
ReceiEts
$140,972
161,000
For Williamsburgh
150,000
debts
44,200
47
1,329
Public markets
4,808
Contingent
7,227
Contingent interest
4,125
Advertising
Water account
450
3,577
131
Fire Department
135,241
74,031
3,186
2,296
,...p
""
.a.\:ii>
V'V.l:f&WV""...._....... ,
.. ---w--
-27.3-
Expenditures
City bonds
Public markets
Contingent
Paid on account of
Brooklyn prior to Paid on account
1855
of Williamsburgh
20
9 ., 180
3,113
54., 703
10., 264
32
3,809
12;043
70
9,744
216
122
18,870
31,890
29,357
87
Street ligll.ting
1 2.,24.5
310
of Hea,lth
Street Cleaning
expenses
126,400
Contingent interest
Advertising
Paid
current
4,589
536
l0,778
3,646
33,932
,3,504
129 ., 630
10,744
Well and pump repairs
Salaries
Police 8th Ward
Police 9th Ward
1,876
4,678
25
37,92$
3,504
60
Adjusted claims
13,062
28 ., 139 :-
2,623
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
-274Paid on account of
Brooklyn prior to Paid on acco11nt
of Williamsburgh
18.$'5
10
City tax
Totals
Paid on account
-Paid
current
_!xpenses
32,457
249,169
330,33.3
of Bushwick, $812.
Total Expenditures for all accounts
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
612,771
can be found there. Not to be overlooked are the scrap-books and clipping
files.
In order to trace the development of the Common Council one must turn
to the newspapers since the early printed records of that body have vanished.
Both the and the Eagle after 1841, published the minutes of the Council.
Copies of legislation and mayoral addresses are also to be found in the
pages of the newspaers.
The Grand Army Plaza branch of the Brooklyn Public Library also has
a useful collection of material. Recently, it has been named as the
official depository for files of the now defunct Brooklyn Eagle.
Much painstaking and time consuming work is necessary for anyone inter
ested in using the official records kept in the Kings County Hall of Records.
Material has been stored in rather a hit or miss fashion.
Here
to.fore, the practice had been the wholesale des_truction of material with
historical value.
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Articles and Pamphlets
/Anon.7 New-York and Long Island Ferry Bill; B1rief Argument on Behalf of
theTpPircants: Brooklin, 1945.
[J,non;J Remarks the Report of the Committee .2f the Common Council.!
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Brooklyn Ferry and. Water Rihts. Brooklyn, 1851.
Bennett, Wm. Harper. 11 Some pre-Civil War Irish Militiamen of Brooklyn,
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!Water pommittee
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(February,
Hutchison, Josph c.'. Histo and Observations .2!! Asiatic Cholera!!! BrooklY!!,
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1834-35
1835-36
1836-37
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Brooklyn Directory
Brooklyn Directory
Brookn Directory
Brooklyn Director,
Brooklyn Directory
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Leslie
w.
H. R. and w. J. Hearne
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1838-39
1839-40
' 1840-41
1841-42
1842-43
1843-44
1844-45
Brooklyn Directory
Brooklyn Directory
Broo!4m . Directory
Yearll Advertiser
Brooklyn Alphabetical.:.!!'.:! Street
Directory andYearll Advertiser
Brooklyn Alphabetical and Street
Directory Yearly Advertiser
Brooklyn Alphabetical and Street
Directory . Yearly Advertiser
H. R. and W. J. Hearne
1845-46
1846-47
and
Brooklyn Directory Yearly Advertiser
1847-48
H. E. and w. J. Hearne
1848-49
Thomas P. Teale
1848-49
1849-50
H. R. and
w.
Brooklyn.Directory
Yearly Advertiser
J. Hearne
1850-51
Ho R. and
w.
J. Hearne
1851-52
H R. and
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J. Hearne
1852-53
H. R. and W. J. Hearne
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185455
Hearnes Brooklyn_City
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c.,
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New York State Legislature. An Act to Consolidate and .Amend the Act Entitled
itAn Act to Incorporate the Cityof Brooklyn, Passed April6,]JJ34u and
- - the_ous Amendator:vThereof .. ltba.ny, 1846.
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New York State Legislature. Report .2f the Special Committee on Tenement
Houses in - and Brooklyn. Albany, 17.
New York State Legislature. Report of the Committee on the Public Health,
Medical Colleges and Social Relations to the Condition of Tenement
Houses in Cities !_ New York Brooklyn. Albany,1867.
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{Jiayemeyer, W. F.J Communication the Mayor,,!!! Reference
and Brooklyn Ferries. New York, 'IB48 (New York City Board of Aldermen.
Doc.no': 19. 1848).
Additional Report ,2!
Ferry Committae, !!! Favor .2.f Leasing Fulton and South Ferries,
March 11, 18t"i4: pp. 1155.;;.oo lDoc. no. o3).
Proceedings.
21 vols.
the Common Council of the City of New York e Dec. 20, 1843. Brooklyn,
!843.
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an
Rules
Report. 1848 0
Proceedings.
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Board of .Aldennen.
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the Board
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!f Aldermen,
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Index to Report of Committees From May -l, 1843 to 25, 1849. /J,i.ngs
Co1.U1ty Hallof Record -
Canals Drainage
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Report.
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be Called the City klyn, passed July 13, 1853e Brooklyn, 1653.
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!1,
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[!i.
/Ji.
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Lighting
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1851.
Q!!_ - Lamps.
Brooklyn
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Police
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/J..
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_
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-
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- .
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Brooklyn Dail;y Eagle, 1841-18.5.5.
Brooklyn Evening Star (formerly Long Island Star), 1834-185.5.
New
. Times, 1851-18.55.
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---------
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.2f
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--
Princeton, 1952.
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