Brownstone History GOLD MINE!

@ElleHouse digitized maps can be of great help as some (Sanborns, Bromleys etc.) indicate the construction material – wood frame, stone, brick etc. The collection at NYPL is a great starting point as they have Brooklyn maps from 1855 to 1920 https://www.nypl.org/collections/nypl-recommendations/guides/fire-topo-property-maps As @cate noted, disregard the DOB dates as they are usually inaccurate for anything pre 1920s. Depending on your neighborhood, streets may also have been renumbered – so for instance in Brooklyn Heights you need to search the address it had pre 1870s when doing newspaper hunting. BHS occasionally holds Brooklyn house research workshops if you are looking for a good overview.

Jasperrose11

in General Discussion 5 years and 7 months ago

22

Please log in, in order to post replies!

22 replies

Newest Oldest

Guest User | 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "3"
string(6) "198551"

I might be late to the party, but I just discovered (through a real estate listing featured on Brownstoner, actually) that the Brooklyn Library has a searchable database of all Brooklyn Daily Eagle issues from 1841-1963 at https://bklyn.newspapers.com/

It’s a veritable *GOLD MINE* of information on old Brooklyn brownstones!! There are tons of sale and rental listings as well as obituaries and other random advertisements. Thought some of y’all might enjoy looking through it. If you have any other tips on tracking down information on these old houses, I would love to hear them!

Looks like this was happening at our place in March 1885… *”F.O. Matthews. Medical and business clairvoyant. Seances Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. medical interviews $1; business sittings, gents $2, ladies $1.”* Quite a lively little house back in the day!

Beyond that chuckle, I’ve actually been able to piece together a solid early history of our home. Looks like our little wood frame house went up for sale as a brownstone (?) for $6,400 in March 1887, several years before the DOB sh ows it actually existing. It was then sold again in 1915 for $2,500 (presumably as a wood frame house after the original brownstone burned down? maybe?) to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Curtis, who incidentally both died there in 1940 and 1943, respectively.

stevecym | 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#5083 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#5086 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(5) "21525"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(8) "stevecym"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(8) "stevecym"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(24) "stevecymbalsky@yahoo.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(30) "/forums/users/thetinkerswagon/"
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2017-08-10 14:05:31"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(20) "xLyD4JX1CSeJzFu7zs4j"
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(8) "stevecym"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(21525)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
    [1]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

hey elle house:

thanks for the suggestion of an address search. the eagle had been on line since the early 2000’s (up to like 1910). i had been using it to search my great grandmother’s family as they moved across brooklyn from williamsburg circa 1840 to bushwick, circa 1890-1900 with my g, g, g grandmother finally dying on Stuyvesant St in 1907. i have been by the building she died in and figure it must have been brand new when she expired there.

i have never tried entering addresses though and since you posted this, i ran a few addresses last night, chiefly 1109 Dekalb (which my ancestor is listed as having owned in the 1880’s). i have not had any luck returning results this way and i know they sold that building about 1890, so i hoped a transfer would be listed. can you offer any insight into running an address search?

also, with respect to entering addresses, does anyone one know if there was a shift in house numbers in the area of Broadway in Bushwick? some records, chiefly census, list my ancestor as having resided at 1039 dekalb (i think, from me mory, perhaps it was 1019) yet last night i looked it up in city directories on line to run through the Brooklyn Eagle website and the address comes up as 1109 Dekalb. i have been aware of this inconsistency for years and cannot find an explanation for it.

Keep in mind there were other papers. There is an index on line for them, by state: Google “historic newspaper index on line”. Years ago i made an inquiry to the Brooklyn Historical Society and the woman there told me use this one “fultonhistory.com”. it seems that the digitized collection put together by the man who started “fulton history” is now used by the larger indexes, for NYS anyway.

i have wanted to come on here and ask people of ways to research buildings, besides the dob. if others have suggestions, i would like to read them. i am aware i can run a title search.

steve

mattieweiser1

in General Discussion 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "2"
object(WP_User)#5087 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#5089 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(6) "190802"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(13) "mattieweiser1"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(34) "$P$B3pYXrcTYGc12hwKujTqngzL.fLzxo1"
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(13) "mattieweiser1"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(26) "Mattie.weiser@corcoran.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2024-02-22 16:53:31"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(27) "Mattie Weiser Mattie Weiser"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(190802)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(1) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(3) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

Thanks Elle! What started out to be a really exciting search (the first post was my house for sale with photo in 1905) became really grim when I found on two separate events from two families within ~10 years, people who have died while living here. Funeral services were also conducted here… and I’m only 6 hits in… lol.

Jasperrose11 | 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#5083 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#5093 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(4) "1568"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(12) "Jasperrose11"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(12) "Jasperrose11"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(20) "Jasperrose11@aol.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(47) "http://bstoner.wpengine.com/forums/users/susan/"
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2007-08-11 22:06:34"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(12) "Jasperrose11"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(1568)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
    [1]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

There are lots of great research resources out there – this year the BPL actually increased the number of papers that are digitized, adding 40 more newspapers in addition to the Eagle, but for now some you can only access in person at a library – Brownstoner covered it here: https://www.brownstoner.com/brooklyn-life/brooklyn-newspaper-historic-brooklyn-collection-public-library/

There are other great resources for digital newspapers, including early 19th century papers at BHS, NYS Newspapers, Chronicling America etc.

@stevecym – one suggestion for searching addresses is to try every variation and use quotation marks – so “1109 Dekalb” “1109 Dekalb Av” etc. I try every variation, use several different databases, and always end up with different results.

Some new resources have come online since Suzanne Spellen wrote this great three-part article in 2011 but it is still is a good overview – https://www.brownstoner.com/history/walkabout-researching-historic-bu ildings-part-1/

For more Brownstoner stories on research resources – https://www.brownstoner.com/tag/research/

slopefarm | 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#5092 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#5091 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(3) "655"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(9) "slopefarm"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(34) "$P$BK7dzbqXJe9TV6iU0glcNZiXdOt9CR1"
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(9) "slopefarm"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(18) "jrubin@law.nyc.gov"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(24) "/forums/users/slopefarm/"
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2017-08-10 14:11:42"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(9) "slopefarm"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(655)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
    [1]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

If you do your title history first, then you also have names to plug into the Brooklyn Eagle search.

stevecym | 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#5093 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#5087 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(5) "21525"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(8) "stevecym"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(8) "stevecym"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(24) "stevecymbalsky@yahoo.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(30) "/forums/users/thetinkerswagon/"
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2017-08-10 14:05:31"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(20) "xLyD4JX1CSeJzFu7zs4j"
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(8) "stevecym"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(21525)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
    [1]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

slope, where in the city do we go to run the title history? how long does it take for say something built 1900 with 5 owners? i did this on some old houses when i was in my late teens and it seemed to be a pain in the neck, going back over years (in another county, not sure if it is done the same way all over). are at least the indexes digitized? i had to go through books and files at that time.

Guest User | 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "3"
string(6) "198551"

I haven’t read through all of these yet (boring work ?), but I’m sooooo excited to do more research this weekend!

Guest User | 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "3"
string(6) "198551"

I haven’t read through all of these yet (boring work ?), but I’m sooooo excited to do more research this weekend!

Guest User | 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "3"
string(6) "198551"

@rach_brklyn – I hear ya! Mrs. and Mrs. Curtis both expired in our house, fortunately it appears after a relatively long (and happy?) life there. Our search has also brought up all kinds of questions on things I had originally suspected. Ours is the only wood frame in an entire row of huge brownstones, and it has some bizarre deed restrictions from the late 1890s on roofing material and primary use (lucky for us b/c all of the developers skipped right past it!). I figured something funny must have happened. This search definitely supports that. It sold as a “brownstone” for $6400 in 1887 and then resold for $2500 in 1915! What happened to you little house?!?! Who hurt you!?! Definitely need to keep digging and probably plan a day trip to the DOB. (And, let me know if you need the number for a good exorcist! 🙂 )

@stevecym – I just plugged in the addresses and things popped right up, but now I’m thinking I need to do some more creative searches as well, like @Susan mentioned to make sure I’m not missing anything.

Also, I’m sure everyone has done this (and ther e’s a great Brownstoner article on it), but for those who haven’t, remember you can find old 30s/40s and 80s tax photos online at the Municipal Archives: http://nycma.lunaimaging.com/luna/servlet/ This was actually super-helpful (and so cool!) and we’re doing some exterior work on our wood frame to make her look a bit truer to her former glory!

RobertGMarvin

in General Discussion 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "2"
object(WP_User)#5080 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#4892 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(3) "779"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(13) "RobertGMarvin"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(13) "RobertGMarvin"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(40) "64df18426207ddf12f1789eba7eabd04a9c3f615"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2007-08-10 18:03:45"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(10) "Bob Marvin"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(779)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(0) {
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(0) {
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(0) {
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

I tried putting my Midwood Street address into the website. I got >17,000 hits–everything that included “Midwood”. That isn’t very useful.

Guest User | 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "3"
string(6) "198551"

@Bob Marvin – @Susan had some good search tips. My search came back with thousand of hits as well, but the first fifteen or so were specific to my house. The rest just had my street name. Hope that helps. It’s definitely something of a treasure hunt!

Guest User | 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "3"
string(6) "198551"

@stevecym – Since this is way more fun than working, I just ran 1109 Dekalb through the search engine for Brooklyn Daily Eagle and actually came up with a bunch of hits . This was the search: https://bklyn.newspapers.com/search/#query=1109+DeKalb&offset=19

Looks like it was built in 1905 by Mr. Frederick Weidner and housed Weidner Printing and Publishing through at least the late 1940s. Does that sound right? Here’s the original article about Weidner Publishing: https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/59746784/?terms=1109%2BDeKalb. There are also some adverts for stenographers and mentions in court dockets, etc. I also found an obituary of a soldier killed in WWI (June 14, 1918), who was an employee of Weidner at that address: https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/55298632/?terms=1109%2BDeKalb .

Hope this helps! R

Jasperrose11 | 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#5093 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#5090 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(4) "1568"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(12) "Jasperrose11"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(12) "Jasperrose11"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(20) "Jasperrose11@aol.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(47) "http://bstoner.wpengine.com/forums/users/susan/"
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2007-08-11 22:06:34"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(12) "Jasperrose11"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(1568)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
    [1]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

That’s great you got some results @ElleHouse – will be curious to hear what you learn! @bob the quotation marks around the address definitely make a difference and help limit a bit but, every database has its own quirks and I find that sometimes the databases pull some random things that take patience to cull through. I use bklyneagle, fultonhistory, nystatenewspapers, hrvnewspapers and others and get a big mix of results. Also I can’t tell you the number of times I have found nothing, go back later with the same search and find something. New stuff is constantly being added.

stevecym | 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#4887 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#5085 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(5) "21525"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(8) "stevecym"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(8) "stevecym"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(24) "stevecymbalsky@yahoo.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(30) "/forums/users/thetinkerswagon/"
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2017-08-10 14:05:31"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(20) "xLyD4JX1CSeJzFu7zs4j"
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(8) "stevecym"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(21525)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
    [1]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

Elle house, thank you. i listed the addresses hoping someone might run them while i was gluing some wood up today. if you wish to go further, the last name of my family was Freude (theodore being my g g g grandfather and fyi, i had
years ago ran the census records and i know where they lived and where they are buried; evergreen).

i will add this: some years back i was going through my late grandmother’s papers and found some beautiful embossed postcards from 1908 addressed to a house on Macon st. i took them and gave them to the current owner.

stevecym | 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#5090 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#5095 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(5) "21525"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(8) "stevecym"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(8) "stevecym"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(24) "stevecymbalsky@yahoo.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(30) "/forums/users/thetinkerswagon/"
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2017-08-10 14:05:31"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(20) "xLyD4JX1CSeJzFu7zs4j"
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(8) "stevecym"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(21525)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
    [1]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

elle: i have gone by that building and looked at it and it is brick and i wondered what year it was built. so 1905? my ancestor sold it about 1887 – after he died and left the family in somewhat strained circumstances. census records said they lived in a wood frame house. thank you for checking this , i am going to read about weidners printers.

are there any pictures around of pre 1900 structures?

Guest User | 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "3"
string(6) "198551"

@stevecym – I didn’t find any when I searched your address. Looks like we’re in the same (well, slightly opposite) boat. Ours went from a brownstone to a woodframe some time between 1887 and 1912 or so. Have to figure out what on earth happened to her! Almost has to have been a fire.

The scary irony is we had a pretty big fire on our block TONIGHT. It happens so fast. And of course back in the day, it was so much more dangerous! Crazy to imagine that happening to our house.

CarmenR | 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#5088 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#5084 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(5) "76710"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(7) "CarmenR"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(34) "$P$BzHMZfQVzm/ERejsSfVg/POhnj4ZkX0"
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(7) "carmenr"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(23) "dayglosoright@gmail.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2017-08-10 14:30:53"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(9) "Suzzeeque"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(76710)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(1) {
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(1) {
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

I used this extensively while researching the build date on our house. We used Brooklyn Daily Eagle records to find names and ultimately cross-referenced those against files at the Brooklyn Historic Society to figure out our house was built between 1847-1855. It was a really fun weekend project for a particularly cold Jan/Feb a few years back! Love looking through this stuff

stevecym | 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#5080 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#5094 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(5) "21525"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(8) "stevecym"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(8) "stevecym"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(24) "stevecymbalsky@yahoo.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(30) "/forums/users/thetinkerswagon/"
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2017-08-10 14:05:31"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(20) "xLyD4JX1CSeJzFu7zs4j"
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(8) "stevecym"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(21525)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
    [1]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

ellehouse, thank you for taking the time. hope everyone is safe down there this morning.

i suppose that most brownstoners know that the sanborn insurance maps are now someplace on line? that may be how i know my ancestors house was a two story wood frame, btw. not sure.

stevecym | 5 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#5096 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#5097 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(5) "21525"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(8) "stevecym"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(8) "stevecym"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(24) "stevecymbalsky@yahoo.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(30) "/forums/users/thetinkerswagon/"
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2017-08-10 14:05:31"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(20) "xLyD4JX1CSeJzFu7zs4j"
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(8) "stevecym"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(21525)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
    [1]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

ellehouse and others who might be able to help me: i know this goes a little off topic, but i have spent countless hours trying to confirm a bit of family lore that i suspect involves my ancestor who lived and died at 1109 Dekalb ave in December 1883. his name was Theodore Charles Freude and he worked as a policeman at Castle Garden Immigration Center. he was there when the place burned down in 1876 and as a police officer, he helped evacuate the place. another time he rescued a man who jumped into the water at the battery which is where Castle Garden was (“is”, it is Fort Clinton; the roof burned off it in the fire). a few years back i came in contact with a distant cousin who knew some lore and she told me that we had a german speaking ancestor who worked at the immigration station (she thought ellis island, but that did not come into being until 1892) and he had been attacked and stabbed by a crazed person at the facility. she told me he was killed. i have gone through newpapers in brooklyn and the city looking for an account of an assault on a polic eman at castle garden or even ellis island (i have contacted ellis island’s hostorian; i have contacted the police department) to see if their is truth to the story. there is one thing i have learned since hearing this; that a lot of people got injured in the city and went home to bed to suffer long, painful deaths from infections and other things . so i now know it is possible that he may have been attacked months before and died at home later and the death certificates only list what these people died of, not what brought it on, especially if much later. a bit of evidence which seems to support this is that his wife did get his pension and immediately after his death, not later, say when he reached retirement age.

any thoughts anyone? any one know any other ways to check newspapers? i ran his name all different ways such as Frende, Trude, Frude as i have learned it was often misspelled.