Steve Morse Lecture on History of Geography of New York City

 

My friend Steve Morse just wrote to tell me about a lecture he is giving via Zoom November 18th.

The talk is on Wednesday November 18 at 2 PM Eastern Time.  It is titled "The History of the Geography of New York City."  The talk describes the  five boroughs and the five counties, and how they came about.  It also goes into detail on the history of Brooklyn and of Queens.

The talk is free but you have to register.  The details for registering can be found at https://jewishgen.org/live

NYPD Unearths Over 100 Years Of Photos Documenting NYC’s History

Buried in the basement of of police headquarters, where the New York Police Department photo unit has rooms of boxes and file cabinets. The boxes and cabinets are filled with departmental photos from the 1800s to today.

These historical photos are coming to life again as they are being digitized.
Their first set of digitized boxes consisted of 14 bankers' boxes and was donated to the municipal archive in 2019.

Continue reading

Introducing the Free New York City GEOGRAPHIC Birth Index

Introducing the free New York City GEOGRAPHIC Birth Index! This record set is brought to you by Reclaim the Records

This new database is an index to all births in New York City from circa 1880-1912 (or ca 1917 in some cases outside of Manhattan). But unlike a typical birth index arranged by surname or by date, this one is arranged by the child's place of birth, the actual exact street address! 

There are approximately 2.8 million names in here, maybe more. Remember that this is an index. Armed with this data on the index card with your ancestor's name, you can then order a copy of the actual birth certificate from the city.

Want to skip right to the records? See New York City Geographical Birth Index on Archive.Org

Revist Life in New York City 1911

This restored black and white film is a joy to watch. It's been carefully repaired, and acts like a personal Time Machine. New York City 1911. How many of us have not wished we could be transported back to an earlier time to watch our ancestors?

I went to New York (my first time on an airplane!) after my dad's death. I was 14 years old and it was incredibly exciting to see the big city, formerly called New Amsterdam, where so many of my Dutch ancestors settled in the 17th Century.

Little did I know as I rode in the elevator up the Empire State Building, that my 9th great-grandfather Lambert Van Valkenburg once owned the land where that building now sits.

Welcome to New York City, 1609

Welcome to New York City, 1609 is a fascinating look at 17th Century New Netherland (New York)

"Have you ever wondered what New York was like before it was a city? Find out here, by navigating through the map of the city in 1609. You can find your block, explore the native landscape of today’s famous landmarks, research the flora and fauna block by block, and help our team continue to rediscover 1609."

To take a virtual walk around the city, the Welikia Project  encompasses all of New York City, including the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island, and surrounding waters.

Updated! Almshouse (Poorhouse) Admission Records New York

One of the projects I have been working on over at Olive Tree Genealogy is records of Almshouses (poorhouses) and Orphan Homes, in particular for New York. Yesterday I updated the Almshouse Records for New York City.

These New York City Almshouse records are my favorite to work with as they contain details of admitted individuals' immigration to the City. Following are links for admission books from 1782 to 1858 (with gaps from 1840 to 1855). Please note that this is an ongoing project and not all records have been transcribed. These records are free for all to search, as are all record sets on Olive Tree Genealogy.

New York Almshouse 1782-1813 Surnames "A" | Surnames B | Surnames C. Records contain name of ancestor, date admitted, age, where from or born, complaint [illness], discharged, died, remarks.

Almshouse Records New York 1819-1840. These records contain Date of Admission; Foreigner (Surname); Foreigner (First Name); Age; Place of Birth; Vessel Name; Where From

Almshouse Records New York City 1855-1858. These records contain Date of Admission, Name, Age, Nativity, Time of Arrival, Port Sailed From, Port Arrived At, Ship, Captain, Married or Single, Who Can Identify Them, How Many Times on The Island, Remarks

Photo: Randall's Island House of Refuge, New York

New Amsterdam Collections, 1647-1674 online

New Amsterdam Digital Gallery Now Available online as New Amsterdam Collections, 1647-1674

Images available onllne

The Municipal Archives has digitized early colonial collections from New Netherland (present day New York state) for New Amsterdam (present day New York City). 

Ordinances drawn from the Records of New Amsterdam for the period 1647-1661 and their corresponding translations are now available at archives.nyc

The other records online are Translation of Dutch Records, 1647-1654, Ordinances of New Amsterdam 1647-1661 Translated by E.B. O'Callaghan and Records of New Amsterdam Edited by Berthold Fernow

Digitizing the records and posting them online are the first steps in making the City Archives more accessible.

Translation also available for images

Jews to New Netherland (New York)

Recife

Back in 2000, I was approached by the Jewish Archives in Recife Brazil, asking for my help in identifying the 23 Jewish refugees who were on board the ship St. Charles sailing from Recife to New Netherland in 1654. According to the Archives in Recife, the first Jewish Synagogue in America was built in Recife, this is known from archeological excavations.

I have a small connection with the Dutch settlement in Recife Brazil through my 8th great grandmother Maria Post who was born there and baptised on 6 June 1649 in the Dutch church in Recife. See FN 1:

The Archives interest was in the names of the refugees, and what their lives were like in New Netherland. As far as I am aware, there is no passenger list for the St. Charles. Names of the Jewish refugees may be able to be pieced together by using other documents. I managed to find the names of some of the adult passengers from other records -- mainly court documents of the time. The names I found (using primary records only) were: Abram Israel, David Israel, Asser Levy, Moses Ambrosius & Judicq de Mereda

One source I consulted stated that there were 23 Jews "big and little" (meaning adults and children)

On 7 Sept. 1654 Capt. Jacques de la Motthe aka Motte, skipper of the St. Charles, appeared in court with a petition. He requires payment for freight and board 'of the Jews whom he brought here from Cape St. Anthony". de la Motte states that "the Netherlanders who came over with them" are not included in his suit and that they have paid him. Solomon Pietersen "a Jew" appears and says that "900 guilders of the 2500 are paid and that there are 23 souls, big and little [meaning adults and children] who must pay equally" [Source: The Records of New Amsterdam from 1653 to 1674 Anno Domini, edited by Berthold Fernow in 7 volumes. reprint Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc. Baltimore. 1976 Vol. I Minutes of the Court of Burgomasters and Schepens 1653-1655 p 240]

It is not clear if Solomon Pietersen was on board the ship so I have not added his name to the list. There are some published materials on the Jewish refugees who came from Brazil to New Netherland, but I have not attempted to find them. I have found the names of several other Jewish settlers to New Netherland who may have been passengers on St. Charles -- but they may also have arrived before or after the Recife refugees.

From what can be pieced together about them, it seem probable that the twenty-three consisted of six family heads---four men (with their wives) and two other women who in all likelihood were widows, since they were counted separately---and thirteen young people. The heads of the families were Asser Levy, Abraham Israel De Piza (or Dias), David Israel Faro, Mose Lumbosco, and ---the two women---Judith (or Judica) Mercado) (or De Mercado, or de Mereda) and Ricke (or Rachel) Nunes. [Source: The Grandees: America's Sephardic Elite by Stephen Birmingham]

The Jewish Archives representative informed me that they plan on establishing a Jewish Center Study at the old Synagogue, and they will place the information and sources I find for others to use. I do not know if this happened.

Historical Background

On January 26, 1654, approximately 150 Jewish families of Portuguese background fled the city of Recife, in Pernambuco, Brazil. By September a number of these refugees had established the first community of Jews in the future United States.

Known as Sephardim (Jews of Spanish-Portuguese extraction), theirs was a complex saga. After 1497, the kingdom of Portugal outlawed Jewish life, causing many to flee to Holland where a climate of acceptance prevailed. From there, some migrated on to Pernambuco, a colony of the Dutch West India Company in modern day Brazil. Their community flourished there until the Dutch eventually surrendered Pernambuco to the Portuguese and the Sephardim were again forced to flee.

After being driven ashore in Jamaica by Spanish ships, twenty-three members of the community, along with a group of Dutch Calvinists, made their way to New Netherland (New York)—another colony run by the Dutch West India Company. Peter Stuyvesant, Director General of all Dutch possessions in North America, feared the indigent newcomers would burden the colony but when he motioned to eject the Jewish newcomers the Company refused his petition (many of the company's shareholders themselves being Jewish). [Library of Congress. http://rs6.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan26.html]

Helpful Sources

A book cited by Stokes in his Iconography: Samuel Oppenheim, _The Early History of the Jews in New York, 1654-1664_ (1909) As cited by Russell Shorto in The Island at the Center of the World: Hershkowitz, Leo, "New Amsterdam's Twenty-Three Jews -- Myth or Reality?" In Shalom Goldman, ed., _Hebrew and the Bible in America: The First Two Centuries_; Hanover, N.H.: Brandeis Unirversity Press, 1993. [Howard Swain]

Harry Macy has an interesting article in the latest (vol 15, nos 2-3; Spring/Summer 2004) NYGBS newsletter now titled The New York Researcher. The article is titled: "1654-2004: The 350th Anniversay of New York's First Jewish Settlers" and is on pp 35-37. In a footnote he mentions that Leo Hershkowitz has "compiled a probable list of those coming in 1654 and the next few years." This is in his article, "Original Inventories of Early New York jews (1682-1763)" in American Jewish History vol 90 (2002) pp 246-47, note 7. Mr. Macy''s article lists many other sources of interest to those researching these early Jewish settlers. [Howard Swain]

(Summer 2004) issue of "de Halve Maen", the quarterly publication of The Holland Society of New York. It is Professor Leo Hershkowitz' article, "By chance or by choice: Jews in New Amsterdam 1654", pages 23-30. Herkowitz says that de Peereboom (The Peartree) sailed from Amsterdam to New Amsterdam on 8 July 1654. New Amsterdam is now New York City.

Among those who disembarked were Jacob Barsimon, probably with Asser Levy and Solomon Pieterson. These were the first known Jews to set foot in the Dutch settlement...

"The 23 Jews whose voyage had originated in Brazil arrived shortly after "de Peereboom". On page 29 Herkowitz says, "Though Jews asked for permission to build a synagogue, it was not granted by Stuyvesant, and this issue was never pursued..." [courtesy of Dorothy Koenig]

Visit Ancestry.com's free JEWISH FAMILY HISTORY COLLECTION for access to their Jewish records

FN 1: C.J. Wasch, Doopregister der Hollanders in Brazilie 1633-1654, (1889), Adriaen Crijnen Post, Clara Moockers. Wt Christoffel ---, Andelijina Caron, Dorothea Montanier.

Orphanages in New Amsterdam (New York City)

As early as 1653, New York City (formerly called New Amsterdam) recognized that it needed to care for the city's minor children, widows, and orphans. In February of that year, the Deacons of the Reformed Dutch Church were appointed to act as Orphan Masters. Their duties were to "keep their eyes open and look as Orphanmasters after widows and orphans..." They were to report to city officials who would appoint cuators if necessary to take care of the estates and effects of these widows and orphaned children.

On February 10, 1653, two men were appointed to act, not as Orphanmasters as originally intended, but as Overseers of Orphans. City officials continued to rule in the Orphan's Court, which had been created by Stuyvesant to "attend to orphans and minor children within the jurisdiction of this city [New York City]"

The Records of this Orphans' Court have been published as "Minutes of the Orphan Masters of New Amsterdam 1655-1663" by Berthold Fernow and "The Minutes of the Orphan Masters of New Amsterdam 1663-1668" translated by Edmund B. O'Callaghan. Genealogists can also consult The Records of New Amsterdam : From 1653 to 1674 Anno Domini by Berthold Fernow

Searchable Orphan Records can be found at http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/orphans/