Wyckoff House papers
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Abstract
The Wyckoff House papers is an assembled collection comprised of documents created by members and descendants of the Wyckoff family and by other families who lived in and around Brooklyn during the Dutch colonial period, Revolutionary War, and Civil War eras as well as documents that refer to the Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House. The material in the collection dates from 1670 to 1935 with the bulk of the documents spanning from 1750 to 1870. The content of the documents records transactional dealings, correspondence between members of the Wyckoff family, notes about the Wyckoff family tree, and is comprised of enslaved people indentures and bills-of-sale, deeds, correspondence, bonds, certificates, wills, maps, receipts, and lists.
Biographical / Historical
The Wyckoff family was a Dutch family that settled in Brooklyn during the Dutch, then English, colonial period. Members of the Wyckoff family are all descended from Pieter Claesen Wyckoff, an influentual 17th century figure in New Amsterdam who established the Flatlands Dutch Reformed Church. After living near present day Albany, Claesen-Wyckoff and his wife, Grietje Van Ness-Wyckoff, settled on what is now the historic Wyckoff homestead in Flatlands, Brooklyn. While living on the Wyckoff homestead, Pieter Claesen Wyckoff became a landholder and justice of the peace. Claesen-Wyckoff and Van Ness-Wyckoff had eleven children who married other prominent families. The Wyckoff family tree is complex and spans the entire United States of America.
The Wyckoff House & Association, Inc. was formed in 1937 by descendants of Pieter Claesen Wyckoff and Grietje Van Ness-Wyckoff who came together to purchase the Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House. In the 1960s, the Wyckoff House Foundation gained ownership of the property and donated it to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. In 2001 the house was opened as a public museum offering school programs, public events, and community farmers markets. The Wyckoff House Museum perserves and educates the public from New York's oldest building through educational programs that connect people to the past.
Arrangement
Due to the assembled nature of this collection, lack of recognizable original order, and donor supplied item-level inventory, materials in this collection are arranged by document type groupings. The arrangement of the collection reflects the groupings by document type from WHA's inventory. The arrangement is as follows:
Series 1: Legal and Transactional Documents, 1687-1917
Series 2: Correspondence and General Documents, 1670-1888, undated
Series 3: Maps, 1935
Scope and Contents
The Wyckoff House papers are mostly comprised of documents that range from 1670 to 1935 with the bulk of the collection spanning 1750 to 1870. The majority of the collection documents transactions and includes: enslaved people indentures and bills-of-sale, deeds, letters, maps, receipts, bonds, certificates, and other documents. While many of the documents do refer specifically to the Wyckoff family or the Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House, many of the papers document broader business dealings in the area that is currently Kings County, and mention many other Dutch or early colonists in the area, including some of the following families: Lott, Rapelje, Ryerson, Lefferts, Kowenhoven, Vanderbuilt, Schenck, and Vandeveer.
Subjects
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Open to users without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Materials in this collection are in the public domain.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Wyckoff House papers, 2020.004, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Transferred by the Wyckoff House Museum in 2020. The accession number associated with this transfer is 2020.004.
Custodial History
The Wyckoff House papers were transferred to the Center for Brooklyn History on September 25, 2020. Prior to the transfer, the papers were housed at WHA in an unheated attic. WHA collected the papers from Wyckoff descendants on unknown dates.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
If digital surrogates exist, they should be used in place of the originals whenever possible.
Existence and Location of Copies
Portions of this collection have been digitized. Please consult library staff for questions about access.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Documents were removed from mylar sleeves and placed in new acid-free folders and appropriately sized boxes. Oversized materials were placed in flat file folders.
The collection was arranged into series based on original item-level categories from WHA supplied inventory. The language of the donor supplied inventory was retained as folder titles with the exeception of folders that contain bills-of-sale, indentures, and the census which mention enslaved persons. The language of these folders were revised by the archivist to explicity name individuals and remediate oppressive language.
As per the deed of transfer, digital surrogates were created for 20 items in this collection. These items are available for WHA to use, reproduce, publish, and exhibit at no expense to WHA.
