Wyckoff House papers
Call Number
Dates
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
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, which were created in 1670-1925, are in the public domain. Permission to publish or reproduce is not required.
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.
Existence and Location of Copies
Item-level description and digital versions of images from the collection are available for searching via our online image database.
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.
Repository
Series I. Legal and Transactional Documents, 1687-1917, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Contents
This series contains legal and transactional documents mostly created and collected by members of the Wyckoff family and their descendants from 1687 to 1917. The bulk of the material dates from the early 1700s to the mid 1800s and consists of deeds and bonds. Included in this series are four enslaved persons' bills-of-sale and one enslaved person's deed of indenture. In addition to deeds and bonds, there are bills-of-sale, certificates, wills, an oath of allegiance, pardon, passport, and receipts.
Arrangement
Documents in this series are grouped alphabetically by type, then arranged chronologically with folder or item level description.
Deed of John Gibordson from Daniel Hendrickson for Land, March 13, 1700
Deed of Indenture between Klaus Wyckoff and Cornelius Wyckoff for Land, 1714, 1715, inclusive
Deed of Cornelius Wyckoff from Wilhelmus Stoothoff for 25 Acres of Land in Flatlands, 1739, 1751, inclusive
Deed of Indenture between Abraham Wyckoff and Abraham and Sarah Rapelje for Land, May 23, 1800
Deed of Indenture of Jack, an Enslaved Child, from Nicolas Schenk to Abraham Wyckoff, January 1, 1819
Deeds, 1712-1897, inclusive
Bill-of-sale of Sam, an Enslaved Child, from Nicolas and Peter Wyckoff to Abraham Wyckoff for 40 Pounds, May 18, 1801
Bill-of-sale of Lidge, an Enslaved Man, from Jarvis Whitman to Abraham Wyckoff for 225 Dollars, April 14, 1807
Bill-of-sale of David, an Enslaved Man, from Daniel Jones to George Lot for 132 Pounds, February 22, 1812
Bill-of-sale of Maria and Jack, Enslaved Mother and Son, from Ann Emmaus to Matthew Jones for 55 Pounds, October 4, 1813
Bills-of-sale, 1717-1838, inclusive
Birth Certificate of Ida Aletta Wyckoff -- Photostatic Copy, June 2, 1892
Bonds, 1689-1827, inclusive
Census of Enslaved People in the Counties of Albany, 1755
Contract, 1717
Insurance Certificate, 1828-1829, inclusive
Marriage Certificate, 1868
Mortgage Certificate, 1818
Oath of Allegiance, 1687
Pardon for Daniel Jones, Prisoner of War, August 15, 1778
Passport, 1834
Receipts, 1810-1835, inclusive
Summons and Complaint, 1917
Will of Pieter Wyckoff of Flatlands, New York, June 10, 1746
Will of Abraham Emans of Gravesend, New York, January 11, 1777
Will of Adam Boyse of Monmouth County, New Jersey, November 10, 1780
Will of Peter Wyckoff of Hillsborough, New Jersey, May 25, 1813
Series II. Correspondence, Family Documents, and Notes, 1670-1888, undated, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Contents
This series contains documents and correspondence created and about members of the Wyckoff family dating from 1670 to 1888. The bulk of the material in this series is correspondence between members of the Wyckoff family dating from 1805 to 1869. Aside from the correspondence, there is a newspaper and certificate from the 1880s, and some documents from the early to mid 1800s with notes about the Wyckoff family.
Arrangement
Documents in this series are grouped alphabetically by type, then arranged in chronological order with folder or item level description.
Certificate of Service of Nicolas Wyckoff to the Williamsburg City Fire Insurance Company, August 10, 1883
Family Documents, 1670-1860, undated, inclusive
Notes, 1690-1866, undated, inclusive
Letters and Envelope, 1805-1869, undated, inclusive
Newspaper, 1888
Series III. Maps, 1935
Extent
Scope and Contents
This small series consists of two copies of a map which depicts a stretch of Old Kings Highway in Flatlands, Brooklyn. The map was drawn in 1935 by BDS Ryerson.
Arrangement
Documents in this series are arranged chronologically at the folder level with item level description.
