Meeker brothers land records collection
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Abstract
This collection contains land records dated 1757 to 1904 from the Brooklyn law office of Samuel M. and David E. Meeker. Items include mortgages, deeds, title abstracts, tax bills, wills and correspondence relating to Brooklyn property transactions. The collection also includes two images: a photograph of a winter scene in Prospect Park, circa 1890s, and a photograph of a painted portrait of Rev. Stephen Headley Meeker (1799-1876), Pastor of the Old Bushwick Reformed Church. Folders are arranged by street address and/or approximate location. Names associated with the listed properties are also included on the folders.
Biographical note
Samuel M. Meeker (1820-1891) worked as corporate counsel for the City of Williamsburg prior to its consolidation with the City of Brooklyn, drafting the city charter in 1851. Meeker also helped to establish the Williamsburgh Savings Bank and was serving as its president at the time of his death. He resided on Bushwick Avenue in the modern-day neighborhood of Bushwick. Meeker Avenue in Williamsburg is named in his honor. David E. Meeker (circa 1828-1889) lived at 255 Jefferson Avenue in the neighborhood now known as Bedford-Stuyvesant. The Meeker brothers shared a law office located at 64 Broadway in Williamsburg and dealt primarily in real estate transactions.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains land records dated 1757 to 1904 from the Brooklyn law office of Samuel M. and David E. Meeker. Items include mortgages, deeds, title abstracts, tax bills, wills and correspondence relating to Brooklyn property transactions. Folders are arranged by street address and/or approximate location. Names associated with the listed properties are also included on the folders. The collection also includes two images: a photograph of a winter scene in Prospect Park, circa 1890s, and a photograph of a painted portrait of Rev. Stephen Headley Meeker (1799-1876), Pastor of the Old Bushwick Reformed Church.
The bulk of the land records date from the latter half of the 19th century, a time of rapid urban growth. Most houses and buildings were not numbered until the advent of the modern postal service in the United States, so the earliest-dated properties in this collection do not have numeric street addresses, but rather a general location description. For example, property on South Second Street would not be listed as 234 South Second Street, but rather South Second Street property, north side, between Third and Fourth Avenues. Most property deeds and mortgages include hand drawn maps of the blocks and described property lots, providing a more exact location description.
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Meeker brothers land records collection, ARC.061, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Edgarton G. North, 1965.
Other Finding Aids
A detailed finding aid, with folder lists and name index, is available in print format and on the library's catablog via this link.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Minimally processed to the collection level.
This collection is composed of two accessions: 1977.236 and 1980.034.
Sponsor Note
Note Statement
Repository
Container
This finding aid does not include an online listing of contents.
To learn about viewing this collection in person, please contact cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org.