John C. Bergen papers
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Abstract
John C. Bergen (1826-1907) was a farmer on Bergen's Island in Flatlands, Kings County, New York (now part of Brooklyn). His papers include pages from his diary (1846-1848, 1854); an account book with daybook and other transactional entries (1827-1835, 1865-1894); and Bergen's 1866 federal tax return. The diary entries focus principally on daily farming activities, hunting (including at Barren Island), weather, and bringing goods to market in Brooklyn and other Kings County towns, with references to illnesses, participation in town meetings, Bible readings, and other aspects of daily rural life. A farmhand named John J. who appears frequently in the diary's 1840s entries is, judging from an 1854 entry, an African-American.
Biographical / Historical
John C. Bergen (1826-1907) lived on the family farm on Bergen's Island in Flatlands, Kings County, New York, until 1890. He was the son of Cornelius Bergen (1798-1865). (See page 357 of Teunis G. Bergen's The Bergen Family in the BHS library at call number CS71.B47.1876. Also see the obituary from the Brooklyn Eagle of June 8, 1907, a copy of which is also found at page 357 in the above book.)
Arrangement
The loose manuscripts are foldered together in a box with the bound account book.
Scope and Contents
The collection includes pages from a diary (1846-1848, 1854) maintained by Flatlands farmer John C. Bergen; an account book with daybook entries (1827-1835), records of various transactions, such as sales of farm produce and purchase of manure and other supplies (1865-1872), and notes on cow births (1882-1894); one loose page of an account book (1872-1874); and Bergen's 1866 federal tax return. The diary entries focus principally on daily farming activities, hunting (including at Barren Island), weather, and bringing goods to market in Brooklyn and other Kings County towns, with references to illnesses, participation in town meetings, and other aspects of daily rural life. A farmhand named John J. who appears frequently in the diary's 1840s entries is, judging from an 1854 entry, an African-American. The 1854 pages include lists of daily family and "secret" Bible readings.
Subjects
Families
Genres
People
Topics
Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
Material is in the public domain.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); John C. Bergen papers, 1974.114; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was a gift to the Long Island Historical Society (now Brooklyn Historical Society) in 1930 from Rev. John Tallmadge Bergen (likely John C. Bergen's son).
About this Guide
Processing Information
The collection was processed in December 2011 by Larry Weimer.