Brooklyn Fourth Ward tax assessment book and scrapbook

Abstract

One volume used to record tax assessments for residents of Brooklyn's Fourth Ward during the 1840s. Entries detail each resident's name, street, house number, and total assessment, all written in pencil. The volume was subsequently used as a scrapbook, and only the first sheet of the volume is still legible in regards to the book's original purpose, containing tax assessments for residents living on Sands Street. Assessment lists on all remaining pages have been pasted over with newspaper clippings of illustrations and copy photographs dating from circa 1860 to 1900 and relating to American military campaigns, history, public transportation, ships and seafaring, historic homes and buildings, fires and fire fighting, churches, recreation, arts, labor, and other subjects and notable events. While several of these clippings relate specifically to Brooklyn and Long Island, many focus on national or international figures and events. While the creator of the scrapbook is not certain, it may have been compiled by Thomas B. Nayes, who lived at 3 Bridge Road in Brooklyn. Nayes's signature and address are written on the last page of the volume.