Antoinette Butler Brooklyn Heights Seminary memory book
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Historical Note
The Brooklyn Heights Seminary was founded by Alonzo Gray in 1851. It was an offshoot of the Brooklyn Female Academy (est. 1845), which eventually became the Packer Collegiate Institute. The school was originally located at 88 Montague Place, now known as Montague Street, in Brooklyn Heights, and later at 138-140 Montague Street. The original faculty consisted of Professor Gray, Miss Arethusa Hall, and twelve other teachers. 166 pupils enrolled in the school's first year. The school's "Board of Visitors" included many well-known Brooklynites of the time, including Henry Ward Beecher. Reverend Richard S. Storrs lectured at the school during its first year. He also served as temporary principal after Gray passed away in March 1861. In September 1861, the school was purchased by Dr. Charles E. West, who served as principal until his retirement in 1889. His assistant principal was Mary A. Brigham. Clara B. Colton took over leadership of the school in 1889, in partnership with three other faculty members. Colton retired in 1903.
Upon Colton's retirement, a committee comprised of the school's patrons and the Brooklyn Heights Seminary Club incorporated the school under a Board of Trustees with Teunis G. Bergen as president. Ellen Yale Stevens was appointed as principal and the former Chittenden mansion at 18 Pierrepont Street was leased to house the school. In 1906 the Trustees purchased the property, and in 1907 a three-story extension was added with a gymnasium and classrooms. The extension was named Stanton Hall in memory of Mr. George A. Stanton. In 1914 Florence Greer was appointed assistant principal. Greer became principal in 1923 and held the position until her death in 1933. The school ceased to operate after Greer's death. Its building was demolished in 1934 to make way for apartment buildings.
Biographical Note
Antoinette Reeve Butler was born in 1888 at 402 Franklin Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn to Glentworth R. Butler and Antoinette Willson Butler. She was an only child. By 1906 the family was living at 229 Gates Avenue, also in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Antoinette attended Brooklyn Heights Seminary for five years starting in 1902 at the age of 14. She graduated on June 5, 1907.
Antoinette married Brower Hewitt in November 1913. In 1915 she gave birth to a daughter, Cornelia, and in 1918 another daughter, Lydia. By 1920 the family was living in New Haven, Connecticut. Two more children, Nina and Glentworth, followed in 1921 and 1925, respectively. In 1950, Lydia was living with her parents, along with her husband, Carl, and their son, Antoinette's grandson, Carl Jr.
Antoinette Butler passed away in 1979 at the age of 91.
Arrangement
The single volume of the memory book is arranged into sections as follows: Owner, School, Commencement Exercises, Class, Classmates, Reunions.
Content Description
This collection consists of one memory book created by Antoinette Butler, a student at Brooklyn Heights Seminary who graduated in 1907. The book contains handwritten entries from 1906-1910 which mostly center around the school's commencement, but also include more general school memories and details of alumni reunions. The book also includes commencement mementos (including the ribbons that tied Butler's diploma and bouquet, newspaper clippings, and ephemera) and photographs of six students and eleven teachers and staff members. The scrapbook was intended to be used for commencement memories and was created by Dodd, Mead and Company of New York in 1904. It has its original blue cloth boards with gilt details on the spine and front cover, measures 8 inches by 5 inches and is 239 pages total, though not all of those have been filled by Butler.
The memory book covers not only social life but details of Butler's studies in French, German, Latin, Physics, Chemistry, Geometry, History, and Literature. In documenting the 1907 commencement ceremony, Butler drew a diagram of the space at the Heights Casino where it took place, as well as describing her and her friends' commencement gowns. Her invitees to the ceremony are listed as well.
Photographs of the following individuals appear in the memory book:
Ellen Yale Stevens, principal
Teachers: Elizabeth Shearer, M.J. Pauillas-Thibault, Marie Weiss, Elsie Clapp, Elizabeth Carhart, Amy Whittemore, Bertha Griffin, Ada Clark
Janitorial staff: Theophilus and Alma Stuart
Students: Mortina Balch, Helen Jourdan, Lillian Scrymser, Edith Smith, Marjorie Speers, Mildred Zellhoefer
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
The contents of this collection are in the public domain. While many items at the Center for Brooklyn History are unrestricted, we do not own reproduction rights to all materials. Be aware of the several kinds of rights that might apply: copyright, licensing and trademarks. The researcher assumes all responsibility for copyright questions.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Max Rambod Rare Books in February 2023.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Researchers should use a book cradle when examining this volume to prevent damage to the spine and binding.
About this Guide
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This finding aid does not include an online listing of contents.
To learn about viewing this collection in person, please contact cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org.
