Green-Wood Cemetery

Entrance to Greenwood Cemetery, [190-?], Brooklyn Postcard collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 

The Center for Brooklyn History provides this guide for those researching Green-Wood Cemetery.  The Center for Brooklyn History’s holdings include books, photographs, maps, deeds, illustrations, and oral histories. In addition to these materials, researchers are encouraged to browse the collections and other research guides for resources that may be relevant to their work. To make an appointment or ask a question, please contact cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org.  

Brooklyn’s largest cemetery, Green-Wood Cemetery, was founded in 1838 and interred its first resident in 1840. Green-Wood's 478 acres of rolling hills and glacial ponds formed 18,000 years ago by the retreat of the Wisconsin Ice sheet. In the 1800s, New York City leaders recognized a need for additional burial space as urban churchyards filled. The topography and location made the land a strong candidate for a rural cemetery and public greenspace in 1800s New York.  

Significant figures in Green-Wood's development include: 

• Henry Evelyn Pierrepont, the Cemetery’s founder who introduced the idea of a rural cemetery to leaders in New York City and Brooklyn and served as president of the Cemetery from 1864-1888 
• Major David Bates Douglass, the Cemetery’s landscape architect and president serving from 1839-1841 
• Nehemiah Cleaveland, the Cemetery’s first historian 
• Warren and Wetmore, the architecture firm responsible for the construction of the Green-Wood Cemetery Chapel in 1911 

In 1997 Green-Wood Cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places and granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006. Notable Brooklynites buried at Green-Wood include: 

• Barstow, Susie M., 1836-1923 – artist and instructor at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences 
• Basquiat, Jean-Michel, 1960-1988 – artist 
• Bosworth, Stanley Anselm – first headmaster of Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn 
• Ebbets, Charles, 1859-1925 – Owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers 
• Howell, James, 1829-1897 – 19th Mayor of Brooklyn 
• McKinney Steward, Susan – co-founder of the Brooklyn Women's Homeopathic Hospital and Dispensary 
• Pierrepont, Hezekiah – land developer, founder of Brooklyn Heights 

General Archival Collections 

Collections are presented in this guide in alphabetical order according to the collection name. Each entry follows the format:  

• Collection name, date range of the collection
• Call number
• Link to the finding aid
• Brief description of content in the collection relevant to Green-Wood Cemetery 

Brooklyn periodical illustrations (1839-1968)

Call number: BCMS.0003

Link to finding aid: https://findingaids.library.nyu.edu/cbh/bcms_0003/  

This collection covers more than a century of Brooklyn history, with periodical illustrations depicting historic people, structures and events in Brooklyn predominantly from the era before the rise of photography. Box 3 contains the cemeteries folder which includes illustrations of Green-Wood Cemetery. \

Charles M. Higgins papers (1854-1929)

Call number: 1978.114

Link to finding aid: https://findingaids.library.nyu.edu/cbh/arms_1978_114_higgins/  

The Charles M. Higgins papers consist primarily of Higgins's writings, photographs, and clippings. Materials relate to Higgins's position as a prominent ink manufacturer, activities in the Anti-Vaccination League of America and Kings County Historical Society, and interests in religious ethics and morality. Items also relate to Higgins's death in 1929 and the history of Brooklyn, particularly in regards to Green-Wood Cemetery.

As one of the founding members of the Kings County Historical Society, Higgins fought to have the Gowanus site of the Battle of Long Island restored, especially the old Gowanus Stone House. Higgins's money also enabled the Kings County Historical Society to donate the Altar to Liberty statue on Battle Hill in Green-Wood Cemetery. 

Everett and Evelyn Ortner papers and photographs (1873-2012)

Call number: ARC.306

Link to finding aid: https://findingaids.library.nyu.edu/cbh/arc_306_ortner/  

The collection contains the papers and photographs of Everett and Evelyn Ortner, dating from 1873 to 2012. Series 4, Brooklyn and Historic Preservation photographs, contains photographs related to Brooklyn and historic preservation in a variety of formats, dating from circa 1880s to 2000. Formats include prints, slides, negatives, and glass plate negatives. The series includes original photographs by EHO, copy photographs of historic images used by EHO in lectures, and a small number of original photographs taken by other photographers. Box 55 contains slides of Green-Wood from 1970 – 1998. 

George B. Forrester ephemera collection (1846-1932)

Call number: 1973.225

Folder: 3

Link to finding aid: https://findingaids.library.nyu.edu/cbh/arms_1973_225_george_b_forrester/    

Included are several illustrated prints of scenes in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery from Green-Wood by N. Cleaveland, Esq. Illustrated in a series of views taken expressly for this work by James Smillie.  

Green-Wood Cemetery reports and publications (1839-1995)

Call number: ARC.153

Link to finding aid: https://findingaids.library.nyu.edu/cbh/arc_153_greenwood_cemetery/

The Green-Wood Cemetery reports and publications span the years 1839 to 1995 and measure 1.75 linear feet. Included in the collection are reports of the Board of Trustees and various publications such as catalogues of proprietors, financial reports, rules and regulations, and suggestions to lot owners. Also included in the collection is one bound volume containing a photocopy of the catalogue of proprietors for the year 1884. The catalog includes the names of the lot owners, the lot number, and the location of the lot in the Green-Wood Cemetery. 

Green-Wood Cemetery viewbooks (1884-1891)

Call number: ARC.237

Link to finding aid: https://findingaids.library.nyu.edu/cbh/arc_237_greenwood_cemetery/  

The collection consists of four viewbooks that document sepulchral monuments within Green-Wood Cemetery. Viewbooks, also called souvenir albums or view albums, are books that contain commercially published groups of photographs depicting a place, activity, or event. 

John Thatcher collection (1905-1931)

Call number: BCMS.0019

Link to finding aid: https://findingaids.library.nyu.edu/cbh/bcms_0019/  

This collection includes letters sent to John Thatcher's wife and son upon his death in 1912, newspaper clippings reporting Thatcher's death and the aftermath, and an album of 8x10" black and white photographs of buildings constructed by John Thatcher & Son with hand-lettered captions.

Buildings erected by Thatcher include: the Green-Wood Mortuary Chapel, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Dime Savings Bank, a wing of Brooklyn Hospital, the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, the warehouse of the Brooklyn Storage and Warehouse Company, Erasmus Hall High School, the Polhemus Clinic of the Long Island College Hospital, areas of the Abraham and Strauss department store complex, the Carroll Gardens library branch, as well as hundreds of apartments, private homes and schools. 

Luquer and Payne Family Papers (1822-1980)

Call number: ARC.282

Link to finding aid: https://findingaids.library.nyu.edu/cbh/arc_282_luquer_payne/

The Luquer and Payne families papers include a travel journal, property indentures, estate records, correspondence, genealogical notes, and other material concerning these two families and related families, including the names Low, Lynch and Pierrepont. Box 1 contains records of burial plots at Green-Wood Cemetery for members of the Low, Luquer, Lynch, and Payne families.  

Pierrepont family papers (1761-1918)

Call number: ARC.263

Link to finding aid: https://findingaids.library.nyu.edu/cbh/arc_263_pierrepont_family/  

The Pierrepont family papers (1761-1918) document the intersection of commercial, civic and personal interests across three generations of one of the most prominent and influential families of nineteenth century Brooklyn, New York. The bulk of the collection concerns the business dealings of Henry Evelyn Pierrepont from 1838 to his death in 1888. Pierrepont is responsible for the ideation of a rural cemetery in Gowanus which would become Green-Wood Cemetery and served as President of the Cemetery from 1864 – 1888.  

Included in the collection are correspondence, deeds, indentures, leases, accounting records, diaries, maps, invoices, receipts, business proposals, legal filings, clippings, and historical and genealogical manuscripts. 

Samuel Chester Reid collection (1837-1956)

Call number: 1973.179

Link to finding aid: https://findingaids.library.nyu.edu/cbh/arms_1973_179_samuel_chester_reid/  

This collection consists of a photostat copy of Samuel Chester Reid's petition to Congress for the establishment of a line of telegraphs from New York to New Orleans. Additional items include programs from the 1956 dedication of the Samuel Chester Reid Monument in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery, as well as a transcript of a speech given by Charles S. Thomas, Secretary of the Navy, at the ceremony. A map of Green-Wood Cemetery marking the location of the Reid monument is also included. 

Books 

This booklist highlights some of the Center for Brooklyn History’s titles pertaining to Green-Wood Cemetery history. Researchers are encouraged to browse the catalog for additional titles. As the book collection is non-circulating, titles cannot be placed on hold online. To request books, please contact us at cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org. Click the heart beside the book title to create your own booklist (sign in to your account first). 

Land Conveyances (1699–1896)

The Brooklyn Land Conveyance collection documents Brooklyn land transfers from 1699 through 1896. Organized by block, these abstracts show seller (grantor) and buyer (grantee) information. Please note that these are just abstracts, not the actual deeds. In many cases these abstracts are the only records for these early land transactions that have survived.

Green-Wood Cemetery is block 902. Records of land conveyances before Green-Wood Cemetery was established can be found in block 900-902pt1. Land conveyances of burial plots and additional land purchases made by the Cemetery for expansion can be found in 902pt2. Some of these conveyances include the names of former landowners who sold their land for the creation of Green-Wood. These names will most often be included in the description of the bounds of the plot and read “By land Green-Wood Cemetery and formerly...” or a similar phrase.  

Newspapers

The Brooklyn Newsstand contains 44 local newspapers digitized in a partnership with Newspapers.com. Dates range from 1809–1964 and include Brooklyn-wide titles such as The Brooklyn Daily Eagle and Long Island Star, as well as small neighborhood papers such as Greenpoint Weekly Star and the Bay Ridge Home Reporter. Researchers can use the newsstand to keyword search articles by name, address, organization, and event. A tutorial can be found here. 

Maps

Brooklyn Maps collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History 

When searching the map collections search for “greenwood” and “green-wood” separately. Performing both searches will ensure that all available maps are brought up in your results.  

Brooklyn Public Library digital collections

Former Brooklyn Historical Society map collections 

Oral Histories

Our Streets, Our Stories Collection 

• Eriksen, Norman: discusses family members who are buried in Green-Wood Cemetery
• Lydon, Ada: reminisces about childhood visits to Green-Wood Cemetery 

Additional Resources

The following is a select list of resources outside of the Center for Brooklyn History that are highly recommended.

Green-Wood Cemetery Collections  

Green-Wood Cemetery maintains collections available for use by researchers including the Cemetery’s Institutional Archives, the Landscape and Living Collection of over 8,000 living specimens, and the Historic Fund Collection which holds artworks and artifacts from residents of the cemetery. Green-Wood also maintains a database of burial and vital records from 1840 to 1937.  

Find a Grave

FindAGrave.com can be quite helpful for locating an individual’s gravesite, but keep in mind that its information is crowdsourced and can be inaccurate.