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Guide to the Gabriel Furman papers, 1725-1913
ARC.190
Descriptive Summary
| Creator:
|
Furman, Gabriel, 1800-1854 |
| Title: |
Gabriel Furman papers |
| Dates [inclusive]: |
1725-1913 |
| Dates [bulk]: |
Bulk, 1816-1854 |
| Abstract:
|
Gabriel Furman (1800-1854) was a lawyer, Whig politician, New York State senator,
and historian of early Brooklyn, New York, known for his
Notes Geographical and Historical, Relating to the Town of Brooklyn, on Long-Island (1824). The Furman papers principally include thirteen journals dating from circa
1816 to circa 1854 in which Furman both documented his personal observations about
Brooklyn and New York and recorded historical items relevant to his writing and lectures.
Among the wide diversity of topics found in the journals are epidemics of cholera
and yellow fever, financial crises, daily weather conditions, theatre and the arts,
politics, and religious belief. The collection also holds Furman manuscript histories,
notably one on theatre in New York. Finally, the collection includes several pages
from a Furman letter book, principally from 1824, and a page of his legal drafts from
1823. The bulk of the correspondence consists of letters written by Furman to his
father, William, who was a New York State assemblyman away at Albany. The principal
subjects of these letters concerned local perspectives on matters that would be taken
up by the legislature, including Brooklyn's effort to gain a charter for a proposed
Long Island Bank, the proposed act of incorporation for Brooklyn, and Furman's opposition
to a proposed expansion of capital punishment in New York. Local electoral politics
is also a subject of the correspondence.
|
| Quantity: |
2.8 Linear feet in seven manuscript boxes |
| Language of Materials:
|
Materials in English. |
| Call Phrase: |
ARC.190 |
