John Jay Pierrepont photograph collection

John Jay Pierrepont (1849-1923) was the youngest son of Henry Evelyn and Anna Maria (nee Jay) Pierrepont, a prominent Brooklyn family. Born on September 2, 1849 in Rye, N.Y., John Jay Pierrepont was a Brooklyn businessman and financier who, with his elder brother Henry Evelyn Pierrepont II, took over the family business, the Pierrepont Stores, following their father's retirement. Outside of his professional activities, John Jay was involved in numerous Brooklyn and New York City organizations and clubs. He served as treasurer at the Long Island Historical Society (now the Brooklyn Historical Society) and was one of the original board members for the Committee on Brooklyn History (which was supervised by the Long Island Historical Society). Further, he was a member of the Brooklyn Institute, the New York Zoological Association, the Audubon Society, the Hamilton Club, the New York Yacht Club, and the Down Town Association, among others.

John Jay Pierrepont was also an amateur photographer and he photographed many Brooklyn subjects including historic Brooklyn houses and maritime activities on New York Harbor (or Upper New York Bay) and the East River. Pierrepont married Elise de Rahm on October 26, 1876 and they had one son who died in infancy. Elise died several years later, in 1879, and Pierrepont never remarried. He lived at 1 Pierrepont Place in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood.