Helen Zunser Wortis collection
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Abstract
The Helen Zunser Wortis collection contains research materials compiled by Wortis during the period 1943 to 1976 while researcing African American history on Long Island and Shelter Island history. The research is mostly dedicated to slavery and the African American population on Long Island.
Biographical Note
The daughter of Russian-Jewish immigrant parents, Helen Zunser Wortis (1906-1976) was a humanitarian and scholar who resided in both Brooklyn and Shelter Island on Long Island, where she worked as an archivist at the Shelter Island Historical Society. She published several articles in the Long Island Forum and the Journal of Long Island History. Wortis was also actively involved in community affairs and various charities. She helped form the Brooklyn Heights Youth Center, which she served for many years until her death, and also assisted in obtaining funds for the Weeksville project, which evolved into the Weeksville Heritage Center, a significant Brooklyn cultural institution.
Scope and Contents
The Helen Zunser Wortis collection contains research materials compiled by Wortis during the period 1943 to 1976 while researcing African American history on Long Island and Shelter Island history. The research is mostly dedicated to slavery and the African American population on Long Island. Items include correspondence and photocopies of statistical records, census records, and enslaved people records dating roughly from 1600 to 1900. The collection also contains index cards on which Wortis wrote research notes; articles published by Wortis in the Journal of Long Island History and the Long Island Forum; various articles, publications, clippings, and ephemera; and a copy of Wortis's memorial service, among other materials.
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to users without restriction.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Helen Zunser Wortis collection, 1977.351, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Source and date of acquisition unknown. Formally accessioned in 1977.
Other Finding Aids
An earlier version of this finding aid, containing a complete inventory of the collection, is available in paper form at the Brooklyn Historical Society. Please consult library staff for more information.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Minimally processed to the collection level.
Oppressive descriptive language was remediated from the scope and contents note in this finding aid as part of an anti-racist descriptive language audit performed in January 2021.