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Brooklyn Home for Aged Men records

Call Number

2012.002

Dates

1844-2011, inclusive
; 1878-1970, bulk

Creator

Brooklyn Home for Aged Men
Brooklyn Home for Aged Men and Couples

Extent

8 Linear Feet in 16 manuscript boxes
45 Megabytes in 80 digital files.

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

The Brooklyn Home for Aged Men records date from 1844 to 2011. The bulk of the records document the affairs of the Home from its incorporation in 1878, until the closing of its residence homes in 1969. Later records document the organization's continued charitable efforts after closing its residences. The collection includes administrative records, financial records, legal documents, resident files, Board meeting minutes, photographs (prints, negatives, and digital images), and memorabilia.

Historical note

The Brooklyn Home for Aged Men was founded by a group of wealthy Brooklyn women to provide housing and care for impoverished elderly men in 1877. It was officially incorporated in Feburary 27, 1878. The organization first secured temporary housing on Grand Avenue, before finding its first permanent residence at 84 State Street. That house was filled to capacity by 1880. By September 1886, property was acquired and ground was broken for a new residence home at 745 Classon Avenue. Residents were moved from the State Street home to Classon Avenue in May 1887. In 1893, a home on Park Place was acquired and joined to the organization's main building. In 1894, the Board of Managers decided to allow couples to be admitted to the Home, the first of which arrived in 1895. Later, single women would also admited to the Home. Additional buildings and medical facilities were constructed throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Home ceased operation as a residence in 1969, largely as a result of increased regulation of elderly care facilities. Current residents were transferred to other facilities. The Home's assets were sold, including real estate property (to the Interfaith Medical Center) and works of art. Funds from the sales were invested and are now used to support other elderly care facilities. The organization also provides scholarships for nursing students, and supports medical research.

The Brooklyn Home for Aged Men was founded by a group of wealthy Brooklyn women as a charitable foundation to provide housing and care for impoverished elderly men in 1877. It was officially incorporated on February 27, 1878. The organization then secured temporary housing on Grand Avenue, before finding its first permanent residence at 84 State Street. That house was filled to capacity by 1880. By September 1886, property was acquired and ground was broken for a new residence home at 745 Classon Avenue. Residents were moved from the State Street home to Classon Avenue in May 1887. In 1893, a home on Park Place was acquired and joined to the organization's main building. In 1894, the Board of Managers decided to allow couples to be admitted to the Home, the first of which arrived in 1895. Later, single women would also be allowed to reside in the Home. Additional buildings and medical facilities were constructed throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Home ceased operation as a residence in 1969, largely as a result of increased regulation of elderly care facilities. Current residents were transferred to other facilities. The Home's assets were sold, including real estate property (to the Interfaith Medical Center) and works of art. Funds from the sales were invested and are now used to support other elderly care facilities. The organization also provides scholarships for nursing students, and supports medical research.

Sources

  1. Brooklyn Home for Aged Men - http://brooklynhome.org/about_us

Arrangement

The records are divided into five series:

Series 1: Administrative and financial records, 1844-2011

Series 2: Resident files, 1892-1976

Series 3: Photographs, circa 1920-2011

Series 4: Memorabilia, circa 1920 - circa 1990s

Series 5: Microfilm, 1922-1987

Scope and Contents

The Brooklyn Home for Aged Men records date from 1844 to 2011. The bulk of the records document the affairs of the Home from its incorporation in 1878, until the closing of its residence homes in 1969. Later records document the organization's continued charitable efforts after closing its residences. The collection includes administrative records, financial records, legal documents, resident files, Board meeting minutes, photographs (prints, negatives, and digital images), and memorabilia.

Some of the records were preserved on microfilm, which are also available to researchers (see Series 5).

Conditions Governing Access

The Resident files series contains personal medical information. As per regulations defined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), "individually identifiable health information of a person who has been deceased for more than 50 years is not protected health information under the Privacy Rule." To protect this information, files from this series will remain closed until 2050. Access to the records may be obtained prior to 2050 with the authorization from the decedent's executor, administrator, or other person who has authority under applicable law to act on behalf of the decedent or the decedent's estate.

All other records are open to researchers without restriction.

Conditions Governing Use

Unpublished photographs will enter the public domain 120 years from their date of creation. Publicity photographs, dating from circa 1950, are in the public domain.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date (if known); Brooklyn Home for Aged Men records, 2012.002, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of the Brooklyn Home for Aged Men, 2012. Additionally, the eighty-year anniversary pamphlet included with this collection was the gift of Maud Esther Dillard.

Collection processed by

John Zarrillo. Digital files processed by Erica López in 2019.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 11:20:31 +0000.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

Folder titles which were created by the processing archivist are enclosed in brackets. Three bound volumes of annual reports, six loose annual reports, and an eighty-year anniversary pamhplet were added to the collection by John Zarrillo in December 2015. These items were originally part of the Brooklyn charitable organizations for the aged publications collection (1985.105), but had been separated from that collection at some point in the past and were never processed.

Digital materials were donated on 2 CDs, which were imaged using BitCurator-2.0.14. No viruses or personally identifying information were found during imaging.

Repository

Brooklyn Historical Society
Center for Brooklyn History
128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201