APPENDIX H

BEFORE THE FIVE.BOROUGH CITY: The Old Cities' Towns and VillagesThat CameTogether to Form "Greater New York" hy Harry Macy,Jr., rt.A.s.G.,F.G.B.s. CopyrightO 1998,2002,The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society

JanuaryI, 1998,marked the 100thannivcrsary ofthe creation of the five-borough New York City. This article focuseson the world rvhich that city replaced, for the consolidation of 1898 (and otherc which preceded it) wiped off the map many jurisdictions which genealogistsare going to encounterin their research. Most modent nraps do not show these old cities, towns, or villages, so it is often difficult for genealogiststo undersland the place names they encoulter in census, land, vital, and otherrecords before 1898. After tbe English seized the City of New Amsterdam in 1664 and renamcd it New York, they extcndedits boundariesto irrclude all of Manhattan Island. In 1683, when the Province of New York was first divided into counties,the City of New York also becameNew York County. At first the acnral city was limited to the island's southern tip, the rest of Manhattan consistingof scatteredfam:s and rural villages. Slowly the urbanized area spreadnorthward, In 1874, to accommodate this growth, New York City and County aru:exed from Westchester County what is now the western Bronx. Mcanwhile, the village of Brooklyn had become a city and was expanding to evenruallycover all ofKings County. In 1894 a vote was taken in New York, Westchester,Kings, Queens, and Richmond couutieson a proposalto combine New York City with Brooklyn, the eastem Bronx, pad of Queens County, and all of Richmond County, to form the secondlargest Map. L TheFive Boroughsof New York City. city in the world (after London). There was a large majority for the proposal, but only becauseofthe vote in Ncw York County. (sucbas tlrc Surrogate'sCout) usothe countynarnes, but this Only 50.1oloof Kings County voters were in favor, and some usagemay not be consistent.Gencalogists should be fanriliar towns, such as Flushing in Queens County, were solidly with bothsets of names. opposed. Priorto 1898,the City of Brooklynmaintained recorcls vury Nevertheless, the overall nnjority nrled, and consolidation similarto thoseof its sistercily of Nerv York, includingvital went ahead.In 1895 New Yort City annexedthe castcm Bronx. recordgas early as 1848.When l.nng IslandCity wascreated in On January l, 1898, the City of Brooklyn, Long Island City, 1870it also beganto keepvital records.The townsof Kings, and the towns aud villages of western Queens and all of Quecns,Richmond, and Wcstchcster(later Bronx) counties fuchmond were reploced by the Boroughs of Brooklyn (Kings keptrecords similar to thoscmaintained by townsiu therest of County), Queens (Queens County), and Richmond (Richmond the etatc,including vital recordsn 1.84'l-49oud beginning Counry). Witb the Boroughs of Manhattan and The Bronx againin 1881.Within the towns,incorporated villagcs some- (Ncw York County) they formed a new Citv of New York, timeskept their own vital recordsafter 1880-81(Morisania briefly called "Greater New York." kcpt someat leastas early as 1872), For the survivingvital Since 1898 there have boentwo inportant changes.In 1914, recordsof the old cities,towns, and villagessee Genealogical The Bronx bccame a separate county of thc sanre name. In Resourcesin New lbr( New YoRK c:lrY DEpAnlMrjN'toF 1975, the Borough of Richmond was renamedthe Borough of RECORDSAND TNFORMATIONSERVTCES, Mt'NICIPAL ARC'HMS. Staten Island, though remaining Richmond County. To undcrstandthe .mapstbat follo% kecp in miud that in Sources dated after January l, 1898, llnay carry either the New York State,counties are made up of townsand cities. borough or county name, or botlt. In gencral, records generated Towns in turn consist of villages, which may be incorporated by a city agency (such as the Dcpartment of Health) usc the (andthus bave somerccords oftheir own),or unincorporated borough names, while those created by agenciesof the state (in whichcase thcir affairsare covered by thetown records).

387 BEI-ORETHE FM-BOROUG]I CITY (continued) The Bronx

Map 2. Southernpart of WestchesterCounty prior to 1846, Map 3. Threetowns, West Farnrs, Morrjsania and Kirrgs- showingthe town bounderies. The manor of Morisania was bridge,were creatcd botween 1 846 and I 873. Iu 1864ths madea townin 1788but annexedto Westchesterin 1791. entiretown of Morrisaniawas also incorporated as a village.

Map 4, In 1874 Ncw York Ciry and County annexodfrom Map 5. In 1895 the AnnexedDistrict and Ward 24 were WestchesterCorrnty the areasouth of the City of Yonkorsand extendcdeastward to includeall of the town of Westchester west of the Bronx River. The former towns of Morrisania' and parts of Pelhamand Eastchester.These towns included WestFatms, and Kingsbridge became Wards 23 atd24 of the someincorporated villages, of which South Mount Vemon City, and were known as the "AnncxedDistrict." (NOTE: and Wakcfield had vital records which survive. At the AlthoughNew York City continuedto bo dividcd into wards consolidationof 1898, the Anncxed Distrjct became the untit the 1930s,the wards lost their political frmctionas a Boroughof theBronx, but rernainedpart of New York Counry resultof reformsin the 1890s.) until Bronx Countywas created in 1914.

388 BDFOR.ETHn FIVE-BOROUGII CITy ftontinued) BtooHyn

QUEENSCO.

Map 7. hr 1834 the Village and Town of Brooklyn were combinedto form fte City of Brooklyr,I! 1827the village of Williamsburghwas incorporatedrvi(hin the towu of Bushwict in I 840jt bccamea separatetown, and in I 851a ciry. In I 852 the eastempart of Flatbusbbecame the Town of New Lo1s.In 1854Williamsburgh and Bushwick were annexed to Brooklyr asthe Eastem Dishjct of thatciry, usually abbreviated"E.D." (theoriginal city wasthen briefly called the Western District). Map 6. Kings Countytowns before 1834. The star indicates theVillage of Brooklyn,incorporated in 1816.

WARDS1-12,19-25

Map 8. Brooklyn annexedall the remainingtowns 1886-96' Map 9. Wardsof theCity 1896,and Borough 1898-.

389 BE!'ORE THE FIVE-BOROUGH CLTY(continued) Queens Map 10. Before 1870, Queer:s County consisted of the torvns of Newtown, Flushing, Jamaica, North Hempstead, Hempstead, and Oyster Bay (not shown). Thc Rockuway Peuinsulawas part of the tou'n of Hempstead. In 1870 the westenr part of Newtown closest to Ncw York City, rncluding the village of Astoria, rvas incorporatcd as a separatecity, called Long Island Ciry. On Januaryl, 1898,Long Island Oity, NeMowu, Flushing, Jamaica,and the Rockaway Peninsula of l{empstead becanre the Borough of Queens, and were rcplaced by live wards: Long Island City bccarncWard l, Neworvn Ward 2, Flushing Ward 3, JamaicaWard 4, and Rocknway Wnrd 5. 'Ibere had been a number of incorporated villages in the former towns. Several of these briefly kept their owrr vital records which suwive, namely: in thc torvn of Flushing, the villages of Flushing, Collcgc Point, aud Whitcstone; in the town of lamaica, the villages of Jamaica and R.ichnxrndHill; and in the Rockaway Peninsulaof Hempsfead,tbe villages of Far Rockaway aud Rockaway Beach, The creation ofthe borough left the larger eastempr:rlion of Queens Counry (I{empstead, Nortlr Ilernpstend and Oyster Bay) outside of the city. This politicul complication was resolved on January l, 1899 when the three eastenr towns became the new county of Nassau, After that date Queens County consisted only of rhe llorough of Queens, but it retainedall of the pre-l 899 county records.

Staten fsland (Richmond) Map 11.Ricllnond Countywas originally divided into four towns, Castleton, Nortlrfield, Southfield, and Westfield. In 1860 a fifth town, Middletown, was createdfrom partsof Castletonand Southfreld. Castletonwas the closesttown to New York City (by ferry), and the first to lose its rural character.Its north shorewas incorporatedin 1866 as the village of New Brighton. and in 1872 thc village boundarieswerc extendedto includethe entiretown, so thatCastleton and New Brigbtoncovered the same area. Thcrc were smallerincorporated villages in the other towns, of which the following have surviving vital recordsin additionto thoseof tle towns:Port Richmond in Northfield, Edgewater in both Middletown and Southfield,and Tonenville in Westfield. On January l, 1898 the Borough of Richmondwas crcated,and the formpr towns becamewards: Castleton/ New Brighton was Ward l, Middletown Ward 2, Northfield Ward 3, SoutlrfieldWard 4, and Westfield Ward 5. In 1975 the Borough of Richmondwas renamedthe Borougb of Staten lsland. The county continuesto be known as Richmond.

390 GENEALOGICAL RESOURCES IN I{EW YORI(

Editedby EstelleM. Guzik

Publishedby the JewishGenealogical Society,Inc. P.O.Box 286398 New York,NY 10128

2003