Green-Wood Cemetery Land Acquisition - Legal Documents, 1812-1935 | The Green-Wood Cemetery

By J.D. Arden, Steph Diorio, Nik Dragovic, Dana Hart, Pratt School of Information Students; Emily Chapin, Pratt School of Information Intern

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Collection Overview

Title: Green-Wood Cemetery Land Acquisition - Legal Documents, 1812-1935

Predominant Dates:1830-1860

Extent: 6.0 Boxes

Arrangement: The collection is arranged into 9 series, based on material type.

Subjects: Cemetery Development, Land contracts, Legal Documents

Abstract

The materials in this collection were found in a safe deposit box owned by the Green-Wood Cemetery. The majority of the materials pertain to legal transactions, and include abstracts, indentures, contracts, reports, bills, maps of cemetery plots, and correspondence between involved parties and legal counsel.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

These records reflect the years of consolidating property in the City of Brooklyn, in an area then known as Flatbush, for the land and building rights of Green-Wood Cemetery. The collection also includes some records of the purchase and sale of burial plots, as well as business correspondence.

Collection Historical Note

Green-Wood Cemetery is an historic and famous cemetery located in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. The brainchild of Brooklyn social leader Henry Evelyn Pierrepont, the cemetery was officially founded in 1838, although land was acquired prior to that date for its construction. The cemetery was a popular tourist attraction throughout most of the nineteenth century due to its park-style landscape, an idea inspired by the preexisting Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Many famous New Yorkers (and some famous non-New Yorkers) are buried within Green-Wood’s 478 acres, and in 2006 it was declared a National Historic Landmark, cementing its status as a cultural treasure.

Subject/Index Terms

Cemetery Development
Land contracts
Legal Documents

Administrative Information

Repository: The Green-Wood Cemetery

Processing Information: Accession #: 010-2015

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series I: Abstracts, 1834-1877],
[Series II: Indentures, 1849-1915],
[Series III: Contracts and Agreements, 1872],
[Series IV: Reports, 1847-1854],
[Series V: Letters, 1873-1934],
[Series VI: Documents Relating to 519 Madison Avenue, 1893-1899],
[Series VII: Receipts and Bills, 1854-1871],
[Series VIII: Maps],
[Series IX: Miscellaneous, 1812-1872],
[All]

Series VI: Documents Relating to 519 Madison Avenue, 1893-1899

This series contains 18 documents relating to the sale and maintenance of the property referred to throughout as 519 Madison Avenue, and to the sale of the Green-Wood Cemetery lot in Section 5, Block 1289. Both of these properties were purchased by Augustus Stoner. Abstracts of 519 Madison Avenue show the transition of the property through the several people listed in this series: Augustus Stoner (represented by Attorney William T. Gilbert), Clara and Samuel L. Post, Emma L. Palmer, and Eliza and Nelson Robinson. Materials include abstracts, mortgages, indentures, one release of dower, letters, and one fire insurance policy.

Box 4

Folder 1: Mortgages to Provident Savings Life Assurance Society, May 9, 1898: Mortgage for $60,000, between William B. May and Provident Savings, and for $30,000 between Augustus Stoner and Provident Savings.
Folder 2: Memorandum of Agreement between William B. May and the Provident Savings Life Assurance Society, May 9, 1898: Regarding sale and repairs of 519 Madison Ave.
Folder 3: Assignment of Mortgage of the Provident Savings Life Assurance Society to the Washington Trust Company, May 9, 1898: Regarding the initial mortgage of Augustus Stoner for $30,000
Folder 4: Letter from W.B. May to William T. Gilbert regarding the transfer of 519 Madison Ave., April 22, 1898
Folder 5: Agreement between Emma L. Palmer and Augustus Stoner: Regarding the sale of 519 Madison Ave. for $38,000
Folder 6: Letter from the Secretary of the Provident Savings Life Assurance Society to William T. Gilbert: Regarding the mortgage of 519 Madison Ave.
Folder 7: Indenture between Emma L. Palmer and Augustus Stoner: Transferring the property at 519 Madison Ave.
Folder 8: Indenture between Augustus Stoner and the Provident Life Savings Assurance Society, May 9, 1898
Folder 9: Abstract of the Title of Augustus Stoner, 519 Madison Ave.,: Represented by Attorney William T. Gilbert. Includes diagram.
Folder 10: Mortgage between Elisa and Nelson Robinson and the Provident Savings Life Assurance Society, June 26, 1893
Folder 11: Assignment of Nelson and Eliza Robinson’s Mortgage from the Washington Trust Company to the Provident Savings Life Assurance Society: For the property Section 5, Block 1289
Folder 12: Release of Dower between Clara Post and Emma L. Palmer, May 10, 1895: Regarding Section 5, Block 1289
Folder 13: Bond between Nelson Robinson and the Provident Savings Life Assurance Society, June 22, 1893
Folder 14: Indenture between Nelson Robinson and Clara Post for Section 5, Block 1289, June 22, 1893
Folder 15: Letter from Nelson Robinson, regarding 519 Madison Ave., July 5, 1890
Folder 16: Letter from Emma L. Palmer, regarding 519 Madison Ave., July 5, 1898
Folder 17: Abstract of the title of Samuel L. Post, 519 Madison Ave.
Folder 18: Fire Insurance Policy for 519 Madison Ave., Samuel L. Post: With expiration date of January 10, 1899