Susanna Grow

Isaiah Golden – Old Bushwick Dutch Reformed Church Membership

Isaiah and Susanah Golden were members of the Old Bushwick Reformed Church, a congregation of the Dutch Reformed Church.  They were received into the congregation on April 10, 1898 by method of confession.  According to the church record, they eventually left the church, but the date and circumstances of their departure was not noted.[1]

Isaiah Golden - Old Bushwick Reformed Church

Old Bushwick Dutch Reformed Church

The Church was located on the corner of Conselyea and Humboldt Streets in Brooklyn, with Old Woodpoint Road and Skillman Avenue bounding the church on the other sides of the building.  This was just two blocks from the family home and business. Originally founded in 1654 in the Dutch settlement of Bushwick (“Boswyck”), the church was remodeled and added on to in both 1711 and 1829.  The church was disbanded in 1919, with the building demolished. [2]  The land was eventually sold the Roman Catholic Church, and S. Francis of Paola Roman Catholic Church now stands on the site.  The records from the church were lost in part, when a city janitor used the papers to start fires in the furnace at Brooklyn City Hall.[3]

The_Brooklyn_Daily_Eagle_Wed__Apr_29__1936_New_York_Tribune_Sun__Jan_31__1904_

As early as 1909, citizens of Brooklyn were trying to save the church, stating “…we should remember that this church building is the only connecting link in the Eastern District between the dim past and the present.  Other cities carefully guard old landmarks, and try to preserve them for the benefit of later generations.  Why not spare this venerable structure and extend Bushwick Avenue through Woodpoint Road in a trifling curve around the church?”[4]  The church has been struggling in the years before it disbanded because the neighborhood had changed significantly, as mainly Italian Catholics had moved into the area.[5]

The first church built on the property was octagonal in shape with a high roof, characterized as “resembling a haystack”.  When initially built, it was an open enclosure, without pews for the congregation, who would bring their own seats to church.  In 1795, pews and a gallery were added.  Eventually the original church was replaced with a more modern building in 1829, and then further remodeled in 1876.  In 1878, a school building was added to the property.  At first the church has a squatter’s claim to the property, until a bill passed in Albany in 1800 gave them ten acres in the village of Bushwick.  The school building was the first to be sold off to the Polish Catholic Church.[6]

The_Brooklyn_Daily_Eagle_Sun__Apr_21__1918_

Transcript

Old Bushwick Reformed Church: 1 July 1909, Page 56

GOLDEN, ISAIAH, Received 10 April 1898 by Confession, Remarks Left

GOLDEN, SUSANAH S., Wife, Received 10 April 1898 by Confession, Remarks Left

 

[1] The Archives of the Reformed Church in America; New Brunswick, New Jersey, Bushwick Church, Church Register, 1789-1914, US Selected States Dutch Reformed Church Membership Records, 1701-1995, Provo, UT, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2016.

[2] “Bushwick Dutch Reformed Church Records, 1713-1817,” http://brooklynhistory.org/library/wp/bushwick-dutch-reformed-church-records-1713-1817/.

“Brooklyn Reformed Dutch Church Records,” http://bklyn-genealogy-info.stevemorse.org/Worship/BklynReformedDutchRecords.html.

“Old Bushwick Dutch Reformed Church Remembered,” http://www.whowalkinbrooklyn.com/?p=1139.

[3] “Dutch Records of Old Bushwick Used to Light Fires in Brooklyn City Hall,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 21 April 1918, Page 9, Newspapers.com.

Google Map view of Conselya & Humbolt, Brooklyn, https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7154099,-73.9426813,3a,90y,1.24h,88.25t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sdChenISveKNuGko8yOgXQA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[4] Letter from Eugene Armbruster to the Editor of the Brooklyn Times, September 11, 1909, reprinted in “Old Bushwick Dutch Reformed Church Remembered,” http://www.whowalkinbrooklyn.com/?p=1139

[5] “Old Bushwick Church: Dutch Reformed Society There Will Soon Be 250 Years Old,” New York Tribune, 31 January 1904, Page 10, Newspapers.com.

[6] “Dutch Records of Old Bushwick Used to Light Fires in Brooklyn City Hall,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 21 April 1918, Page 9, Newspapers.com.

“Old Bushwick Church: Dutch Reformed Society There Will Soon Be 250 Years Old,” New York Tribune, 31 January 1904, Page 10, Newspapers.com.

Isaiah and Susan Golden – 1910 US Federal Census

By 1910, Isaiah and Susan Golden have moved from the home on Conselyea to 1083 Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn’s 28th Ward.  Isaiah was 86 years old, Susana was 64 years old, and they had been married for 37 years.  According to the census, this was the second marriage for both of them.  Living in the home with them was Harriet (Hattie), now widowed, along with three boarders: Charles and Emily Gonrig, and Cornelia Raborg.  Isaiah was no longer working, living on his own income, and he rents the home.  Susana was listed as having four children, none of whom are living.  Harriet was 45 years old, widowed and only had one of her three children still living.[1]

Isaiah Golden - 1910 Federal Census

Transcript

1910 US Federal Census: New York, Kings, Brooklyn, 28th Ward, 27 April 1910, Page 9A, ED No. 889, 1083 Bushwick Avenue, Dwelling No. 98, Family No. 229:

GOLDEN, ISAIAH, Head, Male, White, Age 86, Married (2nd), Married 37 years, Born New York, Father born New York, Mother born New York, Occupation: Own Income, Can read, Can write, Rents house;

GOLDEN, SUSANA S., Wife, Female, White, Age 64, Married (2nd), Married 37 years, Four children born, 0 children living, Born Pennsylvania, Father born Pennsylvania, Mother born Pennsylvania, Speaks English, No occupation, Can read, Can write;

TRAVIS, HARRIET E., Daughter, Female, White, Age 45, Widowed, 3 children born, 1 child living, Born New York, Father born New York, Mother born Ireland-English, Speaks English, No Occupation, Can read, Can write;

GONRIG, CHARLES C., Boarder, Male, White, Age 45, Divorced, Born Germany-German, Father born Germany-German, Mother born Germany-German, Immigrated in 1882, Naturalized Citizen, Speaks English, Occupation: Pharmacist at a Drugstore, Employer, Can read, Can write;

GONRIG, EMILY T., Boarder, Female, White, Age 21, Single, Born New York, Father born Germany-German, Mother born Germany-German, Speaks English, Occupation: Stenographer at Insurance Company, Wage Earner, Not out of work, 0 weeks out of work, Can read, Can write, did not attend school;

RABORG, CORNELIA C., Boarder, Female, White, Age 18, Single, Born New York, Father born Pennsylvania, Mother born Germany-German, Speaks English, No occupation, Can read, Can write, Did not attend school.

 

[1] 1910 US Federal Census: New York, Kings, Brooklyn, Ward 28, Roll T624_981, Page 9A, E.D. 889, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2006.

Isaiah and Susan Golden – 1900 US Federal Census

In 1900, Isaiah and Susan were living on their own.  Isaiah was 76 years old, with his birthdate listed as March 1824.  Susan was 52 years old, with a birthdate of October 1848. They have been married for 27 years, which means they were married in 1873, meaning Mary died within less than three years of the 1870 census in which she last appeared.  The 1900 census confirms that Susan had no children of her own.  Their residence was at 105 Conselysea, in Brooklyn’s 15th Ward.  Isaiah was still working as a Cooper, though the full occupation entry on the census is partially illegible due to overwriting by the census administrator.[1]

Isaiah Golden - 1900 Federal Census

Transcript

1900 US Federal Census: New York, Kings, Brooklyn, Ward 15, 7 June 1900, Sheet 13, ED No. 215, 105 Conselysea, Dwelling No. 100, Family No. 279:

GOLDEN, ISAIAH, Head, White, Male, Born March 1824, Age 76, Married 27 years, Born New York, Father born New York, Mother born New York, Occupation: Cooper [illegible], Can read, Can write, Can speak English, Owns home;

GOLDEN, SUSAN, Wife, White, Female, Born October 1848, Age 52, Married 27 years, No Children born, No Children living, Born Pennsylvania, Father born Pennsylvania, Mother born Pennsylvania, Can read, Can write, Can speak English.

[1] 1900 US Federal Census: New York, Kings, Brooklyn, Ward 15, Roll 1052, Page 13A, ED 215, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2004.

Isaiah and Susan Golden – 1880 US Federal Census

Ten years later, in 1880, the family was still in Williamsburg, but Mary was no longer in the home, presumably having died in the intervening years.  James remarried a woman named Susan Grow.  He was still working as a Cooper, and was 56 years old.  Susan, age 34, was born in Philadelphia, as were both of her parents.  They had no children from their union, but three of James’s children with Mary still lived in the home.  Hattie was 16 years old, and neither had an occupation nor apparently went to school.  Henry (also known as Alfred Henry) was 12 years old and attended school.  Edward was 10 year old and also attended school.  Edward was not yet born in the previous census, and since Mary died sometime after, it is not unreasonable to consider that she might have died while giving birth to Edward.[1]  All three children have Susan’s birthplace listed as their mother’s birthplace, but this is erroneous, and likely because the relationships were not explained to the census taker and/or he presumed that she was their mother.[2]

Isaiah Golden - 1880 Federal Census

Transcript

1880 US Federal Census: New York, Kings, Brooklyn, 15th Ward, 3 June 1880, Page 11, ED No. 134, 109 Conselyea, Dwelling No. 55, Family No. 106:

GOLDEN, JAMES, White, Male, Age 56, married, Occupation: Cooper, Born New York, Father born New York, Mother born New York;

GOLDEN, SUSAN, White, Female, Age 34, Wife, married, Born Philadelphia, Father born Philadelphia, Mother born Philadelphia;

GOLDEN, HATTIE, White, Female, Age 16, Daughter, single, Born New York, Father born New York, Mother born Philadelphia;

GOLDEN, HENRY [ALFRED], White, Male, Age 12, Son, single, Attended school, Born New York, Father born New York, Mother born Philadelphia;

GOLDEN, EDWARD, White, Male, Age 10, Son, single, Attended school, Born New York, Father born New York, Mother born Philadelphia.

[1] Mary’s date and manner of death are unknown, but the narrow timeframe (3 years) provided by the information in the 1870 and the 1880 US Federal Censuses

[2] 1880 Federal Census: New York, Kings, Brooklyn, E.D. 134, Roll 848, Page 685C, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010.

Isaiah James Golden – Obituary

Isaiah James Golden - Obituary

Transcript from Isaiah James Golden’s Obituary

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, NY, 24 July 1911, Page 3 (Retrieved via Newspapers.com on 3 November 2017)

 

Isaiah Golden

Isaiah Golden, a retired cooper, for many years in business on old Ewen street, and a resident of the Eastern District for sixty years, died on Friday at his residence, 79 Somers street, of a complication of diseases.  He was born at West Farms, Westchester County, N.Y., March 4, 1824, and was one of the oldest members of the Old Bushwick Dutch Reformed Church on Humboldt street.  He is survived by a widow, Susanna Grow; three daughters, Mrs. George Alden, Mrs. Cornelius Travis, and Mrs. Peter l. Dunn; three sons, Eugene, Alfred and Edward; fifteen grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren.