Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Red Hook, Brooklyn

Many of my ancestors lived in Red Hook, Brooklyn, from the 1850s and for a century thereafter. Their earliest sacraments in America took place at St. Paul's Church, an Irish church founded in 1838, but by the mid-1850s they were attending the recently founded churches closer to home: either St. Mary Star of the Sea in what is now Carroll Gardens, founded in 1851; or Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 98 Visitation Pl. (formerly Tremont St.), founded in 1854. As a result, when I recently went to the Brooklyn Historical Society to do some research in the Brooklyn Land Conveyance Collection, I was intrigued to realize that, in those record abstracts, I was watching the parish - and indeed, the diocese - grow before my very eyes.

18 May 1853, George and Eleanor Taylor to Rt. Rev. John Hughes

According to Wikipedia, Bishop John Joseph Hughes was the fourth bishop and first archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York, serving from 1842 until his death in 1864. Now, what, you might ask, is the Archbishop of New York doing buying land for a church in Brooklyn? (At least, you might ask that if you knew that the Diocese of Brooklyn and the Archdiocese of New York are two neighboring but distinct entities.)


As it turns out, it wasn't until 1853 that the Diocese of Brooklyn was founded (from territory that had theretofore been part of the Archdiocese of New York). I can't find an actual date in 1853 when the Diocese of Brooklyn was created, but it seems to have somewhat predated the consecration of the Right Reverend John Loughlin on 30 October of that year.

16 Nov 1853, John Hughes to Right Rev. John Loughlin Bishop of Brooklyn

It appears that the land was first acquired by the Archdiocese of New York, represented by Bishop John Hughes, in May, and then, on 16 November, transferred to the newly erected Diocese of Brooklyn, represented by the newly consecrated Bishop of Brooklyn, Rev. John Loughlin.

18 Nov 1865 R't Rev John Loughlin Bishop of Brooklyn to Roman Catholic Church of the Visitation, Bklyn

It's not until November of 1865 that Bishop Loughlin transfers the same parcel of land to the "Roman Catholic Church of the Visitation, Bklyn." However, according to several online sources, like Visitation's Facebook page and the website of the New York City Organ Project, the parish was founded as early as 1854 and the church building dedicated in 1855. I'm not sure why it took 10 years for the land to pass from the diocese to the parish.

15 May 1867, Martin and Margaret Shea to Roman Catholic Church of the Visitation of Brooklyn

In 1867, the "Roman Catholic Church of the Visitation of Brooklyn" (sounds a little like it was Brooklyn visiting her cousin Elizabeth in Hebron, no?) acquired another plot of land on the same block, this one from Martin Shea and his wife Margaret.

1 May 1868, Timothy O'Farrell to "The Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary"

Just about a year later, in 1868, added to that is still another parcel of land on the block, indicating that Visitation now owns most of the land on that block. This time, the land is transferred from Timothy O'Farrell to "The Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary."

2 Dec 1893, Kate A Woods to Visitation Lyceum

Finally, in 1893, Kate A. Woods leased another property on the block ("All that lot with buildings thereon known as 261 Van Brunt St.") to Visitation Lyceum. The Lyceum, or Visitation Hall, was a theater, with a gymnasium in the basement, that existed until well into the twentieth century (see the sidebar, page 13, of this May 2012 article in the Red Hook Start Review). However, it doesn't appear that the building was actually at 261 Van Brunt Street, as the address for the Lyceum is more frequently listed as being on Tremont St. (now Visitation Pl.) in the decades thereafter - although the church itself has a Visitation Pl. address, but fronts on Verona. Several of the addresses given for the Lyceum are on other blocks, so I wouldn't have come across any of the associated abstracts, as the record set is organized by block.


If anyone has any more information about the history of the parish, I'd love to hear from you!