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!

Brooklyn Churches! Excitement!

Some time ago, I posted about having come across baptismal records of the three eldest Toner children, Julia, Mary Ann, and Samuel, at St. Paul's Church in Brooklyn. I didn't know why only those three were baptized there, but it appears I've just figured it out!

Combining this Brooklyn Catholic blog I just found, which gives locations and founding dates for churches in Brooklyn with my knowledge of the addresses the Toners lived at and the very cool "My Maps" feature at Google Maps, I've created this map that shows family addresses in blue (will give addresses, family, and time period if you click) and church locations in green (will give parish name, address, and founding date if you click), I've realized that the Toners, it would seem, attended St. Paul's, and baptized their first three children there, until two much closer churches - St. Mary Star of the Sea in 1853 and Visitation in 1854 (1853 is the date given for Samuel's baptism, the latest Toner baptism at St. Paul's). I'll have to look a little closer to double check whether there are any other Catholic churches in or near Red Hook, but for now it looks like my first order of business is contact St. Mary's and Visitation and finding out how far back their parish records go (please let them go all the way back to 1853/4!), and either request a search or make a plan to go do some research myself (that part might not happen until this summer, of course). Finding baptismal records for the middle Toner kids there, and then, especially, for the younger Julia, our Julia, would be crucial. It's torturous to know that the family I've traced back the farthest is the one that hasn't quite necessarily 100% been linked to us, although I'm 98% sure.

My assumption will be that the Toner's attended Visitation (we know the Mulvaneys did), but since we know that the Madigans attended St. Mary's, both are worth the effort.

Anyway, check out the map, as I'll be updating it soon with additional churches and addresses. For my own reference, it will include the O'Haras and Quinns as well as the Mulcahys, Mulvaneys, Madigans, and Toners. I've just recently e-mailed St. Augustine's near Baltic St. to see if they can find any of the sacramental records of the O'Hara family, but if they're not there, I'll have to map and check all of the other local churches.

Auntie Mae's Baptismal Certificate

[GB 26457]

COPY OF RECORD
IN BAPTISMAL REGISTER OF
VISITATION CHURCH
RICHARDS AND VERONA STREETS, BROOKLYN, N.Y.

NAME Mary, child
OF Patrick Mulvaney AND Julia Toner
BORN Jan. 18, 1897 BAPTIZED Feb 4, 1897
SPONSORS John V. Murphy AND Rose McGuine
DATED 10-8-35

REV. Wm. Galloway

A copy of the record of Auntie Mae’s baptism. I’m not sure whether the sponsors are John V. Murphy and Rose McGuine or John D. Murphy and Rose McGuirre, or some combination thereof, but they both intrigue me. We know that the Mulvaneys had cousins, on Julia’s side, named Murphy, and we know that at one point, a McGuirre/McGuine was boarding with the family and working in the same field as Patrick. I’m not sure what the number in the upper right hand corner refers to, but it might end up being a useful reference or index number if we were at the actual church looking up records. (Which is something I ended up not being able to do this Christmas break because of a bad cold that sidelined me this last week, the week I’d planned on dedicating to wandering Brooklyn doing in-person research. Maybe next time I’m home.) The certificate was requested in 1935. I don't know when Auntie Mae was married. Could it have been 1935? She would have likely needed a record of her baptism for that - but did she marry that late, at 38?

Patrick and Julia's Marriage Certificate

Certificate of Marriage
Visitation B.V.M Church
Verona and Richards Streets
Brooklyn, N.Y.

This is to Certify

That Patrick J. Mulvaney
and Julia Toner
were lawfully MARRIED
on the 9 day of April 1893

According to the Rite of the Roman Catholic Church

and in conformity with the laws of the State of New York,
Rev. John J. Loughnan officiating, in the presence of Patrick Harrington and Catherine Higgins, Witnesses, as appears from the Marriage Register of this Church.

Dated Oct. 13-1942
Wm. Galloway ast. Pastor

This is a transcription record of the marriage of Julia Toner and Patrick Mulvaney, April 9, 1893, at the Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Julia would have been about 21, I believe (though of course, we’ve found no evidence whatsoever of her actual birth, since her parents’ family disappears off the map in the early 1870s), and Patrick, if memory serves, about 31. This certificate itself was created in the 1940s, and I wonder why, as both Julia and Patrick were deceased at this point. I suppose one of their children needed it for something, but I can’t imagine what would require the marriage certificate of your parents. I have no idea who Patrick Harrington and Catherine Higgins were, but I’d sure like to know. We know, from this and from Auntie Mae’s baptismal certificate, that the Mulvaneys attended Visitation Church at Richards and Verona, and John Griffin has told me that the Mulcahys attended St. Mary Star of the Sea. Those are the first places I want to look when I get some more free time in the tri-state area.