On 3/4/04 (5:44:46 PM MST), in a posting to NY-LONGISLAND-L@rootsweb.com, Jan (jgrellim@sbcglobal.net) asked, "Would employee records exist for the company that built 'The Monitor' in 1862? It was the Continental Iron Works in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. My great grandfather was a shipwright and worked on The Monitor. Illustrations show it sliding down the ways in Greenpoint, Brooklyn where he [Amos Silkworth] was an employee. I have a receipt signed by him for labor/materials billed to the Schooner "Eagle", though there is no heading on the receipt. If records are available where would they be? NY State, Brooklyn or Maritime archives?" Information on the 2 best sources on Maps of Brooklyn and the other cities and towns of Kings County follow my name. I hope this information is useful or, at least, interesting. Happy Purim (begins Sunday, March 7 at sunset), Walter Greenspan MAPS AND OTHER INFORMATION ON BROOKLYN & THE OTHER CITIES & TOWNS OF KINGS COUNTY The best source for information would be: BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 128 Pierrepont Street New York (Brooklyn P.O.), NY 11201 tel: 718/222-4111 fax: 718/222-3794 eMail: ?????? http://www.brooklynhistory.org The BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY has been collecting materials since 1863. The bulk of their map collection is pre-1930. They own over 3,000 maps and atlases. Part of their ward map and atlas collection is on microfilm. They also have made negatives of some of their maps. The SOCIETY owns a large collection of City Directories and cemetery guides. These materials are available in print and microfilm form. They also own print and microfilm copies of William A. Eardley's Index to the wills of New York State. This list is inclusive to 1930. The Society is in the process of expanding its web page. Besides links to other institutions, it will post reference lists and selections from its collections. The BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY had been previously known as the LONG ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY The next best source would be: THE BROOKLYN COLLECTION BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY Grand Army Plaza New York (Brooklyn P.O.), NY 11238 tel: 718/230-2762 fax: 718/857-2245 eMail: none http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/general/collection.htm The "morgue" -- the newspaper clipping files of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle -- is housed in the library in 152 filing cabinets, and provides the single most important information source on Brooklyn's history in the twentieth century. A complete run of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (1841-1955) on microfilm is available to the public in the Periodicals Room. The photograph collection comprises over 35,000 photographs of the borough from the late nineteenth century to the present, and the unique Archive and Biography files from the 1970s to the present. Books, maps, and other items cover every subject imaginable. The BROOKLYN COLLECTION hours of operation are: Sun:.................closed Mon:.................closed Tues:...........2:00 pm to 7:30 pm Wed:...........2:00 pm to 5:30 pm Thu:.............2:00 pm to 7:30 pm Fri:.............10:00 am to 1:00 pm Sat:.............1:00 pm to 5:30 pm Here's the general contact info on the main BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY itself: BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY Grand Army Plaza New York (Brooklyn P.O.), NY 11238 tel: 718/230-2100, then choice "5" for telephone reference questions eMail reference service: http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/eresources/Inquiry.htm http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/