Society of Old Brooklynites is one of the borough's oldest civic organizations. It was formed in 1880. It was founded to celebrate and remember when Brooklyn was its own city. It had an additional purpose of connecting the business community of Brooklyn.

History

The society was founded by John W. Hunter, the former Mayor of Brooklyn. It holds meetings at the Brooklyn Surrogate's Courtroom. Membership requires individuals to have lived in Brooklyn for at least 25 years. The group rose to prominence combatting the merging of New York City with Brooklyn. It termed this "The Great Mistake of 1898."

Notable events

the Society of Old Brooklynites has hosted an annual memorial for Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument every year since President Taft dedicated the monument in 1908. The society also has an annual event honoring the

battle of brooklyn The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn, New Yor ...

. A

Bust of Edward Snowden The bust of Edward Snowden, called ''Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument 2.0'' by its creators, was an ephemeral, illegally installed public sculpture of Edward Snowden, an American whistleblower who leaked classified information from the National S ...

was placed in the park and sparked outage by the society.

Notable members

Wilhelmena Rhodes Kelly Wilhelmena Rhodes Kelly (née Rhodes December 11, 1946 – October 16, 2019) was an African-American genealogist who traced her American lineage to the April 5, 1614, union of Pocahontas and John Rolfe. She was also a member of the Jamestowne So ...

* John W. Hunter
*

Daniel D. Whitney Daniel D. Whitney (January 31, 1819 – November 10, 1914) was a Brooklyn grocer and Mayor of Brooklyn from 1886 to 1887. Early life Whitney was born January 31, 1819 in Oyster Bay, New York. He moved to Brooklyn at age 18, and worked in a groce ...

* Marjorie Parker Smith
* John Oakey (politician)
* Myrtle Whitmore
* Michael E. Finnigan
*

Charles J. Dodd Charles John Dodd ( – July 24, 1947) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge from New York. Life Dodd was born circa 1873 in Brooklyn, New York. He was the son of James Dodd, a sea captain and Elizabeth Hughes, an Irish immigrant from Du ...

*Samuel Booth

References

External links

{{Official, http://www.societyofoldbrooklynites.com 1880 establishments in the United States Organizations established in 1880 Service organizations based in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Brooklyn History of Brooklyn