The Abraham Parsell House - 46 Macdougal Street

Little remains of the house's 1826 Federal style appearance.

Around 1826, the two-and-a-half story house at 46 Macdougal Street was completed.  Faced in red Flemish bond brick, its peaked roof would have been punctured by one or two dormers.  In 1827, it was home to miniature painter Abraham Rykers Parsell and his wife, the former Mary Richards.

Parsell was born in Somerset, New Jersey in 1791.  He and Mary were married in 1819 and they had a son, John H. Parsell, who was six years old when they moved in.  (Two other children, William G. and Mary Elizabeth, had died.)  

Miniature portraits had been popular in America for decades.  Parsell's success and significant following were reflected in his working for years from the Macdougal Street house, rather than traveling from city to city as most miniaturists did.  His oval paintings on ivory were placed in pendant frames or in lockets.

This miniature was almost assuredly painted in the Macdougal Street house.  image via leslieantiques.com

In 1845, John, who was now 24 years old, was listed in directories as an "artist."  That career choice may have been more his father's wish than his own.  Six years later, now married to Mary Starr, he was living on Commerce Street and had changed his profession to "letter carrier."  He would continue to work for the post office for decades.

With their son gone, the Parsells took in roomers, a common practice.  Their ad in the New York Herald in 1853 read, "Boarding--Two or three single gentlemen can be accommodated with bedrooms and sitting room in a private family, where only two or three boarders will be taken, breakfast and tea, and dinner of the Sabbath.  Terms moderate."

As the ad specified, Mary Parsell was taking in roomers, not running a boarding house.  Her tenants would receive one meal per week--on Sunday.

Abraham Parsell died here on February 10, 1856.  His funeral was held in the house three days later.  

Mary apparently went to live with her son and daughter-in-law and 46 Macdougal street was leased to Rev. Duncan Dunbar.  He and Abraham Parsell were born the same year, in 1791, but many miles away from one another.  Dunbar was born in the northern Highlands of Scotland.  He moved to Aberdeen at the age of 19, where he married Christina Mitchel.  She was described by The Baptist Encyclopedia of 1881 as, "a lady of a gentle, loving disposition, and of deep, earnest piety."  The couple immigrated to America in December 1823 and on June 10, 1828 Dunbar accepted the pastorship of the Macdougal Street Baptist Church.  In 1850, he left to serve at a Philadelphia church, but returned to the Macdougal Street congregation in 1853.

As was the case with almost all clergymen, both congregants and strangers might knock on his door at any hour, seeking solace or service.  The parlor, therefore, was sometimes a makeshift chapel.  On November 3, 1858, for instance, The Family Herald reported that Rev. Dunbar had married Robert Allen and Ellen Lenihan "at his residence, 46 Macdougal street," on October 9.

Rev. Duncan Dunbar died on July 18, 1864.  John Parsell moved back into his childhood home.  Living with him and Mary were their 15-year-old son, Theodore P., and Mary's mother, Mary Starr.  The 84-year-old widow died on August 9, 1865, shortly after they moved in.  Her funeral was held in the parlor two days later.

John was still listed as a letter carrier in 1874 when Theodore was working as a clerk.  That year John hired builder Jackson Stymuts to enlarge the house with a rear extension.

The following year, John H. Parsell set off on an astounding adventure.  He left New York headed to California, going through Panama and Mexico to get there.  Interestingly, his detailed journal does not mention his wife, who apparently remained at home in New York.

Before leaving, Parsell sold 46 Macdougal Street to George Clipp, who immediately raised the attic to a full floor with an Italianate-style cornice.

George Clipp was in the piano business.  Living with the family in 1876 were Frederick Klein, a clerk; and Patrick Callahan, who was a hatter.  

Clipp did not enjoy his remodeled home for very long.  He died on January 4, 1877 at the age of 69.  Interestingly, his funeral was not held in the house, as would have been expected, but at St. John's Chapel on Varick Street.

The house was purchased by Hannah R. and George N. Earl, who lived in Little Falls, New Jersey.  They leased the house for just over a decade, selling it to Anna Kroeger for $10,500 in August 1889.  (The price would translate to about $359,000 in 2025.)

Kroeger operated 46 Macdougal Street either as a boarding or rooming house.  Her tenants were middle-class professionals.  In 1897, for instance, they included John Maher, a marshal; William F. McGuiness, who was a clerk; and printer William F. Higgins.  Owen McCarton, who also lived here, listed no profession, suggesting he was retired.

When Anna Kroeger transferred title to 46 Macdougal street to Adaline S. C. Kroeger in March 1911, the Department of Buildings described it as a tenement (the term covered all multi-family buildings).  Adaline would not retain ownership for long.  In 1914, she sold it to Pietro Nervo and Giuseppe Balbiani, partners in the P. Nervo, Balbiani & Co. bakery.

The pair hired architect Frank E. Vitolo to alter the ground floor for their bakery.  Six years later, they purchased the house next door at 44 Macdougal and brought Vitolo back to expand the bakery into both buildings.  

The Nervo and Balbiani families lived in the converted houses for decades.  The men eventually anglicized their names to Peter and Joseph, respectively.  On March 10, 1966, The Villager reported on Andrew S. Balbiani's admittance to the engineering and architectural firm Tippetts-Abbett-McCarthy-Stratton.  The article mentioned, "The Balbiani family lived at 46 Macdougal St., where his late father, Joseph, was partner in a bakery, P. Nervo, Balbiani and Co. for 30 years.

The joined ground floors of 44 and 46 Macdougal street were the bakery shop for decades.

In 1971, the bakery space was converted to a commercial art gallery.  By 1994, the Mission Grill occupied the space.  The restaurant marketed itself as "Cali-Mex food with 'square meal' portions."  

A renovation completed in 2009 resulted in a single-family home.  

photographs by the author

The Dr. Lucien B. Wright House - 45 MacDougal Street

 

Around 1846, a trio of Greek Revival homes was erected at 45 to 49 MacDougal Street.  Three stories tall, they were faced in red brick above a brownstone clad basement level.  Typical of the style, their doorways were framed by severe stone pilasters that upheld a substantial entablature and dentiled cornice.

The entrance of the Wright house was originally identical to that of 49 MacDougal Street.

The southernmost house of the row, 45 MacDougal Street, became home to Dr. Lucien B. Wright and his wife, the former Anna E. Van Norte.  Born in 1810 and 1817 respectively, the couple was married around 1837, the year Wright received his medical degree.

In addition to his private medical practice, Wright was the head of L. B. Wright & Co., makers of medicines at 409 Broadway.  In 1855, he published a brochure titled "Treatise Upon Tubercular Diseases," advertising it in The New York Times on May 31 that year as, "The Only Remedy for Consumption and All Other Scrofulous Diseases."  The ad began, "Will you give up in despair and die while there is an effectual remedy?"

It promised, "No humbug in this matter.  The Doctor is a regular practitioner of eighteen years standing in this City, and can be consulted without charge upon any disease incident to man."  It urged patients to visit his office on Broadway, or at the MacDougal Street house from 7 to 10 a.m.

Like their neighbors, the Wrights maintained a small domestic staff.  The same year Dr. Wright advertised his consumption cure, Anna advertised for a maid.  Her ad in The Sun read, "Wanted--A girl for general housework who well understands her business and can bring the best of reference--wages $6 per month."  (The successful applicant would be earning the equivalent of $218 a month today.)

The Wrights' neighbor at 47 MacDougal was Aaron Haviland, a produce merchant.  On the night of March 29, 1856, Haviland slit his throat with a razor.  The family found him and rushed next door.  The New-York Tribune reported, "Dr. Wright of No. 45 Macdougal street was called in, but his efforts in behalf of the sufferer were of no avail, death ensuing shortly after his arrival."

That summer, Dr. Wright traveled to the Midwest.  At a time when long-distance business negotiations could take months by mail, the enterprising physician came up with a way to make the trip less costly.  On July 19, he announced in the New-York Tribune, "A gentleman, about to visit Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin, will transact business for others, if desired, at a reasonable compensation.  For particulars, inquire of Dr. L. B. Wright, No. 45 Macdougal-st., N.Y."

The Wrights advertised for live-in domestic help again in 1858, but  this time their ad in the New York Sun was not looking for a maid.  "Wanted--In a private family, a single man, from 45 to 55 years of age, with good reference.  A good home, light work, and moderate wages."

In 1864, Lucien and Anna Wright moved far north to 258 West 84th Street.  The MacDougal Street house was briefly home to David J. and Sarah M. Nevin.  In 1865, they had a baby girl, Agnes Thornley.  She died at the age of one on November 17, 1866.  Her funeral was held in the parlor three days later.

The following year, the Brooks family moved into 45 MacDougal Street.  John W. Brooks was a broker.  By 1870, his two sons, Charles H. and Edward H., were working--Charles was a cooper and his brother a clerk.  The family remained until Henry W. Schroeder purchased the house for $9,400 in May 1873.  (The price would equal about $247,000 today.)

Henry W. Schroeder was a meat merchant in the Centre Market.  He and his wife, Augusta, had at least one son, Charles.  A daughter, Anna C., was born in 1877.  By 1882, Charles Schroeder was old enough to work.  He went into the butter business, also at the Centre Market.

Anna C. Schroder died at the age of 14 on August 1, 1891.  Her funeral was held here on August 6.

From 1893 to 1897, 45 MacDougal Street was home to James and Mary Kelly and their adult son, Richard, who worked as a hotel porter.  James was a retired policeman and lived on a $600 pension (about $22,700 today).  Boarding with the family was Dr. Albert S. Ashmead.  In 1893, he published "The Introduction of Leprosy Into Japan" in the Medical Record.

On the afternoon of Sunday, May 17, 1896, Richard Kelly, now 22 years old, joined a yachting party of young men in New York Bay.  A "sudden gybing of the craft's mainboom," as reported by the New-York Times, knocked Kelly and another passenger into the water.  The body of one of them was recovered, but Kelly's could not be located.

Nearly a week later, on Saturday morning May 22, a man's body washed ashore in Bayonne, New Jersey.  There was no identification and it was buried in the Hudson County Potters' Field on the following Tuesday.  Hearing of the incident, James Kelly examined the gold watch and chain recovered from the body.  He identified them as belonging to his son.  The New-York Tribune reported on May 28, "The body will be removed to Calvary Cemetery, on Long Island."

The Kelly family remained at 45 MacDougal Street until 1897.  That year an advertisement in the New York Herald read, "To Let--House, three story and basement and large cellar; all modern improvements; in first class order; suitable for doctor or dentist; 45 Macdougal st., New York.  Inquire in drug store Macdougal and West Houston sts, New York."

The renter operated 45 MacDougal Street as a boarding house.  Among the initial residents were Anne Heinevetter, who ran an "eatinghouse" at 78 Greene Street; and Edward S. Gill, a conductor for the city's New York and Brooklyn Bridge Department.  Gill earned 34-1/4 cents an hour in 1899.

The mention of "suitable for doctor or dentist" in the 1897 ad foreshadowed a string of medical practitioners in the house.  In 1901, Dr. P. Giliberti practiced here and would remain at least through 1908.  In 1910, the National Eclectic Medical Association announced, "Dr. Attilio Favorini has removed his office from 519 Broome Street to 45 MacDougal Street."  Dr. Favorini was born in 1885 and received his medical degree in 1909.

By 1914, Dr. Cataggio had his office in the house.  He was called to the corner drugstore on West Houston Street on June 5 that year.  That afternoon, plain-clothes detectives had made a cocaine bust at 178 West Houston Street.  It did not go smoothly and one detective was shot and another's wrist slashed with a bread knife.  Detective Seyler was carried to the drugstore with a bullet wound in his thigh.  The New York Times reported that Dr. Cataggio treated him there.

The house continued to be operated as rented rooms through much of the 20th century.  Living here in 1953 was Joseph K. Crevisky.  He was accused by Senator Joseph R. McCarthy's Senate Subcommittee that year of subversion and espionage during his time with the Army Signal Corps.  His testimony before the subcommittee in May was heated and contentious.

A renovation completed in 1961 resulted in a duplex apartment in the basement and parlor floor, and one apartment each on the upper floors.  It may have been at this point that the Greek Revival details of the windows and entrance were removed.  Interestingly, the historic doorway, with its sidelights and transom, was preserved. 

A subsequent remodeling in 1970 converted the duplex to a triplex, with one apartment on the top floor.  

At some point after that renovation, singer, songwriter, poet and author Patti Smith moved in.  In her 2002 Bob Dylan's New York, June Skinner Sawyers writes, "she moved to 45 MacDougal Street [where] Smith hung photographs of Dylan along with Rimbaud, Piaf and Lennon over her desk, staying up late reading comic books and listening to the transplanted Minnesotan [i.e., Dylan]."

In 1985, the venerable house was returned to a single-family home.  

photographs by the author

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The Samuel A. Moore House - 51 MacDougal Street

 

In 1788, the Bayard family hired Casimir Theodor Goerck to map out streets and building plots on their land.  The western boundary between their estate and Richmond Hill was called MacDougal Street.  It was named for patriot Alexander MacDougal (who at some point dropped the second L from his family's surname, MacDougall).  Fervently anti-British, he was a founder of the Sons of Liberty along with activists like Samuel Adams, Benedict Arnold, Patrick Henry and Paul Revere.  During the war, he rose to the rank of major general and succeeded Benedict Arnold in commanding West Point.

By the 1820s, many of Goerck's streets and building lots had moved from paper to reality.  But the MacDougal Street block between West Houston and King Streets would not be developed until the early 1840s.  Samuel A. Moore operated a livery stable at 51 MacDougal Street, on the southwest corner of West Houston Street, until 1843.  The next year he replaced it with a Greek Revival house-and-store building.

Faced in red brick and trimmed in brownstone, the substantial building was three stories tall above the storefront.  Moore and his family lived here and took in boarders.  In 1847, they were William H. Burnett, a carpenter; and Edward Mesler, the assistant keeper at the City Prison.  Samuel A. Moore listed his profession as "late stables" (meaning he was retired from the stable business) until 1851 when he began a delivery business and was listed as a carman.  That year Charles Morgan moved his butcher store into the ground floor.

The Moores left MacDougal Street around 1855 and the building was operated as a boarding house by Margaret Orr, the widow of Peter Orr, until around 1860.  Her daughter, also named Margaret, was married to Moses M. Gregor, a Scottish immigrant, in their parlor here on July 9, 1857.

A tragedy occurred here on Saturday evening, August 31, 1861.  The May family, who had a two-year-old son named Conrad, lived in rooms on the third floor.  He was left alone for a few minutes and, according to The New York Times, "he mounted a stool by the window and pushing open the blinds, lost his balance, falling to the flagging.  His skull was crushed in."

Several of the residents would remain at 51 MacDougal Street for years.  Police officer Henry M. Quinn, for instance, moved in with his family around 1863.  He and his wife had at least two sons, and would still be here as late as 1890.

Another Irish-born resident was Lawrence McCarthy, who lived here with his family in the early 1880s.  He ran a dance hall on Mercer Street near Bleecker Street.  The Mercer Street neighborhood had a scandalous reputation.  For decades it was home to brothels, gambling dens and dives.  Very early on the morning of March 19, 1883, McCarthy was found by police at Eleventh Avenue and 43rd street, badly beaten.

The New-York Tribune said he had been assaulted "by some ruffians."  More likely, the incident was a result of a gangland dispute.  McCarthy refused to identify his attackers.  The article explained, "They were former friends of his, it is said, and they had quarreled with him."  He initially insisted on being brought home.  "His injuries were so serious, however, that his family caused his removal to St. Vincent's Hospital yesterday," reported the New-York Tribune on March 21.

By the late 1880s, the residents of the MacDougal Street block were mostly immigrants, and many of those living at 51 MacDougal Street were from Ireland and Italy.  Henry F. Shaughnessy, a clerk for the city, lived here in 1888; as did Camillo Augerarini, a cigar maker; and Richard Shea.

At 8:00 on September 9, 1889, Camillo Augerarini left 51 MacDougal Street and went to the ferry at 125th Street with Thomas De Fina.  They were on their way to Fort Lee.  De Fina ran a cigar store on Wall Street and was, no doubt, one of Augerarini's customers.  Unfortunately, they missed the last boat and so De Fina paid someone to take them across the Hudson River in a rowboat.

About halfway across, a "heavy wave struck the boat and capsized her," reported The New York Times.  The accident was witnessed by the crew of a nearby brick schooner, the Voorhis, and two men jumped overboard.  They succeeded in rescuing De Fina, but Augerarini and the other man were swept away.  Their bodies were never recovered.

One block to the east of 51 MacDougal Street is the Church of St. Anthony of Padua.  In June 1887, Bishop Stephen Vincent Ryan excommunicated one of its priests, Father Dent, for what might be called unpriestly behavior.  Five years later, Dent sued the bishop for $100,000 for slander.  The scandal prompted the other St. Anthony priests to initiate a cover-up, which was exposed when Maggie Kenny, who lived at 51 MacDougal Street, was called as a witness for the defense.

On June 1, 1892, the New-York Tribune reported that she, "created a sensation by asserting that she had been ordered in confessional by a priest not to testify in the case, and also by suddenly saying that three of the priests at St. Anthony's Church were married."  When further pressed, Kenny identified the priests by name.

By 1904, Maria Brogan owned the building.  In December that year she leased the store to Dennis Gallo.  The 12-year lease began on January 1.  She hired architect Louis Faresin to design a new storefront for Gallo's drugstore, as well as to reconfigure some interior walls.  The alterations cost her the equivalent of about $18,000 in 2024.  Two years later, Brogan made significant updates to the building.  In April 1907, she hired architect F. E. Ryall to reconfigure the floorplans to accommodate bathrooms.

Shoemaker Angelo Serio was a native of Sicily.  He and his family lived here in 1913.  Justice among the Sicilian community was, most often, handled internally.  In June that year, Serio was arrested for having shot at a man in the Mulberry Bend neighborhood, a depressed, often dangerous Italian district.  The would-be victim ran away, and so Serio was charged only with disorderly conduct.  Apparently, however, his target did not forget.

Just after 8:00 on the night of July 6 that year, he was with a group of seven other Sicilians at the corner of Hester and Mott Streets.  The New York Times commented, "There was nothing to distinguish them from the thousands of their countrymen who swarmed in Sunday-night leisure in the crowded quarter, except that they seemed to be quarreling among themselves."

Suddenly, seven revolver shots rang out.  The Times reported, "A terrified scurrying among the members of the group and the crowds ensued."  When calm returned, Angelo Serio lay dead on the pavement, and the body of another, Bernardo Di Siano, was on the stoop of a building where he had attempted to flee.  Serio had been shot three times, and De Siano once through the heart.

During the Depression years, the store was home to Frank's Pizzeria.  An advertisement in the New York Post on February 22, 1941 emphasized, "specializing in Italian pizza and spaghetti.  Beer."  The restaurant became Calypso in the early 1950s.  The cabaret-style eatery featured live entertainment.  On April 13, 1952, for instance, the famous calypso singer Lord Invader, "plus many native artists of the famed Trinidad Carnival," opened here.

By 1970, the Morrison Pastry Company bakery operated from the ground floor of 51 MacDougal Street.  The wholesale operation nearly lost a driver on July 28, 1970.  At 3:50 a.m., Michael T. Tureck was about to make a delivery to the Bank of America Building at 41 Broad Street when he saw smoke coming from a small suitcase near the door.  The New York Times reported, "He turned and ran away just before the explosion, which left him shaken but apparently unhurt."  The bomb, planted by the terrorist group The Weathermen, shattered the glass doors and cracked the building's marble walls.

Morrison's Pastries initiated a clever marketing plan in April 1976 by allowing individual customers to buy small quantities  of cakes and "party goods" at wholesale prices.  

At the turn of the 21st century, Something Special occupied the store.  The 2000 guide Savvy in the City: New York urged,

Let Lenny take care of you.  he's the landlord of this building, but for a mere dollar a deed, he will fax, make keys, make copies, notarize, etc.  Mailboxes available for $50/month...Lenny is busy but reliable, and if you are really nice, he just might forward your mail wherever the wind has taken you!

"Lenny" was Lenny Cecere, who owned the building and the quirky store.  On January 30, 2017, TheRealDeal called Something Special, "a store that for decades sold everything from sweets to jewelry to books.  It also offered key making, notary services and handled mail for celebrities reluctant to disclose their addresses, such as Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker and Famke Janssen."

Cecere operated Something Special until his death in 2015.  In January 2017, the building was purchased by "an unnamed overseas family trust" according to TheRealDeal, which "shelled out $9.85 million for the four-story property."

The storefront was remodeled and in 2022 Hamburger America moved in.  The upper floors were renovated to five apartments, one on the second floor and two each on the third and fourth.

photographs by the author

no permission to reuse the content of this blog has been granted to LaptrinhX.com

The 1827 Charlotte Selby House - 44 MacDougal Street

 Little remains of the structure's 1827 appearance.

Lewis P. Perego, a mason, lived at 42 MacDougal Street in 1826, the year he began construction of a house next door at 44 MacDougal.  Completed in 1827, it was most likely a near match to his own home.  Faced in Flemish bond brick, it was originally two-and-a-half stories tall with a peaked, dormered roof.

In 1828, Perego sold 44 MacDougal Street to Charlotte Selby.  Born Charlotte Sanxay, she was listed in city directories as "widow of Skeffington Selby."  Whether she was stretching the truth is debatable.  Skeffington Selby was born in England in 1767 and immigrated to Philadelphia around 1799.  If he and Charlotte were married, there are no records that survive.  In 1820 he returned to England where he died on March 30, 1821.

Before leaving New York,  Selby wrote his will.  He left Charlotte several Manhattan properties, referring to her as "Charlotte Sanxay alias Selby (who sometime since resided with me at New York)."  The city council added to the mystery in 1822 when, in discussing her property, called her "Charlotte Selby, alias Sanxy" [sic] and in 1823 as "Charlotte Selby or Sanxay."  Charlotte also inherited $6,000 in Government stocks (equal to about $167,000 in 2024 terms) and 71 shares in the Globe Insurance Company.

The enigmatic Charlotte Selby remained in the house until around 1832, when it was shared by the families of cabinetmaker Elihu Rose and grocer John P. Haffjun.

The Woodruff family moved in around 1836.  Born in New Jersey on October 29, 1802, Amos Thomas Woodruff was a mason.  He and Sarah Scudder were married in November 1827 and were the parents of at least 10 children.  Around 1840, the family moved to 158 Laurens Street (today's West Broadway) and for several years 44 MacDougal Street was home to Valentine Sillcocks, relatives of the Woodruffs.

The Sillcock family was followed by the Hatfields, here in 1850.  Both Samuel and Samson Hatfield were tailors at 164 Broadway.  Finally, in 1855, 44 MacDougal Street saw long-term residents.

Apparently widowed, William Moore did not list a profession in 1855, suggesting he was retired.  Living with him were his two grown sons, Henry and Elias.  The brothers were merchants, both doing business on Canal Street.  Henry's drygoods store was at 66 Canal Street.  Also living here was Philaretta Tombs, who was presumably William's sister-in-law (she was listed as the aunt of Henry Moore).  Philaretta was 87 years old in 1855 when the family moved in.

The Moores placed an advertisement in the New York Herald on October 5, 1859: "Wanted--An active, tidy young girl for kitchen work; must be a plain cook and first rate washer and ironer; none others need apply at 44 Macdougal st."

At the time of the ad, Henry was married and his wife, Harriet, was pregnant.  They had a baby girl, Harriet Gertrude, in November 1859.  Sadly, she died at the age of one-and-a-half on May 16, 1861.  Her funeral was held in the parlor the following afternoon.

Philaretta Tombs lived to be 96 years old.  She died on July 16, 1864.  Her funeral was held here on July 18.

As his brother had done, when Elias B. Moore married, he brought his bride back to MacDougal Street.  Elias and Sarah E. Moore had a son, John W., in November 1870.  In a tragic case of dé​jà vu, he died at the age of one-and-a-half on May 9, 1872.  

There would be another Moore funeral in the house two years later.  William Moore died at the age of 81 on July 16, 1874.

After William's death, Elias and Sarah Moore left MacDougal street.  In 1874, Henry and Harriet took in a boarder, Peter Eckler, a printer/publisher.   

The Moores sold the house to Thomas Norton in 1875.  In September 1875, he filed plans to raise the attic to a full-third floor and make interior alterations.  The renovations cost him the equivalent of $63,000 today.  It does not appear that Norton ever lived here.  Rather, the enlarged house was operated as a boarding house.  Peter Eckler remained through 1877 before moving to Brooklyn.  Other white collar residents at the time were Louis Lee, a clerk; and John W. Brittingham, a counsel to the City of New York.

Despite his respectable position in city government, Brittingham seems to have been a bit shady.  On December 4, 1878, The New York Times reported, "The DeGreiff-Triacca-Begley conspiracy case was to have been resumed before United States commissioner Shields yesterday morning, to begin the cross-examination of Mr. John W. Brittingham, the principal witness for the Government."  But Brittingham did not show up.  A week earlier, the trial had to be adjourned for the same reason.  That time, said the article, "it was said that he was in Washington" but, "Mr. Brittingham was not absent from the City, but was in his residence at No. 44 Macdougal-street."  Calling Brittingham's delays "vexatious," Assistant United States Attorney Butler declared that Brittingham should be formally subpoenaed.  

Three years later, Brittingham was not a witness in a government case, but the defendant.  He was sued by his brother, John W. Brittingham for the theft of  $10,000 and by the city for embezzlement.  His trial began in December 1881.

No. 44 MacDougal Street remained a boarding house until around 1886 when the Sharkey family moved in.  Patrick D. Sharkey was born in Ireland in 1831 and his wife, Mary Dougherty, was born there in 1832.  The couple had nine children.

In 1887, Patrick earned extra money as a "watcher" during the November elections.  Poll watchers were hired by candidates to ensure there was no tampering with the election process.  

Living with his parents in 1891 was 33-year-old Michael T. Sharkey, who was an attorney.  On June 15 that year, he was among the guests of shipping agent John L. Eccles on his 46-f0ot luxury sloop yacht Amelia.  The afternoon started out nicely.  The New York Times reported, "The pleasure seekers took dinner at Nyack, strolled about the town, and boarded the yacht again about 5 o'clock."  But at around 1:00 in the morning, the yacht was struck by a tugboat, "cutting her nearly in two," according to the newspaper.  "She sank almost instantly, leaving her passengers struggling in the water."

Sharkey and the other passengers and crew who were on deck at the time survived.  But two, Frank Jennings and William Bahn, Jr., had gone below to sleep.  They both drowned.

In 1898 Michael Sharkey was elected to the assembly.  His successful legal and political career was cut short after he suffered sunstroke in the summer of 1900.  On March 20, 1901, the New York Morning Telegraph reported, "Michael T. Sharkey, former Assembly man, was sent to Blackwell's Island Insane Asylum yesterday, having become violently deranged from the effects of a sunstroke which he suffered last Summer.  At his home, 44 Macdougal street, his mother and wife said his condition became serious a few days ago, when he was sent to Bellevue for treatment."

In 1906, Dr. James F. Navoni purchased 44 MacDougal Street.  He lived and practiced here until 1916, when he purchased a house on Washington Place.

Change came to 44 MacDougal Street in 1920 when owners Peter Nervo and Joseph Balbiani hired architect Frank E. Vitolo to remodel the the ground floor for their P. Nervo, Balbiani & Co. bakery.  The renovations cost them $5,000, or about $76,000 today.

Both the Nervo and Balbiani families lived in the upper floors.  They brought Vitolo back two years later to remodel the storefront and bring the first floor even with the sidewalk.  

Peter Nervo's wife and daughter were active in local politics.  On February 21, 1933, the Queens newspaper The Daily Star reported, "William J. Sbarra, chairman of the 1933 ball committee of the James J. Paretti Association, Long Island City, was given a surprise party at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Nervo, 44 Macdougal street, Manhattan.  The party was arranged by Rose and Mildred Nervo, who are members of the ladies' auxiliary."

P. Nervo, Balbiani & Co. remained here for three decades.  In 1972 the former bakery space was converted to a garage and art studio for the single family home on the upper floors.  The several renovations starting in 1875 have left little trace of the home's appearance when Charlotte Selby moved into it just under 200 years ago.

photographs by the author

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The William S. Bancroft Grocery Store - 43 Macdougal Street

 

In 1788, decades before the building boom of the 1820s would extend the boundaries of Greenwich Village into the farms and estates that surrounded it, the Bayard family hired Theodore Goerck to map out streets and building plots on their land.  The western boundary between their estate and Richmond Hill (the house on which would become the vice-presidential mansion the following year) was called MacDougal Street.  It was named for patriot Alexander MacDougal (who at some point dropped the second L from his family's surname, MacDougall).  Fervently anti-British, he was a founder of the Sons of Liberty along with activists like Samuel Adams, Benedict Arnold, Patrick Henry and Paul Revere.  During the war, he rose to the rank of major general and succeeded Benedict Arnold in commanding West Point.

In the 1840s, a row of neat Greek Revival homes was erected in the center of the MacDougal Street block between Houston and King Streets.  Around 1846, a substantial store-and-house was completed on the northwest corner of Macdougal and King Streets.  It was likely constructed by the same builder as the houses, given their matching, scrolled bracketed cornices--a nod to the rising Italianate style.

The building, faced in red brick and trimmed in brownstone, rose three stories to a squat attic level, typical of the Greek Revival style.  The residential entrance was placed around the corner.

The family of William S. Bancroft lived in the upper floors while he ran his grocery from the store.  It seems the Bancroft business was as much liquor store as grocery.  In 1851, he listed his profession as "grocer, wines, ale, cider, porter, &c."  Living with the Bancrofts that year was Spencer Heacock, who worked in the store.

In 1853, Bancroft opened a second store at the northwest corner of Houston and MacDougal Streets.  He moved his family to the new location, while Spencer Heacock took over the operation of the grocery at 43 MacDougal.  Now sharing the upper portion of the house with him were two widows, Mary Brower and Ann Pray, and a boarder named Michael Riley who did not list a profession.

William S. Bancroft owned the store here through 1857, after which time it became the Tunis & Hopper grocery.  It was run by Joseph L. Tunis and James V. Hopper, neither of whom lived upstairs.  Instead, the families of Henry Williams and Peter Vandyke, Jr. shared the upper portion.  

A block to the north was crooked little Minetta Street.  Known as Little Africa, it had been the center of Manhattan's black community since slavery was abolished in New York in 1827.  Both Williams and Vandyke were listed in directories as "(colored) waiter."

Tunis & Hopper remained in the space until 1866, when it was advertised for lease.  It became home to the H. Bock & Co. grocery store.  Henry Bock and his wife moved into the upper floors.  They took in a boarder, Henry Behning, in 1868.  He ran two piano stores, one on Bleecker Street and one on West Houston.

In September 1868, the Bocks had a baby boy, Edward William.  Sadly, he died the following year on December 16.  His funeral was held in the Bock residence two days later.

The Bocks moved to New Jersey by 1872, and put 24-year-old August Finke in charge of the H. Bock & Co. store.  He and his wife, Doretta, lived upstairs with at least one other tenant at a time.  

Things went well for the young couple.  By 1876, August took over proprietorship of the grocery.  Boarding with them that year was Finke's clerk, John M. Gaffnkin.  In 1874, daughter Matilda Finke was born and another, Lena Augusta, came two years later.  

Lena was 14 years old when she died on January 7, 1890.  As had been the case with Edward William Bock's, her funeral was held in the second floor parlor.

The grocery was briefly run by Charles Bockelmann in 1895 and '96, then by John Tewers the following year.  By then the upper floors were operated as a boarding house.  Living here that year were firefighter Thomas Lally; Antoinette Kermann, who was the widow of Nicholas Kermann; and William J. Hooper, a "packer."

Interesting, given that the neighborhood was filling with mostly Italian immigrants at the time, an advertisement for a clerk in the grocery store appeared in the New York Journal and Advertiser on January 30, 1899 that specified that the applicant speak English and French.

Among the Italian residents of 43 MacDougal Street that year was R. Boccasavia.  The out-of-work chef was looking for work, and placed two back-to-back advertisements in the New-York Tribune.  Calling himself a "first class cook (15 years chef)," one of his ads sought work as a caterer in a "furnished house, club, or respectable family."   The second ad looked for a position as chef "in hotel, restaurant, club or private family," noting that he was versed in "American, French and Italian style."

By October 1910, the commercial space at 43 MacDougal was listed as a restaurant.  (It was temporarily used as a voter registration space that November).  It was most likely more of a neighborhood social club for the local Italians.  The Clearfield, Pennsylvania newspaper Progress went so far to call it a "pool room."

The Italian community was plagued by a terroristic group called La Mano Nera, or the Black Hand, at the time.  The Italian-American group used violence, including assassinations and bombings, to extort money from well-to-do Italians.

On September 25, 1913, The Evening World reported, "Last night a bomb went off--bang!--in the territory of the Fifth street station."  Minutes before the explosion, 19-year-old Max Goldstein was approaching a barbershop on Second Avenue.  Two men stood on the stoop of the building.  As Max neared, one of them handed the other a package.  They flipped a coin, which bounced down the steps to the sidewalk.  The article said, "At the foot of the stairs, the small man lighted a match, as Max presumed, to look for the lost coin."

A few seconds after Max passed, the bomb went off.  The newspaper said, "the crowds on the corner were in a flutter.  Not so Max.  He set out instantly to trail the coin tossing pair."

Max tailed the two for eight or ten blocks, "lurking close behind, darting into doorways, keeping out of sight, never losing the scent," said The Evening World.  Finally, they ducked into the restaurant at 43 MacDougal Street.  Max sauntered in, saw that they had placed an order--meaning that they would be there for a while--then ran to the Fifth Street police station.  An enormous response followed.  

The amateur sleuth was hailed as a hero.  The Evening World, September 25, 1913 (copyright expired)

The article described the scene.  "The restaurant was surrounded.  Eighteen customers were lined up against the wall and Max was told to enter and pick out the men he had trailed."  Despite one of the bombers having removed his fake moustache and goatee (The Evening World said his lip and chin were "'gummy,' as though false whiskers had recently been glued there"), Max identified Giuseppe Donnaruna and Louis Lameri.

The story was picked up by newspapers across the country and Max Goldstein became an instantaneous hero.  On October 14, the Nebraska newspaper The Beatrice Daily Express began an article saying, "The East Side, always producing some 'eighth wonder,' now has a real boy detective.  Max Goldstein is his name, and he actually ran down and caused the arrest of two bomb throwers."

Much less admirable was Jerry Perella, who lived here in 1922.  On March 10 that year, police raided the house at 18 Charlton Street, "on suspicion of bootlegging activities," according to the New York Herald.  It resulted in a shoot-out with one detective shot and at least one wounded "booze runner" escaping.  One man and two women were arrested and 1,000 bottles of whisky transported from Canada were confiscated.

Later that night, Detective Lavendar went to St. Vincent's Hospital to interview 18-year-old Jerry Perella, who checked himself in with a bullet wound to the chest.  He said he had accidentally shot himself while deciding whether to buy the firearm.  The New-York Tribune said simply, "He was arrested."

In 1926, John J. Garibaldi, Americo B. Friscia and John F. Matteo opened the Baccus Bottle Company here.  That year Garibaldi received a patent for his "bottle-capping machine."  As it turned out, it was what was inside the bottles that was making the trio its money.  On March 4, 1931, The Sun reported that they had pleaded nolo contendere "to indictments charging conspiracy to violate the national prohibition act."

By 1977, John "Happy" Ferri operated the Citizens for a Better Village in the commercial space.  An Italian-American social club, it worked within the community.  On April 14, 1977, The Villager reported that it "runs a summer lunch program," and the following year in March the newspaper reported on its Arts and Crafts Workshop for children 6 to 12.  In 1978, Borough President Andrew Stein's office shared the ground floor space with the Citizens for a Better Village.

At around 6:10 on the night of January 31, 1986, "law enforcement officials, some with NYPD badges and others with jackets bearing FBI emblems," according to John Ferri, barged into the club without a search warrant and began wrecking the place.  He told The Villager, "the group took a sledge hammer to flower pots and glassware, broke the toilet in the bathroom and overturned tables and chairs."  After ten minutes of vandalism, the group left.

photo by Alan Raia, Newsday, February 1, 1986

The raid was one of 31 made on Italian-American social clubs that night that drew the ire of state and city groups and officials.  Commissioner Douglas H. White of the New York State Division of Human Rights said, "What happened here proves that you don't have to be black or brown to be victimized by discrimination of violence or vandalism."

Shortly after the raid, the Citizens for a Better Village moved out, the storefront was boarded up, and the upper floors vacated.  The building sat empty and neglected for two decades, eventually becoming graffiti-covered and described by neighbors as "a blight, a menace," according to Caroline H. Dworin, writing in The New York Times on October 27, 2008.  According to her article, the building, owned by brothers Abraham and Arthur Blasof, was infested by rats, and the hatch on the roof had been left open for months, allowing rain to flood the interior.  The Fire Department spray-painted yellow X's on the facade, indicating to firefighters that it was potentially dangerous to enter.

Eight years later a remarkable renovation was completed.  The façade was restored, the commercial space remodeled, and the upper floors converted to one apartment each.  In 2019, the restaurant Niche Niche opened, which remains.

photographs by the author

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The Jeremiah and Mary Ann Youmans House - 205 Prince Street

 

John Peter Haff's official profession was "inspector of sole leather."  Additionally, however, he was a recognized authority on agricultural techniques and a speculative real state developer in New York and New Jersey.  In 1834, he completed construction of two Federal-style homes at 203 and 205 Prince Street.  The westernmost house sat on the northeast corner of Prince and MacDougal Streets, affording it additional light and ventilation on the side.  Two-and-a-half stories tall and faced in Flemish bond brick, its parlor floor was originally accessed by a brownstone stoop.  Three dormers punched through the peaked roof. 

It appears Haff leased the houses until his death in 1838.  Around 1850, Jeramiah H. and Mary Ann Youmans purchased 205 Prince Street.  They had at least one son, David S., born in 1837.  In 1851, a daughter, Eliza, was born.  Youmans owned a lumber business (called a "woodyard" in the 1853 city directory) on Washington Street near the Hudson riverfront.

On October 20, the Youmans advertised in the Morning Courier, "Board--One or two large parlors and one bedroom, to let furnished, with board, to a gentleman and wife, or two single gentlemen, in a small private family.  Apply at 205 Prince street, corner of McDougal st."  (MacDougal street was variously spelled MacDougal, Macdougal and McDougal for years.  The confusion was understandable.  It was named after Alexander McDougall, whose father spelled his surname MacDougal.)

In 1853, the couple's boarders were Jessie W. Wadleigh and Dr. Baron Spolasco.  They would have long-term boarders in Charles E. L. Brinckerhoff and his family starting in 1857.  Brinckerhoff and his wife Clara had a 10-year-old son, Charles Rolph.

Born in 1822, Charles E. L. Brinckerhoff dealt in lamps and gas lighting fixtures.  He had two stores downtown, one on John Street and the other on William Street.  His wife, however, was far more celebrated than he.

Born in London in 1828 as Clara Maria Rolph, she was brought to America by her parents in 1833.  Her father, John A. Rolph, was an artist and her mother was a Italian-trained soprano.  Clara was trained in singing by her mother.  Following her mother's death, Clara was trained by leading coaches, including George Loder, conductor of the Philharmonic Society and his wife.

Clara made her concert debut at the age of 16 at Apollo Hall on Broadway.  The principal soprano of Grace Church, she sang the full Christmas service on December 25, 1848, before marrying Charles later that day.  

The famed soprano's image appeared on this sheet music in 1873.  from the collection of the New York Public Library.

Clara contributed greatly to the family's income.  The Youmans allowed her to conduct her voice lessons in the house.  An advertisement in The New York Times in September 1857 read,

Mrs. Clara M. Brinkerhoff informs her pupils and the public, that her season for tuition in Vocal Music will commence on Monday, Sept. 28.  Terms: $40 for a term of twenty-four lessons; single lessons, $2.  Address No. 205 Prince-st., corner of McDougal.  At home on Wednesdays.

The tuition for a 24-lesson term would equal about $1,440 in 2024.

Additionally, Clara was a composer, romance novelist (under the pseudonym Henri Gordon) and lecturer.  Among her best known songs was One Flag or No Flag, published during the Civil War.

The parlor of 205 Prince Street was the scene of four-year-old Eliza Youmans's funeral on May 15, 1855.  The little girl had died the previous day.

The Brinkerhoffs remained in the Youmans house at least through 1862.  On October 25, 1861, Clara advertised,

Madame Clara M. Brinkerhoff, having returned from Europe, will be ready for concert engagements and pupils in singing from the 1st of November.  Address 205 Prince-st., corner of Macdougal.

Jeremiah H. Youmans died at the age of 61, "after a short illness, in full hopes of a blessed immortality," as worded by the New-York Tribune, on May 13, 1862.  His funeral was held in the house on May 16.  Mary Ann was still in mourning when David S. Youmans died on February 9, 1863 at the age of 26.  His funeral, too, was held in the parlor.

Mary Ann operated her home as a boardinghouse for the next six years.  Having buried her entire family, she died here at the age of 57 on August 16, 1869.

Six months later, on February 15, 1870, the "two-story brick house" and lot was sold at auction for $20,250 to Samuel Parsons.  (The amount would translate to about $488,000 today.)  One month to the day later, an auction of the Youman family's furnishings was held.  Among the elegant pieces sold was a "rosewood piano, by Steinway & Sons."

Samuel Parsons continued operating 205 Prince Street as a boarding house.  Among his boarders in 1871 was Ronald MacDonald, an editor.

Parsons made significant changes to the house in 1875.  He removed the stoop, filled in the basement level, and installed a neo-Grec cast iron storefront on what was now the first floor.  It was possibly at this time that the attic was raised to a full floor, taking the shape of a stylish mansard.  Parsons's first commercial tenant was O'Leary Bros., a furniture store.

Around 1886, August Berrmann purchased the property.  The personality of the commercial space underwent a drastic change that year when brewers Bernheimer & Swartz signed the lease.  It was common for breweries to operate their own saloons, thereby assuring that only their own products would be sold.  

At the turn of the century, the saloon was run by Peter Mutthiessen.  He was fined the staggering amount of $1,630 on February 27, 1903 by State Excise Commissioner Cullinan.  The Albany newspaper The Argus explained, "Matthiessen trafficked in liquor at 205 Prince street, New York city, and violated the liquor tax law by having his barroom open [on Sunday]."  

The storefront was boarded up and obviously under renovation when this photo was taken in 1941.  On the side of the building an R & H Beer (Rubsam & Horrmann brewery) sign can be seen.  via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.

The estate of August Herrmann sold the property in March 1906 to Albert J. F. Sibberns and his wife, Clara L.  Calling his saloon a "café," it became what today would be called a sports bar and a training venue for boxers and wrestlers.  

In 1909, the Bridgeport, Connecticut newspaper The Farmer reported that Young Evans was in town.  "He has put away some clever boxers, including Tommy Devlin of Philadelphia, Joe Percenti of Chicago, Bob Smillie of Salem, and Johnnie Dohan of Brooklyn," said the article.  "He is willing to take on any promising youngster in this State at 136 pounds.  Communicate with his manager, Al Sibberns, 205 Prince street, New York."

The bar was also the headquarters of the Bugs Association baseball team.  Al Sibberns played centerfield for the group.

Sibberns was not the only trainer who worked from the saloon.  In 1915, according to the Brooklyn Standard Union, boxer Johnny Hayes's manager was Chick Kenney, and Dummy Dragon's was Louis Masso.

Albert J. F. Sibberns declared bankruptcy in November 1916.  The Sun reported that he had liabilities of $7,610 and assets of $300.

A saloon would remain here until Prohibition.  The space continued to house a restaurant or tavern throughout most of the 20th century.  

The building was returned to a single family home in the 1970s, its owners replacing the storefront infill with handsome arched windows reminiscent of a Dickensian London bookshop.  The renovation earned the owners a 1979 Certificate of Appreciation by the Association of Village Homeowners for "enhancing the surroundings with renewal of facades in a way appropriate to the historic character of the district."

photographs by the author

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