Provost, Andrew J., 1834-1925,

Andrew J. Provost (1834-1925) was the descendant of David Provost, mayor of the town of Brooklyn (or Breuckelen) from 1698 to 1699, and for whom Provost Street in Brooklyn was named. Andrew J. Provost married Harriet Titas (1835-1910) in 1856 and eventually resided at 403 Washington Avenue in Brooklyn. He was Vice-President of the Citizens Committee of Greenpoint, which aided families of soldiers in the Army.

Andrew J. Provost (1834-1925) was born in New York City but lived all but his earliest years in Bushwick, Brooklyn and Queens County (N.Y.). His ancestors, which included the Provost and Praa families, had roots in Bushwick (including the Greenpoint area of Bushwick) dating to the 1600s. Provost was an attorney and held various public offices in Kings and Queens counties. The collection, though, centers on Provost's interest as a historian and genealogist. In that capacity, in 1895, Prevost published Biographical and Genealogical Notes of the Provost Family from 1545 to 1895 .

Provost's son, Andrew J. Provost, Jr. (1867-circa 1960), was a civil engineer. He also had an interest in history and genealogy. He was the author of several family histories, including books on the Calyer, Titus and Hendrickson families. A unifying theme of his writings, other than their connection to the Provost family, was the connection to Bushwick, a town until it became part of the city of Brooklyn in the mid-nineteenth century (Brooklyn itself becoming consolidated into New York City in 1898). Provost, Jr.'s interest in Bushwick and its families culminated in his 3 volume Early Settlers of Bushwick, Long Island, New York, and Their Descendants .

Principal sources for the above information, for genealogical information about the names appearing in the collection, and for references to some of the documents: Andrew J. Provost, Biographical and genealogical notes of the Provost family from 1545 to 1895 (on the Brooklyn Historical Society library shelves at call number CS71.P748.1895) and Andrew J. Provost, Jr., Calyer family: a monograph of Jochem Caljer, a citizen of New Amsterdam from about 1640 to 1658 and his descendants (BHS call number CS71.C6555.1951).