Brevoort family

The first members of the Brevoort family in America came from Holland prior to 1655 and soon thereafter settled in Bushwick, then a separate village that would eventually be annexed by the City of Brooklyn in 1855. After 20 years in Bushwick, the family purchased land in New York City (present-day Manhattan) where the family prospered. It wasn’t until 1845 that members of the Brevoort family moved back to Brooklyn.

Henry Brevoort (1747-1841) was a successful farmer whose lands lay just outside of the early city limits of New York. His estate consisted of 86 acres between 9th Street and 18th Street, bounded by Fifth Avenue on the west and the Bowery on the east, thus part of today's West Village. The opening of Broadway up to 23rd Street forced New York City street commissioners to create a dog-leg bend at 10th Street, as Brevoort was determined to prevent the disruption of his estate. Brevoort and son Henry, Jr. prevented the opening of 11th Street between Broadway and the Bowery in the 1830s and 1840s to prevent the destruction of the old family farm house.

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