author
Gabriel Furman
1800–1854
A sharp-eyed early historian of Brooklyn, he captured the young town’s geography, people, and past in works that still matter to local history readers today. He also moved through public life as a lawyer and New York state senator.
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About the author
Born in Brooklyn on January 23, 1800, Gabriel Furman was an American lawyer, historian, and politician whose writing focused on the early history of Brooklyn and Long Island. He is best known for Notes Geographical and Historical, Relating to the Town of Brooklyn, on Long-Island (1824), an early and influential account of the area.
Archival and library records describe him as a Whig politician and a New York State senator, as well as a careful observer of Brooklyn life. His surviving papers include journals from roughly 1816 to 1854, showing a lifelong habit of recording local events and personal observations.
Furman died in Brooklyn on November 11, 1854. For readers interested in the growth of New York and the memory of early Brooklyn, his work offers a close-up view from someone who lived through the place he described.