Long Ago and Far Away

Last week I started a part-time volunteering gig at the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society in Manhattan, an organization partnered with the New York Public Library to help people research their ancestry. I’ve assisted in indexing a section of the 1855 New York State Census (Manhattan’s 17^th Ward)  which is partially damaged from a long-ago fire, but with portions still intact I came across the name of a George W. Matsell while idly perusing the types of mid-19^th century occupations. He is listed as the Chief of Police, and my interest was piqued because my father-in-law was a 40 year veteran of the New York City Police Force retiring with the rank of Captain in 1986. Matsell was actually the first police commissioner of New York City, and in 1849 helped protect lower Manhattan from the violence of the Astor Place Riots which pitted nativists against immigrants in what has always been the ongoing quest for cultural and political supremacy in New York. But he also was a sort of Renaissance Man – prior to joining and helping to revamp the police force, he was merchant sailor, owned a popular bookstore on Chatham Street (now called Park Row, near City Hall) specializing in freethinking philosophy and spiritualism, and upon his retirement as Chief of Police published a book of criminal slang entitled The Secret Language of Crime: Vocabulum or The Rogues Lexicon which is still in print.

Great riot at the Astor Place Opera House, New York: On Thursday Evening May 10th 1849

Creator(s): N. Currier (Firm),

Date Created/Published: New York : Published by N. Currier, c1849.

Retrieved, Library of Congress Website, January 15, 2014. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002695805/

The 17^th Ward was located in today’s East Village, and although the street address is not recorded, it is noted that Mastell lived in a brick dwelling that was worth $7,000 and there were 10 members in his household including his wife, Ellen, 4 children, 3 boarders and a 20 year old Irish servant named Catharine Murther. By the time of his death in 1877 he was residing on East 58^th Street. He left behind no descendants, but a hell of an obituary in the New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F70E15FD3D5A1A7B93C4AB178CD85F438784F9. He is buried in the graveyard of Trinity Church.

If you are interested in reading more about the Astor Place Riots, I highly recommend The Shakespeare Riots: Revenge, Drama, and Death in Nineteenth-Century America by Nigel Cliff.

Sandy: The "Gift" That Just Keeps On Giving

Above, The Interfaith Nutrition Network (INN) locations. 

According to the Department of Agriculture, in 2011 there were 320,000 Long Islanders - more than 11% of the population - that were termed "food insecure."  Government cuts to the food stamp program and the continuing economic impact of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy has exponentially increased the need for social service aid on Long Island in 2014. One organization helping the hungry and homeless in Nassau and Suffolk Counties since 1983 - Interfaith Nutrition Network (INN) - has responded to the increased need for support by expanding their operations to include 19 soup kitchens. Among them is the Long Beach Food & Frienship INN, sorely needed, because in addition to the region’s tepid recovery from the Great Recession, here in Long Beach the Long Beach Medical Center, which pre-Sandy was the city’s largest employer (1,200 workers), remains shuttered.

In today's Newsday, there was an interesting article:

“Stressed-Out Safety Net”

LI Charities provide more help for the hungry as food-stamp grants are cut

By Carol Polsky

Newsday, January 6, 2014

“Although the reduction of benefits has been painful for some families, the larger issues are unemployment, or under-employment, and low-wage jobs as well as the financial impacts of superstorm Sandy, pantry workers said.”

If you’re interested in learning more about Interfaith Nutrition Network, check out the video below.

http://www.the-inn.org/home/the-inn-agency-video.html