J. Carson Brevoort was born in
Bloomingdale, Manhattan on July 10, 1818. He received his early education at home, in France, and at
Hofwyl, near
Berne, Switzerland. He then studied at the
École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in
Paris, and was graduated with the diploma of a civil engineer. On returning to the United States, he accompanied his uncle,
James Renwick, one of the commissioners on the northeastern boundary survey. In 1838 he went abroad as private secretary to
Washington Irving,
U.S. Minister to Spain. After serving a year in this capacity, he spent several years in European travel, and returned home in 1843. Two years later he married the daughter of Judge Leffert Lefferts, of
Brooklyn, where he afterward resided, serving on the board of education, and as one of the constructing board of water commissioners. He became a regent of the
University of New York in 1861, and the same year received the degree of
LL.D. from
Williams College. For ten years, beginning in 1863, he was president of the Long Island Historical Society. In 1868, he was elected a member of the
American Antiquarian Society. For two years, March 1876 to February 1878, he was superintendent of the Astor Library in New York City, of which he had been a trustee since 1852. He oversaw the beginning of a card catalog for the Astor collection. He resigned as a trustee in September 1878. He was a member of the
New York Historical Society, the
Academy of Natural Sciences, the
American Geographical Society, the
Massachusetts Historical Society, the
Pennsylvania Historical Society, and numerous other scientific, literary, and artistic associations, in which he was always actively involved. He was a collector of rare books and coins. From his father, Henry Brevoort, he inherited about 6,000 volumes, mostly Americana, which were collected in Europe during the turbulent years from 1810 until 1832. To this library, Brevoort made large additions, until in 1875 it comprised about 10,000 volumes, many of them very rare and costly. He also collected medals and manuscripts. About 1875 he began to bestow many of his treasures upon various institutions. His collections also embraced
entomology and
ichthyology (books and specimens). Brevoort removed, in early life, to
Yonkers, but returned to New York and was a member of the
Common Council for many years. Brevoort married Elizabeth Dorothea Lefferts in 1845, and they had one child, Henry L. Brevoort (1849-1895). In 1852, he moved to Rye. He died at his home in Brooklyn on December 7, 1887. ==Works==