A Town Clerk, also elected by the people. The duties of this officer are to call special town meetings on the request of twelve freeholders, record the proceedings of town meetings, and preserve the records of the town. In 1698, Jacob Vandewater, town clerk of this town, received the sum of £6 5s. for two years and six months salary.[20] In 1822, in order to make the town clerk’s salary in some degree proportionate to the increase of business, the town voted him a salary of $50. In 1824, the town clerk’s salary was increased to $75. The office is at present held by John Doughty, esq. who has been successively elected since the year 1796.

Five Assessors, also elected by the people—whose duties are to assess all real and personal estate liable to taxation within the town, and to forward such assessment to the supervisors, that they may apportion the amount of tax on the same. The present assessors are Messrs. John S. Bergen, Richard Stanton, John Spader, Joseph Moser, and Andrew Demarest. Their compensation is one dollar and twenty-five cents per day during the time they are employed in making and completing the assessment.

There are also elected two overseers of the poor, Messrs. William Cornwell, and Isaac Moser; one constable and collector, Mr. John M’Kenney; two constables, Messrs. John Lawrence, and Samuel Doxsey; and several other officers, whose names and duties will be set forth in the subsequent parts of this work.

The judicial business of this town is at present transacted by three justices of the peace, viz. John Garrison, John G. Murphy, and Samuel Smith, esqrs. These magistrates are appointed by the judges of the common pleas, and the supervisors of the county.

Second—the Village Government.

April 12, 1816, the village of Brooklyn was incorporated by an act of the legislature of this state. By this act the freeholders and inhabitants are authorized annually to elect, on the first Monday of May, “Five discreet freeholders, resident within the said village, Trustees thereof;” and these trustees are authorized to appoint a president and clerk. The first trustees, Messrs. Andrew Mercein, John Garrison, John Doughty, John Seaman, and John Dean, were appointed by the legislature, and continued in office until the first Monday of May, 1817; when the first election was made by the people, and they made choice of Messrs. William Furman, Henry Stanton, William Henry, Tunis Joralemon, and Noah Waterbury. The present trustees are Messrs. Joshua Sands, John Doughty, Joseph Moser, John Moon, and Samuel James. Joshua Sands, esq. president, and John Dikeman, esq. clerk of the board. The president previous to 1824 received no salary; at present his salary is $300. The clerk formerly received a salary of $100, which in consequence of the great increase of business is now raised to $200. The powers of the trustees are principally “to make, ordain, constitute, and publish, such prudential by-laws, rules and regulations, as they from time to time shall deem meet and proper; and such in particular as relate to the public markets, streets, alleys, and highways of the said village; to draining, filling up, levelling, paving, improving, and keeping in order the same; relative to slaughter-houses, houses of ill fame, and nuisances generally; relative to a village watch, and lighting the streets of said village; relative to restraining geese, swine, or cattle of any kind; relative to the better improvement of their common lands; relative to the inspection of weights and measures, and the assize of bread; relative to erecting and regulating hay-scales; relative to the licensing of public porters, cartmen, hackney coachmen, gaugers, weigh-masters measurers, inspectors of beef and pork, of wood, of staves and heading, and of lumber; relative to public wells, pumps, and reservoirs or cisterns of water to be kept filled for the extinguishment of fires; relative to the number of taverns or inns to licensed in said village; and relative to any thing whatsoever that may concern the public and good government of the said village; but no such by-laws shall extend to the regulating or fixing the prices of any commodities or articles of provision, except the article of bread, that may be offered for sale.” The powers of the trustees, in opening, regulating, and widening streets, are enlarged and defined by an act passed by the legislature of this state, April 9, 1824.

The board of trustees have the appointment of several officers. The following is a list of the names of the officers at present holding under them.

John Lawrence, Collector.
Samuel Watts,—Weighers
John Titus,
Andrew Tombs,
Robert W. Doughty,
Burdet Striker, Measurer.
William A. Sale, Measurer of Lime.

Three village Assessors are also elected by the people, for the purpose of making an assessment on which to apportion the village tax. The present assessors are Losee Van Nostrand, Gamaliel King, and John D. Conklin.

The Trustees, by an act passed April 9th, 1824, are constituted a Board of Health. The President and Clerk of the Trustees are ex-officio President and Clerk of the Board of Health. The salary of the President of this Board is $150.