Dr. William P. Morrissy of Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Here is a photograph of Dr. William P. Morrissy of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY. The photograph is undated, an approximate date would be mid-1880s to mid-1890s. The photograph was sent to me by Anthony Sutherland. Dr. Morrissy was a nephew of my great great grandfather, Laurence Morrissey. William's brother, John Veriker Morrissy, was a Member of Parliament for Northumberland riding in New Brunswick. William was one of the first police surgeons for New York City. It is William's letter, written when he was a boy still living in New Brunswick, to Laurence Morrissey, by then living in Montreal, that contains so much information on the Morrissey family that the letter was saved for future generations; somehow it was even returned to the family in Newcastle (Miramichi), NB. More can be found on William at http://www.morrisseyfamilyhistory.com/.

Dream Journeys: Greenpoint

Dr. William P. Morrissey, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NYC

Greenpoint

“Are we in Greenpoint?” I asked, looking
at maps of Brooklyn.
Once I looked at old photographs of Greenpoint,
it was prosperous then, and now I leave
the room I am renting for a tour of the area
on my bike. I recognize the buildings
and monuments but they are all larger
than expected. There is city hall,
dirty from years of car and truck exhaust,
then an empty lot where grass seed was being watered.
I enter a tunnel leading to where my relatives
lived in Greenpoint; there is a large church
at the end of their street, the church roof
has collapsed. Two men
stand on a crowded street corner,
“The air here is bad,” I say to them,
“as soon as you leave the tunnel
it is smokey, polluted, everything here
is run-down, poor.” One man says
he’s moving a few blocks
to get out of the area.
I think of visiting the church,
what is left behind.