Rev. Samuel Osgood House
154 West 11th Street | West Village | built 1845
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1845
James Boorman builds 154 West 11th Street with a Greek Revival doorway
In 1845 James Boorman has two three-story brick houses put up side by side at 154 and 156 West 11th Street, a few years after he built a pair back to back with them facing Greenwich Avenue. Number 154 keeps its Greek Revival entrance, framed by sidelights and a transom. Heavier window cornices were added later, and the roofline has a cornice with bracket-like modillions.
- 1860
Edwin Booth marries Mary Devlin in the parlor, with John Wilkes Booth as witness
On Saturday, July 7, 1860, a couple knocks at the home of the Rev. Samuel Osgood, then numbered 86 West 11th Street, and asks to be married. Osgood, rector of the Church of the Messiah, performs the ceremony in the parlor. The groom is the famous actor Edwin Booth, the bride is Mary Devlin of Philadelphia, and the groom's brother John Wilkes Booth looks on. The source notes that most clergy of the day avoided people from the theater.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1861
Ellen Osgood collects supplies for sick and wounded soldiers at the house
When the Civil War begins, Ellen Osgood helps organize the Nightingale Association, a group of church women who aim to supply nurses, bandages and comforts for the wounded. On April 24, 1861 the New-York Daily Tribune lists items wanted, from woolen socks to canned fruit, and says donations can be sent to her at 154 West 11th Street. By July 1862 her husband serves on a committee of the New-England Soldiers' Relief Association, which aids Union soldiers passing through the city.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1879
Tiffany offers Samuel Osgood a copy of the Bryant vase he had helped create
In 1876 Osgood leads a drive to give the poet William Cullen Bryant a Grecian-style sterling vase made by Tiffany & Co. for his 80th birthday. On May 28, 1879 Tiffany writes to offer Osgood a silver-plated electrotype copy as a souvenir. He first checks with Bryant, who assures him he wants him to have it, and the copy then sits in a place of honor in the house. The original vase is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1880
Samuel Osgood, clergyman and historian, dies in the house at 68
The Rev. Samuel Osgood dies at 154 West 11th Street on April 14, 1880, at the age of 68. He had left the Unitarian church for the Episcopal one and was by then a respected Episcopal clergyman, as well as a historian and author. His funeral is held on April 19 at St. Thomas's Church on Fifth Avenue, led by Bishop Henry C. Potter, with clergy from as far as Georgia and mourners such as Joseph H. Choate in attendance.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1924
Industrial designer Joseph Sinel keeps his freelance studio here
New Zealand-born designer Joseph Claude Sinel arrives in New York in 1923 and, after six months at Calkins & Holden, goes freelance. By November 1924 The American Printer reports that his studio is at 154 West 11th Street. He later says he designed everything from ads and andirons to beer bottles, hearing aids and toasters before moving to San Francisco in 1936.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
Further reading
- The Rev. Samuel Osgood House - 154 West 11th StreetDaytonian in Manhattan
- Then & Now photos: 154 West 11th StreetVillage Preservation: Greenwich Village Then & Now
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