Sex, Drugs and Violence: The Stories Behind 10 Brooklyn Streetnames
Before we had love triangles, we had love pentagons. The Brownsville street was dedicated to Elizur B. Hinsdale, who served as the general counsel of the Long Island Rail Road and wrote its first history. He was also involved in one of the famous divorce cases of the late 1800s. Hinsdale’s brother, William Hinsdale, accused his own wife Frances of having affairs with Elizur and William’s clerk, Willie Carl. Frances fought back, claiming that William had been adulterous with Carl’s mother. The judge ruled against William and granted Frances a divorce. Elizur had his own problems, as his marriage was annulled when his wife was declared insane.