This is an indispensable companion to Part One of Volume Two, containing detailed historical background from the earliest Dutch and English settlement to the pre-Civil War years. Also included are transcriptions of the minutes of the Village Board Meetings, 1857-1860, which document the struggles of the board members as they wrestled with issues presented to the growing village, such as street construction, the running loose of cattle and hogs, and the problem of people bathing naked in the Hudson River. These minutes also contain the names of all the board members and many of the village residents. Historians and genealogists alike will find this book both interesting and useful, and will be able to see the growth of Yonkers unfolding before their eyes.