Gowanus Canal Builder's Great-Great-Great Granddaughter Married

This could well be one of the only wedding announcements that GL ever posts, but yesterday's New York Times brought news of the betrothal of the great-great-great granddaughter of Edwin C. Litchfield, one of Brooklyn's first big developers and the man who built the Gowanus Canal. Her name is Emily Katherine Larned and she married Christian Eric Ruggiero in New Haven, Conn. She is an accomplished artist and designer of books. The Times noted this about her background:

Her father is the chairman of the Brooklyn Improvement Company, founded in 1866 by Edwin C. Litchfield, the bride’s maternal great-great-great grandfather, to create the Gowanus Canal. The company now manages the financial affairs of the descendants of Mr. Litchfield.

At one time, Mr. Litchfield owned all the land from 1st Street to Ninth Street and from the Gowanus into what is now Prospect Park. Litchfield Villa, which is at Prospect Park West and Fifth Street was one of his homes. (The little building that stands at the corner of Third Avenue and Third Street next to the Whole Foods site was the headquarters of the Brooklyn Improvement Company.) We had no idea there was still a Brooklyn Improvement Company. Best wishes Emily and Christian.