24
& De K HALVE MAEN A3aga?mc of die &utct) Colonial Hh period in IS

De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

  • Upload
    others

  • View
    3

  • Download
    0

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

& De K

HALVE MAEN A3aga?mc of die &utct) Colonial

Hh period in IS

Page 2: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

The Holland Society of New York

122 EAST 58th STREET, N E W YORK. N.Y. 10022

President J o h n H. Vander Veer

Advisory Council of Past Presidents: Bruce S. Cornell Thomas M. Van der Veer Kenneth L. Demarest Gerrit W. Van Schaick Walter E. Hopper Dr. Harold O. Voorhis Julian K. Roosevelt Carl A. Willsey

James E. Quackenbush

Vice Presidents:

New York County Harry A. van Dyke Long Island Adrian T. Bogart, Jr. Dutchess County Clifford A. Crispell, Jr. Ulster County Kenneth E. Hasbrouck Patroons, Albany Henry Bradt Central New York George N . Van Fleet Old Bergen County, N.J Francis A. Goctschius Essex and Morris Counties, N.J Daniel S. Van Riper Central New Jersey James R. Van Wagner, Jr. Connecticut-Westchester Harrold W. deGroff New England Tweed Roosevelt Mid West Robert R. Schenck, M.D. Potomac George Bogardus Virginia and the Carolinas Howard E. Bartholf Florida Paul B. Van Dyke, Jr. Pacific Coast George E. Roosevelt, Jr. Niagara Frontier Chase Viele South River Will iam M. Alrich United States Army . Col. William T. Van Atten, Jr., USA (Ret) United States Navy Rear Adm. Blinn Van Mater, Jr. (Ret) United States Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Ar thur J. Poillon, USMC United States Air Force Captain Laurence C. Vliet, USAF

Treasurer: Secretary:

John A. Pruyn Rev. Louis O. Springsteen

Domine: Associate Domine: Rev. Dr. Howard G. Hageman Rev. Louis O. Springsteen

Trustees: William M. Alrich James P. Snedeker Frederick W. Bogert James M. Van Buren II Ralph L. DeGroff, Jr. Wynant D. Vanderpool, Jr. John O. Delamater Harry A. van Dyke Richard C. Deyo Peter Van Dyke William B. Deyo, Jr. James M. Vreeland Henry H. Livingston Stanley L. Van Rensselaer Hubert T. Mandeville Clifford, A. Crispell, Jr. Robert D. Nostrand John R. Voorhis III Arthur R. Smock, Jr. Peter G. Vosburgh

Trustees Emeritus: Ralph L. DeGroff Wilfred B. Talman

Charles A. Van Patten

Editor: Rev. Dr. Howard G. Hageman

Editorial Committee:

Frederick W. Bogert Wilfred B. Talman Clayton Hoagland James M. Von Buren II

David William Voorhees

Burgher Guard Captain: Executive Secretary: William D. Blauvelt, Jr. Mrs. Barbara W. Stankowski

Organized in 1885 to collect and preserve information respecting the settle­ment and early history of the City and State of New York, to perpetuate the memory, foster and promote the principles and virtues of the Dutch ancestors of its members, to maintain a library relating to the Dutch in America, and to ptepare papets, essays, books, etc. in regard to the history and genealogy of the Dutch in America.

The Society is principally organized of descendants in the direct male line of residents of the Dutch Colonies in America prior to ot during the year 1675. In­quiries respecting the several critetia for membership are invited.

De Halve Maen, published by the Society, is entered at the post office at New Yotk, N.Y Communications to the editor should be directed to the Society's address, 122 East 58th Street, New York, N.Y. 10022, telephone (212) PLaza 8-1675.

Copyright ©The Holland Society of New York 1984.

Editor's Corner We hope that our readers, especially those who live at

a distance from New York, can from this issue begin to catch a little of the excitement which is building as we look for­ward to the Holland Society's Centennial next year. All kinds of plans are being made to ensure that it will be a real year of jubilee in which we hope all of our members can participate in one way or another.

The way of genealogical societies in this country has not been an easy one in recent years. Like the rest of us they have felt the pinch of inflation and have been forced to strain their financial resources to the limit. They have also found it increasingly difficult to persuade younger people of the value in joining them. What precisely is the value in celebrating one's ancestry in a world which seems to care little about the past and is centered almost exclusively on the experience of the moment?

If the Holland Society has proved to be a happy excep­tion, in part at least, to these tendencies, we can first of all be grateful for those who have given us financial strength by making generous provision for the future of the Society by remembering it in their wills or, in some cases, by mak­ing outright gifts. Beyond that, however, is the fact that new members continue to join it, even if not in as great numbers as we should like.

The reason is that in addition to genealogy, the Holland Society has placed such a heavy emphasis on history. We have literally been in the forefront of just about every ef­fort to make the Dutch contribution to American history better known. Our admirable series of historical publica­tions, still in progress, and many of the articles which have appeared in de Halve Maen are repeatedly cited by scholars who are at work on the history of New Netherland. Since there seems to be a growing awareness on the part of historians that the history of that colony has been under­studied and even ignored, there is great gratitude for what

(continued on page 15)

IN THIS ISSUE

Dutch Yankees and English Patroons 1

St. Eustatius 9

Society Activities 13

1985—The Centennial of The Holland Society . . . 16

Calendar of Events for the Centennial 17

Sponsors of the Centennial 17

Here and There with Our Members 19 In Memoriam 20

The cover illustration of the Stadthuys of New York in 1679 is reproduced from Volume I of the Memoirs of the Long Island Historical Society, 1867. The illustration on page 18 of the Water Gate at the foot of Wall Street, New York in 1679 is taken from the same source.

Page 3: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

DC

HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY

Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

If asked two years ago to write a short history of the Dutch in early New England, I might have asked, with skep­ticism, if there was any other kind than short? Today I am convinced that the history of the Dutch in New England is indeed "short": far short of being completely studied, written, and understood.

New England's Dutch history is long-standing and widespread. Near New England's geographic center one can find Dutch history. For example, Fort Good Hope (de Hoep), near Hartford, was the center of New Netherland's Connecticut (Versche) Valley trade from 1633-1654. Even the region's far corners — Vergennes, Vermont; Van Buren, Maine; Dutch Island, Rhode Island (Roode Eylandt!); Greenwich, Connecticut — have Dutch chapters to their histories to be told. If all the details of what follows are forgotten for the moment, what needs to be remembered is the very fact that New England history has a Dutch story to tell. Our focus here will be primarily southern New England, from Plymouth Plantation to Greenwich, Con­necticut, for therein lie the beginnings of New England's Dutch history.

Dutch fur traders roamed southern New England before the first permanent settlers came from Holland to the Versche Valley in 1623. Adrian Blok is usually credited with having begun fur trade in that region.1 In 1614, Blok'sship, "Tiger," burned while moored at Manhattan laden with fur. Two problems faced Blok. First, and obviously, Blok needed to build another ship since Holland-America oceanliners were not due in port for another couple of cen­turies. Second, Blok needed to return home with fur to avert a financial disaster. With his cargo of Hudson Valley fur either burned or on the bottom of the harbor, Blok plan­ned to set sail for an untested trading area, southern New England. So it was that Adrian Blok steered the "Onrust ' ' ("Restless") through Hell's Gate into Long Island Sound in search of lucrative fur to save his own financial hide.

Blok ventured into various harbors and river valleys tak­ing on fur where able. Entering a particular river he found to have fresh water nearer its mouth than most others, he named it Versche ("Fresh"). Blok meandered north in the

David Mullholland is minister of the Reformed Church in Owasco, N. Y.

Versche River until the Enfield Rapids, located about ten miles south of the Massachusetts border. After he had secured some peltry in the Versche Valley, Blok returned to the Sound. He continued along the coast, named one island after himself and another one "Roode" ("red"), and finally turned out to sea a little north of Boston harbor. Other traders followed Blok's lead.

By 1623, Dutch handelaars (traders) frequented numerous New England spots. Among the more prominent spots visited were the Narragansatt region and the Versche Valley. Important enough to New Netherlands for fur was the Narragansatt country that Peter Barentz, in charge of fur trade in all New Netherlands, visited there frequently.2

Brodhead claims that Indians of New England developed a deep trust for Barentz.3 In fact, one Sequin chief would negotiate a trade agreement with the Dutch only if Barentz himself was their representative (c. 1626).4 Unfortunately, too few records published show clearly the number of skins from New Netherland's New England sector versus the rest of the colony, if the data exist. What is clear from that data which are available shows the prominence of New England fur in New Netherlands' store. Bernard Bailyn believes that a good part of an eight thousand beaver load sent to Holland in 1626 came from the Versche and Narragansatt regions.5

Albert Van Dusen, Connecticut state historian, has revealed more liberal figures concerning the Versche region alone. Between 1614-1624, fur trade along the banks of the Versche "may have reached the large total often thousand beaver skins annually."6 Whether the Narragansatt haul of fur was greater or lesser than that of the Versche it was nonetheless substantial prior to 1623.

1 John Romeyn Brodhead, History of the State of New York, Vol. I (NY: Harper & Bros., 1853), p. 58 (Hereafter cited as Brodhead); Alexander C. Flick, ed., History of the State of New York, Vol. I (Port Washington, L.I.: Ira J. Friedman, 1962). (Hereafter cued as HSNY).

2 Brodhead, p. 168.

s Ibid. 4 Ibid. Although the Sequin chief would have been in the Versche valley,

Btodhead's point is that Barentz was well-trusted among most New England Indians with whom the Dutch dealt.

5 Bernard Bailyn, The New England Merchants in the Seventeenth Cen­tury (New York: Harper & Row, 1955), p. 15 n. 34.

6 Albert E. Van Dusen, Connecticut (NY: Random House, 1961), p. 19.

Page 4: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

Dutch fur trade in the Narragansatt region was somewhat more complex than in the Versche. Certainly there were more trading bases to which one can point in the Nar­ragansatt region than in the Versche. It may simply have been that the Dutch needed to visit more places in the bay than in the valley to take on the same amount of fur. However, the Indian factor is as significant a factor in number of trading bases in each area as is the availability of fur at each site.

During the early trade period in southern New England (1614-1623), Sequin Indians traded with the Dutch along the Versche. Predominantly peaceful, these members of the Algonquin family comprised a substantial portion of the more than twenty thousand Algonquins in the Versche Valley during this period.7 Further, the Sequins did not venture too far from the valley as there were less amicable Mohawks and Pequots to their west and east respectively. Meanwhile, traders in the Narragansatt country dealt with Pequot, Nian-tic, and Narragansatt, and Wampanoag, none of which had as cordial a relationship with the Dutch as did the Sequins. Therefore, it is probable that specific places to trade were a necessity in the Narragansatt region, given the greater number of tribes there and the nature of their relations with the Dutch, let alone with each other. Conversely, it is likely that it was less important in the Versche as to the exact loca­tion of a trading site. Odds favored the Dutch, during 1614-1623, that Indians encountered anywhere along the river were Sequin, in good ralations, more eager to trade with the Dutch than with their Mohawk or Pequot neighbors, well-distributed throughout the valley, and the only tribe there. So it may be that Dutch fur trade took on a different form in the Narragansatt area than in the Versche right from the start.

Fort Ninigret, on Ninigret (salt) Pond at Charlestown, Rhode Island, may well be the best and last existing proof of Dutch presence in the Narragansatt area prior to 1623. Its history is intertwined with New England Indian history. According to archeological excavations done there by New York University residents, the site was occupied by Indians sometime between 700 and 1300 for an undetermined amount of time.8 Once again, from 1616 or 1617, Indians occupied the site.9 Apparently, the reason was to trade with the Dutch.

Virginia Lee notes the significance of Fort Ninigret as a trade center due its rather permanent structure, the ruins of which exist today.10 All along southern New England lie salt ponds. These inlets of sea water usually have a rather narrow outlet to the ocean. Except where permanently enclosed due to silting in by nature or by human engineer­ing, these ponds are havens for certain types offish, in­cluding shellfish. A publication printed by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management in cooperation with the Audubon Society of Rhode Island and the Coastal Resources Management Council tells of how Indians used salt ponds before the arrival of the Dutch:

"For hundreds of years before the arrival of the col­onists, the Narragansatt Indians came to their summer encampments along the edges of the salt ponds. They harvested clams, quahaugs, and oysters. Some of the shellfish were eaten fresh; the rest were dried and stored as provisions for the winter . . . . Salt ponds also pro­vided the Narragansatts with fish. Nets woven from hemp were used to catch schools of buckies (alewives),

a kind of herring which migrated from the ocean into the ponds each spring. Bone fish hooks fastened to hemp string were also used to catch fish. Part of the catch was dug into the ground as fertilizer, for the Nar­ragansatts were farmers as well as fishermen."11

Amid the numerous Narragansatt people, stood this lone stone bastion of European design; amid seasonal dwellers, this permanent structure. Because the building seemed so out-of-place-and-time with respect to the Indian culture around it, Lee claims Ninigret must have been quite important.

One also may infer importance both from Fort Ninigret's location and its structure. Located on the south side of a peninsula jutting out from the north into Ninigret pond, the structure is very strategically located. From the hill upon which the fort lies, one can see a great distance seaward. If a foreign ship were to approach by sea, it could be seen well in advance, weather permitting. Even so, from asea, it would be difficult to locate the fort, let alone sail to it. Southern Rhode Island's numerous salt ponds provided a natural maze. With no good chart available in the early seventeenth century,12 an invader from the sea needed to know which salt pond to enter to find the fort. Likewise, one needed to know which entrance matched which salt pond. To add to the maze effect, not all salt ponds were visible from the sea, and not all inlets went to salt ponds, since they could merely be rivers, streams, or coves. Fur­ther, it could be disastrous to enter the inlet of the wrong salt pond. Since salt pond entrances close naturally with silt over time, what may appear to be a deep opening to a salt pond may be too shallow to risk an ocean-going ship. Besides, even if one knew the location of the fort and the correct waterway there, it would take long enough to reach the fort from the ocean for the fort's occupants to flee or to prepare to defend themselves once the ship's mast ap­peared in sight. So it was that Fort Ninigret was strategic­ally located with respect to sea attack.

If Fort Ninigret were to be attacked by Indians, its loca­tion and structure would aid its defense, too. Located on the tip of a peninsula any attack by canoe or small boat would give the occupants time to prepare. If one attacked by land, there were three possible routes: both shorelines or directly across the peninsula. A corner bastion faced each possible direction of attack.13 Since the three-quarter acre fort was already located atop a hill, the bastions gave even greater visibility, and hence greater time to warn occupants of the approaching enemy. In addition, the fort's entrance was located on the south corner, the ocean side. Therefore,

7 Mary Jeanne Anderson Jones, Congregational Commonwealth Connec­ticut 1636- 76(52 (Middletown, Ct.: Wesleyan Univ. Press, 1968), p. 22.

8 Virginia Lee, "Land Use: Changing Patterns of Human Interaction with the Ponds Indians," An Elusive Compromise: Rhode Island Coastal Ponds and Their People, section V, Coastal Resources Center, Univer­sity of Rhode Island, Marine Technical Report no. 73.

9 Ibid., e.g. 10 Ibid. 11 Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, "Historical

Use of the Salt Ponds," fr. The South Shore (pamph.). 12 cf. great variations of early maps in G.M. Asher, A List of the Maps

and Charts of New Netherlands (NY: C.B. Norton, 1855), app. pp. 1-26.

13 Louis W. Cappelli, Rhode Island: A Guide to the Smallest State (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1937), p. 403.

)

Page 5: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

Map of New

even if enemies could approach the fort unnoticed or unscathed, they would need to scale its wall to get inside. Perhaps, too, boats remained anchored at the bottom of the banks of the hill near the south corner, so that the oc­cupants could slip away undetected if necessary. All in all, too much planning and effort went into the building of Fort Ninigret for it to be insignificant. If it was significant, that meant trade in the region was significant, too.

Numerous questions remain unanswered concerning the Dutch presence at Fort Ninigret. It is uncertain whether a small Dutch contingency occupied the fort year round or merely came when the Indians returned to the salt ponds in the summer. Even during the winter, the Narragansatts were never too far away in that period for trade. Likewise, it would seem unlikely such a planned permanent structure would be built for seasonal use. Further, a ship's log dated as March, 1623 tells of brisk trade well before summer.14

14 Howard M. Chapin, "Quetenis Island or Dutch Island," Rhode Island Historical Society Collections, Vol. XIX, July. 1926, no. 3.

15 Cappelli, p. 403. 16 William Franklin Tucker, Historical Sketches of the Town of Charlestown

in Rhode Island from 1636 to 1876 (Pub. unknown), p. 47.

;3)

Netherlands

Nonetheless, it is difficult to find a source of record to sup­port year-long residency.

Some sources question the amount of Dutch presence there. Louis Cappelli wrote in 1937 of the longheld misconception that Fort Ninigret was an Indian institution!

This fort was supposed for many years to have been the stronghold of the Niantic Indians, but it is now (1937) generally conceded that it was built by the early Dutch traders and used as a trading post. Bastions and other evidences of military engineering skill found in the fort, whose original outlines are now preserved by an iron fence, seem to support this theory.15

A visitor is greeted today by a sign reading "Fort Niantic" and a large rock upon which is inscribed a testimony to the Niantic Indians, both having been placed there long ago. The probable source of confusion was the Pequot war of 1637.'6 En route to rout the Pequots at Mystic, Captain John Mason camped near the fort. At that late date, the fort was occupied by Niantics. Since the Pequot war and Mason's march to Mystic became near legends, while the history of Dutch presence in New England faded into oblivion, it is understandable that Fort Ninigret became "orphaned"

Page 6: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

from its Dutch roots. Overall, certain sources simply missed the point that the Dutch built Fort Ninigret; others sug­gest Dutch traders came to the place as seasonal residents or as mere visitors. Yet, the question remains without documented answer, why build a fort as large, as detailed, and as strategically located as Ninigret without stationing a soul there? It was unlikely that the Narragansatts fashioned a European-style fortification spontaneously. No, it is prob­able that a small Dutch squadron garrisoned there. Either way, Fort Ninigret stood as the first known Dutch edifice in New England, most likely there when the first Dutch set­tlers came to that region in 1623.

By the time the first Dutch settlers came to New England, French and English settlements had already fail­ed. As 1623 dawned, New England seemed little changed by the European intrusion on its pristine shore. By the sum­mer of 1621, nearly half of the original Pilgrim settlers had died. Now two years later the struggle had eased, but it had not ceased. But European shore settlements had failed before. Gosnold, in 1602, abandoned his settlement after a couple of spring months, never testing the heartiness of his settlers against the tough New England winter.17

Elsewhere, by 1605, de Monts moved the survivors of the French expedition at St. Croix to Nova Scotia, and even­tually back to France.18 Sir Fernando Gorges and John Smith, of Virginia fame, each looking for a place to settle in New England, finally passed up the region as too dif­ficult to settle, let alone to approach by sea. By 1623, the outlook that New England would ever be settled seemed bleak.

Of the three European groups vying to settle New England (England, France, Holland), the Dutch had perhaps the truest perspective on what New England was like. They saw past its rugged shore. They ventured into its plush interior. Without knowledge of the interior which the Dutch alone had, New England must have appeared to one asea like this:

To the captain of a ship, to the navigator as yet without a chart, the coast of New England must have appeared hostile and dangerous. The rocky reefs of Maine, the headlands of Cape Ann were scarcely more formidable than the trickly 'sholdes' (shoals) off Cape Cod. The harbors and the mouths of the small rivers were hid­den behind pebble-ringed islands, thick with pine and fir. It was not easy from sea to see . . . the cultivable fields . . . . Granite was everywhere, and thick, dark woods, to the very edge of the sea.19

With such a perspective, it is little wonder that cod and timber were the main items first sought from New England. Until the Dutch extended fur trade to its New England region, New England attracted relatively little attention with respect to colonization by any nation. Even the Pilgrims would rather have landed near Jamestown than in New England.

In 1623, "two families and six men" came from Holland to the Versche Valley.20 It is likely they left from the Versche at a later date either for Holland or for the Hudson Valley.21

To say the least, New England was not inundated by Dutch settlers. Nor was New England greatly effected by these first Dutch settlers.

Given the priority of trade over settlement, trade con­tinued with ot without settlers after 1623. As Edwin M. Bacon put it:

While it is apparent that the rich intervals of the (Con­necticut) Valley were lovelier in the Dutchman's eye for the profitable beaver skins to be gathered here than as the 'home and inheritance of his race,' he had doubtless come to stay.22

"Staying" meant, at first, in crudely constructed shelters while trading with Indians, or on board ship when possi­ble. It also meant residing with Indians in their villages when necessary and safe to do so. Thus, the double-entendre per­taining to "staying" in the New World meant, on the one hand, "not as permanent residents in permanent dwell­ings"; on the other hand, "for as long as profits and peace persisted." In short, the Dutch intended to be "permanent temporary-residents," able to come or go as they pleased, to move about freely, and to do so indefinitely. As perma­nent settlers began to arrive in New Netherlands in 1623, they came either to provide support services for traders, or to seek either personal fortune or refuge. Given the nature of settlers coming to New Netherlands, it is hard to say whether the "two families and six men" that landed in New England were much welcomed in 1623, much missed when they left, or even much noticed at all.

To question why the Dutch West India Company did not emphasize colonization in 1623 may be to use hind­sight. Ten yeats later the English began to encroach on Dutch New England. In 1633 it would have been wise to place settlements sttategically to check the English migra­tion westward. However, there was little indication in 1623 that New England would be anything but Dutch. Besides, the Dutch needed little colonization elsewhere in the world to procure high profits!

In stark contrast to the English struggling along the coast to remain in New England permanently, the Dutch fared quite well even though they had little desire and ample op­portunity to be permanent settlers. The Pilgrims found farming difficult on the rocky shores; the Dutch, easier in the Valley. The Pilgrims found communication and trade with the Indians difficult and infrequent; the Dutch, easy, regular, and important to world markets. Also on the Dutch end of things, Indian trade proved quite profitable. For ex­ample, in 1624, the Niew Nederlandt returned to Holland from New Amsrerdam with about 1000 skins bought for roughly 8,000 guilders worth of shells and trinkets.23 These

17 Quinn, D.B., The Discovery of North America (NY: American Heritage Press, 1972), p. 255; Yeadon, David, Hidden Corners of New England (NY: Funk & Wagnalls, 1976), pp. 44-5.

18 Quinn, p. 264; H.A. Davis, International Community on the St. Croix 1604-1930 (Orono: Univ. of Maine Press, 1974), pp. 17-22.

19 Quinn, p. 154. 20 Brodhead, p. 153; HSNY, Vol. II, pp. 43ff; Henri and Barbara van

der Zee, A Sweet and Alien Land: The Story of the Dutch in New York (NY: Viking Press, 1978), p . 63 (Hereafter to be cited as vdZ). Without denoting source, the vdZ claims the "settlers" stayed two yeats.

21 Ibid. Little else is known except the fact that they came to the Versche in 1623. Harold J. Bingham in his History of Connecticut (W'est Palm Beach, Fla.: Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1962), Vol. I, pp. 10-11, states that the goal of the West India Company in 1623 was to establish four forts on the four exyremes of its real estate (Fotts Nassau, Orange, Good Hope and Amsterdam). Except for Brodhead, rarely does an author make reference to these settlers' having built any structures.

22 Edwin M. Bacon, The Connecticut River and the Valley of the Connec­ticut (NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1906), p. 3.

23 Calculations based on vdZ, p. 11, and William Heard Kilpatrick, The Dutch Schools of New Netherlands and Colonial New York (NY: Ar-no Press and the NY Times, 1969), p. 16.

)

Page 7: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

furs brought about 28,500 guilders in Europe. Bought for $3.20 each, they sold for $15.20. The trip netted around $12,000 — a lot of money today (though not for finished fur products, but these crude pelts did not cost much less than those of this era, despite inflation), more then. All this is not to say that the Versche Valley ever yielded the profits of the Hudson River trade. Had it done so, Dutch New England might have been populated intentionally as the English encroached. But trade proved so significant that the Dutch, while wishing to avoid war with England, which would hinder trade, clung tenaciously to the Versche Valley when the English settled there years later.

M U S E U M OF T H E CITY OF N E W YORK

West India House, the headquarters of the company in Amsterdam.

More is known about the Dutch New England after 1623 than before. By 1623, the West India Company stepped up its operations in Fort Orange and New Amsterdam. In­creased activity meant an increase in bureaucrats; more bureaucrats meant more letters and records from which to gather information. Early records indicate Dutch traders fre­quented ports-of-call after 1623 such as, in Rhode Island, Cawcawmsqussick (Wickford), and Sowams (Warren); Bran-ford, Milford, Guilford, and Greenwich, in Connecticut; Manomet or Aptuxet (Monument, on Buzzard's Bay), Hyannis, and Salem, in Massachusetts. Traders occasionally went to the upper Housatonic and Sickenames (Thames) valleys. Only rarely did they go into what is today Vermont and New Hampshire. In short, it was through records from the Hudson Valley trade that we know most of what occur­red in Dutch New England.

24 Brodhead, p. 145. 25 John Goodwin, The Pilgrim Republic (NY: Houghton-Mifflin. 1920),

pp. 303ff-; Henry C. Kittredge, Cape Cod: Its People and Their History' (NY: Houghton-Mifflin, 1930), p 292.

26 Bailyn, pp. 24ff. Allerton figures in on the commercial failure of Plymouth Colony, but profits from it personally. To make matters worse, the Pilgrim's first export of fur was seized by French privateers'

27 Carl Bridenbaugh, Fat Mutton and Liberty of Conscience: Society in Rhode Island 1636-1690 (Providence: Brown Univ. Press, 1974), p. 10; Chapin calls the Klips Kil (Warren River, in which the Dutch ships would be anchored to trade at Sowams) "(the) principle haven used by the Dutch in their trade with the Wampanoags." Although Manomet was the Dutch trader's favored resort, Chapin's comment suggests that the Sowams trade was more productive. This is very possible and likely since the tribe's main residencies were in the Sowams area: Goodwin, pp. 303-4.

The Mayflower

Records of the period 1623-33 strongly suggest that con­siderable trade went on at Manomet before 1623. Adrian Blok had sailed Buzzard's Bay, trading where able. Precious little is known as to where in the bay Blok and his successors traded. Brodhead may give a clue. Without reference to year, Brodhead called Manomet the Dutch traders "favorite resort."24 Since it is known that Pilgrims built a crude trading post there by 1627,25 Manomet would have been a favorite resort prior to the Pilgrim intrusion. Nothing ruins a "favorite resort" like trespassers! If Brodhead's term, "favorite resort," is accurate, it would have taken several trips over several years to have reached that popularity, and all before 1627. One can infer that Manomet was a regular stop for ' 'handelaars'' ever since Blok had visited Buzzard's Bay.

Another reason why Manomet was probably thriving as a fur trade center since the time of Blok is the very presence of the Pilgrims there. As stated previously, Pilgrim trade did not go well in the years immediately after their arrival. They also had suffered great personal hardships. If the Pilgrims ever hoped to turn their situation around or to pay off their large debts owed to their financial backers,26 they needed to export something from the New World. It is likely that the Pilgrims, unskilled in Indian languages and without knowledge of wampum for trade, would have "tapped in" on a proven trade location. It certainly was no time for the Pilgrims to experiment! Therefore, if the Pilgrims began to trade successfully at Manomet it was because the Dutch had made Manomet that way!

Apparently Sowams (Warren, Rhode Island) was a repeat of Manomet. Dutch ships traded there before the Pilgrims built a trading post there in 1632.27 Again one knows not how early. Sowams was a tribal home of Massassoit, friend of the Pilgrims, the one after whom Massachusetts was allegedly named. Manomet trading post had been a short twenty miles from Plymouth. Sowams was nearly twice as far. Pilgrim trade had begun to increase after 1627. The first English settlers to New England's shores to stay had stabiliz­ed as a colony and had begun to look westward to expand its operations. Yet it was no accident that the Pilgrim's lot changed or that it changed in the presence of the more powerful and more numerous Dutch in southern New England.

Page 8: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

Plymouth received Dutch aid necessary to survive: the knowledge of wampum. Isaac de Rasieres, West India Com­pany representative at New Amsterdam, visited Manomet and Plymouth in 1627.28 Ironically, de Rasieres trusted the Pilgrims enough to share the secrets of wampum with Gov. Bradford personally, as well as to sell a generous supply, but not enough that he kept detailed records of everything and everyone he saw there. In addition, the Pilgrims were invited to settle the Versche Valley.2? Not only did the Pilgrims know how to make a profit in New England because of de Rasieres, they now learned that New England was quite inhabitable on European terms. In short:

(The Versche Valley) was unknown to the Plymouthmen till the Dutch at Manhattan who told them of it had invited them hither. 'Seeing them seated in a barren quarter' on the Plymouth sands, the Dutch com­mended the region to them 'for a fine place both for plantation and trade,' and wished them to make use of it.30

How genuine de Rasieres' offer was is hard to say. This was not the first time the Pilgrims were offered a tract of New Netherlands land. Sometime between 1618-1620, the New Netherland Company offered the Pilgrims, then at Leyden primarily, the opportunity to settle Manhattan.31 Since traders needed support services in the New World, and the Pilgrims wanted to leave Holland, the New Netherland Company sought to fulfill the Pilgrim desire to its benefit. After the company lost, in 1618, its right to a monopoly in New Netherland, it was three years before the West In­dia Company was given control of trade. Tired of waiting for the Dutch offer to come to pass, faced with the start of the Thirty Years War, and worried whether the Synod of Dordt would threaten their religious freedom and social identity, the Pilgrims favored a somewhat shady deal from the Merchant Adventurers of London32 over intended generosity from the Dutch.33 It may have been that the Pilgrims, in 1623, were offered the opportunity to be the replacement for the group of "two families and six men" now undoubtedly gone from the Versche Valley.

Either way, Bradford declined the offer of land graceful­ly, but kept the gracious supply of wampum. From the Pilgrim perspective, Bradford could not have accepted the Dutch land offer for two reasons. First, it would have been traumatic to leave Plymouth or to send a group ahead to the Versche. Plymouth still reeled from the devastation of 1621-23. One can only suspect the Pilgrims would not have favored another move to an undeveloped area so soon after the first one. In addition, the group was too small and too unstable as a whole to split. It would have made sense for a party to leave the colony, establish a small settlement, clear some land, and send for the others. For now, such a plan was out of the question.34 Second, to move to the Versche meant to submit to Dutch authority — again. With a new sense of independence, English backing, and no English rivals with whom to compete for land or in trade, the Pilgrims had no immediate need to leave Plymouth, no sense of urgency. In 1627, they had, to the conttary, knowledge of the Versche, time to develop some capital, and no threats commercially.

Up until 1627, then, Dutch fur trade had no rival in southern New England. Even when the Pilgtims became capable of fur trade in the Buzzard's Bay and Narragansatt regions, it was the Dutch who equipped them. One can in­

fer that Dutch trade was significant enough and so stable that the Pilgrims joined in with Dutch aid. If there was an economic reason to save the Pilgrims, beyond humane ones, it might have been for continued trade with New Netherlands. With a more productive farming system of its own, Plymouth was a potential producer of foodstuffs for New Netherlands. Even if the Pilgrims would not relocate to the Versche, Dutch ships could continue to trade with Pilgrims and Indians at Manomet, and later at Sowams. In­deed trade occurred that way.

After 1629, the complexion of Dutch New England ir­reversibly changed. Who could have anticipated, prior to 1629, the arrival en masse of the Puritans? If the Dutch had foreseen it they probably would have committed themselves either to beef up the defense of their fur trade or to simply pull out of North America. If the Pilgrims had anticipated the steady flow of Puritans, they had at least two alternatives in the 1620's. They might have formed one group which would allow for the tolerance of their differences. Again, they might have gambled on the Dutch invitation to settle the Versche, especially since they were to be dominated by the Puritans anyway. One can only speculate. That the Pilgrims and Dutch were ill-prepared to deal with the in­flux of Puritans may indicate that both groups were caught off guard by their arrival.

Then again, if New England's patroons had fulfilled their pledges, there would have been some resistance to the westward movement of the Puritans and Pilgrims. Both Samuel Bloemaert and Michel Pauw were granted tracts in 1629; both failed to keep their agreements without trying. Samuel Bloemaert, one of the Heeren XIX, the select board of governors of the Dutch West India Company, "double-crossed his company and his country."35 As owner of a large brass factory near Stockholm, Bloemaert had deep inroads into the Swedish government.36 In 1629, while the first, and perhaps only, patroon of the entire Versche River, he was also "Commissioner of Sweden at Amsterdam and soon to be accountant-general of the Dutch West India

28 There are at least three interpretations of de Rasieres' visit, of which the following three are representative: Van Dusen, p. 19f., believes that de Rasieres sought a trade pact with Bradford (this is plausible because trade occurred during the meetings, as well as in future years); vdZ claims that de Rasieres had heard that the Pilgrims had built a shallop to sail in search of wampum (p. 45), which contradicts, so it seems, Bradford's acknowledgement that the Pilgrims knew nothing of it until de Rasieres visit (" 'This first load of wampum was,' he — Bradford — wrote, 'the beginning of a profitable trade with us and the Indians.' " : vdZ, p. 45); finally, Francis X. Moloney, The Fur Trade in New England: 1620-1676 (Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1931), pp. 26-27, suggests that the Dutch actually intended that the Pilgrims should use the wampum in Maine! Moloney states that de Rasieres informed Bradford on how valuable the stuff was in Fort Orange and in Maine, and apparently not in the Narragansatt. If Moloney's thesis is correct, de Rasieres might have been trying to steet the Pilgrims away from that region, with respect to beaver trade.

29 James Truslow Adams, The Founding of New England (Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1921), p. 187; Bacon, p. 12f.

30 Bacon, p. 12f. 31 Charles Francis Adams, Three Episodes of Massachusetts History

(NY: Russell & Russell, 1965), pp. 46ff. 12 Ibid. 33 Ibid. 14 vdZ. p. 63 n. 28. Bradford claims "our hands being full otherwise, we

let the offer pass." 35 Ibid., p. 9. 36 Ibid., p. 79f.

)

Page 9: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

Company."37 In short, his primary interests were European; his New World ones, to advance his standing on the continent.

Even before the patroon system itself, Bloemaert began the mischief by which he became known. Knowing "something of the profits of foreign trade . . .(and) of the glamour of a title,"38 Bloemaert schemed to control the Delaware Valley, even though he would officially be granted land in New England! Christopher Ward records:

. . . in partnership with Samuel Godyn, president of the Amsterdam chamber of the West India Company, he had beaten the gun in the race for wealth and honors and had staked out a claim even before the Charter of Privileges had been ratified by the States-General.39

The property which these conspirators actually sought lay along both sides of the Delaware Bay, today Capes May and Henlopen.40 Thus, while the Charter of Privileges opened up land to a number of would-be patroons, giving Bloemaert land in New England in the process, it closed the deal of Bloemaert and Godyn. Overall, the execution of the charter afforded Samuel Bloemaert: one patroonship along the Versche, twenty-percent ownership in each of two colonies on the Delaware, and twenty-percent interest in a colony on St. Martins in the Caribbean. All this accom­panied his Swedish brass factory, his diplomatic post in Amsterdam on behalf of Sweden and the Netherlands, his seat among the Heeren XIX, and his plans to mine copper in New Guinea! If one of the items from the above lists stands out as Bloemaert's lowest priority, his patroonship on the Versche would be the likely candidate, if not the only one.

Driven by profits and by success elsewhere in the world, it is little wonder Bloemaert failed to deliver settlements in New England: New England profits were not immediately available. Accepting a patroonship meant accepting a risk on an untried area; developing that area, itself meant a substantial capital investment. By comparison, the Delaware Valley had somewhat a better chance for success: in 1629 "the Company intended that the heaviest concentration of colonists should be placed on the Delaware River . . . and to reinforce the other occupied places on the Hudson."41

By jumping the gun Bloemaert would have control over New-Netherlands' planned center of trade. By accepting a New

37 S.G. Nissenson, The Patroons Domain (NY: Columbis Univ. Press, 1937), p. 12; cf. Christopher Ward, Dutch and Swedes on the Delaware (Philadelphia: Univ. Penn. Press, 1930), pp. 37-39-

38 Ward, p. 37. 39 Ibid. 40 Ibid., pp. 37-39. 41 C.A. Weslager, Dutch Explorers, Traders and Settlers in the Delaware

Valley (Philadelphia: Univ. Penn. Press, 1961), p. 66. 42 HSNY, Vol. II, p. 44. 43 Ibid. 44 Nissenson, p. 12. 45 Weslager, p. 46 Weslager, p. ; cf. Brodhead, p. 268. 47

48 Brodhead, p. 294. Da niel Patrick had married a Dutch woman, An-netje van Beyersen; Daniel M. Mead, A History of the Town of Green­wich (NY: Baker & Godwin, 1857), p. 24. Oddly enough, Freakes had married Elizabeth, the daughter of Gov. Winthrop of Massachusetts; cf. Holland, Lydia, and Leaf, Margaret, Greenwich Old and New (Green­wich, Ct.; Greenwich Press, 1935), p. 21.

England patroonship he had a sort of "smoke screen" behind which to hide as his scam unfolded.

Michel Pauw, compatriot of Bloemaert, was another Dutch New England patroon of note. As "patroon of a col­ony which he agrees to plant on the Sickenames River,"42

the modern-day Thames, Pauw had the rights of perhaps the "easternmost grant in New Netherlands, but the col­ony never materialized."43 Like Bloemaert, Pauw had a reputation in Europe to maintain. To his credit Pauw became "the Company's envoy to the court of Louis XIII of France and was knighted by the Republic of Venice."44

Although Pauw's grant lay on the western end of the lucrative Narragansatt trade, Pauw had his scam, too.45 Pauw encouraged Peter Minuit, then Director of New Netherlands, to arrange his purchase of Staten Island and the areas around today's Hoboken and Jersey City, New Jersey. Although Pauw was undeniably given land in New England, he would rather try his hand at cutting in on the West India Company's trade in the lower Hudson Valley. Pauw's "Pavonia" never amounted to more than two buildings: one at Communipauw, the other at Horsimus.

All the finagling did not go unnoticed by the Heeren XIX.

In 1633, a dispute over the status of the patroonships broke out in Holland. Pauw and the others were ac­cused of not conforming to the terms of the agreement.46

Rather than to enforce the binding terms, the Company chose to change them. Apparently, a number of plaintiffs were worthy of being defendents. Nevertheless, "in 1636, with no profits whatever and much anguish instead he (Pauw) and others sold their patroonships back to the Company."47 Thus the West India Company could not even give New England away — neither to Pilgrim nor to patroon! If they had been able, the rapid expansion of Puritans westward would have had a different form and a different history.

Finally, there follows a note about English patroons. Too little has been written about the positive side of New Netherlands-New England relations. If one could find references to the Dutch presence in New England in New England histories at all, they would likely pertain to the demise of the Dutch by Puritan expansion. Rather than focus on the struggle which did ensue, we shall close with positive anecdotes about New Netherlands' friends in New England. Each of these anecdotes needs further considera­tion. The point, however, is that we may over estimate the New Netherlands-New England tivalry. It seems that the West India Company had as much to do with the downfall of Dutch New England, the first step of the downfall of the rest of New Netherlands, as did Puritan migration. There were many English folk who did not necessatily want its demise, too.

Daniel Patrick and Robert Freakes became probably the only patroons to accept and to carry out the responsibilities of that office in Dutch New England — but they were English!48 Daniel Patrick, along with John Underhill, were co-commanders of the first military unit in the Massachusetts. Having found the Bay Colony too ' 'straight-laced," Patrick, actually an Irish mercenary by origin, left Salem in 1639 with Freakes and company. The entourage settled in extreme southwestern Connecticut. There they were as far as one could get from Salem in the direction

Page 10: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

of fairer weather and still be on unoccupied New England land. Not only had Patrick's group ventured "too far" from Salem for reprisal, they had gone "too close" to New Amsterdam. Their presence disturbed the excitable Direc­tor Willem Kieft. In 1640, Kieft notified the party of their intrusion on New Netherland soil, demanding they pledge allegiance or move on. A simple matter for an Irishman who had left Ireland to serve England and served its dissidents instead, from whom he had himself departed, Patrick pledg­ed allegiance to New Netherlands and the States-General of the United Provinces. Since Patrick valued expediency, allegiance to New Netherlands proved convenient enough. Basically, New Netherlands would not impose a lifestyle upon the English there at Greenwich as did the Puritans at Salem. So it was that "Daniel Patrick and Robert Freakes became patroons by this agreement and the town of Green­wich was officially a Dutch manor!"49

Although the Dutch lost control of New England land, they were able to maintain some influence and certainly much trade. Conversely, not all New Englanders wanted to see the Dutch leave. Roger Williams, while remembered as Rhode Island's founder and as a theologian, appears to have been the instigator of trade between New Amsterdam and Salem, before Williams' exile.50 Certainly, he later founded trade between New Amsterdam and Rhode Island's plantations.51 Although this Narragansatt trade differed from the one the Dutch traders had established it was beneficial to both parties. On the Rhode Island end of the deal, the plantations were frowned upon by New England's Puritan majority. Hence, they needed a dependable sup­plier of goods for those times of strained relations with Massachusetts, which did come. On the Dutch end, a new form of Narragansatt trade was better than no trade at all. Besides, Rhode Island's desperation assured a long trade relationship.

In addition, Williams grew up in a Dutch neighborhood in London.52 Although he did not attend the nearby Church of the Austin Friars where the Dutch refugees worshipped, Williams did develop competency in Dutch from his local contacts. When in need of funds Williams sometimes taught Dutch. In the New England world of commerce it was im­portant to know Dutch. Yet, Williams' most noteworthy pupil might be one whom he taught in later years back in London, John Milton.

It was common, too, for traders to have dual citizen­ships. Isaac Allerton of Plymouth and Stephen Goodyear of New Haven maintained residencies in New Amsterdam.53

Holland and Leaf. p. 21.

James Ernst, Roger Williams: New EnglandFirebrand(NY': MacMillan, 1932). p. 61.

Ibid., p. 6If.

Ola Elizabeth Winslow, Master Roger Williams (NY': MacMillan, 1957), p. 31.

Bailyn, p. 24f.; Frederick W. Bogert, "Inter-Colony Trading," De Halve Maen, Vol. I.V, no. 1. Spring 1980; Isabel MacBeath Calder, The New Haven Colony (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1954), pp. 163-5; Harry M. Ward, The United Colonies of New England: 1643 -1690 (NY: Van­tage Press, 1961), p. 82.

Moloney, p. 43, states that Smith's house is located "on the great road lor all travel from Boston to Connecticut and New Amsterdam . . . . (It is also) in excellent position for trade with the large and powerful Nar­ragansatt tribe;" Arnold J.F. Van Laer states in New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch, Vol. IV (Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1974), pp. 94. 365, 377, that Op Dyck resigned as provost of Fort Good Hope in 1640 with the official intention of returning to the Netherlands. It is unclear by official documents whether he did return at all. Carl R.

Roger Williams Monument in Providence, R.I.

Each had influence in the governments in New England and in New Netherlands. Gysbert Op Dyck of New Netherlands did likewise on the Dutch side of things. While he was sup­posed to be ready to fire the irons at Fort Good Hope, he spent time readying his irons in the fire in Rhode Island! Gysbert married the daughter of Richard Smith who had bought Williams' successful trading house at present-day Wickford.54 While Gysbert's duties were to promote and protect fur trade on the Versche to the favor of the Dutch over the English, his in-law's business in the Narragansatt was to derive profit at the expense of the Dutch. Further, even though Dutch officials undoubtedly knew Op Dyck's situation, he was reappointed provost of Fort Good Hope with the task of straightening out its military and financial messes.55 As can be guessed, Gysbert put up no opposition against John Underhill when he seized the fort in 1654 for the English. As can be guessed, Gysbert removed himself to "Smith's Castle" at Wickford and became the progenitor of the soon-thereafter wealthy Updike family of Rhode Island.

Many more stories can be told of Dutch Yankees and English Patroons. Yet, when all told, it is clear that New England history has a definite Dutch flavor to it early on. Even though New Netherlands lost control of its New England section, and eventually of its entire tract, Dutch influence in New England life was there, sometimes con­spicuously, more often clouded in the volumes of histories interpreted from the English perspective and written with New England pen!

Woodward, Plantation in Yankeeland(Chester, Ct.: Pequot Press, 1971), p. 36f., records that Op Dyck married Catherine Smith in 1644 at the Dutch Church in New Amsterdam. Their families had met a year prior to the marriage. Like the Op Dyck's, Smith owned land on Long Island. Op Dyck land was in what is now Hempstead and Coney Island; Smith land was in present-day Queens. Smith traveled back and forth between his Rhode Island and Long Island properties. Also, according to a publica­tion by the Pettaquamscutt Chapter of the D.A.R. called Facts and Fan­cies Concerning North Kingstown. Rhode Island(E. Providence: Globe Printing, 1975), pp. 15-17, it was Gysbert Op Dyck who "transformed" Smith's trading post from a fort into an "English-type dwelling house" named "Smith's Castle." In addition, it was here that the first Church of England services in Rhode Island, if not in all New England, were conducted by William Blackstone — in an English-looking house remodeled by a Dutch Reformed Churchman, Gysbert Op Dyck!

HSNY, vol. II, p. 45, calls Fort Good Hope a "Dutch Island in an English sea." By 1638, the Dutch were outnumbered there about 800 to 30 or 40. By the time of Op Dyck's reappointment in 1647 (Van Laer, pp. 94, 365, 377), the ratio could only have been worse.

Page 11: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

St. Eustatius Golden Link with the Independence of the United States

by Fred de Bruyn

The Netherlands Antillean island of St. Eustatius is nowadays a tiny and forgotten island between the deep blue Atlantic Ocean and the more exotic Caribbean Sea.

Few people realize that this lustrous island about 200 years ago dramatically influenced the course of American history. Without the enormous flow of weapons and loans provided by Dutch merchants on Statia, the popular name of the island, the Revolutionary War fought by George Washington and his army would probably have had a more open-ended outcome.

Statia has also in another way a remarkable significance for American history. It was here that the flag of the American freedom-fighters, the Grand Union, was first saluted by a foreign power.

In the days of the Founding Fathers of the American Republic, Statia was one of the busiest trade centers in the New World. The position of this volcanic island was very strategic, located at the maritime crossroads between Euro­pean countries and their colonies in the New World. Statia benefited a lot in the 18th century from the independence

Fred de Bruyn is associated with the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Washington, D. C.

struggle in North America as well as from the many and lengthy wars between European powers, which were also fought in their colonies in the West. In those times the belligerent countries enforced a monopolistic system which restricted the business opportunities to their nationals. This strengthened considerably the position of Statia as a transit trader, especially after 1756 when it became a freeport without import duties. A large part of its size of 8 square miles was covered by warehouses bulging with coffee, tobac­co, arms and gunpowder. The trade was so lucrative that the island became known as the Golden Rock. The pictur­esque Gallowsbay at the foot of Fort Orange was littered with ships, sometimes around 3,500 a year, perhaps a world record in that time.

Flow of arms

Many vessels came from the rebellious colonies in North America bringing timber and foodstuff, but first of all to pick up the arms needed for the fight against their overseas ruler. No exact figures are known because this trade had to be carried out illegally in order not to provoke the British who regarded this kind of activity as a violation of Dutch neutrality. The Dutch government, however, was not able

Lower Town — looking north as depicted by an artist in 1774 (compare with photo on next pag

(9)

Page 12: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

to put an end to these practices, since Statia was ad­ministered by the West Indies Company (WIC), a private organization seated in Amsterdam. The WIC had little con­trol over this distant island and was, in fact, not eager to stop this clandestine, but very profitable trade.

Among the nearly 10,000 inhabitants of Statia, many of them belonging to the entrepeneurial class, existed a sym­pathy for the American freedom struggle, not only for com­mercial gain but certainly also for ideological reasons. The freedom principles of Thomas Jefferson found fertile soil in this society already characterized by a strong tolerance among the various nationalities and religions. Against this background it was not strange that Statia despite the danger of British retaliation, took the side of the new American republic after its birth on July 4, 1776. This was dramatically highlighted on November 16, 1776, when a battery of 11 six-pounders at Fort Orange gave the first salute to the flag of the new-born republic carried by the armed frigate Andrew Doria when it entered Gallowsbay after a risky journey from Massachusetts.

This salute, ordered by Governor Johannes de Graaff, is regarded as the first recognition of the US independence by a foreign power. By his unintendedly historical decision de Graaff became a hero in the United States where a ship was called after him in 1780. For the island, however, it proved to be disastrous. During the fourth maritime war between England and Holland, which would last from 1780 to 1784, Admiral Rodney was sent to Statia with a large

fleet with orders to destroy "that nest of vipers which preyed upon the vitals of Great Britain." The island was defenceless against the far superior British forces. The Dutch West In­dies Company, which had administered the island since the beginning of the 17th century, had never provided adequate weaponry to protect the island and its relatively large population. Along the narrow coast line there were several fortifications but they were in poor conditions. Many can­nons could not be fired since they posed a danger for their gunners.

Retaliation

On February 3rd, 1781, British troops invaded the island. Goods were confiscated and shops were closed. Rodney 'cleverly' kept the Dutch flag flying from Fort Orange for a month so that arriving ships could be ambush­ed. Particularly hard hit by the British invasion was the large Jewish population. Many of them were told to leave Statia, their haven of refuge, to which they had fled decades earlier from less tolerant places. The British occupation lasted only nine months. Their archrivals in that time, the French, con­quered the strategic island in November, 1781, with troops coming from neighboring Martinique. After some changes in rule between Holland, Great Britain and France the island came back into Dutch hands in 1816 just after the Napoleonic wars. But the Golden Rock never again would glitter with its former glory.

The new political and economic developments at that

Lower Town — looking north. Some warehouse

(10)

Page 13: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

Warehouse ruins in Lower Tot

time, especially the growing links between Washington and London, severely undermined the welfare of Statia as well as other Caribbean islands. The population dropped from 10,000 to its present 1,500.

To overseas visitors, who come only in small groups because of the difficult connections with the outside world, St. Eustatius makes an intriguing and unforgettable impres­sion. The population seems unspoiled, a great contrast with the more materialistic lifestyle on other Caribbean islands. Although the means of earning a living at Statia are severe­ly limited (there is only a small-scale tourist industry and some small farms and factories), the population does not reflect the picture of a poor island, because of development aid from the Netherlands.

Rich culture Apart from the beautiful landscape and beach, the over­

whelming characteristic of the island is its spectacular cultural heritage. This is the reason some archaeologists tend to refer to Statia as "the Pompeii of the New World." The numerous ruins of warehouses along the coastline, planta­tions, sugar mills, slave cabins, cemeteries, the Jewish synagogue and the recently restored Dutch Reformed church do not suggest this qualification to be a bold exaggeration. For the pteservation of its rich past the people of Statia established in 1975 the Historical Foundation of St. Eustatius. Several interesting projects have already been undertaken with the cooperation and support of authorities of the Netherlands and of the Netherlands Antilles and of

Statia — view of cemetery. House of Statia, 11

Page 14: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

Excavation of warehouse

various private organizations from aforementioned countries as well as from the U.S. (among others the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA). However, con­sidering the enormous potential for historical restoration and archaeological research there is still a considerable amount of work to be done.

As usual, funding of these activities poses a problem. Consequently, an important step calls for organizations from the Netherlands and the United States in cooperation with the authorities of the Netherlands Antilles to agree on com-

— looking north.

mon efforts to raise the necessary funds to restore this very important part of their historical ties. It should be noted that the 200 years existence of these unbroken official ties was commemorated last year with multiple activities both in the Netherlands and in the United States, culminating in the State Visit of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and His Royal Highness Prince Claus to the United States.

Without doubt the Statians now and in the future will benefit in every way from the restoration of their great past.

Excavations of Jewish Synagogue, second oldest site of its kind in New World and the first

synagogue archaeologically excavated.

Vr.7.

12) Ruins of English Quarter sugar plantation.

Page 15: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

Society Midwest Branch Sails the RED LION

Eighteen members of the Midwest Branch and their families sailed the Red Lion, a half-size replica of a Dutch frigate built in 1597. After moving through Chicago Har­bor under power, the Red Lion 's six sails were hoisted and everyone on board the sixty-five foot vessel enjoyed a two hour sail on Lake Michigan. After returning to harbor, din­ner was served in the ship's cabin.

Midwest President, Dr. Robert Schenck, organized the cruise which was held on September 17, 1983 and was at­tended by Henry and Phyllis Staats, Dr. Schenck, Marci Whitney-Schenck, Kathryn Schanck, Walter Van Epps, Claire Schermerhorn, John Schermerhorn, Linda Talbott, Mitzi Heyer, Arlette Van Epps, Ann and Peter Schenck, David Talbott, Art Heyer (stadsmroeper), Sandi Heyer, Frank Schanck (treasurer) and Bob Heyer (secretary).

Old Bergen Branch Meeting No less than fifty-three members, wives and guests that

included representatives of the Long Island, Central Jersey, Connecticut and Dutchess County, N.Y., branches, gathered at the High Mountain Country Club in Franklin Lakes, N.J., on October 6th for the fall dinner meeting of the Old Bergen Branch.

A social hour, during which many acquaintances were renewed, preceded the serving of a delicious roast beef din­ner enjoyed by all. Branch President John R. Voorhis III, in his greeting of welcome, commented on the excellent at­tendance and expressed the hope that the evening would be an enjoyable one. He introduced President James E. Quackenbush who reported that the endowment fund of the Society had reached a new high this year, an event of particular significance for its future.

Trustee Arthur R. Smock, Jr., replying to a request from Branch President Voorhis for a report on plans for celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Society in 1985, outlined some of the events suggested by the Centennial Committee, of which he is chairman, for the celebration in 1985. Following dinner, slides of the Society's 1982 trip to the Netherlands were shown by j . Warren Terhune, the branch secretary, with informal comments on the various places which the group had visited.

Other officers and trustees attending the meeting in­cluded the Secretary, Rev. Louis O. Springsteen, Treasurer John H. Vander Veer, Burgher Guard Captain William D. Blauvelt, Jr., Trustee Frederick W. Bogert and Trustee Emeritus Wilfred B. Talman.

Potomac Branch Luncheon Members of the Potomac Branch gathered together on

October 12, last, for a luncheon meeting at Blackie's House of Beef in Washington, D.C. Among the more than a dozen present were members from Lewes, Delaware, and Severn Park, Maryland, as well as from the Greater Washington area. The Virginia-Carolinas Branch was represented by Branch President Howard Bartholf of Richmond, Virginia. Following luncheon, a program commemorating the bicentennial of the birth of Washington Irving was intro­duced by Branch President George F. Bogardus which was enjoyed by those present.

Activities

Long Island Branch Meeting The picturesque Creek Club on Long Island Sound in

Locust Valley, N.Y., was the setting for the Long Island Branch's annual dinner meeting on October 27th. Twenty-eight members, their wives and guests enjoyed a social hour before the dinner during which President Adrian T. Bogart, Jr., called upon Treasurer John H. Vander Veer and Trustee Frederick W. Bogert to report on activities of the Society.

Citing the excellent financial condition of the Society, Treasurer Vander Veer called particular attention to the rise in the endowment fund and the prospects for the celebra­tion of the Centennial Year of the Society in 1985. Trustee Bogert emphasized the importance of the work accomplish­ed by the Historical Publications Committee in publishing the many volumes of New Netherlands records.

At the conclusion of the dinner, President Bogart in­troduced the speaker, John Collins, who gave those present an interesting and informative talk, illustrated by slides, of the architecture of Long Island ranging from the old Dutch houses still in existence to those built through successive years. Mr. Collins, who is Director of the Restoration Pro­ject in Nassau County and President of the Oyster Bay Historical Society, discussed the various features to be found in these buildings and the wide range of architectural styles they represent.

In addition to the officers and trustees already mention­ed, the following were present: Trustee and Mrs. Robert D. Nostrand, Trustee and Mrs. John R. Voorhis III, Trustee and Mrs. Peter G. Vosburgh, Mrs. Adrian T. Bogart, Jr., Mrs. Frederick W. Bogert, Mrs. John H. Vander Veer, Mr. and Mrs. George D. Hegeman, Mr. and Mrs. W. Dwight Nostrand, Mr. John W. Van Siclen, Mr. and Mrs. John F. Van Name, Mr. and Mrs. John H. Vanderveer, Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Van Nostrand, Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Voorhees, Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Voorhis.

)

Page 16: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

Holland Society Banquet 1983 The annual banquet and dinner dance held November

2nd at Windows on the World atop the World Trade Center in New York was a well-attended affair attracting well over one hundred members, their wives and guests. The Socie­ty's 1983 medalist, Colonel Jack R. Lousma, USMC, a member of the National Aeronautics and Space Administra­tion astronaut group, who commanded the third orbital test flight of the space shuttle, Columbia, in 1982 and had been the pilot of Skylab Three during its voyage through space in 1973, personally greeted those present during the recep­tion before dinner. Colonel Lousma's wife and his daughter, Miss Mary T. Lousma, accompanied him in the reception line.

After everyone had been seated for dinner, the invoca­tion was offered by the Rev. Louis O. Springsteen, Associate Domine of the Society, followed by the playing of the na­tional anthems of the United States of America and the Netherlands. The traditional parading of the beaver preced­ed toasts to Her Majesty, the Queen of the Netherlands by Colonel Lousma and to the President of the United States by Consul General of the Netherlands CJ.M. Kramers. An additional toast was proposed to Colonel Lousma by Henry Fisher, Director of the Netherlands National Tourist Office.

At the conclusion of the dinner, President James E. Quackenbush introduced Mr. Fisher, a personal friend of Colonel Lousma, who, in turn, presented the medalist. Enumerating the many accomplishments of Colonel Lousma, he cited the medalist's distinguished career noting among other honors, the award to him of the NASA Distinguished Medal, the Collier Trophy in 1973, the Department of Defense Medal, the Goddard Memorial Award and his election to the Space Hall of Fame last year. Presentation of the medal and scroll to Colonel Lousma was made by President Quackenbush and Trustee Arthur R. Smock, Jr., chairman of the Distinguished Achievement Award Committee.

In his acceptance speech, Colonel Lousma referred to his Frisian family background and the influence of his own family as factors which had aided him in his career. He also described his feelings and sensations while traveling in outer space noting that one's concept of the earth changes when he observes it from hundreds of miles above. Man-made boundaries he said, are not visible from this perspective and the earth becomes "a very, very small place" in relation to the vast reaches of outer space. He praised the NASA pro­gram as engendering national pride and patriotism as well as providing a challenge which he and his fellow astronauts were eager to accept. In concluding his remarks, Colonel Lousma said that he believed it was "time to restore American leadership and credibility and to re-kindle our nationalistic fervor," a feeling which he hoped the space program had encouraged. As a final note, he presented the Society with a handsome plaque showing the route of the space shuttle Columbia in 1982 on which was affixed a miniature American flag which had been carried aboard the Columbia during this mission.

Following Colonel Lousma's speech, many of those pre­sent enjoyed dancing to the music of Lester Lanin's orchestra.

Old Dutch Church Presented with Translation of Record Book

A copy of the First Book of Records (1660-1752) of the Old First Dutch Reformed Church of Brooklyn, N.Y., recently translated and published by The Holland Society of New York, was presented to the church congregation on behalf of the Society November 13th, by Treasurer John H. Vander Veer. The presentation was made during the regular morning service in the church at which the sermon was preached by the Domine of the Society, the Rev. Dr. Howard G. Hageman. Following the service a luncheon was given by the church for representatives present from the Society at the Montauk Club in Brooklyn.

The First Book of Records, which includes the Protocol, or minute book of this, the oldest Brooklyn church, was the work of Domine Henricus Selijns who kept a record of bap­tisms, marriages and members of the church as well as the accounts of various activities within the church body in­cluding such items as leasing cattle to derive funds for the poor and caring for orphans. It was loaned to the Society who engaged Jos van der Linde, a scholar familiar with the 17th century Dutch language who translated and annotated the record book for publication by the Historical Publica­tions Committee of the Society.

Ulster County Branch Meeting Over sixty members, wives and guests, a record number,

attended the autumn reception and dinner of the Ulster County Branch on Saturday, November 19th at the DuBois Fort in New Paltz, N.Y. Branch President Kenneth E. Hasbrouck arranged an enjoyable social hour before dinner that included a flowing bowl of the famous Poucher's Punch, a renowned Holland Society beverage originated by the late Dr. Charles Poucher, at one time president of the neighboring Dutchess County branch.

Following a delicious turkey dinner, those present en­joyed a program presented by Professor James G. Shine on the restoration of La Fortaleza, the governor's mansion in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Professor Shine has been active in the restoration of the five-centuries-old structure.

Joining Ulster and Dutchess branch members for the oc­casion were Society Treasurer and Mrs. John H. Vander Veer, Trustee and Mrs. John O. Delamater and Trustee and Mrs. Frederick W. Bogert.

Florida Branch Meeting The Florida Branch of the Holland Society of the state

of New York held its fall meeting at the Lighthouse Point Yacht Club on Saturday, December 3, 1983 with a total of twenty people present.

The guest speaker was the Hon. Parker D. Thomson, Consultaat Der Nederlanden, Miami, Florida.

President Edward V. Ditmars, of Boynton Beach, Florida, welcomed everyone at the Luncheon meeting and introduced the guest speaker who gave a most interesting talk about his duties as counsel in Miami. At the comple­tion of his talk, he held a question and answer period.

We were also most fortunate to have Dr. John R. Voorhis III, Chairman of the Committee on Branch Development. He spoke to the group about the importance of the Society branches and discussed the upcoming Centennial year in

(14)

Page 17: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

1985. Plans for the celebration of this occasion were begun as it will be a year of special activity for the Holland Society.

President Ditmars read several communications which had been received from the New York office as well as one from the Southern Genealogists Exchange Quarterly. There will be an exchange of Books with the Holland Society that will be kept in the Jacksonville Public Library in Jackson­ville, Florida.

Those present were: Dr. and Mrs. John R. Voorhis III, Mr. and Mrs. William F. Van Tassel, Mr. Jasper Van Atten and guest Dorothy Van Atten, Mr. and Mrs. David L. Ringo, Mr. and Mrs. Garrit W. Van Schaick, Col. William T. Van Atten and guests Mr. and Mrs. Earl Killian, Major and Mrs. John Dewitt Blauvelt, Mr. and Mrs. Melwood Van Scoyoc, Mr. Ted Schoonmaker and Mr. and Mrs. Edward V. Ditmars.

Plans for the Spring meeting to be held in Lighthouse Point, Florida will be announced at a later date.

December Trustees Meeting Officers and trustees gathered at the Union Club in New

York City for their fourth and final meeting of the current year on December 8, 1983. With President James E. Quackenbush in the chair, those present received the customary reports of the officers as well as those of the chairmen of the standing committees and accepted with regret, the resignation of Trustee James R. Van Wagner, Jr.

President Quackenbush reported that the annual ban­quet held at the Windows of the World in New York, November 2nd was most successful and that the medalist, Colonel Jack Lousma had presented the society with a display flag and patch worn by him on the March 1982 space shut­tle flight of the Columbia. He noted, too, that the Centen­nial History of the society currently being written was pro­gressing nicely and probably would be published during the summer of the coming year.

After reading the names of deceased members, Secretary Louis O. Springsteen informed those present that the cur­rent membership of the society now stood at 929 members. The Secretary's report was followed by that of the Treasurer, John H. Vander Veer, who submitted a preliminary budget for 1984, together with the accountant's report for the first three-quarters of the current year that indicated that the fiscal condition of the society is in a satisfactory condition. Both reports were approved by those present.

It was noted that the Centennial Fund of the society to be used during the 1985 celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the organization of The Holland Society has already reached nearly five thousand dollars with other con­tributions coming in from members which it is hoped will enable the fund to realize its quota of at least ten thousand dollars.

For the Committee on Branches, Trustee Dr. John R. Voorhis III, disclosed that a branch newsletter had been writ­ten and sent to all branch presidents informing them of the activities of other branches and of The Holland Society of New York. Eight branches held meetings during the year ranging from the Mid-West in Chicago to those in the metropolitan New York area, the Potomac Branch in Washington, D.C. and the Florida Branch. The combined attendance at these branch meetings, Trustee Voorhis pointed out, totaled 374 members, wives and guests. He has requested branch presidents to mark the Centennial Year of 1985 with special meetings and urged inter-branch at­

tendance on the part of all members, officers and trustees. Four books have been published during the current year

by the Historical Publications Committee in the current series sponsored by the society. The committee's report listed the titles as Minutes of the Mayors' Court (1674-1675), CouncilMinutes (1652-1654), Court of Assizes (1665-1682) and the First Book of Records, Old Dutch Reformed Church of Brooklyn. Copies of all four have been presented to Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands by President Quacken­bush. Scheduled for publication next year are the Curacao Papers and three volumes of the Andros Papers the follow­ing year.

A considerable portion of the meeting was devoted to plans being made for the Centennial celebration. Report­ing for the Centennial Committee, Trustee Arthur R. Smock, Jr., the chairman, revealed that a number of pro­jects in connection with the celebration are under way. They include various events planned by committees of the socie­ty, a Centennial Memorial Church service to be held in May of 1985 and a dinner and entertainment of the History and Traditions Committee in September of the same year. Noting that a proposal had been made to place a series of blue Delft tiles in the sidewalks of lower Manhattan to mark the outline of the old city of New Amsterdam, together with the planting of bulbs and placing of benches within this area, Trustee Smock suggested the society mark the spot of the first habitations built by the Dutch on Manhattan Island in 1613 by re-placing a bronze tablet signifying this event at the proper site. This tablet, originally placed by the society at No. 45 Broadway in New York City in 1890, has been recovered. He also suggested the branches consider mark­ing sites with a connection to New Netherland within their areas.

The committee on Genealogy presented the following applicants for membership who were approved by the trustees:

Donald W. Deyo, Astoria, N.Y. Daniel R. Van Cleave, Carson, California

George C. Van Cleave, Mission Viejo, California Charles C. Van Siclen, Jr., San Antonio, Texas Charles C. Van Siclen III, San Antonio, Texas

Robert C. Van Siclen, Arlington, Texas Deforest B. Voorhees, Jr., Piano, Texas

Editor's Corner (continued) this Society has provided by way of material for the historian.

That was brought home to me recently when the Albany Institute of History and Art exhibited the Dutch in Two Worlds, a collection from Gardner Sage Library in New Brunswick, and accompanied it with a series of lectures. The number of people attending surpassed all expectations, in­dicating a desire to learn more about this forgotten strand in our American history.

All of which is to say that as we approach the celebra­tion of our Centennial, no more fitting way of celebrating it could be found than continuing and increasing the renaissance of Dutch colonial studies for the beginning of which we have been so largely responsible. That should give fresh meaning to membership in the Holland Society to those who live in other parts of the country and cannot always enjoy the fine social life that is possible in some of the historic New Netherland areas.

5)

Page 18: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

1985 — The Centennial of The Holland Society Members of The Holland Society are reminded that

1985, less than a year away, will mark the 100th anniver­sary of The Society's founding. The Centennial Celebration is being designed to:

• Recognize and publicize the accomplishments of The Holland Society during its first 100 years.

• Memorialize the contributions and virtues of the Dutch settlers of New Netherland and their descendants.

• Foster and promote social interchange among the membership, and stimulate their interest and in­volvement in Society activities and programs.

• Review the validity and pertinence of the Society's objectives, concepts, ceremonies, and rituals today.

The motto adopted for the Centennial, "De boom groeit en draagt vrucht'' (The tree prospers and bears fruit) expands on the motto adopted by our founders and incor­porated in The Society Seal, "Eindelijk wordt een spruit een boom" (As time goes on, the sprout becomes a tree).

All members will receive a Centennial History of the Society, reviewing its genesis, notable events, distin­guished social functions, and scholarly accomplishments during the first 100 years. We are sure all members and friends of the Society will thoroughly enjoy this book, and will refer to it often for edification and enlightenment.

Handsome Centennial favors, featuring Society insigna, are being selected for distribution at all major Centennial events and Branch affairs, and appropriate Centennial awards will be made available for presentation to honored guests at these functions.

In addition, attractive and useful Society souvenirs are being offered for sale to members at nominal cost. A list of such memorabilia, including prices and a convenient order blank are included in this issue of De Halve Maen.

All of the Society's traditional affairs to be held in 1985, including the annual meeting, formal banquet, memorial church service, and Burgher Guard and Branch functions, will feature programs commemorating the Centennial, and a number of additional and felicitous events will be sched­uled, A preliminary calendar of Centennial events is includ­ed in this issue, and additional information will be distributed as our planning proceeds.

As the Centennial year approaches, with its expanded social program replete with ceremony and ritual, we are pro­vided an exceptional opportunity to intensify our search for new members. We strongly urge that each member send to our office in New York, the name of at least one relative (son, nephew, grandson, brother, uncle, etc.) who would be interested in joining the Society and participating in the festivities of our Centennial Celebration. We also suggest that members urge friends and acquaintances with Dutch surnames to write to the Society for information that would enable them to determine their eligibility.

The success of our Centennial is dependent on the sup­port and participation of our members throughout the coun­try. We urge your participation and solicit your support. It is not too late to send in your donation to our Centen­nial fund and become a sponsor of the Centennial Celebra­tion. 1985 will be a great year!

Gala Centennial

Cruise

We are happy to announce the "KICK-OFF" event for The Holland Society's Centennial Celebration for 1985. We have planned a gala 7-day cruise aboard Holland America Line's new luxury liner, the Nieuw Amsterdam.

We sail on January 19, 1985, from Tampa, Florida to the Western Caribbean including stops in Cozumel, Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman. Air fare to Tampa is included from most every gateway in the U.S.

16)

This new vessel's interior is dedicated to Dutch Colonial America with artifacts carefully placed on board by Holland America Line's collectors on both sides of the Atlantic. On board you'll find Peter Stuyveseant's bookchest, a whole lounge decorated with original portraits of Dutch navigators and memorabilia from everyday life in Nieuw Amsterdam.

We are planning a very special program of cocktail recep­tions, special dinners, and lots of surprises. Rates begin at

Page 19: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

$1195 per person and include air fare from most U.S . gateway cities.

Our Centennia l Cruise is being arranged by Landry & Kling Cruise Consultants, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, N Y 10016. They will handle all areas of booking our m e m b e r ' s cruise. Contact them at (212) 686-6200.

By the way, all bookings which are made and under deposit by September 1, 1984, will receive a $100 per per­son reduction from the cruise fare.

More detailed information, including a color brochure describing the itinerary and the Nieuw Amsterdam's accom­modat ions , will be mailed to all members this Spring.

Calendar of Events for the 1985 Centennial Celebration We urge members to note the dates of these events, and

plan to a t tend as many as possible. All will be open to families and guests of members with the exception of the 100th Annua l Meeting & Dinner . More information, in­cluding the dates of branch functions and the Centennia l Formal Banquet , will be included in future issues of this magazine , and in invitations to be mailed to members .

January 19, 1985 (Saturday)

Sailing date for a Society Centennial Cruise out of Tampa, Florida. The 7 day cruise on the new Holland-America liner " N i e u w A m s t e r d a m " will feature special programs for Society members and guests. Prices will include round- t r ip air t ransportat ion from all major cities in the U.S.

March 7, 1985 (Thursday)

This revival of the Society's traditional "Midwinter Gather­i n g " will be an informal reception and dinner. The pro­gram will feature the investiture of an "Honorary Director-General of New N e t h e r l a n d " to serve th roughout the Centennia l Year.

April 8, 1985 (Monday)

The 100th Annua l Meeting of the Society (members only) followed by a cocktail hour, dinner, and Beer & Cheese col­lation. Featured at the d inner will be the presentation of the Society's Dist inguished Achievement Award to a Membet .

May 5, 1985 (Sunday)

The Centennial Memorial Church Service will feature a special liturgy written by clergy members of the Society. The Service will be held in the afternoon and will be followed by a reception for members and their guests.

September 27, 1985 (Friday)

A very special Centennial Dinner is being planned with a program based on the history and tradition of our Society. This promises to be an informal and most enjoyable affair to be sponsored and conducted, most appropriately, by the History and Traditions Commit tee of the Board of Trustees.

Date to be announced

The Society's Centennial Banquet , the sole formal event on the Centennial calendar, will feature a most distinguished Medalist, and eminent honored guests. This will be a gala and glittering affair, an outs tanding event in a long history of notable Banquets sponsored by The Society since the year of its inception.

Locations, times, and subscription prices for these events will be publicized later this year, and some additional func­tions, currently being reviewed by the Centennial Commit­tee and the Board of Trustees, may be added to this calen­dar. 1985 will be a great year for the Society, and we hope all members will be able to participate in our Centennial Celebration.

Sponsors of the Centennial Celebration Mr. Ernest R. Acker; N. Grandby, CT Mr. David Ackerman; New Vernon, NJ Mr. David P. Amerman, Wyckoff, NJ Mrs. Richard H. Amerman; Rutherford, NJ Mr. William W. Amerman; Woodcliff Lake, NJ Mr. George E. Banta; Poughkeepsie, NY Mrs. Raymond Banta; Ridgewood, NJ Mr. Peter J. Bergen; New York, NY Mr. William B. Bergen; St. Michaels, MD Mr. Robert Blauvelt; Franklin Lakes, NJ Mr. William D. Blauvelt, Jr.; Franklin Lakes, NJ Mr. & Mrs. George Bogardus; Bethesda, MD Mr. James W. Bogart; Somerset, NJ Mr. Eugene Bogert, Jr.; Ridgewood, NJ Mr. & Mrs. Frederick W. Bogert; Paramus, NJ

William R. Bogert; Cedarhurst, NY Andrew W. Brink; Greensville, Ontario Samuel Brink; W. Trenton, NJ

Mr. Douglas C. Buys; Fishkill, NY Mr. John G. DeGraff; Clinton Corners, NY Mrs. Marion Wilson DeGroff; Baltimore, MD Mr. Ralph L. DeGroff, Sr.; Baltimore, MD Mr. Ralph L. DeGroff, Jr.; New York, NY Mr. John O. Delamater; New York, NY Mrs. Clarence Delgado; Naples, FL

Mr Mr Mr

Mr. Daniel A. Demarest; New York, NY Mr. & Mrs. James V. Demarest; Deland, FL Mr. Kenneth L. Demarest, Jr.; Morristown, NJ Mr. R. Warren DeMott; Springhouse, PA Mr. Richard C. Deyo; Short Hills, NJ Mr. Ivan D. Ditmars; Burbank, CA Mr. & Mrs. Carlton Durling; Whitehouse, NJ Mr. Garret J. Garretson II; Greens Farms, CT Mr. Francis Goelet; New York, NY Mr. Kenneth E. Hasbrouck, Sr.; New Paltz, NY Dr. Andrew A. Hendricks; Lumberton, NC Mr. George W. Hoagland; Shaker Heights, OH Mr. Henry W. Hoagland, Jr.; Kennebunkport, ME Mr. James L. Hoagland; St. Louis, MO Mr. Bertrand C. Hopper; Taylorville, IL Mr. Everett Hopper; Horseheads, NY Mr. Edwin Huff; Saint George, UT Mr. George D. Hulst; Bradenton, FL Mr. Frederick L. Hyer; Brielle, NJ Mr. Phillip O. Keirstead; Tallahassee, FL Mr. William C. Keator; Fairfield, CT Mr. William A. Kirkendale; Lake Placid, FL Mr. Richard W. Lent; New Paltz, NY Mt. Efnest W. Mandeville, Jr.; Hackettstown, NJ Mr. Hubert T. Mandeville; New York, NY

17;

Page 20: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

Centennial Sponsors {continued)

Mr. W. Dwight Nostrand; Farmingdale, NY Mr. William L. Ostrander; Chicago, IL Maj. Gen. A.J. Poillon; Birmingham, AL Mr. John A. Pruyn; Des Moines, IA Mr. James E. Quackenbush; Wyckoff, NJ Mr. David M. Riker; Mechanicsville, PA Mr. Tweed Roosevelt; Boston, MA Mr. Francis R. Schanck, Jr.; Hinsdale, IL Mr. Kenneth W. Schenck; Ft. Lauderdale, FL Dr. Robert R. Schenck; Chicago, IL Mr. John P. Schermerhorn; Deerfield, IL Mr. George B. Schoonmaker; New York, NY Gen. Cortlandt Van R. Schuyler; Sullivans Island, SC Mr. Arthur R. Smock, Jr.; Murray Hill, NJ Mr. David L. Smock; McLean, VA Mr. & Mrs. James P. Snedeker; Wilton, CT Mr. David F. Springsteen; Greenwich, CT Rev. Louis O. Springsteen; Old Tappan, NJ Mr. & Mrs. Elmer B. Staats; Washington, DC Mr. Harold A. Sutphen, Jr.; Fairfield, CT Mr. Edwin L. Sutphen; Gettysburg, PA Mr. Samuel R. Sutphin; Zionsville, IN Mr. Coe D. Suydam; Urbana, IL Mr. Edwin E. Suydam, Jr.; College Point, NY Mr. William K. Teller; Leawood, KS Mr. William B. Ten Eyck; Troy, MI Mr. John S. Terhune; Teaneck, NJ Mr. William H. Tymeson; Troy, NY Mr. Kipp C. Van Aken; San Clemente, CA Mr. Frederick H. Van Alstyne, Jr.; Oakland, NJ Mr. James M. Van Buren II; New York, NY Mr. Frank C. Van Cleef, Jr.; Manchester, CT "In memory of J. Allen vande Mark"; Wallkill, NY Mr. Gordon M. Vanderbeek; Bayside, NY Mr. Wynant D. Vanderpool; New York, NY Mr. Wynant D. Vanderpool; Washington, DC Mr. John H. Vanderveer; Syosset, NY Mr. & Mrs. John H. Vanderveer; Mineola, NY Dr. Paul B. Van Dyke; Jekyll Island, GA Mr. Peter Van Dyke; Baltimore, MD Mr. George N. Van Fleet; Syracuse, NY Dr. James Van Fleet; Louisville, KY Mr. & Mrs. Ray L. Van Horn; Lenoir, NC Mr. Eugene M. Van Loan, Jr.; Bedford, NH Mr. George C. Van Mater; Annapolis, MD Mr. Duncan Van Norden; Palm Beach, FL Mr. Leroy Van Nostrand, Jr.; Amityville, NY Mr. Charles A. Van Patten; New York, NY Mr. Isaac T. Van Patten III; Virginia Beach, VA

Mr. Daniel S. Van Riper; Piano, TX Mr. Gerrit W. Van Schaick; Coral Gables, FL Mr. Anthony G. Van Schiack III; Woodland Hills, CA Mr. & Mrs. Melwood Van Scoyac; Sarasota, FL Mr. Melvin G. Van Sickle; Newburgh, NY Mr. DeForest Van Slyck; Washington, DC Mr. Thomas G. Van Slyke; East Walpole, MA Mr. & Mrs. William Van Tassel; Sun City Center, FL Mr. John D. Van Wagoner; McLean, VA Mr. Robert E. Van Wagoner; New York, NY Mr. Arthur D. Van Winkle; Rutherford, NJ Rev. E. Kingsland Van Winkle; West Hartford, CT Mr. & Mrs. Edgar Van Winkle; Rutherford, NJ Mr. Robert Van Winkle; Rutherford, NJ Mr. Theodore L. Van Winkle; Rutherford, NJ Mr. Thomas S. Van Winkle; Roxbury, CT Mr. E. Hawley Van Wyck III; Vienna, VA Mr. Nicholas P. Veeder; St. Louis, MO Mr. Elmer B. Vliet; Lake Bluff, IL Mr. George B. Vliet; Bridgewater, NJ Mr. & Mrs. David A. Voorhees; Strongsville, OH Mr. David William Voorhees; New York, NY Mr. DeForest B. Voorhees; Houston, TX Dt. John R. Voorhis III; Ridgewood, NJ Mr. John C. Vredenburgh; Vero Beach, FL Mr. Donald W. Vreeland; Summit, NJ Mr. & Mrs. James M. Vreeland; Far Hills, NJ Mr. Jerome H. Waldron; Piscataway, NJ Mr. Sherwood Waldron; Locust Valley, NY Mr. & Mrs. Jay Westervelt; Parsons, KS Mr. Gerardus Wynkoop II; Clearwater, FL Mr. William M. Wynkoop; New York, NY Mr. Harold B. Zabriskie; Flagstaff, AZ

Other Contributors to the Centennial Fund

Mr. James F. Ackerman; New Haven, CT Mr. Howard G. Braisted, Jr.; Baldwin, NY Dr. C. Whitney Carpenter II; Bloomsburg, PA Mr. John D. Marsellus; Fayetteville, NY Mr. John F. Marsellus; Syracuse, NY Mr. Jan B. Quackenbush; Montrose, PA Mr. David L. Ringo; Palm Beach Shores, FL Mr. Henry N. Staats III; Deerfield, IL Mr. Hugh S. Ten Eyck; Dunedin, FL Mr. Eugene V.B. Van Pelt; Lancaster, VA Mr. Richard L. Van Winkle; Rutherford, NJ Mr. Willard P. Voorhees; Woodstock, VT Mr. Gordon D. Voorhis; Red Hook, NY

Page 21: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

Here and There With Our Members Lee D. van Antwerp has been elected an Honorary

Board Member of the Clements Library Associates of the University of Michigan, a new class of membership for former board members with a continuing interest in both the library and its Associates.

Philip O. Kierstead, associate professor of broadcast journalism at Florida A & M University in Tallahassee, was chosen as one of eight persons who received the Distin­guished Alumni Award of the Boston University School of Public Communication at a ceremony held in Boston last May.

George W. Hoagland of Shaker Heights, Ohio is the grandfather of Nicholas Gunn Hoagland, born August 15, 1983 in New York to Leigh Williams and Eleanor Martin Hoagland. The author of the Dirckjansen Hoogland Family History in 1976, Mr. Hoagland is now working on a second volume. He would appreciate hearing from anyone with in­formation on any of the Hoogland descendants. Recently he purchased a summer home on Eggemoggen Beach in Sargentville, Maine where he and his wife plan to spend as much time as possible between May and November.

Howard Hageman recently appeared on a television pro­gram shown in the New York area which featured New Brunswick Seminary of which he is president and its bicentennial celebration in 1984.

Raymond F. Dey was honored at an Awards Luncheon of the New Jersey Historical Commission on December 3, 1983 "for his service from 1955 to 1977 as curator of the Dey mansion, an important Revolutionary War site, in Wayne, N.J.; for the acquisition through his efforts of a

major portion of the Mansion's furnishings; and for the restoration of the gardens and the addition of a barnyard complex of eight buildings during his tenure there."

Dr. Allen W. Durling has been promoted to a vice-presidency of the Booz, Allen and Hamilton Communica­tions, Electronics and Intelligence Division in Bethesda, Md. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Dr. Durling was formerly pro­fessor of electrical engineering at the University of Florida and the U.S. Naval Academy. He is the son of R. Allen Durling of Orlando, Fla.

Rev. Louis O. Springsteen and Mrs. Springsteen have returned from a three-week trip to Europe during which they toured England and Wales in the month of September.

Dr. John R. Voorhis III and Mrs. Voorhis have an­nounced the engagement of their daughter, Amy Louise, to Larry Earl Lenow of San Antonio, Texas. The bride-to-be, a graduate of Stetson University, De Land, Florida, is currently engaged in post-graduate study at the Divinity School of Duke University. Mr. Lenow, a graduate of Trinity University, is also a post graduate student at Duke Divinity School.

The Society extends its sympathy to Clayton Hoagland on the recent death of his wife, Kathleen. Mrs. Hoagland, a well-known writer and educator in northern New Jersey, was active in a number of areas associated with the arts in­cluding the Rutherford Little Theater. She was the author of two books that reflected her Irish background. Most recently she had been vice-chairman of the Committee for the Restoration of Ellis Island.

(continued on page 21J

Distinctive Holland Society Items Available to Members With the Centennial approaching, The Society is ex­

panding its selection of items featuring Society insignia for sale to members. While most of these items are currently available, those marked with an * are in production, and we beg your indulgence in anticipating delivery. We do, however, guarantee delivery on all items before the end of

Item No. Description

1. Society Membership Certificate. 11" x 14" overprinted on lithographed 1656 map of New Netherland, with col-ored depictions of Old and New Amsterdam. Please print your name on the ordet form exactly as you wish it en­grossed on the certificate, and note the year you became a member.

2. Society lapel pin. Depicts the Dutch lion, tampant, in red on a gold background. The informal recognition insignia of the Society.

3- Orange lapel rosette. Traditionally ptesented to new members at each annual dinner, and worn by members at Society affaits.

4. Blazer Patch. The Dutch Lion, rampant, embroidered in gold on dark blue background. Includes scroll with Society motto: "Eindelijk wordt een spruit enn boom."

the year and prior to the start of our Centennial Celebration. Please use the order form overleaf to place your order.

All prices are ner including mailing and handling charges. Send your order to: The Holland Society of New Yotk, 122 East 58th Street, New Yotk, N.Y. 10028

Item No. Description

* 5. Blazer Buttons (set of 3 latge, 4 small). The Society Beaver on a blue shield (seal of New Netherland) in cloisonne enamel packaged in a plush jewelry box.

6. Necktie (four-in-hand). A deep blue tie upon which is superimposed the Lion of Holland.

*7. Delft Tile imported from Holland. 6" x 6", with delft blue border design with Society Seal in orange, centered.

8. On-the-rocks glasses, set of 6. 10'A oz. sham bottom glasses with the Society Seal in orange, permanently fired into the glass.

9. Cocktail napkins, package of 50. The Dutch Lion, in orange, and the Society's name printed on buff background.

ORDER FORM ON REVERSE SIDE

(19)

Page 22: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

In Memoriam JOSEPH H. QUACKENBUSH, JR.

Joseph Henry Quackenbush, Jr., a member of The Holland Society of New York since 1951, died at the age of 66 years on January 14, 1983 at Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Descended from Pieter Quackenbush who settled at Fort Orange (Albany) N.Y., in 1660, he was born July 11, 1916, the son of Joseph H. Quackenbush and Lydia M. Stauss. A graduate of Eastside High School, Paterson, N J . , he was president of his class.

After a period of employment with New York Life In­surance Company, Mr. Quackenbush joined the family firm of Quackenbush and Sons, Inc., in Paterson of which he later became the president. He was also president of the Bergen Water Softening Company of Fair Lawn, N.J., before his retirement.

During World War II he served with the U.S. Army Air Corps and the Army Corps of Engineers. Throughout his life he was active in the Boy Scouts of America, attaining the Eagle Scout Badge before becoming assistant scoutmaster and later scoutmaster. He was made a member of the honorary Order of the Arrow and received the Order of the Silver Beaver in recognition of his life-long contributions to scouting. A short time before his death, Troop No. 35 of Fair Lawn was named the Joseph H. Quackenbush, Jr. Troop as a tribute to him.

Mr. Quackenbush was a past president of the Optimist Club of Paterson and of the Radburn Association of Fair Lawn as well as a member of Rotary International, the Hunt­ing and Fishing Club of Fair Lawn, the American Veterans Committee and the Community Church of Glen Rock, N J .

He is survived by his wife, the former Esther Pauline Nielsen, his mother, Mrs. Joseph H. Quackenbush, Sr., two

sons, Joseph H. Quackenbush III of Wichita, Kansas, a member of The Holland Society, and Daniel Quackenbush, Olathe, Kansas; three brothers, James E. Quackenbush of Wyckoff, N.J., President of The Holland Society, R. Donald Quackenbush of Johnsonburg, N.J., a member of The Holland Society, John Quackenbush, Sun City, Florida and three grandchildren, Kimberlyjo, Christopher John, and Julie Marie. A memorial service was held January 20, 1983 in the Community Church of Glen Rock. Interment was private.

HOGHLAND VAN NORDEN

Hoghland Van Norden, a member of The Holland Society of New York since 1928, died at the age of 74 years in New York City on June 14, 1983. Descended from Pieter Casparszen Van Naerden who came to New Netherland in 1623, he was born in New York City March 5, 1909, the son of Ottomar H. Van Norden, a former president of the Society, and Jeanie Duncan. Mr. Van Norden graduated from Harvard University in 1932 and later earned the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees at Columbia University. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy from 1942 to 1945 holding the rank of Lieu­tenant and serving with COMNAVU in the United Kingdom. He was made an Honorary Life Member of the Society in 1978.

Mr. Van Norden is survived by a brother, Langdon Van Norden of Greenwich, Connecticut, a member of the Soci­ety. Funeral services were held at the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York with interment in Hackensack, New Jersey.

ORDER FORM Make check payable to: The Holland Society (shipping and handling included in price).

SHIP TO: NAME (Please STREET ADDRESS Prim)

CITY/STATE ZIP Complete next line if ordering Membership Certificate

Full name to be engrossed .Date joined

ITEM NO.

1.

2.

3.

4.

* 5 .

6.

*7 .

8.

9.

DESCRIPTION

Membership Certificate

Society Lapel Pin

Orange Lapel Rosette

Blazer Patch

Blazet Button (set)

Necktie-

Delft Tile

On-the-rocks Glasses (set 6)

Cocktail Napkins (pkg. 50)

QUANTITY UNIT PRICE

$25.00

15.00

2.00

15.00

25.00

10.00

7.50

18.00

7.50

Total Amount Enclosed:

AMOUNT

$ (20)

Page 23: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland

THOMAS G. VANDEVER Thomas George Vandever, a member of The Holland

Society of New York since 1955, died at the age of 78 years on June 5, 1983 in Hackensack, New Jersey. Descended from Jacob Van der Ver who was in New Amsterdam in 1656 and a sergeant in the employ of the Dutch West India Com­pany on the Delaware River in 1660, he was born January 27, 1905 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Joseph H. Vandever and Elizabeth M. Wible. Mr. Vandever attend­ed the University of Pennsylvania, graduating from the Wharton School of Finance in 1926. He was first employed by the stock brokerage firm of Brook, Stokes of Philadelphia, later becoming associated with a number of pharmaceutical firms including Johnson and Johnson of New Brunswick, New Jersey. He was Vice President of Marketing for the W.K. Mennen Company of Morristown, N.J., until his retirement in early I960. After retirement he became a con­sultant for the Hoffmann LaRoche Company of Nutley, N.J., for a short time.

Mr. Vandever is survived by his wife, the former Mildred Ricker, a son, Dr. Thomas R. Vandever of Nashville, Ten­nessee, and two grandchildren. At his request, Mr. Vandever was cremated and his ashes scattered at Penn's Landing, Philadelphia, Pa., without religious ceremonies.

ALAN CORSON, JR.

Alan Corson, Jr., a member of The Holland Society of New York since 1978, died at the age of 79 years in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, on July 30, 1983. Descended from Cors Pietersen, who was in New Amsterdam before 1657, through his son, Cornells Corson, Mr. Corson was born Ju­ly 7, 1904 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Alan Corson and Lillian C. Burton. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in civil engineer­ing, becoming chief engineer for the construction firm of George K. Heebner. In 1947 he became supervisor for the buildings and grounds of the Philadelphia Museum of Art until his retirement in 1967.

Mr. Corson was active in a number of organizations in­cluding the Pennsylvania Commandery of the Loyal Legion of the United States War of 1812, the Society of Military Engineers and the Engineers Club of Philadelphia. He was an officer of the War Library and Museum and of the Loyal Legion of the United States in addition to being a trustee of the Cruiser Olympia Society and of the Bala Cynwyd Library, treasurer of The Netherlands Society of Philadelphia and a member of St. Asaph's Episcopal Church of Bala Cyn­wyd, Pennsylvania.

He is survived by his wife, the former Florence M. Sigafoos, a son, Alan Corson, 3rd, a daughter, Deborah C , and two grandchildren. Funeral services were held on August 3, 1983 at St. Asaph's Episcopal Church in Bala Cynwyd, Pa.

HAROLD L. WOOD

Harold L. Wood, a member of The Holland Society of New York since 1954, died shortly before reaching his 92nd birthday on August 11, 1983 at New Paltz, N. Y. Descend­ed from Jan Wood who was in New Netherland by 1673, Mr. Wood was born September 13, 1891 at High Falls, N.Y., the son of Calvin M. Wood and Mary Silkworth. A graduate of the New Paltz High School, he embarked upon a banking career early in life which was to continue for nearly a half-century. For twenty-five years, he was the President

of the Huguenot National Bank of New Paltz, a position to which he rose not only through practical banking ex­perience but by the completion of extensive courses in finance and administration over a period of years. He was also a director of the local branch of the Bankers Trust Com­pany of New York and of the Inner County Savings Bank. He retired in I960.

Mr. Wood was also active in local civic and social circles. Former president of the New Paltz Cemetery and Eking Library Associations and of the New Paltz Central School System School Board, he was also a member of the Huguenot Historical Society, the Paltz Club and the New Paltz Fire Department. A member of the New Paltz Reform­ed Church, he served on the church's Great Consistory.

He is survived by his wife, the former Helen Ackerman to whom he was married in 1924. Funeral services were held at the Pine Funeral Home in New Paltz with interment tak­ing place in the New Paltz Rural Cemetery.

RICHARD VAN ETTEN

Richard Van Etten, a member of The Holland Society of New York since 1946, died at the age of 80 years on Oc­tober 24, 1983 at Mesa, Arizona. Descended from Jacob Jansen Van Etten who came to New Netherland in 1663, settling in Esopus (Kingston) N.Y., he was born April 29, 1903 in Lake Katrine, N.Y., the son of Philip Van Etten and Lillian Sagendorf. Mr. Van Etten was a graduate of the Saugerties, N.Y., public schools, later becoming the founder and long-time president of the Van Etten Oil Co., Inc., with headquarters in Monticello, N.Y., and operating throughout Sullivan County. After retirement he moved to Mesa, Arizona.

He was active in a number of fraternal organizations in­cluding the Monticello Lodge #532 of Free and Accepted Masons, B.P.O.E. Lodge #1544 of Monticello and a former president of the Monticello Rotary Club. Mr. Van Etten was also a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Mon­ticello, the Sullivan County Golf Club and the Apache Wells Golf Club, Mesa, Arizona.

His first wife, the former Margaret H. Van Steenberg predeceased him. He later married the former Dorothy I. Courtright who survives him. He is also survived by three sons, Richard P., a member of the Society, Robert A. and Jan S., also a member of the Society, a daughter, Margaret Costa, a stepdaughter, Patricia Fragomeli, twenty-one grandchildren and rwo great-grandchildren.

Here and There (continued)

Family Associations More than one hundred twenty members of the David

Ackerman Descendants met last fall in the South Presbyterian Church in Bergenfield, N.J. After lunch and a slide lecture by Marden Nystrom, the group toured the Ackerman-Zabriskie-Steuben House, Headquarters of the Bergen County Historical Society, and the neighboring Campbell-Christie and Demarest Houses.

The new corrected genealogy of the Van Voorhees family, covering the first four generations of the family in America, will be published later this spring. For further in­formation please get in touch with the Van Voorhees Associarion, 4813 Bradford Drive, Annadale, Va. 22003-

1)

Page 24: De K HALVE MAEN - Holland Society of New York · 2017-02-13 · DC HALVE MAEN VOL. LVIII • NO. 2 APRIL 1984 NEW YORK CITY Dutch Yankees and English Patroons by David W. Mullholland