In the spring of 1613, a sailor named Jan Rodrigues arrived at the shore of the Hudson River from a Dutch trading ship, likely the Jonge Tobias. Identifying himself as a free individual, he became the earliest documented Black man in New Netherland. Jan Rodrigues is the subject of one of 25 new, peer-reviewed biographical sketches published by the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society in August, part of the NYG&B’s New Netherland Settlers initiative. [Read more…] about 25 New Netherland Biographies Published
Flatbush
Education in New York: Academies & Common Schools
New York State’s first governor George Clinton believed that a revolutionary republic had to assume increased responsibility for the education of its citizens.
This was a common thread of republican thinking of the late 1700s and early 1800s and was a major reason for the establishment of the Regents of The University of the State of New York in 1784. [Read more…] about Education in New York: Academies & Common Schools
Authority in the 1700s Dutch Reformed Church
In the mid-18th century, the Dutch Reformed Church was wracked by conflict about whether the Dutch church in America would remain subordinate to the Classis of Amsterdam or whether the American Dutch would become independent.
Regardless of which side they stood, all believed that the American church had been subordinate to Amsterdam since the early days of New Netherland. They had, however, misremembered their past. [Read more…] about Authority in the 1700s Dutch Reformed Church
Catalyntje Trico: A Life in New Amsterdam
Catalyntje Jeronimous Trico was born in about 1605 in Pres or Prijs, Hainault, in what was then the Spanish Netherlands, now Nord, Valenciennes, France to Jeronimus Jean Tricot and Michele Sauvagie.
Although her birth record has never been found (records in her parish only begin nearly a century after her birth), she is known through her sister Margareta (Triko) de la Fontaine dit Wicart’s will, which left half of her estate to Catalina. [Read more…] about Catalyntje Trico: A Life in New Amsterdam
2024 Excellence in Historic Preservation Award Winners
Now in its 40th year, the Preservation League of NYS‘s annual Excellence Awards program shines a light on the people who are using historic preservation to make all our lives better — through exemplary restoration projects, indispensable publications, individual action, and organizational distinction. [Read more…] about 2024 Excellence in Historic Preservation Award Winners
Edwin Forbes: Civil War Artist & Starting Gate Inventor
American artists and illustrators have documented events through the nation’s history, producing a vital visual record of collective experiences. One illustrator, who can still be called upon to look back through time, is Edwin Forbes, who lived in the Long Island village of Flatbush, before it was annexed into Brooklyn, and eventually New York City. He was a noted illustrator of the Civil War and also an inventor of the horse racing starting gate. [Read more…] about Edwin Forbes: Civil War Artist & Starting Gate Inventor