One of the first crops to emerge from the ground in New York State is asparagus (scientific name: asparagus officinalis). The vegetable is an integral part of America’s colonial history. It must have been a taste of nostalgia that prompted New Netherland settlers to try and cultivate asparagus in unfamiliar surroundings. [Read more…] about Asparagus Officinalis: A Spear of Transatlantic History
New Netherland
Meppel to Manhattan: Duveen, Altman, and the Relocation of European Art
Meppel is relatively small Dutch municipality in the north-easterly agricultural province of Drenthe. It is a market town for dairy products, cereals, and pigs. What is the association between this sleepy country place and cosmopolitan New York City? [Read more…] about Meppel to Manhattan: Duveen, Altman, and the Relocation of European Art
Evert de Ridder & The Albany-Amerongen Connection
Evert or Eeuwout was born in in Amerongen in 1659, the son of Gerrit Theunisz de Ridder and Marrigje Ewouts Rietveld, he was baptized on Saturday the first of May in 1659 in the church of Saint Andries. Members of the de Ridder family still live in Amerogen on the Rhine in the Dutch province of Utrecht, but Evert de Ridder brought a branch of the family to New York in the 1680s. [Read more…] about Evert de Ridder & The Albany-Amerongen Connection
Latest Columbia County History & Heritage Magazine Published
The Columbia County Historical Society (CCHS) has announced the release of its Spring 2021 issue of Columbia County History & Heritage magazine. Titled “Dutch Culture in the Hudson Valley,” the issue explores the varied ways Dutch colonists shaped the culture and landscapes of the Hudson Valley — including Columbia County — beginning in the early 1600s. [Read more…] about Latest Columbia County History & Heritage Magazine Published
Exchanging New Amsterdam for Paramaribo
In August 1664 four English frigates sailed into the harbor of New Amsterdam, demanding the surrender of New Netherland. The colony was provisionally ceded by Peter Stuyvesant. He subsequently sent a delegation to sign the Articles of Capitulation. New Amsterdam was reincorporated under English law as the city of New York. Soon after the Second Anglo-Dutch (Sea) War broke out in which Charles II unsuccessfully tried to end Dutch domination of world trade. [Read more…] about Exchanging New Amsterdam for Paramaribo
Early Dutch Farms at Troy
Between the more formidable island of Papscanee (previously spelled Papsickene, now a peninsula nature preserve) and where the Hoosac River meets the Hudson, more than a dozen streams flow into the Hudson River. Only at the Poesten Kill, which flows through Troy, was there enough farmland, room to grow, and sufficient water-power for the earliest industries. [Read more…] about Early Dutch Farms at Troy
Veeder (Vedder) Family in New York, Rome and Yokohama
Young Alexander and Elihu Vedder were raised in Schenectady, New York. The family had Dutch roots (their parents were cousins). The elder brother was a physician, the younger a painter. In their career choices they showed an outward-looking attitude, cherishing the challenge of foreign experiences while assimilating the riches of cultural exchange. [Read more…] about Veeder (Vedder) Family in New York, Rome and Yokohama
Stories From Newly Translated Dutch Colonial Documents (Virtual Talk)
New York State Archives Magazine is set to continue their online speaker series with Hidden Stories from Newly Translated Dutch Colonial Documents on Tuesday, February 16th, at 12:30 pm. [Read more…] about Stories From Newly Translated Dutch Colonial Documents (Virtual Talk)
The ‘Turkish Captivity’ of Jacob Leisler and the Susannah
Throughout the early modern era, North African raiders known as Barbary Corsairs, trolled Europe’s coasts from the Aegean Sea to the Netherlands and as far north as Iceland in search of European slaves. American ships were among their victims.
On October 8th, 1677, Algerian Corsairs boarded New York City merchant Jacob Leisler’s ship Susannah in the English Channel and captured Leisler along with his crew, two stepsons, nephew, and a passenger. [Read more…] about The ‘Turkish Captivity’ of Jacob Leisler and the Susannah
Huguenot Pirates on the Barbary Coast and the Mapping of New Amsterdam
Huguenots were followers of Jean Calvin’s teachings for which they were persecuted in Catholic France. Many were forced to leave the country and settled in the Netherlands, Switzerland, England, and South Africa.
Nicolas Martiau was one of a number of refugees who made their way to America (Virginia) via England. A surveyor and engineer in the service of Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntington, he was an ancestor of George Washington. [Read more…] about Huguenot Pirates on the Barbary Coast and the Mapping of New Amsterdam