Vol. 31, No. 1 “De Nieu Nederlanse Marcurius” Mar. 2015

Events of interest Blauvelt descendants and neighbors archivists, educators, publishers, of Gerrit Hendricksen) when a and other interested individuals who April 18, 2015. The New group of Dutch farmers left their come together to discuss topics and Center of Wilmington, ‘Boweries’ off Maiden Lane in issues related to the people of New announces its 5th annual “Colonists Manhattan to settle here in Orange- York State in historical perspective Days.” This is an event for anyone town. Spirited, adventurous and and to share information and ideas associated with the colonial era in descended from a highly developed regarding historical research, the Delaware Valley “beginning culture, these earliest residents got programming, and the networking with the and the Swedes out of Manhattan. They re-settled of resources and services. Monitor: and Finns of the their families maintaining their www.nysha.org for soon to be Colony to the Dutch and the language and traditions away from published conference schedule, English, ending with the Revolu- the scrutiny of the English. This is online registration, and lodging tion.” Anyone who can educate, an extraordinary opportunity to information. inform and entertain the public is examine the background of a people *** welcome. Festivities begin at noon who, through their efforts, have in Fort Christina Park at 1122 E. 7th distinguished Orangetown as a Until June 28, 2015. “ St., Wilmington, DE, until 5pm, place rich in history. Remembered: The Watercolors of rain or shine. Go to: James Ryder van Brunt.” This The exhibit will be on display at the www.colonialnewsweden.org. exhibit presents thirteen watercolors DePew House, 196 Chief Bill from the Brooklyn Historical *** Harris Way, Orangeburg NY. Society’s collection by 19th- April 18–November 15, 2015. Tuesdays 10–2, Sundays 1–4 or by century Brooklyn native James “From Holland to Here,” featuring appointment. Admission is free: Ryder Van Brunt. Van Brunt was a the “George Way Collection of donations accepted. Contact: (845) descendant of Brooklyn’s earliest Dutch Art & Artifacts,” examines 398–1302, special arrangements for settlers and a gifted amateur painter the Dutch heritage of the Town of press previews and schools. Email: who devoted decades to recording Orangetown by way of the [email protected]. neat and colorful views of Dutch collection of George Way of Staten *** homesteads and historic landmarks. Island, America’s premier collector June 18–20, 2015. The New York His images of these picturesque of Dutch 17th-c art. On loan will be State Historical Association will sites, a number of which had a stunning display of paintings, hold its 36th Conference on New already been demolished, reflected miniatures, silver, brass, delftware, York State History at Niagara the widespread nostalgia for an prints, drawings and furniture. The University. The Conference is an agrarian past during a period of collection significantly contributes annual meeting of academic and rapid change as Brooklyn grew to the backstory of who the Dutch public historians, librarians and from a collection of villages into a were in the 1680’s, (particularly the

New Netherland Institute, Box 2536, Empire State Plaza Station, Albany, NY 12220 Voice: 518–486–4815 | Fax: 518–473–0472 [email protected] | www.newnetherlandinstitute.org De Nieu Nederlanse Marcurius 2 city. For additional information, go ¨Timelines of key events in New Walter Liedtke to: www.brooklynhistory.org. York history 1609–1945 that impact genealogical research The art world mourns the tragic loss Save the Date of Walter Liedtke, eminent curator ¨An index of over 11,000 place and scholar of Dutch and Flemish names and place-name variants past September 17–19, 2015. paintings at the Metropolitan and present, the first published Museum of Art for 35 years. He “The Dutch in America Across the gazetteer of its kind since 1872. was one of the six people who died Centuries: Connections and Order on line: bit.ly/1JrJTV0 in the Metro–North train accident Comparisons,”will be the theme of *** on February 3, 2015, in Valhalla, this year’s NY. The many major exhibitions Seminar to be held in Albany and D.J. Noorlander “‘For the he organized at the Met were jointly sponsored by the NNI and maintenance of the true religion’: revered by scholars and embraced the Association for the Advance- Calvinism and the Directors of the by millions of visitors, including ment of Dutch–American Studies Dutch West India Company.” His Rembrandt/Not Rembrandt, (AADAS). article appears in the new electronic version of the Sixteenth Century Vermeer and the Delft School, The Age of Rembrandt, Vermeer’s Publications Journal: The Journal of Early Modern Studies. Go to: escj.org. Masterpiece “The Milkmaid,” and the recent El Greco in New York. The New York Family History *** Besides catalogues accompanying Research Guide and Gazetteer is In 2013 the New Netherland those and other exhibitions, he the first book of its kind. More than Seminar was held in New Castle, masterfully catalogued the 100 experts have reviewed and Delaware. The theme was “The Museum’s Dutch and Flemish contributed content about local and Dutch on the Delaware: New paintings collection and was at regional resources and key topics in Netherland’s South River.” The work cataloguing the Met’s Spanish New York family history. The conference demonstrated how inter- paintings. RIP result is a book of 856 pages with: twined relations were between the ¨Chapters on major record groups Swedes and Dutch in the 17th c. Call for Sailors! and research resources, including About half of the more than100 the most up-to-date and attendees were of Swedish ancestry The replica ship Half Moon is comprehensive review of New York and/or members of Swedish– issuing a muster call for experi- State’s extremely complicated vital American societies. enced sailors. The ship will leave records system Last year, on the occasion of Verplanck before mid-March for farewell celebrations in NYC and ¨Information on research resources 400 years of Swedish–Dutch participation in a feature film being for sixteen major ethnic and twelve relations, the Embassy of Sweden shot in Boston. After filming the major religious groups that have in The Hague initiated a book ship will rendezvous with a trans- lived in New York presentation entitled The Swedes and the Dutch were made for each atlantic transport vessel in RI for its ¨Gazetteers, maps, and research other. The book was written by transfer to the Netherlands. May guides to each of New York’s 62 authors from a variety of fields who 22–23 will occasion the ship’s counties, including the five approached this relationship from arrival in Hoorn, culminating in Dr. boroughs of New York City their unique perspectives. In Part I a Andrew Hendricks’s formal hand ¨More than 100 separate, catego- chapter is devoted to “Neighbors in over of the helm to the Westfries rized, special topic bibliographies America: New Netherland and New Museum. If you want to join the vetted by genealogists Sweden.” For access to this book, crew, reply to: as De Nieu Nederlanse Marcurius 3 soon as possible with telephone nineteenth-century New York and 12220–0536. You may inform us number and qualifications. For . It also raises the before the deadline by email that details of the “crew call” go to: question of whether not only you plan to submit an article for goo.gl/3myqX6. Dutch-speaking whites, but also consideration. The winner will be blacks may have played a role in notified by August 1, 2015 and the NNI News the transmission of Dutch linguistic prize will be presented at the annual elements into American English. New Netherland Seminar in Albany Join us for the Annual General Dr. Dewulf teaches courses in on September 17–19. Meeting of the New Netherland both German Studies and Dutch *** Institute being held at the Studies. He is the current director of University Club of Albany, 141 Berkeley’s Institute of European Nominations are now being Washington Avenue at Dove Street, Studies. As the incumbent of the accepted for the 2015 Kenney Albany NY 12210 on Saturday, Queen Beatrix Chair, he is also the Award for contributions to colonial May 16 beginning at 10:15 am. At director of the Dutch Studies Dutch studies and to understanding the business meeting, Dennis Program and chair of the the Dutch significance in North Maika, our Associate for Education Executive Committee of the America. Deadline is April 15th. will provide an update on Designated Emphasis in Dutch Application details can be found on curriculum related activities and Studies for graduate students. As our website. Peter Christoph, Director Emeritus, an affiliated member of the New York State Library Center for African Studies and Totidem Verbis Manuscripts and Special core member of the faculty Collections will talk about his board of the Latin American Our offering for this issue by Peter current research activities. Studies Graduate Group, he is A. Douglas is quite appropriate for also active in the field of this time of year. Read on! ¨ At 1:30 our featured speaker, African Studies and Jeroen Dewulf, Associate The South Sea Voyage of Latin–American Studies. Professor in the Department of Jacob Roggeveen Both members and non- German at UC Berkeley will members of NNI are welcome to 1721–1723 speak on “‘A strong barbaric attend the business meeting, From the 15th to the 18th accent’: America’s Dutch-speaking luncheon, and/or program. century, one of the great legends black community from 17th-c New Further details will be found on among the seafaring and trading Netherland to19th-c New York and our web site. nations was the existence of a vast New Jersey.” *** southern continent, Terra Australis. Although it is estimated that as late This hypothetical continent was as the mid-eighteenth century some NNI announces the Clague and imagined to encompass Antarctica sixteen to twenty percent of the Carol Van Slyke Prize for the best and extend far into the South Sea slaves in New York and New Jersey article published since 2013. Four (Pacific Ocean). The discovery of spoke (some) Dutch, very little copies of articles for consideration Australia, New Zealand, and many research has been done on (non returnable) must be submitted of the South Sea Islands was the America’s Dutch-speaking black by the author, editor, colleague, or outcome of the search for this land. community. Despite the paucity of other interested party by 1 April, Several of these discoverers were sources, this presentation attempts 2015. Articles should be sent Dutch, and as the navigators of to provide an overview of the in hard copy to the Article Prize many countries gradually explored importance of the Dutch language Committee, New Netherland the southern ocean they finally for the black community from the Institute, P.O. Box 2536, Empire realized that Antarctica was not 17-c colony of New Netherland to State Plaza Station, Albany, NY De Nieu Nederlanse Marcurius 4 connected to Australia or to any around 1,500 miles, on Easter veen was associated with the Dutch other great landmass. Sunday of 1722, he came upon a West India Company he was In the company of the many small island that he named considered a trespasser. The notable Dutch navigators, the name Paaschen Eylandt, or Easter Island, officials of the Dutch East India Jacob Roggeveen (1659–1729) does for the date of its discovery. Company seized the ships and their not stand very tall, though his Easter Island is the easternmost cargos and arrested Roggeveen and achievements do warrant an of the Polynesian islands, and is his men for violating the company’s examination for it was Roggeveen considered to be the world’s monopoly in the area. The company who was the first European to set remotest inhabited island. Because was very touchy about this sort of foot on an island that would of its isolation, the inhabitants thing. They were not released until become one of the most mysterious developed a unique culture whose November and were sent back to and culturally significant most remarkable feature is the the Netherlands, almost as prisoners archaeological sites in the world. hundreds of huge monolithic rock on company ships, arriving in July 1723. Roggeveen immediately Before he found fame as an figures called moai. Roggeveen and his Dutch crews were the first stared legal proceedings to get back explorer, Roggeveen had already the value of his ships, and lived a full and active life, having Europeans to see these imposing statues. The landing party described negotiations between the two been notary of Middelburg, companies ultimately resulted in graduated as a doctor of law at the an island with no large trees, a rich soil, bananas, sugar cane, and figs. compensation for Roggeveen and university of Harderwijk, and his backers. worked for the Dutch East India The Dutch spent about a week on Company in Batavia. In 1721, at the the island, investigating the strange The Dutch navigator had not age of 62, he decided to pursue his stone idols and interacting with the found the great southern continent, father’s dream of searching for inhabitants, encounters that created but he had traveled extensively Terra Australis and persuaded the some friction and resulted in several through the South Pacific and added Dutch West India Company to native deaths by nervous Dutch to contemporary geographic outfit three ships for the voyage, the sailors. knowledge. The voyage failed to Arend, the Thienhoven, and the After leaving Easter Island, the solve the question of the existence Afrikaansche Galey. three ships steered northwest, often of this mythical continent, but it helped others to know which areas The expedition left the changing course, Roggeveen always thinking that the mysterious still remained to be explored. Most Netherlands in August 1721 and important perhaps, Roggeveen had sailed down to the South Atlantic to continent might be just over the horizon. In the end he decided to discovered Easter Island, which in the Falkland Islands and then 1995 became a UNESCO World through the Le Maire Strait and head for Batavia, going by way of the Tuamotu Archipelago, the Heritage Site. It remains unique and around Cape Horn beyond 60° mysterious and has become a place south and entered the Pacific Society Islands, and Samoa. They ran into many difficulties. On May of continuing interest to anthro- Ocean. The fleet ran into ice and pologists. rough weather and proceeded north 19 in Takapoto the Afrikaansche up the coast of Chile and reached Galey was wrecked on a coral reef the Juan Fernandez Islands in and most of the expedition’s food February. Here Roggeveen made was lost, and Roggeveen faced repairs and resupplied for his hostile islanders and desertions. voyage into the unknown ocean. In September 1722 the Arend His course was west-northwest, and the Thienhoven arrived in Bata- expecting any time to sight the edge via, but the party did not receive a of the new continent. Instead, after warm welcome. Because Rogge-