The Bowne House Historical Society, Inc. Bowne House has been a museum for seventy years. It is operated by the Bowne House Historical Society, which is responsible for its educational programming. The Society’s mission AUTUMN 2016includes preservation of the house, its collections and grounds for their historical and educational interest, and for their significance to the history of New York, a consequence of events which took from the director of education place there early in its history, events which played a role in the establishment of the fundamental principles of freedom of Hello Bowne House Members: conscience and religious liberty in America. WNE H Bowne House was built by John Bowne in 1661; it O O B U is an amalgam of New World Dutch and English E S E H 37-01 Bowne Street Flushing,traditions of building, NY 11354with rare and sometimes T 37-01 Bowne Street, Flushing, NY 11354 unique examples of construction techniques used by I am so pleased to have spent my last year working here as Director of Education.M I have had a great year meeting M (718) 359-0528 www.bownehouse.orgthese groups. Continuity of ownership by the Bowne/ U S U E (718 359-0528 www.bownehouse.orgParsons family provides an unusual view of changing many of you, working with the Bowne House staff and volunteers, and meeting our public - the students and cultural values and increased prosperity over time. The house was occupied by nine generations of the adults who come every week for tours. family, whose offspring37-01 included Bowne prominent business Street- Flushing, NY 11354 men, educators, abolitionists and horticulturalists. Bowne House(718) is best known359-0528 for its association www.bownehouse.orgwith the To give you a little background about myself, I have a PhD in Historical Archaeology from The City principle of freedom of conscience and religious liberty. John For more than 300 years, the Bowne HouseBowne and his has fellow stood residents of Flushing helped establish this University of New York’s Graduate Center and I have been working in New YorkFor City more and Newthan England 350 years, the principleBowne in America. InHouse 1662, Bowne defied has a ban imposed stood by Governor by the side of the road37-01 in Flushing, Bowne Queens,StreetPeter Stuyvesant Flushing, New on theYork. practice NYof religions 11354 other than the Historical Archaeology since 1998. I spent many of those years teaching as an adjunctby the in theside Anthropology of the road in Flushing,Dutch Reformed Queens, Church by permitting New Quakers toYork. worship in For John Bowne and his descendantsFor morehis than home.in Bownethe 300 wasBowne arrested years, and deported the to HollandBowne where he House has stood by Departments of Queens College, Hunter College, Columbia University, and Lehman College. (718) 359-0528 successfully www.bownehouse.org pleaded his case before the Dutch West India Forand ParsonsJohn Bowne families, andit was his home. descendants ForCompany. the He returnedcolonial homein victorious the in Bowne1664, and the the side principleof the of freedom road of religion in was Flushing,established in the colony. Queens, This New York. For andQuakers Parsons of Flushing, families, it was John ita placewas Bowne toprinciplehome. worship and was enshrined hisFor over God.descendants 100 yearsthe later in theColonial Bill of Rights. in the Bowne and Parsons A couple of years ago a few things made me begin to search out a museum education job however. First, Bowne House is a New York City Landmark, a New York State QuakersFor thousands of Flushing,of visitors, ititfamilies, haswas been a itLandmark, placeawas memorial and home. is listedto on worship Fortothe National the Registercolonial God. of Historic Quakers of Flushing, I always loved the tactile nature of being an archaeologist (you get to touch history!).For moreMy understanding than 300 years, the BownePlaces as a New HouseYork State Site of hasNational Significance.stood John by Bowne and John Bowne and his significant rolethe Flushingin Remonstranceestablishing are part of the New York State curriculum. of this principle deepened further for me on a personal level once I became theFor motherthe thousands side to myof thetwo of boysroadvisitors, init Flushing, wasit has a place been Queens, to a worship memorial New York.God. to For ForJohn thousands of visitors, it the religious freedom in America. For many more, (aged 9 and 5). I then discovered how much better they experienced the worldBowne Johnif they Bowne andcould histouch and significant histhe descendantshas been role a in inmemorial the establishing Bowne to andJohn Parsons religiousBowne and his significant role object of their interest. They are intense nature collectors, making me house a collectionnotably ofthose sticks whoand rocks pass thein Bowneestablishing House, the walking religious freedom in America. For many freedomor families,driving inor it onAmerica.was a cityhome. bus For For along manythe Bownecolonial more, Street, Quakers walking it is of orFlushing, driving along with their legos, markers, and paper for art projects. As I saw them start schoolit was I became a place more to andworship more, God. notably For thousands those who of passvisitors, the Bowneit House, walking or more aware that they needed to be as actively involved in their education as possible.by,a bit it ofhas They a mystery—anbeen remembered a bit ancientof a mystery house under– an ancient towering house under has been a memorial todriving John Bowne or on anda city his bus significant along Bowne role Street, it is a bit of a the information so much better if they were able to take part in the productiontoweringtrees of the in lesson. a vibrant trees So this urban in then a neighborhood— vibrant urban a house neighborhood that – a in establishing the religiousmystery—an freedom ancient in America. house Forunder many towering trees in a vibrant sparked my interest in working with a museum to help ALL of our kids feel moremust connected have tostories the past. to tell. housemore, that notably must those have who storiesurban pass neighborhood—theto tell. Bowne House, a house walking that or must have stories These stories come alive throughto tell. the Bowne House Second, I began to realize that I wanted to teach my actual type of archaeology anddriving not simply or on Archaeology a city bus 101 along to Bowne Street, it is a bit of a Thecollections.mystery—an Bowne Chairs Houseancient and tables,housepresentsThese underteapots storiesthe towering and story winecome trees of alive inone a vibrantthrough family the Bowne House undergraduates fulfilling a Social Sciences requirement. At heart, I am an Historicalglasses, Archaeologist iron skillets who and focuses copper on kettles, portraits the material culture of New York City and its environs and so the Bowne House feelsthaturban like grew a wonderful neighborhood— with fit America, for me a incollections. house this witnessed that mustChairs Americanhave and stories tables, history teapotsand wineglasses, and documents that have descended in the Bowne regard. I feel extremely lucky to have been chosen to work here. to tell. iron skillets and copper kettles, portraits and documents unfolding,family tell us and how theytook lived great and prideworked, in how fostering they American that have descended in the Bowne family tell us how they valuesinteractedThese of stories freedom,with their come Dutch liberty alive neighbors, ofthrough conscience the Citythe Bowneand economic House And finally, the subject matter at the heart of our museum’s story hits me deeply. The Flushing Remonstrance, religiouslived and worked, how they interacted with their Dutch of collections.New York, and Chairs the wider and world, tables, and teapotsand how they wineglasses, freedom, and the freedom of expression are all perhaps old news to us insiders,opportunity. but it has been truly transformativeneighbors, the City of New York, and the wider world, and preservediron skillets their and patrimony copper of kettles, family possessions portraits and to documents to teach these lessons to whomever walks in off the street of Flushing’s bustling downtown (and many do) andhow see they preserved their patrimony of family possessions rememberthat have John descended Bowne and in thethe standBowne he family had taken tell us how they their faces glow with renewed interest in these topics. I feel proud to be an educatorThese these stories days. come aliveto remember through John the Bowne Bowne and theHouse stand he had taken forlived religious and freedomworked, inhow 1662. they interacted with their Dutch and its collections, preservedfor religious and freedom treasured in 1662. by the nine Let me recap my last year for you. (And, wow, it is hard to believe that it has been neighbors,a year since Ithe started City here of atNew The York, and the wider world, and generationsThe Bowne House of family Legacy who presents lived the in objects the house. that Chairs and Bowne House. Time flies when you’re having fun!) I have spent these last 12 monthshavehow acclimating witnessed they preserved myselfFlushing’s to the their historyThespace, patrimony Bowne and tell House ofus familythe Legacy possessions presents the objects that have the history, and the archaeological collection. I have been lucky enough to meettables,storyto descendants, rememberof oneteapots family students John thatand Bowne fromgrew winewitnessed the with and glasses,Americathe Flushing’s stand and heiron took historyhad skillets taken and telland us the story of one neighborhood, scholars and other museum educators. We have run some great family-friendlycopperrealfor pride religious kettles, in publicfostering freedom portraits programs American infamily both1662. and values thatdocuments grew of religious with that America tell usand how took real pride at the museum and at the Flushing branch of the Queens Public Library as well as hosted more academic eventsin such fostering American values of religious freedom and thefreedomThe occupants Bowne and economic House lived Legacy opportunity.and presentsworked, the how objects they that interacted have as a book talk by author Mau VanDuren during Preservation Week in April.