Post here to join us in the New Netherland Settlers Project

Question

WikiTree's New Netherland Settlers Project is our collaborative effort to develop and maintain high-quality genealogy information for the people of New Netherland and their descendants.

New Netherland was the 17th-century Dutch colony in eastern North America (mostly in the modern states of New York and New Jersey) controlled by the Dutch West India Company.  Many New Netherland settlers were Dutch, but quite a few of them came from other European places such as Germany, Scandinavia, France, England, Scotland, and the Mediterranean region; some were enslaved Africans; and indigenous Native Americans were part of their community. The scope of the New Netherland Settlers Project currently includes New Netherland descendants born as late as 1776, if they were part of a community where the Dutch culture of New Netherland was prevalent.

If you are interested in participating with this project, please answer this post to join us. In your answer, please tell us about why you are interested in New Netherland (include names of any specific ancestors or New Netherland surnames you are interested in) and tell us how you expect to contribute to the project.

Project members will receive the New Netherland Settlers Project badge on their profiles.

This project is only for WikiTree members. If you are not yet a member of WikiTree, please join the WikiTree community before requesting membership here. See Help:How to Use WikiTree to get started.

Also, we ask project members to:

1. Add new_netherland to your followed tags.
2. After you have been accepted into the project, request to join our Google Group, and include your name and Wikitree ID in your request.
3. Add the category [[Category:New_Netherland_Settlers_Project]] including the brackets, to your biography.

If you have questions about New Netherland or the project, you may find answers on the FAQ page or the New Netherland Settlers Project page. See our advice on reliable sources on the New Netherland Settlers Reliable Sources page and see additional project resources and sourcing advice on our New Netherland Genealogy Resources category. You may even find your ancestors on our Progenitors and Immigrants of the New Netherlands Settlers (though it is quite incomplete!)

PS - Please ANSWER in this G2G thread.

Comments

I am interested in joining the New Netherlands project. I am Landsman-55. My Grandmother was Edna Jane Van Benschoten. I found a lot of my Dutch ancestors back to the Vignes due to the efforts of many of you who traced the Van Benschoten (Bunschoten) line and the first boy born in New Netherlands. I would love to learn more and be part of this project. — L Landsman (Landsman-55)

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Hello! I would like to join. My New Netherland family that I am researching currently are: Burghardt, Van Hoesen, Van Wie, Van Valkenburg, Klauw, Slingerland, Santvoord, Middaugh, Bergen, and Rapalje. I would like to contribute in helping research not only my families but others as well. I love tying things together and digging into things to solve mysteries and make connections. I am a mom, so I research in bits here and there, but I do love focusing on chunks at a time and am working hard to go back through my chart and document and re-verify everything that I have found or have been given by the previous generation of researchers in my family. I also recently found a New Netherlands connection in my husband's family. ~Sharman Rice (Lutz-3115)

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Hello!  I am so excited to see this group and would love to join.  I have only recently found out that our family history reaches back this far, and I have become obsessed learning as much as I can about our roots.  My name is Julena Johnson Doudt, and my ancestors include the Crankheyte, Syboutzen, Ryder, deLint, Pieters, etc.  I have even found out that one of them was included in the 60 or so people who managed to escape the Massacre at Naarden.  (I am humbled by knowing that I would not exist if he hadn't escaped!)

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Me please if you don't mind ,

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Hello! I’m Laurie Cable Olsson, Cable-115. I was fascinated to discover my Dutch ancestors while researching several years ago. Some of them include Romeyn, Van Dyke, Wyckoff, Haegen, Dirckse, Janse.

I would love to collaborate with others on improving our ancestors profiles.

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I am working on processing the backlog of requests that were posted as comments. [Folks: Please post your request by using the Answer this post button.]

A hearty welcome to the New Netherland Settlers project to John Diefenbach, Nathaniel Eaton, Kristin Robinson, Mitchell Wilcox.

You all have the badge now.

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More welcomes to new project members Jan Wink, Jared Crayk, Julena Doudt, and Laurie (Cable) Olsson. We look forward to your contributions.

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Thank you very much, Ellen! Looking forward to participating in this project!

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Hello, my name is Dawn Stansell (Harrold)  I'm very curious about this group as I have relatives who were in New York area in the time of this period.  My 9th removed Great grandmother was Elizabeth De Graff, born in 1697, who married my Great grandfather Nicholas Stansell ,born in 1669, in 1710 in New York. Her parents were Claas De Graff and Elisabeth Brouwer.If eligible I would love to join.

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Welcome to Dawn.

Answer 1

Greetings from a descendant of Roelof Cornelisz (van Houten) (Cornelissen-2) as well as many other New Netherland families. I am pleased that there is already a profile for the progenitor of my family, but disappointed that two of the children (Henry and Catherine) listed as his are ones I researched years ago and rejected. According to my memories of the research of the time, they are the children of Roelof de Duytser,

Answer 2

I am interested in joining the New Newtherlands project.  My ancestors trace back to Johann Harderberg.Hardenberg-22

Comments

I have awarded you the badge. Please see the comment on your profile for more info, and welcome to the NNS Project!

Answer 3

I would like to join the New Netherlands project.I have done a lot of research on my many Dutch ancestors and would like to contribute and collaborate with project members to improve all of our shared profiles.

Comments

I have awarded you the badge. Please see the comment on your profile for more info, and welcome to the NNS Project!

Answer 4

Hello, my name is Joseph Boyle and am interested in joining the New Netherland Settlement Project. I have ancestors from Holland and England who settled in the New Jersey, New York and Connecticut settlements in the 1600's. My father and my maternal grandfather were avid genealogists and I have inherited their extensive notes. My profile is Boyle-2287.

Comments

I have awarded you the badge. Please see the comment on your profile for more info, and welcome to the NNS Project!

Answer 5

I am interested in joining this project as I am descended from several families including Teunis Covert/Coeveres, Joseph Waldron, Adam Van Zandt, Catherine Le Fevere, Bourgoun Brocard, and Claus Cornelius. I continue my search in knowing more about their lives in the new colony. I have been researching for years, and I am amazed at all the new information that turns up! I am happy with your striving towards accuracy and courtesy. Thanks.

Comments

Sorry, I have been behind on admitting people to the project. I see your second message below, so this comment is just to keep a record that a response has now been given.

Answer 6

I am interested in the New Netherlands Project because I have Dutch ancestors that came to Long Island References to Flatbush. Adriaen Hendricksen Aten's sons migrated to Hunterdon and Somerset Counties in the Raritan Valley of New Jersey Correspondence is on file in the Manuscript Room  of Rutgers University, Brunswick, New Jersey. He is son of Hendrick and Marie de Mott Aten

Comments

Hello Gloria,

Sorry it has taken me a while to get to your request to join. We would be very happy to have correct, expand, and improve the profiles related to your Aten line.

I see you have signed the Honor Code. The other thing we look for before awarding the project badge and officially letting a member into the project is a number of contributions made over a period of time. For instance, 100 edits made over the course of a few weeks shows some commitment to Wikitree. If you decide to continue with WikiTree, then once you have made, say, 100 contributions, please click through my name here and send me a private message and I can revisit your request.

Regards,

Barry

Answer 7

Greetings! I'm interesting in joining the New Netherland Settlers Project. I'm a descendant of the van Rensselaers, the van Burens, the van Wycks, the Cuylers, the Gansevoorts, the ten Broecks, and many others. I recently worked on the profiles of my fourth great grand-parents, Theodorus Van Wyck Graham and Magdalena Ten Broeck, both of whom seem to qualify as New Netherland descendants. I currently live in Rhinebeck, New York, and am happily surrounded by the place-names of so many New Netherland settlers. Thank you!

Comments

Hello John,

Thank you for directing me to the profiles of your 4th-great-grandparents. I see you have excellent familiarity with a variety of sources, including some used often by the NNS Project. Thank you for your contributions already. I have awarded you the project badge. Please see the comment on your profile for more info, and welcome to the NNS Project!

Answer 8

New Netherlands Project are holders of my ancestors secrets, those who lived along the Hudson River after Henry Hudson made his voyage 1609.  My husband is of Polish Heritage, thus our grandchildren have lineage to Albrecht Zabriskie 1638-1711, my husband's sister has lineage to Klock Genealogy through her 2nd husband, my husband's sister has Avery Genealogy through Avery Clan of Groton, CT.  My GGGF's 3rd wife links to Dutch Settlers on the Hudson River.  Will share my documents.

Comments

My Father's sister Dora Stone married Grover Cleveland Mix, perhaps Stephen Mix, Coordinator may share.  Barry Smith descends from Joseph Pendleton 1661-1706, my grandson descends from William Pendleton 1704-1786, son of Joseph 1661 and his second wife.

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Hello Joan,

I have awarded you the project badge. Please see the comment on your profile for more info, and welcome to the NNS Project!

Answer 9

My adopted family is in this group.  I have recently found out that because of DNA I am also blood related to this family.

Comments

Hello Debbie,

Thank you for your interest in the New Netherland Settlers Project. Can you provide a little more specific information about your interest in profiles covered by the project? Either a surname of interest, or a WikiTree profile for a person of interest?

Regards,

Barry

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I am interested in the following families: Polhemus, TenEyck, Livingston, de Peyster, Verhulst, Vandevere, vanderWerven, Mandeville are all direct lines to my grandfather who (by DNA) is a cousin.  He was my mother's adopted father.  Thank you

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That is fascinating about your adoptive grandfather's DNA matching! I awarded you the project badge and put a comment on your profile. Welcome to the NNS Project!

Answer 10

My late father's family was settled in the New Netherlands area near Albany New York since the 1600s. We have an extensive tree in this area and I am interested in how their lives were. Some surnames from my family include VanderPoel, VanBuren, Van Deursen, Bries, Hoes, VandenBergh, VanNess, just to name a few, there are many more.

Answer 11

I would like to join this group to further the research my father began on our ancestors the Tunisons and Terhunes in the 1990s. There are also other allied families who are descended from the New Amsterdam and New Netherlands settlers that would be interesting to research. My father helped those who were trying to make a connection to the relatives in our family tree and would like to continue this effort. I have added family members when discovered where they are buried in Find a Grave.

Comments

Hello,
Thank you for your interest in the New Netherland Settlers project. Do you have a WikiTree account? Most people who post have a link to their account, but your answer just shows you as anonymous with no account link. The project is pretty open to new members, but we do require members to have signed the Wikitree Honor Code, for instance.

Regards,

Barry

Answer 12

Like many of you, I seem to have had many ancestors among the New Netherlands colonies, in both Esopus and Brazil.  Still working on connections, but one interesting man was a sea captain and for a time the head of the Dutch company that had colonies in both places.  Also, just now I was following the line of Cornelia Jansen De Duyster and her parents Margrietje Cornelisse and Jan Wilhelmszen De Duyster.  Of course there are many variations of the names, and this is what I found on family search.  Still, I have not dived in deep yet on sources... looking for more info.  
Thank you all for your hard work!

Comments

Hello Darlissa,

Thank you for your interest in the New Netherland Settlers Project. I have awarded you the project badge. Please see the comment on your profile for more info, and welcome to the NNS Project!

Regards,

Barry

Answer 13

My paternal lines have many New Netherland roots. The obvious one to start with is Cornelius Jansen Vanderveer and Tryntje DeMandeville.

Other last names include Bergen, DuBois, Denyse, Luyster, Rapalje, Schenck, Van Kouwenhoven, Van Neiukirk, Van Voorhees (and all of the various spellings/forms of the names)  

I have other Dutch names in my tree that I can't get past Monmouth County, NJ in the 1800s, and haven't really chipped at those walls yet.

I have been slowly adding people/families to my tree on here. So far it's a little "wider" than it is "long."  I am trying to research and update trees in four different places.

I generally don't upload GED coms because if there is an error in the facts, I sure won't catch it if I don't see it. Adding them individually has me reviewing all of my sources and documents, so hopefully, it's more accurate on all ends, and mistakes are corrected, not copied.

Comments

I sent you a PM, but I'm posting this comment here so that hopefully one of those notifications reaches you.

Answer 14

Hello, I would like to join this group as my ancestor’s surnames include: Hummel/Hommel, Van Loon, Snider/Snyder, Van Hoesen, Kehl, Merckel, Buggenmeyer, Swart, Frere, Faulkner, Hendricksen and others.  I am just now learning about these folks, and the reasons for immigration.  Would love to know more about how they lived and survived.  My most direct line is the Hummel one, from my great, great grandfather Barnet E Hummel, 1827 - 1894.

Comments

Hello S,

Thank you for your interest in the project. We generally admit people to the project once they have shown a sustained interest in Wikitree by making a number of contributions over a period of, say, several weeks. For instance, you would need to add some profiles of your ancestors to your WikiTree profile and hopefully connect yourself to the main tree here.

If you do decide to continue with Wikitree and at some point, after creating some profiles and doing some editing of others, you still have interest in the project, please reach out again.

Regards,

Barry

Answer 15

Hi My name is Robert Hebert and doing research on maternal grandparents Skidmore & Van Nostrand. 

Thanks,

Rob

Comments

I sent you a private message, but I'm posting this comment here so that hopefully one of those notifications reaches you.

Answer 16

Greetings, My father was proud of his Dutch ancestry and would be amazed with the information that is now available delivered to our own homes via the Internet. I am a history major, and I am captivated by the stories of the Dutch creating a colony in the New World. I hope to learn more. My ancestral lines include of course, Covert, but also Brokaw, Corneilus, Duryea, LaFevere, Lucas, Rutgers, Selover, Van der Poel, Van Zandt, and Waldron.

Comments

I have awarded you the badge. Please see the comment on your profile for more info, and welcome to the NNS Project!

Answer 17

Hello! I am interested in this project due to my ancestors who resided at or near Fort Orange (New York) at the time.  Pieter van Woggelum came from the Netherlands (born abt. 1610) and resided until his death in Albany known as Fort Orange.  His death was sometime after June of 1681.  His descendants surnames are Ral or Roll and Personnette.

I have other ancestral lines as well.The Van Schoonoven's, Van Auken and others.  Kingston, Ulster, New York seems to come up alot in my ancestry in that time.  Is it considered New Netherland region?  I do alot of genealogy and historical research and have wanted to do more in this region.  My specialty that I do for a living is First Nation and Metis ancestry.  I would like to search this area though as I've been wanting to work on some of my own lines.  I could contribute this way. Thank you.  Noreen Kruzich

Comments

Glad to have you in this project, Noreen. You and I have bumped into each other some already.

Note that our WikiTree projects are (of necessity) somewhat compartmentalized, so you may find yourself being asked to divide your brain more than you might like. Although there was extensive interaction in New Netherland between indigenous people and Europeans, we let the projects for Native Americans and First Nations call the shots on most indigenous (and Metis) genealogical topics related to New Netherland, because they specialize in dealing with the special sensitivities and evidentiary issues associated with these populations.

Answer 18

We are trying to connect my husband's  Cronk/Kronk/Kronkheyt  ancestors (in all their 30+ spellings of the name) to the rest of the family, but are missing a link or two. His line settled in Orange Co, NY by the late 18th century. There were at least two John Kronk or Kronkheyts there well into the 19th century; the line we are tracing lived in Storm King Clove close to the Hudson.

Answer 19

Please accept my request to join the New_Netherlands project. I have researched my paternal Post ancestors to Lambertje Roelofse Seubering and Jan Gerritsen Stryker, my 8x grt grandparents. My 3x great grandfather, John Eastlick married Elizabeth Stryker in 1804. Elizabeth Stryker's ancestry traces back to Jan Gerritsen Stryker who immigrated to New Amsterdam Colony about 1652. 

Answer 20

Very interested in joining your project.  I have two families who settled in the Newburgh-Schenectady-Montgomery, Orange County area in the early 1600s:  William Miller (probably Wilhelmus Mueller...were there umlauts in New Netherland?..... and Burger Meynders (Mynders) and his daughter, Elsje.  I read with great interest your section on naming conventions and my first step will be to revise my tree to conform to your guidance.  Christopher J Ritz, Davidson NC