Much of our energy over the past months has been directed toward planning our beloved New Netherland Institute conference, a fixture of the fall schedule for many years. We’re pleased to be able to return to an in-person event this year after a two-year hiatus. At the same time, we’ve learned a great deal from the past couple of years, and we know that our members value the flexibility of online accessibility. This year’s conference, “Alida Livingston’s World: Women in New Netherland and Early New York,” will be a hybrid event. It will be held at the New-York Historical Society and live-streamed via their website. Full details are provided below. The New Netherland Institute Board and I thank the New-York Historical Society, the New Amsterdam Project, The Netherland-America Foundation, and the Dutch Consulate in New York for working with us to put this blockbuster event together, and I hope to see many of you in New York City in October. ~ Deborah Hamer

The fall lineup for NNI’s Scholars' Seminar is here! The monthly events run Wednesdays from 12-1:30 (Eastern). To sign up and receive the paper to be presented, see the instructions here.

Culinary historian Peter G. Rose is issuing a call for old, hand-written, family cookbooks. Dutch settlers brought with them well- established and well-documented food ways, and remaining manuscript cookbooks that were handed down in the settlers' families show that they continued to cook and celebrate in the manner of their forebears. From the evidence delivered by those simple, dog-eared, smudged cookbooks, some of which almost crumble when touched, you can surmise that the Dutch left a lasting mark on the American kitchen. Waffles, wafers, pancakes, doughnuts, pretzels, coleslaw, and above all cookies are all part of America's culinary heritage brought here by the Dutch in the 17th Century, and recipes for these items can be found in those books. Perhaps your ancestors were early Dutch settlers and you have an old family cookbook?  If so, and you are willing to discuss sharing it with Peter, email pgrose2006@yahoo.com.

In many cases, the blank pages in the front and back of old family Bibles or the pages in between the Old and New Testaments contain records not only of births, deaths, etc. but also records of unusual events such as earthquakes and heavy snow falls. It is the intention of the NNRC Dutch Bible Project to extract this information from copies of the images that you take with your mobile phone.  The NNRC will translate the text and develop a finding aid for the information. The database will then be available on the NNI website. So far, we have images of text on Bible pages from the collection at the New York State Library, the Albany Institute of History and Art, the Schenectady County Historical Society, the Old Dutch Reformed Church (Kingston, NY), the Schuyler Mansion (Albany, NY), and the Clifton Park Historical Society. If you have 17th-Century Dutch Bibles or know of any in other locations, we would be pleased to hear from you. Please contact Marilyn Douglas, NNI Board President, at mdouglas@newnetherlandinstitute.org or call (518) 408-1212 (Tuesdays).

The Dutch American Group (DAG) is an affiliation of individuals, institutes, societies, and other organizations that have an interest in researching, educating, or preserving source materials pertaining to the history and role of the Dutch in America. If your historical society, institute, or organization would like to become a member of DAG please email Dirk Mouw at dirk.mouw@earthlinnk.net. Please indicate the organization that you represent. To learn more about DAG, click the link at the bottom of NNI's main webpage. 

DAGNN-L is our NEW information list which is a source of information for New Netherland related events, activities, conferences, and research. It is also for anyone interested in the Dutch in the Atlantic world and replaces the NewMarc-L mailing list. To subscribe to DAGNN-L, or for further information or assistance, please contact the list owner, DAGNN-L-request@listserv.nysed.gov. 

Joyce Goodfriend's book is now available as a paperback from Cornell.

Jake Selwood's book looks at the life of an English planter under Dutch rule in 17th-Century Suriname and is available from Cornell.

Nicole Maskiell’s book explores how the use of enslaved labor helped elevate several Northeast families to prominence, including those of Dutch descent. It is available from Cornell.

Recent volumes of the journal contain articles on early New York City and environs. The summer 2022 table of contents can be found here, and includes the roundtable “Decentering Early New York City’s History,” with articles by Benjamin Carp, John Dixon, Joyce Goodfriend, and David Gellman.

NNI will provide a three-month research residency grant of $5,000 in 2023 to a Dutch Ph.D. candidate, which is intended to defray the cost of a residency at the NNRC, with the research taking place there as well as the New York State Library and the New York State Archives (all in Albany, New York). The research must focus on the field of New Netherland history, its legacy, and the Dutch Atlantic World, using the records of New Netherland. Genealogical research is excluded. For information about the Fulbright-NNRC program, click the Programs link on NNI's main webpage. 

Please note that applications must include an invitation to apply from the NNRC. To request an invitation, email nni@newnetherlandinstitute.org with a brief description of your topic by November 1, 2022.  

The Jacob Leisler Institute for the Study of Early New York History (Hudson, New York) is pleased to announce it has selected Olivia Dumont, a graduating senior from Ichabod Crane High School (Kinderhook, New York) as the 2022 recipient of the Ruth Piwonka Scholarship. Olivia demonstrated both passion and dedication to the study of history through her submitted essay which was supported by a strong letter of recommendation and an outstanding high school transcript. Given the strength of her application, the board decided that Olivia was the candidate of choice for receiving the award. The scholarship, in memory of Columbia County historian Ruth Piwonka, will help to further Olivia’s education at Middlebury College. 

This scholarship is given annually in memory of Columbia County historian Ruth Piwonka, Trustee Emeritus of Jacob Leisler Institute, who passed away in August 2021. Former executive director of the Columbia County Historical Society, 1976–1983, and author of numerous works on Columbia County, Ruth was Kinderhook Village Historian at the time of her death. Her affiliations in Columbia County were broad, covering school districts throughout the county. The scholarship is open to students in the school districts that Ruth affected. 

Donations to the Ruth Piownka Scholarship fund may be made to the Jacob Leisler Institute, PO Box 86, Hudson NY 12534. For further information contact the Jacob Leisler Institute: info@jacobleisleristitute.org.