This sketch of The Wall can be found in the margin of the court minutes of New Amsterdam. (page 103 in pencil)

The translation is here.

h/t Julie van den Hout

Schenectady County Community College
Thursdays, April 16 – May 21
6-8:30 p.m.
Fee: $125
Instructor: Jessica Nelson

“Students will delve into some of the people and things that made the Dutch colony of New Netherland so unique on the colonial American landscape. Students will draw on a combination of translated documents, archaeological materials, and academic sources to visit the famous and everyday New Netherlanders who settled in the Hudson Valley and built their lives in this new West India Company colony. The class will explore what it meant to be a small colony established by a trading company in 17th century America, explore the diverse colonial population who lived here, and explore the archaeological assemblages they left behind. Students will be encouraged to contribute their own questions, topics, and projects to the course as they uncover this Dutch chapter in our local and regional history.”

The New Netherland Institute offers an annual $1,000 prize for the best published article relating to the Dutch colonial experience in the Atlantic world, with a special sensitivity to New Netherland or its legacy. The Clague and Carol Van Slyke Article Prize is named in their memory and given in honor of their New Netherland ancestry.

Tax law changes in 2019 prevent donors from deducting gifts to non-profits unless they itemize deductions and meet other qualifications. Most people are unable to do this and therefore must take the new expanded standard deduction.

All is not lost, however. It is still possible to lower your tax bill when taking your RMD, which is counted as ordinary income. To do so, you must inform the custodian of your IRA (usually a brokerage house or a bank) of your intent to treat a part of your RMD (Required Minimum Deduction) as a QCD (Qualified Charitable Deduction). For example, your RMD is $10,000 for 2019 but you wish to donate $2,500 to the New Netherland Institute. By informing the custodian of your wish and supplying them with the name and address of NNI and our tax ID number (14-1672400), you have established a QCD and your taxable amount is reduced by the size of your gift. As previously, the amount donated is limited to $100,000. Don’t we all wish we were in that position.

It’s a win-win situation for you and for the non-profit of your choice, one of which we hope will be the New Netherland Institute. As in all cases, however, consult with your tax adviser.

Send your donation now, but also remember to do so for our 2020 end-of-year appeal!

On January 9, Dr. David W. Voorhees delivered the first lecture of the Institute's 2020 series in the Hudson Area Library’s History Room. The topic was colonial census enumerations in what is now Columbia County.

The next lecture in the series will be “‘Imagination Aided by the Painter's Brush’: The Creation of the Purchase of Manhattan, 1844–1909” by NNI director Stephen McErleane. Should be a great one.

In other news, the Leisler Institute's collections continue to grow. The Hon. Albert Rosenblatt, former New York State Supreme Court Justice and noted legal scholar, has agreed to donate his collection of works relating to the Dutch in New York.

The conversation Charly and I had this past month took a rather somber tone. We reminisced on the passing of two long-time supporters of the New Netherland Project and the Friends of New Netherland—now the New Netherland Research Center and the New Netherland Institute—George Damiano and Carole Huxley. Ironically, George and Carole both died on January 26, 2020.  

George, an NNI member for over thirty years, attended most every New Netherland event held in Albany. He was a generous financial contributor to these events and to Charly's work in general. Last year, in describing the establishment of New Netherland Day I wrote that “In 1990, NNI member George Damiano succeeded in getting an annual commemoration of New Netherland. On 25 July 1990, Governor Mario M. Cuomo signed the bill into law designating October 11th of each year as New Netherland Day— and the rest is history.” In 2011, George contributed an article to de Nieu Nederlanse Marcurius 27, 2- 4 titled “New Netherland Highway Designation,” which began, “To enhance public awareness of New Netherland as an entity in the Middle Atlantic region of the U.S. (i.e. Delaware, New Jersey and New York), Congress should be petitioned to designate “U.S. Post Road – Route 9” as the NEW NETHERLAND HIGHWAY. (Note: U.S. “9” also has a permanently designated alternate route on the West Shore of “Hudson’s River” – “North River” – known as 'U.S. 9W' extending from Fort Lee, New Jersey to Albany, New York).  Such an initiative (the New Netherland Highway) could serve to focus attention on the Dutch roots of this key region that nurtured the 'American Experience' in pluralism for over four hundred years.” Perhaps, someday someone will take up the challenge. Read the full article across issues 2, 3, and 4.

Charly often encountered George in the Empire State Plaza concourse when George was collecting his mail.George almost always had a question or a thought about New Netherland history that wanted to share. He will be missed.

Marilyn 

Knowing my interest in E.B. O'Callaghan, George approached me at an NNI conference a few years back with the idea that we cajole the city of Albany into naming a currently unnamed street (more like a short transition between streets, I recall) after O'Callaghan. I don't remember where it was exactly. — Steve

Carole Huxley held the position of Deputy Commissioner for Cultural Education, of which the New Netherland Research Center is a part, from 1982 until her retirement in 2006. This position includes supervision of the NYS Archives, the NYS Library, the NYS Museum, and Public Broadcasting. Carole served as a trustee of the New Netherland Institute from 2007–2010. From the beginning of her tenure as Deputy Commissioner, Carole was incredibly supportive of Charly and his work. When they were both still very new in their positions, Carole facilitated a meeting between between Rob De Vos, Consul General of the Netherlands in New York and John King, NYS Commissioner of Education that proved very helpful for the Project. Carole and her husband Michael attended Charly’s birthday celebration last April and Charly showed them around the NYS Museum Fort Orange exhibit this past summer.

Marilyn

The Detroit Institute of Art hosts the exhibition From Bruegel to Rembrandt, the Polk Museum of Art hosts the exhibition Music & Dance in Painting of the Dutch Golden Age, the Saint Louis Art Museum will show several Van Goghs, and the Dallas Museum of Art will display two paintings by Frans Hals.

Image: “A Young Man Playing Cards,” mid 17th century, Unknown Dutch Artist, red chalk over black chalk on paper. Detroit Institute of Arts

Historian and preservationist Ruth Piwonka is this year’s recipient of the Martha Washington Woman of History Award. This award is given by Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site each year to a woman who has made a contribution to the history of the Hudson Valley through education, promotion, or preservation. The honor was inspired by Martha Washington, who resided in the Hudson Valley with her husband, General George Washington, during the last days of the Revolutionary War.