The Holland Society of New York

10/07/2025

October is Family History Month. The Genealogy tab of the Holland Society website has lots of New Netherland family history to explore:
- Family Names of Settlers of New Netherland which qualify for membership into the Holland Society
- Family & Bible records digitized by the Holland Society
- Family Archives in our files including letters, genealogies and press clippings
Under the same tab, we also have a page about finding professional Genealogy Resources as well as a Research Guide. https://bit.ly/3NhuGef

10/02/2025

Holland Society Midwest Branch President, Kelly VanWormer, is organizing an event in Holland, Michigan, Saturday November 1st. Dr. Robert Swierenga of the Van Raalte Institute at Hope College will be speaking at the luncheon. The title of his presentation will be 'Helping Hands: Old Dutch Aid Young Dutch' and focus on the role of the Old Dutch in New York and New Jersey in financing the Michigan Colony. Everyone interested in the Holland Society and the history of New Netherland is welcome to join. For more information and to register: https://hollandsociety.org/events/midwest-branch-event/.

The A. C. Van Raalte Institute is an internationally recognized leader in historical research. The institute focuses on Dutch American history of the 19th and 20th centuries; the history of Holland, Michigan, and its subcultures; and the history of Hope College.

10/01/2025

Tomorrow evening October 2nd at the Hudson Area Library.

"Waterways, Footpaths & Wagon Ways: Hudson River Trade Prior to the Founding of Hudson", a lecture by Justin Wexler and David William Voorhees. This in-person lecture will be hosted in the Community Room at the Hudson Area Library on Thursday, October 2, at 6PM

The Jacob Leisler Institute for the Study of Early New York History, in collaboration with the Hudson Area Library, will be hosting this in-person presentation with Justin Wexler, a local researcher on indigenous peoples, and David William Voorhees, director of the Leisler Institute. They will be speaking on the infrastructure of waterways and land paths used for trade by the indigenous and the Dutch and English colonists prior to Hudson’s founding.

The Jacob Leisler Library Lectures are made partially possible through the generous support of the Van D**e Family Foundation, HRBT Foundation, and Bank of Greene County Charitable Foundation.

10/01/2025

October is our Dinner Dance month! Preparations for our 135th Annual Dinner Dance on October 25 at the Lotos Club are in full swing and we can’t wait to welcome everyone! If you haven’t purchased your ticket yet, please do it now https://bit.ly/4fZ9iYS.

It is going to be a wonderful black-tie event starting with cocktails in the Lotos Club Library, dinner in the Ballroom, and not to forget the Society’s traditional parading of the beaver. This year’s honoree will be Louise Mirrer, President and CEO of the New York Historical. Music will be again by the Peter Duchin Orchestra.

09/30/2025

On Wednesday September 24th, 2025, Zaskorski & Associates Architects presented a Zoom lecture about the restoration of the historic Cornelius Van Wyck House, located in Douglaston Manor, Queens. Overlooking Little Neck Bay, it was designated as a landmark by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1966 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Click here to view the recording of the lecture https://bit.ly/3VGphBO.

Built in the early 18th century, the Cornelius Van Wyck House is one of the few remaining examples of Dutch colonial-era architecture in Queens. Its significance lies both in its architectural design and its connection to the early history of New York City. The Van Wyck family, prominent in the area’s development, originally constructed the house as a rural estate fronting Little Neck Bay, where trade with native peoples took place. Over the years, the Cornelius Van Wyck House has remained a symbol of the neighborhood’s heritage. The restoration of the Cornelius Van Wyck House has had a profound impact on the Douglaston community.

Carlo Zaskorski, along with Jason Gross and Jason Galindo briefed us on the restoration project which aimed to restore the house to its original dignity while addressing the structural and aesthetic issues that had developed over time. The restoration was executed with approvals from the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to ensure all modifications adhered to landmark preservation guidelines.

09/26/2025

𝐇𝐒𝐍𝐘 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 - In our Holland Society Library Treasures series we are happy to put our mascot in the spotlight.

The Holland Society adopted the beaver as its mascot in 1939. The beaver was chosen as symbol of the spirit of the settlement and growth of New Amsterdam in honor of the beaver trade that was a vital part of the early Dutch economy in New Netherland, particularly for fur trade.

“If it had not been for the wealth of Beaver pelts that poured into Old Amsterdam during the first years after Henry Hudson’s arrival, there would have probably been no New Amsterdam,” wrote Ottomar H. van Norden in Volume XIV No. 2 of the Society’s magazine de Halve Maen proposing the Holland Society adopts the beaver as its talisman. “The Dutch recognized all this. The first Armorial insignia granted to New Netherland in 1624 was the effigy of the Beaver, and the formal seal of New Amsterdam, granted by Governor Stuyvesant in 1654 also had the Beaver for its crest.”

Mr. van Norden’s suggestion to use the beaver as its mascot was approved and, started at the 1939 Annual Banquet, the parading of the beaver at Society dinner dances to the tune of the song ‘Stout-Hearted Men’ has now become a cherished tradition. Since 1939, the mascot had to be replaced several times with the latest version presented by George van Gorder in 1974.

09/25/2025

On September 18th, The Holland Society’s Board of Trustees, approved seven New Line members, two Legacy members and two Friends for election to the Society.

Those who are interested in joining the Holland Society of New York are able to do so through two means: through regular membership or by becoming a Friend of the Society. If you know of relatives that have been members of the Society, you can take advantage of the Legacy application based on their relation to you. For more information and eligibility requirements, visit our website https://hollandsociety.org/join/ or contact us at membership@hollandsociety.org.

09/24/2025

Check out the September edition of the Holland Society’s enewsletter! Fall has officially arrived and it is time to purchase your tickets for our signature black tie Dinner Dance event and a book presentation about the hidden history of Delftware on October 25th. https://hollandsociety.org/2025/09/september-2025/.

On our website’s news page, you can read past e-newsletters to learn more about the Holland Society’s activities and projects. If you would like to sign up to receive our monthly enewsletter visit https://hollandsociety.org/newsletter-archives/

09/21/2025

🏠 Zaskorski & Associates Architects present a Zoom lecture on the Historic Cornelius Van Wyck House Preservation
The lecture is hosted by The Holland Society of New York 🇳🇱

📅 September 24 | 11:00 AM (ET)
🔗 Register on The Holland Society of New York website

This online lecture will explores the restoration of the historic Cornelius Van Wyck House, located in Douglaston Manor, Queens. Overlooking Little Neck Bay, it was designated as a landmark by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1966 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Built in the early 18th century, the Cornelius Van Wyck House is one of the few remaining examples of Dutch colonial-era architecture in Queens. Its significance lies both in its architectural design and its connection to the early history of New York City.

Image: Courtesy of Zaskorski & Associates Architects

09/17/2025

Fall is in the air! If you haven’t signed up yet for the Holland Society’s 135th Dinner Dance on October 25th at the Lotos Club, now is the time to do so. Dr. Louise Mirrer, President and CEO of the New York Historical, will be presented with the 2025 Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement for her contributions to the City of New York. This Black Tie event is one of our signature events and will be open to Members, Friends, Fellows, and Guests. For Non-members that are interested in attending: please note that this year we require an introduction from a current Holland Society Member or Friend prior to ticket purchase. Please click here to make your selection and reserve your spot https://bit.ly/4fZ9iYS

09/16/2025

The 2024-2025 issue of de Halve Maen has been published. This latest issue of our scholarly magazine includes part one of a two-part series by historian Kenneth Shefsiek on Stuyvesant’s funding of the Reformed church and an article by Leo Schreuders on the impact of Dirk van Reede van Amerongen and Godard van Reede van Nederhorst on the settlement of New Netherland as well as an excellent book review by Christopher Cortright of Russell Shorto’s latest work, Taking Manhattan: the Extraordinary Events that Created New York and Shaped America.

Online subscribers can access the magazine online. Non-members that are interested in a print subscription or online access to the Society’s magazine, please visit our website to subscribe https://bit.ly/3MouucD

09/15/2025

Today is so we’re shining our on felt hats! In the 17th century, these accessories were extremely popular in Europe. High end hats were often made from felted beaver fur, but overhunting in Europe had driven Eurasian beaver populations to the brink of extinction.

European hatters needed a new source of fur, and merchants were eager to secure such a source as they established new trade routes around the globe. In 1609, the Dutch East India Company hired English explorer Henry Hudson with the hope that he could find them a new route to Asia. Instead, he returned to them with news of the river we now call the Hudson River, and the Indigenous peoples who lived there. The Dutch investors were particularly excited when they learned that the local Native Americans had traded beaver pelts to Hudson & his crew. The Dutch spent the next several decades establishing the New Netherland colony for the purpose of supplying beaver pelts- and therefore hats- to Europe.

You can learn more about the process of turning beaver pelts into stylish hats from this resource by the Historical Societyhttps://www.mnhs.org/.../ft-08-hatmaking-instructions.pdf

🖼 English women with a wide-brimmed hat, Wenceslaus Hollar, 1640, Rijksmuseum