October is Colonial Heritage Month

COLONIAL  HERITAGE  MONTH

Celebrate by reading a book Or visiting a local historic site !

                            

           Wishing  you  great  discoveries !

Lord craven chapter National Society Colonial Dames XVIIC

              

Ruth-Anne Bolz in her Colonial attire at the Grave Marking
for Henrietta Foy at Poplar Grove on Feb. 28, 2013.

                Colonial Dames of 17^th Century is celebrating Colonial History Month. In celebration of this I thought I would tell you a little about the early Dutch settlers and some of the things we have because of them. Many of my ancestors were Dutch or made their way to Holland to get on a ship to come to New Amsterdam.

                The Dutch were a progressive and resourceful people. Though they only held the Island of Manhattan for about 40 years their influence in architecture, planning and folk life can still be clearly found.

                In New York and New Jersey there are many place with Dutch names; Harlem, Staten Island,  Brooklyn, Flushing, Hoboken, HoHoKus, Kinderkermack and Haverstraw. We have houses built in the Dutch Colonial style with steep peaked roofs or gambrel roofs, casement windows with leaded glass and Dutch doors. They build straight fronted houses in rows on straight streets. At the front door they built a wooden or brick platform with a bench on each side of the door were they sat on pleasant evenings. Anyone who has ever lived in the NY-NJ area knows that they were sitting on the stoop.

                Dutch women were independent and were treated equally under the law; the English thought they were loud and bossy! They retained their maiden names when they married, you can see that in church and town records. If an unmarried woman became pregnant, she had the right to take the father of the child to could and make him marry her. If he was married he would have to support the child. When she married she could choose to be declared MANUS – which granted her husband guardianship over her, which meant she still owned her own property or had her own wealth, but her husband administrated it for her and she could no to go court. If she declared herself USUS   - in a prenuptial agreement she rejected her husband’s guardianship; retained her own money and property, then could go to court; sue or be sued. When the English took over all that changed to English law.

                We have had five presidents of Dutch descent, Martin Van Buren, my 7tgh great aunt was his grandmother in addition Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, George HW and George Bush.

                Also from the Dutch we have Sinterklass or St. Nicholas, who comes on a white horse, garbed in a tall bishop’s hat, red cape, shiny ring and jeweled staff. He brings goodies for the good children and switches for the bad.

                In 1664, the English banned the use of the Dutch Language in schools. One resourceful teacher devised a plan. From this we get the phrase of “Passing the Buck.”We thank the Dutch people for giving us May Day, May Poles, New Year’s Open Houses, pancakes, donuts, cookies and tulips.

Posted by Ruth-Anne Bolz, member of the Stamp Defiance DAR Chapter in Wilmington, NC and member of  Lord Craven Colonial Dames; After the Grave Marking for Henrietta Foy, the Lord Craven Colonial Dames held a quarterly  meeting. It was at this meeting that Ruth-Anne Bolz gave the above report.