Four centuries ago this week, Henry Hudson in his vessel the Half Moon discovered the Hudson River. All along the Hudson Valley, we are celebrating the quadricentennial.
As an expat from Dixie, you'd think I had no real stake in the quadricentennial, but you'd be wrong. It turns out that some of my ancestors, the Van Hoozers and their kin and affines, were among the earliest settlers in the Hudson Valley and the founders of Claverack about an hour north of where I now live. One of the Van Hoozers made his way to North Carolina in the 18th century and spawned a great many southern descendants.
Jan Franze Van Hoozer (or Van Hussen as it was sometimes spelled then) was from Huss in Schleswig Holstein. He migrated to Amsterdam and then to the Hudson Valley in the 17th century.
I'm also related to Livingston of Livingston Manor, so I'm looking forward to the quadricentennial as a celebration of my heritage.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment