Dutch burial sites in the US: history and protection. 2008-2009

(Leon Bok)

By studying the cemeteries in the US where the ancestors of Dutch-Americans are buried, we were able to expand significantly our understanding of te way they used to bury and how they used the monuments and markers on their graves. This knowledge was used to point out the common history of our two countries to audiences in the Netherlands, especially around the celebration of the moment 400 years ago that the Dutch sailors set eyes on the great river that was to be named the Hudson. The project was a collaboration of the Dutch Dodenakkers Foundation (stichting Dodenakkers.nl) with the Monument Conservation Collaborative (MCC), leaders in the field of historic gravestone conservation in the US with support of historic preservation professor Norman Weiss of the Columbia University.

More information on the project.

Hier Leydt Begraven: A Primer on Dutch Colonial Gravestones. 2007-2014

(Brandon Richards)

Exploring the oldest colonial burial monuments in the Hudson Valley. Results of the study were published in 2014 in the article Hier Leydt Begraven: A Primer on Dutch Colonial Gravestones.

More information on the project (with link to the article).

Please inform us on your project on Dutch funerary heritage in the USA.

In 2009, the 400th anniversary of the landing of Henry Hudson on the island of Manhattan was extensively celebrated. New research was revealed, many books appeared, and large exhibitions were set up around this theme. In the same year the Dodenakkers.nl foundation proposed for a project involving Dutch burial sites in the US. A collaboration was set up with the Monument Conservation Collaborative (MCC), leaders in the field of historic gravestone conservation in the US with support of historic preservation professor Norman Weiss of the Columbia University.

In the US not much attention was given to the gravestones of New Netherlands colonists in the Hudson Valley. Most knowledge was gathered from the remaining English gravestones and it was often suggested that the Dutch had no history in gravestones before 1690. Brandon Richards, an archaeologist, was intrigued by this part of history. He did an extensive research on what was left of the oldest colonial gravemarkers. He found out that these simple markers were remains of a larger use of simple markers, some made of wood.