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

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.

In cooperation with Dodenakkers.nl foundation Richards wrote a first draft on his research in Markers XXIV: Annual Journal of the Association for Gravestone Studies. This article, an introduction to early burial markers was then published on the Dodenakkers.nl website. After this Richards gathered more information, visited dozens of cemeteries and in 2014 finally published his results in the article Hier Leydt Begraven: A Primer on Dutch Colonial Gravestones.

Richards work is a huge contribution to the understanding of how the first colonists marked the graves of there beloved. With his research he filled a gap in the history on early Dutch funerary heritage in the US.

Link to the article (opens in new window)