April 2016 – Page 3 – Sister Republics : Netherlands & America

“The Next Rembrandt”

By: Sooraz Bylipudi, Sridhar Sriram and Sachit Jain

Section 9

Source: http://www.livescience.com/54364-computer-creates-new-rembrandt-painting.html

“The Next Rembrandt” is a digitally-created interpretation of Rembrandt by inputting 346 of the painter’s works into a deep-learning algorithm. This algorithm, in turn, extracted subject matter, geometric patterns, and facial proportions from the works to create a new portrait of Rembrandt. After going through the algorithm, the portrait was then laid down on canvas by a 3D printer to recreate the depth of Rembrandt’s brushstrokes and illusion of texture. Truly, this work personifies the collision between old and new— art and science; thus questioning our ideas of what art really is.

Amsterdam

loading map - please wait...

Amsterdam 52.370216, 4.895168

For our exploration into Dutch heritage and its influence in the contemporary world, our group chose a different type of painting – The Next Rembrandt. As the name implies, the painting has a correlation to Rembrandt van Rijn, the famed Dutch painter and etcher. In fact, some could make the case that Rembrandt himself created The Next Rembrandt. However, the actual credit for this painting goes to Bas Korsten, Ben Haanstra, data analytics and teams from Microsoft, the Maurithsuis in The Hague, Technical University Delft, and the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdamm. Together, all of these entities created The Next Rembrandt – a portrait created by software that interpreted the geometry and composition of 346 of the artist’s works and an additional height map that mimicked the artist’s brushstrokes.

While The Next Rembrandt has yet to placed in a certain location, we are certain that the painting will find a home in Amsterdam, where it will be unveiled. The obvious reason for this location is presumably because of the intimate proximity of Amsterdam to Rembrandt’s heart. While The Next Rembrandt is presumed to reside in the Netherlands, the connections to America are found in the collaboration embraced by the project members. Microsoft, which appears to be the single tech corporation spearheading the group of data scientists and academics, is a renowned American company – and the sole American company in this case. However, what is interesting is the spirit of teamwork that was adopted by the entirety of the group members in order to accomplish this project – a spirit that echoes the partnership shared between early citizens and the Dutch in colonial America.

The Next Rembrandt stood out from the other artifacts that our group surveyed because of the precedence and standard that this project is setting. To blend the worlds of art and algorithm to mimic the work of one of the greatest artists in history opens up the potential of such technology to be applied for restoration projects and greater artistic feats. Furthermore, this “artifact” gives a voice to the data analytics, engineers, and academics alike of today by providing a novel way to look at the past – by virtually creating the past. In doing so, the students of today gain a hands-on example of topics studied for centuries. In a world that is constantly advancing in technology and programs, there is something humbling and academically tantalizing of using our advances to create a reflective way to look at and examine our past.

Bibliography:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/05/is-this-the-ultimate-rembrandt-portrait/

http://www.livescience.com/54364-computer-creates-new-rembrandt-painting.html

https://www.nextrembrandt.com/

https://espresso.economist.com/c05ac6c12d237b0c49173d25d0f704cc

Return to home page.

The Bull Stone House

By:Brittany Conlon, Irene Nicholas, Dina Thomas, Preety Saran

Section: 8

stonehouse760 (1)

Located in Orange County, New York, The Bull Stone House is a ten-room stone house that took thirteen years to complete. William Bull and Sarah Wells built the house in 1722; they were among the first settlers in Orange County. The house is extremely durable, and even endured an earthquake in 1728 during its construction. It is one of the oldest intact houses in all of New York, and it has one of only a few hundred surviving Dutch barns of the New World on its property. The house and its accompanying barn are also on the National Register of Historic Places.

Hamptonburgh, NY

loading map - please wait...

Hamptonburgh, NY 48.216038, 16.378984

After researching, we found that many buildings in New York as well as New Jersey were built by the Dutch. For example, the Bull Stone House, one of the oldest intact houses in all of New York, was built by Dutch settlers. The house was built by married couple, William Bull and Sarah Wells, in 1722. The Bull Stone House is located in Hamptonburgh, New York and has one of only a few hundred surviving Dutch barns in the New World on its property. The stone house which has ten rooms took thirteen years to complete and endured an earthquake in 1728 during its construction.

The house’s builders, Bull and Wells, had received the land which the Bull Stone House is built on as a wedding gift and worked together to build a home and life with each other. Bull was a stonemason and Wells had prior experience with building as she had previously built her own log cabin at the age of 16.

They both worked towards the construction of the house which reflects the more progressive concepts the Dutch adopted towards gender roles. Both husband and wife had active roles during the Bull Stone House’s construction, rather than the societal norm of having only men do the more physically strenuous work.

The house stands as a symbol of feminism by commemorating then eighteen-year-old Sarah Wells’ trek along the Hudson River, during which she courageously led an entourage of Native American guides and carpenters. She received 100 acres as payment for claiming the land; the Bull Stone House that she built with her husband is a physical manifestation of her achievements.

Works Cited

“Bull Run.” Civil War Trust. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

“Bull Stone House.” Bull Stone House. The William Bull and Sarah Wells Stone House Association, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

Sperling, Bert. “Best Places to Live in Hamptonburgh, New York.” Sperling’s Best Places. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

Return to home page.

Wyckoff House Museum: The Rural Past in Modern New York

Priyanka Chaterjee, Mena Hasaballa, Vivien Lin, Ziyad Razeq (Section 03)

Wyckoff-House2_credit-Wyckoff-House-Museum_full — The Wyckoff Museum was first established in 1937 as a reminder to people of Pieter Claesen Wyckoff, his descendants, and the former house which is located in Brooklyn, New York

The Wyckoff House Museum is located in Brooklyn, New York (5816 Clarendon Rd, Brooklyn, NY 11203). It was originally established by Pieter Claesen who arrived from the Netherlands on March 4, 1637 as an indentured servant. After six years of labor at Rensselaerswyck (modern-day Albany, NY), Claesen acquired this farmland and established himself as the wealthiest citizen of Nieuw Amersfoort. The name Wyckoff is derived from “Wyck” and “hof” which translates to ‘town’ and ‘magistrate,’ respectively. Claesen’s family continued to own and farm the land for generations from 1737 until 1901.

This site is a long-enduring landmark of early Dutch settlement during periods of immigration. It symbolizes the rise of social status through meritocratic efforts and the early establishment of American idealism. The house also functions as a reminder of the changing landscapes and altering social configurations of the Brooklyn area over the years, demonstrating the transient transition from rural Dutch colonial farming settlements to wealthy Nineteenth century industrialism that cultivated the prominence of urban infrastructure. The Wyckoff House Museum serves as a living reminder of the struggle and impetus that was invested in establishing Dutch prominence in early America. It plunges visitors into the life of these early settlers, with its one-and-a-half acres of surrounding farmland and limited access to electricity. The original culture of colonials is preserved.

Today, the house is open to visitors as a museum. Its mission is to educate visitors about the diverse peoples of Brooklyn’s colonial farms.” (Wyckoff Farmhouse & Education Center) It is very community-oriented, hosting family day events and school trips. It is a marvelous spot for photo shoots and the backdrop for films which portrays the historical elegance of a rural lifestyle. The house and its surrounding farmlands are also open for wedding rentals.

The Wyckoff House Museum

loading map - please wait...

The Wyckoff House Museum 40.644350, -73.920777

The Jans Martense Schenck House

James Williams, Jonathan DiPippa, Anika Kumar (Section 04)

“The Schenck House, Avenue U between East Sixty-third and sixty-fourth Streets, is considered one of the oldest houses in New York City, the original section having been built in 1656. A white house with green shutters and red brick chimneys, it stands in a little hollow back of Public School 236, surrounded by old pine trees. Its Dutch origins are evident in the small twelve-paned windows and early round-end shingles. The slender-pillared front porch formed by an overhanging roof is an eighteenth-century addition.”

–From the (1939) WPA Guide to New York City

The original house as it stood in the 17th century.

Re-creation of the house in the Brooklyn Museum.

This landmark provides a real-life recreation of traditional Dutch architecture of the Colonial period. Those interested in Dutch history can see a rebuilt version of the house inside the Brooklyn Museum.

Schenck House does not have an specific connection to Rutgers history. However, some of the architecture of the house resembles the Kirkpatrick Church located on College Avenue. The high, rounded ceilings found in the are similar to the high roof of the house, which give both a unique, Dutch aspect. The window panes are also common of Dutch architecture, and was also found as a part of the church.

We picked this object because it is one of the oldest Dutch landmarks in the United States. We found it to be interesting due to its portrayal of rural Dutch life (they lived in small farmhouses on large tracts of land). The house is also representative of the Brooklyn area of Flatlands, which is still heavily populated with people of Dutch descent. The family living in the house was one of the first of Dutch descent to settle there.

The history associated with the house is interesting as well. Jan Martense Schenck arrived in New Netherlands in 1650 and bought the tract of land that the house stands on today from another man of Dutch descent, which simply shows how long the Dutch has had a presence in North America. The house was in place around 1676. The house was a part of the Schenck family for three generations. For the 275 years where it was originally located, it underwent many changes as tastes changed. When it was moved to the Brooklyn Museum in 1929, it was recreated to the Dutch colonial style it was originally. None of the original Dutch colonial furniture is known to have survived. The land in which the house once sat is now the site of elementary school P.S. 236.

Address of original location: 6302 Avenue U, Brooklyn, NY 11234

Modern site of the Schenck House

loading map - please wait...

Modern site of the Schenck House 40.615851, -73.912663

Description of Artifact:

The house as it was originally built in 1676 was simple yet complex for its time. It was a two-room structure, and in the middle featured a chimney. The interior was composed of H-bents, which are simply cross-sectional templates that were the strongest of its time. But this also made it stand out from nearby English architecture, which were more box-like than bent. A kitchen was added around the 1790s while the chimney was removed, and in the early 1800s, a porch was also added. The last reconstruction changes before the house was relocated to the Brooklyn Museum took place around 1900.

Works Cited:

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/features/schenck

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/exhibitions/2676/Jan_Martense_Schenck_House_1676_long-term_installation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jans_Martense_Schenck_house

http://www.kirkpatrickchapel.rutgers.edu/about/history

Return to home page.

The Journey of a VOC Duit

Amy Ho, Gabriel Duque, Joe Terzian, Meg Tsai, Snigdaa Sethuram

Screen Shot 2016-04-09 at 5.15.20 PM

The above pictured coin was found, buried in the ground, by a Rutgers student near the site of an old paper mill in Millburn, NJ, during one of his metal detecting trips. It is an original 1744 East India Company Duit, a copper coin equivalent to a modern penny. Its front (left) boasts the year and the VOC insignia, and the reverse (right) has the coat of arms of Holland, the coin’s place of mintage. These coins were also produced in Utrecht, Zeeland, and West Friesland; each province imprinted its respective coat of arms on the reverse of the coin, much like the unique insignias on the quarter here in the United States of America. Upon further inspection, this coin leads to a rich history of the family who owned the paper mill: ambitious immigrants with high hopes for their descendants.

Samuel Campbell was a Scottish immigrant who entered America with the intention of establishing a bookstore in New York City. The Campbells soon moved to New Jersey around 1785 to inhabit patch of land chartered by King Charles II, suitable for the construction of a paper mill, as well as a larger home for their growing family. The final location the Campbells chose was an area located in northern Elizabethtown (by the Newark mountains), due to its proximity to the Rahway River as well as its resemblance to Samuel’s native Scotland. Pictured below is a map of its location, as well as a modern-day photo of the plot of land they chose to build their home on, and a photo of the same location in 1899. This site is currently part of the South Mountain Reservation.

Samuel Campbell Home Site

loading map - please wait...

Samuel Campbell Home Site 40.736600, -74.306030

Screen Shot 2015-09-11 at 2.36.02 PM

Samuel built his paper mill across the road from his home, on the banks of the Rahway River. One of the most important contracts for Samuel Campbell’s paper mill, also known as Thistle Mill, came from the U.S. Treasury Department, for the purpose of producing paper for banknotes during the Revolutionary War. His mill paved the way for the construction of even more mills in the area, and towns grew profitable around them as well. Much like the industrialization of towns leading to an increase in population and gross income much later in America, the creation of these paper mills set certain towns ahead of others. The township of Millburn itself owes its name to the Campbells—Samuel called his factory the “mill on the burn”, because “burn” means “stream” in Scottish terms, and the township adopted the name in 1857. Amazingly, the history of this coin is much richer than that of Samuel’s.

Samuel married Euphemia Duyckinck, a member of an old, well-established Dutch family. Her great-great-great-grandfather, Evert Duyckinck, emigrated to the now United States from Borkel, North Brabant, The Netherlands, sometime around 1646. The family tree below traces Euphemia’s genealogy back to her great-great-great-grandfather.

Screenshot (6)

Immediately, he gained alliance with the Dutch Reformed Church in New York City, the very same church that established Rutgers University. Evert’s descendants maintained this relation to the church, some even serving as ministers in the mid-1700’s, and may have even influenced the creation of our University. This devotion to the Dutch Church included Euphemia, who married Samuel in a Dutch church.

This information has lead us to believe that the Duit belonged to either Euphemia, or a member of her family, and must have been some sort of keepsake to this individual, as the coin would hold no value during the late 1700s when the Campbells lived in their home.

It is amazing how something as small and seemingly insignificant as a coin can tell a story that spans centuries, and it is truly a testament to the widespread and impactful influence of the Dutch on our lives and our University today.

Works Cited

Bidwell, John. American Paper Mills, 1690–1832. 5th ed. Hanover: Dartmouth College, 2013. Print.

“Evert Duyckinck.” Genealogical Society of Bergen County. Ed. Joseph Boyle. Nov. 2015. Web. 1 Apr. 2016. <http://njgsbc.org/files/familyfiles/p584.htm>.

Lampe, W. Owen. Millburn: Short Hills. Charleston: Arcadia, 1999. Print.

Meisner, Marian K. A History of Millburn Township. Millburn/Short Hills Historical Society, 2002. Millburn Library. Millburn Free Public Library, 3 Sept. 2004. Web. 1 Apr. 2016.<http://millburnlibrary.org/site/1915www_/MillburnHistoryeBook.pdf>.

Sym, Jonathan. “Fun Fact: How Did Millburn Get Its Name?” TAPinto. 21 Feb. 2016. Web. 1 Apr. 2016. <https://www.tapinto.net/towns/millburn-slash-short-hills/categories/community-life/articles/fun-fact-how-did-millburn-get-its-name>.

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. Vol. 23. New York: New York

Genealogical and Biographical Society, 1892. Ancestral Trackers. Web. 1 Apr. 2016.<http://www.ancestraltrackers.org/ny/resources/new-york-genealogical-biographical-recordv23.pdf>.

Return to home page.

Dutch Roots: The Controversial History of the Orange Carrot

By Miranda Safir

The history of the orange carrot is surprisingly controversial. One expert, Koert van Mensvoort, argues that in the 1500s Dutch farmers from Hoorn in the northern Netherlands utilized selective breeding to grow orange carrots (RNW). Prior to this time carrots came in an expansive list of hues ranging from purple, yellow, and red. The wild carrot, which grew all over Europe and the Middle East, was first domesticated in Afghanistan thousands of years before the development of the orange carrot (Stolarczyk and Janick 13). Some people believe the orange carrot was developed by the Dutch as a symbol of patriotism, due to the newly established House of Orange by William of Orange. However, there is no evidence to back this theory up although it is widely believed to be true (RNW).

The World Carrot Museum describes a much more complex and contradictory origin story of the orange carrot, which points to the first record of their existence, which can be found in Byzantine manuscripts from 512 AD (Stolarczyk). It is clear, however, that the Dutch certainly mastered the domestication of the orange carrot. In a document by the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1940 on varieties of carrots, the Dutch are credited with developing the orange carrot and selling the seeds to the British who then brought them to early America. The publication states that by 1610 carrots and seeds were being sold in markets all over Amsterdam (United States 14). In the New Netherlands carrots became a staple in the garden and recipes (Barnes and Rose 58). Other publications credit English pilgrims entirely for the popularity of the orange carrot in the New World and for the quick adoption of the crop by Native Americans.

However, one should not forget where the orange carrot was born: the Netherlands. The Dutch should really get the credit for its creation (Stolarczyk and Janickn 17). Back in the Netherlands orange carrots became so common that they were incorporated into the Golden Age paintings of daily life for which the Dutch are so renowned. This can be seen in Gerrit Dou’s painting The Grocer’s Shop in which orange carrots are prominently featured on the window ledge that allows us to look into the shop (Figure 1). Dou is a famous Dutch painter who started to work for Rembrandt at the tender age of fifteen. He himself became well known for his detailed genre paintings. Dou is credited with founding the Leiden School of fijnschilders, which means “fine painters” in Dutch (NGA). His painting incorporating orange carrots was painted in 1647. It is oil painted on wood panel (Dou). Dou’s work can be seen around the world today and his paintings sell for extremely high prices. Although his paintings captivate internationally, Dou never left the Netherlands (Rijksmuseum). It is amazing that the carrots we eat today are the same as those depicted in paintings by numerous Dutch masters. Even more spectacular is the fact that there is so much controversy around the origin of the orange carrot, which few Americans have realized.

Gerrit Dou. The Grocer’s Shop. 1647. Oil on wood panel. Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Figure 1 Gerrit Dou.The Grocer’s Shop. 1647. Oil on wood panel. Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Works Cited

Barnes, Donna R., and Peter G. Rose. Matters of Taste: Food and Drink in Seventeenth-century Dutch Art and Life. Albany, NY: Syracuse UP, 2002. Print.

Dou, Gerrit. The Grocer’s Shop. 1647. Musée Du Louvre, Paris. Carrotmuseum.co.uk. Carrot Museum. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/art1.html>.

National Gallery of Art. “Gerrit Dou: Master Painter in the Age of Rembrandt.” Nga.gov. National Gallery of Art Washington D.C., 2016. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2000/dou/splash.htm>.

Rijksmuseum. “Gerard Dou.” Rijksmuseum.nl. Rijksmuseum, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/explore-the-collection/overview/gerard-dou>.

RNW Media. “The Royal History of The… Carrot??” Rnw.org. RNW Media, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <https://www.rnw.org/archive/royal-history-carrot>.

Stolarczyk, John. “The Orange Color Carrot.” Carrots – The Road to Domestication. Carrot Museum, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/history5.html>.

Stolarczyk, John, and Jules Janick. “Carrot: History and Iconography.” Chronica Horticulturae A Publication of the International Society for Horticultural Science 51.2 (2011): 13-18. 2011. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/pdfs/ch5102-carrot.pdf>.

United States. Department of Agriculture. Descriptions of Types of Principal American Varieties of Orange-fleshed Carrots. By Roy Magruder. Vol. 361. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Agriculture, 1940. Print.

Hoorn, Netherlands

loading map - please wait...

Hoorn, Netherlands 52.642365, 5.060212

Return to home page.

Blue Delft ~ an artistic, classy knockoff.

A brief history by Bailey Lawrence and Tyler Farnsworth.

Imitation Delftware: With a diameter of approximately 1 foot, the above plate is colored in the iconic blue-and-white for which “Blue Delft” pottery received its namesake. A romanticized outdoor scene, presumably of a couple and their newborn baby, plays out within an ornate border. Dressed in traditional early nineteenth-century clothing, the characters engage in everyday domestic activities and affirm well-entrenched gender roles. It is unclear where the scene takes place, although it can be assumed that the plate’s British manufacturers meant to emulate a location in England. The skyline of a rustic town can be faintly made out in the background.

After learning about the Dutch’s profound influence on America’s origins and culture, it is astonishing how conspicuous its evidence remains in everyday life. Since returning from the Netherlands, I was capable of admiring the significance and historical texture of the collection of engraved copper pottery that had sat on display in my kitchen for more than a decade. Our brief stint in Delft inspired us to analyze the legacy of the pottery to which the Dutch town lends its name. The plate is a member of a large collection of ornamental kitchenware gifted to my mother by her sister about 12 years ago. This exchange by two Latinas was made with no addition of cultural significance relating to Delftware’s Dutch origins. This particular example of imitation “Delftware” was made in England, where its manufacturers claimed to be harkening back to a collection crafted in 1816. My mother was delighted upon learning about what she perceived to be the authenticity of the object, excitedly remarking “Oh wow, she got me the real thing!”

Ironically enough for Bailey’s mother, her delftware would not truly be “the real thing” unless it was about 200 years older, and from the Netherlands, not England. Oxidized tin ceramics, like that of Delftware, had been used in the middle east as early as the 8th century, and found its way to the Spaniards, English, Dutch, Germans, North Africans and Egyptians over the next 900 years. What is unique about Delftware among other oxidized tin ceramics is its white and blue coloring, and its use of a portrait or landscape, rather than a typical geometric pattern.

What’s even funnier yet is that the original Delftware itself is said to have been created as a knockoff porcelain product from China. Porcelain products from China were sought after, but very fragile and costly to ship. Thus came about the trade of delftware, just as pretty but made domestically. So maybe Bailey’s mother’s delftware dish is an imitation piece twice over. All jokes aside, the delftware is a manifestation of the Golden age Dutch practicality and capitalist ways, while also showcasing their refinement and appreciation for beauty and art.

Oxidized tin ceramics came from 8th century Mesopotamians, which was used by 18th century Dutch to imitate Chinese porcelain. This Chinese imitation that took a style of its own was then imitated by the 19th century English, and now one of the English imitation pieces can be found in Bailey’s home, and likely many other American homes as well. The above map shows the route of the history of Bailey’s mother’s piece.

For Further Reading:

Avery, C. L. (1930, September). English Delftware. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 25(9), 190-192.
Hildyard, R. (1990, May). A Group of Southwark Delftwares. The Burlington Magazine, 132(1046), 354-355.
Paul Clemens (2016, May) Video Recording of Lecture on Dutch Golden Age Rutgers University Archives
Wuestman, G. (2009). Wouwerman on Delftware. The Rijksmuseum Bulletin,57(3), 236-243.

Below link had no author, or publication date, but contains thorough bibliography of resources to examine

http://www.nederlandstegelmuseum.nl/Museum/Geschiedenis_English.htm

Return to home page.

Queen’s College Charter

By Nicole Gololobov, Samuel Liu, and Adam Schwing

There are no extant copies of the original Queen’s College charter, but we do have the revised edition. It seems to have been printed on paper, keeping with the technology of its time. It starts with a statement from King George the Third, authorizing the creation of a new college. It also sets down several rules for the new college to adhere to. These rules were intended to keep an English presence at the institution as well as to ensure that the College was at least somewhat secular. It ends with a list of appendices.

06_Charter

We chose the charter of Queen’s College because of how relevant it is to our lives and to the 250th anniversary of Rutgers University, which was called Queen’s College from 1766 to 1825.

In the decades leading up to the founding of the college, the Great Awakening had increased the importance of religion and also brought about conflict within the Protestant church. 11 ministers from the Dutch Reformed Church signed a commission for a college in New Jersey so that ministers could be trained locally, rather than have to go all the way to Netherlands. At the time, many other churches in America had their own college, such as the Anglican King’s College in New York. That the Dutch settlers were able to also set up their own educational institution shows the influence that they had, the role of religion in society, and also that they wanted to be independent from their country of origin. Some years after the commission, ministers petitioned for a charter until they were granted one by the governor, William Franklin. There were delays in the building of the college due to opposition from the Classis of Amsterdam, the governing body of the Dutch Reformed Church, the need to raise funds, and revisions made to the original charter to allow for more trustees.

Although the original charter is lost, a revised copy of it was digitized in 2011, so that anyone interested can read it, and a physical copy also exists on campus in one of the offices. It makes sense that an important document be in a central place. It might be interesting to students today that the founding of Rutgers had its roots in religion, rather than something like agriculture, art, or math.

Bibliography

Frusciano, Thomas J. “A Historical Sketch of Rutgers University: Section 1.”Rutgers University Libraries. N.p., 9 Nov. 2006. Web. 8 Apr. 2016. <https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/libs/scua/university_archives/ru_historical_sketch-p1.shtml>.

Robbins, Allen B. “Founding of Queen’s College (1755-1771).” History of Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers. Baltimore: Gateway, 2001. 1-5. Rutgers. 16 Feb. 2009. Web. 8 Apr. 2016. <https://www.physics.rutgers.edu/dept/history/robbins/chapt01.pdf>.

“The Charter of Queen’s (Rutgers) College, in New Jersey, with Appendix.” The Charter of Queen’s (Rutgers) College, in New Jersey, with Appendix. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Alexander Library

loading map - please wait...

Alexander Library 40.505222, -74.452433

Return to home page.

The Henry Guest House

By Dana Slavick, Kruti Sitwala, Chris Bateman, Brooke Enners, and Ryan Zinsky

henry guest

The outside of the building is covered in bricks, however the placement of the stones in the front is more precise than those in the back of the house. The Henry Guest House has two stories with a cellar below and a front porch in the front, which leads into the hallway. The House is presently used as a historic site, with plaques of information distrusted around the rooms and kept in pristine condition.

Henry Guest House

loading map - please wait...

Henry Guest House 40.491302, -74.445513

More about this house:

The Henry Guest house is located at 60 Livingston Ave because in 1760 Henry Guest worked at a tannery nearby and also served as an Alderman for the city. In the 1700’s the Henry Guest House was located in the outskirts of town and considered “out in the country” but the location was convenient for Henry and his lifestyle. Henry Crow sold the two-acre plot of land in NewBrunswick to Henry Guest. Five years later, Henry Guest built the two-story house. The outside of the house was covered in Bricks and Henry carved his name and the date on a brick above the front porch, which can still be seen today. This house is also connected to the Dutch. Henry Guest’s baptism took place in the Dutch Reformed Church in Hackensack on 25 June 1727. While building the house, Henry Guest laid down tiles imported from Holland in two of the cellar rooms. The Dutch tiles were there in 1925 until the building was a short distance to it’s present location. It is now a mystery if the original Dutch tiles are still present in the house. This house is even connected to Rutgers! In 1843 the Henry Guest House was purchased by a Rutgers Latin and Greek professor, Reverend John Proudfit. Today the Henry Guest house serves as a historic site and museum that reminds us of the Dutch culture and heritage of New Brunswick

Why did we pick the Henry Guest House?

We chose the Henry Guest House as our object because we were able to get a first-hand look at the house during the walking tours and it’s history is extremely interesting. Who knew a piece of Dutch history was located so close to Rutgers?

” If his descendants would only keep a roof on it, the house would stand till Gabriel blew his trumpet.” – Henry Guest

Citation:

“Digital Archive.” Digital Archive. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2016. <http://nbfplarchive.org/henryguesthouse/booklets.html>.

“History of the Henry Guest House.” History of the Henry Guest House. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2016. <http://nbfplarchive.org/henryguesthouse/house.html>.

“Who Was Henry Guest?” Who Was Henry Guest? N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2016. <http://nbfplarchive.org/henryguesthouse/henryguest.html>.

First Reformed Dutch Church

Authors: Jinhyung An, Julian Esposito, and Jennifer Gololobov

The original church which was in the shape of an octagon and served settlers as a fort against Indian attack.The east wall of the current building incorporates several carved stones from the first church building that was originally constructed on this site. These stones bear the monogram of several of the founding families. The Gothic arch fanlight over the three doors, and the fenestration of the tower: door-window-oculus-window—a pattern that is found in many other Reformed churches in the state.

Ken Lund via Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0

First Reformed Dutch Church is located in Hackensack, New Jersey, where it sits in the churchyard of the church by the same name; however, the current building is not the original building. The current building was constructed in 1791. This church is adjacent to the Hackensack Green, which was originally church land and is one of the oldest public squares in New Jersey. This church was established by Dutch settlers in 1686, but the first building on-site was constructed in 1696. The congregation was made up of 33 congregants. The church shows the influence of the Dutch in religion; the Dutch brought over their Protestant traditions and architectural style. This church also acts as a precursor to the founding of other Dutch Reformed churches in Bergen County and throughout New Jersey. In addition, the building and original congregation represented the establishment of Protestantism as the dominant faith of the region. This church does not have much of recent connection with Rutgers University; however, when the church was first established, Minister John Henry Goetschius and members of the congregation were leaders in the founding of Queen’s College, present day Rutgers University. This church shows the Dutch influence on religion in New Jersey. It set the basic plan for the most of the early Dutch Reformed churches in Bergen County and elsewhere in the state, especially the Gothic arch fanlight over the three doors, and the fenestration of the tower: door-window-oculus-window pattern that is found in many other Dutch Reformed churches in the state. First Reformed Dutch Church has survived to this day and still attended. Many people today see their faith as important to them, in a personal and communal sense. The graves of the church signify its enduring history, both old and modern; some of the graves are very old, placed there around the time of Dutch settlement in the area. Others come from the Victorian era, and there are even some that are relatively new, shaped form granite or marble. Veterans from several wars are buried there, including the Revolutionary War and Civil War.

First Reformed Dutch Church in Hackensack, NJ

loading map - please wait...

First Reformed Dutch Church in Hackensack, NJ 40.879483, -74.042535

Bibliography

http://www.njchurchscape.com/Hackensack%20First%20Reformed.html

http://focus.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/NRHP/Text/83001546.pdf

http://www.thehistorygirl.com/2015/01/hackensack-nj-dutch-reformed-church-cemetery.html