New Version Of New Amsterdam Stories Website Now Online

The New York City Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) added to its online collections a rare colonial-era ledger, documenting Queens deeds and wills dating between 1683 to 1713, and unveiled a new version of its website, New Amsterdam Stories, developed in partnership with the Amsterdam archives (Stadsarchief Amsterdam).

The early Queens ledger is rich with details of life on Long Island. Several deeds, for example, record the transfer of Native-American land around Oyster Bay to English Colonists. In one of the earliest wills Elizabeth Stadon of Newtown bequeathed her best “pettycoat” and “half of my wedding linen” to the wife of Theophilus Phillips and her hammock and a red mantle to her maid. “With these initiatives, the treasures of New York City’s four-hundred year history preserved in the Municipal Archives will reach new audiences and facilitate opportunities for greater research, knowledge-sharing, and storytelling.” -Pauline Toole, Commissioner, Department of Records & Information Services New Amsterdam Stories was created as a platform to share

“New Amsterdam Stories” was created as a platform to share 17th century records related to New Amsterdam in the collections of the Municipal Archives and the Stadsarchief Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Both of these archives are digitizing and making available records related to New Amsterdam, the Dutch settlement on the southern tip of Manhattan that would become New York City. “The New Amsterdam Stories website plays an important role in the revitalization of the history of Dutch New York while revealing the shared cultural heritage between the United States and the Netherlands.” – Dolph Hogewoning, Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands “The original source material now being made available will be of tremendous value and interest to both the specialist and the general public. The New Amsterdam Stories project, a precedent-setting collaboration between two great municipal archives, will stimulate a more accurate understanding of New York’s unique 17th -century Dutch

“The original source material now being made available will be of tremendous value and interest to both the specialist and the general public. The New Amsterdam Stories project, a precedent-setting collaboration between two great municipal archives, will stimulate a more accurate understanding of New York’s unique 17th -century Dutch foundation and its enduring legacy.” -Dennis Maika, New Netherland Institute, Albany, N.Y. The New Amsterdam Stories project was made possible by grants from Dutch Culture, Dutch Culture USA, and the Dutch National Archives, as well as support from the New Netherland Institute.

The New Amsterdam Stories project was made possible by grants from Dutch Culture, Dutch Culture USA, and the Dutch National Archives, as well as support from the New Netherland Institute.