Letters 4/28/2020
Cousins by the Dozens!
Bill Demaree of Madison Indiana can tell you all about his Demaree ancestors and he has the photos and tombstones and records to prove it! He just loves sharing his Low Dutch family history and has attended every Dutch gathering. The engineer and I visited Bill and wife Betty in Madison in 2005, and these photos are some of the many we enjoyed seeing. From left top, Mattie Demaree, Harrison Demaree, William Underwood Demaree (born in Shelby County KY 1812, died across the line in Jefferson Co, Indiana 1880), and William U.’s father Daniel Demaree born 1792 Shelby Co KY, died 1845 and buried on his farm where he raised 11 children in Jefferson Co Indiana. Daniel was the son of Samuel Jr and Mary D. (Brewer) Demaree; son of Samuel SR and Leah (Demarest) Demaree, both born in New Jersey and came to Kentucky in 1784.
—————————————————————————————————
SENT BY: Carolyn (Herself)Please change my address in your address book to Buffalo234@cox.net or CarolynLeonard@me.com. I don’t check the Gmail as often as I should.
——————————————————————
SENT BY: Doug Demaree
I am at Fort Watauga at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park today in North East Tennessee. Having a great time. I am a descendant of the Dutch cousins by way of my Demaree family connection. I am also descended from Captain Nathaniel Hart of the Transylvania company. I am at the location where he negotiated with the Cherokee for the purchase of 20,000,000, yes million acres.
——————————————————————
SENT BY: Elizabeth Hardin
What date in Sept. for Dutch Meeting.
I belong to the Dutch Family. Hoagland, Bergen, Trico and Rapilje. First settlers of New Netherlands. I would also, like to sign up for the newsletter.
Thank you, Elizabeth Robinson Hardin.
——————————————————————
SENT BY: Suzie Ditmars, of San Diego, CA
I used to get your letters but another email that no longer exists.
My ancestors went from New Netherland to New Jersey where they seemed to have stayed until my great grandmother moved to Manhattan about 1895.Enjoy some of the letters that you receive.
I am eligible for DAR and the Holland Society of New York since they are admitting women.
I need to find a genealogist who can get it all together on the form for HS.
And thanks
——————————————————————
SENT BY: John Westerfield
Hi Carolyn hope everything is going well with you and Jon during this pandemic. Phyllis and I are staying in as ordered by the Governor. We do go to the grocery every week or 10 days other than that we stay in the house. So far our health has been normal, just the normal aches and pains.
Please change my email address. My juno account was hacked and all my contacts removed so I quit using that account.
Cousin John in Pennsylvania
——————————————————————
SENT BY:David and Lisa Westerfield of Long Beach, Cal.
I am descended from Rev. Samuel Leander Westerfield who was married to Catherine Monfort and I would appreciate being added to the Dutch Cousins newsletter list.
Family Line-
*Jan Westervelt + Dirckie Blansett
*Jacobus Westerfield + Debora Van Schyven
*Samuel Leander Westerfield + Catherine Monfort
*Jacob Reeder Westerfield + Amy Hedges Ayers
*James Westerfield + Esther Moore
*Harry Arthur Westerfield + Elsie May Williamson
*Arthur Moore Westerfield + Katherine Holcomb
*David Austin Westerfield + Patricia Jackson
*David Wendall Westerfield (myself)
——————————————————————
SENT BY: Laurel Auchampaugh, who accepted responsibility for getting historical markers for Conewago Colony!
I am ready to contact Pomeroy Foundation regarding a grant for the historical marker,.
Have not obtained permission to do so from the Cemetery or Dutch Cousin’s.
Waiting to hear from other Committee members
Please advise how I should proceed.
Laurel Auchampaugh
Owasco Historian
(Note from Carolyn – WE LOVE LAUREL)
———————————————————
SENT BY: Tamara Fulkerson (president of Dutch Cousins)Dear Dutch Cousins,We have an ongoing prayer request!
Our board member, Malcolm Banta had a terrible fall on March 2nd.
He tripped after stepping off of a boat. He was paralyzed from the neck down for a few days.
He did start regaining movement in his limbs and is on his way to recovery!
Malcolm is in the VA hospital in Tampa, FL and will remain there for up to 12 weeks.
After that his wife will be taking care of him at home.
He sounded strong and is asking for many prayers for his recovery.
—————————————————————————–
SENT BY: Malcolm Banta, Dutch Cousins board member
Hi Carolyn, we are nicely settled in our home (Apr 26). Betty is nearly fully recovered from her knee surgery.. I am working on what promises to be a long recovery. Hope that you and the engineer are both doing well
Hi Malcolm, Painful and dreaded as it is, I’ve learned that Physical Therapy is the key to getting back on your feet. I’ll be saying prayers for you. Cousins would like to send you cards. Do you prefer USPS, email, text, calls, or none at all?
Hi Carolyn, Email Banta1117 (at) yahoo (dot) com or US PS or phone call please.
(I don’t want to publicly paste the street address and phone in here, so let’s just go with the email for now.)
—————————————————————————–
SENT BY: Diana Stephens
I would love to be included on your Dutch Cousins mailing list. My maiden name was VanNice. I have traced our lineage back to our first VanNuys immigrants, and have been to visit the old mud church near Harrodsburg, KY. I have cousins in Indiana and Iowa, along with generations who continued westward into Canada, Montana, and Arizona. It is amazing the interesting things one can find with a rather broad search. I was very pleased to see your group existed. I have a feeling there are many of us beyond your current membership. ——————————————————————
SENT BY: Judy Cassidy
Vince’s Booklet, The Low Dutch Company spells it out pretty well, 10-12. The Petition to THE UNITED STATE CONGRESS, which was read on 27 Sept, 1783, and signed by Inhabitants of Kentucky, Intended Friends was NOT a Petition for a Dominee, rather it was a Petition requesting assistance by many people including the Low Dutch in obtaining a clear title to land that they were seeking to inhabit. Apparently the Land Laws of Virginia had promoted speculation and confusion to such an extent that a large tract of good unclaimed land was simply not available. Speculators were monopolizing the land and Indians were making settlement difficult if not impossible, You will notice that many of the names on the Intended Friends List of the Original Document, which I have a copy of, are not Low Dutch at all, rather they were other perspective settlers who were having the same issues but in other locations. You really have to try and read through all the signature pages in order to pull out the Low Dutch names and as you can image the spelling is terrible plus it is white writing on black background. The Speculators were selling the same land to many different groups at the same time. Also as I mentioned, the Indians were preventing settlers from safely moving to the area. Since this petition went on for almost 11-20 pages, I copied the pages that had the Low Dutch names on it and gave the original to Arthur, and I hope it ended up eventually at the Adams Co or York Co. His Soc. The Original Citation is: US States pf America, GSA, National Archives and Records Service, signed by Ronald E. Swercek, Diplomatic Branch Cvil Archives Division, : Papers of the Continental Congress, Item 41, Vol 5, folios 95-101-106. There were several other Petitions as well. The original Petition was huge. The Petition for a Dominee was done by the Salt River Congregation around 1800. As you know the Salt River Congregation became the Old Mud Meeting.
So sorry to hear about Malcolm, that is really said. Hope all is well in Oklahoma
——————————————————————————————————
Our Dutch Cousins MISSION STATEMENTWe are descendants of the Low Dutch who settled New Amsterdam, moved to New Jersey, migrated to near Gettysburg, and made history when they later populated the frontier. Our Dutch Kentucky Cousins goal is to research, share, and preserve the genealogy and history of our common Low Dutch heritage, including but not limited to, the restoration and preservation of the old Mud Meetinghouse built by our ancestors in the early 1800s near Harrodsburg, KY. We meet every two years to renew our love for each other. Our mission is to honor the memory of these ancestors and enjoy the friendship of cousins, both newly- discovered and long-loved.
——————————————————————
HERE ARE THE PHOTOS FROM THE 2019 Dutch Cousins Gathering in Kentucky!
SENT BY: Pam Ellingson
I did upload Charlie’s photos to the DC google account. The following link should allow access and people can download the file of 429 photos. Thank you Charlie Westerfield, immediate past president!
https://bit.ly/2Pm0DVX
———————————————————————
SEND A NOTE TO YOUR COUSINS. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY, AND WHAT YOU’VE BEEN DOING TO STAY SANE DURING THE QUARANTINE!
——————————————————————
