Dutch Americans in New York City

Race and ethnicity in New York City
Part of a series on
Ethnicities African Americans Albanians Arabs Bangladeshis Belarusians Brazilians Caribbeans Chinese Fuzhounese Taiwanese Colombians Cubans Dominicans Dutch Ecuadorians Filipinos Germans Greeks Haitians Hispanics and Latinos Indians Irish Italians Jamaicans Japanese Jews Black Jews Koreans Lenape Mexicans Pakistanis Puerto Ricans Romani Romanians Russians Scandinavians Senegalese Spaniards Sri Lankans Syrians Ukrainians Uzbeks Vietnamese Yemenis
Neighborhoods Astoria Bed-Stuy Bensonhurst Borough Park Brighton Beach Chinatown, Brooklyn Chinatown, Flushing Chinatown, Manhattan Crown Heights Curry Hill Curry Row Elmhurst Flatbush Harlem Jackson Heights Jamaica Koreatown, Manhattan Koreatown, Queens Le Petit Senegal Little Australia Little Brazil Little Egypt Little Fuzhou Little Germany Little Guyana Little Italy Little Manila Little Pakistan Little Poland Little Saigon Little Spain Little Sri Lanka Little Syria Little Ukraine Loisaida Spanish Harlem Sunset Park Thirteenth Avenue Washington Heights Ethnic enclaves
v t e

Dutch people have had a continuous presence in New York City for nearly 400 years, being the earliest European settlers. New York City traces its origins to a trading post founded on the southern tip of Manhattan Island by colonists from the Dutch Republic in 1624. The settlement was named New Amsterdam in 1626 and was chartered as a city in 1653. Because of the history of Dutch colonization, Dutch culture, politics, law, architecture, and language played a formative role in the shaping of New York City culture. The Dutch were the majority in New York City until the early 1700s, and the Dutch language was commonly spoken until the mid to late-1700s.

Toponomy

Main article: List of New Netherland placename etymologies

Many places and institutions in New York City still bear a colonial Dutch toponymy, including Brooklyn (Breukelen), Harlem (Haarlem), Wall Street (Waal Straat), Bowery (bouwerij), and Coney Island (conyne).

Culture

The New York Dutch Room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art features historical artifacts from Dutch homes in New York.

Knickerbockers

The term "Knickerbockers" comes from a name assumed by Washington Irving in writing his work "Knickerbocker's history of New York", published in 1809. The title was used as an advertising scheme to announce the book, and since then the descendants of the Dutch in New York have been called "Knickerbockers." Knickerbocker, or "knickers" refers to the breeches that the Dutch settlers would wear.

The African American Pinkster Committee of New York (AAPCNY) along with the African Burial Ground National Monument hold an annual pinkster celebration in New York City. Originally a Dutch Christian holiday celebrating Pentecost, pinkster has subsequently evolved into a primarily African-American holiday incorporating elements of Angolan, Congolese, and other African culture.

Institutions and landmarks

The Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York is a charitable organization whose membership is composed of men who are descended from New York's early inhabitants, many of whom can trace their ancestry back to the earliest colonial Dutch settlers.

The Wyckoff House, an historic house in Brooklyn's Canarsie neighborhood, is the oldest surviving example of Dutch frame architecture in the United States, dating to 1652.

Religion

Christianity

List of former Dutch Reformed churches in New York City:

Judaism

In September 1654, the first organized group of Jewish immigrants arrived in New Amsterdam. The group consisted of 23 Sephardi Jews from Recife who were fleeing the Portuguese Inquisition following the Portuguese conquest of Dutch Brazil.

The Ansche Chesed synagogue on the Upper West Side was founded in 1828 by a group of Dutch, German, and Polish Jews who split off from Congregation B'nai Jeshurun.

Temple Shaaray Tefila on the Upper East Side was founded in 1845 by 50 primarily Dutch Jews and English Jews who had been members of B'nai Jeshurun, and was officially chartered in 1848. It was initially an Orthodox synagogue, but slowly turned to Reform Judaism over the years.

Notable New Yorkers of Dutch descent

Ace Frehley, a musician best known as the original lead guitarist and co-founding member of the American rock band Kiss.
Augustus Newbold Morris, a prominent figure during the Gilded Age in New York City.
Gouverneur Morris, a Founding Father of the United States and signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution.
Gouverneur Morris Jr., a railroad executive.
Lewis Morris (speaker), a colonial judge, politician and vast landowner.
List of presidents of the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York

References

"United States History—History of New York City". Retrieved May 15, 2021.
"When Did New York Stop Speaking Dutch?". New York Almanack. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
"What's Left of New York's Dutch Past?". BBC. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
"The New York Dutch Room". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
The Chautauquan: Organ of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, Numéro 1. M. Bailey. 1899. p. 63.
"Pinkster Celebration". National Park Service. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
"DUTCH DESCENDANTS DINE.; They Join in Celebrating for the Saint Nicholas Society". The New York Times. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
"Wyckoff House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. 2021-05-15. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
"By Chance or Choice: Jews in New Amsterdam 1654" (PDF). The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
"Ansche Chesed History". 2009. Archived from the original on March 10, 2012.
"Shaaray Tefila Jubilee – The congregation a vigorous child of B'nai Jeshurun". The New York Times. March 21, 1896. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
Rabbi Kerry M Olitzky, Marc Lee Raphael (1996). The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313288562. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
"Our History and Vision". Shaaraytefilanyc.org. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
Rabbi Kerry M Olitzky, Marc Lee Raphael (1996). The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313288562. Retrieved April 23, 2022.

External links

Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York

v t e Dutch diaspora
Africa	Afrikaners Boers Cape Dutch Basters Coloureds Griqua
Asia	Indonesia Indo Totok Sri Lanka Burghers
Middle East	Israel
Europe	Finland Poland Olenders Vilamovians Vistula delta Mennonites United Kingdom
North America	Canada Mexico United States Aruba Curaçao
Oceania	Australia New Zealand
South America	Argentina Brazil Chile Suriname
See also: Flemish people and Frisians

v t e Ethnic groups in New York City
Ancestries	Arabs Syrians African Americans Black Jews Brazilians Asians Chinese Filipinos Indians Japanese Koreans Taiwanese Europeans Albanians Belarusians Dutch Germans Irish Italians Russians Ukrainians Caribbeans and Hispanics Puerto Ricans Dominicans Mexicans Salvadorans Jews Black Jews Native Americans Romani
Ethnic enclaves	8th Avenue/Lapskaus Blvd. Astoria Arthur Avenue Bay Ridge Bed–Stuy Bensonhurst Borough Park Brighton Beach Chinatowns Brooklyn Queens Manhattan Crown Heights Curry Hill Dyker Heights Elmhurst Flatbush Harlem Hell's Kitchen Howard Beach Italian Harlem Jackson Heights Jamaica Koreatowns Manhattan Queens Le Petit Senegal Little Australia Little Brazil Little Egypt Little Fuzhou Little Germany Little Italy Little Manila Little Poland Little Saigon Little Spain Little Syria Loisaida Morris Park Ozone Park Spanish Harlem Sunset Park Washington Heights Williamsburg Yorkville
Institutions	African Burial Ground National Monument Bohemian Citizens' Benevolent Society El Museo del Barrio Hispanic Society of America Indo-American Arts Council Irish Repertory Theatre New York Asian Film Festival New York Filipino Film Festival Wales Week in New York
Cultural events	Brazilian Day Dominican Day Parade Feast of San Gennaro German-American Steuben Parade Korean Day Parade NY Persian Parade Philippine Independence Day Parade Puerto Rican Day Parade Pulaski Day Parade
Historical events	New York Slave Revolt of 1712 New York Conspiracy of 1741 1968 New York City teachers' strike Crown Heights riots of 1991
Movements	Harlem Renaissance Nuyorican Movement
Media	Asahi Shimbun China Daily El Diario La Prensa The Forward Freie Arbeiter Stimme Il Progresso Italo-Americano India Abroad Irish Voice Little India Korea Times New Yorker Staats-Zeitung Nowy Dziennik Proletar Sing Tao Daily The Daily Star Epoch Times The Irish Echo World Journal
Other topics	Undocumented immigrants

Categories: