Picture of my Ancestor - 17th century

This is my ancestor from my grandfather's side of the family. His name is Peter Stuyvesant. Peter Stuyvesant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My last name is German through my father, but I am very Dutch through my maternal grandfather. I will not say my last name or my grandfather's last name obviously for security purposes.

I'm also a relative of Sebastian Spering Kresge, the founder of K-Mart and the Sears Holdings Corporation through my mom's side as well.

Just thought it was interesting to post this. But I'm not rich or anything.

Thats funny because when i was going to school in Albany NY there was a huge strip mall called Stuyvesant Plaza. Relation? Who knows.

He is one of the characters in the pc game Civilization 4: Colonization. There are a number of famous explorers and colonizers you can play and Peter is one of them. Either that or he is one of the founding fathers in the game. Not exactly sure but I know he's in there somewhere.

Cool having such a famous ancestor. Michael Douglas is also descended from him. Interesting.

He was a major force in the construction of New York City (called New Amsterdam at the time) while the area was still owned by the Dutch.

I belong to Ancestry.com and visit a few other sites, too.

Got a real bit of irony in one line. Sarah Blewett's line goes back "forever" (I quit at year 1000! I hit nobility, so it was easy!) Her husband, Edward B Martin, is a total dead end! I think his mother was also a "Sarah" but no trace of dad! Poor Eddy got married, sired a daughter, made a will and died at 24, that is it!

Then there are the Morgans- I'm stuck right before the civil war with several "Stephen Morgans" - all relatives of one kind or another in Alabama! :cool: So which one is MY Stephen who died of measles in Mobile at the start of the Civil War leaving a pregnant wife and 3 sons? I will find out!

Neither of may parents talked much about their family history. My Aunt Emma did genealogy on Mom's side of the family, but Dad's side was pretty well a complete blank! It's fun to find the story of my family.


Granny :hippy:

In 1663 one of my ancestors, Leendert Arertsen DeGrauw, deeded a farm, located in lower Manhattan, to Peter Stuyvesant. It became part of the large farm to which Stuyvesant retired when the English took over New Netherland in 1664.

I'm descended from the Englishman who actually leased the Mayflower for the Pilgrims, Robert Cushman, who remained in England, dedicated to promoting the interests of the Pilgrims. His line is also traceable to FDR and Robert E. Lee.
I'm also related in some way which has not been adequately explained to Oliver Wendell Holmes.

One of my Mayflower ancestors, John Howland, was washed overboard, and rescued, during a fierce storm. Here's a painting depicting the event.

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Originally Posted by Breukelen advocaat

One of my Mayflower ancestors, John Howland, was washed overboard, and rescued, during a fierce storm. Here's a painting depicting the event.

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Looks like he crashed while doing pilgrim wakeboarding.

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Originally Posted by dragonrider

Looks like he crashed while doing pilgrim wakeboarding.

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Funny, but if he hadn't grabbed that topsail halyard I, and many others, wouldn't be here today.

The Howland/Mayflower painting is contemporary - there's only one painting of a Mayflower Pilgrim from that era, of Edward Winslow. We really don't know much about what the others looked like. It's been said that Myles Standish, head of security in the Plymouth colony, wasn't very tall - but he was one tough customer. The pilgrims nicknamed him "Captain Shrimp".

I am descended from the Dalton gang. They robbed lotsa banks. Well they were cousins of mine.

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Originally Posted by stinkyattic

He was a major force in the construction of New York City (called New Amsterdam at the time) while the area was still owned by the Dutch.

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That makes total sense then. It's also funny because at State University of New York at Albany (where I went) there are 4 quads; Indian Quad, State Quad, Colonial Quad and DUTCH quad. Go figure right?

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Originally Posted by Breukelen advocaat

Funny, but if he hadn't grabbed that topsail halyard I, and many others, wouldn't be here today.

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It's always funny to think of these kinds of things. One person has a close call, and the outcome ripples out through history. Think about how many ancestors you have stretching all the way back through time and how many of them probably had brushes with death or had choices that could have led them down some different route that would have meant you would never have existed.