No. 65 Published by The Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York SPRING 2006

co-authored The Federalist Papers, found-ed the Bank of New York, led the Federal-ist Party, and became the Republic’s firstSecretary of the Treasury.

The French might describe Hamilton’s life,passions and affairs as mouvementé. Fromhis shame about his birth to his fiery aspi-rations, from his intimate relationshipswith childhood friends to his feuds withJefferson, Madison, Adams, Monroe, andBurr, and from his high-profile affair withMaria Reynolds to his marriage to ElizaLivingston—we may infer that life withHamilton was seldom dull. Nor was hisdeparture from this world, in the famous,but also mysterious duel with Aaron Burrin July of 1804.

Mr. Chernow proclaims that America’scurrent political and economic primacy isthe result of Hamilton’s ardent advocacy ofeconomic ideas that were often controver-sial during his time. “To repudiate hislegacy,” he writes, “is, in many ways, torepudiate the modern world.”

HAMILTON BIOGRAPHER CHERNOW RECEIVES IRVING MEDAL

The fall stated meeting held on Thurs-day, October 13, 2005 at the Racquet& Tennis Club, at 52nd Street and

Park Avenue, was distinguished by theaward of the Society’s Washington IrvingMedal for Literary Excellence to Ron Cher-now, for his book Alexander Hamilton(Penguin Books, 2004), which tells theextraordinary story of a man who overcameall the odds to shape, inspire—and occa-sionally scandalize—the newborn America.

Hamilton, of course, became a New Yorkerby adoption and is therefore of particularinterest to members of The Saint NicholasSociety, a goodly number of whom assem-bled to hear the author’s take on the states-man whose face adorns the ten-dollar billof our national currency.

As he was an illegitimate, mostly self-taught orphan from the Caribbean, Hamil-ton’s brilliant future was difficult to divine.But after he made his way to North Amer-ica, he rose to become George Washing-ton’s aide de camp in the Continental army,

President William R. Follett led the pro-ceedings attired in the traditional style:white tie and tails, historic tricorne hat, andgold medal of office suspended from hisneck. Regular attendees of Stated Meetingsknow to expect a gracious speech featuringa few “new” jokes, a state of the Society re-port, and a pleasing yet dignified expedi-tiousness in dispatching business mattersso that all may enjoy the food and drink. Inthis regard, the fare at the Racquet Club didnot disappoint.

Admissions Committee Chairman GeorgeMcNeely IV displayed his flawless tech-nique of introducing one new member,David F. Smith, who was then inducted byPresident Follett.

The Fall Stated Meeting more than satis-fied the objectives of the Society: to collectand preserve knowledge about New York,and to promote social intercourse amongthe members.

Brian A. Blake, Steward, with Joseph vanB.Wittmann III, Chief Steward

The Rev. Dr. Thomas F. Pike, a guest andAdam Van Doren

David and Marguerite Platt withM. P. and Bob Naud

Eugene L. Church and Stewart R. Manville

John Mauk Hilliard, Courtney Haff andMalin CedarquistBarry C. Howard with President William R. Follett

David F. Smith

Author Ron Chernowconcisely described thelegacy of AlexanderHamilton. “To repudiatehis legacy is, in manyways, to repudiate themodern world.”

David Church and guest

2

As part of the citywide celebration “5Dutch Days—5 Boroughs: Dutch Artand Culture Past and Present” (No-

vember 16-21, 2005) The Saint Nicholas So-ciety joined with other organizations at 11:00a.m. on Wednesday,November 16, in a ceremonial planting ofbulbs in the churchyard at St. Mark’s Churchin-the-Bowery, 10th Street and Second Av-enue. We were fortunate to have unusuallymild, springlike weather for the day. The bulbswere donated by Mr. Hans van Waardenburg,owner of B&K Flowerbulbs of Holland; in re-cent years, especially since 9/11/01, he has do-nated literally millions of bulbs for planting inand around NewYork. For example, in CentralPark, in the springtime, the brilliant yellowdaffodils arise from bulbs generously given byMr. Van Waardenburg. The Honorable CoraMinderhoud, Consul General of the Nether-lands, spoke at the ceremony, as did Mr.Theodore Prudon, of the Netherland-AmericaFoundation. Nicholas Fish, Esq., a direct de-scendant of Peter Stuyvesant, was master ofceremonies for the event. His forebear, Lt. Col.Nicholas Fish (an original member of the NewYork StateSociety of the Cincinnati), married ElizabethStuyvesant at St Mark’s Church, April 30,1803. The couple moved into the handsomebrick federal-style house built for them as awedding present, at 21 Stuvesant Street. Thehouse is still standing, just down the street fromSt. Mark’s.

In his comments, Mr. Fish noted thatthe church location is the oldest site ofcontinuous worship in Manhattan. TheStuyvesant family chapel stood there over350 years ago, when the area was part ofPeter Stuyvesant’s bouwerie (or farm), andin 1799 the present St. Mark’s Church waserected on the same grounds. Our presi-dent, William R. Follett came as an hon-ored participant in the ceremonies; ourexecutive director, Jill Spiller joined in,wearing a cheerful hat; several others rep-resented The Saint Nicholas Society, in-

cluding: Courtney Haff; Sandy Sanford;John McC. Shannon, First Vice President;and Frank Sypher. Following are wordsspoken for the occasion by William R.Follett, President of The Saint NicholasSociety:

“Thank you for inviting me to be heretoday and for having me be a part of thiscelebration. It has been an honor, and apleasure, for The Saint Nicholas Society towork with Hans van Waardenburg, ownerof B&K Flower Bulbs of Holland. Foryears to come, his bulbs will bring a beau-tiful Dutch spring to this historic soil. TheSaint Nicholas Society was founded 170years ago to preserve and promote thehistory of old New Amsterdam and New

Society Sponsors Tulip Bulbs for St. Mark’s ChurchYork. I can think of no better way to sup-port that mission than with our participa-tion in this event. Surely there can be nomore attractive charge than to create abeautiful garden on Peter Stuyvesant’sfarm. I offer my thanks to Mr. Van Waar-denburg, to the Dutch Consulate in NewYork, and to the Five Dutch Days creatorsfor their gifts—gifts of time, talent, and vi-sion. Many years ago St. Mark’s Churchin-the-Bowery celebrated spring with atulip festival. It is very gratifying to be partof the effort to return that tradition to thishistoric neighborhood. Thank you.”

After remarks by the speakers, and intro-ductions of various dignitaries—such asour host for the event, the Reverend JulioTorres, Rector of St. Mark’s—the partici-pants, led by Mr. Van Waardenburg, begandigging and carefully planting bulbs at aspot near the bust of Peter Stuyvesant, whosternly overlooked the entire proceeding,we trust with warm approval. After theprincipal events were over, Mr. Van Waar-denburg returned to the plot and gentlybrushed some leaves over the new plant-ings, to cover and protect them until spring.

A few weeks after this event, St. Mark’sheld a special church service in honor of St.Nicholas, Bishop of Myra. Several mem-bers of The Saint Nicholas Society partici-pated, including President William R.Follett. This event is scheduled to be anannual occurrence in future years, withparticular reference to participation by ourSociety, which has a long history of closeand cordial connection with St. Mark’s.(See article on “Saint Nicholas SocietySunday.”)

In response to the Society’s participation inFive Dutch Days, we received from theorganizers, Susan De Vries, Felicia Mayro,and Sean Sawyer, a card of thanks, and abeautiful poster, which can be seen at ouroffice, handsomely framed.

John Elliott, Jr. diedat the age of 84 onSaturday, October

29, 2005, of a cerebralhemorrhage. Jock Elliottwas elected to member-ship in The SaintNicholas Society onMay 8, 2000, in right ofdescent from Stephen

Coerte Van Voorhes. In 1995 he was awardedthe Society’s Medal of Merit.As a member, he

served on the Speakers and Medals Com-mittee, bringing many prominent NewYorkers into our midst.

Jock was born on January 25, 1921, inManhattan, son of John and Audrey OsbornElliott. He attended the Browning School inManhattan, and St. Paul’s in Concord, NewHampshire, and he graduated from Har-vard, A.B. 1942. During World War II hewas a major in the U.S. Marine Corps. Jockhad a distinguished career in advertising,becoming chairman of Ogilvy & Mather In-ternational, and retiring in 1982. Jock waswell known as an author and book collector,with a specialty in material relating to

Christmas. His superb collection formedthe basis of his delightful volume InventingChristmas: How Our Holiday Came to Be(Harry N. Abrams, 2002), an illustrated his-tory of the celebration of Christmas. He wasa member of the Century Association, andof the Grolier Club, as well as of other or-ganizations.

Our sincere condolences to his wife,Eleanor Thomas Elliott, recipient of the So-ciety’s Medal of Merit in 2002. A funeralservice was held at Saint Thomas Church,Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street, on Wednes-day, November 2, 2005.

Obituary:JOHN ELLIOTT, JR.

President Follett with the Rev. Julio Torres, Priest-in-Charge of St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery

President William R. Follett (in foreground) withHans van Waardenburg, Theodore Prudon and

Dutch Consul General Cora Minderhoud

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On Saturday, September 17, 2005members of The Saint NicholasSociety and their guests gathered at

Irvington, New York for an excursion andtour of Washington Irving’s house, “Sunny-side.” For the occasion, President WilliamR. Follett gave the following address.

“Washington Irving bought a small houseon this land in 1835. He was one of thefounders of The Saint Nicholas Society inthat same year. He was the driving forcebehind the creation of our Society. It washis belief that, as the St. George’s Societyrepresented the English, the St. Andrew’sSociety represented the Scots, and the St.David’s Society represented the Welsh,there also should be a society that repre-sents early families of New Amsterdam andNew York. This Society remains uniquetoday because of his hand. We are known tovalue wit, self-deprecation, and humorousstories; in short, we have fun.You can imag-ine Irving at a Stated Meeting in, say, 1841standing during dinner and sharing a cleverstory, perhaps about his travels in Spain, orabout the Van Tassels’daughter. The assem-bled gentlemen would be laughing and ap-plauding all the way through. We recall thatseventeenth-century Manhattan was a won-derful, great mix of cultures, and we keepup many Dutch traditions that continued inuse long after the English changed ourcity’s name to New York. The simple, ro-mantic beauty of Irving’s images stillinspires us.

“Our Society remains vital because wecarry his spirit with us still. Humor and acongenial atmosphere, mixed with intellec-tual discussions about our history, about thepresent day, and about the future of NewYork. This is the fuel that will keep TheSaint Nicholas Society strong and growingfor another 170 years.

“As we sit here in this beautiful place, con-sider this quotation from Irving: ‘I think it isan invaluable advantage to be born andbrought up in the neighborhood of somegrand and noble object of nature; a river, alake, or a mountain. We make a friendshipwith it, we, in a manner, ally ourselves to itfor life. It remains an object of our pride andaffections, a rallying point, to call us homeagain after all our wanderings.’

“I grew up on Lake Champlain and under-stand that sentiment completely. I amdrawn to it as he was drawn here.

“I am certain that our founders and manyearly members of our Society visitedSunnyside often. You must think they arehappy to see us here today. Could they have

SUMMER PILGRIMAGE TO IRVING’S SUNNYSIDEimagined that this Society would survivethis many years?

“It is my pleasure to announce that TheSaint Nicholas Society of the City of NewYork will be donating several hundredflower bulbs, imported from Holland, to beplanted here at Sunnyside. More will beplanted at other Historic Hudson Valleysites. This is a small token of appreciationto the man who built this place, the man

Mary Lynne Bird with John Blake

who inspired the movement to create ourSociety. One final note: This home was pur-chased from Irving’s family in 1945; twoyears later it was opened to the public. Thepurchase and restoration were financed byJohn D. Rockefeller, Jr., who in the year ofthe opening, 1947, was awarded our Medalof Merit, to honor him for his effort to pre-serve this historic home.

“Thank you all for coming today.”

A guide in period costumedescribed features of

Irving’s home.

Erika Billick with her uncle,Stephen B. Billick

Sunnyside

Joe and Barbara Wittmann

Lianne Neuhauser, Tom and Mary Lynne Bird,and Charles Neuhauser

Sandy Sanford, John Mauk Hilliard andMaria Dering

Terry Blake with her sonOwen Blake

President Bill Follett delivershis address.

At the beginning of the tour the group heard a briefrecapitulation of how, why and when Washington

Irving settled at Sunnyside.

4

On Tuesday, December 6, 2005, mem-bers of The Saint NicholasSociety and their guests celebrated the

feast of our patron saint, Nicholas, Bishop ofMyra. The event took place, with full tradi-tional panoply, at the Union Club, on Park Av-enue at 69th Street. The evening began with acocktail reception on the balcony, where abeautifully decorated Christmas tree an-nounced the spirit of the season, and a friendlyfire blazed in the hearth near the bar. Old friendsand new exchanged greetings until called toawait the procession of honored guests, officers,stewards, and past presidents. At the invitationof President William R. Follett, our chaplain,the ReverendThomas F. Pike, gave the invoca-tion and the group joined in singing the tradi-tional Dutch hymn “We Gather Together.”After President Follett’s message of greeting,1st Vice President John McC. Shannon offeredthe traditional toast to Her Majesty QueenBeatrix of the Netherlands, followed by the na-tional anthem of the Netherlands, “The Wil-helmus.” The Honorable Cora Minderhoud,Consul General, graciously accepted the toast,and answered with one to the President of theUnited States of America, which was followedby “The Star Spangled Banner.” The round oftraditional toasts continued with one to our an-cestors, eloquently pronounced by 2nd VicePresident John P. T. Blake, perching upon hischair, and in his inimitable manner reciting thewonderful verses which have become such adelightful and memorable part of our obser-vances. And finally, John Mauk Hilliard, 3rdVice President, gave the toast to St. Nicholas,the goed heilig man, whose fame haspassed down to posterity in memory espe-cially of his kindness and generosity to theyoung, such as the young women for whomhe provided gold marriage portions. As atoken of his example of generosity, every-one found at their place a gift bag contain-ing a Delft ceramic Christmas ornament,and a package of Dutch Christmas cookies,or speculaas.

Dinner began with an asparagus salad, withan excellent white wine, followed by roastbeef, vegetables, and tiny new potatoes,with a fine red wine. All was topped offwith a delicate apple tart, and a dish of spec-ulaas, with coffee and tea. As the elegantdinner progressed, we enjoyed another kindof progress, in the form of the procession ofthe Weathercock, proudly held aloft byChief Steward Joe Wittmann III, whose itin-erary to the podium was helped along by themotion of countless handkerchiefs waved tocreate a breeze (smoke-free, asrequired by City ordinance since 2004).

President Follett reminded us that our hand-some antique vane was a gift from Wash-ington Irving to the Society in 1848. Allindications are that it came from the formerfederal building (previously the City Hall,constructed about 1701), which until theearly 1830s stood high over Wall Street, fac-ing down Broad Street. There, GeorgeWashington was sworn in as first presidentof the United States. The structure was re-placed by the U.S. Custom House building,erected in 1833-1842 (later the U.S. Sub-treasury Building, 1862-1925, and now amuseum known as Federal Hall NationalMemorial).

We were delighted to welcome five newmembers who were inducted into the Soci-ety, with impressive introductions byGeorge H. McNeely IV, Chairman ofAdmissions: Peter Livingston Bogardus,Sidney Tuttle Bogardus, Bromme HamptonCole, Stanley Dean Heisler, and CharlesMichael Anthony Winn. An enthusiasticwelcome was offered to one and all.

The centerpiece of the evening was thepresentation of The Saint Nicholas SocietyMedal of Merit to Marian S. Heiskell, “For

Continued on next page

MARIAN HEISKELL IS AWARDED MEDAL OF MERIT AT 171ST FEAST

Past President Kent and Donna Straat withBob Naud

President William R. Follett with pastPresident Henry Darlington

President William R. Follett and Medals CommitteeChairman John Milnes Baker presented the

Society’s Medal of Merit to Marian Heiskell at thepodium after an eloquent introduction by Lys

McLaughlin (Mrs. Thomas F. Pike), Director ofCouncil on the Environment of New York City.

Kazie Harvey with Stephen Billick

Maria Dering and her husband, Floyd(“Sandy”) Sanford

Charles and McDowell Winn withCampbell McCrary

Past President Samuel D. Williams withGeorge H. McNeely IV

Ronald and Betsy Atkins

5

Dutch Consul General Cora Minderhoud withAmbassador Edward R. Finch, Jr.

Society Chaplain the Rev. Dr. Thomas F. Pike withPresident William R. Follett

George Rudd Mackenzie and W. Seton Ijams

Victor Dupont, Dr. Francis Persse Powersand Lynn Dupont

outstanding service to the City of NewYork,in recognition of her vision, advocacy andleadership.” His Honor, the Mayor of theCity of New York, Michael R. Bloomberg,sent his personal greetings and words ofwelcome to the Society, with his commen-dation of members “for your commitmentto carrying on the organization’s traditionsand for everything you do to protect ourCity’s rich historic heritage.”

Mayor Bloomberg particularly offered hiscongratulations to Marian S. Heiskell on re-ceiving the Medal of Merit: “First presentedto Robert Moses in 1937, this award paystribute to those who are working to makeour City a better place. Like the SaintNicholas Society, Ms. Heiskell has had aprofound impact on New York. She hasbeen an examplary leader for our City, andher civic-minded spirit sets a wonderful ex-ample for us all.”

The Mayor closed his communication withan expression of “his best wishes for an en-joyable event and for continued success.”(Received by fax transmission, December6, 2005.)

After Ms. Heiskell’s acceptance speech,with many vignettes of her career in civicgood works, the evening closed with abenediction by Dr. Pike, and singing of thetraditional Scottish parting song (as led bySt. Nicholas former president John MilnesBaker) “We’re Nae Awa’,” with its chorus:“Oh we’re nae awa’ to bide awa’ / We’re naeawa to leave ya / We’re nae awa’ to bideawa’ / We’ll aye come back and see ya”(that is, in 21st-century American, “We’renot [going] away to stay away, we’ll alwayscome back and see you”).

Honored guests, in addition to The Honor-able Cora Minderhoud, and Marian S.Heiskell, were: Eleanor Thomas Elliott,Medalist in 2002; Alan Frese, President,New England Society in NewYork; AnnetteGeddes, President, Colonial Dames ofAmerica; James McNaughton Hester,Medalist in 1967; and Natalie T. Pray,President, The Saint George’s Society.

Patrons of the event included: Daniel H.Baldini, Daniel S. Curtis, Henry Darlington,Jr., Eleanor Thomas Elliott, R. BrandonFradd, George H. McNeely IV, AndreThorne Naud, Robert Armstead Naud, Dr.Francis Persse Powers, and Mr. & Mrs.Samuel Dunstan Williams.

John C. Harvey

By resolution of the clergy andvestry, St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery proclaimed, as of April

21, 2005, that the first Sunday in Decem-ber shall be called “Saint Nicholas Socie-ty Sunday” in recognition of thelong-standing association of the Societywith St. Mark’s. On Sunday, December4th, St. Mark’s held a church service inhonor of our patron saint, Nicholas ofMyra, and the Society was represented byour President, William R. Follett. Thewording of the resolution (which may beseen, handsomely framed, at our head-quarters) notes that the Society “has gen-erously expressed its support of St.Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery and hon-ored its significance to New York Cityhistory, especially its associations withNew Amsterdam and Peter Stuyvesant”;also noted is the Society’s “recent award toSt. Mark’s” in recognition of “the church’songoing importance through its diverseand innovative ministries”; it is thereforeresolved “that the Wardens, Vestry andPriest-in-Charge, on behalf of the peopleof St. Mark’s, do hereby declare the firstSunday in December St. Nicholas Soci-ety Sunday as an expression of grati-tude and a sign of the earnest desire tofoster and on-going bond between theSociety and the Church.” Signed by:Fr. Julio Torres, Priest-in-Charge;Marti Mackenzie, Senior Warden; andJerry Long, Clerk of the Vestry. At thebottom of theresolution is the following summary inDutch: “De St. Mark’s Kerk aan deBouwerij heeft dit besluit genomen inde ere van de St. Nicholas Verenigingde met veel ijver de Nederlandsegeschiedenis van de Stad New Yorkbewaard en als dank voor hun onder-steuning, die deze vereniging aan deSt. Mark’s Kerk verleend.”

ST. MARK’SPROCLAIMS

SAINTNICHOLAS

SOCIETYSUNDAY

6

Saint Nicholas members will be greatly in-terested in New Netherland: A DutchColony in Seventeenth-Century Amer-

ica, a handsomely printed book of perma-nent value (well worth the price). Thisvolume deserves to reach a wide public atthis time of rekindling of interest in ourDutch colonial heritage.

The author, Jaap Jacobs, holds a Ph.D.(1999) from the University of Leiden. Hiswork was originally published in Dutch,as Een zegenrijk gewest: Nieuw-Nederlandin de zeventiende eeuw (Amsterdam:Prometheus/Bert Bakker, 1999), and he him-self wrote this English translation, thorough-ly revised and updated. (The Dutch title maybe translated: “A blessing-rich region: NewNetherland in the 17th century”; the firstwords allude to a contemporary Dutch de-scription of the natural wealth and beauty ofthe land.)

Jacobs gives a remarkably full, accurate, andauthoritative account of the Dutch colonialsettlement in North America. The most strik-ing feature of his work is that it is foundedprimarily upon archival material that the au-thor read in the original Dutch manuscripts(or in photocopies or microfilms of them),both in the Netherlands and in the UnitedStates. Few, if any, previously published gen-eral studies of New Netherland have beenbased on such close, first-hand study of man-uscript material in both locations.

Jacobs calls attention to historical develop-ments, but his work is not in the form of achronology of New Netherland events fromthe 1620s until 1664. Rather, it is a close-upportrait of Dutch-American society from avariety of angles: 1) early eyewitness ac-counts of New Netherland; 2) patterns of im-migration and settlement; 3) government andadministration; 4) finance and trade; 5) reli-gion; 6) class and social structure; 7) cus-toms, folklore, and everyday life. Thebibliography lists archival sources (with lo-cations) and printed sources.

There is also an illustration section, with re-productions of early maps, pictures of histor-ical figures, and photos of manuscripts, as ofthe famous letter (in the Dutch NationalArchives, The Hague) from Peter Jansz.Schaghen (or Schagen) to the States Gener-al, November 5, 1626, announcing that theIsland of Manhattan had been purchasedfrom the Indians “for the value of 60guilders” (“voor de waerde van 60. gld.”);i.e. for trade goods valued at 60 guilders.This is of course the original documentarysource of the hoary old canard that the Dutchbought Manhattan for $24.00 (as computedby nineteenth-century historians, at the ex-change rate of 2 1/2 silver Holland guildersto one U.S. silver dollar).

The manufacturing and import of alcoholseems to have been of prominent concern tothe early settlers, with the principal localproduct being beer (for use in the colony)and the main alcohol imports being wine,brandy, and gin as luxury items. Early set-tlers had noticed the abundance of wildgrapes, and had thought of developing awine industry in New Netherland, but thisplan was not put into effect at the time (at thepresent day, excellent wines are producedin several regions of New York State). How-ever, the growing of tobacco, both fordomestic use and for export, was a majoragricultural activity in the colony. Tobaccowas shipped in barrels, like those depicted onthe seal of our Society, and on the arms of theCity of New York.

Among New Netherlanders, sports includedsuch pastimes as bowling (familiar to readersof the story of Rip Van Winkle), target shoot-ing, and, in the winter, ice skating and sleighriding. One then-popular recreation that hashappily disappeared was “pulling the goose”(ganstrekken). This involved suspending ahapless goose in the air by a rope: peoplewould ride by, and try to grab hold of itsgreased neck and yank its head off; the suc-cessful contender got to keep the decapitatedgoose. One is glad to learn that this revoltingactivity was condemned by the director gen-eral and the council. Apparently (and per-haps not surprisingly) the event had oftenbeen accompanied by a good deal of rowdyand disruptive behavior on the part of theparticipants and spectators.

An important part of Jacobs’s discussionnecessarily centers on the fur trade, whichprovided one of the primary incentives forestablishing the Dutch colony (a beaver ap-pears prominently on the coat of arms of the

Book Review

New Netherland;A Dutch Colony inSeventeenth-Century AmericaJaap Jacobs

Leiden, The Netherlands:and Boston, Mass.:Brill Academic Publishers, 2005ISBN 90 04 12906 5Pp. xix + 559 (hardcover)Price: $195.00 US; Euros 150.00

City of New York and on the seal of our So-ciety). The author presents contemporarystatistics indicating that over the period from1624 to 1635, approximately 80,000 beaverpelts (worth 6 to 10 guilders each) were ex-ported from New Netherland. The letter byPeter Schaghen, referred to above, mentionsthat the same ship which in 1626 broughthome the news of the purchase of Manhat-tan, also carried 7,246 beaver pelts.

I have often been puzzled by the question ofwhy beaver pelts were so valuable at thattime. Jacobs does not go into detail about thequestion, since it does not directly concernhis portrait of New Netherland. The answer,as many Saint Nicholas members are doubt-less aware, is that beaver fur was used inmaking the broad-brimmed, high-crownedhats (worn by men and by women) that onenotices in paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer,Frans Hals, and other 17th-century artists.Peter Stuyvesant is often portrayed wearingthis style of hat. The hat was not made fromthe beaver pelt itself; rather, certain kinds ofhairs were carefully removed from the peltand made into felt, which then, by an elabo-rate series of complicated, skilled processeswould be made into a hat. The great expenseof these luxurious hats was as much in themanufacturing as in the cost of the beaverpelts. In later years, as beavers were huntedalmost to extinction, changing fashions (andthe availability of machine-made felt after1846) led to the general discontinuance ofthe quest for beaver pelts.

Jaap Jacobs’s comprehensive and authorita-tive study, based on primary source materi-als, is doubtless destined to become anessential work for anyone interested in NewNetherland.

Francis J. Sypher, Jr.

IN MEMORIAM: Fred Gleason

7

October 1963, and at once realized that,having been elected to membership onSeptember 30, 1963, he had saved his copyof that issue, since it contained the an-nouncement of his election. He located itin his files and generously donated it to theSociety, which now has a full and completeset of issues. We express our gratitude tohim, and to all members who donated backissues to complete the set.

The Weathercock issues for October 1962through Fall 2005 were consigned lastsummer to a professional bookbinder forsewing and binding into a handsome hard-cover volume, with a sturdy slipcase. Thecost of binding was supported by the Soci-ety, aided by contributions from boardmembers, such as Thomas E. Bird, towhom the Society is grateful. We trust thatthe series (including the previously miss-ing issue of October 1963, received in time

S A L M A G U N D ICourtney C. Haff, at an event in “FiveDutch Days” (a five-day-long celebrationof Netherlandish culture in New York),gave a lecture titled “Vision for the NewAmsterdam History Center”; this was partof a panel of lectures sponsored by theNew Amsterdam History Center, and theAmerican Institute of Architects New YorkChapter and American Planning Associa-tion NY Metro Chapter; the event was sup-ported by Collegiate Church Corporation,and New Netherland Institute. Amongspeakers were: Christopher Moore, trusteeof the New Amsterdam History Center;Frank Sypher; and Jeroen van den Hurk,Dissertation Fellow, New NetherlandInstitute.

Robert Stephen Roberson, of NewportNews, Virginia, noticed in the last issue ofThe Weathercock the statement that ourfiles were missing a copy the issue for

to be bound in with the rest) will now re-main intact, so that future members will beable to consult its record of our activitiesduring the past 43 years.

Frank Sypher is author of Letitia Eliza-beth Landon: A Bibliography (Ann Arbor:Scholars’ Facsimiles & Reprints, 2005),volume 15 in his series of books (1990-2005) by and about this early 19th-centuryBritish poet and novelist (1802-1838). Hisbiography of Landon was published in2004.

Chief Steward Joseph vanBeurenWittmann III and Jennifer L. Wittmannare parents of a daughter, Elizabeth Mar-garet Schuyler Wittmann, born September12, 2005, at Mount Kisco, WestchesterCo., N.Y. The Schuyler name is well es-tablished among members of the Wittmannfamily.

Frederick Brockway Gleason III diedon November 28, 2005, in Savannah,Georgia, where he had been living

for some years. He was gunned down, ac-cording to reports, in an apparent “botchedrobbery” attempt upon him and his wifeoutside their home in Savannah.

Fred was born November 15, 1941, son ofthe late Frederick Brockway Gleason, Jr.,and Mary Dewart Gleason, and grandson ofWilliam Dewart, publisher in the 1930s and1940s of the famous New York newspaperThe Sun, which was sold in 1950. His SaintNicholas membership dated from Septem-ber 28, 1970, in right of descent fromGerrett Hendricks Dewees. He was bornin New York City, and attended severallocal schools (including Trinity School, for

second grade), be-fore going toChoate. He thengraduated from theUniversity of Penn-sylvania; from theWharton School ofBusiness he re-ceived the degree ofMBA in 1970. In New York, Fred workedfor a number of securities firms beforeeventually moving to Savannah, where hetaught history to underprivileged students,and continued his long-standing interest injournalism. He had a deft way with words,both in speaking and in writing, and was en-thusiastically involved in the launching in2001 of the present-day New York Sun,where the long-familiar masthead, with its

memorable motto “It shines for all,” cannow be seen again on New York news-stands. Fred was active in numerous clubs,organizations, and hereditary societies, in-cluding the Pilgrims of the United States,the Society of Colonial Wars, and the Mas-sachusetts Society of the Cincinnati. Hewas also a member of the Veteran Corps ofArtillery, and of the Society of the War of1812.

He is survived by his wife, the former AnnPowell Lackey, and their daughter, AnnPowell Dewart Gleason, who made herdébut at the Paas Festival in 2000. News ar-ticles appeared in The New York Sun,November 30, 2005 (also an editorial), andin the Savannah Morning News, December2, 2005.

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Name Date of Election AncestorPeter Livingston Bogardus Dec. 6, 2005 Domine Everardus Bogardus

Andrew Lanark Bogardus Dec. 6, 2005 Domine Everardus Bogardus

Sidney Tuttle Bogardus Dec. 6, 2005 Domine Everardus Bogardus

Bromme Hampton Cole Dec. 6, 2005 Barent Jacobsen Cool

Stanley Dean Heisler Dec. 6, 2005 Lambert Jochemse van Valkenburg

Nicholas Cownhoven Taylor Oct. 13, 2005 Wolfert Gerritse Van Kouwenhoven

Charles Michael Anthony Winn Oct. 13, 2005 Stephen Knowlton

NEW MEMBERS ELECTED

THE SAINT NICHOLAS SOCIETYOF THE CITY OF NEWYORK

122 EAST 58TH STREET,NEW YORK, NY 10022-1909TELEPHONE: 212-753-7175

FAX: 212-980-0769EMAIL: stnick@bestweb.net

OFFICERSWILLIAM R. FOLLETT

PRESIDENTJOHN McC. SHANNON

FIRST VICE PRESIDENTJOHN P. T. BLAKE

SECOND VICE PRESIDENTJOHN MAUK HILLIARD

THIRD VICE PRESIDENTGEORGE H. MCNEELY IV

FOURTH VICE PRESIDENTSTEPHEN B. BILLICK

SECRETARYWILLIAM POTTER JOHNS

TREASURER

THE WEATHERCOCKAN OCCASIONAL PUBLICATION

OF THE SOCIETY,WRITTEN, EDITED AND PRODUCED

BYFRANCIS J. SYPHER, JR.JOHN McC. SHANNON

TheSaintNicholasSocietyoftheCityofNewYork

122East58thStreetNewYork,NY10022-1909

OFFICE RELOCATIONBefore the Society relocates to a new office (the move is presently in the planning stages), members shouldget in touch if they would like to acquire any old event photos, books, or other items (including a 40” tall

Herring-Hall-Marvin safe) that will not be taken to the new headquarters.

www.saintnicholassociety.org

Thursday, February 23 Winter Stated Meeting St. George’s ChurchFriday, March 31 Paas Festival St. Regis HotelThursday, April 20 Board of Managers Meeting OfficeThursday, May 18 Spring Stated Meeting Racquet & Tennis Club

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2006

The Society has received notice of the death of the following members:Name Date of Election Date of DeathCarlisle Norwood Feb. 27, 1933 July 11, 2005John Winthrop Malcom Oct. 11, 1994 July 30, 2005Davis Van Beuren Mitchell Nov. 3, 1947 Aug. 4, 2005Beverly Cory Chew April 29, 1963 Aug. 26, 2005Thomas Frederick Spencer Jan. 19, 1981 Aug. 28, 2005Charles Gifford Miller Jan. 30, 1998 Aug. 2005John Elliott, Jr. Oct. 11, 1994 Oct. 29, 2005Frederick Brockway Gleason III Sept. 28, 1970 Nov. 28, 2005Russell Brown, Jr. Nov. 3, 1947 2005

NECROLOGY