New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-01-09
KlNDERHOOK
An Outpost of the Dutch in
America.

= HISTORY OF OLD KINDERHOOK. BY
Edward A. Collier. y d. With 10 Illus
tiations and three maps $40. ~. XII, 81.
G. =. Putnem's sons.
Undertook ("Children's Corner" or
"Children's Point" either translation
is correct is of particular interest to
the student OF the history of the Dutch
in America, because il is there that
this element of the population of the
state survived longest, and longest
maintained the tongue and the customs
OF the home Of its ancestors. Less than
thirty years ago the grandmothers Of
Undertook still taught their children's
children the Lords Prayer in Dutch,
and sang them to sleep with Dutch
lullabies. Sons Of the town who have
reached middle age still remember
stray words of the language, but with
them a tradition upheld with typical
Dutch tenacity will die. II is worth
observing here, and by the way, that
the Dutch words so common in the
daily talk of New Workers a genera
ton ago have gradually dropped out
such words as "winklehawk," for in
stance. Perhaps il is not yet too late
to collect them before they are entire
~ forgotten. II would be task TO the
taste of some of our many and indus
trious knickerbocker antiquarians.
In the course of pastorate of
forty-three years in Undertook, DR..
Collier began to collect the data which
he presents 20 us in this volume. 1t
is Of more than purely local interest.
He starts with the anchoring OF the
liz -. 49,. h Of
the town that was TO be, and proceeds
through three centuries of its adven-
lures and development to the present
day. But chiefly is he concerned with
the early settlers, their homesteadS
and traditions, their civic, social, po-
litical, educational and religious life,
the share they took in the historic
events Of the country. in the Indian
wars and the Revolution, and with
their descendants. Undertook has
furnished many men of note and merit
70 state and nation. This is a proud
record Of Vans innumerable. Of Wynn
hoops, Pruyns, Dingmans, Bruyns, Al
stynes, Nosburghs, led, Of course. by
Martin Van Buren,. who, when Minister
10 England, proudly informed its
Queen that his family dated back TO
Undertook. Still. the greatest Of all
of them are Katrina Van Tassel and
Ichabod Crane no Knickerbocker he,
however.
DR.. Collier is quite convinced that
the settlers of Undertook were r.
worthier sort Of people than their
brethren in New Amsterdam and at
Fort Orange. lie even adduces six
teenth and seventeenth century docu-
mentary evidence 10 prove his point.
Still, there is extant a letter written
by a Hessian soldier from which we
learn that the people of Undertook,
Dutch by birth, were kind. They had
only one fault-tha Is, they were self
ish and were as fond of money as a
Jew. Every article they sold us was
terribly dear The Hessians. however,
got even by paying with counterfeit
money. SO says r Undertook tradi-
ton. A. for the women Of the town.
another Hessian has left us his i'm
preston of them:
The ladies are slender. Of erect
carriage, and. without being very
strong. are plump. They have
small and pretty feet, good hands
and arms, very white skin and
+. healthy color. They have
also exceedingly white teeth,