Guide to Dutch Manuscripts Relating to New Netherland in U.S. Repositories
An updated version of the Guide that incorporates recent findings, with hyperlinks to available online translations, transcriptions, and manuscript images is available here.
The Guide to Dutch Manuscripts Relating to New Netherland is an online catalog of primary source material located in repositories throughout the United States. The purposes of the Guide are to 1) describe relevant documents and collections and 2) provide researchers with their location.
The dates of the material extend from the earliest years of Dutch West India Company activity in New Netherland to the final handover to the English in 1674.[1] The language of the material is Dutch with the exception of English language notations and endorsements added at a later date to certain documents.
Originally compiled in 1977 and 1978 by Dr. Charles Gehring, the Guide was updated in 2010–2012 under a project of the New Netherland Research Center and the New York State Archives with support from the New Netherland Institute and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The project included digitization of the Guide to meet current archival standards.
The resulting catalog records describe approximately 850 manuscripts in thirty repositories. Each record includes a variety of metadata, including Title, Author, Subject, and Geographic Terms. It identifies where the manuscript may be accessed in its original or in alternative physical and/or digital formats. It also identifies the physical and digital availability of transcriptions and translations.
Researchers may access the Guide online through the New York State Library/Archives/Museum Catalog. Please see our Searching the Guide to Dutch Manuscripts for an overview of how to focus your search on material in the Guide. Also see our List of Repositories for instructions on how to search or browse by repository.
Searching the Guide to Dutch Manuscripts
[1] The interim period of English government from 1664 to 1673 is included because the continuity of New Netherland was only disrupted at the executive level.
About the New Netherland Institute
For over three decades, NNI has helped cast light on America's Dutch roots. In 2010, it partnered with the New York State Office of Cultural Education to establish the New Netherland Research Center, with matching funds from the State of the Netherlands. NNI is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. More
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Housed in the New York State Library, the NNRC offers students, educators, scholars and researchers a vast collection of early documents and reference works on America's Dutch era. More
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