Gerrit

In 1649, Gerrit Van Duyn and his sister left their small town in the United Provinces of the Netherlands to work for the West Indies Corporation in the influential colony of New Amsterdam. There they thought they would live out their lives—until the English invaded.

This is Gerrit’s story, compiled from papers and family journals by Van Duyn descendant Harry Roegner. One of the first truly genealogical historical novels, Gerrit brings the past to dramatic and sometimes tragic life.

Forced out of New Amsterdam by the English, Gerrit would return to the Netherlands, only to share in his nation’s humiliating occupation by French forces. He would eventually return to New Amsterdam, only to find the colony under a new Anglicized name—New York. There he, along with the spirited Jacques Cortelyou, would lay a foundation of political thinking that would inspire the Declaration of Independence.

Discover the debt the United States owes to Gerrit Van Duyn and Dutch settlers. His life might be fictionalized, but Gerrit existed. His contributions to his fellow colonists and the young democratic nation that would soon take root in North America should not be forgotten.

An international businessman and avid butterfly enthusiast, New Jersey native Harry Roegner has lived in France, Belgium, and Germany and traveled extensively in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He amassed one of the largest private butterfly collections in the US, which now resides at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

Roegner holds degrees from Princeton University and the University of California, Berkeley. In addition to being a leading authority of the international automotive industry, he has advised the US Commerce Department and US Trade Representative on international trade policy.

Fluent in five languages, Roegner is the author of two memoirs, Butterfly Trails and Adventures with Butterflies. He is also the author of the historical novel A Time to Remember.