As Directress General (2023-2026), it is my pleasure to welcome you to the website of the Society of Daughters of Holland Dames, Descendants of the Ancient and Honorable Families of New Netherland.
We were founded in 1895 as a hereditary organization to perpetuate the memory of our ancestors and to preserve and promote the legacy of the seventeenth-century Dutch settlers of New Netherland. Our mission focuses on collecting and preserving genealogical and historical documents relevant to the Dutch in America and to support excellence in historical research related to New Netherland.
In the twenty-first century the Society of Daughters of Holland Dames continues to honor the values of our Dutch ancestors and to ensure that their contributions to the foundation of this country are not lost, forgotten, or overlooked.
To support the Society’s purposes, we have an active grants program. In recent years we have provided grants to the New Netherland Institute in Albany to support its work of digitizing and translating the original seventeenth-century administrative records of the New Netherland Colony. Other recent grants include funding of the New Netherland Institute’s Alida and Robert Livingston Correspondence Project; the Mapping New York Project of the New Amsterdam History Center; and the Thematic Survey of Dutch Heritage Resources in the Greater Hudson Valley by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation.
Living during this challenging time in world history, we witness the plight of refugees and immigrants seeking new lives, as well as millions of Americans and global citizens seeking access to life-saving vaccines and struggling to maintain their livelihood to survive. Echoes and the lessons of our Dutch ancestors reverberate. Our informative website attracts new members as well as those curious to learn more about our Society. Our active Facebook page engages a growing number of visitors interested in regular posts on all things New Netherland! Our scholarly publications enrich our readers.
I feel honored to oversee a Board of Directors of talented, sophisticated women who share respect and pride in their heritage. Together we work to promote our mission and to keep our Society vital by recognizing the contributions our heritage has made to our lives and to this country. It is a great legacy that we do not take for granted. Daughters of Holland Dames are women who honor the chain of life through generations past, present, and future. We invite you to explore this site and celebrate our traditions.
With warm wishes,
Suzanne Roff, PhD
Directress General