Manhattan - Seeds of the Big Apple
by Gloria Waldron Hukle
published by by Author House
review by Jerry Rabushka
I remember in school the fact that New York was originally the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam was glossed over in about 15 seconds. Just a small slice of history, that even with my interest in days of long ago, I’ve never seen discussed anywhere.
Which gives Manhattan – Seeds of the Big Apple a special place for lovers of obscure times in history. Authoer Gloria Waldron Hukle, a descendant of the early Dutch immigrants to America, uses her family history as a starting point to tell the story of these early pioneers. Her point of view, which can hardly be argued with, is that these early days of New York – er, Amsterdam – are largely forgotten and it’s time to change that.
Must have been a lot different view of Manhattan, with nary a skyscraper, a small city protected by forts, even grassy hills and trees (in Manhattan!). And as the Waldron family steps off the boat to America, they’re greeted by something our country is famous for – cultural diversity.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the book is how this family, coming from a very heterogeneous Planet Holland, navigates its way through a society and a land of Indians, Negro slaves, Jews, Catholics, Quakers, and (gasp!) English!
Much of the conflict in the family, in fact, revolves around treatment of, and love or compassion for, “outsiders.”
The more you get to know people outside your bubble, the less your prejudices stand up, yet the more your society tries to box you back into it’s narrow world view. In the 1650s there was a lot more to lose by going against the norm.
Hukle does a nice job of writing the pace of life from 350 years ago. The book starts slowly as the family spends a long time crossing over on the boat. The reader sees and feels discoveries through the eyes of Tennake Waldron and her husband Resolved, rarely will Hukle say “This is how it was,” but more like “Tennake noticed, this that, and the other.”
The action picks up in this supposedly peaceful colony with a seemingly unprovoked Indian attack, disagreement over treatment of the “savages,” and the impending specter of a British takeover. Meanwhile, Resolved’s brother Joseph finds Sarah, the “family Negro” much more to his liking than he’s afraid to admit.
The book is also a good reminder how communication differed back then – we’re told that Tennake, once making the journey over the Atlantic, never ventures more than 12 miles away from her home (at the corner of present day Wall Street and Broadway).
Guests with stories of the outside world were very welcome; news from the homeland would take weeks to arrive to the colony, people who lived in “suburbs” or outlying villages were isolated from cities even a few miles away, often significantly more at risk of attack.
The writing reflects a more formal style of speech, even between husband and wife, and Hukle (pictured, right) wisely incorporates this into her narrative. It’s a style the speaks to an intelligent reader and reports on the prejudices and thoughts of these people without judging. Anyway, by the time I was done, I was sorry it was over.
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