Colen Donck
Encyclopedia
Colen Donck was the title of a large Dutch-American owned estate of 24,000 acres (97 km²) (a patroon
ship) originally owned by Adriaen van der Donck
in New Netherland
, along what was then known as the North River (Hudson River).
According to Russell Shorto
, "Van der Donck's grant began on the mainland directly to the north of the island (Manhattan
), continued along the river for twelve miles, and carried eastward as far as the Bronx River ... he became lord of much of what is today the Bronx and southern Westchester County".
Willem Kieft
the Director-General of New Netherland
granted Van der Donck the property in 1646. Adriaen van der Donck named his estate Colen Donck and built several mills along what is now called the Saw Mill River. The estate was so large that locals referred to him as the Jonkheer ("young gentleman" or "squire"), a word from which the name "Yonkers" is derived.
Records show Van der Donck to have been alive in August 1655 and dead by the following January and indicate that there was some sort of inquiry into the sacking of his home in the raids known as the Peach Tree War
.
Patroon
In the United States, a patroon was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland in North America...
ship) originally owned by Adriaen van der Donck
Adriaen van der Donck
Adriaen Cornelissen van der Donck was a lawyer and landowner in New Netherland after whose honorific Jonkheer the city of Yonkers, New York is named...
in New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
, along what was then known as the North River (Hudson River).
According to Russell Shorto
Russell Shorto
Russell Shorto is an American author, historian and journalist, best known for his book on the Dutch origins of New York City, The Island at the Center of the World...
, "Van der Donck's grant began on the mainland directly to the north of the island (Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
), continued along the river for twelve miles, and carried eastward as far as the Bronx River ... he became lord of much of what is today the Bronx and southern Westchester County".
Willem Kieft
Willem Kieft
Willem Kieft was a Dutch merchant and director-general of New Netherland , from 1638 until 1647. He formed the council of twelve men, the first representative body in New Netherland, but ignored its advice...
the Director-General of New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
granted Van der Donck the property in 1646. Adriaen van der Donck named his estate Colen Donck and built several mills along what is now called the Saw Mill River. The estate was so large that locals referred to him as the Jonkheer ("young gentleman" or "squire"), a word from which the name "Yonkers" is derived.
Records show Van der Donck to have been alive in August 1655 and dead by the following January and indicate that there was some sort of inquiry into the sacking of his home in the raids known as the Peach Tree War
Peach Tree War
The Peach Tree War, also known as the "Peach War," is the name given to a large scale attack on the New Netherland colony of Pavonia, across from New Amsterdam, and surrounding settlements along the North River by the Susquehannock Nation and allied Native Americans on September 15,...
.