Texas Branch

Contact:
Patrick Van Pelt
vanpelt@mccltd.com

The Holland Society of New York Texas Branch News

The Texas Branch Meeting of the Holland Society of New York was held on November 1, 2008 in Dallas, Texas at the Southfork Hotel. Texas Branch President Patrick Van Pelt, his Wife, Mirela, their infant daughter, Bella and Patrick's parents Bill and Maureen Van Pelt were on hand to greet attendees when they arrived on Friday, October 31. The group was transported out to the Southfork Ranch, site of the filming of the wildly popular TV series "Dallas" during the 1980's. After a tour of the ranch and mansion house (who shot JR anyway?) the group gathered in a dining room at the ranch for a genuine Texas barbeque dinner. They were welcomed by Patrick Van Pelt and his family and national Holland Society President, John B. VanDerbeek IV, his wife, Diane, and Holland Society friend and John's sister, Martha "Muffy" VanDerbeek Unger. The dinner provided an excellent venue for socializing and discussing family heritage. After the delicious dessert, Patrick Van Pelt provided a presentation about how the internet can be used to access family heritage records, to network, and he also discussed Dutch names.

The following morning, the official branch meeting was at 8:00 am at the hotel. Topics discussed included Patrick Van Pelt's presentation regarding his trip to Belgium and Holland over the summer to view his family heritage sites, John VanDerbeek discussed plans for the upcoming 2009 celebration and key dates during 2009 when Holland Society members might want to visit New York City and New York State. These dates include the first two weeks of April and around the time of the annual meeting on April 6, 2009; the time period June 6-10 when a trip up the Hudson is being arranged in connection with the New York state "River Days" celebration; the last week of August and first week of September in connection with the Maritime Festival; and of course the second week of November in conjunction with the 5 Dutch Days and the annual Holland Society of New York banquet.

After the official meeting was over, the group adjourned to visit the beautiful Dallas Arboretum and tour the impressive DeGolyer Mansion. A member of our group, Holland Society friend Bill de Decker, is a member of the Arboretum and was particularly helpful in showing us the beautiful gardens. During the tour of the DeGolyer Mansion, we enjoyed seeing historic maps collected by Mr. DeGolyer and also the invitation for Mrs. DeGolyer to attend a luncheon with President Kennedy on the fateful day of his assassination. After a genuine Texas lunch at a local diner where we tried Chicken Fried Steak and biscuits and gravy, we took a few hours to rest up for the afternoon and evening events.

At 3:30 we all gathered in a meeting room in the hotel for the surprise "George Schurman - This is your Life" event. As part of the Henry Hudson 400 Membership Drive, it was noted that family patriarch George Schurman now of Dallas, Texas had successfully introduced at least ten new members to the Holland Society of New York in the past year. A decision was made upon the suggestion of Holland Society friend Martha "Muffy" VanDerbeek Unger that Mr. Schurman should be honored. His family eagerly agreed, and his four children, grandchildren, and great grandchild and a number of other family members and long time friends gathered and enjoyed an incredible and poignant series of video presentations about Mr. Schurman's life. All of the members of the HSNY Membership Committee were present to celebrate Mr. Schurman. The family and organizers worked exceedingly hard to keep this event a secret, which was not easy considering that there were thirty five family members present, and literally hundreds of e-mails and photos exchanged over a four month period to organize the event. Mr. Schurman was quite touched after recovering from the shock of the surprise. During the festivities, the newest Holland Society member, Davis Rankin Schurman, age 7, was provided with his Henry Hudson 400 Membership pin and the historic New Amsterdam map by National Holland Society President John B. VanDerbeek IV. All of the Schurmans descend from Frederick Harmenson Schureman who came to New Amsterdam in 1645. This large and close knit family was a wonderful addition to the Texas Branch meeting.

After the Schurman event, guests gathered in an adjoining dining room for the banquet and dinner. The keynote speaker was Holland Society National President John B. VanDerbeek IV who provided a Power Point presentation describing recent local and national events and the primary national Holland Society initiatives. The banquet was sponsored by the Texas Hereditary Societies and representatives of a number of heritage celebrating organizations were present in full regalia making for a wonderfully festive evening.

The following morning, some from the group met at a Dutch bakery for breakfast. Special thanks go to Patrick Van Pelt, his assistant, Jill Jasso, and Martha "Muffy" VanDerbeek Unger for arranging this delightful weekend of events, and to Lisa Lasher for her technical skills on the President's video presentation.

Those in attendance included Robert Devine, Al See, Andrew Ten Eyck and his son, Paul, Peter Ten Eyck, Bill and Maureen Van Pelt, Duane and Peggy Vandenberg, Dick Ten Eyck (Rocky Mountain Branch President), Patrick, Mirela and baby Bella Van Pelt, Donna Carter, Jim and Kelley Middaugh, Charles and Patricia Darwin, Bill de Decker, Lisa Lasher, John and Diane VanDerbeek, Muffy and Bob Unger, and family patriarch George Schurman with 35 of his family members.

Be sure to see the photos of this exciting event!