Sunday Oct 4, 2020: Dr. Sherene Baugher – Cornell University: Changing Heritage Narratives at the Voorlezer House: From a Dutch Schoolhouse to a French Huguenot Home

Sunday Oct 4, 2020 at 3pm             The Dr. George G. Hackman Memorial Lecture

Co-Sponsored by Historic Richmondtown

Dr. Sherene Baugher – Cornell University

Changing Heritage Narratives at the Voorlezer House: From a Dutch Schoolhouse to a French Huguenot Home

Heritage and immigration are major topics among archaeologists and historians.  But the big issue is really about who controls the heritage narrative. Whose identity and history will be remembered and whose will be forgotten.  From 1942 a building in Historic Richmondtown has been interpreted to the public as a 17th century Dutch schoolhouse, the Voorlezer House. However, the structure was actually built in the mid-18th century and was home of the Rezeaus, a French Huguenot family. Why was it presented as a Dutch and not as a French building? This will be addressed in this talk. Staten Island, along with New Paltz, was a major area for French Protestant settlement in colonial New York.  And yet the history and archaeology of French Huguenots on Staten Island has been understudied. This presentation will also provide information on the archaeological work on the Rezeau house and discuss how the Rezeau family sought to maintain their identity when faced pressures of assimilation within a growing Dutch and later English community.  The Rezeau archaeology will be placed within the context of the larger Huguenot communities on Staten Island and within the colony of New York.

All Lectures for the 2020-2021 season will be conducted via Zoom.  More specific instructions will be provided as we get closer to the lecture dates.