L IFE IN THE N EW N ATION
AT
VAN C ORTLANDT
M ANOR
INTRODUCTION
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR
CROTON-ON-HUDSON, NY
Dear Educator,
Welcome to Van Cortlandt Manor. Each of the themed programs it offers
includes a resource packet that contains information to acquaint you and your students
with the historic site and how its inhabitants—owners, tenants, enslaved workers and
servants—worked and lived in the new nation after the American Revolution.
Look for these basic materials in this packet:
•
•
•
•
a
a
a
a
history of the Manor
current map of the site
time line (with worksheet)
period map of the Hudson River Valley (with worksheet)
It is important that background information about the Manor be presented
beforehand. If students are able to read it, duplicate and distribute the history piece
to them. If not, present the material yourself in such a way as to both inform and
generate interest and enthusiasm. Be sure to use the site map to orient students and
give them some idea of the nature and extent of the property. In case of questions,
call (914) 271-8981 Ext. 10. Please be on time.
Prior to Your Visit
To derive maximum benefit from your visit please:
• divide students into groups before arriving at the site, numbers
to be determined by Van Cortlandt Manor school program coordinator during the initial planning telephone contact. This ensures
that everyone can see artifacts and interact with museum staff.
• see that students are dressed appropriately for the weather since
tours involve walking between buildings, and some activities
take place outdoors.
• provide a sufficient number of teachers and/or parents to allow
for at least one adult per group of ten students.
• familiarize students with museum rules: no food or drink inside
buildings; pencils and paper are allowed, but no pens; no large
backpacks; no touching of artifacts; exterior photography only.
2
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
GOALS
AND
OBJECTIVES
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR
CROTON-ON-HUDSON, NY
A visit to Van Cortlandt Manor should not be just an outing for your
classes. If students are well-prepared and helped to relate what they see, hear
and participate in to their personal lives and to grade-level curriculum, their
visit will be both an enjoyable learning experience and a valuable one. The
materials in the education packets have been designed to emphasize skills like
reading to learn, writing with a purpose, analyzing documents, drawing inferences, and making comparisons. Both individual and collaborative modes of
learning are recommended. The use of primary source materials as a means of
learning about the past—especially records, art, and excerpts from letters—is
especially encouraged. This approach is in keeping with the New York State
Objectives for the Social Studies. Although these materials can be challenging,
approached in the right way, and with help from the teacher, students will find
them fascinating and rewarding. Such sources are, after all, the basis of what is
called history.
For each themed program, in addition to materials listed on the previous
page, a selection of pre/post-visit activities and exercises is provided. Because of the
broad range of grade levels associated with each program you may want to make
minor changes in the activities and exercises to suit the abilities of your students.
The materials should provoke interesting class discussions on important issues.
Please make use of some or all of the resources supplied so that your classes will be
able to profit from as well as enjoy their visit.
3
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR
Van Cortlandt Manor is located on the Croton River in Westchester County, not
far from where it empties into the Hudson. The house has been restored to the way it
is thought to have looked when it was owned and lived in by Pierre Van Cortlandt
(1749-1814). The interpretation of the historic site focuses on what life on the Manor
was like—for family members, servants and enslaved Africans, tenants and hired
hands—in the new nation after the American Revolution. The manor house contains a
fine collection of furnishings in the Georgian and Federal style. The kitchen on the
ground floor has an original hearth and many authentic cooking utensils. The ferry
house, occupied by a tenant who operated a ferry across the Croton River, has been
restored as the tavern and inn it once was. It contains examples of furniture typical of
the Hudson River area. Next to the ferry house is a reconstructed tenant farm house
where workshops and demonstrations often take place.
PIERRE VAN CORTLANDT AT CROTON
Born into a prominent and wealthy family of Dutch ancestry, Pierre Van
Cortlandt had grown up in New York City. But soon after he and his wife Joanna
had their first son, Philip, he decided to live in Westchester on land inherited from
his father. There was a small stone house on the property in Croton, built into the
hillside in the early Dutch style. Pierre expanded the house to three stories and
added two huge brick chimneys as well as a porch on three sides of the main floor.
Although it was transformed into a gracious home, large enough to accommodate
Pierre’s growing family—there were eight children eventually—Van Cortlandt
Manor still retained its farmhouse character.
4
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
Pierre made money by growing crops and raising animals to sell in New York
City, by leasing land to tenant farmers, and by operating flour mills and saw mills
on the Croton River, and in Peekskill. The estate included a ferry house which
Pierre rented out, at one point to a woman who ran a tavern in it and operated the
ferry. As was common in New York State at the time, the family used enslaved
Africans as labor: women worked in the house, the dairy and the gardens, while the
men tended the animals and the fields, operated the mills and often assisted in the
family businesses.
The Van Cortlandts supported the Patriot cause in the American
Revolution, although some of their relatives did not. Pierre was active politically
and served as lieutenant governor for the newly organized State of New York; his
oldest son Philip served as a brigadier general in the Continental Army. During
the war, Westchester County was an area in which both British and American
raiding parties were active. Since Van Cortlandt Manor was not a safe place the
family moved north. The house, emptied of most of its furnishings and left to the
care of a few servants, was ransacked.
After the war the Manor house was repaired by Philip Van Cortlandt who
then lived there with his widowed sister Catherine Van Wyck and her three sons.
Pierre and Joanna lived in Peekskill at this time. Pierre however did stay the night
at the Manor with Philip in November of 1783 on the way to New York City,
where he rode “triumphant into the City with the Commander in Chief [George
Washington]” after the British had evacuated.
In 1803 Pierre and Joanna returned to Croton where Pierre devoted himself
to managing the family estates and business ventures. Having converted to
Methodism, the Van Cortlandts built a chapel in Croton, hosted visiting ministers,
and allowed camp meetings to be held on their property. Joanna died in 1808, and
Pierre died six years later at the age of 93. His children, who inherited his property both real and personal, freed his slaves, except for one who was too old.
This description of Pierre Van Cortlandt appeared in the obituary prepared by
his sons. He was “a patriot of the first order zealous for the Liberties of his
Country…a friend to the Poor…a kind and good neighbour, an affectionate fond
and indulgent Parent, an honest man and a good Christian.”
5
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
6
1. Entrance Gate
2. Manor House
3. Outbuldings
4. Long Walk & Flower Gardens
5. Vegetable Gardens
6. Orchards
7. Office
8. Visitor Center
9. Tenant House & Ferry House
10. Admissions & Gift Shop
TIME LINE
1492 — — Christopher Columbus “discovers” America.
1609 — — Henry Hudson explores the river named after him.
1624 — — The Dutch establish the colony of New Netherlands
with a settlement at the tip of Manhattan Island,
which they call New Amsterdam.
1664 — — English forces capture New Amsterdam and rename
it New York.
1680-90 — Stephanus Van Cortlandt receives a land grant in
Westchester and builds the Manor house in Croton.
1749 — — Pierre Van Cortlandt moves with his family to
Croton.
1765 — — The Stamp Act is passed. It is the first of a series of
English laws that anger the colonists.
1776 — — The American Revolution officially begins with the
Declaration of Independence. The Van Cortlandts
leave the Manor because the area is dangerous.
1783 — — The Revolutionary War ends. Philip Van Cortlandt
repairs the Manor and lives there with his widowed
sister and her children.
1789 — — The Constitution is adopted and a new government is
formed. George Washington becomes president.
1803 — — Pierre and Joanna Van Cortlandt return to the Manor
to live out their lives.
1808 — — Joanna Van Cortlandt dies.
1814 — — Pierre Van Cortlandt dies. His enslaved workers arefreed according to his will.
7
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
TIME LINE EXERCISE
Answer these questions:
1. Why do you think there are quotation marks around the word “discovers” in the
first entry?
2. How long did the Dutch occupy New Amsterdam?
3. How many years passed between the time that Stephanus Van Cortlandt
acquired land in Westchester and Pierre moved to Croton?
4. What event signaled the beginning of the American Revolution?
5. How long did the American Revolution last?
6. When did the United States adopt the form of government we have today?
7. When did George Washington become president?
8. In what year did Joanna Van Cortlandt die?
9. How many years later did her husband die?
10. When and how were Pierre Van Cortlandt’s enslaved workers freed?
11. Does the time line tell you when the Boston Tea Party happened?
12. Why are time lines useful?
TO DO:
Construct a time line for your life,
listing dates that you think are important.
Include the date of the World Trade Center attack.
8
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
PERIOD MAP OF THE HUDSON RIVER VALLEY
9
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
MAP ANALYSIS WORKSHEET
1. What is the date of the map?
2. Who is the creator of the map?
3. On the map, make an ‘X’ on the spot where Van Cortlandt Manor is located.
(Hint: it is on the Croton River not far from where it empties into the Hudson.)
4. Measure the distance from the tip of Manhattan Island to Van Cortlandt Manor.
Use the scale shown on the map.
5. Of the place names on the map, which are spelled differently today? Use a current
atlas as a reference. Make a list showing the two spellings.
Old spelling
Today’s spelling
1.
1.
2.
2.
3,
3,
4,
4.
5.
5.
6.
6.
6. The ending “kill” is often used in place names, as in the Catskill Mountains. It
is from a Dutch word meaning creek or stream. Locate and list three names on the
map that have this ending.
1.
2.
3.
5. Philipsburg Manor is a historic site located in Sleepy Hollow, New York. Its
main feature is a mill. Locate this site on the map and find the distance between it
and Van Cortlandt Manor. The owner of Philipsburg Manor remained loyal to the
British and his land was taken from him (confiscated) by the Patriots.
10
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
Teacher
INTRODUCTORY EXERCISE
TEACHER-LED PRE-VISIT DISCUSSION
PART I: HOW WILL PEOPLE IN THE FUTURE LEARN ABOUT THE PRESENT?
(Adjust questions and examples to student abilities, grade levels and experiences.)
Pose these questions to your students. How will people 100 years from
now be able to learn about you? What might exist that would provide some clues
to what you looked like, what you thought and felt, where you lived, what you
made of your life? Obviously someone from the future will not be able to meet
you or talk to you directly, unless time travel becomes a reality. Ask students to
think of each clue, whatever it might be, as a piece of a puzzle. If there are
enough of them, and they are put together properly, they would form at least a
partial picture of what you and your life were like.
Explore with students the various ways they and their lives are or might be
documented and how this may vary with who they become. For example, a president of the United States will have written a book, have a presidential library and
be caught on film many times. An ordinary person might not leave so much “evidence” behind. Yet all of us and our families leave some trace.
Encourage each student to volunteer an example of a clue. Write them on
the board. Some examples follow:
• class photograph
• a letter you wrote
• Gameboy
• Pokemon cards
• birth certificate
• report card
• social security card
• a Menorah
• Metallica CD
• basketball trophy
• directions for using a microwave
• Diet Pepsi can
• driver’s license
• your teddy bear
• your First Communion dress
• picture of your house
• baby rattle
• video of a play you were in
• laptop computer
• flip-flop
• strand of your hair
• your grandma’s carved table
11
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
Teacher
HOW WILL PEOPLE IN THE FUTURE LEARN ABOUT THE PRESENT?
With the class discuss a few of the clues you have listed on the board, using these questions:
• What does the item say about the person to whom it belonged?
• Is it likely to be saved?
• What does it say about the person who saved it?
• What does it say about life during this period?
• Is it likely to survive for a 100 years even if it is saved?
• How can future generations be sure they’re interpreting the item correctly?
• How can they be sure they’re putting the puzzle pieces together properly?
Assign students in pairs the task of deciding what to place in a time capsule that will be
buried and opened 100 years from now. This would make a nice post-visit activity. You
may use the worksheet included in the packet or have students prepare orally. Younger students might draw items.
PART 2
PRE/POST-VISIT EXERCISE
HOW WE LEARN ABOUT THE PAST AND THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED LONG AGO
After students have completed the time-capsule exercise, pose this question: how do
we (and historians) find out about people like the Van Cortlandts who lived in the 1700s and
1800s?
There were no cameras, and only a few official or business records. Quite a few letters have been left by people who could read and write (but not all could). And there are
some diaries and journals. There is also physical evidence—Van Cortlandt Manor itself,
tools, clothing, furniture, books, portraits, toys.
Obviously for uneducated people, with little money, and for enslaved workers, there
are few records and hardly any information about their lives, what they thought and how they
felt. It therefore is very difficult to learn anything more than the bare facts of their existence.
Ask students to note five “clues” that they encounter on their visit to the Manor that
help them to understand the life and times of the Van Cortlandts and the people who lived
and worked there. Have them explain what information each provides. Use the worksheet
provided. Compare student choices and discuss after the visit according to the guidelines listed earlier. This can also be done orally.
12
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
Student
A GIFT TO THE NEXT GENERATION—A WAY TO TALK TO THE FUTURE
Assume you and a classmate are in charge of preparing a time capsule that
will help future generations understand the life of people in the early twenty-first
century. Which five items would you include? Give reasons for your choices. Be
prepared to share them with the class.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Student’s name ———————
Student’s name ————————
13
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
Student
— LIFE
MISTRESS
IN THE
NEW NATION —
JOANNA VAN CORTLANDT
OF THE MANOR—WHAT WAS SHE LIKE?
Painting attributed to Ezra Ames
Pierre Van Cortlandt married his cousin Joanna Livingston in 1748. Shortly
after their first child was born they moved to the Manor at Croton. The couple had
eight children. Joanna was lucky for a woman of her time. She did not die in childbirth, and all of her children lived past infancy. Although a boy and a girl died as
adolescents—Steven from “a malignant sore throat”—and another son at age 29,
the others lived to ripe old ages, as did their parents.
Joanna was an active woman. She was a partner to her husband in many of
his business ventures. As mistress of a large home, she was in charge of many
servants and enslaved workers. She planned the meals, saw to it that family, servants, and slaves were properly clothed, tended to them when they were ill,
and saw to their education. The Van Cortlandts built a schoolhouse, not far
from the Manor house, where their children, as well as the children of tenants,
and also of some enslaved workers, were educated.
The painting of Joanna (above) shows her as an old woman shortly before her
death. She looks very prim and proper, but she was a flesh-and-blood person. The following parts of letters reveal a little of what Joanna and her life were like. If you take
some time, and be patient with the old-fashioned language, you will get to know
something about her as wife, mother, and woman.
14
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
CLUES
TO
WHAT
PRE/POST -VISIT EXERCISE
JOANNA WAS LIKE FROM LETTERS ABOUT HER
1. Following is part of a letter Philip Van Cortlandt wrote to his mother while
serving in the Continental Army in 1779:
My Dear Mother
Permit me…to assure you that neither the Distance length of
time Hurry of Business nor Sollitude Ever can make me forget the
Duty or Erase that affection which I have for the best of mothers and
which I pray God may ever remain…
From y[ou]r. Dutifull Son
Philip Cortlandt
How would you describe the language in this letter? Circle the answer.
Informal
Formal
What are Philip’s feelings for his mother? Circle the words in the letter that support your view?
2. In 1800 Pierre wrote this in a letter to his son Philip:
Your Mother has been Quite Unwell for 4 days past but Thank
[God] She is better and I am pretty well She desires You to Send her
a Ticket by Couzn Theodorus In the Romish Catholick Lotterry. Snow
almost gone here…
As you may know, there are state lotteries today. How do they work? What does
the money raised in New York State by this method support? (Ask your teacher if
you don’t know.)
15
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
MISTRESS
OF THE
MANOR—WHAT WAS SHE LIKE?
Lotteries also existed in the early days of our nation and were used to raise
money for schools, bridges, libraries and religious purposes. The lottery referred
to in the letter was sponsored by the Roman Catholic Church. The Van Cortlandts
were not Roman Catholics. What does the above letter tell you about Joanna?
3. Pierre Van Cortlandt sent this request from his wife Joanna to his grandson
Theodorus (whom he addresses as “Cousin”) in a letter he wrote in 1801:
Dr Couzn Theodorus
Your Grand and I Are Just Come home from seeing your
Mama & Bro[ther]r Philip at Croton, they were both well and All
were well at your Unkle Beekmans.
Your Grand Mama Sends you down a Large Canister to be filled
with Shusha Tea Such as you Sent your Mama…And a Smaller
Cannister to be filled with Bohea Tea for the Kitchen, which you will
Send up p[e]r Capt. Isaac Conklyn who is the bearor hereof…
What beverage did Joanna like?
How were goods shipped from New York City? What clue can you find in the letter?
4. Pierre Van Cortlandt wrote this in a letter to his son Philip (1803):
Your Mother keeps Speaking about Chesher [Cheshire] Cheese
Continually…Therefore Send for One with Tomkins. and Let her have
a part as Soon as it Comes up which will make the Old Lady glad as
well as your affectionate father.
What does Pierre call his wife? Do you think he is being mean or loving? What
food does Joanna especially like? Does it come from this country or from abroad?
16
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
MISTRESS
OF THE
MANOR—WHAT WAS SHE LIKE?
5. Read this passage from a letter Pierre Van Cortlandt wrote to his son Philip
in 1789:
Should you go to town soon you Can tell Mr Watts that he Can
have Ismael [an enslaved worker] the price is 80ƒ…I am determined
to dispose of him p[e]r first oppertunity Your Mother tells me She
Cannot have the troble and anxiety another year with the blacks, I
Know that She is the Slave to Slaves and all that is Raised here Is
Only to support them…
According to the 1790 census, Pierre Van Cortlandt owned eight slaves and Philip
owned four. Pierre never did sell Ishmael, although his enslaved workers were
freed after his death, except for one who was too old. The price he suggests above
is in British pounds—the meaning of the symbol ‘ƒ’—which were still in use in
the United States at this time.
Write a sentence summarizing what Pierre is saying in the letter.
Why might Joanna consider herself “a Slave to Slaves?”
Based on what you have learned about Joanna from the letters, write a short
paragraph describing her. Jot down a few facts and organize them before beginning.
17
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
Teacher
SUGGESTIONS
FOR
CLASS DISCUSSION
Medical topics to explore with students:
1. The dangers of childbirth in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries. Childbirth was the most common cause of death among women
at that time, largely because of infection, because no one knew about
germs, and few appreciated the need for sanitation. Today having a baby
is usually quite safe.
2. The treatment of illness during this period. Doctors, surgeons and dentists
did practice and were consulted for health problems, but usually only the wellto-do could afford them. The average family turned to midwives to assist at
births, barbers to pull teeth and sometimes amputate limbs, and to apothecaries
(pharmacists) for patent medicines and herbal remedies.
3. Diseases that were widespread in the 1700s and 1800s, which are largely
controlled today through the use of vaccines and/or antibiotics. “Malignant
sore throat,” which caused the death of Steven Van Cortlandt, was probably
what we would call a strep throat. Infant mortality was high: many infants
died of diseases that are no longer threats today. Small pox was one,
although inoculations against that disease had been developed and were
available in the 1780s and 90s.
Ask students which diseases they have
been vaccinated against? Inoculations
recommended by the Center for Disease
Control include: Hepatitis B, Diphtheria,
Pertussis (Whooping Cough), Tetanus,
Polio, Chicken Pox, Measles, Mumps,
and Meningitis. Ask if anyone has taken
antibiotics? If so, for what ailment(s)?
18
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
Teacher
AN ACTIVITY
FOR
ADVANCED ENGLISH STUDENTS
An activity that could be successfully undertaken with students sufficiently
advanced in reading, writing and spelling involves identifying “mistakes” (by our
standards) as well as dated usages and conventions in the quoted passages and
writing of the period in general. The Van Cortlandts penning these letters were not
terribly well schooled; their prose is not at all polished. However, keep in mind
that there was a great difference between formal and informal writing in the eighteenth century. (Jeans are all right for everyday wear but you wouldn’t wear them
to the prom!) Notice that none of the letters are by Joanna; she may not have been
able to write much more than her name. It it hard to know because letters written
by the Van Cortlandt women have disappeared. It is thought they were ruined by
rain in the attic and thrown away.
Some characteristics of writing styles in the early nineteenth century that
students may be able to identify are:
• frequent use of capital letters
• no commas in sequences
• run-on sentences, lack of periods
• misspellings: “dutifull,” for example
It is important to point out that spellings have changed over time.
“Neighbor” used to be “neighbour.”
• usages that are not common today
Draw attention to the frequent use of abbreviations/contractions like
“couzn” for cousin and “bror” for brother. The last “n” or “r” was usually written in superscript: for example bror. (This convention was avoided in the transcriptions as it was thought to be a bit much for students.) You can of course
discuss these if you wish, as it is fun for students to see that people back then
used a kind of shorthand in writing—and it was all right to do so.
19
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
Student
— LIFE IN THE NEW NATION —
A FAMILY TREE AS A PERSONAL HISTORY
Each human being is unique and has a place in history. Locating someone within a
family, and placing that family in time, helps us understand who that individual was and what
life might have been like when that person lived.
CONSTRUCTING A FAMILY TREE FOR ONE OF THE VAN CORTLANDTS
Below is some information about members of the Van Cortlandt family that will be
helpful, especially if it is arranged in graphic form—as in a family tree.
If you are a girl, pretend you are Catherine Van Cortlandt. If you are a boy, assume
you are Philip Van Cortlandt. Fill in the blanks on the family tree (next page) using the facts
below. Catherine and Philip are already entered for you. When you are finished you will have
a good idea of where they fit in the Van Cortlandt family, when they lived, and who their
ancestors were.
Your father, who owned the Manor where you lived as a
child, was Pierre Van Cortlandt, the “paterfamilias,” Latin
for head of the family. Your mother was Joanna
Livingston.
On your father’s side, your grandfather was Philip
Van Cortlandt, and your grandmother was Catherine De
Peyster.
Your great grandfather Van Cortlandt was
Stephanus, and your great grandmother was Gertrude
Schuyler.
Pierre Van Cortlandt
The first Van Cortlandt ancestor who came to this
country (your great, great grandfather) was Olaf Stevense, who married Annette Lockermans.
You had seven brothers and sisters. Philip was the oldest. Catherine was next, followed, in order of birth, by Cornelia, Gertrude, Gilbert, Steven, Pierre II and Ann.
With the other children you grew up at Van Cortlandt Manor. Catherine married
Abraham Van Wyck. When her husband died, she and her three sons lived at Croton after the
Revolution with Philip, who remained a bachelor. Pierre and Joanna, who had left the Manor
during the Revolution, came back to live there in 1803 and remained until they died.
20
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
Teacher copy
VAN CORTLANDT FAMILY
Olaf Stevense
Van Cortlandt
m
1642
Stephanus
Van Cortlandt
m
1671
Philip
Van Cortlandt
m
1710
Annette
Lockermans
Gertrude
Schuyler
Gilbert
Livingston
Catherine
De Peyster
Pierre
Van Cortlandt
m
1748
m
1711
Cornelia
Beekman
Joanna
Livingston
children
Catherine Cornelia
Philip
Gertrude
1749-1831 1751-1829 1753-1847 1755-1766
Steven
Gilbert
Pierre II
Ann
1757-1786 1769-1775 1762-1848 1766-1855
21
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
Student
YOUR FAMILY TREE
Great, great grandfather
Great, great grandmother
m
Great grandfather
Grandfather
m
m
Great grandmother
Grandmother
Father
Grandfather
m
1
m
Grandmother
Mother
children
You
Learning about your ancestors helps you understand who you are and
where you have come from. Fill in as much information as you can to complete a
family tree like the Van Cortlandts. Leave blank those ancestors whom you don’t
know. Add others (on your mother’s side) whom you do know. You may not be
able to find the dates on which your ancestors married. Substitute birth/death
22
dates instead, if they are available.
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
Teacher
QUESTIONS
FOR
TEACHER-LED CLASS DISCUSSION
1. How many children did Pierre and Joanna Van Cortlandt have? Inform students
that the large size of the Van Cortlandt family was typical for the time.
2. Record on the board the number of siblings each student has. If they are capable
of the math, have students calculate the average family size for the class as a whole.
3. What change has taken place with regard to family size? Do modern families
have more or fewer children than those in the past?
Discuss possible reasons for this change?
• Fewer children die in infancy—because of antibiotics,
vaccinations, and better access to medical care—so
parents don’t need so many children to ensure that the
family name is carried on or that they will have care
in their old age.
• Family planning has become possible. Means are
available to couples wishing to limit family size.
4. Give students the birth and death dates of the Van Cortlandt children (provided
on the teacher copy of the Van Cortlandt family tree). Have them determine how
long each one lived. Except for the three who died relatively young, the five others were long-lived by any standard. If children managed to survive infancy and
childhood their chances of living a long life were quite good, even back then. The
longer you live, the longer you are likely to live. Long-life genes, of course, help.
5. The Van Cortlandts were of Dutch ancestry. Survey the class to see what
ethnic/racial groups are represented. What Dutch food or customs survive
today? (Doughnuts, waffles, koekjes—we know them as cookies, Dutch doors,
Santa Claus.)
23
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
Student
VAN CORTLANDT FAMILY
Note
The small “m”
and the date
tells when the
couple was
married.
m
1642
m
1671
m
1711
m
1710
m
1748
children
Catherine
Philip
1749-1831 1751-1829
24
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
Student
— LIFE IN THE NEW NATION —
A TYPICAL MEAL
Do you wonder what a family like the Van Cortlandts ate? A letter of Pierre
Van Cortlandt to his wife Joanna provides us with a menu. Joanna was
visiting one of their children, and Pierre had come to Croton. His
daughter Catharine quickly put together a meal for
him. He describes it in this passage. (Pierre’s spelling
and punctuation have been corrected to make it easier for
you to read.)
Wednesday Evening Feb 24 1803
My dear Mama, I Came here half past One Safe and Well…
After I had been here half an hour the table was spread for me: first
No less than part of a good Chicken pie, the Leg of a fat Goose, a
piece of good pork, a piece of Corn beef, good bread of the best Sort
With a Small Roll of butter etc., and a bottle of Cider to finish. So
you Now Can Judge how I have been treated by your daughter
Catharine…
1. How does Pierre address his wife?
2. What made up the largest part of Pierre’s meal?
3. What did he have to drink?
4.What kinds of food are missing from his meal?
5. What did you have for dinner last night? Make a list of the foods. How does
your meal compare with Pierre’s?
6. Was Pierre’s diet a healthy one according to the advice we are given today?
Explain.
25
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
Student
POST -VISIT EXERCISE
CLUES TO WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE AT VAN CORTLANDT MANOR
FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED AND WORKED THERE
List or draw five “clues” you saw or heard about on your tour of Van Cortlandt
Manor. Explain what information each provides about life there.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
26
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barchers, Suzanne I. and Patricia C. Marden. Cooking Up U. S. History: Recipes and
Research to Share with Children. Chicago: Teachers Ideas Press, 1991.
Barrett, Tracy. Growing Up in Colonial America. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press, 1995.
Calvert, Karin. Children in the House: The Material Culture of Early Childhood, 1600-1900.
Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1992.
Carlson, Laurie. Colonial Kids—An Activity Guide to Life in the New World. Chicago:
Chicago Review Press, 1997.
Egger-Bovet, Howard and Marlene Smith Baranzini. USKids History: Book of the American
Colonies—Discover your History Through Stories, Games and Activities. Boston: Little,
Brown and Company, 1996.
Hawes, Joseph M. and N. Ray Hiner, eds. American Childhood: A Research Guide and
Historical Handbook. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1985.
Kalman, Bobbie, The Gristmill. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company, 1990.
King, David C. Colonial Days—Discover the Past with Fun Projects, Games, Activities, and
Recipes. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1998.
Miller, Brandon, Marie. Growing Up in Revolution and the New Nation—1775 to 1800.
Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Co., 2003.
Newell, William Wells. Games and Songs of American Children. New York: Harper and
Brothers, 1903; reprinted by Dover Publications, 1963.
Pollock, Linda. A Lasting Relationship: Parents and Children over Three Centuries. Hanover,
NH: University Press of New England, 1987.
Prescott, Della R. A Day in a Colonial Home. Francistown, NH: Marshall Jones Company,
Eighth Printing 1949.
Rae, Noel, ed. Witnessing America: The Library of Congress Book of Firsthand Accounts of
Life in America, 1600-1900. New York: The Stonesong Press, 1996.
Tunis, Edwin. Colonial Living. New York: World Publishing Company, 1957. Marvelous
illustrations by the author.
——. Colonial Craftsmen—And the Beginnings of American Industry. New York: World
Publishing Company, 1965.
27
VAN CORTLANDT MANOR/HISTORIC HUDSON VALLEY