One of the reasons that there is “nothing new under the sun” is because human creativity depends on our experience. But, I have only lived one life. Rather than writing an autobiographical series about a rather sedate existence, I would choose to record a fictionalized history of my ancestors.

In my family tree exists a woman, who is a daughter of a Separatist from Nottinghamshire, England. She moved to Amsterdam and married a local Dutchman. I would have to create a story to show how they got together, most likely in spite of parental protests. I also wanted to know why they ended up in New Amsterdam (currently New York) rather than in Massachusetts with the rest of her kin.

Research was in order. After watching a special about William Bradford. I discovered the Separatists, first headed to Amsterdam. They didn’t like the free-wheeling culture, or the poor wages. This group, whom we now call Pilgrims, returned to England seeking passage to the New World. First, they hired the Speedwell, which did not speed well and was not even a seaworthy ship in the rough oceans. They returned and left again with only the Mayflower. After suffering severe weather during the crossing, the pilgrims were blown off course as they neared their original destination of New Amsterdam. But, the captain did not want to risk going against the violent storms to reach Manhattan. That might sink the Mayflower as well. So, he chose Massachusetts, the closest place to land.

Another family reached New York in the seventeenth century by a roundabout way. The man was Sephardic Jew, who left Seville in the late 1500s when the Spanish Inquisition put him in danger. He traveled east to the country that had been Persia and married a woman from that region. Then, he headed west again, all the way to the Caribbean isles, employed by the British to find the source of the gold in these islands. Of course he never found these non-existent goldmines. The British who wasted their money were unhappy. He fled to another island. His son eventually made his way to New Amsterdam.

That’s two stories, the joining of these two adventurous families is a third. But, evidently their descendants’ lives were sedate like mine. I have found nothing more than a list of marriages and births. I would have to recreate the bulk of a fictional account on my own. There is a large market for historical fiction. It does require time for research. But, when the facts are few, the door is open to be creative. 

Personal photo belonging the Neree H.Wood. Photographer unknown