Welcome to the Holland Society

A historical and genealogical society founded to collect and preserve information respecting the early history and settlement of New Netherland by the Dutch.

The Holland Society of New York is a historical and genealogical society founded to collect and preserve information respecting the early history and settlement of New Netherland by the Dutch.

The Society was incorporated on May 1st, 1885, by a group of gentleman descended from the original settlers of New Netherland. Membership has since been opened to all direct descendants of residents of Dutch settlements in North America. We welcome all who are interested in this period of history to join us, whether as members or friends of the Society.

The  Society has, since its founding days, attracted a growing membership to its wide range of activities for the descendants of the New Netherland residents. As a historical society, the organization has worked on preserving the history of New Netherland, from the Society’s Library (now donated to the New York State Library) and by publishing the widely acclaimed journal, de Halve Maen.

More information about joining the Society can be found on the Join page of our website.

Officers and Trustees

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Sally Quackenbush Mason
President of the Holland Society - president@hollandsociety.org
Sally Quackenbush Mason joined the Board of Trustees of the Holland Society in 2020, serving as Secretary in 2021 and 2022 and Vice-President in 2023, before being elected the first female President in 2024. Her father, James Eby Quackenbush, was the 61st President of the Holland Society. In 1975, Sally’s article in de Halve Maen about the history of Wyckoff, NJ’s Zabriskie-Quackenbush-Van Voorhees house helped secure bicentennial funding, launching it as a museum in her hometown.

Sally attended Mount Holyoke College, then transferred to Yale College, joining the ranks of its first decade of women graduates in 1979. She worked in NYC as a management trainee at Chemical Bank and as the assistant to TV Producer Herbert Brodkin. After graduating from the University of Michigan Law School in 1987, she practiced real estate law at Thacher, Proffitt and Wood until 1990, when she started a family. While raising her 3 boys in Manhattan, Sally volunteered at Advocates for Children of NY and served as Parent Coordinator at PS 290, their neighborhood elementary school.

Letter from the President - Sally Quackenbush Mason
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Ethan Van Ness
Vice-President of the Holland Society - vicepresident@hollandsociety.org
Ethan Van Ness is a career public servant with a decade of experience as a policy and rules staffer in the U.S. House of Representatives. He currently serves as Senior Advisor at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

As the son of a history teacher, he is dedicated to ensuring that the American public remembers its history in order to build a better future. He believes that the Holland Society can be a key partner in the effort to ensure that our nation's history, whether good, bad, or otherwise is remembered, contextualized, and shared effectively with the public.

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Jonathan Doucette
Secretary of the Holland Society - secretary@hollandsociety.org
Jonathan has been a member of the Holland Society of New York since 2021 and has served as Secretary since 2023. Jonathan grew up not far from where his ancestor Lubbert Gysbertsen Van Blarcom arrived at Rensselaerwyck in 1634.

Professionally, Jonathan is a Group Art Supervisor. His 10+ year career in advertising has included working at BBDO, Grey, and McCann. He is a member of the Union League Club and the Down Town Association. He is actively involved with additional hereditary societies between New York and Massachusetts.

He is a graduate of Pratt Institute and Miami Ad School and has called New York City home since 2011.

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David Nostrand
Treasurer of the Holland Society - treasurer@hollandsociety.org
David Nostrand was raised in Huntington, NY and now resides in Farmingdale, NY. He is current Treasurer for the Holland Society of New York. He attended Tabor Academy in Massachusetts and has a Business/Finance degree from Adelphi University in Garden City, NY. His father Robert D. Nostrand was a very active member of the Holland Society for many years. David has had many different businesses beginning in high school, working in real estate management in New York City right after college, then the automobile service business in Northport, NY. He began buying buildings 30 years ago. Eventually, real estate became his full-time occupation and he continues to manage his own properties to this day. He and his family are active in boating and RV travel and have a farm in Jeffersonville, NY.

Trustees

Thomas Bogart
Robert Fagaly
Dizzy Quackenbush Farbanish
Sarah Lefferts Fosdick
Ashley Isaacs Ganz
Abbie McMillen
Stephen Nostrand
Joseph B. Roosa
Heili Springsteen
James Vandenberg
Kathy Van Ness
Kelly VanWormer
Lisa Bloodgood Weedon
Laurie Bogart Wiles

The Journal of de Halve Maen

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Dr. David Voorhees
Editor-in-Chief of de Halve Maen - dhm@hollandsociety.org
David William Voorhees is Director of the Jacob Leisler Institute for the Study of Early New York History in the City of Hudson, New York, Editorial Director of the Papers of Jacob Leisler, a National Historical Publications and Records Commission project, and Managing Editor of de Halve Maen, a quarterly scholarly journal devoted to New Netherland studies published by The Holland Society of New York. Formerly the Managing Reference History Editor at Charles Scribner’s Sons and a Co-Editor of The Papers of William Livingston, he received a Ph.D. in history from New York University in 1988. His published works include The Concise Dictionary of American History (1983), The Holland Society: A Centennial History 1885-1985 (1985), and translations of the Records of the Reformed Protestant Church of Flatbush, Kings County, New York, Volume 1, 1677-1720 (1998) and Volume 2, Deacons’ Accounts, 1654-1709 (2009), as well as author of numerous articles on the Dutch and English colonial periods in America. He was a consultant for the “Amsterdam/New Amsterdam: The Worlds of Henry Hudson” exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York and “Dutch New York Between East and West: The World of Margrieta van Varick” exhibit at the Bard Graduate Center in Manhattan, and co-editor of special New Netherland issue of New York History (Fall 2008). In April 2010, HRH Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands made him a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau.
Director Staff
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Sarah Bogart Cooney
Executive Director - sarah@hollandsociety.org
Sarah Bogart Cooney has served as the Holland Society's Executive Director since 2018. She was born in Manhattan and now lives on the North Shore of Long Island with her husband and son. She studied archaeology at the University of Colorado at Boulder and previously worked for Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, DC.
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Dorien van Boven
Manager of Programs & Communications - dorien@hollandsociety.org
In her multifunctional role, she closely collaborates with Executive Director Sarah Bogart Cooney on membership outreach, communications, event planning, fundraising, and office administration. With over 15 years of experience at the Netherlands and Belgian Consulates, Dorien leverages expertise in public diplomacy and fostering relationships. Raised in Roermond, Dorien holds a Linguistics Masters from Tilburg University. Passionate about New Netherland's history and family heritage, she excels in connecting people.

161 W 86th Street
Unit 1AW
New York, NY10024

Tel: (212) 758-1675

info@hollandsociety.org