Why does the Blauvelt family in America claim their ancestor was a Dutch colonist named Gerrit Hendricksen? How did he become so well-placed in New Amsterdam society that he could marry the daughter of the foremost ship builder, and receive a substantial land grant making him the next door neighbor of Governor Peter Stuyvesant? What was his relationship to Captain Willem Albertsen Blauvelt, the only man carrying the name in the Dutch colony of New Netherland? Ralph Blauvelt tackles these questions and more in "A Blauvelt Descendant, Researching Family History." He describes his childhood experience of growing up in Rockland County, NY, and his gradual understanding of his Dutch-American heritage. He did not understand the deference given to him as a school boy when some people learned that his name was Blauvelt. As a college student, he was embarrassed when he could not answer a question about the Blauvelt descendant who married John Kennedy. Ignorance gave way to increasing knowledge about his family history. He became a member of the Association of Blauvelt Descendants, joined its board of directors, and eventually assumed the position of genealogist. "A Blauvelt Descendant" touches upon the contributions of Blauvelt descendant families to American life. In a collection of articles, essays, and historical addresses, the author presents Major Fredericus Blauvelt at the DeWint House, where George Washington made his headquarters during the American Revolution; the 19th century spiritualists, Kate and Maggie Fox; and the 20th century American artist, Edward Hopper. He descended from six of the seven Blauvelt siblings who settled in 17th century Tappan, NY. The author's most recent research takes us back to 16th century Netherlands and the origin of the Blauvelt name in his essay, "The First Blauvelt, Pieter of Enkhuizen."
About the Author: Ralph Blauvelt was born and raised in Rockland County, NY. He graduated from Spring Valley High School in 1960 and by 1967 he had received the B.M. and M.M. degrees from Manhattan School of Music in New York, NY. He continued his musical education with advanced studies at the Rheinische Musik Schule in Cologne, Germany, the Institute for Sonology at the University of Utrecht, Netherlands, and Ph. D. studies at the State University of New York at Buffalo. His composition teachers have included Vittorio Giannini, Nicholas Flagello, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Henri Pousseur, and Lejaren Hiller. Blauvelt's compositions range in style from traditional to experimental forms and the open forms of free improvisation. His works have been performed in the U.S., Canada, and Europe by the Lenox String Quartet, the Center of the Creative and Performing Arts, and the Dorian Woodwind Quintet, et al. His interest in improvisation and the dynamics of performance evolved through a series of musical score/art works between 1971 and 1981. Exhibitions and performances of his compositions in museums and galleries led to the formation of VORTEX in 1980. His partner/collaborators in the music and dance improvisation ensemble were multi-instrumentalist Brad Graves and dancer Janice Vilardo. Blauvelt performed with VORTEX in New York at Soundscape, Roulette, CBGB's, the 1983 Kool Jazz Festival, et al. VORTEX produced two LP recordings on the SOUNDSCAPE PRESENTS label, C ALBUM (1984), and Danube ALBUM (1987). Since 2004, Ralph has produced seventeen CDs of his music. His most recent, Dance Album, was released in November, 2015. Blauvelt published two books, From Notation To Music (2007), and Music Album (2014) that describe the evolution of his music and document his compositions, performances, and exhibits. From 1994 to 2004, Ralph was the genealogist for the Association of Blauvelt Descendants. He wrote numerous genealogy and family history articles that are presented in A Blauvelt Descendant, Researching Family History (2016). Ralph currently teaches piano and lives with his wife, singer Frances Riley Blauvelt, in Spring Valley, NY.