The Resplendent West
An Ancestral Journey Spanning 400 Years
and Recounted in nine passages

As an inquisitive boy, author Randall Stuart listened in rapt attention to his Grandpa George's stories of the somewhat mysterious Strautmaker family members of New York, and how they had appeared in San Francisco in the 1850's.

​Five decades later, Mr. Stuart has uncovered unexpected details about the lives of those ancestors, key players in the New Amsterdam of the 1600's. It is from that particular point of view - the assembling of the puzzle pieces of aural history, along with the research that has followed - that this genealogical epic unfolds.

What is uncovered is a story of daring travel, deep kindness, and mythic ruin. In the early 1600's the ancestors depart from Holland to arrive on the shores of the New World, their life on the Hudson River is full of industry, and in the 1800's a brother (or perhaps two) sail 'round Cape Horn to arrive at beautiful Buena Vista...and just in time for gold.

​The author's progenitors emerge from the past to tell of great exploits, misfortunes, and the inherent risks of being uninvited guests absconding with someone else's treasure and resources.

Mr. Stuart is presently a visiting researcher at the Orangetown Historical Museum and Archives, and presented his initial findings in a 2023 theatrical lecture "Finding Orangetown" at the historical 76 House Tavern in Tappan, New York. The evening featured tales of colonists in their first years on the Hudson River, with a view into the devastating Communipaw Massacre and the groundbreaking (ground-taking) Tappan Patent in what is now present-day Rockland County.

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​Slide Show:
The Resplendent West

The Author continues his Active Investigation
of Ancestors  in Manhattan, Rockland &  Westchester  Counties, and Bergen County & Communipaw/Pavonia.