Excerpt from Van Deursen Family The compiling of this family history was undertaken with the object of preserving for future generations the results of nearly twenty years' gleanings in the field of genealogical research. The work has been done during the odd moments of a very busy life. It had its inception in the endeavor to learn when and from whence came the first of my name to New Netherland, and then to connect with this parent branch that offshoot which, after the War of the Revolution, settled in Canada, * and of which I am a scion. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.