You almost certainly will be able to trace your thread of the Family tapestry all the way back to Jan Snedeker in Nieuw Amsterdam in The Book Of Snedekers, the  definitive genealogy for the Sneds.  Jan had been a "gunslinger" for the Duke of Oldenburg, hired out in the company of a Captain-Major in the Amsterdam military.

Since the Book was published, some serious Sned-scholars have done wonderful work, and have pushed our knowledge of our ancestry all the way back to Oldenburg, Germany in Lower Saxony in the 1500's.

We now know the name of Jan Snedeker's father -- Gerd or Gerdt -- and the name of the ship that Jan and his second wife, Annetje (pronounced "Annettie") traveled in to the New World:  Angel Gabriel -- the name of the Captain of said boat (Laurenz Cornelisz), Jan's first wife (Griet Michaels from Hamburg) -- and a whole lot more.

Folks from all over have sent me information about our Family.  Fascinating stories from over the centuries are now a permanent part of our Family records.

If you want to read about one of us Sneds (a Revolutionary War POW) who escaped during his hanging,  click on the sword.

There is a great story about how Family love overcame military orders during the Civil War and saved two wild young boys from becoming prisoners of the Yankees.  Just tap Bolly and Tarver: 

While we are on the subject of the Civil War, just click  on the soldier, and you'll learn about the really unlucky Sned that got shot the day before the Battle of Gettysburg -- by his own side!

The founding of Snedekerville in Pennsylvania is a great story about a wagon train that went on rails.  Just climb on the wagon here to find out how.
   

And last, but definitely not least, hop in
to learn about the hotdog Sned that got his P-51 fighter plane shot down while strafing the Prague Aerodrome where hundreds of jet ME262's were based... and had the entire Luftwaffe and Army contingent there surrender to him!

David M. Riker of the prestigious Holland Society Of New York gave the Book Of Snedekers a glowing review.  You can see this review (and a glimpse of what the Book looks like) by clicking here.

The Book Of Snedekers is now out of print... the last sixty copies were donated to the Family at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SnedekerCousins, and they were disseminated at no cost to Family members who requested them.

But do not despair!  The folks at that site (it is FREE to join) have been given permission to use my copyright and put The Book Of Snedekers on CD... to be sold at cost to folks.

This project is nearing completion!

Some Interesting Sned History And Trivia
 

This is the church at Sloten (on the outskirts of Amsterdam) where Jan and Annetje were married in August of 1636.  The original of this beautiful picture was hanging in the Reichsmuseum when my wife and I visited Amsterdam.  The painting was made within a year or so of the time Jan and Annetje got married.
  

This picture of Nieuw Amsterdam was engraved by Augustine Herrmann around the year 1650.  The house of Jan Snedeker is the fifth one from the left.

I found out an amazing coincidence about this particular engraving:  Augustine Herrmann is my 9-times grandfather on my mother's side!!
 
 

An Interesting Novel

I was recently contacted by John R. Van Slyke III, who wanted to know how he could obtain a copy of the Augustine Herrmann painting above so he could use it for a book cover for a book written by Dorothy Truscott.  Since I have the original, I thought I'd make life easy for him; so I made a copy, and sent it to him.  He was most gracious, and actually credited me in the book as the source.  Here is the book, a gratis copy of which I received and enjoyed immensely.  It is entitled, Hell Gate -- The Story of the Family that Settled Harlem As Part of the Dutch Colony That Became New York.    Alas, the Sned clan is not specifically included in the novel, but it sends shivers just reading about Grampa Jan's time.

The arrow in the top center of the postcard points to the red roof of "our" Sned house in Pennsylvania.  To find Snedekerville on a map, just follow Route 14 going south from Elmira, New York by the Susquehanna River. William Henry Snedeker founded the place, right alongside the Northern Central railroad tracks (later the Pennsylvania Railroad).
 
 

I've come across a Family treasure... Letters that were sent by George Gaines Snedecor to his father (Colonel James Snedecor) long before the War Between The States.  They give a startling insight as to the problems faced by young men going off to college in those days, as well as what daily life was like for a young officer in the Mexican War.  Click here to read these fascinating letters.
 
 

I drew a sketch of Jan's house to put in The Book Of Snedekers.  This sketch has a trail that has to represent some kind of record for being involved and lengthy.  It is remarkable that the sketch and the original house resemble each other so closely.  I think you will agree when you learn that:

1.  The sketch was made
2.  From a photograph
3.  Of a copy
4.  Of a xerox
5.  Of a newspaper photograph (from the 1930's Brooklyn Eagle Newspaper)
6.  Of an oil painting
7.  Of a photograph (pant, pant)

...of the Snedeker House.  Thanks to a Family member, we now have that original photograph.

Here's what I drew to put in the Book:

...And this is the original photograph: 
  

Sometimes you find out something that just leaves you speechless.  Take a look at this: 

Wouldn't it be interesting just to go wandering around the local village there with a name tag on your shirt?

I wonder what the people would say.  Or would they all be Sneds anyway, and not notice a thing?
 
 

While I am "technically" retired, I still do commercial art -- using TrueSpace, Adobe Photoshop, Corel, etc.  I create logos, animation, lobby and trade show art... stuff like that.

If you'd like to see some nice stuff (at least I think so), just click on my logo: