Weaver’s Cottage
By Peter J. Ostrander
At the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, there was one painting in a recent special exhibit,
The Age of Rembrandt: Dutch Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which would
resonate with OFA members. The exhibit celebrated Rembrandt's 400th birthday. On view was
a rich array of 228 Dutch paintings dating between 1600 and 1700.
The painting that caught my eye is a small watercolor painting by Dutch artist Adriaen van
Ostade titled Reading the News at the Weavers Cottage, painted in 1673.
Reading the News at the Weavers Cottage (1673),
Adriaen van Ostade
Dutch, Haarlem 1610 - 1685
Property of Metropolitan Museum of Art
The artist, van Ostade, was a contemporary of
Pieter2 Pietersen and painted about the time our
family was settling in Hurley NY. Looking at
this work of art today, I can easily envision
Pieter2 Pietersen, the patriarch of all Ostrander
family lines.
From historical records in the Ulster County
Archives, Pieter2 Pietersen’s occupation was
listed as a weaver as well as that of his son
Pieter3 Pietersen Ostrander. This watercolor
was painted when Pieter2 was about 20 years old.
It takes little imagination to envision Pieter2
and his wife Rebecca Traphagen sitting in their
house in Hurley: Pieter2’s loom in the far corner
of their one room house with his young son Pieter3 being fed at his mother’s knee and perhaps
grandfather Pieter1 Pieterse sitting in their doorway with the newspaper. It is believed that
Pieter1 Pieterse died about 1668 and Pieter3 born in 1680. Therefore, this 1673 painting was
painted at a time for us to easily imagine this scene as a representation of Pieter1, Pieter2 and
Pieter3 as they may have looked 330 years ago in Hurley, NY in their small cottage as one of the
town weavers.
In Hurley today there are two 18th century weaving
looms of interest to the OFA. The 18th century
loom (see picture above) from the 1708 Pieter3
Ostrander house, (aka Houghtaling Inn) was
recently given to the Hurley Heritage Society and is
on view at the museum barn annex. The house was
built by Pieter2 Pietersen for his son Pieter3
Ostrander. The loom stands over 6 ft high and 8 ft
wide and is made primarily of oak.
A second 18th century loom still resides in the
Ostrander-Elmendorf House in Hurley, NY. This
house too was originally house built by Pieter2 for
his son Arent3. One of the shuttles for the loom has the name Roosa inscribed on it. Roosas were
also early Hurley residents and married many early Ostranders. It is not certain that either of
these looms were actually owned by our ancestors, but it is interesting that both of these 18th
century Dutch stone Ostrander homes still contained 18th century full size looms into the 21st
century.
An interesting note on names: The painter Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685) who painted
Reading the News at the Weavers Cottage was the eldest son of Jan Hendricx Ostade, a weaver
from the town of Ostade near Eindhoven. Although Adriaen and his brother Isaack were born in
Haarlem, they adopted the name "van Ostade" as painters.
Ostranders today, descended from Pieter2 Pietersen, subsequently were known as Oostrander,
van Ostrande and finally as Ostrander. It is still not known why Oostrander (Oost –East and
strand – bank or shore) was selected as our family name but research continues on its derivation.
Those who have read the OFA Big Book know that Pieter2 and Pieter3 were linen weavers and
also many of their children were listed in Kingston and Hurley county historical documents and
transactions as weavers.
Linen weaving was a profession practiced only by men and became the most important and
lucrative occupation in Haarlem (the Netherlands) in the 17th century. It can be assumed the
same was true in the Dutch villages of Kingston and Hurley in the 17th and 18th centuries. Linen
is a strong, absorbent, cool fabric which becomes more beautiful with age. Sheets, towels,
napkins, curtains, upholstery and of course, clothing were all woven of linen. It was not unusual
for hand spun linen fabric to last for several generations of use in a family before wearing out.
Linen textiles were frequently mentioned in people's wills. Linen is still made from the flax
plant and remains popular today.