American Heritage Partners

The Forgotten Colony: the 400th Anniversary of the Founding of New Netherland, America’s First “Melting Pot”
2025-01-18 00:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
The Forgotten Colony: the 400th Anniversary of the Founding of New Netherland, America’s First “Melting Pot”
Today, many Americans consider New York—New York City in particular– to be a “melting pot,” where different ethnicities and cultures have come together to form a vibrant, diverse community, a center of international commerce and finance, and a welcoming place for immigrants from all the nations of the world. It all started 400 years ago, when a sailing ship carrying a small group of Dutch settlers arrived in North America, traveled up what came to be known as the Hudson River, and established a trading post at today’s Albany New York, following quickly by the settlement of the place they called New Amsterdam, renamed forty years later “New York.” Led by the Dutch West India Company (the “WGC”), over the next two decades thousands of immigrants settled in the region of today’s New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, forming the Dutch Colony of “New Netherland.”
Americans today celebrate the nation’s founding colonies of Jamestown and Plymouth, but somehow we’ve forgotten the massively important colony of New Netherland. On January 18, American Heritage Partners hosted a special luncheon featuring guest speaker, Deborah Hamer, the Director of the New Netherland Institute (“NNI”), who shared with us the story of New Netherland. Headquartered in Albany New York, NNI has been engaged over the last few decades in extensive preservation efforts of early Dutch records on a colossal scale. Ms. Hamer provided an overview of the history of New Netherland and shared with us the details of NNI’s efforts to preserve, digitize and translate the extant records of the WGC and other surviving Dutch records related to the history of New Netherland. The large collection of records NNI has already made public has provided critical new information about how the Dutch colony operated, how its people lived their day-to-day lives, how colonial leaders dealt with the indigenous peoples, and how those leaders helped foster the “melting pot” we know of today.
This special event was held at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno, Nevada.

Robert Burns Celebration
2025-01-25 00:00
AHP Supports the Robert Burns Celebration in Reno Nevada

On January 25, the Nevada Society of Scottish Clans is hosting its annual Robert Burns Celebration at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada. This annual event is a “blow out” evening banquet, featuring the full array of Scottish traditional entertainment, food (including haggis!), raffle items, and most importantly, a free scotch whisky tasting beginning at 4 pm on the day of the event. This year, American Heritage Partners is a sponsor of the Celebration, which promises to be another sell-out. AHP is supporting the NSSC in large part because of the major impact our Scottish-American ancestors have had on our shared American history. To learn more about this fun event, and to register to attend, click here.

Seeking El Dorado: The History of The Pioneer Migration on the California Trail
2025-03-15 00:00
Seeking El Dorado: The History of The Pioneer Migration on the California Trail
This sold-out luncheon was co-sponsored by the Oregon-California Trails Association (“OCTA”), the Nevada Historical Society, the Nevada State Genealogical Society, and the Dayton Valley Historical Society. The Nevada State Museum supported the event and offered free admission to the Museum on the day of the event. Our guest speaker wwas David Fullerton, Vice President of the Nevada-California chapter of OCTA, and a leading expert on the history of the California Trail. Mr. Fullerton discussed the history of the California Trail, the people who traveled it, and the challenges they faced. He also talked about the ongoing projects he and other members of OCTA are pursuing to preserve and protect the remnants of the trails, and the discoveries they have made in the process. Working in collaboration with the National Park Service and other organizations, OCTA has unearthed many new and exciting artifacts that add meaning to the story of western migration. On display were several actual pioneer diaries that have been preserved– priceless visual evidence of the pioneers’ day-to-day life on the trail.
The event was held from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the South Gallery of the Museum, located at 600 North Carson Street in Carson City.

Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride, and the Shot Heard ‘Round the World”
2025-04-09 00:00
April 9, 2025: Commemorating The 250th Anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord: “Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride, and the Shot Heard ‘Round the World”
On April 9, 2025, AHP President Jay Dickey spoke to the Sacramento chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. On April 19 2025, we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the battle of Lexington & Concord, the battle that started our American Revolution. Jay covered the key events leading up to Revere’s famous ride, the critical role played by Dr. Joseph Warren (who was later shot and killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill), the flight of Samual Adams and John Hancock from Boston, and the aftermath of the battle. Today, Revere’s ride has attained mythic status in the history of the Revolution, thanks in part to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem published in 1861 entitled “Paul Revere’s Ride”. What were the real facts? Jay explored that question and others in his talk.

Luncheon with Our Founding Father John Adams
2025-05-10 11:00 - 13:00 | North Tahoe Event Center, North Tahoe Event Center 8318 CA-28, Kings Beach, CA 96143, United States, Kings Beach, NV, 96143, United States
A Special Luncheon with Our Founding Father John Adams: A Celebration of the 250th Anniversary of The Second Continental Congress, The Appointment of General Washington as Commander in Chief, and the Beginnings of an Independent Nation of Free People

Join American Heritage Partners for a special luncheon on May 10, 2025 at the North Tahoe Events Center, Kings Beach in Lake Tahoe, California, featuring a performance by noted Chautauqua Mike Lebsock. Mr. Lebsock will appear as John Adams, speaking to us after the end of the Revolutionary War. Mr. Adams will share with us his recollections of the momentous events that took place in Philadelphia in May 1775, following the outbreak of the American Revolution in April 1775 at Lexington & Concord. It was on May 10, 1775 that the Second Continental Congress convened at Carpenter Hall to begin deliberations over the way forward: to seek peace with Great Britain, or to seek independence? Congress decided to do both: it created the Continental Army, but also sent its famous “Olive Branch Petition” to King George III. In the midst of this, the Battle of Bunker Hill took place. John Adams was at the center of these sessions and was a guiding force in the drafting of the “Declaration of the Cause and Necessity of Taking Up Arms.” Mr. Adams will recall for us the sometimes-heated debates that took place at Carpenter Hall, and the behind-the-scenes negotiations that were conducted in nearby taverns. He’ll also discuss his private meetings and conversations with the likes of Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson Patrick Henry, and other key political leaders, many of whom he knew well.
This event is co-sponsored by the Battle Born Patriots Chapter, Nevada Sons of the American Revolution, the Nevada Society of the Order of Founders and Patriots of America, the Sacramento chapter of Founding Forward and the Nevada Mayflower Society. Tickets are $45 per person, which includes a sumptuous buffet lunch, no host bar, a performance by the Battle Born Patriots Color Guard and commanding views of the Lake!

Westward Ho!
2025-06-01 00:00
June 2025: Westward Ho! AHP co-sponsors the 76th annual “Wagon Train” from South Lake Tahoe to Placerville, California.
In June 2025, the Highway 50 Association hosted the 76th annual “Wagon Train,” a multi-day recreation of the first wagon trains that crossed the Sierras into California during the Gold Rush era. This event paid tribute to the pioneers who braved the dangers of the mountain crossing and carved out new lives in the new state of California. AHP is pleased to be an official co-sponsor of this event and will have its own wagon.

Saving the Past: The Incredible Story of Jamestown Rediscovery’s Archaeological Work at Jamestown Colony, and Its Race to Save the Remaining Archaeological Record of the First Permanent English Settlement in North America
2025-09-13 11:30 - 14:00 | The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 780 Del Monte Ln, Reno, 89511, United States
Saving the Past: The Incredible Story of Jamestown Rediscovery’s Archaeological Work at Jamestown Colony, and Its Race to Save the Remaining Archaeological Record of the First Permanent English Settlement in North America
On September 13, 2025, American Heritage Partners and the Northern California Company of the Jamestown Society co-hosted a special luncheon featuring a fascinating lecture about the archaeological work being done at the historic Jamestown Colony, and the thousands of artifacts that have been unearthed at the site of the original Jamestown Fort and surrounding areas on the James River. Our special guest speaker was Mr. Michael Lavin, Director of Collections and Conservation at Jamestown Rediscovery, whose archaeologists have uncovered countless treasures and continue to make astounding discoveries. Mr. Lavin shareed some of those discoveries with us and explain the critical role that archaeology has played in our understanding of life in the earliest permanent English settlement in the New World. He also spoke about how climate change is posing an existential threat to the Jamestown site, and why public and private support for Jamestown Rediscovery’s work is so critically needed to complete the work before priceless artifacts are forever lost.

South San Francisco:
Location: The Basque Cultural Center, 599 Railroad Avenue, South San Francisco
Meal Selection – Salmon with Champagne Sauce, vegetables and rice OR Veal Roast with potatoes and vegetables
Cost – $25 in person

$10 virtual attendance via Zoom only

Reno:
Location: The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 780 Del Monte Ln, Reno, NV 89511
Meal: Assorted buffet
Cost – $25 in person

$10 virtual attendance via Zoom only

Registration is open
