1. Wandering around the Dutch Reform Cemetery several things caught my eye.

There are many Masonic gravestones but more curious was the Skull & Bones grave of Gerardus Duyckinck. Even more interesting Gerardus grave is next to Gilbert Livingston’s, ancestor to the Bush Dynasty.

2. Here is a close-up of Gerardus Duyckinck's grave featuring the Skull & Bones.

3. Let’s first look at Gerardus Duycknick. We can trace his family back to Westphalia and they have noble connections dating to 1230.

Furthermore, we see his ancestor was responsible for the “Baptist Pilgrim” movement which looks like it morphed into the Dutch Reformed Church.

4. Looking at the portrait Gerardus Duyckicnk II (the son of the Skull and Bones grave above) we see the familiar hand position indicating it is very likely he was part of a secret society.

5. The gravestone next to Duycknick belongs to Gilbert Livingston.

Not only are their graves next to each others, their wives (the well-established Beekman family) are also closely related.

6. According to many, Robert Livingston was considered the most powerful man in New York.

Gilbert Livingston (Robert's son) is buried near Catharine Ten Broeck part of one of the earliest European families that dominated the region in the 1600s under the Dutch West India Comp.

7. We see a close connection between the Ten Broeck’s and the Livingston dynasty as Dirck was granted land by Robert Livingston.

This affirms that Livingston was extremely powerful as the Ten Broecks settled the Hudson Valley with Peter Minuit.

8. The Dutch West India Company was a hodge-podge of merchants from Northern Europe who brought the first African slaves and European Serfs to the region in the 1620s. Also of note is the Company’s connection to the Dutch Reform Religion and Church.

9. The Dutch West India Company was a major player in the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade.

In order to profit from their exploits, the DWIC was responsible for the early Dutch colonization of the Americas.

10. The Dutch Colonies seem like tightly controlled operations in which a few chosen citizens exploited a much larger population of serfs and slaves.

(Does a similar system exist today?)

11. Although the DWIC lost control of the region to the British in 1674 the company was still very influential and many of the early Dutch Patroon managers were still very powerful.

12. Dirck Ten Broeck worked under the DWIC and was the son of Wessell Ten Broeck (who was from Westphalia like the Duyckincks.) .

Wessell’s home built ~1676, would later serve as the first House for Senate of New York in 1777 after the adoption of the first Constitution.

13. The Governor who presided over the first Senate was George Clinton (who also served as vice President to 2 Presidents.)

Other Senate members included Isaac Roosevelt, Livingstons, Dirck ten Broeck, Morris, Jay, and other influential merchants.

14. Returning to the Dutch reform cemetery The largest masonic grave belongs to George Clinton. The grave even features a torch atop the obelisk like structure.

15. It is interesting that so many of the exploitive mercantile families of Colonial America were instrumental in the establishment of the US government. Is there a connection between the American Flag and the Dutch East India Company? ( https://fotw.info/flags/gb-eic2.html)

16. Looking into the New York Constitutional Convention of 1777 Robert Livingston was one of the primary architects.

The document appears to have simply advanced the elites control. Furthermore the Constitution was never ratified (due to war.)

17. It is certainly interesting that Robert Livingston (and the Livingston dynasty) profited enormously through exploiting human beings and legal systems.

Livingston are direct relatives of the Bush dynasty. Have a few select families been operating a patroon-like nation?