Nicely posed, but I’d give pretty much all of Copley’s portraits higher marks.

This does make me very motivated to visit the NY Historical Society when I’m in NYC over Thanksgiving, though.

NYHS is worth a visit.

I came across this painting while searching for pictures of one of my favourite bands, named Rapalje.

Rapalje is an old Dutch word meaning something like ‘scum’ or ‘riffraff’.

Is Rapalje their family name?? That’d be funny…

Their name was Rapareillet. They were French silk weavers and escaped to England and Netherlands to avoid persecution as they were Protestants and at that time there was Catholic Rule. Their name spelling got changed by the Dutch to Rapalje. Joris Rapalje and Catalina Trico Rapalje came to the New New Netherlands (New York) in the 1600’s. They are some of my ancestors. I descend from their daughter Sarah Rapalje and her first husband Hans Hansen Bergen.

Hello Vicki I am also a direct descendant of Sara Rapalje! My grandfather was a Rapelje and when I was a young girl my mother and aunt took my sister and me and our cousin to New York to see this painting, and pieces of furniture from the Rapelje homestead in Hopewell Jct. NY. We have a postcard of this painting and also a historical marker stating,”Fort Orange birthplace of Sara Rapelje, First White Child born in what is now New York State”. There was a “Rapelje” family reunion near Fishkill NY about 40 years ago where we had the opportunity to meet many descendants with many varieties of the Rapelje spellings.

The Family was from Picardie in Northern France then? Hugenots? Fleeing the St Bartolemeus Massacre? Did the family speak “Koeter Waals” French/Flemish. My family is from Poperinge, now Belgium. I would love to learn more about the Rapalje family. Does the family have a website?

I am married to William Jerome Rapelje. We have been married for
48 years. Bill and I live in Ca. Bill was born in London Ontario Canada and lived in Iowa, Indiana. Bill’s Father John M. Rapelje was named for John M. Rapelje founder of Rapelje, Mt. lived in Indianapolis, Indiana. Bill’s sister Nancy is still living in Indiana.

I, too, am a descendant of the Rapelje family. Aletta Rapelje Foster was my 2nd great grandmother, and the daughter of St. Thomas Founder, Daniel Rapelje. I hav been researching this family along with the Foster Family, descendants of Reginald Foster of Ipswich, MA.

Aletta Rapelje married Horace Foster and had a son, Ezekiel, my great grandfather. Ezekiel married Elizabeth Jane Waite in the Old Church at St. Thomas and they moved to Iowa in about 1858. My grandfather was born in 1861 in Iowa and came west to Washington State in the late 1880s on horseback.

Julie Foster Backous

My family has an ancestor who married a Rapalje, according to a rather inaccurate family lore written in the 1800s. “Sarah [McConnell b.1756] married a Rapilia, brother of General Rapilia of the War of 1812.” It’s highly doubtful the information is accurate but there may be some value to it. We are hoping to find out 6x great-aunt. Our family was from the Rensselaer & Westchester Counties area, and had ties to Loughborough, MA.

I am also a descendant of Sara. I love this painting. My grandmother had it hanging in her house when I was younger. One day during American History class in grade school, I saw this painting in our text book. I raised my hand and let the teacher know these were my distant relatives. She did not believe me. Our name has obviously changed over the years, but it is a variation. I enjoyed reading everyone’s comments.

I am looking for information about a Joris Rapalje who married Marytie Field. Their child, Jeremiah, was born in 1742.

I have found that I am a descendant of Jeronymus Jorise Rapalje, the second child of Joris and Catalina.

” … and at that time there was Catholic Rule.”

(see above, fourth comment).

Ye Gods, so once there was, but now, cry Ichabod, for the glory has departed.

I am a descendant of the second girl in the Joris Jansen Rapalje family (Maria or Marretje). Has anyone researched what happened to the Rapalje children in this painting?

Joan Young, I am also descended from Jeronimus Rapalje. Our branch changed the spelling with George Rappleye, born 1706. It’s been very interesting reading through the comments and gathering new information and confirming other information that’s been passed don in the family.