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Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Tree: Nederlandse voorouders

Notes:
The Bronx is New York City's northernmost borough. It is the only one of the city's five boroughs situated primarily on the United States mainland rather than on an island. As of 2005, the United States Census Bureau estimated that the borough's population was 1,357,589. Its population has increased since a decline that began after the 1960 census. The borough had its peak population in 1950. The Bronx is the fourth most populous of New York City's five boroughs, and Bronx County is the fifth most populous county in the New York Metropolitan Area.



Although commonly known as "The Bronx", the official county name does not include the definite article ("The"). The name refers to the Bronx River, and rivers are commonly referred to with the article (e.g. "the Hudson"). The river was named after Jonas Bronck, a Swede, who was a sea captain and 1641 resident whose 500-acre (2 km²) farm between the Harlem River and the Aquahung comprises part of the modern borough.



History



The Bronx was called Rananchqua by the native Siwanoy band of Lenape, and was divided by the "Aquahung" river, now known as the Bronx River. The land was first settled by Europeans in 1639, when Jonas Bronck, for whom the area was later named, established a farm along the Harlem River in the area now known as the Mott Haven section. The Dutch and English settlers referred to the area as "Bronck's Land".



The territory now contained within Bronx County was originally part of Westchester County, an original county of New York state. The present Bronx County was contained in four towns: Westchester, Yonkers, Eastchester, and Pelham.



In 1846, a new town, West Farms, was created by secession from Westchester; in turn, in 1855, the town of Morrisania seceded from West Farms. In 1873, the town of Kingsbridge (roughly corresponding to the modern Bronx neighborhoods of Kingsbridge, Riverdale, and Woodlawn) seceded from Yonkers.



In 1874 the western portion of the present Bronx County, consisting of the towns of Kingsbridge, West Farms, and Morrisania, was transferred to New York County, and in 1895 the Town of Westchester and portions of Eastchester and Pelham, were transferred to New York County. City Island, known as New York City's only nautical community, voted to secede from Westchester County and join New York County in 1896. In 1898, New York City was amalgamated with the Bronx as one of five boroughs (though still within New York County). In 1914, those parts of the then New York County which had been annexed from Westchester County were constituted as the new Bronx County (while also keeping its status as one of the five boroughs of the city).



The Bronx underwent rapid growth after World War I. Extensions of the New York City Subway contributed to the increase in population as thousands of immigrants flooded the Bronx, resulting in a major boom in residential construction. Among these groups, many Irish and Italians but especially Jews settled here. Author Willa Cather, Pierre Lorillard who made a fortune on tobacco sales, and inventor Jordan Mott were famous settlers. In addition, French, German, and Polish immigrants moved into the borough. The Jewish population also increased notably during this time and many synagogues still exist throughout the borough, although many of these have been converted to other uses.



In prohibition days, bootleggers and gangs ran rampant in the Bronx. Mostly Irish and Italian immigrants smuggled in the illegal whiskey. By 1926, the Bronx was noted for its high crime rate and its many speakeasies.



After the 1930s, the Irish immigrant population in the Bronx decreased as a result of better living conditions in New York suburbs and in other states. The German population followed suit in the 1940s. So did many Italians in the 1950s and Jewish-Americans in the 1960s. As the generation of the 1930s retired, many moved to southeastern Florida, west of Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. The migration has left a thriving Hispanic (mostly Puerto Rican and Dominican) and African-American population which continues to live in the Bronx to this day.



During the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, the Bronx went into an era of sharp change in the residents' quality of life. Many factors have been put forward by historians and other social scientists. They include the theory that urban renewal projects in the borough (such as Robert Moses' Cross-Bronx Expressway) destroyed existing low-density neighborhoods in favor of roads that produced urban sprawl as well as high-density housing projects. Another factor may have been the shift by insurance companies and banks to stop offering financial services to the Bronx and other working-class industrial areas (the "Rustbelt") in favor of the booming suburbs in "the Sunbelt"—a process known as redlining.



For a period, a wave of arson overtook the southern portion of the borough's apartment buildings, with competing theories as to why. Some point to the heavy traffic and use of illicit drugs among the area's poor as causing them to be inclined to scam the city's benefits for burn-out victims as well as the Section 8 housing program. Others believe landlords decided to burn their buildings before their insurance policies expired and were not renewed. After the destruction of many buildings in the South Bronx, the arsons all but ended during the tenure of Mayor Ed Koch with aftereffects still felt into the early 1990s.



Geography



The Bronx is mostly situated on the North American mainland, and also includes several small islands in the East River and Long Island Sound.GR6 The Hudson River separates the Bronx from New Jersey to its west, the Harlem River separates it from the island of Manhattan to the southwest, the East River separates it from Queens to the southeast, and Long Island Sound separates it from Nassau County to the east. Westchester County is directly north of the Bronx.



The western parts of the Bronx are hilly and are dominated by a series of parallel ridges, running south to north. East of the Bronx River the borough is flatter, and includes four large low peninsulas or "necks" of low-lying land that jut into the waters of the East River and were once saltmarsh: Hunts Point, Clason's Point, Screvin's Neck and Throgs Neck. In the northeast corner of the Bronx, Rodman's Neck lies in Long Island Sound.



The Bronx is the only New York City borough with a freshwater river (the Bronx River) running through it. A smaller river, the Hutchinson River, passes through the northeast Bronx and empties into Eastchester Bay.



The Bronx includes two of the largest parks in New York City, Pelham Bay Park and Van Cortlandt Park. Pelham Bay Park includes a large man-made public beach called Orchard Beach, created by Robert Moses. Woodlawn Cemetery, one of the largest cemeteries in New York City, is located near the border with Westchester County. It opened in 1863, at a time when the Bronx was still considered a rural area.



As a part of New York City, Bronx County contains no other political subdivisions. It is located at 40°42′15″N, 73°55′5″W (40.704234, -73.917927).GR1



According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 148.7 km² (57.4 mi²). 108.9 km² (42.0 mi²) of it is land and 39.9 km² (15.4 mi²) of it (26.82%) is water.



Famous Bronx neighborhoods include the South Bronx, "Little Italy" on Arthur Avenue in the Belmont section, Morris Park, and Riverdale.

Birth

Matches 1 to 2 of 2

	Last Name, Given Name(s)	Birth		Person ID	Tree
1	Cassotto, Walden Robert	Thu 14 May 1936	Bronx, New York City, New York, USA	I670291	Nederlandse voorouders
2	Zuidema, Diane	Sun 07 Sep 1947	Bronx, New York City, New York, USA	I121097	Nederlandse voorouders

Death

Matches 1 to 6 of 6

	Last Name, Given Name(s)	Death		Person ID	Tree
1	DeFina, Jack	1925	Bronx, New York City, New York, USA	I684510	Nederlandse voorouders
2	van Emden, August	Tue 7 Apr 1936	Bronx, New York City, New York, USA	I361331	Nederlandse voorouders
3	Moebius, Helmut Erich Max Hugo Wilhelm	Wed 06 Nov 1940	Bronx, New York City, New York, USA	I120693	Nederlandse voorouders
4	Pinchot, Amos	Fri 18 Feb 1944	Bronx, New York City, New York, USA	I673198	Nederlandse voorouders
5	ter Veen, Dina	Sat 17 Mar 1951	Bronx, New York City, New York, USA	I120683	Nederlandse voorouders
6	Zeidler, Leatrice Joy	Mon 13 May 1985	Bronx, New York City, New York, USA	I672257	Nederlandse voorouders

Burial

Matches 1 to 2 of 2

	Last Name, Given Name(s)	Burial		Person ID	Tree
1	Bloembergen, Aart		Bronx, New York City, New York, USA	I74003	Nederlandse voorouders
2	ter Veen, Dina		Bronx, New York City, New York, USA	I120683	Nederlandse voorouders