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The venerable ghosts of the Hudson River Valley in New York State are more than the well known spectral visitations from Manhattan to Albany the legends of which have endured for centuries. They are also the pulsating, genetic, historical memories which live in the descendants of the Dutch, later English settlers who carved out an existence in a not always hospitable environment. In her historical novel Salt People of the Cloud Houses, Fawn Brokaw Doyle delves into the reality of her ancestress, 8th great grandmother Sara Rapalje, the first child of European descent, born in Nieuw Nederland.
Over a million Americans claim descent from Sarah, a French speaking Walloon fluent also in Dutch, later English, and remarkably Munsee, a subtribe of the Lenape people. Sarah is known to have been a translator of Munsee for none other than Peter Stuyvesant, director-general of New Netherland from 1647 to 1664. Among Sarah’s descendants are the actors Christopher Reeve and Humphrey Bogart, shipping magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt, and even news anchor Tom Brokaw.
Born 1625 near present day Albany, New York in what was then called Fort Oranje (Fort Orange) Sarah moves to Nieuw Amsterdam living long enough to see its transition from a humble Dutch outpost to thriving settlement and finally an English colony which leads her to proclaim, “I was raised a French Walloon, became a Dutch New Netherlander, and soon I’ll be an English New Yorker…"
A brief synopsis for the future readers, among which will surely be history buffs, genealogists, and those enamored of the Hudson River Valley: In 1625, the first European child born in New York was a French girl, raised among Native Americans, in a Dutch colony called New Netherland.
Growing up, Sarah Rapalje helps her parents run their tavern on the southern tip of Manhattan, serving merchants and fur trappers. She looks after her siblings and works alongside Natives to farm the land. But in the rowdy trade outpost, Sarah must grow up quickly.
Just as she thinks she’s found security in marriage, poor leadership propels the settlement to the brink of ruin, pitting her colony against her Native friends. As Sarah navigates personal loss and second chance love, she must start over, again and again.
One peril leads to another, forcing Sarah to question—are the biggest threats from the Natives, the English, or the Dutch West India Company that has failed to protect New Netherland? She must ensure the survival of her family, but at what costs?
It’s a coming-of-age story for a frontier woman, but also for the city that would become New York.
Looking for a holiday treasure for those who are fans of Manhattan, Fort Orange (Albany), Dutch heritage, Native American lore, strong female protagonists and a penchant for history? Salt People of the Cloud Houses (a reference to the billowing sails of the ships on which Dutch settlers arrived) is an historical novel with which one will want to curl up in front of a fire with a steaming cup of “flip” (a mixture of ale, rum, and sugar, heated with a red-hot iron) while the snows of winter sprinkle the Catskill Mountains like the confectionary sugar on Dutch "koekje."
About Fawn Brokaw Doyle:
By day, Fawn Brokaw Doyle is a design professional, wife, and mother. By night, she is a genealogist, historian, and author. Salt People of the Cloud Houses is her debut novel, based on her 8th great-grandmother, Sarah Rapalje.
About the book:
Salt People of the Cloud Houses: The Story of Sarah Rapalje and Dutch Manhattan
By Fawn Brokaw Doyle
Historical Fiction
June 9, 2025 (Sarah Rapalje’s 400th birthday)
paperback: 979-8-9985762-0-1 hardcover: 979-8-9985762-2-5 ebook: 979-8-9985762-1-8
Contributor’s note: Sarah was born in what was known as Fort Oranje/Fort Orange (named after the Dutch royal family of Oranje-Nassau) near the present-day capital of New York State, Albany, New York. Albany has the distinction of being the birthplace of the American English word for “biscuit,” namely “cookie.” While the ladies of English descent were proud of their confections, it seems their Dutch counterparts in Albany were even more prized for their “koekje.” The ever-growing popularity of the Dutch delights quickly led to the anglicization of the word to “cookie.” To this day Americans use the word while in Great Britain “biscuit” is preferred. It is a linguistic pleasure to refer to the multilingual glossary in Doyle’s book in which readers will find French, Dutch, Latin, and Algonquin entries. We have the Algonquin “arakun” which has become “raccoon” in English. Our modern “doughnut” was known to the Dutch as “oliekoeken,” while our delicatessens and diners still offer coleslaw, known to the Dutch as “koolsla.”
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