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The Poles of New Amsterdam (now new York City) were considered a distinct asset to colonial life. Governor Peter Stuyvesant made every effort to induce them to settle in New Netherland so that they might help in farming and assist in the defense of the colony against the English.
Many Polish educators were also invited to the colony. Dr. Alexander Kurcyush, known in American history as Dr. Alexander Curtius, is credited with founding the first institution of higher learning in New Amsterdam. He was also a prominent physician.
Other successful Poles who were citizens of New Amsterdam included several political figures. Captain Marcin Krygier served as co-Burgomaster of New Amsterdam in 1653 and again in 1654 and 1661. Krygier, one of Governor Stuyvesant's most trusted administrators, also commanded one of the town's forts, names "Casimir", the first Polish topographical name on the American continent.
1n 1662, an exiled Polish nobleman, Olbracht Zaborowski (1638-1711), who claimed descent from King Jan Sobieski, settled in New Amesterdam and later acquired a large track of land in New Jersey. In 1682 his estate etended from the Hudson River on the east to the Hackensack River on the west. Known as a trader, friend of the Indians, and interpreter, Zaborowski also held positions of authority. He was the first justice of peace for Upper Bergen County, New Jersey. The family name, slightly modified to Zabriskie, survives to this day among his descendants in New York and New Jersey.
Source: The Poles in America - Joseph A. Wytrwal, , Lerner Publications Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Among the early Polish settlers in New Amsterdam was Daniel Litscho (Liczko), born in Koszalin in Pomerania. He served as a sergeant, later promoted to lieutenant, in the Dutch colonial army. He participated in Stuyvesant’s expedition against the Swedes on the Delaware River that deposed the Autocratic Van Slechtenhorst, the patroon of Rensselaerswyck, freeing this settlement from feudal domination. Litscho, in addition, was a prominent citizen of New Amsterdam. He owned a tavern that was an important landmark in the social life of the community and he was an influential burgher on the Council of Burgomasters and Schepens. In his later life he was appointed the colony’s fire-inspector, a position he held until shortly before his death. A wealthy man when he died in 1662, Litscho left a sizeable estate to his family.
Alexander Karol Kurczewski, another of New Amsterdam’s prominanti, was appointed to the prestigious position of teacher in 1659. A Polish schoolmaster, he came to the colonies at the request of the New Amsterdam officials. Dr. Curtis, as he is known in American history, established the first Latin school in the New World. His academy is considered one of the oldest institutions of learning, predated only by Harvard University.
Most Polish immigrants in New Amsterdam, however, were neither as well known nor as successful as Litscho and Kurczewski. More typical were individuals such as Wojciech Adamkiewicz, John Rutkowski, and Casimir Butkiewicz. Like the majority of Colonists, they were routine laborers and craftsmen, but their industry and fortitude were no less essential for the colonies’ survival.
Source: Joseph A. Wytrwal, America's Polish Heritage: A Social History of Poles in America (Detroit: Endurance, 1961)