“The Dutch and Indian names are great.”
Agree. I grew up in Western NY and the Dutch influence was big there, too, even though it was strongest in the Hudson River area. If course, the Indian names are everywhere.
About 25% of the last names in my school stat6e with “van”.
I spent about 12 years as a kid in Utica, Ithaca and Syracuse. Even then, I loved the local history and the people who came to NY from Europe as well as the natives. I loved learning about the Seven Tribes of the Iroquois. I remember having my mom take me to Taughannock Falls State Park to look for Indian arrowheads (didn’t find any). Mom was a great sport! You cannot beat a name like “Taughannock.”