Readers will gain "an appreciation for the flow of American history vis- -vis Van Fleet/Van Vliet/Van Vleet family members who preceded us as they came into the uncertain world that this land represented in the 1600s, and then sense what their children and children's children experienced through the generations when they became the pioneers in territories and states of the evolving American Union." This family has contributed to the weaving of the American fabric through countless efforts in every walk of life. Material has been provided on Adrian Gerritsen and his distant kinsman Dirck Van der Vliet as family founders, their children, grandchildren and descendants to contemporary times, reflecting whatever information is available. Discussions include: European origins, historical background in America, several states and places, and religion, with the bulk of the book devoted to biographical/genealogical sketches of individuals from Adrian Gerritsen Van Vliet (1614-1689), who sailed from Amsterdam for the New World in 1634, to Horace Van Fleet (1878-1968). Numerous illustrations, maps, a bibliography and a full-name index enhance the text.