In 1634 a signature of one Jan Thomas Jensen fom Witbeck appears on a letter that is now found in the Museum of Albany, New York. The signed name is followed by “fom Witbeck” indicating the town in Denmark where Mr. Jensen had originated.  Our grandfather George Henry Witbeck II, resides in a house perched just a few miles from the banks of the Hudson River where our patriarch had landed in 1634. A hand written letter was found from Jan Thomas Jensen’s father indicating that Jan sailed back from the new world to Denmark to assist the passage of two of his seven brothers and sisters.

    On our mothers side of the family, our grandfather, Archie, along with his 8 older brothers have a proud history in the ranks of the U.S. Navy. Archie served two tours of duty in World War II and was seasick for the better part of 4 years. On several occasions the Navy beached Archie saying that due to his “chronic seasickness he had served his country well and could return home.” On all occasions Archie ripped up his discharge papers and demanded to be put back on his ship to serve out the rest of his commission. One day in the fourth year someone noticed Archie in the mess hall without his seasick bucket and asked where it was. Archie said stoically,  “I’m over it.” It was only one year from the end of his second tour of duty.

        Our own experience as brothers is much watered down from that of our predecessors. We lived far from the sea in Woodstock, Vermont, where my brothers and I grew up in the mountains of New England. The quest to know the ocean was something that came later, but the men in the photo above had unknowingly trained us perfectly for our future. Our father is a carpenter and man of many trades, his father was a do-it yourself-er and our other grandfather a model problem-solver. Boat building is not a craft that has been in our family, unless you count our Danish ancestors who we speculate must have been Norsemen Adventurers. However, tinkering, figuring things out for yourself and working one project at a time is a proud tradition in the company of Witbecks.