precursors

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"The Flushing Remonstrance was signed on December 27, 1657, by a group of English citizens who were affronted by persecution of Quakers and the religious policies of Stuyvesant.

None of them were Quakers themselves. The Flushing Remonstrance was a 1657 petition to Director-General of New Netherland Peter Stuyvesant, in which several citizens requested an exemption to his ban on Quaker worship.

 It is considered a precursor to the United States Constitution's provision on freedom of religion in the Bill of Rights.

The Remonstrance ends with:
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The law of love, peace and liberty in the states extending to Jews, Turks and Egyptians,
as they are considered sonnes of Adam,
which is the glory of the outward state of Holland,
 soe love, peace and liberty, extending to all in Christ Jesus,

 condemns hatred, war and bondage.
 And because our Saviour sayeth it is impossible but that offences will come,
 but woe unto him by whom they cometh,

 our desire is not to offend one of his little ones,
 in whatsoever form, name or title hee appears in,
 whether Presbyterian, Independent, Baptist
or Quaker,
 but shall be glad to see anything of God in any of them,
 desiring to doe unto all men as we desire all men should doe unto us,
which is the true law both of Church and State;
for our Saviour sayeth this is the law and the prophets.

Therefore if any of these said persons come in love unto us,
 we cannot in conscience lay violent hands upon them,
but give them free egresse and regresse unto our Town,
and houses, as God shall persuade our consciences,
for we are bounde by the law of God and man
 to doe good unto all men and evil to noe man.

And this is according to the patent and charter of our Towne,
given unto us in the name of the States General,
which we are not willing to infringe, and violate,
but shall houlde to our patent and shall remaine,
your humble subjects, the inhabitants of Vlishing."

___________http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flushing_Remonstrance

"Flushing was the site of the first commercial tree nurseries in North America, the most prominent being the Prince, Bloodgood, and Parsons nurseries.

 Much of the northern section of Kissena Park, former site of the Parsons nursery, still contains a wide variety of exotic trees. The naming of streets intersecting Kissena Boulevard on its way toward Kissena Park celebrates this fact (Ash Avenue, Beech, Cherry ...Poplar, Quince, Rose).

 Flushing also supplied trees to the Greensward project, now known as Central Park in Manhattan."

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"Captain Frans Jansen Bloetgoet (Anglicized to Francis Bloodgood) (c. 1623 - 29 December 1676) was a Netherlander who immigrated to Flushing, Queens, He is the ancestor of the American Bloodgood family.

Bloodgood was made secretary to the Colonies on the Delaware river in 1659. They moved to Flushing, and Bloodgood was appointed Schepen of Flushing in 1673.

Bloodgood had acquired land, sheep and cattle by the time of his death. Frans Bloetgoet and his wife both belonged to the New York Dutch Church, and all but two of their children were baptized there.

 On 24 May 1674 he was made chief officer of the Dutch militia of the settlements of Flushing, Hempstead, Jamaica and Newtown. He died on 29 December 1676."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frans_Jansen_Bloetgoet