Catalina Trico
Catalina Trico or Catalyntje Jeronimus Trico was a Walloon colonist. Trico and her husband Joris Jansen Rapelje, both originally from Wallonia in modern day Belgium, were among the first European settlers in what was then the Dutch colony of New Netherland. Trico and Rapelje traveled on the ship Eendracht, arriving in New Netherland in 1624 and settling initially at Fort Orange.
Early life
Catalina was born in what was then known as the Spanish Netherlands, an area that later became part of Belgium.Moving to the New World
Catalina and her husband were Walloons, French-speaking Protestants, practicing in the Calvinistic tradition. Trico stepped foot onto the New World when the ship dropped them and their shipmates in Fort Orange, present-day Albany, where they stayed for two years until Pieter Minuit, serving as governor of the colony, decided to consolidate the two outposts into one and that all should be resettled on Manhattan Island to ensure safety from the Native Americans and for the better management of their farming practices. The couple found success in New Amsterdam and eventually Joris purchased 335 acres in Wallabout Bay in Brooklyn.Catalina and Joris had eleven children. Their daughter Sarah Rapelje is described as the "first European Christian female child born in New Netherland," although this is disputed by some.