Knickerbocker is an American name. There are no Knickerbockers in The Netherlands. There never were. This famous American family name began as a tongue-in-cheek signature based on an age-old Dutch game. The Vincent family were Belgic Walloons who fled their homeland at the time of the Reformation to escape religious persecution. Flax farmers, they brought their sought-after talents to the nascent settlement of New Amsterdam (now New York City). Barbara Knickerbocker is a direct descent of both families. She grew up with her family history drummed into her by her elders. Raised during the...

And you thought history was boring? Imagine being jailed, or your home burned to the ground, your family killed, your property destroyed-just because you believed in a different religion. Imagine having to hide any evidence of your true beliefs-or perish. History does repeat itself. Flax to Freedom is a glimpse of the life and times of French Huguenots living in France at the height of religious oppression in the 1600s. This is a fictionalized account based on historical facts that surround Charles Germaine, a distant ancestor of the author. He was a Huguenot who was captured and held in La...