On Feb. 11, the local landmark Historic Huguenot Street (HHS) and the Hasbrouck Family Association (HFA) announced the recipients for their 2024 round of scholarships, providing a total of $32,000 across their seven selected graduate and undergraduate students.
Since 1998, the two organizations have collaborated to provide scholarship and research opportunities to students who are either descendants of the Huguenots or who are studying in fields related to HHS’s mission. Over the years, the two organizations have given out over $280,000 in scholarships to more than 170 students.
HHS is a nonprofit organization founded in 1894 by descendants of the French Protestant settlers, also known as the Huguenots, who first fled to New Paltz in 1677 to escape religious persecution in Europe. The organization now works to preserve what artifacts, knowledge and landmarks still remain of their Huguenot heritage, including numerous buildings and manuscripts. The organization also highlights the role the enslaved African-American and Indigenous Munsee Lenape people played in developing the Huguenot society in New Paltz, with the overarching goal of providing an inclusive view of the people who shaped colonial American history.
The HFA is a nonprofit organization founded in 1957 by descendants of Huguenot brothers Jean and Abraham Hasbrouck. They are based in the former residence of Abraham Hasbrouck on Historic Huguenot Street, which was built in 1721. Similar to the HHS, the HFA works to preserve both the Huguenot legacy and the history of the Hasbrouck family in particular. Both organizations work closely together to uncover and preserve Huguenot history as well as promote learning about the community, which is why they provide these scholarships year after year.
There are a total of five types of scholarships provided by HHS and the HFA. The first two, the Gertrude E. Hasbrouck Memorial Scholarship and the Dorothy Dubois Walker Beach Scholarship, are aimed to support students who are of documented Huguenot descent. The three others are called the Charles J. Hasbrouck Memorial Scholarship, the Kenneth E. Hasbrouck Sr. History Scholarship and the Lucille Stoeppler Baker Memorial Scholarship. These scholarships are aimed at students studying in fields related to the “decorative arts, Indigenous history and culture, the African American experience in the Hudson Valley and Huguenot history and culture.” It is the organizations’ hope that these scholarships will help bolster continuous education about Huguenot culture.