Anthony Janszoon van Salee

Anthony Janszoon van Salee (1607–1676) was an original settler of and prominent, wealthy landholder, merchant, and creditor in New Netherlands .

Van Salee was the first grantee of Conyne Eylandt ( Coney Island ), pictured here from space Anthony Janszoon van Salee (1607–1676) was the son of Jan Janszoon , a Dutch pirate who led the Republic of Salé , a pirate state in modern Morocco. He was an original settler of and prominent landholder, merchant, and creditor in New Netherlands . Van Salee may have been the first Muslim in the New World . A Qur'an said to have belonged to him was eventually auctioned in the following centuries, having passed through a descendant, Robert Bayles, a one-time President of The Market and Fulton National Bank of New York.

Van Salee was the first grantee of Conyne Eylandt ( Coney Island ), pictured here from space Anthony Janszoon van Salee (1607–1676) was an original settler of and prominent landholder, merchant, and creditor in New Netherland . Van Salee is believed to be the son of Jan Janszoon (Jan Jansen), a Dutch pirate who after 1619 served a Moorish state on the Barbary Coast . His mother Margarita was Moorish and Van Salee was a Muslim; he may have been the first of this background to settle in the New World . A Qur'an said to have belonged to van Salee was auctioned in the late 19th century, after having been owned by a descendant, Robert Bayles, a one-time president of The Market and Fulton National Bank of New York.

Van Salee's former house at the "Turk's Plantation" on Long Island, depicted in 1788. Western Long Island and Coney Island in 1666, two years after van Salee sold his property to Francis de Bruyn or Brown. Anthony Janszoon van Salee (1607–1676) was an original settler of and prominent landholder, merchant, and creditor in New Netherland . Van Salee, commonly known as Anthony the Turk , is believed to have been the son of Jan Janszoon , a Dutch pirate captain who lead the Salé Rovers after his capture by Barbary corsairs . Van Salee and his first wife Grietse were the subject of considerable scandal and litigation in New Amsterdam, leading to his role in the establishment of Gravesend and New Utrecht , as well as other settlements on Long Island. His mother Margarita was of Moorish background from Spain, and his father converted to Islam upon his capture. Van Salee is recorded as owning a Quran , and was possibly a Muslim himself; if so he may have been the first free Muslim American settler. He may also have had African or Middle Eastern heritage through his mother—while Anthony's line married into white families (with Vanderbilt and other patrician descendants), his apparent brother Abraham's line married into black families. There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a template (see the help page ).