Age: 35

Gender: Male

Knack: Pacifism, if you will. Skip is generally able to guide those in his environment away from anger, irrationality and violence by his words. He gets an idea of what people might need to hear to calm them down. Of course this is not a given fact. If two men were to have their hearts set on knocking heads... Well, there's only so much a man can do.

Physical Appearance: Skip is a moderately tall man, with a slender frame which has been well muscled by a life out at sea. His naturally light skin tanned and marked by years spent in tropical climates and his mess of blond hair slowly receding and thinning out a bit, as one might expect. His eyes are light blue, and his face is friendly, with plenty of laugh lines around the eyes and mouth.

Personality: Jan -Skip, as he's known in the new world- has a calm demeanor. From early age he has been raised a sober Dutchman, by hardworking parents who rather lived by the local saying "Just act normal, that's madness enough for anyone." (Doe maar normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg.)

He was brought up to know the value of a hard day's work, and like many has a distaste for those that would waste time and laze about. Ruffians and rabble-rousers are another breed of man he does not enjoy.

History: Born in Vlissingen (Flushing), Holland, which at the time of his birth (1790s) was falling under Napoleon's rule, however by the time that young Jan became old enough to make a life for himself the Dutch had been in political turmoil. The family farm was not big enough for Jan and his four brothers to share evenly and fairly, and given his knack for peacemaking, he plotted out two equal pieces for the eldest brother and the youngest, while convincing his parents to send his middle brother to school in the nearby village, as the boy had a particularly keen mind and strong love for reading. Jan himself took to the sea, as was also common for boys in the Zeeland province.

At age 11 he signed on as a deckhand on a ship bound for the East Indies and made himself a life as a shipsman (Schipper). Finally, in 1825 when the Java war started in the Dutch East Indies colonies, Jan decided to head back to Europe after more than 20 years. He spent only a few months in Holland, where his youngest brother still tended the family farm, now with a wife and children of his own. His middle brother had since become a Notary in Amsterdam and he learned that his eldest brother had sailed across the pond to the New World.

After those short months in Holland, Jan, too decided to travel to the New World, arriving in New Amsterdam around 1826. At first, he spent his time tracking down his elder brother Piet, which turned out rather difficult and sent him up and down the New World, from Irrakwa to Raleigh and back again, doing odd jobs here and there to pay for a place to stay and a bite to eat, until in the summer of '27 he found his brother's farm near Dekane. He spent the summer there, helping his brother during harvest season before trekking his way back east to the coast, and the ocean he felt he belonged to.

Name: Munro "Bear-roarer" Boatman

Profession: Any work he can find on the water, formerly an enlisted man in the Revenue Cutter Service of the United States (I'm assuming one still exists in the Alvin Maker universe.) Honorably discharged after being wounded in a boarding action. Now walks with a decided limp.

Personality: Defined by quiet competence, Munro is dedicated to preserving the lives of others, and helping people whenever he can. When he's had too much to drink, he can get a little abrasive and violent, and is always dedicated to getting the job done. Sometimes takes extreme measures, when lesser ones might do.

History: Born on the Eastern Shore of New Sweden, Munro is what southerners call an "octoroon," someone who is one-eighth black. He passes for white, to simplify his existence. Joined the Revenue Cutter Service during the First Barbary War (assuming, again, anything like it happened) and saw some action in that conflict.

Appearance: Dark hair and eyes, with skin dark enough that he professes Italian origins. Short, stocky, and fairly muscular, he typically carries a small hatchet with him. A decent rifleman, but prefers his hatchet or, if he has to, a shotgun.