Before Arent could sail, Van Rensselaer died. When Arent reached Amsterdam in 1644, Van Rensselaer’s 18-year old son Johannes had succeeded him. Meeting the new patroon and the guardians managing his affairs, Arent realized many decisions lay ahead for the colonie that demanded his first-hand knowledge. The visit he planned as brief would not be. He sent for his bride Anthonia. The couple would not return to New Netherland for three years. Before they boarded ship, Johannes granted Arent a six-year lease to the Flatts.

Over the next decade, Arent developed the Flatts farm. He hired laborers for building and other work. From the Mahicans he bought islands he had coveted for years. His stallions sired horses prized locally and sold as far away as the Caribbean. His cows supplied milk, butter and cheese. His efforts with sheep and pigs were less successful. Wolves ate the sheep while the pigs escaped to the woods.

Arent continued to cultivate his contacts in the fur trade. The 1640s were a turbulent time. Wars waged among the various tribes. Disease swept through them. The next decade was little better. More traders chased a dwindling supply of pelts. New Englanders encroached from the east. The French attacked the Mohawks from the north. But Arent had a rare gift for understanding the native people and treating them as equals. With his connections in the Netherlands, he delivered the goods they wanted. Amid the turmoil he prospered.

The youth who arrived at eighteen grew into an affluent burgher. Arent bought property in the growing community of Beverwijck west of the Hudson. He filled his home with jewelry, paintings and fine furniture. He accepted appointments as a commissioner and a trustee to build a school.

Twice the community sent him to the Mohawks “to renew the former alliance and bond of friendship.” With so much respect did the Mohawks hold this friend that into the next century they addressed New York Governors as “Brother Corlaer.”