Anthony Janszoon van Salee

Anthony Janszoon van Salee (1607–1676) was an original settler of and prominent landholder, merchant, and creditor in New Netherland, a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States of America. Van Salee, commonly known as Anthony the Turk, is believed to have been the son of Jan Janszoon, a Dutch pirate captain who led 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 father had converted to Islam upon his capture by Barbary pirates. It's unknown if Van Salee was as Muslim himself; if so he may have been the first free Muslim settler in the land that would later become the United States. He was recording as owning a Quran but this may have been an heirloom from his father. He may also have had North African or Middle Eastern heritage through his mother—while Anthony's line married into European families (with Vanderbilt and other patrician descendants).