Patriline is the story of the growth and development of the Adriance family in America. It began with the arrival of a twelve-year-old boy named Adriaen Reyerse from Utrecht in the Netherlands in 1646. He first set foot in New Amsterdam. It's continued today, three hundred and seventy-eight years later through the lives of the Adriances who are directly descended from him.

While Adriaen grew up in the area of present-day New York City, he spent the remaining fifty-nine years of his life in an area known as Flatbush (Brooklyn). From there, his descendants migrated to such places as Flushing, Fishkill, Berne, Nanticoke, and Tioga, Pa. They were all farmers who made their living by tilling the soil. They moved west in search of land and opportunity.

Each generation built upon the other. Fathers and sons continued the tradition that started with Adriaen and developed as it was passed on to Elbert, Rem, Joris, George, Jacob, and finally Joseph who is pictured on the cover of the book. Farming consumed their lives and brought them from the New York City area all the way to Tioga, Pa.

Their lives were strongly rooted in agriculture, religion, and public service. Over the years, they served in various capacities in the Dutch Reformed Church, and in the towns in which they lived. They also participated in the military.

Since the arrival of Adriaen Reyerse with his parents Reyer Elbertse and Marritje Barents, and his brother Gerrit, there have been a total of thirteen generations who have lived in New York. They were inspired to come to America by Goosen Gerritse Van Schaick who was Marritje's son by a previous marriage. Goosen had come over in 1637.
Patriline tells the story of the first eight generations and attempts to paint a picture of their lives. It illustrates what an unbroken line of descent looks like. While Joseph Adriance and his son Burton (Bert) were the last Adriances to have farms, the opportunity for higher education and the advent of the Industrial Revolution led the succeeding five generations to opt for careers in industry, education, medicine, the military, and business as well as agriculture.

Patriline summarizes the evolution of one family of Dutch immigrants who came to America in search of land and opportunity. It illustrates the American dream and how it manifested itself in the lives of one family from the Province of Utrecht in the Netherlands.