ROSALIEFELLOWSBAILEY

WITH 171 ILLUSTRATIONS

 PLATE 1
House of Abraham Ackerman
Hackensack

. It was
• A er1ca, £ tile
thlll~111 eo
. . d bY the DU c s the bolll £ botb
Thia is an outstanding example of a type of architecture develo~e d Gerrit. It wa ~dants 0
. sons David an 99, and 0 £ desce ..
· 1704 by Abraham Ackerman with the aid of his
b ui·1 t in
18
Ackerman family until 1825 of the Brinkerhoff family from 1825 to
families from 1906 to the pr~sent time.
PRE-REVOLUTIONARY
DUTCH HOUSES
AND FAMILIES
IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY
AND SOUTHERN NEW YORK
BY

ROSALIE FELLOWS BAILEY

WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY THE AUTHOR

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

MARGARET DE M. BROWN

DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC.

NEW YORK
 COPYRIGHT @ 1968 BY DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC.

All rights reserved under

Pan American and In_ternational Copyright Conventions.

Published in Canada by General Publishing Company, Ltd.,

30 Lesmill Road, Don Mills, Toronto, Ontario.
Published in the United Kingdom by Constable and Company, Ltd.,
10 Orange Street, London WC 2.

This Dover edition, first published in 1968, is an unabridged and

unaltered republication of the work otiginally published by William
Morrow & Company in 1936 in a limited edition of 334 copies for the
Holland Society of New York.
This edition contains a new Foreword by the author.

Library of ConAress CataloA Card Number: 68-26053

Manufactured in the United States of America
DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC.
180 Varick Street
New York, N. Y. 10014
 FOREWORD TO THE DOVER EDITION

I HAVE always been intrigued by the rich historical background and folklore of
the Hudson River Valley, where I was raised. This fascination is no doubt due
in part to close personal ties with the region, for my ancestors-Dutch, English,
German, Walloon, Flemish, French, Scottish and Scandinavian-have lived in this
area for more than three centuries. In my youth I used to love to explore the coun-
tryside, and this led to a life-long interest in the genealogy of various old families
and in the beautiful native Dutch colonial style of architecture, of which there were
many fine local examples. These gracious and well-built houses were little appreci-
ated in those days, and I came to feel the need to record them for posterity, for
future generations that would not be able to take them for granted. Hence this book,
which was originally published in 1936 under the sponsorship of The Holland
Society of New York.
In the early 1930's it was still possible to study and compare such materials as
maps, land surveys and district road records, and then to ferret out-in strips and
comers of land that had been cut off in the process of straightening colonial roads-
many pure examples of this style of building. Here my background and training in
property archives and as a professional genealogist were indispensable to me, for
owners usually described their property boundaries in terms of their neighbors'
lands. When lecturing on houses or teaching genealogy, I stress that documents
may be very useful today for a reason different from that for which they were
originally executed.
Had the research for this book not been done in the troubled times of the
Depression, ·the opportunity for such thorough coverage would have been lost
forever. The post-World War II proliferation of highways and gigantic real estate
developments would make such a task extremely difficult, perhaps impossible,
today, and of course the end result would be much less rewarding, since the recent
prosperity has led to the destruction of many of the buildings illustrated in this
book. I particularly mourn the loss of two houses, both in Hackensack-the beau-
tiful Ackerma~ homestead (shown in the frontispiece), razed for a supermarket,
and the imposing Terheun house (Plate 100), torn down to make a parking lot that
was later developed into a city park.
Today some of the few houses left standing are being threatened with destruc-
tion. For' example, New Jersey's historic Old Mine Road and its houses
(Plates 167, 169 170 and 171) are currently endangered by the Federal
' ' . .
recreation and reservoir project to dam the Delaware River. However, m
recent years this native school of domestic architecture has been widely acclaimed,
 -
FOREWORD TO THE DOVER EDITION

and state and municipal governments, as well as private organizations and indi-
viduals, have become increasingly interested in preserving and restoring our
colonial heritage.
A forerunner of this trend was the Washington Rocky Hill Headquarters Asso-
ciation, organized to purchase from a quarry company in 1897 Judge Berrien's home
in Somerset County (Plate 128), where Washington wrote his Farewell Address to
the Army. During the Depression, it was acquired by the State of New Jersey, was
later moved again, and recently reopened with the cooperation of the Rockingham
Association. An early endeavor in New York was that sponsored by the Grand
Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, which in 1930 purchased for a memorial shrine
the De Wint house in Tappan, Rockland County (Plate 48), on several occasions
George Washington's temporary headquarters and the reputed site of the signing
of Major Andre's death warrant. The building is still open to the public, but some-
what altered; in particular, the original gracefully free-flowing roofline has been
awkwardly squared off. Since 1965 it has been part of an 85-acre historic zone
created by the Town Board of Orangetown. This town was the first to act under
the new enabling law, recently passed by the State of New York.
The State of New Jersey, with laws dating from 1931 and 1945, had been in
the vanguard of the movement to preserve historic sites. As early as 1928 it pur-
chased the house at New Bridge, North Hackensack, which had been the State's
gift to Baron von Steuben (Plate 113). In the light of recent research, in 1967 the
building was officially renamed the Ackerman-Zabriskie-von Steuben house. The
Passaic County Commission continues its intelligent care of the Dey Mansion
(Plate 144) and, after finding foundations of its milk-cooling house, recently recon-
structed it.
The City of New York has actively supported the Staten Island Historical
Society's restoration project known as Historic Richmondtown, for which I was
research consultant. A 100-acre site around the Island's oldest buildings was
acquired by city condemnation in 1952, and the Britton-Cubberly house (Plate 26)
is now being rebuilt there, while the Guyon-Lake-Tysen house (Plate 31) has already
been carefully restored there, along with the oldest known schoolhouse in America,
dating from 1695. Still situated elsewhere on the Island, the Stillwell-Britton-Perine
house (Plate 38) has been documented as earlier in date and has had the roof of its
early portion raised steeply to accord with the slant of its original timbers when
uncovered, and its jambless fireplace restored.
In 1966 the Landmarks Preservation Commission of the City of New York,
of which I am now Senior Landmarks Preservation Specialist, designated some
th
houses in Kings and Queens Counties as official historical landmarks, among em
the Lefferts homestead (Plate 10), the Wyckoff house (Plate 23) and the Lent
 FOREWORD TO THE DOVER EDITION

homestead (Plate 24). It also designated the important Van Wyck homestead, built
about 1735 at Douglaston, unfortunately unknown to me when I wrote this book.
Individuals too have become interested in this attractive building style, and
many have approached me for advice on how to restore old homes that they have
purchased. A member of the Luyster family recently opted for twentieth-century
surroundings, but has thoughtfully kept the original homestead in Middletown
(Plate 125) intact as a private museum wing. The De Wolf house at Old Tappan
(Plate 89) remains in very good condition under the careful attention of the present
owner, a descendant of the original builders. The Schenck house (Plate 13) was
purchased by a private concern, then donated to the Brooklyn Museum, where it
has been reerected within the museum walls. At my earnest behest as researcher
for the project, the steeply pitched roof, which was to be omitted from the exhibit,
was restored. Unfortunately, when the first Demarest house in Bergen County
(Plate 82) was moved and rebuilt in 1955, the steep pitch of the roof was modified,
thereby destroying one of the principal indications of the building's great age. In
recent years such roofs have been recognized as historically and esthetically im-
portant, and have been carefully preserved. Architects are becoming more and more
sensitive to the distinctive and characteristic features of this regional style of
building, and are consequently restoring old homes with greater fidelity to the past.
Numerous architects have spoken to me of this book's usefulness, and indeed
one can now see the influence of this style in some of the recent custom and mass
produced housing. I like to feel that my book has made a direct and practical
contribution to beautifying the countryside.
I am much encouraged to find evidence of increasing consciousness of this rich
heritage on the part of private organizations, individuals and civic organizations,
and it is my hope that the republication of this book will further and deepen interest
in all aspects of our colonial background.
ROSALIE FELLOWS BAILEY
Member of the Society of Architectural Historians
Fellow of The American Society of Genealogists
New York City
June, 1968
 THE HOLLAND SOCIETY
OF NEW YORK

Special Committee on

PRE-REVOLUTIONARY DUTCH HOUSES IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY

AND SOUTHERN NEW YORK

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
CHAIRMAN

J. WILSON POUCHER, M.D.

VICE-CHAIRMAN

CHARLES L. SCHENCK WALTER L. SUYDAM (deceased)

EDWARD DE WITT CHARLES M. DUTCHER

WILFRED BLANCH TALMAN, Secretary

ExOBicio

The Ollicers of Tbe Hol/and Society of New York

JOHN de C. VAN ETTEN, President

WALTER M. MESEROLE, Secretary
ARTHUR R. WENDELL, Treasurer
 INTRODUCTION

A LL COLLECTORS know the great number of ambitlou.s, defini-

tive publications which end with Volume I. It is, therefore, a great satisfaction to
all of us who are deeply interested in the history of th~ early days of New York and
New Jersey to see the completion of the survey of early Dutch Houses which was
undertaken several years ago.
We are concerned, however, not merely as antiquarians. The architecture, the
decorations, the furniture of our early settlers have a very definite relationship to the
arts of today. It is true that our modem life calls for conveniences unthought of in
seventeenth century New Amsterdam; but the charm of line, the judgment of
location and the spirit of simplicity of the homes of our ancestors are all a good
influence on a civilization which to some of us seems to be reverting to the more
humble and honest ideals.

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

HYDE PARK
DUTCHESS COUNTY
NEW YORK

April 27, J936 /

 A WORD FROM THE BOOK COMMITTEE

I
T is ~ith great satisfacti~n that th~ members of this committee of The Holland
Society see the completion of this volume which has been prepared for the
committee by Miss Rosalie Fellows Bailey of New York, and which assures to
future generations a knowledge of many early Dutch houses in New Jersey, on
Long Island and Staten Island and in Rockland County, New York. The book is a
companion volume to Dutch H,;,uses in the Hudson Valley before 1776, which
was prepared under the auspices of this committee by Helen Wilkinson Reynolds
of Poughkeepsie and published in 1929.
In the selection of authors for these two volumes the committee has been for-
tunate and it desires to record here its appreciation of the able way in which Miss
Reynolds and Miss Bailey have carried through a monumental task. Also, the com-
mittee would offer its thanks to all those who in many ways have cooperated in its
project and helped to make that project a success.
Miss Bailey, Vassar graduate and professional genealogist, is descended from
most of the well known families of New Amsterdam and early New York. She is in
her third year as a member of the board of directors of the Daughters of the Cin-
cinnati, and is also a member of the Colonial Dames of America and of the Colonial
Lords of Manors in America. Her name heads the list of genealogists recognized by
the National Society of Colonial Dames in New York, and she has recently been
appointed a member of the publication committee of the New York Genealogical
and Biographical Society.
The plan for these two volumes was first conceived in conversation between
Miss Helen W. Reynolds, Mr. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dr. J. Wilson Poucher
at Mr. Roosevelt's home in Hyde Park, New York, but has been realized only
through the generous enthusiasm of the following gentlemen, members of The
Holland Society of New York, who as a board of underwriters made it possible
financially: Edward De Witt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, De Witt Van Buskirk,*
William A. Simonson, J. Wilson Poucher, E. Covert Hulst, James S. Polhemus,*
Walter M. Meserole, William L. Brower, Henry Van Dyke,* Charles L. Schenck,
Henry D. Lott, Wyllis Van Metre, Joseph F. Simmons, Samuel V. Hoffman,
Charles A. Ryder, George B. Cortelyou, Charles M. Dutcher, Albert V. B. Voor-

--
• Deceased.

L
 A WORD FROM THE BOOK COMMITTEE

hees, CoL Oeveland Coxe Lansing, Arthur R. Wendell~ R. J. Wortendyke, E. P.

Hoes,* G. Payn Quackenbos, James H. Pinckney, W. G. Van De Water, F. W.
Suydam, Herbert M. Waldron, I.E. Ditmars,* J.C. Traphagen, Jeremiah R. Van
Brunt, Dorville S. Coe, John W. Morrell, Willis D. Van Brunt, Gerrit Y. Lansing,
George B. Wendell, Cecil B. de Mille, Frank J. Le Fevre, Robert C. Pruyn,* John
S. Van Riper, Henry E. Ackerson, Jr., Lindell T. Bates, Arthur D. Benson, Wil-
liam E. Bruyn, Henry B. Decker, William E. Decker, Bruyn Hasbrouck, Francklyn
Hogeboom, H. M. O'Bleness, Walter S. Rapelje, Edwards F. Schermerhom, Wil-
fred B. Talman, John de C. Van Etten, Ottomar H. Van Norden, William Van
Wyck.
HON. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, Chairman
J. WILSON POUCHER, Vice-Chairman
JOHN de C. VAN ETTEN, President, ex officio
ARTHUR R. WENDELL, Treasurer, ex officio
WALTER M. MESEROLE, Secretary, ex officio
CHARLES L. SCHENCK
EDWARD DE WITT
WALTER L. SUYDAM*
CHARLES . M. DUTCHER
WILFRED BLANCH TALMAN, Secretary
Publication Committee.

*Deceased.
 CONTENTS
FRONTISPIECE
INTRODUCTION
ADDENDA, A Contemporary Description
PAGE
PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Pre-Revolutionary Dutch Houses in Northern New Jersey and Southern

New York . . . . ·. . 15
Land Titles . . . . . 17
Location of Settlements . 19
The Builders . . . . . 20
Type of Houses . . . . 20
Varied Building Materials . 22
Size and Plan of Houses . 24
Architectural Details . . . 27
Outbuildings . . . . . . 32
A Contemporary Description . 32
Comparison Between Counties 34
Possibilities in Modernization of Old Houses 37
Preservation of the Houses . . . . 41
Plates 1-6 • . . . . • . • • • 43
KINGS and QUEENS COUNTIES
General Text . 49
List of Houses . . . 57
Plates 7 to 25 • • • . 95
RICHMOND COUNTY
General Text . II5
List of Houses . . • 121

Plates 26 to 40 . . . 157
ROCKLAND COUNTY
General Text . • . • • 1 73
List of Houses . • . 179
Plates 41 to 69 • . • • 233

BERGEN (including HUDSON) COUNTY

General T~xt • • . • • . • . • . . . 263
List of Houses . . • . . • • . . . . . .. 269
Plates 70 to n5 . . . . . . . . . . . 337
 CONTENTS

MIDDLESEX and MONMOUTH COUNTIES PAGE

General Text. . 383

List of Houses . . . 389
Plates n6 to 127 . . 413

SOMERSET COUNTY
General Text . . 425
List of Houses . . . 431
Plates 128 to 142 . . 475
WESTERN NEW JERSEY, including Essex, Passaic, Hunterdon, Morris,
Sussex and Warren Counties
General Text . . 491
List of Houses . 503
Plates 143 to 171 553

BIBLIOGRAPHY . 583

GENEALOGICAL INDEX 585

 ILLUSTRATIONS
FRONTISPIECE: House of Abraham Ackerman
VIGNETTES: PAGE NUMBER
Van Wickle-Suydam House, Interior . . . . • 9
Stoothoff-Baxter-Kouwenhoven House, Rear of 49
Cruser-Winant-Pero House . . • . IIS
Gerret Blauvelt, House of . . . . . . 173
Westervelt, House of Roelof and Daniel . 263
Couwenhoven, House of Cornelius . . . 383
Staats, House of Hendrick and Abraham 425
Sip, House of John . . . . . . . . • 49 1
PRE-REVOLUTIONARY DUTCH HOUSES PLATE NUMBER
Ackerman, House of Abraham I
Van Wickle-Suydam House, Interior . 2
Ackerman, House of Abram, Interior . 3
Ackerman, House of Abram, Interior . 4
Nagel, House of Barent and John . 5
Staats-La Tourette House, First Floor Plan 6

KINGS and QUEENS COUNTIES

Cornell-Schenck House . . . . . 7
Covert, House of John . . . . . . . . . 8
Lady Moody (?), House of, later Van Siclen's 9
Lefferts, House of Pieter . . . . . IO
Lott, House of Johannes and Hendrick. II
Martense, House of Adrian . • . 12
Schenck, House of Jan Martense. 13
Schenck, House of Nicholas . 14
Schenck-Williamson House . . IS
Schenk-Wyckoff House • . . 16
Stoothoff-Bergen House . . . 17
Stoothoff-Baxter-Kouwenhoven House 18
Stryker-Schenck House . . . . . . 19
Swaert, House of Jacob; the Van Brunt Homestead . . 20
Van Cleef (?), House of Jan; the Van Cleef Homestead 21
Van Enden, House of Paulus, later Beegel's and Onderdonk's 22
Wyckoff Homestead • • . • 23
Lent, House of Abraham . . 24
Luyster-Kouwenhoven House 25

RICHMOND COUNTY
Britton, House of Nathaniel, later Walton's and Cubberly's. 26
Cozine-Bodine-Martling House • • • . . , . , • · 27
De Hart House . . . • • . 28
Dissosway House . • • . . 29
Dongan-Christopher House . 30
Guyon-Lake-Tysen House . 31
 ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE NUMBER
Hagawout, House of Pieter Pieterse, later Cruser's and Vreeland's 32
Hagewout, House of Peter . . . . . 33
Hendrickson ( ?)-Winants House . . 34
Lakeman-Cortelyou-Taylor House . 35
Roll, House of John, later Mersereau's 36
Simonson-Blake House. . . . . . • , , • • • • 37
Stillwell, House of Thomas, later Brittan's and Perine's . 38
Tysen, House of Barnt . . . • . . . . • • • • • · • 39
Van Santvoord, House of Cornelius, later Krusen's and Pelton's 40
ROCKLAND COUNTY
Benson, House of Benjamin. . . . . . . 41
Blauvelt, House of Hendrick Gerritse . . . 42
Blauvelt, House of Johannes, later Smith's 43
Blauvelt, House of Gerret . . . . . . 44
Blauvelt-Secor House . . • . . . . • 45
Blauvelt-Lane House . . . . . . . . 46
Blauvelt-Hogencamp House • . . . • . 47
De Clark, House of Daniel, later De Wint's 48
De Pew House . . . . 49
De Pew, House of Peter . 50
Haner-Ryder House . . 51
Haring House . . . . 52
House of Abram Lent. . 53
Mabie, House of Jeremias 54
Oblenis House . . . • 55
Perry, House of Isaac. . . 56
Sickels-Vanderbilt House . . . . . . 57
Smidt(?), House of Lambert Adriaensen 58
Smidt House(?) . . . • . 59
Smith, House of Major John • •. 60
Smith, Barn of Major John • . 61
Smith, House of Cornelius . . 62
Sneden House . . . . . . 63
Tallman, House of Harmanus . 64
Tallman House • • . . . . 65
Temeur-Hutton House. . . . • . . . 66
Vanderbilt, House of Jacob. . . . . . . 67
Zabriskie (?)-Goetschius--Tallman House 68
Unidentified House • • . • . • . . 69
BERGEN COUNTY (including Hudson)
Achenbach House . • . . . . . . . . • . . 70
Ackerman, House of Abraham, later Brinkerhoff's 71
Ackerman, House of Johannes, later Brinkerhoff's 72
Ackerman-Naugle House . • • 73
Ackerman-Van Emburgh House 74
Ackerman, House of Abram. . . 75
Alyea-Outwater House. • • . 76
Banta, House of Hendrick . . . . . . . • • 77
Brickman (?)-Ackerson· House . • . . . . . 78
Brinkerhof, House of Hendrick, later Demarest's 79
Cuyper (Cooper), House of Com~Hs So
De Clark, House of William. . . . SI
 ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE NUMBER
Des Marest (Demarest), House of David 82
Demarest, House of Jacobus 83
Demaree, House of Abram . 84
Doremus House . . . . . 85
Durie, House of John. . . 86
Garretson, House of Peter . 87
Garrison ( ?) House. . . . . . . . . 88
Haring, House of Cosyn, later De Wolf's 89
Haring, House of Gerrit . . . 90
Haring, House of Frederick. . 91
Haring, House of Abraham . . 92
Holdrum-Wanamaker House 93
Hopper-Goetschius House . 94
Housman, House of Isaac . . 95
Lozier, House of Cornelis . . . . . . . 96
Nagel (Naugle), House of Barent and John 97
Nagel (Naugle), House of Isaac . . . . 98
Packer House . . . . . . . . . . 99
Terheun Homestead . . . . . . . . IOO
Terhune House . . . . . . . . . • IOI
Van Alen (?)-Hopper-Van Horn House 102
Van Boskerk (Van Buskirk), House of Thomas. 103
Vanderbilt House . . . . . . . . • . . . 104
Van Horn House . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Van Houten House . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Varleth, House of Nicholas; the Sip Homestead 107
Vreeland House . . . . . • • • 108
Westervelt-Bogert House . 109
Westervelt, House of Roelof no
Westervelt House . . . . III
II2
Zabriskie-Board House. .
Zabriskie, House of John. . u3
Zabriskie-Van Dien Smoke House. n4
Unidentified House. . . . . . . us
MIDDLESEX and MONMOUTH COUNTIES
Low, House of Cornelius. . . n6
Smock, House of Matthias . . n7
n8
Soulard ( ?)-Suydam House .
Van Deventer, House of Jacob. . n9
I20
Van Dyke, House of Matthias . • I2I
Couwenhoven, House of Cornelius
Covenhoven, House of Jan. . . . ... I22

Conover House . . . . . • • ... 123

Hendrickson, House of Hendrick • . ... . ... 124

125
Luyster, House of Johannes. • .
Stout (?)-Hendrickson House .... .
126
Taylor, House of Squire John . • • • • ..... 127

SOMERSET COUNTY
· :ett!en, House of Judge John. . . . . . . .. 128
e'!Ien ( ?)-Pumyea House . • .... 129

Gulick (?)-Ditmars House ... 130

131
Lane, House of Guisbert • . • • • I I •
 ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE NUMBER
Lane-Brokaw House. . . . . • • 132
Middagh ( ?)-Frelinghuysen House . 1 33
Moelich (Mellick), House of Johannes. 1 34
Quick House . . . . . . . . . • • 1 35
Staats, House of Hendrick and Abraham . 136
Van Doren, House of John . . . . . . 1 37
Van Horn, House of Philip. . . . . . 138
Van V echten, House of Derrick . .. . . 1 39
Van Wickle, House of Symen, later Suydam's . 140
Van Wickle, House of Evert, later Rev. Abraham Beach's 141
Wyckoff, House of Jacobus, later Voorhees' . . . . . 142
WESTERN NEW JERSEY, including Essex, Passaic, Hunterdon, Morris,
Sussex and Warren Counties
Berdan, House of Albert . . 143
Dey, House of Dirck . . . 1 44
Lawrence House . . . . 145
Merselis, House of Edo . . 146
Ryerson, House of Johannes 1 47
Schuyler-Colfax House . . 148
Stynmets-Sip House 149
Van Dien House . . . . . 150
Van Giesen-Vreeland House. 151
Van Houten, House of Gerrebrant 152
Van Ness House. . • . . 153
Van Wagening House 154
Van Winkle, House of John. 155
Unidentified House 156
Fitts House . . . . . . 157
Howsel-Wagoner House . 158
Reynolds-Van Syckel House. . . . 159
Ryerson, House of Martin, later Quick's 160
Dey, House of Thomas . . . . . 161
Dodd House • . . . . . . . . 162
Doremus, House of Henry . . . . 163
Farmhouse, at one time Demarest's . 164
Parlaman, House of Johannes. . 165
Van Duyn-Jacobus House. . . 166
Ennes, House of William . . . 167
Tietsoort (Titsworth) House . . 168
Van Campen, House of Abraham. 169
Van Campen, House of Isaac . . 170
Westbrook, House of Johannes . 171
-.PREFACE

VAN WICKLE-SUYDAM'. HOUSE

INTERIOR
 PREFACE

T
HIS book on pre-revolutionary Dutch houses and families is an attempt
to re-create and record for posterity the manner of life of the early Dutch
settlers in this country. Emphasis has been given to their homes because so
many of them are being tom down or have fallen into decay and will soon disappear.,
but this is not primarily a book on architecture and technical discussion will not be
found along this line. A large part of the text is devoted to the builders and inhabi-
tants of these houses., to their births., marriages and deaths., to the size of their
families., and to the important events of their lives., in other words to the genealogical
side with occasional biographical sketches.
The classification of a house as Dutch has been determined largely by the con-
ditions., circumstances and early history of the country. The Dutch government of
New Netherland lasted for only forty years. Only a small portion of the territory
under discussion was settled during this period and very few houses remain which
were built before the English conquest of 1664. Nevertheless., the field survey under-
taken for this book has revealed that wherever the Dutch or their descendants
settled., the Dutch culture prevailed., absorbing all other elements in the community.
Thus houses will be found in this book which were built in the Dutch style by men
of Scotch., English., French., German., Polish and Scandinavian descent. These men
of other nationalities had for the most part emigrated to this country while it was un-
der Dutch government; they were political or religious refugees or adventurers seek-
ing opportunities of advancement and were attracted by the liberal and flourishing
commerce. In return for asylum and opportunity and the kindly feelings of their
Dutch neighbors (which remained a factor long after their rule ended)., the emi-
grants of the various races adopted the language and manner of living of the Dutch
and chose their wives from among them, so that the second and third generations
Were as much Dutch in outlook and breeding as though they were one hundred
per cent Dutch in blood.
. This broad qualification, covering the cosmopolitan period of Dutch sover-
eignty, has been the standard used for the inclusion of a house in this work for
anotber reason also. This volume has been written under the auspices of the Holland
~ociety of New York. Eligibility to the Society is based on descent in the male line
ro111. an inhabitant of New Netherland, regardless of his original nationality.. h
II The present work was planned as a companion volume to Dutch Houses;~
kc
in ~~son Valley before 1776, by Helen Wilkinson Reynolds, which was
29
deal Under the auspices of The Holland Society of-New York. Miss J:1
t With the houses and lives of the people in the Hudson River Valley, on e eas
ol~s
t
II
 PREFACE

side as far south as Westchester County and on the west side down to Orange
County. No better and fuller account can be given of the manner of life, background,
customs, traditions and homes of the Dutch than in her book, to which the author
urgently refers the reader who wishes to acquire an adequate background of the
life of the times. The genealogical stress gives a different slant to the present volume.
The territory covered is that of Southern New Netherland, the Dutch settle-
ments not treated in Miss Reynolds' work. The Province of New Netherland
included, as well as New York, the whole of the present State of New Jersey. The
southern half of New Jersey has been omitted from this volume because it was
principally settled by the English and Scotch, and no Dutch influence was ever
prevalent there. Rockland County on the west side of the Hudson River is included
in this rather than in the former work, because in topography, type of houses and
families it is more akin to Bergen County, New Jersey, than to the other Hudson
River counties in New York. The Dutch settlements in Kings, Queens and Rich-
mond Counties in New York are also treated. New Amsterdam has been omitted
because the pre-revolutionary Dutch houses there have disappeared many years ago,
and it was felt that very little new material could be found.
An attempt has been made to photograph and give the early history of all
existing Dutch houses within the territory mentioned, which were found to be only
slightly altered. This is in keeping with the aim to record for posterity the appear-
ance of the houses as they were when inhabited by the Dutch. The history has also
been given of a few houses which have recently disappeared and of some others
which have been too much altered for a photograph to convey the desired impression.
Reference has been made to other photographs and prints of these houses which have
been published, so as to enable the reader to study other views.
This work establishes the fact that the average pre-revolutionary Dutch house
was a farmhouse, inhabited by the farmer and militiaman of the day. It will be
noticed that there are not many historical houses and very few that can be dignified
by the term of mansion. The hardships of nature inherent in the opening up of a
new country operated alike on rich and poor, with the result that their homes were
very similar with only minor differences in size and detail.
A field survey was made of Greater New York in J925, and many of the houses
chosen and photographed then have since disappeared; the mainland was surveyed
in, J932 an~ J933. The colonial and Revolutionary roads in these regions were found
with the atd of old maps (those of Robert Erskine, Surveyor General under Wash·
ington, proved invaluable) and located among the present-day roads. These were
intensely scoured by motor, the houses thus found were examined their owners, old
~~i~ents and l~cal historians intervie~ed, and a large volume ~f correspondence
uutiated, resulting in very welcome atcl. The information thus garnered supplied
H
 PREFACE

th clues for an intensive study in various libraries, among the county histories,
f~Y genealogies, ch~ch records and wills. Where possible, the land deeds and
nveyances were examined at the county seats. A complete abstract of title to every
~operty could not be compiled in a volume of this type, but enough material has
ien furnished to direct further research by those interested in any particular prop-
erty. An attempt has been made to give a genealogical sketch of the families of the
builders and early owners. Original research work on over two hundred families
was of course impossible in the short amount of time allotted; therefore published
and manuscript genealogical accounts have been resorted to wherever they were
available and seemed reliable. The entries in many family Bibles, still in private
ownership, were copied; asterisks against dates in this volume are used to denote
this valuable source.
The author is deeply grateful for the hearty cooperation of the present owners
in showing their homes and placing their records at her disposal. So many people
have been of aid in the preparation of this volume that it is impossible to enumerate
them here. Particular thanks are due to Dr. Frank L. Van Cleef, the Rev. Lefferd
Haughwout, Loring McMiUen, Lewis D. Cook, Cornelius C. Vermeule, Judge and
Mrs. Henry E. Ackerson, Jr., Miss Mary A. Demarest, Louis L. Blauvelt, M. Mont-
gomery Maze, George H. Budke, J. Elting Sloat and Wilfred Blanch Talman. The
advice of Howard Stelle Fitz Randolph, then associate editor of the New York Gen-
ealogical and Biographical Society, and of Walter M. Meserole, Secretary of The
Holland Society of New York, have been invaluable, also the encouragement of
Miss Helen Wilkinson Reynolds and Dr. J. Wilson Poucher. The author has had
access to the manuscript records and collections of The Holland Society of New
York, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, the Ne.w York His-
torical Society, the New York Public Library, the Staten Island Institute of Arts
and Sciences, and the Rutgers University Library. This work could not have been
accomplished without the photography of Miss Margaret De M. Brown, who has
~UCCeeded so weII in portraying the homes and living atmosphere of the Dutch period
Ut her plates.

13
 ADDENDA

AN IMPORTANT CONTEMPORARY DESCRIPTION

Not until this book was on the press was the following contemporary description
discovered. It is an interesting account not heretofore quoted in connection with the
Dutch life of the period.
James Thacher, a surgeon's mate, in his Military Journal of the American
Revolution, p. J56, thus described a regiment's march on Nov. 28-Dec. 2, J778t to
King's Ferry, across the Hudson River to New Jersey, and on through Kakiat,
Paramus and Acquackanonk: "These towns are inhabited chiefly by Dutch people;
their churches and dwelling houses are built mostly of rough stone, one story high.
There is a peculiar neatness in the appearance of their dwellings, having an airy
piazza supported by pillars in front, and their kitchens connected at the ends in the
form of wings. The land is remarkably level and the soil fertile; and being generally
advantageously cultivated, the people appear to enjoy ease and happy competency.
The furniture in their houses is of the most ordinary kind, and such as might be
supposed to accord with the fashion of the days of Queen Anne. They despise the
superfluities of life, and are ambitious to appear always neat and cleanly, and never
to complain of an empty purse."
The chief importance of this account is the description of the piazza as sup-
ported by pillars. Heretofore it has been presumed that the pillars were added under
the influence of the Classic style at the end of the eighteenth century. The houses
of the late period generally had pillars, whereas the overhanging roofs of many of
the earlier houses are left in balanced suspension to this day. The above account,
however, shows that columns were in common use as early as the Revolutionary
period. Statements throughout this volume of the subsequent addition of the pillars
lllUst therefore be accepted only after study of the particular house in question.
 PRE-REVOLUTIONARY DUTCH HOUSES
IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHERN NEW YORK

Land Titles
ROUP of Amsterdam merchants received in l6l4 from the States General
of the United Provinces a charter, which granted them the exclusive right
/ \ to trade in the Hudson country of New Netherland. The Dutch West
India Company was incorporated by the States General in l62l, the charter grant-
ing almost regal powers to colonize, govern and protect New Netherland. The com-
pany was organized and the first group of permanent settlers sent over in l624. A
charter of Freedoms and Exemptions was adopted in l629, granting large patroon-
ships to individuals founding colonies of fifty adults. As this Act did not sufficiently
encourage colonization, a new charter of Freedoms and Exemptions was adopted
in 1640, whereby patroonships were limited to four miles of river frontage, and 200
acres were allowed to every colonist bringing over five others. A proclamation was
issued offering every emigrant as much land as he could properly cultivate; a quit
rent of a tenth was reserved for the company, thus assuring legal estates of inheri-
tance to the grantees. Each grantee was required to sign a pledge of obedience to the
officers of the West India Company, acting in subordination to the States General.
The occupation of the Dutch settlers was always sanctioned by ground brief (patent)
from the West India Company and a confirmatory patent was issued after the land
was under cultivation. Prior to this the rights of the Indians to the lands had to be
extinguished; although a few individuals purchased directly from the Indians, the
greater part of the country was bought by the West India Company and in general
had to be purchased several times from various groups of Indians.
Charles II of England, without competent authority, granted the Province of
New Netherland to his brother James, Duke of York, who conquered the Colony by
force in l664. The Province of New York was ruled as his personal demesne and it
became a royal province upon his accession to the throne. All Dutch grants had to
be turned in under penalty of forfeiture and were confirmed for a moderate fee. Pat-
ents (that is, confirmations of title to original purchasers) were issued to individuals
groups by the governor, as the representative of the Duke and later of the kings.
s heretofore, these titles were based on the extinguishment of Indian rights.
to J The Province of New Jersey was sold by the Duke of York on June 24, l 664
colo~hn, Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. They formed a constitu!ion for the
Pro and appointed Philip Carteret as Governor. Under the Concessions of the
prietors, land could only be taken up under a warrant from the governor, who
17
 PRE-REVOLUTIONARY DUTCH HOUSES

gave a confirmatory deed after the land had been purchased from the Indians. Such
favorable terms were offered to settlers that they came in large numbers. Prior titles
to land under cultivation were readily confirmed. However, Carteret and especially
the later Proprietors contested the early immense grants and were generally able
to restrict them to land actually in occupation. The Province was divided into East
and West Jersey on July J, J676. Berkeley had sold his undivided share (West
Jersey) in J674 to John Fenwicke in trust for Edward Byllinge, both members of
the Society of Friends. Byllinge assigned his share to William Penn and other
Quakers, and Fenwicke likewise sold interests to others. West Jersey was divided
among the Proprietors into hundredths. Carteret's widow and trustees sold East
Jersey in J680 to William Penn and eleven others, but later the ownership was
enlarged and East Jersey was owned and ruled by twenty-four Proprietors. New
Jersey became a royal province on April J7, J702, when the Proprietors of East and
West Jersey surrendered to Queen Anne the power of government, retaining for
themselves the title to the soil. The Proprietors thus became an association of land-
owners. They were tenants in common. Warrants were issued from time to time
according to their respective rights, authorizing them to survey and appropriate
tracts. Such a warrant did not convey title of the property to one of them, as he had
that before; it authorized him to sever it from the common stock and so operated as a
release to him, allowing him to sell it to others. The lands in New Jersey were
gradually sold in this manner, and no grants were ever made in New Jersey by the
King to individuals.
All these transfers of authority were bound to cause grave disturbances in cer-
tain areas. Gov. Nicolls granted the Monmouth patent immediately after the Eng-
lish conquest, before learning of•the transfer of the New Jersey province. Settlement
was commenced under this patent, which gave the right of local government, but
the patentees resisted Carteret's claim to rights of ownership and government, and
it was not until 1683 that the matter was finally settled in favor of the Proprietors.
The partition line between East and West Jersey was long in dispute; it was first
drawn in 1676 and finally drawn in 1743. In the meantime the border land was
granted to various settlers by both the East Jersey and West Jersey Proprietors.
The consequent land troubles were severest in·westem Essex County, the Horseneck
or Fairfield region, and resulted in many of the actual settlers being ousted if they
could not repurchase their lands. A large slice of the northern counties in New
Jersey was for many years claimed by the Province of New York and several New
York patents extended far into New Jersey. Similarly some of the early patents
issued by the New Jersey Proprietors were for lands later found to be in New York.
It was not until 1772 that the present line was accepted.

18
 IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHERN NEW YORK

Location of Settlements
The Dutch settled principally in the plains and along rivers and creeks. New
Amsterdam was established in 1624 on the tip of Manhattan. The level plains and
large numbers of bays and inlets of Long Island attracted them almost immediately
and five Dutch towns were established or gradually grew up in the present Kings
County-New Amersfoort or Flatlands, Breuckelen, Midwout or Flatbush, New
Utrecht, and Bushwick or W oodtown. These and the English town of Gravesend,
where many of the Dutch also lived, were organized under the government of New
Netherland. The present Queens County was almost entirely settled by the English
from New England but a number of Dutchmen opened up plantations along Bouw-
ery Bay, where the East River joins the Sound. Several unsuccessful attempts were
made at an early date to settle Staten Island where the first permanent colony was
formed in 1661. The early farms on the Jersey shore of the Hudson River were like-
wise laid waste by the Indians, and the palisaded village of Berget1t erected in l 660,
was the first successful development. From these older villages came the settlers who
gradually opened up the northeast corner of the province of New Jersey, which was
watered by the Hackensack, Passaic, Saddle, Pequannock and Ramapo Rivers, and
now comprises the counties of Hudson, Bergen, Passaic and parts of Essex and
Morris. A small village grew up at Old Hackensack, now Ridgefield Park, another
at Acquackanonk, now Passaic, and a third at Second River, now Belleville; the
whole country was studded with farms. Rockland County to the north had a similar
development, its main community was started in 1683 at Tappan. The English
settled a large territory in central New Jersey, the present Union County, most of
Morris and Essex, and parts of Middlesex and Somerset Counties. Another Dutch
str
onghold was established in the l680s south of the English, along the Raritan and
Millstone Rivers, which water parts of Somerset and Middlesex Counties. There
~~re two villages here, Raritan, now Somerville, and New Brunswick, the latter
lllg Part Dutch and part English. Monmouth County was mainly settled by the
~nglish and Scotch but a small group of Dutchmen sailed south from Kings County
xn and about 1695 and opened up farms in the rolling valleys around Holmdel. Most
~unterdon County in West Jersey was settled in the early eighteenth century by
_ers and Germans from Pennsylvania, but a Dutch settlement grew up around
tr eadmgton after l 700. The Minisink country, along the Delaware River in the ex-
e·e!e northwestern corner of the province, was settled in the opening years of the
~g teenth century by Dutchmen who drifted down from Esopus in Ulster County,
ewYork.

19
 PRE-REVOLUTIONARY DUTCH HOUSES

The Builders
There were few trained architects and professional builders among the Dutch
in the sense that we employ these terms. The average Dutch farmhouse was erected
by the owner, with the help of his wife, grown sons and the neighboring farmers,
sometimes under the supervision of a local tradesman, who was generally called a
carpenter in the records but whose manner of life was similar to that of his farmer
neighbors. These substantial houses, especially the stone houses, al'e the result of the
abundant and' inexpensive slave labor of the times, the Proprietors of New Jersey
granting 75 acres for every slave brought into the colony. It is exceedingly doubtful
if the stone would have been so extensively quarried, cut, dressed, carried and laid
if there had been no slaves.
Types of Houses
The term "Dutch Colonial house" has often been used for the type of one and
a half story house developed here by the Dutch, which flourished to perfection
especially in Bergen County, New Jersey. The name is really a misnomer for it
came into existence after the fall of the New Netherland government and reached its
greatest height in the half century after the American Revolution. It is a distinctive
architecture and our only indigenous form until the coming of the modem sky-
scraper. ·
The earliest houses of the Dutch were temporary shelters, which were of two
types. There were dugouts, which were excavations in the earth lined with bark
and ~vered with rude roofs of sod or reeds. There were also crudely,built houses with
sapling framework covered and lined with bark. The first permanent homes were
small, on~ story bu~ldings of roughly cut stone or wood, with straw thatched roofs,

::r:
narro~ ~d~ws :1th only two panes of glass, stone fireplaces and ovens, and chim-

a;!
::r s P ~tet inside with mortar or mud; in the interior rough shelves
house at New ~~rec~ t;nches for beds. The wing of the Swaert-Van Brunt
57 75
type. Its low, rough st~n:~alls - (plate 20), belongs to this very early period in
number and size of , d ' steep roof, absence of overhanging eaves, and small
houses were modeledWtnft owsth are characterist'1c features. A s soon as pract1ca
' 1 the
comfortable; their ve; st::P os~ of ~e Fatherland, of good size, substantial an~
early New Amsterdam. roo s an stepped gables are familiar to us in prints 0
Gradually there arose a native st , · Th's
development cannot be divided int d T,1e which had no prototype in Europe. 1
and the earlier types continued to ~e period~ as it was a slow, steady gr~~'
1
change was in the roofline. t along with the newer. The most striking
20
 IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHERN NEW YORK

In the middle of the seventeenth century the roof was extended to overhang the
front and often the rear wall, and generally this projection was curved slightly to
avoid the windows and prevent a top-heavy appearance. The protection of the clay
and mud mortar from the rain is the reason generally advanced for this development.
Since the change came about in the frame houses also, a desire to divert the rain from
the foundations may also have been a factor. Examples of this in conjunction with
the early steep roofs are to be seen in the V arleth-Sip house, built 1664 (plate J07),
the Mill Island Schenck house, built 1676 (plate 13), the Demarest house, built 1678-
80 (plate 82) and the De Clark-De Wint house, built 1700 (plate 48). When the
curved overhanging eaves came into vogue, they were added in many instances to
houses already standing. Numerous examples of this are found on Staten Island.
The pitch of the roofline was gradually lowered. Early examples of the more
moderately sloped roof without overhanging eaves are the wing of the Schuyler-
Colfax house, built l695-J7J2 (plate J48), the rear wing of the Stynmets-Sip
house, built 1694-99 (plate 149), the Stillwell-Britton house, built in 1680 and l7J3
(plate 38), and the wing of the Ackerman-Brinkerhoff house, built about 1728
(plate 72). Except on Staten Island, the roofs of the later houses usually had a mod-
erate slope with curved overhanging eaves. A few examples of the straight overhang
are the Luyster house, built 1728-30 (plate 125), the Van Wickle-Suydam house,
built about 1722 (plate 140), and the Hendrickson house, built J730-50 (plate 124).
The gambrel roof came into use in the opening years of the eighteenth century.
This is a roof with two slopes, the line being broken at an obtuse angle. It is found
in Europe and was also used in early New England, but the Dutch combination of
slopes and curved overhanging eaves is the most beautiful gambrel known. The
early New England gambrel was broken near the middle, the top slope was at an
angle of 30 degrees and the lower slope at 60 degrees, resulting in a steep roof with
ample room in the attic story. This type was used by the Dutch, especiaUy at first.
However, the typical Dutch gambrel was broken near the ridgepole, the upper slope
was short and fairly flat, at an angle of about 22 degrees, and the long lower slope
extended at an angle of 45 degrees ( these are averages). The curve or flare at the
bottom of the roof is characteristic; sometimes there was a gentle curve and at other
times there was a break with a third pitch. The result was a beautiful, comparatively
. low gambrel roof of good proportions and graceful sweep, which blended with the
rural surroundings. There was less bedroom space under this type of gambrel but
th1
s was of no consequence to the Dutch who lived on the first floor and used the
?Pen garret for storage purposes and workshop. One of the most beautiful gambrels
one of the earliest erected, that on the house of Abraham Ackerman, built in l 704
plate 71 ). In this roof the entire lower slope is one long, gentle curve. As a general
21
 PRE-REVOLUTIONARY DUTCH HOUSES

rule the lower slope was straight, the curve commencing shortly above or at the line
of the walls and extending beyond to form the overhanging eaves. The. degree of
steepness and length of the slopes also varied slightly: compare the Harmg house,
built bout J704 (plate 89) the Demarest house, built before 1720 (plate 83), the
Brinka bof hOUSCt built a ~ 1735 (plate 79), the Vanderbilt house, probably built
about 7730 (plate 67), the Mabie house dating from the third quarte~ of th~ eight-
-eenth century (plate 54), the Durie house, believed to have been built durmg the
Revolution (plate86), the Nagel house, built about 1780 (plate 98), the Van Houten
house, ~bly not built until 1795-98 (plate 106), and the Terhuen house of un-
known date (plate JOO). The Housman house, built 1773 (plate 95), has one of
the few gambrds without overhanging eaves. The Brickman-Ackerson house,
built about 1747 (plate 78), is the only gambrel with straight overhanging eaves;
it has not the suggestion of a curve. The well-known and so-called "Dutch Colonial"
houses belong to this type, with the low gambrel roof and curved overhanging
eaves.
The modest one and a half story farmhouses of the gable and gambrel roof types
were prevalent throughout southern New Netherland; houses of two stories and
more were common in New Amsterdam but not in the country nor in the villages.
Only on the farms of the Raritan and Millstone River section were two-story houses
popular. Their architecture may have been influencecl by the style of the English
houses in the vicinity of Trenton and Princeton, and in some instances it is possible
that the wealth and prominence of the builders were factors in the erection of more
pretentious houses. The resultant style is totally dissimilar to the Dutch houses in
other regions and has less individuality of character and beauty of line. The Van
Campen house on the Delaware River (plate l 70) and the Dey house at Preakness
(plate 144) are the only two-story houses in the balance of the territory covered by
this volume.
Varied Building Materials
. A notable f~ture of the Dutch st_Yle is the combination of various building ma-
terials-stone, shingle, clapboard, bnck and iron were often used in one house to
life and seale by its , d d with each element contribut'mg 1'ts sbare and a dd'ing
form a beautiful .composition,
in ivi ua1 quality.

In the cons~ction of ~e wa~s, the Dutch used stone, brick or wood. Stone was
preferred where 1t was easily available· thus althou h f ts d d
, both bu , • ' g ores an san stone quar-
ries were a ndant
• hi m Bergen and Rockland Coun t'1es, the h ouses were a11 b ui'lt
of the native stone w ch was generally quarried on th In h 1 da
··--~ • th , e property. t e ear y ys
the stones were UKU'din, e irregular sha-s r,.,
in which they were t aken f rom the
d d la
groun an were 1 m rough courses. Free use w as ma~ of ch'1ps and rubble
.1-

22
 IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHERN NEW YORK

(plates 62, 68, 78 and J47). The binding was mud or clay, strengthened by straw
or hogs' hair. Straw may still be picked out of the mortar in the old wing of the
Packer house (plate 99), and likewise hogs' hair from the Brickman-Ackerson
house (plate 78). This binding was used for even the later houses and is not so
crude as it sounds, for the New Jersey clay is impervious to moisture although liable
to erosion by strong rains. The stones were roughly faced at an early date but irregu-
lar shapes continued in use into the nineteenth century for the side and rear walls.
The comers of the houses were usually laid with larger and better finished stones,
accurately joined together. The custom arose of emphasizing the front wall of the
house which was generally built of regular, well-dressed and carefully laid stones
(plates 46, 85 and J49). Life and variety were added by the varied color and tex-
ture of the masonry (plates 79 and J05), by the use of occasional rows of stone chips
(plates 72 and 94), and by the contrast of long and short blocks in the same course
(plates 96 and J JO) which later developed into a pattern (plates 65 and 95). These
slight variations in the masonry have become more perceptible in the present day
as the use of white lime mortar for repointing 1'as replaced the old clay binding,
which was about the color of the stones. These stone walls were built from one and
a half to three feet thick. They were sometimes covered with a sand and lime wash
and frequently whitewashed or painted.
On the wooded plains of Long Island and other places where stone was rare,
wood was used for the construction of the walls. Frames of lathwork were built on
sills and, when completed, all the neighboring farmers joined in raising them to their
vertical position, making use of the occasion for a bit of merrymaking. The frame-
work was filled with a clay and straw mortar and was then covered with shingles
or, less frequently, with broad clapboarding. The shingles were hand hewn from the
wood of the cypress tree; they were often 42 inches long and were lai& with about
14 inches exposed.
Occasionally houses were built of brick. This material was used to a greater
extent around Albany than in the southern part of New Netherland. The common
tradition that the bricks were brought from Holland as ballast is improbable due to
the prohibitive cost of such freight and the need for transportation of more important
supplies in the limited number of ships. The tradition is readily explained by the
ter111s Holland brick and English brick which were used as standards of measure-
ment. As the De Clark-De Wint house built J700, was the home of the leader of
tbe little community, in this instance th: tradition may be correct that the house
Was built of brick brought from Holland. It was a Dutch custom to build the front
~~Us of more carefully finished materials. A logical development was the use of
rlck for the front walls of the houses, as in the De Clark-De Wint house (plate
23
 PRE-REVOLUTIONARY DUTCH HOUSES

48), the Dey mansion, built in J740 with brick fired on the property (plate J44), and
the Ryerson house, built about J738 (plate J60). In the territory covered by this
volume, the only houses extant built completely of brick are found in Somerset
County: the two story Van Vechten house, built in or shortly after J7J5 (plate 139),
the Lane-Brokaw farmhouse (plate 132), and the Frelinghuysen house, built
about the time of the Revolution (plate 133).
The contrasting building materials, so characteristic of Dutch houses, are
found in the smaller areas. When the houses were of brick, the gables were of the
same material. Otherwise the gables were shingled or occasionally clapboarded. It
is believed that this was the custom with the stone houses in order to minimize the
amount of unprotected stone and clay mortar to be repaired on the ends. The ap-
pearance of these gable ends varied with the height to which the masonry was car-
ried; generally it ended at the line of the eaves, occasionally a trifle higher (plate 58),
sometimes it was carried up beyond the attic windows (plates 44 and 54), and in
very rare instances the whole gable end was of stone (plate J55). The roofs were
generally shingled, whether the house was of brick, stone or wood, and the over-
hanging eaves were sheathed beneath with a boxed wooden cornice, 5 to 6 inches
deep at the outer edge. In the houses of the seventeenth and the first half of the
eighteenth century, the courses of small-sized stones were continued directly over
the door and window openings. Lintels came into use before the Revolution. These
took many forms: occasionally they were long, oblong blocks of stone (plates 63
and 65), more generally they were long stones of trapezoidal form (plate 46), some-
times they were made of the same sized stones as the walls of the house but placed on
end (plates J34 and J67). Brick was frequently used and was laid on end to form
the same shape as the trapezoidal stone lintels (plate 52) ; large blocks of wood were
often marked and sanded to represent either stone or brick. Occasionally the doors
and windows had shallow arch heads, built of stone or of brick with the space beneath
sometimes filled in with a wooden plank; this style was common in West Jersey
(Hunterdon County plates) ~dis found as early as 1699 in the stone Vechte house
at Gowanus. Handwrought iron pieces, occasionally seen on the outer walls (plates
J05, l54 and 160), are generally the ends of tie rods which were extended through
the building to strengthen the structure. They were occasionally shaped so as to
record t~e date of erecti~n (plate J3J). The local blacksmiths wrought the various
standard1zed forms of hmges, locks, cranes and cooking utensils found inside the
house. ·
Size and Plan of Houses

7
The following contra ts disclose many characteristics of Dutch houses through-
out the seventeenth and e1ghteenth centuries Ambro L d 1 n-
• se on on, a specu ator, co
24
 IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHERN NEW YORK

tracted with Michah Jure to build a house and to pay him 40 guilders for it, a skip-
ple of corn at the time he began, JO guilders at the raising, and the balance at the
finishing; the house to be 22 feet by J2 feet and 8 feet high with a partition in the
middle and a chimney, to lay both rooms with "joke," cover the roof and make up
both gable ends with clapboards, also two windows and a door. London soon sold
this house and made a contract for a second house with John Hawes, builder: the
house to be upon sills of 26 feet by J6 feet and JO feet high, two chimneys in the
middle, two doors and two windows, clapboard only the roof and dobe the balance;
price to be J JO guilders or one Dutch cow. These houses were erected at Gravesend
shortly after it was founded in J643.
There was a gradual growth in the size of the house, as the community be-
came better settled and as the family grew in numbers and wealth. The early homes
were generally one room houses, occasionally with a narrow bedroom, not much
more than a closet, at the rear, such as the wing of the Swaert-Van Brunt house,
built after J657 (plate 20). This type was also used for the houses first built in a
newly opened territory, for the homes of the young men throughout the eighteenth
century, such as the central unit of the Blauvelt house, dated J74J (plate 43), and
the wing of the Ackerman house, built J750-60 (plate 75). Another early type of
house was twice the size and consisted of two adjoining main rooms each with its
outside door; a beautiful example is the Demarest house, built J678~80 (plate 82).
These houses often had narrow bedrooms at the rear, which varied in size, and
opened directly into the front main rooms, thus eliminating the need of a central hall-
way, as the Varleth-Sip house, built J664 (plate J07), the Haring house, built J704
(plate 89), and the Blauvelt house, built J7JO (plate 42). A hallway, running the
depth of the building, became characteristic of the larger Dutch houses. Generally,
the hall ran through the center of the house, with two rooms opening from it on
either side, but sometimes it was placed at the end of the main house, with two
rooms on one side and a one room wing on the other. A small central hall is occa-
sionally found in as narrow a building as the Blauvelt house, built 1763 (plate 44);
it gives access only to the main room on either side, for the narrow back bedrooms
open directly into the front rooms.
As the family grew in wealth and numbers, additions were made to the house.
Back bedrooms were often added by increasing the depth at the rear. The Wyckoff
house in Flatlands and the Van Pelt house in New Utrecht were altered thus. Such a
change only shows from the exterior if the house is of stone, as the Blauvelt-
~ogencamp house (plate 47). A view of the Garret Schenck house in Beekman's
. arly Settlers, P• 12, emphasizes this type of addition even better as the newer part
is of frame. Additions made at the side of the original unit were often similar in type
25
 PRE-REVOLUTIONARY DUTCH HOUSES

and size, as in the Blauvelt house (plate 43), the central unit of which is dated J74l,
the west unit J752, and the east unit somewhat later. Other examples are the Acker-
man-Naugle and Schuyler-Colfax houses (plates 73 and J48). The size of the
De Pew house (plate 49) was more than doubled as the addition included a central
hallway; the position of the chimneys in the Dongan-Christopher and Van Duyn
houses (plates 30 and J66) emphasizes the difference in size of otherwise similar
additions. Occasionally a large house, consisting of two rooms on either side of a
central hallway, was developed from the original one room unit. The thick walls of
one room of the Ackerman-Brinkerhoff house (plate 7J) and the absence of cellar
under one room of the Van Buskirk house (plate J03) are signs of an integral change
of this sort. The central portion of the Staats house (plates 6 and J36) was built at
different times, the east rooms and hall erected in J 738-40 and the west rooms not
until about J800 in spite of the unity of the exterior. Occasionally the main unit of
the house was the original structure and the wings were later; this was especially
the case on Staten Island. The most usual form of addition was the erection of a
Lu,ger and deeper house at the side and the conversion of the original unit into a
kitchen wing with slave quarters. Upon the marriage of a son of the family, a wing
was often erected on the other side for his menage or for the use of the grandparents.
Such houses are found especially in Bergen County. Thus a beautifully balanced
composition gradually grew from the needs of the family rather than from any pre-
conceived ideas. It was not until the nineteenth century that wings were built at the
same time as the main building, such as the Lott house, in which the main unit and
west wing were erected in J800 (plate H). Few of the three unit houses are com-
pletely pre-revolutionary in date, the newer wing and sometimes the main unit being
erected after the war, as in the Westervelt houses (plates J09, HO and vignette) •.
The small two room houses consisted of the kitchen, which was also the dining
and living room, and the parlor, which was also the best bedroom. The larger houses
had bedroom closets or narrow bedrooms at the rear. With the erection of an addi-
tion, the living and bedroom quarters were transferred her~ and the original unit
became the kitchen wing and slave quarters. Occasionally the kitchen was in a sepa-
rate building, as in the Dey house at Preakness. Slaves slept in the cellar, as in the
Van Wickle house (plate J40), in the garret over the kitchen or in separate outbuild-
ings. Occasionally one wing was given over completely to the slaves, with a separate
kitchen for them in the end room, a larder or workroom in the inner room, and
sleeping quarters in the garret. Generally the second wing was set apart for a younger
or older generation of the family. The attic floor of the main house was left unfin-
ished and ~partitioned, and was used for storage purposes, for a workshop (the
large weaving looms were kept here) and for children's sleeping quarters. The
Haring house (plate 89) has an open garret to this day.
26
 IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHERN NEW YORK

Architectural Details
The development of the characteristic rooflines was traced above, under types
of houses. The gable roof was commonly used on the small and narrow houses and
on the wings. It had a steep or moderate slope depending upon the period, and often
had curved overhanging eaves. A frequent variation was the asymmetrical balance of
a curved overhang in front with a long, straight slope in the rear extending almost to
the ground, and covering a narrow bedroom (plates 66 and 97) or a lean-to (plates
J6 and 143). Many of the deeper houses were likewise covered by a broad gable roof
with overhanging eaves (plates JS, 53, J25 and J54). However, the majority of the
larger houses were covered by a gambrel roof, the long, lower slope of which con-
tinued in a gentle and graceful curve to form a deep overhang. A combination of the
two rooflines was frequent, especially in Bergen County where the main house with
a gambrel roof was generally flanked by wings with gable roofs. The overhanging
eaves are found only over the front and rear walls. The gable end was always flat,
the roof never extended beyond it (plates 7J and J05) ; the projection of the roof
beyond the gable end is a late nineteenth or twentieth century change (plates 94 and
96). The amount of overhang varied with the size of the house; in the large houses
it was generally three or more feet deep. These projecting eaves hung in a beautiful
and balanced suspension; no columns were necessary and none were added for their
support until the influence of the Oassic style was felt in the nineteenth century.*
The only relief of the plain exterior of the house was the Dutch "stoep" or
front stoop, which was an important feature in olden days. It was a platform in
front of the door, with railings and backless benches ·at either side, and was popular
as a gathering place in the evenings. Very few of these stoops still exist. The Stoot-
hoff-Baxter house has four stoops, one at the front and rear of each unit (plate
l8 and vignette); the broad main stoop has lost in character since the removal of the
benches. Many of these stoops were not much wider than the doorway, as in the
V~ Wagening house (plate J54). A late nineteenth century lithograph of the Van-
derbeck house in Hackensack shows a long, narrow stoop under the overhanging
eaves, extending in front of the door and two of the four windows; it was two steps
above the ground and had railings and benches on either side (Black, P• 250).
The doorway was planned for utility rather than effect. The Dutch doors were
double, the upper half opening separately. They were massively built and strength-
ened on the inside by a second set of boards, often narrow strips of wood laid
~!liquely side by side. The upper half of the d.oor was generally panelled in the
of a cross; typical panelling is shown in plates J4, 3t, 62, t47 and J60. The
orig~ door in the Cornelius Couwenhoven house (plate J2t) was a very beautiful

--
specunen; it was painted on the inside with an Amsterdam scene in the upper panel

"' See addenda at end of introduction. -

 PRE-REVOLUTIONARY DUTCH HOUSES

and spreading tulips in the lower panel. Bull's eyes of thick bottle glass were often
set in inside doors and are occasionally found in outside doors (plates 83, 127 and
l 36). In the thick stone houses, the doors were often placed at the inner line of the
walls, and the depth of the wall was cased with wooden planking (plate 155) which
was often panelled (plates 46, 65 and JOO). Simple, oblong fanlights extended over
the doors. Judging by the existing examples, there were three types in common use:
four or five panes of glass in a row side by side without any decoration (plates 98,
124 and 140), similarly laid panes with arched tops (plates 68 and 84), and panes
cut in a sunrise design (plates 54 and 96). Often there was no fanlight at all (plates
43 and 44). The elaborate doorway, flanked by long, narrow windows and topped
by oblong or arched fanlight with fancy moldings, belongs to the post-revolutionary
and early nineteenth century periods. An early example is in the Lefferts house,
probably built shortly after the Revolution (plate JO).
The houses, almost without exception, had cellars which were reached from
the outside. Sloping hatches under one, and"sometimes two, of the windows covered
a short flight of stone steps down to the cellar. These hatches ·were generally at the
front of the house but had no embellishment.
The size, shape and placing of the windows varied and are to a certain extent
an indication of the age of the house. The early windows were small for better pro-
tection from cold, for economy of glass, and for greater safety from the Indians.
Double hung windows were used extensively throughout the Colonial period, but
the earlier style of casement window is found in some houses built before l 700.
Until a comparatively late date, sashes of six panes were in common use~ A type
prevalent throughout the eighteenth century was the large upper sash of twelve
panes ( three rows of four panes each) combined with a lower sash of eight panes
(two rows), as in the Demarest house (plate 83). In the Varleth-Sip house, built
1664, and the Demarest house, built 1678-80 (plates 107 and 82), the windows are
large, both sashes being of twelve panes each, but these large windows did not
become characte~fi~tic until the eighteenth century. A combination of several sizes
was frequent; s~ller and fewer windows were the rule for the rear bedrooms,
regardless of the date of erection, and the windows of the wings were generally
smaller than in the main house. In the early period the arrangement of the windows
varied greatly (plates 27, 36, 38, and JOO), but later under the influence of the
balanced classic form they were symmetrically placed with reference to the doorwaY•
The open garret was generally lighted at the gable ends with two or three windows
near the floor l~vel and. a small window at the apex of the gable. In early days this
was square but m the eighteenth century a semi-circular shape came into vogue and
later two quarter lunars. The panes themselves were small in size due to the crude
28
 IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHERN NEW YORK

glass manufacture of the day. Many of the original sashes have since been superseded
by modern sashes of two or three larger panes. The shutters on the windows were of
solid wood, occasionally they were battened, more often they consisted of two or
three simple panels resembling those on the nearby double door.
The chimneys of the Dutch were always built on the inside of the houses. The
large, rectangular brick or stone areas, which are so characteristic of the first floor of
many gable ends, are the backs of the deep fireplaces, and form the only ·portion of
the chimney seen in the wall from the outside (plates 8 and J2). A chimney built
on the exterior of the house (plates 63 and J2J) is modern and such a type was never
erected by the Dutch. Occasionally their chimneys were in the center of the house
(plate J28), but were more generally placed at the gable ends (plate 24). There were
fireplaces as a rule in both main rooms. In large houses, especially those of the late
eighteenth century, one or both back bedrooms were often equipped with fireplaces
(plates 7, 3J, J4J and J42). Double chimneys are frequently found, the flues for the
fireplaces in one main room and in the bedroom behind curving and joining in the
garret into one chimney outlet at the roof. Sometimes the fireplaces were built
diagonally across the corners of adjoining rooms so that one chi~ey fed both (plate
6). A bake oven was generally built at the back of the kitchen fireplace and pro-
truded beyond the outer wall of the house (plates J29 and J38); most of these ovens
have been demolished in recent years. In the cellars of the stone houses are stone
arches which have the appearance of fireplaces, but which have no flues; they are
structural foundations to support the weight of the gable wall and the chimney above,
and incidentally have been useful as cupboards.
The Dutch had a praiseworthy custom of recording the date of erection on the
house. The year., sometimes the month and day, and often the initials of the builder
and his wife were cut into some large, flat stone. There was no general rule for the
position of this stone; sometimes it was in the center of the wall (plate 7J), under
the eaves (plate 43) or in the foundations, at the corner (plate J59) or by the side
of the door, and occasionally the door or window lintels were thus inscribed. In the
De Clark-De Wint house, the date is worked across the front wall in large brick
figures, the "O" of which can be seen by the window in the accompanying view (plate
48
). These dates are not found so frequently as we could wish. Care must be used in
accepting them, for the dated stone may have been originalfy in a demolished wing
anhd later inserted in the main house or it may apply only to a part of the present
ouse. '
f0
There Were no stairways in many of the early houses; the garret was reached
~ 1ll. one of the rooms by a ladder and trap door. A ladder is still the means of com-
..•Utticat' • h .
ion int e humble Haner-Ryder house (plate SJ) and was used until the
29
 PRE-REVOLUTIONARY DUTCH HOUSES

end of the nineteenth century in the Ackerson house, which was erected about 1747
(plate 78). The average Dutch house of the colonial period had boxed stairs, which
were built in the corner of the kitchen if there was no hallway. The stairway was
enclosed, with a door at the bottom, to keep the heat generated by the fires in the
living quarters of the first floor. Many of these narrow enclosed stairways still exist,
for example in the houses photographed in plates 44, 83, 97, l l9 and 164, which were
built respectively in l 763, before 1720, before 1745, l 738-40 and about l 720-30. Some
of the later houses had open stairways with contrasting treads and banisters (plate
4). The hallway generally ran the depth of the house from front to rear and had a
double Dutch door at either end. Access to the cellar was only from the outside by
means of a short flight of stone steps covered by sloping hatches.
There was little variation in the treatment of the interior (see plates 2, 3 and 4).
The massive hand-hewn beams supporting the attic floor were left exposed; some-
times their edges were chamfered or molded. In the simpler houses the walls were
plastered and the only decoration was a narrow chair rail. More generally the lower
part of the wall, below the chair rail, was wainscotted. The fireplace wall of the main
rooms was emphasized; usually the chimney was in the center, flanked by cup-
, boards, and the whole wall was panelled. The early fireplaces were often large
enough to contain seats on one side as well as space to walk to the oven door at the
bac~ and their lintels were immense beams. The fireplaces were frequently framed
with glazed blue Delftware tiles, which were imported from Holland and often
depicted Biblical scenes. The chimney breast was panelled in as .early an example as
the Demarest house, built 1678-80 (plate 82), and we find a panelled wall in as
primitive a house as the Titsworth house, built about l7J0 (plate 168). The type of
panelling depended on the period of erection but it was always very simple. Most
of the early mantels had no shelf. The cupboards were of many sizes, running the
gamut from full length closets to small apertures in the side of the chimney wall.
In general, they had solid, panelled wooden doors, hung on various types of hand-
wrought hinges. There were also comer cupboards with shell-shaped tops and but·
terfly shelves. We find very little carving until the Revolutionary period. About
the time of the war, various forms of sunburst decoration came into favor. They
were ma~ with a gouge by itinerant carpenters to embellish the fireplace lintels
and the trim over the doorways. This typical sunburst decoration can be seen over
the front door of the Lefferts and Tallman houses (plates JO and 64).
The seventeenth and eighteenth century farmhouses of th Dutch were austere
~d severel_y pla~, ~pending ~mpletely for their effect on bea:ty of line and blend·
mg. of varied budding materia_ls. Houses continu~d to be built in the same style
until about 1835•.The Revolution stimulated the interchange of ideas between the
30
 IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHERN NEW YORK

various colonies and broke down the isolation· of the separate communities. The
Dutch houses built in the post-revolutionary era and early nineteenth century were
often influenced in the interior by the late Georgian and Classic styles. The exterior
modifications were minor and took the form of decoration-an occasional dentil
cornice, architectural trim around the windows, columns under the overhanging
eaves,* lunar attic windows in the gables, and the front doorway emphasized and
flanked by long narrow windows, elaborate fanlight, moldings and qtrVed wood
trim.
The main nineteenth century changes in the houses were brought about by a
desire for greater comfort, especially for more commodious sleeping quarters. The
narrow back bedrooms, which were often not larger than closets, were not consid-
ered adequate. Improvement was made in two ways, by alteration or by structural
addition. In those houses and wings which were covered by a gable roof, the space
in the attic was often inadequate for bedrooms, so the roof was raised and an
additional half story erected. This was generally of frame and is therefore especially
noticeable in the stone buildings, such as the Van Buskirk and Parlaman houses
(plates J03 and J65) and the wings of the Packer and Westervelt houses (plates 99
and J09). This half story was lighted by low windows near the floor level, which
from their position acquired the name of "lie-on-your-stomach windows"; those on
the wing of the Packer house are the usual type (plate 99). There was more garret
space under the gambrel roof, so no extensive alteration was required in these houses.
Partitions were built from time to time under the sloping roof when there was need
for more bedrooms. In the Westervelt house (plate J JO) there still exists, under the
gambrel slope, a small, windowless bed closet which was considered adequate since
fresh air was not deemed necessary in the nineteenth century. The different ceiling
levels of the bedrooms in the Ackerman house (plate 7l) are evidence that the garret
was not improved all at one time. The attic of the Ryerson house (plate J60) was
?0 t modernized until the twentieth century. Most of the garrets have been improved
in the last hundred years and dormers added to give air and light to the bedrooms;
one of the few attics still in its original condition is the open .garret of the Haring
hoUse (plate 89). The sloping dormer was probably added in some instances at an
early date (plates 32 and 34). It continues the line of the upper slope of gambrel
roolfs (plate 52) and merges with gable roofs. Thus this early type of dormer blends
We 1 'th h .
Wi t e lines of the house and does not form such a complete break and un-
1
P easant interruption as the later dormer and gable windows.
ty Other nineteenth century changes center about the porch. The most popular
ofpe ras the continuation of the roof overhang one or two more feet and the addition
co unms of various forms for its support;* several more or less successful examples
--- 3I
• See adde d
n a at end of introduction.
 PRE-REVOLUTIONARY DUTCH HOUSES

of this are to be seen in plates, JO, J3, 2J, 75, 8J, 9J, 92, 99, JOO and JOJ. Small roofed
platforms in front of the door were common, some of them similar to roofed exam-
ples of the early stoops. The most prevalent of these had a small, square single pitch
roof, with a moderate slope away from the house, as in plates 26, 3J, J09, and J27,
the first two being at the rear of the house and the latter two at the front. A porch
running the length of the house was added as a rule to houses of two stories; an
early example of this is the Van Buskirk house (plate J03), in which the early stone
flagging has not been replaced by wood flooring.

Outbuildings
The farms had many outbuildings, of which the barn, smokehouse and com
crib were the most important. The smokehouse was built like a small one room
.house. One of the few still existing is photographed in plate JJ4. It is of stone, cov-
ered by a gable roof, and the end is completely filled by a mammoth chimney.
The barn was a very large building, several times the size of the house. Many
of them stood until a few years ago along the country roads. A typical example is
reproduced in Miss Reynolds' work (plate 9). The ridgepole is very high, so that the
roof covers a large area although it has a steep pitch; the side walls are low. Most of
the barns were of frame. A barn of this type existed in perfect condition on the
Zabriskie-Board property (see plate JJ2) until it was remodelled for a clubhouse
in J933. A stone barn with a wide gambrel roof is shown in plate 6J. Sketches of
barns which stood until recently on the Tallman properties (see plates 64 and 65)'
show large frame structures, each with a very high door at the center of the gable
end and smaller doors nearer the eaves; the barns were flanked on either side by hovelS,
open front buildings of massive oak timbers. The Dutch barn had many uses. Grain
and hay were stored in the loft, and horses and cows had their quarters on either side
under the eaves. The barns stood a short distance behind or at the side of the houses•
Kitchens were sometimes placed in separate buildings (see plates 75 and !44)·
The well with its long sweep was located at the front of the house, generally a
little to one side. Once a characteristic feature, it has almost completely disappeared.
Two examples are photographed in plates 89 and J45.

A Contemporary Description
Peter Kalm, the Swedish naturalist, travelled through the American Colo~if
in J748 and J749. In his account of his joumey from Trenton to New BrunsWiC '
he recorded his impression of the barns of the locality and gave a description of t~'
village of New Brunswick. The houses and barns of other regions were probab y
very similar except in the more abundant use of stone.
32
 IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHERN NEW YORK

"• •• The barns had a peculiar kind of construction hereabouts, which I will give
a concise description of. The whole building was very great, so as almost to equal
a small church; the roof was pretty high, covered with wooden shingles, declining
on both sides, but not steep: the walls which support it were not much higher than
a full-grown man; but on the other hand the breadth of the building was the more
considerable: in the middle was the threshing floor, and above it, or in the loft or
garret, they put the com which was not yet threshed, the straw, or anything else,
according to season: on one side were stables for the· horses, and on the other for
the cows, and the small cattle had likewise their particular stables or styes; on both
ends of the buildings were great gates, so that one could come in with a cart and
horses through one of them and go out at the other: here was therefore under one roof
the threshing floor, the barn, the stables, the hay loft, the coach house, etc. This kind
of building is chiefly made use of by the Dutch and Germans; for it is to be observed
that the country between Trenton and New York is inhabited by few Englishmen,
but, instead of them, by Germans or Dutch, the latter of which especially are
numerous."
"• •• About noon we arrived at New Brunswick, a pretty little town in the prov-
ince of New Jersey in a valley on the west side of the river Rareton; ••• (it had four
churches which were of stone or of wood) ••• Some of the other houses were built
of bricks, but most of them are made either wholly of wood or of bricks and wood;
the wooden houses are not made of strong timber but merely of boards or planks,
which are within joined by laths: such houses as consist of both wood and bricks
have only the wall towards the street of bricks, all the other sides being merely of
planks. ••• The houses were covered with shingles; before each door there was an
elevation, to which you ascend by some steps from the street; it resembled a small
balcony, and had some benches on both sides on which the people sat in the evenings,
in order to enjoy the fresh air, and have the pleasure of viewing those who passed
by. The town has only one street lengthways, and at its northern extremity there is
a street across; both of these are of considerable length. The river Rareton passes
hard by the town and it is deep enough for great yachts to come up•••• One of the
streets is almost entirely inhabited by Dutchmen who came hither from Albany,
and for that reason they call it Albany Street. These Dutch only keep company·
among themselves, and seldom or ever go amongst the other inhabitants, living as it
Were quite separate from them. New Brunswick belongs to New Jersey; however,
the greatest part, or rather all its trade is to New York, which is about forty English
tttiles d'1Stant. • •• Several small yachts are every day going backwards and forwards
be
tween these two towns. • • •" *

-- • See addend a at end of introduction for contemporary description of anoth er region.

·
33
 PRE-REVOLUTIONARY DUTCH HOUSES

Comparison between Counties

One of the most important factors in the development of the Dutch style of
houses was that America was a new, unsettled and undeveloped country. Difficulties
of travel formed an efficient barrier against any large degree of intercourse with New
England, the South and even Pennsylvania. The Dutch and those whom fortune
cast with them lived in an isolated manner, uninfluenced by the styles and thoughts
of the other colonies, and they developed an individual architecture, not only unlike
that of their far neighbors but also unlike that of their forebears. The opening of a
new country, the cold of winter and heat of summer, the difficulty of obtaining
supplies from the Mother country and the need of making most of their own necessi-
ties-all these natural hardships and conditions inherent in an undeveloped country
affected alike the rich and poor, the talented and obscure, with the result that a homo-
geneous architecture was created by the Dutch. These same conditions separated the
various settlements of the Dutch and acted on them in different degrees. The young
men opened up new territories and only maintained casual connections with their
old homes, forming new and self-sufficient communities; they married their neigh-
bors' daughters and gradually there grew up a new tradition based on the solidarity
of family and pioneer life in their locality. Thus the houses in each community were
built alike, varying mainly in size and finish, and differing from the houses in
other sections, even though fundamentally they were based on the same architectural
style and conditions of living.
Most of the houses on Long Island were built of wood because the country
lacked the abundant sandstone quarries of northeastern New Jersey and had a plen-
tiful supply of timber. They could be built with less heavy labor than those of stone
but were less durable. Consequently on Long Island when new houses were built,
the old ones were often discarded instead of being used as kitchen and slave wing.
In Bergen County the homes represent the building activity and social life of several
generations, but this is rarely the case on Long Island. A different type of roof was
popular in the two sections. The gambrel roof never took a deep hold on the imagina·
tions of the inhabitants, as in northeastern New Jersey. The gable roof remained in
great favor; it was used for the deep houses with rear bedrooms, and in the nine·
teenth century when bedrooms were desired upstairs, the additional space was ac·
quired by building the ridgepole at a greater height. The overhanging eaves were
a characteristic feature but the curve of the roofline was very moderate.
The Staten Island (Richmond County) houses were generally long and nar·
row, only one room in depth. Their apparent narrowness when contrasted with
houses of other sections, is increased by the absence of ove:hanging eaves. Most of
34
 IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHERN NEW YORK

them were built of irregular stones gathered in the fields rather than of quarried
stone and therefore little attempt was made to lay the walls in courses. The steep
gable roof was exceedingly popular and the windows were small and few in num-
ber. Unlike the houses elsewhere, the large section was generally the original unit.
The Rockland County houses, with few exceptions, were built of the local sand-
stone, cut and drawn from the nearby quarries. More than half belong to the small
and unpretentious type prevalent on Staten Island, but they were built at a much
later date and therefore the stones of the front walls were cut in more regular shapes,
the houses were deeper, generally having rear bed closets, and there were more
and larger windows. About two-thirds of the houses are covered by gable roofs,
many with curved overhanging eaves in front. Three of the deep houses have gable
roofs in the manner popular on Long Island but the slope is much steeper. The other
third of the houses in Rockland County are large and deep, and covered by gambrel
roofs, generally with a curving overhang; they belong to the Bergen County type.
In fact, although Rockland County was known until the nineteenth century as
Orange County under the Mountains, it was thoroughly akin to Bergen County in
its families and homes.
In Bergen County the roof with curved overhanging eaves was developed to its
greatest perfection and used on most of the houses, whether the roofs were of the
gable or gambrel type. The gambrel roof was very prevalent and was almost always
employed for the large, deep houses. In Bergen County we find the greatest number
of balanced compositions: some of the main gambrel roofed houses were flanked on
one side by an earlier wing with gable roof and on the other side by a similar wing
of later date. The frequent addition to the wings of half stories of frame in the early
nineteenth century emphasizes the composition. The houses built in the century
before the Revolution were all of sandstone blocks from the local quarries, and varied
in finish and size with the wealth and prominence of the builders.
The territory adjoining Bergen County on the west belonged to different civil
divisions at various times; originally a part of Essex County, more than half of it
was a part of Bergen County in the eighteenth century, and in the nineteenth Pas-
saic C.ounty was formed from both divi~ions. Passaic County (the lower half) and
the adjoining reaches at the upper end of the present Essex County were settled by
the Dutch, most of whom came from Bergen. It is therefore to be expected that the
styles of these counties should be similar. Actually no homogeneous architecture was
developed in this territory. Almost every house still standing has its individual char-
acter, although fundamentally it belongs to the style developed by th~ Dutch
throughout the country• characteristics prevalent in Bergen, Rockland, Kings and
R·ichmond C.ounties are' seen in different houses; even the arched wm • dow tops 0 f
35
 PRE-REVOLUTIONARY DUTCH HOUSES

West Jersey are found in two of the dwellings. One of the houses is a two story
mansion situated in the rolling country, miles from any village; it is dissimilar to
the Dutch farmhouses in most of its aspects, although the varied use of building
materials is characteristic. The sizes, type of roofs and grouping of units differ with
each building. All were built of the local stone, but their treatment varied greatly
and included two with front walls of brick. The pre-revolutionary units, whether
they are narrow or of great depth, are covered by gable roofs, and in the sections
which belonged at one time to Bergen County the curved overhanging eaves are
more prevalent.
The Dutch settlements in Morris County were grouped in the northeastern
part adjoining Passaic and Essex Counties. The houses resemble the simple type
popular especially in Rockland County. They are small, narrow buildings covered
by moderately steep gable roofs with or without overhanging eaves. The •Stone
prevalent in this locality varies considerably in color and texture from the red sand-
I stones of the eastern counties, and the difference in quality may be the cause for the
· larger sizes in which it was generally cut. Interesting variety is achieved in the
buildings by the colors of the stones and the use of large blocks surrounded by stone
chips.
In Monmouth County the Dutch located in the rolling valleys around Holmdel.
The shingled houses built here bear great resemblance to their former homes on
Long Island. They are covered by gable roofs, usually with steep slopes and with
or without overhanging eaves. The steepness and straightness of the roofs tend to
emphasize their length and make them the predominant feature.
Middlesex County was settled mainly by the English, but the Dutch built homes
in the southern and western portions. Their one and a half story farmhouses, similar
to those in the adjoining Somerset County, are clapboarded or shingled and covered
by moderately steep gable roofs with no overhanging. eaves. The Georgian style
influenced two of the houses which are large two story buildings, totally dissimilar
to those in Somerset County.
Along the Raritan and Millstone Rivers of Somerset County, many of the
houses erected in the mid-eighteenth century are totally unlike the Dutch homes in
the country elsewhere. They are large two story houses located on farms of at least
~ev~ral hun~ed a~res. They are built of brick, of clapboards or shingles, and diff~
m size and dimensions. Two of them were the liomes of prominent men who digni-
fied their estates by naming them, and others were the homes of large iand-owning
farmers. Each of these houses has its individual character of which only an occa-
sional feature has its prototype in the more humble farmh~uses of the Dutch. Most
of the one and a half story farmhouses in Somerset County are reminiscent of the
36
 IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHERN NEW YORK

houses on Long Island; they are covered with clapboards or shingles and have gable
roofs of varying degrees of steepness; only two have overhanging eaves and these
have the very straight slope occasiona11y seen in Monmouth County. A few houses
are covered with gambrel roofs of English proportions. One house is unusual in that
it is built completely of brick and has a gable roof of very moderate pitch. Two
houses have the window arches characteristic of West Jersey and two others have
the long, round-edged shingles very occasiona11y seen elsewhere.
The settlers of Hunterdon County in West Jersey belonged to several different
nationalities, the Dutch locating near Somerset County. The extant houses are built
of the local stone, cut in irregular blocks. The rooflines varied; two gambrel roofs
have the deep, curved overhanging eaves so characteristic of Bergen County, but the
upper slopes are long, similar to those in Somerset County. The most characteristic
and interesting feature of the West Jersey houses is the arch head over the doors
and windows. It is a shailow arch of bricks or stones set on end, and sometimes has
a shaped wooden plank in the space between the arch and the frame. This feature
is also occasionaIIy seen in other sections of the country.
Sussex County in West Jersey formerly stretched along the Delaware River to
the Water Gap and included the present Warren County. The Dutch settled in the
Minisink regions. The average building seems to have been a long, narrow one of
limestone blocks, covered by a gable roof of varying degrees of steepness, and with-
out overhanging eaves. Each of the houses that remains has an individual character,
the most unusual being a smaII, square house with a steep roof. There is a two story
mansion built of limestone, which does not resemble the few other two story houses.
It has arched window tops on the first floor and-a roof of unusual steepness for this
type.
Possibilities in Modernization of Old Houses
The majority of the pre-revolutionary Dutch houses existing to this day are
still used as farmhouses. Many of them have been allowed to fall into decay and only
a few have been improved and reconditioned according to modem standards. The
alterations .made in the Victorian age destroyed much of the beauty of the old
houses. The old wooden mantels and the twelve pane window sashes were tom out,
large gables and porches added, and other unfortunate changes made. The houses
W~i:h have not been thus altered offer the greatest possibilities of restoration to the
~rig~al style and conversion into modem residences. The solid construction and
f:utif~I Hnes of the old houses, their interesting panelling and woodwork, are sound
coU~dations for intelligent alterations, complying -with present-day standards of
en~ ort and taste. The associations, age and history of the houses cannot help but
ance their value for cultured owners.
37
 PRE-REVOLUTIONARY DUTCH HOUSES

Thf! maximum charm and quaintness are achieved through a strict restoration,
with the preservation of the original layout. However, as a large living room is the
modern desideratum and as the rooms in Dutch houses are comparatively small,
two of them may be thrown together. The partition is generally torn out between
the old best room and the narrow bedroom behind it, making a large room extending
the depth of the house, with windows on both ends and sometimes on the long side.
The location of the chimney may be an objection. If there are two fireplaces they
will be on the side of the room. Generally there is only one, which will then be off
center on the long wall. Such a living room may seem unbalanced to many unless
another center of interest is cleverly created at the other end. Where the hall running
through the center of the house is not considered a necessary feature, a large living
room can be made successfully by throwing the two main rooms into one, thus
creating a living room extending the width of the main house, with windows the
length of the long wall and fireplaces on either end. This has been done very well
in the Van Wickle-Suydam house (plates 2 and J40). The large number of windows
and two fireplaces give a feeling of space, a wealth of light, and great warmth and
comfort. The fireplace wall of the best room is often completely panelled as in this
case, and usually has wall or corner cupboards. The second main room is generally
treated in a simpler manner; originally it may have been the combined kitchen and
living room, and a mantel piece added when the kitchen was moved into a wing, or
it may always have been a living room. The different treatment gives a pleasing
variety to the ends of the new large, living room. In the Van Wickle-S~ydam house,
one fireplace wall has a panelled chimney breast, a simple mantel with no shelf,
and on either side cupboards of different sizes with panelled doors (plate 2) ; the
wall on the opposite end of the long room has a wide, low fireplace, a mantel piece
of simple proportions with a high lintel and a narrow shelf, a plastered chimney
breast, on one side a set of bookshelves with cupboards below, and on the other side
a door into the dining and kitchen wing (see vignette).
Structural change is seldom necessary in the hallway (plate 4). The stairway
is generally narrow and steep, especially when enclosed, but its alteration destroys
more in.individuality than it achieves in comfort. The hall is often dark, as there is
frequently no fanlight over the back door and light from the fanlight over the front
door is obscured by the deep overhanging eaves or porch. In restorations the upper
halves of the double Dutch doors have been treated like the old windows, with rows
of four small glass panes (plates 2, 4, and 73), thus affording the desired light.
Many of the halls are not so wide and therefore not so important a feature as the one
photographed here, and the enclosed stairways in vogue detract from their size ancl
decorative quality. In these cases, an attractive and successful treatment is one
38
 IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHERN NEW YORK

which has been used in the Van Wickle-Suydam house. The rear has been changed
to the front of the house, the former front portion of the hall has been included in
the new, large living room, leaving the former rear portion as an entrance hall with
the box stairs going up one side. In small houses which have no hallway, the rear
of the house can be changed to the front and an entrance made directly into one of
the former narrow bedrooms, which would be converted into a small reception room.
In very narrow houses with neither hallway nor back bedrooms, the front door
must perforce lead directly into the living room, unless a structural addition is made
or the wing is converted into an entrance unit.
The rooms on the first floor can be easily adapted to the varying needs of the
modem owner. In the Ackerman house, one of the back bedrooms has been success-
fully converted into a den or small library (plate 3). Rows of bookshelves cover one
long wall above and on either side of the window, and panelled cupboards have been
placed below them. The window sill has been deepened to the line of the cupboards
and conceals a radiator below. This treatment gives the wall a uniform surface
in a useful and interesting manner. The size of the small room does not appear to
be greatly diminished by an integral change of this sort.
Most of the garrets of the Dutch houses are already divided into bedrooms.
These may be of pleasant proportions, or the existing partitions may have to be
knocked out in order to form attractive bedrooms with the closets and bathrooms
required by modern standards. Frequently dormers are necessary. The sloping form
(plates 52, 98 and l48) gives as much light and air as other types and blends
considerably better with the lines of the roof.
Overhead beams, old windows, double doors, wooden mantels, glazed fireplace
tiles, cupboards, panelling, chair rails and wainscotting are all characteristic features
of the old Dutch houses. The hand-hewn beams supporting the second floor should
be left exposed as they add considerably to the character of the house. Some are
very massive, some show the axe marks and others have chamfered or molded edges
(plates 2, 3, and 4). In the nineteenth century these beams were often covered with a
Plaster ceiling, the removal of which will add considerable height as well as charm.
Occasionally large vertical beams in the side wall may be uncovered to advan-
tage (plate 2). If the many-paned windows and wooden mantels have been taken
a~ay, these should be replaced if possible with old examples or reproductions. The
0
cf tnantels have good proportions and blend better with the interior than the marble
n;::1s of the Victorian era. The old many-paned windows have quaintness and
c · and increase the coziness of the interior by excluding the outside world more
::pletely than the modern ones. In these old windows, the large upper sash was
ovable and the lower sash was raised and fastened with pegs. Greater ventilation
' 39
 PRE-REVOLUTIONARY DUTCH HOUSES

can be easily obtained by placing these sashes on hinges so that they open upw~d
and outward. In many houses the interior has not been altered and only renovation
is needed.
The treatment of the interior of the rooms depends lar.g ely on the tastes of
the owner. The unpanelled walls may be left plastered (plate 2) or covered above
the chair rail with old-fashioned wallpaper (plates 3 and 4). The beams may be
stained, or painted to match the balance of the woodwork. The white painted
panelling and the various browns of the beams and furniture (plate 2) make a
pleasing room that does not seem lacking in color. Certain bright hues are charac-
teristic of the colonial period. Occasionally a more definite color scheme may be
worked out, thus in the library (plate 3) the woodwork is painted the yellow of
· sunshine, the ends of the bookshelves are picked out in red and the frames of the
old prints and maps hanging on the wall are red or black. All informal styles of
furniture will blend well with the old backgrounds. A few large pieces are good,
like the upholstered wing chair by the fireplace (plate 2), and the high secretary
desk (just off the photograph) which extends alm~st to the ceiling and balances
the height of the windows on the opposite side of the room. Windsor and ladder
back chairs are placed to advantage in front of panelled walls as none of the
panelling is lost behind them. In the small rooms special care should be taken to
choose small scale furnishings.
The exterior of the houses should be restored as much as possible to the original
lines in order to preserve their charming individuality. Nineteenth century roofs
extending beyond the gable end and supported by heavy brackets can be eliminated
easily and the characteristic flat gable end restored. The requisite dormers should
be of a simple type, carefully designed and placed so as not to break the roofline
more than necessary. The sloping form of dormers blends best with the roof (plates
52, 98 and 148). Overhanging eaves, which in some cases have been cut off, should
be replaced as the lines are so graceful. These eaves can be made over five feet
deep and simple columns added for their support to form a porch in the late eight-
eenth century style (plate 75). However, if a porch is not deemed necessary, the
beautiful lines of the overhanging eaves show to best advantage when left in
balanced suspension, as originally planned. The ground beneath the eaves was often
paved with stone flagging; a modem version of this is the stone terrace (plate J40),
which creates an outdoor living room and links the house with the garden. The old
Dutch stoop
. _should
.s • not be allowed to fall into oblivi'on• Successf u1a dap t at'10ns have
been ach1ev~ m r~cent ~estorations: in one case (plate 54) two open slat-backed
benches
,• stand on either side •of the platform' thus comb'1nmg• the b ackless b ench and
rat1mgs of the olden days; m another case (plate J58) the doorway is flanked by
40
 IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHERN NEW YORK

two very high, solid-backed bench~ which are of the so-called Colonial type
although actually ~f modern design. A more typical Dutch stoop has been covered
with a mo_dem trellis ~plate 136); the small hood over another doorway (plate 164)
has beautiful proportions.
Some judicious planting about the foundations, trees and a rolling lawn (plates
75, l07, 155, 117, 164 and l4l) accomplish to a great extent the change from Dutch
farmhouse to modem residence as far as the outward aspect is concerned.

Preservation of the Houses

The Dutch in America created an individual and charming architecture which
should be preserved. In villages and in the open country many of the houses can be
converted easily into modem residences with attractive surroundings. Where grow-
ing land values, new roads or reservoirs doom these old houses to extinction, they
can be preserved only if the public interest is aroused. Unfortunately there is at
present little hope unless the house has a historic past or is intimately connected
with the growth of a city. In this case associations are formed for its upkeep and if
necessary it is moved to another site. The patriotic societies have done good work
along this line and have converted some of the old houses into museums or chapter
houses. However, there is little general interest in the Dutch houses from the architec-
tural standpoint, although they form the only indigenous architecture prior to the
modern skyscraper. The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences is a pioneer in
this respect; in its section devoted to American architecture are to be found several
houses from various parts of the country brought together for comparison, and
among them is the Schenck house formerly at Canarsie on Long Island. It is to be
hoped that this example will be followed in various communities.

41
 PLATE 2
Van Wickle-Suydam House
Interior

Symen Van Wickle built his house along the Raritan River about 1722. The exterior is reproduced in
plate 140. The hallway and two main rooms have been recently thrown together to form one large living
room with a fireplace at each end, extending the length of the house. This view shows that part of the
living room which was originally the best room and the back door which was formerly the front door.
The other end of the large room is shown in the vignette.
43
 PLATE 3
House of Abram Ackerman
Interior

The exterior view of the house of Abram Ackerman at Saddle River can be seen in plate 75. The two
interiors reproduced here are in that part of the house which, although pre-revolutionary in style,
was not built until 1781. This view shows one of the narrow back bedrooms on the main floor
which has been recently converted into a small library.
44
 PLATE 4
House of Abram Ackerman
Interior

This is another interior of the house of Abram Ackerman at Saddle River. It was customary in Dutch
houses for the hallway to run the depth of the house. This view, taken from the front door, shows the
hall and its present treatment. No architectural changes have been made.
45
 1932

PLATES
House of Barent and John Nagel at Closter
Stone Unit Built by Barent Before 1745 for One of His Children
 FIRST FLOOR PLAN
The Staats-La Tourette House surveyed August 1, 1934
0
)I
-dhcdi /jlll -a~/HO l!:lf,:rJ.,u/-/87/' Pmod'.,.,..
./4/ha' A~ -4,,l•"" _,,.,n ~~",,...t

,,
1'
,,
,,
I ii

I
rr.=--==- I 1 I
ti
ti
II
II
Ii
i11 v v r
.1:.-.:+--1=-,-:liio-----L.J---.
Jt
PLATE 6
HOUSE OF HENDRICK AND ABRAHAM STAATS

The exterior view of the central portion is reproduced in plate 136 and the house as a whole in the
Somerset Co. vignette

...
""'
KINGS AND QUEENS COUNTIES

REAR OF STOOTHOFF-BAXTER-
KOUWENHOVEN HOUSE
 KINGS AND QUEENS COUNTIES

Kings County

T
HE southwestern end of Long Island, which extends some distance south
of Manha!tan, became Kings County when counties were organized in
J683 and is now co-terminous with the Borough of Brooklyn in Greater
New York. Except in the vicinity of the ridge of hills, where the land was stony, the
settlers found good farming lands and in the southeastern part large grass plains
devoid of forests. The Dutch commenced to come here shortly after they had formed
the first permanent settlements at New Amsterdam and Beverwyck (Albany). The
first purchases of land in Kings County were made by the individual settlers directly
from the Indians and the lands confirmed to them by the Dutch authorities. How-
ever, in 1638 and 1639 the Dutch West India Company acquired from the Indians
the title to nearly all land in Kings and Queens Counties.
One English and five Dutch towns were organized while the country was still
a part of New Netherland. Attracted by the large open flats or plains, scattered
settlements are believed to have been made as early as J624 at New Amersfoort or
Flatlands. This town is in the southeastern part of the county fronting on Jamaica
Bay. An Indian path led from Fulton Ferry to Bergen Island in Jamaica Bay
along the old line of Flatbush Avenue and Mill Lane. The palisaded village of
Flatlands was erected at Flatbush Avenue and the King's Highway. A Dutch
Church was organized in J654 and a house of worship erect~ in 1663. A mill was
started on Mill Island in J664-66. The maize lands at the north end of the town on
Canarsie Neck were not cultivated until a later date. The next center-of settlement
was in the town of Breukelen along the East River, where plantations were granted
at Gowanus in i636 and at the Wallabocht in J637. A public ferry connecting the
Island with New Amsterdam was soon established by Cornelius Hooglandt, and the
group of houses around the slip came to be known as The Ferry. In the interior
along Fulton Avenue the village of Breukelen was settled in J645 and another
hamlet grew up in the Oove at Bedford. A Dutch Church was organized in l 660.
No pre-revolutionary houses remain in these densely populated sections. The _town
of Midwout or Flatbush is believed to have had scattered settlements as early as
16~4-36, although no patent to the town was issued until
J65J. Its sloping wooded
Plains are very fertile and covered the central part of Kings County, separated from
Breukelen by the ridge of hills. Individual settlers located first in the south p~t of
the toWn along the Indian path now Flatbush Avenue. The center of the village
"Was at the intersection of Church Street. A Dutch Church was organized and built
51
 KINGS COUNT Y

in J654. As late as J697 the Labadi st travellers remark ed that the road from Flath h
over the hill to Breuke len was only a trail throug h a dense forest and was v~:y
stony. Consequently the best way to New Amste rdam was by boat from Gravesend
Bay or by the shore road via Flatlan ds, New Utrech t and Gowanus. Both
Flatbu sh and Flatlan ds had been purcha sed from the Canars ie Indians. Another
tribe, the Rockaw ays, claimed the owners hip of part of Flatbu sh; the town was
repurch ased from them in J670 and its eastern bounda ry established. The settlement
made here shortly afterwards was known as Oostw oud (East Woods ) or the New
Lots of Flatbu sh; it was later organiz ed as the indepe ndent town of New Lots, now
East New York. The land along the Narrow s and part of Graves end Bay was known
as the Nyack tract. It may have been settled as early as J643. In J652 Cornelius;
Van Werck hoven, schepen of Utrech t in Hollan d and membe r of the Dutch West
India Compa ny, obtained a grant from the govern ment and repurchased the Nyack
tract from the Indians . He intended to plant a patroon ship here but died in J655-56.
Jacque s Cortelyou, the learned tutor to his children and manag er of his estates,
later obtained a large part of the tract for the debts he had paid in behalf of his
employer. In J657 he laid out the village of New Utrech t, consisting of twenty
village plots in a square surroun ded by the same numbe r of SO-acre farms. The
village was guarde d by palisades and a blockhouse. A disastrous fire in J675
destroyed most of the settlement. A Dutch Church was organiz ed in J677. Wood-
town or Bushw ick was the last town formed in Kings County . Scatter ed plantations
were cleared in J64J-50 by a few Swedes and Norma ns along the East River south
of Newto wn Creek. No attemp t at an organiz ed settlement was made until J660
when the Indian troubles caused the govern or to order the farmer s to concentrate.
A village was erected on the W allabog ht in the presen t Willia msburg district. The
village of Bushw ick was organiz ed on Bushw ick Avenu e above Grand Street,
mainly for the French settlers in the vicinity . Anothe r center developed at the
Crossroads, where Bushwick Avenu e intersected the Road from the Ferry to
Newtown (Flush ing Avenu e). The only Englis h settlem ent was made at Gravesend,
on the sandy but productive soil of the extrem e southe rn part of the county. A
patent was obtained for these lands in J643 by Lady Moody who immediately started
an Englis h colony for the free enjoym ent of religio n. It was almost wiped out by
the Indians in the first year of its existence. It was laid out in accordance wit~ a
definite plan, consisting of a J6-acre village square of forty house plots, fortif1ed
by palisades, and surroun ded radiall y by forty planter s' farms.
The five Dutch towns in Kings County were organiz ed into a district in 166~
to which was assigned a schout fiscal and secreta ry responsible to the gener
government, and to whom the village schepens were subord inate. The English town
52
 KINGS COUNTY

of Gravesend was allowed greater independence. After the capture of New Nether-
land in J664 by the English , the province of New York became the personal property
of the Duke of York, later James II. At the Convention of town delegates gathered
in J665 at Hempst ead by order of Gov. Nicolls, the boundaries of the towns were
settled, new patents required and a code of laws promulgated (known as the Duke's
Laws); Staten Island and the west end of Long Island were organized into the
West Riding of Yorksh ire. Under the laws thus established the Court of Assize,
consisting of the governor and his appointees, was the unlimited head of the govern-
ment. Upon the arrival of Gov. Andros in 1683, the first Colonial Assembly was
called and a bill of rights adopted, courts of justice established and many of the
Duke's Laws amended, the ridings were abolished and counties organized. In J69J,
after the Leisler Rebellion, the Colonial government was reorganized and no further
change of any importa nce took place until the Revolution; the government consisted
of the governor, who could dissolve the assembly and negate its acts and who
appointed all officers and disbursed the public funds and lands, the council appointed
by the king, and the assembly of delegates chosen by the freeholders; their rule
was subject to revision by the king. Colonial Long Island was the richest part of the
Province of New York; even in J787 more than one-fifth of the tax was levied here.
The Dutch at the time of the Revolution were opposed as ever to the encroach-
ments of the crown but were averse to rebellion and wished to remain neutral; due
to circumstances on Long Island many were or pretended to be Loyalists. After
the Battle of Long Island in J776, the Island was occupied by the British. Howe
proclaimed security of person and propert y for those who remained peacefully on
their farms. Nevertheless Long Island was under rigorous military rule, soldiers
and American prisoners on parole were billetted on the inhabitants, cattle and wood
were sequestered for the use of the British, and robbery by maraud ing gangs was
unavoidable.
The first houses of the Dutch settlers on Long Island were of the rudest kind,
frames of saplings covered with bark or mere excavations in the hillsides lined
with bark and thatche d with reeds. The earliest sawmills furnished timbers for
the first perman ent houses which were small, one story buildings with thatched
roofs, stone fireplaces and ovens, and chimneys of boards plastered inside with
rnortar or mud. Houses built a little later were modelled after those in the fatherland,
of good size, substantial and comfortable: the stone Vechte house, built at Gowanus
in l 699, was a good example of this type. The later Dutch dwellings on Long Island,
st
alrnost without exception, consisted of frames of lathwor k filled with clay and raw
rnortar and sheathed with clapboa rding and shingles, as there was very little stone
aYailabie. The gable roof was extreme ly popular even for the large houses. Deep
53
 QUEENS COUNTY

overha nging eaves with a slight curve were characteristic, especially at the front
of the house. Additio ns were general ly built along the same lines as the original
unit but on a larger scale.
In this section on Kings County no attemp t has been made to include houses
which disappeared some time ago, partly because the limited space precludes
accounts of all the houses in this thickly settled part of the country , and partly
because the descriptions and information ·available are already in print. Many have
been reproduced in Histori c Homes teads of Kings County , by Charles A. Ditmas,
Keskac hauge, by Frederi ck Van Wyck, and Rambl es About Histori c Brookl yn
(printe d 1916 for the Brookl yn Trust Compa ny). The survey of Kings County for
this volume was made in 1925. Many of the houses photog raphed at that time have
since been tom down. The text is based largely on the early land records, which
have been assembled with great care by Dr. Frank L. Van Cleef, to whom the author
is very indebted.
Queen s Count y
The land in Queens County was a part of New Nether land althoug h mainly
settled by English men from New Englan d. The greater part of the territory is
west of Kings County but a small section, later organiz ed into the township of
Newtow n, borders on the East River north of Kings County from which it is
separated by Newtow n Creek (in early days known as Mespat or English Kills).
In J642 Rev. Francis Dough ty and his associates were ,g ranted the Mespat Patent
for over 13,000 acres, at which date there were only three settlers near the creek. A
settlement was organiz ed immediately along Mespat Kill but was wiped out the
following year in the Indian war. It rose slowly from the ashes. Troubl e was created
by Dough ty who considered himself the patroon ; the rights of the other patentees
were upheld and he departed for Flushin g. Vlissin gen or Flushin g was founded in
1645 by the Dutch, the only Dutch town in Queens County ; it soon acquired a
large English population. Hemps tead had been founded further east in 1643;
Rusdor p or Jamaic a was settled in 1655. In 1652 an English colony from New
Englan d located at Middle burg, midway between the English Kills and Flushin g;
this embraced the present Elmhur st, Corona, Woods ide and Winfie ld, and was
called the town of Hasting s in J662. The lands to the northea st along the bays of
the East River were settled by Dutch farmers ; they never organiz ed a separate
commu nity but remained dependent on Flatbus h or New Amster dam for civil
and religious advantages.
The Dutch allowed English men to form colonies on taking the oath of
allegian ce to the States Genera l and the Dutch West India Compa ny; their towns
were largely independent in town affairs while the Dutch settlements were subject
54
 QUEENS COUNTY

to the absolute rule of the Dutch government. The Middleburg colony was
allowed to hold its lands without rent or tax for ten years, after which a tithe of
the produce was to be rendered; town officers were appointed by the governor. The
new charter of Connecticut, granted in l 662, greatly enlarged its boundaries, and
the English towns in Queens County took the opportunity to forswear their Dutch
allegiance and join their English neighbors across the Sound. At this time the
settlement of Middleburg adopted the name of Hastings. After the English conquest
of New Netherland in J664, Queens County was considered to be a part of the
Province of New York. The town of Hastings, including the various out-plantations
at the Poor Bouwery ( on Bowery Bay), Hell Gate Neck, English Kills and vicinity,
was organized into the township of Newtown and included in the West Riding of
Yorkshire. It formed the northeast comer of Queens County, organized in 1683.
Although the Dutch had purchased the land in Queens County from the Indians
in 1638-39, the English thought it best to extinguish all Indian rights in 1666, and
the government then granted a patent to Newtown in 1667. It is in this township
that the few old houses remain which are of Dutch architecture. Unfortunately
these do not in~lude a homestead of the prominent Riker family. The settlers here
were all engag~ in farming, and a few ran sawmills and grist mills.
Of the three houses in Newtown treated here, the two on Bowery Bay were
built by Dutchmen and the other one was owned and probably erected by an English-
man. However,.all three are typical of the architectural styles developed by the Dutch
in America, and are very similar to the houses in Kings County. The photographs
were taken in J925.

S5
 HO US ES IN KIN GS AN D QU EE NS CO UN TIE S
Kin gs Cou nty
Cor nell -Sc hen ck Hou se
in High land Park , Jama ica Aven ue, East New York
PLA TE 7
his fathe r-in- law
This hous e was inhe rited by Judg e Teun is Sche nk from
It stand s on Corn ell
Isaac Com ell in the first ten year s of the nine teent h cent ury.
by Isaac Corn ell or his
land and is said to have been built abou t 1760, pres uma bly
but of the Cont inen tal
father. The y were not mem bers of the Engl ish Com ell fami ly,
ell.
family whic h final ly adop ted the patro nym ic Com ele or Com
identified with the
Guil laum e Com elise was prob ably a Hug ueno t but beca me
1

at Flatb ush, whe re he

Dutc h colo ny. In l658 he obta ined a pate nt for a plan tatio n
ived by two sons , Pete r
settled and where he and his wife died in 1666. He was surv
r, know n as Will iam
and William, both of Flatb ush, and poss ibly othe rs. The latte
l70l ; ·his nam e is men -
Guil liam se/ marr ied Mar griet je Polh emu s, and died abou t
in the 1685 pate nt of
tioned in the 1677 pate nt of the New Lots of Flatb ush and
r of Jama ica, Corn elis
the Tow n. He had six child ren, Joha nnes of New Lots , Pete
ush, and three daug hters . The eldes t son, Joha nnes Will iams e,8 born seve ral
of Flatb
years before l67l , is supp osed to have lived in New Lots
on the farm conv eyed him
term s of his will. He
on Marc h 4, l 70 l /2 by the heirs of his fathe r acco rding to the
is said to have marr ied Aelt je Gerr itse Voor hees , hap.
Oct. 4, 1685 at Flat land s;
ance stors of the Corn ell
their issue is not know n but they are pres ume d to be the
of prop erty in New
family of New Lots. The Cam ell fami ly own ed a grea t deal
exist s, stoo d
Lots (now East New Yor k), and the old hom estea d, whic h no long er
ugh line.
back in the pres ent Ever gree n Cem etery near the Quee ns Boro
e on the north erly
Sout heas t of this form er hous e stand s the later Cam ell hous
s calle d the Roa d to the
of the two high way s from Broo klyn to Jama ica, some time
f7 and No. l8, was
Ferry. The prop erty, know n as the nort herly half of lots No.
s to neig hbor ing
in the possession of Isaac Corn ell abou t l 770 acco rding to deed
e two lots had
land, the sout h half then bein g own ed by Fred erick Simo nsen . Thes
a son of Joha nnes
been gran ted orig inall y in J680 to Jan Stry ker. Isaac was prob ablythe two high way s,
een
C.Ornell, who in l768 and l772 boug ht land s near by, betw
land of Isaac
known as lots No. 23 and No. 24, whic h were later part of the clear to Nich olas
prop erty
C.Ornell, deceased, acco rdin g to the trans fer of adjo ining
June 20, l 804 whe n the
:'illi ams on on Mar ch J, J808. Isaa c was still livin g on
nedeker prop erty east of his hous e chan ged hand s. 57
 HOUS ES IN KING S COUN TY
Lots No. J7
The hom e land of Isaac Corn ell in the New Lots ( the north half of
his wife Gitty
and No. l8), was deed ed on Sept . 2, 1808 by Teun is Sche nk and
day, the transfer
Corn ell to Coer t Van Brun t and reconveyed to them the next
belonged to Isaac
stati ng that this farm of 34 acres on the Broo klyn -]amai ca road
.
Corn ell, who failed to make a will in favor of his sole heir Gitty
Sche nk of
Judg e Teun is' Sche nk, b. Feb. 15, 17671 , was the son of Teun is
1

r of the family
Bush wick , who was the gran dson of Joha nnis Sche nk, the prog enito
in Bush wick (see plate 16). On December 18, 1794 he marr ied
Gert rude or Gitty
ren: John of
Corn ell, b. Marc h 5, l778J d. Nov. 20, 1860, and had many child
Flatb ush, Cath arine , Ann , Isaac of New Lots , Pete r, a bachelor,
Maria, Allet ta
in his father-in-
Jane , Eliza , Gilli am of New Lots, and Cornelia. The judg e lived
death on Dec. 29,
law's hous e at New Lots from the time of his marr iage until his
ited a grea t deal
1842. On the death of his father-in-law 1804-1808, the judg e inher
and a large tract
of Corn ell prop erty in New Lots , inclu ding vario us scatt ered· lots
y exten ding into
on the north side of the road from Jama ica to the Broo klyn Ferr
r part to his sons
Quee ns Coun ty. He sold some of this prop erty but deeded the majo
b. Jan. l7, 1802,
Isaac and Pete r in 1837. Pete r never marr ied. Isaac C: Sche nck,
ren inclu ding
marr ied Cath arine , daug hter of Pete r Meserole, and had several child
York (form erly
John C.6 Sche nck, who lived in this family homestead at East New
a park .
New Lots ), and finally sold it in l906 to the City of Broo klyn for
his father.
The main hous e was prob ably built abou t 1760 by Isaac Corn ell or
and in 1812 by
It was parti ally rebui lt and remodelled in 1792 by Isaac Corn ell
of white wash ,
Judg e Teun is Sche nk. It is of stone, covered with a thick coat
s deep and has
and has a steep gamb rel roof unma rred by dorm ers. It is two room
in 1812 The
four chim neys . The smal l fram e wing is of later date, prob ably built
ica Aven ue in
hous e stand s opposite Ashf ord Stree t on the north side of Jama
north erly wind s.
High land Park . It nestles below the hills, whic h prote ct it from

Hou se of Joh n Cov ert

1410 Flush ing A venue , Bush wick
PLA TE 8
the Revo lu-
It is possible that this hous e was not built until imm ediat ely after
l 22, l 709 Paul us
tion, when the Coverts obtai ned possession of the land. On Apri
Bush wick , whic h
Van Ende boug ht a one hund red acre plant ation in the new lots of
Van Ende and
even tuall y came into the possession of his gran ddau ghte r J anne tje
wick -New town
her husb and Moses Beeg el. Thei r hous e is ment ioned in the Bush
Cove rt hous e to
boun dary settle ment of 1769, and stand s to this day adjoi ning the
) Mose s Beadel
the north (plat e 22). On Apri l 29, 1786 (deed recor ded Nov. 3, 1866
58
 HOUSE S IN KINGS COUNT Y

· and his wife Jenny sold to J ohannis Cuvert 48 acres in Bushwick and Newto wn,
bounded on the northwest by the highw ay, on the northeast by Moses Beadel, on
the southeast and southwest by Nicholas Wyckoff.
J ohannis or John Covert (probably a descendant of T eunis J anse who emigrated
in J65 J) settled here on his purchase and died about J842. This and other prope rty
on the north side of the highw ay, bough t by John Covert in l80l, passed to Willia m
Covert, undoubtedly his son. Willia m Covert died intestate Sept. 20, 1858. Surviv ing
him were his widow Helen a, Rebecca, widow of Willia m D. Ballag h, Abrah am D.
Covert and his wife Mary, Cornelia, Sarah, Michael S. Covert and wife Catha rine,
Francis M. Covert and his wife Emma , who were no doubt his children. These
heirs partitioned his prope rty in l 864, the homestead falling to Michael Covert. He
disposed of it outside the family in l 866 to John G. Jenkin s. The latter sold the
house and tract in two parcels, in l867 and l886, to Peter Wyck off, who lived in the
Schen k-Wy ckoff homestead across the highw ay (plate l6).
The house is two full rooms in depth and two rooms and a hall in width. It is
covered with long round ed shingles and is surmounted by a gable roof overha nging
both front and rear. The frame annex is recent. The house faces Purdy Place, the
only opened portio n of a projected road between Cypress and Onder donk Avenues.
It is on the southeast side of old Newtown-Bushwick Road, now called Flush ing
Avenue.

Hous e of Lady Mood y (?) ; the Van Sicle n Hous e

Graves end N eek Road, Gravesend
PLAT E 9

Lady Debor ah Mood y was the widow of Sir Henry Moody of- Garsden in
Wiltshire, who had been created a baronet of the realm in l622 and died about
1632. She was the daugh ter of Walte r Dunch , M.P., a champion of liberty and
constitutional rights . True to her inheritance, she was a woman of education, refine-
ment and great force of character, and prominent in Colonial councils and public
tnatters. She emigr ated in l640 to Massachusetts with her son Sir Henry , was
excommunicated for her religious views and retired in l643 to New Netherland.
That same year Lady Mood y obtained a patent for lands at Gravesend on
long Island, and was joined by fellow countrymen in formin~ a new settl~ment
dedicated to the free enjoym ent of religion. Gravesend was lai~ ?ut accordmg to
a definite plan; a l 6-acre square , bisected by two roads, was suff1c1ent for the forty
house plots of the patentees and was surrounded radially by the same number of
Planters' lots or farms outside the palisades, each farm being easily accessible from
the house of its owner. In this manne r, it was hoped there would
be adequate pro-
59
 HOU SES IN KING S COUN TY
in the early
tecti on from the India ns, who had almost wiped out the little settlement
days of its existence.
(No. 9 and
On Nov . J8, J646 Lady Moody was allotted a double plan tatio n
which was on
No. JO), and presu mab ly at the same time the corresponding house lot,
village squares.
the nort h side of Gravesend Neck Road in the north west of the four
had died before
Lad y Moo dy was livin g in Gravesend as late as Nov. 4, J658, and
ased mother.
May J J, J659 when her son sold the house lot inherited from his dece
of his mother's
Her son Sir Hen ry soon removed to Virginia. He had disposed
ell. The latter
hous e lot to Jan Jans en Verr yn, who in J663 sold it to Ralp h Card
married two
died J684-89, leaving his real estate to his widow Elizabeth. She was
/ 90 to Isaac
more times, to Thom as Bayles, d. J689, and third ly on Marc h J7, J689
to Nicholas
Hase lbery , b. J649, who deeded the house and two gard en spots in J70J
Sickelen, Jr.
Still well , Jr. The latter sold it the following year to Ferd inan dus Van
. Whe n
Ferd inan dus' Van Sycklin emigrated in J652 and settled at Flatl ands
coun try for
he took the oath of allegiance in J687 he stated he had been in the
t J7J2. Among
thirty-five years. He later settled at Gravesend where he died abou
Sickelen, Jr.,
his children by his wife Eva Anto nis Van Salee was Ferd inan dus' Van
ans. The y had
who marr ied Gert ruy, daug hter of Minne Joha nnes and Rens je Fedd
ge, Elizabeth,
two sons, Ferd inan dus and Minn e, and six daug hters , Eve, Rem
still living in
Marg aret, Ann ie and Jann ette. Ferd inan dus' Van Sickelen, Jr. was
and half the
Flatl ands in J698; in J702 he boug ht from Stillwell the hous e plot
in l 737 to his
bouw ery in Gravesend and settled here. He willed this prop erty
he was living
son Ferd inan dus' Van Siclen. The latte r marr ied Mar ia Van Nuy s;
, Abra ham,
as late as J 798 and eventually left his prop erty to his three child ren, John
in half, and it
and Mari a Antonides. Thes e two sons divided the doub le hous e plot
le l 800s when
came dow n thus in these two branches of the fami ly until the midd
half of the lot
both halves passed into the owne rship of Thom as Hick s. The west
n in 1809; in
was released by John and Mari a to their broth er Abra ham ' Van Sicle
wife of Thom as
l 84 J John Van Sicle n and his wife Mar ia conveyed it to Corn elia,
m sold their
Hick s, Sara h Hick s, and Mari a, wife of Epen etus Smit h, all of who
released in l84J
interests in 1842 to Thom as Hick s. The east half of the lot was
to his two sons
by Abra ham 's heirs to their uncl e John ' Van Sicle n, who wille d it
Siclen. In J85J
Cour t J. and Ferd inan d. The latte r willed his shar e to John C. Van
doub le house lot
Cour t J • and John C. Van Sicle n sold it to Tho mas Hick s. The
it was sold to
belonged to the estate of Mrs. Hick s in l 890. In the partj tion of J904
er is Miss Ann a
Will iam E. Plat t who in 1912 sold it to Bert Cole. The pres ent own
And erson .
by Lady
Ther e is a stron g and persistent tradi tion that this hous e was occupied
60
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

Moody, the founder of Gravesend. It was at her house in Gravesend that Director
Stuyvesant and other officials dined and discussed with her the problems of the
province. The title to the property shows that Lady Moody did indeed have her
home here, but it was undoubtedly in an earlier house than the present one, which,
although of great age, belongs to a later period. The present house may have been
built by Ferdinandus Van Sickelen about 1702 or more probably in the second half
of the seventeenth century by one of the three husbands of Elizabeth---. It is
probably this house which was mentioned in the deed drawn when the third husband
sold the property in J70J. The house stands on the north side of Gravesend Neck
Road opposite the cemetery and between Van Sicklen Street and Gravesend Avenue.

House of Pieter Lefferts

in Prospect Park, Flatbush A venue, Flatbush
PLATE 10
The old Lefferts house was burned in 1776 and the present house was built
on its foundations along the old lines. Pieter Janse1 emigrated with his wife,
Femmetje Hermans, and children about 1660, settling at Flatbush; he died soon
after his arrival and guardians were appointed for his two minor sons by the Court
of Flatbush on Oct. JS, 1662. The orphan child Leffert Pietersen (also called Leffert
2

Pietersen Haughwout) lived in Flatbush, where he was assessed in 1675, named in

the patent of 1685, and took the oath of allegiance in 1687 stating he had been in
the country for twenty-seven years. On Feb. 29, 1687/ 8 he bought of Anna, widow
of Egbert Van Borsom, 58 acres in Flatbush between the main road to the village
and the road from Bedford; this tract had been originally patented to Cornelius Van
Ruyven in 1664. On Jan. 19, 1692/ 3 he enlarged his farm by purchasing from Gerrit
Stryker a tract adjoining it on the south, which had been patented to Cornelius
Janse in 1661.
Leffert Pietersen married about 1675 Abigail, daughter of Auke Janse Van
Nuyse, b. about 1654, d. July 19, 1748, and had eight sons and five daughters. After
his death on Dec. 8, J704, his farm was inherited by his son Pieter' Leffertze, b.
May J8, J680, d. March J3, J774 in his 94th year, who served as county treasurer for
thirty-five years. He married Ida, daughter of Hendrick Suydam, and had three
sons and five daughters. On Aug. 24, J767, shortly after his son's second marriage,
Pieter deeded the homestead farm to his son Jan. Jan or John' Lefferts, b. March 16,
1719, died on Oct. 20, 1776 two months after his ancestral home had burned. He.
Was a very wealthy farmer, county judge, and delegate to the Provincial Congress.
On April 29, 1746 he married Sarah Martense, b. Nov. 23, 1727, d. Dec. 30, 1762,
and had five children; on April l 7, l 765 he married secondly Lemmetje Vanderbilt,
6r
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

17 2 d h d two more daughters. The homestead

b. May 25, 1720, d. ,April l~, f 'ft
L t a Pieter b. Dec. 27, 1753, d. Oct. 7, 1791,
farm passed to Johns son, Pi~ter e er :•of Ja~bus Lefferts, b. May 13, 1753, d.
married May 13, 1775 Jannetie, daught~ di d . infancy and two daughters; he
Feb. 21, 1783, having bome 84oneFson wt.o ~ug:er of Evert Hegeman, b. May 3,
married secondly June l 7, l 7 emme Je,
1753, d. Aug. 5, J847, and h~d one son and
Pieter Lefferts was an important membe
on: ~t~t:e:lony, a delegate to the
On A 22 l 776
Constitutional Convention, lieutenant in the army, and a senathor. bug•. ' th
.
his home was accidentally set on fire Y e b th Americans ' w o were h ummg he
grain in the nearby fields to prevent supplies falling into the hands of t. e approac -
ing British. This was just before the disastrous Battle of Long Islan~ Piete; Leferts
rebuilt his house on the old foundations and followed the old design as c Y_ as
possible. On May 8, 1785 he enlarged the farm by purchasing JOO acres ad1ommg
him on the south from the other heirs of his father-in-law Evert Hegeman.
Pieter's only son, Senator John Lefferts, b. Dec. '14, 1785 in the new house, d.
6

Sept. 18, J829, married June 3, 1823 Maria Lott Lefferts, daughter of Jacobus
Lefferts, b. Aug. 20, 1786, d. Sept. 23, 1865. Like his father, he was a member of
the Constitutional Convention and a senator. His only son was John1 Lefferts, b.
Aug. 12, 1826, d. April 18, 1893. He continued the family custom of marrying a
cousin and of marrying twice; on June 17, l85l he wed Eliza, daughter of James
Lefferts, b. April 18, 1831, d. Nov. 13, 1867, having bome three sons and three
daughters; on Feb. l, 1871 he married secondly Helen Evans, b. July 30, 1840, and
had three more sons. James' Lefferts, b. March 27, l 855, was a son by the first wife;
he owned the homestead and was occupying it wlth his family in 1909.
Another version of the destruction of the old family home is that the Americans
deliberately burned it in their war maneuvres because the British were taking
advantage of its cover and firing from behind it. This account seems less credible
than the other, considering that it was the home of an important family and of
ardent patriots.
It is generally believed that the house was rebuilt immediately after the old one
was burned in 1776. However, it is questionable if such a display of wealth would
be indulged in while the British occupied Long Island. It was more probably erected
at the end of the war. The house is a well built, commodious structure of clapboard
and shingle. Its gambrel roof has a more deeply curved slope than was customary.
The doorway with its sunburst carving and flanking narrow windows is typically
post-revolutionary. The house formerly stood at No. 563 Flatbush Avenue in the
vicinity of Lincoln Road. The large farm was bounded on the west by the Flatbush
Road and on the north by the no longer existing Road to Bedford, also called the
62
 HOUS ES IN KINGS COUN TY
ce
Clove Road . The Flatb ush Road led from Flatla nds and forked a short distan
ferry
north of the Lefferts farm, one branch going to the port and the other to the
and
to Manh attan. The house has been moved a short distance to Prospect Park,
from
now stand s on the west side of Flatb ush Avenue, north of the park entrance
ution.
Empi re Boulevard. It is maintained by the Daughters of the Amer ican Revol

Hous e of Joha nnes Lott

1940 East 36th Street , Flatla nds
PLAT E 11

This pre-revolutionary house in Kings County is still in the possession and1

r
occupancy of descendants of the builder, Johannes Lott. His grand father , Piete
His
Lott, emigr ated to Amer ica in 1652 from Ruinerwold and settled in Flatb ush.
had
son, Hendrick• Lott of Flatla nds and Jamaica, married Katre na De Witt and
among others a son, Johan nes' Lott, b. May l l, 1692, d. April 8, l 775, married
Antie,
King s
daughter of Claes Folke rt, bap. Oct. 7, 1703. Johan nes was a colonel of a
nds.
County regim ent, a member of the Assembly and the largest sl~veowner in Flatla
Coert
On Dec. 12, t 719 he bough t a farm in the south em part of Flatla nds from
y-
Voorhies (who had purch ased it June 10, l7H from Roeloff and Alber t Terhu
bay.
nen), and later bough t more land, until he had a large farm extending to the
stood
He built and died on this tract. His house, part of which is now the east wing,
five
a short distance north east of the present house. Amon g his eight sons and
April
daughters was Johannes~ Lott, Jr., b. Dec. 31, 1721, d. Jan. 25, 1782, married
6, 1745 Janne tje Proba sco, d. Oct. 28, 1802, and had four sons and four
daughters.
son
He died only a few years after receiving his father's house, and it passed to his
$600
Hendrick. In 1796 the house was recorded as 50 x 34 feet, condition old, value
farm
(which was high) , the barn 48 x 52 feet, farm of 124 acres, value of barn and
$3600.
Hend rick I.' Lott, b. Oct. 3, 1760, d. Feb. 24, 1840, married July 15, 1792
three
Mary Brow njohn , d. Sept. 7, 1853 in her 83rd year. Hend rick Lott had only
an
children and so his father 's house was adequate. However, he no doubt felt that
built
imposing mansion was better suited to his position as a large landowner. He
tral
the present main house and west wing in l 800 on anoth er portion of his ances
east
farm, and moved part of his forefa thers' house from its old site to become the
Wing of his house.
On Hend rick,s death the prope rty was inheri ted by his only son Johan nes H.•
n,~·
Lott, b. Aug. 20, 1793, d. Feb. 26, 1874, marri ed Dec. 28, 1817 Gashe Berge
July 24, 1797, cl. Jan. 21, 1883. The house came into the possession of one of their
1889, marri ed
seven children, Henr y De Witt ' Lott, b. June 21, 1821, d. Jan. 25,
63
 HOUSES IN ·KINGS COUNTY

Oct. 28, 1863 Annie Bennett, died Sept. l, 1882. At the time of Henry D. Lott's
death, the farm consisted of JOO acres of upland and 100 acres of meadows. Three
of his children were living in the house in 1909: John B.' Lott and his family and
George' Lott in one part, and Mrs. Jennie Suydam in another part. Mrs. Suydam
(nee Jennie Lott) still owns it and resides here. The farm recently dwindled to a
truck farm of l 7 acres, and now consists of but a few acres around the house.
A road was opened at an early date from the center of Flatland s village south,
wards to the bay and was called the Road to Lott's Landing ; the name was shortened
to Lott's Lane and for a short time was called Kimball's Road. It has been recently
obliterated by the devel(?pment of the neighborhood. The house was some distance
to the west of it, reached by its private farm lane.which curved around the side and
back 9f the house to the immense Dutch frame barns, which stood until recently.
Early in 1926 (after the photograph was taken) 36th Street was cut through the
property, so near the house that the stone slave kitchen (seen in the photograph
behind the tree) had to be torn down; 35th Street runs near the west end of the house.
The neighborhood has been developed with small modem houses, and one
comes upon the Lott homestead (now painted a glistening white) with considerable
surprise, pleased by its spaciousness and its graceful, peaceful lines. The wing is a
part of the old house built about l 720; its gable roof is steep, its window openings are
small, and in the rear of the house the original windows are still in use, their width
of four tiny panes, thick moldings, and narrow lower sash being typicaL Althoug h
the wing seems so small, at one time there were two bedrooms under its roof. The
main house has on the ground floor two rooms and an ample hall, which connects
with the room in the west wing. The gambrel roof over the main house has a
beautif~l curving sweep in f:ont, forming an overhang now supported by columns;
the straight slant of the roof m the rear is now marred by the gable window A view
in Ditmas, p. 37, shows the front of the house, the slave kitchen, and part of the farm.

House of Adrian Marten se

formerly at 21 Church A venue, Flatbush
PLATE 12

ancl ::i~::;;";.,_~ ~il~y A~ian. Martense on property inherited from his father
at Flatb h h• hrian, yerse emigrated from Amsterd am about l646 and settled
us , w ere e died Nov 24 l7l0 On J 1Y 29, l659 he married Annetje,
daughter of Martin R 1 f S h • k • u
on Mill Island (plat oel3)o sBe c enc of Flatland s; her uncle built the Schenck house
e • etween l66l and F eb• l , 1670 wh en his ownership . was
recorded, Adrian bought a pl t t' .
in 1693 he bought a double pa;1 i;n in Fl~bush , patented in 1655 to Isaak Foreest;
64 an a ion to t e north of it f~om Margare t Verschuur.
 HOU SES IN KIN GS COU NTY

His son , Ma rtin Adr ianc e/ of•

· Boe r because he had on
b M h 9 68
th a;c ' J ~ , d. ?ct. 3o, J754, was called Martin de

er's thre e pla nta tion s. his ho: n ~ge ~t f arm s in Fla tbu sh. He had inherited his
fath
mar ried Sar ah Rem sen Van d es ea ormer1y stood on the Par ade Grounds. He
children, Rem , Ger ret Adr ·ianerbd eek, b.dDec. t670, d. Apr il 30, J724, and had five
' an two aughters.
Ma rtin 's son , Adr ian " Ma rten b• O ct. 24' i 7o7, d. Sept. J7, J784, received his
father's wes t farm and b •tt h" se,h
• Ul is ome thereon. His descendants adopted his
reas some of their cousins had
patr ony mic of Ma rten se for thei r family name whe
emigrant ancestor. By his wife
taken. the n~ e Rye rso n, the patr ony mic of their
daughters. His farm was divided
NeeltJe, Ad rian Ma rten se had four sons and five
804 ), a bachelor, Gar ret ( l 740-
between his thre e sur viv ing son s: Jores ( J 73 7- J
J826 ), a bac helo r, and Adr ian (J74 2-J8 J7), who
built a house after the Revolution
, Isaac' Martense, b. Jan . 9, J 748:
rep rod uce d in Dit mas , pag e 67. The youngest son
. J2, J77 8, mar ried Nov . 5, J77 5 Ma ria Mes erol e, b. Oct. 22, J758, d. Jun e J8,
d. Nov
J84 6; he pre dec eas ed his fath er, leaving an onl
y child,. Adrian,. who continued to
J8 J9 Adr ian was allotted 65 acres
reside in his gra ndf ath er's house. In a partition of
died in J826 he willed his nephew
together wit h his unc le Gar ret, and whe n the latter
Adr ian.
the bala nce of his sha re in the farm of his father
13, J826,. indirectly inherited
Thu s Ad rian I.5 Ma rten se, b. Oct . 3, J776, d. Sept.
after whom he had been named.
the hou se and par t of the farm of his gra ndf athe r,
and his uncle Gar ret's farms. He
He lived in his gra ndf ath er's hou se and farmed his
J, J 865, and had four dau ght ers:
married Deb ora h Ber ry, b. Sep t. 23, J 780, d. Ma rch
d to the age of J05 years, Jan e
Maria, Rac hel (J8 0J- J90 6), a spin ster lad y who live
6-J8 7J), wife of Hen ry Crabb. On
(J80 3-2 8), also unm arri ed, and Eliz abe th (J80
thei r father's and gre at uncle
Feb. J, J86 5 Ma ria, Rac hel and Eliz abe th divided
se, bor n about J799, married first
Garret's lan ds. Th e elde st dau ght er, Maria~ Ma rten
rch , J 825 , Ste phe n Sch enc k, who died imm edia tely after on Dec. 25, J825 ;
in Ma
Sto ry, d. Ma rch JO, J87 5, aged
she mar ried sec ond ly Jan . 25, J83 J Cap t. Wil liam
e, whi ch became known as the
77 years. The y resi ded in the Ad rian Ma rten se hom
who mar ried but had no issue,
Story hom este ad, and had three son s: Wil liam
aun t Rachel. The pro per ty was
Martense, and Jos eph , a bac helo r who live d wit h his
sold out of the fam ily abo ut J90 8 to sett le the estate.
win g was erected by Adr ian
The hou se was bui lt at two different times. The
The mai n uni t may have been
lVIartense abo ut the mid dle of the cen tury or earlier.
t by him sho rtly bef ore he die d in 178 4, but was pro bab ly bui lt by his gra nds on
buil
n to mak e room for a row of
Adrian Ma rten se abo ut J 800 . Th e hou se was tom dow
in J92 5. It formerly stood on the
lllodern bui ldin gs sinc e the pho tog rap h was tak en
sou th of Greenwood Cemetery•
nortbeast cor ner of Chu rch and Che ster Ave nue s, 65
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

The Old New Utrecht Road until recently wound northwards from that settlement
to the Martense farm, where it joined Church Avenue ( originally called Cow Lane),
which led to the church and the center of Flatbush village. Nearby, Martense Lane
ran in the direction of the present Greenwood Cemetery to Gowanus. It was followed
by the British and Hessian soldiers in their attack upon the right wing of the
American Army commanded by Lord Stirling, which was holding the ground on
the hills of the present cemetery.

House of Jan Martense Schenck on Mill Island

East 63rd Street near Mill A venue, Flatlands
PLATE 13

There is much controversy about the age of this and other old houses in Kings
County to determine which was the earliest erected. Regardless of its actual date,
the house of Jan Martense Schenck is without doubt the oldest house from the point
of view of its style of architecture, and is also the oldest house still standing as
originally erected.
When Jan Martense Schenck took the oath of allegiance in Flatlands in J687,
he stated he had been here 37 years, and therefore was brought to this country in
l 650 as a child. He is supposed to be a grandson ( or greatgrandso n ?) of a Martin
Schenck of Doesburg, Gelderland, b. Aug. 7, J584. Jan Martense1 Schenck, prob-
ably bom at Amersfoort in Holland, died in J689 at Flatlands, married about J672
Jannetje, daughter of Stephen Van Voorhees, who, after his death, married secondly
at Flatlands Oct. J2, J690 Alexander Simson. On Aug. 20, J660 Jan Martense was
granted by Stuyvesant two parcels of land near Mill Lane in the village of Flatlands,
one of which he immediately sold to his neighbor Pieter Claesen (Wyckoff). He
resided in the village until he sold his house, lot, and J2 morgens of land on Feb.
JS, 1676/7.
The year previous, on Dec. 29, J675, Jan Martense had bought from Capt. Elbert
Elbertse (Stoothoff) one half of a mill at Mill Island with the island, and no doubt
built his house on the island the following year before disposing of his home in the
v~llage. The island had been included in the Indian deed of May J3, J664 for Equan-
dito or the broken lands by John Tilton, Sr. and Samuel Spicer of Gravesend. They
may ?ave bee~ acting as agents for Elbert Elbertse, for the latter appears to have
been m possession long before the Indian deed was officially assigned to him on May
3, l68l. A map made on July 3, J666 by James Hubbard shows that the mill already
existed at this time, and had no doubt been built by Elbert Elbertse in the two years
since the execution of the Indian deed.
65
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

As stated above, Jan Martense Schenck who bought the mill and half the island
from Elbert Elbertse on Dec. 29, 1675, doubtless immediately built his house and
moved in when it was completed the following year. Before J700 vessels from
Holland entered the inlet here (now called Mill Basin) and discharged and received
cargoes. By tradition the two brothers Jan and Roelof were interested in trading with
Holland by these vessels. Jan may very well have been interested in shipping, as his
house is constructed like the hull of a ship with curved timbers and archlike inverted
frame, a method of construction not found in any other old Long Island house. Jan
was not a large landowner and was not primarily a farmer; judging by his legacies
he owned more readily convertible assets than any contemporary in Flatlands.
He died between Jan. 28 and April 2, J689, the dates of execution and probate of his
will, in which he mentioned his wife, his two sons Martin and Stephen, and his
daughters J annetie, Willemtie, and Neeltie.
The elder son Martin Janse' Schenck, b. J675, inherited from his father the "old
land with the small island and mill and dependencies," and continued to reside here.
On Dec. 2, J703 he married Cornelia Van W esselen, widow of Dominie Gulielmus
Lupardus. The house passed to their only known son, Capt. John Schenck, b. Dec.
1

l3, J705, d. between 1775 and 1784, married Femmetje Hegeman on Nov. JS, 1728.
Capt. Schenck is also said to have been interested in shipping to New Netherland s,
his boats docking at his wharf on Mill Island. The will of John Schenck, miller of
Flatlands, provided that his estate should be sold and divided between his son Martin,
the heirs of his daughter Cornelia deceased (Ulpianus and Femmetje Van Sinderen) ,
the heir of his daughter Maria deceased (Femmetie Hooglant) , and his daughters
Margrieta and Femmetie. The mill property consisting of 66 acres of upland, 6 acres
of woodland, and salt meadows, was sold by the heirs to Joris Martense-of Flatbush
on April JS, J784.
From this time it is probable that the owners of the house on Mill Island did not
dwell here, although they continued to operate the mill. For a while at least the
Schencks continued to live here. In 1796 the house is recorded as occupied by John
Schenck but owned by Jane Martense ( widow of Joris) of Flatbush, house in good
condition, size 4J x 22, value $650., bam 44 x 42, mill 28 x 28, farm of J2J acres,
' value $5600.
The purchaser, Joris' Martense, son of Rem, was a member of the landholdin g
family of Flatbush. He lived there on his father's farm, which had once formed the
east portion of the large farm of his grandfathe r Martin Adriance•; the west portion
had been inherited by Rem's brother Adrian Marttnse who built thereon (plate J2).
1

Joris was a leading citizen of Flat~sh and a large landowner. He advanced $5500.
in specie to the American cause while the British supposed he was favoring them.
67
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

It was in his house at Flatbush that Major Moncrief of the British army was captured
in a midnight raid by Capt. William Marriner, who discovered him hiding in the
garret behind the large Dutch chimney.
Joris Martense, bap. May 29, 1724, cl. May 23, 1791, married and had two sons
who died in infancy, another son who was a bachelor, and a married daughter who
inherited the mill property. The daughter Susan5 Martense, b. Jan. 15, 1777, married
Feb. ll, 1802 John H. Cowenhoven of New Utrecht (1769-1806) and had two
daughters who remained in New Utrecht; she married secondly Patrick Caton and
had one daughter before he died April 13, 1818. This daughter, Margaret Caton, b.
May 31, 1815, cl. March 8, 1858, married Nov. 26, 1837 Gen. Philip S. Crooke; they
lived in the old Martense home in Flatbush. Mrs. Caton devised the mill and other
property in trust for her daughter Margaret, wife of Philip S. Crooke, and she in
turn willed the property in trust for her children. After eleven conveyances between
various members of the Crooke family, the first dated July 5, 1870 from Philip to
Robert for 500 acres of meadows and 5 acres on Mill Island with grist mill and mill
dam and 66 acres of upland, the title to the Mill Island part of the property became
vested in Robert L. Crooke. He and his wife Elizabeth sold it Jan. 12, 1906 to Flor-
ence C. Smith. The property changed hands, was dredged, filled in and developed,
creating 332 acres of upland, by the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Co., who on Jan. 14,
1909 was deeded the property in payment for its work.
The Jan Martense Schenck house is one of the most interesting of the early
houses. Its method of construction is most unusual, resembling the hull of a ship.
Its proportions are pleasing and its lines graceful The very steep slant of the roof is
evidence of the extreme age of the house and may be favorably compared with the
earliest houses in New Amsterdam. During the early eighteenth century the size of
the house was doubled by the addition of a similar unit at right angles. The photo-
graph in Eberlein, p. 246, emphasizes this wing and shows the old round-edged
shingles with which it was covered.
The house stood on the north shore of Mill Island, close to the mill and the inlet,
and Mill Lane wandered down to it from Flatlands village. Since the property has
been filled in, Mill Island is now part of the mainland and the end of Mill Lane has
become Mill Avenue. The house can be seen from the end of Mill Avenue, and stands '
on a lane called East 63rd Street behind a public school. The house presents the same
appearance as of old, painted a glistening white, its old windows still doing duty,
and spic and span as a shipper's home would be; it is still somewhat secluded from the
modern developments of the neighborhood.

68
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

House of Nicholas Schenck at Canarsie

now in the Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences
PLATE 14
Great Neck or Canarsie was the name given at an early date to a point of land
in eastern Jamaica Bay, within the Town of Flatlands and northeast of the village.
A petition was presented in 1661 to the government of New Netherlan ds for the
opening of plantation s at Canarsie. It was evidently granted as six existed there in
1663. These were soon given up ( except for one) and the point was allowed to return
to undeveloped woodlands. The claim of one plantation owner must have been pur-
chased by Stephen Janse or his father Jan Martense Schenck; this 23 acre tract is
omitted from the Woodland Division of 1719. Jan Martense Schenck, builder of the
1

house on Mill Island in Jamaica Bay (plate 13), willed his younger son Stephen in
1689 "the Iott land in the neck with the middow, to hoggs neck with all ye de-
pendences." It is not known whether this is a reference to the Canarsie land.
Stephen J anse~ Schenck was probably the first permanent settler at Canarsie,
where he built his home. He was born Jan. 2, 1685, on his father's mill farm, d. Nov.
6, l 767, married Sept. 26, l 713 Antje, daughter of Nicholas Wyckoff of Flatlands,
b. Aug. 29, 1693, d. July 15, 1766. In his will of 1758 Stephen mentioned his wife
Antje, left his farm at Oyster Bay on which John was living to his elder son John,
left his lands and buildings at Canarsie in Flatlands to his son Nicholas, and men-
tioned his seven daughters : Jannetie wife of Folkert Sprong, Sara wife of Abraham
Emans, Antie wife of Abraham Duryee, Willemtje wife of Petrus Amerman ,
Neeltje, Margarite and Maria. The younger son Nicholas" Schenck b. Sept. 4, l 732,
d. April 3, 1810, married Oct. ll, 1757 Willemtje Wyckoff of Newtown, b. Dec. 23,
1736, d. Sept. 12, 1779.
Nicholas Schenck, Sr. was a farmer at Canarsie Point and built the present house
in l 772. He was a captain of the provincial militia. During the Revolutio nary War
Kings County was in the hands of the British and they established a guard at his
house in 1776. In June 1781 the house of Capt. Nicholas Schenck, at Canarsie about
three miles from Flatbush, was surprised by the crews of two rebel whaleboats under
Hyler. The family were at supper and of course not prepared to make any resistance.
Arms and silver were seized, and a sergeant's guard quartered in the house was sent
to report to Col. Axtell. In l 796 the house was recorded as 42 x 33 feet, 25 years old, .
in good condition, value $850. ( which was high), barns 40 x 56 and 36 x 46 feet,
value of barns and farm $3390. .
Nicholas Schenck, Sr. had four sons of whom only John and Nicholas survived
him, and also four daughters most of whom4 died in infancy. On his death he willed
his homestead to his younger son Nicholas Schenck, Jr., b. Feb. 23, 1765, d. Sept.
69
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

JO, J836, married April 20, J788 Alletta Remsen, b. Dec. 3, J768, d. May 6, J855.
In his will of J832 Nicholas mentioned his wife Aletti, left the homestead or neck to
his two sons James and Stephen, and mentioned his other children: .Anthony Rem-
sen, Abraham, Jane wife of Ralph Malbone, Anna wife of Hezekiah Dans, Adriana
wife of Cornelius Stryker, and his grandson Nicholas Schenck. Although Stephen
N.5 Schenck owned one half interest in the homestead farm, which he willed to
Stephen R. Schenck in J842, it is probable that a partition was made, as his brother
James seems to have been in possession of the house itself. James Schenck of
5

Canarsie, b. April J9, J800 on the old farm, died in the last twenty years of the nine-
teenth century. He was a farmer, surveyor, and town supervisor. He was one of the
last of his family and never married. After his death what remained of his ancestral
farm was divided into small lots and sold at public sale. The present Canarsie Beach
Park was bought by the Brooklyn Commissioner of Parks, from the buyers at this
sale and their successors, about J897.
The Schenck house remained standing south of Rockaway Avenue in Canarsie
Park until after this photograph was taken in J925. It has been demolished since, but
a very large part of the exterior and interior has been rebuilt within the Museum of
the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, and set up in-a permanent exhibit of
colonial architecture. Thus are preserved for all time the beautiful curved sloping
roof, the large old shingles, the old window sashes, doors and interior panelling, and
the built-in cupboard bed. It is greatly to be desired that other localities follow this
museum's example and set up historic or architecturally interesting houses which
would otherwise disappear.
The~e formerly stood nearby, north of Rockaway Avenue, a much older Schenck
house, shmgled and covered by a very steep gable roof. A painting of this house is
reproduced in Keskachauge. In the middle of the nineteenth century ·t d
by Jeremiah Schenck, a distant cousin of the Schencks nearby Th h 1 was owntorn e
down in J9 J2. •. e ouse was

Schenck -William son House

East 53rd Street north of A venue N, Flatlands
PLATE 15
This house was undoubtedly built in the th' d
by Martin Schenck, the owner of the land at thiir t'quar~o~the eighteenth century
Dircksen Hoogland sold to Steven Ko t 7 s une. ov• 29, J660 Cornelius
house was later erected) and 9 morgen:ro~°ma:~rg ~ns;~ woodland ( on which the

never occupied this property, but built and settled 0::~f

Jan Martense Schenck, who purchased the landea'; .• . ese tracts were bought by
rt1 t~e north in J676. He
In his will of J689 he left his son Martin Janse the old land s( an ~earb~ (plate J3).
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

as well as the island; the same lands passed to the latter's son Capt. John1 Schenck.
At his death his heirs sold most of the property to Joris Martense on April JS, J784,
but this particular woodland plottage was not included in the sale; the land of Martin
Schenck is mentioned in the deed of sale as the west boundary of the upland.
Martin' Schenck was the only son of Capt. John Schenck and his wife Femmetje
Hegeman, whom he had married in J728, and was born after this date in the Mill
Island home. Martin's wife Sarah is named in the deed of J784. They undoubtedly
built this house about the time of their marriage. We next find mention of it in a sale
of Feb. 22, l809, when the JS acre property was sold by several members of the Van
Sinderen family (Catalina, John, Hotso, and Jane). As other members of this family
had joined with the heirs of Capt. John Schenck in selling the Mill Island property,
it is probable that these Van Sinderens were related to Martin Schenck (possibly
they were grandchildren of his sister?). Hendrick J. Lott bought the house in J809
and conveyed it in J8 J4 to his young son Johannes H. Lott, who sold it in J 829.
It is improbable that the Lotts ever resided h~re, as Hendrick had built his mansion
in southern Flatlands only a few years before (plate Jl).
On April 28, 1829 Johannes Lott sold to John Williamson the house and 7 acres
which adjoined his lands. On May l, J883 the executors of John Williamson and
Maria Williamson deeded the house and 14 acres to Garret Williamson, who was
no doubt their son. Whether or not John Williamson dwelt here, we know it was
occupied for many years by Garret Williamson, who was about eighty years of age
when he died without issue about 1915.
The house is in Flatlands, east of the old village. The property was bounded
on the west and on the south by the old Road to the Mill (Jan Martense Schenck's
mill and house on Mill Island). It is said that the house does not stand on its original
site; it was probably moved a short distance when the streets were cut through in the
1890s. It is now on East 53rd Street between Avenues Mand N, nearer the latter.
Since the photograph was taken in J925, the house has been painted a violet brown
which rather subdues its character, but otherwise it is unchanged.

Schenk-Wy ckoff House

1325 Flushing A venue, Bushwick
PLATE 16
Mespat Kills (now Newtown Creek) empties into the East River and from early
times has been the division line between the Dutch settlement of Bushwic~ in Kings
County and the English settlement of Mespat, later called Newtown, m Queens
County. John Scudder emigrated in J635 to Salem and remove~ to M~pat Kills; by
1661 he owned the mill pond at the head of the kills in Bushw1ck, which was called
71
 HOUSES IN KINGS ·coUNTY

Scudder's Pond in the 1687 Patent. His grandsons John and Richard B. Scudder are
said to have sold property in 1700 and removed to New Jersey. Presumably this land
was included in the 350 acres among the headwaters of the kill sold in l 709 by John
Stevenson to Teunis Titus. A large part of this tract was sold by Titus to Johannes
Schenk in l 7l l.
Mynheer Johannes1 Schenk, b. Sept. J9, 1656 in Holland, was a son of Martin
Schenck (1633-1704), bailiff of Nydeck. He married Maria Magdalena de Haes,
b. Oct. 7, 1660 at Middleburg, d. April JO, J729, daughter of Hendrick ~e Haes.
They emigrated from Middleburg in 1683, locating successively at New York City,
Esopus, Flatbush, and Bushwick. On Sept. J7, J7J J Johannes Schenk, late of Flat-
bush and now of Bushwick, bought from T eunis Titus and his wife Mary, 83 acres
of land with a water mill and stream in Bushwick and other smaller parcels including
7 acres in Newtown, in all JJS acres. He settled here near the stream. He undoubtedly
became a miller, and was also schoolmaster, town clerk, and supervisor of Kings
County. He died here Feb. 5, 1748, aged 92 years, and was buried on the place. In
his will he ordered that his estate be divided between the heirs of his five deceased
children. Five of his children matured but all predeceased him. They were:
Johannes Schenk (J69l-J729) of Bushwick, Peter Schanck (d. J736) of
Newtown, Susanna wife of Johannes Janse, Margrietie wife of John Stryker, and
Cornelia wife of Capt. Charles Durje. The mill property with 45 acres was sold in
1770 by Abraham Schenk (son of Johannes, Jr.) to his cousin Teunis Schenk (son
of Peter). The old family homestead burned down J840-45; its foundations were for
many years visible near the stream and north of the present Metropolitan Avenue.
It is not known which member of the Schenk family built the old house (now
the wing) immediately to the south, on the Road to Newtown (now Flushing
Avenue), but its construction suggests the probable date to be about 1719. Johannes
Schenk, Jr. (J69J-l729) of Bushwick married Maria Lott of Flatbush and had six
sons and one daughter: Judge Abraham Schenk ( l 720-l 790) lived on the Millstone
River in New Jersey but returned to live in Bushwick in 1748 and at a later date
settled at Fishkill; John (1715-1777) lived on the _Raritan River in New Jersey;
Hendrick (b. l7J7) settled at Weston, New Jersey, as did his brother Peter (b.
l 722) ; Cornelius ( l 724-J 744) remained at Bushwick, but died before his grandfather
leaving an infant daughter; Isaac the youngest (b. l 725) was still living in l 755.
The other. son of the pioneer was Peter Schanck of Newtown, who died Sept. 14,
1736, leavmg sons, John and. Teunis Schenk b. Feb. 9, 1723, d. July 31, i806. On
Sept. l6, 1749 Teunis married his first cousin Catharine only daughter of Johannes
~c=k,.J;;; and had eight sons and four daughters. T eu~is lived at Bushwick, where
e erit property from his father and grandfather, ·a nd purchased the mill prop-
72
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

erty from his cousin Abraha m in l 770. It is possible that he or his wife had previous ly
inherited the house on the Road to Newtow n, and that they sold this home about this
time to the Wyckof fs and removed to their grandfa ther's mill home, where we know
that Teunis' and Catharin e's eldest son Peter (l752-l8 08) lived.
The exact date of transfer of the property on the Road to Newtow n is not
known; it is said that Nichola s Wyckof f purchased it in 1765 (but no deed is on
record nor among the family papers), and that he lived here during the Revolut ion
when not engaged in vidette duty with a troop of horse for the patriot cause. He prob-
. ably settled in Bushwi ck about the time of his marriage., but the first mention of him
on this particul ar farm is in the sale of adjoinin g property to John Covert (plate 8)
on April 29., 1786. He undoubt edly built the main portion of the house as well as the
big barn at ih:e rear, with its date 1788 chiselled into an oak beam over the big front
doors. The smaller portion of the house is much older, dating from about l7l9., and
must have belonge d original ly to the Schenk family., many of whom lie buried in
the family graveya rd at the rear of the hovel (the name applied to a very early type
of barn which is still standin g and greatly antedates the l 788 barn). The lot on which
the house stands ( on the northwe st side of the road) is only a few acres in size., sur-
rounded by propert y purchas ed in l 80 l by his neighbo r John Covert from Isaac
Schenk. Most of the 200 acre farm of Nicholas Wyckof f stretche d to the southwa rd
on the opposite side of the Road to Newtow n and was bought in part from the Schenk
family and the balance in l 797 from the ~xecutors of Charles Duryee.
The purchas er, Nichola s Wyckoff., was born March 23., J743, in the family
6

homestead on Canarsi e Lane in Flatland s (plate 23)., the ninth son of Pieter Wyckoff.,
Jr•.,and died May J9, J8J3 in Bushwic k. On May 23., J767 he married Antie, daughte r
of Folkert Rapalye and Matilda Polhem us, b. Oct. 28, J745, d. March 30, J8J3
only two months before her husband . They had nine sons and one daughte r, but only
three children matured., Folkert who was a bachelor, Peter and Nichola s, Jr. In his
will of J8J3, Nichola s Wyckof f, Sr. of Bushwi ck left his wife Anne the use of $4490.
and either of his dwellin g houses which she should choose, devised to his son Peter
two acres of woodlan d bought from Benjam in Coe, left the residue of his lands to his
sons Folkert and Nichola s, and mention ed that his three sons and their descendants
were to have the use of the burial ground. Various deeds and releases passed between
the three sons in J8J4. Nichola s N/ Wyckof f received JOO acres, the southwe st half
of his father's farm, a part of which extende d north of the Newtow n Road to the head-
waters of the creek; he lived in a house (destroy ed in J890) facing the present John-
son Avenue in the small triangle on the north side of the Newtow n Road. His brother
Peter• Wyckof f received J03 acres, the northea st half of his father's farm, on which
stands the Schenk -Wycko ff home.
73
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

As Nicholas devised his son Peter Schenk very little property, it is probable
that Peter had already received a large portion of his inheritance; as a young man
he had bought the Mansion House on Woodpoint Road north of the village of Bush-
wick, and it was there that his son Nicholas was born in l 799; he returned to the
homestead on the Newtown Road in 1814 after his father's death. Peter" Wyckoff,
b. March 13, 1768, d. Sept. 20, 1842, married Dec. 2, 1790 Gertrude, daughter of Capt.
Lambert Suydam of Bedford, b. March 23, 1771, d. Aug. 9, 1864; they had four sons
and two daughters. Nicholas1 Wyckoff, b. Oct. 30, 1799, d. June 24, 1883, was the
only member of this branch of the family to carry on the name; two of his brothers
had died in infancy and a third brother Lambert married but had no children, his
uncle Folkert was a bachelor, and the sons of his uncle Nicholas never married. He
inherited his father's and grandfather's farm and home in Bushwick; he was a
prominent citizen and kindly man, and for twenty-two years was president of the
bank now called the First National Bank of Brooklyn. On Dec. 20, 1826 he married
Sarah Ann, daughter of Gen. Jeremiah Johnson, b. Dec. 26, 1805, d. April 9, 1888.
Their only son who grew to maturity was Peter Wyckoff, b. Feb. 27, 1828, d. Feb. 9,
8

1910, in his 82nd year, married Jan. 2, 1851 Catharine Maria Rapelye, b. May 20,
l 825, d. March 24, l 900. They lived and died in the old Wyckoff farmhouse. After
they passed away, the farm was sold in 191 l and laid out in building lots. The
acreage about the house is still undeveloped and remains the only rural section on
Flushing Avenue.
The house, 1325 Flushing Avenue, is on the northeast side of this road, north
of Cypress Avenue, and south of the projected Seneca Avenue. Flushing Avenue
was the old road from the Ferry to the outskirts of Bushwick and on to Newtown in
Queens County. The old village of Bushwick was toward the north above Metro-
politan Avenue, and reached from the Newtown Road by Bushwick Avenue. The
Nicholas Wyckoff farm extended from above Flushing Avenue southward beyond
Myrtle Avenue, and is now intersected by Wyckoff, St. Nicholas, and Cypress
Avenues. A view of the house from the front can be seen in Streeter's Wyckoff
Family Genealogy; this view shows the characteristic overhang of the roof on both
parts of the house. The exposure in the present photograph was taken to emphasize
the very long roof line of the pre-revolutionary wing.

Stoothoff-Bergen House on Bergen Island

formerly on East 72nd Street, Bergen Beach, Flatlands
PLATE 17

There is a great deal of controversy concerning the early history of this house
and the possible builder of its earliest unit, which some claim to antedate the house
74
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

of Jan Martense Schenck on Mill Island. No definite proof of its age has yet been
fo~d, but th~ possibilities have been exhaustively set forth in Keskachauge. Until
the inlet was fdled recently, Bergen Beach was an island in western Jamaica Bay north
of Mill Island; it was known as Bergen Island, and in very early days as Mentelaer's
Island. On Jan. 27, l643 was recorded the deposition of Geertjen Manninex, wife of
Claes Mentelaer, told at her house in the bay, concerning some corn hills in Brooklyn.
If the present house was in part this J643 house, it must have been erected prior to
J633, for the houses built-by the West India Company in Van Twiller"s time (1633-
39) are known by a deposition of Gillis Pietersen made March 22, J639; we also
know that it was not built J636-43 by Wolfert Gerritsen van Kouwenhoven, who
on June J6, J636 had with another obtained the original Indian deed or Dutch
ground brief to a large tract in this vicinity. Gov. Kieft evidently considered that the
West India Company had a claim to the land, as on May J4, J646 he patented Men-
telaer's Island to Capt. John Underhill for his services in the Indian wars; he might
have built the house then to strengthen his title. Underhill sold his patent to Thomas
Spicer who extinguished the Indian claim on July 2, J652; this deed mentioned
that it was called by the Dutch Metler's Island and by the Indians Wimbaccoe. The
house was probably not built in Stuyvesant's time after J652, as this would call the
governor's attention to a new purchase, and he had just cancelled the unnecessary
large grants in Flatlands. Elbert Elbertse Stoothoff proceeded to buy up the various
claims to the island; on April 27, J662 he purchased the rights of the heirs of
Wolphert Gerritsen to the western flat, and on Nov. 25, J665 he obtained an assign-
ment from Machtel, widow of Thomas Spicer, for Mentelaer's Island containing 90
acres of upland. Elbert Elbertse continued to live in the village of Flatlands, where
he ran a store, as late as J680, and may never have occupied the island. Claes Men-
telaer (Mitaler), who had been living on the island as early as J643,-was still there
in J67J, probably as the tenant of Elbert Elbertse.
Elbert Elbertse Stoothoff van de Vrede, to give his full name, emigrated from
Nieuwkerken in North Brabant and eventually settled at Flatlands. There are con-
flicting statements concerning his age and arrival: Van Tienhoven, in his Remon-
strance in which he attempted to deprecate the leaders of the people, stated that Elbert
Elbertse emigrated in J633 at the age of JO or J J as a farmer's boy in the service of
Van Twiller• Elbert himself affirmed in J644 that he was about 24 years old, and in
1687 that he had been in the country for fifty years. He was one of the Nine Men of
1649-50, a magistrate of Flatlands for many years, and .its rep~esentativ~ at various
conventi ns and assemblies. On Aug. 24, J645 he married Alt1e Cornelis, daughter
of Corn °1is Lambertse Cool of Gowanus, and widow of Gerrit Wolphertse Van
Couw~oven·; she was the mother of his children, one son and two daughters. He
75
 HOUSE S IN KINGS COUNT Y

married secondly July 21, 1683 Sara Roeloffs, widow of Cornelius Van Borsu
m.
He died about 1688, leaving the island in entail to his son Gerrit and then to
the
latter's children in succession, and if he had no issue then to the testator's
. two
daughters.
Gerri t Elbertse1 Stoothoff of Flatlands married first Willemetie Pieters Mon-
foort, and secondly on Aug. 10, 1684 Johanna Nevius of Brooklyn Ferry . He died
Marc h 30, l 730, the father of six sons and five daughters. Gerri t lived on the island
and probably built the house under discussion. Think ing he had a legal right,
he
bequeathed the island to his youngest son Wilhelmus1 Stoothoff (1705-1783). How-
ever, on Gerri es death, his eldest son Elbert3 Stoothoff of Somerset Co., N. J.
and
of Flatlands, placed his elder son Garret in possession. Garret• Stoothoff, b. Aug.
13, 1715, married in 1739 Lammet;e Stryker and had three daugh ters; he was
drowned in Flatlands Bay Aug. l, 1746. His father Elber t next placed his young
er
son Wilhelmus· Stoothoff (b. ca l 7 l 6, d. ca l 782) in possession. On Elber t's death
Sept. 19, 1756, his son Wilhelmus for some reason delivered up possession to
his
uncle Wilhelmus' (1705-1783), and on his death the island went to the latter's
son
Peter.
About 1764 a suit was commenced by Eitie Nallison, Anna tie Bergen and
Saartie Stephens, the three daughters of Garret4 Stoothoff ( the one who had
drowned), and their three husbands, against their great-uncle Wilhe lmus1 Stooth
off
for the recovery of the island. The suit dragged on until Sept. 3, 1791, when the
en-
tailment in the first Elbert Elbertse's will was declared lawfu l and therefore
the
three sisters the rightful owners. The eldest had meanwhile died witho ut issue,
and
on May 10, 1792 Teunis Bergen, husband of the second sister, bough t out the third
sister, and placed his son John Bergen in possession. In 1796 the house of Johan
nes
Bergen was recorded as 34 x 34, in good condition, value $350., barn 36 x 48 feet,
farm of 82 acres, value of barn and farm $2,460.
The ancestor of the Bergen family, Hans Hans en/ emigr ated in 1633, settling
later at the W allaboght on Long Island. His grandson Hans Machielse3 Berge
n of
Brooklyn had among ?the~s a son, Teunis• Berge n of Gowanus, b. Oct. 15, 1730,
d. May 2, l807, married in April 1760 Anna tie or Johan na' Stoothoff, b. Feb.
! Fl:ladn~
1 743
~ ~-~lh 23, ~l9. In 1763 Teuni s bough t the Benne t farm at Gowanus, and
0
; t er:. ht~ will he bequeathed to his son John the island in the town
Aug 12 l8~n w i~ d s~7 already resided. John' Berge n, b. Sept. 23, 1764,
cl.
1774: d.Jan. 28~: Th!~ :l:d 1793 Rebecca Stryk er, of Gravesend, b. Jan. 8,
nelius' Bergen, b. Feb.
26 1798 d. ias later owned and lived on by their son Cor-
Baldwin of Flatlands Th , ' 31
arch , lS65, marri
1Y son John C.1 Berge n, ed Marc h 10, 1825 Fanny
76
• eir on b. Jan. 19, 1826, resided
 HOUS ES IN KING S COUN TY

John C. Berg en
at home and was the last of the fami ly to own the homestead. In l 893
emen t park and
sold the hous e and the islan d to speculators, who open ed an amus
cut it up into build ing lots unde r the name of Berg en Beac h.
on the islan d
Berg en, in his gene alog y of his own family, state d that the house
nt) build ing;
built and occupied by the Stoothoffs forms part of the prese nt (rece
after ward s in
that in J 80 J the wing on the east side was adde d by John Berg en, and
after his death
J8J9 he enlar ged the main build ing on the west erly side; and that
s of this inter -
the west wing was built by his son Cornelius Berg en. Vary ing view
as p. 3J, and
esting house are show n in Kesk acha uge, Berg en Fam ily p. 299, Ditm
wing , built after
Eberlein p. l94. The plate reproduced here show s the smal l west
sligh tly large r
J824 acco rding to the early style. The kitch en wing on the east was
Islan d, on East
and had a chim ney. The hous e form erly stood in the center of Berg en
this phot ogra ph
72nd Stree t south of Islan d Aven ue. It has been demolished since
was taken in l 925.-

Stoo thof f-Ba xter -Ko uwe nho ven Hou se

1640 48th Stree t, Flatla nds
PLA TE 18
this hous e,
Mrs. Rem sen, the owne r (in J925 ), is a descendant of the build ers of
alon g the same
and state s that the wing was erected in 1747 and the main hous e
whic h led from
lines in l8l l. The prop erty is on the south side of the old Mill Lane
ense Sch enck -
Flatl ands Villa ge to Mill Islan d ( the home and mill of Jan Mart
plate l3). whic h
On May l3, l653 Jaco b Couwenhoven sold a tract here to Thom as Spic er,
he sold
his widow trans ferre d to Coer t Stevense (Van Voor hees ). On Oct. 9, l699
to the King s
to his son Gerr et Coer te 90 acres boun ded a.II along by the Mill Path
of this prop erty
High way. It was prob ably sold by his heirs. The next know n owne rs
the road was
were Corn elius Nevi us in l73l and Joha nnes Nevi us in l74l when
ands . At some
changed; they were prob ably broth ers, sons of Piete r Nevi us of Flatl
the posse ssion of
date in the midd le of the eight eenth centu ry, the land came into
to his son Garr et,
Wilh elmu s Stoo thoff , who deeded this, the west porti on of his tract ,
son Joha nnes .
the east porti on to his son Wilh elmu s, and the north porti on to his
Gerr it Stoo t-
This Wilh elmu s' Stoothoff, b. 1705, d. Feb. l4, l783 , was a son of
elmu s marr ied
hoff, prob able build er of the house on Berg en Islan d (plat e l 7). Wilh
hter of Albe rt
Nov. 9, J728 Aelt je Van Voorhees, b. May 3, l709, d. June J788, daug
equa lly betw een
Van Voor hees ; he willed that most o~ his prop erty shou ld be divid ed
gran d-
their five sons, Joha nnes , Albe rt, Wilh elmu s, Abra ham and Pete r, and their very
ased. It is
daughters Aelt je and Debo rah, daug hters of their son Garr et, dece
77
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

possible that Wilhelmus Stoothoff bought and lived here on Mill Lane until he
settled in 1756 in the family homestead on Bergen Island (plate 17). On Oct. 21,
1772 he sold to his son Garret 95 acres south of Mill Road, bounded east by Wilhel-
4
mus Stoothoff, Jr. and north by Johannes Stoothoff. This Garret Stoothoff, b. Oct.
l, 1730, d. Sept. 22, 1780, married in May 1762 Maria Voorhees, and was survived by
two children, Aeltie wife of John Baxter and Deborah wife of Abraham Wyckoff.
On July 2, 1796 the latter released their interest in the property to the former couple.
In 1796 the house of John Baxter was recorded as 18 x 28 feet in size, condition
middling, value $400., barn 44 x 36 feet, farm of 91 acres, value of barn and farm
$2400. John Baxter is remembered mainly for his Journal; he was a schoolmaster
of Flatlands village. He and Aeltie (Aletta) Stoothoff had a son Garret Stoothoff
Baxter, bap. Sept. 9, 1792 at Flatlands. Garret evidently was married twice, first to
Abigail Wyckoff, by whom he had a daughter Abigail, b. April 18, 1817 in this
house, and secondly to Sara-, who survived him. Garret S. Baxter of Flatlands
died about 1836, and his widow Sara released the property on May l, l 838 to her
step-daughter Abigail Baxter. She married on March 22, 1843 William I. Kouwen-
hoven, b. April 5, 18 J8, d. Dec. 17, J904, son of John and Susan Kouwenhoven. They
lived here throughout the nineteenth century and had many children, of whom the
ninth is Kitty Kouwenhoven, b. March J9, t 86 l in this house, and married John
Marshall Remsen. Mrs. Remsen is the owner (in 1925) of her family's homestead.
The old portion of the house ( the wing) is now the dining room. Mrs. Remsen
remembers when it was still the kitchen, with a very large fireplace, at the right of
which was the mouth of the Dutch oven. The oven extended back into a shed attached
to the wing, and known as the oven shed; it was taken down in J880 when the new
kit~hen was built. Mrs. Remsen also remembers the windows in the old portion of
the house as they were when she was a child, with their many small panes of glass.
She states, that the old house was built in J747 by Garret Stoothoff. It is very prob-
able that it ( the present wing) was built at this early date but, if so, it must have
been erected by J~hannes Nevius or by Wilhelmus Stoothoff, the owners shortly
before and afte~ this date respectively, as Garret Stoothoff was a minor at this time.
~he s~eep roo!lme of the wing, characteristic of a very early period, is better empha-
si~ed m the vignette: The roof does not overhang the rear wall of the wing and the
wmdows are smaller m back. The main house was built in J8 J l by one of the Baxters,
~ndoubtedly father John Baxter. Although of such a late date, it follows the
Imes of the ~r1gmal house, thus achieving a harmonious composition. The house is
on the east side of East 48th Street south of Avenue M. It is ,
now vacant.
'
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

Stryk er-Sc henck House

formerl y on Church A venue and East SJrd Street, Flatbush
PLATE 19
The propert y on which this house stands is in the Third Division of the New
Lots of Flatbu sh; how it came into the Stryker family is not clear, but it was owned
by John _Stryker as early~ 1729, when adjoining property was sold by Jeremiah
Vanderbdt. Church Lane m very early times turned abruptly northeastward be-
tween the present 51st and 52nd Streets; other names were the King's Road and the
Road to New Lots. At an early date the road was extended to continue directly
westward, and called the Road to New Lots or Flatbush Lane, and the diagonal
road was discontinued. The property in the gore between these two roads, and
extending from 52nd Street west to 56th Street, was the tract owned in J729 by
John Stryker , in 1786 by his son Michael Stryker, and in J8J8 by his son Cornelius
Stryker, according to the bounds mentioned in the deeds to adjoining property. The
lands on the northw est and east were in the possession of the Lott family. Johannes
Lott willed them to his son Peter, and on his death they passed to his only surviving
children, three daught ers: Lammetie, wife of Petrus Wyckoff, Jannetje, wife of
Johannes Stryke r (eldest son of Michael), and Annetie, wife of William William-
son. These were the neighbors of the Strykers.
The ancestor of the family in this country was Jan' Strycker, b. 1615, d. about
1697, emigrated from Ruinen in the Province of Drenthe in 1652 with his wife and
six children. In 1654 he was a leader in the founding of Midwout, later called Flat-
bush, on Long Island. He was immediately selected as chief magistrate and held
this office for the greater part of twenty years; he was named by the towns for the
embassy to the Lord Mayors in Hollan d concerning the annoyance caused by the
Indians and Englis h; in l 664 he was a representative to the assembly called to
consider the grave situation of the country, and the following year was a representa-
tive at the Hemps tead Convention, and in 1674 he was a deputy to the conference
with Gov. Colve on the state of the country ; he was a patentee of the town and cap-
tain of a company of the town militia; in l 654 he was a member of the commission
to build the Dutch church at Flatbus h and was an active supporter of Dominie
Polhemus. He married three times, but his first wife Lambetje Seubering was the
mother of all his eight children.
Jan's younge st son Pieter' Strycke r, b. Nov. l, 1653 at Flatbush, d. June l l,
1741, married May 29, 1681 Annetj e Barends, d. June 17, 1717. Pieter was a patentee
of Flatbus h, high sheriff of Kings County, and a captain in the militia. His residence
in Flatbus h was built of brick with the lettering "P.S. 1696" over the doorway; it
was torn down about 1845. His eldest son Jan or John' Stryker , b. Aug. 6, 1684,
79
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

d. Aug. l7, 1770, married first in 1704 Margrietje Schenk, daughter of Johannes
Schenk, founder of the branch of this family at Bushwick (see plate l6); she bore
him nine children, most of whom settled in New Jersey, and died in August, l72l.
John Stryker was remarried Feb. l 7, l 722 to Sara, daughter of Michael Hansen
Bergen of Brooklyn, bap. June 2, 1678, d. July JS, 1760, and had five more children.
John Stryker was a member of Vanderveer's company of Kings County militia. He
lived in Flatbush, where he owned considerable property, including the tract in
which we are interested in Church Lane.
It is not known who built the house on Church Lane, but as the tract went in its
entirety to John Stryker's son Michael it is probable that the latter buµt the house.
Michael' Stryker, b. March 4, 1723, d. Sept. 26, 1807, was the eldest child by John's
second wife; he married Hanna, daughter of his cousin Cornelius Stryker, b. Feb.
l3, 1733, d. Oct. l, 1807, a few days after her husband. They had four sons and four
daughters, including John Stryker of Flatbush who married Jannetje Lott and
received from his wife's family several tracts of property northwest and east of his
father. The only other son who reached maturity was Cornelius5 Stryker, b. April
26, 1760, d. March l2, l84l, married Jan. l6, 1789 Adrianna Schenck, b. Aug. 22,
l 768, d. Sept. l, l 830, a descendant ·of Jan Martense Schenck of Mill Island. In
J8J8, shortly after his father's death, Cornelius Stryker was in possession of his
father's homestead in the gore and of other property of his father adjoining it on
the south. Of his six children, many died in infancy and only Ann and Michael
married. On May J, 1843 the executors of Cornelius Stryker deeded the property
south of Church Lane to Michael Stryker. Twenty years before, on April 25, 1823
(deed recorded June l8, J832), Cornelius and Adriantje Stryker had deeded the
house and land in the gore to their daughter Ann, wife of Johannes Schenck de-
scribing it as ten acres of land and woodland -i n Flatbush by the highway from
Flatbush to New Lots, and by the land of Cornelius Stryker.
1
John Schenck of Flatbush, b. Oct. J8, 1795, d. Feb. JS, l873, was the eldest son
of Ju~ge ;eunis Schenk and Gertrude Cornell of New Lots, and was undoubtedly
born ?1 hi~ grandfather Cornell's house at New Lots (plate 7), which his parents
l~t;~1terited. On Dec. 2J, l8J9 he married Ann, daughter of Cornelius Stryker
th• i:;d made his home in his father-in-law's house which in l823 was
l~e
Jul~c;~ P~:;r~ t
as a ve) to his wife. She died Aug. 5, J834, and her heirs released the
v~ious deeds (1847-50-54) to her husband John Schenck. On
T eunis ,Schenk e hugh _tdsome land adjoining this to the northwest from his father
0
inherited it fro~ ~is w.;, p:rc;ased it May l, l8l8 from John Stryker, who had
28, 1838 Catharine y~;; am;, y, the Lotts. John Schenck married secondly Nov.
orn, • July 26, l808, d. Dec. 3l, l870, daughter of John
80
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

Ryder, and widow of his neighbor William Williamson, son of William William-
son (J755-l830) and Antje Lott (cl. l850). John Schenck had five children by
each marriage, his eldest child Wilhelmina marrying her neighbor, sti11 another
William Williamson.
After John Schenck's death, the property was divided between his only two
sons who remained in Flatbush: John T. Schenck (a son by the first wife) obtained
the eastern portion; the balance of the property, including the old house and his
father's purchase of l837, was released Sept. 29, l884 to George Schenck (a son by
the second wife). Georges Schenck, b. May 26, l845, married Feb. J7, J869 Annie
Blanche Kilgour. He was still living in his father's home in J890, and his children
were the third generation of Schencks to occupy it.
Until the end of the nineteenth century, the house was in rural surroundings.
It stood in the east end of the town of Flatbush, at the end of the road to the .church
and village. It has been tom down since J925 to make room for a row of modem
buildings. The house was on the north side of Church Avenue on East 53rd Street.

House of Jacob Swaert; the Van Brunt Homestead

formerly at 1752 84th Street, New Utrecht
PLATE 20
On Nov. 22, J652 Cornelius Van W erckhoven bought of the Indians the so-
called Nyack tract on the end of Long Island along the Narrows and Lower Bay.
On Jan. J6, l657, shortly after his death, Jacques Cortelyou, private tutor to his
children and manager of his properties, laid out the village of New Utrecht, con-
sisting of twenty village plots in a square surrounded by the same number of 50
acre farms. The first house here was a small, square one of clapboards, removed
from Gravesend by Jacob Hellakers (or Swaert), a carpenter. In J657-58 he built ·
at New Utrecht three houses contracted for by Nicasius De Sille, Rutger Joosten
<Van Brunt) and Pieter Buy, respectively. De Sille sold his house in J674 to Rutger
Joosten, and it passed down in one branch of the Van Brunt family until finally
torn down in J850. It is reproduced in Stiles' Kings County, v. l, p. 259. Its con-
struction is very interesting, built of roughly cut stone covered with a roof of
rounded tiles. In J660, three years after New Utrecht had been laid out, there were
eleven houses standing in the village. In the spring of 1675 the home of Jacques
Cortelyou and most houses in the village were destroyed by fire.
Jacob Hellakers, alias Swaert, may have emigrated as early as 1634. He prob-
ably came from Amsterdam where a daughter of his was living in 1679. He was a
tllaster carpenter in New Amsterdam in J652 He had a farm in Gravesend in 1657
and removed that year to the new village of New Utrecht, where his activity as a
8I
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

carpenter has been mentioned. He was one of the original commissaries of 1661
and a patentee of New Utrecht in 1668. He was living in New York in 1679. By
his first wife (name unknown), he is said to have had two daughters and a son. He
married secondly Tryntje Jacobs or Teunis, who later (in 1687) -~arried Jan
Stryker. Their only child was undoubtedly William Helleker of Smiths Valley
on Manhattan, who was a ship carpenter; on April 2, J.682 at New York he married
Katherine, daughter of Boelle Roeloffsen, and both died between J.691 and J.702,
leaving an adult son Jacob and three minor daughters. The unnamed son of Jacob
Swaert and his first wife was a carpenter in the East Indies in J.679. He was probably
the Johannes Swaert or Swart who was on the assessment rolls of New Utrecht in
J.693, 1698 and l 706, was a constable in l 700, church officer in l 71 J, and a witness in
J7l3 to the will of Nicholas Van Brunt of New Utrecht. He and his wife Femmetje
had four children, Jan, Barent, Jacobus, and Lysbet, whose descendants are said
to have resided in Monmouth County. It is not known when the house (that part
later the wing) was erected which Johannes Swaert sold in 1714 to Cornelis Van
Brunt, but it was of very great age and was probably built in J.675 after the disastrous
fire which destroyed most of New Utrecht, or possibly even earlier by Jacob Swaert,
the village carpenter.
Rutger Joosten1 Van Brunt emigrated to this country as a young man in J.653.
He was one of the original settlers of New Utrecht in J.657, receiving JOO acres of
farmland and a double village plot east of De Sille and west of Cornelius Beekman;
he contracted with Jacob Swaert to build thereon a house, which was one of the
first four in the viIIage. He became a large landowner and was very influential in
the new village, its schepen and overseer. In J.657 he married the widow of Stoffel
Harmensen, Tryntje Claes, b. about J6l8, living in J.688, and had three sons:
Nicholas, Cornelis and Joost, all of whom resided in New Utrecht. Rutger's second
wife Gretian was living as late as l72l. In J.698 his household consisted of himself,
his wife, and five slaves. He died about l 7l3 in New Utrecht intestate, leaving his
grandson Nicholas (son of Nicholas deceased) his heir-at-law. His lands were
divided among his heirs in J7J 7.
Rutger's second son Cornelis Rutgersz' Van Brunt of New Utrecht also became
a large landowner and made many purchases, including the extensive Pennoyer
Patent in Gravesend and in J7l4 the house and lot of Johannes Swaert in the village.

~•i•
He was an elder of the Dutch Church, a justice of the peace and member of the
Colonial Assembly. On Dec. 18, 1685 he married Tryn;je Adriaense Bennet
~is ;'an~s, w~o died about l738. In l698 his household consisted of himself and
0

l wite, iix children and six slaves. In his will executed in 1748 and probated in
754
' e equeathed to his son Rutgert the Pennoyer Patent in Gravesend a farm
82 ,
 HOUSE S IN KINGS COUNT Y

adjoining the old Bath Road, and various village plots in New Utrech t, and to his
other son Nicholas a farm in New Utrech t west of the tract given to Rutger t with a
house and plot, a tract adjoini ng the hills, and his undivided right in the New
Utrecht Patent.
Comel is' son Rutger t' Van Brunt bought of his brother Nicholas on Jan. 8,
J 752 all his lands in Kings County, when Nicholas planned to remove to Monm outh
County., New Jersey. Rutger t was a farmer., a deacon and elder of the Church , and
a colonel in the militia. He married Eli.zabeth Alberts Van Voorhees of Flatlan ds,
bap. Dec. JO, 1695, d. July J7, J748, and had eleven children. He died April 7, J760.
His younge st son Adrian ' Van Brunt of New Utrecht, b. Nov. J7., 1735, d. Sept. J8,
J785, marrie d Jan. J2, J760 Engelti e Rapalje, b. Jan. J7, J74J., d. Aug. 23, J826.
He cultivated and lived on his Jnheritance, a very large farm on the south side of
the village., extend ing from Main Street to the bay. It was on this farm that the
British landed their forces in J776. Adrian 's only surviving son Rutger t A.6 Van
Brunt, b. Aug. JO, 1761, d. March 7, J8J8, owned and occupied that part of his
father's home farm within the village later cultivated by his son Jeremi ah. On June
J5, 1782 Rutger t married Abigai l, daught er of Jeremi ah Vanderbilt, b. Feb. 15,11
J767, d. Oct. 9, 1828, and had five children only one of whom married. Jeremi ah
Van Brunt, b. Jan 22, 1791, d. about J868, married first Jan. 12., J8l5 Jane Maria,
daught er of George Van Brunt, b. Sept. J5, 1795, d. Dec. 5., J8l8, and had one
daught er Aletta. On April 20, 1835 he married secondly Catharine, daught er of
Abraha m Berre, widow of George Van Brunt and stepmother of his (Jerem iah's)
first wife, and had two sons Jeremi ah and Abraha m, both farmers of New Utrech t.
In 1869 the two brothers and their half-sister released to each other various
properties of their father Jeremi ah Van Brunt, with the exception of the J7 acre
homestead which they were to continue to own in common in equal shares. Eviden tly
this plan did not succeed as the 17 acre Van Brunt homestead was divided in 1879
into many plots., of which the three norther n ones lay on the south side of the village
road: No. l was allotted to A. Van Brunt, No. 2 adjoining to A. G. Cropsey
(originally sold in 1718 by Smack to Rutger t Van Brunt) , No. 3 adjoining No. 2
to T. E. Bergen (previously sold in l7J4 by Swaert to Cornelis Van Brunt) . The
old house, which has been tom down since l 925, is supposed to have stood on plot
No. 3, and to have been the house deeded in the sale of 1714.
The oldest unit of the house, emphasized in the photog raph, has the very steep
roof characteristic of the earliest houses in New Netherlands, built under inspira tion
of the houses in the old country . This was probab ly one of the first houses built in
the village. The main unit of the house was erected at an early date by a membe r of
the Van Brunt family. It is of stone covered with whitewash. A reprodu ction in
83
 HOU SES IN KIN GS COU NTY

Ra mb les abo ut H1s . . B kly n p 21 shows the house from a differe

. tor1 c roo ' • ' d f h nt view
and when it was m . b dit' n. the roof · h
and gable en o t e main ouse were
then shingled. It stooette r con 10 '
d on the south side of wh at is now 84t h S treet, h' h
w ic was the
south side of the village square.

Ho use of Jan Va n Cleef (? )-t he Va n Pe

lt Ho me ste ad
in the Par k at 18th Ave nue and 82n d Stre et, New
Utr ech t
PLA TE 21
Th e Van Pelt house, incorrectly known as the Va
n Pel t Mano~ House, is errone-
ously said to have been built in 1664 by Teunis
Va n Pel t, the emigrant ance~tor of
the family, and to have been inherited by his
son An tho ny. Th e records disclose
tha t neither Teunis nor Anthony ever owned
this property, and tha t the house
could not have been built before 1672 and ma
y not have been erected unt il some
twenty years later. ·
A land dispute between Jacques Cortelyou and
Jan Va n Cleef over property
on Gravesend Bay in New Utrecht was settled
in favor of Cortelyou Dec. 5, 1671,
and in compensation therefor Va n Cleef was abo
ut this time awarded a plot east of
the Road to Flatbush (now 18th Avenue) and
nor th of the Ro ad to Gravesend
(later the King's Highway). Va n Cleef probab
ly forfeited the plot und er mortgage
to Nicolaes De Mayer, whose heirs conveyed
it Jul y J6, J694 to He ndr ick Mathyse
Smack (Smock). Th e latter sold it to Ae rt Teu
nisse Va n Pel t on Ap ril 20, J697.
Van Pel t had occupied the land before this date
under a ten yea r lease from Nicolaes
De Mayer, dated Dec. J2, 1689 and calling for 215
guilders rental per year. it is thus
possible that the old stone section of the house
was erected by Ae rt Va n Pel t about
1690, although it was probably built in the ear
ly J670s by Jan Va n Cleef wit h the
money obtained by the mortgage.
Jan ' Va n Cleef was born about J628 and em
igrated in J653, probably from
Cleef in the Netherlands. He was ·a farmer in
Gravesend in J656 and settled in
New Utrecht by 1659, where he became a pat
entee and a member of the Church,
and where he took the oath of allegiance in
J68
daughter of Laurens Pietersen, and had severa 7. By J662 he married Engeltje,
l children.
Th e ancestor of the Va n Pel t family was Teu nis
Jan sen ' Lan en Va n Pelt, who
emigrated on the Ros etr ee in J663 with his fam
ily from the Pro vin ce of Liege in
No rth Belgium. He eventu~lly settled in Ne w
Utr ech t, where he bou ght lands in
1675-78 and was a patentee m 1686. He was kno
wn as Tu nis the fisher. By his wife
Grietje Jans, he had six sons and two daught
ers, and by his second wife Gertrude
Jan s Otter, a widow, whom he married Au g.
2, 1696, he had three more daughters.
Ae rt Teunise' Va n Pelt, one of the younger
sons, was bor n in this country. On
84
 HOUSE S IN KINGS COUN TY

Sept. JO, 1686 at New York he marrie d Nieltje Janse n Van Tuy! and had eight
children: Petru s and Jan, both of New Utrec ht, Aert of Flatla nds, and five daugh -
ters. He was a magis trate in 1698 and a captain of the militia in J7J5. Short ly after
his marria ge, as detailed above, he leased the plot in the viliage of New Utrec ht
which has become associated with his family's name, and purchased it in 1697.
He also bough t planta tions No. J J and No. JO nearb y on the west side of the road
( now l 8th Aven ue), but had disposed of some of his prope rty before J 706 when he
was assessed for only 80 acres. His house passed to his eldest son, Petrus Aertse"
Van Pelt, who marrie d Oct. J9, J734 Antje Dorla nd and had five sons and four
daughters.
Petru s Van Pelt was a captain of the colonial militia in J 758 and was an old
man at the time of the Revol ution. On the night of June J3, J778 Capt. Willia m
Marri ner led a raid to captur e some Britis h officers. He called on "Old Man Van
Pelt" for advice, knock ing softly on his window, and he sent them to his son Rem's
house, where they made their plans resulting in a successful raid. The brothe rs
Rem and Aert Van Pelt and two Van Brunt s were arrested on suspicion by the
British author ities, but released as nothin g could be proved agains t them. Upon
one of the panes of the Van Pelt homestead are scratched the names of the prisoners
confined here under Howe 's orders.
Petrus" Van Pelt died Sept. 6, J 78J at New Utrec ht, leaving his home to his
son Aert. Aert' Van Pelt, b. Oct. 20, J748, died about J830, married Femm etje
Ste11enwerf but left no issue; on his death he willed the paternal homestead, subjec t
to payme nts, to his grand nephe w John L. Van Pelt, son of Jacob , the son of Rem,
who had both predeceased the testator. Aert's older brothe r Rem• Van Pelt, b. April
17, 1738 at New Utrec ht, d. March 8, J829 at Brooklyn, married Nov. 24, 1767 Ida,
daughter of Jacob us Lefferts, b. Jan. 26, J745, d. July 2, J828. His only son Jacobs
Van Pelt, b. March JO, J 774 at New Utrech t, d. Oct. J6, J827 before his father,
married Marit ie Lott. Jacob 's only son John Lott' Van Pelt, b. Aug. J, J806 at New
Utrecht, d. J885, marrie d Dec. J7, J834 Anna Maria , daugh ter of Timo thy Cortel-
you. John L. Van Pelt inheri ted from his greatuncle the family homestead on the
King's Highw ay in New Utrec ht but did not reside here. He was born and lived in
a house on 86th Street and 20th Avenu e in New Utrec ht, where his father Jacob
had been born and lived before him, and where his son Town send was born. John's
son Town send Cortelyou1 Van Pelt, b. Nov. J3, J837 in New Utrec ht, marrie d
Oct. 24, J866 Maria Elizab eth, daugh ter of John Ditma rs, b. Sept. 24, J843. After
their marria ge Town send and Maria Van Pelt moved into the old family homestead
on the King' s Highw ay, put in heat and improved the second story, and were still
residing here in the begin ning of the twentieth centur y. The prope rty has been
bought by the city and converted into a small park.
85
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUN TY

The house was erected in sections at three separate times. The earliest part
is built of undressed stone, covered with whitewash. This unit is very narrow
,
only about two-thirds of the depth of the pr~sent hous~ Some time. before
the
Revolution, the house was deepened and the ridgepole raised and carried back,
in
order that the front and rear slopes of the new gable roof should be equal in length
and have the same slant. A view from the road on the west shows this additi
on
plainly, as the newer part is covered with shingles. The wing was added at some
later date. The lie-on-your-stomach windows may have been added by Townsend
Van Pelt, when he added the bay window and dormers, and the gingerbread
supports for the roof overhang.
The house stands on the east side of the old village square. To the south is
the Dutch church of New Utrecht, used during the Revolution by the British
as
a hospital. Between the Van Pelt house and the church ran the King 's Highw
ay,
which went eastward to Gravesend and Flatlands and then northward to the New
Lots of Flatbush, where it connected with the Road to the Ferry and so reache
d
Manhattan. On the west side of the house was the Flatb ush or New Utrecht Road,
which ran northeastward from the village to the Martense farm in the western part
of Flatbush, and connected with the rough road over the hills to Manhattan.
An
old milestone by the house records that it was 6 or l0 miles from New York (by
the
two different routes), l5 miles to Jamaica, and 2½ miles to Denys's Ferry
to
Staten Island. Along the King' s Highway passed the traffic of the day from
New York City to Philadelphia. The Van Pelt house stands on the east side
of
l8th Avenue between 8lst and 82nd Streets, facing the latter.

Hous e of Paul us Van Ende n, later Beeg el's and Onde rdon k's
1416 Flush ing A venue, Bushw ick
PLAT E 22
This is one of the very few stone houses in King s County. Long Island is a
wooded rather than a stony land, and most of its early houses were built of wood,
unlike the houses on the west shore of the Hudson River which were built of sand-
stone from the local quarries. Bemardus Smith, who about J690 inherited the tract
to the south, later Wyckoff's, came into the possession of this adjoining tract. An
early undated Queens County deed records the transfer of land here from Bemardus
Smith to Edward Stevenson; in J709 John Stevenson sold to Tunis Titus a tract
of 350 acres which extended to the Maspeth Kills, and much of which came into
the hands of the Schenk and Wyckoff families (see plate J6). On April 22, J709
T eunis Titus and his wife Mary sold to Paulu s V ander Ende a plantation in Bush·
wick of JOO acres, laid out by Peter Cotilleou, surveyor, bounded northwest by
the
86
 HOUSE S IN KINGS COUN TY

and
highway (from Bushwick to Newtown), northeast by Peter Lott, southeast
in
southwest by T eunis Titus . This plantation was later adjudged to lie partly
Newtown, Queens County.
Paulu s Van Enden , as he wrote his name in his will, lived in Bushwick, and
was
undoubtedly spent his later years in the stone house which stiII stands here. He
baptized Dec. 28, 1679 in Utrecht, son of Bastiaen Van den Ende of Amsterdam
and Sophi a Van Cortlandt. His mother was a first cousin of Stephanus Van Cort-
of
landt, first Lord of the Manor, of Catharina the wife of Frederick Philipse, and
ors
Jacobus Van Cortlandt. Catharina and Jacobus, just mentioned, acted as spons
in l 706 for Paulu s' child Catryna. J annetie, the wife of Paulu s Van Enden
, was
ick
probably Janne tie Hendricks, bap. at Flatbush June 23, l685, daughter of Hendr
emi-
Ryke (she is generally credited with a different marriage). Her father had
)
grated in 1663 and settled in Flatbu sh; his three sons (Jacob, Hendrick and Ryck
. In
took the name of Van Suyda m and are the ancestors of the Suyda m family
his
Paulus Van Ende n's wiII, executed in 1732 and probated in 1737, he mentioned
n,
wife Janne tie, his children Catry na (bap. 1706 in Brooklyn), Hendrick, Adria
ms
Jacob, Abrah am, and Ryck , named as executors his wife, the three Van Suyda
rbilt.
(his brothers-in-law, althou gh not so stated) and his son-in-law Jan Vande
New
The son Hend rick Van Ende lived in the stone house on the plantation in the
the
Bushwick Lots. He died early in life between Jan. 8 and March 2 of 1750,
,
dates of execution and probate of his wiII, in which he mentioned his wife Antie
John
daughter of John Colyer, his brother Abrah am Van Ende, brothers-in-law
Hen-
Colyer and Abrah am Durye a, all of Bushwick, and his four minor children,
of
drick, Janne tie, Sarah and Antie . The plantation eventually came into the hands
is not
his daugh ter Janne tie, wife of Moses Beegel (Beigle, Beadel). His identity
died
known; possibly he was a grandson of Rober t Beedle of Hempstead who
intestate in l 702.
The bound ary settlement of 1769 between Newtown and Bushwick reads: up
along the branc h of Masp eth Creek to the pond near the head of Mr. Schenk's
mill
h
pond, and thence east to Arbit ration Rock, which lies west of the house of Josep
and
Woodward and north west of the house formerly of "Fred erick Van Nand a"
hills
now in the possession of "Moses Belgle," and from said rock southerly up the
rick
to the Flatb ush line. The name in this agreement has been published as Frede
Van
Van Nand a, and is no doubt a misreading of the manuscript for Hend rick
Nanda (Van Ende ).
Moses Beadel and his wife Jenny sold April 29, 1786 to Johan nis Covert (deed
half
recorded Nov. 3, 1866) 48 acres in Bushw ick and Newtown. This was the.south
by the
of the planta tion bough t by Paulu s Van Ende in J709, and was occupied
87
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

Covert family until about J866 (plate 8). How much longer Moses and Jannetje
Beegel lived, we do not know, nor whether they had any children. Wilhelmus Van
Nuys appears in possession of the north half of the plantation twenty years later, but it
is probable that he purchased rather than inherited the house as his father-in-law
was Elias Hubbard. Wilhelmus Van Nuys of Bushwick died in J805, and his execu-
tors sold to John Corzine on Sept. J, J806 a house and 50 acre farm in Bushwick
and Newtown, which ran northeast along the highway, southeast along Woodward's
land, southwest along the land of Philip Edsal, northwest along the land of John
Covert to the road. In J8J2 John Couzine sold the tract to George Ryerson, whose
executors sold it in J82J to Adrian Onderdonk.
Adrian5 Onderdonk, b. Jan. 20, J795 at Cow Neck, d. July 2, J83J at Bushwick,
was a son of Jacob, and a member of the branch of the Onderdonk family which
settled in the town of Hempstead at the beginning of the eighteenth century. On
March 4, J8J9 he married Ann Wyckoff, b. Dec. J7, J793, d. Nov. J6, J863. She
was a daughter of Peter Wyckoff and granddaughter of Nicholas Wyckoff, who
had bought and improved the Schenk farm (plate J6) on the Newtown Road in
Bushwick. In J82J, shortly after his marriage, Adrian Onderdonk bought the Van
Ende farm near his father-in-law's. He had two daughters before he died at the
youthful age of 36 years. In J848 Andrew Hegeman, husband.of Adrian's daughter
Dorothy Ann, released their interest in the property to the widow Ann Onderdonk.
It remained the home of the other daughter Gertrude Onderdonk, b. July 3J, J825,
married Dec.~24, J845 Nicholas H. Schoonmaker, and here were born their three
children,~ Gertrude, Mary, and Adrian Onderdonk Schoonmaker. The house
of late has been known as either the Onderdonk or Schoonmaker house.
The house is said to have been built about J73 J. If correct, it was probably built
by Paulus Van Ende shortly before he died. The house can be compared with the
stone houses of the early eighteenth century in Bergen County. It is built of roughly
cut stone, thickly coated with whitewash and covered with a gambrel roof; the door
and windows are in uneven alignment. The frame wing belongs to the early nine-
teenth century. The house stands on the southeast side of Flushing Avenue (the old
road to Newtown), southwest of Onderdonk Avenue.

The Wyckoff Homestead

Canarsie Lane near Ralph A venue, Flatlands
PLATE 23
"' .
There is great controversy about the age and early history of this house. The
chain of title is dear from the time that Pieter Wyckoff, Jr. bought the property on
Feb. 28, J 737, but it has been claimed that the house was built J639-4J, and that it
88
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

was occupied after J652 by his great grandfather Pieter Claesen (Wyckoff). The
arguments have been exhaustively set forth in Keskachauge and in the W ycko.i
Family Genealogy, of which a brief summary is as follows. On July J6, J636
Director Wouter Van Twiller bought of the Indians a large tract of land in eastern
Flatlands. On April JJ, J64J he reported to the Amsterdam Chamber of the West
India Company that he had caused houses (presumably including the Wyckoff
homestead) to be erected on his land purchases from the Indians after his departure
(in J639) from New Netherland.
The property came under the control of Stuyvesant as Director, since the
original deed to Van Twiller had not been confirmed nor a patent issued to him,
and he kept the farm for his personal use while governor. Van Twiller's and his
heirs' rights were formally annulled on July J, J652 by Stuyvesant, who placed
Pieter Claesen (Wyckoff) as his representative to farm and live on the property.
Their formal agreement is dated July JO, J655, but it is thought that Pieter Claesen
may have moved direcdy into Van Twiller's house when he settled in Flatlands
(which was by J653 and possibly as early as J649). Since it was government
property, the title automatically passed to the Duke of York on the English conquest
of J664, and it became the property of the town of Flatlands under the new Indian
deed of J665 and the new charter. There is no deed known to Pieter Oaesen, but
his title may have been derived or strengthened by the Act of Settlement of Oct. 26,
J683 :-Whereas wars and other causes have deprived several inhabitants of their
deeds to prove their respective rights to their lands, whoever has actually possessed
and improved his land for four years previously, if no legal demand is made in fifteen
months from now, shall be accounted the lawful owner. Pieter Claesen died in J694
and his widow between J699 and J703. There follows a period of obscurity in the
title. In the Woodlands Division of J7J9 the land was left undivided, probably
because the title to it was disputed at the time of the division. In some manner it
came into the possession of the Van Voorhees family, who sold it to Pieter
Wyckoff, Jr. in J737.
Pieter Claesen' Van Norden was a native of Norden, a town near Ems in East
Friesland; he emigrated in J637 on the Rensselaerswyck in the employ of Simon
Walichsz, and lived at Rensselaerswyck until J649. He removed to New Amster-
dam, and had settled at Flatlands by J653, when he described himself as a farmer
of Amersfoort (the old name of Flatlands). In J655, he contracted to cultivate the
bouwery and keep the cattle of DirectottJ Stuyvesant in Flatlands. He was a patentee
of the town in J666 and J685 and a magistrate for many years. He took the oath
of allegiance in J687, stating he had been in the country for SJ years. He died on or
about June 30, J694 intestate. About J645 he had married Grietje, daughter of
8g
 HOUSES IN KINGS COUNTY

Comelis Hendricks Van Ness who survived him and died between l 699 and l 703.
They had six sons and four tfuughters. Their sons Claes, Hendrick, and Gerrit lived
in Flatlands village on lands adjoining Mill Lane; Jan later settled in New Jersey;
Comelis lived in Flatbush, and Martin in Gravesend.
The son in whom we are interested is Nicholas or Claes' Wyckoff, b. about
1646 at Beverwyck (Albany), died after April 27, l7J9 at Flatlands, married about
1672 Sara, daughter of Pieter Monfoort, bap. April 2, J656: died a !ew ~ys befo~e
Dec. 3J, J704. They resided on a townplot in Flatlands village g1ven h1m by h 1s
father, who had bought it Feb. JS, J676/7. On May 2J, 1703 he took title to various
of his father's lands from other heirs of his father. On Feb. 24, J7l4/l5 Claes deeded
48 acres in Flatlands to his son Pieter of Middletown; this is supposed to be a deed
of partition from Claes to his son Pieter, the balance to go to his other son Comelius;
all parcels are described and divided between the two, but the property on Canarsie
Lane is not mentioned, inferring that he did not own it. This son Pieter' Wyckoff,
b. about 1675, d. J759 at Flatlands, married first Willemtje Janse Schenck, daughter
of Jan Martense Schenck of Mill Island (plate 13) who had been a friend of his
grandfather. His second wife Anne Elizabeth survived him. Pieter removed to
New Jersey, living in or near Middletown. He returned-to Flatlands about the time
of his father's deed to him in l7J5, and died here. His son Pieter4 Wyckoff, Jr., b.
March 28, J704, d. Nov. 14, J776, married Aug. 5, J727 Sarah, daughter of Jan
Amerman, b. May 5, J705, d. June 20, J792, and had nine children.
On Feb. 28, J737 Pieter Wyckoff, Jr. bought of Koert and Petronella Voorhees
the house and 42 acres on Canarsie Lane, which remained in the hands of his descend-
ants until J90J and is known as the Wyckoff homestead. Undoubted ly a part of the
present house was standing at this time and they moved in immediate ly; the first
child probably born here was the one who eventually inherited it. He was Peter A.5
Wyckoff, b. May 8, J737, d. Oct. 22, 1823, married Dec. l7, 1768 Heyltie Remsen,
b. April 25, J747, d. Feb. J, l830. It is stated that in l776 a British guard was estab-
lished at Mr. Wyckoff's on Flatlands Neck. The record of 1796 reads that the house
was occupied by Heyltje Wyckoff, that the house was in middling condition, size
29 x 37, value $480., barn 44 x 30, farm of JOO acres, value of farm and barn $2500.
After Heyltie's death, the children conveyed the house and 42 acres on Canarsie
Lane Oct.18, l830 to their brother Abraham. After Abraham' s death in 1846 there
';ere various deeds b~tween the "':idow Ida (his second wife) and sons, until it was
fma11y released to thett son John in 1849. The last of the family to own and occupy
the house was John A.7 Wyckoff (l8l7-l89 l), a son of Abraham and his second
wife Ida. John's widow and five children conveyed the homestead farm May 24,
J90J to Francis Gross, who sold it to the Brooklyn Realty Trading Co.
go
 HOUSES IN QUEENS COUNTY

A close inspection of the house shows that different sections have been built at
various times. The original house was about three-fifths of the depth of the present
one, and might be the house built for Van Twiller between J639 and J64J. The
original cellar, attic beams and floor partitions all extend to only three-fifths the
depth of the present house. At some later date, the building was deepened, changing
the line of the east chimney and the roofline. The oldest shingles are on the southeast
front of the main house, of cypress 42 inches long, of which J4 inches are exposed.
Probably at one time these rounded shingles covered the whole house, but they have
been partly replaced with square cut, shorter cedar shingles of a later make. The
typical double Dutch door on the north front is panelled like the old shutters. At
some later period, the wing was added, its front is of clapboard and the gable end of
the newer cedar shingles. Van Wyck does not consider that this wing was built
before J 784, but the steep pitch of its roof extending to a low level suggests an
earlier date, and was certainly built according to an earlier style. The house has been
for many years quite dilapidated. Before J867 Canarsie Lane was straightened,
causing it to run in the rear instead of in front of the house. Canarsie Lane more or
less parallels the present Clarendon Road for most of its distance, and led from the
Flatbush Road in Flatbush across the King's Highway to the Canarsie settlement
in Flatlands. The Wyckoff house stands on the south side of Canarsie Lane, west
of the modern Ralph Avenue. Several views of the house, showing it in various con-
ditions and from different angles, are reproduced in Keskacha uge.

Houses in Queens County

House of Abraham Lent, later Rapelye' s
Bowery Bay Road, North Beach
PLATE 24

The settlement in which this house stands, the bay and its adjoining shorelands,
took their names from the nearby Poor Bouwery, the farm owned by the Dutch
Church of New Amsterda m and cultivated for the benefit of the poor. Harck Sibout-
sen from Langendy ck married at New Amsterda m Nov. 16, 1642 Wyntje Theunis
from Naerden and had fifteen children. He was a ship carpenter. He settled near the
Poor Bouwery about 1650 and received a patent for his land here July 2, J654. He
Was a freeholder of Newtown in 1666 and died here 1681-84. He was succeeded on
the farm by his son Jacobus Krankhey t, bap. Sept. 7, J659, d. Feb. 18, J729 without
issue, leaving the farm to his nephew Abraham Lent. Catrina, daughter of Harck
Siboutsen, had married about J67J Ryck Abrahams en' Lent, b. 1637 in New Am-
sterdam, one of the purchaser s and settlers of Ryck's Patent on the Hudson River,
91
 HOUSES IN QUEENS COUNTY

near the present Peekskill. Their eldest son, Abraham" Lent, b. March JO, J674, cl.
Feb. 5, J746, lived the first fifty odd years of his life in Westchester County, and in
J729 took possession of his uncle's and grandfather's farm at the Poor Bouwery in
Newtown. Here he built his home, the center room of the present house, no doubt on
the site of his grandfather's dwelling. He was a leading member of the Dutch Church
at Tarrytown and at Newtown. On Dec. 24, J698 he married Anna Catharine Meyer,
bap. March 2J, J677, d. July 2, J762, daughter of Adolph Meyer from Westphalia.
They had eleven children, bom before they removed to Newtown: Ryck, Jacob,
Adolph, Isaac, Abraham, Catrina, Jacobus, Elizabeth, Maria, Wyntie and Ann.
The youngest son succeeded to the farm: Jacobus' Len~, b. July 3, J7J4, d. Dec.
J3, J779, married Margaret, daughter of Daniel Rapalje, d. Sept. J J, J794 in her 74th
year. The farm passed to one of their sons, Daniel5 Lent, b. May 3J, J754, d. April
20, J 797 in his 43rd year, married Dec. 9, J792 Rensie, daughter of Martin Rapelye,
b. Jan. J7, J774, who married secondly Bernard Rapelye. Shortly before his un-
timely death, Daniel Lent sold the farm. Isaac Rapelye became the owner about this
time, making it his home until he died. This Isaac' Rapelye, b. Dec. 23, J782, d.
Oct. 20, J850, was a son of Daniel Rapelye; he married Margaret Polhemus and left
a son Jacob and two daughters. The house was still in the possession of his family
in J923. It is a long, low shingled structure, with its west wall of rough stone. The
wing, which has a very steep gable roof, has an earlier appearance than the main
house. It stands on the north side of Bowery Bay Road on a hill overlooking Bowery
Bay, and on the opposite side of the bay from the North Beach development.

Luyster-Ko uwenhoven House

formerly on the Bowery Bay Road, North Beach
PLATE 25
Pieter Cornelisz' Luyster emigrated in J656. He was a carpenter and lived in
Kings County until he removed to Newtown, where he was a freeholder in J666.
Here he bought the Poor Bouwery from the butch Church of New Amsterdam, a
farm which had been granted to the Church for the benefit of its poor; it extended
from Fish's Point westward one mile along the bay to the Riker homestead. Peter
married Jannetie, daughter of Jan Snediker. After his death in J695, his farm on
the bay in Newtown was bought from the other heirs by his youngest son Cornelius'
Luyster, b. J662, d. J721. Comelius lived at Flatbush until the time of this purchase.
He became prominent in Newtown, a magistrate and captain. He married Sarah
Catharine Nevius and had four sons and six daughters, willing his farm to his sons.
The eldest, Peter" Luyster, b. March JO, J687, d. Dec. J7, J759, inherited that part
of his father's farm which later came into the hands of his Kouwenhoven descend-
92
 HOUSES IN QUEENS COUNTY

ants. On April 30, l7J3 he married Sarah, daughter of Daniel Rapalje, d. Jan. 23,
J773 aged 85 years, and had four sons and four daughters. The second son succeeded
to his father's farm: Daniel4 Luyster, b. Sept. 26, J722, d. May 3J, J788 aged 65
years, married Nov. 29, J744 Anna Van Nostrand, d. June 20, J8JJ in her 89th
year, having survived her husband twenty-three years. They had three daughters
and no sons: Rensie and Anna never married, Sarah Luyster married George
5

Wyckoff of Flatlands. Their daughter Anna Wyckoff_married Luke Kouwenhoven,

b. June 3, l 766, d. Oct. 22, J853, son of Gerret Kouwenhoven of Flatlands. Luke
resided on the Bowery Bay farm until his death. It was later owned by George
Kouwenhoven or Conover, presumably his son. It recently formed a part of a road-
house called the German Castle and has been demolished since the photograph was
taken in J925. It is not known who built the house. The steep roofline and small
windows are suggestive of great age. It was probably erected by Peter" Luyster on
a portion of his father's farm about the time of his marriage in J7J3. The house
stood on the southeast comer of the Bowery Bay Road and the old Trains Meadow
Road, near the shore of Bowery Bay. Trains Meadow was the name of the common
pasturage inland.
House of Joseph Woodward
Flushing and Woodward Avenues, Maspeth
Maspeth or Newtown Creek, which flows into the East River, divided the
Dutch settlements in Kings County to the south from the English settlements in
Queens County to the north. Rev. Francis Doughty and his associates received a
patent for land at Maspeth Kill in J642 and commenced a settlement there, which,
however, was destroyed by the Indians the following year. The later settlement in
this section was often called the English Kills to distinguish it from the settlement of
the Dutch Kills on the south side of the creek, parts of Newtown and Bushwick
respectively. The boundary settlement of J769 between Newtown and Bushwick
ran in part as follows: up along a branch of the Maspeth Creek to the pond near the
head of Mr. Schenck's mill pond (see plate J6) and thence east to Arbitration Rock,
a little west of the house of Joseph Woodward; and northwest of the house formerly
of Hendrick Van Nanda and now in the possession of Moses Beigle (plate 22), and
from this rock southeast up the hills to the Flatbush line. This house of Joseph
Woodward thus immediately adjoins the Dutch settlement, where still stand the
Schenk-Wyckoff, Van Ende-Beegel, and Covert houses (plates J6, 22 and 8).
Woodward's house is typically Dutch in style, a good-sized, one and a half story,
shingled structure, covered by a high gambrel _roof extending to form an overhang.
It is not known when or by whom it was b~dt. If erected by Woodward, he was
greatly influenced by the style of his Dutch neighbors. Joseph Woodward was prob-
93
 HOUSES IN QUEENS COUNTY

ably descended from Lambert Woodward, freeholder of Newtown in J666. A

Woodward owned the property in J806, according to the deed to adjoining land.
In 1873 the owner was H. Diehl. The house is still in good preservation, although
slightly altered by porch and dormers. As it is hidden by porch, vines and trees a
satisfactory photograph is not possible. It stands on the northeast side of Flushing
Avenue, near the corner of Woodward Avenue.

94
 PLATE 7
Cornell-Schenck House
in Highland Park, East New York

This house is believed to have been built about 1760 by Isaac Cornell or his father; it passed by
inheritance into the Schenck family and was inhabited by descendants until sold to the city in 1906. Stone
houses were seldom erected in Kings County; this is the only existing example of the late eighteenth
century on Long Island. The stonework has been plastered and whitewashed; the gable is clap-boarded.
Note the four chimneys, more typical of the Bergen County stone houses than of the Kings County
shingled hou~s. The beautiful sweep of the roofline has not been broken by the addition of modern
dormers. The photograph shows the house in the rural surroundings of the mid-nineteenth century.
It is reproduced by courtesy of Mrs. Sarah Woodson.
95
 PLATE 8
House of John Covert
1410 Flushing A venue, Bushwick

This house is pre-revolutionary in character, but as the land on which it stands was a part of the Van
Ende plantation until purchased by John Covert in 1786, the house may not have been erected until this
later date. It is similar in style to the Schenck-Williamson house in Flatlands (plate 15). The use of
the gable roof to cover a house two full rooms in depth is typical of Kings County houses until far into
the nineteenth century. The narrow window in the rear is unusual. Note the double Dutch door.
96
 PLATE 9
House of Lady Moody(?),· the Van Siclen House
Gravesend Neck Road, Gravesend

Persistent tradition calls this the house of Lady Moody. She was the founder of the Gravesend
colony in 1643 and died 1658-59. It is true that Lady Moody's home stood on this plot of ground, but
the house, in its present condition at least, belongs to the last half of the seventeenth century. Compare
the Sip house in Bergen (plate 107) built in 1664; similar in style and in depth, it nevertheless bas the
early steep roofline which the so-called Lady Moody house does not have. The house has a great deal
of character; the low ceilings and the long sweeping lines of the roof result in its seeming almost a part
of the earth; its charm lies in its conformity with the surroundings. The large dormers are of course
modern.
97
 PLATE 10
House of Pieter Le.ierts
now in Prospect Park, Flatbush

The old Lefferts homestead on the Flatbush Road was burned during the Battle of Long Island in 1776
and the present house was erected on the site by Pieter Lefferts along the old lines. The deep curve
of the roofline is unusual. It is not to be seen in any other Dutch house still existing but can be noted
in the sketch of the Second Church of Breuckelen, built 1766 (Stiles, p. 332). The sunburst decoration
over the doorway is typically post-revolutionary.
98
 PLATE 11
House of Johannes and Hendrick Lott
1940 East 36th Street, Flatlands

The left wing of the present structure is a part of the house built by Johannes Lott shortly after he
purchased the farm in 1719. Typical of the early period are the small window openings, the old windows
with twelve-paned upper sash, narrow lower sashes, and thick moldings, and also the steep gable
roofline with no overhang. The Dutch were masters of the art of compact building and the spaciousness
they achieved in small houses is often surprising. Two bedrooms were to be found under the roof of
this small wing until the partition was knocked out recently. Hendrick I. Lott built the main house and
west (right) wing in 1810 on another part of the farm and moved a part of his grandfather's house to
form his east wing. The difference in the size of windows and window panes between the old and newer
sections is as notable as it is typical. The rear view is shown here. The house is still owned and
inhabited by descendants of the builders.
99
 PLATE 12
House of Adrian Martense
formerly at 21 Church A venue, Flatbush

The wing of this house was the home of Adrian Martense (1707-1784) and was built by him about the
middle of the eighteenth century. The main house belongs to the last quarter of the century. The
combination of gable and gambrel rooflines is more often seen in the Dutch houses of Bergen County.
The roof of the wing is not extended over the rear wall to balance the overhang in front. Notice the
small size of the attic windows.
IOO
 PLATE 13
House of Jan Martense Schenck
on the former Mill Island, East 63rd Street, Flatlands

This house was built by Jan Martense Schenck immediately after he purchased the mill and half the
island in 1675. A much earlier date has sometimes been attributed to the house due to its very steep
roofline, which is comparable to those on the earliest houses in New Amsterdam. The construction of
the house is very unusual; it resembles the hull of a ship with its curved timbers and archlike inverted
frame. An addition, doubling the size of the house, was made in the early eighteenth century and was
formerly covered with long round-edged shingles. Dormer windows of the early slanting variety were
added at some period, and the overhang of the roof was extended and pillars built to form a porch.
The early type fanlight over the door is to be noted. One chimney for each unit of the house is a smaller
number than was customary, especially in view of the fact that the house was situated on a bleak island.
IOI
 PLATE 14
House of Nicholas Schenck at Canarsie
now in the Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences

This house was built by Nicholas Schenck in 1772 on his father's farm at Canarsie Point in Flatlands.
In the closing years of the nineteenth century the Schenck homestead farm became a city park; recently
the house has been removed and rebuilt within the Museum as an example of Dutch colonial architecture.
It is one of the few remaining pre-revolutionary houses with a gambrel roof in Kings County. The
double Dutch door and the small windows are to be noted. Windows of this size were more common
in the early eighteenth century.
102
 PLATE 15
Schenck-Williamson House
East 53rd Street, Flatlands

This house was probably built in the third quarter of the eighteenth century by Martin Schenck on land
near the house and mill of his father, Capt. John Schenck. Later it was owned for almost one hundred
years by the Williamson family. The house is characteristic of a type greatly in favor in Kings County,
used with variations well into the nineteenth century. Note the small size of the windows. The dormers
are of course modern additions.
103
 PLATE 16
Schenk-WyckoH House
1325 Flushing Avenue, Bushwick

The wing of the present house was the pre-revolutionary home of members of the Schenk family, and
was probably built about 1719 by one of the sons of Johannes Schenk, the miller. Nicholas Wyckoff
purchased the property and erected the main house probably in 1788, the year he built the new barn.
His descendants lived here until 1911. The long, sloping roofline on the rear of the wing is a typical
variation sometimes seen in the Dutch houses. The overhang of the roof in front is balanced
asymmetrically by the long roofline extending almost to the ground, and thus including and covering a
lean-to behind the house. The main house is similar in style to many of the pre-revolutionary houses.
104
 PLATE 17
Stoothofl-Bergen House
formerly on Bergen Island, Flatlands

It has been claimed that a part of the present house was built before 1633 as a trading post with the
Indians. The original unit was more probably erected in the third quarter of the seventeenth century by
Gerrit Elbertse Stoothoff. The house passed by marriage from the Stoothoffs to the Bergens and was
occupied by their descendants until sold for a development in 1893. Many changes and additions have
been made, all in the style of the original unit. The main house was enlarged on the west side in 1819.
It is probable that the roof was raised about this time, for the two and a half story height under the long
roofline is to be seen in several Kings County houses of the early nineteenth century; certainly the
original seventeenth century unit was not this high and probably not this deep. The east wing was added
for a kitchen in 1801 and the smaller west wing, shown in the photograph, was not added until after
1824, but they harmonize in style with the main building.
105
 PLATE 18
Stoothofl-Baxter-Kouwenhoven House
1640 48th Street, Flatlands

The wing of the present house is believed to have been built in 1747 but its very steep rooflinc
(emphasized in the vignette) suggests an earlier date. It may have been erected by the Stoothoffs;
certainly it came into their possession shortly afterwards and has remained in the possession of their
descendants ever since, passing by marriage to the Baxters, Kouwenhovens and Remsens. The early
wing has a steep roofline with an overhang only in the front, very small windows and also dormers in
the rear. The main house, built in 1811, is a successful adaptation of the earlier house on larger lines.
The rather ingenuous windows under the overhang are a modern effort to give more ventilation to the
second story without breaking up the rooflinc.
IOO
 PLATE 19
Stryker-Schenck House
formerly on Church A venue, Flat bush

This house was built by a member of the Stryker family, passed by marriage into the Schenck family,
and continued to be a Schenck homestead until recently. The photograph shows the Schenck farm as it
was in the mid-nineteenth century. It is reproduced by courtesy of Mrs. P. L. Schenck. The repetition
of roofline forms a pleasing harmony. The winter door is of course modern.
107
 PLATE 20
House of Jacob Swaert; the Van Brunt Homestead
formerly at 1752 84th Street, New Utrecht

The small wing was undoubtedly one of the earliest houses on Long Island surviving until recently. It
was probably erected about the time New Utrecht was settled in 1657, although it may date no further
back than the fire of 1675 which destroyed most of the village. It was built by Jacob Swaert or his son
Johannes and sold by the latter in 1714 to Cornelis Van Brunt, in whose family it remained until 1879.
The very steep roofline of the wing is characteristic of the very earliest houses of New Netherland.
The main house was probably built by Cornelis Van Brunt shortly after he purchased the property in
1714. Although larger, it resembles the Schenk wing of the Schenk-Wyckoff house in Bushwick (plate
16). The long roofline at the rear probably originally covered an open lean-to; the curve of the roofline in
front suggests that it once overhung the wall. Roof and gable end were formerly shingled, thus giving
the house a more respectable appearance. The dormers and door porch of course are later additions.
This was one of the few stone houses on Long Island.
Io8
 PLATE 21
House of Jan Van Cleef (?)-the Van Pelt Homestead
18th Avenue and 82nd Street, New Utrecht

The original unit of this house is the stone section; it was probably erected about 1672 by Jan Van Cleef,
although possibly not until about 1690 by Aert Teunisse Van Pelt under a leasehold. The latter
purchased the property and it has remained the family homestead until recent years. The stone unit is
only two-thirds the depth of the main house. This increase in depth is plainly seen from the west
(street end) as the newer part is shingled. The roofline had to be changed at the same time. The present
lines resemble the Stryker-Schenck house in Flatbush (plate 19). The wing belongs to a later period
but is undoubtedly also pre-revolutionary. The heavy gutter on the wing, the bay window, dormers, a.nd
gingerbread supports to the roof are all modern changes.
109
 -
----

PLATE 22
House of Paulus Van Enden, later Beegel's and Onderdonk's
1416 Flushing A venue, Bushwick

This stone house was built by Paulus Van Enden or his son Hendrick about 1731. It closely resembles
the Bergen County stone houses and can be compared with the Demarest House at Old Bridge {plate
83), built before 1720. Notice the uneven alignment of door and window openings. The old twelve-pane
window sashes have been replaced by six-pane sashes. The door and dormers are modern. This is the
earliest example of a gambrel roof still existing in Kings County; the gable roof was more often used
here rather than the gambrel roof prevalent in Bergen County.
IIO
 PLATE 23
The Wyckoff Homestead
Canarsie Lane, Flatlands

The original unit, about three-fifths the depth of the main house, is claimed to have been built for
Director Van Twiner between 1639 and 1641, and to have been occupied from 1652 to 1694 by Pieter
Claessen Wyckoff. It came again into the possession of the Wyckoff family in 1737 and remained the
family homestead until 1901. Beams, partitions and cellar indicate the size of the original unit. It is
said that the wing was not added until 1784 but the steep pitch of the roof extending to a low level is
characteristic of an earlier period. Notice the very deep overhang of the roof on the main house and
the early type round-edged shingles, which are of cypress 42 inches long.
III
 PLATE 24
House of Abraham Lent, later Rapelye's
Bowery Bay Road, North Beach

...

The original unit of this house is the center room, erected about 1729 by Abraham Lent. It is built of
roughly cut stone, still to be seen in the west wall. At some early period the east half of the house was
added and the whole building was shingled. The fanlight over the door is very large. The very steep
roofline of the wing is evidence of its age. All units were undoubtedly built by members of the Lent
family. The house was purchased by Isaac Rapelye about 1800 and has since been in the hands of his
descendants. The magnificent box-tree by the door is a reminder of the better days the house has seen.
In the distance is Bowery Bay, an inlet of Long Island Sound.
IU
 PLATE 25
Luyster-Kouwenhoven House
formerly on Bowery Bay Road, North Beach

This house stood until recently on the old Luyster bouwery and may have been built by Peter Luyster
about the time of his marriage, 1713. It passed by inheritance into the Kouwenhoven family. The slope
of the roofline is at a very pleasing angle. Recent use as a roadhouse has rather marred the appearance
of the house and is probably the cause of the cheap porch and railing and of the boarding up of the
stone Dutch oven back. Dormers also are modern.
IIJ
RICHMOND COUNTY

CRIJSER-WINANT-PERO HOUSE
 RIC HM ON D CO UN TY {St ate n Isla nd)
Bay separated
T A TEN ISL AND , the large island at the mou th of New York

S from the New Jers ey main land by the Arth ur Kill and the Kill
attracted the Dutc h in early years but had no permanent settlemen
thirty years after Lon g Island. Stat en Island, with othe r territory
shore, was gran ted by the Dutc h Wes t India Company to Michael
Van Kull,
t until some
on the New Jerse y
Pauw in t630. As
s of the gran t, he
he made no settlement and hence did not comply with the condition
pts at colonization.
gave up his righ ts in 1634. The re followed three unsuccessful attem
y in t639 at the
David Pietersen De Vries received a gran t and started a colon
g the Upp er Bay,
Watering Place (Tom pkin svill e), in the northeastern part facin
De Vries had been
but it was wiped out by the Indi ans in l64t. Before the rights of
State n Islan d; he
extinguished, Cornelis Mely n tried to establish a patroonship on
Indians in t643. He
commenced a settlement in t640 which was wiped out by the
was destroyed
placed another settlement at the Wat erin g Place in t 650, but this also
t659. The various
by the Indians in 1655, and Mely n gave up his patroonship in
tations but were
wars with the Indi ans had proved disastrous to the farms and plan
ended by treat y in t 660.
tinat e (to use
In l66l nineteen Dutchmen and Frenchmen from the Pala
Island. The petition
Stuyvesant's term ) petitioned for permission to settle on Staten
them at Oud e Dorp
was granted and the first permanent settlement was formed by
d from Arro char
(Old Tow n), the site now occupied by St. Mar y's Cemetery, inlan
petitioners and the
and Fort Wad swo rth. Pier re Billeau, a Walloon, was one of the
protection. Dominie
leader of the colony. A small garrison was established here for its
stered to them every
Drisius, who could preach in Engl ish, Fren ch and Dutch, mini
two months.
change. The
The Eng lish conquest of New Netherland in 1664 caused little
nt and religion, but
colonists were allowed to retain their property, local governme
was organized with
were required to take the oath of allegiance. State n Island
1670 Gov. Lovelace
western Lon g Islan d into the Wes t Ridi ng of Yorkshire. In
the youn g Indian
tnade the final purchase of the Island from the Indians, requiring
t for State n
lads to sign the deed so that it would not be quickly forgotten. The cour
d on Lon g Island
Island continued to be held in the nearby settlement of Gravesen
in J683 and State n
until t675. Gov. Don gan called the first Provincial Assembly
county seat was at
Island was then organized into Richmond County. The early
Dorp. In J688 were
Richmond, formerly called Cuckold's Tow n, southwest of New
and Castletown,
established the four townships of Northfield, Southfield, Westfield
corresponding to the earlier precincts and Castleton Man our.
n7
 RICH MON D COUN TY

The settlement at Old Dorp soon spread to the fertile valley near
by, which was
laid out and called the New Lots of the Old Tow n, now Don gan
Hills. In 1671 the
village of New Dorp was settled on the shore east of the prese
nt village of that
name. Afte r the Dutch capture of 1673 and subsequent recapture
by the English,
the surveying of State n Island continued apace and man y settle
rs and speculators
were granted patents, generally for 80 acres or multiples of that
figure. Gov. Dongan
also granted several manorial estates, of which the two most
important were the
west end of the Island (Tottenville) to Christopher Billop and centr
al Staten Island
to John Palmer, who in 1685 sold out to Dongan. A large part
of the west side of
the Island was formerly covered by the Great Swamp, whic
h drained into the
Fres h Kills. Scattered plantations were cleared at the edge of the
swamp but mainly
on the high lands and meadows south of the Kills. The Laba
dists estimated that
in 1670 there were about one hundred families on the Island,
mainly Dutch and
Fren ch.
It is believed that by 1668 the Waldensians had established a Chur
ch at Stony
Brook and the Huguenots another at Fres h Kill (now Green
Ridg e); both com-
bined with the Reformed Church at Richmond village in 1717. The
Dutch depended
for man y years upon the monthly visit of the Dominie from New
Amsterdam; a
Dutc h Church on the north side of the Island was organized abou
t 1680. Comelis
Van Santvoord was called by these two Reformed Churches in
1718 and was the
first Dutc h minister established on Staten Island. The Engl ish
worshipped in the
Dutc h church at Richmond until 1713. A Moravian congregat
ion was established
in 1742 and their church built at New Dorp in 1763.
The original habitations of most families on Staten Island (acco
rding to Clute)
were cabins of squared logs, built for durability. In the course
of time these were
supplanted by more substantial houses, generally of stone, with
long, low, massive
lines. The stone, timber and shingles were procured on the farms,
lime was obtained
from the oyster shells along the shore, and nails were made by a
nearby blacksmith.
As the stones for the houses were gathered together in clear
ing the fields, their
shapes were very irregular and often no attempt was made
to lay the walls in
courses. The steep gable roof was very popular but was seldom
combined with the
graceful overhanging eaves characteristic elsewhere. The hous
es were generally
long and narrow, only one room in depth, and without a hallw
ay. The windows
and doorway were seldom symmetrically placed and their arran
gement varied
greatly, for most of the houses were built before the balanced style
became popular.
Unli ke the houses in the other counties, the original unit was gene
rally the largest
section.
Pete r K.alm, the Swedish naturalist, travelled throu gh Nort
h America in
n8
 RICH MON D COUN TY

48-49 and recorded that: " ••• (We spent the nigh t at Elizabeth Tow n Poin t
17 le settled
near the ferry and crossed over it to State n Island.) ••• Most of the peop
in possession
here were Dutchmen, or such as came hithe r whilst the Dutc h were yet
and other
of this place. But at present they were scattered amon g the Engl ish
prospect of
European inhabitants, and spoke Engl ish for the greatest part. The
d by woods,
the country here is extremely pleasing, as it is not so much intercepte
nue as usua l
but offers more cultivated fields to view. Hills and vallies still conti
houses were
to change alternately. The farms were near each other. Most of the
an orchard
wooden; however some were built of stone. Near every farmhouse was
enclosures
with apple trees ••• ( and) a press for cyder ••• cherry trees stood along the
sown with
round cornfields. The cornfields were excellently situated and either
"
wheat or rye. They had no ditches on their sides, but only furrows •••
by the
The early houses and the identity of their owners were found partl y
(No. 3 l) du
study of a series of maps, the most important of which was the "Pla n
ives of the
Camp Anglo-Hessois dans Staten Island de l 780 a l 783" in the Arch
nal land
French War Department. The text is based largely on a study of the origi
rd Haug h-
and probate records, in which the author was ably assisted by Rev. Leffe
ral criti-
wout, Alexander S. Rowland and Loring McMillen. The latter's architeetu
abou t l 900
cisms were of great aid. With the exception of six photographs, made
this section
and reproduced through the courtesy of William T. Davis, the plates in
until very
were taken in 1925. A great many of the old houses remained standing
to devote
recently, with the result that enough photographs of them are available
ly to houses
an entire book to Staten Island. The account here has been limited large
old family
still existing. A few no longer extant have been included which were
ally wrong.
homesteads and others where their supposed history has been found radic
Islan d and
Many of the houses which have disappeared are reproduced in State n
Its People, by Charles W. Leng and William T. Davis.

IIg
HOUSES IN RICHMOND COUNTY (Staten Island)
House of Nathaniel Britton, later Walton's and Cubberly's
New Dorp Lane, New Dorp
PLATE 26

The father of the builder of this house (the main stone section) was William
Britton. Mention is made of him in l66l as an Englishman living at Maspeth,
the early English colony at Newtown on Long Island. Nathaniel Britton,
probably a brother, settled on Staten Island by 1670 when he was appointed to treat
with the Indians for the purchase of the Island. William came to Staten Island
before J678 when he was appointed constable. He died intestate in J683, and his
widow Mary conveyed land on Staten Island to their son Nathaniel in 1686. The
wife, Mary Britton of Staten Island, had been baptized in the Flatbush Church at
the age of 30 in J678 with her seven children, including Nathaniel aged J3 years.
This Nathaniel' Britton, b. J665, d. about J708, and his wife Mary sold 400
acres at Old Dorp on Staten Island in J694. The following year, on Oct. 28, 1695,
he bought a 96 acre tract at New Dorp from Obadiah Holmes, to whom it had been
patented by Gov. Andros in J677. Nathaniel and Mary probably built and settled
here immediately; they were termed residents of New Dorp in a sale of J699.
Nathaniel died J 707-08, in which latter year letters of administration on his estate
were granted April JO, J708 to his widow Mary, then wife of Mr. Duchan. She
married thirdly Lambert Garrison of Staten Island, d. J725, and was still living in
1754 at an advanced age. Her son Nathaniel' Britton (Jr.) and his wife Elizabeth
(Lake?) sold his parents' home at New Dorp on April 9, J7l4 to Thomas Walton;
they removed to Bybury, Pa., where he made his will in J754, mentioning his mother
Mary Garrison, his wife Elizabeth, and their children.
The purchaser of the New Dorp house was Capt. Thomas' Walton 2nd, b. 1672,
d. J728, son of Thomas Walton of Staten Island, an Englishman. He married Mary
Stillwell and secondly Martha - - - ; at his death he left the farm where he lived to
his wife during her widowhood and all his property to his six children, Thomas,
Richard, Matthew, William, Martha and John. By various releases, the New Dorp
1
house came into the possession of the eldest son Thomas Walton 3rd, b. Jan. 23,
1699 on Staten Island, d. 1780 in Monmouth County. He married Rebecca Law-
rence. They settled in Upper Freehold about 1750, and on June 20, l76J sold the
New Dorp property to Isaac Cubberly. The wing.had undoubtedly been built pre-
vious to this time by one of the Waltons.
Isaac Cubberly and his wife Anne (Joumeay ?) made their home here. He died
121
 HOUSES IN RICHMOND COUNTY

in 1786 leaving a widow, five sons and two daughters. He willed to his son James
the south part of the farm where he ( the testator~ then lived with the buildings
thereon, but left to his widow Anne the right to live in his house during her widow-
hood with their son James. Another son Stephen received the west part of the farm.
Adria Cubberly, spinster, daughter of Stephen and granddaughter of Isaac and
niece of James deceased, granted to Isaac Cubberly 2nd on July J8, J833 all her
interest in the New Dorp estate devised by Isaac to James. Isaac Cubberly 2nd, b.
March J7, J76J, d. here Aug. 22, J84J, was a brother of James and Stephen and
another son of Isaac Cubberly who had purchased the house in J76J. The place was
called The Cedars by this family.
The property was sold by Isaac Cubberly 2nd's executors on JU?e 26, J847 to
David J. Tysen, who resold it two days later to Harriet Lord. She later married
_Mr. Britton, a descendant of the original builder of the house. Their son, Dr.
Nathaniel Lord Britton, a botanist, and his wife Elizabeth Gertrude Knight, later
lived here. In January, J9l5, they deeded it to the Staten Island Association of
Arts and Sciences for its home and for preservation as an example of old colonial
architecture.
The house is in four units. The oldest section is the central unit, built about
J695 with rough fieldstones, very heavy beams, and a huge open fireplace with a
beam across the top. Its moderately sloped roof may be a later change. The wing
has very low stone walls and a very steep gable roof; its ·more careful joining is proof
that it was built later than the main house. The lean-to at the rear of the wing formed
the third addition; its roof slopes down almost to the ground. The frame section on
the road end dates from about J800. There are no overhanging eaves in front or rear.
A photograph of the front view of the house, when it was still a private residence and
well kept up though completely hidden by vines, can be seen in Leng and Davis,
p. 866, and other views in the Proceedings of the Staten Island Institute of Arts
and Sciences, V, plates 6 and 7. The house is on the south side of New Dorp Lane,
corner of Cedar Grove Avenue, near the beach. This locality was the site of the
original New Dorp settlement and was lately known as Elm Tree. The property has
been put in better condition since the accompanying photograph was taken in J925.

Cozine- Bodine-Martling House

40 Wachogue Road, Myer's Corners
PLATE 27

, :his house is erroneously known as the "home of Daniel C>rsen." The latter
lived m the J780s on the bend of the Willow Brook Road, not far from the Christo-
pher house, and later bought property on the Clove Road, where he died in J80J.
122
 HOU SES IN· RICH MON D COUN TY
may have been
The house was prob ably not erect ed before l760 and the build er
the prop erty. It
Garr it Cozi ne, but unfo rtuna tely there are no early records for
to John Palm er
formed a part of the large tract in the cente r of the Islan d gran ted
Earl of Lime rick.
and sold by him in l685 to Gov. Thom as Dong an, who beca me the
was then in the
A deed of l 769 to adjo ining land state s that the prop erty in ques tion
mort gage d his
possession of Garr it C.Ozine. On Apri l 8, l 784 Wilh elmu s Cozine
ged to Jame s
half of this ho~ stati ng that the hous e and land form erly belon
C.Ozine, deceased.
his wife
On June J, J789 Wilh elmu s Cozine of State n Islan d, yeom an, and
.l2s, land and
Phebe, sold to Vinc ent Bodi ne of the same place, black smith , for £394
of the plant a-
lot of salt mead ows with build ings and improvements, bein g a part
the main road
tion form erly belo ngin g to Corn elius Cozine, deceased, situa ted on
nning by a wild
that leads from the New Blaz ing Star Ferr y to the Narr ows, begi
ne, south west by
cherry tree by the road , then north west by the land of Jaco bus Cozi
John Tiso n, east by John Simo nsen and John Wrig ht, then west by Benj amin
midd le or cente r
Seam an, deceased, then north east to a hicko ry tree, north east "to the
of the door that
of the dwel ling hous e, 5 feet to the west ward of the west doorpost
le of said hous e
leads into the entry of the said hous e, from thence throu gh the midd
hous e," north -
along by the parti tion of the west side of the entry throu gh the said
7/J0 acres ; "Ex-
east to the road , boun ded by Jaco bus Cozine to the begin ning , 43
leste d for the
cepting there from and alwa ys forever hereafter that Privi lege unmo
the cellar room
use of Jaco bus C:O.zine, his heirs and assigns, the use of one half of all
s of drud gery
unde r the said hous e, the use of the kitch en and oven, for doin g all kind
shall and may
work, wash ing, baki ng, etc., and that the said Jaco bus Cozine •••
·pass and repas s
from time to time and at all time s hereafter have free Privi lege to
requ ires, and
from his prem ises to the Cella r and Kitc hen as often as necessity
may by virtu e
furth er the said Vinc ent Bodi ne, his heirs and assigns, shall have and
stair way on his
of these prese nts have the liber ty of goin g in the entry to go up the
part of the garre tt." to Vinc ent
Thu s one half of the hous e with the grou nds on that side were sold
mabl y a son of
Bodine and the othe r half kept by Jaco bus Cozine, who was presu
actio ns on State n
Cornelius Cozi ne, deceased. Thes e are the only recorded land trans
ly in the early
Islan d to or from a C:Ozine; neith er is there any ment ion of the fami
New York , cord-
chur ch recor ds of State n Islan d. Ther e was a Corn elius Cosine of
(Man hatta n) to
Wainer who died J762-65, bequ eathi ng his farm in Bloo ming dale
; the
his fiv; child ren, but there was neith er a Jaco bus nor a Wilh elmu s amo ng themJ 773.
J 759 and
eldest of them was Garr et, also of New York City , who died betw een
ne, who retai ned
The hous e is mark ed G. Cozine on the map of J783. Jaco bus Cozi
123
 HOUSES IN RICHMOND COUNTY

one half the house in J 789, seems to have disposed of it to J runes Bodine who at
some period sold it to his brother Vincent .Bodine, but these deeds are not on record.
The will of John Bodine of Richmond County, dated and probated in J778,
mentioned his wife Dorcas, and his seven children: Rachel, John the oldest son,
Mary Egberts, James, Martha (bap. J762), Vincent (bap. J766) and Ann (bap.
J769). They were probably descendants of Vincent Boden of New York, mariner,
who in J735 willed his estate to his wife Elsje. John's son Vincent Bodine, bap.
Nov. 26, J766 on Staten Island, died between J814 and 1824 (according to the mar-
riage records of his sons), married June 7, J789 Jane Blake, and had at least three
children: Martha, bap. J789, John and Vincent, Jr. Vincent Bodine conducted a
tavern in another house further down the road; it was evidently well known, for it
was referred to in deeds even after his death. In l829 the adjoining property of John
Tysen, deceased, was partitioned, and the land was then described as on the south
side of the road leading from the Tavern, formerly of Vincent Bodine, deceased, to
Mersereau's Ferry:, bounded east by Garret Martling (then the owner), etc. On
Jan. l8, l8O5 (recorded l836) Vincent Bodine of Castleton, Richmond Co., and his
wife Jane sold the former Cozine property for £ l4OO to Garret Martling, using the
saine description almost word for word as in his deed of purchase from Cozine; this
conveyance transferred, besides the 43 7/JO acres in the above deed, "one other small
lot including part of the dwelling house that the said Vincent Bodine bought from
James Bodine my brother •••", 2 7/JO acres.
Martling resided here for almost half a century. His father John Martling lived
in a house he built on the Manor Road, and there the son Garret was born Dec. 9,
l778, and died in another house on Manor Road Aug. l5, 1852. Garret married first
Jan. 29, J799 Mary Wood and secondly Oct. 6, l8l8 Catharine Marston, widow of
J. H. Jones. At the time of their occupancy, Watchogue Road was an important
thoroughfare-it was a part of the highway from New York City to Philadelphia,
via Long Island, the ferry over the Narrows, and Staten Island. The road at this
point was quite narrow and had a dangerous curve, so that the coach drivers always
blew their horns loudly here in foggy weather and proceeded only if they heard no
response. On Oct. 2, J848 Garret Martling sold thjs property for $5488. to Alvin C.
Bradley of Brooklyn, being the house and two tracts he had purchased from Bodine
in l8O5 and an adjoining 2l 8/JO acres which he had purchased from John Tysen in
l8l5. The property has since changed hands several times. It is now owned by
Ernest Voges.
The house is a small one; with the kitchen wing on the end it measured 68 feet.
The house is built mainly of unhewn fieldstone, but the front wall is of carefully
cut and jointed sandstone blocks. The stones were formerly·whitewashed. As there
124
 HOUSE S IN RICHM OND COUNT Y

was little or no sandsto ne on Staten Island of a quality for masonr y, it is possible

that the blocks for this house were brough t from nearby Bergen County , New
Jersey. The wing was moved in J920 and set behind the main house, thus destroy ing
the typical Dutch arrang ement. A small hallwa y runs the depth of the house and
has typical double Dutch doors. On the east is a narrow room, used as parlor and
best bedroom. On the west of the hall is a large, square living room in which the
chimney breast is panelle d and the mantel shelf is narrow . The small kitchen wing
connects with this room and formerly had the old type of casement windows. The
house is covered with a steep gable roof, which has a very slight "flip" or curve at
the ends althou gh there are no overha nging eaves. The house is on the south side
of W atchog ue Road just west of the junction with Victory Boulev ard and Jewett
Avenue. A more familia r view of the house is in Leng and Davis, p. 880.

De Hart House
3373 Richmo nd Terrace , Holland Hook
PLATE 28

This house stands on a tract granted to John Taylor in 1680. It is not known
how or when it came into the possession of the De Hart family, but it seems possible
that it was part of the estate inherited by Daniel De Hart and his wife Cathar ine
Van Pelt from her father Jan Teunis sen (Van Pelt), who died 1720-34. It remain ed
a De Hart homestead until recent years.
Daniel 's father, Baltha sar De Haert, emigrated about 1660 from the Provin ce
of Guelderland, in which there is a village of Hart; he or his ancestors were prob-
ably French and his will was partly written in that langua ge. He s~ttled in New
York City where he became a merchant and a shipper, and died in 1671. He had
two natural sons, Matthi as the ancestor of the Elizabeth, New Jersey, branch , and
Daniel, the ancestor of the Staten Island branch. Daniel ' De Hart, bap. Sept. l,
l67l, son of Baltha sar De Haert and Margar et Stuyve sant, widow Backer , marrie d
Catharine, daught er of Jan Teunis sen Van Pelt. He sold proper ty in Elizabe thtown
in l 704 and shortly after that date removed to Staten Island where he lived and
died in 1753, in his 84th year, and was buried at Port Richm ond. Daniel had six
children, all baptized on Staten Island: Daniel ( l 707-1753) of Canada , Baltus ,
Sarah, Elizabeth, Matthy s, and Samuel.
On the map of 1783 the house is marked "S. D. Hart". Samue l De Hart, Sr.,
son of Daniel, is presumably the owner referred to. Samue l De Hart, Sr., bap. Aug.
1717, cl. May 17, 1798 and buried ~ ~ort Richm ond, married Abigail Jones, cl.
April 24, 1804 in her 83r~ year. In his will of 1785, Samue l left his wife Abigai l half
of his farm with the fumitu re; he ordered that his estate should be sold and divided
125
 HOUSES IN RICHMOND COUNTY

between his six children, but that the share of his daughter Catharine, should remain
with the executors during the life of her husband Garret Post. Samuel, Sr.'s six
children were: Samuel, Jr. (bap. 1750), Edward of Staten Island (l753-l79l) who
left two sons, Edward and Abram, both of the Town of Northfield, Catharine (b.
about 1755) who married Garret Post and was living in a house on her father's prop-
erty in l 783, Matthias ( l 758-1849) of Northfield, Staten Island, who had ten children
but was only survived by Samuel and Edward and two daughters, Daniel (l760-
J842) who was a sea captain buried in Canada, and Moses (1763-1831) of Morris
County, New Jersey. The homestead in which we are interested seems to have
become the property of Samuel, the eldest child. Samuel' De Hart, Jr., bap. May 20,
1750 on Staten Island, married Eleanor Van Tine, and died between 1811 and 1819,
the dates of execution and probate of his will. He bequeathed his entire estate to
his wife ( unnamed) for life and then to his sons William, Mathias and John, pro-
vided they paid to Samuel Dehart's children $250. (the latter Samuel was evidently
a son who had predeceased him); he.also left legacies to his four daughters, Eleanor,
Catharine, Magdalen and Abigail, left his wearing apparel to his son Jacob ( who
settled in Michigan), and mentioned among his executors his son-in-law William
Degroot. One of the sons, Matthias De Hart (l783-l820), built a house about 1818
5

nearby on the west comer of Holland Ave~ue.

The old home on the water front evidently fell to the lot of Matthias' brother
Johns De Hart (1790-1872), who lived here for so many years that it has become
known as the John De Hart Homestead. He married Elizabeth Lipscomb and had
6
nine children, including Henry De Hart, who was the last of the family to occupy
and own the old homestead.
The house stands between the shore of the Kill van Kull and Richmond T er-
race, a short distance east of Holland Avenue, in the northwestern tip of the Island.
In its present condition, it only dates back to about l 735-40. Construction shows
that a part of a former building was used in the present one in a rather unusual
manner. The original house faced westerly. Its north end was preserved (possibly
th~ south end had been burned in a fire) and incorporated as the west end of the main
unit of the present house, which was built to face southerly• a new east end com-
~leted the main unit and a wing was added on the west end. This unusual remode1-
lm~1.may fha:e b~n done by Samuel De Hart, Sr. or his father. The very steep
roo, me O t e wmg and the small sized windows are characteristic of an early
period. T~e so-called German hood over the windows and door of the front wall
of the mam house has been cut in twO 1 f
sawn timber h th t 't recent Y or the second story window; its
s s ow a i was not a part of the ~ouse originally.

126
 HOU SES IN RIC HMO ND COU NTY

Dis sos way Ho use

d Vall ey
form erly near the Oute rbri dge Cros sing , Rich mon
PLA TE 29
Mar k Dus och ay; it was
Thi s hou se stoo d unti l rece ntly on land gran ted to
the fam ily unti l the thir d
built by him or by his son and rem aine d the hom e of
ily was Mar c' du Sau cho y,
qua rter of the nine teen th cent ury. The ancestor of the fam
is on May 3l, 1655 whe n he
a Hug uen ot. Our first reco rd of him in New Net herl and
of 3 mor gen s of land in
appeared in cou rt as a plai ntiff con cern ing the clea ring
arri ved at leas t a yea r pre-
Mid wou t (Fla tbus h), Lon g Isla nd; he had prob ably
abet h Ros sign ol, and set
viously. He retu rned to Hol land whe re he mar ried Eliz
atva t. He leased a tide mill
sail aga in for New Net herl and Apr il 2, 1657 on the Dra
following year s leased farm s
on the Mes path Kill from Bur ger J orisen, and in the
For dha m. He is first men -
successively at Crip pleb ush (in Bro okly n), Har lem and
t with Cap t. Bill op concern-
tioned on Stat en Isla nd in l68 l whe n he was a defendan
rences could equ ally app ly to
ing the bran ding of som e pigs . The Stat en Isla nd refe
1683 he tran sfer red his alle-
him or his son , Mar k, who was of age by this time. In
1684 he peti tion ed success-
giance from the Dut ch Chu rch to the Fren ch Chu rch. In
Stat en Isla nd, and it was
fully for a land gran t of 255 acres on the wes t side of
to him and Loc kerm an, and
surv eyed that sam e year . In 1695 mor e land was gran ted
acres and a hou se. In l 702
that sam e yea r he purc hase d from Oba diah Hol mes l 60
pate nt issued for his vari ous
a war rant of surv ey was gran ted him and new letters
ssor, surv eyo r and constable.
hold ings . He or his son app ears on the records as asse
census of l 706; his wife is
He was reco rded as 80 year s of age in the Stat en Isla nd
dren wer e: Mag dele ne, hap .
not liste d and had prob ably died by this time. The ir chil
1658, mar ried Mar tyn Har dew yn, Mar cus or Mar k,
hap . 1659, Jann etie , hap . 1662,
died in infa ncy , and Mar ia,
mar ried Con radu s Boe g, Jean , hap . 1665, prob ably
bap. J669.
-
ny,. Dus way , etc. ) is
The son Mar cus or Mar k' Dus och ay (Du sach oy, Dusocha
bap tize d Mar ch 2l, 1659,
said to hav e bee n born at Mes path , Lon g Isla nd; he was
. 27, J7l3 /l4, the date s of
and died on Stat en Isla nd between Dec. 23, l7l3 and Jan
a is men tion ed in a deed of
execution and prob ate of his will. His first wife Sus ann
as she is not liste d in the
sale Jun e 3, l 703. She had prob ably died before l 706,
ear to give a complete list
census of that date . Thi s census, however, does not app
non e of the thre e sons who
of this fam ily; it men tion s thre e of the daughte~s, but
sons wer e livi ng elsewhere
were all born befo re this date ; possibly the mot her and
his will ; he mar ried her in or
tem pora rily . Mar k's second wife Jan e is men tion ed in
Dus och ay prob ably inhe rited
before l7l2 , whe n they sold prop erty toge ther . Mar k
e land in l 708 and l 710, and
or bou ght the land s men tion ed above, he purc hase d mor
127
 HOUSE S IN RICHM OND COUNT Y

on June 24, J7J2 he successfully petitioned for two lots of vacant land on Staten
Island of about 80 acres each, contiguous to the land on which he resided, bounded
north by the water side. In his will of J7J3 he left the farm on which his dwelling
house stood, containing 85 acres of upland and JO acres of salt meadow, to his eldest
son Job, left the north lot on the water side, containing 85 acres of upland and JO
acres of meadow, to his son Israel (b. J700), left the south lot on the water side, of
similar size and adjoining John Rue, to his son Gabriel (bap. J703), left tracts of
approximately the same size, situated inland on and near a brook, to his four
daught ers: Elizabeth ( wife of Pieter Barberie), Susanna Hendricks, Dinah (wife
of Hendrick Bries), and Sarah (Mary, still another daughter, had evidently died
between J 706 and J7J3 as she is not mentioned in the will); the father stated in
this will that none of these tracts were to be sold, but to be inherited by his children's
issue; the negroes Jack and Betty were to be sold; "my wife Jane is to live with any
of my children she chooses, but if she cannot agree with them a convenient house
is to be built for her at their charge.''
It has been always understood that the house we are interested in was the one
erected in the J690s by Mark, Sr. or Jr. That home was bequeathed to the eldest
son Job/ Little is known of Job other than that he married Sarah Denis and had a
son Johannis, bap. on Staten Island in J723. He sold some property adjoining his
family's to Lewis DuBois in J723, which may or may not have been his father's
home.
As the house in question stood on the water side and was at a later date occupied
by Israel Dissosway's descendants, it seems possible that Israel Dissosway built it
on the north water lot which he inherited from his father Mark, to whom it had
been granted as a vacant lot of land in J7J2. Israel' Dissosway (as he spelled his
name in his will) was born in or about J700 and died J753-54. He was appointed a
major of the militia in J738. He married Gertru y Van Deventer before J723 and
had five children: Israel the eldest (died in J769 in Middlesex Co., N. J.), Cornelius,
Gabriel, Mark (died J766), and Annetie, wife of John Bede!; Israel bequeathed his
real estate to his four sons equally. It seems probable that the son Cornelius obtained
the homestead: he lies buried near the old house and on a map of J783 three adjoining
houses by the water here are marked C. Dusaw ay. Cornelius' Dissosway, b. J73J,
d. Dec. J9, J785 in his 54th year, married first Dec. J6, J756 Catharine Corsell, and
secondly Aug. J3, J765 Mary Baldwin who died Sept. JO, J808; he had two sons
and five daughters: Ann, wife of Joseph Guyon , Charit y, wife of Israel Prall,
Cornelius, Israel (J777-J825), Catharine, wife of Willia m Van Brunt, Mary, and
Violetta, wife of James Britton. In his wi11 Cornelius bequeathed the residue of his
estate to his two sons Cornelius and Israel when they should attain the age of 2J
128
 HOUSES IN RICHMOND COUNTY

years, including the plantation on which he (the testator) resided nearly opposite
Perth Amboy, except for 450 acres which were to go to Israel and Mark, the sons
of his brother Mark deceased, thus leaving a balance of 600 acres for his own sons,
together with houses, barns, millhouses, etc.
On May 12, 1801 (recorded 1813) Israel R. Disosway of Staten Island, cabinet
maker, conveyed property on the north side of the mill race (including the old
house) to his brother Cornelius Disosway, farmer, in a division of the farm
bequeathed to them equally by their father Cornelius, deceased. The son Comelius 5

Dissosway, Jr. lived in the homestead in Old Creicherville; he bought a mi11 several
hundred yards from the house at the mouth of Mill Creek, which he ran and rebuilt
about 1803. In 1801 he married Ann, daughter of Peter Winant, and had five sons
and four daughters. He had died by 1828 when his widow sold some property. In
the 1853 map the house is marked Mrs. Dissosway and in the 1859 map, D.
Dissoway. The latter might be Cornelius, Jr.'s son Daniel W. The last of the
family to occupy this old homestead was Cornelius, Jr.'s daughter Ann M.6
Dissosway, b. August 1812, married Abraham Cole, Jr. (J8J0-J876); they had four
sons and one daughter. On the 1874 map the house is marked Mrs. Totten's; she
was Susanna, another daughter of Cornelius Dissosway, Jr.
The family homestead was a stone house built in the closing years of the
seventeenth century by Mark Dusachoy or in the opening years of the eighteenth
century by Israel Dissosway. It was covered by a gable roof with deep overhanging
eaves both front and back. In the rear was a later frame addition. The accompanying
photograph was taken about 1900. The house was torn down in 1926. It stood in
the fields on the bank of the Arthur Kill off the Arthur Kill Road, near Richmond
Valley and south qf Charleston ( or Crei~cherville). This region was known as
Sandy Ground at the time of the Revolution.

Dongan-Christopher House
Willow Brook Road, Willow Brook
PLATE 30

This house is known as the home of J o;:h ~is~o~rr, who lir,ed ~ur;:ig
the Revolution. It is erroneously believed to veAeen llui y an ear ierf th sop er_
bo h .ddl f the eighteenth century. ctua y it was one o e many
a ut t e nu e O Don an's lands. A very large part of central Staten Island
farmhouses erected on g . 1 and came into the possession of Thomas
ed t O JOhn Palmer m ,, 684 .
Was grant • • ed Governor of the Province of New York m 1682.
Dongan, who was co~i~:r some years, and his immense tract of lands here
He lived on Staten Is!~...
became lmown as the .1v.1.auour.
He later returned to Ireland where he became the
12g
 HOUS ES IN RICHM OND COUN TY

9,
Earl of Limerick, and died Dec. J4, J7J5, aged SJ years. Short ly before, on May
J7J5 he conveyed to his nephews, Thomas, John and Walte r Dongan,
all his
in
Mano ur of Castleton on Staten Island. Walte r Dongan married twice and died
an,
J749. The Staten Island estates were inherited by his eldest son Thom as Dong
26),
who married first Rachel, daughter of Nicholas Britton of New Lots (plate
This
and secondly Magdalena, daughter of Rev. Richard Charlton of State n Island.
last named Thom as was evidently a colonel He made his will in l 765.
The first mention of this particular house and property is found in an advertise-
t
ment in the New York Gazette Post Boy of Dec. 24, J760: Nicholas Haughwou
rly
here announced for sale an 80 acre farm belonging to Col. Dunc an ( that is, forme
saw
belonging to Col. Dong an), with a good dwelling house about 4 years old, a
mill about 3 years old and a barn about 5 months old. A mortgage of June 7,
J768
xi-
by Daniel Simonson and his wife Mary states that this was part of a tract of appro
by
mately J75 acres in the Manour of Castle Town bought from Thom as Dongan
of
Peter and Nicholas Haughwout and their mother. The latter was Nelly, widow
33).
Peter ' Hagewout, whose home stands a short distance to the northwest (plate
tract
No further mention is made of Nicholas who probably died. That part of the
of
advertised by him is next found in the possession of his mother, who in her will
J76J bequeathed "the house and land I bought of Thom as Dong an, lying
in the
later
Mano ur" to her four daughters, Catrina, widow of John Brestead, Dirckje,
later
· wife of Matthias Smith, Nelly, wife of Anton y Brat, and Maritie, probably
was
the wife of Daniel Simonson. Later surveys show that the widow's portion
and
divided into four lots, each of 2J and a fraction acres stretching north and south,
that the house in question stands on Lot No. J.
Lot No. J, the westernmost of the four · lots, came into the possession of
Joseph Christopher after the above will of J76J and in or by J764. On
May
ses,
24, J764 Joseph Christopher and his wife Heirt ry mortg aged these premi
the
being 2J1/4 acres bounded on the north by Abrah am Kruse n (then owner of
Pieter ·Pietersen Hagewout house), west by Peter ' Hage wout and east by Derickey's
the
land. The J770 road survey of the present Willo w Brook Road read: by
partition line of Jacob Mercereau (plate 36) and Abrah am Kruse (plate 32), across
l
the lands of Peter Haughwout, Joseph Christopher, Matth ias Smith , Danie
erly
Simonson and John Wrig ht, to the land of the .said Peter Haug hwou t (form
lots.
part of the share of his brother Nicholas); thus the road crossed° the family's
key
Some time after J783 Christopher also acquired the adjoining prope rty of Deric
that
(Hagewout) Smith, on which she was living in J783; the map of this date shows
Christopher was then occupying his portion as was also Peter ' Hage wout on the west.

130
 HOUSES IN RICHMOND COUNTY

The ancestor of the family was Hans1 Christophel, who was one of the original
group of permanent settlers on Staten Island in 1661. In 1678-79 he purchased land
an~ .a. house fr_om P~eter Pietersen Hagewout in the New Lots of Old Dorp,
ad1oming and 1mmed1ately west of the Stillwell-Perine house (plate 38) ; it is
probable that he lived there until he died (before 1703); his widow Tryntie Barents
died 1703-06. They had at least four children: Stoffel, b. 1676, d. 1727 intestate;
Barent, bap. 1680; Hans, b. 1683, d. 1719 without issue leaving half his lands
to Nicholas and Hans, sons of his brother Barent; a daughter, probably named
Wyntie, who married Aert Simonsen. The son Barent' Christopher, hap. June 6,
1680 at Flatbush, married Anna Catharine, daughter of Nicholas Stillwell, Jr.;
they had eight children and were living on Staten Island as late as l 732. The father
Barent Christopher and his brother Stoffel purchased a tract on the Fresh, Kills
Jan. 30, 1701/2;- it has heretofore been presumed that the Christopher house in
which we are interested stood on that tract, but its detailed division between the two
brothers in 1717 and also the road survey of 1705 locate it as the southern half of
the Isaac See patent on the present Richmond Avenue in New Springville. It is
probable that Barent Christopher's house stood there; that tract passed to Abraham
Jones about 1760. Barent's son John" (Hans or Johannes) Christopher, b. about
1706, married Jane Arrowsmith, probably daughter of Joseph Arrowsmith who
owned land in the vicinity, and had four sons.
The third son was Joseph' Christopher, hap. Aug. 8, l 736 on Staten Island;
he married Charity (Heirtry, Geertruy) Hagewout, whose relationship to the
Hagewout family is undetermined. Between 1761 and 1764 (as stated above) Joseph
Christopher and his wife acquired the Dongan property on Willow Brook, which
has been known since as the Christopher place. They mortgaged it in 1764, probably
to build the large addition, and undoubtedly resided here the rest of their lives.
Willow Brook is one of the many streams which empty into the Fresh Kills,
• •
drammg large territory in the west end of Staten Island, which was formerly
known as the Great Swamp, and which extend d many miles mt~
a · them· ter1or.
·
Joseph Christopher was a member of the Committee of Safety durmg ~e Revo-
lution and it was at his house on the edge of the swamp that the Committee met.
Staten Island was occupied by the British during the greater part of the war, and
the atriots were forced to meet secretly. T~eir kn~wledge of the paths ~ou~h
p bl--1 them to escape from Christopher s house at a moments notice
the swamp ena
when warned of the approach of an enemy. .
The house is believed to have been inherited by the son Joseph' Christ~her,
ainer and removed to a farm on the Manor Road early m the
Jr., who was a cordw
131
 HOUSES IN RICHMOND COUNTY

nineteenth century. On Sept. 4, J827, this property, described as fifty acres on

either side of the road and adjoining the mill, being the estate of Joseph Christopher,
deceased, was sold by the Master of Chancery to David Decker, who probably
held a mortgage on the property, as he was the defendant in the suit. The house
was later purchased by Mr. Standring and is now owned by his descendant, Mrs.
Adelaide Egans, nee Sykes, of Brooklyn, who leases it.
The house is of unusual length; the division of its two units is shown by the
chimney. The early ·portion, which was evidently a farmhouse on the Dongan
Manour and built about J756, is the small one room unit farthest from the road.
A similar addition, almost twice its size, and with two front doors, was presumably
built by Joseph Christopher when he mortgaged the property in J764. The house
is of rough, whitewashed stone and is covered by a gable roof without overhanging
eaves. Porch and dormers are later changes. The house stands on the north bank of
the headwaters of Willow Brook. It is reached by a private lane from the north side
of Willow Brook Road, a short distance east of the point where this road makes a
sharp tum northward to the Victory Boulevard.

House of Jacques Guyon

formerly at Guyon A venue, Oakwood

Among the earliest settlers on Staten Island were the Guyons. Jacques Guyon,
a French merchant, emigrated from St. Martin en L'Isle de Re, and settled on
Staten Island by l670 as a planter and as the agent of Jean Collyn. A tract ·of land
at New Dorp was confirmed to him in J675. On April J8, 1692 he mortgaged his
plantation to Paulus Richards, doubtless using the proceeds to build his house.
He died in l694, and his widow Sarah, daughter of Phillipe Casier of Harlem, paid
off the mortgage in l699. Their house was a part of the beautiful homestead, which
remained in the family until sold and tom down in J924. The elder son Jacques or
James' Guyon, b. about l682, d. 1742, married Mary, daughter of Joseph Holmes,
and had nine children. His father's patent was confirmed to him in J 708. One of
his sons, Capt. James" Guyon (J7J4-J76J), inherited the homestead, and it passed
to his son James/ b. J749, to the latter's son Major James/ b. J778, then to his only
child Ann Bedell" Guyon, wife of Dr. Ephraim Clark. Their granddaughter Miss
Gertrude Clark sold the homestead in J924 to real estate developers, who demolished
it. A fuller account and various views of this beautiful and typical Dutch home are
in the Proceedings of the Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences, VI, p.
l l3. Another view is reproduced in Leng and Davis, p. 902. The house stood on
Guyon Avenue between Hylan Boulevard and Mill Road in Oakwood.
132
 HOUSES IN RICHMOND COUNTY

Guyon-Lake-Ty sen House

Tysen's Lane near Hylan Boulevard, New Dorp
PLATE 31
This house is known as the Lake-Tysen homestead, but it was not until
J8J2 that the Lake family came mto possession of it. An 80 acre tract adjoining
the Guyon patent on the northeast was granted in J677 to Hans Laurence, and later
was in the possession of James Hanse Dye, probably his son. The next definite
record of the property is its possession by Joseph Guyon 2nd, in J772 according
to a mortgage deed to adjoining property and in J773 according to the relocation
of Mill Road. It is probably the unidentified land which Joseph' Guyon, the
bachelor, willed in 1758 to his nephew Joseph, son of Capt. James$ Guyon; the
latter had inherited and dwelt in the family homestead adjoining it on the southwest
(see supra). As construction of the house shows that it was erected about J720-
J740, it is possible that it was built by Joseph$ Guyon, the bachelor. His nephew
Joseph' Guyon 2nd, b. July 20, t75t, married Jan. 27, J773 Ann Dissosway.
Martinew Swaim came into the possession of the property and sold it in l 790 to
Peter Cortelyou, who in J772 had married Addra Guyon.
The ancestor of the Lake family was John Lake, who was an associate of
Lady Moody in the Gravesend Patent of J645. His sqn Daniel' Lake was living in
Gravesend as late as 1694. He removed to Staten Island J694-96 and was still living
here in l7J0. In 1696 he purchased the Billiou patent for land immediately southwest
of the Guyon patent at the Great Kills, and on this property he or his son Daniel
built the first story of the stone house standing until recently near the Hylan Boule-
vard, south of Oakwood. Daniel' Lake, Sr. married secondly in l 683 Alice Stillwell,
widow of William Osborne, and had by her a son Daniel, Jr., who died in l727,
leaving a widow Sarah, and among others a minor son Daniel. This Daniel' Lake
(b. J7J9, d. Aug. 30, J792, aged 73 years, J mo. and 4 days) added a second story
of stone to his family homestead in l786. By his wife Sarah, Daniel had three
sons, William (l750-J783), who predeceased him, Daniel and Joseph. The son
Daniel may be the Daniel Lake, Jr. who lived during the Revolution in a small
house by the mill in the midst of the Great Kills; the house was surrounded by a
swamp from which it was protected by a dyke built around it; it stood at the end
of Mill Lane to the southwest of both the old Lake homestead and the Guyon-
Lake-Tysen house; the small pre-revolutionary unit was ~ged ~y the addition
of a two-story frame building about l 808; this house has since disappeared but
• still owned by the Lake family. To retum to the old Lake homestead,
the propertY 18
the aged Daniel~ Lake bequeathed it •
to h'is grandson Danie ' 1, son of Willi'
am,
1 33
 HOUSES IN RICHMO ND COUNTY

deceased, and this Daniel W." Lake sold it in or about l8l2; it was later owned
by the Lockman and Moore families and no longer stands.
The house which had once been Joseph Guyon's, and which is located to the
northeast of the above two Lake houses and of the Guyon homestead, was purchased
about l8l2 by Daniel W/ Lake, b. Sept. 9, 1780, d. Oct. 6, 1835. He married March
3l, 1803 Mary Gifford and had several children. After his death there was a partition
of the propert y and that portion on which stands the old house fell to his son-in-law
·o. J. Tysen. The daughter Elizabeth P.7 Lake, born in this house in l8l4, married
here July 29, l83l David Jacques Tysen, b. Aug. 28, 1807, d. March 27, 1885,
whose ancestor is believed to have built the Tysen house on the west side of the
island (plate 39). The mother of many children, Elizabeth Lake Tysen, died here
Jan. 25, 1898. The house was occupied until a few years ago by her son Daniel
Tysen and her daughters. It is now owned by the widow of another son, Mrs.
David J. Tysen of Dongan Hills, and is leased to Jack Porter.
Unlike the majority of the Staten Island homes, and probably because it
belongs to a later period than many of them, this house is built of wood and shingled.
It is larger than the stone houses. Construction details place its erection about
1720-1740. Its size, gambrel roof and curved overhanging eaves can be compared
with the stone houses in Bergen County. The overhang of the roof beyond the
front wall is, however, not original; a study of its timbers shows that it was added
at a later date. The small porch at the rear of the house belongs to the early ninetee nth
century. The kitchen wing is also an addition. The house stands on the south side
of Tysen's Lane, west of Mill Road and east of Hylan Boulev ard; the Britton house
(plate 26) is nearby on the east. A view of the front of the house can be seen in
Morris, v. l, p. 335, although the caption there is incorrect.

House of Pieter Pieter se Hagaw out, later Kruse n's and Vreela nd's
formerly on Watchog ue and Willow Brook Roads, Granite ville
PLATE 32

W atchogue Road from an early period was an import ant highwa y linking
New York and Philadelphia, via the Ferry over the Narrow s and the Ferry over
the Arthur Kill to New Jersey. On Dec. 30, 1680 three lots of 80 acres each, in the
rear. of the land of Cornelius Carsen and associates, were granted respectively to
David Thomas, John Taylor and John Fitzgar et. These lots were on the south
side of W atchogue Road and were known through out the eightee nth century as
the "Soldiers' Lots" (so presumably these three were soldier s). Fitzgar et sold his
lot and probabl~ the other two did likewise, or else the grants were declared invalid
for non-occupab:on or some other reason. On Dec. 9, 1697 Peter Peterse n and Co.
134
 HOU SES IN RICH MON D COU NTY
tion ed to be confirmed in
owners of the lots near Cap t. Cornelius Corsen's land , peti
adjo inin g. Pate nts wer e
their possession of the sam e and also of JS acres of mea dow
rsen , Jan Har men sz and
issued on this very day for these sam e lots to Pete r Pete
documents toge ther and
Yellis Inya rd respectively. The se men figure in various
thei r trac ts. The Wil low
therefore it is prob able that all thre e buil t and settled on
pate nts of Pete rsen and
Brook Roa d ran alon g the division line between the
the latte r's pro pert y-se e
Harmensz (the well -kno wn Mersereau house stood on
plate 36).
e became stan dard ized )
The ance stor of the Hau ghw out family ( as the nam
ut 1660. He died shor tly
was Piet er Jans e, who emi grat ed to New Neth erla nd abo
and two min or sons, Leffert
after his arriv al, leav ing a widow Fem met je Her man s
t at Mid wou t (Fla tbus h)
and Piet er, for who m guar dian s were appointed by the cour
stor of the Lefferts fam ily
on Oct. J5, 1662. The son Leff ert' Pietersen was the ance
of Flat bush , who se homestead there still stands (plate JO).
r Pete rsen and Pete r
The othe r son was Pieter!! Pieterse, also called Pete
the Prov ince of Dre nthe ,
Hag awo ut. He was bom in Dyk huiz en in Overyssel, in
1678/9 he sold one- half the
and settled on Stat en Isla nd before· 1677. On Feb . 22,
had previously bou ght from
plantation in the New Lots of the Old Tow n whi ch he
Christoffelsz; this adjo ined
Pier re Bill ou, toge ther with a dwelling house, to Han s
. 9, 1697, as state d above,
the Stil lwe ll-P erin e hou se (pla te 38) on the west. On Dec
The house stan ding on this
he was gran ted the mid dle of the three Soldiers' Lots.
ably erected by him for his
tract unti l rece ntly date s from his time and was prob
loya lty to Kin g Wil liam
home unti l his deat h. In l70l he sign ed the petition of
essed the will of his othe r
together with his neig hbo r Joh n Har men son, and he witn
ring land , whi ch they own ed
neighbor Y elis Ing art; in J 702 the thre e leased neig hbo
in part ners hip, to Jam es Fitc hett , a blacksmith, poss
ibly with the idea of a smi thy
On Dec. 4, 1683 at Ber gen
being conv enie ntly erected near thei r little settlement.
had eleven chil dren : Egb ert
he had mar ried Diri ckje Egb erts of Mid wou t, and they
e, Pete r, Joh n, Geertie,
(died before his fath er, leav ing two dau ghte rs), Alti
ert of Middlesex Co., N. J.,
Hermettie, Abr aha m (die d you ng), Isaac, Jaco b, Leff
ated Oct . 29, J7J6, Piet er
and Lea h. In his will , date d Feb . J3, l7l5 /l6 and prob
utors to dispose of all his
Hag awo ut of Rich mon d Co., yeoman, directed his exec
in the fam ily of the builder.
estate at pub lic vend ue. Thu s the house did not rem ain
e, as non e of the families
Indeed it neve r became a family homestead in the strict sens
identified with it own ed it for more than half a cent ury.
On May 2, J726 Fred eric k Ber ge sold to Gar ret Kro
osen for £253 a farm or
to Ber ge by the executors
plantation at the Sold iers ' Lots , whi ch had been conveyed
osen , Cru sen) , b. May 20,
of "Pe ter Hag oute ," the patentee. Gar ret Kru sen (Kro
1 35
 HOUSES IN RICHMOND COUNTY

1703 on Staten Island, d. May ll, 1760 aged 57 years and ll months, was the elder
son of Hendrick' Kroesen whose homestead stood on the north shore of Staten
Island (see infra), where he had a burying ground in which various members of
the family, including Garret and his wife, were buried. As the Hagawout house is
a large one, Garret undoubtedly purchased it with the intention of making it his
home. He married twice, first about l 722 to Gertrude Van T uyl, by whom he had
three children, of whom only Abraham (b. 1732) lived to maturity. He married
secondly Closha (Claasje, Clausia) Brinckerhof and had six children, of whom
four survived: Maria, b. 1743, Clausia, b. 1748, Henry, b. l752, and Charity. It is
possible that the house was occupied by some tenant rather than by the family, for
Garret's widow Closha was undoubtedly the Widow Krusen who occupied one of
the family homes on the Kill van Kull during the Revolution (plate 40); she may,
of course, have left home for her brother-in-law's at the time of her husband's
death, and tumed over the house to her stepson Abraham. Garret's son by his first
wife, Abraham' Crusen (1732-1771), mentioned in his will his wife Lena, his two
fathers-in-law Johannes Simonson and Anthony Stoutenburgh , his two sons John
and Garret, and three daughters, and left to his brother Henry land to the rear of
the widow Kruse. His executors immediately sold the property. The elder son
Johns Cruser remained in the vicinity as he lived in a house (see vignette) still stand-
ing on the northwest corner of the same road crossing; that house, erroneously
known as the Pero-Christo pher house, was in his possession when it was deeded to
him on May l, 1784 by his uncle, Henry' Crusen of Southfield, and may have been
built by him at that time, as it is not shown on a map of l 780-83; John's greatgrand-
father Hendrick Kroesen had originally purchased the property, then a wood lot,
in J729.
On Sept. 19, l77J the executors of Abraham Kruse sold the house and tract of
80 acres, in which we are -interested, to Isaac Cubberly for £800. He was probably
the Isaac Cubberly, who owned and lived in the Britton house at New Dorp (plate
26) and died in 1786, leaving among others a son Joseph. On Feb. 19, 1784 Joseph
. and Addra Cubberly sold that part of the farm lying north of Richmond Turnpike
to Peter Prall. The will of Peter Prall, Sr. of Castleton, dated 1820 and probated
J823, mentioned various children and grandchildren, and also his wife Elizabeth,
late Elizabeth Mercereau. On May l, 1823 Peter Prall's executors sold to Harmanus
Garretsen an 80 acre tract at the place formerly called the Soldiers' Lots, separated
by a road from Jacob Mercereau's farm (plate 36) and partly bounded on the south
by Joseph Christopher (plate 30). A suit between a large number of people resulted
in the sale of the property by the Master in Chancery in 1831. It was purchased in
1832 by David J. Tysen. It was again sold at a sheriff's sale to Jeremiah Rowland,
136
 HOUSE S IN RICHM OND COUNT Y

to ~tisfy a mlolrtkngage. It was purchased between 1853 and 1859 by Eder Vreeland,
anu is genera y own as his home.
The main section of the h d
1697 ·when he received th ouse was un oubtedly,built by Pieter Hagaw outaabout
bl e patent . It- was a good-sized house of stone with very

_1- Th h
!f
:!:1'a ~:r :::t~ !1:ft ~ gr:h, ~aken about l 900, shows the end and south wall,
0

ap ardmg . The north wall was extensively altered in

lafter
W uays.
t h e ouse
d was tom down about 1912• I t stood on the southeast corner
o a cf Casoguel an Willo w Brook roads in the extreme northwestern part of the
Town o t eton.

Hous e of Peter Hage wout (Hau ghwo ut)

1424 Richm ond A venue, south of Granit eville
PLAT E 33

This house was built by Peter Hagew out 2nd (or his widow ), the son of Pieter
Pietersen Hagaw out, builde r of the house on Watch ogue Road (plate 32), and
remained the home of his Haugh wout and Lisk descendants for about a centur y.
It stands on a 540 acre tract patent ed on Dec. 31, 1680 to John West, who disposed
of it to Corne lius Corse n and John Palme r. Cornelius Corsen conveyed 135 acres
of the uplan d in 1687 to Ephra im Taylo r, who in tum sold it to Peter Hagew out,
the latter transa ction being shown in a deed to adjoining property, mentioned below.
Cornelius Corse n sold an adjoin ing tract on the south to John Shotwell, which was
later conveyed by Danie l Shotw ell to Abrah am Brouwer of Brooklyn, who on
May 5, 1734 sold his 135 acre holding here to Peter Hagewout. That same day
Hagew out sold his origin al parcel to Richa rd MerreII; the highw ay known as
Lamb ert's Lane divides these two tracts.
Peter~ Hagew out 2nd, son of Pieter Pietersen Hagaw out, was born in 1689 on
Staten Island and died 1745-46, presum ably in his Richmond Avenu e house. He
married Neeltj e or Nelly Bakke r, who died in 1761, and had many children. The
will of Peter Hagew out of Staten Island , dated Nov. 27, 1745 and probated April 8,
1746, discloses that it was writte n because he was very sick; in it he bequeathed all
his lands and tenem ents to his wife Neeltie during her widowhood and then to his
sons Peter and Nicho las, he left £100 legacies to his young er sons Egber t and Jacob,
and named his five daugh ters, Catrin a, Derrickje, Neeltje, Geertr yd and Margr eta;
the execu tors were to be his wife and Daniel Corsen; the witnesses were Gerrit t
and Klaes Kroes e and John Roll, Jr. The will of his widow Nelly Haugh wout,
dated Mar h 22 J76J and probat ed April 15, J76l, was also made because she was
sick•, 't b~uea thed "to my son Egber t the plantation and house where I now
dwell 1::th ~t meado ws and buildings in lieu of £100 left him by his father "; she
1 37
 HOUSES IN RICHMON D COUNTY

mentioned two other sons Peter and Nicholas, and left "the house and land I bought
of Thomas Doogan, lying in the Manour" (plate 30) to my four daughters, Catrina,
widow of John Brested, Derrickje, Nelly, wife of Antony Brat, and Maritie (called
Margret a by her father) ; the executors were the son Egbert and John Merrill; for
some reason the daughter Geertryd or Charity, wife of John Christopher, was not
mentioned although living, presumably having already received her share.
Since Peter Hagewo ut left his tenements to his wife during her widowhood
and since she later bequeathed the house where she lived to their son Egbert, it is
probable that Peter Hagewo ut built the house in question a few years before he died.
Construction of the house indicates that it was erected in the period !740-!750.
Evidentl y there was a family settlement whereby the house went after the death
of the widow to the third son Egbert rather than to the older sons; Peter, the eldest,
lived in ( and presumably built) a house in the bend of the Willow Brook Road on
the west end of a tract he had purchased with his widowed mother and brother,
and his house stood immediately west of the home of Geertyd or Charity Hagewo ut,
wife of Joseph Christopher (plate 30), whose home was west of his sister Derrickje
Hagewo ut, wife of Matthias Smith.
The son Egbert• Haughwout, bap. Sept. J6, J726, d. J773, married Eleanor
Garrebrants. In his will, dated Jan. 28, J773 and probated March JJ, J773, he left
all his estate (therefore including the homestead) to his wife Nelly during her
widowhood, and eventually to his five children "now born and the child as my dear
wife is like to have"; the executors were his wife, Joseph Christopher and Daniel
Gerbrantz. The six children were: Peter, Francis, Egbert, ijleanor, Elizabeth, wife
of John Merrill, and Ann, wife of Thomas Lisk. The Widow Eleanor resided in
the homestead at the time qf the Revolution. She deeded 50 acres of the homestead
farm to her son Peter Haughw out on April 7, J806; this included the old house, as
it was bounded on the north by the nearby Merrell tract. It was bounded on the
south by the land of Francis Haughw out, who had therefore received that 50 acre
tract from his mother, and who in J8J3 sold his portion to John Merrill, presumably
his brother-in-law. Egbert's widow confirmed these conveyances in her will, dated
Oct. 5, J8l8 and probated Feb. J3, l82J, in which she devised to the children of her
son Peter Haughw out the farm whereon she then resided, and to her son Francis
the house and premises whereon he then resided. The elder son, Peter E.6 Haugh-
wout, b. May J, J762, d. July 3, l8J5 before his mother, married Hannah Bogert
and had six children. In his will, Peter ordered that after his mother's death the
homestead farm should be sold at public vendue. From a deed given by his son
Egbert P. Haughw out for an adjoining parcel, we find that the farm had been
purchased from the estate of Peter E. Haughw out, deceased, by Thomas Lisk.
138
 HO USE S IN RIC HM ON D CO UNT Y

wo ut hom este ad afte r J82J, wa s a

Th om as Lis k, wh o pur cha sed the Ha ugh
in- law of Pet er E. Ha ugh wo ut, the last ow ner of this nam e. On Sep t. J4,
brothe r~
dau ght er of Eg ber t and gra ndd aug hte r
J794 Th om as ma rrie d An n Ha ugh wo ut,
se. On Ma rch J4, J837 Eg ber t Lis k and
of Pet er Ha gew out , wh o had bui lt the hou
his wif e, and Na tha n Cro che ron and his wif e Ele ano r Lis k, chi ldre n of
Phebe,
cribed as the "la te residence of Pet er E.
Tho ma s Lis k, deceased, sol d the farm , des
ugh wo ut," to the ir bro the r Joh n Lis k, sometimes kno wn as Joh n T. Lis k. On
Ha
n dat e the hei rs and gra nte es of Joh n T. Lis k conveyed the pro per ty to
an unk now
, wh o disposed of it in J877. It is not
Sar ah R. De cke r, wif e of Da vid D. Dec ker
tive of the family.
lmown wh eth er Sar ah R. De cke r wa s a rela
y J, J88 4 Sam uel P. Wh ite and Sop hia , his wife, sol d to Ch arle s W.
On Ma
conveyed Ma rch 4, J837 by Na tha n
Hu nt a far m, "be ing the sam e premises
ed Joh n T. Lis k, and by his hei rs and
Crocheron and wif e to Joh n, sometimes call
es ••• to Sar ah R. Dec ker , and by said Sar ah R. De cke r and Da vid Dec ker ,
grante
d, by dee d dat ed Ma rch 20, J87 7, con vey ed to Sam ud P. Wh ite. " Th e
her hus ban
4; the present ow ner is Charles Hu nt.
Hu nt fam ily hav e bee n in possession since J88
ered wit h cla pbo ard ing and wit h a
Th e hou se is a small, one sto ry building, cov
le roo f. Th e ove rha ngi ng eav es in fro nt were pro bab ly add ed at a late r dat e;
gab
ath ed cor nic e ext end s dow n to the win dows wit h a res ulta nt top-heavy
their she a por ch ove r the fro nt door,
e ext ens ion of the roo f in the cen ter, to form
feeling. Th
f detract from the orig ina l character of
the slat ted blin ds and the composition roo
e before these changes were made. Its
the hou se; an ear lier vie w is reproduced her
ear anc e sug ges ts tha t of a mo der n bun gal ow in ma ny respects. Ins ide there are
app
les of ear ly wo odw ork and pan elli ng. Th e house is on the west side of
examp
and some distance nor th of the Victory
Ric hm ond Av enu e sou th of Lam ber ts Lan e,
Boulevard.
He nd ric kso n (?) -W ina nts Ho usele
Ros svil
form erly on Art hur Kil l Roa d, sou th of
PLA TE 34
oldest buildings stan din g unt il
Th e sto ne uni t of this house wa s one of the nan ts, it wa s their family
recentl Lo ng Isla nd• alth oug h not erected by the Wi
e stone is ma rke d "J696 I. H.,'" sho win g
homesty ~nfor ove r a cen ;ur y and a half. On
Hendrickson. Lit tle is kno wn of him.
tha t it :;a s bui lt in J696, pro bab ly by Joh n
the west end of Sta ten Isla nd in this
other tha n tha t he received a gra nt of lan d on
not been definitely determined but
vicinity, the exa ct location of which has
presumably it wa s here. en the Wi nan ts family came into the possession of the
It is not kno wn wh 139
 HOUSES IN RICHMOND COUNTY

property. Our first record of them in this vicinity is in a deed of l 725/26 ( recorded
1752), wherein Israel and Gabriel Dusosway sold to John Andreuvet land inherited
from their mother in Sandy Brook at the rear of the land of Cornelius and Peter
Winants. Sandy Brook was the old name for the stream which emptied into the
Arthur Kill south of the Winants property and north of Kreischerville ( or Charles-
ton). This reference may not apply to the particular property in question. Nothing
is known of Cornelius and Peter, neither of whom is mentioned in their father's
will of l 754. They were brothers of Winant Winants who is the first of the family
known to have owned the house.
The ancestor of the family was Wynant Pieterse, who emigrated from Betuwe
in Gelderland about 1655-60. He settled in Breuckelen, living first at Wallabout
and then at Gowanus, and became a wealthy landowner and a member of the
government. On Dec. 4, l66l he married Anneken Aukes (Van Nuyse) and he
died between Dec. 13, 1679, when a complaint was lodged against him, and
November 1695, when Pieter sold property as his only son and heir. This Pieter'
Winant (Wynants or Wynantse), bap. Sept. 9, 1663, d. Aug. 6, 1758, aged 94years,
was buried on Staten Island. He lived first in Breuckelen, where he took the oath
of allegiance in 1687 as a native, and later at Rossville (some distance north of the
Winants homestead) on Staten Island, where he was recorded in the l 706 census as
40 years of age. He married Anna Maria - - and had many children: Winant,
Daniel, Manuel, Cornelius, Peter (bap. 1707), and Jacob are listed in the l706
census. In Peter's will of 1754, he left legacies to his eldest son Winant, Margaret
(relationship unstated), the wife of John Sleight, his grandson Peter, son of John
Winants, deceased, his son Daniel and his daughter Catharine the wife of Hendrick
Sleight; the balance of his estate was to be divided equall; between his grand-
children (unnamed) ; the original executor had died by l 760 so the court appointed
Peter's grandson Daniel Winant as executor.
. The eldest son ;1,a,s Winant'' Winants; he was a cornetist of the troop of
Richmond County militia and saw service in J739. In his will, dated Sept. 28, J773
and ~robat~d Nov. 23, 1773, he left to his (second) wife Rhoda £JOO, the best bed
~tdhiths' furnitudre, thWeuse of household goods, and the privilege of living in the house
W1 is gran son inant w· t h d
hil h .d h man S, w O was to furnish her with food and firewoo
w d ecasttleewasda wi ow; be bequeathed half of ail his lands and also all his horses
an an a negro oy to his
Winants, deceased, and the other i:iran so_n
dw· mant Winants, son of Abraha.111
Winant Winants deceased. h f i1 of his lands to his grandson Jacob, son of .
and to his son D~iel the btt 1
e e t egacies to his eldest son Peter (bap. J720)
his granddaughter C~tharin e~to fet three houses in Perth Amboy, mentioned
x40 e, ug ter of Abraham, his grandchildren Winant,
 HOUSE S IN RICHM OND COUNT Y

Peter and Lidda, childre n of Peter, the seven children of his daught er Elizabeth
deceased, his grands on Winan t and the other five children of his son John. Rhoda
was the second wife of the above testator, Winan t Winan ts; he had previously
married Ann Cole, who was the mother of Pieter and Abraha m and possibly others.
Abraha m' Winan ts, bap. March l4, l724/5 on Staten Island, d. between J762 and
J773, marrie d Mar y--, who died between J805 and J809, willing her goods to
her three daught ers Ann, Mary and Elizabeth.
Abraha m's eldest child Winan t' Winan ts (b. Nov. 25, l744, d. between July
5 and Aug. l l, l804) inherited that half of his grandf ather's proper ty on which
stood the old homes tead; it is marked W. Wynan t on the map of J783. The name
of his first wife is unknow n; he married secondly Dec. l5, J785 Mary Garretson,
b. July 5, J764. In his will Winan t Winan ts left his wife Mary £300, a bed and its
furniture, and the ·best room in the house while she was a widow ; bequeathed all
the lands in the farm where he then lived adjoining the sound at Sunken Marsh to
his son Winan t, other lands to his other sons and legacies to his daughters. Winan t
6

Winan t, Jr., b. Feb. J, 1799, d. April 30, J87J, married Christina Mary Johnson,
d. Dec. J866, aged 68 years; she may have been a neighbor as the Johnsons owned
the adjoini ng property. At Winan t Winan t's death, the property was divided
between his two children: Wyna nf Winan t obtained the southern 40 acres of the
farm and Mary Jane1 Winan t, wife of James Johnson, obtained the northern 5J½
acres on which stood the old house.
The small stone unit was erected in J696; the stones were laid in mud and lime
made from oyster shells, and there was no cellar beneath this part. It had one of the
rare early primitive fireplaces built out into the room, with a hole in the garret floor
for the smoke to escape throug h and a short chimney to conduct the smoke from
the garret outside. The frame unit was built after the Revolution along similar lines.
A steep gable roof covered both sections. Study of the timbers show that the deep
overhanging eaves were an afterthought and added many years later when they
became popular. The house was torn down about 1929. A Standa rd Oil plant now
stands on the site.

House of Hendr ick Kroes en (Crus er)

formerl y on Richmo nd Terrace , West New Brighto n

Until J83l there existed a stone house on the north shore of Staten Island
which was the homestead of the Cruser (Croesen, Crusen, Kroesen, Kruser) family.
Garret DircksenJ Croesen emigrated from W einschoten in Groningen about J660
and settled at Gowanus in Breukelen o~ Long Island, where he died March 7, J680.
About J.6 6l he married Neeltie Jans, daughter of Jan PieterseJ Staats of Gowanus,
141
 HOUSES IN RICHMOND COUNTY

and had at least four children: Dirck, bap. 1662, who eventually settled in Pennsyl-
vania, Elsje, wife of William aasz, Hendrick, and Annetje, bap. 1677. On
1680 his widow married secondly Volckert Hendricksz. She sold the Gowanus farm
to pay her deceased husband's debts and the children removed to Staten Island,
where their father Garret had obtained a patent to l 60 acres on the north shore on
Sept. 29, 1677. The father's will was lost in a fire and the whole estate claimed by
the elder son Dirck as the heir under the English law. On Feb. 2, 1698/9 the younger
son Hendrick petitioned to be protected in his rights, left him by his father's will
which had been burned, as he had been settled on the property bequeathed him for
twelve years, since he came of age. A family settlement and conveyances in l 709
released to Hendrick that part of the patent on which his house stood for over a
century.
This Hendrick! Kroesen was born about l 665, as he was 40 years of age in
l 706-07, and died in l 760-61. He was a man of education, as the entries in the records
of the new Dutch Church at Port Richmond nearby were made by him in a beau-
tiful hand and good spelling. He married Comelia Corsen, bap. July 24, 1681 at
Flatbush, daughter of Capt. Cornelius Corsen of Staten Island. They had five
children: Marretje, hap. 1698, married Jacob Bergen; Garret, hap. 1703, d. 1760,
who undoubtedly lived in the Hagewout house on W atchogue Road (plate 32) ;
Cornelius; Neeltje, hap. 1713, married Denys Van Tuyl, and secondly between
1739-43 Joseph Rolph; Comelia, hap. 1716, married Jacob Carsen. In his will of
l 760, Hendrick Kroesen bequeathed his homestead and other property to his son
Comelius, other land to his daughter Neeltje, and legacies to his children, grand-
children, and his son Garret's widow.
The surviving son Cornelius" Krusen, hap. Oct. l 9, l 708, d. l 784-86, married
about l 730 Helena, daughter of Abraham Van T uyl, bap. Sept. 22, l 709, and had
three sons. He became a large landowner, among his purchases being the adjoining
farm which had once been Dominie Van Santvoord's (plate 40). The map of 1783
shows that he made his home there while his son Comelius, Jr. lived in the old family
homestead. The will of Cornelius Krusen of Richmond County, yeoman, left to his
son Henry (b. 1731) the plantation on the Raritan River where Henry lived, to
his son Abraham (b. l 735) part of the Vincent patent on Staten Island, and the
residue of his properties to his son Comelius (b. J736), including the farm the
testator lived on and the farm Comelius lived on. In his will of 1807 Comelius, Jr.
left the two adjoining farms in a life estate for his son John' Cruser (d. 1829) with
vested remainder to his six grandchildren. This resulted in the partition suit of
1830 and the sale of the property in various parcels. Parcel No. 4, containing 52½
acres with the "dwelling house" (that ist the homestead of Hendrick Kroesen) and
142
 HOUSES IN RICHMOND COUNTY

the family cemetery, was allotted to the grandson Morris Hatfielda Cruser, who sold
it immediately to John King Vanderbilt. The latter tore down the old stone house
and erected a Victorian, two story, frame building.
The survey of the property, filed for the partition suit of J830, shows the old
stone house to have been a one and a half story building with a steep roof, having
a central d;oorway on the north front with two windows on either side. The house
stood on the south side of Richmond Terrace, facing the Kill Van Kull, immediately
west of the Van Santvoor d-Krusen -Pelton house (plate 40).

Lakema n-Corte lyou-Ta ylor House

Richmond Road opposite the Moravian Cemetery, New Dorp
PLATE 35

The land on which this house stands was granted in J675 by Gov. Andros to
Lewis Lakeman. This name appears on the early records in many forms: Lacker-
man, Lockman, Lalman, Larrman. On March J8, J683/4 Peter Lockerman of
Staten Island made an agreement with George Cumins and Abraham Lockerman,
both of Staten Island, stating that whereas Lewis Lakeman, late of Staten Island,
deceased, father of the parties to the present indenture, had in his lifetime desired
his property to be divided equally between them, said Peter Lockerman agreed to
divide the estate in three equal parts. It is believed that Abraham Lakeman thus
became the next owner and built the main part of the present house. He was born
about J66 J, as he was 45 years of age in J706. The will of Abraham Lakermans of
Richmond Co., gentleman, was probated jn J734; in it he left his farm whereon he
then dwelt to his three married daughters, Hester, Catharine and Elizabeth, directed
that other properties should be sold, and mentioned his wife Anje, his son Jacob
and another married daughter Mary. It is possible that he was also the father
of Abraham, Jr. and Isaac, who were listed in the J706 census as 23 and 2J years
of age respectively.
It is not known when or how the family disposed of the house at New Dorp;
Peter Cortelyou came into the possession of it but probably owned it for a short
time onl as there is no record of his ever living on Staten Island. On Feb. 27, J 7 J4
(record~ J724) Peter Cortelyou of Kings <:aunty, deeded to Rem Van der Beeck
of St t e I land yeoman, and Dorthea, his wife, for £300, a 40 acre tract on the
southas~ ;f S~ten Island bounded by the land of George Com~ons, beginning
at the highway and including the house, ortrd, han: fencing,. and _also a
60 acre tract of uplands on the hills. Thus we ow tCot t e o(Couse w as m existence
by this date. Rem Van der Beek married Dorothea te1eau rte1you) and had
. d on Staten Island between J7J9 and J736. He only owned
c ·
four hildr en b apt ue 143
 HOUSES IN RICHMOND COUNTY

the house a few years and was living in New ·York in J734. Isaac Van Tuyl was
the owner in J7 J9. Isaac, recorded as aged 25 years in J706, married Sara Lakerman,
probably a daughter of Abraham Lakeman, builder of the house, as he stood sponsor
to two of her children and his daughter Esther to a third. Augustine Creed came
into possession of the property. On Feb. J9, J75J (recorded J764) Augustine Creed
and his wife Mary sold to Aaron Cortilieu, all of Staten Island, for £500, a 40 acre
tract of upland, being one-half the breadth of the patent lot, running the length of
the land of George Commons, beginning at the highway and including the house,
etc., also a lot of meadow in the Great Kills adjoining Joseph Guyon, and woodland
adjoining Gozen Adrianse.
Aaron Cortelyou was descended from Jacques Cortelyou, a Huguenot, who
emigrated in J652 as tutor to the children of Cornelis Van Werckhoven. On the
death of his patron Jacques succeeded to a large share of his property and laid out
the village of New Utrecht on Long Island. He was surveyor general of the colony
in J657 and is believed to have made the first map of New York City. By his wife-
Neeltje Van Duyn he had four sons and two daughters. One of them, Pieter Jacquez!
Corteljou, b. about J664, d. April JO, J757, married Dieuvertje De Wit. He was a
surveyor and owned and cultivated his father's tract at New Utrecht. At least three
of hjs children settled on Staten Island: Dorothea who married Rem Van der Beek
(see above), Cornelis, b. J70J, and Jacques, b. about J698. The latter married
Jacomintie Van Pelt and had three children baptized on Staten Island: Deborah
J720, Peter J722, and Nieltje J726. He is believed to have returned to New Utrecht
and was considered one of the most active members of the Moravian Society of
New York in J747.
Aaron4 Cortelyou, supposedly b. J726, d. Aug. 22, J789, is believed to be a son
of Jacques, but as the latter's family seems to be accounted for, he may be a son of
Comelis. CoL Aaron4 Cortelyou bought the house in New Dorp in J75J and made
his home here. He and Cornelius Cortelyou were among those who in J762 petitioned
to the Moravian Church at Bethlehem, Pa., that a church be established on Staten
Island. The petition was granted, and Aaron was one of the original members of
the Moravian Church at New Dorp opposite his home. Aaron was a patriot and a
delegate to the Provincial Congress; he managed a store both before and after the
war. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Peter Androvet of Staten Island, who
mentioned them in his will of J76J. In J789 Aaron Cortelyou of Southfield
bequeathed to his wife Elizabeth £500, the furnishings of one room and one horse,
the use of one room in the house while she was a widow and a negro girl; to his
son Peter he left lands, negroes and a legacy (Peter was a farmer at Green Ridge
on Staten Island) ; to his daughter Elizabeth, wife of Richard Seamons, he willed
144
 HOUSES IN RICHMOND COUNTY

the land bought of Creed, which he ( the testator) then lived on; he also left legacies
to his Bedell, Seamons and Cortelyou grandchildren.
On April 13, 1794 (recorded 1801) Richard Seaman of New York City and
Elizabeth his wife sold to Joseph Taylor of Richmond Co., for £1000, the farm
and buildings in the Town of Southfield formerly belonging to Aaron Cortelyou,
deceased, situated on the public road leading from Richmond to Yan Duersens
Ferry. The Taylor family owned it for many years. In 1874 the house was owned
by Mrs. S. Barton and in 1916 by David J. Tysen. It was sold in 1928 by William
Miles to the present owner, Xavier Kirchhoffer.
Both units of the house are built of fieldstone, of various shapes fitted together
as well as possible but with no attempt at courses. Construction shows that the
main house was the original unit. It is covered by a gambrel roof of which the lower
slope is about the same length as the upper. Both sections of the house have very
small windows. Another and earlier view of the house, when the stone was white-
washed and there was a cellar trap door by the main entrance, and before the
dormers and hoods over the doors were added, can be seen in Leng and Davis,
p. 918. The back of the house is shown in the photograph in the present volume,
taken in 1925. The house has been greatly altered recently. A greenhouse has been
built to connect the house with the florist's office by the roadside. The house stands
on Richmond Road, east of Otis · Avenue and opposite the Moravian cemetery.

House of John Roll, later Mersereau's

formerly at Watchogue and Willow Brook Roads, Graniteville
PLATE 36

This house was erected about 1740 probably by John Roll. It was purchased
by his Mersereau son-in-law in 1762 and was until lately the Mersereau homestead.
The land on which it stands was granted in 1680 to John Taylor, and was the
westernmost of the three -lots known throughout the eighteenth century as the
Soldiers' Lots. It was granted a second time on Dec. 6, 1697 to Jan Harmensz, the
two adjoining Soldiers' Lots being then also repatented to Pieter Pieterse (Haga-
wout) and Yellis'Inyard; they were 80 acres each. It is probable that Jan Harmensz
(John Harminsone) lived here in an earlier house. Harmensz is a patronymic and
his last name is unknown. By inference from deeds and wills, John Roll (Jan Ral)
was in possession of the property by 1740 and the house dates from this period.
The name appears as Ral and occasionally as Rol on the Dutch Church records
and as Roll on the real estate transactions. Jan Mangels Ra1 (Rol), also called
Hans Ral (Roi), acted as a sponsor to children of various families at the Dutch
church on Staten Island in 1719, 1726, 1728, 1732 and 1736; he purchased land on
1 45
 HOUSES IN RICHMOND COUNTY

the south side of Staten Island in J722. He was evidently the father of Jan Ral, Jr.
(John Roll), who married Fytje Van Boskerk and had a daughter Fytje, bap.
May 26, J740. She is their only known child. Her father was in possession of the
property in question about the time of her birth and probably built his home here
then. In J745 John Roll, Jr. witnessed the will of Peter Hagewout, who lived a
short distance to the southwest (plate 33). His daughter Fytje Ral, whose name
was anglicized to Sophia Roll, married on Oct. J7, J755 Jacob Mersereau. On
June 7, J762 John Roll conveyed the farm whereon he then lived to this son-in-law.
The first of this family in America was the Widow Mercereau, who came to
New York about J698 with a family of children, two sons and two daughters. Her
son Joshua' Mercereau, b. J667, d. May 23, l 756, aged 98 years and 5 mos., married
at the French church in New York June J6, 1693 Maria Chadrayne, and had at
least four children. Joshua and Maria settled on Staten Island. Their son Joshua'
Mersearau, Jr., b. May 18, J696 at New York, d. Aug. 9, J769* on Staten Island,
married Oct. 2J, J727 Mary Corsen, b. Oct. 21, J704, d. July 8, J763,* daughter of
Jacob Corsen of Staten Island, who mentioned his daughter and son-in-law in his
will of J742. Joshua "Musshrow" (he or his father) of Richmond Co., ship car-
penter, purchased on May 22, J732 a tract of 32½ acres at Holland Hook on the
north shore of Staten Island; it was there that he kept his shipyard. Joshua Mer-
sereau, Jr., ship carpenter, purchased on May l, J758 a 25½ acre tract near the
north shore and adjoining the Widow Arrowsmith's land.
The second son of Joshua Mersereau, Jr.'s ten children was Jacob; b. April
25, J730* on Staten Island, ·bap. May 29th, d. Sept. 7, J804. This Jacob Mersereau
purchased his father-in-law Roll's homestead in J762 and is shown in possession on
a map of J 783; when he had the deed recorded in J792 he was a colonel. He was an
outspoken patriot during the Revolution and fled for safety to New Jersey. On
one of his occasional stealthy visits to his family, he was recognized by a Tory and
had a narrow escape from capture, jumping from the window and fleeing into the
nearby swamp. On Oct. J7, J755 he married Sophia Roll, and had one son, John
(J758-J826) of Staten Island, and three daughters, Mary wife of Thomas Cubberly,
Elizabeth wife of Daniel De Hart and Sophia wife of John Crocheron. Col. Jacob
married secondly March 29, J 779 Charity De Groot and had three sons, Jacob of
Staten Island, David of New Brunswick, and Peter. The homestead was inherited
by the youngest child, Peter' Mersereau, b. July 6, J 788, d. June 2, J879, married
Eliza Thatcher, b. March 6, J796, d. May 25, J874. He was a member of the State
Legislature. After the death of his wife, Peter deeded the homestead on Sept. tO,
J874 to the youngest of his six children, Theodore~ Mersereau, b. Oct. 22, J834,
1
d. Dec. JS, 1875. He married Ann Messier; one of their two daughters was Emma
I46

• Taken from family Bible.

 HOU SES IN RICHMOND COU NTY

Mersereau, wife of Mr. Ettlinger. She sold the property on

May 13, 1896 to Pete r
Clarius..
The house was a long, low building of whitewashed stone,
covered with a gable
roof. It had very few windows. It was built about 1740 and
tom clown in 1913. The
house stood on the southwest comer of Wat chog ue and
Wil low Bro ok Roa ds, in
the district formerly called Butcherville and more lately
kno wn as Graniteville.
W atchogue Roa d was a part of the old road running across
the Island, from the ferr y
over the Narr ows at the east end to the Blazing Star Ferr
y over the Arth ur Kill
at Linoleumville on the west end.

Sim ons on- Bla ke Hou se

2329 Rich mond Aven ue, New Sprin gvill e
PLA TE 37
This house stands on the northern half of the tract at the
Fres h Kills gran ted
to Isaac See on Sept. 29, l 677. The southern half cam
e into the possession of
Christian Corsen who sold it Jan. 30, 1701/2 (recorded 1717
) to Bare nt and Stoffel
Christopher, mentioning the bounds on the north as the land
of Wyn tie Sim erse ;
in the division of 1717 between these brothers, their tract
is stated to be 80 acres or
the southwest half of the Isaac See patent. Thu s we know
that the Simonsen home-
stead land had come into the possession of the family betw
een 1677 and 1702. The
end of this tract lies on the east side of Richmond Avenue,
immediately below the
crossing of the Springville Creek, in the region formerly
known as Kari e's Nec k.
The ancestor of the Simonsen family was Barent Simonsen.
His
Claes married about l 644 Juriaen Blanck, Sr., goldsmith of New widow T rynt je
Amsterdam. In
l 662 they made their joint will, in which she mentioned her
son Sym on Barentszen,
son by her former husband Barent Simonsen; she again men
tioned this son in her
will of 1698. This Sym on Barentszen, a young man from
Amsterdam, married in
the Dutch church at New Amsterdam Nov. 18, l66J Wyn
tie Arents, a you ng girl
of New Amsterdam, and had three sons and six daughters.
The youngest son was Aer t (Are nt) Simonsen or Sym
onsen, bap. May 19,
1679 at New York. He settled on Staten Island as a youn
g man : "Ae rt Blan k"
(Using his step-father's sum ame ), freeholder here, signed
the petition to Kin g
William in l70l . It is believed that his home stood south of the
creek, on the trac t at
the Fresh Kills which was owned in l 702 by Wyn tie Sime
rse, who
his mother or his wife; he later purchased more land nearby. The was presumably
old stone house
here was tom down in 1895 and replacecl with a brick hous
e by David Simonson, a
descendant. Aert Simonsen married twice; judging by the
first names of his elder
children (baptized 1708 to 1717), his first wife, possibly nam
ed Wyn tie, belonged to
1 47
 HOUSE S IN RICHM OND COUNT Y

the Christophel family, who probably lived on the adjoining tract and whose
descendants owned the house at Willow Brook (plate 30) ; he was married secondly
by l 721 to Margaret Daniels. The will of Aert Simonsen of Staten Island, husband-
man, dated 1747 and probated 1753, mentioned his wife Margaret, left legacies to
his two married daughters, Catharine Housman and Anna Crocheron (bap. l 722),
. and left his lands to his eight sons: Simon (bap. 1708), Hans, Arthur , Christophel
(bap. 1717), Daniel (bap. 1724), Barent, Cornelius, and his minor son Isaac (bap.
J734).
On the map of l 783 two houses are marked on the tract, "Simeson" and "B.S."
Presumably the tract was divided between two of Aert's sons and the southem half
fell to Barent, who may have built upon it the house in which we are interested.
Barent (Barnt ) Simonson (Simonsen), bap. July 14, 1728 on Staten Island, died
by 1801, married March 8, 1755 Abigail, daughter of John Crocheron, who men-
tioned her in his will of 1761. The will of Abigail, widow of Barnt Simonson, men-
tioned her daughter Abigail wife of Walter Dongan, her sons Barent, Rheuben and
Jacob, and left to Rheuben the part of the homestead which she bought of her son
Isaac. She evidently referred to a 40 acre tract adjoining the house on the south-
west, which had come into the family in the latter part of the eighteenth century,
and seems to have been part of the land purchased by the Christophers in l 702 Pos-
sibly Isaac was the eldest son and inherited all his father's lands on his death, intes-
tate, and hence the necessity for the purchase of part of it by the widow. The son
Isaac Simonsen predeceased his mother by many years, dying in l 787; he mentioned
in his will his wife Helethay (the widow Hetty was still living in 1808), and his
sons Isaac and Jeremiah (who died in 1808 at Southfield). The son Esaac or Isaac
Simonson, Jr., was probably the Isaac who married Elizabeth Barnes Sept. 25, l 794.
He died in l 842, leaving a widow Elizabeth and three daugh ters; he gave a legacy
to his daughter Abigail wife of Stephen Egber t (he was a carman of New York
when she married him in 1839), and bequeathed his lands equally to his other
daughters Dorothy, and Anne wife of Daniel Blake.
Dorothy Simonson of Northfield (bap. 1797 as Doroth y Barnes Simonson)
conveyed Dec. 27, 1842 to Daniel Blake of Northfield for $2,000. one undivided half
of the farm late of Esaac Simonsen, deceased, bouJ.1ded on the southwest by Reuben
Simonson, on the northwest by Henry Crocheron, on the northeast by the heirs of
Joseph Simonson and John Vallenburgh, and on the southeast by John B. Hillyn,
also another small tract by the Neck Creek, 40 plus 5 acres. Thus Daniel Blake
purchased forty acres of the original homestead of his wife's family. In 1874 he was
bounded on the southwest by M. Simonson (probably Matthias, b. 1806, son of
Reube n), and on the northeast by D. Simonson, undoubtedly the David Simonson
148
 HOUSES IN RICHMOND COUNTY

(d. about 1897) who built the present brick house and probably a son of Joseph
Simonson whose heirs owned it in J 842. Daniel Blake had died by J897. The house
has been owned for the last forty years by William Eith.
It is a one and a half story house built of stone, now covered with shingles for
protection from the weather. It stands in the fields off the east side of Richmond
Avenue, south of Travis Avenue and the Springville Creek crossing.

House of Capt. Thomas Stillwell, later Britton's and Perine's

1476 Richmond Road, Dongan Hills
PLATE 36

In l66l Pierre Billeau (father-in-law of the builder of this house), a Walloon,

and others petitioned to be allowed to live on Staten Island. Their petition was
granted and the first permanent settlement was made at Old Dorp, the site now
occupied by St. Mary's Cemetery inland from Arrochar. A survey of the property in
the New Lots of the Old Town (later Garretsons and now Dongan Hills) was made
April 4, 1685 for Capt. Thomas Stillwell under order of Gov. Thomas Dongan:
145 acres of land in the New Lots at the Old Town in the County of Richmond, a
part of which was formerly granted to Peter Belew (Billeau) by the Dutch and
confirmed Sept. 20, 1677 to Thomas Stillwell by Gov. Andros, beginning on the
west side of a run in the valley by the side of Iron Hill, bounded by land of Hans
Christophel on the southwest and by the highway on the northwest.
Thomas' father, Lt. Nicholas Stillwell, came from an old English family; he
1

emigrated from County Surrey in England to Virginia before J639, when he was
made a tobacco viewer of a district on the Charles River. Having engaged in a land
controversy between Virginia and Maryland, he fled northwards in J6.\5 and settled
at Deutil Bay in New Amsterdam. In 1648 he bought a house, lot and farm in
Gravesend on Long Island, where he lived and became a magistrate. In J660 all
were ordered to live within the village for greater safety from the Indians, but he
obtained permission to remain on his bouwery between Gravesend and New Utrecht,
as he had so many sons he could defend it. At the time of the English conquest of
l 664, he upheld the Dutch; at odds with his English neighbors, he sold his planta-
tion and removed to New Amsterdam, but by 1670 had settled at Old Dorp on
Staten Island, where he was an important member of the community and died Dec.
28, J67J.
Capt. Thomas' Stillwell, bap. July 9, 1651 at New Amsterdam, d.1704-05, mar-
ried at Gravesend Jan. 8, 1670 Martha Billeau, bap. Feb. 8, J652 at Leyden, daughter
f Pierre Billeau and Fran~ise Du Bois. They settled on her father's land in the
~ew Lots of the Old Town and probably built the oldest part of the present house
1 49
 HOUSE S IN RICHM OND -COUN TY

about J680. Thom as Stillwell was an impor tant man on the lsl~nd , constable, sheriff,
magistrate, captain of the militia, and memb er of the Colon ial Assem bly. As his
only son had predeceased him, Thom as Stillw ell .in J704 ~eque ath~ the prope rty on
which he then lived to his daugh ters, Franc es wife of Nicho las Britto n, Ann (mar-
ried first Samue l Van Pelt and secon dly Jacob us Billea u), and Rache l (married
Willia m, son of Willia m and Mary Britto n). Thom as' widow Marth a Billeau mar-
ried secondly Rev. David de Bonre pos, minist er to the Frenc h congr egatio n on
Staten Island ; she died in l 735 at New Roche lle. In l 709 the widow Marth a released
the house in the New Lots to her daugh ters, reserv ing for hersel f "the room over
the cellar in the little house before the great house " (indic ating a different arrange-
ment of buildi ngs than at presen t). That same year Ann, one of the daugh ters, con-
veyed her portio n to Nicho las Britto n, reserv ing the "old dwell ing house " and gar-
den, which eventually also became his; l7l3 Rache l, anoth er daugh ter, sold
her share to Nicho las Britto n witho ut any reservation.
Thus the son-in-law Nicho las Britto n came into possession of Capt. Thomas
Stillwell's house. CoL Nicho las' Britto n, b. l679, d. l740, was a son of Willia m and
Mary Britto n, and a brothe r of Natha niel Britto n, builde r of the house at New Dorp
on Staten Island (plate 26). He marrie d Frances" Stillwell, b. l682, and probably
built the newer stone part of the house shortl y after l 7l3. Nicho las and Franc es had
an only son Natha niel, who marrie d and had childr en but who died before his par-
ents, and also two daugh ters. Nicho las Britto n willed the Stillw ell house to his two
daugh ters, Marth a, wife of Samu el Moore , and Rache l (later wife ~f Thom as Don-
gan). On Aug. l3, l 746, the widow Franc es and her two daugh ters sold the property
to Walte r Dong an, nephe w of Sir Thom as Dong an. He died in J 749, and his eldest
son and heir, Thom as Dong an (husb and of Rache l Britto n), sold the 60 acre tract
on which the house stood to Josep h Holm es, Innke eper, on Nov. J2, l749.
Presu mably Josep h Holm es contin ued his vocation and kept an inn here until
he died Sept. 22, l759 aged 63 years. His widow Sarah died Aug. l7, l775 aged 75
years. Previo usly, in l 764, she had released her intere st in the house in the New Lots
to their only surviv ing child, Ann Holm es wife of Edwa rd Perine . His greatgrand-
father Danie l Perrin emigr ated in l665 from the Isle of Jersey with Philip Cartaret;
in l 666 he marrie d Maria Thore ll, and they settled on an 80 acre tract in southern
Staten Island at the presen t Rossville. Edwa rd• Perine , b. l 729, d. J777, married
Holmes in 1758, and had six children. He was a weaver. They made their home 111
her parent s' stone house, where Ann was still living as late as J800. Durin g tbe
Revol ution so many Britis h soldiers were quarte red here, that, the widow and stx
children were allowed only one room. Capt. Coghl an was among the Bri·r18h sta-
tioned here.
150
 HOUSES IN RICHMO ND COUNTY

Two of the children, Joseph and Henry Perine, who were bom, lived and died
in this house, were each left an undivided half of the house and property. For over
one hundred years, two families lived in the two sections of the house, operating as
independent households. The older or rear portion was occupied by the younge r
son, Henry Perine, b. Nov. 29, 1768, d. Dec. 3, 1860, married 1795 Mary Winan t.
5

Henry was a sheriff and supervisor of Southfield and a member of the New York
Legislature. He served in the War of 1812. His half of the house was inherited by
his daughter Elizabeth Winant Perine, b. Jan. 19, 1804, d. Dec. 6, 1883, married
11

May 19, 1830 Richard Tysen of Northfield. In September 1870, some years before
her death, she sold her interest to Charles B. Waring , who on Feb. 27, 1886 deeded
it to Cornelius L. Perine, occupant of the other half. The front portion of the house
was inherited by Edward and Ann (Holmes) Perine's elder son Joseph5 Perine, b.
1759, d. April 16, 1814, married Sept. 25, 1782 Catharine Swaime. He was a clerk
of the Court of Common Pleas, delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1801,
and Lt. Colonel of the militia. His portion of the house was inherited by his son
Simon Swaime Perine, b. Nov. 10, 1783, d. Feb. 20, 1860, married 1810 Sarah Ann
6

Lake. The front half of the house passed to Simon's son Comelius Lake7 Perine, b.
May 2, 1821, d. March 19, 1896, married Eliza Britton. It was he who bought the
rear half of the house. The house was inherited by his son Hamilton Britton8 Perine,
b. Aug. J4, 1854, who sold it Feb. J3, J9J3 to Donald C. Craig. It was bought Feb.
JS, J9l5 by the Staten Island Antiqu arian Society, now the Staten Island Institute
of Arts and Sciences.
As suggested by its history, the house really consists of two connecting build-
ings. The rear stone house (partly shown at the right of the photograph) is believed
to be the dwelling erected by Capt. Thoma s Stillwell about 1680. One tradition
states that the original house bumed , but this may refer to the old dwelling men-
tioned in the releases of 1709. The stone house nearer the road is later but also
belongs to an early period, and was probably erected by Stillwell's son-in-law Na-
thaniel Britton about 1713. These units are built of undressed fieldstone; the small
Windows are of the early period. The huge beams are still to be seen overhead in
the rnain room of the rear house. Attache d to it (just
off the photograph) is the old
frame kitchen, believed to have been built about 1749 by Joseph Holmes. It has a
huge fireplace and plastered walls. The front stone house lies several steps higher;
here in the parlor is some fine Jacobea n paneling. The front door opens directly into
t~e ?ining room, and off this (partial ly seen in the photog raph) is a frame add~tion,
Sitnilar in lines to the stone house but smaller which is said to have been built as
~ly as 1758, and was used as another kitche~. The dormers are modem. Various
'liews of the house can be seen in The Story and Docum entary H iSt0ry of th e
. 151
 HOU SES IN RIC HMO ND COU NTY
Th
Perine House by C. G. Hine, and elsewhere. ellhouse stands on a turn in the old
Street. A stre am on the east side
Richmond Road, on its east side north of Cro ~ed
of the house was a branch of the stream ( now ie ) which was mentioned in the
up
various deeds as the boundary on the west.

House of Ba rnt Ty sen . .

Richmond Avenue, south of New Spr1ngv11le
PLA TE 39

Thi s house is erroneously stated to h~ve beenhbuil h

t in l 680 by Bar ne Tys en; it
does indeed stand on a gran t of land to him, but t 't elf belo ngs to a muc h
e ouse 1 s
later t'\PNod and was probably built by his grandso
n
r-·
The ancestor of the Tys en and Swau • famil' Barn as
TthTysBen. t
ys aren sen, w ho em1.-
n
grated from Leerdam with his wife and three chil 1es w .
dren on the St. ] ohn the Bap tist
in l66J . He was one of those who formed the
first permanent sett lem ent on Sta ten
Island, at Old Dorp in 1661, and was a schepen
here in 1~73. He _was rec or~ ~ as
60 years of age in 1681 and probably died in that
year, leaving a ~1d ow Scy ti~, let-
ters of administration were granted on his estate Feb
. l, 1682. His son Bar ne Tys
or Tys en received a grant of land at the Fre sh Kill
s in sou thw este rn Sta ten Isla nd
in 1677; if he settled on this gran t it must have
been in an earlier hou se tha n the pres-
ent one. He took part in the expedition against Can
ada in l7l l. He is said to hav e
been married in 1672 to Maria Kroesen, and to have had
three sons, Dav id, Com elis
and Abraham. He married secondly Magdalena Jan
s and had a son Joh ann es, hap .
1680 at Flatbush, one of the sponsors being the gran
dfat her Tys Bar and z. The son
David' Tysen married (supposedly in 1698) Ma
gda lena Mo rga n and had but two
children, Barent and Sarah, before he died in l 710
at an earl y age .
David's son Barnt' Tys en, b. Feb . 4, 1699, mar
ried Oct . 20, 1723 Eliz abe th
Swaim, and had three children,Elizabeth wife of Joh
n Sta ats, Dav id who died fairly
young leaving an infant son Bar nt, and Joh n. As
the pres ent hou se dates from the
second quarter or the middle of the eighteenth cen
tury , it is pro bab le tha t Bar nt'
Tysen built this house; it is marked "Py son " on the
map of 1783. Bar nt's surviving
son was Joh n' Tys en, b. Oct. 30, 173 l, d. Ma rch 7,
1808 in his 77t h year. He lived in
the house on his ancestral gran t, and was the last of
the fam ily bur ied on the pro pert y.
Joh n Tys en headed the Committee tha t address
ed the Pro vin cial Congress in
1775, praying for a reconciliation wit h Eng land ,
but whe n all hop e of this was pas t
he became a member of the local Committee of Saf
ety and a stro ng sup por ter of the
patriot cause. He was a supervisor of Northfield
l 789-98 and mad e the first offidal
survey and map of Staten Island. He was a trustee
and elder of the Dut ch Church.
On May l, 1757 he married Cordelia Ber gen and
had two sons. In his will, date d l 796
152
 HOUSE S IN RICHM OND COUNT Y

and probated J808, John Tysen of Northf ield bequeathed to his wife Cordelia "my
best bed and the furnitu re for same, my best cupbo ard desk and table, and six of my
best chairs, and my oldest negro wench Teen and two cows, and furnitu re for one
room"; he left to his son John all his land and salt meadow which he ( the testator)
had bought from John De Groot and all the land he had bough t of Danie l Simonsen
now in Castletown; he left to his son Jacob all the lands and salt meadow which he
(the testator) bough t of the executors of Moses Dupuy , deceased, at Karie' s Neck
and all the lands which he (the testator) heired of his "fathe r Barnt Tysen , alias
Swaim" at Karie' s Neck. The son Jacob who thus inheri ted the house was probab ly
the Jacob Tysen of Castleton who, in his will dated J846 and probat ed J848, men-
tioned his wife Mary and many children, grandc hildre n and greatg randch ildren ,
and directed that his real estate in Northfield was to be sold and the proceeds divided
between his four sons, Jacob, John, Richa rd, and Raym ond M. Tysen . Thus if
Jacob Tysen had not sold the property during his lifetime it was sold by his execu-
tors. The map of J853 shows no Tysen house on this road.
Capt. John• Tysen (J758- J827), the elder son of John, the patrio t, lived in the
Town of Castleton on a farm adjoin ing the Bodines and Martli ngs (plate 27), prob-
ably on the farm he eventually inherited from his father. By his wife Elizab eth
Jacques, he had ten children including David Jacque s Tysen (J807- J885) who
7

married Elizab eth Lake and lived in the Lake home (forme rly Guyo n's-pl ate 31)
at New Dorp and also at Port Richm ond. Their son David Jacque s' Tysen was bom
in the Lake home; he built a home on the high point of Staten Island near Donga n
Hills and died Aug. 8, J928 in his 87th year. He was a lawye r, large tomato growe r
and realty owner . He purchased many of the homes with which his ancestors had
been connected, includ ing the house on Karie' s Neck at the Fresh Kills which stands
on the grant of his ancestor. It is now owned by his family and occupied by tenants.
The rough ly tooled stone with which this house was built was not used during
the early period on Staten Island. The house probab ly dates from the second quarte r
or middle of the eighte enth century. The roofline is not so steep as in the early
houses. The presen t roof, extending slightl y beyon d all four walls, is a modem
type, and possibly replaces an earlier one with curved overha nging eaves, since
the ends of the beams have been sawn off. The house is on the west side of Richm ond
Avenu e, a short distance south of the Simonson-Blake house (plate 37) and twice
that distance north of the Arthu r Kill Road. This section was formerly known as
Karie' s Neck and the old road here ran along the edge of the lowland west of the
house, rather than along the crest of the upland as at present.

153
 HOUSES IN RICHMOND COUNTY
, and Pelton's
House of Cornelius Van Santvoord, later K rusen 5
1262 Richmond Terrace, West New Brighton
PLATE 40
Garret Dircksen1 Croesen and Pieter Jansen' Staats, brothers-in-law and resi-
dents of Gowanus m • Breukelen, received
. on Sept. 29, J, 677 grants for J60 acreI tracts
1 d.
adjoining each other along the Kill van Kull on the north shore of Staten s an
The Kroesen homestead, which no longer stands, was erected on ~he f~rmer _(see
supra) and the Van Santvoord house on the latter near the division line. Pteter
Jansen Staats, generally called Peter Johnson, was a son of Jan Pieters' who had
emigrated from Huysen and settled at Gowanus on Long Island. In J689 and J~09
Pieter deeded portions of his grant on Staten Island to his son John, who had wtth
his brother Peter obtained a patent to land on Staten Island opposite Amboy in
J674. It is not known where on Staten Island John Staats settled. John or Jan
Pietersen' Staats married Catrina Corsen; they had five daughters, Mary, bap. J689
at Flatbush, Jannetje, Cornelia, hap. J696, Annetje, hap. J700, and Rebecca, bap.
J707 ( the last three baptized on Staten Island).
The daughter Annetje• Staats, hap. June 20, J700, d. before J 748 in Schenec-
tady, married Dominie Cornelius Van Santvoord, b. J697, d. Jan. 6, J752 in Sche-
nectady aged 55 years. He had emigrated from Leyden and was dominie of the
Dutch Church at Port Richmond, Staten Island, until about J740, when he was given
charge of the Dutch Church at Schenectady. The Dominie and Annetje had six chil-
dren: Maria Catharine, Anna, Cornelius, Staats, J acoba and Zeger, all of wh
were born on Staten Island (presumably in this house) between J720 and J 733 °~
later lived at Schenectady or Albany. ' an
It is stated in Morris, v. 2, P• J75, that the so-called Kruzen Pek h
built in J722 by Joseph Rolph and that it later passed into the ~zen°fan:Its~ was
!
plaque recently placed on the wall of the house, it is stated that it was bull 'on a
by Johannes De Groot, and in Leng and Davis, p. 887, it is called th t m J 730
1
homestead. These statements are all incorrect; these families wer: ~- Y De Groot
connections. On a map of J783 the houses along the shore fr eighbors and
those of J. D. Groot, C. Kruse, C. Kruse, Jr., and J. Rolph.;: ::est t~ east were
was built and occupied by Dominie Van Santvoord, accordin; t:use lll question
which statement is undoubtedly correct as he was the son-in-law ofClute, p. 460,
owner of the property. John Staats,
On June 3 J689 Pieter Jansen deeded 300 feet of his t
' • f th d pa ent to his
who was the owner at the tune o e roa survey of J705 but son John
disposed of it. On Aug. J3, J 709 H~~ic~ Kroesen sold Johns;enis to have late:
feet wide on the west side of the partition line. On March 21, l70;aats .a tract l88
( evidently Old
I54
 HOUSES IN RICHMOND COUNTY

Style, 1709/10) Pieter Jansen sold his son John a tract 300 feet wide, bounded east
by land he had formerly conveyed to John and on the west by land John had bought
from Hendrick Croesen. On Feb. 4, 1730 (recorded 1743) John Staats conveyed
this double property, 488 feet in width and about one mile in length, to his son-in-law
Cornelius Van Santvoord. The Dominie may have built his home here ( the present
stone wing) at this time, although he probably built it about the time of his mar-
riage, a few years before his father-in-law actually turned the property over to him.
The statement in Morris may be reconciled with this if Joseph Rolph was a car-
penter by trade, for he might then have erected it for the Dominie. On July 3, 1745
(recorded 1763) Dominie Van Santvoord sold the property to Jacob Bergen, Jr.,
grandson of Hendrick Kroesen, and he sold it April 24, l75J (recorded J760) to
Cornelius Krusen, son of Hendrick, describing the property as the J88 feet west of
the partition fence and the 300 feet adjoining on the east, which John Staats had
purchased in J709 from Hendrick Kroesen and Pieter Jansen respectively.
The main section of the house is said to have been erected about J776, and was
undoubtedly built by Cornelius Krusen, Sr. in the years following his purchase of
the farm in J75J. Cornelius" Krusen (b. J708, d. J784-86) continued to make his
home here even after he inherited his father's homestead on the west (see supra).
The map of J783 shows him here and his son Cornelius, Jr. at the old homestead.
The British occupied Staten Island during most of the Revolution and Gen.
Cortlandt Skinner, Commander of the "American Loyalists," occupied this house
for his headquarters, and entertained here Prince George, who later became George
IV. There is a strong tradition that the Widow Kruzen lived here at the time of the
Revolution. By process of elimination, she was Clausia Brinckerhof, d. March 2J,
J787 in her 77th year, the second wife of Cornelius' brother Garret Crusen, who is
believed to have lived on Watchogue Road (plate 32). Why she should live on her
brother-in-law's property rather than with her step-son is not known; of course the
house was larger.
Cornelius Krusen, Sr. in J786 bequeathed to his son Comelius, Jr. the farm on
which he (the testator) lived and the adjoining farm on which the son lived, as well
as other property. Comelius• Krusen, Jr., bap. Aug. 8, J736, d. Dec. 25, J807, mar-
ried J757 (marriage bond of April 5) Beletje, daughter of Johannes De Groot, the
owner of the adjoining farm on the east, and of his wife Elizabeth Sickels, whose
brother William Sickels built the first of the Sickels houses in Rockland County
(see infra). On his death, Comelius, Jr. willed the two homestead farms to his son
John for life with vested remainder to his six grandsons. However, a~ter the death of
John4 Cruser Aug. 31, 1829 intestate, a partition suit was filed in 1830, and the farm
was sold in various parcels.
I55
 HOUSES IN RICH MON D COU NTY

Lot No. J, consisting of 57 ½ acres and the "Ma nsio n Hou se"
( that is, the Van
Santvoord-Krusen house), was boug ht May 31, 1830 by Josh ua
Sutt on, who became
insane and whose guar dian sold the farm he occupied on Sept
. 28, 1835 to Dan id
Pelto n. The following year (not l832 nor 1839 as sometimes
state d) Dani el Pelton
replaced the old east wing , originally similar to the west wing
, by a ~o story brick
building. The Pelto n family who made their hom e here consisted
of Dani el Pelton,
Sr., formerly of New York City (son of Phil ip of Hem pste ad),
b. June 21, 1788, d.
July JO, l867, who was married on May l, 1813 in New Yor
k City to Catharine
Cortelyou Van Arsdale, b. Feb. l7, l788, d. Dec., 1862, and
their two unmarried
daughters, Cordelia and Angeline, all of who m died in the Van
Sant voor d house.
Here also dwelt their youngest daughter Mar y Ann (1828-1910),
who in 1860 mar-
ried Alfred Napoleon Duffie, son of Count Aug uste Duffie. He
taug ht cava lry tactics
durin g the Civil War and served in the Unio n army , beco ming
a Brig adie r Gen-
eral; he died Nov . 8, l880 in Cadiz, Spain, while Unit ed State
s Cons ul there . The
house remained in the Pelto n estate until about l9l8 . It has been
own ed for some
years by Mrs. F. W. James.
The photograph emphasizes the small house, built 1720-30 of roug
hly cut stone,
and with a steep gable roof. The main unit of the prese nt hous
e ( only half of which
is shown in the photograph), is built of stone with a cove ring
of clapboards, and
also has a steep gable roof. Notice the characteristic difference
in size of the l 720-30
an~ J75 J-76 units. The roof ,brackets and ?ormers are mod ern.
A phot ogra ph of the
entire house, taken m 1933, is reproduced m the Proceedings of
the Stat en Islan d
Insti tute of A~ts and Sciences, opp. p. 57, in connection with
an artic le on the
house, from which the present account has been freely draw n.
The hous e t ds
a bluff overlooking the Kill Van Kull. It is on the southeast side
race adjoining Pelto n Avenue, and is not far west of Sailo rs' Snu
of rucru:
g Harb or. on
T
0

er
~

156
 PLATE 26
House of Nathaniel Britton, later Walton's and Cubberly's
New Dorp Lane, New Dorp

The stone section of the main house is the original unit and was erected by Nathaniel Britton between
1695 and 1699. In the interior ia a huge open fireplace with a beam across the top. The moderately sloped
roof is not characteristic of this early period and may be a later alteration. The property was sold to
Thomas Walton in 1714 and was conveyed by his family to Isaac Cubberly in 1761. The wing was
probably erected by the Waltons after their purchase. Its very steep roof is characteristic of an early
date. The lean-to, sloping almost to the ground, is a later addition. The frame section of the house by
the road was not built until about 1800. The house has no overhanging eaves in front or rear. The small
entry porch is of a later date than the house but is a type frequently found on Staten Island.
1 57
 .." ,., . .
-

'~ .
·.
·-·-

PLATE 27
Cozine-Bodine-Martling House
40 Watchogue Road, Myer's Corners

This is the rear view of the house as it was about 1900, before the wing was moved to the back. It is
erroneously known as the home of Daniel Corsen, who Jived on another road. The house was erected
about 1760, probably by a Cozine. Two members of the Cozine family inherited it before 1784, one-half
of the house going to each, so that later deeds transfer each half of the house separately. The house is
only 68 feet long, including the kitchen wing. It is built of unhewn fieldstone except for the north
front which is of finished sandstone blocks. The steep gable roof has a slight curve at the eaves. The
windows are small and few in number. Those in the wing were formerly of the old casement type. The
house was sold by the Cozines in and about 1789 to Vincent Bodine; in 1805 he disposed of it to Garret
Martling who owned it until 1848.
158
 PLATE 28
De Hart House
3373 Richmond Terrace, Holland Hook

It is not known when or by whom this house was built. It first appears in the possession of Samuel
De Hart in 1783, but may have been his father's homestead before him. It remained the home of the
family until recent years. The house in its present condition was built about 1735-40 and incorporates a
part of an earlier building in an unusual manner. The original house on the site evidently faced the west;
its south end was destroyed; its north end was enlarged on the east and a wing added on the west to
form the present house which faces south. The steep pitch of the roof and small size of the windows
are characteristic of an early date. The so-called German hood on the main unit is a later addition
which has been marred recently by cutting a window through it.
159
 PLATE 29
Dissosway House
formerly near Outerbridge Crossing, Richmond Valley

This is understood to be the house built by Mark Dusochay in the 1690s but it is possible that it was
erected by his son Israel Dissosway in the early eighteenth century. It is of stone, whitewashed, and
covered by a steep gable roof, with deep overhanging eaves both front and rear. It has a greater depth
than many of the Staten Island houses. This view was taken from the fields about 1900. The house has
since been torn down. It remained the home of the Dissosway family until the end of the nineteenth
century.
160
 PLATE 30
Dongan-Christopher House
Willow Brook Road, Willow Brook

This is erroneously known as the Christopher homestead. The original unit was one of the numerous
houses built on Gov. Dongan's Manor. It was purchased in or shortly before 1760 by the Widow Nelly
Hagewout and her two sons; by 1764 it had been acquired by Charity Hagewout and her husband Juseph
Christopher, in whose family it remained until 1827. The original unit consists of only one room and
was built about 1756. Joseph Christopher and his wife mortgaged the property in 1764, presumably in
order to obtain the money to build an addition. This is twice the size of the other unit, the division line
being marked by the chimney. The house is built of roughly cut stone and covered by a steep gable
roof without overhanging eaves. There is an outside door opening into each of the three rooms. The
porch is later.
161
 PLATE 31
Guyon-Lake-Tysen House
Tysen's Lane, New Dorp

Contrary to popular belief, this is not an early Lake homestead; the property was not bought by the
Lake family until 1812. Joseph Guyon was in possession in 1771, and his family probably built the house
about 1720-40. It is a larger house than the average on Staten Island. It differs in other respects, being
built of shingles and covered by a gambrel roof. The graceful overhanging eaves on the south front of
the house were added at a later date, as was the kitchen wing. In the main house there are two rooms
on either side of a wide central hallway; the three chimneys are characteristic of this type. The house
passed by marriage from the Lakes into the Tysen family, who still own it.
162
 PLATE 32
House of Pieter Pieterse Hagawout, later Krusen's and Vreeland's
formerly on Watchogue Road, Graniteville

Pieter Pieterse Hagawout received a confirmatory patent for this property in 1697 and undoubtedly
built the west (left) unit of the house about this time. The house was 22 by 60 feet in size; it was built
of stone, 18 to 24 iches thick, carried up the gable end to the roofline; the masonry of the long walls
was sheathed with clapboarding. The gable roof was very steep; at some early period deep overhanging
eaves were added, but were taken off the north wall when the front was remodelled at the end of the
nineteenth century. The original unit consisted of only two rooms: the best chamber was small and
had a small fireplace; the outside door led into the kitchen which had a large fireplace with built-in
crane and a stairway to the attic opposite the chimney, a location usual at this very early date. There
was a seventeenth century casement window in the gable end. The smaller unit, probably added after
1726 by the Krusens, consisted of a hallway, nine feet wide, and another room with fireplace. The
sloping dormers belong to an early type. This photograph was taken about 1900.
163
 PLATE 33
House of Peter Hagewout (Haughwout)
1424 Richmond Avenue, south of Graniteville

Peter Hagewout, son of Pieter Pieterse Hagawout, the builder of the house in plate 32, purchased in
1734 the tract on which stands this house, which he or his widow erected shortly after this date. It
remained the home of descendants Until its sale between 1837 and 1877. It is a small house consisting
of one room on either side of a central hallway; the parlor may have been built at an earlier date than
the other room. The house is sheathed with clapboarding and is covered by a steep gable roof with
overhanging eaves in front. There are good examples of early panelling in the interior. Slight alterations
and a large addition at the rear have been made since this photograph was taken about 1900.
164
 PLATE 34
Hendrickson (?}-Winants House
formerly on Arthur Kill Road, south of Rossville

This was the Winant Winants homestead for over a century and a half. The family obtained possession
of it in the second quarter of the eighteenth century. Its history previous to this is unknown. The
stone section of the house was very old. A stone marked "1696 I.H." suggests that the builder was Jobn
Hendrickson who received a grant of land in this vicinity. The stones were laid in mud and oyster
shell lime. There was a primitive fireplace built out into the room with a huge beam over it; the smoke
escaped through a hole in the garret floor and up a short chimney. This older section bad no cellar
beneath it, and no windows on the gable end. The frame unit was built along similar lines after the
Revolution. A steep gable roof covered the whole house. The early type sloping dormers may have been
built at the same time as the addition. The deep overhanging eaves were also an early alteratio:i. This
photograph was taken in 1907.
 PLATE 35
Lakeman-Corte/you-Taylor House
Richmond Road, New Dorp

Abraham Lakeman is believed to have come into possession of this tract at the division of his father's
estate in 1684, and he is understood to be the builder of the house. The house and other improvements
are mentioned in a deed of 1714. Among its many owners was Aaron Cortelyou who purchased it in
1751 and whose son-in-law sold it to Joseph Taylor in 1794. The house is built of very irregular
fieldstone and practically no attempt has been made to lay it in courses. The small size and number of
the windows is characteristic of an early period. The large section is the original unit; it is covered by
a gambrel roof of the New England type. The house was formerly whitewashed in the manner popular
on Staten Island. It has been restored and has since undergone considerable alteration.
166
 PLATE 36
House of John Roll, later Mersereau's
formerly on Watchogue Road, Graniteville

Some of the early deeds to this property are missing but from various records it is inferred that John
Roll was in possession about 1740. The house was probably built by him as it dates from this period.
In 1762 he sold it to his son-in-law Col. Jacob Mesereau and it remained the home of the family until
1896. The house was built in the style common on Staten Island, of stone, with long, low, massive lines
and a steep gable roof. The small number of windows is characteristic, as is their unbalanced
arrangement.
 PLATE 37
Simonson-Blake House
2329 Richmond Avenue, New Springville

This is one of the later Simonson houses built on their homestead tract, which they had acquired by
1702. It is probable that this house was erected by Barent Simonson after his marriage in 1755. In the
middle of the nineteenth century it passed by marriage into the Blake family. It is a stone house
covered with modern shingles, and has a steep gable roof with overhanging eaves in front.
168
 PLATE 38
House of Thomas Stillwell, later Britton's and Perine's
1476 Richmond Road, Dongan Hills

This house is in reality two separate dwellings, and two families lived here as independent households
for over one hundred years. It is believed that the rear stone dwelling was built by Thomas Stillwell
about 1680 and the front stone dwelling by his son-in-law Nicholas Britton about 1713. The property
was purchased in 1749 by Joseph Holmes, innkeeper, who probably added one of the frame kitchens,
built on similar lines. His daughter married Edward Perine and the house remained the home of two
branches of their descendants until 1913. Both sections are built of irregular fieldstone, carried all the
way up the gable end. The whitewashing adds greatly to the picturesque quality of the house. The gable
roofs are not so steep as in many of the early houses. The windows are small and are not grouped in a
balanced design. The front door is near one end of the house and opens directly into one of the main
rooms, since there is no hallway. There is some fine Jacobean panelling in the best room.

169
 PLATE 39
House of Barnt Tysen
Richmond Avenue, south of New Springville

It has always been stated that this bouse was built by Barnt Tysen about 1680, shortly after he received
the land grant. However, construction shows that the present house was not erected until about the
middle of the eighteenth century, and was therefore undoubtedly built by the grandson Barnt Tysen.
The house is built of roughly tooled stone and is covered by a gable roof of moderate slope, neither of
which are characteristics found in the early houses on Staten Island. The beam ends have been sawed
off, suggesting that the present modern roof replaces an earlier one with overhanging eaves. The low
lands of the Fresh Kills are seen in the background of the photograph.
170
 PLATE 40
House of Cornelius Van Santvoord, later Krusen's and Pe/ton's
1262 Richmond Terrace, West New Brighton

This house stands on a grant of 1677 to Pieter Jansen Staats. The original stone unit was erected by
his granddaughter's husband, Dominie Cornelius Van Santvoord, presumably shortly after their marriage
(about 1719). Van Santvoord was the first minister established on Staten Island. The property was
purchased in 1751 by Cornelius Krusen, in whose family it remained until 1830. The main section was
erected by the Krusens before the Revolution. The small unit is built of roughly cut stone and is
covered by a steep gable roof without overhanging eaves. The main house is similarly built of stone
and with a steep roof, but it has been sheathed with modern clapboarding and has a row of roo!
brackets. Less than half the main unit is shown in the photograph because of the unfortunate effect of
the large enclosed doorway. The De Groots and Rolphs have been incorrectly connected with tl:.is
house; they were near neighbors.
1;:
ROCKLAND COUNTY

HOUSE OF GERRET BLAUVELT

 ROCKLAND COUNTY

T
HE southern portion of New York State which borders on the west bank
of the Hudson River was a part of Orange County, and was known as
Orange County under the Mountains until it was organized into Rockland
County in 1798. A ridge of mountains separated it from the larger part of Orange
County whereas a mathematical and artificial line was its only demarcation from
Bergen County in the Province of New Jersey. Therefore except in its political life
it was connected with the other province, with which communication was so much
easier. Many of the same families settled Bergen County and the future Rockland
County; the two groups intermarried, developed the same habits of thought and
mode of living, and built similar houses. In great contrast to this, the two portions
of Orange County on either side of the mountains were settled by different families,
developed different types of homes and had only a political connection with each
other. Therefore the territory that became Rockland County has been included in
this volume rather than in the previous work on the Hudson River counties by Miss
Reynolds.
The Rockland County territory was opened up and settled under a few large
patents. The lands at the southern end around T appan were purchased from the
Indians on March 17, 1681/ 2 by a group of eight white men and three free negroes
from the Bouwery Village on Manhattan together with five men from New Jersey.
The deed was acknowledged before Gov. Carteret of New Jersey on July l, 1682.
When the boundary between the provinces was determined in l 687 the tract was
found to lie largely in New York and a patent was issued by Gov. Dongan of New
York on March 24, 1686/ 7. Unlike most of the patents of the period, this land was
obtained not by rich speculators but by far.mers who were prospective settlers. Lam-
bert Adriaense Smidt and Adriaen Lambertse Smidt, patentees, and Hendrick Ger-
ritse Blauvelt, brother of two of the patentees, came here in the summer of 1683 and
were soon followed by others. The early settlements fell into three groups: at Jan
Claus' land or Greenbush, now Blauvelt and Orangetown, at Tappan, and at Old
T appan over the border in New Jersey. The lands were for many years owned in
common, the first division was not made until 1704 and the second in 1721. A Dutch
Church was organized here as early as 1694 and a house of worship erected in 1716.
A large part of the county was included in the Kakiat Patent, granted June 25,
l696 to Daniel Honan and Michael Hawdon, speculators. The Tappan Patent ran
as far west as the Hackensack River and the Kakiat Patent extended from this river
as far west as Tallman's and as far north as the mountains below Haverstraw. Haw-
don's executors in 1712 sold the North Moiety of the patent to a group of English-
175
 ROCKLAND COUNTY

men from Hempstead, Long Island, who caused the patent to be divided Nov. 5,
J7J3. Benjamin Osborn became the first known settler in this northern moiety in
J7J4. This region was known as Kakiat or New Hempstead, the English settling
in the more westerly portion and selling the easterly lands to men of Dutch descent,
who opened up farms around the present New City. The South Moiety was sold by
Honan in 1716 to John McEvers who disposed of a one-half share to Lancaster
Symes. They also were speculators and it was not until l 727 that their moiety was
surveyed and laid out in lots. Settlement was made about this time, probably by
Dutchmen from the ad joining Tappan Patent, and a Reformed Church was organized
at Clarkstown in 1749. The expense of the 1713 division and survey was paid by the
sale of an expense lot of JOOO acres in Orangetown on the Hackensack River, and this
land was settled on shortly after this date by T unise Cuyper and in l 736 by William
Sickels.
The patents along the Hudson River were smaller in size. Claes Jansen
(Kuyper) van Purmarent obtained New Jersey patents for two tracts at Nyack
in 1671 and his son Cornelius Cuyper later settled here and became a leader of the
county. The former sold part of his tract to Douwe Harmanszen Tallman who came
here between 1678 and 1686 and whose son Harman was the first settler here in
1675. The lands to the south of him along the Hudson River as far as Piermont
were taken up by Theunis Roelofse Van Houten who settled here about 1686. A
tract at Palisades was granted in 1687 to George Lockhart and was occupied by
William Merritt in 1701; among the settlers here were the Snedens. Further north,
the territory around Rockland Lake from Nyack to Haverstraw was granted by
the Pond or Quaspeck Patent on Sept. 27, 1694 to Jarvis Marshall and William
Welch, both speculators. The tract changed hands several times before portions
were purchased by farmers. Most of the south half around the Lake was settled
by a group of Germans about l 71 l. The extreme northern portion of the patent
was sold by Capt. John Sands of Cow Neck on Oct. 23, 1707 to Tunis Snedeker
of Hempstead, who settled here with his sons and daughters in or by 1731. Two
tracts at Haverstraw were granted in 1671 under New Jersey patents, one to
Balthazar De Hart of New York and the other to Nicholas Depew and Hendrick
Van Bommel. Depew sold his interest in 1685 to Florus Willemse Crom, who had
already settled on it in 1681. Part of Van Bommel's share came into the possession
of Reyn Van Ditmarsen, who located here between 1683 and 1687. Minne Johannes
(Minnelay) was one of the earliest settlers of Haverstraw in or by 1681.
The western point of the Rockland County territory was only sparsely settled
and there were few recognized titles here before l 775. A group of farms were
cleared around Suffern after 1709. John Zabriskie purchased a tract near Tallman's
176
 ROCKLAN D COUNTY

in J724 from a New Jersey Proprietor and succeeded in having his claim recognized.
Isaac Van Duser was probably the first settler in the Oove, on the Ramapo River
north of Suffern, where he had located by J735. Peter Wanama ker settled east of
Suffern about 1740. The Dutch did not locate in the northern point of the county
above Haverstraw.
The Rockland County territory remained a part of Orange County until J798,
but the mountain barrier was recognized in the formation of townships. Orange-
town was organized as early as 1686. Haverstraw Precinct was set off in J7J9 and
comprised the territory from the north bounds of Tappan to the north bounds of
Haverstraw, including the Kakiat Patent. Semi-annual county courts were estab-
lished in J703.
The first homes of the settlers were of two kinds, either an excavation in the
side of a hill, lined with bark, faced with upright posts and furnished with shelves,
or a hut of woven saplings covered with bark. These were followed by hand-hewn
frame buildings with shingled walls and thatched roofs. The abundant sandstone
was soon quarried and the great majority of houses built before the Revolution
were constructed with the indigenous red sandstone blocks, cut and roughly shaped
by the settlers or their slaves, and often quarried on the property. Clapboarding
was rarely used before the Revolution.
The similarity between the houses of Bergen and Rockland Counties is
remarkable. In both territories we find a predominant use of sandstone blocks, of
a gable roof for a narrow house and a gambrel roof for a wide house, and the same
interior arrangement. The curved overhanging eaves are a characteristic feature
especially in Bergen County. There are a greater number of small, narrow farm-
houses in Rockland County, possibly because living conditions were more primitive
since it was sparsely settled.
The houses in the Rockland County territory were discovered through an
intensive search of the roads shown on Erskine's Revolutionary maps. The early
owners were determined with the aid of local residents and historians and the
perusal of maps, and the genealogy of the families compiled from the church records.
The author is indebted to Wilfred Blanch Talman for notes on the Smidt and
Tallman families, to J. Elting Sloat for his Sneden family researches, to Louis L.
Blauvelt for his extensive card index of the Blauvelt family, to M. Montgomery
Maze for his study of the land records of lower Rockland County, and to George
H. Budke for his generous and exact advice on numerous families and houses, also
to Stanley V. Blauvelt, James V. Clarke, Frederick Demarest, P. L. Huested and
Miss Emma J. Quidor for information conceming various regions. There was no
published material available except for a few articles in the Rocklan d Record.
Most of the photographs were taken in l 933 and a few in J925.
177
 HOU SES IN ROC KLA ND COU NTY
House of Benja min Benso n
Old King's Highwa y, West Haverst raw
PLATE 41
The house stands on a large tract .at the mouth of the Minisceongo Creek
bought from the Indians by Balthazar De Harte; he sold a part to Nicholas Du
Poins of New York City, who sold it Oct. l 7, l 685 to Florus Willemse Crom. The
latter immediately obtained a patent for 730 acres north of the creek, settled here
and died in -J 706. Although he ordered the farm at Haverstraw to be sold and the
proceeds divided among his children, it passed intact to his son Willem Florus
Crom, who left it to his six children. They divided it. The farm ad joining the creek
on the north fell to Willem's eldest son Dirck Crom, who sold it Oct. 20, 1737 to
Matthew Benson ; he sold it April 26, 1742 to John Allison, in whose family it
remained. The 94 acre farm next but one north of the creek fell to Willem Crom's
daughter Trynti e, wife of Paulus Yorkse. Thomas Mapes bought it, and sold the
north half to John Alsop, who sold to Matthew Benson before l757; the south
half was sold by the heirs to John James, who sold to Benjamin Benson in 1757.
The farm again became a unit, as Benjamin Benson inherited the north half from
his father.
The ancestor of the family, Dirck Bensingh, was a native of Groningen and
1

emigrated via Amsterdam to New Amsterdam, wher~ he bought a house in 1649;

he soon removed to Ft. Orange (Alban y), where he died Feb. 12, 1659. A son, Capt.
Johannes' Benssing or Benson, r~moved to a farm in the village of Harlem in 1696;
by his wife Elizabeth Van Deusen, he had Matthew and nine other children.
Matthe w' Benson, b. Jan. 5, 1693, died 1757-58, married Dec. l2, l7J6 Elizabeth
Bussing, married secondly Dec. 9, J727 Hanna h Edsall, widow of Gerrit De Groot,
and had three sons and one daughter by his second wife. He was a cooper by trade.
He sold his Harlem lands in J730, removed to Bergen County and became a member
of the Hackensack Church in 1731. It is possible he lived for a time on one of
his purchases at Haverstraw (mentioned above); he became a vintner in New York
City, and died in his house there on Dey Street. Matthew's son Benjamin' Benson,
b. Feb. J3, 1732 at Hackensack, d. Aug. 5, 1779, married April 30, 1756 Catharine
Deronda, and had six sons and four daught ers: Joanna, Catherine, Charity, Matthew
(1764-1843), Henry , Benjamin (J768-J 823), Jacob, Maria, William and Abraham,
who were probably born on the Haverstraw farm, or possibly in the Dey Street home.
1 79
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

Benjamin' Benson was a Revolutionary soldier, a signer of the Articles of

Association and a member of the Committee on Correspondence. He was shot and
killed by some British spies here at his Haverstraw farm.
Benjamin Benson probably built the present stone house about the time of
his purchase of the property in J757; he is the first known owner of the house. The
farm was in the possession of the Benson family at the time of the Revolution and
in J790, when a map was made of the Crom Patent. Lossing probably refers to this
house when he mentions stopping overnight in l 848 at the tavern of Mr. Benson
near Sampsonville, about three miles below Stony Point and two miles from
Haverstraw.
The old King's Highway went north from Tappan, crossed the mountains at
the Long Oove, and followed a tortuous course through the lowlands of Haverstraw
and West Haverstraw; a quarter of a mile above the Minisceongo Creek it turned
sharply west for a short distance, and then progressed northwards toward Stony
Point. The house stands on the old King1 s Highway in the southwest comer formed
by this westward tum; to the west is the present West Haverstraw railway station.

House of Hendrick Gerritsen Blauvelt

Blauvelt
PLATE 42

A stone in the front wall of the house bears the date l7J0; it is the oldest of
the existing Blauvelt houses, and has been gutted by fire since the photograph was
taken in J925. For many years the lands of the Tappan Patent were held in common
by the patentees. Early settlements were made at three centers, the most northerly
being known as Jan Claus' land (after an Indian of the vicinity), later called
Greenbush, now Blauvelt and Orangeburg. The lines of allotment in the division
of the patent are not clear at this point, but it is probable that this was the location
of Hendrick Blauvelt's 50 acre purchase in J709; it is considered that he was the
builder of this house at Oausland in J7 JO.
His father Gerrit Hendricksen1 was born at Deventer in Overyssel and worked
as a shoemaker in Nykerk. At the age of fifteen, he emigrated in 1637 on the Key
of Kalmar, under a six year contract with Kilian Van Rensselaer as a tobacco
raiser or farm hand. He soon removed to New Amsterdam, where on May 7, J646
he married Marretje Lamberts Moll, whose father owned a shipyard there. On
Dec. 6, l646 he obtained a grant of 25 morgens, a tract on the east side of the
Bouwery Road extending to the East River, and settled here. He married secondly
on Oct. 22, l679 Josyntie Thomas, widow of Pieter Wesselszen, and died J683-84.
Seven of his fourteen children by his first marriage survived him, and all removed
180
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

to Tappan. His widow and their daughter Elizabeth remained in New York City.
The eldest surviving son was Hendrick Gerritsen' Blauvelt, b. Sept. 30, J654,
married Sept. 20, 1673 Marretje Josephs Waldron, and had ten children: Marretje,
Marretje, John, Harman, Gerrit, Annatje, Joseph, Abraham, Isaac and Daniel.
Although not a patentee, he was one of the first to remove from Bouwery Village
to the Tappan Patent, and settled here late in J683. His first habitation was probably
a rude temporary structure; it was not until he was fifty-six years of age that he
built the present stone house in J7JO. He joined the newly organized Tappan
Church in 1695, served on the first grand jury of Orange County, was a tax collector,
and head of a family in Orangetown in the Census of 1702. The later ownership
of the house is not known. It may have been inherited by Hendrick's eldest (sur-
viving?) son Harman' Blauvelt of Tappan, b. April 3, J68l, married April l 704
Sarah De Pew, daughter of Fran~ois Du Puy qf Flatbush, and had eight children.
A resident of Tappan, Harman married secondly at Tarrytown Oct. JO, l 730,
Catharina Ecker(son ), widow of Nicholas de Vouw. The house is marked but
unnamed on Erskine's Revolutionary map. In 1876 the owner was T. Dinan, and
its present owner is a Mr. Dinan of Brooklyn.
The house overlooks the Sparkill (creek), the King's Highway beyond and
the new state highway. It stands east of the railway on the north side of a crossroad,
which formed part of the Revolutionary road northward to Clarksville. It is south
of the village of Blauvelt, nearer Orangeburg, in the region formerly known as
aausland.

House of Johanne s Blauvelt , later Smith's

Blauvelt
PLATE 43
This house was built in three units, each of about the same size. A stone on
the front wall of the central portion is marked l74J. A stone on the western unit
bears the inscription:
LI.B. M.B.
M.L 24
ANO 1752.
These two units are similar, and are covered by one roof. The smaller east wing
belongs to a slightly later period.
Hendrick Blauvelt, builder of the house to the southward (plate 42), had a
younger son named Joseph Hendrickse' Blauvelt, hap. Nov. 20, 1687, d. 1733-39,
married at Tappan Jan. Jl, J7ll Elizabeth Van Dalsen. Joseph mentioned eight of
their children in his will: Hannes the eldest, Hendrick, Frederick, Garret, Abraham,
I8I
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

Martha, Annatie and Altha. The eldest son was Johannes Joseph'' Blauvelt, b.
Nov. 19, 1714, d. Oct. 2, 1789, married Sept. 28, J739 Margrietje Smidt, b. July 6,
1720, d. July l 8, 1784, daughter of Cornelius Lambertsen Smidt, and granddaughter
of Lambert Adrianse• Smidt, one of the Tappan patentees and settlers (plate 58).
Johannes Joseph and Margrietje (Smidt) Blauvelt undoubtedly built the
first unit of the house, which was erected two years after their marriage; the
inscription on the second unit states they were the builders of the west portion
in 1752. He was First Major of the Orangetown Regiment of Orange Co. Militia,
but appears to have lost his rank after that regiment was consolidated with the
Haverstraw regiment; he served in the Revolution although over sixty years of
age. He and his wife lie buried in the Clausland cemetery. Their children were:
Joseph, Catharina, Elizabeth, Maria, Cornelius, Anatye, Margrietje, Johannes and
Vrowtye. The eldest daughter Catharina, b. 1743, was the second wife of Harmanus
Tallman, whose father Douwe was bayonetted by the Tories at Closter. They lived
with his father-in-law, and thither came their son Major Peter Tallman to recover
from a wound received on a Jersey battlefield. Johannes' and Margrietje's youngest
son was Johannes J / Blauvelt, b. May 13, l 758, d. March 28, l 8 l l ; married
Clausha Blanch, b. Jan. 2J, 1763, d. Dec. 6, 1842, and buried with her husband at
Sickeltown (Nauraushaun); her father was Col. Thomas Blanch, an active member
of the militia during the Revolution, whose house formerly stood on the creek
north of Closter village and west of the railway. The Blauvelt house was inherited
jointly by Johannes' and Clausha's two daughters, Margrietje~ Blauvelt, wife of
Honshy Haring, and Aefie Blauvelt, b. July 21, 1785, d. Nov. 29, 1848, wife of
6

John J. Smith, b. June 22, 1777, d. Nov. 13, 1848. He was the son of Major John
Smith of Germonds (plate 60). The last in the family to own the house was their
son John De Windt Smith, b. Feb. 23, 1806, d. Sept. 29, 1871, married May 2,
l 832 Eleanor Cornelison Blauvelt, b. Dec. 14, J 808, d. Feb. 5, 1850, married secondly
Martha Griffith, who survived and died in J 892. John De Windt Smith removed to
Nyack shortly before his death, and the house was probably sold at this time. The
owner in 1876 was John W. Moison, from whom it descended to his son Courtney,
and then to his son Emmett Moisan of Blauvelt; he is the present owner and rents it.
The house is north and west of the village of Blauvelt; it is near the Erie
Railroad, on the north side of a crossroad, between Gerret Blauvelt"s house (plate
44) on the West Nyack Road and Nauraushaun. The photograph was taken in
l 925. The house is fast falling into ruin, and may not last many more winters.

1:82
 HOUS ES IN ROCKLAND COUN TY

Hou se of Joha nnes Blau velt

Blauv elt Road, Blauv elt
The builder of this house was a second cousin of the Johannes Blauvelt who
built the house north of the village (plate 43), and must not be confused with him.
Abraham Gerritsen' Blauvelt, b. June J7, J663, was a younger brother of Hendrick
Blauvelt of Oausland (plate 42). Thdr two eldest brothers, Johannes and Huyb ert,
were among the sixteen original patentees of Tapp an; Abraham also became
a
patentee later in life, by purchasing a half-right of Adriaen Lambertscn Smidt in
l 700, and another half-right from the heirs of Cornelius Adriaensen Smid
t in
l 714; these and other land purchases amounted to about l ,000 acres, situat
ed
partly at Old Tapp an and Harrington Park. He lived at Tapp an, was chose
n
assessor, and a deacon and elder of the Tappan Church, and died between l 73 l and
l75l. By his wife Margrietje Minnelay, whom he married April 8, 1691,
he
had five sons and five daughters. She had married as her first husband, Harm
en
Douwesen Tallman, patentee of Nyack (see plate 64). One of the elder sons was
Jacob" Blauvelt of Orangetown, b. about 1693, d. 1774-79, married Jan. 12, 1715
Pieterje Harin g, bap. April 15, 1696, daughter of Pieter Harin g and Margrietje
Bogart. Jacob settled on the farm of 50 morgens bought by his father in 1714 from
Hendrick Van Campen and his wife Derricke Smidt, which she had inherited from
her father Cornelius Smidt. In his will Jacob mentioned his sons Johannes and
Peter, his daughter Elizabeth wife of Peter Perrie (brother of Isaac Perr y-se
e
infra), and the children of his three deceased sons, Abraham, Jacob and Isaac
.
The youngest son was Johannes J." Blauvelt, b. March 20, 1735, d. Marc h 26,
1815, married Antje Blanch, d. June l, 1810. He built the south unit of the present
house on his father's farm about 1755. He was probably the Johannes Jae. Blauv
elt
who was Captain of the Orangetown Company of Minute Men in l 776. In his will
dated 1806, he divided his 296 acres between his two sons: Jacob J., b. Mar.
31,
1757, married Rachel Demarest, and Richard, b. May 5, 1759, d. Sept. 20, 1827.
This Richards Blauvelt was a Judg e of Public Affairs; on April 16, 1781
he
married Sarah Van Dolsen, d. Feb. 16, 1857 aged 96 years, 8 months, 14 days.
Of
their three children, John , Gitty and Richard, the youngest was Rich ard
R.jf
Blauvelt, b. May JS, 1787, d. May 26, 1837, married April 12, 1809 Margaret Clark
,
d. Sept. J, 1873 aged 85 years, 6 months, 30 days; they lie buried at Orangeburg
with his parents and grandparents. Thei r daughter Mari a Ann1 Blauvelt, b. Dec.
J9, J8J4, d. Feb. 2, 1903, received the ancestral homestead. On April 25, 1837 she
married a distant cousin, Isaac Blauvelt of Piermont, b. Sept. 10, 1810, d. 1885,
son of James and Letty Blauvelt, and a descendant of Isaac, another son of
the
above Abra ham Gerri ts' Blauvelt. Thei r son James' Blauvelt, b. May 3, l 840,
d.
183
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

Aug. 20, 1898, married Sept. 26, 1861 Catharine Ferdon, and had two daughters:
Mary Adelaide, whose marriage took place in this house in 1886, and Effie, who
placed her family record at the author's disposal. James Blauvelt built the frame
north wing about 1862, shortly after his marriage, and remodelled the house
shortly after his father's death in 1885; James ran a stock farm and raised horses
here. In 1892-93 he sold the house and farm of about 130 acres to Mr. Larkins of
New York City. It was occupied by Mr. Larkins' daughter Mrs. Cunningham, and
iater inherited by a daughter Mrs. Daley. It was finally sold to the Broadacres Estate,
and purchased a few years ago by J ofm Derfuss, the present owner.
The house is in three units. The south wing is small, it is built of dressed red
sandstone with a gable roof; it was erected about l 755, and is shown on the Revo-
lutionary map. The main house, of stone and frame, was built at some period after
this war; at that time or shortly later, the roof on the small wing was raised and a
frame half-story added. The frame north wing was built about 1862. The first house
on the property was the home of Jacob and Pieterje; it was a log cabin located
between the present house and barn, and was built about the trunk of a huge tree,
this trunk serving as. a table. The house stands on the west side of the main road in
the village of Blauvelt, south of the railway and north of the Convent.

House of Gerret Blauvelt

Road to West Nyack, Blauvelt
PLATE 44

On Feb. 24, 1763 Elizabeth Blauvelt of Orange Township, County of Orange,

widow of Joseph Blauvelt, deceased, and their son Abraham Blauvelt, yeoman, for
a consideration of £8, deeded four acres to her son Gerret Joseph Blauvelt, weaver,
to be laid so as to include ''the house which the said Gerret Joseph is yet going to
build," and also the existing house, barn, well, orchard, and other buildings already
in his possession. Thus we know that the present stone house was built in or about
l 763; it was preceded by a log cabin located about 300 feet north on the comer,
which was the first home of Gerret Blauvelt. The builder of the house was the
youngest son of Joseph Blauvelt and Elizabeth Van Dalsen; in his will of J733,
Joseph named all his family and specifically left half of his farm on the Demarest
Kill (i.e., Hackensack River) to his son Abraham. The eldest son was Johannes
Blauvelt, builder of the house on the lane nearby (plate 43). It is interesting to
compare the houses of the two brothers. As Gerret did not build his permanent
home until nine years after his marriage, he planned a house large enough to contain
all his children, while Johannes built his in two separate units as his family grew in
184
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

numbers; the two houses are quite similar in size, but that of Johannes is more
primitive.
Gerret Joseph' Blauvelt, b. Jan. 4, J 73J, d. July 28, J8JO aged 79 years, 6
months, 24 days, married Sept. 8, J754 Elizabeth Mabie, d. Feb. 5, J826 aged 92
years, JO months, 5 days, probably the daughter of Johannes and Susanna Mabie.
Gerret and Elizabeth are only known to have had four children: Elizabeth, Johannes,
Joseph and Abraham. The youngest was but a child at the time of the Revolution;
his grandson (John Calvin Blauvelt J823-J92J) used to relate how he was placed
in front of the closed stairway when the British invaded the house on a raid, that
they vented their spleen in smashing a mirror, and did not bother to disturb the
child, behind whom the family treasures were hidden. This child, Abraham G.5
Blauvelt, b. Dec. 26, 1769, d. Feb. 24, J850 aged 8J years, married June 8, J792
Elizabeth, daughter of John I. Blauvelt, d. Jan. 27, J860 aged 85 years; they
remained in the family home. Their son John A.6 Blauvelt, b. Feb. 28, J797, d.
Jan. J4, J875 aged 78 years, JO months, 14 days, was a scholar and teacher of
Greenbush (the general name for this locality). He married Catharine (1797-1881),
daughter of David J. Blauvelt. Their son John Calvin1 Blauvelt (J823-192J) was
born here but at the age of one year moved to a stone house one mile northward (built
J799) which was later given him by his parents. Another son Abraham Thompson1
Blauvelt, b. about J8J8, d. Nov. 13, 1886 aged 68 years, made his home in the
ancestral Gerret Blauvelt homestead. He married Mary Ann Blauvelt, d. Aug. 10,
J879 aged 59 years. The family papers of their daughter Catharine Elizabeth were
placed at the author's disposal by her son P. L. Huested, who owns the original
deed quoted above. Abraham's son John Melancthon Blauvelt, d. March 20, J887
8

aged 32 years, 6 months, J6 days,. was the last member of the family to own and
reside in the homestead. His widow, Nettie Burr, sold the house July 23, 1900, to
David F. Moody. On Oct. 24, 1919 he sold it to I. Spencer Graham, the present
owner, who is a descendant of the Lent family and a former owner of the Lent
house (plate 53). The builders of the house lie buried at Orangeburg, while the
later owners are all interred at Blauvelt.
This house is a good example of the eighteenth century Dutch house in its
original condition; it is in good preservation, yet has never been remodelled, nor
altered with porches and dormers. Thus its proportions and unbroken roofline stand
forth. Remains of whitewash on the house-end suggest that there may once have
been a small wing. Another view is shown in the vignette. The house is north of the
village of Blauvelt, on the east side of the road to West Nyack. It stands on a hill at
a jog of the old road, which has recently been straightened so the house is no longer
on the main highway.

185
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

Blauve lt-Seco r House

Phillips Hill Road, New City
PLATE 45
This house probably dates from the second quarter of the eighteenth century.
It stands on Lot No. J of the North Moiety of the Kakiat Patent. This moiety had
been sold to a group of men from Hempstead, Long Island, who took steps for its
division and survey in J7J3. The region became known as Kakiat or New Hemp-
stead. The western part of the moiety was settled by these men of English descent;
the eastern part was also apportioned to them but soon passed into the hands of
Dutch settlers. The earliest owner of this house, known to an old resident of the
locality, was Peter Blauvelt, b. Oct. 28, J774, d. April 8, J850 aged 75 years, 5
months, J J days, and his wife Maria Van Houten. He was the son of Johannes
Blauvelt, b. July 30, J745, d. Jan. JS, J830 aged 84 years, 5 months, J6 days, and
his wife Catharine Tallman. Both generations lie interred at New City, so it is
probable that Johannes owned the house before Peter. In all likelihood the house
was built by the father of Johannes Blauvelt, but his parentage is undetermined.
He came of the same stock as the Blauvelts of Tappan Patent. Peter and Maria
Blauvelt had a daughter Trina, b. March J3, J796, who lived here with her husband.
The J06 acre farm passed into the hands of the Wood family, and then to George D.
and Edward Secor, who were the owners in J876. George inherited his brother's
share, but willed the farm to Edward's daughter, Mrs. Brownsell; it is now owned
by Walter Brownsell.
The house stands on the north side of the Phillips Hill Road near the Road to
Haverstraw. It is one and a half miles north of New City.

Blauve lt-Lane House

Haverstraw Road, New City
PLATE 46
This house was undoubtedly built by a member of the Blauvelt family in the
third quarter of the eighteenth century. It stands on Lot No. 5 of the North Moiety
of the Kakiat Patent, a tract of 300 acres which was allotted to William Campbell of
Haverstraw. He sold the tract on May 9, J74J for £JOO to Jacob A. Blauvelt of Tap-
pan. This Jacob' Blauvelt and his wife Pieterje Haring lived on a farm in the present
village of Blauvelt in Tappan Patent, in a house later superseded by the existing
stone house built by their son Johannes (see supra). In May J753 Jacob sold the
north half of his 300 acre purchase to his eldest son Jacob J.•-Blauvelt; his descend-
ants still reside here in a red brick house built in J830. The south half of the tract (on
186
 HOUS ES IN ROCK LAND COUN TY

whic h the house in question stands) was presumably deeded or wille

d to anoth er of
Jacob's numerous sons. The earliest owners, remembered by an old resid
ent, were a
brother and two sisters: Jacob Blauvelt, b. June J9, J789, marr ied Ann
, daug hter of
Jacob Woo d; Maria Blauvelt, b. Sept. 4, J799, married in J8l7 Jabe z,
son of Jaco b
Woo d; Eliza beth Van Orde n Blauvelt, b. May 23, J809, marr ied in l 824
John , son of
Sam ud De Baan . It is logical to presume that they were joint inher
itors of their
father's farm. They were the children of Isaac Blauvelt and Anne tje Henn
ion, both
residents of New Hempstead (the early name of this regio n) at the
time of their
marriage Dec. l8, l788. The house was probably built by Isaac Blau
vdt's fathe r;
his name is unkn own, but he was undoubtedly a grand son of Jaco
b Blau velt, the
purchaser of the tract.
The house was later owned by the Lane family, fathe r and son,
and the
brother-in -law John Schroeder. It passed throu gh several hand s, and
is now owne d
by W. C. Christie. It stands in the fields one and a half miles north
of New City ,
on the road to Have rstraw locally ca11ed The Street. The use of lintel
s over the
door and windows suggests that the house was built later in the eight
eenth centu ry
than the other stone houses in the vicinity.

Blau velt -Ho genc amp Hou se

Old Brew ery Road, near New City
PLAT E 47
Littl e is know n of the histo ry of this house. According to an old
resident, it
was owne d by a Jacob us Blauvelt abou t the end of the eight eenth or
begin ning of
the ninet eenth centu ry; he willed it to his daug hter, wife of John Ever
ett Hoge n-
camp (J.E . Hoge nkam p was the owner in l876 ), and she willed it to
her son-in-law
Ever ett Fowl er, and it is now owned by his son John Fowl er. Jacob
us Blau velt
was of cours e descended from the Blauvelt family of Tapp an, but
his linea ge is
unde term ined. The house is now rented to a family name d Goetschiu
s. It stand s
on the east side of the Old Brew ery Road , abou t one mile south east
of New City
as the crow flies. At some early perio d in its histo ry the house was
considerably
deepened, thus alter ing the line of the chimney, and a wide gable roof
place d over
the whol e. Orig inall y it prob ably resembled the narro w houses of the
neighborhood.

Hou se of Michael Cornelison

Cornelison Point , South Nyac k

The h oUsestands on the shore of the Huds on Rive r at Cornelison Poin t. Buil t
in J770, it was a large , recen tly erected stone h ouse at the time
.
o
f th R 1 .
e evo utton ,
187
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

and was often the target for the enemy's fire as the British ships sailed up the
Hudson. Early in the war the enemy occupied it for a short time.
A tract of 640 acres in this locality was patented in 1671 to Claes
Jansen1 (Kuyper) van Purmarent; he was a resident of Ahasymus (part of Jersey
City). As he died intestate, all his property devolved upon his eldest son, Cornelius
Claesent Kuyper, in accordance with the English law. In the settlement of his
father's estate, he deeded the South Nyack portion of the patent to his younger
brother John Claesen! Kuyper, who settled on Cornelison Point and built the first
house here, near the present one. His son Claes Jansen" Kuyper married Lena
Westervelt, and their daughter Catharine• Kuyper, b. March 3, l 73 l, married
Michael Cornelison, Sr. on March 21, 1751. In 1765 Michael Cornelison bought out
the other heirs of his father-in-law, and in 1770 built the present stone house. His
daughter Eleanor Cornelison married T eunis Smith; their daughter Mary Louise
Smith married John Laurence Salisbury, whose ancestors came from Blenheim in
Austria. Although there have been sons in each generation, the house has passed
down in the female line. The present owners are John Salisbury's two daughters,
the Misses Jennie Smith and Louisa Dean Salisbury.
The house is a large two story stone building. Its proportions are marred by its
present heavy gambrel roof. The house is situated on a bluff and commands a
beautiful view of that part of the Hudson known as the Tappan Zee. The shore
road curves around and behind it to Piermont Avenue in South Nyack.

House of Tunis Cuyper, later Van Houten's

Sickeltown Road, Nauruashaun, Orangetown
This house stands on the Expense Lot of the Kakiat Patent, which was set
off and sold to pay the expenses of the division in l 713. It was a 1000 acre tract,
two-thirds of which was bought by Capt. Cornelius Oaesen' Kuyper on March 6,
l 714. He was a large landowner and prominent personage in Rockland County.
He lived at Upper Nyack where he died in 1731 (see plate 80). At his death he
willed to his eldest son Tunise 330 acres at Fiuken, the name evidently then applied
to this southern portion of the Kakiat Patent in the interior back of Tappan. Tunise
or Tunis" Cuyper, born at the Wallabout, Long Island, bap. April 8, 1685, settled
on the tract inherited from his father and in l 732 built here a typical one and a
half story stone house. On April 26, l 718 he married Marritje, daughter of Abraham
Blauvelt, and had many children. In his will, executed in 1757 and probated in
1767, he styled himself a resident of Naringshaw, and mentioned his wife, his sons
Cornelius, Abraham, and Tunis, his daughters Altje and Maritje Terneur, and his

188
 HOU SES IN ROCK LAND COU NTY

granddaughter Grietie the daughter of Grietie. The son Corn

elius lived in this
vicinity at Sickeltown and was the father-in-law of William Sick
els, Revolutionary
owner of a house nearby (plate 57). The son Tun is built a shor
t distance west of
his father's at the foot of the road to Pear l River. It is a stone hous
e now disfigured
by a heavy mansard roof, and is known as the MacKenzie hous
e. The rema ining
son inherited the father's house. He was Abraham• Cooper, b.
June 6, 1725, d.
July J4, 1797 and lies buried at Sickeltown. On April 7, 1750
he married Sara h,
daughter of Abra ham Blauvelt, b. July 27, 1729, d. Sept. 24, J820
, and buried with
her husband. The y had two daughters and two sons. The hous
e was sold to the
Van Houten family early in the nineteenth century.
Oau s R.6 Van Hou ten lived in a stone house on the bank of the
Hackensack
River near New City (see infra). Among his children was Rule
£ C/ Van Hou ten,
b. April 23, 1779 in his father's home, d. Aug . l3, 1866 aged 87 year
s, and lies buri ed
at Sickeltown. On Nov. l4, 1800 he married Sarah Sickels, b.
Dec. 22, J780, d.
July l l, 1857 and was buried with her husband. She was one of
the daughters of
Squire Will iam Sickels of Sickeltown (plate 57). The y settled
in New Yor k City
in 1800 where he pursued the trade of wheelwright. In 1812
they moved to Oran ge-
ville not far from her father's, and purchased l 3 acres, a saw mill
and a grist mill,
later becoming the owners of 250 acres in the township. The place
came to' be called
Van Hou ten's Mills and is now again known as Nauraushaun. The
y boug ht the
Cooper house here and considerably remodelled it, adding a seco
nd story in l 832.
They had three children: John R., b. 1803 in New York City, lived
at Orangeville
until 1865, d. l88l at Nya ck; William S., b. 1806, d. 1828; and
George, b. June 9,
1814, d. Aug . JS, 1895, buried at Sickeltown. George succeede
d to his father's mill
business. The house is still owned by the family and is now in
the possession of
Morris Van Hou ten.
The house has marked pictorial quality and beauty of line but
it is not typical
of the pre-revolutionary Dutc h houses. Little of the roug h
stonework of J732
remains. The walls have been relaid in tooled blocks and carried
up a second story.
The gambrel roof has curved overhanging eaves. A dated stone
on the south wall
records the date of the rebuilding. The house stands on the sout
h side of the Sickel-
town Road at the bend of the road near the foot of the hill. The
Sickeltown Roa d
led from the old Dutc h church at Clarkstown south thro ugh
Wes t Nya ck and
Sickeltown to Nau raus haun , up the hill, and southward agai
n towards the Old
Tappan settlement. Klaes" Van Houten, great-grandfather of Rule
£ C/ Van Houten,
tnay have been the build er of the old Van Houten home
on the hill here. It was a
stone house no longer existing.

189
 HOUSE S IN ROCKL AND COUNT Y

House of Danie l De Clark

De Wint House; Wash ingto n's Head quart ers
Tappan
PLATE 48
Althou gh built by Daniel De Clark, the house soon passed out of his family's
possession and is generally known as the house of John De Wint, who was Wash-
ington's host, and whose descendants occupied it for over a century. Daniel De Clark
(De Klerck) was born about 1654, as he stated in 1692 that he was about 38 years
old. His early home was at Oostberg in the Netherlands. There his young son
Jacobus was born and his wife Marie de Moll probably died. He emigrated to
New York City, settling in the Bouwery Village, north of Wall Street, and joined
the Dutch Church in December of 1684. He married his neighbor Grietje Cozyns,
widow of Jan Pietersen Haring , on March 4, 1685. Haring had been the leader of
the Bouwery villagers in purchasing a large tract on the Hudso n ~ver from the
Tappa n Indians, but died before the patent was obtained. Daniel De Clark took the
place of his predecessor and became the leading man of the Tappa n community,
whither he removed in 1686-87. He was a brewer, captain of the militia, and a justice
of the peace. He was a Leislerian adherent and was chosen a justice and a member
of the Committee of Safety acting for Orang e Count y in 1689.
Daniel De Clark's first home at Tappa n no longer exists; it may have been the
low west wing of the present house, which was still standing in l 850. As the leader
of the young settlement he no doubt felt a more handsome house befitted him. The
present house was built in l 700, of stone brough t across the swamp from an outcrop
on the Palisades, and of brick which is said to have been brough t from Holland as
ballast on the ships. The date l 700 is worked in brickwork in large lettering across
the front of the house (the second "O" can be seen in the photograph near the
window). The very steep pitch of th.e roof is characteristic of this early period, and
the ceilings are so low that special headroom had to be cut out for the grandfather's
clock. Note the "India n hole" high up in the east gable end, a reconnoitering point
in case of attack by savages. This is the only early brick house known to exist on
the western shore; the widespread and generally false tradition that the bricks were
brought from Holland is probably true in this instance; there would be no local
brick kilns on the frontier at such an early date, and the leader of a settlement would
probably go to the trouble and expense of building a more pretentious house than
his neighbors, who used the local sandstone exclusively. The younger of his wife's
seven children were probably raised here; his own two children by the second mar-
riage may have been born and died here, as they died in infancy. His son by his
first marriage was Jacobus, b. at Oostberg, married at Tappa n Oct. 16, 1706 Annetje
190
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

Van Houten of Ahasimus. Daniel De Qark died intestate shortly before Nov. 16,
J73 l, when his son Jacobus was appointed administrator. Jacobus evidently sold
the house to settle his father's estate.
The house and farm of 200 acres were sold by Rem Remsen of Kings County
for £675 on May J, J746, to John De Wint of New York City. John De Wint was
a wealthy man, owning a sugar plantation on the Island of St. Thomas in the
West Indies, where he was born. He married Anna Kermer, and had eight children,
the three eldest born in New York Oty, and the five others bom in his new residence
at Tappan. He was George Washington's host here on four separate occasions:
Aug. 8-23, J780, Sept. 28 to Oct. 7, J780, May 5-8, J783, Nov. l2-J3, J783. His
second stay was the occasion of Major Andre's trial and execution; Washin gton
ordered the shutters closed on October 2nd so as to be spared the sight of the gallows
on a nearby hill. In May, l 783 Washington held an interview here with Sir Guy
Carleton, British Commander in Chief, after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, and
he gave a dinner here for Carleton, the dinner being served by Sam Fraunce s, the
famous chef of the time, who was brought up from New York for the occasion.
John De Wint died Nov. 7, l795, willing his home to his eldest child Anna
Maria, who lived with her father. Anna Maria De Wint, b. April J6, 1737 in New
York City, married at Tappan Nov. 29, l753 Major Fredericus Blauvelt, d. May 9,
J809 aged SJ years, 5 months, 6 days; at her death on June 22, 1805, the property
passed by will to their only child Elizabeth Blauvelt, b. Jan. 14, 1755, d. June 4,
J827. Jacobus De Clark and his wife Marretje, grandson and granddaughter-in-law
of the builder of the house, acted as Elizabeth's sponsors at her baptism in the
Tappan Church. Elizabeth Blauvelt married Cornelius C. Mabie, b. March 17, l 754,
d. March 6, J843, son of Casparus Mabie, owner of the "l 776 House" in Tappan at
the time of the Revolution. Cornelius and Elizabeth Mabie sold the homestead and
35 acres on Aug. 27, 1818 to Arthur and Ann Johnson of Paterson; the house came
again into possession of the family when Ann Johnson, widow, sold the house to
Samuel S. Verbryck on Aug. 14, 1850. Cornelius and Elizabeth Mabie's daughter
Anna Maria Mabie, b. Feb. 2, 1788, died at the age of 94 years, J month, 5 days,
married first on Oct. 15, 1808 David J. Haring, and secondly on Dec. 24, l8J4
Samuel s. y erbryck, Jr., d. June 23, 1860 aged 72 years, 8 months, 23 days, a grand-
son of the Rev. Samuel Verbryck of Tappan. After his purchase of his wife's
ancestral homestead in l 850, Verbryck demolished the kitchen stone wing ( which
may have been the original house), and built a two-story frame addition. They did
not live here long as they sold the house and 5 acres to Dr. T. Blanch Smith on Aug.
30 l 858 The h;use has passed through various hands. William Rogers was the
o:mer V:hen the photograph was taken in l 925.
191
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

It has been purchased recently by a Masonic lodge, restored and opened to the
public. The house has been painted white with the date brought out in black. The
old windows have been removed. Crenellated woodwork along the edge of the over-
hanging roof, which is typically Victorian in style and was no doubt added by the
Johnsons, has been restored 1The atmosphere of a private home has been completely
destroyed by a large parking space near the building. Two sketches of the house
made by Lossing can be seen in his 1776 or the War of Independence, P• 326, and
in his Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution, v. l, p. 764. This account has been
freely drawn from Budke's article in the Rockland Record for 1930.
The house stands on a fifty morgen lot confirmed to Daniel De Clark in the
1704 division of the Tappan Patent. It was a short distance east of the King's
Highway which wound through the village of Tappan, and at the time of the
Revolution was reached by a private lane across the Sparkill (creek). It stands in
the south end of the village.

De Pew House
Haverstraw Road, New City
PLATE 49
This house stands on Lot No. 5 of the North Moiety of the Kakiat Patent,
allotted to William Campbell in l7l3. It was a 300 acre tract which was sold May 9,
l74l by William Campbell of Haverstraw to Jacob A. Blauvelt of Tappan; he sold
the north half of the tract to his son Jacob J. Blauvelt in May, 1753, describing the
bounds as the headwaters of the Hackensack River and the lands of the De Pews
and Van Houtens. The house in question stands on the south part of Lot No. 5. It
was built at two separate times. The east unit is of a very early type of construction
and may have been built by William Campbell between 1713 and J74J, since he
was living at this time in Haverstraw Precinct, which in early days included the
Kakiat Patent. Some time between 1741 and 1753 Jacob A. Blauvelt must have sold
the property to his brother-in-law Peter Du Puw, although we have no record of
the transaction, and it is probable that Peter Du Puw built the house at this time
according to an early style.
His grandfather, Fran~ois Dupuis of Calais in France, emigrated to this country
and married at Brooklyn Sept. 26, 1661 Geertje Williams of Amsterdam. He was
one of the original inhabitants of Bushwick in l66J, later removed to Haverstraw
where he took the oath of allegiance in 1687, and settled in Westchester County by
1702. He had eight children by his first wife; in 1687-89 he married secondly Annie
Elsten, mother of his youngest child. His eldest son Willem' Dupuis or Du Puw, b.
about 1663 at Bushwick, removed as a young man to VerPlanck's Point in Van
192
 HOU SES IN ROCKLAND COUN TY

Cortlandt Man or, where he resided at the time of his marr iage
on Aug . l0, l688 to
Elizabeth Whi te of Barbadoes. Amo ng their seven children
was Peter" Du Puw ,
bap. Marc h 28, l 703 at Tarr ytow n Church, married Eliza beth
Blau velt and had
three sons, all baptized at Tapp an Church, Abra ham in l 729,
Pete r in l 732 and
Isaac in l 740. Eliza beth Blauvelt, b. Apri l J J, l 705 at Tapp an,
was the daug hter of
Abra ham Gerr itsen ' Blau velt; she had previously marr ied on Oct.
5, l723 Joha nnes
Pietersen Hari ng, nephew of Cozyn Hari ng of Old Tapp an (plat
e 89). Eliza beth 's
brother Jaco b A. Blauvelt lived on a farm in the present villa
ge of Blau velt; he
undoubtedly sold part of his Kaki at tract to his brother-in-law
, who prob ably built
and settled here in the J740's. The eldest son Abra ham4 Du Puw
, b. Jan. 6, l729 , is
known to have owned the house. On Nov. 23, l750 he marr
ied Rach el Blau velt,
both bein g recorded as residents of New Hempstead ( i.e., Kaki
at, now New City ),
and had several children, including Petru s, Elizabeth and Com
elis. Com elis5 Depe w,
b. July 27, l76J , marr ied Ann atje Gerretse, and had two sons
Garr et and Abra ham ,
and othe r children. Abra ham4 Du Puw (b. J729) willed the hous
e to his gran dson
Abra ham C:' De Pew (b. l780 ). The latter's brother Garr et
and wife Mar y lived
on the sout h side of the road in a stone house no long er stand
ing. Sinc e Abra ham
C. De Pew 's time, the house has changed hands frequently. In l876
it was own ed by
Sam uel De Bau n Paul , then by his son Cornelius Paul , a journ
eyma n. The prese nt
owner is Will B. Blauvelt, a florist.
The east unit of the house, consisting of one room, door and
chim ney, was
doubtless built in the l740 's or earlier; the west unit (sho wn in
the phot ogra ph) was
built duri ng the Revo lutio n abou t l 780, probably by Abra ham
Du Puw at the time
of his son's marriage. Exam ples of very early woodwork are to
be seen in the inter ior;
the enclosed stair way in the hall (part of the second unit) is inter
esting. The house is
two miles nort h of New City ; it stands on the north side of the
road to Have rstra w,
a half mile beyo nd the shar p tum eastward. The Blauvelt-Lane
and Blauvelt-Secor
houses (plat es 45 and 46) are less than one mile nearer New
City .

Hou se of Pete r De Pew

near the Hack ensac k River , Orangeburg
PLA TE 50
In 1778 Pete r De Pew signe d the peti~i~n of inhabitants in
the v!cinity of
f
T appa n, asking or p rotec tion again st the Briti sh mara uders. The house is mark ed
on Ersk ine's Revo lutio nary map, and h a d b een bu ilt a f ew Y_eared · 1 P t 4
s previous y. e er

0
t
D p th as undo ubte dly the one who was bapt u Dec. 17, l 732, son
pew , De ~e r, wd Eliza beth Blauvelt of K.akiat (plat e 49).
eter u juwVan
Abo ut 1758 he
lsen d. Aug . 13, 1805, aged 72 years, 3 months, 21 days,
marr ied Ann et e an O a '
193
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

daughter of Johannes Van Dalsen and Dirckje Theunis Tallman, and had at least
four children: Peter, Johannes, Bregje, and Theunis. As the three younger ones
were baptized at the Clarkstown Church to the north, it is logical to presume that
Pieter and Annetje continued to reside with his parents until after 1768, when they
removed southwards and built east of Tappan. The eldest son Peter P.6 De Pew,
bap. Feb. 2, 1759 at Tappan, is said to have fought in the Revolution from Dutchess
Co. Another Peter P.6 De Pew, b. Oct. l2, 1782, d. Nov. 8, 1856, was undoubtedly
his son and was the last of the family to reside here; a Peter P. De Pew (father or
son?) sold some of the outlying property about l8l0, describing it as a part of his
father's homestead land. The last Peter De Pew married at Tappan Nov. 23, 1800
Margrietje De Pew, both being recorded as residents of Tappan. She was born
Jan. 3, l 784, died March 24, l 856, and was buried with her husband in Tappan
Cemetery. Their daughter Rachel De Pew, b. Oct. 13, 1802, married at Tappan
April l, 1820 Abram Lent Blanch and removed elsewhere. The house and farm
was recently a part of the large Broadacres Estate.
The property is now owned by the State of New York and is occupied by the
Mitchells who work at the Rockland State Hospital nearby. They are interested in
the history of. the house and are attempting to restore it along the old lines (it was a
mere shell when bought by the state). The house is a scant mile north of the state
line, on the northeast side of the road to Old Tappan, on which the two Haring
houses also stand (plates 90 and 9 l) south of the border. The road at this point is an
unimportant lane, joining the Orangeburg Road north of the house and near the
bridge over the Hackensack River. The house is over two miles west of the village
of Orangeburg.

De Pew-Holdrum House
south of the Orangeburg Road, Orangeburg
Like the one above, this house is also owned by the State of ~ew York and
inhabited by employees of the nearby State Hospital. It is very similar in style,
alth~ugh the stones on the end are more irregular in size; the roofline is unchanged,
the lmtels are of stone, and the old twelve-pane window sashes still remain. As it
was occupied ?Y the family until the present century, its original character is less
changed than m the case of the former house, but it is in an unkempt condition and
a satisfactory photograph could not be taken. The house is about one half mile east
?f the other ~e Pew house, on a branch of the road to Old Tappan (now the more
important highway of the two), and also immediately south of the Orangeburg
Road. Erskine did not survey this road, but the house was probabl b ilt b t th
.
time ofthe R evo1ution
. by I saac D e Pew. y u a ou e
194
 HOUS ES IN ROCK LAND COUN TY

Isaac4 De Pew, b. Marc h 25, l740 at Tapp an, d. Apri l 30, l823 aged
83 years ,
l month, 5 days,* was the youngest son of Peter Du Puw and Eliza beth
Blau velt of
Kakiat (plate 49), and the youngest brother of Piete r De Pew, who built
the hous e
nearby (plate 50). As their grandfather, Abra ham Gerri tsen' Blau
velt, owne d a
great deal of land in the vicinity of Old Tapp an, the two broth ers may
have settled
on land received from their mother. Isaac De Pew married Brec hje or Brid
get Smit h,
b. Dec. 22, l746,* died Aug. 5, l826,* daughter of Abra ham Smid t and
Mari a Tall-
man, and sister of Majo r John Smith, owner of the house at Germonds
(plat e 60).
Thei r only son Abrahams De Pew, b. July 3, l768,* d. Aug. l, 1833,
* marr ied
Marr itjeo r Mart ha Cooper, b. Sept.18, 1774,* d.Ap ril 24, 1835.* Thes
e two gene ra-
tions of De Pews lie buried at Orangeburg Cemetery. Thei r only child
Eliza beth6
De Pew, b. Dec. 16, 1809,* d. April 26, 1881,* married June 16, J83J*
Cornelius J.
Holdrum, b. June 6, 1806,* cl. Dec. 10, 1871,* and had one daug hter and
three sons.
Elizabeth De Pew inherited the house and continued to reside here
as a wido w.
Her estate sold the property about 1900. Her husband was born at Old
Tapp an, son
of Jame s C. Hold rum, the grandson of Willi am Hold rum of Pasc ack
(plat e 93).

Ecke rson Hou se

Old Post Road, Sprin g Valle y

The builder of this house is unknown. It stands on the large V anderlind

a tract,
which was portioned off and sold at various times. Whe n the present owne
rs reroofed
the house, they discovered a small book boun d between boards, and
published in
1752. The house was probably built in the third quarter of the eighteenth
century.
The regio n was in early times known as Uppe r Pascack. Ther e were
members of
the Ecke rson family here and in adjoining localities in the late eighteenth
century.
The first know n owner of the house is Davi d D. Ecke rson; his son
Christian D.
Ecke rson died over thirty years ago at the age of 84; as he was born
in the house
the Ecke rson family owned it at least as early as 1815. Whe ther Davi
d D. Eckerson
boug ht or inherited the property is not know n; but since two of his broth
ers owned
adjoining houses (still standing and owned by Mrs. Catharine Hirsc
h, one to the
south and one on the hill to the west) , it is probable that the whole
tract once be-
longed to their father, and that the houses were built rather than boug
ht by the
Eckersons. The family lineage is undetermined; it is possible that Davi
d D. Ecker-
the Davi d baptized Aug. l2, l 783 at Clarkstown Church, son of Davi
d
; ; k : and Rach el Conkling. Christian D. Eck~rson sold the house
towards the
end of the nineteenth century. The present own er~ Leo Glasel.
The curved roofline of this house has a beautiful sweep, but the chara
cter of
195

• Taken from family Bible.

 HOUSES IN ROCKLA ND COUNTY

the house is marred by a porch on either side, built up of cobblestones. The Eckerso n
house further south on the road is also altered and is in poor conditi on; the Eckerso n
house on the hill has had a low frame story added. All three are of stone. The Ecker-
son-Glasel house is about three miles south of Spring Valley; it is on the east side of
the old Post Road, which becomes the Chestnut Ridge Road across the state border,
half a mile to the south.

Haner -Ryde r House

at the south end of Rocklan d Lake
PLATE 51

This is considered to be the second oldest house standin g in Rockla nd County ;

it is only surpassed in age by the De Clark- De Wint house at Tappan , built in l 700.
Unfortunately the first century of its ownership is lost in obscurity. It stands on the
Ponds Patent granted to Marshall and Welch Sept. 2, 1694. Welch sold his share
to John Hutchins, who obtained the south half of 2500 acres in the division of 1700.
The house was built shortly after this date. John Hutchin s almost lost his life in
the Leisler Rebellion in New York City; he may have built the house and retired
here for safety. In l 7 l l he sold 200 acres of the land on the west side of the lake to
John Slawter, and some time afterward sold most if not all of his remain ing land to a
company of German settlers. The house is shown on a map of 1713, made by James
Townse nd, surveyor of the Kakiat Patent; it is illegibly marked "Haner hous" (?).
Haner is a German family name, found among the Palatines who settled on Living-
ston Manor in l 710; so it is possible that the Haners were the first German occupants
of this house.
When and how it came into the possession of the Ryder family is not known.
Our first definite conveyance of this plot is by deed of May 3, l 800 from John Ryder
to his son John Ryder, Jr., in which the bounds are described as the lands of John
Smith on the southwest and of William Hoffman on the southeast, while on the
northeast lie the lands John Ryder bought from Abner Brush. The latter parcel was
bought by John Ryder in 1775; the previous owner Abner Brush had purchased it
Aug. 3, 1772 from David, son of Jurry Hoffman; it was 39 acres of the seller's share,
bounded west by the Pond, south by Ephraim Terrell, north by John Ryder, and
southwest by William Dobbs. Thus possibly William Dobbs was the owner of the
house at the time of the Revolution; he may have acquired it from the Hoffmans
who lived in this vicinity. Hermanus Hoffman was one of the early German settler;
and owned a plantation or farm on the east side of Quaspeck Pond near th th
end; in his will of l 752 he left his son J urry the north l 06 acres of his farm :n~~s

196
 HOUSE S IN ROCKLAND COUNT Y

eldest son Herma nus the south l06 acres of his farm. As the above deed showe d that
Jurry Hoffm an owned northeast of the house, the farm willed to Herma nus Hoff-
man, Jr., may have included the old house, but this is conjecture. John Ryder was
a large landho lder: on June 8, 1753 he bough t 225 acres, the origin al share
of Peter
Geslar, the owner s of adjoining lands including John Ryder ; the village of Valley
Cottage is on this tract and an old house called the Green House (becau se of its
color) stands here on the King's Highw ay by the river; it is much later in elate and
remodelled.
The small whitewashed stone house is little more than a hut. It consists of three
rooms, one downstairs and two upstairs, to which access is had by means of a ladder .
The windo w casings and walls are over twenty inches thick. The house is at the
southeast end of Rockl and Lake (formerly Quaspeck Pond) , and sets low in the
bank ( a short distance east of the new state highw ay) off the east side of the road to
Valley Cottag e. There is a beautiful spring of water near at hand. The presen t
owner is Mrs. Franci s X. Deering of New York City and Rockl and Lake; the house
is unoccupied.

Harin g Hous e
King's Highwa y, Tappan
PLATE 52

Little is known of the early history of this house. It is marke d on Erskin e's
Revol utiona ry map, and was undoubtedly built a few years before the war. An old
resident states that it was owned in the· early l870's by a John Harin g, who had
three sons: Samue l, John and Isaac; they lost it, and it was sold by foreclosure to
Roger Haddo ck, a successful Pierm ont grocer; then it was bough t by a land pro-
motion compa ny, a Mr. Barnwell and Mr. Austin, the latter now Presid ent of the
First Nation al Bank of Spark ill; they sold it to John Collier, a lecturer, who finally
sold it to the Stand ard Oil Co. of New York, who rent it to Italian tenants. The
King's Highw ay was rather circuitous in this locality; it came north across the state
border to Tappa n, then wound north ~twar d between the two br~ch ~ of the
s kill ( k) to Sparkill village, and finally took a northwesterly direction skirt-
: ;the m~=a ins to Orang eburg. The house is between Tappa n and Spai:kill, and
els ff th Kin , Highw ay on a knoll surrounded by low ground. It is on the
stanth O e
°
f King's Highw ay and the new state highway. The house is a
nor ~est comer f the gambrel type of Dutch architecture with the early type of
beauti ful examp1e. Od e
Interes t is added to t he house by the bric
· k 1'mtels.
slopin g dorme r wm ows.
1 97
 HOUSE S IN ROCKL AND COUNT Y

Hous e of Abra m Lent

Road to Tappan, Orangeburg
PLATE 53

A stone records the erection of the house in J752. It was built by or for Abram
Lent. The ancestor of the family, Abraham de Ryck, was one of the earliest settlers
in New Amsterdam. His son Ryck Abrahamsen' van Lent obtained ( with his
brothers) a patent to land on the Hudson River in Westchester Co., which became
known as Ryck's Patent . His grandson Adolph• van Lent, b. J703 in Westchester
Co., removed to Rockland County and married Claasje Haring , bap. June 3, J7U,
daugh ter of Peter Janse Haring and Grietje Bogar t; they had nine children baptized
at Tappa n from J728 to J753, including Peter who was a patriot of Dutchess Co.,
Jacobus (or James) and Abram who were loyalists. Adolph, the father, was evi-
dently also a loyalist, as his property is said to have been confiscated.
The eldest son Abram5 Lent, b. May 27, J732, d. Oct. 29, J8J3, aged 8J years
and 5 months, built the house (or his father built it for him) the year before he was
married. He and his wife were both residents of Tappa n at the time of their marriage
July 7, J753; she was Sarah Haring, d. Aug. 30, J807, aged 76 years and 8 month s;
both lie buried at Orangeburg. On Dec. 22, J775 the Colony of New York issued
a commission to Abram Lent of Orangetown as Colonel of the First Regim ent of
Militia of Foot of Orangetown; on March 23, J776 he resigned, due to the blame
and slander of some officers in the regiment. A descendant states he was captured in
Clinton by the British and made no effort to return, so he is presumed to have
changed his allegiance. After the war he settled on the T usket River 6in Nova Scotia
with his brother, but returned to Rockland County. His son Peter Lent was the
father of James Lent, who marr~ed at Tappa n Aug. 2J, l808 Sarah Gisner, and
1

had at least four children: Peter, Adolph, Maria and Ann. Ann Lent married Philip
8

Graham who was of Scotch descent, and their son John Willia m Graha m was the
father of I. Spencer Graham. The latter sold the house about l9J6 to some cousins
who did not keep it, and he sold the house out of the family about l 9 J8 to the present
owner, Morgan Stinemetz.
The house stands on a hill in the village of Orang eburg, on the east side of the
road between the two railroad crossings. An unusual feature is the steep, gable roof
used to cover a house of this depth.

198
 HOUSE S IN ROCKL AND COUNT Y

Hous e of Jerem ias Mabi e

Orangeburg Road, Nauraushaun, Orange town
PLAT E 54
This house stands on Lot No. 10 of the South Moiety of the Kakia t Paten t,
which was allotted to Lancaster Symes in the division of 1727. In some manne r, this
380 acre tract passed into the possession of Jeremias Mabie, who mentioned it in his
will dated 1780. The house, which is shown on Erskine's Revolutionary map, was
undoubtedly built by him, possibly about the time of his marria ge in 1752. His
ancestor Serge ant Caspar1 Mabille had emigrated to New Amsterdam before 1650;
he came of a Hugue not family of Anjou, which had fled to Naard en in Holla nd
where his son Pieter was born. Pieter Casparszen• Mabille became a small burgh er
of New Amsterdam, and married Aechtje Jans, also from Naard en, widow of
Abrah am Willemszen. Their youngest son, Caspar Pietszen• Mabie, bap. Feb. 15,
1660, settled at Harlem and later at Closter, New Jersey. His son Peter' Mabie, bap.
Dec. 26, 1689 at New York, d. 1769-72 in Orangetown, married at Hackensack
June 19, 1715 Katalintie Bogar t; they removed to Tappa n and became the ancestors
of the Mabies of Rockland County.
Their sixth child was Jeremias Mabie, b. Dec. 13, l727 at Tappa n, married
5

there Feb. 9, l752 Sara Blauvelt, b. Sept. 5, l728, daughter of Johannes A. Blauv elt;
two of her uncles were Jacob A. Blauvelt of the farm in Blauvelt and Peter Du Puw
of Kakia t (plate 49). Jeremias and Sara had at least three daughters, Rachel, Cata-
lyntie and Elizab eth; about l783 their son-in-law Michael Salyer acquired the
property. Elizab eth Mabie, b. April 23, J76J, married Mlchael Salyer, b. March 8,
6

1757, d. April 9, J8JO, son of Edwar d Salyer and Sara Turne ur. Elizabeth had by
him at least four daughters, Elizabeth, Mary, Sara, and Rache l; after his death, she
married secondly Feb. 8, J8J l, Teuni s A. Cuyper, widower. Only the south half of
Lot No. JO was owned by Michael Salyer at the time of his decease; this property
was divided in J8 JJ ; the house stood on Lot No. l of the partition and was allotted
to the daugh ter Mary Salyer, b. Jan. J, J79J, married July 30, 1808 David Bogert.
Mary Boger t later deeded the property to James Aymir , who in J854 devised it to
the children of Mary, wife of Tunis Blauvelt. In l 876 the house was owned by
T. J. Blauvelt. The property has since changed hands frequently; the house is now
owned by A. W. Hopper, and occupied by his son D. L. Hopper.
The house stands on the west side of the Orang eburg Road, south of Convent
Road and is three miles west of the village of Orangeburg. It has recently been
r t ;eel with good taste, although the addition of Frenc h windows and the very
w~~e r~pointing detract slightly from the original character.
199
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

House of Cornelius Meyers (?); Tavern of Casparus Mabie;

The r776 House; Andre's Prison
King's Highway, Tappan

In the heart of Tappan still stands a stone house known far and wide as the
"l 776 House," for what reason is not known, unless the elate is symbolical for its
Revolutionary history. The house was probably built by Cornelius Meyers, who
sold it to Casparus Mabie in 1753 (Tompkins' History). Casparus5 Mabie, b. April
10, 1716 at Tappan, d. 1782-84, was the oldest child of Peter and Katalintie Mabie,
and an older brother of Jeremias Mabie of Orangeville (plate 54). He kept the first
tavern in Tappan village which became known as the Yost Mabie T avem. On July
17, 1775 was held the most important meeting of the locality (doubtless at this
house),. at which every man was called upon to declare allegiance to the cause of
liberty. When Major Andre was captured later on in the war, he was sent to Tappan
and lodged here at the house of Mr. Mabie; he was treated with the attention suit-
able to his noble character and rank, and supplied with refreshment daily from
General Washington's table at his headquarters in the De Wint house nearby (plate
48). As the courthouse had been burned recently, Andre's trial took place in the
Dutch church opposite; he was executed at noon on Oct. 2, l 780, and buried on a
hillside back of the village. Casparus Mabie later sold his tavern to Frederick Blau-
velt, who resold it in 1800. The tavern was kept by a Dupuy in l82l, when the
British stopped here to obtain Andre's remains for reburial in Westminster Abbey.
At a later elate it was kept for a time by Abraham Snedeker (b. 1793) of Congers.
The house stands on the west side of the main street of Tappan, almost opposite the
church, and is now run as a cheap refreshment stand. It is built of stone with a
wide gable roof; it has been altered and is covered with billboards, so that its
character is lost.
Mann Houses
Palisades

There were three houses built by the Mann family at Rockland, now Palisades,
but the two still existing were not erected until l 784 and l 793. Since the former is
generally known as a pre-revolutionary house, a short account is given here to
correct this impression. George' Mann was one of the six children of David Mann,
a mason, who lived in Seitzen, Wurtemburg, and died there in J752 George came to
America in 1753 with his widowed mother, Anne Margaret, and probably settled at
Rockland immediately or shortly thereafter, as he was termed George Mann of
Rockland in a deed of l 767. The land in this vicinity was a part of the Lockhart
200
 HOUS ES IN ROCK LAND COUN TY
Paten t of Feb. 20, 1685. It eventually passed into the possession of
Mar y Corb ett
and her husb and Henr y Ludl ow, who sold it in parcels from time to
time . 196 acres
were purch ased on Nov. 14, 1752 by Jona than Haza rd of New York
, who in 1759
disposed of the tract to Jame s Lawrence of New York City, and he
sold 98 acres
in May , l 767 to George Man n of Rockland. The latter built a hous e on
this tract and
here all his six children were born. On May 9, l 772 he boug ht 32 acres
more on his
south bord er, being the hill land. It is on this hill prop erty that he built
the prese nt
house in 1784, according to Serviss' map of 1874. The hous e is not
on Ersk ine's
Revo lutio nary map. George Man n, b. 1735, d. 1806, had marr ied
Mari a Cook
Vinc ent, b. J 733, d. J808.
The l 784 house passed to their second son George • Mann, b. May
29, J 770, d.
Apri l 24, 1856. He marr ied Hele n Alvo rd and had eight children.
The hous e was
inher ited by the son Davi d G;' Man n, b. May , 1801, d. May , 1873,
marr ied in J834
Marg aret Rike r, b. Sept. , 1812, d. July, 1891. One of their six child
ren was Geor ge
W.' Man n, b. 1835, marr ied Sara h Line and had four children. Thei
r son Char les5
Man n conti nued to reside in the old homestead. By his wife Alice
he had two sons
Davi d and Lind ley. The house was sold by the family abou t J870 to
a land comp any
and leased until it was purch ased by the present owne r, Dr. Henr y Smit
h.
This J 784 house is built along the pre-w ar lines but by a later meth od.
The main
unit is of dressed stone, carefully cut and laid, and is covered by a gable
roof havi ng
an over hang . The early inter ior arran geme nt is followed, of two main
room s adjoi n-
ing each othe r, each with its separate outside door. A wing on the south
end is simi-
larly built but is smal ler and lowe r; its east front has but one door and
two wind ows.
Earl y in the ninet eenth centu ry this wing was lengt hene d to half again
its size with a
fram e unit caref ully built to follow the origi nal lines, and to this was
adde d anoth er
small, very low wing . The hous e has been successfully resto red recen
tly. It faces
east and stand s on the south side of the Road to Sned en's Land ing,
not far from the
main high way.
The J793 hous e was built by the eldest son of the emig rant, Davi
d' Man n, b.
Feb. J768, cl. J852, marr ied Cath arine Lawr ence and had seven child
ren. He built
the hous e in J793 near the cow path . The members of his fami ly
were called the
"Ma nns in the field" to disti ngui sh them from the Man ns in the villa
ge. Thei r first
son Geor ge D.' Mann, b. J80J, d. J886, neve r marr ied. Thei r secon
d son Davi d
Mann, b. Marc h JO, J805, d. Marc h 24, J897, marr ied Eliza Powles. The hous
e was
inher ited by the latte r's son Davi d' Mann, b. l 842, marr ied Ales
ter Mab ie. Thei r
only son Geor ge' Mann marr ied Marg retta W ahren berg er but had
no child ren. This
Geor ge Mann sold the J793 home stead in J929, and moved to Tapp
an with his wife
and moth er. The hous e is now empt y. .
201
 HOUSE S IN ROCKL AND COUNT Y

Oblenis Hous e
Sickelt own Road, West Nyack
PLAT E 54
This house and two adjoining it on the south are shown on Erskin e's Revolu-
tionary map, but the owners are not named; they stand on the Oblenis tract and
were doubtless built by various Oblenis sons. Joost' Van Oblenis emigrated and pur-
chased land in Harlem in l663, but soon returned to the old country. His son Joost'
Van Oblenis, b. l 640 in Holland, d. l 706, settled at Harlem where he was a patentee;
he married Maria Sammis in l66 l and had six children. Their son Hendrick$
Oblenis, bap. Feb. l8, 1672, d. l745, married Aug. 28, l692 Jannetie, daugh ter of
John Tibou t; they removed to his purchase in the Kakia t Paten t. By deed dated
Dec. ll, 1732 Hendrick Oblenis, yeoman of Harlem in New York, bough t from
Thomas Clark, merchant of New York City, 800 acres of land in the Kakia t Paten t,
known as Lots No. ll and No. l2, extending from the north bound ary of the Ex-
pense Lot to the south boundary of Emil Kline's farm l ¼ miles to the north, and
extending one mile west from Demarest Kill. In more modern parlance, this tract
extended from Nauraushaun (Sickeltown, or the Expense Lot) northw ard beyond
West Nyack Four Comers (formerly Oblenis Comers), and lay west of the Hack-
ensack River (Demarest Kill). Hendrick Oblenis settled on this tract with some of
his seven children. He was succeeded by his son Peter• Oblenis, d. J763-64, married
on April l0, l73l Sarah, daughter of Barent Nagel, the patentee of Closter, and
sister of John Nagel of Closter (plate 97). Peter willed the north part of his property
at New Hempstead (i.e., Kakiat) with house and barn to his son Hendrick already
in possession, and the south part with house and barn to his unmarried son john.
The elder s~n Hendricks Oblenis, b. April 5, l732, d. Dec. J4, J8J5, married
Jan. _l, 1757 Ant1e Lyde~ker an~ had seven children, married secondly Dec. l0, 1792
Catrina Blauvelt, and thirdly Bridget De Clark. At least throo f H d , k' h'ld
• p
lived on the Oblen1s tract: eter 0 blenis (l757- l83l) occu- • od fenmhr1c s c 1 ren
• h , , al h' h , ( p1e a ar ouse ad'Jom- •
mg t orb1gl m_ (o~7e6,0~813c9)1sh dor was recently) standing althou gh modernized;
Garret O en1s ,. -,. a a house on the tract till (
preservation; Maria Oblenis (b. l 762) married Philip Ds or re~nt1Y) in good
the mother of the J. J. Demarest who owned two hou emar :t, an was probably
one in question) in 1876. John Van Houten (who ses on e tract (south of the
relative) removed the original stone house of Hend r·~yO~l ~Y. not have been a
the present brick building (south of the Demarest ho~c dents m l838, and built
f
Houten estate in 1876). Three houses stood at the ti seS, h oRed by the M. Van
distance of a quarter of a mile, and four houses in
187~;.~ t boe evolut~on within a
202
e a ve descrtption of the
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNT Y

houses is taken from Tompk ins' History of Rockla nd Co.; it is difficult at this late
date to assign each house to its owner, without a thorough search of the land records.
It is scarcely likely that Garret (b. l 760) would have erected such a spacious house
by l 778, when he was only eighteen years old, but his home may have been built
by his father Hendri ck and eventually inherited by him. As the house in questio n
has been altered to such a small extent, and only recently, Tompk ins' description of
the conditions of the houses points to its being Garret's house " in good preserv ation"
rather than Peter's house "modernized." It is possible that the house stood on the
southern tract inherited by their uncle John5 Oblenis, who later removed to Pennsy l-
vania, but Tompk ins makes no mention of the fact. The house inherited by John was
probably the original Oblenis house.
Lile and Otto were the owners of the property in 1876. The present owner,
Mrs. Grace Welton Mallery, bought it about l 9 l4; her husband's great-uncle, Judge
William Otto of Delaware, purchased it about sixty years ago (1870) from Mr.
Nickerson; before then it was part of the Van Houten estate.
This is one of the few frame houses in Rockland County known to have been
built before the Revolution (or possibly in the first years of the war); in both Rock-
land and Bergen counties the native sandstone was used exclusively as it was near
at hand, indeed it was often quarried from a pit on the property. Frame houses came
into fashion after the war, and the large gambrel-roofed houses of the next fifty years
were built of frame as often as stone. The construction of this house points to its
being one of the earliest frame houses erected: the chimney foundation in the cellar
is of an early eighteenth century type, the ceilings are low, the mantels simply deco-
rated, and there is no architectural trim over the windows which was so characteristic
of the post-war frame houses. The dormers are of course recent, and the roof of the
south front has been raised and extended to cover the present large porch. The house
is south of West Nyack Four Comers, and stands on the west side of the Sickeltown
Road north of its junction with the road from Blauvelt.

House of Isaac Perry, later Blauv elt's

Blue Hill Road, Nauraushaun, Oranget own
PLATE 56

This house was undoubtedly built by Isaac Perry to supersede an earlier house
of his father's. It stands on Lot No. 9 of the So~t~ _Moiety of the Kakiat Patent,
whi h allotted to John MacEvers in the D1v1s1on of l727; he sold the tract
7
h 3asl 728 to John Perry, who immediately settled here, building a house nearer
the r~ad than the present one.On Marchl 7, 1686 in New York City, his father John
203
 HOUS ES IN ROCK LAND COUN TY

Perry widower of Marie Thom as, married Saratie Jans, bom in Gowanus, daugh
ter
ofJU: Staat s; they removed to Rockland Coun ty where he was high sheriff in ~703.
Their family in J702 consisted of their son John and three daugh ters; the widow
Saratie Staats acted as sponsor to her grandson Peter in J726 at the Tapp an Churc
h.
The only son was John Perry , b. about J695 in New York City, cl. Sept. J8, J767
at
Tapp an; on March JO, J723 he married Catrin a Stype r, widow of Philip Serve
n, b.
about 1689 at Wittsenlingen in Germany, cl. Aug. 9, J768; altho ugh the marri
age
took place in New York City, the banns were published at Tapp an where they
both
resided. Shortly afterward he bought the above tract west of Tapp an and settled
here, raising a family of five sons: John, Peter, Isaac, Jacobus, and Daniel. He willed
his property to these children, who released various portions to each other ; Jacob
us
(or James) settled to the south on the state border, Peter lived at Harri ngton
in
New Jersey, and Isaac obtained the homestead.
Isaac Perry , b. July 23, 1729 at Tapp an, d. Dec. 27, l8ll, aged 82 years, 5
months, 3 days, married Nov.18, 1752 Marg aret Harin g; he built part of the prese
nt
house, and at his death left the property to his daughter Catharine, a widow. Cath-
arine Perry , b. Aug. 22, l 753, died shortly after her father on Feb. 23, 1813, and
Hes
buried at Tapp an Cemetery with her father and his mother. By her husba nd David
Blauvelt she had a son David D. Blauvelt, b. 1777, married at Tapp an Oct. 7, J795
Lenah Fowler, and had an only son Gilbert D. Blauvelt, b. April 28, 1807, d. 1877,
married Nov. l l, 1828 Marya Mabie. After his son's marriage, David built the main
house in l 830. The property eventually passed to Gilbert's two daughters, the house
standing on the portion which was allotted to the daughter Margaret, wife
of
Edwa rd Lydecker. She sold the house about l 906-09 to Montgomery Maze,
the
present owner.
A descendant, Mr. Lydecker, informs me that the original house on the prem-
ises ( that of John Perry ) stood near the road. He also states that the west wing
of
the present house was the first unit erected in the early days before the Revolution,
as well as the stone wing on the east (shown in the photograph) which was built
somewhat later but before the war. The middle portion of the house was tom down
about J830, and the present frame structure connecting the two wings was erecte
d
at that time by David D. Blauvelt. Thus the first unit was probably built by Isaac
Perry about the time of his marriage ( J752), and the balance of the house at
the
time of his daughter's marriage (about 1776). The house stands on the north
side
of the present Blue Hill Road, a short distance from the Hackensack River and
the
same distance from the state border; it is three miles west of the village of Orang
e-
burg. This road connected the Sickeltown settlement with the settlements on
the
Middletown Road.
204
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY
House of Jacob Perry
Convent Road, Nauraushaun, Orangetown

Peter Perry (1726-1796), older brother of Isaac Perry (plate 56), bought the
north half of Lot No. 10 from their neighbor Michael Salyer between 1783 and 1796
(see plate 54), and may have built the west unit of the house at this time, although
he may never have lived here as he died at Harrington. No house is shown here on
the Revolutionary map. Peter married Elizabeth Blauvelt, b. 1729, daughter of
Jacob and sister of Johannes Blauvelt, who built and lived nearby in Blauvelt village
(see supra). Peter Perry willed this property to his son Jacob P. Perry, who built
the east unit in 1801 (a stone is marked J. P. 1801) and died in 1839, leaving it to
his son Jacob J. Perry (1802-1849). Although evidently built after the war, the
house belongs to the pre-revolutionary period in its style; the east unit and the earlier
west unit are identical, they are built of roughly dressed stone and covered by a steep
gambrel roof with an overhang in front. The house has been lately carefully restored
and modernized by its owner Mrs. C.H. Chester. It stands on the brow of the hill
on Convent Road, north of the Isaac Perry and Jeremias Mabie houses.

Perry-Horne House
Middletown Road, Pearl River

This house stands on Lot No. 42 of the South Moiety of the Kakiat Patent.
The builder of the house is not known. An early undated sheepskin map, made after
1713, shows a house over the state border at about this location; it is marked
Waldron. The present house may have been built by this family but it belongs to a
later period; it is similar in style to the Lent house built in 1752 (plate 53). At some
later date it passed into the possession of the Perry family. The house, which was
on the middle third of a homestead farm, was inherited by Margaret Perry, wife
of Abraham Home. Little more is known than this. It is said to have been in the
Home family for 150 years. J. Home was the owner in 1876. Harold Dutcher of
Newark, son-in-law of the last Home owner, sold the place about 1908 to George
Lange, who sold it in 1923 to Frederick Guterl, the present owner. The house is of
stone with a wide gable roof. An unusual feature is the overhang of the roof, which
extends around the north end as well as the two sides. The addition of windows,
dormers, sun parlor and trellises completely mar the appearance of the exterior, and
the interior has been entirely torn out. Th-e house stands north of the state border,
on a hill west of Middletown Road.

205
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

Sickels Houses
Sickeltown Road, Nauraushaun, Orangetown
Several houses of the Sickels family stand near each other on the Expense Lot
of the Kakiat Patent. This patent was granted in l696 to Honan and Hawdon; in
l7l3 they had the tract surveyed and divided between them. To pay the expenses of
this division, they laid aside l 000 acres, known as the Expense Lot, which they sold,
two-thirds to Capt. Cornelius Claesen Kuyper and one-third to Jonathan Seaman, on
March 6, l7l4. Cornelius Kuyper was an extensive landowner in Bergen and Rock-
land Counties, and lived at ·Upper Nyack (see plate 80). Elizabeth Kuyper, wife of
William Sickels, is believed to have inherited lOO acres at the north end of the
Expense Lot; her son Robert Sickels eventually acquired most of the JOOO acres
through various purchases.
The family ancestor, Zacharias1 Sickels, came from Vienna in Austria; he went
to Cura~o as an adelborst (cadet) in the employ of the West India Company, and
left there in l655 with Stuyvesant, who stationed him at Ft. Orange (Albany) as a
corporal; while there he was town herder, porter, crier and a carpenter; he followed
his son Robert to New York in l693. By his wife Anna Van Valkenberg, he had nine
children, who settled in New York City, Harlem, Brooklyn and Bergen. His eldest
son was Robert' Sickels of Bergen, b. l664 at Albany, d. Dec. 27, l729 at Bergen,
married Gertruy Rettenhaus and had eleven children. Their ninth son William"
Sickels,.b. Oct. 26, l704 at Bergen, married there Aug. !0, l732 Elizabeth Kuyper,
bap. Dec. 6, l7l3 at New York, daughter of Hendrick Claesen Kuyper of
Ahasymus (part of Jersey City).
After the birth of their two eldest sons in l 734 and l 736, William and Elizabeth
removed to Rockland County, and their third son was baptized at the Tappan
Church here in l737. Their first habitation was a log cabin on the west bank of the
Hackensack River, the remains of which were visible within recent years. Its site
was the field north of the Erie Railroad on the Sickeltown Road. He later built a
stone house, which still stands immediately south of this railroad and east of th
road; it is a narrow house originally of the same type as the two Blauvelt house:
nearby (plates 43 and 44), but has had a half-story of frame added durin th 1
nineteenth century. It passed into the Lydecker family and is now g d ~y
Hackensack Water Co. Here William and Elizabeth Sickels r . odwnthe. Y e
children: Rob ert, N 1c. h o1as, H dr' a1se t d eir many
·
en 1ck, Johannes William Sar G R
J b
Jannet1e, aco , an d Eli b h
za et • Th ' ' a,
e eldest son Robert4 Sick ls b J ler ru e, oelof'
bap. Aug. 4th at New y ork, d. Oct. l 7, l 809 at Sickeltown e;, • u y l 6, l 734,
inherited and purchased most of the lOOO acre tract di .d d' h as a bachelor• He
brothers and also gave them the money to build their'ho:~e:. t e land between his
206
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAN D COUNTY

The four Sickel houses shown on Erskine's Revoluti onary map are still stand-
ing; one was built by William, as stated above, and the other three belonged to three
of his sons. The Sickels' lands stretched to the Hackensack River, which flows
nearby. A short distance south is the cemetery, where three of the brothers (Robert,
Johannes and William) and later members of the Sickels family lie buried. This
section is locally known as Sickeltown; once called Orangeville, it has recently been
named Nauraus haun after the Indian tribe of the region, and is three miles north-
west of Orangeb urg village. The Sickeltown Road led from the settlement at Old
Tappan northwar d to the church at Clarkstown in the Kakiat Patent.
William' s second son Nicholas4 Sickels, b. March JS, J736, is said to have built
the stone house on the east side of the Sickeltown Road, north of his father's log
cabin. He raised and equipped a company for service and fought in the Revoluti on,
according to a descendant, but probably died early in the war, as his house is marked
on the J778 map as William Sickel's. Nicholas had married Annatje De Clark and
had several children including a son William, b. Feb. J7, J769. ihe latter married
Dec. 24, J 789 his cousin Elizabeth Sickels and the house passed to their son Nicholas 6

Sickels, b. Jan. 24, J798. It is still in the family and is now owned by Mrs. John E.
Sickels. It is a stone house greatly altered both inside and out. The early fanlight
over the door is an interesting feature.
Across the road stands the stone house built by William' s fourth son Johannes•
Sickels, b. Feb. J3, J740, d. Oct. J3, J8J3, married Elizabeth De Clark, d. Jan. 6,
J844, aged 98 years, J9 days. He kept a "bloson shop" here during the Revolution.
His daughter Sarah Sickels married Johannes Tallman and lived in the Tallman
house at Germond 's (plate 64) until he died; she then returned to her father's home,
married Andrew Tinkey, and died Nov. J7, J857, aged 9J years and 9 months. After
her death her father's home was owned by her son John J. Tallman who married
8
June J J J9 Margare t Demarest, and had an only child Sarah Tallman , b. Feb. J8,
J829, ~ried April J8, J850 Dr. Isaac C. Haring. The Harings probably sold the
h hi h has since passed through several hands, and is now owned by E. C. M.
i~ h is of stone with a gambrel roof; it has been altered and enlarged.
'll' ,ouseungest son Roelof• Sickels, b. April J, J 749, is said to have built
W 1 tam s yo · b bl
the stone house north of his brother Nicholas . He pro ad erechtedR1t
! ' h 1 f
s ort fy a. t er
. 't •s not shown on the map. It passe mto t e emsen am11y.
t he Revo1ution, as 1 1 . T h •
d was rebuilt. he present ouse is now owned by D r.
This house b umed down an
. k 1s descendant of Nicholas.
Ivan S ic
W ~ sl e
brother N1cho a , s
r:
. .e , ,a ld t 0 n Robert4 Sic · k els, t he bache1or, is
· sat'd to have lived w1'th h'is
t the time of the Revolution evidently lived in his father's
a k d Robert Sickel on Erskine's map. Nothing is known
stone house, which is mar e
207
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

of the third son Hendrick, who probably died in infancy; as Roelof is said by a
descendant to have been the youngest son, his brother Jacob (b. J 755) probably
also died in childhood. Thus all the sons of William and Elizabeth Sickels have been
accounted for except the fifth son William' Sickels. By process of elimination, con-
firmed by a descendant, William must be the Squire Sickel, who is marked on
Erskine's map as the owner of the house on the Sickeltown Road near the cemetery.
An account of this house is given below.

Sickels-Vanderbilt House
Sickeltown Road, Nauraushaun, Orangetown
PLATE 57

William' Sickels, b. July 2, 1742 and bap. at Tappan, d. Sept. 6, 18J9, was the
fifth son of William and Elizabeth Sickels of Sickeltown (see supra). He married
Marretje Cuyper, b. July JS, J750, d. March JO, J805, only surviving child of Cor-
nelius Cuyper of Sickeltown. Squire William Sickels' house still stands on the east
side of the Sickeltown Road, a short distance north of the cemetery and about half
a mile south of the group of Sickels houses built by his father and brothers. It is
believed that his older brother Robert Sickels distributed his property among all
his brothers for them to build upon, and therefore presumably this house was built
by Squire Sickel about J 768 when he married. However, the appearance of the house
suggests a greater age and so it is possible that prior to this date it was built and
owned by his father-in-law Comelius Cuyper, who lived here in Sickeltown. The
fact that the house is some distance from the other Sickels houses, between them and
the Cuyper houses, strengthens the suggestion of separate ownership of the lands.
This Cornelius' Cuyper, b. April J7, J722 at Tappan, d. Dec. 27, J776, married
Annetje, daughter of Jan Coeyn Haring, b. Aug. 9, J722, d. Nov. J4, J803; both lie
buried at Sickeltown. It will be noted that Comelius Cuyper died two years before
Erskine made his survey, on which the house is marked as owned by Squire Sickel.
Comelius was a son of Tunis Cuyper who built the original part of the two story
house on the Sickeltown Road, a short distance south of the Squire Sickel house
(see supra).
William Sickels was given the title of Squire because he was a justice of the
peace. He and his wife Marretje had nine children baptized at the Tappan and
Clarkstown Churches: Elizabeth, b. J769 (probably married J786 Abraham J. Har-
ing); Aeltje, b. J772, married J79J Martinus Hogenkamp; Marretje or Martha,
b. J774 (probably married 1793 Gerrit J. Blauvelt); Antje, b. J778, married J796
David Blauvelt; Sarah, b. J 780, married J 800 Rule£ C. Van Houten who eventually
purchased the Cuyper house to the south; Comelius, b. J786, married at Hacken-
208
 HOUSES IN ROCKLA ND COUNT Y

sack 1803-05 Lea Blanch, and lived in the post-revolutionary stone house on the west
side of the Sickeltown Road between his father's and his brother-in-law Van Hou-
ten's houses; William W., b. 1789, married 1808 Fanny Fowler ; and Jannetj e or
Jane, b. 1792, d. 1870, married 1810 Hendrick Banta of Pascack and Hackensack,
son of Hendrick Banta of Pascack (plate 77).
It is said that Squire Sickels' house passed by marriage into the Vanderbilt
family, that the last to inherit it was James Vanderbilt, and that it was sold out of
the family about 1850. The only Vanderbilt connection that the author has discov-
ered is as follows: Aeltje or Aletta Sickels, b. March 8, 1772, second daught er of the
5

Squire, married at Tappan Oct. 28, l 79 l Martinus Hogenkamp; their daught er

Aeltje Hogenkamp, b. Aug. 27, l 793, married at Tappan May JO, 1809 Cornelius
Vanderbilt, both being residents of Clarkstown, and had at least two children,
Johannes Hogenkamp, b. 1810, and Richard, b. 1811. It is possible that they had
another son James Vanderbilt who might have been the last of the family to own
the old homestead. By 1876 the house had passed to the ownership of J. Parsels.
The present owner is the Corwick Realty Co. of Haverstraw.
This is the only one of the Sickels houses whose pre-revolutionary appearance
has not been marred by extensive alterations. Dormers and a frame wing on the
road end are the only changes. The photograph shows the rear view of the house.

House of Steph en Sloat

Sloatsburg

The house stands on a tract bought from the Indians March 7, l 738 by Wynan t
Van Gelder and given by him to his father-in-law (not son-in-law) Isaac Van
Duser by assignment of June 13, 1747 on the reverse of the original deed. Isaac Van
Deuse or Van Dusen was born in New York where he was baptized Feb. 6, 1698,
son of Isaac Van Deurse and Metje Christianse. He was living at Tappan when he
married at Hackensack May 24, 1718 Angenitie Laroe of Hackensack. In an affi-
davit of 1769 he stated that he was then 71 years of age and moved to New Jersey
when he was 22 or 23 years old. It is probable that he settled along the Ramapo
River as early as J7l9, as his daughter Lea who married in 1735 was born at
Ramapo. He had two sons baptized at Hackens~ck in 1720 and 1721. On Dec. 14,
l 723 at Hackensack, Isaac married secondly Elizabeth Rooseboom, who was born
in New y ork and living at Ramapo. They had a son baptized in J726 at Hacken-
sack d tw daughters baptized in 1740 and 1741 at the new church in Paramus.
Any :ildre~ born between these dates were probabl! baptized at the Ponds Church
in the Ramapo valley, whose records were lost by fire. The upper Ramapo valley,
in which Sloatsburg is situated, was known as the Oove. Isaac Van Dusen bought .
209
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

a tract from the Indians adjoining the Van Gelder tract and was probably the first
white settler in the New York part of the valley. He was living here by J735, for
the marriage record of his daughter Lea Van Deusen states that she was bom at
Ramapo, living at the Clove, married Dec. J2, J735 (entered at Paramus and
recorded at Hackensack) Wynant Van Gelderen, who was born at Paramus and
was living at Ramapo. Clinton lodged with Isaac Van Dusen the night of Sept. 2J,
J739 when on a surveying tour. Another daughter of Isaac's was Marritje Van
Dusen who married Stephen Slot or Sloat of Hackensack. In J 755 Stephen built
his home (the rear wing of the present house) on the tract his father-in-law had
bought from Van Gelder, and on June 3, J763 the property was turned over to him
by endorsement on the original deed. The house is marked Slott on Erskine's map.
The ancestor of the family, Jan Pietersen1 Slot, emigrated before J662 from
Holstein with two children bom and reared in Amsterdam; their mother was his
first wife Aeltje Jans. The son Pieter Jansen' Slot, b. in Amsterdam, was living in
Harlem when he married at New Amsterdam Jan. 2, J663 Marritje Jacobse Van
Winkle. Their grandson Johannes4 Slot, hap. May 14, 1699 at Hackensack, mar-
ried first Sept. J7, 1720 Willemete Van Voorhees, widow of Cornelius Bogart.
Their son Stephens Slot or Sloat, b. March 25, l 726 (old style), hap. April 2, l 727
at Hackensack, d. Dec. Jl, J806, married about 1753 Marretje Van Dusen, b. Feb.
23, 1729, d. July 28, J.807. Stephen built and settled on his father-in-law's tract in
the upper Ramapo River valley. Of his four children, all baptized at Paramus, John,
b. 1754, was killed in the Revolution, Isaac inherited the house, Elizabeth, b. l76J,
married James Westervelt, and Maria, b. 1767, married Peter Christie. The son
Isaac6 Slot or Sloat, b. July l, 1758, was baptized Aug. 20th at Paramus, with his
grandparents Isaac and Elizabeth Van Deuse acting as his sponsors. About J779
he married Lea Zabriskie, bap. July 29, J752 at Paramus. He died Nov. J2, J82J
and she died Dec. JO, 1832. Isaac probably built the main house in J8J4. It served
as a public house on the old post road and was the meeting place of Supervisors and
Judges of Orange and Rockland Counties for twenty-three years. At his death the
property was inherited jointly by his two sons Stephen and Jacob. Stephen1 Sloat,
b. Dec. 28, 1789, d. March 2, J85J, married Dec. 25, J809 Catharine Mead Ward,
b. July 2, J790, d. May J, J876; he was a prominent farmer and widely known
manufacturer; in his youth he conducted a woolen mill at Paramus and later a cot-
ton twine factory at Sloatsburg. His son William Lafayette" Sloat, b. June 23,
l 824 in the old homestead, married twice and had two children; he bought out the
other heirs and lived in the homestead. It was sold out of the family about J9l0 to
the present owner, Benjamin Moffat, Sr.
The original unit, now the rear wing, is typical of a pioneer house. It is small
210
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

and is built of rough whitewashed stone with a gable roof. This was erected in l 755
by Stephen Sloat. His son Isaac or grandson Stephen Sloat built the main part of
the present house in 1814. It is in the Georgian style, of two stories, with a flat roof.
The house stands on the west side of the main road in the village of Sloatsbu rg, in
the upper Ramapo River valley.

House of Lambe rt Adriae nsen Smidt ( ?)

Road to Orangebu rg, Blauvelt
PLATE 58

This house stands on a tract in the Tappan Patent which was allotted to Lam-
bert Adriaensen Smidt in the Division of 1721, and therefore may have been built
by him. Born Dec. 30, 1655 at Tiel in Gelderland, he emigrated with his father
Adriaen and his brother Cornelius in the Rosetree in 1663, settled at Flatbush and
later removed to Stuyvesant's Bouwery Village outside the wall in Manhatt an.
They joined their neighbors as patentees of Tappan, and were among the first to
settle here in l 683. Lambert became an important member of the little community,
was an organizer of the Tappan Church and its elder. The lands of the patent were
held in common in the early years; in the first division of 1704 Lambert was allotted
248 acres at Clausland in the Sparkill valley near the cemetery and the fair grounds
(later called Greenbush, now part of Orangeburg and Blauvelt ); probably before
this date Lambert built a stone house.here near the cemetery which was tom down
after the Revolution. In the division of l 72 l he obtained a large tract of 648 acres
on the high lands extending from the Blauvelt-Orangeburg road westward to the
Hackensack River. It is on this tract that the present house stands. As head of the
influential and wealthy Smidt family, it is logical to presume that he immediately
erected thereon this large substantial house, the interior of which was very elegantly
finished. On April 9, l 682 at New York City he had married Margrietje Blauvelt, b.
Sept. 25, l 66 l, d. before l 729, daug~ter of Gerrit Hendricksen and sister of the Blau-
velt brothers who also settled at Tappan (plate 42). They had ten children: Mar-
retje wife of Johanne s Meyer, Gerrit, Arie, Cornelius died young, Cornelius, Maria
wife of Henry Leroe, Dirckje wife of Cornelius Cuyper, Catharine wife of Samuel
Leroe, Abraham and Lena. The home of Gerrit, the eldest son, was in the hollow
near the Clausland Cemetery. Arie settled at Tappan Slate (Piermo nt) and later
at Upper Nyack. Cornelius built a house on the ridge, across the road from his
father's mansion . this is still standing but is greatly remodelled. Abraham, the
youngest son, liv;d in his father's old home. Lambert Adriaensen Smidt, the father,
was still living in l 73 l. .
This house is of a very old type of construction and was undoubtedly built
2II
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

shortly after the Division of J72J. Although it is probable that Lambert erected itt it
is possible that he sold the land shortly after it was allotted to him; there is no deed
to this effect on record. In the middle of the nineteenth century it was owned by the
Westervel t family, who sold it about J860. In J876 the owner was I. S. Hosman. In
December J878 Joseph Eustace sold the house and 30 acres of ground to the
Order of St. Dominic of New York City for a juvenile asylum. This Order still
owns it and has erected large modem buildings nearby. The house stands on the
west side of the Orangebu rg Road at the head of the lane to Hendrick Blauvelfs
house (plate 42).
Smidt House(? )
Greenbush Road, Blauvelt
PLATE 59

Very little is known of the history of this house. It is in the Tappan Patent. The
land on which the house stands was allotted in the division of the patent to Lambert
Adriansen Smidt (see plate 58). As his home and those of his sons have been
located, this house was probably built by a grandson or son-in-law, unless the family
sold the tract unimproved. This road was not surveyed by Erskine during the Revo-
lution, but the house was undoubtedly built early in the eighteenth century. It is
not known how long it was owned by descendants of the builder. In 1876 the owner
was J. W. Campbell; it is now owned by Mrs. W. D. Atkinson. This region was
formerly known as Greenbush. The house stands on the west side of the Greenbusl_1
Road, a short distance north of its intersection with the new state highway•.

House of Major John Smith

Germond Road, Germonds
PLATE 60
The first known owner of this house is Major John Smith; he built or purchased
it. The youngest son of Lambert Adriaensen Smidt, the patentee (see plate 58), was
Abraham' Smidt, bap. Oct. J3, J703 at Tappan, d. Oct. 27, J755, married May 7,
1726 Maria Tallman and had ten children. They lived in Lambert's house in Green-
bush near the cemetery. One of their youngest children was Major John' Smith, b.
Oct. 30, J743 at Greenbush, d. Jan. J2, J833 at Qarkstown , now Germonds. He
anglicized his name. On May JS, J767 he married Jemima De Wint, b. Sept. 4,
1740, d. May 25, J8JJ, daughter of Johannes De Wint and Antye Kermer, Wash-
ington's hosts at Tappan (plate 48). They had many children: Pieter Dewint,
Abraham, Antje, Maria, Eliza.beth, John, Christina, Guert Sprewer, and David.

212
 HOUSE S IN ROCKLAND COUNT Y

On May 28, 1778 John Smith was appointed Major of the First Regim ent of
Orang e Co. Militi a, and was so honored by the commission that he spent his rainy
afternoons practi sing the unfamiliar military tactics in the garret of his house ; the
story goes that he once fell throug h the open trapdoor down the steep garret stairw ay,
after giving the order "Back ward March "; on hearin g the clatter, his wife came
runnin g and called out in Dutch , "Hans , Hans, what's the matte r?" and he replie d
"It's nothin g at all. Go in the house, woman. What do you know about war?" This
major is not to be confused with his cousin, Major John L. Smith of Nyack , also a
Revolutionary figure.
Missin g deeds make it impossible to trace the history of the house ; a receipt
proves that Major John Smith divided his lands between his many children, but
the deeds are not on record. The present owner of the house is Karl H. Gerla ch;
his father purcha sed it in 1865 from Henry Schrever. .
The house stands in the North Moiety of the Kakia t Paten t, which was grante d
in 1696 and divided in half in l 713. The road northw ard from the Old Tappa n and
Sickeltown settlements branch ed a short distance north of the present West Nyack
Four Come rs; one fork led east to the King's Highw ay, and the other road followed
an Indian trail in a northwesterly direction past the old Clarks town Churc h ( where
the settlers of the Kakia t Paten t were baptized and married) to the division line. The
greater part of the presen t Germond Road runs westward along this division line.
The Major John Smith house stands on the south side of a curve in the latter road;
the Tallm an house (plate 64) stands at the head of the Indian trail; midwa y a road
was laid along the 400 acre lots which led to the settlement at the north end of the
patent , aroun d New City. The construction of the house is intere sting: the beams in
the cellar are of great size, there is an inside smoke house and also a double chimney,
the flues of which curve and join in the attic.

Barn of Majo r John Smit h

Germond Road, Germonds
PLAT E 61
This barn was origin ally on the proper ty of Major John Smith of Revolutio?-
ary fame; his house now stands across the road (platde.60) • T hTehbam had been di~-
ofore the stone house was so1 m ,, 865• e present owner is
posed of to oth er peop1e b b • h Th 1 d
C. E. Fessen den. It is notabl e as the only stod~e llarnf m tthe counftyh. e styb e an
. • t resting and differ ra 1ca y rom ose o t e stone am of
proportions are very m e f
the Zabris . k' t Param us ( see text or p late l l2) • The date l 735 is said to have been
ies a b dl built in the early eighteenth century.
visible at one time; it was unaou te Y

213
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

House of Cornelius Smith

Cherry Lane, Tallman
PLATE 62

This house stands in a part of the Zabriskie Patent bought by C:Omelius Smith
from the heirs of John Zabriskie (who died in 1765). He was the fourth of the name
in a direct line. His great-grandfather Cornelius Adriaensen' Smidt, b. about 1652
in the Netherlands, emigrated to this country in 1663 with his father Adriaen and
younger brother Lambert (see plate 58). The three became patentees of Tappan
and settled there, but Cornelius died soon afterwards, about 1686. He had married
Aug. 8, 1680 at New York City Jannetie Fran~is, who died about 1693. Their son
Cornelius" Smidt, bom on the farm in Manhattan, married at Tappan Oct. JS, J 707
Seytie Minnelay, bom at the Bay on Long Island. Among their children was Cor-
nelius C.4 Smith, b. Dec. 19, 1714 at Tappan, d.1785; he and his wife Maria Haring
had nine children bom in the Tappan Patent from 1738 to 1759: <:omelius, Jan,
Aeltye, Jan, Gerrit, Albert, Rachel, Abraham and Petrus. Shortly after the birth
of this brood, Cornelius Smith bought a farm many miles to the west on the Zabris-
kie Patent; here he built a stone house and a grist mill on the headwaters of the
Saddle River. Before his decease he conveyed his mill property to his son Garret
C.6 Smith, b. Nov. 23, 1746 at Tappan, d. 1829. The farm then passed to one of his
sons Garret G.6 Smith (1800-1892). During his lifetime he gave it to his son Garret
G.1 Smith, Jr. (b. 1824), and the latter's heirs sold the property about 1910. The
house has since passed through several hands, and is now owned by John Britt.
The central unit is the stone house built by Cornelius Smith, the purchaser of
the farm; the old door and fanlight have been removed since the photograph was
taken in l 925. The frame units on either side are of later date, built by his descend-
ants. In Revolutionary days two roads led across the county from Suffern; they
were called the North Road to Nyack and the South Road to Nyack; their courses
were very devious and winding, and formed the basis for most of the country roads
of today. The Smith house stands on the north side of the South Road to Nyack, on
the east comer of its intersection with Cherry Lane. This lane leads from the West
Saddle River Road in Bergen County north to the present village of Tallman.

House of Arie Smith, later Onderdonk's

Upper Landing, Piermont

This locality early acquired importance as the shipping point for the produce
of the region around Tappan. Ships could anchor in the mouth of the Sparkill
214
 HOUS ES IN ROCKLAND COUN TY

( creek) which empties into the Huds on River at Pierm ont, in early days know
n as
Tappa n Slote. The second son of Lamb ert Adria ensen Smid t, paten tee of Tapp
an
(plate 58), was Arie or Aurie1 Smith , b. September 25, J 687 at Claus land in Tapp
an
Paten t. He marri ed about l7ll Janne tje, bap. May 23, J687 at Berge n, daugh
ter of
Theun is Roelofse Van Houte n, who had a house and store at Tapp an Slote
(see
infra) . Arie and Janne tje settled near Tapp an Slote, and proba bly built the
prese nt
stone house. On Marc h 26, l 736 (recorded J755) they sold to Garre t and Abra
ham
Onde rdonk of Hemp stead, Long Island, a farm on the North River in Tapp
an,
bounded north by Tunis Douw e Tallm an and south by the slote, consi sting
of 320
acres with houses and barns . Arie and Janne tje proceeded to buy a farm
of 320
acres at Uppe r Nyac k, on which they settled; this farm was inheri ted by their
son
Lambert• Smith , d. in Marc h 1764 at the age of 52 years , and then passe d
to his
sons Arie5 and John L.5 Smith ; both sons served in the Revol ution, and the
latter
is not to be confusec;:1 with his cousin Majo r John Smith of Clark stown (plate
60).
The ances tor of the Onde rdonk family, Andries Adria nse1 Onde rdonk , was
a
native of New Castle on the Delaw are; he removed to Flatb ush and marri ed
there
Nov. l J, J683 Maria Dirck s Van der Vliet, and died in Jamai ca, Long Island
, before
Aug. J3, J687, when his widow married Jacob Janse Vand erbilt . The elder
of their
two sons was Adria n' Onde rdonk , bap. Aug. 24, 1684 at New Utrec ht, marri
ed Sara
Snede ker, and remov ed to Rock land Coun ty shortl y before 1745, settlin g near
the
quarries in the vicini ty of Nyac k, where he died at the age of 80 years . Two
of his
sons, Garre t and Abrah am, purch ased the farm at Tapp an Slote in which
we are
interested. Abrah am" Onde rdonk , b. J7J J, d. about 1758, lived furthe r north
at
Rock land Lake •, at his death his share in the farm passed to his broth er who
. resided
on it. Garret., Onde rdonk , b. Oct. JJ, 1709 at Jamai ca, removed with his father
to
Hemp stead as a boy. On Nov. 6, 1736 he marri ed Sara Hege man, and had
eight
sons and one daugh ter bom betwe en J738 and J758. They removed to his purch
ase
at Tapp an Slote befor e 1750, when they became memb ers of the Tapp an
Churc h.
He died here in J768. The farm undou btedly passed to his sons. It is marke d
Onde r-
donks Er kine's Revo lution ary map, and lies on the shore road a scant mile north
of the ~:ck :t the Slote . His eldest son Adria n (J738 -J8J8 ) may have lived
~ere,
and 1so hi unma rried son Garre t (l742 -l8l8 ), who had a large quarr y
busm ess
t~ f N s k early as J785 Anoth er son Daniel• Onde rdonk (l747 -J828 ) was
sou !acth asR lution . he. lived in his father 's house or nearb y, and many of
an ensig n m e evo ,
his ei ht childr en lived and died at Pierm ont. . .. .
gh ·h

:a
fta... under fire durin g the Revo lution from the Britis h ships
T e ouse was o har ed b
~H

on the Huds on River . The settlers along the d'

w;re ass 1y mar~uf mg
partie s from the ships , guide d by Torie s, an t etr we gs were on y save
rom
215
 HOUS ES IN ROCK LAND COUN TY

utter annihilation by the vigilance of the Shor e Gua rd formed by the

citizens in self-
defense. The house stand s on the west side of the shor e road at the
Upp er Land ing
in Pierm ont. It is an unus ually long house built of red sand stone . It
is in good condi-
tion, but its many dormers detra ct from the origi nal appe aranc e ,o f the
house.
Hou se of Joha nne s Sne dek er
form erly at Cong ers

The house stood on the Pond s Pate nt gran ted to Mars hall and Wel
ch in J694.
Capt . John Sand s of Long Islan d boug ht the north quar ter of the
paten t, and on
Oct. 23, J 707 sold a large fertile tract to Tuni s Sned eker of Hem pstea
d, Long Islan d,
exten ding between the Hack ensa ck and Hud son Rive rs, and from
the mountains
south to the Rock land Lake Road . Due to opposing claims of owne
rship , his eldest
son Garr et Snedeker obtained a confirmatory deed from John Sand
s on Oct. 23,
1770, and gave new deeds for various sections to his brothers.
The ancestor of the family was Jan1 Sned eger, who was a shoemake
r, and emi-
grate d to this coun try before J642. He located at New Ams terda m wher
e he kept a
taphouse, and later became one of the early settlers of Flatb ush, wher
e he was a
magi strat e in J654 and died in 1679. He and his second wife Egbe rttie
Jans en made
their joint will in J677, nami ng a son Gerr it and mentioning othe
r children (all
girls ). The son Gerr it1 Snedeker, bap. Marc h 25, J640, d. J693, also
lived at Flat-
bush . He marr ied Will emtj e Voeks, and·sccondly in December J669
Elsy e Teun ise,
bap. May JO, 1648, daug hter of Tuni s Nyss en. Gerr it is believed
to have had six
sons and two daug hters , the three eldest by his first wife : Jan, Marg
aret and Chri s-
tiaen ; Tuni s, Garr et, Elsje , Abra ham, Isaac and Sara . The will of
Gerr it of Flat-
bush , dated J692 and probated 1693, name d the oldest son Jan, anoth
er son Chris-
tiaen, and mentioned other children.
Tunis., Sned eker was name d for his mate rnal gran dfath er. Judg ing
by the
name s of his children, he prob ably marr ied a girl of the Polh emus
family. He was
living in Hempstead, Long Islan d in J707 and removed to his tract
in the Pond s
Pate nt as early as J73l, dyin g Aug . 3, J750, prob ably with out leavi
ng a will as
several Snedekers (presumably his sons) released various parcels of
his tract to each
other. The various brothers and sisters who were undo ubted ly the child
ren of Tuni s'
Sned eker were : Garr et, the eldest, married Altie and died l 776-87
with out issue ;
Theo doru s, b. J706, d. J767 (see belo w); Abra ham, d. 1771 with
out issue and
prob ably unm arrie d; Joha nnes , b. J72l, d. J779 (see belo w); Alty e or
Elsie marr ied
first Jan Thew and secondly Harm anus ( ?) Coerter; Rebecca marr
ied Harm anus
Tallm an; Sara h marr ied Pete r van de Woo rt; Eliza beth marr ied John
Hook . Smit h of the
216
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

The youngest brother, Johannes' Snedeker, b. J72J, married about J747 Affie,
daughter of Daniel Martyne. He obtained the portion of his father's tract west of
the King's Highway, extending to the Demarest Kill or Hackensac k River, and
built a stone house here standing until recently. He was appointed Captain of a com-
pany of the colonial militia in l 746. He was a patriot during the Revolutio n and
was captured with his son Garret and imprisoned in the Sugar House in New York
City. Johannes caught the smallpox and died Sept. 28, l779 in prison. He had three
sons, Theunis b. 1748, d. about 1809, John who was living in 1776 but probably
died shortly afterwards, and Garret, and many daughters. Garrets Snedeker, b.
April l, 1764, bap. at Clarkstown, d. April 13, 1843, married Elsie Thew. (One
account calls her Elsie Brower. This may have been her maiden name since her son
was named Abraham Brower; if so, she was a widow, for she was called Elsie Thew
on her son's baptismal record.) Garret was taken prisoner by the British during the
war but was exchanged. In l 793 he enlarged his father's house, in which Washing-
ton is supposed to have dined on the way to West Point. His son Abraham Brower'
Snedeker, b. March JS, 1792, bap. at Clarkstown, still living in 1884, married Mary
Ann Bell. He served in the War of 1812.At one period he kept a tavern at the "1776
house" in Tappan and later built a hotel on the Haverstraw Road which was kept
by his son Daniel after 1868. Abraham's other son Garret Snedeker, b. Jan. 3,
7

1824, bap. at Clarkstown, was still living in the homestead in 1902. Most of Johanne$
Snedeker's estate had been sold many years before, in l 840, to Abraham B. Conger,
after whom the village is now named. The site of the house is 40 rods west of the
King's Highway, a quarter mile northwest of the old W aldberg Church in
Congers.

Snedeke r-Swartw out House

Road to Rockland Lake, Congers

Tunis' Snedeker of Hempstead purchased a large tract here in l 707 and died in
1750 (see above). One of his probable sons was Theodorus ' Snedeker, b. March 10,
1706, d. April 29, 1767,marr ied Nov. J6, J729 Derricke Vliet; they raised three sons,
Tunis, Richard, b. 1735, living J776, and Theodorus , and several daughters. Tunis5
Snedeker, his eldest son and heir, b. June 29, 1732, bap. at Tappan, was deeded his
father's portion by his uncle Garret in l 770; it was a 388 acre tract bounded south
by Rem Remsen, west by Garret Snedeker, north by the mountain, and east by
Abraham Snedeker and the Pond. Tunis sold J85 acres to his youngest brother
Theodorus , who inherited all his lands on Tunis' death in l 773. This Theodorus5
Snedeker, b. May J, J742, bap. at Tappan, d. Oct. 1, 1816, married Dec. 6, 1768 his
first cousin Aefie, daughter of Johannes Snedeker, b. Oct. 22, 1750, and had three
217
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

daughters. He was a sheriff of Orange County and a member of the Colonial Legis-
lature. When the war broke out he remained loyal to the king, and sold supplies
from his farm to the British on the Hudson River, doubtless conveying them in
wagons to the nearby Slaughter' s Landing (now Rockland Lake). He was appre-
hended, his property confiscated and sold Aug. J8, J782 to Jacobus Swartwou t.
His ancestor T omys Roelofse' Swartwou t was a tobacco merchant at Amster-
dam in Holland; he emigrated to this country with his family in J652 and settled at
Midwout on Long Island; in J66l he removed to Esopus where his family became
very prominent. His descendant J acobuss Swartwou t, b. Nov. 5, J 734 at Wiccopee, d.
Feb. J6, J827, was a resident of Swartwoutville in Dutchess County; he was an im-
portant officer in the state militia in the Revolution, later becoming a General, and
was for many years an assemblyman and senator. His 384 acre purchase at Rockland
Lake was immediately occupied by his son Derrick, and willed to him in J823. This
Derick' Swartwou t, b. Aug. 2J, J762 in Fishkill, d. April 24, J852 at Rockland Lake
in his 99th year; was married twice, to Lucretia and Elizabeth Polhemus, and had five
sons and three daughters . In J786 he was appointed paymaster of a regiment of
Orange Co. militia, and later served in the War of J8J2; he was a large slave owner
but liberated his slaves before his death. His eldest son Jacobus or J ames Swart-
7

wout (J79J-J874 ) was the father of George" Swartwou t, who was the owner in
J876 and still occupied the house in 1902.
The stone house of Theodoru s Snedeker is said to be the house south of Congers
near the railway. Some other Snedeker erected the main part of the Swartwou t house,
which was standing at the time of the Revolutio n; it is built of whitewashed stone;
its roof has a very steep pitch characteristic of the early part of the eighteenth cen-
tury. The side of the house has been refaced, window openings cut down to form
long French windows, and a porch has been added. It is closed and very dilapidated.
The house stands on the north side of the road to Rockland Lake, east of Congers
railway station and west of the new state highway.

Sneden Houses
Sneden's Landing, Palisades
PLATE 63

A tract of 3410 acres on the west side of the Hudson River at the state line had
been patented to George Lockhart of New York City on June 27, 1687; at his death
in J698 the property was taken over and occupied by William Merritt, mortgagee ,
principal creditor and administra tor; on May J4, J705 various members of the Lock-
hart and Merritt families deeded the tract to Capt. John Corbett, who had taken a
mortgage two years previously. John Corbett was an English sea captain, who
218
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

retired here and died in l7l7;"Corbett's old house" is mentioned in Alexander's

survey of the state line in l7l9. This is supposed to be the house photographed in
plate 63, although the appearance of the house does not suggest such great age.
Corbett willed the property to his daughter Mary, wife of Henry Ludlow; they
had a survey made in l 745 by Philip Verplanck, on whose map is marked "Sneden-
ing house the Ferry" by the river's edge. Robert, or some other member of the
Sneden family, had probably crossed the Hudson River and bought from the
Ludlows shortly before l745. In J752 Jonathan Hazard bought land from Henry
Ludlow, commencing at Robert Sneden's west line by the road that comes from
the Ferry. On Oct. 9, 1769 the Commissioners appointed to settle the state boundary
line placed it 79 chains and 27 links south of Sneydon's house, formerly Corbet's.
The Sneden family is probably descended from Jan Snedick, who emigrated
in l657 with his wife Grietje Jans and two children, Carsten and Grietje, and
obtained a patent to property at Harlem in l660; the family is found in Queens
County towards the end of the century, about l 700 at Eastchester in Westchester
County, and in 1745 in Rockland County. The name had many various spellings:
Sneeding, Sneydon, Snyden, Snyder, Sneder. Robert Sneden owned property at
the landing in 1752 and probably in l745. On Sept. 26, l766 lette~s of administration
on the estate of Robert Sneden of Orange Co., farmer, deceased, were granted to his
son Dennis of Orange Co. Robert's wife was Mary or Molly Sneden, b. l709, d.
Jan. 3l, 1810, at the advanced age of l0l years and l8 days, and lies buried at
Palisades Cemetery. She supplemented her husband's calling of farmer as ferry
mistress and she may have run the ferry as early as l745; the place was called
Sneden's Landing by l 759.
Molly Sneden and all her children (except her son John) were Tories. An
interesting Revolutionary order of the Committee of Orange Co. reads: "Whereas
Dennis Snyden, James Snyden, William Snyden, and Samuel Snyden, all living
at or near a place commonly called Snyden's or Dobbs Ferry on the west side of
Hudson's River in the County of Orange and State of New York, have refused to
sign any or either of the Associations that have been put forth or recommended by
our honorable convention; and as the above said persons are greatly suspected of
carrying on a treasonable correspondence with our natural enemies, or ships of
war belonging to the King of qt-eat Britain, lying in aforesaid river, by the great
opportunity afforded them in the privilege they have by keeping the ferry: knowing
the aforesaid persons to be inveterate enemies to the common States of America,
Therefore Resolved, that the above Dennis Snyden, Jesse (sic) Snyden, William
Snyden and Samuel Snyden are hereby forewarned not to keep ferry, or employ
any other person to ferry in their room, or employ a craft on the aforesaid river,
219
 HOUS ES IN ROCK LAND COUN TY

upon any prete nce whatsoever, and all other perso ns are hereb y forew arned
again st
havin g any correspondence with the above said Snyd ens, or any other perso
n or
perso ns whatsoever that are in any degre e enemies to the libert ies of
Amer ica.
And wher eas John Snyd er is advertised in the publi c Gaze tte as pilot of
the ships
of war on the above said river, great ly to the dama ge of the said John Snyd
er, it is
hereb y requested that the said Print er shall inser t Robe rt Snyd en inste ad
of John
Snyd er, who has alway s appea red to be a warm friend to the comm on
cause of
Amer ica". Per Orde r of the Oran ge Co. Comm ittee, Clark stown , July
29, 1776.
Duri ng the Revo lution , Moll y Sned en lived in a white frame house on
the road
by the river (still stand ing but rebui lt); with her lived her son Denn is, a
bache lor
(1735-1824). The story goes that a Britis h soldier was pursu ed down the
gully by
some patrio ts; she hid him in her house in a large chest on whic h she set
pans of
cream to rise, and when the patrio ts arrive d she misin forme d them ; they
were
tired and asked for refres hmen t, and she offered them all the milk she had,
but told
them not to distu rb the pans of cream whic h she had just set out; in the
eveni ng
she is said to have ferried the soldier across the river. Some of her sons settle
d in
Nova Scoti a after the war and received grant s of land there .
The patrio t son was John Sned en, Sr., b. abou t 1738, d. April l, 1822 aged
84
years , and lies burie d at Palis ades. At his death he owne d the 100 acres previ
ously
owne d by his fathe r Robe rt, so it is probable that his Loya list broth ers
(Den nis,
Jame s, Samu el and Willi am) were deprived of their lands . John Sned er's
house is
show n on Erski ne's map part way up the hill from the landi ng; it is a frame
house
still stand ing, know n as the Wats on house. By license of Oct. 5, l 762 he
marri ed
Elliso n Lawr ence and had two sons; he had eight more child ren by his secon
d wife
Marg aret Rike r, d. Nov. 18, 1828 aged 75 years , l mont h and 24 days. After
his
death his farm was surve yed by Jame s Dema rest on June 7, l 822 and
divided
betw een his wido w and eight survi ving children, his house being allott ed
to the
wido w. John Sned en's child ren were : Lawr ence Sned en, marri ed Leah
---
and lived in the humb le white wash ed stone house near the top of the hill,
later
owne d by Joshu a Mart in and Jacob Gesner and now owne d by Harr y Brear
ley;
John Sned en, Jr. of Tapp an Slote , b. l 770; Geor ge Wash ingto n Sned en,
b. l 78 l,
marri ed Rach el Boge rt, and proba bly predeceased his fathe r as he is not ment
ioned
in the division of the farm ; Eliza beth, b. l 783, marri ed Capt. L. B. Rice
; Rich ard
Sned en, b. l 785, marri ed Eliza beth Woo d of North port, L. L, and lived
in New
York City; Mary , b. l 787, marri ed Steph en Hage n; Robe rt Sned en, b. l 788,
marri ed
Jane Crum , and lived in a house above his fathe r's, later called the Doug hty
house
and no longe r stand ing; Rach el, b. l 790, marri ed Benj amin Grov estein ; Abra
ham,

I 220
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

J792-J829; William, b. J795, probably predeceased his father as he is not mentioned

in the division of the farm.
John Sneden, Jr., b. Aug. JO, 1770, d. Sept. J8, 1829, ma.rried at Tappan Feb.
28, 1796 Phebe Gesner of Nyack, b. March JS, 1779, d. July J4, 1857. He had a
shipyard at Tappan Slate (now Piermont) ; his frame house stands on the creek
in the section called Bogerttown. He probably inherited his father's house from his
mother, as it was sold by the executors of John Sneden, Jr. in J859 to Mary E.
Watson. Mrs. Watson, nee Mary Carter, settled here and built the main part of
the present house. It was later the first home of the Palisades Library.
In some fashion the two other pre-revolutionary Sneden houses came into the
possession of the children of John Sneden, Jr., or Boss Sneden as he was called.
His daughter Ellison Sneden, b. 1798, married Sept. 7, J8J6 Peter Westervelt, lived
in Molly Sneden's frame house in the J860s and J870s and possibly for a longer
period. It was later sold to Dan Conklin who rebuilt it; it is now disfigured by a
mansard roof almost the size of the house itself.
The stone house nearby, which may have been Corbett's, is known in the
family as William Sneden's house. Boss Sneden's son, Capt. Lawrence J. Sneden
(J800-J87J) was living here in J826 when his daughter Mary was born; in J834
he bought the Storms house on the south side of the Landing road at the river (a
stone house built after the Revolution in pre-war style), where his daughter Clara
was bom in J837; he was an important member of the family, ferryman, shipbuilder,
and assemblyman. To return to the stone house which may have been Corbett's,
it appears to have been owned in the nineteenth century by Boss Sneden's youngest
son William, whose heirs owned it in 1876 and sold it about 1890 to Joseph Law-
rence. The three pre-revolutionary Sneden houses and the Storms-Sneden house
are now owned and leased out by Mrs. Mary T onnetti, nee Lawrence.
This locality was for many years known as Rockland or Sneden's Landing;
it is now a part of Palisades. The old road went straight down the valley, or dingle
as it was called. The William Sneden house, which may have been Corbett's, is a
good-sized stone house with steep gambrel roof. Built on a hillside, its river front
is of two stories, at present covered by porches. _The view taken in plate 6~ is from
the northwest. It stands on the river a short distance north of the Landing road.
Th M O11 Sneden house in its rebuilt condition is a small white frame house with
a e
1
ri arge ::s y arcl roof; it stands on the north side of the Landing Road near the
former house. The house of the patriot John Sneden is a small white
h ver anb 'lt ef wide clapboards with a gable roof. Built on the hillside, its river front
isouseuio
also of two stories, the basement wallb'
s eing of rought s one. The north wing . .is

22I
 HOUS ES IN ROCK LAND COUN TY
bly
small er and is similarly built, altho ugh the roof has no overh ang; it is proba
ure
pre-revolutionary. The south portion of the house is a large two story frame struct
side of
added by Mrs. Wats on. This house stands part way up the hill on the river
lines
the road by the bend. Railin gs, pillars, dormers and trellises tend to hide the
of the origin al house.
Tall man Hou se
forme rly on Upper Broad way, Nyack
in
Douw e Harmans.zen' (Talama or Tallm an) was the first of the family
with
Amer ica. He emigrated from Friesland in 1658 on the ship The Porp oise
e they
his wife Dirck je Theu nis and three children. They settled at Berg en, wher
arent
made their joint will on Marc h 25, 1678. Claes Janse n (Kuy per) van Purm
acres
obtai ned a paten t for a large tract at Nyac k on Nov. 20, J67l, and sold JOO
Some
to Douw e, the sale being confirmed by the heirs of both on June J8, J694.
as he,
time between 1678 and 1686 Douwe may have removed to his Nyac k lands ,
June
was appointed Justic e of the Peace of Oran ge Coun ty Oct. 4, 1686. He died
their
J9, 1687 and lies buried at Bergen. His widow was still living at Tapp an with
his
son Theu nis in 1702; she probably died shortly after this as Theu nis sold
ren
paren ts' prope rty at Bergen in 1703. Only two of Douwe's and Dirck je's child
land,
grew to matu rity. Harm an Douwesen' Tallm an, bom about 1655 in Fries
In
was the first white settler of Nyac k, removing here as a youn g man in 1675.
acres
J687 he petitioned (successfully) to be allowed to buy from the India ns 200
living
back of Nyac k, extending to the Hackensack River , statin g that he had been
and
at Nyac k for twelve years. On June 21, 1686 he married Marg rietje Minn elay
ed
had two child ren: Dirckje, who married Abra ham J anse Harin g and is believ
an,
to have lived on the Pascack Road north of the state border, and Douw e Tallm
h he is
who lived at Closter and was bayonetted durin g a Tory raid for the wealt
of age
supposed t_o hav~ h~d in his c~est: Harm an was less than thirty-five years
an
when he died; his widow married m J69l Abra ham Gerritsen Blauv elt of Tapp
and
and had ten more children, of whom Jacob settled on a farm at Blauv elt
lands
Eliza beth Du Pew at Kaki at (see supra ). On Harm an's death , his father's
nis.
and seemingly also his own property reverted to his youn ger broth er Theu
Theu nis Douwensen' Tallm an, bap. Feb. 8, 1665 at Berg en died Jul J7
t~mb~
J 739 and lies burie d on the Bigh t at South Nyac k, wher e stand s 0 ; stood a
when
stone inscribed: ''T.D.T: ; July 17, 1739". He was living at Nyac k by J688,
he took the oath of allegiance. In 1690· he was commissioned ens·ign m • th Or
'li ' d · J700 h e ange
Co. nu tia an m · d twie was appointed high sheriff of the count y f or the f'irst
H e was marrie f' ,
,
time. ce: irst m 1694 to Brechje Jans Harin b J67S , N
York , daugh ter of Jan Pietersen Harin g and sister of Cosyn H armg~, •b ild mof tehwe
, u er
222
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

house at Old Tappan (plate 89) ; by her he had four sons and four daughters. He
married secondly at Tappan Jan. ll, 1710 Margrietje Hogenkamp, and had two
sons and three daughters.
Theunis Tallman is said to have built the stone house standing until l9l0
on Upper Broadway near Tallman Place, Nyack. This house is claimed to have
been erected in 1678; if the date is correct it must have been built by Theunis'
elder brother Harman, as Theunis was then but thirteen years old. Such an early
date could only apply to a small portion of the house, which is eighteenth century
in style; at different times a second story of stone and a porch were added. It was
owned by a descendant, Miss Oara Tallman, when demolished. Her line of ancestry
is recited in Tompkins' History.

House of Harmanus Tallman

Germond Road, Germonds
PLATE 64

The eldest surviving son of Theunis Douwensen1 Tallman of Nyack (see

supra) was Douwe" Tallman, b. Feb. 13, 1703, married Annetje Blauvelt about
l73J and had four sons and six daughters; it is not known exactly where in Rock-
land County they resided, but presumably they lived at Nyack or Oarkstown. Their
second son was Harmanus or Harme4 Tallman, b. Jan. 30, 1737, d. July 19, l8l9
and buried at Clarkstown; he is the first known owner of the house at Qarkstown,
now Germonds. About 1761 he married Elizabeth Blauvelt, b. July JJ, 1744,
daughter of Johannes Isaac Blauvelt and Helena Pullen; their children were Douwe,
Johannes, Harme, Isaac, Jannetje and Helena. After his wife's death Harmanus
married secondly on Sept. 29, l 786 Maria Onderdonk, by whom he had no issue.
The house passed to his second son, Johannes' Tallman, b. Sept. l 3, l 765, married
at Tappan Nov. 24, 1785 Sarah Sickels, daughter of Johannes Sickels of Sickel-
town; after his death she married secondly at K.akiat Feb. 17, 1806 Andrew Tinkey,
and died Nov. 17, 1857 aged 91 years and 9 months. On the death of her first
husband she removed to her father's house in Sickeltown (see supra) with her son
John, and lies buried in the Nauraushaun Cemetery near there. The Tallman
house was inherited by her daughter Elizabeth• Tallman, b. Oct. 2, l 787 at Qarks-
town, married at Tappan Feb. 26, 1805 Aarie Demarest of Clarkstown, and had
at least ten children baptized in the nearby church. The house passed out of the
family ownership. In 1876 it was owned by J. Popp, and is spoken of locally as the
Popp house, and the corner on which it stands as Popp corner. The present owner
is John M. Torr.
The house stands on the north side of the present Germond Road, which was
223
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

laid along the division line of the North and Suth Moieties of the Kakiat Patent,
and at the head of the road leading to the old Clarkstown Church and eventually
to the Sickeltown settlement. The settlements in the North Moiety were in early
days referred to as Kakiat or New Hempstead; Clarkstown later became the name
for the township, in which stood the old church. Before this Church was organized
in l 750, settlers of the North Moiety had to travel along the Indian trail through
the unbroken forests of the South Moiety, and through the fatmlands of the Tappan
Patent, to the church at Tappan some distance to the south.
It has been stated that this house was built in 1737 by Harmanus Tallman.
This is probably a misstatement of the fact that the first known owner was
Harmanus Tallman, b. 1737. But it is possible that part of it was built by his uncle,
Harmanus., Tallman, b. Jan. 12, 1709, who was one of a set of triplet children of
Theunis Tallman. He married Catrina Ecker and had a son Abraham bom in
1734, who probably died in infancy. In 1737 he acted as sponsor for his nephew
Harmanus, son of his brother Douwe, and future owner of the house. It is logical
to presume that if he were alive, he would have acted as sponsor in l 750 for his
nephew Harmanus, son of his half-brother Harme. It may be that he died shortly
after 1737, leaving his house to his nephew and namesake, but this is conjecture.
Such an early date could only apply to the wing. The main house was undoubtedly
built by Harmanus Tallman (b. 1737) about the time of the Revolution. The high
and steep gable roof of the main house is more characteristic of the post-war houses in
Kings County. It is built along lines similar to the wing; the panelling and sunburst
decoration on the doorway belong to the post-revolutionary era in style; the dormers
are of course modem. The house has been restored.

Tallman House
Road to Valley Cottage, West Nyack
PLATE 65

The builder and early occupants of this house are unknown, other than that
they belonged to the Tallman family. The house stands on the bank of the Hacken-
sack River, on the west end of the tract of 200 acres granted Oct. 27, 1687 to Harmen
Douwesen1 Tallman of Nyack. The land is believed to have passed, together with
his father's patent nearby, to his younger brother Theunis, rather than to his
children (see supra). By his second wife Margrietje Hogenkamp, Theunis
Douwensen1 Tallman had five children including a son Harme, who inherited the
Nyack lands (probably both tracts). This Harme" Tallman, b. 1719, married
Rebecca Snedeker, and had four children: Neeltje, Abraham, Theunis and
Harmanus. The Nyack lands were divided between the three sons. If Harme Tall-
224
 HOUSE S IN ROCKL AND COUNT Y

man inherited the tract in the interior as well as the one along the shore, it is
probable that he or one of his three sons built this house, which was undoubtedly
erected about the time of the Revolution. Unfortunately the deeds to the property
are missing. The first known owner of the house is Peter Tallm an, who was in
possession in l876. His daugh ter married a Fisher, and it was until lately occupied
by Mrs. Gesner, one of her daughters. Mrs. Gesner or her estate sold it about four
years ago to Jean Guerri n, the present owner.
At the time of the Revolution, there were many houses along the stretch of
road near the Hacke nsack River; unfortunately Erskine's map does not name any
of the owners. A short distance north of West Nyack Four Corners a road branches
eastward over the Hackensack River and then branches again; one road passes
under the railwa y culvert and continues eastward to the King's Highw ay south
of Valley Cottag e; the other road goes northward but eventually reaches the King's
Highw ay north of Valley Cottage. The Tallm an house is beyond the fork on the
east side of the second-mentioned road; in Revolutionary times it was probably
reached by a private lane, as the other road is the old one.

Tern eur-H utton Hous e

Sickelt own Road, West Nyack
PLATE 66
This house stands on Lot No. l l of the South Moiety of the Kakiat Patent .
On Dec l l l 732 Hendr ick Oblenis, yeoman of Harlem in New York, bough t from
Thom ~ ciark merchant of New York City, 800 acres of land in the Kakiat
Patent known ' as Lots No. l l and No. l2, extending from the north boundary of
the E;pen se Lot to the south bound ary of Emil Kline's farm one and . one-
quarter miles to the north, and extending one mile v.:est from Dem~e~t K~ll or
Hackensack River. A stone in the front of the west un1t of the house i~ inscribed:
"l73l M.P.: S.T." It was the custom to record thus the date of erection and the
initials of the builder and his wife; they were probably tenants of Thomas Clark.
!
Hendrick Oblenis built and settled a stone's throw 0 the north (see plate 55)• :le
undoubtedly gave this house to his daugh ter Jacomina, bap. May 4, l 698, married
Ma 26 l720 Jacobu s Tourn eur, also of Harlem.
YJ ' b , T
aco us ourneur, bap• Nov• 20' l 695, was a son of Jacque s: and grandson
of Daniel1 Toum eur, b. at Amiens in Picard y, fled to Leyden w.h ere h e marr.ie · cl
S l 1· de Parisis, and emigrated to this country in l65l, settling
ept. 5' 650 Jacquhe md~ cl • l Jacobu s' Toum eur is said to have settled at
at Harlem where e ie 10 673•
Haverstraw a misleading statement; in very early days pthe Kak'
. iaJt
p t t xt cl
aben,, eh'ldren -
·
111g south of' West N yack , was a part of the Haverstraw recmct. aco us c i en
225
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

were baptized at Tappan, and he undoubtedly lived nearby on the Kakiat Patent
in the house later occupied by his son Hendrick. Jacobus and Jacomina had six
children: Jacobus, Jr., Hendrick, John, Aefie, Sarah, and Jannetie; they married
their neighbors in Tappan and south Kakiat. Hendrick4 or Henry Terneur, as he
often spelled his name, came into possession of the house on the tract of his grand-
father, Hendrick Oblenis. In 1787 he was assessed for 158 acres in Clarkstown,
and his first cousin Capt. Hendrick T erneur for J80 acres. These two are not to
be confused. They were doubly related, as the latter was a son of Michael T ourneur
and Maria, daughter of Hendrick Oblenis; Capt. T erneur married Margrietje
Blauvelt and unlike his cousin had childen; he lived opposite, on the south side of
the road. The Henry Terneur in whom we are interested married at Tappan Sept.
23, J753 Marritie Kuyper of Tappan; as they had no children, they adopted John
Hutton and bequeathed him the property. Henry Terneur died Dec. 9, J8J9 at the
age of 85 years, and lies buried at Nauraushaun.
John Hutton, b. Feb. l, 1759, d. Sept. 15; J84J, married Elizabeth Sickels, b.
May 12, 1757, d. Jan. 12, 1850, daughter of William Sickels and sister of the various
Sickels brothers who built their homes nearby (see supra). Their elder son Henry
Hutton, b. Aug. JO, 1789, d. Aug. 19, 1812 at 23 years of age, the sponsors at his
baptism being his father's adopted parents, Henry and Marritje Temeur. Their
younger son William Hutton, b. May 28, 1792, d. April 28, 1831 at the age of 38
years and J J months, married at Tappan April 14, 1814 Agnes Blanch, b. Oct. 26,
J796, d. June 13, 1877. These two generations of the Hutton family also lie buried
at Sickeltown (now Nauraushaun). William and Agnes had five sons and one
daughter: John, Richard, Henry, Isaac, William and Anna. Isaac was drowned
at the burning of the steamboat Swailow; the others married and had children and
removed elsewhere to live. The house was sold to Mr. Nickerson about 1847. In
J876 Lile and Otto were joint owners of this and adjoining property. Dr. Harry
Baker, the present owner, purchased the house about 25 years ago from Mr.
Goldberg.
The house is built in two similar sections. The west unit is dated 1731. The east
unit was undoubtedly erected some time before the Revolution, probably by Henry
T erneur at the time of his marriage in l 753. The house is built of roughly cut
stone and is covered by a gable roof, the back slope of which is longer and
extends nearer the ground. The small windows with the narrow lower sashes are
typical of an early period. Each unit consists of a square room with fireplace and
a small rear room. Dormer~ and slim Corinthian columns have slightly changed
the aspect of the house. A wing has been added on the west si'de. The h ouse is• south
of West Nyack Four Corners, on the north side of the Sickeltown Road, which
226
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

runs westward at this point. It is south of the Oblenis house and north of the various
Sickels houses.
House of Jacob Vanderbilt
Road to Clarkstown, Germonds
PLATE 67
The house stands in the South Moiety of the Kakiat Patent, which was sub-
divided between McEvers and Symes in 1727. The patentees did not settle here,
but were active in selling portions after this division. The house was undoubtedly
built shortly after l 727; its irregular stonework, mud plastering, split laths, wooden
locks, handwrought nails, small windows, crude glass, all point to construction at
an early date. Unrecorded deeds make its early history uncertain; the first known
owner of the house is the Jacob Vanderbilt born 1768, but it is probable that he
. inherited it from his grandfather Jacob.
The first of the family in this country was Jan Aertsen, who emigrated before
1650, settled at Flatbush and later at Bergen where he died Feb. 2, 1705. His son
Jacob Janse' Van Der Bilt of Flatbush married Aug. 13, 1687 Maria Dircks Van
der Vliet, widow of Andries Adriaensen Onderdonk. Their son J acob1 Van Der
Bilt married Hilletie or Hillegont Hardenbergh about l 724, and settled in Rockland
County shortly before the baptism of their third child Jacobus in 1731 at Tappan
Church. It is probable that they built the present house at Clarkstown when they
arrived here about l 730. They had many children: Maria wife of Johannes Meyer,
Johannes, Jacobus, Margrietje wife of Abraham Meyer, Sara wife of Joris Van
Nostrand, Dirck, Annetje wife of T eunis Tallman, and Gertruyd wife of Jan
Eckeson ( the six youngest were baptized from l 73 l to l 744 at Tappan, the only
church of the vicinity at that early period). An added point in favor of the father's
home being at Clarkstown rather than at Tappan, is that his children's children
were baptized at Clarkstown as soon as that Church was organized, so that they had
probably been born and raised here. The third son Jacobus4 Van Der Bilt, b. June
15, 1731, d. 1774, married Brechjc Tallman, b. May 27, 1739, d. 1798, daughter of
Douwe Tallman and sister of Harmanus Tallman, probable builder of the house
nearby (plate 64). They had seven children, all baptized at Clarkstown between
1757 and 1770: Hilletje, Douwe, Annetje, Brechje, Jacob, and twins Johannes and
Sarah. The house is known to have been owned by their son Jacob' Vanderbilt, b.
Jan. 28, 1768 at Clarkstown, married at Tappan Oct. 22, 1791 Jannetje Blauvelt,
both residents of Clarkstown. They had a son Jacob, b. l 798, who probably died in
infancy, and a daughter Annatfe' Vanderbilt, b. March l, 1803, married at Tappan
Dec. 23, 1820 Isaac H. Tallman, hap. Nov. 17, 1799, son of Harmanus Tallman and
Jannetje Vanderbilt. In a will probated July 16, 1853, the property is mentioned
227
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

as land inherited from her father Jacob Vanderbilt. Ann, widow of Isaac Tallman,
sold the house to Henry Schriver; he sold it about l 860 to George H. Budke,
whose son of the same name disposed of it in l 934.
The house stands on the west side of the old Indian trail connecting the
Clarkstown settlement with the settlements to the south. It is a half mile south of
the head of the road, where stands the Harmanus Tallman house in Germonds,
and a short distance north of the old churchyard.

House of Roelof Van Houten

on the Hackensack River east of New City
Roeloff CornelissenJ Van Houten was the first of several brothers to come to
America. He emigrated in 1638 to Rensselaerswyck, where he married Gerritje,
daughter of Comelis Van Nes, and later settled at Amersfoort (Flatlands) on Long
Island. A son Theunjs Roelofse' (Van Houten), born at Amersfoort, settled as a
young man at Bergen where he married Jan. 8, 1678 Tryntje Klaesen Kuyper. They
probably removed to Rockland County about 1686; he took the oath of allegiance
here in 1688. His house and general store was at Tappan Slote (now Piermont)
on the Hudson River front by the Landing, his lands extending along the river
halfway to Nyack. Like Daniel De Clark of Tappan (plate 48), he was a Leislerian
adherent; in 1689 both were appointed justices of the peace for Orange County and
represented the county on Leisler's Committee of Safety. He was a justice of the
peace for the greater part of the period between 1703 and 1717. He died here July
27, 1737, his wife predeceasing him on Aug. 20, 1734. Of their thirteen children
K1aes1 Van Houten, bap. July 12, 1685 in New York, may have been the membe;
of the family who built the stone house of the Van Houten family, on the hill at
Orangeville near the Hackensack River. He married at Tappan Oct. 13, 1708
Grietje Haring and had seven children. Their youngest was Roelof' y an Houten
ib• March l l, 1721 at Tappan, married Catharine, daughter of Resolvert Nagel of
, nearby Closter, and had three sons and three daughters, baptized at Tappan. The
three sons, Resolvert, b. 1743, Claus, b. 1749, and Jan, b. 1761, all married into the
Blauvelt family.
The house on the headwaters of the Hackensack River is ""':d t h b
sV H -... o ave een
built in 1761 by the son eta us an outen, but as he was barely twelve years old
at this time, the house must have been erected by the father R 1 f Add' . al
, ha R 1 f' , . oe o • 1tton
proofs of this are t t oe o s youngest son is said to have been bo N
City and that Roelof lies buried in the Martinus Cemetery n N m nC~ Tew
s V ear ew ity. he
th
house evidently passed to e son eta u~ R • an Houten, b. Nov. 14, 1749 d. Oct
1 81 8
f f and buried at Nauraushaun, married Caty Blauvelt b Au 11f f ' •
' • g. , • 753, d. Feb.
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

J7, J837, daughter of Isaac Jacobse Blauvelt. Claus Van Houten was a farmer
and miller; his house is marked Van Houten's on Erskine's Revolutionary map.
His son Isaac B/ Van Houten (1776-1850) settled on a farm nearby (which had
been purchased in 1760 from William Lupton and placed in the name of Claus R.
Van Houten). In 1807 he built the stone house on the east side of the river still
standing. The older homestead therefore probably passed to another son or daughter
of Claus. His children were Caty and Mary, twins, Isaac B., Rule£ C. of Orangeville,
Jacob, John and Margaret. An old resident states that about 1860 the house was
owned by John Hardwick, then by Jacob Stark and later by Jacob GoebeL
In the sale of the north half of lot No. 5 by Jacob A. Blauvelt to his son Jacob
Blauvelt in May 1753, the bounds are described as the headwaters of the Hacken-
sack River, the De Pews (plate 49) and Van Houtens. Therefore Roelof had bought
this tract as early as 1753; he may have settled here immediately in a temporary
structure, or he may not have removed here until he built the present house in
J76l. The Roelof Van Houten house stands on the west bank of the Hackensack
River, on the north side of the road leading to the De Pew house. The old house
is the present wing, and is built of stone rubble, whitewashed green. The Isaac
Van Houten house ( a typical stone structure with gambrel roof) stands a short
distance south on the east bank of the river. The road continues southeastward to
the Snedeker houses at Congers.

Zabriskie (? )-Goetschi us-Tallman House

Cherry Lane, Tallman
PLATE 68

On Nov. 6, 1724 John Zabriskie bought a tract of 630 acres near the present
village of Tallman from Peter F auconier and associates, which they had purchased
in 1709 from one of the East Jersey Proprietors. This is one of the very few small
grants which was not cancelled and swallowed up in the network of large patents.
It was occupied at a very early date: on May 18, 1739 Clinton, the surveyor, noted
in passing the Zabriskie tract: "Entered a cleared field. Here a negro house,
belonging to Samuel Francisco, a free negro who settled the place for John Sabrisco,
who holds it under a Jersey title."
John's father Albrecht1 Zaborowsky was a Pole; -he emigrated by way of
Prussia to New Netherland in 1662, settling at Old Hackensack (Ridgefield Park)
in Bergen Co., New Jersey, where he died Sept. l, 171 l. His second son John•
Zabriskie was married twice, to Elizabeth Romeyn and to Margrita Durie, and had
thirteen children; he made various land purc~es including this tract which was
later found to be in the province of New York, but continued to reside at Old
229
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

Hackensack, where he died in J765. In his will John divided his lands between
his children, leaving to his daughter Rachel 200 acres at "Messanekes." Presumably
this is the tract in question, for "Masonicus" is a name applied to the region south
of Tallman village. It is possible that John had previously given a part of the tract
to Rachel for her marriage portion, as her husband appears to have been in posses-
sion of 300 acres here.
Rachel' Zabriskie, hap. Sept. 7, J729, was a daughter of John by the second
wife; on Aug. 26, 1750 she married Dominie Johannes Henclrikus Goetschius, and
had ten sons and two daughters. His father Maurice1 Goetschi was a powerful
preacher at Bemegg and Salez in Switzerland. He left Zurich for America with
four hundred followers; after a trip of eight months which was accomplished with
a great deal of suffering and hardship, the company reached Philadelphia in J735,
but they were left leaderless within two months of arrival, as his son writes of the
preacher's death in a letter of July 2 l, l 735. By his wife Esther W erndtlin he had
eight children, of whom the eldest was Dominic Hendrikusi Goetschius, as he was
called. Dominie Goetschius, b. l 717 in Switzerland, preached in his youth to his
father's flock near Philadelphia; he served the churches of Queens Co. on Long
Island (Newtown, Jamaica, Hempstead and Oyster Bay) as assistant to Antonides
(1741-48); for the remainder of his life (1748-74) he had pastoral charge of the
Reformed Churches at Hackensack and Schraalenburg in Bergen Co., New Jersey.
Like his father, he was a learned, powerful and independent preacher, and the head
of a strong faction during the schism of the church; he died Nov. 14, 1774. The
Dominie's second son Stephanus followed in his footsteps and became an important
minister of the churches in Ulster Co. and later of northern Bergen Co., where he
owned the old Hopper house (plate 94). The Dominie's eldest son was John
Goetschius, b. July l, l75l and baptized at Schraalenberg; he probably married
Maria Decker. It is undoubtedly this John Goetschius who came into possession
of the Rockland Co. tract of his grandfather John Zabriskie, Sr., and sold it in
1797 to John Tallman.
The identity of the build-er of the house is a puzzle. It is built of a slaty rubble
covered with whitewash on the front side; the gable roof has a fairly steep slope;
the typically early interior arrangement is followed, of two main rooms each with
its separate outside door; the windows have the small lower sash and they are not
in true alignment with the doors. Thus its construction places it in the early
eighteenth century. Yet the first owner of the tract remained at Old Hackensack,
and Dominie Goetschius, the second owner, could scarcely have lived here and
tended his churches at such a distance. John Goetschius, the next owner, came of
age only shortly before the Revolution, and the house antedates the war by many
230
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

years. Possibly it was the house of Francisco mentioned by Clinton in J739; or it

may have been built shortly after this date by some other tenant of John Zabriskie,
who undoubtedly placed farmers here in order to retain possession of the tract.
Jan' Tallman, b. Jan. 12, J709, was one of triplet children of Theunis Douwen-
sen1 Tallman of Nyack and his first wife Brechje Jans Haring, and uncle of
Harmanus Tallman who lived in the house at Clarkstown (plate 64). On Sept.
J9, 1735 at Hackensack he married Helena Blauvelt; both were residents of Tappan,
where he was a farmer. His son John' Tallman, b. Sept. 3, J75J at Tappan, d. J839
at Tallman village, married about J777 Fanny Mabie. He was a farmer and lived
at Greenbush (now-Blauvelt). He was commissioned ensign on Nov. J, J786 for
his services during the Revolution. On March 23, J797 he bought from John
Goetschius for £J525 a farm of 157 acres in the Zabriskie patent near the present
village of Tallman, and settled here. He is said to have built the house still standing
but, as the house is pre-revolutionary in construction, he probably merely enlarged
it by adding the frame east wing. This farm was inherited by his son Abraham 1.5
Tallman, b. July J4, 1793 and baptized at Clarkstown, married Sept. 14, J8l4
Maria De Ronde. It passed to their son John A.' Tallman, b. May l6, 1815, married
Dec. 8, J842 Caroline Conklin. In l 902 it was occupied by their son John Comell7
Tallman, and is now owned by James C. Tallman.
The house stands on the east side of Cherry Lane, midway between the
Cornelius Smith house (plate 62) on the old South Road to Nyack and the present
main highway passing through the village of Tallman. The property lies on the
headwaters of the Saddle River.

Unidentified House
Pomona Road, New City
PLATE 69

Very little is known of the history of this house. It stands on one of the so-called
Dry Swamp Lots in the Division of the North Moiety of the Kakiat Patent. The
North Moiety was purchased in J7J3 by a group of men from Hempstead, Long
Island. These men of English descent formed a settlement in the western part of
their tract, selling the east portion from time to time to Dutch settlers•. This hou~e
stands · the extreme northern end of the patent south of the mountains (seen m
the pho:graph) and the headwaters of the Hackensack River. It stands alone, part
'th th English nor the Dutch settlements, although nearer the Dutch farms.
of ne1 er e
Bui'It Of roughly cut stone and covered by a gable roof w1t , h a curvmg
· overhang,
it is a typically Dutch house, but shows an EngIish m · fluence m
· 1ts
· depth and m ·
the long low slope of the rear roofline. It was undoubtedly erected before the Revolu-
231
 HOUSES IN ROCKLAND COUNTY

tion, but its builder is unknown. The Blauvelt family is in some manner connected
with its ownership in the minds of several old residents. It is also said to have
been owned by Richard Coe about 75 years ago (J855). In 1876 Richard C:Oe owned
property to the north, while the owner of this house was W. Roberts. The present
owner is Tom Roberts. The house stands south of the mountains on the east side
of Pomona Road, which is the next road west of the road from New City to
Hav~traw, and is connected with it by the Phillips Hill Road on which stand
the Blauvelt-Secor house (plate 45) and other old stone houses.

232
 PLATE 41
House of Benjamin Benson
Old King's Highway, West Haverstraw

The first known occupant of the house is Benjamin Benson. He probably erected it shortly after he
purchased the land in 1757. Haverstraw was the northern outpost of the Dutch settlements in Rockland
County and this is the only pre-revolutionary Dutch house remaining in this vicinity. The broad gable
roof is seldom found on those Rockland County houses which are two full rooms deep. In comparison
with the Lent house at Orangeburg (plate 53), built in 1752, it is much flatter and has no curving over-
hang. The slight extension of the roof beyond all four walls is a modern change. The three chimneys
are unusual.

2 33
 PLATE 42
House of Hendrick Gerritse Blauvelt
Blauvelt

This house was built in 1710 by Hendrick Gerritse Blauvelt, one of the pioneers in this neighborhood.
It belongs to an early type of architecture popular with the Dutch. Two main rooms adjoin and each
has its separate outside door. At the rear two very narrow bedrooms open directly into the main rooms.
The gable roof is customary for these narrow houses. The foundations of the chimney in the cellar are
in the form of a very large arch, giving the impression of a bricked-up fireplace; this is to be seen in
many of the early houses.
2 34
 PLATE 43
House of Johannes Blauvelt, later Smith's
Blauvelt

This is the house of Johannes Blauvelt, grandson of Hendrick Gerritse Blauvelt, builder of the house
nearby (plate 42). The central unit was erected by Johannes in 1741 and the west (left) unit was added
by him in 1752. The east wing belongs to a slightly later period. The twelve-paned upper sash and the
narrow lower sash are more frequently found in seventeenth century houses but continued to be used
at this late date in the less pretentious farmhouses. The overhang of the roof adds to the appearance of
the house. The dormers are of course modern. Notice the old Dutch double door and solid shutters. The
house passed by marriage into the Smith family in which it remained until it was sold about 1890.
235
 PLATE 44
House of Gerret Blauvelt
Road to West Nyack, Blauvelt

This house was built in or about 1763 by Gerret Blauvelt, younger brother of Johannes Blauvelt, builder
of the house nearby (plate 43). It is interesting to compare the houses of the two brothers. Johannes
started in a modest stone house and added to it as his family grew; Gerret set up housekeeping in a
humble log cabin and built his permanent home after the birth of his children. The result is that although
Gerret's house is no larger than Johannes' and has the same proportions, its construction is not so
primitive and the larger size windows indicate a desire for greater comfort. The curving overhang of
the roof has been omitted. The two-paned window sashes and the shutters are modern. Otherwise the
house is in its original condition. It was occupied by the family until sold by a descendant in 1900.
236
 PLATE 45
Blauvelt-Secor House
Phillips Hill Road, New City

The earliest remembered occupant of this house is Peter Blauvelt, son of Johannes Blauvelt (1745-1830)
and Catharine Tallman. As both generations lie buried in this vicinity it is probable that Peter's parents
owned the house before him. They undoubtedly bought or inherited it as the house belongs to the
second quarter of the eighteenth century. Its length is less than the usual house of this type. It nestles
close to the ground and is surrounded by an orchard, probably as in the early days. The rear view is
shown here.

237
 PLATE 46
Blauvelt-Lane House
Haverstraw Road, New City

The stone lintels and the dressed stonework of the front of the house are evidences that this is not so
old as the other Blauvelt houses, although otherwise it is similar in style. It was probably erected in
the third quarter of the eighteenth century. The land was purchased by Jacob A. Blauvelt of Tappan
in 1741; the first known occupant of the house was Jacob Blauvelt, born 1789, and his sisters. Notice the
panelling of the deep door jamb. I ts simple type is similar to the o!d solid shutters.
238
 PLATE 47
Blauvelt-Hogencamp House
Old Brewery Road, New City

This house was built at two different times. The line in the masonry shows that the first unit was less
than three-fourths the present depth. The original house undoubtedly resembled the other narrow
houses of the vicinity. At some period it was deepened, the line of the chimney changed, and the steep
gable roof enlarged to cover the entire house. As it is very similar to the Lent house at Orangeburg
(plate 53), built in 1752, the alteration may have been made about this time, but unlike the Lent house
the roof has no overhang. The small porch is later. The rear view is shown here.

239
 PLATE 48
House of Daniel De Clark; the De Wint House
Tappan

The house is generally known as the house of Johannes De Wint, probably because he was Washington's
host on several occasions. It is the oldest house still standing in Rockland County and was built by
Daniel De Clark, leader of the Tappan settlement. The date of its erection, 1700, is worked in brickwork
in large lettering across the front (the "0" can be seen in the plate). It is built of sandstone cut ip a
local quarry and of brick brought from Holland. The gable roof is even steeper than that on the Mill
Island Schenck house (plate 13) and resembles the earliest houses in New Netherland. Daniel De
Clark probably drew his inspiration directly from the old country where he was born but the curving
overhang shows the influence of his neighbors in this country. Notice the spy hole high up in the east
gable end; it was of use when Indians were lurking around.
 PLATE 49
De Pew House
Haverstraw Road, New City

This house was built at two different times. The west unit, consisting of one room, was the original
house. As William Campbell of Haverstraw was the owner from 1713 to 1741 and as the house is of an
early type of construction, it is possible that he erected it; otherwise it was built in the 1740s by
Peter Du Puw according to an early style. The west unit (shown in the photograph) is similar but later
in period and includes the hallway down the center of the house. It is said to have been built about
1780, probably by the son Abraham De Pew. The photograph shows the character of the undressed
stonework used so extensively for the rear and side walls even at a late period. Notice the careful
cornering with the use of dressed stones. The slope of the roof is more moderate than was customary.
The curving overhang of the roof is seen on this type of house in Rockland County but is more common
in Bergen County.
 PLATE 50
House of Peter De Pew
near the Hackensack River, Orangeburg

This house was built between 1768 and 1778 by Peter De Pew, son of the Peter Du Puw who may have
erected the house at New City (plate 49); it remained in the family until about 1856. Notice the
character of the lintels and the fact that the chimneys are on different sides of the ridge pole. The
house has recently undergone substantial restoration: the extension of the gamtrel roof over the gable
end, the two-paned window sashes, double door and porch are not original items.
 PLATE 51
Haner-Ryder House
at the South End of Rockland Lake

This is considered the second oldest house in Rockland County. It was built shortly after 1700 and
before 1713 when it was called the Haner house. It had passed into the possession of the Ryder family
before 1800. There was an early German settlement in this vicinity and both the Haners and Ryders
were of this nationality. The house is very primitive. Its stone walls are over twenty inches thick. The
attic is reached by a ladder from the one room on the ground floor. The site for this early house was
no doubt chosen because of the spring nearby and the protection afforded by the surrounding hills.

243
 PLATE 52
Haring House
King's Highway, Tappan

This is a very beautiful example of the type of house built in the settled communities of Rockland
County a few years before the Revolutionary War. Unfortunately its builder is unknown; the first
known owner was John Haring in the 1870s. The front and rear walls of this house were built of
dressed stone and the sides are of roughly cut stone. The high gambrel roof has a curving overhang of
good proportions. The sloping dormers, although not original, are the early type; commencing at the
break in the roofline, they form a continuation of the slope of the upper roof and thus they seem less
like an excrescence and more like an integral part of the house. The Dutch are known for their
successful mixture of architectural materials; to the stone of the walls and the wood of gable end and
roof is added in this case the contrast of the brick lintels. The rear view is shown.
2 44
 PLATE 53
House of Abram Lent
Road to Tappan, Orangeburg

This house was built in 1752 by or for Abram Lent and remained the home of his descendants until
about 1918. It is an outstanding example of the steep, equilateral, gable roof over a house two full
rooms in depth. The resulting proportions are effective, especially in combination with the curving
overhang. The sloping dormers blend well, although of course they are modern additions. The house is
not so wide as the average. In the case of the wing, variation is seen in the use of stone lintels and the
absence of overhang. This is the rear view; there is a modern enclosed porch in front.
245
 PLATE 54
House of Jeremias Mabie
Orangeburg Road, Nauraushaun

This house was built in the third quarter of the eighteenth century by Jeremias Mabie, who was of
Huguenot descent, and it passed down in the female line. Notice the close-to-the-ground feeling of the
house and the use of several different architectural materials. The stonework is carried very far up
the gable end. Recent restoration has been very successful although the whiteness of the repointing
and the French windows are slight detractions. The modern benches by the front door are suggestive
of the old Dutch "stoep" where the family gathered in good weather
246
 PLATE 55
Oblenis House
Sickeltown Road, West Nyack

Although the name suggests an Irish origin, the Oblenis family was Dutch and came to this country
in the middle of the seventeenth century. This is a later family homestead, built only a few years
before the Revolution, on a tract purchased in 1732. It is one of the very few frame houses built by
the Dutch in Rockland County before the Revolution. Heavy chimney foundations, low ceilings,
simple mantels, and the lack of architectural trim over the windows are points of difference from the
otherwise similar, large, frame houses of the post-war era. Notice the unusual spaciousness of the
house and the characteristic three chimneys. The various types of dormers are all modern alterations
as well as the large enclosed porch in front.
2 47
 PLATE 56
House of Isaac Perry, later Blauvelt's
Blue Hill Road, Nauraushaun

Isaac Perry built his house on his father's homestead shortly before the Revolution, first the present
west frame wing, and then the present stone wing shown in the photograph. The middle section was
torn down by his grandson David D. Blauvelt and rebuilt about 1830. The house remained in the family
until 1906-09. This stone wing is typical of the pre-war period in its stonework and contrasting lintels.
The heavy roof is of course modern; the original roof undoubtedly resembled that on the Goetschius-
Tallman house at Tallman (plate 68) except that there is an overhang in both front and rear. The main
house is built along pre-revolutionary lines although larger in size, but notice the dentil cornice; such
details are characteristic minor differences of the late period in which it was erected.
248
 PLATE 57
Sickels-Vanderbilt House
Sickeltown Road, Nauraushaun

William Sickels was the first known owner of the house and may have built it about 1768. As the house
has the appearance of greater age it may have been erected earlier by his father-in-law Cornelius
Cuyper. The house is built for the most part of very roughly cut stone of varying shapes and sizes, but
notice the careful cornering. The wing had a gable roof probably without an overhang. The gambrel roof
over the main house has a very deep overhang. A sparsity of windows is characteristic of early houses
and of the rear rooms of later houses: in this instance there is only one window on either side of the rear
door of the main house and no window next to the door in the wing. The frame wing on the road end
belongs to a later period and the dormers are of course modern.

249
 PLATE 58
House of Lambert Adriaensen Smidt (?)
Road to Orangeburg, Blauvelt

This house stands on that part of the Tappan Patent allotted to Lambert Adriaensen Smidt in the
Division of 1721. Construction indicates that the house belongs to this early period. This, together with
the fact that the house is an unusually large and well finished one such as only a prominent and wealthy
member of the community would erect, leads to the belief that it was built by Lambert Adriaensen
Smidt. The house is unusually spacious in both length and breadth for this early period in Rockland
County. It is built of roughly cut stone and is covered by a gambrel roof of ample proportions with an
overhang only in front. It is probable that originally the ground did not slope away so sharply in front;
certainly the piazza running the length of the house is a modern addition and probably replaces a
Dutch "stoep." The sun has unduly emphasized the modern gutter along the roof edge. Note the
chimneys, one at the front and one at the rear. Later houses of this size have three or four.
 PLATE 59

Smidt House(?)
Greenbush Road, Blauvelt

The land on which this house stands was allotted in the division of the Tappan Patent to Lambert
Adriaensen Smidt, who is believed to have built a home on other property of his (plate 58). The house
must have been erected shortly after the division as it belongs to the early eighteenth century. It is the
average size house of the type covered by a gambrel roof. Notice the old windows with the twelve-paned
upper sash and narrow lower sash. The square cornice along the front of the house is a later alteration
and undoubtedly replaces the original curved overhang of the roof. Dormers, porch, and diamond-paned
window sashes are also changes. This house and the one attributed to Lambert Adriaensen Smidt both
depart from the almost invariable rule of early Rockland County Dutch houses in facing the south to
get the maximum sunlight regardless of the direction of the road; both these houses face in an easterly
direction toward the road.
 PLATE 60
House of Major John Smith
Germond Road, Germonds

This is known as the house of Major John Smith, a Revolutionary figure and grandson of Lambert
Adriaensen Smidt, reputed builder of a house further south (plate 58). It is probable that Major John
purchased rather than erected the house, which may have been built as early as 1735, the date attributed
to the barn on the property. The rear view is shown. It will be noticed that the doorway is not centrally
placed; in later years houses invariably had a balanced composition. Interesting details are the double
chimney and the inside smoke house.
252
 PLATE 61
Barn of Major John Smith
Germond Road, Germonds

This barn was on the property of Major John Smith and stands a short distance back of his house
(plate 60). It is said that the date 1735 could once be deciphered. It is the only old stone barn in the
county still in existence. The marked difference in the proportions of its gambrel roof with those on
the houses is no doubt due to the desire for more storage space for hay. Notice how comparatively close
to the ground the roof extends.
253
 PLATE 62
House of Cornelius Smith
Cherry Lane, Tallman

This stone house was built by Cornelius Smith on a farm purchased by him shortly after 1765, and
remained in the family until about 1910. The house is more characteristic of an earlier period. It is
built of very irregularly cut stones and has the old windows with twelve-paned upper sashes and narrow
lower sashes. Houses of this late date generally have a balanced composition with the door flanked on
either side by the same number of windows. The panelled double Dutch door and the early simple
fanlight were removed after this photograph was taken. Originally there must have been a "stoep" in
front. The sloping cellar hatch is as usual under the window by the front door. The wooden additions
on either side of the stone house belong to the early nineteenth century.
2 54
 PLATE 63
Sneden House
Sneden's Landing, Palisades

A group of Sneden houses still stand by the Landing on the Hudson River. To distinguish it from the
others, this is known as the house of William Sneden, as he was the owner in the mid-nineteenth
century. This is believed by some to be the mansion erected by William Merritt about 1700 and known
as Cheer Hall, shown as a two story house and mentioned as "Corbett's old house" in Alexander's
survey of 1719, bought by the Snedens before 1745, and in the state line survey of 1769 called "Sneydon's
house, formerly Corbet's." The house has not the appearance of such great age and it is possible that it
was rebuilt at some time. It is typically Dutch and does not suggest an English builder. Due to an
abrupt slope of the land the river front is two stories in height. The stone lintels are characteristic of
the pre-revolutionary period. The steep gambrel roof has no overhang. The exterior brickwork of the
chimney, dormers and large porch are alterations.
255
 l
J

PLATE 64
House of Harmanus Tallman
Germond Road, Germonds

The first known owner of this house was Harmanus Tallman, born 1737. It is probable that the wing
was built before his occupancy but the earlier owners of the land are unknown. It is built of roughly cut
stone and has a steep gable roof. The overhang in front has been recently greatly extended and propped
by simple square supports, forming a deep porch which blends unusually well with the original architec-
ture and emphasizes the close-to-the-earth feeling of the house. The main house was probably built by
Harmanus Tallman about the time of the Revolution. The roof is carried up to an unusual height, the
equivalent of almost three stories, thus following and emphasizing the lines of the original unit. The
large window sashes, four small panes in breadth, the stone lintels and panelled door jamb are all
characteristic of this period. The sunburst decoration over the front door was especially in vogue in
the years following the war. Dormers and shutters are of course modern. The house has undergone a
very successful restoration.
256
 PLATE 65
Tallman House
Road to Valley Cottage, West Nyack

It is believed that this house was built a few years before the Revolution by a member of the Tallman
family, on property bought from the Indians by Harman Tallman in 1687. It has been occupied by
descendants until very recent years. Notice the difference in type of lintels in the wing and main part,
the panelled jamb of the front door, and the small size of the windows in both units. It is probable that
the main house once had overhanging eaves. The alternation of long and very short stones in the courses
of the main house adds life to the masonry and is characteristic especially in Bergen County.
257
 PLATE 66
Terneur-Hutton House
Sickeltown Road, West Nyack

This house was erected in two similar units. A stone records that the west section was built in 1731 by
M. P. and S. T. They were probably tenants of Thomas Clark who sold the tract in 1732 to Hendrick
Oblenis. The first known occupant was Hendrick Terneur (1734-1819), who bequeathed the property to
his adopted son John Hutton. This Hendrick Terneur was a grandson of Hendrick Oblenis so it is
probable that his parents, Jacobus Terneur and Jacomina Oblenis, lived here before him and built the
east unit of the house shown in the photograph. The house is built of roughly dressed stone covered by
a gable roof, having an overhang in front and extending in a long slope closer to the ground in the rear.
Notice the old windows with twelve-paned upper sashes and narrow lower sashes. The main room of
each unit has its separate outside door, thus eliminating any need of a hall, and the small rooms at the
rear, originally bedrooms, open directly into the main rooms.
258
 PLATE 67
House of Jacob Vanderbilt
Road to Clarkstown, Germonds

The first known owner of the house was Jacob Vanderbilt, born 1768, and it remained in his family
until the 1850s. He probably inherited it from his grandfather Jacob Vanderbilt who came to this region
about 1730. Construction of the house shows that it was built at about this date. Notice how far up the
gable end the rough stonework is carried, the carefully laid stones at the corners, the small windows,
and the steepness of the gambrel roof. Mud plastering, split laths and handwrought nails are other
evidences of its early age. The lean-to and door porch are of course later alterations. The view shows
the rear and west end.
2 59
 PLATE 68
Zabriskie (? )-Goetschius-Tallman House
Cherry Lane, Tallman

The tract on which this house stands was bought by John Zabriskie in 1724 and sold by his grandson
John Goetschius in 1797 to John Tallman, whose descendants are still in possession. None of the early
owners seem to have lived here, so it is probable that the house was erected by some tenant of the
Zabriskies in the second quarter of the eighteenth century. The house was built in an early style and
consists of two main rooms each with its separate outside door. It is built of a slaty rubble and the
front wall is plastered; the moderately steep roof overhangs in front; the small-sized window openings
with the narrow lower sash and an early form of fanlight are to be noted. The row of dormers is of
course modern. Like the majority of Dutch houses, especially in Rockland County, it was built to face
the south in order to get the maximum of sunlight, regardless of the direction of the road, which in
this case is at the end.
260
 PLATE 69
Unidentified House
Pomona Road, New City

Built of undressed stone and covered by a gable roof having a curving nverhang in lront and a long
low slope in the rear, it greatly resembles the Terneur-Hutton house at West Nyack (plate 66), the first
unit of which was built in 1731. This house was probably erected in the middle of the eighteenth
century but its builder is unknown.
BERGEN AND HUDSON COUNTIES

WESTERVELT HOUSE, TENAFLY

 BER GEN (INCL UDIN G HUD SON) COU NTY

T
HE west shore of the Hudso n River opposite Manha ttan Island soon
attract ed the attenti on of the Dutch . In 1630 Michael Pauw acquired two
large tracts at Hobok en and Ahasi mus with the inte~tion of erecting the
patroonship of Pavon ia, but he was oblige d to give them up in three years as he
did not comply with the conditions of settlement. The first buildings on the west
shore were erected in 1633 by the West India Comp any at Paulus Hook, Com-
munipaw and Ahasi mus; variou s grants and leases were made, but the small settle-
ments were wiped out by the Indian massacre of 1643, broug ht on by Director
Kieft's stupid ity. This contin ued to be the fate of the venturesome settlers until the
land east of the Hacke nsack River was purchased from the Indian s for a second
time in 1658 and the inhabi tants were requir ed by Stuyve sant's order to concentrate
within the palisad ed villages of Comm unipaw and Berge n. The latter village,
founded in 1660, was located in the heart of the present Jersey City and became
the township and county seat. A Reform ed Churc h was organized here in J662
and was the first Dutch church in the Provin ce of New Jersey . No pre-revolutionary
houses remain in the presen t Hudso n Count y, in which these settlements were
situated.
New Nethe rland had become Englis h territo ry before any building was com-
menced in the presen t Berge n Count y. Variou s tracts were grante d by Carteret and
the later Propri etors to specul ators and prospective settlers, as individuals or in
groups, the earliest in 1668 and J669. Willia m Sandfo rd of Barbadoes was granted
in 1668 the neck on which Ruthe rford stands and divided it with Nathaniel Kings-
land, also of Barba does who settled here. Hacke nsack stands on the tract granted
in 1668 to Capt. John Berry , who soon sold parcels to many settlers including the
Westervelts, Acker mans, Terhe uns and Kipps . In 1677 David Demarest purchased
a large tract from the Indian s near River Edge and Schraalenburg, where he
immediately started a Frenc h colony , which the Duries and Loziers joined. The
region south to the junctu re of the Overp eck and the Hackensack was sold by the
~dian s in 1676 and confir med by the Propri etors in 1682 to a group of D~t~ ~,
mcluding Laure nce Andri essen Van Buski rk and Hendr ick Jorisse Brinker O '
both of whom remov ed here. The land near the state border was settled u:;d~ tbe
l'apPa n grant of 1682 and the Lockh art patent of 1687 by the Haring s analo f erths.
A tr t • 1687
ac east of Paters on was grante d m to a group including sever oh de
two tracts near Tenaf ly, where he made his home. Albert Zabris .e O
ki
Garretsons, who locate d here later. Rodof f Lubbe rts Westervelt in 695b=cd :
T~om
0
as
large grants near Param us and in 1708 sold a large part at Saddle River t O
, 265
 BERG EN COUN TY

Van Buskirk who settled here, and the Zabriskie sons made their homes on other
portions. After passing throu gh several hands, the lands around Closter were
purchased in J7JO by Resolvert and Baren t Nage l, who immediately located here.
A large part of the Kinderkamack lands, patented to the Demarests, was purcha
sed
by 'the Cooper family who removed here. Amon g the early settlers in the wester
n
part of the county were the Garretsons, Van Alens, Van Houtens, Hoppers, Acker
-
mans and Van Voorhees.
Thus the county was gradually opened up. It is probable that the earliest
settlement of any size was located at the present Ridgefield Park, between Overp
eck
Creek and Hackensack River. This was the site of Old Hackensack, the home
of
the Brinkerhofs and other Dutch families. A Dutch Church was organized
at
Hackensack in J686 and at Schraalenburgh to the north in l 724. The Ponds Churc
h
at the westem end of the county was in existence as early as l7JO and the Param
us
Church in l 725. .
The Province of East Jersey was divided into counties in l 682. The original
Bergen County comprised the strip of land along the Huds on River from the
end
of the peninsula near Staten Island north to the New York border and west only
as far as the Hackensack River, which was then the division line with Essex
County. In l709/JO Bergen County was greatly enlarged to include all the territo
ry
west as far as the Passaic and Pequannock Rivers. A large part of this was even-
tually taken from it in l837 for the formation of Passaic County, and in J840
the
original Town of Bergen with other land at the south end was organized into
Hudson County. The north em part of the county was claimed by the Province
of
New York and the boundary line was not defini:tely settled until l 772.
The so-called Dutch Colonial style reached the heigh t of its development in
Bergen County. Until after the Revolution the great majority of houses were built
of red sandstone blocks, often quarried on the property, cut, roughly dressed and
laid by the slaves. The 75 acre bount y offered by the Proprietors for each slave
brought into the county resulted in abund ant cheap labor and the consequent
extensive use of the local sandstone quarries in the construction of the houses
.
The gambrel roof with a short, shallow upper slope and a very long, sweep
ing
lower slope was developed in Bergen County where it became very popular. Ea~es
overhanging the front and rear walls by several feet added to the sweeping quality
of the roofline, whether gable or gambrel, and their curved slope contributed
to
the beautiful effect. The roofline is the dominating feature in these houses. The
next point of interest is the variety of building materials in each house--st00
''
shingle and clapboarding, also sometimes brick and iron.
t1
In Bergen County we find a balanced architectural composition more frequen y
266
 BERGEN COUNTY

than elsewhere. In early ~r,s this was an unplanned development, a natural result
of the growth of the family m numbers and wealth: the original home became too
small or too humble, a larger one was added adjoining it and the former became
the kitchen and slave wing; later a wing was added on the other side for the
grandparents' home. This balanced three unit composition was only popular in
Bergen County. There are very few examples of these houses in which all three
units were built before the Revolution; in the majority of cases the newer wing
was built in the style popular around the opening of the nineteenth century.
An intensive field survey of Bergen C.Ounty was made with the help of
Erskine's Revolutionary surveys, the old roads were located and a surprisingly large
number of old houses found. The discussion of early land grants in Harvey's
Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties proved very useful The
ownership of the houses was determined with the aid of old residents and local
historians, county histories and maps. The genealogical sketches were compiled
from family Bibles and church records where no satisfactory publications were
available. The author is especially indebted to Miss Saretta Demarest and Miss
Mary A. Demarest for information concerning the Demarest family genealogy and
landholdings. A few of the photographs in this section were taken in J925 but the
great majority in 1933. The various shoft articles on the Dutch architecture of
Bergen County have been consulted, the most important being: Colonial Building
in New Jersey by William N. Black, in the Architectural Record for J~uary
1894, Some Early Dutch Houses in New Jersey by John T. Boyd, Jr., m the
July, Aug.,Sept., l9l4issues of the same periodical, Farm Houses of New Nether-
land by Aymar Embury II in the White Pine Series of Architectural Monographs
rd
for December 1915, and Early Dutch Houses of New Jersey by Cliffo C.
Wendehack, in the same series, Vol. XI. Many differing views of the houses ~e
th nd
reproduced in these articles, and also in the 250th Anniversary 01 e Fou zng
01 Bergen, 1910.
 HOUSES IN BERGEN (INCLUDING HUDSON)

COUNTY

Achenbach House
Chestnut Ridge Road, Saddle River
PLATE 70

Hans Georg Achenbach emigrated from Saxony and settled on Zabriskie's

New Paramus patent, locating on the eastern hill overlooking the Saddle River
valley. Romance is connected with his name, for tradition states that he was a
shepherd boy who eloped with his employer's daughter, and was therefore compelled
to leave Germany. They are buried on a promontory on their hill farm overlooking
the river. He was elected an elder of the Lutheran Church of Ramapo in J770 and
retired as senior elder in J774. He or his son probably built the house; the high
ceilings and carved woodwork of the main house testify to a date around J790, but
the wing may be older and pre-revolutionary. In J876 the house was owned by a
Mrs. Achenbach, and the property adjoining on the north was owned by Thomas
Achenbach, undoubtedly descendants of the builder. About J835 Mary Ann
Achenbach married Thomas Terhune. They later inherited the house, which came
to be known as the Terhune house. The present owner, E. Percy Smith, bought
the property about twenty years ago from a land company.
Although the Achenbachs were of German origin, they settled in a Dutch
locality and adopted their neighbors' style of building. The stones of the house are
dressed and well cut and laid. The house has a neat and methodical feeling, a
slightly different atmosphere from other similar houses, which may be attributed
to the builder's German origin.
The house stands on the east side of the Chestnut Ridge Road, north of the
road which climbs the hill from Saddle River village.

House of Abraham Ackerman, later Brinkerhoff's

184 Essex Street, Hackensack.
PLATE 71
An interesting stone in the east end of this house (from which the ivy has
been carefully trained away) bears the inscription: "A.AM.: G.A.M.: D.A.M.:
l 704"; followed by several symbols of husbandry and hieroglyphics, which may
be good luck signs. Thus we know that the house was built by Abraham Ackerman
(Acker Man) and his two eldest sons David and Gerrit, in the year 1704. The
269
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

plan of the house conforms to the usual Dutch arrangement, a central hall flanked
by rooms on either side. One of these rooms, the present dining room, is separated
from the hall by a very thick wall; it is probable that the original house consisted of
this dining room and the old west wing (which was torn down in J865 and replaced
then by the present frame wing). This part of the house may have been built as
early as J696: one of Abraham's children was baptized at Bergen in J694 and the
next child baptized at Hackensack in J696, showing that he removed to Hackensack
at this time. The house stands on property bought by Abraham Ackerman from
Capt. John Berry, to whom it had been granted in J668.
David1 Akkerman emigrated from the Mayory in the Bosch (s'Hertogen-
bosch) in North Brabant with his wife Lysbet de Villiers, four sons and two
daughters, and arrived in the ship Fox at New Amsterdam Aug. 3J, J662. He died
within a year of his arrival, and the Orphanmasters soon called upon the widow to
settle his small estate. She opened a little shop in her home in the Marketfield,
New Amsterdam, where she sold provisions, shoes and beer, to support her young
family. Their youngest child, Abraham' Ackerman, was bom May JS,· J659
according to the legend on an old painting in the house, although recorded as aged
six years on the passenger list of J662. In J682 he was living in Midwout, but soon
removed to Bergen. On May 28, J683 Abraham, bom in Berlicum (five miles east
of s'Hertogenbosch), living in Bergen, married Aeltye Van Laer, who was living
in Bellfort; she was bom April _J5, J666 at Kingston, daughter of Adrian Van Laer
and Abigail Ver Planken. They lived in Bergen until about J696, when they
removed to their new lands in Hackensack. They had eight sons, David, Gerrit,
Johannes (died young), Adrian, Johannes, Gellyn, Abraham, and Lawrens, and
six daughters. The house was evidently inherited by the youngest son, Lawrence
A.' Ackerman, bom about J706, married Oct. 27, J727 Geesje Paulusse, bap. Dec.
2, J709. In his will of J770 he left his estate including his residence at New Barbadoes
( the name given to the neck between the Hackensack and Saddle Rivers) to the
two children of his only son Abraham, deceased, willing the old farm where he
lived to the grandson Laurens. Laurens A/ Ackerman, bap. Sept. 2, J759 at
Schraalenburg, died in l 822, married about l 78 l Sophie Lozier ancl had four sons
and one daughter. On May 6, 1822, shortly after the death of their father, Laurens
and Nicholas Ackerman gave a quit-claim deed to John L. and Henry L. Ackerman
( all four being sons of Laurens A. Ackerman) for 90 acres along the public road
to Saddle River including the old house. On Nov. J0, J825 they sold this land and
house to Albert Brinkerhoff.
Albert' Brinkerhoff (J763-J844), son of Jacob• Brinkerhoff, inherited the
ancestral house and homestead at Old Hackensack (now Ridgefield Park) and
270
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

eventually leftkitf to hish~ sonh Jacob (see plate 79). He bought the Ackerman house
in Hackensac or
Albert: Brinkerhoff, Jr. married Altia Hopper (1802-1885), whose gr:n=!~
ot er son Albert, Jr., shortly after the latter'

Cornelia Ackerman, was a descendant of the builder of the house. One f th •

,

children, Harriet B.7 Brinkerhoff (1841-1913), sold the house in 1899. An;ther:
1
their children, Catharine Jane Brinkerhoff, b. 1831, married Gerret Cortelyou and
lived in Flatbush. Their daughter Garetta Vanderveer Cortelyou married John s.
Mabon, and they bought back the ancestral place July 31, 1906 from a Mrs.
Montgomery. The present owners are their daughters, Miss Elizabeth Mabon and
her sister Mrs. A. J. L'Heureaux.
The house is well known as a beautiful example of Dutch architecture. Note
the long, sweeping curve of the gambrel roof. Over the doorway is a fanlight of
the sunrise type. The old west wing of the house, now gone, was the old stone
kitchen with stone floor, huge fireplace and Dutch oven, and slave quarters in the
attic above. When Mrs. Cortelyou (born l83J) lived here as a child, the entire
upstairs of the main house was open attic, where the big wool wheels and looms
for weaving blankets were stored. The stairs were enclosed, with a door at the foot,
to prev~nt any of the heat from ascending into the attic and being wasted. The
family slept downstairs, the parents in the room behind the dining room. The present
library was two bedrooms. The upstairs bedrooms were partitioned off one by one
from the attic (their ceilings are of different heights), and dormers added one at a
time. The road was much nearer the house in those days. During the seven years
it was out of the family, the stoop was shortened, and the unsuitable heavy pillars
were added. The house stands in a lawn a short distance from the street, and has
an air of seclusion and quiet dignity, although in the heai:t of .Hac~en~ck near the
railway station. Other views of the house may be seen m Black s article, p. 259,
and in Boyd's article, pp. 34 and 42.

House of Johannes Ackerman, l~ter Br~nkerhoff's

formerly at 651 Polifly Road, Hasbrouck Heights.
· PLATE 72
. . rt of this house is the picturesque wing (tom down
The pre-revolutionary pa . J925) A stone near the door of the wing was
since this photograph was taken minitials •have been ascribed to Hannes and Betfe
th
inscribed "H. x B. A~"; e:) Ackerman, bap. Nov. J5, J696 at Hackensack,
Ackerman. Johannes ( or Hann A k rman the builder of the Hackensack house
was the ninth child of Abraham ~j
Mar~ daughter of Thomas W eeckvelt, and
72!
(plate 71). On May 5, 1!:::,-Thomas, ~ho died before his father, and Aeltfe.
had four children: Maria, 271
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

He married secondly on Feb. 28, 1728 Elizabeth , daughter of William Stegge (or
Stagg), and had seven sons: William, David, Johannes , Gerrit, Petrus, Laurens,
who died before his father, and Comelis. Johannes Ackerma n undoubte dly built this
house about the time of his second marriage in l 728 and brought up his second family
here. About the middle of the century he and most of his children removed to
Paramus , where he was a resident at the time he made his will in 1759. Petrus is
the only one of his children known to have remained in Hackensack, where he died
in l8l3.
The main part of the house, although of a pre-revolutionary character, was
built shortly after 1800 by Jacob Brinkerhoff. This Jacob is not positively identified,
but he may belong to the following line: George Brinkerhoff bought a farm of 200
acres in the borough of Woodrid ge, formerly Polifly. Henry and Jacob, two of his
four sons, divided the farm equally. The latter, Jacob G. Brinkerhoff, b. 1772,
married Margare t Bartholf, and had issue.
The house is south of Hackensack in a section formerly called Polifly. It stands
on the west side of the Polifly Road, immediately north of its intersection with the
new state highway . Since 1925 the old wing has been taken down, and the main
house has been so completely altered and modernized with a solid row of dormers
and other changes that it has lost all character. It is now the Stagg Produce Farm.
The wing, although actually not built until about l 728, was a well-known example
of the Dutch stone house of the early type; the straight slopes of its gable roof
extended only to the line of the walls, and did not curve and overhang the walls as
in the later development of Dutch houses. Another view can be seen in Wendehack's
article, plate 22.
Ackerm an-Nau gle House
415 East Saddle River Road, Paramus, Ridgewoo d
PLATE 73
This house is supposed to have been built by an Ackerma n, the dates 1692, l7?J
and 1760 being variously ascribed to it. The first two dates should be considered ill
connection with the early half of the house. Accordin g to the Terhune family, it was
built in 1692 by David T. Ackerman, but there was no member of the family with
this name at this early period. Three of the sons of Abraham Ackerman, builder of
the house in Hackensack (plate 7l), settled at Paramus : David A.' was living here
in l 742 and died here in l 760, Adrian A.' came between l 720 and l 723, and
Johannes A.' about l 722 and died here in J760. Many of their sons remained here
at Paramus . The above David A.' Ackerma n was born in 1684 and was therefore
but eight years old in 1692 and seventeen years of age in J70J • he helped to build
his father's house at Hackensack in J704 and was still living th;re when he married
272
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

in 1707.1-!-e ha~ removed to Paramus before his son David, Jr. married in 1742 In
1760 David A. Ackerman willed his farm at Paramus to his son Gerrit• the latter
in l 773 willed the old plantation whereon he dwelt to his son David (born about
1745), ~xcept for three acres on the old place to his son Cobus (or Jacobus) on the
south side of the lot near the King's Road; Gerrit also willed land to his son Hannes
on the west side of the Saddle River. It is probable that this is the branch of the
Ackerman family who built and dwelt in this house. It stands on a tract which was
granted to Jacob Albertse Zabriskie, and divided among his children, including his
son-in-law John Ackerman . The latter was a son of the above David A/ Ackerman;
at his death in 1751 without issue, he left his estate to his brothers and sisters. The
property may have been acquired by the family in that manner. There is a tradition
in the Naugle family that the house was built in 1760 by an Abram Ackerman.
Presumabl y this refers to the later half of the house, but it was probably erected by
some other member of the Ackerman family. The above three brothers all had sons
named Abraham, but David's son Abraham lived at Tappan, Adrian's son Abraham
lived at Schraalenb urg, and Johannes' son Abraham lived at Paramus on the west ·
side of the river.
The house is sometimes called the Carlock-N augle house. It may have been
6
owned by the Carlocks in the early nineteenth century. David Barent Naugle, b.
Aug. 24, 1803 at Ooster, was a member of the extensive Naugle family around
Ooster; his grandfathe r John was the eldest son of Hendrick' Nagel (1718-1806)
and his first wife Catharine Blauvelt (see plate 98). This David B. Naugle married
Harriet Carlough (or Carlock) on Dec. 6, 1828 at Paramus. He made many land
purchases in this locality over a period of years after 1835 and may have bought
the house from his wife's relatives. At all events he was living in this house by 1861.
"Old Dave" Naugle, as he was called, kept a hotel for many years in a house further
south on the Paramus Road, a famous place for musters on "training days" and
for political conventions; the social leaders of the day were frequent patrons at the
dances in the ballroom; the hotel was still standing in 1896 but no longer exists.
Sometime before David died in I 883 he moved his family down to this hotel to live
but continued to own the house farther north. David and Harriet had eleven children,
among them John D. Naugle, whose heirs sold the property in question out of the
family about t9l4. It is now owned by John Woodward and leased out.
The house has only two main rooms. The east half is said to have been built as
early as 1692 and j 70l. It belongs to this very early period, but if built by an Acker-
man it was probably not in existence until some time after 1707. The architectural
style, low ceiling, exposed beams, and simple mantel shelf in the east room are all
characteristic of the very early eighteenth century. The date 1760 has been ascribed
2 73
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

to the house and undoubtedly applies to the later west half. The west room has an
early mantel, cupboard, and panelled walls typical of the middle of the century. The
age of the house is not brought out by the photograph , due to the abundance and
whiteness of the wood trim which the camera has overemphasized. This is a good
example of the early one room type of house with neither hall nor stairway.
The house stands on the east side of the Saddle River Road, a few hundred feet
nor·t h of the Paramus Road, which turns here and crosses the Saddle River to
Paramus Church. This locality is the old settlement of Paramus, now included in
the eastern part of the City of Ridgewood.

Ackerma n-Van Emburgh House

Head of Paramus Road, Paramus, Ridgewood
PLATE 74
This house is also supposed to have been built by an Ackerman and its early
history is likewise obscure. The above discussion of early Ackermans at Paramus
can be considered here; the two houses are only a few hundred feet apart, and were
probably both on the same tract originally. This house may stand on the three acres
on the south side of David Ackerman's property near the King's Road, willed by
a
him to his son Cobus in J773. Here also there is tradition that an Abraham Acker-
man probably erected it. Albert Terhune, recently deceased, a former owner and
local historian, believed it to have been built in J70J, and painted this date over
the door. Paramus was being settled at about this time and the curve of the roofline
does resemble that on the Ackerman house at Hackensack, built in J704 (plate 7J).
But if it was erected by an Ackerman, the house probably dates from the second
quarter of the eighteenth century. Another view of the house can be seen in Albee's
article, P• 285. Here the house is stated to have been built about J7J0 by Abram
Hopper and to have been occupied by the Hoppers during the Revolution. The latter
statement, at least, is incorrect for the house is marked illegibly on Watkins' map
of J778 as "Van dirkin ••• s" ( ?) •
An Ackerman is believed to have sold the house to John Van Emburgh, who
married Mary Terhune in J8JJ at Paramus Church. He later sold the property to
his brother Henry6 Van Emburgh, b. July J3, J80J at Paramus, son of Henry' Van
Emburgh of Paramus and Polly Voorhees, a descendant of Dr. Gysbert1 Van lm-
broch, who had emigrated to this country by l 653 and married Rachel De La Mon-
tagne. Henry Van Emburgh, Jr., married Margaret Demarest. The house was
inherited by their son Jacob Demarest1 Van Emburgh, b. July l2, J822 at Paramus.
He married Maria Jane Bogert and they conveyed the property Aug. 7, l78l to
274
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

Albert D. Terhune who had married their daughter Sarah Jane. Mr. Terhune sold
it June 2, 1924 to the present owner Peter Zigmunt.
The house stands on the north side of the Paramus Road, at the tum, and at
the head of the road's descent to Saddle River and the church. This locality was
known as Paramus, and is now a part of the City of Ridgewood.

House of Abram Ackerman; Washington 's Headquarte rs

East Saddle River Road, Saddle River
PLATE 75

This house was built by Abraham Ackerman, the wing in l 750 or. l 760 and the
main part in 1781, according to descendants. Gerrit' Ackerman, bom in Bergen and
baptized May 3, 1685 in New York City, was the second son of Abraham Ackerman,
builder of the house at Hackensack in 1704 (plate 71). On Oct. 4, 1712 at Hacken-
sack he married Jannetje Alberts Van Voorhis, and had six children all baptized
at Hackensack. He later removed to Saddle River, where he died in l 758. He willed
the farm on which he lived to his son Albert ( their house has been tom down within
the memory of people living), and 100 acres on the east side of the Saddle River
to his elder son Abram.
Abram' Ackerman, bap. Jan. 22, 1716 at Hackensack, was a bachelor of 40 odd
at the time of his father's death, and probably built this small house for himself at
about this date (1758). On Oct. 26, 1764* he rather unexpectedly married. His wife
Marytye Hopper* had first married Nov. 23, 1755* Andries Hopper, who died Aug.
22, 1760* after they had had three children.* (A family record, quoted in Viele'$
Ackerman Genealogy MS, states her maiden name to have been Zabriskie, but she is
called Marytye Hopper in the Bible records from which the above dates are taken).
By her second marriage to Abram Ackerman, she also had three children, Antye
(i:765-1788*), Weentje (l773-l799*), and Gerrit. Marytye died March 5, 1781,*
and was followed by her husband Oct. 25, l 789•* Having married, and acquired a
family of his wife's as well as one of his own, the house became too small, so Abram
built the main part of the house in 1781 as soon as war disturbances were over.
During the Revolution the patriot army encamped on the grounds by the river,
and bread for the soldiers was baked in the old Dutch oven connected with a de-
tached building, which was the servants' (slaves?) quarters. The house (which con-
sisted then of the present small wing only) held six children, but had room for
Washington alsol It was his headquarters for a time, and is marked thus on a map
of 1876. Abram was a miller as well as a farmer (Erskine's map marks the place
Abram Ackerman and Watkins' map Ackerman's Mills). The mill was operated
until recently.
275

• Taken from family Bible.

 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

Abram's only son Gerrit A.6 Ackerman, b. May 25, 1769* in the old house, d.
Nov. J, 1855,* married June 27, J790* Charity Hopper, b. April l, 1763.* Of their
five sons and four daughters, all bom in the homestead, Charity Ann(I Ackerman,
b. Jan. 12, 1819, inherited the house. She married Henry Achenbach and died in
the l890's. The house was sold in 1921 by the Achenbach estate to Charles Scott,
whose family owned it until about 1935.
The Scotts were very interested in the house, and carefully restored without
marring it. The pre-revolutionary wing is now a modem kitchen; the main part
of the house contains unusually beautiful examples of woodwork of a post-revo-
lutionary character. The wing is built of roughly cut stone covered by a fairly
steep, gable roof. The main house is conservatively built in typical eighteenth cen-
tury style; it is of dressed stone covered by a gambrel roof with an overhang. The
road formerly ran between the house and the river, as is shown in the photograph
( taken in l 925), but now takes a wide tum around the south and east sides of the
house. It stands a short distance north of the village of Saddle River.

Alyea-Outwater House
44S River Road, Fairlawn
PLATE 76

The early ownership of this house is not known. It is shown (but the owner
not named) on Erskine's Revolutionary map. A marker has been erected by the
Daughters of the Revolution to the effect that the house ( only the wing then existed)
was the headquarters of Major Henry Lee, better known as Light Horse Harry, in
the fall of 1780 when guarding the approach to Lafayette's camp at the Goffle. Lee's
occupancy must have been for a very short period, as he was ordered south to join
the Southern Army in October of that year.
Early in the nineteenth century the house was owned by Albert Alyea. He and
his wife Sophia Bush had a daughter Eliza Alyea, born Aug. 30, 1821,* married
Sept. 14, 1842 Peter R.6 Outwater of Rutherford, b. July J2, J8J4 at Moonachie,
1
son of Richard Outwater, who built the stone house in Rutherford still standing,
and a descendant of Thomas Fransen• (Oudewater), who in J7J7 built the stone
house at Moonachie (now destroyed), a son of Franz Jacobsen' who emigrated from
Oudewater and settled at Albany by 1657. After his marriage to Eliza Alyea, Peter
Outwater bought the house at Wagaraw from his father-in-law, and settled here.
He died Dec. 4, 1871; his widow survived him many years and died Aug. 25, 1906.
They had three children, Albert, Richard and Catharine. The two sons inherited
the property jointly, Albert receiving the portion on which the house stands. Albert
276

• Taken from family Bible.

 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY
1
Alyea Outwater, b. June 29, 1845, d. Feb. 26, 1909, left the house to his widow
Sarah Elizabeth Oldis, for life. In l 927 it was sold by the A. A. Outwater estate:
The present owner is Stanley Mortlock.
The pr~tive stonework, gable roof, and small windows of the wing are
very early eighteenth century in style. The main house is post-revolutionary. The
character of the house has been spoiled unfortunately, the wing by the modem
glass door, and the main house by the large screened porch; the interior has been
completely altered.
The house faces south toward the extreme northem bend of the Passaic River
above Paterson. The locality was formerly known as the W agaraw, and until
recently the present River Road was called the Wagaraw Road. The house stands on
the north side of the River Road, between Paterson and Lincoln Avenues, in the
southwestem comer of Bergen County.

House of Hendrick Banta

Pascack Road, Woodcli.i Lake
PLATE 77

Hendrick's ancestor, Epke Jacobse1 Banta, emigrated in 1659 in the ship De

Trouw from Harlingen in Friesland, with his wife and children; he settled at
Flushing where he was an innkeeper, then at Bergen and later near Hackensack.
His grandson Hendrick' Banta lived at Paramus and later on a farm in the English
Neighborhood (now Ridgefield); his or his brother's stone farmhouse is still stand-
ing here (but greatly altered into a garage) at l 184 Edgewater Avenue, on the bank
of the Overpeck Creek; in his will of l 766 he stated he had already provided for
his son John. John• Banta, b. Oct. 6, 1723 at Paramus, bap. Dec. lst at Hackensack,
married at Schraalenburgh Dec. 18, 1747 Margrietje, b. Feb. U, 1729, daughter of
John Durie of Schraalenburgh (see plate 86), and had four children, Henry, John,
Agnes and Jacob. After the birth of his eldest son, he removed from the English
Neighborhood to Pascack. He was a very religious man, deacon of the nearby
Paramus Church in 1756, elder, and delegate to the Oassis in 1790; he died Dec. JO,
1806. It is possible that John Banta built the house when he removed to Pascack in
l 750 but it is unlikely that he had given his house to his young son before the
Rev~lution (Erskine's map marks the house Henry Banta's).
Hendrick J.' Banta, b. May 27, 1749 and bap. June 18th at Hackensack, d.
Feb. 15, 1803, leaving 500 acres to his sons; he married Margaret Demarest, b. July
8, 1748, d. March 24, 1802, and had three daughters and five sons: John and Garret
of Washington Twp., Jacob, Henry H. and Theunis of Hackensack. The third son,
Jacob Banta, b. July 6, 1781, d. Oct. 7, 1859, married Margaret Eckerson, and lived
277
 HOUSE S IN BERGE N COUNT Y

on his father's homestead. His daughter Rachel, b. July J9, J822, married James I.
Demarest, and lived on the Pascack homestead all her life (the house is marked
James I. Demarest on a map of J876). It passed throug h several hands, and has
been owned since about l 920 by Mrs. Robert Muirhead.
This locality was formerly known as Pascac k; the old Pascac k Church is on the
same road a short distance northwards. The countryside has been greatly changed
by the damming up of the Pascack River to form a considerable lake, and the historic
name of the place has been changed to Woodcliff Lake and ~ark Ridge . The house
stands on the east side of Pascack Road, half-way between Werlm us Lane and
Woodcliff Avenue.
The roughly dressed stone of the south front, the fairly low ceilings and steep
gambrel roof are pre-revolutionary in style, although the feeling of age has been
destroyed by the long new windows and the very heavy roof.

Hous e of Jan Berda n; the Vand erbec k Tave rn

former ly on Camden Street, Hacken sack
On June 9, l 708 Jan Berdan purchased all the tract between Isaac Van Giesen's
north line and the King's road (Passaic Street ), extending from the Hackensack
River to the Saddle River. His father Jan1 Baerdan was a Hugue not, who fled to
this country with his wife and only son Jan. He settled at Flatla nds on Long Island,
where he plied his trade as a weaver. After the d~th of his first wife, he married
again and had two daughters. His only son Jan• Berdan, Jr. married at Flatbu sh
May 20, l693 Eva Van Siclen and had eleven or twelve children. After the birth of
their eldest child Marretje in 1694, they removed to Hackensack where their second
child Jan was born in 1695. It was not until 1717 (according to the cornerstone)
that he built his permanent home in Hackensack on his purchase of l 708. The house
was surrounded by its fields, and approached from the main road by a private lane,
now Camden Street. After the death of his first wife, Jan married secondly at Hack-
ensack Nov. 6, 1733 Vrouwtjen Van Dien, widow, nee Verway. He was Justice of
the Peace for Bergen County for many years. It is not known who inherited his
house; it may have been his eldest son Jan, b. 1695 who married his neighbor
Christyntjen Van Giesen in l 738. '
After enlarging the property about 1822-33, Isaac Vanderbeck established here
the Hackensack Taver n, noted far and wide, and a popular resort for forty years.
At a still later date the house was used as a private classical and mathematical school.
It was destroyed in 192 l. This house is not to be confused with the Vanderbeek
h estead, which stood nearby until recently (see infra).
om A Berdan house built in 1762 is photographed in Boyd's article, page 45. It was
278
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

a large two story house built of dressed stone, with a shingled side, and had a gam-
brel roof with no overhang. It stood on Main Street in Hackensack. Further than
this nothing is known of the house. It is not mentioned (by this name) in either
Ackerman's or Bird's Recollections.

House of Isaac Bogert

Darlington Road, north of Campgaw, Hohokus Township.
Erskine did not survey this road during the Revolution, but the house was
probably built shortly before the war; it is known as the Isaac Bogert homestead.
On July 24, l 733 John Bogert bought some land in northwestern Bergen County
which he divided· equally between his brothers Stephen and Isaac Bogert. Before
J736 the latter exchanged the property for Peter Van Alen's lands at Campgaw. The
land ln northwestern Bergen County was subject to many land disputes and con-
flicting claims. F ranconier, one of the original proprietors, sold to V alleau and Stout
in 1742, and 1752 they sold to Magdelene Valleau, nee Franconier; she released her
interest in the 42,000 acre tract for a deed from the New Jersey Proprietors for 900
acres at Campgaw, which she later sold to several settlers including Isaac Bogert.
He came to this region in the Yaupough Valley about 1760, and built (probably on
one of these tracts) the house later owned by Henry Vandenhoff in 1876. The last
Bogert owner was an Isaac Bogert, probably a son or grandson of the builder. The
present owner, H. B. Hand, has remodelled the house into an attractive residence:
the lines have not been altered but no clearly defined pre-revolutionary or post-
revolutionary character remains. The house is in three sections; the oldest unit is in
the center and is built of rough stone, has fairly low ceilings and old windows; the
east w· 18 • built of whitewashed stone; the west wing is modem; all sections are
covererfy broad gable roofs. The house stands on t~e south end of. Darlington
Road on its east side, near the intersection with Pulis_Avenue, which leads to
Campgaw village over a mile to the south.

Brickman (?)-Ackerson House

Island Road, north of Ramsey
PLATE 78
indirect byways from Paramus to
The old Island Road wand~red by ma;~tered so radically that it is impossible
Suffern; its course has ~een straightened an th century roads with any degree of
to compare the Revolutionary and late nineteen under Erskine, shows a house
accuracy. A map made in l 778 by Watkins, a sf~eyor cl in this general locality. The
marked Brickman's on the east side of a tum O t e r'J: the existing house stands on
apastrophe suggests that Brickman's was a tavem. s 279
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

the east side of a tum in the present Island Road and, by traditio n, w~ us~ as a
tavern during the Revolution, this house may very well have been Brickm an s. In
the second half of the eighteenth century, a German family named Brueckman
attended·the nearby Luthera n Church of Ramap o: Heinric h Brueck man resigned as
elder of the church in J770 but continued to act as clerk and assistan t overseer of
the accounts and church book. He and Jacob Brueck man with their wives (both
named Catharine) acted as sponsors for the children of Ludwig and Coa Brueck-
man, and of Reinhard and Wilhelmina Brueck man.
The first known owners of the house are Abraha m Van Hom and wife who
sold the property in J855. As several Van Horns came to this locality in the mid-
nineteenth century, the house may not have been a Van Hom residence for any
length of time. David P. Ackerson bought the propert y from the Van Homs on Mar.
23, J855, and settled here with his wife Margar et and infant baby Charles. Shortly
before his death he deeded the property to his young son Charles on Oct. J5, J866
(recorded J874), excepting therefrom the west half of his dwellin g house for his
wife's use as long as she should live or until she remarried. On May 20, J893 Charles
D. Ackerson deeded the property to his son-in-law Walter Vander beek, who sold it
out of the family to Albert B. Hague on July J9, J897. After changin g hands
numerous times, the present owner, Rudolp h Schweizer, Jr., bought it about J925.
The house is undoubtedly of early date. It is built of undress ed and very irregu-
lar stone, almost a rubble, laid with a combination of clay, chopped straw and hogs'
hair (still to be seen and analyzed in the cellar). The ceilings are low, with very large
exposed beams; one of these is cracked, and the story goes that it gave way under
the weight of the grain stored in the attic, so that a blacksm ith had to be sent for to
rivet an iron plate to the beam. There was formerly a bam across the road with the
date J747 on a beam; it is probable that the house was built about this time, although
the plan of the house is typical of the very early part of the century . There is no hall;
two large rooms adjoin each other, each with its outside door, and a small room
opens out from each room at the rear. The worn stone sill bears mute evidence to the
use of the west room as inn and taproom. It is here that Aaron Burr is supposed to
have stopped for liquid courage on his way from Sufferns to Hohoku s to see Theo-
dosia. The east rooms and a large wing ( tom down by the Ackersons) formed the
family residence. At the end of the nineteenth century the upper floor under the
gambrel roof was still attic, reached by a ladder and trap door; there are as yet no
dormers to break the roofline. The photograph unfortu nately seems to emphasize
the good condition in which the house is kept rather than its age. The house is over
one mile north of Ramsey, on the east side of a tum in the Island Road to Mahwah,
and south of its intersection with the new state highwa y.
280
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

House of Hendrick Brinkerhof, later Demarest's

493 Teaneck Road, Teaneck
PLATE 79
The ancestor of the family, Joris Dircksen1 Brinkerhof, emigrated from the
Province of Drenthe about l638, settling at Staten Island and later in Brooklyn.
One of his sons was Hendrick Jorisse' Brinkerhof, who founded the New Jersey
branch of the family. He built at Old Hackensack (now Ridgefield Park) a house
which was lived in by five generations of the family (Hendrick Jorisse/ Jacobus/
b. 1685, Jacob/ b. l72l, Albert/ b. 1763, and Jacob A./ b. 1802), until finally sold
by his descendant Jacob A.6 Brinkerhoff in J86l. Part of it was demolished for the
construction of the railway and the remainder bumed down; a sketch of it can be
seen in The History of the Brinkerhofl Family, p. J06.
Another Hendrick• Brinkerhof, son of Jacobus and grandson of the above
Hendrick, was born Noy. J, l7JO, and married Elizabeth Kip on Nov. J9, J73l. He
built this house at Teaneck about 1728-35 on property bought in 1682 by his grand-
father and others. Hendrick and Elizabeth had five children ·baptized a:t Hackensack
between 1733 and 1755: Jacobus H., Nickasi, Joris, Antje wife of Henry Verbryck,
and Henry H., all of whom married and had issue. After the death of the youngest
son Henry H.5 Brinkerhof in 1826, a survey was made of the farm Oct. JO, 1827 and
it was divided between the latter's child James H. Brinkerhof (bom l 799, married
1820 Rachel Romeyn) and Jacob J. Brinkerhof (probably the Jacob born J77J,
son of Henry's brother Joris). James H.6 Brinkerhof received the parcel on which
the house stood, and sold it Feb. l 8, J829 to Jasper Demarest.
Casparus or Jasper Demarest lived in his grandfather's house on the Hacken-
5

sack River opposite River Edge (plate 83). He bought the Brinkerhof house and
gave it to his third son George as a wedding present. Joost or George C.6 Demarest,
b. May 17, 1808,* d. April 26, 1899,* married first April 18, 1830* Sarah Brinker-
hoff, b. May 2, 1809,* d. Dec. 7, 1860,* married secondly Nov. l, 1862 Margaret
Holdrum, b. April 25, l8l7, died without issue April 8, 1884. His son James Brink-
erhoff Demarest, b. Sept. 7, J834, d. Oct. J8, l9l3, married Dec. 21, 1865 Mary
Elizabeth Vreeland, b. Sept. J7, 1839. His widow is the present owner. Thus the
house was owned by the Brinkerhof family for one hundred years and has been
0 wned by the Demarest family for another hundred years.

The house is a good example of Dutch architecture. Construction shows the

~in house and wing to have been erected at the same time. The inside walls a~e
built of stone with no lathwork. A second story was added under the roof of the mam
house about 1800, with the use of rough machined lath. An unusual feature is the
overhang of the roof, which extends around the gable end. The photograph was
28I

;--
Taken from family Bible.
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

taken to emphasize this point and therefore does not do justice to. the house as ,a
h le. Other views may be seen in Boyd's article, PP• 36 and 37, and m Wendehack s
:ti~le, plate 23. The rural surroundings of former days are shown in Albee's article,
p. 291. Teaneck Road has always had a northerly direction, but the house faces the
south with its end to the road, showing the persistence of the Dutch in orienting their
homes to get the maximum of sunlight, regardless of the position of the road. The
house stands on the east side of Teaneck Road, about midway between Cedar Lane
and Fort Lee Pike.

House of Comelis Cuyper (Coope r)

K.inderkamack Road, Oradell
PLATE 80
The great-grandfather of the builder was Qaes Jansen1 (Kuyper ) van Pur-
marent, who emigrated to this country about 1655 and settled in 1664 at Ahasymus
(part of Jersey Qty); he was a cooper and wheelwright. On Nov. l l, 1656 he mar-
ried Annetje, daughter of Cornelis Van Vorst. She died a widow on Jan. 12, 1725.
He had died Nov. 30, 1688, intestate, and all his lands were inherited by his eldest son
Cornelius. Cornelius Oausen• Cuyper, bap. March 21, 1659, d. March 5, 1731 at
Upper Nyack, was apprenticed as a waterman, and by the age of 21 was a captain
freighting on the Hudson River. He settled at Upper Nyack on lands inherited from
his father, became one of the leading men of Orange County, and-a large landowner.
By his wife Altie, daughter of Theunis Gysbertsen Bogaert of W allabout, he had
fifteen children. On Oct. 31, 1716 he bought from Jean Demarest, Sr. and Jr., a
large tract at southern Kinderkamack, which he willed to his son Derick/ bap. Oct.
13, 1696 at Tappan, d. Oct. 2, l 753, who settled here near the Hackensack Water
Co. works.
The latter's son Cornelis' Cuyper or Cooper, b. Sept. 27, J724 at southern
Kinderkamack, died about J794, married March 7, J75J Marritie, daughter of John
Van Dien, and had nine children, of whom the sons were: Richard, Cornelius, John,
Garret, Thomas and Peter. He was a tanner by trade, and his 70· acre farm and
tannery were at Kinderkamack, on the main road north from Hackensack, three-
quarters of a mile north of his parents' home. He built his home (the present wihg)
about the time of his marriage on land purchased by his father. During the Revolu-
tion the elevation at the rear of his home was often occupied by American soldiers
(it is now called Soldier's Hill), and Washing ton is supposed to·have been a welcome
and frequent guest of the Coopers. Of his nine children, Cornelius C.' Cooper, b.
April 8, J756 at Kinderkamack, d. Oct. 3, J832, married May 9, J784 Neiltfe Stout-
enburgh of Rockland County; he was a saddle and harness maker at New Hemp-
282
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

stead, Rockland Co. until l 806, when he returned and settled on part of the lands
inherited by his father at southern Kinderkamack. Of his two sons, Cornelius C.'
Cooper, Jr., b. March l7, 1788 at New Hempstead, married Ellen Mowerson and had
five children; he was a cabinet maker and house carpenter by trade. He bought from
his relatives his father's farm near New Milford (southern Kinderkamack) and later
his grandfather's homestead at Kinderkamack, where he also resided. On retiring
from business, he sold his New Jersey lands Feb. JO, 1847, and removed to New York
City, where he died in J850, and was buried at Schraalenburg with his father, grand-
father, and great-grandfather. The house was bought by Isaac Zabriskie, and later
by Isaac Mabie, who built the main part of the house. It has been owned since about
J93J by Upson Van Varick. The old house (the wing) has been altered with
modem clapboarding, window sashes and dormers, but the rough stonework of
the gable end, steep roof and overhang preserve the atmosphere of early days.
Thunise Cuyper (J737-J79J), a younger brother of the builder of this house,
built and lived farther south opposite New Milford, also on lands inherited from
their father. This house (still standing at No. 610 Brookside Ave., Oradell) was
sold about 1870 by his grandson Rev. John Cooper (1827-1887), son of Richard,
after he had forsaken his blacksmith trade, and taken up the calling of minister at
Nanuet. It is a frame house similar in type, but its proportions are ruined by a
screened porch the size of the house.
Cornelius Cuyper's house is in the locality formerly called Kinderkamack, and
stands on the west side of Kinderkamack Road above the present village of Oradell,
and immediately south of Soldiers Hill Road. His brother Thunise Cuyper's house
stands off the east side of Kinderkamack Road south of Oradell, on the north side of
a brook, and across the river from New Milford.

House of William De Clark

Piermont Road, Closter
PLATE 81
This house was not built until about 1800-1805 by William De Clark, but it is
included in this volume as an example of the persistence of eighteenth century styles
for over a generation after the Revolution. h f A il 25 l 7JO by
It stands on the northern part of the 1030 acre pure aseuo les :;ttled,and built
Barent and Resolvert Nagel from the patentee Symes. T~e Na d~u hter of John J.
on this tract. Sarah' Naugle, daughter of Wi11iam J. gran g b her eat-
Nagel, was born April 4, 1749, possibly in the latter~ h;;;: ~:~ried ifaniel
grandfather Barent' Nagel (see plate 97)• On Si7t. • she had died before him
1

De Clark (or De Klerck), b. May 3, 1748, d. Dec. ' 1834 ' 283
 HOUS ES IN BERG EN COUN TY

(Jan. 28, 1810) and both are buried in the family cemetery on the
Naug le trac!•
The De Clarks came from Tapp an (plate 48), and Sara h removed to
her husb ands
home in Rockland County where their children were born .
Thei r son Willi am (or Billy) De Clark, b. Apri l ll, 1781 at Clarkstow
n, prob-
ably received some of the Naug le tract from his mother or her relati
ves, as he
returned to New Jersey and built here. He married Eliza Hari ng, b. Nov.
17, 1780,
d. March 27, 1829. They had a son Daniel W. (1807-1849) and an older
daughter
·who married Jacob Outwater about l8l9. The Outwaters lived with her
father, had
a son bom here about l 820, and built the frame kitchen wing about this
time; they
later sold the place. In 1867 the farm was bought by Capt. Elish a Ruck man,
a retired
ship-builder; he removed to Tapp an in 1875. It became a part of the W.W
. Phelps
stock farm, and for the last thirty years has been owned by Mrs. Mari
e Breisacher.
The house stands on the east side of the Pierm ont Road ( the old
road to
Tapp an) south of a small brook, one mile north and east of Closter villag
e.

Hou se of Dav id des Mar est (De mar est)

at the Frenc h Ceme tery, north of New Bridg e
PLAT E 82
This is the oldest house but one of the existing Bergen Co. houses. Built
within
twenty years after the first permanent settlement of New Jersey, it can be
considered
typical of the home of a well-to-do pioneer of this period. The roug hly cut
stone and
the very steep slant of the roof are characteristic, also the plan of the interi
or, which
consists of two adjoining rooms, each with its outside door. The west
room has an
early panelled mantel and over-mantel of unusual beauty.
David des Marest (De Maree) was bom about 1620 at Beauchamp in Picar
dy,
son of Jean. The members of his family were Fren ch Protestants, and
removed for
greater freedom in religion to Middleburg, W alcheren, on the Island
of Zeeland.
Ther e he married July 24, 1643 at the Walloon Church, Marie, daughter
of Fran ~is
Sohier of Nieppe in Hainault. In l 663 David emigrated with his wife
and four
children in the ship Bont ecoe , and soon settled at Harle m in New Neth
erland. In
1677 he refused to support the Dutc h Church there as he was a member of
the French
Church at New Amsterdam, and contributed to the funds of the latter. This
was the
immediate cause of his removal to New Jersey. On June 8, 1677 he boug
ht of the
Tapp an Indians a tract two miles wide and six long on the Hackensack
River. For
some reason he did not patent this and other purchases immediately (and
some lands
not at all) with the result that others made claims and he eventually had
to pay for
it three times. He and his family immediately removed here in the sprin
g of 1678
and lived in a temporary shelter, while they leveled off and built retaining
walls for
284
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

a plot of ground on which to erect their permanent stone home, built J678-80.
David's wife died here of smallpox shortly after Oct. 3, J68J. Other Huguenots soon
settled in this region. They left the Dutch Church at Bergen which they had helped
to build and organized a French Church here, which was occasionally supplied by
a pastor from New York City; the foundation of the church building was to be seen
until very recently in the cemetery adjoining the Demarest house; they gave up this
church in J696 in favor of the recently organized Dutch Church at Hackensack, and
also generously contributed to the building of the latter church. In J68J, his house
completed, David Des Marest built a mill and dam nearby on what came to be called
French KilL Between J686 and J689 he removed to his lands on the west side of the
Hackensack River (then in Essex Co.), and built another mill there. On Aug. 26,
J689 he made his will, in which he declared himself as a yeoman and miller of
the County of Essex, dividing his estate equally between his three surviving sons,
except for a JOO acre legacy to his maid Anna Counk (free servants were very
unusual). He died shortly before Oct. J6, J693, when his heirs made a division of the
property.
The eldest son Jean' des Marest, b. April J4, J645 at Middleburg, d. J7J9,
received the land around New Bridge, but resided on a farm on the west side of the
river (in his father's house?), probably on land bought by him and his father jointly.
Jean married three times and had five sons and six daughters. He left his farm on
the west side to his grandson David, son of David deceased, and his property on the
east side at New Bridge to his son Peter. Peter's son by his first wife, Peter, Jr., b.
J7l5, later inherited it; he married Altie Van Hom in J740, and they kept a tavern
at New Bridge in J 768; the property was inherited by their only child Maria, b.
l74J, who married Abraham Eli in J764. This house has long since disappeared.
By his second wife, Peter had a son called Squire Jacobus Demarest, b. 1735, who
married Maria Smith in 1758, and built a house (now much modernized) inland
from River Edge, near the Schraalenburgh Church.
The second son David' des Marest, Jr. ( J652- J69 J) died before his father, and
his young children were represented at the agreement of J693 by their "cousin" Jean
Durie, who (at that time or by J696) married David's widow; David, Jr.'s heirs
received the lands at "The Flats," near Oradell. The eldest son David settled near
the present Dumont; so did Daniel, who built a house there in l 724, still standing
but rebuilt on the old lines after a fire. Peter built a house at The Flats, later rebuilt
in J8J9 by a descendant, and recently removed to a new site nearby. Jacobus lived
at Old Bridge (plate 83). David, Jr.'s youngest son Benjamin may have inherited
the old house near the cemetery.
The third son Samuel' des Marest, b. 1656 at Manheim on the Rhine, d. J728,
285
 HOUS ES IN BERG EN COUN TY
he
married J678 Maria Dreuyn and had five sons and six daughters. In the division
received lands near Closter.
In the division of J693, the great mill at Old Bridge (now River Edge ) with the
d
land ad;oining was left jointly to David's heirs and to Samuel, and it was decide
that two houses should be built for them equal in size to Jean's . Whet her these were
ever built or not, we do not know.
We have little further knowledge of David des Marest, Sr.'s house behind the
Frenc h cemetery. It may have been considered a part of Jean' s New Bridge tract,
his
although the latter lived on the west side of the river, and probably inherited
father's house over there. It may have been on David, Jr.'s property which was north
en?
of Jean's , but if so, why should provision be made for a new house for his childr
At all events, it was owned during the Revolution by a grandson of David, Jr.'s
(Erskine's map) .
David des Marest, Jr., born J652 at Manheim on the Rhine, married at New
on
York April 4, J675 Rachel Cresson, born at Delft, whither her father Pierre Cress
by
had fled from Picardy. David died about J69J, and Rachel married secondly
1696 Jean Durie, a widower and her neighbor (see plate 86); she married
thirdly
and
April 25, J702 Roelof Vanderlinde, a widower, who died about 1708. David
,
Rachel had six sons and six daughters. Their youngest son, Benjamin" De Maree
had
born about J69J, married Nov. 7, J7J3 Elizabeth Pieterse De Groot, and
-
numerous children, including Beletje, bom about J7J8, married Oct. J2, J739 Nicho
the
las (or Claes) Romeyn, hap. Dec. J6, J7JJ at Hackensack. They resided in
Demarest house by the cemetery and had nine children. The house has since passed
E.
through various hands : ip J876 it was owned by C. G. F. Heina, in l9J2 by Mrs.
a
Riem ann; it is now owned by Henr y Riemann, and rented to the Pochard Club,
group of artists.
The house stands on the east bank of the Hackensack River behind the old
e
French Cemetery, some distance from the River Road, and is between Old Bridg
can
(now River Edge ) and New Bridg e (now North Hackensack). Another view
be seen in Boyd's article, p. 33.

Hou se of Jaco bus Dem arest

River Road, oppos ite River Edge
PLAT E 83

'
Jacobus Demarest is the first know n inhabitant of this house. A son of David
Flat-
des Marest, Jr. (see plate 82), he was born at Hackensack, hap. Oct. 30, J68J at
the
bush, died J763. He married first Marc h 8, J707 Leah, born at the Bowery on
286
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

Bay, a daughter of Peter De Groot, and had six children: David, Pieter, Rachel,
Beletie, Maria and Benjamin. He married · secondly Sept. 26, J7J9 Margrietje
Haring, hap. April J7, J700, daughter of Cozine Haring of Old Tappan (plate 89),
and had by her four children: Johannes, Lea, Gerret and Samuel His eldest son by
his second matrimonial venture was Johannes or John4 Demarest, b. Aug. 2, J720,*
d. Feb. 5, J783, married March 7, J744 Rachel Zabriskie, who married secondly
Aug. J, J788 Arent Schuyler; she died April J6, J8J2. John and Rachel lived in
this house and had four sons and one daughter, all of whom lived to great age,
dying between the ages of 78 and 96 years.* The youngest child Casparus11 or Jasper
Demarest, b. April 6, J766,* d. July 6, J844,* married April J2, J789* Rachel Vor-
hase, b. April 7, J766,* d. Nov. J4, J860.* They lived in this house, in which all their
eight children were born. The property was bought about J850 by John H. Zabriskie
( who lived in the frame house opposite), and inhabited for a while by his father
Henry Zabriskie. It was sold by the Zabriskie family about J908. John A. Gurd
bought the property about J9J0 from a land company, and it is now owned by his
widow.
The time of erection of this house is uncertain. The small wing (remodelled by
the present owners with a modem bay window) is very similar in construction to
the Demarest house by the cemetery. Possibly it was built for David des Marest, Jr.'s
heirs under the agreement of J693 (see above). If not, it was built by Jacobus'
Demarest about the time of his first marriage (J707). The main part of the house is
also of very early date, and was undoubtedly built by Jacobus' Demarest about the
time of his second marriage (J7J9); it was in existence by l720, as his son Johannes
was bom here in this year. This son lived here all his life.
Judging by their houses, the Demarest family possessed instinctive taste and a
love of beauty. Although totally different in style from the house by the cemetery,
this house also possesses great charm. It is built of roughly cut stone, plastered and
whitewashed, and is covered by a curving gambrel roof. Below the overhang, the old
windows are in uneven alignment with the door. Unfortunately the interior has been
greatly changed; only the hall is untouched: a low chair rail is still to be seen, and
also the steep enclosed stairway, with a door at its foot. The wing of the house has
been marred by the addition of a large bay window, where formerly were a door and
a small window. An outside Dutch oven has been demolished. A view of the house
in rural surroundings, before the alteration of the wing, can be seen in Boyd's
article, p. 39, and in Black's article, p. 254. The house stands on the west side of the
River Road, at the head of the tum to the bridge over the Hackensack River at
River Edge (formerly Old Bridge).

• Taken from family Bible.

 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

House of Abram Demar ee (Dema rest)

Schraalen burgh Road, Closter
PLATE 84
Abram Demaree resided here at the time of the Revoluti on (Erskine 's map),
and probably built the house (the old wing) only a few years before. A son of
David J. Demarest, and grandson of Jacobus Demares t, the builde~ of the house at
Old Bridge (plate 83), Abram' was born Sept. 2J, J738 and bapt1Zed at Tappan;
about J763 he married Marg.rietje Demarest, probably his cousin, b. Dec. 9, J744,*
d. June l3, 1834,* daughter of Johanne s Demares t and Rachel Zabriskie, of Old
Bridge (plate 83). Abram lived at Old Bridge for many years, and later at Hacken-
sack. Shortly before the Revolution he bought a large farm on the Schraale nburgh
Road, on both sides of the Old Hook Road. Here, until his death July 9, 1824, he
kept a general store of groceries, hardwar e and miscellaneous wares for farmers, and
until l 809 he also kept a tavern. He was a man of note and held many town offices.
Most of his five children may have died in infancy as he left all his property to his
son David. David A.6 Demaree, b. Aug. 28, 1764 at Old Bridge, d. Feb. J, J860 at
the home of his daughter in Nyack, married in J787 Charity Haring, and had an
only child Margrietje who married John Perry. In 1809 David superintended the
building of his father's new stone house, after demolishing the old one. This state-
ment in Harvey undoubtedly applies to the main part of the house only, as the exist-
ing wing is probably pre-revolutionary. Old Fordie Demaree (in the country dis-
tricts all old men were called Fordie and old women Otie-sp elling approximate)
owned all the land in the vicinity, including the farm opposite (bought by his father)
on which a stone house still stands, which has been altered since it was owned by
Cornelius Van Horn during the Revolution. In J 868 James Henry Stephens, from
Colt's Neck in Monmou th Co., bought the house from David Demares t's estate, and
commenced remodelling but died the same year. The Victoria n fretwork was un-
doubtedly added by him. It descended to his two children. The present owner, F. M.
Curtis, bought the property about J922, and runs an antique shop here.
Notice the old fanlight over the door of the wing and the difference in stonework
between the wing and the main house. Two doors lead from the main house into
the wing; cut in the panelling of each door is a small square spy-ligh t, through which
the owner could survey his slaves. The stairs, mantels and other woodwork of the
main house are beautifully carved.
The house stands on the west side of the Schraale nburgh Road immediately
south of the present Oradell Reservoir, and over one mile west of Coster village.
The country road adjoining the house on the south is the Old Hook Road, formerly
an important thoroughfare leading to the Pascack settlements.
288

• Taken from family Bible.

 HOUSE S IN BERGE N COUNT Y

Dore mus Hous e

former ly on Saddle River Road, west of Arcola
PLAT E 85

This is known as the house of Georg e Dorem us for the reason that he lived here
for many years in recent times. When it was built and by whom is not lmown. As
the Dorem us family from an early date owned a large tract in Saddle River Town -
ship in the vicini ty of Red Mills (now Arcol a), it seems probable that this was the
origin al Dorem us homestead. John Dorem us, son of Joris, and grands on of Cornd is,
b. Sept. l, 1720, d. July 22, 1784, bough t several hundr ed acres at Red Mills in 1740.
On March 3J, J748 he marrie d Maria Lutkin s, whose home stood farthe r south on
the Param us Road toward s Hacke nsack. Durin g the Revol ution he was taken
prison er by the Britis h, and confined in the Sugar House in New York City. He
contra cted a disease there, of which he died soon after his return home. He had but
two childr en, a daugh ter Marre tje, and a son George. Georg e Dorem us, b. Aug. 28,
J754, occup ied the homes tead farm until he died in J830; in J805 he built nearby the
presen t large stone house, with a gambr el roof, in the style of the period. In J777 he
marrie d Anna , daugh ter of John Berda n, and left six childr en: Richa rd who settled
at Lower Preak ness and at Old Bridge , Alber t who ran a stage from Hacke nsack,
Georg e, Jr., John B. who succeeded to the homestead and lived in his father's house
until he retired from business in J869 (later occupied by his son Jacob W., born
1835), Peter, and Maria wife of Gen. Andre w Hoppe r. The third son, Georg e Dore-
mus, Jr., might have been the occup ant of the old house : he was born in J794,
marrie d Harrie t Zabris kie, was a blacks mith, tavernkeeper and farme r at Red Mills.
His young est brothe r, Peter Dorem us, born J80 J, marrie d Jane Brinkerhoff, was a
blacks mith at Red Mills until he remov ed to Jersey City late in life; of his six
childr en one was Georg e Dorem us. The latter was probab ly the owner of the old
house, rather than his Uncle Georg e who could hardly have kept a tavern in such
smalI quarte rs. The house has been demol ished since the photo graph was taken in
J925. It stood on the west bank of the Saddl e River, between Arcola and Roche lle
Park.
Hous e of John Durie
Scbraa lenburg b Road, Hawor th
PLAT E 86

By traditi on the house was in process of erectio n at the time of the Revol ution.
Jean Durie (Jan Du Rie or Durji) was a Frenc h Hugue not, supposed to have been
born in Picard y and to have fled to Manh eim with his parent s, as did his cousin
David des Mares t (see plate 82). He was a blacks mith by trade, and traditi on states
289
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

that he worked for his passage to this country at the tender age of 15 years. Shortly
after 1682 he joined the Demarest colony on the Hackensack River, and in 1686 with
other Frenchmen he obtained a patent to lands on the west bank at Kinderkamack.
In 1694 he is said to have received 233 acres west of Closter between the Tenakill
and Hackensack Rivers (possibly from the heirs of David Demarest, Sr.?), and to
have built his home here on the site of the present Durie house owned by Riker
Turnure (or farther south, see below). He was a very prominent early settler. By his
first wife, probably a French girl, he had four children: Jannetje, Margrite, Pieter,
and Jan, all born and living at Hackensack according to their marriage records ( this
locality was a part of the jurisdiction of the Hackensack Church). In 1696 the
French Church was abandoned, and the French colonists, including Jean and his
wife Rachel Cresson (he had married secondly the widow of David des Marest, Jr.,
a few years previously), joined the newly organized Dutch Church at Hackensack.
A stone marked "J. D. R. 1696" records his contribution to the building of this
church. Jean appointed Samuel Demarest guardian of his minor children and died
in or shortly after 1698.
His son Jan' Durie inherited his father's Closter lands, and married Aug. 30,
1718 Angenitie Jansen Bogart. There is said to be a date 1718 in the stone founda-
tions of the present Durie house, now owned by Riker T urnure, so it is possible that
Jan built the first house on this site at the time of his marriage, rather than his,
father. (This property was bought in 1870 by John L. Tumure from the Nicholas
Durie estate; the present house was built by a member of the Durie family, and is a
beautiful example of the development of the eighteenth century style in the early
nineteenth century.) By 1752 he had married a second wife named Margaret. In his
will of 1773 he divided his lands on the east side of the Schraalenburgh Road,
stretching from Cornelius Van Hom on the north to Henry Herring on the south,
between his two sons John and David and his grandson John, only son of his de-
ceased son Peter. On Erskine's Revolutionary map are marked three houses, no
doubt owned by these three heirs. The eldest son John,-' bap. March 26, 1722,
inherited the middle third of his father's lands; he married Wyntie Lydecker and
had two sons Garret and John; the latter had many children, including John born
1778 and Garret born 1784. This Garret J.6 Durie (1784-1837*) built the present
house in 1812, near his grandfather's; it is now owned by Garret's great-grandson
J. Westervelt Mount. Jan's second son Peter/ bap. Aug. 29, 1731, married Maria
Post and died as a young man, leaving a young son John P.' Durie (1754-1819)
who inherited the south third of his grandfather's lands; he married Maria Demarest
about 1774 and had many sons, including a John born 1796. Jan's third son David.,,
bap. Jan. 14, 1739, inherited the north third of his father's lands, on which stood
290

* Taken from family Bible.

 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

the old home; on Nov. 16, 1762 he married Margrietje, daughter of his neighbor
Comelius Van Hom (who lived opposite the Abram Demaree house, plate 84), and
had nine daughters and two sons, John born 1767, and Cornelius born 1784.
John D: Durie, b. Sept. 8, 1767, died in 1842, married May 27, 1790 Beeletje
Demarest. He is the first known owner of the house, and probably built it about the
time of his marriage. Tradition states that the house was in course of erection dur-
ing the Revolution to supersede the house of the emigrant Jean' Durie, which stood
in a field nearby; that John was a fifteen-year-old boy living on the present Tumure
property, and amused himself with a bean sling picking off the patriot army as it
marched by, until he was found hidden in a tree and sent home. There seems no
reason for David' Durie (who had inherited his father's home) to have built this
one while his children were still young; and he probably did not own this property,
unless he exchanged some of his lands at the settlement of their father's estate with
his brother John P. Durie. The latter died in 1819 and so could not have built the
house; for the John Durie who first owned it brought up his grandson and died
shortly after his grandson's marriage in 1841, leaving all his property to him.
John D.' Durie had several children, of whom only one is said to have matured:
Cornelia Durie, bom about l 80 l, died in l 859. She had a son John Ackerman, Jr.,
b. Oct. 20, 1819,* and left him with her father when she married April 30, 1823 her
neighbor Christian Van Horn (1801-1885), by whom she had thirteen children.
John D. Durie brought up his grandson and heir, John Ackerman, Jr., b. Oct. 20,
1819*, d. Feb. 18, 1905.,* m. June 3, J84l* Gertrude Westervelt, b. Oct. 12, 1819,*
d. Oct. 9, 1904,* daughter of Daniel and Mary Westervelt of Tenafly (plate 110).
They had one son who died in infancy and three daughters, including Sarah Louisa
Ackerman, b. March J, J854,* d. May 7, 1884,* m. Jan. 13, 1876* John J. Bell of
Oradell. Their daughter Cora Bell married J. Carlton Oren; she inherited the house
from her grandfather John Ackerman, and is the present owner.
The exterior of the stone house is little changed, although the modem windows
give it a vacant expression. The interior is completely altered. John Ackerman built
the frame wing at the east end about J854. The house stands on the east side of the
Schraalenburgh Road, a short distance above the crossroad at Haworth village.

House of Peter Garretson

River Road. Fairlawn
PLATE 87

The house stands on a tract granted to nine proprietors in 1687, divided in

1692 and sold from time to time to various settlers, including four members of the
Van Wagoner family. Gerrit Gerritsei emigrated from Wageningen on the Rhine
291

• Taken from family Bible.

 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

on the Faith in 1660, and settled at Communipaw on New York Bay, where he
became a minor official and died April 6, l 703. His son Gerrit' of Pembrepogh,
a Judge of Bergen court, was the father of Peter Garritse" (Garretson, Garrison),
b. Oct. 4, l 684, who married March 26, l 709 Vrowtje Hessels, and was probably mar-
ried a second time to Antje Aeltse June 22, 1733. Peter bought (as above) a large
tract of land on the Passaic River at Slooterdam, a portion of which is still in the
hands of his descendants, and undoubtedly built this house ( the old wing) which is
mentioned in a deed of l 708. Some of the family adopted the name Van Wagoner
to denote their place of origin, but Peter's descendants on this property retained the
patronymic Garretson. He had four sons and six daughters: Gerrit of Iapogh, Eliza-
beth, Hessel of the Goffle, Peter, Johannes, Neesje, Frowtje, Lea, Helena, and
Gerretje. One of his sons, Johannes or John P.4 Garretson, b. Nov. 14, 1721, mar-
ried Geertje Ryerse, lived and died on the homestead, and was succeeded by his
youngest son Garret Garretson, b. Feb. 18, 1780. By his wife Mary Romaine, he
6

had three sons, of whom Ralph and Abram remained on the homestead (R. Gar-
rison the owner in 1876). The house is now (1925) lived in by Mrs. F. Brocker, a
descendant in the sixth generation from Peter, the builder.
The old part of the house is built of rubble and undressed stone. Originally it
was probably covered by a steep gable roof. The present gambrel roof is too heavy
for the house and its proportions are unusual for Bergen County. The main house
is of stone and of later construction, and is completely hidden behind a large pil-
lared porch. The house stands on the east bank of the Passaic River, above the main
road (Broadway) into Paterson.

Garrison (?) House

Ramapo Valley Road, Hohokus Township
PLATE 88

The Ramapo valley was settled early in the eighteenth century in the vicinity
of Ponds Church (south of the present Oakland), and farms were gradually cleared
to the northwards. It is not known who built this house; Erskine's Revolutionary
map marks a house on the west side of the road in this locality as Garret Garrison's.
Possibly the course of the road has been changed and this is the house; it is certainly
of an early type of construction, it is built of whitewashed rubble, with fairly small
windows and a gable roof, and has been slightly altered. The house stands on
the east side of a curve in the Valley Road at the foot of a hill, near the so-called
Cleveland Bridge, and is three miles north of Yaw-paw (now Oakland). The pres-
ent owner, Carl E. Koch, leases it to F. Crawford.
292
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

House of Cosyn Haring, later De Wolf's

near the state border, Old Tappan
PLATE 89
Pieter Jansen' emigrated early in the seventeenth century with his son Jan
Pieterse' Haring, b. Dec. 26, 1633 at Hoorn in North Holland. On Whitsuntide
1662 at the Church in the Bouwery, Jan married Margrietje Cosyns, daughter of
Cosyn Gerritszen and Vrouwtie. She was baptized May 5, J64J at New Amster-
dam, and at the age of thirteen years married April J9, J654 Herman Theunis.zen
of Zell in Munsterlant and had a daughter bap. 1658. Jan and Margrietje lived on a
JOO acre farm in the settlement called the Bouwery (which grew up around Gov.
Stuyvesant's bouwery beyond the wall in New Amsterdam) and had four sons and
three daughters. Under the leadership of Jan Pieterse Haring, a group of Bouwery
villagers and a few others obtained a deed from the Tappan Indians March J 7,
1681/ 2 for a large tract of land on the west side of the Hudson River, and obtained
a patent from Governor Dongan of New York March 24, J686/ 7. Settlement was
commenced immediately, but without their leader, who died in December of J683.
He was succeeded in the leadership of the Tappan community by Daniel De Clark,
who soon married the widow, Grietje Cosyns, and built the brick house at Tappan
(plate 48). Two of the sons, Pieter and Cornelius Haring, later represented the
county in the Provincial Legislature.
Although only a lad, Cosyn Janse1 Haring, the second son, was mentioned as
one of the Tappan patentees. In addition to his many purchases he eventually
received over 900 acres in the various divisions of the patent, of which one-half was
located at Old Tappan. Cosyn Haring, bap. March 31, 1669 at New York, died
J743 at Old Tappan, married Maria Gerrits Blauvelt, b. Jan. 28, 1668 at New York,
a sister of two of the Tappan patentees (see plate 42); they had three sons and five
daughters, of whom only John, Marretje (wife of Johannes Bogert), Margrietje
( wife of Jacobus Demarest-plate 83), and Maria ( wife of Cornelius Eckerson)
survived their father and are mentioned in his will of 1733. Cosyn was an important
member of the community, an organizer of the Tappan Church, assessor, and Cap-
tain of the militia. He built a large house befitting his station; the date of erection
has been set as 1704, immediately after the first division of the patent.
This house, which is shown on a map of about J713, was inherited by his only
surviving son Jan Cosyn' Haring, b. Nov. 24, 1693 at Tappan, d. June 16, 1771,
m. Jan. JS, J718 Aeltye Van Dalsen, born at Haarlem in Holland. They had three
sons who inherited or built the three adjoining Haring houses (plates 89, 90 and
9J), and several daughters: Annetje, Elizabeth, Sarah and Rachel. The eldest son
Johannes J/ Haring, b. July J, 1720, d. March J7, 1798, lies buried at Tappan with
293
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

his parents and his widow, Margaret Blauvelt, b. March 6, 1725, cl. Dec. 13, 1800.
Their son Abraham 1.6 Haring, b. Dec. 7, 1759, d. March 13, 1810,* m. Feb. 15,
1793 Maria Blauvelt, b. Dec. 22, 1772,* cl. Feb. 5, 1838 aged 65 years.* Their son
John A.7 Haring, b. May 7, 1794,* cl. March 18, 1874,* was the last of the name to
own the old home, as he had but two daughters. On Nov. 29, 1813* he married his
cousin Mariah Van Orden, b. Jan. 31, 1795,* d. March 5, 1875,* daughter of Peter
S. Van Orden J763-l846* and Margrietje Haring l770-J8l2,* and granddaug hter
of neighbor Frederick Haring (plate 9 J). Their elder daughter Margaret died
unmarriea Sept. 30, J848 at the age of 31*; their other child Catharine Haring, b.
Jan. 28, J829,* d. Dec. 28, J886,* married Sept. 23, 1852* Martin De Wolfe, b. Dec.
29, J829,* cl. May 5, J906.* Of their five children, the old homestead was inherited
by the eldest: John Haring De Wolfe, b. Oct. 7, J853,* cl. July 6, 1927,* married
Nov. 24, J875* Maggie Oeveland, who survives and lives in the old house with her
two children and her grandchildren. The present owntr is her son, Charles De Wolf,
b. June 9, J880,* a direct descendant of the builder.
This is a good example of an early eighteenth century house of a well-to-do
farmer; it consists of two large rooms each with its separate outside door ( and no
hall), the small rear rooms opening directly from the main rooms. The chimney
breast is panelled, the overhead beams remain uncovered and one may still see the
original double Dutch doors and hardware. The large garret remains undivided.
The frame wing is mid-nineteenth century in style, and is ample enough to house
the presenflarg e family. Since the photograph was taken in 1925, the roof has been
repaired, and square pillar supports added, which blend in well with the house. The
house presents the same rural aspect as it has from the time of its erection: set in
the middle of a farm on a back country road, with geese in the front yard and an
old well sweep nearby. It stands just south of the state border, on the east side of a
former main road, leading from Old Tappan to the settlements at Sickeltown (now
Naurausha un) and Clarkstown (now West Nyack).

House of Gerrit Haring

Old Tappan Lane, Old Tappan
PLATE 90
Gerrit J.6 Haring, second son of Jan Cosyn Haring (plate 89), undoubtedly
felt the need of a house of his own when he married about l 751. He built on a part
of his grandfather Cosyn's lands, but erected a less pretentious house, consisting of
only two rooms, each with its separate outside door, and very little attic space for
stor~ge purposes. Gerrit J. Haring, b. April 25, l 725 in the old house (plate 89),
married Cornelia Lent about 1751 and raised many children in his new home: Jan,
2 94

• Taken from family Bible.

 HOUS ES IN BERG EN COUN TY
. and Elizabeth. The house
· k, K obus, Catherine
Petru s1 p rederic
Abraham, d bje'h.
'tAelt
!-1..
was mueriaes y'th isA son Frederi k G•6 Harmg· , b• A ug. 8, 1762, married April 6,
J786 Mari h' five por-
, h . nu ,• t is death m l834, his large farm was divided into
Zabriskie, Mrs.
~on} ~c : ; hdl and ;neadowland, for his five daughters: Letty
ar enier' gare t wi e of J oost Demarest, Mary Eckerson, and Comella wife
e Zabriskie and
of Albe ~ :tga r:d!he house stood on portion No. l allotted to Letti in l9l2 by the
was pro a Y so Y her. In 1876 it was owned by Mrs. Myers, and
h, Conn.,
W. ~• Phel~s estate. The present owner, Charles Angela of Greenwic of Old
north side
rents it to Oliver Pearson. The house nestles under a hill on the
Wol f house (plate
Tappan Lane , abou t one mile south and west of the Haring-De
89) towards Rivervale.

Hou se of Fred eric k Har ing

Old Tapp an Lane, Old Tappan
PLA TE 91
e 89), also
frede ricks Hari ng, youngest son of Jan Cosyn Hari ng (plat
he had become a
branched out for himself. It is possible that he did not build until
ous and larger than
prominent man of the community, for his house is more spaci
before the Revo-
his brother's (plate 90). It was erected on hls grandfather's lands
Company of Foot
lution, in whic h he served as First Lieutenant of Capt. Eckor's
in the Oran ge Regi men t of Militia. Frederick, b. Dec. 7, 1729
, d. March 16, 1807,
m. May 30, 1752 his cousin Rachel Hari ng, b. July 18, 1732,
d. Aug . 27, l795,
ten children: Aaltye,
daughter of Abra ham Hari ng and Dirckje Tallman. They had
anus, Rachel, Mar-
Abram, Dirckie, Jan F. (.t760-l836), Gerret (1762-1840), Harm
child, Abraham F.6
grietje, Maria and Abra ham . The house passed to the youngest
Haring, b. Apri l 7, 1775, d. Aug . 14, 1858,* married March
17, 1797* Margaret
ied Nov. 13, 1824*
Haring. Thei r son Fred erick A.7 Hari ng, b. Nov. 4, 1804,* marr
rt Bogart and his
Mary Ann Bog ert of Closter, b. Jan. 6, l 808,* daughter of Albe
et F. Hari ng, b.
first wife. The youn gest son of their thirteen children was Garr
sold most of his acre-
March l 0, J854. He was the last Hari ng owner and gradually
about l 930 and has
age. The house was sold by his widow Elizabeth Eckerson
City for a summer
been recently boug ht by Mrs. Evel yn Wise man of New York
horne.
marks will ~e
The phot ogra ph show s the house as it was in l 925. If examined, th
and e room~ ·
~en where a low wing form erly stood on the road end. In this win~
H~ g ownilder' lea~ g
Joining it in the main hous e lived the gran dpar ents of the last thir
teen ch . ren. f the
tbe remainder of the hous e to their son and his brood of
&'l'andfather's dock by the door was too high for the ceilin
g, so a section ° e
295

;-:- -
Taken from family Bible.
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

floor was lowered beneath it. Three windows with old sashes now give light on the
road end and dormers have also been added. The barn, now gone, stood west of the
house, and a descendant informs me that it is the one described in Whittiees "Snow-
bound." The house stands on the north side of Old Tappan Lane, at the corner of
the country road to Nauraushaun, midway between the homes of his brother (plate
90) and his father (plate 89).

House of Abraham Haring, later Moses Taylor's

Piermont Road, Rockleigh Borough
PLATE 92

This house was built about J758 by Capt. Abraham A.5 Haring. He was the
third of this name, as he was the son of Abraham A. Haring ( J709-J 79 J) and Maria
Demarest (J:709-J786), and grandson of Abraham Haring (J:68l-J772). The latter
is said to have lived on Pascack Road in Rockland Co. and was the youngest brother
of Cosyn J. Haring of Old Tappan (plate 89); his (Abraham, Sr.'s) daughter mar-
ried Frederick Haring of Old Tappan (plate 9J:). The land is a part of the Lockhart
Patent of June 27, J687, and was sold to the builder or his father. Capt. Abraham
A. Haring, b. Oct. 22, J734, bap. at Tappan, married three times. By his first wife
Catharine Lent, he had a son Abraham, b. March 4, J758, died in infancy. He mar-
ried secondly June 25, J760 Jannetje Verbryck, and had two sons: David A., b.
Dec. JS, J760, who was married twice, to Elizabeth Blauvelt and to Maria Alyea;
and Abraham B., b. Jan. 2, J766, who settled at Parsippany . He married thirdly
March 20, J770 Margrietje Blauvelt, b. Feb. 26, J749, and had by her two children:
Maria, b. June J7, J774,married Roeloff Verbryck; and John A. Haring, b. April 6,
J780, d. Feb. 22, J854, who built nearby. Capt. Abraham Haring was absent collect-
ing taxes when the British came for him; the next time they were more successful and
carried him away prisoner before his youngest child was born. He was never heard
from again, and the widow later married her neighbor John Riker, who lived across
the way in a house still standing but greatly altered. It is not known what hap-
pened to the homestead in the next few years. The youngest son, John A. Haring,
6

received only the southern part of his father's land, and built a stone house here
J805-08; his son Nicholas J.7 Haring rebuilt his father's ho~se in J838; it is still
standing, and a good example of the same style as rendered by a later period.
Moses Taylor, Jr., was a child during the Revolution and fled with hls parents
from New York City to this region during the war. On retiring from active life, he
returned here and bought the Abraham Haring house. His young wife Margaret
died here April 27, l8J3 aged 32 years, and was buried with her still-bom daughter
in the cemetery at Palisades. He married secondly a daughter of Joshua Martin of
296
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

Sneden's Landing, and had children by her. His son Moses Taylor, Jr., had a
daughter Mary who married John Vervalen, and sold the house early in the twen-
tieth century. The present owner is H. S. Kniffin.
This is one of the few examples extant in Bergen County of a gable roof
covering a deep house. Its lines and proportions are good. The contemporary Lent
house, built 1752, has a similar roof (plate 53). The frame kitchen wing in the rear
was built in 1812 by Moses Taylor. The house is in Rockleigh Borough, on the
west side of Piermont Road, which formerly turned northeast at this point and
wound toward Palisades (this end of the road is now known as Rockleigh Avenue).

Holdru m-Wan amake r House

Pascack Road, Upper Montvale
PLATE 93

This house was built about the time of the Revolution, possibly shortly after,
by a Holdrum ; the date l 778 is said to be cut in an attic beam. William Haldron
1

was a blacksmith; he emigrated and settled at Flushing and later at Harlem, and
was drowned on or about Dec. 6, 1687. His son John' married May J8, J707 Cornelia
Van Tienhoven, widow of Andries Holst and granddaughter of Cornelis Van Tien-
hoven, the Secretary of New Netherland. They removed to Tappan about J7J3.
Their son William" Holdrum, hap. May 16, J708 at New York City, married 1734
Margrietje Peters, daughter of Oaes Peters of Rockland Co., on Dec. 18, l 760.
William bought 258 acres west of the Hackensack River and south of the State line,
from Rev. Benjamin Vanderlinde, and resided here the balance of his life. William
had nine children, including Claes, William, Jan, Abraham, and Cornelius. It is
not known who built this house, but it may have been Cornelius, as he is known to
have lived in this vicinity. Cornelius Holdrum, b. Oct. 22, 1749 at Tappan, d. May
4

31, 1831, married Elizabeth Haring, and had three children: James C. born 1785,
William C., and Cornelius C. The house was eventually inherited by Catherine
Holdrum, b. Dec. 2, 1827, d. Oct. 8, 1866, married May 14, 1846 (as his first wife)
John Wanamaker, b. April 4, 1827, d. March 30, 1904; they had two daughters
Elizabeth and Sarah. (John Wanamaker's daughter by his second wife believes
Catherine's father to have been a Cornelius Holdrum.) About 1850 John and Cath-
arine Wanamaker exchanged houses with James Van Houten. His son Garret had
a son Edmund Van Houten, who sold the house about l 925. It is now owned by
C. C. Cook and rented; it is run as the Pascack Poultry Farm. Modem alterations
and neglect detract from the character of the house. It stands a short distance south
of the state line, just below Upper Montvale four comers, on a hill on the east side of
the Pascack Road (or Spring Valley Road), which goes north to Spring Valley.
2 97
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

Hopper-Goetschius House
East Saddle River Road, Upper Saddle River
PLATE 94

This house is of an early type of construction and was undoubtedly built in

the beginning of the eighteenth century, but its early history is lost in obscurity,
On an undated sheepskin map made about 1713 the house is marked Gerrit Hoppa;
on Erskine's Revolutionary map it is marked John Hopper. So it is safe to presume
that it was built and owned by members of the Hopper family for about one hun-
dred years. There are several distinct Hopper families whose histories are not clear.
The only Gerrit Hopper known at such an early date lived at Polifly near Hack-
ensack, and did not die until l 786 (see infra), It is possible that he built on the Upper
Saddle River as a young man before settling at Polifly; the names of his children
are not known, but he may have had a son John and given the northerly farm to
him during his own lifetime; this is pure conjecture. There was also a John Hoppe,
born and living at Paramus, married at Hackensack l 736 Elizabeth Kip, who was
a widow by 1799, but this John appears to be the son of Andries, a brother of the
above Gerrit. Whatever his connections, the house was probably built by a Gerrit
Hopper, who owned it about 1713,
The house has been in the possession of the Goetschius family for the last hun-
dred years. Dominie Stephanus' Goetschius, bap. Nov. 5, 1752 at Schraalenburgh,
d. 1837, came of a family of powerful preachers: his father Hendricus was a minister
on Long Island and later at Hackensack and Schraalenburgh; his grandfather
Maurice' Goetschi was a pastor in Switzerland, from which country he brought four
hundred followers to America (see plate 68), Dominie Stephanus Goetschius was
a strong Calvinist and the organizer of no less than nine churches in Ulster Co.;
he was a powerful preacher, sharp and fearless in his denunciation of sin. He
preached at New Paltz and New Hurley and at Marbletown and Shokan, all in
Ulster County; it was not until he was 62 years of age that he was appointed to the
Saddle River and Pascack Churches, which he served from 1814 until he retired in
l 835, He doubtless bought the Hopper house when he came to this region. By his
wife Elizabeth Du Bois, he had six children baptized at New Paltz. One son John
Henry Goetschius, b. March 18, 1795, was probably the father of the Dominie's
grandson Stephen J.' Goetschius, who was the father of the present owner, George
E. Goetschius.
The careful cornering but otherwise rough stonework of the house is typical of
the early period. The front of the house has been refaced. Age has blended the heavy
roof, absurdly small posts, and large dormers so that they scarcely detract from the
298
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

appearance of the house. The house stands on the East Saddle River Road, on the
northwest comer of the crossroads at Upper Saddle River.

Hopper House
formerly at Polifly Road, Hackensack
Andries' Hoppe or Hoppen emigrated to New Amsterdam in 1652 and was an
extensive freighter and trader until he died in 1658. He was survived by his widow
Geertje Hendricks, three sons and one daughter, all of whom settled at Hackensack.
One son Hendrick,' b. Jan. 9, 1656 at New Amsterdam, bought from John Berry
May 17, 1694, a tract of 300 acres east of the Saddle River, in the section which
became known as the Polifly, now the south part of Hackensack. His eighth child
Gerrit (1696-1786) left his father's farm to his son Jacob, who in tum willed it to
his son John, stating that it had been in the family for three generations. John I.'
Hopper, b.Nov.1774, d. 1883, married Maria, daughter of Albert Terhune, and had
several children including Cornelia who married and removed to the T erhuen home-
stead in Hackensack by the river (plate lOO). Descendants inform me that John I.
Hopper tore down the home of his forefathers, which stood on the east side of the
Polifly Road, and built the present stone house opposite on the west side of the Poli-
fly Road in 18l8. This house is standing today, and is a good example of the early
nineteenth century development of the typical stone house of the Dutch settlers.

Hopper Houses
formerly at Hohokus
Settlers cleared farms at an early period by the crossroads of the highways
from Wagaraw (north of Paterson) and Paramus (eastern Ridgewood); the place
was called Hoppertown after its early inhabitants. This was the nucleus of the pres-
ent Hohokus. On Erskine's Revolutionary map, a house on the northeast comer of
the crossroads by a stream was marked Abram Hopper, and another on the south-
west corner was marked G. Hopper. Neither of these stands today. The first men-
tioned house was probably tom down early in the nineteenth century for the present
two story stone structure, owned by John J. Zabriskie in 1876, and now run as the
Hohokus Inn. Obscurity also rests with the early Hopper history of these houses.
Casual reference can be found to two buildings at Hohokus (presumably these)
known as the Henry Hopper house and the Captain John Hopper house. The
author has been unable to determine the identity of either a John Hopper or a G.
Hopper living in this region about the time of the Revolution.
Abraham' Hopper, bom about l 741, son of Hendrick and grandson of Hendrick'
Hoppe of Polifly, bought and settled on a tract at Hohokus before the Revolution.
299
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

By his wife Antje he had several children baptized at Paramus Church, including
three sons, Henry, Jacob and Andries. The son Henry• Hopper, bap. June 4, 1770,
married Feb. 8, l795 Charity Conklin, and had many children born at Hohokus. It
is possible that this branch owned the house on the northeast comer of the crossroads.

House of Isaac Housman

525 Terrace Avenue, Hasbrouck Heights
PLATE 95
Iron ends on the beam supports of this house are to be seen high in the front
wall; they read 1773, the date of erection of the house. It is said that the Revolution
interrupted the building, and that the house was not finished until l 783. The father
of the builder, Abraham Housman (Huysman), settled in this locality as a young
man in 1695. He was born in Bushwick on Long Island, and married at Hackensack
Nov. 29, l70l Gerrebreght Terhune, born on the Bay. They had ten children, of
whom Isaac was the ninth. Isaac Housman, bap. March 22, l 724 at Hackensack,
married there Nov. 3, l 748 Grietje Ackerman, bap. March 9, l 729 at Acquackanonk,
daughter of Lauwrens A. Ackerman; they had at least two children, Abraham and
Geesie, who were baptized in l 756 at Schraalenburgh. Isaac was a member of the
Church at Hackensack, an overseer of the poor, and a member of the consistory of
the Hackensack Church. He built this house at the age of fifty years. It was inherited
about l885 by Housman De Baun who married Josephine Wiser, nee Griffith. In
l890 her sister Mrs. Ida Myers, nee Griffith, bought the house from the estate, and
it is now owned by her son John G. Myers.
The house varies in style from most stone houses of the time. It has the feeling
of a town residence rather than of a farmhouse; the builder may have been influ-
enced by the two story houses being erected in the nearby village of Hackensack, for
although the Housman house is but the usual one and a half stories, its height has
the suggestion of more space. The house is in the region formerly known as the
Polifly, south of Hackensack. The grade of the road has been changed, with the
result that the house now stands on an eminence overlooking Terrace Avenue (the
continuation of Polifly Road) and the valley, immediately southwest of the inter-
section of the new highway.

House of Nicasius Kip

formerly at Polilly Road, Hackensack
The ancestor of this family in America was Hendrick Hendricksen' Kip, b.
1600 at Niewenhuys, married there April 20, 1624 Tryntje Lubberts from Swoll.
They emigrated about 1637 by way of Amsterdam to New Amsterdam, where they
300
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

settled. He became one of the leading men of New Netherland, and was satirically
called "Hendrick Kip of the haughty lip" because he was strong and fearless. He
died after J665 on his estate Kippenburg at Manhattan. His son Hendrick, Jr., had
a son Nicasius• Kip, b. about J666 in the vicinity of Flatlands on Long Island, d.
J7J2 at Polifly south of Hackensack. As a boy he was apprenticed in New York to
the trade of cooper. On Dec. 20, J69J he married Antle, daughter of Pieter Breyant.
He soon settled in the vicinity of Hackensack, joined the Church there in J694, and
became active in town and church affairs. In J705 he bought from Garret Lydecker
a tract of 220 acres at Polifly, where he settled. His house is said to have been built
in J696, on what authority is not known; it is possible that the deed was not given
to him until several years later, after all payments had been made. (We know that
the Hendricksen land at Middletown was bought on the partial payment plan.) The
original house was the stone wing; at a later date the main house was built of stone
with a gambrel roof and a very small number of windows; during the nineteenth
century the roof of the wing was raised for a half-story of frame, and various changes
were made in the main house. A photograph of the house taken in J905 is repro-
duced in the Kip Genealogy, p. J38. It was burned in J9JO-J2.
Nicasius Kip had five sons and three daughters. He divided his homestead farm
between his sons Henry and Peter. Peter' Kip (J696-J787) obtained the north half
of the farm on which stood the house; he married Elsie Van der Beek, and at his
death left his Polifly plantation to his son Abraham (J726-J8J2). Abraham's son
Peter was the father of Judge Henry1 Kip (J8JJ-J882), who retired in J846 to the
Polifly home of his forefathers.

House of Hendrick Kip

formerly at Meadow Road, Rutherford
Hendrick' Kip, b. Sept. J, J720 at Polifly, d. Dec. JO, J796, was a son of Peter,
and grandson of Nicasius• Kip, builder of the house at Polifly (supra). On Dec. 4,
l74J he married Jannetje Banta, b. Aug. 8, J72J, d. Sept. 24, J797. He bought
a large tract at Boiling Spring (now Rutherford) and built a stone house here
shortly after his marriage, which was still standing on Meadow Road in J928. The
original house was probably the wing with a gable roof. He undoubtedly built the
main house after his family grew larger: it was of fine cut stone with quoins, covered
by a gambrel roof and was later marred by the addition of a porch and Victorian
gable. Hendrick ~d six children, but at his death willed all his lands to his only son
Peter, except for 50 acres to his grandson Henry, son of Peter. Peter H.' Kip, b.
Dec. 2, J743 and bap. at Hackensack, d. March 8, J8J3 and lies buried at Passaic,
married Willemyntje van Winkle. At his death he willed the farm where he lived
301
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

on the north side of the Boiling Spring Road to his two daughters and the farm on
the south side of Boiling Spring Road with remainder to his only son Henry. Henry
P.7 Kip (J770-J840) inherited the homestead farm and willed it in l828 to his only
son Peter (J79l-l845). Peter' Kip's eldest son Henry was the father of Peter H.'
Kip (J840-l920), a bachelor. This Peter H. Kip was the fourth generation to be
born in the old Kip homestead on Meadow Road, but he lived and died in the later
Kip house on the north side of Boiling Spring Road (now J38 Union Avenue),
which is still standing, a post-revolutionary house of similar style.

House of Comelis Lozier

Gome Road, Midland Park
PLATE 96
The date of erection of this house is uncertain. It is marked Cornelis Lozier on
Erskine's Revolutionary map, but it was undoubtedly built some time previous to
the war. The ancestor of this family was Francois' Le Sueur, born J625 at Challe
Mesnil near Dieppe, in Normandy, who emigrated to this country about J657 and
soon settled at Esopus; he was a civil engineer by profession; on July J2, J659 at
New Amsterdam he married J annetie Hildebrand, daughter of Hildebrand Pieter-
sen, and had five children before he died about l670. His son Nicholas' Lozier, bap.
June JO, J668, died J745, removed from Kingston to the vicinity of Hackensack
(probably Demarest's French colony) about J697, and had at least seventeen chil-
dren by his two wives. Johannes' Lozier, bap. Feb. 26, l699 at Hackensack, a son
by the first wife, married Sept. 8, l 727 Lea Cornelisse Banta of Hackensack. This
Johannes inherited land west of the Hackensack River. Among his children was
Cornelis' Lozier, bap. Aug. 29, J73J at Schraalenburgh; he was probably the
Revolutionary owner of this house. In his will probated in J8J5, "Cornelis Lezere"
of Franklin devised the farm on which he then lived to his son John, mentioned his
son David and his two youngest children, Jane and Abraham Whitten Loder, also
his wife Catharine, who had a daughter Catharine by her previous husband
Abraham Whitten; one of the executors named was Garret A. Lydecker.
At the time of the Revolution, a mill stood on the south side of the road. The
house is said to have been always a part of the mill property. The later history of the
mill is as follows: Early in the nineteenth century it was a flour mill owned by a
Lydecker (probably Garret A. Lydecker, a landowner in this locality), and the
region was then called Lydecker's Mills. Later it came into the possession of
Abraham Van Ri~r, and the place came to be called Van Riper's Mills; he built
the present stone null north of the house in J826. About J829 the firm of Van Winkle
and Park, cotton manufacturers, bought both mills; then the owners were Munn &
30:2
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

Whitehead. Later the mill was purchased by two brothers John B. and Isaac Wor-
tendyke, sons of Abraham Wortendyke of the adjoining village of Newtown (later
called Wortendyke); then their brother Cornelius A. Wortendyke owned and ran
the mill for some time as President of the W ortendyke Manufacturing Co.; Corne-
lius was the owner in J876. The stone mill is still in operation. The stone house is
now owned by Henry J. Wostbrock.
In early days the owner of a mill was an j.mportant man, as his mill was often
the raison d'etre for the settlement which grew up around it, and which was given
his name by the neighboring farmers who journeyed there to have their com ground.
Thus we can expect a mill owner to have a well-built house such as we find in this
instance. The stone lintels suggest that the main house was built no earlier than the
third quarter of the eighteenth century. The graceful lines of the simple fanlight are
to be noted. The half story of frame added above the wing is typical of the early
nineteenth century, when more bedroom space was desired but no need of height
was felt in a room used only for sleeping.
The house is in Midland Park near Ridgewood. It stands on the northwest side
of Goffle Road ( which led from the settlements at the Goffle, Wagaraw, and Totowa
near Paterson), on the comer of Paterson Avenue on which the mill stands, and
about one block southwest of Godwin Avenue (which wandered east toward the
Paramus settlement).

House of Barent and John Nagel (Naugle)

Harvard Street, near Piermont Road, Closter
PLATE 97

Two houses were built on Barent Nagel's tract before 1745; the later of the
two still stands and is generally known as the John Naugle house since two of that
name occupied it. Jan' Nagel emigrated from Holland as a soldier in the employ of
the West India Company. He retired to Harlem in 1664 after the English conquest,
and on Aug. 27, 1670 married Rebecca Waldron; after his death she married May
J2, J690 Jan Dyckman of Spuyten Duyvil. Three of Jan and Rebecca's sons grew
to manhood: Jan of Harlem, Barent and Resolvert. On April 25, l7JO Barent and
Resolvert bought from Lancaster Symes, merchant and land speculator, the north
1030 acres of his tract in the King's Woods (deed recorded May 2, 1750 in Orange
Co.), which was divided in J748, the north portion to Barent's heirs and the sou th
Portion to Resolvert (the latter had seven daughters and no sons). The land near
th
the Hudson River from the Lockhart Patent on the north extending down to e
st rd
Closter Dock Road ( which was at one time thought to be the ate bo er) was
303
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

known as The King's Woods, and had been patented in J 70J to Bernardus Vervelen
of New Rochelle, who sold to Symes in J709.
Barent' Nagel (bap. Dec, J8, J678, died before J745) immediately settled on
his purchase and built a stone house standing near the main road until burned a few
years ago. It was in two units covered by very steep, gable roofs; the smaller part
had very small windows and no overhang, and the larger part had an overshot roof.
(A photograph taken in J90l can be seen in Gilman's Story of the Ferry, plate 59).
Barent was a justice of the peace and kept order in the little community. He married
Sarah Kiersen in 1708 and had seven children: John, Rebecca, William, Hendrick
who built to the southward (see plate 98), Sarah, Johanna and Jacob. The eldest
son, John' Nagel, born about 1709, had inherited his father's home by 1745 (Ver-
plank's map), and he or his eldest son John was the owner at the time of the
Revolution (Erskine's map). John' Nagel married Elizabeth Blauvelt about J730
and had eleven children: Sarah, John J., Barent, Catharine, Maria, Elizabeth,
Henry (died young), Rebecca, David (died young), Elizabeth and David; in J754
John married secondly his cousin Magdalena, daughter of Jan Nagel of Harlem,
The present stone house, built in the fields behind the old Barent Nagel house,
was erected about 1740 according to a descendant. It is shown on Verplank's map of
J745, but the owner is not marked. Evidently Barent Nagel built a second house
behind his own for one of his children-possibly for William who was of age and
married shortly after this date, or for a daughter. The new house came into the hands
of Barent's grandson David, youngest son of John. David' Nagel, b. Sept. 2, J750,
d. May 29, J83J and buried in the family cemetery, married in 1775 Dirkie Haring,
b. Dec. 24, 1757, d. Oct. l, 1821 and buried beside her husband. She was the daughter
of.Frederick Haring of Old Tappan (plate 91). They had four children, Jan, Fred-
er1ck of Tappan (who had no issue), and two daughters. Jan or John D.' Nagel, b.
May 7, 1776, d. Oct. 22, J84l, married Oct. 12, 1796 Sarah Mabie, d. June 2, 1876
at ,the age of 99 years and 4 months; they lie buried with his parents. He had a grist
m!ll near the house and was called "Jan, the honest miller," His only son was John
1: Naugle, b. July l, 1818, died in 1882, married Hannah Maria Eckerson and had
eight children, He built the large frame house on the hill on the main road in tbe
187
0's and lost the whole property shortly afterward The stone house is often
rd
erred to as the John Naugle house because of its o;nership by two Johns for a

!large p~t of.the eighteenth century. In 1912 it was a part of the Bingham estate,
was ~ b1ted recently (and at the time the photograph was taken in J92S) b~
h me C1vd War squatters. The present owner Mrs Nannette Mehlin, purchase
t e'dproperty in 1930, and has completely re~ovat~d and remodelled it for her
res1 ence.
304
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

The existing house was at one time.used as a church and as a school, probably
d ing the lifetime of Jan, the honest miller. Views of the house in different condi-
ti~~ are shown in plate 5 in this volume and in Gilman, plate 62. The house stands
t the end of a short lane called Harvard Street, which starts on the east side of
~iermont Road, over one mile north and east of Closter village.

House of Isaac Nagel (Naugle)

Hickory Lane, near Piermont Road, Closter
PLATE 98

This house also stands on the tract purchased by Barent Nagel in l 7l0. His
third son, Hendrick' Nagel, bap. March lO, l7l8, d. Jan. 7, 1806, owned all' the
property south of Hickory Lane, and built his house here on the corner of Piermont
Road. In l 745 he married Catharine Blauvelt, and had four daughters and three
sons: John, the ancestor of the Paramus Naugles (plate 73), Isaac and Barent;
he married secondly Nov. 22, l764 Mary De Clark. He divided his lands between
his twin sons: Barer,t received the old homestead (since gone), he served in the
Revolution and lived to the age of 8 l years; Isaac received the inland portion, on
which he had already built his house about 1775.
Isaac' Nagel, b. April 26, l 753, married about l 775 his cousin Maria Auryansen
and had three daughters, including Cornelia, bap. Feb. 13, l 785, who married Henry
ervalen. Isaac Nagel, widower, married secondly at Tappan March 28, l 793 Lea
oulousse (Powles) and had an only child Henry. Lea was born May 2, 1763 at
Tappan, daughter of Marte Paulusse• by her first husband Jan Ferdon, she had a
~Ughter Lea, bap. 1785, m. rnrn Jac~b Ryker of Tappan; on March 17, • 809 Lea
t~
0
0 use, widow of Isaac Nagel, married Benjamin Blackledge, Jr., widow~, bot~

Ben·appan, and on Jan. 4, J8l7 at Hackensack she was married a fourth time t
';nm
and Westervelt of Cresskill (plate J J J) ; she survived all her four husban:
sack~ed Feb. l J, 1848 at the age of 86 years. Tradition states that the housellw
hospitalthr~ times during the Revolution by Tories and wasdr~!ed ;.s:h::
.8
'illas inh "": le the army was camped in the vicinity during An e ~ a~ this house
74
and ha er1ted by Isaac's only son Henry 1.6 Naugle, b. ~ch 9• • on Aug. rn,
1816h!• at ~appan, d. Jan. 13, 1830, buried in the famdy ce(n:t~~ given) and
'illas buri~1~ Hester Westerfield, who died aged 69 years the farrn, carting
Produce t W 1th her husband. During her widowhood, she rai; where it was
shipped t~ ~neden's Landing (in southern Rockland Co.)hil::: Leah (1817-
1886) Illar . ew York City. Henry and Hester had three ~-JSS6) of Bergenfield
lb.atried ~? Jacob Mabie, James Westerfield Naugl.e (JHSildebrand Naugle. The
1a Christie, and Eliza (born 1828) married 305
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

farm was divided when the children came of age; the house fell to the son James
who lived here a short while, and then conveyed it to his sister Leah. Leah sold the
house out of the family in the J850's, and it has changed hands frequently. It was
owned in J9J2 by Louis Hagen; the present owner is August Bentkamp of Alpine,
who leases it to Hugh MacBein.
Issac Nagel was a very conservative man, judging by his house, which is early
eighteenth century in character. It consists of two large rooms each with its separate
outside door, and two fair-sized rooms in the rear (larger than the average rear
rooms) ; the front windows with the lower short sash are typical of an early period, as
are the very small rear windows; the ceilings are low and the exposed beams are
very strong and heavy. There is an unusually large and complicated iron lock on
the inside of one of the doors; the hinges are hand-wrought. Isaac built for perma-
nence and for comfort. A smoke house stands nearby, but it is of recent construction,
built of old stones by the Hagens.
Hickory Lane branches east from Piermont Road, a scant mile from Closter
Dock Road or from Closter village, and the house stands on the south side of Hickory
Road near its end. Hickory Lane is a short distance south of the houses of John
Nagel (plate 97) and William De Clark (plate 8J).

Newkirk House at Bergen

formerly on Newkirk Street, Jersey City
Until recently this house stood in the village of Bergen near the present Bergen
Square in the heart of Jersey City. On July 20, J669 Philip Carteret, Governor of
New Jersey, gave a patent to John Berry for several tracts: the lot known as No. J62
within the east corner of the village of Bergen, the tract known as No. 70 consisting
of 6 lots of woodland and 6 adjoining lots of meadow, running west from the village
to the Hackensack River, and also the tract known as No. J25, consisting of two
adjoining plantations, running from the south side of Hans Diderick's Out-Garden
Plot northwards along the fence by the road that led from the village to the English
Neighborhood. This latter tract was a large plantation surrounding the east corner
of the village square, and it was here that the Newkirk house was eventually built
on Newkirk Street, facing the head of Tuers Avenue. This plantation (No. J25)
and the adjoining lot within the village square (No. J62) were sold by Berry to
Samuel Edsall on July J2, J670. A century later, in l764, they were partitioned
between two Newkirk brothers; it is not known when the property came into this
family's possession.
The ancestor of the family was Mattheus Cornelissen' Van Niewkercke, who
emigrated as a boy of twelve years in J659 with his older brother Gerrit on the ship
306
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

De Moesman. He was born about J647 at Slechtenhorst in the Province of Gelder-

land, near Niewkercke. He settled at Flatbush on Long Island and sold his farm there
in 1665 when he removed to Bergen village. On Dec. J4, J670 at Bergen he married
Anna, daughter of Jacob Luby, an official of the West India Company. She _bore
five children and died Dec. 20, 1685. On Aug. JS, J687 Mattheus married secondly
Catrina, daughter of Poulus Pietersen, who bore him seven more children. He died
at Bergen May 12, 1705 and she survived him many years, dying between J73J and
J.764. Matheus probably purchased the plantation as it was later divided between
two of his younger sons, Gerrit and Poulus. The latter's home was on a two acre
plot willed to him by his mother in J.731. Gerrit also lived in Bergen but the exact
location of his house is unknown; it may have been on the tract in question. Gerrit•
Niewkerk, b. Nov. J7, 1696 at Bergen, d. April 23, 1785, married at Bergen Sept. 5,
1730 Catrina, daughter of Hendrick Kuyper, b. at Ahasymus, d. Sept. 12, 1751, and
had two unmarried daughters and two sons. In 1764, the year after the death of
Poulus and the year of probate of their mother Catrina's will, the plantation (No.
J.25) and adjoining lot (No. J62) in Bergen were surveyed and partitioned between
Gerrit and the heirs of his deceased brother, the south half being allotted to Gerrit.
On July 7, 1795 the south half of this tract and also the woodland and meadow
lots to the west (No. 70) were subdivided between Gerrit's two sons, Mattevis and
the heirs of his deceased brother Hendrick, the north half falling to the former.
Mattevis1 Nieukerk, b. about 1739, d. July JO, J.8U, married Catlyntje, daughter of
Arent Toers, and had three sons: Garret, Aaron, and Henry. On Aug. J, J.810, a
year before he died, Mattevis deeded to his son Garret the land he had received in
the division of J795. Garret' Nieukerk, b. April 9, 1766, d. Aug. 28, J.832, married
Polly Ackerman and had two sons and four daughters. In his will Garret divided
the property between his sons Garret G. and Henry, the division line being Niewkirk
Street. The younger son Garret G.' Nieukerk, b. Oct. J.7, 1808, was occupying the
family homestead in the north half of the property in 1841 and J.882. He was married
three times, first on Oct. 25, 1828 to Rachel Van Houten, d. Dec. l, 1835, secondly
about 1837 to Jane Fowler, widow of Abraham Tise, d. Oct. 6, 1849, and thirdly on
Sept. 6, l85J to Eliza Ann Beaty. He had nine sons and eight daughters by the three
tnarriages, but many of the children died in infancy. In 1915 the house was stiU
occupied by members of the family.
The house stood until recently on the north side of Niewkirk Street and at the
head of T uers Avenue. These two thoroughfares once formed the boundaries of
Bergen village, which _is now in the heart of Jersey City. The house was a long,
narrow, one and a half story building, of well dressed stones, covered with a gable
roof. In the Holland Society Yearbook for 1915 is the statement that this house was
307
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

built by the Newkirks in 1810. Mattevis deeded the property this year to his son
Garret• Nieukerk, so it is possible that the latter erected it then. However, the lines
of this house are more typical of the first half of the eighteenth century. In the later
period the more usual type of building was a deeper house covered by a gambrel
roof. As the house has been tom down its methods of construction cannot be exam-
ined to determine its age. A photograph of it may be seen in the 250th Anniversary
of the Founding of Bergen (1910), p. 54.

Packer House
Ewing A venue, Franklin Lakes Borough
PLATE 99

The early history of this house is lost in obscurity. Erskine did not survey this
road during the Revolution, so we do not know the owner at this time; but its method
of construction shows that the house belongs to an earlier period than the war. The
early titles to a large part of northwestern Bergen County were involved and dubious;
possibly in an attempt to rectify this, Stevens and Company obtained a grant in l 789
for 5000 acres, consisting of tracts in various localities in western Bergen Co.; they
sold to many settlers, including a Packer. The sale may refer to this property. as the
first Packer arrived about this time.
The progenitor of the Packer family in this region came to Wyckoff from a
place unknown; he died when still a young man and lies buried at Wyckoff; his
first name is unknown but may have been John, since his son William's eldest son
was named John. He is supposed to have had but one child, William J. Packer. b.
Jan. 10, 1795,* d. Jan. 26, 1863,* married Sept. 27, 1817* Peggy Micklor, b. March
13, 1799,* died about 1875, issue six sons and five daughters. William Packer must
have been well-to-do and have had his full complement of land, for he gave farms
to every one of his six sons. The homestead was inherited by the son Henry W.
Packer, b. Jan. 29, 1837,* died in 1918, married Jane Cole. He sold the place
about l9l0 to the Newmans of New York City, and they sold to Henry Barrett
Crosby, the present owner.
The house was probably built at three different periods. The first story of the
old wing is built of stone laid with a clay and straw mortar and has hand-hewn laths;
its construction places its erection in the early eighteenth century; the diminutive
size of the window opening was also typical of the early period. The main house may
have been built by the first Packer shortly after the Revolution: the stone quoins
and the stone lintels left in their natural color in patterned contrast to the white-
washed stone front of the building are characteristic of the late eighteenth century,
although the size of the windows is more typical of the pre-revolutionary era. The
308
• Taken from family Bible.
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

frame half-story was doubtless added to the wing by William Packer. Dormers and
porch are of course modern. The house is west of Wyckoff in Franklin Lakes
borough; it stands on the west side of Ewing Avenue, between Franklin Lakes Road
and Franklin Avenue, nearer the latter.

Terheun Homestead
450 River Street, Hackensack
PLATE 100

This house is still hi the possession and occupancy of a direct descendant of the
probable builder. The Terheun family is said to be of French Huguenot extraction
and to have come to America possibly by way of Huynen in Holland. Albert
Albertse,' known as Albert the lintweaver, was in New Netherland as early as
l 650; he settled on Long Island and was a member of the Dutch Church of Flatlands
in 1677; he died in 1685 and his widow Geertje in 1693. A son Albert Albertse• Ter-
huyne (Terheun), bap. Aug. 13, l65l at New Amsterdam, died 1708-09 at Hacken-
sack, married first Hendrickje Stevense Van Voorhees, secondly between 1691-94
W eyntie Brickers, and thirdly Sept. 8, l 705 at Hackensack, Maritie De Graves,
widow of Andries Tibout. He was a member of the Church at Flatlands in 1677, and
was assessed for his farmlands there in 1676 and J.683. He (or his father) and Jacques
Cortelyou obtained a patent for 5000 acres on the Passaic River, which was con-
firmed to them May 27, 1685; he also bought a large farm from Capt. John Berry,
extending from the Hackensack to the Saddle Rivers. He settled at Hackensack
between J.683 and J.689 (when he joined the church here), and probably after J.686
when a daughter was baptized at Flatbush. He became an important member of the
little community, and was chosen a member of the New Jersey legislature in 1696.
He may be the builder of this house. In his will, "done at my common dwelling
house in Hackensack in the cellar chamber at nine of the clock in the evening" on
Feb. 16, 1707/8, he left his wife Mary the northwest chamber of the house and
firewood, a piece of ground for a garden, and lO schepples of com and 6 schepples of
wheat yearly, and named his thirteen children (by his two former wives).
A son by Albert's second wife was Dirck' Terheun, hap. July 26, l702 at Hack-
ensack, d. 1766, married Oct. 13, l727 Catharina Kip of Hackensack, the mother of
his children, and was remarried by J.760 to Elizabeth. In his will of 1766 Dirck men-
tioned his wife and five daughters and divided the lands he had purchased between
his four sons (to Johannes went land bought from the Van Giesens and Romeyn).
Dirck made no mention of any inherited property; he may never have received his
father's house or he may have previously deeded it; neither did he specify his own
309
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

home farm, so we do not know if he built a house or remained all his life at his
father's.
The present house seems to have been the home of Dirck's youngest son,
Johannes or John4 Terheun, b. Aug. 3, 1742,* bap. Aug. 8 following at Hacken-
sack, married December, 1766* Catharine Bogert, b. Aug. J9, l748,* daughter of
Peter Bogert. They had eight children: Catharine, Peter, Jane, Richard, Elizabeth,
Ann, Matilda and John. The youngest was John J.6 Terheun, b. July lO, J793,*
died before J876 (when his heirs owned the house) and was buried on the Green
at Hackensack, his body being later removed to Fairmont. In J8J6 he married
Cornelia Hopper, b. April 23, l 800, daughter of John I. Hopper and Maria T erheun
of Polifly; she was born in the old Hopper homestead on the east side of Polifly Road
(see supra). John J. and Cornelia Terheun had a son Albert H." Terheun who
married Elizabeth J. Townsend of Wilmington, Delaware. Their daughter, Miss
Cornelia Hopper' T erheun, is the present owner of the homestead, which has been
always owned and occupied by her family.
Every word of the statement that the house was built in 1670 by the emigrant
John Terheun seems to be erroneous although frequently quoted. The first of the
family in Hackensack was Albert T erheun, who was still living in Flatlands as late
as 1683, so the house could not have been built by this family before 1683-89 at the
earliest. As it is said to have superseded a temporary habitation, its erection can
safely be placed even later; it may have been the house built by Albert T erheun
shortly before his death in l 709 ( the description in his will shows he had a good
sized house with four rooms), or it may not have been erected until about 1727 by
the son Dirck. Although the ownership has not been traced further back than John
T erheun, construction of the house places its erection before his time. The name
John Terheun probably became connected with it because of its ownership for a
period of one hundred years by two John Terheuns. The house is built of roughly
cut, whitewashed stone, the waIIs are over a foot thick and the ceilings are low. The
gambrel roof is very high. The large frame kitchen and dining room wing were built
about 1800. Frame entrance way, dormers and pillared porch are nineteenth century
changes. Varying views of the house may be seen in Boyd's article, p. 40, and in
Wendehack's article, plate 24. The house is a veritable museum of French, Dutch
and English heirlooms brought by the brides from their childhood homes. There is
still in use a Franklin stove, which is believed to have been installed shortly after
Benjamin Franklin invented it in 1740. Beside it are an iron shovel and tongs, the
property of John Terheun, said to have been brought over by the family from
Holland.
Until late in the nineteenth century the house faced south over a large, waving
310

• Taken from family Bible.

 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

Held of rye which extended down to Ward Street. The house stands on the bank of
the Hackensack River, secluded from the busy Anderson Street bridge by an elm
many centuries old. Since the photograph was taken in J925, some of the elms on
the property were ruthlessly cut down for the continuation of River Street, which
immediately adjoins the house on the west.
Another T erheun house still stands a block farther north. The original unit,
now completely encompassed by the later units, is said to have been built by an uncle
of the above John T erheun in J773. It is also known as the Knapp or Lincoln house.
A view of it may be seen in Wendehack's article, plate 33.

Terhune House
East Saddle River Road, Hohokus
PLATE 101

The early history of this house is unknown; it is a short distance north of

Paramus and stands on the Saddle River Road which was not surveyed by Erskine
during the Revolution. It is said to have been the home of Abraham Terhune, whose
wife may have been a Westervelt; he had a cannon on his property which he shot
off to celebrate the Northern victories in the Civil War, and was killed by this cannon
when honoring Grant's election to the Presidency in J868. His nephew was Albert
D. Terhune of the Ackerman-Van Emburgh house (plate 74). His (Abraham's)
daughter Polly Terhune married about J820 John Van Emburgh, son of Henricus,
and lived in her father's house for a short period before building a house a little to
the north. Abraham Terhune sold the house before J860 when the Randalls owned
it. The above information was given me by a neighbor and old resident, a descendant
of the daughter Polly.
The ancestor of this Abraham Terhune is unknown. It is probable that he -was
the Abraham, bap. Aug. 29, J773 at Paramus, son of Abraham and Marytie Ter-
heun. This Marytie or Maria was a member of the Paramus Church in J 790. The
son Abraham married about J796 Tryntje Westervelt, b. Aug. 8, J78J at Paramus,
d. l852, daughter of the Hon. Abraham Westervelt, and had at least two children,
Maria or Polly, b. March 3J, J797 at Paramus, married here in J8H John Van
Emburgh, and also Abraham, Jr., b. Nov. J6, J80l at Paramus. Both the Terheun
and Westervelt families settled at Paramus at an early date. The house may have
been inherited by Abraham Terhune from his or his wife's family (her grandfather
Roelof Westervelt came here between J740-50).
The house is better known as the Joseph Jefferson house. This famous actor
was the owner in J876. More recently it has been a part of the Jacquelin estate, and
it is now owned by H. Ruegg.
3Il
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

The house is built in two uniform sections, the west half of stone plastered over
and whitewashed and the east half of clapboards, with a gambrel roof over all. The
stone half belongs to the Revolutionary period. The Victorian dormers were probably
added by Jefferson. The whole interior of the stone part was ripped out at some
period, to form one large room extending to the roof in timbered English hall effect!
The house is not elevated from the ground and gives the impression of being a part
of the soil, an effect very much in keeping with its early history, which must. have
been that of a farmhouse. The house is one and a half miles north of Paramus, on
the east side of a turn in the East Saddle River Road; the village of Hohokus is to
the westward and reached by a bridge over the river at this point.

House of Henry Van Alen

Oakland Avenue, Oakland

At Y aw-pough (now Oakland) a stream flows into the Ramapo River. The
house and grist mill of Henry Vanalen are shown on Erskine's Revolutionary map
at the point where the Ramapo Valley Road (here called Oakland Avenue) crosses
the stream. His father Pieter Gerritse' Van Alen emigrated from Rotterdam and
settled along the Saddle River in New Jersey; on Aug. H, l706 at Hackensack he
married Trintje, daughter of Hendrick Hoppe and Maria Janse, had twelve children
and died in J759. The eldest child was Henry' Van Alen (or Hendrick Van Ale),
hap. June 2, J707 at Hackensack, died shortly before July, J783. He married Eliza-
beth Doremus, b. Feb. 3, J7J7, daughter of Henry Doremus, and had ten children,
some of whom were baptized between J739-48 at Pompton Plains Church, of which
he had become a _member in i 738. It is probable that he first settled in that region,
and removed to the neighborhood of Yaw-pough in J748, for in this year he became
deacon of the nearby Ponds Church. On Jan. 20, J76J .he married secondly Thom-
asina Earle, widow of Gerrit Hallenbeck. In his will of J778 he mentioned his wife,
stated that his eldest son Peter and another son William had already received their
portions, mentioned three other sons Hessel, Gerret and John, and his deceased son
Doctor Andrew Van Alen. On Aug. 2, J783 John H., Garret and Hessel Van Allen
and the heirs of Doctor Andrew Van Allen, deceased, deeded property to Cornelius
Vanderhoof, the instrument commencing as follows: "Whereas Henry Van Allen,
late of Y apough, by his last will did direct the sale and division of his property
among the said John H., Garret, Hassel, Elizabeth Mead, now wife of said Cornelius
Vanderhoof, and the heirs of Doctor Van Allen deceased • • ."
It has not been determined who next owned Henry Van Alen's house and mill.
In J876 it was in the possession of Aaron G. Garrison. In J932 Mr. Waldron sold it
to the Sherwood Forest Friar Tuck Club, the present owners. The house is built of
312
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

stone rubble now whitewashed green, and is covered by a gambrel roof; it is in

several units and has suffered many alterations. .

Van Alen (?)-Hopper-Van Horn House

Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah
PLATE 102
The earliest knowledge we have is from Erskine's Revolutionary map: a house
on the Ramapo River bank in this locality (and undoubtedly this house) is marked
John Vanalen. His identity is not determined, but it is probable that he was the
youngest brother of Hendrick Van Alen of Y aw-pough (supra). This John Van
Alen was baptized Jan. l4, 1728 at Hackensack and died shortly before Oct. 26,
1807 (when the inventory of his estate was taken). It is not known when he settled
in this vicinity. He was already a resident of Ramapough when he bought l39 acres
here Dec. l2, 1769; and still lived in the valley when he sold these same l39 acres,
at over ten times his purchase price, to Andrew W. Hopper on Sept. l3, 1779. He
probably removed that year to Wagaraw on the Passaic River, where he had pur-
chased in 1779 a considerable tract confiscated from John Ryerson, Tory; in 1797
he and his wife Wyntie sold some of this property. He was a resident of New York
City when he bought lands in l 797 at Cedar Swamp in Franklin Township. In his
will of l 807, John Van Alen of Franklin Township devised his farm in Saddle River
Township (probably the Ryerson tract) to his son Peter, and his homestead lot in
Franklin Township to the heirs of his son Henry; his executors later sold his lands
at Cedar Swamp. The first wife of this son Henry Van Alen was Jannetje Lozier,
daughter of Comelis Lozier, owner of the house now in Midland Park (plate 96).
The house and fartn on the Ramapo River, which was probably John Van
Alen's during the Revolution, came into the possession of the Hopper' family shortly
thereafter. As in the case of the other Hopper houses mentioned earlier, the ramifica-
tions of this branch of the Hopper family are also obscure. Dr. John B. Hopper of
Ridgewood writes that his great-grandfather ( unnamed), owned the house, and sold
it to his son Garret I. Hopper, who sold to Abraham Van Horn: Garret I. Hopper
then removed to New y ork City where he first bought property, m· l and whe~e
he lived until he settled at Ridgewood; Garret's son (John B. s father) spent his
boyhood days on the Ramapo Valley farm.
Abraham y an Hom, formerly of New York City, settled here up~ the Ramapo
Road d f h ld f H h kus Township in l850~ He married one of the
, an was a ree o er o o o
and William Van Hom of Hohokus. Doubtless the latter was e th
uw~i
ff • , 1 d' H 0 per
Hopper girls (a sister of Garret?), and had numerous O spring, me
1
\,
iam an
Horn, owner of 't he house in 1876. Later the house is stated to have formed a part
313
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

of the large Havemeyer estate. For many years the owner has been Stephen Birch,
and his herdsman occupies it.
The house was probably built during the Revolutionary era. Both units are of
roughly cut whitewashed stone. The gambrel roof of the main house is unusually
high and has a very straight slope. The house stands on the east bank of the Ramapo
River, a short distance south of the crossroad to Mahwah village. It is in Hohokus
Township, part of the old Franklin Township.

House of Thomas Van Boskerk (Van Buskirk)

East Saddle River Road, Saddle River
PLATE 103
The house stands on the W earimus tract, purchased from the Indians in l 702
by Albert Zabriskie. He conveyed one-half of this land March 29, 1708 to Thomas
Van Buskirk (Boskerk) on the reverse of the Indian deed, which is owned by a
descendant, J. Hosey Osborn of Passaic. Laurens Andriessen1 Van Boskerk was a
native of Holstein in Denmark (now part of Germany), and emigrated to New Neth-
erland about 1654. He lived in New Amsterdam until 1662, when he purchased 170
acres on the west shore of the bay at Mingackwa (later Greenville, now a part of
Jersey City) and built a house there. He was a turner by trade, and soon became one
of the most important members of colonial New Jersey-justice of the peace, judge
of the Bergen Co. court and later its president, and a member of the Council under
several Governors. On Dec. l2, 1658 he married Jannetie Jans, widow of Christian
Barentsen Van Hoorn; by their joint will of 1679 they divided their property
between their four sons and her three sons by her first husband. The homestead at
Mingackwa was left to their two youngest sons, Peter (l666-l738) and Thomas;
the latter probably released to his brother, as Peter became the sole owner and willed
the property to two sons.
Thomas Van Boskerk removed to his purchase on the Saddle River, mentioned
above. He married Margrietje Hendricks Van der Linden, and had seven sons and
three daughters: Johannis, hap. 1694, Abraham, Peter, Laurens, Andries, Isaac,
Michael, Fitje, Geertruy, and Margrietje. The original unit of the house at Saddle
River was undoubtedly built by Thomas Van Boskerk, or possibly by a son. It
descended in the Van Buskirk family to another Thomas Van Buskirk, who married
at Paramus Aug. 29, 1807 Rachel Hopper, and had three daughters but no sons.
Thomas willed the property to his daughter Catharine, wife of William Osborn of
New York City. It was sold out of the family to William Bond (the present owner)
in 1922, to settle the estate of Catharine's son. The latter was the father of J. Hosey
Osborn, who states he is the ninth generation of the family to be born in this house.
31 4
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

The present stone house was built in many sections. The first unit was erected in
the beginning of the eighteenth century of stone quarried from the hill on the farm;
it consisted of one large room with a large ope'n ·fireplace and a gable roof; it forms
the northeast corner of the present house. There is no cellar under this section; a
nearby cave was used for winter vegetables. De Witt Clinton mentioned the "stone
house" standing here in his survey of this section in J734. In later years the stone
house was enlarged to form the usual two rooms on either side of a wide hall. It
probably had a wide gable roof, which was raised early in the nineteenth century for
the addition of the frame story. The porch was undoubtedly also added at this
time; it has simple square wooden columns of different lengths, resting on uneven
stone flagging.
Prior to the Revolution, the family ran it as an inn, and the large garret above
was used for public meetings. The first church service of the valley was held in this
garret, and the Lutherans held their services here until the Lutheran Church was
erected nearby in J820 on land donated by Thomas Van Buskirk. During the Revo-
lution soldiers were billeted here. Thomas Van Buskirk, the last owner in the male
line, was a large slaveowner and the last to own a slave in the vicinity; his remaining
slave was incited to run away by William Osborn, the son-in-law.
The house stands in Saddle River village, at the southeast corner of the main
village street and the East Saddle River Road, and nestles at the foot of Chestnut
Ridge.
House of Paulus Vanderbeek
formerly at Salem Street, Hackensack
In 1717 Jan and Eva Berdan sold half of a tract in Hackensack, bought by
them in 1708, to Paulus Vanderbeek who in J7J.7-2J built thereon a house standing
until J922. His grandfather Paulus' Van der Beek emigrated from Bremen in Ger-
many as a surgeon in the employ of the Dutch West India Company, shortly before
Oct. 9, J644 when he married Mary Thomas Badie, widow successively of Jacob
Verdon and William Adriaense Bennet. He was farmer of the revenue and ferry-
master between Manhattan and Brooklyn, to which place he removed about J655.
He died in J6801 survived by his widow who was still living in J690. His eldest son
Coenradt• Van der Beek (t647-J706) was a measurer by trade; he lived in the
Gowanus section of Brooklyn and later in New York City. His eldest son, by his
first wife Elsje Jans, was Paulus' Vanderbeek, b. about J676, d. in or befo_re J762,
married at New York Dec. l8, J695 Jannetje, daughter of Johannes Sprmgst~
and widow of Jacob Colve. Their eldest five children were bom in New York City.
Between J706 and J708 Paulus Vanderbeek removed to Hackensack, where
were bol'l'I. his two youngest sons Abraham and Isaac. In J7J7 Paulus bought the
315
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

above tract at Hackensack and built a stone house on it. In his will proved in 1762,
he devised to his eldest son Conradus the land at W erimus he had bought of Thomas
Van Buskirk. to his son Isaac the lands he had bought of John Berdan and Nicholas
Romeyn. and after his death it was to go to Isaac's sons Barent and Isaac; he also
mentioned his daughter Elsie Kip and the children of his deceased son Jacob. Paulus•
youngest son Isaac' Vanderbeek, bap. March 30, l 7l2 at Hackensack, married there
June 25, 1736 Annatje De Boog, hap. May 26, l7l7 at New York, daughter of
Barent de Boog and Rachel Hoppe. They had nine children (including Salomon,
hap. 1749) and were living as late as 1774 at Hackensack. Two of their sons, Barent
and Isaac eventually inherited the house from their grandfather Paulus; one of them
was probably the father of Solomon Vanderbeek, who was the owner of the property
about 1840-50. It was noted as the home of Aunt Sally Hering, according to Bird's
Rambling Reminiscences which go back to the period of 1858. The house was used
for several years as a store house of the New Yark Telephone Company before it
was demolished in l 922.
The original house was built of stone covered with white plaster; it was a very
narrow house with a gable roof. In front was a wide Dutch stoop with railings and
benches. At some later date the depth of the house was increased by a frame unit,
the gable end shingled, and a gambrel roof with curving overhang built over the
whole. A frame wing was also added, it was clapboarded, had a gable roof. a lean-to.
and one door and two windows in front. It is from this wing that Washington is
said to have watched the retreat. The house stood in its fields off the east side of the
main road, and was reached by a private lane (now Salem Street). It fronted on the
present Moore Street and stood at the rear of the Telephone Exchange. Various
aspects of the house can be seen in the photograph in Boyd's article, page 34, and
in two earlier lithographs in Black's article, pp. 250 and 255.

Vanderbilt House
Middletown Road, Rivervale
PLATE 104

The history of this house is unknown. Erskine's Revolutionary map shows a

house at this location, but does not state the owner. An old resident and neighbor.
speaking of his earliest recollections, states that an old couple named Vanderbilt
resided here until about seventy years ago (i.e., about 1860), and that they had no
children. The owner in 1876 was Howard Cole. Mrs. E. Garnier has owned it for
the last forty years, and leases it. The house is on the old Middletown Road which
leads northwards to the early settlements over the border (to the present Pearl River
in Rockland Co.). The house stands on the northwest comer of this road, sometimes
316
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

called the Rivervale Road, and the modem Glen Eyre Road, in the section west of
the Hackensack River now known as Rivervale. It was probably built shortly before
the Revolution. It may have been originally a Blauvelt or Haring home, as many
members of these families settled in this neighborhood at an early period.

Van Horn House

WyckoH A venue, WyckoH Township
PLATE 105

This house is a beautiful example of successive growth, carried out in the spirit
of the original unit, yet embodying the later ideas of architecture. Christian Barent-
sen' emigrated before J653 to New Amsterdam, and soon settled at None Such
Creek (near the present Wilmington, Delaware) in the South River Colony, where
he died just prior to June 26, J658; he was a carpenter and builder by trade. His
widow Jannetie Jans soon consoled herself, and married Dec. J2, J658 Laurens
Andrieesen Van Buskirk, ancestor of that family in America; she had three sons
by her first husbanq, and four sons by her second, including Thomas Van Buskirk
of Saddle River (plate J03). Her eldest son Barent Christiansen~ Van Hom (Van
Hoom) bought and settled at Pembrepogh (now Bayonne); by his wife Geertje
Dircks Claussen, he had many children, most of whom removed to Bucks Co., Penn-
sylvania. One son, Dirck8 Van Hom of Pembrepogh and later of Saddle River near
Hackensack,,willed to his son Barent land on the northeast side of the Great Pond
(i.e., Franklin Lake) in J733.
Barent• Van Horn, b. Sept. 8, J705 and baptized at Acquackanonk (now
Passaic), married Rachel Aeltse and lived at Wezel on the Passaic River (now part
of Paterson). They removed to the vicinity of Wyckoff before J742 when they acted
as sponsors at the nearby Paramus Church; Barent became~ member of this Church
before J748 when he signed the call for a minister. He had at least three children,
Aeltje, Elizabeth, and Dirck. Barent was probably the builder and owner of this
house. It was still owned by the Van Hom family at the time of the Revolution
(Erskine marked it merely Van hoorn). It later passed into the hands of the Acker-
tnan family and was owned for many years by Gerrit Ackerman, bap. June 2, J800,
died a ~ J890, a great-grandson of Johannes Ackerman and Elizabe~ Stagg of
: 0 1ifly (plate 72) ; it is then said to have been owned for a year by Gerrit s brother-
1t1-law John De Baan (husband of Rachel Ackerman), who sold it about J870 to
Robert Branford, the father of the present owner, John E. Branford. Sin.ce th~ house
Was owned by both a brother and a brother-in-law, it may have been mher1ted by
thelll from their father Johannes G. Ackerman, bap. Aug. 28, J768, died J828-29,
317
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

married Nov. J8, J79J Mary Daniel Haring, and had four children baptized at
Paramus Church.
The two small sections of the house belong to an early period in the eighteenth
century, the smallest being the original unit. There is an old, low, double Dutch
door in the small section; at present the middle section has only a small window on
either side, but the stonework shows that formerly there was a door or another
wind~w on the front side. The front walls of these two units are built of undressed
stone, almost as irregular as the stonework of the back of the house; the steep pitch
of the roofs can be compared with other early houses. The age of the large section
of the house is uncertain; the front wall is built of well-dressed stone while the rear
wall is of irregular stone, the door has an early fanlight and the windows are fairly
small in size, so this part of the house may also have been built before the Revolu-
tion. Its extra height is partly due to a high cellar underneath. The house stands on
a hillside, so that from the rear view (shown in the photograph) it seems to nestle,
almost burrow, into the ground. The broad gable roof (rather than the more usual
gambrel of the late eighteenth century), the lack of dormers, the single chimney,
and the added height of the large unit carry out and continue the style and feeling
of the earlier units, and give us a beautiful creation of several generations of builders.
The house stands in the southwestern part of Wyckoff Township on the south
side of Wyckoff Avenue, which ends one-half a mile beyond in the Goffle Road,
south of the Lozier house in Midland Park (plate 96). It is about three miles south-
east of the village of Wyckoff.

Van Houten House

Franklin Lakes Road, Franklin Lakes Borough
PLATE 106
This region was in early days known as Sicomac. On Erskine's Revolutionary
map the road he surveyed ran directly from the lake, now called Franklin Lake,
northeastward towards Wyckoff village. The present road, on which the Van
Houten house stands, turns southeast in the general direction of the Goffle settle-
ments, and this portion of it may or may not have existed at the time of the Revo-
lution. The date of this house is uncertain. John Van Houten was living here when
he helped to build the Wyckoff Church in J806, and the house had then been in
existence for some time. He came to this region between J794, when a son was
baptized at Kakiat in Rockland County, and J799, when another son was baptized
at the Paramus Church. It is probable that John Van Houten built the house
between these dates, although it may have been standing when he bought the
property. His descendants, the present owners, believe it is about J:60 years old,
318
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

which would place its erection in the vicinity of l 775. The lines of the gambrel roof
are similar to that of the Van Alen-Hopper house in the Ramapo Valley (plate
l02), which belongs to this same l770-l790 period.
The first known owner of the house is John Van Houten, d. April 29, l832,
aged 7l years and 20 days. He and his wife Anna, d. August 8, l838, aged 69
years, 6 mos., l5 days, both lie buried in the family cemetery north of the house,
which he set aside for his descendants. This John (Johannes or Jan) Van Houten,
b. April 9, l76l, bap. at Tappan, is believed to have been bom in the house near
New City ( then called Kakiat or New Hempstead) in Rockland County which had
recently been erected by his father Roelof• Van Houten (see supra). In Tappan
Church on Oct. l3, l785 Johannes married Antje Blauvelt, b. Jan. 25, l769, bap. at
Clarkstown, daughter of Jacob Blauvelt and Maria Talama, the marriage record
stating that they were both then living at New Hempstead. John• (Johannes or Jan)
and Anna (Antje) Van Houten had eleven children: Roelof or Ralph, b. l787,
d. Jan. 5, l 860, aged 72 years, l l mos., 22 days, buried in the Van Houten plot with
his wife Rachel and three sons John, Ralph and Isaac; Jacob, b. l789 at New
Hempstead, bap. at Clarkstown Church, lived at Paterson, d. May 2, l856, aged
66 years, 8 mos., J8 days, buried in the Van Houten plot with his wife Elizabeth and
a son James; Maria, b. Oct. 5, J79J, hap. at Clarkstown Church, d. April 29,
l866, m. Feb. 24, J8JO Isaac Stagg of Paterson; James, b. 1794, hap. at Kakiat;
Isaac I., b. J799, bap. at Paramus, d. March 24, J85J, aged SJ years, 5 mos., 7
days, buried in the Van Houten plot, married Margaret Westervelt; Margaret,
b. Jan. J, l803, bap. at Paramus, d. April 9, J88J, buried in the Van Houten plot,
married Nicholas Romaine; Abraham, lived at Preakness and was drowned, married
Bridget Garrison; Douwagh, a bachelor; Levi, married Ann Van Gelder; Catharine,
married about J824 John Ryerson (J79l-l835) of Totowa and Paramus; Ann,
married Cornelius Van Horn and went west to Illinois.
The house was later occupied by the son J ames8 Van Houten, b. May J J, J79~,*
bap. June 5, 1794 at the Kakiat Church, d. Aug. 24, l877,* aged 83 y~s~ 7,1d!u~ied
in the Van Houten family plot nearby. He married Nov. l9, lSl4* rne ia c er-
man b Jul J2 l 794 * d. May 7 l877* in her 83rd year, daughter of Jacobus A.
' • Y ' ' ' d Co 1' J e and an only son
Ackerman. They had two daughters, Maria an rne ia anb, F b 6 1822 * d.
h . J Ohn R n Van Houten, • e • ,
7
'
w o inherited the farm. He was yerso . d J * Ann Youmans or

tr;°•
4 1843
f
Aug. 5, l872 at the early age of 50 years, marrie han. Daniel Yeomans b. May
O
Yeomen, b. April 20, l825,* d. May 3, l900,* daui , 784,* whoa: he hac:l
7, l768* and his second wife Mary Vanblercom, h: 16 1
who died in infancy and
tnarried June 3, l820.* John and Ann had !our c
then four more who lived to maturity: Daniel, Jesse, sa
t'
11 0
ac and James. Isaac' Van
319

;--
Taken from family Bible.
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

Houten, b. Sept. l4, 1857, still lives in the old homestead; on Nov. 8, 1879* he mar-
ried Eliza Ellen Courter, b. Sept. 20, 1856,* d. Oct. 16, 1928, daughter of William
Marten Courter. The present owner of the old house is their son John Ryerson• Van
Houten, b. May 20, 1880.*
The house is built on a hillside overlooking a small brook. It stands on the south
side of Franklin Lakes Road, which makes a sharp curve up the hill at this point,
and is east of the intersection of Ewing Avenue. Franklin Lakes Road is called
Skomac Road in nearby Wyckoff Township.

House of William Van Voorhees

Franklin Avenue, Wyckofl

The house stands on a 550 acre tract bought Aug. l7, 1720 from John Barbetie
and associates, merchants of New York City, by John and William Van V oor
Haze, yeoman of Bergen Co. and repurchased by them April 2, 1745 from John
Hamilton and associates to setle their claim. Steven Coerte' Van Voorhees, born
1600 at Hees in the Province of Drenthe, married, and emigrated with wife and
children to this country in 1660 on the Bontekoe. He settled on a farm at Flatlands,
conducted a brewery and was a magistrate there. He remarried late in life, and died
Feb. 16, 1684 at Flatlands. One of his sons, Albert Stevense• Van Voorhees, removed
after his father's death to a large tract he had purchased on the west side of the
Hackensack River, between Kinderkamack and Hackensack; he was married three
times, first to Barrentje Willemse by whom he had no children, secondly on April 24,
l68l to Tilletje Reiniers Wizzel-pennig, and thirdly by 1693 to Helena Van der
Schure. The eldest son by the third wife was William Albertse1 Van Voorhees, b.
1694, d. July l9, J745, married first April l9, l7l8 Susanna Laroe, and secondly
Jan. 6, l 728 Maria Van Gelden.
This William Van Voorhees and his youngest brother Jan bought the 550 acre
tract at Wyckoff, which was divided between their heirs May 7, 1767. William
settled here and undoubtedly built the oldest part of the present house. He had seven
sons and four daughters, but only Jan and Albert (both by the second wife) carried
on the name. Albert' Van Voorhees, b. Feb. l, 1738, d. Aug. 25, 1825, aged 87 years,
married Jannetje Van Houten, b. 1735, d. May 3l, t8l0. The doorknocker on the
main house is inscribed "A.V.V.H. 1824," so Albert probably built the main house
at the advanced age of 86 years, no doubt to house his numerous grandchildren with
their wives and children. His only child, John A.' Van Voorhis, b. 1763, d. May 25,
l833, married Christina Bogert, b. J763, d. Jan. 30, l847; they had nine children:
Albert, James, William, Abraham, John, Ralph, Jane, Ann, and Corines Van
Voorhis.
320

• Taken from family Bible.

 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

Corines Quackenbush, b. July H, 1800, died at the age of 89, bought the stone
house nearby on the main corner of Wyckoff, supposedly from a John Van Voorhis
(this house is not marked on Erskine's map, and was probably built shortly after
the Revolution), and left it to his eldest son John (1820-95). Corines' seventh son,
Uriah Quackenbush, b. May 20, 1836, bought the Van Voorhis house on the hill.
He married Kaziah - - , and willed the property to his granddaughter Grace
(daughter of John), wife of Judge John B. Zabriskie, the present occupants. There
may have been an intermediate owner between the Van Voorhis and Uriah Quack-
enbush. Before the latter bought it, a woman, known as Aunt Jennie to the neigh-
borhood, had a candy store in the basement. The house at various times in its
history has been used for a grocery store, candy store, hotel and ballroom.
The house was erected at three separate times. The oldest part, built by Wil-
liam Van Voorhees, is now in the center and almost completely hidden; it is very
small, has very low ceilings, and a gable roof sloping almost to the ground; it faces
east, which is unusual for that early period. The main house was added on the road
side, and faces south; it is of whitewashed stone, with gambrel roof and high ceil-
ings. A late nineteenth century kitchen wing of no architectural style has been added
at the rear. The house stands on a knoll overlooking a brook in the west end of
Wyckoff village. It is on the north side of Franklin Avenue, called Wyckoff Road
further west.

House of Nicholas Varleth; the Sip Homestead at Bergen

formerly in Jersey City, now at Westfield.
PLATE 107

This is the oldest Bergen County house still in existence, although, as it has
been altered, removed, and rebuilt, the Demarest house by the French Cemetery
(plate 82) may be considered the truest example of the early house in this county
(Hudson was originally part of Bergen County). Bo~ houses have the very st~p
Pitched roof, which was typical of the houses in the old country and of the earliest
houses in New Netherland. d
Several attempts to settle the western shore of the Hudson River were m~e
at an early date but the farms were burned and the inhabitants massacred by e
lndians. In an effort to give some degree of protection to the settlers, Gov. S tu~esant
decreed in 1660 that all should dwell within a palisaded village and go to thett ou~
lying farms by day. Thus in 1660 was established the village of Bergen, aroun
th
e Present Bergen Square in the heart of Jersey City• f B rgen
The Sip homestead stood until recently on the southeaSt comer O e
321
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

Avenue and Newkirk Street. The latter was one of the boundaries of the original
village and the former was the road which led from the green in the center of the
village northeastward to the English Neighborhood (the Ridgefield section). The
corner plot on which the house stood was a double town lot, known as No. 160, east
of the plain or green, which was granted together with two out-garden plots and
two tracts of upland and meadow near the village by Stuyvesant to Nicholas V arleth
and Balthazar Bayard on Jan. 3, 1662. The same lots, plots and tracts were con-
firmed to them by Gov. Carteret on Aug. 10, 1671. Therefore, considering the dated
stone 1664, it is probable that the house was erected by one of these patentees, prob-
ably the former as Bayard's house is believed to have been near the Newkirk house.
Nicholas Varleth emigrated to New Netherland by 1652 and became an
important member of the Colony, appointed commissary, ambassador to Virginia,
peace commissioner, Captain of the militia of Bergen, Communipaw, Ahasymus
and Hobocken (the early Dutch settlements on the Jersey side of the Hudson
River), member of the court of Bergen, and member of Gov. Carteret's Council.
These last three appointments were made in 1665, showing that he had settled in
New Jersey by that date. As well as the above and other land purchases at Bergen,
he was granted the Hobocken tract before 1656 and the Secaucus tract in 1658. In
the patent of 1667 to the latter tract he was described as a resident of the Town of
Bergen and Balthazar Bayard as of New York. Varleth died in 1675. By his wife
Anna Stuyvesant, widow of Samuel Bayard, he had a daughter Susanna and a son
Abraham who left the province in 1675. Balthazar Bayard, a stepson of Varleth and
his partner in many land purchases, lived in Bergen as early as 1663 when he was
appointed schepen of the town, and returned to New York about 1667, where he
later became an alderman. On the death of V arleth before division had been made
of their joint properties, Bayard took the land (including the double lot No. 160 at
Bergen in which we are primarily interested) by right of survivorship. On Dec. l l,
1686 he sold several meadow lots and the double house lot (No. 160) in the village
to Tadeus Michielsen, who sold to Jacob Luby. He died in 1697 and his heirs sold
the property to Jan A. Sip on Oct. 25, 1699. Sip also obtained a quit claim from
Bayard's heirs on April 30, 1713.
There seems to be no full nor reliable account of the early generations of the
Sip family. Adriaen (or Arie) Hendrickseni Sip emigrated from Breda in North
Brabant and married at New Amsterdam Feb. 4, 1656 Grietje W arnaerts of Schone-
velt. They had four children, baptized at New Amsterdam 1657 to 1662: Annetje,
Marritje, and twins Jan and Jacob. Adriaen died about 1663; it is possible he
settled in Bergen shortly before this date, since his two eldest children were recorded
as young daughters of New York whereas his son Jan was recorded as a young man
322
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

f Bergen at the time of their respective marriages. Adriaen Sip's widow married
~t New Amsterdam Aug. 9, l664 Hans Diederick of Isleven. Hans and Grietje (and
presumably her young children by her first husband) were living at Bergen in J665,
when Hans took the oath of allegiance here. He kept a house of entertainment at
Bergen, was a town deputy to the legislature and a judge; he died Sept. 30, l698
at Bergen.
Jan Arianse' Sip (or Johannes Adriaenszen Sip) was the only son of Adriaen
who lived to maturity. He was born May 24, l662, probably in New Amsterdam
where he was baptized, although it is possible that he was born in Bergen where he
was undoubtedly living with his mother and stepfather by the time he was three
years of age. Recorded as a young man of Bergen, his marriage banns were pub-
lished here and his actual marriage took place in New York City. On April 23, l684
he married Johanna (or Anna) Van de Voorst, hap. April l6, J666, daughter of
Iden Van Vorst of Ahasymus. They had eleven children, all born at Bergen, al- ·
though the eldest five were baptized at New York: Adriaen or Arie of Acquackan-
onk (see plate l49), Hillegond married Johannes Walings Van Winkle, Iden died
young, Margaret married Johannes Gerritse Van Wagening, Annetje married
Gerrit Hermanisse Van Wagening, Edee or Ide of Bergen, Johannes, Cornelius,
Abraham, Hendrick (the last four died young), and Helena or Lena married John
Van Horn. It was the father of these children who in l699 purchased the double
house plot (No. l60) in Bergen which is known as the Sip homestead. He was a
Captain of the militia. He died Aug. J2, J729, leaving all his Bergen lands and rights
to Edee, his younger son. lde1 (Edee or Eida) Sip. b. Sept. 3, 1695 at Bergen, d.
Feb. 26, 1762 at Bergen, married first Ariantje Cornelissen Cadmus, and married
secondly at New York June 9, 1725 Antje Gerrits Van Wagening of Bergen, who
died here Jan. 25, 1750. He was a lieutenant of the town militia. On his death, Ide
divided his property between his three sons and four daughters, leaving the home-
~tead where he lived to his son Cornelius, who died March ·9, l 793 without surviving
13st1e• Another son of Ide was Garret• Sip, b. Aug. 21, 1739 at Bergen, d. here Oct.
l, 1775, married by 1763 Jenneke Marselus, b. Oct. 26, 1740, younger sister of Edo
~selis, builder of the house at Upper Preakness (plate 146). Their only son Pe~ers
;P, b. Au,g. l8, 1767 at Bergen, d. May J, 1852, probably ~e into th~ ~ssession
0 th
p e family homestead on the death of his uncle Cornelius without surviving issue.
Beter ,was a prominent jurist and Judge of the Bergen Co. Court of Common Pleas.
c6'r:ts Wife Elizabeth Vreeland, whom he married Nov. l, 1789, he ~dhthr;:
ho1 ren, the youngest of whom, Richard, lived in and eventually owne t e o
s:estead.Richard~ Sip, b. Aug. 31, l800, d. April lO, 1865, married Sept. JS,~:~
ah E. Wayland, and they had~ son Richard Garref Sip, b. July 2, 1860, w
323
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

• the homestead where six generations of his forebears had

J9lO was stil1 occupying
lived and died. th W h dd 1 t
In recent years the house was sold and removed to ,e ye woo eve opmen
'd f w es1e
outs1eo tf' ld m
· Uru'on .County, and now stands m an orchard
, on
, 1thef north
'de f w dland Avenue west of East Broad Street. Much that 1S typ1ca o a sev-
si o oo . , f h f 1· 't h
t th century house is now lacking, and except or t e steep roo me 1 as
:o:nthe feeling of an eighteenth century house; this is partly due to its moderniza-
tion by the Sips while it still stood at Bergen. The ho~se is now owned by !11e
Wychwood Corporation. A photograph in the 250th Annzversary of the Founding
of Bergen (J9l0), p. 54, shows its condition at that date.

Vreeland House
125 Lake View Avenue, Leonia Borough, near Englewood
PLATE 108

There is some question as to whether the stone wing of this house was built
before the -Revolution. A descendant, Isaac Vreeland, considers that the whole
house was built at the same time (J8l8), as it was the third Vreeland house on the
property, the first further east and the second just south, and he sees no reason for
the third -house to have been built while the second was still standing. The wing,
however,:.is Rev:olutionary '.i n ,style; it may have been built about the time of the
son's marriage'in J:786.
1
Michad_Jansen van Br.oeckhuysen (a village on the river Maes in the Duchy
of Limburg) ·emigrated in 1636 on the Rensselaerswyck with his wife Fitje Hart-
mans and two children. He was engaged as a farm servant for the patroon; he left in
1646 to strike out for himself, and died in 1663; his wife survived him, dying Sept.
21, 1697. Their eighth child, Cornelis Michaelsen,' b. June 3, 1660, d. May 1727,
married May 12, 1681 Metje Dircks Braecke, and lived on his tract at Pembrepogh
(now Bayonne). His only son, Michael1 Vreeland, b. Sept. 18, 1694, married Oct.
23, l7J8 Janneke Van Houten; they lived on the Wesel Road (now part of Pater-
son) and had ten children.
Their son Derrick or Dirck~ Vreeland, b. March l, 1736* (old style) bap.
March ll, 1737 at Bergen, married and removed to a large farm he had bought in
the English Neighborhood, a part of the Berry patent of 1669. He undoubtedly built
the first two houses here, a temporary structure and later his permanent stone home.
In l 777 he was imprisoned at Morristown for British sympathies. He had only two
ch~dren, Michael and Elizabeth, and died in his 86th year on Nov. 5, 1821.* Michael
D. Vreeland, b. March 12, 1760,* d. May 13, 1832,* married Margaret Terhune, b.
Feb. 28, 1770,* d. March 22, 1837.* Their son Richard M.' Vreeland, b. Oct. 5,
32 4

• Taken from family Bible.

 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

1787,* d. Feb. 2, l849,* married Dec. l, l8l0.* Mary Sipp, b. March 26, J793,* d.
July rn, J880.* Richard built the main frame house about J8l8 (or his father built
it for him); it is noted for its beautiful lines, proportions and carvings. Richard and
Mary's children were: Isaac who married and lived just south; Margaret wife of
Henry Westervelt, who lived in a stone house further north in south Englewood;
and Michael. Michael R: Vreeland, b. April 27, J8J2,* d. Oct. J2, J893 aged 83
years,* married Sept. 24, J840 Lavina Brinkerhoff. The last of the family to own
and occupy the old home was their son Richard M. Vreeland, who died about J928
8

when almost ninety years of age; he had four daughters, two by his wife Helen
Harris. Mrs. Natalie T. Corbett, the present owner, bought the property in J930
from the Richard M. Vreeland estate.
The house is in the northem part of the locality originally called the English
Neighborhood. It stands on a hill, overlooking a brook to the north and the old
road (now Grand Avenue) to the west. It is in the former Nordhoff, now the
borough of Leonia, south of Englewood.

Westervelt-Bogert House
393 Main Street, Hackensack
PLATE 109

This house was built at three different times, but none of the builders are known.
It is occasionally called the General Poor House. Gen. Enoch Poor was a New
Hampshire man and a prominent leader in the Revolution; he is supposed to have
been stationed in this house at one time, and to have fought a duel while here; he
died Sept. 8, 1780 of putrid fever, while stationed at Kinderkamack to the north,
and was buried at Hackensack. According to George Ackerman's Recollections of
Sixty Years Ago (pub. 1902), the house was occupied around 1840 by "Long John"
Westervelt; he was given this name because he was so very tall. It is called ~e
Bogert house by Eugene Bird, in his Rambling Reminiscences (pub. l 922), wh1ch
go back to the period of J858. On a map of 1876 John Demarest was the o~er.
standing in the heart of Hackensack, it has been conservatively remodelled mto
st0res, but still preserves its character. ,,
There were many John Westervelts, and the identity of "Long John is un-
deterlllinable. He may have been a son of Lucas and Belinda (~emarest) ~ester-
velt: John L.' Westervelt, b. Aug. 2, 1809, d. Nov. 4, J860, married Cath:;~Lar-
&ur, and had three daughters, the eldest of whom was _Ann wh~mar;t
gert; this would account for a Bogert occupancy unmedia\ :
u{:;;
erProvince
1;~'s". Lubbert Lubbertsen1 Van Westervelt, a native of
0
~?P\
renthe, emigrated to this country J662 on the Hoop Wit Wi e, c
hi~dren and
'
3~5

a en from family Bible.

 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

brother, and settled at Flatbush. In the early 1670s he removed to Hackensack,

transferred his membership to the Bergen Church in 1676, and to the Hackensack
Church when it was organized in 1686; he died within a short time, his wife Geesie
surviving until after 1696. Of their six children, the youngest was Jurrien Lub-
bertse' Westervelt, born on Long Island and still living in l 738; he married four
times at the Hackensack Church, and had eleven children by his first three wives.
He lived at Hackensack, and in 1687 made many extensive purchases of land here
from the patentee Capt. John Berry, of which he sold 1500 acres in 1734. The south
wing of this house is said to have been built in 1688 and, if so, may have been built
by Jurrien Westervelt on one of his purchases of 1687 at Hackensack. A son by
his third wife, Roelof,' remained at Hackensack, but the latter's son Johannes 4 Wes-
tervelt (grandfather of John L.) lived at Wagaraw, so it is probable that John L.
Westervelt, if he owned the house, did not inherit it in a direct line from his forebears.
The south wing is the oldest unit. The central portion is said to have been built
in l 800; its high ceilings and high steep gambrel are post-revolutionary in char-
acter. Early in the nineteenth century the half stories of frame were added to the
two wings, possibly by "Long John" Westervelt; they are higher and have larger
windows than the usual half stories with their "lie-on-your-stomach" windows. The
rough stonework of the house is whitewashed in red, and the whole is covered by a
red tin roof, which harmonizes and therefore does not destroy the character of the
house by its modern composition. The house stands on the southwest comer of
Ward and Main Streets, one block south of Anderson Street, in the heart of Hack-
ensack.
House of Roelof Westervelt
Tenafly Road, Tenafly
PLATE 110
Roelof• Westervelt, grandfather of the builder of this house, was baptized March
10, 1659 at Meppel in the Province of Drenthe, and came to America with his par-
ents, Lubbert and Geesie (see plate to9); on March 25, 1688 he married Orsolena or
W esselena, daughter of Caspar Stynmets of Bergen, and had three sons and six
daughters. In 1695 he and nine others bought from the Proprietors for £100 some
thousands of acres between the Hudson and Overpeck, extending from the present
Englewood northwards nearly to Tenafly; to Roelof fell the northern section, on
which he is said to have settled. On Sept. 17, 1695 he also bought from the patentee
a triangular tract of land between the branches of the Overpeck Creek northwards
to the head of the Tenakill (brook), for which he had to obtain an added release
from the Indians in l 705; it was on this tract that his grandson later built. Roelof
Westervelt was a religious man, a member of the Church of Hackensack, deacon
326
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

and church master. On May JS, J73J he married secondly Lea, widow of Abram
Brouwer, and daughter of Jean Demarest of the French colony (see plate 82), when
he was 73 years of age and she was 50. His son Johannes1 married Oct. JJ, l7J8
Efie De Groot and had ten children, of whom we are interested in Roelof.
Roelof4 Westervelt, b. Dec. 4, J723, died J800, married about 1745 Dirkjin
Taelman, and had two sons, Douwe and Johannes, and five daughters; he probably
built the old wing of the house at Tenafly. His elder son Douwe5 Westervelt, b. Jan.
9, 1753, d. May l6, J822, aged 69 yrs., 4 mos., l7 days,* married first Oct. 28, 1773*
Rebecca Demarest, and secondly June J2, 1802* Margrietje Banta, b. Aug. J6,
1759,* widow of Renis Kuyper; by his first wife he had four children: Roelof, b.
Sept. 9, J774,* d. March 7, J837,* unmarried, Daniel, and two daughters. Daniel"
Westervelt, b. Oct. 4, J779,* d. April l3, J877* at the advanced age of 97 yrs., 6 mos.,
and 9 days,* was married on Jan. 3l, J80l* to Polly Cole, b. Dec. 8, 1785,* d. Sept.
8, l 86 7, aged 8 l yrs., 9 mos.* He was the builder of the main stone house about l 798.
He had an only surviving son Peter and five daughters, including Gertrude who
married John Ackerman, Jr. and removed to the Durie house on the Schraalenburgh
Road (plate 86). Peter D.1 Westervelt, b. March 9, J806,* d. June 4, J885, aged 79
yrs., 2 mos., 26 days,* married Nov. J9, J825* Rachel Westervelt, b. Oct. 25, J809,*
d. Feb. 22, J874, aged 64 yrs., 3 mos., 25 days,* daughter of his cousin Johannes'
Westervelt, Jr. (son of Douwe's brother Johannes) and Rachel Brinkerhoff; they
had six children. Peter D. Westervelt added the frame wing on the north end of the
house when he married in J825. He had six children. His youngest son, Charles P.a
Westervelt, b. April J7, J857,* now lives nearby, having sold the homestead about
1923 to Mr. Sulzer, who sold it to The Tenafly Weavers, the present owner.
The pre-revolutionary wing is built of roughly dressed stone; its roof has a
steep pitch and no overhang, characteristics of an early eighteenth century house; it
was undoubtedly built by Roelof about the time of his marriage in J745. The very
irregular stonework in a part of the end shows the location of the old Dutch oven,
which was formerly built out here. A ladder behind the large fireplace leads up to
the old slave quarters above. The fanlight over the door with its panes of peep-hole
size is very unusual• a similar one is also found over the rear door of the main house;
they are probably ofpost-revolutionary date. Charles Westervelt states that the main
stone house was built by his grandfather Daniel, Westervelt (who married in J80l);
8 th
therefore it is likely that it was erected a few years later than J79 , e date
attributed to it. A beautiful example of the post-revolutionary style, it is built of
dressed stone, with lintels over door and windows, a gambrel roof still unmarred _by
dormers, and interesting woodwork in the interior. Unusual features are the outside
entrances to the cellar at either side, built to repeat the style of the wing. Its capacious
327
;--
Taken from family Bible.
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

garret is open except for one very small, windowless closet bedroom. The north
wing, built by Peter D. Westervelt in J825, is characteristic of this period: of frame,
with small "lie on your stomach'' windows in the second half-story, and a gable roof
which balances the early wing; its stone cellar is known as the harvest kitchen, for
the extra harvest hands were fed here. A view of the entire house is to be seen in
the vignette.
The house is now the Exhibition House and retail salesroom of the Tenafly
Weavers; some of the weaving is done in the capacious garret above, and meals
are served inside and on the attractive stone terrace behind. The house stands on the
northeast comer of the present Westervelt Road and the old Tenafly Road, south
of Ointon Avenue in Tenafly.

Westervelt House
County Road, Cresskill
PLATE 111

The house stands on a tract patented to Isaac Bedlow in l669, and sold by him
in l728 to Colonel Jacobus Van Cortlandt. Johannes Roelofse~ Westervelt, bap.
July ll, l696, son of Roelof, and grandson of Lubbert Lubbertse,1 the emigrant, is
supposed to have bought and settled on this tract; if so, his house no lon:ger exists.
On Oct. ll, J7J8 he married Efie, daughter of Pieter De Groot and Belitje Van
Schaick, and had five sons and five daughters; his second son Roelof built the house
at Tenafly (plate HO). His eldest son Petrus4 Westervelt, bap. Feb. l8, J722, lived
here at Cresskill; about l 745 he married Catelyntje T aelman, and had nine children.
Petrus' son Benjamin P.5 Westervelt (b. Aug. J, l763, d. l845) built the main
unit of the house in l 808. He fought in the Revolution, serving in the militia, as a
minute man, and in the county and state regiments; he was imprisoned twice by the
British and thrown into the Sugar House; he was captured a third time by some
Tory neighbors but recaptured by his friend Col. Blanch of the patriot militia. In
September, 1784 he married Sarah Durie, probably a daughter of Jan Durie, Jr.
of the Schraalenburgh Road (see plate 86), and had· six children; in l8J7 he married
secondly Leah, widow of Benjamin Blackledge, as her fourth husband; her second
husband was Isaac Nagel, builder of a house at Closter (plate 98). His son PetrUs'
Westervelt, b. Oct. JS, l796, d. Nov. 28, 1863, married March 29, J8J7 Sally Nagel,
b. March J9, l799, d. Dec. 28, 1870, daughter of Jan D. Nagel, the honest miller
(plate 97). Their only son John P. B.7 Westervelt, b. April 13, J83J, married Nov;
7, 1849 Elizabeth Van Voorhis, and was still the owner in l9J2. Their son Peter
Westervelt is the present owner. ·
328
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

On Erskine's Revolutionary map a house here is marked W esterfell's. Unfortu-

nately no first name is given, so we cannot tell whether Johannes Westervelt's home
stood here then. It is possible that the old house (if it stood here) was torn down,
and the present house built all at one time by Benjamin P. Westervelt in 1808. The
present stone wing does not date so far back as Johannes Westervelt's time and may
not even be pre-revolutionary. The low wide pitch of the roof, the stone lintels, and
the carefully laid stones of the side wall are characteristic of the late eighteenth
century. Lacking any proof that Johannes ever settled on this particular spot, we
must presume that his son Petrus Westervelt built the wing shortly before the
Revolution, unless the present structure is not the one shown on Erskine's map. An
unusual feature is the position of the chimney, which is not at the end of the wing.
The south front has two doors and one window instead of the usual one door and
two windows. The main house is built of well-dressed stone with a wide gambrel
roof, unmarred by dormers. The typical, large windows and the door have stone
lintels, each with a raised stone decoration in the center, an early nineteenth century
style. The overhang of the roof may have been extended; it is supported by square
wooden columns. A view of the main house may be seen in Embury. The house
stands on the west side of the County Road, north of the village of Cresskill. This
road is the eighteenth century continuation of the Tenafly Road, and led northwards
to Sneden's Landing in Rockland County.

The two Zabriskie-Board Houses

formerly on Paramus Road, north of Arcola
PLATE 112

At an early date many members of the Zabriskie family settled and ·built on
their extensive land tracts along the Paramus Road (and adjoining side roads),
from Red Mills (now Arcola) northward to Paramus Church (now in the east part
of Ridgewood). Many Zabriskie houses stand to this day but, unfortunately for
the purposes of this volume, the existing houses were built in the half century
folloWing the Revolution. The Zabriskie house reproduced here was the only pre-
revolutionary house to survive and it was completely burned down shortly after the
photograph was taken in 1925.
Albrecht' Zaborowsky was born at Enghstburgh in Poland about 1638, emi-
grated by way of Prussia and came to this country in 1662 on The Fox. He settled
at Old Hackensack (now Ridgefield Park) and died there Sept. 1, 171t, aged about
73
Years• He was the first Justice of the Peace for upper Bergen County. He was a
large land speculator, and by several purchases came to own more than 4000 acres
32 9
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

in the county; he was the patentee of the Paramus and New Paramus tracts and of
a tract at Cherry Hill. On Nov. J7, J676 at Bergen he married Machteld Van der
Linde, born J656 at New York, died J725, daughter of J oost Van der Linde, and had
five sons. Three of these, Jacob, Hendrick and Christian, settled on the Paramus
tracts.
The south portion of the patent was allotted to Christian Zabriskie; here stood
the two Zabriskie-Board houses, the more northern of which is the famous one
built in 1790 and occasionally called the Wessels house. Christian is said to have
settled on what became known as the Wessels or Board property, so it is possible that
his home was an earlier one on the site of the J790 house. As both Zabriskie-Board
houses were originally on the same property, it may be that Christian's home was
the old house reproduced here; certainly it belongs to this early period. This Chris-
tian" Zabriskie, bap. July 3, J694 at Hackensack, d. J774, married May 28, 1715 Lea
Hendrickse Hopper. They settled at Lower Paramus and raised four sons, Albert,
Hendrick, Jacob and Andries, all of whom remained in this locality. Andries or
Andrew• Zabriskie, the youngest, bap. Jan. JS, 1729 at Schraalenburgh, married
Elizabeth ---,. and is only known to have had two children, a son Christian, b.
J75J and a daughter Jane, b. J76J. Andries may have inherited his father's home as
it was later owned by his descendants.
Andries Zabriskie built a beautiful house nearby at the age of 69 years, judging
by the stone lintel inscribed "A. C.z. J790." It is probably on the site of an earlier
house of his own (or his father's?), since the barn antedates the J790 period by
many years. His only son Christian• Zabriskie, bap. Feb. 24, J75J at Paramus,
married Martyntje---, and had several children: Cornelius, Andrew, who mar-
ried Mary Ryerson; Abraham, who married Maria Zabriskie and lived in Saddle
River Township; Catharine, wife of John Anderson, and possibly James. The son
Cornelius C.' Zabriskie married at Paramus May 2J, J803 Maria Hopper and had
four children: Christian Andrew, bap. 1804, Mary, wife of Isaac Zabriskie, Cath-
arine, wife of Wessel Wessels, and Matilda, wife of Peter Board. The 1790 home-
stead came into the possession of the above Catharine L.' Zabriskie, b. Nov. 22, 1814,
living in 1882, who married Wessel Wessels. She probably had no children as the
place was later owned by her nephew, Cornelius z. Board, whose son Frederick
Board disposed of it.
The very early house came into the hands of the above Matilda B.' Zabriskie,
d. 1870, and her husband Peter Board, whom she had married at Paramus May 30,
1833. Peter Board, b. Aug. 19, 1809 in Pompton Township, Passaic Co., died 1891,
was a son of Nathaniel Board, who was a leading farmer of Passaic County and a
member of the New Jersey Legislature. Peter and Matilda doubtless built the
330
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

modem two story brick house which lately surrounded the old unit on two sides.
After their death, it went to their son Cornelius Z. Board, and then probably to the
latter's son Frederick Board.
The old Zabriskie house is a small house built of irregular stone and shingled
on the gable end; its roof has a steep slope characteristic of the early eighteenth
century; the windows are in uneven alignment, the original sashes were replaced
some time ago by large modem ones. Until recently, it stood over a mile norii; of
Arcola, on the east side of the Paramus Road, near Sprout Brook Road.
The l 790 homestead of Andrew Zabriskie stands just north on the same side
of the road, and almost opposite the intersection of the Dunkerhook Road from
Fairlawn. Rather it may be said that its ruins are here, for a recent explosion or fire
has partly demolished it. The house was of stone with a gambrel roof, and with a
frame wing on the road end. Its proportions and detail work were exquisite; it was
one of the finest and best known of the post-revolutionary Dutch houses. A view
may be seen in Boyd, p. 37. It was used recently as the clubhouse of the Saddle River
Golf Oub. Instead of rebuilding the roof to preserve it the bam has been remodelled
for the clubhouse.
The bam behind the l 790 home was much older than the house, a typical and
interesting example of an early Dutch bam. The low sides were of stone. The ridge-
pole was very high, so that the roof could cover a broad spread and yet slant very
steeply almost to the_ground; it was undoubtedly thatched originally. Unfortunately
Miss Brown arrived too late in the spring of 1933 to photograph the bamt its
beautiful lines are now completely hidden and changed.

House of John Zabriskie; Baron Steuben House

New Bridge, North Hackensack.
PLATE 113
Two or more John Zabriskies are believed to have erected various parts of this
he>use during the eighteenth century; the two dates most generally ascribed are
n~7 and 1752. John Zabriskie of New Bridge was a colonial magistrate. He ha~ a
grist
t LL
mill here and a large trading station, and schooners plying to NewAYork. tied
a ' 113 dock. One of these schooners was burned at its moorings by the mericans
so it would not be captured by the British. John was ordered arrested in 1777 for
Br·r
1 h
1S sympathies, and his property was later confiscated.
On Dec. 23, 1783 the New Jersey State Legislature gave the estate, former~y
belonging to John Zabriskie to Baron Steuben for his personal use. But as he did
nolt Want to settle on it, the s~te legislature on Dec. 24, 1784 ordered the es:e t~ be
so d to the highest bidder, and the proceeds given to Steuben for life. It was ere ore
33 1
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

sold on April J, J785, and bought by Captain Walker (Steuben's aide), who could
not meet the payments. On Sept. 5, J788 the state legislature gave Steuben full title
to the estate outright, as an act of gratitude for his services during the Revolution.
But Baron Steuben had no use for it, as he lived on his large farm near the modem
Utica, presented to him by New York State. Shortly before his death at Utica on
Nov. 27, J795,he conveyed the New Jersey estate back to John Zabriskie for £J200.
The next owner is said to have been Andrew Zabriskie, a brickmaker; on July
2J, J793 at Schraalenburgh he married Elizabeth Anderson; they brought up a
family of eleven children and adopted two more, one of whom may have been Jane
Anderson who later married their son David A. Zabriskie. David A. Zabriskie is
said to have moved into the house in J8J2; he was still the owner in J876; he was a
miller, and had a mill on the river here, which burned many years ago. The house
was sold by a Mrs. Outwater (nee Zabriskie) to William R. Hearst, who sold it to
the State of New Jersey. It is now kept as a Memorial to Baron Steuben.
The house probably stands on the tract at Cherry Hill patented to Albert
Zabriskie in J682. He had emigrated to this country in J662 and settled at Old
Hackensack (see plate JJ2). John was a name in frequent use in the Zabriskie
family, and to identify a particular John is rather impossible; but the probable dates
of erection and the numerous John Zabriskie owners seem to point to the following
line for this house: Albert's son Jan A. or John' Zabriskie, Sr. remained at Old
Hackensack (Ridgefield Park) and died in J765; he married Sept. 20, J706 Eliza-
beth Claes Romeyn and had four children-; he married secondly Dec. 6, J7J2
Margrita, daughter of Jean' Durie of the French Colony (see plate 86), and had
nine children. His son John' Zabriskie, Jr., bap. Aug. 5, J7J6, married June JS,
J739 Annaetjen Ackerman, bap. Aug. J4, J720, daughter of Egbert and Elizabeth.
Their son John' Zabriskie, Jr., bap. Sept. 3, J74J at Hackensack, married Nov. 2J,
l764 Jane Goelett, and had at least two children, Annatje, b. J765, and John, b.
l767. When John and Jane acted together as sponsors in J774 he was not called
"Jr.," suggesting that his father had died by this time. It would seem probable that
John' Zabriskie, Jr. built the original unit of the house about the time of his mar·
riage ( J739), and that his son J ohn4 Zabriskie, Jr. made additions before he lost and
after he recovered the property, and that the latter was the magistrate and Tory;
the latter's wife might have been a relation of the Tory, Peter Goelet of Hackensack,
whose land was also confiscated. What relation Andrew Zabriskie was to John
Zabriskie is undetermined.
The original unit (now in the center) was a small stone structure put together
with old clay mortar and rat-tail nails of a type manufactured about J726; it has
hand-split laths and hinges of a type made before J776 which are not to be seen in
332
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

the later ends. The approximate date of 1737 for the original unit is therefore a
correct one. The south end was added next. Some time before 1800 the north unit
was added and the depth of the house was increased by an addition along the rear.
Access to the new rooms was at the landing of the stairs. The result is a variation in
floor level which gives the appearance of a low, two story house from the rear view
(seen in the photograph). The original gable roof was replaced by a long gambrel
roof over the entire building. The house thus does not conform to the usual style of
main building with two wings, but is a uniform structure of double the average
length. Part of the rear view was photographed to preserve its unusual appearance;
the front view, marred by porch and dormers, may be seen in Boyd's article, p. 41,
and the end view is reproduced in Historic Roadsides of New Jersey, p. llO.
The house stands on the curve of the road at the west end of the bridge over
the Hackensack River. The first bridge here was built shortly before the Revolution
and the locality became known as New Bridge to distinguish it from Old Bridge to
the north (now River Edge). New Bridge is now a part of North Hackensack.

House of Peter Zabriskie; the Mansion House

on the Green, Hackensack.

This house was built in l75l by Peter Zabriskie for his private residence. The
only member of the family of that name was Peter' Zabriskie, bap. Nov. 5, l72l, d.
1800, a son of John Zabriskie, Sr. of Old Hackensack and his second wife Mar-
grietje Durie and a brother of John Zabriskie, Jr., who probably built the house at
New Bridge (plate l 13). On Oct. 25, l 747 Peter married Martina Varick, bap.
April 22, l 722, daughter of Abraham Varick, and had three children, Marretje,
Annetje, and Abram.
The American army retreated through Hackensack in the fall of l 776. When
Washington arrived, he occupied the private home of Peter Zabriskie until all the
troops had passed through. His meals were served from the tavern of Archibald
Campbell which stood on the Green nearby. This would seem to infer that Peter,
his host, was absent otherwise the meals would have been prepared in the house by
his slaves. , .
The house was probably sold about the time of Peter Zabriskie's death, and
became a tavern. The W eehawk bank, established at Weehawken, removed here in

:em
1825 and became Hackensack's first bank. It was housed in the barroom of the
until a brick building was later erected for it nearby and it then became
own as the Washington Bank. It was the home of the poSt office in 1834 wh~l
David D D
, • emarest was postmaster. He wasthe tavern keeper' and placed the 1 mai
th
U1 a box nailed to the wall, at the disposal of those concerned to help emse ves.
333
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

During the time of the stage coaches it was called the Albany Stage Coach Tavern.
About J858 it became known as the Washington Mansion House, a name it still
bears. Elections were often held in its ballroom. On June 25, l863 it was the scene
of a great collation on the return of the 22nd Regiment from the Civil War. At this
period it was owned by John Lovett. The old Company C of the National Guard
was organized in J872 and held its drills here.
The house is of dressed sandstone, with walls nearly three feet thick. At the
time of the Revolution it was two stories high, and was probably covered by a
gambrel roof. At some later date a third story with a 'brick front and clapboard end
was added. A two story pillared porch was built the length of the house. It has since
been greatly enlarged at the rear and is now in bad repair. Dutch tiles with Biblical
scenes still adorn two of the rooms, one of which was occupied by Washington. The
house stands on the northeast corner of Main Street and Washington Place, and
faces the Green and the Church. A view of the Mansion House can be seen in Black's
article, P• 25J.
Zabriskie-Van Dien Smoke House
Paramus Road, south of Paramus, Ridgewood
PLATE 114
The house in this plate is of too late a period for the purposes of this book, but
the smoke house in the rear is much older. The farm is located in one of the Paramus
tracts granted to Albert Zabriskie. It has been said that the smoke house is the
original Van Hom house built in J73 J ; the date may be correct, but the large size
of the chimney suggests that the building was always used as a smoke house and
never as a home. It is not known who was the supposed Van Hom builder, and it is
possible (in fact probable) that no member of this family owned it.
The farm was in the possession of the Zabriskie family at the time of the Revo-
lution, when an earlier house stood on the site of the present one. Shortly after the
war, Harmen Van Dien married Aeltie Zabriskie, hap. Sept. 30, J770, daughter of
Jan. J. Zabriskie and his wife Lea. It is probable that Harmen purchased or
inherited the farm from his wife's family. He settled here and undoubtedly built the
present stone house about J800. His house (although larger) is very similar in style
to the eighteenth century houses, but lacks their spontaneity of feeling; it is typical
of a mature, finished style, in which the original spirit has disappeared and only the
form remains; the result is a well-proportioned, but cold and lifeless structure,
Harmen and Aeltje Van Dien had a son John H. Van Dien, b. July JS, t796 and
baptized at Paramus; after his death in t878 his widow Hannah occupied the place.
Since this time there have been many owners; the present owner is John Truwer.
Since the photograph was taken in t925, the old smoke house has been repaired
334
 HOUSES IN BERGEN COUNTY

and its chimney taken down, thu3 destroying its character. The front of the house
has been refaced. It stands on the west side of Paramus Road, on the brow of a hill,
less than two miles south of Paramus Church in eastern Ridgewood, and a short
distance south of the intersection of Ridgewood Avenue with Paramus Road.

Unidentified House
Fairlawn A venue, Fairlawn
PLATE 115
The house stands on a tract granted in 1687 to nine proprietors, divided and
partly sold in 1692 to the Van Wagoners, Van Ripers, etc. The house is marked
but unnamed on Erskine's Revolutionary map. The builders and early owners have
not been determined. The house is said to have had only three sets of owners, the
second family being the Strehls. Henry Strehl bought the place about 1867 and was
the owner in 1876; his son John S. Strehl inherited the property, and sold it to the
Radburn City Housing Corp. This Corporation leases it at present, but plans to
tear it down to make room for a wide boulevard. The two stone sections of the house
are both typically pre-revolutionary; the two story frame addition is of ugly modern
vintage. The house stands on the north side of Fairlawn Avenue, east of the railway
and of the overhead bridge, and opposite the telephone exchange.

335
 PLATE 70
Achenbach House
Chestnut Ridge Road, Saddle River

The wing of this house may have been built a few years before the Revolution by Hans George
Achenbach, a Saxon shepherd boy. The main house is definitely post-revolutionary. The house is Dutch
in style, but a different atmosphere, a neat and methodical feeling which pervades, may be due to the
builder's German origin.
337
 PLATE 71
House of Abraham Ackerman, later Brinkerhoff's
184 Essex Street, Hackensack

The large stone in the center of the east gable, from which the ivy is carefully trained away, has a
date, initials and hieroglyphs, which show that this house was built in 1704 by Abraham Ackerman with
the aid of two of his sons. This is one of the best known early Dutch houses of the gambrel roof type.
Notice the very beautiful curving sweep of the roof and overhang, and the depth of the house. The
gradual improvement of the open attic in the mid-nineteenth century is indicated by the different height
of the upstairs bedrooms. The heavy pillars flanking the front door are not suitable and were not added
until about 1900. One room in the west end of the house has very thick interior walls. It is believed that
this, together with an old stone kitchen wing no longer existing, was the original family house, probably
built by Abraham Ackerman about 1696. The house has been in the continuous possession of the Acker-
man and Brinkerhoff families with the exception of six years.
338
 PLATE 72
House of Johannes Ackerman, later Brinkerbofl's
formerly at 651 Poli.iy Road, Hasbrouck Heights

The wing of this house was built by Johannes Ackerman about 1728. Although erected at such a
comparatively late date, it has been known for many years as a good example of one of the earliest types
of Dutch houses in Bergen County. Before the overhang was developed and extensively adopted, the
roofs were built only to the face of the wall as in this instance. The main house was erected by James
Brinkerhoff in 1800 along pre-revolutionary lines.
339
 PLATE 73
Ackerman-Naugle House
415 East Saddle River Road, Paramus

This house consists of two similar units. The east half is said to have been built as early as 1692 and
1701 by a member of the Ackerman family and the west half (near the road) by another Ackerman in
1761. Interior woodwork affords proof that both dates are approximately correct. The recently painted
white trim of the house is over-emphasized in the photograph; in reality the house has the appearance
of very great age. The gable roof has the steep pitch characteristic of the early houses; the overhang
in front is asymmetrically balanced by the long low slope in the rear. There is no hall and each main
room has its outside door. Except for the improvement of the second floor and addition of dormers,
this house remains practically unchanged.
34°
 PLATE 74
Ackerman-Van Emburgh House
Paramus Road, Paramus

It is believed that this house was erected in 1701 by an Ackerman. It was still in the possession of this
family at the time of the Revolution and was later owned by Henry Van Emburgh's family for about a
century. It seems scarcely so old as the Ackerman house nearby (plate 73), but it is similar in lines
to the Ackerman house in Hackensack (plate 71), which was built in 1704. It is one of the few houses
of the gambrel roof type with a hall at the side of the house. The position of the chimney in the center
of the house is also unusual. The existence and contrast of the modern twenty-paned window sashes
with the modern two-paned sashes in the dormers is unfortunate.
341
 PLATE 75
House of Abram Ackerman
East Saddle River Road, Saddle River

The original unit of the house is the wing, which was built in 1750 or 1760 by Abram Ackerman, who
was Washington's host during the Revolution. At this time there was also a detached slave kitchen.
The main house was added by the builder at the close of the war, 1781. He faithfully followed the
architectural lines developed in the eighteenth century, but the beautifully carved woodwork in the
interior is characteristic of the post-war era. The house has undergone a very successful restoration.
Among the nineteenth century and recent changes are the dormers, the extension of the roof overhang
and addition of square supports to form a porch, the projection of the roof of both units beyond the
gable ends, and probably the second chimney between the main house and the wing. The Dutch roofs
did not extend beyond the gable ends (plates 71 through 74)
342
 PLATE 76
Alyea-Outwater House
445 River Road, Fairlawn

Only the wing of this house is pre-revolutionary. This original unit was probably erected in the
beginning of the eighteenth century. The very rough stonework of the front wall and the small size of
the window openings are characteristic of this early period. Unfortunately the modern glass door and
the adjoining window mar the effect of the house. The owners are unknown until the nineteenth century.
343
 PLATE 77
House of Hendrick Banta
Pascack Road, WoodcliH Lake

This house was built by Hendrick Banta in the years immediately preceding the Revolution. Notice the
unusual height of the roof and the consequent steep pitch of the gambrel. The long four-paned windows
and dormers, the eitension of the overhang in both front and rear supported by pillars, and the roof
continued beyond the gable ends result in a very heavy and overladen feeling which was not originally
characteristic of the house.
344
 PLATE 78
Brickman (? )-Ackerson House
Island Road, north of Ramsey

This may have been Brickman's Revolutionary tavern; Aaron Burr is believed to have been a frequent
patron here. The house is early eighteenth century in style and was probably erected at the same time as
a nearby barn, which was dated 1747. It is built of stone of very irregular sizes, much of it not more
than rubble, laid in a binding material of clay, chopped straw and hogs' hair. The small window at the
side and the larger windows at the rear with their narrow lower sashes are types still in use at this
period. The gambrel roof has a very straight lower slope. The early interior arrangement is followed,
of two main rooms each with its separate door and a small room opening directly from each room at
the rear. At the end of the nineteenth century the upper floor was still open attic reached by a ladder
and trap door. The photograph emphasizes the well-kept condition rather than the great age of the
house.
345
 PLATE 79
House of Hendrick Brinkerhof, later Demarest's
493 Teaneck Road, Teaneck

This house was built about 1735 by Hendrick Brinkerhof. It has been the home of only two families, the
Brinkerhofs and Demarests, for one hundred years each, with the result that the house remains
unchanged to this day, and is a well-known example of the Dutch style. This view is reproduced here
because of the unusual feature of the roof overhang extended around the gable end. The overhang, such
a characteristic and beautiful feature of the Dutch houses, was developed to prevent the clay mortar
from being washed out by the rains, so it is strange that the end walls were generally left unprotected.
The varying colors of the sandstone blocks and the occasional use of very small stones, not much more
than chips, add life and variety to the building. Notice the careful jointing of the corner. The main
house and small wing were built at the same time and are an earlier type from which the Ackerman
house at Saddle River (plate 75) was adapted. The second story was improved about 1800
346
 PLATE 80
House of Corne/is Cuyper (Cooper)
Kinderkamack Road, Orade/1

This house (or rather the wing) was built about 1751 by Cornelis Cuyper. It is an example of the
unpretentious home of a farmer and tanner. Notice its narrowness and length, the small sized window
openings, and the steep pitch of the roof. It was more usual to carry up the stonework of the gable end
at least to the line of the eaves. The modern narrow clapboarding, four-paned windows, door and
dormers do not materially alter the original aspect of the house.

347
 PLATE 81
House of William De Clark
Piermont Road, Closter

This house was built by William De Clark about 1800-1805 on his wife's (Sarah Naugle's) ancestral
tract. It is included in this volume as an example of the persistence of pre-revolutionary styles for over
a generation after the Revolution, even until about 1837. In the case of some of the later houses the very
smooth, tooled finish of the stonework is evidence of the later period, as well as the greater use of
carving in the interior woodwork. In this instance the architectural lines and roughly dressed stonework
are undistinguishable from the pre-revolutionary examples. The view shows the rear and end walls.
3,;8
 PLATE 82
House of David Des Marest (Demarest)
at the French Cemetery, north of New Bridge

This is deservedly one of the best known of the very early houses still in existence. It was built in
1679-80 by David Des Marest, a Huguenot who became identified with the Dutch settlements. This
type of house was very prevalent in the late seventeenth century. It consisted of only two rooms, each
with its outside door. The irregular stonework was originally laid in a clay mortar the color of the
stones. The very steep pitch of the roof is characteristic of the earliest houses and the beautiful curving
overhang was developed about the middle of the seventeenth century. The dormers of course are a
later alteration.

349
 PLATE 83
House of Jacobus Demarest
River Road, opposite River Edge

The small wing, now unfortunately marred by the large brick bay window, is similar in style to the
David Des Marest house nearby (plate 82) and may have been built as early as 1693 by the Demarest
family. The main house was built by David's grandson Jacobus Demarest before 1720, and was occupied
by the family until the middle of the nineteenth century. In style it resembles the more skillfully built
Ackerman house at Hackensack (plate 71), erected in 1704. There is an undefinable charm about this
house which is not merely the quaintness inherent in the crooked set of the old windows and in the
plastered stonework. It is felt in the totally different David Des Marest house nearby (plate 82) and
presumably must be attributed to the French blood of the builders. Except for the slanting bottle glass
eyes which were more generally inserted in doors in the interior of the house, this double Dutch door
is typical, with its outside panelling forming a cross in the upper half, and with its massiveness increased
on the inside by narrow strips of wood laid obliquely side by side. It will be noted that the roofline is
still unbroken by dormers.
350
 PLATE 84
House of Abram Demaree
Scbraalenburgb Road, Closter

Abram Demaree settled here shortly before the Revolution and probably built the present wing for his
home (or a part of it) at that time. It has been stated that be demolished his old home when he built
his new one in 1809; it is possible that he used the old rough stones in building a wing for bis new
house, but wings built at the same time as the main house were generally very small in contrast with
this particular wing which bas the appearance of having once been an independent unit. Compare it with
the Alyea and Cuyper houses (plates 76 and 80). Notice the contrast with the very smooth tooling and
::rush of the stones of the main house, built 1809. The fanlight over the door is an early type but the
c!oor is later.

35 1
 PLATE 85
Doremus House
formerly on Saddle River Road, west of Arcola

This is a good example of an unpretentious home which remained substantially unchanged by later
occupants. It is very similar in lines to the Alyea house on the Passaic River (plate 76) but a comparison
of the stonework will show that the Doremus house belongs to a later period. The roughly dressed
stonework at the side and the dressed stonework on the front wall are more finished specimens of
masonry, typical of the middle of the eighteenth century. This agrees with the suggestion that it may
be the original Doremus house, erected by John Doremus on land he purchased in this vicinity in
1740. Notice the slight overhang of the roof in front and the characteristic total lack of continuation
of the roof over the gable end. The vestibule before the door is of course modern.
352
 PLATE 86
House of John Durie
Schraalenburgh Road, Haworth

It is believed that this house was in course of erection during the Revolutionary War; it is still the
home of descendants of the builder, John Durie. It has the close-to-the-ground feeling of many of the
Dutch houses. A comparison of the slopes of various gambrel roofs demonstrates that the Dutch did
not build in stereotyped fashion. In this instance the pitch is not very steep and the curve does not
commence until the line of the stone wall has been reached. Dormers and porch are of course later
alterations and the modern single-paned window sashes unfortunately give the house a rather vacant
expression.
353
 PLATE 87
House of Peter Garretson
River Road, Fairlawn

The wing of the present house was built by Peter Garretson shortly before 1708, and is mentioned in a
deed of that year. It is still the home of his descendants. The original unit is built of irregular stones
of many shapes and sizes. It is now covered by a heavy gambrel roof. Its proportions are those of the
early New England gambrel but as this style was not used in Bergen County, it probably replaces a
steep gable roof. The main house belongs to a much later date. It is of stone, covered by a gambrel
roof, the overhanging eaves of which have been extended for a porch and supported by heavy columns
not in keeping with the style of the house.
354
 PLATE 88
Ramapo Valley Road, Hohokus Township
Garrison (?) House

The history of this house is not known, but it is possible that it was owned by the Garrison family at
the time of the Revolution. The primitive construction of the house suggests that it was built when this
part of the valley was first opened up for settlement, in the second quarter of the eighteenth century.
Notice the small size of the windows and the very rough stonework even of the south front. The roof
is modern both in its material and in its continuation beyond the gable end.
355
 PLATE 89
House of Cosyn Haring, later De Wolf's
near the State Border, Old Tappan

This house is believed by descendants to have been erected in 1704 after the first division of the Tappan
Patent. It was built by Cosyn Haring, a patentee, and is still owned by his descendants, having passed
by marriage into the De Wolf family. The plan of the house, that of two main rooms adjoining each
other, each with its separate door, thereby eliminating any hall, is a modification of one of the earliest
types in vogue but differs from the Demarest house by the French cemetery (plate 82) and others in
greater length and considerably greater depth. The gambrel roof is much steeper than that on the
Ackerman house at Hackensack (plate 71), which was built at the same time, and there is an overhang
only in front. The upper floor is still open garret and is thus one of the very few large houses which
can be said not to have been improved. The fanlights over the doors are an early type. Notice the old
well sweep, so seldom seen any more. The frame wing belongs to the early nineteenth century.
356
 PLATE 90
House of Gerrit Haring
Old Tappan Lane, Old Tappan

This house was probably erected about 1751 by Gerrit Haring, grandson of Cosyn Haring, builder of
the house nearby (plate 89). Although of such a late date, it follows the early plan of two main rooms
adjoining each other, each with its separate door, and no hall. The position of the second chimney in
the center rather than at the opposite end is unusual. Notice the smoother finish and better jointing of
the front wall, characteristic of the later date.
357
 PLATE 91
House of Frederick Haring
Old Tappan Lane, Old Tappan

This house was erected prior to the Revolution by Frederick Haring, another grandson of Cosyn Haring,
builder of the house nearby (plate 89). The different color and texture of the stones, the continuation of
the masonry in the gable to a point above rather than below the upper floor windows, and the more
moderate slope of the gambrel roof are features contributing to the dissimilarity of Frederick's house
and his grandfather's. The vague outline of the former wing on the road end may still be discerned.
The supports to the roof overhang in front are later alterations.
358
 PLATE 92
House of Abraham Haring, later Moses Taylor's
Piermont Road, Rockleigh Borough

This house was built about 1758 by Captain Abraham A. Haring, who was carried away by the British
during the Revolution. It was later owned for about one hundred years by the Moses Taylor family.
This is an example of the gable roof used occasionally over a house two full rooms in depth. It may
be compared with the Lent house at Orangetown (plate 53), built in 1752. The varying hues of the
stones add life to the carefully cut and jointed stonework. It is probable that the overhang of the roof
in front was extended when the pillars were added. Frame additions and different sized dormers are
also later.

359
 PLATE 93
Ho/drum-Wanamaker House
Pascack Road, Upper Montvale

This house was built about the time of the Revolution by a member of the Holdrum family, and passed
by marriage into the Wanamaker family. It is said to have been built in 1778 but its appearance suggests
a slightly later date. Even at this period the Dutch seldom used dressed stones for the sides and back
of their houses, reserving the careful jointing and finish for the south front. This house shows that
the well dressed stone was not even carried up to the actual roofline, as the wooden boxing under the
overhang has been dismantled, exposing the rough stonework beneath. The large four-paned modern
windows and glass door give the house a vacant expression. The poorly designed dormer, entry porch,
and wing are modern alterations. Notice the old panelling of the door jamb.
360
 PLATE 94
Hopper-Goetschius House
East Saddle River Road, Upper Saddle River

This house is shown on a map of 1713 as Gerrit Hoppa's. It was probably built shortly before this as
it greatly resembles the Ackerman house at Hackensack (plate 71) and the Haring house at Old Tappan
(plate 89), both of which were built in 1704. The variety of masonry is characteristic of the early Dutch
houses: very irregular stonework in the rear, at the sides roughly dressed stones interspersed with rows
of stone chips, for the front wall similar or more carefully finished stonework (the front of the Hopper
house has been refaced recently), and always carefully jointed corners. The old windows with the
narrow lower sashes and the old irregular glass panes are still in use at the rear of the house. Supports
to the roof overhang, both front and rear, and the long dormers were alterations made at different times.
Although the heavy roof continued beyond the gable end is not the original one it blends with the house
and is less noticeable than a similar one in better condition. The length of the house is less than average,
the house being almost square; it is also unusual to find three windows at the rear with no door.
361
 PLATE 95
House of Isaac Housman
525 Terrace Avenue, Hasbrouck Heights

This house was erected in 1773 by Isaac Housman in the section known as the Polifly, south of Hacken-
sack. Houseman was probably influenced by the two story town residences being built at this time in
Hackensack, as his house has not the feeling of a farmhouse and, although it is the usual one and a half
stories in height, it has the suggestion of more space. As a rule the upper section of the gable end was
clapboarded or shingled, but in this case the stonework was carried up almost to the apex and finished
with a few rows of brick. Even in the earliest houses there was a tendency to use both long and short
stones to add variety and life to the masonry; this became developed in some of the later houses, such
as this one, into a definite pattern of alternation of sizes.
362
 PLATE 96
House of Corne/is Lozier
Go.ile Road, Midland Park

This house was owned at the time of the Revolution by Cornelis Lozier and had probably been built
by him in the previous quarter century. Lozier owned a mill on the stream nearby, and ever since there
bas been a mill connected with the property. The two units of the house were probably built at separate
times. The trapezoidal stone lintels are generally seen in houses built in the period of 1770-90. Only
occasionally are windows with the narrow lower sash found at this late date. The fanlight is the simple
sunburst type; it resembles the one on the Ackerman house at Hackensack. The frame half-story on the
wing belongs to the early nineteenth century. Both the doors and the cellar opening have been changed.

363
 PLATE 97
House of Barent and John Nagel (Naugle)
Harvard Street, near Piermont Road, Closter

The stone unit of this house was built before 1745, presumably by Barent Nagel for one of his children.
It descended in succession to several John Nagels and remained in the family until the late nineteenth
century. This photograph was taken before its recent modernization and is reproduced partly because
the patch of garden truck suggests its original rural surroundings. The east unit of stone is the original
house; at a shortly later period the frame unit was added along similar lines. This is an example of the
asymmetrical balance often used by the Dutch: the curving overhang of the roof in front is balanced by
the long, low slope of the roof at the rear. Other views are shown in plate S.
364
 PLATE 98
House of Isaac Nagel (Naugle)
Hickory Lane, near Piermont Road, Closter

This house was erected about 1775 by Isaac Nagel, grandson of Barent Nagel who built the house
nearby (plate 97). It is very similar in lines and interior arrangement to the Cosyn Haring house at
Old Tappan (plate 89), built in 1704. It is unusual to find a house at this late date without a central
hallway. The windows also are early types; those in front have the narrow lower sash and those in the
rear are very small in size. The stones are unusually light in coloring. Dormers and large porch are
modern additions.
365
 PLATE 99
Packer House
Ewing A venue, Franklin Lakes Borough

The original unit of this house is the stone part of the wing, built in the early eighteenth century.
Hand-hewn laths were used and the stone was laid in a straw and clay binding. The main house may
have been built about 1789 by the first Packer in the vicinity. The stone quoins and the trapezoidal stone
lintels, in patterned contrast to the plastered stone of the walls, are characteristic of the late eighteenth
century. However, the small size of the windows and the lack of any hallway are more typical of an
earlier date. The row of modern dormers and the porch have been added in such a way as not to materi-
ally alter the lines of the house. The half story of frame over the wing belongs to the early nineteenth
century.
 PLATE 100
Terheun Homestead
450 River Street, Hackensack

This is known erroneously as the house built in 1670 by John Terheun. The first John of the family was
not born until 1734; the house was probably erected by his grandfather Albert Terheun, who did not
come to Hackensack until about 1686 and probably did not build his permanent home until a few years
before 1709. The juxtaposition of roughly cut white painted stone and white clapboarding shows the
Dutch eye for delicate contrast. It will be noted that the door is not in the center of the house and is not
flanked on both sides by two windows as was usual at a later period. The deep door jamb is panelled.
The steep gambrel roof has a very straight slope and the curve of the overhang does not commence
until the stonework has been almost reached. Pillars now support it to form a simple porch. Dormers
and frame additions belong to the nineteenth century. The house is still the home of a member of the
Terheun family. It overlooks the Hackensack River.
 PLATE 101
Terhune House
East Saddle River Road, Hohokus Borough

The stone unit of this house belongs to the Revoh::tio:1&r7 era =d wu probably built a few years before
the war. The prominent quoins and tr.a.pezoic.al lli::cls are ch.anettristic of this period; they give the
needed contrast to the smoothly plastered sto::,r walls. Thr frame mn: wu bcilt at a later date along
similar lines. The close-to-the-soil ferling is s::ro::gr: tl.ui i:l ::::l,Ulyof :he homes. The simple pillared
supports do not detract from the original ho,::se in the way th.at the Victorian dor,:,ers do. These were
probably added by Joseph Jefferson, the ac:or, who ow::,ec the hoae fo= a ti=-e.
368
 PLATE 102
Van Alen (? )-Hopper-Van Horn House
Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah

This is probably the house designated as John Van Alen's on Erskine's Revolutionary map. Its known
history commences a generation later with the ownership of the Hopper family. The main house belongs
to the Revolutionary era and it is possible that it was not erected until a few years after the war,
although the use of such very irregular stonework for the side wall would be unusual at this late date.
The upper slope of the gambrel roof is more moderate than was customary and the lower slope is very
long and straight; it is probable that there was never any overhang. The simple porch belongs to a
slightly later period. The very irregular stonework of all walls of the wing is to be noted; generally
the front wall was better finished, as is the case with the main house.
 PLATE 103
House of Thomas Van Boskerk (Van Buskirk)
East Saddle River Road, Saddle River

The northeast room of the house was the original unit and was built by Thomas Van Boskerk between
1708 and 1734; it consisted of one large room with a gable roof and no cellar; a nearby cave was then
used for storage of the winter vegetables. The house was enlarged by a descendant to form the usual
two rooms on either side of a wide central hallway, with a cellar beneath the new part. It was probably
covered by a gable roof which was raised early in the nineteenth century for the addition of a half story
of frame. The simple porch may have been added then; its square supports are of different lengths and
rest on uneven stone flagging. The shutters are modern.
370
 PLATE 104
Vanderbilt House
Middletown Road, Rivervale

This house was probably erected a few years before the Revolution, but the builder and early owners
are unknown. The Vanderbilt family lived here in the middle of the nineteenth century. The old
twelve-paned window sashes still remain in the southwest corner. Various minor changes have been
made. It is unusual to find two cellar doors.
371
 PLATE 105
Van Horn House
Wyckoff Avenue, Wyckoff Township

The three units of this house were all erected at different times. The house was owned by the Van Horn
family during the Revolution and it is possible that Barent Van Horn, who settled in this vicinity,
built the smallest unit shortly before 1742. The largest and latest unit was probably built about the
time of the Revolution. The progressive sizes of the sections of this house are an unusual form of the
gradual growth customary in Bergen County, where the central unit generally became the main section.
The gradual increase in length, depth, and height, in breadth of roof and overhang, in size of windows
and doors results in an unusual and beautiful composition, in which a sense of balance is given by the
single chimney of the large unit placed at its far end. Since the house burrows into the side of a hill
the front walls arc higher than this view from the rear would indicate.
372
 PLATE 106
Van Houten House
Franklin Lakes Road, Franklin Lakes Borough

This house is still the home of descendants of John Van Houten, the owner in 1806. It belongs to the
'Revolutionary era and may have been built or bought by him when he settled in this section between
1·94 and 1799. The main feature to be noted is the gambrel roof with its long, straight lower slope and
t::ie absence of any overhang; it can be compared with that on the Hopper house (plate 102) of the same
;-eriod. The roofline has never been broken by the addition of dormers. Marks in the stonework point
to the former existence of a door in the center of the rear wall. The low second story of frame is a
ciaracteristic nineteenth century addition to the wing.
373
 PLATE 107
• House of Nicholas Varleth; the Sip Homestead at Bergen
formerly in Jersey City, now in Westfield

This house was built in 1664 presumably by Nicholas Varleth, one of the patentees of the property. It
was purchased by Jan Adriaensen Sip in 1699 and remained the homestead of his descendants until very
recent years, when it was removed from Bergen Square, Jersey City (the former village of Bergen) to
Westfield. The very steep pitch of the roof is characteristic of the very early houses. It is probably one
of the earliest examples of the curving overhang which became so characteristic a feature. This building
shows that the large windows with twelve panes in each sash were in use even at this early period in
well-built houses in the settled communities. The house is photographed as it now stands rebuilt in its
new location, appropriately behind an apple orchard. The wing on the east end is smaller but is Bush
with the south front. Dormers, trellis work, chimneys and shutters have been changed or added.
374
 PLATE 108
Vreeland House
125 Lake View Avenue, Leonia Borough

:::iain house of frame is the well known Vreeland house south of Englewood, built about 1818 by or
Richard Vreeland; it is noted for its beautiful lines, proportions, and carvings. The small stone
.-.__::gis said to be pre-revolutionary hut it is possible that it was not erected until about the time of
116:h.ael Vreeland's marriage in 1786. It remained the home of the family until 1930. The wing is
i;r-e-revolutionary in style but its character is considerably marred by the modern dormer, four-paned
r-=dows, door and stoop. The characteristic sloping cellar hatch under the window has been altered.
375
 PLATE 109
Westervelt-Bogert House
393 Main Street, Hackensack

This is a typical example of the gradual balanced growth of Bergen County houses. The original unit
is the stone part of the south wing; this is believed to have been built in 1688, possibly by Jurrien
Westervelt on his purchase of 1687. The central unit is said to date only from 1800; notice its steep
gambrel roof with the straight lower slope and absence of any overhang. The gable roofs of the wings
were later raised for frame half stories which have the small windows typical of the early nineteenth
century. The rough stonework of all units has been painted red with which the red tin roofs harmonize
in color so that their modern composition is scarcely noticeable. Standing in the heart of the business
section, the house has been conservatively remodelled into stores.
 PLATE 110
House of Roelof Westervelt
Tenafly Road, Tenafly

The original unit of this house is the wing, which was probably built by Roelof Westervelt about the
time of his marriage in 1745. The property remained in the family from 1695 until about 1923. The steep
pitch of the roof is reminiscent of the very early houses. Notice the difference in finish of the stones in
the early wing and in the main house, which was erected about or shortly after 1798 by the grandson
Daniel Westervelt. This main house is a beautiful example of its period, built along pre-revolutionary
:ines with well dressed stones, stone lintels, and a sweeping gambrel roof still unbroken by dormers,
and with interesting woodwork in the interior. Over the door of the wing and over the back door of
::he main house is an unusual fanlight consisting of a row of minute panes of glass, which was probably
an individual conception of the Westervelts, as no other like it has been found. The original unit
consists of one large room with an immense fireplace, behind which a ladder leads to the old slave
,;a.rters in the garret.

377
 PLATE 111
Westervelt House
County Road, Cresskill

A house on this site was marked Westerfell's on Erskine's Revolutionary map. Presumably this was the
wing of the present house. Johannes R. Westervelt is said to have settled in this vicinity after 1728; it
was his grandson Benjamin P. Westervelt who built the main house in 1808, which is still the home of
his descendants. The date of the wing is uncertain. It belongs to the Revolutionary era and may have
been erected a few years before the war by Petrus Westervelt. There are many unusual features in the
construction of the wing: the cutting and laying of stone in the side wall in as finished a manner as in
the front, the use of stone lintels in such a small unit, the two doors and one window rather than one
door and two windows in the south front, and the position of the one chimney near the center rather
than at the end. The first two features mentioned and also the moderate slope of the roof are charac-
teristic of the late eighteenth century, thereby tending to disprove the supposition that the house was
built by Johannes Westervelt about 1730 or by his son Petrus when he married about 1745.
378
 PLATE 112
Zabriskie-Board House
formerly on Paramus Road, north of Arcola

This is not to be confused with the more famous Zabriskie-Board house built nearby in 1790 and
owned by the same families. The stone wing of the house here reproduced was the original unit and
::ay have been built by Christian Zabriskie shortly after his marriage in 1715. The steep slope of the
:oof is characteristic of this early period. The south front of the house is built of roughly cut stones,
&<>meof which are rounder and more irregular than usual. Unfortunately the four-paned windows,
shutters, decayed porch, dormers and lean-to, all of which are alterations, change and hide a large part
of the original house, but the shingled gable end is impregnated with the feeling of the period. The
!louse has a greater length than the average similar small unit, having four rather than two windows
:in the front wall.

379
 PLATE 113
House of John Zabriskie
New Bridge, North Hackensack

This is better known as the Baron Steuben house; it was awarded to him out of gratitude by the State,
which had confiscated it from its Tory owner. Various dates have been ascribed to this house, presumably
applying to its different sections. The original unit in the center was built about 1737-39 by John
Zabriskie, Jr. with hand-split laths, clay mortar, early rat-tail nails and gable roof. Similar additions
were later made at both ends, the depth of the house was increased by an addition along the rear and a
gambrel roof placed over the entire building. The result is an unusually long house under one roof
rather than the more general main house with two wings. When the depth of the house was increased
about the end of the eighteenth century, access to the new rooms was arranged for at the landing of
the stairs with a resulting variation in floor level. The photograph shows part of the house from the
back. This view gives the suggestion of a low two story house. The front view shows it to be the usual
one and a half story house with deep overhanging eaves. The Hackensack River flows by the end of
the house.
380
 PLATE 114
Zabriskie-Van Dien Smoke House
Paramus Road, south of Paramus, Ridgewood

7hc house in this plate belongs to a period not covered by this volume as it was erected about 1800 or
ucn later. A comparison with earlier houses will show that it was built along pre-revolutionary lines
bat the style had become stereotyped and the result is cold, insipid, and lifeless. It stands on the site
of an earlier house which was owned by the Zabriskies during the Revolution. The smoke house was
built about the middle of the eighteenth century. Notice the characteristic broadening chimney, which
occupies all of the end wall in the interior. In the same manner as the houses of the period, the stones in
tbc front wall are more smoothly cut than those in the side walls, and the gable end is clapboarded.
381
'.._.,_,_
'
A:./... .,..""
.•t
......
,.-... .

PLATE 115
Unidentified House
Fairlawn A venue, Fairlawn

The stone units of the house are typical of the eighteenth century in which they were built. The wing
is practically unchanged. The main house has the early arrangement of rooms without a hallway. The
slight extension of the roofline beyond the front walls and the gable end is a change which alters the
feeling of the house. The addition of the porch caused the elimination of the characteristic sloping
cellar hatch.
382
MONMOUTH AND MIDDLESEX COUNTIES

HOUSE OF
CORNELIUS COUWENHOVEN
 MIDDLESEX AND MONMOUTH COUNTIES
Middlesex County

M
IDDLESEX COUNTY was predominantly Scotch and English. A few
Dutch families also settled here, mainly along the Raritan River and the
Somerset County line in old Piscataway Township.
A large tract, extending south to the Raritan River, was granted by Gov. Nicoll
in J664 to some Englishmen from Long Island, and Elizabethtown was started by
them the following year. In the meantime the Duke of York had so1d the Province
of New Jersey to Berkeley and Carteret. In J.666 Gov. Carteret and the Elizabeth-
town Point Associates sold the southern portion of their J.664 purchase to Joshua
Pierce and others. In J.667 Piscataway was sold to Daniel Pierce and his associates.
None of these early owners were Dutch.
Piscataway originally included an immense tract across the Raritan River as
well as on the northeast side. The Somerset-Middlesex County line was changed
seven times, thus affecting its bounds considerably. Piscataway Township was
organized as early as J.675. Thomas Lawrence purchased a J.300 acre tract on the
south side of the Raritan River in J.678; the house of his step-son Cornelius Long-
field at the mouth of Lawrence Brook was mentioned in J.679 by the Labadist
travellers. In J.68J. John Inians and associates purchased from the Indians the land
along the southwest side of the Raritan River from Bound Brook to Lawrence
1 Brook. lnians bought for himself a J.280 acre tract on which now stands the Oty
1 of New Brunswick. In J.686 the Highway Commissioners approved of Inian's Road,
running between his house here and Claswick's Bridge, as the best road to Burling-
ton. The village was first called Brunswick in J. 724 and was given a city charter in
1730. Its population was both Dutch and English; in J.774 John Adams estimated
that it had from three to four hundred houses and about one hundred and fifty
families. Among the early Dutch settlers of New Brunswick were the families of
Van Voorhees Van Aersdalen Schuyler, Van Deursen, Van Veghten, Ten Broeck,
Van Dyk and Van Alen A~ong the Dutch who purchased land in Piscataway
before l 725 were the Cla~sons, Garretsons, Hendricks, SutphenS, Bibouts, Smocks
and Van Horns. The First Reformed Church of New Brunswick was organized
~ut 1703. Another Dutch Church was organized in l 7J 7 at the ~ettlement of Six
de Run, now Franklin Park along the county line halfway to KingSt0n•
f· d As lVIiddlesex County w~ largely settled by the English, it is not surprisinf to
in the influence of their st les in the Dutch houses. Both the
st0ne two s ory
lllansions included in this gr~up are Georgian although very different from each
385
 MONMOUTH COUNTY

other. On the other hand the more modest frame farmhouses are typically Dutch;
they are covered with gable roofs without overhanging eaves.
The photographs were taken in J933 after the field survey was completed. A
series of maps of the Middlesex-Somerset County line, together with Judge Ralph
Voorhees' Recollections (l874), were of great aid in determining the age of the
houses and the identity of the owners. The author is indebted to Miss Marian Cush-
man and Charles Deshler for information concerning the Raritan River valley, and
to Cornelius C. V ermeule for notes on the land titles of the valley.

Monmouth County
The first land purchase in Monmouth County was in J663, when about twenty
Englishmen from Gravesend on Long Island bought from the Indians the three
necks separated by the Navesink and Shrewsbury Rivers, the tract extending inland
to include the site of old Middletown. Gov. Nicoll issued the Monmouth Patent on
April J7, J665 to the Long Island men for all of the present Monmouth County and
parts of Middlesex and Ocean Counties, on condition that they settle thereon at
least one hundred families; they were to be tax free for seven years, have their own
forts and town government, and enjoy liberty of conscience. This patent was issued
before news had been received that the Province had been transferred in J664 to
Berkeley and Carteret; under its authority .General Assemblies of the Patentees
were held, the deputies ignoring the Proprietors' claim to the soil and government.
The title was in litigation for many years; the patentees eventually lost and had to
take out new patents for their lands from the government of the Proprietors.
The first settlement of the county was made in J664-65 under the Monmouth
Patent in the vicinity of Middletown and Shrewsbury by John Bowne, Richard
Stout and other Englishmen from Long Island and Rhode Island. They were
mainly Baptists and Quakers. The second settlement was made in J682-83 by the
Scotch in the vicinity of Freehold, and a Presbyterian Church was built at Tennant
in J692. The third settlement was started between J690 and J695 by the Dutch froin
New York City and Long Island. Among these were the Couwenhovens, Schencks
and Hendricksons. The Dutch occupied only a small territory around Holmdel, a
land of rolling valleys and streams, part of which is appropriately known as Pleasant
Valley. The Reformed Church of Freehold and Middletown, occasionally called
the Navesink Church, was organized in J709 and a brick house of worship erected
in l7l9 on the Road to Middletown one mile from Holmdel. It was the on1Y
Dutch church in the county until J826 and is known as the Old Brick Church of
Marlborough.
Monmouth was one of the four original counties organized in J683. The fir st
386
 MONMOUTH COUNTY

townships, Middletown, Shrewsbury and Freehold, were formed in 1693. The

county court house was built in l 7l4 at Monmouth Court House, the present
Freehold. This is still the county seat. ·
The Monmouth County houses are shingled and covered by gable roofs, gen-
erally with a steep slope. In other respects the houses vary greatly, and there seems
to be no predominant type among the small number extant.
The photographs in this section were taken in 1925 and 1934. The field
survey was undertaken with the aid of Judge and Mrs. Henry E. Ackerson, Jr. The
text has been drawn largely from private family Bible records, Beekman's Early
Dutch Settlers of Monmouth County and Stillwell's Historical and Genealogical
MisceIIany.

387
 HOUSES IN MIDDLESEX AND MONMOUTH
COUNTIES
Houses in Middlesex County
Field Houses
River Road, Piscataway Township

The Fields were an English family, but became almost Dutch by adoption
after settling in the Raritan River valley-they spoke Dutch, attended the Dutch
church and married Dutch wives-so it is fitting that some mention of their homes
should be made in this volume. Robert1 Field is supposed to have come to Rhode
Island with Roger Williams. We find him in Newport in 1638. He removed to
Flushing, Long Island, an English settlement, where he was one of the patentees in
1645. His son Anthony had a son John1 Field, b. May 15, 1659 on Long Island.
John's early home was at Flushing, where he was a patent~ in 1685.
On Dec. 14, 1695 John Field bought a tract of l,055 acres, extending for two
and a half miles along the northeast bank of the Raritan River, commencing one
mile below Bound Brook and running in the direction of Raritan Landing. He pur-
chased it from Benjamin Clarke who had inherited it from his father Benjamin
Clarke, Sr. John Field settled on the bank of the Raritan in the middle of his tract~
and built a stone house here, which had a cornerstone dated 1710. This same year,
1710, he was chosen Justice of the Peace for Middlesex and Somerset Counties. His
will, dated in 1725, was probated in 1729. His wife Margaret also died before 1729.
Judge Jeremiah4 Field, b. May 17, 1689, d. Nov. lO, 1746, was his only son and
inherited the Raritan tract. He was a lieutenant in the colonial militia and a Judge
of the Court of Common Pleas. On Feb. 19, 1712 he married Mary, b. Oct. 8, 1687,
d. Aug. 28, 1742, daughter of Michael Van Vechten, widow of Albert Teneicke,
and sister of Derrick Ven Vechten, the builder of the present house on the Raritan
at Finderne (plate 139).
Judge Field's twelve children included: Jeremiah, b. 1713, who lived in a stone
house which was the home of Stephen Voorhees shortly before 1901; John, b. 1714,
who lived in a stone house which had a dated stone marked "1743 J. F." and which
Was known as the Oliver farmhouse in J90l; Margaret, b. 17l7, who married Jacob
Van Deventer, and built a frame house on the extreme north end of the Field tract
(plate 119); Sarah, b. l 728, who married John Pool, and whose son John Pool, Jr.,
purchased and lived in the Cornelius Low Mansion at Raritan Landing (plate 116);
lVIichael, b. 1723 who owned the mill property east of the village of Bound Brook
and Was a member of the Committee of Correspondence during the Revolution;
389
 HOUSES IN MIDDLESEX COUNTY

Benjamin, b. J725, who lived in a frame house, the nev.:er ~rtion ~f which was
dated "J76l B. F.," and which was owned in l9OJ by Ben1amm M. Field.
Still another son of Judge Field was Richards (or Dirck) Field, b. Oct. 31,
J726, bap. at the Dutch church of Raritan, d. Sept. 2J, l800. He was known as
"Pine Tree Richard" to distinguish him from the other Richards in the family and
no doubt also because his place had many pine trees. His house was standing in
J9OJ, when it was owned by John D. Field, son of Dennis, and was torn down a few
years ago. It had a cornerstone marked "J7JO F." which was taken from his grand-
father's house, the foundations of which were recently visible a few hundred yards
distant. The houses of these brothers all stood on the River Road. On Nov. 23, 1749
Pine Tree Richard married Elizabeth Smock, b. Jan. 28, J728, d. Sept. 2, J808,
probably the daughter of Henry and granddaughter of Matthias Smock, who had
built the house a few miles down the road at the ford (plate J J7). They had five
sons, four of whom served in the Revolution. The father set apart the north portion
of the homestead tract near Bound Brook for one of these sons, Richard R.6 Field,
b. J755, d. J840, who built the main part of the house still standing here and now
owned by J. A. Smith. This Richard married Dinah Vermeule of the Blue Hills
(part of present Plainfield) but had no children and eventually gave his home to
his nephew Capt. Richard J.1 Field. The latter, b. Sept. J2, J785 at Lamington, d.
May 6, J87J, was a son of Jeremiah Field who lived near North Branch and a grand-
son of Pine Tree Richard. On Dec. 22, J8O8 he married Mary Kline, and in J826
they moved into his uncle's house on the north end of the Field tract. It was inherited
by their son John K.• Field, and is now or was recently owned by J. A. Smith.
The Field-Smith house is a shingled structure in several units, of which the
main section is the pre-revolutionary part. A photograph of it may be seen in the
Field Genealogy, p. 575. It stands on a bend of the River Road, between the road
and the river, south of the Van Deventer place (plate J J9), and about one and a half
~les from Bound Brook. The sites of the houses of John Field and of Pine Tree
Richard are also between the road and the river, a short distance to the southeast. The
homes of Pine Tree Richard's brothers Benjamin and Jeremiah were further south·
east on the Field tract. There are many other houses on this tract built by later melll·
hers of the Field family.

House of Cornelius Low

River Road, Raritan Landing, Piscataway Township
PLATE 116
Th~ grandfather of the builder of t:1is house was Pieter Comellessen' Lo«e,
who emigrated from Holstein in 1659 on the Faith, and settled at Esopus. His soil
390
 HOUSES IN MIDDLESEX COUNTY

Comdis' removed to New _York Oty, where Cornelius' Lowe or Low was bom and
baptized Marc~ 3J, J700 m the Dutch church there. On May 2l, 1729 Cornelius
Low, Jr., married Johanna, daughter of Isaac Gouverneur, bap. April JS, J705, d.
Oct. J7, J763. They came to Raritan Landing in New Jersey in J730 and lived in
a house on the flats near the river.
Raritan Landing, one mile above the village of New Brunswick, was a very im-
portant shipping point for the produce of western New Jersey and a part of Pennsyl-
vania. A great flood covered the flats in J739, and caused Cornelius Low to build
for greater safety on the bluff overlooking the Landing, on a 2 acre plot of land
he had bought in J738 from William Williamson. The house was finished late in
l74J and the family moved in. In his family Bible he records that his child William
was born "at the new house on the mountain, Raritan Landing'' on Jan. 24, 1742.
Cornelius was a prominent surveyor, attorney, and landowner. He lived in his new
home until he died early in April, J777.
At the time of Cornelius' death the village of New Brunswick was in the pos-
session of the British, and his residence was the headquarters of the Post Comman-
der. Mute evidence of the British occupancy are the musket marks on floors, balus-
trades and wainscotting. Some of the family continued to reside here for a few
years. Cornelius' granddaughter Mary Margaret Lowe (J768-l84l) lived here
5

with her widowed mother (Catharine Hude, widow of Cornelius' Low, Jr.) at the
th
time of her marriage in J789 to Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh. Nicholas' Low was e
executor of the estate of his father (Cornelius, the builder of the ho~e), butt:~:
1793
adverse business conditions he could not dispose of the property until ,w
sold it to John PooL , d, h
John Pool, Sr., married Sarah, one of the daughters of Jer:!t!:lto;'ar~
;r
owned and lived on the J,055 acre field tract fur th ur ;he Deventer, who
Bound Brook, and a sister of Margaret Field, wi e O a;001 Jr who later pur-
built on the Field tract (plate H9). It was their son Jo: p 1'
793
1/' married Mary,
chased the Low house at Raritan Landing in J • Jo :0d here ir 1797
daughter of Lucas Voorhees. They resided in the Lor h0 :n;inued to live here
Was born their son, the future Dr. John Adams Poo' w daughter of Isaac Law-
Until he died in J866. Dr. Pool married Harriet Lawre:~~ Beach, was a noted
rence and Cornelia Beach. Her grandfather, Rev. Ab few miles up the Raritan
clergytnan of New Brunswick and owned the stone house ~or's death, the place was
River on the other side (plate J4J ). Shortly after the do; wn the wing of the house
sol~ in the summer of J87J to George W. Metl3i:. He tor~ ~harine, daughter of John
~hich had become dilapidated. Mr. Metlar's wdeit~o;estead at lVlillstone (plate
an Doren. Her home was the Van Doren fain y 391
 HOUSES IN MIDDLESEX COUNTY

J37). The Metlars lived here at Raritan Landing. Their daughter, Miss Mary
Metlar, sold the Low Mansion about J914 to Mrs. E. B. Voorhees, the present owner.
The Low Mansion is considered one of the finest houses in the province. It is
interesting to compare it with the Dey Mansion at Preakness (plate 144), built at
the same time by a member of another Dutch family. The Low house is unusually
deep, almost square, being 50 feet by 40 feet. It is two stories high, built of yellow
sandstone, and covered with a hipped roof. The arch heads of the windows are a fea-
ture common to houses in West Jersey. The rear view of the house is shown in the
photograph, as the roofline in front is broken by modern dormers. The front has a
balanced composition, with windows on either side of the central doorway. The
irregularly placed door and window in the center of the rear wall are out of align-
ment due to the stairway. The interior of the house is Georgian rather than Dutch,
a variation typical of the wealthy who rarely build true to style in any country. A
wide hall traverses the house with mahogany wainscotting on the first floor and
pine trim on the second. Two rooms open off either side of the hall; they are large
square rooms with high ceilings, very wide hand-hewn doors, beautiful panelling
and mantels, and shell-top carved corner cupboards. Dutch, blue, scenic tiles still
line the fireplaces of two of the second floor bedrooms. A few of the old twelve-pane
window sashes remain in the rear of the house. There was formerly a kitchen wing
on the west end, also of two stories but with lower ceilings.
The house stands on a bluff or high embankment overlooking the north bank
of the Raritan River, and directly opposite the bridge and causeway. It is over a
mile from the Lincoln Highway and the Albany Street Bridge, New Brunswick.
The house is surrounded by beautiful trees, and in summer is hidden .from the road
by their foliage. The first bridge over the Raritan at the Landing was erected while
Cornelius Low, the builder of the house, was still alive, in J772; it was a covered
wooden bridge. It might be worthwhile to state here that the name Low is pro-
nounced similarly to cow.

House of Matthias Smock

River Road, Piscat11Way Township
PLATE 117

This 1house was built by Matthias Smock about l7J8-2J. His father, Hendrick
Matthyse Smock or Smack emigrated about J654 and settled at New Utrecht,
where he bought land in l 665, was a magistrate and patentee. He was probably of
Dutch origin. He married Geertje Harmens, niece of Guert Coerten from V oor-
thuizen, Guelderland. She died in 1708 and he survived her. They had three sons
392
 HOUSES IN MIDDLESEX COUNTY

.1 four daughters, one son removing to Monmouth County and the oth tw
ana taway Township m
p· · Middlesex Coun ty. er O to
18
caMatthyse Hendrickse' Smock, otherwise Matthias Smock, born in N
Utrecht, married in the Dutch church in New York on Sept. J2, l70l Eliza:;
Stevens, widow. The name of her first husband is unknown. She was baptized in
New York on Oct. H, 1676, daughter of Jan Stephenszen and Lysbeth Lucas. In
1700 Matthias was an officer in the foot company of New Utrecht militia. He sold
his farm in New Utrecht and removed about l7l8 to Piscataway Township and
settled on the Raritan River in New Jersey. He built his house here before he made
his will in l72l. In it he named his wife Elizabeth and his children, Hendrick, John,
Lucas, Matthias, Jacobus, Elizabeth (hap. 1704 in N. Y. C.), Geertie (died l738
unmarried), and Mary. Of these children, Hendrick1 was a freeholder of Piscataway
in J726; he died in or before l 754, leaving a widow An tie, daughter Elizabeth, and
minor children, Henry, Denys, and Ann; in his will he mentioned his home farm
of 130 acres at Bound Brook. The son Lucas1 or Luke lived in Piscataway Town-
ship. The son Jacobus1 is possibly the James Smock who died intestate in Hunter-
don County in l 772, leaving a widow Margaret.
John1 Smock (l7l2-l79l), who was probably the second son of Matthias,
seems to have received his father's homestead on the Raritan River in Piscataway
Township. He was surveyor of the highways in 1749 and town clerk in l767. He
married Lea, daughter of Charles Fontine of Somerset, who mentioned his daughter
in his will of l743. They had eight children baptized in the Dutch churches at Rari-
tan and New Brunswick between l73l and l757: Lena, John, Jr., Abraham, Jacob,
Abraham, Maria, Lea and Jannetie. By their eldest son John, Jr., and his wife
~aertie, they had four grandchildren, Maria, Annatie, Matthew and John,_ bap-
tized between l 760 and l 767. The homestead farm next appears in the possession of
Mary Smock, who on March 30, l848 transferred it to her son Jonathan B. Smock
and her son-in-law Martin Nevius. The latter released the south half to Smock whose
:d built upon it, and Smock released to Nevius the north half, on which st00d, the
hotise. AB Mart'm Nevius , namw f his children John Smock Nevius, it is
P~ b
_,.1
one o
1 ck ho
d1~.1 ~ble that his father-in-law was John Smock. There was a John • Smo wth
in l84J 0 nl bl the widow, gave up e
farm. Th , Ya few years before Mary, presuma Y be 1795
and 180()ere was a John Smock who married Mary Fall in Mid~lesex er:;:£ the
h<>use , • Tbese are very suggestive clues in tracing the gap m own
Ul the earl nin
The y eteenth century. 1 13 1822 living in
190() next known owner was Martin David NeviuS, b. Ju Y. ; D .,;,rah Ann
S , son of D 'd N ' •4 •847 he marr1ea e ,_
lll0ck, b 1Ur. avi evius, farmer. On Dec. J , J . hn d Mary Smocl\-4
• "'Larch 1822, probably a daughter of the above Jo an 393
 HOUSES IN MIDDLESEX COUNTY

Martin Nevius was a farmer, and a collector of taxes in Piscataway Township. They
had two children, John Smock Nevius, b. l85l, died young, and Maggie Peppard
Nevius, b. 1849, d. about 1930. In 1868 she married William Blish, a merchant of
New York City. She owned the homestead after her father, and moved away about
l9l0, probably selling it at this time. In 1923 we find the house in the possession of
Marian S. Orten, who deeded it that year to Raymond Paterson, who sold it in l 927
to the present owner, Page L'Hommedieu.
The original section of the house was built by Matthias Smock about l7l8-2l,
and added to probably by his son John Smock. Like most early houses, it faces south
regardless of the position of the road, which in this case runs along the west end.
The west unit, comprising more than half of the present house, includes the hallway;
above the main floor is another story under the eaves, with "lie on your stomach
windows" seen from the rear view. The east unit has not these additional low win-
dows. The two sections of the house are clearly seen from the rear view, due to this
difference in windows and also to the separate clapboarding of the two parts. The
house is covered by a gable roof, unbroken in back by dormers. The fairly small
size of the windows is characteristic of the early period. The front of the house, shown
in the photograph, has been conservatively modernized and the grounds well planted.
This is a good example of a pleasing r~idential treatment of an early house. The
house is about three and a half miles from New Brunswick on the way to Bound
Brook, on the northeast side of the River Road, which follows the shore of the
Raritan River. It lies opposite the two Van Wickle houses (plates 140 and l4l),
and was once connected with them by an important ford.

Soulard (?)-Suydam House

County Line Road, Franklin Park
PLATE 118

The road from New Brunswick to Kingston and Princeton follows the line
between Middlesex and Somerset Counties, and is crossed by various small brooks
known as runs, One, Three, Six, Nine and Ten Mile Run respectively, because of
their approximate distance from the village of New Brunswick. Settlements were
formed at an early date along these runs of which the most important was Six Mile
Run, now called Franklin Park.
The ~ly history of this ~ouse is obscure. On John Dalley's map of 1745, only
one house 1S shown on the Middlesex side of the road about here and is marked
Peter Solar. On Dunham's map of 1766, the house ls marked Jo~ Sydam and a
house just above it is Peter Sydam's. On Erskine's map of 1778, it is marked James
394
 HOUSES IN MIDDLESEX COUNTY

Suydam, and the house above it is unnamed. According to a map of J860 J. Garret-
son was the owner.
This region is part of a large tract granted to Harrison and Willocks in J 700.
Ryck Suydam bought J58 acres from the former and settled at Six Mile Run about
J728; he died in J 798 at the age of 95 years, and is said to be a grandson of Hendrick
Ryken who emigrated in J663 and settled in Flatbush. Ryck's son Peter Suydam
(generally spelled Sedam) bought land of Peter Soulard at Six Mile Run about
J743, and built his house (shown on the above map of J766) which was tom down in
J806. By his wife Femmetje, he had six children, Ryke bap. J757, Jannetje bap.
J759, Peter, Abraham, Ann bap. J762, and Lawrence.
The son Lawrence Suydam (or Sedam), bap. Oct. 30, J765 at Six Mile Run,
lived 300 yards farther along the road (southwest of his father), in the house marked
John Sydam in J766 and James Sydam in J778. Nothing is known of John and
James. It would be logical to presume that John, James and Lawrence were closely
related. Lawrence Suydam married Abigail Fry, and had many children: Phebe
bap. J792, Ann (J793-J865) married Cornelius Van Liew, Peter M. (bap. 1795,
d. 1876), John S. of New Brunswick, William of Middlebush, Abraham of New
Brunswick, Isaac, Jacob who died in infancy, Catharine and Maria. Lawrence Suy-
dam, the father of these ten children, was killed by a bolt of lightning while standing
in the front door of this house on Aug. H, J838, and was buried on the 13th. We
next find the house in the possession of Garret S. Van Liew. He and his wife Mary
Ann of New Brunswick Twp. sold it with 36 acres to John Garretson, Sr., on Oct.
3, J859.
John Garretson, Sr., son of Rem, left Jersey City about J854, as his son was
l 9 years of age when they settled at Six Mile Run village. He died in l 883
aged 83 years. He lived in a large white frame house on the Somerset side of the
road, opposite the field in which formerly stood the Peter Suydam house. He bought
for his son John the small house and farm adjoining this vacant field to the south-
west, on the Middlesex side of the road. John Henry Garretson, Jr., b. J835,. married
in 1858, and started housekeeping in this small house, formerly Lawrence Suydam's.
Here his son John Garretson III was born, and now lives across the road in the John
Garretson, Sr., house. Matilda Garretson, daughter of John Garretson, Jr., married
Abraham S. Voorhees. She bought the small house from her father in J909, and sold
it in 1925 to A. D. Kleinrock, who sold to the present owners, Irving Julius and Miss
Rose Julius.
This house was standing by J766 and owned then by John Suydam. It was
probably built much earlier, and was undoubtedly the house owned by Peter Sou-
lard in 1745, unless Soulard's house bumed down and was rebuilt before 1766. There
395
 HOU SES IN MID DLE SEX COU NTY

this was torn down when John

was at one time a large addition on the south end, but
a small frame house, of unusual
Garretson, Jr., left the house. As it stands today, it is
The old long shingles, old solid
depth for its breadth, covered by a broad gable roof.
age. Nestling beneath a beauti.
shutters, and small-sized windows are evidence of its
the Dut ch church in Franklin
ful elm tree, it stands in a field one mile northeast of
Par k, and south of Six Mile Run .

Ho use of Jac ob Va n De ven ter

p
Rive r Roa d near Bou nd Broo k, Pisc ataw ay Tow nshi
PLA TE 119
the 1055 acre Field tract
Thi s house stands in the extreme nort hern end of
his only son Jud ge Jeremiah
bou ght in 1695 by Joh n Field. It was inherited by
y children. One of these was
Fiel d, who married Mar y Van Vechten and had man
Deventer. The house was built
Mar gare t Field, b. Oct. 2, l7l7 , married Jacob Van
father's tract. Jacob married
by or for them about 1738-40 on the nort h end of her
nty between Mar ch 24 and
secondly Elizabeth - - , and died in Somerset Cou
s, Michael and Jeremiah Field
Apr il 12, 1756 (the dates of his will). His executor
which was then given to the
(brothers of his first wife) refused the executorship
children: Jaco b, who removed
widow. Jaco b Van Deventer and Margaret had two
itan , died 1806 aged 65 years,
elsewhere, and Jeremiah, hap. April 20, 1740 at Rar
ok. Jere mia h was a Captain of
and buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery at Bound Bro
occupant of his parent's home.
the militia duri ng the Revolution. He was the next
unti l after the Civil Wa r.
The house is supposed to have remained in this family
from Chicago and bought
Sho rtly after the Civil Wa r, Richard Field returned
Ric hard R.8 Field, b. March
the Van Deventer house. He is believed to have been the
great-greatgrandson of Judge
8, l8l8 , who was a son of Capt. Richard J. Fiel d and
New Jers ey, the home of his
Jeremiah Field. He was probably born in Lamington,
prominent wholesale merchant
grandfather and early home of his father. He was a
yle mansion on the property
in St. Louis for a while. He built a large Victorian-st
the place. He settled in Plain-
south of the old Van Deventer home, but did not keep
18, 1892. An insurance com-
field, where he was a prominent man and died March
beginning of this century to
pan y sold the property with the two houses about the
the small house was used as a
Mr. Bry an, and it descended to his son. Unt il recently
has restored it into a pleasing
tenant house. Its present owner, Mrs. T. L. Lewis,
residence.
The house. is a. small, one and a dhalf story house covered with sh'mgles, except
A . l
for the rear which 1s now clapboar de • cross a corner of the main room is al arge
. h . k, and topped b
'de, f aced wi'th br1c f
f
fireplace, five eet ten me es wi Ya mante o an
396
 HOUSES IN MIDDLESEX COUNTY

early simple type. The enclosed staircase is in another corner opposite the entrance
door, suggesting that there was a hallway originally and that the partition has been
torn down. The two small rooms in the rear, formerly bedrooms, have the typical
very sma11 windows and very low ceilings, sma11er and lower respective! y than in the
main rooms. The house is built of large hand-hewn oak beams, put together with
wooden pegs. It stands on the east side of River Road, which runs along the north-
east bank of the Raritan River from New Brunswick to Bound Brook, and is one
mile south of the latter viUage. Nearby is one of the old Field houses (see supra),
across the river is the old Staats house, built at the same time (plate J36), and a few
miles to the southeast along the river are th.: Smock and Van Wickle houses.

House of Matthias Van Dyke

Lake Road, Mapleton, near Kingston
PLATE 120

Although on the Middlesex County side of the Mi11stone River, this plantation
is only a few miles from Princeton, the home of many Revolutionary worthies such
as Richard Stockton the signer, Witherspoon president of the Co11ege, Joseph Hewes
the signer, and Jonathan Deare a member of the Provincial Congress. We thus
expect, and find, English influences prevailing in the Van Dyke house.
The ancestor of the family was Jan Thomasse1 Van Dyck, who emigrated
from Amsterdam in J652 with his wife and seven children, who was one of the
founders of New Utrecht on Long Island and died there in J672. His grandson Jan
Van Dyck or John' Van Dyke, bap. Nov. J9, J682, d. Dec. J8, J764,* married June
S, l706* Anna Verkerk, b. Jan. J3, l684,* d. June 27, J754.* They left New Utrecht
jnd settled in Middlesex County, New Jersey, in the vicinity of New Brunswick.
an Was a member of the New Jersey militia in l 7 l 5 and an alderman of New Bruns-
wick in l730. The will of John Van Dyck of the Corporation of New Brunswick,
;~man, Was dated J757 and probated in J765. He devised his homestead farm of
200 ~cr;s to his (second?) wife Ann, left legacies to his three daughters and farms of
h.Auo acres to each of his six sons. One son, Matthias' Van Dyke (Van Dike),
or Nefi L
1714* at New Brunswick, d. l784, was married June l2, J746 to Eleanor
They ~d ane of Middlesex County, daughter of Matthias Lane of Middletown.
In 1756
0

of the lVIiIIsto
~=~i°
_and six daughters.
~ias Van Dyke built the present two story stone house on the banks
~ho had houn~ R_iver at Mapleton, on a 200 acre tract later inherited from his father
occupied hy g tit from Thomas South. Just before the battle of Princeton it was
several Bri't•ish off'icers., and a dinner, ordered by them to be served when
alcen fr 397
om farnily Bible.
 HOUS ES IN MONM OUTH COUN TY
by
they should return "after routing the rebels under Mr. Washington," was eaten
the Americans.
Matthias Van Dyke died intestate and John Van Dike was appointed adminis-
trator of the estate on Oct. 29, l 784. In the inventory of his personal estate, it was
noted that three-fourths was the property of Matthias deceased and one-fourth of
his
son Matthias. The only son was Matthias Van Dyke, Jr., b. Jan. 8, 1752, bap. Feb.
5

9 at Six Mile Run Church, d. Sept. 18, 1832. He was a patriot soldier in .the
Revo-
.
lution. On Jan. 25, 1774 he married Lydia Longstreet and had six children. The
this
homestead was inherited by his son William J/ Van Dyke, b. Sept. 27, 1795 in
house, d. Oct. 27, 1865, and lies buried in the nearby cemetery at Kingston. In 1823
he married Marg aret Nevius, b. April 3, l 799, d. Sept. 7, l 862, and buried by
her
husba nd. They had five sons and three daughters, of whom Henr y L. R.7 Van Dyke
h
(1842-1895) was the owner, according to a map of 1876. The house passed throug
He
several hands before it was purchased by the present owner, Willi am Flemer.
conducts the Princeton Nurseries across the road.
The house is a two story stone structure of irregularly cut fieldstone, sur-
moun ted by an architectural cornice and a broad, low gable roof. The Engli sh influ-
has
ence predominates, in fact there is no evidence of Dutch traditions. The house
the
been improved recently, but the old feeling is still imparted to us, especially in
The
slope of the roof. It is covered with ivy and the grounds are we111andscaped.
ton
house stands near the Millstone River in the northerly part of the old Maple
section. It is on the west side of Lake Road, one mile south of King ston and north
of a Roma n Catholic institution. '

Houses in Mon mou th Cou nty

House of Cornelius Couwenhoven
Pleasant Valley, Holmdel Towns hip
PLAT E 121

Cornelius Couwenhoven is said to have built this h , J700 H b

Nov. 20, 1672 at Flatlands, the son of Wi11iam G 't , ~e m • e wa~ orn
ond wife J annetje Pieters Monfoort, and th erri se uwenhoven and his sec-1
who emigrated by 1625 from Couwenhoven,enear greatgrandson of Wolf ert Gerritszf
, Amersf t , th p ,
1
Utrecht. Corne ius, as a young man ttl d h , oor, m e rovm ce o
n
Town ship; his ear mark (cattle brand)se e ered m what was then Middletow
Roelofse Schenck, Stephen Court V ;as ~ecot ed here in l696. He and Garret
0
pur-
chased a 500 acre tract in the townshi;~r0 ; ; 0 eeg, and Peter Wyck off jointl y
V an Voorhees and Wyckoff sold their ri h hn Bowne, merch ant of Middletown.
g ts to the Schenck broth ers Garre t and
Jan, and they released l 25 acres of the tract to Cornel' Co ,
398 ius uwen hoven on Dec. 24,
 HOU SES I N MON MOU TH COU NTY

ious sum mer and hence

J700• Cornelius had p:ob ably buil t his hou se here the prev
gare tta Roelofs Schenck
desired a release for his hom e farm . He and his wife Mar
r Sche nck and Couwen-
lived here and were soon s_urrounded by the farm s of thei
r old hom e as Corneliu
h0 ven brothers. The y cont inue d to keep in touc h with thei
Mon mou th Countys
ned the sloop Car roway, in whi ch he mad e trips betw een
on his farm , aged 64
:w York City , and Kin gs Cou nty. He died May 16, 1736
som e year s later by his
years, 5 mos., 17 days , and was buri ed here , bein g follo wed
.
wife, who died Dec . 6, l75l aged 73 year s, 9 mos ., 27 days
y land purchases
In his will of l 735 Cor neli us Cou wen hov en divi ded his man
o wom an Han nah to his
between his two sons Wil liam and Rul if, left the old negr
to be paid to each of
wife and two negr oes to each of his sons , and orde red legacies
derb ilt), Altj e (ma rried
his eleven daug hter s: Ann etje , Jann etje ( mar ried Arie Van
in Van Clea£), Mar y,
William Van Dor n), Lea h, Sara h, Nee ltje (ma rried Ben jam
and Cate rina (ma rried
Rachel, Mar gare t, Jaco met je (ma rrie d Jan R. Sch enck ),
ven, b. July 20, 1700,
Daniel Hen dric kson ). The elde r son Wil liam C.5 K ouw enho
, in Mid dlet own Tow n-
d. Nov. JO, 1755, mad e his hom e at Car row ay, near Key port
este ad (rele ased to him
ship. Corn elius left vari ous trac ts, incl udin g the 125 acre hom
b. O ct. 5, l 706, d. Aug .
Dec. 24, l 700) to his you nge r son, Rul if C.5 Cou wen hoven,
elius V oorheese and
20, J786. Ruli f mar ried Sara h V oorh eese , daug hter of Corn
lie buri ed with his
Marytje Ditm ars, b. Apr il 12, l7l0 , d. Dec. 12, 1789. Both
cem etery.
brother and pare nts in the near by Cou wen hov en-S chen ck
been purc hase d by a
In the earl y nine teen th cent ury the hou se is said to have
and New Yar k, and who
foreigner, who ran a boa t for a shor t time betw een Key port
and wish ed to retir e
married into a fam ily of this sect ion (pos sibly a S chen ck girl)
rge Sche nck.
on a farm here. The wid ow is beli eved to have sold it to Geo
s, is the next know n
George Sche nck, b. J822, d. Mar ch 6, 1892 aged 70 year
of Cap t. John~ Sche nck,
owner of the farm . He was the son of Dav ids and gran dson
of Gar ret' Sche nck who
whose home was on a near by hill (see infr a), a desc enda nt
adjo ined Corn elius Cou-
came to Mon mou th Cou nty in J696 and whose hom e farm
cent ury Geo rge Sche nck
'Wenhoven's (see infr a). Abo ut the mid dle of the nine teen th
imm edia tely west of
removed to and rem odel led a house acro ss the road from and
by his cous"? ~o~'
Cornelius Cou wen hove n hou se, whi ch had been buil t in l79l
f enck on the farm of his fath er Jan' Sch enck (see infr
a). The se thre e ad1ommg
on, Corn elius Couwen-
hartns Were the hom es of thre e of the pion eers in this regi
ed the 500 acre tract
'W~e~, Garr et Sch enck and Jan Sch enck and toge ther form
purc hase d from Joh n Bo ~e. By 1873 Geo rge Sche nck own ed the
f~ had been
west farm . He
mar on both sides of the road alth oug h cont inui ng to resid e on the
rted Ellen or Elea nor Con o~er. 399
 HOUSES IN MONMOUTH COUNTY

Among their children was Mary Ella Schenck, b. Jan. J4, J864,* d. April
1931.* On Nov. 10, 1887* she married Hendrick (or Henry) P. Conover b Ju26'
29, l 864,* d. ~ept. l 8, l 93 J,* son of Peter H. Conover, a member of the Cov~nhove:~
Conover family who lived to the southwards, near Tennant, and a descendant of th
builder of this house. (This Peter H. Conover, b. Dec. 8, J827,* d. Sept. 22, l 900!
in Freehold, buried in the Old Tennant Cemetery, married Dec. J2, J855* Abbey E.
Cottrell, was the son of Hendrick P. Conover, b. Jan. J7, J800,* d. May 13, 1869,*
buried in the Baptist Cemetery, Holmdel, and his first wife Mary Holmes whom he
married Jan. 25, 1821.* He in turn was the son of Peter Covenhoven, b. April 18,
1778,* d. Aug. J4, J8J7,* and his first wife Mary Rue, b. Sept. 5, J779,* d. July
J l, l8J4,* whom he married Feb. J7, J799.*) Hendrick and Mary Ella (Schenck)
Conover acquired the Cornelius Couwenhoven farm from her father, and made it
their home. The year before they died, they sold it to the present owner, Henry But-
ler. However, their son Wilson N. Conover continues to reside here.
The house stands on the main Matawan-Holmdel highway, three and a half
miles south of Matawan, on the northeast corner of a crossroad at the center of
Pleasant Valley. The old road to Holmdel formerly made a jog here, which has
been eliminated in the construction of the new highway. Willow Brook runs nearby.
This section is locally known as Pleasant Valley.
Probably only the small wing of the house was built by Cornelius Couwenhoven
in J700 although the main section also belongs to an early period. It is a good
example, both inside and out, of the early Dutch house in Monmouth County. Early
panelling, over-mantel and cupboards are still to be seen in the main room. A Dutch
door was sold in l 927 for $ l ,200 to Robert Babcock of Long Island; it was painted
on the inside with an Amsterdam scene on the upper panel and spreading tulips on
the lower panel. When purchased a few years ago, the house was conservatively
remodelled and restored, and the shingles stained a variety of hues. The main change
is in the end of the wing. The old chimney at the gable end went up the interior of
the house. A new brick chimney was built outside the wall and windows were cut
on either side of it. The appearance of the house in J925 is shown in the vignette, in
which is emphasized the steep slant of the roofs of both units. In Beekman's Dutch
Settlers, p. 24, is a view of the house at the beginning of the century.

House of Jan Covenhoven

formerly north of Hillsdale, near Wickatunk.
PLATE 122

Jan Covenhoven followed his brother Cornelius Couwenhoven from Flatlands

to Monmouth County. He is said to have built this house as early as J703 but the
400

• Taken from family Bible.

 HOUSES IN MONMOUTH COUNTY

rrect date is probably about J706. He was termed a yeoman of Fl tl ds h

coct. 3 J705, he purchased from John Bowne of Middletown Twpa atw n wd. e_n,_on
O , , F h • o a Jouung
tracts of 94 an~ 2J5 acres m ree old (now Marlborough) Township. He built
and settled here m the next few years as he was termed a resident of Freehold Town-
ship on Oct. J5, 1709, when he enlarged the farm by buying 38½ adjoining acres
from Jacob Van Dom of Freehold Twp. Jan' Covenhoven, b. April 9, l68J in Flat-
lands, d. Dec. l 756, mar~ied Jacoba Van Derveer, and was survived by seven sons,
William, Garret, Cornelius, Peter, John, Jacob and Domenicus. All the sons, except
Garret, settled at Penns Neck.
Garret5 Covenhoven, born on the homestead April 27, J726, was the only son
to remain in Monmouth County. He resided on his father's farm until he died Nov.
J, J8J2 aged 86 years. He married first Neeltje, daughter of Benjamin Van Mater,
and secondly about 1770-75 Antje, daughter of Peter Janse Schenck; both wives
predeceased him, each having borne him five children. The homestead passed to the
youngest child, Peter G/ Conover, b. Jan. 2, J797, d. May 2J, J886, married Nov.
JO, J8J9 Charlotte, daughter of John Lyall. The eldest of their eleven children was
John Lyall7 Conover. He married Abbie M. Bishop and was still occupying the
homestead in J90l. In J925, when the photograph was taken, it was owned by his
granddaughter Mrs. Acker. The house burned down about J929, and its site is now
a part of the grounds of the State Insane Asylum.
The one and a half story wing was undoubtedly the original house, built about
J706. The steep pitch of the roof, small windows and low ceiling were characteristic
of the early period. The main house of two stories, with dentil cornice and large
windows, was probably built in the Revolutionary period, very likely by Garret
Covenhoven at the time of his second marriage. The house form~rly stood ~n ~e
this vi -
West side of the road running north from Hillsdale, less than one mile above
lage, and about one mile as the crow flies east of the village of Wickatunk.

Conover House
Pleasant Valley, Marlborough Township
PLATE 123
Th • It · early type and may
ha e early history of this house lies in obscurity. is~ h b 'nning of the
ei been built by one of the pioneers in this neighborhood t ;ibl:g~ the posses-
... g teenth century. Our only knowledge comes from the famihy B'b1,, were all bom
.,ion of the present owner who states that those men ionet' d in t e 1 ...
.1 his wife Eliza-
here but tha , W 1'11' Conover ana who marrled
beth h t the house was built long before. iam JSJ 7 *
13
at th a son Garret Conover, b. Nov. J3, J76J,* d. June 19 ' JSl4,* and had six
e Utch church June 26, J794 Nelly Hire, d. May ' ' 40:r

;-;--_
'aken f
rorn farnily Bible.
 HOUSES IN MONMOUTH COUNTY

children: John, Elizabeth, Ann, Margaret, William, and Allis. The daughter Ann
Conover, b. Sept. 2l, 1797,* d. Oct. 28, l85l,* married Jan. 3l, J828* Peter Johnson
West, d. July 5, 1867 aged 67 years, 2 mos., l7 days,* and had one son and two
daughters, Caroline and Alice. The son John Henry West, b. Dec. 20, 1837,* d.
Nov. l6, l9l5, married Elizabeth Bennett. Their daughter Elizabeth West married
Jacob E. Applegate, and is the present owner and occupant of the old home.
"Conover" is a form of the name Couwenhoven or Covenhoven adopted by many
branches of this numerous family about the end of the eighteenth century. The
known owners of this house (and possibly the builder) are undoubtedly related to
the Couwenhovens who settled to the southward in Pleasant Valley.
The house is built in two sections. The original unit is the east half shown in
the photograph; it is still covered with the original hand-hewn shingles. The house
stands near the brow of the hill about two miles south of Matawan, off the east side
of the main highway leading to Holmdel, in the northern part of the region locally
known as Pleasant Valley.

House of Daniel Hendrickson

Holland, Middletown

Daniel Hendrickson is supposed to have built this house between J700 d

l 720; an even earlier date is possible unless it supersedes a temporary struct:e.
On Sept. 23, 1693 he and another, both residents of Flatbush agr d t
, ak I
•installment payments to w·u· 1 iam Whitlock, on the l 04 acres 1
ee Om e annua
d f him th
previous September, until March, 1697 when said WhitI k easeld rom th e
lands upon completion of the payments. The deed f oc wou convey ~e
dated May 16, 1698 and was given by John Whitt° :nveyance of the property is
deceased, the deed stating that the land had been ob:m' pro~a?ly a son of William
the Proprietors on Jan. 20, 1676. ed originally by patent from
Daniel Hendrickson, son of Hendrick f
was the first permanent settler of this regio~ :~eh rom Flatbush about 1693, and
He probably chose this location due to a mill cIr came to be known as Holland.
Mahoras Brook. He became a large 1 d a eady erected on the adjoining
Middletown Township, its constable han 'fofwCaner and a very important citizen of
, s er1 , ptain f h ,
elder o f the Dutch Church. He married Ca har' o t e militia, organizer and
of New Utrecht, and died in January t ~e, daughter of Jan Janse y an Dyke
1728
Geesie wife of Roelof J anse Schenck T sun:ived by his wife and eleven children:
Jonathan Holmes, Hendrick John Ma, k eunt1e (bap. 1699 in Brookl ) 'f f
' , Y e who . d yn wi e o
402 marrie Gysbert Van Mater, Fran-
;-Taken from family Bible.
 TY
HO USE S IN MO NM OU TH CO UN

o ma rrie d T eun is Co rte lyo u, Wi llia m, An n wh o married William

t' wh
z; ;,n hov en, Ca tha rin e wh o ma rrie d He nry
R; lof Couwenhoven, and Da nie l.
Du sen ber ry, Jan net je who married

to the present owner. It was inherited

The house has passed in direct succession
r's you nge st son , Da nie l He ndr ick son , b. Jan . 5, l 723 on the homestead,
by the builde
estate, ma rrie d Dec. 22, 1743 Catharine
bap. May 5, 1723, d. Jun e 24, l78 8 int
hov en, b. Jun e 2, 172 0, d. Ma y 5, l8l 0, dau ght er of Cornelius Couwenhoven,
Couwen
(pl ate l2l ). He was so active in church
builder of the house in Ple asa nt Va lle y
t he wa s cal led Do mi nie Da nie l; his descendants state tha t he was also
affairs tha
a mu sic ian . He bui lt a gri st mil l on his pro per ty. Af ter Daniel's death,
an artist and
Cornelius, Ca tha rin e and He nd ric k-
his four surviving chi ldr en- Co l. Da nie l D.,
his var iou s lan ds to eac h oth er on Au g. 6 and 26, 1789. To Catharine (b.
released
arr ied on the hom est ead aft er l 835 ) wa s allotted the western par t of
l 753, d. unm
lived, 122 acres bounded on the south
the home tract whereon Da nie l He ndr ick son
ster ( the line agr eed on bet we en Joh ann es Lu yst er, ow ner of the house in
by Luy
Da nie l He ndr ick son on Ap ril l l, 1745) and the Ma hor as Brook,
plate 125, and
son the elder from Joh n Wh itlo ck on
being lands purchased by Da nie l He ndr ick
8 and fro m Ga rre t Wa ll on De c. 29, 1709. Ca tha rin e Hendrickson
May 16, 169
Ap ril l, 1800 for $2,000. To
per ty to her bro the r He ndr ick on
conveyed this pro
tted the eastern par t of the home tract,
this Hendrick He ndr ick son had been allo
of 154 acr es bou nde d sou th and eas t by Lu yst er and the Mahoras Brook.
consisting l, 1840, alw ays lived on the
ick son , b. Ma y 2, 175 8, d. De c.
Hendrick Hendr
ad. He ser ved in the Re vol uti on. On Ma y 13, l 781 he ma rrie d Fra nci nke
hom este
b. No v. 18, 176 3, d. Ma rch 26, 184 5, dau ght er of Cornelius R. and
C.Ovenhoven,
tgr and dau ght er of Co rne liu s Co uw enh ove n of Ple asa nt Va lle y (plate l2l ).
~ea
two dau ght ers and one son Wi llia m (l7 87 -l8 3l) wh o predeceased
W:drick. had
'lea vin g a son Wi llia m He nry He ndr ick son , b. Jun e 3, l8l 3, d. 1899. Th e
Ia
mb er of the Ne w Jer sey Sen ate for ma ny yea rs and president of the
Ftter wa,s a me
hers and Me rch ant s' Ba nk of Ma taw c1t1 unt il his death. He inherited the 276
arm
aere orn t d He ndr ick , and it is now owned by the
Senat , es ea tract fro m his gra ndf ath er
ors son J p
. . ' ames atte rso n He ndr ick son .
0
ly a fine exa mp le of Du tch arc hit ect ure of the period, its lines are
now h1~~~inal
d cornice add ed by the Sen ato r in the
ninet J;n under porches and a crenellate
tur y. A pho tog rap h of it is rep rod uce d in Be ekm an' s Du tch Set tle rs,
p. l2; ~h e~n nd, now the southwest par t
of lVIidcU ouse sta nds in the former vil lag e of Ho lla
pr etown , on the nor th sid e of Ho lla nd Ro ad wh ich run s we stw ard to Hominy.
The
s upo n Mi ddl eto wn To wn shi p bu t act ual ly is wit hin the present
lio irn ;j; ty bor~er
0 wnship.
403
 HOUS ES IN MONM OUTH COUN TY

Hous e of Hend rick Hend ricks on

Pleasa nt Valley , Holmd el Towns hip
PLAT E 124

It is believed that this house was erected by Hend rick Hendr ickson , son of the
above Danie l Hendr ickson , between J730 and J750, but may have been built a few
years earlie r when Hend rick first settled on the prope rty. In J727 Danie l Hendrick-
son willed to his son Hend rick the planta tion on which Hend rick then dwelt,
forme rly Benja min Stout 's, and one half of his lots of meado w at Conescunk.
Hend rick Hend rickso n is believed to have been born in J 700 althou gh he died at
the age of 50 years on Feb. 2J, J753 according to his tombstone (he gave his bond
as the eldest broth er of John Hendrickson, born about J 702, d. J 790). Abou t J 725 he
marri ed Neelt je, daugh ter of Garre t Schenck, pioneer and owne r of the house in
Pleas ant Valle y (see infra) . After her husba nd's death, she marri ed secondly in
J 76 J Elias Golde n. Hendr ick had ten children: T ryntje hap. J 726, Danie l, Neeltje,
Garre t, Hend rick, Mary wife of Cornelius W. Couwenhoven, Trynt je, Neeltj e wife
of Jacob Van Meter , Antje wife of David Van Nostr andt, and Willi am hap. l 748.
Only one child carried on the name: Garre t Hendr ickson , b. Jan. 22, J734, d.
Dec. 2, J80J, lies buried in the family grave yard at HoIIa nd with his father and
his first two wives. Garre t lived and died in his father's house in Pleas ant Valley
and ran a well-stocked farm. He was a lieutenant in the militi a in the Revolution,
was woun ded in J 780, and taken prisoner in the raid of J 782. He marri ed first by
license of Dec. 8, J755 Catharine, daugh ter of Tunis Denise, b. May 8, J 732, d.
Sept. 8, J77J, and had three sons and three daugh ters; he marri ed secon dly Helena
or Lena, daugh ter of Denise Van Lieu, b. Sept. 26, J753, d. Jan. J, J785, and had
one son and four daugh ters; he married thirdl y Nelly , daugh ter of Arie Van Doorn
and widow of Hendr ick Smock, d. Feb. J J, J834 aged 9 J years. A son by the first
wife, Hend rick Hendrickson, b. July l9, J764, d. June 6, J837, marri ed Jan. 20,
J79J Phebe , daugh ter of Cyrenius Van Mater , b. Dec. 2J, J773 d. Marc h J2 J836.
Their son Cyrenius Hendrickson, b. March 30, J802, d. May i1, J870, li~s buried
in the family cemetery at Holla nd with his paren ts and forebears. He marri ed Sept.
J8, J823 I~ Van M~ter, and lived and died on the family farm. Their only son
Henry Denise Hendrickson had a son Cyrenius Hendr ickson , who is believed to
have lost the farm about l873 due to his father's extrav ag
It was sold by sheriff 's sale about J873 to J ohn Hance.b d .$

H b , er ert an was owneo

the er ert estate until about l 930, when it was sold to the BeII Laboratories,
by •
the present owner. An experimental station for trans-oceanic • 1 h •
te ep onmg is now
404
 HO USE S IN MO NM OU TH COUNTY

is kno wn locally as the Charli

conducted on thi s and adj oin ing farms. It b e P. C.Onover
farm; he wa s a ten ant for ma ny years, ren tin g from the H er ert estate.
. .
h at present unused. It resembles the
Th e house ism goo d condition, alth oug m· th t ,
It stan-L
houses of Kin gs Count y and B erg. en Co unt y in style• ws e eas ern section
f Pl ant Va ll ey, bo
a. ut two mil es nor th of Holmdel. To reach it from the main
o eas
lmd el hig hw ay, tur n eas t on the cro ssroad in front of the C.Ornelius
Matawan-Ho
wen hov en ?ou se (pl ate J2l ), tak ~ nex t tur n rig ht, then left, then right to the
Cou
Lab ora tori es. Th e hou se sta nds m a grove in the middle of the property d
BeU ' an
is not visible fro m the roa d.

Ho us e of Joh an ne s Lu ys ter
Hol lan d, Mid dle tow n
PL AT E 125
en l727 and 1730. It has been in the
Johannes Lu yst er bui lt this house betwe
since and is now owned and lived in by
continuous occupancy of the family ever
des cen dan t Joh n P. Lu yst er. An old deed han gin g framed on the· wall of the
his
record s the gra nti ng of 104 acr es her e to Pet er Wyckoff on Jan . l, l7t 6/ l7.
house
n Brower, brothers-in-law, bought this
Early in l7l 7 Joh ann es Lu yst er and Joh
his interest to Luyster, who settled here
and other lands. Th e latt er transferred
Oct. 18, l727.
shortly after the pro per ty wa s surveyed ter C.O mel isz
1
Luyster
s a gra nds on of Pie
Johannes Lu yst er, the builder, wa
settled at Bouwery Ba y on Long Island;
who emigrated to this cou ntr y in l 656 and g
pro bab ly Joh ann es' bro the r Pet er" Luyster who built the house standin 29
it was
rec ent ly (pl ate 25) . Joh ann es" Luy ste r, b. March 22, 1691,* d. Jan. 12,
there until
Brower, b. Au g. l2, l688,* d. April ,
l756,* married Ap ril 16 l7J 6* Lu cre tia es, Anna, and Lucretia.
1771,* and had six chi ldr ;n: Sar ah, Pet er, Cornelius, Johann
b. Ma y 5, l7l 9,* d. Feb . l2, l8l 0 age d 91 yearS,
The eldest son Pet er' Lu yst er, Nov. 23, 1799, daughter
6 An na 4 Lu yst er, b. Jan . 9, 1726,* d.
tnarried Ma y 25 175
Bouwery Ba y (plate 25). The y had
of his uncle Pet ;r" Lu yst er wh o lived at
son and two dau ght ers . Th e son Joh n P.6 Luy ste
763
r, b. Nov. 29, l ,*1 t f;:1•. ,i
d ' in' the.
1848* in his 85t h yea r, ma rrie d Jun e 3, l 790* An ne Conover' b. Sept.
Joh n served on shor~ L~yster, b.'
Dec. 6, 1852* age d 88 years. At the age of 19 ;et~ Su ydam, b.
. He had five dau ght ers and one son. Th e !on
!~volu tion Y Thb: ..
d Dec. 20, hJ, 829 Midran
,L•.a.arch 30, l 806' * d. De c• f,, ' l 875' * marrie an
three sonws.
ah B
s. ..,.u
The y
A 'l d. Oc t 24 l 855 * and had thre e dau g ters
pr1 3, l 808 ,* 1843 * married Sar r urro
• Lu ' ' of the family
Youngest ch'dd Ga rre t S." yst er, b. Sept. 20, ,, '
est son and present owne
rer e the parents of Joh n P.' Lu yst er, the eld
oniestead.

;-;; ;--
nf
,Lake
rorn farnily Bibl e.
 HOUSES IN MONMOUTH COUNTY

Mr. Luyster is very interested in his family ho~e, and keeps it intact and
unchanged as a beautiful example of early Dutch architecture, and as a museum for
the family heirlooms. He lives in the modem wing, not seen in the photograph. The
house stands in the former village of Holland, on Holland Road in the southwest
part of Middletown. It is on the north side of this road (which goes toward
Hominy) and adjoins the Daniel Hendrickson house (see supra) on the east.

The Schenck Houses

Pleasant Valley, Holmdel and Marlborough Townships

The Schencks were among the original settlers and are among the present
inhabitants of Pleasant Valley, several of their old homes yet remaining, although
none in their pristine condition. Pleasant Valley is the local name for the country
between Matawan and Holmdel villages.

House of Garret Schenck

Garret Roelofse Schenck, Stephen Court Van Voorhees, Cornelius Couwen-
hoven and Peter Wyckoff jointly purchased a 500 acre tract here, in what was then
Middletown Township, from John Bowne, merchant of Middletown. Van Voorhees
and Wyckoff sold their rights to the Schenck brothers, Garret and Jan, and they
released J25 acres of it to Cornelius Couwenhoven Dec. 24, 1700 (plate J2J), and
divided the balance between themselves, Garret keeping about 200 acres. Garret
Roelofse' Schenck, b. Oct. 27, J67J, d. Sept. 5, J745 aged 73 years, was a son of
1
Roelof Martense Schenck of Flatlands and his first wife Neeltje Gerretse van
Couwenhoven, and a nephew of Jan Martense' Schenck who built the house on
Mill Island in Flatlands (plate 13). About J693 Garret married Neeltje Koerten
Van V oorheese, b. Oct. l, 1675, bap. Dec. 5, J680 at Flatlands, d. Aug. 4, J750. He
settled on his Pleasant Valley purchase in the spring of 1696; his ear mark (cattle
brand) was recorded here in June 1696.
The original unit of the present house (the stone portion) may have been
erected by Schenck at this time (1696), but tradition states that it was built in J692
by a Van Voorhees. Garret's father-in-law, Coert Stevense Van Voorhees lived at
Flatlands and is mentioned there in 1689 and 1699; it is probable that he never came
to Monmo~t? C:Ounty. Garret's brother-in-law Stephen Coert Van Voorhees was
one of the ,1o~t purchasers of the tract on which the house stands, and it is possible
that he budt it, although his eldest child was bapti"ed ~... B kl , 1694 d he
d f' 't 1 l' , , F l.t au roo yn in > an
wahs ekini ehy ivmg in latlands in 1698. He sold his share of the tract to Garret
Sc enc , w ose descendants still occupy it.
406
 HOUSES IN MONMO UTH COUNTY

Garret Schenck was an original member and an elder of the Church of F reehold
organized in J 709, and a member of the Provinc ial Assembly of New Jersey. He w~
a prosperous farmer and owned many large tracts of land, including property and
a wharf at the present Keypor t, which he gave and willed to his children. In his
will of J 739 he called himself a gentlem an of Middletown, mentioned his wife
Neeltje, his five sons, Roelof (of Marlbor ough Twp.), Garret (of Holmdel Twp.),
Koert (of Marlborough Twp.), John (of Penns Neck) and Albert (of Penns Neck),
his five daughters, Mary, Altie, Neeltie, Rachel, and Margare t, and his deceased
daughter Anne. Among other property , he left to his son Garret his home plantation
"on condition that he allows his Mother the use of the two westernmost rooms of the
Dwelling house below, with convenient furnitur e to furnish the same as his Mother
shall think fit." This son Garret G/ Schenck, b. Nov. 2, J 712, d. intestate Aug. 20,
1757 aged 44 years, married about J737 Jannetje , daughte r of William Van
Couwenhoven of Flatland s, b. Oct. 6, J7l4, d. on the homestead farm Feb. J4, 1792.
They are said to have had four sons and six daughters. One of these was Garret G.4
Schenck II, b. l 743, d. Sept. 29, l 797 aged 53 years, l l mos., and 5 days, married
Sarah Covenhoven, b. July 23, 1744, d. Nov. l6, 1805, daughte r of Rulif C.S
Covenhoven, who had inherited his father Cornelius' farm nearby (plate l2l).
Garret G. Schenck II may have come into possession of the homestead after the
death of his mother in l 792.
The house passed by inheritance into the Rappleye family through Jane
Schenck, b. March 24, 1767, d. March 23, 1850 aged 82 yrs., l l mos., and 30 days.
She was a granddaughter of Garret G/ Schenck and probably a daughter of Garret
G. Schenck II. Jane married Garret Smock, b. Aug. 4, 1765 on the Smock home-
5

stead farm southeast of Holmde l village, d. March 30, l 856 aged 90 yrs., 7 mos.,
:d 26 days, whose greatgra ndfather Johanne s Hendrickse' Smock settled in
V 0; mouth County in J 712. Garret and Jane (Schenc k) Smock lived at Pleasant
tha fey,.probably in her family homestead; they were buried with her ancestors in
f e amtly cemetery at Pleasan t Valley, rather than with his ancestors on his paternal
;rm. kGarret and Jane had two daughte rs, Sarah" Smock who married George
1:;c 'and Eliiabeth" Smock who married George Rappleye, b. 1794, d. April 25,
in 18;~e~ 75 Years, 3 mos., 18 days. Theodo re Rappley e was the owner of the farm
OWn .' homas Thorne in l 889, Theodo re R. Thome in J90 l, and the present
er 13 J• M. Thorne.
house tOdaY is ,
• t h e result of several successive builders · · 1unit
. The or1gina
1.s theThe
sinau
in 1696 b ,~row, stone portion, built in 1692 by Stephen Court Van Voorhees or
st
most r ~ arret R. Schenck. As Garret Schenck left the use of the two we em-
th
s to his wife in his will of 1739, it was undoubtedly he who deepened e
407
 HOUSE S IN MONM OUTH COUN TY

house with a shing led unit so that it became two full rooms in depth. A shingled
wing was also added at some period, flush with the stone front wall but not so deep
as the main house. Both sections are covered by a gable roof, extend ing over front
and rear in straig ht slopes, thus greatl y resembling the houses in Kings C.Ounty,
the early home of the builders. Views of the house, taken in J900, can be seen in
Beekm an's Dutch Settle rs, p. J2. Since this time, the stone wall has been covered
with shing les to make the house uniform in appearance, dormers have been added
and other chang es made. The house stands on the west side of the Matawan-Holmdel
highw ay, over three miles south of Matawan and a short distance north of the
cross-roads in Pleasa nt Valley. It is in Holmdel Town ship.

Hous e of Capt . John Sche nck

This house stands on the hill west of the Garret Schen ck house and overlooks
the valley. It was built in 1767 by Augu stus Reed and sold by him shortl y afterward
to Capt. John Schenck, whose descendants sti11 live in it. Capt. J ohn Schenck, b.
4

1745, cl. Aug. 28, J834 aged 89 years, was a son of Garre t G;' Schen ck and a
grand son of Garre t Schenck, owners of the house in the valley (see supra ). On
July 31, 1767 he married Mary Denise, b. July 9, 1750, d. July J5, 1829, daughter
of T eunis Denise and granddaughter of Daniel Hendrickson, builde r of the house
at Holla nd (see supra ). They had at least four sons: Willia m (J772 -J844 ), Col.
John (1774-1864) married Micha Van Nuyse, Daniel I. (J778 -J858 ) married
Ellean or Schenck, and David (1783-1872) married Sarah Smoc k (J799 -J832 ). The
house was inherited by Capt. John's son David and then by his son David , Jr. The
latter' s son Luthe r Schenck sold it a few years ago to a Mr. Johns on, but he still
1

makes his home here.

Capt. John Schenck was one of the most active and daring of the officers of
the county militia in the Revolution. So troublesome was he that the Britis h offered
a rewar d of 50 guineas for his capture or death. He and Willia m Marri ner led a
midni ght rai~ against Flatbush on June J3, 1778 to capture the Tory mayo r of
New York1City and others, travell , th
ing 50 miles between six 0 , clock m ning
, , k th t , e eve
and six, o, choc e nex ,mornmg. Several midnight r a1'ds were made b y t h e ..,.., ·
i ories
· the woods for safety or, 1•f h e
generally slept out m
, h' hto captur
and Brit1s h e him. He
was m is ouse, e had scouts posted , about the countrY• Mr• L uth er S ch enck
owns a beautifu11Y engraved set of pistols used b c t s h k , ,
ution.
The house is a small t b Id Y ap • c enc m the Revol
ones ory ui ing Th 1 0 Id h'
out and have been replaced by clapbo ard' • The hong, s mgles recently wore
ing. e ouse stands on a hill in Mar1-
4os
 HOUSES IN MONMOUTH COUNTY

borough ownship, on the east ~ide of a cou~try road paralleling the Matawan-
Holmdel highway on the west. It is reproduced in the Historical and Biographical
Atlas of the New Jersey Coast, pub. 1878.

Farm of Jan Schenck-House of John Schenck

This farm is a part of the 500 acre tract jointly purchased from John Bowne
of Middletown and divided between Cornelius Couwenhoven and his brothers-
in-law Garret Schenck and Jan Schenck (see supra). The latter had bought out
the rights of one of the original purchasers. Jan' Schenck, b. Feb. 10, 1670 at
Flatlands, d. Jan. 30, 1753, came to Monmouth County in 1697-98; his ear mark
(cattle brand) was recorded here in April 1698. About J69l he married Sarah
Couwenhoven, b. Jan. 6, 1675, d. Jan. 31, J76l, daughter of William Garretse
Couwenhoven. In his will of J746 he left all his property to his wife Sarah for her
maintenance and that of their son John, who was to inherit it after her decease,
and he ordered his son John to give legacies of £450 each to his other children :
Roelof the eldest, Peter, Sarah (who married Johannes and Henry Voorhees),
Altye (wife of Christian Van Dooren), Rachel, Maria (wife of Jacob Van Dooren),
Leah (wife of Peter Couwenhoven), Jannetje (wife of_Bemardus Verbryke), and
Antje (wife of Arie Van Dooren).
The son John" Schenck, b. June 27, J722, d. Dec. 24, 1808, married about 1751
Nellie Bennett, b. Nov. 29, 1728, d. June l, J8l0, daughter of Jan Bennett. They
lived and died on his father's homestead farm and were buried with his parents and
other relatives in the Schenck-Couwenhoven family cemetery nearby. The present
house on the farm is a two story frame structure of a post-revolutionary type. The
? 00
rknocker ( taken by the family when the house was sold) is marked "J• S. J79 l /'
tn~icating that the house was probably built in J79l by John Schenck. He had ten
children: John and William who went to Ohio Ida Sarah, Chrineyonce, Peter,
Nellie, A nne, Capt. Daniel, and Mary. Some of these
' , ·
resided on the f arm.
:he house was remodelled about l 850 by George Schenck ( l 822- 1892)' a
~oustn' who made his residence here. He also purchased the Cornelius Couwenhoven
s
hou e across the road (plate l2J) and a fuller account of him is given u nder th at
it~se. The John Schenck house was inherited by George's son Edgar, who owned
1901
pr;n • Edgar married Lydia Craig and their son George Schenck sold the
cornPerty in 1932 to the present owner Morton Allen. The h ouse is· on the southwest
,
0 th 10
liol~rd f e Matawan-Holmdel highway and the cross-road at Pleasant Valley
e1 Townsh'lp.
4og
 HOUSES IN MONMOUTH COUNTY

Stout (?)-Hendrickson House

Pleasant Valley, Holmdel Township
PLATE 126

The old wing of this house may have been built by David Stout in the first
quarter of the eighteenth century. His mother is well-known in early Colonial
annals.. Penelope, said to be a Dutch girl nee Van Princes, sailed for New Amster-
dam with her first husband about 1620; the ship was wrecked off Sandy Hook and
the party attacked and killed by the Indians. She was saved by one of the Indians
who brought her to New Amsterdam, where she met and married Richard Stout.
He was an Englishman, who joined Lady Moody's colony in Gravesend, where
he was a patentee in 1645. He was a patentee of Monmouth County in 1665, receiving
480 acres each for himself, wife and two sons, and 300 acres for his younger children;
he made many large purchases of land later. He settled in Middletown village about
l 664 and he died there in l 705, survived by ten children and his wife.
In l 690 Richard Stout conveyed lands on the Hopp River to his youngest
son David, and it is on this or adjoining property that David built and lived until
he removed to Amwell about l 725. His home was on the later Denise Hendrickson
farm near Hop Brook, so it is possible that it was David Stout who built the old
wing of the present house. David Stout, b. about 1668, married about 1688 Rebecca
1

(Ashton?), and had eight children, all of whom removed to other parts of New
Jersey. Penelope, his mother, probably lived with him here on Hop Brook (or with
one of her other sons, as all the territory in the vicinity was owned by her husband).
She died in 1732-33 and is buried somewhere on this farm within sight of the
Hendrick Hendrickson house (plate 124).
In l 823 the property was owned by Denise Hendrickson, b. Nov. J2, J76 J,
d. March 7, 1839, a son of Garret and Catharine (Denise) Hendrickson who lived
in the Hendrickson house on the adjoining farm (plate 124). He marri~d Dec. 28,
17~6 Anne Schenck, b. Nov. 15, 1766, d. Aug. 6, 1858, daughter of John Schenck,
builder of the 1790 house in Pleasant Valley (see supra). It is probable that Denise
bo?ght th~ place shortly after his marriage, as the main part of the house, probably
built by him, belo?gs to the l 790 period. His son John Schenck Hendrickson, b.
May ,
9 1807, married Ellen Hyres, and was the father of Mrs. Robert Carson She
soldd !h,e property at the end of the nineteenth century to Patrick Kelly, whose ~tate
sol it m 1932 to John Clausen, the present owner.
The house stands in the east end of Pleasant Vall h ,
road from Everett t H , h ey on t e northeast side of the
mental Station. o ommy, across t e road from the Bell Laboratories Experi-
410
 HOUSES IN MONMOUTH COUNTY

House of Squire John Taylor

Middletown
PLATE 127

This house is supposed to have been built by Squire John Taylor (l7l6-l79B)
and if so could not have been built much before l 735, when he was J9 years of a
The opinion is generally held that the ho~se is much older, dating from the v:ry
beginning of the century. The Story of Middletown contains the statement that it
was built in J684 but the builder is not named. Its very early and typically Dutch
architecture suggests some other builder than Taylor, probably a Dutchman, since
Middletown was an English settlement, and there would be no reason for an
Englishman among the English to build in the style of the Dutch.
The first known owner is Squire John" Taylor, son of George the merchant,
and grandson of Edward1 Taylor who emigrated from England and settled at
Garret's Hill near Sandy Hook in Monmouth County by J684. Squire John, b.
l7l5-l6, d. Nov. 23, 1798, married about 1743 Phebe, sister of General Nathaniel
Hurd, b. about 1708, d. July JO, 1791, and had four sons and two daughters. He
was a sheriff of Monmouth County and Judge of Common Pleas. He was a Loyalist
and was appointed by Admiral Howe, Peace Commissioner for the British govern-
ment. About the middle of the eighteenth century he sold his house and tract in
Middletown to Bernardus Rider of Long Island, reserving therefrom a building
site of l4 acres. Here he built a handsome house in 1752 at the head of Main Street,
known as Taylor's Folly, which he sold in 1792 to George Crawford (it was burned
in l89J). A few years later he removed to Perth Amboy where he died. .
In l77l Edward Taylor (a brother of Squire John) bought the house m
question and 210 acres from Bernardus Rider, and the property has been owned ever
since by Edward's descendants. This Edward" Taylor, b. Aug. 20, l7J 2, d. Jan.
JS, l 783, was a member of the Assembly and an active patriot. He lived in a house
? e south side of the King's Highway and east of the church in Middl~town
0 th

Village (still standing and known as the Dr. Taylor house), which has bee~ varmu.sly
~tated to have been built by his father in 1719 and 1729 and by himself m i,7
3
~i~t
isf on property bought Jan JO 1716 by his father George, then of GarreEtsd d,
rom Will·1 • , d Ma J 1739. war
"'--- am Wilkins and conveyed to his son Edwar Y ' h In 1773
·•&Q.l'ried Mar O ' G J 0 hn and Josep • 1
th Y gbourn and had three sons, Col. eorge, Rider but
du::n Col. George ( l 733-1799) was living on his father's purci;:se tro:h whi~h is
still 0g the revolution he removed to the Taylor house near 1t0 )el~ ud in, early life
.
tn a ho
ccupied b h' .
Y ts descendants. His brother O
J hn (l740-l817
b
ive
ft r the Revolution
use on the north side of the street, burned in J84S, ut a e n
4
 HOUSES IN MONMOUTH COUNTY

he removed to the house just vacated by his brother George (Squire John's house,
known as the "grandfather homestead").
This John' Taylor served in the Revolution in the patriot army. He married
about 1770 Mary, daughter of Samuel Holmes, and had three sons, Joseph who
built nearby, Samuel who died in 1843 unmarried, and Edward. Edwards Taylor
(1779-1845) was a merchant of New York City. On the death of his brother Samuel
he succeeded to the homestead farm, but soon died, leaving an only child, Mary
Holmes Taylor, b. 1814. She married her cousin Joseph Dorset Taylor, and built
6

and resided in the Victorian mansion nearby on the property, using the old home-
stead as her farmer's house. The house and property are now owned by the estate
of Miss Mary Holmes Taylor, her daughter.
The house contains unusually beautiful panelling, overmantels, and cupboards
in all its rooms. Although the exterior has been repainted since the photograph was
taken in 1925, it is rapidly falling into sad neglect and decay. It is occupied by
negro tenants. The house stands on the east side of the main street of Middletown
(the old King's Highway), near the railroad bridge, after the road has left the
village proper and turned northwards toward Keyport.

412
 PLATE 116
House of Cornelius Low
River Road, Raritan Landing, Piscataway Township

:::ornelius Low in 1741 built his new house on the bluff overlooking the Raritan River. It is a Georgian
::::..ansion very unlike the average Dutch farmhouse. Its dimensions are almost square and it is two
1tories in height. The irregular sandstone walls are surmounted by a dentil wood cornice and a hipped
•oof sloping down to the four sides. The front facade is balanced, the central doorway flanked on either
de by two windows. The photograph reproduces the rear view, the central window and door out of
...:ignment due to the stairway. The shallow arches over the doors and windows are a variation of those
.J: Hunterdon County. A few of the old sashes are still in use in the second story rear. The characteristic
;,anelled treatment of the fireplace walls in the rooms results in the absence of windows on the end walls.
:-he wainscoting, panelling and carving of the interior are more Georgian than Dutch. A low, two-story
r.ng formerly stood on the west end.
413
 PLATE 117
House of Matthias Smock
River Road, Piscataway Township

A part of this house was built by Matthias Smock when he settled in this region about 1718-21. It
passed by marriage into the Nevius family, who owned it until about 1910. This house is built in two
units, the east (right) section is the earlier and was Matthias Smock's home, and the west (left) section
was probably added by his son John. The clapboarding at the rear shows their division; the west unit
has lie-on-your-stomach windows under the roof. The low ceilings and small windows are characteristic
of the early period. Various alterations and judicious planting have transformed the old farmhouse
into a modern residence. The large elm tree in front emphasizes the modest dimensions of the house.
 PLATE 118
Soulard (? }-Suydam House
Countyline Road, Franklin Park

This house was in existence by 1766 when it was owned by John Suydam and is probably the house
owned by Peter Soulard in 1745. It remained in the Suydam family until after 1838 and was owned by
the Garretson family from 1859 until 1925. It is a small, deep house covered with long shingles; the
window openings are characteristically small and few in number. There was formerly a large addition
at the south end.
 PLATE 119
House of Jacob Van Deventer
River Road, near Bound Brook, Piscataway Township

This house was built 1738-40 by Jacob Van Deventer on his father-in-law Field's large tract. It is a
typical Dutch farmhouse, with a steep gable roof and no overhanging eaves. The window openings are
small. The large fireplaces in the main rooms are not centered but placed across the corners. The
roofline has not been changed; it still ends flush with the gable wall. c!
cl:
416
 PLATE 120
House of Matthias Van Dyke
Lake Road, Mapleton, near Kingston

e was erected in 1756 by Matthias Van Dyke on land later inherited from his father, and
u, tbe family until the last quarter of the nineteenth century. It has none of the characteristics
house. Erected on the southern end of the territory inhabited by the Dutch, the builder fell
<e,e .nfluence of the English styles prevalent in Princeton nearby. It is a two story house built
=ly cut fieldstone, with a dentil cornice and a low gable roof. The eighteenth century
-.-.~- ..s predominant in the lines of the gable end.
 PLATE 121
House of Cornelius Couwenhoven
Pleasant Valley, Holmdel Township

The wing at the east (right) end of the house was the home which Cornelius Couwenhoven built in
1700. The main house was added at an early date. Recent restoration has not materially altered the lines.
The main house was built flush with the south front of the original unit but has a greater depth. Both
sections have a steep gable roof characteristic of the early period, and also a very slight overhang. The
window openings in the main house are considerably larger and the old window sashes here are still
in use. The end wall of the wing was recently remodelled with the addition of four windows and an
outside chimney; formerly there was one very small attic window and the chimney was on the inside
of the wall as in all Dutch houses. The multi-colored staining of the shingles has an unfortunate effect.
418
 PLATE 122
House of Jan Covenhoven
formerly north of Hillside, near Wickatunk

original unit of this house is the wing. It was erected about 1706 by Jan Covenhoven, brother of
----.Jus, the builder of the house in Pleasant Valley (plate 121). The steep pitch of the roof line can
LJ.cerned in spite of the later extension of the roof to form a large outside summer kitchen. The
:E::z:::sions of the old window are unusual; in general when both sashes were two panes in height they
:!::ree panes in width, and when the width of four panes was desired the upper sash was larger than
-.er and three panes in height, as are the second story windows of the main house. This two story
-==.o.:i was not made until about the time of the Revolution by Jan's son Garret. The dentil cornice is
of this period. The house was inhabited by descendants of the builder until it burned a few
qo.
 PLATE 123
Conover House
Pleasant Valley, Marlborough Township

It is probable that this house was built early in the eighteenth century by one of the pioneer settlers,
but the first known owner was Garret Conover who was born in 1761 in this house. The long shingles
still remain. The roof has a more moderate slope than those on the two houses of the family further
south (plates 121 and 122). The frame addition on the west end belongs to a later period but has been
built to conform with the original unit. The house has passed by marriage through several families and
is still the home of descendants of Garret Conover.
420
 PLATE 124
House of Hendrick Hendrickson
Pleasant Valley, Holmdel Township

Hendrick Hendrickson was living on this property in 1727 when his father bequeathed it to him. As
i:ze house is believed to have been built by him between 1730 and 1750, it may supersede a more
te:nporary home. It was owned by his descendants until about 1873. The house is similar in style to the
:>utch houses on Long Island. The roof of the wing extends in a straight slope to form an overhang,
,..:tl.Je the roof of the main section has a slight curve which lightens the lines of the building. The narrow
clapboarding on the side of the main unit is modern.
421
 PLATE 125
House of Johannes Luyster
Holland Road, Middletown

This house was built between 1727 and 1730 by Johannes Luyster and is still owned by his descendant,.
It has a very steep and high gable roof which extends to form an overhang both front and rear. The
ridgepole is not in the center of the house so that the roof line in the rear has a longer slope and the
overhang is lower and nearer the ground. The roof makes a slight curve above the front overhang. It
will be noticed that the windows on the south front are not all the same size.
 PLATE 126
Stout (? )-Hendrickson House
Pleasant Valley, Holmdel Township

The present wing of the house may have been the home of David Stout who lived on this farm from
about 1690 to about 1725. His mother, Penelope Stout, was buried on the farm in 1732-33. The steep
roofline is characteristic of the early houses. The narrow clapboarding in front is modern and
cndoubtedly supersedes a covering of long shingles such as are still on the gable end. The lean-to was
probably added at an early date. The main house was built in the post-revolutionary period probably
!:>yDenise Hendrickson.
 PLATE 127
House of Squire John Taylor
Middletown

The first known owner of this house was Squire John Taylor, born 1716. He sold it and it was later
purchased in 1771 by his brother Edward Taylor, whose descendants have owned it ever since. It has
been stated that the house was erected in 1684 (presumably by John Taylor, which is impossible); it is
more probable that the house was built about 1710 by an unknown Dutchman who had settled in the
English village of Middletown. The house is typically Dutch. Like the home of Johannes Luyster
nearby (plate 125), built 1727-30, the ridgepole is not centralized so that the roof line in the rear is
longer than in front, but unlike this other house it extends no nearer the ground so the slope is not so
steep. There is a slight curve in the front roofline and the suggestion of an overhang. Notice the
unusual panelling of the double door and the cornice over the doorway. In the interior are beautiful
examples of early panelling, overmantels, and cupboards.
SOMERSET COUNTY

HOUSE OF
HENDRICK AND ABRAHAM STAATS
 SO M ER SE T CO UN TY
SE T CO UN TY em bra ces mo st of the Dutch populat'ion of central

S
oM ER II'
· · I tered by the Ra ritan and Mill-
New J e:sey. I tis ma in y ro. mg country, wa
stone Rivers. Ne ar Som erv ille the first settlers found broad alluVt·at Iands
,
with out tree s, rea d y f or cu 1tiva tion.
ng the Ra ritan on various Indian
Th e first settlements were made in l 68 l alo
th side of the river, later Bridgewater
purchases of tha t yea r. Th e lan d on the nor
Indians in four immense tracts. Title
Township, was pur cha sed in l68 l from the
ves ted in the Tw elv e Pro pri eto rs wh en they acquired the Province of East
became
deed covered the site of Bound Brook;
Jersey in Feb rua ry l68 l/ 2. Th e first Ind ian
mas Co dri ngt on and Joh n Ro yce we re two of the first settlers here. Th e second
Tho
d ext end ed fro m Mi ddl ebr ook to the brid ge at Rar itan village. This land
Indian dee
lots of 877 acres each were surveyed
was divided and sold in ma ny tracts. Tw o
25, l68 3 for Joh n Pal me r and ass oci ates , one of whom was Michael Van
Sept.
bom in l 699. Va n Vechten gave the
Vechten who settled her e before his son was
for the firs t Ch urc h of Ra rita n ( org . l 699 ) which was built in l 72l . Somerville
land
stands on a tract of l90 4 acres pat ent ed Feb
. 3, l68 3 to James Graham and associates.
om who had settled here about J680.
Part of it was sold to He ndr ick Corsen Vro
st pur cha sed por tion s in l68 7, l69 3 and l70 9 and settled here; Peter's
Peter Va n Ne
of his purchases on Ma y l, J709 to
Brook is named afte r him . Va n Ne st sold one
-in- law De rric k Mi dda gh, wh o had loc ate d in the Rar itan section about l699.
his son
age of Raritan, came into the pos-
Another tract, on wh ich sta nds par t of the vill
of An dri es Co eje ma n wh o sett led her e bef ore J 736. Th e fourth Indian deed
session
rth Bra nch of Rar itan River. This
of l68J covered lands on bot h sides of the No
acr e trac t wa s surveyed for Lord Neill Campbell0
Was also div ide
on Jan. 9, 1685; am
d and sol
ong
d.
the
A l
ear
650
ly set tler s her e wa s Gis ber t Lan e about J730. A ?4

trac t on the we st sid e of the N ort h Bra nch Riv er in Branchburg Township
acre
pos ed of it on Nov. Jl, J7oo to
was acquired in l69
Mathias Ten Ey ck whose son set
0 by Joh n Joh
tled
nst on;
her e.
he
Bed
dis
min ste r Tow nsh ip in ent
the north
ies, but there were enough Dute
of the county wa s set tled by ma ny nationalit
rra nt the org ani zat ion of a Re for me d Ch urch in J758• J hn
inhabitants to wa sh'
Id'm .1 own ip. In J68J oth
S f re ma de in Fra n

:~e
. orne O the ear ly settlem ent s we t, e
Intans and . , f L ad Y El.1zabeth Cartere B 0
associates pur cha sed from the Ind ian s or
land
Riv er from Lawrence Br oo k:
B along the southwest sid e of the Ra rita n
Pro pri eto rs when tbey acq d ;f this
p;~o~ Title became vested in the Tw elv e
Vince of Eas t Jer sey in FebNf!- :lttv J68 J/2 . Ini ans settled on the east en 4~7
· ,
 SOMERSE T COUNTY

tract on the site of New Brunswick, which later became part of Middlesex County.
Among the early patentees of the township were the Cortelyous (l 7J l acres) and
the Wyckoffs (J703 acres). Small settlements were made along the county line at
each brook, the most important about J710 at Six Mile Run, now Franklin Park.
There was also a small village in the center of the township at Middlebush.
Reformed Churches were organized at New Brunswick about J703 and at Six Mile
Run in J7J7. The land on the west side of the Millstone River was incorporated in
Hillsborough and Montgomery Townships. In 1685 and 1693 John Royce received
a patent for the land along the river as far south as Peace Brook (in Millstone) and
· about 1690 Clement Plumstead obtained a grant for the land from Peace Brook
down to Blackwell's Mills. Portions of these tracts were sold and settled on from
time to time; in J738 there were already fifty families living within three miles of
Millstone village. In J693 Peter Sonmans obtained a deed for 36 square miles,
covering most of Montgomery Township. On June 10, J7J0 Sonmans sold the
Harlingen tract of 9000 acres to a Dutch company of seventeen who settled here.
In J690 Thomas Hart received a patent for a tract on the Millstone River nearby;
in J702 he sold 4000 acres to Gerardus and Adrian Beekman and associates, part
of which was disposed of in l 727 to Christopher Hoagland. Three Reformed
Churches were organized in this section, in J727 Harlingen, originally called the
Church over the Millstone, in 1766 Hillsboro, formerly called New Millstone, and
in 1752 Neshanic.
The territory was originally a part of Middlesex County but the interests of
the inhabitants of the two sections were found to vary sufficiently to warrant the
separation of Somerset County as early as 1688, although it was dependent on the
Middlesex courts until J7l3. The division line between the counties was changed
t seven times; a part of New Brunswick was transferred to Middlesex County as
late as J850. The county seat was established at Six Mile Run (Frankli n Park) in
J7l4. When the courthouse bumed down in J737, it was reerected at the present
Millstone, then known as Somerset Court House. This was destroyed by the British
during the Revolution. After the war the county seat was established at Somerville,
then called Raritan. The Great Raritan Road was laid out in J684 from Piscataway
to Bound Brook and along the north bank of the Raritan River almost to Somer-
ville, and was continued to the Raritan Branches two years later. A main highway
was esta~lished _fro~ New ~runswick along the county line through the various
hamlets m the df.t'ection of Kingston, Princeton and Trenton. A road was laid from
New Brunswick through Middlebush to Millstone, then down the east bank of the
Millstone River to Rocky Hill and the main highway near Kingston. A road from
Somerset Court House (now Millstone) was opened through Neshanic to connect
428
 SOME RSET COUN TY

with the Amw ell ~oad in Hunt erdon Coun ty, which ran down to the Delaware
River at Lamb ertvill e.
There is great variet y of style in the Dutch house s of Somerset County M t
are of frame but severa l are of brick or stone. The gable roof is very preva le;t. T~e
few gambrel roofs are usual ly of the New Engla nd type, with the upper and lower
slopes appro ximat ely equal in length . Only a few of the houses have overhanging
eaves. On the prosp erous farms or estate s along the Rarita n and Millstone Rivers a
number of large, two story house s were built. These are in strikin g contrast to the
more humble one and a half story farmh ouses preva lent elsewhere. Their owners
lived on a luxuri ous scale comp arable to that of their fellow countrymen in New
York City.
Erskine's Revo lution ary surve ys and a series of earlier and later maps were of
invaluable aid in locati ng the early roads and house s and the names of their owners.
The author is deepl y gratef ul for contri bution s of land records and family history
for the Staats and Lane -Brok aw house s by Lewis D. Cook, of land records of
the Raritan River valley by Corne lius C. Verm eule, for information about the
Raritan valley from Miss Maria n Cushm an and Charl es Deshler, and about the
Bedminster and Rock y Hill region s respec tively from John Powelson and Thom as
Barrowman. Exten sive inform ation drawn from the count y histories and the
Somerset Histo rical Quar terly has been suppl ement ed by original research in
the church and proba te record s. A few of the photo graph s were taken in 1925 but
the majority in 1933 after the comp letion of the field survey .

429
 HOUSES IN SOMERSET COUNTY
House of John Berrien; Was~ington's Headquarters
Rocky Hill
PLATE 128

The date of this house has always been taken from the fireback-1764 or wh
it has been misread-l734. It is possible that the house was erected at the earl~~
date, and the fireback added subsequently. On John Dalley's undated map made
shortly after l 745 is shown John Berrien's house a short distance south of the road
on the east side of the Millstone River. Thus if this house did not exist then, Berrien
lived in another house on the site.
The builder's grandfather Cornelius Jansen1 Berrien was a Huguenot, a native
of Berrien in the Department of Finisterre, France. He fled to Holland, whence he
came to America, settled by l669 at Flatbush and in l685 at Newtown on Long
Island, and died in l689. He married Jannetje, daughter of Jan Stryker, one of the
early leaders of Flatbush; after his death she married Samuel Edsall, widower. The
son Peter' Berrien, b. 1672, d. April 5, 1737, was a scholar, surveyor and large land-
owner of Newtown; he married Aug. JO, l 706 his step-sister Elizabeth Edsall and
had seven children. They were the parents of Judge John" Berrien, b. Nov. 19, J7JJ,
d. April 22, J 772.
John Berrien came to Middlesex County, New Jersey, from Newtown, as a sur-
veyor. He was taxed here in Franklin Township in l735, and may have built the
present house about this date. He was chosen Judge of Somerset County in 1739
and Justice of the Supreme Court in J764; he also served as a trustee of Pr~ceton
University, which was situated not many miles from his home. His house, which he
called Rockingham, stood on the east bank of the Millstone River, but was reached
f~om the Princeton side across a ford and up a long private avenue of trees from th;
river. His first wife is believed to have been Mary, daughter of Samuel Leonar!0
Per!h Amboy. He and his brother Judge Thomas Leonard of Prine:~;
1
0
w:; 't .a
1 18
great deal of property in and around Princeton, Kingston and Rocky ' an •
P<>ssi~le that John Berrien obtained his land from his father-in-la; ~udf~ ~;::
~r1ed secondly Aug. J6 J759 Margaret Eaton of Eatontown, • ., lution and
. 19 ; she Was the mother ~f his children. He died shortly before the Revo
Iies bur· d. h
J ie int e Princeton University Cemetery. h' ton at the end of
the udge Berrien's widow was the hostess of General Wa~ 1.11g th to Nov. 10,
24
7a;'W
l Congress leased the place from her for his sta t u:s which was then
• ashington lived here with his staff so as to be near ngr ' 43
x
 HOU SES IN SOM ERSE T COU NTY

meeting at Princeton five miles away. Alth ough the worries of

active warfare were
over, he was anxious to get a bill passed for the relief of his sold
iers an~ he was then
doing his best to keep them from open mutiny. It was here that
Was hing ton wrote
his famous Farewell Address to the Arm y, a week before he start
ed hom e; he dated
it "Ro cky Hill near Princeton, Nov. 2, l 783" and first delivered
it from the balcony
of the house.
Judg e Berrien and Margaret Eaton had four sons and two daug
hters . The eld-
est son was Major John• Berrien, b. l758, d. l8l6 ; he foug ht at
the battle of Mon-
mouth and was an aide to Washington. After the war he settl
ed at Savannah,
Georgia. It was at the Georgia home of his son John Macpherson
Berrien, Attorney
General under Jackson, that Margaret Eato n Berrien died in l8l9
, aged 97 years.
She is said to be buried in Burlington. She had previously adve
rtised the property
at Rocky Hill for sale in the newspapers, stating it contained
320 acres with out-
houses and orchards.
Rockingham, the Berrien place at Rocky Hill, was boug ht from
Mrs . Berrien
by Frederick Cruser in April l802. Frederick Cruser, b. l766, was
the son of Abra-
ham and the grandson of Cornelius" Krusen, who owned the
well-known family
home on the north shore of Staten Island (plate 40). Fred erick
marr ied Catharine
Van Dyke, and lived here at Rocky Hill until about l 830, whe n
the place was sold
to David H. Mount. He disposed of it Nov. l, l872 to Mar tin How
ell whose execu-
tors conveyed it to the Rocky Hill Qua rry Co. It was then used
for {he quarters of
Italian laborers, who blasted away the whole face of the hill belo
w the house. Two
~cres of the Berr~en tract were purchased from the quar ry com pany
by the Wash-
mgton Rocky Hill Headquarters Association June J7, J897, and
the house moved
back a few hundred yards up the hill for greater safety.
1:hfe
Beauti u lhous
speci
~ is a two story frame structure which is unus ually well prese
mens of old panelling old rved.
th d' • ' b d d ,
th cup oar s an doors remain especially in
th st
fu~ ~mg room (f e s?u ea room). The house is now filled with
ure, some o which originally b 1 Revolutionary
d h B
Washington. The dated iron fi b , e. onge to e erriens and were used bY
Washington is supposed to ha re ac~ is in_ the drawing room (the
southwest room)•
the dining room Th h . ve written his address in the southeast chamber above
have been a back• bedroe ouse is now entered fr th •
o d. . om e rear, into wha t formerly rnust
the feeling of well-beingm, a; it ~snot u~til we reach the front
rooms that we get
rien's friends and Was hin: ; ; 0 ~f~r t, which must have made it
pleasant for Ber-
A sketch made in J848 ~n s o idcers to dine here.
Revolution, v. 2 p 63J This rhepro uced in Losfilng's Pict oria l Fiel
' • • e ouse wa d Boo k of the
two story house with a gable roof h . s then in •
very bad repair. The cut shows a
432 st
aving raight over hang ing eaves on both sides
 HOUS ES IN SOME RSET COUN TY

,1 'th the porch on the south hfront asf it isd today . At the east end there was a long
ana w1 •h
one story wing wit overs ot roo an a chim ney in the center. PossiblY this
,,
lo~, was the Judg e's home when he came to this regio n.
~gThe small two story f rame wmg · on the east end of the house was built in
1897
the Association's caret aker; it blend s very d well with the old house . Th 1ave
for h ed stone/ b ui'Id'mg, was erecte recen tly to replace an earlieersone.
kitchen, a detac
and its
The custodian, Thom as Barro wma n, is very much interested in the house
of the
history and in local famil ies. The villag e of Rock y Hill is on the west side
hill, on
Millstone River . The Berri en house is near the east bank , halfw ay up the
main
the south side of the prese nt road to New Brun swick . It connects with the
Kingston road near Ten Mile Run.

Berr ien (?)- Pum yea Hou se

Old Rock y Hill Road, Rock y Hill
PLAT E 129·

The early histo ry of this house is lost in obscu rity. It is probable that it stood
Judge
on the Berrien tract. Peter-' Berri en, Jr. (J7J4 -J78J ), was a youn ger brother of
, and
John Berrien of Rock ingh am (plate J28). Peter left Newt own, Long Island
down
settled at Ten Mile Run, north of King ston. He had a large tract, which ran
. In
toward the Millstone Rive r and is believ ed to exten d beyon d the Pumy ea house
l 738 he married Anna Emm ons who survi ved him, and had six childr
en: Elizabeth,
) mar-
~enry (l743 -J806 ) marri ed Corn elia Van Dyck , Corne lius, John (J75J -J797
old
ri~ Neeltje Van Dyck , Sarah , and Anna . It is proba ble that the house (the
wing) was built by one of his sons.
Peter
p P. Pomyee is mark ed as the owne r on a map of J850. It is know n as the

~:v~
He is
b~~Yea house, and one of its bedro oms is referr ed to as Peter 's bedroom.
to be the Peter J. Pumy ea, d. Apri l J4, J869, aged 68 year~, 7 ~on~hs, and
Berr,Y (b. l800) , who lies burie d in the Ten Mile Run Ceme tery with his wife Ann the
hou8 e7:ad. Dec. J J, 1858, aged SJ years , JO mont hs, J4 days (b. J807) . By 1873
1

Pullle d Passed out of the famil y Thes e two dates coincidehwith the Peter J.
• h h d ' ed
the plYea in consi'deratio n, as he had died in J869. It is proba ble t at e a receiv
of o~ce frotn his wife' s famil y. Since this time' the house has hadd aCo large number
ers and t enant s. Rece ntly it was owne d by the Sned ekers an n 1 s, and is
d't
now in th
· o f Alfre d G. Mom ent.
BothesePosse, ssion , ,
Pre·re\'oluf ctions of the house are old but the east wing is the oldest and distincftly
ionary , one of the
, ding outsid e t h e h ouse, is
It D utch oven , exten ew
eJta~ ky Hill
t
roa ·•,pies still
d, about
e ,• , s
1shng. The house stand s on the north side of the old Roe
as ar towa rd the river as the road is now passable. This road, a tr
d' t

433
 HOUSES IN SOMER SET COUNTY

lane, leaves the present Rocky Hill road (which leads to Judge Berrien's house) a
short distance west of its junction with the Kingsto n-New Brunsw ick highway, and
runs more directly west than the present road. It formerly connected with the Milt.
stone River, and by a branch road with the river further north at Griggstown.
The following item concerns the probable owner of this tract: among the datn.
ages in Somerset County done by the Continental troops, for which claims were
proved and allowed in the fall of 1782, was the claim of Peter Berrian deceased, to
the effect that in November l 776 Continental carters had taken 35 window lights, 61
panes of glass, and one broadcloth coat half worn; the account was brought in by
his son John Berrian, and the value placed was £3.14.6.

House of Andries Coejeman

Raritan

Barent Pieterse (Coejeman), the miller, emigrated to this country in 1639 and
was employed at Rennselaerswyck. He later bought a large tract at the present Coey-
mans, where he and many of his descendants lived. One of his sons was Andries'
Coejeman, probable builder of the house at Raritan . On June 3, l 716 at the Dutch
church in New York, Andries Coejeman married Geertruy, daughte r of Dr. Sam-
uel Staats, and widow of Peter Nagel, whom she had previously married on May
25, l7H. Andries and Geertruy had five children baptized at New York: Johanna,
bap. 1718, d. 1786, married 1741 Dr. John Neilson of Raritan ; Mayke, bap. 1720;
Barent, bap. l 721; Samuel Staats, bap. l 724, and Geertruy, bap. l 726, married
Abraham Lott.
It 'Was probably shortly after the birth of the youngest child that Andries Coeje-
man removed to the wilds of the upper reaches of the Raritan River. The exact
date of purchase of this property is unknown. Part of the Indian deed of l68l, cover·
ing a large tract along the north bank of the river, was granted in 1683 to Grahatn
and associates; the fourth quarter of this tract was in the possession of Andries
Coejeman as early as l 736, the survey of l 736 showing that he owned 442 ½ acres
here. He has always been considered the builder of the brick house on this tract,
although the two dated stones, "S.C. l 732" and "S.S. l 736," are not marked with
his initials as was customary. He died not long after the house was erected; the v,i11
of Andries Coejmans, gentleman of Somerset Co., dated 1739 and probated J74J,
named his wife, only son ( the elder son Barent had evidently died) and three cfaugh-
ters, all under 21 years of age, and his brother-in-law Lewis Morris, Jr.
The only surviving son was Samuel Staats' Coejeman, bap. Jan. 29, J. 724 at
New York, d. l 785, married Aryantje Schuyler of New Brunswick. His estate along
434
 HOU SES IN SOMERSET COUNTY

the Raritan is mentioned in the relaying of the road in l 76

4. D ,
a:iu :~h e _Revolution,
a party of Hessians stopped _here, took its owner from bed
while they ransacked and plundered the house. This. exposur , b lihim to a tree
. an, hap. Sepet. is27 e1772
--' Coe1em eved to have
death. H'is on1y son Andrew
caused IWi his an'cestors.,Hd.e JS04,
lived and died in the family homestead and was buried with mar-
ried Jane Van Doren and had three sons at the Raritan Church : Samue1
, baptized an.
Staats, Jacob Van Doren and John Neilson Coejem
property to Freling-
In J800 Andrew Coejeman sold the east 104 acres of the
sold to Dominie John
huysen, and in J804 the house and west half of the estate were
: he sold the property to
S. Vredenburgh. The Dominie resided here until 1821
Bartolette was born
John Gaston, who in J837 sold it to Albert Camman. Mrs. John
century.
here and owned the house for a large part of the nineteenth
On the south side near the door is a stone inscribed
"S.C. l 732," and in the
These were undoubtedly
middle of the east side is a stone marked "S.S. l 736/'
We know that Andries
the dates of erection of the house. The initials are an enigma.
e it is possible that the
Coejeman owned the property in 1736 if not earlier, therefor
initials stand for the actual builder employed by him to
erect his home. The house is
proportions, the upper
built of brick. It formerly had a gambrel roof of unusual
basement is divided into
slope being very steep and longer than the lower one. The
as many as ten rooms. The mai n floor has a wide-arched
hall and four rooms. The
ence. The brick, interior
interior was planned and finished with an ideal of magnific
largely from Holland.
woodwork and furnishings are supposed to have been brought
nearby. The lines of the
There was formerly an old fashioned well and well sweep
enlarging of the upper
hause have been completely destroyed by the widening and
of the main _floor.
half story to form a complete second story the size and proportions of the ends. It
kwork
The old lines of the gambrel roof are discernible in the bric
stands on the river bank in a poor section of Raritan, some distance west of the old
before its remodelling
Duteb Parsonage. Views of the house in its better days and
Northwe5tern
c;1 be seen in the Som erse t Co. His t. Qua rter ly, v. 3, P• 241, and in
ew Jersey, v. J, P• J6.

The Par son age of the Reformed Dutch Church

now at Was hing ton Place, Somerville
was one of
Sotnervme was in early times a part of the village of Rari'tan' and1 N 7 in
the cent
;f
the secoe~ settlement along the Raritan River. It was situ
at;t !
otanJ•asso-
J683 to i r eda : Graham's
ciates; o: itsn~~- deed of l68J, which was patented in was ass gn
division the second quarter of this lot No. 7 435
 HOUSES IN SOMERSET COUNTY

partner, John White, who sold to Tunison and he to Peter Van Nest. It later canie
into the hands of Cornelis Bogert, who on Jan. 25, J752 deeded the parsonage lot to
the consistory of the Dutch Church, and on May J6, J768 d~eded t~e J J4 acres
adjoining and extending west to the Wallace-Miller farm (Washington s Headquar.
ters) to Rev. Jacob R. Hardenburgh. Before this, on May J8, J749, the Raritan,
Millstone and North Branch Churches called Rev. John Frelinghuyse n to be their
pastor, assuring him a salary and a suitable dwelling with 30 acres of land, which
·was later paid for by the consistories.
The Frelinghuysens belonged to one of the Dutch-Westphalian border families.
Rev. Theodorus Jacobus1 Frelinghuysen, b. J69J at Wolfenbuttel, was a minister
for a few years in the Dutch church of Embden in East Friesland, before he came
to this country in J720. He settled at Three Mile Run near New Brunswick and had
charge of the Dutch Churches of Middlesex, Hunterdon and Somerset Counties in
New Jersey. All his five sons became Dutch ministers and his two daughters mar-
ried ministers. His son Rev. John2 Frelinghuysen, b. J720 at Three Mile Run, mar-
ried Dinah Van Bergh, b. Feb. J0, J725 at Amsterdam in Holland, daughter of Louis
Van Bergh, a rich merchant. He was called to the ministry in J749 and appointed
to the Raritan, Millstone and North Branch Churches. A dwelling was promised
him. The present parsonage was erected in J75J (the dated cornerstone reads June
7, J75J ), supposedly under the directions of Dinah Van Bergh and with her money.
Rev. John Frelinghuysen and his wife Dinah moved into it and used it not only as
their home but also as a Theological Seminary. Rev. John Frelinghuyse n lived to the
age of only 34 years, dying in September, J754. Shortly afterwards his widow was
persuaded to marry Rev. Jacob ~ut.zen Hardenburgh , a pupil of her former husband,
and a man many years her junior. They returned to the Raritan parsonage in J758t
when her husband was called to fill the vacant pastorate. In J763 they were joined
by her widowed mother, Mrs. Van Bergh. They entertained General Washington
frequently, and 'lived here until J78J, when Rev. Hardenburgh was called to Rosen-
dale. He later served the church at New Brunswick, where he died in J 790 aged 5l
r;;h s an~ ~here his widow Dinah Van Bergh continued to live, and died March 26,
,
age RJ years. The next occupant of the parsonage was Rev Theodore Fre-
1·
ing uysen omeyn a nephew of R J h F 1· h • t
two years aft R 'H d , ev. 0 n re tng uysen; he came here abou
er ev. ar enburgh s departure.
callJ::tJ:r:S ':i~:t:as ~old about the time that Rev. Johns. Vredenburgh was
nearby (see supr ) Das e owned a house of his own, the old Coejeman homestead
to Dr. Peter I St:y·k r. Swabn bought the parsonage and land, and sold it in J8l0
• er, mem er of the Legis · who died J859. Joshua
· Iafive Councd,
Doughty (J799-J88J)
436 came to Somerville and in J836 bought the old parsonage of
 HOUSES IN SOMERSET COUNTY

Dr Stryker. He and his son Joshua, Jr. lived here. It was finally sold b th D
est~te in October, J9J2, to the New Jersey Central Railroad. It is noV:ow:edo:g~y
Frederick Frelinghuysen Chapter of the Daughters of the American R 1 . Y e
. . II d . Id evo Uhon.
The Duteh parsonage origina y stoo in o Raritan village (now 11 d S
. S d ca e om-
erville) south of the present Main treet an near the center of the village. In 1912
it was purchased by the New Jersey Central Railroad with the intention of demol-
ishing it for trackage space. Mainly through the efforts of Senator Joseph Frelin _
huysen it was removed in J9J3 to its present site, JS00 feet towards Raritan, and t
1932 donated by him to the Society. The house is at present a large two story brick
structure, surmounted by a modern, heavy, gable roof. The windows of the first
floor are unusually long, and were undoubtedly cut down at some date. The only
Dutch characteristic of the exterior of the house in its present condition is the old
double door with bottle glass eyes. Views of the house when it had a nineteenth
century porch running the length of the front and before the low two story service
wing was demolished can be seen in Somerset Co. Hist. Quarterly, v. 2, p. 161,
and in Northwestern New Jersey, v. J, p. 208. The wing was similar to that of the
Frelinghuysen house nearby (plate J33), and originally the main house probably
resembled the Van Vechten house, also nearby (plate J39). The house is now situ-
ated on Washington Place, a stone's throw from the Wallace-Miller house which
was occupied by Gen. Washington during the Revolution.

House of Hendrick Fisher

Canal Road, South Bound Brook

John Inians and associates purchased from the Indians for Lady Elizabeth
Carteret a tract along the south side of the Raritan River from Bound Brook south-
east to Lawrence Brook; they laid out the Raritan lots in J68l, consisting of 500
acres each with a half mile of river frontage. Three of the lots at the north end had
b~ l685 come into the possession of William Dockwra, one of the East Jersey P~o-
prietors. By birth a Scotchman, he was a merchant in London and an extensive
landowner m , performmg
• N ew Jersey• he never came to America, • h is · duties as Sec-
retary of the Board of Pr~prietors by deputy. The statement that the Fisher houlsde
Was bu'lt1 b Y h'1m 1n. J688 is therefore erroneous. H e 1s • b e1·ieved to have soh'
3
OO acres here on the Raritan River to Hendrick Visscher about 1703, bu\ t ~s
sta
d!etnent likewise seems to be incorrect. The property Hes to the southweslt t es
O

a Joi · S h F' h r p ace wa

l
still 0~:g . taats lands (plate J36), deeds to which show that t e is :cob Walton
and th ed in l 722 by William Dockwra, was owned in J738 partly br Fisher. The
e 0ther part lately by Robert Lurting, and in J769 by Heodr 1c
437
 HOUSES IN SOMERSET COUNTY

first mention of the latter in Somerset County was his election to the Assembly in
1740; he probably owned the place by this time.
The father, Hendrick' Visscher, Sr., emigrated from the Lower Palatinate by
way of Holland and is believed to have died Oct. 17, 1749, at his home on the Raritan
River. Evidently he did not purchase the Dockwra property about l 703. It is pos-
sible that he lived across the river in Piscataway Township until a few years before
his death, when he may have moved to his son Hendrick's home on the Somerset
side of the river. The following three references probably apply to him although
possibly to his son: In l 739 he was named an executor of a will, in which he was
termed a resident of Piscataway. In J748 he was listed as a freeholder of Piscataway,
but absent. On July JJ, 1748, an advertisement appeared in the New York Gazette
for a 200 acre farm for sale on the east (i.e. Piscataway) side of the Raritan River,
6 miles above Brunswick, with a dwelling house having two fireplaces, and with
barn and orchard; those interested were to apply to Hendrick Visser living near the
premises. This may have been the homestead of the emigrant Hendrick.
The son Hendrick' Visscher or Fisher, b. 1697 in the Lower Palatinate, d. Aug.
l 6, l 779 in the 82nd year of his age, and lies buried on his farm on the Raritan River
(this date on the tombstone is obviously an error in either month or year, as his will
was probated May 15, 1779). The family name gradually became anglicized and in
later years Hendrick used the form Fisher. The homestead was probably built by
him in the second quarter of the eighteenth century; he did not own the land in
1738 and was in possession in 1769. The first reference to him in Somerset County
is in 1740 when he was elected to the Assembly, but not considered eligible as he
had been naturalized only the year before. By trade he was a farmer and mechanic.
He became a member of the Dutch Church of New Brunswick in J72J and was a
faithful worker and leader in the church for fifty-eight years. He was Judge of the
Court of Common Pleas, a member of the Colonial Assembly for thirty years and
~sometime its powerful leader, a representative of New Jersey at the Continental
l7;gr;hof 1_765, and president of the first Provincial Congress of New Jersey in
.•
their ~n in l 776 Lord Howe offered full pardon to those who would give up
11
a eg1ance to the Am · h
Abraham Staats erican cause, e excepted Hendrick Fisher, his neighbor
Brook early in l ;;; ot~er, bein~ ~eyond pardoning. After the battle of Bound
on their way raided,H e ;i~tir;.us B,ritish army marched to New Brunswick, and
cattle. He died two en 1ric isher s house and drove away over twenty head of
tributed property anydearls a!er ~hd was greatly mourned. In his will of 1778 he dis-
egacies to is fam'l · h' . ,
dren; among his executors he nam . i ~, nanung is wife Elizabeth and his chil·
nearby (plate 136) who h ed his friend Abraham Staats, owner of the house
438 , , owever, renounced the executorship.
 HO USE S IN SOM ERS ET COU NTY

tlen dric k Fis her 's wif ef wa s Eli zab eth (Ly bet e or Libshe) Br'ies, daugh ter of
.n k B , o B reu ck e1en and late r of Piscataway T h" M'
V, lkert Hen drie se ries
dl~ ex Co. (he die d 1771-72). He ndr ick and
Eli zab eth had eleven ch ~= : ipll bid-
n chu rch es, bet ween J723 and J746 •• H,en a dr'ap
ic k-,
, -1 at the Ne w Bru nsw ick or • Ra rita ,
tizeu
Bou nd Bro ok, wh ose .wi fe wa s Eff ie; Eli zab eth , wife of Joh n Field; Volkert,
Jr. of
Jac ob Fulkerson, concerning whom
who married Eli zab eth Sm ith ; Ma ry, wif e of
J75 3: "Ja cob Folkerse, Mr. Fisher's
Andrew Joh nst on, sur vey or, wro te on Ap ril 25,
s on and wants to have 50 acres of
, son-in-law, spoake to me abo ut the place he live
he could har dly expect; consented to
John Sm yth 's lan d join ed to it., wh ich I told him
; he has the carractor of an idle
let him stay this yea r but chu se not to leas to him
n., wh o ma rrie d Margaret McCrae;
fellow"; Nellie, wif e of He ndr ick Suy dam ; Joh
in inf anc y; Mi nne ; Ab rah am of Lam ing ton ; Ma rga ret, wife of Dr.
Minne, died
residue of his father's real and
Austin Cra ig; and Jer em iah , wh o inh erit ed the
personal estate.
Jeremiah., Fisher., hap. Sept.
The homestead farm pas sed to the you nge st son
174 6, d. Jan . 9., 180 7. He ma rrie d by lice nse of Dec. 9., 1769., Catharine Brokaw,
l,
ied on the family farm ; the y had
b. Oct. 28., J749., cf. Jan . 6, J83 2 and bot h wer e bur
d on the homestead until Jeremiah
four sons and five dau ght ers . Th ey doubtless live
it in 179 6 to Cre igh ton Mc Cra e. Jer em iah ow ned and conducted the Middle-
sold
Fis her house was occupied about
town Hotel in Bo und Bro ok at one time. Th e
4 by Claude Goodse11. The present
l875 by Isaac A. Bro kaw and wa s ow ned in l9J
owner is Frederick L. Ro ssm an.
of frame, covered by a wide gam-
b The house is a one and a hal f sto ry stru ctu re
f wit h no ove rha ng. Lo ng old win dow s, stoo p and thre e (later) dormers are
~el _roo
Co. His t. Qu art erly , v. 2, P• J. The
h tads shown in the pho tog rap h in the Som ers et
was rem ode 11e d rec ent ly wit h dia mo nd- pan ed win dow groupings and other
Wes
:e

olc{ R Roa
which alte r its cha rac ter sad ly. Th e hou se is
d abo ut one mil e sou th of the rive r cro
on the southwest side of the
ssin g at Sou th Bou nd Brook. The
Rar itan Riv er and was displaced
by th evolutionary roa d led alo ng the ban ks of the
de in J 834 . Th e pre sen t tum pik e wa s cut thr oug h in J823 and is variously
caUe
al Road., Eas ton Turnpike., and
Easto A in S treet in Sou th Bo und Bro ok, Can rt dist anc e south of
nsw ick . Th e Fis her hou se is a sho
the St:atsvenue in Ne w Bru
house on the rive r (pl ate 136 ).
Gu lic k (?) -D itm ars Ho use
Roa d to Bla wen bur g, Har ling en
ds
.
th
littl e is kn
is e diYisio ~\V n of the his tor y of this
PL AT E 130
house. Th e cou nty roa d on which it
stan f
rlin gen trac ts. Unl ess the course 0
n line between the Ha rt and Ha 439
 HOUSES IN SOMERSET COUNTY

the road has been changed at this particular point, the house stands on the extreme
west end of the 4000 acre tract granted in J690 to Thomas Hart and Walther Ben-
thal. It extended from the Millstone River near Griggstown westward to the Har.
lingen tract, and was sold by Hart in J702 to Gerardus Beekman and his associates.
Again, unless the course of the road has been changed here, this house is undoubt-
edly the same as the one shown on Erskine's Revolutionary map on the northeast
comer of the meeting place of the road from Sourland (now Harlingen) to Rock
Mill and Ringoes and of the road to Garrison's T avem, west of Somerset Courthouse
(now Millstone), the house· being marked on th{s map Youim Heuleck (? or Heu-
luk ?, the spelling is not clear). It i~ probable that this is a phonetic rendition of the
name Joachim Gulick. ·
It is believed that a Joachim Gulick emigrat~d to this country in J653 and set-
tled by J7J7 at Six Mile Run in New Jersey (some miles to the east of Harlingen
and on the opposite side of the Millstone River) ; he is stated to have had four sons,
Benjamin, Henry, John and William, of whom the latter three lived in Franklin
Township (of which Harlingen was then a part) at the end of the eighteenth cen-
tury. This account obviously confuses several generations. The family was very
numerous about Rocky Hill to the south.
The hesitancy in ascribing this house to the Gulick family, in spite of Erskine's
map, is due to the fact that there yet stands, on the opposite or northwest comer of
the county road, a small stone house built in J752 by Derick Gulick; it is possible
that the course of the road has been straightened and that this was the house men-
tioned by Erskine. Derick Gulick was church master of the Harlingen Church in
1_759, but for some reason no member of the family seems to have had children bap·
ti.zed her~. We are i~orant of his age; it might have been a son of his, Joachim, who
owned his house during the Revolution. It (that is, the stone house) was owned in
l 790 by Isaac Amerman, who removed to Cayuga County in l 806.
w;:
it f~am; ho~ in question, our first positive information is that
the mountain to the w~t eteJ it:ars. ";bout t~is time, Henry Ditmars lived up
Revolutionary road to Rfu an an~~ :r ~itm~s lived nearby between them on the
Dutchtown was then the l~o~, w ic st111 exists although impassable at one point.
settled throughout this terri:;~me. for ~his ~egion. Many of the Ditmars family
was owned by H. Stryker and. thur~~d : nineteenth century. In 1873 the house
Julia Haelig of Bound Brook anind . el ds Y Enoch Cain. It is now owned by Mrs.
is ease out.
The house is built in many units and is .
with a small portion of stone. It is still ed an irregular one story frame structure
440
us as a farmhouse. It stands on the north·
 HOUSES IN SOMERSET COUNTY

east corner of the country

. road to Blawenburg and the road to Harlingen, and ..s one
mile west of the latter vi11age.

House of Gisbert Lane

south of North Branch, Bridgewater Township
PLATE 131

In the division of the fourth Indian deed of Nov. 19, 1681, Lot No. 48 consisted
of J650 acres on the east side of the North Branch of Raritan River, extending from
its junction with the South Branch northward beyond North Branch village. Lot
No. 48 was surveyed for Lord Neill Campbell and eventually passed into the hands
of Daniel D. Dunster, who sold a large portion in the middle of the tract to Gisbert
Lane about l 730.
The ancestor of the family, Thys or Mathys Jansen Laenen van Pelt, emi-
grated in the Rosetree in 1663 from the province of Liege in North Belgium, with
his wife and four children, and settled at New Utrecht on Long Island. With him
was his brother Theunis, whose descendants retained the name of Van Pelt (see
plate 21). Adriaen1 Lane, b. about J672 in New Utrecht, d. after 1738, was a
younger son of Thys, the emigrant, born in this country. He married Martyntje,
daughter of Hendrick Smock, and secondly Jannetje; daughter of Ferdinandus Van
Syckelen. Adriaen left New Utrecht for Middletown in Monmouth Co., New Jer-
sey,and by l7H had removed to Hunterdon County. That year he bought 450 acres
near_HoIIand's Brook, not far from Readington and west of the confluence of the
North and South Branches of Ral"itan River. Thirteen children have been ascribed
f 0
including Gisbert ( Guisbert, Gilbert), b. - , d. l 762-63, married by J72:3
or Hannah Loveritz.
f hln or about l 730 Gisbert Lane purchased the above tract on the Nor~ Branch

h: t e Raritan River in Somerset County, not very far from the lands of his sup-
!atber in Hunterdon County. Gisbert Lane built thereon the present st0:
Sonier:/ 737 and settled here. He was a Judge of the Court of Co~o; ~~762
Gisbe County in J742 He had two sons and three daughters. In his wi 1 hi
11tJn ""~il~~~~~he south par; of his plantation to his son Arie and the nortbhparht tdo. s
In l 79 l William mortgaged a 300 acre p1antat'ion which e a in-
~;::w
vv
herited f ty
inclUdedr;rn his father; this and later conveyances show that Wimam~
hotise. p he brick house to the north (plate l32), which is .known ;s~ e ld house
t'lidenu;::urnably his brother Arie also re~eived ~b?ut 3?0 acres, anWill:a: Lane's
hotise is h ands on the southem portion which Ar1e mherited. On1Yth · erties of
the two bs OWn on Erskine's Revolutionary map, possibly because e prop
rothe
rs Were considered as one tract. x
44
 HOUSES IN SOMERSE T COUNTY

Arie' Lane, b. about 1726, cl. 1780, married his first cousin Lucretia, daughter
of Abraham Lane of Middlesex County (will J760). They had two daughters and
one son, the latter inheriting the homestead. He was Guisbert or Gilbert A.5 Lane
.of Bridgewater Township, who married and had two daughter s, Hannah and Jane.
The 1737 house had passed out of the family by J850 when the owner was Lewis
Anderson. He sold it about l 856 to David Dunn, the owner in l 860. The farm
passed to his only son John R. Dunn, and is now owned and occupied by one of his
children, Matthew H. Dunn.
The house is built of roughly cut, flat fieldstones. It is one story in height, with
a gable roof. Iron figures on the south front below the eaves bear the date of erection,
1737, of which the first two figures are shown in the photogra ph, the last two fig-
ures being hidden by the modern porch. The house is on the east bank of the North
Branch of Raritan River, one and a quarter miles south of the church at North
Branch village, and south of the railway. Formerly the road was nearer the river,
between the house and the barns, but now it runs behind the barns.

Lane-B rokaw House

south of North Branch, Bridgewa ter Township
PLATE 132
Although known as the Brokaw house, because Gen. Washing ton is supposed
to have ridden here in 1779 to condole with the widow of Lt. John Brokaw, it is
pr~b~ble that this family did not own it at this early period. It is possible that
Willf.alll Lane ( l 727-l 797) built the house; he lived here during a part of his life
at least and his family cemetery is in the adjoining field. William Lane's house is
marked on Erskine's Revolutiony map, although it is not positive whether this is
ihe:~se{efer~ed to or the one just to the south which had previously been owned
y at er G1sbert Lane (plate 131), as only one of these two houses is shown on
themap.
The ancestor of the Brokaw famil B 1
emigrated in 1675 from Manh . yhw~ ourgeon Broucard, a Huguenot, who
and settled on Long I l d. ~ 1m on t e ine with his wife Catharine Le Febre,
Nov. 14, 1680 at Flat~u: , d. r;1,~~ginhis sons was John' Broka or Brokaer, ba~•
probable that he settled near M'll t Somerset Co., New Jersey, intestate. It 1s
were baptized at Raritan (th 1t~ one at an early date; six of his eight children
his eighth child in 1728 at th en eHnea~eSt church) between 1705 and 1717 and
. H'
a11 m dlsborough Twp., Somerset e new ar11ngen Chur h b V . f es
Co ar n~ y. ar1ous proper 1.,
estate. One of his daughters Femm t' B., e mentmned m the inventory of hiS
bor John staats
, e Je
and 1ived west of Millstone in Hillsborou hroka marr'
T ' • ied her ne1g • h
442 g wp.' they were the parents of Abra-
 HOUSES IN SOMERSET COUNTY

aats builder of the second portion of the Staats homestead at S th B

ham St ' J hn B k . . ou ound
Brook (plate J 36). o ro aer wa~ ~urv1ved by h1s wife Sarah Van Middles-
worth, who renounc~d the executorsh1p m _favor of their eldest son John; in 1787
the latter, then of Br1dgewater Twp., and his wife Mary, sold J07 acres on the Mill-
stone River and the Road to Roycefi~ld, property presumably once his father's.
This son John Broecka or John Brokaw, Sr., hap. Oct. 26, 1709, d. 1803-04,
lived in Bridgewater Township, Somerset County; his homestead consisted of
about 325 acres on the south side of the road from Pluckemin to Bound Brook,
which he had bought in J762 and of which he still owned JJ0 acres at his death
which were sold by his executors. The mother of most ( or all) of his children was
Maretye or Mary, daughter of Benjamin Van Cleave of Freehold (see his will of
J747); she was still living in l 789, when she joined her husband in a sale of land to
their son Borgun. John's second wife was Catharine--. In his will of 1803 John
Brokaw, Sr., mentioned his wife Catharine, his grandson John, son of his son John
deceased, his sons Benjamin, Isaac (of Woodbridge), Brogun, Richard, his
daughters Catharine Van Arsdalen, Hendrecy Lott, Sarah Van Deventer, Mary
Van Dyke and Phebe Field. The youngest son, Richard' Brokaw of Bridgewater
Township, stated in his pension papers that he was born Sept. J7, J758, that he
served in the Revolution, substituting for his brother Benjamin, and that his eldest
brother ( unnamed) was killed in the battle of Germantown. The only member of
the family killed in this battle was John Brokaw, whose position in the family tree
is thus identified. (The D.A.R. papers wrongly state that he was the John Brokaw,
bap. l 733, son of Abraham.)
John' Brocka or Brokaw, b. about 1739, was a farmer in Bridgewater Town-
ship. On June 23, 1775 he was appointed Lieutenant in the First Regiment of
Somerset Co. Militia, Capt. Ten Eyck's Company, and was killed Oct. 4, 1777
:t the Battle of Germantown. He died intestate, the inventory of his estate. v.:as ma.de
1str
yh Aurie and William Lane, and his widow Mary was appointed admm an:ixd.
S e rece· d , h 'd h d until she marrie
W'i . ive a small pension allowance durmg er w1 ow 00 ' , ) Van
d llViain Lane in J78J. Lt John4 Brokaw's wife was Maretye (Maria, M~y h0 wn
er eer (h
by a V
• f fh
faiden name is s
er parentage is unknown but indirect proo O er hildren bearing the
llatnes : d:r Veer giving bond for the estate and by s_ever~·~en (many bap. at
~itan •this family)• John and Mary Brokaw had nine c i Ferdinand, Michael,
l3en,·a • John, Henry (J76J-J834) of Hillsborough Twpf.,D B gart and Ann
lll1n Ph b M ,f o r • o ,
Wife of R, . e e wife of Joseph Stull, Peter, ary wi ear Brokaw (the widow)
lllarried .;,nter Van Nest. By license of Nov. 3, J7BJ M Y_ s brought in the
Orphans illiam Lane of Somerset County. ~n J 796 a su: ~ria his wife, late
Court by John Brokaw against William Lane an 443
 HOUSES IN SOMERS ET COUNTY

·M aria Brokaw, administ ratrix of John Brokaw, deceased, to force them to render an
account of the personal estate of said John Brokaw, deceased. .
Lt. John Brokaw, Jr., lived in Brid.gewater Twp., either with h!s. father, or on
a farm of his own, the location of which 1S unknow n. The strong t~ad1tion that Gen-
eral Washing ton rode to the brick house south of North Branch m J779 to console
the widow of John Brokaw, Jr., suggests that his home was here. However, this
was the home of William Lane at the end of the eighteen th century and presumably
earlier. His father, Gisbert Lane, built the house a short distance to the south (plate
131) and willed the north portion of his plantatio n to his son William , who probably
thus inherited the land on which the brick house stands; his family burial ground
is in the field adjoining the brick house, and his first wife, who died in J777, is buried
here, indicating that he probably owned this property as early as this date. It is very
possible that William Lane built this house about the time of his first marriage
(1750), that Mary Brokaw went to reside with him (as houseke eper?) when she
became a widow in l 777 because his wife had just died and he was a friend of the
Brokaw family (William had taken the inventor y of John Brokaw' s estate), and
that she married him in 1781. Even if Washing ton visited the Widow Brokaw else-
where, the tradition could have become attached to the brick house since she later
lived here for so many years.
William• Lane, b. May 27, 1727, d. Oct. 14, 1797, married first June 20, 1750
Jannetje Rappelyea, d. Feb. 7, 1777, aged 46 years, 3 mos., and had two sons and
five daughters. He had another son by his second marriage (by license of Nov. 3,
l 781) to Mary Brokaw who, according to the above records was Mary (Maria or
Marytje) Van der Veer, widow of Lt. John Brokaw. She is not buried on the place
with her husband and stepchildren, but is believed to be the Maria Lane on whose
estate administration was granted Jan. 7, 1813.
William Lane was a farmer of means; the births of seven slaves are recorded in
his fapuly Bible. On Sept. l, 1791 William Lane of Bridgew ater Twp., and Mary
his wife, mortgaged a 300 acre plantatio n "which was devised to said William Lane
by the last will of Gilbert Lane, deceased," beginning at the east side of the Nortb
Branch of Raritan River at the uppermost corner of the land of Gilbert A. Lane
(son of Arie, who was William 's brother and seems to have inherited the house
built by their father Gisbert- plate l3J). In J796 William 's plantatio n was bounded
?n the north by ~atthias Ten Eyck (whose house is shown on Erskine' s map as
1ust south of the highway from Raritan) , on the west by Gilbert W Lane and on
the south by Gilbert A. Lane. In l 797 William Lane b
h . T , equeathed h'1s •farm, one half
to _is son un1s, and the other half to his wife and eventual ly to their son Abrahalll,
stating that he had already deeded a farm to his son Gilbert. In 1799 Tunis Lant
444
 HOU SES IN SOM ERSE T COUNTY

rtgaged a 90 acre tract, part Bof thehform er plantation of Willia..... Lane, deceased
, of th e N orth ranc R'iver and north of Abraham ..u L • T , '
mo the east side
, d ~ore or pureh ased add'ition , 1 1and adjoining on the north ane, asurus
his
on inherite a
either
gaged a JOO acre
heirs later sold his £~rm of J82 acres. In J804 Abra ham ane mort
tract south of Tun is Lane and nort h of John Bennet s land
7 , formerly Willi
Lane's; Abraham had disposed of it by J835 when it was owned by Jacobus Sta: :.
ed his lands and
In his will dated J830 and probated J840, Abra ham Lane divid
5

farm where I now

estate between his three sons and four daughters, including "the
did not live on his
live, lying on the nort h side of the stage road "; thus Abraham
g the river prob-
father's and grandfather Lane 's land. Thes e several tracts alon
ibly his son Tunis)
ably amount to more than 300 acres; thus Will iam Lane (or poss
fore possible that
may have purchased land in addition to his inheritance. It is there
since William
the brick house was once John Brok aw's but not probable, especially
Lane's wife, who died in J777, is buried on the farm.
others of his
The brick house stands on Tun is Lane's tract, where he and
bequeathed his
family are buried. Tun is Lane (J763-J834) was a bachelor and
5

rs, Hannah wife

entire estate equally to his brother Gilbert W. Lane and his five siste
Hendrick Vroom,
of Hendrick Field, Jane wife of Jaco b Ten Eyck , Sara h wife of
their heirs, stat-
Mariah wife of George McGowen, and Elizabeth Lane single, and
the half of all my
ing "to my half brother, Abr aham Lane, nothing, because he had
On Jan. 3, J835 the
father's estate when my brot her and sisters got little or noth ing/ '
said Tunis Lane,"
devisees of Tun is Lane conveyed 'the farm and real estate of the
4

d as now enclosed
consisting of J82 acres, "exc eptin g and reserving the graveyar
Raritan River, f~r
with posts and rails," bounded west by the Nort h Branch of
d it at public
$l,OlO to Albert C. Voorhees of Hillsborough Twp ., who had purchase
sale the month previous.
an BO acre
In J837 Voorhees sold most of this land in various parcels, includJding · • this on
tract on the river, excepting the Buri al Grou nd, and also 67 acres a ommg
the east for $6,026.59 to Isaac Polh emu s of Montgomery Twp ., who the foll ~~
nd $S,OOO_ t~ ho:e
~onth conveyed the 80 acre tract , excepting the burial grou ,,for th
.hVoorhees of Hillsborough Twp . The latte r probh' ably moved mto e bric Id the
so
as e was a resi'dent of Brid gew ater Tow nsh'ip at is death• His execdutor April 5
80
lB4~cre tract on the east side of the river , exce pting the bur ~ ~~
0
!1 i:
dis17s $~ 4~;;0 Dennis and
to Jo~
D. l(to {arnes P. Brok aw of Hills boro ugh Twp ., who1859
orb ~hers and settled in
r
Abr zs ow, and he in tum conveyed it on Jan. 4,
the hr' Voorhees Nevius of Bran chbu rg Twp . The y :;:re 111
daug~c house with their parents. On Feb. JO, t864 Abr 1am was a great
roarried Anna Maria,
-grand-
445
ter of Hen ry B. Staa ts and Han nah Field (the atter
 HOU SES IN SOM ERS ET COU NTY
Abr aha m Nevius bou ght out the
dau ght er of Wil liam Lane and his first wife).
in l 883 and removed to Cordova in
interest of his brother in l 866 but sold the farm
nd. It was late r pur cha sed by Cha unc ey Bro kaw , who is stated to have occu-
Ma ryla
sent owner is Ha rry Sally.
pie d the house formerly William Lane's. The pre
Th e house is a long, low, brick structure, with bric . darc h heads
k three-centered
old twd ve- pan e wm ow sashes
over the windows and a low-pitched gable roof. The
old doo r rem ain on the sou th fron t. The hou se is on the east ban k of the North
and
church at No rth Bra nch village.
Bra nch of Rar itan River, one-half mile south of the

Mi dda gh (?) -Fr eli ng hu yse n Ho use

Rar itan
now at Somerset Stre et and Wyc ko.i A venu e,
PLA TE 133
the Coejeman hou se) stands
Thi s house (also the Dutch church parsonage and
patented Feb . 3., l683 to Graham
on Lot No. 7 of the Indian deed of J68l, which was
7, which consisted of J.,904 acres,
and associates. In the subdivision of this lot No.
who sold it Oct . 26., J693 to Peter
the third quarter was assigned to James Graham,
Nes t., who dee ded it to his son-in- law Der rick Mid dag h on Ma y J., J709. Dirck
Van
in Ne w York., d. J7J6., married
or Derrick Aertse Middagh, bap. March 3, J672
alina, dau ght er of Pet er Van Nes t, and cam e to Rar itan late in J698 and bought a
Cat
ten years later. On this larg e farm
farm on the Raritan River from his father-in-law
stan ~ seve ral old hou ses: from wes t to eas t the y are the Fre ling huy sen house,
still
present site of the Du tch church
the Duykinck-Comell house., the Ma nn house, the
parsonage, and the Wallace-Miller house.
son Com eliu s Mid dag h, bap.
Thi s large farm was inherited by Dir ck's eldest
h the Ne w Jer sey mil itia in the
June !3, 1698 at Breukelen, d. l778. He served wit
He is believed to hav e lived in
colonial wars and was a commissioner of highways.
:eh~ous~ lat~r Frelinghuysen's; in his will of l778
., he directed tha t afte r the death
wife , his land . sho uld be 8?1d and the pro cee ds divided bet wee n his children.
He is
sold a part of his farm to hisCo brother George in J734 G eor ge Mi ddagh , bap.
11 •
l 709 at Raritan, lived where the se stan ds and kep t a tav em there for
som e yea rs• pub lic mee tin rne hou
1750-56; the tav ern was sold to John
Arison in l765. It is pro baf ; ~~r ; ~~Id her e
the old., low win g of the present
Victorian house, which came~n t: the is tavern w~s
~ Du yki nck , and later of Rev,
F~ederick Frelinghuysen Cornell• it han~s of Ric har
middle of the eighteenth centur , stan s neast00 r the rive r on Gra net z Pla ce. In the
d at the foot of Mid dag h Street,
w?ere li~ed another brother Di :I: :~ to us e
. J703 at Raritan., wh ose son Col.
Dirck Middagh lived here until he sold , ~h., hap
frame structure with pleasing 1. it in J795. Th e pre sen t hou se, a two story
ineS, was pro bab ly bui lt abo ut this tim e or pos
sibly
446
 HOUSES IN SOMERSET COUNTY

until the land was bought in J833 by John M. Mann. George Middagh
nOt 1 d. h f , men-
tioned above, sold an int e east part o the tract in J765 to Rev. Jacob Harden-
burgh, who sold it in 1775 to John Wallace of Philadelphia; his son William built
his home here in 1778, which was occupied early in the Revolution by Gen. Wash-
ington as his headquarters, and sold in J80J to Dickenson Miller. Still another
brother Tunis Middagh, hap. l 705, lived at the opposite or west end of the tract,
near the Coejeman property. These were the homes of the sons of the first Dirck
Middagh who came to Raritan.
On Erskine's Revolutionary map is a house marked Col. Frelinghuysen's,
which stands on the bank west of the island in the Raritan River, west of a stream
and of Raritan village. It is probable that the house so designated is the one known
as the Frelinghuysen homestead, and may be the one (or on the site of the one)
occupied by Cornelius Middagh. The house was probably built about the time of
the war. Colonel, later General, Frederick' Frelinghuysen, was a son of Rev. John
Frelinghuysen, and was born April l3, l 753 at the Dutch church parsonage (see
supra) at Raritan village (now Somerville). It is probable that he is the Colonel
referred to on the map, since his son John later owned the house. His home was on
the Millstone River near Weston, but he may not have removed there until later,
one account stating not until about l 787. Frederick was a brilliant lawyer. He was
actively engaged in the battles of the Revolution, was a member of the Provincial
Congress of New Jersey, of the Continental Congress and the United States Senate.
He died April 13, 1804 and Hes buried at Weston. He was married twice, to Ger-
trude Schenck, d. March l 794, aged 4 l years, and to Ann Yard.
Frederick's son General John4 Frelinghuysen was a lawyer, philanthropist, and
Brigadier General of the militia, serving in the War of J8J2. He was born in l77~
(supposedly at Millstone) and resided after his maturity at Raritan; he died April
lO, 1833 in his 58th year and lies buried at Somerville. He married first Louisa
Mercer, who died shortly afterwards and secondly Elizabeth Van Vechten, who as
: Widow tna.rried John I. Gaston. G:n. John Frelinghuysen had six children by:
J; nd marriage: his sons Theodorus and Frederick lived nearby; two of .
ughters tnarried; his remaining two daughters, Catharine and Sarah, were spin-
sters and . R , Th estate sold the
ho . continued to occupy their father's home at aritan. e .
Use 1ll J924 to Mr. Glazier whose widow Mrs. Ida Glazier now owns it. , 't
ibe house is not typic;l and is a veritable mansion compared toltbe .matJorithy
Of DUtch h , · b . k 'th ear y nine een
c'""'t ouses. It is a two story structure of yellow ric Wl an A 'd
-, ury d d ble dormer• wi e
hall is oorway, a neo-classic portico, and a more mo, em s The roofHne at
the :;nked on either side by large rooms with very high ceding •h h 's pre-
ga le end is the only part of the exterior which suggeSt S that t e ouse i
447
 HOUSES IN SOMERSET COUNTY

. Th low frame wing on the west was built for slave quarters. It ,
revo1utionary. e ' . h • f th R 1 , ts
'bl th t th house was not in existence at t e tlllle o e evo ution; it llla
possi e a e h
have been built by Gen. John Freling uy~en. A tone t'ime the h ouse is . y
SUPl)osed to
. ern and also as a prison. The
have been used as a tav . house formerly
h • stood nearer the
river bank. It was recently moved back a short distance tot e mam road, Somerset
Street.
House of Johannes Moelich (Mellick)
Road to Peapack, Far Hills
PLATE 134
This house is north of the main Dutch settlements in central New Jersey and
east of the principal German settlements; it stands near the Revolutionary road from
Pennsylvania to Morristown via Coryell's Ferry. Johannes Moelich was born Feb.
26, J702 at Bendorf on the Rhine, whither his parents had come from Winningen.
He grew up and became a tanner and burgher of good repute. There he married
Nov. J, J723 Maria Catherina, daughter of Gottfried Kirberger, burgomaster of
Bendorf, b. Jan. 6, J698, d. Oct. J7, J763. They emigrated in J735 with four children
and his brother Gottfried from Rotterdam to Philadelphia. They settled in New
Jersey, in J747 along the Delaware River, and in J750 in Readington Township,
where he established a tannery.
On Nov. J, J75J Johannes Moelich bought from George Leslie of Perth Amboy
367 acres of wild land (part of the tract patented to Johnston and Willocks in J70l),
having a frontage of three-quarters of a mile on the North Branch of the Raritan
River above Lesser Crossroads ( the old name for Bedminster). He paid £324 down,
and the balance of £202 and £228 within six months. He immediately took posses·
sion, erecting a temporary log structure for winter occupancy. Early the following
spring the cellar and foundations for the house were laid across the way. The stone
was hauled from a quarry on the tract and roughly dressed; the mortar was carried
by the good wife on her head to the masons at work. The building progressed under
the direction of Caspar Berger, a German stone mason and redemptioner, who built
many of the early houses in the vicinity. Nearby on Peapack Brook was established
a tannery and bark mill, which was operated for over one hundred years. Here
Johannes Moelich lived the rest of his days with his six children ( two more had been
born in this country), and died Nov. J6, J763. He was an active member of the Zion
Lutheran Church of New Germantown, which supplied the pastoral needs of the
Germans of central New Jersey.
, The stone house, tannery and 200 acres were inherited by the eldest son Ehren·
reich, whose name was anglicized to Aaron. Aaron' M li h b O t 17 J725 at
B d f 10 . G d. A . a c , • c• > ,
en or ermany, pril 7, l809 at Bedminster, married Charlotte Miller, b.
448
 HOU SES IN SOME RSET COUN TY

member of the
May 14, 1734, d. ~c h 13, 1802 ~e was a leader of the county, a
Bedminster Committe e of Obse rvati on and Inspection durin g the RevoIut·ion. One
. lJ M 1· k b• O ct. 28, 1763 in the old house, died here July ,
of his two sons, Danie e ic , 9
r as tanne r and farm er and owne r of the
l8l5, aided and later succee~ed his fathe
had ten chil-
homestead. In l 785 he marr ied Marg aret Gaston of Bedminster and
iel La Rue
dren; in l 808 he marr ied secondly Cath arine John ston, widow of Othn
settled nearby
and had two more children. Again widowed, Cath arine boug ht and
their home in
two years after Dani el's death . Four of her husb and's children made
) who was a
the old stone hous e: Char lotte , a spinster, John , Davi d (1798-1870
ugh not the
bachelor, a man of prob ity and honor, and the head of the house altho
of Daniel's
eldest, and Daniel, also a bachelor and a semi-invalid. Still another child
Bedminster,
was Mary4 Mellick (179 6-18 33); in 1826 she married Pete r Sutp hen of
b. Aug. 8,
a neighbor, and had two sons. The youn ger was Will iam P. Sutphen,
1832; after the early death of his mother, and the rema rriag e of
his father, he was
to live and
taken by his Aun t Charlotte to the old stone house, where he continued
nt owner,
eventually succeeded his uncle Davi d to the Mellick homestead. The prese
to time.
J. Macy Willetts of New York , occupies the old stone house from time the stone
It is interesting to compare this house of a Germ an imm igran t with
ed by them
houses of the Dutc h. It is similar and yet different from the style evolv
in this country. Like theirs, it is a one and a half story struc ture
of undressed stone,
curve and
covered by a gambrel roof, but there is no suggestion of the beautiful
d window
overhang of the roof developed by the Dutc h. On the other hand , the arche
trim give
openings and the quarter-circle attic luna rs emphasized by the roug h stone
e has been
a rugged grace to this house whic h is absent from the others. The hous
greatly changed by the addit ion of wing , dormers and porches. It
stands on the side
side of the
of a hilI near the northwest bank of the Nort h Bran ch River, on the west
road to Peapack. It is a shor t distance north of Far Hills village.

Qui ck Hou se
near North Bran ch, Bridg ewate r Town ship
PLA TE 135
east side of
h Lot No. 58 in the India n deed of J68J consisted of 9J2 acres on the
k e North Branch Rive r by the bend above the village of Nort h Branch.
This lot
1'~~58 was surveyed Aug . J4, 1693 for Ann W~ t; she was the daughter of Her
Gov.
ands.
landtnas Rudyard, and marr ied John Wes t as the first of her three husb
erneur Mo:-
ris fell to the possession of the Duchess of Gordon, whose agent, Gouv
with his
so, ~Id 640 acres of it Apri l J 1801 to John Van Derveer. He divided itRun near
n-l!l-law Abraham Quic k. Tha t year they both came from Ten Mile
449
 HO USE S IN SOM ERS ET CO UNT Y

n bui lt and sett led on the larg er nor th por tion of the trac t, and Abra-
Kin gst on; Joh
0 acres) wh ere he lived until he died.
ham set tled on the smaller sou th portion (23
32-J805) wa s a pat rio t and served
Ab rah am 's father, Col. Ab rah am Qu ick (J7
vol utio n; his hom e was at Te n Mi le Ru n. On e of his chi ldr en by his first
in the Re
o bou ght the Ry ers on homestead near
wif e, Ma tild a Wy cko ff, wa s Tu nis Qu ick wh
ree Bri dge s, not far from Fle min gto n (pl ate J60 ). On e of Ab rah am 's children by
Th
wif e Ch arit y was Ab rah am Qu ick , Sr. , b. J774, d. De c. 29, l866, aged 92
his sec ond
J5, J79~J'Mary Va n De rve er, b. Jan . JO,
yea rs, 9 mo nth s and J7 days, married Jun e
0, d. Ap ril J J, J86 6, age d 86 yea rs, 3 mo nths, and J day . He r par ent s were John
J78
er, Sr. , b. Oc t. 3, J75 2, d. Jun e J6, J8J J, and his wif e Jan e Va n Pelt, d.
Va n De rve
J5 days. All fou r He bur ied in the family
Feb . 22, J8J 3, age d 58 years, JO months and
house.
cem ete ry on the river ban k west of the Qu ick and Ma ry Qu ick in their home,
twe nty yea rs afte r the dea th of Ab rah am
Ab out
ir son par tly for pay me nt of his debts.
the ir far m is believed to have been sold by the
t. 5, J806 in Bri dge wa ter Tow nsh ip. He
It wa s bou ght by Ab rah am Va n Nest, b. Oc
in No rth Bra nch vill age in J 840 and kep t a sto re the re for ma ny years. On
set tled
er of Jam es Te n Ey ck. He left the farm
Oc t. 22, J84J he married Ma ry An n, dau ght
Jam es Va n De rve er. His father was
to his dau ght er Est her J. Va n Nest, wife of Dr.
n F. Va n Der vee r, wh o bui lt the pre sen t house on the Va n De rve er trac t adjoin-
Joh
farm on the nor th. Est her 's esta te sol d the far m abo ut J930 to Kenneth
ing the Qu ick
by ten ant s.
Schley, the present owner. It is now occupied
is roa d was not sur vey ed by Ers kin e dur ing the Re vol utio n, so we have no
Th
Bu t the typ e of hou se as well as the
definite knowledge of the age of the house.
rdin g quo ted abo ve (th at Joh n bui lt wh ile Ab rah am set tled ) sug ges ts tha t Abra-
wo
mo ved into a hou se alre ady bui lt. It wa s pro bab ly ere cte d about the
ham Quick
by a ten ant of the Du che ss of Gordon,
time of the Revolution or sho rtly afte rwa rd
y by a pur cha ser wh o fe11 dow n on his pay me nts . It is a one and a half
or pos sibl
bui lt in two uni ts the we st roo m having
story white frame house wit h gable roof. It is
low er ceil ing s. Th e hou se sta nds on the east sid e of a l~ e fol low ing the east
the
bank of the No rth Bra nch Riv er; it is bynch the ben d in the riv er one and a hal f miles
. '
north of the main hig hw ay at No rth Bra

use of He nd ric k an ~ Ab rah am Sta ats ; Ste ub en 's He ad qu art ers

Ho nd Bro ok
Ma in Stre et, Sou th Bou
PL AT E 135
,
Th is pro per ty was in the co t'muou~ ow ner shi p and occ upa ncy of the Staats
family and descendants from
ina l par chm ent ~e
1
~~e of.~ts pur cha se by one of them in l 738 until
t 935, Th e orig Sept. H,
ee is st1 pre ser ved in the hou se. Da ted
450
 HOUSES IN SOMERS ET COUNTY

738 it reads as follows:

"Cornel ia Van Dam of the City of New y ork w· ddo
:elic; of Richar? Van Dam late of the same city," conveyed to "Pete/ Sta~ts ;
Brookland in Kings County on the Island of Nassau in the province of New y ork,
Yeoman, ••• All that Tracts or Parcells of Land Lying Situate and being in the
d County of Somerset and Provinc e of East New Jersey aforsd, which is Divided
~to two parts in manner above and ~fter specified, One part whereof begins at the
North East Comer of Jacob Walton s Land on the South Side of Rarington River
aforesd adjoining thereto and Runs thence South Twenty Eight Degrees West one
hundred and fifty-six chains to the Bounds of Land late of Robert Lurting aforssd
thence along sd Lurting s line North East Eighty Two Chains to the South Corner
of a Twenty nine acre Lott now in possession of the sd. Jacob Walton thence North
Thirty two Degrees fifteen minutes East Sixty four Chains to Rarington River
aforesd Thence along the sd River Thirty One Chains Twenty Links to the place
of beginning. And the other part beginni ng at a certain place on the Line of said
land lately belonging to sd. Robert Lurting , being distant from the South West
comer of the sd. Lurting s Land Twenty one chains fifty links and runs thence along
the sd Lurtings line towards the sd comer Six chains and a half to the North East
Comer of a small Tract belongin g to the sd. Jacob Walton thence along sd Waltons
line South Twenty Eight Degrees West Forty Five Chains and Ten links thence
East So. East Three Chains and a half thence North thirty-two Degrees Fifteen
Minutes East Forty two chains to the place of beginning. Both which said Tracts
together Do contain Three Hundre d and five acres as by the annexed Chart or
Draft may more fully appear, Togethe r with all and singular the Houses Edifices
Buildings Orchards Gardens pastures Swamps Cripples Woods Woodlands Waters
Water Courses Mines Mineral s • • • all which premises are now in the Actual
possession of him the sd Peter Staats by virtue of one Indenture of Bargain and
sale to him thereof made for the term of one year bearing date the Day before Date
!
0 th
ese presents and Made between the sd Cornelia Van Dam of the one part and
e sd Peter Staats of the other part and by Virtue of the Statute made for transfer-
• d that , "WHER EAS
' tO possession." Previou sly in this deed, it was recite
GarrUses lll
lllg
bear·et Beekman, late of the City of New York Esqr. Deed, by his deed of Sal;
lw lllg Date the Eightee nth Day of April One Thousan d Seven Hundred an
Co;n;: two • • • Did give grant Bargain Sell and Convey unto his beloved Dau~1:!r.
that;~ ~eekman now Van Dam widdow relict of Richard Van Dam aforesinin
lhree Iitame Tract or parsell of Land known by the Name of Lott No. j conta
atld Pr ~ndred and five acres Situate Lying and Being in the CountyRio'f Sombei:seg
Part of ovince
fE
T O ast New Jersey on the Sout
h S'iae of Rarington ver, p t em
a ract of Land purchas ed by the sd Garret Beekman and Lefferts e erson
45I
 HOUSE S IN SOMER SET COUNTY
'
~I comn. of William Dochrea and divided into Six Lotts and the part thereof
a owed to the sd. Garret Beekman was Denoted and Known by the names of Lott
No. l, 2, 3, which sd Lott no. l is bounded on the North by Rarington River aforsd
on the West by land of Mary Beekman on the East by the sd William Dockera's
Land and on the South by (blank ). AND WHER EAS in the Year One Thousand
Seven Hundr ed and Thirty One Coll. Robert Lurting Did by Virtue of a prior
patent granted to him Run a Line of Division which did Divide the aforesd Lott
No. l into two Separate and Unequal parts taking in a certain Quantity of Land on
the North East End and cutting off the like Quantity in the South West End which
said Tracts or parcells of Land are Situate••••" On the reverse of the parchment
is the receipt for 350 pounds signed by Cornelia Van Dam. Then follows the record,
"Be it remembered that the within Camelia Van Dam appeared before James Alex-
ander one of his majesties councel for the province of New jersey and acknowledged
the within " and that he does "allow that it be recorded" on May l, 1740. Following
this acknowledgment is the "MEM ORAN DUM That I the within named Peter
Staats for the Consideration of the Natural love and affection which I have and
bear towards my well beloved Son Hendrick Staats of the within County of Somer-
set and the further Consideration of Five Shillings ••• have ••• granted ••• over
unto my Said son Hendrick Staats ••• with this present and the within written
Indenture of Release and Conveyance as also all the lands Messuage Heredita-
ments within mentioned ••• ," dated April 29, 1740, and signed Peter Staats. Below
that is the record of the acknowledgment before the above named James Alexander
by the said Peter Staats, likewise dated May l, l740. Althou gh the above deeds
were evidently recorded, they are not now to be found at the Somerset County seat
nor at Trento n.
The land along the southwest side of the Raritan River, from Bound Brook
beyond New Brunswick to Lawrence Brook, was bought in l 68 l from the Indians
by John Inians and associates for Lady Elizabeth Carteret. The following year
she sold the Province of East Jersey to the Twelve Proprietors. By l685 William
Dockwra, one of the Proprietors, had come into possession of a large portion of this
tract near Bound Brook. On Feb. 2, l 702 he sold l 800 acres here to Gerardus Beek-
man (for some reason he was called Garret in the deed cited above) and Leffert
Peterson jointly for £366. This tract was divided between them, Beekman taking
the half to the southeast, and conveying one-third of his portion to his daughter
Camelia Van Dam in J722, as recited above. This was a triangular parcel of land
with its short base on the river, extending some distance into the interior, and was
by her sold in l 738 to Peter Staats, as above.
The ancestor of the Staats family was Jan Pieters, who emigrated from Huysen
452
 HOUSES IN SOMERSET COUNTY

t f l640 and settled at Gowanus in Breuckelen, Long Island. His first wife
~redied, and he married secondly May J6, J652 Grietje Jans, and thirdly Nov.
s1:66 3 the widow of Frederick Jansen. He was still living there in 1698. His son
15
Pi~ter Jansen' Staats, born in this country and a farmer in Gowanus, had a son
Pieter Pietersen3 Staats, bap. July 8, J663 at Breuckelen. The latter lived at
Gowanus and later on Staten Island. His son Peter' Staats, bap. Feb. 16, 1690 at
Flatbush, d. J760-6J, was a farmer at Gowanus in Breuckelen (or "Brookland").
On Aug. 29, J7J2 at Flatbush he married Lammetje, daughter of Hendrick Claesen
Veghte, bap. April 23, J693, and the mother of his children. In his will of 1760 he
mentioned his (second) wife Rebecca, his eldest son Peter and another son John.
The above deed shows us that he also had a son Hendrick, whom he did not men-
tion in his will, possibly because the conveyance of this land on the Raritan River
was his share of his father's property.
Hendricks Staats was probably the second son, bom about J7J5, and named
after his maternal grandfather according to Dutch custom. He evidently built and
settled on his father's Raritan River tract immediately after his father purchased
it in l 738, for he was termed a resident of Somerset County when the property was
turned over to him in J740. He probably made his home here until 1769 when he
conveyed the property to his brother John. We do not know where he then settled
nor when he died. He married Macheltie Van Duyn, a daughter of Comelius Ger-
retse Van Duyn of Brookland, who mentioned them in his will of l 752. Possibly
they were the parents of the following three: (l) Peter Staats, b. about 1741, d.
Oct.16, 1793 in his 53rd year and buried at Bound Brook; in his will he mentioned
his wife Synia, and his children: Hendrick, Mary (b. J 767, d. J827, married Joseph
Blackford and Thomas Coon, both of Bound Brook), Nancy, Tyney, and Jan~,
and named as his executors his sons-in-law Joseph Blackford and Edward.Howell
and his cousin Abraham Staats (2) Comelius Staats was a witness in the deed
ofh1769 , ' and may have been named • for his maternal grandfather. (3) John Staat
;.;s said to have been a brother of the above Peter of Bound ~rook, married
1 19 1
S,

p , 776 Hannah Trembly and had the following children, named in the
,d of the orphans Court of Somerset Co. in l 827: John, p eter dec'd, H enry
records
de
rie~ jrannah (who married Nathan Van Kirk), Tiney (possibly Dinah who mar-
!
ar b 7 Tobias Boudinot) dec'd Nancey and Susan (who both died in lSll and
e Ur1ed'111 B '
B ound Brook). .
Yeorna~ deed of April 5, 1769 (recorded 1786), Hendrick Staats of Somerset County,
afor,... 'd, and lVIaghtel his wife, conveyed to John Staats of Sowerland in the county
that~a1cer ',y eoman, for £1,450 current Jersey money at 8 sh'll' e "All
i mgs p~r ounc ' · ,
tain tract or parcel of land situate, lying and being near Bound Brook m
453
 HOU SES IN SOM ERS ET COU NTY

inni ng at the northeast-

the Cou nty of Somerset and Province of New Jers ey, Beg
h side of Rar itan River"
erly corner of land belonging to Jaco b Buy s on the sout
in Hen dric k Fisher's line'"
runn ing southwest along his line "to a stak e stan ding
tree stan ding in the middie
from thence alon g his line northeast to a larg e whi te oak
up the rive r to the place of
of the road and then northeast to the Rar itan Riv er and
ts, Mag htel (her mark)
beg inni ng, containing 272 acres, signed by Hen dric k Staa
k Fish er. Thi s included 90
Staa ts, and witnessed by Cornelius Staa ts and Hen dric
been purchased by Hen-
acres of "lan d at Rar itan near Bou nd Bro ok" whi ch had
Abr aha m Van Dorn and
drick Staa ts of Rar itan on Dec. l, J768 from Christian and
mor tgag ed that same day to Joh n Staa ts of Sowerland. erty , was a younger
The Joh n Staats, who thus obtained possession of the prop
nd. He left Lon g Island
brother of Hen dric k and son of Pete r Staa ts of Bro okla
4

., Som erse t Co., on a 300

about 1740 and settled at Sourland in Hiilsborough Twp
miles east of _Flagtown,
acre farm on Royces Brook below the Amwell Roa d two
kaw , bap . Aug . 3, 1707
where he died in the fall of 1781. He married Fem met je Bro
and aun t of the John
at Rar itan , still living in 1753, dau ghte r of Joh n Bro kaw
plat e 132 ). He was sur- .
Brokaw who was killed at the battle of Germantown (see
and two daughters, aII
vived by his second wife Magdalena or Lena, by four sons
hed a 300 acre farm near
mentioned in his will. To his son Abr aham he bequeat
the farm in whi ch we are
Bound Brook where Abr aham was then living; this was
her Hen dric k in 1769,
interested, which Joh n Staa ts had purchased from his brot
the latte r mar ried in l 770.
and which he probably gave to his son Abr aha m whe n
h Twp ., and. died in
Abraham Staa ts was born May 23, 1743 in Hill sbor oug
6

ried Nov . 8, l 770* Mar-

this house May 4, l 821 * lacking l 9 days of 78 year s; he mar
1822,* dau ghte r of Abra-
garet Du Bois, b. Jan . 17, 1749* at Neshanic, d. Apr il 22,
thei r immediate family
ham Du Bois of Hillsborough Twp . The y were buri ed with
s, from whi ch the remains
in the graveyard in the orchard nort h of the present barn
In his will of 1819, Abra-
were removed after 1863 to the Bou nd Bro ok Cemetery.
his wife Mar gare t, be-
ham Staats of Fran klin Twp ., Somerset Co., provided for
udin g all the buildings and
queathed half the farm where he lived to his son Isaac, incl
d that those of my daugh-
t::s~
orchar:, and the other half to his five dau ghte rs "pro vide

P
ofmayhb~ single at the time my wife has done with the farm
t or t eir use only the one halfd of
. Col
, shal l occupy and
my dwe lling hou se and gard en"•, the
execu ors were the son Isaac and f~ien • Joh n Frel ingh uys en (ow ner of the
house at Rar itan -pla te 133) Th
ceased, taken May JO 1821 • e mve ntor y of the esta te of Abr aha m Staa ts, de-
se, men tion ed pastel por-
traits of Abraham an'd his ' ~;m(edht?eh ro~ms in ghisinhou th "dwelling room") , and
wi e w
list d the personal estate as wor han
ic still Th e
e th $7,560 66
• • e exta nt folio man uscr ipt books in
454

• Take n from famil y Bible .

 HOU SES IN SOM ERSE T COU NTY

etry , navi gatio n and

Abraham's excellen_t p~n ~ns hip incl ude treat ises on geom
surv eyin g and prob ably
surveying, from wh1ch 1t 1s appa rent that he prac tised land
in the year s betw een, he
taught a class of sch~ l~s. In l 788 and l 795 and prob ably
was also a justi ce
was one of the Comm1ss1oners of the Loa n Office for the coun ty; he
of the peace.
wou ld give up thei r
Whe n in t776 Lor d How e offe red full pard on to thos e who
aham Staa ts, his neig h-
aUegiance to the Ame rica n caus e, he exce pted ther efro m Abr
g. An "Inv ento rie of
bor Hen dric k Fish er and one othe r, as bein g beyo nd pard onin
by the Brit ish and thei r
goods and Cha ttels take n and dest roye d of Abr aham Staa ts
ten artic les of appa rel, a
adherents on Apr il f 3, t 777" incl uded a cow, five calves,
ectio n with his claim
pewter teap ot and a coffee pot, to the valu e of £22.5s.; in conn
appr oach of the Ene my
for this amo unt, he mad e a depo sitio n in 1782 "tha t on the
hous e, and on his retu rn
and their Adh eren ts the 13th of Apr il, t777, he fled, left his
s and chat tels cont aine d
home agai n the said day he foun d miss ing the seve ral good
take n by the Ene my
in the above Inve ntor ies and that he veri lly believes they were
en's Ran gers , a Brit ish
and their adhe rent s••••" Tow ard the end of the war , the Que
in New Bru nsw ick was
troop of cava lry, raid ed the Rar itan valle y, and a deal er
the barn , toge ther with
allowed to hide his stoc k of chin a bene ath the floo ring of
er pres ente d Mrs . Staa ts
the family's chin a and silve r. In grat itud e ther efor. the deal
, and a Low esto ft mug ,
with two chin a figu res, prob ably of Che lsea and Bris tol ware
the thre e appr aise rs ap-
which are still in the hous e. In t782 Abr aham was one of
rica ns in the coun ty
pointed to adju st claim s for prop erty losses suff ered by Ame
during the Rev olut ion.
n Steu ben in the
The house is poss ibly best kno wn as the head quar ters of Baro
fron t room and the ad-
spring of 1779. Steu ben arriv ed in Mar ch and occu pied the
buil t in the orch ard.
foining back room , and his staff wer e quar tere d in a mar quee
me intim ate with
In hi~ diary he reco rded : "Du ring my stay in Phil adel phia , I beca
to cam p••• (and )
Girard, the Fren ch min ister•••• He hono ured me with a visit
t779) t~e day afte r
re~i ved with all the hon ours of an amb assa dor. On (~a y 2,
s1Xteen guns .
A arrival, I orde red a man euvr e with eigh t regi men ts of mfa ntry and and all the
in-C hief
fter the mili tary disp lay he in com pany with the Com man der-
0 ' ook O f a d'1nner a t my
hther Generals and Colo nels , mor e than sixt y pers ons, part
eadquarters."
l Fiel d-B ook of the
R. Los~ing wrot e und er date of Sep t. l4, f 848 in his Pict oria ''Wi r ode Tohrt th h otuse
evoJut1 3 of the hou~ e: f h~ e •
forlllerly on, Pd• 33, whi ch also give s a cut
o is sohn. 'deeds1shers
survive ownef by Abr aham Staa ts, and now in possession
age, w o res1_ e t ere
during ;~ne o who m, Mrs . Jane Dot y, near ly 80 year s of
d w1th Baro n
e Rev olut ion, has a clea r reco llect ion of man y even ts conn ecte
455
 HOUSES IN SOMERSET COUNTY

Steuben's occupancy of the house. Although she was then a child eight or ten years
old, she remember s the dignity of his appearance, the urbanity of his manners, for
which he was noted, and the elegance and richness •of the ornaments with which he
was adorned. She spoke of a brilliant medal that hung by a ribbon upon his breast.
Mrs. Doty recollected two visits made to the baron by Washingt on and his lady,
one to dine and the other to take tea with him. On the latter occasion several ladies
were present. She also remembers an entertainm ent given by the baron to the
American officers and their ladies, on which occasion the table was spread in a grove
nearby. This occurred a short time before the encampment broke up, which took
place early in June, 1779. This view (see cut) is from the field in front of the house,
looking north. The dwelling is at the end of a lane several rods from the main road
leading to Middlebrook from New Brunswick••••"
Abraham and Margaret Staats had eight children, recorded in her family Bible:
(l) Jane, b. May 25, 1773,* d. here Nov. l8, 1859, married Dec. 21, 1808 Joseph
Doty as his third wife, and had one child; (2) Phebe, b. Sept. 4, l 775,* d. here Dec.
27, 1863 unmarried ; (3) Catherine, b. Nov. 2, 1778,* d. Sept. l, 1779* in her first
year; (4) Margaret, b. Dec. 30, 1781,* d. here Nov. 10, 1821* unmarried ; (5) Mary
Smith, b. July 26, 1784,* d. here Jan. 23, 1863 unmarried ; (6) Sarah, b. March 15,
1787,* d. hereFeb.1 6, 1870, married May 10, 1814* at Bound Brook William Bayles
of North Branch; she left her husband with the approval of her father and returned
to her family home to live in l8J7 with her only child Margaret Ann Bayles, b.
June 24, 1815* at North Branch, d. March 23, 1906 in this house, married first on
Nov. 10, 1836 Dr. George Bayles of Kingston (d. 1839), and secondly at Preakness
Aug. 18, 1845 Cornelius Wyckoff La Tourrette, b. Nov. 29, 1814 near Neshanic, d.
Aug. 3, l 902 in this house; Cornelius went to California via the Isthmus in the Gold
Rush and later returned and ran a saw mill on the canal; (7) Magdalen e, b. Sept.
l9, 1789,* d. March 2, 1790* in her second year; (8) Isaac, the youngest child and
only son, b. Dec. 5, 1791,* d. about 1869 in another house in South Bound Brook,
married first Martha A. Ross, who d. Nov. 6, 1838, aged 44 years, 3 mos., leaving an
only child, Margareta Staats, b. Feb. 17, 1813, married Reuben H. Freeman who re-
moved about 1854 to Independence, Iowa. Isaac Staats married secondly Nov. 26,
1B4? ~ y A. Matthews, who survived him and had four sons and a daughter, all of
Pla1nf1~ld, N. J.
M !y d~eds ~f partiti?n ~ated Nov. 12, 1823, Isaac Staats of Franklin Twp., and
art a, his wife, and_ ~is sisters Jane Doty, Phebe Staats, Mary Staats, and Sarah
~~iles,htheihe; surv1v1~g children of Abraham Staats, divided the estate half and
R· , w ele [ ~aac received 132.42 acres, including the tract between the Raritan
4S;ver an t e ew Jersey Turnpike on which the homestead was situated, while

• Taken from family Bible.

 HOU SES IN SOM ERS ET COU NTY

ss that road but retained

h' isters received the rem aini ng 132 acres dire ctly acro
ut this time Isaac Staats
~:; rights of resf~ence in o?~ half the old hom este ad. Abo
se and occupied that part
ade the high-ceilinged add ition at the east end of the hou
olde r part s of the house.
:i,arately from his mar ried and unm arri ed siste rs in the
his first mar riag e, and on
The property evidently pass ed to Isaa c's dau ghte r by
pendence, Iowa, conveyed
April 26, J869 her hus ban d, Reu ben H. Free man of Inde
Twp ., the l3 acres of the
to his wife's cousin Cor neli us La Tou rret te of Fra nkli n
righ t of Sara h (Sta ats)
farm b~tween the turn pike and the cana l, "sub ject to the life
le of the gard en.' ' Sara h
Bayles to the use of one half the Old Hou se and the who
Tou rret te, and the home-
bequeathed her righ t to her dau ghte r, Mrs . Cornelius La
ene Du Boi s La T ourette.
stead was owned and occupied unti l l 935 by her son, Eug
se was buil t at several
A study of the plan (pla te 6) will disclose that the hou
it is in a lega l list givi ng all
different times. The deed of l 738 men tion s a house, but
s; the own ers previous to
forms of possible imp rove men ts from swa mps to min eral
st unit of the house was not
l738 resided in New Yor k and it is prob able that the olde
l 740. Thi s unit is a deep,
erected until Hen dric k Staa ts settl ed here betw een l 738 and
laces whi ch are fed by one
narrow house, consisting of two room s, with com er firep
runn ing dow n the west
large chimney in the cent er of the east side, and a hall way
hen was at the east end of
side. According to a fam ily man uscr ipt, the orig inal kitc
qua rter s ove r it. Thi s may
the house and was a sepa rate buil ding with the slave
t was add ed abo ut l 800;
have been torn dow n whe n the kitc hen win g on the wes
abo ut l 825. Lossing stated
otherwise it was destroyed whe n the hou se was enla rged
(of the Revolution) and
that "only the center buil ding was in existence at the time
add ed. ••• The interior
that seems to have been enla rged . Eac h win g has since been
of that time, neat ly wains-
of the old part was •••, like mos t of the bett er dwe lling s
not unti l abo ut l 800 that
~ted with pine wro ugh t into mol ding s and pan els." It was
s on the othe r side of
thbraharn Staats enla rged the hou se by buil ding two room
erly clapboarded but is now
sh~~I and adding a service win g. Thi s win g was form
the rooms of the house are
IistJ.ed. In ~he lnve ntor y of his esta te, take n in 1821,
ry, Roo m back of the
p • Dwelling Roo m Bed Roo m adjo inin g Parl our, Ent
t:i°ur,
1
Bed Room ba;k of the Ent ry, Ups tair~ Gar ret, Cellar, Mil
k Cellar, Pan try,
c Staa ts built the large,
high~~~oom, Kitc hen and Kitc hen Gar ret. The son Isaa
COtnpand~ged and finely pan elle d add ition on the
cana l side abo ut 1825. The ~c-
of the house, the section
on th :ing pho togr aph (pla te 136 ) show s the cent ral unit
. The re is little difference
to b e right built in 1738-40 and that on the left abo ut 1800
the win dow moldings. It is
a ~i: 71 from the outside, othe r than the thic kne ss of
p, gable roof. Old
iwelv one and a half stor y shin gled hou se covered by a stee
's eyes, low ceilingS,
e Pane Window sashes, Dut ch dou ble doo r with oval bull 457
 HOUS ES IN SOMERSET COUN TY
, but-
expo sed beam s, early panelled chimney wall with no mantel shelf in one room
cellar
terfly hinge s, are a few interesting items. Judg ing by the shingles beneath the
with
hatch , it is probable that the house was originally covered by long shingles
ollls.
roun ded ends. The interior is unchanged and contains many old family heirlo
with a
Two very small dormers were added at one period, and more recently these
. The
third one were enlarged and roofed in a slope to the ridgepole of the house
l,870
prese nt roof extends slightly beyond the walls. A small porch added about
house
has been replaced recently by a small pergola. A photograph of the entire
also
from the end is reproduced in the vignette. Various views of the exterior and
in the
of the interior can be seen in Nort hwes tern New Jerse y, v. l, P• 64 and l04,
Book
Some rset Co. Hist. Quar terly , v. 2, p. 8l, and in Lossing's Picto rial Field
and
of the Revo lutio n, v. l, p. 333. The house stands in a field between the road
.
the canal in Sout h Bound Brook, one mile below the bridge over the Rarit an River

Hou se of Jaco b Ten Eyc k

North Branc h

The grandfather of the builder was Coenradt Ten Eyck , who emigrated about
1650 and settled at Coenties Slip in New York City. His son Matthias! Ten
Eyck
river
(l658 -l74J ) lived at Old Hurle y in Ulster County, where he was a farmer and
al
trader. On Nov. l2, 1700 and June 22, 1702 Matthias purchased of the origin
side
grantee, John Johnston, lots Nos. 53 and 6l of 400 and JOO acres on the west
h.
of the North Branch River in and just north of the present village of Nort h Branc
his
He himself never left Hurl ey; on Oct. 20, l72l he conveyed this 500 acre tract to
son Jacob, who built and settled here between 1725 and J733.
Jacob' Ten Eyck , b. 1693 at Hurle y, d. Oct. 26, J 753 at Nort h Branch, mar-
ried Jemima Van Nest, d. 1792, aged 92 years, daug hter of Jerom e Van Nest
of ·:
Ten
Raritan, and had seven children. The eldest of their four sons, Capt. Jacob '
died
Eyck was born Aug. 25, 1733 in his father's stone house at Nort h Bran ch and
the
in 1794. He inherited his father's one and a half story stone house and., after
death of his aged mother, added a second story in 1792. His brothers were: Peter
side
who settled north of him., Conrad who settled on the Ridd le tract on the east
48
of the river., opposite the old homestead., and Matt hew who settled on Lot No.
on the east side of the river, just north of the Lane -Bro kaw house (plate J32).
.
Capt. Jacob Ten Eyck died less than two years after he enlar ged his father's house
four
By his wife, Margaret Haga man, he had two sons, Jacob and Jame s, and
rty
~ugh ters. The brothers bought out their sisters' interest and divided the prope
Matwe;111th em in l 800. The old house fell to the share of James Ten Eyck , b. here
6

Y '
773, d. July 4, l854, married Esthe r Hank er. Thei r son Tuni s6 Ten Eyck,
458
 T COUNTY
HO US ES IN SO M ER SE
,.
e 9 t8 t6 , cl. N ov . t2 , J8 95, bo ug ht ou t his br0 thers interests but, as he never
un ' ni·ece, Es th er y an N t da
b• J ' the h omest ead to h is
arriecl, he le ft
d pu rc ha se d~ ; of Mary Ann
Ten t3 5) , an d w ife of, D r. Ja m
es t (w ho ha
Ey ck an d A br ah am V an Nes D . V an Derveer Sh 'lied dt
• ew i
,1c ou
oh er
se ne ar
F
by -
son, ra nk
1 tb
ne r. H e no w leas 't
pa "'
,or Van Derveer, w ho is cl ,
th e pr es en t ow CS 1 •
.k
tw o st or y str uc ture of fieldston e, wi'th bric arch
lYJ.•
Th e house is a .goJ o -s iz ed k .
cl Iow cei'1'in gs . Th er e is some f=n ,L e d
woo wor m hthe
h e o 1d W S an . only two or three me .
heads over t
W ID QO
1 h Ive s th e m ai n ro om s ar e es
r; th e na rr ow m an te s e in
h ticks . Th e
interio , h . . 1ar proJ,ect,io ns at eac en d for the support of candles
wide wit sem1-circu
th e N or th Br an ch Ri ve r, a short distan·ce above
nk of
house stands on th e w es t ba ra nc h village.
B
the main hi gh w ay of N or th
b V an D er ve er ; K no x H ea dq ua rt er s
H ou se of Ja co Be dm in ste r To wn sh ip
Ro ad to Pl uc ke mi n,
th Br an ch of Ra rit an Ri ver and south of the
e N or
Th e tract ly in g no rt h of th ( un til la te ly ca lled Lesser Crossroads) wa
s
dm in st er
road from La m in gt on to Be by M aj or D an ie l A xt ell. Jacob Van Derveer
bo ug ht
at an early un kn ow n da te (p ro ba bl y so m e ye ar s be fore this date) and
ct by 1756
bought pa rt of th e Axte11 tra te d so m e of hi s la nd to the Bedminster Church
he do na
built his home he re . In J758 s w ife , w ho di ed in t7 59, was the first to be
y, an d hi
for a building an d ce m et er
buried here. ns e 1
V an de V ee r, em ig ra ted in 1659 from Alk-
is Ja
Jacob's gr an df at he r, Co rn el bu sh on Lo ng Is la nd where he became a
se ttl ed at F! at
maar in N or th Ho11and, an d d Tr yn tje G ill is de M an deville, an d had among
m ar rie
patentee an d m ag is tra te . H e p. O ct . 29 , 16 86 , d. 1726. Th is Jacobes was
V ee r, ba
others a son Jacobes~ V an de y, N ew Je rs ey ; he w as su rvived by his wife
le m C ou nt
a farmer at Re em s H oo k, Sa an d two minor sonS, William2
he m ad e hi s ex ec ut or ,
Catharine, his so n Ja co b, w ho m er , b. M ar ch 6, J704, d. Nov. l7 , l7 76 ag
ve 17
ed?
59 m
D er
and Hendrick. Ja co b' V an J7 06 , d. Se pt . tt ,
rs., 8 mos., tt da ys , m ar ri ed Ph eb e D itm
ed ne ar th ei r
ar s, b.
ho m e
ab
in
ou
th e
t
O ld Be dm inSter Cemetery
...,,~r 53rd year. B ot h He bu ri ei r ho m e w as on th e no rth side of the CrNorth
m ily . Th sser oss-f
Bith tnost of their im m ed ia te fa b et w ee n PIuck enun· an d Le
ranch R=,Lver on th e w es t si de of th e hi gh w ay
r ds 77 2, di st rib ut ed a ve ry 1ar~e am ~~ ~: n
p;: (Bedminster). Ja co b, in hi
Virgin
s w ill
ia an
of
d
l
M ar yl an d, be tw een his various c i
artdPerty, including so m e in
grandchildren cl f' sons ando
0)
ne daughtmerar: rie
ea rs d
Jacob and Ph •eb e (D itm ar s) V an D er ve er ha ive 1769 d 35 y ~ s and
Joseph b ng to n, cl. Ja n. l5 , a: e d ~ 2
l7 , 17 34 at R ea di 7 ' 459
Ca.tr~ ap. M ar ch n, Ja co b, w ho di ed in t B age
- - , an d ha d tw o ch ild re
 HOU SES IN SOM ERSE T COU NTY
Pheb e, hap. Feb. 28,
Fem met je; this Jose ph lived at Sowerland. (2) Fem metj e or
Jaco b Van Dorin,
l736 /7 at Rea ding ton, d. June 6, J872 aged 45 years, mar ried
son Jaco b and three
d. Sep t. J2, J8JJ aged 86 yrs., 9 mos., 2 days, and had one
with out issue. (4)
daug hter s. (3) John or Joha nnes , hap. J739 at Rari tan, d. J77J
, mar ried Ma ria -,
Law renc e, hap. J74J at Rari tan, d.De c. 8, J8J5 in his 75th year
the 430 acre plantation
d. Mar ch 27, J777 aged 28 year s; Lawrence inhe rited chiefly
inhe rited amo ng other
on whic h he was livin g whe n his father died. ( 5) Jaco bus
Van Derveer, d. Feb.
prop erty 560 acres over the rive r; he is prob ably the Jam es
mar ried first Winche
3, J8J0 aged 66 yrs., 4 mos., 22 days (i.e., b. Sept . J2, J743 ),
Maria, daug hter of
- - , d. Mar ch 26, J 777 aged 22 years, and mar ried seco ndly
this Jam es had three
Rev . Jam es Hard enbe rgh, d. Mar ch J2, J789 aged 32 year s;
who m below.
child ren who died in childhood, possibly others. (6) Elia s, of
Nov . 30, J746 at
The youn gest child of Jaco b was Elia s' Van Derveer, bap.
the 435 acre plantation
Rari tan, d. Nov . 29, J778 in his 33rd year. Jaco b bequ eath ed
b Offs, to this son
he lived on, boun ded nort h by Pete r Pern e and sout h by Jaco
ert Luc as, where the
Elia s, also two adjo inin g tracts purchased of Edw ard and Rob
. Elia s Van Derveer
testator had lived at some time, and several othe r parcels of land
plac ed at the disposal
was a warm patr iot and his home, formerly his father's, was
quar ters here in l 779
of Gen. Kno x and his artil lery forces. Gen. Kno x had his head
in fron t of which is
(not at the Mehelin house at the main crossroads in Pluc kem in,
bsto ne state s that he
an incorrect mar ker) . Elia s served in the Rev olut ion; his tom
whil e prisoner to
died in his 33rd year "in consequence of his cruel inca rcer ation
Cath arin e £J,000 and
the Brit ish arm y••••" In Elia s' will of J778, he left to his wife
ed his siste r and two
a11 the goods she brou ght with her at her mar riag e, men tion
uyse n, John Schenck
surviving brothers, his three brothers-in-law Fred eric k Frel ingh
e had thre e children:
and Abr aham Sche nck, and his children. Elia s and Cath arin
ry, and Pheb e, d. un·
Jacob, d. Mar ch 6, J776 aged 9 mon ths, Hen dric k or Hen
Hen ry6 Van Derveer,
married Sept. 27, J849. The homestead was inhe rited by Dr.
ster. He lived, how-
b. J776, d. May 2, J868 and buri ed with all his fam ily at Bed min
or sout h, side of the
ever, in a larg e two stor y frame house near by on the opposite,
was a bachelors- his
river, which he had erected abou t J 820. As Dr. Van Derv eer
ry Lud low purchased
whole farm at his death was subd ivid ed and sold at auct ion. Hen
the old Jaco b Van Derveer house, and John F. Van Derv eer bou ght the Hen ry Van
Derveer house. Both buil ding s sti11 stan d.
wide clapboard-
. The old house is a one and a half stor y buil ding covered with
It stan ds in the
~ds ~;; ing lie-on-your-stomach wind ows und er the roofllile.
seen in
N h
1
s gable end towa rd the road . A phot ogra ph of it may be
st e been stuccoed and
ort we ern New Jers ey, v. J, p. 272. The hous e has sinc
460
 TY
HO US ES IN SO ME RS ET CO UN

no w ow ne d by the Sc hle y he irs . Th is house stands on the w t .d

remodelled; it' is ~
roa d fro m Plu ck em in to ~e dm ins ter a sho rt distance no rth of thee~ ;;t
of the e of this roa d south of the river.
d the lat er ho use is on the eas t sid
Branch River, an

Ho us e of Jo hn Va n Do re n
Mi llst on e
PL AT E 137

Ca pt. Cl em en t Plu ms tea d ob tai ne d a gra nt for lan d on the west

About J690
Mi lls ton e Ri ve r fro m Pe ace Br oo k sou th to Blackwell's Mills. On Feb.
side of the Plu ms tead., wh o on Ma y J., J752
s 2.,0 00 acr e tra ·c t to W illi am
28, 1742 he deeded thi th side of the Amwell Ro ad in
of the tra ct alo ng the riv er on the sou
sold 246 acres c. J2, J75 5 the latter conveyed it
n Do ren for £74 0. On De
Millstone to Ch ris tia n Va 169 9 ne ar Hillsdale in Monmouth
Ch ris tia n Va n Do ren ., b. Au g. J J.,
to his son Joh n. t Co •., ma rri ed Dec. JJ., 1723 Altje
Mi dd leb ush in So me rse
Co., d. Ju ly 20., l78 l at lef t Mo nm ou th Co un ty wi th his
d sev ent een chi ldr en. Ch ris tia n
Schenck and ha
ram ab ou t the tim e of his ma rri ag e an d settled on a tra ct of 566 acres
brother Ab
ad at Mi dd leb ush (ea st of the Mi llst one Ri ve r). Am on g his chil-
on the Amwell Ro
s Jo hn Va n Do ren , b. Ap ril 23. , l72 6 at Middlebush., d. l8J 5 ag ed 89 years.
dren wa s at the vi11age no w called Mill-
ty sea t of So me rse t Co un ty wa
The early co un
in Re vo lut ion ary da ys kn ow n as Somerset Courthouse. It was here on
stone and tle d on the tra ct tha t his father
tha t Jo hn Va n Do ren bu ilt an d set
the Millstone Ri ve r nt the nig ht her e in Va n Do ren
1
s
to him in 175 5. Ge n. W ash ing ton spe
conveyed ua ry l777., as well as on other
the ba ttle of Pri nc eto n in Jan
house after wi nn ing
Al tho ug h he wa s the vic tor , Wa shi ng ton ha d 8.,000 Br itis h troops thun-
oc~sions. all is int o thi nk ing his destination
arm y, so he dec oy ed Co rnw
dermg after his small
nsw ick ., bu t wh eel ed ab ou t an d fol lowed the Millstone River, halt-
~as New Bru
~o ren 's ov ern igh t., an d ma rch ed for Plu ck em in ear ly the ne xt ~o rni n~ .
;fe at ":' ~ he r up by the be ds m a vam
pri son ed Va n Do ren 's wi fe an d hu ng
t British im He ssi ans established a hospital for
inf orm ati on fro m he r. Th e
~t~tn~t to get some
wo un ded on the far m he re, aft er clearing off a large piece of wood-
sick and
27., J805 aged
77 y!;hn Van Doren ma rri ed Ma rre tje Lo tt., b. ab
s' and ha d six sons an d on e da ug hte r. Th e homestead farm was bequea ed
ou t l 728 ., d. Ap ril
th

leftt: ;;
to th
aco b,
1828 a e illiam. Jac
exc
ob
ept
I.
for
Va n
on
Do
e lot
ren
wi
., b.
th
De
a house on it which was occupied by an
c. 6., l76 l on the homestead, c:f. Ju ly 176
27
d
71
,
66 Ye ars , ma rri ed Mr s. Ho agl and ., nee Ma ttie Ditmars., b. Nov. JO,
cf. A.pr~: ir on ly son., Joh n Va n Doren0£
852 e ho me ste ad wa s inh eri ted by the
b. here p '~ • Th Jan . 7, 1829 Charity, daughter
e • 3, 1804, d. Se pt. l5, 1892., ma rri ed 461
 HOUSES IN SOMERSET COUNTY

Rynear Staats, b. Sept. 24, J807, d. Nov. J J, J872. Their three children were Rynier,
Jacob who lived on the ancestral farm (he had no issue), and Catharine who mar.
ried George W. Metlar and lived in the Low house at Raritan Landing (plate ll6).
The Metlars purchased the old farm from the other heirs, and their son John Van
Doren Metlar sold it about J925 to Charles D. Smith, the present owner.
The house is a two story shingled structure with a gable roof. The ceilings are
of medium height and the beams are still exposed in the dining room, formerly the
kitchen. Washington is supposed to have slept in the room in the southwest corner
of the ground floor; the fireback plaque in this room has the image and name of
Gen. G. Washington embossed upon it. An old hatchet mark on a door jamb dates
from the Revolutionary forays. The house is in very good condition. Other views
may be seen in Northwestern New Jersey, v. J, p. J6, and in The Van Doorn
Family, p. 356. The house stands on a knoll on the west side of the road running
along the west bank of the Millstone River, a short distance south of the Dutch
church in the village of Millstone.

House of Philip Van Horn; Sterling's Headquarters

Middlebrook, Bridgewater Township
PLATE 138

This house has historical rather than family interest; it was well known during
the lifetime of the builder, but did not become a family homestead. The second
Indian deed of J68J covered a large tract on the north side of the Raritan River
west of Middlebrook; Lot No.-3 was surveyed Sept. 25, J683 for several associates,
the easterly part being assigned to Richard Hall. This soon passed to Archibald, son
of Lord Neill Campbell, whose place, known as "Ket's Hall," stood on the neck; he
died in J702. The property evidently came into the possession of John Chambers
of New York City, who sold it to Cornelius Van Horn on Aug. 28, 1724.
Cornelius Van Horn probably settled here immediately, as in 1724 his place
was described as 22 miles northwest of Perth Amboy and in 1749 as JO miles above
New Brunswick on the Raritan River. Cornelius4 Van Hom had been a resident
of New York City; after removing to New Jersey, he became a member of the
Council of this province. He was descendtd from Jan Comelis1 Van Horn, who
emigrated to New Amsterdam by l 645 and was a teacher of the public school there.
In Co?1elius' will, dated 1768 and probated 1770, he left the farm where he then
dwelt in Somerset County, one half (551 acres) to his son Philip and half to his son
John, after the death of his wife (Elizabeth French).
5
T~e.son.Philip Van Hom, bap. April 29, 1719 in New York City, was a mer-
chant living in the town of his birth until about l 754; we first find him at Bound
462
 HOUS ES IN SOME RSET COUNT Y

Brook when he and others offere d lands for sale in Morri s Co. in 1754• He ma
uilt his home in Some rset Coun ty at this time, or possib ly not unfl 1
aft h' Y have
b "Ph'l 's Hill" IIoquia er dis father's
· lly, as "Convivial H 11"
kn
death. It was own as i , or, co the
festive occasi ons here. In Nove mber l 755 Col. Philip Van Horna ' ue tdo
many • h' • f S was or ered
ent out o omers et to repel the Frenc h and In d'ians at
to march with is regim • .
Easton, Pa. In l759 he was f or t he first time elected Judge of Common Pleas for
Somerset Count y.
Philip Van Horn 's patrio tism durin g the Revol ution is rather doubtful; like
many a rich man with New York affiliations, he was diplom aticall y cordial to both
sides. On April l3, l777 Cornw allis break fasted with him. He was under suspicion
and put on parole by the Amer icans but permi tted to remai n at home. Wash ington
wrote to Sterli ng: "I am sorry you did not keep old Van Horn under restraint." In
the winter of l778-79 Lord Sterli ng establ ished his headq uarter s here, while Greene
was at the Van Vecht en house nearb y and Wash ington was at the Walla ce house
in Somerville. In Octob er l 779 Col. Simco e raided the place to captur e the rebel
Governor Living ston, who fortun ately was not here. Capt. Grayd on of the Penn-
sylvania Line wrote that Van Horn 's hospi tality ought certai nly to have been recom-
pensed by an unlim ited credit on the public stores : his house , used as a hotel, seemed
constantly full; it was occup ied at one time by Col. Bland of the Virgin ia Cavalry
and Capt. Lee, later Gen. Harry Lee; notwi thstan ding the numb er of guests that
were to be provid ed for, there appea red no deficiency in accommodation, and we,
wrote the Capta in, were suppe d and lodge d well. Philip Van Horn marrie d Eliza-
\

beth, daughter of Willi am Ricke tts, and their many daugh ters were noted for their
b_ea,uty. Here on Oct. l2, l 778 their eldest daugh ter, Mary Ricke tts Van Hom, mar-
r~ed Stephen Moyla n, an Irishm an living in Philad elphia , Colonel and later Briga-
dier General of the Amer ican Light Drago ons. Anoth er daugh ter marrie d Thom as
~ansdale; he and Moyl an were both origin al memb ers of the Socie ty of the Cin-
cinnati.
D The Marquis de Chast ellux wrote of his stopp ing here with Col. Moylan in
t/cernber, l780: "This mano r is in a beaut iful situat ion; it is surrou nded by some
ofees, the approach is decor ated with a grass plot, and, if it were better taken care
N~:~ ;k•
of ag
0
Mr• Van Horn came to meet me: He is a tall lusty man near
th
Would think onese lf in the neigh borho od of Londo n, rather an in at of
th
sixty years
th
n
stau0: 'h ut vigorous, hearty and good humo ured; he is called Colo e1 from , e
before the held in the militi a under the Engli sh gover nment . He resign ed some time
York an: ;ar; he Was then a merch ant and cultiv ator, passin g ~he winte
retired t0 ht· e summ er in the count ry• but since the war he hasdquitte
r at Ne~
d the townd'an
' his count ry witho ut r~n ermg
is rnanor, alway s faithf ul to · himself o ious
463
 HOUSES IN SOMERSET COUN TY

ade, ~ut who,

to the Engl ish, with whom he has left two of his sons in the Ja~a ica.tr
their father.
if the war continues, are to sell their property and come and live with
the esteem in
Noth ing can prove more strongly the integ rity of his conduct than
the midst of
which he is held by both parties. He has frequently found himself in
him, some-
the theatre of war1 so that he has sometimes had the Americans with
a breakfast
times the Engl ish. It even happened to him once in the same day to give
duced to his
to Lo!"d Cornwallis and a dinner to General Lincoln. • • • (I was intro
of the neigh-
wife and three daughters, including Mrs. Moylan, and to some guests
ce, her dress,
borhood.) ••• Mrs. Van Hom is an old lady, who from her countenan
the honors
and her deportment, perfectly resembled a picture of Van Dyke . She does
the rest of
of the table with exactness, helps everybody without sayin g a word , and
the time is like a family portrait. •••"
February
It was probably a few years after this that Phili p Van Horn died. In
only caUed
J786 Benjamin Morgan made a map of "a certain tract of land comm
lot of 84
Phil' s Hill, " dividing the· tract into fourteen parcels and the homestead
and his wife
acres. On Nov. J, J794 John Campbell bought from Jame s Rick etts
late the prop-
Sara h lots Nos. J3 and J4 and the homestead lot, which is described as
to his sister
erty of Philip Van Hom e. In J8J0 John Campbell deeded it in trust
ert, who re-
Margaret Campbell. She and the trustees sold it in J83J to John Herb
home.
sided here for so many years, that the place is often called the Herb ert
it is the
The house has no resemblance to the typical farmhouse of the Dutc h;
ually large
mansion of a wealthy and hospitable New York merchant. It is an unus
on the east
two story frame house, with a smaller two story kitchen and slave wing
s with high
end. On either side of a hall, which is J2 feet wide, are very large room
appearance.
ceilings. The modem shutters and roof detract from its Revo lutio nary
wrought
T~e house is now an empty shell, with only the wide floor beams, hand
Chemical
nails and a few old doors to denote its age. It is now owne d by the Calco
north side of
C.Ompany, whose factory is opposite. The house stand s on a hill on the
the Revolutionary road from Boun d Brook to Rari tan (now Som ervil le); it is west
of the stream called Middlebrook.

House of Derrick Van Vec hten ; Gre ene' s Hea dqu arte rs
Finderne
PLA TE 139
This house stands on the sam tract, Lot No. 3, as the Van Horn house a few
miles distant. Lot N 3 . h e
l683 for John Palmo. ind ht_ e seco~d India n deed of J68J was surve yed Sept. 25,
an is associates• One Of these was Mich
d t hi was assigerned .
an ° m th t
ael Van Vechten,
e WeS ern portion, to whic h he later adde d considerably
464
 HOUSES IN SOMERSET COUNT Y

both on the north and south sides of the Raritan River. His grandfa ther T eunis
Dircksen1 Van Vechten emigra ted from Vechte n in Hollan d in the Arms of Norwa y
with his wife, child, and two negroes , and settled at Greenb ush opposite Albany in
t638.
Teunis' grandso n Michae l' Van Vechte n, b. Nov. 28, J663 at Greenb ush, is said
to have settled on his purchas e along the Raritan River as early as J685. He built a
one and a half story stone house here on the north bank, east of Raritan . He gave
the land for the first Church of Raritan , which was erected in the fields east of his
house, and burned by Col. Simcoe in a raid during the Revolu tion. On Nov. 2J,
t686 Michael married Marytj e Parker , d. July J690, and on April 2, J69J he mar-
ried secondly Jannetj e De Mont. Among his four childre n by his first wife was
Mary, who married Judge Jeremi ah Field, landow ner along the Raritan in Piscata -
way Township ( see supra). Of his three children by his second wife, Derrick- re-
ceived from his father J,000 acres on the north side of the river, and Jane, wife of
Jacobus Hageman, the propert y on the south side of the river. A bridge was erected
here at an early date and was called Van Vechte n Bridge by J 750.
The son Derrick4 Van Vechte n, b. July JS, J699 in the Raritan neighb orhood ,
bap. at Raritan Church , d. Nov. 29, J78J, aged 82 years, 4 months and J4 days, and
lies buried in the field east of the bridge, where formerly stood the old church . Derrick
was married three times: first to Judith, daught er of Anthon y Brockh olst, second ly
on Nov. 2, J7J9 to Debora h Antoni des, and thirdly, about J759 to Sarah Middag h,
d. Nov. J7, J785, sister of Cornelius Middag h, owner of the tract, later Freling-
huysen's (plate J33). His third wife was the mother of his four childre n: Dirck who
died in infancy, Margar et who married Joseph Crane, Michae l, and Elizabe th who
tnarried George Davis.
Derrick Van Vechten was in his 80th year when he acted as host for Gen-
eral and Mrs. Greene in the winter of 1778-79. An entire division of the Americ an
;rn:y Was quartered at this time on his farm; his valuabl e timber was destroy ed for
fUe and log huts for the soldiers, but he was so great a patriot that he never asked
"othr nofr accepted compensation. Mrs. Greene was a charmi ng young lady of 25,
fonde av f ori't ladY of the army," when her husban d was statione d here. She was
notab~ social functions and gave many ''kettle drums" and minuet s. The most
afterwe e;tertainment here was on Christm as Eve in J778, of which Genera l Greene
by danar_ wrote that "The Comma nder in Chief evinces his esteem for Mrs. Greene
lVIrs. G;ing With her three hours withou t sitting down!" When they left, Gen. and
''in grat:~e presented Mrs. Van Vechte n with a beautif ul carved mahog any table
house noT'I~ remembrance of a bounte ous hospita lity.'' It was in the large brick
.,., stand'ing th at all these events took place.
 HOU SES IN SOMERSET COUNTY
Michaels Van
The homestead was inherited shortly after the war by the son
Vechten, b. Nov. 13, 1764, d. Dec. 29, 1831, married April JO,
1787 Elizabeth La
their only son and
Gran ge, b. March l, l 766, d. May l, l 856. The house passed to
ied Mary Lord and
youngest child, Rich ard Van Vechten, b. Dec. 19, 1808, marr
6

family to occupy
secondly Miri am Betts, an English girl. He was the last of the
1873. It was pur-
the homestead. It had come into the possession of C. T. Ames by
Meyer, Jr., now
chased about 1890 by Bernard Meyer, Sr., whose son Bernard
occupies it.
e roof. Accord-
The house is a long two story brick structure covered by a gabl
but as he was only
ing to tradition it was built in J7l5 by Derrick Van Vechten,
Derrick's grand-
16 years of age then, it was probably erected some years later.
e part of the orig-
daughter, Mrs. Jane Tayl or, wrote in 1887, that the old and ston
century was still in
inal building built by Michael Van Vechten in the seventeenth
building adjoining
use in the kitchen part of the present house, and that the brick
s west of the Man-
was built by Derrick Van Vechten. The house stands a few field
clump of trees. An-
ville Roa d on the nort h bank of the Raritan River, hidden in a
other view of it can be seen in the Van Vech ten Genealogy, p.
l0l.

Hou se of Sym en Van Wickle, late r Suy dam 's

East on Turn pike, Fran klin Town ship
PLA TE 140
Lad y Elizabeth
John Inians and associates bought from the Indians in l68l for
the Raritan River
Carteret, widow of the Proprietor, a tract along the south side of
lots, consisting of
from Bound Brook to Lawrence Brook, and laid out the Rari tan
se lots were at first
ten 500 acre lots, each with a half mile of river frontage. The
Eve rt Van Wickle,
in the hands of Scotch and Eng lish speculators. On May 29, l 703
Lon g Island, pur-
Gerardus Beekman and Leffert Pieterse, all of King s County,
acres on the south
chased from Tho mas Cardale of Jamaica for £200 a tract of 450
Lot No. 7, about
side of the Rari tan River, beginning at Rich ard Jone s' Rari tan
ton) . It is prob-
3½ miles from Alba ny Street in New Brunswick (recorded at Tren
is also believed to
able that Ever t bought out the interest of his two part ners ; he
kwra. In l 713 a road
have purchased 800 more acres in the vicinity from Will iam Doc
's to the Millstone
was laid out along this bank of the river, from Hen dric k Beekman
n, but we have no
Ri;e r road, showing that settlement had commenced in this regio
evidence that Evert himself ever removed here.
t 1664, probably
f Evert Janse Van Wickelen or Van Wic kle emigrated abou
1

was living at New

lom. Wykel in Friesland. He was a carpenter by trad e and
iage in the Flat-
m.ersfoort (i.e., Flatlands) on Lon g Island at the time of his marr
466
 HOUSES IN SOMERSET COUNTY

bush Church Feb. 27, 1690 to Mettye Symonsen, also of New A

ttled in the New Lots of Flatbush, also called Oostwoudt h mersfoort. They
;~d as early as 1686. It is proba~le that Gerrit Van Wick:Xe: :ir~:~~;ught
had a son Evert bap. 1699) was his brother. Evert and Mettye V w· k 1 (who
six children: Zytie,
· at Q ostwoudt, married at theanh ic ef en
. born and 1'1vmg E had
ouse o vert
1 1 1 H J , B
her father, m >7> > ans or1se ergen ( l 684- l 726) of Breuckelen d 1a
•
f
Hempstead; Peterneltje, born and married at New Lots, married in J7~ Re:r1:_
sephse Hegeman (1685-1767) of Flatbush and Breuckelen; Geertje born and 1· ,
at New Lots, married in l7l9 Hendrick Jacobs Suydam (1696-1771) of Flat~::~
Jan Van Wickle of New Lots married in l 723 Ida Remsen and had two daughter~
mentioned in his will of l 732; Coevert had a wife Mettje; and Symen in whom we
are interested.
Symen' Van Wickelen or Van Wickle was named for his maternal grandfather.
He married about 1722 Gerrardine Kouwenhoven, bap. Aug. 7, 1705 at Breuckelen,
daughter of Nicasius J anse Kouwenhoven. She was generally called Dinah for short.
Our earliest record of Symen and Dinah in New Jersey is Nov. 25, 1722, when they
acted as sponsors at a baptism in the Dutch church of New Brunswick. It is prob-
able that they settled at this time on his father's tract along the Raritan and built
the present house. According to family tradition, which omits Symen and his
generation, the house was built by the younger Evert's (1726-1757) father Evert.
However, the younger Evert's father was Symen and, with this correction, it is
probably true that Evert's father built the house rather than his grandfather
Evert, who was living in New .Lots as late as l7l9 when his daughter _was
lllarried, and of whom there is no record in New Jersey. Symen Van Wickle
Was recorded here in the Franklin Township list of 1735. The will of Symen V~
~ickle of Somerset Co., yeoman, dated l 753, probated Jan. 3, l 755, mentioned his
wde Dinah, his sons Evert (bap. l 726) and Nicholas, his daughters ~e, R~y,
Dinah, E lsee, Mettje and Seytje, mentioned his . h f the Raritan 1ver,
ome arm on db ht 0 f his
and alsO a 3 l acre lot over the River on the north st'de Of R ari'tan Roa oug 1 estate
son-· 1 . . d 1 ng his persona •
lhes~- aw Joseph Mount, and listed negroes an. Pat~ a7:e will of their brother
t:, daughters with their husbands are mentionedgemAnderson, Jr., SettJe, wife
.c.-vert p b . 'f f G
John
of ro ated three years later: Mett1e w1 e O eo; ife of Jacob Suydam, and
Els·1 de Boyce, Dinah, wife of John Probasco, Ant1e w d' d unmarried as she is
not ~e c~ased, late wife of Joseph Mount (Mary may have ie
I ~honed). . iately after the death of
Sytn tis not definitely known who owned the house im7ed'f Ann infant daughter
of E:n Van Wickle. Family tradition states that the ~c es;ickle'; only other son
ert Van Wickle deceased, lived here. Symen an 467
 HOUSES IN SOMERSET COUNTY

was Nicholas Van Wickle. By license of Dec. 9, l752 he married Catrina (Trintie)
Buys (Boice) of Middlesex and had at least three children, Gerrardina, Seytie and
Evert, hap. l754, l757, and l76l respectively. This Nicholas Van Wickle is believed
to have lived near Raritan Landing. The house is not shown on Erskine's Revolu-
tionary map, possibly because this and the adjoining Van Wickle place may have
been considered one property. The next knowledge we have is its sale May J8, 1795
by Peter AntonJdes and wife ( unnamed) to Robert T. Kemble, the deed stating it to
be the plantation where the said Peter then resided, beginning at the Raritan River
at the lower comer of the land of Rev. Abraham Beach; this was a 95 acre tract, and
the sale also included a 22 ½ acre plot on the south_side of the road to Middlebush,
in the rear of but not ad joining the first plot. The lot between these was bought
Feb. ll, l800 by John Van Deveer from John D. Van Duyn and wife (unnamed)
of Somerset; he had received it from his father Dennis Van Duyn, who in his will
of l792 devised to his son John the remainder of the farm unsold whereon he (the
testator) then lived, beginning at the line of Abraham Beach and south of the road
to Middlebush. From the wording of the will, it is possible that Dennis Van Duyn
had sold parts of his farm to Peter Antonides. He may have received it from his
father. The will of Willem Van Duyn of Somerset County, probated l773, left the
plantation on the Raritan River, which he bought of Matthias Smock and which
of late belonged to Nicholas Van Wickle, to his son Roelef, and left the farm where
he lived on the river to his son Denys. John Van Duyn was baptized in J'76J at New
Brunswick, son of "De Nis" and Lena Van Duyn; Denys had been baptized in J724,
son of Willem Van Duyn and Sybrech Verkerk.
There is no gap in the history of the farm in the nineteenth century. The lot
near the river and the rear lot were purchased May J J, J797 from Robert Kemble
of New York City by Hendrick Suydam of Somerset Co. On June 30, J802 he also
bought the lot in between from John Van Deveer, the trans£er stating that it was
part of the plantation formerly occupied by William Van Duyn. There were various
Suydams in the vicinity of New Brunswick at an early date, and U is probable that
this Hendrick was not a direct descendant of Hendrick Suydam, son-in-law of the
first Evert Van Wickle. Hendrick Suydam married Aule or Alletta Rappleyea;
he died intestate between J833 and 1838, leaving three adult children: Arriet, wife
of Michael Garrish of Middlesex Co.; Ann, hap. J788, wife of Stephen Mundy of
Allegheny Co.; and Ida, bap. l 796, wife of Nicholas Van Wickle of Monmouth Co.
Thi~ Nicholas was probably a grandson of Symen's son Nicholas. On June J, J838
the first two daughters conveyed to Nicholas Van Wickle their two thirds undivided
share of the l66 acre farm of their father. Nicholas Van Wickle undoubtedly re·
moved to his father-in-law's farm. He and his second wife Jane Ann, residents of
468
 HOUSE S IN SOMER SET COUNT Y

Franklin Towns hip, sold this farm on Aug. 25, J862 out of the family and r 1
were obtained from th~ five chi!dren of Ida (Suyda m) Van Wickle . The pr:::: ;
changed hands many times until it was purcha sed in J873 by Asher Atkinson. He
leased the farm ~o the Smalle y family, who later purchased it from him, and lived
on the farm until recent years. It was purchased in J932 by Mrs. Malcolm Mont-
gomery Donaldson and her two daught ers, the present owners.
This is a good examp le of the one and a half story frame farmhouse of the
Dutch. Immense hand-h ewn beams, seen in the interior (plate 2), were used for the
framework of the walls; the interstices were filled with mud, clay and straw, inter-
lined with brick, and held togethe r by hand-hewn laths. The old, long shingles with
rounded ends still cover the side facing the canal, and the balance is clapboarded.
The gable roof overha ngs one wall, descending in a straigh t slope with no sugges-
tion of a curve. The cellar beneat h is paved with stone flagging and a big batten door
separates the compa rtments where the slaves were quartered. The dining and kitchen
wing is later than the main house, althoug h also of an early period; it has very
small windows, exposed beams, and low ceilings. In the main house, the wide floor
boards, exposed beams, old twelve pane window sashes, simple fanlight, panelling
of the fireplace wall, and small enclosed stairwa y with board rail, are items to be
noticed. The Revolu tionary road ran along the river bank in the bed of the present
canal and in those days the front of the house was the side with the overhanging
roof which faced the river. This is now the rear of the building. The house has been
restored very successfully by George Howell, architect, and the Highla nd Park
Building Company. The changes in the interior are discussed in the Introduction.
The house stands near the canal on the northeast side of Easton Turnpike,
about 3½ miles out of New Brunsw ick toward Bound Brook. Adjoin ing it on the
north is the Van Wickl e-Beac h-Law rence proper ty (plate J4J). Between them
runs the lane to the old Four Mile Bridge over the Canal; in earlier days there was
an irnportant ford here over the river, which connected Middlebush and Piscataway.

House of Evert Van Wickl e, later Rev. Abrah am Beach 's

Easton Turnpik e, Frankli n Townsh ip
PLATE 141

Ian This house is still owned and occupied by descendants of the builder and the
th d ~as never been out of the family since it was purchased in J703. The land6along
, _,~r~~e:
Was bought from the Indians for the Proprie tor of East Jersey in J Bl; it
7 3
V Wided and sold to Englis h and Scotch speculators. On May 29, J 0 Evert
Is:d ickle, Gerardus Beekman and Leffert Pieterse, all of Kings Co., Long
' Purchased from Thoma s Cardale of Jamaic a for £200 a 450 acre tract on the
469
 HO USE S IN SOM ER SET CO UN TY
at
th sid e of the Ra rita n Riv er, 3½ miles fro m Ne w Bru nsw ick (recorded
sou
Tr en ton ).
the pur cha ser s, Ev ert Jan se 1
Va n Wi cke len or Va n Wi ckl e, emigrated
On e of nd.
the Ne w Lo ts of Fla tbu sh on Lo ng Isla
to thi s cou ntr y abo ut 1664 and set tled in
me n! Va n Wi cke len or Va n Wi ~k le set tled on his fat her 's pro per ty along
Hi s son Sy sta nd ing (pl ate 140) ; a more
abo ut 172 2, bui ldi ng a hou se stil l
the Ra rita n Riv er
acc oun t of the ear ly per iod is giv en in con nec tio n wi th his hom e.
det ail ed
' Va n Wi ckl en (as he spe lled his name
Sy me n and Din ah' s elder son wa s Ev ert
bap . Jan . l, 172 6 at the Ra rita n Ch urc h. By license of De c. 9, 1752 he
in his wi ll), tje
rrie d Co rne lia Lu par dus of Mi ddl ese x Co unt y, and the y ~a d a dau gh ter An
ma in Ne w Br un sw ick . According
. Sep t. 27, 175 4 at the Du tch chu rch
or An n, bap e of
by or for Ev ert Va n Wi ckl e at the tim
to fam ily tra dit ion thi s house was bui lt
rria ge (17 52) ; it sta nds on the nor the rn par t of his gra nd fat her Ev ert 's tract,
his ma lia had bee n ma rrie d onl y four
his fat her Sy me n. Ev ert and Co rne
nea r the house of ve-
rs wh en the y die d. Th ey lie bur ied in a gro ve of trees on the pro per ty, the gra
yea
g: ''O n the 3rd Da y of Ma rch , 'J.75 7 Ev ert Va n Wi ckl e and Cornelia
sto ne rea din irit s. On e Gr ave con tain s their
ied eac h oth er to the La nd of Sp
his wif e accompan
and thi s Sto ne is ere cte d ove r it by the ir on ly Ch ild , the n an inf ant , bu t now
ashes
Ab rah am Be ach , D.D ." Th e wil l of Ev ert Va n Wi ckl en of Somerset
the Wi fe of
his wif e Co rne lia and his dau gh ter An tje,
Co., pro bat ed Ma rch 'J.7, 'J.757, mentioned
hol as Va n Wi ckl en and bro the r-in -la w Ra m Lu par du s, and his five
his bro the r Nic
the day of his dea th me nti one d his wife's
sisters wit h the ir hu sba nd s;a codicil dat ed
rist ian us Lu par dus and his wif e's sis ter An atj e wif e of Co rne liu s Duryea.
father Ch Pis cat aw ay, Mi ddl ese x Co.,
er- in- law , Ch rist ian us Lu par dus of
Th e will of the fath
7 and pro bat ed 176 8, me nti one d tha t his wif e wa s deceased, nam ed his
dated 'J.76 dau gh ter An n Va n Wickle.
(su rvi vin g) dau ght ers and his gra nd
three sons and three
rist ian us had live d in ear ly life at Fla tbu sh, Lo ng Isl and , and wa s the son
Th is Ch tch Re for me d Ch urc hes of
mu s Lu par dus , min iste r of the Du
of Dominie Guliel
Kin gs County.
eri ted the pro per ty, wa s ma de a ward
Th e inf ant An n Va n Wi ckl e, wh o inh
4
.
10 ry by her unc les , wh o acc ord ing to fam ily tra dit ion trie d to obt ain her ·
chance
~5 e estate for themselves. In or abo ut
J 772 she ma rrie d Re v. Ab rah am Beach,
e, and fou r dau ght ers . Ab rah am
B• ·ha;;d had two
9
son s, wh
Ch
o
esh
die
ire,
d
Co
wit hou
nn. ,
t
wa
issu
s a son of Ca pt. Eln ath an Be ach and
hieac ' .dSe~t. , 174 0 at
on wd e• Af ter grad uat .ing from y a1e College, he stu die d for the ministry.
secth
s ce
Sin 1 .
ere was no E .
f~: s~p a s~p er~ ten den ce in thi s cou ntr y at tha t period, he
went abroad in 1767 0rdma tio n. Th e So cie ty for the Pro pag ati on of the
Gospel in For e· p is
l Ch urc hes in Colonial
470
ign arts sustained most of the Ep isc opa
 HOUSES IN SOMERSET COUNTY

·ca with stipendsNand libraries . Abraham Beach was appointed by this Soc1e •t
A111er1 ,, B . k h
to this country and entered on
y
be "missionary to ew runsw1c ; e retumed
his duties at Chr'1st Church in
to ' ' " S eptemb er, 1767. He was a strong
' th'1s " m1ss1on
believer in the Episcopal faith but was wholly exempt from any persecuting spirit
toward those who differed from him and his candor and kindness converted many
of his opponents to his beliefs.
Abraham Beach, although attached to his country, did not believe the time
was ripe for independence which he thought would come at the proper period with-
out civil war. He did not consider himself absolved of his allegiance by the Declara-
tion of Independence nor free to omit parts of the Liturgy ( which directed prayers
for King and Governm ent) without the approbation of the Society, and he closed
his church for some months rather than violate the vows taken at his ordination. It
required great prudence to perform his duties as clergyman of the hated Church of
England and yet maintain that neutralit y which he deemed imposed by his calling.
He was successful in enjoying the respect of both patriots and loyalists, to such an
extent that a patriot vestry shortly after the war elected him First Associate of Rev.
Samuel Provoost at Trinity Church in New York City. He held this position for
twenty-nine years, until he retired in 1813. During this period he was instrumental,
as a delegate at various conventions, in organizing the Episcopal Church in the
United States and in procurin g the consecration of American bishops in this country.
He was a liberally educated scholar and was well versed also in doctrinal theology.
The property on the Raritan River remained for many years a part of the
Van Wickle estate. Ann Van Wickle and Abraham Beach resided here throughout
the Revolution, when it was often between the lines, exposed to depredations from
both parties and to balls fired in skirmishes between advance guards. After his
appointment to Trinity Church, they lived in New York and only spent their sum-
rn~rs on the farm. It was not until Oct. 3J, J799 (recorded J808) that Robert BoggS,
CVldently then executor of the Van Wickle estate, conveyed the title of the property
~braha m Beach; in this deed he described it as "the farm whereon • • • Abraham
th ch usually resides in the summer season," consisting of a 266¼-acre tract on
140),
bo south side of the River Raritan adjoinin g Hendric k Suydam's farm (plate
W· a 12 acre lot across the river and a 7 ½ acre lot at the Roundabouts. Ann (Van
lc~~e) Beach died in January J808. Her husband retired in 1813 to the _farmldon
the .a."11'itan h ' , al' 1 him lived h1S e est
W'th
da h ' W ere he dispensed a modest hosp1t 1ty.
ugAter, Harriet (J769-J8 48), widow of Rev. Elijah Rattoone. inh 't d by
the d t the death of Abraham Beach on Sept. J4, J828, the house; ~ eri e Her
mothaughter Harriet Rattoone , who left it to her niece Julia Brc r~:elia 's
0
er Cornelia Beach married Isaac Lawrence of New y or ; one 47 1
 HOUS ES IN SOME RSET COUN TY

daug hters marr ied John Adam s Pool and lived in the Low mans ion at
Raritan
the Van
Land ing (plate JJ6). The daug hter Julia Beac h Lawr ence, who received
s (l799-
Wick le-B each prope rty, marri ed her cousin Thom as Lawr ence Well
J886 ). Thei r son Lawr ence Well s was the fathe r of the prese nt owne
r, Miss Julia
Lawr ence Well s of New y ork City, who spend s her summ ers here at Elm
Farm.
The prese nt house is a very large struc ture built at three separ ate times. The
le about
end towa rd the canal is the old unit, erected by or for Ever t Van Wick
gambrel
J752. It is of brick and sandstone with a shing led gable . It is covered by a
hallway
roof of the New Engl and type. Ther e are no overh angin g eaves. A central
house
runs the depth of this unit and is flanked on eithe r side by two room s. Anot her
ng
was built on the west end in J8J0 and became the centr al porti on of the buildi
nine-
when another large addition was made on the west in the secon d half of the
original
teent h century. The many alterations have hidde n to a great exten t the
a large
character of the house. The stone of the south front has been refac ed and
ws are
porch added. Balconies, dormers, slatted blinds and vario us types of windo
ite
other changes. An old slave house form erly stood by the canal bank at the oppos
of his
end of the field. A large waln ut tree, plant ed by Abra ham Beac h at the time
marriage, still grows by the canal.
u-
The house is on the southwest bank of the canal, whic h displaced the Revol
acres
tionary road along the Rarit an River . It stand s in an estate of sever al hundred
by its
about 3 ½ miles from New Brun swick towa rd Boun d Brook, and is secluded
groves of trees from the Easto n Turn pike. On the south east is the first Van
Wickle
once an
house (plate J40), and between them is the old lane to the ford, whic h was
important link between Pisca taway and Midd lebus h.

Hou se of Jaco bus Wyc koff , late r Voo rhee s'

Coun tyline Road, Frank lin Park
PLAT E 142

. kThe road on which this house stand s was laid south westw ard from New
Bruns-
wic toward Tren ton and was an early route to Phila delph ia. Ever y few miles
it
xi-
:ast crd~ssed by a small brook or run whic h was early given the name of its appro
e istanc e from New Brunswic · k • Thus t h'is hous e stand s on the southwest bank
ofaNin Mil R
ga\'e
its nai: t e un. A few miles furth er up the road was Six Mile Run which
spread
south w:rJs~~: t;rta nt ~ettlement in early days. The villag e has gradu ally
th
lies between th t trank lin Park , e preseR nt name of the Six Mile Run conununity, 1'111e
a s ream and N·me M'l 1
e un. The road was laid along the
between Somerset and Midd l
A large tr t. t h'is reg·esex Counties. 'llT
ac m grant ed to Harr ison and Willo cks in J700• J.,,.o
472 ion was
 HOUSES IN SOMERSET COUNTY

on the, southwest side of Nine Mile Run on J ohn D 11 ,

house •ss shown k
•745 but a house here is mar ed C. Wycof on an undated m d a ey s map of
> , ,
terwards, and itlScri
'b d J A ap ma
e to ames lexander ( who died in 1756) • 10
e, by him short1y
af
ese maps are i ' h D unh am,s map of l 76 th ' h most
'dent'ica1• 0 n A Zaria
6 , respects
th 'koff and on R ob ert E rskine' s R evolutionary map Cob e ouse 18 marked
bus Wi
JtheaCOmap of l 850 it, is
, h ,rA , ,
s own as • v oorhees and on the l 860 map as p A
W
us yekoff. On
, Th
, b 1' d b • yers • e
west wing of th e h ouse ts e ieve to e over 200 years old and the main part to date
from J745. The above map shows that no house existed here in 1745; the west
wing was therefore probably built a few years after this date and the main house at
some period before the Revolution.
Jacobus Wyckoff, or Cobus for short, was evidently the builder of the house
and lived here until after the Revolution. His connection with the Wyckoff family
is unknown. The will of Mariah. widow of Jacobus Wicoff of Nine Mile Run,
dated J799 and probated 1804, mentioned ''Peter Wicof, son of my beloved Jacobus
Wicof, deceased, with whom I now live," and named as executor "my son-in-law"
Peter Wicof. This may be the Pieter, son of Jacob Wyckoff and Sara his wife, bap.
Jan. 22, l 758 in the Dutch church at Six Mile Run, although the names Jacob and
Jacobus were not generally interchangeable. Peter Wyckoff inherited the north
Part of the farm, later owned by Garret Nevius; he lived to an old age and died
about 1828.
The south part of the farm, on which stands the Jacobus Wyckoff home, was
bought about l 797 by the Churches of Millstone and Six Mile Run for a parsonage,
and it was occupied for a few years by Rev. Dr. Cannon, and then sold. Abraham
Voorhees purchased the property and left it to his only child, Abraham Voorhe;;
who died unmarried about 1868. In 1860 it was owned by Peter Ay~rS, in J
4Jt.,
f :.ihn :R. Smith, and in l 910 by his son Peter Smith. The latter sol~ t~ ~t~ ~23
one larg;
estate, from whom the present owner, Harvey ~• M~, pure
roo-Th~ low one and a half story wing is the origmal und.1 It ha~linogsy old doors
With , d d beams ow cei ,
an immense fireplace at the en , expose • , 'h . ht. The gable wall
4q

and Ve
is still ry stnall windows. The main house is two stories eigd the balance of the
hause :v1rec[ With the old, long shingles with rounde~ enh S, ~cond story only, the
"indow c apboarded. The ceiling beams are exposed ill t e ; d corner cupboard
in the ~ e sinan and narrow, and there is an early m~t~00an of the main house,
Otle behind rooin. There are only two rooms on the grou; 0 ~h of the house; the
room in th the other at one side of the hall, which runs e ep
e Wing opens off the other side of the hall.

473
 PLATE 128
House of Judge John Berrien
Rocky Hill

The date on the parlor fireback, 1764, has always been considered the date of erection of this house.
John Berrien was living in the township by 1735 and on this site at least as early as 1745, but presumably
..:i the early wing which has since disappeared. He was a Justice of the Supreme Court and a trustee of
?rinceton University. This handsome two story house was erected on the estate which he called
Rockingham and was reached from the Princeton side of the river across a ford and up a long
;,rivate avenue of trees. For an undetermined reason it was only along the Millstone and Raritan
Rivers in central New Jersey that the Dutch built two story houses in the country. It will be noted that
tlle old windows in the southeast room have a narrow lower sash while those in the southwest room
::.ave sashes of equal size; both are types in common use. Beautiful specimens of old panelling,
c:ipboards and doors remain, especially in the southeast room. Berrien's widow was Washington's host
ud it is here that he wrote his Farewell Address to the Army and first delivered it from the balcony.
:'bis balcony is a very unusual feature for a Dutch house.
475
 PLATE 129
Berrien (? )-Pumyea House
Old Rocky Hill Road, Rocky Hill

This house is believed to stand on the Peter Berrien tract; it was probably built by a Berrien son
before the Revolution, and later passed by marriage into the Pumyea family. Most of the Dutch ovens
connected with the fireplace and chimney but were built outside the walls of the houses. The photograph
shows one of the few stiJI remaining.
476
 PLATE 130
Gulick (? )-Ditmars House
Road to Blawenburg, Harlingen

This may be the house owned by Youim Heuleck (Joachim Gulick?) during the Revolution. In the
:niddle of the nineteenth century it was the home of Peter Ditmars. The house is an irregular frame
structure built in many units and at different times. A small part of the back and the side walls is of
irregular stone roughly laid.

477
 PLATE 131
House of Guisbert Lane
south of North Branch, Bridgewater Township

This stone house was built in 1737 by Guisbert Lane on a tract he purchased in 1730. The ends of the
structural tie rods have been shaped to record the date, the first two figures of which still show above
the windows. The stones are unusually long and flat. The very wide window frames may have been
inserted with the modern four-paned sashes. The house has not the charm of the Bergen County stone
houses due to the absence of the curving overhang, which was not characteristic of Somerset County.
478
 PLATE 132
Lane--Brokaw House
south of North Branch, Bridgewater Township

is believed (probably incorrectly) to have been the home of Lieutenant John Brokaw, who was
•.:. at the Battle of Germantown, and whose widow received a visit of consolation from Washington.
~w•s widow married William Lane and they made their home here. Lane probably had built the
e at the time of his first marriage, 1750. It is one of the very few houses built of brick in the
:;:; covered by this volume. It also differs in that the masonry is carried up to the roof line with no
-uting use of clapboarding or shingles in the gable. The shallow brick arches over the windows are
.~ of nearby Hunterdon County. The house has great depth and is covered by a low gable roof.

479
 PLATE 133
Middagh (? )-Frelinghuysen House
Somerset Street, Raritan

The date of erection of this house is unknown. It stands on the large Middagh tract and is believed to
have been the home of Cornelius Middagh who died in 1778. Erskine's Revolutionary map designates a
house in this vicinity as Colonel Frelinghuysen's. The first known owner of the house was General
John Frelinghuysen, born 1775, son of the Revolutionary Colonel, and his descendants owned it until
recently. The house is not definitely pre-revolutionary in feeling, but this may be due in part to its
size and to the neo-Grecian portico, which belongs to the Federal period. However, the gable end has
pre-revolutionary proportions and lines. The large gable dormer is of course a later change. The main
house is of brick and the more modestly built slave wing is covered with clapboarding.
480
 PLATE 134
House of Johannes Moelich (Me/lick)
Road to Peapack, Far Hills

This house was built in 1752 by Johannes Moelich and his wife under the supervision of Casper Berger,
German stone mason. It remained the Mellick family home until recent years. Although the builders
came from Germany by way of Philadelphia and therefore could not have been influenced by the stone
houses of the Dutch in Bergen County, their similarity and differences suggest a comparison. Like
many of the Bergen County houses, it is a one and a half story building of irregular stone covered by
a steep gambrel roof, but the stonework is carried all the way up the gable, there are fewer windows
and the roof has no curving overhang. The most distinctive feature of the house is the stonework over
the windows. As in Hunterdon County the tops of the window openings are in the form of shallow
arches but they are built of long, irregular stones of varying length laid on end. This gives the house a
feeling of ruggedness and defiance of the elements. Porches, dormers, and a large addition at the .
rear are all later changes,
~"''
tf
',' i
"'

PLATE 135
Quick House
near North Branch, Bridgewater Township

The date of erection of this house is uncertain. The property was purchased from the Dutchess of
Gordon in 1801 by Abraham Quick, who settled here, Accounts suggest that the house was already in
existence at this time, and if so it must have been erected by some tenant of the Dutchess, The house
is not definitely pre-revolutionary in feeling. It was built in two units, both along similar lines, with
lower ceilings in the west half. The small lie-on-your-stomach windows are typical of the post-revo-
lutionary era. The roofline has not been broken by dormers.
48~
 II
PLATE 136
House of Hendrick and Abraham Staats
South Bound Brook

This house is more generally known as Steuben's Headquarters. Until 1935 it was the home of the de-
scendants of his host, Abraham Staats. It is probable that the first settler on the tract was the uncle,
Hendrick Staats, and that between 1738 and 1740 he built the original unit. This consists of the right
three-fifths of the section in this photograph (see plate 6 for plan). An interesting feature is the very
large chimney which feeds the two fireplaces in the corners of the main rooms. Not until about 1800 was
this unit enlarged on the west (left) side and a small wing also added. Although the old sashes are typi-
cal of both 1738 and 1800, the very thick moldings in the windows to the right of the door can readily be
contrasted with the later moldings in the windows to the left of the door. This is the only external
difference as the enlargement was carried out in a similar style. The present roof line has been extended
slightly beyond all the walls and the sloping dormers have been added. The bottle glass eyes in the
old door give a quaint touch; they were generally used in the interior only.
 Ir:.•
1111

PLATE 137
House of John Van Doren
Millstone

This tract was purchased in 1752 by Christian Van Doren and conveyed to his son John in 1755. The
house was undoubtedly built by John Van Doren about this time and it continued in the ownership of
his descendants until about 1925. It is a handsome two story building which remains practically
unaltered to this day. The plan of the main building consists of two large rooms, one behind the other,
with a wide hallway running along the side. Adjoining the hall is the wing, formerly the kitchen and
slave quarters. The gradation in aize of the window openings on the different ftoon is interesting.
 PLATE 138
House of Philip Van Horn
Middlebrook, Bridgewater Township

This was the country mansion of Philip Van Horn, a wealthy New York merchant, which he built in
the third quarter of the eighteenth century, where he spent his summers and whither he later retired.
It was known as "Phil's Hill" or "Convivial Hall" due to the unlimited hospitality which was dispensed
here. Officers of both British and patriot armies were welcomed and Lord Sterling had his headquarters
here. The house has nothing in common with the Dutch farmhouses of the period. It is a large, rectang-
ular, two story frame house, through the center of which runs a wide hallway with spacious rooms
opening off it on either side. The smaller two story wing was the kitchen and slave quarters. The
original roof of the main house undoubtedly ended at the line of the walls in the same manner as the
roof over the wing, without cornice or projection over the gable end. The modern shutters and unkempt
condition also detract from its original appearance which was probably similar to that of the smaller
Van Doren house at Millstone (plate 137).
 PLATE 139
House of Derrick Van Vechten
Finderne

This is the earliest two story house still in existence. With the exception of the Van Campen house
on the Delaware River and the Dey house at Preakness (plates 170 and 144), the only two story houses
built in the country by the Du,ch before the Revolution were in the Raritan River and Millstone
River section, and they were erected in the thirty-five years previous to the war. This house was built
by Derrick Van Vechten, supposedly in 1715, but as he was a lad of only 16 years at this time a
date a few years later would probably be more correct. It is a two story brick building covered by a
gable roof which resembles that on many of the Dutch farmhouses. General Greene had his head-
quarters here and gave a Christmas Eve dance for his Commander in Chief. The house remained in
the Van Vechten family until the middle of the nineteenth century.
486
 PLATE 140
House of Symen Van Wickle, later Suydam's
Easton Turnpike, Franklin Township

This house was probably built about 1722 by Symen Van Wickle on land bought by his father in 1703.
It passed out of the family, and in 1797 was purchased by Hendrick Suydam whose son-in-law Nicholas
Van Wickle later owned it until 1862. This house greatly resembles those in Kings County, the early
home of the builder, and is typical of the Dutch farmhouses of this period. Notice the long rounded
shingles still remaining on the front wall. The steep gable roof extends in a straight slope over the
front (now the rear) wall to form a deep overhang. Until the recent restoration, the plan of the house
consisted of a main room and a small bedroom on either side of a central hallway. The wing is unusu-
ally Jong and, although of an early period, was built later than the house. The dormers are more recent
alterations.
 PLATE 141
House of Evert Van Wickle, later Rev. Abraham Beach's
Easton Turnpike, Franklin Township

Family tradition states that the old unit of this house was built by or for Evert Van Wickle at the
time of his marriage in 1752. It stands on a tract owned by his father Symen and eventually conveyed
to Evert's son-in-law Rev. Abraham Beach, a noted minister of the late eighteenth century. It passed
down the female line and is still the home of descendants. The present building is in reality three
houses erected at separate times. The original unit is the east end by the canal. It is of stone and brick
and is covered by a gambrel roof of the New England type. The stone front of the house has been
refaced. Porch, balcony, and dormers are all later changes, as are the shutters and some of the window
sashes.
 PLATE 142
House of Jacobus Wycko.i, later Voorhees'
Franklin Park

The one and a half story wing is the original unit. It was built by Jacobus Wyckoff between 1745 and
1756. He added the two story building before the Revolution. It was used as the Six Mile Run
parsonage for a few years after 1797 and then became the home of the Voorhees family. The wing
consists of only one large room with a big fireplace, low ceilings and exposed beams. The hallway runs
through the main house on the end adjoining the wing, and off the hall open two rooms each with fire-
place, early type mantel and corner cupboard. The small size of the windows in the main unit is to be
noted, and the absence of windows (except in the garret) on the gable end. The old, long, rounded
shingles still cover a part of the building. The brackets at the roof line are typical nineteenth century
alterations.
WESTERN NEW JERSEY

HOUSE OF JOHN SIP OF ATHENIA

 WE ST ER N NE W JER SEY
inc lud ing Ess ex, Pas saic' Hu nte rdo n, Morri·s,
Sus sex and Wa rre n Cou ntie s

Esse x and Passaic Counties

HE prese nt Passa ic ( origi nally part of Essex ) County was settled by men of

T Dutc h descent, most of whom came from the adjoining lands in old Bergen
County. The prese nt Essex Coun ty was settled largely by Englishmen from
New Engl and and Long Islan d, but there were also a number of Dutc h settlem
in its northwest and north east regions.
ents

In the years J66J- 63 a group of New Engla nders entered into negotiations with
r
Director Stuyv esant for the plant ing of a Congregational settlement at the Achte
ut
Col, but there was a temp orary setback to these plans when self government witho
d by
appeal was denied them . It was not until J666, when the Province was owne
the
Carteret, that the proje ct was carried out, and at the Governor's suggestion
River
people from Milfo rd and Bran ford commenced their settlement on the Passaic
the
at the present Newa rk. In J667 and J678 they purchased from the Indians all
the
land stretching from the Eliza betht own Purch ase on the south to the mouth of
ed a
Third River on the north and to the top of the mountains on the west: they receiv
t on
confirmatory deed from the Propr ietors on Dec. JO, J696 and a Town Paten
nt
April 27, J7J3. The south ern section of old Essex Coun ty was settled at the prese
Elizabethtown in J 665 by four families from .Long Island. This lower region
remained wholly Engl ish and is now incorporated in Unio n County.
The portion of Essex Coun ty west of the mountains was settled by both English
and
and Dutch under many conflicting grant s and deeds from the Indians, Carteret
the Proprietors of both East and West Jerse y. In J679 a Dutc h company from
Bergen purchased from the India ns the lands between Cedar Grove, Pine Brook
as
i:1d Acquackanonk and this deed was confirmed by Carteret in J684. Sir Thom t
Jane and others obtained a paten t for a tract at Horseneck in J70J _from th~ WeS
s the
p:rser_ Society. In J702 and again in J745 the Newa rk people, di regar~mg.
.
l'h~prietors, purchased from the India ns the lands extending to the Passaic River
f 18 confusion of titles resulted in riots and land troubles which were
not settled
~r .111any Years and many lost their homes if they had not the money to repurchase
eir fartns.
493
 ESSE X AND PASS AIC COUN TIES

ackanonk
Alth ough the New ark Purc hase extended as far nort h as the Acqu
around Newark
Pate nt, the Engl ish made their homes only in the sout hern porti on
h settlers in the
and the Oran ges. The north ern porti on was grad ually sold to Dutc
any size was
second half of the seventeenth centu ry. The only Dutc h village of
aic and Second
Second Rive r, now Belleville, situated at the junc tion of the Pass
laid in l 707
Rivers. A Reformed Chur ch was organized here in l 700. A road was
, where several
nort h to Acqu acka nonk over an India n trail alon g the river bank
Speers, Vree-
farms had alrea dy been opened. Amo ng the earliest settlers were the
gh the north-
land s, and Van Giesens. The Thir d or Y antecaw Rive r meanders throu
r forms the
eastern section of the county, and its junction with the Pass aic Rive
grou p of small
pate nt and coun ty lines. The present Tow n of Nutl ey includes a
years of the
Dutc h settlements made alon g the bank of the river in the open ing
s, now Brook-
eigh teent h centu ry. In the interior, the village of Ston e Hou se Plain
's; the Van
dale, was formed on the headwaters of the Thir d Rive r in the l690
her west the
Giesens and Cockefairs were amo ng the early inha bitan ts here. Furt
n. Thes e small
Spee rs and others settled at Upp er Montclair, formerly Spee rtow
r Churches
communities were dependent on the Acqu acka nonk and Seco nd Rive
s.
until l 795 when a bran ch church was organized at Ston e Hou se Plain
by a wide
The northwestern part of Esse x Coun ty arou nd Fairf ield is boun ded
e of Horseneck
loop of the Passaic Rive r, whic h no doub t gave rise to the old nam
the earliest was
for the region. This neck was settled main ly by the Dutc h. Amo ng
nized in 1720.
Simo n Van Ness, who was here by l7l0 . A Dutc h Chu rch was orga
in which
Tha t part of Passaic Cou nty in the bend of the Pass aic Rive r, with
a part of Essex
the present cities of Pass aic and Pate rson are located, rema ined
hme n from the
Coun ty until 1837. The land here was purc hase d by a grou p of Dutc
rieto rs in 1683
India ns in 1679; they received a form of gove rnme nt from the Prop
Michielsen
and were gran ted the Acqu acka nonk Pate nt on Mar ch 16, 1684 /5. Elias
families, who
(Vreeland) was the first settler. He was followed in l 682 by abou t ten
h Church was
formed the nucleus of Acqu acka nonk village, now Pass aic. The Dutc
organized here in 1693.
rs was a
The portion of Pass aic Cou nty between the Pass aic and Ram apo Rive
The land here
part of Berg en Coun ty throu ghou t most of the eigh teen th cent ury.
to settlers. The
was boug ht up in large tract s by speculators and grad ually sold
for a large tract
Wag araw Pate nt of 1696 was gran ted to Mar ian Cam pbel l, wido w,
erly bend of the
of Ian~ al?n g the Wag araw or Goffle Broo k abov e the most north
of whom settled
Passaic Rive r. It was purc hase d in 1706 by the Ryer son fami ly, one
s alon g the weSt
~ere. The Toto wa Pate nt of 1696 gran ted to Geor ge Will ocks land
1715 by Dirck
side of the Passaic Rive r, a large porti on of whic h was purc hase d in
494
 ESSEX AND PASSAIC COUNTIES

Van Houten who made his hom~ here. In J695 Arent Schuyler, Brockholst, etc.,
obtained an Indian deed and confumatory patent for 5500 acres along the east side
of the Pequanock River from its junction with the Passaic north to the Ramapo
River. Arent settled about J 702 at the north end, which remained largely in the
bands of his family. The lands in the interior along the Singac or Preakness Brook
were mainly granted to Thomas Hart of London; his heirs sold various tracts about
J7J 7-20 to Dutchmen, whose families made their homes here in the next fifty years.
These scattered settlements depended on the Acquackanon k Church to the south
and the Ponds Church to the northeast. The Pompton Plains Church was organized
across the river in Morris County about 1734, the Totowa Church in 1754 and the
Preakness Church not until J 804-05.
A county was formed in 1675 out of the Newark and Elizabethtown Purchases;
in J682 it received the name of Essex County and its boundaries were extended as
far east as the Hackensack River. In 1710 the Pequannock and Passaic Rivers
became the northern and eastern boundaries when a large section was given to
Bergen County. In 1837 the western portion of the land thus allotted to Bergen and
the northern portion of Essex were formed into the new Passaic County. In 1857
Union County was organized from the southern part of Essex. The present Essex
County thus corresponds to the original Newark Township.
There is great variety in the Dutch houses of the present Passaic County and
the adjoining lands in Essex County. This may be due in part to the frequent
changes in civil organization and to the influence of English neighbors. There were
many scattered farms in this territory, the only large village being Acquackanonk
(Passaic) at one end, so that there was no center to crystallize architectural forms.
Each house standing today has its individual character, although fundamentally a
Variation of the style evolved throughout the country by the Dutch. The pre-revolu-
tionary houses are all built of stone, two with brick fronts, and all but one with
gable roofs. Most of the houses in the section belonging for a time to Bergen
County have the curved overhanging eaves so popular there. In two of the houses
w_e find the arched window-heads common in West Jersey. One house far from a
village is a two story mansion which shows tittle Dutch influence except in the
:haracteristic combination of different building materials. In these houses the group-
ing of the units varies greatly. The "stoep" and the well sweep, formerly ~uch
~haracteristic features, have almost entirely disappeared with the march of tune.
Jtainples of these may be seen in plates 145 and 154.
The old roads and houses were located through Erskine's Revolutionary sur-
and the owners determined through a series of maps. The genealogica~ text has
drawn mainly from Nelson's History of Paterson and Labaw's Hz5 iory of
495
 HUN TERD ON COUNTY
of the families
Preakness, altho ugh original research work was necessary for a few
l925 and partly in
involved. The photographs in this section were taken part ly in
1933-34.
Hunterdon County
d by the Pro-
The. greater part of the present Hunterdon County was purchase
l50,000 acres on the
prietors from the Indians on-June 27, l703, the deed conveying
ed between the Pro-
Rari tan Rive r west of the Division Line. The land was divid
rieto rs disposed of
prietors in hund redth shares according to their rights. The Prop
ety, a stock company
larg e tracts generally to speculators. The Wes t New Jers ey Soci
organized in London in l69l , made extensive purchases and had
91,000 acres sur-
and in l735 had
veyed in June , l7ll . The y encouraged settlement under leasehold
ande r a tract of
ninety-eight families as lessees; in l744 they sold to Jam es Alex
and Rou nd Valley.
l0,000 •acres embracing the region of Lebanon, Whitehouse
nty, which at that
Actu al settlement was slow. The l 722 census of Hun terdo n Cou
Counties, recorded
time included the present Mercer, Morris, War ren and Suss ex
l6,995 acres then
only l38 men subject to taxation of whom l6 were single, and only
m• possessio• n.
Delaware Bay
The earliest settlers, who were mainly Quakers, came from the
6. From the same
on the south and arrived at the Falls of the Delaware about 167
the county. Other
direction later came the Germans who populated a large part of
Rari tan Bay on the
settlers, mainly Dutc h and Scotch Presbyterians, came from
the branches of the
east, by way of Woodbridge and Piscataway and then alon g
e up to the union
Raritan River into Hunterdon County. The Rari tan was navigabl
ey were gathered
of the North and Sout h Branches. The grain crops of Wes t Jers
thence shipped to
here, floated in flat-bottomed boats down to New Brun swic k and
the larger markets.
ber and size.
The Dutch settlements in Hun terdo n Cou nty were few in num
and Whitehouse,
They were located in the small region between Thre e Brid ges
nship. It
near So~e rset County border. This section became Read ingt on Tow
the southeast por-
';as divid~d into four proprietary righ ts: Jose ph Kirk brid e had
ocks the northeast,
tion, Daniel Coxe of Philadelphia the southwest, George Will
and •Budd & Logan the north west. Adr1aen ' Lan e was the first Dutc h settler,
1 y of his country-
ocat 7~ on Hollands Run at Readington village abou t l 700 Man
Whi te House and
::g ~l: :!t im between l7l0 and l72~, settling mai nl; at e
barn th un. Among the most promment was Abr aham Van Hor n in whos
se whit e, plastered
tavern g:v ;~~ r=io n wor~hipped for fifteen years and . who
of Readingt e of Whi te House to the village. The Refo rmed Dutc h Church
ed the
on was organized about 1717; the first house of wors hip was erect
496
 MO RR IS CO UN TY

yea r nea r t?e jun cti on of the No rth and So uth Bra nch es of Raritan River,
following
rth Br anc h Ch urc h.
that in ear ly day s it wa s kn ow n as the No t
Hu nte rdo n Co un ty wa s org ani zed in l7l 3 fro m a par t of Bu rlin gto n Cou
so
pri sed all of We st Jer sey abo ve Tre nto n. Mo rris Co unt y ( inc ~I~
At that time it com
pre sen t Wa rre n an d Su sse x) wa s set off in l73 8 and Me rce r Co unt y not
ing the
nty sea t wa s at Tr en ton un til l78 5 wh en it wa s moved to
until J838-39. Th e c~u
Flemington. /
of exi sti ng pre -re vol uti ona ry Du tch houses is too small to establish
Th e num ber
the cou nty wi th an y deg ree of acc ura cy. Ho we ver , two poi nts sta nd out.
a type for
era11y inc lud ed a cer tain am oun t of brick-
All the houses we re bu ilt of sto ne an d gen
w arc hes we re bui lt abo ve the doo rs and win dow s, a style common in
work. Shallo
West Jersey.
ner shi p of the hou ses in thi s cou nty wa s det erm ine d thr oug h Ers kin e's
Th e ow
er ma ps. Th e pho tog rap hs were tak en in
Revolutionary sur vey s an d a series of lat
fiel d sur vey . Th e aut ho r is gra tef ul to Hi ram De ats for his aid.
l933 after the

Mo rri s Co un ty
Peq uan noc k Riv er, ext end ing to the
An immense tra ct on bo th sides of the
the Pas sai c and Po mp ton Riv ers , wa s pur cha sed from the Indians
foothills and y
t, and associates. Th e following yea r the
on June 6, 1695 by Sc hu yle r, Bro ckh ols
firm atio n fro m bo th the Ea st and We st Jer sey Pro pri eto rs of JS00
obtained con set tlem ent wa s commenced
e of the Pe qu ann ock Riv er, and
acres on the we st sid
tch abo ut l70 0. Joh n Re adi ng , Wi llia m Pe nn and oth er Proprietors of
by the Du
West Jersey took up tra cts of l20 0 acr es
or mo re fur the r inl and , wh ich the y sold to
villages of
set tlers. Ab out l7J 0 a nu mb er of me n fro m Ne w En gla nd sta rte d the
en Ne w Ha no ver ). A gro up of Germans
!:uiover, Wh ipp any an d, Mo rris tow n (th
the con tin ent in l 707 lan ded in Ph ila del phi a and marched overland
dee{ from
Mo rris Co unt y, wh ere the y stayed in
~Ward New Yo rk by wa y of sou ;hw est ern
el'lllan Valley.
and in ear ly day s was known as
Ii Morris Co unt y wa s a par t of We st Jer sey t assessor wa s appointed in • 722
Its firs
an:1over To wn shi p in H~ nte rdo n Co un ty. roa d wa s officia lly lai d: the
the firs t pub lic
roadt~;mship officers in l 723. Th at yea r n. On Ma rch JS, 173 ~1
9
0 thr ou gh the We st Div isio
l\iorris ~ Amwell to Ha no ver rre n) wa s org ani zed and the firS t
unt y (th en inc lud ing Su sse x an d Wa
court tow nsh ips , Mo rris , Pequannock
at Mo rris tow n in J74 0. Th ree
and awas convened
_ve r, we re cre ate d. Su sse x (in clu din g Wa rre n) Co unt y was set ap~rt
in J75 ;nx
al division, it rap idl y gre w in
rris Co un ty had bec om e a pol itic
Wealth• fter Mo
s ope ned up for settlement between
and Population and the ent ire cou nty wa 497
 SUS SEX AND WA RRE N COU NTI ES

and l 775 . Gra in and catt le wer e rais ed, chi efly for the Ne w Yo rk market, and
l 740
tim ber was cut for export.
cip ally in the orig ina l Pequan.
Th e Du tch population of the cou nty was prin
cou nty . Sch uyl er and his associates
noc k Tow nsh ip, in the northeastern com er of the
the low er end of the ir trac t in l 702 to Ma uric e Mo uris on, one thir d of the land
sol d
d in l 7l 7 to Sym on Vanness and
in l696 to a gro up of Du tch me n and ano the r thir
Ber gen and Ne w Yo rk started
Joh n Le Ma itre . The se and oth er Du tch me n from
Pom pto n and Pom pto n Plains on
settlements her e abo ut l 700, centering aro und
the latt er place wa s org ani zed about
the Peq uan noc k Riv er. Th e Du tch Chu rch at
rt dist anc e to the wes t a stre am flow s thr oug h the Mo ntv ille valley into
1734. A sho
as the Uy lek ill and gav e its name
the Ro cka wa y Riv er; in ear ly days it was kno wn
Du tch sett lem ent , now call ed Mo ntv ille . On Oct . 2, l7l 4 Hu mp hre y Daven-
to the
venson, Pro pri eto r. He built and
por t purchased 750 acres here from Tho ma s Ste
rs by the Hy ler, Jac obu s, Millege,
settled her e and was followed in the nex t few yea
and Va n Du yn fam ilie s, wh o ope ned up farm s on this and adj oin ing tracts.
Par lam an
Boo nto n nea rby abo ut l 753 and
A Ref orm ed Du tch Chu rch was organized at Old
mo ved to Low er Mo ntv ille in l8l 8. Sev era l Du tch families also settled to the
was
nelis Do rem us loc ate d in this neigh-
east in the Te We cha uw or Towaco valley. Cor
hoo d in the l 740 's and so ma ny of his des cen dants rem ain ed her e tha t the locality
bor
was known as Doremustown.
of the local sto ne, wh ich varied
Th e Du tch houses in Mo rris Cou nty were bui lt
were sma ll, lon g and nar row and
in character in the different regions. Th e houses
h no ove rha ngi ng eaves.
were covered by steep gable roofs, gen era lly wit
934 afte r the field sur vey was
Th e houses were pho tog rap hed in l 933 and l
pro ved inv alu abl e in determining
made. As usual, Ers kin e's Rev olu tion ary ma ps
ed larg ely on cou nty histories and
the old roads and ear ly owners. Th e tex t is bas
individual researches.

Su sse x an d Wa rre n Co un tie s

sey fro m the Ne w Yo rk border
The extreme northwestern por tion of Ne w Jer
t? L~ e Hopatcong and Phillipsburg waNe s onl y spa rse ly sett led before the Revolu-
. he rut ch loca ted onl y alo ng the w Yo rk bor der and alo ng the Delaware
~n
ver s~ut to the Wa ter Gap. . Th is. was the Mi nis ink cou ntry . Th e hin terl and was
mountainous and filled wi.th iron mines wh.ich wer e ope rate d by oth er nationalities.
Th
titles nea r the sta te bor der because
the Iin ere was occasional confusion in the lan d
:°n .sev eral tim es and not fina11y acc ept ed unt il l 772. Tw o large
Mi nis ~;:e
~~: _~u .;:; :.th e Pro vin ce of Ne w Yo rk in 1697 and l70 4, extended
as far south as ts were
isink 1slan d. Fro m tfme to tim e Pro pri eta ry righ
498
 SUSSE X AND WARREN COUNTIES

located by the Propri etors of West Jersey and sold by them to m . d' 'd s or
. 1 W iv1 ua1
groups. The territory, ater arren County, was not purchased from the Indians
until Aug. 18, 1713.
The Minisinks were known to the Dutch at an early date. In 1652 the DUth
d' Co sent an • ' y to Stuyvesant concerning the mineral wealth
inquir
C
West In ia mpany
of the Minisink country. Mines were opened in the lower Pahaquarry Townshi
near the Delaware Water Gap, and the Old Mine Road was constructed from ther~
along the Delaware River to Port Jervis, and thence inland through the Neversink
valley to Esopus on the Hudso n River, a distance of about one hundred miles.
This road was abandoned when the Englis h conquered New Netherland in 1664.
It was not until the end of the century that Dutch and Huguenot settlers followed
this old route from Esopus. The Upper Minisink Neighborhood in the Neversink
valley was populated first. The region about Machackemack (Port Jervis) in both
states was settled in the l690's by Willem Tietsoort and others. A joint Church was
organized in l 73 7 for the Reformed Congregations of Minisink and Machackemack,
which seem to have been in existence about 1716. Farms were opened on the other
side of the mountains in the interior along the state border about the same time,
under New York or New Jersey titles. The village of Sussex was not started until
1734 by Peter Decker, and was known until recently as Deckertown. A Dutch
church in these back Minisinks was erected in the Clove valley near the Tietsoort
farm. On April 18, 1713 Thom as Stevenson, West Jersey Proprietor, sold 2000
acres to Johannes, Claus and Simon Westphalia, Tunis and Romora Quick, and
C>rnelius Dutcher, all of the West Division of New Jersey. Presumably about this
time Thomas Stevenson sold 500 acres, including the Great Minisink Island and
the mainland adjoining, to Jacob Kuykendall and Uriah Westfalya, of whi~h-~ey
sold 240 acres to Antho ny Westbrook. The latter had the village of Minisink
platted on April 7, 1725 for himself, Johannes Westbrook, Jr. and Jan Cortregh~
Another settlement, known as Walpa ck, grew up near Flatbrookville and a Churc
was organized about 1737. Amon g th~ early families here were the SchoonhovenS,
st
Van Aukens and Rosen crantu s. In 1718 Joseph Kirkbride, We Jersey Pro-
prietor, located 500 acres on the nearby Shapanack Flats, part of which seemsbuiltot
,
have come into C • 1750 and a church 11 d
the possession of Isaac Van ampen in > '
hpere before the Revolution. The lower end of the Minisink countr y was cWa et
ahaquarry and later became a part of Warre n County. G eorge Hutcheson, Ves
2
Jersey Proprietor, sold 1666 acres here on March 8, 173 to Col. A1_brahdatm0 ha:
• and is be ieve h early
Catnpen. H e was the first permanent settler of th'is region
co~e here as early as 1725. Across the river at Smithfield, Pa.i 0
wa; ai;- ;7; was
se t etnent made by the Du Puys and others; its church, bui t a ou '
499
 SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES

attended by many of the inhabitants of the lower Minisinks in New Jersey and
the same families settled both sides of the river.
In 1769 Richard Smith of Burlington went down the Delaware River in a
canoe with Indian guides. He recorded: "The upper part of the Minisink trades
to Sopus and the lower to Philadelphia. ••• We lodged last night at Peter Kiken-
dahl's (Port Jervis). He had good Beds but we chose our bear skins as usual••••
Here the hills on the river open to the right and left and let in some good Flats••••
From Kikendahl'~ to Justice Rosencrants (at Walpack) they reckon thirty miles•
• • • The lands along the Minisinks are not so rich as I expected; very little meadow
is visible, the ground rather fit for the plow and somewhat sandy like ours about
Burlington and accordingly they raise more rye than wheat. Not many houses are
to be seen and those quite mean, the Flats in many places narrow flanked still by
the Range of Hills. The Islands are low and level but the Bushes so thick round
them that we could not discover how far they were improved. ••• We quitted Mr.
Kikendahl's at seven o'clock and rowed (in the canoe) all the way being fifty-two
miles • • • and in thirteen and a half hours reached Otters eighteen miles above
Easton•••• The soil of Sussex as far as we have seen is hilly, stony, broken and
indifferent; it is the same on the Pennsylvania side. The timber is ••• shrubby and
not fit for sawing for the most part. We had a glimpse of the late Col. Van Camp's
place below Walpack; he has a good share of even land and a range of swelling
hills proper for sheep pasture as much of all this country would be if it was
cultivated. •••"
Mr. Preston visited the country in 1787 as deputy under John Lukens, Sur-
veyor General. He recorded: "I found Nicholas Dupuis, Esq., son of Samuel (and
grandson of the first settlers), living in a spacious stone house in plenty and
affluence. He stated that the old mine holes were a few miles above on the Jersey
side of the river by the lower part of Pahaquarry Flat; that the Meenisink settlement
extended forty miles or more on both sides of the river; that he had well known the
mine road,to Esopus and used, before he opened the boat channel through Foul
Rift, to drive on it several times each winter with loads of wheat and cider, as also
did his neighbors, to purchase their salt and necessaries in Esopus, having no other
market or knowledge where the river ran to; that after a navigable channel was
opened thro~gh Foul Rift, they generally took to boating and most of the settlement
turned their trade down stream, and the mine road became less and less traveled.
Th· · terview
h is in · • h the admirable Nicholas Dupuis, Esq., was in June l 787. He
wit
t en appeared about sixty years of age."
h Min·ism
d The · k s were c1aimed for many years by the Province of New York
an t e boundary was not finally drawn until l 772. Enough settlers had drifted
500
 SUSS EX AND WAR REN COU NTIE S

inct b J 701 • th .
down from Esop us to war rant the orga niza tion of a voting prec
Oran ge Jaun t 'Neir
votes were counted in Ulst er Cou nty unti l J709 and then in
Goshen, the :un e;
York; as late as J739 they wer e taxe d for buil ding the gaol at
ey was included,
seat of Oran ge. For som e year s, all of nort hwe stern New Jers
included all the Ian~
Hunterdon Cou nty. In J738 /9 Mor ris Cou nty was set off and
and was organized
to the Delaware Rive r. Wal pack Tow nshi p was formed in J742
until 1824.
into Sussex Cou nty in 1753. War ren Cou nty was not set off
wilds far from
These Dut ch settl eme nts alon g the Delaware Rive r were in the
an important line of
the larger settlements in cent ral New Jers ey. The y formed
an War , forts were
defence agai nst Indi an raid s. At the time of the Fren ch and Indi
stationed there. The
built at Min isink , Wal pack and Pah aqua rry and garrisons
rtant thoroughfare
Old Mine Roa d was not mer ely a local high way , but an impo
n it as the best route
between the colonies. As late as 1800 John Ada ms passed dow
from Boston to Phil adel phia .
e the average
The num ber of Dut ch houses rem aini ng is too few to determin
of stone, generally
style of arch itect ure in the Min isink s. The exta nt houses are built
a steep pitch and
limestone, and are covered by gabl e roofs, which usually have
ee of finish and other
no overhanging eaves. The y vary considerably in size, degr
details.
on the Old ~ e
The surv ey of the Dela ware Rive r in l 769 by Dennis, articles
s form the basis of
Road county histories and the records of the Min isink Churche
the t;xt. The auth or is inde bted to Prof esso r Charles A. Philhower
for calling
attention to this regi on.

501
 HOU SES IN WES TERN NEW JERS EY
includ ing Essex , Passa ic, Hunte rdon, Morris,
Susse x and Warr en Counties
Houses in Essex and Passaic Counties
House of Albert Berdan
Berdan Avenue, Upper Preakness, Passaic County
PLATE 143

Jan Berdan, Jr. came to this country as a boy with his parents, and settled on
Long Island. After his marriage and the birth of his eldest child, he removed to
Hackensack, where he built a stone house in J7J7 and lived the balance of his life
(see supra). He was a large landholder, owning tracts in Hackensack, Maywood,
Slooterdam and Upper Preakness. On Nov. J8, J720 he bought from the heirs of
Thomas Hart of London 362 acres ori Singac (now Preakness) Brook in Upper
Preakness. It was here that his son Albert built and settled. Albere Berdan, b. Jan.
J7, J702 at Hackensack, removed in early manhood to Acquackanonk, where he was
living when he married at the Hackensack Church Sept. 29, J727 Divertje Banta of
Acquackanonk, hap. May 24, J7J0.
At some date Albert removed to his father's tract in Upper Preakness; he put
up a log cabin, and later undoubtedly built a more permanent home (the wing of
the present house), which had passed before the Revolution to his son Jacob'
Berdan, b. March 28, J746. William Roome, the surveyor, noted that the first story
of the main house was built by this Jacob in J792. Jacob married Rebecca Ryerson,
and had a son Albert5 Berdan ( J 767-J 837) who married Mary Ackerman. This
~bert built the second story of the main house. The homestead was inherited by
h13 son Jacobif Berdan (J790-J8 75). He married Catharine, daughter of Rev. John
Demarest of the Ponds, and had a son James D.1 Berdan, who still owned a part of
the original farm at Upper Preakness and was occupying the old house in J902 It
later passed to his son Harry M.8 Berdan who married Elizabeth Berdan of Paterson.
The house is now owned by the Berdan heirs, and occupied by tenants.
, This is considered the oldest house in the section. The old wing is a small stone
~vered by a steep gable roof having no overhang. The ceilings are low and
·Wtndows very small. The main house is now a two story stone structure. The
st00 of both units is covered with plaster. It is in poor condition. The house stands
e
th
on e east side of Berdan Avenue, at the end of the straight stretch, over one mile
503
 HOU SES IN ESSE X AND PASS AIC COUN TIES
Aven ue was a
nort h of the Merselis hous e (plat e J46) on the turnp ike. Berd an
settlement on
Revo lutio nary road leadi ng from Prea knes s to the Pond s chur ch and
the Ram apo Rive r.

Hou se of Dirc k Dey ; Was hing ton' s Hea dqu arte rs

Totow a Road , Lowe r Prea kness , Passa ic Coun ty
PLA TE 144
the employ
The gran dfath er of the builder was Dirc k Jans en Dey , a soldi er in
1

Ams terda m
of the Wes t Indi a Com pany . He emig rated from Ams terda m to New
nis, also from
shor tly before Dec. 28, J64J, on whic h date he marr ied Jann etje Theu
tje Jans Lang-
Ams terda m. Afte r her death he marr ied secondly Oct. J8, 1659 Geer
each wife, and
endy ck, from St. Mar ten in Nort h Holl and. He had two child ren by
nis Gysbertse
died shor tly before Nov . JJ, J687 when his wido w marr ied Theu
d. Dirc k's son
Boga ert, a widower, who lived in the Wall aboc ht on Lon g Islan
1685 Ann eken
Thenis~ Dey of New York City , hap. Sept . 24, 1656, marr ied Feb. 4,
New York , d.
Scho uten . Thei r only son was Dirc k' Dey, bap. Mar ch 27, 1687 in
Blan char d, bap.
May lJ, 1764 in New York , marr ied Dec. J6, 1725 Jean ne or Jane
, a daug hter of
Marc h 21, 1697 in the Fren ch chur ch in New York , d. Aug . J4, 1756
Jean Blan char d, Hug ueno t.
. On Oct. 9,
Dirc k Dey is believed to have settled in Prea knes s as early as 1707
J7l7 he boug ht of the heirs of Thom as Hart of Lond on 600 acres
on Sing ac (now
sion is believed
Prea knes s) Broo k in Low er Prea knes s. The prese nt Geor gian man
attri bute d to his
to have been built by him abou t 1740; its supe rior work man ship is
y year s (this
being a carpenter. He was a freeholder of Berg en Cou nty for man
Asse mbly 1748-
region was then in Berg en Co.) , and a mem ber of the New Jers ey
Only four of
52. He removed to New York City in J 752 for the balan ce of his life.
t; Jane was the
Dirck's children lived to matu rity, Theu nis, Jane , Ann and Mar gare
sed all his real
mother of Rich ard Vari ck, may or of New York City . Dirc k devi
ies to his three
estate in East and Wes t Jerse y to his only son and left hand some legac
daughters.
(O.S .),
The only surv iving son of Dirc k was Theu nis' Dey , b. Oct. JS, J726
man in colonial
hap. at Acquackanonk, d. June JO, 1787. He was an impo rtant
Asse mbly and
New Jersey, a Colonel in the militia, mem ber of the New Jers ey
knes s, calling it
of the Provincial Council. He lived in the man sion at Low er Prea
Bl?e ~sbu rg and later Bloo msb ury Man or. Was hing ton had his
head quar ters here
Apri l J2, J725,
twice in 1780. On Dec. J2, 1749 Theu nis marr ied Hest er Schu yler, b.
. Rich ards Dey,
d. Sept. 3, l 784 at the manor. Of their ten children, the eldest was Gen
nine children.
b. Nov. 29, 1752, marr ied Mar ch 6, J775 Han nah Piers on and had
504
 S
HOU SES IN ESS EX AND PASS AIC COU NTIE
n h ed
,, lived in the man sion unti l hhe soldh'it in J80J to the Neafies, whe e remov to
H..., '1 h
e t ere w ich burn ed dow n in J848. He was killed Oct.
Little Falls and but t a . ous
a fall from his hors e.
6 J, 81 J, by bought the Dey Mansi
' John Neafie, Jr. (J77 9-J8 69) with his brot her Gar ret
born Joh n R. Neafie,
and 355 acres in J80J and lived here unti l J8J3 . Her e was
n Neafie, Jr. sold the prop-
celebrated Sha kesp eare an acto r. On Apr il JO, J8l3 Joh
S. Hogencamp, who sold
. erty to Mar tinu s Hog enc amp . It was inhe rited by Wil liam
it on April 4, J86J . Sinc e this time the hou se has pass
ed thro ugh man y owners, and
ion.
is now in the han ds of the Pas saic Cou nty Par k Commiss
by Dirck Dey. This
The house is gen eral ly said to hav e been buil t abo ut J740
If built by Dirck, it must
was the claim of She riff Hog enc amp , the own er in J 860.
in J 752. It has been also
have been erected before he retu rned to New Yor k City
ut J750-60. It is more apt
stated that the hou se was buil t by Col. The unis Dey abo
r and therefore a builder;
to have been erected by his fath er, who was a carpente
e he was the most impor-
however, it is kno wn as the hou se of Col. The unis Dey sinc
30 feet, and two and a half
tant owner and Wa shin gton 's host . The house is 52 feet by
e oaken timbers, pegged
stories high ; the cent ral hall way is twelve feet wide. Hug
front and the eaves faced
with wooden pins , sup port it. It is buil t of fieldstone, the
t trimmed with cut sand-
with brick, the doors and win dow s and corners of the fron
ss the stone was quarried
stone blocks. The bric k was fired on the esta te and doubtle
mortar. The house is sur-
here. The walls are laid with yellow clay, pointed with
ers were added by a later
mounted by a cornice and a steep gam brel roof. The dorm
on either side of the front
owner. The re was form erly a covered porc h with seats
has also disappeared. This
door; a stone kitchen a few feet to the east of the house
not typical of the Dutch,
hoUse is built in the styl e of a man sion , and therefore is
. Dut ch influence, however,
who generally buil t low -lyi ng farm hou ses in the cou ntry
brel roof: It is int,erest-
be seen in the mix ture of buil ding mat eria ls and the gam
us Low, built by him at
lllg to compare this hou se with the man sion of Corneli
the north side of Totowa
tita n Landing in J74J (pla te J J°6). The house is on
on the Passaic River below
p oad, several miles wes t of Tot owa an earl y settlement
Valley Roa d which runds
aterson. It stands nea r a sma ll b;oo k' and east of the h • aIso r eproduce
north '\l/ d throug h Prea kne ss and Upp er Prea kne ss. The ouse is
· ar
in the Hist
ory· of Pre akn ess , p. 28.

Kin gsl and Ho use

3 King slan d Roa d, Nutl ey, Esse x Cou nty
b btained to photo-
It Was
traph this t great disa ppo intm ent that permission coul d not e
OUse. It is run as a road hou se of some sort, and no ou
bt ublicity of
p 505
 NTI ES
HOU SES IN ESS EX AND PAS SAI C COU
is it a goo d exa mp le of Du tch archi-
any kin d was und esir ed and feared. No t onl y
ure , but it has one of the ver v few ext erio r Du tch ovens stil l in existence and
tect
ain ed abo ut the bui lde r and early
I

goo d condition. No info rma tion cou ld be obt

if a wo ode n pla que ''J7 32- J93 2" over
ow ner s of the house. It was erected in J732,
the wes t doo r ma y be believed.
ees and ear lies t sett lers of New
Th e Kin gsl and fam ily wer e one of the pat ent
the Hac ken sac k, Pas saic and Sad dle
Bar bad oes Nec k, the nec k of lan d bet wee n
, in Ber gen Cou nty . Jos eph Kin gsl and , Sr. , b. J738 in Ber gen Co., d. J82J,
Riv ers
w Yo rk Cit y at the close of the Revo-
ma rrie d Ma ry Ou twa ter. Th ey removed to Ne
on and the n to Ess ex Cou nty in J79 6, wh ere the y pur cha sed and live d in the
luti
stio n. The ir son Jos eph Kin gsl and , b. J 792 in Ne w Yo rk City, d. J878,
hou se in que
chi ldre n. Tw o of the ir dau ght ers ,
ma rrie d in J8J 2 Ma rth a Ack erm an and had five
rga ret and Ma rtha , wer e stiII livi ng in the hom este ad abo ut J 925. Th eir son,
Ma
Jos eph Kin gsl and , was bor n in the old hou se in Ess ex Co unt y in J8J3,
also caIIed
and in J 850 ma rrie d Ma rga ret Ste war t.
in Fra nkl in, and now in Nu tley ,
Th e hou se was in BeIIeviIIe Tow nsh ip, late r
rem e nor the aste rn com er of Ess ex Cou nty , a sto ne's thr ow fro m Pas saic
in the ext
now caIIed Kin gsl and Ro ad, on the
Cou nty . It stan ds on the sou th side of wh at is
is dam me d at this poi nt. It is pro bab le
wes t ban k of Y ant eca w or Th ird Riv er, wh ich
ear ly ow ner s con duc ted a mil l her e. Ma ny Du tch me n sett led alo ng the
tha t the
Riv er, mid wa y bet wee n the ear ly
Th ird Riv er, wh ich empties into the Pas saic
nor th and Sec ond Riv er (Belleville)
settlements of Acq uac kan onk (Pa ssa ic) on the
on the sou th.
cov ere d wit h gab le roofs. Th e
Th e hou se is bui lt in thre e uni ts, all of ston e and
rest ing uni t is the sou th win g, wh ich has a low sec ond sto ry, old win dow
most inte
n, wh ich is stiII inta ct and pro trud es
sashes fou r pan es across, and an old Du tch ove
the gab le end . Th e cen tral uni t is the ma in par t of the hou se. Th e gar ret has
from
n add ed to the low nor th win g.
been modernized wit h dor mer s. A por ch has bee

La wr enc e Ho use
Ess ex Cou nty
lorm erly on Wa tchu ng A ven ue, Bro okd ale,
PLA TE 145
to this hou se. It stan ds on the
Ver y little is kno wn tha t definitely per tain s
y kno wn for ma ny yea rs as Sto ne
Cockefair trac t nea r Th ird Riv er, in the loc alit
Ho use Pla ins.
em igra ted to this cou ntr y abo ut
Ale xan der Coquefaire was a Fre nch ma n wh o
1657. He settled in Bus hw ick on Lon g Isla nd, wh ere he bou ght a pla nta tion in J663'
en
was a drum ma1· or t h at sam e yea r and a pat ent ee in J68 7. He is last me ntio ned wh
506
 HOUS ES IN ESSE X AND PASSA IC COUN TIES

records
he sold land there .in 1698. The na~e of his wife is unkn own, but the town
h H
tate that on Aprd 23, l 665 he paid a marr iage fee to the Flatb ush Churc
b; hi:
:igned his name Cokc over; it also appea rs as Cockefair, the spelli ng adopted
descendants.
e
Another Alex ande r Cock efair, proba bly a grand son, settled at Stone Hous
a ledge
Plains in Essex Coun ty, New Jerse y. His farm is suppo sed to have run from
corner
of rock 800 feet west of Thir d Rive r westw ard to an oak tree near the present
name
of Broad and Watc hung Aven ues. (Unt il recen tly Watc hung Aven ue bore the
lately
of Oaktree Lane from this landm ark.) The first Cock efair house stood on land
. Alex-
owned by Sylva nus Cock efair; it disap peare d abou t the time of the Revolution
Johan na
ander or Sand er Cock efair ( Coccifeer, Kokk efeer , Cockefer, etc.) marri ed
on the
Kind (Han na, Hend rina, Anna Kint ) abou t l 720. He is not mentioner.
time.
church records after J74l nor she after 1740, so they may have died about this
to the
They had four child ren, the eldes t two bapti zed at the Acqu ackan onk Chur ch
Alex-
north, and the youn gest two at the Seco nd Rive r Chur ch to the south . (l)
ard
.ander, Jr., b. Marc h 8, 1721, is proba bly the one who exten ded the farm eastw
age has
to the Third Rive r by purch ase of May 27, 1753. No ment ion of his marri
s), and
been found. (2) Eliza beth, b. Marc h 4, 1724, marri ed Jacob Philli ps (Filip
9, 1731,
had four daugh ters, Aeltj e, Saart je, Judic k and Antje .· (3) Judith~ b. April
s is
married John Lawr ence. Thei r only appea rance toget her on the churc h record
ors for
in l 757, when Johan nes Lerre ns and Judick Kock yefee r acted as spons
child of
Alexander, the son of her broth er Johan nes Kock yfeer . ( 4) The fourt h
be the
Alexander Cockefair was Joha nnes or John , b. Marc h 25, l 735. He may
at
John Cockkifer who marr ied Jan. 23, 1757 Jenni j Swin er, both born and living
bap-
Acquackanonk. By a wife unna med he had a son Alex ander in l 757; at the
en were
tistns of his children 1768-74 his wife was called Janne tje Torn er. His childr
tje,
Alexander, Steph anus, Frede rick D., Piete r, and Abra m, also proba bly Mary t
weS
John, Thomas, Char ity, and Catri na. John Cockefair built the house on the
added
~d of the family tract (No. 901 Broa d Stree t), to whic h the street front was
181 7; it remained in the famil y for many years . d
1ll 0

;°c .~;r
stone house on the south side of Watc hung Aven ue was only torn k £~
. The th
~mce the photo graph was taken in 1925. It stood near the middle of e 1
River . It was undo ubted ly built int e : e
tct, between Broa d Stree t and Thir d
the eighteenth centu ry It is possi ble that Alex ander Cockefair built two hous~ ,
ut ~ore likely that this• house was built by or for Johan nes Law renc e; ;nan;
111 0
ue,
ch:e d Alexander's daug hter Judit h. Stran gely enou gh ther~ s ; ;;co:adoiss
as th ehn of theirs in the nearb y Dutc h churches, but they un u3 ~e was y the prop-
e ouse was owne d as late as 1859 by a J. Lawr ence. In 188 it 507
 HOUSES IN ESSEX AND PASSAIC COUNTIE S

erty of W. Stimus and in 1906 of Susan B. Stimus. The house stood in the early
settleme nt of Stone House Plains (now Brookda le), east of Speertow n (now Upper
Montcla ir) and some distance west of the settlements along the Passaic River.

House of Edo Mersel is

Paterson and Hamburg h Turnpike , Upper Preaknes s, Passaic County
PLATE 146

This house is marked Marselis ' on Erskine 's Revolut ionary map, and was built
in the decade previous to the war by Edo Merselis. His ancestor Pieter Marselis
emigrat ed in 1661 on the Beaver from Beest in Gelderla nd, with his wife, four
children and two servants. It is said that he was born near Leerdam , and removed
to Beest where his children were born. He settled in Bergen, where he died Sept. 4,
1682 and his wife Aug. l, 1680. His son Marcelis Pietersen" was six years old when
he came to this country in 1661; he was the father of Pieter Merselis," hap. July J7,
1687 at New York, lived at Bergen but married in New York Dec. 3 l, 1717 Jenneke
Prior of Bergen. Among their many children was Edo Marselis or Merselis, b.
4

Jan. 27, 1729, d. Oct. 12, 1799, aged 70 years, 8 months, and 15 days, and was buried
at Preakne ss. At Bergen on April ll, 1754 he married Ariaent je Sip, b. May 30,
1732, d. May 20, 1813 at Preakne ss; both were born at Bergen and living there at
the time of their marriag e. Her father was Ide Sip, owner of the house in Bergen
village (plate 107).
In l 759 Edo Merselis bought 69 acres in Preakne ss from Robert Hunter Mor-
ris; June l, 1763 he bought a tract in Upper Preakne ss from Theunis Hennion,
whose grandfa ther David Danielse n (Hennio n) purchas ed it Aug. 30, 1717 from
the heirs of Thomas Hart of London ; in 1769 he bought 210 acres at Upper Preak-
ness from John Berdan, whose grandfa ther had purchas ed it Nov. 18, 1720 from
the heirs of Thomas Hart of London. Edo Merselis built his house on the Hennion
tract at Upper Preakne ss on the Paterson -Pompto n road, at the point where the road
to the Ponds Church begins. Nearby was the Hennion house, and also the Berdan
house (plate 143). Edo was an elder of the Totowa Church, and a deputy to the
Provinci al Congress of New Jersey. In his will he mention ed his nine children,
Antje (wife of Simeon Van Winkle ), Jannetje (wife of Adrian Van Houten and
Enoch Vreelan d), Pieter, Edo, Cornelis, John, Catlyntj e (wife of Isaac Van Saun),
Arreyan tje (wife of John Parke), and Gerrit. Three of his sons, Cornelis, John and
Gerrit remaine d at Preakne ss. The son Gerrit' Merselis, b. Oct. l, 1777, d. April 2,
1843, married May 3, 1799 Lena De Gray, b. Dec. 18, 1780, d. April 20, 1848. He
lived in his father's house, which later passed into the hands of his son Peter G.6
Merselis, b. 1815, d. Aug. 30, 1891. The latter's son Gilbert F.1 Merselis lived here
508
 HOUSES IN ESSEX AND PASSAIC COUNTIES

in J902, and his son Garret E.8 Merselis sold it about 1920 to the present owner
Isaac A. Hopper, but continues to occupy the ancestral homestead.
The house is built of stone, plastered and whitewashed, except for the rear
which is of stone rubble covered with a coat of whitewash. It has a broad gable roof,
extending over the front to form an overhang. The front of the house has been
altered with dormers and porch. The house is in Upper Preakness a short distance
north of the church; it is on the north side of the Paterson and Hamburgh Turnpike
leading to Pompton. The road to Ponds Church, now Berdan Avenue, leaves the
turnpike by the house.

House of Johannes Ryerson

367 GofHe Road, Hawthorne, Passaic County
PLATE 147
The grandfather of the builder of this house was Martin Ryerszen, who emi-
grated from Amsterdam about 1646 and settled at Breukelen, where on May 14,
J663 he married Annetje, daughter of Joris Jansen de Rapalje. Their son Joris
Martinsei Ryerse, bap. Sept. 19, 1666, d. about 1749-50, married Aug. ll, 1691
Anneken Schouten, widow of Theunis Dey. At the time of his marriage he lived
at the Wallabocht on Long Island. In 1695 he joined Arent Schuyler and others in
buying extensive tracts of lands on both sides of the Pequannock River. He settled
at Pacquanac (near Mountain View) about 1710. He was a judge and a very promi-
nent man. He had three step-children and eleven children. Of these, Dirck Dey built
the mansion at Lower Preakness (plate 144), Marten Ryerson built on the South
Branch of the Raritan River near Flemington (plate 160), and Johannes Ryerson
built at the Goffle. ·
On Nov. ll, 1706 Joris Ryerse of Pompton joined with Ryer and Frans Ryerse
of New York in buying a tract north of the Passaic River along the Wagaraw or
Goffle Brook from· Bfandina Bayard of New York; this tract was surveyed and
d~vided between the owners on June 7, 1721. In his will of 1744 Joris Ryerse devised
his plantation at Wagaraw, on which his son Johannes lived, to this Johannes. The
settlement of Wagaraw was on the north bank of the Passaic River at the beod
~orth of Paterson. From here a road led northward along the Goffle Brook to the
ouse and mill of Cornelis Lozier at the present Midland Park (plate 96)· As farms
j;~e opened up along the brook, this settlement became known as the Goffle.
th annes Ryerse was living here in 1744, and may have removed her~ s?ortly after
e survey of l72l He probably built an earlier house no longer existing as well
as the • . -1
present house, if it was built in 1750 as claime~ , etween
Johannes" Ryerse also called John G. Ryerson, bap. Aug.·B, 1694, died b ·
, 509
 HOUSES IN ESSEX AND PASSAIC COUNT IES
1779-82, marrie d Oct. 27, J7J6 Maritie Janse Spier and later married Geertje
Hessels, and had nine children in all. He was a Justice of the Peace. He lived at the
Goffle on a farm left him by his father, and in J779 willed one-third of the estate
Upon which he dwelt to his grandson John, eldest son of his son George. Joris or
George 1.' Ryerso n left all his lands in J80J to his only son John. This John G.5
Ryerso n, b. July 3, J769, d. J835, married July 2J, J793 Leah, daughter of Cornelius
Wester velt, d. J86J, aged 87 years. He lived on his father's and grandfather's place
on the east side of the Goffle Road in the house still standing. After the marriage of
his only child, he gave him .the farm of J80 acres, and removed to his wife's farm.
This son, George I.6 Ryerson, b. Dec. J7, J793, d. Dec. J6, J875, married Sept. 19,
J8J3 Hillego nt, daught er of Gerrebrant Van Houten ; after her death June 23, 1847,
he married Mrs. Eliza Burtsell of New York, and thirdly Margar et Hanson. He
lived on the place occupied by his grandfather on the Goffle Road. His son Henry
Garriso n7 Ryerso n, b. Dec. 3, J822, d. J879, married Martha , daught er of Adam
Dater. ·He was an auctioneer, and continued to reside in the ancestral home. It later
passed to his two children, George who died in J887, and Elizabeth who married
John Ackerm an of Hohokus. The Ackerman estate owned it until recently. It is at
present unoccupied.
It is claimed that the house was erected in J750. This date could only apply
to the wing by the road, as the main house is probably post-revolutionary. The wing
is built of roughl y cut stone and the main house of dressed stone, whitewashed; the
rear of both units is of stone rubble, and both sections are covered by gable roofs,
extending to form an overhang on the south front. The photograph shows the rear
view. The house stands on the east side of Goffle Road by the Goffle Brook, about
one mile north of the Passaic River.
In the fall of J 780 Lafayette had his headquarters in a tent back of the house
by the brook; he called his Goffle Headquarters·" Light Camp/ ' Why Lafayette did
not commandeer the house is not known, but that he did not is additional proof that
only the small unit was then in existence. As his host Johannes Ryerse had nine-
children, some of whom were married, the house was undoubtedly full, and Lafayette
may not have wished to disturb them.

Schuy ler-C olfax House

Paterso n and Hambur gh Turnpik e, Pompto n, Passaic County
PLATE 148

There seems to be some disagreement as to what member of the Schuyler

family built the original unit of this house. On June 6, J695 Arent Schuyler, Brock-
holst, and various associates, obtained a deed from the Indians for a large tract on
510
 S
HOU SES IN ESS EX AND PASSAIC COUNTIE

nort hwa rd to the bend

both sides of the Peq ~nn ock Riv er, from the Pas saic Riv er 5500 acres on
ined a pate nt for
of the Pe~ uan noc k ~ve r, and on Nov . l l, 1695 obta
Are ntts fa th er, Ph'1l'ip p·1eterse1
the east side of the, rive r cov ered by the Ind ian deed•
gra ted from Am ster dam sho rtly before Dec• J2t
J.650 h h
Schuy1er, h a d emi • d h
we ne
Rens-
'dM hten hors t, the dire ctor of
marrie argr i!~, aug ter of Bra ndt Van Slic
nt of the earl y colonists of New
selaerswyck. Phi lip bec ame one of the mos t imp orta
Jun e 25t J.662 at Beverwyckt d. in
Netherland. His sev enth son Are nt! Sch uyle rt b.
s: on Nov. 26, J648 to J enneke,
or before Nov emb er, l 730. He was mar ried three time
e sons and three dau ghte rs; in
daughter of Wil liam Tel ler, by who m he had thre
whom he had three sons and two
Janu ary, 1703 to Swa ntie van Duy ckh uys ent by
ugh ter of Jaco b Leisler. His thir d
dau ghte rs; and in 1724 to Ma ria Wa lter , gran dda
ried Archibald Kennedy. Are nt
wife surv ived him , and in Dec emb ert J 736 mar
he removed to New Yor k City
Schuyler was a mer cha nt at Bev erw yck in earl y life,
a petition to the king in Decem-
in J.694 and was still a resi den t ther e whe n he signed
following springt and was living
ber, J701. He pro bab ly rem ove d to Pom pton the
Are nt was a fluent speaker of
here whe n he mad e one of his wills on Oct . J8t J706.
to treat with the Indi ans. He was
the Ind ian lang uag es and was often commissioned
gston, Dants Chamber, Peq uan -
an extensive land own er, purc hasi ng tracts at Kin
rt with his copper richest buy ing
nock, Min isin k and New Bar bad oes Neckt and late
he removed to a trac t
lands at Bor den tow n and Eliz abe thto wn for his sons. In J7J0
stood until recently; copper was
on New Bar bad oes Nec k and his homestead there
.
soon discovered ther e and he became very wealthy he gave his undivided shar e in
Wh Ar t Sch uyle r removed from Pomptont
the t i:: ldes t son Phil ip. In his thir d will, dated 1724, he app
ortioned his
h~s one-third sh.are in the 1200
pro ::rt :: ~tw :n his sons, confirming, to Phil ip m common with Bay ard and
d Pom pton , which he held • d H
acres at P equ ann ock an rie ester~ dau ghte r of Isaac
Brockholst. Phil ip" Sch uyle r, bap . Sep t. H, 1687, mar
sons and five dau ghte rs. He
Kin land f N Barbadoes Neckt and had seventhis settlement in the colonial
g~ _.., tho p ew ton homestead, and represented th y
occ upi« i e omp
H' 1..1--t son Are nt, b. 1715, boudght e. , an th Wa gen en farm on Rye r-
, lat
1egis ure. is e d ,
Pom pton Lak es) in 173 9, an was 1ivm g ere Ul'Ulg the Revolu-
so p 0 d ( a man sard roof•,
?
n his stnow
.ion; hou se still stands, but is completely disfigured by
t one father's trac t nea r
it is now use d as an athletic camp. Ano ther son Pete r lived on his
have been at the com er of the
the Pom pto n Riv er; Ers kine shows his house to
ike, and his brot her Isaa c's to
Bla k Oak Rid ge Roa d and the Ham bur gh T ump
you nge st son, Casparus4 Sch uy-
hav~ bee n still furt her sout~ n~ the river. Phil ip's
occupied his fath er's hom este ad
ler, b. Dec . 10, 1735, marri~d Miss Brocas. He also
e is mar ked "Pa ulu s Sch uyle r"
trac t, livi ng just nor th of his brother Pete r. His hom
sn
 HOUSES IN ESSEX AND PASSAIC COUNTIES

on Erskine's map (Paulus was probably a misunderstanding by the surveyor of the

two last syllables of the name).
Casparus Schuyler's property was inherited by his only child Hester or Hetty/
who on Aug. 27, 1783 married William Colfax, b. July 3, 1756 in Connecticut, d.
Sept. 9, 1838 and was buried on his place at Pompton. William Colfax was a captain
of Washington's Life Guards and a great favorite of the W ashingtons. He was
wounded three times during the war. He was descended from William Colfax, who
had come to this country and settled in Wethersfield, Connecticut, about l 643. After
the Revolution, William settled on his wife's estate at Pompton as a farmer; he was
made a Justice of the Peace, a General, and a member of the General Assembly from
Bergen County. Six of William's and Hester's children lived to maturity, three sons
and three daughters. The sons were: George Washington Colfax (1784-180), who
built on the Schuyler tract nearby a house which was inherited by his son Major
William W. Colfax; Schuyler Colfax ( l 792-l 822), who was the father of Schuyler
Colfax, Vice-President of the United States; and Dr. WUliam Washington Colfax,
b. April 26, 1797, d. Feb. 28, 1876. Dr. Colfax lived in the old homestead, and prac-
tised medicine for fifty years in the vicinity of Pompton. On April 27, 1826 he
married Hester Mandeville. Their son was the owner in l 897, and his widow Mrs.
'
Delia Colfax, who approaches her hundredth birthday, is the present owner.
The house was built at three separate times. The north wing is very long, and
consists of two similar units. The main part is a typical post-revolutionary house
covered by a gambrel roof, and now marred by many dormers. The east front of
all the units is of brick, and the rear and sides are of rough fieldstone. The north
wing is very interesting; its low exposed beams, rounded door and window tops are
distinguishing features; it is covered by a gable roof with no overhang. ·T he main
house was probably built after the Revolution by William Colfax who, as an impor-
tant member of society, wanted a handsome home. The erection of the earlier units
presents more of a problem. It has been stated variously that Arent Schuyler, the
patentee, lived here in 1697, that he built it about 1700, that Dr. William W. Colfax
lived on the site of his house, and that Casparus Schuyler built the present house in
1735. Arent Schuyler probably did not remove to Pompton until the spring of J702,
and it is quite possible that he built one unit of the old wing at this time, giving i!! 0

his son Philip when he removed to New Barbadoes in l 710. Otherwise the son pbilip
probably erected it about J7J2, when he set up housekeeping on the Pompton tract.
He probably built the second unit. It is of course impossible that Casparus Schu~lr'
who was born in J735, should have erected a house the year of his birth; possib;
3
this statement should be interpreted to the effect that Casparus Schuyler, b. n f
0
built the house, or more probably that this Casparus inherited the house, a part
512
 HOUSE S IN ESSEX AND PASSA IC COUNT IES

which had been built about the time of his birth by his father Philip . It stands on
the west side of the Paters on and Hamb urgh Turnp ike, a short distance south of the
Ramapo River and east of the Pomp ton River, in the outskirts of Pomp ton.
Hous e of John Sip
Kenyo n Street, Atheni a, Passai c County

In l 729 Jan Arian se Sip, owner of the house at Bergen village (plate l 07),
willed to his eldest son Arie the planta tion at Acquackanonk, whereon Arie then
dwelt, containing JOO acres in the first division on the west bank of the Passaic River,
and also 50 acres of the second division adjoining this prope rty on the west. This
Arie' Sip, b. Oct. 25, _l684 at Berge n and baptized in New York, married at New
York April l9, J7l J Gerrit je Helmi gse, a young girl from Bergen, daugh ter of
Helmig Van Houte n. He immed iately settled at Acquackanonk, on Lot No. JJ of
the patent, which his father had purchased Nov. 6, l696 from his step-father Hans
Didericks. Arie and Gerrit je Sjp had five children: Annatie, Halma gh, Johannes,
Jannitje, and Come lis. Arie died Dec. 3, l765,* having devised in l762 to his son
John the l50 acres on which the testator lived and also the l4 acre lots by the high-
way. Johannes or John• Sip, b. March 10, l7l5 at Acquackanonk, married
there
Dec. 12, 1744 Anna tje Van Wink le of the same place. They had at least three
children, John, Jr., Adrian., bap. 1750, and Cornelius, bap. 1759.
Johns Sip, Jr•., born about 1747, was known as John Sip of Athenia. He is the
first one known to have lived here within the memory of an old neighb or; it is prob·
able that he or his father built the presen t house. He kept a distillery here. Johns Sip
of Athenia marrie d Geert je Van Winck le, and had five children: Annat je, b. l778.
tnarried Aaron Van Houte n; John, b. J780; Catharine, b. 1782, married Abraham
ran Houten of Totow a; Adria n, b. J785; and Eva, b. 1792., married Johannes
ckerman. The elder of the sons was John J. Sip, Jr., b. Sept. J8, l780 and baptized
8

~t Acquackanonk, died about J 865 over 80 years of age. He was a farmer and
~erite d his fathee s home at Athen ia. His first wife, whom he married May JO,
B07, bore the same name as his mothe r Geertj e Van Winck le; by her he had but6
;~e child J 0 hn, b. J808, who lived to the ~astward on Van Houte n Avenue. John .J·
c~~idJr. of Athen ia marri ed secon dly July 8, J8JO Aaria ntje Marselis, and had five
b/thren born l8Jl-l 9: Edo, Geertj e, Adria n, Eleno r and Ann. The house was sold
T~~tate of John J.8 Sip, Jr. after his death. ,
han I 18 house is a large stone struct ure covered by a gamb rd roof, having no over-
intt; ,}. is now marre d by many dorme rs of different shapes. A view is rep.roduced
t th ~e
of Van Jnette . It stands on a lane called Kenyo n Street., southeaS of e 1unctu th
outen and Clifto n Avenu es, and on the west side of the railway. A enia is
513
alten f
rorn family Bible.
 HOUSES IN ESSEX AND PASSAIC COUNTIES

th odern name for the region just west of Passaic. Until fairly recently there stood
a :t-revolutionary stone house just east on Clifton Avenue. _This w~ a Sip
house and is believed to have been built by a son of John Sip, the distiller. It is
therefore probable that it was erected by his younger son Adrian Sip, b. l 785.

Speer House
614 Upper Mountain Avenue, Montclair Heights, Essex County
There still exists, in a remodelled condition, a small, stone and frame house
known as the Speer house, a short distance south of the county border. This region,
on the east side of the mountain, was settled by the Dutch from nearby Acquacka-
nonk, and came to be known as Speertown, presumably because of the preponder-
ance of this family. Hendrick Jansen' Spier emigrated to this country on the Faith
in J659. Nelson gives a thorough account of his numerous descendants with many
of their places of residence but unfortunately assigns none to this particular house.
A Jacobus' Speer lived on the River Road south ·of Passaic. Among his sons was
Gerrit5 Speer (1753-1828), who had a son Peter6 Speer, b. 1789. This Peter lived at
Upper Montclair where he owned a large tract of land on the slope of the mountain.
Possibly he owned the house in question, but it must have been built before his time.

Stynmets-Sip House
714 River Road, Passaic, Passaic County
PLATE 149
In the Acquackanonk settlement a short distance above the Newark Town
Purchase line (now the Essex County border) runs a small stream known as the Min-
eral Spring Brook. Lot No. 7 on its south bank, a JOO acre lot in the first division of
~e p~t~t, fell to a member of the Vreeland family; Dirck Vreeland, bap. J686, was
still living there in l 750, and in l 778 another Richard Vreeland had his home there.
Lot No. 6, immediately to the south, was allotted to Gerrit Gerritse Van Wagening,
a ~atentee of Acquackanonk but a resident of Communipaw in the Town of Bergen•
His son ~ermanus Gerritse settled further north in Acquackanonk, opposite the
present. bridge at Passaic (plate 154). On Jan. 30, 1698/9 Gerrit Gerritse Van
Wagenmg of the Town of Bergen deeded to Christoffle Stynmets of Essex Countr
Lot No. 6 in Acquackanonk with the house lot and half the patent rights and the
commonage pertaining thereto.
. Christoff~l's ~arents were Casper Steynmetzen and Jannetje Gerrits; they ha0
six sons baptized New y ork between 1650 and l 670. They probably settled in
Bergen about the time the youngest was born, as Casper's wife J annetje was buried
51 4
 HOUS ES IN ESSEX AND PASSA IC COUN TIES

in Bergen in J670. Thei r fourt h son Christoffel' Stynmets (Stymet

Stynm )
~:
bap. Dec. J9, J660 in New York , married at Bergen Oct. 6, J684 J~et je Ge~
Her-
bap. March J9, J66_2, daug ~ter of Gerrit Gerrits Van Wag ening and Annetje
the
manse of Commurupaw. It 1s probable that Christoffel left Bergen shortly after
ty,
birth of his fourt h child in J693 and settled at Acquackanonk in Essex Coun
building the rear unit of the present house in the J690s, on the tract conveyed to
him
by his father-in-law in J699. He was an elder of the Acquackanonk Church in 1697-
98. His youn g wife died and he married secondly at Bergen J698-99 Sara Van Nest:
sto-
it is probable that she was the mother of most of his children. The will of "Chri
and
phel Styn muth " of Acqu ackan onk, yeoman, aged and infirm, executed in l 732
probated in l 735, mentioned his wife Sarah and twelve children: Casparus (hap.
,
l686), Antie (hap. 1692, marr ied Jacob Van Noordstrand), Jannetie (hap. 1693)
wn),
Benjamin (married secondly in l73J Sara Emons, both resid ~ts of Riddensto
Judah or Judit h (mar ried Harm an Juria nse Van Ripe r), Peter (married
1734
at
Marietje Brouwer, both of Esse x Co.), Hann ah, Johannes (born and lived
wife
Acquackanonk, marr ied J737 Catharine Post) , Garre t (of Saddle River,
beth
Susanna), George (prob ably marr ied J742 Claertje Van Iderstein), Eliza
(married l 730 J uri J urianse Van Ripe r), and Mary a.
In his will of l 732 Christoffel Stynm ets mentioned various tracts of land,
among which were 299 acres on the Passa ic Rive r adjoining the land of Dirck Vree-
med
land. It is on this prope rty that the house stands. Whe n Lot No. 7 was confir
to Dirck Vreeland in J750, it was described as bounded on the south by Christoffel
son
Stymets. The will of Arie Sip of Acqu ackan onk, dated J762, gave to his
-
Helmich the 200 acres on whic h the son lived, which were purchased from Chris
toffel Stynmetz, and also the land in the common. This Christoffel must have
been
a grandson of the first Christoffel Stynm ets, and evidently sold the land
between
~an d 1762. Prese nt tenur e of the house, however, is based on an indenture dated
la ch ll, 1768 from John J. Ludl ow of Acqu ackan onk to Helmich Sip of the same
ce, which transferred for £ J00 a dwelling and lot in Acquackanonk, south of
,
ru~~ elling of Dirck Vreeland, begin ning at the river l 7 feet north of the ho~e
n h g West 90 feet, south JOO feet and east J JO feet to the river, along the r1ver
ort JOO f eet to the begin ning, with' barn, stable and gardens ( or1gm • the
· · a1 deed m
P<>ssessi
was liv·on of Mrs. Roberts, a descendant). At the time of the Revolution, Ludlow
not
kno 1:1,g ~urther north on the Passa ic Rive r. How he came to own the house istha
' it is P0ssible that this was a release from a claimant, as
it is probable t
this~ 0
had
Willed t~s~and lot were included in the 200 acres with house which Arie Sip
Arie' ;.son Helmich in J762 7
ip, whose father owne d the house in the village of Berg en (plate J0 ),
515
 HOUSES IN ESSEX AND PASSAIC COUNTIES

settled at Acquackanonk, some distance north of the Stynmets farm. He had twin
sons, of whom John• Sip inherited the homestead and is the ancestor of the Athenia
branch of the ·family (see supra). The other twin, Helmich or Halmagh' Sip, b.
March 10, 1715 at Acquackanonk, married here Nov. 14, 1740 Jannetje Van Houten,
b. April 19, 1719 at Totowa, a sister of Gerrebrant Van Houten of Totowa (plate
152). They had two children: Adriaen, b. 1746,* and Derrick, b. 1749* and bap. at
Hackensack. They undoubtedly settled in the Stynmets house about l 768, if not
earlier in the 1750s, and probably built the south unit of the house at this time.
Halmagh Sip died about 1807 at an advanced age. His son Adriaens Sip and wife
Gerretje were probably the parents of: twins Metje and Gerretje, b. l 763*; J annetje,
bap. 1767; John A. Sip, b. June 6, 1775* and bap. June 15th*; Annatje, bap. 1781;
and Halmagh, b. l 784* ( the family Bible is not clear as it merely lists various births
without stating the parents; it will be noted that four of these six children were
recorded in the Bible, and one of the four with the two others are given as Adriaen's
children in the Acquackanonk Church records). Halmagh6 Sip, Jr., b. Oct. 22,
1784,* d. Jan. 28, 1855, aged 71 years, 3 months, and 6 days,* married at Acquacka-
nonk March 30, 1806* Margaret Linford, b. Aug. 7, 1791,* d. Nov. 19, 1852, aged
62 years, 3 months and 12 days.* It is probable that he was called "Jr." because his
grandfather was still alive at the time of his marriage, rather than because he had a
father or an uncle of the same name. Halmagh inherited and occupied the Stynmets
-Sip house and farm, and undoubtedly built the north unit of the house. Here his
daughter Charity" Sip was bom Nov. H, 1820,* and baptized the following Janu-
ary, d. Aug. 10, 1896,* married at Passaic Feb. 28, 1839* Richard Romaine, b. Dec.
1820,* d. Dec. 17, 1891.* They lived at Rochelle Park. After the death of her father,
the house was no longer occupied by members of the family. She inherited the prop-
perty and left it to her son Helmas Romaine, b. Sept. 8, J840,* d. Nov. 20, J896. His
daughter, Mrs. Kate Romaine Roberts, sold the place about 1900 to Henry Muth,
whose widow is the present owner.
The growth of this. house is interesting. The original house is the small unit at
the rear. It has unusually thick stone walls covered with clapboard, and very low
ceilings, over which is a gable roof with no overhang. Like most of the very early
houses it faces south. It was undoubtedly built by Christoffel Stynmets in the 1690s.
The next unit was erected at right angles to it on the river end, about the middle of
the eighteenth century; it is built of roughly cut and dressed stone. The post-revolu-
tionary unit was added at the north; it is built of well-dressed stone and is much
larger; the Dutch stoop with its swelling columns is interesting. Note how the size of
the house, the height of the ceilings and the size of the windows increase with each
later unit. The lean-to at the rear of the original house dates from the middle of the
516

• Taken from family Bible.

 HOUSES IN ESSEX AND PASSAIC COUNTIES

nineteenth century. The house stands on the west bank of the Passaic River, south
of Mineral Brook Road and of the Union Avenue Bridge.

Van Dien House

Fairfield Road, Mountain View, Passaic County
PLATE 150

The date J706 is to be seen in a stone on the east side of this house. It is supposed
to stand on a tract of land granted to a Van Dien in J 704. It is probably on the south
end of the large tract purchased from the Indians and patented to Schuyler and his
associates in J695, and they may have sold a portion to Van Dien shortly afterwards.
The last owner in the family was Peter Van Dien, his wife was Dorcas Kiersted, and
his father was James Van Dien. The estate of Peter Van Dien subdivided and sold
the farm for building lots fifty-five or seventy years ago. The house is marked but
unnamed on Erskine 's Revolut ionary map. There is an old family Bible owned by a
Van Dien widow of a closely related branch of the family, but unfortunately the
author could not obtain access to it.
The house is typical of its early date, built of rough fieldstone, one room in
depth, with small window openings, and a gable roof with almost no overhang.
There was formerly a stone wing on the west end. The house has been owned ~ince
l909 by Miss Rilla Budd. It stands on the southeast side of Fairfield Road between
the Pompton-Newark Turnpik e and the railway, in the village of Mountain View.
Fairfield Road is a Revolut ionary road running along the southeast bank of the
~~ic River, connecting Two Bridges , where the Dey house stands (plate J6J),
1th the roads to Pompto n, to Preakne ss, and to Totowa.

Van Giesen -Vreel and House

Chestnut Street, Nutley, Essex County
PLATE 151
sold The English settled only in the southern portion of their Newark Purchase and
A. a large part of the land at the north end of the tract to Dutchmen from nearby
~i~ckanonk and Bergen Among these were the Van Giesens and Vreelands.
on r:r Bastienseni Van Gi~en emigrate d to this country and settled at Flatbush
sch0oi: Island, where in J660 the officials of the Dutch Church engaged him, as
In 1663 hster, court messenger, reader, and for other duties pertaining to this office.
~as V f sold his Flatbus h land to Jan Strycke r and removed to Bergen, where he
A.tnon;~ezer and where he died May J5, J707; he had five sons and three daughter9s.
etn Was Abraham • Van Giesen, b. Nov. J3, J666 at Bergen, d. July J ,
51 7
 HOUSES IN ESSEX AND PASSAIC COUNTIES

1753 and buried at Acquackanonk; he was married at Bergen by his father, Voor-
leur Van Giesen, before the congregation in the presence of the court, on Oct. 25,
l69l to Fitje Andriesse of Communipaw. He settled in northern Essex County, and
was selected judge of the county in l7J5. In his will he left the plantation on Third
River on which he lived to his sons Andries and Isaac, and left to his sons Rynier
and Andries land north of the farmer's home, which recently belonged to the testa-
tor's brother Johannes, deceased, and to all of his four sons ( the above three and
Abraham) he left tracts in Morris County.
It is claimed that the house on the bank of the Third River in Nutley was built
by Abraham Van Giesen hi l 702 and lettering to this effect has lately been cut in a
stone by the door; on an J850 map the house is stated to have been built in J700.
It is possible that Abraham Van Giesen lived for a time on the Third River near the
Passaic River, although Nelson and Folsom (both authorities) state that he lived at
Stone House Plains in Montclair Township, which is further inland and through
which the Third River also runs. A photograph of the stone house there, which was
supposed to have been built by him and which had a cornerstone marked "A. V. G.,"
may be seen in Folsom's Bloomfield Old and New. A study of the land records may
ascertain the builder of the house at Nutley.
The later ownership is also obscure. The house remained in the possession of
the Van Giesen family until confiscated during the Revolution from Tory Van
Giesen. This Tory is believed to be Abraham Van Giesen, but there were many
Abrahams. Abraham' Van Giesen, Sr. (J666-J753) had four sons: Rynier, bap.
Oct. l, 1694 at Bergen, had a son Capt. Abraham of Newark who was prominent
during the Revolution; Andries married May 26, J727 Martje Dirkje, and died in
Essex County intestate, when letters of administration on his estate were granted
Sept. 24, 1753 to his only son Abraham Van Giesen, Jr.; Isaac lived at Second
River, where he married Lea Spier and had a son Abraham born in J747; Abraham
Abrahamse, b. Nov. J3, J702 at Bergen, lived at Acquackanonk where in J733 he
married Antje Dirckse, and he is probably the Abraham, widower of Acquacka-
nonk, who in J769 remarried at Second River. As Rynier's son Abraham was a
patriot, as Isaac lived at Second River and Abraham Abrahamse at Acquackanonk,
by pr?cess of _elimination Tory Abraham of Third River was probably the son of
Andries. It will be noted that Andries had inherited half of his father's homestead
plantation on Third River, and he may have continued to reside here. His only son
4
Abraham Van Giesen, b. May J8, J728, married at Second River in J75J Maria
Van Voorst.
Michael' Vreeland (b. about J7J6, d. by J804), was a son of Dirck Vreeland of
Acquackanonk. He settled on Third River in N~wark Township, now Nutley, and
518
 HOUSES IN ESSEX AND PASS
AIC COUNTIES
made his will here in J782. He married Aeltie V Gi
Johannes and granddaughter of Bastien Van Gie: T~en, ~• 1728, daughter of
three daughters. Their son John M.5 Vreeland, b. M:· 31 75;d;i
ei only.son and
his father's home., saw mill and building mill on the
. f
,fh.
11'
d.,Ri '
ver,
1821
and
, inherited .
added t hi
estate in J783., b y pureh asing rom Capt. Speer the homestead conf' ted f o s
· H ,_,.1 J · da isca rom Tory
Van Giesen. e marri~ annet1~, ughter of John Speer of Bell •11 d .
• h d' d • evi e an sister
of Capt. John S peer., J r • ., s e ie m 1845., aged 80 years. They moved into the old
Van Giesen house on the west bank of the Third River, and had four sons, Ra1 h,
Michael, John and Abraham, and daughters. Ralph inherited land on the Kingsl!id
Road near the Essex County border, and the others the homestead property. Abra-
ham6 Vreeland, b. 1791., d. March 3, 1860, married in 1817 Elizabeth, daughter of
John Mason, and had one son and five daughters. Abraham had inherited the west
half of his father's home ( the Van Giesen stone house), and lived here until l 838
when he built another house, later his son's. His only son Warren1 Vreeland was
born in l 822 in the old stone house and lived here the first twenty years of his life;
his grandmother Jannetje (Speer) Vreeland had lived here the last twenty years of
her life. The house was still owned by Warren Vreeland in l 906, although not
occupied by him. The Woman's Club of Nutley was organized in l9ll. It leased
the Vreeland homestead and later purchased it, using it for a clubhouse.
The Woman's Club have successfully restored the homestead. It is a long low
stone house, consisting of a hallway with one room on either side. The gable roof
with no overhang is characteristic of the early period, as are the small windows. Low
exposed beams, old doors, cupboards, and steep stairway remain. In the restoration,
two stones on either side of the main door were dated: "A. V. G. J702," "I. V. L.
l783/'"A. V• L • J82l ,"'"v w. V• L • >883, "to represent the various owners: Abraham
7 1
V h 1't
an Giesen who is claimed to have built it in J702, John Vree Land who boug t
in 1783, Abraham Vree Land who inherited it in J82J, and Warren Vreeland who
Presumably bought out the other heirs in J883. The house is in the center of Nut!er
?11 the north side of Chestnut Street and on the west bank of the Third River, whic
is not more than a brook at this point.

House of Gerrebrant Van Houten

Totowa A venue, Paterson, Passaic County
PLATE 152
the Co l'ssen'
1 Van Houten,
~ho e~. ancestor of the builder of this house was Roeloff rnGe 't. daughter of
,,_ 44,igrated . 16 k H . d there erri 1e,
'-Ol'neli~ V in 38 to Renssefaerswyc • e marrie d. Their son Helle-
ltleg Ro ;n Nes, and later settled at Amersfoort on Long
1O
r;:an
Sl terdam on the
e se,' hap. 1648 at New Amsterdam, d. J729, settle. at 00
519
 HOUSES IN ESSEX AND PASSAIC COUNTIES

Passaic River. His son Dirck' Van Houten (J687-J769) removed to Totowa soon
after he married Metje Gerrebrantse in l7ll. The Totowa Pate~t for land on the
northwest side of the Passaic River south of Paterson was granted m 1696 to George
Willocks; it changed hands and later came into the possession of Anthony Brock-
holst, whose heirs sold one-fourth of the patent on Sept. 26, J7l5 and Oct. 29, J724
to Dirck Van Houten. He built a stone house on the northwest side of Totowa
Avenue, on the site of which stands a post-revolutionary house known as the Benson
homestead. Dirck willed a part of his Totowa tract north of his own house to his son
Gcrrebrant• Van Houten, b. about 1712 at Hoboken, d. by 1789. Gerrebrant married
June 23, 1741 Jannetje Sip, born and living at Acquackanonk, daughter of Arie
Sip and sister of Halmagh Sip, both of Acquackanonk (see plate 149), and had two
sons and two daughters.
Gerrebrant Van Houten (according to Nelson) built the stone house (the
present wjng) still standing on the Passaic River by the brook. He was a farmer and
a large landowner. He is said to have removed from Totowa and in 1769 to have
built the east part of the Doremus house (recently torn down) on Water Street in
Paterson, which was eventually inherited by his grandson Gerrebrant, b. l 770, son
of his son Dirck. In l 783 Gerrebrant• Van Houten willed the house and farm of J50
acres where they resided at T otoway to his son Dirck. This Dirck, whose legal
name was Richard G.5 Van Houten, died Dec. l, 1810, aged 68 years, 4 months, and
20 days. He married Marytje or Molly Van Rypen, daughter of Abraham Van
Rypen, bap. 1747, d. May 25, 1816, and had eleven children. One of these was
Abraham' Van Houten, b. March 23, 1778, married Dec. 22, 1803 Catharine,
daughter of John Sip of Athenia. Dirck built a house adjoining his own on the south-
west for his son Abraham when he married, and it was there that Abraham's son
Richar~ 08!2-1878) later lived; the house has disappeared only recently, and stood
on the river in the present ball grounds.

1: Another of the sons of Dirck was Adriaen6 Van Houten, b. March 2, J784, d.
27 185
, ~, mai:ried ~une 27, 1813 Margaret, daughter of John Doremus. It was
t son who inherited his father's and grandfather's house. The Van Houten familY
at T ~ow~ was so extensive that it was found necessary to distinguish the variotJS

th
t
:e~:;~ ,: ~tach~g their mother's name to theirs; thus this Adriaen was known
quently ' awnM brook running through his farm by his house w.as conse·
own as O y's Yawn's Brook, and has been unthinkingly contracted to
e present name, Molly Ann's Br00k Ad . h'ldren
doubtless all born h S • riaen and Margaret had eleven c 1 , '
sister J annetje (bl~;S) ome ~f~heir r elatives also lived or visited here, for Adriaen s
here in 1810. So;hi 1 t marr1e. Peter Poulese, and their daughter Sophia was
a a er married John Outwater of Slooterdam, and their cfaug ·
1,o;
520
 D PASSAIC COUNTIES
HO US ES IN ES SE X AN

Be ns on is th e pr es en t ow ner of the Benson homestead on the s1'te

,or..s Je nn ie , '
ter Jv.ufir• st Dirck V an H ou te n s house nearby.
f the Be ns on property, the p assaic . River
0
k V an H ou te n-
About opposite th e D irc f nc e, an d it is on this stretch that the
d ard or a sh or t di sta
makes a sharp ben ea stw nd s an d fac es so ut h to ward the river and .
e sta
Gerrebrant V an H ou te n hous k an d th e ho us e no w sta nd in th ; Wes~e;,;t
e br oo
runs Molly's Y aw n' s Br oo k. Th To to w a Ro ad fo llowed the bank of the ri:er:
bu ilt , th e
Park. When the house w as ai gh te ne d at this po in t, and now runs behind
wa s str
About J870 To to w a A ve nu e se ttl em en ts at Paterson and Wagaraw with
nn ec te d th e
the house. Th is ro ad co V an H ou te n pr ob ably built his small stone
re br an t
Preakness an d Po m pt on . G er 74 l. Th e m ai n pa rt of the present house, cov-
ge in J
house shortly after his m ar ria re vo lu tio na ry in character and was probably
of , is po st-
ered by a broad gambrel ro
ou te n.
built by his son D irc k V an H
V an N es s H ou se Es se x Co un ty
Pa ssa ic Ri ve r, ne ar Fa irf iel d, Ca ldw ell To wn sh ip,
on the
PL AT E 153

V an N es s em ig ra te d to Be verwyck in 1642 and settled at

Cornelis Hendricse
1

ke n H en dr ic ks Bu rc hg ra eff, an d secondly in 1664

Greenbush. H e married M ay d. A fte r hi s se co nd m ar riage, they lived in
hu sb an
Maritie Damen, as he r th ird ey bo th di ed sh or tly before 1682. Simon Van
ct ad y. Th
Albany and later in Schene nt . H e w as ad m itt ed to the Dutch Church of
em ig ra
Ness was probably a son of th e ve be en liv in g in Sc he ne cta dy when it was de-
to ha
Albany in l 683, an d is supposed Ra ch el , da ug ht er of Melchert Van Deursen
he m ar rie d
str0Yed in 1690. A bo ut 1692 ild re n: A nn a, ha p. 16 93 at Albany (sponsors
thre e ch
~Rensselaerswyck. Th ey ha d ic k wa s a so n of Cornelis the emigrant), Cor-
es s; H en dr
ne:drick and Catryn V an N 95 an d 16 97 at N ew Yo rk.Simon Van Es of
ely in 16
:y,
Alb andEngeltje, hap.respectiv
J\p 7 widower, marrie
hap:·stn'8
d at N
1683 at A lb an y, da ug ht er
ew
of
Y or
Is
k
aa c
Ja n.
Le M
15 , 1701 Hester de La Mater, th
ai tre an d Co
bap.
rnelia Everts. As e
esumed that they removed to
th ar e no t to be fo un d, it is pr
l-Io~ of eir children Co un ty sh or tly af ter their marriage. W e lm~w
Es se x
he w~neck, now Fairfield in J7 JO ,an d a fa rm er wi thin the Newark Ju r:-
un ty in
diction .a resident of Esse~ Co d Ja n Sp ie r an d others bought from t ;
J 70 J he H an s an
!ndiansin :716. O n M ay J the Passaic Rive~ and
e~
171
en du
7,he,
t arge tract at H~rseneck
~:ht,1t
' ly in
hills, an d it is pr ob ab ly onug
g on th
th
e
is
ea st
tra
sid
ct th
e of
at he /7
settle <\In 1 :::,1
of the Sc ~yhesor pa f
pa rty bo ht a la rg e pa rt o
~? the West 'd e lWaitre an d a th
ird PI . s, on whic d dme b
4ll3 d si e of the p equannock Ri ve r above Po m pt on amst surroun e ya
tscenc1an nd Fairfield is almo
ts later lived. Th e la nd ar ou 52 1
 HOUSES IN ESSEX AND PASSAIC COUNTIES

large curve in the Passaic River which presumably suggested the old name of
Horseneck. This territory had been bought up and settled under various patents
given by the West Jersey and East Jersey Proprietors and was long in controversy.
Simon accepted the terms of the proprietors and on Sept. 3, J744 a deed of confirma-
tion for his 300 acre tract was granted him by Alexander, Morris and Ogden, and
commenced: "Whereas John Johnson_and George Willocks, West Jersey Pro-
prietors, granted to Simon Vanness of, Essex County • • • the tract with other
lands •••" His property was divided in J749 between his four sons and his sons-
in-law Michael Cook and Cobey J acobusse. Although Simon is not stated to be
deceased in the above deed of l 744, it would seem to be his widow who was married
secondly at Acquackanonk on Oct. 4, J733 to Frans Spier, both being residents of
the parish. Frans Spier also lived at Horseneck. She was his second wife and had
died by J767 when he made his will.
Simon' and Hester Van Ness probably had eight children: ( J) Hendrick, the
eldest son, who eventually settled at Pompton Plains. He married May 20, l 726
at Acquackanonk Catryntje Roelofs Jacobusse and had six children baptized at
Acquackanonk and Second River between J727 and J748: Hester, Simon, Geertruy,
Margriet, Cornelis and Annatie. A widower of Morris County, he married secondly
Nov. 22, 1759 Jannatje Paulusse of Second River. (2) Isaac Van Ness of Horseneck,
of whom more later. (3) Evert who married at Second River Sept. J, J736 Catryntje
Cadmus of Second River and had four children baptized between J738 and J750:
Thomas, Symon, Hester, and Engeltje. He lived at Little Falls and owned some of
the paternal property at Fairfield. (4) Simon, whose wife may have been Comella,
and who settled at Pompton. (5) Annatje (possibly a child of Simon's by his first
wife) who married Gerrit J acobusse and had a daughter Rachel, bap. J727 at Second
River. (6) (probably) Rachel who married Johannes Rycke and had a daughter
Hester, bap. J735 at Second River. (7) Fietje who married Cobus Jacobusse and had
a son Roeloff, bap. J735 at Second River. (8) Caty who was married on July 3, J797
at Caldwe11 to Michael Cook of Morris County, who ran a mill on a branch of the
Rockaway River at Montville.
The son Isaac' Van Ness married June 27, J729, Neeltje Reike, both being
recorded as residents of ( the parish of) Acquackanonk. They are only known to
have had two children, Petrus and Hester, bap. J73O and J732 respectively at
Acquackanonk. Isaac Van Ness remained on his father's lands at Horseneck, novt
Fairfield, and bought more land adjoining his inheritance. He and his wife were
living in J756. Their only son, Petrus or Peter4Van Ness, b. Sept. 2, J73O, and bap,
at Acquackanonk, married Hendrica Pier and had a daughter Neeltje, bap. j 75~'
and a son Isaac. The house on the Passaic River near Fairfield is marked on Erskin' s
522
 SSA IC CO UN TIE S
HO US ES IN ES SE X AN D PA

the ho me of Ca pt. Va n Ne ss. Pe ter Van N ess must 1.._ the

tionary ma .p as I l1t:;

R evolu c ma rri
• d Sa rah Jacobus an d had tw
e o son s
I c and
saa
aJ,::
,, referr ed to. H is so n saa b , H
on 6 V N Oc t. J 8 J2, d. J 88 8, marri ed Ph eb e An n Sp
HentY• He nr y J. an ess , •
er of the Du tch Ch ur ch of Fa irf ield, an d owned a cider mill and f~
a memb
al ho me on the we st, his far m un doubtedly being a part of the home-
ing his ancestr ow ne d an d continued to occupy "T h
er Isa ac J. 6
Va n Ne ss
stead tract. Hi s br oth ed to. He wa s still living here in l 884. H~
wa s alw ay s ref err
Old Homestead,,, as it s the owner in 1906. She sold the ho
use
rri ed He nr y Fr an cis co , an d wa
daughter ma e wa s no t cleared until she died a few
to To m Pie r., bu t the titl
shortly after thi s
ag o. Th e ho us e is no w ru n as the Or ch ard Club Restaurant.
yea rs
the so uth sid e of the roa d run nin g along the south bank
Th e house sta nd s on
Ri ve r. It is be tw ee n Pi er La ne an d Gr an d View Avenue in Caldwell
of the Passaic irf iel d an d Tw o Bridges., in the northwest
Si ng ac an d ea st of Fa
Township., we st of
corner of Es se x Co un ty.
V an W ag en in g Ho us e
ic, Passaic Co un ty
for me rly on Ri ve r Dr ive , Passa
PL AT E 154

Va n W ag en ing ., Va n W ag on er., Garritson and Garrison

Th e ancestor of the 0
rri t Ge rri tse ., wh o em igr ate d fro m W ag en ing en in Gelderland in 166
families was Ge tle d at Communipaw in the town of
wi fe an d so n. He set
on the Fa ith wi th his in 1685., bu t sold his intere st
Bergen. He wa s on e of the
in l699. Hi s so n He rm an us Ge rri
pa ten tee s of
tse ',
Ac
ha p.
qu
M
ac ka
arc
no
h
nk
JO, 16 67 , ma rri~ d Oc t. 6: :;o
1
ther -m -;
bs (V an W ink le) . By 1693 his fa
Annetje, da ug hte r of W ali ng Ja co no nk (la ter called ~assaicleonro
tra ct of lan d in Ac qu ac ka
leased to He rm an us a an d opposite the dr aw b; dg e~ ~
g
r ea st of the Ki ng 's Hi gh wa y,
Passaic Rive
rri t H er ~~ :: m :ie d ~e tJ e
:?' ! 0 be ret ain ed by the su rv ivo r. Hi s so n Ge

s· e: ed his fatheen r's int ere st in Ac qu ac ka no nk . On Oc t. 3, f J Adrlaensen Sip,

ip, rn in Be rg an
of _the ho us e in Be rg
d ba p.
en
16
(p
93
lat
in
e
Ne
10
w
7).
1 in
Yo
Th
rk
ey
, da
ha d
ug
;ix
j 769 sh ort y e
;~ r:
hte r 0 dr an
1
ire dled: he devised
his son Johannls the
W ag en in g ma de his wi1
to hi errit Va n e so n) dw elt, anid o that if JohannJs did
th e lan d wh ere he (th a1s0, men-
lands son He rm an us . h th b '!d ing sta t' ng : Ge rri t
h ( h
Where e t e tes tat or ) dw elt wd e ui h:n nis de ath
not tllarr us at Jo er son Johannls Van
tionecf Y the lan d wa s to rev
Wager,_hla da ug hte rs an d his
ert
se co
to
nd
He
wi
rm
fe
an
Sa rah . ~t7i°H1!
e occuplecl the olcl : an
No v. J8~ 17 28 , die d un ma rri ed in 17 • - t bridge ha d been built ;e
\'tragen~n, b. e. Th e f~ erm an us ' Van Wagenen, 23•
0'11er th;11pg ho ~e ste ad at the Pa ssa ic Br idg
5
r in 7 66 . Hi s old er bro the r
assaic Ri ve j
 HOUSES IN ESSEX AND PASSAIC COUNTIES

Feb. 4, J7J7, cl. by J794, married Dec. 29, J74 J Geertruy Van Houten of Totowa.
He lived at the Notch, but inherited all his father's lands on the death of his brother.
Hermanus left his property to his sons Ruleff and Garret. The family name later
became standardized to Van Wagoner. It is not known when the family sold the
house. It was owned by Judge Simmons about J880, later was a part of the Henry P.
Simmons estate, and recently belonged to the Newport Chemical Company. It has
been tom down since the photograph was taken in J925.
The house was in two units, built of rough cut stone and with huge adzed
beams, each unit being covered by a gable roof extending to form an overhang. It
has been stated that the house was built in J778, but ·construction places it in the
middle of the eighteenth century. It is also doubtful whether Hermanus Van Wage-
nen, who inherited it in J 77J, ever removed here, consequently its erection at this
later time is rather improbable. Erskine's Revolutionary map shows Lashley's
T avem opposite the bridge, so it is possible that Hermanus leased it as a tavern.
The small wing was undoubtedly an earlier unit; it consisted of two adjoining rooms
each with its separate outside door, an arrangement so characteristic of the earliest
houses. It is possible that this was the home of Hermanus Gerritse, and that his son
Gerrit built the main house about the middle of the eighteenth century. The house
stood until after J925 on the comer of River Drive and Gregory Avenue, opposite
the bridge over the Passaic River leading to Hackensack and other settlements.

House of John Van Winkle

868 GoR!e Road, Hawthorne, Passaic County
PLATE 155
The ancestor of the family was Jacob W alingen, who emigrated to this country
by J639, probably from the village of Winkel in North Holland. He died in the
summer of J657, and his widow Tryntje Jacobs married three times before she died
May H, J677. Their son Symon Jacobse' Van Winckel, bap. Aug. 24, 1653 at New
York, died J728-32, married at Bergen Dec. JS, J675 Annatje Sip of New York,
sister of Jan Adriaensen Sip, owner of the house at Bergen (plate J07). He was
allotted two tracts in the Acquackanonk patent of 1685, and settled on the west side
of the P":Ssaic River in the present Passaic, near the Van W agenings to the north
and the Sips to the south (plates J54 and J49). His son Simeon" Van Winkle, bap.
Aug. 6, 1686, cl. J775, lived several miles further north near the ford at the Bogt on
the west side of the Passaic River (now the eastern part of Paterson)~ His house of
whitewashed stone was often referred to in deeds as the White House; it was torn
down in J828. He had twenty children by his two wives.
John S.-+ Van Winkle, b. J723, was a son by the first wife, Prientje Van Gie-
524
 S
HO US ES IN ES SE X AN D PA SAIC CO UN TIE S

da ug hte r of Ab1rah am Va n Gi ese n probable owner of the h T

.,n
"' ( l5 l) ,
l73 0 Ri ch ard A hf' Id ous e at hird River
s"'"' • On Fe b. 9,
in Es sex Co un ty pa te l74 3 sol d ½ s ie ~I da tract atWi Waga-
tse , wh o on Ju ne 8, 212 nk!e
raw to Ge rri t Ge rri z acres to Suneon Van
of Es sex Count y; on c • , ,.
O t 26 f 7
74 Sim eo n Va n w· k1 h
l 2 ½ acr e tra ct wh ere Jo hn m e,ths orli·!1! before he died,
deeded to his so n Jo hn the 2 , was en vmdgof
y ben
at W
th agara~.
h f th e reg ion above the mo st no rth erl
Wa ga raw wa s t e na me o ef Passaic
t Pa ter so n. Th e set tle me nt in the n th
River, no rth of the pre sen Goffl B or ern part o Waga
raw ~ ;
al h W
.h an ,
i~~7m .;
or
set
1
the
d e
sob me
ro~
tim
k
e
came to be called the Goffle. It was
bet we en l743 an d l774. Th e old part of
her~

that Jo
ou se ts sai , to av e een bu ilt by him in 1761. On Dec. 5, 1746 at
the present on of Ne w York, an d had two sons. He
he ma rri ed J an ne ke Ry ers
Acquackanonk on Ma y 24, l 783, but lived many years
w tra ct to his so n Sim eo n
deeded the W ag ara ho me un til he died in January, 1816.
nti nu ed to oc cu py his
longer, an d pro ba bly co d 78 years,
Sim eo n J.5 Va n W ink le, b. Dec. 12, l749, d. Nov. 4, 1828 age
His son
d 22 da ys ,* ma rri ed Cla esj e, da ug hte r of Cornelis Gerritse. Although
lO months an ste ad, he did not reside here; he was
ed him the W ag ara w ho me
his father de ed Riv ers ide in a stone house destroyed
of the Bo gt, an d liv ed at
known as Sim eo n
about 1880. nd-
so n Ju dg e Jo hn S.6 Va n W ink le, b. Nov. 13, l 784,* lived on his gra
Simeo n's
the Go ffle an d bu ilt the ma in pa rt of the present house in 181 l. He
father's place at he ma rried Jannetje, daughter of Pieter
re. On M arc h 24 , l 80 5*
ran a gri st mi ll he lly mu rde red the night of Jan. 9,
an d his wi fe we re fou
Kip, b. Jan . l4, 1788.* He
hn so n, an En gli sh far m ha nd , whom Ju dg e Va n Winkle ~d s~ -
1850 by Jo hn Jo en lodged on some complaint. This
fro m jaJ. 1, wh ere he ha d be
pathetically rel eas ed Cor-
in the district. Th eir surviving3son 6
murder is sti ll the the
le,
me
b. Se
of
pt.
co
9,
nv ers
18 06
ati
,*
on
d. M ay 26, 1873,* married May !, t8~ *
nelius1 Va n W ink Th ey lived at the Goffle, at Rive~side,
an b M arc h 4 180 9.*
Catrina Leah Va n De ' inheri·ted bY the ir onlyAcson S11
ma
11on
n;
' •
d 1a in Pa ter so n. Th e pla ce at the Goffle wa s * , ker
an ter Oc t. JO, J85 ~ ~W de married
J83 J,* ma rri ed
~eter' Va n W ink
lived, ho we ve
le,
r,
b.
at
Ju
Pa
ly
ter
6,
so n. Th eir da Jenn;;
ug hte r
9
an Id by her estate
n of Pa ssa ic, an d the pro pe rty at the Go e wa ; : Arnold is the
ho on Van Ho ute upied for
l90 l. It wa s pu rch ase d by Th om as Ar no ld, whose s~nd ; en occ
; ut
ner . Un til the Ar no lds pu rch ase d it, t~e house a e
i:: en t ow df ther's old house
ars by far m ha nd s ten an ts of the Va n Wi nk les . ,
y Ye
t Ju dg e Va n W ink le rep lac e~ isc !:: n1 ; dates from his
in 18~\has been sta ted tha pre sen t [ g d the whole of the ear
ly
lar ge r sto ne dw ell ing . Bu t the
trandf by a g down
ther's time, an d it is pro ba ble tha t the wi ng do ~~ :th er than tearin
house a atl y en lar ge i 525
, and tha t Ju dg e Va n W ink le gre

alcen fro
Ill fan iiJy Bib le.
 HOUSES IN HUNTERDON COUNTY

some of it. The old wing was built by John Van Winkle at some time after his mar-
riage in J746 and before J774; the date J76J has been ascribed to it. The old house
is built of rough stone laid in irregular courses, and is covered by a steep gable roof
extending in front to form an overhang. The main -house has a cornerstone dated
J8J J; it is characteristic of the period, built of well-dressed stone, and covered by a
gambrel roof which has a beautiful curving slope. The main house contains unusu-
ally beautiful specimens of carved woodwork of the period and a panelled over-
mantel. The house is on the northwest side of the Goffle Road, on the opposite side
of which runs the Goffle Brook. It stands at the foot of the Goffle Hill Road leading
to Sicomac and the Ponds settlements, and is less than two miles north of the north
bend of the Passaic River.

Unidentified House
534 East Passaic A venue, Bloomfield Township, Essex County
PLATE 156
Nothing is known of this house, which is now occupied by uneducated foreign
tenants. The house is probably within the region formerly known as Stone House
Plains. It is near the east bank of the Third River in Bloomfield Township, south-
east of the village of Brookdale and just over a mile south of the Essex ·County
border. It is on a bend in the present East Passaic Avenue on its west side. Early in
the eighteenth century the Dutch moved southwards from Acquack~onk and
settled along the Third River in the vicinity of the present Nutley and Brookdale.
It is probable that the house belonged to the Kierstead family in the third-quarter
of the nineteenth century. Who owned it before then is not known; Christopher
Mandeville lived in this vicinity in l 839, but may not have occupied this particular
house. The house was undoubtedly built in the first half of the eighteenth century.
It is of rough stone covered by a gable roof.

Houses in Hunterdon County

Fitts House
Stanton
PLATE 157
Nothing is known of this house other than that it is called the Fitts homestead.
On a map of the county made in 1873, the house is marked J. L. Fitts. How long it
was in the possession of this family is unknown. The date 1741 is on a small stone
in the east corner. This is undoubtedly the date of erection of the house, but tradition
does not suggest the name of the builder. The house is built of irregular stone partly
5~6
 HOUSES IN HUNTERDON COUNTY

whitewashed. It is covered by a wide gambrel roof th

ntinued over two small dormers. The window ' e upper slope of which is
CO 'k h h s are unusual be' l
1i e dt ese ave been found m· .the territory
,,..-row; no othershh . ' mg
cov d b ong and very
n t..!_
The flat stone arc ea s of the door., garret window d II er~ Y tu~ volume.
teristic of various houses in West Jersey. The house han ce arIIwmdow are charac-
• . as unusua y high ilin' f
this early date, b ut its massive exposed beams, hand e in 0 I ce gs or
window glass are evidences of its age. p gg g, d shutters and old
The
_i.
house
This northeast of the Stanton village crossroads on a back lane to
Whit~1ouse.
•cf • ehpresent country
h lane skirts along the highlands of the vaIIey; in
the nu -nmeteent century t, e road followed the northeast bank of Chambers Brook
'd h A private road goes down the hill from the lane, crossing
(now Pleasant• Run). •
Pleasant R msi et e prope~ty, to the house which is on the southem side of the
stream. This back lane to Whitehouse is best known as the road to the "Bandbox
House/' an unusual whitewashed stone structure built by a Quaker in J808; it has
no corners, and its pure oval shape suggests its nickname of a bandbox.

Howsel-Wagoner House
Stanton
PLATE 158
On Erskine's Revolutionary map this house is marked William Howzel's. As
this was an early family in this locality, it is probable that the house was built by
one of its members. The Indian qeed of June 27, J703 to the West Jersey Proprietors
for land on the Raritan River west of the Division Line, covered JS0,000 acres, most
of the present Hunterdon County. The West New Jersey Society, a stock company,
was organized in London in J69J; the Society made extensive purchases and had
t
91 ,000 acres surveyed for them in June J7JJ. This tract became known as WeS
{ersey's Great Tract in Hunterdon Co. The policy of the Society at first was to lease
arms to settlers• in J 735 98 families were lessees, of whom one was Gasper Haw-
~hill who had J50 acres It is possible that he was a member of the family in queSHon.
1 here • _,.1 thr h the county• at Leba-
were quite a few German settlements scatter~ oug ' th L
nearby, Germantown ( now Ofdwick) to the north, and still fur!ber nor ong
Theformerly known as G erman V a11ey.
ey, . lified to Housel. The
foll , German name of Hausschild was gradually sim.p bH It and in
owmg ar f h' • in J730 Jaco ouse
1744 lVIa .ea ew scattered references tot 1s name.
ISO acres!~ Houshilt were naturalized: in l 73
5 Gasr H hill was leasing
~;:on were baptized
in 17 pin unterdon County; in the Dutch church at : j 744 Marten, son ·of
Jacob36ar./ter, son of Johannis and Nedtje Housel, ~cl 'fe Anna had'. two sons,
Catharina Houselt; Jacob Hausschild and his W1 527
 HOUSES IN HUNTE RDON COUNT Y

some of it. The old wing was built by John Van Winkle at some time after his mar-
riage in J746 and before J774; the date J76J has been ascribed to it. The old hotise
is built of rough stone laid in irregular courses, and is covered by a steep gable roof
extending in front to form an overhang. The main -house has a cornerstone dated
J8J J; it is characteristic of the period, built of well-dressed stone, and covered by a
gambrel roof which has a beautiful curving slope. The main house contains unusu-
ally beautiful specimens of carved woodwork of the period and a panelled over-
mantel. The house is on the northwest side of the Goffle Road, on the opposite side
of which runs the Goffle Brook. It stands at the foot of the Goffle Hill Road leading
to Sicomac and the Ponds settlements, and is less than two miles north of the north
bend of the Passaic River.

Unide ntified House

534 East Passaic A venue, Bloomfi eld Townsh ip, Essex County
PLATE 156
Nothin g is known of this house, which is now occupied by uneducated foreign
tenants. The house is probably within the region formerly known as Stone House
Plains. It is near the east bank of the Third River in Bloomfield Towns hip, south-
east of the village of Brookdale and just over a mile south of the Essex ·County
border. It is on a bend in the present East Passaic Avenu e on its west side. Early in .
the eighteenth century the Dutch moved southwards from Acquackanonk and
settled along the Third River in the vicinity of the present Nutley and Brookdale.
It is probable that the house belonged to the Kierstead family in the third quarter
of the nineteenth century. Who owned it before then is not known ; Christopher
Mandeville lived in this vicinity in J839, but may not have occupied this particular
house. The house was undoubtedly built in the first half of the eighteenth century.
It is of rough stone covered by a gable roof.

Houses in Hunte rdon Coun ty

Fitts House
Stanton
PLATE 157
Nothing is known of this house other than that it is called the Fitts homestead.
On~ map of the ~unty made in l873, the house is marked J. L. Fitts. How long it
":1as in the possession of this family is unknown. The date J74J is on a small stone
m the east corner. This is undoubtedly the date of erection of the house, but tradition
does not suggest the name of the builder. The house is built of irregul ar stone part1Y
526
 HOUSES IN HUNTERDON COUNTY

h'tewashed. It is covered by a wide gambrel roof th

VI 1t:~ued over two smaU dormers. The windows are' e uppleber _slope of which is
con
_ ..
u,..
f'Mw. no others
lik th ha b
e ese ve een found in the
unusua , mg 1
terr't ong an
d
J~ .. - , . i ory covered b this 1very
he flat stone archheads of the door, garret window and 11 , doy vo ume.
r ' h
teristic of various ouses m
· W J T ce arwm ware char
est ersey. he house has unusually hi h ceilin ac-
..1.: .. early date, but its massive exposed beams, hand pegging 0 Id hg gs for
u~ 'd f, , s utters and old
window glass are ev1 ences o its age.
The house is northeast of the Stanton village crossroads on a back lane to
Whitehouse. The present country lane skirts along the highlands of the valley• in
the mid-nineteenth century the road foUowed the northeast bank of Chambers Br' k
(now Pleasan~ ~un). A private road goes down. the hill from the lane, cross:g
Pleasant Run mside the property, to the house which is on the southern side of the
stream. This back lane to Whitehouse is best known as the road to the "Bandbox
House," an unusual whitewashed stone structure built by a Quaker in l808; it has
no comers, and its pure oval shape suggests its nickname of a bandbox.

Howsel-Wagoner House
Stanton
PLATE 158
On Erskine's Revolutionary map this house is marked William Howzel's. As
this was an early family in this locality, it ·is probable that the house was built by
one of its members. The Indian deed of June 27, l 703 to the West Jersey Proprietors
for land on the Raritan River west of the Division Line, covered 150,000 acres, most
of the present Hunterdon County. The West New Jersey Society, a stock company,
was organized in London in t69t; the Society made extensive purchases and hadt
91 ,000 acres surveyed for them in June l 7l t. This tract became known as WeS
{er,,q,'s Great Tract in Hunterdon Co. The policy of the Society at first was to lease
:'" to settlers: in 1735 98 families were lessees, of whom one was Gasper H~w-
s hll who had l50 acres. It is possible that he was a member of the family in queStibon.
T ere w , _..1 hr h th county• at Le a-
n ere quite a few German settlements scatter~ t oug e ' hL
\'':u,
nea;by, Germantown (now Oldwick) to the north, and still further nort ong
tii/rmerly known as German Va11ey. . ., Housel. The
follow· German name of Hausschild was gradually simplified t~0 1t and in
1744 ;;,,~t",•
a few scattered references to this name: in 1730 Jaco';,ru : !easing
lSQ acr hlaS Houshilt were naturalized; in l 735 Gasper Haws baptized
. es in Hu t d ,.._ h h t R dington were
in 17 p n er on ~unty; in the Dutch c urc a ea :Mart son of
36
Iaeob and~• SO'_' of Johannis and Neelt/e Housel, ~d 1:'
1744
tharma Houselt; Jacob Hausschild and his wife .Anna
had°:o sons,
527
 HOUSES IN HUNTERDON COUNTY

William, b. J784, and John b. J786, both baptized in J786 at the German Reformed
Church of Alexandria; Johannes Houshell of Amwell Twp. made his will in J76J,
as did his brother Jacob, and also a brother Mathias in J778.
From a series of maps, we find that William Howzel owned the house in ques-
tion during the Revolution, W. Wagner in J852, W. Wagoner (probably the same
man) in J860, and A. Lowe in J873. The owner of the house evidently held the
leadership of the community, for the village at various times was called Mt. Pleasant,
Housel's, and Wagoner's Hill. It was finally named Stanton, after Lincoln's Secre-
tary of War. The Revolutionary William Howse! may be the one whose will was
probated in J809. The Wagoner family who owned the house in the middle of the
nineteenth century was undoubtedly also of German origin. Shortly after the Civil
War the house passed through several hands. It has been owned since J925 by W. E.
Wayman, who has been very much interested in restoring it.
A veritable community of stone houses stands on this farm. The old stone barn
is dated J74J; new trim now hides the stone in part so that only the century figures
show. This is a good approximate date for the erection of the farm buildings. The
one and a half story stone house is built on a hill slope and has a full basement story
at the rear. The ceilings are low in the basement and of medium height on the main
floor. The different floor levels in the basement are probably due to its gradual
improvement at various times. The kitchen is here, lighted by very small windows,
and a cold spring has been piped to an adjoining closet room. The house has many
wall and corner cupboards, and all forms of old hinges. There was formerly a Dutch
oven on each end of the house, but they were torn down about twenty years ago. The
brick archheads of the windows are interesting. The colonial doorway and benches
at the entrance are modern pieces of work, but blend very well. A broad gable roof
covers the house and is unbroken by dormers. The house has been recently repainted,
but the very irregular stonework still shows to advantage. On the east end is a wing
which is of later date, although its ceilings are lower than the main house and its
windows smaller. This wing was formerly covered with long red shingles secured
by hand-made nails; they were removed and the wing has been clapboarded and
painted white. The old barn is similarly built of irregular stone. About fifty years
ago it was used as a blacksmith shop, and the central third of the side by the road
was cut out up to the rafters for a large entrance way, so that wagons could pass
straight through. This section has been rebuilt and a small window inserted, but the
lines can be seen easily. A frame addition was made at some later period on the end
of the barn toward the house, thus tying it architecturally with the main house.
Near the frame wing of the house stand two small stone structures, one of which is
the stone spring house. The other is the kitchen of a small two story house, which
528
 HOUSES IN HUNTERDON COUNTY

~,as
,,., torn down
f' d recently,
h and which
h consisted of only one room on each fl I .
unusual to 111 two ouses on t e same property• The theor is th . oor. t is
rarY structure in which
'Id' the family
, lived while the mam
. Yhouseatwas
thisbeing
was the
er tem-
ted.
Po a two story b ui mg requires the hewing of good-siz d b
As d ec
deal of labor, it is more likely that
, this house was built for permanent
e eams use, an possibly
a great
by another member o f t h e famdy. !he hillside at the rear has been utilized to great
advantage by the present owners m the formation of very attractive terr d
, . t t' t h aces an
gardens. I t is 111 eres mg o compare t e similarity and yet subtle differences between
this German house and the Dutch houses of the period.
The house is on the south side of the road, west of the four corners of Stanton
village. Behind it is Round Mountain, and in front lies Round Valley. The road on
which the house stands is a pre-revolutionary road leading from Raritan and Read-
ington in a general westerly direction, crossing the road to Coryell's Ferry over the
Delaware and the road to Whitehouse, skirting Round Valley, then crossing the
South Branch of the Raritan River at the present village of Hamden, and finally
passing north of the settlement at Pittstown to Johnson's Forge, now called
Bloomsbury.

Reynolds-Van Syckel House

Van Sickle's, near Clinton
PLATE 159

Although the actual builder of this house was an Englishman, his ownership
was of short duration and the house has been in the hands of a Dutch family ever
since, thus warrantin~ its inclusion in a book on Dutch houses and Dutch families.
A stone on the southwest corner above the first story window is marked "D.R.:
1763: A ,n standing for the Initials of the builder and the elate of erection:
st David
st
Reynolds J763 Anno. Thus we know that Reynolds built this large two or! one
house over a decade before the Revolution. He conducted it as a tav~n. Evidently
did not have much faith In the American cause as he was a counterfeiter of ~ -
bnental money at the beginning of the Revolution. He was caught and s~Y
hanEr ged. His famUy ran the tavern for a short while after his death. BydtBhe tki?1ke
skine' R , , d ( J778-79) a man name us 11'
kept the sta evo1utionary maps ,were, being ma e ' V
'1 1800 That year Aaron an y e, s k 1 sr.,
bo h vern, and was running it unt1 > • I , till ,
thug t th• hostel, and he and his son continued to conduct it as a tavern. t is s m
e Possession of the Van Syckel family. ,
het Their ancestor Ferdinand' Van Sycklln emigrated to A,nerlca Ill 1652. Wh~
00k the oath f ll , , Fl tl d , 1687 he registered that he had been in
o a egiance m a an s in > , 529
 HOUSES IN HUNTERDON COUNTY

the country for 35 years. He later removed to Gravesend, where he died about 17J2.
About 1660 he married Eva, daughter of Antonis Jansen Van Salee, and had eight
children. His grandson Reinier" Van Syckelen, Jr., left Long Island and settled in
the upper Raritan valley before J 723. By his wife Henah he had a son Reinier· Van
Syckel, born in Hunterdon County, N. J., hap. Nov. 17, 1723 in the Dutch church
at Readington. About 1746 he married Maayke or Mercy Langstraat, and had ten
children according to their family Bible. He was a farmer and owned 304 acres in
Hunterdon Co. In his will dated 1802, he styled himself a reside:nt of Kingwood
Township, in southern Hunterdon Co., and left the plantation of 240 acres on which
he then dwelt to his son Aaron.
This son Aarons Van Syckel, Sr., spent his whole life in Hunterdon County,
where he was born July 8, 1764 and died Nov. 28, 1838. In 1800 he bought the Rey-
nolds tavern, and in J802 was already domiciled here, in what was then part of
Bethlehem Township. He built a store opposite the tavern, and ran both with the
aid of his Aaron, Jr., when he grew old enough to help. It was the be_st-known tavern
in Aaron, Sr/s, day en route to Schooley's Mt., the health resort of the time. Aaron
was very wealthy, and a large landowner, farming his lands. He was the High
Sheriff of the county. About 1785 he married Catharine Opdyke, b. Aug. JJ, 1762,
d. Sept. 9, 1851, and had eight children. Their son Aaron6 Van Syckel, Jr., b. May
26, J793 in Hunterdon Co., bap. with his five brothers March 3, J800 in the German
Church of Alexandria, married Nov. 30, 1816 Mary, daughter of Joseph Bird, and
followed his grandfather's footsteps in raising a family of ten children. He continued
to conduct his father's tavern and store until 1855, when he discontinued the store
and the tavern also shortly afterwards. His son Joseph1 Van Syckel, b. June 18,
1818, married first June 16, 1842 Catharine I. Smith (1823-1855), and second Fel,.
9, 1858 Cyrena Martin, b. March 5, 1830. He was a farmer, merchant and banker.
He had two children by each marriage but only his daughter Kate survived him.
Kate• Van Syckel, b. Aug. Jl, 1860, married Sept. JO, 1889 Robert S. Martin. Mrs.
Martin still owns the ancestral tavern. It is unoccupied. Her family reside in a house
next door.
The tavern is a two story structure built of irregular, random-laid stone and
covered with a gable roof. Brick arches top the door and windows of the first story,
and narrow flat-brick lintels the windows above. The house stands on the bank of a
stream probably to obtain plenty of clear drinking water for the patrons of the
hostel. The hamlet of Van Sickle's is six miles northwest of Ointon. The tavern is
on the east side of its only street, a pre-revolutionary route up the Musconetcong
River to Hackettstown, or southward to Pittstown and Coryell's Ferry over the
Delaware River.
530
 HOUSES IN HUNTERDON COUNTY

House of Martin Ryerson, later Quick's

near Three Bridges, Readington Township
PLATE 160

The builder of this house was named for his grandfather Martin Ryerszen, who
emigrated from ~msterda~ about J646 and settled at Breuckelen. There on May
l4, 1663 he married Annet1e, daughter of Joris Jansen de Rapelje, b. Feb. 8, J646
in Breuckelen. Her parents were among the original settlers of New Netherland,
crossing in the first ship, and her sister was the first white girl bom here. Their son
Joris Martinse' Ryerse was a farmer in New York City and later in Bergen County,
New Jersey. By his first wife Hannah Schouten, widow of Teunis Dey, he had ten
children. One of these was Mary Ryerson, bap. July J9, J699 in New York City,
3

d. 1774, married Nov. 30, J720 John Reading (J686-J767). Her husband rose to
political prominence, acting as Govemor of the Province of New Jersey. About
l 7J5 they settled on the South Branch of the Raritan River near Flemington on
their estate, Wal nut Grove, where they died.
Col. Martin" Ryerson, bap. Oct. 9, J698 at New York City, followed his
brother-in-law John Reading to Hunterdon County and settled on the South Branch
of the Raritan River on the opposite bank-the north bank. The land here in the
curve of the South Branch was a part of the Lotting Purchase, the Indian deed of
June 20, J708. Martin is said to have joined the Dutch Church at nearby Readington
in l 726; he was on the building committee for the new church in J 738 and a deacon
in l744. He may not have settled here until about J 737, as the birthplace of his eldest
child in J736 is unknown, whereas his eight other children were baptized at Read-
ington from J738 to J755. Unfortunately there is no dated stone on the house, but
Martin Ryerson probably built it at the time of his removal here, J 726-37. He became
very prominent in judicial, military and church circles, was an excellent surveyor, a
~ 1"'.'e! In the King's Militia, and a Judge of t h e ~ of Common Pleas. ~e
cquirec{ from time to time large tracts in West Jersey which may have proved his
~ g , for on Dec. 13, J77l a petition was presented to the Governo~'s Council
!tlllg forth his good character and distressed circumstances, and praying that he
lllig~t be relieved by the legislature. The desired relief was not afforded h~. It is
~ble that there was a forced sale of his estate as his wife and three of thetr sons
. tn~ved 1772-75 to a tract of her mother's at Myrtle Grove in Sussex County. He
to have died before his family's removal; administration was granted on his
17 Sept. 2, l790. His wife was Catharine Coxe (Cockas or Cock), bap. Jan. 2,
13{ 1 ICingston, daughter of Thomas Cock and Elinor Ashforclby. , ,
he Ryerson farm was bought by Tunis Quick about J790, and remained m
53I
 HOUSES IN HUNTERDON COUNTY

the possession of his family for almost a century. Tunis Quick, b. April H, 1762,
d. May 4, 1836, was a son of Col. Abraham Quick of Ten Mile Run, Somerset
County, and his wife Matilda Wyckoff. A brother of his, Abraham Quick, Jr.,
settled in the house near North Branch (plate 135). Tunis married Alletta, daughter
of Jacques Voorhees, b. June 20, 1766, d. Feb. 10, 1845. Two daughters of theirs
were baptized in 1786 and 1787 at Six Mile Run Church, so they had not removed
to the South Branch at this time. Tunis was a farmer and a miller. In early life he
had mills near the New Brunswick Water Works. He later established mills on the
Ryerson farm near Flemington, and the place became known as Quick's Mills.
When he died here he owned about 1,000 acres. At one time he was a Major in the
militia. His son Jacques Voorhees Quick was bom Nov. 10, 1793, no doubt shortly
after the family had removed to the Ryerson farm, as he was baptized Jan. 19, 1794
in the Dutch church of nearby Readington. He continued to operate the mill, which
was on the south side of the river. Three mortgages, given by Jacques V. Quick, Jr., .
in 1855, suggest a family arrangement whereby he had control of the property
subject to a life annuity to his father, who died about 1876 in Flemington. On Jan.
24, 1870 J. V. Quick sold to George W. Bateman a tract of 129½ acres with the farm
buildings thereon, and also a wood lot. He disposed of it the same year to George
A. Rae. The latter's executors sold the property in March 1895 to J. Smith Richard-
son, and the present owner is his granddaughter, Miss Edith Jones of Elizabeth,
who makes her summer home here.
The three units of the house were erected at different times. The main house,
which is the central portion, was built by Martin Ryerson presumably about 1726-
37. It is built of stone and is covered by a broad gambrel roof. The south front is
faced with brick; the overhanging eaves are deeper on this side; the old fanlight
. here and the arched brickwork over thf windows are interesting features. The large,
old, twelve-pane windows remain on the north front. The house is flanked on either
side by frame wings built by the Quick family. The east wing belongs to the post-
revolutionary period and the two story west wing is somewhat later; it is probable
that the former was added by Tunis and the latter by Jacques Quick. The interior
of the house of Martin Ryerson conforms to the usual plan of rooms on either side
of a wide hall. In the dining room, originally the kitchen is a huge fireplace topped
by a simple mantel shelf, and nearby was formerly a D~tch oven. The ceilings are
of medium height with exposed beams. In the parlor there is a mantel of a simple
earl~ type. The garret of the house was open attic until twenty years ago, when it
was rmproved and the dormers added. The house, surrounded by the fields of the
farm, stands on the north bank of the South Branch River, in the curve of the river
not far (as the crow flies) from Flemington Junction. It is in Readington Township,
532
 HOUSES IN MORRIS COUNTY

several miles west of the village of Three Bridges and an equal distance from Flem-
ington.
Houses in Morris County
House of Thomas Dey
Two Bridges, Pequannock Township
PLATE 161
On June 6, l 695 a huge tract was obtained from the Indians by a company of
associates, headed by Arent Schuyler, Brockholst, and Mandeville, extending from
the Passaic River on the south up along both sides of the Pequannock River
between the foothills on the east and west. They received a patent for it Dec. 2,
J696, and sold the lower end to Maurice Mourison. Derrick Dey probably bou_g ht
m him and settled almost immediately in the extreme southeastern tip of the
township, bounded on the east by the Pequannock River and on the south and west
; by the Passaic River. This locality early acquired importance, as the two r~vers
could be crossed separately before they joined to become the broad Passaic River
just below. Here was one of the few bridges over the Passaic River before the
Revolution.
Derrick Dey came from Wesel on the Passaic River (now eastern Paterson)
and settled on a large farm at Pequannock. He also owned land on the east side of
the Passaic nearby, mainly to the south; in 1730 he bought a triangular plot of
200 acres to the south from Peter Sonmans, in the deed to which he is styled Derrick
Dey of Pachgannick. His house stood a few rods northwest of the present house;
it was a stone building of great depth. On Dec. l l, l 736 at Hackensack he married
Sarah, daughter of Thomas Laurensen T oers, and had two sons and five daughters.
He died at the age of 9 l years and was buried on the farm. His son John inherited
his father's house and kept a public inn here; he married Jane Doremus on Dec. J9,
l77l. In 1823 this older house was owned by Simeon Doremus. It burned down
in J846-47.
Thomas Dey, b. Dec. 8, 1747 and bap. at Hackensack, was an elder son of
Derrick and Sarah. In 1779 he built his stone house adjoining his father, and
recorded the date in iron figures across the front of the house (later taken off when
a piazza was added). It is marked Thomas Dye on Erskine's Revolutionary map.
He had a tannery nearby, also a fur hattery and a store. By his wife Abigail Lewis,
Thomas had a daughter Sarah Dey, b. May 18, 1769, who married first Cornelius,
son of Frans Post, and secondly a Mr. Hughes. Her only child Dirck Dey Post, b.
, May 6, J79J, was the father of C. Henry Post, who was born in the family home-
stead in l 820 and still owned it in l 900, dying a few years later. The house passed

533
 HOUSES IN MORRIS COUNTY

to Henry's son Abram Post, whose widow sold it out of the family to McGlinn
about 1917. The present owner is the Twin Rivers Club.
The house is the usual one and a half story structure, the front of dressed stone
and the sides and rear of very irregular stone. The roof on both the wing and the
main section has a steep gable and no overhang. Gables and porches now rather
mar its appearance. The house is situated on the west bank of the Pompton River
within a stone's throw of the junction of the two rivers, which are spanned by
-bridges, thus giving the name of Two Bridges to the small settlement.

Dodd House
near Chapel Hill Road, Lincoln Park
PLATE 162

This house undoubtedly stands on the huge tract which extended along both
sides of the Pequannock River between the foothills on the east and west, which
was bought by Arent Schuyler and associates from the Indians in 1695 and patented
to them in 1696. The Dodd (Dod, Dods) family settled in the lower valley at an
early date. This house on the brow of the hill is marked John Dodd on Erskine's
Revolutionary map, and another stone house (still existing but greatly remodelled)
on the comer in the village below is marked Dodd's Tavern. There was a prominent
Dod-Dodd family which left Branford, Conn., and settled in Newark village in
1668 and on Watsessing Plain in 1679. There are only three generations of John
Dodds recorded in this family, and all lived at Orange or Bloomfield, but it is
probable that the Dodd family of Pequannock Township is in some way connected
with the Newark family of the same name.
According to an old neighbor and relative, the house on the hill was owned
before 1847 by John Dods and his wife Polly. Their daughter Lea Dodd married
John Hennion, who acquired the house from his father-in-law. In the l860s he
sold it to William Maines. After Maines had owned it many years he sold it to
his son-in-law Jesse Richards. His widow, nee Maines, later married Mr. Salmon
and sold the house about 1920 to Joseph Black, the present owner.
The house is built of roughly cut multi-colored fieldstone. The east wing is
covered by a steep gable roof, its south slope extending in a straight line to form a
deep overhang. Below are two old windows with the typical small lower sash. The
main section of the house probably dates from the Revolutionary or post-revolu-
tionary period; its ceilings are fairly high and it has interesting old cupboards and
carved mantels, but a row of cheap modem dormers spoils its appearance. The
house stands on the brow of a high hill overlooking the village and tqe Pompton
River valley. It faces south on a lane which runs into the east side of Chapel Hill
534
 HOUSES IN MORRIS COUNTY

Road, the present name for the road which traverses Pequann k T hi h
f L' In p k T oc owns p, sout -
war" rom mco ar to wo Bridges. Beavertown was the form r · £
Lincoln Park. e name ior
House of Henry Doremus
Road to Boonton, near Towaco, Montville Township
PLATE 163
, The exac~ date of purchase and settlement of the Doremus family in this
neighborhood 1s not known, but the family became so numerous that the locality
was long known as Doremustown. The ancestor of the family is Cornelis1 Doremus
who emigrated from Middleburg in the Province of Zeeland by 1687, and had
settled at Wesel (now eastern Paterson) by l 708, and died about l 715. His son
Thomas' Doremus, bap. April H, 1687 at Bergen, settled near Cedar Grove on
the Peckamin River, in Essex County. In 1743 he bought a tract of 727 acres
lying east of the Bog and Vly, and deeded one third of it to his son Golyn in 1748,
and the other thirds to his sons Abraham and John, all of whom settled on these
tracts in Jacksonville, northeast of Towaco valley. There is no deed on record for
the T owaco farm of Cornelis, still another son of Thomas Doremus, but it is
probable that the latter bought a farm for this son also. Cornelis" Doremus, b. April
l6, l7l4 at Acquackanonk, d. March 8, 1803, married in 1738 Antje Yong, born
in Morris County, daughter of Peter Yong of "Te Wechauw/' Cornelis settled on
a large farm in the Towaco valley less than two miles east of Montville. In 1745
the road was laid from Cornelius Doremus to Michael Cook's mill (in Upper
Montville). Erskine's Revolutionary map shows that Cornelius' house was on the
south side of the road. In his will of l 79 l he styled himself a resident of Pequanack,
the name then applied to the whole region in the southeastern comer of Morris
County near the Pequannock and Passaic Rivers. By his wife Antje Yong, Comelis
had four sons and five daughters. .
. The eldest son, Henry4 Doremus, b. Feb. l9, 1739, d. Feb. JO, l8l7, ~arried by
license of Sept. 25, J760 Peggy Van Winkel, both at that time of Morris County.
lier brother John built the house at the Goffle (plate 155). Henry was a tanner
on his father's farm at Wechauw until near the end of the Revolution when he
~lei out, and In 1782 bought a farm at Slooterdam near Wesel Bridge, where he
,;ec1. Corne!is' second son Capt. Thomas' Doremus, b. Aug. 4, 1740, d. May~•
S ~O, tnarried Sept. 20, 1764 Rachel Spier, b. Aug. 6, 1745, daughter of Cornelis
Pter of the Notch He lived in the house in Doremustown on the west bank of a
Ge lll and on the •north side of the road to
strea · Boonton; h'1s descen"ants reca11 that
fl orge Washington had his headquarters for a time in the east room of the ground
oar and entertained his French officers in the orchard. As this is the house marked
535
 HOUSES IN MORRIS COUNTY

Henry Doremus on Erskine's Revolutionary map, Thomas probably lived with his
brother at that time and later purchased it from him. Capt. Thomas Doremus had
five sons: Cornelis (1765-1859) married Lena Mandeville and lived in Doremus-
town in the building formerly occupied as a parsonage of the Montville Reformed
Church, and on the death of his wife in 1846 removed to New York City; Petrus
settled at Mountain View on the other side of the Pompton River, and Francis in
New York City. The two remaining sons, Benjamin (1781-1828) and Johannes
( l 785-1828), remained at Doremustown and may have continued to occupy their
father's homestead. Wilson Jacobus bought the property from a Doremus about
l 840-50, and his son S. W. Jacobus, the present owner, was bom here in l 858.
This valley was in early days referred to as Te Wechauw. The western end
acquired the name of Doremustown from this numerous family descended from
Cornelis Doremus, who had settled here in the first half of the eighteenth century.
The name was later changed to Whitehail. The village nearby is now called
T owaco, a corruption of the original name of the valley. The house stands on the
north side of the road to Boonton, a scant mile west of T owaco village and east of
the railway crossing.

Farmhouse, at one time Demarest's

Changebridge Road, Lower Montville
PLATE 164

The chain of ownership of this stone farmhouse is known back to Lawrence

Demarest, who owned it about the end of the eighteenth century. Nothing is known
of this Lawrence Demarest, but the house was probably not erected by his family.
On Oct. 2, l 714 Humphrey Davenport of Kingston bought from Thomas Stevenson
of West Jersey, a 750 acre tract on the east bank of the Rockaway River, extending
east to the top of the mountain. He settled here and built south of the Demarest
house. Among his children were John Davenport, Humphrey Davenport, Jr. who
married in 1731 Elizabeth, daughter of Peter Hyler, and Rachel Davenport who
married in 1733 Nicholas, son of Peter Hyler. The Hylers, Parlamans, and Daven-
ports were amongst the earliest settlers of Lower Montville about l 7 l 6. Construction
of the Demarest house shows it was built about l 720-30; as it seems to stand on the
Davenport tract, it was probably built by one of the sons or sons-in-law of Humphrey
Davenport.
In 1745 the road from Pompton Plains was laid out westward from the house
of Cornelius Doremus in the Towaco Valley (see plate 163) to Michael Cook's mill
in the present Upper Montville, and in 1749 the road was continued southward from
his mill to the Rockaway River, and then down the river as the path ran to the
536
 HOUSES IN MORRIS COUNTY

bridge near John Davenport's. This was the important Rockaway Bridge at the
time of the Revolution. The Changebridge Road is further east, but more or less
parallels the road from Michael Cook's Mill; it commences nearer Cornelius
Doremus' farm and ends near the Rockaway Bridge. From the west end of the
bridge a road leads southward to Troy Hills, Whippany and Morristown; further
north another road went southwestward from the road to the mill through the settle-
ments of old Boonton and Parsippany, and eventually also reached Whippany.
From the east end of the bridge a road runs eastward and was called the Road to
Horseneck (the name given to the neck within the bend of the Passaic River in
Essex County) ; it forked, one branch going on to Newark, and the other traversing
the Neck to Two Bridges on the Pompton River. ]inning's Tavern was on the
Road to Horseneck one mile east of Rockaway Bridge. These were the roads
existing at the time of the Revolution, and still to be followed today, with the excep-
tion of the Old Boonton-Parsippany Road which is mainly beneath the reservoir.
Thus we get an idea of the ramifications of the little community, of the importance
of the Rockaway Bridge as a thoroughfare linking roads from all directions, and of
the large territory dependent on the Dutch Church of Old Boonton ( organized
about J756, and removed in J8J8 to Lower Montville). A creek flows southward
between the Road from Michael Cook's Mill and the Changebridge Road, and
empties into the Rockaway River near the bridge. This creek with its valley was
in early days ·ca11ed Uylekill, and lent its name to the settlement, later called
Montvill~. The Changebridge Road obtained its name in the days of stage coaches,
when the horses were changed near the bridge.
Thomas Doremus lived in the stone house over two miles away at Doremus-
town, which had been Washington's headquarters for a time (plate J63). He also
owned the stone house at the lower end of the Changebridge Road near the Rock-
away Bridge. He died in J8J0; in his will dated J809 he mentioned the latter house
as the place he bought of Lawrence Demarest, and stated that it was to be sold and
~e money divided between his five sons. The property was sold to George Shepard.
Ge was a lunatic; his guardians sold it to Helmah Mandeville, and he sold it to Dr.
eorge Wurts. In J829 it was sold by a judgment back to Mandeville, and by
~otier judgment to William Meredith, whose executors sold it July 20, J848 to
A;• Zekiel Gaines. He sold it in J857 to Daniel Howard. It was later owned by
Jo::der McNair, Jr., who sold the house and four acres on April l, l92l to
ere es Jacobus Broes Van Heekeren, a Hollander. His widow, Mrs. Van Heek-
n,Thw 0 wns it and runs a charming antique shop here.

Beginn•e description of the property in the William Meredith deeds runs as follows.
tng at a red oak tree formerly a comer of the land sold by John Salter t~
537
 HOUSES IN MORRIS COUNTY

Lawrence Demarest, also a comer of land sold by Robert Gould to said Demarest,
in a line of lands belonging to John Doremus, then extending with .his line north
88 ° to a stone on the west side of the road leading from Richard Duryea's tavern to
Pompton Plains, thence, along the west side of the road southward to a line of
Richard Duryea's land, then north 86 ° by the lands of Silas Cook, Richard Duryea,
and Christian Millet, then with Miller's line south 2 chains to Joan Morgan's corner,
then with the line of his land and by Jacob Mourison's line north 87° to Mourison's
comer, then north l4 chains with Peter Courter's line to the comer of the lands
belonging to the heirs of Thomas Doremus deceased, then along various lines of
their land, and along the land of John Doremus south 4 ° and then,north 88 °.
The house changed hands frequently but the many ·owners did little in the
way of so-called improvements and the house remains practically in its original con-
dition. A date l7l4 scratched on a stone by the doorway is not original, but con-
struction shows the house belongs to this early period and was probably built about
l 720-30. It is built of roughly cut fieldstone; its steep gable roof has no overhang
worthy of the name, and is unmarred by dormers. The interior consists of two rooms
unequal in size, separated by a small hallway in which is an enclosed stairway. As
it was unusual for the Dutch to build different sized rooms in this manner, it is pos-
sible that the door originally led immediately into one of the rooms, and that the
other room adjoined it with no intervening hallway. The windows in front have the
usual narrow lower sash, and the rear windows are very small in size; the floors slope
unequally, the ceilings are very low, the mantel is of a very simple type, consisting
of only a shelf; all these are characteristics of the early eighteenth century. The
house is on the east side of the Changebridge Road, less than one mile south of the
crossroad to the Dutch church; this section of Montville Township is known as
Lower Montville.
House of Johannes Parlaman
Lower M ontvil/e
PLATE 165
Various units of this house have been built by different members of the Parla-
man family. It is still owned by descendants of the original settler. Johannes, son
of Jacob Berleman of Partenheim in Paltz, Germany, married Anna Catharina,
daughter of Hans Wendel Hassenberger. In l709 they declared their intention to
emigrate to America, where they first settled at Hackensack and about l7l4 on the
Ramapo tract. Four of their children were born in Germany and six here in America.
One of their elder sons is believed to be Walter' Parlaman, and his widow is sup-
posed to be the Barber Parlaman who obtained the tract at Lower Montville.
John Reading, Deputy Surveyor General, took up a large tract on the Rock-
538
 HOUSES IN MORRIS COUNTY

away River about 1715. On March 23, 1736/7 Daniel Worms, cordwainer of Han-
over, sold ~o ~arber Par~eman, spinster of Hanover, 100 acres on the Rockaway
River, begmnmg at the river comer of John Miller's land, along his line north to
his other comer, then north 42° east to another comer, then south to the river and
up the river, the same l 00 acre tract which had been sold to Daniel Worms by
Michael Schurts (or Short) on April 14, 1730, and granted to Michael Schurts by
John Reading Sept. 13, 1728 (deed recorded Oct. 8, 1804 Morris Co.). This deed
shows us that Barber at this early date was already an unattached woman (in this
case spinster is said to mean widow) and had already settled in Morris County (then
Hanover Township, Hunterdon County). In 1736 (exact date not given, must be
Old Style, 1737 in New Style) Barber Parlaman, widow, married Jacob Tymouth,
widower, at the Pompton Plains Church. It is probable that she settled on her 100
acre purchase, and she may have built the first house here, which was a small one
formerly on the south side of the road overlooking the river.
Barber's son Johannes" Parlaman, b. Aug. 18, 1730, was the first person after
her to own the 100 acre tract. He undoubtedly built the early west unit of the house
and possibly also the later east unit for one of his married children. Johannes Parla-
man married at the Dutch Church of Second River (Belleville) April 19, 1755
Marytie, daughter of Nicholas Hyler, both being recorded as living on the Uylekill.
The early name for the creek flowing through the Montville region was the Uyle-
kill, and it gave its name to the settlement, later called Montville. Marytie Hyler's
mother was Rachel, daughter of Humphrey Davenport, who had bought a tract
nearby on the east side of the Rockaway River in 1715, built and _settled there.
Johannes Parlaman was prominent in the Revolution. He died April 13, 1805 and
was buried in Lower Montville; his widow died in 1818. They had three sons and
three daughters. The homestead passed to their son John4 Parlaman, b. Sept. 7,
l 760, d. Dec. 26, l 829. He was married twice, first to Marytie Hiler, d. in March l 79 l
aged 30 years, having borne one daughter. He married secondly Oct. 22, l 793 Sarah
Miller, b. Jan. 4, 1770, survived him many years and died Feb. 7, 1852. By his sec-
ond wife, John Parlaman had two daughters. The elder, Barbara, b. Jan. 20, 1797,
tnarried Feb. 1815 Thomas Edward Bowlsby who died in 1829, and she married
secondly Benjamin Crane; Barbara had two daughters by her first husband, one of
;hom Was Ariadne who married Josiah P. Huntoon but died soon afterward on Jan.
6, 1844.
Feb The homestead was owned by John Parlaman's youngest daughter Ann,6. b.
IS, j~ 1799, d. Oct. 31, 1889, married 1818 at Montville James Doremus, b. Sept.
9
6

J o ~ at Te Wachauw (Doremustown), d. March 16, 1853. He was a son of

Doremus of nearby Doremustown and a nephew of Henry and Thomas
539
 HOUSES IN MORRIS COUNTY

Doremus, who owned the house there in which George Washington stayed (plate
. l 63). James Doremus raised the roof of the house and added a half story of frame
over the two earlier stone units; he also built the older half of the frame wing. James
and Ann had three sons and two daughters. The house passed to the daughter Sarah
Margaret6 Doremus, b. Aug. 20, 1827. On May 24, 1845 she married Josiah P.
Huntoon, b. July 16, 1816 at Montpelier, Vt., d. June ll, 1891. He had married pre-
viously her first cousin Ariadne Bowlsby. Josiah Huntoon was in the grocery trade
at various places, lived at Montville for a while, and removed to Paterson in 1841 for
the balance of his life. The house is now owned by their daughter Ada Huntoon,
b. Aug. 14, 1849, married April 13, 1870 Henry I. Clark. She lives in Paterson, and
the house is at present unoccupied.
The house has been built at several different times. The west unit of the main
house is of very irregular fieldstone. The east unit is similar in size, but the front is
of roughly dressed stone and lintels have been placed over the door and window.
Each unit has its own outside door. The west unit is pre-revolutionary; the east half
may not have been added until about the time of the war. The half story of frame
was added in the second quarter of the nineteenth century, as was a part of the
frame wing. The old windows, with the smaller lower sash, and the old fanlight
still do duty, and no dormers break the slope of the roof.
The house overlooks the Rockaway River valley. It is on the north side of the
road, which formerly took its course along the river valley from Old Boonton (a
Revolutionary village, now under the reservoir) eastward and joined the road from
Michael Cook's Mill to Rockaway Bridge. It was later extended across this road to
the Dutch Church of Lower Montville, which was moved here in 1818 from Old
Boonton. A fuller discussion of the various roads and the locality can be read in the
text for plate 164. The house is in Montville Township south of the village of that
name, in the locality known as Lower Montville.

House of Lucas Van Beverhoudt

Troy Hills
On March 2, l 772 Lucas Van Beverhoudt, late of the Island of St. Thomas, now
of London, bought property from William Kelly, late of New York in America and
now of London, the transfer being made in London. The deed was for a 2,000 acre
tract in Morris County, New Jersey, which Kelly had bought from John Barlow,
Stephen Tuttle, John Marsh, Patrick Darcy and Daniel Cooper. This original
parchment deed is in the possession of the present owner of the house. Van Bever-
houdt settled on this purchase, then in the township of Hanover, Morris County.
It is said that the place was originally named Red Barracks from the hay ricks, and
540
 HOUSES IN MORRIS COUNTY

that he changed it to Beaverwyck, the place of origin of his family in Holland. His
inanager was Abraham Lott and the place is marked Mr. Lott's on Erskine's map.
The house was quite a mansion and here Lucas Van Beverhoudt entertained
officers of both armies during the Revolution. Born in l737, he is said to have been
inarried twenty-five years in l795, and was accidentally killed on the road from
Hanover to Troy when thrown from his chaise. He married Maria, eldest daughter
of Mr. Malvill of the Danish Islands, and widow of Christian Suhm, Governor of
St. Thomas. By her first marriage his wife had a daughter Maria Suhm, who later
married President Wheelock of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Lucas Van
Beverhoudt had a daughter Adriana, b. l78l, married l796 Tobias Boudinot. She
lived at Beaverwyck, but died at the home of her daughter Mrs. Col. Amos
Brewster at Hanover, N. H., in J855. Adriana had two sons and four daughters,
many of whom lived at Beaverwyck. Her daughter Ann Boudinot married William
Bibby. She was the last of the family to own the place, but lived in Paterson. As her
son was uninterested and extravagant, she sold the house about J855 to her neighbor
John Condit. He had come from Orange and in J800 bought the property immedi-
ately to the south from a descendant of Lucas Van Beverhoudt, and built the large
two story frame house on the roadside, erecting the street wing in the j 840s.
It is a question how much of Lucas Van Beverhoudt's home still stands. The
house is said to have been destroyed by fire after his death, but Mrs. Condit was
told by a descendant that only the kitchen wing burned, and that the present front
is part of the original house. If much of the old building still remains, it was greatly
changed by the builder's daughter, Mrs. Boudinot. The house is a very large, two
story, white frame mansion, with the usual wide hall running down the center
between two rooms on either side. The architectural window trim is typical of the
period around l800, there is a large Palladian window in the center over the door!
~d a mid-nineteenth century roof. The house is in Troy Hills, south of the main
~ighway from Newark to Parsippany and Dover. It is on the east side of the Revolu-
;n~ road which led from Rockaway Bridge in Lower Montville southward to
hippany and Morristown. The present owner is Mrs. Sarah Condit.

Van Duyn-Jacobus House

Change bridge Road, Montville
PLATE 166 _

in:~
be Very little is known of the history of this house. The property is said to have
a grant to a Van Duyn. We know that several branches of this family settled
lt is ::~wnship at an early date (Biog. Hist. of Morris and Sussex ~o., pub. l899?•
that the last Van Duyn who owned this house hanged hunself, and his
541
 HOUSES IN SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES

widow could not pay the taxes. By a sheriff's sale about J864 the property was deeded
to Timothy Jacobus. At one time the Jacobus family owned the land on the west side
of this road and the Vreeland family on the east side of the road. Timothy married
a sister of John P. and Peter I. Vreeland, his neighbors. He died about J890 aged
about 70 years, leaving three children, Ephraim, Alfred, and Rachel, who inherited
the property jointly. They sold it to the present owner, H.B. Van Ceve.
At a rough glance the house would appear to be the usual type of one and a half
story house with gable roof. Closer inspection shows that the house was built in two
unequal units. The south two-thirds of the house ( to the middle chimney) is the
oldest section, and the north third was added about a hundred years ago. The three
chimneys are unusual. The larger unit is probably pre-revolutionary, its ceilings
are low and the old beams are still exposed to view. No dormers mar the roofline.
The house is on the west side of the Changebridge Road, south of the road from the
Pompton River valley to ~onton. The Changebridge Road leads southward past
the Demarest farm (plate J64) to the Rockaway Bridge. The house is in Montville
Township about two miles east of the village of that name.

Houses in Sussex (Including Warren) County

House of William Ennes
Old Mine Road, Sandyston Township
PLATE 167

On Sept. 23, J703 William Ennes, Sr., a Scotchman, bought a tract of 200 acres
at Marbletown in Ulster County and settled there. By his wife Cornelia Viervant
he had a son William Ennes, b. Jan. JO, J7H, bap. Jan. 27, J7J2 at Kingston, who
married Elizabeth Quick. They came to the Delaware River valley in J738, where
the younger William became prominent as an early school teacher of the Minisink
region and an elder of the Church. On Oct. 5, J753 he bought a farm on the river
in the present Sandyston Township from Richard Gardner, one of the Proprietors.
Here he lived and died. He is said to have had eleven children. Eight were baptized
at Minisink: Cornelia, b. J74J, Benjamin, b. J743, m. J769 Magdalena Van Etten,
Daniel, b. J745, married Elena Hornbeck, Margriet, b. J748, married Jacobus Horn·
beck, Joseph, b. J75l, m. J770 Grietje Van Etten, John b. J754, Cornelius b. J757,
Alexander b. J759. The father of these children may be the William Ennes whose
will was probated in l804. One of the sons, Daniel Ennes, conducted the first tavern
in the vicinity, also a store and a smithy. The caption under a photograph of the
house, taken in J890, describes it as the Alexander Ennes house, for what reason is
not elucidated. It is not likely that William's son Alexander Ennes, b. J759, ever
542
 HOUSES IN SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES

inherited the house, as the next known owner was Simon Cortri ht b 1764 h0
inherited it· from h'is Ennes fa ther-in-
· 1aw, and Alexander was toog you ' • t b, w h
• , 'f ng o e t e
father of Simon s W1 e.
· Pet~s Cortreght's so~ Simon <:ortright, bap. July 20, 1764 at Minisink, d.
J824 in his 60th year, married Catharine Ennes and had a daughter Maria b. Nov
JO, J784. Simon is said to have inherited the property on the death of his father-in:
law William Ennes. Presumably this is the William who purchased the farm in
J753, although there is no church record showing that he had a daughter Catharine,
nor an older son William, Jr. who might have been her father. Simon Cortright
was a justice of the peace, served three terms in the Legislature and fifteen years as
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. In addition to this inheritance he purchased
JOOO acres in the vicinity. At his death the estate passed into the hands of Jacob
Kyte, who died in his 82nd year, leaving it to John Kyte, the owner in l88J. Mark
Sigler was in possession before Hiram C. C. Snook of Hainesville, who has owned
. I

the house for the last twenty-five years, but does not occupy it. The house is vacant
at present.
Between the two windows of the house shown in the photograph is a stone
marked 7.3.J75l, which undoubtedly records the date of its erection. As Richard
Gardner, the Proprietor, never occupied the farm, the house may have been built by
a tenant of his. No tradition of his identity has been handed down. It is very plausi-
ble that the builder was William Ennes, who may have leased the farm before
buying it, or purchased it under a several years' contract, not receiving the deed
until late in J753. Although Ennes was of Scotch descent on his father's side, his
mother, wife and sons-in-law were all Dutch by blood, so the house warrants in-
clusion in this volume. The house is very interesting, small in size and almost
~uare in shape, with a steep gable roof. The stonework under one of the two small
Wtndows shows that the doorway was formerly here, before the frame lean-to was
added. The house is on the west side of the Old Mine Road, several fields from the
Delaware River, about one mile south of Great Minisink Island, and west over t~e
mountains from Hainesville. A view of the house from the north can be seen m
Northw estern New Jersey, v. 2, p. 575.

House of Stephanus Tietsoort (Titsworth)

Road to Port Jervis, north of Sussex, Wantage Township
PLATE 168
The Minisink territory in the interior back of the present Port Jervis was
:t~;~at an early date, before the nearby village of Sussex (which was founded
by Peter Decker and called Deckertown until recently). One descendant of
543
 HOUSES IN SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES

the Titsworth family states that the house was built in J70J, another descendant
states that the original log house was built in J70J and the present stone house about
J7l0, and also that it was built by William Tietsoort who married Sarah Decker.
As this particular William was not born until J706, he is naturally eliminated as the
builder in J7l0; he is the first known owner, but his father Stephanus lived in this
general vicinity and probably built it at the traditional date, for construction of
the house shows it to belong to the very beginning of the eighteenth century.
Abraham Willemszen van Amsterdam married in the Dutch church in New
Amsterdam April 27, 1647 Aechtje Jans van Naerden, and had a son Willem bap.
Aug. 2, 1648. The latter is undoubtedly the Willem Abrahamse Tietsoort who is the
ancestor of the Titsworth family. Willem settled in Schenectady by 1676, where he
was a landowner and blacksmith, and was wounded in the frightful Indian massacre.
He located at the Forks of the Delaware River, now Port Jervis, before 1698, when
he obtained a government license to purchase his lands from the Indians. In_a peti-
tion to the Governor and Council of New York on April JO, l 708, William Tietsoort
stated that he was a blacksmith living in Ulster County ( this region was then con-
sidered a part of Ulster County in New York), that he formerly lived in Schenectady
and barely escaped from the massacre of that village in l 689, that as he had friends
in the Esopus country he removed there and was invited by some friendly Indians
to settle in the Minisink, his Indian friend voluntarily giving him a tract of land;
· that he sought a legal title for this gift by obtaining a government license to pur-
chase on Oct. 15, 1698, and so purchased it, which land had been subsequently
assumed to be included in the Matthew Ling patent, from which he now sought
protection. On June 30, l 700 he obtained the legal deed from the Indians above
referred to for land on the Delaware River at Machackemack (now Port Jervis) and
at Schacheackaminck, and received a patent for the tract. In another affidavit,
Willem Tietsoort, then of Dutchess County, declared in l7l7 that he had sold two
parcels of land at Port Jervis to Jan Decker in l7l3. Shortly after this sale he evi-
denly removed to Dutchess County in New York, where he is recorded in the J7l4
Census with a household consisting of himself ( over 60 years of age), two younger
males and three females. In his will, made in Dutchess County in J7l6 and probated
at Albany in l 722, he mentioned his wife Neeltje, daughter of T eunis Swart, four
sons and six daughters. Two of the sons settled in Poughkeepsie and one in Mid-
dletown, New Jersey.
The remaining son was Stephanus W.8 Tietsoort, b. about J680 at Schenectady.
He was living in Minisink when he married at Kingston Oct.18, 1702 Sara Hoorn·
beck. She was born at Hurley, bap. April 24, l68l at Kingston, a daughter of War-
naer Hoombeck of Hurley. They had at least four children, Anna, William, Maria
544
 HOUSES IN SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES

and Jacob~s; ~e firS t three were baptized at Kingston and the·fourth was the first
child baptiZed m the newly organized church at Machackemack nearby. Thus
Stephanus had re~oved to the back country Minisink before his marriage, probably
built the log hut m J70J and the stone house about J7J.O. In an affidavit concerning
a quarrel at Machackemack (now Port Jervis), he signed himself in J722 as a resi-
dent of Orange County, a juryman of Tappan, about 42 years of age, innholder.
(This region was then claimed by: Orange Co., N. Y.). In J739 he and his son
Willem were taxed at Minisink, for' building a gaol at Goshen, Orange County.
Stephanus' son Willem S.• Tietsoort, bap. Sept. 22, J706 at Kingston, d. March
4, J79J*, is the first of the family definitely connected with the family homestead.
He married Sara Decker and had six children, including Stephanus' Tietsoort, b.
April 8, J734*, d. April J7, J777*, married Catrina Kuykendal, b. May 28, J737*,
d. Nov. J7, J805*. The house was inherited by their son William Titsworth, b.
6

Aug. J2, J758* in Wantage Township, d. March 3, J837*; he married Margaret

1
Middagh, b. Oct. 8, J757*, d. March 3J, J84J*. Their son Dr. John Titsworth, b.
April J9, J793*, d. Feb. J, J873*, married May 3J, J8J9* Abigail, daughter of
Deacon Nathan Beers, b. April JO, J795, d. Dec. 27, J863. Dr. John Titsworth in-
herited the homestead and built the large house in the rear. The property passed
to his son William8 Titsworth, b. July J2, J824, and it was sold by William's widow
Kate about J902 to Jason House. The present owner is E. Kom of Hackensack;
the old stone house is rented out as a refreshment stand.
It is a one and a half story house of rough slaty stone rubble, with a steep gable
roof and very small windows. As it stands on a hill slope, a basement story of white-
washed stone is exposed on one side. In the interior at one end there is a panelled
fireplace wall with a huge cupboard. Very wide floor boards, exposed beams, low
ceilings, old hinges and doors, are authentic details. Although now used as a refresh-
ment stand, the exterior has not been marred, nor the interior very much altered.
The house stands above Oove Creek on the northeast side of the road to Port Jervis.
It is two and a half miles northwest of Sussex in Wantage Township, and less than
ten miles south of the state border. The original log house formerly stood a short dis-
tance northward, and the first church in this section was built on a hill near the
stone house.

House of Abraham Van Campen

Old Mine Road, Calno, Pahaquarry Township, Warren County
PLATE 169
th ~his house was built by Abraham Van Campen far from any settlement in
e wilds north of the Delaware Water Gap. To reach civilization he had to make a
545

aken froni family Bible.

 HOUSES IN SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES

long and arduous journey over the Old Mine Road northwards along the Delaware
River to the present Port Jervis and then strike inland northeastward to Esopus on
the Hudson River.
Abraham's grandfather Gerrit Jansen' Van Campen emjgrated to New Am-
sterdam, where he was a soldier at the time of his marriage Jan. l 7, 1659, to Macktelt
Stoffels, widow of Anthony Lodewyck. They settled at Esopus. Their son John•
Van Campen, bap. April 18, l66l, at Kingston,,married there July 23, 1687, Tietje
Jans Decker, and survived most of their eleven children. They were living at
Shawangunk when two of their children were born in 1694 and 1696, and by 1703
had settled in Marbletown Township, Ulster County, where they were living as late
as 1728. He removed to New Jersey and died in Somerset County in 1745 shortly
after making his will (in which he does not mention his son Abraham). Of his sons,
John, Gerrit and Abraham settled along the Delaware River.
Col. Abraham" Van Campen, bap. Oct. 9, 1698, at Kingston, was the first and
most prominent settler of the river region, now Pahaquarry Township. This land
was included in the Indians' release of l7J3 to the West Jersey Proprietors. On
March 8, l 732, Abraham bought from the heirs of George Hutcheson, one of the
Proprietors, a tract called Pahaqualin, consisting of 1666 acres with a stretch of
seven miles alorig the Delaware River, for £735. This tract was the upper half of
the present township; it 'could not have been his first purchase, as he is said to have
had a survey made for him in l7l2 and to have settled here about 1725. John
Reading, Jr., surveyed the country as far as the Minisink lands in May of l7l5
and recorded no white settlers at this time, but the valley was thickly settled for
over thirty miles north of the Water Gap by l 730, according to the surveyors Scull
and Lukens. Abraham Van Campen at one time owned more than 3000 acres, of
which he sold a great deal, leaving 1600 acres to his sons. Richard Smjth of Burling-
ton rowed down the Delaware River in a canoe with Indian guides in 1769, and
recorded that "we had a glimpse of the late Col. Van Camp's place bel<;>w Walpack;
he has a good share of even land and a range of swelling hills proper for sheep pas-
ture, as much of all this country would be if it was cultivated." On the map of the
Delaware River Survey in 1769 by Dennis are shown Van Camp's House and Grist
Mills on a stream.
Abraham's home was the headquarters of the settlers in the Delaware River
valley during the Indian wars; a fort was built nearby for a garrison of 250 men,
and the officers were fed at his table. He was a Colonel of the West Jersey troops in
the French and Indian War of 1755-58, and ordered by Gov. Belcher to have his
regiment ready to march into Pennsylvania and repel the Indians before they had the
opportunity to march into New Jersey. The Indians stood in great dread of him.
546
 HOUSES IN SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES

& Justice of the Peace he performed many marriages in this section. He was a
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and by far the most prominent man in the
Delaware River region.
Abraham was married twice, first to Susanna Depue, bap. Jan. 9, 1698 at
Kingston, still living in 1754, a daughter of Moses De Puis and Marretje Wynkoop,
and sister of Nicholas and Benjamin Depue who were the first settlers of Smithfield
on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River. On Oct. 29, 1761 he married
secondly Rachel Van Aker widow (probably spouse of Isaac Van Aken), by whom
he had no issue. He died in May, 1767, having made his will the year previous as a
resident of Walpack in Sussex County (Walpack Township at this time included
the whole region along the river south to the Delaware Water Gap). Abraham and
Susanna's three daughters were: Maria, b. 1732, wife of John Depui, Catharine
wife of Benjamin Depui, and Susanna wife of Thomas Romine. Of their four sur-
viving sons, John, b. 1726, and Benjamin, b. 1728, settled on the opposite side of
the river at Smithfield on tracts willed them by their father, and the other two,
4
Abraham, b. l 736, and Moses, b. l 743, lived on their father's homestead. Moses
Van Campen (1743-1819) was a Major; he was captured one night in 1777 by three
Indians, who planned to take him to the headquarters of the Susquehanna and
murder him by a lingering torture, but he was able to burst his fetters asunder,
kill two of the Indians with a tomahawk and put the third to flight. Moses mar-
riecf Sarah W estfaal but had no children and wUled all his property to his nephew
Abraham III, son of Abraham, Jr., after the decease of his wife _Sarah.
Abraham' Van Campen, Jr., bap. Feb. 22, 1736, at Kingston, d. _May, l8Jl,
married first about l 752 his cousin Maria, daughter of Moses Depue, and secondly
Elizabeth Schoonmaker. Only two of his children matured: Abraham by the first
~ge, b. July 12, 1770, d. Nov. 28, 1848, married Sarah Cape and had six chil-
Den; James by the second marriage, b. Nov. J7, 1781, d. 1826, married Cecilia
fecker and had eight children. Abraham' Van Campen, Sr., had made no mention
the homestead in his will of J766, but by deed of Nov. 26, l 766 he conveyed it to
h Abraham, Jr., who in his will of Feb. 23, J808 bequeathed the home in which
;eet~ed to his son James. It was at the home of James Van Campen that a town
toW:ghiwas held March J4, 1825 to establish the civil organization of Pahaquarry
p.
f~In• the f~st half of the nineteenth century the place passed into the Ribble
ItRib;,~ WUUam Ribble, then to his son George, then to the latter's son William
Original e. The latter's widow, Cecilia Van Campen Ribble, a descendant of the
J:'71~'
attcuon died in May 1932 leaving no children, and the house was s~ld at
Y 'l932 to the present owner, Mrs. Julia Orthwein of New York City.
547
 HOUSES IN SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES

The house is built of red sandstone, until recently covered by the usual lime
and sand wash. Since it was purchased in J932, it has been covered with a heavy
concrete mixture and the roof newly shingled with short red shingles; the photo-
graph shows it in its present condition. Modern gable and.porch prevent its unusual
length from being satisfactorily emphasized in a photograph. The low ceilings and
the small size of the windows are both characteristic of the early period. The slave
quarters were in the south basement.
Van Campen Brook, on which stood the family mills, has been renamed Mil-
brook Brook, and meanders southward from the present sleepy hamlet of Milbrook
along the Old Mine Road until it empties in the Delaware River. The house stands
near the south bank of the brook, on the east side of the Old Mine Road. It is in
Pahaquarry Township, in a hamlet called Calno, two miles south of Milbrook and
five miles north of Shawnee.

House of Isaac Van Campen

Old Mine Road, Shapanack, Walpack Township
PLATE 170
Isaac Van Campen was a leader of the community as had been his uncle Abra-
ham. It is interesting to compare their two houses, built within twenty-five years of
each other in similar and nearby regions. Such a comparison clearly shows the
progress in ideas for the housing of wealthy and prominent men.
John" Van Campen, bap. April 30, J693 at Kingston, was an elder brother of
Col. Abraham Van Campen of Pahaquarry (plate J69). John" Van Campen, Jr.,
of Marbletown married at Kingston Sept. 22, J7JJ Madalena Van Garden of
Rochester, and settled along the Delaware River near Milford, Pa. One of their
sons was Isaac• Van Campen, bap. July 30, J72J at Kingston, d. late in J80J; he was
living at Smithfield, one of the lower Minisink settlements on the Pennsylvania
side of the River, at the time of his marriage in the Minisink Church on Oct. 20, J74J
to Madalena Rosenkrans of Walpack, who was still living in J772 • he married his
second wife Sarah - by J78J. '
On July 3J, J750 Isaac Van Campen bought a tract on the Jersey side of the
Delaware River at Walpack from Joseph Stout of Hopewell who may have pur-
chased it from Joseph Kirkbride, who in 1718 had located her; a 500 acre tract, em·
bracing the Shapanack Flats seven miles above the mouth of Flat Brook. Count Zin·
zendo;f trave~led over the Old Mine Road in 1742 and wrote of coming to Samuel
Depui and going to church at Walpack; he did not m~ntion any house on the future
Van Campen tract so it was probably not built at this time. Neither did the Rev. HenrY
Muhlenberg make any mention of a house here in his scanty diary, in which he
548
 HOUSES IN SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES

recorded traversing this region on Aug. JO, J750. It is probable that Isaac Van Cam-
pen built here this summer after purchasing the tract. In J752 he was drawn for the
Gtand Jury in Northampton Co., Pa., but did not appear, probably because he had
settled recently in Walpack. We know he had removed here by the time of the
French and Indian War of J755-58, as his place was one of the headquarters of the
army during this war. A series of forts was built along the Delaware River at this
time, one on the hill above his house, another near his uncle's home to the south in
Pahaquarry, and a third near the Westbrook house to the north in Minisink village.
On the map of the Delaware River survey of J769 by Dennis are shown two houses
here, owned by "Isaac Van Comps" and "Rosigrants."
Early in the Revolution all of eastern New Jersey fell into the hands of the
British, and Gen. Gates, marching from Ticonderoga to reinfor~e Washington, had
to make a wide detour from Kingston down the Old Mine Road. He arrived at Isaac
Van Camp's in Walpack in a snow storm on Dec. JO, J776 and wrote from here to
Washington, heading his letter "Dec. 12, 1776 Van Kemp's, 15 miles from Sussex
Courthouse.'' He joined Washington in time for the victory at Trenton on Christ-
mas Day. Isaac Van Campen was a member of the Continental Congress. John
Adams, while attending Congress in Philadelphia went down the Old Mine Road
as late as J800, as the best route from Boston 1 He was accustomed to lodge at
Squire Van Campen's in the Jersey Minisinks.
Isaac Van Campen had many children, of whom only three are said to have
matured: Abraham, Jr., Isaac, Jr., and Catharine Rosenkrans. On June J5, J799
Isaac Van Campen of Walpack deeded to his son Abraham Van Campen, Jr., JJJ
acres on the Delaware River, part of the land he had bought July 3J, J750 of
Joseph Stout of Hopewell. Isaac had owned about 700 acres in all. The son Abra-
ham6 Van Campen married Coriany or Rosanny Rosenkrans and had two daugh-
ters, Lena, b. J789, and Margaret, b. J792. He became involved financially and sold
the homestead to the De Witts about J8J2, removing to the adjoining place, formerly
Col. Rosencranz'.
Henry De Witt of Rochester bought the property for his son John H. De Witt,
who died in J827. He had the last slave in Sussex County when slavery was abol-
ished in the state. The property has changed hands many times during the nine-
teenth century. It is now owned by B. F. Tuthill and leased to Tex Howard as the
Diamond T. Ranch.
The house is sixty feet long and two stories high. The front is of dressed lime-
stone and the rear of very irregular cut stone. The.re is an ornamental cornice and a
steep gable roof. The lines of a lower two story wing can still be seen in the stucco
of the north end: it was torn down many years ago. This was formerly the slave
549
 HOUSES IN SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES

quarters. The house stands on the east side of the Old Mine Road, opposite a small
island in the Delaware River, directly over the mountains from Walpack Center,
and five miles south of Dingman's Ferry. This locality is called Shapanack. Nearby
are the sites of the fort and the Shapanack Church.

House of Johannes Westbrook

Old Mine Road, Minisink, Sandyston Township
PLATE 171
The children of the present owners are the eighth generation resident on this
farm, which has never been out of the family. Their ancestor Johannes Westbroeck,
Sr., was bom in Albany and living in Kingston when he married May l2, l687
Magdalena Decker of Kingston. He was one of the original settlers of the upper
Minisink region, owning a farm there and voting there in l 70 l. In his will he called
himself a resident of Knightfield (in Wawarsing Township), Ulster County. He
died in l 727, survived by wife, four sons and two daughters. Three of his sons settled
in the Minisink region along the Delaware River in New Jersey: Anthony lived
above Milville in Montague Township until he bought the Minisink Island tract,
Johannes, Jr. settled in Minisink village south of the stream, and a third son Cor-
nelius built a house (now remodelled) still further south about opposite Hainesville
in Sandyston Township. In l 739 Johannes, Johannes, Jr. and Anthony Westbrook
were all taxed at Minisink for building a gaol at Goshen in Orange County (the
Minisink region was claimed by New York; its inhabitants voting in Ulster County
l70l-09 and later in Orange County). -
At an unknown date (about l724) Anthony Westbrook bought l20 acres on
Minisink Island and l20 acres opposite·on the Jersey mainland, from Kuykendall
and W estfaal, as recited in Kuykendall's sale of the remaining land in December
l73l: "Whereas Thomas Stevenson (one of the Proprietors), late of the County of
Bucks, Province of Pennsylvania, gentleman, did grant to Jacob Kuykendall of
Minisink, farmer, and Uriah Westfalya, late of the County of Hunterdon, yeoman,
also deceased, a certain tract of 500 acres in the Province of New Jersey jointly and
equally, whereas said land was taken up and surveyed within the Indian purchase of
the Council of Proprietors, and whereas said Kuykendall and Westfalya did convey
unto Anthony Westbrook 120 acres of lowland on Great Minisink Island and l20
acres of upland opposite, and the remainder of the 500 acres was divided between
said Kuykendall and W estfalya •••" On April 7, l 725 Cornelius Low surveyed and
platted the above 240 acre purchase, marking off three 5 acre house lots along the
river bank, for Jan Cortreght, Johannes Westbrook, Jr. and Anthony Westbrook.
It is probable that Anthony had represented the two others in his purchase of the
sso
 HOUSES IN SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES

tract, which in J725 was bounded on ·the north by the land owned jointly by Uriah
\Vestphall and Jacob Van Kuykendall and on the south by the land of Matthewes
yan Kuykendall. The settlement was formed opposite the lower end of Minisink
Island on the site of an Indian village. Three houses, one marked Westbrook, are
shown here in the J769 survey of the Delaware River.
Johannes Westbrook, Jr. settled here in Minisink village, south of the stream
which separates the present Sandyston and Montague Townships; he is believed
to have built the present house, which is still owned and occupied by his descendants.
In l 73 l he sold part of his land for a cemetery and a schoolhouse. William Ennes,
who lived to the southward (plate l67), undoubtedly taught here. Johannes West-
brook, Jr. was bom in Kingston, bap. there Jan. 9, l698, and married there Dec. J9,
l7l5 Antjen Roosa of Hurley, who was still living in 1756. Their six children were
baptized at Kingston and Rochester between l7l6 and 1728: Lena, b. at Hurley,
living at Minisink, m. l738 Johannes Westbrook, Jr., son of Anthony and therefore
her first cousin, Maria, Heyltjen (died young), Benjamin, Heyltjen and Cornelius.
Another son, Abraham, has also been attributed to them but he may have been a
grandson. This Abraham Westbrook married Maria Helm about l 75l and had three
children, Michel, Martynus and Johanna, bap. from 1752 to 1755. He was killed
shortly afterward in the War of l 755-58. His infant son Martynus Westbrook, bap.
March 24, l 754, grew up to become a captain and lived on the farm given him by his
father. He married Margaret Lowe and had a son and a daughter. The only son was
Abraham Westbrook, b. Nov. l5, 1775, bap. Aug. 24, 1777, d. Aug. 7, l8H; he mar-
ried Ann, daughter of Reuben Buckley, b. Oct. l l, l 778. Among their seven children
were Eliza Westbrook, b. Aug. 29, 1806, who was living in the old homestead in
!:81, and ~euben Buckley Westbrook, b. March 26, l 805. The latter ~as the father
Clementina Westbrook who married Benton BelL The present owner is their
son Burson Bell.
Platt~h~ house was undoubtedly built shortly after the village of Minisink was
end. Ti: 1?25• It is a very low house of rough gray stone, repointed on the east
betw high and steep gable roof is now covered with tin tiling. The farm is
~ ~ t t Old Mine Road and the Delaware River, opposite the south end of
fartn land and south of a stream. A willow tree guards the entrance to the
underg .e. Nearby is the site of Fort Minisink, a similar stone building, which is
oing restoration.

551
 PLATE 143
House of Albert Berdan
Berdan Avenue, Upper Preakness

Albert Berdan settled here some time after 1727, at first making his home in a log cabin and later (before
the Revolution) building a permanent dwelling, which is the wing of the present house. The first floor
of the main hous.: was not built until 1792 by his son Jacob and the second floor added later by the
latter's son Albert Berdan. The house is still owned by the family, although it has not been occupied by
them in recent years. Both units are built of stone, covered with plaster. The roof of the wing has no
overhang in front and extends in a long slope over a lean-to at the rear. Although there was an occa-
sional two story mansion built by the Dutch prior to the Revolution, it was not until after the war
that two story farmhouses were erected.

553
 PLATE 144
House of Dirck Dey
Totowa Road, Lower Preakness

It is believed that this house was erected about 1740 by Dirck Dey, whose son Theunis was Washington's
host here. It is almost the only two story house in the country built by the Dutch prior to the Revolu-
tion ezcept in the Raritan River section. The superior workmanship is attributed to the builder's being
a carpenter (that is, a builder) by trade. The house is Georgian rather than Dutch in style. The Dutch
influence is mainly seen in the combination of materials: it is built of huge oaken timbers pegged with
wooden pins and of rough sandstone blocks, the front and eaves are faced with brick, and the jointing
of comers, windows and doors is made with carefully cut and finished sandstone, while the cornice is of
wood. The steep gambrel roof is an adaptation of the Dutch roof without the overhang. The shallow
arches over the windows on the side wall are unusual in this region. The dormers are later additions.
There was formerly a detached stone kitchen a few yards to the cast.
554
 PLATE 145
Lawrence House
formerly on Watchung Avenue, Brookdale

This house stood on the homestead tract of Alexander Cockefair and was probably built by or for his
son-in-law John Lawrence about the middle of the eighteenth century. The absence of overhanging
eaves in both front and rear is more characteristic of the Staten Island houses but the rough stonework
and the moderate slope of the roof are typical of the northern New Jersey Dutch houses. The dormers
are later additions. Notice the old well sweep near the front door. The Dutch houses were generally
built facing the south to obtain the maximum sunlight regardless of the position of the road. This is a
good example of such a custom as the road runs past the back corner of the house.
555
 PLATE 146
House of Edo Merselis
Paterson and Hamburgh Turnpike, Upper Preakness

This house was built a few years before the Revolution by Edo Merselis and has remained the home
of his descendants ever since, although sold by them about 1920. The stonework of the house has been
covered with plaster except in the rear where a coat of whitewash does not conceal the rough character
of the stones. The front of the house has been changed by the addition of roof supports and of dormers.
A broad gable roof of this type was occasionally used over a deep house although the gambrel roof was
more common.
556
 PLATE 147
House of Johannes Ryerson
367 GoHie Road, Hawthorne

Johannes Ryerson was living on this tract by 1744 and may have settled here as early as 1721. As it is
claimed that the house (presumably the wing only) was erected in 1750, it is probable that Johannes
Ryerson's first home here was a temporary structure, which was followed by a permanent home (the
present wing) after his father had bequeathed him the property. The main house was probably built by
his son or grandson shortly after the Revolution, and later passed by marriage into the Ackerman family.
The rear view of the house is reproduced to show the slaty rubble with which the back walls were built
and the smallness and sparsity of the windows even at this late period. The front wall of the wing is of
roughly cut stone and that of the main house is of dressed stone. The gable roof extends to form an
overhang over the south fronts of both units. An unusual feature is the string course of carefully cut and
finished sandstone at the floor level of the main story of the house and also the rare type of fanlight.
The double Dutch doors and solid shutters have typical panelling.
557
 PLATE 148
Schuyler-Colfax House
Paterson and Hamburgh Turnpike, Pompton

This house stands on a tract bought from the Indiana in 169S by Arent Schuyler, and it is still occupied
by his descendants, having passed by marriage into the Colfax family. The main house is typical of the
post-revolutionary period and was erected probably by William Colfax, Captain of Washington's Life
Guards, shortly after his marriage to Hester Schuyler in 1783. The pre-revolutionary wing consists of
two separate units, the earliest of which was erected in 1702 by Arent Schuyler or about 1712 by his son
Philip; the second and similar unit was added some years later by Philip or possibly by his son Casparus
Schuyler. All three units of the house are built of rough fieldstone and their front walls faced with
brick. The low ceilings, steep gable roof and absence of overhang in the wing are typical of the earliest
houses. The shallow brick archheads of the doors and windows of the wing are unusual in this vicinity
and can be compared with those in Hunterdon County. The sloping dormers are later additions which
blend with the roof!ine.
558
 PLATE 149
Stynmets-Sip House
714 River Road, Passaic

This house stands on a tract conveyed by the patentee in 1699 to his son-in-law Christophel Styrunets,
who had settled here a few years previously. It was sold between 1750 and 1762 to Arie Sip whose
descendants owned it until about 1900. The home of Christophel Stynmets is the small unit at the rear
of the house, with one door, one window, and chimney. Like all the earliest houses, it faces south. Its
very thick stone walls are faced with clapboarding on the outside and roughly plastered in the interior.
The next unit, built by Halmagh Sip, was added at right angles and faces the river and the road. Its
dressed stone front and trapezoidal stone lintels are typical of certain houses built a short time before
the Revolution. The largest section of the house was probably built a few years after the war. The
stonework in the side wall of this unit is as carefully cut and finished as in the front wall. The gradual
increase in length, depth and height of the units is typical of Dutch houses and of the periods represented.

559
 PLATE 150
Van Dien House
Fairfield Road, Mountain View

This house was built in 1706 on a tract which is believed to have been purchased in 1704 by a Van Dien,
and it remained in this family until the third quarter of the nineteenth century. It is typical of many of
the small houses of this early period. The roughly cut, many colored stones with which it is built vary
in texture and hue from the reddish sandstones of the houses in the counties further east.
560
 PLATE 151
Van Giesen-Vreeland House
Chestnut Street, Nutley

It is believed that this house was built 1700-02 by Abraham Van Giesen and confiscated from his Tory
grandson Abraham during the Revolution. It was purchased by John M. Vreeland in 1783 and owned by
his descendants until about 1915. The photograph was taken after its successful restoration. The stones
are more carefully cut and finished than in most houses in the frontier settlements of this early period.
The steep slope of the roof is characteristic.
561
 PLATE 152
House of Gerrebrant Van Houten
Totowa A venue, Paterson

Gerrebrant Van Houten is believed to have built the small unit of this house on his father's tract at
some period after his marriage in 1741. He may also have erected the main house, but this was more
probably built shortly after the Revolution by his son Dirck. Even the wing is not pre-revolutionary in
feeling, but this may be due to the refacing of the walls, the modern windows and tin roof.
562
 PLATE 153
Van Ness House
by the Passaic River, near Fairfield

This house may have been built by Simon Van Ness, who settled in this vicinity between 1701 and 1710,
or by his son Isaac Van Ness, who remained on the homestead tract. It was owned by the family until
the early years of the twentieth century. Notice that some of the stones have been cut in almost square
dimensions. The second half story of frame belongs to the early nineteenth century.
 PLATE 154
Van Wagening House
formerly on River Drive, Passaic

This property was acquired conditionally by Hermanus Gerritse (Van Wagening) from his father-in.
law before 1693. It passed to his son Gerrit Hermanisse Van Wagening who specifically mentioned the
building in his will of 1769. The small unit of the house has the typical early arrangement of two
adjoining main rooms each with its separate outside door: possibly it was the home of Hermanus
Gerritse or it may have been built by the son Gerrit after his marriage in 1713. The main house was
undoubtedly erected about the middle of the century by Gerrit. A building of such great depth was
seldom covered by a gable roof. The overhanging eaves in both front and rear are typical of nearby
Bergen County. In general there was at least one window in the side wall of such a large house.
An interesting feature is the small Dutch stoop, with its railings and benches.
 PLATE 155
House of John Van Winkle
868 Gome Road, Hawthorne

John S. Van Winkle was living in the original unit of this house in 1774 and had erected it at some
date following the purchase of the tract by his father in 1743. The date 1761 has been ascribed to the
old unit, now the wing. The steep slope of the roof is more typical of an earlier period. This is one of
the few examples in which the gable end is built entirely of stone. The varying sizes and finish of the
stonework on this end wall add considerable life to the building. The deep jamb of the doorway is not
panelled in this instance. The main house was erected in 1811 by the grandson, Judge John S. Van
Winkle. Built along pre-revolutionary lines, it is nevertheless typical of this late period in its smoothly
cut and finished stonework and in the panelling and carving of the woodwork. The house was not
occupied by the family after the murder here in 1850 of the Judge and his wife, but it continued in the
ownership of his descendants until about 1901.
 PLATE 156
Unidentified House
534 East Passaic A venue, Bloomfield Township

The history of this house is unknown. It was probably built in the second quarter of the eighteenth
century. Like many of the Essex County houses it differs from those in Bergen County in the absence
of overhanging eaves.
566
 PLATE 157
Fitts House
Stanton

This house was erected in 1741, but the name of the builder and early owners are unknown. The rough
stonework is carried up to the roofline even on the gable end. The shallow stone arches over the door
and some of the windows are typical of the pre-revolutionary houses still standing in this county. The
long, narrow windows are interesting; they are three panes in breadth rather than the usual four.
Markings on the end wall indicate that there was once a low wing. The lower slope of the gambrel roof
is shorter than usual; it has a slight curve and extends to form a shallow overhang. The continuation of
the shingling over the roof edge gives an odd appearance to the house.
 PLATE 158
Howsel-Wagoner House
Stanton

The old stone barn, dated 1741, and the house may have been erected at the same time. The property was
owned during the Revolution by William Howze!, a member of a German family which had settled in
this vicinity before 1735. The different atmosphere which pervades the house may be due to the racial
origin of the builder. The stone structure is the original unit. Its length is less than average, the main
ftoor consisting of a large room at the rear from which opens a small room at the front, and a wide hall-
way running the depth of the house along the east end. Due to its erection on a hillside the basement is a
full story in height at the rear; it contains the kitchen and various larder and storage rooms. The
shallow brick arches over the windows add contrast to the irregular stonework and wood trim. The
architectural doorway and high-backed benches are modern but blend well as there was originally some
form of stoop with benches. The wing on the east end was probably added before the Revolution; its
ceilings are lower and its windows smaller than in the main house. The present clapboarding replaces a
covering of long, red shingles which were secured by hand-made nails.
568
 PLATE 159
Reynolds-Van Syckel House
Van Sickle's, near Clinton

This building was erected in 1763 and conducted as a tavern by David Reynolds, who was later hanged
for counterfeiting. About 1800 it was acquired by Aaron Van Syckel and was run as a tavern by the
family until after 1855. It is still owned by his descendants. All walls of the two and a half-story building
are of irregular stonework. Notice the very large size of some of the stones, especially at the corners.
The shallow brick arches over the door and windows of the first story are varied by the use of flat
brick lintels over the second story and attic windows. The narrow lower sash is unusual in such long
windows. The frame addition belongs to a later period.

569
 PLATE 160
House of Martin Ryerson, later Quick's
near Three Bridges, Readington Township

The original unit is the central section, erected by Martin Ryerson probably about 1738. It is of
fieldstone, the south front faced with brick. The gambrel roof has a curving lower slope and overhang
reminiscent of the houses of Bergen County, the early home of the builder. The arch-shaped wooden
lintels framed in a row of brick are an unusual feature. The old twelve-paned window sashes remain in
the north front. The garret was open attic until twenty years ago when it was improved and dormers
added. The two frame wings were built at different times by the Quick family after their purchase of
the house about 1790.
570
 PLATE 161
House of Thomas Dey
Two Bridges, Pequannock Township

This house was built in 1779 by Thomas Dey on his father's homestead tract. It passed by marriage into
the Post family and was owned by descendants of the builder until about 1917. The very carefully cut
and finished stones in the front wall of both units in contrast with the irregular stonework of sides and
rear wall are typical of this period, as is the use of stone lintels. The addition of gable dormers, porch,
and wide cornices and gutters detract considerably from the original appearance of the house.
571
 PLATE 162
Dodd House
near Chapel Hill Road, Lincoln Park

The multi-colored rock of Morris County is different from the reddish sandstone of Bergen County,
and was generally cut in larger blocks, thus giving the houses a different effect. This was the home of
John Dodd or Dods at the time of the Revolution. He or his father probably erected the wing early in
the eighteenth century. The steep pitched roof extends in front in a straight slope to form a deep
overhang. The main house belongs to the Revolutionary period; its floor level is several steps higher
than the wing. Porch and a cheap row of dormers now alter its appearance.
572
 PLATE 163
House of Henry Doremus
Road to Boonton, near Towaco

This house was built in the third quarter of the eighteenth century by Henry Doremus, who sold it
after the Revolution to his brother Thomas. They were Washington's hosts here. It is typical of the
unpretentious houses of this county. There is no hallway since outside doors open directly into each
of the two main rooms.

573
 PLATE 164
Farmhouse, at one time Demarest's
Changebridge Road, Lower Montville

Construction shows that this house was erected about 1720-30. It is built of roughly cut stone and is
covered by a steep, gable roof with a slight overhang on the south front. The door and hallway are not
in the center of the house as the room on the west (left) end is smaller than average. The old windows
with narrow lower sashes, the very small windows in the rear, enclosed stairway and simple mantel shelf
are details characteristic of the early period. The unknown builder may have been a relation of
Humphrey Davenport, who purchased a large tract here in 1714. The first known owner of the house
was Lawrence Demarest about the end of the eighteenth century. Unlike most of the old houses which
were family homesteads, this was a farmhouse which changed hands continuously.
574
 PLATE 165
House of Johannes Parlaman
Lower Montville

The tract on which the house stands was acquired by the family in 1737. Various units of the house
were built by different members of the family and it is still owned, although not occupied, by
descendants. It can be easily discerned that the main house was built at two separate times; the west
half of irregular stonework without lintels and the east half of carefully cut and laid stonework with
trapezoidal stone lintels were built respectively about 1750-55 and about the time of the Revolution
by Johannes Parlaman. His grandson James Doremus raised the roof and added the half story of frame
and also built the older half of the frame wing in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. The
various units of the two centuries are plainly differentiated but blend into a harmonious whole.

575
 PLATE 166
Van Duyn-Jacobus House
Changebridge Road, Montville

The early history of this house is unknown, but tradition states that it was first owned by a Van Duyn.
The house was built in two units, the division line shown by the middle chimney. The south two-thirds
is the original section and was probably erected at some period before the Revolution. The house is a
variation of the early type farmhouse which was generally erected in two equal sized units or all at
one time. The gable roof extends in front to form an overhang and in the rear is continued in a long
curving slope until near the ground.
576
 PLATE 167
House of William Ennes
Old Mine Road, Sandyston Township

This tract was sold in 1753 by Richard Gardner to William Ennes, who had come to this vicinity from
Marbletown some years before. As the house was built in 1752, it was erected by some unknown
tenant of Richard Gardner's, the absentee owner, or possibly by William Ennes, who may have pur-
chased the land under a several years' contract. Ennes was the early schoolmaster of the Minisink
region. On his father's side he was of Scotch descent but both his mother and wife were Dutch. This
difference in racial strain may account for the unusual character of the building. It is a small, almost
square house built of long, narrow, roughly cut stones and covered by a very high and steep gable
roof. The top of the window openings is in the form of a shallow arch surmounted by a row of narrow
stones set on end; it varies from the West Jersey type since these stones were chosen so that their
tops would form a straight line instead of a shallow curve. The small window openings are unusual,
being of greater breadth than height. The northern (right) window supersedes the original door, the
lower half of which has been blocked up.
577
 PLATE 168
Tietsoort (Titsworth) House
Road to Port Jervis, north of Sussex

This house is believed to have been built about 1710. It was probably erected by Stephanus W. Tiet-
soort, who lived in this vicinity, and whose son William is the first known owner. It remained in the
family until about 1902. It is typical of a frontier house of this early period. Built of very irregular
stone rubble, it is covered by a steep gable roof which extends in a long, straight slope to form an
overhang beyond the front wall. As it is on a hill, a low basement story is exposed on the south front.
The early plan was followed, the main floor consisting of two adjoining rooms each with its outside
door. Notice the sparsity and small size of the windows, for better protection against the Indians. The
east wall of the interior is panelled.
 PLATE 169
House of Abraham Van Campen
Old Mine Road, Pahaquarry Township

This house was built in the wilderness about 1725 by Abraham Van Campen, who became a large land-
owner and the most prominent man in this region along the Delaware River. A pioneer house, it yet
reflects the station of the builder in its great length. It is built of red sandstone, covered until recently
with a lime and sand wash now replaced by a heavy concrete mixture. Notice the very small windows
used in the early frontier houses for better protection against the Indians. The porch and dormers
are later alterations. The house was the home of the Van Campen family for a century and then of the
Ribble family for another hundred years.
579
 PLATE 170
House of Isaac Van Campen
Old Mine Road, Walpack Township

This house was built by Isaac Van Campen shortly after he purchased the tract in 1750. Isaac was a
member of the Continental Coqgress, and John Adams was accustomed to spend the night with him on
his way from Boston to attend Congress at Philadelphia. How completely different are the houses of
Isaac and his uncle Abraham Van Campen (plate 169) I Both were prominent men and the houses were
erected only twenty-five years apart, but the uncle's house was built when the region was an absolute
wilderness and the nephew's not until this road was an accepted route of travel between the eastern
and middle states. Isaac's is a large two story mansion. The front wall is of roughly finished lime-
stone and the rear of very irregular stone. It is surmounted by an ornamental cornice and by a steep
gable roof reminiscent of the earlier houses. The shallow arches over the first story windows are
typical of West Jersey. There was formerly a low two story wing on the north end, which was the
slave quarters.
580
 PLATE 171
House of Johannes Westbrook
Old Mine Road, Minisink

This house was built by Johannes Westbrook shortly after the village of Minisink was plotted in
172S. It has passed by marriage into the Bell family and is still the home of the builder's descendants.
The outstanding feature of the house is its close-to-the-ground feeling. It is built of roughly finished
limestone and has a steep gable roof. The roof now extends beyond the gable end and is covered with
a modern composition but its long slope has never been broken by the addition of dormers. The modern
one-paned sashes give the house a vacant expression. Notice the small size of the window openings
and the lowness of the ceilings.
581
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Types of sources will be enumerated below, rather than attempt a complete
list of authorities, which would run into a considerable number of pages.
Family Bible Records
Asterisks throughout the volume denote records taken from family Bibles. The
author was fortunate in obtaining access to· an unusually large number of Bibles.
The great majority of these are in the possession of owners of the houses dealt with
in this volume, especially in the Rockland and Bergen County regions, and hence
definitely record the dates of previous owners in these branches of the family. The
great value of these original sources is unquestionable.
Church Records
All available records of the Dutch Reformed Churches were scanned. The
majority of these have been published in the Somerset County Quarterly, by the
New York Genealogical and Biographical Society and by The Holland Society of .
New York. Others are still in manuscript form.
Cemeteries
Church cemeteries and numerous family graveyards amplified the above
records. Maps
Of inestimable use were the series of maps drawn by or under the direction of
Robert Erskine, Surveyor General l 778-79. They cover most of the territory treated
in this volume, and minutely record the various roads, the houses in existence, and
in some cases the names of their owners. The originals of these maps are in the
possession of the New York Historical Society.
The frequent change of the division line between Somerset and Middlesex
Counties resulted in several eighteenth century surveys, which also marked the
houses. The plan of Staten Island i 780-l 783, in the Archives of the French Gov-
ernment, and the !769 survey of the Delaware River were of value for these regions.
The collection of miscellaneous early maps at the New York Historical Society
was consulted.
The atlases of various dates in the mid-nineteenth century proved valuable.
Contemporary Travels
. Con!emporary diai:ies and travel accounts were occasionally full enough to give
ana
mformation as to the existence of houses along the route their owners at that time.
583
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Genealogical W arks
Countless family genealogies in book, article, and manuscript forms, were con-
sultedt and excerpts culled where they seemed authoritative. The sketchy and
obviously inaccurate accounts were not used.
Of value were general works such as Bergen's Early Settlers of Kings County,
Beekman's Early Dutch Settlers of Monmouth County, Nelson's History of
Paterson, and the various genealogical quarterlies. Historical society publications,
county histories, etc., often contained important genealogical.sections.

Architectural Works
This section of the country has not been adequately treated in architectural
works. Among the articles in print on the so-called Dutch Colonial style, those on
the Bergen County houses are the most valtJable and have been listed in the intro-
duction for that county.
The few books on the houses of these regions are mainly of a general nature,
Ditmas' Historic Homes of Kings County being an exception.
County Histories
The county histories were written for the most part in the last quarter of the
nineteenth century, while children or grandchildren of many of the early settlers
were still alive. Hence they record a large amount of material not available elsewhere
and contain a surprising amount of valuable information, both as to land records
and families.
Slightly different in form are books such as Gilman's Story of the Ferry, which
deals exhaustively with the region around Palisades, N. Y., its houses and families.

For sources refer also to the county introductions.

GENEALOGICAL INDEX
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX
Achenbach Jr.! 467; Jane (see Zabriskie) 332· MettJ·e Van
Charity Ann Ackerman, 276; Hans Georg, 269; W1ckle, 467 ' '
Mary Ann (see Terhune), 269; "Mrs.," 269; Andreuvet, Androvet ;
Thomas, 269 f~zabeth (see Cortelyou), 144; John, 139; Peter,
Acker, "Mrs.," 401
Ackerman, Akkerman, Acker Man Andriesse, Fitje (see Van Giesen), 518
Abraham, 269,.272, 274, 275; Abram, 273, 275, 276; Androvet (see Andreuvet)
Adrian, 270; Adrian A., 272, 273; Aeltye Van Laer, Angela, Charles, 295
270; Albert, 275; Annaetjen (see Zabriskie), 332; Antonides
Antye, 275; Betje, 271; Charity Ann (see Achen- Deborah (see Van Vechten), 465; Peter, 230, 468
bach), 276; Charity Hopper, 276; Cobus (Jacobus), Applegate
273, 274; Cornelia, 271; Cornelia (see Van Hou- Elizabeth West, 402; Jacob E., 402
ten), 319; Cornelia Durie, 291; Cornelis, 272; Arison, John, 446
David, 269, 270, 272; David, Jr., 273; David A., Arnold
272, 273, 274; David T., 272; Egbert, 332; Eliza- Ivan, 525; Thomas, 525;
beth, 332; Elizabeth Ryerson, 510; Elizabeth Arrowsmith
Stagg, 317; Elizabeth Stegge, 272; Eva Sip, 513; Jane (see Christopher), 131; Joseph, 131
Geesje Paulusse, 270; Gellyn, 270; George, 325; Ashfield, Richard, 525
Gerrit, 269, 270, 272, 273, 275, 317; Gerrit A., 275, Ashfordsby, Elinor (see Coxe), 531
276; Gertrude Westervelt, 291, 327; Grietje, 300; Atkinson
Hannes, 271,273; Henry L ., 270; Jacobus (Cobus), Asher, 469; Mrs. W. D., 212
213, 274; Jacobus A., 319; Jannetje Alberts Van Aukes, Anneken (see Pieterse), 140
Voorhis, 275; Johannes, 270,272,317, 513; Johannes Auryansen, Maria (see Naugle), 305
(Hannes), 271; Johannes A., 272, 273; Johannes Axtell, Daniel, Major, 459
G., 317-318; John, 273, 510; John, Jr., 291, 327; Ayers, Peter, 473
John L., 270; Laurens, 270, 272; Laurens A., 270; Aymir, James. 199
Lauwrens A., 300; Lawrence A. (Lawrens), 270;
Lysbet de Villiers, 270; Maria, 271; Maria (see Babcock, Robert, 400
Van Winkle), 525; Maria Weeckvelt, 271; Martha Badie, Mary Thomas (see Verdon) (see Bennet)
(see Kingsland), 506; Mary (see Berdan), 503; (see Vanderbeek), 315
Mary Daniel Haring, 318; Nicholas, 270; Petrus, Baerdan (see Berdan)
272; Polly (see Newkirk), 307; Rachel (see De Baker, Dr. Harry, 226
Baan), 317; Sarah Louisa (see Bell), 291; Sophie Ballagh
Lozier, 270; Weentje, 275; William, 272 Rebecca (see Covert), 59; William D., 59
Ackerson Banta
Charles D., 280; David P., 280; Henry E., Jr., 387; Agnes, 277; Divertje (see Berdan), 503; Epke Ja-
Margaret, 280 cobse, 277; Garrett, 277; Hendrick, 209, 277; Hen-
Adams, John, 385, 501, 549 drick, Jr., 209; Hendrick J., 277; Henry, 277; Jacob,
Adriance 277; Jannetje (see Kip), 301; Jannetze (Jane) (see
Adrianse Sickels), 209; John, 277; John, II, 277; Lea Cor-
Adrian, 65; Gerret, 65; Gozen, 144; Martin (see de nelisse (see Lozier), 302; Margaret Demarest, 277;
Boer), 65, 67; Rem, 65; Sarah (see Vanderbeck), Margaret Eckerson, 277; Margrietje (see Cooper)
65 (see Westervelt), 327; Margrietje Durie, 277;
Aeltse Rachel (see Demarest), 278; Theunis, 277
Antje (see Garretson), 292; Rachel (see Van Barandz (see Barentsen)
Horn), 317 Barbefie · .
Aertsen, Jan, 227 Elizabeth (see Dusochay), 128; Pieter, 128
Akkerman (see · Ackerman) Barbetie, John, 320
Alexander, James, 452, 473, 496 Barentsen Barentszen, Barandz
AU Christi~ (Van Hoorn), 317; Scytie, 152; Symon,
Morton, 409 147; Thys, 152; Tys, 152; Wyntie Arents, 147
Allison, John, 179
Aisop, John, 179 Barlow, John, 540
AIyea Barrowman, Thomas, 429, 432
Bartholf, Margaret (see Brinkerhoff), 272
~rt,)276; Eliza (see Outwater), 276; Maria (see
Ame ng • 296; Sophia Bush, 276 Bartolette, Mrs. John, 435
rman Barton, Mrs. S., 145
1off)ac ~Jan, ~; Petrus, 69; Sarah (see Wyck- Bateman, George W., 532
Ames' C 9 'T illemtJe (see Schenck), 69 Baxter
Abigail (see Kouwenhoven) , 78 ; Ab.1gai'I WyckS -
A nderson• ., 466
' off, 78; Aeltie (see Stoothoff), 78; Garret toot-
Anna, 60; Elizabeth (see Zabriskie), 332; George, hoff, 78; John, 78; Sara, 78
587
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

Berleman (see Parlaman)

Bayard . Berre
Anna Stuyvesant, 322; Balthazar, 322; Blandma,
509; Samuel, 322 A~raham, ~3; Catharine (see Van Brunt), 83
Bayles Bernen, Berrian
Elizabeth (see Cardell, sec Haselbery), 60; George, Ann (see Pumyea), 433; Anna, 433; Anna Em.
Dr 456· Margaret Ann (see La Tourrettc), 456; mons, 433; Cornelia Van Dyke, 433 • Corneliu
Sa;~h Staats, 456, 457; Thomas, 60; William, 456 433; Cornelius Jansen, 431; Elizabeth 433· Hen~'
Beach 433; Jannetje Stryker, 431; John, 431, 433, 434:
Abraham, Rev., 391, 468, 470, 471, 472; Ann Van John, Judge, 431, 432, 433; John, Maj., 432; Joh~
Wickle1 470, 471; Cornelia (see Lawrence), 391, Macpherson, 432; Margaret Eaton, 431, 432· Mary
471-472 ; Elnathan, Capt., 470; Harriet (sec Rat- Leonard, 431; Neeltje Van Dyke, 433; Pet~r, 431
toone), 471 434; Peter, Jr., 433; Sarah, 433 '
Beadcl, Bcdcl, Becgel, Beigle Berry
Jannetie (Jeeny) (see Van Ende), 87, 88; Moses, Deborah (see Martense), 65; John, 299, 306; John
58, 59, 87, 88, 93; Robert, 87 Capt., 265, 270, 309, 326; Betts, Miriam (see Va~
Beaty, Eliza Ann (see Newkirk), 307 Vechten), 466
Bedel (see Beadel) Bibby
Bedlow, Isaac, 328 Ann Boudinot, 541; William, 541
Beedle, Beegel (see Bcadel) Billeau, Billou, Belew
Beekman Ann (see Stillwell), 150; Fran~oise Du Bois, 149·
Adrian, 428; Cornelia (see Van Dam), 451; Cor- Jacobus, 150; Martha, 149, 150; Pierre (Peter):
nelius, 82; Gerardus, 428, 440, 451, 452, 466, 469; 135, 149
Hendrick, 466 Birch, Stephen, 314
Beers Bird
Abigail (see Titsworth), 545; Nathan, 545 Eugene, 325; Joseph, 530; Mary (see Van Siclen),
Beigle (see Beadel) 530
Belcher, Gov., 546 Bishop, Abbie M. (see Conover), 401
Belew (see Billcau) Black, William N., 267
Bell Blackford
Benton, 551; Burson, 551; Clementina Westbrook, Joseph, 453; Mary Staats Coon, 453
551; Cora (see Oren), 291; John J., 291; Sarah Blackledge
Louisa Ackerman, 291 Benjamin, Jr., 305, 328; Lea Poulousse Ferdon
Bennett Nagel, 305
Annie (see Lott), 64; Jan, 409; John, 445; Eliza- Blake
beth (see West), 402; Nellie (see Schenck), 409; Anne (see Simonsen), 148; Daniel, 148, 149
William Adriaense, 315 Blanch
Bcnsingh (see Benson) Abram Lent, 194; Clausha (see Blauvelt), 182;
Benson, Bensingh, Benssing Col, 328; Rachel (see De Pew), 194; Thomas,
Abraham, 179; Benjamin, 179, 180; Benjamin, Jr., Col., 182
179; Catherine, 179; Catherine Deronda, 179; Blanchard
Charity, 179; Dirck, 179; Elizabeth Bussing, 179; Jean, 504; Jeanne (Jane) (sec Dey), 504
Elizabeth Van Dcusen, 179; Hannah Edsall (see Blanck, Blank
De Groot), 179; Henry, 179; Jacob, 179; Jennie Aert (see Simonsen), 147; Juriaen, 147; Tryntje
Outwater, 521; Joanna, 179; Johannes, Capt., 179· Claes (see Simonsen), 147
Maria, 179; Matthew, 179; William, 179 ' Blauvelt
Benssing (see Benson) Abraham, 183, 184, 185, 188, 189; Abraham G., 185;
Bcnthal, Walther, 440 Abraham Gerritsen (Gerrits), 181, 183, 193, _19)5,
Bentkamp, August, 306 222; Abraham Thompson, 185; Aefie (see Smith,
Berdan, Baerdan · 182; Altha, 182; Anatye, 182; Ann (see Woo~),
Albert, 503; _Albert, II, 503; Anna (see Doremus) 187; Anna Maria (see De Wint), 191; Annati!,
2~9; Cathanne. De~arest, 503; Christyntjen Va~ 182; Annatje, 181; Annetjc Hennion, 187; Anthe
Giesen, 278; DivertJc Banta, 503; Elizabeth 503· (Anna) (see Van Houten), 319; Antje Banc 1 :
Eva, 315; Eva Van Siclen 278· Harry M' 503: 183; Catharina (Catherine) (see Tallman), 182, ~~::
Jacob, 503; Jacob, II, 503; Ja~cs D., 503·; Jan: Catharine, 185; Catherine (sec Naugle), 273, u'
278, 315; Jan, Jr., 278, 503; Jan, III 278· John Catharine (see Perry), 204; Caty (see Van 8 °).
289, 316, 508; Marretje, 278; Mary Ackerm~n 503!
R~becca Ryerson, 503; Vrouwtjen Vcrway' V~ ten), 228; Catherine Ecker (son) (sec _De ; 0::i-:0•
Dien, 278 181; Catharine Elizabeth, 185; Cathanne. e 182 :
Bergen, Berge, Berger 184;, Clausha (see ~lanch), 182; !=ornef~s~'Dan~
David, 204,208; David D., 204; David J.,. ' (see
Annatic (Johanna) (sec Stoothoff) 76· Caspar icl,. 181; Effie, 184; Eleanor Co~ebsonh (see
448; Cornelius, 76, 7_7; Frederick, 135; Gishc (se~ Smith), 182; Elizabeth, 182, 185; Eliza
. ~h (see
Ja~ob, 142, ,155; John (Johannes), 76; John c:,
Lott), 63; Hans Jonse, 467; Hansc Machiclse 76·
77, MarrctJc (see Crocscn), 142; Michael Han:
76'
Haring) (see Du Puw), 193, 296; E 1iza
Mabie), 185, 191; Elizabeth (see ~au~:t (se;
304,
Elizabeth (see Perric, 183, 205; Eliza 184;
sen, 80;, Rebecca Stryker, 76; Sara, 80; Tcunis 76
83; Zytic Van Wickclen, 467 ' '
Tallman), 223; Elizabeth Van Dalscn, 181 Fred·
Berkeley, Gov., 385, 386 El_izabeth Van Orden (~ee De B~), 1.87Jarrett,
enck, 181, 200; Frcdenc,us, MaJ., 191,
588
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

. Gerret (Gerrit), 181, 182; Gerre~ Joseph, 184, Boyce

~81 ' 20s· Gerrit Hendricksen, 211; Gilbert D., 204; John, 467; Scttje Van Wickle 467
85
G"tty 183' Hannes (Johannes Joseph), 181, 182; Boyd, John T., Jr., 267 '
Hi ~an isl• Helena (see Tallman), 231; Helena Bradley, Alvin C., 124
p allen 223; 'Hendrick, 181, 211; Hendrick (Ger- Braecke, Metje Dircks (sec Michaelsen), 324
Branford
I ·fse Gerritsen), 175, 180, 181, 183; Huybert, 183;
aac 181 183, 187; Isaac Jacobse, 229; Jacob, 183,
2~5, 229, 319; Jacob A., 183, 184, 186, 187, 192, 193,
John E., 317; Robert, 317
Brat
l99, 229; Jacob J., 183, 186, 192; Jacobus, 187; Antony, 130, 138; Nelly (see Hagewout), 130, 138
James, 183, 184; Johannes, 183-186, 205; Johannes, Brearley, Harry, 220
A 199' Johannes Isaac, 223; Johannes J., 182, 183; Breisacher, Marie, 284
J~bn A., 185; John Calvin, 185; John I., 185; John Brewster, "Mrs. CoL Amos" (Boudinot), 541
Brcyant
Melanchthon, 185; Joseph, 182, 184, 185; Joseph
Hendrickse ,181; Lenah Fowler, 204; Letty, 183; Antje (see Kip), 301; Pieter, 301
Margaret (see Haring), 294; Margaret (see Ly- Brickers, Weyntic (sec Terheun), 309
decker), 204; Marga~et Clark, 183; Margr~etj_e, 182; Brickman (see Brueckeman)
Margrietje (see Hanng), 182, 296; MargnetJe (see Bries
Smidt) 182 211; Margrietje Minnelay (see Tall- Dinah (sec Dusochay), 128; Hendrick, 128; Vol-
man), i83, 222; Maria, 182; Maria (see Haring), kert, Hcndricksc, 439
294• Maria (see Wood), 187; Mana Ann, 183; Brinkerhoff, Brinckerhof, Brinkerhof
Ma;ia Gerrits (see Haring), 293; Maria Talama, Albert, 270, 281; Albert, Jr., 271; Altia Hopper,
319· Maria Van Houten, 186; Marretje, 181; Mar- 271; Antje (see Verbryck), 281; Catharine Jane
retj~ (Martha) (see Sickels), 208; Marritje (see (see Cortelyou), 271; Elizabeth Kip, 281; George,
Cuyper), 188; Marretje Josephs Waldron, 181; 272; Harriet B., 271; Hendrick Jorissc, 265, 281;
Martha, 182; Mary, 199; Marya Mab~e, 204; Mary Hendrick, II, 281; Henry, 272; Henry H., 281;
Adelaide 184; Mary Ann, 185; Nettie Burr, 185; Jacob, 270, 272, 281; Jacob A., 281; Jacob G., 272;
Peter, 183, 186; Pieterje (see Haring), 183, 184, Jacob J., 281; Jacobus, 281; Jacobus H., 28~; Jane
186; Rachel (see Du Puw), 193; Rachel Demarest, (see Doremus), 289; James H., 281; Jons, 281;
183; Richard, 183; Richard R., 183; Sara (see Joris Dircksen, 281; Lavina (sec Vreeland), 325;
Mabie), 199; Sarah (see Cooper), 189; Sarah De Margaret Bartholf, 272; Nickasi, 281; Rachel (sec
Pew (see Du Puy), 181; Sarah Van Dolsen, 183; Westervelt), 327; Rachel Romeyn, 281; Sarah
T. J., 199; Trina, 186; Tunis, 199; Vrowtye, 182; (see Demarest), 281 ·
Will B., 193 Britton .
Eliza (see Perine), 151; Elizabeth, 121; El;izabeth
Blish Gertrude Knight, 122; Frances (see Stillwell),
Maggie Peppard Nevius, 394; William, 394
150; Harriet (see Lord), 122; James, 128; !Jlartha
Board (see Moore), 150; Mary, 121, 150; Natha~el, 121,
Cornelius Z., 330, 331; Frederick, 330, 331; Na-
thaniel, 330; Peter, 330 150; Nathaniel, Jr., 121, 150, 151; Nathaniel Lord,
Dr., 122; Nicholas, 130, 150; Rachel (se7 Dongan),
Bodine, Boden 130, 150; Rachel (see Stillwell), 150; ViC?l«:tta (see
Ann, 124; Dorcas, 124; Elsje, 124; James, 124;
Jane Blake, 124; John, 124; John, Jr., 124; Martha, Dissosway), 128; William, 121, 150; William, Jr.,
124; Mary Egberts, 124; Rachel, 124; Vincent, 123, 150
124; Vincent, Jr., 124 Brocas, Miss (see Schuyler), 511
Boeg Brocka (see Brokaw)
Conradus, 127; Jannetie (see Dusochay), 127 Brocker, Mrs. F., 292
Bogert, Bogaert, Bogart · Brockholst . V h ) 465
Albert, 295; Angenitie Jansen (see Durie), 290; Anthony, 465, 520; Judith (see Van cc ten '
Ann Westervelt, 325; Catharine (see Terheun), Brokaw, Broucard, Brocka, BBok~er,.Br~;. Benja-
~10; Christina (see Voorhees), 320; Cornelia Har- Ann (see Van Nest), 443; cnJamm, 443• Cath-
2
Og, 295; Cornelis, 436; Cornelius, 210; David, 199; min, II, 443; Bourged~ 44) •JJ?~thari~c (see
r., 443; Geertje Jans Langendyck Dey, 504; arine (see Van Ars. en ' 443 . Catharine Le
:e~y,J325; Isaac, 279; Johannes, 293; John, 279; Fisher), 439; Cathan~ . Fe~mctje (see Staats),
H ar!a ane (see Van Emburgh), 274; Marretje 6 Hendrccy (sec Lott),
Febre, 442; Ch11:unc~(' 443:
;~ing, 293; Mary (see Salyer), 199; Mary Ann, 442, 454; Ferdman ' 439 443• James P., 445;
29
Th; ~ary Brokaw, 443; Peter, 310; Stephen, 279; 443; Henry, 443; IsaaJ 443 454. John, Lt., 442,
Voo~his G(ysbertse(n), 282, 504; Willemetje Van John, Sr., 443; John, 2, 443 444· Mary (see
Boggs Recsb sec Sloat), 210 443, 445, 454; John, Jr., L{;~n Dyke)', 443; Mary
B · • 0 ert 471 Bogart), 443; Mary (sec 443• Mary (Maretye,
Bo1ce (see Buys) (Maretye) Van Cleave, . Michael, 443; _Phebe
Bond? William 314
0 udinot ' Maria) Van der Veer, 443, Field), 443; Richard,
(see Stull), 443; Phebe (sec ) 443• Sarah Van
Adriana
541; Din V an B «;verhoudt, 541; Ann (see Bibby), 443· Sarah (sec Van Devcnter ' ,
Bowlsby ah (? Tmey) Staats, 453; Tobias, 453, 541 Middlesworth, 443
B man, 539. Th
Ariadne ( se H
untoon), 539, 540; Barbara Parla-
Broucard (see Brokaw)
Brouwer, BrowcrAb 327. John, 405; Lea Dema-
owne, John °mas Edward, 539 Abraham, 137; ram, ' 589
' 386• 398, 399, 401, 406, 409
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

rest, 327; Lucretia (see Luyster), 405; Marietje 131; John (Hans, Johannes), 131, 138; Joseph,
(see Stynmets), 515 129, 130, 131, 136; Joseph, Jr., 131, 138, 139; Nich-
Brownjohn, Mary (see Lott), 63 olas, 131; Stoffel, 131, 147; Tryntie Barents, 131;
Brownsell, Walter, 186 Wyntie (see Simonsen), 131
Brueckeman, Brickman . . • Claesen, Clasz, Claussen
Catharine 280; Coa, 280; Hemnch, 280, Jacob, Claes, 90; Cornelis, 90; Elsje (see Croesen), 142;
280; Lud~g, 280; Reinhard, 280; Wilhelmina, 280 Geertje Dircks (see Van Horn), 317; Gerrit, 90;
Brush, Abner, 196 Grietje (see Van Ness), 89; Hendrick, 90; Jan, 90;
Bryan, "Mr.", 396 John, 410; Martin, 90; Pieter (see Wyckoff), 66,
Buckley 89; William, 142
Ann (see Westbrook), 551; Reuben, 551 Clarius, Peter, 147
Budd, Rilla, 517 Clark, Clarke
Budke Ada Huntoon, 540; Ann Bedell (see G,uyon), 132;
George H., 228; George H., Jr., 228 Benjamin, 389; Benjamin, Jr., 389; Ephraim, 132;
Burchgraeff, Mayken Hendricks (see Van Ness), Gertrude, 132; Henry I., 540; Thomas, 202
521 Clasz, Claussen (see Claesen)
Burr Cleveland, Maggie (see De Wolfe), 294
Aaron, 280; Theodosia, 280 Clinton, De Witt, 229, 231, 315
Burrows, Sarah (see Luyster), 405 Coccifeer (see Cockefair)
Burtsell, Eliza - (see Ryerson), 510 Cock, Cockas (see Coxe)
Bush, Sophia (see Alyea), 276 Cockefair, Coquefaire, Cokcover, Kockyfeer, Kok-
Butler, Henry, 400 kefeer, Coccifeer, Cockefer
Buy, Pieter, 81 Abram, 507; Aeltje, 507; Alexander, 506, 507; Alex-
Buys, Boice ander, III, 507; Alexander, Jr., 507; Alexander
Catrina (Trintje) (see Van Wickle), 468; Jacob, (Sander), 507; Antje, 507; Catrina, 507; Charity,
454 507; Elizabeth (see Phillips), 507; Frederick D.,
Cadmus 507; Jannetje Torner, 507; Jennij Swiner, 507;
Johanna Kind, 507; Johannes (John), 507; John,
Ariantje Cornelissen (see Sip), 323; Catryntje 507; Judick, 507; Judith (see Lawrence), 507;
(see Van Ness), 522 Marytje, 507; Pieter, 507; Saartje, 507; Stephanus,
Cain, Enoch, 440 507; Sylvanus, 507; Thomas, 507
Camman, Albert, 435 Codrington, Thomas, 427
Campbell Coe, Benjamin, 73
Archibald, 333, 462; J. W., 212; John, 464; Mar- Coejeman
garet, 464; Marian, 494; Lord Neill, 427, 441, 462; Andrew, 435; Andries, 427, 434; 435; Aryantje
William, 186, 192 Schuyler, 434; Barent, 434; Barent Pieterse, 434;
Cannon, Rev. Dr., 473 Geertruy (see Lott), 434; Geertruy Staats, 434;
Cape, Sarah (see Van Campen), 547 Jacob Van Doren, 435; Jane Van Doren, 435;
Cardell
Johanna (see Neilson), 434; John Neilson, 435;
Elizabeth (see Bayles) (see Haselbery), 60; Ralph, Mayke, 434; Samuel Staats, 434; Samuel Staats,
60 Jr., 435
Cardale, Thomas, 466, 469 Coert, Koerten (see also Voorhees)
Carlock (see Carlough) Gerret, 77; Guert, 392; Steven, 70
Carlough, Harriet (see Naugle), 273 Coerter
Carson, Mrs. Robert, 410
Carter, Mary (see Watson), 221 Altye (Elsie) (see Thew) (see Snedeker), 216;
Carteret Harmanus, 216
Cokcover (see Cockefair)
Elizabeth, 427, 452, 466; Philip, 150, 265, 306, 322, Cole, Cool
385,386
easier Abraham, Jr., 129; Altic Cornelis (see Stoothoff)
Phillipe, 132; Sarah (see Guyon), 132 (see Couwenhoven), 75; Ann M. (see Dissosway),
Caton 129; Bert, 60; Cornelia Lambertse, 75; Howard,
Margaret (see Crooke), 68; Patrick, 68; Susan 316; Jane (see Packer), 308; Polly (see Wester-
(see Martense) (see Couwenhoven), 68 velt), 327
Chambers, John, 462 Colfax
Charlton Delia-, 512; George Washington, 512; Hester
Magdalena (see Dongan), 130; Richard, 130 Mandeville, 512; Hester (Hetty) Schuyler, 512;
Chastellux, Marquis de, 463 Schuyler, 512; Schuyler, Jr., 512; William,M51~;
Chester, Mrs. C. H., 205 William Washington, Dr., 512; William W., aJ.,
Christie 512
Collier, Colyer
Maria (see Naugle), 305; Maria (se.e Sloat), 210; Antje (see Van Ende), 87; John, 87, 197
Peter, 210; W. C., 187
Christopher, Christophel, Christoffelsz Colve
Anna Catharine (see Stillwell), 131; Barent 131 Jacob, 315; Jannetje Springsteen, 315
147; Geertryd (Charity) (see Hagewout),' 138; Colyer (see Collier)
!fans, 131, 135, 149; Hans, Jr., 131; Heirtry (Char- Commons (see Cumins)
Condit
ity, Geertruy), 130, 131; Jane (see Arrowsmith), John, 541; Sarah-, 541
590
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

Conger, Abraham B., 217 293; Grietje (see Haring) (see De Clark) 190 .
Conklin Jacobus, 123; James, 123·
. ' John
( Gem ·tszen ) ( see Theumszen) • 88·
(see , Margne
Haring)
' · t·'
JC
(see
Charity (see Hopper), 300; Dan, 221
Conover (see Couwenhoven) De Clark), 293; Phebe, 123; Wilhclmus 123
Cook Coteleau (see Cortelyou) '
C. C., 297; Caty Van Ness, 522; Lewis D., 429; Cotilleou (see Cortelyou)
Michael, 522, 532, 535-537; Silas, 538 Cottrell, Abbey E. (see Conover), 400
Cool (see Cole) Counk, Anna, 285
Coon Courter
Mary Staats, 453: Thomas, 453 Eliza Ellen (see Van Houten), 320· Peter, 538;
Cooper, Cuyper, Kuyper William Marten, 320 '
Abraham, 188, 189; Altie Bogaert, 282; Altje, 188; Couwenhoven, Cowenhovcn, Kouwenhoven, Coven-
Annetje (see Haring), 208; Annetje Van Vorst. hoven, Van Couwenhoven, Conover
282; Catharine (see Cornelison), 188; Catrina (see Abbey E. Cottrell, 400; Abbie M. Bishop, 401 •
Newkirk), 307; Claes (see Jansen), 222; Claes Jan- Abigail (see Baxter), 78; Allis, 402; Altjc (se~
Van Dom), 399; Altie Comelis (see Cool) (see
sen, 17_6, 188; Claes .Jansen Van Purmarent, 282; Stoothoff), 75; Ann (see West), 402; Anna (see
Cornelis, 282; Cornelius, 188,189,208,211,282; Cor- Wyckoff), 93; Anne (sec Luyster), 405; Annetje,
nelius C., 282; Cornelius C., Jr., 283; Cornelius 399; Ann Hendrickson, 403; Antje Schenck, 401;
Claesen, 176, 188, 206; Cornelius Clausen, 282; Caroline (see Tallman), 231; Caterina (see Hen-
Daniel, 540; Derick, 282; Dirckje (see Smidt), 211; drickson), 399; Catharine (see Hendrickson), 403;
Elizabeth (see Mabie) (see Salyer), 199; Elizabeth Charlie P., 405; Charlotte Lyall, 401; Cornelius,
(see Sickels), 206; Ellen Mowerson, 283; Garret, 398-399, 400, 401, 403, 406, 408; Cornelius W.,
282; Grietje, 189; Hendrick, 307; Hendrick Claesen, 404; Domenicus, 401; Elizabeth, II, 402; Eliza-
206; John, 282; John, Rev., 283; John Claessen, 188; beth, 401; Ellen (Eleanor) (see Schenck), 399;
Lena Westervelt, 188; Margrietje Banta, 327; Francin:ke (see Hendrickson), 403; Garret. 401;·
Maritje Terneur, 188; Marretie (see Sickels), .208; Garret, 401-402; George, 93; Gerrardine (Dinah)
Marritie Van Dien, 282; Marritje (see Blauvelt), (see Van Wickle), 467; Gerret, 93; Gerrit Wol-
188; Nieltje Stoutenburgh, 282; Peter, 282; Renis, phertse, 75; Hendrick P., 400; Henry P. (Hen-
327; Richard, 282, 283; Sarah (see Blauvelt), 189; drick), 400; Jacob, 77, 401; Jacoba Van Derveer,
Teunis A., 199; Thomas, 282; Thunise, 283; Tryntje 401; Jacometje (see Schenck), 399; Jan, 400--4-01;
Klaesen (see Van Houten), 228; Tunis, Jr., 188, Jannetje (see Schenck), 407; JannetJe (see Van-
189; Tunise (Tunis), 176, 188, 208 derbilt), 399; Jannetje Hendrickson, 403; Jannetje
Coquefaire ( see Cockefair) Pieters Monfoort, 398; John, 78, 401, 402; John
Corbett Lyall, 401; Kitty (see Remsen), 78; Leah, 399;
John, 218, 219; Mary, 201; Mary (see Ludlow), Leah Schenck, 409; Luke, 93; Margaret. 399; Mar-
219; Mrs. Natalie H., 325 garet (Conover) 402; Mary, 399; Mary Ella
Cornell, Comele, Comelise Schenck, 400; Mary Hendrickson, 404; Mary
Frederick Frelinghuysen, Rev., 446; Gitty (Ger- Holmes, 400; Mary Rue, 400; Neeltje (see Van
trude), 58; Guillaume, 57; Isaac, 57, 58; Johannes, Clea£), 399; Neeltje Gerretse (see Schenck), 406;
57; Peter, 57 Neeltje Van Mater, 401; Nelly Hire, 401; Nicasius
Cornelison Janse, 467; Peter, 400, 401, 409; Peter G., 401;
Catharine (see Cooper), 188; Eleanor (see Smith), Peter H., 400; Rachel, 399; Roelof, 403; Rulif C.,
188; Michael, 188 399; Rulif C., 407; Sarah, 399; Sarah (see Schenck),
CCoomwallis, Gen., 461, 463, 464 407, · 409; Sarah Voorheese, 399; Susan, 78; Wil-
rsen liam, 401, 403, 407; William (Conover) 401, 402;
C~stian, 147; Cornelia ' (see Cruser), 142; Cor- William C., 399; William Gerretse, 409; William
n146elius, 134, 135, 137, 142; Daniel, 122, 137; Jacob, Gerritse, 398; William I., 78; Wilson N., 400; Wol-
: Mary (see Mersereau), 146 fert (Wolphert) Gerritsen, 75
~rtelyou, Corteljou, Cortilieu, Coteleau, Cottilleou Couzine (see Cosine)
Mar~n,(144, 145; Addra (see Guyon), 133; Anna Covenhoven (see Couwenhoven)
;:0i.
ana see Van Pelt), 85; Catherine Jane Brink-
271; Comelis (Cornelius), 144; Deborah,
der; B ie:)vertje De Wit, 144; Dorothea (see Van-
Covert (see Cuvert)
Cowenhoven (see Couwenhoven)
144. ee_ , 143, 144; Elizabeth (see Andreuvet), Coxe, Cock, Cockas .
Catharine (see Ryerson), 531; Daniel, 496; Ehnor
ae:i:lizabeth (see Seamons), 144; Francyntie Ashfordsby, 531; Thomas, 531
derve/c~son, 402--4-03; Gerrett, 271; Garetta Van-
144 •J! see Mabon), 271; Jacomintie Van Pelt, Cozine, Cozyns (see Cosine)
Crabb
Ne;ltje c,:~• :1, 84j, 144, 309; Jacques, II, 144; Elizabeth (see Martense), 65; Henry, 65
• e~1t e Van Duyn, 144; Peter, 86,
133
~f;
143
Tir:iothy Pieter Jacques, 144; Teunis, 403; Craig
Austin, Dr., 439; Donald C., 151; Lydia (see
.
Cortri
c h ~. 'Cortreght Schenck), 409; Margaret Fisher, 439
pa
C etrus anne
543.Ennes
s· • 543 · J an, 499, 500; Mana,
• 543; Crane
Barbara Parlaman Bowlsby, 539; B enJanun, • . 539 ;
or~ine, Jotm: ~mon, 543 Joseph, 465; Margaret Van Vechten, 465
Co111ne, Cos . Crawford
Cornell yns, Couzme, Cozine Cozyns
us, 123 ; Garret, 123; Garrit, 123; Grietje, F., 292; George, 411
591
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

Creed fith Wiser, 300; Rachel Ackerman, 317; Samuel,

Augustine, 144; Mary, 144 187
Cresson De Boer
Pierre, 286; Rachel (see Durie) (see Demarest) Martin (see Adriance), 65
(see Vanderlinde), 286 de Bonrepos
Crocheron David, 150; Martha (see Stillwell), 150
Abigail (see Simonsen), 158; Eleanor (see Lisk), De Boog
139; Henry, 148; John, 146, 148; Nathan, 139; Annatje (see Vanderbeek), 316; Barent, 316; Ra-
Sophia (see Mersereau), 146 chel Hoppe, 316
Croesen, Croosen (see Cruser) Decker
Crom Cecilia (see Van Campen), 547; David, 132, 139;
Dirck, 179; Florus Willemse, 176, 179; Tryntie Jan, 544; Magdalena (see Westbrook), 550; Peter,
(see Yorkse), 179; Willem Florus, 179 543; Sarah, 139; Sarah ('see Titsworth), 544, 545;
Crooke Tietje Jans (see Van Campen), 546
Elizabeth, 68; Margaret (see Catori), 68; Philip De Clark, De Klerck
S., Gen., 68; Robert, 68; Robert L., 68; Cropsey, Annetje Van Houten, 191; Daniel, 190-192; Dan-
A.G., 83; Crosby, Henry Barrett, 308 iel, 228, 283, 293; Daniel W., 284; Eliza Haring,
Cruser, Croosen, Kruser, Krusen, Kroesen, Kroosen, 284; Grietje Cozyns (see Haring), 190; Jacobus,
Croesen, Kruse · 190, 191; Margrietje Theuniszen Haring, 293;
Abraham, 130, 136, 142, 432; Annetje, 142; Beletje Marie de Moll, 190; Marretje, 191; Mary (see
(see De Groot), 155; Catharine Van Dyke, 432; Naugle), 305; Sarah Naugle, 283, 284; William,
Charity, 136; Clausia, 136, 155; Closha (Claasje, 283; William (Billy), 284; William, 306
Clausia) Brinckerhof, 136; Cornelia (see Corsen), Deering, Mrs. Frances X., 197
142; Cornelius, 142,155,432; Dirck, 142; Elsje (see Degroot, De Groot
Clasz), 142; Frederick, 432; Garret, 135, 136, 155; Beletje (see Cruser), 155; Belitje Van Schaick,
Garret, II, 136, 142; Garret Dircksen, 141, 142, 328; Efie (see Westervelt), 327; Efie (see Wes-
154; Gerrit, 137; Gertrude Van Tuyl, 136; Helena tervelt), 328; Elizabeth Pieterse (see Demarest),
(see Van Tuyl), 142; Hendrick, 136, 142, 154, 155; 286; Gerret, 179; Hannah Edsall (see Benson),
Henry, 136, 142; John, 136, 142; Klaes, 137; Lena, 179; Johannes, 154, 155; John, 153; Leah (see
136; Maria (see Tysen), 136, 152; Marretje (see Demarest), 286-287; William, 126; Lena (see Mer-
Bergen), 142; Morris Hatfield, 143; Neeltie Jans selis), 508; Maritie (see Tibout), (see Terheun),
(see Staats), 141; Neeltje (see Van Tuyl) (see 309; Peter, 287; Pieter, 328
Rolph), 142 De Hart, De Harte, De Haert, Dehart
Cubberly Abigail, 126; Abigail Jone, 125; Abram, 126; Bal-
Adria (Addra), 122, 136; Anne, 121; Isaac, 121; thasar (Balthazar), 125, 176, 179; Baltus, 125; Cath-
Isaac, II, 122, 135; James, 122; Joseph, 136; Mary arine, 126; Catharine (see Post), .126; Catharine
(see Mersereau), 146; Stephen, 122; Thomas, 146 (see Van Pelt), 125; Daniel, 125; Daniel, Jr., 125;
Cumins (Commons), George, 143, 144 Daniel, III, 126, 146; Edward, 126; Edward, Jr.,
Curtis, F. M., 288 126; Eleanor Van Tine, 126; Elizabeth, 125; Eliza-
Cushman, Marian, 386, 429 beth (see Mersereau), 146; Elizabeth Lipscomb,
Cuvert, Covert 126; Henry, 126; Jacob, 126; John, 126; Magdalen,
Abraham D., 59; Catharine, 59; Cornelia, 59; 126; Margaret Stuyvesant, 125; Matthias, 125, 126;
Emma, 59; Francis M., 59; Helena, 59; Johannis Matthys, 125; Samuel, 125, 126; Samuel, Jr., 126;
(John), 59, 73, 87, 88; Mary, 59; Michael S., 59; Sarah, 125; William, 126
Rebecca (see Ballagh), 59; Sarah, 59; William, 59 De Klerck (see De Clark)
Cuyper (see Cooper) De La Mater, Le Maitre
Cornelia Everts, 521; Hester (see Van Ness) (see
Dalley, John, 394, 431, 473 Speer), 521, 522; Isaac, 521; John, 498, 521
Darnen, Maritie (see Van Ness), 521 De La Montagne, Rachel (see Van Emburgh), 274
De Mandeville, Tryntje Gillis (see Van Derveer),
Danielsen, David, 508 459
Dans Demarest, des Marest, Demaree, De Maree
Anna (see Schenck), 70; Hezekiah, 70 Aarie, 223; Abram, 288, 291; Altie Van Horn, 285;
Darcy, Patrick, 540 Beeletje (see Durie), 291; Beletie, 287; Beletje
Dater (see Romaine), 286; Belinda (see Westervelt),
Adam, 510; Martha (see Ryerson), 510 325; Benjamin, 285, 287; Benjamin (De Maree),
Davenport 286; Casparus (Jasper), 281, 287; Catharine (see
Elizabeth Hyler, 536; Humphrey, 498, 536, 539; Berdan), 503; Charity Haring, 288; Daniel, 285;
Humphrey, Jr., 536; John, 536, 537; Rachel (see David, 265, 284, ~85, 286, 287, 289, 290; David, ~r.,
Hyler), 536, 539; Rachel (see Hyler), 539 285-286, 290; David, Jr., 290; David, II, 285; David,
Davis III, 285; David A., 288; David D., 333; David J.,
Elizabeth Van Vechten, 465; George, 465 288; Elizabeth (see Tallman), 223; Elizabeth
Deats, Hiram, 497 Pieterse De Groot, 286; George C. (Joost), 281;
Deare, jonathan, 397 Gerret, 287; J. J., 202; Jacobus, 285-288, 293; James,
De Baan, De Baun 220; James Brinkerhoff, 281; James I., 278; Jasper
Elizabeth Van Orden (see Bla.uvelt), 187; Hous- (Casparus), 281,287; Jean, Sr., 282; Jean, 284,286,
man, 300; John, 187; John, 317; Josephine Grif- 327; Jean, Jr., 282; Jean, II, 285; Johannes, 288;
592
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

J hannes (John), 287; John, 325; John (Johannes), nah Pierson 504-505. H h
~ • John Rev., 503; Joost (George C.), 281; Joost, ter Schuyle~ 504· iam!nna Schouten, 531; Hcs-
2 7 : La~ence, 536, 537, 538; Lea, 287; Lea (see ~arick), 504: Jan~ Dore:!iu1!2s;;: }33; J,ne (see
295
B '.uwer) (see Westervelt), 327; Leah De Groot, ms, 504; Jeanne (Jane) Bi h annetJc Theu-
z{:_287; Margaret (see Banta), 277; _Margaret (see 533; Margaret, 504; Richard, G~n.~rf04-~~;. ioh~
V n Emburgh), 274; Margaret Hanng, 295; Mar-
g!-et Holdrum, 281; Mar~ri.etje, 2~8; Margrietje
5tee ?ost) ~see H_ughes), 533; Sarah Toc:a, 33 •
eun1s, 531, Thems, 504; Theunis Col 504 sos'
1
( ee Perry) 288; MargnetJe Haring, 287, 293; 509; Thomas 533 ' ·• ' '
Maria Z87· 'Maria (see Durie), 290; Maria (see Diderick, Dide~icks, Diederick
Eli), 285; Maria (see. Haring) (s«:e De!112rest), Grietje Warnaerts Sip, 323; Hans 306 323 513
296; Maria (see Oblems)! 202; ~aria Srmth, 285; Diehl, H., 94 ' ' '
Marie Dreuyn, 286; Mane Soh1er, 284; Mary A., Dirckse, Antje (see Van Giesen) 518
267; Mary Elizabe~~ Vreelan~, 281; Peter, 285; Dirkje, Martje (see Van Giesen),' 518
Peter, Jr., 285; Ph1bp, 202; Pieter, 287; Rachel, Dissossway, Dissosway, Disosway, Du Sauchoy, Du-
287; Rachel Banta, 278; Rachel _Cr.esson•, 286; sochay, Dusosway, Dusway
Rachel Vorhase, 287; Rachel Zabriskie, 287, 288; Ann (see Guyon), 128; Ann (see Winant), 129·
Rebecca (see Westervelt), 327; Samuel, 285-286, Ann M. (see Cole), 129; Annetje (see Beadel), 128;
287, 290; Sarah Brinkerhoff, 281; Saretta, 267. Catharine (see Van Brunt), 128; Catharine Corsell,
128; Charity (see Prall), 128; Cornelius, 128; Cor-
De Mayer, Nicholaes, 84 nelius, Jr., 128, 129; Daniel W., 129; Dinah (see
De Mont, Jannetje (see Van Vechten), 465 Bries), 128; Elizabeth (see Barberie), 128; Eliza-
Denise, Nyssen beth Rossignol, 127; Gabriel, 128, 140; Geertruy
Catharine (see Hendrickson), 404, 410; Elsye Van Deventer, 128; Israel, 128, 129; Israel, Jr.,
Teunise (see Snedeker), 216; Mary (see Schenck), 128, 129, 140; Israel R., 128, 129; Jane, 127; Jan-
408; Teunis, 404, 408; Tunis, 216 netie (see Boeg), 127; Jean, 127; Job, 128; Mag-
Depew, De Pew, Depue, Depui, De Puis, Dupuis, dalene (see Hardewyn), 127; Marc, 127; Marcus, .
Du Puy, Du Puw . 127, 128, 129; Maria, 127; Mark, 127, 128; Mark,
Abraham, 193, 195; Abraham C .. 193; A!1netJe, III, 128, 129; Mary, 128; Mary Baldwin, 128; Sarah,
194· Annetje (see Van Dalsen), 193; AnnetJe Ger- 128· Sarah Denis, 128; Susanna, 127; Susanna Hen-
ret~e 193· Annie Elsten, 192; Benjamin, 547; dri~ks, 128; Susanna Totten, 129; Violetta (see
Brechje (Bridget) (see Smith), 195; Bregje, 194; Britton), 128
Cornelis 193· Elizabeth, 193; Elizabeth (see Blau- Ditmars, Ditmas
velt) 193 195· Elizabeth (see Holdrurn), 195; Henry, 440; John, 85; Maria Elizabeth (see V8;11
Elizabeth 'Whit~, 193; Fran~ois, 181, 192; Garret, Pelt) · 85· Marytje (see Voorhees), 399; Mattie
193; Geertje Williams, 192; Isaac, _193, 194, 19?; (see Hoagland) (see Van Doren), 461; Peter, 440;
Johannes, 194; John, 547; MargrietJe, 194; Maria Phebe (see Van Derveer), 459
(see Van Campen), 547; Maria Van Campen, 547; Dobbs, William, 196 · · 37 452 466
Marretje Wynkoop, 547; Marritje (Marth~) (see Dockwra (Dochrea, Dockera), Wilham, 4 , ,
Cooper), 195; Mary, 193; Moses, 547; Nicholas, Dodd, Dod, Dods Id
John, 534; Lea, 534; Polly - , 534; Dona son,
176, 500; Peter 192, 193, 195, 199; Peter, Jr., 193;
Peter P., 194; Petrus, 193; Pieter, 194, 195; Rachel Mrs. Malcom Montgomery, 468
(see Blanch) 194· Samuel, 500, 548; Sarah (see Dongan, Duncan h 130· M gda-
Blauvelt), 18i; su'sanna (see Van Campen), 547; Abigail (see Simonsen), 148; Jo n( 'B -~on)
Tbeunis, 194; Willem, 192 lena (see Charlton), 1330; 1R3a8c~;~ 1sie 29f. Wal~
130, 150; Thomas, 129, 1 0, , , ' '
De Rapalje (see Rapelyea)
Derfuss, John, 184 ter, 130, 148, 150
DDe Ronde, Maria (see Tallman), 231 Doremus Alb rt 289 • Anna Berdan, 289;
Abraham, 535; e • A~t·e Yong 535; Ben-
t
e Ryck, Abraham, 198 Ann Parlaman, 539, 540; l 535 536. Cornelis
Desh_ler, C!tarles, 386, 429 jamin 536; Cornelis, 289, 49 Iii 536· Eliza-
De Sille, N1casius 81 82 (Corn'elius), 53~ 537); ~~~Fr!hcis, '536; Geor,e,
DDes Marest (see De~arest) beth (see Van 1en , 3 I' 535· Harriet Zabns-
eVouw
289; George, Jr., ~~9 ~~ ~ • 539; James, 539,. 54JO;
0
Ct!tharina Ecker(son) (see Blauvelt), 181; Nich- kie 289; Henry, 3 •

~=
' Brinkerhoff, 289, o-
o s, 181 ~e (see Dey), 533i Ja5n3e9· John 289, 520, 535,
DeWint J 536• Johann1s, , j • 289• Lena
iAntje) Kermer, 191, 212; Anna Maria (see
hanne~ t~ l91; Jemima (see Smidt), 212; Jo-
:;:_nj~j 10, Ii, 535; John rcs::~.:w~ut~S:),
Ma~deville, 536; Margare89· Maria Lutkins,
~:g! •
De Witt' 12 ; John, 190, 191 Maria (see Hopper), 2 , Winkel, 535; Peter,
MarrpetjtrUe,:8:J6:i~heis:ier), 55345J.~i~:~!.
Dellenry
Woi{ 54
D 9 .• J ohn H., 549; Katrena (see Lott), 63 289; e , '<Huntoon , '
Cathari e Wolfe Sarah Margaret seeas . Capt., 535-540
ing, 2 ~eMHar!ng, 294; Charles, 294; John Har- Thomas, 535; Thom , 436 437;
94
Dey, _Dye' agg1e Cleveland, 294; Martin, 294 Doty, Doughty455 456· Joseph, 456; Joshua, '
Abigail L · Jane Staats, , ' ·
504 50g. ewis~ 533; Ann, 504; Anneken Schouten, Joshua, Jr.! 4(37 Demarest), 286
Jansen, s~~rGck, ~33; Dirck, 504, 505, 509; Dirck Dreuyn, Maria see 593
• eertJe Jans Langendyck, 504; Han-
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

Du Bois Ennes
Abraham, 454; Elizabeth (see Goetschius), 298; Alex~der, 542, 543; Be1:1jamin, 542; Catharine (see
Margaret (see Staats), 454 Cortright), _543; Comeli~, 542; Cornelia Viervant,
Duffie 542; C(!rnehus, 54~; Daruel, 5~2;_ Elena Hornbeck,
Alfred Napoleon, 156; Auguste, Count, 156; Mary 542; Elizabeth Qwck, 542; GrtetJe Van Etten, 542·
Ann (see Pelton), 156 John, 542; Joseph, 542; Magdalena Van Etten 542!
Duncan (see Dongan) ~argriet (see Ho~beck), 542; Will!a~ 551:'wu~
Dunch, Walter, 59 liam, 542, 543; William, Jr., 543; William, Sr., 542
D.unn Eustace, Joseph, 212
David, 442; John R., 442; Matthew H., 442 Evans, Helen (see Lefferts), 62
Dunham, Azariah, 473 Everts, Cornelia (see Le Maitre), 521
Dunster, Daniel D., 441
Du Poins, Nicholas, 179 Fall, Mary (see Smock), 393
Dupuis, Du Puw, Du Puy (see Depew) Fauconier, Peter, 229
Durie, Du Rie, Durje, Durji, Duryea, Duryee Feddans, Rensje (see Johannes), 60
Abraham, 87, 69; Angenitie Jansen Bogart, 290; Ferdon, Verdon
Antic (see Schenck), 69; Beeletje Demarest, 291; Jacob, 315; Jan, 305; Jean, 305; Lea (see Ryker),
Charles, 73; Charles, Capt., 72; Cornelia (see Ack- 305; Lea Poulusse, 305
erman) (see Van Horn), 291; Cornelia (see Fessenden, C. E., 213
Schenck), 72; David, 290, 291; Garret, 290; Gar- Field
ret J., 290; Jan, 290; Jan, Jr., 328; Jannetje, 290; Anthony, 389; Benjamin, 390; Benjamin M., 390;
Jean, 285, 286, 291; John, 277, 289, 290; John, Jr., Dennis, 390; Dinah Vermeule, 390; Elizabeth
290; John, III, 290; John D., 291; John P., 290, Fisher, 439; Elizabeth Smock, 390; Hannah (see
291; Margaret, 290; Margrietje (see Banta), 277; Staats), 445; Hannah Lane, 445; Hendrick, 445;
Margrietje (Margrita), 332-333; Margrietje Van Jeremiah, 390, 391; Jeremiah, Jr., 389; Jeremiah,
Horn, 291; Margrita (see Zabriskie), 229, 332; Judge, 296, 389, 465; John, 389, 396, 439; John, II,
Margrite, 290; Maria Demarest, 290; Maria Post, 389; JohnA.,390;John D., 390; Margaret,389; Mar-
290; Nicholas, 290; Peter, 290; Pieter, 290; Rachel garet (see Van Deventer), 389, 391, 396; Mary
Cresson Demarest, 286, 290; Richard, 538; Sarah Kline, 390; Mary Van Vechten Teneicke, 389, 396,
(see Westervelt), 328; Wyntie Lydecker, 290 465; Michael, 389,396; Phebe Brokaw, 443; Richard
Durje, Duryea, Duryee (see Durie) (Dirck), 390; Richard J., Capt., 390, 396; Richard
Du Sauchoy (see Dissossway) R., 390, 396; Robert, 389; Sarah (see Pool), 389, 391
Dusenberry Filips (see Phillips)
Catharine Hendrickson, 403; Henry, 403 Fisher, Visscher
Dusochay, Dusosway, Dusway (see Dissossway) Abraham, 439; Catharine Brokaw, 439; Effie, 439;
Dutcher Elizabeth (see Field), 439; Jl!lizabeth (Lybete or
Cornelius, 499; Harold, 205 Libshe) Bries, 439; Elizabeth Smith, 439; Hendrick,
Duykinck, Richard, 446 Sr., 438; Hendrick, 437, 438, 439, 454; Hendrick,
Dyckman Jr., 439; Jeremiah, 439; John, 439; Margaret (see
Jan, 303; Rebecca Waldron Nagel, 303 Craig), 439; Margaret McCrae, 439; Mary (see
Dye (see Dey) Fulkerson), 439; Minne, 439; Nellie (see Suydam),
439; Volkert, 439
Eckor, Captain, 295 Fitchett, James, 135
Earle, Thomasina (see Hallenbeck) (see Van Alen), Fitts, J. L., 526
312 Flemer, William, 398
Eaton, Margaret (see Berrien), 431 Folkert, Fulkerse, Fulkerson
Eckerson, Eckeson A.ntie (see Lott), 63; Claes, 63; Jacob, 439; Mary
Christian D., 195; Cornelius, 293; David, 195; David Fisher, 439
D., 195; Elizabeth (see Haring), 295; Gertruyd (see Fontine
Vanderbilt), 227; Hannah Maria (see Naugle), 304; Charles, 393; Lea (see Smock), 393
Jan, 227; Margaret ,(see Banta), 277; Maria Har- Foreest, Isaak, 64
mg, 293; Mary Hanng, 295; Rachel Conkling 195 Fowler
Edsall ' Everett, 187; Jane (see Tise) (see Newkirk), 307;
Eliz~beth (see Berrien), 431; Jannetje Stryker John, 187
Bemen, 431; Samuel, 306, 431 Francisco
Egans, Adelaide Sykes, 132 Henry, 523; John, 231; Samuel, 229
Egbert Franconier, Magdalene (see Valleau), 279
Abigail (see Simonsen), 148; Stephen 148 Fransen, Thomas, 276
Eith, William, 149 ' Freeman
Elbertse, Elbert, Capt. (see Stoothoff) 66 67 75 Margaret Staats, 456, 457; Reuben H., 456, 457
Eli ' ' ' Frelinghuysen B h,
Abraham, 285; Maria Demarest, 285 Ann Yard, 447; Catherine, 447; Dinah VaJ? erg
Emans, Emmons, Emons 436; Elizabeth Van Vechten, 447; Fredenc;, ::::
Abraham, 69; Anna (see Berrien), 433; Sara (see 460; Frederick, Gen., 447; Gertrude Sche:~ • :
Schenck), 69; Sara (see Stynmets), 515 John, Gen., 447, 448, 454; John, Rev., 6S 447
Embury, Aymar, II, 267 Joseph, Senator, 436; Louisa Mercer, 447: ;
Emmons, Emons (see Emans) 447; Theodorus, 447; Theodorus Jacobus, 43
594
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

F nch Elizabeth (see Van Hom), 462 Gross, Francis, 90

/e Abigail (see Suydam), 395 Guerrin, Jean, 225
F~erson, Fu}kerse (see Folkert) Guilliamse (see Williamse)
Gulick, Heuleck, Heuluk
Benjamin, 440; Derick, 440; Henry 440· Joachim
Gaines'· Ezekiel, Dr., 537 440; John, 440; William, 440 ' ' '
Qarderuer, "Mrs., ,; 295 Gurd, John A., 287
Gardner, Richard, 542, 543 Guterl, Frederick, 205
Garnier, Mrs. E .., 316 . . Guyon
Garretson, Garrison,. Gerrits, Gerntse (see also Van
Wagoner), Gerntszen . Addra (see Cortelyou), 133; Ann (see Dissosway)
Aaron G., 312; Abram, 292; AntJe ~eltse, 292; 128, 133; Ann Bedell (see Clark), 132; Jacque~
Bridget (see Van Houten), 319; ClaesJe (see Van (James), 132; Jacques, 132; James, Capt. 132 133·
Winkle), 525; Cornelis, 525; Cosyn, 293; Elizabeth, James, IV, 132; James, Major, 132; Jo~eph' 128:
292· Frowtje, 292; Garret, 292; Garret (Gerretje), Joseph, II, 133, 134; Joseph, III, 133, 144· 'Mary
292! Geertje Ryerse, 292; Gerretje (Garret), 292; (see Holmes), 132; Sarah (see Casier), 132'
Ge;rit, 291-292, 523, 525; Gerrit, II, 292; Gerrit
Gerritse, 523; Hannanus, 136; Helena, 292; Hessel, Haddock, Roger, 197
292; Jannetje (see Stynmets), 514; Johannes (John Haelig, Julia, 440
P.), 292; John, III, 395; John, Sr., 395; John Henry, Hagaman (see Hageman)
Jr., 395, 396; Lambert. 121; Lea, 292; Mary (see Hagawout, Hagewout (see Haughwout)
Britton), 121; Mary Romaine, 292; Matilda (see Hageman (see Hegeman)
Voorhees), 395; Neesje, 292; Peter, 292; Peter, Jr., Hagen
292; Ralph, 292; Rem, 395; Vrowtje Hessels, 292; Louis, 306; Mary (see Sneden), 220; Stephen, 220
Hagoute (see Haughwout)
Vrowtie, 293 Hague, Albert B., 280
Garrish Haldron (see Holdrum)
Arriet, Suydam, 468; Michael, 468
Garrison (see Garretson) Hall, Richard, 462
Hallenbeck
Gaston Gerrit, 312; Thomasina Earle, 312
Elizabeth Van Vechten Frelinghuysen, 447; John,
435; John I., 447; Margaret (see Mellick), 449 Hamilton, John, 320
Gates, Gen., 549 Hand, H. B., 279
Hanker, Esther (see Ten Eyck), 458
Gerbrantz, Daniel, 138 Hansen, Hans, 76
Gerrebrantse, Metje (see Van Houten), 520 Hanson, Margaret (see Ryerson), 510
Gerlach, Karl H., 213 Hardenbergh, Hardenburgh
Gerrits, Gerritse, Gerritszen (see Garretson) Dinah Van Bergh Frelinghuysen, 436; Jacob R.,
Geslar, Peter, 197 436; Jacob Rutzen, Rev., 391, 436, 447; James,
Gesnar, Jacob, 220 . Rev., 460; Maria (see Van Derveer), 460; Mary
Girard, French Minister, 455
Glasel, Leo, 195 Margaret Lowe, 391
Glazier Hardewyn
Ida, 447; "Mr.," 447 Magdelene (see Dusochay), 127; Martyn, 127
Goebel, Jacob, 229 Hardwick, John, 229
Goelet, Goelett Haring, Herring
Jane (see Zabriskie), 332; Peter, 332 Aaltye, 295; Abraham, 295,296; Abraham A., 296;
Go e~schi us, Goetschi Abraham A., Jr., 296; Abraham B., 296; Abraham
ftzabeth Du Bois, 298; Esther Werndtlin, 230; F., 295; Abraham I., 294; Abraham. J., 208; Abra-
.orge E., 298; Hendricus, 298; Johannes Hen- ham Janse, 222; Abram, 295? AeltJe, 295; Aelty~
Van Dalsen 293· Anna Mana (see Mabie), 19~,
~kus, 230; John, 230, 231; John Henry, 298; Mau- Annetje, 293; A~etje (see Cuyper), ~08; (Brec~e
S~e, h23 o, 298; Maurice, 298; Rachel Zabriskie, 230; Jans (see Tallman), 222, 231; Cath~nne see
Goldfn en J., 298; Stephanus, 230, 298 • Catherine 295; Cathanne Lent, 296,
Wolfe) • 294 •
o!~:u4~{ Neeltje Schenck Hendrickson, 404
'
Classje (see Van ~ent), 19B 8 : Chr:)n·ty-. (see
rest) 288· Comeba (see oga , ..9 22 C syn
Dema-
5. Cornelia
Gord , aude, 439
Goutdn, Duchess of, 449 450 Lent' 294:295; Cornelius, 293; Cosyn, 2 D; vid A
Gou • Robert, 538 ' Jans;, 293,296; co1,~e,~87 :2~;.zm~:::~ (s!e TalC
verneur 296; David J., 1,91;. i~Talj~' 295• Dirkie (see
Isaac 391.• J 0 h anna (see Low), 391
Graha~ man), 222; Du1ekje Cl k) 284' Eliza-
Naugle), 304; EEli!a ~s;h 'fs!e Bi!uv~lt) (see _Du
Ann (see Le ) 1
8
liarn, 198• I t , 98; James, 427, 446; John Wil-
Gravestein' · pencer, 185, 198; Philip, 198
beth, 293, 295; iza e Holdrum) 297; Eliza-
Puw), 193; ~lizabeth 1~eEli abeth Biauvelt, 296;
beth (see Sickels), 20 • zd • k 294 295, 296,
Benjamin 220 Ra
Graydon c' ; chel (see Sneden), 220 Elizabeth Eckerson, 295; Fil ~ic G 295 • Garret
Greene , apt., 463 304; Frederick A., 295; ?re e~. Gri~tje (see Van
Griffith Gen., 463, 465 F., 295; Gerret, 295; !)eBrrtt!;/ 198 . Grietje Cozyns
Ida (see M
De Baun), fo~s), 300; Josephine (see Wiser) (see (see De Clark), 190;
Honshy, 182; Isaac,
[:;~:::•c.,
Houten), 228; GrietJe og '
,
295· HenrY, 290:
br., 197; Jan,
595
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

294-295; Jan Cosyn, 208, 293, 294, 295, 296; Jan F., Henderson, Hendrick, II, 403, 404
295; Jan Pietersen, 190,222,293; Jannetje Verbryck, Hendrickson, Hendricks, Hendricksz
296; Johannes J., 293-294; Johannes Pietersen, 193; Ann (see Couwenhoven, 403; Anne Schenck 410·
John, 197; John, Jr., 197; John, II, 293; John A., Antje (see Van Nostrandt), 404; Caterina Co~wen~
294, 296; Kobus, 295; Lettie (Letty) (see Za- hoven, 399; Catharine, 403; Catharine (see Dusen-
briskie), 295; Margaret, 294, 295; Margaret · (see berry), 403; Catharine Couwenhoven, 403; Catha-
Demarest), 295; Margaret Blauvelt, 294; Mar- rine Denise, 404, 410; Catharine Van Dyke 402·
grietje, 295; Margrietje (see Blauvelt), 182; Mar- Cornelius, 403; Cyrenius, 404; Cyrenius n' 404!
grietje (see Demarest), 287, 293; Margrietje (see Daniel, 399, 402, 403; Daniel, III, 404; Daniel D.'
Van Orden), 294; Margrietje Blauvelt, 296; Mar- Col., 403; Daniel, "Dominic," 403, 404, 408; Denise'
grietje Bogart, 183; Margrietje Cosyns (Gcrrits- 410; Elizabeth, 181; Ellen Hyres, 410; Francink~
zen) Theuniszen, 293; Maria, 295; Maria (see Covenhoven, 403; Francyntie (see Cortelyou); 402-
Eckerson), 293; Maria (see Verbryck), 296; Maria 403; Garret, 404, 410; Gerrit, 180; Geesie (see
Alyea, 296; Maria Blauvelt, 294; Maria Demarest, Schenck), 402; Geertje (see Hopper), 299; Helena
296; Maria Gerrits Blauvelt, 293; Mariah Van Or- Van Lieu, 404; Hendrick, 402, 410; Hendrick, III,
den, 294; Maria Smith, 295; Marretje (see Bogert), 404; Hendrick, IV, 404; Henry Denise, 404; Ida
293; Mary (see Eckerson), 295; Mary Daniel (see Van Mater, 404; James Patterson, 403; Jannetje
Ackerman), 318; Nicholas J., 296; Peter Janse, (see Couwenhoven), 403; John, 139,402,404; John
198; Petrus, 295; Pieter, 183, 293; Pieter Jansen, Schenck, 410; Josyntie Thomas (see Wesselszen},
293; Pieterje (see Blauvelt), 183; Rachel, 293, 295; 180; Marretje Lamberts Moll, 180; Mayke (see Van
Sally, "Aunt." 316; Samuel, 197; Sarah, 293; Sarah Mater), 402; Mary (see Couwenhoven), 404; Neel-
(see Tallman), 207 tie (see Cruser), 142; Neeltje (see Van Mater),
Harmensen, Harmenson, Harmensz, Harminsone, 404; Neeltje Schenck, 404; Nelly Van Doom
Harmanszen Smock, 404; Phebe Van Mater, 404; Teuntje (see
Annetje (see Van Wagening), 515; Douwe (see Holmes), 402; Tryntje, 404; William, 403, '404;
Tallman), 222; Femmetje (see Lefferts), 61; William, II, 403; William Henry, 403; Volckert.
Geertze, 392; Jan (John), 135, 145; Stoffel, 82; 142
Tryntje Claes (see Van Brunt), 82 Hennion
Harris, Helen (see Vreeland), 325 David Danielsen, 508; John, 534; Lea Dodd, 534;
Hart, Thomas, 428, 44-0, 495, 503, 504, 508 Theunis, 508
Hartmans, Fitje, 325 Herbert, John, 404, 464
Haselbery Hermans, Hermanse (see Harmensen)
Elizabeth (see Cardell) (see Bayles), 60; Isaac, 60 Herring (see Haring)
Hassenberger Hessels
Anna Catharina (see Parlaman), 538; Hans Wen- Geertje (see Ryerson), 510; Vrowtje (see Garret-
del, 538 son), 292
Haughwout. Hagoute, Hagawout, Hagewout Heuleck, Heuluk (see Gulick)
Abraham, 135; Altie, 135; Ann (see Lisk), 138, Hewes, Joseph, 397
139; Catrina (see Brestead), 130, 137, 138; Dirckje Hicks
(Derickey, Derrickje) (see Smith), 130, 137, 138; Cornelia, 60; Sarah, 60; Thomas, 60
Dirckje Egberts, 135; Egbert, 135, 137, 138; Hildebrand, Jannetie (see Le Sueur), 302
Eleanor, 138; Eleanor Garrebrants (Nelly), 138; Hiler (see Hyler)
Elizabeth (see Merrill), 138; Femmetje Hermans; Hillyn, John B., 148
135; Francis, 138; Geertie, 135; Gcertryd (Charity) Hire, Nelly (see Conover), 401
(see Christopher), 137, 138; Hannah Bogert, 138; Hirsch, Mrs. Catharine, 195
Hermettie, 135; Isaac, 135; Jacob, 135, 137; John, Hoagland, Hoogland, Hooglant
135; Leah, 135; Leffert, 135; Leffert Pietersen (see Christopher, 428; Cornelius Dircksen, 70; Fem-
Pietersen), 61; Margreta (Maritie), 137, 138; Mari- metie, 67; Mattie Ditmars, 461
tie (see Simonson), 130; Neeltje (Nelly) (see Brat), Hoffman
130, 137; Neeltie (Neeltje, Nelly) Bakker, 137; David, 196; Hermanus, 196, 197; Hermanus, Jr.,
Nicholas, 130, 137, 138; Pieter (Peter), 135, 137, 197; Jurry, 196, 197; William, 196
138, 146; Pieter Janse, 135; Pieter Pietersen, 130, Hogencamp, Hogenkamp .
131, 135, 137, 145; Peter, 130, 137, 138 Aeltje (Aletta) (see Sickels), 208, 209; A~ltJe ( ~e
Hausschild, Hawshill (see Housel) Vanderbilt), 209; John Everett, 187; Martinas, 2 •
Hazard, Jonathan, 201, 219 209, 505; William S., 505
Hegeman, Hagaman, Hageman
Andrew, 88; Dorothy Ann (see Onderdonk), 88; Holdrum, Haldron 297 •
Abraham, 297; Catherine (see Wanamaker, :
Evert, 62; Femmetje (see Lefferts) (see Schenck), Claes, 297; Cornelia Van Tiehoven f!olst, 29~:
62, 67; Jacobus, 465; Jane Van Vechten, 465; Mar-
garet (see Ten Eyck), 458; Peterneltje Van
i
Cornelius, 297; Cornelius C., 297; Corneltu~ J., 1 :
Elizabeth (see Depew), 195; Elizabeth Hanng, 2( 7•
Wickelen, 467; Rem Josephse, 467 James C., 195, 297; John, 297; Margaret.. s~e
Heina, C. G. F., 286 Demarest) 281 · Margrietje Peters, 297; Willta •
Hellakers, Helleker (see also Swart) 195, 297; Willia:n, Jr., 297; William C., 297
Jacob (see Swaert), 81; Jacob, 82; Katherine (see Holmes h 132
Roeloffsen), 82; Tryntje Jacobs (or Teunis) (see Ann (see Perine), 150; Jonathan, 402; JMep '(se~
Stryker), 82; William, 82 150 151; Mary (see Conover), 400; ary diah
Helm, Maria (see Westbrook), 551 Guyon), 132; Mary (see Taylor), 412; Oba '
596
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

; Samuel, 412; Sarah, 150; Teuntje Hendrick- 1n,art (lnyard), Yellis (Yelis) 135 145
121 lmans, John, 385,427,437,452,466 '
son,
· 402d . 29'/ Jacobs, Tryntje (see Van Winkle), 524
Holst,la
Hoog n'
d A nes
Ho~glant (see Hoagland)
H b k)
Jacobsen, Franz, 276
Hoornbeck (see orn ec Jacobus
Hoppa Hoppe, Hoppen Alfred, 542; Ephraim, 542; Rachel 542· S W 536·
Hflir~am, 299; Abram, 274; Altia (see Brinker- Sarah (see Van Ness), 523; Timothy 542· Wil' son'
hoff), 271; Andrew, Gen., 289; A:ndrew W., 1~9, 536 ' ' '
13• Andries 298, 299, 300; AntJe, 300; Chanty Jacobusse
3( e~ Ackerm~). 275; Charity Conklin, 300; Cor- Annatje Van Ness, 522; Catryntje Roelofs (see
s lia 299• Cornelia (see Terheun), 310; D. L., 199; Van Ness), 522; Cobus, 522; Gerrit, 522; Rachel,
Eliz;beth'Kip, 298; G.? 299; Garret I., 313~ Geertje 522; Roeloff, 522
Hendricks, 299; Gemt, 298, 299; Hendrick, 299, James II, 385
312· Henry, 299, 300; Isaac A., 509; Jacob, 299, 300; James, John, 179
Jo~ 298 299; John, Capt., 299; John B., 313; John Jans, Janse, Jansen
I 299 3fo• Lea Hendrickse (see Zabriskie), 330; Claes, 176, 188; Claes (see Kuyper), 222; Cornelius,
Marie'(see Zabriskie), 329; Maria Janse, 312; Maria 61; Elsje (see Vanderbeek), 315; Frederick, 453;
Terhune, 299, 310; Marytye (see Ack~rman), 275; Grietje, 453; Jannetie (see Van Hom) (see Van
Rachel (see De Boog), 316; Rachel (see Van Bus- Buskirk), 317; Jannetje (see Van Hoom) (see Van
Buskirk), 314; Johannes, 72; Maria (see Hopper),
kirk), 314 312; Pieter, 293; Saratie (see Perry), 204; Stephen,
Hornbeck, Hoombeck 69; Susanna (see Schenck), 72; Teunis, 59
Elena (see Ennes), 542; Jacobus, 542; Margriet
Ennes, 542; Sarah (see Titsworth), 544; Wamaer, Jefferson, Joseph, 311, 312
544 Jenkins, John G., 59
Horne Johannes
Abraham, 205; J., 205; Margaret (see Perry), 205 Gertruy (see Van Sickelen), 60; Minne, 60, 176;
Rensje (see Feddans), 60
Hosman, I. S., 212
Housel, Howsel, Howzel, Houselt, Hausschild, Haw- Johnson
Ann, 191; Arthur, 191; James, 141; Jeremiah, Gen.,
shill, Houshilt, Houshell, 74; John, 525; Mary Jane (see Winant), 141; "Mr."
Anna-, 527-528; Catharina-, 527; Gasper, 408; Peter, 154; Sarah Ann (see Wyckoff), 74
527; Jacob, 527-528; Johannes, 528; Johannis, 527;
John, 528; Marten, 527; Matthias, 527, 528; Neeltje Johnston .
Andrew, 439; Catharine (see La Rue), (see Mel-
- , 527; Peter, 527; William, 527, 528 lick), 449; John, 427, 458, 522
Housman, Huysman
Abraham, 300; Abraham, II, 300; Geesie, 300; Jones · )
Abraham 131 • Catharine Marston (see Martling ,
Gerrebreght Terhune, 300; Grietje Ackerman, 300; 124; Edith, 532; J. H., 124; Richard, 466
Isaac, 300 Joosten, Rutger (see Van Brunt), 81
Howard
Daniel, 537; Tex, 549 Julius
Irving, 395; Rose, 395
Howe, Lord, 411 438 455
Howell ' ' , Kelly
H Edwfd, 453; George, 469; Martin, 432 Patrick, 410; William, 540
Ii0 :be., Howzel (see Housel) . Kemble, Robert T., 467
Hq ard, Elias, 88 Kennedy S h 1 511
Iinde, Catharine (see Low) 391 Archibald, 511; Maria Walter c uy er,
nested, p L 185 , Kershow, John D., 445
Hughes · ·• Kiersen, Sarah (see Naugle),. 304) 517
"M " Kiersted, Dorcas (see Van Dien '
liun/°ci!~; Sarah Dey Post, 533 Kikendahl (see Kuykendall) a Henclrina),
liunt~on es W., 139 Kind (Kint) Johanna (Anna, Hann'
Ada (see Clark) (see Cockefair), 507
't)osiah p , 540; Ariadne Bowlsby, 539, 540;
·, 539• 540 ; Sarah Margaret Doremus, 540 Kingsland 11. Isasc 511 ; :Margaret,
Hester (see Schuyler), 5 6'. Martha, 506; Martha
qlJrd
Nathaniel, G 506; Margaret Stewart, ~01 •265· Joseph, 506; Jo-
:utcheson, Geen., 411; Phebe (see Taylor) 411 Ackerman, 506; Natbame '506 ' ·
b utchins, Jobnorge, 499, 546 • seph, III, 506; Joseph, Sr.,
QUtton '196
tines Blanch 22
1ck~ls), 22 . ' 6; Anna, 226; Elizabeth (see
Kint (see Kind)
KiKi>~:fm, 3 • (see
301 ;. A;J!:i!;Yc~!~ ;}in~v:~~~B!!i:
Terheun), 309
6
bJ. Richard .,.;.,~Wen.~, 226; Isaac 226· John 226·
QU:Ysrna ' .._, illiam, 226 ' ' ' ' • ) 298· Elsie an drick
li:vler bnil(see Housman) Elizabeth (see Hopper ~dri~k Jr., 301; Hen 301'
tu; Q er 301 • Hendrick, 301H; Hery 301: Henry, Ji:jg)e, s2s!
larnaab)eth (see Daven ) . .
Oave~ • 539; Nicholasp~~, 536; Marytie (see Par-
, . k
Hendnc sen, J'
300' en ' •
etje (see Van
W1JJ~e ,
II 301;,
li:vree ifurt, 536 539 ' • 539; Peter, 536; Rachel Henry PB 3Df, :Clt Nicasius, 3olb.1:f:tso1:525;
' en (se: Ii . JannetHje 30an1 .apete; H,, II, 302; i , 597
endnckson), 410 Peter ., •
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

Tryntje Lubberts, 300; Willemyntje Van Winkle, 507; Judith Cockefair, 507; Julia Beach (see Well 8)
472; Thomas, 385 ,
301 Lee
Kirberger . Harry, Gen., 463; Henry, 276
Gottfried, 448; Maria Catherina (see Mellick), 448
Le Febre, Catharine (see Brokaw), 442
Kirchhoffer, Xavier, 145 Lefferts, Leffertze
Kirkbride, Joseph, 496, 499, 548 Eliza, 62; Femmetje (see Hegeman), 62; Femmetje
Kleinrock, A. D., 395 (see Hermans), 61; Helen (sec Evans), 62· Ida
Kline, Mary (see Field), 390 (see Suydam) (see Van Pelt), 61, 85; Jacob~ 62
Kniffin, H. S., 297 85; Ja!f!es, 62; James, VIII, 62; Jan (John),' 61;
Knox, Gen., 460 Jannctie, 62; John, VII, 62; John, Sen., 62; Lem-
Koch, Carl E., 292 metje (see Vanderbilt), 61; Marie Lott, 62; Pieter
Kockyfeer (see Cockefair)
Koerten (sec Coerte), (see also Voorhees) 61; Pieter Janse, 61; Pieter, Ill, 62; Sarah (se~
Kokkefeer (see Cockefair) Martense), 61
Korn, E., 545 Leisler, Jacob, 511
Kouwenhoven (see Couwenhoven) Le Maitre (see De La Mater)
Krankheyt (see also Siboutsen), Jacobus 91 Lent
Kroese, Kroesen, Kroosen, Kruse, Krusen, Kruser Abraham, 91, 92; Abram, 198; Adolph, 92, 198;
(see Cruser) Ann, 92; Ann (see Graham), 198; Anna Catherine
Kuykendall, Kuykendal, Kikendahl, (see Meyer), 92; Catharine (see Haring), 296;
Catrina (see Titsworth), 545; Jacob, 499; Jacob, Catrina, 92; Catrina (see Siboutsen), 91; Claasje
550, 551; Peter, 500 (see Haring), 198; Cornelia (see Haring), 294-
Kuyper (see Cooper) 295; Daniel, 92; Elizabeth, 92; Isaac, 92; Jacob,
Kyte 92; Jacobus, 92; (James), 198; Margaret (see
Jacob, 543; John, 543 Rapalje), 92; Maria, 92, 198; Peter, 198; Rensie
(sec Rapelye), 92; Ryck, 92; Ryck Abrahamsen,
Lackerman (see Lakeman) 91, 198; Sarah Gesner, 198; Sarah Haring, 198;
Lafayette, Marquis de, 510 Wyntie, 92
La Grange, Elizabeth (see Van Vechten), 466 Leonard
Lake Mary (see Berrien), 431; Samuel, 431; Thomas,
Alice Stillwell (see Osborne), 133; Daniel, 133; Judge, 431
Daniel, Jr., 133; Daniel III, 133; Daniel, IV, 133; Leroe, Laroe, La Rue
Daniel W., 133, 134; Elizabeth (see Tysen), 134; Catharine (see Smidt), 211; Catharine Johnston,
John, 133; Joseph, 133; Mary Gifford, 134; Sarah, 449; Henry, 211; Maria (see Smidt), 211; Othnicl,
133; Sarah Ann (see Perine), 151; William, 133 449; Samuel, 211; Susanna (see Voorhees), 320
Lakeman, Lakerman, Lakermans, Lalman, Larrman, Leslie, George, 448
Lackerman, Lockerman, Lockman Le Sueur (see Lozier)
Abraham, 143, 144; Abraham, Jr., 143; Anje, 143; Lewis
Catharine, 143; Elizabeth, 143; Hester (Esther), Abigail (see Dey), 533; Mrs. T. L., 396
143, 144; Isaac, 143; Jacob, 143; Lewis, 143; Mary, Lczere (see Lozier)
143; Peter, 143; Sara (see Van Tuyl), 144 Lincoln, Gen., 464
Lane (see also Van Pelt) Linford, Margaret (see Sip), 516
Abraham, 442, 444, 445; Adriaen, 441, 496; Arie, Ling, Matthew, 544
441, 442; Aurie, 443; Eleanor (Nelly) (see Van Lisk
Ann (see Haughwout), 138; Egbert, 139; Eleanor
Dyke), 397; Elizabeth, 445; Gilbert A. (Guisbert), (see Crocheron), 139; John, 139; Phebe, 139;
442; Gilbert A., 444; Gilbert W., 444; Gisbert (Guis-
bert, Gilbert), 427, 441, 442, 444; Hannah, 442; Thomas, 138, 139
Hannah (see Field), 445; Jane, 442; Jane (see Ten Livingston, Gov., 463
Eyck), 445; Jannetje Rappelyea, 444; Jannetje Van L'Heureaux, Mrs. A. J., 271
Syckelcn, 441; Lucretia, 442; Mariah (sec Mc- L'Hommedieu, Page, 394
Gowen), 445; Martyntje Smock, 441; Mary Lockerman (sec Lakeman)
(Maretyc, Maria) Van der Veer Brokaw, 443,444; Lockhart, George, 176, 218
Matthias, 397; Sarah (see Vroom), 445; Tunis, 444, Lockman (see Lakeman)
445; William, 441-446 Lodewyck, Mackelt Stoffels, 546
Lange, George, 205 Longfield, Cornelius, 385
Langcndyck, Gecrtje Jans (sec Dey) (see Bogaert), Longstreet, Lydia (see Van Dyke), 398
504 Lord
Langstraat, Maayke (Mercy) (sec Van Siclcn), 530 Harriet (sec Britton), 122; Mary (sec Van Vcch-
Lansdale, Thomas, 463 ten), 466
Larmour, Catharine (sec Westervelt), 325 Losier (see Lozier)
Laroe, La Rue (see Leroe) Lott
Latourrette, La Tourette, La Tourrette Abraham, 541; Annetie (sec Williamson), 79; Annie
Cornelius Wyckoff, 456, 457; Eugene Du Bois, 457; (sec Bennett), 64; Antle (sec Folkert), 63; Antjc,
Margaret Ann Bayles Bayles, 456 81; Gashe (see Bergen), 63; Geertruy Cocjcman,
Lawrence, Laurence 434; George, 64; Hendrecy Brokaw, 443; Hendrick,
Cornelia Beach, 391, 471-472; Hans, 133; Harriet 63; Hendrick I., 63; Hendrick J., 71; Henry De
(see Pool), 391; Isaac, 391, 471; James, 201; John, Witt, 63, 64; Jannetje (sec Probasco) (see Stryker),
598
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

, 79, 80; Jennie (see Suydam), 64; Johannes, 63, Mabon

63 ; Johannes, Jr., 63: Joh~nnes H., 63, 71; J?hn B., Elizabeth 271 • G
79 Katrena (see De Witt), 63; Lammetie (see
64•
John_S., 271 , aretta Vanderveer Cortelyou, 271·
Wyckoff) 79; Maria (see Schenck), 172; Marretje MacBein, Hugh 305 ,
(see Van Doren), 461; Mary (see Brownjohn), 63; McCrae '
Pieter (Peter), 63, 79, 87 Creighton 439· Mar
MacEvers, john,' 203 garet (see Fisher), 439
Lovett, John, 334 McGowen
Low,Lowe
A., 528; Catharine Hude, 3~1; Cornelis, 391; Cor- Geo~ge, 445; Mariah Lane, 445
nelius, 389-392, 550; Cornelius, Jr., 391; Johanna Mc~atr, Al_e~ander, Jr., 537
Gouverneur, 391; Mary Margaret (see Harden- Maines, William, 534
Malbone
bergh), 391; Margaret (see Westbrook), 551; Nich- J8:ne (see Schenck), 70; Ralph 70
olas, 391; Pieter Cornellessen, 390; William 391 Malich (see Mellick) '
Lozier, Losier, Lezere, Le Sueur ' Mallery, Mrs. Grace Welton 203
Abraham Whitten, 302; Catharine Whitten, 302; Malvill '
Cornelis, 302, 313, 509; David, 302; Fran~ois, 302; "Mr.," 541; Maria (see Suhm) (see Van Bever-
Jane, 302; Jannetje (see Van Alen), 313; Jannetie houdt), 541
Hildebrand, 302; Johannes, 302; John, 302; Lea Mandeville
Comelisse Banta, 302; Nicholas, 302; Sophie (see Christopher, 526; Helmah, 537; Hester (see Col-
Ackerman), 270 fax), 512; Lena (see Doremus), 536
Lubberts, Tryntje (see Kip), 300 Mann
Luby Alester Mabie, 201; Alice, 201; Ann Margaret, 200·
Anna (see Newkirk), 307; Jacob, 307, 322 Catharine Lawrence, 201; Charles, 201; David, 200:
Lucas 201; David D., 201; David G., 201; Eliza Powles,
Edward, 460; Lysbeth (see Stevens), 393; Robert, 201; George, 200, 201; George, Jr., 201; George D.,
460 201; George W., 201; Helen Alvord, 201; John M.,
Ludlow 447; Lindley, 201; Margaret Riker, 201; Margretta
Henry, 201, 219, 460; John J., 515; Mary (see Cor- Wahrenberger, 201; Maria Cook Vincent, 201;
bett), 219 . Sarah Line, 201
Lukens, John, 500 Manninex, Geertjen (see Mentelaer), 75
Lupardus Mapes, Thomas, 179
~ristianus, 470; Cornelia (see Schenck) (see Van Marcelis (see Merselis)
Gulislelen), 67; Cornelia (see Van Wickle) 470; Marriner, William, Capt., 85, 408
emus, 67, 470; Ram, 470 , Marselis, Marselus (see Merselis)
L up~on, William, 229 Marsh, John, 540
Lurting, Robert, 437 451 452 Martense
Adrian 64 65; Adrian I., 65, 67; Deborah (see
L utkin M ana
Luyste:• · (see' Doremus),
• 289 Berry): 65: Elizabeth (see Crabb), 6~; Garret, 65:
Anna, Isaac, 65; Jane, 65, 67; Jores, 65; Jo(ns, 6J~~!~)
trand 9393. 405.
&: A nCa L uyster, 405; Anna Van Nos- Maria (see Meserole), 65; Mana see e 67•
Dani~l, . onover, 405; Cornelius, 92, 405; ( see Story), 65; N eeltje, 65; Rachel,( 65; ~~~en:
93
92; Johan~es ~t 405; Jannetie (see Snedeker), Sarah (see Lefferts), 61; Susan see
405; John p ' 40 I • 5; Johannes, II, 405; John P., hoven) (see Caton), 68
Brower, 405:' Ml: 405, 406; Lucretia, 405; Lucretia
405; Peter, 1i ~~nda Suydam, 405; Peter, 92, 93,
92, )405; Ren;ie
40 P ter, III, 405; Pieter Cornelisz,
893 Wrah, 405; Sarah (see Rapel-
Martin
Affie (see Snedeker), 7
ten), 530; Joshua, 220, ~=•
K~=
C na (see Van Sic-
a
Van Syckel, 530;
~~.'i3; Sarah' (se~ Robert S., 530 5
Lya11' arah Catharine Jec~off), 93; Sarah Burrows, M~frine Marston (see Jo4es), 124; Garret, 12 ;
VlUS, 92
Charlotte ( 12
John 124' Mary Wood,
Lydecker see Conover), 401 • John 401 Ma~e D~niel, 217
Edward 204 • ' ' Mason ' d) 519• John, 519
(se e Bia'uvelt),
' Garret 301 ; 9arret A., 302; Margaret
204; 'w Elizabeth (see Vreelan ' '
Mabie, Mabille Ylltie (see Durie), 290 Matthews ) 456
Mary A. (see Staats •
Aechtj J Maze Montgomery, 204
(see He _ans (see Will
199; ca!nng). (see Verbrnszen), 199; Anna Maria Mead: ElizabethE:31:73
lyntie l§9a.rCP1etszen, 1gg?Ck), 191; Caspar, Serg., Means, Harvey ·• 304 ·
velt) ' • ornelius c • fsparus, 191, 200; Cata- Mehlin, Mrs. Nanetteli h . Johnston
(see 'T185u' 191; Elizabeth 19 ( ; Elizabeth (see Blau- Mellick, Malich, 'Nj-oe c448-449; Cathanne ilter, 448·
Aaron (Ehrenre1ch), 449 . c1iartott~d'M449 . Gott·
rnias ~ man), 231. Isaa see Salyer), 199; Fanny R 449. Charlot!e, J ' 449. 0av1 • 'M, rgaret
1 200, 205· Joha c, 283; Jacob, 305; Jere-
R:ataiinti' La ue, . 1 449• oaruel, r., John 449; 5a ?t{arY
Peter ~ Bogart: 199 • nLes, 185; Katalintie, 200; 44~; D~.' Jo~nnes, ~; Kirberger, 44 ;
199· S 1 , 200; Pieter' eah Naugle, 305, 306: fned, , M ria Cathenne
304: Sara (see Blauvelt) ~asparszen, 199; Rachel,
' usanna, 185 • 99; Sarah (see Naugle),
Gaston. 449; )
(see Sutphen '
449 599
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

Mentelaer, Mitaler Moore

Claes, 75; Geertjen, 75 Martha (see Britton), 150; Samuel, 150
Mercer, Louisa (see Frelinghuysen), 447 Morgan
Mercereau (see Mersereau) Benjamin, 464; Joan, 528
Meredith, William, 537 Morris
Merrell, Merrill Gouverneur, 449; Lewis, Jr., 434
Elizabeth (see Haughwout), 138; John, 138; Rich- Mortlock, Stanley, 277
ard, 137 Mount
Merritt, William, 176, 218 David H., 432; Elsje (Elsee) Van Wickle, 467;
Mersereau, Mersearau, Mercereau, Musshrow Joseph, 467; J. Westervelt, 290
Ann Messier, 146; Charity De Groot, 146; David, Mourison
146; Eliza Thatcher, 146; Elizabeth (see De Hart), Jacob, 538; Maurice, 533; Morris, 498
146; Emma Ettlinger, 146; Jacob, 130, 136, 146; Mowerson, Ellen (see Cooper), 283
John, 146; Joshua, 146; Joshua, Jr., 146; Maria Moylan
Chadrayne, 146; Mary (see Corsen), 146; Mary Mary Ricketts Van Hom, 463, 464; Stephen, 463
(see Cubberly), 146; Peter, 146; Sophia (see Cro- Muhlenberg, Henry, 548
cheron), 146; Sophia (see Roll), 146; Theodore, 146 Muirhead, Mrs. Robert, 278
Merselis, Marselis, Marcelis, Marselus Mundy
Aariantj_e (se~ Sip), 513; Antje (see Van Winkle),
508; AriaentJe Sip, 508; Arreyantje (see Parke) Ann Suydam, 468; Stephen, 468
508; Catlyntje (see Van Saun), 508; Comelis, 508; Musshrow (see Mersereau)
Edo, 323, 508; Garret E., 509; Gerrit, 508; Gilbert . Muth, Henry, 516
F., 508-509; Jannetje (see Van Houten) (see Vree- Myers
land), 508; Jenneke (see Sip), 323; Jenneke Prior, Ida Griffith, 300; John G., 300; "Mrs.," 295
508; John, 508; Lena De Gray, 508; Marcelis Pieter-
sen, 508; Peter G., 508; Pieter, 508; Pieter, II, 508 Naugle, Nagel
Meserole Barent, 202, 283, 303-305; Barent, II 304 305·
Catharine, 58; Maria (see Martense), 65; Peter, 58 C~tharine, 304; Catharine Blauvelt, 273,' 305; 'cath:
Metlar anne (see Van Houten), 228; Cornelia (see Ver-
Catharine Van Doren, 391, 462; George W., 391, vale!}), 305; Da~d. 304; David Barent, 273; Dirkie
462; John Van Doren, 462; Mary, 392 Haring, 304; Eliza, 305; Elizabeth, 304; Elizabeth
Meyer, Meyers ~lauvelt, 304; Hannah Maria Eckerson, 304; Har-
Abraham, 227; Adolph, 92; Anna Catherine (see net Carlough, 273; Hendrick, 273, 304, 305; Henry
~t), 92; Bernard, Sr., 466; Bernard. Jr., 466; Cor- I., 305; Hester Westerfield, 305; Hildebrand, 305;
nelius, 200; Johannes, 211, 227; Margrietje (see Isaac, 305, 306, 328; Jacob, 304; James Westerfield,
Vanderbilt), 227; Maria (see Vanderbilt),, 227; 305, 306; Jan, 303, 304; Jan, Jr., 303; Jan (John D.),
Marretje (see Smidt), 211 304, 305; Jan D., 328; Johanna, 304; John, 202,273,
Michaelsen 303-306; John D., 273; John D. (Jan), 304, 305;
Comelis, 324; Metje Dircks Braecke, 324 John J., 283, 304; Leah (see Mabie), 305; Lea
Michielsen Poulusse Ferdon, 305; Magdalena, 304; Maria, 304;
Elias, 494; Tadeus, 322 Maria Auryansen, 305; Maria Christie, 305; Mary
Micklor, Peggy (see Packer), 308 De Clark, 305; Rebecca, 304; Rebecca Waldron,
Middagh 303; Resolvert, 228, 283, 303; Resolvert Barent,
Catalina Van Nest, 446; Cornelius, 446, 447, 465; 266; Sally (see Westervelt), 328; Sarah, 202, 304;
Derrick, 427; Derrick Aertse (Dirck), 446, 447; Sarah, II, 304; Sarah (see De Clark), 283, 284;
Dirck, 446; Dirck, Col, 446; George, 446, 447; Sarah Kiersen, 304; Sarah Mabie, 304; William,
Margaret (see Titsworth), 545; Sarah (see Van 304; William J., 283
Vechten), 465; Tunis, 447 Neafie (see Nevius)
Miles, William, 145 Neilson, Johanna Coejeman, 434
Miller Nevius, Neafie
C~arlotte (see Mellick), 448-449; Christian, 538; Abraham Voorhees, 445, 446; Anna Maria Staats,
Dickenson, 447; John, 539; Sarah (see Parlaman), 445; Cornelius, 77; David, 393; Deborah Ann
539 Smock, 393; Dennis, 445; Garret, 473, 505; Jo-
Minnelay Minne Johannes, 176 hannes, 77, 78; John, Jr., 505; John R., 505; John
Mitaler (see Mentelaer) Smock, 393, 394; Maggie Peppard (see Blis~),
Moelich (see Mellick) 394; Margaret (see Van Dyke), 398; Martin
Moffat, Benjamin, 210 David, 393, 394; Pieter, 77
Moison Newkirk, Nieukerk, Niewkerk, Van Niewkercke
Courtney, 182; Emeett, 182; John W., 182 Aaron, 307; Anna Luby, 307; Catlyntje Toers, 3~7;
Moment, Alfred G., 433 Catrina Kuyper, 307; Catrina Pietersen, 307; Eliza
Monfoort Ann Beaty, 307; Garret, 307, 308; Garret G., 307;
Jannetje Pieters (see Couwenhoven), 398; Pieter, Gerrit, 306-307; Hendrick, 307; Henry, 307; Henry,
90; Sara (see Wyckoff), 90 · II 307; Jane Fowler Tise, 307; Mattevis, 307, 308;
Montgomery, "Mrs.," 271 M~ttheus Cornelissen, 306-307; Polly Ackerman,
Moody 307; Poulus, 307; Rachel Van Houten, 307
~avid F., 185; Lady Deborah, 59, 60, 61, 133, 410; Nicoll, Gov., 385, 386
Sir Henry, 59, 60 Nieukerk, Niewkerk (see Newkirk)
600
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

Britton, 151 • He
Nyssen (see Denise) Thorell, 15o;'Mary(s'e 151 r Joseph, 151; Maria
(see Lake), 151; Simo: rm.ant), 151; Sarah Ann
Oblenis, Van Oblenis . Perne, Peter 460 waune, 151
Antie Lydecker, 202; Bndget De Clark, 202;
Catrina Blauvelt, 202; Garret, 202, 203; Hendrick, Perrie, Perry
202 225, 226; Jacomina (see Toumeur), 225; Jan- Catharine (see Blauvelt) 204· .
Serven), 204; Daniel 204 . El~atrma Styper (see
netie (see Tibout), 202; John, 202, 203; Joost, 202; velt), 183, 20S; Isaac• 183 •203 ~~th (see Blau-
Joost, Jr.. 202; Maria (see .Demares.t), 202; Maria 205; Jacob P., 205· jacobus ( , 205; Jacob J.,
(see Tourneur), 226; Mana Sanums, 202; Peter, 203, 204, 288; John 'Jr 203 20/a:es), 204; John,
202, 203; Sarah (see Nagel), 202 204; Margaret ( se'e Horn:) 2 ;5. arg~et Haring,
Offs, Jacob, 460 204; Peter, 183 204 205 . Sara'ti"Oe , Man(e Thomas,
Ogbourn Mary (see Taylor), 411 204 ' ' ' 1ans see Staats),
Oldis, S;rah Elizabeth (see Outwater), 277 Perrin (see Perine)
Onderdonk
Abraham. 215; Adnan, • 88, 215; Andnes. Adr1anse,
. Perry (see Perrie)
215, 227; Ann (see Wyckoff), 88; Daniel, 215; Peters
Dorothy Ann (see Hegeman), 88; Garret, 215; Claes, 297; Margrietje (see Holdrum) 297
Peter~ef!, Paterson, Pieters, Pieterse, Pietersen
GertrUde (see Schoonmaker), 88; Jacob, 88; Maria Abigail (see Van Nuyse), 61; Anneken (see
Dircks Vander Vliet (see Vanderbilt), 215, 227; ~ukes) (see Van I"!uyse), 140; Catrina (see New-
Sara Hegeman, 215; Sara Snedeker, 215 kirk),_ 307; EngeltJe, (see Van Cleef), 84; Gillis,
Opdyke, Catharine (see Van Siclen), 530 75; Hildebrand, 302; Jan, 154, 452-453· Laurens
Oren 84; Leffert (see Haughwout), 61, 13S; L:fferts 451'
Cora Bell, 291; J. Carlton, 291 466,469; Marcelis, 508; Peter, 134,135, 145; Pdulus'
Orten, Marian s., 394 307; Wynant, 140 '
Orthwein.1.. Julia, 547 Phelps, W.W., 284
Osborn, usbome • • Philhower, Charles A., 501
Alice Stillwell (see Lake), 133; Ben1amm, 17~; Phillips, Philipse, Filips
Catharine Van Buskirk, 314; J. Hosey, 314; Wil- Catharine, 87; Elizabeth Cockefair, 507; Freder-
liam, 133, 314, 315 ick, 87; Jacob, 507
Otto, William, Judge, 203 Pier
Outwater, Oudewater . Hendrica (see Van Nest), 522; Tom, 523
Albert Alyea, 276-277; Catharine, 276; Eliza Alyea, Pierce
276· Jacob 284· Jennie (se~ Benson), 521; John, Daniel, 385; Joshua, 385
520; "Mrs:," nAe Zabriskie, 332; Peter R., 27~; Pierson, Hannah (see Dey), 504-505
Richard, 276; Sarah Elizabeth Oldis, 277; Sophia Pieters, Pieterse, Pietersen (see Petersen)
Poulese, 520; Thomas Fransen, 276 Platt, William E., 60
Plumstead
Packer Clement, Capt., 461; William. 461
Jane Cole, 308; John (?), 308; Henry W., 308;
Polhemus .
Peggy Micklor, 308; William J., 308, 309 Isaac, 445; Margrietje, 57; Matilda. 73
Palmer, John, 137, 427, 464 Pomyee (see Pumyea)
Parke
Arreyantje Marselis, 508; John, 508 PH~rriet Lawrence, 391; John, 38~J9l; JrJ:n• 3 l~·:
Parker 389, 391; John AdamS, 472ah;JoFi~dd, t:8'391 ·• '
Marytje (see Van Vechten), 465 Mary Voorhees, 391; Sar '
Parlaman, Berleman, Parleman Poor, Enoch, Gen., 325
Ann (see Doremus), 539; Anna Catharina Hassen-
berger, 538; Barbara (see Bowlsby) (see Crane), Popp, J., 223
539; Barber - (see Tymouth), 538, 539; Jacob, Porter, Jack, 134
Post 34, Catharine (see De
~38; Johannes, 538, 539; John, 539; Marytie Hyler, Abram 534: C. Henry, 533, 5 ' mets) 515; Cor·
p t39; Sarah Miller, 539; Walter, 538 Hart),' 126; ~atharine \~.e;!:, 533: barret, 126;
p:Jrson, Raymond, 394 5
nelius, 533; Dirc~)D;~. s~ah DeY, 533
p~~eliu(s, 193; Samuel De Baun, 193
Maria (see Dune • ' powles v
Poulousse, poulese, Paulu)seZ70· Jannatje (see (s:
p sse see Poulousse) Qeesje (see Acker~8v~n ff~uten, 52o; ~:~est•
p auw, Michael 265
P!it~:n, Olive;, 295 Ness), 52(2; Jr::;le) (see Black15eue>s~hia (see
Ferdon) see M rte 305, Peter, '
t~~e~ned 1-J:; Catharine Cortelyou Van Arsdale, ervelt), 305; a • '
Dume)°r ~. , 1~~; Daniel, 156; Mary Ann (see ounvater), 520
Penn, W!lli15 , Philip, 156 . Powelson, John, 429 • Elizabeth )fercer•
Perine p 8!11, 497
1 Prall . -ay) 128,
A. , ernn . Chan•...,
•., (see D1ssos"
1, 128 • peter,' !36
15~~ c~~e~01 es), 150, 151; Catharine Swaime, eau, 136; 1srae '
1
1SO; Edwa us •• 151; Cornelius Lake, 151; Daniel, Preston, Mr.k, 5o(~ee ?t{erselis), 508 60I
Elizabeth ~- l50, 151; Eliza (see Britton), 151; prior, Jenne e
inant (see Tysen), 151; Hamilton
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

Probasco Roilph
Dinah Van Wickle, 467; Jannetje (see Lott), 63; Neeltje (see Croesen), 142; Joseph 142, 154, 155
John, 467 Romaine, Romeyn, Romine '
Provost, Samuel, Rev., 471 Be~etje Demarest, ~6; Charity Sip, 516; Claes
Pumyea, Pomyee (Nicholas), 286; Elizabeth (see Zabriskie) 229·
Ann Berrien, 433; Peter J., 433 Elizabeth Claes (see Zabriskie), 332; Helma~, 516;
Pipon (see Tison) Kate <see Roberts), 516;_ Mary (see Garretson),
292; N1chol~s, 316, 319; Nicholas (Claes), 286, Ra-
Quackenbush chel. (see Bnnkerhof), 281; Richard, 516; Theodore
Corines, 320; Kaziah, 321; Uriah, 321 Frelinghuysen, Rev., 436; Susanna Van Campen
Quick 547; Thomas, 547 '
Abraham, 449, 450; Abraham, Col., 450, 532; Abra- Roome, William, 503
ham, Jr., 450, 532; Alletta Voorhees, 532; Charity Roosa, Antjen (see Watbrook), 551
- - , 450; Elizabeth (see Ennes), 542; Jaques Voor- Rosencranz, Col., 549
hees, 532; Jaques Voorhees, Jr.,. 532; Mary Van Rosenkrans, Corianny (Rosanny) (see Van Campen)
Derveer, 450; Matilda Wyckoff, 450, 532; Romora, 549 '
499; Tunis, 450, 499, 531-532 Ross, Martha A. (see Staats), 456
Rossman, Frederick L., 439
Rae, George A., 532 Rowland, Jeremiah, 136
Ral (see Roll) Royce, John, 427, 428
Rand, E. C. M., 207 Ruckman, Elisha, Capt., 284
Rapelyea, Rapelye, Rappleye, Rappleyea, De Rapalje, Rudyard
Rapalje, Rapalye Ann (see West), 449; Thomas, 449
Annetje (see Ryerson), 509, 531; Antle (see Wyck- Rue, Mary (see Covenhoven), 400
off), 73; Aule (Auletta) (see Suydam), 468; Rycke, Ryke, Riker, Ryken, Ryker
Bernard, 92; Catharine Maria (see Wyckoff), 74; Hendrick, 87, 395 (see also Suydam); Hester, 522;
Daniel, 92, 93; Elizabeth Smock, 407; Folkert, 73; Jacob, 305; Johannes, 522; John, 296; Maria Dem-
Isaac, 92; Jacob, 92; Jannetje (see Lane), 444; arest Haring, 296; Rachel Van Ness, 522
Joris Jansen, 509, 531; Margaret (see Lent), 92; Ryder, Rider
Margaret Polhemus, 92; Martin, 92; Rensie (see Bemardus, 411; Catharine Van Dom (see Schenck)
Lent), 92; Sarah (see Luyster), 93; Theodore, 407 (see Williamson), 80; John, 80, 196, 197; John, Jr.,
Rattoone · 196
Elijah, Rev., 471; Harriet Beach, 471 Ryerson, Ryerse, Ryerszen
Reading Adrian, 64; ,Anneke Schouten Dey, 509; Annetje
John, 497, 531, 538, 539; John, Jr., 546; Mary Ryer- (see S~henck), 64; Annetje de Rapalje, 509, 531;
son, 531 Cathanne Coxe, 531; Catharine Van Houten, 319;
Reed, Augustus, 408 Eliza - Burtsell, 510; Elizabeth (see Ackerman),
Reike, Neeltje (see Van Ness), 522 510; ~rans, 509; Geertje (see Garretson), 292;
Remsen GeertJe, Hessels, 510; George, 88, 510; George I.,
Aletta (see Schenck), 70; Ida (see Van Wickle), 510; George I. (Joris), 510 Hannah Schouten Dey,
467; John Marshall, 78; Kitty (see Kouwenhoven), 531; Henry Garrison, 510; Hillegont Van Houten,
78; Rem, 191, 217 510; Janneke (see Van Winkle), 525; John, 313,
Reynolds, David, 529 319; John G., 510; John G. (Johannes), 509-510;
Ribble Joris Martinse, 509, 531; Leah Westervelt, 510;
Cecilia Van Campen, 547; George, 547; William, Margaret Hanson, 510; Maritie Janse Spier, 510;
547; William R, 547 Marten, 509, 531, 532; Martin, Col., 531; Martha
Rice Dater, 510; Mary (see Reading), 531; Mary (see
Elizabeth (see Sneden), 220; L.B., Capt., 220 Zabriskie), 330; Rebecca (see Berdan), 503; Ryer,
Richards, Jesse, 534 509
Richardson, J. Smith, 532 Ryken, Ryker (see Rycke)
Ricketts
Elizabeth (see Van Hom), 463; James, 464; Sarah Sabrisko (see Zabriskie)
- - , 464; William, 463 Salisbury
Rider (see Ryder) Jennie Smith, 188; John Laurence, 188; Louisa
Riemann Dean, 188; Mary Louise (see Smith), 188
Henry, 286; Mrs. E., 286 Sally, Harry, 446
Riker (see Rycke) Salmon, "Mr.," 534
Roberts Salter, John, 537
Salyer
Kate Romaine, 516; "Mrs.," 515 Edward, 199; Elizabeth, 199; Elizabeth (see Ma-
Roeloffsen bie) (see Cuyper), 199; Mary (see Bogert), 199;
Boelle, 82; Katherine (see Hellaker) 82 Michael, 199, 205; Rachel, 199; Sara, 199; Sara
Rogers, William, 191 ' Tumeur, 199
Roll, Roi, Ra1 Sandford, William, 265
Fytje (Sophia) (see Mersereau), 146; Fytje Van Sands, John, 216
Boskerk, 146; Jan Mangels (Hans), 145; John Schenck, Schenk, Schanck
(Jan), 145; John, Jr., 137, 146 Abraham, 70, 72, 73, 460; Adriana (Adrianna) (see
602
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

Stryker), 70, 80; Albert, 407; Aletta Jane, 58; Al- Schurts, Short
letta (Aletti) (see Remsen), 70; Altie, 407; Altje Michael, 539
(see Van Doren), 461; Altye (see Van Dooren), Schuyler
409• Ann (see Stryker), 58, 80; Anna (see Dans), Arent, 287, 495, 509-512 53 .
antje (see Coejeman) 434·3, Arent, II, 511; Ary-
70· 'Anne, 407, 409; Anne (see Hendrickson), 410; 511-512; Hester (Hetty) (;eeCCs~;r) (? Paulus),
A~netje (see Ryerse), 64; Annie Blanch Kilgour, (see Dey), 504; Hester Kingsla~d ati-5}2; Hester
81 · Anthony Remsen, 70; Antic (see Duryee), 69;
~tje (see Couwenhoven), 401; Antje (see Van J enneke Teller, 511; Margrita V~ si- saac, 511;
511_:_Mar~a Walter, 511; Peter, 51l·nPhitcht5enhorst,
Doren), 409; Antje (see Wyckoff), 69; Catharine, Philip P1eterse 511. Rachel Z b'. ki P, 11-513;
58 72, 73; Catharine Van Dorn (see Ryder)) (see 287 · S · v' ' a rlS e Demarest
, . want1e an Duyckhuysen 511 ,
Williamson), 80; Chrineyonce, 409; Cornelia (see Schweizer, Rudolph, Jr., 280 '
Durie), 72; Cornelia (see Van Wesselcn) (see Lu- Scott, Charles, 276
pardus), 58, 67; Cornelius, 72; Daniel, Capt., 409; Scudder
Daniel I., 408; David, 399, 408; David, Jr., 409; John, 71, 72; Richard B., 72
Edgar, 409; Eliza, 58; Elleanor, 408; Ellen Seaman, Seamons
(Eleanor) Conover, 399; Femmetie, 67; Femmetje Benjamin, 123; Elizabeth (see Cortelyou) 144
(see Hegeman), 67, 71; Garret, 404; Garret G., 407, 145; Jonathan, 206; Richard, 144, 145 ' '
408; Garret G., II, 407; Garret Roelofse, 398, 399, Secor
406, 407, 408; Geesie Hendrickson, 402; George, Edward, 186; George D., 186
81, 399, 409; George, II, 409; Gertrude (see Fre- Sedam (see Suydam)
linghuysen), 447; Gertrude Cornell, 80; Gilliam, Serven
58; Hendrick, 72; Ida, 409; Isaac, 72, 73; Isaac C., Catrina Styper (see Perry), 204; Philip, 204
58; Jacometje Couwenhoven, 399; James, 70; Jan, Shepard, George, 537
398, 399; Jan Martense, 66, 67, 69, 70, 71, 75, 77, Short (see Schurts)
80, 90, 406; Jan Roelope, 399, 406, 409; Jane (see Shotwell
Malbone), 70; Jane (see Smock), 407; Jannetie Daniel, 137; John, 137
(see Sprong), 67, 69; Jannetje (see Verbryck), Siboutsen (see also Krankheyt)
409; Jannetje (see Voorhees) (see Simson), 66; Catrina (see Lent), 91; Harck, 91; Wyntje Theu-
Jannetjc Van Couwenhoven, 407; Jeremiah, 70; nis, 91
Johannes, 72, 80; Johannis, 58; John, 58, 69, 72, Sickels, Sickel
80, 81, 407, 409, 460; John, Capt., 399, 408, 410; Aeltje (Aletta) (see Hogenkamp), 208; Anna van
John, Co., 408; John, Jr., 409; John C., 58; John T., Valkenbergh, 206; Annatje De Clark, 207; Antje
81; Koert, 407; Leah (see Couwenhoven), 409; (see Blauvelt), 208; Cornelius, Z08; Elizabeth, 155,
Luther, 408; Lydia Craig, 409; Margaret, 407; Mar- 206, 207; Elizabeth (see Cooper), 206, 208; Eliza-
gar~tta Roelofs (see Couwenhoven), 399; Mar- beth (see Haring), 207, 208; Elizabeth (see Hut-
gante, 69; Margrieta, 67; Margrietie (Margrietje) ton), 226; Elizabeth De Clark, 208; Fanny Fowler,
(see Stryker), 72, 80; Maria (see De Haes) (see 209; Geertruy Reltenhaus, Z06; Gertrude, 207; Hen-
~artense) (see Lott), 58, 65, 67, 69, 72; Maria (see drick, 208; Ivan, Dr., 207; Jacob, 206, 208; Jan-
an Dooren), 409; Martin Janse, 67, 70; Martin netje, 207; Jannetj,e (Jane) (see Banta), 209; J<?·
Roelofse, 64; Mary, 407, 409; Mary Denise, 408; hannes, 207, 223; Lea Blanch, 20?; MarretJe
Mary Ella. (see Conover), 400; Micha Van Nuyse, (Martha) (see Blauvelt), 208; MarretJe (see Cuy-
~; Neeltie, 67,-407; Neeltje, 69; Neeltje (see Hen- per), 208; Nicholas, 206, 207; Robert, 206-208;
rckson) (see Golden), 404; Neeltje Gerretse Van Roelof, 207, 208; Sara, 207; Sarah (see Tallman),
h ouwenhoven, 406; Neeltje Koerten Van Voor- 207· Sarah (see Tinkey) (see Tallman), 223; Sarah
N~~h\a406, 407; Nellie, 409; Nellie Bennett, 409; see 'van Houten), 189, 208; William, 155~ 1_76, 1.J'J•
. 0 s, 69, 70: Peter, 58, 72, 73, 409; Peter Janse, 206-208, 226; William, Squire, 208,209; W1ll1am ·•
401 • Rachel, 407, 409; Roelof 67 407 409· Roelof 209; Zacharias, 206
anse 402·, R oe Iof, Martcnse ' , 406·, Sara
'
s1:
JEmru{
409 · ~bSarah, 71, 409; Sar~h (se~ Voorhees),
408: Steah ouwenhoven, 407, 409; Sarah Smock,
(see Sigler, Mark, 543
Simcoe, Col., 463, 465 s·
Simonson, Simonsen, 1mson,
Simerse Simeson,
•
Stephen~ e
70 _~• 6l, 69, 60; Stephen Janse, 69; Symonsen
t48 Ab"gail (see Don-
? vJ~i
72; Teuni ·• • tep en R., 70 Susanna (see Janse), Abigail (see ~r~chcronJ, rt~ 1~. Aert (Arent)
Wilhelmi;~ 5~ 2 Teunis, Judge, 57, 58, 80; gan), 148; Abigail (see g .e l~xander, 66; Anna
Amerman) '(se1 • W 1 emtie, 67; Willemtje (see (see Blank), 131, 147, 1(48, t1ake) 148· Arthur,
S 't39 e yckoff), 69, 90; William, 408, Crocheron, 148: Anne sec148 Cathari~e Hous-
148 • Barent (Barnt), 147, ; lius 148· David,
S~h ey, Kenneth, 450 ma~ 148; Christophel, 148: Corneoth'1 148: Eliza-
oonrnaker
Adrian Onde d
beth (see va: onk, 88 ; Anna Gertrude, 88; Eliza-
f
3
147 '148• Daniel, 130,148, (1 ; Do.Jr) i48· Freder-
bcth Ba'rnes, 148; Esaac h saa(:Hett:v) 148; Isaac,
scterdonk), 88· Jlaarymp8e8n),N~47; Gertrude (see On- ick, 57; Hans, 148: Hel.et ay S henck) (see Van
A~uten ' • : 1cholas H., 88 148; Jacob, 148: Jann.c~e /;.eJo~annes, 136; thn,
R neken (see D )
~erson), 509; Hin~~4(; Anneke (sec Dey) (see
Voorhees), 66; Je r e ~M~rga;et Daniels, 1~;
123; Joseph, 148, 149 • ) 130· ?,fatth1as,
t'!/.
'
53
Schri sec Dey) (see Ryerson), (Maritie) (see Ha~ewou~ 67 • Rbeuben (Reuben): 7
Sh ver, Hen 2 Meltye (see Van Wickl~), Cla;s (see :Blanck), 14 ,
c roeder J0 hry, 13, 228 148; Simon, 148; TryntJC 603
' n, 187
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

Wyntie (see Christophel), 131, 147 Cornelison) (see Blauvelt), 182, 188; Elizabeth,
Simmons 212; Elizabeth (see Fisher), 439; Elizabeth (see
Henry P., 524; Judge, 524 Snedeker), 216; Epenetus, 60; Florence C., 68;
Sip, Sipp Gaeret G., 214; Garret G., Jr., 214; Gerret, 214;
Aariantje Marselis, 513; Abraham, 323; Adrian, Gerrit, 211; Guert Sprewer, 212; Henry, Dr., 201;
513; Adrian, 513,514; Adriaen, 516; Adriaen (Arie), J. A., 390; Jan, 214; Jannetje (see Van Houten),
323; Adriaen (Arie) Hendricksen, 322; Ann, 513; 215; Jannetie Fran~ois, 214; Jemima (see De
Annatie, 513; Annatje, 516; Annatje (see Van Wint), 212; John J., 182; John, Maj., 182, 195,212,
Houten), 513; Annatje (see Van Winkle), 524; 213, 215; John De Windt, 182; John L., 215; John
Annatje Van Winkle, 513; Annetje, 322; Annetje L., Maj., 213; John R., 473; Lambert, 214-215; Lam-
(see Van Wagening), 323, 523; Antje Gerrits Van bert Adriaense, 175, 182, 211, 212, 215; Lena, 211;
Wagening, 323; Arie, 513, 515, 516, 520; Arie Margrietje (see Blauvelt), 182, 211; Maria, 60, 212,
(Adriaen), 323; Ariaentje (see Merselis), 508; 285; Maria (see Haring), 295; Maria (see Leroe),
Ariantje Cornelissen Cadmus, 323; Catharine (see 211; Maria Haring, 214; Maria Tallman, 195, 212;
Van Houten), 513, 520; Catharine (see Van Hou- Marretje (see Meyer), 211; Martha Griffith, 182;
ten), 520; Charity (see Romaine), 516; Cornelis, Mary Louise (see Salisbury), 188; Matthias, 130,
513; Cornelius, 323, 513; Derrick, 516; Elenor, 513; 138; Peter, 473; Peter Dewint, 212; Petrus, 214;
Eva (see Ackerman), 513; Edee1 323; Edee (Ide), Rachel, 214; Richard, 500, 546; Seytie Minnelay,
323; Edo, 513; Elizabeth Vreeland, 323; Garret, 214; T. Blanch, Dr., 191; Teunis, 188
323; Geertje, 513; Geertje Van Winckle, 513; Smock, Smack
Geertje Van Winckle, II, 513; Geeretje, 516; Ger- Abraham, 393; Ann, 393; Annatie, 393; Antie, 393;
retje - - , 516; Gerritje Helmigs Van Houten, 513; Deborah Ann (see Nevius), 393; Denys, 393; Eliza-
Grietje Warnaerts, 322; Halmagh, 513; Halmagh, beth, 393; Elizabeth, II, 393; Elizabeth (see Field),
Jr., 516; Halmagh (Helmich), 515, 516, 520; Hen- 390; Elizabeth (see Rappleye), 407; Elizabeth
drick, 323; Hillegond (see Van Winkle), 323; Ide, Stevens, 393; Garret, 407; Geertie, 393; Henry,
508; Ide (Edee), 323; Ide (Edee or Eida), 323; 390, 393; Hendrick, 393, 404, 441; Hendrick Matt-
Iden, 323; Jacob, 322; Jan Adriaensen, 523, 524; hyse, 84, 392; Jacobus (? James), 393; Jannetie,
Jan Arianse, 513; Jan Arianse (Johannes Adri- 393; Johannes Hendrickse, 407; John, 393, 394;
aenszen), 322, 323; Jannetie, 516; Jannetje (see John, Jr., 394; John, III, 393; John I., 393; Jona-
Van Houten), 520; Jannetje Van Houten, 516; than B., 393; Lea, 393; Lea Fontine, 393; Lena,
Jannitje, 513; Jenneke Marselus, 323; Johanna 393; Lucas (Luke), 393; Margaret, 393; Maria,
(Anna) Van de Voorst, 323; Johannes, 323; Jo- 393; Maria, II, 393; Martyntje (see Lane), 441;
hannes (John), 513; Johannes Adriaenszen (Jan Mary, 393; Mary Fall, 393; Matthew, 393; Matthias,
Arianse), 322, 323; John, 516, 520; John, Jr., 513; 390, 468; Matthias, Jr., 393; Matthias (Matthyse
John, III, 513; John A., 322, 516; John J., 513, 514; Hen<l:ickse), 392, 393, 394; Nelly Van Doorn, 404;
Lena (Helena) (see Van Horn), 323; Margaret Saertie, 393; Sarah, 407; Sarah (see Schenck), 408
(see Van Wagening), 323; Margaret Linford, 51_6; Snedeker, Snedeger, Snediker
Marretje 322; Mary (see Vreeland), 325; MetJe, Abraham, 200, 216, 217; Abraham Brower, 217;
516; Pet;r, 323; Richard, 323; Richard Garret, 323- Aefie, 217; Affie (see Martyne), 217; Altie, 216;
324; Sarah E. Wayland, 323 Altye (Elsie) (see Thew) (see Coerter), 216, 217;
Slawter, John, 196 Christiaen, 216; Daniel, 217; Derricke Vliet, 217;
Sleight Egbertie Jansen, ·216; Elizabeth (see Smith), 216;
Catherine (see Winant), 140; Hendrick, 140; John, Elsje, 216; Elsye Teunise (see Nyssen), 216; Gar-
140; Margaret (see Winant), 140 ret, 21~, 217; Gerret, 216; Isaac, 216; Jan, 92, 216;
Sloat, Slot, Slott Jannette (see Luyster), 92; John, 217; Johannes,
Aeltje Jans, 210; Catharine Mead Ward, 210; Eliza- 216, 217; Margaret, 216; Mary Ann Bell, 217; Re-
beth (see Westervelt), 210; Isaac, 210, 211; Jacob, becca (see Tallman), 216; Rebecca (see Van de
210; Jan Pietersen, 210; Johannes, 210; John, 210; Voort), 216; Richard, 217; Sara, 216; Theodorus,
Lea Zabriskie, 210; Maria (see Christie), 210; Mar- 216, 217, 218; Theunis, 217; Tunis, 176, 216, 217;
ritje (see Van Deusen), 210; Marritje Jacobse Van Willemetje Voeks, 216;
Winkle, 210; Pieter Jansen, 210; Stephen, 210,211; Sneden, Sneder, Snedick, Sneding, Sneeding, Sney-
Willemete Van Voorhees (see Bogert), 210; Wil- don, Snyden, Snyder
liam Lafayette, 210 Abraham, 220; Carsten, 219; Clara, 221; Dennis,
StD.Jck (see Smock) 219, 220; Elizabeth (see Rice), 220; Elizabeth
Smith, Smidt Wood, 220; Ellison (see Westervelt), 221; Ellis§:>n
Abraham, 195, 211, 212, 214; Adriaen, 211, 214; Lawrence, 220; George Washington, 220; Grietje,
Adriaen Lambertse (Lambertsen), 175, 183; Aefie 219; Grietje Jans, 219; James, 219; Jan, 219; Jane
(see Blauvelt), 182; Aeltye, 214; Albert, 214; Antje, Crum, 220; Jesse, 220; John, Jr., 220, 221; Joseph
212; Arie (Aurie), 211, 215; Bernardus, 86; Brechje Lawrence, 221; Lawrence, 220, 221; Leah, 220;
(Bridget) (see De Pew), 195; Catharine (see Le- Margaret Riker, 220; Mary, 221; Mary (Molly),
roe), 211; Catharine I. (see Van Siclen), 530; 219, 220, 221; Mary (see Hagen), 220; Phebe Ges-
Charles D., 462; Christina, 212; Cornelius, 183 211 ner, 221; Rachel (see Gravestein), 220; Rachel Bo-
214,231; Cornelius Adriaensen, 183, 214; Cor~eliu~ gert, 220; Richard, 220; Robert, 219, 220; Samuel,
C., 214; Cornelius Lambertsen, 182; David 212· 219, 220; William, 219, 220, 221
Derricke (see Van Campen), 183; Dirckje' (se~ Snediker (see Snedeker)
Cuyper), 211; Dirckje (Derrickje, Derickey) (see Snook, Hiram C. C., 543
Haughwout), 130, 138; E. Percy, 269; Eleanor (see Snyden, Snyder (see Sneden)
604
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

Sohier Stillwell
Fran~ois, 284; Marie (see Demarest), 284 Ann · (see Van Pelt) (see Billeau), 150; Anna
Solar (see Soulard) Catharine (see Christophel), 131; Frances (see
Peter, 428, 533 Britton), 150; Martha (see Billeau) (see de Bon.
Soulard, Solar repos), 149, 150; Nicholas, Jr., 60, 131, 149; Rachel
Peter, 394, 395 (see Britton), 150; Thomas, Capt., 149, 150, 151
South, Thomas, 397 Stimus
Speer, Spear, Spier Susan B., 508; W., 508
Cornelis, 535; Frans, 522; Gerrit, 514; Hans, 521; Stinemetz (see Stynmets)
Hendrick Jansen, 514; Hester De La Mater Van Stockton, Richard, 397
Ness, 522; Jacobus, 514; Jan, 521; Jannetje (see Stoffels, Mackelt (see Lodewyck) (see Van Cam-
Vreeland), 519; John, Jr., Capt., 519; Lea (see Van pen), 546
Giesen), 518; Maritie Janse (see Ryerson), 510; Stoothoff
Peter, 514; Phebe Ann (see Van Ness), 523; Abraham, 77; Aeltie (Aletta) (see Baxter), 78;
Rachel (see Doremus), 535 Aeltje (see Van Voorhees), 77; Albert, 77; Altie
Spicer Cornelis (see Cool) (see Couwenhoven), 75; An-
Machtel, 75; Samuel, 66; Thomas, 75, 77 natie Bergen, 76; Deborah (see Wyckoff), 77, 78;
Springsteen Eitie Nallison, 76; Elbert, 76; Elbert Elbertse,
Jannetje (see Colve) (see Vanderbeek), 315; Jo- Capt. (see Elbertse), 66, 67, 75; Garret, 76, 77, 78;
hannes, 315 Gerret Elbertse, 76, 77; Johanna Nevius, 76; Jo-
Sprong hannes, 77, 78; Lammetje Stryker, 76; Maria Voor-
Folkert, 69; Jannetje (see Schenck), 69 hees, 78; Peter, 76, 77; Saartie Stephens, 76; Sara
Staats Roeloffs (see Van Borswn), 76; Wilhelmus, 76,
Abraham, 438, 442-443, 453-457; Anna Maria (see 77, 78; Willemetie Pieters Monfoort, 76
Nevius), 445; Annetje (see van Santvoord), 154; Story
Catherine, 456; Catrina Corsen, 154; Charity Ry- Maria (see Martense) (see Schenck), 65; Mar-
near (see Van Doren), 461-462; Cornelia, 154; Cor- tense, 65; Joseph, 65; William, 65; William, Capt.,
nelius, 453; Elizabeth (see Tysen), 152; Elsje 65
- - , 453; Femmetje Broka(w), 442,454; Geertruy Stout
(see Coejeman), 434; Grietje Jans, 453; Hannah Benjamin, 404; David, 410; Joseph, 548, 549; Pene-
(see Van Kirk), 453; Hannah Field, 445-446; Han- lope (? Van Princes), 410; Rebecca (? Ashton),
nah Trembly, 453; Hendrick, 452, 453, 454, 457; 410; Richard, 386, 410 .
Hendrick, II, 453; Henry, 453; Henry B., 445; Stoutenburgh
Isaac, 454, 456, 457; Jacobus, 445; Jan, 204; Jan Anthony, 136; Nieltje (see Cooper), 282
(Pieterse), 452-453, 141; Jane, 453; Jane (see Doty), Stryker, Strycker
455 456 Jannetje, 154; John, 152, 154, 155, 453, 454; Ad~iana (Adrianna) (see. Schenck), 70, 80; Adri-
La~etje Veghte, 453; Macheltie (Maghtel) Van antJe, 80; Ann, 80; AnnetJe Barends 79· Cornelius
Duyn, 453,454; Magdalena (Lena)--, 454; Mag- 70, ?9, 80; Gerrit, 61; H., 440; H~, 80; Jan, 431:
dalene 456· Margaret, 456; Margaret (see Free- 517, .Jan (John), 57, 72, 79, 80, 82; Jannetje (see
man), 456,457; Margaret Du Bois, 455,456; Martha Bernen) (see Edsall), 431; Jannetje (see Lott) 79
A. Ross, 456; Mary, 154; Mary (see Coon), (see ~O; Johannes, 79; John S., 335; Lambetje Seuber:
Blackford) 453; Mary A. Matthews, 456; Mary mg, 79; Margrietie (Margrietje) (see Schenck)
Smith, 456; Nancy, 453; Neeltie Jans (see Cruser) 72, 79; Michael, 79, 80; Peter I., Dr., 436,437; Pieter:
(see Hendricksz), 141, 142; Peter, 154, 451-454; 79; Sara (see Bergen), 79; Tryntje Jacobs (Teunis)
Peter, Jr., 453; Peter, III, 453; Peter, IV, _453; . (see Hellakers), 82
Phebe, 456; Pieter Jansen, 154, 155, 453; Pieter Strehl, Henry, 335
Pietersen, 453; Rebecca, 154; Rebecca --, 453; Stull
Samuel, 434; Sarah (see Bayles), 456; Saratie (see Joseph, 443; Phebe Brokaw, 443
Jans) (see Perry), 204; Susan, 453; Synia--, 453;
Tiney (? Dinah) (see Boudinot), 453; Tyney, 453
Stagg, Stegge
t~na
Stuyvesant
(see Bayard) (see Varleth), 322; Peter, 321,
Elizabeth, 272; Elizabeth (see Ackerman), 317; Stynmets, Stynmetz, Stymets, Stynmuth Stinemetz
Isaac, 319; Maria Van Houten, 319; William, 272 Steynmetzen ' '
Standring, Mr., 132 Antie (see Van Noordstrand), 515; Benjamin, 515;
Stark, Jacob, 229 Caspar, 326; Casparus, 515; Casper 514· Catharine
Stegge (see Stagg) P ost, 5_15; Christo!fte, 514, 515, 516; ciaert·e Van
Stevense, Stevenson lderstem, 515; Elizabeth (see Van Riper~ 515•
Stephens, James Henry, 288
Stephenszen (see Stevens) g1;eJt, 515;_ Georg~, 515; Hannah, 515; Ja~etie:
Sterling, Lord, 463 ' ~netJe Gernts, 514;' Jannetje Gerrits Van
Steuben, Baron, 331-332, 455, 456 ~ageR!ng,)515; Johannes, 515; Judith (Judah) (see
Stevens, Stephenszen an iper , 515; Marietje Brower ·515. Ma a
Elizabeth (see Smock), 393; Jan, 393; Lysbeth U-5; t Mo~g)an, 198; Orsolena (W~ssele:ia) 6e~
Lucas, 393; Coert (see Van Voorhees) 77· Ed es erve t ' 326; Peter, 515; Sara Emons 515·
ward, 86; John, 72, 86; Thomas 498 499• 536 - S
Suhi:;.a Van Nest, 515; Susanna-, 515 ' '
Stewart, Margaret (see Kingsland) 506 '
s .teynmetzen (see Stynmets) ' Chri ·
Ma1~1ts/141; Maria (see Wheelock), 541; Maria

605
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

Sulzer, "Mr.," 327 Mrs. Jane, 466; John, 125, 411, 412; Joseph, 145,
Sutton, Joshua, 156 411; Joseph, II, 412; Joseph Dorset, 412; Mar-
Sutphen garet, 296; Mary (see Vervalen), 297; Mary
Mary Mellick, 449; Peter, 449; William P., 449 Holmes, 412; Miss Mary Holmes, 412; Mary
Suydam, Sydam, Sedam, Van Suydam Holmes Taylor, 412; Mary Ogbourn, 411; Moses,
Abigail Fry, 395; Abraham, 395; Abraham, II, 296,297; Moses, Jr., 297; Phebe Hurd, 411; Samuel,
395; Ann, 395; Ann (see Mundy), 468; Ann (see 412
Van Liew), 395; Antje (Anne) Van Wickle, 467; Teller .
Arriet (see Garrish), 468; Aule (Auletta) Rapp- Jenneke (see Schuyler), 511; William, 511
leyea, 468; Catharine, 395; Femmetje, 395; Geertje Ten Eyck, Teneicke
Van Wickelen, 467; Gertrude (see Wyckoff), 74; Albert, 389; Capt., 443; Coenradt, 458; Conrad,
Hendrick, 61, 87, 439, 468; Hendrick Jacobs, 467; 458; Esther Hanker, 458; Jacob, 445, 458; Jacob,
Ida (see Leffertsze), 61; Ida (see Van Wickle), III, 458; Jacob, Capt., 458; James, 450, 458; Jane
468; Is~c, 395; Jacob, 87, 395; James, 394-395; Lane, 445; Jemima Van Nest, 458; Margaret Haga-
Jannetje, 395; Jennie (see Lott), 64; John, 394,395; man, 458; Mary Ann (see Van Nest), 450; Mary
John S., 395; Lambert, Capt., 74; Lawrence, 395; Ann Van Nest, 459; Mary Van Vechten, 389;
Maria, 395; Miranda (see Luyster), 405; Nellie Matthew, 458; Matthias, 427, 444, 458; Peter, 458;
Fisher, 439; Peter, 394, 395; Peter M., 395; Phebe, Tunis, 458-459
395; Ryck, 87, 395; Ryke, 395; William, 395 Terhune, Terheun, Terhuynen
Swaert (see Swart) Abraham, 311; Abraham, Jr., 311; Albert, 63, 274,
Swan, Dr., 436 299; Albert Albertse, 309, 310; Albert D., 274; Al-
Swaim, Martinew, 133 bert D., 311: Albert H., 310; Ann, 310; Catharina
Swart, Swaert (see also Hellakers) Kip, 309; Catharine, 310; Catharine Bogert, 310;
Barent, 82; Femmetje, 82; Jacob (see Hellakers), Cornelia Hopper, 310; Dirck, 309, 310; Elizabeth,
81; Jacobus, 82; Jan, 82; Johannes, 82; Lysbet, 82; 309; Elizabeth, 310; Elizabeth J. Townsend, 310;
Neeltje (see Titsworth), 544; Tunis, 544 Gerrebreght (see Housman), 300; Hendrickje
Swartout Stevense Van Voorhees, 309; Jane, 310; Johannes
Derrick (Derick), 218; Elizabeth Polhemus, 218; (John), 309, 310; John, 310, 311; John (Johannes),
George, 218; Jacobus, 218; James, 218; Lucretia 309, 310; John J., 310; Margaret (see Vreeland),
Polhemus, 218; Tomys Roelofse, 218 324; Maria (~arytie), 311; Maria (see Hopper),
Swiner, Jennij (see Cockefair), 507 299, 310; Maritie De Graves Tibout, 309; Mary
Symes, Lancaster, 303 (see Van Emburgh), 274; Mary Ann Achenbach,
Sydam (see Suydam) 269; Marytie (Maria), 311; Matilda, 310; Peter,
Symonsen (see Simonson) 310; Polly (Maria) (see Van Emburgh), 311; Rich-
ard, 310; Roeloff, 63; Sarah Jane Van Emburgh,
Tallman, Taelman, Talama 274; Thomas, 269; Tryntje Westervelt, 311; Weyn-
Abraham, 224; Abraham I., 231; Annatje (Ann) tie Brickers, 309
Vanderbilt, 227,228; Annetje (see Vanderbilt), 227; Terneur (see Tourneur)
Annetje Blauvelt, 223; Brechje (see Vanderbilt), Terrell, Ephraim, 196
227; Brechje Jans (see Haring), 222, 231; Cate- Theunis, Jannetje (see Dey) 504
lyntje (see Vestervelt), 328; Catrina Ecker, 224; Theuniszen '
Catharina (see Blauvelt), 182, 186; Caroline Conk- Herman, 293: Margrietje Cosyns (Gerritszen),
lin, 231; Clara, 223; Dirckje (see Haring), 222,295; 293
Dirckie Theunis, 222; Dirkjin (see Westervelt), Thew, Theu
327; Douwe, 222, 223, 224, 227; Douwe Harmanszen, Altye (Elsie) (see Snedeker) (see Coerter), 216;
176, 182, 222; Elizabeth (see Blauvelt), 223; Eliza- Jan, 216
beth (see Demarest), 223; Elizabeth Blauvelt 223· Thomas, David, 134
Elizabeth De Pew, 222; Fanny Mabie, 231; 'Har~ Thorne
man (Harmanus), 176, 182; Harman Douwesen
183, 222, 223, 224; Harmanus, 216, 224, 227 228' .J·
Tibout
M., 407; Theodore R., 407; Thomas 407
'
231; Harmanus (Harme), 223, 224; Helena' 223!
Helena Blauvelt, 231; Isaac, 223; Isaac H' 227' Andries, 309; Jannetie (see Oblenis), 202; John,
228; Jacob, _222; James_ C., 231; Jan, 231; Jan~etje: 202; Maritie de Graves, 309
223; JannetJe Vanderbilt, 227; Johannes, 2'11, 233; Tietsoort (see Titsworth)
John, 223, 230, 231: John A., 231; John Cornell Tilton, John, Sr., 66
Tinkey
23~; .John J., 207; Margaret Demarest, 207; Mar~
gnetJe Hogepkamp, 223, 224; Margrletje Minne- Andrew, 207, 223; Sarah (see Sickels) (see Tall-
lay (s~e ~lauvelt), 183, 222; Maria (see Blauvelt) man), 207, 225
Tise
319; 1!fana De Ronde, 231; Maria Onderdonk 223:
NeeltJe, 224; Peter, 225; Peter, Maj., 182; Rebecc~ _Abraham, 307; Jane Fowler, 307
(see Snedeker), 216, 224; Sarah (see Haring) 207• Tison, Tysen, Pyson
Sar~ (see ~ickels) (see Tinkey), 207, 223; T~unis: Abraham, 152; Barent, 152; Barne (Barnt) 152
227, The~rus, 222, 223, 224: Theunis Douwensen ~53; Cordelia Bergen, 152, 153; Cornelis 152-'Dan~
231: Tums Douwe, 215 ' iel, _134; David, 152; David J., 122, 134: 136, 145,
Taylor 153, Elizabeth (se~ Staats), 152; Elizabeth (see
Edwa~d, 411; Edward, II, 411; Edward, III 412· ~ak~), 134, 153; Elizabeth Jacques 153· Elizabeth
Ephraim, 137; George, 411; George, Col., 411: 412; waim, 152; Elizabeth Winant (s~e P;rine) 151 ·
606 Jacob, 153 ; Johannes, 152; John, 124, 1s2; 153:
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

John, Jr., 123; Magdalena Jans, 152· Magdalena Van Broeckhuysen, Michael Jansen, 324
Morgan, 152; Maria (see Kroesen),' 152· Mary Van Brunt
153; Raymond M., 153; Richard, 151, 153·,' Sarah' Abigail (see Vanderbilt), 83; Abraham, 83; Adri-
152 ' aense, 82; Adrian, 83; Aletta, 83; Bennet, 82; Cath-
Titsworth, Tietsoort arine (see Berre), 83; Catherine (see Dissosway),
Abigail Beers, 545; Abraham Willemszen van 138; Cornelis, 82, 83; Cornelis Rutgers, 82; Eliza-
Amsterdam, 544; Aechtje Jan van Naerdan 544· beth Alberts Van Voorhees, 83; Engeltie Rapalje,
Anna, 544; Catrina Kuykendal, 545; Jacobus: 545; 83; George, 83; Gretian, 82; Jane Maria, 83; Jere-
John, Dr., 545; Kate--, 545; Margaret Middagh miah, 83; Joost, 82; Nicholas, 82, 83; Rutger (see
545; Maria, 544-545; Neeltje Swart, 544; Sarah Joosten), 81, 82; Rutgert, 82, 83; Rutgert A., 83;
Decker, 544, 545; Sarah Hoombeck, 544; Stephan- Tryntje, 82; Tryntje Class (see Harmensen), 82;
us, 545; Stephanus W., 544, 545; Willem, 499; Wil- William, 128
liam, 545; William (Willem Abrahamse), 544; Van Buskirk, Van Boskerk
Abraham, 314; Andries, 314; Catharine (see Os-
_William, II, 545; William S. (Willem), 544, 545 born), 314; Fitje, 314; Geertruy, 314; Isaac, 314;
Titus Jannetje Jans Van Hoom, 314; Johannis, 314;
Mary, 72, 86; Teunis (Tunis), 72, 85, 87 Laurens, 314; Laurens Andriessen, 265, 314, 317;
Toers Margrietje, 314; Margrietje Hendrick Van der
Arent, 307; Catlyntje (see Newkirk), 307; Sarah Linden, 314; Michael, 314; Peter, 314; Rachel Hop-
(see Dey), 533; Thomas Laurensen, 533 per, 314; Thomas, 265-266, 314; Thomas, 314, 315,
Torner, Jannetje (see Cockefair), 507
Torr, John M., 223 316, 317
Van Campen, Van Camp
Tourneur, . Temeur, Turnure Abraham, Col., 499, 545-548; Abraham, Jr., 547,
Aefie, 226; Daniel, 225; Hendrick (Henry), 226; 549; Abraham, III, 547; Benjamin, 547; Catharine
Jacobus, 225; Jacobus, Jr., 226; Jacomina (see Ob- (see Depew), 547; Catharine Rosenkrans, 549; Ce-
lenis), 225; Jacqueline de Parisis, 225; Jacques, cilia (see Ribble), 547; Cecilia Decker, 547; Cori-
225; Jannetie, 226; John, 226; John (see Hutton), anny (Rosanny), 549; Derricke Smidt, 183; Ger-
226; John L., 290; Margrietje Blauvelt, 226; Maria rit, 546; Gerrit Jansen, 546; Hendrick, 183; Isaac,
(see Oblenis), 226; Marritie Kuyper, 226; Michail, 499; 548, 549; James, 547; John, 546, 548; John,
226; Riker, 290; Sarah, 226 Jr., 548; John, II, 547; Lena, 549; Mackelt Stoffels
Tonnette, Mary, 221 Lodewyck, 546; Magdalena Van Garden, 548; Mar-
Townsend, Elizabeth J. (see Terheµn), 310 garet, 549; Maria (see Depew), 547; Maria Depue,
Trembly, Hannah (see Staats), 453 547; Moses, Maj., 547; Rachel - Van Aker, 547;
Truwer, John, 334 Sarah - , 548; Sarah Cape, 547; Sarah West-
Tuthill, B. F., 549 faal, 547; Susanna (see Romaine), 547; Susanna
Tuttle, Stephen, 540 Depue, 547; Tietje Jans Decker, 546
Turnure (see Tourneur) Van Cleave
Tymouth Benjamin, 443; Mary (Maretye) (see Brokaw),
Barber Parleman, 539; Jacob, 539 443 ,
Tysen (see Tison) Van Cleef, Van Cleve, Van Clea£
Benjamin, 399; Engeltje (see Pietersen), 84; H.
Underhill, John, 75 B., 542; Jan, 84; Neeltje Couwenhoven, 399
Valleau, Magdelene Franconier, 279 Van Cortlandt
Jacobus, 87; Jacobus, Col., 328; Sophia (see Van
Vallenburgh, John, 148 . Enden), 87; Stephanus, 87
Van Aken ,Van Aker Van Couwenhoven (see Couwenhoven)
Isaac, 547; Rachel - (see Van Campen), 547
Van Alen, Vanalen, Van Ale, Van Allen . Van Dalsen
Andrew, Dr., 312; Elizabeth Doremus, 312; Ger- Alltye (see Haring), 293; Annetje (see De Pew)
ret (Garret), 312; Hendrick, 313; Henry, 312, 313; 193; Dirckje Theunis Tallman, 194; Johannes, 194
Henry (Hendrick), 312; Hessel, 312; Jannetje Van Dam
Lozier 313; John, 313; John H., 312; Peter, 'l/19, Cornelia Beekman, 451, 452; Richard 451
312, 3i3; Pieter Gerritse, 312; Thomasina Earle Van Dean, Catrina Leah (see Van Whtkle), 525
Hallenbeck, 312; William, 312; Wyntie, 313 Van den Ende (see Van Ende)
Van Amsterdam, Abraham Willemszen, 544 Vandenhoff, Henry, 279
Van Arsdalen, Catharine Brokaw, 443 Vanderbeek, Van der Beek, Van der Beck
Van Bergh Abraham, 315; Annatje De Boog, 316; Ba~ent,
Dinah (see Frelinghuysen) (see Hardenburgh), 316; Coenradt, 315; Conradus, 316; Dorthea (Doro-
436; Louis, 436; Mrs. Louis, 436 thea) Coteleau (see Cortelyou) 143 144· Elsie
Van Beverhoudt (see Kip), 301; Elsie Kip, 316; 'Elsj~ Jan'e, 315;
Adriana (see Boudinot), 541,· Lucas 540 541 • Isaac, .278, 3!5, 316; Isaac, Jr., 316; Jacob, 316;
Maria Malvill Suhm, 541 ' ' ' Jan~etJe Spnngsteen Colve, 315; Mary Thoma.s
Vanblercom, Mary (see Youmans), 319 Badie Verdon Bennet, 315; Paulus 315 316· Rem
Van Bommel, Hendrick, 176 143, 144; Salomon, 316; Sarah Re~sen' (se~ Adri~
Van Borsom, Van Borsum ance), _65; Solomon, 316; Walter, 280
Anna. 61; CorneHus, 76; Egbert 61; Sara Roe- Vand~r~ilt, Van Der Bilt, Van Der Belt
loft's (see Stoothoff), 76 '
Van Boskerk (see Van Buskirk) ~pail) VAnan B~t), 83; Aeltje (see Hogen-
, i natJe, 227; Annatje (Ann) (see
607
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

Tallman), 227, 228; Annetje, 22?; Annetje (s~e Isaac, 177, 209; Isaac, Jr., 2091 210; Lea (see Van
Tallman), 227; Arie, 399; ~rechJe, 227i BrechJ~ Geldersen), 209, 210; MarritJe (see Sloat), 210·
(see Tallman), 227; Cornelius, 209; Dirck, 22_7, Melchert, 521; Metje Christianse, 209; Rachei
Douwe 227; Geertruyd (see Eckeson), 227; H1l- (see Van Ness), 521
letje, 227; Hilletje (Hillegont) Hardenbergh, 227; Van Duyckhuysen, Swantie (see Schuyler), 511
Jacob, 227, 228; Jacob, II, 227; Jacob Janse, 215, Van Duyn, Van Dien
227; Jacobus, 227; Jacobus, II, 227; James, 209; Aeltie Zabriskie, 334; Cornelius Gerretse, 453;
Jan, 87; Jannetje (see Tallman), 227; Jannetje Dennis, 468; Denys, 468; Dorcas Kiersted, 517;
Blauvelt, 227; Jannetje Couwenhoven, 399; Jere- Hannah, 334; Harmen, 334; James, 517; John D.,
miah, 79, 83; Johannes, 227; Johannes, II, 227; 468; John H., 334; Lena - - , 468; Macheltie
Johannes Hogenkamp, 209; John King, 143; Lem- (Maghtel) (see Staats), 453, 454; Marritie (see
metje (see Lefferts), 61; Margrietje (see Meyer), Cooper), 282; Peter, 517; Roelof, 468; Sibrech
227; Maria (see Meyer), 227; Maria Dircks Van Verkerk, 468; Vrouwtjen Verway, 278; Willem,
der Vliet (see Onderdonk), 215, 227; Richard, 468
209; Sara (see Van Nostrand), 227; Sarah, 227 Van Dyke, Van Dyck, Van Dike
Van der Ende (see Van Ende) Ann, 397; Anna Ververr_ 397; Catharine (see
Van Ditmarsen, Reyn, 176 Cruser), 432; Catharine (see Hendrickson), 402;
Vanderhoof, Cornelius, 312 Cornelia (see Berrien), 433; Eleanor (Nelly) Lane,
Vanderlinde 397; Henry L. R., 398; Jan Qohn), 397, 398; Jan
Benjamin, 297; Joost, 330; Machteld (see Zabris- Janse, 402; Jan Thomasse, 397; Lydia Longstreet,
kie), 330; Rachel Cresson Demarest Durie, 286; 398; Margaret Nevius, 398; Mary Brokaw, 443;
Roelof, 286; Margrietje Hendricks (see Van Bus- Matthias, 397, 399; Matthias, Jr., 398; Neeltje (see
kirk), 314 Berrien), 433; William J., 398
Vanderlinde, Van der Linde, Van der Linden Van Emburgh, Van Imbroch
Van der Schure, Helena (see Voorhees), 320 Gysbert, Dr., 274; Henricus, 311; Henry, 274;
Van Derveer, Van de Veer . Henry, Jr., 274; Jacob Demarest, 274; John, 274,
Catharine--, 459, 460; Catrina--, 459; Cor- 311; Margaret Demarest, 274; Maria Jane Bogert,
nelis Janse, 459; Elias, 460; Esther J. Van Nest, 274; Mary Terhune, 274; Polly Terhune, 311;
450; Esther Van Nest, 459; Femmetje, 460; Frank Polly (Maria) Terhune, 311; Polly Voorhees, 274;
M., 459; Hendrick, 459; Henry (Hendrick), Dr., Rachel De La Montagne, 274; Sarah Jane (see
460; Jacob, 459,460; Jacob, II, 459-460; Jacob, III, Terhune), 275 ·
460; Jacoba (see Covenhoven), 401; Jacobes, 459; Van Ende, Van Enden, Van Nanda, Van den Ende,
James, Dr., 450; James D., Dr., 459; James (Ja- Van der Ende
cobus), 460; Jane Van Pelt, 450; John, Sr., 450; Abraham, 87; Adrian, 87; Antic (see Colyer), 87;
John, 449, 450, 468; John (Johannes), 469; John Bastiaen, 87; Catryna, 87; Frederick, 87; Hen-
F., 450, 460; Joseph, 459, 460; Lawrence, 460; drick, 87, 93; Jacob, 87; Jannetie (see Beegel),
Maria--, 460; Maria Hardenbergh, 460; Mary 87; Jannetje Hendricks (Jenny), 58, 59, 87; Paulus,
(Maretye, Maria) (see Brokaw) (see Lane), 443; 58, 86, 87, 88; Ryck, 87; Sarah, 87; Sophia Van
Mary (see Quick), 450; Phebe, 460; Phebe (Fem- Cortlandt, 87
metje) (see Van Dorin), 460; Phebe Ditmars, Van Es (see Van Ness)
459; Tryntje Gillis de Mandeville, 459; William, Van Etten, Grietje (see Ennes), 452
459; Winche - , 460 · Van Garden, Magdalena (see Van Campen), 548
Van Deurse, Van Deuse (see Van Duser) Van Gelden, Maria (see Voorhees), 320
Van Deventer Van Gelder, Van Geldersen
Elizabeth - - , 396; Jacob, 389, 391, 396; Jacob, Ann (see Van Houten), 319; Lea (see Van D.user),
Jr., 396; Jeremiah, 396; Margaret Field, 389, 391; 210; Wynant, 209, 210
Sarah Brokaw, 443 Van Giesen .
Van de Voorst (see Van Vorst) Abraham, 517-518, 525; Abraham (? "Tory"), 518,
Van de Voort 519; Abraham, Capt., 518; Abraham, Jr., 518;
Peter, 216; Sarah (see Snedeker), 216 'Abraham Abrahamse, 518; Aeltie (see Vreeland),
Van Dien (see Van Duyn) 519; Andries, 518; Antje Dirckse, 518; Bastien,
Van Dike (see Van Dyke) 519; Christyntien (see Berdan), 278; Fitje An-
Van Doren, Van Dorin, Van Dooren, Van Doorn, driesse, 518; Isaac, 278, 518; Johannes, 518; Lea
Van Dorn Spier, 518; Maria Van Voorst, 518; Martje Dirkje,
Abram, 461; Altje Couwenhoven, 399; Altje 518; Prientje (see Van Winkle), 524-525; Rynier,
Schenc~, 461; Altye Schenc~ 409; Antje Schenck, 518; Rynier Bastiensen, 517, 518
409: Ane,. 404, 409; Cathanne (see Metlar), 391, Van Heekeren
462, Chanty Rynear Staats, 461-462; Christian, Johannes Jacobus Broes, 537; "Mrs.", 537
409, 461; Jacob, 401, 409, 460, 462; Jacob, Jr., 460; Van Hom, Van Home, Van Hoorn
Jacob I., 461; Jane (see C_oejeman), 435; John, Abraham, 280, 313, 496; Aeltje, 317; Alti«: {see
391r 461; John, II, 461; Mana Schenck 409· Mar- Demarest), 285; Barent, 317; Barent Chnstian-
retJe Lott, 461; Mattie Ditmars Hoagland 461 • sen, 317; Christian, 291; Christian Barentsen, 314,
Nelly (set; Smock) (see Hendrickson), 404; Pheb~ 317; Cornelia Durie Ackerman, 291; Cornelins,
(FemmetJe) Van Derveer, 460; Rynier, 462; Wil- 288, 290, 291, 319, 462; Dirck, 317; Dirck, II, 317;
liam, 399 Elizabeth, 317; Elizabeth French, 462; Elizabeth
Van. Duser, Van Dusen, Van Deurse, Van Deuse Ricketts, 463 ,464; Geertje Dircks Claussen, 317;
Angenitie Laroe, ·209; Elizabeth Rooseboom, 209; Hopper, 313; Jannetje Jans, 314; Jannetie Jans,
608
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

317· Jan Cornelis, 462; John, 462; Lena (Helena) (see Cook), 522; Catryn - , 521; Catryntje Cad-
Sip' 323• Margrietje (see Durie), 291; Mary Rick- mus, 522; Catryntje Roelofs Jacobusse 522· Cor-
ett; (se~ Moylan), 463; Philip, Col., 462, 463, 464 nelia - - , 522; Cornelis, 228, 519, 521°; Co~elis
Rachel Aeltse, 317; William, 313 II, 522; Cornelis Hendricse, 521; Cornelis Hen~
Van Houten . dricks, 90; Engeltje, 521, 522; Evert, 522; Fietje
Aaron, 513, 525; Abraham, 319, 513, 520; Adr1aen, (see Jacobusse), 522; Geertruy, 522; Gerritje (see
520· Adrian 508; Ann (see Van Horn), 319; Ann Van Houten), 228, 519; Grietje (see Claesen) 89·
Va~ Gelde;, 319; Anna, 319; Annatje Sip, 513; Hendrica Pier, 522; Hendrick, 521, 522; Henry J.:
Antje (Anna) Blauvelt, 319; Bridget Garrison, 523; Hester, 522; Hester de La Mat~r, 521, 522;
Isaac, 522, 523; Isaac J., 523; JannatJe Paulusse
319· Catharine (see Ryerson), 319; Catharine
Nagel, 228; Catharine Sip, 513, 520; Caty, 229; 522; Margriet, 522; Maria (see Van Siclen), 60;
Caty Blauvelt, 228; Claus, 228, 229; Claus R., 189, Maritie - Damen, 521; Mayken Hendricks
228 229; Cornelia Ackerman, 319; Cornelia Jane, Burchgraeff, 521; Micha (see Schenck), 408;
319°; Daniel, 319; Dirck, 494-495, 520, 521; Dou- Neeltje, 522; Neeltje Reike, 522; Peter (Petrus),
wagh, 319; Edmund, 297; Eliza Ellen Courter, 320; Capt., 522; Phebe Ann Spear, 523; Rachel (see
Elizabeth, 319; Garret, 297; Geertruy (see Van Rycke), 522; Rachel Van Deursen, 521; Sarah
Wagening), 524; George, 189; Gerrebrant, 510, · Jacobus, 523; Simon, 494, 521, 522; Simon, II, 522;
516, 520, 521; Gerrebrant, II, 520; Gerritje Hel- Simon, III, 522; Symon, 498, 522; Thomas, 522;
migse (see Sip), 513; Gerritje Van Nes, 228, 519; Wilhelmius, 88
Grietje Haring, 228; Hellemeg Roelofse, 519, 520; Van Nest
Helmig, 513; Hillegont (see Ryerson), 510; Isaac, Abraham, 450, 459; Ann Brokaw, 443; Catalina
229, 319-320; Isaac B., 229; Isaac I., 319; Jacob, (see Middagh), 446; Esther (see Van Derveer),
229, 319; James, 297, 319; Jan, 228; Janneke (see 459; Esther J. (see Van Derveer), 450; Jemima
Vreeland}, 324; Jannetje (see Poulese), 520; Jan- (see Ten Eyck), 458; Jerome, 458; Mary Ann (see
netje (see Sip), 516; Jannetje (see Smith), 215; Ten Eyck), 459; Mary Ann Ten Eyck, 450; Peter,
JannetJe (see Voorhees), 320; Jannetje Merselis, 427, 436, 446; Rynier, 443; Sara (see Stynmets),
508; Jannetje Sip, 520; Jennie Van Winkle, 525; 515; Tunison, 436
Jesse, 319; John, 202, 229, 319; John (Johannes Van Niewkercke (see Newkirk)
or Jan), 318-319; John R., 189; John Ryerson, 319; Van Noordstrand
John Ryerson, II, 320; Klaes, 189, 228; Levi, 319; Antic Stynmets, 515; Jacob, 515
M., 202; Maria, 319; Maria (see Stagg), 319; Mar- Van Nostrand, Van Nostrandt
garet, 229, 319; Margaret Doremus, 520; Margaret Antje Hendrickson, 404; .David, 404; Joris, 227;
Westervelt, 319; Mary, 229; Metje Gerrebrantse, · Sara (see Vanderbilt), 227
520; Molly (Marytje) Van Rypen, 520; Morris, Van Nuys, Vanuyse (see Van Ness)
189; Rachel, 319; Rachel (see Newkirk), 307; Van Oblenis (see Oblenis)
Ralph, 319; Ralph (Roelof), 319; Resolvert, 228; Van Orden
Richard, 520; Richard G., 520; Roelof, 228, 229, Margrietje Haring, 294; Mariah (see Haring),
319; Roelof Cornelissen, 228, 519; Rule£ C., 189, 294; Peter S., 294
208, 229; Sarah (see Sickels), 189, 208; Theunis Van Pelt (see also Lane)
Roelofse, 176, 215, 228; Tryntje Klaesen Kuyper, Aert, 85; Aert Teunisse, 84; Ann (see Stillwell),
228; William S., 189 140; Anna Maria (see Cortelyou), 85; Anthony,
Van Iderstein, Claertje (see Stynmets), 515 84; Antje Dorland, 85; Catharine (see De Hart),
Van Imbroch (see Van Emburgh) 125; Femmetje Stellenwerf, 85; Gertrude Jans
Van Kirk Otter, 84; Grietje Jans, 84; Ida (see LeJferts), 85;
Hannah Staats, 453; Nathan, 453 Jacob, 85; Jan, 85; Jan Teunissen, 125; Jane (see
Van Laer Vanderveer), 450; John L., 85; · John Lott, 85;
A( bigail Ver Planken, 270; Adrian, 270; Aeltye Maria Elizabeth (see Ditmars), 85; Maritie Lott,
see Ackerman), 270 85; Nieltje Jansen Van T,uyl, 85; Petrus Aerts~,
Van Kouwenhoven (see Couwenhoven) 85; Rem, 85; Samuel, 11(); Teunis, 84; Teun1s
Van Lent (see Lent) Jansen Lanen, 84; Theun1s, 441; Thys (Mathys)
Van Liew Jansen Laenan, 441; Townsend Cortelyou, 85, 86
Ann Suydam,· 396; Cornelius, 395; Denise, 404; Van Purmarent, Claes Jansen (Kuyper), 282
Garret S., 395; Helena (Lena) (see Hendrickson), Van Rensselaer, Kilian, 180
404 ; Mary Ann, 395 Van Riper H
Van Meter, Van Mater Abraham1 302· Elizabeth Stynmets, 515; arm&J?
Benjamin, 401; Cyrenius, 404; Gysbert, 402; Ida Jurianse, 515; 'Judith (Judah) Stynmets, 515 ; Jun
(s~e Hendrickson), 404; Jacob, 404; Mayke Hen- Jurianse, 515
f;ick~on, 402;, Neeltje (see Covenhoven), 401; Van Ruyven, Cornelius, 61
so~)l,t~Hendrick~on, 404; Phebe (see Hendrick- Van Rypen . ) ( van Hou-
Abraham, 520; Molly (MarytJe see
;an Middlesworth, Sarah (see Brokaw) 443 ten), 520
Van :aerden, Aechtje Jans (see Titswo~th), 544 VAn~:Oi: Jansen, 530; Eva, 530; Eva Antonis (see
Van anda (see Van Ende) ·
~Ne!s, Vanness, Van Es, Van Nuys, Van N.uyse Van Siclen), 60
~ail (se.e Pietersen), 61; Anna, 521; Annatie, Van Santvoord ) 154· Dominic
522
Auk An)natJe (~ee Jacobusse), 522; Anneken (see Anna, 154; Annetje (see ~taats • . J • b 154;
es (see P1eterse), 140; Auke Janse, 61; Caty Cornelius, 154, 155; Cornelius, 154 • aco s, 6og
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

Maria Catharine, 154; Staats, 154; Zeger, 154 Ann, 467; Ann (Antje) (see Beach), 470; Antje
Van Saun (Anne) (see Suydam), 467; Catrina (Trintje)
Catlyntje Merselis, 508; Isaac, 508 Buys, 468; Coevert, 467; Cornelia Lupardus, 470;
Van Schaick, Belitje (see Westervelt), 328 Dinah (see Probasco), 467; Elsje (Elsee) (see
Van Siclen, Van Sickelen, Van Sycklin, Van Syckel Mount), 467; Evert, 467,470; Evert (Gerritse), 467;
Aaron, 529, 530; Aaron, Jr., 530; Abraham, 60; Evert, Janse, 466, 469, 470, 472; Geertje (see Suy-
Annie, 60; Catharine I. Smith, 530; Catharine Op- dam), 467; Gerrardina, 468; Gerrardine (Dinah),
dyke, 530; Court J., 60; Cyrana Martin, 530; Eliza- 470; Gerrardine (Dinah) Couwenhoven, 467; Ger-
beth, 60; Evalsee Berdan, 278; Eva Antonis, 60; rit, 467; Ida Remsen, 467; Ida Suydam, 468, 469;
Eva Van Salee, 530; Eve, 60; Ferdinand, 60, 529, Jan, 467; Jane Ann - - , 468-469; Mary, 467;
530; Ferdinandus, 60, 441; Ferdinandus, Jr., 60; Mettje - - , 467; Mettje (see Anderson), 467;
Ferdinandus, III, 60; Gertruy (see Johannes), 60; Mettye Symonsen, 467; Nicholas, 467, 468, 470;
Henah - , 530; Jannetje (see Lane), 441; Jan- Nicholas, II, 468, 469; Peterneltje (see Hege~
nette, 60; John, 60; John C., 60; Joseph, 530; Kate man), 467; Settje (see Boyce), 467; Seytie, 468;
(see Martin), 530; Maayke (Mercy Langstraat), Symen, 467, 468, 470; Zytie (see Bergen), 467
530; Margaret, 60; Maria (see Van Nuys), 60; Van Winkle, Van Winkel, Van Winckel, Van Win-
Maria Antonides, 60; Mary Bird, 530; Minne, 60; ckle, Walingen
Reinier, Jr., 530; Remgo, 60 Annatje (see Sip), 513; Annatje Sip, 524; Annetje
Van Sinderen Jacobs (see Van Wagening), 523; Antje Merselis,
Catalina, 71; Femmetje, 67; Hotso, 71; Jane, 71; 508; Catrina Leah Van Dean, 525; Claesje Ger-
John, 71; Ulpianus, 67 ritse, 525; Cornelius, 525; Geertje (see Sip), 513;
Van Slichtenhorst Geertje, II (see Sip), 513; Hillegond Sip, 323;
Brandt, 511; Margrita (see Schuyler), 511 Jacob Walingen, 524; Janneke Ryerson, 525; Jan-
Van Suydam (see Suydam) netje Kip, 525; Jennie (see Van Houten), 525;
Van Syckel, Van Syckelen, Van Sycklin (see Van Johannes Walings, 323; John S., 524-525; John
Siclen) S., Judge, 522, 525; Maria Ackerman, 525; Peggy
Van Tiehoven (see Doremus), 535; Frientje Van Giesen, 524-
Cornelia (see Holst) (see Holdr.u m), 297; Cor- 525; Simeon, 508, 524. 525; Simeon J., 525; Simeon
nelis, 297 Peter, 525; Symon Jacobse, 524; Tryntje Jacobs
Van Tuyl Walingen, 524; Waling Jacobs, 523; Willemyntje
Abraham, 142; Denis, ·142; Helena (see Krusen), (see Kip), 301
142; Isaac, 144; Neeltje (see Croesen), 142; Sara Van Wyckle (see Van Wickle)
(see Lakerman), 144 Varick, Van Varick
Van Varick (see Varick) Abraham, 333; Jane Dey, 504; Martina (see Za-
Van Vechten briskie), 333; Richard, 504; Upson, 283
Deborah Antnoides, 465; Derrick, 389, 465, 466; Varleth
Dirck, 465; Elizabeth (see Davis), 465; Elizabeth Anna Stuyvesant Bayard, 322; Nicholas, 322
(see Frelinghuysen) (see Gaston), 447; Elizabeth Veghte
La Grange, 466; Jane (see Hageman), 465; Jan- Hendrick Claesen, 453; Lammetje (see Staats),
netje De Mont, 465; Judith Brockholst, 465; Mar- 453
garet (see Crane), 465; Mary (see Teneicke) (see Verbryck, Verbryke
Field), 389, 396, 465; Mary Lord, 466; Marytje Anna Maria (see Mabie), 191; Antje Brinkerhof,
Parker, 465; Michael, 427, 464-465; Miriam Betts, 281; Bernardus, 409; Henry, 281; Jannetje (see
466; Richard, 466; Sarah Middagh, 465; Teunis Haring), 296; Jannetje Schenck, 409; Maria Har-
Dircksen, 465 ing, 296; Roeloff, 296; Samuel S., Jr., 191; Samuel,
Van Voorhees, Van Voor Haze, Van Voorhis, Van Rev., 191
Vorhase (see Voorhees) Verdon (see Ferdon)
Van Vorst, Van Voorst, Van de Voorst Vermeule
Annetje (see Kuyper), 282; Cornelis, 282; Iden, Cornelius C., 386, 429; Dinah (see Field), 390
323; Johanna (Anna) (see Sip), 323; Maria (see Ver Planken, Abigail (see Van Laer), 270
Van Giesen), 518 Verryn, Jan Jansen, 60
Van Wagoner, Van Wagening, Van Wagenen (see Verschuur, Margaret, 64
also Garretson) Vervalen, Vervelen
Annetje Hermanser 515; Annetje Jacobs Van Barnardus, 304; John, 297; Mary Taylor, 297
Winkle, 523; AnnetJe Sip, 323, 523; Antje Gerrits Verkerk
(see Sip), 323; Garret, 524; Geertruy Van Houten, Anna (see Van Dyke), 397; Sybrech (see Van
524; Gerrit Gerritse, 514, 515, 523; Gerrit Her- Duyn), 468
manisse, 323, 523; Hermanus, 523, 524; Hermanus Verway, Vrouwtjen (see Van Dien) (see Berdan),
Gerritse, 514, 523, 524; Jannetje Gerrits (see Styn- 278
mets), 515; Johannes Gerritse, 323; Johannis, 523; Viervant, Cornelia (see Ennes), 542
Margaret Sip, 323; Ruleff, 524; Sarah--, 523 Villiers, Lysbet de (see Ackerman), 270
Van Werckhoven, Cornelius (Cornelis), 81, 144 Visscher (see Fisher)
Van Wesselen, Cornelia (see Lupardus) (see Voges, Ernest, 124
Schenck), 67 Voorhees, Van Vorhase, Van Voor Haze, Van
Van Westervelt (see Westervelt) Voorhis, Voorheese, Voorhis
Van Wickle, Van Wickelen, Van Wicklen, Van Abraham, 320, 473; Abraham, Jr., 473; Abr~m
Wyckle S., 395; Aeltje (see Stoothoff), 77; AeltJe Gerntse,
610
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

57; Albert, 77,320; Albert C., 445; Albert Stevense Weeckvelt

320; Alletta (see Quick), 532; Ann, 320; Barrentj~ Wells Maria (see Ackerman) 271
' ; Thomas, 271
Willemse, 320; Christina Bo,ert, 320; Coert, 63;
Coert Stevense, 77, 406; Connes, 320; Cornelius Julia Beach Lawrence 472· J .
399• Court G., 445; Mrs. E. B., 392; Elizabeth (se~ Lawrence, 472· Thom~s L' uba Lawrence 472·
We~tervelt), 328; Grace (see Zabriskie), 321; Hel- WesselsWerndtlin, Esth~r (see Goetsahlen)ce, 472 ' '
c us , 230
ena Van der Schure, 320; Henry, 409; Hendrickje
Stevense (see Terheun), 309; Jacques, 532; James, Cathlarine L. Zabriskie, 330; Wessel, 330
320; Jan, 320; Jan, II, 320; Jane, 320; Jannetje W esse szen
Alberts (see Ackerman), 275; Jannetje Van Hou- Josyntie
180 Thomas (see Hendricksen) , 180·, p·1eter,
ten, 320; Johannes, 409; John, 320, 321; John A.,
320; Koert, 90; Lucas, 391; Maria Van Gelden, West
Alice, 402; Ann Rudyard, 449. Caroline 402 . Eliz
320; Mary (see Pool), 391; Marytje Ditmars, 399;
Matilda Garretson, 395; Neeltje Koerten (see . beth (see Applegate), 402; Eiizabeth Benn;tt 40~:
Schenck), 406; Petronella, 90; Polly (see Van John, 137, 449; John Henry, 402; Peter Johnson'
402 '
Emburgh), 274; Ralph, 320; Ralph, Judge, 386;
Sarah (see Couwenhoven), 399; Sarah Schenck, Westbrook, Westbroeck
Abraham, 551; Abraham, II, 551; Anthony 499
409; Stephen, 389; Stephen Coerte, 320; Stephen 550, 551; Antjen Roosa, 551; Benjamin ' 551:
Court, 398, 406, 407; Susanna Laroe, 320; Tilletje Clementina (see Bell), 551; Cornelius, 550 551:
Reiniers Wizzel-pennig, 320; William, 320, 321; Eliza., 551; Heyltjen, 551; Johanna, 551; Joh~nnes:
William Albertse, 320 Sr., 550; Johannes, Jr., 499, 550, 551; Johannes, Jr.
Vredenburgh (II), 551; Lena, 551; Magdalena Decker, 550; Mar-
John S., 435; John S., Rev., 436 garet Low, 551; Maria, 551; Maria Helm, 551; Mar-
Vreeland, Vree Land (see also Michaelsen, Van tynus, 551; Michel, 551; Reuben Buckley, 551
Broeckhuysen) Westerfield, Hester (see Naugle), 305
Abraham, 519; Aeltie Van Giesen, 519; Dirck, 514, Westervelt, Van Westervelt
515, 518; Dirck (Derrick), 324; Eder, 136; Elias Abraham, 311; Ann (see Bogert), 325; Belinda De-
Michielsen, 494; Elizabeth, 324; Elizabeth (see marest, 325; Benjamin, 305; Benjamin P., 328, 329;
Sip), 323; Elizabeth Mason, 519; Enoch, 508; Catelyntje Taelman, 328; Catharine L~qnour, 325;
Helen Harris, 325; Isaac, 324, 325; Janneke Van Charles P., 327; Cornelius, 510; Damel, 291, 327;
Houte~, 324; Jannetje Marselis Van Houten, 508; Dirkjin Taelman, 327; Douwe, 327; Efie De Groot,
JannetJe Spe~r, 519;.John, 519; John M., 519; John 327, 328; Elizabeth (see Sloat), 210; Elizabeth Van
P., 542; Lavina Brinkerhoff, 325; Margaret (see Voorhis, 328; Geesie, 325-326; Gertrude (see
W~stervelt), 325; Margaret Terhune, 324; Mary Ackerman), 291, 327; James, 210; Johannes, 326,
El!Zabeth (see Demarest), 281; Mary Sipp, 324; 327· Johannes, Jr., 327; Johannes (II) Roelofse,
richael, 324, 518, 519; Michael D., 324; Michael 327: 328, 329; John L., 325, 326; John P. B., 328;
t
R:• 25d; Peter I., 542; Ralph, 519; Richard, 514;
V . 1c ar. M., 324-325; Warren, 519
Jurrien Lubbertse, 326; Lea Demarest Brouwer,
327 · Lea Poulousse Ferdon Nagel Blackledge, 305,
~;;, Elizabeth (Lybete or Libshe) (see Fisher), 328: Leah (see Ryerson), 510; "Long John," 325,
326: Lubbert Lubbertsen, 325, 326, 328; Lucas, 325;
Vroom Mafgaret (see Van Houten), 319; :Margaret :ree-
Hendrick• 445·, H endnc · k Corsen, 427; Sarah Lane,
~i:. ~ini
44 Iand 325· Margrietje Banta Kuyper, 327; ary,
5
291; 'Ors~Iena (Wesselena) Stynm;;•
Wagoner, Wagner 328· Peter D., 327, 328; Petrus, . • ff 27,
W,,528 Col~ 327; Rachel, 327; Rachel Brinker~~ 1 6 ' : 28 !
10
Waldron Rb
;alinge~ c!e:cv~8W.Nklug)le) (see Dyckman), 303
Reb~cca Demarest, 327l f ~ j1 : 27 ~
Roelof, II, 326, 327; Roe O , . T_,;tje (see Ter•
J~eloff Lub~
Walker, Captain, 332 in e berts, 265; Sally Nagel, 328 , •r-
ann, Garret, 403
Wa ace hune ), 311 1 w tfalya
Westphall, Westphalia, Wes~Sa' h (:ee Van Carn·
W John t447·
' ' W'Ui
1 Claus, 499; Johannes, 4U99? ha~99 550 551
a ter Mari ( am447, pen), 547; Simon, 499; ria ' ' '
Walto~ a see Schuyler) (see Kennedy), 511
Jacob, 437 451 · J Wheelock "d ,, 541
Maria Suhm, 541; "Presi ent,
Ri~ 1~~;:
ld21; 'Matth~!n,1 abrtha, 121; Mary Still-
T ar , 121 • Thom' 1 • e ecca Lawrence 121 • White S h'18 139
wa!~::ak~rIII: 121 ;_ w1iJ!!;, John, 436; Samuel P., 139; op '
1rrmas, II, Capt:, 121; Whitlock .
John, 402, 403; William, 402
W~titherine Holdrum 2 .
Warnng, Chas. B. 151' 97, John, 297; Peter 177 Whitten .
aerts G. • , Abraham, 302; Cathanne, 302
Washin ' netje (see Si ) ( • Wicoff, Wikoff (see Wyckoff)
442, 4to~ Georg-e, 282,P333 sie D1ederick), 322,323
;atson, Ma 7, 461, 462, 463, 504 ~ 2431, 432, 436, 437, Willemse,William,
Wilkins, 411 ) 320
Wayland, Sai hEE (see Carter)'' 221'
a1tnan, W. aE 5' (see Sip) 323 ,
5iii537,540,549 Willemszen
Barrentje (see Voorhees '
.
Abraham, 199; AechtJe Jans see a
( M bie) 199
'
., 28 '
Willetts, J. Macy, 449 6I I
 GENEALOGICAL INDEX

Williams, Roger, 389 406,473; Peter A., 90; Petrus, 79: Pieter, Jr., 73, 88
Williamse, Williamson, Guilliamse 89, 90; Pieter Claesen (see Claesen), 66, 89; Sarah
Annetie (see Lott), 79; Catharine Van Dom (see (see Luyster), 93; Sara (see Monfoort), 90; Sarah
Ryder) (see Schenck), 80; Garret, 71; John, 71; (see Amerman), 90; Sarah Ann (see Johnson) 74.
Johannes, 57; Maria, 71; Nicholas, 57; William, Sara - , 473; Willemtje Janse (see Sche.;ck)'
57, 79, 81, 391 69, 90 '
Willocks, George, 494,496,520,522 Wynants, Wynantse (see Winant)
Winant, Winants, Wynant, Wynantse
Abraham, 140, 141; Ann (see Disosway), 129, 141; Yard, Ann (see Frelinghuysen), 447
Ann Cole, 141; Anna Maria, 140; Catherine (see Yeomans, Yeomen (see Youmans)
Sleight), 140; Christina Mary Johnson, 141; Cor- Yong
nelius, 140; Daniel, 140; Elizabeth, 141; Jacob, Antje, 535; Peter, 535
140; John, 140, 141; Lidda, 141; Manuel, 140; Mar- Yorkse
garet (see Sleight), 140; Mary (see Perine), 141, Paulus, 179; Tryntje (see Crom), 179
151; Mary Garretson, 141; Mary Jane (see John- Youmans, Yeomen, Yeomans
son), 141; Peter (Pieter), 129, 140, 141; Rhoda, Ann (see Van Houten), 319; Daniel, 319; Mary
140, 141; Winant, 140, 141; Winant, Jr., 141 Vanblercom, 319
Wiseman, Mrs. Evelyn, 295
With~spoon, president of Princeton, 397 Zabriskie, Zaborowsky, Sabrisco
Wizzel-pennig, Tilletje Reiniers (see Voorhees), 320 Abraham, 330; Abram, 333; Aeltie (see Van Dien),
Wood 334; Albert, 265, 330, 332, 334; Albrecht, 229, 329;
Ann (see Blauvelt), 187; Jabez, 187; Jacob, 187; Andrew, 330, 332; Andrew (Andries), 330-331; An-
Maria (see Blauvelt), 187 nat'!tjen Ackerman, 332; Annatje, 332; Annetje, 333;
Woodward CathaciDe L. (see Wessels), 330; Christian, 330;
John, 273; Joseph, 87, 88, 93; Lambert, 94 Christian, II, 330; Christian, Andrew, 330; Cor-
Wright, John, 123, 130 nelius, C., 330; David A., 332; Elizabeth - - , 330;
Worms, Daniel, 539 Elizabeth Anderson, 332; Elizabeth Claes Romeyn,
Wortendyke 332; Elizabeth Romeyn, 229; Harriet (see Dore-
Abraham, 303; Cornelius A., 303; Isaac, 303; John mus), 289; Hendrick, 3=i0; Hendrick, II, 330; Henry,
B., 303 287; Isaac, 283, 330; Jacob, 330; Jacob, II, 330;
Wostbrock, Henry J., 303 Jacob Albertse, 273; Jan A. (John, Sr.), 332, 333;
Wurts, George, Dr., 537 Jan J., 334; Jane, 330; Jane Anderson, 332; Jane
Wyckoff, Wycof, Wicoff, Wikoff Goelett, 332; John, 176,214,229,230,331,332; John,
Abigail (see Baxter), 78; Abraham, 78, 90; Ann Jr., 332,333; John, III, 332; John, IV, 332; John B.,
(see Onderdonk), 88; Anna (see Kouwenhoven), 321; John H., 287; John J., 299; Lea, 334; Leah
93; Anne Elizabeth, 90; Antic (Anne) (see Ra- Hendrickse Hopper, 330; Letty (Lettie) Haring,
palye), 73; Antje (see Schenck), 69; Catharine 295; Machteld Van der Linde, 330; Margrita Durie,
Maria (see Rapelye), 74; Cornelius, 90; Deborah 229, 332; Maria, 330; Maria Hopper, 330; Marretje,
(see Stoothofl'), 78; Folkert, 73, 74; George, 93; 333; Martina Varick, 333; Martyntje - - , 330;
Gertrude (see Suydam), 74; Heyltie (Heyltje) Mary, 330; Mary Ryerson, 330; Marytye (see Hop-
Remsen, 90; Ida, 90; Jacob, 473; Jacobus (Cobus), per) (see Ackerman), 275; Matilda B., (see Board),
473; John A., 90; La!Jlbert, 74; Lammetie (see 330; Peter, 333; Rachel, 288; Rachel (see Dema-
Lott), 79; Mariah--, 473; Marretje (see Depew), rest) (see Schuyler), 287; Rachel (see Goetschius),
547; Matilda (see Quick), 450, 532; Nicholas 230
(Claes), 59, 69, 73, 74, 88, 90; Nicholas, Jr., 73; Zigmunt, Peter, 274
Nicholas N., 73; Peter, 59, 73, 74, 88, 90, 398, 405, Zinzendorf, Count, 548

612
 PRE-REVOLUTIONARY
DUTCH HOUSES
AND FAMILIES IN
NORTHERNNEW JERSEYAND
SOUTHERNNEW YORK
ROSALIE FELLOWS BAILEY
In Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, an<l Rockland County, New York; the nearby
counties of ::--ew Jersey (Bergen, Middlesex, Monmouth, Somerset); and western
;>;cw Jersey (Essex, Passaic, Hunterdon, '.\Iorris, Sussex, \\arren Counties) wen:
once found thriving villages and towns of Dutch settlers. Today, these areas
reveal little evidence of what once was, and what remains is under constant
threat.
Miss Bailey's study of early Dutch houses and families of this" historically rich
area has done much to "preserve" the heritage. Published originally under the
auspices of the Holland Society (as was Helen Wilkinson Reynolds' Dutch Howl'.\
in the Hudson Valley Before 1776, a Dover reprint, S3.50), it is a major volume
of architectural history, and it has become increasingly important as the )Cars
have passed.
The opening section discusses land titles, modern restoration, t)pcs of houses,
building materials, locations of original settlements, and other general material.
Then, 210 houses arc described, all but a handful illustrated in one-to-a-page
photographs. The families who built these houses-Blauvelt, Van Dyke, Vanclcr-
bilt, \Vyckoff, Luyster, De Pew, Schenck, Bergen, Lcfferts, ct al.-rcad like a "who
was who" of early '\cw York-:-;ew Jersey. The texts that describe each house and
accompany the plates are a treasury of information: family histories, dates of
construction, special architecture, former location, and similar material.
\\'ith such exceptions as the Lefferts house and the \V)ckoff homestead, both in
Brooklyn, and a number of other structures, many listed in Miss Bailey's new
foreword these great homes have been demolished. This book is therefore no
less than a vital document for architects, students of Americana, and the growing
number of partisans in America's restoration movement.
Unaltered, unabridged reprint of the original (1936) edition. :'\cw author's foreword.
Introduction by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. 171 plates. Eight additional photo-
graphs. Genealogical index. ix+ 612pp. 61/s x 9¼. Tl985 Paperbound $5.00

A DOVER EDITION DESIGNED FOR YEARS OF USE!

\Ve have made every effort to make this the best book possible. Our paper is
opaque, with minimal show-through; it will not discolor or become brittle with
age. Pages are sewn in signatures, in the method traditionally used for the best
books, and will not drop out, as often happens with paperbacks held together
with glue. Books open flat for easy reference. The binding will not crack or split.
This is a permanent book.