| Pieter came to New Amsterdam on 25 Sept., 1636 on the ship "Rensselaerswyck" from Amsterdam, Holland.On 07 April, 1637 he left New Amsterdam and went to live in Fort Orange (Albany, New York). The Fort Orange area was still just a little village, with the fort by the Hudson River, and most of the outlying land was inhabited by Indians.On 25 Sept., 1636 when he came over to the new land his ship anchored off the seaport of Texel, and it lay in anchor off this port for a short while. This ship was outfitted by the Patroon Killian Van Rensselaer, a famous Diamond merchant of Holland, who had a contract with the Dutch West India corporation for a concession of land on the Hudson river. Pieter was only 12 years old at this time, and he was listed as a servant of Symon Walichsz.Pieter Claessen finished his indenture with Van Rensselaer from 03 April, 1637 to August, 1644. Pieter Claesen came to Fort Orange (Albany) on April 07, 1637 on the ship Rensselaerwick. The log of this ship contains the following: "This ship sailed from Amsterdam, Holland, 25 Sept., 1636,reached New Amsterdam, New Netherland, 04 March, 1637, and Tuesday, 07 April, 1637, about three o'clock in the morning we came to anchor before foort aeranien, the end of our journey upward. "There is no complete list of passengers on this ship, but among those named are Pieter Cornelissen from monnickendam, North Holland, Pieter Claesen Van Norden, and Simon Walischez.These three did not remain in New Amsterdam but went on to Fort Orange. These records show that Pieter Claesen was one of the thirty-eight laborers sent on the Rensselaerswick, to be assigned to various fams on the Van Rensselaer estate and that under the date 03 Aprill, 1637, he was assigned to Simon Walischez.He was to receive 50 guilders per year for the first three years and 75 guilders for the last three years.About the time the contract matured Simon Walischez's lease was cancelled on the grounds that he was an unsatisfactory tenant and the final settlement was made by the Van Rensselaer estate. (see Hoppin,Washington Ancestry and Forty other families, Vol. 111, page 103).According to the report, Pieter Claesen was 18 years old when he made his settlement with the Van Renssealer estate.Soon after this he rented a farm for himself and married Grietje Van Ness, the daughter of a prominent citizen of the colony.His first two children were born in Albany, but with his wife, and two children he left and moved to New Amsterdam in 1649. There he remained until 1655 when he signed a contract "to superintend the Bowery and caattle of Peter Stuyvesant in New Amersfoort."Pieter Claesen prospered and became one of the most influential citizens of the little frontier settlement.He was trained as a farmer by his father-in-law Cornelius Van Ness in the Fort Orange area.In 1649 Pieter moved from Fort Orange to New Amersfoort, Long Island, and on 27 May, 1652 he purchased land in New Amersfoort on Canarsie lane, and Kings highway to the Brooklyn shore.He lived for 45 years in New Amersfoort, and had 2 children baptized in the New York Dutch Reformed church.On 27 May, 1652, and 28 Sept., 1658 he purchased property in New Amersfoort from Wolphert Gerritzen Couwenhoven.He became the local judtge, something like our justice of the peace, and was influential in establishing the Flatlands Dutch Reformed Chudrch at the juncture of Flatbush Avenue and King's Highway. During this time he received a contract (Colonial New York Documents) to supervise the Bouwery (farm) with cattle of Governor Pieter Stuyvesant at Amersfoort.Pieter Claesen took care of cattle in New Amsterdam, and in 1655, 1662, and 1663 he was appointed Schepen (Sheriff), and later Magistrate for Flatlands, in Brooklyn.In Sept., 1676 he owned land, and animals valuated in Amersfoort.It consisted of 2 polls (Land), 5 horses, 13 cows, 2 oxen, 2 sheep, 59 morgens of land, and valley, and the estate was worth 304 pounds.Pieter Claesen Wjckoff as he was later referred to was 51 when he took the oath of allegiance to the British in Flatbush.Later he would be Judge, and he helped establish the Flatlands Dutch Reformed church. Prior to 1686 his children mostly used the surname of Pieterse, but soon adopted the name of Wyckoff, which was written in many ways. After 1686 the family was always referred to as Wyckoff, or some variation of this name, probably named as a village of this name in Holland. He was a witness to a baptism in the Brooklyn DRC on 14 Sept., 1679. The surname of Wyckoff is Dutch, and it usually meant someone living at a major farm. In a roll of those who took the oath of allegiance in Kings County in 1687, the names of Pieter Claesen and his six sons appear with the surname of Wijckoff. |
