USA > New York > Staten Island > History of Richmond County (Staten Island), New York : from its discovery to the present time > Part 51
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Besides the above, there is mention in the county or church records, of the following: Antone Fontayne, who purchased land in 1686; probably he was the same who was witness in a suit six years before. Vincent, who both bought and sold land in 1697. Richard also bought in 1702. Anthony and Belitze (Isabella) Byvank, his wife, had a daughter baptized May 11, 1729. Anthony and Annatje Geretson, his wife, had a son An tone, baptized November 3, 1754, a son John, November 20, 1757, and a son Cornelius, December 23, 1759. Anthony and Susannah, his wife, had a son Charles, baptized September 25, 1756. Jolin Fountain and Catharine Fountain were married December 24, 1804. Cornelus Fountain died January 27, 1813, and his wife Elizabeth lived but four days after, having died January 31, 1813. They are buried by the side of each other in a field in the town of Southfield, a few rods south of the Old Town road, and east of the Staten Island Railroad.
FROST .- The first of this name in the county, as far as can now be ascertained, was Dr. Thomas Frost; he resided at Rich- mond, and from the fact that courts, supervisors' meetings and other public bodies met at his house sometimes, we infer that he also kept an inn or tavern. That he was a decided loyalist or tory, is evident from the indictment found against him by the first grand jury which was impanelled after the evacuation of
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the island by the British, as may be seen in another place. The first court house built in the county after the formation of the new government, was upon land purchased from him, which building is still standing, though in a modernized form, and is now owned and occupied by Isaac M. Marsh, Esq. That Doctor Frost was here just before the revolution is seen by an entry in the baptismal record of St. Andrew's church, which records the fact that Thomas and Tamar Frost had a son named Wil- liam Errell, born February 17, 1774. They had at least three more sons, viz., Samuel, Henry and John; what became of the two last mentioned we do not positively know, but Samuel continued to reside on the island; he was twice married, the first time to a lady from New Jersey, the second time to Catha- rine Bedell, by whom he had one son, the late Samuel H., who married Louisa, daughter of the late Mr. Stephen Ketteltas; their children were Henry and Stephen K.
GARRISON .- There were several of the name who emigrated from Holland; the earliest were Gerret Gerretson Van Gelthuys, a tailor-came over, in 1658, in the ship " The Gilded Beaver:" John Gerretson, baker, with his wife and child, came at the same time and in the same ship. Wouter and Stoffel came over in February, 1659, in the "Faith;" Gerret and Jan came over in December of the same year in the same ship. There were several others of the name who came over in succeeding years.
Whether the family on the island have all descended from one immigrant, or from more, it is now impossible to determine. The earliest mention of the name on the island occurs in 1691, when Jacob gave his brother John a power of attorney to sell land on Smoking Point, from which we infer that Jacob was not a resident of the island and John was. From 1698 to 1702 we find the names of Frederick, Christopher Lambert and Seger, all as land owners.
The name seems to have been interchanged with that of Van Wagener. For example, Hendrick Van Wagener bought of Thomas Dongan a piece of ground on the main road from the Narrows to Amboy, May 23, 1755. This was sold by Van Wagener (as Garretson) to Parkinson; by him to Britton; by him to others, and is now known as "Concord." We have the statement of the late Judge Metcalfe that all of Van Wagener's brothers went by the name of Garretson, and that he himself finally took the name. The change of Garritson to Van Wage-
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ner is partially accounted for by the fact that they had come from Wageningen, in Holland, while others of the same name had come from other places, as certain lists of immigrants pre- served in the documentary history show, and by careless cus- tom the name of his birthplace became the name of the man.
Hendrick is mentioned in the county records in 1768; he lived on the Clinch property, Richmond road, near Fingerboard road. His son Harmanus was born in April, 1732, and died July 3, 1813. Harmanus' son John (always named as John, Esq.), was born in 1761, and died December 19, 1837; he was county judge from 1803 to 1823, presidential elector in 1808. and surrogate in 1820. John's son Harmanus was member of assembly in 1825; it was humorously said of him that he carried more weight in the assembly than any other member, for he weighed over three hundred pounds. This Harmanus had three brothers, John, Jr., George and Garret. John, Jr., was member of assembly in 1836; his sons are Jacob C. and John of Fresh kill.
John C. was born March 15, 1788; he is the son of John, and his mother was Elizabeth Conner, sister of the late Col. Rich- ard Conner; his grandfather was usually called Hannis, which is an abbreviation of the word Johannes.
In addition to the above, we find in the several church rec- ords mention made of the following: Jacob, born September, 1766, died July 3, 1847; he married Catharine Simonson, Janu- ary 18, 1789; John, known as " Col.," born 1761, died August 15, 1839; he had a daughter baptized September 7. 1787; Nicho- las and Christina Van Woglom, son Abraham baptized Sep- tember 21, 1744. Daniel and Mary had the following children: Charles, born February 11, 1755; Jacob, born June 13, 1757; and Daniel, baptized August 22, 1762. Daniel made his will December 21, 1792, proved December 5, 1793, in which he speaks of his wife Mary, and his children Daniel, Jacob, Charles, Catharine Buskirk and Mary. Isaac and Maria Christopher, son Christopher baptized March 21, 1731. John and Susan Lake married December 23, 1806. Charles, sheriff in 1730, and Adrianche, mentioned in the county records in 1763, we find no further traces of.
The following particulars in regard to the Garretson family have been furnished by Mr. John H. Garretson of Green Ridge. " Gerrit Gerritsen and Annetje Heermanse his wife, and one child, Gerret, then two years old, came from Wageningen in
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
Gelderland. They arrived in the ship " Faith " Dec. 23, 1660. He was the founder of the family now spread over Hudson, Bergen, Passaic and Essex counties in New Jersey, and Staten Island. He brought a certificate of good character and Christ- ian deportment from the Burgomasters of his native city. He settled at Communipaw and died Oct. 4, 1696, his wife laving died Sept. 7th of the same year. They had seven children: Gerrit, Jannetje, Fitze, Harmanus, Aeltze, Hendrick and Johan- nes. Six of these were married. Some of them took the name of the place their father came from for their family name, others did not. Gerrit, the eldest married Neesje Pieters, May 11, 1681, and had children: Elizabeth, Peter, Gerrit, Annetze, Jo- hannis, Abraham and Jacob. The Staten Island Garretsons are descendants of Johannis of this family, who married Mar- garet Sip, May 22, 1713.
" Johannis had children,-Gerrit, Johannis, Cornelius, Jacobus, Hendrick, Abraham, Harmanus and Hannah. The last was born on Staten Island, as is supposed, the family mov- ing hither in 1732. He had property sufficient to give these children a good start in life. His home place was on the old Town road, now occupied by H. Meyer. This he gave to his second son, Johannis, who, following the custom already allnded to, adopted the name of Van Wagenen. Cornelius, the third son, married Claasje Pieters, and settled in Metuchen, N. J. Jacobus married a Simonson, and settled at Clifton, on his wife's farm.
" Hendrick married Catherine Paulerson, December 3, 1747, and lived on the John Britton place on the Richmond road. Garrison's Station is on property of his descendants. Abra- ham married and lived in Bergen.
" Harmanus married Autty Simonson, Apr. 26, 1759, and lived on the old Town road till 1790, after which he moved to the farm now owned by Mr. Erastus Wiman. They had three children. These were Margaret, John and Dinah. The first married Harry Gnyon, and inherited the Guyon place, the second married Martha Cadmus and had the old town farm, and the third married Joshna Merserean and moved to Stenben county.
"John Garretson and his wife Martha had children: Jane, Har- manus, Alida, Dinah, John, George, Richard, James, Garret and Martha. Jane married Henry Seguine and had children:
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Joseph and John. Harmanus married a Miss Cadmus, had a son, Jasper, who lived in Bergen, the early home of his mother. Harmanus had three other wives but left no other children. Alida married George Van Pelt; Dinah married John Tysen; John married Ann Crocheron and left two children, Jacob C. and John H., now of Green Ridge; George married Susan de Groot and had a son, George and a large family of girls; Richard and James died unmarried; Garret married Mary Ann Clauesson, and left children, John J., William and three daughters; and Martha married twice-John Sawyer and James Laforge.
"Jacob C. Garretson married Harriet N. Ketcham and had children: John, Philip, Henry, Jacob C., Erskine White, Sarah (married John Eadie), Ella (married Craig Ketcham) and Har- riet (married Albert Serrell). The last named, Jacob C., had sons, Henry and Jacob, who are married."
GUYON .- This is an ancient and honorable French Protestant family. Some of them escaped at an early date from the per- secutions in their native country, and came to America; others remained until the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, when most of them escaped to Holland, but a few remained to face the peril. William de Guyon de Geis fled to Holland, and took service under William of Orange, and lost an arm in that ser- vice in Germany; he died in 1740. Several of his descendants held commissions in the English army. Of those who remained in France, an aged pastor was arrested, and upon being searched a letter from Claude Brousson, who was a proscribed preacher, was found upon him, and he was forthwith exe- cuted, and the house at Nismes in which he was captured was razed to the ground, as a punishment to its owner for giving him shelter. The last Count Guyon was in the Austrian service as late as 1848. There were, probably, two of the family who came to New York at an early date-Gregory and Jaques. The former lived at New Rochelle in 1710, and was then 44 years of age, and his wife, Mary, was 40. The latter settled on Staten Island, and received a patent from Sir Edmund Andros, dated March 27th, 1675, for abont 178 acres of land on the island at a quit rent of eight bushels of wheat. This patent is still in existence, and the land is still owned and occupied by his direct descend- ants, the family of Mrs. Dr. Ephraim Clark. We find in the county records notices of two law suits: one, "Jacob Jeyoung against Isaac See, in 1678; the other, Jaques Jeyoung against
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ffrancis Martinoe, March 6,1781." As he was the only individual of the name of Guyon-or Jeyoung, which is nearer the French pronunciation-he was, without doubt, the plaintiff in both suits, the name Jacob being either a clerical error or an instance of clerical ignorance. He had a son James, born January 5, 1714. James had a son James, born March 16, 1746, whose wife's name was Susannah, and they were the parents of the late Major James Guyon, father of Mrs. Clark. Major James is known in our civil list as James, Jr., was born December 24, 1778, and died March 9, 1846. He was member of assembly in 1812-13, and representative in congress in 1819-20. He was mar- ried three times: first, to Ann Bedell, mother of Mrs. Clark; second, to Ann Perine; and third, to Martha Seguine; the two last were childless.
The present Major James Guyon was the son of Harmanus and his wife, Elizabeth Holmes, married May 2, 1802. Har- manus-usually called Harry-was member of assembly 1819-20. He was the son of James by his second wife, Margaret Garrison, and half-brother of James, Jr.
In the old church records of St. Andrew's we find the follow- ing, which we are unable to place: John and Elizabeth Butler, married January 12, 1800. Cornelius and Getty Mersereau, married May 16, 1807.
HATFIELD. - The tradition of the family is that James Hatfield and a brother came from England long before the revolution; the brother settled in New Jersey, but James on Staten Island. During the war James was a decided whig, a rare occurrence, particularly on Staten Island, and was incarcerated by the British, or tories, somewhere in New Jersey, but was soon released by the Americans. His sons were James and John D., the latter of whom was born April 5, 1777, and died December 3, 1856. He married Mary, daughter of Jacob Van Pelt, and they were the parents of the following children : John, Moses (both of whom were lost at sea in December, 1839); Maria, wife of Captain J. W. Barnes, of Port Richmond; Jacob, died in infancy; Jacob, born March 17, 1817.
There is a record of a Benjamin Hatfield, who married Nanne Merrill, January 10, 1765, and of Susanna Hatfield, who was the wife of Pieter Decker, and had a child baptized as early as 1718. (See the Decker family). Whether these were members of the same family, it is impossible now to determine.
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
HAUGHWOUT .- The date of the arrival and the name of the progenitor of this family are lost. It was never very numerous, and the notices of it in the county and church records are few. The earliest mention of it is where Egbert Hanghwout was sponsor at a baptism April 20, 1709, and where Peter Haugh- wout sold land in 1708. Egbert had a daughter baptized May 4, 1714, and Peter and Neltje (Cornelia) Bakker, his wife, had eiglit children baptized between 1710 and 1736. Jan and Eliza- beth Hooglant had a daughter baptized October 16, 1720. Peter and Aaltje (Alida) Bennett, of Long Island, had the following children : Neltje (Cornelia), baptized July 28, 1751; Peter, June 24, 1752; Nicholas, March 12,1758; and Wynant, April 20, 1760. He owned a large property at the locality now known as Wil- low Brook, or the Gun Factory, in Northfield. He made his will December 15, 1787, probated September 6, 1792, in which he speaks of his wife Alle (or Altje), his sons Peter, Nicholas and Wynant. and his daughters Alle Webb, Nelly Cozine, and his grandchildren, the children of his daughter Nelly, and Alettee, Garrett, Peter and Jacobus.
His son Peter was the father of the late Peter N., of Port Richmond. His son Wynant was the father of Simon, of Gran- iteville, and his son Nicholas was father of Nicholas, now de- ceased, who was engaged in the oyster business, and was said to be the first to introduce oysters "on the Canal street plan," that is, stewed or otherwise cooked, before which they could only be procured raw. Egbert and Elenor Garebrantz had a son Daniel, baptized March 8, 1782. Nicholas had a daughter baptized August 6, 1786. Wynant had a son Isaac, baptized October 28, 1787. Peter had a son Daniel, baptized June 7, 1788.
CHARLES A. HERPICH is of German descent, and the grand- son of Carl Augustus Herpich, a cloth manufacturer who re- sided in Grossenhain, Saxony. His children were two dangh- ters and three sons, of whom the youngest, Carl Augustus, re- moved to Berlin and engaged in the fur business. By his mar- riage to Emily Opperman, of Berlin, were born children : Charles A., Julius F., Rudolph G., and one daughter, Theresa Amelia.
The birth of Charles A., the subject of this sketch, occurred on the 25th of February, 1831, in Berlin. In youth he entered a grammar school, afterward received a collegiate education,
Ofran. A. Henfail
ARTOTYVE E BIERSTADT
1 4.
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
and on the completion of his course of study began his business career as a furrier with his father, during his apprenticeship of four years becoming familiar with all its branches. He par- ticipated actively in the revolution of 1848, was captured and for a brief period confined in the fortress of Spandau. On his release Mr. Herpich, being disinclined to military service. to which he was liable, determined to emigrate, and in February, 1849, joined a party en route for South Australia. After a brief experience in the colonies he returned in 1850 to Berlin, later spent some time in travel in Germany and England, and in August, 1851, sailed for America, landing in New York. He at once accepted a situation, continued for two years thus em- ployed, and in 1853 embarked for Europe with a view to mak- ing his first purchases as a dealer in furs in New York city. He speedily established an extensive business in all parts of the country, as a successful merchant in skins and the mann- factured goods. Mr. Herpich has devoted little time to inter- ests apart from his legitimate pursuits. He is president of the German Club of Staten Island, and has been a member of the board of trustees of the village of New Brighton. His public spirit indnced him to accept the office of supervisor of the town of Castleton, but aside from this he has declined such honors. He is a member of the German Lutheran church of Stapleton and president of its board of trustees.
Mr. Herpich was married on the 22d of February, 1857, to Miss Matilda, daughter of Ephraim Hoffman, of Weissenburg, Bavaria. Their only son, Carl Angustns, is now pursuing his studies.
HILLYER .- John Hillyer, sometimes written Hilliard, lived on Staten Island in 1693, and married Elizabeth Dey in 1714. their children were : John, Elizabeth, Mary, James, William, Nathaniel, Simon and Lawrence. The present families of the name are descended from the youngest son Lawrence. His son John was born in July, 1763, and died in July, 1848. His wife Elsie Merrill was born in November, 1768, and died in August, 1858. Their children were : Lawrence, and John B., the father of James A., late of the firm of Pine, Hillyer & Co., of West New Brighton; and Abraham, of the firm of Hillyer & Hartley, of New Brighton, beside several other children.
Other Hillyers are mentioned in the records of St. Andrew's church as follows : John and Esther his wife had a daughter,
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
born September 19, 1756; a son, Nathaniel, born October 2, 1765; a daughter, born November 14, 1768. John, Jr., had a son Abraham, born January 20, 1759. William and Dinah his wife had a daughter, born December 24, 1748, and a daughter, born September 11, 1756. John and Mary his wife had a daughter, born March 29, 1774; a son, Jolin, born April 18, 1776. Lawrence and Ann Larzalere married December 4, 1808.
HOLMES. - The progenitor of this family was Obadiali, or, as he sometimes wrote it, "o Badiali." He came from England in the latter half of the seventeenth century, and obtained a patent for a valuable tract of land in Southfield, which remained in the family for several generations. His name is found in the county records as early as 1683. There is a link missing in the family chain, which it now appears impossible to supply. There is no record of the names of his children. His grandson Samnel lived and died on the paternal estate, and had six daughters and two sons, Baker and Samuel. The latter married Margaret, daughter of Stephen Cole, and had the following children : Samuel, James, John, Cornelins, Van Rensselaer, George W., Eliza, and Ann, wife of David Mersereau, of Northfield.
HOUSMAN .- We have no means of ascertaining when the first of this name came to America from Holland. The earliest men- tion of the nanie is found in the assessment roll of Boswyck (Bushwick), L. I., where the name of Charles Housman occurs in the years 1675 and 1676. The earliest mention of the name in a church record on Staten Island is as follows : John and Wynje Symons (Simonson) liad a daughter, baptized September 4, 1726; a son Aart (Aaron or Arthur) May 24, 1730; a daughter -- , June 1, 1732; a son Dirk, February 29, 1736, died July 29, 1807; a son Abraham, December 9, 1739: a daughter Eliza- betli, October 11, 1733, and a daughter Jemima, July 19, 1748. Isaac, born November 4, 1775, died December 2, 1857, he was married to Hannah Perine April 9, 1807. Peter had a daughter baptized August 6, 1785, and another December 7, 1788. The most prominent members of the family were John, who was for many years one of the inferior judges of the common pleas, mem- ber of assembly 1804, surrogate 1809, and supervisor repeatedly, and Isaac R., also one of the judges, member of assembly 1823, and supervisor repeatedly. The Sailors's Snug Harbor property was purchased from him. Notices of the family are extremely meager in the county records. James made his will November
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1, 1801, which was proved September 22, 1803, in which he speaks only of his brothers Anthony and Jacob.
JACOBSON .- The first of this name upon the island, of whom anything is known, was Christian Jacobson. He was a sea- faring man, and captain of a vessel belonging to and sailing for the Moravian sect, mention of which is made in connection with that church. His nationality has been variously credited to Sweden, Denmark and Holland, with the weight of evidence pointing toward the latter. He bought and enlarged a farm in New Dorp, where he lived. During the revolution a party of British soldiers visited his house at night and shot him, the wound proving fatal in a few hours. He was a man of consid- erable wealth. His son, John Van De Venter, was born in 1768, and died in 1826. He had sons, Peter, Cornelius, Bedell, Israel and Abraham ; and a daughter, who became the wife of Israel Bedell. Cornelius married a daughter of Isaac R. Hous- man, and settled on Long Island.
The will of Christian Jacobson bears date January 10, 1782, and is signed by his mark, attested by sworn witnesses, from which circumstance it is thought probable that it was made in his dying hours, after he had received the fatal shock, and when he was physically unable to write his name. The will mentions his wife Ann, his son, John V., daughters Catharina and Elizabeth, and brother-in-law, Cornelius Van. deventer. To the first of his danghters he gave £1,050, and to the second £1,000. The will also contains the following item : " I give to the Brethren's church on Staten Island the sum of Twenty Pound, and to the Reverend Mr. Gambold the sum of ten pound, and to the said mr. Gambold the sum of Twenty Pound for the use of the Missionaries among the Indians."
JOHNSON .-- It is impossible to trace the Johnsons back to their several progenitors in this county. Evidently, they are not of the same origin. The name is English, but some of them are of Dutch extraction, having Anglicized the Dutch name of Jansen. We give extracts from the various records indiscrimi_ nately, leaving each one of the name to appropriate his own ancestors. The earliest is Peter, who was plaintiff in a law suit in 1680. Thomas and Ann Bouwman, son Casper, baptized June 30, 1728. Johannes and Jannetje (Jane) Glascow, son Thomas, baptized February 29, 1736. Nathaniel and Sophia
35
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
Van Gelder, son Henricks, baptized November 19, 1738. Niers and Sara Morgen had daughters. baptized in 1731, 1739 and 1740. Peter and Mary Taylor were married October 24, 1754. Isaac and Elender Bowman were married in 1764. Peter and Malli (Molly) Lister, son Jouneton (Jonathan), baptized Oc- tober 2, 1755. John and Cornelia Ceilo, son Peter, baptized November 7, 1753. The above are from the Dutch church records, except the marriages of Isaac and Peter, which, with the following, are from St. Andrew's. Dowe and Margaret, daughter Ann, born May 7, 1771. Dowe made his will Novem- ber 10, 1783, proved June 7, 1788, in which he mentions his sons Dowe and James. Winant and Mary had a daughter Sophia, born December 17, 1772, and a son David born April 13, 1774. Winant, not the above, made his will June 18, 1803, proved June 30, 1803, in which he mentions his wife Mary and sons Winant and Jesse. These sons married : Winant, Catharine Guyon, November 27, 1797, and Jesse, Rachel Totten. January 11, 1804. Mattice (Matthias) had a son William, born July 17, 1751, who was baptized in May, 1772, then an adult. George had a son Thomas, born August 17, 1771. Isaac and Ploney (Appolonia) Frome were married in March, 1772. Nathaniel and Catharine Woglom were married November 9, 1791. Louis and Phebe Van Pelt were married December 24, 1793. John (born in 1770, died June 2, 1832), and Patty (Martha) Bedell were married March 23, 1794. He was a potter and carried on his business on the Shore road, in the vicinity of Elm Park, Port Richmond. They had the following sons : John, merchant at Richmond, S. I., born January 3, 1795, died December 19, 1859; Joseph B., merchant at Port Richmond, born in November, 1786, died July 4, 1849; Israel D., merchant at Port Richmond, born April 15, 1803, died February 9, 1873 ; and James.
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