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| Misc. Notes | ||||||||||
| Tjerck's name first recorded in 1656 at his marriage to Barbara. The lived in New Amsterdam until 1657 when they moved to Albany. In 1661 to Wiltwyck (Kingston) where he resided until death in 1700. After his marriage in 1656, Tjerch seems to have gone to Fort Orange. Court records reveal him in trouble there for fighting on Sunday and having killed a goat. He was condemned to pay a fine of 2.5 beavers. Later he was accused of having been seen Sunday in the company of the Lutherans, performing Divine Service, contrary to the ordinance issued against it. In the srping of 1657, Tjerck and Barbara moved to Albany where he purchased a house and a lot. They must have been present at this even t in May 1658 when the Indians at Esopus killed a farmer and then burned two houses, whereupon Styvasent went up river with 50 soldiers to call them to account. But getting no cooperation from the Indians, a village with a blockhouse was built. In the fall a party of Indians was passing, tipsy with firewater, they let out wild cries and were fired on by the whites. The Indians at once burned several Dutchmen at the stake. Esopus continuted to grow, but in 1663 Indians struck again, leaving two villages in ashes and the fields strewn with mangled corpses of men, women and children. A treaty of Peace between the Dutch and the Algonquins was made in May 1664. During this trouble, Tjerck's daughter Taatje was taken prisoner, but was later released. By this time, Tjerck must have been a man of means, as shown by the fact he was taxed 125 guilders to help pay for the church building at Esopus. On June 25, 1672, Gov. Lovelace deeded him land near Kingston. Oct 8, 1677 Gov. Andros deeded 50 more acres. Feb 11, 1679 he was one of the signers of the renewal of the Nicholas Treaty with the Indians. In 1667, when the British sent Capt. Broadhead and 13 soldiers to take possession of Kingston, DeWitt was one of those who opposed British occupation. Among the complaints made afterward by the burghers was this: ' Capy Broadhead has beaten Tjerck Dewitt, wtihout reason and brought him to prison. Ye reason why Capy abused him was because he would keep Christmas Day as ye day according to ye Dutch and not according to English observation.' He was granted leave april 8, 1669 to build a house, barn, and stable on land between Kindston and Hurley. Tjerck appears to be well-to-do and brought servants with him to Kingston. Feb 13, 1685, 189 acres were conveyed to him by the trustees of Kingston. He was granted the right to erect and operate a mill; and a tract of 70 acres further distant, known as "Dead Man's Bones" was added. June 6, 1685 he claimed 29 acres of land lying on the north side of Roundout Hill (now Rochester). He was granted a patent on May 14, 1694. March 4, 1689 he was chosen "one of the Magistrates of Ulster County, having previously held other offices." Ulster records show that he owned slaves and possessed two sloops which plied the waters of the Hudson and along the Atlantic coast, carrying on trade at many points. They sold one of the sloops, named "Ye St. Barbara" to Capt Daniel Hobart, a mariner of the Island of Barbados, to be taken to that island for commercial trade. The will of Tjerck DeWitt, dated 4th March 1698 and in Dutch, reveals large bodies of real estate in and about Kingston and about $8000 in personal property. He names his wive and 12 children. Exact date of death not known, but not before 1700, as he was witness to bptsm of a grandchild at that time.3 CF: http://www.en.com/users/drose/rosebud/277.html | ||||||||||
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| Last Modified 2 Feb 1999 | Created 11 Feb 2006 by Reunion for Macintosh |