Journey from Albany, New York

After the British capture of Quebec from the French during the French and Indian War at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham on September 13th, 1759, it would take almost another four years for the French to cede all their territory in North America to the British under the Treaty of Paris on February 10, 1763. [1] By Great Britain’s Royal Proclamation of 1763, the French Territory of Canada, known as New France, would be renamed the Province of Quebec. This new province included the Great Lakes Region and the settlement at Detroit. [2]
Anxious for decades to conduct trade business in the Great Lakes Region, Dutch fur traders flooded into Detroit. One of these traders was the well-known son-in-law of Jacob Harsen, Gerrit aka Garrett Graveraet (hereinafter known as “Gerrit Graveraet”). [4] Gerrit Graveraet was born in Albany, NY on April 2, 1745, to Isaac Grevenraedt and Alida Gerritsen. [5] According to Walter E. Simmons, Graveraet was a silversmith, who came to Detroit as early as April 14, 1769, where on this date he purchased property on St. Anne’s Street. Robert Derome, an extensive researcher of silversmithing, denotes Graveraet as a silversmith in the Province of Quebec from 1769 to 1790 and Jacob Harsen as a silversmith and gunsmith in the province from 1767 to 1802. [6] After reviewing Derome’s data, one might be of the mindset Jacob Harsen came to Detroit earlier than Gerritt Graveraet. However, after careful consideration of other documentation, one can deduce the date of 1767 for Jacob Harsen could be attributed to his initial service at Fort Niagara and not an indication of his beginnings in the Detroit area. Fort Niagara would also be included in the British Province of Quebec. After careful consideration of relative documentation, the author believes Derome’s listing dates are likely accurate for both men, and Gerrit Graveraet was acting as a silversmith at Detroit in 1769, while Jacob Harsen was acting as a silversmith/gunsmith in 1767 at Fort Niagara.
Jacob Harsen was also of Dutch descent. He was born February 22, 1738, in Albany, NY to Bernardus Harsen (fka Hassing) and Catharine Pruyn. [7] At the time of his birth, the financial market of economic trade and livelihood in Albany centered around the fur trade. His father, Bernardus Harsen, was a blacksmith for the Indians of the Six Nations. Bernardus is recorded as having been paid for work as a “smith” in 1755 by Sir William Johnson. [8] Jacob came from Albany to work at Fort Niagara as a blacksmith under commission of Sir William Johnson. It is probable he received this commission through his father. Sir William Johnson was a Major General of the British Army until 1756 when he was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the British North Colonies. He served this appointment until his death in 1774 [9].
Sir William Johnson commissioned Jacob Harsen before the summer of 1761, as evidenced in Sir William Johnson’s note to himself in July of 1761. As Johnson made his way from Albany to Detroit to meet with the Indians there, he kept a journal of his travels. On Saturday, the 22nd of July, he wrote, “I agreed with Mr. Harsen of Albany (Smith) to work as gunsmith for the Indians who come to Niagara, at 100 pounds currency per annum. Present Captain Slosser.” [10] Further evidence of the timeframe of his commission is represented in Johnson’s letter dated April 29, 1762, to Major William Walters, who held post at Fort Niagara, “As I am sensible there must be a good deal of occasion for a smith at your post, I now send up Mr. Harsen. He would have been there last fall, being then on this way as far as Fort Stanwix [Rome, Oneida County, NY] when his boat was prest which hath hitherto delayed him.” [11]
Confirmation Jacob arrived at Fort Niagara on May 15, 1766, is evidence in his own letter to Johnson dated May 27, 1766, where he states his date of arrival and sends the post from Fort Niagara. In his letter, Jacob informs Johnson of his concern there are no men to spare to assist him in making a blacksmith shop. He mentions he took his resolution from Johnson to the Fort to see if he could set up a King’s shop there until Mr. Roberts arrives. He goes on to tell Johnson that he needs tools for the shop because everything has been taken to another Fort or is in poor repair. He goes on to explain that Major Wilkins told him that if he wants tools that Johnson will have to pay for them. He tells Johnson he has no house to live in. Harsen reiterates that he hopes everything will be settled by the time Mr. Roberts comes. He goes on to explain that having a shop in the Fort is not a “proper place for him to work.” Near the end of his letter, Harsen gives an apology for neglecting to have brought 12 months of provisions with him and explains the reason he did not is because he thought money would be granted to him and Mr. Roberts and expresses his dissatisfaction of not receiving a house and a shop outside of the garrison. He ends his letter stating that working for a house and shop was the sole reason he agreed to come to Niagara in the first place. [12]
Definitive confirmation of both Graveraet and Harsen in Detroit is the 1779 Census of Detroit. Both men are listed on this Census, but neither of them is listed on the 1768 Census of Detroit. [13] It has been said that Gerrit Graveraet came to Detroit from Albany with his future business partner, John Visger aka Visgar. John Visger was also known as a silversmith for a period but was primarily a fur trader and merchant. While it is true the two men were business partners in the 1780s in Detroit, it is unlikely they came to Detroit together. Gerrit is documented in the Detroit area as early as 1769 buying the property on St. Anne’s Street, whereas John Visger does not show up in any Detroit records until 1776 when he was called as a witness in the Joseph Schindler trial to give testimony as to his competency as a silversmith. [14]
Joseph Schindler was a silversmith and merchant who was born in Switzerland and arrived in Quebec in 1763. In 1775, he made plans with another merchant, Monforton, from Montreal to travel to Mackinac in April. He took his own apprentice, Michel Forton, and four workers with him to Mackinac. In 1776, he was brought before the Justice of the Peace in Detroit, Philippe Dejean, for having made substandard silver holloware. At trial, Schlindler’s defense was his failure to serve an apprenticeship before becoming a tradesman made him a poor judge on the quality of silver. His apprentice, Forton, gave favorable testimony and Schindler was acquitted of the charge. Dejean made sure he was removed from Detroit. Schindler moved to Montreal and continued his fur trading business in Detroit despite Dejean’s treatment. [15]
It is more likely Gerrit Graveraet came to Detroit in 1769 with his cousin, Jacob Lansing, to solicit trade for Albany merchants. This is evidenced by a deed dated December 26, 1770, in which Gerrit Graveraet and Jacob Lansing together convey “a house and a lot of ground within the Fort of Detroit fronted on St. Anne’s Street” to James Gordon and Alexander Macomb. The witness on the instrument is Collin Andrews. [16] James Gordon, Alexander Macomb and Collin Andrews all have ties to the fur trade in Albany, NY. This could possibly be the same property Simmons mentions Graveraet purchased on St. Anne’s Street in 1769, but without the record it is impossible to know. What is known is he sold a piece of property to Alexander Macomb, an Albany merchant and landholder at the time, who would in later years become a wealthy fur trader in the Detroit area for the firm of Phyn & Ellice, and to James Gordon, a young Scots-Irishman, who had initially attempted to come to Detroit via Albany with another Scots-Irishman, John Askin, in 1763. Due to Pontiac’s Rebellion, Gordon and Askin would have to wait a few years to amass their fortunes. Onboard ship during the rebellion, the young men fled for their lives and lost their valuable cargo, forcing them back to Albany to face their creditors. Future business partners, Askin and Gordon worked closely with Macomb in later years. [17]


It is conceivable Gerrit Graveraet had plans for John Visger to follow him to Detroit. Both men have family ties to Albany and Schenectady, and it is possible they knew each other before their later partnership in Detroit commenced. It is also easily believed Gerrit Graveraet and Jacob Harsen knew each other from their family ties in Albany, NY. These ties may be the reason Gerrit married Jacob’s daughter, Sarah. It is also probable Graveraet met another future partner, Collin Andrews, through Jacob Harsen while he was blacksmithing at Fort Niagara.
To fully appreciate and understand these relationships, we need to go back in time to the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam in the early 1660s, travel over to New France in the early 1700’s in Detroit under Cadillac, and take a few pit stops in Quebec, Montreal, Trois Riveres, Mackinac, and Albany. For it is through the fur trading business of the Dutch, French and British colonies where we begin to fully appreciate the incredible history of Michigan as we follow the family history of the Graveraet and Harsen families.
Isaac Grevenraedt: The Castello Plan
In 1614, the Dutch founded the colony of New Netherland in North America. This area spanned from the Delaware to the Connecticut River. About 1624, the States General of the Netherlands created the Dutch West India Company, which gave the Dutch a monopoly for trade over a large area of the world stretching from West Africa to Newfoundland. The first colonists to come to New Netherland arrived in 1624 at Fort Orange near what was later known as Albany. In 1626, colonists began to move onto Manhattan Island. The colonists were initially governed by the Directors General appointed by the Dutch West India Company. By 1652, the colonists grew irritated by the oppressive policies of the Directors General, and Director General Petrus Stuyvesant was given the task of forming a municipal government mirroring the Netherlands government.
This new government called for appointments of five “schedpens” (aldermen), a “schout” (sheriff), and two “burgomasters” (mayors). Petrus Stuyvesant served as the Governor. The area on Manhattan Island was known as New Amsterdam. Much of the population of New Amsterdam were Calvinists of the Reformed Church, but to encourage trade and immigration the Dutch West India Company welcomed Lutherans, Quakers, Anabaptists, Catholics, and Jews to the area. Many immigrants from Germany, England, Scandinavia, and France settled in the colony. [20]
Jacques Cortelyou was a surveyor in New Amsterdam (c. 1625-1693). He surveyed New Amsterdam for Governor Stuyvesant in 1660. A map of New Amsterdam called the Castello Plan was drafted around 1665 to 1670 by an unknown draughtsman from a lost Cortelyou original. A copy of the Castello Plan is in the New York Public Library. [21]


I.N. Phelps Stokes in his six-volume survey, The Iconography of Manhattan Island (1915-1928), details the Castello Plan in Volume 2 (1916), where he has created a Key to the Castello Plan. In the key, he gives a detailed account of the map, block by block, compiling data on its inhabitants based on the initial survey of Jacques Cortelyou of 1660 as well as his research of cited historical documents and books. [24]

Gerrit Graveraet’s great grandfather, Isaac, with the surname spelled as Grevenraet is found on the Key to the Castello Plan. Isaac Grevenraet is the male progeniture of the Grevenraet Family in North America. It is believed he came to North America from the Netherlands as early as 1652, where his marriage to Lysbeth Jeuriaens on March 24, 1652, is recorded in the records of New Amsterdam. [26] According to John Reynolds Totten in his detailed writings on the Grevenraedt Family for the NYG&B Record, it is his belief Isaac Grevenraedt had three sisters who also resided in New Amsterdam. They were 1) Metje Gravenraedt alias Metje Andries, who married Anthony Janszen; 2) Lysbeth Grevenraedt who married Isaac de Riemer; and 3) Tryntje Grevenraedt alias Tryntje Andries, who married Jan Dirckszen Meyer. [27]
Totten is also of the opinion they were all born in Amsterdam and their father was likely a merchant in Amsterdam, who went by the name of Andries Grevenraedt. He bases his opinion on the alias’ of Metje and Tryntje being Andries. In his writings, Totten works through the North American records to dispel the myth that Metje Grevenraedt alias Metje Andries was Isaac’s mother and credits her as his sister. [28]
Totten did not closely examine the Amsterdam records to dig back further in time to prove the Andries lineage. However, he does give evidence of the reasoning for his opinion the Grevenraedt family in New Amsterdam of North America came from a wealthy Grevenraedt family in Amsterdam based upon the following:
“We are indebted to A.J.F. van Laer for the following items of information relative to the Grevenraedt family, which information was embodied in a letter to the RECORD under date of July 5, 1929.
‘In this connection, I may mention the fact that in the Baptismal register of Hollanders in Brazil, printed in Vol. 5 and 6 of Algemeen Nederlandsch Familieblad (1888-1889), under date of March 2, 1644, occurs the baptism of Elizabeth, daughter of Cornelis Van der Veune and Janneken Greveraet. Witnesses: Samuel Van Gansepoel and Elizabeth Grevenraet. In the same register, under date of Feb. 8, 1645, Joanna Grevenraet is mentioned as a witness. Under Feb. 20, 1650, Joff Elizabeth van Dortmout appears as a witness in the place of the widow of Guilliaem Grevenraedt. Finally, under date of Dec 11, 1652, occurs the baptism of Maria Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob le Maire and Catrina van der Veune. Witnesses: Samuel van Gansepoel and Elisabeth Grevenlaet’, evidently intended for Grevenraet.
‘In Bronnen tot de Geschiedenis van den Levantschen Handel (Sources for the history of the Levant trade), published by the Dutch Government in 1910, Vol. 1, 1590-1660, pp. 576-77, is a petition of several merchants trading in Egypt, to the magistrates of Amsterdam, dated February, 1633, requesting that a chief consul be appointed in Egypt. Among the signers of the petition is Guilliame Grevenraet, doubtless the same person whose widow is mentioned in the baptismal register of Brazil.’
‘I may also mention the fact that in Bronnen tot de Geschiedenis der Wisselbanken (Sources for the history of banks of exchange), also published by the Dutch government, Vol. 1 (1925), pp. 14-16, is a petition dated 1608, prior to July 29, praying that the ordinance prohibiting the exercise of the cashier’s business be repealed. The petition is signed by a large number of merchants among them by Jasper Grevenraet.’ From the various items mentioned above, it is evident that the Grevenraets were fairly prominent business people in Amsterdam.” [29]
Isaac Grevenraet would have had to have been a young man of means in 1652, when he married Lysbeth Jeunriaens. She was the daughter of Skipper Juriaen Andriesen and Jannetje Jans. According to the Key to the Castello Plan, the Skipper and his wife lived on Block J, No. 4, and Isaac lived on Block J, No. 3. Isaac’s home was enormous, and his neighbors were Governor Stuyvesant (Block J, Lot 1 – known as the Great House) and the Governor’s brother in law, Nicholaes Verlett (Block J, Lot 2). They all lived on the tip of Manhattan Island. [30]

Totten notes Isaac was a “free trader”. This terminology suggests he operated trade independently and did not work in connection with the Dutch West India Company who was under the protection of the Dutch government. Operating independently, he probably made commercial voyages from time to time. In May of 1655, Isaac drew up a power of attorney which named his brother-in-law, Elbert Elberz to act for him to collect moneys owed to him. Having signed a power of attorney signifies his possible departure from New Amsterdam for a period. More than likely, he left to conduct business in Amsterdam. [32]
Before departing in 1655, his wife’s father died and her mother applied for a license on November 27, 1654, to remarry Thomas Lamberts. In early December of that year, Isaac appealed to the court as the guardian of the two young brothers of his wife to secure their inheritance before their mother remarried. On December 18, 1654, his wife’s mother was allowed to purchase the home on Block J, Lot 4. She mortgaged the house to provide a bond of 666 guilders each for the boys as their paternal inheritance. Later in the year, she made a second mortgage to provide a bond of 352 guilders for Isaac’s wife to secure her paternal inheritance. [33]
There is no mention of Isaac in New Amsterdam records from May of 1655 until he makes purchase of another home located on Block H, Lot 1 in 1656, just outside the walls of Fort Amsterdam. Isaac sold this home on May 23, 1670, to Pieter Jansen Slott. [34]

On August 5, 1657, Isaac’s first son, Henricus, was baptized. Henricus died young. His second son, Andries, was baptized on July 16, 1659, and his third son, Hendrick, was baptized on June 28, 1662. On April 26, 1663, his wife Lysbeth died. Isaac married a second wife, Marritje Jans on June 2, 1663. On June 18, 1663, he gave a bond of 2,000 guilders to each of his sons, Andries and Henrick, to secure their paternal inheritance. Isaac had children with his second wife, but it is believed none of them survived into adulthood as there is no record of them after their recorded births. [36]

From May 1663 to May 1664, Isaac rented this home to Jan Jelizen Kock for 225 guilders in seawant. According to author, I.N. Phelps Stroke, “as a guilder seawant was worth about 13 1/3 cents, this was about $29.99 per annum. In giving the money equivalents of wampum, a regular scale has been followed, of one-third beaver value, — a guilder, in beaver, being worth forty cents. No attempt has been made to follow the various fluctuations in value of wampum.” [38]
Isaac sued Kock for payment of rent during his tenancy. In his defense, Kock alleged that his landlord “has not performed what he promised, to wit that he could make fire on two fireplaces, also to have the windows glazed.” Grevenraet denied agreeing to the terms as stated by Kock. Arbitrators were assigned to mitigate the damages and “found [sic] Kock to have been suffered in consequence of the glass not being inserted and [the house] not having two hearths.” [39]
After the Dutch surrendered New Amsterdam to the English in September 1664, the English government leased the home from Isaac as barracks for its soldiers. In April of 1665, Isaac requested an additional lease renewal from the English government. It must have been granted, for in February of 1666, Isaac went to the court to collect money for rent and damages. In his deposition he stated that, “he hired to the late Burgomasters (Mayors) of the City his house standing in the Broadway for 220 pounds a year, commencing first of May last and whereas the soldiers have not left the same, demands payment of the rent, and further as the house has been so improperly used, that the window glass, hinges and all are most broken and ruined, requests that some persons may be authorized to estimate the damage.” The court appointed an assessment of the damages and ordered the first six months of the year’s rent to be paid to Isaac. Isaac’s rental home was the first place outside of the Fort to have been used as barracks for English soldiers. In 1916 when Stokes published Volume II of his Iconography of Manhattan Island, he stated the current location of this home site as 46 Broadway, being part of the Standard Arcade. [40]


According to the Key to the Castello Plan, Isaac also owed the house on Block G, Lot 9 in 1665, which today is the exact site of 21 Pearl Street. This home was built sometime between July 1645 and July 1647, by Gillis Pietersen van der Gouw, who was a master carpenter. Isaac’s sons, Andries and Henrick sold this property for 7,700 guilders in May of 1687 to Mme. Aeltje Schepmoes, a widow. The price is an indication Isaac rebuilt the home after he purchased it. [43] Tom Miller, who discusses the history of 21 Pearl Street in his blog, identified the street as a high-end residential neighborhood and gives the owner in 1835 Adel Charles Lacathou de la Forest, the Counsel General of France. [44]



In addition to his business interests, Isaac was an active member of the municipal government of New Amsterdam. He served in 1657 as a small burgher (magistrate). He was a schepen (alderman) in 1662 and 1664. From 1673 to 1674, Isaac was the sheriff of the small municipalities of Swaenburgh, Hurley, and Marbletown. [48] There is no record of Isaac’s death, or no estate filed in New Amsterdam’s records, so it is assumed he died intestate, and his estate went to his two sons, Andries and Henrick. The two boys sold his Pearl Street property in May of 1687, so it is assumed he died sometime between 1675 and 1687.
Stayed tuned for next time.
References:
[1] Wikipedia, (2021). Battle of the Plains of Abraham, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Plains_of_Abraham, accessed January 16, 2022 and Wikipedia, (2021). Treaty of Paris, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_(1763), accessed January 16, 2022.
[2] Wikipedia, (2021). Province of Quebec, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Quebec_(1763%E2%80%931791), accessed January 16, 2022.
[3] Wikimedia, (2021). British Colonies in North America, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_British_colonies_in_North_America.jpg, accessed January 16, 2022.
[4] According to John Reynolds Totten, this family surname appears with various forms of spelling in the records of the Dutch Church in New Amsterdam (later New York City): Grevenraedt, Grevenraet, Grevenraad, Grevenraadt, Grevenraat, Grevenraed, Grevenraets, Greveraad, Greveraat, Greveraets, Greveurt, and Greverard. Totten, John Reynolds, (July 1929). Grevenraedt Family With Notes on the Allied Families of De Riemer, Gouverneur and Meyer, NYG&B Record, July 1929, Volume 60, Issue 3, p. 202.
Alternate spellings discovered by the author include:
Graveraet. Harsen Island Historical Society, (2018). Descendant List of Jacob Bernardus Harsen, p. 1
Other publications and alternate spellings of this surname include:
Graverat. Simmons, Walter E., II (1969), The Silversmiths of Old Detroit, A Thesis, p. 36 and 43 and Farmer, Silas (1890). History of Detroit and Wayne County and Early Michigan, p. 767. Demeter, C. Stephan (1993). Jacob Harsen and the Early Settlement of Harsen’s Island. The Delta News, 50th Annual Edition, pp. 6-9.
Gravereat. Collins, Newell E. (1945). The Gravereat Family, The Totem Pole, 15, No. 4, pp. 1-4.
Greverat. Kelley, Sharon, Moreau-DesHarnais, Gail & Trudeau, Alfred (transcribers) (2005). Thomas Williams Ledger D3 1781-83 Held by the Burton Historical Collection, Michigan’s Habitant Heritage: Journal of the French-Canadian Heritage Society, (Jan. 2005), Vol. 26, Issue #1, p. 3.
[5] Totten, John Reynolds (1930). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 61, Issue 2 (April 1930), p. 152
[6] Derome, Robert (date unknown). John Kinzie Silversmith, Robert Derome website, https://rd.uqam.ca/Kinzie/index.html accessed January 16, 2022.
[7] Holland Society of New York: Church Records of Albany; New York; Albany, Volume 1, Book 1, p. 336.
[8] Ancestry.com, The Papers of Sir William Johnson, The Seven Years War, Volume II, p. 592, p. 1637 ancestry film, [database online]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2005, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/20216/, accessed January 17, 2022.
[9] Canadiana Heritage website (2022). History of the Indian Department, Finding Aid 2122, Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Northern District of North America fonds: H-2943, https://heritage.canadiana.ca/search/?q0.0=H-2943, accessed January 17, 2022.
[10] Ancestry.com, The Papers of Sir William Johnson, The Seven Years War Period, Volume XIII, The Detroit Journal, p. 243, p. 12520 ancestry film, [database online]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2005, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/20216/images/dvm_PrimSrc000314-14457-0?ssrc=&backlabel=Return, accessed January 17, 2022.
[11] Ancestry.com, The Papers of Sir William Johnson, The Seven Years War, Volume III, p. 272, p. 2711 ancestry film, [database online]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2005, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/20216/images/dvm_PrimSrc000314-02713-0?ssrc=&backlabel=Return, accessed January 17, 2022.
[12] Ancestry.com, The Papers of Sir William Johnson, Post-War 1763-1774, Volume V, pp. 226-227, p. 4161-4162 ancestry film, [database online]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2005, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/20216/images/dvm_PrimSrc000314-04163-0?ssrc=&backlabel=Return, accessed January 17, 2022.
[13] Russell, Donna Valley, Ed., (1982). Michigan Censuses 1710-1830 Under the French, British, and Americans, Detroit Society for Genealogical Research, Inc.: Detroit, MI.
[14] Simmons, Walter E., II (1969). The Silversmiths of Old Detroit, A Thesis, p. 42.
[15] Dictionary of Canadian Biography website, (2003-2022). Schindler, Joseph (Jonas), http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/schindler_joseph_4E.html, accessed January 17, 2022.
[16] FamilySearch.org, (2021). Deed Records 1766-1918, Wayne County Register of Deeds, Liber A [original] 1766-1776, Film No.926305, Image Group No. 8580428, p.167 of film. https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/244568?availability=Family%20History%20Library, accessed January 17, 2022.
[17] Carroll, Justin M., (2011). John Askin’s Many Beneficial Binds: Family, Trade, and Empire in the Great Lakes. A Dissertation, Michigan State University. https://d.lib.msu.edu/etd/1767/datastream/OBJ/download/John_Askin_s_many_beneficial_binds___family__trade__and_empire_in_the_Great_Lakes.pdf, accessed January 16, 2022.
[18] Wikipedia, (2022). Alexander Macomb [print], https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Macomb_(merchant), accessed January 18, 2022.
[19] Ibid.
[20] City of New York website, (2022). Guide to the New Amsterdam Records, 1647-1862 (bulk 1647-1675) processed by Rachel Lintz. https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/records/pdf/featured-collections/new-amsterdam-records.pdf, accessed, January 19, 2022.
[21] Wikipedia website, (2021). Castello Plan, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castello_Plan, accessed November 23, 2021.
[22] Ibid.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Phelps Stokes, I.N. (1916). The Iconography of Manhattan Island, Volume Two, New York: Robert H. Dodd. A digital copy of this work can be found at archive.org, https://archive.org/details/iconographyofma_02stok/page/n13/mode/2up?view=theater, accessed January 19, 2022.
[25] Ibid.
[26] Totten, John Reynolds (1930). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 61, Issue 2, p. 127.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Totten, John Reynolds (1929). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 60, Issue 3, p. 203 and NYG&B Record, (1930), Vol. 61, Issue 3 pp. 247-252
[29] Totten, John Reynolds (1930). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 61, Issue 3 pp. 244-245.
[30] Phelps Stokes, I.N. (1916). The Iconography of Manhattan Island, Volume Two, New York: Robert H. Dodd, pp. 277-278. A digital copy of this work can be found at archive.org, https://archive.org/details/iconographyofma_02stok/page/n13/mode/2up?view=theater, accessed January 19, 2022.
[31] Phelps Stokes, I.N. (1916). The Iconography of Manhattan Island, Volume Two, New York: Robert H. Dodd. A digital copy of this work can be found at archive.org, https://archive.org/details/iconographyofma_02stok/page/n13/mode/2up?view=theater, accessed January 19, 2022.
[32] Totten, John Reynolds (1930). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 61, Issue 2, p. 127 & 130.
[33] Phelps Stokes, I.N. (1916). The Iconography of Manhattan Island, Volume Two, New York: Robert H. Dodd, pp. 279-280. A digital copy of this work can be found at archive.org, https://archive.org/details/iconographyofma_02stok/page/n13/mode/2up?view=theater, accessed January 19, 2022.
[34] Ibid, p. 276.
[35] Ibid.
[36] Totten, John Reynolds (1930). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 61, Issue 2, p. 131-133.
[37] Phelps Stokes, I.N. (1916). The Iconography of Manhattan Island, Volume Two, New York: Robert H. Dodd. A digital copy of this work can be found at archive.org, https://archive.org/details/iconographyofma_02stok/page/n13/mode/2up?view=theater, accessed January 19, 2022.
[38] Ibid. p. 237.
[39] Ibid. p. 237.
[40] Ibid, p. 237.
[41] Library of Congress website, (2022). New York Times, [Image 12], October 15, 1916. https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn78004456/1916-10-15/ed-1/?sp=12&st=text&r=0.605,0.192,0.366,0.336,0, accessed January 19, 2022.
[42] Google Maps (2022). 46 Broadway, New York, New York, https://www.google.com/maps/place/46+Broadway,+New+York,+NY+10004/@40.7063263,-74.0129105,3a,75y,95.34h,107.12t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1swsLkA6KjlcJmXfXN-RYAzg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c25a113646964b:0x457cf7d9bc86b593!8m2!3d40.7061612!4d-74.0125936, accessed January 19, 2022.
[43] Phelps Stokes, I.N. (1916). The Iconography of Manhattan Island, Volume Two, New York: Robert H. Dodd, p.273. A digital copy of this work can be found at archive.org, https://archive.org/details/iconographyofma_02stok/page/n13/mode/2up?view=theater, accessed January 19, 2022.
[44] Miller, Tom (2018). A Lost Vestige – 21 Pearl Street, http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2018/10/a-lost-vestige-21-pearl-street.html, accessed January 19, 2021.
[45] Phelps Stokes, I.N. (1916). The Iconography of Manhattan Island, Volume Two, New York: Robert H. Dodd. A digital copy of this work can be found at archive.org, https://archive.org/details/iconographyofma_02stok/page/n13/mode/2up?view=theater, accessed January 19, 2022.
[46] Ibid.
[47] Ibid.
[48] Totten, John Reynolds (1930). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 61, Issue 2, p. 129.
Kathy Gibson says:
I loved reading this. Thank you for all your research
January 20, 2022 — 4:46 pm
tappingroots says:
Thank you Kathy.
January 20, 2022 — 9:18 pm
Mr. Harsen says:
When can we expect part 2?
January 20, 2022 — 10:21 pm
Mr. Harsen says:
When can we expect part two?
January 20, 2022 — 10:28 pm
tappingroots says:
Hopefully in the next month! Thanks for reading my blog. I appreciate it.
January 20, 2022 — 11:00 pm
Mr. Harsen says:
As a descendant of Jacob Harsen and bearer of the family name, I appreciate your diligent attempt at accuracy and sticking to the facts. I have read so much misinformation over the years that I have become accustomed to it. Thank you for doing the research and not relying on anecdotal stories from ‘Ol’ Farmer Johnson’ as many seem to do.
https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/h/jaharsen8350.html
January 20, 2022 — 11:16 pm
tappingroots says:
Mr. Harsen, you have no idea how refreshing I find your comment. It is the reason I do the research on these two families. I started out researching Henry McMorran and believe me I still have more to write about him. But a few years ago I got sidetracked on the Harsen family and all of the inconsistencies I find on this family and the Graveraet’s. Wow. I had to figure it all out. Please email me at brewilliams@gmail.com. I would be more than happy to share with you or talk further on the topic. I believe “Ol Farmer Johnson” has some value. Sometimes he can give some context. But one has to have common sense too and when something doesn’t add up. It just doesn’t add up. We are so lucky to live in a world where we have informational access like we do. I feel my librarian side taking over. Will not bore you with that passion. But again thank you for the compliment. It is the reason I do what I do. The families deserve better in my opinion.
January 20, 2022 — 11:52 pm
Gina nagy says:
Hello! My husband, myself and our children currently own “The Harsens Home” on Harsens Island. I would love to know any information or see old photos inside of the house. Please, reach out to me if you have time.
April 26, 2022 — 9:50 am
tappingroots says:
Gina – I am terribly sorry, but I am just today reading your comment. I am not sure how I missed it. I would love to make contact with you re: “the Harsen Home.” I did see the house was for sale a year or two ago. Please contact me when you have time. I would love to chat! My email is brewilliams@gmail.com
September 27, 2022 — 10:39 pm
Sheila says:
Greetings. I was very much pleased to see your articles. I am doubly descended from the Harsen family, as well as the Gravereat family, but even after 50 years of researching my family tree, I learned new information from your article about the families. Thanks for sharing.
February 16, 2023 — 9:12 am
tappingroots says:
Thank you so much Sheila for your kind words. Stay tuned to my blog. I’m currently writing a book for The History Press and I am busy with that until July of 2023. But I have much more to write about your ancestors. If you would like subscribe to my blog just enter your email at the bottom of the first page and you will receive notifications on when I post new stories. Or in the alternative just come back and see me when you have time. It’s so nice to hear from you and again, thank you for responding to my work. Means alot to me and it’s the reason I do what I do.
February 16, 2023 — 8:46 pm