Before the fur traders of Albany made their way west to Detroit, before the convergence of the Harsen and Graveraet families on Harsens Island, there was Isaac Grevenraedt. As the patriarch of the Graveraet family in North America, Isaac’s story begins in New Amsterdam in the mid-1600s. His name appears on the famed Castello Plan, a map that recorded the homes of Dutch settlers along the tip of present day Manhattan Island. From civic leadership to private trade, Isaac carved out a prominent life amid the shifting powers of the Dutch and English empires, leaving a legacy that would eventually stretch to the Great Lakes frontier.
To understand the journey of Gerrit Graveraet, we must begin with the life of his great-grandfather, a Dutch trader and civic leader whose legacy shaped the generations that followed.
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. [1]
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. [2]
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. [5]
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. [7] 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. [8]
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. [9]
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.” [10]
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. [11]
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. [13]
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. [14]
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. [15]
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. [17]
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.” [19]
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.” [20]
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. [21]
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. [24] 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. [25]
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. [29] 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.
References:
[1] 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.
[2] Wikipedia website, (2021). Castello Plan, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castello_Plan, accessed November 23, 2021.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] 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.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Totten, John Reynolds (1930). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 61, Issue 2, p. 127.
[8] Ibid.
[9] 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
[10] Totten, John Reynolds (1930). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 61, Issue 3 pp. 244-245.
[11] 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.
[12] 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.
[13] Totten, John Reynolds (1930). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 61, Issue 2, p. 127 & 130.
[14] 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.
[15] Ibid, p. 276.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Totten, John Reynolds (1930). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 61, Issue 2, p. 131-133.
[18] 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.
[19] Ibid. p. 237.
[20] Ibid. p. 237.
[21] Ibid, p. 237.
[22] 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.
[23] 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.
[24] 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.
[25] 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.
[26] 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.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Ibid.
[29] Totten, John Reynolds (1930). Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 61, Issue 2, p. 129.