The Roots of a Legacy
Long before Gerrit Graveraet’s great grandfather, Isaac Graveraet, arrived in New York as a free trader, Jacob Harsen’s lineage was already rooted in the soil of the New World. Around 1624, Wolfert Gerritze Van Kouwenhoven, aka Couwenhoven[2], Jacob Harsen’s third great grandfather arrived as one of the first Dutch farmers on Manhattan Island. Wolfert was one of the original five farmers on Manhattan Island sent over by the Dutch West India Company.[3]
As mentioned in Part One of this blog series, the Dutch founded the colony of New Netherland in North America in 1614. About 1624, the States General of the Netherlands established the Dutch West India Company, granting it a vast trade monopoly stretching from West Africa to Newfoundland. The first colonists, including Wolfert, arrived at Fort Orange near modern day Albany in what became known as the Verhulst expedition.[4] Many historians are certain he came from an estate named “Kouwenhoven” located near the city of Amersfoort, Netherlands.[5]
Farming in a New World
The Company’s early farmers had to be exceptionally strong-willed. They pledged loyalty to the Company, managed land they did not own, and labored under strict rules in hopes of one day gaining freedom and land. Life was grueling, but the rewards could be transformative.[6]
Wolfert and his family initially lived on Bouwery No. 3. In a letter dated September 23, 1626, Isaak de Raisere recounted a spirited transaction with Wolfert’s wife over an otter skin, which serves as proof that even under Company rule, colonists found ways to barter and profit.
“We live here very plainly; if there is anything to be had it is the colonists who get it. It happened one day that the wife of Wolfert Gerritsz came to me with two otters, for which I offered her three guilders, ten stivers. She refused this and asked five guilders, whereupon I let her go, this being too much. The wife of Jacob Lourissz, the smith, knowing this, went to her and offered her five guilders, which Wolfert’s wife again told me. Thereupon to prevent the otters from being purchased, I was obliged to give her the five guilders. Should your Honors desire to remedy such and other similar practices, it will be necessary to send me and the Schout other instructions and to order the Council to assist us better.” This first-hand account reveals the friction between Company officials and the enterprising settlers.[7]
Wolfert’s Opportunity: The Patroonship System
Sometime around 1629, Wolfert returned briefly to the Netherlands to renew his Company lease. While in his native country, Wolfert found himself presented with an additional opportunity in North America. In 1629 the West India Company created the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions to members willing to plant colonies in New Netherland. This Charter created a patroon system that mimicked feudal lordship. If an invested member of the Company could bring 50 settlers to New Netherland, he could receive land patents and manorial rights over a specific area set out by a land grant from the Company. The land grant could not be located on Manhattan Island, and certain conditions had to be met before a member could become a patroon. First, the patroon needed to have at least a quarter of the 50 settlers living on the land within the first year, with the remainder of the settlers being settled within three years after receipt of the grant. To entice settlers to come to New Netherland and live under a patroonship, settlers were free from taxation for the first 10 years after settlement. This timeframe was considered their term of service. During this 10-year period, the settlers were not allowed to leave the colony without the written consent of the patroon. The settlers were also obligated to offer any goods they had for sale first to the patroon. If he did not purchase the goods, the settler could then sell their wares on the public market.[9]
One of the founders of the West India Company and a wealthy diamond and pearl merchant from Amsterdam, Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, had designs of a patroonship. In fact, he ended up being the only successful patroon. In November of 1629, Kiliaen selected land on the upper Hudson River, which he called Rensselaerswyck. Being a native from Nijkerk, Netherlands, Kiliaen searched to find families from this area to move to his new settlement.[11] Less than 10 km from Nijkerk was Amersfoort. It was in Amersfoort, Kiliaen had the luxury of finding Wolfert, who was back home negotiating a second lease with the West India Company to manage Bouwerie No. 6 on Manhattan Island.[12] Having already established a farm on Manhattan Island, Wolfert was the perfect candidate for the job.
Wolfert had to contemplate the lofty task of working a Company farm on Manhattan Island as well as managing the Kiliaen colony. But in the end, he agreed to sign both contracts. Having Kiliaen as his employer in the New World had to appeal to Wolfert. Kiliaen was a very wealthy member of the Amsterdam mercantile community as well as a dominant member of the Company.[13]
Kiliaen never came to the colony. Instead, he conducted all his business from Amsterdam and relied on agents like Wolfert to develop his land in the New World. The Van Rennsselaer family controlled the Rensselaerswyck patroonship until the 1840s. The last patroon was Stephen Van Rensselaer III.[14]
Wolfert’s Long Island Chapter
Wolfert sailed again to New Netherland on March 21, 1630, arriving May 24. [17] He resumed work on Bouwery No. 6 while also assisting Van Rensselaer’s colony. By 1632, Wolfert ended his service with Van Rensselaer. In a letter, Van Rensselaer acknowledged that Wolfert’s wife had been reluctant to relocate to his colony since those on his lands were not allowed to engage in the fur trading business.[18]
In his letter to Wolfert dated July 20, 1632, Kiliaen wrote: “I had hoped that you would have settled in my colony but, as I am told, your wife was not much inclined thereto, which I imagine to be the reason that you seek to be released, and as I should be sorry to keep anybody in my service against his will and to his discomfort.”[19]
On June 16, 1636, Wolfert and Andries Huddle purchased 15,000 acres from local Native Americans in what was then called “Kestateuw”. Later it was known as New Amersfoort. Today it is known as Flatlands, Brooklyn. By 1639, he was living on this property full time as confirmed by the Manatus Map.[21]
Generational Legacy: From Wolfert to Jacob Harsen
To fully appreciate Jacob Harsen’s roots, it helps to trace the rich lineage that connects him to one of New Netherland’s earliest and most influential settlers, Wolfert Gerritze Van Couwenhoven. The family tree below outlines the direct line of descent from Wolfert, an original farmer on Manhattan Island, down to Jacob Harsen, the man whose name would one day define Harsen’s Island. This visual underscores the enduring legacy of early Dutch settlers in shaping the fabric of life along the St. Clair River in early Michigan generations later.
The Pruyn Family of Albany
As we move further along Jacob Harsen’s ancestral path, another influential Dutch family rises to the surface—the Pruyns. Deeply embedded in Albany’s colonial fabric, the Pruyn family not only shaped Jacob’s maternal heritage but also wove an unexpected kinship thread connecting him to his son-in-law, Gerrit Graveraet. Through this shared lineage, Jacob’s daughter, Sarah, who would one day marry Gerrit, carried within her the legacy of a family that had, for generations, played a formative role in both religious and commercial life in early New York. What began as neighboring family ties blossomed into bloodlines joined by marriage, an enduring mark of how interconnected the founding Dutch families truly were.
The Pruyn family (sometimes spelled Bruyn or Preyn) were among the prominent early Dutch families in Albany. Originating with settlers such as Frans Pruyn, who joined the Reformed Dutch Church in the late 1600s,[23] the family became known for its involvement in commerce, civic affairs, and intermarriages with other elite Dutch families. Frans Pruyn (ca. 1630s–1712), a tailor by trade, married Alida (or Aeltje).[24] Their descendants held positions as elders, constables , and militia officers. Their ties extended into the Lansing, Sanders, and Bogart families and later the Harsens and Graveraets, weaving together key figures of early Albany and Detroit history.[25]
Frans Pruyn’s Albany Homestead
In 1668, Frans Pruyn purchased a house lot on the northwest corner of Maiden Lane and James Street.[26] According to the Friends of Albany History, Maiden Lane “is one of the oldest streets in the city” originally known as Rom Straet during the Dutch colonial period. The map below, dating to the early 1650s, depicts Rom Straet as part of the early footprint of Beverwijck, the village that would become Albany.[27]
Today, the Waldorf Residence stands on what was once the site of the old Pruyn homestead. Now operated by the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany, the Waldorf Residence provides affordable housing and social services, an echo of the community centered spirit that once defined this neighborhood.[31]
During the 17th century, the Pruyn home fell within Albany’s Second Ward, a district that included Pearl Street and neighboring lanes such as Steuben, Columbia and Maiden Lane. Historian Stefan Bielinski notes that this ward formed the civic core of early Albany.[32]
The Graveraets of Broadway and Steuben
If you walk north today from the Waldorf Residence to the intersection of Steuben and Broadway, you’ll arrive at what was once the Graveraet homestead. This was the home Gerrit Graveraet grew up in. In 1729, his father, Isaac Graveraet owned the land located near the guard post by the riverbank just inside the palisades that once enclosed the north side of the village. Today, this corresponds to the modern-day terminus of Steuben Street.[33]
The Graveraet home likely stood in the parking lot behind the Dormitory Authority and Union Station. Just blocks from the Pruyn homestead. The proximity reflects how tightly clustered these influential families were. As you can see in the street map below, the Graveraets and the Pruyns were neighbors and just a short walk apart.[35]
The photo below offers a present-day view of Broadway Street, with Union Station on the left and the Dormitory Authority building farther down. If you walk just past the row of tall trees near the bus stop and lamp posts, you’ll find the small footpath that cuts between the two buildings. The white crosswalk markings at Broadway indicate where Steuben Street once met the road by the river. Cross there and follow the path, and you’ll arrive at the parking lot where Isaac Graveraet’s house once stood.
Isaac Graveraet and Alida Gerritse married in Albany on July 21, 1693. Alida was the daughter of Elbert Gerritse and Maria Pruyn. Of their eleven children, four survived to adulthood:
- Maria, (baptized February 4, 1733), married Isaac DeForest, a widower, late in life. The couple had no children.
- Elbert (baptized November 26, 1736), never married.
- Hendrick (baptized December 20(or 26) 1737). Hendrick married Maria Van Driesen on March 2, 1772, and had one child, Alida (baptized May 24, 1773).
- Gerrit (baptized April 2 (or 21), 1745. Gerrit married Sarah Harsen in Detroit before 1782. Between 1782 and 1790, they had four children, Jacob, Henry, Mary, and Isaac Graveraet.[38]
Intertwined Bloodlines: The Pruyn, Harsen and Graveraet Connection
While the Pruyns and Graveraets were neighbors, they, along with the Harsen family were also bound by blood. These three families, Pruyn, Graveraet and Harsen, not only shared physical proximity in Albany but were intricately connected through married alliances that extended into the Lansing, Sanders and Gerritse families as well.
Frans Pruyn and his wife, Alida, had thirteen children. Of those, only one, Madeleine, died unmarried. The chart below shows the names of their children and the families they married into, many of whom continued to play roles in the unfolding history of Albany and beyond.
A few key family connections help illuminate the deep kinship between the Pruyns, Harsens, and Graveraets:
John Pruyn married Emilia Sanders, the sister of Sara Sanders Graveraet (Gerrit Graveraet’s grandmother). As mentioned in Part Three of this blog series, Sara married Hendrick Graveraet (Gerrit’s grandfather). These ties were further reinforced when Sara (Sanders) Graveraet and Frederick Visscher stood as baptismal witnesses for John and Emilia Pruyn’s son, John Jr. on June 12, 1709.[39]
Maria Pruyn married Elbert Gerritse, and their daughter, Alida Gerritse, became the wife of Isaac Graveraet. Alida and Isaac had Gerrit Graveraet in 1745. Their family homestead was described earlier in this blog.[40]
Samuel Pruyn married Maria Bogart. One of their children, Alida, was baptized on November 17, 1706, with Elbert Gerritse (Alida (Gerritse) Graveraet’s father) standing as a baptismal witness – further evidence of these tightly interwoven families.[41] According to James A. Rasmussen’s The Harsin Family of New York, Samuel Pruyn and Maria Bogart were also the parents of Catharina Pruyn, who married Bernardus Harsen in February of 1736 and had Jacob Harsen (the focus of this story) on February 22, 1738.[42] Historian Stefan Bielinski likewise suggests Catharina was “probably the daughter of one of the sons of Frans Pruyn.”[43]
Through their shared descent from Frans and Alida Pruyn, Jacob Harsen and Gerrit Graveraet were second cousins. If Rasmussen is correct, Catharina Pruyn (Jacob’s mother) was the niece of Maria Pruyn (Gerrit’s grandmother) and the first cousin of Alida Gerritse Graveraet (Gerrit’s mother). This means that Jacob and Gerrit were second cousins and Jacob’s daughter, Sarah, who eventually married Gerrit Graveraet, married her second cousin once removed.
The two charts below help visualize these complex but fascinating connections.
In addition, Helena Pruyn, another daughter of Frans and Alida, married Jacob Lansing. Their son, Abraham Lansing, will play an important role in the next installment, alongside members of the Wendell and Sanders families. Abraham was instrumental in the founding of Lansingburgh, NY, a village with its own legacy of Dutch American interconnection.
Lastly, Francis Pruyn married Margarita, and together they had a daughter, Maria, who married Jacob Harsen. This Jacob Harsen was born March 9, 1716, and was the half-brother of Bernardus Harsen (our Jacob’s father) and would thus be our Jacob’s half great uncle – an unusual but historically verifiable relationship.[44]
The graph below depicts this relationship:
In addition to their shared bloodlines, these family connections extended into landholding and legacy. The elder Jacob Harsen (b. 1716), who married Maria Pruyn, become one of the central figures behind a rural hamlet in the Bloomingdale District of Manhattan known as Harsenville. Alongside his full brother, Johannes Harsen (b. 1714), who married his first cousin, Rachel Dyckman, the two cultivated what became known as the Harsen Homestead. Rachel was the daughter of Nicholas Dyckman and Anneke Sevenhoven, while Johannes was the son of Cornelia Dyckman, Nicholas’ sister, making the couple first cousins through their Dyckman grandparents.[45]
The hamlet grew on land originally purchased by their grandfather, Cornelius Dyckman, and by the late 18th century had developed into a modest but thriving village with about 500 residents and 60 buildings, including shops, schools, and churches. The Harsen Homestead itself stood near present day Tenth Avenue and West 70th Street. By the late 19th century, the village had disappeared under the pressure of New York City’s rapid expansion. Today, the land is part of Manhattan’s Upper West Side, with the only remaining trace being a modern condominium called “Harsen House” at West 72nd Street.[46]
Further evidence of this tightly woven kinship is found in the baptismal records of Jacob Harsen and Maria Pruyn’s children. On March 1, 1741, Alida Gerritse Graveraet (Gerrit’s mother) and Bernardus Harsen (Jacob’s father) stood together as witnesses to the baptism of their daughter Cornelia Harsen. Then, on June 5, 1743, Catharina Pruyn Harsen (our Jacob Harsen’s mother) and Hendrick Gerritse (Alida’s brother and Gerrit’s uncle) were witnesses to the baptism of their second daughter, Margaritha. Also, Johannes Harsen and Rachel Dyckman acted as witnesses to the baptism of their seventh daughter, Maria on April 28, 1756[47] These entries provide powerful confirmation of the interconnectedness of these families socially, spiritually, and genealogically. They also suggest that Jacob Harsen and Gerrit Graveraet were likely acquainted in Albany prior to their later migrations to Detroit and, eventually, Harsens Island.
The Harsen-Schuyler Family Connection
Beyond Jacob Harsen’s ties to the Pruyn family, another distinguished lineage emerges through his wife, Alida Groesbeck, a woman whose own family story tied into the most prominent Dutch lineages in Albany. Her paternal grandmother, Geertruy Schuyler, was the daughter of David Pieterse Schuyler and Catharina Verplanck, an esteemed couple whose descendants played foundational roles in the civic and commercial life of colonial Albany. Through this connection, the Harsen family is linked to the influential Schuyler name, adding yet another layer of depth to their story. In this section, we’ll explore how the Groesbeck–Schuyler line shaped the Harsens’ identity and extended their roots into the highest tiers of Dutch colonial society.
Jacob Harsen and Alida Groesbeck married on June 4, 1764 in Albany. Their first child, Sarah, was born there in 1765.[48] Shortly afterward, the family relocated to Fort Niagara, where Jacob had secured a post under commission from Sir William Johnson, the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs.[49] Jacob’s father, Bernardus Harsen, had previously worked as a blacksmith under Johnson, and it is likely this connection helped Jacob obtain the post. In a journal entry dated July 22, 1761, Johnson recorded that he had “agreed with Mr. Harsen of Albany (smith) to work as a gunsmith for the Indians who come to Niagara,” at a salary of 100 pounds per year.[50] Jacob’s own correspondence from 1766 confirms his arrival at Fort Niagara and details the difficulties he encountered in securing a blacksmith shop and living quarters, conditions he expected to be provided as part of his appointment.[51] By 1779, Jacob and his family were recorded in Detroit, where he and fellow Albany native Gerrit Graveraet both appear in the Detroit census.[52] The remaining children of Jacob and Alida, Catherine, Bernardus, Jacob II, William, James, and Francis, were likely born at Fort Niagara or in Detroit during this period of transition and service. The chart below outlines their known children.
While the lives of Jacob and Alida Harsen would unfold largely in the western reaches of the British frontier, first a Fort Niagara and later in Detroit, their roots remained firmly planted in Albany. To fully appreciate the legacy Alida carried west, we turn to her maternal lineage. Through her grandmother Geertruy Schuyler, Alida was descended from one of Albany’s most prominent Dutch families.[53] The chart below helps illustrate how this Schuyler-Groesbeck line further connects to the Harsens, adding depth and distinction to their generational story.
As I reflect on the Schuyler family’s trajectory, one moment stands out. In 1690, political unrest and winter travel brought David Pieterse Schuyler and his wife, Catharina Verplanck, to Schenectady, where they encountered one of the most devastating attacks of the colonial era, known as the 1690 Schenectady Massacre.[54] On the night of February 8, French soldiers and their Indigenous allies launched a surprise attack, entering through open gates and setting homes ablaze. Approximately 60 townspeople were killed and dozens more captured.[55] Though the Schuylers were based in Albany, as confirmed by David’s 1688 will,[56] they were likely visiting family or conducting business when the attack occurred. Catharina survived the ordeal, but David either sustained injuries or fell ill after; Bible records state he died on February 9, 1690.[57]
For Geertruy Schuyler, then 28 years old and already married to Willem Claase Groesbeck, the massacre meant the sudden and violent loss of her father. It marked a rupture in the family’s legacy and became a sobering chapter in the broader story of their descendants, including the Harsens and Graveraets who followed.
David Pieterse Schuyler was born about February 12, 1636, in Amsterdam. His brother was Philip Pieterse Schuyler, who came to America about 1650 and settled in Albany. David Pieterse followed in 1656, likely after the death of their father Pieter Schuyler, in Amsterdam. Both brothers were active in the fur trade. David eventually established his homestead on the “south corner of Broadway and Steuben Street” near the northeast corner of the city walls by the water side.[58]
Using 19th-century reconstructions of Albany’s original land records from J. Munsell’s Collections on the History of Albany Volume 4 (1871), we discover that the Schuylers and Isaac Graveraet were neighbors. David’s property sat just inside the northern stockade, along what became Steuben Street, while Isaac’s home lay directly across from it, adjacent to the Main Guard on the opposite side of the street. These maps, stitched together from original 17th-century lot records, show the Schuyler homestead was located on what is now the site of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.
Reflections of the Past
David married Catharina Verplanck October 13, 1657. Catharina was the daughter of Abraham Isaacsen Verplanck. Together, they had the following children:
- Peter (b. April 18, 1659)
- Gertrude (b. September 19, 1661)
- Abraham (b. August 16, 1663)
- Maria (b. September 29, 1666)
- David (b. June 11, 1669)
- Myndert (b. June 14, 1672)
- Jacob (b. June 14, 1675)
- Catlyne (b. January 14, 1678)
David and Catharina raised their children in their Albany home until David’s death in 1690.[59] Catharina inherited the residence under his will.[60] In 1699, she petitioned the city for an additional 14 feet on the north side of her lot but was denied because her house stood too close to the stockade.[61] She died on October 8, 1708.[62] In 1709, the property passed to her two sons, Jacob and Abraham.[63]
Looking over these old maps from Munsell’s Collections, it’s striking to see how close-knit the Graveraet and Schuyler homesteads once were. Directly across Steuben Street from where Gerrit and his family lived stood the family home of David Pieterse Schuyler and Catharina Verplanck, grandparents of Alida Groesbeck, and direct ancestors of the Harsen family. This proximity reflects more than shared geography; it echoes the deep family roots the Harsens and Graveraets carried with them from Albany to Detroit.
And as I trace those connections through maps and time, another neighbor of the Graveraet’s stand out, Johannes A. Cuyler. His name reminds me of something I mentioned in Part Three of this series: about the Cuyler family. As noted on the old map, the man who lived in front of the Graveraets’, Johannes A. Cuyler, was the grandfather of Abraham C. Cuyler, the former mayor of Albany and British Loyalist who, after the Revolution, fled to Canada and was represented by Alexander Hamilton in his property recovery suit. Later, Abraham would seek out Gerrit Graveraet in Detroit to settle an old debt. This is just one more thread in a tangled web of colonial relationships still waiting to be unraveled.
Sometimes, the footpaths of history run deeper than we expect.
[1] Wikipedia, (2022). Dutch West India Company. Flag of the Dutch West India Company aka Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie (GWC) [image], https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_West_India_Company, accessed October 1, 2022.
[2] Wolfert Gerritze Van Kouwenhoven aka Couwenhoven had three sons. His second son, Jacob Wolpherstse Van Louwenhven aka Couwenhoven was married to Hester Jansen. They had Aeltje Couwenhoven on August 20, 1645. Aeltje Couwenhoven married Bernardus Harsin July 7, 1669. They later resided in Flatbush, Long Island. Aeltje and Bernardus are Jacob Harsen’s great grandparents.
[3] Coucheu, Lincoln C. (1939). The Van Kouwenhoven-Conover Family, NYG&B Record, Vol, 70, Issue 3, p. 231-232.
[4] 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, Further Instructions for Director Willem Verhulst and the Council of New Netherland, April 22, 1625, Documents Relating to New Netherland 1624-1626, in the Henry E. Huntington Library; pp.81-129, San Marino, California, and Coucheu, Lincoln C. (1939), The Van Kouwenhoven-Conover Family, NYG&B Record, Vol, 70, Issue 3, p. 231-232
[5] Historical Society of the New York Courts website, (2022). Wolphert Gerritsen (Van Couwenhover) c. 1583-1662) profile. https://history.nycourts.gov/figure/wolphert-gerritsen/, accessed January 28, 2022.
[6] Ibid.
[7] West-Indische Compagnie (Netherland), (1924), Van Laer, A.J.F, ed. Letter of Isaak de Rasiere, September 23, 1626. Documents Relating to New Netherland 1624-1626, in the Henry E. Huntington Library, pp. 218-219, San Marino, California; The Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery.
[8] Wikipedia, (2022). Dutch West India Company. The West India House in Amsterdam [image]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_West_India_Company, accessed October 1, 2022.
[9] Wikipedia, (2022). New Netherland Settlements, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Netherland_settlements, accessed January 25, 2022 and Wikipedia, (2022). Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_of_Freedoms_and_Exemptions#:~:text=The%20Charter%20of%20Freedoms%20and,supplied%20by%20members%20of%20the, accessed January 25, 2022.
[10] Wikipedia, (2022). Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_of_Freedoms_and_Exemptions#:~:text=The%20Charter%20of%20Freedoms%20and,supplied%20by%20members%20of%20the, accessed January 25, 2022
[11] Wikipedia, (2022). Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_of_Freedoms_and_Exemptions#:~:text=The%20Charter%20of%20Freedoms%20and,supplied%20by%20members%20of%20the, accessed January 25, 2022.
[12] Cocheu, Lincoln C. (1939). The Van Kouwenhoven-Conover Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 70, Issue 3, p. 232.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Wikipedia, (2022). Manor of Rensselaerswyck, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manor_of_Rensselaerswyck, accessed January 25, 2022.
[15] French Wikipedia, (2022). Kiliaen Van Rensselaer. Portrait of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer [image], https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiliaen_van_Rensselaer, accessed October 1, 2022.
[16] Wikipedia, (2022). Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, merchant. Original Map of Rensselaerswyck [image], https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiliaen_van_Rensselaer_(merchant), accessed January 25, 2022.
[17] Van Laer, A.J.F., (1908). Van Rensselaer Bowier Manuscripts, pp. 805-806. Albany; University of the State of New York.
[18] Cocheu, Lincoln C. (1939). The Van Kouwenhoven-Conover Family, NYG&B Record, Vol. 70, Issue 3, p. 233.
[19] Van Laer, A.J.F., (1908). Van Rensselaer Bowier Manuscripts, p. 218. Albany; University of the State of New York.
[20] New Amsterdam History Center, (2022). Document: Patent of Andries Hudde and Wolphert Gerritsen van Couwenhoven for a tract of land on Long Island [image], https://encyclopedia.nahc-mapping.org/document/patent-andries-hudde-and-wolphert-gerritsen-van-couwenhoven-tract-land-long-island, accessed October 1, 2022.
[21] Wikipedia, (2022). Manatus Map, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manatus_Map, accessed January 25, 2022.
[22] Ibid.
[23] Jonathan Pearson, Contributions for the Genealogies of the First Settlers of the Ancient County of Albany (Albany, 1872)
[24] Stefan Bielinski, Frans Janse Pruyn bio, https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/p/frpruyn.html
[25] Cuyler Reynolds, Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs, Vol. 1 (Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1911), and Jonathan Pearson, Contributions for the Genealogies of the First Settlers of the Ancient County of Albany (Albany, 1872)
[26] John V.L. Pruyn, Jr., The Pruyn Family – American Branch, NYG&B Record, Volume 13, Issue 1, p. 11, January 1882
[27] Albanymusrat, The Mysteries of Maiden Lane, Friends of Albany History, January 19, 2018, https://friendsofalbanyhistory.wordpress.com/2018/01/19/the-mysteries-of-maiden-lane/
[28] Ibid
[29] J. Munsell, Collections on the History of Albany from the Discovery to the Present Time, Volume IV, p. 211; Albany, NY, 1871.
[30] Google Maps, Waldorf Residence Building (Waldorf Residence), 29 Maiden Lane, Albany, NY
[31] Low Income Housing US website, https://www.lowincomehousing.us/det/waldorf_residence-12207 and Mapquest, Waldorf Residence, 29 Maiden Lane, Albany, NY, https://www.mapquest.com/us/new-york/waldorf-residence-406861189
[32] Stefan Bielinski, Wards, https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/wards.html
[33] J. Munsell, Collections on the History of Albany from the Discovery to the Present Time, Volume IV, p. 192; Albany, NY, 1871
[34] Ibid.
[35] Google Maps, street view of Waldorf Residence on Maiden Lane and James and Dormitory Authority of the State of New York and Union Station near Broadway and Steuben Street, Albany, NY.
[36] Ibid.
[37] Google Maps, Union Station, 575 Broadway, Albany, NY
[38] John Reynolds Totten, Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, p. 152, Volume 61, Issue 2 (April 1930) and Norm Roller, Roller Family Tree, Gerrit Graveraet, https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/17116641/person/924460129/facts
[39] John V.L. Pruyn, Jr., The Pruyn Family – American Branch, NYG&B Record, Volume 13, Issue 1, p. 12, January 1882.
[40] Ibid, p. 13 and John Reynolds Totten, Grevenraedt Family, NYG&B Record, Volume 61, Issue 2, p. 152, April 1930.
[41] John V.L. Pruyn, Jr., The Pruyn Family – American Branch, NYG&B Record, Volume 13, Issue 1, p. 13, January 1882.
[42] James A. Rasmussen, The Harsin Family of New York City, NYG&B Record, Volume 115, Issue 1, p. 14, January 1984.
[43] Stefan Bielinski, Catharina Pruyn Harsen bio, https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/p/capruyn.html
[44] James A. Rasmussen, The Harsin Family of New York City, NYG&B Record, Volume 114, Issue 4, p. 237, October 1983 and John V.L. Pruyn, Jr., The Pruyn Family – American Branch, NYG&B Record, Volume 13, Issue 1, p. 14, January 1882.
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