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Pieter Claesen Wyckoff

Pieter Claesen Wyckoff

Male 1625 - 1694  (69 years)


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  • Name Pieter Claesen Wyckoff  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15] 
    Birth 6 Jan 1625  Netherlands Find all individuals with events at this location  [12] 
    Gender Male 
    FSID 9312-XFX  [2, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20] 
    Immigration 1636  Albany, New York, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Occupation Abt 1637  Albany, New York, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Indentured Farm Hand 
    Death 30 Jun 1694  Kings County, New York, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 3, 10, 11, 13, 15] 
    Burial Yorkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [10, 13, 15] 

    • Flatlands Dutch Reformed Church Cemetery
    Person ID I1107  footsteps
    Last Modified 1 Jul 2025 

    Family Grietje Cornelis van Ness,   b. Abt 1626, Netherlands Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 11 Sep 1689, Long Island, New York, United States Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 63 years) 
    Marriage 1646  Kings County, New York, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
    +1. Frans Pieterse Clauw,   b. Abt 1650, Ulster, New York, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1700, Columbia County, New York, United States Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 50 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
    +2. Geertje Pieterse Wyckoff,   b. Abt 1660, Flatlands, Kings, New York, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 6 Dec 1711, Hackensack, Bergen, New Jersey, United States Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 51 years)  [Father: unknown]  [Mother: unknown]
    +3. Garret Pieterse Wyckoff,   b. 1662, Flatlands, Kings, New York, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Bef 12 Jul 1707, Flatlands, Kings, New York, United States Find all individuals with events at this location (Age < 45 years)  [Father: unknown]  [Mother: unknown]
    Family ID F1153  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 1 Jul 2025 

  • Notes 

    • Pieter Claesen Wyckoff (ca. 1620 - June 30, 1694) was a prominent early figure in Kings County, Long Island, New York. He superintended the bowery (farm) and cattle of Peter Stuyvesant in New Amersfoort (present day Flatlands, Brooklyn). Pieter Claesen prospered there and acquired land and became a local justice of the peace, and was influential in establishing the Flatlands Dutch Reformed Church at the juncture of Flatbush Avenue and Kings Highway in Brooklyn, where he and his wife Grietje are thought to be buried.

      Pieter arrived in 1636 or 1637. There is no record of him paying passage for the trip on the Rensselaerswyck, although he arrived in Fort Orange from New Amsterdam on the ship once the ice on the Hudson was clear enough for the trip.

      His early years in the Fort Orange region was as a servant, possibly indentured, although he is recorded as having been paid a wage for six years. He is recorded as being a servant to Symon Walichsz who lived on an island in the Hudson. He eventually ended up in Flatlands, living in a home on his land for the rest of his life. He adopted the Wyckoff name when he took the oath of allegiance just seven years before his death.

      Possibly the first Claesen in North America, but Pieter did not take the Wyckoff name until the British mandated that an established surname be used in 1687 when Pieter took the oath of allegiance.

  • Sources 
    1. [S273] FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch FamilyTree, familysearch.org; a number of electronic copies, a PDF from archive.comhttps://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/101495-records-of-the-reformed-dutch-church-in-new-amsterdam-and-new-york-baptisms-from-25-december-1639-to-27-december-1730 -- note this is a link to Volume 1 of a three volume set. The christenings are in Volume II.
      P.35 image 37. Maÿken chr 19 Oct 1653 New Amsterdam, New York, New York in Reformed Dutch Church father Pieter Claeszen witnesses Marten Jans, Judith Stuyvesants, Hendrickje Cornelis. Entry is at the bottom of the displayed page.

    2. [S273] FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch FamilyTree, "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 07 March 2025, 19:56), entry for John Smith V (PID https://ark.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:G72P-5H4 ); contributed by various users.
      https://ark.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:G72P-5H4

    3. [S273] FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch FamilyTree, Free link provided to source mentioned on this profile. NOTE: the parentage mentioned in this source is from Gustave Anjou, the fraudulent genealogist.
      https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89064406200;view=1up;seq=19

    4. [S273] FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch FamilyTree, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89058526948;view=1up;seq=161.
      Pages from the well-sourced work by Charles Hoppin. Full citation is Hoppin, Charles Arthur, "The Washington Ancesty and Records of The McClain, Johnson, and Forty Other Colonial American Families" Prepared for Edward Lee McClain. Greenfield, Ohio, 1932 (Privately Printed) 3 volumes

    5. [S273] FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch FamilyTree, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89058526948;view=1up;seq=161 Hoppin, Charles Arthur, "The Washington Ancesty and Records of The McClain, Johnson, and Forty Other Colonial American Families" Prepared for Edward Lee McClain. Greenfield, Ohio, 1932 (Privately Printed) 3 volumes, Volume 3, pages 101 - 138.
      Pages from the well-sourced work by Charles Hoppin. Full citation is Hoppin, Charles Arthur, "The Washington Ancesty and Records of The McClain, Johnson, and Forty Other Colonial American Families" Prepared for Edward Lee McClain. Greenfield, Ohio, 1932 (Privately Printed) 3 volumes

    6. [S273] FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch FamilyTree, The Washington Ancestry, and Records of the McClain, Johnson, and Forty Other Colonial American Families: Prepared for Edward Lee McClain, by Charles Arthur Hoppin, 1932, Private Printing, 3 volumes.
      Volume 3, starting on page 101 through page 138, is the substantial and well-sourced history of Pieter Wyckoff and some of his descendants in America.

      Although only 300 copies were printed, this three-volume set is widely available at many libraries around the United States. See http://www.worldcat.org/title/washington-ancestry-and-records-of-the-mcclain-johnson-and-forty-other-colonial-american-families-prepared-for-edward-lee-mcclain/oclc/10744860

      FamilySearch has scanned its copies. Out of copyright.

    7. [S273] FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch FamilyTree, The Documentary History of the State of New York: Arranged Under Direction of the Hon. Christopher Morgan, Secretary of State. By E. B. O'Callaghan (Edmund Bailey - secretary-archivist of the State of New York), M.D. Vol. I., pages 659-661, Albany, Weed Parson & Co., Public Printers. 1849.
      The roll of those who took the oath of allegiance to the British Crown

    8. [S273] FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch FamilyTree, A. J. F. van Laer, Van Rensselaer Bowier Manuscripts (University of the State of New York, Albany:1908), page 810. PDF is available through Google Books.
      The original work is edited, so terms like "probably arrived" and "appears to have" are speculative in nature and are not supported by the original documents.

    9. [S273] FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch FamilyTree, The Documentary History of the State of New York: Arranged Under Direction of the Hon. Christopher Morgan, Secretary of State. By E. B. O'Callaghan (Edmund Bailey - secretary-archivist of the State of New York), M.D. Vol. I., pages 659-661, Albany, Weed Parson & Co., Public Printers. 1849Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Brigham Young University. https://archive.org/details/documentaryhisto01ocal.
      This work is a transcription of original records. The location of the original material is provided at the beginning of each entry. The Roll of those who took an Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown is provided as part this work and includes Pieter Claasen and many of his family. The number of years in the Americas is given or "native" for those born in America. Pieter is shown as having been in this country 51 years, which makes his immigration in or about 1636 correct. It should be noted that the name "Wijckoff" is all lower case, indicating that this was the "fixed" name required by the British.

    10. [S273] FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch FamilyTree, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, under Pieter Claesen Wyckoff.
      Although this particular article needs additional citations for verification, it is still sourced to reliable materials. It contains additional validated information about Pieter Claesen and his family after arriving in American. There is a significant note about the claim of "the work of a fraudulent genealogist" regarding Pieter's parentage.

      This same article contains the known eleven children for Pieter and his wife. They are:

      Nicholas Pieterse Wyckoff (1646–1714) m. Sara Monfoort (1656–1704)
      Margrietje Pieterse Wyckoff (c. 1648–?) m. Matthys Brouwer
      Annetje Pieterse Wyckoff (1650–1688) m. Roelof Martensen Schenck, Captain (1619–1704)
      Mayken Pieterse Wyckoff (1653–1721) m. Willem Willemsen (c. 1637- c. 1722), son of Willem Gerritsen and Mary -----
      Willemptje Pieterse Wyckoff (c. 1654 – c. 1693) m. Adrian Pieterse Kenne
      Cornelius Pieterse Wyckoff (c. 1656–1746) m. Gertje Charity Van Arsedalen
      Hendrick Pieterse Wyckoff (c. 1658–?)
      Geertje Pieterse Wyckoff (c. 1660 – c. 1711) m. Christoffel Janse Romeyn (c. 1641- c. 1748)
      Garret Pieterse Wyckoff (1662–1701) m. Catherine Johanna Nevius
      Marten Pieterse Wyckoff (c. 1663 – c. 1699) m. Hanna Willemse (c. 1660- c.1724), dau. of Willem Gerritsen and Mary -----
      Jan Pieterse Wyckoff (1665 – c. 1730) m. Neeltje Williamse Couwenhoven

    11. [S273] FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch FamilyTree, Details are found in the section titled, "Who Was Pieter Wyckoff?" (http://wyckoffmuseum.org/about/history/#who-was-pieter-wyckoff).
      This contains a concise history of Pieter Claesen from when he arrived in the American Colonies in April of 1637 to his moving and establishing a home in what is now Brooklyn, a borough of New York City.

    12. [S273] FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch FamilyTree, Wykoff, M. William, "What's in a Name? History and Meaning of Wyckoff", 2014, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Available through Amazon and other online sellers.
      This is a well-sourced small work dealing with the history and origin of the Wyckoff name and its variants. It should be considered one of the more reliable sources of information about Pieter Claessen, an immigrant ancestor who established the Wyckoff name in America in 1687 when he took his oath of allegiance to the British crown. Note: Wyckoff's also immigrated from Europe after the 17th century, so not all Americans with a Wyckoff (or spelling variation) ancestor are descended from Pieter Wyckoff.

    13. [S288] FamilySearch.org, Find a Grave Index, "Find a Grave Index", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVB-8DB9 : Tue Jun 17 22:58:27 UTC 2025), Entry for Pieter Claesen Wyckoff.
      https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVB-8DB9

    14. [S328] FamilySearch.org, New York, Land Records, 1630-1975, "New York, Land Records, 1630-1975", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:686D-G79Z : Sun Apr 13 07:33:39 UTC 2025), Entry for Peter Wyckoff and Jeremiah F York, 24 Jun 1636.
      https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:686D-G79Z

    15. [S356] FamilySearch.org, Pennsylvania, Cemetery Records, ca. 1700-ca. 1950, "Pennsylvania, Cemetery Records, ca. 1700-ca. 1950", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:8TKN-CCMM : Fri Dec 27 18:33:04 UTC 2024), Entry for Pieter Claesen Wyckoff.
      This undocumented record contains fraudulent birth and place information fabricated by Gustave Anjou, a known fraudulent "Genealogist." Date and place of birth are not known but are definitely not as recorded in this undocumented record. Ironically, Pieter was buried -- not in Pennsylvania, but in Flatbush (Long Island, New York).

    16. [S273] FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch FamilyTree, Word Press Blog of Denise Dahn, artist/writer, a descendant of Pieter Claesen Wyckoff, posted on March 13, 2013.
      Denise Dana, an artist, writer and descendant of Piete Claesen Wyckoff, used facts from references to create an illustrated story about her 10th grandfather, born about 1620.

    17. [S273] FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch FamilyTree, The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (quarterly-1884) - Extracts; Publication Place: New York; Publisher: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society; Page Number: 77.
      https://search.ancestry.com/collections/7831/records/791723

    18. [S273] FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch FamilyTree, Created as a source for the Vitals birth entries.
      109238937

    19. [S273] FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch FamilyTree, Included link to PDF for 2 most extensive articles.
      "Houses Where History Lives" 21 Sept 2008
      https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/nyregion/21houses.html

      "Where Crops Grew Long Ago, a Plan to Plant Again" 18 May 2003
      https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/18/nyregion/neighborhood-report-east-flatbush-where-crops-grew-long-ago-plan-plant-again.html

      "Calling at the Houses Where History Lives" 20 April 2001 *
      https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/20/arts/calling-at-the-houses-where-history-lives.html

      * Also adding this as separate source so I can include a quotation.

      "1652 Brooklyn House Is Damaged in a Blaze" 11 Jan 1978
      https://www.nytimes.com/1978/01/11/archives/1652-brooklyn-house-is-damaged-in-a-blaze.html

      "Wyckoff Park Approved" 13 July 1975
      https://www.nytimes.com/1975/07/13/archives/wyckoff-park-approved.html

      "Plan for Old Wyckoff House Is Ready" 17 Dec 1972
      https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/17/archives/plan-for-old-wyckoff-house-is-ready.html

      "Plan" in PDF
      https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1972/12/17/93425813.pdf

      "State's Oldest House Is Being Restored" 20 Aug 1970
      https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/20/archives/states-oldest-house-is-being-restored.html

      "State's Oldest House" in PDF
      https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1970/08/20/78804589.pdf

      "Saving the Wyckoff House" 24 Oct 1953
      https://www.nytimes.com/1953/10/24/archives/saving-the-wyckoff-house.html

      Overview of New Netherlands with mention of Wyckoff House:

      "New York's Beginnings, Real and Imagined" 3 Dec 1999
      https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/03/arts/new-yorks-beginnings-real-and-imagined.html

    20. [S273] FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch FamilyTree, Book, The Wyckoff Family in America : a genealogy, The Wyckoff Association in America, Summit, N.J., The Tuttle Publishing Company, Inc., Rutland, Vermont, U.S.A., 1950, Archive, Ancestry.com, Page number: Page 13.
      Published information: death: 30 June 1694; Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States
      Published information: burial: ; Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States


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