Notes for: John Perry
The following was edited a little from information sent to me by Henry Joel Blue [hkblue at earthlink.net]:
The 1702 Rockland Co., NY Census has Jan Perre with wife Sara, 1 male and three girls (gerells).
1702 Orange Co., NY Census, John Perre and Sara ( Jans Staats) are listed on line 39 of O'Callaghan's History of the State of New York, Vol. #1.
The records set his name as Perry in subsequent adjustments. Dutch Door Genealogy / Rockland Co. History site has many marriages, headstones and expanded census data of Tappan.
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This is the first Perry couple in the Tappan church records, in which many Perrys are later seen. We can also see that many unplaced Perrys which are seen in Wortendyke, Haring, de Clark, Blauvelt and Ten Eyck,etc., families, have links to this line. Links with Hurley / Esopus/ Kingston, Kipsberg, Westchester NY and the Bergen, Raritan, Somerset areas of NJ, are evident in the Tappan families.
The Tappan settlement was purchased from the Tappan indians by 16 Dutch farmers. John Perre is not seen as a full share holder, originally. This writer feels that due to Moll and other ancestors having settled at Tappan before the patent purchase, there were firm links there already .This is felt to be why it was selected and probably approved so easliy. Its church was an early DRC which stood outside the wall.Known as the Bouwery DRC. It seems to have been on JP Harings land. Its settlement extended from the farms on Manhattan Island outside the wall, over to the actual Tappan site accross the Hudson, to the west bank, where it formed the NY/NJ line at Hackensack - sometimes known as Orangetown, next to the Lockhardt patent. Populations grew in the west when their Manhattan island farms were asked to be razed to aid in defense of New Amsterdam. Compliance was sketchy. Western NJ / NY settlements grew as the Manhattan, Tappan, Dutch farming families displacements led to unrest with the Governor.
Some aspects may be linked with Jacob Leisler's rise and fall and the events which led to much internal unrest. Also, associated with the times, the anti-popery views of the DRC and the refugees of the wars of the Reformation must be noted. When the English obtained New Netherlands and made it New York, the king was King James and he placed many Catholic / Jacobite administrators in office.Tensions rose as billeting and other abuses of power took place. Leisler was elected acting governor of New York because the English throne had gone to William of Orange and James' daughter, Princess Mary. The wave of revolt was more of a return to the Protestant administration of the area. Orange was a champion of the Dutch Republic in the casting off of Spainish Inquisition repressions. Many families had been part of the efforts in Holland to become free of Spain. The French lands were under Catholic persecution by their monarchs. The idea that the Dutch New Netherlands was solely a commercial venture is not very true.
Refugees were even from Holland, where the DRC was heavy handed to Mennonites, the "liberals" of the time, and others. Leisler led a Protestant revolt and this affected many who were less anti-Catholic and anti-English, had mixed sympathies, or pacifists.The rallying point was that William of Orange was Dutch. The hope was for reform and justice. A close look at the supporters of Leisler and his detracters, early and later, may show why some disputes arose. In all , Leisler fell to the rule of English law for treason although he acted in faith. He was acting on behalf of William of Orange. William of Orange and his wife were actually grandchildren of the old British king, Charles. They were cousins. The House of Orange was linked to many Hugenot and Reformation-supporting families. Many noble families were in the trades as they fled from the Inquisition. Weaving, and the rich trades: feltmaking, jewelry making, papermaking , and language instruction, are seen as ways they survived in the colonies. The Dutch of New Netherlands, now New York, felt the forces of King James would wipe out the colony of Dutch.Ten freeholders of Manhattan and 400 supporters voted to hold the fort for William and Mary. They signed a pact to defend New York for the new king. The colony divided, with Albany being the main stronghold of supporters of King James, or those desiring to hold onto their offices.
The French now went to war with England in support of James and the Catholic regime of England which was falling to William of Orange. Many old settlers had been abused, such as Roelff Jansen, whose lands had been cut into to award Robert Livingston (as an Englsh citizen) for debts, etc. These large English manors rose in the face of the older families. Some like Van Courtlandt, had mixed feelings as he was less adamant of revolt. When Schenectady was massacred by the French/ Mohawks, most felt some unity must prevail. This led the Abraham Staats, Hendrick De Bruyn and Provoost families to take control of Albany. In 1691, the English arrived and considered Leisler and supporters traitors to England. The ones who had been passive or had assumed manors under English rule, returned to claim their lands.The rule of the status quo prevailed over all else.
The various churches were not all in any agreement.The DRC was split, with "liberal" Collegiants and Calvinist factions butting heads with newly allowed Lutherans, Pietists and others being allowed to worship under the English Protestant rule of Willam of Orange & Mary. The church had many of its members going back and forth between Tappan, Schlaarenburg, Hackensack, Sleepy Hollow and other DRC churches, in marriages, baptisms, etc. Families seemed to fluctuate among churches. We know that this was not a time of frivolous spirituality. The many refugees of persecution were present with families from France, Belgium, England, Germany, Nettherlands and Brazil. The Espiscopalian Church was almost the state church in NY, as it was in other colonies. Where this occurred the Dutch, Hugenots, Walloons, Belgian and French protestants, pietists, Germans often migrated to the more tolerant colonies in NJ, DE and PA. The Dutch English wars resumed. The later British, French / Indian aggressions made life very turbulent in the colonies. Loyalties were familal, more often than not.
Besides the Leisler revolt, other factors, such as the Labadist, Moravian & PA Pietist settlements, drew many away from the turmoil of the older settlements. 1666 was felt to be an apocalyptic date. Stillborns were christianed. The 1690 French -Indian massacre of Schenectady had many northern NY familes involved in compromising survival tactics and commercial interests. Land ventures abounded as the older families moved west and into the NY lakes and the mining
areas of PA, NJ and VA.
In 1641, MYNDERTS MYNDERTSE VAN der HEER NEDDERHORST got the area of Newark, between the Bergen patents and TAPPAN, in NY. His actions are said to have paved bad blood with the indians. After a VAN VORST was killed, Kieft massacred the Pavonia area indians which were not the party to the act. This set off the 1643-1645 indian wars. Most fled to large settlements and had to resettle the old patents. Later the Peachtree War went to1651/2. Over to LI., Manhattan, many settlers were burned out and killed in that event.
The English taking over New Netherlands in 1664 at the ending of the first flurry of English- Dutch Wars in Europe, was led by PHILIP CARTERET . having been made GOVENOR by the LORD PROPRIETORSHIPS of the PROVINCE of EAST NEW JERSEY, his administrators confirmed the titles of Bergen and other
areas of the Hudson River in 1668.
By 1714 the settlers began to complain that there were unauthorized farming on the raw areas of their patents , some by patentees without the other's knowledge. Gov.HUNTER set out to have the areas surveyed and lines made but this dragged out until 1743. With the QUEEN ANNE CHARTER survey began again, but was rife with disputes. By 1765, the old patents were established at Perth Amboy under Govenor Franklin and posted in the Courts of Hudson and Bergen Counties.
TAPPAN was purchased by a consortium of 16 Dutch families and confirmed March 24, 1686 by the English Governor of NY, Thomas Dongan, a Catholic
appointee of James. Each patentee was to pay the Crown Representative 1 bushel of wheat per year.