THE VROOMAN FAMILY In America ~ Descendants of Hendrick Meese Vrooman who came from Holland to America in 1664 Prepa1·ed by Grace Vrooman Wickersham Juneau, Alaska, and Ernest Bernard Comstock, F. I. A.G. Dallas, Texas, 1949. INTRODUCTION This volume, the Genealogy of the Vrooman Family, is the result of yeaTs of painstaking work by many historians, genealog:sts and interested members of the family. The search for Vrooman FamiHes residing in both the United States and in Canada has been thorough. The records of the United States Census Bureau, church records, family Bibles, gravestone inscriptions, family letters, court house files of deeds and wills, vital statistics, tax rolls, etc., have been copied with much care. Prof. Jonathan Pearson of Union College several years ago, wrote an extensive Lreatise of the early settlers of the Mo­ hawk Valley. He included in his study the Vrooman Family. He was accurate and painstaking in his findings. Mrs. Charlotte Taylor Luckhurst, several years deceased, of Albany spent thirl:Jy years in compiling facts about the fam­ ily. On her 76th birthday she wrote as follows: I collected materal for more than 20 years. On every item I found about the family, I gave autho1·ity on each sheet, I made 11, full copy of all Vroomans in everry church and Sun·ogate or Janrl re­ co-rd in this part of the countr~·, ~ay nothing of Bibles and cem­ etery records as well a,, hundreds of letters and genealogical fonns filled in. There wa.-, about what would h:we filled 11 steam­ n· trunk when l\Irs. Wickersham took it .from me, my health and age showing that I would ne,·e1· be able to complete the woJ·k and keep up the work for my clients·. Mrs. George Walker of Los Angeles has for years carried on an extensive correspondence with hundreds of Vroomans in various parts of the country. She has their names arrang­ ed in alphabetical order with a biographical sketch for each one. She has generously loaned us this material. In 1946, a genealogy entitled Josiah B. Vrooman, His An­ cestors and Descendants was published by Lora Vrooman Randall and Florence Vrooman Houghton, The volume covers quite thoroughly the descendants of Josiah B. Vrooman, 1778-1850. He belonged to the sixth generation of the Vroo­ man Family. They have aided us with their work on this particular branch of the family. Henry Cady of Utica, N.Y. some yeM·s ago prepared a short genealogy of the Vrooman family, following quite closely Dutch Reform Church-records and those data left by Jona­ than Pearson. We have made use of his manuscript. We have in our possession not only the material accum­ ulated by those mentioned above but we have been collecting data on the family for about twent~• years. [ 3 ] The volume as it will appear is ne:ther perfect nor complet~. There are many lost families that we hope will be located soon. The book will contain some errors. We hope it will be possible for us to publish later ADDENDA ET ERRATA to the Vrooman genealoro•. This will be possible only if mem­ bers of the family write in g:ving us additional informatir,n and pointing out errors that occur. The spelling of the name Vrooman (Vroman) varies with the family. It seems to have !men a matter of personal pre­ ference with some. Our inability to consult each individ­ ual as to his preference has caused us to appear rather arbitrury !n many cases. We have used the "oo" unless otherwise instructed, as most of the early Church records and records of wills and deeds were spelled that way. THE EGIUONT TRADITION No family tradition is stronger than that existing among the Vroomans as to the origin of the family name. The Vroomans claim, and the1·e is some factual basis for their belief, that we are descendants from the Egmont fam:ly, of which Count Egmont, Prince of Gavre, 1522-1568 was outstanding. So strong has this belief been that members of the family have given their children the Egmont name. Frank Buffington Vrooman named his son, b. 1898, John Von Egmont Black Vrooman. Jacob Vrooman, b. 1808, named one of his sons, b. July 24, 1844, Henry Egmont Vrooman. Ellery Bryan Vrooman, b. Sept. 17, 1896, named his son b.1926, Hugh Egmont Vrooman. Hiram Vrooman Jr b March 1, 1871 named his son b Aug. 15, 1917, Egmont. There have been some rather half-hearted efforts to actual­ ly reveal the connection that binds tJhe Vrooman family with Egmont royaltl-.r. Years ago we were informed by a member of the family that one of our ancestors named Egmont was called the pious man or in Dutch, Der Frohmann, and that this was the orgin of the Vrooman name. The man telling us this did not know the name of the Egmont family using this appellation. We feel sure that even now most members of the Vrooman family do not know. Their letters so indi­ cate. The Pious Man, called Der Fromme or Der Frohmann was Frederick III the elector Palatine. His sister Sabina had married Count Egmont. Thui: Count Egmont married into the Frohmann Family. For verification of this see. p. 16 Vol. ix, 11th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica under the paragraph. Frederick III. Count Egmont and Sabina had eleven children, three boys [ 4 ] and eight girls. After the execution of Egmont in 1568, La­ mora!, Jr. fought in the battle of Ivr.v. The estate of the family was confiscated. The wife and children took refuge in a convent· for a t:me, but historical record is rather vague as to man·iages and offspring. Perhaps some real re:seach on this line would bring some tangible results. THE ll'vll\lIGRATION In New York Colonial Manuscripts, Vol XIV, p 83 - 123, in the Manuscripts Room of the New York State Library, is an account book giving th•~ debit and credit accounts of per­ sons who came to New Netherlands from 1654 to 1664 inclusive, and who were indebted for their passage money to Dutch West India Company. The follmv:ng entry is found on folio 87 of this account book. Henry BartJlolomeus debit voor vracht en kostgelt clat hy A 1664, 17 April p t'schip d'e­ enclracht schipper Jan bergen is herwaerts gekomen. • . 1. 36-- voor syn kinderen van 15, 13, 11, 7, en 5 jaaren . 126.- 1.162- TranE!ntion of the account Henclrick Bartholomeus Debit For passage and beard in coming hither, anno 16640 April 17th, in the ship DeEendracht (Concord), Jan Bergen, Master 1. 36.­ For his 5 children of 15, 13, 11, 7, and 5 years 126s Total . • 1 pound 162 shillings This Hendrick Bartholomeus was Hendrick Meese Vrooman, Meese (Meesen), being the possess,:ve form of Mees, or Meus, a short form of Bartholomeus and indicating that Hendrick was a son of Mees, or Bartholomeus Vrooman. Mr. Van Laer, New York Archivist. William J. Hoffman :n the April number of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, 1936, has given us the following account of Hendrick Meese Vrooman's family found in the church records of Leiden. Netherlands. The name of Hendrick Meese Vrooman's wife was not given, as the mother's name is not found in the baptismal entries. ADAM Vrooman, born about 1649. On Mny 23, 1670, he made the stn.tement that he was at that time about 21 years of age. This a~im checks with the age given in the passenger list. EVE, born about 1651; JOHANNES, bapt. Mru:e Ke1·k, Leiden, Feb 15, 1653. Sp. Pieter Meese Vrooman and Cnthnrina .Tohannis. KATHLYNTJE; bapt Hooglnndsche Kerk, Leiden, Aug. 5, 1667; sp Josyntje Rebouts, Mnritje Bartholomeus Froman (Vroman), a [ 5 ] sister of the three brothers who came to America, BARl'IiOLOMEUS, Bapt Pleterskerk, Leiden, June 4, 1659; sp Ma.ritje Bartholomeus Vroman. HENDRICKJE, bapt Hooglandsche Kerk, Leiden, Mor 20, 1661; sp Morgarita.,Kannemans, Geertruyd Mentius. Vro(o)man may be derived from VROOM(E)MAN meaning pious man, or VROEDE MAN, a Wise man. Traceable for many generations in the possessfon of the family in America is an heirloom, a wooden board bearing all the earmarks of great age, on which is painted an an­ cient coat-of-arms- A small drawing of the arms represented thereon is shown opposite page 276 of Pearson's "Early Set­ tlers of Schenectady".... It is unknown if this board was broughfl from the fatherland or if it was executed in Ameri­ ca." ... Hoffman in "An Armory of American Families of Dutch Descent." In the Historical Journal of the More family published at Seattle, Washington, August, 1910, is this record - no au­ thority given: "Hendrick Meese Vrooman (Fromnn, Vl'omnn, etc) 110n of Bnl'­ tholomcus Vl'oomnn, was born about lli18. i\lnrried about 1048. Geertru)" Johannis, and lh·ed in Le;\·den. His ";re died an,1 in 1064 he came with hi.s children to Albany". AtJ the time of the arrival of Hendrick Meese Vrooman in New Netherlands in 1664 with his five children, there were already two other sons of Bartholomeus Vrooman of Hol­ land residing in the New World, Pieter Meese Vrooman and Jacob Meese Vrooman. Peter Meese Vrooman is mentioned as one.of the early inhabitants of Beverwijck <Alban;:,:) in 1655. He was a master carpenter, surveyor and a millwright. He was the owner of considerable property in Beverwijck (or Fort 01·ange) and a person of some importance. In 1669 he was appointed mag;strate of the colony of Rensslaer­ wijck which office he held until 1671.