Beeks line: Pieter Janse Meet, Immigrant 1614-1697

I've found another Beeks ancestor that I overlooked,, and I've found almost enough to actually write a paragraph or two about him.  I always enjoy finding these ancestors from The Netherlands, who were some of the first settlers of New Amsterdam, later New York city.  It helps remind me that America was not just Puritans and Cavaliers, but has other heritages also, dating back to the first settlements of the continent.  (Yes, I know there were Swedish settlers, French Huguenots and missionaries, and early s Spanish settlers, too, and I know there were native Americans who were here first).  But ever since grade school, the Dutch settlers have interested me.  And I'm a little bit jealous that these folks belong to my husband's family, and not mine!

It's possible that this was originally a French or Walloon Huguenot family, and it's possible that Jan Meet was father, a man who appears in English records.  But actual proof as to his parentage and origins is lacking.  The first we really know of him was that he married Styntje Jacobs on September 22, 1654 in Amersfoort, Utrecht, The Netherlands.  The town had a Protestant majority, but a large Catholic minority and there must surely have been religious tensions there.  Whether or not that was the reason the Meets emigrated to New Netherlands, we don't know.

He and his wife and family of four children left Amersfoort, Netherlands in March of 1663 in the ship "Rosetree".  They arrived at a time of great political unrest, as the colony was about to be taken over by the English.  By October of 1664, Pieter Meet took an oath of allegiance to the English King Charles II, and so began adjusting to a new continent and a new political reality.  It's unclear how much impact this had on the every day lives of the settlers.  Pieter was a resident of what became Brooklyn for perhaps 16 years but if found on a tax "rate" page for Bushwick in 1683.  He purchased land there in 1680.

It's not clear whether it was his son or whether it was Pieter himself who moved to land near Hackensack, New Jersey.  Some records say he died there in 1697 and some say he died at Bushwick. He was apparently not active in town government.  We don't know that there was any conflict with the native Americans during his lifetime, in his towns.  we just don't know much about him at all.  But we do know he cared enough for religious or economic freedom to come to America and worship as he pleased, with the chance to give his family a solid economic base. 

We can be grateful for all the families that made this trip, no matter where they went or when they arrived.  They are part of the history of America, and of the history of the Beeks family. 

The line of descent is:

Pieter Janse Meet-Styntje Jacobs
Jan Pieterse Meet-Gerritsje Jillsae Mandeville
Maretie Meet-Peter Demarest
Lea Demarest-Samuel David Demarest
Sarah Demarest-Benjamin Slot
William Lock-Elizabeth Teague
Sally Lock-Jeremiah Folsom
Leah Folsom-Darlington Aldridge
Harvey Aldridge-Margaret Catherine Dunham
Gretta Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger

Note that the first person probably not of Dutch heritage in this list was Jeremiah Folsom.