Dirck Garretse Kroesen

Marriage

(the first record is in his parish where they were married, the next day they went to her parish and registered the marriage there also.)

• 1684 04 May; Dirk Kroezen, ym of Bkln liv S.I.; Elizabeth Kregiers, yd of South River liv NY http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rbillard/flatbush_baptisms.htm
• 1684 05 Mar; Dirck Croesen, jm van Breuckelen; Elisabeth Cregiers, jd van de Zuydt rivier, de Eerste woonende op't Staten Eylt., ende tweede alhier. Getrouwt tot Breuckelen http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rbillard/na_marriages_1639-...

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Spouse(s) Elizabeth Cregier 1667-1730

Parents Gerret Dircksen Croesen 1650-1680 Neeltje Jans Staats 1644-1706

Children

1. Elizabeth Kroesen 1702-1756
2. Hendrick Kroesen 1706-1789 > bap. Jul 30, 1707 S.I.
3. Johannis Kroesen 1674-1776
4. Garret Kroesen1690-1767
5. Jan Kroesen 1688-1776
6. Francis Kroesen 1689-1756
7. Catherine Kroesen 1700-1785
8. Neeltje Kroesen 1692-1713
9. Nicholas Kroesen 1700-1776 > bap. before May 5, 1696 S.I. ??
10. Derrick Kroesen 1687-1785
11. Mercy 1703-1747

On 29 Sept 1677 Dirricks father { Gerrit } had been granted a 172 acre land patent on the North Shore of Staten Island. His two sons, Derrick and Hendrick, and possibly his daughter Elsje, relocated there. Gerrit's will had burned in a fire at the county clerk's house and a dispute arose in the 1690s between the sons Derrick and Hendrick over the land patent. It was settled around 1709 when it was sold. Hendrick bought a neighboring 54 acre farm and Derrick resettled in Bucks County PA.

More notes:

Kroesens move to Pennsylvania Here are some bits and pieces about the move from the NewYork area to Pennsylvania from the Warren Cruise book:

1. Derrick Kroesen was born 1662 in Breuckelen and died 1731 in Bucks Co Pennsylvania. His wife was Elizabeth Cregier.
2. In the 1660s the community of New Amsterdam was agricultural with a population of about 1500 and Breuckelen about 300.
3. Derrick was not educated and never able to write his name. At 18 his father died, soon his mother re-married and sold their farm, so Derrick moved to Staten Island and in 3 years married there. He is recorded as one of the 'First settlers to Staten Island', although it may actually been his father who acquired the land.
4. In 1710 Derrick and Elizabeth moved to Bucks Co PA. Their daughter Neeltje and her husband Carl Van Hasten had moved earlier to Bucks Co and Derrick had visited them several times. “With the Van Hastens comfortably situated, it afforded the Krosens temporary housing. We have to remember that relocating in 1710 was not driving down the New Jersey Turnpike for an hour or two, spending a few nights at a nice motel and finally looking around for some property to buy. There was no roads, several major rivers to cross and little to guide them on their trip.”
5. It seems that son-in-law Carl bought the land in Pennsylvania with a partner who lived on the land. When the partner died, Carl inherited his share and he moved to Bucks Co with Neeltje. This 580 acre tract belonged to William Penn who granted it to his cousin Arthur Cook, who sold it to John Swift, who sold it to Van Hasten and his partner, Johnson. In 1712 Derrick and Elizabeth purchased this piece of land from Carl. And 8 years later he bought another 500 acres (not from Carl).
6. All Derrick's children came to Bucks Co. Neeltje was there earlier, Garret the oldest came later in 1718 and the rest came with Derrick in 1710. Neeltje died very young and her two sons barely knew her.
7. Derrick and Elizabeth joined the Bensalem-Neshaminy Church when they arrived in Bucks Co. “The B-N Church remained the home church for the Kroesen family until approximately 1730 when a secession of members divided to form the Reformed Dutch Church at Feasterville. Apparently the membership of the B-N Church had become dominated by Scotch-Irish settlers and served by Scotch Presbyterian ministers. This arrangement was disquieting as the Dutch preferred their own minister who would preach in the Dutch language.”
8. There is a stone built into a house which says “Derrick Kroesen May 12 1731”. This is the date of his death. Derrick may have started a house which Garret, his son, finished and marked with his father's death. “The house was torn down in 1871 and a secret hiding place was discovered behind a closet large enough to hold several people. In those days, that was probably necessary.” In 1935 a new house was built on the original foundation the stone was again placed in the east gable wall.

Derrick and Elizabeth This is the concluding summary of the section on Derrick and Elizabeth in The Croesen Families of America:

"We come to the closure of this section, which is devoted exclusively to our ancestors, Derrick and Elizabeth and their respective families. It is interesting to do a little recap of their lives starting with those early days in Breuckelen, New York, moving to Staten Island, and finally settling in Bucks County Pennsylvania. Derrick was the firstborn son of Garret Dircksen Croesen and Neeltje Jans, and was born in 1662. His father received a land patent on Staten Island in 1677 and that set the course for the family moving westward. Derrick married Elizabeth Cregier in 1684, and their first child Garret was born in 1685. We aren't sure of the exact date when Derrick and Elizabeth moved to Staten Island, but best information seems to place it around 1687 or 1688. They lived on Staten Island until 1710 when they moved to Bucks County Pennsylvania. While residing on Staten Island, they had seven more children, the last was Henry, born in 1707.

Derrick had little or no education and assumed the early role as a farmer, initially working the twenty-eight acre tract of land at Breuckelen and later overseeing the Staten Island property. His father Garret died in 1680 when Derrick was eighteen years of age and this undoubtedly placed Derrick to the forefront as head of the family. There were many political changes within the area when the British assumed authority, first in 1673 and later again in 1675. He was briefly involved in the Leisler rebellion in 1689 and may have been lucky to get off as lightly as he did. I suspect that it had more to do with religion, than politics. One can imagine the feelings at that time between the Catholics and other Protestant religions.

Derrick and his brother Hendrick both laid claim to ownership of the Staten Island patent when their father's will was destroyed in a fire. Under British rule, when there was no written will, the property reverted to the eldest son. Derrick must have insisted that it be adhered to, with Hendrick protesting loudly. It was never resolved until 1709 when the property was finally sold. Soon after the sale, both brothers purchased other properties, Hendrick on Staten Island, and Derrick in Bucks County.

Neeltje, the third born and oldest daughter of Derrick and Elizabeth, married Casal Van Hasten and moved to Bucks County on property that Casal owned. That was in 1709 and certainly set the stage for the great migration to Bucks County. It was during this time that Nelltje's second son was born, and both mother and son died sometime after the birth. Subsequently, in 1712, Casal decided to leave the area and sold the 580 acre farm to Derrick and Elizabeth. They continued to live on this tract for the remainder of their lives and in 1720, purchased an additional 500-acre tract of land in the adjoining township*. This last tract probably was not cleared of timber and took substantial work to achieve any type of crop production. The only cash crop was wheat. Other crops of barley, corn, oats, and vegetables were grown but used for their own domestic consumption
{* the neighboring township was Northampton}

There was a major influx of Germans and Scotch-Irish settlers into the area around this period of 1710, which created problems for the Dutch. It resulted in uneasy relationships with other Protestant denominations and eventually forced them to start their own Reformed churches. The Kroesen family joined the first church established in Bucks County in 1711 which was called the Church at Bensalem and Neshaminy. They later seceded and established the Feasterville Reformed Dutch Church. In 1751, a second Dutch church was built at Richboro and finally they were incorporated into the Churchville Reformed Dutch Church at Churchville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

In 1727, Derrick and Elizabeth elected to gift deed their lands to the children. All were living at the time except Neeltje. When Derrick died in 1731, all tracts had been deeded to the remaining seven children. Derrick died in 1731 at the age of 69, and Elizabeth died in 1740 at the age of 78. Interestingly, these grandparents had a large decendancy count and oh, how the family grew!"

sources

• U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989 New York Staten Island Stone Arabia and Staten Island, Book 48
• The Croesen Families of America: Kroesen, Krewsen, Krewson, Cruzen, Cruser, Crusen, Cruise, Cruse, Krusen, Kroes, Croes, Kruser Hardcover – 1998; by Warren D Cruise

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Son of Gerrit Dircksen Kroesen and Neeltje Jans. Lila James Roney, "The Kroesen-Croesen Family of Staten Island and Bucks County, Pennsylvania", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vol.75 (1944): 75:97.

Dirck Gerritszen Kroesen was baptized on 23 July 1662 at Old First Dutch Reformed Church, Breuckelen (Brooklyn), Kings Co., Long Island, New York, sponsors Adam Brouwer and Grietje Jans.
Ibid.
A. P. G. Jos van der Linde, Old First Dutch Reformed Church of Brooklyn, New York: First Book of Records, 1660-1752, New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983), page 112. Dirck; parents: Gerrit Croesen, Neeltie Jans

He married Elizabeth Krieger, daughter of Frans Kregier and Walburga de Sille, at Brooklyn, Kings Co., Long Island, New York, on 4 May 1684 (banns 5 Apr 1684, New York).
David William Voorhees, editor, Records of The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Flatbush, Kings County, New York, Vol.1, 1677-1720 (New York: Holland Society of New York, 1998), pages 244-245. Dirk Kroezen, young man from Brooklyn, residing upon Staten Island; with Elisabeth Kregiers, young lady from the South River, residing in N. York; and with certificates from York and Staten Island, married the 4th May in Brooklyn.
Samuel S. Purple, Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam and New York; Marriages from 11 December 1639 to 26 August 1801 (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, reprint 2003, original 1890 NYG&BS), page 54. Dirck Croesen, j.m. Van Breuckelen, en Elisabeth Cregiers, j.d. Van de Zuydt rivier, de Eerste woonende op't Staten Eylt, ende tweede alhier.

He lived on Staten Island for twenty-five years then moved to Bucks County, Pennsylvania where on 23 Jun 1711, "Dirck Kroessen and his wife Elizabeth, were received as members of the church of Bensalem and Sammeny," (now the Reformed Church of Churchville, Penn.).
Lila James Roney, "The Kroesen-Croesen Family of Staten Island and Bucks County, Pennsylvania", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vol.75 (1944): 75:98.

Will dated 4 January 1729 at Bucks Co., Pennsylvania, proved 25 Dec 1731. Derrick Cruson of Southampton, yeoman. Wife, Elizabeth. Sons Garret, Francis, Nicholas, John, Derrick, Henry. Daughter Catherine. Plantation in Southampton to wife for life. Sons garret and John, executors. Wit.: Jacobus Vansand, Jacob Stricklen, John Hart.
Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Abstracts of Bucks County, Pennsylvania Wills, 1685-1785 (Westminster, Md.: Family Line Publications, 1995), page 16 (page 155) Derrick Cruson.

Children by Elizabeth Krieger b. 5 Jul 1662, d. 15 Apr 1740:
Catherine Kroesen
Garret Kroesen b. ca. 1685
Francis Kroesen b. 11 Sep 1689
John Kroesen b. bt 1690 - 1700
Ibid.

Neeltje Kroesen b. 1 Mar 1692
A. P. G. Jos van der Linde, Old First Dutch Reformed Church of Brooklyn, New York: First Book of Records, 1660-1752, New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983), page 130. Neeltje; parents: Dirck Kroesen, Elisabeth Cregiers.

Nicholas Kroesen b. 5 May 1696
Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Abstracts of Bucks County, Pennsylvania Wills, 1685-1785 (Westminster, Md.: Family Line Publications, 1995), page 16 (page 155) Derrick Cruson.
Tobias Alexander Wright, editor, Collections of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, Vol. IV, Staten Island Church Records (New York: Printed for the Society, 1909), page 9. Records of the Reformed Dutch Church of Port Richmond. Nickasa; parent: Derck Kroessen.

Dirck Kroesen b. 22 Oct 1701
George E. McCracken, "Family of Dirck Kroesen, Bucks County, Pennsylvania", The American Genealogist Vol. 31, pages 103-104 (1954): 31:104.

Henry Kroesen b. 30 Jul 1707, d. 25 Apr 1789
Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Abstracts of Bucks County, Pennsylvania Wills, 1685-1785 (Westminster, Md.: Family Line Publications, 1995), page 16 (page 155) Derrick Cruson.

Dirck Gerritszen Kroesen died on 21 May 1730 at Southampton, Bucks Co., Pennsylvania.
Letter from Barbara Barth (Southfield, Massachusetts) to William B. Bogardus, 26 March 1995; William B. Bogardus Collection (Anneke Jans and Everardus Bogardus Descendants Association, Wilmington, Ohio). Box 2, File 33A, 140-B.