Jan Johannes Peek

Pearson (JPS, 135-6) gives a brief biography of Jan Peek, however, Dr. Kenneth Scott (of Queensborough Community College, The City University of New York; better known Down-State as New York City's own "CCNY") wrote a series of five consecutive articles (1964--1965) in the Holland Society of New York's (HSNY) Quarterly "Magazine" or Journal, De Halve Maen (after Henry Hudson's ship the Half Moon, reknown for having sailed up the then North River to present day Albany, NY in 1609). In Dr. Scott's fourth article we find our Jan and Maria Peek: "New Amsterdam's Taverns and Tavernkeepeers: IV", in (op. cit.) Volume xxxix (January 1965), No. 4, page 12: Taverner number 66 of 101 entries, "Jan Peeck (or Peecq) and his wife Marie de Truy: Jan was keeping taaaaavern by 1652. In February, 1653, he demanded payment [in Court at New Amsterdam] for victuals consumed at the funeral of a soldier. His inn soon acquired a bad name, and in October, 1654, the scout [Sheriff] charged that on various nights he found at Peeck's house drinking clubs, with dancing and jumping and entertaining of disorderly people, as well as tapping on Sunday dduring preaching, and a great noise made by drunkards, one of whom had to be taken off to jail in a cart." We are not surprised to read that the court "annulled his license." However, by November of 1654 he got his license again, by pleading in court that "he was 'burthened with a household of children (there were nine), " no mention was made in the pleadings of Maria Peek's input, including cooking and serving food and drink! Wives in New Netherland generally had more rights under law than their counterparts in New England. We do read of Maria, that as Jan's wife, she "surely conducted much of the business. In 1654 she sued Provost Marshal Arent Jansen for a can of Spanish wine and a wine glass. After Jan's demise she kept tavern, and in 1660 was charged by the scout with tapping after nine at night."

Doubtlessly, these taverns were not kept by the proverbial faint of heart. From early court documents and manuscripts we are informed that on at least one occasion, Jan came to Maria's aid in dealing with a difficult customer. In the heat of a July evening in 1656, for whatever reason, "a soldier in his house [inn] made great threats and wanted to run through with his sword Jan's wife Marie de Truy. At this Jan beat and wounded the soldier and was himself promptly arrested and jailed." Earlier, in February of 1656, we learn of Jan's facility with both Dutch and English, and that this enabled him to be appointed "'Broker to the Merchants.'" (ibid, 12) While he is mentioned in records of January, 1657, he probably died "in this year, for there are no further references to him." (ibid.) Maria Peek, then, went on to run and transact business in her own right until her death, "probably by February,1670/71, when mention is made of the guardian of the children of Mary Peeck. Note 111" Cited by Scott is CDM, pp. 126, 144-5, 170, 257-259. &c., op. cit, Maria's file note.

Sources:

    Title: Schenectady Genealogies, JPS, 1873

Page: 135-6
Text: Pearson (JPS, ibid) states that Jan sold property at Fort Orange in 1655, and this would seem to substantiate Dr. Scott's suggestion that Jan probably died not long after January 1657. (Op. Cit, HSNY Halve Maen Quarterly, Jan. 1965, page 12.)
Title: Schenectady Genealogies, JPS, 1873
Page: 135-6
Text: Pearson mentions the Peek's tavern in New Amsterdam, sundry infractions for selling "spirits without license, and for selling [same] to the Indians." From the following we know of Jan's living "in 1655 [at which time] he sold two houses in Fort Orange [Albany, NY] to Johannes Dyckman for 1627 [Netherlands] guilders. The creek at Peekskill takes its name from him."
Note: JPS, 135-6: Pearson mentions the Peek's tavern in New Amsterdam, sundry infractions for selling "spirits without license, and for selling [same] to the Indians." From the following we know of Jan's living "in 1655 [at which time] he sold two houses in Fort Orange [Albany, NY] to Johannes Dyckman for 1627 [Netherlands] guilders. The creek at Peekskill takes its name from him."

Facts about this person:

Residence Abt. 1624

JPS, 135: "Jan, was an early settler of New Amsterdam, New Netherland, where for many years he and his wife kept an inn."

Occupation 1652

Dr K Scott (Ref: HSNY Quarterly, Jan 1967, page 11) Taverner, New Netherland.

Source: HSNY Quarterly, De Halve Maen

Volume xxxix (Jan 1965), No. 4: Dr. Kenneth Scott, "New Amsterdam's Taverners and Tavernkeepers: IV", #66 "Jan Peeck (or Peecq) and his wife Marie de Truy: Jan was keeping tavern by 1652." We learn from Dr Scott that our ancestor, Jan Peek, "in February, 1656, he was appointed 'Broker to the Merchants', because Peeck spoke both Dutch and English."

Peeck Coat of Arms: Eagle- Black on red background

Motto: Magnanimity and Fortitude of Mind

Jan and Marie were married by Johannes Megapolensis, 1650

First Home in New York Near Wall Street on the water ( Pearl Street)

Marie lived what is now Fulton Market Manhattan and Beaver St.

Jan first landed on shore of Ammsville Creek, Near State Camp N.Y.

Near the Military Parade Ground.

First area explored

Roa Hook a mile from Peekskill. Hollow Brook .

Population of New Amsterdam in 1640 was 270

State Camp First Home

With the Wenabee Indians 1670 was last records on Jan Peeck

"Peekskill, N.Y. is accredited to be named after Jan Peeck's hunting lodge " Peeks Kill ".

His wife owned and operated a tavern in nearby Smitt's Valley, which was low land extending along the East River and included the present Peal and South William Streets.

"Kill" is dutch for creek.

Facts about this person:

Event 1 Bef. 1650

arrived in America

Event 2 1650

married Marie Du Trieux

Occupation

Trapper and Tavern owner

Personality/Intrst

eccentric character

Residence

Peekskill N.Y. named for his hunting camp

Ethnicity/Relig.

Dutch

Comment 1

No reccord prior to 1650 in America

Fact 1: Tavern keeper in New Amsterdam

Fact 3: 1655 Sold 2 houses in Fort Orange to Johannes Dyckman for 1,627 guilders

Note:

(All baptism information about this family taken from Baptisms at the Reformed Dutch Church of New Amsterdam, 1639-1730, entered on the Internet by Theodore Brassard, http://www.altlaw.com/edball/dutchbap.htm)

JAN PEEK IS REFERRED TO IN THE OLD RECORDS AS BOTH "A RIVERBOAT

CAPTAIN ON THE HUDSON" AND "A RIVER PIRATE ON THE HUDSON",

DEPENDING

ON THE CHRONICLER'S POINT OF VIEW. HE OFTEN MOORED HIS SLOOP AT THE

MOUTH OF A CREEK A LITTLE WAY UP THE HUDSON WHICH BECAME KNOWN

AS

PEECK'S KILL. THIS NAME IS PRESERVED IN THE VILLAGE OF PEEKSKILL,

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW YORK TODAY. HE BOUGHT LAND WITH WILLIAM

PIETERSEN DE GROOT WITH HOUSES NEAR THE PRESENT JUNCTION OF

ROOSEVELT

AND CHERRY STREETS ON OCTOBER 6, 1654. ON OCTOBER 19, 1654 JAN PEEK

LOST HIS LICENSE TO TAP AND HAD TO PAY A FINE BECAUSE HE WAS TAPPING

ON SUNDAY DURING PREACHING AND ALLOWING DANCING, JUMPING AND THE

ENTERTAINMENT OF DISORDERLY PEOPLE AT HIS HOUSE. THE DRUNKARDS

MADE SO

MUCH NOISE ON A SUNDAY THAT THE SHERIFF HAD TO TAKE ONE OF THEM

AWAY

IN A CART. JAN SOLD A HOUSE ON OCTOBER 23, 1654 TO A CARPENTER NAMED

CLAES HENDRYCKSE. THE HOUSE WAS ON GROOTE HEERE WEGH AND WAS

GRANTED

IN EXCHANGE FOR "TWO HOUSES AT FORT ORANGE [PROBABLY THE HOUSES

MENTIONED BY PARSON WHICH PEECK SOLD IN 1655 TO JOHANNES

DYCKMAN]...600 GUILDERS TO ISAACK DE FOREEST AS GUARDIAN OF THE

CHILDREN OF JAN PEECK'S WIFE BY A FORMER MARRIAGE." ON OCTOBER 26,

1654 FURTHER JUDGMENT WAS ANNOUNCED AGAINST JAN PEEK. "THE COURT

HAVING HEARD THE DEMAND AND COMPLAINT OF THE SHERIFF, AND THE

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF JAN PECK, THAT HE HAS FREQUENTLY TAPPED

UNSEASONABLE

AFTER 9 O'CLOCK AND BELL RING, AND THAT HE ALLOWED THE LIEUTENANT'S

SERVANT TO GAMBLE AND DANCE WITH ENGLISHMEN; ALSO THAT HE TAPPED

ON

SUNDAY DURING THE SERMON, WHEREOF THE OFFICER COMPLAINING,

REQUESTS

THAT JAN PECK BE DEPRIVED OF HIS BUSINESS AND CONDEMNED IN ADDITION

IN

THE FINE ENACTED...; JAN PECK IS CONDEMNED TO LOSE HIS LICENSE AND

PAY

THE FINE ACCORDING TO THE AFORESAID PLACARD." HE PETITIONED TO BE

ALLOWED TO TAP AGAIN ON NOVEMBER 2, 1654. HE WAS GRANTED HIS

REQUEST

ON NOVEMBER 9, 1654. HOWEVER, A MONTH LATER, ON DECEMBER 14, 1654 JAN

WAS IN TROUBLE AGAIN FOR TAPPING AND CLUBS AFTER NINE O'CLOCK. JAN

DENIED IT AND MARIA MADE A COMPLAINT AGAINST THE PROVOST. THEIR

EFFORTS WERE TO NO AVAIL AND ON JANUARY 26, 1655, JAN'S LICENSE TO

TAP WAS AGAIN REVOKED BECAUSE HE WAS NOT PAYING THE PROPER EXCISE

TAX.

HE WAS ALSO SENTENCED TO MAKE A DONATION TO THE POOR. JAN SOLD

SOME

LAND THAT HAD BELONGED TO MARIA'S FIRST HUSBAND ON APRIL 20, 1655

AND

APRIL 29, 1655 TO JAN GERRITSEN, MASON; EVERT PELS, OF RENSSLAERSWYCK

AND CLAES HENDRICKSEN, A CARPENTER; EACH " A LOT ON THE EAST SIDE OF

BROADWAY, BEING PREMISES GRANTED JULY 13, 1643 TO CORNELIS

VOLKERTSEN,

DECEASED, WHOSE WIDOW WAS MARRIED TO SAID JAN PEECK" JAN WAS ABLE

TO

DONATE FL. 20 FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE CITY ON OCTOBER 12, 1655. HE

SUBMITTED A LETTER ON FEBRUARY 25, 1656 ASKING TO BE A BROKER. HIS

REQUEST WAS GRANTED THE NEXT DAY BECAUSE HE SPOKE DUTCH AND

ENGLISH.

ON JULY 24, 1656 JAN PEECQ, TAVERNKEEPER WAS IMPRISONED FOR HAVING

BEATEN AND WOUNDED A SOLDIER IN HIS HOUSE. JAN SAID HE WAS ONLY

DEFENDING HIS HOUSE BECAUSE THE SOLDIER WANTED TO RUN HIS WIFE

THROUGH! JAN WAS ORDERED RELEASED AND APPEARED TWO DAYS LATER

WITH HIS

WITNESSES AND NO MORE IS HEARD OF THE CASE. ON NOVEMBER 9, 1656 JAN

BOUGHT A LOT IN SMITH'S VALLEY FROM JOCHEM KOCH AND IN JANUARY 1657

HE

IS TWICE MENTIONED AS BEING A TAPSTER. ON JANUARY 10, 1658 HE BOUGHT

A

HOUSE AND LOT ON SMITS' VLY (VALLEY) FROM FREDERICK LUBBERSEN ON

WHAT

IS NOW THE CORNER OF PEARL STREET AND MAIDEN LANE.

Marriage 1 Marie DU TRAUX b: ABT. 1617 in Leiden, Zuid, Netherlands

Married: 20 FEB 1650 in New Amsterdam, New York

Marriage Ending Status: Death of one spouse

Note: Jan Peek and Marie du Traux were married at the Dutch Reformed Church of New Amsterdam.

Surname of Immigrant: Peake/Peek

Given name(s) of Immigrant: Jan

Name of Ship: ?

Arrival Date: Before 1650

Origin of Immigrant: Netherlands

Immigrant's Date & Place of Birth: Abt 1615, Netherlands

Immigrant's Date & Place of Death: (?) New York

Immigrant's Spouse: Maria Du Trieux/De Truy

• ***********************************************************************************

Source of Information: "Genealogies of the Descendants of the First Settlers of the Patent and City of Schenectady, from 1662 to 1800" by Prof. Jonathan Pearson, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.,

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"Dutch Uncle"

1650 Jan PEEKE married in 1650 to Maria duTRIEUX, widow of Cornelis VOLKERTSEN VIELE. Jan PEEKE was a trader with the indians and a broker between the English and the Dutch merchants. His wife operated a tavern. In 1664 she was accused of selling liquor to the Indians, fined 500 guilders, and banished from New Amsterdam.

• ***********************************************************************************

Frederick LUBBERTSEN and his first wife, Styntje HENDRICKSE lived at what is now the northwest corner of Maiden Lane and Pearl St. on Staten Island. They were the maternal grandparents of Maritje van de GRIFT, who became the wife of Cors Pietersen's eldest son, Capt. Cornelis CORSSEN. This house was sold about 1657, by Fredrick LUBBERTSEN, to Maria Du TRIEUX (widow of Cornelis VOLKERTSEN) and her second husband, Jan PEEKE, who occupied the house until about 1660, when they sold it to Cornelis CLOPPER.)

Orville Corson, THREE HUNDRED YEARS WITH THE CORSON FAMILIES IN AMERICA (1939), v.1, pp. 33-34.

• ********************************************************************************

"First Settlers of Schenectady"

PEEK, JAN, an early settler of New Amsterdam, where for many years he and his wife kept an inn. Frequent prosecutions were instituted against them for selling spirits without license, and for selling to the Indians. In 1664 Maria Peeck was called "one of the oldest inhabitants of New Amsterdam." In 1655 he sold two houses in Fort Orange to Johannes Dyckman for 1627 guilders. The creek at Peekskill takes its name from him. He m. Maria (De Truy) Volchers, wid. of Cornelis Volkertse, in New Amsterdam, Feb. 20, 1650, and had the following Ch. bp, in N. A.: Anna, Oct. 15, 1651; Johannes, Oct. 12, 1653, settled in New York; Jacobus, Jan. 16, 1656; Maria, March 6, 1658; Maria Peek, wife of Jan, late in life resided in Schenectady, perhaps with her son Jacobus.

• *********************************************************************************

Source: First Settlers of Schenectady at: Schenectady County GenWeb Site (above)

Dutch Uncle Discussion Group; Online http://www.teachout.org/du/

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Peekskill was established as a distinct locale by travelers from the Hudson River in the 1600s. Henry Hudson, the English sea captain and explorer, sailed up and down the river in the autumn of 1609 onboard the Dutch ship Half Moon. This voyage of exploration began the land claims made by the countries of Holland and England to the

river valley.

The first European person recorded to set foot on this territory was Jan Peeck. He was a Nieuw Amsterdam resident (later renamed New York City), and lived in the east Wall Street section of Manhattan, just south of the current Brooklyn Bridge. On various sloop journeys to this region at about 1650, Peeck exchanged various manufactured items with native tribal people located along Peekskill Bay, or what is now Annsville Creek, and

possibly some distance up Peekskill Hollow Brook. The resident people identified themselves as "Sackhoes," according to the phonetic transcription from their language.

Jan Peeck was a reputable citizen of the Nieuw Amsterdam settlement. He was appointed to work as an official translator between the Dutch and English merchants in Manhattan. He served with the local militia in one of the four companies that protected Fort Amsterdam. Peeck also donated money towards the building the wall around

that community, from which the name "Wall Street" has endured. Jan and his wife Marie de Trieux had ten children altogether. Jan Peeck died in early 1660.

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Jan Peeck (spelled and pronounced in various ways) was the first European to land in this region that indentifies his "creek or stream" ("kil or kill" in Dutch). Thus, we have "Peek's kill" as Jan Peek's creek.

He arrived in the mid 1600s at what is now at Annsville Creek (later named for Ann Van Cortlandt). Jan landed at the Roa Hook land of present Camp Smith. While here, Jan Peeck acted as merchant with the native tribe of Kitchawank, as they called themselves.

Jan Peeck lived with his wife Marie on the lower portion of Manhattan Island then identified as New Amsterdam. They owned a house on Pearl Street, and a tavern on Maiden Lane. Marie was a 33 year old widow with four children from her former husband. After her 1650 marriage to Jan Peeck (then in his early 20s), they produced another four children. Marie was French by birth. We still don't know where, or when Jan was born.

Dutch control of their New Netherland region lasted less than 50 years. Its territory included what is now Albany, parts of New Jersey, and both sides of the river. Commercial purposes were the interest and motive of the Dutch West India Company in America. Their weak control and small scattered settlements became an easy target when the English took over in 1664. They named the river for English sea captain Henry Hudson.

Jan Peeck and Marie du Trieux struggled to take care of their large family. There were four general occupations in early New Amsterdam; farming, building, government employment, and commercial trading. The people available for trade were those already living here, generally misnamed as "Indians."

We do know that Jan took advantage of every opportunity for income that came his way. As an enterprising individual, he paid the 20 guilders required to be approved as a "Small Burgher," or citizen allowed to conduct a business in New Amsterdam. Jan Peeck benefitted from his knowledge of Dutch and English languages. He received official permission to act as a translator in New Amsterdam. His rate for merchants was 1.5% of each transaction accomplished with his help.