Coeymans
In its Albany context, the Coeymans family of New Netherland and then of southern Albany County had some members who fit our criteria for inclusion. However, they were most prominent as regional landholders south of Albany later focused by farm lands in a provincial grant that would become known as the Coeymans Patent.
Perhaps the seminal family member in America appears to have been one Pieter Barents (perhaps 1590 to 1639 or later). The Coeymans connection to early Albany begins with the arrival of one Barent Pieterse and perhaps his brothers and father - maybe as early as 1639. Although he primarily identified as a resident of Rensselaerswyck, his long life spanned the initial settlement of Albany and its hinterland. Following his passing, in 1712 his extensive holdings devolved to his sons and daughter.
In 1720, three sons (Andries, Barent, and Samuel) of Barent Pieterse were listed on the countywide freeholders list for Rensselaerswyck. These spelling variant of the surname (Coeyeman, Koeymans, Cojeman, Kojeman, Coeymans) appear in the records of the Albany Dutch church for that time.
During the 1740s, Gerritje Coeymans - daughter of the abovementioned Pieter, married her neighbor John Barclay. She died in 1753 and was "buried at her father's house." Barclay then relocated to the city of Albany where he remarried in 1771. He was named first mayor of Albany under New York State in 1777.
In 1742, a countywide list included Pieter and Samuel as freeholders in Rensselaerswyck.
In 1756, an inventory of Albany dwellings taken by the British army included two references that may represent the Coeymans name. One referenced the house of one "Mrs. Th. Quemay" while the other "identified" the property of a "Caternankee Quimay." These individuals remain puzzling as we search for the precise identity and origins of those mid-century city householders.
A unique compilation of survey resources entitled Upstate New York references several family members among the prominent inhabitants of the upriver region. Only "Widow Coeymans" whose Albany holdings (probably in the elite part of the first ward) in conjunction with "Widow (Margriet) Ten Eyck" were considered on assessment rolls for 1766 and 1767 represented the family name in the city. Their relatively high assessments ranked them among the elite Albany residents.
Available tax rolls for 1779 and 1788 list no family members as city property holders.
The first Federal census in 1790 does not seem to have counted any (all spelling variants) Coeymans headed households in New York State.
Today, the Coeymans name is prominent in the iconography of greater Albany County. However, actual Coeymans-named inhabitants are less so!
A modern visualization of the prevalence of the family name in the United States offers an interesting and at least for me, surprising scenario.
Sources: This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.
Online resources: Wikitree listing; see also Coeymans from Genealogy Today. Widow Coeymans and Widow Margaret Ten Eyck: The identities of both these individuals point to several possibilities for each woman. In June 2017, and after lengthy consideration, we are exercising caution by refraining from making definitive identifying commitments for either of them.