Vrooman

by


The story of the Vrooman family of early Albany begins with the arrival of Pieter Meese Vrooman who settled in Beverwyck and was among those present at the initial distribution of houselots during the 1650s. He is said to have been one of three brothers who emigrated to New Netherland. Perhaps a brother named Jacob Meese owned a houselot in Albany in 1681. However, Pieter Meese may have been the only Vrooman of his generation to actually live in what became Albany. The family was more prominent in the settlement of Schenectady and its environs.

In 1679, the name of "Pieter Meusen" was included on a census of Albany householders.

However, none of the first settler Vroomans (Meesens) were represented on the Albany city or Manor censuses taken in 1697 as all three brothers had passed on. The descendants of the brother whose family died in Schenectady in February 1690 were prominent in the rebuilding of that community in the decades that followed. By 1720, nine Vrooman names appeared on a list of freeholders in Schenectady.

In 1756, no Vrooman-named residences were included on a census of Albany householders made by the British army.

A decade later, no city-based Vrooman households, but at least three in Rensselaerswyck and many more in Schenectady and its environs, were valued on available assessment rolls.

In March 1779, no Vrooman-named households appeared on the city assessment roll. At the same time, the list was certified by one Isaac Vrooman.

By 1790, no Vrooman-named households were listed on the census for the city of Albany. However, eight family residences were configured in surrounding Watervliet.

In 1800, no Vrooman named households were left in the city. The first city directory in 1813 listed only the residence of innkeeper Henry A. Vrooman.

After its first generations in Albany and its hinterland, the Vrooman family has spread across the United States where today the name is encountered in many incarnations.


biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: This access page on the Vrooman family includes basic information and sourcres on the family and is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources. Online: Ancestry; From PFS for Schenectady as presented online. Vrooman imagery

Follow this link and this link as well to more information on the Vrooman family on this website.
Vrooman in the biographical index.




online: 10/10/12; updated 2/5/13