Gerrit Boon (May 15, 1768 in Delft – December 2, 1821 in Gouda) was the son of a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

minister Johan Michiel Boon. His father studied in Helmstedt and moved in 1752 from

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...

to Delft and in 1774 to

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

. Gerrit Boon became a sugar refinerer in the city, working for his brother-in-law. He went to the United States in 1790 where he met with

John Lincklaen John Lincklaen (24 December 1768 – 9 February 1822) was the founder of Cazenovia, New York. Lincklaen was the Resident Land Agent for the Holland Land Company in Cazenovia, New York, and later the owner and sales agent for the same tracts. A b ...

. In 1792, he bought near the

West Canada Creek The West Canada Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in upstate New York, United States. West Canada Creek is an important water way in Hamilt ...

. Then he moved to a cabin near Cincinnati and Steuben Creek. Boon believed that harvesting maple syrup could be a year-round activity, so slavery on the sugar plantations could be avoided. In 1794, he gave up the

sugar refinery A sugar refinery is a refinery which processes raw sugar from cane or beets into white refined sugar. Many cane sugar mills produce raw sugar, which is sugar that still contains molasses, giving it more colour (and impurities) than the w ...

. Boon worked to develop company lands in New York, first settling in the town of

Trenton, New York Trenton (called ''Ose-te-a-da-que'', "''in the bone''" by the Haudenosaunee) is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 4,498 at the 2010 census. History The first settlement was developed in 1793 by Gerrit Boon in ...

, where he founded the village now known as Barneveld. Also the Village of Boonville and the Town of Boonville in

Oneida County, New York Oneida County is a county in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 232,125. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or ''Haudenos ...

are named after him. He had a budget of $30,000 ($ in dollars) to hire carpenters, masons and other workmen to create a village for the affluent. Boon's efforts were unsuccessful due in part to incomplete knowledge of the region and bad luck. He built a dam and a mill that were washed away by flood waters in 1797. In 1798, Boon returned to

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

. His assistant

Adam Gerard Mappa Adam Gerard Mappa (Tournai,Kernkamp, P.M. (2005) "Tussen Reformatie en Revolutie. De familie Paspoort te Delft". In: "De Nederlandsche Leeuw" jg. 122 nr. 1. 25 November 1754 – Barneveld, New York, 15 April 1828) was a Dutch type-founder, Pat ...

took over as the agent of the Holland Land Company and lived in his house until 1809, today called Mappa Hall in

Barneveld, New York Barneveld is a hamlet (and census-designated place) located within the Town of Trenton in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 284 at the 2010 census, when it was an incorporated village. The name is derived from the name of ...

. In 1804 he married Debora Aeneae, the daughter of an

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

professor in mathematics. In 1813 the couple divorced in Amsterdam, living at

Singel (Amsterdam) The Singel is one of the canals of Amsterdam. The Singel encircled Amsterdam in the Middle Ages, serving as a moat around the city until 1585, when Amsterdam expanded beyond the Singel. The canal runs from the IJ bay, near the Central Stat ...

. Boon left Holland and moved to Heeswijk,

North Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the w ...

, but died with small debts at the local shops, and wine dealers in Gouda.

External links

* http://villageofbarneveld.org/content/History * https://archive.org/stream/francisadrianvan00vand/francisadrianvan00vand_djvu.txt * http://oneida.nygenweb.net/misc/wager/ch46.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Boon, Gerrit 1768 births 1821 deaths 18th-century Dutch people Dutch expatriates in the United States People from Boonville, New York People from Delft People of the Province of New York People from Trenton, New York