Gerardus Willemse Beekman (c. August 1653 – October 10, 1723) was a wealthy physician, land owner, and colonial governor of the

Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Uni ...

Early life

He was christened August 17, 1653 at Corlaer's Hook Plantation, New York, the second son of Wilhelmus Hendricksen Beekman (1623–1707) and Catalina De Boogh. His father was a Dutch immigrant who came to

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

from the Netherlands on the same vessel as

Peter Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant (; in Dutch also ''Pieter'' and ''Petrus'' Stuyvesant, ; 1610 – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial officer who served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Net ...

. Wilhelmus soon became Treasurer of the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...

and later became the Mayor of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Governor of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

from 1653 to 1664, and Governor of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

from 1658 to 1663. His elder brother was

Hendrick Beekman Col. Hendrick "Henry" Beekman JP (March 9, 1652 – 1716), was a colonial American judge and politician. Early life Beekman was born on March 9, 1652 in Kingston. He was the eldest son of the former Catalina de Boogh and Wilhelmus Beekman. Hi ...

Career

In 1681, he was captain of militia at Flatbush, and in 1689, he was appointed Major of all the horse and foot in

Kings County Kings County or King's County may refer to: Places Canada *Kings County, New Brunswick *Kings County, Nova Scotia *Kings County, Prince Edward Island ** King's County (electoral district), abolished in 1892 Ireland * County Offaly, formerly call ...

. From 1690 to 1691, he was a member of

Jacob Leisler Jacob Leisler ( – May 16, 1691) was a German-born colonist who served as a politician in the Province of New York. He gained wealth in New Amsterdam (later New York City) in the fur trade and tobacco business. In what became known as Leisler's ...

's Council and government, which led to what is known as

Leisler's Rebellion Leisler's Rebellion was an uprising in late-17th century colonial New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Coloni ...

, which led to the overthrow of the government of colonial governor

Francis Nicholson Lieutenant-General Francis Nicholson (12 November 1655 – ) was a British Army general and colonial official who served as the Governor of South Carolina from 1721 to 1725. He previously was the Governor of Nova Scotia from 1712 to 1715, the ...

after the accession of

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

. When

Henry Sloughter Henry Sloughter (died July 23, 1691) was briefly colonial governor of New York in 1691. Sloughter was the governor who put down Leisler's Rebellion, which had installed Jacob Leisler as ''de facto'' governor in 1689. He died suddenly in July 16 ...

came to America in 1691 as Deputy Governor to succeed Nicholson, Beekman was arrested along with Leisler and others. Beekman served 17 months in prison, but was pardoned afterward, unlike Leisler, who was hanged. Gov.

Benjamin Fletcher Benjamin Fletcher (14 May 1640 – 28 May 1703) was colonial governor of New York from 1692 to 1697. Fletcher was known for the ''Ministry Act'' of 1693, which secured the place of Anglicans as the official religion in New York. He also built ...

, who succeeded Sloughter, was succeeded by Richard Coote. In 1700, Beekman was appointed

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

, and then

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, under the

Earl of Bellomont Earl of Bellomont, in the Kingdom of Ireland, was a title that was created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came on 9 December 1680 when Charles Kirkhoven, 1st Baron Wotton, was made Earl of Bellomont. He had already bee ...

. After Bellomont died in 1701, Viscount Cornbury was appointed as his successor and began his administration on the May 3, 1702. His advising Council consisted of: Beekman,

William Atwood William Atwood (c. 1650 – 1712) was an English lawyer, known also as a political and historical writer. Early life William Atwood was son and heir of John Atwood of Broomfield, Essex. He studied at Queens' College, Cambridge, before being a ...

, William Smith,

Peter Schuyler Pieter Schuyler (17 September 1657 – 19 February 1724) was the first mayor of Albany, New York. A long-serving member of the executive council of the Province of New York, he acted as governor of the Province of New York on three occasions ...

Abraham de Peyster Abraham de Peyster (July 8, 1657 – August 3, 1728) was the 20th mayor of New York City from 1691 to 1694, and served as Governor of New York, 1700–1701. Early life De Peyster was born in New Amsterdam on July 8, 1657, to Johannes de Peyste ...

, Samuel Staats, Robert Walters,

Sampson Shelton Broughton Sampson may refer to: Military * , several Royal Navy ships * , several US Navy ships * Sampson-class destroyer, a World War I US Navy class * Sampson Air Force Base, near Seneca Lake, New York, closed in 1956 * SAMPSON, a multi-function radar sys ...

Wolfgang William Romer Wolfgang William Romer (23 April 1640 – 15 March 1713) was a Dutch military engineer, born at The Hague. Early life He was the third son, in a family of six sons and five daughters, of Mathias Romer of Düsseldorf and Anna Duppengiezeer. Mathi ...

, William Lawrence, and

Rip Van Dam Rip Van Dam ( – 10 June 1749) was the acting governor of the Province of New York from 1731 to 1732. As one of the leaders of the republican liberal (or "country") party, Van Dam confronted the subsequent royal governor William Cosby. Early l ...

. In 1710, he was elected President of the Council and Acting Governor of the

. He remained Governor until the arrival of Robert Hunter, from April 10, 1710 to June 14, 1710.

Real estate

In addition to his estate in Flatbush, Beekman owned three large farms in the

Province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1783. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland but came under English rule after the ...

. One farm extended for two miles along the

Raritan River Raritan River is a major river of New Jersey. Its Drainage basin, watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. History Geologists assert that the lower Rar ...

and contained 1,800 acres, held jointly with Laford Paterson, also of Flatbush, that was purchased for £366. Another farm of 4,000 acres in

Somerset County, New Jersey Somerset County is a county located in the north-central part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, the county's population was 345,361, an increase of 21,917 (6.8%) from the 323,444 counted at the 2010 U.S Cen ...

, was purchased in 1702 from Thomas Hart of England, one of the 24 Proprietors of East Jersey, through his attorney,

. The third farm was 608 acres on the

Millstone River The Millstone River is a tributary of the Raritan River in central New Jersey in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2002. The Millstone River begins in western Monmouth County and flows westward throu ...

. His sons Christopher, Adrian, and William latet became the owners of large tracts of these lands.

Personal life

On August 29, 1677, he married Magdalena Abeel (c. 1662–1745), the eldest daughter of Christopher Janse Abeel (1621–1684) and Neeltje Jans Kroom. Magdalena's brother was

Johannes Abeel Johannes Abeel (March 23, 1667 – January 28, 1711) was an Albany, New York, merchant and public official. He was the second and thirteenth mayor of Albany. Early life Johannes (sometimes written John) was born on March 23, 1667 in Albany, New ...

(1667–1711), the second mayor of Albany.Henry Whittemore
The Abeel and Allied Families
1899, pages 4 to 6 Together they had: * Divertje "Deborah" Beekman (1674–1737), who married Theunis Hendricksen Wiltse (1674–1741) * William Beekman (b. 1679), who died young. * Christopher Beekman (1681–1724), who married Maria DeLanoy (1681–1726), a daughter of Abraham Delanoy (1642–1702) and Cornelia Jacobse Toll. * Dr. William Beekman (1684–1770), who married Catharine Delanoy (1691–1765); though educated in medicine, he had a successful mercantile career. * Adrian Beekman (1682–1705), who married Aletta Lispenard (c. 1686–1705), relative of

Leonard Lispenard Col. Leonard Lispenard (December 14, 1714 – February 20, 1790) was a New York City merchant, politician, and landowner. Early life Lispenard was born on December 14, 1714 in the City of New York. He was the eldest son of six children born to C ...

* Gerard Beekman (1693–1746), who married Anna Maria van Horne (1696-1726) * Catherine Beekman He died in New York City October 10, 1723.

Descendants

His grandson, Gerardus Christopher Beekman (died 1778), married Catharine Van Dyke (born 1708), the daughter of John Van Dyke, granddaughter of Jan Janse Van Dyke, and great-granddaughter of Jan Thomasse Van Dyke, who came from Amsterdam in 1652 and is considered to be the progenitor of the Van Dyke family in America. He was the grandfather of

James Beekman James Beekman (1732–1807) was a New York City merchant and a member of the prominent Beekman family. Early life James Beekman was born in 1732, the son of William Beekman (1684–1770) and Catharine De Lanoy (1691–1765), niece of Peter Dela ...

(1732-1807) the owner of Mount Pleasant, a mansion on Manhattan that was requisitioned by the British Army during the Revolution. The location of this property is the current

Beekman Place Beekman Place is a small street located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood on the East Side of Manhattan, New York City. Running from north to south for two blocks, the street is situated between the eastern end of 51st Street and Mitchell Place, ...

. The fireplace mantle of the mansion, which features the Beekman family coat of arms, can be seen at the

New York Historical Society The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. ...

. He is also an ancestor of cartoonist Garretson Beekman Trudeau (born 1948).Ancestry of Garry Trudeau
compiled by William Addams Reitwiesner. Retrieved January 16, 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beekman, Gerardus 1653 births 1723 deaths American people of Dutch descent Governors of the Province of New York Members of the New York General Assembly Beekman family