Peter Schermerhorn (October 1, 1749 – January 28, 1826) was a wealthy New York City merchant and land owner. He was the father of

Abraham Schermerhorn Abraham Schermerhorn (April 9, 1783 – February 3, 1850) was a wealthy New York City merchant who was also prominent in social affairs. He was the father of Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, known as the Mrs. Astor. Early life Schermerhorn was b ...

and the paternal grandfather of

Caroline Schermerhorn Astor Caroline Webster "Lina" Schermerhorn Astor (September 22, 1830 – October 30, 1908) was a prominent American socialite of the second half of the 19th century who led the Four Hundred. Famous for being referred to later in life as "the Mrs. Asto ...

Early life

Schermerhorn was born in New York City in what was then 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 U ...

on October 1, 1749. His parents were Johannes "John" Schermerhorn (1715–1768) and Sarah ( née Cannon) Schermerhorn (1721–1762). Among his siblings was brother Simon Schermerhorn (1748–1818), who married Jane Bussing (1750–1826), the older sister of Peter's wife Elizabeth. His paternal grandparents were Arnout (or Aernout) Schermerhorn and Maria (née Beekman) Schermerhorn (b. 1692) (herself the granddaughter of

Wilhelmus Beekman Wilhelmus Hendricksen Beekman (April 28, 1623 – September 21, 1707) — also known as William Beekman and Willem Beekman (or Beeckman) — was a Dutch immigrant to America who came to New Amsterdam (now New York City) from the Netherlands in the ...

, Governor of the Colony of Swedes, acting Mayor of New York City and founder of the Beekman family in the United States). He descended from Jacob Janse Schermerhorn, who settled in New York from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1636. His maternal grandfather, John Cannon, was a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

refugee from

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wi ...

in France.

Career

Schermerhorn, like his father and grandfather, was a commander and owner of shipping vessels trading between New York City and Charleston, South Carolina.Schermerhorn, Richard, Jr. Schermerhorn Genealogy and Family Chronicles. New York: Tobias A. Wright, 1914. From 1776 to 1783, during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, Schermerhorn and his family lived in

Hyde Park, New York Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland. Hyde Park is known as the hometown of Fran ...

to protect their vessels from British seizure. After the war ended, the family returned to New York City, the Schermerhorn family resided at 68 Broadway. In 1808, Schermerhorn admitted his sons Abraham and Peter to his ship-chandlery firm, which was renamed "Peter Schermerhorn & Sons." In 1811, Schemerhorn built six Federal style urban

counting house A counting house, or counting room, was traditionally an office in which the financial books of a business were kept. It was also the place that the business received appointments and correspondence relating to demands for payment. As the use of ...

s on Fulton Street in Manhattan, today known as the Schermerhorn Row Block. The houses were built to serve the growing

South Street Seaport The South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City borough of Manhattan, centered where Fulton Street meets the East River, and adjacent to the Financial District, in Lower Manhattan. The Seaport is a designated historic district ...

. Peter also served as a governor of New York Hospital.

Personal life

On September 11, 1771, Schemerhorn was married to Elizabeth Bussing (1752–1809), a daughter of Abraham Bussing, a dry goods merchant, and Elizabeth (née Mesier) Bussing. Together, they were the parents of: * John Peter Schermerhorn (1775–1831), who married to Rebecca Hodgson Stevens (1780–1815), the daughter of Gen. Ebenezer Stevens. * Peter Schermerhorn Jr. (1781–1852), who married Sarah Jones (1782–1845), sister of Gen James I. Jones. *

(1783–1850), who married Helen Van Courtlandt White (1792–1881), the daughter of Henry White and Anne (née Van Cortlandt) White. * George Schermerhorn (b. 1785). * Elizabeth Schermerhorn (1787–1857), who married Edward Renshaw Jones (1785–1839). * Jane Schermerhorn (1792–1886), who married Rev. William Creighton, S.T.D. Schermerhorn died in New York City on January 28, 1826.

Descendants

His son Abraham had nine children, including Augustus Van Courtlandt Schermerhorn (1812–1846), who married Ellen Bayard, daughter of Sen.

James A. Bayard Jr. James Asheton Bayard Jr. (November 15, 1799 – June 13, 1880) was an American lawyer and politician from Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party and served as U.S. Senator from Delaware. Early life Bayard was born in Wilmington, ...

; Elizabeth Schermerhorn (1817–1874), who married General James I. Jones; Anna White Schermerhorn (1818–1886), who married Charles Suydam; Helen Schermerhorn (1820–1893), who married John Treat Irving Jr., a nephew of

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

; Katharine Elida Schermerhorn (1828–1858), who married Benjamin Sumner Welles, a descendant of Colonial Gov.

Thomas Welles Thomas Welles (14 January 1660) is the only person in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. In 1639, he was elected as the first treasurer of the Colony of Connecticut, and fro ...

and Gov.

Increase Sumner Increase Sumner (November 27, 1746 – June 7, 1799) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from Massachusetts. He was the fifth governor of Massachusetts, serving from 1797 to 1799. Trained as a lawyer, he served in the provisional go ...

; and Caroline Webster Schermerhorn (1830–1908), who married William Backhouse Astor Jr., the middle son of William Backhouse Astor Sr.

Legacy

In 1795, Schermerhorn and his brother Simon purchased over 150 acres in

Gowanus, Brooklyn Gowanus ( ) is a neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community District 6. Gowanus is bounded by Wyckoff Street on ...

, including a home built in 1690, that they used as a family summer home. After his death, he left his son Abraham the property which he later sold around 1835 for $600 an acre, (totaling $102,000) and which

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several blo ...

was built on.

References

External links

*
Guide to the Peter Schermerhorn papers
at the

Brooklyn Historical Society The Center for Brooklyn History (CBH, formerly known as the Brooklyn Historical Society) is a museum, library, and educational center founded in 1863 that preserves and encourages the study of Brooklyn's 400-year history. The center's Romanesque ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schermerhorn, Peter 1749 births 1826 deaths American people of Dutch descent

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

American merchants 19th-century American businesspeople Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery