Hendrick Brouwer

  Noted events in his life were:

• Misc: had a son named Philip Hendrickse Brouwer. He was one of the fifteen original settlers of Schenectady.

Veeder, Millicent Winton, [View Citation] [Table of Contents] Door to the Mohawk Valley : a history of Schenectady for young people Albany, N.Y.: Cromwell Printery, 1947 page 149

Less than three hundred years ago there was no Schenectady. Instead of the city with its buildings and spires, noise and smoke, were virgin forests of pine, sandy slopes, and cleared places of green grass along the river's banks.

The Indians who owned this land called the place "Schonowe" which has been translated to me "the door." They sold it to a Dutchman named Arendt Van Curler, who had come to America, as an agent for his cousin Kiliaen Van Rensselaer.

Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, a jewel merchant in Holland, had been granted a great tract of land along the Hudson River, by the Dutch West India Company. Van Rensselaer never came to occupy the land he owned but sent agents over to look after his affairds in this section.

This land was claimed by the Durch West India Company because it was explored by hendry Hudson, an Englishman, who was sent by the company to find a new route to the Indies. he never found the passage which he sought, but he did find the Hudson River. The land along the river was thus claimed by the Dutch West India Company.

In order to induce people to come to this country, the company gave large tracts of land to men who were later called Patrroons, who agreed to bring additonal settlers to farm their land. The settlers were not allowed to buy the land they occupied, from the Patroons, but were required to pay as rent, one-tenth of everything the land produced. They could never be put off the land if they paid their rent, as they leased it for "as long as water runs and grass grows."

in 1642 Van Curler made a journey to one of the Mohawk Indians castle, which ws about where Auriesville Shrine is today. he went to try to free some French prisoners, including Father Isaac Joques whom the Mohawks ahd taken captive. On the way he passed through this valley. When he returned he wrote to his cousin, the Patroon of Rensselaerwyck, "Half a days journey from the colonie, on the Mohawk River lies a most beautiful land that they eye of man ever beheld."

At that time the Indian trail which he followed, led into this valley near the place where the New York Central Railroad enters from the east, so that Van Curler must have stood in the neighborhood of Broadway hill when the beauty of the view unfolded before him. he had come this way before, but it was winter time and the valley was covered with snow so that he had not realized what beautiful country it was.

From the hill he couls see the pione covered slopes, the river so wide here, divided into three man channels by islands, and what might have reminded him of the level fields of his homeland, the great green falts along the river. In fact later, when purchasing the land, he referred to it as the Groote Vlachte lying behind Ft. Orange and between that and the Mohawk country.

Several years later, in June 1661, Van curler wrote to the Governor of New Amsterdam, Peter Stuyvesant, asking him if he, with a few other families, might come to Schenectady and start a new colony, for the purpose of tillling the Great Flat. It was a very gracious letter, sent of course by a messenger as there was no mail service in those days. Philip Hendrickse Brouwer, one of the men who wished to go with Van Curler took the message. It was written in the Dutch language, but you may read a copy of his letter which has been translated in Pearson's HIstory of Schenectady patent.

The Governor said that he might come but the land should belong to the Dutch West India Company, and whatever Van Curler and his friends should pay for the land would be reimbursed to them or be discounted to them against the tenths.

It was in June when Arendt Van Curler wrote to the Governor asking permission to come to Schenectady to live. Shortly after this there was a flood at Albany. it covered the land for miles around. There really were two feshets: The second one was so bad that the people of the tow had to take their cattle and seek higher ground up on the hills. So Van Curler could not get over to Schenectady to buy the land from the Indians. It was probably flooded around the Mohawk River so the Indians could not have gone over to Beverwyck as albany was then called, to sign the deed. It was July before Van Curler could go.

At first the Indians did not want to sell the land which they had owned for so many years. But Van curler persuaded them to do it. The Indians trusted him and were his firends. Four sachems or leaders of the Mohawks went to Beverwyck and singed the deed for the land in the valley. The boundaries were not very definite. The Indians could not write their names but they drew a picture of the animal which represented their clan. Just what Van Curler paid for the land we do not know. the deed read, "For a certain number of cargoes for which the grantors acknowledge they have had satisfaction." This is the way the deed was signed by the Indian chiefs. Cantuquo signed for the Bear clan, Aidane for the Turtle Clan and Sonareetsie for the Wolf Clan.

It was 1662 before the first settlers came. They were all Dutch people. A Scotchman Alexander Lindsay Glen had already built his house across the river and named the place Scotia for his native land, Scotland. he is listed as one of the 15 original proprietros of Schenctady.

There wasn't much of a trail for the Dutch families to follow, but their ox carts must have carried their few household good.s.

Soon after they arrived in Schenectady, Arendt Van curler wrote to the Director General asking to have the lands suveyed and alloted to the settlers. he wanted it done before they sowed or cultivated the land. But nothing was done for over a year. you see the colony of Beverwyck didn't exactly like the idea of a settlemtn west of them. they felt that their fur trade would suffer. The Indians would leave all their furs in Schenectady and not take the trouble to come as far as Beverwyck. So the director, when he replied to Van Curler's letter forbade the Dutch here to trade with the Indians; their business was to attend strictly to their farms.

The next year Governor Stuyvesant sent a surveyor. his name was Jacques Cortelyou. he said he had heard that the settlers ahd dared to sell strong liquor to the savages agianst his commands. So no man's land was to be surveyed unless he signed an agreement not to trade in any way with the Indians. If they did so the first find would be 50 beavers. For the second offence, 100 beavers, and for the third he would have to forfeit his lands.

When Van Curler heard this he put it before the settlers. They all agreed to sign. Indeed, they couldn't do much else as they had built homes, bought cattle and horses, and had spent much in time, labor and money to establish their home here. So fourteen men signed the petition to be allowed to continue cultivation of their lands. Do you imagine they stood by the agreement and never traded a single fur with the Indians. The settlers didn't feel it was fair.

Ten years later when more people came here to live, the Dutch needed more land. So they bagan negotiating with the Mohawks. They received three different deeds for the land which was a strip of "lands lying Neare the Towne of Schanhechtade within three Dutch myles in comapsse on boath sides of ye River WEstwards, which ends at Towareoune."

the Indians came to the house of Gerritt Bancker to sign this deed.

The settlers appointed five trustees to represent them They were to sign deeds and parcel out the land, and attend to the business connected with the sales. All but two of these men were killed in the massacre. One was William Teller who had never come here to live and was an old man, and the other was Ryer Schermerhorn. So it evolved that Schermerhorn ws the sole trustee. Many did not trust him and they said it was too much power for one man. So they appointed Col. Pieter Schuyler, John Glen, Adam Vrooman and Jan Wemp to be joint trustees. Schermerhorn paid no attention to them and continued to use the power which had been originally granted him. In 1705 the Governor granted a new charter omitting Schermerhorn's name as trustee. Lawsuits followed and their was trouble for many years. Schermerhorn's descendents continued to use the power inherited by them until 1798 when Schenectady was made a city.

Veeder, Millicent Winton, [View Citation] [Table of Contents] Door to the Mohawk Valley : a history of Schenectady for young people Albany, N.Y.: Cromwell Printery, 1947, pg 6-11

When the Dutch people laid out their village, naturally they built it near the river. It was just a little village with a stockade all around it made of pointed logs placed close together. The sides that touched were hewn flat. They were pinned together at the top with wooden pins.

French accounts say there were two main gates; the English account say there were three. One was where Front Street and Ferry Street now meet. The gate led to the river ad to Niskayuna. The other gate ws where church and State Streets now meet; that was referred to as the South Gate, and led to the gardens and farms. There undoubtedly were smaller gates in the stockade, just large enough for a person to walk through. There was a blockhouse in one angle of the stockade. We think now it ws near the gate.

The land inside the stockade was not all settlers owned. they each owned a farm on the flats or on the islands, a pasture to the east of the village and a garden west of Mill Creek. It is easy to tell why no one lived on his farm, but all lived together inside the stockade,

The village was laid out in four blocks or squares. Each square was divided into four plots. Each plot was about 200 feet square. They were subdivided later as more people came. The block house was started but not finished for sometime.

We learn by tradition that there were fifteen families who signed the original petition to come to Schenectady to live. That original paper seems to have been lost. but by carefully going over records and deeds we can trace fourteen original proprietors. But the explanation may be that Harman Albertse Vedder had a half interst in the land granted to Gerrit Bancker. Some of the original settlers came here a few years late and a few never came to occupy their land.

Here is a list of the signers to the indenture of 1663 wherein petition ws made to have the lands suveyed:

Arendt Van curler Alexander Lindsay glen Philip Hendrickse Brouwer Symon Volkertse Veeder Pieter Adriance Van woggelum (never resided here) Teunise Cornelise Swart Bastian De Winter (attorney for Cataly De Vos, widow of Arendt Bradt who signed the original petition but died before he could come here) Gerrit Bancker William Teller (never resided here) Pieter Jacobse Borsboom Pieter Danielse Van olinda Jan Barentse Wemp (Wemple) Jacques Cornelise Van Slyck Marten Cornelise Van Esselstyn harmen Albertse Vedder

Hendrick married Unknown.