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The Wyckoff family history has a very unusual beginning. Pieter Claesen came to America in 1636 at the age of 12 as an indentured servant to the estate of Killian Van Rensselaer, in Fort Orange (Albany), a Province of New Amsterdam on the Hudson River. “When he had worked off his indenture at 18, he rented a farm nearby and married Grietje van Ness, the daughter of a prominent citizen of the colony.” Their two oldest children were born there but soon Pieter would move down to New Amsterdam where there were better prospects for him. He signed a contract “to superintend the Bowery and cattle of Peter Stuyvesantin New Amersfoort”in 1655. Pieter Claesen prospered and became one of the most influential citizens in the Province. |
In 1652 he bought land in Flatbush and his house still stands there. “When the British took over the Dutch colony in 1664, they had difficulty with the Dutch names and demanded that the Dutch families take surnames by which they could be identified. Pieter Claesen had been a local judge and his surname came from that fact. In Dutch word “Wyk” means “parish” or “magistrate” and “hof” means court. He was already known as Pieter Claesen Wyckoff, Pieter Claesen of the town court, so Wyckoff became his surname.”
This is a bit of detail that explains why Wyckoff was not a surname in the Netherlands. The first male Wyckoff, ever, was Pieter Claesen. From that man born in 1625, has come the largest Dutch clan in America. He and his family prospered as farmers in what is now known as Flatbush. However, much of the good land near the city was occupied by the time Cornelius, Pieter Claeson’s son, wanted to buy farms for his sons. So Cornelius came to Franklin Township in 1701, with seven other prosperous Dutch farmers, and bought up 10,000 acres. |
 Cornelius purchased approximately 1,200 acres which were parceled out to four of his sons John, Jacob, Peter and Simon. John was the first to move onto the land, near Middlebush, about 1709-10. However, he must have lived in a different structure until 1730 when he built the first half of the current house (left side). He must have become prosperous because he built well, bringing in Dutch craftsmen from Brooklyn to construct this house entirely of white oak. It was subsequently enlarged by another prosperous Dutch farmer from Hillsborough in 1805, Samuel Garretson, but that is another story you have to come and hear about.
This classic early Dutch home on South Middlebush had been disguised for 276 years when the Meadows Foundation started its research and restoration. It will become the Meadows Foundation’s only house museum, with authentic exterior and interior finishes. It may well be that this house will someday become a National Landmark. |
 Open
house tours of the Wyckoff-Garretson house are held the Second
Sunday of each month.
The Second Sunday house tours have been susptended until further notice.
Wyckoff-Garretson House
215 South Middlebush Road
Somerset, NJ 08873
tel. (732) 828-7418
Map & directions
Fireside Chat Series: "The War Man"
Please join us on Saturday, December 4, for an extraordinary presentation. Using letters, service records, and oral family history, Robert A. Mayers reconstructs the campaign life John Allison from the freezing Canadian wilderness, through the Sullivan-Clinton campaign against the Iroquois, to the bitter winter at Morristown, and the decisive American victory at Yorktown. During Allison's eight-year military career, he survived numerous battles across the colonies, was promoted to the rank of corporal, and returned home a local hero. The War Man is a unique opportunity to follow the entire course of the American Revolution through the eyes of a front-line volunteer.
Admission is $10/ person. The event begins at 2 p.m. at the Wyckoff-Garretson House, 215 S. Middlebush Rd., Somerset, followed by Q&A and refreshments. Books will be available for sale and signing at $20 each. Mr. Mayers is a direct descendant of John Allison. Reservations to 732-560-1977 or to chrisflp@aol.com
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Waffle making and a concert were only some of the activities enjoyed by those who came to our Colonial Times weekend, Oct. 9 and 10. The concert took place in our beautiful restored Hageman barn.
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