Captain Claes Hendrickszen Lock: Prominent 17th-century sloop owner in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam

Claes Hendrickszen Lock, our 9th great-grandfather, (also spelled Claes Lock or Claes Hendricksen Lock) was a Dutch immigrant, sloop captain, merchant, and civic/military participant in New Netherland (later New York) during the mid-to-late 17th century. 

Biographical Details

• Birth and Origins: Circa 1646–1649 in Amsterdam, Netherlands (listed as “jm van Amsterdam” [young man from Amsterdam] in his marriage record). His parents are unknown in surviving documents.
• Death: Before 5 April 1692 in New York (his wife is called “last widow of Claas Kock [Lock]” in her father’s will that date). 
• Spouse: Kniertje (or Cuiertje/Cniertie) Hendricks (baptized 24 October 1649; died after 1728), daughter of Hendrick Willemsen (a baker in New Amsterdam) and Femmetje Joosten. She was the widow of Walraven Claerhout (married 1668; he drowned 21 June 1670 while aboard one of Lock’s sloops). They married 18 October 1671 in the Reformed Dutch Church, New York.
• Children (all baptized in the New York Reformed Dutch Church; these match what Gemini listed):  
• Femmetje (bapt. 20 Oct 1672) m. Dirck Andriessen  
• Catryntje (bapt. 2 June 1675) m. Jochem Verscheur  
• Margrietje (bapt. 20 Dec 1682) m. Joost Schomp  
• Hendrick (bapt. 16 May 1686; likely died young)  
• Adriaentje (bapt. 14 Nov 1688; likely died young)
• Kniertje had one earlier child (Belitje) from her first marriage. 

Maritime and Merchant Career

Lock was a leading sloop owner and trader on the Hudson River route between New York, Albany (Beverwijck/Fort Orange/Willemstadt), Esopus (Kingston), and the South River (Delaware). He first appears in Albany-area records around 1655–1662.  

• Vessels: Owned the Vergulde Hoorn (Gilded Horn; documented 1662, with skipper Arien Claessz), the Hester (1679), and the Sarah (master in 1684).  
• In 1674 he signed an agreement among sloop owners to regulate traffic and freight charges using a lottery-style pooling system based on vessel size/weight.  
• He frequently acted as arbitrator or examiner in trade disputes and appears in Albany court records for shipping lawsuits (1668–1673). 

Military and Notable Actions

• Second Esopus Indian War (1663): Served under Director-General Peter Stuyvesant; on 29 August 1663 he and Thomas Lodewyck Lewis were ordered to remain in the Esopus area until further instructions. 
• Rescue Mission (circa 1667): Contracted to travel to the New Haven Colony (Connecticut) to retrieve Albrechie (Albrechtje) Hendricks, a woman held captive by Native Americans since the 1655 uprising (she was a sister in a group of three Hendrickse sisters taken at Yonkers). This appears in Albany/Fort Orange records and his WikiTree sources. 

Civic Roles and Residence

• Contributed 200 florins (24 February 1664) toward fortification of New Amsterdam.  
• Taxed (10 November 1676) to fund the New City Dock and other debts; listed as a city creditor (1676/77).  
• Residence (1677–1686): House at the corner of Heere Graft (Broad Street) and Bever Graft (near the Market) in lower Manhattan. Confirmed in 1686 Dutch Church membership list by Domine Henricus Selyns. 

• Kniertje lived long after Claes (into the 1720s) and left a will mentioning some of the children.

Our lineage:

Captain Claes Hendrickszen Lock 1646-1692

9th great-grandfather

Margrietje Lock 1682-1771

Daughter of Captain Claes Hendrickszen Lock

Joris (Joost) Schamp 1704-1752

Son of Margrietje Lock

Margrietje Joost "Margaret" Schamp 1739-1773

Daughter of Joris (Joost) Schamp

Rhoda McDonald DNA match 1773-1859

Daughter of Margrietje Joost "Margaret" Schamp

Job Groom 1795-1823

Son of Rhoda McDonald DNA match

Sarah Groom (Grooms) 1815-1858

Daughter of Job Groom

Sophia Boyd 1836-1908

Daughter of Sarah Groom (Grooms)

David Jackson Bailey 1865-1949

Son of Sophia Boyd — great-grandfather

Sources:

From: Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs: Claes Hendrickse, was in Albany in 1665; owned a sloop in 1674; master of sloop "Sarah," plying Albany to New York City in 1684; married Cuiesje Hendricksen, widow, at New York, in 1671.

From: 468 NEW NETHERLAND DOCUMENTS: [SALE OF HALF A YACHT BY DAVID PIETERSZ SCHUIJLER TO CLAES LOCK] Appeared before us, undersigned magistrates of Albany, colony of Rensselaerswijck and Schaenhechtede, Davidt Pietersz Schuijler, who declared that he has ceded, conveyed and made over in true, rightful and free ownership to and for the benefit of Claes Locq, his heirs and descendants, or his assigns, the grantor’s certain half yacht which he has acquired together with said Lock, and which presently is in possession of the same, and this by virtue of a bill of sale thereof; acknowledging that he has been fully satisfied and paid for the said half yacht through the hands of him, Claes Locq, the last penny wit the first, without he, appearer, having the least claim upon it anymore; giving therefor plenam actionem cessam and full power to Claes Lock and his heirs, to dispose of it as he might do with his patrimonial effects, promising to protect and free the said half yacht from all actions, trouble, and claims of each and every person as is right, and moreover, nevermore to do nor to let anything be done against the same, either with or without law, in any way, under an obligation according to law. Done in Albany the 29th of October 1668. Davijet Schuijler R. V. Rensselaer Abram Staas

From: Find A Grave MEMORIAL ID 182949941):

Claes Hendrickszen Lock married Kniertie Hendricks, daughter of Hendrick Willemszen and Femmetie Joosten, at Reformed Dutch Church, New York City, New York, on 18 October 1671.

Witnessed the baptism of Johannes de Nys, son of Pieter de Nys and Giesje Idens, on 27 August 1671 at Reformed Dutch Church, New York City, New York, (sponsors Adriaen Corneliszen, Claes Hendrickszen Lock, Marritje Loockermans).

Witnessed the baptism of Cornelia Dirckse Van der Clyff, daughter of Dirck Janszen Van der Clyff and Geesje Hendricks, on 17 December 1671 at Reformed Dutch Church, New York City, New York, (sponsors Claes Hendrickszen Lock, Grietie Hendricks).

Ibid., page 104. Cornelia; parents: Dirck Van der Cleef, Geesje Hendricks.

Children by Kniertie Hendricks:

1. Femmetje Claese Lock

2. Catryntie Claese Lock b. 2 Jun 1675

3. Margrietie Claese Lock

4. Hendrick Claesz Lock

5. Adriaentie Claese Lock

Claes Hendrickszen Lock died before 5 April 1692; (mentioned as deceased in the will of his father-in-law Hendrick Willemsen).

New York (County) Surrogate's Court Abstract of Wills on File in the Surrogate's Office, City of New York (Vol. XI, unrecorded wills prior to 1790), Collections of the New York Historical Society (New York: Printed for the Society, 1903), pages 4-5.

Bio includes data from The Brouwer Genealogy Database.

An Intriguing New Netherland Land Purchase by Jan Fransse Van Hoesen (1608–1665), Our 9th Great-Grandfather

Jan Fransse Van Hoesen (also known as Van Husum, reflecting his origins) was born on November 11, 1608, in Husum, a town in the Duchy of Schleswig (now part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, but under Danish control at the time). He passed away on November 29, 1665, in Albany, Albany County, New York (though some sources note 1667 in Claverack).  He married Volkje Juriaens Van Noortstrant (1618–1703) on May 15, 1639, in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Known Children:

• Juriaen Janse Van Hoesen (1642–1711): Born in Albany, New York; died in Claverack, Albany County, New York. A fur trader and our 9th great-uncle.
• Annetje Janse Van Hoesen (1648–1709): Born in Fort Orange, Albany, New York; died in October 1709 in Kinderhook, Albany County, New York. Our 8th great-grandmother.

The Story of Jan Fransse Van Hoesen

In 1639, Jan and his wife Volkje sailed from Amsterdam aboard the ship Den Harinck, agreeing to settle in the colony of Rensselaerswyck for four years under the West India Company.  They arrived at Fort Orange (established as a fur trading post in 1624), where Jan worked as a commissioner for the company and became involved in shipping and land dealings. Over time, the area grew into the small community of Beverwyck.

By 1652, Jan had purchased a lot on what is now the northeast corner of Broadway and State Street in Albany. The following year, he received a grant for land above the town's stockade, complete with an adjoining garden. 

The pivotal moment came on June 5, 1662, when Jan became a freeholder by purchasing several hundred acres of land from the Mohican (Mahican) Native Americans. This Claverack tract, located north of Rensselaerswyck, cost 500 guilders in beaver skins—a common currency in the fur trade era.  The land encompassed the present-day city of Hudson and parts of Greenport, extending along the Hudson River from Stockport Creek in the north to the mouth of Keshna's Kill (near South Bay and Mount Merino) in the south, and east to Claverack Creek, where it bordered Rensselaerswyck. 

This purchase occurred amid tensions: the Mohicans had been weakened by wars with the Mohawks over fur trade dominance and by European diseases that decimated their population.  Just two years later, in 1664, New Netherland fell to the British, and Beverwyck was renamed Albany.

Jan's acquisition led to a legal dispute with Patroon Kiliaen van Rensselaer (or his estate), who contested the patent. After Jan's death, the case was resolved in his favor, securing the land for his descendants.  Jan was also an early member of the Dutch Reformed Church in Albany.

To visualize the region during this era, here's a historical map of New Netherland, showing settlements along the Hudson River (note Beverwyck near the center and the general area south for Claverack):

Jan's legacy endures through his family and landmarks. His grandson, Jan Van Hoesen (1687–1745), built a distinctive Dutch-style brick house in Claverack between 1715 and 1724, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  The house, with its steep gable roof and medieval-inspired framing, stands as a rare example of early American Dutch architecture. It remained in the family for generations but has been vacant since the 1960s, surrounded by a mobile home park.

This land purchase not only marked a shift from tenant farming to ownership but also reflected the complex interactions between European settlers and Indigenous peoples in colonial America. Today, it highlights themes of migration, trade, and cultural exchange in early New York history.

Our Lineage

• Jan Fransse Van Hoesen (1608–1665) – 9th great-grandfather
• Annetje Janse Van Hoesen (1648–1709) – Daughter of Jan Fransse Van Hoesen
• Jacobus Lucasze Wyngaard (1675–1727) – Son of Annetje Janse Van Hoesen
• Abraham Wyngaart (Winegard) (1705– ) – Son of Jacobus Lucasze Wyngaard
• Peter (Pieter) Wyngaart (Wyngart) (Winegard) (1741–1790) – Son of Abraham Wyngaart (Winegard); DNA proven
• James Winegard (1785–1868) – Son of Peter (Pieter) Wyngaart (Wyngart) (Winegard)
• Charity Winegard (Weingand) (1819–1874) – Daughter of James Winegard
• Charles Henry Plympton (1845–1925) – Son of Charity Winegard (Weingand)
• Geneva (Neva) Plympton (1870–1939) – Daughter of Charles Henry Plympton
• Lydia Corinna Brown (1891–1971) – Daughter of Geneva (Neva) Plympton – our grandmother

For further reading, explore genealogical resources like the Schenectady Digital History Archive or Wikipedia entries on New Netherland. 

Thank you to Grok xAI for the updated information.  -- Drifting Cowboy 

COMING TO AMERICA PART III — Threads of Liberty: Ancestral Rejections of British Dominion Across Scottish, French, and American Lines

 

With a surname like England, it's a poignant irony that our heritage weaves a tapestry of resistance against the very empire that name evokes. Our ancestors—Scottish crofters evicted from their Highland homes, French Canadiens marginalized in a conquered land, and American colonists who took up arms for independence—all embody a shared saga of defying British subjugation. Drawing from my earlier blog posts, which chronicle these lineages with heartfelt detail, we see a pattern: hardship under imperial rule sparking migrations, conversions, and battles for autonomy. 

The McNeill clan's flight from Colonsay's clearances mirrors the Pinsonneaus' exodus from Québec, while our Bailey and Plimpton forebears' revolutionary fervor echoes the broader fight for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Below, with help from Grok xAI, I’ve compiled factual notes from the posts, organized by heritage and theme, followed by a narrative that ties them into a cohesive family epic.

Key Ancestors, Events, and Hardships

These notes distill the core elements from my earlier posts, highlighting intersections of oppression, migration, and liberty-seeking. I've grouped them by ancestral line (Scottish, American) and cross-referenced with our French heritage from prior discussions for completeness.

Scottish Heritage (McNeill Clan and PEI Connections)

• Clan Origins and Oppression: From Colonsay, Argyll, Scotland, post-Jacobite era. Key figures: John McNeill (b. 1759, Campbeltown) married Mary Brollachan (b. 1769); their son Duncan McNeill Sr. (b. 1786) married Mary Bell (b. 1791). Lived in blackhouses amid overpopulation, high rents, and potato famines. Highland Clearances evicted families for sheep pastures under absentee British landlords, fueling "emigration fever."
• Migrations and Hardships: Emigration began in early 1800s; sons Donald, John, and Hugh to PEI (Lot 64 near Cape Bear). Duncan Sr. died ~1841; Mary Bell and family to Ontario ~1854. Reunited in Bruce County (Elderslie Township) by 1850s, hacking homesteads from wilderness. Earlier, related McNeill/Munn kin (e.g., Malcolm McNeill, b. ~1755; Duncan Munn, b. 1746) sailed on the Spencer in 1806 from Oban to Pinette Harbour, PEI—40 days of cramped conditions, sponsored by Earl of Selkirk to counter American expansion. Winters in sod huts, simple rations (porridge, salt pork); diseases like tuberculosis claimed many (e.g., Margaret McNeill d. 1881, daughters Catherine and Ellen soon after).
• PEI Fisherman Life: Angus McDonald (3x great-grandfather, b. ~1810 Colonsay, d. ~1876 Ontario), married Catherine Munn (b. 1806 Colonsay, d. post-1881 Goderich, Ontario). Fisherman/farmer at Cape Bear, using dories for herring, cod, lobster; also harvested Irish moss and seals. Family moved to Ontario pre-1871. Children: Margaret (b. 1832, married Duncan McNeill Jr., b. 1821; had 9 children in Ontario). Ties to McNeill clan via extended kin (McMillans, Bells, Munns). Hardships: Atlantic crossings, wilderness taming, TB epidemics.
• Themes of Rejection: Clearances as British economic oppression; emigration as escape to self-determination in Canada, though still under Crown influence.

American Heritage (Bailey, Plimpton, and Allied Lines)

• Puritan Roots and Early Struggles: John Bailey (first immigrant, Puritan), sailed on Bevis from Southampton to Hartford, Connecticut; founded Haddam with 28 families. Fought Indigenous conflicts as farmer/stockman. Descendants span 14 generations, seeking religious freedom from English persecution.
• Revolutionary War Service: Oliver Bailey (6x great-grandfather, b. 1738 Connecticut, d. 1822 Pennsylvania): Fought in French & Indian War (1758-59), then Revolutionary War (1776) in Wadsworth's brigade—battles of Long Island, White Plains, Kips Bay. Vowed to repel "English King’s attack" for independence; moved to Pennsylvania post-war.
• Broader Liberty Fighters: Job Plimpton (Captain, 6x great-grandfather, b. 1718 Massachusetts, d. 1797): French & Indian War, Revolutionary War (marched to Warwick, RI, 1776). Ichabod Hawes (b. 1720, d. 1778): French & Indian/Revolutionary Wars with sons. Samuel Fisher (Ensign, b. 1685, d. 1769): Similar service. Job Plimpton Jr. (Corporal, b. 1746, d. 1814): Revolutionary marches. Elijah Townsend (Captain, b. 1745, d. 1821): Adjutant in militia. William Braman (b. 1753, d. 1804): Rhode Island enlistee. James Boyd (b. 1757, d. 1791): Virginia private.
• Later Wars: War of 1812 (James Boyd, Samuel R. Brown); Civil War (David Bailey, b. 1837, lost leg at Brice's Crossroads but opposed slavery; Rifford Hallowell at Gettysburg; Marcus Pierce in Atlanta campaign; Charles Plympton at Missionary Ridge).
• Themes of Rejection: Direct armed resistance to British rule in colonial wars and Revolution; pursuit of religious/political liberty from English origins.

French Heritage Ties (From Prior Context, Echoed in Themes)

• Post-Conquest Struggles: As discussed, ancestors like Gabriel Pinsonneau (b. 1801 La Prairie, Québec) faced economic marginalization, political exclusion under British rule (1763-1830). Château Clique dominance, seigneurial dues, agricultural crises prompted flight to Vermont (1830), then New York. Anglicized to Gilbert Passino; farmed in Jefferson County.
• Connections: Parallels Scottish emigration (fleeing clearances) and American rebellion (fighting subjugation). All lines reject imperial control through migration or war.

Cross-Line Intersections

• Migrations as Common Thread: Scottish to PEI/Ontario (1806-1850s); French to US (1830); American internal moves (e.g., Connecticut to Pennsylvania/Ohio/Nebraska).
• Diseases and Hardships: TB in Scottish lines; wounds/slavery opposition in American Civil War.
• Liberty Motif: Scottish escape from landlords; French from colonial governance; American via Revolution/Civil War.

A Narrative of Defiance: From Highland Clearances to Frontier Freedom

In the misty crags of Colonsay, where the McNeill clan's blackhouses huddled against Atlantic gales, our Scottish ancestors first tasted the bitter fruit of British subjugation. John McNeill and Mary Brollachan, toiling under absentee landlords who cleared crofts for profitable sheep, watched their world unravel amid potato blights and soaring rents. The Highland Clearances—a ruthless eviction orchestrated by the empire's economic ambitions—scattered families like autumn leaves, igniting an "emigration fever" that propelled Duncan McNeill Sr. and Mary Bell's sons across the storm-tossed ocean in the early 1800s. Donald, John, and Hugh landed on Prince Edward Island's rugged shores, drawn by Lord Selkirk's promises of fertile lots to thwart American encroachment. There, at Cape Bear's Lot 64, they intertwined with kin like Angus McDonald, our 3x great-grandfather, who cast nets for cod and lobster from humble dories, blending fishing with farming in a bid for self-sufficiency. Yet, even in this new dominion, echoes of oppression lingered: brutal winters in sod huts, tuberculosis ravaging Margaret and her daughters, and the grind of wilderness life. By the 1850s, the clan reunited in Ontario's Bruce County, hacking clapboard homes from forests teeming with wolves and mosquitoes— a hard-won haven, but one born from fleeing the "English yoke."

This Scottish saga of exile resonates deeply with our French lineage where Gabriel Pinsonneau's world in post-Conquest Québec crumbled under similar imperial weight. After 1763, British merchants seized trade, the Château Clique silenced French voices, and overworked soils starved families. Gabriel's bolt to Vermont around 1830, anglicizing to Gilbert Passino and farming New York's Jefferson County, was no mere move—it was a quiet rebellion, mirroring the McNeills' Atlantic leap to escape subjugation.

Across the ocean, our American forebears channeled that defiance into open revolt. Puritan John Bailey, fleeing England's religious intolerance on the Bevis, planted roots in Hartford, only for descendants like Oliver Bailey to drum the call to arms in 1776. Vowing to repel the "English King’s attack," Oliver battled at Long Island and White Plains, his service in the French & Indian War a prelude to the Revolution's fury. This spirit cascaded through generations: Captain Job Plimpton marching to Warwick, Ichabod Hawes and sons standing firm, all rejecting colonial chains. The fight evolved—War of 1812 skirmishes, Civil War valor at Gettysburg and Brice's Crossroads, where David Bailey lost a leg but upheld liberty against slavery's shadow.

Tying these threads our heritage isn't one of passive endurance but active pursuit: from Colonsay's evicted crofts to PEI's fishing dories, Québec's stifled farms to New York's freeholds, and Connecticut's battlefields to Nebraska's prairies. Though "England" graces our name, it's the resilience of the oppressed—Scottish, French, American—that defines our cowboy legacy. In every migration and musket shot, they claimed life, liberty, and happiness, forging a family story that honors the fight against empire's grasp.

A special thank you to Grok xAI for your research and enhancements of my family history. -- Drifting Cowboy