Petrus Freer (abt. 1725 - 1797)

Born about 1725 in Kingston, Ulster, Province of New York

Ancestors

Husband of Cornelia (Oosteroom) Freer — married 25 Feb 1746 in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, Province of New York

Husband of Marretie (Westerveldt) Freer — married 23 May 1750 in Ref. Church, Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York

Husband of Sara (Parmentier) Freer — married 24 May 1767 in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York

Descendants

Died 1797 at about age 72 in Germantown, Columbia, New York, United States

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Biography

This person was created through the import of MASTER2011WIKITREE.GED on 27 January 2011. The following data was included in the gedcom. You may wish to edit it for readability.

Birth

Birth:

Date: ABT 1725

Removed ABT from Birth Date and marked as uncertain.

Data Changed

Data Changed:

Date: 11 OCT 2001

Prior to import, this record was last changed 11 OCT 2001 .

Peter was born in 1723. He passed away in 1797. Petrus Freer was baptized 2 June 1723 in the Dutch Reformed Church of Kingston, Ulster county, Province of New York. Because of Dutch customs, we can assume that he was born within a month or so prior to that date. He was the child of Simon Freer and Marytjen Van Bommell.

Petrus married three times:

First to Cornelia Oostrum, 25 Feb 1746, Dutch Reformed Church of Rhinebeck Flatts, Duchess county, Province of New York

Second to Maritje Westervelt, 23 May 1750, Dutch Reformed Church of Poughkeepsie, Duchess county, Province of New York^[1][2] The record notes that he was the widower of Kornelia Oostrum.

Possible Confusion

Some sources confuse Marietje Westervelt, the second wife of Petrus, with her sister Maria. Apparently, this is due to a belief that Maritje is simply a variant of the name Maria. Traditional Dutch naming customs honored ancestors and relatives by naming children for them. If one wanted to honor two Marys (a common name) then one would tweak the name slightly so that the children would have names that were different, albeit similar. You can read more about confusion among the Westervelt women at The Elizabeth Westervelts of the 1730s.

Third to Sarah Palmeteer, 24 May 1767, Poughkeepsie, Duchess county, Province of New York (probably in the Dutch Reformed Church there) ^[3][4][5] The record notes that he was a widower.

It appears that he served in the Ulster county militia during the time of the American revolution, earning land bounty rights.^[6] However, various sources list him as serving in at least three different regiments. This might illustrate the fluid nature of militia enlistment or might indicate a confusion among individuals with similar names.

Research Notes, Jim Moore, 18 Jan 2019

This biography is based principally on Heidgerd's compilation.^[3] Except as otherwise noted, that is the source of everything in this biography. I regret the incomplete work, but my interest is with his second wife, Maritje Westervelt.

The previous biographical fragment listed a child, Maria, who is not accounted for in Heidgerd's book. I have left that child in place as the daughter of his 2nd wife, Marietje Westervelt.

Sources

1. ↑ "U. S. Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989," indexed database of images of transcribed records, Ancestry.com (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=6961 : viewed 18 January 2019) New York > Poughkeepsie (The Flats) > Poughkeepsie and The Flats, Book 39, image 151, Apr. 14, 1750, Petrus Freer, widower of Kornelia Oostrum, and Marietje Westerfeld, no previous marriage, married May 23, 1750; citing Holland Society of New York, "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church of Poughkeepsie", p. 148.
2. ↑ "New York Marriages, 1686-1980," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VK1V-TXN : 10 February 2018), Petrus Freer and Marielje Westerfeld, 23 May 1750; citing reference ; FHL microfilm 974.7 B2N V. 73-75.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Ruth P. Heidgerd, compiler, The Freer Family: The Descendants of Hugo Freer, Patentee of New Paltz (Frear, Fraer, Frayer, Fryer, etc.) (New Paltz, NY: The Huguenot Historical Society, 1968), images 21, 29, 49 [of pp. 6, 14, 34, respectively]; online page images, Ancestry.com (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=11819 : viewed 18 January 2019).
4. ↑ "New York City, Compiled Marriage Index, 1600s-1800s," database index, Ancestry.com (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7854: viewed 18 January 2019), Petrus Frere, Sarah Palmatere, m. 1767, Poughkeepsie, IDE 2220324700; citing NYGBR, 1942, p. 237.
5. ↑ "U. S. Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989," indexed database of images of transcribed records, Ancestry.com (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=6961 : viewed 18 January 2019) New York > Poughkeepsie (The Flats) > Poughkeepsie and The Flats, Book 39, image 162, married following banns, 24 May 1767, Petrus Freer, widower, and Sarah Palmetier; citing Holland Society of New York, "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church of Poughkeepsie", p. 159.
6. ↑ "New York, Genealogical Records, 1675-1920," database index, Ancestry.com (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7831: viewed 18 January 2019), Petrus Freer; citing New York in the Revolution as Colony and State, Vol. I - Extracts; Publication Place: Albany, New York; Publisher: J. B. Lyon Co.; Publication Year: 1904; Page Number: 260.

• New York City, Compiled Marriage index,1600's-1800's.
• U.S. Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States,1639-1989.
• The Freer Family: The Descendants of Hugo Freer, Patentee of New Paltz.
• Howard S McConville, The Parmentier, Palmatier Family of New York.
• Prentiss Glazier, The Palmatier, Parmentier Family of Dutchess County, New York (1976).

Acknowledgments

• Thanks to Doris Muller for starting this profile.
• Jim Moore wrote a biography on 18 Jan 2019.