Pieter Claesen Wyckoff (January 25, 1625 – June 30, 1694) was a farmer and landowner in Kings County, New York. All references to the name Wyckoff, including many variations in spelling, can be traced to his family.
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When the British took over the Dutch colony in 1664, Pieter Claesen adopted the fixed surname of Wyckoff. Most commonly accepted is that he chose this name as in Dutch "Wyk" means parish or magistrate and "hof" means court.
Pieter Claesen was born in the village of Norden in the Holy Roman Empire (present day East Friesland, Germany). Pieter emigrated to America in 1637, as an indentured servant to Kiliaen van Rensselaer, in Rensselaerswyck (now Albany, New York). After Claesen worked off his indenture, he labored as a tenant farmer, leasing land from the Rensselaer patroonship.
He married Grietje Van Ness (c. 1625-c. 1701) around 1645. Their first two children were born in Rensselearwyck but he moved to New Amersfoort (present day Flatlands, Brooklyn). His children included:
There are references indicating that Pieter Claesen signed a contract "to superintend the Bowery and cattle of Peter Stuyvesant in New Amersfoort" in 1655.
He died in 1694 and his body may be buried under the Flatlands Dutch Reformed Church at the juncture of Flatbush Avenue and Kings Highway in Brooklyn.
Pieter was the common ancestor to a number of notable people, including: Lou Henry (wife of Herbert Clark Hoover), Margaret Hoover, John Ellis Wool, Schuyler Colfax, Walter Percy Chrysler, William Cornelius Van Horne, Owen Young, the Wright Brothers, Earl Van Dorn, Marvin John Nance, Virginia Apgar, Willis Van Devanter, Benjamin Strong, Willard Frank Libby, Dixie Carter (wife of Hal Holbrook), Chuck Jones, Lee Van Cleef, Frank Wykoff, Georgia O'Keeffe (wife of Alfred Stieglitz), Garry Trudeau (husband of Jane Pauley), and Horatio Seymour. Other notables who married Wyckoff descendants are: Pearl Buck, Robert Ralph Young, Isaac Ferris, Charles S. Fairchild, Roscoe Conkling, Philip Freneau, and Baron Klemens August Freiherr von Ketteler.
The Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum is the oldest structure in New York City, with rooms dating back to 1652 (New Amsterdam). Originally a Bouwery (farm) for the Dutch West India Company, we interpret the agricultural history and diverse people of Brooklyn and as part of Kings County from colonial times through the present. For over 250 years, the house was home to the Wyckoff family; today, the site is a property of the Department of Parks & Recreation, and the house is a museum. The museum features restored period rooms and an herb garden with seasonal plantings. The site offers tours, school programs, free public programs, and has volunteer and internship opportunities. Open November through May, Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 4 pm. May through October, Tuesday – Sunday, 10 am – 4 pm. Tours are at 1 pm and 3 pm. Appointments required for groups. Admission: $5/adults, $3/seniors and children.