Notes:

"HISTORY OF SHEPHERD AND RELATED FAMILIES", by Frank Shepherd
(1858-?) Pub. 1943 (Indiana State Library, Indianapolis) p. 7. "Upon
Sept. 12, 1662, another ancestor, Jan Joosten Van Meter with his wife
and five children, oldest fifteen and the youngest two and a half
years old, arrived in New Amsterdam (New York City) on the good ship
Fox from Teiderwaltd, Holland. Soon after landing they went up the
Hudson River to settle in what is know Kingston, Ulster Co. NY. At
that time it was called "Wiltwik" by its Dutch settlers. It may not
have been religious persecution that brought the Van Meters to the New
World for they were traders and here were great opportunities for
barter with the Indians as well as acquisi(tion)-free acres to be had
for the asking. John Van Meter's wife's name was Macyken Bendrichsen
and she was from Mrpellen in the Province of Drueth Holland." (family
record taken from this book). "The name of Jan Joosten appears among
those who took the oath of allegiance to the New Netherlands Oct.
1664. After this time his name appears prominently in the civil and
religious life of Kingston and vicinity. In 1665 he was referee in a
lawsuit and later appointed 'schepen', a minor judiciary position in
civil matters less than 100 guilders ($60.00)....in 1667 he was
elected a deacon of the Dutch Reformed Church in Kingston...When New
Netherlands passed from Dutch to English control, Jan Joosten took the
oath of allegiance to the new monarch." "Twenty-four year after his
first purchase of land in Ulster County, we find Jan Joosten hunting in
East Jersey for lands to buy. All desirable farm land around their
home was now occupied and they must look to the southward for fertile
lands for their children to settle on." "The exact date of his death
or that of his wife is not known. His will made in New York, Dec. 16,
1681 was offered for probate June 13, 1706. Listed in the inventory
as file is this interesting item: a slave with wife and four children
valued at 145 pounds. The total value of the estate was 245 pounds,
14 shillings....His son Jooset Jans was dead and his grandson, John
Van Meter was the executor of the will. Under its terms according to
ancient custom the older son (Jooste Jans/John Van Meter) was to
inherit one half the entire estate and the rest divided among the four
heirs at law." "...the Van Meters continued to buy land...about 6000
acres in all."
"JAN JOOSTEN'S FAMILY" His will is found filed, with an inventory of
his personal property, in the Burlington County Surrogate's office...This
instrument is endorsed 'Will of Jan Joosten of ...June 13th, 1706,'
and is further marked 'Dutch'. His personal estate included six
slaves, a negro man, woman and four children...(also) a 'testamentary
disposition' signed jointly by Jan Joosten and his wife, Macyke
Hendricksen, and dated 16th Dec. 1681, which reads: 'Macyke
Hendricksen shall retain full possession of the estate. She consents
that the survivor shall possess everything, lands, houses, personal
property, money, gold, silver--coined or uncoined. After their
decease the property is to be inherited by their children."
Birth date and 1685/Long Island,NY death taken from Ancestral file

Family/Spouse: Macyken Hendricksen. Macyken (daughter of Hendricks Of Laeckervelt and Anne Jan Jans) was born in 1624 in Meppelen, Dreuth, Holland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
Y
Y
Y
Y

Notes:

Died:
Y
Y
Y
Y

Notes:

"AMERICAN VAN METRE FAMILY" Smyth (Allen County Public Library, Fort
Wayne, IN) "John Van Metre was the first white man to visit the
country south of the Conhongaru (Potomac) (Cartmell's History of
Frederick County Va., p. 12 et seq.) Mr. John Van Metre of New York
gives an account of his accompanying the New York Delaware Indians on
their raid against the Catawbas--They passed up the South Branch of
the Potomac, and he afterward settled his boys there. (W. VA. Hist.
Mag. III, p. 191, II, p. 17) At the mouth of the Antietam Creek,
then in Prince George's County, MD, between 1730 and 1736, occurred
the famous battle between the Catawbas and the Delawares by which the
Catawbas secured the victory. This took place what is now the
coke-yard of the Antietam Iron Works, three miles from
Sharpsburg--where numerous skeletons and war implements have been
found. (Scharff's "History of Western Maryland," II, p. 1204) John
Van Metre, a Dutchman from the Hudson, was an Indian trader and
pioneer explorer of the Shenandoah Valley, who spied out land about
the time of Governor Spottswood's expedition in 1716. He traveled
with a band of Delaware Indians at his own expense and traveled far
southward and over unknown lands in the Wappatomaka Valley, on the
South Branch River above the 'The Trough' as it was the finest land he
had ever discovered. (MacKenzie's Col. Fam. of the U.S., VI)
"SHEPHERD AND RELATED FAMILIES" by Frank Shepherd (1858-?) pub. 1943
(Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN) "Jooste Janse Van Meter
was known as 'Van Meter the Indian Trader'. He and his father, it
seems, were known to have made many expeditions into the Indian
country for the purpose of barter with the Indians, even going as far
as Central Virginia and over the mountains into the great Valley of
the Shenandoah. It is claimed that he was the first white man to see
this beautiful valley and was delighted with it. On his return told
his sons to go there if they wanted good land, timber grass and well
watered. It is known that John Van Meter passsed thru this valley as
early as 1725 with a tribe of Delaware Indians on their way to the
South Branch to fight the Catawbas. In this fight all the Delawares
were killed except the two Indians who were with Van Meter."
Birth, marriage and death dates taken from Ancestral file

John married Sarah Dubois on 12 Dec 1682 in New Paltz, Ulster County, NY. Sarah (daughter of Louis Dubois and Catherine Blanchin) was born in Kingston, Ulster County, NY; was christened on 14 Sep 1664 in Kingston, Ulster County, NY; died in Salem County?, NJ. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
Y
Y
Y
Y

Notes:

"HISTORY OF SHEPHERD AND RELATED FAMILIES" by Frank Shepherd
(1858-?) pub 1943 (Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN) "John
III was an enterprising fellow who, in this Twentieth century would
have been called a money maker, a colonizer. He was a shrewd Indian
trader and thoroughly knew their ways. He continued to add acre to
acre until he had a vast landed estate at his death in 1745 consisting
of 3750 acres and much other property."

John married Margaret before 1719. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Sarah Bodine about 1705. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Rebekka married Cornelius Elting on 3 Sep 1704 in Kingston, Ulster County, NY. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
Y
Y
Y
Y

Notes:

Died:
Y
Y
Y
Y

Hendrix married Rebecca Dubois on 7 Mar 1741 in Ulster County, NY. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Mary La Fettre. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Rebecca married Solomon Hedges in 1735 in Frederick, MD. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Alice Scholl. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Isaac married Elsje Scholl in 1736 in Raritan Church, , Somerville, Somerset County, NJ. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Isaac married Alice School in 1739 in Somerset County, NJ. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Rachael married John Lessige in 1736 in Somerset County, NJ. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: John Leforge. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Abraham married Ruth Hedges in 1742 in VA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Abraham married (2) Martha Roberts in 1762 in Nr. Martinsburg, Berkeley, WV. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Martha Roberts Wheeler. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Jacob married Letitia Stroude (Strode) on 30 Aug 1741 in Frederick, County, VA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]