Major Abraham Staats or Abram Staes (Amsterdam January 19, 1620 (baptized)– New York ca. 1694) was one of the first settlers of the New Netherland colonies and is the founder of the Staats family in

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

and the early American colonies.

Early life

Staats was born in Holland around 1618 and his parents were Isaac Staats (b. ca. 1586) and Sara Lauwers (1588–1641), originally from

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

New Amsterdam

In 1642, he emigrated to

Beverwijck Beverwijck ( ; ), often written using the pre-reform orthography Beverwyck, was a fur-trading community north of Fort Orange on the Hudson River within Rensselaerwyck in New Netherland that was renamed and developed as Albany, New York, after ...

(now known as Albany). Staats and his wife, Trijntje, traveled to New York on board of the ''Houttuijn''. He was employed as a surgeon in the New Netherland by the

Van Rensselaer family The Van Rensselaer family () is a family of Dutch descent that was prominent during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries in the area now known as the state of New York. Members of this family played a critical role in the formation of the Unit ...

Personal life

On January 26, 1642, Staats married, in Amsterdam, to Trijntje "Catharina" Jochems (1621–1703), daughter of captain Jochem Gijsen and Trijntje Gerrits. Together, they were the parents of: * Jochem Staats (1654–1712) * Dr. Samuel Staats (1657–1715) * Elizabeth Staats (1659–1737), who married Johannes Wendell (1649–1692), and after his death,

Johannes Schuyler Johannes Schuyler (October 15, 1668 – November 5, 1747) was a prominent American of Dutch ancestry who served as the 10th Mayor of Albany, New York from 1703 to 1706, and later was a member of the provincial assembly. He was the paternal gran ...

(1668–1747) * Abraham Peter Staats (b. 1665), who married Elsje Wendell * Jacob Staats (b. ca. 1665)

Honors

His name is given to some early place names in the Hudson Valley, such as Staats Island, Staats Point (on the Hudson), and Abram Staats Kill (Creek). The Staats House, which he built, is currently the oldest home in Columbia County.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staats, Abraham 1620 births 1694 deaths Dutch surgeons People from New Netherland Physicians from Amsterdam 17th-century Dutch physicians