Pieter Van Buskirk
Encyclopedia
Pieter Van Buskirk also spelt Boskerck, is considered the first settler in the Constable Hook area of Bayonne, New Jersey
.
Van Buskirk was the son of Laurens Andriessen Van Buskirk and Jannetje Jans, settlers to New Netherland
. Not long after their arrival at New Amsterdam
then moved to Bergen
, settling at Minkakwa.
Van Buskirk built a home and farm around the year 1700 on a bluff over looking the shore of Upper New York Bay
on what became known as Van Buskirk's Point at the confluence of the bay and Kill van Kull
. Van Buskirk started a small family cemetery next to his house in 1736. His wife, Tryntje died on October 31 of that year and is buried in the cemetery. Pieter Van Buskirk died two years later and was also buried in the cemetery.
For over 200 years, Van Buskirk and his descendants lived in his farmhouse. Today, the farm and the cemetery are gone. Both were demolished in 1906 by the Standard Oil Company, which purchased the land to expand their refinery. A different cemetery that was opened by James Van Buskirk still exists today. Part of the cemetery still exists due to a "restoration project" of the 1980s. The cemetery is surrounded by property owned by International-Matex Tank Terminals which operates a marine terminal together with storage and handling for bulk liquid products.
Bayonne, New Jersey
Bayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is a peninsula that is situated between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east...
.
Van Buskirk was the son of Laurens Andriessen Van Buskirk and Jannetje Jans, settlers to New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
. Not long after their arrival at New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....
then moved to Bergen
Bergen, New Netherland
Bergen was a part of the 17th century province of New Netherland, in the area in northeastern New Jersey along the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers that would become contemporary Hudson and Bergen Counties...
, settling at Minkakwa.
Van Buskirk built a home and farm around the year 1700 on a bluff over looking the shore of Upper New York Bay
Upper New York Bay
Upper New York Bay, or Upper Bay, is the traditional heart of the Port of New York and New Jersey, and often called New York Harbor. It is enclosed by the New York City boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island and the Hudson County, New Jersey municipalities of Jersey City and Bayonne.It...
on what became known as Van Buskirk's Point at the confluence of the bay and Kill van Kull
Kill Van Kull
The Kill Van Kull is a tidal strait between Staten Island, New York and Bayonne, New Jersey in the United States. Approximately long and wide, it connects Newark Bay with Upper New York Bay. The Robbins Reef Light marks the eastern end of the Kill, Bergen Point its western end...
. Van Buskirk started a small family cemetery next to his house in 1736. His wife, Tryntje died on October 31 of that year and is buried in the cemetery. Pieter Van Buskirk died two years later and was also buried in the cemetery.
For over 200 years, Van Buskirk and his descendants lived in his farmhouse. Today, the farm and the cemetery are gone. Both were demolished in 1906 by the Standard Oil Company, which purchased the land to expand their refinery. A different cemetery that was opened by James Van Buskirk still exists today. Part of the cemetery still exists due to a "restoration project" of the 1980s. The cemetery is surrounded by property owned by International-Matex Tank Terminals which operates a marine terminal together with storage and handling for bulk liquid products.