One of my Forman ancestors loaned money to Henry VIII – bad idea. One arrested the governor of NJ for holding court while Scottish. There was a patriot tarred as a traitor for ages, and a religious refugee who persecuted Quakers on Long Island. Knights, vicars, patriots & scoundrels – 12 generations of Formans.
Lewis Forman. 1730 was my 6th great-grandfather. He was born in Freehold and worked as a merchant in Middletown, Manhattan, and New Brunswick. He signed 4 petitions during the Revolutionary War. In this petition, signed DEC 1781, Lewis asks the Legislature to take action against the Monmouth County Retaliators. The Retaliators were an unauthorized but tolerated…
Lewis Forman. 1730 was my 6th great-grandfather. He was born in Freehold and worked as a merchant in Middletown, Manhattan, and New Brunswick. He signed 4 petitions during the Revolutionary War. In this petition, signed 24 MAR 1779, he asks the Legislature to address corruption by the Monmouth County Auction Commissioners entrusted with the sale…
Lewis Forman. 1730 was my 6th great-grandfather. He was born in Freehold and worked as a merchant in Middletown, Manhattan, and New Brunswick. He signed 4 petitions during the Revolutionary War. In this petition, signed 31 MAY 1779, he asked for relief for Patriots left destitute by the British, and for the burden of military service to…
Robert Engle Forman. 1605 is my 10th great-grandfather. He was 1 of 18 men, mostly English, who received a charter to settle Vlissingen [Flushing] on Long Island in 1645 from Willem Kieft, Director of the Dutch West India company. Flushing’s early records were destroyed in a late 18th century fire so we know nothing about…
My grandfather, James Henry Brintzinghoffer, was very proud of his German roots and his family’s long history in America. He once told me they came over on the Mayflower – which wasn’t quite true – but it was closer to true than any of us realized until long after he was gone.
Margrietje Gillis ten Waert is my 10th great-grandmother, born 17 DEC 1617 in Reusel-de Mierden, North Brabant, Netherlands. She emigrated to New Amsterdam in 1635 with her husband Davit Provoost who served initially as a commissary of provisions for the West India Company. She died 29 JUL 1701 in Long Island City, Queens, NY. Gillis is…