Jacob Vanwoert Vrooman
ID # 1951, (1760-1784)
| Father | Jacob Vrooman (1717-) |
| Mother | Rachel Van Woert (1724-1793) |
| Baptism | Jacob Vanwoert Vrooman was baptized on 29 December 1760. |
| Death | He died in March 1784 at age 23. |
| Note | The note for Jacob Vanwoert Vrooman on page 34 of the 1949 Vrooman Family history is brief and tells us little. 146a. Jacob Vanwoert, b Dec. 29, 1760 The above is all that the Vrooman Family book has to say of Jacob. His story is rather more complex for he served in Butler's Rangers. Cpl. Jacob Vrooman is to be found in 'Return of Persons Under the Description of Loyalists', Capt. Andrew Bradt Company in the Corps of Rangers at Niagara dated 30 November 1783. The source used here is Norman K. Crowder's Early Ontario Settlers, A Source Book, Genealogical Publishing Company, Boston, 1993, see page 12. Crowder identifies his source as microfilm A-682 and Bradt's Company folio 361 is referred to. Cpl. Jacob Vrooman is shown as person A390, age 20, and apparently unmarried. That he was unmarried isn't definitely stated on this page, but, given the context of this and the previous page, we must believe this to be the case. Crowder's book is in part a transcription of the British Army's victualing lists for the Loyalist pioneers who are, at this point in time, essentially refugees. It is also in some part a sort of census for Upper Canada, including Detroit, for the years running up to 1789. After his one appearance in 1783, Jacob Vrooman does not directly appear again, but he is referred to in future petitions by his brother Adam. What comes next could lead us into confusion. We have two petitions, numbers 4 and 5, both dated at Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) on July 2, 1795. For purposes of comprehending the logic of the situation, we will consider petition number 5 first. The petitioner on petition number 5 is Adam Vrooman. This petition is to be found on microfilm C-2842, Vol. 514, Bundle U-V -1. The wording used generally follows the standard formal phrasing of the day. It is directed to John Graves Simcoe, the Lieutenant Governor, etc., of Upper Canada. Adam begins by calling attention to his service in the Corps of Rangers 'then commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John Butler'. He then goes on to state that he had a brother, Jacob Vrooman, who served in the same corps and 'who is since dead'. He states that they both served as 'non-commissioned officers' and as such became entitled to five hundred acres of land 'on right of their several and dangerous services each'. Adam goes on to say that of the 'thousand acres so accruing, only five hundred have as yet been drawn by your petitioner in his own right and in that of his said late brother'. Adam goes on to praise Simcoe's generosity, notes that his own family is expanding, and draws attention to his losses of land in the States for which he claims to have received no previous consideration. All in all, it's a finely tuned appeal and the council's endorsement on the file cover looks positive. The information that we may glean from this is that it appears to confirm that Cpl. Jacob Vroman shown in 1783 in Captain Bradt's list is Adam's brother. Adam and Jacob were both in the Corps of Rangers, both non-commissioned officers, and their relationship as brothers appears reasonable. It gets problematic when we look at petition number 4, dated the same day at the same place as mentioned, and what follows is a summary. Petition 4 is found on the same microfilm, C-2842, Vol 514, Bundle U-V 1, and is directed to John Graves Simcoe by Jacob Vrooman. Whoever this Jacob Vrooman may be, he is certainly not dead. Essentially, he is petitioning for 200 acres of land in 'this district'. He states that 'from motives of Loyalty and attachment to the British Constitution has come into this province to become a resident and settler therein.' No mention is made of military service and he does not claim 500 acres as such. The file cover shows that he is recommended for the 200 acres once he has taken the oath. The file is then referred to the Surveyor General. Your researcher has no idea as to who this Jacob Vrooman may be. This brings us to February of 1797. Adam Vrooman files another petition (see C-2842 beginning at image 01231). This petition is directed to the administrator, Peter Russell. In this, Adam states the following: The petition of Adam Vrooman, late Serjeant in Col Butlers Rangers and Capn in the Lincoln Militia Humbly shews That your petitioner has received his military allowance of Land, for which he is thankfull '96 that his brother who also was a noncomd officer died Since the peace, & left his right to the Petitioner, but having made only a 'nonoccupative will', your petitioner cannot press your Honor, on this Score, or on that of his mother who died in 1793, etc. (A 'nuncupative will', apparently intended here, is a deathbed will given verbally and recognized mainly for personal property only in some jurisdictions depending on the number of witnesses present.) Attached to this petition is a certificate from Andrew Bradt stating that Jacob Vrooman died in March of 1784. There is also an endorsement on this certificate stating that Rachel Vrooman died in 1793. Since the only other Rachel Vrooman of whom we are aware is Adam's daughter Rachel, who later married Solomon Skinner and still later George Washington Russell, and of whom we may safely say was living at least as late as the 1854, we can only conclude that the Rachel mentioned above is indeed the mother of Adam and Jacob, namely Rachel Van Woert Vrooman, and, given the context, we must at least consider the slight possibility that she died in Upper Canada. See notes under Rachel Van Woert. For the moment, back to Jacob Vrooman the settler, mentioned above. It is clear from the index provided in the Ontario Land Record Index (OLRI) that appears in microfiche format at the Archives of Ontario, that said Jacob received for his petition a 200 acre township lot in Beverly Township, namely lot 13 on the 9th concession. Here, we refer to the Abstract Index for this lot (microfilm GSU161101.) It shows Jacob Vrooman receiving his patent from the Crown on 6 April, 1797. Thereafter, there is no information until we find on 27 March, 1833, the Sheriff of Gore selling all 200 acres to Samuel Street. The previous owner is not named, and no reason is mentioned on the Abstract Index. The transaction as entered in the register has been examined and, again, no reason for the sheriff's sale is given. We have at least a partial explanation relating to lot 13 on the 9th concession of Beverly in a petition dated February 3rd, 1812, at York. This petition is to be found on microfilm C-2842, Vol. 513, petition 27, V Misc. 1796-1837. The petitioner is John Vrooman of Stamford, Niagara District, said to be heir-at-law of Jacob Vrooman. He states that a deed has been made out to Jacob Vrooman, but that he is deceased. John petitions Isaac Brock to have the deed 'impounded' that he might lay his claim for the property before the commissioners. This petition does not appear to have been read 'in council' as it does not appear in the Land Books covering this period. See end microfilm reel C-102 and beginning of C-103. John Vrooman's petition also does not appear to be entered into Upper Canada Sundries. What happened after the 1812 petition is unclear. Beverly Township has an excellent run of township assessments from early days, but an examination of them tends not to show property holders at the north end of the township. Why this should be the case is unknown. What follows is a guess, but Beverly Township was in the Home District until 1816 when it became part of the newly formed Gore District. At least some land records for the Home District at York were destroyed when the American Army under General Dearborn burned York during the War of 1812. Thomas Ridout, the surveyor general, seems to have saved many records, but certainly not all. There was a Jacob Vrooman in Wainfleet Township in the 1828 census of the township, but given the statement above, that Jacob Vrooman who held the deed at Beverly is deceased, we may discount the idea that they are one and the same. Who the Jacob Vrooman of Wainfleet may be, we do not know. For that matter, in the above petition of 1812, we do not know who John Vrooman may be. He reasonably is not the John Vrooman who was the son of Adam Vrooman Jr. who was only born in 1812. Considering, however, that Jacob Vrooman who made the petition of July 2, 1795, on the same date that Adam Vrooman made his claim on property in right of his brother, it is reasonable for us to believe that there is a relationship. The two were almost certainly sitting side by side when their petitions were being written. |
| Last Edited | 30 May 2023 |