Unknown-1713
Marten Cregier was born in Holland and arrived in New Netherland in the service of the Dutch West India Company. In 1643, he purchased land near Bowling Green upon which he built a small tavern. He also owned a sloop that he sailed between New Amsterdam and Fort Orange (Albany) bringing goods to the northern towns and returning with a cargo of furs. Cregier was active in politics and was one of the first Burgomasters of New Amsterdam.
Captain Cregier was appointed captain of the Dutch forces on the Delaware in 1656 and later became commander of the military forces of the New Netherlands. In his book, the Journal of the Esopus War, he described the destruction of Wiltwyck (Kingston) by the Esopus Indians in 1663, the capture of many Dutch women and children and the military expedition that led to obtaining their release. Cregier was also a signatory to the Articles of Capitulation at the surrender of New Amsterdam to the English in 1664.
Marten Cregier reportedly loved the outdoors and in his later years moved to a homestead on the Mohawk River. He died there in 1713.
Sources
Alden Chester and Edwin Melvin Williams. Courts and Lawyers of New York: A History, 1609-1925 (1925).
Martha Joanna Lamb and Mrs. Burton Harrison. History of the City of New York.
The Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York.