Rev. Gerard Beekman

History of the
Beekman Family

REV. GERARD BEEKMAN

Gerard was a distinguished theologian and was rewarded by King James I of England for his services in translating the Bible to English. The King granted Gerard a Coat of Arms - a rivulet running between roses -and a crest of three feathers on a helmet of steel represented in profile. the motto is "Mens Conscia Recti" meaning "mind conscious of the right."

This Coat of Arms was used by his grandson Wilhelmus Beekman in his correspondence to (New York) Governor Peter Stuyvesant. The Beekmans were steadfast Protestants from the time that Martin Luther protested against the corruptions of the Church of Rome in 1521. Gerard lived most of his life in Cologne. He and his wife, Agnes, had three sons and two daughters.

Children of GERARD BEEKMAN and AGNES STUNNING are:

1. HENDRICK BEEKMAN was born September 17, 1585 in Cologne, Germany, and died December 02, 1642 in Wesel. He married (1) ALIDA OTTENBEEK. She was born December 08, 1605 in Cologne, Germany. He married (2) GERTRYD (GERTRUDE) GOMENSBACH April 15, 1613. She died September 10, 1619. He married (3) MARY BAUDERTIUS, my ancestor, January 24, 1621, daughter of REV. WILLIAM BAUDERTIUS. She was born 1600 in Zutphen, Guelderland, and died 1630 in Berge.

2. HARMON BEEKMAN.

3. REV. JOHN BEEKMAN.

4. CATHARINE BEEKMAN.

5. MARGARETTA BEEKMAN.

EMAIL: WEBMASTER