The three brothers Hendrick Meesen Vrooman, Pieter Meesen and Jacob Meesen came from the Netherlands who came to New Netherland in the early part of the 17th century. Pieter arrived circa 1655, and he and Jacob settled in Albany. Hendrick settled first at Kinderhook, then Steen Raby and finally Schenectady in 1677.This book traces the Vrooman ancestry back to the brothers' great-great grandfather Gerrit Jans Kerstantsz born in Holland circa 1457, and follows the family down 5 generations.