Peter Schermerhorn

Peter Schermerhorn (October 1, 1749 – January 28, 1826) was a wealthy New York City merchant and land owner. He was the father of Abraham Schermerhorn and the paternal grandfather of Caroline Schermerhorn Astor. Early life Schermerhorn was born in New York City in what was then the Province of New York on October 1, 1749. His parents were Johannes "John" Schermerhorn (1715–1768) and Sarah (née Cannon) Schermerhorn (1721–1762). Among his siblings was brother Simon Schermerhorn (1748–1818), who married Jane Bussing (1750–1826), the older sister of Peter's wife Elizabeth. His paternal grandparents were Arnout (or Aernout) Schermerhorn and Maria (née Beekman) Schermerhorn (b. 1692) (herself the granddaughter of Wilhelmus Beekman, Governor of the Colony of Swedes, acting Mayor of New York City and founder of the Beekman family in the United States). He descended from Jacob Janse Schermerhorn, who settled in New York from the Netherlands in 1636. His maternal grandfather, John Cannon, was a Huguenot refugee from La Rochelle in France. Career