Simon DeRidder Papers

Biographical Note:

Simon DeRidder was born in Easton, Washington County, New York on December 18, 1765, to Anneke Cornelis Van Den Bergh and Wouter (Walter) DeRidder. He served as Lieutenant Colonel of the Washington County regiment of the New York State Militia, and later as a Brigadier General in the War of 1812. He married Mariah Jacobse Van Schaick (1769-1842), a descendant of early Dutch settlers in Albany, on February 14, 1790. They had at least 11 children, including Walter DeRidder, a Colonel in the New York State Militia, and Henry DeRidder, an original shareholder of the Schuylerville Bridge Company. DeRidder died in Greenwich, Washington County, New York on July 13, 1832, at the age of 66, and was buried in Greenwich Cemetery.

Scope and Content Note:

This collection consists of correspondence to and from DeRidder, particularly about court martials and military strategy for the War of 1812; military orders directed to DeRidder and the Washington County Brigade of the New York State Militia; legal and land records, including deeds, leases, and powers of attorney relating to Washington and Warren Counties; correspondence and legal documents relating to the Schuylerville Bridge Company, a corporation that was established by New York State in 1836 for the purpose of building a toll bridge across the Hudson River, of which Simon DeRidder’s son Henry DeRidder was an original shareholder; and a map of Scaroon and Brant Lake tracts, with part of North West Bay and Lake George tracts, dated 1812. Item-level inventories of the Correspondence and Deeds and Powers of Attorney folders are included in the box and folder list.

Related Sources:

The New York State Library holds the book History of the DeRidder Family, 1683-1949, created by George DeRidder and Gladys Ingersoll DeRidder.

The Manuscripts and Special Collections Division of the New York State Library also holds the papers of several of the individuals with whom DeRidder corresponded, including the Gerrit Y. Lansing papers (SC13324) and the William L. Marcy papers (SC7007).

The Robert S. and Eloise C. Wickham papers, 1776-1988, which are held at the Cornell University Library, Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, contain materials relating to Simon DeRidder and several of his descendants. The collection includes a Regimental record book with orders, muster rolls, and returns that belonged to DeRidder during the War of 1812; an officers’ roll of Col. Walter DeRidder’s Regiment in the New York State Militia; records documenting Walter’s death and the division of his estate; DeRidder family slave indentures from 1827; the travel diary of Catherine S. DeRidder (daughter of Walter, granddaughter of Simon) from 1877-1878; and DeRidder family genealogical notes by Catherine from 1905.

Box and Folder List: