The Freers
The Freer family was well-known in early New York, living in the New Paltz region west of the Hudson River near Kingston and Poughkeepsie. The founder of the American Freer line was Hugo Freer. He was born around 1636 in Herly, France. He was also one of the original 12 Patentees who bought and settled New Paltz in 1677.
The original French name was Frère, which means “brother.” Over time, it was changed into English forms like Frear, Fraer, Frayer, and Fryer, though Freer became the most common.
Fortunately, this family is well-documented. There is a dedicated book about them called The Freer Family: The Descendants of Hugo Freer, Patentee of New Paltz (Vol. 1 & 2) by Ruth P. Heidgerd. You can also find them mentioned in History of New Paltz, New York, and Its Old Families (from 1678 to 1820) by Ralph Le Fevre and The Story of the Palz: Being a Brief History of New Paltz by Cornelia Eltinge DuBois.
- Hugo Freer
- Jean (Jan) Freer
- Gerritt Freer
- Grietje Freer
Hugo and Jannetje were French Huguenots - their respective families fled France for what is now Germany, and Hugo later moved the family to America.
