Most Notable

Son of a Mayflower immigrant, John was a sea-captain and merchant. He was arrested for witchcraft in Salem, MA and put on trial in May 1692. He escaped from jail and fled to Duxbury, MA, where he stayed with friends until he was cleared of all charges.

John Jacob Astor is well known as having perished aboard the SS Titanic when it floundered and sank on 15 April 1912. What few people know is that his mother was a Schermerhorn and a direct descendent of Jabob Janse Schermerhorn.

Roger, a surveyor of land by trade, immigrated from England in July 1623. He landed in Massachusetts and helped in the founding of the city of Salem, MA. His home was the first built there and his son, Roger, was the first white child born in the town. Amonng other offices, he was elected deputy to the General Court at the second representative assembly to meet in the United States. His influence helped lay the foundation stones of our country's current government.

Andersonville, or Camp Sumter as it was officially known, was one of the largest of many Confederate military prisons established during the Civil War. It was built early in 1864 after Confederate officials decided to move the large number of Federal prisoners kept in and around Richmond, Virginia, to a place of greater security and a more abundant food supply. The Deep South location, the availability of fresh water, and its proximity to the Southwestern Railroad, made Andersonville a favorable prison location. During the 14 months the prison existed, more than 45,000 Union soldiers were confined there. Of these, almost 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding, or exposure to the elements.

As a prison for enlisted soldiers, it was designed to hold 10,000 people, but by August 1864, due to deteriorating resources and the breakdown of the prisoner exchage system, the prison population had swelled to over 32,000.

This atrocious overcrowding quickly led to health and nutritional conditions that resulted in 12,912 deaths by war's end in May 1865. The prison guards, composed mostly of older men and boys, watched from sentry boxes (called "pigeon roosts" by the prisoners) perched atop the stockade and shot any prisoner who crossed a wooden railing, called the "deadline."

Handicapped by deteriorating economic conditions, the Confederates lacked the necessary materials and amounts of food for 10,000 prisoners, not to mention the 26,000 that were confined there by June 1864. Available shelter was deduced to crude shelters huts of made scrap wood, tent fragments, or simple holes dug in the ground. Many had no shelter of any kind against the elements of rain, heat, and cold. No clothing was provided, and many prisoners were left with rags or nothing at all. By war's end, many prisoners were no more than skin-covered skeletons. Many photographs were taken of these malnourished men to illustrate the awful conditions they had endured.

Hartwell Farrar was a prioner in the camp from 16 May 1864 to 28 Apr 1865 - almost a full year. He was lucky enough to survive.

Sir John was an inventor, a writer, and a Knight of the Bath. He was educated at both Eton College and King's College in England. John became the godson to Queen Elizabeth, who harbored a deep affection for the boy. He later invented the world's first flushing toilet, which the Queen ordered installed at Richmond Palace. He authored several books, including A New Discourse upon a Stale Subject: The Metamorphosis of Ajax in 1596. He died in 1612 at the age of 51.

In 1863, George designed the first modern railroad sleeping car and patented his innovations: folding upper berths and seats that could extend into lower berths. In 1867, he organized the Pullman Palace Car Co., and in 1880 he founded the town of Pullman, IL as a community for the workers of his company. When he later reduced wages without reducing rents in his company town, a violent strike erupted. It was so violent that when he passed away in 1897, his coffin was covered with tar paper and asphalt, sunk in a concrete block and covered with railroad ties before being recovered with more concrete. His family felt this was necessary in order to protect the body from angry railroad workers.

At the time one of the richest women in America, Harriet built the largest private residence west of the Mississippi in 1915. Naming her home "Chateau Carolands", the home contained over 90 rooms and was over 65,000 square feet of living space. With the exception of short periods of inhabitance, the home would remain vacant for most of its first 29 years.

The progenitor of most of the Schermerhorn branches in the United States, Jacob emmigrated from Holland in 1636. A carpenter by trade, he later became a fur trader and was arrested for trading arms to the Native Americans. A widely respected man, he held many local offices including magistrate and constable before his death in 1688.

In 1657, Quakers that chose to withdraw from public assemblies and worship in private in Salem, MA were fined 5 shillings a week and imprisioned. In particular, the family of Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick was persecuted. Cassandra was imprisioned, the family's goods were confiscated, and their son Josiah was whipped and dragged through the city streets. Their children, Daniel and Provided, were even offered for sale as slaves for failure to pay fines enforced as a result of their religious beliefs. Forced into proverty and exiled from their home, Lawrence and Cassandra died of deprivation and exposure just days apart from each other in 1660.

More Information: Early Salem History

The history of Vikings continues to intrigue us even in our modern culture. Most of us forget that these fear-inspiring men and women were more than just characters made up for movies - they loved, they fought, and they were our ancestors. The oldest member of our family tree was a Viking of true story-book proportions.