Belyea

Home Discussion Forum Searchable Database

Belyea

The Belyea/Bulyea Family in New Brunswick, Canada

And Their United Empire Loyalist Ancestors
in Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York

Please go to one of my two new websites:

Ryk Brown's New Genealogy Website

The New Stewarts of Balquhidder Website

This website is now ARCHIVE-ONLY.

The information below is not current. Links below may no longer work.

Contents

Click on any of the following to be taken to that section or page.

Contents of this page

  1. Introduction
  2. The Meaning Of The Surname Bulyea/Belyea
  3. The Belyea Family in Sleepy Hollow, New York
    1. Louis Boulier, Huguenot from Santoigne, France
    2. Jan Beljee and Helena Willemse
    3. Hendrick Bulyea, United Empire Loyalist
    4. Joseph Bulyea and Sarah Van Sniffen, United Empire Loyalists
  4. Links
  5. Fellow Researchers
  6. Index & Personal Information Pages (GEDCOM)
  7. Legend
  8. Contact

Links to other related pages on this web site

  1. My Main Page
  2. My Index and Online Database
  3. About Our Family History
  4. Bridgman Family in Grimsby, Lincoln County, Ontario, Canada

  5. Richardson Family in Onondaga Township, Brant County, Ontario, Canada

  6. Bradt Family Ancestors from New York, USA

Introduction

Welcome to the Belyea family page of my family history website.  This family represents one of my wife's many Loyalist ancestral branches.  For our family research purposes, the Belyea family represent a maternal ancestral branch of the Bridgman family.  William Bridgman married Mary Belyea in New Brunswick and moved to Lincoln, County, Ontario about 1799.  This page presents the ancestors of Mary Belyea.  As the Bulyea family is enormous, I am not presently tracking all descendant lines. 

The Belyea family is descended from Louis Boulier, a French Huguenot mariner who was born in Santoigne, France in 1670 and came to New York in the late 17th century.  His descendants remained in New York until the outbreak of the American Revolution when they fled to New Brunswick, Canada.  A further description is provided below.

Please Note: This page is intended only as a narrative historical overview of this family.  There is additional detailed information available for almost ever person presented on this page.  To avoid the unnecessary work of double-entering such things as vital statistics, the additional information can be found in the accompanying GEDCOM database.  Please make sure you click on the INDEX button at the bottom of the page so you don't miss out on potentially valuable additional information.

The information presented here is not my work alone.  It represents the combined research efforts of all those who are listed as Fellow Researchers at the bottom of this page.  I have also used material researched by others, whose references can be found in the Links section below.

If you are just arriving here for the first time then you may wish to start here.

The Meaning Of The Surname Bulyea/Belyea

The surname Belyea is a multi-generation corruption of the French surname, Boulier, which means "abacus".  As an abacus was used by book-keepers as an ancient form of calculator or adding machine, it may be that the Boulier surname originates from an ancestor who was an accountant or clerk.  The evolution of this surname is described in detail below as it morphed from the French Boulier to the Dutch influenced Beljee to the Anglo/Franco/Acadian Bulyea and Belyea.

Click here to learn more about surnames.

The Belyea Family in Sleepy Hollow, New York

This page can be read as a stand alone page, but is intended to continue a narrative begun on The Bridgman Family Page where Mary Belyea had just married William Bridgman.  Mary Belyea is descended from a French Huguenot mariner, named Louis Boulier.  The Boulier family descendants are known more fully than is presented here.  Because this is such an enormous family, I have only included the branches most closely related to the later Mary Belyea.  More information on the Boulier descendants can be found on Cleadie Barnett's Belyea website.

Louis Boulier, Huguenot from Santoigne, France

The earliest verifiable ancestor of this family is a French Huguenot mariner named Louis Boulier who born in 1670 in Santoigne, France.  As a Protestant Huguenot he fled the religious persecutions of his homeland, going first to England, and then to the English colony of New York where he would have been one of the earlier European settlers.  He settled in the Dutch community of Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, Westchester County, where his family would remain for three generations.  Yes, this is the same Sleepy Hollow made famous by the legend of the Headless Horseman.  Louis Boulier married on 23 MAY 1697 in the Old Dutch Church, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, New York Colony, British North America to Annetje KONINCK.  She was born 1672 in Der Groede, Netherlands.  Around the time of the marriage the Boulier surname changed to Beljee, reflecting the Dutch influence (the French, Boulier, pronounced "bool-yay" morphing into the Dutch spelling, Beljee, pronounced "bell-yee").  They had the following known children:

  1. Has Children Jan BELJEE b: 1698 in Long Island, New York Colony, British North America whose story continues below.
  2. Has No Children Jacob BELJEE b: 25 MAR 1706 in New York Colony, British North America of whom nothing more is known.
  3. Has No Children Catharina BELJEE b: 2 NOV 1712 in New York Colony, British North America of whom nothing more is known.

Jan Beljee and Helena Willemse

Jan Beljee b: 1698 in Long Island, New York Colony, British North America, served in the church as a deacon in 1733-36 and in 1746. He was listed as an elder in the church in 1751.  He married on 29 NOV 1719 in the Old Dutch Church, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, New York Colony, British North America to Helena WILLEMSE.  She was born 1698 in Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, Westchester Co., New York Colony, British North America as the daughter of Robert WILLEMSE and Greesje CERVENT.  Jan and Helena had the following children:

  1. Has Children Hendrick BULYEA , U.E. b: 20 APR 1720 in Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York Colony, British North America whose story continues below.
  2. Has No Children Rachel BELYEA b: 13 AUG 1726 who married on 13 SEP 1746 to Jan ORSER.
  3. Has No Children Jan BULYEA b: 1734 of whom nothing more is known.
  4. Has No Children Robben BULYEA b: 1737 of whom nothing more is known.

Hendrick Bulyea, United Empire Loyalist

Hendrick Bulyea, U.E., (also known by his English name, "Henry", whose last name was also rendered Beljee and Belyea) was born 20 APR 1720 in the Dutch community of Sleepy Hollow in Westchester County, New York, when New York was still a British colony.  He married first on 24 NOV 1739 in New York Colony, British North America to Deborah Carpenter.  She was born 1715 in Phillips Manor, Philipsburg, Westchester County, New York Colony, British North America.  It has been suggested elsewhere that she was the daughter of Nathaniel CARPENTER and Abigail FOWLER, however this is disputed.  It is believed that she was descended from earlier English immigrants, though her ancestry is uncertain and her birth family cannot be identified with confidence. 

Henry and Deborah had four children before Deborah died (probably during childbirth). 

  1. Has No Children John BELYEA b: 9 OCT 1739 in Tarrytown, New York Colony, British North America, who married Susannah SNIFFENS.  They had descendants who I am presently not tracking.
  2. Has No Children Mary BELYEA b: 1741 who married Robert WILLIAMS.  They had descendants who I am presently not tracking.
  3. Has No Children Judith BELYEA b: 1743 in Tarrytown, New York Colony, British North America who married John NICHOLS.  It is believed that they had no children.
  4. Has Children Joseph BELYEA , U.E., b: 1746 in Phillips Manor, Phillipsburg, Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York Colony, British North America, whose story continues below.

After the death of Deborah Carpenter, Hendrick married secondly on MAR 1755 in Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York to Engeltje ("Angelica" in English) Storm.  She was born ABT 20 JUN 1730 in Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York Colony, British North America as the daughter of Jan STORM and Rachael DE REVIER.  Hendrick and Engeltje had a further nine children who are believed to have been born in Tarrytown.  Many of these children had descendants, who are beyond the scope of my present research, but can be found presented in detail on Cleadie Barnett's Belyea website.

  1. Has No Children James Albert BELYEA b: 1755
  2. Has No Children Abraham BELYEA b: 1756
  3. Has No Children Deborah BELYEA b: 1756
  4. Has No Children Abraham BELYEA b: 1757
  5. Has No Children Lavinia BELYEA b: 1761
  6. Has No Children Thomas BELYEA b: 1762
  7. Has No Children Robert BELYEA b: 1765
  8. Has No Children Henry BELYEA b: 1770
  9. Has No Children William BELYEA b: 1771

At the time of the American Revolution the Boulier/Beljee/Belyea family fled to Canada.  They settled in the area of New Brunswick, Canada that now bears their name, Bulyea Point -- the name now taking on a Franco-English spelling appropriate to that area of New Brunswick.  At the time of their settlement the area was considered part of the colony of Nova Scotia, which was not subdivided into separate provinces until later.  Henry Bulyea and his very large family are recorded as Loyalists and were given land grants on which to settle.  They are recorded in one Nova Scotia history as one of the largest Loyalist families to have fled New York for Nova Scotia.

Joseph Bulyea and Sarah Van Sniffen, United Empire Loyalists

Joseph Bulyea, or Belyea, U.E., was one of the sons of Henry Bulyea and Deborah Carpenter who fled to Canada.  He was already married at the time to Sarah Van Sniffen from an unknown Dutch family of Sleepy Hollow.  They were married about 1765 in Phillips Manor, Phillipsburg, Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York Colony, British North America.  They had twelve children, one of whom was Mary Belyea who married William Bridgman which returns us to our narrative of the Bridgman line.

  1. Has No Children Hanna BELYEA b: ABT 1765 in Probably Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York Colony, British North America who died young.
  2. Has No Children Jacob BELYEA b: ABT 1766 in Probably Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York Colony, British North America who died young.
  3. Has No Children James BELYEA b: ABT 1767 in Probably Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York Colony, British North America who married on 25 SEP 1809 in Gagetown, Queen's County, New Brunswick to Sarah WORDEN
  4. Has No Children Nancy BELYEA b: ABT 1769 in Probably Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York Colony, British North America who married on 30 NOV 1822 in Gagetown, Queen's County, New Brunswick to Arthur MCMULLIN
  5. Has Children Mary BELYEA b: 12 FEB 1772 in Probably Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York Colony, British North America.  She married William Bridgman and they settled in the Grimsby area of Lincoln County, Ontario.  Their story is continued on The Bridgman Family Page.
  6. Has No Children Eleanor BELYEA b: 27 NOV 1774 in Courtland Manor, Westchester County, New York Colony, British North America who married on 28 NOV 1793 in Gagetown, Queen's County, New Brunswick to Isaac VAN WART
  7. Has No Children Sarah BELYEA b: 1779 in New Brunswick who married on 19 FEB 1799 in Gagetown, Queen's County, New Brunswick to Adam MOTT
  8. Has Children John BELYEA b: ABT 1780 in New Brunswick who married on 5 OCT 1803 in Gagetown, Queen's County, New Brunswick to Nancy HEUSTIS and had one known child:
    1. James E. BELYEA b: ABT 1820 of whom nothing is known.
  9. Has No Children Susanna BELYEA b: 17 MAR 1781 in New Brunswick who married on 25 NOV 1794 in Gagetown, Queen's County, New Brunswick to George HENDRY
  10. Has No Children Joseph BELYEA b: 1793 in New Brunswick who married on 22 FEB 1821 in Gagetown, Queen's County, New Brunswick to Mary Elizabeth VAN WART
  11. Has No Children William BELYEA b: 1794 in New Brunswick of whom nothing is known.
  12. Has No Children Robert BELYEA b: 1805 in New Brunswick who married on 14 FEB 1828 in Gagetown, Queen's County, New Brunswick to Elizabeth Jane COREY.  They had descendants who are presently beyond the scope of my research.

Links

Description Location
Descendants of Hendrick Belyea
bulletPlease Note - The ancestors of Deborah Carpenter shown at this link are disputed.
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~nbpast/myfam/belyea/
Queens County, New Brunswick research https://sites.rootsweb.com/~nbqueens/

https://sites.rootsweb.com/~nbqueens/gageangbapt-ab.htm

http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~nbpast/myfam/belyea/pafg01.htm#8751C

http://www.jedh.com/src/genealogy/hpkr/d0003/g0000083.html#I814

Fellow Researchers

People researching this family include the following.  If you wish your name added to the fellow researchers' list, please contact me.

Email From Researching

Ryk Brown

Hamilton, Ontario Ancestors and descendants of Mary Belyea, wife of William Bridgman
Ken Christie Oakville, Ontario All branches

Index & Personal Information Pages (GEDCOM)

For more information on any individual person featured on this page, please:
1. click on the INDEX button below,
2. then select the first letter of the surname you are looking for.

INDEX (On-line)

The index button will take you to my searchable GEDCOM database hosted by RootsWeb's World Connect Project. This allows you to download my GEDCOM in 10-generation chunks.  Then you can import my data directly into your own genealogy program without having to retype it.

Legend

Has Children = This person has known descendants.

ABT = "about" and is used in three ways:

  1. Where it precedes a precise date of birth, such as "ABT 3 DEC 1855", then it means that the person was baptized on 3 DEC 1795, but his/her exact date of birth is unknown.

  2. Where it precedes a semi-precise date of birth with the month only given, such as "ABT DEC 1855", then that means that the birth is recorded in the civil birth registrations for the quarter ending with that month.  Thus the person's birth was registered sometime between the beginning of October 1855 and the end of December 1855, but no baptism record has been found nor any more precise birth record.

  3. Where it precedes a year only, such as "ABT 1855", then it means that there is no information on the person's birth date at all and an educated guess has been made that he/she was probably born sometime around 1855.

Contact

Please post your questions, comments, corrections, or additional information to:

RYK BROWN'S GENEALOGY DISCUSSION FORUM
(click on the link to be taken to the discussion forum)

I will no longer be accepting genealogical inquiries via email.
If you wish to contact me regarding any genealogical matters
please post your inquiry on the discussion forum
and I will be pleased to respond to you there.

This page was last updated on November 05, 2008

Website Hosted by RootsWeb