Hans Hansen Bergen

Hans Hansen Bergen (c. 1610– 30 May 1654) was one of the earliest settlers of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, and one of the few from Scandinavia.

[1][2] Bergen was married to Sarah Rapelje, the first female child of European parentage born in the colony of New Netherland[3] and whose chair is preserved in the collection of the Museum of the City of New York.

In 1647, Bergen received a patent for 400 acres (1.6 km2) in the Wallabout Bay area of present-day Brooklyn.

Following his land grant, Hans Hansen Bergen moved to the area on western Long Island now located within the borough of Brooklyn, where he made his living as a farmer.

Bergen's descendants married into other early New Amsterdam families, including the Vanderbilts, the Voorhees, the Wyckoffs, the Cortelyous, the Denyses, the Suydams, the Vanderveers, Bensons among others.