... Claas Bever, the first of this family to come to America from the town of Houten, Utrecht. He arrive in Albany about 1658, and in 1661, became on of Kinderhook's earliest settlers and mill operators. Although he did not use the surname Van Schaack, all of his children did. His alias 'Bever' is the Dutch word for 'beaver', and seems to suggest a motivation to trade in Albany. ...
