Dirk Cornelisen Keyser as early as 1657 was a merchant at New Amsterdam, Where on July 18th of that year he gets judgment against one Jan Roelfsen' for debt on his swearing to the correctness of his accounts, — judgment for "13 beavers." And there he is still found on July 19, 1662, when Dirk Keyser and Andries Spieringh, partners, merchants at New Amsterdam, confer power of attorney upon Walraef Claerhout; and yet on Sept. 2nd of the same year when he acts as witness to a power of attorney by Nicholas Bott to Nicholas De Meyer to collect debts in Holland. Doubtless he himself was born in Holland, though his name appears on none of the surviving sailing-lists. He must have been well on in life when he married, — probably at Albany, whither many early New Amsterdam merchants removed and where all early records are lost. He is found at Wild- wyck (Kingston) as early as 1669. His first child was baptized at Kingston June 18, 1671, and here it was that "Catryn" and several intervening children were baptized. On May 15, 1671, Dirk Keyser was possessed of lot number 22 in Kingston : on that date "the inhab itants were ordered to renew the stockade" and the portion that fell to him was "8 Yi rods." In 1676 his name appears in a list of pet1 tioners to Governor Andrus concerning church matters at Kingston. In 1689 when the Oath of Allegiance was being administered by the English authorities he is not among those who took it, but instead is found under the head of "These following persons Did nott appear, viz." The records show that on Aug. 23, 1682, the Honorable Court orders that a certain piece of land "on the Ronduyt Kill at the Great Falls" formerly granted to Thomas Quick and Francis Coin "shall now be equally divided between Thomas Quick, Jan Waerd and Dirk Keyser because Francis Coin has run away — each of them to receive twenty-five morgen (fifty acres) or a just one-third portion." The court records also show that on Jan. 25, 1684, there was granted Dirk Keyser "a conveyance of twenty acres of land on the Rondout Kill at the south end of Jopsen Berrig." Whether he continued merchant and became farmer as well is uncertain. He is found taking part in building the Marbletown church; and it was doubtless after him that the near-by Keyserike was named.
