The American story of the Van Wie family begins with an act of courage and enterprise: a transatlantic voyage. Hendrick Gerritse Van Wie, born in the Netherlands around 1646, was the patriarch who first brought his family name to the shores of North America. He sailed from Holland aboard the ship de Endracht (The Unity or Concord) on April 17, 1664, arriving in the colony of New Netherland by summer.1 His arrival was timed at a moment of profound transition; within months, the English would seize control of the colony from the Dutch, renaming its capital from New Amsterdam to New York. Hendrick Gerritse stepped ashore not merely into a new land, but into a new political reality.
Upon his arrival, Hendrick settled in the region of Beverwyck, the Dutch fur-trading post that the English would rename Albany. It was here that he laid the literal and figurative foundation for his family's future. After working on various farms, he began renting a tract of land known as Domine's Hoeck (the Minister's Corner) as early as 1672. By 1679, he had purchased the land and built a house on a prominent spot along the Hudson River. This location would become the anchor of the Van Wie family's identity for the next 150 years, so intrinsically linked to them that it became known to all as "Van Wie's Point". The establishment of this homestead marked the family's transition from landless immigrants to landed proprietors. The name "Van Wie" itself was likely adopted around this time to distinguish Hendrick's family from the many other families in the region who used the patronymic "Gerritse" (son of Gerrit). The land gave them not just a home, but a unique identity.
Around 1675, he married Eytje Ariaansz, and together they had a large family of at least nine children, including Gerrit, Jannetje, Jan, and Hendrick Jr. During King William's War, he served as a volunteer in a colonial expedition against the French in Canada. In the summer of 1691, during an assault on Fort La Prairie near Montreal, he was "desperately wounded". He was brought back to Albany but died from his injuries soon after. He had filed a will in 1690, leaving his estate to his wife Eytje on the condition that she raise their children; she remarried in 1692.

Jan Hendrickse Van Wie, born in Albany on August 18, 1686. His life illustrates the family's successful transition from Dutch newcomers to established members of the English colonial gentry in the Hudson Valley.
The most telling evidence of this ascent is found in the colonial records of the era. In documents from 1720 and 1742, Jan Van Wie is listed as a "freeholder" of Rensselaerswyck. Unlike his father, who began his life in America as a tenant farmer renting land, a freeholder owned his property outright. This ownership conferred not only financial stability but also significant social standing and, crucially, the right to vote.
Jan's married Catharina Huyck around 1708 and raised a large family in the Albany area, with seven children baptized in the local Reformed Dutch Church between 1709 and 1723. Among them was a son named Andries, baptized on November 20, 1720. Jan Hendrickse Van Wie died on September 3, 1748, leaving behind a legacy far more secure than the one he had inherited.

The son of Jan Van Wie and Catharina Huyck, Andries continued the family tradition of strengthening local ties through marriage. In 1745, he wed Helena Van Arnhem, a member of another prominent Dutch family in the region, and together they raised at least five children, including their son Abraham, born in 1753. For the first five decades of his life, Andries lived as a farmer and subject of the British Crown.
When the conflict with Great Britain erupted into war, Andries, then in his mid-fifties, answered the call to arms. He served as a Private in the 5th Regiment of the Albany County Militia. The Albany County Militia played a strategically vital role in the American Revolution. Its primary mission was to defend the Hudson Valley, a critical artery that, if captured by the British, could have severed New England from the other colonies and doomed the Patriot cause. The citizen-soldiers of this militia, men like Andries Van Wie, were the frontline defenders against British invasions from Canada, Tory insurrections, and raids by allied Native American forces. His service, documented in military rolls and recognized by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
Andries's military record also helps clarify a point of genealogical confusion. While some family trees suggest he died as early as 1757, DAR records confirm his service in the militia and list his death as occurring sometime after March 4, 1780, firmly placing him within the revolutionary generation. He lived to see the tide of the war turn in the Patriots' favor, much of it happening in his own backyard during the Saratoga Campaign of 1777.

Abraham Van Wie was Born on November 18, 1753. In February 1777, he married Jacomyntje Burhans, a woman from another established Hudson Valley family. That same year, the British launched the Saratoga Campaign, a massive invasion from Canada aimed at capturing Albany and seizing control of the Hudson. The American victory at Saratoga in the autumn of 1777, a battle fought just north of Abraham's home, was the turning point of the war.
While his father's generation fought the war, Abraham's generation was tasked with building the peace and constructing a new society. The first federal census, taken in 1790, places Abraham and his growing family in the town of Watervliet, Albany County. The town of Watervliet had been newly created from the vast lands of the former Manor of Rensselaerswyck, a semi-feudal estate where tenants had owed service and rent to a single landlord, the patroon. The hierarchical, aristocratic world of the Dutch and English colonial systems was giving way to the more egalitarian, republican structures of the new nation.
Abraham's life was dedicated to the fundamental work of this new republic: raising a family and establishing a livelihood in a country finding its footing. He and Jacomyntje had seven children, including a son they named Andries, born on December 5, 1777, in the very midst of the war. Abraham lived until 1828, long enough to see the United States firmly established and expanding westward.

Andries A. Van Wie, was born on December 5, 1777, to Abraham Van Wie and Jacomyntje Burhans. His birth makes him one of the first children in the lineage born a citizen of a new, independent nation rather than a subject of a distant king.
It is at this point in the family's history, however, that the documentary trail becomes complex, presenting a challenge common in genealogical research.

Andrew Van Wie was born in 1816. After nearly 150 years rooted in the Albany area, Andrew's generation moved westward into Montgomery County, a region that was, in the early 19th century, part of New York's rapidly developing frontier.
Andrew's generation was the "Erie Canal Generation." The completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 was a monumental event in American history, transforming the Mohawk Valley, where Montgomery County is located, from a relatively remote area into a bustling corridor of commerce, migration, and agriculture. The canal created a water highway connecting the Hudson River to the Great Lakes, opening up vast new markets for farmers and making westward settlement more accessible than ever before.
Just as Hendrick Gerritse had established the family in the new world of Albany, Andrew's generation established the family in the new world of the Mohawk Valley. A crucial step in putting down roots in this new community would have been Andrew's marriage to Julia Ann Clute. The Clute family was also present in the Montgomery County region, and such a marriage would have integrated the newly arrived Van Wies into the existing social and kinship networks of their new home. Andrew Van Wie's life embodies the spirit of internal migration and the relentless pursuit of opportunity that defined 19th-century America.

David Carl Van Wie, son of Andrew and Anna. In 1860, he and three of his brothers, William, Daniel, and John, joined the Union Army to fight in the Civil War. David enlisted in Company G, 16th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and served until he fell ill in July 1863. After recuperating at home in Kilbourn (now Wisconsin Dells), he re-enlisted in February 1864, this time with his brother William in the famed Company K, "Iron Brigade" 6th Regiment Wisconsin Infantry. He fought in numerous major battles, including Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Cold Harbor, and was present at Appomattox Courthouse when General Lee surrendered.
After the war, he was known as "Captain Dave". He worked as a logger and a steamboat pilot on the Wisconsin River. In the early 1880s, he and his wife, Jennie, bought Cold Water Canyon, where they built a home, a restaurant, and a boarding house. He passed away there at the age of 60.

David Carl Van Wie was the only child of Captain Dave and Jennie, born in the family home at Cold Water Canyon in 1887. After leaving high school, he moved to Kenosha to enter the electrical business, and it was there that he met his wife, Alma Balsmeider. They returned to Kilbourn, where he built a stand at the canyon and worked as a plumber during the winters. He and Alma had four children: Charles, Robert Harry, Ralph Jack, and Helen. He passed away in 1941.

Ralph Jack Van Wie was born on December 13, 1922, to David Carl and Alma Van Wie. He continued the family line in the Wisconsin Dells area. He married Dorothy Bisely, and together they had six children: Bob, John, Bill, Dave, Elizabeth, and Mary.

John C. Van Wie was a distinguished U.S. Army veteran, a respected business leader, and a dedicated philanthropist who left an indelible mark on his community of Wisconsin Dells. His life was characterized by a deep commitment to service, both through his professional endeavors and his extensive charitable work.
For many years, John, alongside his wife Joanne, owned and operated Dells Lumber & Construction. The family business was a cornerstone of the local economy, and under his leadership, it became known for its quality and integrity. After a long and successful career, John and Joanne retired in 2010, leaving behind a legacy of hard work and community investment.
Beyond his business acumen, John was profoundly committed to giving back. He was a passionate supporter of Easterseals Wisconsin, where he served on the Board of Directors for many years, including a term as Chairman. His leadership and fundraising efforts significantly impacted the organization's ability to serve children and adults with disabilities.
In memory of their son, Gregory, John and his family established the Gregory C. Van Wie Charitable Foundation. This foundation has become a major philanthropic force in the Wisconsin Dells area, providing crucial funding to numerous community organizations and continuing the Van Wie family’s legacy of generosity.
John C. Van Wie passed away in January 2020, but his contributions as a community leader, veteran, and philanthropist continue to resonate, reflecting a life well-lived in service to others.