Author: Christian Wilhelm- Siegfried Powers
Simon Cornelis Groot was baptized November 17, 1745 in the Dutch Reformed Church in Schenectady, New York. He served in the Second Albany County Militia of Colonel Abraham Wempell,
under Captain Thomas Brouwer Bancker, a unit that was active with the Continental Army in 1777 in General Glover's brigade at the Second Battle of Saratoga: The Battle of Bemis Heights. The regiment also fought at the Battle of Klock's Field in 1780 and at the Battle of Johnstown in 1781.
His ancestor, Symon Symonse Groot was boatswain of the ship 'Prins Maurits' in the service of the Dutch West India Company, and was among the early settlers and founders of Nieuw Nederland (New York). In 1645, Symon settled in Nieuw Amsterdam (New York City), but soon moved his family to Beverwijck (Albany) and then to Schenectady. During the infamous 1690 Schenectady Massacre, his five sons were taken captive by the French and Indians. The eldest, also named Symon, returned the following year, married, and had a son Cornelis who would later serve as a member of the Albany New York Committee of Correspondence, and who is the father of Simon Cornelis Groot.
Simon was a landowner and a farmer. He married Annaatje Truax, who descended from another founding family and whose father Isaac served in the Third Albany County Militia.
When the Revolutionary War came, Simon fought for the American cause, along with many others in his town, his church, and his family. During the war, George Washington visited Schenectady three times, and after his visit in June 1782, he addressed the magistrates and military officers, as well as the Reformed Dutch Church of Schenectady to express his thanks and to encourage them in the just
and righteous cause of freedom and independence, evincing hope in divine Providence to crown American arms with continued success.
Simon Cornelis Groot died on February 10, 1832 and now rests in the First Reformed Dutch Churchyard, West Glenville, Schenectady.