Under various forms this is a name well known in the United States as well as in the "Emerald Isle," from which came the family under consideration. Through intermarriage they have formed alliance with some of the oldest Dutch and German families in the Mo-hawk Valley — the Schoonmakers, Van Benschotens, and Shryvers, whose emigrant ancestors came from both the upper and lower Rhine country. The Shehans came from Ireland, and the marriage of Dennis, who was of the first generation of his family in th, United States, with a Shryver whose great-great-grandfather was a Palatine emigrant but by marriage allied with the Van Benschotens and Schoonmakers, who date back to the very early days in the Mohawk Valley, joined the old with the new and mingled the blood of Irish, Dutch and German, in one common strain.
(I) Thomas Shehan was born in Ireland and died in Troy, New York, in November 1868. He was the son of a forester on the estate of one of the gentry, and Thomas was a companion of the gentleman's son, which freed him from all manual labor on the estate. Thomas Shehan married Honora Wrenn in Ireland, in 1829. They were from county Kerry and came to America in 1837, landing in Canada, but proceeding to Troy, New York, where both Thomas and Honora, his wife, died. They were the parents of a daughter Julia and son Dennis. Julia, born in Ireland, in 1831, entered St. Vincent Orphan Asylum in Syracuse, New York, where she still remains.
(II) Dennis, son of Thomas and Honora (Wrenn) Shehan, was born in Kerry, Ireland, March 1, 1833, and died in Troy, New York, December 26, 1887. He was four years of age when his parents came to Troy, where he received his education in the public schools. At the early age of twelve he was taken into the office of the Budget, a Troy newspaper under the management of Charles McArthur. He remained there twelve years, rising to the position of foreman of the printing room and then was made manager of their stationery store on River street. He was also with the Brooks printing office, having charge of their fine printing and designing. He was a expert as well as a good manager and business man. He was later in the commission business in Troy, and then for fifteen years was engaged in shirt manufacturing with Mr. Osterhout, the firm being Shehan & Osterhout. He [is] now retired from active business life. For five years after he held a city position until his death. He was supervisor of his ward in Troy, and always actively interested in city politics, belonging to the Democratic party. He was an active ambitious man, and deserved the success he gained. He was confirmed a member of St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church in 1841, in the old church destroyed by fire in 1848. He married, in 1866, Mary Elizabeth Caroline Schryver, born July 19, 1838, daughter of Abram G. and Esther C. (Chapman) Schryver (see Schryver and Van Benschoten). They were the parents of Dennis Thomas Shehan, born in Troy, June 6, 1871. He adopted the profession of law, graduated from the Albany Law School, and is now a practicing lawyer of Troy.
(The Schryver Line)
(I) Abram G. Schryver, father of Mrs. Dennis Shehan, was a descendant of Albertus Schreiber and his wife Eva Louberman, who were Palatines and came to America with Governor Hunter in 1710. They were for a time of West Camp, Dutchess county, but soon removed to Rhinebeck, where they settled on a farm on the post road south of the village. Albertus Schreiber was a taxpayer of Dutchess county as early as 1722. He was from an up Rhine or German province.
(II) Peter Schryver, son of Albertus and Eva (Louberman) Schryver, married Anna Barbara Schever. From 1744 to 1770 they lived on a Beekman leasehold farm south of Rhinebeck on the old post road, the lease conditions having been for the first year "one couple of live fat hens, and for every year thereafter besides the fat hens, 15 scepels of good, sweet, merchantable winter wheat, and to perform yearly one day's work with wagon, sled or plow with horses or oxen and an able man to drive."
(III) Johannes P., son of Peter and Anna B. (Schever) Schryver, was born May 19, 1748. He married, September 19, 1769, Neeltje Van Benschoten (see forward). They settled on a farm a mile southeast of East Park, New York. It is said that five generations of Schryvers sat in the elders' pew in the Dutch Reformed church at Hyde Park, New York. Johannes P. and Neeltje Schryver were the parents of ten children.
(IV) Peter I., eldest child of Johannes and Neeltje (Van Benschoten) Schryver, was born September 1, 1771, and died October 30, 1830. He was a farmer and lived just east of Hyde Park, New York. He is said to have been called "the Prince," for he was inclined to "put on style," for instance, used to drive to church with a four-in-hand — four white horses. He married (first) Susan Storm, who bore him three children — Robert, Margaret and John E. He married (second) Elizabeth C. Burnett, born in 1776, died August 12, 1829. She was the mother of eight children — Eli Clark, Sally Ann, Margaret E., Abram G., see forward; Eliza Susan, Jane Harriet, Julia and Jacob Cuyler.
(V) Abram G., son of Peter I. and Elizabeth Cuyler (Burnett) Schryver, was born September 22, 1807, and died January 10, 1872. He married, in 1829, Esther C. Chapman, of Coxsackie, New York. Children: 1. David, born, 1831; enlisted in April, 1847, for the Mexican war, in Company E, Third Dragoons, U. S. A.; was killed at the battle of Vera Cruz. 2. William C., born 1833, died 1862; married Laura W. J., daughter of General Flood, minister to Texas during the time Texas was a republic; was a bookkeeper of Galveston, Texas. 3. Mary Elizabeth Caroline, born July 19, 1838; married, 1866, Dennis Shehan (q. v.). 4. Alfred E., born 1841; resides in Brooklyn, New York, unmarried. 5. Frank L., born 1843; served in the civil war in Company E, Fortieth New York Mozart Guards.
(The Van Benschoten Line)
(I) Neeltje Van Benschoten, great-grandmother of Mrs. Dennis Shehan, was a descendant in the fifth generation from the Dutch emigrant, Theunis Eliasen Van Benschoten, who is first found in America at Kingston, New York, April 3, 1671. He was a man of consequence in the neighborhood and church. He married Gerritje Gerrits, who bore him ten children, and from the family came the numerous Van Benschotens, the Benscoter Van Van Scoten, Van Scoter and Van Scoda families.
(III) Solomon, son of Theunis Eliasen Van Benschoten, married Elsjen, daughter of Egbert Hendreckse Schoonmaker, who was a son of Hendrick Jochemse, the progenitor of the Schoonmaker family in America. He was from Hamburg, Germany, and a noted man in the early annals of Albany county. Solomon and Elsjen Van Benschoten were the parents of seven daughters and three sons. In his will he disposes of lands, houses, negroes, negresses, horses, cattle, goods, and money.
(IV) Theunis, eldest son of Solomon Van Benschoten, was born July 15, 1716. He married Elsjen Du Mond. They removed to near Rhinebeck, where they joined the church. He lived a quiet life, as his name appears only on church records and tax lists. He was an elder of the Rhinebeck Reformed Church. He refused to sign the articles of association, and three days after the signing of the Declaration of Independence made his will — evidently "putting his house in order" for any contingency. Theunis and Elsjen Van Benschoten were the parents of thirteen children — the fourth child and third daughter being Neeltje, who married Johannes P. Schryver, and they are the grandparents of Mrs. Dennis Shehan.