the confusion to which it gave rise, and the difficulty of tracing families, led ultimately to its abandonment, both in Holland and in our own country. In doing so, the patronymic, which the person originating the name bore, was adopted as the surname. Most of the family names thus formed and originating amongst us may be said to be of American origin, as they were first fixed in America, though the same names were adopted by others in Holland. Hence we have the names of such families of Dutch descent amongst us as Jansen (_anglice_, Johnson), Garretsen, Cornelisen, Williamsen or Williamson, Hendricksen or Hendrickson, Clasen, Simonsen or Simonson, Tysen (son of Mathias), Arendsen (son of Arend), Hansen, Lambertsen or Lambertson, Paulisen, Remsen,[55] Ryersen, Martense, Adrience, Rutgers, Everts, Phillips, Lefferts, and others. To trace connection between these families and persons in this country, it is evident, would be impossible, for the reason stated, without a regular record. "Another mode of nomenclature, intended to obviate the difficulty of an identity of names for the time being, but which rendered the confusion worse confounded for the future genealogist, was to add to the patronymic name the occupation or some other personal characteristic of the individual. Thus, Laurens Jansen, the inventor of the art of printing, as the Dutch claim, had affixed to his name that of Coster--that is to say, _sexton_--an office of which he was in the possession of the emoluments. But the same addition was not transmitted to his son; and thus the son of Hendrick Jansen Coster might be called Tunis Hendrickson Brouwer (brewer), and his grandson might be William Tunissen Bleecker (bleacher).... "A third practice, evidently designed, like that referred to, to obviate the confusions of the first, was to append the name of the place where the person resided, not often of a large city, but of a particular, limited locality, and frequently of a particular form or natural object. This custom is denoted in all the family names which have the prefix of _Van_, _Vander_, _Ver_ (which is a contraction of _Vander_), and _Ten_, meaning, respectively, _of_, _of the_ and _at the_.... The prefixes _Vander_ or _Ver_ and _Ten_ were adopted where the name was derived from a particular spot, thus: Vanderveer (of the ferry); Vanderburg, of the hill; Vanderbilt (of the bildt, that is, certain elevations of ground in Guederhoff and New Utrecht); Vanderbeck (of the brook); Vanderhoff (of the court); Verplanck (of the plank); Verhultz (of the holly); Verkerk (of the church); Ten Eyck (at the oak); Tenbroeck (at the marsh)." III NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN FERRY RIGHTS