Gesmesseeck, a tract of land so called, otherwise entered of record "Nawanemit's particular land called _Semesseerse,_ lying on the east bank, opposite Castle Island, off unto Fort Orange." "Item--from Petanoc, the mill stream, away north to Negagonse." In addition Van Rensselaer then purchased lands held in common by several owners, "extending up the river, south and north" from Fort Orange, "unto a little south of Moeneminnes castle," "being about twelve miles, large measure." Moeneminne's castle was on Haver Island at Kahoes. _Semesseerse_ is the form of the name in deed as printed in Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. i, p. 44, and Gesmesseecks p. 1, v. iv. Kesmesick is another form and perhaps also Taescameasick. (See Patuckquapaen.) The several forms of the name illustrate the effort on the part of the early Dutch, who were then limitedly acquainted with the Indian tongue, to give orthographies to the names which they heard spoken. Passapenoc, Pahpapaenpenock and Sapanakock, forms of the name of Beeren Island, lying opposite Coeymans, is from an edible tuber which was indigenous on it. [FN] The Dutch name Beeren or Beerin, means, literally, "She bear," usually called Bear's Island. De Laet wrote "Beeren" in 1640. * * * * * [FN] "The Indians frequently designated places by the names of esculent or medicinal roots which were there produced. In the Algonquin language the generic names for tubers was _pen,_ varying in some dialects to _pin, pena, pon,_ or _bun._ This name seems originally to have belonged to the common ground nut: _Apias tuberosa._ Abnaki, _pen,_ plural, _penak._ Other species were designated by prefixes to this generic, and, in the compositions of place names, was employed to denote locality (_auk, auki, ock,_ etc.), or by an abundance verb (_kanti-kadi_). Thus _p'sai-pen,_ 'wild onions,' with the suffix for place, _ock,_ gave _p'sai-pen-auk,_ or as written by the Dutch, _Passapenock,_ the Indian name for Beeren Island." (J. H. Trumbull, Mag. of Am. Hist I, 387.)