Legacy and Honors
King James I granted Gerardus Beekman a coat of arms featuring a rivulet running between roses, symbolizing the family's connection to water and their name's origin from "beck," the Dutch word for "mouth" or "beak," or possibly an abbreviation of "bekken," meaning basin. The crest included three feathers on a helmet of steel, with the motto "Mens conscia Recti" (A mind conscious of what is right).
This coat of arms was later used by his grandson Wilhelmus Beekman in his correspondence with Governor Stuyvesant.
Gerardus (Beeckman) Beekman (1558-1625) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree