The Suydam family settled in Somerset County, New Jersey in 1713. For their first 50 years in the new world, they were residents of Brooklyn, New York after crossing the Atlantic from Holland on the ship the Rose Tree.

These Dutch settlers continued their tradition of farming by purchasing land and cultivating it with general field crops, fruits, vegetables and livestock. The Suydam family was busy supplying the local New Brunswick residents with fresh produce, milk and wool from the sheep they raised on the farm.