Hugo Freer was a native of the village of Herly near Boulogne, France. He married at Mannheim, Germany, Marie de la Haye, from Douaye, on October 2, 1660. The young couple were Huguenot refugees from the inquisition. They had three children at the time of the Great Plague. Marie and one of their daughters did not survive.

Hugo married, second, at Mannheim, January 22, 1667, Jeanne Wibau, the widow of Simon Floquet, who may have died from the plague. Jeanne was the daughter of Toussant Wibau of Bruyelle, near Tourni, France. The family left Mannheim, probably in 1675 travelling, it seems certain, with a group who would settle together at New Paltz, New York. They settled first at Kingston by 1676. Then on May 26, 1677 they purchased land from the Indians. Twelve men received confirmation of the title to the land at New Paltz on September 29, 1677, from James, Duke of York and signed by Edmund Andros, the governor of the colony of New York. They were Luis DuBois and his sons Abraham and Isaac, Christian Deyo and his son Pierre, Louis Bevier, Abraham and Jean Hasbrouck, brothers, Simon and Andres LeFever and Hugo Freer. The confirmation was undoubtedly hastened by the fact that one of their number, Abraham Hasbrouck, had served in the English army. All of the patentees had been Mannheim refugees. Their land grant was held as common land and the twelve men, known as the Dusine, distributed the produce from it. It remained under the control of their families until 1826. They built log houses along the west bank of the Wallkill River, replacing them with stone houses about 1700. Four of the original stone houses still remain on Huguenot Street in New Paltz, New York. They are maintained by the  Huguenot Historical Society . The funds for the maintenance of the Freer house come mainly from the  descentents of Hugo Freer ( see the Freer House )

When they organized their church in 1683, at the arrival of Pierre Daille, the minister, Hugo Freer was appointed the first deacon. He was elected Elder in 1690.

Janettje Wibau died December 8, 1693 and Hugo Freer died in 1698. They are buried in the Walloon cemetery at New Paltz.

The children of Hugo Freer and Marie de la Haye were:

1. Marie, baptized at Mannheim, Germany, September 22, 1661 died young
2. Sarah, baptized Mannheim, Germany, February, 1664.
3. Hugo, baptized at Mannheim, Germany, July 2, 1666, married Marie Anne LeRoy

The children of Hugo Freer and Jeanne Wibau were:

4. Abraham, baptized at Mannheim, January 19 or 29, 1668, died young
5. Abraham, baptized at Mannheim, June 26, 1670. Married at New Paltz April 28, 1694, Aeche Willem Titsoort - 16 children.
6. Isaac, baptized at Mannheim, February 9, 1673, died at New Paltz August 9, 1690.
7. Marie, born at Hurley, about 1677, married in New Paltz October 12, 1697 , Lewis Viele, son of Peter Cornelisen Viele. (There was a village called Hurley, now part of Kingston, New York; the home of Hugo Freer in France was Hurley. Since the actual birth date of Marie is not known, she may have been child #1 marrying late in life. It seems more likely that child #1 died in Germany and a daughter of the second marriage was named Marie, there being six years between the births of Isaac and Jacob. Lewis and Marie Viele have only one child listed at Kingston.)
8. Jacob, baptized June 9, 1679 at Kingston
9. Jean, baptized April 16, 1679 at Marmur