New Netherland Settler: Jan Cornelis Damen

1585 Marriage of Jan Damen's grandparents in Utrecht

 

Jan Cornelise Damen, my 9th great-grandfather, was the common ancestor of the DAMEN family. In 1650 he left Bunnik, a village on the Ryn in Utrecht, for Long Island New York, and married Fytie/Sophia Martens. The surname might be derived from Demen, a hamlet in North Brabant where Jan most likely lived at one time.

On 29 Apr. 1655 he purchased a house and land adjoining that of Jan Dirksen's in Brooklyn and by 1677 was keeping a tavern here. Read more at THE DAMEN FAMILY OF LONG ISLAND NEW YORK

New Netherland (NY) Research is Not Simple or Quick

New Netherland Research is Not Simple or Quick

Lois asked a rather convoluted question which does not have a simple answer. Because of the several questions Lois asked, i am going to intersperse my answers with her questions.

Q: After 200 years of historical accounts of the immigrants from the Netherlands, debate is still continuing when the surname Teunise/Teunisen is researched. My ancestor was Teunis Nyssen, who had  7 children based on baptism records, one (Cornelis) from guardianship record after his mother Phoebe Janse died. By 1660, when the 2nd generation started marriage and having children, the names of daughters were Teunis with an “e” added and sons with “en”. Historians and genealogists either made decisions which person had which “Teunis” father, so for the children of Teunis Nyssen, Denyse was added to the name “de Nys, or of Nys, as opposed to child of Teunis Bogaert. 

Is my assumption on the addition of the “e” and “en” correct?

A: The simple answer is "NO". The patronymic was formed by adding -se, -sen, or -szen. Daughters would very often have the ending -x or -dr. added. I suggest that what you are finding ("e" vs "en") is simply the way the name/patronymic was recorded by that specific clerk or individual. See Dutch Patronymics of the 1600s for more help. 

Also, if you have not seen my page on the DAMEN family of New Netherland I urge you to take a look.  As well as a brief expanation of the family origins, you will find several resources for you to use. You will definitely want the 4th one but you may find the others very helpful as well:

Q: The “Teunis” problem seems to have led to the following children  being attributed to Nyssen:   Hillegonde, Geertje, James, Joris and Teunis. So the second question relates to children naming  traditions.    First son after father’s father, 2nd mother’s father and 1st daughter after mother’s mother, 2nd after father’s mother...with exceptions.    A son Teunis for Nyssen is possible, but many records show him by age as 1st son, whereas he would be Dionys (name for Teunis’ father), 2nd son was Jan named for mother’s father.  

A:  You should never take naming traditions or customs as being set in stone. They might be observed by the couple but they might not be. One parent might be honoured by having a grandchild named after him/her but another might be on the "outs" with the family. A rich uncle or someone who could bestow favours on the couple might be the person honoured with a child's name. There may be a missing child which had the name of the missing parent. There are many reasons why naming patterns cannot be relied on!

Q: Is there any way to ID all the men named Teunis who would have been fathers between 1640 and 1670, so the “supposed children” could be linked to the correct parents?  If there is, how can it be communicated to people who have ancestry trees in various websites?  

A: You could certainly devote many years of research and study into an attempt to find all men named Teunis (or Antonis) who could have been fathers in that 30 year time span.  But if you were thinking of the entire area of New Netherland you would have quite a lifetime project ahead of you. Even if you found them all, determing which children belong to which father would quite likely take yet another lifetime, if indeed it could be done. 

Researching the Dutch in New Netherland is not an easy task. It requires years of study to understand naming patterns, customs, patronymics etc *and* to find the records to assist in the research. There are records that Dr. Gehring has been working on translating from the Dutch for over 25 years now! 


Photo credit: Stuart Miles on FreeDigital.Net

My Surname Christmas Tree

Here's my yearly surname Christmas Tree. It's the only one I'm doing this year.

Some of my surnames are

Peer, Vollick, King, McGinnis, Downey, Stead, Simpson, Burkholder, Fuller, Greenlees, Johnston, Shuart, Van Slyke, Ryckman, Bradt, Van Valkenburg, Damen, Caiser, Taine, Philpot, Norris, Dawson, Motteram, Wildbore, Higginson, Bell, Caspall, Holford, Smith, Dawson, Marical, Baker, Larroway, De Graw, Gingerich, Jamieson, Hubbard, Laming, Williams, Norman, Whibley, Page, Crunden, Fryer, Van Horn, Snediker, Sutton, Elvery, Anson, Blandell, Jackson, LeRoy, Winne, Hommell, Snider, Bellinger, Warner, Van Alstyne, Muller, Deroche, Wust, Kehl, Earl, Cole, Burd, Vrooman, Van Horn, Snediker, Post, Shuart, Uziele, and more.

An Interesting New Netherland Connection

Here is an interesting and intriguing will filed in by Susanne vandeWater on 20 September 1653. At least one New Netherland settler is mentioned.

Seal of New Netherland

Susannetge van de Water weduwe van Franchois Willemsz herroept alle voorgaande testamenten en codicillen. Zij legateert en prelegateert de navolgende mensen. De kinderen van haar broer Abraham Abrahams van de Water te Dordrecht, haar neef Isaacq van de Water te Amsterdam nagelaten zoon van haar broer Pieter van de Water, de kinderen van haar overleden broer Joost van de Water te weten Ariaentge Joosten, Sara Joosten, en Isaacq Joosten, Elijsabeth Cornelisdr dochter van Grietge Jansdr, de kinderen van Jacob Standoncq te weten Jan Standoncq en Sijmen Standoncq verwekt bij zijn vrouw Ariaentge, Paulus Jansz Standonck de Jonge met een obligatie ten laste van Hubert Caijmacxschild voor de koop van een huis gekocht door genoemde Paulus Standoncq de Jonge en gelegen aan de Cordewagenstraat, aan Michiel Couweberg, ysermaker, 100 gulden plus een pak kleren van Paules Standoncq de Oude, aan haar dienstmaagd Grietge Pietersdr of Elijsabeth Pietersdr, aan Maria Damen wonend te Nieuw Nederlant, aan Willem Pietersz, bouwman, en zijn vrouw Elijsabeth Joppen, aan Annetge Joppen wonend in de Beijerlanden, aan Cathalijntge Pietersdr dochter van Pieter Corstiaen, aan de armen van de kerk 2 obligaties ten laste van Arij van de Marel, aan Gijbert Huijen van der Swiep voor haar begrafenis.als enige en universele ergenaam benoemd zij haar zuster Sara van de Water weduwe van Govert Govertsz.

Translation:   Susannetge vandeWater widow of Franchois Willemsz repeals all previous wills and codicils. She explains and preges the following people. The children of her brother Abraham Abrahams van Water in Dordrecht, her cousin Isaacq van Water in Amsterdam, neglected son of her brother Pieter van de Water, the children of her deceased brother Joost van de Water, Ariaentge Joosten, Sara Joosten, and Isaacq Joosten, Elijsabeth Cornelisdr daughter of Grietge Jansdr, the children of Jacob Standoncq, Jan Standoncq and Sijmen Standoncq, acquires his wife Ariaentge, Paul Jansz Standonck de Jonge, with a bond charged to Hubert Caijmacxschild for the purchase of a house bought by the said Paul Standoncq de Jonge and located on the Cordewagenstraat, Michiel Couweberg, ysermaker, 100 guilders plus a suit of Paules Standoncq de Oude, to her maidservant Grietge Pietersdr or Elisabeth Pietersdr, to Maria Damen residing at Nieuw Nederlant, to Willem Pietersz, bouwman , and his wife Elijsabeth Joppen, at Annetge Joppen residing in the Beijerland, to Cathalijntge Pietersdr daughter of Pieter Corsti aen, to the poor of the church 2 bonds charged to Arij van de Marel, to Gijbert Huijen van der Swiep for her funeral.s sole and universal surname she appointed her sister Sara van de Water widow of Govert Govertsz.

Source:  Datering:     20-sep-1653
Aktenummer:     382
Bladzijden:     377 t/m 378
Standplaats:     Rotterdam
Notaris:     Vitus Mustelius Woutersz
Akteplaats:     Rotterdam
Aktesoort:     testament
oegangsnummer:     18 Notarissen te Rotterdam en daarin opgegane gemeenten (ONA)
Inventarisnummer:     504
Organisatie: Stadsarchief Rotterdam

Are You Your Own Grandpa or Grandma?

Today I had an interesting genealogy find ...my son's 5th great-grandfather's sister Sarah Stead was a witness at my son's wife 's 4th great-grandmother's marriage in 1817 in Ramsgate, Kent, England.

Since my daughter-in-law's 4th great grandma was a Fuller born in Ramsgate and we descend from a line of Fuller in Ramsgate back to the 1700s, it would not surprise me if eventually I find that my son and his wife are "cousins"

Believe it or not, this is not unusual. I use FTM for my preferred Genealogy program. One day out of sheer boredom I ran a kinship report and was shocked to learn that my father was also my cousin.

To be exact, my father is listed as my father AND as

my 8th cousin once removed
my 9th cousin once removed
my 11th cousin once removed
my 10th cousin twice removed
the husband of my 5th cousin once removed

Phew!

I was stunned. And confused. I knew what once removed meant - that we were a generation apart. Okay so far. Being 8th cousins meant we shared a common 7th great-grandparent. Being 9th cousins meant we shared a common 8th great-grandparent, and so on.

"husband of my 5th cousin once removed"? Well that meant my mother was my 5th cousin once removed and that she and I shared a common 4th great grandparent.

It wasn't making sense to me, as of course my parents and I share common ancestors! But how did we get to be cousins as well as father-daughter? This sent me off to have a good look at how my relationship to my father became a cousin relationship too.

It's a bit confusing but here is how it happened beginning with my father's 3rd great grandparents, Cornelius Vollick and Eve Larroway who married in 1795.

Cornelius and Eve shared two sets of common 2nd great grandparents. That is, Cornelius' great great grandparents were Jochem & Eva (Vrooman) Van Valkenburg. So were Eve's. Cornelius' other set of great great grandparents were Pierre & Cornelia (Damen) Uzielle. So were Eve's.

Two of Jochem & Eva's grandchildren (through their son Isaac and daughter Jannetje) married two grandchildren of Pierre Uziele and Cornelia Damen.

The Van Valkenburg grandchildren were Isaac Van Valkenburg (who married Maria Bradt the daughter of Storm Bradt and Sophia Uziele) and Marytje Van Alstyne who married Petrus LeRoy the son of Maria Uziele (who was Sophia's sister!) and Leonard Le Roy.

Here's a chart which might show the relationships in a less confusing way

I'll go into my mother's line and that tangled web of cousinship on another day.

The confusing relationships reminded me of I'm My Own Grandpaw a song written about a man who, through a combination of marriages, becomes stepfather to his own stepmother — that is, he becomes his own grandfather. Am I my own Grandma? My grandchildren love hearing how they are my cousins as well as my grandchildren....

My Christmas Tree 2016

Merry Christmas everyone! I put up my Christmas Tree today!

Some of my surnames are

Peer, Vollick, King, McGinnis, Downey, Stead, Simpson, Burkholder, Fuller, Greenlees, Johnston, Shuart, Van Slyke, Ryckman, Bradt, Van Valkenburg, Damen, Caiser, Taine, Philpot, Norris, Higginson, Bell, Caspall, Holford, Smith, Dawson, Marical, Baker, Larroway, De Graw, Gingerich, Jamieson, Hubbard, Laming, Williams, Norman, Whibley, Page, Crunden, Fryer, Van Horn, Snediker, Sutton, Elvery, Anson, Blandell, Jackson, LeRoy, Winne, Hommell, Snider, Bellinger, Warner, Van Alstyne, Muller, Deroche, Wust, Kehl, Earl, Cole, Burd, Vrooman  Post, Shuart, Uziele and more.

A Great List of New Netherland (New York) Family Genealogies!

New Netherland (New York) Settlers - Family Trees & Surnames

Are you hopelessly confused with Dutch patronymics? Can't figure out your New Netherland (New York) 17th century ancestors?  The following New Netherland genealogies are available to help. Some are part of Olive Tree Genealogy's New Netherland Settlers project and are published in book format. Other genealogies are online and can be enjoyed by all descendants. More genealogies are coming as the New Netherland Settlers project progresses so be sure to bookmark the New Netherland Settlers page for updates.

* BARHEIT Barheit Family The Barheit Family Revealed: A Genealogy of Hans Coenradt and Barenjte Jans Straetsman, the Immigrant Ancestors of the Barheit Family of Albany New York

* BOELEN Boele Roeloffsen & his wife Bayken Arents New Netherland Settlers. Boele Roeloffsen & His Wife Bayken Arents From Amsterdam with information on the European Origins of the Family.

* BRADT. BRATT Bradt Family Descendants of Albert Andriessen de Noorman aka Bradt

* DAMEN Damen Family Descendants of Jan Cornelise Damen from Bunik Netherlands

* JANSEN New Netherland Settlers Albert Jansen & Elsjie Jans & Their Van Woggelum, Provoost & Van Loon Descendants

* LEROY. LARAWAY. AUDY  Simeon LeRoy dit Audy French settler to New France (Quebec) then New York

* PIER Pier Family Jan Theunissen and Arent Theunissen Pier and their descendants

* POST The New Jersey Post Family Descendants of Adriaen Crijnen Post

* POST New Netherland SettlersLodewyck Cornelis Post & His Wife Agnietje Bonen

* RYCKMAN Ryckman Family Harmen Janse Ryckman of New Netherland

* STEVENSEN Jan Stevensen & Maria Goosens The Stevensen and Jacobsen Families. A genealogy to three generations of the descendants of Maria Goosens and her husband Steven Janse Coning who settled in Fort Orange in 1649 (Stevensen Family) and Maria Goosens and a man named Jacob (Jacobszen Family)

* STRAETSMAN Straetsman Family The Straetsman Sisters Barentje & Teuntje and Their Six Husbands

* VAN ALSTYNE The Van Alstyne Family - The descendants of Jan Martense de Wever aka Van Alstyne

* VAN SLYKE. VAN SLYCK The Van Slyke Family - The descendants of Cornelise Antonissen Van Slyke and his nephew Willem Pieterse Van Slyke. Two books on the family also available

* VAN VALKENBURG Van Valkenburg Family Lambert Van Valkenburg and his son Jochem Lambertse

* VINCENT Adriaen Vincent and his wife, Walloons in New Amsterdam A Walloon in New Amsterdam: The Story of Adriaen Vincent and his Wife Madaleen Eloy

* VROOMAN The Vrooman Family in New Netherland New York
 
* VAN SICKELEN. VAN SICKLES The Van Sickelen, Van Sickles Family in New Netherland New York includes scanned book A History of the Van Sickle Family in the United States of America BY John W. Van Sickle, A.M., M.D., Ph. D.

Got New Netherland Ancestors? Don't Miss These New Online Records

Do you have New Netherland (now New York state) ancestors? The Dutch settled there early in the 17th century, along with Walloons, Huguenots and other ethnicities.  

Among my early New Netherland ancestors were Cornelis Antoniseen Van Slyke, Harman Janse Ryckman, Jan Damen, Lambert Van Valkenburg, Hendrick Vrooman, Albert Andriessen Bradt, Adrian Crijnen Post, Jan Martense Van Alstyne and more.

Recent additions to the Online Publications page of the New Netherland Institute include translations of  

 

• Fort Orange Records, 1656–1678;  
• Fort Orange Records, 1654–1679;  
• Laws & Writs of Appeal, 1647–1663; and 
• A.J.F. van Laer's 3-volume set Minutes of the Court of Albany, Rensselaerswyck and Schenectady, 1668–1685

If you have New Netherland ancestors you may also want to check out my books on New Netherland Settlers. Currently I have published the following:

The Van Slyke Family in America: A Genealogy of Cornelise Antonissen Van Slyke, 1604-1676 and his Mohawk Wife Ots-Toch, including the story of Jacques Hertel, 1603-1651, Father of Ots-Toch and Interpreter to Samuel de Champlain REVISED EDITION Coil bound 8.5x11. 287 p.  Order Form or Paypal Orders

New Netherland Settlers: Willem Pieterse Van Slyke aka Neef - A genealogy to five generations of the descendants of Willem Pieterse Van Slyke who settled in New Netherland (New York) in 1660. 198 pages. 8.5x11 Coil bound .  Order Form or Paypal Orders

New Netherland Settlers. A Walloon in New Amsterdam: The Story of Adriaen Vincent and his Wife Madaleen Eloy. Coil bound 8.5x11. 94 p.   Order Form or Paypal Orders

New Netherland Settlers. Boele Roeloffsen & His Wife Bayken Arents From Amsterdam with information on the European Origins of the Family.  Coil bound 8.5x11. 56 p.  Order Form or Paypal Orders

New Netherland Settlers: The Stevensen and Jacobsen Families. A genealogy to three generations of the descendants of Maria Goosens and her husband Steven Janse Coning who settled in Fort Orange in 1649 (Stevensen Family) and Maria Goosens and a man named Jacob (Jacobszen Family) .  8.5x11 Coil bound. 154 p.   Order Form or Paypal Orders

The Barheit Family Revealed: A Genealogy of Hans Coenradt and Barentje Jans Straetsman, the Immigrant Ancestors of the Barheit Family of Albany New York available as an Ebook 
 
Credits: Image from Minutes of the Court of Rensselaerwyck, 1648-1652 courtesy New Netherland Institute

52 Ancestors: I Think I am My Own Cousin

Amy Johnson Crow has a new challenge for geneabloggers called Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Amy challenges genealogists to write about one ancestor once a week. I'm having fun with this and I hope you are too!

This week I am going to tell you about my ancestor Cornelius Vollick and his wife Eve Larroway. Cornelius, my 4th great grandfather, was born in 1761 in New York. He fought for the British during the American Revolution in Butler's Rangers. After the War he came to Ontario Canada as a Loyalist and settled in the Niagara area. There he married Eve Larroway who was the daughter of another Loyalist.

Interestingly enough, Cornelius Vollick's great grandmother Sophia Uziele, was the sister of Eve Larroway's great grandmother Maria Uziele. Since Cornelia and his wife Eve shared the same set of great-great grandparents, that makes them 3rd cousins. 

Here's the surprise:

Cornelius and Eve shared TWO sets of common 2nd great grandparents, not just one!  Cornelius' great great grandparents were Jochem & Eva (Vrooman) Van Valkenburg. So were Eve's. Cornelius' other set of great great grandparents were Pierre & Cornelia (Damen) Uzielle. So were Eve's.

Two of Jochem & Eva's grandchildren (through their son Isaac and daughter Jannetje) married two grandchildren of Pierre Uziele and Cornelia Damen.

The Van Valkenburg grandchildren were Isaac Van Valkenburg (who married Maria Bradt the daughter of Storm Bradt and Sophia Uziele) and Marytje Van Alstyne who married Petrus LeRoy the son of Maria Uziele (who was Sophia's sister!) and Leonard Le Roy.

Here's a chart which might show the relationships in a less confusing way

When I used an old version of FamilyTreeMaker some years ago my father was listed as my father AND as

my 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th cousin once removed

Phew! What cousin relationship that does that give me to Cornelius, Eve and my own children? I confess it confuses me and I've not yet figured it out. And I don't have that older version of FTM anymore. All I know is that genealogy is always full of surprises!

I May Be My Own Grandma.....

I use FTM for my preferred Genealogy program. One day out of sheer boredom I ran a kinship report and was shocked to learn that my father was also my cousin.

To be exact, my father is listed as my father AND as

my 8th cousin once removed
my 9th cousin once removed
my 11th cousin once removed
my 10th cousin twice removed
the husband of my 5th cousin once removed

Phew!

I was stunned. And confused. I knew what once removed meant - that we were a generation apart. Okay so far. Being 8th cousins meant we shared a common 7th great-grandparent. Being 9th cousins meant we shared a common 8th great-grandparent, and so on.

"husband of my 5th cousin once removed"? Well that meant my mother was my 5th cousin once removed and that she and I shared a common 4th great grandparent.

It wasn't making sense to me, as of course my parents and I share common ancestors! But how did we get to be cousins as well as father-daughter? This sent me off to have a good look at how my relationship to my father became a cousin relationship too.

It's a bit confusing but here is how it happened beginning with my father's 3rd great grandparents, Cornelius Vollick and Eve Larroway who married in 1795.

Cornelius and Eve shared two sets of common 2nd great grandparents. That is, Cornelius' great great grandparents were Jochem & Eva (Vrooman) Van Valkenburg. So were Eve's. Cornelius' other set of great great grandparents were Pierre & Cornelia (Damen) Uzielle. So were Eve's.

Two of Jochem & Eva's grandchildren (through their son Isaac and daughter Jannetje) married two grandchildren of Pierre Uziele and Cornelia Damen.

The Van Valkenburg grandchildren were Isaac Van Valkenburg (who married Maria Bradt the daughter of Storm Bradt and Sophia Uziele) and Marytje Van Alstyne who married Petrus LeRoy the son of Maria Uziele (who was Sophia's sister!) and Leonard Le Roy.

Here's a chart which might show the relationships in a less confusing way

I'll go into my mother's line and that tangled web of cousinship on another day.

The confusing relationships reminded me of I'm My Own Grandpaw a song written about a man who, through a combination of marriages, becomes stepfather to his own stepmother — that is, he becomes his own grandfather. Am I my own Grandma? My grandchildren love hearing how they are my cousins as well as my grandchildren....