Henkcs/van arsdalenotes

[1]

In 1628, Flanders was besieged. The rolling hills and verdant plains of Europe's arguable wealthiest province was one of the main theaters in the Eighty Years' War, pitting Spanish, French, and Dutch troops against one another in a war of political advantage and religious freedom.

Flanders had been part of the Spanish Netherlands since 1516, when Charles V, a scion of the Habsburg Empire, ascended the throne. Charles was the son of Philip I of the Low Countries and Princess Joanna of Spain, Philip being the heir of the Habsburgs from his father Archduke Maximilian and Joanna being the heir of Castile and Aragon from her parents Ferdinand and Isabella (the noted royal financiers of Christopher Columbus). Charles V ushered in an era of prosperity for Flanders but at the expense of widening the gap between the upper and lower classes. In 1555, he abdicated the throne in favor of his son, Philip II.

Philip II had little interest in preserving the existing ruling class in the Low Countries and was particularly intolerant of the lower classes. At about this time, the fledgling spirit of Calvinism was spreading throughout the Low Countries and Philip II, a fervent Catholic, resolved himself to crush the religion before it resulted in any further subversion to his rule. Suspected Calvinist “Protestants” were arrested, interrogated, tortured, expelled, and even executed as the King sought to root out the evil influence. This tinderbox erupted into flames when, in 1566, Protestants pulled down and destroyed statues they considered idolatrous at several Catholic churches. King Philip responded by imposing martial law, sending troops under the merciless Duke of Alva to squelch the uprising. Instead of smothering the fire, the action only fanned the flames, and the Eighty Years’ War began.

In 1573, after seven of the bloodiest years in Flanders’ history, the Duke of Alva was replaced by a more moderate “governor” who facilitated the signing of a peace accord for the southern provinces of the Low Countries. The diplomatic process was, nevertheless, enforced militarily. Flanders and neighboring Brabant province became effectively Catholic in 1579, but the Protestants could either worship in secret or emigrate to the northern provinces which had become officially Protestant. Many chose the latter option.

The remaining Protestant population of Flanders had been greatly diminished and over the years the Protestant-Catholic rift widened irreparably. Protestants were now being hunted down, tried as heretics and witches, and burned at the stake. Beneath this cloud of political and religious upheaval, a child is born in Nukerke, East Flanders. He was baptized on Sunday, February 27, 1628 to Jan Pauwelsz van Aersdalen and Gerarda (Geertje) Philipse Haelters, and named Sijmon, possibly after one of the witnesses, Sijmon de Keyser [1]. Dutch tradition – and probably Flemish as well - dictated that a mother not go out in public for six weeks after childbirth, and only then for the purpose of the child’s baptism. If this custom was followed, then we can assume that Sijmon was born in the first half of January 1628.

Sijmon was the third known son of Jan Pauwelsz, a carpet or cloth-weaver, which was a popular vocation in East Flanders at that time. It is possible that another son had been born before Sijmon but baptized at a different church. Sijmon’s siblings eventually included brothers Philip (Philippus, baptized June 24, 1624; [1]), possibly a Pauwel, Jan (Joannes, baptized March 22, 1626; [1]), Pieter (probably born about 1630 in Flanders), and Joost (Judocus, baptized October 2, 1638; [2]), as well as sisters Egidia (baptized April 10, 1633; [2]) and Joanna (baptized December 4, 1635; [2]). It is likely that Sijmon also had a sister named Fiermijne named for their paternal grandmother.

The last known baptismal record for a child of Jan and Gerarda’s was that of Joost. However, bringing more children into a war-torn world was a logistically if not morally questionable act. Tensions escalated in the area and troops routinely ebbed and flowed through Flanders. Oudenaarde, just three miles across the Schelde River from Nukerke, was the scene of several bloody skirmishes. Around 1640, Jan decided to abandon Nukerke and seek out the relative stability of the Protestant-dominated Northern Provinces. Jan took his family to Gouda (where, it appears, his parents were married in 1588) and likewise abandoned his vocation as a carpetweaver to become a mustard-grinder. On July 20, 1642 Jan was confirmed (as “Jan van Arsdal”) as a member of the Dutch Reformed Church at Gouda [3]. He bought a house for his family on November 21 of that year [4] and eight years later purchased the adjacent one as well [5].

Sijmon had an itch to strike out on his own. Barely in his twenties, he moved away from the rest of the family in Gouda to seek his fortune in the metropolis of Amsterdam. This is probably the first evidence of the drive of this young man who would dare to venture into a New World and become the patriarch of a large and successful family. In Amsterdam, he pursued a career in pottery-making, which had become so prolific an industry that several streets in the city were dedicated to the trade. Starting around 1600, many potters from the Southern Netherlands (Belgium) fled to Amsterdam to escape religious persecution and the fragmentation of the local pottery industry. Consequently, Amsterdam blossomed into a major supplier of pottery, especially faïence and Delftware styles. However, the proliferation of so many pottery shops resulted in widespread and occasionally devastating outbreaks of fire, and when Amsterdam expanded in 1621, all potteries were banned to the outside of the city. One important center was located along the river Amstel, just outside the St. Anthony’s port city-gate [6]. It was there that, by 1650, Sijmon had taken up residence on a street called Pottebakkerspad or “potter’s path”.

On March 26, 1650, Sijmon produced documentation of his father’s consent in order to marry Marritje Baltusdr, an orphan two years his junior. “Compareerden als vooren Simon Janss. van Niekerck, pottebacker, out 22 jaer, vertoon. acte van vaders consent, woonen. opt Pottebackerspadt ende Marritie Baltus van A., out 20 jaer, woon. int Lelystraetje, geen ouders hebbende (appeared as before Simon Janss from Niekerck, a potter, aged 22 years, producing a letter of consent from his father, living in potter’s path and Marritie Baltus, from Amsterdam, aged 20 years, living in Leliestreet, having no parents (parents deceased).” They were wed at the Oude Kerk, the oldest church in Amsterdam, by Rev. Borsius on April 19, 1650 [7]. Sijmon was young, had a beautiful bride and a promising, stable job; the future looked bright.

The couple’s first child, daughter Sijlijntje, was born in January 1651. She was baptized at the Zuiderkerk on February 26, 1651 [8]. Sijlijntje was probably named after Marritje’s mother, while Sijmon’s mother served as a witness. According o Dutch tradition, the next daughter would be named for Sijmon’s mother, Gerarda or Geertje, but Sijmon’s mother would not live long enough to enjoy that honor. In October, she passed away and was buried on the 30th of that month at St. Jan’s Kerk in Gouda [9]. Not long thereafter, widower Jan Pauwelsz began courting widow Margarieta Philipsdr. They were married in Haastrecht near Gouda on August 20, 1652, some ten months after Geertje’s passing [10].

Sijmon’s first son, Jan Simonsz, was baptized on November 19, 1652 at Nieuwe Kerk [11]. He was obviously named for his paternal grandfather. With his family growing, Sijmon - again seeking opportunities - began looking for a better way of life, a house inside the city walls, a better income. Opportunity soon finds him. For years, there had been a strong recruiting effort to populate New Netherland with young, energetic “fortune-seekers”. In fact, the Secretary of the New Netherland colony, Cornelis van Tienhoven, wrote a pamphlet dated March 4, 1650 entitled “Information Relative to Taking Up Land in New Netherland, in the Form of Colonies or Private Bouweries” [12]. This “brochure” was an explicit enticement for would-be colonists and was circulated throughout Holland. It is possible that Sijmon, now almost 25, read some of the persuasive literature printed by the Dutch West India Company and became enamored by the lure of the New World. Family history states that Sijmon, a potter, was sent to New Netherland to study the utility of the native clays for pottery making. If so, no evidence has yet been uncovered to substantiate this assertion. No potters’ guild existed in Amsterdam at that time, so if Sijmon was an apprentice to a New Netherland-looking master potter, we cannot corroborate such motivation. Further, Sijmon’s name does not appear on any of the almost fifty Amsterdam notaries’ records of 1653, settling any business (such as signing a contract with an employer or paying debts) prior to embarking on his journey [13]. There is no documentation regarding who paid for Sijmon’s way to New Netherland, whether by himself or by a patron. The average cost to sail to New Amsterdam at that time was about 36 florins [14]. Whatever instigated his plan, Sijmon Jansz van Aersdalen decided to venture to New Netherland in 1653.

When did Sijmon leave? Sijmon’s older brother, Philip, was married in Gouda on May 13, 1653 [15]. It is believed that the two brothers were close, and so it is likely that Sijmon wished to attend his brother’s wedding. Consequently, we can assume that he left Amsterdam after May. Recently, it has become known that two ships made the journey from Amsterdam to New Netherland that year, both departing at the same time [16]. These ships were the Coninck Salomon and the Geldersche Blom (King Solomon and the Flower of Gelderland). (Family history states that Sijmon sailed aboard the Dynasty. No vessel by that name was known to have made the journey to New Netherland.) The two ships left Amsterdam on Saturday, August 23, 1653 for the Dutch island of Texel, there to begin the trans-Atlantic voyage.

Amsterdam was not situated on a coastline of the ocean or a major sea, such as the North Sea. What today is reclaimed polderland around Amsterdam was, in the 17th century, open water - the Zuiderzee. Some 60 miles of the Zuiderzee had to be traversed before reaching Texel and the North Sea. Once at the harbor of Texel, weather conditions dictated any further sailing. Consequently, due to the capricious nature of the North Sea, many ships had to wait – sometimes for weeks - for the weather to improve satisfactorily. Additionally, Texel was a vital source of fresh water for the long journey. Many wells on the island had been dug specifically for the travelers, and the water bought from them was used to finance a local orphanage [17]. The water in Amsterdam was notoriously foul even in those days, as effluents from tanneries and linen- bleaching fields found their noxious ways into the Amstel. The Coninck Salomon was a WIC (West India Company) ship while the Geldersche Blom was a “galjoot”. A galjoot, or galliot, was a long, narrow light-draft Dutch merchant ship carrying a mainmast and a jigger with a mainsail having a long foot and short gaff. It is known that the Geldersche Blom carried passengers as well as cargo.

From Texel, the Dutch ships embarked on the journey following one of four well-established routes. Although we may never know the exact route Sijmon took, we can narrow it down to the two most likely crossings.

From Holland, the ships first sailed past the southern tip of England, on occasion stopping for supplies or repairs at Portsmouth or Plymouth. This was not the case in 1653, however, as the First English War was raging, and docking a Dutch ship at an English harbor was ill-advised. Otherwise, the ships continued on along the coasts of Spain and Portugal destined for a stopover either at the Canary or, further south, Cape Verde Islands.

If Sijmon’s ship went to the Cape Verde Islands, they sailed past the west coast of Africa on their way to Brazil along the North Equatorial Current, aided by the Northeast Trade Wind. This took them to the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean (probably Curaçao or perhaps Tobago). From that locale, they caught the Antilles Stream to the Gulf Stream along the eastern North American coast to their destination, the mouth of the Hudson River. If Sijmon’s ship instead enjoyed a stopover at the Canary Islands, they would then turn west to either the Leeward or the Windward Islands (the Netherlands Antilles) of St. Kitts, St. Eustace, St. Maarten, or St. Saba. From either archipelago, the ships would then follow the Antilles Stream north to the Gulf Stream and then on to the Hudson River.

The Geldersche Blom anchored at New Amsterdam on Sunday, November 2, 1653 with the Coninck Salomon arriving one day later. The trans-Atlantic trip had taken a little over two months, an average time in those days.

Where did Sijmon go upon his arrival? It can be assumed that employment was waiting for him; if he had been sent to New Netherland to study the native clays, he would have a potter’s shop to report to and, probably, a master potter under whose wing he would be taken. Sijmon would undoubtedly live near this potter’s shop, either with the potter or at a boarding house close by. Even if he had not been sent, i.e. he had gone on his own free will, he would have to work as a potter, as there is no reason to assume he could make a living doing anything else, initially. Because Sijmon intended to return to Holland, we must assume he did not buy a house during his early years in New Netherland. It is unclear whether Sijmon lived in New Amsterdam upon his arrival or moved to New Amersfoort (Flatlands) on Long Island. Not long after his arrival, Sijmon received bad news from home. In January 1654, Sijmon’s father Jan died in Gouda. He was buried in St. Jan’s Kerk on January 12, 1654 [18]. Sijmon’s brother Philip appeared in court on March 10, 1654 to attest that the minor children of their father would have a guardian: “Philip Jansz Aesdael certifies he will assume guardianship of the minor children of the late Jan Poulissen van Aesdal and Geertje Philips” [19] Shortly thereafter, Philip again goes to court to seek permission from the Gouda town council to sell his father’s houses in order to provide for the minor children. This is granted on April 24, 1654.

“Philip Jansz Aersdaalen, on behalf of himself acting as a guardian to his minor brother Pieter Jansz and as a proxy to his brother Sijmon Jansz van Aersdale who is staying abroad, being the children and heirs to Jan Pauwlesz van Aersdael sells two houses and land in Naaierstraat at Gouda to Pieter van Stompwijk at ƒ 1130, -, -.” [20]. Family history relates that Sijmon was about to return to Holland when he learned of the death of his wife and children. Although the timing of his intended return has not been corroborated, it is now known that his wife, Marritje, and at least one but probably both of his children were, indeed, victims of the plague. (Plague deaths in Amsterdam in 1655 were tallied at 16,727 or roughly 12.5% of the city’s inhabitants [21]). On November 18, 1655 “a child of Seymen Janssen, potter” [22] was buried in St. Anthony’s churchyard, Amsterdam, followed by its mother only eight days later [23]. This information probably reached Sijmon by late summer/early fall 1656. In a little over a four-year period, Sijmon had lost his parents, his wife, and his children. Devastated, Sijmon had little to return to, and seeing before him his home away from home for the last three years and a land with limitless possibilities, he decided to cast his lot with the enterprising Dutch New World. Again as a young man in another thriving community, Sijmon’s prospects were propitious. He began courting Pieterje Claese van Schouw, a daughter of tobacco merchant Claes (Nicholas) Cornelissen van Schouw. Sijmon and Pieterje married about 1658, presumably in Flatlands. Their first child was born probably in the next year, and named Geertje in honor of her paternal grandmother.

In the meantime, perhaps with the help of his father-in-law, Sijmon began gaining civic prominence. On May 3, 1660 Sijmon was appointed a schepen of New Amersfoort (Flatlands) [24]. A schepen was a magistrate who presided over cases in town court and was a combination of sheriff and alderman in addition to a magistrate. One of his responsibilities was the review and passing of local laws and ordinances. In the words of Hoppin, Sijmon “seems early ... to have possessed an ability and influence in matters political that caused him to be selected over older men of longer residence ... to represent Amersfoort” [25].

Indeed, at the age of 35, Sijmon was chosen to represent Amersfoort in a “Convention Holden at New Amsterdam, on July 3, 1663, to engage the several Dutch towns to keep up an armed force for public protection” [26].

But not everything is easy for Sijmon. On Tuesday, August 28, 1663, "Sijmon Janzen" appears incourt against carpenter Jan Teunizen and witnesses Willem Steenhalder and wife, claiming that Teunizen wouldn't release a house to Sijmon for which he had been paid. The court requested further proof from Sijmon, and so on September 4th, "Sijmon Janzen Asdalen" produces testimonials from two witnesses (whose identities were undisclosed in the published transcription). Teunizen is still unmoved, so Sijmon challenges him to take an oath before the court regarding the terms of the sale. Teunizen refuses, but Sijmon agrees to go on record with his own oath. Finding this satisfactory, the court rules in favor of Sijmon and he takes possession of the house [27]. (This appears to be the same Jan Teunizen who may have accompanied Sijmon to New Netherland in 1653. If so, this would be Jan Teunizen van Duykhuis, also a resident of Flatlands. In The Journal of Jasper Danckaerts [28], Danckaerts held Jan Teunissen in low esteem. “He welcomed us, but somewhat coldly, and so demeaned himself all the time we were there, as to astonish my comrade at the change, but not me entirely, for I had observed this falling off while we were yet at sea ...”. Jan Teunizen had apparently returned to Holland for some business and had come back to New Netherland on the same ship as Danckaerts in June 1679.) In February 1664, Sijmon and his father-in-law become further involved in the building tensions with the British. On the 19th, they and three other witnesses appear before a notary at Midwout (Flatbush) to testify about a public disturbance caused by English captain John Scott. Sijmon signs his name to the document and attests to being 35. (However, if he was baptized in February 1628, he would have been 36.)

“Before me, Pelgrom Clocq ... and the undernamed witnesses, appeared Claes Cornelissen, aged 67 years, Symon Janse, aged 35 years, both residents of the village of Amesfoort ... who declare and testify ... at the request of Mr. Adrian Hegeman, Sheriff, residing in the village of Midwout, by and in the presence of Pieter Claesen and Roelof Martens, Schepens of Amesfoort, that it is true and truthful that Captain John Schot, an Englishman, came into their, the deponents’ village, on the 12th of January last, with a troop of horse and making a great noise. And first the abovenamed Claes Cornelissen declares that he heard John Schot declare at the time that this place, in The Bay, was a free place because it was bought and was not Company’s property; also, that he, John Schot, said that he would return on the first of April, Old Style, and then open and exhibit his commission; forbidding him, the deponent, to pay the Company any Tenths, as the place belonged to the King.” [29] Then, on the 27th, Sijmon and Claes participate in a convention in Midwout which they instigated, bringing together the Director-General and Council of New Netherland "to lay before the States General and West India Company the distressed state of the country" [30]. The tormenting by the British had accelerated, and the \Dutch found themselves being surrounded.

On September 8th, 1664, the Director-General of New Netherland, Pieter Stuyvesant, relinquished the Dutch colony to the British after four British warships with over 1000 men threatened them from New York Bay. At first, the defiant Stuyvesant cursed the English when confronted with a document agreeing to surrender the colony, tearing the paper to shreds and stomping upon it with his wooden leg. However, in his attempt to muster the Dutch forces against the British, he soon found himself all alone. New Netherland had grown to a population close to 10,000 people by that date, but some 20-40 % of those were non-Dutch already.

Beginning in 1665, Sijmon's attentions turned to acquiring land as evidenced by numerous entries in the Flatlands Town Records. Many lots and parcels of "land and meddow ground" were purchased by Sijmon between 1665 [31] and 1686 [32], thereby establishing farms to suit his likewise burgeoning family. In addition to daughter Geertje (born ca. 1659), Cornelis Sijmonsz is born about 1665 and Sijmon’s only other son, Jan Sijmonsz, is born in 1676 [33]. Daughter Jannetje Simonse is born about 1668, Metje Sijmonse is born about 1670, and his last child, Maritje Simonse, is born in 1678 [34], but is believed to have died young.

His eldest daughter, Geertje, married Cornelis Pietersz Wyckoff at the Dutch Reformed Church in New Utrecht on October 13, 1678 [35]. On December 11, 1681, Sijmon and Pieterje were present when their first grandchild, Marije, is baptised at the Dutch Reformed Church in Breuckelen [36]. Sijmon is 54 years old at that time. Geertje and Cornelis' second son, Sijmon, named for Sijmon Jansz, is baptised in Amersfoort on November 23, 1683 as witnessed by “Simon Jansz” and “Pietertje Klaas” [37]. On March 23, 1686, Sijmon purchases from Cornelis Willemsz (van Westervelt) "Nos. 30, 31, and 32 of the 15 acre allotments of Gravesend, with the right of commonage on the beach and on Coney Island" [32]. This appears to be Sijmon's last purchase of land. A year later, on March 16th, Sijmon's oldest son Cornelis Sijmonsz married Aeltje Willemse van Kouwenhoven at the Dutch Reformed Church of Flatbush [38]. It would not be until October 20, 1695 before his other son, Jan Sijmonsz, would marry Lammetje Probasco [39].

One of the more important documents related to Sijmon was the Oath of Allegiance taken September 30th, 1687. This record indicates that Sijmon, listed as "Simon Janse Van Aerts Daalen", had been in this country for 34 years, thus establishing his time of arrival, while his son "Cornelis Simonsen Van Aerts Daalen" was recorded as a native, i.e. born here [40] . This oath also tabulated other Dutchmen who had been in this country for 34 years, hence potential shipmates of our ancestor, these being: Reynier Aertsen of Flatbush; Ruth Joosten Van Brunt and Jan Van Cleef of New Utrecht; Jan Teunisz Van Dyckhuyse, Willem Davies, and Ruth Bruynsen of Flatlands; and Stoffel Janse Romeyn and Jochem Gulick of Gravesend. By this time, Sijmon had become prosperous and an outstanding member of the religious and civic communities. Sijmon spent more of his latter years in church pursuits and keeping up with his family in North America -- although not with the family back in Holland. In 1698, Sijmon received a letter from his brother Joost which informed Sijmon of the death of his niece Geertruyt. Geertruyt remem bered her uncle Sijmon and his family in her will, and in a letter dated September 9th, Sijmon wrote back to Holland [33] and his brother for the first time in many years, if ever before.

" ... I let you know that I, your brother, and my wife and children are in good health yet, thank God for His grace and we hope to learn the same from you in due time; I wonder you didn't write about our niece; farther I let you know all my children are married and each of them is living in a farmhouse that earns their livelihood; I sold my farm to my eldest son Cornelis, 33 years of age, has got five children, three sons, two daughters; my son Jan, 22 years of age, has got two sons; my daughter Geertje has got eight children; Janneken has got five children; Mettgen has got three children; they are comfortably off but they have to work which God commanded Adam; as for me, your brother, I stopped working since I am 71 years old now, my wife is 58 years of age and you, my brother, are, if I remember rightly, 60 years of age; God be pleased to give us a blessed end ..." The same year, a census was taken for Kings County, New York and in the town of "Fflatlands" or New Amersfoort were listings for "Simon Jantz Van Aersdaelen" and "Cornelis Simontz Van Aersdaelen". Sijmon's house contained 2 men, 3 women, and 1 slave, while Cornelis's house contained 1 man, 1 woman, 6 children, and 1 slave [41]. It can be assumed that the other man in the household was son Jan, then 22 years old. On May 10, 1700, Sijmon sold the three 15-acre lots he'd bought from Cornelis Willemsz van Westervelt in 1686 to his eldest son Cornelis Sijmonsz [42]. Cornelis now had a sizeable farm on which to raise his large family.

Sijmon continued to be physically active at least into his eightieth year. Riker [43] notes: “Mortgage dated May 11, 1699 to Simon Janse Van Aersdale of Amersfoort on a house in Broad St. given by Joost Leynsen of N.Y. baker & Elizabeth his wife. A memorandum in the margin states that Simon Jansen Van Aersdale of Amersford in Kings Co. Yeoman, person ally came on Apl 2, 1707 into the officeof the Town Clerk of N.Y. & cancelled the mortgage.” The last record of Sijmon's good deeds occurred around February 23, 1710. In the Deacon's Book of the Flatlands Dutch Reformed Church is a note tabulating the donations given by twenty contributors. The largest sum, 40 guldens, was donated by Sijmon [44]. Received from Cornelus Van Arsdale for a grave and shroud for Symon Van Arsdale, 24 guldens" [44]. Hoppin further states that Sijmon’s grave “was in the churchyard of the Flatlands Dutch Reformed Church, from which the gravestones of the early residents of the town have disappeared”. And so our ancestor passed into history at the age of 83.

REFERENCES

1. Parochie Register, Nukerke nr. 1.

2. Parochie Register, Nukerke nr. 2.

3. “Voorts weet ick niet meer te schrijven [I don’t know what else to write]”, E. Th. Unger, Jaarboek van het Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie, vol. 50, den Haag, 1996: p. 188; originally from a report issued by Dr. Unger through the CBvG in August 1991.

4. Gouda Judicial Records, vol. 351.

5. Streekarchiefdienst Hollands Midden [Regional Archives for Central Holland], RAG inv. nr. 352.

6. Volksaardewerk in Nederland 1600-1900, J. de Kleyn, 1965

7. DTB Amsterdam 971, p. 208.

8. DTB Amsterdam 94, p. 97.

9. Archives, St. Janskerk, account 1651.

10. DTB Gouda 17, folio 146vso.

11. DTB Amsterdam 43, p. 234.

12. Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State New York, E.B. O'Callaghan, Vol.I, pp. 365-371

13. Gemeentearchief [Municipal Archives] Amsterdam, Notarial Archives nr. 5075

14. Emigrants to New Netherland, Rosalie Fellows Bailey, NYGBR, vol. 94, no. 4, pp. 193-200.

15. DTB Gouda 17, folio 154vso.

16. “De Scheepvaart en handel van de Nederlandse Republiek op Nieuw-Nederland 1609-1675 [The Shipping and Trade from the Dutch Republic to New Netherland, 1609-1675]”, Jaap Jacobs, Masters Thesis, University of Leiden, 1989.

17. The Isle of Texel, Willem Rabbelier and Cor Snabel, olivetreegenealogy.com/nn/mm_2.shtml.

18. Archives, St. Janskerk, account 1654.

19. Gouda Orphan’s Court records, v. 27, dated March 10, 1654.

20. Gouda Judicial Records, v. 355, dated April 24, 1654.

21. The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477-1806, Jonathan Israel, Oxford University Press, NY, 1995: pp. 624-625 .

22. DTB Amsterdam 1192, p. 127.

23. DTB Amsterdam 1191, p. 437.

24. The Register of New Netherland: 1626-1674, E. B. O’Callaghan, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 1995 [originally published 1865]: p. 79.

25. The Washington Ancestry and Records of the McClain, Johnson, and Forty Other Colonial American Families, vol. 3, Charles A. Hoppin, privately published, Greenfield, OH, 1932: p. 168.

26. The Register of New Netherland, p. 143.

27. The Records of New Amsterdam 1653-1674, Berthold Fernow, vol. 4 of 7, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 1976 [originally published 1897]: pp. 291 & 295.

28. The Journal of Jasper Danckaerts [part of Original Narratives of Early American History Series], Barnes & Noble, reprinted 1959: pp.59-62.

29. Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York, vol II, Weed & Parsons, Albany, c.1856: p.

30. Hoppin, p. 168. 31. Flatlands Town Records, Deeds, Miscellaneous 1661-1831, p. 57.

32. Gravesend Town Records, Deeds, Leases, No. 5, 1672-1686, p. 99.

33. Sijmon’s Letter of 1698, Jaarboek van het Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie, vol. 50, den Haag, 1996: p. 182.

34. Records of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Flatbush, Kings County, New York, vol. I (1677-1720), David W. Voorhees, Holland Society of New York, 1995: p. 384.

35. Ibid., pp. 216-217.

36. Ibid., p. 412.

37. Ibid., p. 426.

38. Ibid., pp. 258-259.

39. James Riker Papers, Manuscripts & Archives Division, The New York Public Library, (Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations), Box 17, Vol. 1, p. 421. (Riker states that this information was “copied by Mr. Bergen from an old Bible of John A. Voorhees of Flatlands Apr. [18]59” and further includes a transcription of the letter he received from Teunis Bergen which documents the marriage in Dutch.)

40. “The Roll of Those Who Took the Oath of Allegiance in King’s County, 1687” in List of Inhabitants of Colonial New York, E. B. O’Callaghan, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 1979: p. 39 [being an excerpt of O’Callaghan’s The Documentary History of the State of New York, vol. I, p. 429].

41. “Census of King’s County - About 1698” in List of Inhabitants of Colonial New York, E. B. O’Callaghan, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 1979: p. 178 [being an excerpt of O’Callaghan’s The Documentary History of the State of New York, vol. III, p. 115].

42. Gravesend Town Records, Deeds, Leases, No. 5, 1672-1686, p. 253.

43. James Riker Papers, p. 419.

44. Hoppin, p. 171.

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