Person:Anthony Jansen (1)

From 1662 until 1668 he owned and operated a tavern in Albany on the south side of what is now State Street, east of Broadway, which he purchased 14 January 1662. He was described as a tavern keeper and also served as Court Messenger, for the court of Rensselaerwyck. The duties of this office were to serve summons, make arrests, levy executions and as such were similar to those of a present day Marshall or Constable. There are several citations documenting these activities in the published Early Records of Albany, Vol 3 & 4. Other mention of him is found in the Van Rensselaer Bowier Manuscripts 1908:833, the Minutes of the Court of Fort Orange and Beverwyck Vol II:311, and the New Netherland Register 1865:110.

These records also identify this Anthony Jansen as the one who is referred to as Anthony Jansen Westbrook and state that his descendants appear under the name of Westbrook in the Reformed Dutch Church at Kingston. He sold his tavern 15 July 1668 and moved to Flatbush on Long Island in 1668, where he remained until he died. He is recorded as having bought land there 27 Oct 1661, which was later sold to Thomas Willett on 20 March 1670.

He bought from Tielman Van Vleeck and Claes Gangeloff Villet, orphanmaster of New Amsterdam, in charge of the estate of Nicholas Volthuysen, a parcel of land in Flatbush on the east side of the road, containing 18 morgens, with plain and meadow land abutting on Canarisie flats or plains, with 2 small house-plots, as per p. 109 of Lib. A of Flh rec. The name in the deed is simply Anthony Jansen, by which name he is generally designated on the Flatbush records.

Anthony Jansen is still involved in court activity at Albany as late as 1671 and then disappears from the record. It seems odd that both he and his alleged father, Jan Teunisen, were active in both Albany and Brooklyn/Flatbush at the same time, suggesting that they were either highly mobile, or perhaps two different sets of individuals. Some clarification might come from the source William Westbrooke refers to as the "Flatbush Town Records," but I have been unable to locate them or even find anyone who has heard of them.

For many years some stated that Johannes and Dirck Westbrook of Ulster Co. were the sons of Jonathan Westbrook, a Cromwellian officer who found refuge in this obscure Dutch outpost after the restoration of Charles II. Later research has established with reasonable certainty the Dutch origin of the family in the person of Anthony Jansen (see NYGBR 64:309 and Ulster Co Records BB:217).

1. ↑ Bergen, Teunis G. Early Settlers of Kings County, Long Island, NY. (Cottonport, Louisiana: Polyanthos, Inc., c1973)
   p. 386.
2. ↑ Early Records of Albany
   Vol. 3, p. 71.
3. ↑ Birth date approximated from the birth date of his wife.