Part VI - Old Dutch Families
Abraham Pietersen (son of Peter) Vosburgh�s name appears first among the founders in the records of Netherlands as a settler in the colony of Rensselaerwyck, near Albany, New York, as early as August 1649. He died in 1659/60. He was one of four brothers who settled in Beversyck (Albany) before 1651. The �Oath to the Patroon, taken by all householders and freemen of the colonie, 23 November 1651� includes his name.
Beginning with Easter in 1651, he paid rent to the Patroon of the colony, 16 florins a year for a house lot, north of the Patroon�s house. On 15 April 1652, he was given permission, by the court of the colony, to continue building his house, notwithstanding the location. On the same day he was appointed surveyor of buildings, which also seems to have included the surveying of land, which office he held up until 1654, and probably later.
He contracted with the authorities to build the first bridges at Beverswyck. On 17 March 1654, a warrant was issued to the treasurer �in favor of Abraham Pietersen Vosburgh, carpenter� to the amount of 200 florins for building two bridges, and the following 19th May he was fined for not finishing the second bridge over the second Kill. That he experienced difficulty in completing his contract is shown by the Court Minutes, for on 30 May 1654, he stated that the work on the bridge over the third Kill would be begun in eight days. Further difficulties in the completion of the work took place in June, and he was compelled to employ an attorney to protect his interests. They paid him more money, and the court granted him more time to pay his fines.
He became a sawmill operator and owner. He and a partner, obtained a lease of waterpower in 1656, running for 6 years, on the creek Wynant�s Kill at the price of 100 guilders, or 100 merchantible boards and two pairs of fowls each year, provided they did not sell liquor to the Indians.
The last events in Abraham�s life are found in the documents to the early history of the Esopus settlement. After a hostile demonstration by the Esopus Indians, Director Peter Stuyvesant of NewAmsterdam (NY) visited the place, and ordered a stockade built. Abraham had built a bridge at Fort Orange (Albany) for him, and was one of the carpenters that he engaged to do the work.
There were no further conflicts with the Indians, until September 1659. At that time, Abraham�s next-door neighbor hired 8 Indians to help him harvest his corn crop. On Saturday, after a week�s work was done, he unwisely gave them a quantity of brandy. They retired a short distance away, drank the brandy, and became noisy and quarrelsome. The supply being exhausted, they tried to obtain more, but were refused. The debauch continued well on into the night, and after a time, soldiers were sent out from the fort, to find out what was going on. When they approached the Indians, for some unexplained reason, the soldiers became alarmed, and thought they were being attacked. They fired upon the Indians, and one of them was killed. The Esopus Indians, always warlike and troublesome, were quick to revenge themselves upon the settlers. The next morning, Sunday, they began to make threatening demonstrations, and a party of 13 went out to engage a yacht to take a message up the river to Albany, to ask for help. On their return, they were taken captive by the Indians. The party included 6 soldiers, a young boy, Abraham Vosburgh, his neighbor, and 4 others. One man was exchanged, one escaped, and the others were all scalped, except the boy, who was adopted into the tribe.
Although Abraham met his death (21 September 1659) in the prime of manhood, his family was not destined to become extinct. The task, of raising his children, fell to his widow, Geertruy Coeymans, the daughter of Pieter Coeymans. She and her sister, and her four brothers came to Rensselaerwyck in 1636 from Utrecht, in the Netherlands.
The story of Geertruy�s life is gleaned principally from the Fort Orange records. Her name appears before the court many times both as plaintiff and defendant. The causes of the suits were often trivial. Geertruy was perhaps too zealous in preserving her rights, and in so doing, she seems to have made more enemies than friends.
The life of the early settlers was not an easy one under the most favorable circumstances. She was left a widow, with four or five small children, all under the age of ten; she had to fight her way with this burden in a community where hard manual labor was almost the sole means of livelihood.
Her husband�s estate consisted of a partnership in the sawmill, which was encumbered with outstanding accounts, some being assets and some liabilities. Her husband kept a book of accounts to which reference was made in one of her suits in the Kingston County Court. As she was robbed of the sheltering arms of a husband, it is not surprising that she resorted often to the courts as the only means of protection. She did not marry again in a year or two, as was usually the custom with the early settlers, but remained a widow for nearly ten years, and fought her battles unaided.
Her second marriage with Albert Andriessen Bratt was short-lived, ending in divorce; she had him reprimanded for extravagance. From 1654-1663, she was suing to collect personal debts, and those due her husband.
In 1663, she leased her half of the sawmill to the partner, but they never could get along, and finally the court decreed that either they come to an amicable settlement, or it would order that the mill be sold at auction. She sued, trying to get the partner to buy her out, but he wouldn�t sell to her. Finally in 1674, she sold her half to him.
She bought and sold property, and contributed to the support of the minister. In 1767, she sued a trespasser, appearing in court at least 3 times. After 1681, she was a resident of Kinderhook, probably living with her son Pieter.
The translations of 2 court records follow. While the events are of trivial importance, they still throw interesting light on the everyday occurrences in the lives of the early settlers of Kinderhook.
On 5 July 1681, Pt. Brosis, from Kinderhook, plaintiff, vs. Geertruy Vosburgh, defendant. Plaintiff says that defendant has accused his wife of theft of her chickens and that she had proofs of it (the accusation) Defendant says that some of her chickens remain with the plaintiff (that is to say Geertruy�s chickens are in the plaintiff�s yard, but she denies having accused her of theft. The Hon. Court, having heard the case, threw it out of the court as being too unimportant to be dealt with, and condemns both parties to pay the cost.
On 5 September 1682, Andries Jacobse Gardnier, plaintiff vs. Geertruy Vosburgh, defendant. Plaintiff complains that one of his pigs has been bitten to death on the land of Geertruy Vosburgh and that her land lies open (unfenced). Plaintiff asks for damages. Defendant denies that she has caused his pig to be bitten to death and says that her land is not open. The court orders that the plaintiff�s demand be dismissed, as there is no proof. Plaintiff to pay the cost.
The closing years of her life were spent at Kinderhook, surrounded by the families of her sons, whom she saw become men of affairs in that community, and in their success in life she must have felt that her early struggles and trials were well repaid. Geertruy was a woman of sharp wits and well able to look out for herself when appearing in court. She had evidently profited by her long experience, and had learned most of the legal tricks.
The early Dutch settlers found it impossible to bury their dead during the long, cold winter, because the ground was frozen and the snow was so deep. Accordingly, they placed the bodies in a vault, and when spring came around, word was sent around and a mass funeral was held. As high as six bodies were given burial at one time, and relatives came for miles around. The huge key to the vault, donated by Mr. Eugene Vosburgh of Longmont, Colorado, hangs in Baldpate Inn, in Colorado, with an inscription explaining its use.
Children:
Isaac Vosburgh, the son of Abraham Vosburgh and Geertruy Pieterse Coeymans, was born about 1658, in Rensylaerwyck, New York. He died 1760-65, and was aged 105.
Before his marriage, Isaac lived with his brother Pieter on the homestead farm on the �Groot Stuk.� One of the provisions of Pieter�s will, made in 1690, was that his �brother Issak shall have half of the land of the farm at the Kinderhook, situated on the Grote Stuck, provided that he pay half of what is still due on the farm�. On 2 April 1713, Pieter sold to Isaac a part of the land on Kinderhook Creek, at Pomponick. There is no record of Isaac�s owning land before 1713. Isaac was a private in Captain Abraham Van Alstyne�s company, according to the muster roll, dated 17 September 1715.
On 1 August 1686, in Albany, New York, the first banns were pronounced of his marriage to Annetje (Anna) Hoes (or Goes), who was born about 1667, the daughter of Jan Tyssen Hoes (See Hoes family below) and Christyjtje Styntje Janse Van Hoesen.
Janse Franse Van Hoesen (Hoosen), was an early resident of Fort Orange and Beverwyck. In 1662, he bought land of the Indians at Claverac, and died about 1667.
He was married to Volkwerje Jurriaens.(She was a sister of Annatie Jurriaense, wife of Andries Herbertsen Constapel. After Janse died Volkie married Gerrit Bisbeeck. The Van Hoesens were Lutherans, hence, but few of their children were registered in the Reformed Church Doop Book.
Children: (living in 1694)
Children:
Abraham Vosburgh (2), the son of Isaac Vosburgh and Annatje (Anna) Jans Hoes, was born 11 March 1696, in Albany, New York. He was married 11 October 1719, to Geertje Van Den Bergh, born 10 April, in Albany, New York. (See: Van Den Bergh Family, Part VI)
Abraham died in 1761, in Albany, New York.
Children:
In the early records the name �Hoes� is spelled �Goes,� the letter �G� in Dutch having the exact sound of �H�
Jan Tyssen Hoes, son of Matthys Hoes, was born in Holland, probably as early as 1630. He lived at Kinderhook and Albany, being one of the first patentees at Kinderhook.
His first wife was Brachtje Namus (Maryns), widow of Claes Cornelixzen Van Voorhout. Brachtje died 1 February 1663, leaving two children, Maryn and Jacob Van Voorhout.
Jan was married/2 to Christyntje Van Hoesen, daughter of Jan Franse Van Hoesen and Volkwerje Jurriaens.
Jan died 31 May 1705; his will was made 9 February 1696/7, and mentioned the following
Children:
Bibliography
The Encyclopedia of American Biography, New Series Vol 2, page 252, Vol 1, No.8, pp 113, 114, 117-120
The New Netherlands Register Desc/o Lewis Hart & Anne Elliott p 275, 276, by Torrance
American Ancestry� Vol 1, pp 90, 113, 114 Pioneers and Founders of New Netherlands by R. W. Vosburgh in the �New England Register�
Lineal Descendant of Rufus Remington Young and Jane Vosburgh
NYU, New York Library History Bulletin, No.9, Vol 2
�Records of Albany� O�Callaghan�s History, New Netherlands, Vol 1, p 435
The Van Buren Family, page 167 by Peckham New York
�Gen. & Biog. Rec.,� Vol 2, p 192
There is considerable confusion about the Van Den Berghs. All data is included here and the conclusion which has been drawn. These may be entirely erroneous, so the reader should consult other sources before accepting any of these as his ancestors. Genealogy finally reaches a place where proof is not to be had, and pure conjecture, or circumstantial evidence must take its place.
Gybert (Gysbert) Van Den Bergh, son of Cornelis Van Den Bergh, was born about 1620, in Breuchelen, Utrecht, Netherlands.
He arrived in Rensselaerwyck, New York, in 1645; in 1662 he bought a house, barn, etc., �Lying this side of Bethehem� from Marten Cornelise Van Buren. His wife was Lysbeth, daughter of Claes Cornelis Segers Van Voorhoudt.
Gybert died in 1685, in Albany, Albany, New York.
Children:
Cornelis Van Den Bergh, son of Gybert Van Den Bergh, of the manor of Rensselaerwyck, made his will 3 March 1714, which was proved 6 July 1717, in which he mentions all his children.
He was married/1 to Cornelia Wynantse Vanderpoel, the mother of his children. He was married/2 on 30 December 1702, to Maris Van Buren, who was the widow of Jan Teuwissen Van Duesen, and the daughter of Marten Cornelissen and Maritje Quackenbosch.
Children:
The meaning of the name is �from the lake.�
In �The Van Buren Family,� by Peckham, page 317, the author gives two lines of Van Der Poels. Of the two, the one given here seems to be the right one, but has not been definitely proved.
Wynant Van Der Poel (2), son of Gerrit Van Der Poel, in Holland
Gerrit Van Der Poel (2), the son of Wynant Van Der Poel, was born in Holland. As a widower, he was married to Deborah Warren, 12 February 1697.
Wynant Van Der Poel (2), son of Gerrit Van Der Poel, was born in Holland and was a resident of Beverwyck as early as 1654, and probably earlier. He resided in Albany from 1657-94.
In 1674, he purchased an interest in a sawmill, which, for half a century, was known as Wynant�s Mill. He moved from Albany after 1695. His wife was Tryntje Melgerse, a licensed Vroed-vrouw. (mid-wife)
He was not living in 1699. His will was probated in New York, 17 April 1702. To his sons he left six shillings, the residue of the estate to Wm. C. Van Den Bergh, husband of his daughter Catryn.
Children: