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The Cornelius Van Texel Family Record
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Partial family record of Cornelius Van Texel, Born January 7, 1668
FAMILY RECORD: VAN TEXEL/VAN TASSEL, 1668-1720
Contributed by Glenna See Hill*
The following entries were made in a Dutch-language Book of Martyrs by Cornelis3 van Texel (Van Tassel) of Philipsburgh (Tarrytown):
[ann]o 1668 Bien Ick Cornelis van Texel geboren den 7 Janwarie
[ann]odome 1696 is myn soon Johannes van Texel gebooren den 4 mert
1698 is myn docter Maeryttie van Texel gebooren den 16 desembr
1698 is myn soon Derek van Texel gebooren 25 den desember
1702 is myn dochter Antje van Texel gebooren den 7 november
1706 den 7 deeseember syn myn 2 dochteren gebooren
1713 den 20 mey is myn huis vrouwe Antje gewettelyck in den heeren ontslappen [e]n is begraaven op
Felpes burgh
[an]no 1713 Bien Ick Weeder getrouedt met myn Tweede huis vrouwe genaemt Wintje Crancheydt de
weeden van Aberham de Reevier
1714 den 19 Mey is myn Zoon Aberhaem gebooren de vieer ueren achter meddigh
[a]nnoo 1716 den 11 December in [illegible] is myn Soon Jaakobes geboren
[a]nnoo 1717 den 12 Junie is myn dochter Wintie geboren de tien uer
[a]nnoo 1718 den 13 Noovembr is myn dochter Wintje gebooren
[on another page:]
[a]nnoo 1718 den 13 october is myn dochter Catharina van Texel geboren
[a]nnoo 1720 is myn Zoen Jacobes geboren den 13 Juli
[on another page:]
Annoo 1713 [1714is written over 1713] Bien Ick de twee rys getrout met myn tweete huis vrouwe Te
weeten Wyntie Krancheydt d:huis vrouwe van Aaberhaem de Reevier
Translated into English, these entries read:
I Cornelis van Texel was born 7 January, 1668
My son Johannes van Texel was born 4 March A.D. 1696
My daughter Maeryttie van Texel was born 16 December 1698
My son Derek van Texel was born 25 December 1698
My daughter Antje van Texel was born 7 November 1702
My two daughters were born 7 December 1706
My lawful wife Antje fell asleep in the Lord 20 May 1713 and was buried at Philpsburgh
(p. 135)
I was married again in the year 1713 to my second wife, named Wintje Crancheydt, the widow of Aberham de Reevier
My son Aberhaem was born 19 May 1714 at four o'clock p.m.
My son Jaakobes was born 11 Decmeber 1716 in [ ]
My daughter Wintie was born 12 June 1717 at ten o'clock
My daughter Wintje was born 13 November 1718
My daughter Catharina Van Texel was born 13 October 1718
My son Jacobes was born 13 July 1720
In the year 1713 [1714 written over 1713] I was married the second time, to my second wife namely Wyntie Krancheydt the wife of Aaberhaem de Reevier
The book also contains some other entries by Cornelis, all of which are of a religious nature and not of genealogical interest. According to Howard I. Durie, this book was preserved thanks to Chester V. Steitz of Bergenfield, New Jersey, who found it in the 1950's in an old barn on Hillside Avenue in Cresskill, New Jersey. It had belonged to a Mrs. Westervelt, who lived on the property with a sister; after Mrs. Westervelt's death the sister [whose name is not recalled] gave the book and other items to Mr. Seitz. Mr. Durie notes that the book is 11" by 17", and 5" thick. The front cover, title page and a number of following pages, are missing. On the inside back cover is written: "William Christie's Book, March 8th A.D. 1818,* followed by names of his children: Sally, Mary, James, John and David. William Christie, who apparently purchased the book in 1818, was born July 16, 1773, son of James Christie and Maria Banta, and lived on a farm along Schraalenburgh Road in Dumont, N.J. Mrs. Westervelt may have been one of his descendants, but of this I have no proof.
Mr. Durie received the book from Mr. Steitz in April 1987. He removed the pages containing Cornelis Van Tassel's handwriting and gave them to the Westchester County Historical Society in October 1987, turning over the rest of the book to Raymond Willsea of Dobbs Ferry for a contemplated historical anniversary display. It is hoped that the book will eventually be reunited with the pages at the Historical Society.
None of the birth dates written down by Cornelis appear to be recorded elsewhere, and they have not been known to Van Tassel genealogists. For Cornelis himself, there is also no surviving baptismal record, but the registers of the New York and "Sleepy Hollow" (Philipsburgh/Tarrytown) Dutch Churches show baptisms for all his listed children, as well as for Hendrick (1704), Theunis (1722) and Sara (1724) whose births are not in the family record. The birth listed by Cornelis for a second daughter Wintje appears to be an error for the birth of his daughter Catharina, repeated on the subsequent page. Also, by comparison with the church record it appears that Maeryttie, Antje, the two unnamed daughters (baptized Aeltje and Hester) and the first Jacobus (Jaakobes) were (p. 136) all born one year earlier than their father recorded. From the handwriting, it is likely that the births were written in batches, often some years after they occurred, and Cornelis may have sometimes had to calculate a year of birth from the child's current age.
The dates of the death of Cornelis's first wife and of his second marriage were also previously unknown. The first wife is identified as "Annetje Storms" at the baptism of son Johannes (B DC 235; John Garrison Storm, Dirck Storm and His Descendants, 1985). Cornelis's second wife Wyntje Krankheyt has not previously been fully identified in print. The revelation that she was the widow of Abraham de Reviere affects the article "The family of Abraham de Reviere of Philipsburg Manor" by Donn Devine (Rec. 112:1-4,90- 100), and appropriate corrections by Mr. Devine will be published in the October 1989 issue.
All the newly revealed birth, marriage and death dates also affect two principal compiled genealogies of the Van Tassel family. The first, Daniel Van Tassel's "Van Texel- -Van Tassel..." (no date, typescript, copy at NYG&BS, p.11), estimated Cornelis's birth date as 1667, identified his wives as Antje Storm and Weyntje Kraukheyt (sic), and listed his children with baptismal dates, stating that "very little is known of him other than that he settled in the Saw Mill River valley on a farm about a mile south of the present village of Elmsford."
The second compilation, in Grenville C. Mackenzie's "The Families of the Colonial Town of Philipsburgh..." (no date, typescript, copy at NYG&BS, unpaged), estimated that Cornelis was born about 1665, and gave his first wife and their children. However, Mackenzie added an eldest son Cornelis (Jr.), without a recorded baptism, and married him to Wyntje _____, assigning to this couple the children actually born of Cornelis (Sr.)'s second marriage. All subsequent members of this branch of the family are thus placed in a wrong generation by Mackenzie's account.
The Van Tassels are one of the early New York families of European origin who also have a well-documented American Indian ancestry. Cornelis's father, Jan2 Corneliszen, was the son of Cornelis1 Janszen van Texel by a Long Island Indian woman named Catoneras, as shown by 1705 and 1713 petitions to the New York Governor and Council in which Cornelis3 and his siblings unsuccessfully claimed former Indian land between Huntington and Smithtown (Calendar of New York Colonial Manuscripts, Indorsed Land Papers 1643-1803 [1864, reprint 1987], p. 79, 109; transcribed in John L. Romer, Historical Sketches of the Romer, Van Tassel and Allied Families [1917], p. 40-42).
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