AMERICA THE GREAT MELTING POT
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Direct descendant is highlighted in red
| Dirck Volkertszen | Immigrant Ancestor | see FAMILY TREE |
Born: Between 1595-1610 Norway
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| Married: 1630 Noorman's Kill, Long Island, New Netherlands
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| Died: Between 1677-1683 Bushwick, Kings County, New York |
WIFE
CHILDREN
1. Grietje Dircks
b. Abt. 1632
m. bef. 1 Apr 1671 Jan Hermanszen Schut
m. 22 Sep 1652 Jan Nagel
m.11 May 1658 Barent Gerretsze
Van Flaesbeck
2. Magdalena Dircks
b. Abt. 1636
m. 24 Oct 1652 Cornelisz Hendricks Van Dort
m. 3 Mar 1657
Herman Hendricks Rosenbrans
3. Sara Dircks
b. Abt. 1638
4. Rachel Dircks
bap. 8 Sep 1641
m. 11 Nov 1663 Jan Escuyer
5. Volkert Dircks
bap. 15 Nov 1643
m. Annetje Phillips
6. Jacob Dircks
b. Abt. 1646
7. Ariaentje Dircks
bap. 21 Aug 1650
m. 25 Mar 1680 Charles Huysman
8. Jannetje Dircks
bap. 7 Dec 1653
m. 7 Oct 1674 Pierre Schamp
Dirck Volkertszen
by Susan Brooke
Mar 2021
Dirck Volckertszen was born about 1590 in Norway and is often referred to as Dirck de Noorman is court documents. He was probably one of the earliest
Europeans to settle in New Netherland, and he may have come from Hoorn, on the
peninsula of North Holland. He was a builder and shipwright and in 1621 he
and others from Hoorn, petitioned the States General of the Netherlands for permission to
send a ship to New Netherland with merchandise. (1) It is thought he married
Christina Vigne about 1630 in New Amsterdam. Christina had come over with
her family in 1624.
Before his marriage, he may have been living in a house
on the Strand which he had built, near the homes of Abraham Ver Planck and Jan
Jansen Damen. (1) However, by 1638 Dirck and his family were living with
Christina's mother and step-father as was Christina's sister Maria who had just
married Abraham Ver Planck.. Christina's father had died and her mother
had remarried to Jan Damen, a wealthy townsman and moved into his home which was
just north of Wall Street.(2) In 1638 Damen's house was filled with six
adults: Jan Damen and his new wife, Ariantje Cuvilje; Dirk Volkertszen and his
wife Christina; and Abraham Ver Planck and his wife Maria. There were also
eight children ranging in ages from fifteen down to newborn; Dirck was the
father of three, Abraham Ver Planck and Maria also had three, and Ariantje's two
younger children from her marriage to Guleyn Vigne. Jan was obviously not happy
with this arrangement. In 1638 Jan Damen instituted proceedings against his (step) sons-in law, Direck Volckertszen
and Abraham Isaac Ver Planck, "to have them ordered to quit his house and to
leave him the master thereof." Dirck Volckertszen countered with a suit for assault in
which witnesses testified to an attempt made by Damen to throw Volckertszen's
wife "out of doors." (1) The lawsuit implies that his wife Christina had
been slightly injured in this altercation.
So, they moved out. Dirck Volckertsen leased property on the Bowery
on 18 May 1639. (3) He obtained a patent 3 Apr 1645 for 25 morgens on the East river
and Maspeth Kill, which he sold in 1653 to Jacob Haye. He was a ship
carpenter, lived various places and was assessed in Brooklyn in 1675 and its
magistrate in 1681. In 1689 he was appointed Ensign of Militia of the
Town. From the sources of information available, it is estimated that Dirck
Volckertszen's original Bushwick holdings amounted to between 400 and 566 acres,
and that approximately one half was still in his possession shortly before his
death..(1) He had been a very successful carpenter, home builder and business
man.
Dirck and Christina had eight children, four of whom were baptized in
The New York Dutch Reform Church. (4) When his daughter, Griete, died in in 1671
Dirck and his two sons, Jacob and Volkert, were appointed guardians of her young
children. (1) He apparently had granted some land to Griete before she died and
he was then recording it in Barent's name with surety that Barent would protect
the interests of Dirck's orphaned grand-children until "the children come of age
or desire to marry." Dirck seems to have provided for all of his children in
much the same way. In 1677 he allotted more land in much the same way to
the husbands of his daughters Rachel and Jannetie and to his two sons, Volkert
and Jacob. (1)
As stated in his biographies, Dirck Volkertszen was a colorful
person, of robust character and impulsive temperament and he appeared quite
often in the courts as both plaintiff and defendant. (1) The last case recorded
was in 1663 against Jan Cornelis Zeeuw, in which Dirck alleged the defendant had given a beating to one his, Dirck's children, and in which Zeeuw alleged that Dirck's wife had applied to
him, Zeeuw, an insulting epithet. This was the last time his wife, Christina,
appeared in the records. Dirck Volkertszen died at Bushwick, Long Island, N.Y. between April 24, 1677, when he is
recorded as conveying most of his Bushwick lands to his children, and 1683 when,
if living, his name would have been listed in the Bushwick rate list of that
year. (1) The map below shows the location of the homes of Dirck and his
children. (5)
Sources
(1)
Early Settlers of Bushwick, Long Island, New York and Their Descendants, Vol 1 by
Andrew J. Provost, Jr. 1949
Sources quoted are highlighted
in bold.
Volckertsen
Dirck Volckertszen, son of Volckert____, born in Norway as early perhaps as
1595; died at Bushwick, Long Island, N.Y. between April 24, 1677, when he is
recorded as conveying most of his Bushwick lands to his children, and 1683 when,
if living, his name would have been listed in the Bushwick rate list of that
year.
He married at New Amsterdam, ca. 1630, Christina, born in France, ca.
1610, daughter of Willem (Guillaume) Vigne and Adrienne Cuvelier who came to New
Netherland from France in about 1614.
It is considered that Dirck was
probably one of the earliest Europeans to settle in New Netherland, and that he
had lived for a time at Hoorn, on the peninsula of North Holland, where he
practiced as a builder and shipwright; and that he was a resident of Hoorn in
1621 when he and other, petitioned the States General of the Netherlands for
permission to send a ship to New Netherland with merchandise.
The date of
Dirck's marriage in New Amsterdam is approximately fixed by a deposition made by
his wife's mother, April 30, 1632, then the widow of Willem Vigne and about to
marry Jan Jansen Damen a wealthy citizen of New Amsterdam, in which she
described her daughter Christina as a married person. Prior to this
marriage, Dirck had lived in New Amsterdam on a road fronting the East River in
a house that he sold in 1645. (New Amsterdam and Its People, p. 321 by
John H. Innes).
Dirck and is wife were living in the Damen home in 1638 when Damen instituted proceedings against his (step) sons-in law, Direck Volckertszen
and Abraham Isaac Ver Planck, "to have them ordered to quit his house and to
leave him the master thereof." Volckertszen countered with a suit for assault in
which witnesses testified to an attempt made by Damen to throw Volckertszen's
wife "out of doors". Thereafter, intervals of family friendliness, and of
quarrels over property interests, appear to have existed from time to time until
the estate was settled in 1660. Damen had died in 1651, and his wife in
1644. In the litigation over the estate, Dirck and his wife did not appear
personally, but were represented by counsel, one Augustyn Heermans to whom, Oct.
16, 1661, Dirck conveyed "his certain fourth-part of the inheritance which
belongs to him from his wife's parents, except the one-eighth-part of a pasture
field in Maiden Lane in rear of Lysbet Tysen."
Little of record is found to
indicate closely when Christina Vigne may have died. Her appearances in
the records of the New Amsterdam Dutch Chuch include; Dec 12, 1645, when
as a baptismal sponsor she is named as wife of Ditck Volckertszen; June 6, 1650,
Dirck de Noorman, and Christina his wife, sponsors for twin children of Jochem
Kier (Caljer); Dec 7, 1653, named as other of a child of Dirck Volckertszen;
Sept 26, 1655, co-sponsor with Jochem Caljer at baptism of her granddaughter
Christina Nagel; and in the Records of the Town of Bushwick, Feb. 21, 1663, "the
wife of Dirck Volkertsz" is referred to in a Court proceedings as allegedly
having slandered Jan Cornelis Zeeuw. However, in 1688 her brother Jan
Vigne referred to his sister Christina as being then deceased. Christina,
although not specifically named in the Court proceedings of 1663 must, in the
absence of other evidence, be tentatively identified as such wife, and
considered to have been then living. Her death appears to have occurred
between Feb 21, 1663 and Apr 24, 1677 when Dirck Volckertszen distributed his
properties among his children without imposing upon them the obligation of
caring for their mother, as would be expected were she then alive.
Christina was undoubtedly the mother of all the children of Dirck Volckertszen
hereinafter named as his issue.
During the thirty years, or more, that Dirck
Volckertszen lived on Manhattan Island, he was actively engaged in the
acquirement of parcels of land, in the construction of buildings and, no doubt,
in boat building. As late as 1658, he was recorded as "the City Carpenter" which
may have been an official title. In 1645, he sold the house on the Strand,
near the homes of Abraham Ver Planck and Jan Jansen Damen, that he had built and
occupied before his marriage; He had under cultivation the Bouwerie No 40 that
he leased on half-shares from Gov,. Kieft in 1639; In 1649, he obtained a grant
of land from his brother-in-law, Cornelis Van Tienhoven the Colonial Secretary,
on which he built at what is now 259 Pearl Street; In 1642, he conveyed to
Covert Aertsen a house and lot on Manhattan Island; Sept 18, 1651, he conveyed
to Roelof Teunissen, a Swedish captain from Gotsborg, a house and lot in Smith's
Valley; and on the same day sold to Hage Bruynsen a lot in Smith's Valley
fronting on the Strand, or shore of the East River. Other Manhattan Island
properties appear to have remained in Dirck's possession until shortly before
his death, since in 1677 he is recorded in the list of "Owners of Houses and
Lots in the City of New Amsterdam.
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April 11, 1671, following the death of Dirck Volckerstssen's daughter, Margaret (Grietje Dircks), Dirck and his two sons (Volkert and Jacob Dircks) were appointed guardians of his daughter's children. The precaution of including his sons in the guardianship was probably due to Dirck's advances age; on the same day, Dirck recorded a document that transferred to Barent Gerrets (husband of the deceased daughter) "a piece of land and meadow in the town of Boswyck on the south side of the Kingsway along the Kill, i.e. the Woodpoint, on the north side of Hendrick Backers, at the meadow of said Barent Gerrets." The property so conveyed, apparently, had theretofore been given by Dirck to his daughter Margaret, and was now being recorded to her widower in order that, under an agreement entered into by Gerrets in the guardianship papers, the interests of Dirck's orphaned grand-children would be protected; Gerrets having therein pledge his land, meadow and four house lots in the town (Boswyck) as security until "the children come of age or desire to marry." The several recorded conveyance of properties made by Dirck to his other sons-in-law in 1677 refer to such properties as gifts theretofore made to their respective wives.
In 1677, evidently in anticipation of approaching death, Dirck Volkerse executed and caused to be recorded the documents conveying Bushwick properties to his son-in-law, and also to his two sons.
1. April 24, 1677, Dirck Volckerse to Jan Lequier, (husband of Rachel Dircks) 21 morgens of land
2. April 24, 1677 Dirck Volckerse to his son, Volckert Dircks 21 morgens of land.
3. April 24, 1677 Dirck Volockerse to his son Jacob Dircks, 11 morgans of land.
4. April 24, 1677 to Pieter Fchamp, married to daughter Jannetie 11 morgans of land
From the sources of information available, it is estimated that Dirck Volckertszen's original Bushwick holdings amounted to between 400 and 566 acres, and that approximately one half was still in his possession shortly before his death..
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The preserved records concerning Dirck Volckertszen show him to have been a
colorful person, of robust character and impulsive temperament. He appeared
quite often in the courts as both plaintiff and defendant. His
altercations with his wife's step-father, Jan Jansen Damen, hereinbefore
mentioned, may, perhaps, have been abetted by his brother-in-law, Cornelis Van
Tienhoven secretary of the Colony, whose malign character came to be generally
recognized and who after a stormy career, left the scene in a manner so
enshrouded in mystery as to suggest self destruction.
White it is clear that
numerous quarrels occurred in Damen's step-family, it should not be overlooked
that at the baptisms of Dirck Volckertszen's four recorded children, (Sept 1641
- Dec 1653) all of his male in-laws, Damen, Van Tienhoven, Ver Planck and Vigne,
served as sponsors on at least one occasion, and Ver Planck twice. That
some animosity may have existed between Volckertszen and Vigne, and carried over
to the next generation, is suggested by the fact that in 1655 when Dirck's
daughter Magdalena, a recent widow, applied to the Orphan's Court for the
appointment of guardians for her child, she repudiated the appointment of her
uncle, Jan Vigne, as being her adversary, and obtained in his stea the
appointment of the other uncle, Abraham Ver Planck.
Dirck Voilckertszen was
taken into court Jan 8, 1656 by one Jan de Perie under the charge that Dirck had
assaulted him and "chased him from the Strands to the Clapboards." The
trial was a lengthy one, with several testifying witnesses who saw the struggle,
and was not concluded until June 29, 1658 when Dirck, who had pleaded
self-defense, agreed to pay a fine for wounding his antagonist. However,
Dirck appears to have pressed his cause further by a court procedure against a
servant of the plaintiff who had testified, and who, Dirck charged had committed
perjury.
The last record we have of Dirck's court experiences appears to make
him the complainant against Jan Cornelis Zeeuw, a Bushwick neighbor, under an
action in which Dirck Alleged the defendant had given a beating to one his,
Dirck's children, and in which Zeeuw alleged that Dirck's wife had applied to
him, Zeeuw, an insulting epithet. The dispute was referred to a board of
Arbitrators, consisting of Pieter Janz Widt, Gysbert Teunisz and Barent Jossten,
which, February 12, 1663, found: "that the above named occurrences shall be null
and void without being recalled again, at this nor at any time, upon the penalty
for who ever first makes mention, or touches thereon, of paying 25 guldens to
the poor of Boswyck." Subscribed to by Jan Cornelis Zeeuw. Dirck Volkersz
and by each of the arbitrators.
(2)
New Netherland Ancestors of Aeltye Van Laer by David M Riker, 2000
Guleyn
Vigne had a bowery on the lower part of Manhattan Island near the present Wall
and Pearl Streets. Shortly after Vigne's death which occurred circa 1634
and prior to her second marriage to Jan Jansen Damen, Ariaentje Cuvilje made a
settlement with her children by Vigne. The settlement refers to Maria and
Christina as married persons and Rachel and Jan as minors. This prenuptial
settlement was entered in the register of the Provincial Secreary Cornelis Van
Tienhoven on May 7, 1638. Van Tienhoven's copy date the settlement
as the last day of April, 1632; however, it is a known fact that Jacob Albertse
Planck, who wrote and witnessed the document, was not in New Netherland until
August 1634. The date of the settlement, therefore, would have to be 1634 or
later. After the marriage, Ariaentje moved her family to Damen's bowery,
which was just north of what became Wall Street and adjoined the Vigne property.
She survived her second husband who died in 1651, inheriting most of Damen's
estate since he had no descendants of his own. In turn she passed this
estate on to her four children when she died four years later.
(3) Imprints on the sands of time: left by certain Kelly's, Lampman's, Craig's amd Fergusons's by Henry R Kelly, 3rd edition 1972
Volckertsen - Again Josephine Frost's book "Ancestors of Edward Eldredge" is the source for some of the following-
Madalene (Magdalene) Volckertsen married 22 Mar 1657 Harmen Hendricksen (Rosekrans)
of Bergen in Norway, according to "Orphan Masters Records of New Amsterdam pp.
4, 29, 179, 192. " She has left her record on the early Dutch manuscripts
because of her quick temper, said to be inherited from her mother Christina.
Ensign Dirck Volckertsen, a Norwegian, was in New Amsterdam as early as 1638 and
18 May 1639 leased property on the Bowery. He married Christina Vigne.
He obtained a patent 3 Apr 1645 for 25 morgens on the East river
and Maspeth Kill, which he sold in 1653 to Jacob Haye. He was a ship
carpenter, lived various places and was assessed in Brooklyn in 1675 and its
magistrate in 1681. In 1689 he was appointed Ensign of Militia of the Town.
In old documents he is frequently called Dirk, the Norman. He married
Christina daughter of Julian Vigne and Adriana Cuveilla. Date of death not
found. Vol. 9 N. Y. G. & B. in the list of old (AQ) members has Dirck de
Noorman en Maria Vigne wife, both deceased. Dirck Volckertsen was a
prominent farmer in Brooklyn at Bushwyck Creck and his house built in 1640 is
described in the provost Family History p. 77
In Vol. 90 N. Y. G. & B. is a
humorous and well documented article on "The First American Mrs. Rosecrans"
(Magdalena Volckertsen) by Mr. David V. Bennett. The evidence is that both
she and her second husband were constantly making, and in, trouble according to
voluminous court records. The following is excerpted - Magdalena Dircks,
styled "Flying Angel" in Dutch West Indies correspondence, daughter of Dirck
Volckertsen the Norman and wife Christina Vinge whose parents were Guillaume
Vigne and Adrienna Cuvelier per Journal of Jaspar Danchaerts 9/1679. She
was widow of Cornelis Hendricksen Van Dort, 1655. She refused the action
of the Court in appointing her uncle Jan Vigne the Schepen to look after her
affairs. The real rub between Magdalena and her uncle Jan was about the
estate of her grandmother Ariantje Cuvelier who died 1657. In 1632
Ariantje, about to be married to her second husband Damen, made settlement to
her children by Guleyn Vigne of 200 guilders each to Maria and Christina, both
married, and 300 guilders each to the unmarried Jan and Rachel. Maria's
husband Jan Roos of Harlem died leaving son Gerrit Janse Roos. Maria
married second Abraham Ver Planck of Edam who arrived in 1638 with his cousin
Jacob Planck, the first commis of Rensselaerwyck. The Dirck Volckertsen
and Abraham Ver Planck families lived with mother Ariantje and stepfather Jan
until later in 1638 when Jan threw them all out injuring Dirck's wife Christina
in the process. Volkerstsen then settled at Green Point across the East
river." In 1657 Magdalena was shipped back to Holland for "tongue wagging".
But her husband went over and brought her back and their son Alexander was bp 12
Apr 1659. ----
Dirk Volkerstsen is on the Bushwyck L. I. assessment roll of 1675 but not of
1676. Magdalena spoke the Indian language fluently. Husband Harmer
Rosekrans died on or about 25 Jun 1692 but she lived 33 or more years after.
(4) New York Baptisms
1643 Nov 15; Dirck
Volkertszen; Volckert; Cornelis Tienhoven-secretaris, Jans Janszen dam, Philip
Graer, Marie Philips
1650 Aug 21; Dirck
Volkertszen; Ariaentje; Jan Vinge, Claes Corszen, Lysbeth Cregiers, Aefje Van
Tienhoven
1658 Nov 25: Anthony Moore, burgher of New Amsterdam, acknowledges to owe Jan Vigne, son of dec'd Adriane Cuvilie, Abraham Verplanck, who married Maria Vigne and Augustyn Heermans, attorney for Dirck Volcker, who married Kristyn Vigne, and also Raghel Vigne, wife of Cornelis Van Tienhoven, joint heirs of the said Adriana Cuvilie, their deceased mother, the amount of 1031 guilders 5 stivers, for purchase of certain brewery and lot, situated on the Maagde Paatje (Maiden Lane); to the East, South, and West, the lot of said heirs. Morgages said brewery and lot March 3. 1659. Jan Jansz De Jonge agrees to pay the above mortgage.