Anneke Jan
Roeloff Jansen of Masterland arrived in New Amsterdam on the
ship Eendracht on May 24, 1630. With him were his wife, Annetje,
and their three children, Sarah, Catrina and Fytje.
As regards to the tradition common among descendents of
Annetje and Roeloff Jans, that she had the right to claim descent
from the uppermost family of Holland, namely, her grandfather
being no less a person than the founder of the Dutch Republic,
William of Nassua, Prince of Orange, after a careful search in
Holland's archives, shows this tradition is without foundation.
Anneke came from a respectable family of village folks, her mother
being a professional nurse or midwife, who sought and obtained
employment in that capacity, from the Dutch West India Company.
She either came to New Amsterdam with Annetje or shortly
afterward.
When Anneke's second husband, Domine Everadus Bogardus,
was drowned en route to England, she removed to Albany. She
owned a lot there on the north side of Yonkers street which is now
the site of the Merchants and Farmers Bank. Her will is written in
Dutch and is dated January 29, 1663. It is among the notarial
papers in the Clerk's Office in Albany.
Her first husband, Roeloff Jansen, had a three year contract with the
Patroon, Killian Van Rennsalear, the wealthy director of the Dutch
West India Company who had extensive estates up the Hudson
River. Consequently when Anneke and Roeloff arrived in New
Netherland, they first located at Beverwyck, on the Hudson, and near
Fort Orange, and which fort was named after the Prince of Orange.
Roeloff busied himself upon the estates of Van Rennsalear, where
he was employed at the rate of $72 a year. They remained there for
3 years, or during the period of his contract, soon removing to New
Amsterdam in 1633. Around 1636 Roeloff received a 62 acres tract
from Wouter Van Twiller that later became famous in history as the
Dominie's Bowery. Anneke did not remain long a widow and
remarried in 1638. Dominie Bogardus was the first preacher sent to
the new colony.
An excerpt from The New York Genealogical and Biographical
Record, April 1973. Transcribed by Cheri Branca. Edited and
tagged by Rolland Everitt.
Anneke Jans in Fact and Fiction
by George Olin Zabriskie, F.A.S.G.
Today Anneke Jans Bogardus is one of early New York State's
(literally New Netherland's) most famous citizens. But such was not
the case during her own lifetime. Years after her death, she gained
fame and fortune by having descendants who initiated one of the
country's most famous litigations. In this long series of lawsuits, the
claimants asked for ownership, in whole or part, of real estate on
Manhattan that had belonged to Anneke. They claimed that Trinity
Church had illegally acquired title, and that the property rightfully
belonged to the descendants of Anneke Jans Bogardus.
But the church had always held legal title, and the courts, without
exception, so ruled. The property in question was granted in 1636
to Roelof Janszen, Anneke's first husband. It ran along the Hudson
shoreline, then at about Washington Street, for seven tenths of a
mile from present Warren Street to just above Canal Street (at the
entrance to the Holland Tunnel). The eastern line ran irregularly
from Chambers Street and Broadway to above Canal Street at
Varick. It was sixty-two acres of mediocre farm and grazing land,
swamp and chalky hill, in which Anneke had owned dower rights.
Her Roelofs children owned the rest. It was still of little value when
New York's northward expansion reached it about 1750. By 1800,
the swamp had been drained and the land improved to the point
that commercial buildings and private dwellings had been built on it.
In 1639 the "plantation [was] new and consist[ed] of recently
cleared land [and had] a tobacco house and [was] fenced." In 1642
the lessee was to "use all possible diligence to clear the land." It
did have a house in 1642, which, in 1646 "may [have] need[ed] to
be re-roofed." In 1651, the new lessee was to "put a new roof on
the . . . house," and "to fence in and keep tight the land . . ." How
different from the glowing descriptions in some of the legendary
accounts! Domine Everardus Bogardus, Anneke's second
husband, did not in his own right, or for the Reformed Church, own
land which some accounts claimed was adjacent to, and became
merged with, the Roelof Janszen farm. The farm was often called
the Domine's Bouwerie, and it was merged with the adjacent
Company's Bouwerie. From her second marriage, Anneke did hold
dower rights to a house near the fort in New Amsterdam, and to
eighty-four acres of land, called Domine's Hook, on the Long Island
shore of the East River near the Hellgate. The two, Domine's
Bouwerie and the Domine's Hook, became badly confused in many
ways, even on maps and in legal briefs. Also confusion has arisen
between the entire Trinity Church Farm, and that portion which was
originally the Roelof Janszen farm (CDM 7, 19 [but the lease
pertains to the East River, not the North], 20, 36 [lessor was
Do.Bogardus], 55).1
At each recounting of the legendary claims, the sixty-two acres of
Manhattan farm and grazing land has grown in size and value until a
year ago it was described as "a large portion of Manhattan real
estate" [62 of 14,000 acres!]. And the claimants continued to grow in
numbers; but finally the pointless litigation ceased. Somewhere
along the line of this count-down to zero litigation, someone provided
a new legendary focal point for Anneke's real and self styled, fortune
hunting descendants by creating for her a royal ancestor, complete
with an unclaimed royal fortune. Again the claimants increased, and
Anneke became even more famous. Claims and counter-claims
appeared in books, magazines and newspapers.
In 1925 and 1926 (with some carry-over into the next six years), the
late John Reynolds Totten discussed these farmland and royal
ancestry claims and attempted to evaluate the royalty claim in "The
Record" (NYG&BR) volumes 56 and 57. He reached the basic
conclusion that the available evidence did not support the traditional
assertions. We do not intend to "correct" or "amend" the accounts
prepared by Mr. Totten, or to duplicate his discussions. We will
present new evidence that he did not have as readily available as we
do in this day of microfilms and photocopies. We shall first discuss
the factual origins of Anneke Jans, her husbands, mother and sister.
Then we shall discuss the claimed descent of Anneke Jans from
William the Silent of Orange-Nassau.2
The only real facts that have become known about Anneke Jans as
she arrived here in 1630 are that she was:
(1) a resident of Amsterdam just before coming to New Netherland,
(2) a daughter of Tryntje Jonas, van Maesterland, a midwife,
(3) sister of Marritje Jans,
(4) the wife of Roelof Janszen, van Maesterland, employed in early
1630 in Amsterdam, to be a farmer at Rensselaerswyck, and
(5) the mother of two [not three] accompanying children. Sara and
Tryntje Roelofs, who were born in Amsterdam {Lijntje died before the
trip}.
The following additional information has been obtained recently from
Amsterdam church records:
Marriage intention, 1 April 1623, Reformed Oude Kerk: Roelof
Jansson (his mark "R"), born in Maesterland, a seaman, aged 21
years, having no parents [to grant parental consent], assisted by Jan
Gerritsz., his nephew; residing 3 1/2 years at the St. Tunis gate, of
the one part; and Anna Jans (her mark: "+"), born in Vleckere in
Norway, aged 18 years, assisted by trijn roeloffs, her mother:
residing [duration not given] at the same place, [that is, at the St.
Tunis gate] of the second part. Marriage record, 18 April 1623,
Reformed Nieuw Kerk: Roelof Jansz. and Anna Jans.
Baptismal records, Lutheran Kerk: Lijntje, bap. 21 July 1624; parents,
Roelof Jansz., mother's name not given; witnesses: Annetgen jans,
Stijntje Barents. Sara, bap. 5 April 1627; parents, Roeloff Jansen,
mother's name not given; witnesses: Assueris Jansen, Stijntje
Barents. Trijntgen, bap. 24 June 1629; parents, Roeloff Jansz.,
mother's name not given; witnesses: Cornelis Sijverts, Trijntgen
Siewerts.
Anneke Jans was born in Flekkeroy, a village on an island of the
same name in Vest Agder, Norway, and four miles south of the city of
Kristiansand. Roelof Janszen was born in Marstrand, a village on an
island of the same name, now in Goteburg Och Bohus, Sweden, and
about 18 miles northwest of the city of Boteburg. Marstrand was in
Bohusland, a historic section of Norway that was ceded to Sweden in
1658. So both Anneke and Roelof were Norwegians by birth, but may
have been of Dutch ancestry.
At Rensselaerswyck Roelof farmed the de Laets Burg farm on
the east bank of the Hudson, near Mill Creek [Normans Kill] in the
present city of Rensselaer. While living there Roelof was
appointed a schepen [magistrate] by van Rensselaer, but he and
the others so appointed were not sworn in and never served. In
April 1634, Roelof was replaced as farmer by Gerrit Theunisz. de
Reux under uncertain circumstances. He and his men had served
most, if not all, of their regular period of employment and did not
"desert" van Rensselaer as claimed by most writers. Roelof had
not been a successful farmer and was in debt to van Rensselaer
when replaced. In 1637 van Rensselaer said that he had
canceled the debt "long ago" (VRBM pssim).
When Roelof left the farm in Rensselaerswyck apparently he, his
family, and his mother-in-law moved down river to New
Amsterdam, where he became an employee of the West India
Company. Roelof probably farmed one of the company
bouweries, and likely continued to do so until his death in 1636.
He did not go to Brazil during this two year period, as has been
suggested.
In March 1638, before or concurrently with her marriage to Domine
Bogardus, Anneke Jans pledged a reasonable share of their
father's estate to "the surviving legitimate children" of Roelof
Janszen. In June 1642 this agreement could not be found; so on
21 June 1642, "Annitjen Jans, formerly widow of the late Rouloff
Jansen from Maesterland, and at present wife of Everardus
Bogardus, minister here," again promised to pay her Roelofs
children "from her first available means," 1000 Carolus guilders,
Holland currency: 200 guilders to each on coming of age [25
years]. These five surviving children, their ages on 21 June 1642
were: Sara, aged about 16; Trijntje, aged 13; Sijtje aged 11; Jan,
aged 9; and Annitjen, aged 6 years (CDM19).
Soon after Anneke's marriage to Domine Bogardus he recorded
the first of three powers of attorney designed "to collect from the
honorable directors of the Chartered West India Company, the
sum of two hundred and seventeen guilders, earned by the late
Rouloff Jansen . . . of the said gentlemen, which was remitted in
the year 1635 to the orphan masters of the city of Amsterdam and
has not yet been received by them . . . as appears by the Book of
Monthly Wages sent from New Netherland by said ship" [the
Eendrach 'which left Amsterdam in Early May and returned to
Amsterdam before December, 1635.'] The first was issued 12
August 1638 to Wouter van Twiller, but was not signed and may
never have been used; the second was dated 16 April 1639 to
Hendrik Cornelissen van Vorst and the third on 11 October 1640
to van Twiller (CDM 3, 6, 14).
Anneke Jans' second husband, Everardus Bogardus, was the
second domine of the Dutch Reformed Church of New
Amsterdam, arriving in 1633. He was born in 1607, probably in
Veenendaal, Utrecht, as Evert Bogaert, the son of Willem Jansz.
Bogaert and his second wife Susanna Adriaensdr. van Ruyteveld.
He studied at the University of Leyden, and after serving as a
voorleser in Guinea in West Africa, was ordained and sent to New
Amsterdam. Mr. P. A. Bogaard of De Meen, Utrecht, in his recent
excellent article, "Dutch Ancestry of Domine Everardus
Bogardus" (de Halve Maen July and October 1971, January
1972), wrote in conclusion:
"A man of complicated character, Domine Bogardus experienced
many difficulties during his ministry in New Amsterdam, especially
in his relationship with Director General Wouter van Twiller and
the latter's successor, William Kieft. His relations with Director
General Kieft were such that they agreed to have their charges
and countercharges heard and judged by the Classis of
Amsterdam. They went aboard the ship De Princesse which
sailed from New Amsterdam on August 17, 1647. They did not
reach their fatherland, however, since the ship was wrecked in
Bristol Channel and both were drowned [on 27 September
1647]."
After learning of her husband's death by drowning off the coast of
Wales, Anneke moved from her house near the Fort in New
Amsterdam to Fort Orange. On 15 August 1648 Domine
Megapolensis wrote that Domine Bogardus' "widow came to Fort
Orange. . . to make a living here. She has nine living children, as
well by her former husband, as from Domine Bogardus, and
besides this she is burdened with considerable debt."
Upon reaching Fort Orange, Anneke and her unmarried children
almost certainly went to live with her daughter Fytje and her
husband, Pieter Hartgers. On 23 April 1652 Anneke Bogardus
received a patent to a lot in the village, for which Pieter Hartgers
agreed to pay an annual ground rent of four beavers, and on which
Pieter built her a house. On 29 January 1663 (New style), Dirck van
Schelluyne, the notary at Beverwyck, recorded the will of "Anneke
Jans, first widow of Roeloff Jansen of Materlant, then widow of Rev.
Everhardus Bogardus, living at Beverwyck." Her seven surviving
children, and the two daughters of her deceased daughter Fytje
were her heirs. The four Roelofs children were to be given 250
guilders each "out of the receipts or the value of the . . .Bouwerie
[on Manhattan] before any other division takes place . . ."
This information was obviously copied from somewhere. Author: Unknown
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