Walter Gilbert Genealogy: Roelof Janse & Anneke Jans Page 1 of 7 gy: Roelof Janse & Anneke Jans Page 1 of 7 The Genealogy of Walter Gilbert ANCESTORS: THE ELEVENTH GENERATION BACK Roelof Janse Anneke Jans 3854–3855. Roelof Janse was born in Maesterland (now Marstrand), Norway, about 1602, and died in New Amsterdam about 1637. Anneke Jans was born in Vleckere, Norway (now Flekkerøy, Flekkerøy Is., Vest Agder, Norway), in 1605, and died in Beverwyck (now Albany, New York), on February 23, 1663. She was buried in the churchyard, Beaver and Hudson Street. They were married in Amsterdam Reformed New Church, Amsterdam, Holland, on Friday, April 18, 1623. She took the name Anneke Janse. She is the daughter of Jonas/Johan and Tryntje (Roelofs) _____.. They had six children: Full Index Ancestral tree i. Lijntje Roelofs was baptized in Amsterdam Luthern Church, Amsterdam, Holland, on July 21, 1624, and died in Amsterdam, Holland, before March 21, 1630. She did not accompany her parents and sisters to America on March 21, 1630. She was possibly buried on December 16, 1629, in the Carthusian Cemetery (where the poor were buried). Lijntje was a common nickname for Catalijnje (Catherine) or Magdalijntje (Magdalena). ii. Sara Roelofs was baptized in Amsterdam Luthern Church on April 5, 1627, and died in New York, America, between August 7 and October 21, 1693. She married surgeon Hans Kierstede, 29 Jun 1642; they had ten children: 1.Hans Kierstede, bp. Sep. 21, 1644; d. May 14, 1691. 2.Roelof Kierstede, bp. Jan. 1, 1647. 3.Anna Kierstede, bp. Apr. 23, 1651; d. in infancy. 4.Blandina Kierstede, bp. Jun. 8, 1653; d. 1702. 5.Jochem Kierstede, bp. Oct. 24, 1655; 1710. 6.Lucas Kierstede, bp. Sep. 23, 1657. 7.Catharyn Kierstede, bp. Jan. 4, 1660. 8.Jacob Kierstede, bp. Jun. 4, 1662; d. in infancy. 9.Jacobus Kierstede, bp. Nov. 28, 1663. 10.Rachel Kierstede, bp. Sep. 13, 1665. After Kierstede's death she married in 1669 Cornelis Van Borsum, of Brooklyn ferry, whom she outlived; then in 1683 married Elbert Elbertszen Stoofhof of New York. iii. Trijntje Roeloffs [#1927]: She was baptized the Lutheran Church, Amsterdam, Holland, on June 24, 1629. iv. Sytje Roelofs was born on de Laets Burg Farm, Rensselaerwyck, about 1631, and died before January 29, 1663. Sophia (in English) married Pieter Hartgers (Pieter Hartgers Van Vee). He came over in 1643 and was commissaris at Fort Orange in 1654. He died in Holland in 1670 leaving two daughters who were mentioned in the will of her sister Anneke: 1. Janneken Hartgers, bp. Sep. 5, 1649. 2. Rachel Hartgers, b. 1652. v. Jan Roelofs was born on de Laets Burg Farm, Rensselaerwyck, about 1633-34, and http://www.otal.umd.edu/~walt/gen/htmfile/3854.htm 9/3/2006 Walter Gilbert Genealogy: Roelof Janse & Anneke Jans Page 2 of 7 gy: Roelof Janse & Anneke Jans Page 2 of 7 died after 1670. His mother's will, 1663, states that he was an unmarried man. He died unmarried. He is supposed to have accidentally killed Gerrit Verbeek in Albany in 1665. research holds that he is not the Jan Roelofs who was slain in the massacre at Schenectady in 1690. vi. Annatje Roelofs was born in New Amsterdam about 1636. She died young; after August 15, 1648. Her second marriage was to Everardus Bogardus in New Amsterdam in March, 1638. She took the name Anneke Bogardus. He was born in Woerden, Holland, about 1607, and died at sea on de Princess Amalia off the coast of Wales on September 29, 1647. He was born Evert Willemszen. They had four children: i. Willem Bogardus was born in New Amsterdam about 1639, and died in New York City in 1711. He was appointed clerk in the secretary's office at New Amsterdam in 1656; and in 1687 was postmaster of the province. His first marriage, to Wyntje Sybrandts, produced three children: 1. Everardus Bogardus, bp. Nov. 2, 1659; d. young. 2. Sytje Bogardus, bp. Mar. 16, 1661; d. young. 3. Anna Bogardus, bp. Oct. 3, 1663 His second, to Walburga Kregler (nee De Sille), produced seven children: 1. Cornelia Bogardus, bp. Aug. 25, 1669. 2. Catharina Bogardus. 3. Saartje Bogardus. 4. Everardus Bogardus, bp. Dec. 4, 1675. 5. Maria Bogardus, bp. Sep 14, 1678 (twin); d. young. 6. Lucretia Bogardus, bp. Sep 14, 1678 (twin); bur. Apr. 4, 1761. 7. Blandina Bogardus, bp. Sep. 13, 1680. ii. Cornelis Bogardus was baptized in New Amsterdam Reformed Dutch Church on September 9, 1640, and died in Beverwyck, New York (now Albany), before May 6, 1666. He married Helen Teller, a daughter of William Teller of Albany. They resided in Albany. His personal estate was sold by public vendue in the same year, and the proceeds amounted to 2015 guilders, a large sum for the time. He was a gunsmith. He left one son: 1. Cornelis Bogardus, bp. Sep. 9, 1640; d. Oct. 13, 1707 His descendants were the first contestants for a portion of the grant of Trinity Church. iii. Jonas Bogardus was baptized in New Amsterdam Reformed Dutch Church on January 4, 1643, and died after May 11, 1689. He probably died unmarried. iv. Pieter Bogardus was baptized in New Amsterdam Reformed Dutch Church on April 2, 1645, and died in Kingston, New York, in 1703. He settled in Albany where, in 1673, he was one of the magistrates. In 1690 he was commissioned with others to treaty with the Five Nations, and to look after the defense of the town. He married Wyntje Cornelise Bosch and had nine children: 1.Evert Bogardus, b. 1666-7; d. Apr. 14, 1717. 2.Anna Bogardus. 3.Maria Bogardus. 4.Shibboleth Bogardus, bur. Sep. 26, 1747. 5.Anthony Bogardus, b. Jan. 7, 1682; d. Apr. 15, 1744. 6.Rachel Bogardus, b. Feb. 2, 1684. 7.Ephraim Bogardus, bp. Aug. 14, 1687; Oct. 12, 1770. 8.Cornelis Bogardus. 9.Petrus Bogardus, b. Mar. 19, 1691; d. ca. 1770. http://www.otal.umd.edu/~walt/gen/htmfile/3854.htm 9/3/2006 Anneke Jans Walter Gilbert Genealogy: Roelof Janse & Anneke Jans Page 3 of 7 The wedding banns [image] (declaration of intentions) for "Roeloff Janssoon and Anna Jans", dated April 1, 1623, from the Reformed Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, Holland: Roeloff Janssoon, born in Maesterland, a seaman, aged 21 years, having no parents, [for parental consent] assisted by Jan Gerritsz., his nephew; residing 3½ years at the St. Tunis gate, of the one part; and Anna Jans, born in Vleckere in Norway, aged 18 years, assisted by Trijn Roeloffs, her mother; residing at the same place of the second part. He "signed" with a crude "R", she with a "+". The efforts to colonize the New Netherlands were faltering. On June 7, 1629, the rules for settlements were relaxed and on November 29 of that year, Kiliaen Van Rensselaer declared that he was ready to establish a colony. Per Settlers of Rensselaerswyck 1630–1658, the very first ship of colonists, de Eendracht (The Unity) sailed from Texel Island, Netherlands, on March 21, 1630, and arrived in New Amsterdam on May 24, 1630; it was the only ship to arrive that year. On board were Roelof Jansz van Marstrand with his wife, Anneke Jans, his daughters Sara and Trijntje, and another child born born before in New Netherland. He was a farmer on de Laets Burg farm and was appointed schepen (municipal officer; alderman) on July 1, 1632. He probably left the colony in 1634. The rest of the passengers were: z Claes Claesz, from Vlecker (Fleckerö); he was a farm hand for Roelof Jansz. z Wolfert Gerritsz, from Amersfoort. He was engaged by the patroon (Van Rensselaer) to superinend the establishment of farms and to purchase cattle. z Jacob Goyversen (Goyverttsen), also from Vlecker z Pieter Hendricksz, from Soest; engaged as a shepherd or plow boy for four years at f15 per year. He served under Rutger Hendricksz and probably left in 1634. z Rutger Hendricksz, from Soest; engaged for four years at f120 per year and appears as a farmer on Rensselaers Burg on Castle Island in 1632. He was appointed schout in 1632 but probably never qualified; probably left the colony in 1634. z Barent (Beerent) Jansz, he came as a farm servant for Brand Peelen. His name does not appear in colonial records after 1634. z Seger (Zeeger) Jansz, from Nykerck provence of Gelderland; served as a farm hand for Rutger Hendricksz; drowned on October 3, 1636. z Brant Peelen, from Nykerck provence of Gelderland; engaged as a farmer for four years at f110 per year. Appointed schepen in 1632. He married twice: first to Lubbertje Wouters—they had three children, Lysbeth, Geert, and Gerritje; second in New Amsterdam to Marritje Pieters. He died before May 1, 1644. There is no entry in Settlers of Rensselaerswyck... for Anneke's mother and sister. Anneke Jans is well known today and the focus of much genealogical attention not because she was particularly notable in her time, but because of two controversies which surround her, one before she was born, and one after she died. The first controversy concerns who her father was. No records have been found in this area but there is a popular misconception that her father's father was the ruling monarch of the Netherlands: William the Silent. He is said to have had a morganatic wife, Annetgen Coch, by whom two children were born whom he named Sara and Wolfert Webber. Then, supposedly, Wolfert married Tryntje Roelofs and had three or four children: Wolfert (b. 1602), Marritje (b. 1603), Anneke (b. 1605), and perhaps Ariaentje. (There is no explanation of how their children came to be surnamed Jans/Jansen instead of Wolferts as would have been expected under the patronymic naming system of the time.) Even further, claims have been made that there is a long-lost bank account with a vast balance that was created for Sara and http://www.otal.umd.edu/~walt/gen/htmfile/3854.htm 9/3/2006 Walter Gilbert Genealogy: Roelof Janse & Anneke Jans Page 4 of 7 gy: Roelof Janse & Anneke Jans Page 4 of 7 Wolfert, now simply awaiting discovery by their heirs. A morganatic wife was a woman of inferior social status who married a man of royalty or nobility with the understanding that any children would be legitimate and acknowledged as his, but that neither she nor they would have any claim to his rank or property. It was common and acceptable for at least high royalty to have morganatic wives. This is an appealing genealogy: most people would like to be descended from royalty. However, there is no evidence to support it. In fact, the Central Bureau of Genealogy in The Netherlands, which is regularly pestered by Americans seeking information about their "royal" ancestor, Anneke Jans, attributes the origin of the myth to a book written in 1894 by Charles H. Browning: Americans of Royal Descent, vol. 3, p. 800. [Note that the 7th edition, 1911, is still [1999] available in one volume of 575 pages. A description of the book indicates that it covers Kings of England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and France; no mention is made of The Netherlands.] Some people regard this book as a valuable genealogical tool while others claim that some of the lineages were purposely concocted mislead people, supporting such scams as the Trinity Church/Anneke Jans land claim which lined the pockets of several generations of unscrupulous lawyers. This leads to: The second controversy concerns 62 acres of land that she owned on Manhattan Island, New York. For this, it is best to begin at the beginning. Roelof (Ralph) Jansen and Anneke (Annie) Jans were among the first immigrants to New Amsterdam (now New York City). He was commissioned (or indentured) to farm in the new colony for $72 a year. They arrived in 1630 with their two daughters and soon went to Rensselaerwyck (now the Albany, New York, area); their last two children were born on de Laets Burg Farm there. In 1636 he obtained a grant from Governor Van Twiller for a farm or Bowerie of 31 morgens (about 62 acres) on Manhattan Island. He died shortly thereafter and Anneke inherited the land. Two years later she married Rev. Bogardus and the land eventually become known as "the Domine's Bouwerie" [see a copy of an early engraved picture of the farm looking south, from Harper's New Monthly Magazine; see link to article, below.] He was the head of the Dutch Church in New Netherland and they lived at what is now 23 Whitehall Street in New York City. See a copy of "Anneke Jans Bogardus and Her Farm", a 14-page article—with pictures—which appeared in the May, 1885, issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine. In particular, page 837 shows a picture of the farm looking south, page 842 shows the farm superimposed on a 1890s map of Manhattan. Bogardus was born Evert Willemsz. in the little Dutch market town of Woerden. His parents are unknown, but perhaps they died in the plague of 1617–18 since Evert, his brother Pieter, and two half-brothers were placed in the town orphanage. He and his brother, Cornelis, adopted the name of Bogaert in early adulthood. He was a tailor's apprentice until September, 1622, when he was permitted to attend Latin School. On June 13, 1622, a sudden illness left him deaf, dumb, and sporatically blind. He miraculously regained his faculties on September 17, 1622, during the singing of Psalms. He entered Leiden University on July 17, 1627, and on June 29, 1629, was award a scholarship to attend Theological College there. On September 9, 1630, he was sent to the Coast of http://www.otal.umd.edu/~walt/gen/htmfile/3854.htm 9/3/2006 Walter Gilbert Genealogy: Roelof Janse & Anneke Jans Page 5 of 7 gy: Roelof Janse & Anneke Jans Page 5 of 7 Guinea (now Ghana) in Africa as Comforter of the Sick. On June 14, 1632, he attained his goal of being ordained a minister. He Latinized his name to Everhardus Boghaerdus (which we anglicize to Everardus Bogardus). Bogardus arrived in New Amsterdam aboard de Soutberg in April, 1633, to be the Domine of the church. He was at odds with both Director Generals (Wouter Van Twiller and William Kieft) of the time, and in a final effort to settle the matter, he and Kieft were lost at sea on their way back to The Netherlands for a hearing. After Bogardus died in 1647, Anneke returned to Beverwyck where her house was on the east corner of State and James Streets, adjacent to land owned by two of her sons, Jonas and Pieter. She died in 1663, one year before the English took over the Dutch colonies, renaming New Amsterdam to New York, Beverwyck to Albany, etc. The date of her death is taken from the date that her son, Jan Roelofszen, paid the church for a funeral pall rental: February 23, 1663. Her will is presented here (on a separate Web page) in a side by side translation with the original Dutch. Note that it was signed with an X, indicating that Anneke could not read and write. It is interesting that her house and land—only about 3700 ft², less than a tenth of an acre—was sold on June 21, 1663, by her heirs to Dirck Wessels Ten Broeck, another ancestor in this genealogy. In An Account of Anneke Jans and Her Family is a copy of this land transfer, which includes "... the same lot which she occupied to the day of her death; ...", thereby establishing that Anneke truly owned the land and lived there. The price was "the sum of one thousand guilders, payable in good whole merchantable beaver skins, at eight guilders a piece, in three installments; ...". Her will mentions the 62 acres on Manhattan. Eight years later, 1671, land records show that this land was transfered by her heirs (living children; her son, Cornelius, had died by that time) to Governor Lovelace for a "valuable consideration". Anno 1670-71, March 9th, Heere Johannes Van Brugh, in right of Catrina Roeloff his wife, and attorney of Pieter Hartgers, William Bogardus for himself and his brothers Jan Roeloffsen and Jonas Bogardus, and Cornelius Van Borsum, in right of Sara Roeloff his wife, and by assignment of Peter Bogardus, all children and lawful heirs of Annetie Roeloff, late widow of Dome Bogardus deceased, for a valuable consideration, transported and made over unto the Right Honble Colonel Francis Lovelace, his heirs and assigns, their farm or bouwery, commonly called or known by the name of Domine's bouwery, lying and being on Manhattan's island, towards the North River, the quantity of ye land amounting to about sixty-two acres, as in the former grond brief from Governor Stuyvesant, bearing the date the 4th of July, 1651, and the confirmation thereupon from Governor R. Nicolls, bearing date ye 27th of March, 1667, in more particularly set forth — which transport was signed by them and acknowledged before the alderman, Mr. Oloff-Stevensen Van Cortlandt and Mr. John Laurence. After this transfer, this land and an adjacent piece called Domine's hook became part of the Duke's farm (which adjoined to the south), later called the King's farm, and finally the Queen's farm. In 1705, long after the lives of the heirs, this land was granted to Trinity church by Queen Anne (the church itself was at the southernmost tip of Manhattan). About 80 years later, after the American Revolution, Cornelius Bogardus, a great-grandson of Anneke's son, Cornelius, laid claim to one sixth of the church farm as it was then called. His grounds were http://www.otal.umd.edu/~walt/gen/htmfile/3854.htm 9/3/2006 Walter Gilbert Genealogy: Roelof Janse & Anneke Jans Page 6 of 7 gy: Roelof Janse & Anneke Jans Page 6 of 7 that his great-grandfather, Cornelius, had not agreed to the sale of the 62 acres to Gov. Lovelace; therefore, one sixth of it should belong to his heirs. (Cornelius was dead when this sale took place.) He took possession of a house on the farm and built a fence around it. The church hired men to remove and burn the fence. Bogardus then burned some of the church's fence. The church soon won this skirmish and Bogardus moved from the area. This feeling that Cornelius, though dead, had been sold out by his siblings must have formed a festering wound in the lore of his family, and the more the land appreciated in value, the more painful the wound must have become. In 1830, 140 years after the land had been sold to Lovelace, a John Bogardus, mounted a significant legal attack to recover part of the 62 acres. He failed; but the case occupies 130 pages in the 4th volume of Sandford's Chancery Reports. The chancellor's opinion was, in effect, that there was no case, and were it not for the magnatude of the case and the zeal with which it was pursued, there would have been no written judgement. Plus, if people could attack property rights that had stood for 150 years in the uncertain development of the young nation, then no property would be secure. From the references in "Anneke Jans in Fact and Fiction" comes: Columbia-Lippincott Gazetteer z p. 619: Flekkerøy [58.05N 8.03E] Vest Agder, Norway, is four miles south of Kirstiansand. It is a coastal resort with a good harbor and an old fortress. z p. 1158: Marstrand [57.53N 11.34E] Och Bohus, Sweden, is 18 miles northwest of Göteborg. It was founded in 1225, has a 14th century church, and a 17th century fortress. Known then as Maesterland, Marstrand was a Dutch commercial outpost in the days of the Hanseatic League. A vast amount has been written on the attempts over the next 100 years to unsuccessfully claim part of the 62 acres. Generations of unscrupulous lawyers bilked descendants of Anneke—not just via Cornelius—out of large sums of money. Add to this the claim that Anneke was descended from Dutch royalty (William the Silent, Ninth Prince of Orange) and that there was a royal inheritance in a European bank somewhere, and the allure became overpowering. Note: The author's great-grandmother, Margaret Lydia (Ten Broeck) Youngblood, was approached by such lawyers promising to file a claim on her behalf and get some of the fortune she was due. She gave them a significant amount of money, but of course, to no avail. Manhattan map with Anneke Jans's farm (green shape left of center). Click on the map to see a larger copy with readable place names. Sources: It should be noted that there are probably more inaccurate, fanciful, misleading, or outright wrong reference materials on Anneke Jans than accurate ones. The author was initially guilty of succumbing to the allure of the "royal ancestry hoax" and several of the attractive, but totally unsubstantiated tales about her and her family. z Munsell, Joel, An Account of Anneke Janse, and Her Family, Albany, 1870 z Bogardus, William Brower, Dear "Cousin": A Charted Genealogy of the Descendants of Anneke Jans Bogardus (1605–1663) to the 5th Generation, Camden, Maine, 1996 z Zabriskie, George Olin, "The Founding Families of New Netherland—The Roelofs and Bogardus Families" in de Halve Maen, vol. 48, no. 2, July, 1973, Part IV, p. 9. z Gerard, J. W., "Anneke Jans Bogardus and Her Farm", Harper's New Monthly, May, 1885, pp. 836–849 http://www.otal.umd.edu/~walt/gen/htmfile/3854.htm 9/3/2006 Walter Gilbert Genealogy: Roelof Janse & Anneke Jans Page 7 of 7 gy: Roelof Janse & Anneke Jans Page 7 of 7 z Van Laer, A. J. F., Settlers of Rensselaerswyck 1630–1658, Excerpted from The Van Rensselaer Bowier Manuscripts, 1908 z A letter to Virginia Magee from the Central Bureau of Genealogy in The Netherlands Walter Gilbert: 3941 Perry Hall Road; Perry Hall, Maryland, USA; 21128-9751; 410-256-7560 (address new as of 3Jan2004) E-mail me My home page About these web pages Last modified 06/02/2006 13:50:16 Since 23 Feb 2000: http://www.otal.umd.edu/~walt/gen/htmfile/3854.htm 9/3/2006