Emanuel Van Etten

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Jacob Jansen Van Etten
• Name: Jacob Van Etta
• Residence: 1650, New York, Kings, New York, USA
• Arrival: 1652, , New Amsterdam, New York, USA
• Residence: 1690, , Ulster, New York, USA

Notes:

New Amsterdam becomes New York

SEPTEMBER 08, 1664 : NEW AMSTERDAM BECOMES NEW YORK

Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant surrenders New Amsterdam, the capital of New Netherland, to an English naval squadron under Colonel Richard Nicolls. Stuyvesant had hoped to resist the English, but he was an unpopular ruler, and his Dutch subjects refused to rally around him. Following its capture, New Amsterdam’s name was changed to New York, in honor of the Duke of York, who organized the mission.

The colony of New Netherland was established by the Dutch West India Company in 1624 and grew to encompass all of present-day New York City and parts of Long Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey. A successful Dutch settlement in the colony grew up on the southern tip of Manhattan Island and was christened New Amsterdam.

To legitimatize Dutch claims to New Amsterdam, Dutch governor Peter Minuit formally purchased Manhattan from the local tribe from which it derives it name in 1626. According to legend, the Manhattans–Indians of Algonquian linguistic stock–agreed to give up the island in exchange for trinkets valued at only $24. However, as they were ignorant of European customs of property and contracts, it was not long before the Manhattans came into armed conflict with the expanding Dutch settlement at New Amsterdam. Beginning in 1641, a protracted war was fought between the colonists and the Manhattans, which resulted in the death of more than 1,000 Indians and settlers.

In 1664, New Amsterdam passed to English control, and English and Dutch settlers lived together peacefully. In 1673, there was a short interruption of English rule when the Netherlands temporary regained the settlement. In 1674, New York was returned to the English, and in 1686 it became the first city in the colonies to receive a royal charter. After the American Revolution, it became the first capital of the United States.

Jacob Jansen was born in 1632 and baptized October 22, 1634, at Etten, North Brabant, Holland. The son of Johannes Marinessen and Wilhelimina Hoannes Adriense, he became the progenitor of the Van Etten/Van Atta family after he came to America.
In the mid-1600's, Dutch colonization in America was at a high level of interest, a circumstance that was to lead to Jacob's arrival in the colony at New Netherlands (New York). That story began with a man named Adriaen van der Donck, from Breda in North Brabant province. He first came to New Netherlands in 1641, and was initially involved with the development of a settlement colony at Yonkers. In early 1652, van der Donck was back in Holland. Prospective settlers for those Dutch colonies, or servants for those already established in New Netherlands, were hired or recruited in the mother country, generally in the area from which the colonial leader came -- in this case van der Donck from North Brabant.

Van der Donck at that time was seeking farmers for his Yonkers colony in the neighborhood of Breda, his birthplace. Among several he recruited were Aert Pieters Tack and Jacob Jansz/Jansen from nearby Etten, according to papers dated May 15, 1652. The two were contracted for six years. Such contracts ranged from two to six years. Passage money in these cases was usually paid by the employer. In New Netherlands, bed and board were furnished in addition to wages, which for farmhands ranged from 100 to 150 guilders a year, depending on age and experience.

Yonkers was just north of New Amsterdam (New York City). Jacob Jansen apparently made the crossing to America in the year 1652, but it is not clear whether he was at Yonkers or whether he was diverted to Esopus, first settled by the Dutch that year. Esopus, named for the Indian tribe in that area, was on the west bank of the Hudson River, about 75 miles north of Yonkers. Jacob worked as a farmhand for Aert Pieters/Petersen Tack at Esopus about 1658, and was referred to as "head farmer of Tack". Relations with the Indians were not good at that time, and the New Netherlands director-general, Petrus (Peter) Stuyvesant, urged an agreement which the settlers there signed, May 31, 1658, to erect a palisaded village and demolish their separate dwellings.

A brief war with the Indians, known as the First Esopus War, began after soldiers and settlers senselessly shot three Indians in September 1659. An uneasy peace treaty was signed in July 1660. Despite the tense situation, the community kept growing and was named Wiltwyck by Stuyvesant in 1661. Then, in June 1663, Indians attacked the village, massacred a number of residents, took others as prisoners, and burned many homes. The record states that Aert Tack was never seen again. A second peace treaty was concluded with the Indians in May 1664, and later that year an important step was taken by Jacob Jansen. But before that, English forces seized New Amsterdam, September 8, 1664, and 17 days later Wiltwyck came under the authority of the Duke of York. The state of New Netherlands and the city of New Amsterdam were both renamed New York. The name Wildwyck fell into disuse, and the town was again generally referred to as Esopus.

As was common in those days, Jacob assumed the name of his birthplace, and after the publishing of the banns, he was known as Jacob Jansen von Etten (from Etten) later, the von became Anglicized to "Van." His wife was Annetje Gelvins, interpretation of old Dutch records by experts reveals. Her name was written in several ways, including Annetje Adriantse Gelvins and Annetje Adriantse Kam. These led genealogists to say that her father's name, therefore, was Adrian and his last name Gelvins or Kam.

The nature of a number of difficulties involving her first husband, Aert Pietersen Tack, emerges through a sequence of court cases beginning in 1662. There were several problems with employees over wages, and that November (1662) he mortgaged the grain crop to be harvested the following year. Tack apparently left before the fall of 1663, either as the result of the Indian raid or under cover of it. His wife harvested the grain and was enjoined by creditors from using the harvest (except that which the court ordered her paid for her work in harvesting). In May 1664, further evidence of Tack's indebtedness, in this case, for cattle appeared. In July, the court took steps to condemn Tack's property for his absenting himself, and to sell it to satisfy a list of creditors.

In October of 1664, Jacob Jansen sued for wages due him. The following month, Jacob himself was sued to collect a debt of wheat which he admitted but explained that he couldn't pay due to being sick with fever. He was granted time until the Tack estate was settled, when he presumably could collect wages due him. In January 1665, Annetje Ariaens requested relief from her debts because her effects had been sold "on behalf of creditors of her absconded husband". That same month, Jacob again requested the court that he be paid his wages from the estate in the amount of "388 guilders heavy money in wheat". He was told he could be paid after prior preference creditors were satisfied. Jacob was still having some financial problems in March 1666, when he was sued for not having paid his house rent of one schepel (about ¾ of a bushel) of wheat per month for 13 months. As late as March 1668, when he was sued for wheat due on the purchase of a house and lot, he could not pay because his wife's estate had been sold to satisfy her former husband's creditors.

After that, his financial situation apparently improved. In 1670, there is mention of Jacob Jansen Van Etten as a resident of Horley (Hurley), near Kingston. In September 1669, along with some changes and new villages nearby, Esopus became Kingston, the name that has remained since except for a brief time in 1673-4 when the Dutch briefly regained control and the town was temporarily named Swaenenburgh. But things quieted down after that and ended a turbulent 23-year period from its founding that had included two Indian wars and three changes in national allegiance.

Jacob Jansen Van Etten, according to one old account, loved to tell his children about the narrow escape of his grandmother Maria from the Spanish soldiers in Rotterdam, Holland, in 1570, when she was five years old. The Catholic Spanish killed several thousand Protestant Dutch. Maria's father Erick had the rest of the family hide in a small cubbyhole closet in an attic corner farthest from its small window. Erick, it is said, killed pet cats and splattered the blood over a dummy corpse. When the Spanish soldiers saw this, they thought their associates had already been there, so they moved on.

Old records have disclosed that Jacob was a petitioner for a minister for the old church at Esopus in 1676. Jacob Jansen was one of those who signed a petition for control of local affairs, January 26, 1684, mentioned in Old Ulster II (257-262), which so angered Governor Thomas Donger that all the signers were arrested and fined. Jacob Jansen Van Etten took an oath of allegiance to England in 1689 in Ulster County, N. Y. by order of the governor .

He then resided. at the town of Hurley. Jacob Jansen Van Etten died in 1690 at Hurley, survived by his widow, five sons, and four daughters.

In 1718, the property of Jacob Jansen Van Etten was divided among his children by conveyance from his widow to each of them. About that time, the sons and their families were seeking new homes in the then sparsely settled Country along the Hudson River, and in the Delaware River valley, first in northwestern New Jersey and a little later on the Pennsylvania side.
http://www.pegrowe.com/genes/vanatta/vanatta_name_history.htm

Marriage
From "Early Germans of New Jersey", pg. 539

Jacob Jansen, young man of Etten in Brabrant, and Annetje Arians, of Amsterdam, deserted wife of Aaert Pietersen Tack both residing here (in Wiltwyck, now Kingston), 1 January 1665 (married).

From another source: On 7 June 1663, Indians raided the villages of Esopus and nearby Hurley. Aert Pietersen Tack's home was destroyed by fire ... Aert Tack disappeared. He apparently deserted his wife Annetje and their two children (a son Cornelius and an unborn daughter) and returned to Holland and took another wife. Annetje was granted a divorce from Aert on 21 Aug 1664 at Fort Amsterdam.

Jacobus Jansen Van Etten b. 1632, Etten, N Brabant, Holland, bapt 22 Oct 1634, Protestant church, Etten, N Brabant, Holland, m. 11 Jan 1665 (after third publication of banns), in Esopus, (Kingston) Ulster Co, NY, USA,
Annetje Arians Tack (Tach) [source: Kingston Church Records, NY]

Jacob Jansen came from the town of Etten, six miles from Breda, in the
province of North Brabant, Holland and to distinguish him from the numerous other Jansens, according to the usual Dutch custom, he was given the suffix Van Etten.

Passenger & Immigration Lists Index: O-Z, vol. 3, page 2146 - Van Etten,
Jacob Jansen; n.a. (no age given); New Netherlands (Place of Arrival),
1620-1664 Source: "Immigrants to the Middle Colonies: A Consolidation of
Ship Passenger Lists & Associated Data From The NY Genealogical &
Biographical Record, page 11" by Michael Tepper, ed.

Jacob Jansen came to America in 1658 or before & Peter Stuyvesant was the
Governor of the Dutch Colony of New Netherlands (now New York State). Upon arrival on this continent, Jacob settled at Wiltwyck (now Kingston) on the Hudson River.

Worked as head farmhand to Aert (Arthur) Pietersen Tack/Tach. Settlement of Wiltwyck, New Netherland (now Kingston, NY) - "The Seond Esopus War broke out on June 7, 1663. Aert Pietersen Tack's house was destroyed along with twelve other houses and the church. Fifteen men, four women, and two children were killed, and thirty children with twelve women were carried away by the Indians. (ibid. Also The Van Etten Saga, by Leslie
Van Etten, 1970, and Documentary History of New York, Vol. 4, published by Charles Van Renthuysen, 1851).

Jacob Jansen Von Etten was "head farmer" of Aert Tack's farm at this time
but Aert Tach himself had already deserted his wife and returned to Holland. During the later part of 1663 and 1664, Jacob was attempting to collect his wages from the Tach estate. {See Jacobus Van Etten, Chapter 1, by Eva A. Scott)

On August 21, 1664, Annetje Arians was granted a divorce from Aert Pietersen Tach at Fort Amsterdam. (See records of Dutch Court at Fort Amsterdam).

On January 11, 1665, Jacob Jansen Von Etten married Annetje Arians in Kingston, NY (Kingston Church Records).

In 1676, Jacob Jansen Van Etten was a petitioner for a minister to the
church at Esopus, New York. On January 26, 1684, he signed the Petition for the control of local affairs, which greatly angered the English Colonial Governor, Thomas Dongan. His youngest child (or record) was born in 1688. In 1689 he took the Oath of Allegiance to England. He died about 1693 at Hurley, New York and is buried there. (See The Van Etten Saga by Leslie Van Etten, pages 29-31. Also, Jacobus Jansen Van Etten by Eva A. Scott, page 4, and Olde Ulster, vol. 2, No. 9, 1906, Pges 257-262).

"The English captured New Netherland from the Dutch in September 1664 and
changed the name to New York. The old Dutch naming system was probably
confusing to the English and about this time, the Dutch families were asked to choose a family name. Since Jacob Jansen had been born in Etten, it was natural for he and Annetje to adopt the name von (from) Etten as a surname. The "von" was soon changed to the English form "Van". Thus began the Van Etten family of America.

The children of Jacob and Annatje grew up and each married a Dutch
neighbour. A few remained near home, but others sought their fortune by
moving" - The Van Etten Family of America, Leslie Van Etten

Oath of Allegiance to England in 1689. Lived in Marbletown, NY. First
appears in records as "Van Etten" in 1670 when son Adrian, their third
child, was baptised.

Marriage record: "1665, 11 Jan. Jacob Jansen, young man of Etten in Brabant and Annetje Arians of Amsterdam, deserted wife of Aert Pietersen Tack, both residing here (in Wiltwyck now Kingston). First publication of Banns, 28 Dec. 1664; second 4 Jan., third 11 Jan. 1665."

Annetje Arians (Annatje) (Adriaensen, Adrians, Gelvins), b. c1632,
Amsterdam, Holland. Jacobus died c1693, Hurley (Kingston) Ulster Co, NY,
USA. Annetje of Amsterdam: Deserted wife of Aert Pietersen Tach/Tack. Two
children by Aert Tack: Cornelius Tack, chr 14 Aug 1661 & Grietze Artze Tack, (Grietjen), chr 16 Aug 1663, Reformed Dutch Church, Kingston, Ulster Co., NY

Aert deserted his wife some time between December 12, 1662 and January 23, 1663. His wife, Annetje was carrying her second child at that time. Aert probably returned to Holland, where he married another woman. Annetje was granted a divorce from Aert Tack August 21, 1664 at Fort Amsterdam.

Jacob Jansen, son of Johannes Martinessen & Wilhelmina Hoannes, was born about 1632, and baptised October 22, 1634, at Etten, eight miles from Breda, Holland. (The surname was made by adding "sen"---meaning son---to the father's first name. In Dutch, Johannes and Jan both mean John, so the parents probably used the shorter name of Jan in naming their son Jansen.)

Jacob Jansen came to America in 1658 or earlier and settled at Esopus (later called Wiltwyck, and finally Kingston in 1667) on the Hudson River in the Dutch colony of New Netherland (now New York state). He worked as a farm hand for Aert Pietersen Tack. One record refers to Jacob as the "Head Farmer of Tack."

On June 7, 1663, Indians raided the villages of Esopus and nearby Hurley. At Esopus, Aert Pietersen Tack's home was destroyed by fire, along with 12 other houses and the church. Fifteen men, four women, and two children were killed and scalped, and 1 man, 12 women, and 30 children were carried away by the Indians. Aert Tack disappeared. He apparently deserted his wife Annetje and their two children (a son Cornelius and an unborn daughter) and returned to Holland, where he reportedly took another wife. Annetje Arians was granted a divorce from Aert Pietersen Tack on August 21, 1664, at Fort Amsterdam. Annetje may be the Annetje Adrianse who was baptised August 29, 1645, in Amsterdam, daughter of Aerjan Janss & Grietjen Jansen.

The marriage register of the Old Dutch Church of Kingston records: "Jacob Jansen, young man of Etten, in Brabant, and Annetje Arians, of Amsterdam, deserted wife of Aaert Pietersen Tach, both residing here" (in Wiltwyck, name changed to Kingston in 1667). First publication of marriage banns, Dec 28, 1664; second, Jan 4; third, Jan 11, 1665. This was only a few months after the English had conquered the Dutch New Netherland and renamed it New York.

The new English government required the adoption of surnames to distinguish one Dutchman from another of the same name. At that time there were three Jacob Jansens in Wiltwyck. One record calls our Jacob: "long Jacob," so he must have been the tallest of the three. Our Jacob took the name of his birthplace and became Jacob Jansen von Etten. (Von means from.) Later, von became Anglicised to Van and thus the family acquired the name Van Etten. Later some branches spelled it Van Eaton or Vaneaton; others shortened it to Eaton; and some changed it to Van Atta. Our Jacob first appears in the records as Van Etten in 1670, when his son Adrian was baptised.

In 1689, Jacob took the oath of allegiance to England. He died about 1693 and is supposed to be buried at Hurley, Ulster County, New York. He was survived by his wife and 9 or 10 children: Jan, Sytie, Arien "Adrian", Pieter, Petronella---thought to be a twin to Pieter, Heiltje, Emanuel, Tietje, Jacobus, and Geesje.

Jacobus married Annetje Adriaense on 11 Jan 1665 in Kingston, Ulster, New York, USA. Annetje (daughter of Jans Aerjan and Grietjen Aerjan Jansen) was born on 29 Aug 1645 in Oude Kirk, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands; died in 1717 in Rhinebeck, Dutchess, New York, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Divorce from Pietersen Tack

Records of the New Amsterdam CouncilTaken from a transcript of the original record, indexed in the 'Calendar of Historical Manuscripts'
"(August 21, 1664) Shews in all humility, Annetken Adriaens, having married one Aert Pietersen Tack, who has not hesitated to marry another woman at Amsterdam, in Holland, as has been shown more fully to your honors by petition and the affidavits attached thereto, for which reason the honorable fiscal, Nicasius de Sille, ex officio, has caused the said Aert Pietersen Tack to be summoned on three regular court days, the last time having been on Thursday last past, to appear on a suitable day before you honors to hear the marriage
contracted between the petitioner and the aforesaid Aert Pietersen Tack declared dissolved and the petitioner placed in her former free state, in which matter the aforesaid Aert Pietersen Tack has until this day remained contumacious, having failed to appear to justify himself, therefore, the petitioner turns to your honors with the humble request that your honors may be pleased, for the reasons above mentioned, to declare the marriage contracted between the petitioner and the said Aert Pietersen Tack dissolved and the petitioner placed in her former free state and authorized to marry another man, with condemnation that Aert Pietersen 'Verte'(top lines on p. 292 destroyed)

your humble ( )
Endorsed:
Petition der Anneken Adrjans
contra Aert Pietersen Tack (one or two lines destroyed)

for which reason Anneke Adriaens, his lawful wife, has requested of your honors letters of divorce and permission to marry another person, whereupon, before consenting thereto, the fiscal was ordered on July 31st last to have the aforesaid Aert Pietersen Tack summoned three times by the ringing of the bell to appear in person to hear and to answer, if he can, such complaint and demand as the injured party and the fiscal as her attorney shall make, which summons not only was proclaimed by the beating of the drum in the village of New Haerlem, and whereas nevertheless Aert Pietersen Tack failed to appear and remains contumacious, finding himself unable to defend, justify or purge himself; therefore, the fiscal, nomine offiocii, concludes that the first wife, Anneke Adriaens, must be granted letters of divorce and permission to marry another man, and furthermore that the fiscal and all other officers of justice should be authorized to arrest the defendant, Aert Pietersen Tack, and to confine him here in a proper place of detention, to be taken to the place where it is customary to execute justice, in order to be severely flogged with rods, having two distaffs above his head, and further to be branded with two marks on his back and to be banished from this province. Done at Fort Amsterdam, the 21st of August, 1664.
You honors' servantNicasius de Sille

Jans married Wilhelmina Hoannes De Brabant in 1625 in Etten, Gendringen, Gelderland, Netherlands. Wilhelmina was born in 1601 in Etten, Gendringen, Gelderland, Netherlands; died in 1700 in Etten, Etten-Leur, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Jans married Grietjen Aerjan Jansen in May 1641 in Kingston, Ulster, New York, USA. Grietjen was born in 1617 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands; died on 29 Mar 1680 in Kingston, Ulster, New York, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]