Chapter 2: The Caspar Varlet Family


 

 

The Family of Caspar Varlet and Judith Tentenier

 

by Cor Snabel and Elizabeth A. Johnson

 

 

Caspar Varlet was born about 1593 in Cologne, a city near the Dutch border, in the current province of Nordrhein-Westfalen,Germany. He was a son of Nicolaes Varlet and Francina Jacobs. He had an older half-brother, Johannes Jelles, of his mother's first marriage, a sister Catrina, and two brothers, Peter and Daniel. On the 17th of October 1615, Caspar Varlet married Judith Tentenier in Utrecht, Netherlands[1]:

 

Caspar Verlet, from Ceulen, residing at the Voldersbrugge [in Utrecht], & Judith Tintenier, from Ceulen, residing Groensteegh [in Utrecht].

 

Judith Tentenier, was born about 1595 in Cologne, a daughter of Abraham Tentenier and his first wife, Jenne du Pont, who died before August, 1598. Abraham Tentenier married second to Magdalena Sanders van Os, had more children with her, and raised his family in Utrecht.

 

The children of Caspar Varlet and Judith Tentenier were:

 

i. Abraham Varlet, baptized in the Walloon Church in Utrecht on October 6, 1616 [2]. He married Maria Hack, then Haesje Claes, and died in Monnickendam, Noord-Holland, on February 6, 1667.[3]

 

ii. Francina Varlet, born about 1618, died after 1658. She was married in Amsterdam on the 2ndof August 1642 to Pieter Heijblom, son of Francois Willems Heijblom[4]. Pieter Heijblom, a shopkeeper of Amsterdam, was born in Aachen. He was buried in the Oude Zijds Kapel in Amsterdam on the 30th of September 1670.[5]

 

iii. Nicolaes Varlet, born in Utrecht about 1622, died at Hoboken, New Jersey about 1675. He married Susannah Jans, then Anna Stuyvesant. [6]

 

iv. Guilliam Varlet, born about 1623; died in New Netherland between 15 July 1658 and 28 August 1659. [8]

 

v. Jannetje Varlet, born about 1624. She married Augustine Herman, who settled in Cecil County, Maryland. [9]

 

vi. Anna Varlet, born in Utrecht about 1626, died in Accomack County, Virginia in 1685. She married first Dr. Joris Hack, who died in 1665, [7] then the widower, Nicolaas Boot. [10]

 

vii. Marija Varlet, baptized in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam on the 7th of November 1627. Sponsors at the baptism were Severijn Hack, her uncle, and Marija de Pont. [11] She married (1) Johannis van Beeck, (2) Paulus Schrick, and (3) William Teller.

 

viii. Judith Varlet, baptized in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam on the 8th of November 1629. Her sponsors were Joris den Etta and Marij Pottij. [12] She married Nicholas Bayard.

 

ix. Catrijna Varlet, baptized in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam on the 2nd of September 1631. Sponsor was Catrijna (Varlet) Hack, her aunt. [13] She was buried in the Oude Zijds Kapel in Amsterdam on the 17th of October 1633. [14]

 

x. Jacus Varlet, baptized in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam on the 24th of November 1633. His sponsors were Jacob Jacus and Sara Stafmakers, his aunt. [15] He was buried in the Oude Zijds Kapel in Amsterdam on the 22nd of March 1635. [16]

 

xi. Catrijna Varlet, the second of that name, was baptized in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam on the 22nd of June 1636. Sponsors were her uncle, Daniel Varlet, and Walberchje Pieters. [17] She married Francoijs de Bruijn of Amsterdam.

 

xii. Sara Varlet, baptized in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam on the 1st of May 1639. [18] Sponsors were Admiral Jan Cornelisz. Lichthart, [19] her aunt Machtelt Jans van Bree, and Lijsbeth Schilt.

 

In 1623, Caspar Varlet of Utrecht, known as a 'lakenverkoper' (seller of textiles), then about thirty years old, had already become a significant merchant in Holland. One Nicholas van der A had sold 25,000 pounds of cannon fuses belonging to Caspar, which had been stored in a warehouse in Delft, to the Dutch Government. For his commission, van der A received 50 guilders, which indicates the sale had involved a considerable sum. Also in 1623, Caspar Varlet filed a request to the Amsterdam authorities to move his silk factory from Utrecht to Amsterdam, but at that time certain parties opposed his plans, and he withdrew this proposal. On the 27th of January 1625, he renewed his request, stating that twenty families would follow him to Amsterdam, and that he could hire at least one hundred people, who were now on welfare, to work for him. [20]

 

Caspar's request was approved, and the family was living in Amsterdam before November, 1627, when his daughter Marija was baptized on the 7th of November 1627 in the Oude Kerk of Amsterdam. The last six children of Caspar and Judith were born in Amsterdam between then and 1639.

 

By the mid-1630's, Caspar Varlet had ventured into the Virginia tobacco trade. On 26 August, 1636, the brothers Caspar and Daniel Varlet provided 1200 carolus guilders for a tenth part of the vessel "Rensselaerswyck," bound for New Netherland and Virginia, to Dierck Corssen Stam, the brother of Arent Corssen Stam. Some of these funds were for cargo and equipment. [21] In December 1639, Caspar and Daniel Verleth of Amsterdam were plaintiffs in a legal dispute over their share in a cargo of merchandise sent to Virginia aboard the "Wapen van Leeuwarden" that was traded for tobacco. [22]

 

On 5 June 1641, Caspar Varlet and his two brothers, Peter and Daniel, were guarantors when Catharina Willekens, widow of David Staffmacker, master craftsman in ebony work, sold her house "Het Schaepshooft" in Amsterdam to Pieter Heijblom and his brother, Francois.[23] Daniel Varlet was Catharina Willeken's son-in-law; Peter Heijbloem would soon become Caspar Varlet's son-in-law. "Het Schaepshooft," a large building in the commercial-residential street, the Warmoesstraat, contained artisan workshops and showrooms for the furniture business that the Heijbloem brothers had taken over after David Staffmacker's death. Fourteen months after this transaction, Caspar appeared as guardian for his daughter Francina, when she and Pieter Heijblom filed their marriage intentions in Amsterdam on 2 August, 1642.[4]

 

In 1645, Caspar appeared as a baptismal sponsor for his grandson, Niclaes Varlet, son of Abraham Varlet and Haesje Claes, who was baptized on 21 February 1645 in the Oude Kerk of Amsterdam. [24]

 

Caspar Varlet's investments in shares and merchandise in the ships "Rensselaerswyck" and "Wapen van Leeuwarden" indicates that his interest in New Netherland, or in commerce involving the North American colonies, began at an early date. But although Edwin R. Purple, after James Savage, proposed in his 1878 article that Caspar lived at the Dutch trading post, Ft. de Goede Hoop (at the site of the present Hartford, Conn.) as early as the 1630's, [25] this was not so. Purple and Savage apparently did not have access to the Amsterdam baptismal registers, where records of Caspar and Jannetje's six younger children, born and baptized in that city between 1627 and 1639, are found. In view of these births in Amsterdam, along with Caspar's continuing business activities in Amsterdam and his various appearances in events in the city and in the church there, it is unlikely that he resided in the colonies until his 1650-1651 move.

 

Caspar Varlet and his wife Judith Tentenier did emigrate to New Netherland with several of their children late in 1650. They arrived at New Amsterdam shortly before the first of January, 1651, aboard the ship, "Fortuyn." In 1709, at the age of 80, their daughter Judith Varlet, the wife of Nicholas Bayard, gave a deposition concerning that voyage. [26] In her recollection, Judith described the birth of her nephew Abraham, son of her brother Nicholas Varlet and his wife Susannah, whom she says was born "in a great storme, some few days before the Shipp arrived at or made a place called Martins Vinyard" (meaning Martha's Vinyard), and that "some few days after said Shipps departure from Martins Vinyard, they arrived at New York, then called New Amsterdam, where the said young born son was baptised by the Dutch minister Mr Megapolensus and named Abraham." Abraham's baptism took place on the first of January, 1651. [27]

 

Members of the Caspar Varlet family who came to North America were:

 

-- One of their older daughters, Anna Varlet, wife of Dr. Joris (George) Hack. These two may have come to the colonies before the 1650-1651 voyage of the "Fortuyn," but the name of the ship they arrived on is unknown. Probably they came along with Caspar, since their records in the colonies also begin in early 1651. They became English subjects, and owned land in Cecil County, Maryland near that of Augustine Herman, and in Accomack County, Virginia. Joris Hack's 1664 will mentions "my three children," [8] but in Anna's 1666 Maryland naturalization document, only "George & Peter her Sonnes borne at Accomacke in Virgina" are mentioned (the daughter is thought to be Judith)[28]. In the same naturalization act, Anna is said to have been born in Amsterdam, which is most likely incorrect --she was raised in Amsterdam, the place she considered as home, but probably had been born in Utrecht, not long before the family came to Amsterdam. Although much more is available today, a brief profile of this couple can be found in Purple's series "Contributions to the History of the Ancient Families of New York" in the "Register" of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, Vol. 9, no. 2, p. 54 (April 1878). After Joris Hack's death, Anna married Nicholas Boot.[29]

 

Those who arrived on the "Fortuyn" in 1650-1651:

 

-- Their son, Nicholas Varlet, his wife Susanna Jans[30], and their baby daughter Susanna, born in 1649 in Amsterdam. Their youngest child, Abraham, was born aboard the "Fortuyn" in December 1650. Baptisms in Amsterdam of two of Nicholas and Susanna's children had been sponsored by his sister Francina's husband, Pieter Heijbloem. Francois Heijbloem (Pieter's brother, or perhaps their father) sponsored the January 1651 baptism in New Amsterdam of Nicholas and Susanna's son, Abraham. It is possible that Francois Heijbloem was aboard this voyage of the "Fortuyn", although no other evidence exists in North America of Francois Heijblom's actual presence there.[31] After Susanna Jans' death, Nicholas Varlet married Anna Stuyvesant, sister of Peter, director of the New Netherland colonies from1647-1664. [6] Nicholas Varlet had a varied and interesting career in the colonies, spanning a quarter-century. A comprehensive profile of his life with pointers to other resources can be found in Purple's "Ancient Families" series in NYGBR, Vol. 9, no. 4 (October 1878).

 

-- Their son, Guilliam (William) Varlet, named after Guillaume Tentenier, his grandfather's brother. He was the third son, probably born about 1623. In 1643, he attended the University of Utrecht, enrolled as a medical student under rector Gulielmo Strateno. His cousin, David, son of Daniel Varlet, was enrolled in the same class. [32] At the time Caspar was ready to bring his family to New Amsterdam, Guilliam had chosen a career for himself in the colonies, and shortly before immigrating, a business contract was drawn up between him and his father and his brother Nicholas. In a notarial act filed in Amsterdam before the notary J. van de Ven, dated 11 August 1650, Caspar Varlet and his son Nicholas agreed on terms and conditions under which to found and supervise a distilling business for Guilliam to operate in New Netherland. The distillery will be set up after they all have arrived in the colony. [33] Several years later, in New Amsterdam, Guilliam witnessed a few baptisms, and he made a court appearance there in July 1658 in a dispute concerning tobacco. He had died before 26 Aug. 1659, when his brother Nicholas and brother-in-law Paulus Schrick appear in court concerning some financial obligations of his. [34] The distillery contract of 1650 indicates he was unmarried, and there is no evidence that he married in the colonies.

 

-- Their daughter Judith Varlet, the longest-surviving child of Caspar and Judith Varlet, who gave a deposition in 1709 concerning the 1650-51 voyage of the "Fortuyn." She lived with her parents at Hartford, where, in 1662, through the intervention of Peter Stuyvesant, she narrowly escaped execution after being found guilty of "disturbing" the young daughter of a neighbor, when a wave of witch-hunting hysteria occurred in that town. [35] She became the wife of Nicholas Bayard, Stuyvesant's brother-in-law. [36] Although in her 1709 deposition, Judith recollects being "about fifteen" on the voyage of the "Fortuyn," since her baptism was in November 1639, she had actually been just over twenty. Although Samuel Purple is mistaken about her status as the "probably the youngest daughter" (she is the fifth daughter, with three younger sisters following), he adequately covers the life of this couple, and follows their descendents, in his "Ancient Families" series in NYGBR, Vol. 10, No. 1 (January, 1879.)

 

-- Their daughter Jannetje Varlet, who married Augustine Herman in December 1651, [10] and moved with him to Maryland, was probably aboard the "Fortuyn." One of the six older children of Caspar and Judith, her marriage record indicates she was born in Utrecht. Augustine Herman, who worked for the West Indies Company as a young man, had been known to the family for some years before he married Jannetje. A sketch of her life and his, with a partial list of descendents, and with pointers to other resources, can be found in Purple's "Ancient Families" series in NYGBR, Vol. 9, no. 2 (April 1878).

 

-- Their daughter Maria, born in Amsterdam; age 23 when the family came to New Amsterdam; married three times. She made three advantageous marriages in the Dutch colonies. Her first husband, Johannes van Beeck, son of a Director of the West Indies Company, was killed in an Indian attack in October, 1655. See entry for Sara Varlet below. Maria married second to Paulus Schrick, and third to the well-to-do widower, William Teller. A history of her life and marriages can be found in Purple's "Ancient Families" series in NYGBR, Vol. 9, No. 4 (October 1878), which follows several lines of her descendents. [37]

 

-- Their daughter, Catrijna, fourteen when the family came to New Amsterdam. She married Francois de Bruyn in 1657, [38] and along with her sister Judith, was a baptismal sponsor for her niece, Judith Herman, daughter of Augustine Herman and their sister Jannetje, in 1660. [39] She died before September 1662. [40] For more on the descendents of Catrijna Varlet and Francois de Bruyn, see Purple's "Ancient Families" series in NYGBR, Vol. 10, No. 1 (January, 1879). As noted earlier, since Purple had not located the Varlet baptisms in Amsterdam, he is also mistaken about the birth order of Catrijna.

 

-- Their youngest child, Sara Varlet, age 11 in 1650. Along with her sister Judith, she appears in New Amsterdam court in June 1655, in a case brought against the two by Wolphert Webber. [41] Sara Varlet was captured by Indians in October 1655, during a massive attack they made at Manhattan, at the time of the Dutch military action in Delaware against New Sweden. After Peter Stuyvesant had taken a force of men and ships to the Swedish colony on the Delaware River, Maria Varlet, her sister and her husband Johannes van Beeck, along with a visiting ship captain, were enjoying an outing when Indians attacked the settlements around Manhattan. After the surrender of New Sweden, Johannes Bogaert, a clerk attached to "De Waegh," the flagship of the Dutch force at Ft. Christina, wrote a report describing the siege and capitulation of New Sweden, and the results of the Indian attack at Manhattan. This report, written on board "De Waegh" on its return voyage to Holland, was in the form of a letter addressed to Hans Bontemantel, then a Schepen of Amsterdam and a Director in the Amsterdam Chamber of the West India Company. At the close of his letter, Johannes Bogaert writes:

 

The 11th of October, Governor Rijsingh and Factor Elswijck, with some Swedes, came on board, whom we carried with us to Menades [[Manhattan]]. We ran out to sea for the Menades on the 12th, and on the 17th happily arrived within Sandy Hook. On the 21st we sailed for the North River, from Staten Island, by the watering-place, and saw that all the houses there, and about Molyn's house, were burned up by the Indians; and we learned here that Johannes van Beeck, with his wife and some other people, and the captain of a slave-trader which was lying here at anchor with a vessel, having gone on a pleasure excursion, were attacked by the Indians, who murdered Van Beeck and the captain, and took captive his wife and sister. We found Van Beeck dead in a canoe, and buried him. His wife has got back. [42]

 

Sara Varlet survived her capture, and was returned to the family. In January 1657, Sara was treated by the physician, John Winthrop, Jr., at Hartford, where Caspar had removed with several members of his family. Winthrop's medical notes on Sara's case reveal that she suffered from some malady related to her capture some sixteen months earlier. He identifies her as "Varlet, Sarah, daughter of Mr Varlet ye Duchman" [sic] and continues: "17 yeares was taken by the Indians & th~by frightened & was never well since but has great paine in her head & swollen in b[unreadable]". The middle part of this entry is badly smudged and dark, but more can be understood: "able to take first [smudged] but was sicke..." [43] Caspar's granddaughter, Susannah Varlet, a child of Nicolaes Varlet, then eight years old, was treated at Hartford by Winthrop about the same time, for troubles with both eyes, relating to an illness she had seven years previously.

 

On August 19, 1658, a case was heard in court at Hartford, concerning Caspar Varlet (as 'Jasper Varleet') and his servant, Isbrand Goodheart. [44] Caspar was dealing in cattle and beef. His still and worm, also mentioned in court, may have been equipment from the distillery of his deceased son Guilliaume. [see note 32].

 

Caspar and his wife had both died at Hartford by 22 September, 1662, when a full inventory of their estate was filed there, valued at £ 205. 14. 00. Administration was awarded to their son Nicholas, who on 11 October, 1662 presented the "full Credit of ye Accounts out of Monseur Varlet's Book." [44] Their estate was settled by 15 June, 1663, when Nicholas Varlet and his sister Maria, then 'Mrs. Schreeck' (wife of Paulus Schrick), were released from their administrative bond. [45]

 

Two children of Caspar Varlet and Judith Tentenier did not emigrate to North America, but married in Amsterdam and remained in Holland with their own families. Abraham, the oldest, married twice, and by 1664 had baptized nine children in Amsterdam. In 1653, he was the commander of a merchant ship, the Walvisch, which took part in naval actions against the English in the Battle of the Gabbard on 12-13 June 1653, and in the Battle of Scheveningen on 10 August 1653. Francina, the oldest daughter, married Pieter Heijblom, who with his brother Francois operated the fine furniture business that had once belonged to the master craftsman, David Staffmaecker, an in-law of Caspar's brother Daniel. The careers of these two Varlet children are covered in subsequent chapters here.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

NOTES and SOURCES

 

1. 'Ceulen' (now Keulen) is the Dutch spelling for Cologne. Marriage recorded in the Utrechts Archief: huwelijken hervormd 1611-1617 (Reformed marriages): akte 91p264.

 

2. Utrechts Archief, Doopregister (1585-1670), akte 20p28.

 

3. Stadsarchief Amsterdam: ondertrouwregister, akte 460p444. Marriage intentions, Amsterdam: 1 Juny 1644. "Abraham Varlet van Uytregt out 27 jaren wonend op de Runstraat, geasst met sijn vader Gasper Varlet ter ene, & Haesje Claes out omtrent 24 jaren wonend op de Lastage geasst met hare vader Claes Cornelis. Hij is wedr. van Maria Hack." (transcription from digital image and translation by Cor Snabel and Elizabeth A. Johnson) Death noted in Aantekening der familie der Varletten, by Pieter Varlet et al., in Drents Archief access nr. 0604 inv. nr. 14.

 

4. Stadsarchief Amsterdam: ondertrouwregister, akte 458p128. Marriage intentions, Amsterdam, 2 Aug. 1642: "Pieter Heijbloem van Acken, winckelier, geasst. met Francois Heijbloem sijn vader, wonende in de Warmoesstraat, & Francina Verlet van Uytregt, wonend op de Breestraat, geasst. met Casper Verlet haer vader." (transcription from digital image and translation by Cor Snabel and Elizabeth A. Johnson)

 

5. Stadsarchief Amsterdam: begraafregister (burial records), akte 1063p124.

 

6. Marriage 1 in Stadsarchief Amsterdam: ondertrouwregister, akte 465p27: "10 July 1647. Nicolaes Varlit van Uytrecht, out 25 jaar, geasst. met sijn vader Casparus Verlitt, woont op de Breestraat & Susanna Jans van A(msterdam), out 20 jaar, geen ouders hebbend, geasst. met haer voogt Gerrit Klerq & haer petemoy Jannetie Claes, woont in de Ness" (transcription from digital image and translation by Cor Snabel and Elizabeth A. Johnson) states he was from (born at) Utrecht.

 

Marriage 2: Samuel S. Purple, Editor; Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam and New York; Marriages from 11 December, 1639 to 16 August, 1801; Volume I (1890), p. 21. Text: [1656] "14 Oct; Nicolaes Verlet, wid Susanna Jillis [[sic!]]; Anna Stuyvesants, wid Samuel Bayarts."

 

Death: 1675 July 3. Letters of administration on the estate of Capt. Nicholas Verlett, dec'd, granted to Samuel Edsall and Peter Stoutenburch. In New Jersey Colonial Records, East Jersey Records: Part 2, Vol. 21 Calendar of Records 1664-1703 East Jersey Deeds, Etc., Liber No. 3. p. 115.

 

7. Nottingham, Wills and Administrations, Accomack County, Virginia, 1663-1800; p. 2.

 

8. Fernow, Records of New Amsterdam (hereafter RNA) Vol. 2:413 (court appearance) 3:29 (is dead).

 

9. Samuel S. Purple, Editor; Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam and New York; Marriages from 11 December, 1639 to 16 August, 1801; Volume I (1890), p. 16. Text: [1651] "10 Decemb. Augustyn Hermans, j. m. Uyt Bohemen, en Janneken Verlet, j. d. Van Uytrecht."

 

10. P. 20, Stratton Nottingham, Wills and Administrations, Accomack County, Virginia, 1663-1800; p. 68, Bote, Ann: Adm. her est. to Geo: Nicholas Hack & Peter Hack, sons of sd Ann. 8 July 1685.

 

11. Stadsarchief Amsterdam: doopregister (baptism records), akte 6 p.189.

 

12. Stadsarchief Amsterdam: doopregister, akte 6 p 256.

 

13. Stadsarchief Amsterdam: doopregister, akte 41p 152.

 

14. Stadsarchief Amsterdam: begraafregister, akte 1062 p 27v.

 

15. Stadsarchief Amsterdam: doopregister, akte 6 p 387.

 

16. Stadsarchief Amsterdam: begraafregister, akte 1062 p 29v.

 

17. Stadsarchief Amsterdam: doopregister, akte 7p92. NOTE: Catrina Varlet's name, and that of her brother William, appear as headrights on a 1674 Virginia land patent of Ann Varlet's. But since headrights certificates were sometimes held for years and often traded as currency before finally being exchanged them for land, headrights certificates cannot be used alone in support of death dates, nor can they be used as definitive proof of a person's presence at a specific place at a specific time.

 

18. Stadsarchief Amsterdam: doopregister, akte 7 p.209.

 

19. Admiral Lichthart served in several engagements against the Portugese at Brazil in the 1640's.

 

20. a) Sale of fuses: Oud Notarieel Archief Rotterdam, inv. 92, akte 44/92, Notaris Jan van Aller Az., dated 06/12/1623. b) Silk factory proposal: Stadsarchief Amsterdam nr. 14f57e, "Resolutie Vroedschap," 27 January 1625, cited in Bronnen tot de geschiedenis van het bedrijfsleven en het gildewezen, by J.G. van Dillen. publ. Nijhoff, 's-Gravenhage 1929. Vol. 2 (1612-1632) pp. 562-563.

 

21. Stadsarchief Amsterdam: notarial archives, akte 414/173, dd 26-8-1636. Abstract in "Calendar to Amsterdam and Rotterdam Notarial Acts Relating to the Virginia Tobacco Trade" by Dr. Jan Kupp, in The William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Ser., Vol. 30, No. 4 (October, 1973), pp. 653-655. His chart of abstracted notarial acts is online at: <http://gateway.uvic.ca/spcoll/Kupp/Virginia_Tobaccol.pdf>

 

22. ibid.

 

23. Stadsarchief Amsterdam: kwijtscheldingen, akte 38 p. 128v. (transcription from digital image and translation by Cor Snabel and Elizabeth A. Johnson)

 

24. Stadsarchief Amsterdam: doopregister, akte 8 p.43.

 

25. Edwin R Purple, 1878, "Ancient Families of New York" in New York Genealogical & Biographical Register (hereafter NYGBR) Vol. 9, no. 2, p. 55

 

26. "The Deposition of Judith Varleth" in NYGBR 71:117.

 

27. Thomas Grier Evans, Editor; Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam and New York; Baptisms from 25 December, 1639, to 17 December, 1730, Volume II (1901), p. 28. Text: [1651] "1 Jan; Nicolaes Verleth; Abraham; Abraham Verleth, Francois Heyblom, Judith Verleth. "

 

28. Maryland State Archives (hereafter MSA) Vol. II, Page 144, "Proceedings and Acts of the General Assembly, April 1666-June 1676."

 

29. MSA Vol. 86, Pp. 142-143.

 

30. A confusion about Susanna's surname (patronymic) was created by the record of Nicholas' second marriage. Although in the New Amsterdam marriage record of Nicholas Varlet and Anna Stuyvesant he was noted as the widower of 'Susanna Jillis' (see note 6), in the document of marriage intention filed in Amsterdam on 10 July 1647 between Nicholas and Susanna, her name and signature reveal that her name was Susanna Jans. Translated, it reads "Susanna Jans from A[msterdam], 20 years old, having no parents, assisted by her guardian Gerrit Klerq & her petemoij Jannetie Claes..." [SAA 465p27]. In the Stadsarchief in Amsterdam one Susanna Jans was baptized on 21 October 1627 in the Oude Kerk, daughter of Jan Jelisz. and Susanna Jans [SAA 6p187]. Although positive proof has not been found, this Susanna Jans is probably the one who married Nicholas Varlet. Susanna's marriage record may indicate another possible relative, her "petemoij Jannetie Claes..." 'Petemoij' can indicate either an aunt or a 'godmother.'

 

31. Pieter Heijblom sponsored baptisms in Amsterdam of Johannes, son of Nicholas Varlet and Susanna Jans, on 11 August 1648 in the Oude Kerk [SAA 8 p.171], and of their daughter Susanna on 22 August 1649 in the Zuider Kerk [SAA 93 p.294]. Francois Heijblom, another member of the Heijblom family (Pieter Heijblom's brother, or perhaps their father), sponsored the baptism in January 1651 in New Amsterdam of Abraham, the youngest son of Nicholas Varlet and Susanna Jans, born in December 1650 aboard the ship "Fortuyn," but it is doubtful that he was in New Amsterdam to witness this baptism personally. Since no other evidence exists in North America of Francois Heijblom's actual presence there, this baptism sponsorship was almost certainly by proxy.

 

32. Album studiosorum Academiae rheno-traiectinae MDCXXXVI-MDCCCLX;XXVI: accedunt nomina curatorum et professorum: per eadem secula. Utrecht: Beijers, 1889, p. 6. (Guilliam) and p. 4 (David).

 

33. Stadsarchief Amsterdam: notarial acts, akte 1094p464, film nr. 1281, dd. 11 August 1650; notary J. van de Ven. In this contract between Caspar and Nicholas Varlet, they agree on terms under which a brandywine distillery will be opened in New Netherland for William to manage after the family's arrival. In setting up and running this business, Caspar and Nicholas will invest two-thirds and one-third respectively, and will receive like amounts of the profits, and Caspar maintains control as the director. They also agree that if and when William should marry, he and Nicholas would then each receive a fourth share, while Caspar's share would become one-half.

 

34. Court Records of New Amsterdam, in RNA 2:378; RNA 2:413, 415; RNA 3:32. NOTE (ej): William Varlet's name, and that of his sister Catrina, appear as headrights on a 1674 Virginia land patent of Ann Varlet's. Headrights certificates were sometimes held for years, often being traded as currency, before finally being exchanged for land. Therefore, headrights certificates alone cannot be used in support of death dates, nor can they be used as definitive proof of a person's actual presence at a specific place at a specific time.

 

35. Stuyvesant's letter in Documents Relative to the History of New York, vol. 14, p. 518 (on CDROM); also Cotton Mather, "An Essay For the Recording of Illustrious Providences" in which he writes:

 

"And then the Discourse passed into a Dutch-tone (a Dutch Family then lived in the Town) and therein an account was given of some afflictions that had befallen divers; amongst others, what had befallen a Woman that lived next Neighbour to the Dutch Family, whose Arms had been strangely pinched in the night, declaring by whom and for what cause that course had been taken with her. The Reverend Mr. Stone (then Teacher of the Church in Hartford) being by, when the Discourse hapned, declared, that he thought it impossible for one not familiarly acquainted with the Dutch (which Ann Cole had not in the least been) should so exactly imitate the Dutch-tone in the pronunciation of English."

 

But what the Reverend Mr. Stone had not understood was the extraordinary facility that young children have for acquiring languages. Consciously or not, the girl had been mimicking the sound of her neighbors' voices. See also: Drake, Frederick C. "Witchcraft in the American Colonies, 1647-62" American Quarterly Vol. 20 (1968):694-725; Levermore, Charles H. "Witchcraft in Connecticut" New Englander 44 (1885):788-817).

 

36. Samuel S. Purple, Editor; Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam and New York; Marriages from 11 December, 1639 to 16 August, 1801; Volume I (1890), p. 32. Text: [1666] "23 May; Nicolaes Bayard, j.m. van Alphen; Judith Verlet, j.d. van Amsterdam."

 

37. Purple, "Ancient Families of New York" in NYGBR Vol 9, no. 3, pp. 113-125.

 

38. Samuel S. Purple, Editor; Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam and New York; Marriages from 11 December, 1639 to 16 August, 1801; Volume I (1890), p. 22. Text: [1657] "Sonder datum"* "Francoys de Bruyn, Van Amsterdam, en Catharyn Verlet, Van Amsterdam." [*meaning, 'without date'].

 

39. Thomas Grier Evans, Editor; Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam and New York; Baptisms from 25 December, 1639, to 17 December, 1730, p. 56. Text: [1660] "May 9; Augustinus Heermans, Jannetje Verleth; Judith; Jacobus Backer, Albinus Heermans, Judith Verleth, Juffr. de Bruyn."

 

40. Purple, "Ancient Families of New York."

 

41. RNA vol. 1, pp 326-7.

 

42. The Johannes Bogaert letter was printed in 1858 in the Netherlands publication, "De Navorscher," VIII. 185-186. A translation by Henry C. Murphy was also published in 1858 in "The Historical Magazine", II. 258-259. This letter appeared in 1909, Jameson, J. Franklin, ed., Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664 (Original Narratives of Early American History). NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, e-text in Project Gutenberg at: <http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/etext02/nwnth10.htm>

 

43. "John Winthrop, Jr.'s Medical Journal" page 83. Entries for Sara and Susannah Varlet transcribed by Elizabeth Johnson from copy of microfilm. "John Winthrop, Jr.'s Medical Journal" in Winthrop Family Papers 1537-1990; bulk: 1620-1900, Microfilm Edition. Part II. Bound volumes, 1550-1909. Microfilm Call Number: P-350, Reel 38: Vol. 20a-b: John Winthrop, Jr. medical records, 1657-1669 (Vols. 1 and 2). Repository: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston, MA. With thanks to Kathy Basto who noted this source of information.

 

44. Connecticut Historical Society Collections,Vol. XXII Particular Court 1639-1663, p. 255; Colonial Connecticut Records, Vol. 01, p. 322.

 

45. Manwaring, Charles William. A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records. Reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1995, p. 158.

 

46. ibid, Vol. III, p. 4.

 

 

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