Magdalena Van Etten Ennes, 1751 - 1819

Over the course of the years exploring the genealogy of the Ennes family the problems encountered have included a seemingly endless stream of rumors, one purposeful misdirection, legends, third hand translations, lost records, a mysterious bible, faulty 19th century newspaper reports of a vast inheritance and conflated battles fought in one place or another with an ever growing number of nameless casualties, and finally a host of Minisink young folk heading off  to settle a new town in the late 18th century just as one is getting comfortable with the old guard left behind.

All in all it ends up with people crossing rivers in search of a livelihood, burying a neighbor, attending a wedding, growing old or giving birth. Sometimes the mist lays heavy across the water obscuring the view and sometimes the sun rises and burns through the fog.

The tale of  the "Widow Ennes," Magdalena Van Etten, who married and buried Lt. Benjamin Ennes, and long rumored to have followed their children up the tributaries of the Susquehanna River into New York State has proved out.  

Last Will & Testament of Magdalena Ennis, of Spencer, Tioga County, N. Y.

"...I give and bequeath to my Eldest son Alexander Ennis whom I likewise Choose, and constitute, make and ordain my only and sole executor, of this last will and testament One Sixth part of my property also to have full power to ___ the money due from the State of Pennsylvania and to be allowed a fair and reasonable compensation for all his trouble and expenses as executor for all business..." 

Magdalena further wills portions of her property to "my second Son Johones Ennis,"  "my two daughters Elizabeth Decker and Mary Ennis," "my third son Emanuel Ennis," "my fourth son Benjamin," "my son in Law Abraham Decker,"  and lastly, "my son in Law Wilhelmus Ennis" (husband of daughter Mary).

The Witnesses to Magdalena's Last Will and Testament of February 9, 1819 were Isaac Swartwood, Hannah Vangorden and Aiusy (?) Ennis.  Magdalena left her mark, whether out of illness or illiteracy is unknown, beside the signature "Magdalanah Ennis" of this record made by Robert Lawrence, Esq.  Within months, by the 17th of November of that year, Magdalena would be dead.

May she rest in peace.

~~~~~

Sources:

"New York, Probate Records, 1629-1971," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-24591-15644-25?cc=1920234&wc=Q7PJ-HZ3:213301801,213928801 : accessed 22 September 2015), Tioga > Will and Proceeding index 1800-1936 vol A > image 49 of 196; county courthouses, New York.

"New York, Probate Records, 1629-1971," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-24597-10914-34?cc=1920234&wc=Q7PG-MNP:213301801,213948601 : accessed 22 September 2015), Tioga > Wills 1818-1840 vol C-D, 4, 8 > image 34 of 478; county courthouses, New York.

"New York, Probate Records, 1629-1971," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-24597-11195-29?cc=1920234&wc=Q7PG-MNP:213301801,213948601 : accessed 22 September 2015), Tioga > Wills 1818-1840 vol C-D, 4, 8 > image 35 of 478; county courthouses, New York.

Related MVG articles:

The "Widow Ennes," Magdalena Van Etten, of Delaware Township, 1798

The 1780 Account of the Battle of Conashaugh 

The Battle of Conashaugh Affidavits

The Minisink Subscribers to the 1795 "Young Mill-Wright & Miller's Guide"

Mark Thomson, Esq. estate inventory

Browsing through Inventories, Volume A, 1803-1808, of the Sussex County, New Jersey Probate records, my attention was immediately drawn to the heading, Printed Books, in the Estate inventory of Mark Thomson, Esq., as sworn to at Newton in 1806.  Thomson (1739-1803), a Colonel of the First Regiment Sussex County New Jersey Militia, a Representative in the fourth and fifth Congresses, 1795 - 1799, and a slave owner, built a mill on the Paulinskill. The settlement on the site would become known thereafter as Marksboro.

Further research into the ninth title listed in the Thomson Inventory led to the University of Pittsburgh's rare 1795 first edition of The Young Mill-wright and Miller's Guide by Oliver Evans.

One of the notable features of this edition is the bound in Subscriber pages at the end of the book, a list of well-to-do patrons who sought "to encourage the work," in the words of the author, through underwriting the cost of publication in return for a discount. Typically this would be the first print run as delivered to the subscribers, subsequent runs would lack these pages further reducing the cost. Many of the subscribers would order multiple copies of the work.

The list of subscribers, a virtual Who's Who of the young Nation, included George Washington, then President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, former Secretary of State, numerous Senators & Representives, but most interestingly, it also included a handful of lesser known men in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Among them were second and third generation millers and mill-wrights whose ancestors had settled in the Minisink Valley.

Isaac Swartswood [Swartwood]

The 1795 Subscribers:  Isaac Swartswood [Swartwood] in present day Pike Co PA; Abraham Van Camp [Campen, Jr.], mill-wright in present day Warren Co. NJ; Jonathan Baker, mill-wright, and Hugh Forsman in present day Monroe Co. PA; James Douglas, Abraham Haver, and Ralph Hunt in Sussex Co. NJ.  Among the author's advertisers for Mill stones & equipment is William Byrnes of New Windsor NY.

Numerous others are residents of neighboring Hunderton (sic) and Summerset (sic) counties in New Jersey, and in present day Northampton Co. PA.  Most, but not all, of the alphabetically listed subscribers are followed by city or county (subject to later boundary change), with states being abbreviated with a single letter.  A number of subscribers have no identifying region so I may not have recognized their surname or variant as resident in Tri-state NJ, NY & PA.

A brilliant inventor and engineer, Oliver Evans would hold the third patent ever issued in the United States. His book would transform milling technology, remain a staple manual for millers, and would be revised and reprinted in fifteen editions through 1860.  James Poupard (1769-1814) the meticulous engraver, also illustrated for the American Philosophical Society's Transactions, including A Chart of the Gulph [Gulf] Stream, with remarks by Benjamin Franklin, 1786.

No less interesting in the Mark Thomson, Esq. estate inventory, on the page following Printed Books and under the headings Slaves for Life and Dutch Servants, were 12 individuals ~ but that is a story for another day.

The Battle of Conashaugh Affidavits

The 19th century applications for pension based on Revolutionary War service affidavits contain details of the April 1780 action though many years had intervened to perhaps color those memories and family accounts.  Herein a transcribed collection of existing material in the Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files supporting primary source evidence detailing the deaths of only three men in the spring of 1780 as found in The 1780 Account of the Battle of Conashaugh.

The files are part of Record Group 15, Records of the Veteran Administration.

Affidavit excerpts:

Pvt. Gideon Cole, age 83, 1846, File S9210
...That in the year Seventeen hundred and Eighty Deponent again entered the service of the United States as a volunteer under the same officers [Major Samuel Westbrook and Captain Peter Westbrook] and served five months in manner as before.  Stated that during this period of service intelligence was brought to the fort by one Phillip McCarty that the Indians were collected in large numbers on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River.  Early next morning the company to which Deponent was attached were ordered to march against the Indians Captain Peter Westbook and Major Samuel Westbrook commanded.  After crossing the Delaware River into Pennsylvania the Company was divided. Captain Peter Westbrook commanded one portion and Major Westbrook the other.  Deponent was commanded by Captain Westbrook who directed our march to a small stream called the Connesook [Conashaugh], the other portion under the command of Major Westbrook marched in the direction of the Remans Kill [Raymondskill] The Company under command of Captain Peter Westbrook to which the deponent was attached after marching about three miles from the Delaware River came up with the Indians who were laying in ambush.  A battle ensued and after hard fighting with our enemy behind rocks and trees and after having lost our Captain and a number of the soldiers we were compelled by a quantity superior force to retreat.  The killed in this engagement as near as deponent now recollects were Captain Peter Westbrook, Lieutenant Benjamin Ennis and Richard Rosencranse, the wounded were James Van Etten and Samuel Helm ...

Pvt. Andrew Dingman, age 80, 1832, File S22731
... He further says that shortly afterwards [1780] he turned out as a volunteer under Major Samuel Westbrook and Captain Peter Westbrook two brothers from the State of New Jersey and Captain Johannes Vannetten and Lieutenant Benjamin Ennes of the State of Pennsylvania, that the party had a skirmish on the Pennsylvania side of the river Delaware near a house then occupied by Philip McCarty, in which one Indian supposed to be the chief was killed - the Indians retreated, and were pursued by the party for a distance of four or five miles when they lay in ambush and again gave battle - in which Captain Peter Westbrook & Lieutenant Benjamin Ennes and a young man by the name of Richard Rosencrantz were killed, Samuel Helms wounded in both his thighs and James Vanetten in the shoulder - and he the deponent assisted in bringing in and burying the dead ...

Pvt. Samuel Helm, age 72, 1832, File S4356
...That in the Spring of the year Seventeen Hundred and Eighty he joined Captain Peter Westbrook's Company as a volunteer who was then stationed in the County of Sussex in the State of New Jersey on the Delaware River under the Command of Major Samuel Westbrook and served until the 20th of April of same year; on that day a party of Indians were discovered from the fort where we were stationed on the opposite side of the Delaware River in the County of Northampton (now Pike), State of Pennsylvania, we were immediately ordered to cross the River and attack the Indians; commanded by Major Samuel Westbrook & Captain Peter Westbrook we marched against the Indians, soon after we had landed on the Pennsylvania shore we discovered the Indians in Ambush. After we had discharged several guns at them and received their fire several times the Indians retreated to the Mountains with the  loss of their party who appeared to be their Commander or chief from the appearance of his D__.  Our commanding officers directed us to pursue them we did pursue them about four miles into the mountains and when in about Pistol  ___ distance from them (they being in Ambush) we received their fire from so sudden and unexpected an attack we were thrown into some confusion but by the Bravery & example of our commanding officers soon again were called and returned their fire.  The Battle lasted some time hot & bloody.  After discharging several [or seven] times my rifle (two words struck out) and in the act of discharging it again I received a wound through both my thighs which disabled me; when endeavoring to support myself by my rifle I observed our Captain Peter Westbrook fighting within one rod of the enemy calling on his men to advance soon however he was killed. Our Lieutenant Benjamin Ennis was also killed in the engagement.  Richard Rosencrantz was also killed & James Van Etten was wounded, after Capt Peter Westbrook was killed Capt Johannes Van Etten took the Command ___ finding our Captain & Lieutenent killed & some of the Soldiers wounded and our numbers small compared to that of the Indians we were obliged to retreat. __ Andrew Dingman, Josephus Westbrook, Martinus Westbrook, Benjamin Hains & Gideon Cole were in the engagement.... 

Pvt. Barnardus Swartwood, age 73, 1832, File S22522
... He further saith that in the same year [1780] he served as a private in the Pennsylvania Militia at the Fort which was thrown up around the house of Captain Johannes Van Etten for the term of five months, Captain Van Etten commanded the troops in the Fort during which time an engagement took place with the Indians near the house of Phillip McCarty on the Pennsylvania side of the River Delaware in which one Indian was killed, from the appearance of his d___ was supposed he [was] an officer.  The Indians retreated into the woods three or four miles where the Militia again gave them Battle in which Captain Peter Westbrook & Lieutenant Benjamin Ennis were killed the last named officer was scalped.  Samuel Helm was wounded in both thighs & James Van Etten was wounded in his shoulder.  The said Benjamin Ennis was the brother in law of this deponent and the deponent saith he helped to carry the said Benjamin Ennis after he was killed to the Fort above mentioned ... 

Pvt. Abraham Decker, age 79, 1833, File S5332
"...Indians gave way having sustained a loss of several men, one of whom was ascertained to have been the Commander of the Indians from the peculiarity of his ___.  The Indians were pursued about four miles in the woods where they made a stand and gave battle after a bloody conflict the Americans were compelled to retreat, in this engagement Captain Peter Westbrook, Lieutenant Benjamin Ennis and Richard Rosencrantz were killed, James Van Etten was wounded in the shoulder and Samuel Helm in both his thighs."

Cornelia Decker Van Etten LaBar, widow of Ensign John Van Etten, 1846, File W4474/BLWT26699-160-55
... that her husband was also in the Indian Battles the one at Coneshaw [Conashaugh], on the west side of the River Delaware in now Pike County ... that her husband's father Johannes Van Etten had a fort on the west side of the Delaware River and was a Captain in the Revolutionary War.

Sarah Van Auken, daughter of Capt. Peter Westbrook, 1851, File W18321
... that her father the said Peter Westbrook was called into actual service at or about the commencement of the revolution and was almost constantly engaged in defending the frontiers from the British and Indian incursions till he was killed by the Indians at the battle of Minisink on the nineteenth day of April one thousand seven hundred and eighty.

James Westbrook, son of Major Samuel Westbrook, 1851, File S11714
... that in April 1780 he was in an engagement with the Indians near Upper Smithfield in the County of Northampton Penna where his brother Capt. Peter Westbrook also then in service was killed ...

The New Jersey Gazette, May 3, 1780, Vol III, Issue 123, Page 3, Trenton, New Jersey

The map pushpin indicates the historic McCarty House, c 1740, just south of the Raymondskill Creek gorge and north of the Conashaugh Creek gorge.



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Tombstone Errors: William Custard, Egypt Mills PA

Once again while browsing the images in Family Search's Pennsylvania Probate Records I happened upon an entry which surprised me:  William Custard's Last Will and Testament, Wayne Co Wills, Vol. I, No. 12, is clearly probated in 1806.  His tombstone, located at the Swartwood burying ground in Pike County Pennsylvania, bears a death date of 1826. 

Click on the images to enlarge

Heirs:  Son William, unnamed children, grandson Benjamin (son of William) and wife Sary

Witnessed by John Nyce and Barnardus Swartwood; John Brodhead, Register

A couple of possibilities come to mind - a well meaning descendant found and replaced a partially illegible stone or perhaps, based on family tradition, placed a new stone in the burying ground in memory of their ancestor.

The error exists in the 1933 transcription page of Cemeteries, Graveyards and Burying Grounds in Pike Co PA, on the State's 1935 Veteran Burial Card, on Find A Grave's website memorial for William, and in countless family trees. Multiple copies of my photo of the headstone (used without permission or credit) have appeared on Ancestry.com spreading the erroneous date like a virus across the net.

It's a lovely tombstone, with a crisp inscription & not a lichen to be seen. I remember wondering at the time if it were a replacement.

Tombstone errors spawn questions:  Is a calculated birth date valid? Was the 1933 transcription the cause or merely a reflection of the error?  Is the matching tombstone of Sarah Swartwood, his wife, also harboring mistaken information?

Are Sarah and William actually buried here? I would venture the opinion that their remains very likely are buried here given the names and dates on the weathered headstones of relatives, friends and neighbors who do rest in peace in the old burying grounds.    

Update:
The similarities of material, shape, lettering & weathering of the following Custard tombstones leads me to believe that they are replacements, carved & placed at the same time as those of William Sr & Sarah. Further research is in order to confirm these dates:

Elizabeth Custard, d 1850
Margaretia, wife of Mason D Custard, d 18_?
William Custard, d 1862

The following well weathered Custard family tombstones appear to be original headstones placed at the time of burial:
Frances M d 1856
Ira D d 18__?
Rufus H, son of Cyrus & Francis, 1858











Swartwood is located off Rt 209 in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, between Dingmans Ferry and Bushkill PA. Watch for the sign for Mile Marker 4. Pull in to the semi-circle gravel parking area directly opposite the entrance to Valley View Group Campsites.

Park and walk back along the northern entrance drive, look for a footpath on the left which will open up to a woods road. Take the right fork of the woods road and follow to the top of the bluff overlooking the river valley.

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For readers unfamiliar with the probate process, the appearance in court of the witnesses to the signing of the Will determines its validity and is the first step in the administration of the estate.  

Probate:
The court process by which a Will is proved valid or invalid. The legal process wherein the estate of a decedent is administered. 

When a person dies, his or her estate must go through probate, which is a process overseen by a probate court. If the decedent leaves a will directing how his or her property should be distributed after death, the probate court must determine if it should be admitted to probate and given legal effect.

The "Widow Ennes," Magdalena Van Etten, of Delaware Township, 1798

The advantages of sketching out the family trees of an 18th century neighborhood in the Minisink, in this case Delaware Township, Pike Co. Pennsylvania, came to the fore last evening when I happened upon the tax record for the Widow Ennes while researching the Custard, Decker and Swartwood families. Records for Magdalena Van Etten after Benjamin Ennes' death are scarce; claims based on speculation or secondary sources from traditional histories with egregious errors abound on the web.  Gathering together what is known and rooting out the rumors in this era of booming genealogy has been fascinating.

A question had come up in discussion with another interested party from the Sandyston Township Historical Society in NJ (the township where Benjamin Ennes was born) who asked if I had found any residency records for Magdalena in my wanderings.  Some months later I am pleased to report the following record on Ancestry.com (subscription), Pennsylvania, U.S. Direct Tax Lists, 1798   

General List of Lands, Lots, Buildings and Wharves, owned, possessed or occupied on the first Day of October 1798, within Delaware Township, Wayne County ... in the State of Pennsylvania ..

One house on one acre is occupied by the Widow Ennes, on property owned by John Van Etten, and who is Magdalena Van Etten Ennes, daughter of Johannes Van Etten and the widow of Benjamin Ennes, killed in the so-called Battle of the Conashaugh in 1780. This establishes a residency in Pennsylvania 18 years after the death of her husband. 

32 years after Lt. Benjamin Ennes' death, on February 3, 1812, the Journal of the 22nd House of Representatives of the Commonwealth reported:  Mr. Dingman [Rep. Daniel W Dingman ] presented the petition of Magdalena Ennes, accompanied with a document, stating that she is the widow of Lieutenant Benjamin Ennes, who was killed during the revolution in the service of his country and praying relief; and said petition and document were read, and referred to the committee on claims.


  

Laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Vol 5, p 334.

 The Act passed in 1812 for the relief of Magdalena Ennes 

The Centinel of Gettysburg, Adams Co PA, Vol VII,  Issue No 48,  on April 22, 1812.

The following Pennsylvania Records of the Auditor General may contain more information:
ENNIS, BENJAMIN (W. MAGDELENA) 1812 , RG002 , P 0013 , V0014
ENNIS, MAGDALENA 1813 , RG002 , P 0132 , V0006
ENNIS, MAGDALENA 1816-1819 , RG002 , P 0080 , V0007


In 1796, Alexander Ennes, son of Benjamin & Magdalena, was a resident of Delaware Township, PA, his marriage to Jane DeWit [Dewitt], daughter of Cornelius, would take place in Sussex Co NJ.

Sussex County NJ Marriages, Vol. A, p.7.

By the 1800 federal census Alexander (variant Annis), along with the families of his brothers John (Johannis), Emanuel and his brother- in-law Abraham Decker, had moved to Tioga Co NY.  By at least 1819 Magdalena had followed their children and in February of that year, as a resident of Spencer, Tioga County NY, she dictated her Last Will and Testament specially charging her Executor, eldest son Alexander, to collect all monies due from the State of Pennsylvania.  In November of that year her Will was probated.  A number of the children of  Magdalena and Benjamin Ennes (variant Ennis) settlers would be buried in the so called Ennis burying ground.    

 

Variants of the surname Ennes in various records include  Ennes, Ennis, Ennist, Annis, Annist .  Benjamin's father William, Town Clark(sic) of Minisink would sign his name Ennes in the 18th century. 

 

Town Clark} William Ennes.

The Van Ettens of Pike County

The Daniel Ennis Van Etten Farm in Pike Co PA, presently known as the Maria Zimmermann Farm, in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is located on Dry Brook.  Drag down  on the map to see the former location of the Johannes Van Etten Farm/Fort on the Conashaugh Creek. Johannes and 2nd wife Rachel Williams Van Etten were buried on the family farm, then re-interred to the Van Etten plot at Milford Cemetery.

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Additional details on the death of Benjamin Ennes:  The 1780 Account of the Battle of Conashaugh and The Battle of Conashaugh Affidavits.  

Additional names listed on the tax record include:  Andrew Dingman, Elias Decker, Thomas Decker, Hendricus Decker, Daniel Dingman, Isaac Dunn, Isaac Decker, Samuel Danforth, Benjamin Emson, John Frazer, Jeremiah Fleming, John Emmins, Jeremiah Witzell, John Fritz, John Graham, John Craig, Elisabeth Green, John Henry, Lodowick Hoover, John Hoover, John Decker.

Delaware & Upper Smithfield Townships 1772 Tax Records

The Pennsylvania Provincial tax records on Ancestry (subscription) are fascinating for the information not available online from the State Archives. In an effort to untangle the sometimes confusing index dates & townships from Ancestry for 1768 - 1801, please note the added text from the Proprietary, Supply, and State Tax Lists of the Counties of Northampton ... for the Years 1772 to 1787,  Google eBook, W. H. Egle, W.S. Ray, State Printer of Pennsylvania, 1897

Proprietary Tax, Northhampton, 1772  Delaware Township records appear to include the area just below the present day Egypt Mills north to just below Milford. The Upper Smithfield records include the area from Milford north to Matamoras. Both sets of records are termed Duplicates, from an unknown date.

Click here to enlarge

Note "Negros & Mulattos" as taxable commodities, i.e. slaves, for the following slave owners: John Brink, 2; Henry Cortright, 1; Benjamin Decker, 1; John Rosencrance, 2; Bernardus Swartwood, 1; Adam ?, 1; John Van Etten, 1; Eli? Vanauken, 1; David Vanauken, 1.

Andrew (Andries) Dingman is not listed, Broer Decker (Brewer Dacker) and Joseph Rider (Joseph Reder) are.  Records for all three of these settlers are scarce. Rider, in 1784, was granted the Patent to the Quick's Mill tract along the Vandermark Creek in present day Milford.

Abbreviations for the State Archives text

 

*Original data:
Tax & Exoneration Lists, 1762–1794. Series No. 4.61; Records of the Office of the Comptroller General, RG-4. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Land Records - Ancestry.com vs the State

While reading through the subscription Ancestry.com's database of PA Land Warrants and Applications in search of 18th century records for Johannes Van Etten an interesting document came to light. The only words I put into this Ancestry search engine, due to the overwhelming number of transcription & indexing errors, were Northampton, Pennsylvania  - then it was just a matter of wading through the alphabet in ten page leaps until reaching the V section.

The Ancestry.com index found Emmins (as given name) Von Gordon (as surname) together with Hoover (as given name) Nyce (as surname.)  A gold mine of the Minisink neighbors jumped from the next page: John Emmins, Jacobus Van Gordon, Emanuel Hoover, William Nyce, John Mushback & (adjoining) Emanuel Gonsalis, Gilbert Van Gordon and the Swartwoods, Peter & Barnardus.

Ancestry's original document film is a treasure but poorly indexed, while the Land Records of the PA State Archives online are limited to later transcripts, copied surveys and compiled warrantee township maps in pdf format. The Archives are cumbersome, possessing no search engine, but the index is trustworthy (given the surname variants & misspellings of the time.)

Jacobus Van Gordon/Gorden:
Index #44
Copied Survey

Feb 12, 1785 tracts for Emmins, Van Gordon, Hoover, Mushback & Nyce on the Warrantee Map for Lehman (formerly Delaware) Township (# 31, 38, 53, & 66 are smaller tracts described in the margins.)

Large editions of each of the Pike Co Township Warrantee maps are also available for research at the Deeds Department in the Administration Building, Broad St. Milford, PA.

Parent Counties:  Bucks Co was one of the original Pennsylvania counties formed on 10 March 1682; Northampton Co set off from Bucks County 14 October 1751; Wayne Co set off from Northampton Co 21 May 1798; Pike Co set off from Wayne Co 26 March 1814; Monroe Co set off from Pike and Northampton Counties 1 April 1836.

UPDATE: An automated, fully-word-searchable transcription of the Northampton County Warrant Register, transcribed by volunteer Marie Robinson, is now available online.

UPDATE:  Pennsylvania Residents have FREE access to PA Land Records on Ancestry providing they also have a free Ancestry account: Click the PA State Portal page for more information.  

Recording the Minisink 1701 - 1738

Using Bob Billard's wonderful search engine of translated Dutch Records for the keyword Minisink reveals a glimpse into colonial travel to the valley and 18th century surnames variants. 

Marriage Register of the Dutch Church at Kingston 
jm - young man
jd - young woman
wid - widow or widower

Husband; [semicolon] Wife
1701 21 Apr; Jurie Quick, jm, of Mombaccus; Rebecca Titsoort, jd, born Schenectady, live Minisink.
1702 18 Oct; Stephanus Titsoort, jm, born Schenectady, live Minisink; Sara Hoornbeek, jd, born Hurley, live Mombaccus.
1712 03 Feb; Jacob Van Kuykendaal, wid Ariaantjen Tietsoort; Zara Westvaal, jd, both live Minisink.
1714 05 Oct; Jacobus Swartwoud, jm, born Hurley, live Minisink; Gieletjen Nieuwkerk, jd, of Horly.
1715 27 Mar; Matheus Van Kuykendaal, jm, born Rochester; Jannetjen Westvaal, jd, born Kingstown, both live Minisink.
1716 20 Aug; Johannes Kwik, jm, born Rochester; Bregjen Middag, jd, born Nescotak, both live Minisink.
1716 20 Aug; Juriaan Westvaal, wid Styntjen van Kuykendaal; Marytjen Koddebek, jd, both born Kingstown; live Minisink.
1717 06 Feb; Frederick Schoonmaker, wid Annaatjen De Wit; Eva Swartwout, jd, live Minisink.
1717 25 Feb; Abel Westvaal, jm; Antjen Bogaart, jd, both live Minisink.
1717 19 Nov; Jacob Westvaal, jm, born Kingstown; Margrieta de Duyster, jd, born Hurley, both now live Minisink.
1718 27 Sep; Roeloff Brink, jm, born Hurley; Antjen Kuykendaal, jd, born Minisink.
1719 08 Jul; Pieter Kuykendaal, jm; Femmetjen Dekker, jd, both live Minisink.
1719 25 Sep; Manuel Consalisduk, jm, of Marbletown; Reymerig Kwik, jd, born Rochester, live Minisink.
1721 30 May; Jacobus Swartwoud, jm, born Hurley; Antjen Gomaar, jd, born Kingstown, both live Minisink.
1721 22 Sep; Salomon Freer, jm, born New Palz; Klaartjen Westvaal, jd, born Minisink, both now live Kingstown.
1722 13 Mar; Hendrik Dekker, jm, born Rochester; Hanna Titsoort, jd, born Minisink, both now live there.
1722 20 Jun; Gysbert Bogert, jm, born Minisink; Catrina Dekker, jd, born Rochester, both live Menissing.
1723 14 Mar; Cornelis Devoor, jm, born New York; Helena Westvaal, jd, born Minisink, both live there.
1724 18 Oct; Jacob Middag, jm, born Neschotah; Zara Van Kuykendaal, jd, born Minisink, both live Rochester.
1724 18 Nov; Jan Emans, wid Rachel Stout, born on L.I.; Neeltjen Van Aaken, jd, both live Minisink.
1724 14 Dec; Cornelis Brink, jm; Maria Kool, jd,both living Minisink.
1725 11 Mar; Jan Van Vlied, junior, jm, born Marbletown; Ezyntjen Swartwoud, jd, born Minisink.
1727 12 Feb; Lambartus Brink, jm; Rachel Van Garde, jd, both born Rochester, both now live Minisink.
1727 04 Jun; Thomas Dekker, jm; Janneken Van Nimmegen, jd, both of Minisink.
1727 11 Jun; Harmen Van Garden, jm, born Rochester; Elsjen Koddebek, jd, born Minisink, both live there.
1727 18 Jun; Jacobus Dekker, jm, born Rochester; Neeltjen Titsoort, jd, born Minisink, both live there.
1728 24 Apr; Johannes Elting, jm, born Kingston, live New Palz; Marytjen Gemaar, jd, born Kingstown, live Minisink.
1728 29 May; Jan Eduwaartsz, jm, born Albany liv Poughkeepsie; Marretjen Consalis Duk, jd, born Minisink live Kingston
1729 09 May; Ary Van Etten, jm, born Knightsfield, live Marbletown; Sytjen Kuykendaal, jd, born Minisink, live Kingstown.
1729 21 Nov; Willem Freer, jm, born New Palz; Margrieta Van Keuykendaal, jd, born Minisink, live Kingstown.
1731 22 Aug; Gerardus van Nimwegen, jm, of Minisink; Jannetjen De Wit, jd, of Rochester.
1732 27 May; Luer Kuykendaal, jm, of Minisink; Lena Consalisduk, jd, of Kingstown.
1733 02 May; Willem Koddebek, jm, born Minisink; Jacomyntjen Elting, jd, born Kingstown, live New Palz.
1738 07 May; Jacobus Westvaal, jm, of Minisink; Sofia Van Aaken, jd, of Kingstown.
1738 31 May; Abraham Louw, jm, live Rochester; Dina Koettebek, jd, live Minisink.

Thereafter most marriages would take place in one of the four churches established in 1737 in the valley as detailed in the 1738-1762 Marriage Records (pp 265 -272, those which note both birth and dwelling places) in the Minisink Valley Dutch Reformed Records. Variant:  Menissinck

Juxtaposing these records with the Interrogatories  & Exhibits presented to the 1769 Royal Commission to settle the provincial boundary between New Jersey & New York adds another layer of information to the landscape and early families of the Minisink.

The Answers of Jacobus Quick, age 53.

   

"The deponent [Jacobus Quick] saith that he knows the settlers at Mackhackamack, and has known them these forty years - that old Johannes Westfall, Nicholas Westfall, old Teunis Quick, old Cornelius Dedoucher [var. de Duyster], John Middagh, Antje Quick, old John Decker, Jacob Decker, Cornelius Bogart, Hendrick Kortright, Willem Provoost & Albertus Provoost, Cornelius Kuykendall, Stephanus Teetsworth, Solomon Davis & Jacob Kuykendall were settlers there when he first became acquainted with that Place..."

Exhibits &Interrogatories:

Document, 1697 May 20 - Columbia Digital Library Collections  - "Grants and confirms to Arent Schuyler, his heirs and assigns a certain tract of land in the Minnissincks Country...Grants and confirms to Arent Schuyler, his heirs and assigns a certain tract of land in the Minnissincks Country..."

Document, 1697 October 14 - Columbia Digital Library Collections  - Recorded for Jacob Codebec & Company - Grants & confirms land to "...our Loving Subjects Jacob Codebec, Thomas Swartwout, Anthony Swartwout, Bernardus Swartwout, Jan Tys, Peter Ginar, and David Jamison... at a Place called Waghaghkemeck being the quantity of twelve hundred acres..."

Document, 1714 August 12 - Columbia Digital Library Collections -  A Warrant from the Council of Proprietors for 2500 Acres of Land bearing the Date of 28th of February Anno 1712 ... there is surveyed these two Tracts of Land sent Johannis Westphalia, Claus Westphalia, Simon Westphalia, Tunis Quick, Remora Quick, Cornelius Douchor, lying upon a Branch of the Delaware called Machok Mack in the Western Division of the Province of New Jersey.

Document,  1721 August 14 - Columbia Digital Library Collections  - The Petition of Thomas Swartwood & Jacobus Swartwood, Junr. in Behalf of themselves & Others - "The petitioners having lived for about thirty years at a place called Mackaghkamack near the division between the provinces of New York and New Jersey, obtained in 1697 a royal patent from Governor Fletcher of New York for these lands as well as a title from the Proprietors of New Jersey, in case the lands should happen to fall in that province...."

Document,  1769 September 9 - Columbia Digital Library Collections  - "The Answers of Harmanus Rosenkrans..."

Document,  1769 September 12 - Columbia Digital Library Collections  - "The Answers of Daniel Cooley..."

See also: The Ulster County Migrants into the Minisink, 1716.