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Van Couwenhoven Name

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Surnames/tags: Van Couwenhoven Van Kouwenhoven Gerritsz
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Posted for discussion. Received via e-mail March 23, 2014:

The LNAB of http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Van_Couwenhoven-19 is incorrect. As I have said / stated 'van Kouwenhoven / Van Couwenhoven' as with many Dutch surnames did not include the suffixes and placenames until later in the 17th and 18th centuries. The https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-33029-18410-76?cc (entry for marriage - left corner at the top) clearly indicates that the incorporation of the 'from' / 'of' followed by placename did only become a formal part of the surname until after registration for disembarkation / registration in the colonies.

This LNAB should be 'Gerritsz', the AKA field having the Van Kouwenhoven / van Couwenhoven. This should be the leading thought when dealing with the LNAB's during this transition period.

A few things should be understood:

1) The patronymic system of noting down baptisms for centuries (when people started noting down births / baptisms - this varies from region to region and town to town) DIT NOT include Van / Van der / Van den / De / Du in the LNAB until the 17th and 18th centuries. People did however call someone Wolftert (first name) and if neccesary (Gerritsz) to indicate that Gerrit was the father and only then if neccesary 'of Amersfoort' or 'from [the] Couwenhoven' to indicate where that specific person was from. It was not part of the LNAB, but was often written down in registers to make an indicatory note (such as 'from Amersfoort' or 'vroom' - devout).

2) It is only when the global colonisation and trading gets going and people are being registered in ports of entry that they get noted down as for example Wolfert Gerritsz from Kouwenhoven. This is important but it still does not mean that it is part of the LNAB.

3) In general 1 generation later the children MIGHT get baptised with LNAB such as Jacob Wolphertsen Van couwenhoven, but it is still (in this specific case) unlikely because this child was born in Holland and not the new colony. Even if born in the first few years of (a) new colony the patronymic system was still in full use - meaning the whole Van Kouwenhoven was intended as an explanatory addendum.

4) Next: As a rule the following generation gets the full name where the patronymic convention gets slightly changed where the previous LNAB would become the second name, and the VanCouwenhoven (the explanatory addendum with all its' 'mistakes' and spelling variations) is noted down as the LNAB.

5) After the English takeover the Dutch (as you well know yourself) gets Anglised. Brouwer becomes Brower becomes Bower etc. Sometimes the trade / occupation that a person had became the surname (in this case 'Brewer' = 'Brouwer'). In England this was a tradition much longer history - Baker, Smith, Potter etc.

6) In Europe is was only after Napoleon (1812) that taking a proper (full) surname became obligatory which saw the end of the patronymic system as it was still used here in Europe. In the colonies this process had already taken place because of the masses of migrants and settlers from all over Europe.

I apologise for not having been quicker to explain this in the G2G commentary.

Sincerely, Philip

See my previous post on -19: even this source does not include the V.. K..... in the LNAB (the childrens' name are in bold):

Source (seen March 22, 2014): http://www.conovergenealogy.com/Pages/newinfor.htm

From NYGBR "[...] This is the last document pertaining to Wolfert Gerritse that has been discovered in the archives of Amersfoort.

on Jun 11, 1623. He was a baker and then later a bleacher (bleaching laundry on a grassfield in the sun) before 1624. He immigrated between 1624 and 1625 to New Amsterdam, Kings Co. Long Island, NY. He and Neeltgen Jacobsdochter immigrated in Jun , 1625 to New Netherlands; or July 1625, with his wife and family on a ship of the Dutch West India Company which saled in the expedidition that was comprsed of the ships Mackerel, Horse, Cow and Sheep. Wolfert returned to the Netherlands in 1629. He retruned from the Netherlands on board "De Endracht" (the Unity) on May 24, 1630. There exists a letter from Kiiaen van Rensselaer to Wolfert which I have to get from sources. At this time Wolfert was in the Netherlands and the letter had to do with terminating Wolfert's contract with van Rensselaer and mentions that Wolferts wife was unhappy living in New Netherlands. In the letter van Rensselaer states he would not want someone who was not happy working for him to remain in his employ under the circumstances. It was a friendly letter. According to the source there are several letters fo Wolfert from Van Rensselaer. The letter above was read over the phone to me and I have yet to recieve the exact copy and don't take short hand in 1632. He purchased "Keskateuw" located on Long Island from the Indians. Here was established the first kown white settlement on Long Island. Wolphert called his "plantation" Achterveldt, shown on the Manatu Map of New Netherlands as farm No. 36 near the Indian long house to the Kestachau tribe. Wolphert's house surrounded by palisades, was the focal pont of the village of New Amersfoort, later called Flatlands on Jun 30, 1636. He got "Smal Civil Rights" on Apr 18, 1657. Wolfert Gerritsen Van Couwenhoven was named in a suit filed by Frans Jansen regardin a dispute ofver a contract in which Jansen was to buy land from Wofert. This was the first time the name Van Couwenhoven was mentioned in referenc to Wolfert on Oct 20, 1661.

Children of Wolphert Gerretse2 Van Kouwenhoven and Neeltgen Jacobsdochter were as follows:

4. i. Gerret Wolfersen, born circa 1610 at Amersfoort, Ultrecht, Netherlands; married Aeltje Cornelis Cool.

5. ii. Pieter Wolphertse, born circa 1614 at Amersfoort, Netherlands; married Hester Daws; married Aeltje Sibrants; married Josynthe Thomas.

6. iii. Jacob Wolphertse, born 1615 at Amersfoort, Utrecht, Netherlands; married Hester Jansen; married Magdaleentje Jacobs Van Amsterdam. Generation Three

4. Gerret Wolfersen3 Van Kouwenhoven (Wolphert2, Gerritt1 Couwenhoven) was born circa 1610 at Amersfoort, Utrecht, Netherlands. He married Aeltje Cornelis Cool, daughter of Cornelius Lambertse Cool and (Unknown) (Unknown), circa 1635 at Flatlands, Long Island, NY. He died circa 1648 at Flatlands, Long Island, NY; Was probably after patent issued [...]."





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As an example see: Gaele Andriesz. See his name clearly entered in the register of the ship 'Huis te Assenberg', 1726: 'Geelis Andriesz' from 'Veenwouden'. Note the other names ... Amsterd, Lipstad, Delft, the ... saying it all. Now note the baptismal entry for his daughter Rensche (van der Walt) Olivier: third entry left. Clearly the name 'van der Walt' has now been adopted, he (Gaele) has chosen the name Andries for this occasion as first name (my own father also had this second name Andries). Voilá - a new surname has been created. Entered by Philip van der Walt March 22, 2014.
posted 23 Mar 2014 by Philip van der Walt   [thank Philip]
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Hi :)

The marriage record is not from the (second) marriage with Neeltgen Jacobsdr but it was from the first marriage with Aeltgen Jansdr, so I corrected her name.

I added a copy a while ago to their profiles, which perhaps is more easy to read ?

Many people or genealogies have him with just one wife and with the patronymics of both, so one wife named Neeltgen Jacob Jans or something, but in fact there were two seperate wifes, first Aeltgen Jans and second Neeltgen Jacobs. We still are looking for the marriage record of Wolphert and Neeltgen, they are mentioned in a lot of deeds but so far still no marriage record.

Greets, Bea

posted by Bea (Timmerman) Wijma
Written with a quill / goose feather most probably - I believe it is 'Gerritssz' - if you compare the 's' to the s in Amersfoort - line 3 third word. If you'd pronounce it, the 'se' and 'z' can sound very similar or even indistinguishable. 'Se' means 'of' and 'z' son of. Often these endings were used loosely and interchangeably. The 'z' is masculine and the 'sen'/'en' feminine (as in daughter of); the 'se' being more neutral.
posted by Philip van der Walt
I can almost make out Gerrit – then a bit of scribbling. Is it Gerritsz or just Gerritz? (I thought it was Gerritse because that’s how it’s spelled in the title of the image.)
posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
The name on the marriage certificate has a 'z' at the end (as far as I can discern). As yet Enno has'nt been able to trace a baptismal record.
posted by Philip van der Walt
if the marriage record has Gerritse, why should the WikiTree ID be Gerritsz? Is there a birth or christening record with Gerritsz?
posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
Another source from Bea, mostly concerning the families who leased the smallholding after the [AKA]Kouwenhovens already left for the new territories: http://oudscherpenzeel.nl/wp-content/uploads/genealogie-pdf/Kouwenhoven.pdf
posted by Philip van der Walt
5) the great-great-granddaughter -Neeltje (Cowenhoven) Vanderbilt - both maiden name and married names have been anglicised.

In the case of this family line, it seems that in just 100 years the patronymic LNAB has been completely abandoned.

All the children of Neeltje gets the surname Vanderbilt (originally meant to indicate the town of 'De Bilt' in the Netherlands where they came from, now a full LNAB in own right).

Lena, Neeltje's sister, marries Benjamin Van Cleef. Once again, all her children has as LNAB Van Cleef.

In both cases with a capital V.

In the Netherlands (Europe) and in South Africa the convention would dictate lower cases if following a first name and if necessary spaces between the 'tussenvoegsels'; if speaking of a family in a generic genealogical sense, it would be with a capital.

For example: the Van der Walt-family. But I write my name as: Philip Johan van der Walt.

posted by Philip van der Walt
Example: 1) The LNAB as shown above: Wolphert Gerritsz 2) On arrival or at registration for the voyage at port of departure, for practical reseaons (also because it was administratively neccesary, wether he could write or not) the following happened: the placename was added: Wolphert Gerritsz van Couwenhoven 3) His son Garret Wolfertsz (still with "Wolfertsz" as LNAB) also takes on 'van Couwenhoven' because he was born in Holland but immigrated with his parents to NN 4) William Cowenhoven is born and baptised with Cowenhoven as LNAB. His son and grandson - Cornelius Williamse Cowenhoven - what would traditionally been the LNAB - Williamsz/se - becomes the middle name. The 'Van' in this case has been dropped altogether.
posted by Philip van der Walt