Jan Jacobse Schermerhorn (1590 - aft. 1654)

Born 1590 in Waterland, North Holland, Netherlands

Ancestors

Descendants

Died after 1654 after age 64 in Netherlands

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Biography

Jan Schermerhorn is gerelateerd aan Nederland.

Jan Schermerhorn was the father of New Netherland immigrant Jacob Janse Schermerhorn. He was living in Amsterdam in the Netherlands as late as 1654, the year that Jacob Janse Schermerhorn visited him in Amsterdam.^[1][2]

Research Notes

The following text was copied verbatim from the books identified. This is legal because the books are not copyright-protected, but it is a bad practice that is discouraged in WikiTree.

"The annals of the Schermerhorn family in Holland have never been thoroughly investigated, although some effort was made, fifteen or twenty years ago, by William C. Schermerhorn of New York and Louis Y. Schermerhorn of Philadelphia, but without particular success. It is known, however, from New York State records, that Jan Schermerhorn, father of Jacob Janse Schermerhorn, was living in Amsterdam in 1654. As late as 1884, a tombstone set in the floor of the old church at the village of Schermerhorn, Holland, was in existence, recording the fact that "Jacob Ryer Schermerhorn died Jan. 25, 1645, and his wife, 1665." These were probably the grandparents of Jacob Janse Schermerhorn, Ryer being such an individual family name, that its occurence here forms an undisputable connecting link. The above facts are all that are known to be recorded of the ancestors of Jacob Janse Schermerhorn

The family of Schermerhorn evidently originated at the village of Schermerhorn, Holland. The town evidently being named from its geographical location, it is quite likely that the family took their name from the town. This probably signifies that the family who took the name of Schermerhorn at some early date was the family known to be most closely identified with the village or locality of Schermerhorn, thereby being, perhaps, large property owners and people of some importance. On the other hand it may have been through a casual circumstance that some individual adopted the name of Schermerhorn at some early period, being a resident in the town or in some way intimately connected with it. An old tradition has come from Holland that an orphan boy was adopted by the village authorities in some past age, and took the name of Schermerhorn. Imagination has perhaps enlarged upon this tradition, for, as it comes through one source, the story goes that this orphan boy was of noble, and some even said, royal blood. The legend has been quoted in many versions, none of which is probably correct. The story is one of too easy imagination and too crude to be true."^[3]

_ _ _ _ _

"About fifteen miles north of Amsterdam, Holland, near the northwest corner of the former site of a lake, is the village of Schermerhorn. Upon a map dated 1604 this lake is indicated as De Scher Mer: about two hundred and fifty years ago this lake was drained, and its site is now occupied by highly cultivated farms. A point of land jutting into the lake, near the former water connection between De Scher Mer and De Beemster, is marked, upon the map referred to, as De Hooren, and upon this land stands the present village of Schermerhorn.

The old Saxon word Skir became changed to Scher in the Middle Dutch period of the language, and means clear, pure, bright.' The designation Scher Mer was probably given to the lake from the clearness, purity, or brightness of its waters. The word Meer, or Mer, means lake, and the word Hooren a point, hook, or cape of land. The name Scher-mer-horn is simply a compound of these three words, and, like the majority of Holland family names, is of geographical origin. In the early Dutch colonial records the name appears as Schermerhooren, and was so written by the first generation in this country. The proper pronunciation of the name is Scare-Mer-Horn. The family still exists in Holland and its members bear today the baptismal names so common in the early generations in America."^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ Bielinski, Stefan. "Jacob Janse Schermerhorn", in The People of Colonial Albany. New York State Museum. First posted 10 October 2003; revised 20 March 2005.
2. ↑ Wardell, Patricia A. "Jacob Janse Schermerhorn," in file BCFam-Schermerhorn.pdf, Early Bergen County Families collection.
3. ↑ "Schermerhorn Genealogy and Family Chronicles," Richard Schermerhorn, Jr. (New York: Tobias A. Wright, Publisher, 1914). I: General History (Part 2 of 2).
4. ↑ Schermerhorn, Louis Y. Genealogy of a part of the third branch of the Schermerhorn family in the United States. Philadelphia, Printed for private circulation by J.B. Lippincott Company, 1903 Library of Congress.