Thomas Jacobse (DeKay) Dekay (1698 - 1758)

Born 3 Feb 1698 in Manhattan, New York

Ancestors

Husband of Christiana Duncan — married 28 May 1723 in NY City, New York

Descendants

Died 17 Jan 1758 at age 59 in Vernon Township, Sussex, New Jersey

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Biography

Thomas (DeKay) Dekay was a New Yorker.

Thomas de Key aka Thomas DeKey, Thomas DeKay

Thomas <Jacobus> de Key Colonel, who was baptized Thomas de Key on 03 February 1698, at NYRDC, and married Christina <George> Duncan DeKey .

Thomas DeKey, having settled several miles south of the 1719 New York-New Jersey border line was for many years in dispute with New Jersey, regarding taxes and was in June of 1745 charged with beating and imprisoning a New Jersey Officer of the Court, and later in 1753, he, Thomas DeKey and his sons George and Jacobus DeKey beat, severely injured, and robbed surveyors at pistol point, who were traveling on the Jersey side of the 1719 line^[1]

[http://www.jrbooksonline.com/html-docs/minisink_stickney_1867.htm CHAPTER IV. THE WAR WITH THE JERSEYMEN, 1753.] The border dispute between Orange County, NY and Suffex County, NJ.

"The next raid of the Jerseymen took place in 1753, and was made to obtain possession of the lands and per- [p. 55] son of Thomas De Key (or Dekay), who was at that time Colonel of the Orange county militia, and also justice of the peace. De Key, wishing to get along without any disturbance, went to James Alexander, one of the proprietors of East New Jersey, and asked to remain unmolested till the boundary should be determined. This Alexander would not agree to, stating that the land belonged to New Jersey, and that he must submit to the laws of that State. This the Colonel in turn refused to do, and so the question remained. Shortly after, a party of armed men from New Jersey appeared before the Colonel's door. He had perceived them approaching, and had prepared for defense by arming himself and stoutly barricading all the entrances to the house. He then appeared at a window and warned them that death awaited the first man who should undertake to force an entrance to the house. This rather checkmated their plans. Some of them cocked their guns and threatened to shoot the Colonel through the heart as he stood at the window—others swearing they would set fire to the house and shoot every man, woman and child, that should undertake to flee from it; and some declaring in favor of starving him out. But Colonel De Key was not so easily intimidated. He stuck to his position, and the enemy again were forced to retire, vowing that next time they would bring a force with them large enough to take the whole of Goshen, and assuring the Colonel that they would have him yet.

The matter was frequently brought before the Colonial Assemblies of both New York and New Jersey, by the proprietors of the Minisink and Wawayanda patents, and in 1754 Lieut. Gov. James De Lancey noticed it in the following message to that body in New York:" ....

Name

- Thomas de Key or DeKey^[2][3]

- Thomas de Key according to the baptism records of early children.

- Thomas DeKay according to later documents.

- Thomas DeKay according to his gravestone.

Birth

Thomas (2) <Jacobus> de Key was born about 03 February 1698, and was baptised on Feb 06, 1698 in greater New York City. Baptism was recorded at the Reformed Dutch Church of New York, New York^[4][5]. Sponsors were: Will: Willeth & Will: Yenoway, Janneke de Key wife of Jeremias Tothil.

Marriage

Thomas <Jacobus> De Key, b.3/6 Feb 1697/1698, married Christina|Christian <George> Duncan on 28 May 1723, NY City, New York. (no marriage record found)

Children

The following children were taken from the Will of Thomas De Kay.

Child of Colonel Thomas De Kay and Christina Duncan:

• Jacobus De Key, was born in 1727 in Warwick, Orange Co., NY. He died on 28 Nov 1809 in Vernon, Sussex Co., NJ. He was buried in 1809 in Sussex Co., NJ at the DeKay Family Burial Ground. He married Hannah Clows|Clowes on Aug 27, 1761^[6]; Hannah d. in 1811 in Vernon, Sussex Co., NJ , and was buried at the DeKay Family Burial Ground. Child: Hannah DeKay.

Notes on burial place: This is the oldest known cemetery in Vernon Township. Located south of DeKay Road on westerly side of Wawayanda Creek and the Railroad.

• George De Kay, b. in New York City on 11 Apr 1728. George Duncan m. Julianna Gale and had 2 children. He d. bef 15 Dec 1757, Father's will.
• Captain Thomas De Kay Jr ( b. 1731, d. 1810); m. Mary Roe (1739-1820) ca. 1757, at Orange County, New York^[7][8].

• William Willet De Kay, b. 20 Jun 1736. William Willet m. Mary Armstrong and had 2 children. He died on 20 Feb 1806.^[9]

• Michael Duncan De Kay, b.17 Jun 1740, Warwick, Orange, NY; d. 31 Jul 1816, Bethel, Sullivan, NY; m. Bridget Allison, b. 7 Nov 1746, Goshen, Orange, NY; d. 7 Apr 1821, Bethel, Sullivan, NY ^[10]

• Elizabeth Thomas De Kay, b. ca. 1742 at Wawayonda, Orange, NY, USA. Elizabeth m. Annanias Francis Cooper. She d. on 18 Apr 1814.

• Mary De Kay, b. 10 Mar 1744; d. 18 Aug 1827; m. William Thompson, b. b. 15 Jun 1746; d. 24 Nov 1831. ^[11]

• Helena (Hilco) DeKay De Kay, b. 23 Aug 1746; d. 19 Oct 1814; bur. Rensselaer, NY; cen. 1790, New Cornwall, Orange, NY, USA; m. Absalom Townsend, b. 21 Nov 1743/1744; d. 4 Jun 1817; bur. Rensselaer, New York, USA; cen. 1790, New Cornwall, Orange, New York, USA. ^[12]

• Charles De Kay, b. 21 Mar 1751. He d. ca. 1810.^[13]

• Sarah de Key Aurnold

• Jenny de Key Morris,

• Christiana De Key, m1, Samuel Gale on Jun 3, 1757^{[14] [15]}' m2. Thomas Sellars on Sep 30, 1778^{[16] [17]}

• Frances De Kay (baptism record not found). m. Nicholaas de Peyster, widower of Jane Johnson, on Sep 29, 1772, at New York City, by License. ^[18] . They baptized their first son William (1) on August 08, 1773 in greater New York City, New York.^[19]. Williams maternal grandmother, Christian Duncan, sponsored the baptism.

Occupations

Colonel of Orange County Militia, Orange County, NY, Justice of the Peace. and Farmer.

Residences

1724 Dec. 8. Thomas DeKay made a purchase [Village of Warwick, Orange County, NY) and settled on one of the farms now owned by Sidney H. Sanford. His son, Thomas DeKay, Jr. afterward lived there. This may be the location of the private cemetery where son Thomas' wife's grave was found [see Mary Roe]. The area was located in the old Wawayanda patent.

Death

Thomas <Jacobus> DeKey, Colonel, died Jan 17, 1758 in Orange, NY or Sussex, NJ. Location depended on the later settlement of the NY, NJ border dispute. Both New York State and New Jersey claimed the area. After the 1773 resolution of the New York-New Border, the area of Thomas de Key|DEKay's death and burial became officially New Jersey. Thomas de Key|DeKay and Christina his wife, are buried in the De Kay Family Burying Grounds, Vernon Township, Sussex County, NJ in Plot #1^[20]. Source: De Kay Family Burying Grounds.

Alt Death Date and Place

01 Jan 1758 Wawayanda, New York

Will of Thomas De Kay

457 (D 48) 1757 Dec 15, 1758 May 22. DEKAY, Thomas, of Orange Co. [New York] Wife Christiana, sons Jacobus, Thomas, William, Willet Michael, and Charles, heirs of son George dec 'd, daughters Sarah Aurnold, Jenney Morris, Christiana Gale, Elizabeth, Mary, Hilio and Frances, granddaughter Frances Sackett. Real and personal property. Executors the wife and sons Jacobus, William, Willet, and Thomas. Witnesses David McCamly, miller, John Decker, Jacobus Decker, Elisabeth Hauser, spinster German.

New York Wills & Probate Record http://interactive.ancestry.com/8800/005512803_00689/5079146?backurl=http://person.ancestry.com/tree/75496806/person/42438763575/facts

Sources

1. ↑ Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey; edited by William Adee Whitehead; printed at the Daily journal establishment, 1885 - New Jersey; pp. 220-231.
2. ↑ NYRDC Bapt. Record: 1698 Feb 06; Jacobus de Key, Sara Willeth; Thomas; Will: Willeth & Will: Yenoway, Janneke de Key wife of Jeremias Tothil
3. ↑ Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York. By New York (N.Y.) Common Council, Samuel J. Willis, David Thomas Valentine, 1864, page 784.]
4. ↑ NYRDC Bapt. Record: 1698 Feb 06; Jacobus de Key, Sara Willeth; Thomas; Will: Willeth & Will: Yenoway, Janneke de Key wife of Jeremias Tothil
5. ↑ Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York. By New York (N.Y.) Common Council, Samuel J. Willis, David Thomas Valentine, 1864, page 784.]
6. ↑ 1761 27 Aug; Jacobus De Key; Hannah Clows
7. ↑ Find A Grave Memorial 66529362
8. ↑ Stonehouse and Related Families, Page - 628
9. ↑ Ancestry.com--William Willet DeKay
10. ↑ Childsfamily.com--Col. Thomas DeKay and Christiana Duncan
11. ↑ Childsfamily.com--Col. Thomas DeKay and Christiana Duncan
12. ↑ Childsfamily.com--Col. Thomas DeKay and Christiana Duncan
13. ↑ http://records.ancestry.com/william_willet_dekay_records.ashx?pid=25645308 Ancestry.com--William Willet DeKay]
14. ↑ NY Marriage License: 1757 03 Jun; Samuel Gale; Christina De Key
15. ↑ Marriage Licenses Issued by the State of New York
16. ↑ 1778 30 Sep; Thomas Sellars; Christiana Key
17. ↑ Marriage Licenses Issued by the State of New York
18. ↑ NY Marriage Licenses: 1772 29 Sep; Nicholas De Peyster; Francis De Kay
19. ↑ NYRDC Baptism Record: 1773 Aug 08; Nicholaas de Peyster, Francis de Key; William; William de Peyster, Christian Duncan wid Thomas de Key
20. ↑ De Kay, Thomas, d. Jan 17, 1758, aged 60.11.0; w. Christian, d. Sep 6, 1784, aged 77.7.4.

• Website: [ http://www.albertwisnerlibrary.org/Factsandhistory/History/EarlyDaysinWarwick.htm Early Days in Warwick, Some Chapters in Local History, By W. B. Sayer]

• Website: Childsfamily.com--Col. Thomas DeKay and Christiana Duncan

• Web Book: [ Calendar of Wills on File and Recorded in the Offices of the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, of the County Clerk at Albany, and of the Secretary of State, 1626-1836 (Google eBook); Knickerbocker Press, 1896 - New York (State) - 657 pages.

• Online Book: CHAPTER IV. THE WAR WITH THE JERSEYMEN, 1753. The border dispute between Orange County, NY and Suffex County, NJ.

• Website: Find A Grave Memorial 12220857-Thomas DeKay: Maintained by: Jane Ferner Lawrence, Originally Created by: LMJ, Record added: Mar 05, 2011.

• Website: Stonehouse and Related Families, Page - 628

• Website: The splencner Family Tree--Jacobus DeKay

• http://person.ancestry.com/tree/75496806/person/42438763575/facts