Sebastian van Kortryk, father of New Netherland immigrants, said to have Spanish parents

Question

Help is needed to determine how best to handle the father (and profiles of the father's ancestors) of  New Netherland immigrants Jan and Michiel Bastiaensen (van Kortryk). There are a couple of proposed merges that are stuck until duplicate profiles for this man are satisfactorily resolved, and I'm wondering how much (if any) of the information about the father and his ancestors is supported by evidence.

It's logical (based on Dutch naming conventions) to infer that two immigrants were sons of man with first name Bastiaen. Some genealogists have inferred that this was not his full name, but was short for his full name of Sebastian. The immigrants are said to have been born in Leerdam (the Netherlands), but previously the family seems to have lived in the Flemish town of Kortryk (Kortrijk), which name is the source for family surnames of van Kortryk, Kortregt, Kortright, Courtright, and other variants found in later generations. Apparently, there is a tradition among descendants that says that Sebastian was a member of an aristocratic Spanish family named Cortes that fled Spain during the Spanish Inquisition to avoid persecution for their Calvinist faith.

This story is documented here in profiles that are sourced to Ancestry Family Trees, geni.com, and other user-contributed sources, but a few Ancestry citations look like they might be "real" sources (I don't know because they are bad URLs need editing to make them work and because they point to European content -- a part of Ancestry that I can't access even if I have a good URL).

Two questions for now:

1. What's the chance of finding records that could substantiate details of this family's life in Flanders and the Netherlands circa 1570 to 1660? (Especially the baptisms in the 1580s of the immigrant sons.)
2. How plausible is the Spanish story? (I'll admit that I'm especially skeptical about the name "Cortes," which looks remarkably similar to "Kortryck.") If it's plausible, what evidence might exist?

Comments

Interesting story. The town of Kortryk is also known as Courtrai, and it is in the area that was the Spanish Netherlands. The Latin name is Cortcoriacum. Could this have evolved into Cortes?

Spain was generally intolerant of any religion other than Catholicism (note that Ferdinand and Isabella were referred to as Their Most Catholic Majesties).

(Edit)

I looked at what is posted for  Bastian van Kortryk. He has an ancestor with the apparent name of “Sebastian Y Cortes” which “looks like” a compound Spanish surname, but upon closer inspection of the profile this is first name Sebastian, middle name Y, and surname Cortes. This seems quite odd.

Unfortunately, the profile does not have meaningful sources.

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This book, available at Archive.org, may be of some help for later generations, but offers nothing on the Spanish connection.

The Courtright (Kortright) family : descendants of Bastian Van Kortryk, a native of Belgium who emigrated to Holland about 1615

by Abbott, John Howard, b. 1866

Answer 1

I propose to change this man's LNAB to Unknown, since he presumably had a patronymic name, and there is no evidence to indicate what that name was. Any objections?

Comments

No objections Ellen.

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Ellen,

I agree to LNAB unknown. And yes, when born in the Netherlands he would probably have a patronymic name.

While visually scanning the Belgian Kortrijk baptisms I noticed no patronymic surnames.  That is another indication of him not being from Kortrijk: if he was he would have a "normal" surname, not a patronymic or a toponymic one.

Answer 2

Being that he is one of my eighth great grandfathers I am interested - but do not have much experience researching there at all - Belgium to Flanders is what I see - his sons ended up here - all in the name of religious freedom

Comments

so nothing panned out on that - I had looked some but only found source-less references to the Spanish connection - and sometimes thes stories have a grain of truth to them - seems like if there is we won't be able to prove it - sad

Answer 3

It would seem that some in-depth research into the migration of Spanish Calvinists to Belgium and Flanders might shed some light on the link to the Cortes family. Been doing genealogy research for over 20 years and based solely on my gut, I think there is a link here.

Comments

Hello,  there was a Gordon Courtright, I think from Colorado, that had been doing research on this Spanish connection.  He died and I do not know what happened to his research.  This was back in the 1980's.

I come thru the line of Richard Courtright of Oklahoma and Hannah Slater.

Answer 4

I think it is far more likely that he was born not in Belgium but in the hamlet Kortrijk, some 25 miles from Leerdam.

No church records of that period are available, for Kortrijk and Leerdam, see DTB-repertorium.

For the Belgian Kortrijk only Roman Catholic records are avaliable for that period (the town was Catholic then). I searched the index for father Sebastia*. No results.

Comments

Thanks, Jan. The Spanish story is excitingly romantic, but the Occam's Razor test strongly favors the hamlet near Leerdam. Did you also check the records for baptism of Bastiaen or Bastian (since he sons were called Bastiaensen)?
 
I suppose that the.Sebastian profile will need to discuss multiple versions of the origins story.

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Ellen,

I now checked the Belgian Kortrijk 1578-1798 index of Roman Catholic baptisms also for last names Bastia* and Corte*: no results.

As said, no church records for Dutch Kortrijk and Leerdam  covering the relevant timeframe are available, so no way to substantiate the births of immigrant sons Jan and Michiel.

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According the book ''The Courtright (Kortright) Family: Descendants of Bastiaen Van Kortryk; a native of Belgium (which probably was Spanish Netherlands at that time (perhaps that's why it's assumed the parents were Spanish ?)  who emigrated to Holland about 1615''  Sebastiaen or Bastiaen fled from Kortryk Belgium to Leerdam where two sons Jan and Michiel were born, Jan married and moved to Beesd (Gelderland) and Michiel (Chiel) also married and lived in or near Schoonrewoerd a pretty village near Leerdam (here's a map that shows the place Kortgerecht  that Jan mentions, it is very close to Schoonrewoerd (so perhaps it was this place Kortgerecht where Michiel lived and maybe even the place (buurtschap-hamlet) where the brothers were born ? 

We have some members who have access or know their way around in the Belgium archives, and Isabelle and others were working on setting up a Belgium Roots Project a while ago, I have forwarded/posted a link this G2G to their free space page as well ;) (and you can also add the tag Belgian Roots to the G2G)

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Hi, Bea. That book, which was published in 1922, is the principal source for most of the genealogy for this family. That is, this book is where much of the data about this family that's found in sources such as Ancestry Family Trees, Geni.com, the Millennium File, the Ancestral File -- and WikiTree profiles -- came from.

As with the hundreds (or thousands) of similar family history books published in the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century, the information about the generations of the family who lived in America may be pretty good and is likely to be based on original records -- but because the author didn't provide source citations or explain their reasoning (and probably changed people's names for convenience), WikiTreers who work with these families are continually challenged to find original records and other sources to either substantiate the information or identify/correct errors.

For family history before the first immigrants arrived in America, the authors of books like this one typically had little or no documented information, but that didn't deter them from reporting family tradition/lore/mythology on family origins in Europe, or speculating about possible origins in Europe. Careful reading of the Kortright book indicates that the only information the author thought he knew about the parent(s) of the two immigrant brothers was the name Sebastian Van Kortryk -- which name I think he derived from a combination of (1) the sons' patronymic name of "Bastiaensen" and (2) an assumption that their father had used the toponymic family name of Van Kortryk that the family adopted later as a surname. The rest of the family's origins story appears to have come from some combination of family lore and speculation.

Neither the authors nor the readers of books like that 1922 Kortright book had much access to records in Europe, so they could speculate freely. Now that we have the luxury of Internet access to digital records, plus easy communications between continents, we can look for evidence in the records. Jan Terink has generously provided the helpful service of checking digital records from Belgium and the Netherlands, and has found an absence of records for this family prior to emigration. So all we are left with is speculation -- and I think it can be concluded that the Cortes ancestor profiles connected to the Van_Kortrijk-3 profile for Sebastian are mythology.

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Jan: The sons Jan and Michiel are supposed to have had children born in the Netherlands (Jan's children in Beest and Michiel's children in Leerdam or Schoonrewoerd) in the decades prior to 1663, when these men emigrated.

The children of Michiel are listed on https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bastiaensen-4 and the children of Jan are listed on https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bastiaensen-3 . Neither profile suggests the existence of records for their baptisms, but I wonder if anything might exist in Dutch archives.

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Hi Ellen,

Yes I know these books are what many genealogies are based on, I noticed it was added as source to one of the profiles so I looked for it online and added the link, so now we all can read and check the book and of course look for records to see if and what info can be verified and what can't.

And I totally agree that it can be concluded that the Cortes ancestors very likely are mythology.

Bastiaen or Sebastiaen (perhaps from Kortryk or the Hamlet Kortgerecht) indeed is all we know reading the book and his first name we know because it was the patronymic of his sons Jan and Michiel.

If the family used the Dutch naming tradition, where the first son often would be named after the paternal grandfather, and the second son after the maternal grandfather and just assuming Jan was the first son, we perhaps can look for a Bastiaen or Sebastiaen Janss or Jansz (his father's first name originally might have been a Johan, Johannes or Joannes though because that name often was shortened to Jan) and his mother probably was a woman with the patronymic Michielsdr.

The children of his sons/ daughters (?) perhaps also can reveal more names of grandparents and other relatives.

But for now I think all we indeed know for sure is his first name was Sebastiaen or Bastiaen, and the last name or his patronymic in fact still is Unknown...(there might have been other and maybe older siblings that never emigrated, so it's of course not certain Jan was the first child either and we don't know if they used the naming tradition)...

Although it might be quite hard to find records perhaps Het Regionaal Archief Gorinchem has some ? It says they manage the archives and documentary collections for several municipalities including Leerdam etc. 

There are some records that might be interesting, but we need a lot more to determine if they are about or have something or anything to do with this family...for example there is this Notarial deed from 1593 where a Johan Sebastiaensz at Schoonrewoerd is mentioned, and a piece of kampland is transported (sold or given, or perhaps inherited ?) to him lying/situated in Kortgerecht named the Muenencamp, and the third kamp of the Hubertsewetering. Based on the names and the places it could be related to this family, but it also could have nothing to do with them at all, so we need to do more research and more sources and records to make sure...

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Ellen,

The only pre 1664 church records available (Beesd, Leerdam, Schoonrewoerd) are the Leerdam baptisms. I visually scanned those for the timeframe 1653-1663, looking for father named Michiel, none found:

"Netherlands, Zuid-Holland Province, Church Records, 1367-1916," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99QV-MGJP?cc=2037907&wc=SMMG-BZH%3A1292923701%2C345845901%2C347658702 : 21 August 2014), Nederlands Hervormde > Leerdam > Dopen 1622-1812 Trouwen 1686-1808 Begraven 1791-1820 > image 36 of 604; Rijksarchiefdienst Nederlands, Zuid-Holland (Netherlands National Archives, Zuid-Holland).

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Thanks Jan we did the same today I guess :P 

I also found that there is a (buurtschap, hamlet) Kortrijk  just above Schoonrewoerd (in the province Utrecht) or maybe this was the one you meant? So perhaps the Utrechts archief (where the previous deed also was from) can help ? There are several deeds that are quite interesting...  

* deed from 1647 Johan Bastiaenss van Schoonderwoert (coornkoper) and Johan van Wyckersloot (brouwer) 
and a second one where Johan van Wyckersloot is named Jan van Wyckersloot (why this is interesting is because there was a Sophia Wyckersloot in New Netherland as well, she might be the sister of Johan van Wyckersloot; see this deed from 1680  

* deed from 1649 where a Jan Sebastiaensz  grandson, son of Sebastiaen Jansz  and  Neeltje Jans, daughter, all are mentioned as heirs of Evertgen Antonis. 

* deed from 19 June 1646 Johan Sebastiaenss van Schoonderwoert (coornkoper)

* deed from 29 August 1643 Johan Sebastiaensz van Schoonderwoert

* deed from 13 May 1652 Johan Bastiaenss van Schoonderwoert (here it's mentioned his wife is Grietje van Schayck.) The van Schayck marriage/connection also is interesting because there for example was this Goosen Gerrits van Schayck who lived in New Netherland...

*deed  from 1 February 1656 a deed where the young (onmondige) children of  Jan Bastiaenss van Schoonrewoerd are mentioned and some van Schayck's. He according this is living in Utrecht at this time. The van Schayck connection also is interesting because Goosen Gerrits van  

*20 February 1656 a deed where probably the same Jan Bastiaenss van Schoonrewoerd is mentioned 

* 6 September 1656 deed where again Jan Bastiaenss van Schoonderwoerd is mentioned it looks like he is a cornbuyer / merchant (coornkoper) and apparently is also lending money to people. 

*deed 8 July 1658 Jan Bastiaenss (coornkoper (cornmerchant), residence Utrecht, Hoochcornmerckt) 

* deed 10 Dec 1659 Jan Bastiaenss van Schoonderwoerd 

But..bummers.. it looks like he wasn't our Jan Bastiaenss after all because if this is the same, he still is mentioned in this deed (voogdbenoeming)  in 1665 

So will try some other resources ... 

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Nice finds, Bea!

And yes, I meant the "buurtschap" Kortrijk near Breukelen. But because this case has references to the Leerdam/Schoonrewoerd area (with buurtschap Kortgerecht, your find), and none to "my" Kortrijk, I did not research further...

But then, Breukelen neither has DTB for the relevant timerange.

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Greetings Jan Terink

Thank you very much for your notes on Kortrijk (which you prefer to be spelled as Kortryck. All these spelling differences can aid considerably in searches for ancestors.  I am at a disadvantage as I do not know Dutch.  But I am struggling along with a lot of help from great people like Bea Wiima, and Derek Girouille and some kind people who I have met through Facebook.  Incidentally, I was contacted about a week ago by a man who now lives in Hawaii who has ancestors from Kortryck named Van Kortrijk (sorry I can't recall which spelling he used).  He is on Facebook and I shall point him in your direction.  Both Bea and Derek helped me immeasurably in my search for my own ancestors from the same area, namely the Vancoille family.  There are many many variations on this name.  My head feels like it is literally spinning.  Interesting post - Thanks

Carolyn Dominish

Australia

PS  Just for the record a cousin of mine called James Rycaut was married to a Spanish woman.  They lived in Brabant.  I had not realised that Spanish Protestants also lived in Belgium.  Two of the Rycaut gentlemen were both knighted by English kings.  I have to catch up on my family tree here before I can show roof of that connection.

PPS.  I just realised that Derek Giroulle had also commented on these interesting posts.  Derek is somewhat of a hero to me.

Answer 5

Hello Ellen,
I would like to offer some of my insights.

First of all I should state that I object to the modern orthography : “Kortrijk” ( as in LNAB “Van Kortrijk”) for 16-17th century naming, based on the rule that names should be spelled as they are on the original documents, unless images of original written documents can be produced that actually show the spelling using of a dotted “i” followed by a dotted ”j” the customary in the 16^th and 17^th century Flemish or Dutch would be Kortryck with a “y”.

Sebastiaen van Kortryk, father of Jan and Michiel New Netherland immigrants, said to have Spanish parents

A) Jan and Michiel Bastiaens(z)en (van Kortryk) are said to have been born in (near) Leerdam (the Netherlands)

– this makes the spelling with “z” valid option based on the Dutch naming conventions that apply in the Leerdam area but the birth / christing document should be the decisive factor.

– however the mention “van Kortryck” is ambiguous : because we are talking post 1580 AD here it might refer to (a) a district near Leerdam (south of Utrecht , named Kortgerecht), or to (b) the Flemish city of Kortrijk in Belgium, that are 210 km apart. Each of these cities belonged to a different political/religious area : Leerdam was situated in The United provinces of the Netherlands (which was predominantly Calvinist and where after 1580 the Roman Catholic churches were forbidden) and the Flemish city of Kortrijk was in the south of the Spanish Netherlands (that was under the Spanish control but where power changed hands between Calvinists and Catholics at leasrt 5 times between 1560 and 1615.
Note: Flemish town of Kortryk also and usualy spelled Cortryck or Cortrycke, Courtrais in French, Cortoriacum in Latin or contemporary Courtrai/Kortrijk, which name is the source for family surnames of van Kortryk, Kortregt, Kortright, Courtright, and other variants found in later generations. That is imho a correct statement.
Not2 : “Cortryck” was in the 17^th century part of the “Graafschap Vlaanderen, Spaanse Nederlanden” (County of Flanders, Spanish Netherlands) , the names “Westvlaanderen” “West Flanders”, and “Vlaams gewest” or “Flanders” did not exist (yet) at that time.

- It's logical – based on patronymic naming - to infer that two immigrants were sons of man with first name Bastiaen. or by his full name of Sebastiaen ( note the “iaen” in Dutch and Flemish the notation “ae” indicated that the “a” sound was long, the name “Sebastian” is not pronounced like in english as the (muted e) of “an”, nor like in spanish “Sebastian” with the short “a” of “can” but with a long “aa” like in the english word “scar” but like the word had 2 a like scaar : “Sebastiaan”)

B) The profile Bastian Van Kortrijk should be spelled Sebastiaen (Bastiaen) (V/v)an Kortryk depending on original documents found , if the family name was Spanish is would be Sebastian
note the capitalization in the flemish name : if the “van Kortryck” was appended in Leerdam, the Netherlands, the “van” would have no capital, if it was in Flanders the “Van” would have been capitalised, further more if the spelling “Kortryck” was used its more likely that the addition was done in Holland, in the 16^th century they would use Cortryck(e) rather then Kortryck.
 

on the question : Kortryk or Courtrai, how could the name have evolved into Cortes? The answer is simple it hasn’t and it couldn’t because the two are not related.
However a person named (de) Cortes could be named later “de Cortes van Kortryk” adding the fact that he was from Kortrijk to his name

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Comments

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C) Sabastian Y Cortez (Cortes) the spanish grand father
According to notes in the profile it cannot be established if the name of the father of Bastiaen was spelled “Cortes” or “Cortez” , the latter is being suggested by reference documents as being a patronymic and most likely a commoner name.
The Cortés family name ( note the accent) belongs to an aristocratic family name form the Sevilla region ( cfr Hernán Cortés, https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernán_Cortés or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernán_Cortés ) and heś a famous Conquistadore in Mexico and Latin-Americas. This family Cortes or Cortez of Asturias, Navarre or Aragone doesn’t seem related to the Cortés of Sevilla family.

Cortes or Cortez remains ambiguous ; George Fulton said : “Sabastian Y Cortes” which “looks like” a compound Spanish surname, but upon closer inspection of the profile this is first name Sebastian, middle name Y, and surname Cortes. This seems quite odd.
I agree his profile says that Sabastian Y Cortes was born around 1550 in the principality of Asturias (Northern coast of Spain, Gulf of Biscaije) from this we can deduce as number of working assumptions
* I can’t find the document online but if my memory serves me right, most of the Spanish aristocracy had a double last name (also in the 16th and 17^th century), the name pair was relative to their paternal and maternal grandfathers, except in the regions Navarre and Aragon where they used the paternal patronymic with the place of origin, and the conjunction particle “y” ( was very popular in the 16^th century) .
- There is a place called Cortes (northwest of Zaragoza, on the border of Navarre and Aragon) this might be indicative that a patronymic name might be missing from “Sabastian Xxx y Cortes” or that his patronymic is Sabastian and his first name is missing like Pedro Sabastian y Cortez (I can only speculate as I don’t have actual documentation to base my conclusions upon)
- The fact that he married in 1579 in Navarre seems indicative that his parents were not native to Asturias and that he was married to a girl form their region of origin, which underpins the “y Cortes”.

- If the patronymic is missing this is possibly due to the fact that we don’t have access to the original birth/christening documents, cause of that missing patronymic name might be that his father was dead/missing/in the army and his mother had gone/fled to Asturias to give birth or his mother’s family was from Cortes and his mother was unmarried at the birth of her son and went to Asturias where she was not known, which all explain the missing patronymic.
 

* he could have had an aristocratic background (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_nobility ) many lower noble titles (titles such as Señor , Caballero (knight), Ricohombre (nobleman, much used during the Reconquista), were given to people in the administration and military and the men served as officers in the army. The army was the best way to travel and especially an occupation force, like the one going to the Netherlands, would travel with a caravan of civilian followers in tow, kitchens and cooks, traders, artisans, prostitutes, wives and children.

Sabastian Y Cortes allegedly died in Kortrijk around 1586 , presumably in battle , underpinning the military link . Because it seems his wife died too in Kortrijk around 1586, it’s not unlikely they travelled with the army, only officers were able to bring their wife and child and have enough financial means to pay for their travel (have a carriage) and their keep during travel, arguments which underpin the aristocratic assumption.

* Imho some things are wrong with the profile of the wife Joanna Cortes Castillo and their first born Sebastian Cortes:
- I have doubts that his wife’s parents LNAB are correctly represented
> her father Franscico’s name seems more like a single name “Del Carrion Castillo” (which would be unusual)
> either her father was named Castillo or Del Castillo after his father his composed name would take the paternal Castillo maternal Carrion : Del Castillo Carrion
> or her father is called Carrion and Del Castillo refers to a place (in this case the castle) as customary in Aragon Carrion Del Castillo , however that would be unlikely for other reasons
> Joannaś mother is Martinez
> therefore Joanna could not be be Del Carrion Castillo (Martinez), either sheś a Del Castillo Martinez or a Carrion Martinez
* their son Sebastian Cortes who was born in 1581 in Fustiane Navarre should have been named Cortes Castillo or Cortes Carrion or (the missing patronymic before y Cortes) and then Castillo or Carrion

* The story “ among descendants that says that Sebastian was a member of an aristocratic Spanish family named Cortes that fled Spain during the Spanish Inquisition to avoid persecution for their Calvinist faith.” might be just a legend while there is no more substance then the mundane explanation above,
Reformatory (Lutheran or Calvinist) ideas were not widespread ( if at all) in Spain, Catholicism was very violently present ( the craddle of the reconquista is the North of Spain Navarre, Aragon, Asturias, Galicia …) it is therefore highly unlikely that the Cortes family fled from Spain for religious persecution, the military option is much more likely.
 

* if they became calvinists it’s much more likely that the family came in Kortrijk into contact with the protestant ideas of the followers of Guido de Bres (also known as Guido de Bray,[1] Guy de Bray and Guido de Brès, 1522 – 31 May 1567) author of the Confessio Belgica (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_de_Bres ) in the region of Mons – Valenciennes – Dunkerque (the famous Dunkirk) where Kortrijk is right in the middle.
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if we assume for a fact that both parents Sabastian en Joanna Cortez Castillo died in Kortrijk around 1586 then their son Sebastiaen Cortez born in 1581 would have been a 5 year old orphan
> the most likely course of events , if both parents were loyal Catholics, the child would have disappeared in an orphanage at a catholic convent or monastery, and the parent’s money and belongings attributed to the catholic church, the Cortes line would have died there because orphans became monks and had no descendants;
> if the father had deserted the Spanish army ( because he had the means , and didn’t have to rely on his soldiers pay) and settled in the Kortrijk region, he most likely would have found refuge with the protestant followers of Guido de Bres. This option explains 2 facts :
a) why the parent were killed in what seems battle : they might have been killed by frequent occuring pogroms of the faithful catholics and spanish soldiers, moreover if the father had deserted the Spanish army and perhaps because the family had turned their backs on the roman catholic church , because of it corrupted values and institutions or because of the solidarity and social equality in the protestant community, that would have been reasons for both catholics and spanish soldiers to murder them
b) why in the absence of the parents Sebastian Cortez born 1581 in Navarre Spain came to live in Leerdam : he was taken there by protestants who adopted the child and brought it to safety, it explains also the religious switch between his spanish catholic parents and him being in calvinist Netherlands .


Sebastian (de) Cortez van Kortryck came to Leerdam between 1586 and 1615 where he married Marritje Lucase in 1617 and had 4 children .

Navarro Mariott said : “Being ... one ... great grandfathers I am interested - his sons ended up here - all in the name of religious freedom”

Patty Almond said “It would seem that some in-depth research into the migration of Spanish Calvinists to Belgium and Flanders might shed some light on the link to the Cortes family. “
I think the research would turn up nothing because I think there were no Calvinists in Spain , in the late 16^th century (french hugenots developped but imho they remained on the northside of the Pyrenees).

I don’t agree with Jan Terink’s statement but I don dismiss it as invalid, it remains an option to investigate “ I think it is far more likely that he was born not in Belgium but in the hamlet Kortrijk, some 25 miles from Leerdam... ”

I think Bea Wijma is much closer

According the book ''The Courtright (Kortright) Family: Descendants of Bastiaen Van Kortryk; a native of Belgium (which probably was Spanish Netherlands at that time (perhaps that's why it's assumed the parents were Spanish ?)  who emigrated to Holland about 1615''  Sebastiaen or Bastiaen fled from Kortryk Belgium to Leerdam where two sons Jan and Michiel were born, Jan married and moved to Beesd (Gelderland) and Michiel (Chiel) also married and lived in or near Schoonrewoerd a pretty village near Leerdam (here's a map that shows the place Kortgerecht  that Jan mentions, it is very close to Schoonrewoerd (so perhaps it was this place Kortgerecht where Michiel lived and maybe even the place (buurtschap-hamlet) where the brothers were born ? 

Finaly I think that the profiles of
* Sebastian Cortez (1581, Fustiana Navarra, Spain, - bef. 1681)

* Sebastian (Bastian) "Bastian" Van Kortrijk [uncertain] aka de Cortes, Van Kortryk (1586 allegedly kortrijk, county of Flanders , Spanish netherlands - 1650 Leerdam province of Gelderland, United Provinces of the Netherlands

* Sebastian Bastiaensen van Kortryk (1586 Kortrijk – 1650 Leerdam )

are 1 and the same person and should therefore be merged :

Sebastian aka Sebastiaen or Bastiaen
LNAB de Cortes or Cortes
aka de Cortes van Kortryk ( if documents can be found)
Usual LN van Kortryck
Born 1581, Fustiana Navarra, Spain,
Deceased 1650 Leerdam, Gelderland, United provinces of the Netherlands

Husband of Marritje Lucase — married 1 Nov 1617 in Leerdam, Zuid-Holland, Nederland

possibly father of Father of Jan (Bastiaensen) van Kortryk, Michiel Bastiaenszen van Kortryk, Aertje Bastiaenszen (Van Kortryk) van Kortryk and Jacob Van Kortryk

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There are no known sources for this Sebastian Kortryk under any name or spelling variation. There are two children who were recorded as Bastiaensen. 

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I think we shoudl start research in  the Leerdam area, Beeds, Schoenrewoerd, Kortgereght and  work our way back to perhaps kortrijk  what the Kortryck means,
I fear that there will be little documentary evidence of the presence of the Cortes family in Kortrijk but whatever  documrntary evidence that exists might be in The netherlands , records taken form het calvinist parishes to safety north of the Waal.
We might find some evidence in Spain but it might be impossible to make the link.

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to complicate matters further
Lets assume that a child (who wasn't born in Kortrijk)  was taken from Kortrijk to Leerdam by someone who was not his parent , and named the child Bastiaen.  upon arival he would not get registered . BUT  when the child grows up and want to marry as an adult his name gets registered in parish record he calls himslef Bastiaen , so they will ask where he came from : van Kortryk  and we will never get any further ...

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It all sounds very plausible Derek - the connections make sense and thank you for your knowledge of the area and its history we need to start understanding in this quest - so wish I had more command of the languages involved here - was just trying to decipher an old old french document and I really feel dumb that I do not know more french - read a little bit of french and Spanish and that is it - but working with others we may find more on this family - also so sad that another ancestor of mine had to grow up with no parents from such a young age - I always have to stop and think of that - lucky I kept mine for so long I guess

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This is indeed the place to ask and find help, you might be of help to someone else later on.  
I can help anybody with Dutch, Flemish, French  and German documents,  i might not be able to provide a full translation but i can provide you with he principal elements from it.
In this case the profile managers might need the help of professional genealogists and historians to find any documentation or written evidence.
But whatever evidence we can turn up in Leerdam and in the Netherlands, might not lead us to Kortrijk in Belgium and it might be impossible to establish a link with Spain at all .
Nevertheless i would not off-hand dismiss a persisting oral history like the Cortes Spain - Kortrijk - Leerdam - van Kortryck,  there might be a framework of truth and some imaginary embelishments.

The fact that a Spanish Señor or Caballero comes to the Netherlands and doesn't return to spain after his tour of duty is a well known historical fact  the inhabitants of Antwerp, Belgium (Amberes in Spanish) are nicknamed Sinjoren (form Señor) and are considered arrogant, moreover the spanish royals and aristocarts that gouverned the Netherlands for the Habsburgs always remarked. enviously,  that women of Antwerp ( and other cities in the netherlands) dressed better then the royal princesses that visited the region

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Thanks for all the help Derek it's really appreciated and wonderful to see you here :) We will look for sources in the Dutch archives, if we are lucky perhaps we can find the marriage records for Jan and Michiel and hopefully some baptisms , and sometimes Notarial deeds and other records are available, but with those patronymics it's always a puzzle sometimes it looks like you found something related to them and in the end it turns out to be just someone with the same name and patronymic.  But all positive people here so we just keep on digging and will turn every stone :D

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Are there any new updates on topics broached above regarding the van Kortryk lineage?  Dona