Mattys (Mattysen) Mattyssen (abt. 1648 - 1730)

Born about 1648 in Fort Orange, New Netherland

Ancestors

Husband of Tjaatie (de Wit) de Witt — married about 1677 in Kingston, Province of New York [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 7 Oct 1730 at about age 82 in Kingston, Ulster, Province of New York

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Biography

Birth

Matthys Matthysen (sometimes spelled "Mattys Mattyssen" or "Mattys Mattys") was born about 1648 at Fort Orange, New Netherland, the son of Mathijs Jansen van Ceulen and Margriet Hendrickse. ^[1] (A prior profile gave the date 16 October for his birth, but without citation to source. The "Millennium File" gives a year of 1652.) The year 1648 seems reasonable, because on 3 March 1667, he requested the court to allow him to manage his own affairs. ^[2] That seems a bit young, but Banta and Van Curen report that the court records show that he was not yet of legal age, 21, at that time. ^{[3] [4]} On 27 March 1669, the court finally freed him of the guardianship of Roelof Swartout. ^[5] So, the birth year of 1648 would appear to be correct.

Matthys's parents were Mathijs Jansz and Margriet Hendrickse. We can be sure of that because of the estate settlement described below. Some might object that, according to Dutch custom, the second male child would have been named some variant of "Hendrick," after Margriet's father. But in this case, a different custom prevails. Matthys's father died while Margriet was pregnant with the boy, so he is to be named for the dead father. (A similar custom applies if the mother dies in the birth of a girl child--the girl is to be named for her mother.) ^[1]

Inheritance

The settlement of the estate continued over several years. On 2 July 1667, a judgment was rendered regarding the division of the estate. Matthys received 20 morgens (about 40 acres) of land along with a barn, plow, plow horse, and stallion. He was required to pay his siblings more than 120 guilders to equalize their shares of the estate.

The land near the northern tip of Manhattan granted to his father in 1646 was another matter. None of the Matthysen heirs occupied the land and it was taken over by squatters. After some complicated litigation the family lost the land. ^[6]

Removal to Esopus and Militia Service

Sometime before 1672, he removed to Kingston, Province of New York.

Despite his young age, he was a signer of a 1668 peace treaty with the Esopus Indians. ^[4] This suggests that he might have resided in Kingston as early as that date.

Certainly he was in Kingston by 1672, because he was appointed an ensign of the local militia and in 1673, as captain. The next year, he was named as a member of the committee of defense against the French. ^[3] All this, by age 25. It should be noted, though, that his step-father, Thomas Chambers, had become, in effect, a "Lord" by this time. So, Matthys had some powerful connections.

As time passed, the British were reorganizing the institutions of the colony that they had taken by force in 1664 and by treaty in 1674. Matthys was commissioned as "oldest sergeant" in the militia. ^[7] (I can't find an explanation of this term but possibilities include the highest possible enlisted rank, what we now call a Sergeant-Major, and a form of officer intermediate between enlisted men and commissioned officers, what we now call a Warrant Officer. Both of these ranks receive high respect in the modern military--JWM.) According to Wikipedia, ^[8] "The first British use of the term [Sergeant-Major] was around 1680 and was applied to the senior sergeant in the colonel's company of an infantry regiment [emphasis added]."

His militia service continued. In 1680, he was commissioned as an ensign and then as a captain in 1685. Unlike normal militia duty, he may have been called to the northern boundary of New York to confront French encroachment. ^{[7] [9] [10]}

On 24 December 1689, Matthys was again commissioned a "captain of foot" (infantry), possibly to deal with a new threat. ^[11]

Marriage and Children

Matthys married Taatje DeWitt in Kingston or Albany during 1677. Marriage records do not exist for either place. ^{[9] [12] [13]}

They had eleven children, born in Wiltwyck and its successor Kingston, with baptisms as shown below: ^[14]

1. 1678 Apr 16. Sara. Mattys Mattys, Tajie de Witt. Wit.: Wm. d Maier, Mr. Chambrs.
2. 1679 May 11. Lea. Matys Matysse, Tiatie De Wit. Wit.: Joris Davidts, Barber Andriesse. Bp'd "at Horley" [Hurley].
3. 1681 Apr 24. Mattys, Mattys Mattysen, Tyatye de Witt. Wit.: Tomas Cambers, Lowrensya Chambers.
4. 1682 Dec 24. Tirck. Mattys Matysz, Tjaaatie Wit. Wit.: Jan Tyse, Magdaleen Blan Jean, Cornelis Switz.
5. 1684 Nov 01. Thomas. Matys Matyze, Tjadje de Wit. Wit: Jan Hendricz, Anna Matysz.
6. 1685 Oct 11. Barbara. Matys Matyz, Taadje de Wit. Wit.: Cornelis Hogeboom, Antie Slegt.
7. 1687 Dec 04. Klaes. Matthys Mattyssen, Thiatje de Witthe. Wit.: Jan Focke, Ghiertruy de Witthe.
8. 1689 Oct 13. Thomas. Mattys Mattys, Tjaetje de Witt. Wit.: Cornelis Bogardus, Rachel de Witt.
9. 1692 Jan 28. Hasuel. Mathys Mathysen, Tjaatje de Witt. Wit.: Cornelis Bogardus, Lysbeth Blangan.
10. 1694 Jun 03. Cornelis. Mathys Mathysen, Tyaatje de Wit. Wit.: Willem Jacobsen, Jannetje de Wit.
11. 1696 Oct 18. Benjamin. Matthys Matthyssen, Tjaatje de Wit. Wit.: Thomas Janssen, Marytje Steenbergen.

Van Curen reports a 12th child, Gerardus, born abt 1700, who died before he could be baptized. ^[15]

Occupation and Property

On 24 April 1677, the court granted Mattys the "Green Kill" on condition that he build a sawmill there. ^[2] Van Curen gives a date of 24 August and says the locale is near the current Rosendale. ^[7] Matthys contracted for the construction of a paddle and cutting wheel for the mill on 25 September. ^[7]

He was granted 6 acres plus woodland on the Plattekill for a mill on 13 August 1680 and on 2 November was given a certificate of ownership for a mill and kiln at Plattekill. ^[7]

He commissioned a survey and on 16 June 1685, he received a report on 83 acres south of the Esopus kill as well as his home in Kingston. The title for the home was confirmed two years later. The site of the home is unknown, but it was inside the stockade, close to the church. ^[7]

Thomas Chambers, Mattys's step-father, awarded to Mattys and his brother Jan, a portion of the Chambers coat-of-arms on 28 November 1679. (I know of no evidence that they ever used it--JWM.) ^{[16] [17]}

Later Years

Matthys served as a trustee of the Town of Kingston from 1687 to 1695 and as local magistrate in 1688 and 1689. ^[7]

Mattys died 7 October 1730 in Kingston. ^[4] Find-A-Grave has an entry for him at ^[18], but provides neither burial place nor photo of gravestone.

Background material regarding other family members

(This material appeared in a prior version of the profile and is quoted from ^[19]. Similar text appears in other secondary sources. It's difficult to be sure of its original source.)

Matthys Jansen became a trader on the Hudson, removed to Fort Orange, and thence to Esopus, where he died prior to 1663. That year, February 15, the deacons loaned 1000 gl. from his estate. His widow, Margret Hendricks, married Thomas Chambers, Lord of the Manor of Fox Hall. Jansen had four children, viz., Jan, Matthys, Catherine, married, 1660, Jan Jansen, from Amersfoort, and Anneke, who married, 1668, sergt. Jan Hendricks Buur, alias Pearsen.

...[Matthys] married Tietie, daughter of Tjerck De Witt, and had issue Matthys, Tjerck, Nicholas, Thomas, Gerardus, Hasuelt, Sarah, married Matthew De Bois; Leah, who, with Hasuelt, removed to New York, and Barbara, married Peter Tappan. (See Annals of Newtown, p. 303.) It was these six sons of Matthys who, says an old manuscript,'changed their names of Matthyssen to Van Keuren,' and when the numerous family so called.

Notes

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Van Curen, 2016, p.3.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "New York: Albany County Deeds, 1630-1894," American Ancestors, vol. 8, p. 4393, referencing book 1, p. 512. (There are other entries on this page relating to him.)
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Banta, "Names of Dutch Settlers in Esopus," p. 126.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Van Curen, 2016, p. 76.
5. ↑ Van Curen, 2016, pp. 76-77.
6. ↑ Riker, pp. 164 and 345 footnote.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6} Van Curen, 2016, p. 77.
8. ↑ Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergeant_major, citing Ordnance Insignia of the British Army: Non-Commissioned Ranks & Appointments, Archived 10 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Evans, p. 254.
10. ↑ Riker, p. 148 footnote.
11. ↑ O'Callaghan, p. 189.
12. ↑ Cleaver, p. 492.
13. ↑ Van Curen, 2016, p. 75
14. ↑ Hoes, various pages.
15. ↑ Van Curen, 2016, p. 78.
16. ↑ "New York: Albany County Deeds, 1630-1894," American Ancestors, vol. 8, p. 4347, Thomas Chambers and Jan & Mattys Matthysen, 1679 Nov. 28, referencing book 2, p. 265.
17. ↑ Brink, p. 140.
18. ↑ Find-A-Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9426440
19. ↑ Ryker, p. 148 footnote

Sources

• Banta, Theodore M. "Names of Dutch Settlers in Esopus." Year Book of the Holland Society of New York (1897 [but imaged outside cover says "1906"]). Online page images. Google Books. https://books.google.com/books?id=nbwTAAAAYAAJ : 2019.

• Brink, Benjamin Myer. "The Horrors of the Revolution (appended item)." Old Ulster: An Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 2 (1906). Indexed online page images. Google Books. https://books.google.com/books?id=aEw9AQAAMAAJ : 2019.

• Cleaver, Mary Louise Catlin. The History of the Town of Catherine, Schuyler County, N. Y.. Rutland, VT: The Tuttle Publishing Company, 1945. Online page images. Ancestry. https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=12079 : 2019. The descriptions seem a bit hyperbolic. The preface states that family histories were provided by the families themselves.

• Evans, Thomas G. "The De Witt Family, of Ulster County, New York." New York Genealogical and Biographical Record 17 (Oct. 1886). Online page images. HathiTrust. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924061993378 : 2019.

• Hoes, Roswell Randall, compiler. Baptismal and Marriage Registers of the Old Dutch Church of Kingston, Ulster County, New York (formerly named Wiltwyck, or often familiarly called Esopus or 'Sopus), for One Hundred and Fifty Years from their commencement in 1660. New York: De Vinne Press, 1891. Digital images of pages. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/baptismalmarriag00king : 2019.

• O'Callaghan, E. B., editor. Calendar of Historical Manuscripts in the Office of the Secretary of State, Albany, N. Y.. Part II, English Manuscripts, 1664-1776. Albany, NY: Weed, Parsons and Company, Printers, 1866. Online page images. My Heritage. https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-90100-409827210/calendar-of-historical-manuscripts-in-the-office-of-the-secretary : 2019.

• Riker, James. Revised History of Harlem (City of New York.): Its origin and early annals prefaced by home scenes in the fatherlands; or notices of its founders before emigration. Also sketches of numerous families and the recovered history of the land-titles. With illustrations and maps. Revised from the author's notes and enlarged by Henry Pennington Toler and edited by Sterling Potter, genealogist. New York: New Harlem Publishing Company, 1904. Online page images. MyHeritage.com. https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-90100-97234527/revised-history-of-harlem-ny?s=273564081 : 2019.

• Van Curen, D. G. The Descendants of Mathijs Jansen van Ceulen: A history of the Van Steenberghs, Peersens, Jansens, Van Keurens and related families, from their beginnings in Kingston, Ulster County, New York. Chesterfield, MO: Mira Digital Publishing, 2016.

• "New York: Albany County Deeds, 1630-1894." Indexed database of page images. New England Historic Genealogical Society. American Ancestors. https://www.americanancestors.org/DB436/i/12401/138521984/0: 2019.

Acknowledgments

This biography was rewritten by Jim Moore in March 2019. The prior profile appears to have been the result of several GEDCOM imports and mergers.