John Van Salee (abt. 1756 - 1816)

Born about 1756 in Tappan, Orange, New York Colony

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 28 Jan 1816 at about age 60 in New York City, New York, United States

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Biography

John Van Salee is a part of US Black heritage.

John Van Salee was born between about 1752 and 1756 in Tappan, Orange County, New York Colony, son of Jan Van Salee and most likely Hester Houghton. His year of birth is a rough estimate based on the year his father married.

His last name has many other spellings: Van Sallee, Vanssaler, Surley, Van Selley, Salee, Sallay, Van Sourlay, Van Surlay.

He was a veteran of the Revolution.^[1][2]

He married Grietje "Margaret," who was a German immigrant and owned her own stall in the great Bear market in New York.^[1][2] They had children.

1. Elizabeth Van Salee was born about 1789; married Dennis Hedden.
2. Maria Van Salee was born about 1791;married George De Grasse in 1808.^[2]
3. Susanna Van Salee was born about 1793; married Richard P Reevy.
4. Margaret Van Salee was born about 1795; married a Smit or a Smith.
5. Isabella Van Salee was born about 1797; married William Lukes.

John died January 28, 1816 in Manhattan, New York City, New York County, New York. He is buried in the Asbury African Cemetery. His address was on Murray St.^[3][4]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Wikipedia contributors, "George T. Downing," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_T._Downing&oldid=1179281164 (accessed October 13, 2023). Maria van Surley (also known as van Salee) was the daughter of John and Margaret van Surley (the surname was also recorded as Van Salee). Her mother was a German immigrant, and John was a veteran of the Revolution. His immigrant ancestor was Abraham Janzsoon van Salee, an early Moorish-Dutch settler in New Amsterdam about 1630.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Washington, S. A. M, George Thomas Downing; sketch of his life and times, (https://archive.org/details/georgethomasdown00wash/page/7/mode/1up?q=van), page 7, Maria Van Surley was the daughter of John and Margaret Van Surley, natives of Germany, who married Azor "George" de'Grasse, born in Calcutta, in 1808. Margaret Van Surley was a huxster in the great Bear market in New York, she owned her own Stall. John Van Surley fought in the Revolutionary War, they traced their ancestery back many generations, the first record in their family Bible being dated 1630.
3. ↑ "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6MZ-4ZK : 2 June 2020), John Surley, 28 Jan 1816; citing Death, Manhattan, New York County, New York, United States, New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 447,544.
4. ↑ Ancestry.com. New York City, Compiled Death Index, 1814-1816, Original data: Jensen, Howard, comp.. New York City Deaths, 1814-16. Longworth's 1816 New York City Directory. New York: Longworth, 1816.

• Child, Christopher C, American Ancestors, Van Salle Descendants, December 2, 2022, (https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2022/12/van-salee-descendants/).

• Henry B Hoff, Frans Abramse Van Salee and His Descendants: A Colonial Black Family in New York and New Jersey, The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, vol. 121, pril 1990, Number 2, (https://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/sites/default/files/hoff_van_salee.pdf). John Van Salee born in Orange County New York in about 1752 according to his death record. There was a John Van Selley, enlisted man in Tryon County, New York during the Revolution. John moved to New York City by 1791, when his daughter Maria was born. He is not on the 1790 census, unless he is one of the men named John in New York City with no surname given. He is on the 1800 tax list in Orangetown, Rockland County as Vanssaler, Johannes, a non-resident owning a lot. He appears in the New York City directories in 1810 as John Salee and John Sallay.