The Elizabeth Westervelts of the 1730s

Date: About 1720 to about 1740
Location: Province of New Jersey
Surnames/tags: westervelt westerveld westerfeld

Five closely related Elizabeth Westervelts were born in New Jersey during the period 1721-1736. They are often confused.

My concern is the question of which Elizabeth Westervelt married which of two Van Keuren brothers—Cornelius and Tjerke. I also want to account for the marriages of two sisters, Marietje and Maria Westervelt. To answer this question, I need to analyze the data for all of them.

I began my analysis from the viewpoint of the Westervelt Family. A comprehensive (though not completely accurate) source for descriptions of the Westervelt Family is [1]; I used more primary sources, [2] and [3], to verify key data. In completing the analysis, I was assisted by a Van Keuren compilation [4].

Five Elizabeth Westervelts, all descended from Lubbert Westervelt, were baptized during the period 1721-1736 in the Dutch Reformed Churches of Hackensack and Schraalenburg, Province of New Jersey. (Schraalenburg and Hackensack, are, in effect, two churches in the same parish. Because many of the records are intermixed, one should avoid basing any conclusions on a distinction between them.) The challenge is to sort out what happened to each of the five without confusing them. The existence of siblings will turn out to be helpful, so some will be mentioned.

The pedigree of the five Elizabeths and siblings, according to [1], is as shown below. The description in [1] also lists marriages to the Van Keurens and others, but some of these will prove to be inaccurate and are omitted.

1-Lubbert LUBBERTSE van Vestervelt (say 1620-abt 1686)
+Gessie ROELOFSE Van Houten
. . . . 2-Roelof Lubbert WESTERVELT (1659-aft 1733)
. . . . +Orselina Casparus STEYNMETS
. . . . . . . . 3-Casparus Roelof WESTERVELT (1694-1769), [removed to Dutchess Co, NY 1744]
. . . . . . . . +Aeltie BONGEART
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Orseltie (1715-1738)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Roelof (1718-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Maritje (1720-died young [This proves to be incorrect.]
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Jan (1722-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Anaetie (1724-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Cornelius (1726-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Benjamin (1727-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Maria (1730-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Elizabeth (bapt. 9 May 1731-died young)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Jacobus (1733-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Elisabeth-CA (bapt. 6 Jul 1735-) [see below for meaning of CA suffix]
. . . . . . . . 3-Johannes WESTERVELT (1696-)
. . . . . . . . +Egie/Efie de Groot
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Elizabeth WESTERVELT (bapt. 17 Oct. 1736-)
. . . . 2-Lubbert Lubbertse WESTERVELT (say 1660-abt 1695)
. . . . +Hillitje POULUSE
. . . . . . . . 3-Pieter WESTERVELT (1682-)
. . . . . . . . + Susanna Demaree
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Elyzabeth (bapt. 23 Sep 1721-)
. . . . . . . . 3-Andries WESTERVELT (1694-), [removed to Dutchess Co, NY 1755]
. . . . . . . . +Dirckie VERDON
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Jan (1720-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Jacob (1721-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Helena (1724-died young)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Sara (1728-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Helena (1729-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Rachel (1734-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Elisabeth-AD (11 Jul 1736 [sic, actually 18 Jul 1736]-) [see below for meaning of AD suffix]

The baptisms of the Elizabeths can be verified in a more primary source [2], but with some correction to the dates and spelling. The entries are shown below, along with a links to the images of the relevant record:

• Elyzabeth Westervelt, dau. of Pieter Westerveldt and Susana De Maree, bapt. 23 Sep 1721, Hackensack, Bergen, NJ [ https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6961/42037_647350_0314-00182 ]
• Elizabeth Westervelt, dau. of Casparis Westervelt and Aaltjen Bongaart, bapt. 9 May 1731, Hackensack, Bergen, NJ [ https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6961/42037_647350_0314-00221 ]
• Elizabeth Westervelt, dau. of Casparis Westervelt and Aaltjen Bogaert, bapt. 6 Jul 1735, Hackensack, Bergen, NJ [ https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6961/42037_647350_0314-00238 ]
• Elizabeth Westervelt, dau. of Joannes Westervelt and Eesjin De Groot, bapt. 17 Oct 1736, Schraalenburgh, Bergen, NJ [ https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6961/42037_2421401696_0504-00024 ]
• Elizabeth Westervelt, dau. of Andries Westervelt and Dirkjen Fendon, bapt. 18 Jul 1736, Schraalenburgh, Bergen, NJ [ https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6961/42037_2421401696_0504-00024 ]

Of the five Elizabeths, one died young. Only two of the remaining four were in families that removed to Dutchess County, NY. (That can be verified by examining the birth dates and places of nephews and nieces as given in [1].) So, only two of the Elizabeths are candidates to have married the Van Keuren brothers; henceforth, I will mark them as Elizabeth-CA, i.e. daughter of Casparus and Aeltie, and Elizabeth-AD, daughter of Andries and Dirckie.

Some relevant marriages can be found in [2]:

• Marietje Westerfeld from Hackensack, intent. 14 Apr 1750, marr. 23 May 1750 [index incorrectly says 1749], Poughkeepsie, Petrus Frees from The Paltz, widower of Kornelia Oostrum, both residents of Poughkeepsie. [ https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6961/42037_2421401696_0495-00151 ] Note that this record contradicts the claim in [1] that Marietje died early. One might claim that “Marietje" and her proposed sister “Maria” are the same person, but they were baptizing children with different husbands during the same period of time, so cannot be the same.
• Elizabet Westerfeld from Hackensack, intent. 26 July 1754, marr. 30 Aug 1754, Poughkeepsie, Jesajas Reynersche from Poughkeepsie, both residents of Poughkeepsie. [ https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6961/42037_2421401696_0495-00156 ] This marriage is not shown in [1], but the one below is. Given the variety in the transcription of Dutch names, I believe that Jesajas Reynersche is the same person as Isaak Reyenderse.
• Elizabeth Westerveld, widow of Isaak Reyenderse, marr. Charrik Van Keuren, 22 Sep 1774, New Hackensack, Dutchess, NY. [ https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6961/42037_647350_0293-00008 ]
• Lizabeth Westerfeld from Hackensack, intent. 7 Dec 1753, marr. 29 Dec 1753 [index record incorrectly says 1754], Poughkeepsie, Kornelis Van Keuren from Esopus, both residents of Dutchess County. [ https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6961/42037_2421401696_0495-00155 ]

I also found the following record, which possibly belongs to a different Maria Westervelt and will be disregarded:

• Albert Alje, born and living at Hackensack, intent. 15 Oct 1748, marr. 10 Nov. 1748, Hackensack, NJ, Maria Westervelt, born at Schraalenburg, living at Tappan. [ https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6961/42037_647350_0314-00117 ]

In addition, both [1] and [4] assert that Maria Westervelt married Charrick/Tjerke Van Keuren. [4] cites a marriage record that is unavailable to me in currently available online databases. It should be noted that [2] shows a gap in the Poughkeepsie marriage records from 19 June 1755 to 29 Nov 1765. However, an informative probate record appears in [3]:

• Andrew Rynders, son of Elizabeth van Keuren, widow of Tjerk Van Keuren of Fishkill and formerly widow of [blank] Ryndersdenase. [ https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/8800/005526477_00070 ]

From these marriage records and the probate record, we can conclude that:

• An Elizabeth Westervelt married Isaak Reynderse (1754), then Charrick/Tjerk Van Keuren (1774), and no one else.
• An Elizabeth Westervelt married Kornelis Van Keuren (1753).

We can conclude that the two Elizabeth Westervelts who married the Van Keuren brothers were different persons—one, Elizabeth-CA, the daughter of Casparus and Aaltjen and the other, Elizabeth-AD, the daughter of Andries and Dirckjen. However, we still cannot determine which is which. By looking at the names of the children in the respective families, we can form hypotheses for the identification of Maria and the two Elizabeths:

• The first child of Tjerk and Maria was named Aeltje and the second child Casparus. This would support the claim that the Maria who married Tjerk van Keuren was the daughter of Casparus Westervelt and Aeltje Bongeart.
• The second daughter of Cornelius and Elizabeth was named Aaltje. The second son was named Casparus. This would support the claim that Elizabeth-CA, the daughter of Casparus Westervelt and Aeltje Bongeart, married Cornelius Van Keuren.
• We determined above that the Elizabeth who married Isaak Reynderse, then Tjerk Van Keuren married no one else. Because only one other Elizabeth was in Dutchess County at this time, she must be Elizabeth-AD, the daughter of Andries and Dirckjen. Furthermore, her first child (with Isaak Reyenderse) was named Andrew.

To confirm these hypotheses, we can look at baptism records.

• Jesajas [Isaak] Reinders [Reynderse] and Elizabeth Westerveld sponsored the baptism of Elizabeth, daughter of Jan Oostrum and Helena Westervelt. [ https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6961/42037_2421401696_0495-00031 ] So the Elizabeth who married Reynderse (and later Tjerk) was the sister of Helena Westervelt, hence, Elizabeth-AD.
• Cornelis Van Keuren and Elizabeth Westerveld sponsored the baptism of Jacobus, son of Pieter Freer and Marytje Westerveld [ https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6961/42037_2421401696_0495-00033 ] So the Elizabeth who married Cornelis was the sister of Marytje, hence, Elizabeth-CA.

The conclusions are as follows:

• Maritje Westervelt, daughter of Casparus and Aeltje, did not die young, as claimed by [1], but married Petrus Freer.
• Maria Westervelt, daughter of Casparus and Aeltje, did not marry Petrus Freer, as claimed by [1], but did marry Tjerk Van Keuren.
• Elizabeth Westervelt, daughter of Casparus and Aeltje, did marry Cornelius Van Keuren, as claimed by [1].
• Elizabeth Westervelt, daughter of Andries and Dirkje, married Isaak Reyenderse, then became the second wife of Tjerk Van Keuren.

Considered from the viewpoint of the Van Keuren family:

• Tjerk Van Keuren, the son of Matheus Van Keuren, married (1) Maria Westervelt and (2) Elizabeth Westervelt, her 2nd cousin.
• Cornelius Van Keuren, the son of Matheus Van Keuren, married Elizabeth Westervelt, the sister of Maria Westervelt.

With these conclusions, we can revise the previously shown Westervelt descendency report as follows:

1-Lubbert LUBBERTSE van Vestervelt (say 1620-abt 1686)
+Gessie ROELOFSE Van Houten
. . . . 2-Roelof Lubbert WESTERVELT (1659-aft 1733)
. . . . +Orselina Casparus STEYNMETS
. . . . . . . . 3-Casparus Roelof WESTERVELT (1694-1769), [removed to Dutchess Co, NY 1744]
. . . . . . . . +Aeltie BONGEART
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Orseltie (1715-1738)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Roelof (1718-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Maritje (1720-), married Petrus Freer
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Jan (1722-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Anaetie (1724-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Cornelius (1726-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Benjamin (1727-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Maria (1730-), married Tjerk Van Keuren--his first wife
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Elizabeth (bapt. 9 May 1731-died young)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Jacobus (1733-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Elisabeth (bapt. 6 Jul 1735-), married Cornelius Van Keuren
. . . . . . . . 3-Johannes WESTERVELT (1696-)
. . . . . . . . +Egie/Efie de Groot
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Elizabeth WESTERVELT (bapt. 17 Oct. 1736-)
. . . . 2-Lubbert Lubbertse WESTERVELT (say 1660-abt 1695)
. . . . +Hillitje POULUSE
. . . . . . . . 3-Pieter WESTERVELT (1682-)
. . . . . . . . + Susanna Demaree
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Elyzabeth (bapt. 23 Sep 1721-)
. . . . . . . . 3-Andries WESTERVELT (1694-), [removed to Dutchess Co, NY 1755]
. . . . . . . . +Dirckie VERDON
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Jan (1720-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Jacob (1721-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Helena (1724-died young)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Sara (1728-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Helena (1729-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Rachel (1734-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-Elisabeth-AD (18 Jul 1736-) married (1) Isaak Reyenderse, (2) Tjerk Van Keuren--his second wife

References:

[1] Walter Tallman Westervelt (comp.) and Wharton Dickinson (ed.), Genealogy of the Westervelt Family, reprint (of 1905 edition) (Salem, MA: Higginson Genealogical Books, 1987), https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005774800.

[2] Holland Society of New York, "U. S. Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989," indexed database with images, Ancestry.com (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=6961 : accessed 2018). The images appear to be handwritten books that would be translations/transcriptions of the original records.

[3] “New York, Wills and Probate Records, 1659-1999,” indexed database with images, Ancestry.com (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=8800 : accessed 2018)

[4] D. G. Van Curen, Van Keulen/Van Keuren, Van Kuren/Van Curen: A Family History (Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press, 1998). A more recent edition has been published. Mr. Van Curen advises me that the Elizabeth Westervelt marriages are confused in the first printing of the first edition, but corrected in the later printings and in the second edition. Mr. Van Curen also gave me some very helpful suggestions in completing this analysis, which is consistent with his recent findings. The second edition is [5] below.

[5] D. G. Van Curen, The Descendants of: Mathijs Jansen van Ceulen, (printed by Mira Digital Publishing : 2016). This edition is consistent with the analysis above, aside from some minor differences in imputed birth dates.