The One or Two Mathijs van Ceulens

Mathijs typically used his patronymic, Jansz or Jansen. In particular, a 2 July 1667 Court of New Netherland probate document "Land Valuation and Division of Patronomial Estate of Mathijs Jansen van Ceulen" includes his name. ^[1]
Because his patronymic was Jansz or Jansen, we know that his father's name was almost certainly Jan. He had daughters named Annetje and Catryn, suggesting that his mother's name was one of those. There is a record of a Jan Jansen van Ceulen and wife Annetje Janz, baptizing a daughter, Annetje at St. Niclaaus DRC in Amsterdam, 12 Oct 1606. Considering that these are all common names, the connection is far from sure. ^[2]

The Director almost never used his patronymic, so it's difficult to determine it. ^[3]
D. G. Van Curen found one document, an estate settlement, that included a patronymic--Abrahamsen. ^[4]
On Oct 1 1632, Maria Seulijns, Pieter Seulijns and Mathijs declare before a notary that Maria and her late husband, Abraham (Mathijs's father) had drawn a will on 14 July 1624, naming Pieter, Herman Aria, and Mathijs as executors. (Pieter Seulijns was married to Sara van Ceulen (Collen). He married 2nd Maria van Collen.) Herman Amia had died. Mathijs, about to depart for Brazil, named his replacement. Maria Seulijns is presumed to be Mathijs mother, unless he was the child of an earlier marriage. ^[5]
See section below for skeleton trees of family members cited in the inventories. ^[6]

Disproved: Some have cited a baptism of a Mathijs at Austin Friars DRC in London, 1602. However, an examination of the record shows that the father's name was Mathijs, not Jan. ^[7]

Married Margriet Hendrickse, abt 1641 ^[8]

Married Margrieta Huijckgelaers, 15 Dec 1620, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. ^[9]
Married Margaret Heuchelaen, daughter of Carel Heughlaen. She died before 11 Oct 1631, the date of the inventory. ^[10]
28 Nov 1620, Mathijs van Ceulen (signs as "Ceullen"), from Aachen, merchant's employee, assisted by his father, Abraham, was betrothed to Margarethe Heuchelen, from Aachen, assisted by her father Carel Heuchelen. ^[11]

Baptism records at the Fort Orange (Albany) DRC are missing for that period. A subsequent rector destroyed the old records. However, other records allow us to infer the following children and approximate dates of birth:

• Catryn about 1642 (so as to be 18 at time of marriage, 3 October 1660);
• Annetje about 1644 or 1645 (so as to be more than 21 at a 1667 estate division);
• Jan abt 1646-47 (as he was noted to be under 21 at the estate division); and
• Matthys soon after his father's death).

^[12]
Margriet's second husband, Thomas Chambers, himself childless, granted his family coat-of-arms to stepchildren, Jan and Matthys. ^[13]

Possible families in Holland... All records come from two FamilySearch datasets ^[14] and ^[15] Each entry is annotated with the FS record identifier:

• Mathias van Ceulen + Helmick Vellerns, 7 Oct 1675 [FN3P-KQ2]
• Matijs van Ceulen + Anna Stevens
  • Geertruit, 26 Mar 1651 [QLDG-KGLQ]
  • Joannes, 25 Jun 1653 [QLDG-YGR4]
• Mattheus Jansoon van Ceulen + Grietjen Claes, 3 Mar 1594 [QLTM-5N8L]

All records come from two FamilySearch datasets ^[16] and ^[17] Each entry is annotated with the FS record identifier:

• Matheus van Ceulen + Margrieta Huijchgalaers/Seugelaers/variants, 15 Dec 1620 [FN7Z-RTG]
  • Abraham, 7 Nov 1621 [Q2DR-HGQK]
  • Marija, 27 Apr 1623 [Q2DT-NG7N]
  • Angniet, 20 Oct 1624 [Q2DT-Q6N9]
  • Margriet, 9 Aug 1626 [Q2DR-H1KN]
  • Abraham, 30 Jul 1628 [Q2DB-QS4B]

On 17 March 1632, Matys Van Ceulen, merchant, presented his four children to the Orphan Chamber: Maria, 8; Margareta, 5; Agnes, 7(?); Abraham, 3--all children of Margrieta Heuchlers. He brought 9,600 f. [guldens?] for their mother's inheritance. ^[18]
9 Aug 1626, Mathijs and Margarethe baptized daughter Margriet, witnessed by Elias van Ceulen, who was the son of Mathij's uncle Nicolaes. ^[19]

There's no record that he ever lived in Manhattan or Esopus. Instead he appears to have lived at Fort Orange. ^[20]

In 1638, Cornelis van Tienhoven, the provincial secretary, acting as the agent of Coenraet van Keulen, a merchant living in Amstersdam, purchased the Otter-Spoor farm (on Harlem opposite the current Wards Island [p. 119]) for 2900 gilders. Riker speaks of the van Keulen family as being highly interested in New Netherland. He mentions that Matthys was a principal partner in DWIC, but he only "presumes" a relationship between Matthys and Conraet. This two-hundred acre [p. 106] part of Harlem became known as Van Keulen's Hook. ^{[21] [22]}
[New Amsterdam Director] Kieft, acting as an agent for [Conraet?] Van Keulen contracted for the construction of a fine residence on the Otter-Spoor land. Riker does not know who was intended to live there. ^[23]
Van Keulen never made any attempt to improve the land at Van Keulen's Hook. Riker speculates that the land was traded for the Papparinamin land. ^[24]

Mathijs purchased land known in 1646 as "van Ceulen's Bouwerie" [Riker] in Haarlem. This parcel was listed in a probate document in 1667. The document also mentioned land in the Esopus area of now-Ulster county. ^[25]
18 August 1646, "Another Hollander, Matthys Jansen Van Keulen" was given a patent on fifty morgens of land in the Papparinamin, near the northern tip of Manhattan, but appears never to have occupied it. Later the patent was "confirmed" to his children from whom are descended the families of Jansen and Van Keuran of Ulster County. [Footnote] "Matthys Jansen became a trader on the Hudson, removed to Fort Orange, and thence to Esopus, where he died prior to 1663." Riker goes on to describe his wife, Margriet Handricks, and her second husband Thomas Chambers as well as Matthys's children. He describes the children of Matthys Matthysen, Mathijs's grand-children, and states "It was these six sons of Matthys who, says an old manuscript, 'changed their names of Matthysen to Van Keuren'". ^[26]
The early history of Mattys Jans is enveloped in obscurity. It appears that Director Kieft in 1646 granted him 50 morgens of land at Harlem, but whether he ever occupied it or not is uncertain. The grant was afterward confirmed to his heirs in 1667 by Gov. Nicholls. He was a resident of Albany [Fort Orange] before coming to Kingston. ^[27]

"Mathijs Jansz is credited in the accounts with wages for baking at the house of the patroon and with beer furnished between 1644 and 1646. He died before Oct. 13, 1648." ^[28]

Lord-Director of the Dutch West Indies Company at age 20. He joined with Killaen Van Rennsalaer and others to introduce a tenant farming colony along the Delaware River. Numerous entries in Van Rensselaer's personal journals ^[29] relate to Mathij Van Keulen. He assumed control of the Dutch effort to overthrow the Portuguese in Brazil. His decisive victory in 1633 secured his standing in The Netherlands. In September 1634 he left Brazil and returned to Amsterdam.^[30]
From 1636 to 1641, Mathijs Van Ceulen served on the governing council of Dutch Brazil. A collection of letters with his signature can be viewed at ^[31]
8 October 1632, Mathijs departed via Texel, arriving at Pernambuco on 5 December. He returned to Holland on 6 Nov 1634. ^[32]

Killaen van Renssalaer's journal says that Mathijs died 13 Oct 1648. Court records on 15 and 22 identify his widow as Margriet Hendrickse. Two months later she is identified as the wife of Thomas Chambers although she is pregnant with Mathijs's child, Matthys. ^[33]

Mathijs died in Amsterdam, before 4 May 1644, the date of his estate's inventory. ^[34]