Vreeland Family - Biographical Sketch

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: New Jersey
Surname/tag: Earle, Vreeland

Vreeland Family - Introduction

This page includes biographical Information on Vreeland Family which was published in the book: History and Genealogy of the Earles of Secaucus, with an account of other English and American Branches by Isaac Newton Earle. History and Genealogy of the Earles of Secaucus, with an account of other English and American Branches, Marquette, Michigan: Guelff Printing Co., 1925. This is a "secondary" source and is provided for background information only.

Edward Earle Jr. (abt.1668-1713) who was still quite a young man, of perhaps twenty-one to twenty-three, married a Dutch lass named Elsje Vreeland (bef.1671-1748) of Gamoenipa (this is the original of Conununipaw). Banns published at the Bergen Reformed Church, Jan. 29, 1688, were as follows:

“Edward Earle, Young man, from Maryland, living on Si- kakis Island, and Elsje Vreeland from Gemonepa, living at Mingachque (Pamrepo).”

A New York marriage license was issued, Feb. 13, 1688, to

“Edward Earle, from Maryland, lives on Sicakis Isld., and Elsje Vreeland, from Gemoenipa, lives at Minkachgee.”

The Old Dutch Church Register, New York, has this entry:

“Feb. 13, 1688. Eduard Earle, y. m., Uyt Marienlant, en Elsje Vreedlant, y. d., op Goemoenipa, met Atestatie Van Bergen.”

They were married by Rev. Selyns of New York. Elsie held a certificate from the Reformed Dutch Church at Bergen, where the marriage is also entered. We do not know why this double record was made. Edward, Sr., and his family attended the church at Bergen, and so probably did the family of Elsie, as it was the leading church of that region at the time. As their home church, the banns were proclaimed there and the marriage recorded there, though there may have been some reason for obtaining the license in New York. Perhaps a visit to New York constituted their wedding trip.

As Elsie is the mother of all the Earles of Secaucus, everything pertaining to her history is of interest to her descendants—her ancestors are our ancestors. Mr. Nicholas G. Vreeland of Jersey City published in 1909 a “History and Genealogy of the Vreeland Family,’’ which is a model of this kind of literature, and which makes it unnecessary for the writer to go extensively into the ancestry of Elsie Vreeland Earle. Those who can possess themselves of this book are advised to do so, as they will find many things of interest to them as Earle, as well as Vreeland, descendants. But as many will not see Mr. Vreeland’s work, we shall give the main facts of Elsie’s descent, which were gathered before the publication of his volume.

Elsie Vreeland was of full Dutch descent, the daughter of Enoch Michielsen Vreeland (bef.1647-1717) and Dirckje Jans (Meyer) Meijers (abt.1650-bef.1688). The latter was born in Amsterdam, Holland. Enoch was the son of Michiel (Jansz) Vreeland (abt.1610-1663) and Fijtje Hartmans (abt.1611-1697), and was known as Enoch Michaelson (Michael’s son).

We are deeply interested in Michael Jansen (Vreeland), as one of the forbears of our tribe, and the grandfather of Elsie Vreeland, “the mother of us all.’’ He is probably the earliest ancestor whose portrait has come down to us. There are numerous references to him in the annals of the times, though careful discrimination must be exercised, as there were a number of Michael Jansens, and his story has evidently been confused with that of others bearing the same name.

Michael Jansen (Vreeland) was born in 1610, and came from Scrabbekerk, Netherland, in the ship “Arms of Norway.” He arrived in Manhattan on August 4, 1638, with his wife, born Fitje (Sophia) Hartman; one son, Claas (Nicholas), and two servants. He first settled at what is now known as Greenbush, opposite Albany (then Fort Orange), where he engaged in the fur trade.

Such speculation being prohibited by the West India Company, soon brought him into difficulty with the authorities, and in 1646 he removed to Manhattan. Governor Peter Stuyvesant chose him as one of his “Nine Men,” his advisorv council, which office he continued to fill even after he had settled on a “bouwerie” (farm) in Communipaw.

During the Indian troubles of 1655, he was driven from his home on the west side of the river, his family being the only white family that escaped the massacre of September 15.

Taking refuge in Manhattan, he engaged for a time in mercantile pursuits, but as soon as matters settled down again, he returned to Communipaw and lived there till his death in 1663.

In 1661 he was a man of “competence,” living on his bouwerie (farm) at Gamoenipa. He was one of the first magistrates of the new court at Bergen. In December, 1662, he joined his neighbors in asking the Governor for a minister of the gospel, for whose support he subscribed twenty-five florins. He is also found on the list of contributors of material for the first school.

We quote a sentence or two from a gentleman who was very familiar with the history of early colonial times:

“Elsie Vreeland, who married Edward, Junior, was of virile stock. Her father and grandfather were extraordinary men, the latter occupying a distinguished position in the early colony. I consider him one of the most remarkable men of the period.”

The wife of Michael Jansen (Vreeland) was Fitje Hartman, and was living at Ghmoenepaen (Communipaw) in 1679. She was a member of the Bergen Church in 1664, and died Sept. 21, 1697.

As we understand it, the names Communipaw and Pavonia were applied respectively to the southern and northern sections of what is now Jersey City. Perhaps the boundaries were not very clearly drawn, for the names seem to be used interchangeably. We are told that the Vreeland family settled in what is now known as the Greenville section of Jersey City.

The family owned a strip of land, containing 120 acres, extending from New York Bay to the old Bergen Road, and from Brown Place to the Bayview Cemetery. It is also recorded that Michael Jansen Vreelandt was granted twenty-six and one-third morgen of land at Pavonia, N. J., by Peter Stuyvesant, Governor, Nov. 27, 1654.

Enoch Vreeland, the father of Elsie, was baptized Oct. 26, 1649. He married, first, Dirckse (Frederica) Meyers, of Amsterdam, June 20, 1670.

He was a member of the General Assembly of the Province from 1675 to 1688, 1707, 1708 and 1709. He was commissioned ensign in the militia of Bergen, N. J., July 4, 1681; was Associate Judge of the Court at Bergen in 1673, ’74, ’81, '82 and ’83; Commissioner of Highways for the county in 16S2 and 1692; Assistant Judge of Bergen Common Pleas, May 22, 1705. He lived on the bluff overlooking the bay, where the Morris Canal is crossed by the Central R. R., near Caven Point.

It will be seen that Enoch Vreeland, as well as his father, was a man of strong character and took a conspicuous part in the life of the community. He was married three times. His first wife, Dirckse, was the daughter of jan Dirckszeu Meyers and Tryntje, daughter of Andries Grevenraet.

Enoch’s will is dated April 12, 1715, and is recorded at Trenton. An abstract of it is as follows:

“Will of Enoch Michielse (Vreeland) of Xaitsionk alias Pembre- bogh, Bergen Co. Late wife Dirka Meyers, who had Michael, Johannes, Abraham, Isaac, Enoch, Elsie, widow of Edward Earle, and Catherine Albertse. Present wife Ephy, who has Elias, Jacob and George, all under age. The wife sole executrix and guardian, after her death or remarriage, brother-in-laws Rut Van Horne and David Coesart. Proved Nov. 13, 1719. The executirx sworn April 11, 1720.”

Winfield gives the date of Enoch’s death as Aug. 17, 1714, which is probably an error for 1719, the year in which the will was proved. For sketches of Enoch and his children see “History of Paterson,” by Wm. Nelson, I. pp. 109, 112, 115.

Alice or Elsie Vreeland was the eldest child of the family, and was baptized Nov. 12, 1671. She was probably not over seventeen at the time of her marriage. She belonged to a family that was among the first on the ground where the great metropolis of the New World and its sister cities now stand, a family which has occupied a prominent place in social, business and political life down to the present day.

The marriage of Edward Earle, Junior, with Elsie Vreeland introduces a Dutch strain into the Earle stock. The mother of the third generation of Earles was a full-blooded Hollander. Up to this time the stock seems to have been pure English; from this point on there were frequent intermarriages between the Earles and their Dutch neighbors, as we shall find later between the French and the Dutch. Five of Junior’s children chose Dutch companions. For this reason many of the names in our early history look and sound strange to us. Our ancestors of the third generation were half Dutch. Some of the fourth generation were three-fourths Dutch. They doubtless heard the Dutch language spoken commonly about them, and perhaps were more familiar with it than with English. In delving into the records of those days one would almost imagine he was in Holland.

The old Dutch Pastors who married the Earles and christened their children could not grapple with English orthography, so we must look to find names now very familiar to us in almost unrecognizable forms. We must not feel indignant to find John spelled ‘‘Jan,” and must be prepared to accept ‘‘Maris” or even “Mars” for Morris. Earle will appear in all possible and seemingly impossible forms. It is not probable that the bearers of the name always knew how to spell it. We must remember the almost total lack of education in those days. We have seen the senior Edward making his mark, because he was not able to write his name. This, taken with the intermingling and intermarrying of generation after generation with the Dutch, explains why we can scarcely recognize our own family history in the records of those times. This is most apparent, however, in those who remained in the vicinity of Secaucus.

There are Earles living near Secaucus today, and whose forefathers lived there, who speak with a strong Dutch or German accent, and who would be taken for foreigners. Those who migrated from the family nest and mingled with the world, have lost all traces of their Dutch origin.