Warner Wessels (abt. 1630 - bef. 1675)

Born about 1630 in Arnhem, Gelderland, Nederland

Husband of Anna Elisabeth (Maskop) Masschop — married about 1644 in Nederland

Descendants

Died before Aug 1675 before about age 45 in New York, Province of New York

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Biography

Warnaer Wessels, sometimes referred to as "the Exciseman," arrived in New Netherland by 1653, when he was mentioned as a defendant in a lawsuit brought in New Amsterdam by Hendrick Van Dyke. ^[1]

He married Anna Elizabeth Masschope before they arrived in New Amsterdam.

Name

Warnaer Wessels/^[2][3]

Birth

1609

1630

Arrival

1654 New Netherland^[4]

Church Records

Children's baptisms

1. 1656. den 16 Jan. Warner Wesselszen, Anna Elisabeth Maskop. Wit.: Geen getuijgen. ^[5][6]
2. 1657 Apr 08 Gerardus, Warner Wessels, Anna Elisabeth Maskop. Wit.: Allard Anthony, Metje Boonen. ^[5]
3. 1659 Mar 31 Geertruijd, Wernar Wessels, Anna Elizabeth Massop. ^[5]
4. 1660 Oct 24 Maria, Warnar Wesselszen, Anna Elisabeth Masschop. Wit.: Marie Wessels. ^[5]
5. 1662 Mar 05 Christina, Warnart Wessels, Anna Elizabeth Massop. Wit.: Pieter Nyssen, Thomas Hall, Metje Wessels. ^[5]

Research Notes

Warnaer was born about 1630. He passed away about 1675.

Life Sketch • 27 March 2019 by Moody Kellam Miles at http://espl-genealogy.org/MilesFiles/site/p717.htm#i71620

Warnaer Wessells1 M, b. circa 1624, d. between 30 April 1672 and 8 August 1675

Father (-----) Wessells1 b. c 1600 Mother Metje Boonen1 b. c 1600

Last Edited 30 May 2010

Birth* circa 1624

Warnaer Wessells was born circa 1624 at Holland.1

Anecdote* 1653

In 1653 Warnaer Wessels, his brothers Harmanus and Dirck; sisters Henrica, Christina and Maria along with their mother Metje (Boonen) Wessels emigrated to New Amsterdam. While we do not know the exact date of their passage, Warnaer is first identified in the court records of New Amsterdam in December of 1653.3

Anecdote 1 December 1654

There is no record of there being any agreements between Warnaer and the principles of the West India Company prior to his emigration to New Amsterdam. However, his career progressed swiftly in that on December 1, 1654 he was appointed Farmer of the Excise, a position involving the taxation of alcoholic beverages. The court records for January 13, 1657 the Schouts, Burgomasters, and Schepens of the City of New Amsterdam arrange for the stamping of barrels, and cans, weights, ells and skepels, in order to prevent all disputes arising therefrom and insuring equal justice; "Therefore their Worships, for the promotion thereof, have appointed and accepted, as Gauger and Assizer of this City, Warnaer Wessels, inhabitant of this City…". In that same year, he was named small burgher. On November 16, 1669 court records state: "It is this day Ordered that Warnaer Wessells shall be Constable of this Citty during the Mayority of Mr. Mayor Steenwyck…". In his capacity as Farmer of the Excise, Gauger and Assizer, and Constable, Warnaer appeared in court over three hundred times between 1653 and 1672. The impression of Warnaer from this first appearance suggests a man with an irascible personality. This is born out in later court records in which his quick temper did not always serve him well. The records also give us a glimpse of a man who was resourceful and entrepreneurial in nature. In addition to his municipal jobs, he bought and sold property and was a tapster.4

Anecdote 1655

Records indicate that circa 1655 Warnaer Wessels rented the house which he would later purchase. The 1660 survey depicted on the Costello map indicate that Warnaer was located in a house on block E Lot #3, which is on a cross street (possibly Winkel Street) between Brouwer Straat (Stone Street) and Brugh Straat (Bridge Street), facing the West India Company house and storage row.5

Anecdote 1663

Subsequent to the loss of New Amsterdam to the British on September 8, 1664, it appears that Warnaer and Elizabeth sailed for Holland. His last entry in the New Amsterdam court records for that year was November 8, 1664. Church records in Emmrich, Germany, a town on the Dutch border, record a baptism on December 17, 1664 of Anna Catharina, daughter of Warnaer Wessels and Anna Elisabeth Masschop. Why Warnaer took a pregnant wife to Holland at that time remains a mystery. To add to the mystery are two listings of a ship's passenger list. Each lists the same group of passengers. One dates the voyage as April 17, 1664, the other January 20,1664 (most likely a transcription error). The ship is The Sacred Heart with Captain Dirck Jacobsz De Vries. The passenger of interest is "Wander Wessels (Added on Dr.) Nota. His wife was coming out but died in Texel." Wander was among four passengers listed as "Came out at the cost of the company." If this is our Wander (Warnaer) Wessels then two facts are in dispute. The date of departure is not right. If the year is incorrect making the transit in 1665 rather than 1664 puts his departure date one day before Warnaer is in the court records, April 18, 1665, for the first time since November 8, 1664. The second possible error is naming his wife as having died on Texel. It is possible than daughter Anna Cathrina was mistaken for her mother Anna Elizabeth in the records. If this is our Warnaer, then this scenario fits with the New Amsterdam records. (The Island of Trexel was a gathering point for regional ships to bring travelers to board trans-atlantic vessels bound for America and other distant locals). The court records reflect an absence for Warnaer of a little less than six months, sufficient time for a quick round trip.6

Anecdote 19 April 1665

In court records for April 19, 1665, Warnaer is listed as living on High Street, with no specific address given.7

Anecdote April 1672

In April of 1672 circumstances appear to have become grave for Warnaer. On the 5th of the month, Secretary Nicolaes Bayard lodged a complaint against Warnaer Wessels contending "that the sd. Wessels is a Conciderable summe of Monny indebted to the Towne as p.r. acc.t produced in Court. The sd. Wessels doth not only refuse to make payment thereof, but in Contempt of the Authority & in affront to the Magistrates did give very filthy speeches…". Warnaer's final appearance in court was in follow-up to the appearance of April 5th. On April 30, 1672 "The Court having heard ye Excuse & supplication of Waernaer Wessels, Concerning ye Seditious words spoken in affront & contempt to ye Magestrates; ye Court for severall Reasons & Considerations have remitted ye punishment which according to the merit of this fact ought to be Inflicted upon him & do Condemne him only to pay to ye use of the poore of this Citty a fine of 20 Gilders together with Costs. The fact that this reduced sentence comes at the end of his court involvement is likely not coincidental. It is difficult to judge form these notes what Warnaer might have been experiencing during this time of his life. It is possible his health was failing. While we do not know the date of his death, his widow remarried to Francois Rombouts on August 8, 1675.8

Death* between 30 April 1672 and 8 August 1675

Warnaer Wessells died between 30 April 1672 and 8 August 1675 at New Amsterdam, NY.9

Family

Anna Elizabeth Masschop b. c 1630

Marriage* before 1653

2

• Children:
• 1. Dr. Gerardus Wessells+2 b. b 8 Apr 1657, d. b 23 Apr 1709
• 2. Gertruyd Wessells2 b. b 31 Mar 1659
• 3. Maria Wessells2 b. b 24 Oct 1660
• 4. Christina Wessells2 b. b 5 Mar 1662
• 5. Aeltie Wessells2 b. c 1663
• 6. Anna Catharina Wessells10 b. 1664

Vitals: Name • • Warnaer Wessells • • Sex • • Male Birth • • 1625 Arnhem, Gelderland, Netherlands Christening Death • • 8 Aug 1675 New Amsterdam, New York, United States Burial • • between 30 April 1672 and 8 August 1675 New York City, New York County, New York Colony, British Colonial America

Other Information:

Alternate Name • Birth Name Wernar Wessels Last Changed: October 8, 2012

Alternate Name • Birth Name Warner Wessels Last Changed: July 30, 2013

Alternate Name • Also Known As Warner Wesselszen Last Changed: February 21, 2015

Alternate Name • Also Known As Warnart Wessels Reason This Information Is Correct: his child's birth record Last Changed: February 21, 2015

Sources

1. ↑ Bulloch and Adams, page 323, citing Records of New Amsterdam, vol. 1, page 141.
2. ↑ Source: #S17 Page: Ancestry Family Trees
3. ↑ Source: #S221 Page: Place: New Netherland; Year: 1654; Page Number: 33
4. ↑ Source: #S221 Page: Place: New Netherland; Year: 1654; Page Number: 33
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4} Thomas Grier Evans. "Baptisms from 1639 to 1730 in the Reformed Dutch Church, New York." In Collections of the New-York Genealogical and Biographical Society. Vol. II. New York: Printed for the Society, 1890.
6. ↑ The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 5 (1874), page 175.

• Bulloch, Dr. J. G. B., and Dr. Arthur Adams. "Genealogical Notes Relating to Warnaer Wessels and His Descendants," New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 44 (1913), pages 322-334.
• Wardell, Patricia A. '"Early Bergen County Families, "Wessels: Warner Wessels". Accessed 14 Dec 2016. http://njgsbc.org/indexes/bergen-county-families/

• Source: S17 Ancestry Family Trees. Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.

• Source: S221 Gale Research. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Provo, UT, USA; 2010.

• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/MPKL-593
• https://www.wiewaswie.nl/nl/detail/20678712
• Probate Court Records, Wills and Administrations, Ulster County, New York, 1662-1783, 1787-1822; Author: New York. Surrogate's Court (Ulster County); Probate Place: Ulster, New York; https://search.ancestry.com/collections/8800/records/4519806
• MyHeritage, citing (sources not yet otherwise identified in this WikiTree profile):

• Tom Wessells,
• The Dutch in Dixie
• Berthold Fernow, Records of New Amsterdam, (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976), Volume 6, 212.
• Fernow, Records of New Amsterdam, Volume 1, 266.
• Fernow, Records of New Amsterdam, Volume 6, 203.
• J. H. Innes, New Amsterdam and Its People, (New York: C. Scribner's sons, 1902), 29
• Peter Spier, The Legend of New Amsterdam, (New York: Doubleday, 1979), accessed on line.
• Fernow, Records of New Amsterdam, Volume 5, 155.
• Baptismal Record, (Emmerih church records, 1664) Author has a copy of the original page the number of which is not legible.
• Carl Boyer, Ship Passenger list New York and New Jersey (1600-1825), (Westminster, Maryland: Willow Bend Books, 2001) 134.
• Michael Tepper, Immigrants to the Middle Colonies, (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1978) 59.
• Fernow, Records of New Amsterdam, Volume 5, 222.
• Fernow, Records of New Amsterdam, Volume 6, 371.
• Purple, Reformed Dutch Church Marriages, 40.

Acknowledgments

• This person was created through the import of 124-DeCoursey.ged on 14 September 2010.
• Wessels-507 was created by David Higgs through the import of Brown-12 Generations_2014-07-23.ged on Jul 23, 2014.
• Wessels-508 was created by David Higgs through the import of Brown-12 Generations_2014-07-23.ged on Jul 23, 2014.