M. 1695 in New Lots, New York
Wife: Lammertje Probasco
D. 1756 in Jamaica, New York
When 17th century people moved from Europe to America, most never made contact with the family they left behind, but that wasn’t the case for Jan Simonsz Van Arsdalen. Jan was a second generation colonist, born in 1676 in Flatlands, New York. His parents were Simon Jansen Van Arsdalen and Pieterje Claese Van Schouw, who both were from the Netherlands. Jan had four sisters, and an older brother named Cornelis.
In 1695, Jan married Lammertje Probasco, the daughter of a man who had been born in the Dutch colony in Brazil. Between 1696 and 1720, they had 11 children. On May 7, 1700, Jan bought a farm from his brother Cornelis in Gravesend (now part of Brooklyn), and he became a respected member of the community. He was named as an elder of the Gravesend Dutch Reformed church in 1714, and the following year, he was listed as a soldier in the militia. Sometime after this, Jan moved to Jamaica, in what is now Queens, New York, and he and his wife appeared on many church records there.
Dutch Reformed Church in Jamaica, Queens, built in 1716.
Although Jan spent his entire life in America, the family still had ties to relatives in the Netherlands. On September 22, 1731, Jan and his brother Cornelis wrote to a cousin in Gouda; the reason for their letter involved the will of another cousin who had left some money to their late father. Apparently, the news that Simon Van Arsdalen had died over 20 years earlier hadn’t reached across the Atlantic, so the matter had to be straightened out. Jan and Cornelis reported to their cousin that they and two of their sisters still survived, so each would be entitled to a share of the bequest.
A second letter was sent to the Netherlands two years later in 1733, after one of Jan’s sisters suffered a stroke and died. Along with that news, the brothers also told their cousin how large the American branch of the family had become:
“You were writing you were interested in knowing to what number our family-tree has expanded. We are over two hundred now. Cornelis Simonsz Van Arsdalen has got eleven children, eight of whom are married and has over forty descendants. Jan Simonsz Van Arsdalen has got eleven children, and Geertje, Jannetje and Jetje have got many children and grandchildren. You will understand it is just impossible to enumerate them. However, [we] can inform you they are all living on plantations of their own, breeding cattle and growing corn, maize, etc. We thank our Lord for leading our father to this country.”
Jan wrote his will in 1736 and named all of his children in it. He left instructions that if his estate was sold, sons Jurian and Nicholas would receive £150 each, son Simon would get £10, and the other money would be divided equally among the remaining children. Jan passed away at about 80-years-old in 1756; it isn’t known when his wife Lammertje died.
1. Christoffel Van Arsdalen — B. about 1696, Flatlands, New York; D. before 2 Nov 1772, (probably) Hillsborough, New Jersey; M. Magdalena Van Henglen (~1698-?), about 1717, (probably) New Brunswick, New Jersey
2. Simon Jans Van Arsdalen — B. about 1697, Flatbush, New York; D. 1770, Bucks County, Pennsylvania; M. Jannetje Romeyn, 30 Oct 1716
3. Cornelius Van Arsdalen — B. about 1698, (probably) Gravesend, New York; M. Tryntje ______
4. Ida Van Arsdalen — B. about 1700, (probably) Gravesend, New York
5. Peternella Van Arsdalen — B. before 1710, (probably) Gravesend, New York D. about 1737, (probably) Somerset County, New Jersey; M. (probably) Volkert Sebring
6. Jan Van Arsdalen — B. about 1705, (probably) Gravesend, New York; M. Magdelena Dorland (~1714-?)
7. Maria Van Arsdalen — B. about 1710, (probably) Gravesend, New York; M. Garret Snedeker (1708-?)
8. Heletje Van Arsdalen — B. about 1712, (probably) Gravesend, New York; D. about 1774, Skillman, New Jersey; M. Garret Dorland (~1707-1774), 13 Mar 1731
9. Nicholas Van Arsdalen — B. about 1716, Jamaica, New York; D. 1784, Jamaica, New York; M. (1) Geertje Lott (1720-?), about 1740; (2) Jane Brinkerhoff, 26 Nov 1761
10. Jurian Van Arsdalen — B. about 1720, (probably) Jamaica, New York; M. Altie
11. Sarah Van Arsdalen — B. about 1722, (probably) Jamaica, New York; D. about Feb 1788, Jamaica, New York; M. Isaac Ammerman (1709-1788)
Sources:
WikiTree
The Vanguard: The Newsletter of the Van Aersdalen Family Association, Vol. 1, No. 2, December 1998, and Vol. 3, No. 2, December 2000
Letter from Cornelis Simonsen van Aersdal, Jan Sijmonsen van Aersdalen and Mettie Sijmonsen van Aersdalen to Harmanus van Homberg of Gouda, Netherlands, 22 Mar 1733
