M. 16 Aug 1711 in (probably) Kings County, New York2
Wife: Sitje Van Wicklen
D. before 1 Oct 1726 in Hempstead, New York2
Before New York City was a crowded metropolis, people like Hans Jorise Bergen lived off the land, operating a flour mill right on the East River. Hans was born in New Utrecht on August 31, 1684 to Joris Hansen Bergen and Sara Stryker,1 one of ten children. His heritage was Norwegian and Dutch, and included some of the original settlers of Brooklyn.
Hans was a young man of 24 when he joined his cousin Hans Michielse Bergen and others in causing a disturbance in town.3 On April 30, 1708, the group was tried for a “riot” at the tavern of Sarah Knight in Brooklyn. Mrs. Knight was the widow of an Englishman, Thomas Knight, and her tavern was located near the intersection of present-day Hoyt and Fulton streets. The tavern was next to land that had belonged to Hans’ father, and likely this is where Hans lived at the time. Mrs. Knight and another woman named Martha Brower were indicted for “false swearing” at the trial. It isn’t known if Hans or the others were convicted for the incident at the tavern, or even if they were guilty of anything at all.
Hans married a woman named Sitje Van Wicklen on August 16, 1711.2 They are known to have had three children, and they may have had others. On February 9, 1713, Hans bought over 20 acres of land located on Wallabout Bay.3 The property had a creek and a recently-built grist mill. Hans took over and operated the mill for several years.2 By the time he sold the property in 1723, it included a house, bolting house, bolting mill and dam along with the mill. There was also a meadow, and a beach on the East River.3
The man who bought the property was named Remsen, and the mill became known as Remsen’s Mill.3 In 1776, the mill was adjacent to where a British ship was docked holding Americans as prisoners in brutal conditions. A few generations later, the property would be the site of the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Maps showing location of Hans property in 1766 and 1874.
When Hans sold his Brooklyn property, he seems to have moved to Hempstead,3 a Dutch and English community located further east on Long Island. A probate record suggests that he died here in late 1726, and that his wife was deceased at that time as well.3 The inventory of his estate was taken on October 1, 1726. Among his possessions were 17 sheep, 8 cows, one steer, 4 other cattle, several calves, 9 swine and 2 mares — a decent-sized farm for colonial Long Island.
Children:
1. George Bergen — B. 9 Oct 1712, Brooklyn, New York;2 D. 13 Oct 1784, Cranberry, New Jersey;5 M. (1) Margaret Dumont (1715-1743), 3 Jun 1738;2 (2) Maria Hoagland (1720-1770);2 (3) Mareya Van Nuys (~1727-?), 22 Aug 17712
2. Mattie Bergen — B. about 1713, Long Island, New York;6 D. 13 Feb 1768, Somerset County, New Jersey;7 M. Abraham Dumont (1706-1787), 10 Aug 17337
3. Evert Bergen — B. 1717, Long Island, New York;2 D. 17 Nov 1776, Somerset County, New Jersey;2 M. Jane Hegeman, 17392
Sources:
1 Records of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Flatbush, Kings County, New York, Vol. 1, 1677-1720, David William Voorhees, 1998, p. 431
2 “The Van Wicklen/Van Wickle Family: Including Its Frisian Origin and Connections to Minnerly and Kranckheyt,” Harry Macy Jr., New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vol. 128, no. 2, p. 81
3 The Bergen family, or the descendants of Hans Hansen Bergen, one of the early settlers of New York and Brooklyn, L.I., Teunis G. Bergen, 1876, pp. 395-399
4 American Prisoners of the Revolution (website), Danske Dandridge
5 Find-a-Grave listing of George Bergen
6 Mattie Bergen’s birth year estimate is based on date of her marriage
7 “Wallerand Dumont and his Somerset County Descendants,” John B. Dumont, Somerset County Quarterly, Volume 1, 1912
