B. about 1621 in (probably) Nuis, Groningen, Netherlands
M. (1) 23 Apr 1645 in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Wife: Magdalena Pieters
M. (2) about 16 Dec 1666
Wife: Lysabet Janse
M. (3) 17 Jul 1681 in New York
Wife: Geertje Gysbrechts
D. 1698 in (probably) New Utrecht, New York
Auke Janse Van Nuys came to America from the Netherlands and made a living as a building carpenter. He was born in about 1621 in the village of Nuis, which was where he got the name “Van Nuys.” His parents’ identity is unproven, but it’s believed that his ancestors escaped from France in the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of 1572. Auke had at least one brother, whose name was Goosen.
By the time Auke was in his 20s, he had moved to Amsterdam, becoming an apprentice in the trade of building construction. On April 23, 1645, he married a woman named Magdalena Pieters, and they began a family, which included four children by 1651. Auke became a poorter on April 24, 1647, which meant he was a citizen of Amsterdam, enjoying rights and privileges above other residents of the city. This was a necessary step for someone seeking to join a professional guild, and likely meant that Auke started working as a carpenter around that time.
In about 1651, Auke made the decision to migrate to the Dutch colony in America, and he, his wife and four young children sailed to New Amsterdam. Auke soon hired out for construction projects, working on houses and other buildings that were beginning to crowd the tip of Manhattan — some of the earliest structures in what is now New York City.
According to New Amsterdam records from the 1650s, Auke’s work sometimes received complaints, and a few people refused to pay him. In one project from early 1653, a woman claimed that Auke damaged her house, and the repairs would cost more than the fee he wanted for his work. Later that year, Auke tried to collect payment from a man who said the work he had done was poor and “spoiled the timber” of his house. Auke’s skills as a carpenter were again called into question with a wall that he and another carpenter built along the town’s canal. In the summer of 1654, heavy rains caused the structure to cave in, and Auke had to help rebuild it at no cost.
In October 1655, all of the men in the colony were asked for money to pay for the expense of improving the fortification of New Amsterdam. A handful of men volunteered to work on it instead of paying money, and Aucke was one of them, offering one to two days of labor. It’s not known if this arrangement was carried out.
Auke and his family only remained in New Amsterdam for a couple of years, and on May 6, 1653, he sold his property and relocated to the site of what would become Flatbush. The settlers there formed a new church in 1654, and Auke was one of the carpenters hired to build it, the first house of worship in what is now Brooklyn. Governor Stuyvesant ordered that the church be at least 60 feet long, and 28 feet wide, with a ceiling height of 12 to 14 feet. The project took six years and the church stood until 1699, replaced with a more solid one that lasted another 100 years. The current church was built in the 1790s, but still occupies the site of where Auke helped build the original one.
Auke and his wife Magdalena had five children born in New Netherland, with the youngest in about 1662. Magdalena died that year, and Auke remarried in about December of 1666 to a widow named Lysbet Jans. The couple had no children and she passed away in April 1681. In July of that year, he married a third time to another widow, Geertje Gysbrechts. Auke lived in various towns during this part of his life, including Flatbush, Brooklyn Ferry and New Utrecht. He made out his will on May 15, 1694 and passed away in 1698. He was buried in the graveyard at the church that he had helped build.
The name Van Nuys, that Auke brought to America, was spread throughout the country among his many descendants. One of them, Isaac Newton Van Nuys (1836-1912), gave his name to the town of Van Nuys, California, part of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles.
Children (all by Magdalena Pieters):
1. Annetje Auckes Van Nuys — B. about Jan 1646, Amsterdam, Netherlands; M. (1) Wijnant Pieterse Van Eck (1640-1695), 4 Dec 1661, Brooklyn, New Netherland; (2) Dirck Janse Woertman (1630-1694), about 4 Dec 1691, Brooklyn, New York
2. Geertruyd Auckes Van Nuys — B. about Jun 1647, Amsterdam, Netherlands; D. about 1691, Flatbush, New York; M. Joost Franz (1640-~1696)
3. Jannetje Auckes Van Nuys — B. about Nov 1648, Amsterdam, Netherlands; D. 17 Sep 1721, New York; M. Reynier Arentsen, 28 Apr 1666
4. Jan Auckes Van Nuys — B. about Dec 1650, Amsterdam, Netherlands; D. 1710, Brooklyn, New York; M. (1) Barbara Provoost (1653-1679), 29 Jul 1673, New York, New York; (2) Eva Janse (1660-?), 4 Apr 1680, Midwout, New York
5. Abigail Auckes Van Nuys — B. about 1651, New Netherland; D. 19 Jul 1748, Flatbush, New York; M. Leffert Pietersen (1645-1704),1675, Flatbush, New York
6. Pieter Auckes Van Nuys — B. about Oct 1652, New Netherland; D. (probably) young
7. Jacobus Auckes Van Nuys — B. about 1654, Flatbush, New Netherland; D. about 6 Dec 1710, Flatbush, New York; M. Maria Cornell (~1664-?), 26 Apr 1685, Flatbush, New York
8. Ida Auckes Van Nuys — B. about 1656, Flatbush, New Netherland
9. Femmetje Auckes Van Nuys — B. about Jan 1662, New Netherland; D. 20 Nov 1735, Flatlands, New York; M. Jan Van Voorhees (1652-1735), 8 Oct 1680, Flatbush, New York
Sources:
The Father and Brother of Aucke Jans Van Nuys, Elizabeth A. Johnson, 2012
Flatbush Reformed Church (website)
The records of New Amsterdam from 1653 to 1674, Berthold Fernow and Edmund Bailey, 1897
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