Tobacco Farmer in Manhattan — Hans Hansen Bergen

B. about 1610 in Bergen, Norway¹
M. about 1639 in New Netherland²
Wife: Sarah Jorise Rapalje
D. before 30 May 1654 in Brooklyn, New Netherland³

Hans Hansen Bergen was an early immigrant to New Netherland, who was involved in the colony's short-lived period of tobacco farming.

Born in Bergen, Norway in about 1610,¹ Hans had been trained as a ship builder.² He left his native country and made his way to the Netherlands, where in 1633, he signed up to be a carpenter on a ship bound for America. The ship was believed to be the Zoutburg, which also carried Wouter Van Twiller, New Netherland’s newly appointed director-general.² Van Twiller took over after Peter Minuit was recalled by the Dutch West Indies Company. The Zoutburg was said to be the first war ship to arrive in New Amsterdam; it transported over 100 soldiers “wearing steel corsets, leather jackets, and carrying half pikes and wheel-lock muskets.”⁴

As a Norwegian, Hans fit right into the cosmopolitan community of New Amsterdam. He was sometimes called “Hans Hansen Noorman” in records; other times he was referred to as Hans Hansen Boer because “boer” was Dutch for farmer, his new livelihood. He signed his name with just an initial “H,”² suggesting he was probably illiterate.

By 1638, Hans was working as an overseer on a tobacco plantation located in Manhattan near the East River.² Director-General Van Twiller had encouraged the development of tobacco farms, and by 1639, there were up to 27 of them in the colony.⁵ Hans also partnered with two other men to cultivate a tobacco plantation located in what is now Greenwich Village.² Harvesting tobacco required special barns that were larger than normal, and perhaps Hans’ skills as a carpenter were useful in building such structures. He also had a house in New Amsterdam located on what would one-day become Pearl Street.²

1640s illustration depicting tobacco growing in New Amsterdam.

In about 1639, Hans married Sarah Rapalje, who was known as the first European child born in New Netherland.² She was only 14-years-old when they got married, and she gave birth to their first child the following year.⁶ Between 1640 and 1653, they had 8 children, with the youngest dying as an infant.

In 1647, Hans was granted land in Wallabout Bay, which is a part of present-day Brooklyn, and he moved his family there.² His property had 400 acres and was adjacent to his father-in-law, Joris Rapalje. There was a story handed down in the Bergen Family, told by descendant Teunis Bergen in an 1876 book. It was said that when Hans was clearing his land, he was chased up a tree by some Indians. Out of fear, he began to sing, and the natives were so charmed by his voice, they let him go without harming him.² It’s not known if there’s any truth to this at all.

Hans died sometime before May 30, 1654,³ leaving his widow Sarah with seven underage children. Later that year, she married a second husband, Teunis Bogaert,⁷ and had another eight children. Sarah died in 1675.⁷

Hans’ name lives on today in Brooklyn with Bergen Street and Bergen Beach. Some also think that Bergen County in New Jersey was named for Hans and his family, but this is not proven. He was also the ancestor of DeWitt Clinton, Howard Dean, and James Spader.⁸

Children:
1. Anneken Hansen Bergen — B. 12 Jul 1640, Flatlands, New Netherland;⁶ M. (1) Jan Clerq (~1641-1661), 8 Jan 1661, Flatbush, New Netherland;² (2) Derck Jansen Hooglandt (~1635-1728), 8 Oct 1662, Flatbush, New Netherlands²

2. Brecktje Hansen Bergen — B. before 27 Jul 1642, New Netherland;² M. Aert Theuniszen Middagh (~1635-~1687), 1662, Brooklyn, New Netherland⁹

3. Jan Hansen Bergen — B. before 17 Apr 1644, New Netherland;² M. Jannetje Teunis (1648-?)²

4. Michiel Hansen Bergen — B. before 4 Nov 1646, New Netherland;² D. 22 Jan 1731;² M. Femmetje Denyse (1650-1734)²

5. Joris Hansen Bergen — B. before 18 Jul 1649, Brooklyn, New Netherland;¹⁰ D. 22 Jan 1731, Brooklyn, New York;¹⁰ M. Sara Strycker (1649-1736), 11 Aug 1678, New York²

6. Maritje Hansen Bergen — B. before 8 Oct 1651, Brooklyn, New Netherland;¹¹ D. 1736, Rosendale, New York;¹² M. Jacob Rutsen (1651-1730), Ulster, New York²

7. Jacob Hansen Bergen — B. before 21 Sep 1653, Brooklyn, New Netherland;² M. Elsje Frederiks (1658-1720), 8 Jul 1677, Brooklyn, New York²

8. Catalyntje Hansen Bergen — B. before 21 Sep 1653, Brooklyn, New Netherland²

Sources:
1    Estimate of Hans’ birth is based on his known arrival in New Netherland.
2    The Bergen Family: The Descendants of Hans Hansen Bergen, Teunis G. Bergen, 1876
3    Find-a-Grave listing of Hans Hansen Bergen
4    Wouter Van Twiller, 1606-1657: Director of New Netherland, 1633-1637, Historical Society of the New York Courts
5    The Colony of New Netherland: A Dutch Settlement in Seventeenth Century America, Jaap Jacobs, 2009, p. 126
6    Birth record of Anneken Hansen Bergen, Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam and New York, FamilySearch.org
7    Find-a-Grave listing of Sarah (Rapalje) Bogaert
8    FamousKin.com listing of Hans Hansen Bergen
9    Marriage record of Aert Antonize Middaugh and Brecktje Hansen, Records of The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Flatbush, Kings County, New York, Vol. 2, 2009, p. 25
10  Find-a-Grave listing of Joris Hansen Bergen
11  Birth record of Maritje Hansen Bergen, R. of the R. D. C. in N. A. & N. Y.
12  Find-a-Grave listing of Maria Hansen (Bergen) Rutsen

Norwegian Man in a Dutch Colony — Louwerens Pietersen

B. (probably) about 1615 in Tønsberg, Norway¹
M. 18 Aug 1641 in New Amsterdam, New Netherland²
Wife: Annetje Pieters
D. about 1664 in (probably) New York³

In the mid-17th century, a small number of Scandinavians migrated to America and settled in New Amsterdam. One of them was Louwerens Pietersen, who was one of the early residents of Manhattan.

Louwerens was born roughly around 1615 in the town of Tønsberg, Norway,¹ a place described as the oldest present-day Scandinavian city. It's unknown why he migrated to America, but he was in New Amsterdam as early as 1639. On June 16th of that year, he was declared sole heir to the property of a man named Roelof Roeloffsen.³

Location of Tonsbergen, Norway.

Because of his heritage, Louwerens was often called "The Norman" in New Amsterdam records. On August 18, 1641, he married a woman from Germany named Annetje Pieters;² they had two daughters — Sytie born in 1642,⁴ and Engeltie born in 1646.⁵ People from Norway served as sponsors for the baptisms of the two girls (including Hans Hansen Bergen, who was named on Sytie’s baptism). In turn, Louwerens' name appeared as sponsor for several children of Norwegians between 1641 and 1663.⁶ This suggests that there was a sort of Norwegian community within the Dutch colony.

On March 12, 1647, Louwerens obtained a lot in Manhattan on the south side of Prince Street and about 50 feet from Broad Street.³ The house he built was said to be the first one on Prince Street.³ This is not the Prince Street that runs through Soho in present-day New York; the location was in lower Manhattan and it was later renamed Beaver Street. When Louwerens lived there, it was somewhat on the outskirts of the city, and there wasn’t a second house on the street until 1652.³

By then, though, Louwerens seems to have moved to what is now Queens. Records show that on March 22, 1651, he purchased a plantation on the west side of Maspeth Kill, Long Island, “opposite to Richard Brudenel.”³ Maspeth Kills was a small waterway that flowed into the larger Newtown Creek which emptied into the East River. The land must have been attractive to Louwerens because this was a fairly remote place. The Dutch had originally settled there in 1642, but were chased off by the local tribe. About ten years later, after European disease wiped out the tribe, Dutch colonists “made peace” with the few survivors, and moved back.⁷

The harsh life of 17th-century Long Island may have led to the early death of Louwerens’ wife Annetje. On March 10, 1660, he went through a legal procedure to appoint a guardian for his children.³ According to Dutch law, this was done after one or both parents died, so it suggests that Annetje passed away around this time. Louwerens likely didn’t live much longer, because after signing a 1664 document pledging loyalty to England,³ there’s no mention of him in any further records.

Through his two daughters, Louwerens has descendants today scattered throughout the United States. As for the present-day location of his home in Manhattan, it’s in the heart of New York’s Financial District, and it's safe to say that Louwerens wouldn't recognize the place.

Children:
1. Sytie Pietersen – B. before 1 Jun 1642, New Amsterdam, New Netherland;⁴ D. 1687, Flatbush, New York;⁸ M. Barent Joosten (1625-1711), 12 Dec 1658, New Amsterdam, New Netherland³

2. Engeltie Louwerens – B. before 15 Jul 1646, New Amsterdam, New Netherland;⁵ D. 1706, Gravesend, New York;⁹ M. (1) Jan Cornelissen Van Cleef (1628-?), 10 Mar 1661, Gravesend, New York;¹⁹ (2) Jan Emans (?-1714), 4 Mar 1701, Gravesend, New York¹¹

Sources:
1    Laurens Pieterszen listing in Brouwer Genealogy Data  
2    Marriage record of Laurens Pieterszen and Annette Pieters, Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam and New York, Samuel S. Purple, 1890
3    Scandinavian immigrants in New York, 1630-1674, K.C. Holter, 1916
4    Baptismal record of Sytie Laurens, “Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York,” New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 5
5    Baptismal record of Engeltie Laurens, R. of the R. D. C. in N. Y.
6    R. of the R. D. C. in N. Y.
7    “The Past and Present of Maspeth Creek,” 2013, Brownstoner (website)  
8    WikiTree listing of Sytje (Laurens) Pieterse Pieterszen  
9    WikiTree listing of Engeltie (Laurens) Emans  
10  “The Van Wicklen/Van Wickle Family: Including Its Frisian Origin and Connections to Minnerly and Kranckheyt,” New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 128, Harry Macy Jr.
11  “Marriage Records, Gravesend, L. I.,” New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 4, Tunis G. Bergen