The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, by the Society; Vol 5, April/1874 Page 98 BEGIN Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York 1652 Ouders Kinders Getuygen den 20 May. Jan Leeck Metje Albert Albertszen, Jan Hutjesse, Susanna Bresers, Engeltje Mans END From: "Perry Streeter" BEGIN Date: Fri, 10 Feb 2006 21:44:04 -0500 Martha, wife of Obadiah-2 Wilkins (William-1) and John-2 Griggs (John-1), both of Gravesend, was the daughter of John-1 & Ann (Spicer) Lake. Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2006 21:17:15 -0500 Identifying Martha, wife of Obadiah2 Wilkins and John2 Griggs, as a Descendant of the Lake and Spicer Families of Gravesend Based on the evidence provided above, there can be no doubt that John2 Griggs was married at Gravesend to Martha, the widow of Obadiah Wilkins, by a license dated 5 December 1684. If Martha was not the daughter of Obadiah Wilkins but rather his widow, who then were her parents? In his brief mention of Obadiah Wilkins,[[1]] William H. Stillwell did not identify any wife for Obadiah but he repeated the erroneous claim that he had a daughter Martha who married John Griggs. However, in his account of the Lake family of Gravesend, Stillwell revealed Martha's origins: Martha Lake daughter of John (1) was born in Amersfort (Flatlands) baptized in New Amsterdam May 20 1652 married Obadiah Wilkins of Gravesend, son of William and had issue, Martha, who married John Griggs, and William.[[2]] As demonstrated above, Stillwell was in error in stating that Martha, wife of John Griggs, was a daughter of Obadiah Wilkins, rather than his widow. However, was he accurate in identifying Martha as the daughter of John1 and Ann (Spicer) Lake of Gravesend? On 20 May 1652, 'Metje' was baptized in the New Amsterdam Dutch Reformed Church as the daughter of 'Jan Leeck'[[3]] with witnesses Albert Albertszen, 'Jan Hutjesse' [John Hutchinson],[[4]] 'Susanna Bresers' [her maternal aunt, Susan (Spicer) (Wathens) Brasier], and Engeltje Mans.[[5]] In the primary published account of the Lake family, Metje's baptism is mentioned yet she is omitted in the listing of John1 Lake's children.[[6]] Consequently, most researchers have simply assumed that this baptismal record pertains to Margaret, another daughter of John and Ann (Spicer) Lake. However, Metje is typically identified as a Dutch equivalent of Mattie (Martha) whereas Margrietje (or its diminutive, Grietje) is the Dutch equivalent of Margaret. Thus, John1 and Ann (Spicer) Lake did have a daughter named Martha. Was she identical with the wife of Obadiah2 Wilkins and John2 Griggs? A court record pertaining to both families probably provides the confirmation. In 1675, John1 Griggs sued William1 and Obadiah2 Wilkins for crop damage caused by their cattle in the past: Jo Grigs pl agt wm wilk deft for cattle damidges . . . done 7: yeares agoe and apprized by P. Symson Peeter Symson testifies . . . hee . . . apprized ye Dammidg . . . in ye yeare 68 Jo Griggs pl agt Obdiah for dammidges in his Corne att ye springe by cattle yt have beene putt in to ye ffield and yt ye sd damidg was prised & Judged to 3 Skiples of wheate & hee pduced Carson Johnson a wittness Carson Johnson testifies yt in mrch last hee see 7:Cowes uppon his Corne (all Cowes) & yt Jo Lakes daughter fetcht ym off wch was more Cows yn ye deft had further ye deft testifies yt hee did not knowe whose Cows any of ym was:[[8]] From the excerpt above, note the key phrase, "Jo Lakes daughter fetcht ym [them] off." John2 Lake Jr.'s only known daughter was born well after 1675, so it was certainly a daughter of John1 and Ann (Spicer) Lake who 'fetcht' the cows of Obadiah Wilkins. Who else would have had the opportunity and the motivation to prevent Obadiah's cows from causing more damage other than his wife Martha? In 1682, as detailed above, Obadiah Wilkins added a codicil to his will in which he 'appointed these my friends whom I repose confidence in namely Samuel Spicer William Williamson William Golding and John Tilton junr . . .' to watch over his children. Samuel Spicer was a brother of Ann (Spicer) Lake; William Goulding was the husband of the Margaret2 Lake (John1); and John Tilton Jr. was the brother-in-law of Samuel Spicer. If Martha was the daughter of John1 and Ann (Spicer) Lake, then Obadiah's friends Spicer and Goulding were also the uncle and brother-in-law of young widow Martha. In 1683, Martha Wilkins resided next to John Lake Jr. and two doors away from John Lake Sr.[[9]] and, as shown above, the household of John Griggs Jr. was listed as two doors away from that of Ann Lake in the 1698 census. On 25 May 1700, 'J. Griggs' shared lots 38 and 39 on Hugh Garretson's Neck or Gelder Neck with John Lake.[[10]] Despite Stillwell's other errors, it is logical to conclude that 'Metje Leeck' survived to marry both Obadiah Wilkins and John Griggs. Like John1 Griggs, Martha's father, John1 Lake, was not one of the original settlers of Gravesend and-despite claims to the contrary-his origins remain unknown. However, the descendants of Martha (Lake) (Wilkins) Griggs can claim a line of descent from an original Gravesend patentee-Martha-s maternal grandfather was Thomas1 Spicer. Arent Van Curler had obtained a patent for one of the plains on Long Island and in the present town of Flatlands . . . he leased the whole to Thomas Spicer. Here Spicer lived when the committee of settlers of the future town of Gravesend were looking for a site and here they met and decided on the location.[[11]] Martha may have been named in honor of Thomas Spicer's mother, Martha (Grant) Spicer,[[12]] or an intermediary namesake descendant. In his will of 29 September 1658, Thomas Spicer left 'to [his daughter] Ann Lake, wife of John Lake, 60 gilders [sic] for the benefit of her three children,'[[13]] one of whom would have been Martha. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Stillwell, 'Gravesend Settlers,' 65. [2] Ibid., 100. [3] Record 5 (1874):98. [4] 'In the Records of the Orphan's Court (Holland Society Year Book, 1900) it is stated that Jan Jutsitson (Hutchison) died at the house of Henry Brasar [sic, Brasier, husband of Susan (Spicer) (Wathens) Brasier]. . . . By his will, dated Oct. 4, 1658, Jan Hutsitson willed to Jan, son of Joris Hom [George Holmes], 100 guilders; to Susanna, daughter of Henry Breser, his god-daughter, 120 guilders, and the balance of his estate to Mary, Rebecca, Susanna and Martje, children of Henry Bresar, . . .' (J.E. Stillwell, Stillwell Genealogy, 1:137). [5] Probably identical with the Engeltje Mans, 'j.d. Van Coinxste, in Sweden,' who married Borger Joriszen, 'j.m. Van Hershberg, in Silesien' in the New Amsterdam Reformed Dutch Church on 18 Dec. 1639 (Record 6 [1875]:33). 'Engeltje appears to have been a vigorous old lady of somewhat masculine disposition. She was frequently, as a witness or litigant, before the Court at Stady Huys, where she was much dreaded on account of her loquacity. . . .' (J.H. Innes, New Amsterdam and Its People, 1626-1902 [Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1902], 234). [6] Arthur Adams and Sarah A. Risley, A Genealogy of the Lake Family of Great Egg Harbour in Old Gloucester County in New Jersey, Descended from John Lake of Gravesend, Long Island: With Notes on the Gravesend and Staten Island branches of the family (privately printed, 1915), 9. [7] {need to cite but can't find in any catalog [8] Gravesend Town Records; Book 4: Court Minutes 1662-1669, Town Records of Kings County Transla­tions/Transliterations, 56; image from the library of The Holland Society of New York, courtesy of David M. Riker. [9] DHNY, 2:508-11. That the 1683 Rate List was recorded in approximate order of residence is an assumption but the order observed is consistent with that found in the 1698 census. [10] Truesdell, citing Gravesend Town Records, 3:91. [11] Stillwell, 'Gravesend Settlers,' 46. [12] Susan Billings Meech, A Supplement to the Descendants of Peter Spicer (Groton, Conn., 1923), 25-28. [13] David McQueen, 'Kings County, N.Y., Wills,' Record 47 (1916):327-28, citing Gravesend Town Records 3:112. END