By Barbara Ribling August 21, 2001 at 06:56:23 BEGIN I believe that I am a descendant of Claes CLAESEN (CLAESZEN/CLAESSEN) of New Utrecht, Long Island and his wife Geertruyt (Geertryud/Gertrud) WILLEKENS (or JOCHEMS/JOACHEMS). According to information that I have, they had a daughter Neeltje who married John LAKE, Jr: pp.179-180 "Register of the Early Settlers of Kings Co., Long Island, NY" by Teunis G. Bergen. "Jan (LAKE or LEEK) Junr of Gravesend m. Neeltje CLAESSEN." The will of John LAKE, Jr., however, names wife "Mayke" who is believed to have been a second wife but I have no information regarding either of the marriages of John LAKE, Jr. or of the birth families of his named wives in a context that also names John LAKE, Jr. Let us suppose that tradition is correct (for a moment) and that John LAKE, Jr. of Gravesend and other locations on Long Island married, first, Neeltje CLAESSEN as stated by Bergen and others. Let us also suppose that Neeltje was the dau. of Claes and Geertruyt (Willekens/Jochems) CLAESSEN of New Utrecht, Long Island. John LAKE, Jr., was on the assessment roll of Gravesend as early as 1683. Who was Claes CLAESSEN (CLAESEN/CLAESZEN/etc.)? We know by various records that there were at least three men of this name in early NY records. John O. Evjen in his work "Scandinavian Immigrants in NY 1630-1674" (taken from "primary" sources) names the following men of this name: Claes CLAESEN from Flekker, Norway who sailed by "de Eendracht" on March 21, 1630 and arrived May 24, 1630 at New Amsterdam. This Claes, according to Evjen, disappears from records after 1634. Claes Claesen BORDING, a Dane, was in New Amsterdam by 1648 or earlier. Evjen describes Claes Claesen BORDING as "a respectable mariner and politician of some influence". Claes Claesen BORDING had a house near the Battery (Manhatten Island). BORDING's wife is known to have been Susanna LUES (LEES, etc.). Claes and Susanna had children: Marritje, Tryntje, a second Marritje, Lysbeth, Claes, Simon, Jannetje, Hester, a second Lysbeth and a second Claes. BORDING can be ruled out as the Claes of New Utrecht. There was a Claes CLASEN from Ravox but Evjen says nothing more of him. Claes CLAESEN of New Utecht is also described by Evjen but the author seems uncertain as the whether this man was the same man as the one from Flekker, Norway. I believe that the Claes of New Utrecht was the father-in-law of John LAKE, Jr., and that he was the Claes CLAESEN described in records as being from Amersfoort, the Netherlands. Who was Geertruyt (Geertruyd) WILLEKENS/JOCHEMS? Was this one woman or two? The list of passengers of the "Trouw" which sailed Feb. 12, 1659, includes Geertruyt. We have this information from Evjen's "Scandinavian Immigrants": "Gertruy Jochems, from Hamburg, came to New Netherlands by 'de Trouw', which sailed Feb. 12, 1659. She had two children along. She was the wife of Claes Claesen, from Amersfoort, who had already emigrated." Evjen does not give the immigration information about Claes (what ship he came on or when). In this case, the lady is named "JOCHEMS" and is described as the wife of Claes CLAESEN of Amersfoort. Although the records clearly show the wife of Claes arriving in 1659 with two young children, we also have this marriage record from the early records of the Reformed Dutch Church: "11 dicto. Claes Claeszen Smit, Van Amersfoort, en Geertruyd Willekens, Van Hamburg, Wede Van Hendrick Gulick", 1653. (NY Genealogical and Biographical Record, 1890 & 1940). This record shows a marriage between Claes CLAESZEN SMIT (a smith?) of Amersfoort, the Netherlands and Geertruyd WILLEKENS of Hamburg, Germany. The marriage took place in 1653. Did the lady return to Hamburg after the wedding? Are WILLEKENS and JOCHEMS the same person? The woman who arrived in 1659 was the wife of Claes CLAESSEN. The woman who married in 1653 was the widow of Hendrick GULICK. Were they the same lady? I would like to know. Geertruyd, widow of Hendrick GULICK, seems to have had at least two children, Jan and Joachem, who match in age the two children who arrived with the wife of Claes CLAESEN on the "Trouw" in 1659. I believe that Geertruyt came to New Amsterdam with her husband Hendrick GULICK in 1653 or sometime shortly before; that GULICK died in New Amsterdam or on Long Island in 1653; that Geertruyt married Claes CLAESEN in 1653 (as shown by the marriage record) and that she then returned to Hamburg to retrieve her sons, the children of Hendrick GULICK, and bring them to Long Island in 1659. If I am correct about the event above recounted and that Claes of New Utrecht is the same man who married Geertruyt, widow of Hendrick GULICK, then, Geertruyt was the ancestor of several NY/NJ family lines including GULICK and BAYLES. In the BAYLES family she was the ancestor of the descendants of Neeltje (Claesen) LAKE whose granddaughter Johannah LAKE married Daniel BAYLES of Hunterdon Co., NJ. In the GULICK line, I believe she was the ancestor of Rebecca GULICK, daughter of John (Johannes) GULICK and Margaret VAN DYKE, who married Robert BAYLES, son of John BAYLES and Anna DAVISON of Somerset Co., NJ. I am a descendant of Daniel BAYLES and Johannah LAKE. I would like any information or comments you may have regarding these families. I will cross-post this message on some other boards. Thank you! Barbara Ribling bribling@mail.datasys.net http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/5456/ END https://longislandgenealogy.com/Marriage/MARR.HTM Marriage Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam and New York From Samuel S. Purple's 'Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam and New York Marriages from 11 December 1639 to 26 August 1801.' The beginning records show the date the Banns were registered, NOT the date of marriage. Starting on 9/20/1673 marriage dates are given. Originally appearing on the site of Robert L. Billard You can visit his site at http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~rbillard/index.htm 1653 11 Sep; Claes Claeszen Smit, van Amersfoort; Geertruyd Willekens, van Hamburg, wid van Hendrick Gulick.