JOHANNES DE LA MONTAGNE
    Though Johannes de la Montagne is not famous today, he was a key figure in the Dutch settlement of the New World. Johannes was involved in early efforts in South America, the Caribbean and North America. And his abilities enabled him to rise to the rank of vice director of the Dutch colony of New Netherlands – what is now New York. (1)
    Born about 1595 in France, Jean Mousnier de la Montagne was a Huguenot – a Protestant group that was frequently persecuted in Catholic France. In 1619, he moved to the Netherlands, where his first name was usually spelled Jan or Johannes. He studied medicine at the University of Leyden, but it was soon apparent that his eyes were on distant shores.
    In July 1621, Johannes was among a group of Belgian and French inhabitants of Leyden who asked the British ambassador in The Hague for assistance in establishing a colony in Virginia. It was only a year after the Pilgrims left the same Dutch city on their journey to America. When their request for assistance was rejected, the determined group, led by Jesse de Forest, turned to the fledgling Dutch West India Company and the coasts of South America. At the time, the Dutch were developing a vast program of colonization in the Americas and Jesse’s hope to establish a colony in South America fit perfectly into their plans. (2)
    In July 1623, Jesse de Forest and 10 companions set sail aboard the yacht Pigeon to scout the “Wild Coast” for a place to settle. The 10 included “Jehan Mousnier de la Montagne,” who would later marry Jesse’s daughter Rachel.
    On Oct. 21, the Pidgeon entered the mouth of the Amazon. At the time, the area had several Dutch and English settlements that traded with local inhabitants and cultivated tobacco. The Pidgeon spent six weeks in the area exploring and trading. The Pidgeon’s commander asked whether the party would like to settle their families in this area, but they rejected the idea because of the proximity of hostile Spanish colonies. In fact, only two years later the Spanish destroyed the Dutch settlements.
    The party then headed along the northern coast of South America toward the Oyapok River, which now forms part of the border between French Guiana and Brazil. There, the party found a number of native leaders who were familiar with Europeans and some who had actually visited the continent. Jesse’s party was pleased with the area because it presented many agricultural possibilities. In late December, when they informed Pidgeon’s commander of their decision to settle in that location, the commander surprised them by saying that his orders were to leave most of the party there while returning with two who could prepare the families to move. This upset the party members, most of whom desired to return to the Netherlands to help their families prepare. After some negotiation, it was determined that the would-be setters who wanted to return to Europe would be replaced by members of the ship’s crew who wanted to remain in South America. A journal of the expedition notes that “there remained with our said Captain, Louis le Maire and I and our gunner, four sailors and the surgeon’s mate, nine persons in all.” The “Captain” was Jesse and “I” is believed to be Johannes, who appears to have kept at least part of the journal.
    Only a few days later, the Pidgeon sailed for Europe, leaving the party with some provisions, knives, axes, a small cannon and a boat known as a pinnace. The party established a camp on a mountain just south of the river’s mouth, near a settlement of the friendly Yaos.
    One of the settlers – presumably either Johannes or le Maire since it refers to “our Captain” – sent a letter back to the Netherlands describing the area. “Our voyage was very happily concluded; it took us three months and a week to complete it; six weeks were spent in England and seven on the ocean, and thereafter we visited the Amazones and arrived at Wyapoko, which is the place where we now live. We found very friendly natives here, who treated us well; the streams are convenient and the land overflows with everything that is needed to support human life: good bread and fine fish. … We expect here the families from Holland; meanwhile, we shall diligently visit with our shallop the three rivers which flow into the gulf and through the adjoining country.
    “We have advice from a captain of the savages, who at one time lived in Holland, at Hoorn, and who speaks good Dutch, five miles higher up in the country, along this river, where no Christian has ever been; we shall go there also, in the hope of finding something curious, which will be communicated to you likewise.” (3)
    The party’s activities over the next few weeks are described in “A Walloon Family in America,” drawing on the party’s journal. Jesse “seems to have been a true leader and to have had a good deal of influence with the natives. An interesting example of his success in dealing with them is told in the Journal. It seems that the Caribs (of Cayenne) came on a visit to their friends the Yaos, and the next day there appeared, in canoes, a third tribe, the Aricoures from the Cassipoure River, who were deadly enemies to the Caribs. The Yaos, being on friendly terms with both parties, were much troubled, for a battle between the hostile tribes seemed inevitable. Both sides prepared for action. Here was an opportunity for Jesse to exercise his powers as a peace-maker. He intervened, and with the aid of the Yaos prevailed upon the Caribs to desist, provided that the Aricoures should ask them to do so. The Journal continues: ‘Their ceremony was as follows: The Caribs obliged them [the Aricoures] to wait on the sea shore with their arms and [as the Caribs] fitted the arrow to the bow ready to let fly, the Aricoures took water and poured it on their heads. This done, the Caribs, throwing down their arms, rushed into the canoes of the others and embraced them.’ The Yaos, to celebrate a peace which had never before existed between Caribs and Aricoures, entertained them together for eight days.” (4)
    Jesse and his party spent most of their time exploring the area, seeking locations for settlements and farms. However, this ended in October 1624. “Day followed day, each of them full of business, but on none did the ships arrive containing the families. Still, Jesse did not despair, and he was actively exploring when on October 13th ‘he had a sun stroke, as the sun was very strong that day.’ He fell in a faint in the canoe and thus they brought him back to his home. A severe fever ensued, and two days later, under advice from those who had lived in the country and understood its climate, they bled him. This gave him some relief, but as soon as he felt a little better he became impatient to resume his activities, to ‘go on the sea again,’ and having done so he experienced a second sunstroke with redoubled fever. Three days longer he suffered and then we find in the Journal this entry: ‘On the 22nd of October our said captain died, much regretted by the Christians and Indians who had taken a great liking to him.’ The same day his friends carried him to his grave, ‘as honorably as possible.’ After the burial each of them discharged his gun three times over the grave, and they then ended the ceremonies by firing the cannon also.” (5)
    About two months after Jesse’s death, provisions and trade goods began to run low. On Dec. 20, the colonists unanimously decided to return to Europe before their shortages caused friction with the Yaos. However, their pinnace was incapable of sailing to Dutch islands in the Caribbean so the party – along with several nearby Europeans who opted to join them – decided to build a vessel that could withstand the voyage.
    On March 10, 1625, while the vessel was under construction, the Yaos approached the Europeans and asked them to join an attack on the Mays, “the common enemies of all the other Indians.” (6) The expedition’s journal notes that the party disagreed about their course of action, but it was eventually decided that five would join the Yaos in their attack. The journal’s writer – again possibly Johannes – was among the attackers.
    “On the 23rd of March as we approached the Mays at half past nine in the evening, we saw an eclipse of the moon, which so much astonished all our Indians that they were like men mad and out of their senses, for they leapt and danced in the water and told us that it was a forewarning that the Mays would kill them all. We assured them of our power and at last they expended their frenzy by shooting arrows (at the end of which were live coals) towards the moon and calling it wicked.
    “On the 24th of March at daybreak we approached one of the villages of the Mays in which there were four houses, of which one was one thousand feet long. We surrounded the village for fear they should go out to warn the others. On the said day our Indians sent to announce their arrival to their enemies, who (before they saw any Christians and arms of which they knew only from hearsay) did nothing but laugh at and deride them. We set fire to one house, but the others were so well defended that we could never get into them. They were surrounded by galleries made of palmetto and very well protected, but what I marveled at greatly was that in spite of our musket shots they [the Mays] advanced fearlessly to discharge their arrows at us within a pike's length. We approached in small canoes under cover of their houses, witnessing their eagerness to defend the liberty of their wives and children at the expense of their own lives, which they risked with unconquerable courage. I even saw five of them in a canoe who, quite unmoved, allowed themselves to be killed one after the other, the last of whom, after having his leg cut off by a chain-shot, seated himself in the canoe and shot his arrows as long as he had a drop of blood left. Towards nine o’clock three large canoes arrived to help their neighbors, who, in spite of the arrows of our Indians, passed through half the canoes of their enemies; and had it not been that an Englishman, by two discharges of muskets loaded with pistol balls, wounded four of them and killed four others, they would have passed through, but these two shots which did so much execution astonished those in the other two canoes so greatly that they fled, leaving fourteen people that were still living at the mercy of their enemies, who massacred them all. This done, seeing the cruelty of our people and the courage of the others, we informed our Indians that we had no more powder, which induced them to come away, after cutting off the heads of the dead and carrying them away in triumph on the end of their spears. We brought away three Indians as slaves, leaving of the enemy more than 120 dead and many wounded. Of our force one was killed and 50 wounded. That day we returned to sleep with the Aricoures.”
    After this battle, the boatbuilding resumed. As the project was nearing completion, a Dutch ship arrived with orders to take them back to the Netherlands if they desired. They were eager to return. On May 28, 1625, they left their camp. And on Nov. 16, the party finally arrived in the Dutch city of Flushing aboard the Black Eagle.
Back in Leyden, Johannes returned to his studies at the university and became a border in the house of Jesse de Forest’s widow, Marie du Cloux. On Dec. 12, 1626, the 31-year-old Johannes married Jesse’s 17-year-old daughter Rachel.
    In 1629, Johannes headed across the Atlantic with his wife, this time bound for the Dutch island of Tobago in the Caribbean. Records relating to the family’s stay on the Caribbean island have not surfaced. However, it seems likely that things were difficult since Rachel returned to the Netherlands in 1631 without her husband, according to Leyden church records. (7) Johannes followed her at some point before March 3, 1636, when he again returned to the university in Leyden.
    However, it was only a matter of months before the la Montagne family was again sailing for the New World. They were joined by Rachel’s brothers – Henry and Isaac de Forest, who planned to establish a plantation to feed the booming tobacco trade. On Sept 25, 1636, the extended family departed the Netherlands aboard the Rensselaerswyck, a ship that was jointly owned by the colonial patroon Kiliaen Van Rensselaer and Rachel’s uncle, Gerard de Forest. On Jan. 26, 1637, Rachel gave birth to Maria off the Island of Madeira. The ship arrived in New Amsterdam – which later became New York City – on March 5.
    A little more than a year after his arrival, Johannes was appointed to the New Netherlands council by Director Willem Kieft. The council minutes for April 8, 1638. note: “The Honorable Director Kieft and Council [having considered the small number] of councilors, having deemed it necessary to [choose an] experienced person. To strengthen their number [and] in consideration of the ability of Doctor Johannes [la Montagnie], the said Montagnie has therefore been appointed by us a political councilor of New Netherland at fl. 35 a [month], commencing on the date hereof.” (8)
    A brief biography of Johannes on the website of the Historical Society of the New York Courts provides an overview of his activities in New Amsterdam. “La Montagne served on the New Netherland Council and was First Councillor to both Director Willem Kieft and Director-Genera Pieter Stuyvesant. He was also Commander of the troops on Manhattan Island (1640-1656), a member of the 1653 popular convention to demand governmental reform in New Amsterdam, and a commissioner of fortifications of the city in 1654. He played an important role in several commissions set up to negotiate peace with the Indians. Johannes La Montagne was appointed Vice-Director of the colony in 1656, with special responsibility for Fort Orange (Albany) and Beverwyck. When New Netherland passed to the English, Dr. La Montagne signed an oath of loyalty to the Crown.” (9)
    Johannes immediately set up his physician’s practice upon arriving in the colony. At the same time, his brother-in-law Henry de Forest established a tobacco planation at the north end of what is now Central Park in Manhattan. Unfortunately, Henry died on July 26 and Johannes was forced to take change of his brother-in-law’s “bouwery.” He settled claims against the estate, saw to the crop and completed the house and barn, pouring about 1,000 guilders into these efforts. When he asked for compensation from Henry’s estate, it was decided that the bouwery should be auctioned off for the benefit of the widow. Johannes paid 1,700 guilders to purchase the bouwery, which he named Vredenval, or Quiet Dale. (10)
    In his role as counselor, Johannes offered advice on policy – and frequently tried to dissuade Governor Kieft from imprudent courses of action. For example, in 1639, Kieft demanded the tribes pay a tax in corn, furs and seawant – a Native American currency made of shells. Johannes had spoken against the plan, but his advice was ignored and hostilities erupted. “Revised History of Harlem,” by James Riker, says, “Montagne’s prediction was well made when, seeing the folly of this measure, he said, ‘A bridge has been built, over which war will soon stalk through the land.” (11)
    In 1641, English settlers in Hartford, Conn., were accused of encroaching on Dutch lands, stealing Dutch grain and livestock and harassing Dutch settlers. The New Netherlands council then “resolved to send thither Dr. Johannes la Montagne, councilor of New Netherland, with 50 soldiers and some sloops, in order to fortify our house De Hoop and to prevent the repe[ti]tion of such hostilities as the English has wickedly committed against our people and to maintain our soil and jurisdiction.” However, more urgent affairs ended up preventing the expedition. (12)
    Johannes’ advice on Native American interactions was again ignored in 1643, with disastrous results. Tension with surrounding tribes prompted Dutch officials to consider attacking nearby tribes. “Revised History of Harlem” describes the matter. Jochem “Kuyter and other considerate persons opposed this stoutly, insisting that it would only recoil upon their own heads, bring disaster upon the country, and especially expose the out-plantations to the rage of a vindictive and cruel foe. Montagne, having just arrived from Quiet Dale, its stalls of cattle and full garners all endangered, urged his objections with unusual warmth. ‘We ought first to consider well,’ he insisted, ‘whether we shall be able to give protection to those who are living at a distance.’ But this pertinent suggestion was unheeded, evil counsels prevailed, and Kieft, set in his mad purpose, rashly issued orders. On the night of February 25th 1643, a party of Dutch soldiers sallied forth from the streets of New Amsterdam and made a savage onslaught upon the sleeping Wickquaskeeks, a Curler’s Hook, forty of whom were massacred ‘in cold blood.’ Another party, crossing the Hudson, slaughtered a band which had sought refuge at Pavoinia. Nor did it stop here, for a day or two after several of the friendly Mareckaweeks were basely murdered.” (13)
    The enraged Native Americans struck back fiercely. “Issuing from the woods and thickets, they boldly attacked and slew the farmers, both in their dwellings and in the open field, put the firebrand to houses, haystacks, and grain, killed or drove away the stock, and carried off women and children into a painful captivity.”
    During this time, Johannes’ ability to act swiftly was demonstrated during an attempt on Kieft’s life. As the tide of hostilities turned against the Dutch, Kieft tried to shift blame to those who had signed a petition urging the attack, including Maryn Adriaensen, a former advisor. On the afternoon of March 21, 1643, Adriaensen decided to act against Kieft because “some members of the community had called him ‘murderer’ and had reproached him for being the cause of the damages now committed by the Indians,” according to the New Netherlands council minutes. Adriaensen “left his house in a rage, armed with a sword and a loaded and cocked pistol, and came to the house of the director and went to his bedroom. Pointing his pistol at the director to shoot him, he said: ‘What devilish lies are you telling of me?’ Monsr. La Montagne, being at the time with the director, caught the pan with such quickness that the cock snapped on his finger, preventing thus through God’s mercy this atrocious design. Meanwhile, the fiscal and several others having come into the chamber, they disarmed Maryn.” (14) Adriaensen was shipped off to the Netherlands for trial, but he was back in New Amsterdam four years later – and Kieft granted him some land. (15)
    Initially, Johannes’ farm escaped the brunt of the reprisal because its key buildings were surrounded by a palisade. But that fall, “Montagne ‘was driven off his land,’ involving the loss of all he could not carry away; and scarcely a settler remained in the bouweries of Manhattan Island,” according to “Revised History of Harlem.”
    Soon afterward, the men who had originally counseled peace were called to lead a war of survival. “The question of self-preservation now pressed upon the colonists; to remain inactive was but to die. Their courage rising to the emergency, it was resolved to muster in every man able to bear arms, and to take the field with all their available force against the wily and powerful foe. Montagne and Kuyter, however, opposed at first to war, had now no alternative but to second the effort to conquer a peace. The former, appointed to the chief military command, led several expeditions sent out in various directions during the succeeding winter and spring, and in which Kuyter held the captaincy of a burgher company. These forces scourged the Indian country, driving the foe from his rude castles and villages with sword and firebrand,” according to “Revised History of Harlem.”
    In the first expedition under Johannes, the Dutch force “marched the whole of the night. On their arrival at the spot where they expected to meet the enemy, they found the place abandoned. They had the good fortune, however, to fall in with and secure five or six hundred schepels of corn, with which they returned, after having set fire to the village,” according to “History of New Netherland; or, New York Under the Dutch,” by E.B. O’Callaghan. (16)
    Johannes’ second expedition was sent to Long Island to punish an erstwhile ally named Pennawitz, whose people had “been discovered secretly killing the Christians, and burning their houses.” O’Callaghan describes the operation: “Having landed without molestation, they marched to Heemstede, and having succeeded in killing an Indian spy, whom they had discovered on the lookout, they divided themselves into two sections. [Englishman John] Underhill proceeded, at the head of one of these, composed of about fourteen English men, against the smaller Indian settlement. Eighty men were dispatched against the larger village, named Matsepe, (Mespath,) and such was the success with which both these excursions were crowned, that they left one hundred and twenty savages dead on the field; while the loss on their own side was only one man killed, and three wounded.”
    The aftermath of the attack left a mark on Johannes’ record. Upon their return to New Amsterdam, soldiers hacked one of their captives to pieces and tortured and beheaded another. Then, Adrienne Cuvelier – one of our ancestors in another line – kicked the severed head before her down the street. O’Callaghan notes that “Director Kieft and Counsellor La Montagne are accused of having countenanced these tortures by their presence.” (17)
    Over the next few years, New Netherlands’ inhabitants complained to Dutch authorities about Kieft’s behavior. And in 1646, he was recalled to the homeland. However, the ship carrying Kieft was wrecked during the trans-Atlantic voyage and he was among the lost.
    In May 1647, Director-General Peter Stuyvesant arrived to take control of the colony. Under the new leader, Johannes de la Montagne maintained his position in the government. (18) During that time, he is mentioned frequently in records, sometimes performing official duties and sometimes involved in the sort of petty civil cases that were common among the Dutch settlers. In 1648, Stuyvesant dispatched Johannes to the area around what is now Philadelphia to speak with the local tribes, who confirmed Dutch acquisitions in the area.  And in 1652, Johannes served for a time as schoolmaster when it was decided to establish a school in a tavern. (19)
    At some point during the mid-1640s, Johannes’ wife Rachel died. On Aug. 28, 1647, he married Agnietie Jilles, the widow of Arent Corsen. (20)
    Johannes’ service on the New Amsterdam council continued through Sept. 28, 1656, when he was appointed vice-director of New Netherlands with special responsibility for Fort Orange, what is now Albany, N.Y. (21)
    In the court records of Fort Orange, Johannes is usually at the center of proceedings. Most cases heard by the court involved petty disputes, slanders, fighting and thievery among the Dutch settlers. (22) However, because of the settlement’s remote location, Johannes was often involved in negotiations with local Native American tribes. In 1658, the Iroquois asked Johannes to intervene on their behalf with the governor of the Three Rivers in New France. In August, they sought a prisoner exchange with the French. In October, they asked Johannes to travel to Canada on a peace mission. However, Johannes was unable to travel because of his responsibilities and sent a soldier to speak on his behalf. In September 1659, Johannes engaged in negotiations with the Iroquois that solidified the ties of friendship between the tribe and the Dutch. And in 1660, Johannes was forced to deal with “brokers” who traveled deep into the wilderness to buy beaver pelts from Native Americans. This practice upset the Dutch because the brokers gained unfair advantage in business deals and it upset the Native Americans because the brokers were often abusive. (23) Soon afterward, Johannes led a detachment of soldiers to arrest brokers. (24)
    One of the most interesting cases was a sting operation in which Johannes and other officials uncovered illegal alcohol sales to Native Americans. Fort Orange’s court records say trouble erupted on Sunday, Aug. 12, 1657, when “during the preaching, some drunken savages committed many acts of insolence in this place.” Upon investigating the disturbance, Dutch officials found an Iroquois named Kamgeragae, who said he knew “a house where the savages obtained the brandy and offered, if we gave him a beaver, to get brandy in the said.” After this, Johannes, two other magistrates and the lieutenant of the burgher guard – “in view of the seriousness of the matter” – gave a beaver and an empty kettle to Kamgeragae and followed him. With the empty kettle, Kamgeragae entered the house of Marten Hendricksen, who is also referred to as Marten Bierkaecker. The court records state: “[W]e together remaining near the said house to watch the result. But as there were strangers in the said house, as we ourselves could hear from the noise, the Indian came back to us with his kettle empty. About three quarters of an hour later the said Indian again went into the said house and came back to us having in his kettle about three pints of brandy and sugar, which he had obtained for the beaver which we had given him, so that we took the kettle with us and went into the house of the said Bierkaecker, where we found him and his wife quite amazed after we had asked them whether they had sold the brandy that was in the kettle to a savage with a white blanket for one beaver, as we had seen the said savage go in and out of the house.” (25) When Marten’s wife appeared in court to answer for the charges, she admitted her guilt but claimed she was driven to sell the alcohol by her “extreme poverty” caused by her husband’s double hernia and three young children. However, the officials took a dim view of the matter as “a deed of very dangerous consequence” and issued her a fine.
    Despite Johannes’ positions of authority, the difficulty of maintaining a bouwery in the Harlem area became more and more evident during the 1650s and early 1660s. Records mention that Johannes was deeply indebted to the West India Company and was seeking aid. “Revised History of Harlem” says, “Dr. La Montagne, as early as 1652, was reputed to be owing the company ‘several thousand guilders.’ As Vice-Director, his salary of six hundred florins, with an extra allowance for board of two hundred florins per annum (increased in 1659 to three hundred), proving inadequate to his support, things had gone from bad to worse, and were fast tending to that crisis in his affairs which, in 1662, wrung from him the touching admission to Stuyvesant, that he had not the means of providing bread for his family, and being sixty-eight years of age, was reduced to penury and want.” (26)
    In 1661, the Montagne bouwery was broken up, with his sons getting some parcels but the rest going to the government to be distributed to others in the budding settlement of Harlem, according to “Revised History of Harlem.” The site of the bouwery in now “east of Eighth avenue, and extended from 93d street north to Harlem river, containing about two hundred acres.” (27)
    In 1663, smallpox stuck the settlers and Native American tribes around Fort Orange. “In Beverswyck every family was afflicted with the ‘foul, putrid disease.’ The block-house church bell daily tolled the death of the victims of the virulent infection. A thousand Indians of the tribes of the northern part of New Netherland died with the loathsome disease,” according to The History of The City of Albany, New York.” Johannes mentions the epidemic in a letter dated Nov. 3: “You have heard, no doubt, of this place as respects the small-pox, which is still daily increasing. I learned yesterday that on the hill fifteen persons were so affected by the disease that they could not afford any relief to one another. At Willem Teller’s seven are afflicted with it, and six in my family, my negro being the last. Twelve persons have died within eight days, chiefly children. The Lord God help us and stop its further progress, and save you all from such a foul, putrid disease.” (28)
    The reference to “my negro” is a startling reminder that the Dutch participated in the slave trade – and evidence that that Johannes owned at least one slave. Other evidence appears during the 1659 interactions with the Iroquois. The Native Americans mention “a letter was handed to us by the negro of Mr La Montagne, whom his honor had expressly dispatched to us.” At this time, the Dutch East India company owned a number of enslaved Africans, who performed much of the colony’s heavy labor.
    In early 1664, tensions were growing between the Netherlands and England and it because apparent that English forces would soon attack New Amsterdam. On July 8, Stuyvesant wrote to Johannes and Jeremias van Renssselaer asking them “to furnish such assistance, especially powder and lead, as circumstances may in any way permit.” He also asked Johannes to negotiate a loan of 5,000 or 6,000 guilders in seawan to pay the men building fortifications in Manhattan, saying the obligation would be repaid “either in negroes or other commodities.” Tensions eased briefly in July but English warships appeared near Sandy Hook in August. On Aug. 13, the commander of the English fleet – Col. Richard Nicolls – demanded the surrender of New Amsterdam. Although he offered protests, Stuyvesant reluctantly surrendered the city. The English took possession of the city on Sept. 8 and renamed it New York. Nicolls also sent a detachment under Col. George Cartwright to Fort Orange to demand its surrender. “Vice-director La Montagne, when the order of Governor Nicolls was presented to him, quietly surrendered Fort Orange to Colonel Cartwright on the twenty-fourth of September. In honor of the lord-proprietor of the province, the name of the village of Beverswyck and that of the fort were changed to Albany.” (29)
    Johannes’ activities after the Dutch surrender are uncertain because of a lack of documentation. A brief biography on the website for the Society of the Descendants of Johannes de la Montagne says: “Riker [in his ‘Revised History of Harlem’] believed that he accompanied Peter Stuyvesant back to Holland in 1665 to defend the surrender of the colony. Whether he died abroad in Holland, as Riker claimed, or whether he stayed in the now-British colony of New York as a private citizen is not known. The few records available show him in Albany with his second wife and her son Johannes Provoost in 1665 and 1666. It seems most likely that he stayed in Albany until his death in 1670 and that he was buried in the churchyard of the original Albany Reformed Dutch Church. … It is believed that he died in 1670 since his son Jean/Jan dropped the use of Jr. that year.”

(1) While Johannes held positions of prominence in the New Netherlands government and appears in a wide variety of records, it seems that no one has ever written a substantial biography of him. A concise account is available at the website of the Society of the Descendants of Johannes de la Montagne, at www.delamontagne.org. A rambling account can be drawn from “Revised History of Harlem,” by James Riker, New Harlem Publishing Co., New York, 1904. Thanks to his participation in Jesse de Forest’s colonization efforts and his marriage to Jesse’s daughter, he is frequently mentioned in “A Walloon Family in America: Lockwood de Forest and his Forbears 1500-1848,” Vol. 1, by Emily J. de Forest, 1914, Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass. This account relies heavily on these sources as well as original records from the 17th century. (2) The account of Johannes’ participation in Jesse de Forest’s colonial efforts appears in “A Walloon Family in America.” (3) The letter appears in “A Walloon Family in America,” pages 44-45. It was originally transcribed in “Historical Account of all the Memorable Events in Europe, Asia and Africa, happening from 1621 to 1632,” by the contemporary Dutch historian Nicolaes van Wassenaer, in vol. VI, pages 68-70. (4) Jesse’s diplomacy is described in “A Walloon Family in America,” pages 47-48. (5) Jesse’s death is described in “A Walloon Family in America,” pages 50-51. (6) The battle with the Mays is described in the journal in “A Walloon Family in America,” Vol. II, pages 153-157. (7) The church record is cited in “The de Forests of Avesnes (and of New Netherland),” by J.W. De Forest, Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Co., New Haven, Conn., 1900, page 185. (8) The appointment is mentioned in “New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch; Vol. IV, Council Minutes 1638-1649,” translated by Arnold J.F. Van Laer, edited by Kenneth Scott and Kenn Stryker-Rodda, Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc., Baltimore, Md., 1974, page 1. The text in brackets appears in the source. (9) The is biography of the Historical Society of the New York Courts is available at history.nycourts.gov. (10) The acquisition of the tobacco plantation is described in “Revised History of Harlem,” pages 129-130. (11) The events of 1639 are described in “Revised History of Harlem,” page 138. (12) Tension with the English is cited in “New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch; Vol. IV, Council Minutes 1638-1649,” page 111. Also in “Collections on the History of Albany, From Its Discovery to the Present Time,” Vol. 3, published by J. Munsell, Albany, N.Y., 1870, page 9. (13) The 1643 attacks and their fallout are described in “Revised History of Harlem,” pages 141-143. (14) The incident involving Maryn Adriaensen appears in “New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch; Vol. IV, Council Minutes 1638-1649,” pages 189-190. (15) A brief biography of Adriaensen by the Historical Society of the New York Courts is available at history.nycourts.gov. (16) The operations against the Native Americans are described in “History of New Netherland; or, New York Under the Dutch,” Vol. 1, by E.B. O’Callaghan, New York, 1848. The Staten Island raid and its aftermath appear on page 297 and the Long Island attack on pages 299-300. (17) Adrienne Cuvelier the mother of Christine Vigne, who married Dirck Volckertsen. Like the la Montagnes, the Vigne’s eventually married into the Van Gorder family, while married into the Lesnett family, which married into the Bowers family. (18) Brief biographies of Kieft and his successor, Peter Stuyvesant, are available at the website for the Historical Society of the New York Courts history.nycourts.gov. (19) The information about the South River expedition and the school appears in “Collections on the History of Albany, From Its Discovery to the Present Time,” Vol. 3, page 9. (20) The marriage is listed in “Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam/New York – Marriages Marriage Book of the Register of the Persons who are herein recorded, and who were married here or outside the city of New York from the 11th Dec. 1639,” published in “The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record.” The council minutes are in “New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch; Vol. IV, Council Minutes 1638-1649,” page 411. (21) The promotion is mentioned in his biography by the Historical Society of New York Courts, and the date is provided in the society’s list of councilors. (22) The Fort Orange records appear in “Minutes of the Court of Fort Orange and Beverwyck, 1657-1660,” translated and edited by A.J.F. Van Laer, University of the State of New York, Albany, N.Y., 1920-1923. (23) The negotiations with the Native Americans appear in “Minutes of the Court of Fort Orange and Beverwyck interactions, 1657-1660,” pages Vol. 2, 151-152, 161-162, 213-219 and 255-278. (24) The arrests of the brokers is mentioned in “Collections on the History of Albany, From Its Discovery to the Present Time,” Vol. 3, page 9. (25) The sting operation is described in Minutes of the Court of Fort Orange and Beverwyck interactions, 1657-1660,” Vol. 2, pages 66-67 and 71-72. (26) Johanne’s economic state is described in “Revised History of Harlem,” page 167. (27) The location of the farm appears in “Collections on the History of Albany, From Its Discovery to the Present Time,” Vol. 3, page 9. (28) The epidemic and Johannes’ letter appear in “The History of The City of Albany,” page 132. (29) The surrenders are described in “The History of The City of Albany, New York,” pages 136-145.


WILLEM DE LA MONTAGNE and LEONORA DE HOOGES
    Willem de la Montagne was baptized April 22, 1641, in New Amsterdam, the son of Dr. Johannes la Montagne and Rachel de Forest. (1)
    Married Leonora de Hooges in 1673.  She was the daughter of Anthony De Hooges and Eva Alberts Bradt, and was born in Rensselaerswyck, near what is now Albany, N.Y. (2)
    Children: (3)
    Ragel Montagne, or Rachel Montagne, baptized July 21, 1674.  Married Hermanus Decker.
    Johanna Montagne, born 1676.
    Willem Montagne, baptized Dec. 15, 1678.
    Maria Montagne, born 1680.
    Johannes Montagne, baptized Feb. 19, 1682.
    Eva Montagne, baptized Sept. 23, 1683.  Probably died young.
    Jesse Montagne, baptized Sept. 21, 1684.
    Eva Montagne, baptized Nov. 7, 1686.
    Catherina Montagne, baptized July 28, 1688.
    Contemporary records bear Willem’s name in a wide variety of spellings and constructions.  Interestingly, William himself kept many of those records.  In court records, he calls himself “W. Montagnie” or “Wilh. La Montagnie.”  In many early church records, he refers to himself as “Willem Monjeur de la Montagne.”  The “Monjeur” is probably a reference to an old family name.  “Revised History of Harlem” notes: “After he came to his county, [Willem’s father] Dr. Montanye, previously signing his name ‘Mousnier de La Montagne,’ invariably wrote it ‘La Montagne,’ omitting his family name Mousnier or Monier, which, however, was sometimes used by all of his sons, and even grandsons, before it was finally dropped.”  Indeed, later church records drop “Monjeur” from Willem’s name, but these seem to be written in another hand. (4)
    Willem was born into a well-connected family.  His father was a high-ranking official in the Dutch colony of New Netherland, which later became New York.  When William was baptized, one of the witnesses was Willem Kief, the colony’s director.  And in 1656, Johannes la Montagne was appointed vice director of the colony and placed in charge of Fort Orange, which later became Albany, N.Y.  So by the time Willem struck out on his own in the 1660s, it seems likely that a solid education and family connections helped smooth his path.
    “Revised History of Harlem” offers a brief sketch of Willem’s career: “William Montanye (he styled himself De La Montagne) joined the church in New Amsterdam October 2, 1661, when he came to Harlem.  Called to be a voorleser at Esopus, he held that office till 1678; from 1668 adding the duties of secretary. ... Leisler made him high sheriff of Ulster County, December 24, 1689.” (5)
    On Nov. 10, 1657, the 16-year-old Willem appears in the records of Fort Orange.  Willhelm Montagne is listed as a witness to a payment.  He would appear in many more official records over the next 30 years. (5a)
    As mentioned in the brief account from “Revised History of Harlem,” Willem was preparing to settle in Harlem in 1661.  His father owned a 200-acre farm called Vredendael – or peaceful vale – which was situated in what is now the northern end of New York City’s Central Park.  In 1661, the farm was unoccupied but Willem, his elder brother Jan and his brother-in-law Jacob Kip wanted to change that.  On July 4, they asked the colonial government for permission to occupy the property and build a small community of six to 10 families, citing the great benefit they could bring to the village of New Harlem, which was about a mile away.  However, the government refused permission, saying it would infringe on Harlem’s rights.  A few months later, the government decided to give Jan La Montagne a portion of the land and make the rest available to various residents of Harlem.  “Revised History of Harlem” says this action may have been intended to liquidate a debt Johannes La Montagne owed the government.
    Willem was offered a share of the property on the same terms as other residents of Harlem.  “Revised History of Harlem” explains that the area known as Montagne’s Flat was “laid out into parcels of from four to six morgen each, by an actual survey; running in narrow strips from the little creek due west to the hills, originally some twelve lots, and numbered from south to north.  As near as can be told, the first owners were Nicholas De Meyer, Lubbert Gerritsen, William De La Montagne, Simon De Ruine, Derick Claesen, Do. Zyperus, Jean Le Roy, Jacques Cousseau, and Daniel Tourneur. … Montagne had lot No. 4, being six and a half morgen, he having met the required conditions by purchasing, April 7th 1662, from Jan De Pre, who had advertised to sell the same at auction, his ‘house, house-lot (erf), garden, and land.’”  Willem paid one cow and 15 guilders for the property.  However, it wasn’t long before he sold the property to his brother Jan and returned to Fort Orange, “whence he removed to Esopus, married, and was long the parish clerk.” (5b)
    In 1664, Willem began appearing in the records of Esopus – which was renamed Kingston after the English acquired the Dutch colony.
    Although Willem may have been called to Esopus to be a “voorleser” – or reader in the church – Willem appears to have held another job to bring in extra money.  A 1664 court case mentions that William was a “tapster or retailer” of wine.  On Nov. 25, Tomas Harmensen, who was responsible for collecting excise taxes on alcohol, accused Gysbert Van Imbroch of illegally selling wine in Kingston.  The court records state that Van Imbroch “denies being a tapster or retailer, and says that his brother-in-law Willem La Montagnie has said business.”  William continued in this business through at least early 1666, when his name was again mentioned in a case brought by an excise official.  On Jan. 19, Hendrick Palingh – a.k.a. Henry Pawling – complained that his predecessor in the office, William Beeckman, “received ½ aem of wine of Willem Montagnie and that defendant did not pay the king’s excise for the same.”  The case pivoted on arcane points of law and personal animosity that didn’t reflect well on the participants but left Willem in the clear. (6)
    In September 1665, Willem was appointed to be one of the guardians of the children of his sister Rachel and Gysbert Van Imbroch.  Rachel had died in October 1664 and her husband died less than a year later, in August 1665.  On Sept. 7, the court appointed Willem, his brother-in-law Jacob Kip and Willem Beeckman – the same “William” who would appear in the excise case a year and half later – as guardians of Rachel and Gysbert’s three minor children.  They were Lysbet, age 6; Johannes, about 4; and Gysbert, about 1.  The guardians were to “take possession of the aforenamed deceased’s goods, estate and effects as well here as in other sections of the world, sell, keep distribute, administer the same, as they shall think to be to the best interests of the minors.” (7)
    It seems likely that Willem had been living with the Van Imbroch family before his brother-in-law’s death.  Gysbert’s estate inventory included several items that belonged to Willem.  The inventory included: “two new green blankets belonging to Willem Montagnie … a narrow silver and gold band wound around a little piece of wood belonging to W. Montagnie … a half aem (20 gallons) of anisette belonging to W. La Montagnie.” (7a) 
    Willem actively guarded the interests of his niece and nephews in court.  He filed his first case on their behalf on Jan. 26, 1666, seeking 12 schepels of wheat from Pieter Hillebrants because of a debt he owned Van Imbroch.  It’s likely that two other lawsuits filed by Willem that same day were related to the orphans, but details aren’t included on the cases.  Over the next few years, Willem filed a number of lawsuits seeking money owed to the orphans.  These included one filed in January 1669 seeking to force the government to pay rent owed to the children because soldiers were staying in a house they owned. (8)
    In mid-1666, William took on another responsibility.  On June 7, he asked the court for permission to “keep a day and evening school here” based on the request of many residents.  His petition also asked that no other school be permitted and that he be exempt from lodging English soldiers.  The court granted his requests on condition that he charge reasonable fees and that he maintain the school for at least a year. (9)
    As time passed, Willem’s standing in the community continued to increase.  By early 1667, the court was appointing him to arbitrate disputes and curate estates of deceased residents.  Later in the year, he started acting as an attorney for various residents. (10)
    By the end of the summer, Willem also took on additional responsibilities with the town’s church.  In the session for Aug. 2/Sept. 6, 1667 – dual dated because the court recognized both the Dutch Gregorian calendar and the English Julian calendar – Willem La Montagnie petitioned “for a salary because in the absence of a preacher he is filling both places that of fore-readers and fore-singer in the church here.”  The court awarded him an annual salary increase of 500 guilders, free rent and permission to “occupy the front part of the village-house and one-half of the upper floor.” (11)
    That December, Willem filed another petition.   It appears that the town failed to provide his promised salary so he requested payment.  He also asked “to be invested with the office of secretary and vendue-master.”  The court said it would see to the payment but put Willem’s other request on hold.  A vendue-master was an official responsible for pubic auctions. (12)
    The following April, Willem tried again. He asked “to be favored with the office of secretary and vendue-master, because he cannot remain on his small salary as Voorleser.”  This time, the court appointed Willem secretary, with a provisional salary of 100 guilders in sewan – a form of Native American currency made from seashells strung together. (13)
    Starting in September 1668, Kingston court records are entered in Willem’s handwriting.  And about a month later, Willem’s handwriting can be identified in the records of the village’s church. (14)
    It appears that Willem also maintained his roles as a “tapster and retailer.”  On April 27, 1669, the court granted W. Montagne a place where he could build a distillery near the water. (15)
    On Feb. 1, 1670/1, Willem again asked to be appointed vendue-master, noting that the previous secretary held the position.  This time, the court agreed and appointed him to the position. (16)
    About this time, Willem entered a partnership with Tierck Claus de Witt to build a sawmill about five miles north of Kingston.  On April 9, 1670, the partners petitioned a special session of the court that was looking into property matters and asked to be granted a 70-acre plot of land called “Dead Men’s Bones.”  Debate on the petition was delayed “till Munday next,” but no decision is recorded.  No mention is made of Willem owning a mill in subsequent records. (16a)
    It’s apparent that Willem’s role as secretary went far beyond recording the minutes of court meetings.  In early 1672, a number of personal and political disputers came to a head in Kingston and threatened to turn violent.  The worried court decided to seek advice from New York’s Lord Governor General Francis Lovelace and deputized Willem and Isaac Grevenraedt, the local schout, to carry a letter.  At its session on Feb. 27, 1671/2, the court wrote: “[W]e humbly request of your honor that we may receive full instruction, in accordance with which we shall have to act. … We have, for this purpose, delegated from our midst Schout Grevenraedt and Willem Montagne, in orders to humbly request your honor very reverentially to take measure in regard to the same as soon as possible, because, under existing condition, justice cannot be maintained.” (16a)  One of the disputes involved Harmen Hendricksen Rosecrans and his sword-wielding friend Henry Pawling, both of whom were ancestors of our family.
    In an interesting turn of events, the Dutch colonists started preparing for war against the Netherlands in early 1672.  Their English rulers warned that the Dutch were gathering a fleet in an effort to regain their former colony.  On July 27, a list was made of Kingston residents who “voluntarily subscribed toward repairing the fort.”  W. Montaigne contributed 10 schepels of wheat. (17)  
    A little more than a year later, in August 1673, Kingston officials received word that the Dutch had recaptured New York and they submitted “to the authority of their High Mightinesses the Lords States General of the United Netherlands and his serene Highness the Prince of Orange.”  On Aug. 26, the Kingston court appointed Secretary W. Montagne as one of two delegates “to the Noble rigorous council of war concerning any business which should be necessary and of service to this place.”
    The new Dutch governor, Anthony Colve, arrived in Manhattan in September 1673 and the new government immediately started making cosmetic changes to the area.  Kingston was again renamed, this time to Swanenburgh.  Local governments were pretty much left in place and Willem was appointed secretary of Swanenburgh and neighboring Hurley and Marbletown. (17a)
    However, Colve held office for only nine months before a peace treaty was signed in Europe and the area was returned to English control.  On Dec. 20, 1674, Kingston officials were informed that they were officially released from their oath to the High Mightinesses and the Prince of Orange.
    Despite this flip-flop in allegiance, the turmoil seems to have had relatively little impact on Willem’s career aside from putting a hold on his pay.  On May 11, 1674, Willem asked the court to pay him “for his services as secretary, it having now been in arrears for upward of one year.” (18)
    While all of this was unfolding, Willem got married.  In mid-1673, he married Leonora de Hooges.  Although the church records don’t list their wedding date, it probably occurred soon after May 19, when the banns were recorded.  Like William, Leonora was the child of a Dutch colonial official.  Her father, Anthony de Hooges, was secretary for the colony of Rensselaerswyck, which was in the area that later became Albany.  For a few years, he had even served as the colony’s business manager.  After Anthony died, Leonora’s mother married Roeloff Swartwout, who served as an official in Kingston and was occasionally mentioned beside Willem in village records. (19)
   Also in 1673, Willem acted to collect 300 guilders from the orphan’s court in Leyden, Netherlands.  Willem’s mother, Rachel De Forest, had died about 1646, when he was about 5 years old.  For some reason, the orphan’s court in Leyden controlled funds due to her children.  This is outlined in documents found among Gysbert van Imbroch’s papers when he died in 1665.  These included “the separation, division, settlement and valuation of the estate and income belonging to the orphans of Rachel De Foreest, deceased.  Further account and declaration of the receipts and expenditures before the orphan chamber of the city of Leyden, had and made in regard to the effects of revenues belonging to the children left by Rachel De Foreest, procreated with Jan Mony De la Montagne.” (20)  Almost three decades after his mother’s death, Willem decided to collect the money he was owed from her estate.  None of the records indicate why he waited so long but it seems likely his looming wedding date provided some impetus.  It’s even possible that Rachel De Forest had stipulated that he be married before he collected the money.  On March 27, 1673, Wilhem Monsjeur De la Montagne went before the court to execute an agreement with New York merchant Gabriel Minville.  The merchant would travel to Leyden and contact Johannes Panhuysen and  Davidt DeGoy, who were granted power of attorney to collect the $300. (21)  The court records don’t say whether Willem ever collected the money.
    At least one official duty performed under the brief Dutch resurgence did come back to haunt Willem.  The court record for Jan. 12, 1674/5, mentions that he was punched by a woman in a dispute over a cow.  While acting as vendue-master for the Dutch governor Willem sold a cow to Magdalena Dircks, one of the most colorful – and cantankerous – residents of Kingston.  When Willem reminded Magdalena of the debt, “she hit him with her first on his chest and said she did not intend to pay.”  Her husband, Harmon Hendrix Rosencrans, also said he wouldn’t pay – until he received orders.  The court then ordered the defendant to pay.  Interestingly, Willem’s granddaughter married Magdalena’s grandson four decades later, making them both ancestors of our family. (22)
    After this, the available records from Kingston start thinning out.  Willem stopped keeping the Kingston church records in September 1678, as indicated by a change in handwriting.  “Revised History of Harlem” indicates that he no longer served as the church’s voorleser after that.  However, he and Leonora continued to have their children baptized at the parish until 1688.
    In 1683, Willem got caught up in a dispute involving members of the local government.  “The History of Kingston, New York” describes a prolonged period of friction, primarily involving by a member of the court named Louis Du Bois.  In October 1682, Thomas Chambers was appointed justice of the peace and soon afterward Du Bois was removed from his post.  However, strife continued into the spring.  It appears that Chambers took additional action against members of the court – including Willem de la Montagne.  Chambers’ high-handed efforts prompted a scolding letter dated April 6, 1683, from his superior, Capt. Anthony Brockholls.  In addition to citing the need to preserve the peace and order, distribute justice equally and acquiesce when outvoted, Brockholls told Chambers to return Willem to his post.  Brockholls wrote: “I see noe Cause for the Removeall or Suspending of Mr. Mountagne but as he hath been an Officer for many yeares Amongst you see must Continue, and hope he will not now be wanting in any parte of his Duty.” (23)
    The next cause of turmoil in Kingston was sparked a few months later when a new English governor arrived and set about reforming the colonial government.  In October 1683, Gov. Thomas Dongan convened New York’s first representative assembly.  The new assembly set the pattern for future governance, instituted a number of reforms and even established a number of counties, including Ulster County, where Kingston was located.  Willem was appointed the county’s clerk, though this was simply a continuation of the position he already held. (23a)
    The taste of democracy afforded by the general assembly probably emboldened Kingston’s residents.  So when they learned that certain towns had been granted the right to elect their own local officials, Kingston decided to ask for the same.  In early 1684, Willem helped draft a petition to Gov. Dongan and signed it along with most of the town’s men.  However, English officials didn’t recognize the right to petition and quickly acted against the effort.  “The History of Kingston, New York” describes their reaction: “Upon their order the petitioners were all arrested and indicted for a riot, under an English law, at the succeeding June term of the court.  Upon being arraigned, they pleaded guilty of signing and presenting the petition. They were then respectively fined and gave bail.  At the following September term, upon appearing in court, and acknowledging that they had been ill-advised, they were released and their fines remitted.” (24)
     Willem’s tenure as Ulster County clerk lasted only until Aug. 27, 1684, when he was replaced by James Graham. It’s unknown whether his role in the petition incident precipitated his departure.  However, it seems unlikely since other officials seem to have kept their jobs.
    On Dec. 24, 1689, Willem was appointed sheriff of Ulster County, N.Y., by Lt. Gov. Jacob Leisler. (25)  However, he held the position only until July 30, 1690, when Johannes Hardenbergh was appointed sheriff. (26)
    It’s very likely that Willem died just before he was replaced.  Not only does Willem disappear from the records at this point, but it appears that his wife Leonora married a second husband in 1692.  The records of Kingston’s church list the baptism of Margriet, the daughter of Cornelis de Duytser and Leonora de Hoges on April 23, 1693.  Since the records don’t indicate that Margriet was illegitimate, it seems certain that Willem was dead and Leonora had remarried by this point. (27)
    “The Revised History of Harlem” from 1904 says that Willem “had removed to Mombackus, town of Rochester, and was living 1695.”  However, it doesn’t cite a source for this information.
    At some point before his death, Willem must have acquired land in Mombackus.  A 1729  list of quit-rents from Rochester, Ulster County, indicates “Heirs of Wm. de Lamontanye” were credited with owning land there in 1703. (28)
    Some researchers state that Leonora died about 1703, but I have been unable to fine confirmation so far.  It seems fairly certain that she died before Jan. 20, 1712, when her husband and their daughter, Margrietje, served as the baptismal witnesses for Cornelius Krom, the son of Eva de la Montanjen.  Another grandchild of Leonora was also baptized that day, Maria, the daughter of Rachel Montanjen, for whom no female witness is listed.  It seems certain that if Leonora had been alive at the time, she would have served as a witness for one of these births. (29)

    (1) Willem’s baptism appears in “Collections of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, Vol. II, Baptisms from 1639 to 1730 in the Reformed Dutch Church, New York,” by Thomas G. Evans, 1901, reprinted by The Gregg Press in 1968, page 12.  His parents are also identified in “New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch; Kingston Papers,” translated by Dingman Versteeg, edited by Peter R. Christoph, Kenneith Scott and Kenn Stryker-Rodda, Vol. 2, pages 733-734.  (2) The marriage and Eleanora’s birthplace are listed in “Baptismal and Marriage Registers of the Old Dutch Church of Kingston, Ulster County, New York, 1660-1809,” transcribed and edited by Roswell R. Hose, 1891, page 503.  Her parents are identified in the marriage contract between her month Eva and her second husband, Roeloff Swarthout.  It appears in “Collections on the History of Albany, From Its Discovery to the Present Time,” published by J. Munsell, 1870, Vol. 3, pages 49-50.  Her father also is identified as Anthony de Hooges in “Revised History of Harlem,” by James Riker, 1904, page 785.  (3) The baptisms are listed in “Old Dutch Church of Kingston,” pages 9, 11, 16, 20, 22, 27 and 32.  Rachel’s marriage is recorded on page 511.  Neither Johanna, nor Maria, is listed in the church records.  They appear in “Revised History of Harlem,” page 785.  It’s not surprising that they were skipped because the church records are spotty during that period.  The book lists the husbands of the daughters as: Nicholas Westfall, husband of Maria; Derick Krom, husband of Eva; and John Bevier, husband of Catharine.  (4) “Monjeur” appears in “Old Dutch Church of Kingston,” pages 9, 11 and 16.  The explanation in “Revised History of Harlem” appears on page 784.  (5) “Revised History of Harlem,” page 785.  (5a) “Collections on the History of Albany, From Its Discovery to the Present Time,” published by J. Munsell, Vol. 3, page 60.  (5b) The account of the Harlem property appears in “Revised History of Harlem,” page 181-192.  (6) “Kingston Papers,” Vol. 1, page 187 “New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch; Kingston Papers,” translated by Dingman Versteeg, edited by Peter R. Christoph, Kenneith Scott and Kenn Stryker-Rodda, 1976.  The 1664 case appears in Vol. 1, page 179.  The 1666 case appears in Vol. 1, page 270-271.  (7) “Kingston Papers,” Vol. 1, page 246-247.  It is interesting to note that Henry Pawling is also an ancestor, although on the Moyer/Zielger branch of the family tree.  (7a) “New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch; Kingston Papers,” translated by Dingman Versteeg, edited by Peter R. Christoph, Kenneith Scott and Kenn Stryker-Rodda, Vol. 2, pages 566-558.  (8) The Jan. 26 cases appear in “Kingston Papers,” Vol. 1, page 273.  The rent case appears in Vol. 2, page 422.  (9) “Kingston Papers,” Vol. 1, page 298.  (10) “Kingston Papers,” Vol. 1, pages 337-338, 341, 373-374 and more.  (11) “Kingston Papers,” Vol. 1, page 360.  (12) The petition appears in “Kingston Papers,” Vol. 1, page 384.  (13) “Kingston Papers,” Vol. 2, page 409.  (14) A note on the handwriting in the court papers appears in “Kingston Papers,” Vol. 2, page 409.  The note on the church records appears in “Old Dutch Church of Kingston,” page 6.  (15) “Kingston Papers,” Vol. 2, page 433.  (16) “Kingston Papers,” Vol. 2, page 455.  (16a) “Kingston Papers,” Vol. 2, page 478.  (16a) “Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York,” Vol. 2, by B. Fernow,1881, page 451.  (17) The local actions during this period are recorded in “Kingston Papers,” Vol. 2, pages 482, 500, 501 and 522.  (17a) “The History of Kingston, New York,” by Marius Schoonmaker, 1888, page 66.  (18) “Kingston Papers,” Vol. 2, page 514.  (19) “Old Dutch Church in Kingston,” page 509.  (20) “Kingston Papers,” Vol. 2, pages 566-558.  (21) “Kingston Papers,” Vol. 2, pages 733-734.  (22) “Kingston Papers,” Vol. 2, page 523.  (23) “The History of Kingston,” pages 73-74.  The letter appears in “Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York,” Vol. 2, page 569.  (23a) Willem’s appointment and replacement as Ulster County clerk is noted in “History of Ulster County, New York,” by Nathaniel B. Sylvester, published in 1880, page 98.  This book says he served as county clerk starting on April 4, 1671, but the county didn’t actually exist for another dozen years.  (24) “The History of Kingston, New York,” pages 78-79.  (25) “The Leisler Papers, 1689-1691: Files of the Provincial Secretary of New York Relating to the Administration of Lieutenant-Governor Jacob Leisler,” by Peter R. Christoph, Syracuse University, 2002, page 345. (26) “History of Ulster County, New York,” by Sylvester, page 98.  (27) “Old Dutch Church of Kingston,” page 40.  (28) “History of Ulster County, New York,” by Sylvester, page 210.  (29) “Old Dutch Church of Kingston,” page 97.