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Archiver > Dutch-Colonies > 2002-07 > 1025544379


From: Doris R Waggoner <>
Subject: Re: [D-Col] Re: Origin of Jan Swaen, his travels; also Evjen
Date: Mon, 1 Jul 2002 10:26:19 -0700


In a more general vein, I was reading yesterday a book on Liberia. It
noted that the first traders along the West Africa Coast were Portugese,
followed in much greater numbers by the Dutch West Indies Co in the 17th
C. This could suggest how free blacks got either directly to the Dutch
colonies, or via Holland.

Doris Waggoner

On Sun, 30 Jun 2002 14:02:55 -0400 "Richard McCool" <>
writes:
> Following on Peter's additions to this thread, and without
> suggesting
> any particular endorsement to the overall conclusion in the article,
> I
> want to mention Robert J. Swan's treatise entitled "The Black
> Presence
> in Seventeenth-Century Brooklyn". This appeared in Vol. LXIII of de
> Halve Maen (December 1990). Swan spends considerable ink discussing
> Swaen Janse/Janse Swaen, beginning on page 3.
>
> After discussing Anthony Jansen van Salee at length, Swan notes,
>
> " There is less controversy over the ethnic origins of Janse
> Van
> Luane or Lowaanen, a free black who emigrated to New Netherland in
> 1654,
> and soon purchased a sizeable parcel of land in New Utrecht.
> According
> to Bergen, Luane was a variation of Leone, and that Janse was from
> Sierra Leone [citing Kco 344-45]. (He was also known as Swaen Janse
> and
> JanseSwaen; his marriage record gives his name as Swaen Van
> Laonge.)"
>
> Swan goes on to say that initially, Swaen Janse did own land on
> Manhattan, "...He arrived in New Amsterdam in 1654, sometime before
> October as in that month he purchased a lot on Manhattan north of
> Rev.
> Drisius' property [citing Cal. Dutch Hist. MSS, 381]." He then
> speculates that this was on the "north side of Wall Street between
> Broad
> and William Streets."
>
> Citing Fernow's "Records of New Amsterdam , from 1653 to 1674
> (1897),
> vols I: 270, 272 and III: 62, 64, Swan says that, "By 1659 Swaen
> Janse
> had sold his lot on Manhattan to Hendrick Smitt."
>
> He then went to Kings County, Long Island and apparently spent his
> remaining years in the Yellow Hook area, dying "sometime before
> February 1691."
>
> Hopefully this will help separate the Swaens somewhat.
>
> Richard
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Peter R Christoph [mailto:]
> Sent: Sunday, June 30, 2002 8:05 AM
> To:
> Subject: Re: [D-Col] Re: Origin of Jan Swaen, his travels; also
> Evjen
>
>
> Just a thought on why someone might think that Jan Swaen's family
> might
> be from Africa-- There was a Swan van Angola on Manhattan in the
> Dutch
> period. He was a freedman, and if memory serves me correctly, had a
> few
> acres of land in the Grammercy Park area. I can see somebody
> confusing
> one Swan or Swaen with the other, although it doesn't take that
> much
> research to unscramble them.
>
> Peter
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "jerry vandiver" <>
> To: <>
> Sent: Sunday, June 30, 2002 1:04 AM
> Subject: [D-Col] Re: Origin of Jan Swaen, his travels; also Evjen
>
>
> > >Yesterday I found that in Dec 1664 Jan Swaan sold his lot on the
>
> > >Heere
> Gracht
> > >(Stokes' Iconography 2:394) and "Jean Swan" was granted a pass to
>
> > >sail on
> the
> > >"Unity" to "Holland" (New York Historical Mss: English; Books of
>
> > >General
> Entries...
> > >1664-1673, ed. by Christoph and Christoph, 1982; p. 70.)
> >
> > So, I'm very interested in the specifics of what you found of him
> in
> > 1668,
> as I have
> > >found nothing on him after the above in Dec. 1664.
> >
> > I have found several occurances of individuals requesting passage
> then
>
> > not
> leaving. Jacob van der Veer is my eternal case in point,
> requesting
> discharge to return to The Netherlands in 1660, instead remaining
> and
> accepting patent for a lot in 1661. These are the references which
> I
> took from an on-line publication, I will get the citations for you
> later:
> >
> > 1663 June 30. "... the males of the two most populous communities
> of
> Pavonia, on June 21, 1663, had been formed into military companies.
> Bergen being the capital ... Caspar Steinmets (Stymus) upon request
> of
> the Bergen Magistrates was appointed Captain, while on June 30,
> following, the inferior officers were designated. Adriaen Post,
> living
> at Bergen, was appointed Ensign with Jan Swaen as Sergeant."
> >
> > 1664 February 21. "... a committee was appointed consisting of
> Arent
> Lourens, Jacob Luby, Harmen Edwards, Laurens Andriessen Van
> Boskerck
> (Van Buskirk), Poulus Pietersen, Jan Swaen (Swann) and Jan
> Lubbertsen
> Van Blaircum, who, on February 21, 1664, sent the following
> petition
> ..."
> >
> > 1668 May 12. Do. Same to Hendrick Teunissen for land near the Town
> of
> Bergen, on the new Maisland, between Casper Steynmits and Nicolas
> Verlet, 20 morgen; a piece of meadow behind Michiell Jansen, 4
> morgen
> 400 rods; a townlot between Jan Swaen and Paulus Leendertsen; a
> garden
> lot between the same neighbors, altogether 48 acres.
> >
> > 1668 May 12. Do. Same to Paulus Pietersen, for land near Bergen
> > between
> Thomas de Cuyper and Frederick Philippsen, 3 1/2 morgen; a woodlot
> between Jan Swaen and Frederick Philippsen, 9 1/2 morgen; a piece
> of
> meadow No. 4, South of Jan Lubersen; a town lot next to Derrick
> Gerretson; another townlot back of the first and a garden on the
> South
> side of the town, the whole 37 acres.
> >
> > >Wow. Another misunderstanding of Luyck or what? Does he say
> where
> > >in
> Africa?
> > >This was an article. What is the citation for this article? What
>
> > >does the work itself actually say?
> >
> > Here is what Dr. Evjan had to say:
> >
> > "Scandinavian Immigrants in NY ..." by Evjan, p. 346: Footnote:
> "Note:
>
> > The
> early records of New Netherland probably present less difficulties
> for
> tracing Swedish names than the Danish or Norwegian. In the preface
> we
> have mentioned Jan Swaen, whom a Scandinavian would take to be
> Swedish,
> as a negro. He is sometimes called Swaen Janse. According to
> Bergen's
> "Early Settlers of Kings County" he came from Luane, to this country
> in
> 1654. When Cornelius B. Harvey's "Genealogical History of Hudson
> and
> Bergen Counties, New Jersey" states that Jan Swaen was a Swede,
> this
> depends on reading "Stockholm" for "Stokkem" (?), In the church
> register of New Amsterdam, it is stated that Jan Swaen was "van
> Stockem
> in landt van Luyck (--Liege or Luttich). This was another person."
> >
> > I gather he was suggesting that Swaen Jans Van Angola was the same
>
> > person
> as Jan Swaen. I don't believe he is correct in this assesment.
> The
> records above in Bergen Co., NJ would not fit with Swaen Jans, but
> do
> time accurately with Jan Swaen's "disappearance" from New Amsterdam
> Church Records.
> >
> > >> I have seen his name before on this list, along with Riker. I
> know
> > >>Riker wrote something about Jan Swaen, but I do not have access
> to his publication
> > >>at the moment.
> > >
> > >I do not find anything on Jan Swaen in James Riker's Revised
> History
> > >of
> Harlem.
> > >But he also wrote a history of Newtown, so maybe that is what you
> are
> thinking of.
> >
> > Sorry, actually Riker wrote something about Jan Forbus, not Jan
> Swaen,
> which I would like to access.
> >
> > >Actually, I was going to recommend that you take a look at Evjen,
> but
>
> > >figured you already knew about his book.
> >
> > Until recently, my research has been focused on the colonies along
> the
> Delaware, and subsequent movements into Maryland and Virginia.
> Since
> Jacob Vanderveer was at Fort Altena by 1657/8, he was only shortly
> in
> New Amsterdam (maybe 1655-1657), so I have had little reason to
> explore
> records or references there in any great detail. Now I am
> attempting to
> identify Catharina Jans (which may be pointless), so my focus changes
> to
> New Amsterdam.
> >
> > It appears that the list of authorities for the two areas are
> > different.
> Quite honestly, I had never heard of Dr. Evjan before, but know
> that
> others like Scharff did not spend a lot of effort on New York.
> >
> > In any case, this has a lot to do with my stumbling on this list.
>
> > Even
> records on the South River are "different" in ways I can't put my
> finger
> on. Today, I resubscribed to GenealogyLibrary.com, and there was
> Dr.
> Evjan's text! So I have been cruising through it.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Jerry D. Vandiver
> >
> >
> > ____________________________________________________________
> > Win a first-class trip to New Orleans and vacation Elvis Style!.
> Enter
>
> > NOW!
> >
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> > /
> >
> >
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