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Archiver > Dutch-Colonies > 2002-07 > 1026048193


From: Tom van Baar <>
Subject: RE: [D-Col] Re: Origin of Jan Swaen, his travels; also Evjen
Date: Sun, 07 Jul 2002 15:24:15 +0200
In-Reply-To: <00c101c22516$91eb2450$3bd0f7a5@D74JNG11>


Hi all,

didn't read all the messages about Jan Swaen but I'm pretty sure that I saw
a Jan Swaen leaving (according to the church records) the city of Enkhuizen
or Medemblik (both Notrh Holland), somewhere around 1650. If my memory is
correct, it was mentioned that he left to go to the Indies (not mentioning
west or east).

If this could be of value for you I can check this (takes a few weeks)
again.

regards,

Tom

-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: Howard Swain [mailto:]
Verzonden: zaterdag 6 juli 2002 19:44
Aan:
Onderwerp: [D-Col] Re: Origin of Jan Swaen, his travels; also Evjen


Hi all,

From: "jerry vandiver" <>
Sent: Saturday, June 29, 2002 10:04 PM

> >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.

I can believe that people sometimes changed their minds.
I've read that some on the 1635 oath of allegience lists for leaving England
might not have come (at least on that ship). (Great Migration Newsletter
vol 2 no 1 (Jan-Mar 1991))

However, see below --

>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 ..."<

I was aware of those, as well as 2 more Bergen petitions in Dec 1662.

> 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.<

Yeah, but --
These just mention a lot of his adjacent to the one being patented.
It seems to me all these show is that he at one timed owned a lot or lots
there.
I'm pretty sure I've seen similar cases where the owner of the neighboring
lot
was actually deceased and it did not say so.
So, I'm not sure we can even conclude that he still owned these lots for
sure.
And if he did still own them in 1668, I see no proof that he still lived
there.
He could be an absentee landlord, for all we know.

The list of members of the church at Bergen begins in 1664 with other
records following 2 to 3 years later. I do not see either Jan Swaen or
his wife in any of them.

So, I still think he left in 1664 as planned.


> >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.<

I'm sorry to see him say this. I have _never_ seen a person whose name was
X____ Y____ be "sometimes called" Y____ X____ . I suppose a clerical or
transcribing error could occur once in a great while, but I've never seen
even that.

>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 agree that Swaen Janszen was not the same as Jan Swaen.
There was a Swaen Janszen van Luane in the late 1600's in New Utrecht.
This is the one Bergen was writing about. He guesses Luane means Sierra
Leone.
My guess would be that it means Luanda, a large city on the coast of Angola.
Perhaps some people have confused Luane with Luyck.

As Peter mentioned (Thanks, Peter), there was also a Swaen Janszen van
Angola on Manhattan around 1670. I think he is different from the Swaen
in Kings Co. Bergen has, in effect, combined them by giving one of
Swaen van Angola's children to Swaen van Luane, even though the
mother, Annetje Abrahams, clear shows this is Swaen van Angola.


I have now had a chance to read the article by Henry Hoff titled
"Swan Janse Van Luane, A Free Black in 17th Century Kings County"
in NYGBR vol 125 (Apr 1994) pp 74 - 77. (I learned of this article's
existence from David Riker's Directory page for Swaen Janszen van Luane.)

He nicely lays out all the known events in the life of Swaen Janse van
Luane.
In footnote 1, he says that Luane "may have been Luanda in Angola".
In footnote 3, p. 74 he says, "Note also the existence of a contemporary
white man named Jan Swaen living in New Amsterdam between 1653 and
1664 (Icon 2:290); MDC 18; BDC, passim)." In another message I
will show a timeline of what I have found on Jan Swaen. Comparing the
two, I think will show that they are different men.

Mr. Hoff also mentions another black man, Swaen Janszen / Swaen van Angola
who lived on Manhattan. This is the one Peter mentioned. And again, if
you compare the church records, not to mention the locations, you can
see he is different from Swaen van Luane.


Lastly, to return to Jan Swaen; the normally very reliable (in my opinion)
I. N. P. Stokes in his discussion of the Castello Plan in his Iconography of
Manhattan Island... said that Jan Swaen was from Stockholm (2: 290).
He cited no source for this, but I suspect it was the marriage banns as
already discussed here.
So, he may have been the one who led later writers astray.

Regards,
Howard









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