The Van Meteren's
of Holland and America.
THE VAN METEREN'S OF HOLLAND AND AMERICA.
By Amelia Clay Lewis Van Meter Rogers______________
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- The Battle of Fromelles on 19–20 July 1916 was the first occasion on which the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) saw action on the Western Front. The battle is widely regarded as a disaster for the Allies, and has been described as 'the worst 24 hours in Australia's entire history.'
- William the Silent (24 April 1533 – 10 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from Dutch: Willem de Zwijger), or William of Orange (Dutch: Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs that set off the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1581.
PREFACE
This paper--a tribute to an honored name--endeavors to present some fragments and parts of history relating to the origin, descent and sundry migrations of a branch of the Van Meteren family from its habitat in Holland to its beginnings in America.
It treats in particular, of the ancestry and descendants of Isaac Van Metre, the founder of 'Point Pleasant' in the Valley of Virginia, and who left a numerous and worthy progeny.
Woven into the story is something from the annals of early days--tracing the movements and reciting the experiences, adventures, hardships and perils of an heroic life spent along the border.
The lives of these forefathers are noteworthy for the influence and progressiveness which they exercised in the communities where they dwelt, and upon the conditions of the times in which they lived--which was in that Spartanic formative epoch that has no parallel in the history of any country at any time. And from such as these--whose perseverance, courage and daring contributed much--has been evolved this wonderful American nation.
The compiler has made extensive research among various original and official records, has made free use of various authors and has left for your consideration only such facts as are really believed to be accurate and conclusive.
There is but little available concerning the residences of the Van Meterens in Holland; one sketch, however, has been obtained which refers to the 'Huise Van Meteren' situate in the Heerlykleid Metere, in Geldermelsen, as shown in the picture. It was a stately structure, and the home, for many years and generations, of one the branches of the Van Metre family, and subsequently of others. This mansion stood in a beautiful park of magnificent trees, some of which were of great height and dimensions. The house was rebuilt in 1768-9, but it has at last served its day; it was sold in December, 1906, and, has since been torn down.
If one examines the map of Holland it will be found that the Rhine, flowing down from Germany, enters the Netherlands; and as it approaches the sea,
divides into several branches. Upon one of these is Arnheim, the chief town in Gelderland, some fifteen and odd miles from Amsterdam. Utrecht is on another estuary that empties into the Zuyder Zee. The Waal, the principal branch of the Rhine, takes its course westerly until it unites with the Meuse, and its waters from that point to the sea, are called the River Merwe. On the right bank of the Waal, as it nears the Meuse, is situated the pretty little town of Thiel; one of the fortifications of Holland, twenty-two miles west-southwest of Arnheim, and farther down, on the left bank, where the waters of the two rivers join, is the island of Bommel, on the west side of which stands the castle of Loevenstein made famous in 1619 as the prison of Grotius, the father of international law, and author of 'Belli et Pacis' or War and Peace. Thus, within the radius of a few miles, lies the fatherland of the Van Meterens.
Coat-of-ArmsRiestap, in his 'Armorial Generale', describes the Cuicks Van Meterens as follows; 'The Armorial bearings of the Cuick Van Metere were shield gules, with two fesses argent, accompanied by three marlets of the same, arranged two and one,' or, in plain English, the shield has a red ground with two horizontal bands silver and white, and three marlets (in heraldry, a sort of swallow without feet, denoting cadency--a younger Son) arranged two and one thus; * * or * The Coat-of-Arms of the Van Meteren family of Holland are * * *'quartered, first and fourth of silver, with a fleur de lis, gules, with second and third of gold with two fesses, gules accompanied with eight martlets of same color arranged in arle.' That is to say, around the outer rim of the shield. The crest, a fleur de lis (the royal emblem of France). The title here, 'Jr.,' is synonymous with Jonkvrouw, young woman, feminine, and Jonkheer, young man, masculine. 'Ridderschap' and 'Ridderedd' signifies either Nobility or Knighthood.
The first mention of Meteren is in a deed dated September, 1253, in which Otto, Count of Bentheim, transferred to Otto, Count of Gelre, his allodium, malsen, along the Earldom of Bevan Asperen. . . . It belonged to the ancient family and estates of the Cuicks as recited in a certain deed, of 1265, etc.
Meeteren, also called Meteren, is a village in the Tielerwaard. It belonged to the community of Geldermalsen, of which it constitutes the southernmost section. Meteren was formerly a manor in the province of Tiesterband, apparently, a possession of the counts who were placed over the section where Meteren was situated . . . and belonged to the estate which family Van Cuick Van Meteren possessed between the Rhine and the Waal.
Almost one and a half centuries elapse before once again finds mention made of Meteren and then it was under the direction of Willem, Duke of Gelre and Cuick. After the death of Jan V, Lord of Cuick, who had been at odds with his father the succession to Cuick fell to his sister Johanna. In 1394, Johanna became Lady of Cuick and Grave. When she took possession of the manor, or about that time, she was given in marriage to Willem, son of the Duke of
Mechteld. The marriage agreement was concluded at Grave, October 3, 1394, and the wedding held at the same place December 24, 1394.
Johann Van Meteren, at Meteren, appears on the knighthood of 1548, and on the list of 1555 'dead' is written after his name. He and Otto Van Haeften, heirs of Johanna Van Cuick Van Meteren, had a suit against the Count Van Buuren, on account of a flood in the Waal, as appears in letters of the Count of Gelre from 1546 to 1547.
Jasper Van Meteren appears in the 'Ridderschap' (book of the knighthood, or nobility) of 1563 and 1578; at the later date the word 'dead' is written before his name. In the same list is mentioned Willem Van Metere and Johan Cuick Van Metere; and Aert Van Metere in the Bommelwaard. Jasper Van Metere, in the knighthood of 1570, had five sons and two daughters.
i. Cornelius Van Meteren, living 1581.Cornelius Van Meteren, of the Bommelwaard, appears in the Chivalry (Knighthood) of 1578. He had four children: (1) Captain Johan Van Meteren; (2) Roelof; (3) Barbara, and (4) Gertruida Van Meteren, living 1624.
ii. Jan Van Meteren, living 1613.
iii. Jr. Jasper Van Meteren, justice at Deijl 1610; 'well to do.'
iv. Johan Van Meteren, living 1625.
v. William Van Meteren-Van Meteren, Lord of Meteren, living 1624.
vi. Marie Van Meteren.
vii. Cornelia Van Meteren.
iv. John Van Cuick Van Meteren and Willem Van Cuick Van Meteren (v) are mentioned in the list of the nobility for the years 1600, 1601-'2, 1605, 1614, 1615-18 and in roll for 1619-21, as 'dead'. In the records of Deijl, Willem is mentioned as Lord Meteren; justice of 1620. He makes his will dated August 9, 1624, and names the son of his brother Cornelius i., Captain Johan Van Meteren, as heir to the manor of Meteren, with his nephew Roelof and the latter's sister, Marie Barbara and Gertruida joint heirs, otherwise. Exlm. 29 July, 1629. Capt. John Van Cuick Van Meteren also inherits from his uncle, Willem (v), certain legacies as recorded in a deed dated 12 November, 1652, and in it are mentioned Capt. Johan's children A. Melchoir, in Knighthood of 1615-24; B. Anneken, who married Maas Janzoon; C. Balthaser, D. Adriaan; E. Johanna who married Jr. du Bois Van Houten; F. Joan, her Will in 1641; and G. Hendrix Van Cuick Van Meteren, married in 1624.
A. Among the children of Melchoir, who married Anneken Ariens in 1630, is, Justice 1640 deceased 1650, is eldest son Goosen (Jooste?) Van Meteren Van Cuick. Anna, Melchoir's widow, records deed May 12, 1600; makes her Will September 7, 1656; and names heirs Jans Derick Olie, Gertje Van Beest and Anneken Van Beest. She was a widow when she married Melchoir Van Meteren and the Van Beest children were by her first husband. Goosen and Gertyje were children by Melchoir's first marriage.549
1. Captain Johan Van Cuick Van Meteren, son of Cornelius (1) married Diske Van Meteren, and their son Melchoir married Anneken Arience and had a son, Goosen, who was admitted to the 'Ridderschap' of Neijmegen, June 26, 1651. The above Melchoir was presented, June 10, 1612, appeared 1615 and admitted--as he had left the military service--and filled the office of Tielerwaard, September, 1630; appears again in 1633 and 1649, signs 'Van Meteren' and is called in the Book of Heraldry 'Van Meteren Van Cuick'.
Among the names noted as inhabitants in the vicinity of Meteren may be mentioned these:
1540. Jacob Van Meteren married with . . . Van Boxmeer.A. D. 1500 Cornelia Van Cruick Van Meteren married to Otto Van Beeste, 7 June 1571, in the General State Archives the seals of Arnt and Jan Van Meteren can be found. A. D. 1600 Waalberg Van Meteren married Otto Van Haeften in the Country of Nymegen. 20 November, 1634, Johann Van Meteren was sergeant-major of Cavalry in the Country of Tiel (Thielerwaardt). 27 December 1646, Michael Jordaen de Cahiliser and Lady Josina Van Cuick Van Meteren were married at Hertogenbosch, the Capitol of the province of North Brabant. 20 October, 1671 Maximilliaen Van Meteren 'is considered as absolutely Knightly'.
1541. 10 Dec., Jan Van Meteren, justice at Meteren.
1541. Melchoir Van Meteren, justice in 1560 and 1563.
1544. Gysbert Van Meteren.
1545. Gysbert Van Meteren married Jutten Van Herinjnen.
1565. Willem Van Meteren, justice.
1567. Cornelius Van Meteren at Deijl.
1634. Johan Van Meteren, master of horse at Tielerwaard, etc.
A son of Jan Van Cuick van Meteren, Lord of Meteren and a member of the Riddersedel of 1555, Adriaan by name, became Lord of Meteren and Kerkwick, Colonial governor of Wandricken, and Lovenstein, married, and the wedding was published in the Hague, December 15, 1636, to Emerentia Van Aerssen, daughter of Jacques, Lord of Triangel, president of the Council of Brabant and Marie Van der Vecken. Adriaan was buried at Meteren, with eight quarterings.Emmanuel Van Meteren
The western world's wonderful progress and its dominant civilization springs, primarily, from its discovery by the Genoese Navigator, Columbus; in 1492, and then after some of the leading powers of the then Europe, stimulated and spurred on by the success of Spain and eager to emulate her enterprise, began to rival each other in exploration and territorial aggrandizement, found compensating rewards in later discoveries, hence we find France, England, Sweden and the Netherlands striving to achieve supremacy in the New World. The Dutch
550had carefully explored and taken possession of a vast realm; and were rapidly planting her sons upon a province that extended from the Connecticut River on the east, crossed the Delaware, and stopped at the eastern shores of the Chesapeake Bay, before the English were aware of the significance and extent of the Dutch policy of 'peaceful penetration.' Upon this magnificent territory they bestowed the name of New Netherland in honor of the fatherland. Her great day dawned in 1609 when Captain Henry Hudson, in his famous ship 'The Half-Moon', ploughed the waters of the North River which, now bears his name. From that eventful day down to the present time, the impress of the Dutch influence is ineradicably stamped upon the land and its inhabitants. In this historic event one of its most interesting features is the fact that it was brought about, mainly, through the prestige and influence of the family Van Meteren of Holland. We are told by the late Professor Fiske, in his 'Dutch and Quaker Colonies,' 1 that 'the moment that history first actually knows him (Henry Hudson) is the first day of May, 1607, when he sailed from Greenwich in command of an Arctic expedition; but we also know that he was a citizen of London; and the Dutch historian Van Meteren, tells us that there was a warm friendship between Henry Hudson, the navigator, and Captain John Smith.' Again: in a reference to the Dutch East-India Company, Fiske says; 'Their offers were probably made through Henry Hudson's friend, the Dutch consul Van Meteren.' Then again: 'It was Hudson's friend Van Meteren who declared that English was only 'broken Dutch'; and still again: 'Hudson, in 1608, knew scarcely a word of Dutch.' Emmanuel Van Meteren wrote an account of Hudson's Voyage of Discovery. 2
Let us consider for a moment, who this potential Emmanuel Van Meteren was. Reliable authorities rank him as one of the most learned and prominent of Hollanders. As a youth starting in life as a student--but all the while being trained in the business house of Sebastian Daukhearts at Antwerp, and passing beyond this--to become a scholar, historian, statesman, and philosopher. These represent some of the degrees of progression in his career. He was the author of 'Historie Van de Oorlogen en Geschiedenissen der Nederlanderen' (A History of the Netherlands), a book that has been translated and published in several languages; and all these accomplishments were being acquired while continuing his business, and serving his country as Dutch consul, at London, during the reign of Edward VI and his sister Mary, of England. Emmanuel was born at Antwerp, June 9, 1535, he was the grandson of Cornelius Van Meteren, and the son of Jacob Van Meteren, of Breda--who was a printer, a linguist and a scientist. This Jacob, in association with Miles Coverdale, was the translator, printer and publisher, at Antwerp, of the first English version of the Bible a work that is, today, in its original edition, worth its weight in gold. The mother of Emmanuel,
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1 Fiske, 'Dutch and Quaker Colonies,' Vol. I, p. 32.551
2 Winsor, Justin, 'Narrative and Critical History of America,' Vol. IV, p. 424.
Jacob's wife, was Ortillia Ortels, or (Ortelius), the daughter of William Ortels of Ausburch (Augsberg), and a granddaughter of Abraham Ortels, the famous geographer. It will thus be readily seen that the lineage of Emmanuel Van Meteren was of the most worthy and auspicious character, which was reflected in the qualities of their gifted son.
The Van Meterens removed to London to reside--to which place he had been appointed Dutch consul.1 In 1583 he was chosen to be chief of council of the 'College of Dutch Merchants' of London; meanwhile carrying on his business and attending to his duties as consul until his death, in his seventy-seventh year, April 8, 1612. He was buried at St. Denis' Church, in London, where a monument was erected.
The branch of the family with whom we are concerned, came to America in 1662, as revealed in the papers of the ship 'Vos' (Fox), arriving at New Amsterdam on the 12th of September of that year,1 though there is some evidence that leads us to suppose that the emigrant ancestor was here at least a year before this date. 2
The coming of the Van Meteren family in the latter part of the seventeenth century to New Netherland was in the period when the colony was progressing under the most favorable conditions and at a time which coincided with the founding of a settlement among the foot-hills of the Catskill Mountains on the west side of the Hudson, in Ulster County, New York, and about sixty miles above the Bay. Here a group of Dutch, and another of French Huguenot emigrants, had obtained patents for lands and were already established and the settlements were constantly being increased by additions from the Bay towns below and in a short time the fertile valleys of the Waalkill and the Esopus sheltered a collection of thrifty little communities, thus, in the twenty-odd years between 1660 and the maturity of the Van Meteren or Van Metre children, about 1680, the settlements known as New Paltz, Wyltwick, Eusopus, Hurley, and Marbletown were founded in close proximity to each other and were finally merged into what has since been called the Kingston County. Behind them rose the bulwark of the Catskills, and beyond these mountains and outt of their western slopes, gushed the head-springs of the Delaware and the Susque-
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1. 'Documentary History of New York,' III, pp. 62, 63.
2. New Netherland Register, February, 1911, p. 26.
hanna rivers, which, in their respective courses, first provided trails for the native tribes, and by which they had intercourse with their southern contemporaries.
On the east shore of the Delaware, in south Jersey, the Swedes had Joosted early and fortified their holdings. Between Fort Nassau, which was Joosted nearly opposite the site of Philadelphia, down to Fort Elsinborg, on Penn's Neck, which was across the river from Fort Christiana at the mouth of the Brandywine, were several intervening settlements; so we find them colonized on the Racoon, Timber, Cohansey, Salem and Maurice Creeks; and along a trail which the Van Meterens afterward took, leading southward from the bay at New Amsterdam to New-Amstel, or, as it is now, New Castle, in the state of Delaware. The eastern part of this overland path, started from Bergen and ran southwesterly, crossing the Passaic and Raritan rivers, and touching the Delaware at 'the Falls' now Trenton, New Jersey, and there, by fording the shallow rapids to the west side, passed through the old Swedish plantation on the Pennybeck, and so on to New Castle. At this point, where the Delaware peninsula is the narrowest, another overland trail led to the head of Elk river, in Maryland; and by that tributary entered Chesapeake Bay, and by it and beyond, passed through the mountain gaps of the Potomac, to distant points in the colony of Virginia.
The path from New York to Philadelphia was called 'The King's Highway' in 1675, and was then, as it is today, the main artery of travel between the two chief cities of the eastern colonies. Another path followed the eastern shore of the Delaware, intersecting the little Swedish villages that lay along the way between Somerset and Middlesex counties to the province of East Jersey, on down to the vicinity of Fenwick's English colony at Salem, in the province of West Jersey. En route, there was a divergence in the trail which led to Mattinicock island and Lassa Point, situated about where the city of Burlington now stands. It was by these primitive paths that the various and widely separated settlements in the middle colonies were connected and from which they continually acquired growth from the flow of pioneers, were to pierce the Blue Ridge at the Potomac and absorb the Virginia Valleys beyond.
The foregoing is thus elaborately set forth that we may the more readily trace and understand the migratory movements of the Van Metre or Van Meter forefathers from Ulster County, New York, to their final abiding place in Virginia.
It is well known in Holland the prefix 'Van' to a name signifies of 'The House of Meteren' and was originally spelled without the capital 'V'.
The Van Meter family of America as far as I can find out descended from two men; Jan Gysbertsen van Meteren, who married Neltje Van Cleef, and Jan Joost van Meteren both of whom emigrated from the province of Gelderland
Garage Occasion Meteren
553Holland. These two names in English would be John Gisbertson of Meteren and Kryn or Krine Jansen Van Meteren. They located in Ultricht, in Kings' County, and afterwards removed to Monmouth County, New Jersey. 1
Jan Joost Van Meteren Jan Joost Van Meteren of Thierlewoodt, with his wife and five children, whose ages ranged from two and a half to fifteen years, arrived in the ship 'Fox', at New Amsterdam, in New Netherlands on the 12th of April, 1662. 2 He married in 1646 Macyke Hendricksen or (Hendrygksen) of Mappelen, in the province of Dreuth in Holland, the daughter of Hendricks of Laeckervelt and his wife Anne Jan Jans. She is supposed to have been the sister of Femmetjen Hendricksen, who married Jooste Adriensen, of Pynnaker Holland, on the 20th of March, 1663-4. Upon the death of Jooste Arieneesen of 'Boswick', upon Long Island circa 1685, Jan Joosten Van Meteren was appointed administrator, tutor of decedent's children, and arbitrator in the proceedings regarding the sale of some land in Hurley which had been sold to Derick Schepmos by Arience during his life time.
Jan Joosten Van Meteren's children were: Jooste Jans; Cathrin, Geertje, Lysbeth, and Gysbert; Jooste Jans, being the eldest son, as appears by the father's records. 3
In the fall of 1662 Jan Joosten Van Meteren settled in Wildwych (now Kingston, Ulster County, New Jersey [sic]) and dwelt many years in that vicinity, which included the towns of Hurley, Marbletown, and Esoppus. He is not noted in the activities of that community until the 7th of June, 1663, the date when the Minnisink Indians made an attack on the village and its vicinity raiding and burning the settlement of Hurley and Kingston and carrying away women and children in captivity. Among the latter were Jan's wife and children, Jooste Jans being one of them as well as Catherine du Bois, the wife of Louis du Bois, and their daughter Sarah; whom Jooste Jans Van Meteren later married. These were taken to the fastnesses of the Catskill Mountains and remained in captivity for months, but were rescued on the eve of torture by du Bois, and Captain Martin Kreiger's company of Manhattan soldiers; the trainband finally rounded up the Indians and defeated them on September 3, 1663. In connection with this tragic experience the following statement is quoted: 'About ten weeks after the capture of the women and children, the Indians decided to celebrate their own escape from pursuit by burning some of their victims and the ones selected were Catherine du Bois, and her baby Sara. A cubical pile of logs was arranged and the mother and child placed
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1 Bergen's 'Annals of King's County, New Jersey,' pp. 345, 346.554
2 'Documentary History of New York,' III, pp. 53-63. Yearbook Historical Society New York, 1896. 'New Netherland Register,' February, 1911. p. 26.
3 Probate Records of Ulster County, New Jersey. [sic]
thereon; when the Indians were about to apply the torch, Catherine began to sing the 137th Psalm as a death chant. The Indians withheld the fire and gave her respite while they listened; when she had finished they demanded more, and before she had finished the last one her husband and the Dutch soldiers from New Amsterdam arrived and surrounded the savages, killed and captured some, and otherwise inflicted terrible punishment upon them, and released the prisoners.1, 2
Captain Kreiger's Journal which gives a general account of the expedition of rescue, unfortunately does not name him, but it is elsewhere stated that it was due to Jooste Jan's three months' association with the Indians, during his captivity, that gave him the knowledge of their habits, trails, plans and war feuds with other tribes, and so impressed him with a desire for their adventurous life.
In a list of the inhabitants of Ulster County, New York, who subscribed to the oath of allegiance, due to a change in the sovereignty of the country, between the 21st and 26th of October, 1664, the name of Jan Joosten appears among them. After this date frequent notice of him occurs upon the records of Kingston as a farmer, and a man of growing importance in civil and religious matters. In 1665 he was appointed referee in a law suit between two of the citizens, and on August 26, of the same year, he is mentioned, as an appraiser of the personal estate of Dr. Gysbert van Inbrock, who was a physician and apothecary of the vicinity. The decedent's inventory included among other valuable books, a copy of Emmanuel Van Meteren's History; and at a sale of the effects, on the 9th of September, following, Jan was a purchaser to the extent of nearly lO0 guilders--two of the items he bought were the 'Beehive', by the famous Marnix, Lord of St. Aldegonde, and 'The Chronicles of the Kings of England', and these books aptly showed the character of Jan Joosten's culture. 3 A further appointment came to Jan a 'Scheppen', or to a position synonymous to that of the minor judiciary, which, under the laws of the time, gave him jurisdiction in all civil cases under the sum of 100 guilders; but in cases above that amount such action must be referred to the Director-General and the Council. He could pronounce sentence in criminal actions, subject to appeal, so we may assume that he enjoyed a position but little removed below the highest court in the province.
From about this time Jan Joosten was frequently sought as a witness to various marriages, or as sponsor at the baptisms of children at the homes of relatives and friends. In some instances baptisms were performed 'at Jan Joosten's in the presence of the whole consistory,' these distinctions were no doubt due to his position in the church, in which he had been elected an elder,
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1 Martin Kreiger's Journal.555
2 MacKenzie's 'Colonial Families of United States,' VII, p, 472.
3 'New Netherland Register,' February, 1911. pp. 25, 26, 27. 'Hazzards Annals.' I,p. 223.
in 1667, or as a civil officer in the community. During the trouble in Wyltwick in the same year, caused by the offensiveness of the soldiers of the English garrison, Jan Joosten, with three other citizens, acted as mediators in the dispute and were able to conciliate the inhabitants and thus prevented violence to lives and property.
The first instance of his purchase of land appears in a record which reads; 'Jan Joosten had, from Governor Lovelace, a deed for a lot dated March 20th, 1671, in Marbletown,' and 'on the 11th October following--received confirmation of his 30 acre lot in Marbletown.' 1
Jan Joosten was selected, October 6, 1673, as one of the four magistrates of Hurley and Marbletown--to supervise the merging of the village of Niew-Drop [sic]into those of Hurley and Marbletown under the English rule, The other magistrates were Jan Broerson, Louis du Bois, and Roelof Hendricksen. And notwithstanding the change of government, Jan was continued in that civil office until the return of Dutch supremacy, in 1675, when Governor Colve reappointed him to serve for another term.
Jan Joosten is named as justice of the peace for Eusopus and was present at the Court of Azzizes, in New York, on October 4, 5 and 6, 1682. 2
Macyken, wife of Jan Joosten is named as a beneficiary in the will of Everdt Pary; dated 26th, March, 1675. 3
With the regaining of the Country by the English, the inhabitants were again required to swear allegiance to their new overlords, so it is recorded that Jan Joosten once more performed this act of fealty 1st September, 1689.
We now approach a very interesting phase of Jan Joosten's career, in which he takes on the status of a patroon, or landed proprietor. Aside from what he had acquired in Ulster County--the Wassemaker's land, for instance, and possibly other parcels--he obtained land grants in the province of East Jersey through a period extending from 1689 to the year of his death, in 1706.
In Company with his son-in-law, Jan Hamel, who had married his daughter Geertje Crom (sometimes called 'Girty Jans') in 1682 4 Jan Joosten appeared in East Jersey, where they jointly bought on October 18, 1695, from Edward Hunloke, the deputy Governor, of Wingerworth, Burlington County, a plantation of 500 acres Joosted at Lassa, or Lazy Point' on the Delaware River, opposite the present city of Burlington. Lassa Point lay about twenty-three miles northeast of Philadelphia, and was originally seated by three or four Dutch families 'who were there'--said Governor Philip Carteret--'in 1666', and to whom he confirmed patents in 1678. The Mattinicock Island, which lay in the river opposite Burlington and Lassa Point, was subsequently the home of Peter Jegue, a noted Colonial character and trader, The record of this pur-_____________
1 New York Land Papers, I. pp. 37, 42.556
2 New York Historical Society Collections 1912. pp. 25, 26. 1913. p. 37.
3 Ulster Co. Probate Records. Vol. --, p. 37.
4 Col. Arch. New Jersey. 1st Ser., XXI. p. 464.
chase by Joosten and Hamel reads that title was given 'to John Joosten and John Hamel, both now or late of Sopus (Eusopus in the Kingston locality) N. Y., yeomen'. At the same time Hunloke gave the grantees a bond guaranteeing them undisputed possession of the premises; and on the following day the grantees executed and delivered to Hunloke their bond and mortgage on the 500 acres. 1 Later, Jan Joosten, in his own name, granted two hundred acres of this land at Lassa Point, and the title was confirmed by law in 1697. 2
Jan Joosten next appears as an individual Purchaser of certain lands in Somerset County East Jersey, as may be seen from the record of a deed passing title from Governor Andrew Hamilton and Agnes, his wife, and under date September 13, 1700, to 'Jane (Jan) Joosten of Marbletown, New York, Yeoman.' There were four parcels of this land, separately numbered, and designated as unsurveyed and unappropriated lands, lying contiguous on the South Branch of the Raritan River, in the neighborhood of the present city of Somerville, N. J., the County seat of Somerset. As a whole, the plantation aggregated 1,835 acres. It consisted of broad and fertile meadows on the Raritan; and the locality was already partially seated by groups of Dutch and Scotch people from the Kill-Van-Kull and Perth, with a few French from Staten Island, who had come into this region about fifteen or twenty years before. On the above date there is a record of Jan Joosten being at Piscataway (Perth), where he probably went to meet the Governor and, obtain his grant. 3 The above seems to be the extent of his purchases. His will was found filed, with an inventory of his personal property, in the Burlington County Surrogate's office. This instrument is endorsed 'Will of Jan Joosten of . . . June 13th, 1706,' and is further marked 'Dutch.' His personal estate included six slaves, a negro man, women and four children. The appraisers were Joris Van Neste and Hendrix Runersen; it was sworn to by 'John Van Mator.' Antedating this document is 'a testamentary disposition' signed jointly by Jan Joosten and his wife, Macyke Hendricksen, and dated 16th December, 1681, which reads: Macyke Hendricksen shall retain full possession of the estate. She consents that the survivor shall possess everything, lands, houses, personal property, money, gold, silver--coined or uncoined. After their decease the property is to be inherited by their children--Jooste to have one half the entire estate first. Jooste and Gysbert to have the land at Marbletown--Jooste one-half and then the other half to be divided between them. Geertye to have the land at Wassemaker's land. Children of Lysbeth, deceased, to have their portion in money from the other children. 4 Jooste Jans was the eldest son--therefore, the heir-at-law and entitled to a double portion. Geertze was the eldest daughter, who, from the additional name
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1 Col. Arch. New Jersey, 1st Ser., XXII pp. 318, 497, 517.557
2 Index to Spicer and Leaming's Laws or New Jersey. p. 24.
3 Col. Arch. N. Y., 1st Ser., XXX. p. 480.
4 Probate Records Ulster Co. New York.
of 'Crom,' suggests that she had been married before this time, or that she was the daughter of Jan Joosten by a former marriage and carried her mother's name as the custom was in Holland. Lysbeth pre-deceased her father and left children. Another daughter, not named in the will, is supposed to have been Cathrin, and can only be accounted for by her marriage and in having received her portion and so disappears from consideration in the distribution of the property.
Jan Joosten Van Meteren was in every sense, an enterprising and influential citizen; a man of vision, initiative, culture and other fine and useful qualities, and in whom the people placed their matters of trust without fear of being betrayed or exploited. He was indeed, a worthy progenitor of the line of descendants who have distinguished themselves in every sphere of usefulness. He died in 1706, his will dated June 12th of this year being filed among the Dutch wills of New Jersey.
His Colonial Record is 'He took the oath of allegiance 1664, was referee in a lawsuit 1665, Schepen 1665 and 1668.' In 1673 he was one of the four Magistrates of Hurley and Marbletown and in 1676 petitioned for a minister to governor Andros. 1, 2, 3
Joost Jans Van Meteren's (born 1660 died 1700-05 the eldest son of Jan Joosten Van Meteren) early life, aside from his adventures, while yet a small boy, with the Indians in 1663, has not been revealed, but may be assumed to have been pretty much the same as that of other youths, until the time of his engagement to marry was published in the banns of the Reformed Dutch Church at Kingston, on the 18th of November, 1682, and which was followed by his marriage announcement in this wise: 'Jooste, Jan; J. M. of Meteren, born in Gelderland, residing in Mormer (Marbletown) and Sara du Bois, J. D. of Kingston, residing in the Nieuw-Pals (New Platz [sic]) married in the Pals, 12 December, l682.' 4
Sara du Bois was the daughter of Louis du Bois (1626-96) The 'Patentee' from Artois, France and Cathrine Blanchan, his wife. Sara was baptized at Kingston, September 14, 1664. They had issue:
i. Jan, bapt. October 14, 1683. Sponsers: Jan Joosten, Macyken Hendricksen._____________
ii. Rebekka, bapt. April 26, 1686. Sponsers: Jacob du Bois, Gysbert Crom.
iii. Lysbeth, bapt. March 3, 1689. Sponser: Catrynda du Bois.
iv. Isaac, bapt. circa, 1692. (Record missing.)
v. Hendrix, bapt. Sept. 1, 1695. Sponsers: David du Bois, Janekken 5 Molenawi.
1Rhodes, N. O., 'Colonial Families of the United States,' Vol. VII, pp. 470, 474.558
2 Smith's 'Dulse Shephed, Van Meter Genealogy,' pp. 9-27.
3 Laidley,'Van Meter Sketches.'
4 Records Reformed Church at Kingston, New York.
5 Rhoade's 'Colonial Families of the United States', Vol. VII, p. 474.
i. Jan (John) in 1683 who later settled in Berkeley County, Virginia, dying there in 1745, leaving eleven children one of whom, Elizabeth, married Col. Thomas Shepherd and another Soloman Hedges mentioned in Geo. Washington's Journal, when surveying beyond the Blue Ridge 1747-48.
ii. Rebecca Van Meter born 1686. Wed-1704, Cornelius Elting, and had ten children.
iii. Lysbeth Van Meter born 1689.
iv. Isaac Van Meter the fourth child of Joost Jan Van Meteren and Sarah du Bois was not baptized at Kingston as far as the records show. . . .
v. Hendrick (Henry) Van Meter born 1695, who married a number of times, and finally settled in Salem County, New Jersey, where he died in 1759, leaving ten children; his last wife was Mary, sister of Erasmus Feltere.
Joost Jan Van Meteren became sufficiently Americanized to spell his name John instead of Jan, and finally dropped the 'n' off, thus leaving the name Van Metre. So Joost Jans is the John Van Meter a 'Dutchman from the Hudson' who was the noted Indian trader and explorer of the Shenandoah Valley who 'Spied out the land' about the time of Governor Spotswood's Expedition, 1716. He equipped a band of Delaware or Caugh Indians and white on this expedition he explored the country then almost unknown to the white people, the Valley of the South branch of the Potomac (known then by the Indian name of the Wappatomake). On his return he advised his sons to take up the land in 'The Wappatomica Valley in the South Branch Bottom above the Trough,' as it was the finest land he had discovered in all his travels. 1 By the nature of his life, his habitation was seldom fixed for a definite length of time, but proof exists that he dwelt at different periods in the states of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
A particular instance which involves quite a group of the Van Metre family is found in 'An Indenture dated June 19, 1714, between Colonel Daniel Coxe, of Burlington, of the one part, and Jacob du Bois, of the county of Ulster New York, and Sarah du Bois of the county of Salem, and John Van Metre and Isaac Van Metre, of the County and division aforesaid, of the other part,' recites that Daniel Coxe purchased Thomas William's land in Salem County--7,000 acres--in consideration of '£750 lawful pounds money of New York, at eight shillings the ounce,' and the said Coxe conveys unto the said Jacob du Bois, Sara du Bois, John Van Metre and Isaac Van Metre, 3,000 acres beginning on a branch of the Maurice River, and being part of the 7,000 acres taken up upon the right of the three property purchases of Thomas Williams by Daniel Coxe. 2 Shourds, the Salem county historian, states that 'these parties divided their lands by the
_____________
1 Kercheval, Samuel, 'History of the Valley,' p. 46.559
2 Liber, D. D., p. 316, Salem Deeds.
compass, the du Bois taking theirs on the north side of a line and the Van Metreson the south side. The Van Metres continued to purchase until they owned a very large portion of the land reaching from the Overshot Mill on Upper Alloways Creek, near Daretown, southeasterly to Fork Bridge, about 6,000 acres in all.' 3 The grantees thereof were Sarah du Bois, wife or widow, of the elder John Van Metre; her two sons, John and Isaac Van Metre; and her brother, Jacob du Bois. Here Sarah established her son Isaac permanently, as shethought, as by a deed dated 27 May, 1726, reciting 'for and in consideration of the love, good will and affection I have and do bear toward my loving and dutiful son Isaac Van Metre of the province aforesaid,' the mother transfers to him three hundred and two acres of land, lying at Pile's Grove between Nickomus Run and Salem Creek. Possession of this property was taken over by Isaac on the 26th of May, 1726, in the presence of Cornelius Elting Jr. 4 In Salem, prior to 1709, is a record in the 'Eare Marke Book' reciting that John and Isaac Van Metre Jr. had recorded cattle and swine. 5
The ambition, and that restless spirit, inherited from the father with his vision and early advice, inspired the two Van Metre brothers to launch the scheme to colonize their relatives and friends in the Valley of Virginia. Between them John Van Metre and his brother Isaac they obtained from Governor Gooch, of the British Crown and council of Virginia, on the 30th of June 1730, a grant of forty thousand acres of land, unappropriated and insurveyed, in Spottsylvania county in the Northern Neck of Virginia.
'At a council held in the capitol the 17th day of June, 1730. Present--The Governor, Robert Carter, James Blair, William Byrd, John Robinson, John Cart, Rd. Fitzwilliam, John Grymes, Wm. Dandridge, John Curtis,--Esquires. Several petitions being this day offered to the Board for leave to take up land on the River Sherando on the Northwest side of the Great Mountains, Robert Carter, Esq. Agent for the Proprietors of the Northern Neck moved that it might be entered that he on behalf of the sd Proprietors claimed the land on the sd River Sherando as belonging to the sd Proprietors & within the limits of their Grant it belonged sole to the Proprietors to grant the sd lands wch moven at his request is entered and then the Board proceded to the hearing of the sd Petitions. On reading at this Board the Petition of John Van Metre setting forth that he is desirious to take up a Tract of land in this Colony on the West side of the Great Mountains for the settlement of himself and eleven children and also that divers of his Relations and friends living in the Government of New York are also desirous to move their families and effects and Settle in the same place if a
_____________
3 Shourd's 'History of Fenwick's Colony,' pp. 302-4.560
4 Liber, D., p. 203, Salem Deeds.
5 Ear Mark Book, Salem Co., N. J.', p. 7.
Sufficient Quantity of land may be assigned them for that purpose and praying that ten thousand acres of land lying in the forks of the Sherando River including the places called by the name of Cedar Litch and Stoney Lick and running up between the branches of the said river to complete that quantity and twenty thousand acres not already taken up by Robert Carter and Mann Page, Esqrs., or any other,--lying in the fork between the sd River Sherando and the River Cohonguroota and extending thence to Operkon and up the South Branch thereof may be assigned for the Habitation of himself and family and friends. The Governor, with the advice of his council is pleased to give leave to the sd John Van Metre to take up the sd first mentioned tract of ten thousand acres for the set'lem't of himself and his family, and that as soon as the Petitioner shall bring on the last mentioned Tract twenty families to Inhabit on that this Board is satisfied so many are to remove thither leave be and it is hereby granted him for surveying the last mentioned tract of twenty thousand acres within the limits above described in so many several dividens as the pet'r and his sd partners shall think fit. And it is furthered ordered that no person is permitted to enter for or take up any part of the afsd Lands in the meantime provided the sd Van Metre and his family and the twenty other families of his Relations and friends do settle thereon within the space of two years according to his proposal.' 1
'Isaac Van Meter of the Province of West Jersey having by petition to this Board set forth that he is desirous to settle himself on the West side of the Great Mountains. He has been to view the land in those parts and has discovered a place where settlement may conveniently be made, not possessed by any one of the English Inhabitants and praying that ten thousand acres of land lying between the lands surveyed for Robt., Carter, Esq., and the forks of the Shenando river and the river Operkon in as many several tracts or Dividends as shall be necessary for the accommodation and settlement of ten families (including his own) who proposes to bring to the said land:
The Governor with the advice of the Council is pleased to order as it is hereby ordered that the said Isaac Van Meter for himself and his partners have leave to take up the said quantity of ten thousand acres of land within the limits above described and that if he bring the above number of families to dwell there within two years; Patent be granted him and them for the same in such several tracts or Dividends as they shall think fit and in the meantime the same be referred free from entry of any other person, Dated at Williamsburg, 17th June, 1730.'
The Council sitting at Williamsburg from 1721 to 1734 expressly sets forth in their order dated 17th June, 1730, that Isaac the Petitioner had been to view the lands in those parts--'those parts'--are described in the survey made
_____________
1 MSS., Journal of the Governor and Council of Virginia, Session 1721-1734. p. 364.561
within the two years--as lying along both sides of the Shenandoah--one to John and one to Isaac. And those surveys embrace forty thousand acres each, and were confirmed to these brothers May 12, 1732. 2, 3
The Van Metres, within the two years allowed in the grants had transferred load to Jost Hite, their relative in New York, also a Hollander, on August 5, 1731 to begin settlement on the lands. 1 The Van Metres, however, under some mutual arrangement, retained options on certain choice spots in the Valley in the area originally granted them by Governor William Gooch. One of these parcels--there are two--contained one thousand seven hundred and eighty six acres and the other eight hundred and eighty five acres, and both were located on the west side of the Sherando River, in a new country soon to be called Orange. Patents for these tracts were issued on October 3, 1734, the year Orange County was erected and established. 2
Thus it was that the Van Metre's beheld and explored that 'land of Promise' where they envisioned the future as they looked upon the beautiful valley of Virginia sweeping southward, enfolded by the evergreen Blue Ridge, whose western slopes fell gently to the verdant meadows and sheltered limestone bottoms that were washed by the swift waters of the Shenandoah and those of the placid Potomac. This sylvan wilderness of Lord Fairfax, which he called 'the Northern Neck' of Virginia was the 'land of Goshen' to which the restless pioneers of the east shortly came, and whose first settlement may be traced to the intrepid trader Van Metre; and it actually began with the granting of a vast area to his sons on the 17th of June, 1730. Known as the Shenandoah (Shenendo, Sherando, or Sherundo) Valley of Virginia.
Isaac Van Meter, in conformity with his father's advice came to Virginia about the year 1736 or '37, and made what was called a 'Tomahawk improvement' on these lands, immediately above the trough, where 'Fort Pleasant' was afterward erected. 3
Isaac Van Metre owned tracts of land in Salem County and passed a very active life there. He took a prominent part in the founding of the Pittsgrove (Pikesgrove) Presbyterian Church of Salem County, New Jersey, the covenant of which was signed as no. 1--his wife Hannah, 2--their son--Henry, 3--their daughter Sarah, 4--
Isaac Van Metre married about 1717 at Mooreland Manor, Pennsylvania, Anne or Annah (Annetgie) Wynkoop, the daughter of Garritt Wynkoop and his wife Jacomytge Fakker. Unfortunately the records of the Church and the Church were destroyed. [sic] In the beginning it was the fatherland religion but was admitted to the Presbytery of Philadelphia, which accounts for the change
_____________
3 Cartwell, 'Shenandoah Valley Pioneers and Their Descendants,' p. 13. *
1 West Virginia Historical Magazine, I, pp. 52-54.
2 Land Records, Richmond, Va., Vol. XV, pp. 223, 327.
3 Kercheval, Samuel 'History of the valley', p. 46.
* For Cartwell read Cartmell.
562to Presbyterianism of Isaac and his family. Their seven children were born in Ulster County, New York, between the years 1694 and 1713.
Avis Meilleur Occasion Meteren
i. Henry Van Meter wed March 7, 1741, at the First Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Rebecca du Bois daughter of Isaac and Rebecca (his cousin du Bois).These parents and four children took up their permanent abode at 'Fort Pleasant' in the Indian Old Fields, now Hardy County, West Virginia, in 1744.
ii. Sarah Van Meter baptized February 23, 1722, married January 27, 1741-2, John Richman.
iii. Rebecca Van Meter, who married Abraham Hite, son of Joost Hite, in 1751.
iv. Garret Van Meter (b 1732, d. 1788), of whom later we will deal in full.
v. Jacob Van Meter, of whom nothing definite is known.
vi. Catherine Van Meter, who married George McCulloch and died presumably without issue between 1757-68.
vii. Hilda Van Meter, of whom nothing is known.
Isaac Van Meter, the founder and owner of 'Fort Pleasant' when quite an old man was killed and scalped by the Indians, only a short distance outside of his fort in the year 1757, leaving & widow and four children. His will dated February 15th, 1754, was probated in 1757, and recorded in the old County Clerk's Office at Romney, West Virginia. 4Garrett Van Meter
Meilleur Occasion Meteren
Garrett Van Meter and the son of Isaac Van Meter the founder of 'Fort Pleasant' and his wife Anne Wynkoop was born in the State of New York, February, 1734 and came with his parents and the balance of their family to Hardy County, Virginia in 1744. He married Mrs. Ann Sibley, whose maiden name was Ann Markee, in 1756. He inherited from his father's estate 'Fort Pleasant', and a large tract of the surrounding lands. He was a Colonel in the Revolutionary War, and commanded a regiment of militia in General Washington's Army.1, 2 He lived and died in 1788 at old 'Fort Pleasant' as full of honor as of years. Their children were:
i. Isaac, born December 10th, 1757, married Bettie Inskeep. He was in Gen. George Rogers Clark's campaign in 1778 against Vinncennes. A Burgess from Frederick County, Virginia.Jacob Van Meter
ii. Jacob born May 18, 1764, of whom later--.
iii. Ann, born April 15th, 1767, married Abel Seymour.
Jacob Van Meter born May 18th, 1764, married 1791 Tabitha Inskeep the daughter of Joseph Inskeep and his wife Hannah McCullock. He was a Colonel and commanded a regiment in the War Against Great Britain in 1812-13.
_____________
1 Kercheval, Samuel, 'History of the Valley,' pp. 129-130. **
2 Eckeurode, H. J. 'Rev. Soldiers of Va.' Special Report Archives and His., 1912.
* For Cartwell read Cartmell.
** For Eckeurode read Eekenrode.
He built in the South Branch Valley a flour mill, which was constructed to run by water power. He was an enterprising business man, and for many years a partner with Chief Justice Marshall in the breeding of thoroughbred horses. 3 Colonel Jacob Van Meter's house was headquarters for ministers of the gospel who passed through the Shenendoah Valley, whether Presbyterian or Methodist. He was an elder in the Presbyterian Church. 4 He died in 1825.
Colonel Jacob Van Meter and his wife Tabitha, had born to them the following children.
i. Hannah, born 8th November, 1791, married John Hopewell.Isaac Van Meter
ii. Ann, born 1st April, 1793, never married. Died October, 1892.
iii. Isaac, born 24 September, 1794, of whom later.
iv. Rebecca, born 2nd May, 1799. Never married.
v. Susan, born 12th December, 1807. Never married.
Isaac Van Meter, born 24th September, 1794, in old 'Fort Pleasant,' Hardy County, in what is now West Virginia. He received a good English education from the best teachers obtained at that time, a thorough training from his father in the best mode of farming and the care and attention of live stock. He supplied the Philadelphia and Baltimore markets with the finest beef and pork.
When Isaac Van Meter was about twenty-three years of age he came to Kentucky; bringing with him about seven thousand dollars worth of property, consisting chiefly of negro slaves, horse stock and money. He was married by the Rev. William W. Martin, on June 17, 1817, to Rebecca, daughter of Captain Isaac Cunningham and his wife, Sarah Harness, who was born in Hardy County, Virginia, October 14, 1800, and removed with her parents to Clark County, Kentucky, in 1802.
Isaac Van Meter and Captain Isaac Cunningham were for many years equal partners in their business affairs. They bred the finest thoroughbred horses for some years; and became quite noted for their famous importation of Shorthorn cattle in 1834. They each owned more than one thousand acres of as valuable lands as were in Kentucky; about four miles northwest of Winchester, on the 'Van Meter Pike' which to this day carries that name. He died in 1854.
Isaac Van Meter and his wife Rebecca had fifteen children born to them, and raised ten to be grown. They were:
ii. Isaac was born October 8, 1820, died April 14, 1898. Married Fannie Hull.
_____________3 Cartwell, 'Shenandoah Valley Pioneers and Their Descendents,' pp. 104, 652. *
4 Mead, Bishop, 'Churches and Families of Virginia.' **
* For Cartwell read Cartmell.
** For Mead read Meade.
iii. Jacob was born February 10, 1822, died, October 19, 1849. Married Florida K. Miles October 20, 1846.
iv. Sarah Ann was born October 26, 1825, died 1844. Married Dr. John Hall July 25, 1843.
v. Susan Tabitha was born August 1, 1827. Married Dr. Algernon Sidney Allan April 15, 1846.
vi. Benjamin F., Van Meter was born January 30, 1834, died October 1, 1927. Married November 80, 1854, Amelia Clay Lewis, (born 1836, died July 21, 1927), the daughter of Thornton Lewis, and his wife Emma Wright, the grand daughter of Hon. Thomas Lewis, Burgess 1, 2 of 'Bellefonte', the son of Colonel John Lewis, the founder of Staunton, Augusta County, Virginia. 3
vii. Thomas C. was born October 29, 1835. Married Orpha Campbell.The Van Meter Family in Kentucky
viii. Eliza Caroline was born September 15, 1837, died 1841.
ix. Abram was born May 20, 1839. Married October 26, 1859, Anna Elizabeth Kleiser.
x. Louis Marshall was born February 8, 1841.
I. SOLOMON, the first son of Isaac Van Meter and his wife, Rebecca Cunningham, resided at Duncastle, three miles from Lexington, in Fayette County, Kentucky. As stated, he married first Elizabeth Stonestreet, the daughter of James Stonestreet and his wife, Lucy Fishback. His second wife was Lucy Hockaday, a daughter of Irvine Hockaday and his wife, Emily Mills; they had one daughter, Lucy, who married Dr. Kerr, of Fulton, Missouri. His (Solomon's) third wife was Martha C. Prewitt, daughter of Nelson Prewttt and his wife, Mary Ann Coleman, and from this marriage there were three sons, Isaac (1), Nelson Prewitt (2), and Solomon (3).
II. ISAAC, the second son of Isaac Van Meter and his wife, Rebecca Cunningham, resided in Fayette County, Kentucky. He married Fanny Hull, the daughter of Henry Hull and his wife, Hannah Harness. They had ten children born to them:
(1) Charles L., (2) Sallie, (3) Edwin, (4) Scott, (5) J. Brown, (6) Louis M., (7) Benjamin, (8) Jessie, (9) Anna Rebecca, (10) Fannie.
III. JACOB VAN METER, the third son of Isaac Van Meter and his wife, Rebecca Cunningham, married Florida E. Miles and died early, leaving no issue.
_____________
2 Peyton, J. Lewis, 'History of Augusta County, Virginia,' p. 333.
3 Waddell, Joseph A., 'Annals of Augusta County, Virginia,' Ed. 1902, p. 37.
4 Records, Clark County Court House, Winchester, Kentucky.
* For Standards read Stanard's.
565IV. SARAH ANN VAN METER, the fourth child of Isaac Van Meter and Rebecca Cunningham, married Dr. John Hall, removed to Illinois and left no issue.
V. SUSAN TABITHA VAN METER, the fifth child of Isaac Van Meter and his wife, Rebecca Cunningham, married Dr. Algernon Allan of Fayette County, Kentucky, and left no issue.
VI. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN VAN METER, the sixth child of Isaac Van Meter and his wife, Rebecca Cunningham, married Amelia Clay Lewis, daughter of Thornton Lewis and his wife, Emma Wright. They had eleven children; (1) Emma, (2) Everitt, (3) Annette, (4) Thomas Wright Lewis, (6) Frank B. M., (6) Mary Belle, (7) Joseph, (8) Dr. Benjamin F., (9) Amelia Ellen, and two infant boys, who died at birth.
VII. THOMAS C., the seventh child of Isaac Van Meter and his wife, Rebecca Cunningham, married Orpha Campbell of Merest County, the daughter of Whitaker Hill Campbell and his wife, Permelia Perkins. They resided in Eminence, Kentucky, and raised one daughter, Kate Van Meter.
VIII. ELIZA CAROLINE VAN METER, the eighth child of Isaac Van Meter and his wife, Rebecca Cunningham, died at the age of four years.
IX. ABRAM VAN METER, the ninth child of Isaac Van Meter and his wife, Rebecca Cunningham, married Anna Elizabeth Kleiser, daughter of Jonas Marks Kleiser and his wife, Malita Stapp. They resided in Cools County, Texas, and had seven children: (1) Leta Mary, (2) Jonas K., (3) Walter M., (4) Isaac, (5) Elizabeth K., (6) Anna Rebecca, (7) Thomas M.
X. LIEUTENANT LOUIS MARSHAL VAN METER, the tenth child of Isaac Van Meter and his wife, Rebecca Cunningham, married Nannie Moore, the daughter of Thomas R. Moore and his wife, Hannah Ransdall. They resided in Shelby County, Kentucky, and had eight children: (1) Maria B., (2) John D. (3) Louis Marshall, Jr., (4) Evaline B., (5) Thomas Matthew, (6) Nannie, (7) Sallie M.,(8) Benjamin. Thus, from the pioneer Isaac Van Meter, into Kentucky from the Valley of Virginia were scattered numerous descendants into the different counties of Fayette, Shelby, Mercer, Jefferson, Clark and Hardin. Among these descendants were many men of prominence who held responsible positions in their communities and who walked in the footprints of their forefathers in government, religion and war.
566Source:
Rogers, Amelia Clay Lewis Van Meter, 'The Van Meteren's of Holland and America', Genealogies of Kentucky Families, Baltimore, MD., Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1981, pp. 546-566.
Acknowledgement:I would like to thank Katherine Stine, goodbyeluna@attbi.com for sending me a copy of this family genealogy. I learned a few new things about the van Meter family and their relationship with the Wynkoops and I hope you will too. Katherine, thanks so very much. I'm very grateful for your help.
I would also like to thank Leslie Rogers Miller, miller444@bellsouth.net, the granddaughter of Amelia Clay Lewis VanMeter Rogers, for pointing out to me that her grandmother's middle name was Clay and not Cray as the publishers of this genealogy stated. Leslie also told me that this genealogy was originally printed in the KY Historical Magazine.
Knowing how sensitive I can be about the spelling of my name, I'm more than happy to correct this misspelling. Leslie, thank you so very much. I appreciate your comments and help.
All my best,
Chris
Jan Joosten Van Metern - Macyken Hendricksen
The family patronymic was derived from 'Van' (of) and 'Meteren'(town in Holland).
The first evidence in the records of the actual presence of any of the Van Meter familyin America is contained in the list of passengers arriving in the 'Fox' at NewAmsterdam 12 Sept 1662. Among the passengers were Jan Joosten, as he signed his name, fromTiederwelt, with wife and five children, ages 15, 12, 9, 6 and 2 1/2 (Lysbeth, Catharine,Geertiji, Joost Jansen and Gysbert Jansen.
His wife Macyken Hendricksen was of Meppel, Providence of Drente, Netherlands. JanJoosten settled with his wife and family in Wyltwick (Kingston) late in the summer of 1662and nothing more is learned of them until the Minnissink Indians came down upon thesettlement on the Hudson, raiding and burning the villages of Hurley and Kingston on 7 Jun1663. They carried away as captives the wife and two of the children of Joosten.
In March, 1671, he had from Governor Lovelace a deed for a lot in Marbletown and aconfirmation 11 Oct. 1671 of thirty acre lot of ground in Marbletown.
Jan Joosten was in every sense an enterprising and influential citizen, a man of visionand initiative culture and to the fine and useful qualities, and one in whom the peopleplaced their matters of trust without fear of being betrayed or exploited. He was indeed aworthy progenitor of the line of descent who have distinguished themselves in every sphereof usefulness.
Joost Jansen Van Metern - Sarah Du Bois
From the records of the Reformed Church at Kingston the following is abstracted.
'Jooste Jan, J. M. of Meteren, b. in Gelderland, residing in Mormon (Marbletown)and Sara Du Bois, J. D. of Kingston, residing in the New Pals (New Palz) married in thepals 12th December 1682. First publication of the Baans, 18 Nov.'
Sarah was the daughter of Louis De Bois. Their children were: Jan Jansen,Rebekka, Lysbeth, Rachel, Hendrick, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
John Van Metre and Margaret Mollenauer
Jan or John Van Metre as he afterwards wrote his name, son of Joost Jan and Sarah (DuBoise) Van Metern, became a noted Indian trader, was of a roving disposition, and spentmuch of his time from home in trading with friendly Indians.
On one occasion he went in command of a band of Cough Indians on a trading expeditionto Virginia, and on this excursion he explored the country then almost unknown to whitepeople - the valley of the South Branch of the Potomac, known then by the Indian name,Wapatoma. When he returned home he urged his sons to lose not time in possessing thatland, declaring that it was most beautiful land fertile.
On 30 Jun 1730 an Order of Council was made, granting leave to John Van Metre of NewYork to take up 10,000 acres of land lying in the fork of Sherando River, including theplaces called Cedar Lick and Stoney Lick and running up between the branches of the river- for the settlement of himself and family of eleven children, as soon as he could bringthirty families to settle the same.
John and his brother Isaac also obtained leave by another order of Council to take up40,000 acres, including the 10,000 acres mentioned above.
John was born 14 Oct 1683 and died 1745. His will was probated at Winchester, Virginia3 Sep 1745. He married first to Sarah Bodine and their three children were: Sarah,Johannes, and Maria. He married second to Margaret Mollenauer and they had 8 children:Rebecca, Isaac, Elizabeth, Henry, Rachel, Abraham, Jacob and Magdalina.
