Also from Early Records of the City and County of Albany and the Colony of Rensselaerswyck , on pages 75 and 76, Jan was listed as one of a

Transcription

1 Jan Janse Ouderkerk Jan Janse Ouderkerk was my seventh great grandfather. Tracing the life of an ancestor who lived more than 350 years ago is a daunting task. Translations of church and legal documents that were public record at the time have been used to provide evidence of our ancestor s presence in what was then known as the New World. According to the Yearbook of the Dutch Settlers Society of Albany, Vol. 45, , Jan Janse Ouderkerk emigrated from the Netherlands to the colony of New Netherland about 1660 and lived in Fort Orange/Beverwyck. At that time, Fort Orange was a small Dutch fur trading fort on the Hudson River. There is no certainty from where in the Netherlands Jan Janse came, but other family researchers seem to feel that the most likely origin was Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, a small town just outside the port of Amsterdam. Jan Janse means Jan, son of Jan. Janse is sometimes written as Jansen. Both suffixes, se and sen, added to a Dutch male name mean son of. Ouderkerk is also spelled Ouderkerck in many historical documents. The English translation of Jan Ouderkerk, as found in his will, is John Ouderkirk, although Ouderkerk remained in general usage for several more generations. Spelling was inconsistent at this time in history and many names have various spellings throughout the documents found. Spelling variants are also the result of poor handwriting of the originators. Jonathan Pearson notes in his Dutch to English translations that he found this to be a particular concern. Transcription errors also account for spelling variants. Lack of consistency of the spelling of names within a single book has been noted. Proof of Jan s residency in Fort Orange/Beverwyck in 1660 appears as an entry in the Court Records of Fort Orange and Beverwyck, , dated December 7, Jan Andriessen Kuyper, entered a complaint against Jan Jansen Ouderkerck but the case was later dismissed by default.

2 Jan Andriessen Kuyper was likely a cooper (barrel maker). Whether he used the surname Kuyper is not really known. Some records refer to him simply as Jan Andriessen. The transcription above spells his name Anderiesen in the body of the document, but Andriessen in the index so again, nothing is really certain. In Genealogies of the First Settlers of the Ancient County of Albany From by Jonathan Pearson, Jan Janse Ouderkerk was referred to as the small Kuyper or small cooper, indicating that there were at least two coopers in the village. Coopers were very important as most everything that was stored or shipped was placed inside a barrel of some kind. During the 1664 Second Dutch War, England seized possession of the colony of New Netherland from the Dutch and renamed it New York, for the Duke of York and Albany (who later became King James II). Fort Orange and the town of Beverwyck were renamed Albany. One of the earliest records I have found that mentions Jan Janse Ouderkerk is from Early Records of the City and County of Albany and the Colony of Rensselaerswyck by Jonathan Pearson, pages 350 and 352. Although the excerpt itself is not dated, the entries before and after it are dated May 1664, therefore indicating that this event likely took place in the same time frame. Jan bought three chairs for four guilders. I suppose one could wonder why Dirck Janse Kroon appeared to be selling his worldly possessions. The fact that the sale was being carried out through his attorney could indicate that Kroon had already left the colony. Certainly, the pioneering life was not for everyone!

3 Also from Early Records of the City and County of Albany and the Colony of Rensselaerswyck , on pages 75 and 76, Jan was listed as one of a group of debtors in June of It appears as though Jan Gerritsen Van Marcken had empowered Harmen Rutgers and Volckert Janse Douw to collect money on his behalf from a list of debtors. They were charged to use any means possible by law to collect the moneys owed. No description is given to indicate how the debts were incurred.

4

5 The footnote declares that Jan Janse Ouderkerk s wife was Neeltie Clause, but that was not the case. Neeltje Claase (spelling variant) was actually the wife of Jan s eldest son, Johannes. Jonathan Pearson provides the correct information in his book Genealogies of the First Settlers of the Ancient County of Albany From on page 85. Although there is no record that the above debt was paid, it seems likely it was as a mere two months later Jan purchased a bed and appurtenances (accessories) for fifty-eight guilders from the estate of Jan Reyersen/Ryersen. The sale conditions were set Aug. 31, The buyers were to pay in whole beavers by June 1, If they were paying in seewant (twenty-four guilders per beaver) they had only until April 1, 1666 to pay. Each purchaser was required to provide two sureties. It is interesting to note that such estate sales would take into account that it would take the winter to trap the beavers necessary for payment. Winter beaver pelts were thicker and more merchantable as the records suggest. (Early Records of the City and County of Albany and the Colony of Rensselaerswyck , pages 79-81) Jan also bought a chopping knife, coverlet, and other things for a total of twenty-eight guilders. He only had three days to pay that amount in seewant.

6 Proof that Jan did indeed work as a cooper has been found in various court and land documents. On March 19, 1679, court records, (Minutes of the Court of Albany, Rensselaerswyck and Schenectady Vol. III p. 52), accounting for the estate of the late Nicholas Van Rensselaer, who died in November 1678, listed Jan Jansen Ouderkerck among the creditors. He was owed payment of 12:2 seawan (also spelled seewant, a type of wampum) and 29 beavers for 18 meal casks. The fact that Jan had provided meal casks indicates that he was likely a dry cooper. Shirley Forth provides an excellent description of the types of coopers on page 8 of her book A Dutch Cooper s Legacy: an Ouderkirk Story From Using the Plan of Albany in 1695 (A Dutch Cooper s Legacy: an Ouderkirk Story From 1660), the View of Albany in 1686 (The People of Colonial Albany Live Here) as well as the set of deeds from the book Early Records of the City and County of Albany , it is fairly certain that Jan Janse Ouderkerk s cooperage was on the north side of Jonker/State Street in What would be Jonker Street is shaded in yellow on the map of Albany in Jonker Street is also spelled Yonker or Yonkers in some books, as the J is pronounced like a Y in Dutch. Jonathan Pearson, in Genealogies of the First Settlers of the Ancient County of Albany From , confirmed, according to his own research into the deeds, that Jan Janse Ouderkerk was still living on the north side of Jonker Street in It is unclear whether or not it was in the same location as that on which the cooper shop stood.

7 W S ---- N E Handlers Street, known today as Broadway, was also known as Market Street.

8 Jonker Street is marked in yellow.

9 The lot on Jonker Street where Jan Janse s cooperage stood was leased and then deeded to Jan from Capt. Johannes Clute, one of the original fur traders at Beverwyck, on May 6, According to his deed, his lot, which had a cooper shop on it, was between the houses of Antony Lespinard and Gerrit van Schayck. His lot was small, only 14 feet 8 inches wide at front and back. Written in the margin of the original document (and footnoted in the transcription) is a notation that says that Antony Lespinard had taken half of those 8 inches and was supposed to give them back. The lot was 6 rods, 1 foot long. All measurements were given in Rhineland measure. At the time, a rod was equal to 12 Rhineland voeten (12.36 feet) and each foot was equal to inches. Accordingly, his lot was approximately 15 feet wide and 77 feet long by modern measure. It was indeed a small lot. According to the deed from Wouter Albertsen van den Uythoff to Antony Lespinard, a baker, two Lespinard properties lay to the east of Jan Janse Ouderkerck. The deed from Capt. Johannes Clute to Ludovicus Cobes, (secretary of Albany from Sept. 5, 1668 Oct. 24, 1673) on May 8, 1679, stated that Jonker Street was to the south of his house and the property of Jan Janse Ouderkerk was to the east of him and that of Jeronimus Wendell, a shoemaker, to the west of him. This would situate Jan s house on the north side of the street, between Cobes and Lespinard. Much discussion by Jonathan Pearson appears in the footnote (pages 46 and 47) in the translation of these records regarding Dutch positional participles, but the end result was a decision that the Steenwyck house was situated at the northeast corner of Jonker/State and Pearl Streets and therefore Jan s house was located on the north side of Jonker Street as well. The van Schayck, and Cobes properties would appear to be the same property. I don t understand the apparent change in ownership over two days as noted in the dates in the deeds above. I have yet to locate something in the Early Records of the City and County of Albany and the Colony of Rensselaerswyck that would explain this. On June 30, 1679, Gerrit Hardenbergh sold to Jan Janse Ouderkerk and Jeronimus Wendell, a house and lot on a hill north of Cornelius Steenwyck and south of Harmanus Burgersz. On November 30, 1683, the Steenwyck property was deeded from Teunis Van der Poel (who had received it from the lawyer of Cornelis Steenwyck on October 4, 1682) to Peter Schuyler and Sybrant Van Schayk. This transaction noted that the property was a corner property and that the Wendell property lay to the east and the Rooseboom property lay to the north. It appears as though the Rooseboom house was built sometime between June 1679 and November Ludovicus Cobes deeded his property on Jonker Street to one David(sen) Schuyler on August 25, David Schuyler was one of the more successful merchants in the town. On December 23, 1685, Pieter David(tsen) Schulyer deeded the house to Bastiaen Harmensen, a carpenter. These transactions both noted that Jan Janse Ouderkerk s house and lot were to the east. There is some difference in name translation to be noted at this point. The Ouderkerk Family Genealogy lists a later transaction under the name Harman Bastiaensz. I believe that Bastiaen Harmensen, Harman Bastiaensz and Harmen Bastiaensen Visscher are one and the same. The markers sz, szen, se, and sen added to the end of a Dutch name mean son of. Visscher means fisher so it may have

10 Jonker/State Street Rooseboom Ouderkerk and Wendell Wen Burgersz been added at some point as a surname. It is conceivable that these names do describe two individuals, as Bastiaen Harmensen was a carpenter. Perhaps the later translation used the name Harmen Bastiaensen Visscher to distinguish the two. Using the data found in the deeds previously noted, the homes and businesses surrounding the cooperage of Jan Janse Ouderkerk were located roughly according to the diagram below, although the owners of several of the properties changed more than once during the six years from W Pearl Street Steenwyck Wendell Cobes S Ouderkerk Lespinard Lespinard N N E Handler/Market Street

11 On page 8 of her book, A Dutch Cooper s Legacy: An Ouderkirk Story From 1660 Shirley Forth provided a map indicating where she believed the cooperage of Jan Ouderkerk was located. This would agree with the interpretations made from the deeds as noted previously.

12 In1679, Jan Ouderkirk was recorded on the document Albany Households - March 1679 A List of the persons who are to keep in repair the posts set around the town fence beginning at the gate opposite the new fort, northwards, and so back to the said gate, viz:" as needing to do the upkeep on 2 rods of stockade. This same reference is made on page 396 of the Minutes of the Court of Albany, Rensselaerswyck and Schenectady, Vol. II. On November 10, 1681, a fire destroyed seven buildings in the village of Albany, including Jan s cooperage and the homes/businesses of his neighbours: Jeronimus Wendell, Jacob Tyse, Hendrik Rooseboom, Manus Borgerse, Pieter Schuyler and Anthony Lespinard. (Minutes of the Court of Albany, Rensselaerswyck and Schenectady Vol III pp ) This event was referred to as The Great Albany Fire of As the town contained fewer than a hundred structures at the time, this was indeed a significant event. The fire started in the shop of Jeronimus Wendell, the shoemaker, who had stored a quantity of bark for use in his tannery. As a result of this fire, a resolution was made on November 15, 1681 prohibiting the storing of shoemaker s bark in town, prohibiting the burning of tar and pitch within the town and prohibiting the bringing of hay and straw into one s house. The resolution also made provision for each district to have firefighting materials and for keurmeesters, or fire inspectors, to check that the town was following the laws regarding safety. After the fire, Jan needed to either rebuild or find a new place for his cooper shop. It is unclear if he was actually living in the same location as the cooper shop as he had bought a house and lot up the street on a hill in 1679 as mentioned earlier. On January 16, 1682, Teunis Pietersz/Pietersen sold to Jan Ouderkerck a house and lot Pietersz had bought from Harman Bastiaensz on January 6, Jan was to pay 81 beaver skins for it and give to Pietersz the lot on which his house/cooper shop had burned as well as the round and square timber he owned in the woods. The next day, Jan asked Pietersz to release him from this deal. Apparently, he was denied and was then sued by Teunis Pietersz on March 7, 1682 for failing to go through with the deal. Jan s defence was that he had been too drunk to recall the details of the sale. Witnesses confirmed that he was not sober at the time and the court annulled the transaction. (Minutes of the Court of Albany, Rensselaerswyck and Schenectady Vol. III pp ) Jan Ouder Kerck appeared on the list of members of the Reformed Dutch Church of Albany in The church stood in the middle of the city s main intersection, Jonker/State and Market Streets, from the 1650 s to On the document Tax Arrears 1684 (The People of Colonial Albany Live Here), Jan Ouderkerk was recorded as owing 2 Dutch guilders for his back taxes. Perhaps he had some difficulty re-establishing his livelihood after losing everything in the fire of 1681.

13 Also in 1684, Jan appeared as a witness in a land dispute between Jan Spoor and Cornelis Thymes. (Minutes of the Court of Albany Vol. III p. 485) It does appear that Jan either repaired or rebuilt his house as his house and lot were referred to in a transaction on pages 294 and 295 of Early Records of the City and County of Albany and the Colony of Rensselaerswyck After the fire, Ludovicus Cobes transferred his property to Pieter Davidtse Schuyler and Alida Schulyer who then deeded it to Bastiaen Harmensen on Dec. 23, In the spring of 1689 tension between the French and English in North America sharpened and a series of raids known as King William's War broke out. French and Indian raiders menaced the colonies along the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. On September 11, 1689, a convention of Albany County residents met and designated an armed force to assist in guarding the frontier. Jan Janse Ouderkerk was a member of Captain Martin Gerritse's company. (The Ouderkerk Family Saga 350 Years in America, edited by H. John Ouderkirk, foreword by Shirley E. Forth) Martin Gerritse(n) was also known as Marte Gerritse Van Bergen. Jan Janse Ouderkerk was listed on the Subscribers for Defense 1689 document dated September 17, (The People of Colonial Albany Live Here) Proposall to ye Commonality for ye maintaining and paying of [blank] men in this juncture of time for our Defence against ye french, since by the Present Revolutions we can expect no releef for or assistance from our neighbours according to there letters sent hither, which Charge will be Represented by this Convention to ye govr whom there Majts will be Pleased to send; that sd men may be pd out of ye Public Revenues of ye Countrey being for ye Preservation of there Majts Inrest in these parts, oyrwise that it will be paid by a generall Tax out of ye whole County To ye maintaining which men these following persons subscribe vizt: It was recorded that Jan would receive payment from public revenues or tax for his role in defending the town of Albany. What is surprising to me is that he was recorded as being a farmer, not a cooper, in Capt. Marten Gerritse s Company. Had Jan become a farmer after his cooperage was destroyed in the fire or did he have to diversify to make a living? It is also interesting to note that these payments were to be made in English pounds.

14 During the Glorious Revolution of 1688 the English had deposed their Catholic king, James II, and invited his Protestant daughter, Mary, and her husband, William of Orange, the ruler of Holland, to take the English throne. At the close of the political and religious strife, which followed this change, a Loyalty Oath was administered in the colony to ensure loyalty to the new rulers. On January 4, 1699, some 180 male residents of Albany took the oath pledging allegiance to the Crown and rejecting the authority of the Pope and the Church of Rome. Among the 180 men who took the oath were Jan Janse Ouderkerk and his sons Eldert, Isaac, Johannes and Abraham. (The Ouderkerk Family Saga 350 Years in America, edited by H. John Ouderkirk, foreword by Shirley E. Forth) I have found a copy of this list at The People of Colonial Albany Live Here project but do not see the Ouderkerks on the list! Many of the references I have found for the wife of Jan Janse Ouderkerk have referred to her as Aariantje Nin or Nln. I believe her last name was mistakenly copied from one of various online entries such as the one below from Rootsweb, where NLN stands for No Last Name. The name Aariantje is not referenced in any of the books by Jonathan Pearson, but the name Ariaantje (spelling variant) is used extensively throughout the books, leading me to believe that the name should be spelled Ariaantje. The Ouderkerk Family Genealogy Vol II uses the spelling Aariantje for Jan s wife, which may have led to the proliferation of online instances of Aariantje. The error simply compounded itself by its very presence as the source was deemed to be correct.

15 Jan s eldest son, Johannes, named his third daughter Ariaantje and Jan s daughter, Susanna, named her eldest daughter Ariaantje. This may indicate that the name had some importance in the family or at the very least, that it should be spelled Ariaantje. Genealogies of the First Settlers of the Ancient County of Albany From , was published in I believe the spelling Jonathan Pearson used in this book, as well as his other books of translated documents, should be considered to be correct. The ancestry.ca reference for Ariaantje lists her only by a first name. Some online family histories record two spouses, the first being Annatje, born in 1637 in Beverwyck. There are nine years between the first three Ouderkerk children, Johannes, Susanna and Isaac, born before the fire, and the last three children, Abraham, Pieter, and Eldert, born after the fire, indicating that there may well have been a different wife for each set of children, although it is equally possible that there were a series of miscarriages, still births, and/or infant deaths. It would seem unlikely that a first wife would be born in 1637 in any case, as she would ve been thirty-three at the time of her first child s birth in This would ve been unusual for the time.

16 Also, there is no record of a marriage at the Reformed Dutch Church in Albany for Jan Ouderkirk and he was listed there as a member since Had he married a second wife, it would seem logical that it would have been recorded in the church documents. Historical records of females are sketchy at best and no primary source evidence has been located, to date, for either Annatje or Ariaantje. The 1697 Heads of Families in Albany assessment (The People of Colonial Albany Live Here), listed an Isaac Ouderkirk (Jan Janse s second son) with a wife and one child. Next on the list was Bastiaen Harmenss who would likely have been the same Bastiaen Harmensen to whom the house next door to Jan was deeded by David Schuyler in 1685 as noted earlier. Before Isaac on the list, was Anthony Coster, who was mentioned in the will of Jan Ouderkerk. The Albany Assessment Role of 1709 (The People of Colonial Albany Live Here), listed the house of Isaac Ouderkerk in the First Ward of Albany followed by the house of Bastian Harmense. To me, these both indicate that the men lived side by side and that Jan had moved on, leaving his property for his son, Isaac, to live in. Isaac was living there with a woman, likely his wife, Mayke, and a child. I have found no documentation to suggest that the property was sold to Isaac, though that may have been the case. On the 1697 Heads of Families in Albany assessment, (The People of Colonial Albany Live Here) in a section for the Colony of Rensslaerswyck, Jan Janse Ouderkerk, referred to as Joannes Ouderkerck, was listed as head of a household living with three other men and a woman. The question that begs to be asked is who is the woman on the census if Jan s wife died in 1691 as many online family histories suggest? I believe that Ariaantje died after Jan Janse s daughter, Susanna, married in 1693 and therefore wasn t living at home. His eldest son, Johannes, married in He was the person listed as Joannes Ouderkerck Junior, living with a wife and four children. Jan s next eldest son, Isaac, was listed himself in the Albany census, and Jan s son, Abraham, didn t marry until It would make the most sense for the family to be comprised of Jan Janse, his wife Ariaantje, and sons Abraham, Pieter and

17 Eldert. This agrees with four men and one woman as listed on the census and is consistent with what we know to be the family of Jan Janse Ouderkerk. Genealogies of the First Settlers of the Ancient County of Albany From (page 85) by Jonathan Pearson offers some information about the six known children of Jan Janse Ouderkerk as follows: Johannes, Jan Janse s eldest son, married a widow, Neeltje Claese/Claase widow of Hendrik Gardenier, May 20, They eventually moved to the estate of the late Hendrik/Hendrick Gardenier in Kinderhook where they raised the four children of Hendrik Gardenier and four daughters of their own. Of interest is a sort of prenuptial agreement that was signed by Johannes on Apr 1, 1695, whereby he agreed to raise his four step-children and maintain the considerable estate left by Hendrik Gardenier on their behalf. (additional information from The Ouderkerk Family Genealogy Vol. II p. 3) Susanna, Jan s only daughter, married Cornelis Claas Van Den Bergh on December 13, 1693 They lived in the Westchester County area near Yonkers during the years between 1695 and 1700 and then moved on to Half Moon, New York. Isaac/Isak married Mayke Van Nes/Mayken Van Esch on May 3, (US Dutch Reformed Church Records from Selected States, page 86) Mayken is one of many short forms for the name Maria. By 1700, Isaac was located in Kinderhook and by 1720 he was located in Half Moon according to information found in Genealogies of the First Settlers of Albany. This doesn t quite match the Albany Assessment Role of 1709 so I am assuming Isaac and his family moved to Kinderhook after that assessment was taken.

18 Abraham lived in Canistagioene and married first, Lysbeth Clute/Elisabeth Cloet on January 6, 1706 and secondly, Ariaantje Van Nes on January 24, This latter information, found in Genealogies of the First Settlers of the Ancient County of Albany From corroborates what is found in The Ouderkerk Family Genealogy, Vol. II p The marriage date of December 1, 1705 for Abraham and Elizabeth, as recorded by Jonathan Pearson, is not accurate. As you can see from a copy of the original document, US Dutch Reformed Church Records from Selected States, , it says the marriage was registered December 1, 1705 but they were married January 6, Peter/Pieter resided in Half Moon and married Alida Clute/Kluide, who was from Canistagioene/Kanistagaione, which later became Niskayuna. It is from this son that my particular line has descended. The following was copied from the Marriage Records of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Schenectady N.Y. page 16. Eldert/Elderd lived in Half Moon and married Lena/Helena Sophia Knipping on July 24, (US Dutch Reformed Church Records from Selected States, page 242)

19 According to the will of Jan Janse Ouderkerk, dated October 10, 1712, his five sons and one daughter were each left one sixth of Jan s estate after Jan s first-born son, Johannes, had received six shillings and Jan s grandson, John, son of Abraham, had received six pounds. There is no mention of what the estate entailed but it must have been significant enough that a will was made. One of the witnesses of Jan s will was David Schuyler. Presumably, this is the same David Schuyler who was a next-door-neighbour in 1680; his signature there more likely because he had been sheriff in 1705 and mayor in 1706, thereby indicating he had stature in the community. It is likely he was called upon to sign wills as a matter of course. Witness Samuel Babington/Babbington was a lieutenant in the British army. Witness Robert Livingston, Junior was the mayor of Albany at the time the will was made and as such would have signed wills as a part of his clerking duties. Anthony Coster, also mentioned in the will, was, according to information found at The People of Albany Live Here, a successful businessman and frequent sponsor at baptisms in the Reformed Dutch Church. Quite likely, he was chosen to invest the bequest for Jan s minority grandson, as much for his acumen as a good businessman as his good character for his role in the church. The Will of Jan Janse Ouderkerk, written and signed on October 10, 1712, follows. Spellings were changed from the original and the will appears as it was transcribed in The Ouderkerk Family Genealogy Vol. II pages xxii-xxiv. IN THE NAME OF GOD AMEN. The Tenth Day of October in the Twelfth Year of the Reign of our Soverign Lady Anne, by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland in the year of our Lord God, One Thousand Seven Hundred Twelve, I, John Ouderkirk, of the County of Albany, being of good health and perfect memory, thanks be to Almighty God for the same, but calling to mind the mortality of my body and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to dye, do make and ordain this my Last Will and Testament - that is to say principally and first of all, I give and recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it and my body to the earth from whence it came to be buried in a decent and Christian manner, nothing doubting but at the general resurrection, I shall receive the same again by the mighty power of God and as touching such worldly estate where with it hath pleased God to bless me in this life, I give, demise and dispose of the same in the following manner and form. Imprimis, I do give and bequeath unto my eldest son Johannes Ouderkirk, the sum of six shillings in Right of Primogenture, whom I Will, shall make no further claim upon whats hereafter bequeathed to him.

20 Secondly, I do give unto my grandson, John Ouderkirk, son of my son Abraham Ouderkirk, before any division of my Estate, the sum of Six Pounds, current money of New York, and Thirdly, I will that the remainder of my Estate be equally divided amongst my six children, that is to say both real and personal Estate, first to my said son Johannes Ouderkirk or his heirs one sixth part thereof, to my son Eldert Ouderkirk a sixth part, to Susannah, the wife of Cornelius Claese, or her heirs another sixth part, to Isaac, Abraham and Peter Ouderkirk, they or their respective heirs, each a sixth part, so equally to be divided in sixths no one no more than the other. And Lastly, I do ordain, constitute and appoint all and every of my above named children to be executors of this my Last Will and Testament, in Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and sealed in the City of Albany the day and year first above written, yet before I have signed and sealed this my Last Will and Testament I do will that the six pounds bequeathed to my grandson as above mentioned, if happens to be his minority, that the sum be paid to Mr. Robert Livingston, Jr. and Anthony Coster; they to put it out to earn till such time he marrys or becomes of age, thence with the interest thereof to be paid to said grandson on his order. Signed, Sealed & Published in presence of Robt. Livingston, Jnr. Jan Ouderkirk (Seal) Samuel Babington David Schuyler There has been no record of death found to date for Jan, but the assumption has been made that he died shortly after making his will, as was common for the time. Through the many historical records found, we do know that Jan Janse Ouderkerk was a small man who worked as a cooper and also as a farmer. He was a drinker, he attended church, and he fulfilled his duties within the community regarding upkeep and defence of the colony. He was a resilient man, able to overcome adversity and eventually able to leave a small estate for his six children. For a small kuyper he has left quite a legacy. His Ouderkerk/Ouderkirk/Oderkirk/Odekirk descendants have spread throughout North America from coast to coast.

21 Annotated Bibliography of Sorts The information below is provided for family historians who would like to peruse the sources I used in order to make up their own minds about the veracity of my information, and also because it is just plain fun to read the data in its original context! So much more is available to read and enjoy than what I have covered in the biography. Almost all the resources used to prepare this biography were found for free online. I do have a paid World subscription of ancestry.ca and do own my own copies of The Ouderkerk Family Genealogy Vol. II and A Dutch Cooper s Legacy: an Ouderkirk Story From 1660 Ancestry.ca sources (including Yearbook of the Dutch Settlers Society of Albany, Vol. 45, ) were used for passenger and marriage records. They are transcriptions only and I would prefer to find the original sources to peruse, as the marriage records in particular seem to be from family history sheets and I am not sure how accurate they are. Events in Jan Janse Ouderkerk s life in Albany and his will were taken from the book edited by H. John Ouderkirk and Raymond D. Ouderkirk, The Ouderkerk Family Genealogy Vol. II pages xix through xxiv and also The Ouderkerk Family Saga 350 Years in America edited by H. John Ouderkirk. I have not been able to locate a digitized version of the former book, as it is no longer in print. This latter book is also no longer in print, but I was able to locate a free digitized version. The Ouderkirk Family Genealogical Association website, which provides details on ordering these books as well as Family Newsletters, appears to be a site that is no longer active. After both Raymond D. Ouderkirk and H. John Ouderkirk passed away, it seems that no one has taken over their work. Although the books above list details found in various deeds, I used copies of the actual deeds from the book Early Records of the City and County of Albany and the Colony of Rensselaerswyck by Jonathan Pearson, online digitized copy, to document the information. Similar information to the books above was found in A Dutch Cooper s Legacy: an Ouderkirk Story From 1660 by Shirley E. Forth. Shirley actually provided the articles in The Ouderkerk Family Saga regarding the life of Jan Janse Ouderkerk. Shirley s book is no longer in print. The publisher, Robert Stewart, can be contacted at robert@stewartbooks.com and he can add you to his list in case he does another reprint. Early Records of the City and County of Albany and the Colony of Rensselaerswyck by Jonathan Pearson, online digitized copy, provided evidence of purchases and a debt of Jan Ouderkerk in 1664, Fort Orange Court Minutes pages xxxiii to xlii online digitized copy Genealogies of the First Settlers of the Ancient County of Albany From , by Jonathan Pearson, online digitized copy, provided further anecdotal evidence of events in the life of Jan Janse Ouderkerk

22 Maps and records about early Albany were found at the online project The People of Colonial Albany Live Here. Stefan Bielinski was the founder and director of the Colonial Albany Social History Project, a model community history program at the New York State Museum. Although Stefan retired from the university in 2013, he continues to work on adding to the online project as a volunteer. Marriage Records of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Schenectady N.Y copied by Charlotte Taylor Luckhurst, December, 1917 p. 16 of online digitized copy Records of the Reformed Dutch Church of Albany, New York, Excerpted from Year Books of the Holland Society of New York online digitized version The Minutes of the Court of Albany, Rensselaerswyck and Schenectady , online digitized copy, provided legal proceedings which prove that Jan Janse Ouderkerk was still living in Albany in the period from US Dutch Reformed Church Records from Selected States, pages 86, 233, 242 were located at ancestry.ca. This document has been researched and compiled by Leanne Prosser Lamoureux, July 29, 2014