Michael Pauluzen Van der Voort
Encyclopedia
Michael Pauluzen Van der Voort (approximately 1615 to 1690) - was an early resident of New Amsterdam
and an early settler of Talbot County, Maryland
. In New Amsterdam, in 1640, he married Marretje Maria Rapelje, whose older sister, Sarah
, was the first European born in the New Netherland
colony. Michael’s enterprises included real estate, shipping, tavern keeping and, in Maryland, planting tobacco. Michael is the ancestor of many in the United States who spell their name Vandervoort, Vanderford, Vandiver, Vandevert, Vandaveer or similarly.
, in what is now Belgium
. Ledley believes his ancestry traces back to Artus Van der Voort, who lived near Turnhout, North Brabant. Various records suggest that Van der Voorts were well-to-do burghers in Amsterdam and Ghent. Ledley says both the name “Voort” comes from the small River Voort near Turnout and that “voort” literally means “ford”. But a better translation of “voort” would seem to be “away” or “distant” and would give the family name the meaning “from far away”. The author of this article can find no River Voort in Belgium or the Netherlands.
Michael may be related to Cornelis van der Voort
(1576–1624), a Dutch portrait painter whose house Rembrandt later occupied.
until his marriage, on November 18, 1640 under the auspices of the New Amsterdam Dutch Church. The marriage was among the first seven to be recorded in New Amsterdam, founded in 1625. Michael married Maretje Maria Rapelje, a daughter of two of the earliest settlers on New Netherlands, Joris Jansen Rapelje
and Catalina Trico. Maretje was born May 16, 1626 and was only 13 yrs., 11 months old when she married Michael. Joris and Catalina were Hugenots. Some sources report that both were born in what is now France, others that Joris was born in Leyden, Holland.
Unlike the Plymouth Colony
in Massachusetts, founded by Puritans escaping religious persecution, New Netherland was founded by the Dutch West India Company
seeking profits. The area was good for farming and was the best location in North America for trading with the Indians and with Europe. One result of this unique founding was that the colony welcomed settlers of all religious persuasions from all over the world. Another effect was the predominance of the commercial spirit, which led settlers to participate in multiple businesses at the same time. A third effect was the keeping of thorough records, particularly having to do with property.
From these records, many not translated or published until late in the twentieth century, we can learn some surprising things about Michael and Maretje. On May 6, 1623 Abraham Rycker won a suit against Michael for the overdue first payment on land sold to him. At one time Michael owned several lots on Pearl Street
(which still exists in downtown Manhattan) and built a house on one of the lots.
Michael and Maretje probably moved to the Wallabout Bay
area of Brooklyn
in about 1647, following Joris Rapelje who had bought land there in the 1630’s. At some point Michael expanded into the shipping business. In 1653 Maretje demanded payment of the money Michael had earned with his sloop in fetching palisades for the city. Undoubtedly these palisades were requisitioned by Peter Stuyvesant
to augment the wall built in 1653 to repel a possible attack by the English (not by Indians as folklore would have it). Wall Street
, a rough track at the time, was named after this wall.
In 1655 Michael was granted a license to sell wine and beer by the “small measure” on the condition that he also lodge strangers. The records refer to Michael as an “Old Burgher”, indicating that he had reached a certain prominence in the local community. The last reference to Michael in New Netherland was in a suit he brought in 1659 against Hendrick Pieterson.
(across the Hudson River
from New Amsterdam) in the 1630’s. If Van der Voort was the same man, he would likely have been born well before 1615 and have lived over eighty years when he died in about 1690.
. Ledley says this part of Talbot County later became part of Queen Anne’s County
. But today Corsey Creek is in Dorchester County
. Ledley says, “No doubt Michael removed to Maryland to grow tobacco
, as the New Netherland government had previously encouraged its people to settle there and supply the product and Michael had a brother-in-law interested in the tobacco trade.”
Michael acquired more land from the Maryland colony by inducing others to come inhabit the area alongside him. It is a testimony to his reputation that he was influential enough to accomplish this. It is unknown whether the new settlers came from the New Netherland colony or directly from Europe. In the records of this English colony, Michael’s name was first anglicized to Vandefort, Vandeford, and ultimately Vanderford. Michael came to own 1300 acres (5.3 km²) in the area before selling 350 acres (1.4 km²) “called Vanderford” to Robert Smith in 1681.
Michael made his will on November 30, 1690 and probably died in 1692. His will was probated on September 20, 1692.
section of Brooklyn where he died in 1681 and where his descendants lived for several generations. Michael is the ancestor of all those in the United States who spell their name Vandervoort, Vandervort, Vandevort, Vandifort, or Vandivert, except descendants of possibly later immigrants from Holland. Among his descendants is William Plutarch Vandevert
, pioneer of Central Oregon and founder of the historical Vandevert Ranch.http://www.vandevertranch.org/
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....
and an early settler of Talbot County, Maryland
Talbot County, Maryland
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*81.4% White*12.8% Black*0.2% Native American*1.2% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.6% Two or more races*2.7% Other races*5.5% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
. In New Amsterdam, in 1640, he married Marretje Maria Rapelje, whose older sister, Sarah
Sarah Rapelje
Sarah Rapelje, or Rapelie or Rapalje or Rapalye was the first white female of European parentage born in New Netherland, according to the New Netherland Project, a private effort to document New York's early Dutch history. Rapelje was first married to Norwegian emigrant Hans Hansen Bergen, who...
, was the first European born in the New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
colony. Michael’s enterprises included real estate, shipping, tavern keeping and, in Maryland, planting tobacco. Michael is the ancestor of many in the United States who spell their name Vandervoort, Vanderford, Vandiver, Vandevert, Vandaveer or similarly.
Origins
Michael was born about 1615 in Dermonde, FlandersFlanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
, in what is now Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. Ledley believes his ancestry traces back to Artus Van der Voort, who lived near Turnhout, North Brabant. Various records suggest that Van der Voorts were well-to-do burghers in Amsterdam and Ghent. Ledley says both the name “Voort” comes from the small River Voort near Turnout and that “voort” literally means “ford”. But a better translation of “voort” would seem to be “away” or “distant” and would give the family name the meaning “from far away”. The author of this article can find no River Voort in Belgium or the Netherlands.
Michael may be related to Cornelis van der Voort
Cornelis van der Voort
Cornelis van der Voort or van der Voorde was a Dutch Golden Age portrait painter from the early 17th century.-Life:...
(1576–1624), a Dutch portrait painter whose house Rembrandt later occupied.
New Netherland and Marriage
There is no definitive record of Michael’s presence in New NetherlandNew Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
until his marriage, on November 18, 1640 under the auspices of the New Amsterdam Dutch Church. The marriage was among the first seven to be recorded in New Amsterdam, founded in 1625. Michael married Maretje Maria Rapelje, a daughter of two of the earliest settlers on New Netherlands, Joris Jansen Rapelje
Joris Jansen Rapelje
Joris Jansen Rapelje was a member of the Council of Twelve Men in the Dutch West India Company colony of New Netherland...
and Catalina Trico. Maretje was born May 16, 1626 and was only 13 yrs., 11 months old when she married Michael. Joris and Catalina were Hugenots. Some sources report that both were born in what is now France, others that Joris was born in Leyden, Holland.
Unlike the Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
in Massachusetts, founded by Puritans escaping religious persecution, New Netherland was founded by the Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
seeking profits. The area was good for farming and was the best location in North America for trading with the Indians and with Europe. One result of this unique founding was that the colony welcomed settlers of all religious persuasions from all over the world. Another effect was the predominance of the commercial spirit, which led settlers to participate in multiple businesses at the same time. A third effect was the keeping of thorough records, particularly having to do with property.
From these records, many not translated or published until late in the twentieth century, we can learn some surprising things about Michael and Maretje. On May 6, 1623 Abraham Rycker won a suit against Michael for the overdue first payment on land sold to him. At one time Michael owned several lots on Pearl Street
Pearl Street (Manhattan)
Pearl Street is a street in the Lower section of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running northeast from Battery Park to the Brooklyn Bridge, then turning west and terminating at Centre Street...
(which still exists in downtown Manhattan) and built a house on one of the lots.
Michael and Maretje probably moved to the Wallabout Bay
Wallabout Bay
Wallabout Bay is small body of water in Upper New York Bay along the northwest shore of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, between the present Williamsburg and Manhattan bridges, opposite Corlear's Hook on Manhattan to the west, across the East River...
area of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
in about 1647, following Joris Rapelje who had bought land there in the 1630’s. At some point Michael expanded into the shipping business. In 1653 Maretje demanded payment of the money Michael had earned with his sloop in fetching palisades for the city. Undoubtedly these palisades were requisitioned by Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant , served as the last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664, after which it was renamed New York...
to augment the wall built in 1653 to repel a possible attack by the English (not by Indians as folklore would have it). Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
, a rough track at the time, was named after this wall.
In 1655 Michael was granted a license to sell wine and beer by the “small measure” on the condition that he also lodge strangers. The records refer to Michael as an “Old Burgher”, indicating that he had reached a certain prominence in the local community. The last reference to Michael in New Netherland was in a suit he brought in 1659 against Hendrick Pieterson.
Michael Pauluz or Pauluszen
Michael Van der Voort may be the same person as an officer of the West India Company named in the records as Michael Pauluz or Pauluszen. Pauluz was superintendent of the Dutch colony of PavoniaPavonia
Pavonia may refer to:biota:*Pavonia , a moth genus*Pavonia pavonia, "emperor moth", a moth species*Pavonia , a plant genus in the family Malvaceaeplaces:...
(across the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
from New Amsterdam) in the 1630’s. If Van der Voort was the same man, he would likely have been born well before 1615 and have lived over eighty years when he died in about 1690.
Maryland
Michael’s first appearance in Maryland records was on March 16, 1661 when 300 acres (1.2 km²) were “laid out” for him at the head of Corsey’s Creek in Talbot CountyTalbot County, Maryland
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*81.4% White*12.8% Black*0.2% Native American*1.2% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.6% Two or more races*2.7% Other races*5.5% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
. Ledley says this part of Talbot County later became part of Queen Anne’s County
Queen Anne's County, Maryland
Queen Anne's County is a county located on the Eastern Shore of the U.S. state of Maryland.As of 2010, the population was 47,798. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensville is the county's most populous place...
. But today Corsey Creek is in Dorchester County
Dorchester County, Maryland
Dorchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. It is bordered by the Choptank River to the north, Talbot County to the northwest, Caroline County to the northeast, Wicomico County to the southeast, Sussex County, Delaware, to the east, and the Chesapeake...
. Ledley says, “No doubt Michael removed to Maryland to grow tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
, as the New Netherland government had previously encouraged its people to settle there and supply the product and Michael had a brother-in-law interested in the tobacco trade.”
Michael acquired more land from the Maryland colony by inducing others to come inhabit the area alongside him. It is a testimony to his reputation that he was influential enough to accomplish this. It is unknown whether the new settlers came from the New Netherland colony or directly from Europe. In the records of this English colony, Michael’s name was first anglicized to Vandefort, Vandeford, and ultimately Vanderford. Michael came to own 1300 acres (5.3 km²) in the area before selling 350 acres (1.4 km²) “called Vanderford” to Robert Smith in 1681.
Michael made his will on November 30, 1690 and probably died in 1692. His will was probated on September 20, 1692.
Children and Descendants
Michael and Maretje had nine children, not all of whom survived to adulthood or had children. Paulus Michaelis Van der Voort was the couple’s eldest surviving son and was baptized January 3, 1649 in the Dutch Church of New Amsterdam. He probably moved to Maryland with his parents before returning to the BedfordBedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
Bedford-Stuyvesant is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Formed in 1930, the neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 3, Brooklyn Community Board 8 and Brooklyn Community Board 16. The neighborhood is patrolled by the NYPD's 79th and 81st...
section of Brooklyn where he died in 1681 and where his descendants lived for several generations. Michael is the ancestor of all those in the United States who spell their name Vandervoort, Vandervort, Vandevort, Vandifort, or Vandivert, except descendants of possibly later immigrants from Holland. Among his descendants is William Plutarch Vandevert
William Vandevert
William Plutarch Vandevert was a western adventurer, a cattleman, and a Central Oregon pioneer. After travels in California, Texas, and Arizona, he established a cattle ranch fifteen miles south of present-day Bend, Oregon, before the founding of Bend or surrounding Deschutes County...
, pioneer of Central Oregon and founder of the historical Vandevert Ranch.http://www.vandevertranch.org/