Surname Saturday: VREELAND

The roots of the name VREELAND are somewhat clouded. Our famed immigrant ancestor, Michiel Jansen VREELAND, may have, at one point, lived in Vreeland, Utrecht, the Netherlands, but  no evidence so far has been found, other than deeply entrenched oral history. He first appears as Michiel Janez van Scrabberkercke, a colloqialism of 's Heer Abtskerke on the island of South Beveland, Zeeland, the Netherlands. He very probably lived--and may well have been born--here. He is later referred to in New Amsterdam church records as Michiel Jansen van den Berg, referring to the hill farm at Rensselaerswyck Colony (a tract of land surrounding current Albany, New York), where he first settled before removing to New Amsterdam (now New York City) in 1646.


Stories and History:

Ahnentafel #9474 - Jans (dates unknown) - father of immigrant ancestor, Michiel, patriarch of the VREELAND family in America

Ahnentafel #4736 - Michiel Jansen VREELAND (c. 1610 - 1663) - born in the Netherlands, he married FitjeHartmans (also known as Fitje Wessels; alternative spellings include Fitie, Fytje, Sofitje, and Sophia) (c. 1611 - 1697). In May 1638, Michiel and Fitje boarded Het Wapen van Noorwegan (the Arms of Norway) and sailed from Texel, the Netherlands, arriving about August 4 in New Netherlands (now the area of New York State and New Jersey). As a farmer, Michiel brought two farm laborers with him. The family joined a small group in the Rensselaerswyck Colony, where Michiel was head farmer for the Patroon, Killiaen Van Rensselaer, from 1640 to 1646, until his move to New Amsterdam. In 1647, the Director General of New Netherlands, Pieter Stuyvesant, and his Council chose Michiel and eight other men to give advice and assist in promoting the welfare of the colony. Michiel started raising horses in 1648. A rumor persists that he sold contraband munitions to the Indians (forbidden by Stuyvesant), and also was fined for selling beaver skins without paying duty (taxes). He made a fortune in the trapping grade.

In 1654, Michiel moved to Pavonia, the area of New Netherlands that is now New Jersey and corresponds with the current Bayonne-Jersey City area. The following year, on September 15th, the Native Americans raided the settlers. Michiel, Fitje, and their six children were the only family to escape completely unharmed, which may lead credence to the rumor that he sold munitions to the natives. However, he did lose his house and all his possessions. They returned to Manhattan and there on October 23, 1656, Michiel opened an inn tap room (tavern) on the north side of Pearl Street, just south of Broad Street. He became prosperous and bought more property in New Amsterdam, but later tired of city life. In January 1658, he returned to Pavonia and raised a large number of cattle, continuing to become wealthy.

He was named one of the first magistrates of the first court of justice within the present state of New Jersey. He and Fitje had nine children, all born in New Netherlands. He died in 1663, shortly before the English took over in June, renaming the area "New York." Fitje continued to manage the considerable estate that was left to her, and in her selling and trading was considered an excellent business woman until her death in 1697, whereupon she left all her lands to her seven surviving children.

Ahnentafel #2368 - Hartman Michielsen VREELAND (1651 - 1707) - born in New Netherlands; married Maritje (Mary) BRAECKE (1652 - c. 1724) in 1672. They had 12 children, 10 of whom survived childhood.

Ahnentafel #1184 - Claes Hartmansen VREELAND (1675 - 1757) - married Annetje Harmanse (1674 - 1698) in 1697. She was my ancestor. After her death, he married Elsje Pieters HESSELSE (b. 1675) about 1699, and had eight children.

Ahnentafel #592 - Hartman Klaes VREELAND (1698 - 1760) - the only child of his father and his first wife; married Jannetje Jacobus (b. 1710) in 1733. They had nine children.

Ahnentafel #296 - Johannes "John" Hartmans VREELAND (1733 - 1803) - married Judith "Judy" [--?--] (dates unknown). They had three known children. He died in Pequannock Twp., Morris Co., New Jersey.

Ahnentafel #148 - Hartman VREELAND (c. 1767 - 1826) - married Elizabeth VAN DUYNE (1770 - 1862). They had six children.

Ahnentafel #74 - John P. VREELAND (1799 - 1870) - married Mary KANOUSE (1804 - aft. 1870) on 31 May 1827 in Montville, Bergen Co., New Jersey. They had eight children. John was the first Vreeland of my line to move out of New Jersey and head west. He and Mary did so about 1841, with the oldest six of their children. They settled in York Twp., Washtenaw Co., Michigan, where he was a farmer.

Ahnentafel #37 - Elenor "Nellie" L. VREELAND (1835 - 1912) - born in New Jersey, she moved with her parents as a child to Washtenaw County, where she met and married John Wallace LEWIS, Sr. (1839 - 1908) in 1867. He was a widow with two young children, and a Civil War veteran. They had seven more children, five of whom lived to adulthood. Nellie died at the home of her daughter and son-in-law in Pontiac, Oakland Co., Michigan.

Ahnentafel #18 - George Emmett LEWIS (1868 - 1964) - read his AnceStory here

Ahnentafel  #9 - Marie LEWIS (1902 - 1986) - my great-grandmother; read her AnceStory here

Ahnentafel #4 - Robert Lewis ROBBINS (1920 - 2003) - my paternal grandfather; read his AnceStory
here

 Ahnentafel #2 - my father (living)

Ahnentafel #1 - myself


More About the VREELAND Family:

1. Online database (I update this at least once a month): VREELAND ancestors and relatives (no info on living persons available)

2. Posts about VREELAND ancestors and relatives on this blog

3. Some scanned VREELAND photos

4. Some scanned VREELAND documents

5. The Vreeland Project, a surname genealogy website and database


My VREELAND Immigration Trail:

The Netherlands > New Netherlands (New York and New Jersey) > Washtenaw Co., MI >Clinton Co., MI > Muskegon Co., MI > Manistee Co., MI > Muskegon Co., MI > Ottawa Co., MI > AK > Stevens Co., WA > Spokane Co., WA

Elenor "Nellie" L. (VREELAND) LEWIS (1835 - 1912)

Source: Lewis, Elenor "Nellie" Vreeland. Photograph. Date unknown. Original photograph in the possession of Jeanne Holst Robbins, Fulton, Texas. 2008.

This photograph, within its oval oak frame and thick convex glass, adorned the walls of my paternal grandparents' living room in Coopersville, Ottawa Co., Michigan for many years, along with its mate, the photo of Nellie's husband, John Wallace LEWIS. Nellie was of the eighth generation of VREELANDs who had made North America their home. Her 5th-great-grandparents, Michiel Janszen VREELAND (1610 - c. 1663) and Sofitje HARTMANS (1611 - 1697) were immigrant ancestors from the Netherlands to the New Netherlands (present-day New York State and New Jersey). Perhaps you have a family line in which many of the men (or women) are given a certain first name, often to honor the patriarch of the family or an immigrant ancestor. In my SWEERS family line (unrelated to the people in this particular post), that name is Daniel; and in my VREELAND family line, it is Hartman. Nellie's 4th-great-grandfather, her 2nd-great-grandfather, her grandfather, a brother, and a son were all named Hartman, in honor of Sofitje HARTMANS VREELAND. (Hartman would also have been Sofitje's father's name; the patronym Hartmans literally means "Hartman's daughter.") The VREELAND family had lived all those generations in New Jersey until sometime between 1840 and 1843, when Nellie's parents, John P. VREELAND and Mary KANOUSE settled in York Twp., Washtenaw Co., Michigan.

Besides brother Hartman, who was about a year younger than Nellie, there were older siblings John H., Elizabeth, and Sarah, and younger siblings George W., Mary Esther, and Martha A. VREELAND. On 20 April 1867, Nellie married John Wallace LEWIS, a New York native who had come to Washtenaw County perhaps to start a new life, having been widowed, leaving his two young children in the care of his parents back in Oswego Co., New York.

John and Nellie had seven children, although our family history only lists five: George Emmett (my great-grandfather); John Wallace, Jr.; Esther Mary "Ette"; Hartman (named for Nellie's brother); and Ida May LEWIS. It was when the 1880 U.S. Federal Census Index was released on CD by FamilySearch that I discovered two more children that remain elusive in our family history: Ethel and Willie. Ethel was born c. 1875 and Willie c. 1879, both in Michigan. Willie's age was listed as one year old, while Ida, known to have been born 11 February 1879, was shown as two years old--curious! I cannot find these two children in any birth, death, or burial records, and they don't appear again on federal census records (I have yet to search the 1884 and 1894 state censuses). In the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, Nellie states that had given birth to five children, five of whom were living. So who were Ethel and Willie? If they were adopted children (perhaps a niece, nephew, or cousins), I've still been unable to find their births listed under John and Nellie's siblings' names.

The Lewis family lived in the Clinton and Washtenaw County area for quite a few years, and it appears to have been a back-and-forth migration. George (1868), Esther (1874) and Hartman (1876) were born in Clinton County, while John, Jr. (1870) was born in Washtenaw County, where his parents had married (1867). The family was in Washtenaw County in 1870 (federal census), but in Clinton County in 1874 (state census). Sometime between 1876 and 1879, the family relocated west to Muskegon County, where they farmed in Whitehall Township until the late 1880s, then moved to Blue Lake Township. There they stayed until at least 1900.

John died 9 February 1908 in Whitehall Village, followed four months later by son John, Jr. Nellie probably went to live with married daughter Ida in Pontiac, Oakland Co., Michigan. She does not have a death record in Muskegon County, but is buried there in Oakhurst Cemetery, Whitehall Twp. with her husband and numerous descendants. Her gravestone reads "1835 - 1912." My goal is to get her death record and obituary.

Source: Tombstone of Elenor L. "Nellie" (Vreeland) Lewis, Oakhurst Cemetery, Whitehall Twp., Michigan. Photograph taken at the request of Miriam Robbins Midkiff by Toni Falcon, volunteer for Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness. 2005.

Wordless Wednesday Rerun: Elenor "Nellie" VREELAND

Source: Lewis, Elenor "Nellie" Vreeland. Photograph. Date unknown. Original photograph in the possession of Jeanne Holst Robbins, Fulton, Texas. 2008.

A Civil War Soldier: Pvt. George W. VREELAND (c. 1841 - 1923)

How Related: Brother of my 3rd-great-grandmother, Elenor "Nellie" L. VREELAND

Born: c. 1841 in New Jersey, possibly in Montvale, Bergen County

Parents: John P. VREELAND (1799 - 1870) and Mary KANOUSE (c. 1804 - aft. 1870)

Siblings: John H. (b. c. 1830); Elizabeth (b. c. 1832); Sarah (b. c. 1834), Elenor "Nellie" L. (1835 - 1912) - my ancestor; Hartman (b. c. 1836); Mary E. (b. c. 1843); and Martha A. VREELAND (b. c. 1847)

Married: probably never married

Children: probably no children

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Source: Civil War Pension Index Card of George W. Vreeland. Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900. National Archives and Records Administration. Publication T289. Digital image purchased at Footnote [http://www.footnote.com/]

Enlisted: 7 August 1862 at Ann Arbor, Washtenaw Co., Michigan; private. Enlisted in Co. H, 20th Michigan Infantry on 19 August 1862.

Side Served: Union

Mustered Out: 30 May 1865 at Delaney House, Washington, D.C.

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Source: Michigan Soldiers Home, Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan. Postcard. 1915. Digital image accessed at Kent Co., Michigan GenWeb site [http://kent.migenweb.net/veterans/index.html] 26 May 2008.

Biography or Information of Interest: It's taken me a while to post this sketch, because I'm just not sure about the details of George's life. There are an amazing number of George W. Vreelands of the same age that lived in Michigan (even in Washtenaw County!) at the same time as "my" George. Sorting them out has been a challenge. I've used census records that lead me to believe George never married or had children (but I'm not 100% confident of this theory!). He lives as a single man at his parents', and later his married sister's, homes until 1910, when it appears he lived in the Veterans (Soldiers) Home in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan. He seems to have lived in the Veterans Home in Los Angeles Co., California after 1920.

Source: National (Sawtelle) Soldiers Home, Santa Monica, Los Angeles Co., California. Postcard. Date unknown. Digital image accessed at Los Angeles Co., California GenWeb site [http://www.cagenweb.com/re/losangeles/photos.htm] 26 May 2008.

Died: 3 April 1923, Sawtelle Soldiers Home, Los Angeles Co., California

Buried: Los Angeles (Sawtelle) National Cemetery, Los Angeles Co., California

Wordless Wednesday: Elenor "Nellie" VREELAND

Source: Lewis, Elenor "Nellie" Vreeland. Photograph. Date unknown. Original photograph in the possession of Jeanne Holst Robbins, Fulton, Texas. 2008.

Muskegon County, Michigan Family Histories Wanted

DearMYRTLE highlighted an article in today's Muskegon Chronicle which encourages those of us with Muskegon County, Michigan roots to share our family stories for the publication of a county history being created by the Muskegon County Genealogical Society.

With ten ancestral--and dozens more collateral--surnames of my family tree taking residence in Muskegon County from at least 1879 to the present, I could submit a ton of information! However, only one family history of no more than 400 words and one photo are allowed free entry into the book. There's no information on the costs involved if you would like to submit more than one family history. Let's see, I could do the following groupings and submit five family histories (if they allow this): HOLST/GUSTAVSON/CONCIDINE; ROBBINS/KIMBALL; LEWIS/VREELAND; HOEKSTRA; and WILKINSON/SAYERS. Wonder how much that'll cost me?

I'm off to e-mail the genealogy society...!