Volume 17 , Issue 44

NW Okie's Journey

The first week of the last month of 2015, we have decided to do some genealogy work on my mother's (Vada Paris Mcgill) PARIS/CONOVER lineage on our account at ancestry.com: parsitimes. We are starting with the CONOVER-COUWENHOVEN side of our maternal family tree going back to the 17th century to my 9th great-grandfather, Wolfert Gerritsen Van Kouwenoven.

It was around 1630 Wolfert Gerritsen Van Kouwenhoven came from Amersfoort, Netherlands and settled in New Amersfoort (or New Amersterdam, New Netherlands, ) in a place called Flatbush (or Flatlands), which is known today as Midwood, New York, in the Breukelen district.

Until someone shows me different, I also believe that all Couwenhoven-Kouwenhoven have a common progenitor in Wolfert Gerritsen Van Kouwenoven. Wolfert Gerritse came to this land with the Dutch West India Company, settling what is now Long Island, NY. He was from a farming area known as Kouwenhoven in the Netherlands, which was near Amersfoort. When the British took New York by force, Wolfert relocated to what is now New Jersey. When the British imposed a census requiring a surname, Wolfert adopted the Von Kouwenhoven meaning "from Kouwenhoven." He also used Van Amersfoort on occasion. Covenhoven came into usage by many of his descendants including Jan Covenhoven, who was the ancestor of the great majority of Couwenhovens. Many more Couwenhoven became Conover and remained in the New Jersey/New York area. Jan relocated to Virginia, where he died circa 1780.

By the 1650s, the Dutch colony of New Netherland rivaled neighboring English settlements in the New World. At its center, New Amsterdam (today’s New York City) claimed not only Dutch citizens but Algonquian natives, slaves, Germans, French, and Swedes. Early settlers spoke some 10 languages, helping develop North America’s first multicultural city. Plentiful hunting and a wide array of garden crops sold in markets sustained locals. Fort Amsterdam contained a church and tavern while New Amsterdam’s strategic port and enterprises like the Dutch West India Company led families and single men to emigrate with promises of jobs and free land. In rural areas families established farms in key locations to provide military defense against neighboring English colonies and settlers. Despite the Netherlands’ best efforts to secure the borders, its coveted port of Manhattan fell to the British in 1664, and by the century’s end, they would captured the entire colony.

Wolfert Gerritson Van Couwenhoven (9th great-grandfather)

Wolfert Gerretse Van Couwenhoven was born on May 1, 1579, in Amersfoort, Utrecht, Netherlands, his father, Gerritt, was 50 and his mother, Styne, was 31. He married his first wife on January 17, 1605, in Utrecht, Netherlands. In 1635 he married his second wife in New York. He died in 1660 in Long Island City, New York, having lived a long life of 81 years.

Gerret Wolfertse KOUWENHOVEN (8th great-grandfather)

Gerret Wolfertse KOUWENHOVEN was born in 1610 in Amersfoort, Utrecht, Netherlands, his father, Wolfert, was 31 and his mother, Neeltgen, was 26. He married Aeltje Cornelius COOL in 1645 in Kings County, New York. They had four children during their marriage. He died on January 5, 1645, in New York, at the age of 35.

Willem Gerretse KOWENHOVEN (7th great-grandfather)

When Willem Gerretse KOWENHOVEN was born in July 1636 his father, Gerret, was 26 and his mother, Aeltje, was 21. He married Altie Jorise BRINCKEROFF and they had one son together. He then married Jannetije Pieterse MONFOORT and they had 11 children together. He died in 1728 in Monmouth County, New Jersey, at the impressive age of 92.

Jan Willems Kouwenhoven (6th great-grandfather)

Jan Willemse COUWENHOVEN was born on April 9, 1681, in Long Island City, New York, his father, Willem, was 44 and his mother, Jannetije, was 34. He married Jacoba Cornelisse VANDERVEER on January 1, 1704, in Kings County, New York. They had seven children in 21 years. He died on December 29, 1756, in Wickatunk, New Jersey, having lived a long life of 75 years.

Col. Dominicus John Covenhoven (5th Great-grandfather)

(Col) Dominicus John COVENHOVEN was born on June 7, 1724, in Freehold, New Jersey, his father, Jan, was 43 and his mother, Jacoba, was 38. He married Mary UPDIKE in 1747 in Middlesex, New Jersey. They had six children in 32 years. He died on June 28, 1778, in Middlesex, New Jersey, at the age of 54.

Peter CONOVER (4th great-grandfather)

Peter CONOVER was born on February 9, 1769, in Freehold, New Jersey, his father, Dominicus, was 44 and his mother, Mary, was 37. He married Hannah COOMBS on January 9, 1787, in Monmouth County, New Jersey. They had 10 children in 22 years. He died on May 15, 1835, in Morgan County, Illinois, at the age of 66.

Jonathan Coombs CONOVER (3rd great-grandfather)

Jonathan Coombs CONOVER was born on April 15, 1797, in Versailles, Kentucky, his father, Peter, was 28 and his mother, Hannah, was 26. He married Martha Davison BERGEN on September 16, 1818, in Woodford County, Kentucky. They had five children during their marriage. He died on September 16, 1856, in Mason City, Illinois, at the age of 59.

Peter CONOVER (2nd great-grandfather)

Peter CONOVER was born on May 8, 1821, in Kentucky, his father, Jonathan, was 24 and his mother, Martha, was 19. He married Melinda PIERCE on March 12, 1846, in Sangamon County, Illinois. They had eight children in 19 years. He died in 1900 in Longton, Kansas, having lived a long life of 79 years, and was buried there.

Sarah Frances Conover (1st great-grandmother)

Sarah Frances CONOVER was born on June 12, 1848, in Petersburg, Illinois, her father, Peter, was 27 and her mother, Melinda, was 22. She married Henry Clay PARIS on September 12, 1869, in her hometown. They had seven children in 15 years. She died on February 20, 1924, in Chester, Oklahoma, at the age of 75, and was buried in Fairview, Oklahoma.

Good Night! Good Luck! AND .... Happy Holidays!
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