Page 10 in the VanScoter book begins: “In our American beginning was THEUNIS ELIASEN. Back of him it is ‘greatly dark’  for all our searching. His sailing is unknown: no shipping list contains his name, no clue is found to his coming. This mystery and the further fact that ‘his mark’ was a trident suggests the possibility of his having been a sea-faring man and his having while in the port of New Amsterdam abjured the deep. This though is but conjecture…”

– While his mark was a trident, he also signed his name, so this mark was not because he could not write. One theory about the trident was that he was born or was an infant when his parents sailed over from Holland. Seems a reasonable guess!

Perhaps you are thinking Theunis Eliasen? I thought this was the history of the VanScoter or Van Benschoten family? How does Theunis Eliasen come into it? The book thoroughly explains, including some history about surnames. Remember this is the 1600’s and surnames did not exist then, in the same way as now. I will highlight key info from pages 10-12 in the VanScoter book.

Theunis or Teunis is obviously his first name. (For more on this name, see the end of my last post. It is related to the name Anthony.) Eliasen means Elias’ son, as this was a way to identify people back then, but even today in nations like Iceland. So literally this meant Theunis, son of Elias. The book states: “This was a primitive Hollandish way of identification, – the taking of the father’s given name and using it as we today do our family name, the ending se, sen, or z (zoon) being equivalent to son of, and Eliasen meaning Elias son.”

The book further explains that “among the Dutch in America the name of the town in Holland whence a family came was often utilized preceded by ‘van’ – from – as a settled designation. Many names thus originated….Beyond a doubt Theunis or some forefather of his came from Bunschoten, a small one-time-walled town on a tidal way of the Zuyder Zee and a few miles south of that water; Van Bunschoten, not Van Benschoten having been the early form of the name here. It seems certain that our family had its origin whether plebeian or patrician at this little stronghold in the marshes.”

So…my great x 7 grandfather is Theunis Eliasen Van Bunschoten which means: Theunis, son of Elias, from the town of Bunschoten in Holland.

Being early to arrive in this land in the 1600’s, Theunis Eliasen appears in many records of Kingston (New York). His name can be found spelled in slight variations. The books states:

“But before proceeding, a few words as to the name. Theunis Eliasen, variously spelled but always easily identified, was the name commonly used by our old ancestor. On six occasions only does appear in any records as Van Bunschoten: once real estate is to him in that name; three times as sponsor for grandchildren who are given the name Theunis does he make use of his full cognomen; and twice after his name as a trustee of the Corporation of Kingston is Van Bunschoten added parenthetically. At all other appearances it is Teunis Elisse, Tones Elisen, Theunis Eliasz, or some other variant of the appellation he familiarly went by and which was Teunis son of Elias.”

He first appears in American records in 1671. From that time on, you will find his name in various records related to Kingston. See pages 12-20. It is really fascinating to see his name with real estate transactions, appointed as a chimney checker (fire safety of community due to thatch roofs), acting as a juryman, as a cavalryman, etc. He was prominent in municipal affairs, and was one of the original Trustees of the Corporation of Kingston and named in the charter granted by the Gov. in 1687. His name is on multiple corporation deeds. His name is also in church records, and over the years he served as deacon, elder, and church-master.

He was a trusted man in the community. In a court case in 1682, a witness strengthens his evidence by averring that “Theunes Eleson says the same.”

NOTE ⇒⇒ I recently found online this awesome 9-page pdf by another descendant from the early years of 17th century Kingston, NY. It is visually appealing and provides a history of Kingston, the key families, and other pertinent info. This person even visited modern day Kingston, and took photos of historical places. There is a section on the Van Bunschoten family.
Link here: http://www.bradleyrymph.com/genealogy_kingston.pdf

Unfortunately, very little is known about his wife Gerritje Gerrits. Records about her birth and parentage were apparently lost. She is first in the records in 1676 when Theunis Eliasen and his wife “Gerritje Gerrits” have a daughter, Hendrickje, baptized on May 22, 1676 at Bergen. (There are no records about their marriage.) Gerritje is last seen in the church records on July 21, 1700, when she and Teunis stand as sponsors for their little grandson Johannes Van Steenbergen.

Theunis Eliasen died February 16, 1728 (at age 84) in Kingston.

The children of Teunis and Gerritje were:
1. HENDRICKJE, bp. May 22, 1676 at Bergen, NJ; taken into the church at Kingston at seventeen years of age; no later trace found of her.
2. MARRITJE bp.
3. ELIAS bp. Nov 23, 1679, at Kingston
4. GERRIT bp. Mar 12, 1682, at Kingston ***
5. REBEKKA bp. Feb. 10, 1684, at Kingston; died young.
6. RACHEL bp. Jan. 17, 1686, at Kingston; died young.
7. JACOB bp. Jan. 15, 1688 at Kingston; evidently died young.
8. SOLOMON bp.
9. REBEKKA bp. Jan. 28, 1692, at Kingston
10. RACHEL bp. Dec. 22, 1695, at Kingston
This Rebekka and Rachel are named in conformity with a Dutch custom which was on the death of a child to christen the next infant of that sex with the same name.

*** Geritt was my great x 6 grandfather. My family is in the Gerrit line of Theunis Eliasen, which takes you to page 414 in the book. My last post was about Gerrit.

After going all the way back, this genealogy blog will now move forward to more recent VanScoter and Spicer history.