A good place to begin to talk about the
family of Lt. Cornelius A. Van Arsdalen,
(a.k.a.: Cornelius A. Van Arsdall) of
Hillsborough Township, Somerset County, New
Jersey and Harrodsburg, Mercer County,
Kentucky, is with his will. Cornelius A.
Vanarsdall of Mercer County, Kentucky wrote
his will on 2 July 1839, and it was proved
in the February 1840 Session of County
Court in Mercer County, Kentucky. The will
begins with a gift to his daughter-in-law
Ida Vanarsdall "as a special mark of her
kindness" to him. Then Cornelius stated,
"Having for the last some six or seven
years lived with my son Cornelius C.
Vanarsdall (with the exception of nine
months during which time I lived with my
son Alexander) It is my will that they each
be liberally compensated for my board." The
remainder of his estate was to be equally
divided among his "five" living children:
Abram, Alexander, Cornelius C., Elizabeth
Vanarsdall and Polly Cozine, and the
children and grandchildren of his deceased
son Simon. Cornelius appointed his sons
Cornelius C. Vanarsdall and Alexander
Vanarsdall as executors of the will (Mercer
County, Kentucky, Will Book 11, pages
221-222).
Ida (Voris, a.k.a.: Voorhees) Vanarsdall
was the second wife of Cornelius C.
Vanarsdall. Lt. Cornelius A. Vanarsdall had
been mistaken about the length of time that
he had spent living at his sons house, it
was actually more like ten years. I found
him to be living in the household of
Cornelius C. Vanarsdall on the 1830 Census
of Mercer County, Kentucky. There was no
special provision in the will of Cornelius
A. Vanarsdall for the "large Dutch Bible"
that his mother Mary Bergen had left to him
in her will. Therefore, since Cornelius A.
Vanarsdall was living with his son
Cornelius C. Vanarsdall at the time of his
death, the Marya Vanarsdalen Dutch Bible
record remained with Cornelius C.
Vanarsdall. The family Bible was kept in
this branch of the family until sometime
before 1926. Cornelius C. Vanarsdall died
in 1844, and his widow Ida (Voris)
Vanarsdall kept the Bible until she died in
1876. Members in this branch of the family
kept the Bible until sometime in the early
1920's. By then, it had found its way to
one of the distaff families.
As the story was told to me by Maude Rose
"Aunt Maudie" (VanArsdall) Terhune, her
younger sister Margaret "Aunt Margaret"
(VanArsdall) Kitchen, and the widow of my
cousin Dr. Condit Brewer VanArsdall, Jr.,
Mai Fluornoy "Mai 'Noy" (Van Deren)
VanArsdall: One day a man came in to my
great grandfather's mill, Mayor Riker
Samuel VanArsdall, with a load of grain,
and he claimed to have an old Dutch Bible
that he thought was from his family. Riker
had known of the old Dutch Bible through
family tradition, but he had never seen it.
The man said that the Bible was not his
families, but had come to him through one
of his relatives, and that he thought it
should go to the right family. They talked
for awhile and determined that Cornelius C.
Vanarsdall and his widow Ida (Voris)
Vanarsdall had been its keepers many years
ago. The men determined that Conelius C.
Vanarsdall had been Riker's great uncle,
the brother of his great grandfather
Alexander Vanarsdall. The man had been
there to process his grain, so Riker agreed
to do it for nothing in exchange for the
Bible. The next morning, Riker had a
truckload of grain waiting for the man at
his home when he awoke, and Riker recovered
the old Dutch Bible that his father had
told him about. Alexander Vanarsdall had
seen and knew all about the old Dutch
Bible, but the Bible had gone to his
brother Cornelius C. Vanarsdall. Alexander
told his children about the Bible, but
William Smith Vanarsdall had never seen it.
William told his children about the Bible,
but none of them had ever seen it either.
Charles Suydam VanArsdall told his son
Riker Samuel VanArsdall and the rest of his
children about the old Bible, and now it
had been recovered by my families branch of
the VanArsdall family of Harrodsburg,
Kentucky.
Unfortunately, the old Dutch Bible record
got confused with Riker's early work in
genealogy, and a newspaper article got
printed in 1926 in the Harrodsburg Herald
which mentioned the old Dutch Bible in
connection with his early work in
genealogy. Riker's early work in genealogy
had several errors in it concerning the New
York and New Jersey branches of the family.
However, the newspaper article as it was
written suggested that the old Dutch Bible
would substantiate his genealogy, which it
does not. To further complicate this
mistake, the newspaper article was
preserved by the Kentucky State Historical
Society in 1933 under the heading of
Kentucky Bible Records-Mercer County. Now
it was made to look as if Riker's early
work in genealogy was completely contained
in the Marya Vanarsdalen 1741 Dutch Bible
record. The reprinting of the newspaper
article in this book, has led many Van
Arsdale family researchers, including
myself, to seek out the old Dutch Bible
record, in the hopes that it would contain
the complete history of the family from its
early beginnings in New Netherland, and
perhaps even earlier. It does not. The
information it contains exclusively relates
to the family of Abraham Van Aersdalen, and
the children he had by his two wives, and
it is told from the perspective of his
second wife Maria Van Nuys.
Over the years, many researchers like
myself have contacted my family to ask
questions about the Bible and the
information it contains in the hopes that
they might find the answers they are
seeking. One such man was F.D. VanOrsdale
of Albany, New York, who contacted my great
uncle Dr. Condit Brewer VanArsdall, Sr. of
Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and the result was a
letter written in 1932 which has preserved
in tact, an accurate text of the second
page of the Bible entries from the Marya
Vanarsdalen 1741 Dutch Bible record. In
1996, I compared this letter to the actual
text in the Bible at Aunt Maudie's home in
Lexington, Kentucky. They were identical in
all details. To my knowledge, no
transcription was ever made of the first
page of Bible entries, and unfortunately
the ink has now faded from the page. But,
all was not lost. In 1965, Dr. Condit
Brewer VanArsdall, Sr. sensing that the ink
was fading took the Bible, along with two
other family Bibles to the Kentucky
Historical Society in Frankfort, Kentucky
to have the pages microfilmed. Thanks to
his presence of mind, a fading copy of the
first and second pages of the Bible are now
on file in Frankfort. Microfilming
technology in 1965 was apparently of poor
quality, since the edges of these microfilm
pages cannot be read, and this affects many
of the dates of the Bible entries.
I have managed to reconstruct the missing
dates from the first page of Bible entries,
taking information from other sources. The
first entry written by Marya Vanarsdalen in
the Dutch language establishes the Bible's
ownership, and records her marriage to
Jores Bergen on 22 August 1771 in New
Jersey. On the microfilm copy Jores
Bergen's name is difficult to read, and the
words "22 van Augustus" cannot be read.
Fortunately, these words were preserved at
the bottom of the 1926 newspaper article in
the Harrodsburg Herald. The date of death
of Mary Bergen's daughter Catrena can be
translated from the Dutch language,
although with great difficulty. The death
of Mary Bergen's last husband, Joris Bergen
can be read in English, again with great
difficulty. The dates of the last two
entries cannot be read even at maximum
magnification on a film reader. The
daughter of Mary Bergen, Mary Vanarsdal who
died a single woman, the year of her death
cannot be read off the microfilm. But she
left a will which establishes her death in
the year 1817. The year of the death of
Mary Bergen cannot be read off the
microfilm, but she also left a will which
establishes the year to be 1809. The last
two entries were written in English. This
completes the history of the Marya
Vanarsdalen 1741 Dutch Bible record, and
its journey from New Jersey to Kentucky,
except to say that since the death of Riker
Samuel VanArsdall in 1938, his eldest
daughter Maude Rose "Aunt Maudie"
(VanArsdall) Terhune of Lexington, Kentucky
has been the Bible's protector. The will of
Riker Samuel VanArsdall of Harrodsburg,
Kentucky confirms that his third great
grandfather was Abraham Van Aersdalen, that
the Bible was either his or his wifes, that
it was given to his son Cornelius A.
Vanarsdall and was transported to Kentucky,
where it was given to his son Cornelius C.
Vanarsdall.
Turning back to the story of Lt. Cornelius
A. Vanarsdall, he arrived in Mercer County,
Kentucky in 1794, among a Dutch company of
settlers from New Jersey. The move to the
western frontier promised a brighter future
to many of the Revolutionary War veterans
who would hazzard the journey.
According to deed records in Harrodsburg,
county seat of Mercer County, on 31 August
1803, Cornelious Vanarsdall bought of
Thomas Prather for the sum of one hundred
and fifty pounds, 50 acres of land on the
waters of Harrods Run and Salt River. This
would have been near the Old Mud Meeting
House Church, where he was a member. He
settled his family on Salt River, just
Southwest of Harrodsburg, Kentucky. On 12
February 1810, Cornelius Vanarsdal bought
of John and Sally Jones for the sum of one
hundred sixty-eight pounds eight shillings,
93 acres of land which had been part of
Samuel Adams' Preemption of 1000 acres. On
7 March 1822, Cornelius Vanarsdall bought
of Peter and Anne Vanderveer for the sum of
three hundred dollars, 82 acres of land on
Salt River. On 7 November 1831, Cornelius
Vanarsdel bought of the executors of the
estate of Thomas Hale, deceased, for the
sum of forty dollars, 80 acres situated on
the waters of Chaplins Fork. On 31 May
1834, Cornelius Vanarsdall bought of John
and Margaret Tumey for the sum of six
dollars and 68 3/4 cents a certain parcel
of land on Salt River. On 1 June 1835,
Cornelius Vanarsdale bought of the
executors of the estate of Nathaniel
McClun, deceased, for the sum of two
hundred and fifty dollars, 40 acres
situated three miles Southwest of
Harrodsburg. Because of the number of notes
held against his children by Cornelius A.
Vanarsdall at the time of his death, as
stated on the inventory of his personal
estate, it seems reasonable to assume that
many of them settled on these lands on Salt
River.
The Harrodsburg Historical Society has done
a wonderful job of compiling early marriage
and cemetery records in Mercer County,
Kentucky. In everything that follows,
unless stated otherwise, all records are
from Mercer County, Kentucky. Much is known
about the children of Cornelius A.
Vanarsdall and Jannetje Baird: Abram
Vannarsdall, Alexander Vanarsdall,
Cornelius C. Vanarsdall, Elizabeth
Vanarsdall, and Polly Cozine. Since their
son Simon Vanarsdall died at such a young
age, I have only been partially able to
determine his issue. I will discuss each
one in this order according to their
father's will.
Abram or Abraham Vannarsdall born about
1774 in Somerset County, New Jersey,
married to Aule Vanderipe on 28 October
1794. Abram's family moved away from Mercer
County about 1829. His name was not listed
on the 1830 Census of Mercer County,
Kentucky. Abram Vannarsdall and Aule
Vanderipe's children were: Abraham F.
Vannarsdall who married to Rebecca K. Boice
on 27 February 1827, and he died on 17
March 1849, Polly Vannarsdall, Elizabeth
Vannarsdall, Harrison Vannarsdall, and
Alexander "Elexander" Vannarsdall. For more
information contact a descendant of this
family, Amos Vannarsdall of Georgetown,
Kentucky.
My 4th great grandfather, Alexander
Vanarsdall born on 2 March 1777 in Somerset
County, New Jersey, married first to Dorcus
"Dobitha" Smith, daughter of George and
Jerusha Smith, on 21 September 1799, and
married second, late in life, to Elizabeth
Bass on 12 November 1846. Elizabeth brought
her daughter Margaret Bass, born about 1843
in Kentucky, to this marriage, and at the
age of 70 years old, Alexander Vanarsdall
and Elizabeth Bass had a son named
Zachariah Taylor Vanarsdall born about
1847, who was killed working on the
railroads in 1868, at the age of 21 years
old. Alexander Vanarsdall died on 14
November 1855, and was buried in the Old
Mud Meeting House Cemetery next to his son
William Smith Vanarsdall. The children of
Alexander Vanarsdall and Dorcus Smith were:
Cornelius E. Vanarsdall born 27 March 1801,
married to Elizabeth "Betsy" Dicky on 23
November 1823, and he died on 29 August
1888 in Crawfordsville, Montgomery County,
Indiana; my 3rd great grandfather, William
Smith Vanarsdall born 28 December 1806,
married to Sarah "Sallie" Riker, daughter
of Charles Riker (a.k.a.: Charles Suydam)
and Mary Banta, on 3 November 1831, and he
died on 1 October 1851, and was buried next
to his grandfather Cornelius A. Vanarsdall
at the Old Mud Meeting House Cemetery;
George Vanarsdall born 15 September 1810,
married to Francis "Fanna" Massie on 25 May
1835, and he died in Crawfordsville,
Montgomery County, Indiana; Alexander
Vanarsdall born 30 March 1817, married to
(Martha?) Ann Stone on 17 October 1842, and
they moved down to Green River in Kentucky,
and then to Indiana, and prior to 1850 they
moved again to Missouri where the family
remained; Jarusha Vanarsdall born 13 August
1804, married to Peter B. Huff on 17
October 1820, and they moved to
Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana
where she died; Jane B. "Jennie" Vanarsdall
born 24 October 1812, married to John C.
Jennings on 28 September 1831, and they
remained in Harrodsburg, where he died on
15 June 1859 and she died on 2 December
1880, and both were buried at the Old Mud
Meeting House Cemetery in the Vanarsdall
plot; Elizabeth "Eliza" Vanarsdall born 18
December 1819, married to George W.
Hightower, and moved to Crawfordsville,
Montgomery County, Indiana, where she died;
Nancy "Nan" Vanarsdall born 21 July 1822,
married to Elisha Stone on 18 April 1842,
and they moved to Missouri before 1850
where the family remained. I will continue
with the grandchildren in this family in
?THE FAMILY OF ABRAHAM VAN AERSDALEN PART
III.
Cornelius C. Vanarsdall baptized on 16
January 1780 at the R.D. Church of
Harlingen, Somerset County, New Jersey,
married first to Catherine Huff, daughter
of Peter Huff, Sr., on 10 November 1803,
married second to Ida Voris ("Voorhees") on
19 June 1827. Ida was born about 1801 and
died on 17 April 1876, and her husband
Cornelius preceded her on 8 September 1844,
both were buried at the New Providence
Presbyterian Cemetery North of McAfee,
Kentucky on Providence Road, off Hwy 127
Louisville Road.
The children of Cornelius C. Vanarsdall and
Catherine Huff were: Abraham M. Vanarsdall,
Peter D. Vanarsdall, and Simon Vanarsdall.
The children of Cornelius C. Vanarsdall and
Ida Voris were: William Vanarsdall,
Cornelius Vanarsdall, and Harry Vanarsdall.
The following may be either children or
grandchildren of Cornelius C. Vanarsdall:
Thomas C. Vanarsdall, Alexander Vanarsdall
(could be his brother), John J. Vanarsdall,
Idy Vanarsdall (could be his wife), and
Mary Vanarsdall. Cornelius C. Vanarsdall's
will does not name all of his children, it
names his three oldest sons Abraham, Peter,
and Simon, and gives them a greater portion
of his estate, it mentions his wife as
living, but not by name, and it mentions
his four younger children in one place, and
his four younger sons in another. The will
also makes provisions for unnamed
grandchildren. The 1850 Census of Mercer
County, Kentucky which lists Ida Vanarsdall
as the head-of-household, makes it clear
that William, Cornelius, and Harry were her
sons by their approximate dates of birth
determined from this record. The other
determinations were made from the probate
records in the estate of Cornelius C.
Vanarsdall: the will, the inventory, the
bill of sale, and the two settlements of
accounts (Will Books of Mercer County,
Kentucky).
Elizabeth Van Arsdall was baptized on 2
February 1772 at the R.D. Church of
Harlingen, Somerset County, New Jersey, as
the eldest child she married to Cornelius
Ouke Vanarsdall, son of Ouke Van Arsdale
and Marya Van Cleve, on 10 April 1791 in
Somerset County, New Jersey. Cornelius Ouke
Vanarsdall was Elizabeth Van Arsdall's
third cousin. Cornelius O. Vanarsdall
served as a soldier of the Revolution in
the Somerset Militia, in New Jersey, and he
was pensioned as a private and a wagoneer.
A special note: some pension file records
refer to Lt. Cornelius A. Vanarsdalen
(a.k.a.: Cornelius A. Vanarsdall) as having
served in Virginia which is false, and the
same records also refer to Cornelius O.
Vanarsdall as Cornelius C. Vanarsdall, and
both records were typographical errors.
CORNELIUS O. VANARSDALL AND ELIZABETH VAN
ARSDALL, BOUNTY LAND #W 2978 WIDOW'S
PENSION NUMBER and BOUNTY LAND WARRENT
#38829, 160-55 N. JERSEY. CORNELIUS O.
VANARSDALL APPLIED FOR A PENSION 4-17-1834
MERCER COUNTY, KENTUCKY. ELIZABETH VAN
ARSDALL APPLIED FOR A PENSION 7-5-1843, AGE
71 OR OVER, STATED SHE MARRIED CORNELIUS O.
VANARSDALL 4-10-1791 AND THAT HER HUSBAND
DIED 2-24-1843. The pension file states
that this family left Somerset County, New
Jersey in May 1794, and arrived in Mercer
County, Kentucky the last of June 1794. I
have no proof, but I believe that my
ancestor Lt. Cornelius A. Vanarsdall
brought his family to Kentucky at this time
in this group who "stormed the company" in
1794. The children of Cornelius O.
Vanarsdall and Elizabeth Van Arsdall were:
Mary Vanarsdall born 23 January 1791 in
Somerset County, New Jersey, married to
James Harris on 30 January 1822, and the
family lived in Boyle County, Kentucky;
Cornelius B. Vanarsdall born 2 March 1794
in Somerset County, New Jersey, and was a
"sucking infant on the road out" from New
Jersey in 1794, married to Polly Smock on 8
August 1815, he died on 20 November 1862
and she died 11 November 1865, and both
were buried at the Springhill Cemetery in
Harrodsburg, Kentucky; Abraham Vanarsdall
born about 1795 in Mercer County, Kentucky;
Peter Vanarsdall born about 1800; Alexander
Vanarsdall about 1806; Isaac C. Vanarsdall
married to Nancy Smock, daughter of Jacob
Smock, on 12 October 1824; and Jane
Vanarsdall married to Jacob Boice on 15
December 1824.
Marya (Maria) "Polly" Vanarsdall was
baptized on 23 April 1786 at the R.D.
Church of Harlingen, Somerset County, New
Jersey, married to Cornelius Cozine on 7
November 1804,
he died on 25 August 1812 and she died on 2
November 1873. The children of Cornelius
Cozine and Polly Vanarsdall were: Mary B.
Cozine born in 1805, married to James C.
Ransdell on 15 August 1827, and she died in
1832; Cornelius C. Cozine born 25 December
1807; Samuel D. Cozine born 10 August 1809,
married to Susan Wyckoff on 12 January
1832, and he died on 17 May 1846; and
Elizabeth J. Cozine born 27 December 1811,
married to Shelton Ransdell on 13 January
1830.
Simon Vanarsdall was baptized on 27 April
1783 at the R.D. CHURCH of Harlingen,
Somerset County, New Jersey, married to
Sarah "Sally" Brewer on 28 February 1805,
and Simon died in the month of June, 1816.
I believe they may have had as many as six
children, but I can only confirm two
children positively, and perhaps two
others. The two confirmed children of Simon
Vanarsdall and Sarah "Sally" Brewer were:
Jane Vanarsdall born about 1806, married to
John C. Stagg on 15 September 1820; and
Abraham B. S. (Brewer? Simon?) Vanarsdall
born about 1808, married to Narcissa
Blackwood, daughter of Joseph Blackwood and
Sarah Nield, on 14 October 1829, and he
died shortly after their marriage on 12
February 1830 in Mercer County, Kentucky.
At the time of his death, his wife was
pregnant and later gave birth to a son
named Abraham Brewer Vanarsdall on 3 July
1830 in Mercer County, Kentucky. Abraham
Brewer Vanarsdall got that forty-niner
fever, and moved out to California. He
married to Mattie Ray on 10 June 1857, and
he died on 8 March 1891 in Yuba City,
California. A descendant of this branch
lives in California, and can be contacted
at: Gordon D. and Betty E. Van Arsdale,
2500 Gerald Way, San Jose, CA 95125-4019.
Gordon was born in 1918, so do not wait too
long to make inquiries. I also suspect that
Simon Vanarsdall and Sarah "Sally" Brewer
had two more girls and two more boys. The
identities of the two boys are unknown to
me, but I suspect the girls were: Sarah
Vanarsdall born about 1810, married Isaac
Terhune on 9 October 1829; and Mary Ann
Vanarsdall born about 1812, married Samuel
Riker on 2 November 1831. [NEW MATERIAL]
Returning to their father, CORNELIOUS VAN
ARSDALL OR VAN ARSDALEN, #S 7292 NEW
JERSEY, SOLDIER STATES BORN 7-5-1748
SOMERSET COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. ORDERLY
SERGEANT AND LT., RESIDENT APPLIED FOR
PENSION 7-2-1832 MERCER COUNTY, KENTUCKY.
He entered into the Militia Service of New
Jersey as a "soldier of the Revolution" in
the Spring of 1775, and served for one
year. In June 1777, he was commissioned 2nd
Lt. by Governor William Livingston of New
Jersey in the 2nd New Jersey Regiment of
their State Line. In 1778, he was promoted
to 1st Lt. in the same regiment. He
participated in several engagements, and
served from 1777-1782 as an officer until
after the capture of Lord Cornwallis at
Little York. Cornelius A. Vanarsdall died
Jan. 5, 1840.
A military headstone marks his grave in the
family plot at the Old Mud Meeting House
Cemetery, Southwest of Harrodsburg on
Drybranch Road, off Hwy 152 Machville Road.
The inscription reads, "CORNELIUS VAN
ARSDALL Jan. 5, 1840 Lt. Quick's N.J.
Troups REV. WAR SOLDIER." The military
headstone of Cornelius O. Vanarsdall is at
his left, and the headstone of his grandson
William Smith Vanarsdall is at his right.
Next to William is his father Alexander
Vanarsdall, and then there are two unmarked
graves which have pieces of broken
headstones on them. They can not be read.
On the end, the double headstone of John C.
Jennings and his wife Jane B. Vanarsdall.
The Old Mud Meeting House Church was near
his property on Salt River. Drybranch Road
often floods out along points that parallel
Salt River during the winter months, but
the church and cemetery are on high ground.
After the Revolutionary War, Cpl. Abraham
Van Arsdal, the younger brother of Lt.
Cornelius A. Vanarsdall, remained in
Somerset County, New Jersey, when his
brother removed to Kentucky he chose to
remain near his mother Mary Bergen and his
sister Mary Vanarsdall. Abraham Van
Arsdalen was born on 2 December 1750, and
he was baptized on Christmas day 25
December 1750 at the R.D. CHURCH of
Harlingen, Somerset County, New Jersey.
Abraham Van Arsdal married first to Elsie
Baird, who was the daughter of Alexander
Baird and Elizabeth Van Cleefe, and the
sister of Cornelius A. Vanarsdall's wife
Jannetje Baird, on 15 August 1771. Elsie
Baird was the mother of all of his
children, but he married second to Margaret
Kennedy, who was mentioned by name in her
husband's will. Abraham Van Arsdal died on
10 April 1821 in Montgomery Township,
Somerset County, New Jersey.
Abraham Van Arsdalen (a.k.a.: Abraham Van
Arsdal) was a corporal in Captain Conrad
Ten Eyck's Company in the First Battalion
of the Somerset Militia, under the command
of Nathaniel Heard at the beginning of the
Revolutionary War. He also served as a
sergeant in 1794, in Major-General
Frederick Frelinghuysen's legion to put
down the Whiskey Insurrection in
Pennsylvania, serving in Captain Jonathan
F. Morris' Company. During his long
military career, he rose to the rank of
Colonel in the New Jersey State Militia. In
1813, and again in 1818, he was appointed a
Judge of the Common Pleas Court in Somerset
County, New Jersey.
In 1807, and in 1811 and 1812, he had been
chosen as a freeholder and served on the
Township Committee. The will of Abraham Van
Arsdal written on 3 April 1821, was proved
on 17 April 1821 in Somerset County, New
Jersey (New Jersey Wills, Vol. C, pp.
17-22). The will names his wife Margaret,
his son Abraham Van Arsdalen, and his four
daughters, Mary, Elizabeth, Elsie, and
Catherine. The only son to survive was his
second son Abraham Van Arsdalen. His first
son Aberham Van Arsdalen died young, and
his third son Willem Bart (Baird) Van
Arsdalen also died.
The children of Abraham Van Arsdalen and
Elsje Baird were: Mary Van Arsdalen who
married to George Kirshaw; Aberham Van
Arsdalen baptized 20 June 1773 at
Harlingen; Lisabet Van Arsdalen baptized 16
February 1777 at Harlingen; Else Van
Arsdalen baptized 2 April 1780 at
Harlingen; Cattrina Van Arsdalen baptized
11 May 1783 at Harlingen; Abraham Van
Arsdalen born 24 May 1788, and baptized on
22 June 1788 at Harlingen, married to
Elizabeth Beekman, daughter of Captain
Samuel Beekman and Helen Ten Broeck, on 17
September 1809, and he died on 22 June
1836. The children of Abraham Van Arsdalen
and Elizabeth Beekman were: Abraham Van
Arsdalen born 10 July 1810, married to
Catherine (Polhemus ?) on 27 October 1832,
and he died about September 1868; Peter
Beekman Van Arsdalen born 20 August 1812,
married to Christian Van Derveer, daughter
of Peter Van Derveer and Catherine Van Dyke
of Griggstown, Somerset County, New Jersey,
on 9 April 1833, and he died on 13 July
1885; William Van Arsdalen born 8 February
1815, married to Joanna V. Bergen, daughter
of Evert J. Bergen and Jane Stryker, on 14
September 1836, and he died in the 1870's;
Catherine Ann Van Arsdalen born 22 February
1817, married first to Garret V. Staats on
8 February 1836, and married second to John
Milligan; Elsey Van Arsdalen born 23
September 1818, married to Abraham S. Quick
on 13 January 1841, and she died on 26 May
1852; Samuel Beekman Van Arsdalen born 29
May 1820, married first to the widow Long,
Jane Murris, and married second to Margaret
Ratt, and he died in December 1893. End of
the children of Abraham Van Arsdalen and
Elizabeth Beekman; Willem Bart (Baird) Van
Arsdalen baptized 29 May 1791 at Harlingen.
The story of the "Dutch Cubbord" is a
common thread that ties the son Abraham Van
Arsdall to his father Abraham Van
Aersdalen. Abraham Van Aersdalen died on 13
April 1753 in Somerset County, New Jersey.
When the children were grown, his widow,
Marya (Van Nuys) Vanarsdalen married to the
widower, Jores Bergen on 22 August 1771 in
New Jersey. Jores Bergen had been married
to Maria Probasco, who was the mother of
all his children. Jores Bergen died on 13
October 1784 in New Windsor Township,
Middlesex County, New Jersey.
After his death, Mary Bergen returned to
Sowerland, Somerset County, New Jersey to
live on the farm of her former husband
Abraham Van Aersdalen, probably occupied by
her youngest daughter Mary Van Arsdalen.
Mary Bergen lived a long life, and died at
the age of 92 years old on 15 July 1809 at
the farm in Sowerland, now Hillsborough
Township, Somerset County, New Jersey. In
the will of Mary Bergen written on 26 March
1799, and proved on 22 August 1809 (New
Jersey Original Wills, File #1389R), Mary
Bergen gives to her daughter Mary Van
Arsdalen her "Dutch Cubbord." This piece of
furniture was given to all the family
members who remained in New Jersey.
Mary Van Arsdalen, the youngest daughter of
Abraham Van Aersdalen and Maria Van Nuys,
wrote her will on 27 February 1817 in
Montgomery Township, Somerset County, New
Jersey, and it was proved on 9 June 1817.
It is probable that Mary Van Arsdalen died
on part of the estate of Alexander Baird,
her brother's father-in-law, having been
displaced earlier by her mother's
unexpected return home after the death of
Jores Bergen. She was a single woman with
one daughter, Jane Van Waggonen, perhaps
adopted. Mary did not mention the "Dutch
Cubbord" in her will, but she appointed her
brother Abraham Van Arsdalen sole executor
of her estate, which she left to her
daughter. As executor, her brother Abraham
Van Arsdal claimed his mother's "Dutch
Cubbord" (New Jersey Wills, Vol. B, pp.
208-210).
Abraham Van Arsdal, the son of Abraham Van
Aersdalen and Maria Van Nuys, wrote his
will on 3 April 1821 in Montgomery
Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, and
it was proved on 17 April 1821. It is
highly probable that Abraham Van Arsdal
died on part of the estate of his
father-in-law Alexander Baird, by
inheritance from his first wife Elsie
Baird. In the will, he named his second
wife Margaret (Kennedy), and gave her the
"Dutch Cubbord" (New Jersey Wills, Vol. C,
pp. 17-21).
Margaret Van Arsdal wrote her will on 23
May 1832 in Montgomery Township, Somerset
County, New Jersey, and it was proved on 28
October 1834. Margaret gave the "Dutch
Cupboard" to her deceased husband's son,
Abraham Van Arsdal. In her will, she also
mentions her brother, Henry Kennedy. So, we
learn that her maiden name was Margaret
Kennedy (New Jersey Wills, Vol. D, pp.
383-385).
Therefore, the "Dutch Cubbord" that had
belonged to Mary Van Nuys was passed to her
daughter Mary Van Arsdalen, then to her son
Abraham Van Arsdal, then to her
daughter-in-law Margaret Kennedy, and
finally to her grandson Abraham Van
Arsdalen. It becomes the thread that ties
the members of this family together in the
records.
In PART 3, I will continue with the
families of Alexander Vanarsdall and
William Smith Vanarsdall of Harrodsburg,
Kentucky, and the beginning of this
families western migrations to Indiana and
Missouri. I will also begin a discussion of
Charles Suydam VanArsdall's "Birthday
Book," a written history of the family made
by Charles between 11 July 1910 to February
1914 at the request of his son Dr. Condit
Brewer Van Arsdall, Sr. Dr. Con was an
excellent genealogist from Harrodsburg,
Kentucky. I received the extra pages of the
pension file #S 7292 of Cornelious Van
Arsdall or Van Arsdalen from Washington,
D.C. yesterday, and found a letter written
by Dr. Condit Brewer VanArsdall, Sr. in
1927. The subject of the letter was to ask
for clarifications from the National
Archives concerning the two Revolutionary
War Soldiers, Cornelius Van Arsdall who
served in Virginia and Cornelius C.
Vanarsdall of New Jersey. Dr. Con had
correctly determined that these records
must be in error, and the National Archives
agreed that they were typographical errors.
I had come to the same conclusion myself in
1996, when I discovered that there was no
Revolutionary War Soldier named Cornelius
Van Arsdall from the state of Virginia who
filed for a pension in Mercer County,
Kentucky, and no soldier from New Jersey
named Cornelius C. Vanarsdall who filed
there either. The 1927 letter from Dr. Con
was also requesting the military pension
file records of Cornelious Van Arsdall or
Van Arsdalen, the same records that I had
just received. I really enjoy it when I
find checks on my work.
| Any person wishing to use this data for publication is to contact Mark
Alan Thomas
either at <[email protected]> or through the VanArsdale Mailing List <[email protected]>. |
| If you enjoyed this information, please use our Index of the Research of Mark Alan Thomas, located at <http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~brianter/MAThomasIndex.html> to find other essays written by him. |