Sunday, February 14, 2016

SCHENCK IN THE NETHERLANDS




Descendants from our ancestor Roelof Martense Schenck (b. 1619) are many, and there is a vast amount of information found on the Internet and elsewhere about the American part of the line. Roelof Schenck and his siblings Jan and Annetje migrated to the Dutch colonies in America in 1650. Roelof was said to have been born (1619) in Amersfoort, Utrecht Province. There are many people (now and in centuries past) who link our Roelof’s ancestry to the aristocratic line of Schenck Van Nydeggen, despite the lack of evidence (e.g. church records). The case against this assumption: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/Dutch-Colonies/1998-01/0885241193 My correspondent Pete Schenck has provided me with pdf images of the April 1937 issue of “The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record”, which forms the basis of this note.

An extract: “It is a difficult and thankless, even an almost hopeless task, to convince the average amateur genealogist that it would he better to give up a long cherished belief in a descent from distinguished, preferably noble, forbears when it has been proven that the pedigree cannot stand close investigation.”  In other genealogical research, I have encountered instances where long-standing and widely believed views are just wrong. And good luck trying to get a substantiated alternate view accepted.
Nydeggen Castle of the Count of Jülich. Christianus 
Schenck (born 1220) lived and worked here and became
the first of the Schenck Van Nydeggen cadet line
Marten Schenck, alleged father of our Roelof Martense Schenck, was said to have been married at Amersfoort about 1618 to Maria Margaretha De Boeckhorst. My microfilm search failed to locate a record of this marriage. This microfilm was FHL INTL Film 543971, Dutch Reformed Church records for Amersfoort, 1583-1624. “Fiches collectie van trouwen in de Nederlands Hervormde Kerk: Fiches Trouwen 1583-1624”. The only Schenck marriage on this entire microfilm was for Matijs Christoffel Schenck, 28 February, 1617. The name of his wife is a bit unclear, but she came from nearby Soest. The microfilm listed several men with the given name Roelof, which is reportedly found more in areas associated with Schenck Van Toutenburg, but not in Limburg, ground zero for Schenck Van Nydeggen.


Dutch practices of naming kids varied, but the most common practice was for a first son to be named after the paternal grandfather, a second son to be named after the maternal grandfather, a third son to be named after the father’s paternal grandfather, and so on down through 6 sons and 6 daughters. If Roelof Martense Schenck and first wife Neeltje Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven followed this practice, let us look at what the ancestral names should have been. First son Jan. Second son Martin. Third son Garret. Well, it looks like Roelof and Neeltje varied the pattern a bit. It looks like Garret was named after Neeltje’s father. Martin was presumably named after Roelof’s father. Who was Jan named after? Roelof had a brother Jan and a first son named Jan (died as a child). Who was Jan in Roelof’s ancestry? And why did Roelof have no descendant named Pieter (his alleged grandfather)?  Look at this pattern of descent: Marten Schenck (father of Roelof and Jan) – Jan Martense Schenck – Martin Janse Schenck – John Schenck – Martin Schenck, etc.

Some Jan Janssen Schenck was baptized on November 27, 1645, at Wijk bij Duurstede, which lies just south of Amersfoort, Utrecht Province. The Jan Schenck who was father to this guy would have been a contemporary of our Roelof Martense Schenck. Roelof allegedly lived in Amersfoort from 1630 to 1650.  Wijk bij Duurstede was quite rich in the surname Van Scherpenzeel, and was also associated with Utrecht Catholic Archbishop Fredrik Schenck Van Toutenburg (d. 1580).

It is usually claimed that Roelof’s grandfather was Pieter Schenck Van Nydeggen (b. 1547, Goch, Germany). Pieter reportedly married Johanna Van Scherpenzeel in 1580 in Doesburg, Gelderland. This marriage does not appear to be in the online Gelders archives records. www.geldersarchief.nl Pieter was said to have died at Doesburg. In April, 2012, I had a private tour of the Martinikerk in Doesburg. My guide was a Doesburg man who researches burials there. A fairly complete 1937 inventory of burials listed no Schenck. My guide said that Judge Van Scherpenzeel was a Doesburg name known to him. This was possibly Johann (the reported father of Johanna Van Scherpenzeel), who was said to have been a judge. Further, Pieter’s sister Maria Margrieta Schenck Van Nijdeggen Voorst appears in 1614 online records in connection with Doesburg. My Doesburg guide suggested that I look further south for the Schenck Van Nydeggen surname. 

In addition to online data, the Gelderland archives at Arnhem may have unpublicized family folders, I was told by my guide at Doesburg. There was no time on this holiday for archives work. Archives at The Hague may also have pertinent information, he said.

A Schenck correspondent who lives in Limburg Province, Netherlands, thinks that our Roelof may have instead descended from the Schenck Van Toutenburg line. Particular given names in Dutch families tend to recur. The name Roelof is unknown among the Schenck Van Nydeggen line, and is indeed unusual in the south of the Netherlands where many Schenck Van Nydeggen lived (especially Limburg Province). The given name Roelof occurs more often in the middle of the Netherlands, in regions where Schenck Van Toutenburg lived. An up-to-date summary of Schenck Van Nydeggen: www.genbronnen.nl/genealogie/schenck-van-nydeggen/deel-I.html I encountered the given name Roelof several times on that microfilm of Amersfoort marriages. 

Online Utrecht archives data have multiple references to both Schenck Van Nydeggen and Schenck Van Toutenburg.  Around the time of Roelof’s reported birth at Amersfoort, there were some Schenck and several Scherpenzeel persons on Dutch Reformed Church records (on DVD from www.DutchGenealogy.com) at Wijk bij Duurstede, which lies south of Amersfoort and southeast of Utrecht. There are Schenck persons living in that village today. They could descend from either aristocratic line, or other lines altogether. The Bishops of Utrecht held Duurstede Castle www.castles.nl/duur/duur.html including Archbishop Frederik Schenck Van Toutenburg.

Some Berndt Schenck Van Nijdeggen of Emmerijck married Beeligje Meussen in Wijk bij Duurstede on September 20, 1618, the year before our ancestor Roelof was reportedly (where is the evidence for that?) born at nearby Amersfoort. Over 3 decades prior to this wedding, a Berndt Schenck Van Nijdeggen was described as a cousin of Peter/Pieter Schenck Van Nydeggen (b. 1547, Goch). In order to secure Maarten Schenck Van Nydeggen’s release from captivity, hostages were part of a complex deal. Hostages included Maarten’s brother Peter, and cousins Berndt Schenck Van Nijdeggen and “Johann Van Cleet” (Cleef?). This was reported on page 19 of “The Rev. William Schenck: His ancestors and descendants”. I don’t know where that book author got the name of the earlier Berndt Schenck Van Nijdeggen, but I’ll bet that the author was unaware of the existence of the later Berndt Schenck Van Nijdeggen. So, we have a Berndt allegedly a cousin of Pieter, and a Berndt showing up near Amersfoort just prior to the reported birth of Roelof. Interesting.  

Are we to be stuck in limbo forever? I don’t think so, but it will require some enthusiasm for yDNA testing among Schenck-surnamed men of probable Dutch origin in America, in North Limburg (plus the Nijmegen area, rich in the Schenck surname in 1947), and Schenck whose ancestors came from Schenck Van Toutenburg areas (Gelderland, Utrecht, and Overijssel).  It will take several high-resolution STR yDNA samples to be able to triangulate on number of generations to Most Recent Common Ancestors, arrive at meaningful groupings of lineages, and tease out Non-Paternal Events (e.g. adoptions). Deep ancestry would also prove interesting. I don’t mean to imply that yDNA can give us answers to all the particular questions we might have about the ancestry. But, I do think it is possible to prove or disprove genetic kinship among the Dutch Schenck groups, and descendants of the Schenck men who settled in New Netherlands in the 1600s. It is hoped that eventually there will be yDNA profiles available from both of these aristocratic Schenck lines, as well as non-Dutch lines. A few years ago there was no Clan Donald DNA Project; today the project is huge. The same could be done for Schenck.

Surnames distribution mapping at various time periods have shown some degree of stability over time. The book “Surnames, DNA, and Family History” outlines the case for this in England.  Cleves district Germany & Limburg Province Netherlands were two main centers for Schenck Van Nydeggen. Cleves: Goch, Gaesdonck Monastery, Walbeck Castle, Schenckenshans Fortress, Wachtendonk, and Emmerich. Limburg: Afferden, Bleijenbeek Castle, a castle at Venlo, Sevenum, and Castle Hillenraad.

Given the number of centuries during which North Limburg Province and neighboring parts of Germany and Netherlands were ground-zero for Schenck Van Nydeggen, many Schenck-surnamed males now living in this vicinity would seem to stand a good chance of being linked via yDNA to Schenck Van Nydeggen. Currently, New Jersey and Delaware have relatively high concentrations of the Schenck surname. Undoubtedly, many of these persons descend from Dutch Schenck people who appeared in the 1600s in future New York State. There is a New York State DNA project which includes the surname Schenck, but as of mid-2012 the Schenck samples were autosomal DNA, not yDNA. Autosomal DNA can help spot genetic cousins with the Most Recent Common Ancestor only about 5 generations back. We need Schenck-surname high-resolution (67 STR markers or more) yDNA to track the male line back indefinitely in time. The Netherlands Y DNA Project www.familytreedna.com/public/NetherlandsY and joint Netherlands yDNA and mtDNA project www.familytreedna.com/public/Netherlands/default.aspx are in need of Schenck samples. Currently (Winter 2012), Family Tree DNA has 4 Schenck yDNA samples, but the ancestry of the donors is not public.  Two of the 4 samples had a common ancestor several generations ago, and these samples fall into Haplogroup R1b, which is quite common in Western Europe.

The Netherlands Dual DNA Projects yDNA results page www.familytreedna.com/public/Netherlands/default.aspx?section=yresults  happens to include samples from descendants of my ancestor Adam Brouwer (1620-1692). His haplogroup and subclade: E1b1b1a1b; shorthand is E-V13. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_E1b1b1a_(Y-DNA)#E1b1b1a1b_.28E-V13.29  and



where my ancestors Daniel and Mary Van Voorhees Brewer appear. Family Tree DNA Kit # 55150 came from a distant Brewer cousin of mine, a descendant of Daniel Brewer who married Mary Van Voorhees, Butler Co. Ohio. These were the parents of Tina Brewer Williamson (mother of Margaret Williamson McCreary).



is interesting, particularly regarding a possible Balkans connection.

DUTCH SCHENCK-OF-AMERICA DNA AND RESEARCH DEVELOPMENTS

The “Clan Schenck” yDNA cluster at the Friese Wadden yDNA Project consists so far of the matching data from a descendant of my ancestor Marten Schenck (NOT Sir Maarten Schenck Van Nydeggen), and from Hans, a descendant of Marten’s really close yDNA kinsman Geert Jochums. The yDNA group “Schenck-Four plus Hans” consists of Pete, Paul, Ray, Robert, & Hans.

In the Friese Wadden Project, Hans’ data is Kit # N27042. Ray’s data is Kit # B5237. This group is Haplogroup R1b, positive on SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) marker U198 (tested in Hans). Ray’s data also appears in the Netherlands Dual DNA project at www.familytreedna.com/public/Netherlands/default.aspx?section=yresults Paul’s Kit # is 172264. Bob Schenck is another of our yDNA match group. He is President of the Holland Society of New York. www.hollandsociety.com/index1.html  Roelof Martense Schenck was the father of Gerret Roelofse Schenck (b. 1671), who was the common ancestor of Bob, Ray, Paul Edgar, as well as many others who do not carry down the yDNA.

Frisian Waddenproject (Friese Waddenproject) - Y-DNA Classic Chart. For genealogy within the most recent fifteen generations, STR markers help define ...

Hans’ ancestor Geert Jochums was born about 1650 at the village of Ee, near Dokkum Friesland. In 1650, the siblings Roelof (Rudolf) Martense Schenck, Jan Martense Schenck, and Annetje Martense Schenck migrated from the Netherlands to America. One wonders if they were aware that they had close biological kin near Dokkum, Friesland. That vicinity then included the aristocratic line of Schenck Van Toutenburg, as well as some commoners with the surname Schenck (and spelling variants). Toutenburg castles were once found in Germany, Vollenhove Overijssel, and just east of Leeuwarden Friesland. I doubt that there were any commoner Schenck near Dokkum prior to the early 1500s arrival nearby of Friesland Governor Georg Schenck Van Toutenburg (b. 1485), who was known to have had kids out of wedlock in Friesland.www.stinseninfriesland.nl/Toutenburg.htm  My thanks to Hans for this link.

Hans Zijlstra, Gary and Kathryn
in Amsterdam
Recall that there is exactly zero original documentary evidence linking Dutch Schenck-of-America and Schenck Van Nydeggen. The given name Roelof has never been known to occur in the Schenck Van Nydeggen line, but the equivalent Rudolf was a recurring name in the Schenck Van Toutenburg line. Hans, descendant of Roelof’s yDNA close kinsman Geert Jochums, wrote about his possible connection to Schenck Van Toutenburg in the blog of the Historical Society of Northeast Friesland.http://sneuperdokkum.blogspot.com/  Search for Schenck. Hans’ article has a photo of himself at the Brooklyn Museum’s Jan Martense Schenck home.
Pete, a descendant of Jan Martense Schenck, has a 63 of 67 STR (Short Tandem Repeats) yDNA markers match with Hans. Pete’s yDNA matches with descendants of Jan’s brother Roelof (my ancestor) have similarly close matches to Hans. I doubt that the Most Recent Common Ancestor between the Schenck group & Hans lived much earlier than Marten Schenck, father of Jan and Roelof. Nothing earlier than the 1500s, I’d say. Virtually nothing is known about this Martin, despite the multitude of claims, all without firm bases.   

See http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/Dutch-Colonies/1998-01/0885241193 for a critique of the astounding conclusions despite a lack of evidence. I am reminded of several other genealogical investigations which have uncovered honest mistaken impressions, errors based upon weak research, wishful fantasy, and in one instance for another of my ancestries a famous genealogical hoax.  All of the Schenck histories claiming the Van Nydeggen link are based upon the original flawed assumption. Don’t show me any more of the histories. I have plenty. Show me the evidence.

My ancestor Annetje Pieterse Wyckoff was the second wife of Roelof Martense Schenck. These were my 8th great-grandparents. Roelof’s first wife Neeltje Gerretse Van Couwenhoven was the ancestor of the majority of my several Schenck correspondents. A flurry of communications followed our meeting with Hans in Amsterdam on June 6, 2015. My wife Kathryn and I had just completed a boat and bike tour of North Holland. Hans met us at our boat “Angela Esmee”. Like Hans, the ancestor of Wibo Boswijk was also Geert Jochums. Wibo is a co-administrator of the Friese Wadden yDNA Project.