Key Facts

Snapshot:	may have immigrated from Amsterdam (in Europe) to New Amsterdam (later renamed New York City)
Parents:	15590Laurens Corneliszen 15591Lÿsbeth Thÿssen
Born:	date unknown maybe Amsterdam, Dutch Republic; see notes below
Last known record:	1 May 1700 New York City, New York
Buried:	unknown

7795Aefje Laurens' parents are 15590Laurens Corneliszen and 15591Lÿsbeth Thÿssen, as explained in the problem sections below.

Problem: Resolved Who is 7795Aefje's father? Although no document explicitly identifies 7795Aefje's father, there is sufficient circumstantial evidence to conclude that her father was 15590Laurens Corneliszen. The evidence presented below is separated into two basic categories: (1) patronymic naming patterns and (2) baptism witness patterns. Patronymic Naming Patterns Arthur Kelly's book Names, Names, and More Names: Locating Your Dutch Ancestors in Colonial America states on page 10: During the period of Dutch settlement, encompassing most of the seventeenth century, patronymics were commonly used. Many of the early Dutch Settlers arrived in New Amsterdam without an established surname. Individuals were identified by adding their father's name to their given name with an attached suffix to indicate child of such as "-s", "-se", "-zen", etc. For example, an individual named Jacob might be further identified as the son of Jan by calling him Jacob Jans or Jansen. Therefore, one would expect 7795Aefje Laurens' father to be named "Laurens," thus 15590Laurens Corneliszen is a plausible candidate. Baptism Witness Patterns Page 217 of Kelly's book explains another important naming trend: The typical family [...] seemed to prefer a system of naming the first two children of each sex in honor of the grandparents of the same sex. Usually the father's father was the name chosen for the first male child. If that grandparent was still living, he would usually stand as the male sponsor for that child's baptism. The second male child would then be named for the mother's father and the succeeding male children were likely to be named for uncles and others whom the family wished to honor. 7795Aefje Laurens and her husband 7795Lucas Andrieszen did name their second son Laúrens, as predicted by the pattern that Kelly describes above. However, when Laúrens was baptized on 9 June 1669, 15590Laurens Corneliszen was not a witness.1 15590Laurens may have simply already passed away, however, and he did witness the baptisms of two of 7795Aefje's and 7794Lucas' earlier children: (1) 30 August 1656: baptism of daughter Lÿsbeth; witnesses were "Schippr. Laurens en sÿn huis vr." ("Skipper Laurens and his housewife") 2 (2) 17 October 1657: baptism of daughter Jannetje; witnesses included "Laurens Corneliszen" 3

Problem: Resolved Who is 7794Lucas' mother? Again, no record explicitly identifies 7795Aefje's mother, but there is sufficient circumstantial evidence to conclude that her mother was 15591Lÿsbeth Thÿssen. A New Amsterdam record dated 8 January 1659 mentions (translated) "Lauwerens Corneliszen van der Wel, brother-in-law of said Claas Tysen." 4 Therefore, since we've already established 15590Laurens Corneliszen as 7795Aefje's father (as explained above), we can use this record to conclude that his wife's surname was Tysen. "Lauwerens Corneliszen van der Wel, brother-in-law of said Claas Tysen." Full page.5 Translation.4 As was previously noted above, 7795Aefje Laurens' firstborn daughter Lÿsbeth was baptized on 30 August 1657. The witnesses were "Schippr. Laurens en sÿn huis vr." ("Skipper Laurens and his housewife").2 As noted above, researcher Arthur Kelly explains, "The typical family [...] seemed to prefer a system of naming the first two children of each sex in honor of the grandparents of the same sex." Based on this naming trend, we can conclude that 7795Aefje's mother's first name was Lÿbeth. Another record confirms that a woman named Lÿsbeth Tysen did in fact live in New Amsterdam around this time: The name "Lÿsbeth Thÿssen" appears on a long list of members of the Dutch Reformed Church who had joined since the year 1649.6,7 The only record that actually shows 15591Lÿsbeth Thÿssen's name. Full page.6 Transcription.7

She may have been born in Amsterdam, Dutch Republic (not to be confused with New Amsterdam in North America, which was later renamed New York City), since her marriage record describes her as "Aefje Laúrens Van Amsterdam." 8

7795Aefje's name is a on a list of members of New Amsterdam's Dutch Reformed Church who had joined since 1649, but it describes her as "vertrocken na Am̅ ." ("left to Amsterdam"),9,10 so she undoubtedly returned to Europe for a time.

Church records show that 7795Aefje had joined the Dutch Reformed Church in New Amsterdam, but also that she had returned to Europe.9,10

7795Aefje married 7794Lucas Andrieszen in New Amsterdam on 20 November 1655.8 For more information on their marriage, their lives together, etc., see his profile since that information won't be repeated here.

The last known record of 7795Aefje is a New York City church record dated 1 May 1700 that describes her as the widow of 7794Lúÿkas Andriesse.11

Sources Cited:

1: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume VII (1876), page 131, entry dated 9 June 1669 for the baptism of Laúrens.

2: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume V (1874), page 177, entry dated 30 August 1656 for the baptism of Lÿsbeth.

3: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume V (1874), page 181, entry dated 17 October 1657 for the baptism of Jannetje.

4: Berthold Fernow, The minutes of the Orphanmasters of New Amsterdam, 1655 to 1663 (Francis P. Harper, New York, 1902), 62. This is a translation of the orphanmasters record cited below (source citation #5).

5: New York, New York. Original Dutch records. Original minutes of the orphanmasters court for October 1655 through December 1666, n.p. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-J36M-7S5H?i=475&cat=93713>, accessed 26 June 2021.

6: Reformed Dutch Church of New York, Ecclesiastical Records 1618-1697, pages 495 and 508. FamilySearch film 1927968, images 407 and 419. FamilySearch.org restricts access to these images, so you can see copies here: 407, 419.

7: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume IX (1874), page 45. This is a transcription/transliteration of the ecclesiastical record cited above (source citation #6).

8: Reformed Dutch Church of New York, Ecclesiastical Records 1618-1697, page 592, an entry dated 20 November 1655 for the marriage of Lúcas Andrieszen and Aefje Laúrens. FamilySearch microfilm film 1927968, image 493; the year (i.e., 1655) is noted on image 492. FamilySearch restricts access to these images, so see copies here: 492, 493. A transcription of this marriage record appears in: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume VI (1875), page 84.

9: Reformed Dutch Church of New York, Ecclesiastical Records 1618-1697, pages 495 and 501. FamilySearch film 1927968, images 407 and 412. FamilySearch.org restricts access to these images, so you can see copies here: 407, 412.

10: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume IX (1874), page 41. This is a transcription/transliteration of the ecclesiastical record cited above (source citation #9).

11: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume XIV (1883), page 133, entry dated 1 May 1700 for the baptism of Aefje.