7798Gerrit Thÿszen
Key Facts
Snapshot:immigrated from Amsterdam to America
slave trader
French privateer during the Franco-Spanish War
Parents:unknown
Born:date unknown
Amsterdam, Dutch Republic
Last known record:22 May 1676
Bergen, East Jersey (= modern-day Jersey City, New Jersey)
Buried:unknown

7798Gerrit Thÿszen was reportedly born in Amsterdam,1 although further details (including of his migration to America) are unknown.

In New Amsterdam on 29 November 1664, 7798Gerrit married Harmentje Harmens, the widow of Egbert Zanders.1 This was almost certainly a second/subsequent marriage for 7798Gerrit (since his marriage record does not describe him as "j. m.," an abbreviation for the Dutch phrase jonge man, which is a man who is marrying for the first time. This abbreviation is written beside the grooms' names on many New Netherland marriage records.), but details of his first marriage are unknown.


1664: The church's record of 7798Gerrit's and Harmentje's marriage. Full page.1

7798Gerrit was a seaman and had other men working under him, as evident from records like this one dated 13 November 1654 in New Amsterdam.2


Translated: "At the session was read a petition of Pieter Jacobsen, Guert Thysen's lieutenant, requesting some munitions because he has his bark ready to sail. After consultation it was decided to provide him with 200 lbs. of gunpowder. Done at New Amsterdam, 13 November 1654." Full page.2

In 1652, 7798Gerrit, acting as a privateer for France during the Franco-Spanish War, raided a Spanish ship carrying dozens of slaves and other valuables. As you'll see, details of the raid are reported in various (sometimes conflicting) ways, but generally we know that it was a violent raid in which several people were killed (including one of 7798Gerrit's men), and that it occurred somewhere roughly between Santiago de Cuba and eastern Jamaica. I've marked this area on the master map. (One record describes a completely different location much further to the west, but that location is inconsistent with descriptions of the ship's intended path.) Afterward he sailed with the stolen property to New Netherland, where he sold/traded some of the slaves, including one that he gave as a token of gratitude during a feast (See the record dated 14 September 1654 below). These sales/transfers sparked a long series of lawsuits and court hearings, especially once Juan Gallardo Ferrara (to whom the ship's contents had belonged) petitioned the New Netherland Council for restitution. The court records are summarized below in chronological order. After staying in New Netherland for several months, in the winter 7798Gerrit left headed north and did not return for at least five years, during which time his whereabouts are unknown.

Record's Date Description / Summary  Image   Translation  Source
12 July 1652 Ferrara's ship was en route to Sint Eustatius but was overtaken "about 10 leagues above" Santiago de Cuba.
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16 September 1652 Miss Verlett sues 7798Gerrit for 2600 guilders as restitution for eight Negroes that 7798Gerrit sold to her then re-seized.
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30 September 1652 7798Gerrit counter-sues, demanding that Judich Verletts and Anna Hackx prove they paid for the Negroes.
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5
14 October 1652 The court orders both parties to bring in all documents relevant to the case.
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6
4 November 1652 The court objects to the conduct of both parties, notes that payment was never made, and refers to the case to several arbitrators.
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14 September 1654 Jacob Stoffelsen sues Ide van Vorst for "half a negro, whom he received from Capt. Geurt Tysen and his company, in return for a feast given to him at which two sheep were eaten, and Ide van Vorst also had two sheep at her wedding."
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8
10 April 1656 Juan Gallardo Ferrara of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain alleges that during a voyage from Jamaica to Santiago de Cuba in April 1652, his ship was in the area of "Cape Morante" (probably Morant Bay, Jamaica) when it was overtaken by a privateer ship navigated by "Lt-General Coert Tysen Campen" (i.e., 7798Gerrit), and that this privateer ship "attacked, fought, boarded and conquered his [...] ship and made a prize thereof, and proceeded to New Netherland." Ferrara also explains that there were 44 Negro slaves on board his ship, and he describes the brands that had been burned onto their chests.
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9
31 August 1656 Several records suggest that 7798Gerrit likely used an alias: Jan/John (van) Campen. (See, for example, the abovementioned record dated 10 April 1656, in which he's described as "Campen" simultaneously with his real name.8) Interestingly, this record explicitly addresses the confusion about 7798Gerrit's name/identity, then proceeds to explain "it is true that privateers or pirates carry no fixed names nor certain flags; your Honors, therefore, ought not to inquire further." A later portion of the same letter states, "Whether Geurt Thysen and Jan van Campen be one and the same person, is unknown."

Ferrara names numerous witnesses who heard 7798Gerrit and his crew discussing the raid: One "heard the crew talk of my [Ferrara's] imprisonment, all of whom were very much rejoiced and glad of it, and wished heartily that we had all been killed; on their side, only one man was missing, and eight of ours were killed, when the ship was captured."

Ferrara alleges that there were 60 slaves on board (An earlier record states only 44.8) plus 3000 "minted pieces of eight, also a pack of rouwaan worth [1000] pieces of eight, together with [150] ounces of wrought or manufactured silver-ware."

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10
6 September 1656 Ferrara found some of the stolen slaves in New Amsterdam. Ferrara requests the slaves be returned to him, and requests free lodging until he can take a ship back to Europe.
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11
6 September 1656 In late July or early August 1652, 7798Gerrit sailed into the North River and requested permission to enter New Amsterdam to obtain supplies for his ship. He stayed about three months, during which time he traded or sold some Negro slaves. He then sailed "towards winter from this place, and has not been here since." Some of the slaves he sold/traded have since died, some ran away, and some are still around but have changed ownership several times.
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31 October 1656 The court explains that 7798Gerrit had a commission from Lord Chevallier du Poincy and that he acted in accordance with his commission. The court explains that since the slaves' current owners had paid for them, the court will not order they be seized and returned to Ferrara.
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1 November 1656 Before being plundered, Ferrara's boat had traveled from Cartagena (now in Colobmia) to Campeche (now in Mexico) and then onward to the area of Cape San Antonio, Cuba, where it was plundered by 7798Gerrit about June 1654. (This account is quite different from an earlier record that states the raid occurred in April near Morant Bay, Jamaica.8) Mentions that 7798Gerrit's boat arrived in New Amsterdam "loaded with mahogany, copper, and some canella."
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14
25 January 1657 Mostly similar to the second of the two 6 September 1656 records summarized above.

Explicitly describes 7798Gerrit as a privateer working for France.

7798Gerrit stayed in New Amsterdam "about half a year." (An earlier record said three months.12)

7798Gerrit has not returned to New Amsterdam "since his departure hence four years ago."

The court instructs Ferrara to seek restitution not from the slaves current owners', etc., but instead from 7798Gerrit himself or from the Chevallier du Poincy.
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24 August 1657 Further confirms that 7798Gerrit used an alias: "Captain Bastiaen Raaff, alias Martyn Bastiaensen, and his Lieutenant, Jan van Campen, otherwise called Geurt Tysen, have taken a certain Spanish ship"

Mentions some letters with orders to send 7798Gerrit "to Fatherland, and to allow the above named Jan Gaillardo to receive prompt, quick and full justice." However, 7798Gerrit was absent, "and it is impossible for the Director-General and Council to look him up in the West Indies or elsewhere."
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29 August 1657 Ferrara states, "Therefore, the aforesaid expenses, etc., rightfully belong to me, for I have had him or his Lieutenant, Geurt Tyssen, a long time a prisoner at Amsterdam."
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4 September 1657 "Admitted and granted that Geurt Thysen is a Hollander, a Zealander, or a native of Overyssel"

This letter from the court also shows that officials had become frustrated with Ferrara and his allegations.
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15 September 1657 The prisoner mentioned in the 29 August 1657 record is clarified as a companion of 7798Gerrit, not 7798Gerrit himself.

(Side note: In this hilariously scathing response to the court, Ferrara writes among other harsh comments, "I also say, if there be any persons in this country who translate from Dutch into Spanish, wherefore was not a copy in Spanish furnished me, so as to answer it, and not oblige me to have recourse to a Jew, to beg him, for God's sake, to read to me what your Honor gave me as an answer. And it was read to me so as to be hardly intelligible to me, and I heard scarcely four words that I could understand.")
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19

Despite 7798Gerrit's extended absence, eventually he did return to New Amsterdam, where he married Harmentje Harmens on 29 November 1664, as previously noted.1

In Bergen (modern-day Jersey City) on 22 May 1676, 7798Gerrit and his wife Harmentje sponsored the baptism of 7798Gerrit's granddaughter Hendrickje.20 This is the last record I've found of 7798Gerrit.

Sources Cited:

1: Reformed Dutch Church of New York, Ecclesiastical Records 1618-1697, page 613, an entry dated 29 November 1664 for the marriage of Gerrit Thÿszen van Amsterdam and Harmentje Harmens. FamilySearch microfilm film 1927968, image 514; the year (i.e., 1664) is noted on image 512. FamilySearch restricts access to these images, so see copies here: 512, 514. A transcription of this marriage record appears in: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume VI (1875), page 146.

2: Resolution that Peter Jacobsen, lieutenant of Guert Tysen, be supplied with 200 lbs of powder. New York State Archives' Digital Collections, <https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/index.php/Detail/objects/54956>, accessed 21 July 2021. The source citation provided by the New York State Archives is: "New York State Archives. New Netherland. Council. Dutch colonial council minutes, 1638-1665. Series A1809. Volume 5." You can read a translation of the document.

3: E. B. O'Callaghan, ed., Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New-York, Volume II (Albany, New York, 1858), page 44.

4: A 16 September 1652 court record regarding the case of Miss Verlett vs. Captain Geurt Tysen. New York State Archives' Digital Collections, <https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/index.php/Detail/objects/54684>, accessed 22 July 2021. The source citation provided by the New York State Archives is: "New York State Archives. New Netherland. Council. Dutch colonial council minutes, 1638-1665. Series A1809. Volume 5." You can read a translation of the document.

5: A 30 September 1652 court record regarding the case of Geurt Tyssen vs. Judith Verlett and Anna Hackx. New York State Archives' Digital Collections, <https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/index.php/Detail/objects/54692>, accessed 21 July 2021. The source citation provided by the New York State Archives is: "New York State Archives. New Netherland. Council. Dutch colonial council minutes, 1638-1665. Series A1809. Volume 5." You can read a translation of the document.

6: A 14 October 1652 court record regarding the case of Anna Verlett vs. Captain Geurt Tysen. New York State Archives' Digital Collections, <https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/index.php/Detail/objects/54703>, accessed 22 July 2021. The source citation provided by the New York State Archives is: "New York State Archives. New Netherland. Council. Dutch colonial council minutes, 1638-1665. Series A1809. Volume 5." You can read a translation of the document. The relevant text is on the second of three images available at the link provided. Neither Verlett nor Tysen is explicitly named in the document (It seems that a portion which may have mentioned their names is ruined.), but the text seems to refer to their case.

7: A 4 November 1652 court record regarding the case of Judith Verlett and Anna Hack vs. Captain Geurt Tyssen. New York State Archives' Digital Collections, <https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/index.php/Detail/objects/54709>, accessed 21 July 2021. The source citation provided by the New York State Archives is: "New York State Archives. New Netherland. Council. Dutch colonial council minutes, 1638-1665. Series A1809. Volume 5." You can read a translation of the document.

8: Berthold Fernow, ed., The Records of New Amsterdam from 1653 to 1674 Anno Domini, Volume I: Minutes of the Court of Burgomasters and Schepens, 1653-1655 (Knickerbocker Press, New York, 1897), page 242.

9: E. B. O'Callaghan, ed., Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New-York, Volume II (Albany, New York, 1858), page 27.

10: ibid., pages 29-32.

11: A petition on 6 September 1656 by Juan Gallardo Ferrara for the restoration of negro slaves. New York State Archives' Digital Collections, <https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/index.php/Detail/objects/55860>, accessed 21 July 2021. The source citation provided by the New York State Archives is: "New York State Archives. New Netherland. Council. Dutch colonial council minutes, 1638-1665. Series A1809. Volume 8." You can read a translation of the document.

12: E. B. O'Callaghan, ed., Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New-York, Volume II (Albany, New York, 1858), page 28.

13: A resolution on 31 October 1656 pertaining to Juan Gallardo Ferara's petition for the restitution of certain negroes. New York State Archives' Digital Collections, <https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/index.php/Detail/objects/55926>, accessed 21 July 2021. The source citation provided by the New York State Archives is: "New York State Archives. New Netherland. Council. Dutch colonial council minutes, 1638-1665. Series A1809. Volume 8." You can read a translation of the document.

14: E. B. O'Callaghan, ed., Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New-York, Volume II (Albany, New York, 1858), page 29.

15: ibid., page 24.

16: ibid., page 33.

17: ibid., page 35.

18: ibid., page 37.

19: ibid., page 38.

20: Dingman Versteeg and Thomas E. Vermilye, ed., Bergen Records: Records of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Bergen in New Jersey, 1666 to 1788 (Genealogical Published Co., Baltimore, 1976), page 23, an entry (#40) dated 22 May 1676 for baptism of Hendrickje, daughter of Tonis Elisen and Gerritje Gerrits.