History of the city of Paterson and the County of Passaic, New Jersey, Part 60

Author: Nelson, William, 1847-1914
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Paterson : Press Printing and Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 466

USA > New Jersey > Passaic County > Paterson > History of the city of Paterson and the County of Passaic, New Jersey > Part 60

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1 Ib., C, 333, 168, 545; K, 79 ; H, 617 ; K, 322 ; R, 45 ; K, 320, 120, 122; R,38,40. 2 Ib., E, 435. 3 Ib., F, 348. 4 Ib., E, 376.

5 The original map, drawn by John S. Van Winkle, and dated April 28, 1824, is in the author's possession. It shows the lots on Water, North. Main, High, Temple and other streets.

6 Ib., F, 407. 7 Ib. , B, 9 ; K, 149. 8 Ib., G, 291, 300.

lawyer in New York; the latter's son, Hamilton Wallis, born in New York, Nov. 25, 1842, is a prominent member of the bar of Jersey City and New York. He is a Past Grand Master of New Jersey Freemasons. In order to make his property in Saddle River (near Hamburgh avenue) more marketable, John Wallis contracted, June 10, 1814, with James Hutcheson, a Paterson weaver, to cut off all the wood and brush, agree- ing to give him $45 and the wood for his labor .- Van Houten Manu- scripts, 75. The taxes on this tract in 1812 amounted to twenty-five cents, and were unpaid at that! In 1816 the United States direct tax on this property was $1.02 .- Ib., 67, 84.

1 Probably in exchange for the tract fronting on the river, next northeast of Marion street.

2 Ib., F, 327 ; K, 122 ; L, 343 ; R, 38, 40.

233

THE SETTLEMENT OF TOTOWA.

a mortgage for the whole consideration. They had that portion of the tract between North Main street and the river laid out in building lots, by J. F. Bridges, in Novem- ber, 1825. Apparently finding the load too heavy to carry, they conveyed to Robert Carrick, Dec. 31, 1825, for the face of the mortgage. He conveyed to Dr. Ellison, Aug. 16, 1827, thirty-eight of the building lots, at $100 per lot, prob- ably to cancel arrears of interest, etc. The property was still too remote to find a ready sale, and on May 3, 1833, Carrick conveyed it to Robert Morrell and William Dickey, for $2,000, they assuming the mortgage.1 Two years later the lots sold readily at auction. It was not until about 1870, however, that buildings began to go up in any consider- able numbers in that section of our city. McCurdy's Pond, located on this tract, will be remembered by very many of our older citizens. It took its name primarily from the James McCurdy mentioned above. He had a nephew of the same name, who bought part of his uncle's estate at the sale in 18II.

Lot No. 4 and Lot No. 7-Helmagh-Dirck Van Houten de- vised to his son Richard the whole of Lot No. 4 and nearly half of Lot No. 7. The rear part of Lot No. 7 he devised to his son Peter. Richard H. Van Houten and Rachel his wife couveyed all his interest in these two lots, being the whole of Lot No. 4 and about 35 acres of Lot No. 7, extending north to the Oldham brook, by deed dated February I, 1796, to John R. Ludlow, of Acquackanonk.2 John R. Ludlow and Elizabeth, his wife, conveyed to Peter Van Allen, May 15, 180I, for £260 New Jersey money, 20 acres off the south- eastern end of Lot No. 4, extending from the river northwest- erly to North Second street. The rest of Lot No. 4 and Lot No. 7, 65 acres in all, owned by Ludlow, was conveyed by him, May I, 1801, to John Doremus, for $1,050.3 Van Allen's purchase was acquired, about 1825, by Daniel Hols- man, who mapped it out in building lots. John Doremus, and Aun his wife, conveyed to John Burhans, April 28, 1809, for $2,500, the remainder of Lot No. 4 and what he owned of No. 7.4 This tract Burhans conveyed to Peter A. Hopper, from whom it descended to his son, the late Cor- nelius P. Hopper, and some of it still remains in his de- scendants.

Peter-Helmagh Van Houten and Lea his wife conveyed to Peter A. Hopper, May 1, 1801, for $3,500, his part of Lot No. 7, containing about 50 acres. 5

Lot No. 5-This Lot appears to have been released by the other heirs of Martin Frans Ryerson to his daughter Mary, widow of Theunis Ryerson. She conveyed the same to John Doremus, May 3, 1796, for £630 New Jersey money. Doremus conveyed to John D. Brown, April 24, 1801, for $2, 162. 50, a strip 10.20 chains wide, on the south- western side, being rather more than one-half of the whole Lot. Brown conveyed the same premises to John H. Gar- ritse, Nov. 19, 1806, and he and his wife Margaret con- veyed the same to Judge Gerrebrant Van Houten ; this latter conveyance was made April 10, 1810. The same day Judge

1 Ib., O, 374, 377; 2, 17; U, 582. 2 Ib., N, 296. 5 Ib., B, 377.

3 Ib., B, 536, 465. 30

4 Ib., F, 417.

Van Houten conveyed to Merselis Van Giesen, for $1,625 a strip of IO. Io acres off the southeastern end of this farm, 670 feet on Burhans lane, and 660 feet northwesterly along the line of the present Doremus farm and Marion street. 1 This plot was sold "with also the privilege of the watering place at along the north side of the turnpike road." The latter clause is explained by the fact that Van Giesen pro- posed to keep a tavern in the house formerly occupied by Doremus and Garritse, near the corner of the turnpike and the present Doremus street. Van Houten retained the re- mainder of this farm until his death, when it was divided between his two daughters-Mary, wife of John R. Berdan, of Slooterdam, and Catherine, wife of Ralph Doremus. Mrs. Berdan received a farm extending 17.47 chains along the turnpike, northwesterly from the Van Giesen line ; the farm allotted to Mrs. Ralph Doremus extended 18.25 chains further northwesterly, to the Totowa Patent line, or to the present Cedar Cliff Park line;2 it remains in the possession of her heirs.

The northeastern half (it was nearly half, containing 32.80 acres) of Lot No. 5 was probably sold by John Doremus in 180I to Merselis Van Giesen, who conveyed the same, July 16, 1816, to Cornelius and Adrian Van Giesen, for $5,000. Adrian released to Cornelius, who about 1826 parted with the property. The tavern site was included in these con- veyances. 3

Lot No. 6-Lot No. 6 was devised by Gerrebrant Van Houten to his grandson, Adrian-Adrian Van Houten; the latter, by deed dated June 22, 1807, being then of Paterson Landing (now Passaic), sold this lot to John Burhans and Samuel Burhans, for $2,561, or at the rate of $32.50 per acre, the farm being then estimated to contain 78.70 acres. 4

CHAPTER VI.

THE SETTLERS OF TOTOWA.

How many are there of us, in this

Discordant social wilderness,

Whose thriftiest scions the power gain,

Thro' meet conditions of sun and rain,

To yield, on the fairest blossoming shoot,

A mellow harvest of perfect fruit ? . .

How should his life grow full and ripe,

There in the passionless haunts of Peace,

Thro' trade, and tillage, and wealth's increase ? "Alice of Monmouth," by E. C. Stedman.

THE VAN HOUTENS.

T HE progenitor of the Van Houten family of this region was Roelof Cornelissen. The earliest reference to a per- son of this name, whichi tlie writer has found, is in 1638, when

1 Ib., A, 490 ; B, 462; E, 136 ; H, 487. 3 Ib., K, 122. 4 Ib., E, 444.

2 Ib., T, 209, 607.

234

HISTORY OF PATERSON.

Roeloff Cornelissen van Houten is mentioned among the immigrants in that year to Rensselaerswyck.1 In 1640 Jan Cornelissen van Houten and Cornelis Kryne van Houten came over to the same colony, and in 1642 Jan Cryne van Houten.2" From a careful examination of the early records it is inferred that four brothers-Roelof, Pieter, Helmigh (William, Guilliam) and Theunis-all sons of a Cornelis Somebody, came to New Netherland between 1638 and 1650, settling in various places, but ultimately taking up their several abodes at or near Amersfoort, on Long Island.3 The descendants of these men took different surnames. An amusing episode-more enjoyable to the reader of to-day than to the unfortunate victim-is recorded under date of January 28, 1648, being the judgment of the High and Mighty Director-General and Council of New Netherland :

"Sentence-Roeloff Cornelissen, a soldier, for wounding the corporal, to ride the Wooden horse, two hours a day for three days, with a ten pound weight fastened to each foot, to pay the surgeon's bill, and to forfeit six months' wages."4

Pity 'tis that we have no more light on this transaction, which might go to show that the doughty Roelof was in- spired on this occasion by something of that spirit of inde- pendence which has ever characterized the inhabitants of the Netherlands. It is not certain that this Roelof Cornelis- sen is the ancestral Van Houten, but the probabilities point that way.

Under date of January 13, 1657, the schepens of Amers- foort, Long Island, reported to the authorities that with the general consent of the community they had made an assess- ment of two hundred and sixty-seven florins upon the in- habitants for the support of a minister. Among those as- sessed was Roelof Cornelissen, for ten florins.5 His wife was Gerritje Van Nes. No record has been found showing whence either Roelof or his wife6 came. His children, in their later years, sometimes assumed the name Van Houten, which indicates that Roelof probably came from that place. Houten is a small village in the southeastern part of the Province of Utrecht, in Holland, about a mile south of the ancient and important city of Utrecht. It is in latitude north fifty-two degrees two minutes, longitude east five de- grees ten minutes. "Including its immediate suburbs it contains about one thousand and fifty inhabitants, one- third of whom live in the heart of the village. It is a love- ly, rural spot, charmingly situated, with a fine public square, and is much traversed, as it lies on the road to Culenborg, Bommel and 's Hertogenbosch [the Ducal forest]. It has a small, rather insignificant church, which, however, has a large, handsome tower, and contains a beautiful funeral

1 O'Callaghan's New Netherland, I., 438. 2 Ib., I., 439, 440.

3 Ih., II., 583-593; Pearson's Alhany Records, 210; Bergen's Kings County Settlers, 70-71; N. Y. Col. Docs., XIV., 53, 64, 65, 78, 379, 473, 522, 527. Some of them are described as from Utrecht.

4 N. Y. Hist. MSS., I., 115.

5 N. Y. Col. Docs., XIV., 379.

6 In the records, Roelof's wife or widow is sometimes called Gerritje Cornelis, so she was probably a daughter of Cornelis Van Nes, who obtained a patent, May 23, 1659, for twenty-five morgens of land near Amersfoort .- N. Y. Col. Docs., XIV., 437.

monument to the Duke of Velthuizen, erected in the begin- ning of the seventeenth century, and one for Esaye Gillot, both Lords of Hemstede. The Roman Catholic Church is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and has a tower and an organ."1 Within a radius of five miles of Houten are a number of towns and villages which have given their names to many places and families in this country, as Vechten, Oudewater, Breukelen, Westbrook, Tienhoven, Noorden, Buren, Wageningen, Vreeland, Amersfoort, Hoogland, Stoutenburg, Huizen (Voorhees), Bussum, Blaricum, de Bilt, and Giessen.

Second Generation.

Roelof Cornelissen and Gerritje Van Nes had children:

I. Hellemeg (Helmigh, now generally written Hal- magh), bap. June 25, 1648. He joined the Bergen church, March 27, 1674; m. Jannetje Pieterse, from Gelderland, Oct. 2, 1676. By deed dated Nov. 2, 1696, he bought Lot No. 2, at Slooterdam, on which some of his descendants still reside. He conveyed the north half of this lot to his son, Peter Helmer Van Houten, Oct. 27, 17II. He d., probably at Slooterdam, Oct. 7, 1729. His wife was received into the Bergen church, June 25, 1677. He was known as Helle- meg2 Roelofse.

II. Cornelis, bap. Sept. 10, 1651; he joined the Bergen church, June 25, 1677. Cornelis Roelofs, y. m., from Amersfoort, Long Island, m. Maddalena Van Giesen, from New York, Nov. 13, 1677; she m. 2d, Sander Egberse, widr. of Elsie Staets, April 20, 1701. He was known as Cornelis Roelofse, or (in the English records) as Cornelius Rowlofson. He was one of the patentees of Acquackanonk, March 16, 1685. No record has been found showing which of the Lots was apportioned to him in the original allotment of the Hundred Acre farms fronting on the Passaic river. 3 That he settled at Acquackanonk, and was a planter, or farmer there, appears by two early deeds. On May 4, 1693, John Curtis, of Newark, conveyed to "Cornelius Roullif- son of hockquickanon a certain tract of upland containing fourtie chains in length and sixteen chains in breadth at the south end and 29 chains at the north end; bounded north by the line that runs between Newark and Hockquickanon, west by the fresh meadow and the brook; and south and east by the brook and running as the brook runs into the

1 Terwen, 158.

2 This name is from a German root, the primary meaning of which is a cover, shield, or protection ; whence helm, and helmet (the same in Dutch and English), a protection for the head. The personal name is not given in any Dutch dictionary the author has consulted, hut it is found in the German forms, Helmar, Helmich, Helmut, Helmerich ; in Friesland, Elmark ; in the Norse, Hjalmar. The German Wilhelm is an intensive form of the same name, meaning "much" or "great" shield or protection. In the early records hereahouts we sometimes find that a person haptized Helmigh has in later life heen known as William or "Wim" Van Houten. Among the Jersey Dutch of Passaic and Bergen counties the name Helmigh or Halmagh has been contract- ed, in familiar intercourse, to "Ham" or "Hap."

3 By a reference in a deed dated May 15, 1722, it appears that Lot 3, of the original Hundred Acre Lots, fronting on the river, was then owned hy Maddaleena Van Giesen. It is prohahle that she held it hy right of her first hushand, and that it was apportioned to Cornelis Roelofse at the first settlement of Acquackanonk.

235

THE VAN HOUTENS.

first mentioned line that parts Newark and Hockquickanon, be it more or less." Roullifson was to pay the quit rent of a half penny per acre to the Lords Proprietors.1 By patent dated May 16, 1694, the Lords Proprietors conveyed to "Cornelius Roulifson of Hachquickanon planter in the right of John Curtis of Newark, all that tract of land be- tween two small brooks adjoining to the line betwixt New- ark & Hockquickanon beginning at a tree standing in the partition line and thence running southeast along said brook 29 chains to a brook thence along the brook 40 chains; thence northwest along the brook 16 chains; thence north along the brook to a boggy meadow, and from thence to where it began; bounded east, south & west by the brook aforesaid, & northeast by the said partition line, containing after allowances for barrens, highways &c. sixty acres Eng- lish measure."2 On a copy of a map showing the appor- tionment of the "Point Patent," in the present city of Pas- saic, Lot No. 14 bears the name "rolf Cornelisen van der houten"-Roelof Cornelissen Van Houten; this was the son of Cornelis Roelofsen, the Acquackanonk patentee, and this map indicates that this Lot was apportioned to him, and de- scended to his son.3 References in ancient deeds indicate similarly that Lot No. 3 in the Wesel subdivision was set off to Cornelis, or to his heirs. It has been already stated that Lot No. 6, West, in the Bogt subdivision, was appor- tioned to the heirs of Cornelis Roelofse.4 From the date of his wife's second marriage we may infer that Cornelis died about the year 1700, when he was less than fifty years of age.

III. Theunis; Tunis Roelofse, from Amersfoort, Long Island, married Tryntje Claes, from Minden, Holland, Dec. 23, 1677, at Bergen; his wife is generally called Tryntje Claes Kuyper (Cooper). The baptisms of their first six children were recorded at Bergen. They were among the eleven persons received into the Tappan church at its or- ganization, Oct. 24, 1694, and their children were thereafter baptized there. Theunis was the progenitor of the very nu- merous Van Houtens of Tappan and neighborhood.

IV. (prob.) Geesje, wife of Lubbert Lubbertsen (Wes- tervelt). She and her husband were received into the Ber- gen church Oct. 2, 1676-the same day that Helmigh Roe- lofse was married there.

Third Generation.

Helmigh-Roelof Cornelissen and Jannetje Pieterse had children:

I. Roelof, bap. June II, 1677; m. Ist, Aagtje-Cor- nelisse Vreeland, April 21, 1701; 2d, Feitje Sickels, Dec. 15, 17II. He and his father were the first of the Acquack- anonk community to buy land north of the Passaic river, they being the Helmigh Roelofse and Roelof Helmighse who bought a third interest in Totowa from Major Anthony Brockholls, as already mentioned. Roelof settled on this

purchase, doubtless in the neighborhood of the present Laurel Grove cemetery, or southwest of the road to Sin- gack. He was probably a carpenter and wheelwright by trade, which he followed in the intervals of his farming. His will, dated June 16, 1762, proved December I, 1770, was witnessed by Dierck Van Giesen, Theunis Dey and George Vreland; a codicil, dated July 6, 1769, was wit- nessed by Dierck Van Giesen, John Vanwincle and Theunis Dey. By this instrument he disposed of his property thus:

I will and Order that my Beloved wife fytje shall Possess and Enjoy all my Estate Both Real & Personal During the time she doth Continue to be my Widow and after the Death or Remarryege of my said Wife I give all my lands to my three sons Namely Robert Johannes and Cor- nelius to them the said Robert Johannis and Cornelus their Heirs & As- signs for Ever to be Equally Divided among them my son Robert to have and Hold the House and Setelment where he now Dwels upon and my son Johannes to Have and Hold the House and Setelment where he now Dwels upon and my sone Cornelius to Have and Hold the House and Setelment where I now Dwell upon and the Remainder of my Lands to be Equally Divided among my three Sons above Named in Such a Manner as will be most Convenient for Each of them I also Give to my three Sons all my Carpenters and Wheelwright tools and also all my Utensils of Husbandry. I also give to my said three sons Each an Equal third Part of all my right & title I have in a Brew Kitel Brew- house with the Utensils and the Appurtenances thereunto belonging to them and Each of them their Heirs and Assigns for Ever I also give to my sone Cornelius the Chois of all my Negrose and all the Remainder of my movables to he Equally Divided among all my Children to witt Hel- mogh, Eachje now wife of Jacob Spier Robert Johannes, Cornelius, Geertruy now wife of Manes Van Wagenen, Catelyntie now wife of Frans Post. And further I will and Order that my three sones Namely Robert, Johannes, and Cornelus shall Each of them pay the full sum of Sixty pound Current Money of New York to my sone Helmogh and my three Daughters Namely Eachje, Geertruy, and Catelyntje, to them their Heirs or Assigns and that within six Years after the Death or Re- marryege of my said Wife my sone Robert shall pay thirty1 Pound to my sone Helmogh also thirty1 Pound to Eachje now Wife of Jacob Spier and my son Johannes shall pay the sum of Sixty2 Pound to Geertruy now Wife of Manes Van Wagenan and my sone Cornelus shall pay the sum of Sixty2 Pounds to Catelyntje now wife of Frans Post.3

II. Pieter, bap. Jan. 23, 1680; m. Claertje Post, April 8, 1703. (She was bap. Dec. 4, 168I, dau. of Adrian- Adrian Post.4 ) He settled at Slooterdam, his father con- veying to lim Lot No. 2.

III. Cornelis, b. March 21, 1682; m. Aagtje Johannisse Vreeland, April 19, 17II; he probably lived at Bergen, where he d. Oct. 4, 1748. She was bap. April 22, 1690, dau. of Johannis-Michiel Jansen. 5

IV. Catelyntje, b. Feb. 17, 1685; m. Johannis Gerrit- sen, Nov. 4, 1703. He was b. Jan. II, 1678, son of Gerrit Gerritsen. For his ancestry and descendants, see pp. 84-85.

V. Jacob, b. Dec. II, 1687; m. Maritje Sickels, June 10, 1718. He had but one child, Jannetje, b. Feb. 24, 1719; m. Waling-Johannis-Waling Jacobse (Van Winkel), June 8, 1743.6 Jacob is described as of "Achqueghenonck in the County of Bergen," in his will, dated Dec. 12, 1769, wit- nessed by Josh Godwin, John Van Winckel and Jacb V. Wincle; proved May 10, 1788. He probably lived at the southwestern end of Totowa, near the present Laurel Grove

1 E. J. Deeds, D, 390.

2 E. J. Deeds, E, 107. This was a patent for apparently the land mentioned in the conveyance from Curtis.

3 This Lot is believed to have been between Prospect street and Grove street, or in that vicinity.

4 See p. 73.

1 By the codicil this was reduced to fifteen pounds.

2 Reduced by the codicil to thirty pounds.

3 E. J. Wills, K, 294. 4 See p. 137. 5 See p. 118. 6 See pp. 97, 99.

236

HISTORY OF PATERSON.

cemetery, in his early life, but after the death of his wife made his home with his daughter, in Acquackanonk, in the stone house still standing in River street, between West and Prospect streets. He devised his property to his son-in-law and his daughter for life, with remainder to his grandchil- dren, thus:

It is my Will that my Son in law Waling Van Winckel and my daugh- ter Yannitye shall possess and enjoy all my real estate in the County of Bergen or elsewhere during their natural life and all my moveable estate I give to them their heirs and assigns for ever and after the de- cease of my said son in law Waling and my daughter Yannetye I give all my lands aforesaid unto my grand sons namcly Jacob Cornelus & John that is to say I give and bequeath to said Jacob all that my lot of land laying on the South side of the road leading from the great Falls to Pequaneck1 bounded Northerly by land of my brother Roelf and South- erly by Passaick river also all that lot of land laying at a place common- ly called the Hook bounded Westerly by land of Dirrick Van Gieson and Rinier Van Gieson deceased Easterly by land of the heirs of my brother Dirrick and Southerly by Passaic river above the Little Falls Also all that lot of land which I last bought of the Proprietors and may more fully appear by a Deed of the same bearing date the first day of May 1754 reference being thereunto had together with all the appurtenances to the above premises belonging which land hereby given to said Jacob I give to him his heirs and assigns forever. Item I give and bequeath to my said grandson Cornelus his heirs and assigns forever all that my lot of land laying on the South side of a hill known by the name of (Harte Berg) containing forty four acres bounded between between the the heirs of my said brother Derrick & Derrick Van Gieson and Ryneer Van Gieson de- ceased. Itcm I give & bequeath to my said grand son John his heirs and assigns forever all the remainder of my Lands and Tenements to- gether with all the appurtenances to the same belonging all which lands hereby given to my said grandsons shall devolve to them after the de- cease of my sd son in law Waling and my daughter Yannetye as above- said. Item I give also to said John Five shillings for his birth right. Item I give to said Jacob and John all my right which I have in a Brew- house brew kettle with the utensils whatsoever to the same belonging to them their heirs and assigns forever and further it is my Will and order that my said grandsons namely Jacob & John shall pay or cause to be paid the sum of Two hundred pounds current money of the Colony of New York to my grandsons namely Waling and Helmag and my grand daughters namely Hillegont and Marritye and to each of them the sum of Fifty pounds that is say the said Jacob shall pay to each of them the sum of Twenty two pounds ten shillings money aforesaid and the said John shall pay to each of them the sum of Twenty-seven pounds ten shillings money aforesaid and at or before the expiration of six years after the decease of my said son in law Waling and my daughter Yan- netye.2

VI. Dirck, b. Dec. II, 1687; m. Metje [Martha] Gerre- brantse, of Gemoenipa, Sept. 27, 17II. He was one of the most enterprising and progressive members of the Van Hou- ten family in his day, and acquired extensive possessions. He was less than thirty years old when he bought from Henry Brockholls, Sept. 26, 1715, a one-fourth interest in a large tract at Totowa. It has been already related3 that by deed dated October 29, 1724, he bought of the Brockholls heirs the western half, or about 319 acres, of Lot No. 2, of the Totowa Patent. On June 14, 1736, 4 he joined with his brothers Roelof and Jacob, and Rynier Van Giesen, in the purchase of a tract of several hundred acres lying immedi-

1 The road leading from Totowa to Singac.

2 E. J. Wills, Book No. 31, f. 255.

3 See p. 227.

4 "In the tenth year of George the Second" is the language of the deed. George I. died June 10, 1727, and George II. was proclaimed June 14, 1727.

ately southwest of the Totowa Patent, which the grantees partitioned between themselves and Derrick Van Giesen, May 26, 1746.1 On June I, 1741, Paulus Peterse, of ach- quechenonk, yeoman, conveyed to Dirrek Van houte of the county of Bergen, yeoman, for £150 proclamation money of New Jersey (about $325 in coin), "all and every of the lands hereinafter named that is to say one certain lot of land laying to the North of wesel within the limits and Bounds of achquechenonk Being No Nine also one other lot of land joining to the former Being No ten, Both which said lots making one entire tract of land Bounded East upon a line called and commonly known By the name of the Cross line south By a lot of land Belonging to hendrick spier North By land Belonging to adrian F: post west and Northwest upon pesaik River as the same is laid out By John Verkerk as may fully appear By a chart or map thereof made By said Verkirk. "2 He also acquired other lands, at Preakness. He lived in a stone house on the north side of Totowa ave- nue, between North Nineteenth and North Twentieth streets ; the site is now occupied by the residence of John Bensen. In 1769, when he made his will, he describes him- self as of Achquecknonk ; he was probably living with one of his daughters, or perhaps in the Bogt with his son Jacob. He was unusually well educated for his day, as he was able to write his name in full-Derrick Van Houten. "Derrick," or "Dirck," it might be remarked, is the Dutch for Richard. He was nearly eighty-two years old when he made his will; it was proved Dec. 16, 1769. In view of the large estate disposed of, and the numerous descendants and others in- terested, it is given herewith in full :

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History of the city of Paterson and the County of Passaic, New Jersey, Part 60

Author: Nelson, William, 1847-1914 Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Paterson : Press Printing and Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 466

Author: Nelson, William, 1847-1914
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Paterson : Press Printing and Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 466