Peter Schoonoven

Heather’s 6th great grandfather

Peter Schoonoven was born in 1738 in Walpack, New Jersey, the son of Pieternella and Niclaeus. He had at least 2 children with Neeltie Swartwout, with 2 others unconfirmed. He died in 1807 in Tioga, New York, at the age of 69.

Much of the analysis of Peter’s life is in son James’s biography. That is where I reprinted Peter’s probate record and analysis of his life with Neeltje.

I have no documentation of Peter’s early life. Since he would have married Neeltje around age 45, and it was her 2^nd marriage, maybe it was a 2^nd marriage for him as well. If there was an earlier family, I have no idea.

Professional Schoonover researchers have been documenting this family for decades. The master tree can be found here:

https://sites.google.com/site/schoonoversinamerica/index

And even these researchers do not have any more information than I already have. Burial location and place are unknown.

Niclaes Schoonoven

Heather’s 7th great grandfather

Other than locating a transcript of his will, I owe all of the research to the Schoonover genealogists who collaborated on this site: https://sites.google.com/site/schoonoversinamerica/index

I reprinted their text below.

Niclaes Van Schoonhoven was born Abt June 03, 1694 in Kingston, Ulster Co, NY, and died probably in September, 1764 Walpack Twp, NJ. He married Pieternella Westfael Abt 1728, daughter of Nicholas Westvael and Sarah Van Aken. From research by Patty B. Myers: "After the death of his father, Nicholas and his brothers Henricus and Rudolphus, together with their wives and families and the families of Brinks and Swartwouts, moved to from Kingston via Old Mine Road to Sussex Co., New Jersey. [The Old Mine Road was probably the first wheeled-vehicle road in this country, built three hundred years and perhaps more ago by the pioneer Dutch settlers for access to the mines of the Minisink country. It extended from Esopus (now Kingston), New York, and Sussex and Warren Counties in New Jersey, to the Delaware Water Gap. (C. G. Hine, The Old Mine Road, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, N.J., 1909.)] They made their homes in the Minisink area of the upper Delaware River Valley, Sussex Co., NJ. In 1747 they were attached to the Moravian Church of the Upper Delaware Valley, Walpack. (Tedford E. Schoonover, Our Family History, Schoonover, Kar, Robinson, Hayes, p. 5.)"

We do have a transcript of his will, which shows his wife’s first name. Inventory was made and the will was proven in late September 1764, so he probably died in early September.

Niclaes and Pieternella would have witnessed and survived the Indian massacres of December 1755.

He lived in the same time period and was raised alongside who we might call his “step-brother” who was also legally named Niclaes Schoonoven. But that stepbrother is AKA “Nick the bastard”, and the 2 Nicks did not share mother or father. Nick the bastard’s story is so colorful that I was disappointed that I wasn’t descended from him.

Hendrick Claessen Van Schoonoven

Heather’s 8th great grandfather

Based on research done by professional Schoonover researchers and published here: https://sites.google.com/site/schoonoversinamerica/index/schoonover-mastertree1

I know the following.

Hendrick Claessen Van Schoonoven was baptized 5 May 1652 at the Dutch Reformed Church in Fort Orange, Orange County, New York.

He married (1) Debora Christoffels Davids on 6 July 1679, but divorced her in Oct 1687 after she produced Nick the bastard, referenced in my earlier post about his unrelated “step”brother. Hendrick had no legitimate children with Debora. Court document recording the divorce testimony indicates that he really wanted Debora to agree to come home with him and live as an “honest woman” and that he repeatedly told the court that he forgave her. It must have broken his heart when Debora refused to come home with him, telling the court that she had never loved him.

He married (2) Cornelia Swartwout, before 12 November 1688 in Albany, New York. Old Swartwout family histories also record this marriage, but say it was “before 1689”. We know it was before 12 Nov 1688, because that is when he wrote his will, and in that will he named Cornelia as his bride. He wrote the will specifically to name Debora’s child and show that he was to be effectively left out of the estate by being left one shilling. (Ulster County, N.Y. Probate Records, Vol. I, p. 49, originally published in New York by Gustave Anjou 1906, reprinted by Palatine Transcripts, Arthur C. M. Kelly, Rhinebeck, NY 12572, 1980.)

Hendrick and Cornelia would go on to have 8 children.

There is a curious story about how he almost married (3) Willemjen De Lange, but that marriage banns registered 4 Dec 1715 were “withdrawn the same day”. We know this is the same Henry because in the marriage banns he is referred to as the widower of Cornelia Swartwout.

It is from this publication of marriage banns that we know that he died after 4 Dec 1715, but that is all we know about when he may have died.

He and Cornelia are buried in the Dutch Reformed Church, Kingston, Ulster County, New York, the same place his parents are buried.

Claes Henrickse Van Schoonoven

Heather’s 9th great grandfather

Claess Van Schoonoven was born in 1629 in Wilsburgh/Utrecht, Holland. He had one son and one daughter with Neeltie Frederickse. He died as a young father, before 16 March 1661 in New York at the age of 32, and was buried in Kingston, New York.

From research of Patty B. Myers: "KLASS1 VAN SCHOONOVER, came to America 1640-48. There is a record of him being in Fort Orange (Albany) prior to 1654. He d. 15 Mar 1661; bur. in the church yard of the Dutch Reformed Church in Kingston, N.Y.; m 1654 CORNELIA ("NEELTIE") FREDRICKSE. Klaas van Schoonover was a carpenter and also dealt in real estate. In 1657 he held a patent for a lot in Beverwyck (original name of Fort Orange). He had a number of real estate transactions recorded in Ulster County, New York prior to his death. A deed of 1657 records the ground on which the Askokan Reservoir now stands near Kingston as the property of Klaas Hendrick Van Schoonhoven, Dutch immigrant from Wiltaberg (Utrecht, Holland).

Again, all of this research is from the professional Schoonover researchers and published here: https://sites.google.com/site/schoonoversinamerica/index/schoonover-mastertree1

There are some references on the web to Claess’s father and grandfather, but since the Schoonover master tree indicates that this is not proven, I will stop with Claess.

Claess would have been part of the New Netherland colonialists. The colony was originally set up as a trading post, but happened to be located on good farmland and eventually the Dutch colonists used it as such. They took (stole) Native American land, and tensions between the Dutch and the Natives resulted in a series of wars. The first war lasted from September 1659 to July 1660. Claess would have been present to witness this and possibly could have been a casualty of this war.

In September 1664, the New Netherland colony was ceded to the English. The English got along better with the Native Americans and they wrote a peace treaty in 1665, and paid for the stolen land. However, the Dutch and the Native Americans would clash again during the French and Indian Wars in terrible massacres in Pennsylvania settlements in December 1755, as I referred to in Niclaes's bio.