Jan Fransse VanHoesen

It all begins with JAN Fransse VAN HUSUM who was the first Van Hoesen, Vanhooser, Van Huss that came to America.

He was born about 1608/9 in the city of Husum in the province of Schleswig in northern Germany, now called Schleswig-Holstein (image of Husum harbor from Wikipedia Commons).

In May of 1639 he married Volkje Jurisens and the two of them set sail for the New World. Two months later on  July 7, 1639, the couple arrived in New Amsterdam, now New York City, and settled at Fort Orange, Beverwyck, now Albany, New York.

He was not Dutch as the name supposes. Rather, he was a Schleswigan subjected to Danish rule.He spoke low German, probably with a Fisian or Danish dialect. It is after three generations of living among the Dutch settlers in New Netherlands and New York, that his descendants became Dutch by association.

A good summary of  Jan's history and some court records can be found at Welcome to the Van Hoesen/ Van Hoozer/ Van Hoose History&Court Records Page.