Den Harinck

I Jan Franz Van Husum came from Husum, part of the Duchy of Schleswig, though in reality we thought of ourselves as Dutch from North Friesland. War with Sweden devastated the country side. The stormn and flood of 1634 finished the job of annihilating the island of Nord Strand and the city of Husum. In July of 1637, I boarded den Herinck (the Hering) with my new wife, Volkjie, arriving in New Amsterdam in September.
The Autobiography of Jan Franz Van Husum

Jan Frans Van Husum and Volkje Juriens wed in the Nieuw Kirk in Amsterdam on May 15, 1639. Shortly thereafter, they set sail on the ship "den Harlinck," arriving in New Amsterdam on July 7, 1639. (Elsewhere spelled den Harinck). Jan and his wife Volkje made their way up the Hudson River to the new colony of Fort Orange. Eight children were born in Fort Orange or in the nearby settlement of Rennselaerwyck. The first child, Franz was born in 1640 and the last of the eight children, Volkert, in 1658.

(Genealogy of Volkje Juriens, Compare, the genealogy of  Tebbets - Courtney - Jerigan which records nine children, recording a daughter Catharina, born 1635 in Fort Orange. This is unlikely. Joyce Lindstrom records that the will of Jan Franz Van Husum lists nine children with Catharina born in 1653, which is more likely.)

Den Harinck/den Harlinck

Joyce Lindstrom reports that Jan and Volkje sailed aboard the ship den Harlinck. The name has been translated elsewhere as "herring," although I have not been able to find this translation anywhere.

Castelo Plan

The image is of the Castelo Plan (Wikipedia) and illustrates what the Dutch city of Nieuw Amsterdam appeared like at about the time Jan and Volkje Van Husum arrived.


Den Harinck

The ship den Harinck is included in a list of ships transporting early pilgrims to America. See Packrat. The list only includes passengers on an earlier voyage in 1637.

An updated list by the OliveTreeGenealogy for den Harinck May 1639, still does not include the name Van Husum.

Rennselaerwyck Settlers aboard the den Harinck 

A book by Arnold Johan Ferdinand Van Laer, entitled Settlers of Rensselaerswyck, 1630-1658, lists some settlers and the ships that they arrived on. Unfortunately, it does not include Jan and Volkje. Interestingly, it does record Willem Juriaensz, who arrived nine months earlier, and later in the history of Fort Orange had dealings with Jan Van Husum.

Settlers of Rensselaerwyck, 1630-1658 is available on Google Books. This source lists the voyage of den Harinck sailing 1637, arriving 1638.

The site lists other settlers (including Sander Leendertsz Glen, Andries and Marten Hendricksz, and Barent Pietersz Koijemans (Coeymans) sailing aboard den Harinck, from Texel in May 1639; arrived at New Amsterdam. July 7, 1639. The list may only include individuals working specifically for Rennselaerwyck.

The Journey aboard den Harinck

The ship set sail from Texel, an island off of the Dutch coast near Amsterdam. Texel was a common point of embarkation and hundreds of ships might lie at anchor at any one time.

Nothing is recorded of the voyage aboard den Harinck, but we do know that the voyage was quick, a journey of two months during the summer of 1639. We can therefore assume the journey was uneventful. By contrast is the voyage of den Harinck in September of 1637, which did not arrive until March of 1638, a journey of six months indicating that a winter's voyage was to be avoided. Settlers of Rensselaerwyck, 1630-1658, page 16.