Van Hoesen House

Go to the site for the Van Hoesen House in New York.

Jan Van Husum and the Patron Rensselaer

I bore no grudge against the patroon, indeed, I owed a great deal to the Rensselaer family: ship's passage from Amsterdam to the colony for myself and my wife, a lot on which to garden and build a house, a new life in exchange for four years work. The patroon needed colonists for a Dutch Colony. I never met the patroon, though I saw his painting hanging in the office of his agent at the Dutch West India Company. My problems with the patroon did not occur until much later, after I had worked off my debt to him and his company. By trading for furs with the Mohicans, I slowly acquired wealth. It was then that I took up the notion of acquiring land as he done, and having done so, our legal battle would begin.
A Fictional Autobiography of Jan Franz Van Husum

Renssalaerwyck

The story of the Rensselaerwyck Colony in America is well known.*

For millennia, the Mahican (Mohicans, Mohawks) lived in the Hudson River Valley.

Then, in 1630, the Dutch West India Company deeded (there will forever be a debate as to what right they had to take land belonging to the Indians and formally and legally acquire it) to to Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a wealthy Dutch merchant and one of the company's original directors. Rensselaerwyck was like a broad sandwich, extending for miles at the confluence of the Mohawk River and the Hudson including present-day Albany.

Rensselaerwyck saw the colony as a business oportunity and engaged hundreds of Dutch settlers to sail to Renssalaerwyck to be his tenants. Usually, for a period of four years in exchange for free passage. Jan Fransse Van Husum was among them.

The Dutch West India Company required Rennsalaer to appease the original Indian land and to transport "fifty souls upwards of the age of 15, one-forth to be sent during the first year, and the remainder before the expiration of the fourth year."

To this end, Rensselaer's agent, Sebastiaen Jansen Crol, an officer in charge of Fort Orange, in a series of purchases from 1630 to 1639, purchased (again, one can dispute the legal niceties of the word) all the land on the west side of the Hudson from Albany 12 miles south to Smack's Island, at the mouth of the Mohawk River stretching two days' journey inland," and the land east of the river, north and south, at a similar distance.

See the original map of Rennsselaerwyck from Wikipedia.

Coming to America, Jan Fransse Van Husum 

In 1634, a flood of biblical proportions struck the western coast of the Jutland peninsula and the town of Husum, Jan called home, and the island of Nordstrand where his wife to be lived. The couple made their way to Amsterdam and married in May of 1639, shortly before setting sail aboard the ship Den Harlink to join other settlers in Renssalaerwyck. They arrived at Fort Orange in July and started a new life. Outside the fort, a community called Beverwyck was established. Relations with the Mohawks was by all accounts friendly. Jan reportedly worked for the colony as a clerk.

Four years passed and more.

In 1653 on the 25th of October, the Dutch government of the New Netherlands records a land patent giving Jan Fransse Van Hoesen Van Hoesen a lot with a garden in Beverwyck.

Then, on June 5, 1662, it is recorded that Jan purchased from the Mohicans several hundred acres of the Claverack land to the north of Rensselaerwyck. The purchase price was 500 guilders in beaver skins. Jan's purchase included the present day city of Hudson and part of Greenport. It extended along the Hudson Riveron the north from Stockport Creek to the mouth of Keshna's Kill on the south, which empties into the South Bay near Mount Merino, and on the east of Claverack Creek. At this point, where it met the boundary of Rennsalaerwyck.

Van Hoesen vs. Van Renssalaer

Rennselaer contested Jan's land patent. Jan and his former patroon would meet in a court of law. After Jan's death, the case would be decided in his favor. One interesting fact, papers related to the lawsuit are in the Library of Congress, files of Alexander Hamilton, but I find them too hard to read.

Notes:

There are two principal sources for the article:
Van Rensselaer Family,
New Netherlands and Jan Van Husum.

Of course, one also should always consult Joyce Lindstrom's book,
Vanhoose, Van Hooser, Van Huss Family in America.

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.

Husum - Die Stadt

Husum

The best descriptions of Husum and North Friesland can be found in the writings of Theodor Sturm, 1817 - 1888. Sturm was a native of Husum and his many stories, poems, and novellas take place in North Friesland. He writes of the greyness of the weather, the austere beauty of its expansive mudflats, barren pastures, and treeless plains, and finally the menacing sea which is always a threat to existence.

The World of Theodor Storm is an excellent resource for his life and works, as well as a good description of Husum and the North Friesland coast. Die Stadt by Storm describes his feelings to the town of Husum where he grew up.

Die Stadt

Am grauen Strand, am grauen Meer
Und seitab liegt die Stadt;
Der Nebel drückt die Dächer schwer,
Und durch die Stille braust das Meer
Eintönig um die Stadt.

By the grey Shore, on the grey Sea
At the seaside lies the Town;
The Fog presses upon the roofs heavily,
And through the quiet roars the Sea
Its steady beat upon the Town.

Es rauscht kein Wald, es schlägt im Mai
Kein Vogel ohn Unterlaß;
Die Wandergans mit hartem Schrei
Nur fliegt in Herbstesnacht vorbei,
Am Strande weht das Gras.

No forest stirs, in May
Each bird chatters incessantly
The wandering goose with its harsh Cry
Flies off only in the autumn night,
While on Shore the blades of grass wave goodby.

Doch hängt mein ganzes Herz an dir,
Du graue Stadt am Meer;
Der Jugend Zauber für und für
Ruht lächelnd doch auf dir, auf dir,
Du graue Stadt am Meer.

On that and you all my heart doth lie,
The grey Town on the Sea;
Of the Magic of Youth by and by
Rests smiling yet, on you, on you,
The grey Town by the Sea.

My translation of Theodor Storm's The Town.

Elizabeth and Catherine Worley

I was always struck by the fact that father and son, Valentine Vanhooser, Jr. and Mathias Van Huss married women with the last name of Worley. Was it coincidence?

Valentine Felty Vanhooser, Jr. (born 1768) married Catherine Abagail Worley (born 1768). Valentine would move to Tennessee in 1795. According to only one record, Catherine died in 1796 at the age of 28, and was buried in Wythe, Virginia. Catherine Worley. If so, Catherine died after giving birth to a son and a year after giving birth to her fifth child, Mathias Van Huss (Mathias is listed as the fourth child in some records).

Valentine remarried in 1799 to Juliana Spraker and sometime after 1812 to Matilda Venable.

* Search for the VanHoose(r)(n) Descendants Compiled 31 March 2011 by Robert S. Duggan, Jr.

Mathias Van Huss (born 1795) married Elizabeth Worley (born 1798). Mathias served with Capt. Solomon Hendrix's Company in the Tennessee Militia during the War of 1812. In 1817 he married Elizabeth in Wythe, Virginia. They had one child Valentine Worley Van Huss. Elizabeth died in 1820 and Mathias remarried to Lovina Dugger.

See Rutledge Family Genealogy.

The parents of  Catherine Worley were Michael Worley (born 1733) and Anna Reighert (born 1735). Barbara Craddock Schultz.

The parents of  Elizabeth Worley were Valentine Worley and Anna Spraker. The parents of Valentine Worley were the same Michael Worley, Sr. and Anna Reigher who gave birth to Catherine Worley.. Re: James A. Burchett

I hope I got this right.

.

***********************************************************

* Note on Mathias - Mathias Van Huss, son of Valentine Felty Van Huss, Jr., born 1795 in Wythe County, Virginia, died in 1856 in Johnson, Carter County, Tennessee. He had 11 children by a second wife Lovina Dugger. Descendants of Daniel Dugger. Lovina raised Valentine Worley and in her will referred to him as her child.

* Note to self. Valentine Worley, Jr., b. October 13, 1801, Cripple Creek, Wythe Co., Va., d. June 05, 1893, Wabaunsee Co., Kansas..

Why Volkje Juriens and Jan Fransse Van Husum came to America.

...
The back bone's connected to the neck bone,
The neck bone's connected to the head bone,
Now shake dem skeleton bones!

The Sailing

We know that in May of 1639, Jan and Volkje were married in Amsterdam Nieukirke. And that they set sail soon thereafter aboard the ship den Harinck. The two months crossing put them in New Amsterdam (New York) on July of 1639. Then they sailed up the Hudson River to the colony of Rensselaerswyck to start a new life.

Why leave

The simple answer to the question of why Jan Franz Van Husum and his bride Volkje Jurians Nordstrand came to America is because of a flood. The Great Flood of 1634 to be exact. AKA, the Burchardi flood or the second Grote Mandrenke (Great Man Flooding). It was a flood of biblical proportions, arriving on the night of 11 October and continuing until the next morning. It struck the along the Holland coast and the western coast of the Jutland peninsula, loosely called North Frisia. Over ten thousand lives were lost, including Volkje's parents. Nordstrand Island, where Volkje lived with her parents and sister Annetje was devastated, villages and churches completely destroyed. Husum, then a seaport, was likewise devastated by the flood.

It was time to start a new life.

Jan and Volkje soon made their way to Amsterdam. Jan was 21, Volkje 16. They took up residence on the same street in Corte Tuiinstraat, between the two canals, the Lijnbaansgracht and the Prinsengracht. Whether they came together or separately is not known. How they met and when is not known. What they did in Amsterdam is not known.

Opportunity

Little is known. What is known is that they heard of the colonial estate of the Dutch patroon Kiliaen van Rensselaer, who was providing free passage to the New World. IN exchange the colonist would farm and provide services to the patroon, swearing the following oath:

I, ______ , promise and swear that I shall be true and faithful to the noble Patroon and Co-directors, or those Commissioners and Council, subjecting myself to the good and faithful inhabitant or Burgher, without exciting any opposition, tumult, or noise; but on the contrary, as a loyal inhabitant, to maintain and support offensively and of the Colonie. And with reverence and fear of the Lord, and uplifting of both the first fingers of the right hand, I say — SO TRULY HELP ME GOD ALMIGHTY. 



It was an opportunity.
 

Notes on the Great Flood

The people who lived along the Jutland coast waged a constant battle against the sea. Nature  represented by the Great Flood of 1634 won the battle and altered history.

 The Great Flood of 1634

 

Cor Snabel

Imagine my surprise when I came across Cor Snabel's site detailing the Great Flood of 1634. As a bit of pre-history, Cor Snabel explains that a similar flood occurred in 1362. And at that time, contemporary chronicles claim that whole parishes were wiped off the map and 100,000 souls perished. Another storm stuck in 1625, dividing the island of Strand in two. 

But man persists.

See Historic Storms of the North Seas.

Read also the German Wiki account of the Buchardiflut.

Lord Dunmore's War

Just a few strands of thought.

I have included this because I believe that Valentine Felty Vanhooser participated in Lord Dunmore's War. I just need to do a little more research and polish up the writing.

Lord Dunmore's War

Lord Dunmore's War was a conflict in 1774 between the Colonists of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo Indians living in the lands west of the Alleghenies and south of the Ohio River. Liord Dunmore was the Colonial Govenor of Virginia. He called up a militia to pacify the Indian tribes who were attacking settlers in the disputed area. The war ended in October of 1774 with a colonial victory at the Battle of Point Pleasant. Following the battle, the Shawnees ceded all land south of the Ohio to the colony of Virginia.

Mary Kegley in Early Adventures on the Western Waters, Vol. 1. The New River of Virginia in Pioneer Days, 1745-1800, lists the members of Willima Herbert's Comany (1772) and includes the name of Valentine Vanhooser.

To William Herbert's Company of 1772, Mary B. Kegley lists Valentine Vanhooser. Valentine Felty Vanhooser is also reported as the overseer of the Carolina Road from Poplar Camp Creek to the Pottsylvania line. This route was used by settlers migrating from Rowan County, North Carolina to Kentucky.

One needs to reconcile the differing accounts of the Biographies of the Men in William Herbert's Company in Lord Dunmore's War (1774) and

Also

Location south and east of Wytheville on modern Highway 77.

Modern day Jackson's Ferry and the Shot Tower are located along the New River in the eastern section of Wythe County along Highway 52 in southwest Virginia.. SHOT TOWER HISTORICAL STATE PARK AND JACKSON'S FERRY. Herbert's Ferry was responsible for transporting settlers who were coming up from North Carolina on the Carolina Road and moving into Kentucky.

Google Directions.

Dutch or Deutsch

This article should be revised over time.

In her history of  the VAN HOOSE VAN HOOSER VAN HUSS FAMILY IN AMERICA, Joyce Lindstrom states:

Jan Frantz Van Husum wasn't Dutch as many people have supposed. Neither was he German. He was a Schleswigan subjected to Danish rule. He spoke low German, probably with a Frisian or Danish dialect. However, after three generations of living among the Dutch settlers in New Netherlands, his descendants gradually became Dutch by association. There were also more emigrants in New Netherlands who were Danish, Frisian and Schleswigan than Dutch.

At a gut level, I have doubted this thought primarily because the strong Dutch characteristics prominent in any of the paintings by Rembrandt, Hals, or Vermeer, are also visible in the facial features of my wife's father and the other ancient images of Van Husses, Vanhoosers, and Van Hoesens that have been saved over the years.These features include the angular nose, the sharp chin, the brown eyes and hair, and, over time, the silver hair that comes with age. To walk among the paintings of the great Dutch masters in the Rijksmuseum, one sees the merry and sometimes somber faces of the Van Huss men and women. Rijksmuseum.

Then as now, populations were constantly on the move and the peninsula now called Jutland, where the province of Schleswig and the town of Husum are located, was no exception to the forces of history and events. As pointed out in Cor Snabel's story of the Nordstrand flood of 1634, the area was ravaged by the bubonic plague in 1603, then thrown into the turmoil of the Thirty Years War in 1613, and, worst of all, subjected to a catastrophic flood in 1634 that forever altered the landscape and the lives of the Jan Van Husum and his bride to be Volkje Juriens.

Frisia from Wikipedia

A broad historical overview of the area give us the impression that the people who lived in the area were like the tides of the ocean subject to the forces of nature. The Romans called the tribes who inhabited the area Jutes, hence the name Jutland. The area's geographical significance was in the fact that the peninsula was a conduit for the transfer of goods between the Baltic and Russia to the east with the Rhine River valley and the Atlantic to the west. During the Middle Ages, the Danes established Viking control of the area. And even today, the northern part of Jutland remains Danish territory.

But, as Joyce Lindstrom observes there was one other group that figured predominantly in the region, the Frisians. Roman history records that the Frisii began settling the area along the northern coast of present day Netherlands and northwestern Germany around 400 B.C.. Ethnically, they were a Germanic people who spoke Frisian, a language related to the English. Like those who live in the area today, the Frisians struggled with the North Sea, constructing their homes on terps, man-made hills. They gained their living both from the sea, but also from the small farms they built where they kept their cattle and sheep.

There is a good discussion of  the Frisian language, still spoken by a few people on North Frisian Language,Wikipedia.

The Netherlands and the people we call the Dutch includes a much larger area than that indicated on the map. Instead, today's Netherlands are what was known as the United Provinces who rose in revolt against their Spanish overlords during the Eighty Years War.

Joyce Lindstrom is likely correct that Jan and his wife Volkje spoke a form of German. But, the distinction between German and Dutch is more one of dialect than distinct linguistic differences. In any event, the people who lived and worked along the North Frisian islands that included Nordstrand and the town of Husum, likely thought of themselves more as Dutch than German.

We know this for many reasons. First, name spellings of Jan and Volkje are common Dutch spellings and not German. The German spelling is typically Johann, but sometimes Jan or even Hans. Moreover, Jan Fransse Van Husum is the Dutch spelling. Even more telling is the name Volkje, which in Dutch means folk or common people. The German spelling is "volk" as in Volkswagen. Volkje family name Juriens, sometimes spelled "Juriaens", is often found in Holland, less so among Germans.

Other evidence of the Dutch association comes from the excellent historical article of the Flood of 1634 by
Cor Snabel, mentioned above. The flood of which Cor Snabel speaks must rank as one of the most catastrophic of that century. More than 15,000 people lost their lives, and on the island of Norstrand, where Volkje lived with her parents and sister, more than 6,000 died. Whole cities were washed away, the island of Norstrand was inundated and broken up into three smaller islands. Farm lands, which were covered by sea water, were ruined, with the result that many farmers packed up and left.

map of Nordstrand by Johannes Blaeu 1652

What Cor Snabel tells us is that four years prior to the flood, the German prince then ruling (he replaced a Danish ruler in 1627 during the Thirty Years War), hired a Dutch overseer, Jan Adriaansz Leegwater, who lived in the town of  Dagebull, a few miles north of Husum. His recounting of the terrible details of the flood and the names of the victims indicates that most if not all of the victims were Dutch in ancestry.

On the day before All Saint’s in the year 1634, when I was working as an engineer and a surveyor in the Bottschloter project, a big southwesterly storm came from the sea. At seven or eight in the evening, I visited the house of master carpenter Pieter Jansz, who was from Friesland, and who worked on a big new sluice in the project I was supervising.

Leeghwater continues, describing the aftermath of the flood.

Next morning, we saw and heard that all 37 houses of the workers were washed away, including all the people therein. Dikes, which had held up for more than 100 years, were destroyed. That day I took a boat and sailed to the village Dagebüll. The priest told me that the water had reached the level of almost five feet within the church, where people had found shelter. The house of master carpenter Pieter Jansz and the house of Pauwels Harmensz, where I had been before the storm, were vanished. Pieter Jansz and his wife and children had drowned, as had Pauwels Harmensz and his servant, who had accompanied me to my house. And there is more: early in the morning, my house was washed from the dike. The mansion was severely damaged, the cellar was like a ruin, and all the wine and beer had washed away. Big sea ships were stranded on high dikes, as I have seen myself. Several ships were stranded in the higher streets of Husum. I’ve been on the beaches, where I have seen horrible things. Countless dead bodies of people and animals, along with beams of houses, smashed wagons and lots of wood, straw and rubbish.

Aside from these few facts, we know that after the flood Volke was taken to the city of Husum. She met Jan, they moved to Tuinstraat in the city of Amsterdam.  The word "corte" is Spanish for court or section - not unusual since the Spanish had ruled the area for years. Tuijnstraat or Tuinstraat, as it is now spelled, is still to be found in Amsterdam, close to Anne Frank's House.

In 1639 Jan and Volkje embarked on a voyage to the New World. Whether Jan Fransse Van Husum was Dutch or Deutsch by birth, he certainly became Dutch by association, and to anyone who knows Bob Van Huss, it is the Dutch in him that we see.

Disaster - the Flood of 1634

If you are looking for the event that brought Jan Fransse Van Husum and Volkje Juriens together than it is surely the flood of October 11, 1634. This flood was one for the history books. It struck the island of Nordstrand and the neighboring coastal town of Husum on the night. Thousands of lives were lost.

Hardest hit were the North Frisian Islands off the western coast of Schleswig. Among these was the island of Nordstrand where Volkje lived with her parents and sister Annetje. Jan live in the neighboring port city of Husum.

Much has been written by Joyce Lindstrom and others as to whether Jan and Volkje were Frisians, Dutch, German, or even Danish. I doubt there is a simple answer. Originally, the area was settled by the ancient Frisians who were know as far back as Roman times. Then again, by 1634, the area had been settled by numerous Dutch immigrants who were in the process of reclaiming land from the sea with the use of dykes and windmills. After the flood of 1634, hundreds, if not thousands, of survivors made their way to Amsterdam. A number of these emigrated to America.

The storm was intense. Dikes, which had held up for more than 100 years, were destroyed. Over 6,000 people died, dozens of towns were washed away. The island of Nordstand, where 16 year old Volkje lived with her parents and sister, was inundated and broken up into several smaller islands.The town of Husum, just to the east of Nordstrand, was likewise devastated. Farms were rendered useless by the salt water that covered the fields and saturated the ground.

Volkje parents did not survive the storm. Afterwards, she was taken to the neighboring town of Husum. There she met Jan Fransse Van Husum.

The map, dated 1652, to the left is by Johannes Blaeu. The large island of Nordstrand was submerged and broken up into several smaller islands. Blaeu's map shows the majority of the island still underwater in 1652. Those who survived went back to the ancient custom of building houses on a hillock as a defense against the floods.

A chilling eye-witness account of the storm exists. Cor Snabel's story of the Nordstrand flood of 1634.

There was nothing left in Husum and Nordstrand for Jan and Volkje. Later records would reveal that land reclaimed by the sea not recovered by owners reverted to the state. Other settlers were brought in in order to reclaim former lands.

At some point, Jan and Volkje would move to Corte Tuijnstraat in Amsterdam. The word "corte" is Spanish for court or section, and the street (straat) Tuijnstraat still can be found in Amsterdam. The street is just around the corner from the Anne Frank House. It is a little further to the house of  Rembrandt van Rijn, who was then an up and coming painter. Rembrandt married his bride Saskia in the same year as the flood.And in 1639, bride and groom purchased a house on the Jodenbreestraat. Unhappily, Saskia would die two years later.

Jan and Volkje's marriage fared better. In 1639, they would marry in the Nieuwe Kirk of the Dutch Reformed Church. Within months, Jan and Volkje were on their way to New Amsterdam, then to Upstate New York.

There are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people living in the United States who owe their lives to the flood of 1634. My father in law and wife are among the group. Interestingly, Gary Boyd Roberts in Ancestors of American Presidents, p. 13, 269, lists Jan Fransse Van Husum as the sixth great-grandfather of Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., 26th President of the United States of America.

The Beginning - Holland and Husum

How much can be learned about Jan Fransse Van Husum, the first Van Huss in America?

Four centuries have erased any images, personal letters, and artifacts that might give us an insight into Jan's life. Still, a few historical records have survived since 1639 when Jan and his new wife Volkje Juriens sailed from Amsterdam in the Old World for New Amsterdam in the New.

One, we do know that on March 28, 1639, Jan and six others signed on with Killiaen VanRenssalear to serve with the West India Company in New Amsterdam for four years.

Van Hooze History and Court Records Page

Holland

The Amsterdam that Jan and Volkje lived in before departing for the New World was a commercial hub. The United Provinces of which Amsterdam was the principal city, was engaged in a decades long struggle with Spain for political control. In 1639, a Dutch fleet convincingly defeated a larger Spanish fleet at the Battle of the Downs and ended Spanish interference in Dutch political affairs.

For a brief time Holland and the Provinces bloomed. Its commercial success was undoubtedly the result of many factors including its tolerance of differing religious views, its openness to immigrants, and the free-spirit of its capitalism. Success can be measured in many ways. Amsterdam transformed from a city of 50,000 in 1600 to 200,000 in 1700. Its harbor contained thousands of ships. And these ships sailed to the four corners of the earth, establishing commercial ventures and new colonies everywhere. The East Indies Company was perhaps the most successful of these ventures, but lesser known was the West Indies Company with which Jan signed up.

It is tempting to set sail for the New World with Jan and Volkje. But we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. From Joyce Lindstrom's History detailing the marriage record of Jan and Volkje:

The church banns of April 30, 1639 are translated thus: "Appeared as before, Jan Franz from Housum, sailor, age 30 years, living in the Corte Tuijnstraat, having no parents but assisted by his cousin, Anna Jans, and Volckje Juriaens (daughter?) from Noorstrant, age about 21 years , of the same (street), having no parents, but assisted by her acquaintance, Isaack Pietersen. " They were married in the Dutch Reformed Church at Nieuwe Kerk at Amsterdam, Holland on May 15, 1639.

Tuijnstraat still exists on the map of the city of Amsterdam and can be found intersecting with the canal Prinsengracht, near the Anne Frank House. Tuinstraat, as it is spelled now, is still a residential area where an apartment can be found for 1750 euros a month.

Likewise, the Dutch Reformed Church at Nieuwe Kerk can still be found a short distance away at 17 Gravenstraat, next to the Royal Palace. Today, the church is no longer used as a church, but is now an exhibition space. Learn more about the Nieuwe Kerk.



Husum

Husum North Sea by Anne VanHoozer Burke

Jan had a father named Frances or Franz, or Fransse, depending on the language one uses. He was born about 1582, probably in Husum, Schleswig-Holstein, now part of Germany.

Husum is a seaport as far north in Germany as one can go. The city is described as the "Grey City" which is accurate as a description of any city on the North Sea in winter. A stiff breeze blows often making the area a center of wind power. The buildings are often pained in gay colors to offset the greyness of the sky.

http://www.deutschland-reise.de/stadt/husum/

I have not been there, but Anne VanHoozer Burke has.Click on her web page above and you will see several images of the city in winter.

It is likely that the landscape of the coast of Schleswig has not changed much in the intervening years since Jan lived in Husum. A description of Holland's north coast by one of Louis XIV's ambassador's in 1699 would probably fit the coastline of Schleswig as well. It is "...taken up on the seaward side with barren sand-dunes, subject ... to frequent flooding, and fit only for the grazing which is the country's sole wealth..."

View a 360 degree panorama of Nordstrand.

map of Johannes Blaeu, 1652

The flooding came from the cruel North Sea.

In 1634 a terrific gale hit Nordstrand, an island just off the coast where Husum is located. The sea swallowed more than half of the island, breaking it up into three smaller islands. More than 6,000 people drowned, over a thousand farms and houses were washed away, as were 28 windmills and 6 clock towers.

Among the dead were Volkje's parents. After the storm Volkje and her sister moved to Husum, where no doubt Volkje met Jan. The flood devastated the entire area. The salt from the sea covered the fields, rendering them useless. No doubt, this was the reason why Jan and Volkje moved to Amsterdam.

"The Van Hoose, Van Hooser, Van Huss Family in the United States", by Joyce Lindstrom

Valentine Worley Van Huss and sons

This article needs revision.

In 1845, Valentine Worley Van Huss married Lucinda Campbell. They lived in Carter County, near Elizabethton, In 1820, Elizabeth died giving birth to Valentine. Mathias then married married Lavina Dugger. They had many children.

Valentine Worley and his several children, James, Isaac, Daniel, and Robert, left Tennessee for Kansas in the 1870's and 80's.

The Registrar of Deeds Office in El Dorado, Kansas contains several deeds to father and sons.

Lowers Addition, El Dorado, Kansas

In February of 1880, Valentine Worley Van Huss bought lot 32 on Merchant Street of Lowers Addition, El Dorado, Kansas for the sum of $50. (Book U on page 452.) In 1881, James M. Van Huss sold the property to R. E. Van Huss. (There should be an intervening transfer, but I haven't found it. See Book Y 373.)

Valentine Worley Van Huss died in 1908 and is buried in Little Walnut Glencoe Cemetery beside his son Isaac.

son Isaac and father Valentine Worley Van Huss, Little Walnut Glencoe Cemetery

Image from an 1880 plat book for Butler County, Kansas.


In 1882, John Finley Van Huss (born about 1859), bought 160 acres of property immediately north of Beaumont, Kansas for $200.

Note. I need to find the other land purchases.

Mathias Van Huss and wives

Mathias Van Huss

Mathias was the fifth child of Valentine Felty Vanhooser Jr. (1768-1856) and Elizabeth Worley (1798-1818).

Mathias was born in Wythe County, Virginia on October 5th, 1795, twins along with brother Justine. Like Daniel Boone and others before them, the family crossed the Smokey Mountains, settling in what was then Washington County, Virginia.  Mathias appears to be the first one to spell the family name "Van Huss". He died in 1856 in Johnson, Carter County, Tennessee.

Mathias married Catherine Worley, and they had a child in 1795 named Valentine Worley Van Huss. Catherine died in 1798, and Mathias remarried to Lovinia Dugger, and they had 11 children.

See number 13., Re: James A. Burchett married Amanda Venable 1864.

Coming to Tennessee - Valentine Vanhooser

It was Mathias' father, Valentine Felty Vanhooser, who first settled in Tennessee. He arrived in 1795, the year of Mathias' birth, with a deed for 100 acres of land at the head of Cobbs Creek, close to Fort Watauga, and the town of Elizabethton.

Valentine's deed, using the name "Valentine Vanhooser" came from the state of North Carolina, reflecting the fact that, before Tennessee was a state, it belonged to North Carolina. Furthermore, the county where Valentine settled and Mathias grew up was then called Washington County, before the name was changed to Carter County.  Valentine purchased the property for 50 shillings an acre. The deed is on record in Carter County Courthouse in Elizabethton.

Many Van Huss family members still live in Carter County.
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Note about money. I have not yet found a value for a shilling, but I have found other references of land sales by the state of North Carolina at 12 and one half cents an acre. But land values varied considerably.

See page 7, Congressional edition, Volume 6504.  Consider, the British Pound was 20 shillings or 240 pence. One shilling was 12 pence.



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Virginia

Valentine Felty Vanhoser lived in Virginia before Tennessee. He had arrived in Virginia from North Carolina, and the family had come there from Pennsylvania, and before that, from upstate New York, and, finally before that, from the city of Husum on the North Sea in the province of Schleswig, now a part of Germany, but then an independent duchy. The original Van Huss, Jan Van Husum and his wife Volckje Juriens came to America in 1639.

One source suggests that Mathias was born in Tennessee, but most records including the later census records indicate that the family arrived after the birth. Mathias' father was born 14 Feb 1768 in Rowan County, North Carolina, the son of Valentine Felty Van Huss and Elizabeth Worley. The same last name Worley that belonged to mother and wife suggests a family connection.

I am trying to zero in on his father Valentine Felty Vanhooser's property in Virginia. (Keep in mind that there are two Valentine Felty Vanhoosers, father and son).

Valentine was connected to William Herbert, possibly during Lord Dunemore's War of 1774 between the Virginia colonists and the Shawnee and Mingo Indians. William Herbert had property along modern day Interstate 77, east and south of Wythe, Virginia, on state Highway 52. The location is at Poplar Camp Creek on the North River. Herbert operated a ferry there. Valentine Felty Vanhooser was his neighbor.

Resolve the above with the following:

Valentine Felty Vanhooser - Resided in Rowan Co NC in 1762-1764. He moved to Fincastle ( now Montgomery) Co Va. in 1774; moved to the North Fork of the Clinch River in 1775 but, after two years of fighting the indians, moved back to a more civilized area of Va that became Carroll Co, Va. in 1842. Prior to that it was Grayson Co; Va. which was created in 1792 from Wythe Co; which was created in 1789 from Montgomery Co.. Valentine Van Hooser was the first to change his name from Van Hoesen. He was known as Velten Van Hoesen. There is Valentine Van Hoosers through out the generations and they all have the nickname Felty.

  http://carolinagenealogy.org/all/pafg2506.htm

Google Maps location.

In  December of 1817, Mathias, age 22, marries Catherine Worley in Wythe County, Virginia. She dies the following year, giving birth to Valentine Worley Van Huss.

Tennessee

Father and son apparently had enough of Virginia, for by 1821 Mathias remarries in Carter County Tennessee to Lavinia Dugger. Valentine would be raised by his step mother and father, along with 11 half brothers and sisters. His father Valentine lives until 1857 and is buried in Johnson, Tennessee.


The following needs to be moved to a different article.


From the 1850 Census of Carter County, Tennessee:

Valentine Worley Van Huss marries Lucinda Campbell in 1845 and by 1850, they have three children.

Vanhuss Valentine 23 M W farming 100 VA REMARKS: Married Nov.18, 1845, 26 30 30 Vanhuss Lucinda H. 29 F W Tenn, 27 30 30 Vanhuss James M. 4 M W Tenn 28 30 30 Vanhuss Isaac S. K. 3 M W Tenn 29 30 30 Vanhuss Daniel S. 2 M W Tenn

See USArchives.

This family would later emigrate to  Kansas leaving Tennessee and the children of Lavina Dugger Van Huss.

Page 219   House/Family #   67/  67  - 9th Civil District Twp

VANHUSS MATHIAS       54 M W FARMER (m 1821)        800 VA                   1795/1796
VANHUSS LEVINA        55 F W                            TN                   1794/1795
VANHUSS THUMAN B      26 M W                            TN                   1823/1824
VANHUSS FINLEY E      20 M W                            TN                   1829/1830
VANHUSS ABIGAIL       19 F W                            TN                   1830/1831
VANHUSS JOSEPH P      17 M W                            TN                   1832/1833
VANHUSS DANIEL        15 M W                            TN                   1834/1835
VANHUSS RHODA         12 F W                            TN                   1837/1838

This is a part of http://www.martygrant.com/genealogy/smith/TN/smith-1850.htm

War of 1812

Lavina applied for pension after Mathias death. War of 1812 Widow's application #16562 and cert #9010 state that Mathias served under Capt. Solomon Hendrix's Company of TN Militia.

See Descendants of Daniel Dugger.

For a summary of Capt. Hendrix's duties see the following:

 COLONEL SAMUEL BAYLESS

• DESIGNATION: 4th Regiment of East Tennessee Militia
• DATES: November 1814 - May 1815
• MEN MOSTLY FROM: Washington, Jefferson, Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, and Sullivan Counties
• CAPTAINS: Joseph Bacon, John Brock, James Churchman, Joseph Goodson, Joseph Hale, Solomon Hendricks, Branch Jones, James Landen, Joseph Rich, Jonathan Waddle

BRIEF HISTORY:
This regiment, along with Colonel William Johnson's Third Regiment and Colonel Edwin Booth's Fifth Regiment, defended the lower section of the Mississippi Territory, particularly the vicinity of Mobile. They protected the region from possible Indian incursions and any British invasion. These regiments were under the command of Major General William Carroll. They manned the various forts that were located throughout the territory: Fort Claiborne, Fort Decatur, and Fort Montgomery, for example. Sickness was rampant in this regiment and the desertion rate was high. The regiment mustered in at Knoxville and was dismissed at Mobile.

CHRONICLES OF THE SCOTCH-IRISH SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA

Valentine Felty Vanhooser, Senior arrived in Rowan County sometime after 1750. By the time of the American Revolution he had moved his family to Virginia. By 1795, his son Valentine Felty Vanhooser purchased 100 acres of land on Cobbs Creek in then Washington County, now Carter County Tennessee.

I am not sure of the exact location of Valentine Felty Vanhooser's land in Virginia.

The best recorded description is the "North Fork of the Clinch River near Flat Lick". (Lyman Chalkley's Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement of Virginia, which in turn comes from the Superior Court records found in Augusta County, Virginia.)

The North Fork of the Clinch River runs through Powell Mountain, a 60 mile mountain which ranges from Norton, Virginia to Tazewell, Tennessee. Travelers made the route through  Powell Mountain at Kanes Gap. This was part of the Wilderness Trail that was blazed by Daniel Boone. Boone's Trail crosses Big Stony Creek, then out to Hunter's Valley through Rye Cove to Sunbright, near Duffield, and across Kane's Gap onto Wallen Creek. At Little Flat Lick all three traces became one before entering Kane's Gap, and thence down Powell Valley to Cumberland Gap. (Highway 23 on the map.)

See The Boone Trail and The History of the Daniel Boone Trail.

This is a summary of the pertinent portions of the CHRONICLES OF THE SCOTCH-IRISH SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA; Vol 2, pp 220 - 229 by Lyman Chalkley that relate to the Vanhoosers.

West half of Virginia by Digital Topol Maps

A little background history is in order.

Dunmore's War

In 1774 Dunmore's War took place between the Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo American Indian nations. Although the war ended soon after the Battle of Point Pleasant on October 10, 1774, it did not end troubles with the Cherokee tribes who also claimed the land settlers were moving into.

In 1776, Fincastle County ceased to exist and was divided into three new counties — Montgomery County, Washington County, and Kentucky County (which later became the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  Augusta County, which also appears in many early records is located to the north and along the western border. Note also that these three counties were later reorganized into many other smaller counties. For instance, Tazewell County, which contains the area where Valentine settled, was not orgnized until 1799. By then Valentine Junior had moved into eastern Tennessee while other relatives continued to live in the area or migrated to other states. In searching for Vanhooser in Virginia, it is necessary to also use the spelling "Vanhouser".

During the Revolution, loyalties were divided. For example, Charles Cocke, who lived in the Cripple Creek area during the first half of the revolution. On 13 Sep 1777, he took the oath of loyalty in Montgomery County. According to his Pension Application, he served in the Company of Captain Henry Francis. This Company was composed of men from along Cripple Creek. Valentine Felty Vanhooser, on the contrary, remained loyal to the British side.

Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement of Virginia

The Chronicles concerns a land lawsuit whose records are found in Augusta County, Virginia. I have not discovered the exact nature of the lawsuit, but it is most likely a question of disputed possession that arose in the year 1811, the date of the suit. The case was before the Superior court.

Starting at the top of page 227:

McKenney vs. Preston--O. S. 308; N. S. 110--John Montgomery of
Russel County, aged 47 years, deposes, 11th March, 1811, in 1778 Andrew
Cowan and Thos. Osborn went down to improve a piece of land on a creek
they called Black Water at the Flat Lick, and on their return they came by
Kooser's (Hoovers) cabin. Black Water is a north Branch of Clynch.

Note. This is most likely a reference to Valentine Vanhooser. There are then several references by witnesses deposed who acknowledge the Vanhoosers living in the area. Other reference are to Indian troubles which drove many settlers from their claims.

March, 1814, John Hooser, aged 67, deposes, came with
his father Felty and brother Abraham to this country 37 years ago. John
has a brother Jacob who was never out in this country...

Charles Carter deposes, in Lee County, remembers that Titus and John
Benton were killed by Indians in Rye Cove in spring of 1777. He remembers 
the family Hooser or Van Hooser, as they were called, who settled on
North Fork of Clinch near Flat Lick in 1775. The oldest Van Hooser
(deponent understood from his father) made the upper improvement, and
the old man's son John was the next oldest man and made an improvement
near the old man. Deponent remembers two other members of the family,
Abram and Isaac. Deponent lived with his father in the Rye Cove at the
time those improvements were made. Never heard of Jacob Hooser.

26th February, 1812, Doswell Rogers deposes, in Lee County, he settled on
North Fork Clinch the same year that the Hoosers settled. The settlement
was broken up by Indians for several years. 

29th May, 1811, Peter Fulkerson deposes, in Lee County, the country was 
unsettled and dangerous in 1785 on account of Indians.

Note. The real danger of the Indians raids on settlers is revealed in many historical records. One instance is, "John Carter was a brother to Dale Carter who was killed by Indians at Blackmore's Fort in 1774. John Carter settled on a farm down river from Fort Blackmore about 1772. In 1785, the Indians attacked his home, killed his wife and five children and set fire to his house burning the bodies of his slain family."

From THE FIRST MILITIA ROSTER OF THE CLINCH RIVER AREA OF RUSSELL COUNTY.

Continuing with the Chronicles:

Elisha Wallen, aged 27, of Lee County, deposes, 11th March, 1811, Samuel
Gullrie, aged 36, deposes, 11th March, 1811, Wm. Wallin, aged 50, deposes,
knew the land in 1778, names of Hoosers (Hoovers) were Felty, Jacob,
John.

...about 1774 or 5. Andrew Cowan came to the
western country and settled in now Russell County, when danger from
Indians was great.

Jacob Hoozer deposes, aged 64, at house of Roger Oats in
Wayne County, Ky., about 1775 or 6 his father, his brothers, John and
Abraham Hoozer, went to North Fork of Clinch to improve land and all
made improvements except himself. Deponent was not there until about
15 years after, was administrator of his father then. Abraham was about
18 or 19 years old.

There is no reference to the son Valentine Vanhooser. Presumably he would have accompanied his father. By 1795 the younger Valentine Felty Vanhooser had left for Tennessee.

The War of 1812

Mathias Van Huss

Mathias' widow Lavina Dugger applied for a war pension after her husband's death.  War of 1812 Widow's application #16562 and cert #9010, stating that Mathias served under Cpt. Solomon Hendrix's Company of the Tennessee Militia. Descendants of Daniel Dugger.

The War of 1812 began in 1812 and ended in 1815. Thus, Mathias was 17 years of age at the war's start and 20 by the time it ended. Andrew Jackson was the most famous Tennessean during the war. As a general in the Tennessee state militia he defeated the Creek Indians in 1814 near Tallapoosa, Alabama; and defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. Captain Solomon Hendrix's company, in which Mathias served, was part of the 4th Regiment of East Tennessee Militia commanded by Colonel Samuel Bayless.This regiment was formed in November 1814 and was responsible for guarding the area near Mobile, Alabama.

Valentine Felty Van Huss

When the War of 1812 began, Valentine Felty Vanhooser, Jr. was living in eastern Tennessee near Fort Watauga.

He farmed 100 acres of land next to Cobbs Creek near Fort Watauga, in what was formerly Wahington County, North Carolina, and later Carter County, Tennessee. Valentine left the eastern side of the Appalachians and crossed to the Tennessee side in 1795, recording his deed 2 years later in the county courthouse at nearby Elizabethton. Joining Valentine in this new territory was his wife Catherine Worley. This Valentine was the thirteenth child of Valentine Felty Vanhooser Senior and his wife Maria Barbara Zerwe.

The rest of the article that follows is about young Valentine's older brother, and Mathias' uncle, Isaac.

Tennessee's participation in the war for the most part meant battling the Cherokees, Shawnees and other Indians the British had armed.

Another Tennessean, Andrew Jackson would form a militia of volunteers from Tennessee. In March of 1814 Jackson and the Tennessee Volunteers made their way into Alabama. Allied with the Cherokee and friendly Creeks, Jackson engaged in several conflicts with the warring Creeks of the region known as the Red Sticks. Finally, on the banks of the Tallapoosa River at Horseshoe Bend, Jackson and his forces would decisively defeat the hostile Creeks, opening up settlement of Alabama to later settlers. Later, in January of 1815, at New Orleans Jackson would again make history by defeating the British.

The is no record of Valentine's service during the War of 1812, but reference is made to his brother Isaac, who was four years senior. As Valentine was born in 1768, this would make Isaac 48 in 1812. As a note, there is not much to be made of the short period of enlistment by Isaac. Most enlistments in the Tennessee Militias were only for the short duration of three months. General Jackson, bu his oratory and demeanor, would often have to suggest that the troops re-up to finish a campaign.

Isaac served in the War of 1812 as a drummer.
The only complete muster roll found of 1812 was that of Capt. Asabel [Asahel] Rains. This company was a part of the Second Regiment, West Tennessee Militia, commanded by Col. Alexander Lowrey and Lieut. Col. Leroy Hammonds. Captain Rains, company was, with his regiment, mustered into service at Fayetteville, Tennessee on September 20, 1814 and served until December 31, of the same year.

Isaac Vanhooser 

Consulting the records of the Tennessee Militia, one finds the service record for the Second Regiment.

BRIEF HISTORY:
Part of General Nathaniel Taylor's brigade, this regiment was scattered throughout the Creek territory and the vicinity of Mobile to man the various forts in the region: Forts Jackson, Montgomery, Claiborne, and Pierce. 

Some of the companies participated in the taking of Pensacola (7 November 1814) from Spanish authorities that were accused by Jackson of supporting British troops there.

Loury resigned on 20 November 1814 and Lieutenant Colonel Leroy Hammonds took over as commander. The regiment was plagued by disease during its tenure in the Mississippi Territory. For example, a morning report of Captain Asahel Rains on 6 January 1815 shows twenty-seven on the sick list and twenty-seven additional men required to take care of the sick (totaling half the company).

Regimental Histories of the Second Regiment during the War of 1812.

Valentine Felty Vanhooser on the Clinch River, Virginia

This is just a draft that needs editing.

Valentine Velty Vanhooser and his wife Maria Barbara Zerwe arrived in western North Carolina somewhere between 1747 and 1754, settling in the Yadkin Valley close to the Virginia border. The area of their land holdings, in what is now Surry County, was originally called Anson county. Later, about 1753, Rowan County was formed from the western section of Anson County with a county seat at Salisbury. Still later, about 1771, Surry County was formed. For this reason, all of these counties will occasionally be referenced in records about the Vanhoosers.

Valentine and his wife lived for 20 years in North Carolina, producing thirteen children by some records, the last of whom, Valentine Felty Vanhooser, Jr., was born 1768 in Rowan County. This Valentine is Bob's ancestor. He would later migrate to Tennessee in 1795.

Valentine's oldest son John will be the subject of the deposition found in the Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Augusta Co., Va by Chalkey, Vol.2, pp. 227-8. In a deposition in 1814, John who was then 67 years old, testified that he and his family came to Virginia in 1777, as he recalled. Another deponent, Charles Carter remembered the family Vanhooser arriving in 1775 and settling along the North Fork of Clinch River near Flat Lick. By the time of this deposition, the elder Valentine had died, and his younger son Valentine Jr. had left Virginia for Tennessee, settling near Fort Watauga.

Valentine senior and his family prospered in North Carolina, as evidenced by the several land transactions in which he bought and sold land at a considerable profit. But, sometime around 1771, Valentine moved from North Carolina across the border to Virginia, first near Fincastle for several years, then to the North Fork of the Clinch River in what is now Tazewell County.

The North Fork of the Clinch River cuts across Powell Mountain on the extreme western edge of Virginia and crosses into Tennessee. Powell Mountain is crossed by U.S. Route 58, the "Daniel Boone Trail Highway", the Wilderness Road crossing the mountain nearby, at Kanes Gap. This is the route that Daniel Boone and a large party would take in September 1779, leaving the Yadkin Valley and crossing first to the area near Fort Watauga, in what is now eastern Tennessee, then to Kentucky.

Vanentine Vanhooser's reasons for leaving North Carolina after so many years are unknown. But many were fleeing the violence of North Carolina. These include the struggle between the so-called "Regulators" and the
taxing authorities. Indian troubles continued on occasion as Cherokees raided western settlements in North Carolina from time to time. The coming American Revolution also stirred up rival passions between those seeking independence and Tories who remained loyal to the British. One who left on this trek later recalled that the road out of North Carolina was so clogged with Tories leaving that a traveler "could hardly get along the road for them."

See Boone, a Biography by Robert Morgan, page 288.

In 1771, Lord Dunmore became governor of Virginia. He and others, including George Washington, were interested in land speculation west of the Alleghenies. His policy was to encourage settlement in the Shawnee Indians’ ancestral hunting grounds south of the Ohio River in what is today Kentucky and West Virginia. This led to what is known as "Dunmore’s War". In the summer of 1774, Lord Dunmore along with a militia from Augusta, Fincastle, and Botetourt Counties defeated the Shawnees at the Battle of Point Pleasant.  British and colonial success was overtaken by events at Lexington and Concord. The outbreak of the American Revolution divided loyalties between Tories and those seeking independence. Lord Dunmore would command the loyalists in Virginia during the war.

Later, the Virginia legislature, in 1779, passed a law that settlers who had taken up land in the western reaches of Virginia prior to January 1, 1778, might obtain 400 acres at a nominal price and preemption rights to another thousand acres at the usual price of forty pounds per hundred acres.

It is not known whether Valentine Vanhooser participated in Dunemore's campaigns. He had however moved to Virginia at about the time of the outbreak of hostilities. His move to the mountains of western Virginia would have traded troubles with the Cherokees for Dunmore's campaign against the Pawnees. And, Valentine Vanhooser's known Tory sympathies make his move to Virginia away from North Carolina more logical.The question of family loyalties during the Revolution was not always clear. Even a loyal patriot like Daniel Boone had members of his wife's family who had Tory sympathies during the war.

References and source:


Valentine Felty Vanhooser

About 1771 Valentine sold his land in Surry Co., NC and moved to Virginia, settling just across the border in what was then Fincastle (now Carroll) Co., Va. He lived there for about four years before moving north and west to the North Fork of the Clinch River in what is now Tazewell Co., Va. According to Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Augusta Co., Va by Chalkey, Vol.11, pp. 227-8, Valentine and his oldest son, John took up land in that area, but only lived there two years before they were driven out by Indian uprisings. They returned to their former piece of land which was located along New River and Little Reed Island which was then in Montgomery Co., which became Wythe Co. in 1789/90 and Grayson Co. in 1792 and finally Carroll Co. in 1842.

Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Augusta Co., Va by Chalkey, Vol.2, pp. 227-8

March 1814 John Hooser, aged 67, deposes, came with
his father Felty and brother Abraham to this country 37 years ago. John
has a brother Jacob who was never out in this country. 

March, 1811, Elisha Wallen, aged 27, deposes. Caveat, 12th August, 1799, by John
Mackenny and Elisha Adams against John Donnell, assignee of Andrew
Cowan and John Campbell, Jr., for 400 acres in Lee County on North
Fork Clinch. Donnell and Campbell were granted a certificate by the 
Commissioners 8th August, 1781. Caveators claim under an entry made by
James Dugless, 1780, and sold by him to John Balfour, who has sold to
caveators. Thos. Beelor was an early settler on the land. 29th May, 1811, 

Charles Carter deposes, in Lee County, remembers that Titus and John
Benton were killed by Indians in Rye Cove in spring of 1777. He remembers 
the family Hooser or Van Hooser, as they were called, who settled on
North Fork of Clinch near Flat Lick in 1775. The oldest Van Hooser
(deponent understood from his father) made the upper improvement, and
the old man's son John was the next oldest man and made an improvement
near the old man. Deponent remembers two other members of the family,
Abram and Isaac. Deponent lived with his father in the Rye Cove at the
time those improvements were made. Never heard of Jacob Hooser. 
Deponent's statement is founded on hearsay. 

14th May, 1814, James Dugless
deposes, at dwelling house of John Smith in Madison County, Ohio, shortly
after 1780 deponent moved from Washington County, Va., to Kentucky.
26th February, 1812, Doswell Rogers deposes, in Lee County, he settled on
North Fork Clinch the same year that the Hoosers settled. The settlement
was broken up by Indians for several years. The Wallens, Bentons, Wm.
Roberts and others named these streams as they went through hunting
lands. The Bentons were killed 35 or 36 years ago in April next. 

29th May, 1811, Peter Fulkerson deposes, in Lee County, the country was 
unsettled and dangerous in 1785 on account of Indians. Deed, 30th May,

page 227








1803, by William McCutchen of Carter County, Tenn., John McKinny
of Lee County, land in Lee County. Corner Nathaniel Taylors, 16,000
acres survey. Corner George Goff, 200 acres bought from Nathaniel 
Taylor. Recorded in Lee County, August, 1803. Deed, 31st May, 1803, by
Nathaniel Taylor of Carter County, Tenn., to John McKinney of Lee... 

See The Daniel Boone Trail for a discussion of the route that Daniel Boone took passing by Valentine Felty Vanhooser's holdings on the Clinch River.

The Gwinns, for a discussion of Augusta County, Virginia and Dunemore's War.

Buying Land in Kansas

On May 22nd, 1868, J. W. Van Hoesen purchased, for the sum of $1,000, from Adam and Rosamanda Hageman the following land: "southwest quarter of Section 28, township 24, Range 6". The deed is recorded with the Register of Deed in the El Dorado County Courthouse.

This record has me puzzled. Originally I assumed a direct connection to Valentine Worley Van Huss because of both the name and the location of the land. Now I believe that J. W. Van Hoesen was from a branch of the family that had settled in Ohio for a while. I will now have to go back to El Dorado to sort out the land transfers.

Additionally, there are the purchases of land by all five sons of Valentine Worley Van Huss over an extended period.

Who's Who in Tennessee?

Valentine Felty Vanhooser.

Valentine Vanhooser, Jr., born 1768,  departs Virginia in 1795  and settles in Carter County (then Washington County) near Fort Watauga, Tennessee. Valentine's son, Mattias Van Huss, is born the very same year Valentine arrived in Tennessee, but likely joined his father later. The son lives in Tennessee his entire life, dieing in 1856.Mathias' son Valentine Worley Van Huss, born 1818, leaves Tennessee after the Civil War and moves to Butler County Kansas along with four sons.

Family history relates that the first Valentine Felty Vanhooser was a Tory who sided with the British during the Revolutionary War. Old Man Valentine did probably serve in Dunmore's War earlier.  Again, according to family history, Old Man Valentine died in the year 1781, possibly at the battle of Yorktown.

Be that as it may, almost 15 years later, in 1795, the state of North Carolina sold to young Valentine 100 acres of land  on Cobbs Creek to the east and north of Elizabethton, near Fort Watauga.

See the deed in the Registrar of Deeds Office, Carter County.

Mathias Vanhoose/Van Huss

Mathias changes his name from Vanhooser to Van Huss. He marries Catherine Worley. They have one child Valentine Worley Van Huss, born 1818. Elizabeth dies in 1820. Mathias remarries in 1821 to Lovina Dugger with whom he has many children.

Valentine Worley Van Huss

Valentine Worley Van Huss is the older half brother to J. P. Van Huss by Mathias and his first wife Catherine Worley.

J. P. Van Huss

J. P. Van Huss is the younger half brother of Valentine Worley Van Huss. J. P. was born to the second wife of Mathias, Lovina Dugger. Goodspeed's Biographical Appendix of Carter County History of Tennessee, gives a biographical sketch of J. P.,
    


J. P. Van Huss.

He is the ninth of eleven children (five of whom yet survive) of Mathias and Lovina (Duggar) Van Huss, natives of Carter (now Johnson) County and the present Carter County respectivel y.  The former was a soldier in 1812, a Whig, a farmer and a blacksmith.  He was a son of Valentine Van Huss, of North Carolina, and of Carter County; the latter born about 1778.  He was of Dutch descent, while the mother was of Scotch-English origin.  The mother was a daughter of William Duggar, a native of North Carolina, and a pioneer of Dugger's Ferry.  He was a soldier of the Revolution, and married three times.  The Duggar family are long lived.

* Note that the mother of Valentine Worley was Catherine Worley. Lovina Duggar was the mother of Mathias.


* See Ancestry.com.http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=javan&id=I15068. There are other children, but it is Mathias that we are interested in.

* Again , Goodspeed's History of Tennessee, Carter County, addressing Mathias:

The former was a soldier in 1812, a Whig, a farmer and a blacksmith.

* See again, Ancestry.com.

The Will of Lovina Dugger Van Huss, dated 1866 (She died in 1882.)

I, Viney Vanhuss, do make and ordain this my last Will and testament, being of sound mind and memory.

1st. I give my soul to Almighty God and my body to the earth from whence it came to be buried by my Executors in the grave yard near my husband and my children.
2nd. I give and bequeath to Daniel S. Vanhuss and Joseph P. Vanhuss my sons, my lot of land whereon I now live. So that my son Daniel shall have the Dwelling in which I live.
3d. I also give and bequeath to my sons Daniel S. Vanhuss and Joseph P. Vanhuss my brass kettle.
4th. I give and bequeath to my son Daniel S. Vanhuss one bed stead and bed with bed clothing.
5th. I give and bequeath to my daughter Rhodie Elizabeth one bed stead and bed clothing. Also one cow and calf and one breeding [illegible[ Also one little bureau and bee palace.
6th. I give and bequeath to my daughter Catherine Heaton one small table.
7th. I require my sons Daniel S. Vanhuss and Joseph P. Vanhuss to pay three hundred dollars to the following named persons, to wit. Fifty dollars to Vollintine W. Vanhuss. Fifty dollars to Finly E. Vanhuss. Fifty dollars to Catherine Heaton. Fifty dollars to Abigail B. Nave and Fifty dollars to Rhoda Elizabeth Vanhuss.
8th. It is my will that at my death there should be residuary balance, it shall be sold and divided between my sons and daughters to wit: Vollintine W. Vanhuss, Thomas D. Vanhuss, Finly E. Vanhuss, Catherine Heaton, Abigail D. Nave and Rhody E. Vanhuss.
Lastly. I appoint my sons Daniel S. Vanhuss and Joseph P. Vanhuss my Executors to this my last Will and testament.
This 4th day of August 1866. Viney X Vanhuss [Seal] her mark
Signed, sealed in our presence.
J. H. Hyder
Stevenas C. Crow.

 See also MySouthernRoots.http://www.mysouthernroots.com/getperson.php?personID=P180921049&tree=Collins

First in Ternnessee

Valentine Felty Vanhooser Jr.

The first Van Huss to come to Tennessee was Valentine Vanhooser Jr. His father Valentine Felty Sr. was originally from New York and Pennsylvania but moved to Rowan County, North Carolina around 1750, and later to Virginia prior to the outbreak of the American Revolution.

Valentine Jr. was born in Rowan County, Virginia in 1768 and arrived in Tennessee in 1795 at the age of 27. He was, at this time, settling on 100 acres of land in Carter County, Tennessee. Keep in mind, that at this time North Carolina and Tennessee were still one political unit. Carter County was at the time called Washington County. At the same time as Valentine was settling on his new farm, a son Mathias was born. By all accounts, he remained behind with his mother Catherine Worley in Wythe County Virginia.

Deed recorded in the Register of Deeds Office, Carter County relates: "On the 4th day of November, 1795, Richard Dobbs Straight, governor and commander in chief of the state of North Carolina" issues a warranty deed for the purchase by Valentine Vanhooser of 100 acres from the state of North Carolina.

The deed continues to describe the property by metes and bounds, that is the property began at Cobbs Creek.The land was in Washington County at the head of Cobbs Creek. The purchase price was the princely sum of 50 shillings an acre. At the time one North Carolina shilling equaled 9 British pence, or a little more than fifty cents, giving us an approximation of 25 dollars an acre.

The property description is:

a tract of land containing one hundred acres lying & being in our county of Washington on a branch of Cobbs Creek, beginning at a Linwood at the head of a spring, running north seventy one degrees, West one hundred & twelve poles to a black oak, thence North thirteen degrees, West sixty two poles to a white oak, thence North thirty five degrees, west fifty seven poles to a black oak on the side of a hill, thence North eighty six poles to a stake, thence South fifty nine degrees, East one hundred seventy five poles to a white oak, Corner to mofes (?). Running thence South one hundred and sixteen poles to a stake by the creek, thence East twenty five poles to a white oak, thence South thirty one poles to the beginning.

The deed was not recorded until August 23rd, 1797, which technically put it in violation of the grant which required recording the deed within 12 months, but no one has apparently ever raised the issue.

We don't know what the homestead of James Vanhooser looked like. Perhaps, it looked something like this. The property can be seen in the Cherokee National Forest, east and north of Elizabethton, near Lake Watauba. Look for Cobbs Creek Road.

Check the following ******************************************************************

To follow the genealogy of Valentine Vanhooser, go to genforum - Valentine VAN HUSS was born 14 FEB 1768 in Rowan Co., North Carolina, and died 1 MAR 1858 in Johnson Co., Tennessee. He was the son of 24. Valentine VAN HOOSER and 25. Maria Barbara ZERWE.

The following doesn't make sense...It  needs review...

The children of Valentine and his wife Catherine Worley are:

i. Michael VAN HUSS was born 6 JAN 1789 in Wythe Co., Virginia, and died 21 FEB 1875 in Lee Co., Virginia. He married Elizabeth ROSENBAUM 11 JUL 1809 in Wythe Co., Virginia, daughter of Anthonius Conradus ROSENBAUM and Elizabeth WORLEY. She was born ABT 1791 in Wythe Co., Virginia, and died 30 MAY 1874 in Lee Co., Virginia.

ii. Valentine VAN HUSS , Jr. was born ABT 1790. He married Elizabeth RAINBOLT. She was born ABT 1791 in Carter Co., Tennessee, and died 19 OCT 1826.

iii. Jacob VAN HUSS was born 21 OCT 1791 in Wythe Co., Virginia.

iv. Elizabeth VAN HUSS was born 17 SEP 1793 in Wythe Co., Virginia, and died 29 OCT 1826. She married John B. RAINBOLT JAN 1812 in Carter Co., Tennessee, son of Adam R. RAINBOLT and Hannah Jane POTTER. He was born 11 NOV 1788 in Washington Co. Tennessee (Now Carter Co.), and died 11 APR 1873 in Orange, Lawrence Co., Indiana.

v. Matthias VAN HUSS was born 27 OCT 1795 in Wythe Co., Virginia, and died 21 SEP 1856 in Carter Co., Tennessee. He married Elizabeth WORLEY 4 DEC 1817 in Wythe Co., Virginia, daughter of Valentine WORLEY and Maria Barbara SPRECHER. She was born 1798 in Wythe Co., Virginia, and died 1818 in Wythe Co., Virginia. He married Lavinia DUGGER 14 APR 1821 in Carter Co., Tennessee, daughter of William DUGGER and Nancy MILLARD. She was born 22 JUN 1795 in Carter Co., Tennessee, and died 28 MAR 1882 in Carter Co., Tennessee.

vi. Christopher VAN HUSS was born 1796.

Tennessee Census - 1830, 1840, and 1850

The 1830, 1840, and 1850 Tennessee Censuses cover the period of time that Valentine Felty Vanhooser, Jr., son, Mathias Van Huss and his son Valentine Worley Van Huss lived in Carter County Tennessee. Old man Valentine died in 1857. Mathias died in 1856, before the outbreak of the Civil War.  Grandson Valentine Worley Van Huss emigrated to Kansas after the Civil War with his sons James, Daniel, Isaac, and John Finley.

The earlier censuses for the years 1800 through 1830 have been destroyed. They would have covered the period from when Valentine arrived in 1795 and settled near Watauga, Tennessee. I am not aware of the whereabouts for the 1860 census. I have not found Valentine Felty Vanhooser, Jr. in any Tennessee census.



1830 Census

VANHOOSE
   Mathias         33   3 -  less than  5    1 -  5 through  9
                        3 -  5 through  9    1 - 30 through 39
                        1 - 30 through 39

   Valentine       18   1 - 15 through 19    1 - 20 through 29
                        1 - 20 through 29    1 - 60 through 69
                        1 - 30 through 39
                        1 - 60 through 69

1840 Census

VANHUSS
   Benjamine       182  20   5   1 -  less than  5    1 -  less than  5
                                 2 - 20 through 29    1 - 20 through 29

   Mathias         195  12   9   1 -  less than  5    1 -  less than  5
                                 1 -  5 through  9    1 -  5 through  9
                                 1 - 10 through 14    1 - 15 through 19
                                 1 - 15 through 19    1 - 40 through 49
                                 1 - 40 through 49

1850  Census

     VANHUSS
          Benjamin 38          182B
          Mathias 54           219
          Valentine 28         172

1850 Census

172A  29  Vanhuss        Daniel S.        2     Tenn              pg0167b.txt
172A  28  Vanhuss        Isaac S. K.      3     Tenn              pg0167b.txt
172A  27  Vanhuss        James M.         4     Tenn              pg0167b.txt
172A  26  Vanhuss        Lucinda H.       29    Tenn              pg0167b.txt
172A  25  Vanhuss        Valentine        23    VA                pg0167b.txt

 25  30   30  Vanhuss        Valentine      23    M    W    farming        100       VA                .     .     .    .    Married Nov.18, 1845
 26  30   30  Vanhuss        Lucinda H.     29    F    W    .              .         Tenn              .     .     .    .    .
 27  30   30  Vanhuss        James M.       4     M    W    .              .         Tenn              .     .     .    .    .
 28  30   30  Vanhuss        Isaac S. K.    3     M    W    .              .         Tenn              .     .     .    .    .
 29  30   30  Vanhuss        Daniel S.      2     M    W    .              .         Tenn              .     .     .    .    .

Check these against my images from the Carter County public library.