Settling Kansas 1875

The period from 1860 - 1870 is a little cloudy. In 1860, Valentine Worley Van Huss and his wife Lucinda (nee Carter) were living in eastern Tennessee near Elizabethton.

[The middle name "Worley" comes from Catherine Worley, born 1769 in Rowan County, North Carolina, died 1796, Wythe County, Virginia. She married Valentine Felty VanHuss in Wythe Co. Va.. He was born February 14, 1768 in Rowan Co. North Carolina, and died March 1, 1858 in Johnson County, Tennessee. They had several children, including Matthias, father of Valentine Worley VanHuss.]

Valentine Worley and Lucinda had at least five sons, including, James M., Daniel S. Robert E., Isaac, and John Finley.

By 1870, Valentine and his wife  Lucinda were to be found in Johnson County, Kansas near Stillwell, Kansas. Lucinda died and is buried in the Aubry cemetery.

In 1875, James M. Van Huss took out a claim on land in Butler County. The land was part of the Osage Reserve for which he paid $1.25 an acre. He purchased 160 acres.

In 1881, brother Daniel arrived and took out a similar claim on land in Glencoe Township.

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[Read more about the Osage Indians. Read the Kansas Historical Quarterly about the Osage Removal. One last article, Kansas Settlers on the Osage Reserve (and Laura Ingalls Wilder)]

The title records are kept in the Butler County Courthouse in El Dorado, Kansas. See the Registrar of Deeds on the ground floor.

[Note.  What is Range Township Section on a Plat?

Property in deeds are identified by Range, Township & Section. For instance, the 1875 title to James M. VanHuss is described as 160 acres of the southwest quarter of 33 26 6. The three numbers 33 26 and 6 signify the section, township, and range, going from smallest to largest. A full section is 640 acres. James received title to the southwest corner.

Butler County 1905 map, showing range, township, and section

Read across the top line to find the range, then down the left side to identify the township. Converge the two lines and you end up on Little Walnut Township; then go to section 33.

Read the Wikipedia definition of a section.]

1874

The year 1874 was known as the Grasshopper Year when billions of grasshoppers descended from the skies and ate every plant in sight.

The insects arrived in swarms so large they blocked out the sun and sounded like a rainstorm. Crops were eaten out of the ground, as well as the wool from live sheep and clothing off people's backs. Paper, tree bark and even wooden tool handles were devoured.

KSHS, Grasshopper Plague of 1874. 

That anyone would come to Kansas after a plague of biblical proportions is a testament of the spirit of man.

1875

The cursory title search that I have done starts with the period 1875 when James M. VanHuss first received a US Patent to land. The deed identifies 160 acres consisting of the southwest 1/4 of 33 26 6. You can see from the map above that the quarter section of 160 acres is just east of the town of Leon, Kansas.

1881 - 1882

Daniel arrived in 1881 and received a US Patent to land in 29 27 8. Robert E. and his wife Lizzie came the following year in September of 1882, and received title (husband and wife received separate titles) to land in the same section. This land is located in Hickory Township, just to the north and west of Beaumont, Kansas. As you approach Beaumont on Highway 54, the land will be just to the north off the highway. If you get out and look, you will find the ancient stone foundation to a house and a metal water pump.

1885 - 1887

In the following years, 1885 and 1887, the brothers transfer titles to other brothers, specifically E.L. VanHuss (wife?) and Isaac.

1898

John Finley VanHuss does not appear until 1898. John Finley VanHuss is my wife's great grandfather. John Finley buys in section 30 27 8, which is south and west of Beaumont, Kansas. He also buys lots in Beaumont and Latham, Kansas. The town physician in Beaumont is Dr. William Phillips. His daughter will marry John's son Fred. Their son Robert (Bob) is my wife's father.

Butler County 1905 showing land of John Finley VanHuss and his wife Josie.

The father, Valentine VanHuss did not acquire land until 1902, when he received a US Patent from President Theodore Roosevelt. The land was in section 29 27 8, like that of sons Daniel and Isaac.

1902

In 1902, John Finley purchased several lots in Latham and Beaumont, Kansas. Thus, he might appear in this 1905 photo taken of the main street of Latham, Kansas at the "J. L. McFall Buys and Sells Everything" store. It is two days before Christmas in 1905, J. L. McFall the gentleman standing in the left half of the image, is giving away prizes for cash purchases.

Latham, Kansas 1905 looking east

As images become available, I will come back and insert them into this post. Keep in mind that it will need updating.

Tuinstraat, Amsterdam

Getting Married

Prior to setting sail in May of 1639 for America, Jan Van Husum and Volkje Juriaens lived on Tuinstraat in Amsterdam. This fact comes from the marriage certificate kept in the Nieuwe Kerk where they were married, dated April 30th, 1639.

Detail of marriage Certificate of Jan Franz Van Husum and Volkje Juriaens

[Note. One immediately notices that there are variations in spellings of names and places. Jan's name is spelled "Jan Franz Van Housum". Volkje's name is spelled "Volckje Juriaens dr van Noortstrandt". Tuinstraat is spelled "Tuijnstraat." Spelling conventions have changed over time. Moreover, spelling may depend on whether the language is Dutch, German, of English.]

Tuinstraat, Amsterdam

Tuinstraat (meaning "Garden Street") can still be found in Amsterdam, near the Dam Platz and the Niewe Kerk where Jan and Volkje were married. From the Dam Platz, head past Rembrandt's studio towards the Jordaan District.It is not too far from the Anne Frank House.

The marriage certificate's reference to "Corte" (Spanish for courtyard) likely refers to courtyard. Keep in mind that the Dutch provinces were once part of the Spanish empire, not achieving formal independence until 1649, ten years after the newly weds left.

Dam Platz and New Church, 1659, Jacob van der Ulft, Musee Condee, Chantily

The couple married in the relatively close Nieuwe Kirk located in the Domplatz.

Willem Juriaensz

What is in a Name

Off the coast of Schleswig, in the North Sea, lay the island of Nordstrand. Here, in 1618, was born to Wilhelm Jurianse a daughter, Volkie. Then in 1634, Nordstrand was destroyed by a devastating flood, and Volkie and her sister Annetje Juriaens survived and were taken to the coastal town of Husum. Their parents were killed in the storm.

Yet, in the records of New Amsterdam there are several references to Willem Juriaensz?

As I will relate below, Willem number two, late in his life, lived with Jan Van Husum and Volkie Jurriens in Claverack, offering to teach them how to bake. The difference in name spelling can be attributed to language. The German language uses the letter ẞ/ß (called eszett (sz) or scharfes S, sharp s. Dutch has no such letter. As we will see below, the name was also spelled Jurrianse and Jurriaanse.

I did find one tie in that seemingly connects both Willem and Volkie. But before we get to that, let's hear the story.

The Story

Willem Jurianesz settled in the colony of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, arriving in the fall of 1638 (Jan and Volkjie arrived in the summer of 1639). Willem's occupation was given as Captain. But he also earned a living as a baker, and, at least once, for providing lumber from a saw mill in which he may have had an interest. Beginning as early as 1644, he was in trouble with his neighbors for various misdeeds.

Read online from the New York State Library the Van Rensselaer Bowier manuscripts: being the letters of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer.Page 820 concerns Willem Juriaensz, alias Backer, alias Capitaijn. On the following pages at 821 and 822 are seven passengers on Den Harinck, which arrived in New Amsterdam the following summer. Missing are the names of Jan and Volkie.

This short biographical sketch of Willem is given in O'Callaghan, History of New Netherland, 1:437-38, and online at Ancestry.com's list of Rensselaerswyck Settlers 1630-1658.  (The listings are chronological and Willem Jurianensz is three quarters of the way down.) This is a reprint of the New York State site.

A more complete account of Willem is given in Beverwijck: a Dutch village on the American frontier, 1652-1664, by Janny Venem.

The biographical sketch notes that Willem was often at odds with other settlers and frequently hauled before the authorities. He was twice ordered to be banished from the colony, but the sentence seems not to have been carried out.

Willem was getting up in age and Jan and Volkie agreed to take him in. In exchange for his keep, Willem would agree to teach Volkie and Jan how to bake. Willem apparently refused to keep up his end of the contract as he would hide the baking utensils. A final entry contains this note:

Nov. 30, 1651, Willem Juriaensz declared that he refused to fulfil his contract with Jan van Hoesen, dated Jan. 30, 1650, and Jan. 18, 1652, the court gave Jan van Hoesen permission to occupy the erf (lot, or bakery) of Willem Juriaensz, on condition that the latter be allowed to dwell in his house as long as he lived ofte de gelegenheijt presenteert (or an opportunity for removing to another place presented itself).

Jan and Volkie would continue with their bakery after Willem died. Indeed, Volkie would continue the trade after her husband's death. And the bakery would serve for yet another legal squabble, but that is a different story.

A Connection? 

Was there a family connection between Willem Juriaensz and Volkje Jurriens. If so, there is no mention of it in the biographical sketch.

The bio reports that Willem sailed on the ship de Liefde [the Charity] from the Texel September 25, 1638, arriving at New Amsterdam, December 27, 1638. Joyce Lindstrom reports that Jan and Volkje, after marrying in the Dutch Reformed Church in Amsterdam, set sail on the ship "Den Harlinck" [usually spelled Den Harinck]in May of 1639, arriving in New Amsterdam on July 7, 1639.

The connection is finally found in another source.  If you go to familysearch.org and do a search of the name Jurriaens you get a connection:

18. Volkje JURRIAANSE - Ancestral File Gender: F Birth/Christening: Abt 1618 Noorstrand Islan, , Schleswig-Holste, Germany

19. Wilhelm JURRIANSE (VAN NOORDSTRANT) - Ancestral File Gender: M Birth/Christening: Abt 1592 , , Netherlands

Volkie ties into Jan Van Husum (Van Hoesn) and the island of Nordstrand. Willem ties into the island of Nordstrand as well and is the correct age. This might suggest that Willem and Volkie were uncle and niece.

Along the Schuylkill River

By the third generation, the Van Hooser family was ready to move again. This time the family would move from upstate New York to the Township of Heidelberg in the County of Berks, Pennsylvania.

The Van Hooser family had come to America in 1639. The first Van Huss name was Jan Franz Van Husum, so called because he came from the small coastal town of Husum in North Friesland. He arrived in New York, along with his wife Volkje Juriens or Jurrianse.  She was from the neighboring island of Nordstrand which had been devastaed by the Nordstrand Flood of 1634.

Note. You will have noticed that I have already spelled the last name several ways. That is because over the years the name changed according to location and use. Jan was originally Van Husum, literally "from Husum". In New York the accepted spelling was Van Hoesen. This then became Van Hooser or Vanhooser. The "e" was sometimes left off, giving us Vanhoose. One wonders about the German influence on the name. One also wonders about the similarity to the Indiana nickname "Hoosier". Van Huss, which is the spelling of my wife's family, did not come into use until after 1795.

Eventually, Jan and Volkje would make there way to upstate New York, settling in the Rennsylaerwick colony. Jan did well, trading with the Indians for beaver, buying land and raising at least nine children. It was their seventh child Johannes Van Hoesen, who was to father a son, also named Johannes, who would emigrate from New York to Pennsylvania.

This Johannes, grandson to Jan and Vlokje, was born in 1697 in Kingston, New York. In 1720, he married Elizabeth Christina Laux (Lauck). They lived for awhile in New York, but in 1728, followed Elizabeth's brother Abraham to Pennsylvania. They settled on land in Heidelberg Township next to the Tulpehocken Creek along the Schuylkill River. The area is now an historic district.

Johannes and Elizabeth lived in Heidelberg Township until 1753 or 1754. Their neighbors included Conrad Weiser, an early settler who spoke Mohawk and help to mediate between the Indians who lived along the Schuylkill and the white settlers. See Conrad Weiser. When Johannes and Elizabeth left Pennsylvania for North Carolina, Conrad Weiser along with Abraham Laux would witness the deed selling their land in Pennsylvania.

Other neighbors included the Boone and Lincoln families. The Boone family arrived in Pennsylvania in 1717 and settled in Oley, near the settlement of the Vanhoosers in Tulpehocken, now called Robesonia. Mapquest shows it to be a scant 20 miles apart with Oley to the east of Reading and the Tulpehocken Creek to the west. Mapquest. The Lincoln family lived in Chester County for a period around the same time. The Lincolns would move to Augusta, Virginia. The Boones moved to Rowan and Anson counties in North Carolina, where Johannes and Elizabeth settled.

One can find online the deed of sale from Johannes and Elizabeth Vanhooser to John Joseph Derr and Henry Boyer. Joyce Lindstrom also reports the sale in her extensive family history. The deed reports the slae of 200 acres of land located between the properties of William Allen to the south and east and Abraham Laux to the north and west.

Note. Trying to exactly identify the location is difficult. Joyce Lindstrom reports that Johannes lived near present day Robesonia, near the larger city of Reading. Abraham Laux (Lauck) is buried in St. Daniel's Lutheran Church in Robesonia. Conrad Weiser's property is well to the west. William Allen owned property far to the south near Londongrove, but he also owned other property.

Johannes and Elizabeth's departure to North Carolina was well-timed. In 1754, the French and Indian War broke out along the Pennsylvania frontier. English General Braddock and colonial forces were defeated by French and Indian forces in the summer of 1755 in western Pennsylvania. In the fall the Indians killed 14 settlers and took hostage another 11 at Penn's Creek, which was much nearer to the Tulpehocken settlements.

Two times two and fifty exquisite Biblical Stories from the Old and New Testaments, for youth prepared to the best of his ability by Johann Hübnern,

Two times two and fifty exquisite Biblical Stories from the Old and New Testaments, for youth prepared to the best of his ability by Johann Hübner. Image by William (Bill) Meyers.

Johan Hubner, Two times two and fifty Biblical Stories

The Page reads in German:

Zweimal zwei und fünfzig auserlesene Biblische Historien aus dem Alten und Neuen Testamente,
der Jugend zum Besten abgefass von Johann Hübnern,
Rector des Johannei zu Hamburg. Nebst einer B[V]orrede E. Hoch=ehrwürdigen Ministerei der Stadt Hamburg. Aufs neue revidirt, von M. Joh. Gottfr. Fletch., Past. in Stürmthal
_______________________________________
Mit Kaiserlichen, wie auch konigl. Sachsischen allergnadigsten
Privilegiis
________________________________________
Leipzig, Johann Friedrich Gleditsch, 1814


The English translation reads:

Two times two and fifty (104) exquisite Biblical Stories from the Old and New Testaments for youth prepared to the best of his ability by Johann Hübner,
Rector (Master) of St. John's, Hamburg. In addition, Preface by the most-reverend Minister of  the city of Hamburg. Revised, by John M. Gottfr. Fletch., Pastor at Stürmthal (Störmthal)

____________________________________

With Imperial, as well royal permission of Saxony graciously given

Privileges (Copyright)

____________________________________

Leipzig, Johann Friedrich Gleditsch, 1814

Notes.  These Biblical stories were a popular source of instruction of youth within the German Lutheran communities both in Europe and the United States. In the early 1700's, there was a wave of German immigrants to America from the Palatinate Region, southwest Germany. This immigration was a result of the Thirty Years War and the religious intoleration that still existed in Germany.

Jan Franz Van Husum's grandson, Johannes Vanhooser married one of these immigrants, Elizabeth Christina Laux (Lauck). Their son Valentine Felty Vanhooser would marry Maria Barbara Zerbe. Her family had likewise emigrated from the Palatinate and arrived in America in 1710. German was spoken in many of the early communities.

A later edition of Hubner's stories was published in St. Louis in 1869. Allexperts.com. The notes from this source point out that "Johannei" (Johanneum in Latin, in English, we would think of it as St. John's Preparatory School) is the oldest academic secondary (pre-university) school in Hamburg, founded in 1529 by Johannes Burgenhagen. Burgenhagen was a spiritual emissary of Martin Luther. See also, Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums.

Johann Hübner, 1668 - 1731, (the modern day spelling drops the last "n" from the name Hubnern), was a German teacher, poet, historical author, as well as author of school books, and Protestant religious theorist during the Reformation. Johann Hübner, German Wikipedia. He originally published his Two times fifty-two Biblical stories in 1714.

The Biblical stories were actively published from 1714 until either 1870 or 1902. The book that Bill Meyers has was published in Leipzig, Germany in 1814. During its active life, the book underwent 40 publications and 19 revisions, which included translations into six European languages, and also appeared in the USA. Johan Hubner.

The Marriage of Jan Franz Van Housum and Volckje Jurriaens van Nordstrandt

Jan Franz Van Husum (Housum) and Volkje Juriaens (Jurriaens) married in Amsterdam on April 30, 1639. At the time, they were living on Tuinstraat, near the Dam Platz, with its Royal Palace and the Nieue Kirk where the ceremony took place. The church they were married in was devastated by fire in 1645 and rebuilt in its present day Gothic style.

The couple was married in the Dutch Reformed Church.

The marriage ceremony was performed under the rites of the Dutch Reformed Church, which reflects the fact that Holland was in the midst of its own Protestant Reformation. The Dutch Reformed Church was a more tolerant version of Lutheranism which held sway in large sections of northern Europe. And Lutheranism was a more tolerant version of Christ's teaching than Roman Catholicism. The Roman Catholic faith was the official religion of Holland ruled by the Spanish, who were then fighting the Dutch people for political control.

The Translation

The marriage certificate is written in Old Dutch using Gothic script, also called Blackletter. As with any old document, spellings may vary. The first few words, "Compareerdey als woren, literally translates as "Appearing as before," but is used in the sense "Present for signing.".

The certificate translates as follows:

                                              On 30 April 1639

Present for signing Jan Franz Van Housum, sailor, age 30, living in Corte Tuijnstraat, having no parents but assisted by his cousin, Anna Jans, and Volckje Juriaens, from Noortstrant, age about 21, of the same address and having no parents, but assisted by her acquaintance Isaack Pietersen.

Requesting their three Sundays' proclamation, in order to have the before mentioned marriage solemnized and consummated, in so far as there are no lawful objections made, and if fully that they are free persons, and not related by blood, whereby a Christian marriage could be prevented, such grounds do not exist, their banns are allowed.

The translation with a few minor variations comes from the site Vanhoose History and Joyce Lindstrom's Book on the Van Huss Family in America. I would not include the word daughter after Volckje Jurianes name, preferring to think that "dr" or "dv"  is short hand for "de van" meaning, from the, or the French "de" which also means from. The word "bekende" or acquaintence probably better translates as witness. The word sailor probably comes from the Dutch word "varensgezel", but the spelling seems to have changed. It might also translate simply as sea man or boats man.

In research Jan is often referred to as a sailor, but I have not come across any references to his sails except on the Den Harinck, the ship the two of them sailed on in going to America. Once in America the couple settled in Beverwyck (today's Albany, New York) up the Hudson River, and Jan became a businessman and property owner.

Jan's home in Amsterdam, Corte Tuijnstraat, is a location that still exists. "Corte" is a Spanish word for court, a holdover from the fact that Holland was then part of the Spanish Netherlands.Google Map.

The Anne Frank House is just a minute away from Tuinstraat, and it is a ten minute walk to Nieuwe Kerk on Dam Square where the couple married. The church burned down six years after the marriage, and a new church was built at the same location in Gothic style. (See images of the New Church in Amsterdam).

Nortstrandt, Noortstrand, Nordstrand

Volckje's former address "von Noortstrand" refers to the island of Nordstrand. (Again, the spelling depends on the language. Variations also entered over time, just as with Van Husum to Van Huss.) The island is part of the chain of islands that made up North Friesland. Don't confuse these islands with Friesland which is a part of Holland.

On a modern map of the North Sea, these islands are located to the east of Amsterdam, north of Germany, and off the western coast of Denmark. I have included Von Blaeu's map of the area made after the flood. The smaller detail below shows the flooded areas of the island with small horizontal dashes.

The town of Husum, not on the map, is located by the sea to the east of the island of Nortstrandt. The island and the city both suffered greatly in the flood of 1634. this same flood killed Volckje's parents and probably was the calamity that brought the couple together, as Volckje was taken to Husum after the flood.

Map by Von Blaeu and detail, showing the island of Nortstandt (Nordstrand), shortly after the flood of 1634.


*
The fact that Jan was called Van Housum at all was principally to distinguish him from other Jans and the inclusion of the name Fransse or Franz designated his father. When looking at Dutch records in America, one will again come across the tendency to use a place name to distinguish individuals. Thus, I came across one "Jan Pieterson Van Husum" in looking at the records of New Netherlands, but it was clearly a different individual.

Volckje or Volkje's father was called Juriens, and she hailed from the island of Noortstaat (Nordstrand). There were other Juriens in the same colony where Jan and Volckje lived. One Captain Juriens later came under their care.

Volkje and Annetje Juriens (Jurriaens)

In 1639 Volkje Juriens (Jurriaens) married Jan Franz Van Husum, the first Van Huss in America.

But before that Volkje lived on the North Friesland island of Nordstrand with her parents and sister Annetje. The area along the western coastline of the Jutland peninsula was marchy and periodic floods laid down sediment. Eventually homes were built on mounds and dikes built to contain the flood waters. Because of the grass, cattle were raised, but geese and duck were also prevalent. Volkje was 16 years old in 1634. That was the year that a disasterous flood swept the island killing thousands including Volkje and Annetje's parents.

There are no images of either Volkje or Annetje, but one can imagine that they might have looked much like the Girl with the Pearl Earring, a painting by Dutch painter Jan Vanmeer, who lived from 1632 until 1675.

In 1639 Volkje would marry Jan Franz Van Husum. The same year, the two crossed the Atlantic and came to New Netherlands, settling in Rensselaerwyck in the small village of Beverwyck. Annetje would marry Andries Herbertz Constapel. All I know now is that he was at Renssalaerwyck from 1640 - 1662. See WMGS.

The Painting

Vermeer's painting of The Girl with the Pearl Earring can be seen in the Mauritshuis museum in the Hague. There is no date on the painting and the identity of the girl is unknown.

If you would like to read a little more about the painting and learn about the possible identities of the girl, go to the following article by Anna Holdsworth - Girl with the Pearl Earring. One can also read Tracy Chevalier's book of the same name for a good story of Dutch life in the 17th century.