Dirkse Volkertszen

VOLKERT DIRCKS bapt. 15 Nov 1643

Volkert's baptism in the Dutch Reformed Church in New Amsterdam was witnessed by step-grandfather Jan Jansen DAMEN, Philip GREAR, Maria PHILIPS and (boo-hiss!) uncle Cornelis VAN TIENHOVEN, whose title "Secretaris" appears in the record of the event. He was raised at Smit's Vly, and sometime after 1646 moved across the East River to their new farm house at Noorman's Kill. His family may not have settled there permanently until the mid-1650's, after the Indian wars subsided. In 1667 he contracted with his father to work 200 acres of this farm, in exchange for eventually receiving title to the land. Volkert married Annetje PHILLIPS about 1668. Her father was Phillip LANGELANS, who sailed from the Netherlands to New Amsterdam in 1659 on the ship "Faith" with his wife and two daughters. The other daughter was Marie, who married Grietje Dircks' son Jurian NAGEL. Jurian's aunt Annetje was thus also his sister-in-law, and Volkert's nephew was also his brother-in-law.

When the Dutch recaptured New York from the English in 1673, Volkert became a magistrate of Bushwick under the short-lived Dutch authority. The English and Dutch concluded a treaty in 1674 that returned New York to English control. His name then appears on the 1675 and 1676 Assessment Rolls in Boswyck as Volkert Dierckse. In 1677 he was listed as a member of Dominie Van Zuuren's church, and in 1686 was commissioned lieutenant of militia [p. 147 of Cal. of Eng. Man.]. In the 1682 baptism of his daughter Lydia at the Flatbush DRC, his name was recorded as "Folkert Dircksen" and that of his wife was "Annitje Flippsen."

Volkert appeared on the 1683 Rate List of Bushwyck as Volkert Dircksen (assessed taxes for 200 acres). On 10 Aug 1684 he witnessed the baptism of niece Lisbeth, daughter of Peter Schamp and Janetie Dirks of Bushwick, at the Reformed Dutch Church of Flatbush. On 21 Nov 1686 the NY DRC showed a baptism for: "Jacop. Joost Dulje, Madleen Delefeebre, parents [witnesses:] Folkert Dircksen, Elisabeth Lodowycks." He sold some of his land in 1685 to Peter PRAA, and shows up again on a land patent in 1687. In that same year he was listed on the roster at Bushwick when he took the mandatory oath of allegiance to England. On 9 Sep 1688 Volkert witnessed at the baptism of granddaughter Antie, daughter of Cornelius Cortelyou and Neltje Volkers, at Flatbush. He died before the Kings County census in 1698. Based on the participants and description of the 1689 land transaction between Volkert's brother Jacob and son Dirck, he may already have died by July 1689.

Many of Volkert's children moved to New Jersey after his death. It is also likely that his wife Annetje went with them, as an undated (approx. 1710) map of the Harlingen tract in Somerset County, NJ, shows the adjoining properties of "Anna Volkerse, Claus Volkerse, Dirck Volkerse and D. Volkerse" [the last entry may be son Philip, with the initial P miscopied as a D, but the evidence is that Dirck owned two lots there]

Volkert was raised at Smit's Vly, and about 1655 moved to the farm at Noorman's Kill. He served as a Magistrate in 1673-74.

He received the whole of the sizeable estate of his father.

When he, himself, died without a will, the once large estate was divided amongst all heirs with the old stone homestead going to a female descendant.
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See the New Jersey page for further information on Volkert's descendants

 Many of Volkert's children moved to New Jersey after his death.

Birth: Baptised New Amsterdam Dutch Reformed Church Nov 15 1643 New Amsterdam

Move: Sometime aftert 1647, across the East River to their new farm house 1647 Noorman's Kill from Smit's Vly Occupation: Farming, Contracted with his father to work 200 acres of this farm, in exchange for eventually receiving title to the land. 1667 Noormans Kill Marriage: Marriage to: Annetje (Annitjen) VOLCKERTSON (born PHILLIPS ( Flipsen)) 1668 New Amsterdam ( New York City) Occupation: Magistrate under Dutch Authority 1673 Bushwick, Long Island Property: 200 acres as Volkert Dircksen 1683 1683 Anecdote: Took the mandatory oath of allegiance to England. 1687 Bushwick Death: Before the Kings County census in 1698

• Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Sep 15 2018, 16:54:24 UTC

When the Dutch recaptured New York from the English in 1673, Volkert became a magistrate of Bushwick under the short-lived Dutch authority. The English and Dutch concluded a treaty in 1674 that returned New York to English control. His name then appears on the 1675 and 1676 Assessment Rolls in Boswyck as Volkert Dierckse. In 1677 he was listed as a member of Dominie Van Zuuren's church, and in 1686 was commissioned lieutenant of militia.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/149446993/volkert-dirckse

Line of Descent:
Dirck VOLCKERTSZEN and Christine VIGNE
Volkert DIRCKS and Annetje PHILLIPS
Dirck VOLKERTSON and Maria DE WITT

THE ORIGIN OF THIS SURNAME The Dutch and Norwegian cultures used a "patronymic" naming system in which the father's first name became the children's last name, so there was no such thing as a "family name" that passed from one generation to the next. Under this system, the surname of Dirck's children was Dircks (sometimes spelled Dirckse or Dirckx). In the following generation, the children of his son Volkert Dircks had surnames based on his first name, Volkert.

The English seized New Amsterdam by military force in 1664 and renamed it New York, marking the end of both Dutch rule and the patronymic system. The patronyms then in use by the former Dutch colonists became permanent family names, and over time were 'translated' into English surnames. In this case, a permanent last name was established, based on the root name of Volkert. Over the next 75 to 100 years, the family name was spelled Volkerts, Volkertse, Folkerts, Folkertse, Volkertson and Folkertson. By the time of the American Revolution it was almost universally spelled FULKERSON. Many other variations of the Fulkerson surname can be found in American records of the 18th and 19th centuries: Falkerson, Faulkerson, Folkerson, Fulkersin, etc. These variations were generally either (1) a matter of preference, or (2) frontier spellings concocted by guessing at the sound of the name.

 FULKERSON was an English/Irish/Scotch surname, not very common, which apparently originated in Scotland as a phonetic variant of 'Farqharson." A very small number of Fulkersons immigrated to America from the British Isles, probably about 1840 and afterwards. They did not establish any significant family lines in the United States. In almost all cases (99.9%), Americans and Canadians born with the surname FULKERSON - or a similar variant - descend from Volkert, the son of Dirck De Noorman of the New Amsterdam settlement.

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Dec 25 2023, 15:57:08 UTC