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About Epke Jacobse Banta
Epke Jacobse Banta:
He had been a miller in Minnertsga and Oosterbeirum in the 1640's and 1650's. Court records indicate he and his wife bought a house in Oosterbeirum in 1652, but sold it at a loss in 1655, returning to Minnertsga. When his mother died in 1652, she left an inheritence to him, which was held in trust by his father until after 2-1656. On 10-8-1656 he was arrested, brought before the Public Prosecutor, and fined for permitting a Roman Catholic Priest in his home to baptize his child.
An only son, Epke brought his wife and family from the Port of Harlingen to New Amsterdam, departing 2-12-1659. They came on the 'De Trouw' (the Faith), Captained by Jan Jansen Bestevaer. This was when the Dutch West India Company was rushing to colonize more rapidly than the English, thereby retaining it's stronghold on the area. The List of Passengers shows him as Epke Jacobsen, farmer from Harlingen, along with his wife and sons, aged 3/4, 2, 3 4, and 6. He first settled at Vlissingen (now Flushing, Queens County) on Long Island, where he was an Innkeeper. He removed to Bergen (now Jersey City) by about 1675. He was appointed a judge and member of the Court of Oyer and Terminer, 1679. On 3-25-1685 he obtained 183 acres at New Hackensack (Hackensack River, near Overpeck's Creek). On 6-17-1685 he sold land to Hendrick Rinckerhoff at Old Hackensack. He appears on many court documents in the Hackensack area from then until his death as Epke Jacobs. The name 'Bonta', 'Bonter' or 'Banta' is believed derived from the farm on which his Grandparents lived near the Frisian Arum. However, members of the family were referred to very extensively as Epke, Eptkey, etc. in records into the mid 1500's.
Epke and his wife lived in the vicinity of Harlingen, an important seaport of
Friesland. Research indicates that he was a miller, the owner of a
"wintmolen" or windmill. They lived first at Oosterbierum where their son
Seba was born, and later at Minnertsga where their other children were born.
These are both small villages within a mile of the Zuyder Zee. This part of
Friesland is flat and much of it is below sea level and protected by dykes.
Land had become scarce in Holland. Freedom of religion had drawn many people
from other countries, which put a strain on an already over-crowded country.
This may have been a factor in why Epke chose to emigrate to America.
He immigrated in 1659 to America. The family left Friesland, Holland late in
1658 or early the next year and set sail for America. They arrived in New
Netherland on February 12, 1659 on the ship DeTrouw (The Faith) with Captain
Jan Jansen Bestevaer. They settled in Flushing on Long Island about eleven
miles from New Amsterdam, where they became innkeepers. Twelve years later
on December 29, 1671, Epke purchased a grist mill in the adjoining town of
Jamaica.
Sometime after their arrival, the family discarded the use of the patronymic
naming system. As you can see from the early generations, the use of a family
surname was not practiced by the inhabitants of Friesland, and thus to
distinguish one John from another, for example, there was added the baptismal
name of the father, usually with the addition of se, s, or sen indicating
relationship. Thus, Epke, son of Jacob, was known as Epke Jacobs or Jacobse.
The first use of the Banta family name so far as is known started in 1640 in
Holland where he had begun to sign his name as Jacobi Epkes te Bonta. This
appears in the States Archives in Friesland at Leewarden. Translated, the
spelling means "Jacob Epkes at Bonta". Most likely it was derived from the
fact that Epke's grandparents had a farm named Bonta near the Frisian Arum.
In America the first use of the surname appears in the records of the Dutch
Reformed Church records of Hackensack, NJ on August 22, 1696. For a short
time thereafter the name appeared sometimes as Banta and sometimes as Epke.
Research indicates that since the name was not used in Holland by any other
family, it is safe to assume that all those bearing the Banta name descend
from Epke Jacobs.
Long Island was partly inhabited by English and partly by Dutch. Both
countries felt they owned it. The English King promised the island to his
brother, James the Duke of York. They sent Captain John Scott to Long Island.
He arrived at the end of December 1663, where he took over some of the Dutch
villages. Peter Stuyvesant was unable to come to the aid of the villages
because his troops were engaged in hostilities with the Indians. After
several months, the English sent ships into the Hudson River, and Stuyvesant
was forced to surrender. When the English came to power, they imposed heavy
taxes on the Dutch settlers.
Epke Jacobs sold his mill on Long Island sometime before 1675 and moved his
family to New Jersey. Many other Dutch families followed suit.
He died Unknown.
He was married to Tyeeta Dirckadr before 1652. Tyeeta Dirckadr was born
Unknown. She died between 1659 and 1675. Epke Jacobs and Tyeeta Dirckadr
had the following children:
8 i. Cornelius Epke (born in 1652).
9 ii. Seba Epke (born in 1654).
10 iii. Hendrick Epke Banta (born in 1655).
11 iv. Derrick Epke (born in 1657).
12 v. Weart Epke (born in May 1658).
GEDCOM Source
Ancestry.com U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012; @R6@
GEDCOM Source
GEDCOM Source
Ancestry.com U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012; @R6@
GEDCOM Source
GEDCOM Source
Ancestry.com U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012; @R6@
GEDCOM Source
view all 18
Epke Jacobse Banta's Timeline
| 1619 |
1619
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Oosterbierum, North Friesland, Netherlands
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| 1650 |
1650
Age 31
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USA
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| 1652 |
1652
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Oosterbierum, North Friesland, Netherlands
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| 1654 |
1654
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Oosterbierum, Friesland, Netherlands
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| 1655 |
June 1655
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Minnertsga, Friesland, Netherlands
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| 1657 |
May 1657
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Minnertsga, North Friesland, Netherlands
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| 1658 |
May 1658
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May 1658
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Minnertsga, Friesland, Netherlands
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