Gatara "Gertrude" Hansdotter Enochson

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=dangamber... http://www.colonialswedes.org/forefathers/Enoch.html

Dori Parsons of California sent this one in about the family of Andris Souplis of Germantown

A very sticky situation exists regarding my 8Ggf Andris Souplis, first sheriff of Germantown, 1691 and original settler of Germantown. He is very well documented as well as his five children, one of whom (Ann was my 7th Ggm -- m. Chas. Yocum, grandson of one of the first Swedes, Peter Jochimsson) . There are quite a few publications floating around which say Andris was a Huguenot of minor nobility, who fled the Picardie region of France (true), settled in Germany (speculation), where he married Gertrude Stressinger who was the mother of his children (not true). This is absolutely false! --- He was Gertrude's fourth husband, they having married sometime after 1705 when her third husband died. Andris appears as a witness at the Frey-Levering marriage performed by Francis Daniel Pastorius in Germantown, with his wife, Anneke, as a witness at that 1692 ceremony as well. Andris and Anneke and quite possibly their two eldest children arrived from Europe around 1683 (we don't know where he was until then, nor exactly when he left his homeland). During the time that Andris and Anneke were in exile and having their children, Gertrude was married first to Garrett Enochson, thence to his brother Harman, thirdly to Lawrence Bartleson (aka Lasse Parker). Many Huguenot descendants have been accepted into membership of the National Huguenot Society through Andris, naming of Gertrude as his wife and mother of the children. She was in fact bearing Enochson children during that time, beginning in 1670 The absolute proof is that Gertrude's will, dated October 5, 1737, proved 20Nov1738, names her daughter Elizabeth Enoch Souplis and her grandson Jacob Souplis ----------Garret Enoch's daughter Elizabeth married Andris Souplis's son Jacob - - thereby putting to rest any rumor that Gertrude was the mother of any Souplis children.

Furthermore, without doubt Gertrude was Swedish, NOT German, for it was through her nationality that they both were buried at Old Swede's Church (Wicaco -- Gloria Dei) in Philadelphia. Her will specified that she wanted to be buried there next to her late husband ----

Some of this information is gleaned from "The 1693 Census of the Swedes on the Delaware" by Dr. Peter Stebbins Craig (incidentally we are very distant cousins through the Jochimsson line). Dr. Craig is without doubt the undisputed authority on things Swedish.