Jan Roelofse Schenck

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• Around 1695 a number of Van Couwenhoven, Schencks, and other Dutch families moved westward to Monmouth County, New Jersey. Jan and Sarah settled on a farm near Holmdel in a place called Pleasant Valley. There Jan made his will on September 7, 1746. It was proven on June 3, 1753. Jan and Sarah had twelve children, nine of whom were living at the time Jan made his will.

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RECORD:

1. Teunius G. Bergen, Register of Early Settler of Kings County New York (reprint 1973), pg. 251. " Took oath of allegiance in Fld in 1687 as a native removed from Flds about 1697 and settled Pleasant Valley, NJ. Member of the D. Ch. of Freehold in 1709. Children: Annetje, Rachel, Maria, Leah, WIlliam, Jannetje, Jan, Antie, & Peter."

2. Henry B. Hoff, Genealogies of Long Island Families From the N.Y. Genealogical and Biographical Record (1987 Genealogical Publishing Company Baltimore, Md.), Vol. 2 pg. 515, 517. " Jan b. Mch 1, 1670 d. Jan. 20, 1753; mar. Flatlands Oct. 1 1692 his cousin Sara WIllemse Van Kouwenhove (No. 24) dau. of WIleme Gerretes Van Kouwenhoven and Altje Brinckerhoff."

3. Alice Crandall Park, Schenck and Related Families in New Netherlands (1992 Gateway Press In, Baltimore, Md.), pg. 38-9. NOTE: Group sheet presentation. All data is from various other sources. A poor presentation of material collected and alot of missing documentation. " Upper left hand corner: Bergen Early Settlers of Kings co., pg. 251 Couwenhoven pg. 80-1; William Nelson Ed. Patents and Deeds and Other Early Records of N. J. 1644-1703, 262. THe Van Dooren names marked with an * were brothers [Jacob, Arie & Chrisyjan] of Jacob Van Doorn and Maritje Bennet. W/ V/ Lewdley The Van DOren Family (1972) 34; Wm. Nelson ed. N. J. Marriage records 1665-1880 "All of N.J" ROELOF Schenck b. 21 Feb. 1692 FLatlands, Kings, N.Y. d. 19 Jul. 1761 Geesie Hendricksen; SARAH Schenck b. 1696 FLatlands m. 16 May 1721 Johannes Voorhees of New Brunswick; m 2) Hendrick Voorhees of Freehold as 3rd wife (Gerret Coert) AALTJE Schenck bp. 25 May 1705 N.J.d. c. 1801 m. 1723 Chrisyjan Van Dooren b. 1699 Monmouth co., removed to Milstone Valley, SOmerset co., N.J. dau. Altjie m. Simon Wyckoff son John b. 1726 at Middlebush. RACHEL Schenck bp. 19 Feb. 1709 N.J. m. ? Boon of Ky.; MARIA/Maritje Schenck b. 8 AUg. 1712 NJ. d. 31 Oct. 1756 m c. Jacob VanDooren Jacob was b. 1703 s/o Jaco and Maria his 1st wife.; LEAH Schenck b. 24 Dec. 1714 N.J. d. 14 Mar. 1769 m. 17 Dec. 1735 Peter Couwenhoven Junr. Piet bp. 6 APr. 1712 d. 1774 s/o Pieter WIllemse. Leah's cousin Coert m. Peters sister Marike (Peter) WILLIAM Schenckb. 15 Sep. 1718 NJ. d.y; JANNETJE Schenck bp. 15 Sep. 1718 NJ. d. y.; JANNETJE SCHENCK b. N.J. m. Bernardus Verbryck of Neshaminy, Pa.; JAN Schenck bp. 22 Jul. 1722 N.J. d. 24 Dec. 1808 m. 14 Jun. 1750 Monmouth co., N.J. Nelly/ELeanor Bennet. ; ANTIE Schenck b. N.J. m. c. 1730? Arie VanDooren; PIETER Schenck m 1) Jannetje Hansen Van Nostran m 2) 1747 Jannetje Hendricksen. The will of Jan is at Trenton Book E pg. 263 ect. "I John Schenck Senior of Middletown County of Monmouth.." Jan. his brother Gerret and their brother-in-law Cornelius Covenhoven went from Flatlands to Monmouth co., N.J. Jan had bought from Peter Wyckoff his share (one fourth) of a 500 acres tract in Middletown and removed there in 1697. On 30 March 1697 the date of Jan's purchase the deed says that bothe (were of) Kings co., Long Island."

4. Benjamin Robinson Schenck, M. D; compiled from notes & records of Adrain Adelbert Schenck, Ancestors and Descendants OF Rulef Schenck, A Genealogy of the Onondaga co., NY, Branch of the Schenck Family , Detroit, Michigan. 1911 , pg. 36; 62-63. " The next in our line of descent is the fifth child and second son of Roelof (la), namely Jan Schenck (6a). Born at Flatlands, L. I., in 1670, he married Sara Willemse van Couwenhoven in 1692. Subsequently, Jan's sisters, Margaretta and Neeltje, married brothers of Sara. In 1698, Jan removed to a tract of land in Pleasant Valley, near Holmdel, New Jersey. This tract, consisting of 500 acres, had been purchased from John Brown, a merchant of Middletown, N. Y., in 1696, by Cornelius van Couwenhoven (who later married Jan's sister, Margaretta), Coert van Voorhees and Peter WyckoflF. The two latter sold out their equity to Garret and Jan and the tract was divided into three farms, those of Garret (7a) and Jan Schenck and their future brother-in-law, Cornelius van Couwenhoven. At the corner where these three farms met was dedicated a plot, containing about one-half acre of land, for a family burying ground. It was afterwards also used by other families.

From Garret Schenct has descended a very large branch of the family, including a number of illustrious men, among them the Rev. William Schenck; General William C. Schenck, who was prominent in the war of 1812, and who first surveyed and founded Port Lawrence, now Toledo, Ohio; Col. William Rogers Schenck; Admiral James Findlay Schenck; General Robert C Schenck, Minister to Brazil, Congressman from Ohio, Minister to England; Lieutenant WoodhuU S. Schenck, U. S. N. ; and Lieutenant Alexander D. Schenck, U. S. A.

But little can be learned concerning the life of Jan and Sara. For over fifty years they lived on their New Jersey farm, bringing up a family of four sons and six daughters

The first of these sons was Roelof (12a), born at Flatlands, L. L, in 1692, and at the age of six years going, with the family, from Long Island to New Jersey. He lived on the farm of his father and was apparently a well known man in the community. The only information we have concerning him is to be found in a small volume, published in 1905, edited by The Rev. A. I. Martine of Marlborough, N. J., and entitled Bi-Ceniennial Celebration of the Reformed Church of the Navasink and Its Two Branches (1699-1899) .....

Roelof Schenck (12a) was frequently called "Black Roelof" to distinguish him from a cousin of the same name....

Roelof (12a) died January 19, 1766, and was buried in the old burying ground at Pleasant Valley. In August, 1883, the stone was still standing and a sassafras tree, more than five inches in diameter, was growing from the center of the grave. On the stone appeared the follow ing:

"Here Lies Interred the Body of Roelof Schenck, Son of John, who Departed this Life the Nineteenth of January in the Year of Our Lord, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty-six, aged Seventy-three Years, Ten Months and Twenty-eight Days."

By the side of this stone was another giving the record of the death of his wife, Geesie.

We have little information concerning John Schenck (24a), the third child and first son of Roelof (i2a), beyond the facts of his birth, marriage and death. Born January 22, 1720, he married when twenty-one years of age, Jacamyntie van Couwenhoven, who was some two years his senior. They had two sons and one daughter.

6a. Jan Schenck, II., son of Roelof Martense (la) and Neeltje Geretsen (van Couwenhoven) Schenck, was born at Flatlands, L. L, N. Y., March, 1670, and mar- ried Sara Willemse van Couwenhoven. She was born at Flatlands, L. I., December 27, 1674.

They had ten children. 12a. I. Roelof, born February 21, 1692. See p. 63. 13 a. II. Peter. 14a. III. John, baptized in 1722. 15a. IV. Ann. 1 6a. V. Allchy. 17a. VI. Maria. i8a. VII. Sarah. 19a. VIII. Nellie. 20. IX. Leah. 21 a. X. Jane.

Jan Schenck (6a) died at Pleasant Valley, Monmouth County, N. J., January 30, 1753. Sara Willemse (van Couwenhoven) Schenck died January 31, 1761."