Mary Van Swearingen

In 1670, Barbarah de Barrette died at St. Mary's and six years later Garrett married Mary Smith, then about sixteen years old.

Issue by 2nd wife: Joseph, Charles, Eleanor, Theresa, Dorothy, and a daughter who married William Bladen

Family

From My Roots Place

Married 5 Oct 1676  St Mary's, Maryland to Gerret Van Swearingen,   b. 4 Feb 1636, Beemster, North Holland, Netherlands

Children 

1. Joseph Van Swearingen,   b. 1677, St Mary's, Maryland ,   d. 8 Mar 1721
2. Charles Van Swearingen,   b. 1678, St Mary's, Maryland
3. Ann Van Swearingen,   b. 1680, St Mary's, Maryland
4. Eleanor Van Swearingen,   b. 1682, St Mary's, Maryland
5. Dorothy Van Swearingen,   b. 1684, St Mary's, Maryland ,   d. 1728, Anne Arundel, Maryland
6. Theresa Van Swearingen,   b. 1686, St Mary's, Maryland
7. Female Van Swearingen,   b. 1688, St Mary's, Maryland
8. Dryden Van Swearingen

notes

Ante-nuptial settlement on Mary Smith, of St. Mary's county, MD, spinster, 5 Oct 1676:

The condition of this obligation is such that whereas the above bounden Garrett Vansweringen witnesseth by God's Grace shortly to marry and to take to wife one Mary Smith of the County of St. Maries, spinster, if therefore the said Garrett Vansweringen do by his last will and testament or otherwise without any fraud or covin in case the said Mary Smith shall after marriage had between them survive," Garrett to "give and assure" to mary the "fully quantity of sixty thousand pounds of good and merchantable tobacco in cash over and besides such chaines, braceletts, jewells and apparell" which Mary "shall fortune to have" at Garrett's death, for Mary, her executors and administrators to have, use , and enjoy "all her and their pleasures," without interference from Garrett's Executors, Administrators or assigns. Wits. T. Henry Carew, Jos. Quigley, J. Blairfield. (Transcript from MD State Archives, hall of Records, Annapolis, Land Office Patents 19, p. 381-382)

Will

Will of MARY [SMITH] VANSWERINGEN, St Marys County, MD, dated 17 Feb 1712/13, proved 5 Sep 1713 (Maryland State Archives, Hall of Records, Annapolis, MD, Pre Ct Wills 13, p557-558)

In the Name of God Amen I Mary Vansweringen of St Maryes County Widdow being Sick of body but of sound and perfect mind and memory thanks be to Allmighty God for the Same and Considering the uncertainty of this transitory life we are in and that all mortalls must dye do think convenient to settle all such temporall Benefitts as it hath pleased Allmighty God to bless me with in order thereunto doe make my last will and Testament Revokeing Renowncing and makeing void all former will or Wills by me made and this only to be my last will and Testament first and principally I give and bequeath my Soul to Allmighty God that gave it Constantly believing that through the Meritorious Death and passion of my Blessed Saviour Jesus Christ I shall receive full pardon and remission of my sins and transgretions past and my Body I bequeath to the Earth from whence it Came to be buried in Decent and Christian Maner as my Executor hereafter named shall think fit.

Item - I Give and bequeath unto my Loving Daughter Dorithy Vansweringen four Negroes two feather bedds two Ruggs two pair of blanketts, two pair of Sheets and two bolsters one Silver pint Cupp, Six Silver Spoons one Small English Table to be Delivered to her at the Day of her marriage by my Executor hereafter Named. Item - I give and bequeath unto my Loving Daughter Tereshea Vansweringen four Negroes, two feather bedds two Ruggs two pair of Blanketts two pair of Sheets two bolsters one Pint Silver tankered Six Silver Spoones a Chest of Drawers and a Small Looking Glass and to Each of them my Said Daughters a Suite of table linen all which to be delivered to my said Daughters by my Executor at the Day of their Marriage the above said Legacies being in full satisfaction for their part or portion of their fathers and my Estate. Item - I Give and bequeath unto my loving Son Joseph Vansweringen all that tract or parcell of Land lying in St Mary's County near St. Mary's called the point containing two hundred acres or thereabouts to him and his heirs and assignes for Ever, my Said Son being and is to maintain my Said two Daughters handsomly untill they are married. Item - I Give unto my loveing Son in Law Mr. William Bladen and my Daughter Bladen a Ring of thirty shillings price to Each of them, Item - I Give and Bequeath unto My Loving Daughter Elinor Carroll two Thousand pound of Tobacco to be paid by my Executor in Convenient time after my decease, it is my Desire that the Negroes which I have Given to My two Daughters Shall be Such as my Said Executor Shall think fit they not Exceeding forty years a piece, Item I - Give and Bequeath all the Rest of My Estate both Real and person unto my Said Son Joseph Vansweringen after all my Just Debts are paid and lastly I do hereby Constitute and appoint my loving Son Joseph Vansweringen my whole and sole Executor of this my last will and Testament in witness whereof I have hereunto Set my hand and Seal this Seventeenth day of Febry 1712/13

Signed Sealed and Delivered in the presence of Wm Aisquith Ann Moloni Hannah Bantor (signed) Mary Vansweringen

At ye foot of the aforegoing will was thus written, Sept 5th 1713 Then Came Ann Moloni and Hannah Bantor two of the Witnesses to the within will and made oath that they saw the within Named Mary VanSweringen Sign Seal and Deliver the Same as her last will and Testament Wm Aisquith Dept Comissry

Sources

1. Family register of Gerret Van Sweringen and descendants 3rd ed. compiled by a member of the family. Published 1906 by [M. Swearingen] in Muncie, Ind . Written in English. Page 4

Links

• Four Kings
• Family Tree Maker
• Ancestry

Mary Smith married Garrett Van Sweringen in October 1676. Their children were Elinor, Joseph, Anne (or Ann), Teresa, Charles, Dorothy (or Dorthy), and Sarah. [Previous to marrying Mary, he married Barbara de Barrette in 1659 in New Castle, Delaware. Their children were Elizabeth, Thomas, Zacharias, Mary and Gerard.]

See Find A Grave Memorial# 22786535 for Gerret Vanswearingen

From the fascinating outdoor living museum in St. Mary's City, Maryland (April 23, 2016) - Garrett Van Sweringen sailed from Holland to Fort Casimir (later renamed New Amstel and now named New Castle), in colonial Delaware as captain of a supply ship in the mid-1650s. About ten years later, between 1664 and 1667, he and his family moved to St. Mary's City, Maryland from Delaware after the conquest of Delaware by the English. He was an innovator and entrepreneur. He had extensive global ties he used to import and export commodities. He capitalized on meeting the needs of others, operating an ordinary -- known today as an inn -- in St. Mary's City. It housed and fed travelers and was a meeting place to discuss the political, economic and social issues of the day. Later, he built and managed an upscale ordinary for government officials and the well-to-do. In addition to his inn, he built and ran a brewery and a coffee/tea house. He was a justice of the peace and a sheriff. Van Sweringen mixed with many of the upper crust including the Lords Baltimore of the Calvert family who stayed at his inn.

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Will of Garrett Van Sweringen, St. Mary's Co., MD. Dated 25 March 1698. Proved 25 October 1698. Maryland State Archives, Hall of Records, Annapolis, MD, Prerogative Court Wills 6, pp. 210-211.

In the name of God, Amen. I Garrett Vansweringen of ye citty of St. Mary's in St. Marys Co., haveing consideredly Many Yeares I have Lived in this World and therefore but a Little time to remain and for Reason of the Uncertainty When this tyme shall be Expired I doe hereby Will and require that When it Should be ye Will of God to Call me out of this Mortall Life My body shall be buried if God Doth permitt According to ye custom of ye Roman Catholique Church and ye Priest That shall bury me I doe give him One Thousand Pound of Tobacco and further I doe require My Executors herafter named to take Care that dureing ye Ensueing Year Mass shall be done for me Soly at all ye Later Days St. Josephs day, St. John ye Evangelist, St. Mary Magdaline in Holy Week at all Saints days and in ye Christmas Hollydays further That all my Just debts shal be paid and doe therefore appoint and Nominate My Wife and My son Joseph Vansweringen Exrs. of my Will and this My Testament to doe and act as here shal be mencond And My Now dwelling house and Land thereunto belonging also ye Councill Roomes and Coffee house and Land thereunto belonging I give unto my two sons Joseph and Charles Van Sweringen For them and their Heires for Ever but in case of Any of them should Come to dye then ye houses and land fall to ye Surviving Brother here before Named and if both should Come to Dye then it shall fll to my Girles gotten by my Liveing wife the ...only equally that is to be Understood that are and were not married, or unprovided and Shall be unmarried after my decease and in Case any of them should So come to be in Possession of Any of the aforenamed Land and houses and Shall Come to dye without issue then ye forenamed Land Should returne againe to those that are Unmarried and to them that shall have issue in the Nature as before but their Issue dying shall ye said Land returne again to those yet have issue or be unmarried I doe alsoe require that my Wife doe Alsoe remaine in Possession of All my Estate Moveables and unmoveables dureing her Life that if she shall remaine unmarried, but in Case she should Come to Marry that then her Exershp shall Cease and My Son Joseph shall only remaine ye only Executor of my Will and Testament and allow According to Law to my wife one third of my Estate but remaining unmarried she shall Continue in Sole Possession of all as if I was my Selfe Alive for ye good of our children and doe hereby Absolutely Debarr all persons not being of My Blood to meddle or Concern themselves With any of my children or there Estate but What shal be by ye Election of My Son Joseph with ye advise of Mr. John Hall of St. Innegoes the Unaged Children will be C....ed with their brother Joseph be their Guardian I will that .....weekes after My Decease My Estate shal be Appraised and not Undervallued as ordinarily in this country is Done but to ye Reall Value Silver Plate Brass Copper Pewter Ledd in Quantity and Quality or other....my Wife shall Remaine Unmarried I doe Empower her over all nothing Excepted to remaine inmolessed either by Children or Sonns in Law Provideing she shall not distribute more to ye one than to ye other and that noe Portcon shal be given to any of them dureing My Said Wife her Life to put herself to Want and beggary ye rest of my Younger Children only by ye Way of assistance ye necessarily should require in part pay of their Porcon or Sheare but if my Wife should come to dye then those children that are left unmarried Shall remain under ye Guardianshipp of Their Brother Joseph to take Care of them till they Come to be Married but if said Joseph Should doe them any injustice which God forbidd then ye offense shall be refered to Mr. John Hall hereafore named Mr. Charles Carrolle Mr. Charles Egerton Mr. Thomas Georing or any two of them and their settling upon ye matter shall definitise Either for ye said Joseph to remaine their Guardian or to Make Elecon of any of those Aforenamed instead of him and their porcon Must and Shall be given them on Yeare after they are married if they remaine alive and not otherwise for if any of these Children aforenamed Comes to dye their porcon shall remaine amongst their Sisters herebefore named and not to ye two brothers haveing ye Land Except issue if they should be married and have issue before ye Expiraon of ye Year or being bigg With Childe but ye aforenamed Brothers shall alsoe have an Equall Share out of ye moveables estate ye day of My departure but not to p..tend any share of ye porcons of these girles that should Come to dye but shalbe Equally divided to ye Sisters that are Unmarried, and further if my Son Joseph Should Come to dye and if mother remaines Alive then shall ye Executorshipp remain in her and in all Power as is Layd before at large, but if my Wife also should Come to dye then ye Children shall chuse one or more Guardians Out of ye aforenamed whom are hereby desired to see my Will performed and in testimony that this is my Last Will and Tesamt Have I hereunto Signed and Sealed with my hand this the 25th day of March 1698 But as I have sd my Wife to remain Exer if my son Joseph Should Come to dye is allways understood unmarried but if Married the Children shall have Guardians as afrsd in order to shake off ye Yoke of a father-in-law Further if it doth appeare any Gift Given in my Lifetime to any of my children of Vallue therof shalbe allowed to ye other Children Aportionable.

Signed Sealed Published and declared Signed Gare Vansweringen by sd Garrett Vansweringen as his last will + testamt ye 25 day of October 1698 in the presence of us Nicholas Croutch, Willm Aisquith, Thomas Grunwin, Thos. Sinnodd And at ye bottom of ye foregoeing Will was Written....Endorsemts following vist Then came Mr. William Asquith and Mr. Thomas Grunwyn two of ye Wittnesses to this Will and made oathe that they did see Garrett Vansweringen ye Testator Signe Seale Publish and declare the within + above written to be his last Will and Testament and the sd Garrett was at ye isuing thereof Was of Perfect and Sound Mind + Memory Kenelm Cheseldyn March 20th 1698. Then did Mr. Nicholas Crowtch another of ye Wittnesses above have deposed. Kenelm Cheseldyn. Will filed 25 March 1698 filed State of Maryland Hall of Records Anapolis, MD Libr 6,H,1688-1700 of wills p 210-211.witnessed by Nicholas Croutch, Willm Aisquith, Thomas Grunvin, and Tom Sinnodd.Febr. 4 1698. Birth and names of children Colonial Families of the US

___________________ Garrett Van Swearingen, son of a Dutch noble family, was appointed to the post of "super cargo" for the ship "Prince Maurice" which was ready to sail for America from Texel, Holland on 25 December 1656. The ship "Prince Maurice" was stranded near the coast of Long Island on 8 March 1657. Shortly after the incident, Garrett Van Swearingen had to charter the ship "Beaver" at New Amsterdam (now New York) for the voyage to Fort Casimir and surrounding area. On 25 April 1657, Garrett Van Swearingen and the Dutch colonists took Fort Casimir and surrounding area from the Swedes. As one of the founders, Fort Casimir was renamed as New Amstel (now New Castle, Delaware).

He served with the Dutch East Indies Company and settled in 1657 at New Amstel (now New Castle) Delaware, of which he was one of the founders. When the English took over the Dutch Colonies in 1664, Van Swearingen moved to St. Mary's City Maryland. He petitioned Lord Baltimore for English citizenship, which was granted. Gerret became a land owner and a leader in the affairs of the Co.. ___________________

Garrett Van Sweringen Many people assume that America was settled mostly by the English, but even within English colonies, there was significant ethnic diversity. Among the immigrants to colonial St. Mary's was Garrett Van Sweringen, a Dutch man who became a leader in the development of Maryland's first capital city.

Van Sweringen was born in 1636 in Holland but little is known of his early years. He was evidently well educated and multi-lingual, speaking Dutch, English, and French. He came to America in 1657 as an agent for the City of Amsterdam. He sailed as part of an expedition charged with reinvigorating the Dutch colony of New Amstel (now New Castle, Delaware), on the Delaware Bay, but the ship wrecked on the shores of Long Island, resulting in the loss of many of the supplies and personal possessions of the passengers. After finally arriving at New Amstel, Van Sweringen served in several positions, including sheriff, a councilor, and deputy commander of the colony. In this capacity, Van Sweringen had contact with Maryland's leaders and gained some knowledge of that colony.

When English forces invaded and captured the Dutch colony in 1664, he again lost most of his estate, this time from plundering during the conquest. Soon afterward, Van Sweringen moved to St. Mary's City with his wife Barbara, a native of Flanders, and their family. Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, appointed him as an alderman on the new city council in 1667, and made Van Sweringen and his family some of the first naturalized citizens of Maryland in 1669. Documents from that year describe Van Sweringen as an innkeeper.

His ordinary was probably located in a structure newly built by William Smith, who died shortly before it was completed. It is likely that Van Sweringen initially leased the building from Smith's widow and her new husband, Daniel Jennifer. In December of 1672, Van Sweringen purchased the Ordinary and began major renovations. The building was doubled in size and had a number of expensive refinements added including plastered walls and decorative tin-glazed tiles. Much of Van Sweringen's trade came from those traveling to the capital city to do business with the government. Many of these visits were subsidized by the state. Evidence of substantial payments to Van Sweringen, in pounds of tobacco, are stored in the Maryland Archives. Like so many immigrants to Maryland, Van Sweringen's wife Barbara died. In 1676 he married Mary Smith, a 17-year old English woman. Van Sweringen ultimately fathered at least ten children by these two wives. The Van Sweringens operated Smith's Ordinary until early in 1677. At that time, the complex with most of its furnishings was leased to John Derry. Court documents indicate that Van Sweringen wanted to give up ordinary keeping so that he could open a private house and engage in brewing. By law, an ordinary had to accept anyone at any time who appeared seeking lodging. The law also set rates that could be charged by ordinaries. A private house was less bound by these regulations and thus potentially more profitable.

In 1677, Van Sweringen acquired the building that had been used as the meeting place for the Governor's Council and public records office. These functions had moved to the new brick State House, which was completed in 1676. There is no question that Van Sweringen's latest venture was designed to appeal to the elite, especially members of the Governor's Council. Archaeology suggests Van Sweringen made a sizable investment in renovations, including building a new kitchen, adding chimneys, plastered walls, and installing a brick veneer. Just as the lodging house was being finished, disaster struck once again. Smith's Ordinary, which he still owned but leased to Derry, burned to the ground. Van Sweringen's loss was a staggering sum yet he recovered from adversity once again.

His new lodging house began attracting the elite of the colony, and it became the most elegant establishment in Maryland. From time to time, the higher charges for feeding and housing the Council members became a subject of contention. Nonetheless, Van Sweringen received very substantial payments for his services. The quality of the food and drink served is suggested in the record of a discussion that took place in the General Assembly in 1682, where rates that would be charged for cider were set. Van Sweringen?s boiled cider was the only exception made to the rates.

"?and therefore Resolved that they be allowed for syder 25 lbs of tob. P Gall except Mr. Vansweringen & he to have for his boyld syder 30 lbds. Tob P Gall?" (Archives of MD 7:429).

Van Sweringen kept sheep at the site, a source of fresh meat for the table and wool for the household. There was a garden containing cabbage and other vegetables. One of the most unexpected documentary references from 17th-century St. Mary's City is found in the 1698 will of Garrett Van Sweringen. In it, he bequeaths to his son, Joseph, "ye Council Rooms and Coffee House and land thereto belonging". Coffee houses were fashionable urban institutions in Europe and of growing popularity in England during the late 17th century. Coffee houses served wine and other beverages but little food. They were places for social interaction. It is surprising to find this reference in early Maryland.

Archaeological evidence suggests that the outbuilding originally built for brewing and baking may have been the coffee house. This outbuilding was fitted out far better than most such structures. The artifacts associated with the building suggest that it was the scene of much smoking and drinking but little food consumption. Other evidence comes from traces of the vanished colonial landscape - fence trenches. They formed an unusual public entry corridor to the Coffee house, probably so that people could come to the structure without going through the private yard.

Scattered references suggest that Van Sweringen had some role in providing medical treatment. Other records show that Van Sweringen was a merchant involved in trade with England, Ireland, Jamaica, and New York. He also provided construction services. In June 1674, Van Sweringen was paid 800 lbs. of tobacco for building the stocks and a whipping post for the colony.

Van Sweringen owned a plantation just south of St. Mary's City, the 1,500 acre St. Elizabeth's Manor. At his death, the inventory lists four enslaved Africans who might have been working in agricultural production. However, there is no direct evidence as to the nature of his plantation operations, aside from cattle-raising and perhaps dairying.

When Garrett Van Sweringen died in 1698, he had amassed a large estate valued at over 300 lbs. sterling, placing him among the top 5% of all the householders in St. Mary's Co. for his time. His story reflects the hard work, innovation, risk-taking, and the will to succeed which characterizes generations of immigrants to America. His entrepreneurial spirit and persistence took advantage of the many opportunities offered by early Maryland, and set a precedent for future immigrants who still come to these shores.

http://pjdsharing.blogspot.com/2010/04/gggggggg-gf-garrett-van-swea... part dot html

What happened to them, after their 1659 marriage in Fort Casimir?

Perhaps because the French and Indian War was raging around them, the Dutch were extremely sensitive to the need to treat the Algonquians tribes around them with carefully administered justice. So, on March 1, 1660, Garrett Van Swearingen was appointed to carefully judge a case involving the murder of an Indian, probably by a Dutchman.

At around the same time, something else was happening in New Amstel which might or might not have been connected to the case of the dead Algonquian. Very early in 1660, a Dutchman named Jan Gerritsen van Marcken traveled from Stuyvesant's New Amsterdam to collect a debt from one of the people living in or around New Amstel. With the approval of d?Hinoyossa, President of New Amstel, Garrett Van Swearingen, as "Schout," or Sheriff, of New Amstel, arrested van Marcken, and charged him with an impressive list of criminal violations. Van Marcken was convicted of "just about everything in the book."

On June 7, 1660, Stuyvesant, the overall Governor, reversed the judgment, and ordered Garrett Van Swearingen to pay costs of suit and damages for False Arrest!

A chronicler of the era tells us....

"On August 30, 1660 Garrit van Sweringen and his wife sailed for Amsterdam without obtaining a passport from Stuyvesant. He took with him 31 skins, which he declared, and another 100 skins that he did not declare. He had bribed the supercargo of the ship. In Amsterdam he used the extra 100 skins to bribe the Directors of the West Indies Company."

Lo and behold, "On December 24, 1660, the directors of the Dutch West Indies Company sent Stuyvesant a letter chastising him for overruling Garrit van Sweringen?s case against Jan Gerritsen van Marcken, saying it was politically unwise for him to interfere with the affairs of the City of Amsterdam?s colony at New Amstel."

Was it just a case of "bribery"?

The French and Indian War was a political powder keg. The English, who hated the Dutch, would have loved a pretext for turning the Algonquians upon the Dutch, to accomplish their murder for them. In light of such considerations, the words to Stuyvesant -- that "it was politically unwise for him to interfere with the affairs of the City of Amsterdam?s colony at New Amstel" -- have a special significance.

The lives of every citizen of New Amstel may have been "in the sling." I think that, under the circumstances, we should judge Garrett Van Swearingen with special charity, here.

One genealogist says that Garrett and Barbara's first child, Elizabeth, was born to them in 1661. If she was, she was either born in Holland or on board the ship ?Purmerlander Kerck? which sailed for America in November, 1661, arriving on February 3, 1662.

While Barbara was pregnant with their second child Zacharia, or shortly after Zachariah's birth, in 1662, something terrible happened. Garrett Van Swearingen murdered a Dutch soldier.

"On the evening of June 20, 1662 three of Stuyvesant?s soldiers were in New Amstel enjoying drinks at Fop Johnson Outhout?s Inn. They went out for a stroll and were having a great time singing. Their path took them near Garrit van Sweringen?s home. He took exception to their singing and after a few shouts fired on the soldiers. His shot killed Hermen Hendricksen van Deventer.

"Stuyvesant?s South River (the Delaware River) deputy, Willem Beeckman, was furious and collected affidavits and interrogatories from witnesses that he forwarded to Stuyvesant. The affidavits and interrogatories were taken in the home of Johan Andersson Stalcop. Perhaps it was considered as the nearest neutral site.

"The Governor of the Colony of the City, d?Hinoyossa, did nothing about it other than temporarily suspending van Sweringen as schout. Stuyvesant felt helpless to do anything about it. He wrote to Amsterdam that he thought the burgomasters of the City of Amsterdam should hear the case.

"Van Sweringen was never tried. Instead his superiors in Amsterdam decided the killing had been done in 'self-defense.' The soldiers were completely unarmed. Garrit van Sweringen was officially pardoned."

On May 1, 1663, Garrett Van Swearingen was reinstated as Fort Sheriff.

In 1664, the world turned upside-down for the Dutch and for Garrett and Barbara Van Swearingen and their family. Relationships with the local Indians finally exploded, and Van Swearingen was dispatched to patrol the vicinity and kill Indians. One chronicler wrote, "He had fought the Mohegan Indians in the forest beyond Beverwych, driving the war bands before him, consuming their villages until the savages begged for mercy. His days went by with battle and nights with watchfullness. Van Sweringen and his company came down from the hills through the forest of Beverwych, to find the city of New Amsterdam had been taken by the English."

The English, it turned out, had invested New Amstel and simply stolen it from the Dutch while Van Swearingen was off fighting Indians in the French and Indian War. Here is the Chronicler's full account, including Lord Baltimore's miraculous offer to Garrett and his wife and children...

"Colonel Nicols of England, sent by His Majesty, Charles II, and his deputy Sir Robert Carr were to take over the Dutch colony at New Amstel

"Van Sweringen said wearily, 'Without a blow they took Amsterdam, as if there were no one near.' Then drawing his sword from the scabbard, he kissed its long, straight, splendid blade, and, with sudden of anguish, broke it across his knee, and standing as high as he could in his stirrups he threw the pieces over the wall into the dusty meadow grass. 'Farewell good blade, forever more!, he said, 'forged in honor, honorably brave, shall never be drawn in dishonor. Thou wast wrought to strike for the Netherlands, and thou mayst not strike for the Netherlands. Thy steel was for the Netherlands, my hands are for van Sweringen.' Then he stretched his hands out before him, saying in a piteous, chocking voice, "They are all that is left, I am ruined!' For at first he was thinking of himself, but now he thought of his wife and daughter. He rode through the gate to the house where his wife and daughter were staying, he went quickly. His wife was sitting at the window. 'Barbarah,' he said, 'I am ruined!' and there he stopped, he was chocking. She looked up quietly, 'Yes Garrett,' she said, 'I heard of it. They can not say that I married thee for thy money anymore,' and with that she laughed very softly. Garrett said , 'I have not a guilder to my name, I am brought to beggary.' Barbarah said, 'I am just as rich as thee, dear heart, as ever I was. To be ruined without fault is no disgrace.' She said, 'it matters not to me for I gave up home and everything to go with thee.' His wife was sitting on one side, Elizabeth, his daughter, on the other, sitting upon a foot stool and leaning against his knee. 'Father,' said Elizabeth, 'We don't mind it terrible for us. We shall take a little house, and mother shall do the weaving, and I shall do darning and spin, oh how I can spin, and I shall gather wild hops for the brew, and nuts and berries in the woods. We woman will cook, and thee shall work by the day, and we shall save stuiner by stuirer untill the stockings are full again.'

"About this time there was knock at the door, it was Lord Calvert. Needless to say Garrett van was in no mood for English humor, which he misunderstood. The governor actually came to offer Garrett a position of sheriff in Maryland. 'There are pretty posies hanging their heads in rows for the lass to come and pick. Carr is a dirty scoundrel, I have just told him so to his thieving face.' said Master Calvert. 'Let me make good the wrongs he has done. Then ye shall need no more to curse the English for a pack of thieves and perjurers. Come down to Maryland, van Sweringen, you and all that be yours. Man it will be a happy day! Mistress van Sweringen,' he said, with a laugh and half a choke, 'Prevail with me against this dear, honest fool of thine. He is the most obstinate, argumentative person that I ever stood against. Lord Baltimore had told him you can take up 1,000 acres, at twenty shelling a year. Ye may believe as you please and say what you will, so you be Christian and speak no treasons, and if you will teach us to keep our own lawns as you have kept of the Dutch, you will confer a precious favor on the next Lord Baltimore.' As his long speech ended, he silently bowed, and stood there quietly. Meinheir van Sweringen got up from his seat turning said simply, 'My friend, my good and true friend, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, you have put a new light in the world for me.'

"Van Swearingen later testified, ?Sir Robert Carr did often protest to me, that he did not come as an enemy, but as a friend; demanding, only in friendship, what was the King's own, in that country. There was taken from the City and the inhabitants thereabout, to the value, so near as I can now remember, of four thousand pound sterling, likewise arms, powder and shot in great quantity. Four and twenty guns were, the greatest part, transported to New York.

"The Dutch soldiers were taken prisoners, and given to the merchantmen that were there, in recompense of their services; and into Virginia, they were transported to be sold, as was credibly reported by Sir Robert Carr's officers, and other persons there living in the town.

"All sorts of tools for handicraftsman, and all plough gear, and other things to cultivate the ground, which were in great quantity; besides the estate of Governor Debouissa and myself; except some household stuff and a negro I got away; and some other movables, Sir Robert Carr did permit me to sell.'"

And so, in 1664, our GGGGGGGG GP Garrett Van Swearingen and Barbara DeBarette Swearingen and their children and Barbara's father and brother moved to St. Mary's Co., in southern Maryland, and began a new life there.

More to come.

Posted by Peter J. Dawson in April 2010, a lawyer in Camden Co., New Jersey Labels: Garrett Van Swearingen, Genealogy, History

Source: Find-A-Grave