Rev. Johannis Theodorus Polhemus, II

New Amsterdam Colonist

"This Rev. Johannes T. Polhemus born in Antwerp 1598 is said to be a lineal descendant of that famous jurist Eleazer Polhemus who was burgomaster of Antwerp in 1310..."

"Rev. Johannes T. Polhemus and his wife, Catherine Van Verden, were the common ancestors of all the American Polhemuses."

He sailed from Amsterdam & Texel Harbor and landed 23 Jan 1637 on Recif of Pemambuco, Brazil.

Rev. Polhemius was the first minister in the Dutch Church in Long Island. Before arriving in NY, he ministered in Brazil, the Netherlands, and the Palatinate. In New York, he ministered in Flatbush & Brooklyn. See story for details

He arrived in New Amsterdam (later called New York) in 1654 (from Brazil)

He died in 1776 in New Amsterdam

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The Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemius and Some of His Descendants Contributed to The New York Genealogical & Biographical Record Vol. XC, No. 2, pages 65-73. New York, April, 1959 by I. Heyward Peck and including quotations by him from Dr. Herbert F. Seversmith, writing in The National Genealogical Society Quarterly, vol. 43, pages 125-130 :

". . . Dominie Polhemius was without a doubt descended from a well known family indigenous to Oppenheim in the Palatinate, whose name is most frequently written Bolender, but which is also spelled Bolemer, Polemer, Polender and other variants. In the present branch of the family the name preferentially became Polemer, which when Latinized was spelled Polhemius...

Rev. Dietrich Polemer was born about 1500-10 and died after 1545 when he was a minister at "Mechtelhausen." He was the father of Nicolaus Polhemius and probably also of Theodor Polhemius, both ministers. The latter was born there about 1540 and died between 1570 and 1575, as he was a minister at Niederhausen on the Nahe River in 1569. His wife is thought to have borne the surname Hammerstein. They were the parents of the Rev. Cornelius Polhemius, dictus Hammerstein, and undoubtedly of Johann Theodor Polhemius, dictus Hammerstein. This Johann was born about 1570 and died after 1611... Although positive proof is lacking, he is believed indubitably to be the father of the American pioneer, the Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemius...

The Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemius, dictus Hammerstein, was born in 1598, probably at Boikirchen, a small community now vanished, which was probably near the present Wolfstein in Rhenish Bavaria (NGA:43:125). He died at Flatbush, Long Island, on Sept. 9, 1676. As he had a daughter baptized in 1629 at Meppel (Ibid:129), he apparently married in the Netherlands shortly before that date. Due to the fact that there was an interval of some fifteen years between the above baptism and the birth of his next known child, it seems reasonable to conclude that his marriage in the Netherlands was to an unknown first wife and that he married again, probably in Brazil, about 1643, Catharina Van der Werven who died at Flatbush about 1702.

The Classis of Amsterdam, which held ecclesiastical authority in the territories of the West India Company, received an application from him for service overseas, as recorded in their Minutes dated Dec. 3, 1635:

There appeared in Classis the Rev. John Theodore Polheim, formerly a preacher in the Palatinate; (then subsequently at) Meppel, in Overyssel, and later again in the Palatinate; but on account of renewed persecution, he was forced to leave (the latter field) a second time. He requested that he might be appointed a minister in the West Indies (America). Accordingly his testimonials from both Meppel and Wieten were read by the Deputies on Indian Affairs, who also made report thereon. The Assembly resolved, to appoint the said individual, as soon as possible, to that field, through the instrumentality of the Deputies (ERNY:1:87).

A large expedition to Brazil was in course of preparation, of which the first four ships sailed after many delays from Amsterdam and Texel Harbor, on Oct. 25, 1636. This fleet transported the newly appointed Governor, Count Johan Maurice of Nassau, together with a large staff of officials, scientists, merchants, soldiers, and ministers, including the Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemius and landed on the Recif of Pernambuco, Brazil, on January 23, 1637. The Dutch had established colonies in Brazil in 1630 by conquering the Portuguese.

The final distribution of the colonists was made in 1638 and he went as minister with the colony and garrison which occupied the island of Itamarca, also called Tamarca or Tamarica, adjacent to Recif. The Dutch settlers for the island were mostly of Wesphalian and Palatine stock and it is especially stated that he was selected on account of his pronunciation. He not only preached there but often accompanied the army in the field and on the mainland and was able to preach to the Indians in their own language... He preached at various times in German, Dutch, French, and Portuguese.

The Dutch administrations in Brazil, which succeeded that of Governor Maurice, were inefficient and corrupt. The Portuguese revolted under the command of Francisco Berreto, forcing the surrender of Pernambuco, the capital of Dutch Brazil. The confusion and fear among the Dutchmen was partially allayed by Berreto. He offered the defeated colonists their choice of remaining, if they pledged allegiance to Portugal and embraced Catholicism, or taking up to three months to settle their affairs if they chose to leave. Despite the tremendous losses they would have to take by hasty sales or outright abandonment of property, most of the Dutch decided to return to the Netherlands. Berreto provided ships enough for the emigration. In April, 1654, 16 Dutch and Portuguese ships gathered in the harbor of Recif to carry away the Dutch Protestants and a small group of Dutch and Portuguese Jews. Fifteen ships made it without apparent difficulty; the ship carrying Rev. Polhemius had no such luck. In South Atlantic waters, it was captured by a Spanish pirate ship, undoubtedly the same ship reported in A. Biet's Voyage de la France Equinoxale, p. 273, translated as follows: "A Spanish pirate being about March or April 1654, at Barbadoes, with a barque or vessel captured from the Dutch near Recif, was ordered to retire from the island. But the Spanish privateer with its prize was in turn captured by a French Man-of-War, the ship St. Charles. (GMNJ:4:107). It is not known why he took a separate ship from the one taken by his wife and family - if that had not happened, there would probably not be a Polhemius family in this country!

Heat filled days passed as the pirates slowly hauled their prize toward a friendly Caribbean port. For the Christians there was the comfort provided by the psalms and Bible readings of the Reverend Polhemius, for whom this trip meant the end of eighteen years of service to the Dutch Reformed Church in Brazil. As far as the passengers were concerned, the response to their prayers was the vision of five guns mounted on the frigate St. Charles, a French privateer, alert for whatever prize or profit the New World held. The Spanish pirates were no match for it, and the Dutch prisoners were at last in friendly hands, at a price. Jacques de la Motthe, master of the St. Charles, was, in privateers man tradition, a man who took his risks where he found them. Although the miserable band of Dutchmen had little more than the clothes they wore to show for security, he contracted to bring them to New Amsterdam. The St. Charles sailed into the bay in September, 1654. The mood of the city was happy. The English threat to the colony had subsided, and there was a feeling of well being throughout the city. “The increase of cattle and people, but mostly of children and pigs, proceeds merrily,” a newcomer to Manhattan wrote back to Amsterdam.

Catharine Polhemius was less fortunate. She had reached Holland with her children, apparently destitute, as her husband had not received his salary for a long time... A letter from the Directors of the West India Company to Gov. Peter Stuyvesant, dated June 14, 1656, contains this reference to Mrs. Polhemius: The wife of Domine Polhemius goes over in the ship Gulden Otter; we gave her permission, as to all other private parties, to go there as cabin passengers, the Company paying the fare for her and her children on condition that the amount shall be deducted from the salary earned by her husband in Brazil (DRCH:14:352). Sailing from Amsterdam on June 14, 1656, we learn from a letter of her husband to the Classis at Amsterdam, that she arrived "safely and in good health" on the fourth of September so that, after a separation of nearly two and one half years, the Polhemus family was again united, not as originally planned in Holland, but in New Netherlands.

The following quotation is taken from a letter of March 18, 1655, from the Rev. John Megapolensis, the Dutch minister at New Amsterdam to the Classis at Amsterdam: Meanwhile God has lead Domine Johannes Polhemius from Brazil, over the Carribean Islands, to this place. He has for the present gone to Long Island, to a village called Midwout which is somewhat the Meditullium of the other villages, to wit; Breuckelen, Amersfoort, and Gravesend. . . There were at that time three Dutch settlements on the western end of Long Island called Midwout, Amersfoort, and Brueckelen; they later became, respectively, the villages of Flatbush, Flatlands, and Brooklyn. Hitherto they had had neither a clergyman nor a church and the inhabitants of necessity attended church in New Amsterdam. Although a church organization was formed at Midwout on February 9, 1654, and a request made to the Classis at Amsterdam for a minister, none had been sent (MRC:663); consequently, Midwout welcomed the opportunity offered by the unexpected appearance of Domine Polhemius...

Many records, both ecclesiastical and civil, are extant concerning the erection of a church at Midwout(*), the desire of the congregation to have the Rev. Polhemus as their minister, and of his willingness to serve them; and the amount of the salary they were to provide for his support... In addition to his difficulties of getting adequately housed and of securing regular payments on his salary, the Rev. Mr. Polhemus had to contend with criticism as to the amount of time he devoted to his various congregations. . . . "It was no mean accomplishment for a man of his age to serve three congregations."

(*) Dutch Reformed Church Record: "... It was the first church on Long Island and measured 60 x 28 feet and was 14 feet high. In a petition of the minister and wardens to the Council of New Amsterdam, dated December 20, 1659 and signed by Rev. Polhemius and Jan Stryker it was stated that the edifice, 'nearly completed, requires a coat of color and oil to make it last longer, being covered mostly with boards on the outside' and it was requested that these materials be ordered from the fatherland."

The Rev. Polhemius wrote a/letter to Gov. Peter Stuyvesant (DRCH 14:370) as follows:

Noble Sir, Honorable General in New Netherland:

I am compelled to respectfully complain to your honor, that I must see the planks, given by your Honor out of compassion and presented to the community here to finish my house against this cold winter, being taken and lost this way and that; for instance two were lest on the way here by having been left on the beach in nobody's care; after having been brought into the village without my knowledge, twenty-four were delivered to Jan Eversen Meyer, six were put down at the church for benches, of the balance  were taken away with the consent of Jan Snedicker and Jan Strycker, 17 carried to Thomas Swartwout and his brother Albert Swartwout to dry malt, so that my house remains open as it was, and I with my wife and children must live and sleep on the bare ground and in the cold. They say there is no carpenter here (and) that I should procure one to have the work done. In order not to make my situation worse by keeping silence, I write this to your Honor.

In haste, Your Honor's obedient servant,
Midwout, the 14th December, 1656.

                       Joh. Th. Polheym  

Peiter Stuyvesant, Director-General of New Netherland granted a patent of land to the Reverend in 1662. The wording of the grant states in part that he is to be "granted a piece of valley in common with Jan Roelofze." The original parchment is in the Sage Library in Princeton University. Jan Roelofse also conveyed 24 morgans of land to Rev. Polhemius on the south side of Little Land in Flatbush. Jan also conveyed to the Reverend 24 additional morgans of land on 3/6/1674 which he had purchased from Cornelius Smallwood.

The inhabitants of the village of Breuckelen (Brooklyn) simply refused to pay a salary for their newly appointed but aged minister Johannes Theodorus Polhemius. It was said his sermons were too brief and his faculties were not what they were formerly. The controversy made its way to the Breuckelen court where a judgment was made to remunerate the minister. On February 13, 1657 an ordinance was approved requiring the inhabitants to pay Polhemius 300 guilders a year. A list of all 23 citizens with their assessed rates were included in the ordinance, most assessments were in the 6 to 10 guilder range, with two citizens at 12 and one a 15 guilders. Half the tax was due within eight days while the other half would be collected during the regular annual tax payment in May. They inhabitants were bound, "within eight days from now, to bring in and deliver into the hands of Mr. A. Cornelissen in Breuckelen, the half of this Assessment, either in Wampum or Country produce, such as Corn, Wheat, Peas, Maize, &c." (Laws, p. 304).

NOTE : the baptismal records of the 5 Dutch towns of LI ( the Dutch Church marriages in the old Brooklyn church )from 1654-1676 covering the ministry of Rev. Polhemius have been lost. They were taken by a Tory clerk during the Revolution and are no longer in the Church Archives.

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Minister of the Reformed Church of Holland. Johannes was the progenitor of all the families of that name in this country. When he arrived in this country, he accepted a call from the church of Flatbush NY, where he labored from 1654 to 1665. Afterward he labored in the church at Brooklyn until his death, June 9, 1676.

He preached at Flatbush in the morning, and in the afternoon alternately at Breuckelen ' and Nieuw Amersfoordt. On his arrival the Director-

General called the congregation together for their approval of him. They consented to receive him, and to pay a salary of one thousand and forty guilders. Later the people of Breuckelen objected to paying their proportion, on the plea that his sermons were too short.

On 25 Oct 1636 he sailed from Amsterdam & Texel Harbor and landed 23 Jan 1637 on Recif of Pernambuco, Brazil.

The following from "Historical Handbook of the Van Voorhees Family in the Netherlands and America" - Published 1935.

Quote -

"We come now to consider briefly the earliest Dutch churches on Long Island. Before 1654 the people had to come over to New Amsterdam for regular preaching and communion. In 1654 came Dominie Johannes Theodorus Polhemus from Brazil, now about 56 years old, to serve the churches then formed to Midwout and Amersfoort, continuing here till his death on June 8, (9) 1676; and serving also at Breuckelen (Brooklyn) 1656 to 1660 and again from 1664 till his death at the age of about 78 years."

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"Polhemus was, indeed, Johann Theodore Polheim, probably of German-Swiss origin, whose earlier pastorates seem to have been in the Palatinate; then at Meppel in the provence of Overyssel, Netherlands; again in the Palatinate, unitl 1635; and from 1637 to 1654, in successive ministries at Olinda and at Itamarcas, both in Brazil. We have already shown that from Brazil he came to Amersfoort as the first Dominie of this historic parish. Polhemus was the first regularly stationed minister of the Dutch on Long Island. He came to New Netherland at the evacuation of Brazil by the dutch, upon the surrender of that country to Portuguese domination. It is said that Polhemus preached in French and portuguese while in Brazil, and undoubtedly, in dutch. He of course, knew Latin and German, and probably other languages. When he came here, his wife did not accompany him. She went to Holland to seek collection of the arrears owing to him by the Dutch West india Company. His transfer to Long Island was ratified by the classis in 1656, and arrangements were made to aid Mevrouw Polhemus to come to Long Island to join her husband. Classis characterized her thus: "She is a very worthy matron, has great desire to be her husband, and has struggled along here in poverty and great straits, always conducting herself modestly and piously."

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Johannes Theodorus Polhemus (a.k.a.: Johann Theodore Polheim) was a minister, probably of German-Swiss origin. His earliest pastorates seem to have been in the Palatinate; then at Meppel in the province of Overyssel, Netherlands; again in the Palatinate, until 1635; and from 1637 to 1654, in successive ministries at Olinda and at Itamarcas, both in Brazil. We also know that from Brazil he came to Amersfoort as the first Dominie of this historic parish. Polhemus was the first regularly stationed minister of the Dutch on Long Island. He came to New Netherland upon the evacuation of Brazil by the Dutch to the Portuguese. It is said that Rev. Polhemus preached in French and Portuguese while in Brazil, and undoubtedly, in Dutch. He of course, knew Latin and German, and probably other languages. When he came here, his wife did not accompany him. She went to Holland to seek collection of the arrears owing to him by the Dutch West India Company. His transfer to Long Island was ratified by the classis in 1656.

http://www.polhemus.cc/Polhemus/D1.htm

Johannes Theodorus Polemus POLHEMUS
Birth: 1598 Bayern, Deutschland Death: 1676 (78) Flatbush, NY, USA

Son of Johann Polheim and unk Polheim Husband of Catharine Polhemius

Father of Adriana Suerboring

Rev. JOHANNES THEODORUS POLHEMUS was born in 1598 probably at Boikirchen in Rhenish Bavaria. He died at Flatbush Long Island on 9 Sep 1676. It is recorded that he had a daughter baptized at Meppel in 1629; his next known child was born some fifteen years later indicating that his first marriage in the Netherlands was to an unknown wife; he married (2) about 1643 probably in Brazil CATHERINA VAN DER WERVEN who died at Flatbush Long Island about 1702.

In 1620 he entered Heidelberg University as a student of divinity. After graduating, he served in various localities in the Netherlands until 1635. He then applied for service overseas and was selected to be sent to the West Indies. A large expedition to Brazil was being prepared and in Jan 1637, he landed at his new post on the Recif of Permanbuco, Brazil. There he was in care of the spiritual needs of the settlers and soldiers. In 1638 he went with those sent to colonize the island of Itamarca, adjacent to Recif. Due to civil unrest, he was forced to return to Recif in 1647/48. By 1654, the Dutch administration in Brazil had become inefficient and corrupt. The Portuguese revolted and the Dutch were given three months to either depart or embrace the Roman Catholic faith and become Portuguese citizens. In April of 1654, the Dutch Protestants with others were evacuated; for some reason not known, Catherina and four children, took a different ship than that of her husband, Rev. Polhemus. She and the children arrived safely in Holland. The ship on which Rev. Polhemus sailed was captured by a Spanish privateer, which in turn was captured by a French Man-of-War, the ship St. Charles. He arrived at New Amsterdam in Sep 1654. This family was separated for two and a half years before Catherine and the children finally arrived in America in Sep 1656.

When Rev. Polhemus arrived at New Amsterdam, there were three Dutch settlements on the western end of Long Island called Midwout, Amersfoort and Brueckelen; they later became respectively, Flatbush, Flatlands and Brooklyn. They were in need of a church and mininster and welcomed the appearance of Dominie Polhemus. At his age, it was a difficult task to get adequate housing, secure a regular salary and serve these three congregations.

http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p2660.htm#...

http://genforum.genealogy.com/polhemus/messages/163.html

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0710FC3F5A1A738DDD...

http://www.polhemus.net/

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Johannes Polhemius Family Tree

Adrianna Polhemius1 (F)b. circa 1644, d. before 1702

Adrianna Polhemius was born circa 1644 at Itamarca, Brazil.1 She was the daughter of Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemius dictus Hammerstein and Catharina Van der Werven.1 Adrianna Polhemius died before 1702.

Citation: [S242] I. Heyward Peck, "Rev. Johannes Polhemius", p. 171-172.

Anna Polhemius1 (F)b. circa 1649, d. after 1701

Anna Polhemius was born circa 1649 at Itamarca, Brazil.1 She was the daughter of Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemius dictus Hammerstein and Catharina Van der Werven.2

Anna Polhemius married Cornelis Barentse Van Wyck circa 1667 at New Netherland.1 Anna Polhemius died after 1701.1

Children of Anna Polhemius and Cornelis Barentse Van Wyck:

1. Theodorus Van Wyck b. 17 Sep 1668

2. Marritje Van Wyck b. c 1670

3. Johannes Van Wyck b. 17 Jan 1677

4. Aeltje Van Wyck b. 5 Oct 1679

5. Anna Van Wyck b. 9 Jul 1682

6. Elizabeth Van Wyck b. 16 Jan 1685

7. Adriaentje Van Wyck+ b. 9 Sep 1688, d. a 1755

Christina Polhemius1 (F)b. 7 October 1629 Christina Polhemius was born on 7 October 1629 at Meppel, Netherlands.1 She was the daughter of Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemius dictus Hammerstein.1

Daniel Polhemius1 (M)b. circa 1662 Daniel Polhemius was born circa 1662 at Midwout, New Netherland.1 He was the son of Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemius dictus Hammerstein and Catharina Van der Werven.1

Elizabeth Polhemius1 (F)b. circa 1661, d. before 1685 Elizabeth Polhemius was born circa 1661 at Midwout, New Netherland.1 She was the daughter of Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemius dictus Hammerstein and Catharina Van der Werven.1 Elizabeth Polhemius died before 1685.1

Johann Theodor Polhemius dictus Hammerstein1 (M)b. circa 1570, d. after 1611 Johann Theodor Polhemius dictus Hammerstein was born circa 1570.1 He was the son of Rev. Theodor Polhemius.1 Johann Theodor Polhemius dictus Hammerstein died after 1611 at perhaps, Godramstein.1

Child of Johann Theodor Polhemius dictus Hammerstein: Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemius dictus Hammerstein+ b. 1598, d. 9 Sep 1676

Citations [S242] I. Heyward Peck, "Rev. Johannes Polhemius", p. 66. Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemius dictus Hammerstein1 (M)b. 1598, d. 9 September 1676

Pop-up Pedigree Relationship=9th great-grandfather of Dean Blackmar Krafft.

Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemius dictus Hammerstein was born in 1598 at Boikirchen, Rhenish Bavaria.1 He was the son of Johann Theodor Polhemius dictus Hammerstein.1

On Feb 26, 1620, he matriculated as a student of divinity at Heidelberg University. Upon graduation from the university he served briefly as a minister in the Palatinate, before moving first to Gieten and then to Meppel in the Netherlands.1 On 25 Oct 1636, he sailed in a fleet with the new Governor, Count Johan Maurice of Nassau, to the Recif of Pernambuco, Brazil, arriving on 23 Jan 1637.1 Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemius dictus Hammerstein married Catharina Van der Werven circa 1643 at Brazil.1 Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemius dictus Hammerstein was minister for the following pastorates: Flatbush, Flatlands, and Bushwick, 1654-1676; Gravesend, 1655-1676; and Brooklyn, 1656-1660 and 1664-1676, covering the period between 1654 and 1676.2 In April 1654, the Dutch were forced to leave Brazil. Rev. Polhemius was on a separate ship than his wife and family. While they returned safely to Holland, his ship was first captured by a Spanish privateer and then by the St. Charles, a French warship. On that ship, he arrived at New Amsterdam in September 1654. His wife and children, after much financial difficulty in Holland, sailed from Amsterdam on June 14, 1656, arriving in New Netherland on September 4, 1656.2 He died on 9 September 1676 at Flatbush, Long Island.1

Child of Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemius dictus Hammerstein: Christina Polhemius b. 7 Oct 1629

Children of Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemius dictus Hammerstein and Catharina Van der Werven:

1. Adrianna Polhemius b. c 1644, d. b 1702

2. Theodorus Polhemius b. 1646, d. c 1722

3. Lammetje Polhemius b. c 1648, d. a 1702

4. Anna Polhemius+ b. c 1649, d. a 1701

5. Maragrietje Polhemius b. c 1660, d. b 1702

6. Elizabeth Polhemius b. c 1661, d. b

7. 1685 Daniel Polhemius b. c 1662

Citations [S242] I. Heyward Peck, "Rev. Johannes Polhemius", p. 66. [S242] I. Heyward Peck, "Rev. Johannes Polhemius", p. 66-72.

Lammetje Polhemius1 (F)b. circa 1648, d. after 1702 Lammetje Polhemius was born circa 1648 at Itamarca, Brazil.1 She was the daughter of Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemius dictus Hammerstein and Catharina Van der Werven.1 Lammetje Polhemius died after 1702.1

Citations [S242] I. Heyward Peck, "Rev. Johannes Polhemius", p. 171-172. Maragrietje Polhemius1 (F)b. circa 1660, d. before 1702Pop-up Pedigree Maragrietje Polhemius was born circa 1660 at Midwout, New Netherland.1 She was the daughter of Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemius dictus Hammerstein and Catharina Van der Werven.1 Maragrietje Polhemius died before 1702.1

Rev. Theodor Polhemius1 (M)b. circa 1540, d. between 1570 and 1575 Rev. Theodor Polhemius was born circa 1540 at Mechtelhausen.1 He was the son of Dietrich Polemer.1 Rev. Theodor Polhemius was a minister at Niederhausen on the Nahe River in 1569.1 He died between 1570 and 1575.1

Child of Rev. Theodor Polhemius:

1. Johann Theodor Polhemius dictus Hammerstein+ b. c 1570, d. a 1611

Citations [S242] I. Heyward Peck, "Rev. Johannes Polhemius", p. 66.

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Johannes was born in 1598, probably in Boikirchen, Germany. He was probably born near the present Wolfstein in Rhenish Bavaria. At some point, he moved to Amsterdam. Johannes may have been married twice, with a daughter from the first marriage, name unknown.

On December 3, 1635, a Rev. John Theodore Polheim applied for service overseas. He, along with a large expedition including newly appointed governor, Count Hoham Maurice of Nassau, sailed from Texel Harbor on October 25, 1636 and landed on the Recif of Pernambuco, Brazil on January 23, 1637. The Dutch had established colonies in Brazil in 1630 by conquering the Portuguese. The final distribution of the colonist was made in 1638. Johannes went as minister with the colony and garrison which occupied the island of Itamarca, also called Tamarca or Tamarica, adjacent to the Recif. The Dutch settlers for the island were mostly of Wesphalian and Palatine stock. It is especially stated that Johannes was selected on account of his language talent. He not only preached there, but often accompanied the Army in the field and on the mainland. We has able to preach to the Indians in their own language, preaching at various times in German, Dutch, French and Portuguese.

The Dutch administrations in Brazil, which succeeded that of Gov. Maurice, were inefficient and corrupt. The Portuguese revolted and the Dutch finally capitulated January 25, 1654. They were given three months in which either to depart or to embrace the Roman Catholic religion and become Portuguese citizens. In April 1654, there was a fleet of sixteen Dutch ships in the Harbor of Recif to evacuate the Dutch Protestants together with a small number of Dutch and Portuguese Jews.

The Polhemius family was quartered separately. Catharine reached Holland safely with her four children, apparently destitute, as her husband had not received his salary for a long time. The Rev. Pohlemius, however, arrived in New Amsterdam in 1654 on the French Frigate, St. Charles. The Dutch ship, on which he had left Brazil, was captured by a Spanish privateer, not far from Recif. This was the same ship reported in A. Biet's "Voyage De La France," which translates, "A Spanish pirate being about March or April 1654, at Barbados, with a barque vessel captured from the Dutch near Recif, was ordered to retire from the island. But the Spanish privateer with its prize was in turn captured by a French man-of-war, the ship St. Charles." Sailing from Amsterdam on June 14, 1656, Catharine and her children were reunited with Johannes in New Netherland.

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Reverend Johannes Theodorus Polhemius II aka dictus Hammerstein

Born 1598 in Zweickirchen,Rhenish,Bayern,Germany

Son of Johannes T. Polheim I and Elizabeth Leisler

Brother of Zweikirchen Polhemius, Cornelis Polhemius, Snebering Polhemius and Elizabeth Polhemus

Husband of Catharine Van Der Werven — married 1643 in Itamarca, Brazil

Father of Catherine Polhemius, Lammetje Polhemius, Margrietje Polhemius, Adrianna Polhemius, Daniel Polhemius, Elizabeth Polhemius, Theodorus Polhemius, Theodorus Polhemius dictus Hammerstein, Anna Polhemius, Lammetje Polhemius dictus Hammerstein, Anna Polhemius, Margaret Polhemus, Daniel Polhemius and Daniel Polhemus

Died September 9, 1676 in Flatbush, Kings County, Long Island, New York

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Polhemius-3

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http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=3257731&id=I6567...

Name: Johannes Theodorus POLHEMUS Prefix: Reverend Given Name: Johannes Theodorus Surname: Polhemus Sex: M

Note:

   BIOGRAPHY: 1. Rev. JOHANNES THEODORUS POLHEMUS was born in 1598 probably at Boi Kirchen in Rhenish Bavaria. He died at Flatbush, Long Island on 9 Sep 1676. It is recorded that he had a daughter baptized at Meppel in 1629; his next known child was born some fifteen years later indicating that his first marriage in the Netherlands was to an unknown wife; he married (2) about 1643 probably in Brazil CATHERINA VAN DER WERVEN who died at Flatbush Long Island about 1702.

In 1620 he entered Heidelberg University as a student of divinity. After graduating, he served in various localities in the Netherlands until 1635. He then applied for service overseas and was selected to be sent to the West Indies. A large expedition to Brazil was being prepared and in Jan 1637, he landed at his new post on the Recif of Permanbuco, Brazil. There he was in care of the spiritual needs of the settlers and soldiers. In 1638 he went with those sent to colonize the island of Itamarca, adjacent to Recif. Due to civil unrest, he was forced to return to Recif in 1647/48. By 1654, the Dutch administration in Brazil had become inefficient and corrupt. The Portuguese revolted and the Dutch were given three months to either depart or embrace the Roman Catholic faith and become Portuguese citizens. In April of 1654, the Dutch Protestants with others were evacuated; for some reason not known, Catherina and four children took a different ship than that of her husband, Rev. Polhemus. She and the children arrived safely in Holland. The ship on which Rev.Polhemus sailed was captured by a Spanish privateer, which in turn was captured by a French Man-of-War , the ship St. Charles. He arrived at New Amsterdam in Sep 1654. This family was separated for two and a half years before Catherine and the children finally arrived in America in Sep 1656.
When Rev. Polhemus arrived at New Amsterdam, there were three Dutch settlements on the western end of Long Island called Midwout, Amersfoort and Brueckelen; they later became respectively, Flatbush, Flatlands and Brooklyn. They were in need of a church and minister and welcomed the appearance of Dominie Polhemus. At his age, it was a difficult task to get adequate housing, secure a regular salary and serve these three congregations
General Notes:
One unknown marriage in Netherlands as he had a daughter baptized in 1629. Then there was 15 years until the birth of the next child. He married again, probably in Brazil, about 1643 to Catherine Van Der Werven who died in Flatbush about 1702.
Minister of the Reformed Church of Holland.
Johannes was the progenitor of all the families of that name in this country.
When he arrived in this country, he accepted a call from the church of Flatbush N Y, where he labored from 1654 to 1665. Afterward he labored in the church at Brooklyn until his death, June 9, 1676.
On 25 Oct 1636 he sailed from Amsterdam & Texel Harbor and landed 23 Jan 1637 on Recif of Pemambuco, Brazil.
The following from "Historical Handbook of the Van Voorhees Family in the Netherlands and America" - Published 1935.
"We come now to consider briefly the earliest Dutch churches on Long Island. Before 1654 the people had to come over to New Amsterdam for regular preaching and communion. In 1654 came Dominie Johannes Theodorus Polhemus from Brazil, now about 56 years old, to serve the churches then formed to Midwout and Amersfoort, continuing here till his death on June 8, (9) 1676; and serving also at Breuckelen (Brooklyn) 1656 to 1660 and again from 1664 till his death at the age of about 78 years."
"Polhemus was, indeed, Johann Theodore Polheim, probably of German-Swiss origin, whose earlier pastorates seem to have been in the Palatinate; then at Meppel in the province of Overyssel, Netherlands; again in the Palatinate, until 1635; and from 1637 to 1654, in successive ministries at Olinda and at Itamarcas, both in Brazil. We have already shown that from Brazil he came to Amersfoort as the first Dominie of this historic parish. Polhemus was the first regularly stationed minister of the Dutch on Long Island. He came to New Netherland at the evacuation of Brazil by the Dutch, upon the surrender of that country to Portuguese domination. It is said that Polhemus preached in French and Portuguese while in Brazil, and undoubtedly, in Dutch. He of course, knew Latin and German, and probably other languages. When he came here, his wife did not accompany him. She went to Holland to seek collection of the arrears owing to him by the Dutch West India Company. His transfer to Long Island was ratified by the classis in 1656, and arrangements were made to aid Mevrouw. Polhemus to come to Long Island to join her husband. Classis characterized her thus: "She is a very worthy matron, has great desire to be her husband, and has struggled along here in poverty and great straits, always conducting herself modestly and piously."
Johannes married Catharina Van Der Werven, daughter of Peter Van Der Werven and Elizabeth (?) Van Der Werven, about 1643 in Probably In Itamarca, Brazil . Catharina was born about 1612 ,2 and died about 1702 in Flatbush, Kings County, Long Island, NY.
Birth: 1598 _SDATE: 1 JUL 1598 in Birokirchen Bavaria Residence: traveled there as a missionary 1635 West Indies Residence: part of a colonization expedition 1637 Recif of Permanbuco, Brazil Residence: part of a colonization expedition 1638 Island of Itamarca, Brazil Residence: returned due to civil unrest on the Island of Itamarca, Brazil ABT 1647 Recif of Permanbuco, Brazil Emigration: APR 1654 Recif of Permanbuco, Brazil Note: Forced to leave as a result of the Portuguese revolt. Immigration: SEP 1654 New Amsterdam (now New York, USA) ADDR: west end of Long Island Note: When Rev. Polhemus arrived at New Amsterdam, there were three Dutch settlements on the western end of Long Island called Midwout, Amersfoort and Brueckelen; they later became respectively, Flatbush, Flatlands and Brooklyn. They were in need of a church and minister and welcomed the appearance of Dominie Polhemus. At his age, it was a difficult task to get adequate housing, secure a regular salary and serve these three congregations Death: 9 SEP 1676 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Kings Co, Long Island, New York Burial: Dorp Huys, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Father: Johann Theodor Dietrich POLHEMIUS b: ABT 1570 in Neederhause, Germany Mother: Elizabeth LEUSSELER b: 1571 in Wolfstein, Palatinate, Germany

Marriage 1 unknown first spouse of Johannes Theodorus Polhemus

   Note: Title: NYGBR: Rev Johannes Theodorus Polhemius, Series: Vol. 90Abbrev: Polhemius: Rev. PolhemiusAuthor: I. Heyward PECKPublication: NYGBR, NY, NYNote:RIN#1828Page: p. 66

   Married: ABT 1629 in Holland, Netherlands

Children

   Has No Children Christina POLHEMUS c: 7 OCT 1629 in Mappel, Drenthe, Netherlands

   Has No Children Marguerita POLHEMUS b: ABT 1642 in Brazil

Marriage 2 Catharina VAN DER WERVEN b: 1624 in Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium

   Married: ABT 1643

Children

   Has Children Adrianna POLHEMUS b: ABT 1644 in Itamarca ,Brazil

Has Children Theodorus POLHEMUS b: ABT 1646 in Itamarca, Pernambuco, Brazil
Has No Children Lammertje POLHEMUS b: ABT 1648 in Itamarca ,Brazil
Has Children Anna POLHEMUS b: ABT 1649 in Itamarca, Brazil
Has Children Margarietje POLHEMUS b: ABT 1660 in Midwout, Kings Co, New York, USA
Has No Children Elizabeth POLHEMUS b: ABT 1661
Has Children Daniel POLHEMUS b: ABT 1662 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Kings Co, Long Island, New York
Has No Children Catrina POLHEMUS b: in New Amsterdam
Marriage 3 Metge

   Married:

   Note: I do not know where this marriage took place, or when. It is possible that this was the unknown first wife that he married before leaving the Netherlands, but definitely do NOT know that with any certainty. Since there was a 15-year gap between his first two children, I would hazard a guess that the unknown first wife died in childbirth, but that is also strictly a guess.

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GEDCOM Source

@R503450768@ Ancestry Family Trees Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=158643364&pi...

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Reverend Theodore Polhemus was born Johannes Theodorus Polhemus in Boiklrchen, Bavaria near Wolfstein in Rhenish Germany. He recieved his divinity degree from the University of Heidelberg in Germany. Eventually he moved to Amsterdam, Holland married and had a daughter. His first wife died shortly after the birth of their only child. He applied for missionary work from the Dutch West India Company and was sent to Brazil in 1637. He served the settlers on Ithamarca Island (Fort Orange settlement) from 1638 until 1647. He served on the mainland at Penambuco (Reciffe, Brazil) from 1647 until 1654. After the Portgugese reconquered Brazil, those who failed to convert to Catholicism were forced to leave. Rev. Polhemus, after settling in Brazil married and had several children. Upon departure, Rev. Polhemus and his family sailed on different ships. His wife and children made it safely back to Holland. His ship was pirated by the Spanish and later by the French. He finally ended up in New Amsterdam. He settled in Flatbush and was seperated from his family for more than two years. By the time they were reunited in Flatbush, Rev. Polhemus was serving three churches; Flatbush, Flatlands and Brooklyn. Reverend Johannes Theodorus Polhemus was the first minister to serve on Long Island, New York. He was unable to satisfy all of the congregations due to the logistics. Travel from church to church was very difficult at that time. He continued to serve until his death in Flatbush on September 9, 1676. Rev. Theodore Polhemus and his second wife Catherina Van Der Werven had nine children. Catherina (Van Der Werven) Polhemus died in Flatbush, Kings County, NY as well. It is most likely that Rev. Polhemus was interred in the Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church Cemetery. At the time of his death, Rev. Polhemus owned several hundred acres in Flatbush, NY.

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GEDCOM Note

Johannes Theodorus Polhemus (1598-1676) was born probably in Switzerland, and came to New Amsterdam in 1654 from Itamaria, Brazil, where he had been settled as pastor of one of the churches established by the Dutch West India Company. On his arrival he was appointed the first minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in Mid wout (Flatbush), L. I. Up to 1654 the Dutch on Long Island had had no minister nor church, and were obliged to cross the East River to attend service. In 1662 he received a patent embracing lands in Flat bush and in the Gowanus district, Brooklyn. In 1665 he terminated his connection with the Flatbush Church, and from that time until his death was the minister of what is now the First Reformed Church in the City of Brooklyn. He was the first minister of the Reformed Church in the New Netherlands to advocate ecclesiastical indepen dence of the parent church in Amsterdam and the federation of organizations of the Reformed Church in the colonies.

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GEDCOM Note

Johannes Theodorus Polhemus (1598-1676) was born probably in Switzerland, and came to New Amsterdam in 1654 from Itamaria, Brazil, where he had been settled as pastor of one of the churches established by the Dutch West India Company. On his arrival he was appointed the first minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in Mid wout (Flatbush), L. I. Up to 1654 the Dutch on Long Island had had no minister nor church, and were obliged to cross the East River to attend service. In 1662 he received a patent embracing lands in Flat bush and in the Gowanus district, Brooklyn. In 1665 he terminated his connection with the Flatbush Church, and from that time until his death was the minister of what is now the First Reformed Church in the City of Brooklyn. He was the first minister of the Reformed Church in the New Netherlands to advocate ecclesiastical indepen dence of the parent church in Amsterdam and the federation of organizations of the Reformed Church in the colonies.

Rev. Johann Polhemus' deadly scrapes c Christy K Robinson He survived war, bubonic plague, trans-Atlantic travel, 20 years in the equatorial rainforest, two pirate attacks, two years' separation from his wife and children, and he was the first minister of the first Dutch church on Long Island. Johann Theodorus Polhemus (or Polheim) born in 1598 near Wolfstein, Bavaria, was a Protestant minister who trained at Heidelberg University and ministered as a young man in or near his native town. The Spanish (Catholics) besieged and then held the Bavarian Palatinate (Protestant Calvinists) where Johann's family lived during the 1620s. A woodcut of the era shows Protestants being hanged in their shirts and underpants by Catholics (note the priests), with their uniforms, boots, and hats heaped on the ground. // Johann married in the 1620s , and his first wife bore him a daughter, who was baptized in the Netherlands in 1629. Nothing more is known of the mother or baby, they could have died of childbirth complications, or perhaps contracted the bubonic plague, which was spread by troop and refugee movements. The plague flared across central Europe during the Thirty Years War, and hopped the Channel to Britain, as well. Plague killed 30,000 Londoners in 1630, and thousands more across the country, but it was much worse on the Continent.