Research Page Chapter 2: Colonial Roots

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(2.1) The Ancestry of Henry Jacobs Falkinburg

In my manuscript I cite several references to our paterfamilias Henry Jacobs Falkinburg. The first thing to be recognized is that there are a number of spellings of Henry's name. I discuss this in the manuscript.

As I state in the manuscript, Blackman's work (written in 1886) is informed by earlier records, but it is a folksy description of Henry Jacobs Falkinburg. The Journal of Jaspar Dankers [2.3] provides (for me) the key to where Henry came from. Dankers quite clearly states that he (Henry) was know by his colleague Peter Sluyter when he lived in Holstein.

There is a connection between the Labadists and Holstein. This is found in Saxby, T.J.,The Quest for the New Jerusalem, Jean de Labadie and the Labadists, 1610–1744, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht, 198, p. 221. A partial digital text is found on books.google.com. Religious persecution caused the Labadists to move north. "The bulk of the Labadists journeyed northward with no certain destination in mind but confident that God would provide. We may presume that they headed for Bremen, nearest port, and that progress was slow because of the many aged and infirm among them. At some point on the trek, they heard mention of the town of Altona in Holstein, and that it enjoyed a good degree of religious tolerance. So it was thither that the Labadists headed, arriving on 4 JUL 1672."

The narrative continues discussing the location of Altona-- a fishing-port at the mouth of the Elbe close to Hamburg. Today, Altona is a suburb of Hamburg. In 1673 the Lutheran Church was moving against the Labadists, urging the king to evict them from their adopted home in Holstein. It was a response to this pending exile that Dankers and Sluyter began their travels to colonial America. It is clear from the Journal of Dankers, that the Labadists knew Jacob Hendricks from Holstein. In fact, it is stated that he was known by Ephraim Hermas--a member of the Labadist community.

These facts lead me to believe the account in the Journal that Jacob Hendricks (as he is named by Dankers) that claims that Henry Jacobs Falkinburg was indeed from Holstein. In my manuscript I suggest that when Henry Jacobs adopted a surname (Falkinburg) that it might have been chosen from his birthplace. The town of Falkenburg in the current state of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany. Again, as I point out in my manuscript today's Falkenburg was earlier spelled Falkenberg on maps of Holstein. This area is about 50 miles from Altona and Hamburg.

I have tried to find a record of Henry's emigration to the American colonies, but with little success. There is a record of a Jacob Hendricks aboard the Roseboom which sailed from Amsterdam 24 MAR 1663 [2.5]. This could be our ancestor. He is listed as traveling with his uncle Adrian Lammertsen from Thillerwaerd - and wife and six children ages 3, 5, 7, 11, 15 and 17 years. The ship sailed from Amsterdam 24 MAR 1663 headed for New Netherlands. (ref: rootsweb)

There has been an interesting recent development growing out of a DNA project by the Faulkenberry/Fortenberry family. (ref: https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/fortenberrydna/about/news ). The project has found a DNA match with the van Valkenburg family. With roots in the Dutch Republic, the van Valkenburg's were early immigrants to New Netherlands. According to the website:

This is very interesting. If, however, Lambert van Valkenburg is the common ancestor of the Fortenberry/Falkinburg/Falkenburg line, then Henry Jacobs Falkinburg would have been born in New Netherlands. From the van Valkenburg family website:

If I understand the genecology correctly, the suggestion is that line of descent is

Lambert Jochemse ==> Jochem Lambertse ==> Hendrick

If this is correct, then Jochem Lambertse is Henry Jacobs Falkinburg and Hendrick is Henry the son of HJF and the daughter of Sinnick Broer. This is my first understanding, but I may be interpreting the genealogy incorrectly. If this is correct, then Henry Jacobs Falkinburg was born in the New Netherlands colony. This may be interesting, but I cannot resolve this with the historical report cited above that Jacob Hendricks was from Holstein. What is the resolution here?????

I'd like to suggest a solution. When a DNA test reveals a match, it does not say where the families are linked. It may be convenient to think that Lambert van Valkenburg had emigrated to New Netherlands and his grandson Hendrick is born about the time we believe HJF was born, but this may be coincidence. The citation gave above that there was a Jacob Hendricks who arrived in New Amsterdam aboard the Roseboom in 1663 with his uncle Adrian Lammertsen from Thillerwaerd could be the hint. It is possible that this Adrian Lammerstsen is related to the van Valkenburg family. Note, in the day surnames were not common. van Valkenburg was literally from Valkenburg-- indicating an origin of the family. Perhaps our Henry Jacobs Falkinburg is descended from a Jochem van Valkenburg the father of Lambert Jochemse. The DNA match would still be positive.

This post is not intended to refute the findings in the DNA project, but to pose some questions and open a discussion.

If (and it is a big if) the imigration of Jacob Hendricks aboard the Roseboom which sailed from Amsterdam 24 MAR 1663 (see above) is our Henry Jacobs Falkinburg who is related to the van Valkenburg family of Limburg, what is the geographic relationship between Thillerwaerd and Limburg. After considerable searching, Thillerwaerd does not appear to be a current municipal entity in the Netherlands. I did, however, find reference in colonial documents of other imigrants that it is located in the Province of Gelderland. Limburg is the most southern province bordering both Germany and Belgium, while Gelderland is directly north (colored orange) also bordering Germany.