The Fulkerson Family Pages
Mother of Matriarch Christine, Adrienne Cuvellier, the Infamous
Adrienne Cuvellier (some genealogies post her first name as Ariantje Cuvijle), Christine's mother, is believed to have been born 1590, in Valenciennes, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. Adrienne's father's name is listed in a few genealogies as having been Jean Cuvellier.
After Guillame's death, Adrienne married Jan Jansen Damen, who ran afoul of his stepdaughter Christine and her husband Dirck on more than one occasion.
Given some of Adrienne's eccentric and exceedingly unladylike (i.e. brutal) behaviors after her marriage to Jan, it may fairly be said his was not a good influence on her. As a widow, Adrienne Cuvellier may have been in a mood for love, but she was to be nobody's fool. Prior to wedding Jan Jansen Damen, the couple set forth a prenuptial agreement, the record of which remains among New York historical documents.
The Vignes in Manhattan
The Vignes established their Manhattan farm north of what is now Wall Street, along the East River. In 1624 or 1625, not long after their arrival, their son Jan was born, the first European male born in New Netherlands. [The first European girl born in New Netherlands was Sara Rapaelje, in June 1625.]
Woman Reading a Letter by Gabriël Metsu portrays a woman and possibly her daughter who could very likely have looked like our grandmother Adrienne. The view out the window of a home in Manhattan may also have been quite similar. The flooring of a Manhattan home, however, is much more likely to have been wooden, as a ceramic floor would be found in Europe far earlier than it would have been in the colonies.
