The Fulkerson Family Pages
A record at the Leiden Walloon Church refers to the baptism of two sisters of Christine, both children of Ghilain Vignier and his wife Adrienne Cuvelier. One record shows a daughter being baptized on September 2, 1618. A second Rachel is recorded as being baptized 19 March 1623. Perhaps the record of the first baptism was one of a child who died at a young age. The witnesses of the second Rachel's baptism were Henri Lambert, Pierre de Fache, and Maguerite Vigne. If Christine was born in 1615, she would have been eight years older than her baby sister, Rachel.
In 1639 Rachel had the tremendous misfortune to marry Cornelis Van Tienhoven (Tienhoven translated from Dutch means "ten hooves"--one might argue Cornelis got his set straight from The Devil himself.)
Cornelis Van Tienhoven played a highly visible, in fact, infamous, role in early New York City history.
Although he was a highly-placed Dutch West India Company official, Van Tienhoven turned out to be a murdering, philandering scoundrel--a rather bold one at that, having the nerve to bring home to Rachel from Holland his young mistress, Liesbeth Jansen Croon, who sought redress in court against him, to no avail.
Van Tienhoven, an accountant with the Dutch West Indies Company, arrived in 1633 in New Amsterdam on a ship, along with the new director, Wouter van Twiller. Van Tienhoven served as a city official under the directorships of both Willem Kieft and Peter Stuyvesant.
Ever unpopular, and, by that time, facing a legal action in court, Cornelis drowned or absconded in 1656 (his hat and cane found floating on the water of the Hudson River), leaving Rachel a 33-year-old widow with three young children and pregnant with a fourth. He also left a great deal of property and three houses. One of those houses, on "Potbaker Hill in Smith St." was advertised for sale in John Peter Zenger's New York Weekly Journal on 6 Jun 1734.
In 1657 Peter Stuyvesant initiated the Burgher system [long used in Holland] which established 2 privileged classes: the Small Burghers and Great Burghers. Small Burghers had the right to engage in business. Great Burghers could conduct business and were exempt from common arrest.
Many citizens [including Abraham Ver Planck] paid the 20-guilder fee to become Small Burghers; Rachel was among the 20 who paid 50 guilders and passed Stuyvesant's scrutiny to become Great Burghers.
By 1660 she may have known that she was ill. On 20 Aug 1660, court records indicate "Raghel Van Tienhoven requests to have appointed administrators of her estate, Daniel Van Danck, Joarmes Van Brugh, Jacob Hendrickzen Varevanger and James Van der Meulen." She died in 1663 at the young age of 40.
Per the records of the Orphans' Court: "Thursday, February 22, 1663. Schepen [magistrate] Jan Vinge and Pieter Stoutenburgh announce the death of Ragel Van Tienhoven. Jacques Cousseau is appointed guardian." The childrens' names were listed as Lucas, Johannes and Janneken. A Metje Grevenraet boarded the children. [Stoutenburgh was Rachel's brother-in-law.] On 10 May 1664 the Orphans' Court learned that Janneke Heerman owed Rachel's estate 425 guilders. She had paid part of the debt in tobacco. The orphan masters ruled that 35 pounds of tobacco were worth one beaver pelt.
Christine's Sister, Rachel
Willem Kieft was Director of New Netherland during the years 1638–1647. By the time Kieft came to authority, Cornelis Van Tienhoven had been residing in New Netherlands five years. It may not be a great stretch to imagine Kieft in attendance at Van Tienhoven's wedding to Rachel Vigne. Under Kieft's orders (to which Van Tienhoven eagerly and gladly responded), Keift was a witness of the baptism of Rachel's daughter Jannjete at the Dutch Reformed Church on 10 June 1646. Van Tienhoven led the soldiers stationed at Fort Amsterdam in a night massacre of Native American men, women and children, the start of Kieft's War.
Wouter van Twiller (May 22, 1606 – buried August 29, 1654) was an employee of the Dutch West India Company and the Director-General of New Netherland from 1633 until 1638. He succeeded Peter Minuit, who was recalled by the Dutch West India authorities in Amsterdam. Van Twiller purchased 'Noten Eylant', later called Governors Island (the large island just east of the Statue of Liberty) from a tribe of Canarsee Indians for two axe heads, a string of beads, and some iron nails.
Peter Minuit also spelled Minnewit (born c. 1580, Wesel, Kleve [Germany]—died June 1638, Caribbean Sea), was Dutch colonial governor of New Amsterdam (1626 to1631), remembered for the purchase of Manhattan Island (the nucleus of New York City) from the Indians for a mere 60 guilders. Minuit began importing Scandanavian ship carpenters by 1628 (family legend has long held Dirck, Christine's husband, to have been one). If Dirck were in this group, his arrival in New Netherland would have been between 1626 and 1628. Dirck was on record in the colony as having been a house builder. Perhaps he met Christine while working on her parents' home on the East River. Given the notoriety of the Vignes and the small size of the colony, it is quite likely Minuit kept company with both Dirck and Christine during their lifetimes, and may also have been well acquainted with Rachel.
This portrait, Young Girl Peeling Apples, by Nicolaes Maes, gives us a glimpse into how Rachel may have dressed and what her surroundings may have looked like when she was age sixteen, around the time of her wedding.
Signature of Cornelius Van Tienhoven
Bob Fulkerson
