Does anyone know of any positive documentation showing that Ann (or Anna) HERMAN, said to be the sister of Augustine HERMAN, came to the American colonies? Do baptism, marriage, or death records exist for her?? Did she leave a will? Thanks very much, Liz J

Hi Liz, From: "E Johnson" <iris.gates@gmail.com> Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:58 PM Subject: [DUTCH-COLONIES] Anna HERMAN > Does anyone know of any positive documentation showing that Ann (or > Anna) HERMAN, said to be the sister of Augustine HERMAN, came to the > American colonies? I don't see anything in Stokes' Icon., in David Riker's Directory or in Evjen that indicates a sister, Anna. You can read Evjen here: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nycoloni/evjen/414evj.html It might help if you reported where and by whom it was "said" that he had such a sister and what else they said about her. He had a daughter, Anna Margareta bp. 10 Mar 1658 in New Amsterdam. Riker says she and her husband removed to Maryland in 1703. Could this be the Anna you want? > Do baptism, marriage, or death records exist for her?? Did she leave a will? Since the above sources say Augustine was born in Prague, that is where you should look for baptisms of any alleged siblings. Be sure to search using Heermans, etc. as well. Regards, Howard hswain@ix.netcom.com

Thanks very much for checking your resources, Howard. The earliest generations of the Colonial HACK family of Eastern Shore Virginia and Maryland have a series of sons called George Nicholas and they also have many wives called Ann. One of my biggest questions lately is whether or not there was a George Nicholas HACK, son of the Joris HACK who was baptized in Cologne in 1620, and his wife Ann VERLET, sister of Jannetje VERLET, Augustine HERMAN's wife. Their son, George Nicholas, probably born around 1646, is said to have married "Anna Leisler HERMAN." But nobody seems to have documentation on this marriage and as you (Howard) noticed, there's not much if anything around on the Anna HERMAN who is supposed to be the sister of Augustine. Joris HACK and Anna Verlet also had son Peter who had many descendents. But for now the focus is on son george Nicholas and his wife or wives. The possibility have been raised that two generations of men called "George Nicolas HACK could have been made of one --George N #1 married "Anna Leisler HERMAN"; George N #2 married Ann Wright. Info on these two generations of Joris HACK descendents seems to have come from a monument on a grave: The only place anyone seems to cite as a source for this supposed marriage to "Anna Leisler HERMAN" is in a book which describes a memorial obelisk in Fairview Cemetery in Accomack County VA, near the HACK home. This obelisk was erected by descendents, possibly in place of or above a group of family tombstones. Ralph T. Whitelaw in Vol. II of Virginia's Eastern Shore, pps. 658-659 makes comments and gives the text of inscriptions on the faces of this monument. He has no sources but is simply reporting what is engraved in the stone. He says "Some years ago, all of the tombstones in the family graveyard were buried, a granite coping set around the plot, and a shaft raised in the center. Upon the shaft is inscribed: WEST FACE (Hack Coat of Arms) In Memory of Dr. Joris Hack, baptized in Cologne, Germany, March 20, 1620, died in Virginia, 1665; Married Anna Varlett daughter of Casper and Judith Varlett Their son, Dr. George Nicholas Hack, born in Cologne, Germany, died in Accomac County, Virginia; Married Anne Leisler Herman, born in Amsterdam, Holland, sister of Augustine Herman of Bohemian Manor, Cecil County, Maryland, Lieutenant Colonel George Nicholas Hack, died 1705. and Ann, his wife, daughter of Richard Wright and Ann. his wife, daughter of Colonel John. Mottrom of Northern Neck, Virginia." The other sides of the shaft have inscriptions about descendents of Joris HACK. ............................. In USGenweb archives for Accomack County, there is an entry entitled,"Survey Report, Hacks burying ground. Mason's property: 1938." The report gives the location of this burial ground, then gives descriptions or inscriptions of the monuments of those buried there. The original document was transcribed by Joan Renfrow and posted on USGenWeb Archives for Accomack Co. at http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/va/accomack/cemeteries/hack03.txt The original survey of this site can be found at the Library of Virginia. The long inscription is the last entry in a section of the report is said to be 'historical background' without stating from where the 'background' came. At the bottom of the page is also stated that information was taken from the grave markers. But from the report it is unclear whether the person visiting the site (in 1938) and making the report actually read this from a marker then in existence, or whether the informant for the 'background' was also the source of the marker reading. The inscription on this ends the same as above described, but differs in that in the 1938 description/transcription, above or maybe on the carved coat of arms there is a motto "Avide et Constanter" and a name/date combination: "Joris Hack 1646" There is an image online of this monument. It's impossible to tell from the image if the motto and the words, "Joris Hack 1646" are on the crest, and simply not reported in the second descriptiion of this monument. http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/g/o/d/Bryan-S-Godfrey/PHOTO/0267photo.html It's also unclear to me if the inscription described in 1938 was on one of a set of tombstones that were "buried" at the site of the more recent monument or if the 1938 report describes the new monument. In the absence of evidence of "Anne Leisler Herman's" existence, I wonder if a source of confusion may have been the 1663 and 1666 petitions for naturalization of Augustine Herman and his wife and children, with Anna and Joris/George Hack and their children. In those documents, transcripts of which are in Maryland State Archives, Augustine HERMAN and Joris (George) HACK are described as brothers-in-law. In MSA Volume 1, Page 462 "Proceedings and Acts of the General Assembly January 1637/8-September 1664" is a record of a petition of Augustine Herman for an "Act of Naturalizacon for himselfe, Children and his brother in Lawe George Hack." "On Thursday Sept 17th, 1663, it was ordered that "an Acte of Naturalizacon be prepared for Augustine Herman, and his Children and his brother in Lawe George Hack and his wife and Children."" There are a couple of places this appears in MSA, this is the first. Since Anna VERLET, wife of Joris/George HACK, and Jannetje VERLET, wife of Augustine HERMAN, were almost certainly sisters (daughters of Caspar Verlet and Judith Tentenier), these two men were brothers-in-law whether or not there was ever any HACK marriage to Anna HERMAN. But perhaps because of this naturalization petition, somehow the HERMAN surname got crunched onto the Ann (Wright) who married George Nicolas HACK, who was probably Joris' and Anna VERLET's son. > He had a daughter, Anna Margareta bp. 10 Mar 1658 in New Amsterdam. Riker says she and her husband removed to Maryland in 1703. Could this be the Anna you want? Don't think so. Augustine Herman's daughter Anna Margaretha supposedly married Henry Ward and Matthias Vanderheyden. > Since the above sources say Augustine was born in Prague, that is where you should look for baptisms of any alleged siblings. Yep. The family MYTH (I have no documentation, just the story for those interested): The parents of Augustine Herman and Anna: The father, Ephraim (aka Abraham), Merchant and Councilman of Prague, had married Beatrice Redel. He is said to have been a Hussite (no clue what that is) and in 1618 had been one of the signers of a Protestant document, addressed to Emperor Maximillian. For signing this, he was banished from Prague. Thought to have died soon after in one of the battles of the Thirty Year's War. His wife (or widow) fled to Amsterdam with Anna and Augustine. Augustine Herman was educated in Holland. Not myth --he first worked for the merchant firm, Gabry of Amsterdam. But his sister, if the ever came to the colonies, seems to have been invisible. I also wonder where her supposed middle name "Leisler" of Anna Herman came from. "Leisler" comes in around 1700 in NY history, and this name seems out of place in the name of someone born in Euro in the 1600-1620 range. > Be sure to search using Heermans, etc. as well. Yep. That and more. I have a bit more info on the earlier Hacks if anyone needs... have nice obscure bit on Joris' youngest brother Severijn who was killed by Indians in 1661. Have lineup of two Hack families bapt in Amsterdam in the 1616 to 1630's. Seems only Joris and Severijn emigrated. Have notes on a few land records, etc. Am just at the beginning at this point. If anyone can contribute anything, please do. Thank you again, Howard. Appreciate it very much. Best to all, Liz J

Liz and all - I have been interested in the information about Augustine Hermann because Grietje Cosyn's (later Haring) first husband Harmen Theuniszen worked for Augustine Herman. Harmen Theuniszen only appears in the records at his marriage to Grietje in 1654 and in reference to working for Harmen Theuniszen. Grietje was widowed and able to marry Jan Pieterse Haring by 1662, but we don't know anything about Harmen Theuniszen's death and I have wondered if he had perhaps followed Augustine Hermann south. The Hussites were followers of Jan Hus (born 1371), and their descendants are today's Moravian church. Jan Hus was rector of Charles University in Prague and was martyred in 1415 - burned at the stake - because he refused to recant certain heresies that he had never advocated. His disagreements with the Catholic church were over discipline and practice, not theology, though he did object to the fact that the laity received the bread but not wine at Communion, and he also claimed that the office of the Pope did not exist by divine command but was established by the church so that things might be done in an orderly fashion. Later Martin Luther acknowledged that Hus had been unjstly condemned and the whole question of the authority of Popes and Councils was raised, but Hus was asking the same questions a hundred years earlier. So it's rather to be expected that a Protestant with origins in Prague from that date would have been a Hussite and that he would be comfortable with the Reformed Church in the new world. Regina Haring http://www.dutchdoorgenealogy.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "E Johnson" <iris.gates@gmail.com> To: <dutch-colonies@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 11:21 PM Subject: Re: [DUTCH-COLONIES] Anna HERMAN > The parents of Augustine Herman and Anna: The father, Ephraim (aka > Abraham), Merchant and Councilman of Prague, had married Beatrice > Redel. He is said to have been a Hussite (no clue what that is) and > in 1618 had been one of the signers of a Protestant document, > addressed to Emperor Maximillian. For signing this, he was banished > from Prague. Thought to have died soon after in one of the battles of > the Thirty Year's War. His wife (or widow) fled to Amsterdam with Anna > and Augustine. > Am just at the beginning at this point. If anyone can contribute > anything, please do. > > > Thank you again, Howard. Appreciate it very much. > > Best to all, > Liz J