Please note a major error in the Kuster book: Bristol, Philadelphia County, is not the same as Bristol, Bucks County, as stated in the Kuster book. Bristol, Philadelphia, was the township just east of Germantown. The present day neighborhoods of East and West Oaklane, Fernrock, and Logan are where the old Bristol Township was. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2000 10:14 AM Now I quote from "Kusters" book: " Gertrude Doors was born about 1648 in Kaldenkirchen, the daughter of Theiss (Mathew) and Nees (Agnes) Doors. Many earlier genealogies of the Kuster family speak of Gertrude Streypers as the wife of Paulus Kuster. This misconception was probably passed along for many years because of the article appearing in The Pennsylvania magazine of History and Biography in 1880 by Samuel W. Pennypacker, "The Settlement of Germantown, and the Causes Which Led to It," saying that Gertrude was a sister of Jan and Willem Streypers. She was in fact the sister-in-law of Jan/Johann Streypers, her sister, Anna, having married him. The term "sister" has changed through the years and in the 1600's "sister" could refer to a child of the same parents, to his brother's remarried widow, to the wife of a brother of his own wife (or as in this case to as sister of his own wife), as well as to a child of his stepmother. Gertrude's father, Theiss Doors, baptized 12 September 1614 in the Catholic Church in Kaldenkirchen, was the son of Peter Dohrs/Doormans and Lysgen (Elizabeth) Griets. Theiss' name appears in an article about the persecution and suffering of the Mennonites in the Jurlich-Berg Historical Journal under the surname Dahrs, Dahrmans, Peters and Peterschen which indicates that his father's name was Peter. Surnames in this period of time were not set. In fact, surnames were not required in the Netherlands (Kaldenkirchen lies almost on the border with the Netherlands) until 1811. Many families adopt surnames around the 16th and 17th centuries. Thus, with Theiss' and Ness' children one will note that some of the children used their father's surname of Doors while several used the patronymic of Theisson." etc Barb Locker ==== ORIGINAL-13 Mailing List ==== LaVere LUKENS has about 14 stamps of the Concord still available to any one who wants one. They are not expensive. Contact him if you want one, at: [email protected] This offer will be withdrawn at his notice. ============================== Genealogy calendars, guestbooks and more: Visit RootsWeb's Resource Center at http://resources.rootsweb.com/