I had always wanted to read about the boots. I think he was telling the truth! I did a search for Sara Teunis and got this hit. Not sure if this is our Sara. http://books.google.com/books?id=C04CAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA139&dq=%22new+amsterdam%2 2+%22jan+dirckzen%22&hl=en&ei=kJWyTIKsMMeNnQebxv32CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct= result&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Teunis&f=false -----Original Message----- From: jroguetech@gmail.com [mailto:jroguetech@gmail.com] Sent: Sunday, October 10, 2010 11:43 PM To: vannorman@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [VANNORMAN] Holland resource Source for Jan Dirckszen stealing boots: http://books.google.com/books?id=C04CAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA139&dq=%22new+amsterdam%2 2+%22jan+dirckzen%22&hl=en&ei=kJWyTIKsMMeNnQebxv32CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct= result&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false On Sat, Oct 9, 2010 at 11:22 AM, Pete Gonigam <gonigam@hotmail.com> wrote: > I agree with several of your conclusions. > > On the matter of Jan Dircks' being a WIC soldier, the marriage record lists > him as "soldat" and the only such in the colony at the time belonged to WIC. > (As did the colony, essentially an early "company town"). > > It's unlikely he was an officer, even an adelborst.  He got in trouble for > having a set of stolen boots he said he'd bought from another soldier, > behavior that seems to belong more to the barracks than the BOQ.  Neither in > later life did Jan Dircks ever display anything indicating leadership > qualities. > > I agree he was probably young.  Sara, too.  To the extent there's any record > of them they "act" young and stupid.(Possibly a redundant phrase). > > I agree he was probably poor.  Without getting into foraging and occupation, > being a solider was just a notch above being an actual thief.  It was a > high-risk low-pay job and about the only thing to recommend it as way of > making a living  was that even the military could see it was stupid to > starve a soldier to death before the enemy had a chance to shoot him. > Becoming a soldier was what you did if you had no other choice at all. > > For a number of complicated reasons I, too, suspect Jan Dircks (and possibly > Sarah) may not have been Dutch.  In the wake of the Thirty Years' War, they > might have been, almost anything.  However, Scandinavian seems unlikely. > Something involving a French dialect seems more probable. > -------- > Our Sara Theunis is almost certainly the one aboard De Trouw in 1664. Aside > from the timing,   Jan Duyts, witness at the baptism of her daughter, Sara, > was the husband of Jannetje Juriaens, essentially the same name as > fellow-passenger Janneken Juriaensen aboard DeTrouw. The trip was a long one > and you'd reasonably expect at least one friendship to develop. > > In earlier posts I've explained why, applying Occam's Razor, Jan Dircks > logically was aboard DeTrouw as well. > > Incidentally, while "Theunis" might be a patronymic, there's also a > possibility it might be one that had morphed into a surname.  The somewhat > mysterious Jan Theuniszen ( later,Van Tilburg) sure looks like some sort of > relative although it's not at all clear if he's a father, uncle, brother or > some sort of cousin. > > If anyone has the time and money to do some heavy duty original research I > can suggest where to look and what to look for to find more on Jan Dircks > and Sara Theunis.  I have, I regret to say, neither. > > --pete > >