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Hester Van Bebber Peterson and her Family

Page history last edited by Liz Johnson 3 years, 7 months ago

Hester Peterson and the Van Bebber Family

By Elizabeth Johnson and Cor Snabel

Originally published in New Netherland Connections

 

 

Hester van Bebber was born in Utrecht (Holland), the youngest daughter of Hendrick van Bebber and Cathalijntje Bongaerts. In 1720, at the age of seventeen, she emigrated with her father to the American colonies. Their new home was near the present location of Middletown, Delaware, very close to where the Maryland border is now. Hester's oldest brother, Jacobus, had moved to a nearby location along the Bohemia River by 1713, when he bought 255 acres of land from his uncle Matthias Jacobsz Van Bebber.[1] Jacob's plantation later became a bone of contention in Hendrick's will.

Hester spent the rest of her life at Middletown, Delaware,[2] but maintained contact by letter with her family overseas. Three of the letters that Hester wrote to her relatives in Utrecht were preserved in the Bleydensteyn Collection in the archives of Zwolle, Netherlands. These letters  have now been translated for the first time into English. Through these letters, we see the family from the viewpoint of an insider, gaining intimate insights into the interactions of the Hendrick van Bebber family, and into the way the Pennsylvania members of the family adapted to life in a society that had become a part of the English colonies.

 

Hester's Family

Hester's father, Hendrick Jacobsz. van Bebber, was born about 1660 in Krefelt, County of Meurs (now Germany), as the third son of Jacob Isaacsz. van Bebber and Styntie (Christiana) van Dulcken.[3] Hendrick's two older brothers, Isaac and Matthias Jacobsz. van Bebber, along with their father Jacob Isaacsz, had emigrated in 1684 and 1687 to Philadelphia,[4] and were naturalized in Maryland in 1704.[5] They soon bought land in various parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland and became successful Colonial merchant-landowners. About twenty years later, perhaps inspired by their success,  Hendrick had also decided to try his luck in the colonies.

Hendrick van Bebber had moved to Utrecht shortly before 1685, and married Catalyntgen Bongaerts on 21 February 1685, probably in a Mennonite ceremony. The marriage was also recorded before the Court of Aldermen in Utrecht.[6] Hendrick became a respected merchant in Utrecht and owned a shop, as well as a large house on the dignified Oudegracht in the center of town. On 26 April 1715 his wife Catalyntgen died, and on 6 May she was buried in the Nicolai-Church in Utrecht.[7] Not long after the 1717 death of his daughter Christina,[8] Hendrick began making plans to move to Delaware, where some of the extensive landholdings of his brothers lay. Evidence of Hendrick's intention to move appears in Utrecht notarial documents as early November 1719, when he acquired 500 acres of land at “Mahanatawnaw” in Pennsylvania (now at Roxboro, northwest of Philadelphia) purchased through an agent, Jan Hendrick Sprogel.[9]

By 1720, Hendrick was wrapping up his business in Utrecht. His other older children, some already married, were becoming established in their own homes and affairs. In April 1720, Hendrick drew up a contract turning his shop in Utrecht over to his son Matthijs and his daughter Maria.[10] Then on 2 May 1720 Hendrick went to Amsterdam and had his testament drawn up by notary Jan Barels, in which he stated that he was on the point of leaving for America.[11] Hester, the youngest, undoubtedly came along with her father to Delaware.

 


Hendrick van Bebber's Children

Apart from 5 children who died as infants and were buried in the Nicolai-Church in Utrecht,[12] Hendrick van Bebber and Catalyntgen Bongaerts had the following:

1. Jacobus van Bebber, born about 1687, died about 1756 in Cecil County, Maryland. He married about 1720 to Ann Laroun, possibly a relative of the Peter LeRoux who appears in records of Cecil County Maryland and of Delaware until the 1750's.[13]

2. Christina van Bebber, born about 1688 in Utrecht and buried on 21 June 1717 in the Nicolai-Church in Utrecht.[8]

3. Catharina van Bebber, born about 1689, died between 1733 and 1756. She was married to Jacob Hoefnagel from Maarssen, son of Pieter Hoefnagel and Hillitje Ameldonx Leeuw, on 7 December 1717, registered before the Court of Aldermen in Utrecht. [14] Jacob Hoefnagel died after 1756.

4. Huijbartus van Bebber, born about 1690, was baptized in September 1716 in the Mennonite Church in Utrecht.[15] His marriage to Maria de Veer of Amsterdam was registered before the Court of Aldermen in Utrecht on 22 February, 1716.[16] Huijbartus and Maria had only one surviving child, Maria van Bebber,[17] to whom Hester wrote the third letter.

5. Matthijs van Bebber, born about 1692, was buried 6 September 1762 in the Nicolai-Church in Utrecht.[18] His marriage to Margaretha Bongardt was registered before the Court of Aldermen in Utrecht  on 21 February 1728.[19] Margaretha was buried 29 May 1769 in the Nicolai-Church in Utrecht.[20] They were childless.

6. Maria van Bebber, born about 1696, buried on 12 February 1759 in the Catharina-Church in Utrecht.[21] She was married to Willem Jan van Dijck, son of Johannes van Dijck, on 10 August 1723, which was registered  before the Court of Aldermen in Utrecht.[22] Willem Jan van Dijck died on 2 August 1766 in Utrecht.[23] They had two daughters.

7. Hester van Bebber, born in 1704, died on 18 September, 1772 in Middletown, New Castle County, Delaware.[2] She married Andrew Peterson, a son of Adam Peterson, born about 1682, who died in January 1741 near Middletown.[2] They had 6 children (see 7.1 - 7.6 below). About 1742 Hester married again to David Witherspoon, a native of Londonderry, Ireland.[2]

 


Hester's family  in Delaware

Probably not long before 1728, Hester van Bebber married Andrew Peterson, Esquire, of Middletown, Delaware, a widower about 22 years older than she was. He had been married before to Lydia Williams-Neering, with whom he had had several children.[24] Hester and Andrew had 6 children of their own:

7.1 Henry Peterson, born on 26 December 1728 in Middletown, New Castle County, Delaware.[25] He died in 1814 in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England.[26] He was married in Utrecht to Margaretha Smitz, daughter of Coenradus Smitz and Aletta van Aken.[27] She was baptised on 10 February 1741 in the Mennonite Church in Utrecht,[28] re-baptised on 25 June 1762 in the English Church in Utrecht,[29] died 26 November 1773 and was buried on 6 December 1773 in the Jacobi church in Utrecht.[30] They had three surviving children. In 1775, Henry Peterson married Henrietta Louisa Vernet.[31]

7.2 Mary Peterson, born about 1729. She married Philip Reading, an Anglican clergyman who served as the minister of St. Anne's Church in Appoquiniminck Hundred, Delaware, from 1746-1778.[32] They had five children.

7.3 Andrew Peterson, born about 1730, died in 1752,[33]  unmarried.

7.4 Catalina Peterson, born about 1731, died after 1755.

7.5 Jacob Peterson, born about 1733, died on 7 January 1774 in Middletown, New Castle County, Delaware.[34] He became a medical doctor whose practice was in Middletown. He married Grace van Dyck[35] and had two surviving children.

7.6 Esther Peterson, born in 1737.


HESTER'S FIRST LETTER TO HOLLAND

The earliest letter of Hester's found in the Bleydesteyn Collection was addressed to her brother Matthijs (see 5. above) and his wife Margaretha Bongardt in Utrecht. It is dated 15 March 1737.  As of this date, we learn that Hester will “be in labor soon," probably with her youngest child, Esther, who must have been born in the first half of 1737.

Perhaps the most important detail arising from Hester's 1737 letter is about her older brother Jacob, and is a key factor in understanding the structure of the Hendrick Jacobsz branch of the Van Bebbers. In this letter, Hester complains extensively about the behavior of her brother Jacobus with respect to the will of their father concerning the plantation in Delaware that he occupies. But although Hester first refers to this brother as “brother James,” later in the same paragraph (and thereafter) she reverts to the use of his birth name, Jacobus. This detail, along with the mass of evidence concerning Hendrick's children found in notarial archives in Utrecht, should resolve any question Van Bebber researchers may have about the possible existence of two sons of Hendrick, one called James and one called Jacobus. Hester's reference to “James” and Jacobus as one and the same, indicates that there was never a separate “James” van Bebber. “James” was a merely an English-sounding equivalent name taken on by Jacobus himself after he moved to Delaware.



Life in Delaware

Living in colonial Delaware must have required quite an adjustment. Once a girl growing up in the sheltering Mennonite community in the graceful Dutch city of Utrecht, Hester van Bebber could easily have obtained nearly anything her heart desired. Now, sixteen years after emigrating, she has become a married woman with children, living on a rural plantation in a colony which has become more English than Dutch. In her letter Hester confesses to her brother that "here it is an inhospitable land, not so pleasant as our fatherland." Although, due to the family business, the Delaware members of the family regularly enjoy their tea and coffee, chocolate, wine and sugar, other items have become rare luxuries. She is pleased to receive a "care package" from her relatives in Holland, containing on this occasion the Book of Martyrs, and an especially prized sack of bluing[36] that Matthijs has sent her.  At the end of her letter she adds a personal word to her sister-in-law Margaretha about her wish for an article currently in fashion: "I hear that a young woman in town is wearing a hairpiece of her own hair, which looks very natural. My hair is very thin and I request of you to send me one. My hair is moderate brown; brother Huijbartus can tell you."

In addition to expressing her appreciation for the Book of Martyrs and the package of bluing, Hester acknowledges the receipt of a copy of her father's “Testament” (his will), which must have been included by Matthijs  in the same packet. Hendrick van Bebber had died a few years earlier, and was buried on May 31, 1733.[37] That news had reached Utrecht by 26 November 1733, when the will of Henrick van Bebber was opened in Utrecht by notary Pronckert.[38]

Highlights of Hendrik's testament may shed more light upon the events to which Hester refers in her letters.  Per this will, his children Maria, Matthijs and Hester are each entitled to receive the sum of 1500 Carolus guilders as an outsetting (for wedding-goods and trousseau), the same as his other two children Huijbert and Catharina had already received, and approximately equal to what Jacobus had already received, probably at the time of his move to America. Furthermore Hendrick appoints his six children, Jacobus, Catharina, Huijbertus, Maria, Matthijs and Hester, as his sole and universal heirs together, each inheriting an equal sixth part of the value of his estate. The additional conditions and privileges in Hendrick van Bebber's will are:

After Hendrick's death, Matthijs will become the owner of Hendrick's house on the Oudegracht in Utrecht, including all of its grounds, gardens, and basements. He becomes the owner of the shop as well. For these privileges, he must pay 6000 guilders into the estate, so that his brothers and sisters can inherit an equal share.

Maria will manage the shop in Utrecht in equal partnership with her brother Matthijs, as long as she remains unmarried. For each year they run the shop during Hendrick's absence (until the day he dies), they will each receive an amount of one hundred Carolus guilders, to be paid after his death.

Hester will receive an additional annual allowance of one hundred guilders until she gets married or reaches the age of 25.

Jacobus must pay 2200 guilders into the estate, this being the value of the plantation in America, before it can become his own personal property.


“In Discord”

Hendrick van Bebber probably knew that his oldest son was not the most amicable member of the family. Using a remarkable phrase in his will, "that my forementioned son Jacobus van Bebber, as far as he wants to behave as one of my heirs," Hendrick attempts to ensure Jacobus' cooperation with the terms of the will and with the other heirs. Jacobus must comply with these terms --making the value of his share equal to the value of the shares of the other heirs --before he can inherit the property his father has intended for him. Furthermore, Hendrik makes a point of stating that if any of the children oppose the conditions in his will for any reason or under any pretense, that his or her share will be cut down to the "bare and naked" legitimate heir's portion. Hendrick could have been forseeing the future, for his estate was indeed not settled until 1756, and not until after a number of legal proceedings and much negotiating between the heirs.

In her 1737 letter, Hester is uncomfortably aware of  problems with Jacobus. There is a division which has arisen between them. She states that

"we hold no friendship with brother James; It is hard to live in discord with someone so close, for which shortcoming I think brother is to blame. ...I cannot say why brother Jacobus is so full of hatred and anger, or it might be because we inquired into the estate of our dear departed father, because I had just as much rights [in it] as he, since we were all equally the executors.”

Also distressing to Hester is the extent to which Jacobus seems to have turned away from the customs of their Dutch family:

“But brother thinks he is the oldest son and that he may do as he pleases. As it is custom among the English that the oldest son will get a lot more than the rest, which I think is unnatural, but is approved by him... I have to say to you one thing: our brother Jacobus has adopted the English ways too much and has alienated his own kindred.”

“And yet another thing: he thought the property should cover his expenses, so he allowed himself [that right] but he misled us to the contrary for a dozen years or more, in front of our dear father and me and a servant."

This passage makes us wonder whether Jacobus had ever paid the 2200 guilders to Hendrick van Bebber's estate. That had been the condition specified in Hendrick's testament which was required of Jacobus to fulfill before the plantation could be completely his. He had been running this plantation, but also had a wife and family of several children to maintain, so it may have been difficult for him to come up with a sum amounting to 2200 guilders. According to Hester, Jacobus once asked her husband, Andrew Peterson, to come to the house  “to see to things” pertaining to the plantation. But Andrew and Jacobus must have differed, for Hester continues:

“they went on until they came on a box of letters and bills, when brother saw that he closed the box, and said he could do it himself. My husband requested him pleasantly to finish this matter but he wouldn't, and I who have as many rights as he, and my husband in my place, took his handkerchief and wrapped the papers in a bundle, and left them in a justice's house, and asked brother to come there to see them, which he would not do, and my husband would not touch [those papers] without the presence of brother. He was obstinate and would not [cooperate], and there the letters lay sealed for 2 to 3 months. At the end the judge requested us to take them away and my husband brought them home, and asked brother again several times to come to our house and see to the letters, but he would not."

Andrew Peterson does make several more attempts over about a year to persuade Jacobus to finish going over the paperwork, but Jacobus continues to refuse, eventually telling Andrew that he “wanted no more” of the matter. One wonders what may have been done about Jacobus' payment, but no record of payment has been found.



Another Brother in the Colony

From Hester's 1737 letter we also learn details of other family members. It appears from her writing that her brother Huijbertus was in Delaware at that very moment. He was living on the premises of the plantation with Jacobus, but that was not going very well, because despite the fact that he had been  working very hard, the living arrangement with Jacobus produced, in Hester's mind at least, “was sniping and snarling" between the two brothers. She refers to Huijbertus as "a lost sheep, that should be encouraged" and that "living alone does not suit him. He is of a mind to travel on the wild waves again to get his wife, if it would now be convenient."

From the baptism archives of the Mennonite Church we know that Huijbertus did return to Holland, because there is a note on both their baptism records in Utrecht that Huijbertus van Bebber and his wife Maria de Veer were leaving for Pennsylvania in 1737.[15] At that time they had one daughter, Maria, baptized in 1723,[17] who must have come along with them to Delaware as a young teenager. It is clear from a subsequent letter that Hester had personally known her niece, Maria van Bebber, who was probably about the same age as the oldest of Hester's children. Maria must have had a special place in her aunt Hester's affections, having been raised in much the same way in Utrecht, then, as Hester had done, moved far across the Atlantic to finish growing up in Colonial Delaware. And Hester maintained a relationship by letter with young Maria van Bebber after she had returned with her parents to Utrecht some years later.


HESTER'S LETTER OF 1752

The second letter of Hester van Bebber's found in the Bleydensteyn Collection, dated 9 October 1752, is addressed to her brother Huijbertus Jacobsz. van Bebber and his wife Maria de Veer. Hester is now about forty-eight years old, still living at Middletown. Andrew Peterson had died in January 1741,[2] leaving her at the time with six underaged children (see above 7.1 - 7.6). Perhaps because of her children's minority, Hester had soon married again to David Witherspoon, her husband at the time this letter was written. Meanwhile, her brother Huijbertus has recently returned to Utrecht with his wife and daughter. Now Hester writes to him, beginning her letter with her thanks for his own letter of the previous May. But almost in the same breath she reproaches him for not keeping his promise to write to her at length about the circumstances of the family, more promptly upon his arrival in Holland.



Hujbertus van Bebber in Delaware and Utrecht

Hester's comments in 1752 help to fix the duration of Huijbert's stay in Delaware. Since the note in the Utrecht  baptismal register had indicated 1737 as the year of Huijbertus and Maria's departure for Delaware, and since by Hester's letter we learn that he had returned with his family to Utrecht by the beginning of 1752, we know that Huijbertus van Bebber's residence in Delaware had  lasted about 15 years. And although between 1737 and 1752 there are 36 documents about the van Bebber family in the Old Notarial Archives of Utrecht, no records during that period concern Huijbertus van Bebber and Maria de Veer. Therefore we can reasonably conclude that the family of Huijbertus Jacobsz. van Bebber and Maria de Veer had remained in Delaware during that time.

Hester's brother Jacobus van Bebber, of whom she complained so much in 1737 is mentioned only briefly in this letter. But this detail may be significant: "Brother Jacobus' family is turning away from him and his wife is a big change." In his will, written in 1750,[39] he mentions his oldest son, Henry, his third son Isaac, his daughters Catrin (wife of Enoch David), and Ann, and his second son Jacob. And he names his son Stephan and his youngest son Abraham. But no wife is mentioned. Can Jacobus, aka James van Bebber, have lost his wife Ann, by 1750? Or had Ann, by the date of Hester's 1752 letter, caused some sort of remarkably great change in their lives? Further research into the life of Jacobus and the mysterious “Ann Laroun” may bring to light more facts about this part of the family.



Family Matters on Both Sides of the Atlantic

Hester's letter reveals details of family matters on both sides of the Atlantic. One of her sons, Andrew Peterson, had evidently died earlier in 1752, the same year she wrote her letter. His death is a loss she still acutely feels. She confides to Huijbertus and Maria that

"In this life we should live together in rest and peace, because we don't know how soon we might be torn from this life, because when I think about the suffering of my sweet son, who was an outstanding good-hearted child, in whose company was a pleasure to be. He was loved by everyone, and would have studied to be a lawyer, to which he was very suited, but he was taken away, where I could not see him. But God's will must prevail."

Hester is also suffering from the absence of her oldest son Henry, who had moved to Utrecht in 1750,[25] apparently to join the van Bebber family merchant business there. She worries about his well-being and wishes he had received a more cordial welcome from his uncle, her brother  Matthijs. She wonders why Matthijs seems to favor a son of  his wife's sister, for a protege, rather than favoring her own son Henry: "I thought my brother would take my son under his wings, like his nephew [Matthys] Pannekoek. It would be closer to his blood, and I always thought that my brother had real love for me, as you always used to say.” And Hester's letter perhaps hints that her brother Matthijs had been the reason her son Henry had been allowed to go to Utrecht: “Or else my son would never have gone to Holland.”

It is also clear from this letter that several members of the family did not get along well with Willem Jan van Dijck, husband of Hester's sister Maria. Hester was hurt by a letter Willem Jan van Dijck had written to her husband, David Witherspoon, concerning her portion of her father's estate. She  comments to Huijbertus:

"But I see ...that there is no rest and peace between the van Dijcks and brother Matthijs and you, which saddens my heart. ...Just when I had written to brother Matthijs, a small letter came from [Willem Jan] van Dijck to my husband, concerning the estate of father. It was as if he was directing my husband concerning the estate. Because it was in German, I would not let my husband know that, since they are strangers to him, for fear that something nasty would come out of that. Dear brother Huijbartus, let brother Matthijs know about this, but no other Christian soul. In this you can see the love I have for my own blood. Although don't let the van Dijck family know that I'm writing this to you, or else there would be discord between my sister [Maria] and me."



Hester's Own Children

Hester finishes her letter of 1752 with more information about her own children. "My son Jacob, who once was lying sick at your house, is now studying to be a doctor at one of the foremost doctors in Philadelphia, and his master does like him very much, like everyone who is in his company.” Here we learn that Jacob has been married (to Grace van Dyck) “for one year and a half,” but perhaps not doing as well as Hester had hoped, for she continues, “his fortune was reasonably good, but he spent most of it.” And of her daughters she writes, “My oldest daughter has married reasonably well about 5 years ago and has two sons and must soon be in labor again. And my other two daughters are living with me." From this we know that Hester's grandsons, Philip and Andrew Peterson Reading, the sons of daughter Mary and Philip Reading, had been born between 1747 and 1752, and that one of her granddaughters would be born later in 1752. We also learn that Hester's middle daughter, Catalina was still unmarried in 1752. Hester's youngest daughter, Esther must have been 15 years old.


HESTER'S THIRD LETTER

The third and last letter of Hester's preserved in the Bleydesteyn Collection is dated 30 November 1755 and is addressed to her niece Maria van Bebber. Maria, now about 32, is the only child of Hester's brother Huijbertus van Bebber and his wife Maria de Veer. Hester must have seen Maria grow up, because Huijbertus and his wife were living in Delaware for about 15 years, probably close to Hester's residence, maybe even on her premises. This letter does not give as much information as the first two, probably because she did not want to share those personal thoughts with her niece. However she still appreciates the "goodies" she received from Holland.

"I have received yours of 8 July 1755, along with my son's and your father's. And the tea, I hear, has arrived in Philadelphia at Mr. Hatsert's, but I still did not receive it. I'm very obliged to my very dear brother for the great affection he has for me. I thank him very heartily for his present."

In this letter are found further details of the lives and careers of Hester's children. Of Jacob, married and living at Middletown, she writes: "My youngest son has returned from his study and lives near me and is practicing as a doctor. He has a reasonably good practice and is well liked by the people.” Her younger daughters have not yet married but “are still in good health,” as is her daughter Mary, Phillip Reading's wife, whose children now are three in number.

Hester still misses her oldest son Henry, who is building a career in Utrecht as a respected merchant, and is very concerned about his wellbeing.

"I'm very glad to see in your [letter] that my brother [Huijbertus] seems to have so much respect for me. My love is always much with him; my heart is attached to him. I would be very glad if he wrote me a little letter. I hope the love he has for me, he will bestow on my dear son, who is in a foreign country far from his fatherland ...Let me know all the particulars how of it is in Holland with our friends, and how uncle Hoefnagel is towards my son and how uncle [Matthijs] van Bebber is towards him."   



“A Little Bird”

Hester never lost her attachment to Holland nor her affection for, and curiosity about, her family in Utrecht. As she asks Maria to send back details of the family in Holland, she comments all the while about various family members. "I see in yours [letter] that auntie van Dijck and her children are still prosperous, which I hope will last for long years. But I'm sad that she does not care more about your parents."  Hester compares aspects of her own early life in Holland with what she knows of Maria's: "Let me know about your house and garden and how the household is set up and how many servant-girls are there. In my time one servant-girl would do the work.” And Hester wonders about the church affiliations of her Utrecht kin: “Let me know what your aunt's and uncle's religion is, then I will know whether Holland has changed. And whether they go to the Mennonite Church and whether aunt van Dijck is Mennonite or Reformed, and to what church my son is going. Let me know everything in particular.”

Hester's letter of November 1755 ends on a poignantly wistful note: ”If I was a little bird I would fly and see how things are in Holland, but now I will leave it to you to write it to me."


Hendrick's Estate Finally Settled
 
Jacobus never did seem to resolve his alienation from Hester's part of the family. It is not known what became of his 2200 guilder debt to his father's estate in exchange for the plantation, but it was not until after Jacobus' death in 1756 when Hendrick van Bebber's estate was finally settled.

Hester's son Henry Peterson played a key role in resolving the family discord that Hester had written about in all three of her letters to Utrecht. In August 1756, Henry came up with a financial masterpiece as he put together a summary of all debits and credits concerning his grandfathers estate, thereby creating an equitable financial settlement of Hendrick's estate that everyone in the family could agree upon. This remarkable document is nineteen pages long, and has been preserved in the Notarial archives of Utrecht. 40

As we learn from this document, it had been his uncle Matthijs van Bebber who had guarded and ruled the finances of the estate over the years. Matthijs, who inherited the shop in Utrecht had been the most wealthy member of this branch of the van Bebber family, running the family business on behalf of everyone. It becomes clear from Henry Peterson's document that it had been Matthijs who has advanced funds from the estate to his brother Huijbert or to his sisters Maria or Catharina when they had required money. Henry established the “filial portion,” amounting to an equal sixth part of the estate, then subtracted out any loans of payments which had been made over the years. Matthijs, who had held in his hands the control of all of these family funds, had to pay whatever balance was owed to each heir.

The two family members to whom funds from the estate had not been advanced by their brother Matthijs were the two Americans, Jacobus and Hester. In Henry Peterson's summary perhaps can be seen hints of a private agreement that Jacobus van Bebber and Andrew Peterson may have come to in their meetings of the late 1730's. In Henry Peterson's “solution” of 1756 are two inventories dated 4 March, 1736, one which gives the total value of Jacobus' assets, and one giving the total value of Hester's. According to Henry's calculations, as of that date, the value of Hester's property was exactly equal to the value of the property of  Jacobus. Therefore, we wonder whether, in order to solve Jacobus' problem of having to pay 2,200 guilders for the title to the plantation, Andrew Peterson and Jacobus van Bebber may have had reached some agreement to split the plantation with  Hester.


Epilogue

Jacobus (“James”) van Bebber died in 1756 at his plantation along the Bohemia River, leaving seven children. He left his plantation to two of his sons, and his still to another son.[39] Hester, widow of Andrew Peterson and then of David Witherspoon, died at Middletown, Delaware on September 18, 1772, and was buried in the old Peterson graveyard, now part of the grounds of the Presbyterian Church at Middletown.[2] Hester's youngest son, Jacob Peterson, became a medical doctor, but died only five years after Hester did, at the age of 44.[34]

Henry Peterson, the other surviving son, had a long and successful business career in Utrecht.  In 1785, he moved, with his children and his second wife, to Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, where he died in 1814.[41]


Notes and Sources

1. Abstracts of Cecil County, Maryland Land Records 1673-1751 by June D. Brown, p. 87:
Deed. Matthias Vanbebber of Cecil Co., gent., and Hermyntie his wife, for 3,000 & odd guilders, Holland money, and because he is moving, to James Vanbebber of the same place, distiller, 255 acres of land on Bohemia River by the Oldman's path, by the road from Bohemia Ferry to Vanbebber's Mill and the land where the said Matthias now lives. Said land part of a moiety of a tract lately belonging to John Moll and by him sold to the said Matthias Vanbebber by 2 deeds, one dated 23 Jul 1705 and recorded by John Dowdall, Clerk of Cecil Co., in Liber D, folio 222.225 and the other deed dated 11 Feb. 1707 and recorded 19 Jun 1710 by said Dowdall in Liber W.H. No. 1, folio 95:96. Made 15 Sep 1713. Wit: Isaac Vanbebber, Andrew Jackson. Ackn: 16 Sep 1713. Rec: 22 Sep 1713. Jno. Dowdall, Clerk.  [Note the use of the name, “James” in this deed].
2. These grave stones stand in the churchyard of the Presbyterian Church at Middletown Delaware:
"Here lieth the Body of David Witherspoon, Born in Ireland, Country of London Derry. Departed this life April 7, 1763. Aged 58 years.”
"In memory of Andrew Peterson, Esqr., Who departed this Life in January, 1741. Aged 58 years.”
"Also of his Relict, Late Mrs. Hester Witherspoon, Who departed this life on the 18th Day of September, 1772. Aged 68 years.” From Scharf, Thomas J. 1888. History of Delaware, Vol. II, Chapter L, “St George's Hundred”
3. Oud Notarieel Archief Utrecht [hereafter ONA Utrecht],  inv.nr. U83b24, aktenr. 38, d.d. 16-09-1701 -Test. of Mathijs van Dulcken, in which his sister, Stijntie van Dulcken, is named as the wife of Jacob Isaacsz. van Bebber.
4. Isaac Jacobsz van Bebber is said to have arrived at Philadelphia by Nov 1684; Matthias Jacobsz van Bebber and Jacob Isaacs Van Bebber (their father) arrived at Philaelphia in 1687.
5. Archives of MD – AMV24.279-280, “Proceedings and Acts of the General Assembly, April 26, 1700 - May 3, 1704.” Lib. L. L. No. 2.
6. Huwelijken voor het gerecht 1661-1690, 86p291v Utrechts Archief
7. Begraafregisters 129p261, Utrechts Archief
8. Begraafregisters 129p436, Utrechts Archief
9. ONA Utrecht, inv.nr. U139a7, aktenr. 127, d.d 06-06-1719
10. ONA Utrecht, inv.nr. U139a8, aktenr. 45, d.d. 23-04-1720
11. ONA Utrecht, inv.nr. U162a14, aktenr. 137, d.d. 26-11-1733
12. Begraafregisters 126p586, 127p71, p286, p389 and p779, Utrechts Archief
13. A Peter Leroux, name variously spelled, appears several times in records of New Castle County, Delaware and of Cecil County, Maryland. His wife was Christina van Bibber, daughter of Isaac van Bebber and Fronica Schumaker. It is thought by the authors that the Ann “Laroun,” wife of Jacobus (“James”) van Bebber, is probably Peter Leroux's sister.
14. Huwelijken voor het gerecht 1691-1720, 86p450, Utrechts Archief
15. Doopregister 1659-1745, 33p9, Doopsgezinde Kerk, Utrechts Archief
16. Huwelijken voor het gerecht 1691-1720, 86p438, Utrechts Archief
17. Doopregister 1723-1811, 34p3, Doopsgezinde Kerk, Utrechts Archief
18. Begraafregisters 136p257, Utrechts Archief
19. Huwelijken voor het gerecht 1721-1750, Utrechts Archief, 86p501v, Utrechts Archief
20. Begraafregisters 136p842, Utrechts Archief
21. Begraafregisters 135p1054, Utrechts Archief
22. Huwelijken voor het gerecht 1721-1750, 86p478, Utrechts Archief
23. ONA Utrecht, inv.nr. U229a5, aktenr. 182, d.d.  08-10-1767
24. Andrew Peterson's first wife was Lydia Williams-Neering, daughter of John Williams-Neering and Anna Catharina de Meyer. Their children were: Elentie, who married Richard Cantwell; Elizabeth, whose husband was Edmund Garretson; Adam, who married Veronica van Beber, daughter of Isaac van Bebber and Fronica Schumacker, whose first husband had been John Birmingham; Lydia, who married Thomas Rothwell Jr.; and Rachel, who married Anthony DuShane and second, John Casier.
25. Henry Peterson stated the will he made concerning his property and debts in Delaware. This will is reproduced in “Van Bibber Pioneers E-Newsletter, Vol. 4 No. 7, May 2001. Ed. Gary R. Hawpe.
26. J.W. Walker, Wakefield: Its History and People. 1934, The West Yorkshire Printing Co., Ltd, Wakefield, England.
27. Huwelijkse voorwaarden: ONA Utrecht, inv.nr. U229a2 aktenr. 75, d.d 11-08-1760
28. Doopregister 1723-1811, 34p2, Doopsgezinde Kerk, Utrechts Archief
29. Doopregister 1700-1794, 22p12, Engelse Kerk, Utrechts Archief
30. Begraafregisters 137p384, Utrechts Archief
31. Huwelijkse voorwaarden: ONA Utrecht, inv.nr. U229a10, aktenr. 128, d.d.  08-06-1775       Doopregister 1723-1811, 34p2, Doopsgezinde Kerk, Utrechts Archief
32. Rev. Philip Reading, husband of Mary Peterson, and their children, are mentioned in Henry Peterson's will. See note 25.
33. The year Andrew Peterson, jr. died is mentioned in his mother's 1752 letter; also mentioned in the    will of his brother, Henry Peterson –but Henry has the year wrong by one.
34. Jacob Peterson was buried at the Presbyterian Church of Middletown, Delaware. His grave stone reads: "In memory of Jacob Peterson, Esqr., Who died January 7, 1774. Aged 40 years. His abilities as a Physician, and his usefulness in Public and Domestic Life Render his Death a real Loss to all concerned in it." In Scharf, Thomas J., 1888. History of Delaware, 1609-1888. Volume Two, Chapter L, “St. George’s Hundred.”
35. Bendler, Bruce A., Colonial Delaware Assemblymen 1682-1776, Family Line Publications, Westminster Md. 1989
36. Bluing was a preparation of indigo, once used as a laundry whitener.
37.  Encyclopedia of Quaker Genealogy, Vol II, Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, Page 429.
38. Hendrick van Bebber's will was opened in Utrecht on 26 November, 1733. ONA Utrecht, inv.nr. U162a14, aktenr. 136, d.d. 26-11-1733
39. Will abstract, as “James Van Bebber,” from Abstracts of Wills, by Carson Gibb --abstracted from Prerogative Court (Wills) MSA S538 Liber 27 1748-1750, folio 488.
15 Dec. 1750. Van Bebber, James, Bohemia River, Cecil Co. [Maryland]
To oldest son, Henry, & 3d son, Isaac, the plntn where I dw., their equ. share of my p. e., negro Manul & Patt, his wife, & Will & John, Mingos chldn.
To dau. Catrin, a horse or mare colt worth £10.
To Mary Ann David, negro girl Betts now in possn. of Enoch David.
To dau. Ann, negroes Old Jenney & Pegg, Catrins child, her mare & other livestock, on the day of her mar. or sooner.
To 2d son, Jacob, negroes Catrin, Sr., & Vilet; £50 at his being of age, (£ 25 whereof to be repaid to son Henry by son Isaac when he is of age), my great still & worm, & any horse or mare.
To son Stephen, negroes Sarah & Young Jenney, Patt child, £ 50 to be paid him when at age by my sons Henry & Isaac equ.
To youngest son, Abraham, negroes Phillis & Rose.
Extr: son Henry.
Witn: Hester Witherspoon, Edwd. Rumsey, Dd Witherspoon.
26 Feb. ------, sworn to by Edwd. Rumsey & David Witherspoon.
40. ONA Utrecht, inv.nr. U205a11, aktenr. 107, d.d. 20-08-1756
41. Tablets in St. John's Church, Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, on which Henry Peterson is memorialized as one "who ever maintained the character of a man of strict integrity." In J.W. Walker, Wakefield: Its History and People. 1934, The West Yorkshire Printing Co., Ltd, Wakefield, England.

© 2012 Cor Snabel and Elizabeth Johnson. Free use can be made of the above for personal genealogical research, but commercial or for-profit use is strictly prohibited. Contact the authors for further informatiuon.

About the authors:
Cor Snabel can be contacted at: cor.snabel@gmail.com
Elizabeth Johnson can be contacted at: iris.gates@gmail.com

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