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Dutch Women in New Netherland and New York in the Seventeenth Century Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2001 Dutch women in New Netherland and New York in the seventeenth century Michael Eugene Gherke West Virginia University Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Gherke, Michael Eugene, "Dutch women in New Netherland and New York in the seventeenth century" (2001). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 1430. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/1430 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Dutch Women in New Netherland and New York in the Seventeenth Century Michael E. Gherke Dissertation submitted to the College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Mary Lou Lustig, Ph.D., chair Jack Hammersmith, Ph.D. Matthew Vester, Ph.D. Caroline Litzenberger, Ph.D. Martha Shattuck, Ph.D. Department of History Morgantown, West Virginia 2001 copyright © Gherke, Michael E. All rights reserved. The European settlers who emigrated to America in the seventeenth century were decidedly patriarchal. Nevertheless, significant cultural differences in expressions of patriarchy among them existed. Specifically, the Dutch of New Netherland defined the gendered roles of women differently than did other European cultures. More than deputy-husbands, but less than full partners, seventeenth-century Dutch women in New Netherland were integral to the survival and promotion of their families’ interests and preservation of the colony. English expropriation of New Netherland in 1664 and permanent acquisition in 1674 inaugurated a process of patriarchal acculturation that over time submerged the roles of Dutch women. However, it did not obliterate them. Family was the basic unit in Dutch society and Dutch law in New Netherland, which mirrored the jurisprudence of Holland, reinforced family structure. Specifically, Dutch law reinforced social stability through laws affecting marriage. As an institution that came under civil law, marriage could be legally dissolved. Nevertheless, most wives appear in court records as defenders and promoters of their family’s interests. Therefore, the paradox of seventeenth-century Dutch women was that while their primary roles were wives and mothers, they exercised considerable independence within marriage. Owing to the commercial orientation of New Netherland, decision making by wives was important to the viability of New Netherland and New York economy in the seventeenth century. New Netherland was founded during the golden age of Dutch commerce. Most histories of that age have focused on transoceanic trade, but local commerce was also important particularly for wives. In a population drawn together in close proximity by geography, historically many wives were formally and informally involved in local commerce as shopkeepers, teachers, and occasional traders. As a consequence, young women were educated and trained early for a married life that involved commerce. This work shows the behavior of women in New Netherland was governed by distinctive social, legal, and cultural expectations that governed the lives of Dutch women in the United Provinces of the Netherlands. Specific focus on Dutch women emphasizes the significance of the diversity of culture and gender identities in early America. iii To Shelly, David, and Rachel iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am thankful to many people for their tireless efforts in helping bring this work to fruition. Among the most important is my dissertation advisor and friend, Mary Lou Lustig. This work could not have been completed without her incisive commentaries, precise editing, and gentle nudges to finish. She personifies my ideal of a superior educator. I am also indebted to Martha Shattuck who offered suggestions and commentary during the writing process and assistance with the peculiarities of seventeenth-century Dutch language. I am particularly thankful for her insights regarding Rachel Vinje and her husband, Cornelius van Tienhoven, her observations regarding Jeremias van Rensselaer’s relationship with his mother, Anna, and for her ever present encouragement of my efforts. Chapter three of her dissertation, “A Civil Society: Court and Community in Beverwijck, New Netherland, 1652-1664,” gave me a greater understanding of partnership marriage among the seventeenth-century Dutch and provided a blueprint for my study. I am thankful for the advice and efforts of the remainder of my committee, Jack Hammersmith, Matthew Vester, and Caroline Litzenberger. They served faithfully under extraordinary circumstances. David Voorhees’ assistance was invaluable. He graciously sent me copies of letters and legal documents from the Leisler papers that enhanced my knowledge and understanding of women’s roles in Leisler’s Rebellion. As a consequence, I was able to v assess women’s involvement in the Rebellion from a broader cultural perspective. There are very many people along the way whose assistance was brief but essential. Correspondence from authors like Donald Haks, Adriana van Zwieten, and archivists at the International Information Centre and Archives for the Women’s Movement in Amsterdam provided valuable information that added depth to my effort. Finally, I would be remiss by not acknowledging the assistance of many librarians and staff members at the institutional libraries where research took place. Among them are the librarians and staff at Wise Library at West Virginia University, the Ezra Lehman Library at Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, PA., and the Shadek- Fackenthal Library at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. Most of all I want to thank my family, Shelly Hykes, my wife, and my children David and Rachel. Inasmuch as my graduate study began the same week Shelly and I were married, these dear ones have known only struggle. In particular, the sacrifices made by Shelly to see this work through to completion were greater than I can adequately describe. I pray my responsibilities for “good partnership” with her will be accomplished hereafter. vi Table of Contents Introduction......................................................................................................1 Chapter One: More than Deputy Husbands......................................................24 Chapter Two: Dysfunctional Marriages and the Transition from Dutch to English Law........................................................64 Chapter Three: Women, the Colonial Economy, and Institutional Anglicization................................................116 Chapter Four: Women and Power in New Netherland and Seventeenth-Century New York: A Different Model of Patriarchy in Early America..................................................169 Chapter Five: The Experience of Dutch Widows in New Netherland and Seventeenth-Century New York.........................................215 Afterword:.......................................................................................................262 Bibliography:....................................................................................................268 vii Tables and Charts Tables Table 1: Debt Litigation Cases Involving Women.........................................144 Table 2: Outcome of Court Decisions Involving Women..............................145 Table 3: Widowed Women and Men and Their Children...............................228 Table 4: Numerical Distribution of Widows with Children............................230 Charts Chart 1: Percentages of Debt Litigation Cases Involving Women..................144 Chart 2: Percentages of Outcome of Court Decisions Involving Women...........................................................................................147 Chart 3: Percentages of Widowed Women, Men, and their Children..............228 Chart 4: Distribution of Children by Parental Sex...........................................230 viii Introduction “I may boldly say, that the women of these parts, are above all other truely taxed with this unnatural domineering over their husbands.”1 Jasper Dankaerts was a Dutch member of an obscure Protestant sect known as Labadists, a group who followed the teaching of Jean de Labadie. In 1679, the sect sent Dankaerts and Peter Sluyter from Amsterdam to America to scout New York and adjacent environs for a place to begin colonization for members of the order. On June 8, 1679, they contracted with Margaret Hardenbroeck Philipse, owner of the King Charles, for passage to America. Viewed as parsimonious by Dankaerts, Philipse, who accompanied Dankaerts, other passengers, and trade goods on the King Charles, had emigrated to New Netherland twenty years earlier as a factor for her cousin, merchant- trader Wolter Valck. In New Netherland, she established herself as an astute merchant-
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