YES, THERE IS A SAMUEL (December 2013)
In case any of you were curious
about what happened to Samuel, the object of my December newsletter - well, I
thought I would tell you so that there is no confusion. Yes, Samuel does exist, but he is not a
Dorlandt. Barbara Barth in her aforementioned
book gives a whole chapter to Samuel. It seems Samuel, who originally according to Cremer was our
progenitor, has vanished and made me wonder if we were Dorlandts at all. Now you know we are, but Samuel is
not. He is a Darling. In the days when men were illiterate, names were very often confused, and not only confused, but changed. Cremer was researching years for which there were not only no records, but also for what records existed, they happened to be in times when the area was New Netherland and the language was Dutch with its difficult Dutch naming system. Hence Darling and Dorlandt were interchanged. And somehow, Samuel ended up as a branch of our heritage. But no, Samuel is actually English, not Dutch, and Barth was able to find his real ancestry. She devotes a short chapter to him to prove her point.
Just in case, in past newsletters, if you noticed that Elias was an older brother of Samuel, well, Barth in her book also debunks that relationship very clearly. I don’t know whether all of Elias’ descendants will accept it, but Barth says that Elias isn’t a brother but is either a nephew or a cousin to our original Gerrit. She backs it up with credible information. So Elias is more distantly related than a brother.
Another sister of Samuel who Cremer calls Gertje is not a sister according to Barth. She was either Jan’s first wife, probably deceased, or his daughter named after his wife, as was the Dutch custom.
If all this has you confused, I commiserate with you. She addresses more than our progenitor, which I haven’t even mentioned. Barth’s book is detailed and completely explanatory, very well cited, and most believable. If one wants to take the time to figure out the Dutch naming system, I’m sure it is correct. I, for one, will accept her work, and so for me this is the definitive decision on our Dutch ancestor.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Just in case, in past newsletters, if you noticed that Elias was an older brother of Samuel, well, Barth in her book also debunks that relationship very clearly. I don’t know whether all of Elias’ descendants will accept it, but Barth says that Elias isn’t a brother but is either a nephew or a cousin to our original Gerrit. She backs it up with credible information. So Elias is more distantly related than a brother.
Another sister of Samuel who Cremer calls Gertje is not a sister according to Barth. She was either Jan’s first wife, probably deceased, or his daughter named after his wife, as was the Dutch custom.
If all this has you confused, I commiserate with you. She addresses more than our progenitor, which I haven’t even mentioned. Barth’s book is detailed and completely explanatory, very well cited, and most believable. If one wants to take the time to figure out the Dutch naming system, I’m sure it is correct. I, for one, will accept her work, and so for me this is the definitive decision on our Dutch ancestor.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!