52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 31 (EARLIEST ANCESTOR)
In looking for the earliest ancestor in this Bramble Bush with solid research via documents I arrived back at 1680 New York.
Chris' 9th great grandparents via his paternal grandfather's maternal line are:
Johannes Van Kleeck
Birth 1680 • Albany, Albany, New York, USA
Death 1754 • Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, USA
and
Aaltje (Alida) Ter Bosch
Birth 13 NOVEMBER 1682 • Ulster County, New York, USA
Death 1744 • Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, USA
We know Johannes & Alida were active members of the Dutch Reformed Church. All of their events & documents I have found to date reflect they were followers.
It seems that DNA didn't pass down all of these generations because there is no Netherlands reflected in Chris' results.
16% Germanic Europe could partly be from this line in addition to the known lines from Germany.
Once the line is tracked further it may become evident that the Netherlands was part of the story, but there may be other areas not yet discovered.
9th great grandparents isn't that far back.
Then again, it's been 345 years since X9 great grandfather Johanne was born, 347 years since X9 great grandmother Alida was born.
By the time they both died they were residents of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, USA.
"Poughkeepsie, city, seat of Dutchess county, eastern New York, U.S. It lies on the east bank of the Hudson River (there bridged to Highland), 75 miles (121 km) north of New York City. It was settled by the Dutch in 1683; its name, of Wappinger Indian origin, means “reed-covered lodge by the little water place.” Poughkeepsie served as the temporary state capital, and the U.S. Constitution was ratified there in 1788." 1
Johannes & Alida's son Johannes is Chris' 8th great grandfather
Johannes (John) Van Kleek
Birth 22 JAN 1728 • Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, USA
Death 18 MAR 1761 • Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, USA
and
Rachael Van de Bogaardt
Birth 1 JUN 1725 • Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, USA
Death 1804 • New York, USA
John & Rachael's daughter is Chris' 7th great grandmother
Eleanor (Nelly) Van Kleek
Birth 1750 • Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, USA
Death 1838 • Malahide, Elgin, Ontario, Canada
and
Peter Mullin
Birth 1750 • Poughkeepsie, New York, USA
Death 1783 • St Mary's Bay, Digby County, Nova Scotia, Canada
Nelly & Peter are where this line arrives in Canada in about 1781. I haven't found their arrival documents, but their son James was born 1780 in New York, and son John was born 1782 in Nova Scotia.
Born in New York is 6th great grandmother who would have been 6 or 7 when the family immigrated to Nova Scotia, Canada.
Rachel Mullin
Birth 3 MAR 1774 • Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, USA
Death 30 DEC 1807 • Digby, Nova Scotia, Canada
married to 6th great grandpa
George Saxton
Birth ABT. 1766 • Montauk, Suffolk, New York, USA
Death 25 DEC1860 • Weymouth, Digby County, Nova Scotia, Canada
It is now clear why Chris has DNA matches in the Maritime provinces of Canada along with Ontario.
Now back to the history of Poughkeepsie - While searching I found the quote below, and got curious:
"Baltus Van Kleeck, who would go on to build what is believed to be the first residence of Poughkeepsie, in 1702, on Mill Street. The drawing that we have of this house was done in 1835, not long before it was torn down to make way for progress. The Dutchess County Historical Society holds a stone lintel that once stood over the doorway of the house and has the initials of Van Kleeck and his wife Tryntie." 2
Fantastic find - X10 great grandfather's house being the first.
I was able to take this line back on more generation while writing this blog.
10th great grandfather - the immigrant ancestor on this line
Balthus Barentsz Van Kleeck
Birth 6 AUG 1645 • Haarlem, Haarlem Municipality, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Death 1717 • Dutchess County, New York, USA
and 10th great grandmother
Tryntje Jans Buys
Birth 1657 • Flatbush, Kings County, New York, USA
Death 1731 • Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York, USA
480 years after Balthus was born his descendants remember.
Direct male line of first borns for the 4 generations at the bottom of this family line.
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| Back: Ron, Chris Front: Reace, Lyle |
This is why I search -
Cause ...
You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***
Footnotes:
1 Poughkeepsie. New York, United States, Britannica, Retrieved August 30th 2025 from
https://www.britannica.com/place/Poughkeepsie
2 Early Settlement In Poughkeepsie. Butler, Shannon. Poughkeepsie Public Library. Retrieved August 30th 2025 from
https://poklib.org/early-settlement-in-poughkeepsie/
Sources:
Early Settlement In Poughkeepsie. Butler, Shannon. Poughkeepsie Public Library. Retrieved August 30th 2025 from
https://poklib.org/early-settlement-in-poughkeepsie/
Life In Dutch Albany When The English Took Over. Hess, Peter. New York Almanac. Originally published December 29th 2021. Retrieved August 30th 2025 from
https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2021/12/albanys-charter-of-1686/
Poughkeepsie. New York, United States, Britannica, Retrieved August 30th 2025 from
https://www.britannica.com/place/Poughkeepsie
Site of Poughkeepsie Spring. Location: 600 Spring Manor Circle. Town of Poughkeepsie. Retrieved August 30th 2025 from
https://www.townofpoughkeepsie.com/350/Site-of-Poughkeepsie-Spring#:~:text=One%20now%20widely%20accepted%20explanation,accepted%20name%2C%20%E2%80%9CPoughkeepsie.%E2%80%9D
Photos:
Personal
Links:
Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/
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