Ancestral Home of the Hollenbeck
Family
Questions Concerning the Immigration of Kaspar Jacobsz
and the Ancestral Home of the Hollenbeck Family
Kaspar Jacobsz 1 was most probably the original immigrant to America arriving sometime around 1650. 2 However, this is assumed and not accepted as a fact. The truth of the matter is that there is no documentation for the arrival of Kaspar in New Netherlands.
Most "authorities" cite at least three references concerning the arrival of Kaspar; yet, upon closer examination, these references contain little of historical fact. The three leading authorities concerning the arrival of Kaspar Jacobsz are William P. Filby, Michael Tepper, and Richard Schermerhorn, Jr.
William P. Filby wrote: "Hallenbeck, Caspar Jacobse no age; New Netherlands 9135 p. 9" 3 First, notice the name. This is an English version of the spelling of his name. Second, the surname of Hallenbeck is given. This surname didn't come into existence until the third or fourth generations of his descendants. Given the benefit of the doubt, the spelling of his name and use of the Hallenbeck surname could have been used to assist people in searching the records. However, it is the reference that Filby gives which begins to cast doubt on the reliability of this fact. Filby lists Michael Tepper as the reference.
Michael Tepper wrote the following: "Hallenbeck, Caspar Jacobse, from Hollenbek, Schleswig-Holstein."4 Tepper cited Richard Schermerhorn, Jr. as his source
Richard Schermerhorn, Jr., wrote: 5 "Hallenbeck, Caspar Jacobse, from Hollenbek, Schleswig-Holstein," citing A.J.F. Van Laer as the source.
Now, this brings us to A.J.F. Van Laer, who assumed that the birthplace of Kaspar Jacobsz was Schleswig-Holestein.
Richard Schermerhorn, Jr., went on to write in his article "Representative Pioneer Settlers of New Netherland and Their Original Home Places":
"It would be natural to assume that the passenger lists, which most genealogists know have been published, contain the most substantial information as to the home places of the Dutch emigrants. This is so to some extent, but on the other hand the names of the Dutch emigrants on these passenger lists do not conform with the names of their families a generation or two later, except in a comparatively few cases. The patronymic for a surname was used in most cases, the actual family name being adopted not earlier as a rule than the second or third generation in this country. Then they would usually adopt the name of the original home place or estate of the family rather than the place in which they lived immediately preceding their departure to America."
Further into his article, Schermerhorn gave us a few words of caution:
"Other authorities are noted in the list appended and it is believed that they are mainly trustworthy, although it is quite possible that once in a great while an error in deduction night have crept in. Even such an authority as Pearson made a slip occasionally and unfortunately errors are to be found in nearly all genealogical works."
In essence, Schermerhorn is asking us to check our references, as time consuming as it may be.
Concerning Kaspar's origins, little is known and much is speculated. Various genealogies written over the centuries have stated that he was German, giving his place of birth as Schleswig-Holstein, while others have stated that he was Dutch. What little precious we know has been gleaned from the antique records the Dutch kept before the colony of New Netherlands became the English colony of New York.
A.J.F. Van Laer 6 , the renowned historian of New Netherlands and translator of many of the Dutch records, assumed that Kaspar's place of birth was the hamlet of Hollenbek in the Dutchy of Holstein, about twenty miles south of Kiel. This seems to be the place of origin that most of his researchers accept.
Richard Schermerhorn, Jr., carried on the traditional birthplace of Schleswig and gave more authority to it by writing: 7
"Caspar Jacobse Hallenbeck, the first settler, came from Holebeek in Schleswig (Germany) (authority of A.J.F. Van Laer). There is also a town or village of Haalenbeek in Belgium."
It is interesting to note that Schermerhorn also offered the possibility of Haalenbeek in Belgium as a possible birth place. This location, may in fact, be closer to the actual birthplace than Schleswig, Germany, based upon an examination of the early surnames adopted by the family.
However, Charles A. Hollenbeck, in his family genealogy 8 wrote the following: "Our ancester [sic] (Casper Jacobse Halenbeeck) came from the vicinity of Haelen, province of Gelderland, Holland, and his name without doubt was taken from the stream or brook near which his family lived." In this genealogy, Charles A. Hollenbeck attached the surname "Halenbeeck" to Kaspar's name - this particular surname didn't come into existence until two generations later.
Lawrence Hollenbeck in his family history 9 also gives credence to Holland as the origin of Kaspar, writing that "Casper Jacobse Hallenbeck (also spelled Hallenbeek) decended [sic] from the Hallenbecks of Klinkenberg and was one of the first names of which I have any record. He was born around 1620 (I think in Holland) but the names of his parents are unknown." Tyla J. Stone, another Hollenbeck researcher, agrees that Holland was Kaspar's place of origin writing that "Casper Jacobse (Halenbeck the son of Jacob from Holbeck) was born in 1625 in Holbeck, Dutchy of Holstein, Holland." 10
Herb H. Hollenbeck covers both nationalities by writing in his family history: 11
"Casper Jacobse Hallenbeck - born abt. 1620/25 Holland, son of Jacob was born in Holland of German parentage. The Hallenbecks came from Holebeck, Schleswig, Germany."
If in fact, Schermerhorn was correct when he wrote, "… they would usually adopt the name of the original home place or estate of the family rather than the place in which they lived immediately preceding their departure to America," perhaps we should look to Belgium and the village of Haalenbeek as a more likely birthplace of Kaspar.
An examination of the early surnames used by the Hollenbeck Family include Haal, Haalen Beeck, Haalen Beek, Halenbake, Haalen Bake, van Halenbeek, Halenbek, Hallenbeck, Halenbeck, as well as many other variations which use the "a" instead of the "o" as the second letter in the name. The use of the "o" in the early generations was used only by a minority of the family, most tracing their descent back to Willem Jansz Caspersen, son of Jan Casperse, and grandson of Kaspar Jacobsz.
If in fact, Hollenbek, Schleswig-Holstein was the ancestral home of the family, why would only a minority use the "o" version of the name? It would seem that if the majority of the family adopted the use of the "a" version, then the ancestral home would also have the "a" as the second letter.
The most interesting of the early surnames was "van Halenbeeck." 12 As most people know, "van" is usually indicative of Dutch ancestry. However, there are two forms of the word "Van;" each meaning something entirely different. If "Van" is spelled with a capital "V" it is a family name. If "van" is spelled with a lower case "v" then it translates as "from." Thus the name "van Halenbeek" would translate as "from Halenbeek."
Haalenbeek bears more of a resemblance to Haal, Haalen Beeck, Haalen Beek, Haalen Bake, van Halenbeek than Hollenbek. Therefore, based upon the Dutch tradition of creating surnames, it would seem more conceivable to begin a search in Belgium for the possible ancestral home of the Hollenbeck Family.
As of this point in time, the true birthplace of Kaspar Jacobsz is a mystery and will remain so until further documentation becomes available.
Footnotes
Depending on the genealogy, his name has been spelled Casper Jacobse, Casper Jacobus, and Kaspar Jacobsz. On a deed to land, he signed with the initials "K.Y." He is identified in the LDS Ancestral file as Caspar Jacobus; AFN CBDS-H6. For my purposes, I have chosen to use the name Kaspar Jacobsz, since this form of the name would have been closest to the Dutch tradition for that era.
Filby, P. William, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index ; Immigrants to the Middle Colonies; Ship Passenger Lists - New York and New Jersey by Boyer; "Representative Pioneer Settlers of New Netherlands and Their Original Home Places", The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 65, No. 1, January 1934.
Filby, William P., Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, Vol. 2 H-N, (Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1981).
Tepper, Michael, ed., Immigrants To The Middle Colonies: A Consolidation of Ship Passenger Lists and Associated Data From The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1978).
Schermerhorn, Richard, Jr., "Representative Pioneer Settlers of New Netherlands and Their Original Home Places," New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, 65:1, Jan. 1934.
Van Laer, A.J.F., trans., Early records of Albany, (Albany: Univ. of the state of New York, New York State Library, 1916)
Schermerhorn, Richard, Jr., The Hallenbeck Family, unpublished manuscript in possession of the Holland Society, New York.
Hollenbeck, Charles A., Hollenbeck Genealogy , unpublished manuscript dated February 18, 1914.
Hollenbeck, Lawrence, The Hollenbeck Family In America, unpublished manuscript dated 1973.
Stone, Twyla J., Ancestors and Descendants of James Hollenbeck (1801-1901), John Cooper (1799-1875), and S. Nels Anderson (1839-1903), unpublished manuscript dated May 31, 1989.
Hollenbeck, Herb H., Hollenbeck Family History, unpublished Manuscript dated 1963.
The name van Halenbeek appears in Wilhelm Christoph Berkenmeyer's The Albany Protocol (Camden, ME: Picton Press, 1992) p. 541, when Berkenmeyer is writing about Thomasijntje van Halenbeek.
Return to Hollenbeck Genealogy