Major Jacobus Jacobse (Halenbek)
1716 -

The following contribution is from Ray E. Hollenbeck.

Jacobus Jacobse (Jacob JACOBSE, Jacob CASPERSE, Kaspar JACOBSZ) was born December 6, 1716 in Loonenberg , New York. His baptism was witnessed by Hendrichje Hallenbeck and Casper Jacobsen (Halenbek) on December 9, 1716 at the Loonenberg Lutheran Church. He was the son of Jacob JACOBSE and Maria Visscher. Jacobus married his 2nd cousin Rachel CASPERSE on December 15, 1738 at Athens, New York.

Rachel CASPERSE (Casper JANSE, Jan CASPERSE, Kaspar JACOBSZ) was born about 1719. She was the daughter of Casper JANSE and Maghdalena "Marleentje" Halenbek.

On February 25, 1747 Jacobus appears as a member of the Athens Lutheran Church and on July 14, 1747 his name appeared as a signer on the Coxsackie Petition which was sent to Gov. Clinton. More than likely, he was the Jacob Jacobse who witnessed the wills of Isaac and Jacobse Lagrange.

The period of time in which Jacobus lived was indeed turbulent. In 1754, Colonel George Washington triggered a major war of world wide proportions when he ordered his men to fire upon a small detachment of French soldiers in the Ohio Valley. The French leader was killed and Washington wrote in his journal "I heard the bullets whistle, and believe me, there is something charming in the sound." The sound soon lost its charm.

The war went badly for the British and colonials during the opening battles. After General Braddock's defeat and death at Ft. Duquesne, the Indian allies of the French went on a mad killing spree. The whole frontier was a flame with Indians scalping and murdering men, women and children. The direct path of the French from Canada to the heart of the English Colonies was through the Hudson Valley and Albany stood at the forefront.

On August 20, 1757 Jacobus was commissioned as a captain in the 1st Battalion, Albany Regiment of Militia under the command of Sir William Johnson, Colonel. He served on the Canadian Expedition of 1756 and was promoted to the rank of Major of the Militia in 1770.

During the American Revolution Major Jacobus Jacobse was a suspected Tory, or British sympathizer. A noted Hallenbeck researcher, Richard Schermerhorn Jr., wrote the following about this period in American History:

"The Hallenbecks on the flats and in what is now Athens were noted patriots while the Hallenbecks and the Prevosts at Klinckenberg were equally noted Tories. The old stone house of Jacob Hallenbeck by the side of the river was a great resort in which the friends of the Royal government were much more welcome than the agents of the Continental Congress."

Both Jacobus Jacobse and his father Jacob Jacobse are mentioned in the History of Greene County:

"The residence of George Houghtaling is on the side of the Hudson River. This was the original place of the Klinkenberg (Echo Hill) Hollenbecks and here Jacob Hallembeck and his son Major Jacob and other generations lived and died and are buried on a small hill northwest of the dwelling house, in what was called the "New Orchard" as long ago as 1717. The original stone house stood on the site of the present mansion. The last of the race that owned the place was John Jacob Hallenbeck. The north line of the farm is at the point which the early settlers called "Fish Hook". The land to the north was the farm of Nanning Hallenbeck and his house was directly in front of the presence residence of Samuel Stevens, in still more ancient times was the site of an Indian encampment. Stories of treasure buried on the Klinkenberg farm by Hallenbecks of the Revolutionary days still exist to the credulous."

Descendants of Major Jacobus Jacobse:

1. Mary, b. 22 Mar 1739.

2. Marlene, b. 13 Jul 1741.

3. Catharina , b. 16 Nov 1743; may have possibly married Isaac Van Loon.

4. Jacob, b. 7 Oct 1748; m. Elizabeth Van Etten

5. Magdaleentje, b. 28 Jul 1754; married Albert Van Loon 25 May 1777, Athens, NY. She died 21 Aug 1837 at the age of 79 years.

Footnotes:

Loonenberg later became the town of Athens, New York.

O'Callaghan, E.B., ed., Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York (Albany: Parsons, 1854).

Fernow, Berthold, Calendar of Wills, 1626-1836 (New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1896).

The Colonial Laws of New York (Albany: Commissioners of Statutory Revision, 1894).

Annual Report of the State Historian, Colonial Series (Albany: State of New York, 1896-97).

Anderson, Robert Vincent, "Halenbeck Family of New York," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 2, June 1977.

Schermerhorn, Richard, Jr., The Hallenbeck Family (an unpublished manuscript at the Holland Society of New York).

Anderson, Robert Vincent, "Halenbeck Family of New York," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, vol. 65, no.2, June 1977

Mentioned in the will of Casper Jansen Hallenbeck per Schermerhorn, Richard Jr., The Hallenbeck Family (an unpublished manuscript at the Holland Society of New York).

Schermerhorn, Ibid.

Schermerhorn, Ibid.

Return to Hollenbeck Genealogy