Jan Dirkse Van Eps
became a property owner in Schenectady, NY on April 29, 1664. He and
his stepfather, Cornelis Van Ness, aquired Philip Hendrickse Brouwer's
estate (Farm #2) at auction after his death for 1287 guilders. This
estate included a village lot with house and garden, 42 acres of farm
land on the bouwland, Mr. Brouwer's brewing equipment, as well as 3
horses, one cow, two heifers and five sows.(1)(2)
In 1672,
a tract of land was granted to Sander Leederse Glen, Jan Dirkse Van
Eps and Swear Teunis Van Velsen by the Mohawk Indians to help expand
the rapidly growing and cramped Schenectady area. This Indian title
was later confirmed by Governor Dongan in 1684 and Jan Van Eps was named
as one of the five trustees of this Dongan Patent. This tract of land
encompassed much of the present day city of Schenectady, as well as
the towns of Rotterdam and Glenville, NY.(1)(2)(3)
For many years,
residents of Schenectady argued with the leaders of Albany over their
rights to trade with the Mohawks and other tribes. In fear of competition
from the new town, Albany officials insisted that Schenectady must remain
a farming community and that if the Schenectadians were caught trading,
they would be punished appropriately. In 1678 Sheriff Richard Petty
searched Jan Dirkse Van Eps' house and found beaver skins hidden in
one of the rooms. Jan was fined for his trade goods and ordered to appear
at court in Albany. When he went to answer to the charges, Jan explained
to the judge that he had 2 serious house fires over the past winter
and that buy selling the furs, he was trying to recoup his "great
losses". The judge took pity on Jan and allowed him to "retain
the merchandise long enough to dispose of it at Albany". Jan also
was one of the 5 magistrates in Schenectady at the time which also probably
worked in his favor. (2)
During
the Schenectady Massacre in February 1690, Jan Dirkse and at least one
other child (a son) were slain. Jan Baptist Van Eps, his eldest son,
was taken as a prisoner and held captive at an Indian villiage in Canada
for 2-3 years. In February 1693, Jan Baptist was taken along as a guide
by his captors on a raid of the nearby Mohawk Village which may have
become a second raid of Schenectady and Albany (4). When near Schenectady,
during the night, Jan was able to sneak away from camp and hurry to
Schenectady to warn the inhabitants of the impending attack. Word was
then sent to Fort Orange and a strong force was sent out to protect
Schenectady and it's allies. Local legend states that Jan appeared in
full Indian attire and war paint at the Glen's house in Scotia. It is
said that Helena, Johannes Sanderse Glen's oldest daughter, was quite
intrigued by this unusual visitor. This must be true because Jan became
her husband six years later.
Colonial
documents state: "1692/3 Feb. 8, Wed. about 2 o'clock afternoon
we had the alarm from Schenectady that the French and their Indians
had taken the Maqas castles; soon after we had the news that a young
man named Jan Baptist Van Eps (taken at Schenectady 3 years ago) was
run over from the French, as they were to attack the first castle of
the Mohogs, and came to Schenectady, who related that the French were
350 Christian and 200 Indians."
In the
book "From New York to Montreal", author Benjamin Clapp Butler
states:
The French
commander, in his notes, ascribes the failure of this attempted raid
to the escape of Jan Baptist.
"The
force consisted of six hundred and twenty-five men, including two hundred
Indians. They left Montreal in the month of January, and came through
Lake Champlain and Lake George. Their provisions were packed in sledges
drawn by dogs. Bear skins were their couch and their protection the
dense pines which lined the shores of the lakes. Passing near Schenectada,
a prisoner named Van Epps, who had been captured two years before, escaped,
and gave the information to his friends in town. They at once sent an
express to Major Peter Schuyler, at Albany, who with a strong force,
came up to the rescue and support of their dusky allies." (4)
During his captivity,
Jan Baptist learned the Indian language and customs and because of this,
he was often employed as an interpreter and embassador of the Five Nations.
Jan Baptist Van Eps was granted the upper half of the "5 small
islands at Niskayuna" in 1701 at a conference of the Five Nations
at Albany for "taking much pains in interpreting". Laurens
Claes Van der Volgen, also an interpreter, was granted the lower half
of these islands. (1)
Did you
know that there was once a Van Eps Island? In "A History of the
Schenectady Patent in the Dutch and English Times; Being Contributions
Toward a History of the Lower Mohawk Valley", author Jonathan Pearson
writes:
"This
small island lies north of Varken's island from which it is separated
by a bayou nearly filled up.
Jan Baptist
Van Eps was given this land by the Mohawks.
A portion
of this island was devised in 1800 by John Baptist Van Eps to his son
John, after his wife's decease;another portion-an undivided sixth part-was
conveyed in 1808 by Tobias H. Ten Eyck to Cornelis Vrooman." (1)
The lane leading
to Jan Baptist's corn mill on the Coehorne Creek was where Jay Street
is today. (1)
According
to Glenville, NY Historian Percy M. Van Epps (1859-1951), the surname
Van Eps was originally derived from the surname Van Epen. Epen is a
tiny village in the Limburg Province of the Netherlands which borders
Belgium and Germany. (5)
Since writing
this I have been told that their is a town actually called Epse, near
Deventer in Gelderland province, Netherlands where the Van Eps' actually
came from. Researcher Kees Leseman has shown some pretty convincing
evidence.
Which theory
is right? You be the judge.
In the
mid-to-late 1800's, it was a common custom for some branches of the
Van Eps family to add an extra "P" to their last name, while
some branches retained the one "P" version. (5)
Did you know
that there is a house in Glenville where 7 generations of the Van Eps
Family once lived? When Johannes Van Eps, son of Jan Baptist Van Eps ("The
Interpreter") and Helena Glen, wed Neeltje, daughter of Karel Hansen
Toll in 1721, he was given the western half of the seventh flat at Hoffmans,
NY. The home that he built stayed in the family up until the twentieth
century.(5) The occupants of this home are as follows:
Johannes
Van Eps, b. 1700, m. Neeltje Toll
Jan Baptist
Van Eps, b. 1731, m. Annatje Vedder
Albert
Van Eps, b. 1788, m. Anna Swart
Peter Van
Vranken Van Eps, b. 1825, m. Mary A. Davenport
David Augustus
Van Epps, b. 1854, m. Anna Van Loan
Roger Houghton
Van Epps, b. 1912
Sources:
1. Pearson, Jonathan,
A. M.and Others, "A history of the Schenectady patent in the dutch
and English times; being contributions toward a history of the lower
Mohawk valley", Ed. by J. W. MacMurray, J. Munsell's Sons, Albany,
NY, 1883.
2. Burke, Thomas
E., "Mohawk Frontier: The Dutch Community of Schenectady, NY, 1661-1710",
Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1991.
3. Sanders, John,
"Early Settlers of Schenectady, New York and
its First Settlers", Van Benthuysen Publishing, Albany, NY, 1879
4. Butler, Benjamin
Clapp, "From
New York to Montreal", American News Co., NY, 1873
5. Van
Epps, Percy M., "The Van Epps Papers: A Collection of the Reports
of Percy M. Van Epps on the History of the Town of Glenville",
Henrietta Van der Veer, ed., 3rd ed., pub. by Town Board of Glenville,
NY, 1998.
