Husband Simon Aertszen Dehart
Born: 11 Oct 1643 - Nieuwkoop, South Holland
Christened:
Died: After 1704
Buried:
Father: Aert Symonsz de Hart (1607- )
Mother: Gerritiizen Stoffles ( - )
Marriage: Bef 1670 - Brooklyn, New York
Wife Geertji Cornelissen
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Children
1 M Cornelius Dehart
Born: Abt 1671 - Brooklyn, New York
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Spouse: Annetji ( - )
2 F Catherine DeHart
Born: 1673 - Brooklyn, New York
Christened:
Died: 15 Apr 1742
Buried:
Spouse: Cornelis Joosten Van Sysen ( - )
3 U Clasjii Dehart
Born: 1675 - Brooklyn, New York
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
4 F Geertie Dehart
Born: 1682 - Brooklyn (Flatbush), New York
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Spouse: Andrian Kinne ( - )
5 M Elias Simon Dehart
Born: 21 Mar 1677 - Brooklyn, New York
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Spouse: Catherine (Catalinka) Lane (Lanen) (Van Pelt) ( - )
Marr: Abt 1700 - Brooklyn, New York
6 M Gysbert Dehart
Born: Abt 1679 - Brooklyn, New York
Christened:
Died: 1712
Buried:
Spouse: Antje Wynants ( - )
7 F Dorothea Dehart
Born:
Christened: 1 Aug 1680 - Brooklyn, New York
Died:
Buried:
Spouse: Jacob Kinne ( - )
8 F Gerrtje Dehart
Born:
Christened: 20 Aug 1682 - Brooklyn, New York
Died:
Buried:
Spouse: Adrian Kinne ( - )
9 M Simon Dehart
Born:
Christened: 30 Mar 1684 - Brooklyn, New York
Died: Infant - Brooklyn, New York
Buried:
10 M Simon Dehart
Born:
Christened: 3 May 1685 - Brooklyn, New York
Died:
Buried:
Spouse: Agnetie Van Dyck ( - )
11 F Annetji DeHart
Born: 6 Jul 1687 - Brooklyn, New York
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Spouse: Peter Lequire ( - )
General Notes (Husband)
b 10/11/1643 in the village of Nieuwkoop, South Holland, where his family had lived for several generations.
At the age of 21, in 1664, he immigrated to America, arriving in New Amsterdam a few months before the Dutch colony became New York. WIth him was his younger sister, Lysbeth Aertzen.
He must ahve brought substantial money with him. He clearly arrived with ample means. In the same year that he arrived, he bought one of the largest farms in Brooklyn, 300 acres, and two Negro slaves, and built a substantial stone house that stood for mroe than two centuries. The far was along the shore of Gowanus Cove (west of the present Third AVenue near Thirty-seventh street.
His name first appears on a deed, 2 Mar 1664, when he purchased of Thomas Franzen a 30 acres farm at Gowanus. In 1687 when he took the oath of allegiance he stated that he had been in Amerca for 23 years, which works out to 1664.
At no time did he himself sign his name DeHart, although the clerks and scribes use DeHart, Vanderhart, and Ter Hart with a great variety of spellings.
They were members of the Flatbush Reformed Church.
They maintained a life of prosperity and hospitality. "An interesting description of this manner is given in the writings of teh Labadist travelers who, visiting New York in 1679, paid a call on Simon de Hart:
He was very glad to see us, and so was his wife. He took us into the house and entertained us exceedingly well. We found a good fire, half way up the chimney, of clear oak and hickory, of which they made not the least scruple of burning profusely. We let it penetrate us thoroughly. There had already been thrown upon it, to be raosted, a pail full of Gowanus oysters, which are the best in the country. ... I had to try some of them raw. They picle the oysters in small casks, and send them to Barbadoes adn the other islands. We had for supper a roasted haunch of venison which he had bought of the Indians for three guilders and a half, that is, fifteen stivers of Dutch money, and which weighted thirty pounds. The meat was exceedingly tender and good, and also quite fat. It had a slight aromatic flavor. We were also served with wild turkey, which was also fat and of good flavor, and a wild goose, that that was rather dry. EVerything we had was the natural production of hte country. We saw here lying in a heap, a whole hill of watermelons, which were as large as pumkins, and which Simon was going to take to the city to sell. They were very good.... It was very late at night when we went to rest in a Kermis bed, as it is called, in the corner of the hearth, alongside a good fire. --- from Henry R. Stiles, History of the City of Brooklyn, p 226. Quoted in Jenkins Gass Dehart, Appalachian Pioneers.
Simon de Hart was one of Brooklyn's trustees or overseers from 1680-83. In 1687 he took the oath of allegiance to the English monarchy (which was required in order to buy or sell property.) In 1688 Sion was appointed the office of city commissioner. For the 300 acres on which he resided, he obtained a patent from Governor Fletcher on Nov 2, 1696.
Disaffection of the Dutch citizens of Brooklyn for the English government was manifested in occasional acts of rebellion. One such inident occurred on Sept 14, 1697, when several prominent Dutchment, among them Simon Aertszen, --"met, armed, at teh courthouse of Kings, where they destroyed and defaced the king's arms which were hanging up there."
In 1703 Brooklyn's improveable lands were surveyed and Sion was found to be the greatest landowner with 200 acres.
He remanied on record til 1704 which would place his age at 61. He is believed to hayve died before 1710. His house and property were devised to his son, Simon Jr.
Notes on the house:
Henry Stiles states in his book, A History of the City of Brooklyn, that "the house near the first meadow is the present old stone house, known as the DeHart or Bergen House, located on Gowanus Cove, west of 3rd AVenue near 37th and 38th Streets. The main portion is of stone but the wing is of wood and is probalby a more recent erection, and has undoubtedly been several times altered and repaired. " The house was still standing when Stiles wrote that book in 1867, in which he gives one of the more comprehensive accounts of the disposition of the piece of property at any given time.
Upon the death of Simon, the immigrant, the property and farm house passed to his son, also named Siomon. This son married Angenietje Van dyke. The next to own the home was their son simon, wh married Catherine Schenk. Simon and Cathien left the home to their son, Simon, who died in 1769 without issue. This Simon left all his property, including hte house, to his sister, Geertje, wife of Simon Bergen. After this point, the farm became known as teh DeHart-Bergen House. Following is several generations of Bergen's. EVentually the property went to Leah, wife of Jacob Morris. She did not live on teh property and soon sold it.
John Somers Dehat in 1916 made teh statement in his book, History of the DeHart family, that he had visited the place wehre the old stone house stood in Brooklyn when he was there in 1905. "It was taken down in 1885 by John O'Rouke, a contractor. It was where the corner of 39th Street adn 3rd Avenue is now, on the left side going down from the Ferry."
Stiles and Bergen shown in their books an illustration of the old home drawn by Thomas Hogan (or Hogan Del), early plats of the land when the deharts lived there (from the 1696 Graham survey), and facsimiles of Simon Aertszen's signature.