1. LEONIN1 BLANCHAN1,2,3 (LEONIN BEAUCHAMP) was born 1578 in Nouville-au-Corne parish, Ricame de la conte de St. Paul, in the Province of Artois, France4,5,6, and died Bef. April 12, 16497,8,9.  He married ISABEAU LEROY10,11,12 Abt. 1595 in Nouville-au-Corne parish, Ricame de la conte de St. Paul, in the Province of Artois, France13,14,15.  She was born 1582 in Nouville-au-Corne parish, Ricame de la conte de St. Paul, in the Province of Artois, France16,17,18, and died Bef. April 12, 164919,20,21. She is possibly related to the family of Nicholas LeRoy of Armentieres.

Children of LEONIN BLANCHAN and ISABEAU LEROY are:
2. i. MATTHYS2 BLANCHAN, b. Bet. 1600 - 1620 Nouville-au-Corne parish, Ricame de la conte de St. Paul, in the Province of Artois, France; d. April 30, 1688, Kingston, Ulster Co., New York.
 ii. ANTOINE BLANCHAN22,23,24, b. Abt. 1602, of Nouville-au-Corne parish, Ricame de la conte de St. Paul, in the Province of Artois, France25,26,27, m. MARTINE VOLQUE on April 12, 1649, daughter of JACQUES VOLQUE.
 iii. ANTOINE BLANCHAN28,29,30, b. Abt. 161531,32,33.
 

Generation No. 2

2. MATTHYS2 BLANCHAN (LEONIN1)34,35,36 was born Bet. 1600 - 1620 Nouville-au-Corne parish, Ricame de la conte de St. Paul, in the Province of Artois, France37,38,39, and died April 30, 1688 in Kingston, Ulster Co., New York40,41,42.  Sometime before 1635 he moved to Armentieres, very near the Belgian border and married MAGDALENA JORISSE43,44,45, dau. of PIERRE JOIRE and JACOBA LE BLAN.  The Blanchan's left England for Manheim, Germany. Matthew was in Manheim in a Huguenot congregation in 1651. He was a deacon in Pastor Benedict de  Besson's church in Manheim in 1652. Shortly after Matthew's daughter, Maria, married Antoine Crispel in 1660, the family left for America on April 27, 1660 on the ship called The Gilded Otter. With him came his wife  Magdelena Jorrisse , daughter Catherine with her husband, Louis DeBois, daughter Maria with her husband Anthony Crispel, and Magdelens age 12 yrs., Elizabeth, age 9 yrs., and Matthys, Jr., age 5 yrs.  Theyand reached Kingston, N. Y. before December 7, 1660.  Stuyvesant welcomed them, and gave Blanchan a letter to Sergt. Romp at Esopus, directing him to provide them accomodations. Arriving there, and Dom. Blom having also come, it was solace to the pious Blanchan, for all he had suffered, and the loss of property in his native place, and at Armentieres (Flanders) and elsewhere, to sit down with his wife, and son, and Dr. Crepel, at the Lord's Supper, on Dec. 25, ensuing.  Louis Du Bois m. to Blanchan's daughter Catharine, probably came out with his brother-in-law Pierrre Billiou, also from Artois, in the ship St. Jan Baptist, which arrived here Aug. 6, 1661 - reasons, Du Bois and wife were not present at the communion season referrred to, but with letters joined the church there not till Oct. 1, 1661, having a child baptized nine days after.  He first settled with his family at Esopus, Ulster Co., N. Y.  On Nov. 21, 1661 an Excise Tax of 51 Rix Dollars (over $1) was levied on him which was applied to complete the Dutch Church Parsonage.  Blanchan, Du Bois, and Crepel all got land in Hurley, near Kingston, and received groundbriefs Apl. 25, 1663.
Matthew seems to have had serious scruples as to his honor, for on July 4, 1662 he appeared before the Court and demanded vindication of his honor. He said: "That Juriaen told his wife that it was reported that Dirck Adriaensen said to her he had seen Matheu Blanchan beat Juriaen Westvael's pig. Defendant Juriane Westvael and his wife admitted having heard this from Dirck Adriaensen, and state that Pieter Janson also heard it. Defendant Dirck Adriaensen denied this, and said he did not say so. The Schout and Commissaries order the parties to preserve the peace, and sentenced Dirck Adriaensen to pay a fine of six guilders for the poor."
On April 25, 1663 he was granted a lot at Wildwyck, but removed to Hurley in the same county, and followed the occupation of a "distiller" as well as a farmer.  He was living at New Village (Hurley) on June 7, 1663 at the time the Indians attacked and burned the village, killed and captured 38 men, women and children. His wife and two of his children were taken away but were later returned when rescued by an expedition commanded by Captain Martin Creiger in which Matthew Blanchan and his two sons-in-law participated.
Matthew evidently violated the fasting and praying proclamation, for Capito, the Schout, demanded that the court punish Mattheu Blanshan because, "after the second beating of the drum, he churned some milk on the day of fasting and prayer. The defendant answered that the drum beat only once, and that he had no milk for his calf, and he never in his life did this before." His plea was of no avail. He was fined six guilders, one-half for the church.
The Schout charged Mattheu Blanchan, who had a distillery, with violating the ordinance forbidding distillers from selling at retail in that he had sold, "a half anker of brandy to his brother-in-law, Lowys Dubo" (DuBois). The entire court went on horseback to the New Village and found the brandy at the house of DuBois. Blanchan was fined one hundred and twenty-five guilders, "one third to the poor, one third to the bench and one-third to the Schout. Blanchan appealed to the Court at New Amsterdam. Its magistrates wrote the court at Wildwyck that Stuyvesand had said that Blanchan owed no fine. They therefore advised that the matter between the Schout and Blanchan 'be arranged and settled in love and friendship."
On October 6, 1666 Jan Oosterhout conveyed to Mattys Blanchan a house and lot in Wiltwyck. On June 18, 1667 is found a deed of confirmation from Governor Nichols for a house and lot of ground at Wiltwyck. On October 16, 1666 Roelof Swartwout and Jurien Westphal
made a declaration respecting arrival of Matthys Blanchan and his family and their application for a place to settle. On June 7, 1673, is found a deed of confirmation from Gov. Lovelace for 63 acres in Hurley to Matthew. On May 20, 1686, there is a description of a survey of a lot of land about 63 acres laid out for Matthys by surveyor, Phillip Wells. On Oct. 11, 1686 he had a patent for 62 acres of land in Hurley
On May 18, 1679, Blanchan, "lying sick in bed" made his will.
"Thomas Dongan, Captain-General and Governor. To all, etc. Whereas, at a Court of Sessions, held in Kingston, in the County of Ulster, on March 7, 1687/8, the last will of Matthew Blanchan was proved. His son Matthew is confirmed executor, July 30, 1688.
Matthew Blanchan, Kingston. "In the Name of God, Amen. We, Matthew Blanchan and Magdalen Goove his wife, at present in good health," make this will. "If Matthew Blanchan happen to dye first, his wife shall continue in possession of all the property so long as she lives," and if the wife happens to die first, then her husband is to remain in possession for life. If either remarry, then he or she shall deed to the children one-half the estate. Upon the death of both, their son Matthew Blanchan shall have the farm at Hurley, with the house and 4 horses and 4 cows. The rest of their property, both in England and America, is to go to their 5 children, Katharine, Maria, Magdalena, Elizabeth, and Matthew.  Dated at Kingston, August 22, 1671. Witnesses, Thomas Chambers, John Williams, Cornelius Barents. Attested by De La Montagne, May 18, 1679."  (Abstracts of Wills)

Children of MATTHYS BLANCHAN and MAGDALENA JORRISON are:
3. i. MARIA3 BLANCHAN, b. 1640, Armenteires, Artois, Normandy, France; d. 1673, Hurley, Ulster Co., New York.
 ii. MAGDELENA BLANCHAN46,47,48, baptized May 16, 1647, Canterbury, England49,50,51; m. JAN MATTHYSZ52,53,54, September 28, 1667; of Fort Orange, Albany Co., New York.
 4. iii. ELISABETH BLANCHAN, b. Abt. 1652.
5. iv. MATTHEW BLANCHAN, b. Abt. 1656, Manheim.
6. v. CATHERINE BLANCHAN, b. about 1633 in Artois, France; d. 1713.
vi. NICHOLAS BLANCHAN.
 
 

Generation No. 3

3. MARIA3 BLANCHAN (MATTHYS2, LEONIN1)55,56,57 was born 1640 in Armenteires, Artois, Normandy, France58,59,60, and died 1673 in Hurley, Ulster Co., New York61,62,63.  She married DR. ANTOINE CRISPELL64,65,66 January 31, 1659/60 in Manhiem, Germany67,68,69.  He was born 1635 in Wicres, Artois, Normandy, France or Guin, Artois, France?70,71,72, and died 1707 of Hurley, Ulster Co., New York73,74,75. See Crispell page for more information on this family.
 

4.  ELISABETH3 BLANCHAN (MATTHYS2, LEONIN1)107,108,109 was born Abt. 1652110,111,112.  She married (1) PEITER CORNELISZ LOW113,114,115 October 26, 1668 in Kingston, Ulster Co., New York.  He was of Kingston, Ulster Co., New York116,117,118.  She married (2) JAN FOCKEN HEERMANS Abt. 1692.  PEITER CORNELISZ LOW: Came in ship "Faith" 1659, from Holstein

Children of ELISABETH BLANCHAN and PEITER LOW are:
8. i. CORNELIUS4 LOW, b. Abt. 1670, of New Jersey.
 ii. MADELINE LOW.
 iii. MATTHYS LOW.
 iv. PETER LOW.
 v. JOHANNIS LOW.
 vi. ANNA LOW, b. Abt. 1681.
 vii. ABRAHAM LOW, b. Abt. 1683.
 viii. MARIA LOW, b. Abt. 1686.
 ix. JACOB LOW, b. Abt. 1688.

Children of ELISABETH BLANCHAN and JAN HEERMANS are:
 x. WILHELMUS4 HEERMANS, b. Abt. 1693.
 xi. GRIETJE HEERMANS, b. Abt. 1696.
 

5.  MATTHEW3 BLANCHAN (MATTHYS2, LEONIN1)119,120,121 was born Abt. 1656 in Manheim122,123,124.  He married MARGARET CLAASSEN VAN SCHOONHAVEN125,126,127 March 30, 1679128,129,130.

Children of MATTHEW BLANCHAN and MARGARET VAN SCHOONHAVEN are:
9. i. ELIZABETH4 BLANCHAN, b. Abt. 1692.
 ii. NICHOLAS BLANCHAN131,132,133.
 iii. MATTYS BLANCHAN, b. Abt. 1679.
 iv. NICOLAS BLANCHAN, b. Abt. 1682.
 v. MAGDALENA BLANCHAN, b. Abt. 1686.
 vi. CORNELIA BLANCHAN, b. Abt. 1683.
 vii. DANIEL BLANCHAN, b. Abt. 1688.
 viii. NATHANIEL BLANCHAN, b. Abt. 1694.
 ix. MARGARET BLANCHAN, b. Abt. 1699.
 

6.  CATHERINE3 BLANCHAN (MATTHYS2, LEONIN1)134,135,136, b. about 1633 in Artois, France; died 1713137.   She married (1) LOUIS DUBOIS141,142,143 October 10, 1655 in Mannheim, in the Lower Palatinate of Germany143, son of MARQUIS DES FIENNES CHRISTIAN DUBOIS.  He was born October 10, 1626 or 10/27/1627?, La Basse, near Lille, in the province of Artois, France143, and died 1695-1696 in Kingston, Ulster Co., New York144,145,146.  She married (2) JEAN COTTIN138,139,140.
LOUIS DUBOIS: The du Bois des Fiennes appear to have been of military stock, and to have furnished France with some able soldiers.  At least ten of them were in the last crusade. The first Maximillien was "Marischall des camps et du armees du roi"; his son was a Lieutenant-General in the French Legion; and Louis du Bois' father--Chretien, Marquis des Fiennes--was Captain of cavalry in his father's regiment. Refugees from French Flanders to Wicres, Artois, France. The two eldest children of Louis du Bois were born in Mannheim; and in 1660 the family came to America. Upon their arrival here they proceeded to New Village [New Pals] in Ulster Co., N. Y., where Louis rapidly rose to prominence in local civil and religious affairs. He, with two of his sons, were among the "twelve patentees" of New Paltz, receiving the grant from Governor Andros, September 6, 1677. Louis was also a member of the first Court of Sessions held at Kingston, the seat of Ulster County. He led in demanding of the English government, and of the Assembly, that there should be no taxation without the consent of the people, and for this daring attitude he lost his commission.  Thus anticipating the crisis of 1776!  In 1663, Louis du Bois headed an expedition against the Minnisink Indians, and was of the colonial forces against them again in 1670. The first-named punitive expedition of June 7, 1663, was known in New York history as the Esopus War. It was organized at the time the settlement was attacked by the Minnisinks, who burned Hurley, killed and injured some of the settlers, and carried away as prisoners, the wife of Louis du Bois, his three children, and at least two of Jan Joosten's. These were taken to the fastnesses of the Catskill Mountains and there remained in captivity for months, but were rescued on the eve of torture by du Bois and Captain Martin Kreiger's company of Manhattan soldiers; the trainband finally rounded up the Indians and defeated them on September 3, 1663. In connection with this tragic experience the following statement is quoted: "About ten weeks after the capture of the women and children, the Indians decided to celebrate their own escape from pursuit by burning some of their victims and the ones selected were Catherine du Bois, and her baby Sara, who afterward married her companion in captivity, John Van Metre. A cubical pile of logs was arranged and the mother and child placed thereon; when the Indians were about to apply the torch, Catherine began to sing the 137th Psalm as a death chant. The Indians withheld the fire and gave her respite while they listened; when she had finished they demanded more, and before she had finished the last one her husband and the Dutch soldiers from New Amsterdam arrived and surrounded the savages, killed and captured some,and otherwise inflicted terrible punishment upon them, and released the prisoners."
Louis du Bois was one of the founders, and the first elder, of the Reformed Dutch Church at New Paltz. He often officiated at the marriage ceremonies and baptisms among the families connected with the church, and with many enterprises of civic importance and progress his name was frequently mentioned. After his death, in 1695, his widow married Jean Cotton and their three children left numerous descendants, one of whom, Garrett A. Hobart, was the Vice-President of the United States during President McKinley's first administration. (The Origin and Descent of an American Van Metre Family)
Among the Walloons that came to New Netherland, in the last days of the Dutch occupation, was Louis du Bois, founder of the Huguenot settlement of New Paltz, in Ulster county, New York. Louis was the son of Chr'tien du Bois, an inhabitant of Wicres, a hamlet in the district of La Barr'e, near Lille, in Flanders, where he was born on the twenty-seventh day of October, in the year 1627. The province of Flanders was at that time a dependency of Spain; and when, twenty years later, the rights of conscience were secured by the treaty of Westphalia to the Protestants of Germany, the benefits of that treaty did not extend to the Spanish dominions. It was perhaps on this account, and in quest of religious freedom, that Louis left his native province, in early manhood, and removed, as numbers of his countrymen were doing, to the lower Palatinate. This Calvinistic state, which had taken the lead among the Protestant powers of Germany, from the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War, now offered a refuge to the oppressed Huguenots, and to the Waldenses, driven from their Alpine valleys by the fierce soldiery of Savoy. Long before this, indeed, a little colony of Walloons, flying before the troops of Alva, had come to settle within the hospitable territory of the Palatinate, at Frankenthal, only a few miles from Mannheim, its capital. Mannheim itself now became the home of many French refugees, and among them we recognize several families that afterwards removed to America. Here David de Marest, Frederic de Vaux, Abraham Hasbroucq, Chr'tien Duyou (Deyo), Matthew  Blanchan, Meynard Journeay, Thonnet Terrin, Pierre Parmentier, Antoine Crispel, David Usilie, Philippe Casier, Bourgeon Broucard, Simon Le Febre, Juste Duri', and others, enjoyed for several years the kindness of their German co-religionists and the protection of the good Elector Palatine. Hither Louis du Bois came, and here, on the tenth day of October, 1655, he married Catharine, daughter of Matthew Blanchan, who, like himself, was from French Flanders. Two sons, Abraham and Isaac, were born of this marriage in Mannheim.
The refugees found much, doubtless, to bind them to the country of their adoption. They were encouraged in the free exercise of their religion. The people and their prince were Calvinists, like themselves. Openings for employment, if not for enrichment in trade, were afforded in the prosperous city, where, a century later, Huguenot merchants and manufacturers were enabled to amass large fortunes. How pleasantly and fondly they remembered the goodly Rhine-land, in after days, we may gather from the fact that the emigrants to America named their home in the wilderness, not from their native province in France, but from the place of their refuge in Germany, calling it "The New Palatinate." In spite, however, of all inducements to remain, Louis du Bois and certain of his fellow-refugees determined to remove to the New World; influenced, it may be, by a feeling of insecurity in a country lying upon the border of France, and liable to foreign invasion at any moment.
Arrival in New Amsterdam. The Dutch ship Gilded Otter, in the spring of the year 1660, brought over several of these families. Others followed, in the course of the same year. The little town of New Amsterdam, nestled upon the lower end of Manhattan island, presented a curious appearance to the strangers. Inclosed within the limits of Wall street and Broadway, "two hundred poorly-constructed houses gave partial comfort to some fourteen hundred people. The fort loomed up broadly in front, partially hiding within it the governor's residence, and the Dutch church. The flag of the States-General, and a wind-mill on the western bastion, were notable indications of Holland rule." Our colonists did not linger long in New Amsterdam. Taking counsel doubtless of their Walloon countrymen, and obtaining permission from the governor and his council, they soon decided upon a place of settlement: and by the end of the year, Matthew Blanchan and Anthony Crispel, with their families, had established themselves in Esopus; where, before the following October, they were joined by Louis du Bois and his wife and sons.
The spot where, after many wanderings, our refugees at length had found a home, was happily chosen. It lay but a short distance from that noble river, whose majestic course and varied scenery must have vividly recalled to them the Rhine. The plateau upon which the village of Wiltwyck stood was skirted by Esopus creek. From the banks along which the palisades protecting it had been constructed, the settlers overlooked the fertile lands occupied by the farms of the white men, and by the patches upon which the Indian women still raised their crops of maize and beans. The beautiful valley of the Wallkill opened toward the southwest. On the north, the wooded slopes of the Catskill mountains were visible.
Blanchan and Crispel were soon joined at Wiltwyck by Louis du Bois, and shortly after by a fourth Walloon family, that of Rachel de
la Montagne, daughter of Jean de la Montagne of New Amsterdam, and now wife of Gysbert Imborch. Meantime, another settlement had
been commenced in the Esopus country. The "New Village," afterwards known as Hurley, was founded about a mile to the west of Wiltwyck.
Taught by experience, the settlers took pains to protect their homes against the attacks of the savages. The houses and barns were built within a fortified inclosure, where fifteen families formed a compact community. Blanchan and his two sons-in-law were among those who removed from Wiltwyck to the New Village.
On the seventh of June, a concerted attack was made by parties of Indians upon both the settlements. The destruction of the "New Village" was complete. Every dwelling was burned. The greater number of the adult inhabitants had gone forth that day as usual to their field work upon the outlying farms, leaving some of the women, with the little children, at home. Three of the men, who had doubtless returned to protect
them, were killed; and eight women, with twenty-six children, were taken prisoners. Among these were the families of our Walloons: the wife and three children of Louis du Bois, the two children of Matthew Blanchan, and Anthony Crispel's wife and child. The rest of the people, those at work in the fields, and those who could escape from the village, fled to the neighboring woods, and in the course of the afternoon made their way to Wiltwyck, or to the redoubt at the mouth of Esopus creek. Brave defense of Wiltwyck.
Meanwhile, the attack at Wiltwyck had been less successful. Twelve houses were burned, and but for a timely change of wind the entire settlement would have been consumed. Some of the Indians, seizing the women and children, hastened away with them into the forest: whilst others, stationed near the gates, despatched those of the men who attempted to enter the town. As at the New Village, most of the inhabitants were away, at their employments in the neighboring fields.  The palisades surrounding the place had been destroyed by the fire. All night long the colonists toiled to replace them, or kept watch along the exposed borders. Seventy of the inhabitants were missing. Of these, twenty-four had been murdered; while forty-five, women and children, had been taken away into captivity.
One of the legends surrounding this event includes the story of Catherine du Bois. About ten weeks after the capture the Indians selected Catharine du Bois and her baby, Sara to be sacrificed. A pile of logs was arranged and the mother and child were placed upon it; when the Indians were about to apply the torch, Catharine began to sing a Huguenot hymn she had learned in earlier days in France. The Indians withheld the fire and listened. When she finished they demanded another song and then another. Before the last hymn was finished Dutch Soldiers arrived, the captives were all rescued and the Indians terribly punished.
Evidence heard at the hearing related to Captain Brodhead April 1667; "Coming to the house of Louis DuBois, Captain Brodhead took an anker of brandy and threw it upon the ground because DuBois had refused him free brandy. Du Bois was forced to give Brodhead brandy and when Dubois' wife, Catherine Blanchan, came to Brodhead's house to demand payment, the Captain drove her out of the house with a knife, calling her many bad names and told her that were she not with child, he would cut her."

Children of CATHERINE BLANCHAN and LOUIS DUBOIS are:
10. i. SARAH4 DUBOIS, b. 1664.
 ii. ABRAHAM DUBOIS147, b. 1657, Manhiem.
 iii. ISAAC DUBOIS147, b. 1659, Manhiem.
 iv. JACOB DUBOIS, b. 1661.
 v. DAVID DUBOIS, b. Abt. 1667.
11. vi. SOLOMON DUBOIS, b. abt 1669; d. February 2, 1759.
 vi. REBECCA DUBOIS, b. Abt. 1671.
 vii. RACHEL DUBOIS, b. Abt. 1675.
 
 

Generation No. 4.

8.  CORNELIUS4 LOW (ELISABETH3 BLANCHAN, MATTHYS2, LEONIN1)184,185,186 was born Abt. 1670, of New Jersey187,188,189.

Child of CORNELIUS LOW is:
13. i. CORNELIUS5 LOW.
 

 9.  ELIZABETH4 BLANCHAN (MATTHEW3, MATTHYS2, LEONIN1)190,191,192,193 was born Abt. 1692194,195,196,197, Baptised: January 28, 1691/92218,219,220.  She married PETER CANTINE202,203,204,205 June 16, 1715 in New Paltz, New York206,207,208,209, son of MOSES CANTINE and ELIZABETH DEYO.  He was born March 21, 1692/93 in New Paltz, New York210,211,212,213, and died October 25, 1769 in Marbletown, Ulster Co., New York214,215,216,217. See Cantine page for more information on this family.
 

10.  SARAH4 DUBOIS (CATHERINE3 BLANCHAN, MATTHYS2, LEONIN1)341 was born 1664342.  She married JOHN VAN METER343 1682344.  He was born in Holland, and died Abt. 1706 of Kingston, Ulster Co., New York. JOHN VAN METER:  John Van Metre, a Dutchman from the Hudson, was an Indian trader and pioneer explorer of the Shenandoah Valley, who spied out the land about the time of Governor Spotswood's expedition in 1716.
The "History of the Valley" [p. 51] gives a traditional account of the coming of the Van Meters to Virginia and the circumstances connected therewith:  "Tradition relates that a man by the name of John Van Meter, from New York, some years previous to the first settlement of the valley, discovered the fine country on the Wappatomaka [South Branch of the Potomac]. This man was a kind of Indian trader, being well acquainted with the Delawares, and once accompanied a war party who marched to the South for the purpose of invading the Catawbas. The Catawbas however anticipated them--met them very near the spot where Pendleton Court-House now stands, encountered, and defeated
them with great slaughter. Van Meter was engaged on the side of the Delawares in this battle. When Van Meter returned to New York, he advised his sons, that if ever they migrated to Virginia, by all means to secure a part of the South Branch bottom, and described the land immediately above 'The Trough' as the finest body of land which he had ever discovered in all his travels.
Subsequently his sons, John and Isaac, took his advice and petitioned Governor Gooch, in 1731, for 40,000 acres, which was granted, and which they later transferred to Jost Hite, whose wife was Anna Maria du Bois, a near relative of Louis du Bois."
Jooste Janse Van Metre was supposed to have died about 1706. The last record concerning him is found in the baptismal register of the Reformed Dutch Church at Raritan [now Somerville], N. J., where his name appears with that of Kathleyn [wife of Isaac] Bodyn as sponsors at the baptism of his granddaughter Sarah, the eldest child of Jan [John] Van Metere, 30th October, 1706.
In an article relating to the last of the Southern Indians, which appeared in the Virginia Historical Magazine [Vol. III., p. 191, footnote], it states that "Mr. John Van Meter of New York gives an account of his accompanying the New York Delaware Indians in 1732 (?) on their raid against the Catawbas. They passed up the South Branch of the Potomac and he afterward settled his boys there." The Catawbas and Cherokees were ancient foes of the Delawares and the latter drove them from their home in the Carolinas westward through Virginia and Pennsylvania and some of them finally settled in Kansas.

Children of SARAH DUBOIS and JOHN VAN METER are:
 i. JOHN5 VAN METER345. Between the year 1695 and the date of the filing of the inventory of his father's personal estate at Burlington, in 1706, there is no documentary evidence at hand as to where he lived, neither is there any information available as to when or where Jooste Jans died, and nothing covering the movements of John Van Metre. It is probable he was absent on some expedition with the Delaware Indians, acting as interpreter, or as a trader along the trails to the south, or he may have remained quietly in Somerset County closing out his father's estate. He was not present at the wedding of his sister, Rebecca, who was married at Kingston, in September, 1704 to Cornelis Elting, Jr. As an item of peculiar interest, in this connection, we make this record: that it was Sara, the daughter of this couple, baptized at Kingston Church 6th February, 1715, sponsored by Sara du Bois and her son, John Van Metre, Jr., who after her parents' removal to the Shenandoah Valley, Va., married Col. John Hite, the eldest son of Jost Hite. Her family became socially famous, and, by marriage, were related to that of President James Madison, of Virginia.
The date of John Van Metre's settlement in Maryland can only be approximated. He was perhaps long familiar with this part of the country, and may have traversed it with his father while following the trails with the Delaware Indians southward from the headwaters of the Delaware, which rose in the mountainous country adjacent to the Dutch settlements in Ulster County, N. Y. In 1730 Prince George's County, Maryland, extended from the Patuxent River to the western limits of Lord Baltimore's palatinate. This county was indebted for much of its earlier population to the emigrants from Pennsylvania and eastward. The border troubles between the two Provinces of Maryland and Pennsylvania had much to do with its settlement, and the disputes between these proprietary governments led many settlers of the adjacent counties of Pennsylvania to remove to the valley of Frederick, to the Monocacy and its neighboring streams. The Dutch element, perhaps, were the first to establish themselves in these localities; coming down from New York by way of Pennsylvania, they were found in western Maryland as early as 1725.
It is probably due to John Van Metre that his friends and relatives began to colonize along that stream, for here were found the Eltings, Vernoys, Croms, Van Metre and other families from the Hudson River communities. Cornelius Elting was a brother-in-law of John Van Metre. In the public records at Upper Marlborough, Prince George's County, Maryland, is found the record of purchase of two tracts of land by Cornelis Elting "formerly of Ulster County, N. Y., now being at Annapolis, Anne Arundel Co., Md.," from Sarah [B]radford, 17th October, 1729, one tract called "Melburn," containing 270 acres, and another tract called "Darby Island," contained 146 acres. The latter tract was conveyed by Cornelius Elting to his nephew, John Thompson, by deed dated 3d May, 1746, to which conveyance Isaac Hite, John Hite and Isaac Eltinge were witnesses.
The first record of John Van Metre is found in an entry in the Frederick County, Md., records, 8th November, 1726, being the date of a grant of land to John Van Metre, containing 300 acres and located at the mouth of a run called "Metre's Run," falling into the Monocacy. It is said that it was upon this property that the battle of Monocacy Junction was fought during the Civil War. At the above date the granted land lay in Prince George's County. In the sale of some of his land in Salem County, N. J., to Cornelius Newkirk, 25th March, 1730, the grantor describes himself as "of Prince George's Co." He also acquired other lands in Maryland, some of which lay upon the Antietam Creek in what is now Washington County.
 The beautiful "Valley of Virginia" lies beyond the western slopes of the Blue Ridge. The Shenandoah enfolds it on the south and the Potomac and its branches on the north and west. Lord Fairfax called it "The Northern Neck," and its settlement may fairly be said to have begun with the actual granting of an immense area of land in what then was Spottsylvania County, Virginia, by Governor Gooch and his Council, at Williamsburg, Virginia, to John and Isaac Van Metre, 17th June, 1730. (A Genealogy of the Duke-Shepherd-Van Metre Family)
17. ii. REBECCA VAN METER, b. 1689; d. 1756.
 iii. ISAAC VAN METER346.  Isaac Van Meter, in conformity with his father's advise, came to Virginia about the year 1736-37, and made what is called a tomahawk improvement. Mr. Van Meter returned to New Jersey and came out again in 1740 . . . and in the year 1744 removed with his family and settled on the land."
iv. LYSBETH VAN METER, b. 1686
v. HENDRIX VAN METER, b. 1695
 

11. SOLOMON4 DUBOIS (CATHERINE3 BLANCHAN, MATTHYS2, LEONIN1), b. abt 1669, baptised February 03, 1668/69; d. February 2, 1759, New Paltz, Ulster Co., New York. He m. TRYNTE GERRITSEN FOOCHEN about 1690.

Children of SOLOMON DUBOIS and TRYNTE FOOCHEN are;
i. ISAAC5 DUBOIS, b. September 25, 1691
ii. JACOMYNTJE DUBOIS, b. October 31, 1693
iii. BENJAMIN DUBOIS, b. 1697 in New Paltz, NY
iv. SARAH DUBOIS, b. December 28, 1699
v. CATHERINE DUBOIS, b. September 29, 1702
vi. MAGDALENA DUBOIS, b. April 15, 1705
vii. CORNELIUS DUBOIS, b. December 9, 1707
viii. HENDRICUS DUBOIS, b. August 1, 1710
ix. MAGDALENA DUBOIS, b. November 8, 1713
 
 

Generation No. 5

13.  CORNELIUS5 LOW (CORNELIUS4, ELISABETH3 BLANCHAN, MATTHYS2, LEONIN1)

Children of CORNELIUS LOW are:
 i. NICHOLAS6 LOW434,435,436.
 ii. ISAAC LOW437,438,439.
 

17.  REBECCA5 VAN METER (SARAH4 DUBOIS, CATHERINE3 BLANCHAN, MATTHYS2, LEONIN1)738,739 was born 1689740, and died 1756740.  She married CORNELIUS ELTING741 September 1704 in Kingston, Ulster Co., New York741.  He was born 1681, and died  in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia741.  CORNELIUS ELTING: In the public records at Upper Marlborough, Prince George's County, Maryland, is found the record of purchase of two tracts of land by Cornelis Elting "formerly of Ulster County, N. Y., now being at Annapolis, Anne Arundel Co., Md.," from Sarah Bradford, 17th October, 1729, one tract called "Melburn," containing 270 acres, and another tract called "Darby Island," contained 146 acres. The latter tract was conveyed by Cornelius Elting to his nephew, John Thompson, by deed dated 3d May, 1746, to which conveyance Isaac Hite, John Hite and Isaac Eltinge were witnesses.  (A Genealogy of the Duke-Shepherd-Van Metre Family)

Child of REBECCA VAN METER and CORNELIUS ELTING is:
24. i. SARAH6 ELTING, b. 1715.
 

Generation No. 6

24.  SARAH6 ELTING (REBECCA5 VAN METER, SARAH4 DUBOIS, CATHERINE3 BLANCHAN, MATTHYS2, LEONIN1)1024 was born 17151025, Baptised: February 06, 1714/15, Kingston, Ulster Co., New York - sponsored by Sara du Bois and her son, John Van Metre, Jr.1028.  She married COLONEL JOHN HITE1026 17351027, son of JOST HITE and MARIA DUBOIS.  He was born 17101027, and died 17921027. Her family became socially famous, and, by marriage, were related to that of President James Madison, of Virginia. COLONEL JOHN HITE:
"As the historical marker in front notes, Springdale was built by one of Jost Hite's sons, John, in 1753 near the site of Jost Hite's original homestead of the 1730s.  John Hite was a county justice, a militia colonel, and a close friend of George Washington, who once visited him here. This house is thought to have served for a time as the headquarters of one of Sheridan's generals, William Dwight." (Touring the Backroads of the Shenandoah Valley) Along the Valley Pike at Springdale a few miles south of Winchester stands a stone mansion built in 1753 by John Hite, son of Jost Hite, which was also a public house for many years. (The Huber-Hoover Family History)

Child of SARAH ELTING and JOHN HITE is:
 i. REBECCA7 HITE1029, b. 17401029; d. 17851029; m. CAPTAIN CHARLES SMITH1029; d. 17761029, Frederick Co.. Va., officer French and Indian War. They had Sarah who d. 1843; m. 1782, Lieutenant Philip Eastin (d. 1817),  an officer in the American Revolution. They removed from VA to KY and had; Mahala (1799-1882) who m. in 1819, Elisha Gale English.