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Chapter 2: The Record, Vol. XXXVII, Apr., 1906, pp 91-96

(Continued from Vol. XXXVII, p. 26, of THE RECORD.)

4. JAN3 6. ABRAHAM3 8. JACOB3
5. ANNETJE3 7. ISAAC3  

In due order we come now to the third generation, to the children of Thomas2 Skillman and Annetje Aten, and grandchildren of Thomas1 Skillman and Sara Petit.

 4. JAN3 SKILLMAN

(Thomas2, Thomas1), bap. June 24, 1696, in the Collegiate Church, N. Y.; Johannes Borgers and Francina Stulmeer(sp?), widow of Jan Wesselszen, sponsors, and next heard of not until a full generation later. A tract of land on the Millstone river, below Rocky Hill, Somerset Co., N.J., was then conveyed from John Van Horne and Catharine, his wife (deed dated Dec. 14, 1729), to Thomas, the father, who purchased the same, 500 acres and more, jointly for Jan and his brother Isaac. There in that wilderness Jan Skillman built his house, near where Beden's brook (of today) joins the river. Peter Vanderveer lived there (and Lawrence Vanderveer across the road) over a century later, and there Jan d. about 1765 "of a lingering, painful disease," probably cancer. Jan Skillman may have married and had children long before on Long Island, but there is no record of it. Coming to New Jersey, he m. Anna Hull (b. 1710-12), dau. of Benj. (b. 1680) and his wife Sarah, who was a dau. of Rev. John Drake, first pastor of the Piscataway Baptist Church (Middlesex Co.), N.J. The father of this Benj., also Benj. Hull, and the latter's brother, Hopewell Hull, were pioneer settlers of that region, coming there from Piscataqua, Me. The Hulls were closely interrelated with the Dunns, Doteys (Doughtys), Fitz Randolphs, Folsoms, Runyons, and others. Sarah, becoming a widow, m. Israel Folsom (they lived near the "Landing," just above New Brunswick), and her will as Sarah Folsom, dated May 2 and proved May 22, 1749, names "my beloved dau. Anne, wife of John Skillman;" and the will of this "Anne, widow of John Skillman, Somerset Co.," dated Dec. 25, 1772, and proved before Gov. William Franklyn, Jan. 9, 1776, names 3 sons and 1 daughter. Children of Jan Skillman and Anna Hull:

11

i.

Osie, b. 1730? Aaghje or Agatha?

 

ii.

Christopher, b. 1732; m. circa 1758, Ruth, 4th dau. (b. 1740) of Nathaniel Fitz Randolph and wife, Rebecca. Mershone, of Princeton. Nath. Fitz Randolph gave the original plat of land for the campus of Nassau Hall, and perhaps did more than any one else to plant the College of New Jersey at that point. He was 7th child (b. Nov. 11, 1703) of Benj. Fitz Randolph and Sarah Dennis, who removed from Piscataway to Princeton, 1696-99. Edw'd, his father, was a native of Nottingham, Eng. The grave of N. F. R. was recently discovered (1902) in a corner of the University grounds. His sister, Ruth, aunt of Ruth Skillman, m. (1) John Harrison, of Griggstown, N. J. (2 child'n), and m. (2), in 1720, John Snowden, of Philadelphia (4 child'n). Christopher Skillman d. probably soon after m., and without issue. His name is not in the mother's will of 1772.

 

iii.

Isaac. "To my loving son, Isaac, £50." So he is remembered in the will of Anne, his mother.

12

iv.

Jacob, b. circa 1736.

 

v.

Sarah. "My loving daughter," her mother calls her, "wife of Thomas Skillman, of Kingstowne" She was b. 1738, and m. 1762 her cousin, Thomas, 2nd son of Benj. Skillman and wife, Margaret Coe, then of Dutch Kills. She herself gets her mother's "moveable estate" at death; and to her dau., Anne, the grandmother by will, as name-gift, bequeaths "one chintz gown." Later on, on becoming a widow, the name of Sarah appears in property transfers signed "Sallie Skillman" (Middlesex Co. Records, N. Brunswick), i.e., "two lots or parcels of land at Kingston" sold for $8oo, Capt. William Jones (great-grandfather of the writer) being witness to the deed. (See Thomas4 Skillman, post.)

13

vi.

Benjamin, b. about 1740.

14

vii.

John, b. 1742.

5. ANNETJE3 SKILLMAN

(Thomas2, Thomas1), bap. Ref. Dutch Church of N. Y. (Colleg.), Jan. 13, 1703; Pieter Bant (Bond) and Catharine Davids, sponsors. By a blunder, the babe's mother at the bap. had been recorded as Annetje Wijt, instead of Aten. The wife of Pieter Bant was Martha Wijt, and it seems to have been assumed that she and the mother were sisters; hence the confusion. Annetje became the second wife of the widowed husband of her elder sister, Elizabeth Skillman, Hendrick, eldest son of Johannes Van de Water and his wife, Baafje Jans, bap. Nov. 23, 1692; Jan Siphens and Grietje V. de Water, sponsors. In the Collegiate Church Register are these two entries, marriages: (1) Johannes V. de Water, j. m., van N. Yorck, en Baafje J ans, j. d., als boven heijde wonende alhier, Aug. 5, 1692; (2) Hendrick V. de Water, j. m., van Amsterdam, en Margaret Van der Meulen, j. d., van Rotterdam, April 21, 1662. These were parents and grandparents of Hendrick, and grandma Grietje was sponsor at his baptism. Children of Annetje and Hendrick Van de Water:

i.

Anna V. d. Water, bap. Dec. 26, 1722; Thomas Skillman and Petronella V. d. Water, sponsors.

ii.

Pieternella V. d. Water, bap. Nov. 4, 1724; Cornelis Klopper and Pieternella Bonnet, sponsors.

iii.

Maria V. d. Water, bap. Aug. 4, 1726; Jacobús Skillman and Maria Skillman, sponsors.

iv.

Albertus V. d. Water, bap. Nov. 22, 1728; Willem V. d. Water and Petronella V. d. Water, sponsors.

v.

Thomas V. d. Water, bap. July 4, 1731; Daniel Bonnet and Petronella V. d. Water, sponsors.

vi.

Pieternella V. d. Water, bap. Aug. 5, 1732; Jacobús Quik and Pieternella V. d. Water, sponsors.

vii.

Thomas V. d. Water, bap. March 27, 1734; Cornelis Klopper, Sr., and Catharine Greveraat, wife of Cornelis Klopper, Jr., sponsors.

viii.

Elizabeth V. d. Water, bap. Nov. 12, 1735; Cornelis Klopper and Maria Skillman, wife of Johs. Band, sponsors.

ix.

Hendrick V. d. Water, bap. Nov. 13, 1737; Benj. Skillman and Rijntje Van Brakele, wife of J. Stevens, sponsors.

x.

MargritaV. d. Water, bap. Jan. 16, 1739; Cornelis Brouwer and Anna V. d. Water, j. d., sponsors.

xi.

Heijltje V. d. Water, bap. Feb. 8, 1744; Thomas Hollik and Heijltje Klopper, widow of Jacobús Quik, sponsors.

xii.

Thomas V. d. Water, bap. March 6, 1746; Willem Pears and Maria V. d. Water, j. d., sponsors.

6. ABRAHAM3 SKILLMAN

(Thomas2, Thomas1), bap. April 18, 1704; Jan Aten and Sara Breese, sponsors. Lijsbet Skillman, aunt of the babe, was wife of Jan Aten, and Sara Breese, now wife of Cornelis Breese, was his grandmother. Abraham m. Margaret Fine of N.Y. City. Notes of interest as to this New York family: Judith, dau. of Gov. Stuÿvesant, was sponsor at the bap. Aug. 27, 1751, of Judith, dau. of Capt. Francois Fijn (Val. Man., 1863). John Fine (Nat. Man., 1864) had children bap. in Ref. Dutch (Colleg.) Church, N.Y.: Gerrit, Sept. 26, 1697; Jan, May 18, 1698; Gerardus, Sept. 3, 1699, and Willem, July 26, 1702; also, in strangely close succession, Barendius, bap. Dec. 7, 1707; Jacob, Dec. 14, 1707, and Maria, Dec. 17, 1707! How explain this? Then in a muster roll of "souldjers for ye Expedition of Albany, A.D. 1689, ye 13 March," is a Johannes Fine of N.Y. (Doc. Mix., Vol. I, pp. 116, 117). Capt. Thomas Skillman (see Introduction, ante, p. 23) received "14 oz. of plate for services at Albany under Captain Lewis, 1689-90. Later, Thomas Fijn and Johanna Rúnjen (Runyon) had Joseph, bap. (Ref. Dutch Church, N. Y.) June 30, 1762, Egbert V. der Hoev and Margarita Henderslÿ, his wife, being sponsors. Jacob Fijn also, May 11, 1703, is one of the Helgate Petitioners, along with Thomas Skillman and his step-father, Cornelis Breese, and others. Abraham Skillman's home during life was upon the ancestral farmstead (father's and grandfather's) at Dutch or Maspeth Kills. In the division of the land after his father's death, he had the north half, leaving to his brother Benjamin the south half and the old-time home where all the children of this generation, and of the preceding one, perhaps, were born. In the Revolutionary War (long after) Abraham took refuge in New Jersey, probably with his brothers there. During that dark time the well at his home was poisoned, and some Hessian soldiers camped on the farm were victims; and, probably to shield the Patriots, this deed was charged to a negro. Abraham's fine apple orchard, cut for firewood during the War, was a sad regret to him the rest of his life. His home, built by him on these ancestral acres, where he, his wife and children lived, perched on its grassy slope, was swept away about 1840 by the growth of Long Island City, now, with Brooklyn, the whole of the Newtown region and its hamlets and villages, Maspeth or Dutch Kills, Newtown village, Middletown, and later, Astoria, besides regions beyond, to-day being swallowed up in the Borough of Brooklyn, Greater New York. This Abraham Skillman house was long conspicuous. "It stood, a celebrity for generations, on the roadside a few yards north of Thompson Avenue." (L. I. City Star, March 28,1879.) Skillman Avenue, Brooklyn, owes its name to this ancient landmark. The dwelling stood at the highest point of the old (undivided) farm, a little north of the original homestead dwelling, the old stone house, where, as said, all the Skillman's in this country were born and up to this generation had probably lived some portion of their lives. Children of Abraham Skillman and his wife, Margaret Fine:

i.

Thomas: Some doubts occur here as to the record. Never m. and was lost at sea, is the tradition. But this is uncertain. Was b. circa 1730.

ii.

Hester, b. 1732; m. William Paynter, who came, a Quaker, from Philadelphia (others say from Southampton, L. I.), to whom his father-in-law (also inclined to Quakerism and never went to church), in a deed, 1788, conveyed his farm at Dutch Kills (see ab.); consideration, £767. This led to a law-suit and to sore trouble in the household. (Skillmans of N.Y., p. 18)

iii.

Elizabeth, b. July 9, 1737; d. June 7, 1807 m. John Morrell. Two sons of theirs, John and Abraham, served in the Rev. War, on the Patriot side. A dau., Margaret Skillman Morrell, m. Thomas Cumberson, and d. at 12 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn, April 28, 1878, ae. 101 yrs., 5 mos. and 19 days.

iv.

Catharine, m. Isaac Messerole, of Bushwick, great-grandson of Jean Messerole and his wife, Jonica, who in 1663 came in the Bontekoe (Spotted Cow) "with sucking child" (only son), Jean, from Picardy, France.

7. ISAAC3 SKILLMAN

(Thomas2, Thomas1), b. 1706; record of bap. lost. First public account of him is found in deed given at sale of his farm (Dutch Kills) of 24 acres to Samuel Alburtis, Nov. 25. 1729, for £140. Thomas, his father, was witness to this deed, and Isaac is described as Cordwainer. He is mentioned third in his father's will, Feb. 23, 1739, and the following therefrom specially concerns him and his elder brother: "Whereas I have a conveyance of John Van Horne and Catharine his wife for a certain tract of land lying at Raritan, New Jersey, and my sons, John Skillman and Isaac Skillman, have paid part of the consideration money, my will and order is that if they shall pay the remaining part thereof, so as I and mine are fully discharged therefrom and acquitted thereof, that then my other sons, by name Abraham, Jacob, Benjamin, and Joseph Skillman, shall release the same unto the s'd John Skillman and Isaac Skillman." This "tract" (see Ante) on the Millstone below Rocky Hill, N. J., stretched upward toward Sourland Mountain, and contained 500 and odd acres. Isaac Skillman built his home, very much in the wilderness then, on the upper or western portion, near the present village of Harlingen. Just who Isaac's wife was we do not know. By one tradition she was "a Hull from Black River (small stream, near Peapack, N. J.) and was an Englishwoman." "The children were laughed at in Harlingen because they did not speak Dutch." There were hulls in the Black River or Peapack locality, members of the family at Piscataway. By others it is thought that Isaac's wife was a Beekman. Neither tradition is yet established. He was certainly married before leaving Long Island, circa 1726, and with Jan, his brother (John), removed to New Jersey in 1730. Children of Isaac Skillman and wife (unknown):

15

i.

Thomas, b. 1727.

16

ii.

Benjamin, b. 1729.

 

iii.

Isaac: First gospel minister of the name; b. 1740. Prepared under care of the First Baptist Church of N.Y. City, at Rev. Isaac Eaton's School at Hopewell, Hunterdon Co., N.J., and was graduated at Princeton (a few miles distant) in 1766. He declined a call to the Hopewell Church (Bap.), tendered him July 26 1773; but same year became pastor of the second Baptist Church of Boston, Mass., where he remained 14 years. In 1787 he returned to New Jersey, becoming, Sept.18, 1790, pastor of the Salem Baptist Church in that State, dying suddenly June 8, 1799 "in his 59th year," and is buried in Salem Baptist Churchyard. He received the doctorate (D.D.) from Rhode Island College (now Brown University) in 1774, and never married.

 

iv.

Jacob, settled as a pioneer in Ohio, near Cincinnati probably, where he was visited by relatives (three grandchildren of his brother Thomas) on their way to Lexington, Ky., in 1817. They reported him "a well-to-do farmer with servants, and his wife a pleasant woman; but they had no children."

8. JACOB3 SKILLMAN

(Thomas2, Thomas1), b. 1708, and bap. in Brooklyn; record lost. When 18 he was one of the sponsors (Aug. 4, 1726) at the bap. in Ref. Dutch Church of New York of Maria Van de Water, his sister Ann's third child. In 1731 he subscribed £2 15s. for building the first Ref. Dutch Church at Newtown. Had children afterward bap. there, and also at Flatlands. His pew (No. 10, N.W. side, middle aisle, in Newtown Church) was transferred, Jan. 8, 1757, to William Van Duÿn, and some time before that he removed with his family to Kingston, N.J. There he bought land (6oo acres says tradition), and built the first mill at that point, just where the Great Road to and from New York and Philadelphia (half-way between the cities) crosses the Millstone. There also he opened a store, and besides kept a tavern. Jacob Skillman's home on Long Island, previous to his removal, was a farmstead purchased by his father, near Hempstead Swamp, about 2 1/2 miles south of Newtown Village, whereon he built him a house. About 1729 he m. Jannetje, dau. of Johannes Van Alst and Aeltje his wife. Of Netje's sisters, Leah m. John Parcell, and Geesje m. Abraham Rÿcker (see Ryker's Newtown). The father of these three, Johannes (b. Aug. 5, 1667; d. 1749), was the only son (having issue) of Joris Stevenson Van Aalst de Caper, who came to New Amsterdam from Bruges, 1652, and settled at Maspeth, where he m. Geesje, dau. of Harman Hendricksen. He was originally from the Aalst or Alost district of West Flanders, the name "de Caper," doubtless because of sinister or ambiguous import, being soon dropped. Jacob d. about 1783 and Jannetje somewhat earlier. Children of Jacob Skillman and Jannetje Van Alst:
 

i.

Jane, bap. at Amersfort (Flatlands) Ref. Dutch Church (Vincentius Antonides, pastor), May 31, 1731. No further record.

17

ii.

John, b. 1733.

18

iii.

Jacob, b. 1735.

 

iv.

Sara, b. 1738. Vague tradition; the name a mere shadow of a shade; scarcely that.

19

v.

Abraham, b. 1740.

 

vi.

Leah, bap. in Ref. Dutch Church of Newtown, 1742, and named for her mother's sister, Leÿa Van Alst, wife of John Parcell; father and mother witnesses.

 

vii.

Thomas, b. 1743? In "names of persons for whom marriage licenses were issued" prior to 1790 (Penn. Archives, Vol. II, p. 267), a "permit" was issued for Thomas Skillman and Mary Finney, Nov. 7, 1767; and in 1769, presumably the same person, classed "shopkeeper" and "rated £5 on 40 acres of land, 1 horse and 1 cow in Oxford Township, County of Philadelphia, Thomas Shallcross," assessor, is named, (Penn. Archs., Vol. XIV, p. 39.)

 

viii.

Mary, b. 1745 ? m. July 21, 1766, William Fullerton, Philadelphia (Penna. Archs.). All is conjectural (here as with preceding Thomas) except dates of record; but there is no place for these names elsewhere; they are of this generation, and I find warrant for setting them in this list.

20

ix.

George, b. 1747.

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