VAN SANTVOORD FAMILY

IN THE

AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR

For the beginning genealogist, documenting what male members of the Van Santvoord family who fought in the American Revolutionary War is very confusing. The main reason for such confusion is the prolific name of Cornelius Van Santvoord. To sort out and document the service render by the male Van Santvoord family members, one needs to document the descendents of Domine Cornelius Van Santvoord, the father of the American Van Santvoord/Van Santford family.

Domine Cornelius Van Santvoord married Anna Staats. To this union of marriage, six children were born: Maria Catharina, Anna, Cornelius, Staats, Jacoba, and Zeger. All the children were baptized at the Reformed Dutch Church, Port Richmond, Richmond County, New York. In 1740, Domine Van Santvoord moved to Schenectady, New York to be the minister of the Reformed Dutch Church. His children all followed him to Schenectady. As one follows the male family lines of the Van Santvoord Family, they will find that Cornelius and Staats lived and raised their families in Albany while Zegar lived and raised his family in Schenectady. This will be a key point to remember in sorting out and documenting the military service rendered.

Following the male lines through the three sons of Domine Cornelius Van Santvoord down to the Revolutionary War time, we have the following males:

CORNELIUS VAN SANTVOORD - Chr. 8 Mar. 1723

SONS:

Cornelis Van Santvoord - Chr. 31 Dec. 1749

Anthony Van Santvoord - Chr. 16 Oct. 1757

Antony Van Santvoord - Chr. 20 Sept. 1761

STAATS VAN SANTVOORD - Chr. 21 Mar. 1725

SONS:

Anthony Van Santvoord - Chr. 2 Feb. 1752

Cornelis Van Santvoord - Chr. 22 May 1757

Teunes Van Sanvoord - Chr. 10 Mar. 1760

ZEGER VAN SANTVOORD - Chr. 7 Oct. 1733

SON:

Cornelius Zeger Van Santvoord - Chr. 29 May 1757

It is helpful to review, for a moment, the Dutch system of naming their children. "Children were almost invariably named for relatives, and it was customary to name the eldest two boys and the eldest two girls after their four grandparents. There were other customs, irregularly kept but worthy of note for the help they often afford the genealogist: (1) Strong tendency to name the first child for a paternal grandfather; (2) some tendency to name the first child, if a boy, for the wife's first husband (if any); (3) tendency to alternate, taking one child's name from the father's side of the family, the next child's name from the mother's side, the following child's name from the father's side, and so on; and (4) tendency to repeat, giving the name of a child that died (and there was large infant mortality) to the next child born of the appropriate sex. The practice of repeating is often given precedence over naming the child for a grandparent not yet so honored. While there are countless exceptions to the practice of alternation, often the children's names were about half from each side of the family."

With this understanding of the Dutch system of naming children, let's review each of the three sons of Domine Cornelius Van Santvoord and how they named their children.

Cornelius Van Santvoord, the son of Cornelius Van Santvoord and Anna Staats, married Ariaantje Bratt, the daughter of Anthony Bratt and Rebecca Van der Hayden, on 31 Dec. 1741 at the Dutch Reformed Church in Albany, New York. Their first son born was named Cornelis Van Santvoord and was christen on 31 Dec. 1749 in the Dutch Reformed Church in Albany, New York. This child was named after his paternal grandfather. Their second son born was named Anthony Van Santvoord and was christen on 16 Oct. 1757 in the Dutch Reformed Church in Albany, New York. This child was named after his maternal grandfather. Their third son born was named Antony Van Santvoord and was christen on 20 Sept. 1761 in the Dutch Reformed Church in Albany, New York. Note that their second son was also named Anthony as well. By understanding the #4 tendency in naming children mentioned above, we must assume that the second son of Cornelius and Ariaantje Van Santvoord had died thus repeating the naming of their third son Antony. In fact, we find in "The Annals of Albany" by Joel Munsell in 1850 that the burial record for the second son Anthony was recorded 20 Oct. 1757 - four days after he was born. Subsequent church records in the Dutch Reformed Church in Albany, New York show the marriage of these two sons, Cornelius and Antony, and the christening of their children. Thus we must include in our list of potential participates in the American Revolutionary War the father Cornelius Van Santvoord and his two sons Cornelius and Antony Van Santvoord.

Staats Van Santvoord, the son of Cornelius Van Santvoord and Anna Staats, married Willempie Bratt, the daughter of Anthony Bratt and Rebecca Van der Hayden, on 2 Dec. 1747 at the Dutch Reformed Church in Albany, New York. The wife of his brother, Cornelius and his wife were sisters. Their first son born was named Anthony Van Santvoord and was christen on 2 Feb. 1752 in the Dutch Reformed Church in Albany, New York. This child was named after his maternal grandfather. Their second son born was named Cornelis Van Santvoord and was christen on 22 May 1757 in the Dutch Reformed Church in Albany, New York. This child was named after his paternal grandfather. Their third son born was named Teunes Van Santvoord and was christen on 10 Mar. 1760 in the Dutch Reformed Church in Albany, New York. Teunes is not a name of the Van Santvoord. We find that Staat's wife had a brother named Teunis and who was a witness at the child's christening. This child was most likely named after is uncle. There are no subsequent church records in the Dutch Reformed Church in Albany, New York showing the marriage of these three sons and the christening of their children. It is assumed that all three sons died after 10 March 1760 and before the start of the American Revolutionary War. Thus we must include in our list of potential participates in the American Revolutionary War only the father Staats Van Santvoord thus eliminating one of the Cornelius Van Santvoord's.

Zegar Van Santvoord, the son of Cornelius Van Santvoord and Anna Staats, married Catlyntje Post, the daughter of Elias Post, on 18 Apr. 1756 at the Dutch Reformed Church in Schenectady, New York. Their first and only son born was named Cornelius Van Santvoord and was christen on 29 May 1757 in the Dutch Reformed Church in Schenectady, New York. This child was named after his paternal grandfather. In searching the records of this son throughout his life, we find that he went by Cornelius Z. Van Santvoord. This will be a very helpful piece of information as we search for the Van Santvoord's service records of participates in the American Revolutionary War. Thus we must include in our list of potential participates in the American Revolutionary War the father Zegar Van Santvoord and his son, Cornelius Z. Van Santvoord.

To summarize, below are the male Van Santvoord's that must be in our list of potential participates in the American Revolutionary War:

CORNELIUS VAN SANTVOORD - Chr. 8 Mar. 1723
SONS:
Cornelis Van Santvoord - Chr. 31 Dec. 1749
Antony Van Santvoord - Chr. 20 Sept. 1761

STAATS VAN SANTVOORD - Chr. 21 Mar. 1725
SONS:
None

ZEGER VAN SANTVOORD - Chr. 7 Oct. 1723
SONS:
Cornelius Zeger Van Santvoord - Chr. 29 May 1757

Van Santvoord / Van Santvoort - The American Branch