The family of David Demarest 1681-1761

 Just so we're keeping the Davids and the Samuels and the other Demarest men straight, sort of, this David is the grandson of David the immigrant, who is married to Marie Sohier.  He is the son of Samuel and Maria DeRuine Demarest, and is one of several David Demarests who are part of this large extended family.  He married Matie (sometimes seen as Martha) de Baun, the daughter of Joost (Jost, Joseph) and Elizabeth Drabbe de Baun or de Banen, and died in 1761 in Hackensack, Bergen County, New Jersey. Once again, there are numerous variations on the spellings of these names and once again this is a family with a lot of children, several of whom are named David, with a couple of Samuels thrown in.  And as always, this is how I see it as of today, but further documentation could change my mind, or at least answer some of the questions I still have.

David and Matie's first child was Samuel, born in 1707.  I am still researching to find his date and location of death but most web sites are showing that he died in 1781 near Pleasureville, Henry County, Kentucky.  That would make him an early pioneer there.  He married twice.  His first wife is Antie Lozier, the daughter of Nicholas and Tryhtje Slot Lachaire.  They had two children together, David and Nicholas.  After Antie died, he married Lea Demarest, the daughter of Peter and Maretie Demarest (yes, they are cousins.)  their children are Antie, Marie, Peter, Elizabeth, Sarah, Rachel, John, Daniel, Trntje, Lea, and Samuel.  I have seen a Samuel listed as the child of the first wife, but I can't verify that.  Perhaps there were two Samuels.  I will follow this family in my next blog post.  

Elizabeth was born next, in 1708.  Sadly, she died 6 1/2 years later, in 1715, in Hackensack, New Jersey.

Joost was born in 1710 and died in 1750 in New York City, New York.  I am not sure whether he lived there or whether he was there on business of some sort.  He married Marijtjin Meyer, the daughter of Jacob and Annetie Kammega Meyer.  Their children are Antjin, Maria, Jacob, Daniel, Petrus, Elizabeth, Annetje, Sara, Rachel, John, Daniel, Marytjin, Tryntje, and Samuel.  I am somewhat skeptical of this list, as 14 children seem like a lot for a man who died when he was 40.  We should do more research on this family.  

Maria was born in 1713 and died about 1793, although her place of death is not known.  She married Thomas Eckerson, son of Jan and Marie Jans Ekkerson.  Their children are Mrtie, David, Jacob, Jan, Sara, Edward, Elizabeth, and Maria.   

Elizabeth was born in 1715 and died in 1797 in Bergenfield, Bergen County, NJ.  She married William Campbell (I have also seen this spelled Kammell more than once, but based on the parents' names, think that Campbell is the more likely spelling), the son of James and Janet Humphrey Campbell.  Their children are Jannetje, David, Thomas, Christian, James, Alexander, Samuel, John, Jacob, Nancy and Elizabeth.   

Christian was born in 1717 and died in 1787 in New York.  He is interesting because in 1780, at the age of 63, he was captured by the British, at Paramus, New Jersey and held as a prisoner of war.  As yet, I haven't tracked down more of his story but I certainly want to do so.  He married Geesje Romein, the daughter of Albert and Jantje Westervelt Romeyn.  Their children are Maetje, Albert, Elizabeth, Jannetje, Albert again, David, and Nicholas.  Christian married twice more, to Hannah Van Horn and then to Jane Bussey, but these were later in life marriages with no children born to them.

Peter was born next, in 1719.  One page I looked at said that he married Mary Demarest, but there was no further information about either of them.  I do not know how long Peter lived, nor whether he married.  If someone has that information, I would love to know a little more of his story!

Jacob was born in 1721 and died in 1793, in Goshen, Orange County, New York.  He married Rachel Secord, the daughter of Daniel and Catherine Secord.  I suspect that there are more children that I haven't located, but this couple seems to have had a son, David, and perhaps a son Peter.  He served during the Revolutionary War, even though he would have been in his late 50s or early 60s.  Again, more research needs to be done to learn more of his story.

Sara was born in 1724 and married James Campbell, whom I can't further identify but who may be related to the William Campbell mentioned above.  I have two different death dates and locations for her so at this point I do not know when or where she died.  Their children include Sara, James, and Jannetje, and there may well be more.  

Rachel was born in 1726 and died in 1756, although neither date seems to be well documented.  It is thought that she died in Bergen County, NJ.  She married Cornelius Doremus, the son of Johannes and Lysbeth Ackerman Doremus.  Their children are Rachel, Johannes, David, Margaret, and Aeltje.

And finally, perhaps after Matie thought she was done with the pregnancy and birth events, there was Annetje, born in 1730.  Annetje died in or after 1794 in Adolphustown, Ontario, Canada.  She married Claes Peterson the son of Nicholas and Catalyntie Jongbloedt Petersen,  Adolphustown was formed in 1784 by Loyalists (Tories) who had fled or been forced out of their homes in the thirteen colonies following the Revolutionary War.  It is easy to speculate that Claes was a Loyalist but not so easy to understand what Annetje might have thought about that, other than perhaps it was her duty to go with her husband.  Or perhaps she wholeheartedly agreed with his political beliefs, which would have set them apart from most of the Demarest family.  Their known children are Davvid, another David, Trintje, Annetje, Paul, Nicholas, Christopher, Katherine, and Maritje.  

Some of these children lived a normal life span for the time, and some lived less than 40 years.  They all, however, started families and helped grow their country, whichever country they sided with.  Most of these children stayed relatively close to "home", which indicates to me that David and Matie were able to help them get a start in life, and that achievement, by itself, is enough to make me give them respect.