The family of Jean/Jan/John Demarest 1645-1719

 One thing that makes researching this family (all of the Demarests, from David on down), is that there are many spellings of both first names and surnames, and sometimes it seems that there are nicknames or middle names used as first names, just to make it fun for family researchers.  I am using the surname Demarest, but the further back in time you go, the more variations you will find.  And I'm using Jean, because that seems to be the most common and because it reminds us that he was, after all, from a French family.

Jean is the first son of David and Marie Sohier Demarest, born in 1645 in Zeeland, the Netherlands.  He immigrated with his family to what was then New Amsterdam, and married Jacomina de Ruine, the daughter of Simon and Magdelena van der Straaten de Ruine, in about 1668.  All of these families are French Huguenots, living in France, the Netherlands, and Germany as religious persecution dictated.  They were fortunate to find a more congenial religious climate in America, and were at first part of the Dutch Reformed church.  Jean and Jacomina moved on with members of their extended family, to settle near Hackensack, New Jersey, where they lived the rest of their lives, and where they raised a large family.  Jacomina died in 1692 and Jean in 1719. Both are buried at the French Burying Ground at New Milford, Bergen County, New Jersey.  (Jean married twice after Jacomina's death, to Marritje Van Winkle and then to Magdalena Laurens.  No children were born from those marriages.)

David was their first born son, in 1669.  He died in 1706 at Hackensack, New Jersey.  He married Antie/Annetje Slot, the daughter of Peter and Marritje Van Winkle Slot.  (So Jean's second wife was his son's mother in law.)  Their children are Lea, Maritje, Jacomina, a second Lea, David, and Rachel.  

John (this spelling seems to be used more than Jean or Jan, but watch out!) was born in 1671 and died in 1731 in Chester County, Pennsylvania.  He married Deborah Heyer or Heyet or possibly Hyatt or even Hoyt, possibly the daughter of Peter of whatever spelling you choose.  Their children are Jan, David, and Jemima (or possibly Jacomina).  John's second wife is Golah Pattison, whom I have not been able to further identify.  Their children are Golin, Solomon, and Elly.  

A daughter, Marie, was born in 1673 and died in 1730.  She married Jacobus Slot, the son of Peter and Marritje Van Winkle Slot (yes, the same family already mentioned twice in this post.) Their children are Peter, Johannes, Eva, Maria, Lea, Jona, David, Sara, Trintje, and Benjamin.  Marie (Maria, Mary, etc) died in 1730 at Hackensack, New Jersey. 

Sarah was born next, in 1675, and died in 1741 in Odessa, New Castle, Delaware.  She married Abraham Canon or Cannon, the son of Andrew and Jane Pearse Cannon.  Their children are Isaac, Andrew, Sarah, Jenny, Hester, John, David, and Abraham.  

Simon was born next, in 1677, and, sadly, died that same year.  

It seems that about every two years, there was a new child to welcome to the Demarest household.  In 1679, it was Rachel.  She married Thomas Heyer, the son of John Heyer (there seems to be little doubt about this identification, which makes me wonder whether John's wife was also part of this Heyer family, but apparently no documentation has yet been found to prove that.) Their children are Rachel, Jan, David, and Thomas.  Rachel may have died as early as 1709, which would explain why there are "only" four children.

Jacomina was born in 1680 and died sometime between 1727 and 1760 (still trying to find a documented date) in New Castle County, Delaware.  She married John Stewart, the son of John and Isabel Gardiner Stewart.  I believe this is the first Demarest to marry outside of the Huguenot community, so I can't help but wonder what Jean thought about this! Their children are Johannes, Elizabeth, James, David and Isaac.  She later married Richard Wilkinson, whom I'd can't identify further at this point.  It is not believed that she had children with him.  

Leah was born in 1682 and died after 1744 in Hackensack, New Jersey.  Her first husband, the father of her children, is Abraham Brouwer, the son of Peter and Petronilla Clyn (again, various spellings) Brouwer.  Their children are Petrus, Johannes, Samuel, David, Jacobus, Lea, Rachel, Daniel, and Maria.  Her second marriage is to Roelof Westervelt, the son of Libbert and Geesje Westervelt.  (I am not absolutely sure that I have correctly interpreted the names of Roelof's parents.  I'm not going to attempt Geesje's maiden name.) 

Peter was born in 1683 and died in 1763 in Schaalenburgh, New Jersey.  He first married Marritje Meet, the daughter of Peter and Gerritje Mandeville Meet.  Their children are Jacomina, Maria, Petrus, Rachel, Trintje, and Sara.  He next married Maria Batton, the daughter of Jacques and Margretje Sans Batton.  Their children are Margetje, Elizabeth, Hester, Lydia, John, Jacobus, David, Maria, Annatie, Samuel, and Magdalena.  I will follow this family in my next post.

Magdalena was born in 1684 and died in 1763 at Hackensack, New Jersey.  She married James Christie, the son of John and Anna Ramsay Christie.  Their children are Jacomina, Jacob, Annetje, Lea, Johannes, Marie, Elizabeth, James, David, William, Rachel, Daniel, Sara, and Magdalena.  

Their last child was Samuel, born in 1687.  He is thought to have died young, because he is not mentioned in his father's 1714 will, but no definite information has been located about him.  

So nine of Jean and Jacomina's 11 children lived to adulthood.  If my list of the grandchildren is correct and complete. they had 79 grandchildren, although they did not live long enough to meet all of them.  This family appears to have been both prosperous and respected, and their descendants can be proud of them. 

A side note:  This blog post marks my 1100th post in an attempt to trace the ancestors of my children.  It's been a wonderful ride, and with recent discoveries I've made, I'm not close to being done yet!