Mathias COERTEN (1585 – ) was Alex’s 12th Great Grandfather; one of 8,192 in this generation of the Miller line.

Mathias Coerten was born in 1585  Voorhuysen, Netherlands. Mathias died  in Voorthuizen, Gelderland, Netherlands

Children of Harmen and Aertje:

	Name	Born	Married	Departed
1.	Harmen COERTEN	c. 1610 in Voorthuizen in Guelderland, Netherlands	Aertje GERRTIS before 1642.	26 Nov 1689 Bergen, New Jersey
2.	Guert  (Gerrit) Coerten	c. 1620 in Voorthuysen, Gelderland, Holland	Gertje Jacobs Dunnears 13 Oct 1647 New Amsterdam	before June 1671 in Bergen, New Jersey

Children

1. Harmen COERTEN (See his page)

2. Guert (Gerrit) Coerten

Guert’s wife Geertje Jacobs Dunnears was born about 1625 in Statyn, Netherlands.  Her father was Jacob Dueunaers. In Guert’s will he annuls testament made with his wife Geertje Jacobs Duenaers because she had been unfaithful to him. He, also, annuls testament of March 24, 1664.

“In his will he mentions Pieter Hesselse, the son of his sister;
Thomas Jurianses, oldest son of Ryckje Hermans (his niece);
Henricksen Smack, oldest son of Guertje Harmens, his brother’s daughter Jan Harmensen, his brother’s son; and makes his universal heir his brother Harem Coerten.”

The Courten family purchased land in Bergen County as one of the first original landholders in New Jersey. From there they moved West into today’s Passaic and Morris County. Guert, the first Courten descendant arrived in NY about 1641. He had no children but his brother, Harmen, came to US in 1660

1641 Ship Passenger Lists NY & NJ states: “Special conditions mentioned in contract between Wouter van Twiller engaged Gerrit Courten van Voorthuizen, 21 years old, on the 13th Nov 1641 to go to New Netherland to sow, to mow, to plow, to dig ditches and to do farm work in the Gelderland manner.”

The Dutch did not use first and last names. So Guert would have been Gerrit and he would be the son of Couerte. He was from the area of Voorthuizen in the area of Gelderland in Holland in 1641.

Looking at this record the name could have been spelled any way the person writing the record wanted it to be written. The town/area would have probably been correct because the van Twiller company probably recruited a lot of people in the same area to come to New Netherlands to work property.

They did not go to NYC first but went to Albany, NY up the Hudson River and then came back down to NYC before 1660 and settled in Bergen County, NJ.

When Guert purchased the property around 1660 his brother Harman came to New Netherlands with his family.

18 Dec 1646 – Guert is first mentioned, when he rented with Wouter Aertsen the bouwery of Wouter van Twiller on Mahattan Island

13 Oct 1647 “Guert married Geertje Jacobs.”

1657 “Guert was confirmed in his rights as a Small Burgher on ? 13, 1657, his name appearing as Gewit Coerten (RNA-VII-152) and on ? 13, 1657, he sold a house and lot in Manhattan (Valentine’s Manual-595).”

1661 “In 1661, he was a resident of Communipaw (HSYB-100-32) Communipaw is a section of Jersey City, New Jersey west of Liberty State Park and east of Bergen Hill, and site of one the earliest European settlements in North America.

12 May 1668 – Phillip Carteret to Guert Coerten 1st Patent at Bergen for 7 tracts of land

1st tract begins at stake leads from roan town of English Neighborhood (easterly corner of lot #35 beloning to Adrian Post)
N75.50W32c18l to stake middle of road
N23.30E5c26l to first mentioned road to a stake
S75.50E31c to first mentioned road
along road S10.15W5c26l to beginning

2nd tract is lot #48 begins at stake (southerly corner lot of Frederick Phiipse’s patent marked #47)
N56.20W29c60l to stake by road
S33W2c53l along said road to a stake
S56.20E29c90l to a stake
N30E2c53l

The description that follows this deed said it was 14 by 150 rods = 3 1/2 morgens. A morgen was a unit of measurement of land in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and the Dutch colonies, including South Africa and Taiwan. The size of a morgen varies from 1/2 to 2½ acres, which equals approximately 0.2 to 1 ha. The word is usually taken to be the same as the German and Dutch word for “morning”. Similarly to the Imperial acre, it was approximately the amount of land tillable by one man behind an ox in the morning hours of a day.

3rd tract stake (east corner lot of Adrian Post #55)
N55W29c10l to a stake by road
N39E3c60l along said road to a stake
S54.50E29c30l to a stake
S41.45W3c60l

description it is a wood lot 19 by  150 rods = 4 8/? morgens. It is owned by Aaltje Van Winkle in 1764.

4th tract upland and meadow #91 stake near the road leading form town of English Neighborhood (S corner of lot of Arent Lawrence #92)
N67.30W9c24l
N43W32c47l to Bridge Creek
returning to stake to place of beginning
S16.05E5c60l along road to a stake
S10W8c61l along road to a stake
S51W7c95l to stake
N63W7c75l to stake
S88.20W4c87l to stake standing near small brook
N4E1c6l to stake top of hill
N9.30W1640l stake edge of of meadow
N44.20W14c53l to Bridge Creek
then up along creek several courses and until it comes to other line that strikes said creek

description E of Samuel Edsall on Creapel Bosch with meadow = 27 acres owned by Garret VanRypen and in 1764 to his son George who sold it to Garret Newkirk.

5th tract garden plot #94 NW side of town
Beginning NW side of street (S50W2c68l from stake which last stake stands 30l from E corner of Widow Van Riper’s house on

1668 Guert became a member of the Bergen Church 8 Jul 1668, and was dismissed.
Guert Coerten had no children.

5 Feb 1671 – In Guert’s will he annuls testament made with his wife Geertje Jacobs Duenaers who he married on 15 Jan 1657 because she had been unfaithful to him. He, also, annuls testament of 24 March 1664.

“In his will he mentions Pieter Hesselse, the son of his sister;
Thomas Jurianses, oldest son of Ryckje Hermans (his niece);
Henricksen Smack, oldest son of Guertje Harmens, his brother’s daughter Jan Harmensen, his brother’s son; and makes his universal heir his brother Harem COERTEN.”

The article continues with information about him in later dates even though will probate stated he died bef 1671. There is a conflict in dates of marriage that should be checked.

Calendar of New Jersey Wills, Vol. II 1730-1750. Part II Appendix Page: 558 Name: Guert Coerten Date: 05 Feb 1671 Location: from Voorthuysen in Guelderlant, now living at Bergen

Calendar of New Jersey Wills, Vol. II 1730-1750. Part II Appendix
will of (in Dutch). Made before Claes Arentsen Toers, constable of Bergen. Annuls testament made with his wife Geertje Jacobs Dueunaers January 15, 1657, because she has been unfaithful; also testament of March 24, 1664; and names as legatees the son of his sister, Pieter Hesselse, brother Thomas Jurianses, oldest son Ryckje Harmens, Mathys Hendricksen Smack, oldest son of Guertje Harmens, his brother’s daughter, Jan Harmensen, brother’s son, Christyntje Claes, dau. of Claes Christiansen, universal heir brother Harmen Coerten.

Sources:

http://www.njgsbc.org/files/familyfiles/p766.htm#i24855

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kmiller/courter/courter.htm