John Finley Van Huss

Thanks to Melynn for this photograph of John Finley Van Huss and family.

John Finley Van Huss family, Latham, Kansas

John Finley Van Huss was my wife's great grandfather, grandfather to Robert (Bob) Van Huss. He lived to be 80 years old. He was the youngest son of Valentine Worley Van Huss and Elizabeth Campbell, born in 1859 in Tennessee. He came to Kansas in the 1870s with his parents in a wagon, lost his mother in Johnson County, Kansas, before his father and older brothers took up homesteading in Butler County Kansas. Eventually, John took a farm near Latham, Kansas and married the neighbor's daughter, Josie Brewer. They had five children. The second, Fred Brewer VanHuss (1893-1972) was Bob's father.

How the Dutch came to America

If, in America, your family is of Dutch origin and came to America in the 17th century, it is likely that they settled in upstate New York, or New Holland, as it was then called. It is likely that they settled in the colony of Rensselaerswyck, and from there, like so many other families, spread out across America in search of new opportunities. There names were Dutch, Nordstrand, Van Nordstrand, Van Husem, and a thousand others, spelled this way and that. They considered themselves Dutch, Frisians to be specific, and they for the most part came from a place on the coast of the Jutland Peninsula. They came because a flood took place destroying their homes and their families.  

One such person was Volkje Juriaens Nordstrand Van Husem, though this is not her story. This is the story of all those who came. Volkje was but one of thousands. One girl, a teenager who lived with her parents and her younger sister and was caught up in events.

Halfway up the west coast of the Jutland Peninsula is small island called Nordstrand in German, Noordstrant in Dutch. Today, it is part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, once Danish, and once 300 years ago populated, in the main, by the Dutch who had come to reclaim the sea.

Today the island comprises 50 square kilometers of land, about half the size of Disney World. Once it encompassed four times that area and included the smaller island of Pell, and even smaller island of Hooge, further out into the Waddensee. The area is surrounded by tidal flats and marshes. Access to Nordstrand is from the ancient port of Husum, and to Pell island, only by boat. Winters are gray, and that is why Husum is called the Gray City by the Sea, a name given to it by novelist Theodor Storm. Nordstrand, being mostly farms, had no nicknames, though one can by extension call it gray. Storms tear through the island every season of the year, with the sky being gray for days on end. Winter brings the whipping winds off the cold North Sea, winds arise in the spring, and calm finally in the summer, unless a storm unsettles the beauty of the farmlands and the grass in the marshes. When the storms come where do the birds go?


on the night between 11 and 12 October 1634, a storm tide struck along the entire the North Sea coast, paying particular fury to the island of Nordstrand. Overrunning dikes, it caused upwards of 15,000 deaths and damage on a scale of Noah's Flood. When it was over, and historians had time to take in its significance, they gave it a name, The Burchardi flood or second Grote Mandrenke and simply "Erschrecklichewasserfluth," the terrible flood.

A contemporary, Peter Sax, who witnessed the storm from the relative safety of Koldenbüttel on the mainland, described the scenario as follows:

" … at six o’clock at night the Lord God began to fulminate with wind and rain from the east, at seven He turned the wind to the southwest and let it blow so strong that hardly any man could walk or stand, at eight and nine all dikes were already smitten. … The Lord God [sent] thunder, rain, hail lightning and such a powerful wind that the Earth’s foundation was shaken… at ten o’clock everything was over".

The dikes were destroyed, the houses in the shallow marshlands and even those on artificial dwelling hills were flooded. The towns and the churches were also destroyed. Nothing escaped the storm and the water.

Jan Leeghwater, a Dutch hydraulic engineer, tasked with the land reclamation project, wrote a report afterwards.

"In the evening a great storm and bad weather rose from the southwest out of the sea. … The wind began to blow so hard that no sleep could touch our eyes. When we had been lying in bed for about an hour my son said to me, ‘Father, I feel water dripping into my face’. The waves were rising up at the sea dike and onto the roof of the house. It was a very frightening sound."

Father and son took refuge in a manor house on higher ground along with 38 others.

The wind turned somewhat to the northwest and blew plainly against the manor, so hard and stiff as I had never experienced in my life.
On a strong door on the western side of the building the lock bars sprang out of the posts due to the sea waves, so that the water doused the [hearth] fire and ran into the corridors and over my knee boots, about 13 feet higher than the May floods of the old land…
At the northern edge of the house which stood close to the tidal channel, the earth was washed away from underneath the house…Therefore the house, the hallway and the floor burst into pieces…

It seemed that the manor and all those inside were doomed to be washed off the dike.

In the morning, … the tents and huts that had been standing all across the estate were washed away, thirty-six or thirty-seven in number, with all the people who had been inside.

Great sea ships were standing high upon the dike as I have seen myself. In Husum, several ships were standing upon the highway. I have also ridden there along the beach and have seen wondrous things, many different dead beasts, beams of houses, smashed wagons and an awful lot of wood, straw and stubbles. And I have also seen many a human body who had drowned.

Making Dough in America

They came by ship from Amsterdam to America, signed on for four years as indentured farmers, and in some cases as laborers and workers, to the wealthy Dutch diamond merchant, Kiliaen Van Rensselaer. They were on their way to a settlement called Rensselaerswyck.

Willem Juriaensz, the Baker

One such person was Willem Juriaensz, commonly called Willem the Baker (Bakker). Once, called Capitaijn, in 1646 and again, in 1650, Capiteijn Willem Jeuriaens, no doubt a reference to his prior career as a sea captain. Arriving in Rensselaer's colony in 1638, he worked on various farms as a baker, but beginning in 1644, was sentenced to banishment for misdeeds, and then reprieved.

One story goes something like this.

Jochem Becker accused the old captain of stealing his hens. Jacob Willemz took up the captain's side in this story, saying, "What do you mean, they are the old captain's hens?" Becker called to Willemz to come out of the house. Willemz refused, and promptly Becker rushed in and giving him a sound beating and grabbing him by the throat, called him an "old dog". Willemz fought back as he could, and called Becker "a dog and a son of a bitch". Whether the old captain stole the chickens was not, this time, a question for the court.

In 1647, he was again sentenced to banishment for attacking one, de Hooges with a knife. (This de Hooges, is presumably Antony de Hooges, business manager of Rensselaer's colony.) In 1650, despite his multiple reprieves, he was again sentenced to banishment to the Manhatans, but released to settle his affairs.

He struck up a relationship with Jan van Hoesen, and entered into a contract as baker dated Jan. 30, 1650. In November of 1651, Old Man Juriaensz (he was now 72), refused to honor the contract, and by January of 1652, the court gave Jan van Hoesen "permission to occupy the erf" (lot, or bakery) on the condition that the Old Man could live in the adjoining house "ofte de gelegenheijt," as long as he lived.
O'Callaghan, History of New Netherland, 1, pages 437 and 438;
Van Rensselaer Bowier Manuscripts, page 820.

How Husum got its name

Husum

Long before our memories began, and writers recorded history, someone built a house next to the Wadden Sea where dry land meets the tidal flats and salt marshes. By the grey shore and the grey sea where the fog lies heavy all year long, where the swamping seas come.

This someone thought he and his family would be safe from the storms, but he was wrong. Surely, it must have happened many times before history records the event, that of the storm and the sea surging over the land.

This house was built well.

House, hus, huis, haus at Husembro

The foundation was made of stone to prevent settling and keep out the rats, but because stone was scarce, the main part of the house was built of logs or lumber milled from the trees with a thatched roof to keep out the rain during the long, chilly, windy, and mostly cloudy winters. As is still the custom in a few such houses, the barn were the precious cattle were kept was attached to the house, so as to protect the cattle but also to keep the house warm.

Along the coastline, farmers raised crops and cattle and geese. The coastline was dotted with small fishing villages that fished the North Sea for cod and other fish. And when there was a surplus of these items, the farmers and villagers took their crops and cattle and geese and fish south to the larger cities like Amsterdam where they could be traded for money and necessaries.

Our legendary house stood for many years. Locals would have referred to it as the house by the bridge. And when they spoke in their native languages, Danish, Dutch, German and Frisian, they would have said Hus, Huis, Haus, and Hus. The pastor at the church who wrote in Latin would have changed its spelling to Husem or Husum.

 Let us move on now and speak of the first time that history records the name of Husum.

In 1252, it is recorded that King Abel of Denmark lead an army to the coast of the Wadden Sea to impose taxes on the stubborn and independent Frisians who farmed and fished and lived there. Near the bridge by an ancient house, an arrow struck the unlucky king and he died. His death might have been God’s revenge for it is hinted at in the historical records that Abel murdered his brother King Erik Ploughpenny to obtain the throne. History records the place as “husembro” (the house by the bridge).

Now, return again to the history books where it is written that in 1362 a disastrous storm tide, know thereafter as the "Grote Mandrenke," (Great Man Drowning) surged along the coastline, flooded Husum, and carved out an inland harbor. This event put Husum on the map. A seaport developed, businesses came, and houses grew up around the bridge and the house that once stood alone.

Norstrand and Husem

The maps that came in time named this little village and did so in the Latinized spelling, Husem or Husum, which is what it is called today.

Another Time

Bill Meyers, William F. Meyers, sent me three images of religious text written in German. The first was the cover page of Johann Hübner's, Two times two and fifty select biblical stories from the old and new testament, composed for the benefit of youth, (published 1814). The second is a page, I believe, from Hubner's collection of stories. It is the 44th story of Hubner's book, von Peter Berlangnung, which, for now, I am translating as the making of Peter. The last image is from the Gospel of Mark, On Easter Day, the first sermon, Mark, chapter  16, verses 1 - 8. The images are Bill's and permission to use them was graciously given.

Johann Hubner, Two times Fifty-Two Excellent Bible Stories
from the Old and new Testament, especially prepared for Youth.

Story 44, the Making of Peter

The Gospel of Mark, On Easter Day, chapter 16, verses 1- 8.

I have to admit that I was a little taken back to get them for several reasons. First, I had taken German in high school and college, so it would be fun to take a stab at translating the pages. Second, I love old books, and the history behind them. Finally, as Bill said in his email with the images, there is a bit of a mystery as to whether the books belonged to Mathias Van Huss or Valentine Felty Van Huss.

The Clues

Mathias was born in 1795, the year his father Valentine crossed into eastern Tennessee and settled near Fort Watauga, present day Elizabethton. Johan Hubner's book is the 1814 edition. That makes Mathias at least 19 years old at the date of publication of the one book. Of course, dad was considerably older. For that reason, Mathias seems to be favored as owner of the books. Unless, Valentine used the books in instructing other youth.

What is the case for Mathias? ... Mathias was the fifth child of Valentine Felty Vanhooser Jr. and Elizabeth Worley. Elizabeth, being descended from English stock, would not seem a likely candidate to teach her son German. That is unless we go back into Elizabeth's family history. She was the daughter of Valentine Worley and Anna Barbara Spraker. And, Anna Barbara Spraker was the daughter of Johann Christopher Sprecher and Elizabeth Reigher, both of whom were German to the core. Rutledge Family History.

For that matter, Mathias' grandmother on his father's side was Maria Barbara Zerwe ‎(Zerbe). She was thoroughly German on her side of the family. She and Mathias' grandfather, Valentine Felty Van Hooser, Sr. were married in the German Lutheran Church in a German community in Tulpenhocken, Pennsylvania.

One last clue is Mathias name which is the German form of Mathew.

All this leads to the conclusion that the Vanhooser/Van Huss line went from Dutch to truly Deutsch, at least in language. Either Mathias or father Valentine would have spoken German.

As I live in Kansas with my wife who is descended from a Van Huss, it is not all that surprising. For Kansas gave rise to many communities in the late 1800's and early 1900's which were German, Swedish, and even Czech in origin. Language and culture have a way of hanging on. Sometimes time moves slowly.

Thank goodness.

Van Huss - What is in a name?

"What's in a name?" Shakespeare has Juliet questioning Romeo, "That which we call a rose By any other word would smell as sweet." Romeo And Juliet, Act 2, scene 2, lines 33-49. Juliet, of course, was concerned with the deadly antagonism between the two families, the Montagues and the Capulets, and prevented their love from being fulfilled.

So, what is in the name Van Huss? The name is certainly a place name, literally translating as "from Huss". It comes from the the fact that Jan Fransse Van Husum, first Van Huss in America, lived in the city of Husum, in North Friesland, on the far north coast of Jutland, in what was then the Duchy of Schleswig. Jan's father's name was Franss, and they were either Dutch, Frisian, or German depending on the year for political control often changed hands as did the weather. The language spoken in Husum was either Dutch or Frisian. There was at the time a community of Dutch who were in the process of reclaiming land from the sea. Frisian, the local dialect is an off shoot of German and still spoken today by about 10,000 souls.

Jan married a local girl, Volckje Juriens Nordstrand. Her surname was a combination of the name of her father Juriens and the fact that her family lived on Nordstand (Noortstant in Dutch), a small island in the North Sea just to the west of Husum. In 1634, the island was flooded. Of the family, only Volckje and her sister Annetje survived. Five years later, Volckje and Jan would marry in the city of Amsterdam, and then immediately set sail for the New Netherlands. In America they settled in the tiny community of Beverwyck, part of the larger area known as Rensselaerwyck. Annetje would also marry and come to the New Netherlands.

In the New World, the name took. Jan Franss Van Husum and his growing family thrived and flourished. In his marriage license of 30 April 1639, Jan listed his profession as varensgezel, a sailor. But, once in Beverwyck, Jan took on the attributes of  farmer and businessman - buying and selling beaver pelts from the local Indians, acquiring land, and even, at one point, running a bakery.

Through succeeding generations, the name would change. Van Husum became Van Hoesen in New York in keeping with Dutch. Off shoots of the family would spread across the United States. However, the branch of the family that was to become Van Huss, took the path of migrating in the 1750's from New York to Pennsylvania, then to North Carolina and Virginia. At about the time of the Revolution, the family settled in the far western reaches of Virginia in and around Washington and Wythe Counties. Then, in 1795, Valentine Felty Vanhooser, Jr. crossed into Tennessee and settled near Elizabethton, Tennessee. One branch of the family headed for Texas, some to Kentucky and other states. My wife's branch, Valentine Worley Van Huss and his sons, headed for Kansas after the Civil War.

Through the years, the name Van Husum had changed first to Van Hoesen in new York. In Pennsylvania, it became Van Hooser, or Vanhooser. It stayed that way in North Carolina and Virginia, only sometimes being shortened to Hooser in some records. When Valentine Felty Vanhooser, Jr. crossed into Tennessee in 1795, he was still using the name, as it is written on the deed that he recorded in the courthouse in Elizabethton.

At some time he or his son Mathias, who was born in 1795, changed the name to Van Huss. Mathias used this surname throughout his life, and the courthouse reflects the name change in all subsequent land dealings. The spelling made its way back across the Appalachian Mountains and took in Virginia, where one can find the Van Huss Cemetery in Wythe County, Virginia.