Van Wyck

The Van Wyck name entered the Laughton family by way of Louise Estelle Van Wyck (1860 - 1912), wife of John Hugh Laughton and mother to the first series of sons and daughters who carried the Van Wyck middle name. As a youngster, I was told that I carried the Van Wyck name as it was decided, I presume by my grandfather George Van Wyck Laughton, was to be passed on to the eldest son. By that route it passed through my father Charles Van Wyck Laughton to Richard Van Wyck Laughton. Apparently I brought this short lived tradition to a grinding halt with the birth of my four daughters, however no sons.

In March 2006 I found out that the Van Wyck name had not disappeared from the family, rather my cousin David Graham Laughton 1953 had named one of his daughters "Sara Juliana Van Wyck Laughton". As such, the duplicate Van Wyck photographs were immediately sent to Sara for preservation into the future generations.

In Uncle Paul's letter of April 6, 2004 he refers to the origin of the Van Wyck name in his discussion of Barent Van Wyck Laughton:

"Cornelius Barentse Van Wyck was the one who emigrated from the Netherlands to New Amsterdam (note: now known as New York) in 1660 and established the family farm in Flatbush, later home of the Brooklyn Dodgers".

When David Laughton 1953 brought his father's records (Paul Laughton 1923) in January 2009, we discovered a number of "history summaries" that had been prepared by Paul. One of those, in Appendix B to the "Laughton/Milley Family History" contained a concise summary of the origins of the Van Wyck name into the Laughton family. Thanks to computers and optical character recognition, we can repeat that text here:

Louise Estelle came from a cadet branch of the Counts of Utrecht, named for the town of Wyck on the Rhine in N Brabant (Roman Vicus) where Jacob Van Asch Van Wyck received Charles I's Queen Henrietta in 1642, with Princess Henrietta Marie & her son-in-law Prince Wm II of Orange, in the moated family castle, now a tearoom.

The earliest known van Wyck was Alger the Crusader -1162. Three brothers emigrated for New Amsterdam [New York] in 1660; one was so seasick he dropped out in England & founded the VanWick's there. Of the other 2, only Cornelius Barentse, the owner of the original Flatbush farm [site of the Bums, the Brooklyn Dodgers] was heard of again. He was elected constable in 1675. Cornelius married Anna, daughter of Dominie Theodorus Johannes Polhemus, b. Bern, Switzerland, 1596, minister in Drenthe, Netherlands, emigrated to Brazil in 1637, & became the first minister on Long Island in 1654.

His grandson Cornelius (1702-1769) married Mary Hicks, daughter of 1621 Plymouth settlers & descendants of Sir Ellis Hicks, knighted at Poitiers by the Black Prince. In the next generation, 2nd son Cornelius was elected to the 3rd & 4th [rebel] provincial assemblies, while 3rd son Gilbert, a Justice of the Peace, was a Loyalist. On 14 Jan 1768 he married Abigail Seabury, sister of 1st bishop Sam Seabury & greatgreatgranddaughter of John Alden, commander of the troops on the ''Mayflower' and co-founder of Augusta, Maine, wife Priscilla Mullens.

Louise Estelle was Gilbert's greatgreatgranddaughter by Samuel (1770-1815, to Chincuagousy Tshp -1797, Sarah Bartow, daughter of Veart, Lt in the King's Militia Volunteers); Cornelius (1800-?, ammunition boy at Queenston Heights, Matilda Forsythe, buried in Balaclava cemetery on a farm near Annan N of Owen Sound); & John (Eliza McNeill Phillips, d. 26 Jun 1882 at 49 yrs & 6 mths, both second marriages, her father's kilts fr Northern Ireland.) Her siblings were: Abigail (d. 5 Feb 1888, "at 20 years 11 months & 3 days", Eugene Doberer); & John (photographer in Hanover, Alpha.) Brothers Norval & Adam VanWyck lived in Parkhill, then Norval moved to Owen Sound.

The details of this information were found in the many files and charts of Uncle Paul. It confused Paul when he assembled this information and remains confusing, but his notes and charts are detailed enough to at least sort out the MODERN day Van Wyck line ... almost! Much progress was made after the June 2009 visit to the Walkerton Public Cemetery where we found the gravestone of Eliza Van Wyck (nee Elizabeth McNeil), wife of John Van Wyck and mother of Louise Estelle Van Wyck.

The earliest correspondence on the Van Wyck line appears in the letters written between Great Aunt Tot (Louise Van Wyck Laughton 1892), daughter of John Hugh Laughton 1859 and Louise Estelle Van Wyck 1860. The photograph to the right is noted to be that of John Van Wyck (circa 1800s). Initially I presumed that this was the father of Louise Estelle Van Wyck 1860, however now that the site visit to the Walkerton Public Cemetery has been completed and other records have been found, I suspect this is the son of John Van Wyck, who by the 1881 Census Records was born circa 1866. Tot's letter of September 25, 1974 (1 day after her 82nd Birthday) says that Eliza (that would be Elizabeth McNeil) was the mother of Louise Estelle Van Wyck and that she died at the age of 49 years and 6 months on Monday June 26, 1882 at Walkerton, Ontario, Canada. She was buried at the Walkerton Cemetery on June 26, 1882. The site visit to the Walkerton Cemetery in June 2009 provided confirmation to many of these issues.	John Van Wyck, son of Cornelius Van Wyck 1800 & father of Louise Estelle Van Wyck 1860
In a Letter of June 16, 1974 Paul wrote back to Tot and indicated that he had recently met with some of the Van Wyck clan in the United States. This group had come from the same line of Samuel Van Wyck and Sarah Bartow, as shown in the image to the right. Paul explains parts of the Van Wyck tree, as it is linked to the family in the USA. Samuel would be the Great Grandfather of Tot's mother Louise Van Wyck. Samuel's son was Cornelius Van Wyck, who would be the Great Grandfather of Tot, was an ammunition boy at the Battle of Queenston Heights. Father Samuel Van Wyck had a boat on Lake Ontario and served in the Lincoln Regiment. One of his "Land Grants" was a part of Toronto as well as a part of Chincuagousy (Peel County, north of Toronto).	Paul Laughton Chart - Extract from 1974 Letter
The June 1974 letter goes on to say that Cornelius moved north to Owen Sound in the early 1800s and is buried in the Van Wyck Cemetery on the "Van Wyck Farm". We will have to check this cemetery as it was not checked during the June 2009 trip to to Walkerton (I thought the Van Wyck Cemetery was in Walkerton?). The June 2009 trip did not result in a visit to the Van Wyck Cemetery, as it was some distance further. Perhaps another time? The missing link in the Van Wyck line occurs at this point, as laid out in Paul's letter and chart (see Paul's Van Wyck Chart). There is reference to the sons of Cornelius Van Wyck but no mention of John Van Wyck who married Elizabeth McNeil. The chart (to the right) shows all the links back up from Louise Van Wyck, showing John Van Wyck added into the Van Wyck line after Cornelius. In the prepared history of The Van Wyck Tree, which I presume was prepared by Paul, there is more detail. That refers to the marriage of Samuel and Sarah, the birth of Cornelius Van Wyck on June 26, 1800 and the marriage to Matilda Forsythe. All of this apparently came from the Family Bible of Gilbert Van Wyck. Gilbert is the Van Wyck often referenced in the Battle of Queenston Heights in 1812 in the 2nd Lincoln Militia. The document provides details on Mary C. White-Reeves who had the family bible and the heirlooms of Gilbert Van Wyck.	Paul Laughton Chart of Van Wyck Line
We definitely know that John Van Wyck did exist, as in the file of Paul's is the original of the lease for his property on Durham Street in Walkerton. The death report of Elizabeth McNeil in Tot's 1974 letters refers to the funeral procession leaving that property for the cemetery. Complete Lease Document If anyone has information on the connection of John Van Wyck Laughton, please let me know. The June 2009 site visit to Walkerton did confirm that Durham Street exists, however confirmation of the specific address was not obtained.	*Image of John Van Wyck Lease in Walkerton, Ontario*
Included in the files from Paul Laughton was the death card, photograph and notice of the passing of the sister of Louise Estelle Van Wyck, daughter of John and Eliza Van Wyck. You will note that the picture of Abbie clearly says "Walkerton". I suspect that if we find the Van Wyck cemetery and graves in Walkerton (or is it in Owen Sound?), we will find Abbie as well. There are also notes that indicated that Louise Estelle Van Wyck (wife of John Hugh Laughton 1859) is buried in Walkerton as well and not in Parkhill. The references also suggest that they are in the same cemetery as Jerome Laughton (the Walkerton Public Cemetery) and not the Van Wyck Cemetery. The June 2009 site visit did confirm that Eliza Van Wyck (nee McNeil) was buried in the Walkerton Public Cemetery. There were also "marker stones" for what could be other family members, many of which had no markings. One stone in particular was marked "baby", identity unknown at this time. There is no mention of Louise Estelle Laughton being buried in Walkerton.	Abbie Van Wyck , Sister of Louise Estelle Van Wyck Died in Walkerton on February 5, 1888 The 1881 Census documents show this to be "Abigal Van Wyck" who was of German descent and 13 years of age at the time of the Census. Her brother John Van Wyck was listed as being 15 years of age. Their parents were shown as John and Eliza Van Wyck. There was no mention of Louise Estelle Van Wyck.

Other Van Wyck Information:

Note: This information was moved out of the main text of this page in February 2009 when it was updated with the more factual information found in the files of Paul Laughton.

On the off chance that the name may have had some significance in history, I entered it into the Google Search and behold a vast amount of information appeared:

Genealogy Data

Notes: Cornelius Barentse Van Wyck, from whom most of the van Wycks in America descend, was born in Holland, and emigrated to this country, A.D. 1660. He settled at Midwout, now Flatbush, on the west end of Long Island, and was one of the patentees of that tract of land. His name appears on the tax list as early as 1604 when he bought 100 acres of land on the east side of land owned by Johannes Christofel. The farm of 100 acres has been located as being about 1000 feet south of the old Dutch church and running to the old Coney Island Road, Ave. A, now called Albemarle Road, runs through the center of it.

Library of Congress

Descendants of Cornelius Barentse Van Wyck and Anna Polhemus, by Anne Van Wyck
Author: Van Wyck, Anne, 1830- [from old catalog]
Title: Descendants of Cornelius Barentse Van Wyck and Anna Polhemus,
Published: New York, T. A. Wright, 1912.

Van Wyck History

"The founder of the family in America was Cornelius Barentse (I) Van Wyck, who immigrated to this country in 1660 from Holland, and settled in Midwout, now Flatbush. The family originated in the town of Wyck bei Diersteade, North Brabant, situated on the Teck, a branch of the Rhine, about seventeen miles below Arnhiem. It was a picturesque old town with massive walls. The family descended from Chevalier Hendrick Van Wyck, who lived about 1400. They were Roman Catholics until Jan Van Wyck, a member of the Council of Utrecht, married Wyander Van Asch, a Protestant, in 1575. She was the last of her family and received her brother's property provided her descendents would join the family arms and carry the name Van Asch-Van Wyck."

The Van Wyck Family

In February 2006 I discovered a file in the papers left by my father Charles Van Wyck Laughton that were sent to him in 1971 by Telford & Van Wyck, a law firm in Own Sound, Ontario. In that package were extracts from the above noted book by Anne Van Wyck, which I have now scanned and posted (The Anne Van Wyck Papers). To add what was reported by Uncle Paul in the introduction to this page, the text references the origins of the Van Wyck's in America on page 25:

To the same Dutch Reformed Church at Flatbush we are indebted for the earliest record of our ancestor, from whom all the Van Wyck's in America descend.

Cornelius Barentse Van Wyck, for whom all the Van Wyck's in America descend, was born in Holland, end emigrated to this country (USA), A.D. 1660. He settled at Midwout, now Flatbush, on the west end of Long Island, and was one of the patentees of that tract of land. His name appears on the tax list as early as 1664, when he bought 100 acres of land for €240 00 on the east side of the land of Johannes Christofel.