This is a transcription of an original pamphlet copied by Renee Aten Patti. It was prepared after the Albertson-Aten Reunion of 1898 in Delaware, NJ, and is now at the Newberry Library of Chicago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ADDRESS OF THE

REV. JOHN BODINE THOMPSON, D. D.

OF TRENTON, NEW JERSEY.

________

 

It gives me great pleasure to be here to-day.  All peoples love their own kin, but the Dutch most of all, for they are the most persistent of all people.  It is said that one of them once prayed, Lord, keep us in the right way; for Thou knowest we will keep on in our own way, be it right or wrong!”

He was not a High Dutchman. He was not Penn-sylvania Dutch. He was a Low Dutchman.  The High Dutch settled in Pennsylvania; the Low Dutch in New York and New Jersey. They came from the Low countries of Europe, the Netherlands; and the colony they founded on this side of the Atlantic they called New Netherland.  And here, as there, they adhered steadfastly to the customs and usages of their fathers.

There was a reason for this.  Crowded into a corner at the mouth of the Rhine, century after century, their one chief business had been to fight against the encroachment of the sea on the one side and of enemies who would have destroyed their liberties on the other. Against the one they fought with spades, against the other with spears. The encroachments of the sea never ceased; and the aggressions of enemies were almost as constant from the days of Julius Caesar to those of the Duke of Alva.  It was the ceaseless persistency of their antagonists that developed in them a persistency of character that, at last, became, as it were, ingrained.

 

 

1

 

The Turkish Emperor said that if he were in the place of their Spanish enemies he would send a few men with spades and shovels to throw their whole country into the sea. But they knew best of all men how to use spades and shovels and when there was no other way, destroyed the dams they had built and flooded their own land to the destruction of the invaders.

Thus they developed the Dutch character, which made Holland the abode of liberty, established her commercial supremacy, and planted her colonies round the world. This same immanent moral nature our fathers brought with them to America. They could not lose it on the way without losing their personal identity. Accordingly the same liberty and the same customs and usages which existed in the Netherlands existed in like manner in New Netherland. The free schools in which Holland led the van of the world were established also on the shores of the new world. And when these were suppressed and their other excellent customs derided, after the English conquest in 1674, they began to “go west” into the wilderness. From Manhattan Island and Long Island and Staten Island they followed up the Raritan to its sources. Between the North and South branches of the Raritan from the Eastern base of the highest peak of the Kushetunk Mountains, issued a stream still known as Hollands Brook.  The descendants of the original Holland settlers still dwell there. The Hollanders always liked the water, and, when the valley of Hollands Brook was full, they filled also the adjacent valley of Campbell’s Brook, named after a Scotchman who owned land there.

Among those who purchased this land (once granted by the English crown to Lord Neil Campbell) was Adriaen Aten who came to that locality (as I believe) from New Brunswick, whither his father had come from Long Island. The Atens between the branches

2

 

 

of the Raritan had their children baptized in the log church “over the North Branch,” just west of its union with the South Branch to form the beautiful river.  Some years later, in order to accommodate the westward movement, the church was located two miles further west, and is now known as the church of Readington.

Adriaen Aten’s plantation was in Reading’s Town. His wife was the pious Jacobje Middagh. Her gilt-edged Testament and Psalms I hold in my hand. On a blank leaf she has recorded the date of her birth and that of her ten children:

Jacobje Middagh was born October 24, 1693.

Antje Aten was born August 25, 1719.

Dirck Aten was born August 22, 1721.

Hendrick Aten was born September 3, 1723.

Cathalyne Aten was born January 27, 1726

Maritje Aten was born January 5, 1726

Cathalyntje Aten was born July 29, 1730

Jan and            }

Gerradus Aten  }  were born December 22, 1732

Judick Aten was born July 9, 1735

Adriaen Aten was born November 7, 1737

 

I am descended from the youngest daughter, Judick.  This was the popular form of the Israelitish name, Judith.  Commonly it was abbreviated into Jude.  But this is the New Testament name for a man. For this reason, doubtless, upon her tombstone in Readington churchyard she is called “Judea!”

Two days since I copied the inscription:

“Sacred to the memory of JUDEA ATEN, consort of Joseph Morehead, who died July 22nd, 1819, aged 84 years and 13 days.

 

Affliction sore, long time I bore,--

Physicians’ arts were vain—

Till death did cease and God did please

 

3

 

 

To ease me of my pain.

Yes, we must follow soon; will glad obey

When a few suns have rolled the clouds away;

Tired with our life, will close the willing eye;

‘Tis the great birthright of mankind to die.

Blest be the bark that wafts us to the shore

Where death, our best friend, shall part no more.

 

To her death was not destruction, but transition. She lingered on earth but three months after the departure of her husband, who was six years older than she.  Theirs was a pious household, and its fame still lingers in the region where they dwelt.  The large family Bible which he gave to his grandson, my father, Joseph Thompson, is a precious family relic.  I have in my possession the old oaken chest on which his own Bible lay open, as he sat by it, during the later years of his long life, reading and commenting upon its comforting truths.

Not always had his life been so peaceful. He was an Irishman from Straban. He had been a venturesome lad. Through the kindness of a maiden aunt (who was accustomed to furnish him money for the races) he was enabled, when eighteen years of age, to accompany his cousin, John White, on one of his voyages to America and here he remained. He followed Colonel Peter Schuyler in his memorable march from the Raritan to the St. Lawrence; but, after that, settled down to the steady business of a useful life. Doubtless, Jude Aten “loved him for the dangers he had ‘scaped,” as well as for what he was in himself. He had both character and reputation. He was recognized as a man of influence in the church and in the community.

My brother here with me has in his possession the musket he carried in the French and Indian war.  In the march of improvement the old flintlock has been exchanged for a percussion-lock, and the ramrod is

 

4

 

 

missing. But, otherwise, it is in the same condition as

it was when he carried it on that memorable march through the northern wilderness.  It still bears his initials, J. M. H., Joseph Muir Head.

The inscription upon his tombstone is as follows:

“Sacred to the memory of JOSEPH MOREHEAD, who departed this life April 12, 1819, in the 90th year of his age.

I have a God that changeth not;

Why should I be perplex’d?

My God who owns me in this world

Will own me in the next.

Lord, I commit my soul to thee;

Accept the sacred trust.

Receive the nobler part of me

And watch my sleeping dust

Till that illustrious morning come

When all thy saints shall rise

And, clothed in full immortal bloom,

Attend thee to the skies.

 

My grandmother, Elizabeth Morehead, the daughter of Joseph Muir Head and Jude Aten, told me of the messengers, who, during the Revolutionary war, passed between Albany and the National Congress at Philadelphia, commonly spending the night at her father’s house, one day’s journey from the Capital city. She remembered also how a detachment of Washington’s army, passing from Philadelphia to Morristown one hot summer day, drank the well dry. Two at least of the Aten brothers were in the battle of Long Island.

After the war was over the depreciation of the Continental currency caused them to look for unex-hausted lands on the Delaware, which was but a dozen miles west of them.

They showed their good taste, as well as their good judgment, by locating at the Water Gap. The fertility of the flats and the beauty of the scenery alike combined to induce them to locate here.

5

 

Some of them, however, were not content to tarry here, but continued their journey westward. This is part of the race movement which began with the patriarch Abraham when he came out from Ur of the Chaldees carrying with him the true religion, which has continued on its westward march from that day to this. Gradually it spread through Asia Minor; passed over Europe; was intensified on its Atlantic coast; came to America; developed on its Atlantic coast;  followed up the Raritan; crossed over the Delaware, the Ohio, the Mississippi, the Missouri, and reached the Pacific slope whence civil and religious liberty have now taken their flight to the Sandwich Islands, the Carolines, the Ladrones, the Philippines, and are thus encircling the world. In this movement the Atens have borne their part, and the Albertsons as well, I dare say, though I cannot claim consanguinity with them. But they, too, are Dutch, and it was a happy thought to unite these families so closely in the triple bonds of affinity. It was a happy thought to initiate this union meeting for the cultivation of acquaintance among those of our lineage. And it was a happy thought for one of the family dwelling nearest the centre of the continent to begin the work of compiling a genealogy which will enable us all to know and understand better our relation to each other and to our ancestors, “not lost, but gone before.” I trust we shall all aid him in this work to the best of our ability.  We must obey the Mosaic injunction:

 

Remember the days of old;

Consider the years of many generations;

Ask thy father and he will show thee,

Thine elders and they will tell thee.

 

We stand midway in the development of the world’s progress. The future is to be what we of this generation make it. And we can give this development right

 

6

 

 

 

direction only by knowing something of the past. Only those who know the past are competent either to shape the present or direct the future. Other things being equal, he who knows the past, and he alone, is competent to advise for the future. This is true of all men and women of the present generation, by whatever name they may be called. It is, of course, true, therefore, of the families of the clans here met this day.

There are those who have no sympathy with any endeavor to compile a genealogy or to hold a gathering of a clan. There are those who can find no higher motives for such endeavors than ambition to secure wealth or rank. Consciously or unconsciously, in greater or less degree, men judge others by themselves.

With our limited faculties we can not know all men, nor understand our relations to them. But we can know something of our own kin, our own clan, and of the privileges and duties which grow out of our relations to them. We are Americans. But we are of Dutch descent.

And there may be some truth in the story that the family originated in Scotland and fled to Holland, the land of liberty, to escape persecution for conscience’ sake. At least the characteristics of the Dutch are not very unlike some of the characteristics of the Scotch. My friend, the Rev. Dr. MacDougall. Pastor of the Scotch church at Florence, Italy, told me of a Scotch Christian who wished to be an Elder, a story which might well have been true of a Dutch Elder, also.

This good man confided to his minister the fact that he wished to be an Elder and asked his aid to secure the coveted honor. The minister said:

“Do you think you have the requisite qualifications?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Can you conduct a religious service?”

 

7

 

 

“No.”

“Can you visit the sick and comfort them?”

“No.”

“Are you competent to be useful as a member of the Session, of Presbytery, of Synod, or of the General As-sembly?”

“No.”

“What, then can you do?”

“I can object!”

Whether we are Dutch or Scotch, or both, I trust that all of us here have outgrown the notion that the chief qualification for usefulness is the ability to object.

The conservatism of the Dutch character lays us open sometimes to the imputation of hindering the proper progress of the world. But proper progress takes place only under the combination of effort furnished by the Conservative and the Radical. Under the influence of both these the progress of civilization is slowly and surely onward.

The forces of nature unite with the teachings of the Man of Nazareth for the welfare of human society. Such gatherings as this are evidence of the increasing sense of kinship among human kind. “Kind is but kinned writ small.”  Such gatherings as this show us how extensive our kinship is, lead us on to the apprehension of our relationship to all the race, and thus prepare the way for the love of all mankind inculcated by the Christian religion which is the basis of our Christian civilization.  “Sirs, ye be brethren.”  Let a proper sense of the brotherhood of man underlie all our thinking and acting and we shall have our part in hastening the coming of the golden age so long foretold by poet and seer.

 

 

8

 

 

 

 

 

 

REUNION  NOTES

________

 

It was my good fortune to be present at the second annual reunion of the descendants of the Albertson and Aten families, held on Saturday, August 27th. 1898. About three hundred of the descendants of these two old Holland families, including invited friends from the immediate vicinity, assembled to celebrate the occasion. The company was congenial; the exercises interesting and so many items of family history were gathered that it is believed a brief account of the reunion, together with the eloquent address delivered by Dr. Thompson, may prove acceptable reading to the relatives who were unable to attend.

The reunion was held on the old homestead at Delaware, New Jersey, where Nicholas and Japie (Aten) Albertson lived and died. The house they lived in, stands near the top of the mountain, and is still occupied by the two Misses Albertson, worthy descendants of this worthy couple of hardy pioneers. From the mountain top back of the house and orchard, a fine view may be had of the "Great Mountain", the Delaware Water Gap, and the farm on which Japie Aten grew to womanhood; from which she was married, and where her father, Derich Aten, lived and died. Situated on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River, this farm extends westward to the hilltops; embraces a wide stretch of the fertile valley, and has extended water front. At this point Derich Aten established a ferry in about 1760, which is known as ATEN's ferry to

 

9

 

this day. On the bank near the cease­less flow of the beautiful river he laid out and dedicated a burying ground, which was to be resting place for himself and his descendants forever. There Derich and his brother Hendrick, who owned an adjoining farm, and many of their descendants lie buried. On the unpretentious stone at the head of Derich's grave the letters D. A., and figures 1809, although rudely cut, are still easily read. Near by, on another plain stone, the letters ---drick, remain to point out the last resting place of Hendrick Aten.

Among the old family treasures exhibited at the reunion was the family Bible of Derich Aten, printed at, Te Dordrecht in Holland, by Jacob-en Henrick Keur, A. D., 1741, in Low Dutch. The family Bible of Nicholas Albertson, printed in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1755. An old trunk shaped leather covered box formerly used as a receptacle for papers and documents bearing the date on the inside of May 11th, 1752, said to have been the property of Adrian Aten. A quaint China bowl with a known history of 157 years. An old parchment deed dated May 31st, 1744, made by William Allen and Margaret, his wife, of Phila­delphia, Penn., to Adrian Aten, of Readings Town in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, conveying 300 acres in then Bucks - now Northampton County, Pennsylvania. In later years this land became the farm of Derich Aten, on which he established the ferry and dedicated the burying ground. An old parchment patent bearing the date of June 8th, 1791, whereby 126 acres of land was granted by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to Henry Aten on which to found a town to be called "Atensberg".

Adrian Hendrickse Aten, the progenitor of the Aten family in America, crossed over from Holland and set-tled at Flatbush, Long Island, sometime prior to 1665.

 

10

 

 

 

 

In the month of October of that year his name appears on the records of Flatbush as an officer of the peace. On March 20th, 1695, he made his last will, and in this instrument the name of Rut. Albertson (full name Rutgert) appears as one of the subscribing witnesses.

William Albertson was at Flatbush, Long Island, as early as 1643. In 1655 Albert Albertson was living at the west end of Long Island. In 1657 Eva Albertson married Roeleff Swartwout. In 1672 Derich Albertson built a mill near the Delaware, probably in Delaware, since half of it was claimed by William Toms. In 1691 William Albertson bought a tract of land in Gloucester County for his son, William, who married Esther Willis in 1695. Thus the Albertsons were on the Delaware before the Atens.

Early in 1700 descendants of Adrian Hendrickse Aten emigrated to the beautiful valley of the Raritan river in New Jersey. Here the names of the children of his descendants may be found, on the baptismal records of the old Dutch churches at Raritan, North Branch, Somerville and Readington. Indeed, as the history of the families run along parallel lines for more than two hundred years, three of the Albertsons marrying Atens in the meantime. It seems probable that the founders of both these families crossed over from Holland and found a home on Long Island, at or about the same early date.

Among those present at the reunion, were descendants of the following children of Adrian and Jacobje (Middagh) Aten, to wit; Derich, Hendrick, Garret and Judick. Before parting it was decided by a unanimous vote of those present to hold another reunion next year, and a committee was appointed with authority to name the time and place.

 

11

 

 

An effort is being made to compile a genealogy of the ATEN family and the subscriber would be glad to receive aid from any of the family or from any who can give reliable information respecting any of them.

                                     HENRY J. ATEN,

                                         Hiawatha, Kansas

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Image of a floral garland placed here.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12

 

 

 

 

Jacob Hendershott  1764 D March  21—1846 , age 82 yrs~~m. Mary

dau – Evan Thomas- had ten children

 

Elizabeth Hendershott  b. 1795  m.

Garret Aten.           died in Lenawee Co

Mary Hendershott  m. Peter Aten.   Mich

Groveland, Livingston Co. N.Y.

Jerseytown, Columbia Co. Pa.

Tecumseh, Lenawee Co. Mich.

 

 

[DMA NOTE:  These notes were written in Henry J. Aten’s hand inside the back cover of the pamphlet.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12