Source Text:
Dutch Ancestry
Family Castle in Deurne
The area which was the home of the Van Deursen family is a small village called Deurne in The Netherlands, a province of Brabant commonly called North Brabant. The area was named by the Romans for the large moor as Palus (moor) from which the name "Peel land" is derived.
After the Roman Empire fell apart, the Franks conquered the country in the fifth century. The nobility in this region (family Deursen included) had pure Germanic, Frankish roots. In the Carolingian times (800 A.D.), this area was a part of the jurisdictional region known as "Toxandria". This later became the dukedom of Brabant. The Carolingian Empire collapsed in about 900 A.D. and the area was then ruled by more independant lords who united under the feudal system.
There is a high probability that Hendrick Van Doersen was in the third crusade in 1196 and that he is the one who adopted the cross in the Coat-of-Arms.
During the Thirteenth century, the lords Van Deursen were found in the "meyery van's Hertogen-bosch" (the majorate of Bois-le-Duc) which is the area of Brabant where Deursen lies. They kept a sovereign independancy until the year 1325.
On the 1st of March, 1325 (according to old frankish custom), Govert Van Doorsen acknowledged for his liegelord Jan III, the noblest duke Brabant ever had, who had a differing view of human rights of the times and an advanced view of governing, granted on his deceased father's and his own initiative, a liberal charter to his subjects. The charter served the Dutch as a model in 1581, when they began their struggle for freedom more systematically. It was noted as "a cornerstone in the bulwark of Dutch liberty," and as such a place in the constitutional history of Western Europe affecting the rights of man all over the world.
Under Jan the Third's daughter, Duchess Johanna (died Dec, 1406), Jan Van Deursen (possibly grandson or great-grandson of Govert) became lord of Deursen. From this time there is no break in the family line to Abraham Pietersen, then to the American posterity.
This is the bloodline presented:
Jan Van Deursen
Born: 1367 Died: after 1406
Married: Aleid Van Bloemensweerde (b:1371 d:after 1397)
Jan Van Deursen
Born: 1393 Died: 1423-1484
Married: Aleid Van Dompselaer (b:1397 d: 1423-1491)
Jan Van Deursen
Born: 1419 Died: 1449-1510
Married: Wilhemina VanZoudenbalg (b:1423 d: 1449-1517)
Nicholas Van Deursen
Born:1445 Died: 1475-1536
Married: Machteld Proeys (b:1449 d: 1475-1543)
Jan Willem Van Deursen
Born:1471 Died: after 1497
Married: A daughter of Gerrit Van Heusden
Jan Van Deursen
The last male decendant of Govert Van Doorsen to hold the ancestral seat, the land and castle of Duersen. His Mother and wife were both from the renowned 'house of Heusden', and so he took the 'wheel of Heusden' into his Coat-of-Arms.
Born:1497 at Old Castle, Asperen, Zuid Holland, Netherlands
Died: after 1550
Married: Elizabeth Van Heusden (b:1501 d:after 1520)
Hendrick Van Deursen
Hendrick went back to the original Coat-of-Arms (pictured above) instead of adopting the one modified by his father. After the Spanish took control of The Netherlands, Hendrick left North Brabant for Asperen, where he became 'drossaert' (head-magistrate)of Asperen. About 1555, Philip suceeded his father as King of Spain, Prince of all The Netherland, and Duke of North Brabant. Then, most probably, the King of Spain appointed the Lord of Deursen. In 1559 the jurisdiction became a high criminal court as the number of criminals increased after the Spanish got a foothold. Philip died in 1599 and Prince Maurice of Orange won the great battle of Nieupoort in 1600. The victorious States of the Netherlands owned Brabant as a conquered province at the start of the 17th century.
Born: 1520-1523 Died: 1567 at Asperen, Holland
Married: Maria Rutgers (b: abt 1527 at Asperem, Aaabrabant, Belgium d:)
Willem Van Deursen
Born: Died: after 1575
Married: Elisabeth Gysberts (b: d:after 1575)
Pieter Jans Van Deursen
Moved from Asperen to the Province Holland in 1581 became Magistrate in Haarlem in 1583.
Born: 1575(?) - Duersen(?), Netherlands Died: after 1607
Married: Maria Jans
Married: Paulina Vinke (Jan 15, 1590/91)
i Janneken Pieters Van Deursen (Bap. in The Netherlands Dec 15, 1591)
ii Mechelkin Pietersen Van Deursen (Bap. in The Netherlands Apr 3, 1594)
iii Johannes Pietersen Van Deursen (Bap. in The Netherlands Jan 21, 1595/6)
iv Abraham Pietersen Van Deursen (Bap. in The Netherlands Jul 8, 1598- Died 1598)
v Abraham Pieterson Van Deursen (Bap. in Haarlem, The Netherlands Nov 11, 1607)
vi Isaac Pietersen Van Deursen (Bap. in The Netherlands Jan 1, 1601/02)
vii Ideken Pieters Van Deursen (Bap. in The Netherlands Mar 17, 1604/05)
viii Sara Pieters Van Deursen (Bap. in The Netherlands May 7, 1608)
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