Note 5 — THE DE CAMP FAMILY.

Note.—Elsie de Mandeville was the daughter of Gillis Jansen de Mandeviel from Garder, Holland, who emigrated to New Amsterdam in February, 1659, on the ship De Trouw (Faith), a private trader going to Manhattan, which sailed 13 February, 1659, with near one hundred passengers, but no French except one—“De Ruine.”

It has been suggested that this single French emigrant was Laurens Jansen de Camp “de Rouen,” i. e., that the passenger whose name is left blank or cannot be deciphered in the original list was “from Rouen,” a city in the province of Normandy, France. While there is no substantial proof of the above contention it is based upon reason as it is known that Laurens Jansen de Camp came from Normandy, and that there was a De Camp family in that city, one member of which, Jean de Camp, a saddler, was killed there during the St. Bartholomew massacre, August 1572.

The name “Gillis Janzen” erroneously appears in a list of passengers on the ship “Moesman” which sailed in April, 1659, and it was long supposed that this was another person of the same name. (Doc. Hist. of N. Y.) An examination of the original document now on file at Albany, N. Y., proves conclusively that this “Gillis Janzen” is recorded not as a passenger, but as one itemized in the ship manifest against whom a charge is made for a small sum of money advanced by the direction of the Dutch West India Company. Gillis Jansen de Mandeville brought over with him his wife Altje (Pieters or Hendricks), and four children, viz.: (1) Hendrick Gillis, born in Gelderland; (2) Gerretje Gillis; (3) Aeltje Gillis; (4) Jan Gillis; and it is presumed that two children (5) Tyntje Gillis, and (6) David Gillis, were born later at Flatbush, N. Y. He died between 1696–1701, leaving a will dated 15th September 1696, proved 1701, in New York County, Liber 2 of Wills, page 109. In it he calls himself of Greenwich, N. Y. (an outlying district of the city), and mentions his wife Elsie Mandeville, eldest son Hendrick, son David, daughter Tynte, wife of Corn Jansen De Veer (should be “van der Veer”), daughter Altje, wife of Lawrence Johnson (meant for Laurens Jansen de Camp), daughter Perette, wife of Peter Mutt; daughter Geritie, wife of John Muthel.

The original will, on file in the New York Surrogate’s Office, is written in English, and bears a wax seal upon which a coat of arms or crest can be traced, resembling a horse rampant.