Sunday, February 25, 2018

Hendrick Christiansen, Great-Grandfather of LaPrairie Voyageurs?



Based on “Netherlands, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1910” in the ancestry.com database there is a creditable argument to be made that Hendrick Christiansen was the great-grandfather of Marie Anne Christiansen who married Moise Dupuis in Schenectady, New York in 1699, and moved with him to LaPrairie, Canada (New France).

If these somewhat murky records are correct then Hendrick Christiansen is the 2nd great-grandfather of LaPrairie voyageur Francois Moise Dupuis (Dupuy) (1709-1764) my 6th great-grandfather.

Who was Hendrick Christiansen?

Hendrick Christiansen (also spelled Christiaensen, and Corstiaensen) was a Dutch mariner, explorer and fur trader.  He was a ship captain and trader employed by the Van Tweenhuysen Company of Amsterdam, and was, in all probability, the founder of New York City and he certainly was the founder of Albany.

In 1611 Christiansen paid two visits to Manhattan in his ship Fortuyn.  Upon his return to the Netherlands in 1612, he brought back with him two young Native Americans who were the sons of a local sachem (probably Mohawk).  The Dutch were fascinated with the boys, whom they called Orson and Valentine Christiansen.

In 1613 Christiansen returned to New Netherlands with Captains Adriaen Block and Cornelius Hendricksen.  Together they created the first map of the region that showed Manhattan and Long Island as separate geographical entities.



In 1614 Christiansen sailed the Fortuyn  up the North River to Castle Island (New York), where he built a warehouse on the ruins of an old abandoned French fur trader's fort. He added a stockade and a moat eighteen feet wide.  He named it Fort Nassau (present day Albany, NY) in honor of Stadholder Count Maurice of Nassau. 

The river, sometimes known as the Mauritius was also named after the Count. 

Christiansen took two cannon and eleven swivel guns from the Fortuyn and left twelve men under the command of Jacob Eelkens, before returning downriver.


Artists conception of Fort Nassau 1614, on the North River


In the spring of 1625 (historians differ on the date, some have it as early as 1616) Christiansen's ship, the Swarte Beer, was lying in the Hudson River when his ship was surprised by Indians. In the attack Hendrick Christiansen and the greater part of his crew were killed. The survivors succeeded in driving away the Indians from the ship by two shots from the guns.

Hendrick Christiansen and His Probable Descendants

GENERATION 1
Hendrick (Henrik) Christiansen (Christiaensen) (Corstiaensen) 1575–1616
BIRTH ABT. 1575 • Probably, Netherlands
DEATH AFT. 1616 • New Netherlands, North America
10th great-grandfather
Record Citation: Netherlands, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1910
Name: Henrik Christiaensen
Gender: Male
Spouse: Enneken Wessels
Child: Jan Christiaensen

GENERATION 2 
Jan Mariner Chrisitaanse 1625–
BIRTH 1625 • Netherlands
DEATH New York, United States
9th great-grandfather

Record Citation: Nederlands Hervormde Kerk (Arnhem, Gelderland, Nederland), Trouwen 1627 - 1671, Microfilm nr. 108628
Name: Jan [Christiaensen]
Gender: mannelijk (Male)
Christening Date: 19 dec 1639
Christening Place: Arnhem, Gelderland, Nederland
Father: Henrik Christiaensen
Mother: Enneken Wessels

GENERATION 3
Christian Christiansen 1650–1696
BIRTH 1650 • Netherlands
DEATH SEP 1696 • Bergen, New Jersey, United States
8th great-grandfather

Record Citation: Netherlands, GenealogieOnline Trees Index, 1000-Current
Name: Christian Christiansen
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 650
Birth Place: Netherlands
Death Date: sep 1696
Death Place: Bergen, New Jersey, United States
Death Age: 46
Father: Jan Mariner Chrisitaanse
Mother: Neeltje Brantzen
Spouse: Elizabeth Ysbrants Eldersz
Children: Christiaan Christiansen 
Daniel Christiansen 
Elizabeth Christiansen 
Neeltie Christiansen 
Marie Anne Christiansen

GENERATION 4
Marie Anne Christiansen 1676–1750
BIRTH 1676 • Schenectady, Schenectady, New York, United States
DEATH 27 OCTOBER 1750 • Laprairie Notre Dame de LaPrairie de la Madeline, Quebec, Canada
7th great-grandmother

Record Citation: Netherlands, GenealogieOnline Trees Index, 1000-Current
Name: Marie Anne Christiansen
Gender: Female
Birth Date: 1675
Birth Place: Schenectady, Schenectady, New York, USA
Death Date: 26 okt 1750 (26 Oct 1750)
Death Place: Laprairie, Quebec, Canada
Death Age: 75
Father: Christian Christiansen
Mother: Elizabeth Ysbrants Eldersz
Spouse: Moise Dupuis
Children: Marie Barbe Dupuis 
Marie Charlotte Dupuy 
Francois Dupuis 
Marie Anne Dupuis 
Marie Francoise Dupuis 
Charles Dupuis 
Marie Angelique Dupuis 
Charles Dupuis



GENERATION 5
Francois Moise Dupuis (Dupuy) 1709–1764
BIRTH 14 FEB 1709 • La Prairie, Laprairie, Quebec, Canada
DEATH 19 SEP 1764 • St-Philippe, Laprairie, Quebec, Canada
6th great-grandfather

Record Citation: Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968
Name: Francois Dupuy
[Francois (father - Moyse) Dupuy] 
[Francois Dupuis] 
Gender: masculin (Male)
Baptism Age: 1695
Event Type: Baptême (Baptism)
Birth Date: 14 Février 1709 
Baptism Date: 14 févr. 1709 (14 Feb 1709)
Baptism Place: La Prairie, Québec (Quebec)
Place of Worship or Institution: Notre-Dame-de-LaPrairie-de-la-Madeleine
Father: Louise Dupuy
Mother: Mariane Christiane

GENERATION 6
Marie Anne Dupuis (Dupuy) 1753–1807
BIRTH 30 JUN 1753 • Saint-Constant, Laprairie, Quebec, Canada
DEATH 24 DEC 1807 • St-Constant (St-Constant), Québec
5th great-grandmother

Record Citation: Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968
Name: Marie Anne Dupuy
Event Type: Baptême (Baptism)
Baptism Date: 1753-1772
Baptism Place: St-Philippe, Québec (Quebec)
Place of Worship or Institution: Laprairie




LEARN MORE AT: Ripples from La Prairie Voyageur Canoes -- My Voyageur Ancestry



Thursday, February 8, 2018

Inspirations for a Chatsworth Western Movie Historian


This is what Woodland Hills looked like in 1954

Jerry England, Chatsworth Movie Historian

Jerry England’s cowboy legacy and pioneer heritage can be back-trailed for more than twelve generations across the forests and prairies of North America.

In the 1940s and 1950s, when Jerry was growing up, the San Fernando Valley was still full of movie cowboys, beautiful ranches, and fine horses.  Where he lived, in rural Woodland Hills, most kids had a horse or two in their backyards.

Jerry recalls, “As youngsters we rode our horses to Calabasas, Canoga Park, and Chatsworth on dirt roads.”

Jerry reminds us that in the 1930s, most of Hollywood's six-gun heroes worked for a single studio, such as Warner Brothers, Universal or Republic.  Many of the early cowboy actors, like Gary Cooper, Tom Mix, John Wayne, Roy Rogers, and Clark Gable bought ranches and moved to the Valley.

By the 1940s, celebrities such as Barbara Stanwyck, Zeppo Marx, Janet Gaynor, William Holden, and Robert Taylor boasted of owning working horse-ranches.  Nearby Northridge billed itself as the "Horse Capital of the West."


Some of Jerry’s favorite memories from the 1950s include attending the annual Rose Parade in Pasadena, where youngsters were sometimes treated to actually meeting their cowboy heroes.  He was one of those lucky kids who got a souvenir good luck coin directly from Hoppy. 


During the mid 1950s Jerry often attended the Los Angeles Sheriffs' Rodeo at the Los Angeles Coliseum and remembers there being more than 100,000 fans in the stands.  One of those years, 1956 he recalls, Roy Rogers was the Grand Marshall.


In the mid 1950s, cowboy star Wild Bill Elliott lived just down the road from him on a ranch in Calabasas where he hosted Junior Equestrian horse shows that Jerry participated in.


Jerry remembers riding past Rancho El Escorpion’s old barn and dreaming of bygone days of the early vaqueros and cattle ranching.  Miguel Leonis built the adobe barn in the 1870s, and it still stood until the 1960s.  

There were plenty of interesting characters left over from an earlier era that reminded us of a passing West.”  While out on a trail ride Jerry met a fellow named Don Brandstetter who had a beautiful Arabian stallion named Baleyn.  

Jerry remembers, “We got to be pretty good friends, and Don showed me some great places to ride.  We sometimes rode our horses under Ventura Boulevard through a huge 8' diameter iron culvert, and we'd stop by the old Calabasas general store for a Nehi soda,” 

“Don really loved that stallion and would do some mighty funny things with that horse.  I remember him holding up his canteen so he could share a drink with his horse, and I remember him inviting the horse into his house.  I'll admit ol' Balane had pretty good manners.  A special treat was watching Don and Balane in the Rose Parade dressed in full Arabian attire.”

We lived on Manton Avenue, in Woodland Hills, still a dirt road in 1955

As late as 1956, sheep herders were still bringing their sheep wagons, horses, border collie dogs, and herd of sheep to graze off the wild oats that grew across the road from his home in Woodland Hills.

By 1957, the Valley was getting way too populated for his dad, so he moved to Oakhurst, a hamlet in the High Sierras (population 356).  After completing his service in the U. S. Army Jerry moved back to the valley in 1965, and now lives in Chatsworth.


Today Jerry is a movie historian, cowboy folk artist, and photographer who, for the past twenty years, has researched and collected memorabilia associated with the movie locations in Chatsworth's Santa Susana Mountains. 

After making a 2007 guest appearance on the ReelzChannel Dailies program titled "Hollywood Was Here - The Iverson Movie Ranch", he was urged to share his research and knowledge. 


Using movie stills, screenshots, and his own photographs Jerry has documented the unique landscape features that attracted filmmakers to Chatsworth a century ago, and has published two books about Chatsworth's filming locations:  Reel Cowboys of the Santa Susanas” (2008) and “Boulder Pass - Hollywood's Fantasyland” (2010).

If you'd like to learn more about Chatsworth movie locations Jerry invites you to visit his blog links listed below:

Chatsworth Movie Locations

Chatsworth's Road to Movie Magic -- Part One

Chatsworth's Road to Movie Magic -- Part Two

My Baby Loves Western Movies & Ranches

Chatsworth's Rock Stars

Meanwhile back at the ranch -- Map to rock star locations

Big News on the Iverson Movie Ranch

Homage to six-gun heroes and their gallant horses

San Fernando Valley Horses and Movies Are Forever Linked

Movies and serials filmed in Chatsworth

Early Days

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- The beginning (1912 - 1922)

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Sound arrives (1923 - 1929)

Classic Movies

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- 1930s Classic Movies

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- 1940s Classic Movies

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Classics 1950 - 1953

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Classics 1954 - 1956

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Classics 1957 - 1959

Cliffhangers (Serials)

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- 1930s Cliffhangers (Serials)

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- 1940s Cliffhangers (Serials)

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- 1950s Cliffhangers (Serials)

Western Movies

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns (1930 - 1936)

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns (1937 - 1939)

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1940

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1941

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1942

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1943

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1944

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1945

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1946

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1947

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1948

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1949

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1950

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1951

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1952

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1953

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1954

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1955

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1956

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1957

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1958

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns 1959

Celebrating 100 years of Chatsworth Movies -- Westerns after 1960

Television Shows

'Wait for me, Wild Bill!' -- Chatsworth's TV Westerns

Iverson Movie Ranch Video Montage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_HBwVKaHjo