Christoffel Davids
Sex: M
Individual Information
Birth: 3 Sep 1616 - Marbletown, Ulster, NY
Christening:
Death: 1680 - Marbletown, Ulster, NY
Burial:
Cause of Death:
Spouses and Children
1. Cornelia De Vos ( - Bef 27 Feb 1657) 5
Marriage: 1641-1650 - Albany, Albany, NY
2. *Maria Martensen (1630 - 1670) 5
Marriage: Abt 1660 - , , NY
Children:
1. Debora Christoffels Davids (1665-1693) 5
Notes
General:
MARRIAGE: Coulter, William J., Port Jervis Union Gazette, 10 Dec 1938; Orange Co. Genealogical Society, Goshen NY.
NAME: Last name referred to as Davis or David; first name sometimes Christopher or Christoffels--nickname was Kit.
HISTORY: Davids "... was an Englishman, who first settled at Hellegat, on the island of Manhattan. He afterwards moved to Fort Orange (Albany), and later went to Ulster county with his family, and on the 'Redoubt Kill' opposite Ponckhockie built him a log house in 1654..." He "...was an interpreter to the Indians, and figured extensively in the early settlement of Ulster county." Christoffel also was a trapper. Quotes from Ten Eyck, J.B., Rev., translator, Old Dutch Records of the Machackemech, and Menissinck Churches, Port Jervis New York and Montague New Jersey, 1899, Port Jervis NY.
According to Coulter (29 Oct 1938), the estate of Kit Davis was inventoried on 2 Mar 1657, after the death of his first wife. That there were small children in the household was apparent from the inventory (this researcher does not have the names of those children), which included "a package of child's bed linen, five white bibs, five tuckers, a package of child's bed linen tied in a square linen cloth, a child's yellow jacket, seven cotton swathing cloths (luyers), ten pillows, two pillows, seven night neckerchiefs, etc." Arent Bradt, b/l of Kit's wife, and Andries De Vos, the wife's father, were appointed guardians of Kit's children.
Kit went back to Albany. and on 7 Sep 1657 was acknowledged as Christoffel Davids, burgomaster and citizen of the village of Beverwyck. He returned to Esopus by the end of 1657, and resumed the "care free existence of his bachelor days."
Kit made frequent trips in his canoe to Albany and New Amsterdam. He engaged in frequent clashes with the Dutch authorities. He continued to live on the "Strand" on the Rondout (see above) and did not move into the stockade called Wildwyck, established by Gov. Stuyvesant 20 Jun 1658 in Esopus. On 1 Sep 1659 Kit's home was attacked and burned by the Indians, and he was forced to move inside the stockade. From there he acted as interpreter to the Indians. On 25 Sep 1659 Kit was sent to Manhattan to report conditions to Stuyvesant. At that time five or six hundred Indians surrounded the palisaded village. Kit made the fifty mile trip alone. Stuyvesant brought 150 men to save the Wildwyck settlers, but the Indians had left. Indian troubles continued, until a temporary peace was made on 10 Jul 1660 (Coulter 14 Nov 1938).
At about this time Kit returned to Albany and married Maria Martensen. He moved back to Esopus between 1662 and May 3 1663, where their first child was born, and took up residence again on the Strand. On 7 Jun 1663 the Indians killed many settlers in the stockade, and carried women and children away in captivity. Kit Davids and his family had to flee their burning home again (Coulter 10 Dec 1938).
Kit again acted as go-between for the Dutch government and the Indians, canoeing between Manhattan, Albany and Esopus. He was instrumental in locating and saving 23 of the captives (Coulter 31 Dec 1938).
Kit continued to give the Dutch authorities a hard time. Perhaps they put up with him to a certain extent due to his heroic actions. An example from the minutes of the Extraordinary Session of the Wildwyck Court on 12 Feb 1665 gives an indication of how much he must have tried their patience. On that date, the court messenger Jacob Joosten reported that he had refused to summon Christoffel Davids to the court for the third time. Joosten said he feared for his life, and needed a guard of two soldiers to take the summons to Davids. The court fired Joosten, and appointed another man who said he would be qualified to serve the summons on Davids. Davids was absent at the next court session (NEW YORK HISTORICAL MANUSCRIPTS;DUTCH, VOL I, p. 213, translated by Dingman Versteeg, 1976, Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co.).
POSSIBLE DESCENDANTS: Christoffel may have been the father of George (Joris) Davids or Davis, who m. Jihanna. George was a trapper, and in 1680 got a land grant in Menissinck. A descendant of George may be Solomon Davids, m. Lea Decker around 1733, and lived in what is now Deerpark, Orange Co., NY. Solomon had 10 children, one of whom was Daniel, and another was Joris Davids or Davis, who may have been the husband of Deborah Schoonover, daughter of Nicholas Schoonover and Wentjen Quick. Another son, Jan Davis, is mentioned by Coulter (31 Dec 1938). Jan Davis was involved in negotiations with the Indians in July 1663. If Jan was the son of Kit and his first wife, they were probably married before 1650, for Jan to be old enough to deal with the Indians in 1663.