- Walling Van Winkle
Walling Jocobse Van Winkle (1650 – 1725) was an early settler of the Northern New Jersey area and the namesake for the town of
Wallington, New Jersey .Family history
He was the son of Jacob Walingen (sometimes spelled Waligh) (b. 1599 d. 8/17/1657). Jacob along with his brother Simon Waligh (b. unknown d. 3//1649) were the first of the Van Winkle family to arrive in America from the
Netherlands in 1630. The brothers were given parcels of land to farm from theKiliaen van Rensselaer estate which included Papscanee Island. Simon purchased a plantation onManhattan Island but was killed shortly after by Native Americans in Pavonia (modern dayJersey City, New Jersey ). Jacob spent many years after this event traveling between the Netherlands and the Dutch colony of Nieu Netherlands negotiating for land purchases within certain parts of the colony. Jacob became a member ofCouncil of twelve men which was the first representative official body within the states ofNew York , New Jersey, andConnecticut . After unsuccessfully trying to start a community along the Connecticut River and drive out the encroaching English settlers, Jacob settled down to farm a large parcel of land located in Pavonia. A particularly severe out break of hostilities between the local natives and the colonists caused hundreds of deaths, and this forced Jacob to flee to the fort located on Manhattan Island. After peace was restored Jacob returned to Pavonia and rebuilt his farm. Jacob entered a trade guild in 1657 but died shortly after leaving behind a wife and seven children.Personal history
The Dutch custom in the 17th century was that the son would take the father's first name as their last name (Jocobse=son of Jacob)
References
taken from "The Van Winkle Record, 1913"
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