Cornelis van Tienhoven (c.1601-1656)
Crime and Punishment
22 Aug 1639 - Signature of Cornelis van Tienhoven from Deed of Cornelis van Tienhoven to Coenraat van Ceulen for the bouwery on the island of Manhattan, New York State Archives.
Cornelis van Tienhoven was infamously reputed to have been New York’s first embezzler, deeply disliked by the citizens of New Amsterdam and loathed by most everyone in the New World.
So, he wasn’t the kindly, nurturing, grandfatherly type — nobody’s perfect, right?
Out of my 1,048 ninth great-grandfathers — yes, that’s how many ninth great-grandfathers we all have — Cornelis van Tienhoven is one of mine, and most certainly a fitting figure for this writing prompt:
CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Tobias Seamon, a contributing writer for the online magazine The Morning News, in his online article “While He Flatters, He Bites,” said of my maternal 9th GG Cornelis van Tienhoven:
“The New World was filled with many threats, dangers, and unseen evil—all of which sailed over in the form of one man: Cornelis Van Tienhoven, the bad sheriff of New Amsterdam.
Though the Spanish conquistadors in South America and the bewitched Puritans of Salem receive greater attention (and censure) than the Dutch West India Company’s trade settlements in Manhattan and the Hudson Valley, the Dutch too can claim their fair share of colonial nightmares. But unlike those more notorious events, and reflecting the tiny size of its fatherland, the dark side of the Dutch experiment in America can be exemplified in the career of a single, historically-neglected monster named Cornelis Van Tienhoven.”
“…a slovenly drunk who ran around town half-naked, grabbing at whatever woman was available or unable to fend him off. Later in his wide-ranging duties as schout, Van Tienhoven would catalog every bawd in New Amsterdam, and one can be sure that his research was well informed.”
What others have to say about 9th GG Cornelis van Tienhoven:
“A ruddy man of corpulent body, van Tienhoven worked his way up to Secretary, a powerful post at the center of the colony’s administration. He first earned the enmity of the people in the reign of Director Kieft, playing a key role in the Indian wars that nearly destroyed the colony.” — Bill Greer, The Mevrouw Who Saved Manhattan - A Novel of New Amsterdam
"Crafty, subtle, intelligent, sharp-witted ... he is adept at dissimulation, and even when laughing intends to bite." — Description of Cornelis van Tienhoven in 1649
“Tienhoven translated from Dutch means "ten hooves" -- one might argue Cornelis got his set straight from The Devil himself.” — Bob Fulkerson, The Fulkerson Family Pages
"Lecherously, van Tienhoven smiled because he was the biggest womanizer in town, no matter how married or how ugly he was. The next time a woman resisted his charms, he'd spout his devil strategy to ease her mind over prying eyes. Don't worry, honey, he'd say, if anybody gossips it'll be a devil lying out their mouth." —Jackie Lambert in Bill Greer’s The Mevrouw Who Saved Manhattan
Time and place: New Amsterdam, now Lower Manhattan, New York City
New Amsterdam, about 1630 — 3 years before Cornelis van Tienhoven’s arrival to the colony.
Image credit: Innes, J. H. (John H.), No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
Image description: The Castello Plan, a 1660 map of New Amsterdam (the top right corner is roughly north). The fort gave The Battery its name, the large street going from the fort past the wall became Broadway, and the city wall (right) gave Wall Street its name. Indicated in the blue circle — the location of Cornelis van Tienhoven’s home.
Image credit: Jacques Cortelyou, General Governor of Nieuw Amsterdam at that time, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Image description: For reference and comparison, here is The Castello Plan, layered over a modern map of Lower Manhattan, New York City. Again, the added blue circle indicates the location of van Tienhoven’s home.
Life & crimes … and (escaped?) punishment:
c.1601: Born in Utrecht, Netherlands, son of my maternal 10th GG Luyt Cornelisz van Tienhoven (1569 - 1651) and Jannetje Adriaens de Haes (1578 - 1651)
1633: Arrived in New Amsterdam (present-day southern tip of Manhattan Island, New York) as a Dutch West Indies Company accountant
1638 - 1647: Promoted to schout-fiscaal (usually translated as secretary) with the arrival of Director Willem Kieft in 1638 and retained that title under Peter Stuyvesant
1639: Married 16-year-old Rachel Vigne, my 9th Great-Grandmother
1646: The Dutch West India Company rewarded Van Tienhoven for his “long and faithful service” by re-appointing him as the organization's provincial secretary. They also gave him a farm in New Netherland.
During this time, although he had a wife and family in New Amsterdam, Cornelis Van Tienhoven seduced a young girl named Liesbeth Jansen Croon, the daughter of a basketmaker, and lived with her openly during the time he spent in Holland.
28 April 1651: The Dutch parliament ordered Van Tienhoven to report to the Hague on April 28, 1651, where he was arrested on charges of adultery, but released upon payment of a fine. Although disgraced in the eyes of the Dutch community, Van Tienhoven persuaded Liesbeth with promises of marriage to sail with him to New Netherland. When the ship reached New Amsterdam, Van Tienhoven's wife Rachel was waiting on the dock. Liesbeth, the victim of deception, filed a charge in court against Van Tienhoven, but it appears that a settlement in her favor was not obtained.
1652: When the colony was given the right to form a local government, van Tienhoven was appointed as the first schout in New Amsterdam, much to the dismay of the population. He was tasked with overseeing the law enforcement and administrative tasks of the colony.
1655: His multiple misdeeds and misuse of power led to the Peach Tree War, a large-scale attack on September 15, 1655 by the Susquehannock Indians and allied tribes on several New Netherland settlements along the North River (Hudson River). This led to his dismissal in June 1656, as ordered by the directors of the company in Holland.
18 Nov 1656: Charged with embezzlement — while his case was pending, he disappeared, leaving behind his pregnant wife and three children. Although his hat and cane were found floating in the Hudson River, his body was never located and many believed that he had absconded, possibly with his equally devious brother to Barbados.
Further reading and sources:
Tobias Seamon, “While He Flatters, He Bites — The New World was filled with many threats, dangers, and unseen evil—all of which sailed over in the form of one man: Cornelis Van Tienhoven, the bad sheriff of New Amsterdam” https://themorningnews.org/article/while-he-flatters-he-bites (accessed May 2021).
Bill Greer, “New York’s First Embezzler” http://www.billsbrownstone.com/NewAmsterdammers/index.asp/vantienhoven (accessed April 2021).
Bill Greer, “The Mevrouw Who Saved Manhattan” http://www.billsbrownstone.com/billsbooks/mevrouw .
Bob Fulkerson, “Christine’s sister, Rachel” http://www.fulkersonfamilypages.org/New-Am--NY--pg-8.html (accessed April 2021).
Wikipedia contributors, "Cornelis van Tienhoven," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cornelis_van_Tienhoven&oldid=917347318 (accessed May, 2021).
Historical Society of the New York Courts, “Legal History Matters: Cornelis Luycasz van Tienhoven” http://www.nycourts.gov/history/legal-history-new-york/legal-history-eras-03/history-era-03-van-tienhoven.html (accessed April 2021)
