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Family of Hendrick^6 Van Wicklen
Hendrick^6 Lott Van Wicklen (Gerrit^5, Gerrit^4, Evert^3, Gerrit^2, Jentie^1 Jeppes), b.
27 Oct 1794, Jamaica, Queens, NY New York City Marriages, 1600s - 1800s lists Hendrick L. Van Wicklen, Maria Bennett with marriage date of 1817, NYC, NY Membership, Jamaica RDC - 8 April 1836 Hendrick L. Van Wicklen, Maria Benet 1850 US Census for Jamaica, Queens, NY lists Maria Van Wicklen, 50 with children: Garrett, 30, farmer; H. Lott, 22, Phebe, 20, and Ferdinand, 28. 1860 US Census for Jamaica, Queens, NY lists Maria Van Wicklen, 68, with Garret, 40, farmer, Henry L., 32, farmer, Phebe M., 29, and _____ L., 15 (male, first name illegible but ends in "y"). All b. NY 1880 US Census for Queens, NY lists Marie Van Wicklen, 86, Keeping house, with son Hendrick, 52, farmer. Van Wicklen Cemetery - circa 1900: located on Old South Road, Jamaica South, L.I. is the final resting place for Ferdinand Bennet Van Wicklen, Hendrick Lott Van Wicklen and Hendrick Lott Van Wicklen, Jr., Maria B. Van Wicklen, Janet Van Wicklen (wife of Garret Van Wicklen) and Sarah Maria Van Wicklen. (It is not known at this time who Janet Van Wicklen (b. 17 Oct 1841, d. 20 Mar 1891) and Sarah Maria Van Wicklen (b. 26 Jan 1849 and d. 6 May 1849) are. [1 April 2012 email from Michael Wolfe "I have a Janet [Van Wicklen] b. 17 Oct 1841, d. 20 Mar 1891 [from Frost/Wykoff headstone inscriptions Vol. 1, p. 25, buried Van Wicklen Cemetery, as possible wife of Garret^6 Van Wicklen, b. 15 Feb 1835 Jamaica, NY or possibly of Garret^7 b. 9 Mar 1936. Janet is buried with Ryders so may be of that family.] Brooklyn Eagle (31 August 1849, p. 4) Legal Notices ...and
also, that certain other lot, place or parcel of land situated and being in the
town of Jamaica aforesaid, and bounded and described as follows: beginning at
the southeast corner thereof, on the line dividing it from land belonging to the
heirs of H. L. Van Wicklen, deceased: thence
running westerly along Centreville Avenue (as the same is laid down on a map of
part of the real estate of the said John Van Wicklen,
deceased, made January 7th A. D. 1837, by Martin Johnson, surveyor, fourteen
chains, fifty five links; thence northerly twelve chains, forty seven links to a
stake at the northwest corner of this land adjoining land of Stephen H. Lott:
thence northeasterly along the line dividing this piece of land from the land of
said Lott, eight chains, twenty six links: thence easterly along said division
line six chains, twenty nine links: thence easterly along the said division line
between this and land of unknown owner four chains, thirty five links to land
belonging to the heirs of H.L. Van Wicklen, along
Wycoff avenue as the same is laid down on said map, twenty two chains, eighty
four links, a direct course to the place of beginning--containing twenty nine
acres, one quarter, and thirty one perches of land, and being the same premises
said and conveyed to the said Abraham H. Van Wyck by John Johnson, guardian etc.
of John T. Van Wicklen, Nicholas Van Wicklen, Evert Van
Wicklen, Garret Van Wicklen and Sarah E. Van Wicklen, infant children and
heirs of John Van Wicklen, late of said town of
Jamaica. (H.L. Van Wicklen in this paragraph is
Hendrick Lott Van Wicklin, Sr. and the John Van Wicklen and children are John^5
Van Wicklen (Gerrit^4, Evert^3, Gerrit^2, Jentie^1 Jeppes) Sunday News, November 22, 1970 (B52) - Ozone Park Residents Eye a Landmark - by Bruce Drake. On a typical Sunday in Rusdorp (the 1716 version of the Jamaica area), Jacobus Ryder would leave his southern Queens farm, and after a short journey, walk through a row of poplars to a small wooden church where he would take his seat, eight rows behind the pulpit. Inside, he would nod to the Van Wicklens, who like himself, pitched in to raise the 31 pounds needed to build the First Reformed Dutch Church. Once seated, they could see their neighbor, and fellow farmer, Garret Durland, sitting right up front with the elders and deacons. The church building was gone by 1883 as were most of the Ryders, Durlands, and Van Wicklens who are buried at the corner of Albert and Redding Sts in what is now Ozone Park. The burial grounds have nearly disappeared as the area was built up, and a group of young Ozone Park residents, all in their twenties are hoping to save it as a historical landmark. Old Henry Lott Van Wicklen might have choked over his "sling" ("spirits and water sweetened with loaf sugar and nutmeg") if he saw the Southside Burial Ground today--land which he donated for the use fo the Ryders, Stouthoffs, Fredericks, and Durlands in 1681 [An apparent anachronism in that Henry Lott was b. in 1794 and he is the first Henry Lott since his middle name is derived from the maiden name of his mother] Construction work covered over some of this land, the building of 140th avenue chopped off another hunk, and as a final indignity, residents part their cars on one of its corners. Seeing a piece of history at his own front door, Sal Boccio, 23, his wife, Michelle, 22, and a group of friends launched the Commitee for the Restoration of the Southside Burial Ground to save what is left. "I guess it does seem strange that younger people are interested in this," said Boccio, who is a manager in the cashier section of a Wall St. brokerage. "But we are excited about it, and the group is willing to do the maintenance work for free if the city agrees to preserve it as a historical landmark." Walking distance from Aqueduct Raceway, the burial ground was located in a Dutch settlement. "Wooded and with much wife game," much of the land was purchased from Indians like one large tract bought for the price of "one trooper's coat, five guns, three blankets, 16 coats, nine kettles, ten bars of lead, one quart of liquors, 80 fathoms of wampum, and a quart more of liquor." So far, Boccio has had little official response to his pleas except for a statement by the Landmarks Preservation commissioner saying that no new areas can be designated landmarks until public hearings in 1973. Long Island Press, Sunday, July 2, 1972 - Long Islander fights to get cemetery removed from city tax rolls. by Kjell Kjellberg It is not clear why the decision was made, but New York City has put an old graveyard in Ozone Park on the tax rolls. Who's to pay the taxes? Surely the bones of Queens residents dating back to the 17th century aren't going to cough up one penny to the tax collector. What could happen though is that the property could be sold to private interests who would build a drive-in hamburger stand or something on top of the old graves. Chief defender of the old graveyard is Sal Boccio, 21, a student, history buff and vice president of the Community Civic Association of Ozone Park. Boccio lives across the street from the ancient cemetery, known as the Southside Burial Ground. It was founded in the area now intersected by 149th Avenue (going through the middle of the graveyard) one block west of Cross Bay Boulevard, in 1861 by members of the Van Wicklen family. The family owned and farmed large areas of land in the area of Aqueduct Race Track and Kennedy Airport. Boccio said he thoroughly researched the old graveyard and noted that the Van Wicklens bought the grounds from the Rockaway Indians. the earliest tombstone discovered still legible enough to date back to 1759. A topographical bureau survey in 1919 found 89 legible tombstones in the neglected and abandoned graveyard that were still legible--many of them belonging to veterans. The last burial was in 1919 when William Blazebrook, former chief of the Woodhaven Volunteer Fireman's Association and a descendent of the Van Wicklens, was buried there. The cemetery has been neglected and vandalized for 50 years. Most of the tombstones have been stolen or smashed. Weeds and litter covered the grounds until last April, when a final desperation move by Boccio paid off. (A plea to the Historic landmarks Preservation Committee was put off to the next meeting...next spring.) Finally, he wrote the U.S. Army, stating that the graves of veterans were being desecrated. The letter found its way along the military hierarchy until it wound up on the desk of Army Chief of Staff Gen. William Westmoreland. The word went back down the line to clean the cemetery up and put a temporary fence around it. The task fell on Lt. Albert LaBrie and 25 men of B Company, 102nd Battalion of Engineers of the National Guard, who spent three Saturdays carting away truck loads of debris, raking and cutting the grass and building a wooden fence around the block long cemetery. But the future is not bright as the land still remains on the tax rolls. A title search is now under way to find the last owner of record because the law states property cannot arbitrarily be put on the tax rolls without the consent of the owner. By the same token, the land cannot be removed again from the tax rolls without the formal application of the last owner of record. This fact did not seem to stop the city from extending 49th Avenue through the southern half of the cemetery in the '50s. And...the last owner on record may have died 100 years or more ago. Since this is a big election year, there is hope yet, Boccio and neighborhood residents who would like to see a small memorial park with a permanent fence and plaque erected will put pressure on the polticians to aid in the fight, or else. Among those in the restoration campaign are Mrs. Arlene Sullivan of Middlebury, CT and her sons--10th and 11th generation descendents of the Van Wicklen family tracked down by Boccio. Mrs. Sullivan is halfway through charting the genealogy of the Van Wicklens and early Dutch settlers in the area. Boccio hopes to replace the stolen markers if enough funds can be raised. |