Rogues and Characters

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Jan Janszoon van Haerlem (b. 1575 in Holland) (my 9x great grandfather). After the death of his first wife in Holland, he married or had a relationship with Margarita, a Moorish woman in Cartagena, Spain. They had four sons; the second was Anthony. In 1600, Jan was given letters of marque to sail as a Dutch privateer and harass Spanish ships; he pretty much started freelancing and didn't limit his attacks to Spanish ships. He made his way to the Barbary Coast, where he could attack any ships he wanted to. 

In 1618, Jan was captured in the Canary Islands by Barbary Corsairs; he was taken as a prisoner to Algiers. He converted to Islam, and over time became known as Murat Reis the younger; he was a very successful pirate. He conducted raids on Iceland; at Baltimore, Ireland; the Isle of Lundy; and several places in the Mediterranean. 

In 1635, Murat Reis and several members of his crew were captured by the Knights of Malta. He was imprisoned and tortured, but managed to escape in 1640. He received a hero's welcome when he returned to Morocco; he was appointed governor of the fortress of Qualidia. He seems to have retired from public life about then. The date of his death is unknown. 

Grietje Reyniers Van Salee is the main character in The Mevrouw Who Saved Manhattan: A Novel of New Amsterdam by Bill Greer. As far as I can tell, a highly fictionalized account of her life, but quite a good depiction of the times in New Amsterdam. The Drowning Room by Michael Pye is also a fictionalized account of her life. Supposedly, when the sailors on a ship departing New Amsterdam called her a whore, she mooned them and told them to kiss her ass. 

There are many stories and theories about Grietje and her husband, Anthony. It appears she was born in Amsterdam about 1602; she may well have married there when she was 24. In 1629, Grietje, now widowed, and Anthony Van Salee received a certificate allowing them to marry on shipboard on the way to New Amsterdam. This may be because her new husband was a Muslim. 

She may have been fired from a tavern job in Amsterdam or Germany for inappropriate behavior. 

Grietje is often described as the first prostitute (or madam) of New Amsterdam. The following quote is attributed to her:  "I have long enough been the whore of the nobility; from now on I shall be the whore of the rabble." And having two children with her said: "I shall take these bastards right away and dash their brains out against the wall."  

While this may well have been true, what is clear is that Grietje was a free spirit. She and Anthony were involved in many lawsuits -- on both sides. Eventually they were banished from Manhattan, but later seem to have returned. At some point, they had a farm in Manhattan near the wall -- as in Wall Street. 

Grietje and Anthony had four children, including my ancestor Annica (Eunice) who married Thomas Southard. Other descendants include:  Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, Gloria Vanderbilt, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, two Dukes of Marlborough and a host of Lords and Ladies they begat and CNN celebrity Anderson Cooper. Through daughter Eva, Griet led to several senators and congressmen in the Frelinghuysen family, including Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey. 

As the son of a Moroccan mother and Dutch father, Anthony was often referred to as "the Turk."  Anthony and Grietje were both fairly litigious in New Amsterdam -- as plaintiffs and defendants. Between 1638 and 1639, Anthony and Grietje were parties in 15 of 93 court cases in New Netherlands. Neither seemed to have a great respect for authority. Among Anthony's legal troubles was allegations he aimed a loaded pistol at a slave overseer. 

Anthony and Grietje's first farm when they arrived in New Amsterdam was near "the wall" -- on what is now Wall Street. 

Thanks to all their disputes over land and other matters, Anthony and Grietje were ordered to leave New Netherland, an appeal to the Dutch East India Company allowed them to buy land for a farm at Gravesend, Long Island. They became very successful landowners and, in 1643, defying authorities, they bought a house on Bridge St. in New Amsterdam. 

Anthony may have been the first Muslim to settle in the new world. Apparently, a Koran belonging to him was sold in an estate sale around 1886. Many of the disputes he and Grietje were involved in had to do with accusations of not being "pious Christians." In another case, he was fined for housing English Quakers at his house on Bridge St.