Gerrit Meulman (1726-b. 1739)

Gerrit Meulman was bapt. 22 Dec 1726, 291 years ago, in Amsterdam. He is the eldest son of Jan Meulman and Margrietje Teloo/Toloo, and probably died before 1739, as the parents have another Gerrit baptized. Originally I thought he was the brother of my husband’s 5th great-grandmother Agnieta Meulman (dutch link). However, that turned out to be not true, as Agnieta was born in Deteren, East Frisia, five years after Gerrit was baptized in Amsterdam. However, Agnieta and Jan are most likely related, both came from Deteren, and Jan’s daughter Angenieta and her husband are the sponsors at the baptism of one of Agnieta’s children

This is another immigrant story, again Ev. Lutheran Germans to Amsterdam. Like the family of Elizabeth Opke this family tended to stay within their religion, and within the German immigrant group; even if they did not come originally from the same German area. Jan and Agnieta came from Detern in the North East; Margrietje Teloo came from Schermbeck, which is a bit east of the Dutch province of Limburg; Agnieta’s husband came from Nurenburg,, his second wife from Oberwennigern.

The banns registration at this time unfortunately does not list their occupations, but both Jan Meulman and Balthazar Pfann sign their name; the wives sign with a mark.

An extremely useful tool to find all these frequently misspelled places is a publication of the Amsterdam Archives: Hart, Simon. Geografische Verwijzingen Notarieel en Ondertrouw (Guide to places mentioned in marriage and legal records). Amsterdam: Stadsarchief Amsterdam. Online at https://www.amsterdam.nl/stadsarchief/archief/downloads/herkomstonderzoek/