Jacob and Isaac ten Bruggecate (1722-)

Jacob and Isaac were baptized 18 Feb 1722 in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, sons of Jan ten Bronkaten (dutch link) and Geesie Houtman. The twins are my first cousins 6x removed. Nothing more is know about them with certainty, they probably died young.

One thing that is interesting to me, is that Jan’s brother Gerrit and Albert Houtman (possibly her brother) were sponsors of the children, they must have come from Twente for the occasion. One of  Jan’s brothers and sisters is present at the baptism of his children, and they all come over from Almelo! It was quite a trip. First, either overland, but more likely by small ship over the river, to Zwolle; then a bigger boat to Amsterdam over the Zuiderzee. There was a regular ferry service, but it was a hazardous trip; some years later Janna ter Braake, widow of Benjamin ten Bruggencate drowned because the ferry capsized.

The second thing is the interesting ways in which Bruggencate gets misspelled. Bruggencate and Bruggenkate are standard, as are one ‘g’, missing ‘n’, added ‘n’ or ‘r’ at the end; but Bronkaten was a new one. A burial entry on 22 Feb 1722 in Amsterdam lists Jacob Kater or ter Bruggen (I am not a 100% sure, but it is likely this is the twin Jacob). Also it can be written as one of two words, esp. later, ten Bruggen Cate is preferred by the upper middle class. And the branch that comes to America is listed in the census in upstate NY as Brokencart, Brokengate, Brokencade. Makes for interesting searches, and you really learn to use wildcards!