Thys BARENTSEN SWAIM
Passenger List of ship " St. Jan Baptist," 9 May 1661, extracted from pages 18
and 19 of the "Holland Society of New York, Year Book of 1902". Tys Barentsz,
from Leerdam, wife and three children, 15, 10 and 1 1/4 years old.
Death from Inventory of Tys Barntsen 2 Dec 1682, Swaim-Tysen book p. 21-24.
Forms of name Thys Barentze Van Leerdam, Tis Barns, Tyse Barnse, Tiss Barnson.
To America 9 May 1661 on ship Jan Baptista from Leerdam, Netherlands. Fathers
name would have been Barent.
Book, "The Swaim-Tkysen Family of Staten Island, New York, New Jersey and
Southern States," by Mullane, Swaim and Johnson, 1984, at Randolph Public
Library, Asheboro, North Carolina.
Thys or Tys is the Dutch spelling for Matthew or Matthias. By the 1706 census
of Staten Island, the British were requiring surnames. Theirs was written as
Swam. I am not sure when and why the name Swaim was chosen as the surname. Many
Dutch people used the form of patronymics, where the fathers first name becomes
the surname of the child.
Chr:Leerdam, Swaim-Tysen book p. 7. Parents Jans Aelberts & Belyetje Pieter.
CHR:Leerdam, Holland. The ship records say he was 15 years of age when he
The ship records indicate that he was fifteen years of when he arrived in
America, but he was actually sixteen years and five months. Barent is the Dutch
form of Bernard or Bernhart. Their custum of naming children was, that the
eldest son was named for the maternal grandfather and second son for the
paternal grandfather. It is possible there was a child born before Barent, who
was named for the paternal grandfather. On early records, heis shown as Barnt
Tice, and Barn Tiss. I am not sure if it was he or his children that changed to
Swaim, or why.
His will was dated 7 Sep 1719 at Staten Island, New York.
Beleyte is Dutch for Isabella, named for maternal grandmother. Was 10 when the
family came to America. Married Willem Janse Losercht son of Jan Willemszen Van
der Loosdrecht, who with his family, arrived on the same ship as Thys and
family. This family had settled in Bergen, NJ. in area known as "Communipaw".
William operated the Communipaw to Manhattan ferry for eight years until Jun
1669 (GHNY, Vol 49, No. 1, p.2). They moved bach to Staten Island where he
received a land patent from Gov. Androse, 29 Sep 1677 (RCD D:103) area known as
"Princes Bay", close to her brother Anthony. Early records refer to William as
"William Johnson", the surname which his descendants used. SWAIM-TYSEN BOOK,
p.37.
He married Peterke Jans Abt 1642 at Utrecht, Netherlands . Peterke Jans was christened at Leerdam, Utrecht, Holland Dec 1624 .
They were the parents of 6
children:
Barent Tysen Swaim
christened Dec 1644.
Sibilla Tysen
christened Aug 1647.
Belytje Tysen
christened Aug 1647.
Belytje Tysen
christened Jun 1649.
Belytje Tysen Swaim
christened Jul 1650.
Peterke Tysen
christened 15 Mar 1653.
Thys Barentsen Swaim died Nov 1682 at Staten Island, Richmond, New York .
Peterke Jans died Bef 1658 at Leerdam, Utrecht, Holland .