• Home
•  | 
• Login/Register
•  | 
• Help

In the 1500s, Spain was engaged in a "spiritual cleansing" known as the "Inquisition". To non-Catholics, this usually meant Imprisonment, torture, and/or execution. As the Spanish began conquering Western Europe, many were forced to flee to the safety of the Dutch States. Such is the case of Cologne, which fell to Spain in 1559. As a matter of identification, wealthy classes from Cologne often attached the suffix "van Ceulen"(aka van Keulen) to their names, which literally means "of Cologne". Eventually, "van" names became recognized as surnames, and thus, the van Keulen/van Ceulen family was created.


Mathijs Jansen Van Ceulen, 1602-1648,
first arrived in North America(New York) in November, 1632, stopping in either New Amsterdam(New York) or his own colony, Zawaanendael(Lewes, Delaware) for resupply enroute to Brazil. In June, 1639 he arrived in New Amsterdam aboard the West India Raven from Recife, Brazil. He was found in New Amsterdam(Manhattan)in until Aug, 1639, then back in Recife until 1641. By late 1641 he had made Fort Orange(aka Albany, NY) his permanent home.

He was one of the 19 Lord-Directors of the Dutch West India Trading Company, empowered with the Armorial Bearings of an Earl, and known as one of the co-Patroons of Zawaanendal (Tenant-farm Colony-Swan Valley, Delaware River, near Lewes). The Dutch colonies at New Netherlandt proved to be a dismal failure and were eventually taken over by the British in 1664, at which time it was renamed New York. Mathijs' land and estate were confirmed to his heirs in 1667, including a parcel of 50 Morgens of land in the Pappermemmins (Manhats - Manhattan) known as Van Keulen's Bouwerie. His son, Matthys Matthyssen, is the progenitor of the Van Keuren/ Van Curen family in America.


Old Dutch surnames are different from surnames as we know them. "Van" names were simply suffixes identifying the families point of origin. Surnames were derived from the first name of the father (Father Matthys, children were Matthyssen), and so changed with each generation. (see Patronymics link below). Actual family surnames, as we know them today, starting gaining popularity in the 16th century. By the 18th century, the practice of patronymics was nearly nonexistent, being replaced with the modern day surname method of naming.

The English didn't care much for the Dutch way of surname changing, as it made record keeping very difficult. Estates, especially, were difficult to establish heirs for. As a result of British influence, American Dutch began abandoning Patronymic practice in the late 1600s and adopting the British surname method, creating true surnames and passing them on to their children. From the children of Mathijs Van Keulen, we get the surnames of Matthyssen, Jansen, Peersen, Van Steenberghen, and Van Keuren, along with variations for all of those.

There are many theories as to the 'why' of the name variations(spelling changes), but the most logicical is a combination of illiteracy (couldn't spell his own name) and unknowing record keepers making an educated guess, based on sound.


Several Van Keuren families began using the Van Curen surname around 1800, as they began emmigrating into the wilderness. As to family history, many word of mouth errors were passed down, as written histories were virtually non-existent. Example:

From an article on the Van Curen Family in the Northern Indianan Republican, dtd 9 Sep, 1909, the parents of Henry Van Curen (b. Hendricus Van Keuren, Hurley, NY, 1783) were born in Holland, came to America, and raised a large family. That article has proven to be false, as Dutch Reformed Church Records show that his father was born in Shawagunk, N Y, a descendant of Mathijs.(see Mathij(s) link below) His parents used the Van Keuren spelling, and that has almost exclusively been tied to Matthys, as it was a corrupution of the origanal name, Keulen, or Ceulen(as it often appears).

Sometime before 1830, Henry established himself as Van Curen, as he is listed in the 1830 NY census under that name. It was noted in the 1850 Indiana census that Henry could neither read nor write. That, with the fact that many Van Keurens were mistakenly identified as 'Van Curen' (including Henry's Father) in the 1790 N Y Census, possibly explains the name change.

You must be logged in to post a comment regarding this story.